"Son, and a whole Son in a whole Fa"ther*." This writer expreffes his idea of the importance of this mysterious doctrine in the following manner: "If the "confeffion of the holy trinity be useless, "all the inftitutions of the church are ab"furd, baptifm, confeffion of fin, obe"dience to the commands, good morals, "temperance, juftice, moderation, forti❝tude †.” ́

"Whoever," fays Gregory Nazianzen, "maintains any of the three persons to "be inferior to the other, overturns the "whole trinity." Jerom fays, that "fince Chrift is the power of God, and "the wisdom of God, he has all the Fa

* Ει δε ολος ο πατηρ εν όλω τω υιω, και ολος ο υιος εν όλω τω παίρι. Opera, vol. 2. p. 90г.

+ Ει γαρ άχρησος μεν η των σεμνων τε καὶ τιμίων της αγίας τριάδος ονόμαίων ομολογία, ανονήία δε τα εθη εκκλησίας, εν δε τοις έθεσι τέλοις εσιν η σφραγις, η προσευχη, το βαπλισμα, η των αμαρτιων εξαγορευσις, η περι τας εντολας προθυμία, η περι το ήθος κατόρθωσις, το καλα (ωΦροσύνην βιεν, το προς το δίκαιον βλεπειν, το μη ταις επιθυμίαις εθιζεσθαι, μήτε ηδονης ητίασθαι, μήτε αρετης απολείπεσθαι. Contra Eunomium, Or. 10. Opera, vol. 2. p. 277.

* Και ο, τι αν των τριων καίω θωμεν, το παν καθαίρειν νομίζομεν. Or. 20. Opera, p. 338,

"ther's

"ther's perfections." Chryfoftom gives the preference to the Father only in name. "I name the Father firft," fays he, "not 66 on account of his rank, but because he is the Father of the only begotten;" and at the fame time, he fays, that "there is nothing improper in naming the Son before the Father." "There is no difference," fays Theodoret," between the Father and the Son, but in generating "and being generated, in emitting and "proceeding." "If any one," fays Pope Damafus," does not say that the Father, Son, and Spirit, have one godhead, power, "dominion, glory, and authority, one king

* Cum enim Chriftus Dei virtus fit, deique fapientia, omnes in fe virtutes continet patris. In Efaiam, lib. 12. Opera, vol. 4. p. 140.

+ Λεγω πατερα πρωτον, 8 τη τάξει πρωτον, αλλα τη έννοια, επειδη γεννήλως τε μονογενες, επειδή η ρίζα τε αγις καρπς. Αρα ει τις εξολο μησεν ειπειν εν εκκλησία, ο Χριτος υμας ευλογήσει, και ο πάλης αυτό, 8x 45 alanlos evoμičelo Ser. 4. Opera, vol. 6. p. 34.

† Α. Ουκ εσιν 8 διαφορα πατρος, και υις, και αγια πνευμαίος· Ο. Εν τη φύσει 8 εν τω θεληματι 8· εν τω γενναν και γεννασθαι, και εκε πέμπειν και εκπορεύεσθαι, και Dial. Adv. Anomæos. Op.

vol. 5. p. 275.

"dom,

"dom, one will, and one truth, let him be "anathema*."

"The Son," fays Ambrofe," knows the "will of the Father, and the Father that of "the Son; and the Son hears the Father al

66

ways, and the Father the Son, by an union "of nature, will, and fubftance." "The "Father," fays M. Caleca, "is a whole 66 God, the Son a whole God, and the

Spirit a whole God ‡." According to this language, it would certainly have been most natural to fay, that there were three Gods; and this, indeed, is fometimes tacitly acknowledged; but the fcriptures having exprefsly afferted the contrary, these

Ει τις μη ειπη τε πατρος, και τε ν18, και τε αγιο πνευμα, μιαν θεότητα, εξεσίαν, δυνασείαν μιαν, δόξαν, κυριοληλα μιαν, βασιλειαν μιαν, θελησιν, και αλήθειαν, ανάθημα εσω. Theodoriti, Hift. lib. 5. cap. II. p. 211.

+ Scit autem femper filius voluntatem patris, et pater filii, et audit patrem filius femper, et pater filium per unitatem naturæ, voluntatis atque fubftantiæ. Hex. lib. 2. Opera, vol. 1. p. 22.

Kai

γαρ ο πάλης θεος ολος, και ο υιος Θεός ολος, και το πνεύμα το φύγιον Θεος όλος. Combefis Auctuarium, vol. 2. p. 203.

writers

writers could not do it in words.

"To fay

"that there are more Gods than one," fays Hilary, "is irreligious *."

SECTION II.

Of the new Language introduced at and after the Council of Nice.

EW ideas always require new terms;

NEW

and unfortunately the nice diftinctions which were now made with respect to the doctrine of the trinity, required more words than had ever been used by theologians before; nor was there any thing in the Greek philosophy to correspond to the diftinctions that were now to be expreffed. Besides, the Latin tongue was much less copious than the Greek; and this afforded a new fource of embarraffment and contradiction among those who wished to say the same thing.

To exprefs the difference between the three perfons, it was neceffary to have one

* Quia et Deos dici irreligiofum eft. Lib. II. p. 271.

term

εσια

term which might be applied to them all, and another to each of them separately. For though they were one in a certain refpect, that is, as God, they must be called three in another (i. e.) as perfons in the godhead. The two terms that were candidates for this latter office in the Greek language were 8 and umosas, effence and hypoftafis; and though it was acknowledged, that in the Greek philofophy these words had been used without any difference, it was thought neceffary to make a diftinction between them now.Theodoret, after obferving that, "in the "external philofophy there was no differ"ence between effence and hypoftafis, with "the Fathers they differed as common and particular, or as genus and Species, or indi"vidual*." Socrates fays, that "the word hypoftafis was not used by the ancient philofophers, but that by the moderns it was "always used for effence."

66

* Καλα δε γε την των πατέρων διδασκαλιον ην εχει διαφοραν το κοινον υπερ το ίδιον, η το γενός υπερ το ειδος, η το ατομον, ταυτην εσια προς την υποτασιν εχει. Dial. 1. Opera, vol. 4. p. 4.

+ Ισεον μενλοι ότι ει και οι παλαιοι φιλοσοφοι την λέξιν παρέλιπον, αλλα ομως οι νε Περοι των φιλοσοφων συνεχως αντι της εσίας, τη λεξει της υπότασεως απεχρησανο. Hift. lib. 3. cap. 7. p. 180.

Before