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130 Pages
Page 49
Eunomius unhappily was led by distinction of name into distinction of being. [343] If the Son is begotten in the sense in which Eunomius uses the word, He is neither begotten of the essence of God nor begotten from eternity. Eunomius represents the Son as not of the essence of the Father, because begetting is only to be thought of as a sensual act and idea, and therefore is entirely unthinkable in connexion with the being of God. "The essence of God does not admit of begetting; no other essence exists for the Son's begetting; therefore I say that the Son was begotten when non-existent." [344] Basil rejoins that no analogy can hold between divine generation or begetting and human generation or begetting. "Living beings which are subject to death generate through the operation of the senses: but we must not on this account conceive of God in the same manner; nay, rather shall we be hence guided to the truth that, because corruptible beings operate in this manner, the Incorruptible will operate in an opposite manner." [345] "All who have even a limited loyalty to truth ought to dismiss all corporeal similitudes. They must be very careful not to sully their conceptions of God by material notions. They must follow the theologies [346] delivered to us by the Holy Ghost. They must shun questions which are little better than conundrums, and admit of a dangerous double meaning. Led by the ray that shines forth from light to the contemplation of the divine generation, they must think of a generation worthy of God, without passion, partition, division, or time. They must conceive of the image of the invisible God not after the analogy of images which are subsequently fashioned by craft to match their archetype, but as of one nature and subsistence with the originating prototype [347] .... [348] This image is not produced by imitation, for the whole nature of the Father is expressed in the Son as on a seal." [349] "Do not press me with the questions: What is the generation? Of what kind was it? In what manner could it be effected? The manner is ineffable, and wholly beyond the scope of our intelligence; but we shall not on this account throw away the foundation of our faith in Father and Son. If we try to measure everything by our comprehension, and to suppose that what we cannot comprehend by our reasoning is wholly non-existent, farewell to the reward of faith; farewell to the reward of hope! If we only follow what is clear to our reason, how can we be deemed worthy of the blessings in store for the reward of faith in things not seen"? [350]
[343] Id. ii. 3.
[344] Id. ii. 18.
[345] Id. ii. 23.
[346] On the distinction between theologia and oikonomia, cf. p. 7, n.
[347] sunuparchousan kai paruphestekuian to prototupo hupostesanti. Expressions of this kind, used even by Basil, may help to explain the earlier Nicene sense of hupostasis. The Son has, as it were, a parallel hypostasis to that of the Father, Who eternally furnishes this hypostasis. cf. p. 195, n.
[348] Here the MSS. vary, but the main sense is not affected by the omission of the variant phrase.
[349] Id. ii. 16. cf. De Sp. Scto. S: 15, p. 9, and S: 84, p. 40, and notes.
[350] Id. ii. 24.
Reference address : https://elpenor.org/basil/life-works.asp?pg=49
