Arius – Thalia
The Thalia or “Banquet” was Arius’s most extensive theological work. It was cast in poetic style, and was meant to make his teachings accessible to a wide audience. It survives only in fragmentary quotations. Except for the several surviving letters of Arius (Dok. 1, 15, and 24) and a few scattered citations, the Thalia is our only first-hand evidence from Arius’s own pen. The surviving citations come from several works of Athanasius, and from Epiphanius and Hilary. It is impossible to ascertain that each of the citations listed below did indeed come from the Thalia, that they were preserved verbatim, and that the writers have always provided us with direct rather than indirect quotations. The consistency in thought and approach, however, is evident, and citations preserved in different ancient sources overlap closely in wording and content.
The Greek text below is taken from Martin Tetz’s 1998 edition of the Oratio contra Arianos I (AW 1.2) and H.-G. Opitz’s 1940 edition of De synodis (AW 2.6-7). We have added the line numbers.
| Athan. De synod. 15.3 | |
| 1. Αὐτὸς γοῦν ὁ Θεὸς καθό ἐστιν, ἄῤ ῥητος ἅπασιν ὑπάρχει. Ἴσον, οὐδὲ ὅμοιον, οὐχ ὁμόδοξον ἔχειμόνος οὗτος. Ἀγέννητον δὲ αὐτόν φαμεν διὰ τὸν τὴν φύσιν γεννητόν, τοῦτον ἄναρχον ἀνυμνοῦμεν διὰ τὸν ἀρχὴν ἔχοντα, ἀΐδιον δὲ αὐτὸν σέβομεν διὰ τὸν ἐνχρόνῷ γεγαότα. | 1. …And so God Himself, as he really is, is inexpressible to all. He alone has no equal, no one similar, and no one of the same glory. We call him unbegotten, in contrast to him who by nature is begotten. We praise him as without beginning in contrast to him who has a beginning. We worship him as timeless, in contrast to him who in time has come to exist. |
| 6. Ἀρχὴν τὸν Υἱὸν ἔθηκε τῶν γενητῶν ὁ ἄναρχος, καὶ ἤνεγκεν εἰς Υἱὸν ἑαυτῷ τόνδε τεκνοποιήσας, Ἴδιον οὐδὲν ἔχει τοῦ Θεοῦ καθ’ ὑπόστασιν ἰδιότητος· οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσος, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ὁμοούσιος αὐτῷ. | 6. He who is without beginning made the Son a beginning of created things. He produced him as a son for himself by begetting him. He [the son] has none of the distinct characteristics of God’s own being For he is not equal to, nor is he of the same being as him. |
| 10. Σοφὸς δέ ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, ὅτι τῆς σοφίας διδάσκαλος αὐτός. Ἱκανὴ δὲ ἀπόδειξις, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἀόρατος ἅπασι, τοῖς τε διὰ Υἱοῦ καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ Υἱῷ ἀόρατος ὁ αὐτός. | 10. God is wise, for he himself is the teacher of Wisdom – A sufficient proof is that God is invisible to all: He is invisible both to things which were made through the Son, and even to the Son himself. |
| 13. Ῥητῶς δὲ λέξω, πῶς τῷ Υἱῷ ὁρᾶται ὁ ἀόρατος, τῇ δυνάμει ᾗ δύναται ὁ Θεὸς ἰδεῖν ἰδίοις τε μέτροις ὑπομένει ὁ Υἱὸς ἰδεῖν τὸν Πατέρα, ὡς θέμις ἐστίν. | 13. I will say specifically how the invisible is seen by the Son: by that power by which God is able to see, each according to his own measure, the Son can bear to see the Father, as is determined |
