A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity.

 A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity.

 The Rule of truth requires that we should first of all things believe on God the Father and Lord Omnipotent that is, the absolutely perfect Founder o

 And over all these things He Himself, containing all things, having nothing vacant beyond Himself, has left room for no superior God, such as some peo

 Him, then, we acknowledge and know to be God, the Creator of all things—Lord on account of His power, Parent on account of His discipline—Him, I say,

 Him alone the Lord rightly declares good, of whose goodness the whole world is witness which world He would not have ordained if He had not been good

 Moreover, if we read of His wrath, and consider certain descriptions of His indignation, and learn that hatred is asserted of Him, yet we are not to u

 And although the heavenly Scripture often turns the divine appearance into a human form,—as when it says, “The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous

 But when the Lord says that God is a Spirit, I think that Christ spoke thus of the Father, as wishing that something still more should be understood t

 This God, then, setting aside the fables and figments of heretics, the Church knows and worships, to whom the universal and entire nature of things as

 The same rule of truth teaches us to believe, after the Father, also on the Son of God, Christ Jesus, the Lord our God, but the Son of God—of that God

 But of this I remind you , that Christ was not to be expected in the Gospel in any other wise than as He was promised before by the Creator, in the Sc

 Chapter XI.—And Indeed that Christ Was Not Only Man, But God Also That Even as He Was the Son of Man, So Also He Was the Son of God.

 Why, then, should we hesitate to say what Scripture does not shrink from declaring? Why shall the truth of faith hesitate in that wherein the authorit

 And thus also John, describing the nativity of Christ, says: “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the o

 And yet the heretic still shrinks from urging that Christ is God, whom he perceives to be proved God by so many words as well as facts. If Christ is o

 If Christ is only man, how is it that He says, “Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true:  because I know whence I came, and whither I go

 If Christ was only man, how is it that He Himself says, “And every one that believeth in me shall not die for evermore?” And yet he who believes in ma

 What if Moses pursues this same rule of truth, and delivers to us in the beginning of his sacred writings, this principle by which we may learn that a

 Behold, the same Moses tells us in another place that “God was seen of Abraham.” And yet the same Moses hears from God, that “no man can see God and l

 What if in another place also we read in like manner that God was described as an angel? For when, to his wives Leah and Rachel, Jacob complained of t

 But if some heretic, obstinately struggling against the truth, should persist in all these instances either in understanding that Christ was properly

 And indeed I could set forth the treatment of this subject by all heavenly Scriptures, and set in motion, so to speak, a perfect forest of texts conce

 But why, although we appear to hasten to another branch of the argument, should we pass over that passage in the apostle: “Who, although He was in the

 In this place I may be permitted also to collect arguments from the side of other heretics. It is a substantial kind of proof which is gathered even f

 But the material of that heretical error has arisen, as I judge, from this, that they think that there is no distinction between the Son of God and th

 Therefore, say they, if Christ is not man only, but God also—and Scripture tells us that He died for us, and was raised again—then Scripture teaches u

 But from this occasion of Christ being proved from the sacred authority of the divine writings not man only, but God also, other heretics, breaking fo

 But since they frequently urge upon us the passage where it is said, “I and the Father are one,” in this also we shall overcome them with equal facili

 Hereto also I will add that view wherein the heretic, while he rejoices as if at the loss of some power of seeing special truth and light, acknowledge

 Moreover, the order of reason, and the authority of the faith in the disposition of the words and in the Scriptures of the Lord, admonish us after the

 And now, indeed, concerning the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, let it be sufficient to have briefly said thus much, and to have laid down t

 Thus God the Father, the Founder and Creator of all things, who only knows no beginning, invisible, infinite, immortal, eternal, is one God to whose

Chapter XVI.115    According to Pamelius, ch. xxiv.Argument.—Again from the Gospel He Proves Christ to Be God.

