3. What then? After all these efforts were
they tired? Did they leave off? Not at all. They are
charging me with innovation, and base their charge on my confession of
three hypostases, and blame me for asserting one Goodness, one Power,
one Godhead. In this they are not wide of the truth, for I do so
assert. Their complaint is that their custom does not accept
this, and that Scripture does not agree. What is my reply?
I do not consider it fair that the custom which obtains among them
should be regarded as a law and rule of orthodoxy. If custom is
to be taken in proof of what is right, then it is certainly competent
for me to put forward on my side the custom which obtains here.
If they reject this, we are clearly not bound to follow them.
Therefore let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on
whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in
favour of that side will be cast the vote of truth. What then is
the charge? Two points are advanced at one and the same time in
the accusations levelled against me. I am accused on the one hand
of parting the hypostases asunder; on the other of never using in the
plural any one of the nouns relating to the Divinity, but of always
speaking in the singular number of one Goodness, as I have already
said; of one Power; one Godhead; and so on. As to the parting of
the hypostases, there ought to be no objection nor opposition on the
part of those who assert in the case of the divine nature a distinction
of essences. For it is unreasonable to maintain three essences
and to object to three hypostases. Nothing, then, is left but the
charge of using words of the divine nature in the singulars.