Front Matter

Stromata

ΣΤΡΩΜΑΤΕΩΝ

Clement of Alexandria

Translated by Rick Brannan
with assistance from AI techniques

APPIAN WAY PRESS

STROMATA ΣΤΡΩΜΑΤΕΩΝ

Copyright 2025 by Rick Brannan

Published 2025 by Appian Way Press

Web: https://AppianWayPress.com

Email: info@AppianWayPress.com

About This Translation

This translation was created on 2025-07-23 using the model gpt-4.1-mini from OpenAI. To ensure the translation is communicating the same meaning as the original, a sentence-level semantic similarity check was performed between the source text and translation using the model bowphs/SPhilBerta, which is available from HuggingFace. In addition to the sentence-level semantic similarity check, the text-to-translation length ratio was evaluated for each verse to locate and review possible hallucination.

Disclaimer

Please note, as indicated above, that this translation is a machine-generated translation. There are several older works that are either not available in English or only available in old and difficult to read translations. This translation is an attempt to provide a readable and fairly literal modern English translation of the source text. The process that created this translation has done its best to mitigate hallucinations, but there may still be translation issues.

Discourse 1

Clement of Alexandria

Stromateis

Chapter 1

OR THE PREFACE.

The author explains his purpose and shows how much benefit writers bring to their readers.

[The beginning is missing.] … so that you may have them at hand to read, and be able to keep them safe. Or is it that there are no writings at all, or must some be left behind? And if the former is true; what need is there for letters? But if the latter, either for the serious ones, or for those who are not. It would indeed be ridiculous to reject the writings for the serious ones, while accepting those composed for the less serious. But then, to Theopompus and Timaeus, they compose myths and blasphemies; and to Epicurus, who begins with godlessness; and still to Hipponax and Archilochus, it must be allowed to write in such a shameful way; but the one who proclaims the truth must be prevented from leaving benefit to later people. It is good, I think, to leave behind good children for those who come after; the children of the body, certainly, but the descendants of the soul are the words; we say that those who taught them are their fathers. Wisdom is both social and loving toward humanity. Solomon says, "Son, if you accept a word from my command and keep it to yourself, your ear will listen to wisdom." The word sown signals being hidden, just like in the earth, which is the soul of the learner; and this is a spiritual planting. Therefore, it also adds, "And you will direct your heart to understanding; you will direct it to instruction for your son." For the soul, I think, joins with soul, and spirit with spirit, and according to the sowing of the word, what is planted grows and gives life; and every son is one who is taught in obedience to the one who teaches; "Son," he says, "of my laws do not forget." But if not all knowledge, like the donkey of the lyre, as the proverb says, is for many writings; pigs certainly enjoy mud more than clean water. "For this reason, the Lord says, I speak to them in parables, because though they see, they do not see, and though they hear, they do not hear, nor do they understand." Not as if the Lord were giving them ignorance; for it is not right to think so. But rather, he prophetically refuted what existed, and showed that they would be foolish about what was said. Now the Savior himself clearly shows, according to the power of the one who receives, and indeed by training, increasing what the servants have, having distributed it, again returning, to put a word with them; when he received those who had increased his silver, the ones faithful in little, and promised to set them over much, he ordered them to enter into the joy of the Lord; but to the one who hid the entrusted silver instead of lending it out, and who gave back the very amount he received, he said, "Wicked and lazy servant, you should have put my silver with the bankers, and when I came I would have collected my own." On these things, the worthless servant will be thrown into "outer darkness." "Therefore, you be strong, and Paul says, in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; and what you heard from me through many witnesses, commit these things to faithful men, who will be able also to teach others." And again: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." If then both proclaim the word, one by the scripture, the other by the voice; how could both not be accepted, having made faith active through love? God is without blame for the fault of not choosing the best. Immediately, for some, to lend the word is a work; for others, to test it and then either accept it or not; but the judgment is decided among them. But the preaching knowledge is one thing, and the messenger's role is another; whichever way it works, through the hand or through the tongue, it benefits. "For the one who sows to the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. Let us do what is good, and not grow weary." Great things come together for the one who, according to divine providence, has a beginning of faith, eagerness in conduct, a drive toward the truth, a searching movement, a trace of knowledge—in short, he is given the starting points of salvation. Those who have been truly nourished by the words of truth, having received the provisions of eternal life, fly up to heaven. The Apostle says wonderfully, "In everything, presenting yourselves as servants of God; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything." Our mouth has opened toward you. I declare solemnly," He says in a letter to Timothy, "Before God and Christ Jesus, and the chosen angels, keep these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of partiality." It is necessary, then, for both to test themselves by this: whether the one is worthy to speak and to leave behind teachings; whether the other is just to listen and to meet. Some, as is the custom, distribute the Eucharist, allowing each person of the people to receive their portion. For conscience is best for precise choosing and avoidance. The sure foundation of it is a right life together with the proper learning; and to follow those who have already been tested and proven is best for both understanding the truth and carrying out the commandments. "Therefore, whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. Let a person test himself, and so eat from the bread and drink from the cup." It is fitting, then, to consider whether the one who has taken away the benefit of others did not boldly and with some jealousy jump into the teaching; whether the fellowship in the word is not ambitious; whether this person only reaps the reward of those who come after, the salvation of those who follow, and yet does not associate for grace; and whether the one who speaks through notes avoids the slander of bribery. "For we have never been flattering in speech, as you know, says the Apostle, nor under the pretense of greed, God is witness, nor seeking glory from people, neither from you nor from others, though we might have been a burden as apostles of Christ; but we became gentle among you, as a nurse cherishes her own children." According to these things, one must also watch over those who partake of the divine words, lest out of curiosity they investigate, like the buildings of cities, and come to this point; lest they approach the worldly for the sake of participation, having learned to be companions of those suitable to Christ. But let the hypocrites be as they are. If anyone does not seem to be just but wishes to be, it is fitting for him to understand the best things for himself. If indeed "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few," truly "there is need" it is necessary, so that especially for many of us there may be an abundance of workers. The farming is twofold: for one part is unwritten, and the other is written. In whichever way the Lord's worker sows the noble wheat, and both grows and harvests the ears, he will truly appear as a divine farmer. "Work," the Lord says, "Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that remains for eternal life." Food is received both through eating and through words; and truly blessed are the peacemakers, who share and lead those here, who in their life and error fight against ignorance, into peace through the Word and a life according to God, and "those who hunger for righteousness," feeding by distributing the bread. For there are also souls that have their own kinds of food; some grow through knowledge and understanding, while others follow Greek philosophy, which, like the shells of nuts, is not entirely edible. "The one who plants and the one who waters are servants of the one who causes growth; they are one." according to the service. Each one will receive their own reward according to their own labor; for we are coworkers with God, God's farm; you are God's building," According to the Apostle. Therefore, it is not allowed to make the test a matter of comparison for those who listen; nor should the word be handed over for examination to those who are filled with all kinds of skills and powers of arguments, who have already taken possession of the soul, and have not been emptied beforehand. But whoever chooses to feast from faith is sure to accept divine words, having gained a reasonable judgment through faith. From this follows persuasion for him as a possession. And that was the prophetic saying: "If you do not believe, you will not understand either." So then, since we have the opportunity, let us do good to everyone, especially to those who belong to the family of faith." Each one of these, according to the blessed David, should sing with thanksgiving: "You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; you will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow; you will make me hear joy, and the bones that were humbled will rejoice." Turn your face away from my sins; wipe out my lawlessness. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within my inward parts. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit." The one who speaks to those present and tests by time, and judges by judgment, and distinguishes among others who is able to listen, observing the words, the manners, the customs, the life, the movements, the relations, the gaze, the voice, the threefold way, the rock, the trodden path, the fruitful land, the wooded country, the fertile and good and cultivated land, capable of multiplying the seed; but the one who speaks through notes dedicates himself to God, having written these things out loud: "Not for gain, not for the sake of empty glory, not to be overcome by effort, not to be enslaved by fear, not to be lifted up by pleasure; but only to enjoy the salvation of those who happen to receive it, which he does not even partake of now, but in hope awaits the reward to be given fully by the one who promised to give the wage to the workers according to their worth." But the one who writes for men must not seek a reward in return. For the one who boasts has not promised a reward for good deeds out of desire for glory; but the one who does what is proper expecting a reward, either eagerly to receive it as a benefactor, or as a wrongdoer seeking to avoid payment, does not follow worldly custom? But one must, as much as possible, imitate the Lord. But this one would be the servant of the will of God, receiving a gift and giving a gift, receiving a worthy reward, that very conduct; "The reward of a prostitute will not enter into the holy places," he says. He is asked, then, whether a dog may offer a gift to the altar. But when the eye of the soul is cleansed from bad food and teaching, let it walk toward its own light, toward the truth, which clearly shows what is not written: "Those who thirst, come to the water," Isaiah says: and "Drink water from your own vessels," Solomon advises. At least in the Laws, the philosopher Plato, who is one of the Hebrews, urges farmers not to draw water or take it from others unless they have first dug from them up to what is called the virgin, and find the land without water. For it is not right to satisfy need by lack of resources; and it is not good to provide idleness. Even if it is reasonable to add a burden, it is not proper to take away as well, Pythagoras said. The Scripture also connects the living spark of the soul and directs the natural eye toward contemplation, sometimes indeed placing something within, like the farmer who plants a stake, and stirring what is already present. "For many among us, according to the divine Apostle, are weak and sick; and they sleep enough. But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged." Now the Scripture has been skillfully arranged as a demonstration in this treatise; but to me, these notes are stored as a remedy for forgetfulness in old age, a simple image and shadow drawing of those clear and living things, whose words and truly worthy men I was privileged to hear. One of these was Ionian, from Greece; others were from Greater Greece. One of them was from hollow Syria; another from Egypt; others from throughout the East. Among these, one was from the land of the Assyrians, another was a Hebrew from Palestine from ancient times. Having met Hystatius —and he was the first in power—I rested in Egypt after having hunted what was hidden. The Sicilian bee truly, gathering the flowers of the prophetic and apostolic meadow, produced something pure of knowledge for the souls of those listening. But some, preserving the true teaching of the blessed, straight from Peter and James, John, and Paul, the holy apostles, receiving as a child from the father (few are like their fathers), came indeed with God and laid down for us those ancestral and apostolic seeds. And I know well that they will rejoice not in my expression here, which I say with pleasure, but only in the careful keeping according to the note. For a soul longing, I think, to keep the blessed tradition unbroken, this is the outline: "A man who loves wisdom will make his Father glad." Drawing from wells, it gives forth clearer water; but it turns to decay, of which no one partakes. And use keeps iron purer; but disuse, like poison, is its source. In short, training together produces a healthy habit for both the mind and the body. "No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel, but on the lampstand, to give light to those in the house." For what use is wisdom if it does not make one wise in what one is able to understand? Moreover, the Savior "saves, and always works, as he sees the Father." When someone teaches, they learn more, and by speaking, those who listen to them often pay close attention. For the teacher is one both in speaking and in listening, who fastens both the mind and the word. Just as the Lord did not prevent resting on the Sabbath for good, so he has also allowed sharing the divine mysteries and that holy light with those able to receive it. Immediately he revealed to not many what was not meant for many, but to a few who were fit to know, those who were able to receive and be impressed by these things; but the secret things, just like God, are believed by word, not by writing. And if anyone says it is written, "Nothing hidden that will not be revealed; nor covered that will not be uncovered," Let him also hear from us that to the one who understands secretly, the hidden will be revealed; through this, the meaning was foreseen. And to the one who receives what is handed down in a hidden way, the hidden will be made clear, as the truth, and what is hidden from many will become clear to the few. Since why do not all know the truth, and why was righteousness not loved, if the righteousness of all? But the mysteries are handed down secretly, so that what is spoken may be in the mouth of the one speaking; and what is spoken is not so much in voice, but in understanding. "God gave to the Church some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ." This writing of mine among these notes is indeed weak—I know well that, compared to that gracious Spirit to whom we were made worthy to listen, it is weak; but it would be like an image recalling the original patterns, struck with a thyrsus. "For he speaks to the wise, he says, and will become wiser; and to the one who has, more will be given." But it promises not to explain the mysteries fully, which is indeed important and necessary, but only to remind us, whether we might sometimes forget or so that we do not forget at all. Many things, I know well, have slipped past us over the long course of time, falling down unrecorded. Therefore, easing the weakness of my memory, I have necessarily used this outline—a systematic presentation of the main points, providing a saving reminder of memory for myself. So then, there is nothing that has not been remembered by us; for the power given to the blessed men was very great. There are also things left unmarked by time, which now have escaped; and those things that were fading away, withering in the mind itself, since such service is not easy for those unproven. But by rekindling these with reminders, I willingly send some on, choosing carefully and skillfully, fearing to write what I have guarded even in speech. Not out of envy (for that is not right), but rather out of fear for those who encounter them, lest they be led astray otherwise, "and even a child a sword," by which the proverb says, "stretching out," we may be found. For what is written cannot fail to fall out, although it has remained unpublished by me; but always rolling along, using only the one written voice, it answers nothing more to the one asking than what is written. For it necessarily needs help, either from the one who wrote it, or even from another who has stepped into the same track. There are also things that the writing hints at; and it will make clear some things to some, but only say others. It will try to say what is hidden, and reveal what is concealed, and show what is silent. It will set forth the heresies taught by the obvious doctrines; and to these it will oppose all that must be anticipated by the knowledge according to the contemplative vision, which will come to us according to the glorious and solemn rule of tradition, proceeding from the origin of the world, necessarily having been taken beforehand as a preface to natural philosophy, and removing the obstacles standing in the way of the sequence. So that the hearers may be ready to accept the gnosis handed down, having been purified from the earth, both from the thorns and all the weeds, agriculturally, for the planting of the vineyard. For the contest is both the one who leads on, and the mysteries before the mysteries. Nor will it hesitate to make use of philosophy and other preliminary education in these best notes for us. "For not only through the Hebrews and those under the law," according to the Apostle, "It is fitting to become a Jew, but also to become a Greek for the sake of the Greeks, so that we may win over all," And in the Letter to the Colossians, giving instruction, he writes, "to every person, and teaching in all wisdom, so that we may present every person perfect in Christ." It also fits well with the vividness of the vision in the outline of the commentaries. Indeed, the treasure of good learning is like a delicacy mixed with an athlete's food, not for luxury, but taking a good appetite and eager ambition. Singing, then, let us melodiously release the strong accent of solemnity. Just as those who want to speak to the people often do so through a herald, so that what is said may be heard more clearly, so here too: for the speech we have before this usual tradition is addressed to many. Therefore, it is necessary to set forth both opinions and voices, those that shout out from each of them, by which the listeners will be more turned toward them. And indeed, to sum up briefly: among many small pearls there is one; and in the great catch of fish, there is the most beautiful fish; and in time and effort, the truth will shine forth, with the help of a good ally; for most blessings from God are granted through people. All of us, then, who have used our eyes, see the things that fall before them; but others do so for different reasons. At once, the cook and the shepherd do not look at the sheep in the same way; for the one, if it is fat, is concerned with usefulness, but the other watches for its nobility. Let someone milk the sheep's milk, if food is needed. Let someone shear the wool, if shelter is needed. Thus, let the fruit of Greek learning also advance for me. For I do not think there is any writing so successful that no one opposes it; rather, that one must be considered reasonable, to which no one reasonably objects. And both action and choice must be accepted, not the blameless one, but the one which no one reasonably blames. Not immediately, if someone does not first complete it, does he act according to the situation; but managing things with divine wisdom, and adapting, he will act. For neither does the one who has virtue need a further path toward virtue, nor the one who is strong in ascension. Just as the farmers, after watering the land in advance, so we also water in advance the soil of the words from the Greeks, in order to receive the spiritual seed that is sown, and to be able to nurture it easily. The Stroma writers present the truth mixed with the teachings of philosophy, but rather hidden and concealed, just as the edible part of the nut is hidden by the shell; for it seems fitting that the seeds of truth be guarded only by those who are farmers of faith. I am not unaware of the rumors spread by some, ignorantly making noise; it is necessary to focus on what is most necessary and holds the faith together; but to go beyond with external and unnecessary matters is in vain, wasting our time and holding us back concerning things that do not contribute at all to the goal. But some think that philosophy has also dressed life for evil, as if for the ruin of people, by the hand of some wicked person. But I, since evil has an evil nature and can never become the farmer of anything good, will show by all means the Stroma writers, hinting at the silent work of divine providence and philosophy.

