Hilary then makes a direct appeal to the Western bishops. They might forget the contents of the word while retaining the sound, but provided that the meaning was granted, what objection could be made to the word? Was the word ὁμοιούσιον free from all possible objections? Hilary (c. 72–75) shews that really like means really equal. Scripture is appealed to as proving the assertion that the Son is both like God and equal to God. This essential likeness can alone justify the statement that the Father and the Son are one. It is blasphemous to represent the similarity as a mere analogy. The similitude is a similitude of proper nature and equality. The conclusion of the argument is that the word ὁμοιούσιος, if understood, leads us to the word ὁμοούσιος which helps to guard it, and that it does not imply any separation between the Persons of the Trinity.