| 16. Ἤγουν Τριάς ἐστι δόξαις οὐχ ὁμοίαις· ἀνεπίμικτοι ἑαυταῖς εἰσιν αἱ ὑποστάσεις αὐτῶν, μίατῆς μιᾶς ἐνδοξοτέρα δόξαις ἐπ’ ἄπειρον. Ξένος τοῦ Υἱοῦ κατ’ οὐσίαν ὁ Πατήρ, ὅτι ἄναρχος ὑπάρχει. | 16. So there is a Triad, not in equal glories. Their beings are not mixed together among themselves. As far as their glories, one infinitely more glorious than the other. The Father in his essence is foreign to the Son, because he exists without beginning. |
| 20. Σύνες ὅτι ἡ μονὰς ἦν· ἡ δυὰς δὲ οὐκ ἦν, πρὶν ὑπάρξῃ. Αὐτίκα γοῦν, Υἱοῦ μὴ ὄντος, ὁ Πατὴρ Θεός ἐστι. Λοιπὸν ὁ Υἱὸς οὐκ ὢν (ὑπῆρξε δὲ θελήσει πατρῴᾳ), μονογενὴς Θεός ἐστι, καὶ ἑκατέρων ἀλλότριος οὗτος. | 20. Understand that the Monad [eternally] was; but the Dyad was not before it came into existence. It immediately follows that, although the Son did not exist, the Father was still God. Hence the Son, not being [eternal] came into existence by the Father’s will, He is the Only-begotten God, and this one is alien from [all] others |
| [R. Williams (Arius, 310) suggests a section on the Holy Spirit may have been omitted here.] | |
| 24. Ἡ Σοφία σοφία ὑπῆρξε σοφοῦ Θεοῦ θελήσει. Ἐπι νοεῖται γοῦν μυρίαις ὅσαις ἐπινοίαις Πνεῦμα, δύναμις, σοφία, δόξα Θεοῦ, ἀλήθειά τε καὶ εἰκὼν καὶ Λόγος οὗτος. Σύνες, ὅτι καὶ ἀπαύγασμα καὶ φῶς ἐπινοεῖται. | 24. Wisdom came to be Wisdom by the will of the Wise God. Hence he is conceived of in innumerable aspects: he is Spirit, Power, Wisdom, God’s glory, Truth, Image, and Word. Understand that he is also conceived of as Radiance and Light. |
| 27. Ἴσον μὲν τοῦ Υἱοῦ γεννᾷν δυνατός ἐστιν ὁκρείττων· διαφορώτερον δὲ, ἢ κρείττονα, ἢ μείζονα, οὐχί. Θεοῦ θελήσει ὁ Υἱὸς ἡλίκος καὶ ὅσος ἐστίν, ἐξ ὅτε καὶ ἀφ’ οὗ, καὶ ἀπὸ τότε ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπέστη, ἰσχυρὸς Θεὸς ὢν, τὸν κρείττονα ἐκ μέρους ὑμνεῖ. | 27. The one who is superior is able to beget one equal to the Son, But not someone more important, or superior, or greater. At God’s will the Son has the greatness and qualities that he has. His existence from when and from whom and from then — are all from God. He, though powerful God, praises in part his superior . |
| 32. Συνελόντι εἰπεῖν τῷ Υἱῷ ὁ Θεὸς ἄρρητος ὑπάρχει, ἔστι γὰρ ἑαυτῷ ὅ ἐστι, τοῦτ’ ἔστιν ἄλεκτος· ὥστε οὐδὲν τῶν λεγομένων κατά τε κατάληψιν συνίει ἐξειπεῖν ὁ Υἱός. Ἀδύνατα γὰρ αὐτῷ τὸν Πατέρα τε ἐξιχνιάσαι, ὅς ἐστιν ἐφ’ ἑαυτοῦ. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ Υἱὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ οὐσίαν οὐκ οἶδεν, Υἱὸς γὰρ ὢν, θελήσει Πατρὸς ὑπῆρξεν ἀληθῶς. | 32. In brief, God is inexpressible to the Son. For he is in himself what he is, that is, indescribable, So that the son does not comprehend any of these things or have the understanding to explain them. For it is impossible for him to fathom the Father, who is by himself. For the Son himself does not even know his own essence, For being Son, his existence is most certainly at the will of the Father. |
| 38. Τίς γοῦν λόγος συγχωρεῖ τὸν ἐκ Πατρὸς ὄντααὐτὸν τὸν γεννήσαντα γνῶναι ἐν καταλήψει; δῆλον γὰρ, ὅτι τὸ ἀρχὴν ἔχον, τὸν ἄναρχον, ὡς ἔστιν, ἐμπερινοῆσαι ἢ ἐμπεριδράξασθαι, οὐχ οἷόν τέ ἐστιν. | 38. What reasoning allows, that he who is from the Father should comprehend and know his own parent? For clearly that which has a beginning is not able to conceive of or grasp the existence of that which has no beginning. |