Chapter 2

An objection arises from some, blaming that he inserts so many things taken from philosophy into his books.

About the commentaries that have taken up the Greek opinion at the necessary times, I say this much to those who love piety: first, even if philosophy were useless, if the confirmation of uselessness is useful, it is useful; then, it is not even possible to reject the Greeks by using the bare phrase about the opinions assigned to them, without allowing some partial understanding up to forgiveness. For the test based on experience is very reliable; for knowledge of those who have been convicted is found to be the most perfect proof. Many things, then, even if they do not come together to a conclusion, adorn the craftsman; and in another way, great learning serves to arrange the main points of the teaching presented to persuade the listeners, producing wonder in those being instructed and leading them to the truth. Such guidance of the soul is trustworthy, through which those who love learning accept the truth, so that life is not ruined by philosophy, which is the creator of false things and worthless deeds. Some have slandered it, though it is a clear image of truth, a divine gift given to the Greeks; not to pull us away from faith, as if we were bewitched by some deceitful art, but rather, so to speak, using a greater covering, to provide a kind of clear training that proves faith. Indeed, the truth is sought through the close connection of the teachings by means of comparison, through which knowledge has continued—not according to the earlier reasoning of philosophy that came in, but because we receive a sure proof of true understanding from the fruit of knowledge, through the science of what is implied. For I am silent about how the Stroma writers, being formed by much learning, want to skillfully hide the seeds of knowledge. Just as the hunter in the chase, after seeking, tracking, searching, and running the hounds, catches the beast; so the truth, appearing sweet, seems to be sought and gained through effort. What then seemed fitting to be arranged in this way for the notes appeared to be dear? That the danger is great, to reveal the secret teaching of true philosophy, since those who are stingy want to contradict everything without reason and reject all names and words; not at all properly, deceiving themselves and bewitching those who follow them. "For the Hebrews ask for signs," As the Apostle says, "But the Greeks seek wisdom."

