CONCERNING THE TRINITY. 321
was only man, and denying to Him divineauthorityin these
things. For thiscontempt of the hereticswillrecoilalso
upon God the Father,if God the Father could not beget
God the Son. But, moreover,no blindnessof the heretics
shallprescribeto the truth. Nor, becausethey maintainone
thing in Christ and do not maintain another,they see one
sideof Christ and do not see another,shalltherebe taken
away from us thatwhich they do not seeforthe sake of that
which they do. For they regard the weaknesses in Him as
if they were a man's weaknesses,but they do not count the
powers as ifthey were a God's powers. They keep in mind
the infirmitiesof the flesh,they exclude the powers of the
divinity; when if this argument from the infirmitiesof
Christ isof availto the resultof proving Him to be man
from His infirmities,the argument of divinityin Him
gathered from His powers availsto the resultalsoof assert
ing Him to be God from His works. For if His sufferings
show,in Him human frailty,why may not His works assert
in Him divinepower? For ifthisshouldnot availto assert
Him to be God from His powers,neithercan His sufferings
availto show Him to be man alsofrom them. For whatever
principlebe adoptedon one or the other side,willbe found
to be maintained[scil.in itsalternative].For therewillbe a
riskthatHe shouldnot be shown to be man from His suffer
ings,ifHe couldnot alsobe approved as God by His powers.
We must not then leanto one sideand evade the other side,
because any one who shouldexcludeone portionof the truth
will never hold the perfecttruth. For Scriptureas much
announces Christ as alsoGod, as it announces God Him
self as man. It has as much describedJesus Christ to
be man, as moreover it has alsodescribedChrist the Lord
to be God. Because it does not set forth Him to be the
Son of God only,but alsothe Son of man ; nor doesitonly
say, the Son of man, but it has also been accustomed to
speak of Him as the Son of God. So thatbeing of both,
He isboth,lestif He should be one only,He couldnot be
the other. For as nature itselfhas prescribedthathe must
be believedto be a man who isof man, so the same nature
ctp.— vol. n. x