| Athanasius, Or. Contra Ar 1.5 | |
| 41. Κατὰ πίστιν ἐκλεκτῶν Θεοῦ, συνετῶν Θεοῦ, παίδων ἁγίων, ὀρθοτόμων, ἅγιον Θεοῦ πνεῦμα λαβόντων, τάδε ἔμαθον ἔγωγε ὑπὸ τῶν σοφίας μετεχόντων, ἀστείων, θεοδιδάκτων, κατὰ πάντασοφῶν τε. Τούτων κατ᾽ ἴχνος ἦλθον ἐγὼ βαίνων ὁμοδόξως ὁ περικλυτός, ὁ πολλὰ παθὼν διὰ τὴν Θεοῦ δόξαν, ὑπό τε Θεοῦ μαθὼν σοφίαν καὶ γνῶσιν ἐγὼ ἔγνω. | 41. According to the faith of God’s elect, having discernment of God, his holy children, dividing rightly, receivers of God’s Holy Spirit, I have learned these things from those who share in wisdom, accomplished, divinely taught, and wise in all things. I have been walking in their steps, with the same opinions. I, a man of renown, suffering many things for God’s glory; and taught by God, I have acquired wisdom and knowledge. |
| [seeming quotes in Or. c. Ar. 1.6.1-5] | |
| 47. οὐδὲ θεὸς ἀληθινός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ λέγεται θεός, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀληθινός ἐστιν· ἀλλὰ μετοχῇ χάριτος, ὠσπερ καὶ οἱ ἀλλοι πάντες. Οὑτως καὶ αὐτὸς ὀνόματι μόνον θεός . | 47. The Logos is not true God. For although he is called God, he is not true [God], But through the participation of grace, just as all others, he is called God only in name. |
| 51. καὶ πάντων ξένων καὶ ἀνομοίων ὄντων τοῦ θεοῦ κατ ̓ οῦσίαν οὕτω καὶ ὁ λόγος ἀλλότριος μὲν καὶ ἀνόμοιος κατὰ πάντα τῆς τοῦ πατρός οὐσίας καὶ ἰδιότητός ἐστι· τῶν δὲ γενητῶν καἰ κτισμάτων ἴδιος καὶ εἷς αὐτῶν τυγχάνει. | 51. And whereas all beings are foreign and different from God in essence, so too is the Logos alien and unlike in all things to the Father’s essence and propriety but belongs to things originated and created, as is one of these. |
| 55. καὶ τῷ υἱῷ ὁ πατὴρ ἄρρητος ὑπάρχει καὶ οὔτε οραν οὔτε γινώσχειν τελείως καὶ ἁχριβῶς δύναται ὁ Λογος τὸν ἑαυτοῦ Πατέρα· | 55. The Father is even inexpressible/invisible to the Son, and the Logos cannot perfectly and exactly either see or know His own Father; |
| 57. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅ γινώσκει καὶ ὅ βλέπει ἀναλόγως τοῖς ἰδίοις μέτροις οἷδε καὶ βλέπει, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς γινώσκομεν κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν δύναμιν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ υἱός οὐ μόνον τὸν πατέρα ἀκριβῶς οὐ γινώσκει– λείπει γὰρ αὐτῷ εἰς τὸ καταλαβεῖν – ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ υἱὸς τὴν εἁυτοὺ οὐσίαν οὐκ οἷδε. | 57. But even what he knows and sees He knows and sees in proportion to His own measure, just as we also know according to our own power. For it is not only the Father that the Son does not know exactly, For he is failing to comprehend him, but the Son does not even know his own essence. |
