126. Arius says that the Son of God came into being out of nought. How, then, is He Son of God—how was He begotten from the womb of the Father—how do we read of Him as the Word spoken of the heart’s abundance, save to the end that we should believe that He came forth, as it is written, from the Father’s inmost, unapproachable sanctuary? Now a son is so called either by means of adoption or by nature, as we are called sons by means of adoption. (1) “the word spoken,” etc.—Ps. xlv. 1. Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum.—Vulg. ἐξρεύξατο ἡ καρδία μου λόγον ἀγαθόν.—LXX. (2) “sons by adoption.”—Gal. iv. 4, 5. Christ is the Son of God by virtue of His real and abiding nature. How, then, can He, Who out of nothing fashioned all things, be Himself created out of nothing?