328

THE DECLINE AND FALL

CHAP.

XXI.

Tri theism.

begotten Son the Almighty Father had trans-fused his ample spirit, and impressed the efful-gence of his glory. Visible image of invisibleperfection, he saw, at an immeasurable distancebeneath his feet, the thrones of the brightestarchangels ; yet he shone only with a reflectedlight, and, like the sons of the Roman emperors,who were invested with the titles of Caesar orAugustus, ' 1 he governed the universe in obedi-ence to the will of his father and monarch.ii, In the second hypothesis, the logos posses-sed all the inherent, incommunicable perfec-tions, which religion and philosophy appro-priate to the Supreme God. Three distinctand infinite minds or substances, three co-equaland co-eternal beings, composed the divine es-sence;' and it would have implied contradic-tion, that any of them should not have existed,or that they should ever cease to exist/ Theadvocates of a system which seemed to estab-lish three independent deities, attempted topreserve the unity of the first cause, so conspi-cuous in the design and order of the world, bythe perpetual concord of their administration,and the essential agreement of their will. A

d This profane and absurd simile is employed by several of the primi-tive fathers, particularly by Athenagoras , in his apology to the emperorMarcus and his son ; and it is alleged, without censure, by Bull himself.See Defens. Fid. Nicen. s. iii, c. 5, No. 4.

e See Cudworth’s Intellectual System, p. 559. 579. This danger-ous hypothesis was countenanced by the two Gregories, of Nyssaand Nazianzen, by Cyril of Alexandria, John of Damascus , &c. SeeCudworth, p. 603. I.e Clerc, Bibliotheque Universelle, tom. xviii, p.97-105.

f Augustin seems to envy the freedom of the philosophers. Liberiaverbis loquuntur philosophi .... Nos antem non dicimus duo vel triaprincipia, duos vel ties Deos De Civilat. Dei, x, 2$.