| 63. μεμερισμέναι τῇ φύσει, καί ἀπεξενωμέναι και ἀπεσχοινισμέναι, καὶ ἀλλότριαι, και ἀμέτοχοί εἶσιν ἀλλήλων αἱ οὐσίαι τοῦ Πατρὸς και τοῦ Υἱοῦ και τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, καὶ ἀνόμοιοι πάμπαν ἀλλήλων ταῖς τε οὐσίαις καὶ δόξαις εἰσὶν ἐπ᾽ ἄπειρον. | 63. The essences of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, are separate in nature, and estranged, and disconnected, and alien, and without participation of each other and [they are] utterly unlike from each other in essence and glory, unto infinity. |
| 67. ὁμιότητα δόξης καὶ οὐσίας ἀλλόριον εἶναι παντελῶς ἑκατέρων. | 67. In likeness of glory and essence [the Word] is entirely different [from both the Father and the Holy Ghost]. |
| 68. διῃρημένον δὲ εἶναι καθ ̓ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀμέτοχονκατὰ πάντα τοῦ πατρός τὸν υἱόν. | 68. The Son is distinct by himself and in no respect a partaker of the Father |
| [other apparent quotes ] | |
| Or. c. Ar. 1.9.4-7 | |
| 69. Οὐκ ἀεὶ ὁ Θεὸς Πατὴρ ἦν, ἀλλ᾽ ὕστερον γέγονεν · | 69. God was not always a Father, but became so afterwards; |
| 70. οὐκ ἀεὶ ἦν ὁ Υἱός, οὐ γὰρ ἦν πρὶν γεννηθῇ . | 70. The Son was not always, for He was not before His generation; |
| Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρός· ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων ὑπέστηκαὶ αὐτός . | He is not from the Father, but He, as others, has come into subsistence out of nothing; |
| Οὐκ ἔστιν ἴδιος τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Πατρός· κτίσμα γάρ ἐστι καὶ ποίημα . | He is not proper to the Father’s essence, for He is a creature and work?’ |
| Καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθινὸς Θεὸς ὁ Χριστὸς, ἀλλὰ μετοχῇ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐθεοποιήθη . | Christ is not very God, but He, as others, was made God by participation |
| Οὐκ οἶδε τὸν Πατέρα ἀκριβῶς ὁ Υἱὸς, οὔτε ὁρᾷ ὁ Λόγος τὸν Πατέρα τελείως, | the Son has not exact knowledge of the Father, nor does the Word see the Father perfectly |
| 75. καὶ οὔτε συνιεῖ, οὔτε γινώσκει ἀκριβῶς ὁ Λόγος τὸν Πατέρα· | 75. He neither exactly understands nor knows the Father. |
| οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἀληθινὸς καὶ μόνος αὐτὸς τοῦ Πατρὸς Λόγος, | He is not the very and only Word of the Father, |
| ἀλλ᾽ ὀνόματι μόνον λέγεται λόγος καὶ σοφία, καὶ χάριτι λέγεται Υἱὸς καὶ δύναμις. | but is in name only called Word and Wisdom, and is called by grace Son and Power |
| Οὐκ ἔστιν άτρεπτος, ὡς ὁ Πατήρ , ἀλλὰ τρεπτός ἐστι φύσει, ὡς τὰ κτίσματα | He is not unalterable, as the Father is, but alterable in nature, as the creatures |
| καὶ λείπει αὐτῷ εἰς κατάληψιν τοῦ γνῶναι τελείως τὸν Πατέρα, | and He falls short of apprehending the perfect knowledge of the Father |
| Or. c. Ar. 1: 11.1 | |
| 80. ἦν ποτε ὅτε οὐκ ἦν ὁ Υἱός | 80. There was when the Son was not |
| Or. c. Ar. 1.11.3 | |
| οὐκ ἦν ὁ Υἱὸς πρὶν γεννηθῇ | The Son was not before he was begotten |
| Or. c. Ar. 1.14.1 | |
| 82. εἰ μὴ ἦν ποτε ὅτε οὐκ ἦν, ἀλλ ̓ ἀίδιός ἐστιν ὁ Υιὸς καὶ συνυπάρχει τῷ πατρί, οὐκέτι Υἱόν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀδελφὸν εἶναι τοῦ πατρὸς λέγετε τοῦτον. | 82. If there was not once when he was not, but the Son is eternal and co-exists with the Father, then he is no longer a son, but you would say that he is a brother. |
No Responses yet