Chapter 3

Against sophists and boastful men of useless knowledge.

III. There is a large crowd of this kind: some of them, enslaved to pleasures and willing to disbelieve, laugh at the truth worthy of all reverence, placing barbarism in education; others, proud of themselves, force themselves to find slanders in words, engaging in quarrelsome disputes, hunters of words, zealous for clever tricks, contentious and eager for strife, just as that man from Abdera says.

For the tongue of mortals is changeable; and there are many stories

Of all kinds; and there is a great law of words here and there.

And,

Whatever kind of word you might say, such as you would hear.

Relying on this skill, the evil-minded sophists, babbling their nonsense, struggling all their lives over the distinction of names and the kind of words, both their composition and their complexity, appear as very talkative doves; scratching and tickling, not manfully, it seems to me, they irritate the ears of those who are annoyed.

A river of words without art, not even a drop.

He neglects, and just like old shoes, the others wear out and fall apart, but only the tongue remains. The Athenian stretches out fully and writes Solon:

For you see into the tongue and into the verses of a sharp man.

But in the work you see nothing happening.

Each one of you walks in the tracks of a fox,

But all of you have a dull mind.

This is what that saving voice hints at: "The foxes have holes; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." For, I think, only the one who believes, completely set apart from the others—the beasts spoken of in Scripture—rests the head of all things on the good and gentle Word, "who catches the wise in their craftiness; for the Lord alone knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain"—wise, of course, meaning the sophists, those who are superfluous about words and skills, as Scripture calls them. Hence the Greeks themselves have also called those who are meddlesome about anything both wise and "sophists" by a play on words. Cratinus, then, in the Archilochean poems, listing poets, said:

Like a swarm of sophists you have shown yourselves.

Similarly, Iophon the comic poet in Aulodoi Satyrs, speaking about rhapsodes and some others, says:

… For indeed he has come in

A crowd of many sophists equipped.

Regarding these and similar people, all who have studied empty words, the divine Scripture says clearly: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the understanding of the prudent."

Chapter 4

Human arts, no less than the knowledge of divine matters, come from God.

Homer even calls a carpenter wise; and about Margeitus, if indeed it is about him, he writes something like this:

Nor did the gods set him as a digger or a plowman,

Nor did they make him wise in any other way; but he failed in every skill.

For Hesiod calls the lyre player Linus "skilled in every kind of wisdom," and he does not hesitate to call a sailor wise;

Nor skilled in navigation,

writing. But Daniel the prophet, "The mystery," says, "What the king asks about is not in the power of wise men, magicians, enchanters, or Chaldeans to explain to the king; but there is a God in heaven who reveals." And indeed the wise men of Babylon" he calls. That indeed "wisdom " That indeed "wisdom" the Scripture calls by the same name all worldly knowledge, whether science or art; but others are those conceived by human reasoning through composition; and as both skill and wise invention come from God, this word will be clear when set beside this passage: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Behold, I have called by name Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and I have filled him with the divine spirit of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, to devise every work and to be chief architect, to work with gold, silver, and bronze, and with lapis lazuli, and purple, and scarlet, and with stones for setting, and to work in woodcraft," up to "and all the works" Then he brings a general statement: "And to every intelligent heart I have given understanding;" that is, to the one able to take on labor and practice. Again, it is clearly written from the Lord's name: "And you, speak to all the wise in mind, whom I have filled with the spirit of understanding." The wise have a certain natural quality of mind; but they receive the spirit of understanding from the highest wisdom, a double gift, providing them with suitable abilities. For some enjoy the manual crafts related to the senses excessively; the commonly called musician for hearing, the sculptor for touch, the singer for voice, the perfumer for smell, the engraver for sight, who carves impressions on seals. Others who devote themselves to education are given insight; in this, the poets by measure, the sophists of speech, the dialecticians of reasoning, and the philosophers by their own contemplation participate. For insight is both inventive and creative, able to impose persuasively and convincingly. Practice in knowledge increases this power of imposition. Reasonably then, the Apostle says "many-colored" has spoken of "the wisdom of God, in many forms and in many ways," through skill, through knowledge, through faith, through prophecy, showing its own power for our benefit; "For every wisdom is from the Lord, and with him it is forever;" so says the wisdom of Jesus. "For if you call upon prudence and perception with a loud voice, and seek them like treasures of silver, and eagerly search for them, you will understand godliness, and you will find divine perception." The prophet spoke in contrast to the perception according to philosophy, teaching how to investigate it with great insight and grandeur, for progress toward godliness. He therefore opposed to it the perception in godliness, hinting at knowledge, and saying these things: "For God gives wisdom from his own mouth, both perception and prudence at the same time, and stores up help for the righteous;" For to those justified by philosophy, help is stored up, and also the perception toward godliness.

Chapter 5

Philosophy as the handmaid of theology; which is shown by the allegorical interpretation of the story of Sarah and Hagar.

Before the Lord's coming, philosophy was necessary for the Greeks to reach righteousness; but now it becomes useful for godliness, serving as a kind of preparation for those who bear fruit in faith through proof. For "your foot," he says, "will not stumble," because it is guided by care for what is good, whether it is Greek or our own. For God is the cause of all good things; but some, according to what came before, as in the Old and New Testament, and others as a result, like philosophy. Perhaps even before, the Greeks were given guidance, before the Lord called both the Lord and the Greeks; "he educates" For even the Greek language itself, like "the law" the Hebrews, "to Christ." Philosophy, then, prepares in advance, making progress toward the one perfected by Christ. "Immediately wisdom," Solomon said, "Fortify wisdom," he says, "and it will exalt you; and with a crown of delight it will defend you;" since you also, having fortified it strongly at the threshold through philosophy and true luxury, will keep it inaccessible to the sophists. There is only one path of truth; but into it, like into an eternal river, streams flow from different places. Therefore it has been said with inspiration: "Listen, my son, and accept my words," He says, "So that many paths of life may be yours; for I teach you the paths of wisdom, so that the springs may not fail you." which flow from the same earth." Not only did he set down more than one saving path for a single righteous person; but he also presents many other paths of many righteous people, indicating in this way: "The paths of the righteous shine alike with light." Let the commandments and the precepts also be, as paths and starting points of life. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I wanted to gather your children together, like a bird gathers its chicks?" Jerusalem means "vision of peace." It is interpreted as. It therefore prophetically shows those who have hoped for peace to be led in many ways to a calling as a guide for children. What then? "He wished" "He wished, but he was not able"? "How many times or where"? "Twice, and through the prophets". And through the presence, then, the wisdom is many-sided, the "how many times" The expression "how many times" shows clearly that wisdom is many-sided, and in each way it fully preserves certain things both in quality and quantity, both in time and in eternity: "For the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world." And if someone, pressed for time, says: "Do not pay attention to a worthless woman; for honey drips from the lips of a prostitute woman;" If someone hears that Greek education is such, let him listen to the following: "It soothes your throat at the right time, " he says: but philosophy does not flatter. Whom then does he mean by the one who has prostituted herself? He states clearly: "The feet of earthly folly lead those who follow her after death to Hades; but her tracks do not rest upon." Keep your path far from foolish pleasure; "Do not stand at the doors of her house, so that you do not lead your life to ruin before others." And he adds testimony: "Then you will regret it in old age, when your body's flesh wears away." For this is the end of foolish pleasure. And these things to her; but whenever she says, "Do not be too much toward another woman." She advises to use it, but not to spend time or remain in worldly education; for she prepares beforehand the proper teachings for the Lord's Word, given suitably to each generation at the right times. For already some, having been enticed by the charms of the servants, have neglected the mistress's philosophy, and some of them have grown old in music, others in geometry, others in grammar, and most in rhetoric. But as "the general studies" are joined to philosophy, their mistress, so philosophy itself works together toward the acquisition of wisdom." For philosophy is the practice of wisdom, and wisdom is the knowledge of divine and human things, and of the causes of these. Wisdom, then, is the mistress of philosophy, just as that is the mistress of preliminary education. For if philosophy promises self-control of both the tongue and the stomach, and of what is under the stomach, and this is chosen through it; it will appear more honorable and more masterful, if it is practiced for the sake of reverence and knowledge of God. The Scripture will provide testimony to what has been said through these words: Sarah was barren long ago, but Abraham had a wife; since Sarah did not bear children, she allowed her own maidservant, named Hagar, the Egyptian, to bear children for Abraham. Wisdom, then, who is the companion of the faithful, (and Abraham was faithful and blessed and just,) was still barren and childless at that time, having not yet brought forth anything virtuous for Abraham. It was reasonable to expect that, having already reached the right time for progress in worldly education (Egypt is allegorized as the world), she would first join in, and later, by divine providence, come to her as well, to bear Isaac. Philo interprets the sojourning of Hagar as "a temporary dwelling"." For it is said here: "Do not be too much toward a stranger"." But Sarah is "my beginning"." It is therefore possible, having been prepared beforehand, to come to the most original wisdom, from which the Israelite race grows. From this it is shown that wisdom is instructive, which Abraham received, turning away from the vision of the heavens toward faith and righteousness according to God. Isaac is "the self-taught one"." He is shown as such; therefore, a type of Christ is found in him. This man is the husband of one woman, Rebekah, who is "patience"." They translate it as patience; but more often Jacob is said as if he were "an ascetic"." being interpreted. Because of the many and different practices, there are various teachings; hence also Israel, who is renamed, is truly "the discerning one," as if both very experienced and ascetic. There might also be something else meant through the three ancestors: that the seal of knowledge is chief, consisting of nature, learning, and practice. You might also have another image of what was said, Themar set at the crossroads, giving the appearance of a prostitute; whom the lover of learning Judas, ("powerful " is interpreted), who, leaving nothing unexamined or unexplored, examined her and turned toward her, preserving his confession toward God. For this reason, Abraham, when Sarah was jealous and Hagar was favored over her, so that he might choose only what was useful from worldly philosophy, said, "Behold, the servant girl is in your hands; use her as you please, as long as it is pleasing to you," he says, showing that he welcomes worldly education, and as something new, and as a companion; but your knowledge, as a perfect mistress, I honor and respect. "And Sarah harmed her;" just as in the case of, "Be sensible and admonish." Well said indeed, "Son, do not neglect the discipline of God; do not grow weary when you are corrected by it." For the Lord loves the one he disciplines; he punishes every son he accepts." But when the previously mentioned scriptures are examined in other places, they reveal that other mysteries are present. We say then, plainly in words, that philosophy seeks the truth and the nature of beings; and this is the truth about which the Lord himself said, "I am the truth." And again, it trains the mind as a preliminary education for rest in Christ, and it awakens understanding, producing a close-minded inquiry through true philosophy, which, having found it and even more having received it, the initiates hold from that very truth.

