For that which is begotten of the simple Good is simple as itself, and the same as itself. These two we call the Father and the Son; and both together with the Holy Spirit are one God; and to this Spirit the epithet Holy is in Scripture, as it were, appropriated. And He is another than the Father and the Son, for He is neither the Father nor the Son. I say \u201canother,\u201d not \u201canother thing,\u201d because He is equally with them the simple Good, unchangeable and co-eternal. And this Trinity is one God; and none the less simple because a Trinity. For we do not say that the nature of the good is simple, because the Father alone possesses it, or the Son alone, or the Holy Ghost alone; nor do we say, with the Sabellian heretics, that it is only nominally a Trinity, and has no real distinction of persons; but we say it is simple, because it is what it has, with the exception of the relation of the persons to one another. For, in regard to this relation, it is true that the Father has a Son, and yet is not Himself the Son; and the Son has a Father, and is not Himself the Father. But, as regards Himself, irrespective of relation to the other, each is what He has; thus, He is in Himself living, for He has life, and is Himself the Life which He has.<\/p>\n
According to this, then, those things which are essentially and truly divine are called simple, because in them quality and substance are identical, and because they are divine, or wise, or blessed in themselves, and without extraneous supplement.<\/p>\n
— City of God. XI.10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For that which is begotten of the simple Good is simple as itself, and the same as itself. These two we call the Father and the Son; and both together with the Holy Spirit are one God; and to this Spirit the epithet Holy is in Scripture, as it were, appropriated. And He is another than the Father and the Son, for He is neither the Father nor the Son. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[56,59],"class_list":["post-843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-augustine-of-hippo","tag-divine-simplicity","tag-doctrine-of-the-trinity"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1175,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/novatian-on-the-trinity-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":843,"position":0},"title":"Novatian: On the Trinity II","author":"Nemo","date":"May 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Holy Spirit This Holy Spirit the Lord Christ calls at one time \u201cthe Paraclete,\u201d at another pronounces to be the \u201cSpirit of truth.\u201d And He is not new in the Gospel, nor yet even newly given; ... Assuredly in the Spirit there are different kinds of offices, because in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Novatian"","block_context":{"text":"Novatian","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/novatian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":352,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/athenagoras-on-the-trinity\/","url_meta":{"origin":843,"position":1},"title":"Athenagoras: On the Trinity","author":"Nemo","date":"February 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"We acknowledge one God, uncreated, eternal, invisible, impassable, incomprehensible, illimitable, who is apprehended by the understanding only and the reason, who is encompassed by light, and beauty, and spirit, and power ineffable, by whom the universe has been created through His Logos, and set in order, and is kept in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Athenagoras"","block_context":{"text":"Athenagoras","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/athenagoras\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":357,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/clement-of-alexandria-trinity\/","url_meta":{"origin":843,"position":2},"title":"Clement Of Alexandria: Trinity","author":"Nemo","date":"January 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Word and the Immortality of the Soul Before the foundation of the world were we, who, because destined to be in Him, pre-existed in the eye of God before,\u2014we the rational creatures of the Word of God, on whose account we date from the beginning; for \u201cin the beginning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Clement of Alexandria"","block_context":{"text":"Clement of Alexandria","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/clement-of-alexandria\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1166,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/novatian-on-the-trinity\/","url_meta":{"origin":843,"position":3},"title":"Novatian: On the Trinity","author":"Nemo","date":"May 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Divine Simplicity For when the eyes are spoken of, it is implied that He sees all things; and when the ear, it is set forth that He hears all things; and when the finger, a certain energy of His will is opened up; and when the nostrils, His recognition of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Novatian"","block_context":{"text":"Novatian","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/novatian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1192,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/novatian-on-the-trinity-iii\/","url_meta":{"origin":843,"position":4},"title":"Novatian: On the Trinity III","author":"Nemo","date":"May 2, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Son was Begotten of the Father Thus God the Father, the Founder and Creator of all things, who only knows no beginning, invisible, infinite, immortal, eternal, is one God; to whose greatness, or majesty, or power, I would not say nothing can be preferred, but nothing can be compared;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Novatian"","block_context":{"text":"Novatian","link":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/category\/novatian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":419,"url":"https:\/\/nemoslibrary.com\/patristics\/origen-on-first-principles\/","url_meta":{"origin":843,"position":5},"title":"Origen: On First Principles","author":"Nemo","date":"June 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Nature of Mind The mind requires magnitude of an intellectual kind. 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