If Christ was only man, how is it that He Himself says, “And every one that believeth in me shall not die for evermore?”116    John xi. 26. And yet he who believes in man by himself alone is called accursed; but he who believes on Christ is not accursed, but is said not to die for evermore. Whence, if on the one hand He is man only, as the heretics will have it, how shall not anybody who believes in Him die eternally, since he who trusts in man is held to be accursed? Or on the other, if he is not accursed, but rather, as it is read, destined for the attainment of everlasting life, Christ is not man only, but God also, in whom he who believes both lays aside all risk of curse, and attains to the fruit of righteousness. If Christ was only man, how does He say that the Paraclete “shall take of His, those things which He shall declare?”117    John xvi. 14. For neither does the Paraclete receive anything from man, but the Paraclete offers knowledge to man; nor does the Paraclete learn things future from man, but instructs man concerning futurity. Therefore either the Paraclete has not received from Christ, as man, what He should declare, since man could give nothing to the Paraclete, seeing that from Him man himself ought to receive, and Christ in the present instance is both mistaken and deceives, in saying that the Paraclete shall receive from Him, being a man, the things which He may declare; or He does not deceive us,—as in fact He does not,—and the Paraclete has received from Christ what He may declare. But if He has received from Christ what He may declare to us, Christ is greater than the Paraclete, because the Paraclete would not receive from Christ unless He were less than Christ. But the Paraclete being less than Christ, moreover, by this very fact proves Christ to be God, from whom He has received what He declares: so that the testimony of Christ’s divinity is immense, in the Paraclete being found to be in this economy less than Christ, and taking from Him what He gives to others; seeing that if Christ were only man, Christ would receive from the Paraclete what He should say, not the Paraclete receive from Christ what He should declare. If Christ was only man, wherefore did He lay down for us such a rule of believing as that in which He said, “And this is life eternal, that they should know Thee, the only and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent?”118    John xvii. 3. Had He not wished that He also should be understood to be God, why did He add, “And Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent,” except because He wished to be received as God also? Because if He had not wished to be understood to be God, He would have added, “And the man Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent;” but, in fact, He neither added this, nor did Christ deliver Himself to us as man only, but associated Himself with God, as He wished to be understood by this conjunction to be God also, as He is. We must therefore believe, according to the rule prescribed,119    [That is, “the prescribed rule” of our Catholic orthodoxy reflects the formula of our Lord’s testimony concerning Himself. Here is a reference to testimony of the early creeds and canons.] on the Lord, the one true God, and consequently on Him whom He has sent, Jesus Christ, who by no means, as we have said, would have linked Himself to the Father had He not wished to be understood to be God also: for He would have separated Himself from Him had He not wished to be understood to be God. He would have placed Himself among men only, had He known Himself to be only man; nor would He have linked Himself with God had He not known Himself to be God also. But in this case He is silent about His being man, because no one doubts His being man, and with reason links Himself to God, that He might establish the formula of His divinity120    [That is, “the prescribed rule” of our Catholic orthodoxy reflects the formula of our Lord’s testimony concerning Himself. Here is a reference to testimony of the early creeds and canons.] for those who should believe. If Christ was only man, how does He say, “And now glorify me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was?”121    John xvii. 5. If, before the world was, He had glory with God, and maintained His glory with the Father, He existed before the world, for He would not have had the glory unless He Himself had existed before, so as to be able to keep the glory.  For no one could possess anything, unless he himself should first be in existence to keep anything. But now Christ has the glory before the foundation of the world; therefore He Himself was before the foundation of the world. For unless He were before the foundation of the world, He could not have glory before the foundation of the world, since He Himself was not in existence. But indeed man could not have glory before the foundation of the world, seeing that he was after the world; but Christ had—therefore He was before the world. Therefore He was not man only, seeing that He was before the world. He is therefore God, because He was before the world, and held His glory before the world. Neither let this be explained by predestination, since this is not so expressed, or let them add this who think so, but woe is denounced to them who add to, even as to those who take away from, that which is written.  Therefore that may not be said, which may not be added. And thus, predestination being set aside, seeing it is not so laid down, Christ was in substance before the foundation of the world. For He is “the Word by which all things were made, and without which nothing was made.” Because even if He is said to be glorious in predestination, and that this predestination was before the foundation of the world, let order be maintained, and before Him a considerable number of men was destined to glory. For in respect of that destination, Christ will be perceived to be less than others if He is designated subsequent to them. For if this glory was in predestination, Christ received that predestination to glory last of all; for prior to Him Adam will be seen to have been predestinated, and Abel, and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, and many others. For since with God the order of all, both persons and things, is arranged, many will be said to have been predestinated before this predestination of Christ to glory. And on these terms Christ is discovered to be inferior to other men, although He is really found to be better and greater, and more ancient than the angels themselves. Either, then, let all these things be set on one side, that Christ’s divinity may be destroyed; or if these things cannot be set aside, let His proper divinity be attributed to Christ by the heretics.

CAPUT XVI. al. XXIV. Iterum ex Evangelio Christum Deum comprobat.