Chapter 6

By training mostly, not by nature, people become good, and virtue contributes much to education.

Much readiness to see what is necessary comes through prior training; and training would be like exercise for the mind concerning things understood. The third is the nature of these things, seen in their quantity, size, and quality. The argument from demonstrations puts precise trust into the soul of the listener, so that they think the demonstrated thing cannot be otherwise; and it does not allow us to fall into those who run away from us by deception. In these lessons, then, the senses are purified, and the soul is rekindled, so that at last it may be able to see the truth. For nourishment, and good education when preserved, make natures good; and good natures, receiving such education, grow even better than before both in other things and in giving birth, just as in other animals. Therefore he also says: "Go to the ant, you lazy one; and become wiser than it," who "has much" and various food is stored in the harvest for "the winter season" a threat to the food; or, "Go to the bee, and learn how it is a worker; for it too, roaming all over the meadow, produces one single honeycomb." But if "in the storehouse you pray," as the Lord taught, "to worship in spirit," the management would no longer be only about the house, but also about the soul—what should be given to it, and how, and how much; what should be put away and stored up in it; and when these things should be brought in, and for whom. For good and noble people are not made by nature, but by learning, just like doctors and pilots. We all see the vineyard and the horse in common; but the farmer knows whether the vine is good for bearing fruit or bad; and the horseman quickly and easily distinguishes a spirited horse. But that others are naturally well suited for virtue, some habits of those naturally suited are shown by others; yet perfection in virtue, nor any one of the better natures, is not claimed, whenever even those naturally worse, by receiving the proper education, have altogether achieved goodness and nobility; and again, the opposite, those naturally suited but through neglect have become bad. By nature, God created us to be social and just, so it must not be said that justice comes from position alone; rather, it must be understood that the good of creation is kindled by commandment, and that when the soul is educated by learning, it wants to choose what is best. But just as we say it is possible to be faithful without letters, so we agree that it is not possible to understand the things said in faith without learning. For faith does not simply accept what is well said and reject what is foreign; rather, it instills faith concerning learning. If ignorance, along with lack of education and foolishness, prevents the knowledge of divine and human things from being given through teaching, then just as it is right to live in poverty, so it is also right to live in wealth; and we agree that it is easier and quicker to pursue virtue together with early education, not without these things being present; but even then, for those who have learned, the senses are also trained together. "For hatred, indeed," Solomon says, "Hatred stirs up quarrels, but education guards the paths of life." So that one might not be deceived, so that one might not be robbed by those who practice evil craftiness to the harm of their listeners. "Education wanders unchecked," He says: and the critical kind must be present, because the false opinions of sophists must be challenged. Indeed, Anaxarchus also writes happily in On Kingship: "Much learning is very helpful, but it also greatly harms the one who has it; it helps the worthy person, but it harms the one who easily speaks every word, and in every crowd." One must also know the measure of the time; for this is the limit of wisdom. But those who always sing at doors, or even if they sing wisely, do not place themselves in wisdom, but have the opinion of foolishness." And Hesiod:

The Muses, who place the very wise man

Divine, speaking;

For he says "the very wise man" is skilled in words; and "the speaking one" is powerful; and "divine," the experienced, the lover of wisdom, and the knower of truth.

Chapter 7

To open the way from philosophy to divine virtue, and to show that it is not of any particular sect, but eclectic.

It is clear, then, that Greek education, together with philosophy, comes from God to humans, not in a direct way, but like rain breaking down upon the good earth, the dung, and the roofs. Similarly, grass and fire also grow; and a fig tree grows even on tombs, and on some of the more shameless trees; and what grows from a stump comes from the true ones; because it has received power from the same rain; but it did not have the same favor for those growing in the rich soil, whether dried up or stripped away. And indeed here also the "seed" serves." The parable of the seed, which the Lord explained. For there is one farmer of the earth among humans, the one who from above has sown from the foundation of the world the nourishing seeds, the one who waters the word of the Lord at every time; but the times and the receptive places have produced the differences. Moreover, the farmer does not sow only wheat, (although even among these there are many differences;) but he also sows other seeds, barley and beans, and lentils, and vetch, and garden plants, and flowering seeds. The same farming includes planting, and working on all that belongs to the seedlings, and to the gardens, and the fruit trees, and generally the nature and nourishment of all kinds of trees. Likewise, not only the pastoral care. but also the herding arts, horse breeding and dog breeding, and beekeeping, all these crafts; in short, cattle raising and animal feeding differ from each other more or less, but all are useful. Philosophy, I do not mean the Stoic, nor the Platonic, nor the Epicurean and Aristotelian; but whatever has been well said by each of these schools, teaching justice along with pious knowledge, this whole is what I call the eclectic philosophy. What human thoughts, when cut off and shaped, they have produced, these I could never call divine. Now let us also consider whether those who do not have knowledge ever live well and do good; for they have fallen into doing good; and some even succeed through understanding in the matter of truth; "Abraham" but Abraham "was not justified by works," but "by faith." Therefore, they gain no benefit after the end of life, even if they do good now, unless they have faith. For this reason, the Scriptures were interpreted in the Greek language, so that they could never claim ignorance as an excuse, since they are able to hear both from us and from others, if only they are willing. Someone may speak about the truth one way, but the truth interprets itself another way. One is a guess about the truth, the other is the truth itself. One is a likeness, the other is the very reality. And one is gained by learning and practice, the other by power and faith. For teaching is a gift of reverence toward God, and faith is a grace. For by doing the will of God, we come to know the will. "Therefore, open," the Scripture says, "Open the gates of righteousness, and entering them I will give thanks to the Lord;" but they are the paths to righteousness, through the many ways God saves (for he is good); many and varied, and leading to the Lord's way and gate. But if you seek the royal and true entrance, listen: "This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter through it." Therefore, among the many gates opened in righteousness, this one was in Christ; through it all who enter are blessed, and they direct their path in true holiness. Immediately Clement, in the "Letter to the Corinthians," says word for word, laying out the differences among the approved in the Church: "Let someone be faithful; let someone be able to explain knowledge; let someone be wise in the judgment of words; let someone be quick in deeds."

Chapter 8

Sophistical skill, and other things that deal only with words, should not be considered equally useful.

Sophistical skill, which the Greeks have eagerly pursued, is a deceptive power, producing false appearances as if true through the glory of words; for it provides rhetoric for persuasion, and for contest it provides dialectical argument. These arts, then, if they are not joined with philosophy, are likely to be harmful in every way. Indeed, Plato called sophistry outright "bad craftsmanship"; Aristotle, following him, says it is a kind of theft, as it plausibly steals the whole work of wisdom and claims to be wisdom which it has not studied.

