In a great measure he has succeeded in retaining
this simplicity in regard to the doctrine of God. He had the full
Greek sense of the divine unity; there is no suggestion of the
possession by the Persons of the Trinity of contrasted or complementary
qualities. The revelation he would defend is that of God, One,
perfect, infinite, immutable. This absolute God has manifested
Himself under the name ‘He that
is,’ to which Hilary constantly recurs. It is only
through His own revelation of Himself that God can be known. But
here we are faced by a difficulty; our reason is inadequate and tends
to be fallacious. The argument from analogy, which we should
naturally use, cannot be a sufficient guide, since it must proceed from
the finite to the infinite. Hilary has set this forth with great
force and frequency, and with a picturesque variety of
illustration. Again, our partial glimpses of the truth are often
in apparent contradiction; when this is the case, we need to be on our
guard against the temptation to reject one as incompatible
with the other. We must devote an equal attention to each, and
believe without hesitation that both are true. The interest of
the De Trinitate is greatly heightened by the skill and courage
with which Hilary will handle some seeming paradox, and make the
antithesis of opposed infinities conduce to reverence for Him of Whom
they are aspects. And he never allows his reader to forget the
immensity of his theme; and here again the skill is manifest with which
he casts upon the reader the same awe with which he is himself
impressed.