But perhaps fome body, aiming to cure one Malady with another, a leffer with a greater, according to the Proverb, will fuppofe a Generation by Augmentation or Mutation. This is to add one perverse reasoning to all the former, as not being fenfible even of this plain Cafe, that if there be any Augmentation, it must be by the addition of fomewhat else. Whence therefore is this Addition, but from fome foreign Matter? But if fo, it will be abfolutely necessary to fuppofe many Beings, many Unbegotten Beings, to fupply the Defect of one alone. But if the Augmentation be made out of nothing, which is the more rational Suppofition, to confefs that every thing was made when it was not in being before, by the Will of him that produc'd it; than to fay any Subftance is a Compofition made, partly out of what was in being, partly out of what was not in being; they must admit of a Mutation, when there is nothing to which that Mutation could be made; and when by confequence of neceffity, the Mutation must be made into that which is not, And how can it be other than foolish, not to fay impious, to affirm, that what has a Being is chang'd into that which has none? Indeed it will become us to leave off this prodigious Folly, or Madness rather, and to keep our felves to the words of Truth and Sobernefs. But these Men, who are liable themselves, tho unwittingly, to thefe and many more Abfurdities, do not with Juftice lay the Charge of Boldness upon us, but in reality bring that of Impiety upon themselves. For our parts, we perfift in what has been antiently demonstrated by Holy Perfons, and now by our felves; in affirming, affirming, that fince neither the Substance of God admits of Generation [as being Unbegotten; nor of Separation or Division, as being Incorruptible; nor is there any other Subftratum for the Generation of the Son: therefore the Son, when he was not before, was begotten. Not thereby intending that the Subftance of the Only-begotten was in common the fame with that of those Beings which were made out of nothing; feeing what is not, cannot be any fort of Substance. But we determine, that the difference of all Substances depends on the Will of him that made them; and accordingly we do afcribe fuch Supereminence of Subftance to the Son, as 'tis neceffary to fuppofe the Creator to be poffefs'd of above that of his own Creatures. For we acknowledg, according to the blessed Apoftle Joh. I. 3. John, that all things were begotten by him, that Power of Creation being begotten together L. VIII. C. 7. P. 394. & a c. with him; whence he is the Only-begotten God to all Beings that are inferior to him, and Conftit. that were made by him. For he alone was begotten and created by the Power of the Unbegotten God, and fo became the most perfect of the libi paf- fubordinate Beings, and fubfervient for the fim. C.12. Creation of all the reft, and for the perforp. 399. mance of his Father's Will. But now if, beL.VII. C. caufe of the names Father and Son, we must 36. p.376. be oblig'd to fuppofe a kind of human and corporeal Generation; and from that Method of Generation among Men, must introduce God as fubject to the Imputations and Affections of a Change in his Subftance, We must alfo, according to the erroneous Opinion of the Greeks, because God is a Creator, introduce Matter for the Production of the Creatures. For For Man, who begets out of his own Substance, if he were to create, could not do it without Matter. But if they reject that Hypothefis, without regarding the ftri& ufe of Words which are imploy'd to express our meaning, because they must take care to afcribe none but worthy Notions to God; and fo allow that he creates by his Power alone: how can it be neceffary to think of the Affection of a Change of Subftance in God, on account that he is ftil'd a Father? For what Man of good Senfe is there, but acknowledges that the names of fome things do only agree in pronunciation and expreffion, but not at all in fignification? as when an Eye is spoken of Man, and when it is apply'd to God: Of Man it denotes one diftinct Member; but of God it denotes, fometimes his Help and Prefervation afforded to the Righteous; and fometimes the Knowledg of the Actions of Men. As on the other hand, many words, which are different in pronunciation, have ftill the fame fignification; as He that Is; and the Only True God. Wherefore when God is ftil'd a Father, we ought not to fuppofe the fame Operation or Efficacy which that word implies among Men; as if in both Cafes it equally included fome Emanation, or the like Affection; fince the one is without all fuch Affections, and the other with them. Nor when he is faid to be a Spirit, is he to be fuppos'd to have the fame nature with other Spirits. Accordingly should we in all things obferve the like Equity and Proportion, and not as foon as we hear the name of Son apply'd to Chrift, to be difpleas'd at the name of a Made Being; as if the Subftance were immediately to be fuppos'd com mon, mon, because of this Community of the name Conftit. For he is a Being, begotten and made by a BeL. VIII. ing, which was it felf unbegotten and unmade; c. 12. P. while Men and Angels, and whatsoever Crea 399. ture there is befide, are Beings made by that Being which was it felf made, and produc'd by him at the Command of the Father. For by Prov. this means we shall preserve the facred Truth VIII, 22. of the Scriptures, which affirm, that the Son Act.II.36. is a Being made, and produc'd by God; and we Apoc.III. fhall not go aftray from fober Reafoning, as 14. neither being forc'd to afcribe Parts to God, Col. I.15. Conftit. L. VIII. c. 5. p. 391. nor lay his own Subftance as a Subftratum for Generation, nor Matter for Creation, from which different Notions the difference of these Names has arifen. Now if God, when he begets, does not communicate his own Subftance to the Being that is begotten, according as happens among Men, for he is Unbegotten; and when he creates, he does not stand in need of any Matter, fince he stands in need of nothing, and is powerful; the rejection of the word Creation is on all accounts unreafonable. Now fince from thefe and the like Arguments we have fhewn, that we muft neither attempt univerfally to think that the fignification of Words is exactly agreeable to the Words themselves, nor to change that Agreement at random, but muft attend to the Subjects we are upon; we muft fute Words and their Signification together, with regard to that Agreement refpectively: for the nature of things is not a Confequent of Words, but the Force of Words is, according to their refpective kinds, to be futed to the nature of things. One may therefore very justly com plain plain of those, who believing that the Son is a Being Begotten, and a Being Made, and are alfo perfuaded that God is a Being Unbegotten, and a Being Unmade, do yet, by the addition of other words, and by faying that they are alike in Subftance, contradict what they confefs'd before; while they ought, if they had had the least regard to Truth, from that difference of Characters, to have own'd the difference of their Substances; because they could only by this means preferve the just Order of Things: that is, by accommodating to each feverally a futable Acknowledgment. But if they have no confideration of this Agreeablenefs in the nature of things, yet ought they at least to take care, that their own Words agree with their own Notions, and not allow themselves to afcribe intirely different Characters to the fame Nature; for we have demonstrated, by all our foregoing Difcourfe, that thofe Characters are fignificative of the Substances themselves. But now perhaps fomebody that is heated in this matter may argue thus, in way of contradiction to our Reafoning: that if we must thus ftrictly adhere to the words made ufe of, and thence be led into the meaning of the things; as we pretend that Unbegotten and Begotten are fo intirely different from one another; yet is it plain, that the names Light and Light, Life and Life, Power and Power, which are afcrib'd to both, are alike. To fuch an one's Question, we fhall reply, not with the Argument of the Staff, instead of an Answer, according to the Saying of Diogenes: For the Philofophy of a Cynick is vaftly remote from Christianity; but in imitation of the blessed Apostle |