In brief, just as the beginning of rhetoric is the probable, its work is the argument, and its end is persuasion; so the beginning of dialectical argument is opinion, its work is contest, and its end is victory. In the same way, the beginning of sophistry is appearance, its work is twofold: one from rhetoric, the appearance of thoroughness, the other from dialectic, questioning; and its end is amazement.

The dialectical exercise, which is talked about in discussions, shows itself to be a philosopher's practice about what is reputable, for the sake of argumentative power. But truth is nowhere in these things.

Therefore, it is reasonable that the noble apostle, rejecting these excessive arts of words, says, "If anyone does not approach with healthy words, but is puffed up with some teaching, not knowing anything, but sick about disputes and arguments, from which come strife, jealousy, slander, evil suspicions, quarrels of corrupt people who have lost their minds and are deprived of the truth."

You see how he calls their logical skill a "disease," in which they boast, to whom this foul bad craftsmanship is dear, whether they are Greeks or even barbarian sophists.

Therefore, the tragic Euripides says well in the Phoenician Women:

… But the unjust word,

Sick within itself, it needs the drugs of the wise.

"For the saving Word is said to be "healthy," being truth itself; and what is healthy always remains immortal. But the distinction from what is healthy and divine is godlessness and a deadly passion. These are wolves, robbers hidden among the sheep's flocks, both slave traders and guides of souls, smooth-tongued, stealing secretly but exposed as robbers, striving to carry us off by trickery and force, making us, the unarmed, as if weaker to speak."

Often a man is taken by silence,

Speaking justly, he suffers less than one who is smooth-tongued.

But now with flowing mouths, they speak the truest things.

They steal, so that they do not seem what they ought to seem;

The tragedy says: Such are these quarrelsome ones, whether they join heresies or even engage in dialectical tricks; these are "those who tear apart the joints and do not weave anything," as Scripture says. They have pursued vanity, which the Apostle called "the dice of men," and "craftiness, suitable for the deceitful scheme." For he says, "There are many disobedient, vain talkers, deceiving in mind." Therefore, it was not said to all, "You are the salt of the earth." For there are some among those who have heard the word who are like the sea fish, who indeed are nourished from birth in salt water, yet they still need salt for seasoning. So I also fully accept what the tragedy says:

"Oh child," "the words would be well spoken,"

"False; but by beauty they might win the name,"

"The truth; but this is not the most exact;"

"But nature and what is right; and whoever has good speech"

"Even if he is wise, yet truly the matters"

"I always think better of actions than of words."

One must never try to please the many; for the things that I might know about them, we do not practice; but the things that we know, are far from their disposition. "Let us not become vain," says the Apostle, "provoking one another, envying one another." In this, the truth-loving Plato, as if inspired by God, agrees. "As for me," he says, "I am such that I obey no one except reason, so that I might appear best to the one who judges me." He blames those who trust in opinions without sense and knowledge; as improper, abandoning right and sound reason, to believe the one who shares falsehood. For to lie against the truth is bad; but to tell the truth and to honor what is real is good. Yet people are involuntarily deprived of good things; and they are deprived either by theft, or by being deceived, or by being forced, and without believing. The one who believes willingly is already lost; the one who is persuaded is robbed, forgetting that time escapes some, and words escape others. Often pain and suffering, strife and anger follow after believing; and all are deceived, either called by pleasure or frightened by fear; all are voluntary defeats; and none of these things would ever be explained by knowledge.

Chapter 9

That human knowledge is absolutely necessary for correctly understanding the Scriptures.

Some, thinking themselves clever, refuse to touch philosophy or dialectic, nor do they learn natural science; they demand faith alone, pure and simple—just as if they expected to gather grapes immediately from the vine without any care for it from the start. "Vine" "But the Lord is allegorized as the vine, from which, with care and agricultural skill according to the Word, the fruit must be gathered. It is necessary to prune, dig, and weed, and to do the rest; and I think the sickle, the hoe, and the other farming tools are needed for the care of the vine, so that it may produce the edible fruit for us. Just as in farming, so also in medicine, the well-learned person who has touched on many varied studies is able to farm better and be healthier; so here too I say that the one who brings everything back to the truth is well-learned. Therefore, even drawing from geometry, music, grammar, and philosophy itself, he gathers what is useful, guarding the faith without any harmful intention. The athlete also overlooks, as has been said before; but by joining in the training. At once we praise the very experienced helmsman, who has seen the cities of many people; and the doctor who has gained experience from many trials; in which way some also reshape the empirical doctor. But the one who brings each thing back to the right way of life, bringing examples from both the Greeks and the barbarians, is very experienced in tracking the truth, and truly very clever, like the touchstone — which is Lydian — trusted to distinguish the fake from genuine gold; and being capable, our very wise man separates and knows the sophist's philosophy, the hairdresser's gymnastics, the cook's medicine, the rhetorician's dialectic, and after these the other heresies of philosophy among the barbarians, from the very truth itself. How is it not necessary, when philosophizing about things intelligible, to persuade the one who longs to become a receiver of the power of God? How is it not also useful to distinguish the doubtful voices, as well as those that are expressed with the same name throughout the Scriptures? For the Lord, concerning doubt, wisely allows the devil time for temptation; and I no longer see here how the inventor of philosophy and dialectic, as some suppose, could appear, being deceived by doubt. But if the prophets and the apostles did not know the arts through which the exercises according to philosophy are shown nakedly, it is the mind of the prophetic and teaching spirit speaking in a hidden way. Because not everyone has understanding hearing, it demands skillful ones for clear teaching. For the prophets and the disciples of the spirit understood that mind securely; for it is by faith, and as it is not easy, as the Spirit said; but not to receive in this way those who have not learned. "But the commandments " he says, "You will want to write down twice, and you will know how to give true answers to those who question you." What then is the knowledge of answering, or what is the knowledge of asking? This might be dialectic. But what? Is not speaking also a work, and doing comes from the Word? For if we did not act by the Word, we would act without reason. The rational work is carried out according to God: "And nothing came into being without him," he says, of the Word of God. Did not the Lord also do all things by the Word? And even the animals work, driven by the force of fear; are not the works called orthodox also offered as good works, not knowing what they do?

Chapter 10

Greater care must be taken to do well than to speak well.

For this reason, then, the Savior, having taken bread, first spoke and gave thanks; then, having broken the bread, he placed it before them, so that we might eat with understanding, and knowing the Scriptures, live according to obedience. Just as those who use evil words are no different from those who do evil deeds, for slander is the servant of the sword, and blasphemy causes sorrow; from these come the overturning of life. These would be works of evil speech. In the same way, those who use good words come close to those who perform good deeds. The word, then, also restores the soul and urges it toward virtue and goodness; blessed is the skillful one. Therefore, the one who does good and is able to speak well should not be blasphemed, nor should the one who is able to speak well be considered worthless when it comes to doing good; each acts according to what they are naturally suited for. The one who shows the deed speaks differently, as if preparing the way for good works and leading the listeners toward kindness. For there is a saving word, just as there is a saving deed. Righteousness, then, does not exist without word. Just as well suffering is taken away if we remove doing well, so obedience and faith are taken away when neither the command nor the one who makes the command clear is included. Now we succeed because of one another, both in words and in deeds. The art of quarrelling and sophistry must be completely rejected; for the very words of the sophists not only deceive but also steal from many, and sometimes, by force, they have carried off a Cadmean victory. That psalm is truer than anything: "The righteous will live forever, because they will not see destruction, even when they see the wise dying." Whom then does he call wise? Listen to Jesus on wisdom: "There is no wisdom in wickedness." This is what he means, the wisdom that is devised by verbal and dialectical skills. "You will seek wisdom from the wicked, and you will not find it." And if you ask again what kind this is, "The mouth of the righteous," will tell you, 'will drip wisdom;'" Wisdom, however, is called sophistry in the same way as truth is called wisdom. But for me, I think it is fitting to live according to the Word and to understand the meanings; never to seek eloquence, but to be content with only hinting at what is meant. By whatever name this is called, which I wish to explain, it matters nothing to me. For I know well that to be saved, and to be joined with those who are being saved, is best; not to put together words like ornaments. "Even if you keep," Pythagoras says in Plato's Politicus, "not to be eager about names will show you to be richer in wisdom in old age." And indeed in the Theaetetus you would find again: "The ease of names and words, and not being examined closely for accuracy, many times is not unworthy, but rather the opposite of this, unfree; and there are times when it is necessary." These things, as in some cases especially, the Scripture has expressed briefly: "Do not be much in words," saying: for speech is like clothing on the body; but the things themselves are flesh and nerves. Therefore, it is not necessary to care for the clothing before the salvation of the body; for not only a simple way of life, but also speech must be practiced without excess and without show, by the one who has taken up the true life, if indeed we reject luxury as deceitful and wasteful. Just as the old Spartans rightly considered perfume and purple clothing to be harmful, and named them so; since neither is that a good means of nourishment, though it has more sweet things than those who feed on it; nor is the use of speech meant to please more than to benefit those who hear. Pythagoras advises to consider the Muses sweeter than the sirens; teaching not to practice wisdom with pleasure, but exposing as deceitful any other kind of entertainment for the soul. It is enough to sail past the sirens once; and another to answer the Sphinx; but if you wish, not even once. Therefore, it is not necessary to spread out the warnings, when seeking vain glory; it is enough for the knowledgeable person even if only one listener is found. So, it is possible to hear also Pindar the Boeotian writing: "Do not pour out the ancient word to everyone; wait for the most faithful paths of silence." The strongest word is the center of battle. Therefore, the blessed Apostle strongly urges us, "Do not argue over anything useful to no purpose, causing harm to those who hear; but avoid empty babbling. For these lead to greater progress in ungodliness, and their speech will spread like gangrene."