Si homo tantummodo Christus, quomodo ipse dicit: Et omnis quivivit et credit in me, non morietur in aeternum? (Joan. XI, 26.) Sed enim qui in hominem solitarium credit et nudum, maledictus dicitur (Jer. XVII, 5): heic autem, qui credit in Christum 0914C non maledictus, sed in aeternum non moriturus refertur. Ex quo, si aut homo est tantum, ut haeretici volunt, quomodo quisquis in eum credit, non morietur in aeternum, cum maledictus esse teneatur qui confidit in homine? Aut si non maledictus, sed potius ad aeternae vitae consecutionem, ut legitur, destinatus; non homo tantummodo Christus, sed et Deus: in quem qui credit, et maledictionis periculum deponit, et ad fructum justitiae accedit. Si homo tantummodo Christus, quomodo Paraclitum dicit de suo esse sumpturum quae nuntiaturus si? (Joan. XVI, 0915A 14.) Neque enim Paraclitus ab homine quidquam accipit, sed homiui scientiam Paraclitus porrigit, nec futura ab homine Paraclitus discit, sed de futuris hominem Paraclitus instruit. Ergo aut non accepit Paraclitus a Christo homine quod nuntiet, quoniam Paraclito homo nihil poterit dare a quo ipse homo debet accipere; et fallit in praesenti loco Christus et decipit, cum Paraclitum a se homine accepturum quae nuntiet dicit; aut non nos fallit, sicut nec fallit, et accepit Paraclitus a Christo quae nuntiet. Sed si a Christo accepit quae nuntiet; major ergo jam Paraclito Christus est: quoniam nec Paraclitus a Christo acciperet, nisi minor Christo esset. Minor autem Christo Paraclitus Christum etiam Deum esse hoc ipso probat, a quo accepit quae nuntiat; ut testimonium 0915B Christi divinitatis grande sit, dum minor Christo Paraclitus repertus, ab illo sumit quae caeteris tradit. Quandoquidem si homo tantummodo Christus, a Paraclito Christus acciperet quae diceret, non a Christo Paraclitus acciperet quae nuntiaret. Si homo tantummodo Christus; quare credendi nobis talem regulam posuit quo diceret: Haec est autem vita aeterna ut sciant te unum et verum Deum, et quem misisti Jesum Christum? (Joan. XVII, 3.) Si noluisset se etiam Deum intelligi, cur addidit: Et quem misisti Jesum Christum, nisi quoniam et Deum accipi voluit? Quoniam si se Deum nollet intelligi, addidisset: Et quem misisti hominem Jesum Christum: nunc autem neque addidit, nec se hominem nobis tantummodo Christus tradidit, sed Deo junxit, ut et Deum per 0915C hanc conjunctionem, sicut est, intelligi vellet. Est ergo credendum, secundum praescriptam regulam, in Dominum, unum verum Deum, et in eum quem misit Jesum Christum consequenter, qui se nequaquam Patri, ut diximus, junxisset, nisi Deum quoque intelligi vellet; separasset enim ab eo, si Deum intelligi se noluisset: inter homines enim tantummodo se collocasset, si hominem se esse tantummodo sciret; nec cum Deo junxisset, si se non et Deum nosset: nunc et de homine tacet, quoniam 0916A hominem illum nemo dubitat; et Deo se jungit merito, ut credituris divinitatis suae formulam poneret. Si homo tantummodo Christus; quomodo dicit: Et nunc honorifica me gloria quam habebam apud te priusquam mundus esset? (Joan. XVII, 5.) Si antequam mundus esset, gloriam habuit apud Deum, et claritatem tenuit apud Patrem, ante mundum fuit: nec enim habuisset gloriam, nisi ipse prius fuisset, qui gloriam posset tenere. Nemo enim habere aliquid poterit, nisi ante ipse fuerit, qui aliquid tenet. Sed enim Christus habet gloriam ante mundi institutionem; ergo ante institutionem mundi fuit. Nisi enim ante institutionem mundi esset; ante mundi institutionem gloriam habere non posset, cum ipse non esset. Sed enim homo gloriam ante mundi institutionem 0916B habere non potuit, qui post mundum fuit: Christus autem habuit: ante mundum igitur fuit: non igitur homo tantummodo fuit, qui ante mundum fuit: Deus est igitur, quoniam ante mundum fuit, et gloriam ante mundum tenuit. Nec praedestinatio ista dicatur, quoniam nec posita est; aut addant hoc qui hoc putant: sed vae est adjicientibus, quomodo et detrahentibus, positum (Apoc. XXII, 18, 19): non potest ergo dici quod non potest adjici. Sublata ergo praedestinatione quae non est posita, in substantia fuit Christus ante mundi institutionem. Verbum est enim per quod facta sunt omnia, et sine quo factum est nihil. Quoniam et si in praedestinatione dicitur gloriosus, et ante mundi institutionem fuisse praedestinationem, ordo servetur, et ante hunc erit multus 0916C numerus hominum in gloriam destinatus. Minor enim per istam destinationem Christus caeteris intelligetur, quibus posterior denotatur. Nam si haec gloria in praedestinatione fuit, praedestinationem istam in gloriam novissimus Christus accepit: ante enim praedestinatus Adam esse cernetur, et Abel, et Enoch, et Noe, et Abraham, et reliqui caeteri. Nam cum apud Deum et personarum et rerum omnium ordo digestus sit, ante hanc praedestinationem Christi in gloriam multi praedestinati fuisse dicentur. Et hoc 0917A pacto minor caeteris hominibus Christus esse deprehenditur, qui melior et major et antiquior ipsis quoque Angelis invenitur. Aut haec igitur omnia tollantur, ut Christo divinitas auferatur: aut si haec tolli non possunt, Christo ab haereticis Divinitas propria reddatur.