Chapter 11

What is worldly wisdom and philosophy that the Apostle wants us to avoid.

This then, "the wisdom of the world is foolishness before God;" and of these "the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are useless. "Therefore let no one boast, relying on human wisdom. For it is well written in Jeremiah:" "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor let the strong man boast in his strength; nor let the rich man boast in his riches; but let the one who boasts boast in this: to understand and know that I am the Lord who makes mercy, judgment, and justice on the earth; for in these things is my will, says the Lord." "So that we may not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead," The Apostle says, "He who saved us from such a great death, so that our faith would not be in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." For the spiritual person judges all things, but is himself judged by no one." I also approve of his words: "I say these things so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments, nor may the one who steals in secretly come upon you." And again: "See to it, then, that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." Not all philosophy, but Epicurean philosophy, which Paul also mentions in the Acts of the Apostles, slandering it as denying providence and praising pleasure. And if someone else has valued the elements, without understanding the creative cause of these things, nor imagining the Creator. But also the Stoics, whom he also mentions, say that God is a body and has been mixed through the most dishonorable matter, which is not right. "But the human tradition" "He calls the rational tradition foolish. Therefore, he also commands there: "Avoid the newer inquiries;" for such quarrels are childish. "Virtue is not childish," the philosopher Plato says; and our contest, according to Leontinus Gorgias, requires two virtues, boldness and wisdom: boldness to endure danger, and wisdom to understand the riddle. For the Logos, just like the proclamation at the Olympic games, calls the one who wishes, and crowns the one who is able; it is unmoved, because it does not want the one who trusts the Logos to be idle toward truth and reality. "You will seek, for you will find," he says; but the search leads to finding, driving out the new nonsense, and approving the vision that strengthens our faith. "I say this so that no one deceives you with plausible talk," The Apostle says; clearly distinguishing the things taught by those who have learned from them, and answering the objections brought by those who have been taught. "As then you received Jesus Christ the Lord, walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith." The firmness of faith persuades. "See to it that no one takes you captive" from the faith in Christ through philosophy and empty deceit," which destroys Providence, according to the tradition of men;" For the philosophy according to the divine tradition establishes and confirms Providence; when this is destroyed, the story about the Savior's plan seems like a myth, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ," with us being carried along. For the teaching that follows Christ praises the Creator, and leads Providence even to the parts, and knows the nature of the elements to be changeable and created; and it teaches that we should live with power similar to God, and that the plan is a guiding principle that directs all education. The elements are honored: Diogenes honored the air, Thales the water; Hippasus honored fire; and those who proposed atoms as the first principles, pretending to be philosophers, are some godless little men and pleasure-seekers. "For this reason I pray," he says, "that your love may overflow more and more in knowledge and in all understanding, so that you may test what is better;" Since "when we were children," the same Apostle says, "we were enslaved under the elemental spirits of the world. But a child, even if he is an heir, is no different from a slave until the time set by the father." Philosophers, then, are also children, if they are not made mature by Christ. For "the son of the slave woman will not inherit with the son of the free woman," But then Abraham's offspring is the one who received the promise as a gift, not the one born by natural descent. "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their senses trained by habit to distinguish between good and evil." For everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced in the word of righteousness, being a child," and not yet knowing the word by which he believed and acts, nor able to give an account of the reason within him. "Test everything, the Apostle says, and hold on to what is good;" speaking to the spiritual ones, who examine everything, truly saying whether it seems to be or not so with the truth. "Discipline wanders unchecked; and both blows and rebukes give the discipline of wisdom;" the rebukes, clearly, are those given with love. "For the straight heart seeks knowledge; because the one who seeks God will find knowledge with righteousness; but those who have rightly sought him found peace. And I will know, he says, not the word of natural things, but the power;" He writes, mocking those who seem wise and think themselves to be, but are not wise: "For the kingdom of God is not in word;" not in what is untrue, but according to a credible opinion: "in power" he said: for only truth is powerful. And again: "If anyone thinks that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know;" For truth is never presumption; rather, presumption of knowledge grows naturally" and fills with blindness; but love builds up," not around presumption, but turning toward the truth. Therefore, "If anyone loves, he has been known," he says.

Chapter 12

The mysteries of faith are not to be revealed to just anyone, because they are not suitable for all listeners of the truth.

Since the transmission of the word's greatness is not meant for everyone to perceive openly, the wisdom spoken in mystery, which the Son of God taught, must be kept hidden. Already Isaiah the prophet cleansed his tongue with fire, so to speak, to be able to see the vision; and it is fitting not only to purify the tongue but also the ears, if we try to partake in the truth. These things were a hindrance to my writing; and even now I hold them carefully, as it is said, "Do not throw pearls before swine, lest they trample them with their feet and, turning, tear us apart." It is difficult to present words about the true light to listeners who are truly pure and clear, both to the ignorant and to the uneducated; for almost nothing is more laughable to them than these words, nor are they more wonderful or inspiring to the clever. "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him." The wise do not speak out loud what they discuss in council. "But what you hear in your ear," says the Lord, "proclaim upon the rooftops." He commands that the secret teachings of true knowledge, interpreted in a lofty and excellent way, may be entrusted; and just as we heard them in the ear, so also to hand them on to those who deserve them—not to give away openly to all the things spoken in parables to them. But truly, the outline of these notes is to gather together the truth, which is scattered and spread out, so that it may escape the judgment of the petty seed collectors; and when it meets a good farmer, each one by nature will sprout and reveal the fire.

Chapter 13

Each of the various philosophical schools has seized some part of the truth for itself.

Since there is one truth (for falsehood has countless twists), just as the Bacchae, having separated the limbs of Pentheus, each of the sects of philosophy, both barbarian and Greek, each one boasts the whole truth for itself, based on whatever part it has received. But light, I think, is fully revealed at sunrise. Therefore, all together, both Greeks and barbarians, as many as have sought the truth, some have gained not a little, and others some part, if indeed they have been revealed as having a share of the account of truth. The third age of time is the future and the present, but also the immediate past is quickly understood; and the truth is much stronger than time in gathering its own seeds, even if they fall into foreign soil. For we would find very many of the opinions praised among the heresies, as long as they have not been completely silenced nor cut off from the natural sequence, just as if the women's quarters cut off Christ from the man; even if they seem unlike each other, they agree in their kind and in the whole truth. For whether as a member, or as a form, or as a kind, it follows into one. Already the highest and the lowest, though opposite, are both one harmony; just as in numbers the even differs from the odd, yet both agree in arithmetic; as in shape, the circle, the triangle, the square, and all the figures that relate to one another; but also in the whole world, all the parts together, even if they differ from each other, keep their relation to the whole. Thus then both barbarian and Greek philosophy have made a certain tearing of the eternal truth, not of the mythology of Dionysus, but of the theology of the Word who always is; and he who again composes the divided parts and unites them, know well without danger that he will see the perfect Word, the truth. It is written then in Ecclesiastes: "And I added wisdom to all who indeed came before me in Jerusalem; and my heart saw many things; I also knew wisdom and knowledge, parables and understanding." And indeed this is the choice of the spirit, that in the abundance of wisdom there is an abundance of knowledge." But the one experienced in all kinds of wisdom would especially be knowledgeable. It is immediately written: "The abundance of knowledge of wisdom will give life to the one who has it." Again, this saying confirms more clearly what has been said: "Everything is open before those who understand." But all things are Greek and barbarian; other things are no longer all. "Rightly, for those wishing to bring forth perception. Choose education, and not silver, and knowledge tested above gold;" Choose also the perception of pure gold; "wisdom is better than precious stones; and all that is valuable is not worthy of it."

Chapter 14

The succession of philosophers among the Greeks.

The Greeks say that after Orpheus and Linus and the oldest poets among them, the first to be admired for wisdom were the seven called the wise men; of these, four were from Asia: Thales of Miletus, Bias of Priene, Pittacus of Mytilene, and Cleobulus of Lindus; two were from Europe: Solon of Athens and Chilon of Sparta; and the seventh, some say, was Periander the Corinthian, others say Anacharsis the Scythian, and others say Epimenides the Cretan, whom the Greeks consider a prophet, whom the apostle Paul remembers in his Epistle to Titus, saying thus: "One of them, a certain prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.' And this testimony is true." You see how even to the prophets of the Greeks some truth is given, and they are not ashamed to use Greek poems in conversation for both building up and for correction? So then, when speaking to the Corinthians (for not only here), concerning the resurrection of the dead. He has used both iambic and tragic meters: "What profit is it to me," saying, "if the dead do not rise? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." But they handed over Acusilaus the Argive to the Seven Sages; others handed over Pherecydes the Syrian. Plato, instead of Periander, as unworthy of wisdom because he had been a tyrant, appoints Myson the Chenian in his place. As for the Greek sages, they appeared somewhat later, probably after the time of Moses; the manner of their philosophy, being Hebrew and mysterious, must now be examined. They certainly welcomed brevity in their advice, which was the most useful. Plato long ago said that this way of life came about through effort, common to all Greeks, but especially to the Spartans and the well-governed Cretans. The saying, "Know yourself," The phrase, "Know yourself," was taken up by Chilon; Chamaeleon in his On the Gods; Thales; and Aristotle, in the Pythian [Oracles]. It is possible that knowledge commands itself to be pursued continually. For it is not possible to know the parts without knowing the whole being; therefore, one must be curious about the origin of the world, through which it will also be possible to understand the nature of man. Again, they attribute to Chilon the Spartan the saying, "Nothing in excess." Straton, in his On Discoveries, attributes the saying to Stratodemus of Tegea; Didymus, however, ascribes it to Solon—just as Cleobulus neglects the phrase, "Moderation is best." The saying, "A pledge, and beyond it, ruin," Cleomenes, in On Hesiod, says that it was said beforehand by Homer through these words:

"Cowards, indeed, and cowards too, must give pledges;"

Those around Aristotle and Chilon hold it as such; Didymus, son of Thalus, says the advice is his. Then next comes the saying, "All men are bad," or, "Most men are bad" (for the same saying is expressed in two ways), which those around Sotades say belongs to Byzantion, son of Biantes; and the saying, "Practice destroys all," they attribute to Periander; likewise, the advice, "Know the right time," they assign to Pittacus. Solon, then, made laws for the Athenians, and Pittacus for the people of Mytilene. Later, Pythagoras, a friend of Pherecydes, was the first to call himself a philosopher. After these men mentioned, three lines of philosophy arose, named for the places where they lived: the Italian from Pythagoras, the Ionian from Thalus, and the Eleatic from Xenophanes. Pythagoras, son of Mnesarchus, was from Samos, as Hippobotus says; but according to Aristotle in The Life of Pythagoras, Aristarhus, and Theopompus, he was Tyrrhenian; and according to Neanthes, Syrian or Tyrian; so that, according to most, Pythagoras was a foreigner by birth. But Thales, as Leander and Herodotus record, was Phoenician; though some claim he was from Miletus. He alone seems to have been connected with the Egyptian prophets; no teacher is recorded for him, just as none is recorded for Pherecydes the Syrian, with whom Pythagoras studied. But the Italian philosophy according to Pythagoras, in Metapontum of Italy, has died out. Anaximander, son of Praxidamus of Miletus, succeeded Thales; after him, Anaximenes, son of Eurysthenes of Miletus; after whom came Anaxagoras, son of Hegesiboulos of Clazomenae. This last brought the study from Ionia to Athens. After him came Archelaus, whom Socrates attended;

Then from him, the lawgiver who leads the people turned aside,

the Greek singer of spells,

Timon says in the Silloi, because he turned away from the natural sciences toward ethics. Hearing Socrates, Antisthenes sneered, but Plato withdrew to the Academy. Having studied philosophy under Plato, Aristotle went on to the Lyceum and founded the Peripatetic school. Theophrastus succeeded him, then Strato, then Lyco, then Critolaus, and then Diodorus. Speusippus succeeded Plato, then Xenocrates, then Polemon. Crates and Crantor were the well-known followers of Polemon, to whom the ancient Academy founded by Plato came to an end. Arcesilaus was a follower of Crantor, from whom the Middle Academy flourished until Hegesilaus. Then Carneades succeeded Hegesilaus, and those who followed after him. Zeno of Citium, the founder of the Stoic school, became a student of Crates. Cleanthes succeeded him, followed by Chrysippus and those after him. Xenophanes of Colophon began the Eleatic school, whom Timaeus says became a servant of Hieron, the ruler of Sicily, and Epicharmus the poet; Apollodorus, who lived during the fortieth Olympiad, continued it until the time of Darius and Cyrus. Parmenides, then, became a follower of Xenophanes; after him came Zeno, then Leucippus, then Democritus. Following Democritus were Protagoras of Abdera and Metrodorus of Chios, then Diogenes of Smyrna, then Anaxarchus; after him came Pyrrho, then Nausiphanes; some say that Epicurus was a student of the latter. And this is the succession of the Greek philosophers, as in brief; the times of those who began philosophy must be told in order; so that we may show by many generations that philosophy according to the Hebrews is older. And concerning Xenophanes, it has been said that he began Eleatic philosophy; Eudemus, in his Astrological Histories, says that Thales predicted the solar eclipse that happened during the time when the Medes and the Lydians fought each other, while Cyaxares was king of the Medes, the father of Astyages, and Alyattes, son of Croesus, was king of the Lydians. Herodotus agrees with him also in the first. The time is around the fiftieth Olympiad. Pythagoras, according to Polycrates the tyrant, is found around the sixtieth second Olympiad. Mnesiphilos is recorded as a follower of Solon, with whom Themistocles lived at the same time. Solon then flourished during the thirty-sixth Olympiad. Heraclitus of Bauson persuaded Melagoman, the tyrant, to give up his rule. This man saw King Darius coming to the Persians.

Chapter 15

Greek philosophy was largely drawn from the barbarians.

These are the times of the oldest wise men and philosophers among the Greeks; and since most of them were of barbarian origin, and were educated among barbarians, there is no need even to say more? If Pythagoras was shown to be a Tyrrhenian or a Tyrrhenian; Antisthenes was a Phrygian; and Orpheus was an Odrysian or a Thracian; for most consider Homer to be Egyptian. Thales, being Phoenician by birth, is said to have been associated with the prophets of the Egyptians; just as Pythagoras was connected with these same people, through whom he was also circumcised, so that, having gone down into the innermost places, he might learn the secret philosophy from the Egyptians. He also joined with the best of the Chaldeans and magi; and the Assembly, now called by that name, is hinted at by the term omakoion used by him. Plato does not deny that the finest things in philosophy come from the barbarians; he admits that he traveled to Egypt. At least in the Phaedo, he writes that the philosopher is helped from all sides, saying, "Great indeed is Greece, O Cebes," he said, "in which there are altogether good men, and many also of the barbarian peoples." Thus Plato thinks that there are also some philosophers among the barbarians. Epicurus, on the other hand, holds the opposite view, thinking that only Greeks are able to philosophize. In the Symposium, praising Plato for the barbarians, as those who have practiced especially, he says that only they are truly philosophers, "and elsewhere in many places, both among Greeks and barbarians, of whom many sacred places have already come to be because of such children." The barbarians are clearly those who have honored their lawmakers and teachers especially, worshiping them as gods. "For good souls, " according to Plato, "leaving the heavenly place above, to endure coming into this Tartarus, and taking on a body, they are thought to share in all the evils of birth, as guardians of the human race," who established laws and proclaimed philosophy: "a greater good for the human race has neither ever come from the gods, nor will it ever come." And it seems to me that, sensing the great kindness shown through the wise, they both respected the men and publicly practiced philosophy, all the Brahmans, and the Odrysians, and the Getae. And the race of the Egyptians carefully spoke of their gods, as did the Chaldeans and the Arabs, called the eudaimones, and all who lived in Palestine, and not the least part of the Persian race, and countless other races besides these. But Plato clearly appears to always honor the barbarians, remembering both himself and Pythagoras, having learned most of the doctrines, the noblest ones, from the barbarians. For this reason, he also said that there are "races of barbarian men who are lovers of wisdom (philosophers)"." Knowing in the Phaedrus the Egyptian king, and Thoth he shows you as wiser, whom he knows to be Hermes. But also in the Charmides he seems to know some Thracians, who are said to make the soul immortal. It is recorded that Pythagoras studied under Sogchides, the chief Egyptian prophet; Plato under Sechnuphis, the Heliopolitan; and Eudoxus of Cnidus under Conuphis, who was also Egyptian. In the On the Soul, Plato again seems to show knowledge of prophecy, introducing a prophet who announces the word of Lachesis, foretelling the souls that are allotted; and in the Timaeus he introduces the wisest Solon learning from the barbarian. The passage of the speech is as follows: "O Solon, Solon, you Greeks are always children; but no Greek is ever old; for you do not have learning grown gray with time." Democritus made the Babylonian sayings ethical; for it is said that the stele of Acicarus was interpreted and compiled into his own writings. And it is said to be marked by him, "Thus says Democritus," He wrote: Yes, indeed, even about himself, boasting somewhere about his great learning: "I wandered over most of the earth among men, investigating many things; and I saw many airs and lands; and I heard many wise men; and no one composed writings with arrangement and proof that surpassed me, not even those called Arpedonaptai among the Egyptians; and for eighty years I lived abroad among strangers." For I visited Babylon, Persia, and Egypt, learning from the magi and the priests; and Pythagoras revealed Zoroaster, the Persian mage. The followers of Prodicus, who reject the heresy, boast that they possess the secret books of this man. Alexander, in his work On Pythagorean Symbols, reports that Pythagoras studied under Nazaratus the Assyrian (some consider this to be Ezekiel, but he is not, as will be shown later), and he also wishes to say that Pythagoras heard from the Galatians and Brahmins. Clearchus the Peripatetic says that he knew a certain Jew who was a contemporary of Aristotle. Heraclitus does not speak in a human way, but rather says that he appeared with God to the Sibyl. They say that in Delphi, near the council chamber, a certain rock is shown, on which the first Sibyl is said to have sat, coming from Helicon, raised by the Muses; but some say she came from the Malians, being the daughter of Lamia of Sidon. Serapion, in his verses, says that the Sibyl did not cease her prophecy even after death; and that her spirit passed into the air after her end, which is what is meant by the oracles and riddles she gave; but when her body changed into earth, a plant is said to have sprung up, like a reed, nourished by whatever food was given to her. According to him, this place was where she became, and he writes that through the entrails she clearly revealed to people the sign of what was to come. He thinks that her soul is the face that appears in the moon. These things concerning the Sibyl. Numas, the king of the Romans, was a Pythagorean, and having been helped by Moses, he prevented the Romans from making images of God in human or animal form. At least for the first one hundred and seventy years, while building temples, they made no statues, neither carved nor painted. For Numas showed them secretly that it was not possible to grasp the best thing in any way other than by the mind alone. Philosophy, then, a very useful thing, long ago flourished among the barbarians, shining among the nations; later it also came down to the Greeks. The leaders of it were the prophets of the Egyptians, the Chaldeans of the Assyrians, the druids of the Gauls, the Samanas of Bactria, the philosophers of the Celts, and the magi of the Persians, who indeed also foretold the coming of the Savior, arriving in the land of Judea, guided by a star; and the gymnosophists of the Indians, and other barbarian philosophers. There are two kinds of these: some are called Sarmanes, and others are called Brahmans. And among the Sarmanes, those called Allobii neither live in cities nor have roofs; they cover themselves with tree bark, eat acorns, and drink water with their hands. They do not know marriage or childbearing, just like those now called the Encratites. There are among the Indians those who obey the commands of the Buddhas, whom, because of their extreme reverence, they have honored as gods. Anacharsis was a Scythian; and he is listed among the philosophers, differing greatly from many among the Greeks. Hellanicus reports that the Hyperboreans live beyond the Riphaean Mountains; and that they are taught justice, not eating meat, but using acorns. Those who serve for sixty years, they lead outside the gates and cause them to disappear. There are also among the Germans women called priestesses, who look at the whirlpools of rivers, and by the twists and noises of the currents, they interpret and foretell what is to come. These women certainly did not allow them to set battle against Caesar before the new moon had shone. Of all these, the oldest by far is the Jewish race; and Philo shows that their philosophy, written down among them, began before the philosophy among the Greeks, through many examples, as Pythagoras demonstrates. Indeed, Aristobulus the Peripatetic, and many others besides, so that I do not spend time merely on the name, have also said this. Most clearly, Megasthenes the writer, who lived with Seleucus the Victor, writes in the third book of the Indica as follows: "All things about nature that have been said come from the ancients and from those who philosophize outside of Greece; some come from the Indians through the Brahmins, and others in Syria through those called Jews." Some say that the first wise men were the mythical Dactyls, called Idæans; to them are attributed the letters said to be from the Ephesians, and the discovery of musical rhythms. For this reason, the musicians have taken the name Dactyls. The Idæan Dactyls were Phrygians and barbarians. Herodorus records that Heracles, who became a prophet and natural philosopher, succeeded the pillars of the world from Atlas the barbarian Phrygian; the myth hints that he succeeded in the knowledge of the heavens. The Berutian Hermippus calls Chiron the wise centaur, on whom also the one who wrote the Titanomachy says, "he was the first to lead the race of mortals to justice, showing the oath and joyful sacrifices, and the forms of Olympus." Alongside him, Achilles is educated, the one who led the campaign against Ilium; Hippó, the daughter of the centaur, living with Aeolus, taught him natural philosophy, the ancestral knowledge. Euripides also testifies concerning Hippó in this way:

First, she foretold the divine things

By oracles, or through the rising of the stars.

With Aeolus, this Odysseus lives as a stranger after the fall of Ilium. He observes the times for me in comparison to the age of Moses, and to the oldest philosophy according to him.

Chapter 16

Besides philosophy, the inventors of other arts were also almost all barbarians.

Not only the inventors of philosophy, but also of almost every art were barbarians. The Egyptians at least were the first to bring astrology to people; likewise, the Chaldeans. The Egyptians were also the first to show how to light lamps, and they divided the year into twelve months, and they forbade women from mixing in the temples, and made a law that women who were unclean should not enter the temples. They also became the inventors of geometry. There are some who say that Karas invented the prediction through the stars. The Phrygians were the first to observe the flights of birds. And the Etruscans, neighbors of Italy, perfected the art of sacrifice. The Isaurians and Arabs developed divination by birds, just as the Telmisians did divination through dreams. The Tyrrhenians invented the trumpet, and the Phrygians the flute; for Olympus and Marsyas were Phrygians. Cadmus was a Phoenician, the inventor of letters for the Greeks, as Euphrosyne says; hence Herodotus writes that the letters were called Phoenician. They say that the Phoenicians and Syrians were the first to invent letters; and that medicine was invented by Apis, an Egyptian native, before Io came to Egypt; after that, they say Asclepius increased the art. Atlas the Libyan was the first to build a ship and sailed the sea. Kelmis and Damnameneus, the Idaean Dactyls, were the first to find iron in Cyprus; another Idaean discovered the mixing of bronze; and according to Hesiod, the Scythian. And indeed the Thracians were the first to find the so-called harpe; it is a curved sword. They were also the first to use small shields on horses. Likewise, the Illyrians discovered the so-called peltast shield. They also say that the Tuscans invented molding, and that Itanus (he was a Samnite ) was the first to make the shield. For Cadmus the Phoenician discovered stone cutting; and he invented the metals of gold around Mount Pangaion. Already another people, the Cappadocians, were the first to find the instrument called the nabla, which the Assyrians also use in the manner of a two-stringed instrument. For the Carthaginians were the first to make a sieve; and Bosporus built it by hand. Medea, daughter of Aeëtes, the Colchian, was the first to invent the dyeing of hair. But also the Noropes (a Paeonian people, now called Norici ) were the first to work copper and to refine iron. Amycus, king of the Bebryces, was the first to invent boxing straps; and Olympus the Mysian created the Lydian musical scale; and the people called Troglodytes found the sambyke, a musical instrument. They say that the sideways flute was also invented by Satyrus the Phrygian; likewise, the three-stringed instrument and the diatonic scale were invented by Agnus, who was also Phrygian; Olympus the Phrygian also invented the drumbeats; just as the Phrygian scale, and the mixolydian and mixophrygian scales, were invented by Marsyas, who came from the same region mentioned before. And the Dorian scale was invented by Thamyris, the Thracian. We have heard that the Persians were the first to make the wagon, the couch, and the footstool; and that the Sidonians built the three-masted ship. The Sicels, who live near Italy, were the first to find the lyre, which is not much different from the cithara; and they also invented the castanets. They say that during the reign of Semiramis, king of the Egyptians, linen garments were invented; and Hellanicus says that Atossa, queen of the Persians, was the first to compose letters. The chair, then, was recorded by the Mytilenean, and Theophrastus of Eresus, and also by Cydippus of Mantinea, as well as Antiphanes, Aristodemus, and Aristotle; in addition to these, Philostephanus and even Strato the Peripatetic wrote about these things in the On Inventions. I have added a few of them here to give a summary of the inventive and useful nature among the barbarians; from whom the Greeks have gained their practices. If anyone slanders the barbarian language, saying, "To me" but, says Anacharsis, "all Greeks speak like Scythians." This was the man admired among the Greeks, who said, "To me a cloak is a wrap; a meal, milk, cheese." You see philosophy as barbaric, promising deeds, not words. But the Apostle says this: "And if you do not give a clear word through the tongue, how will what is spoken be understood?" For you will be speaking into the air. So many, if it happens, are kinds of voices in the world, and none is without sound. If then I do not know the power of the voice, I will be a foreigner to the one speaking, and the one speaking will be a foreigner to me." And, "Let the one speaking pray with a tongue, so that someone may interpret." Indeed, the teaching and writing of words came to the Greeks only quite late. Alcmaeon, son of Perithous, a Crotonian, was the first to compose a natural philosophy. But Anaxagoras, son of Hegesiboulos, from Clazomenae, is said to be the first to publish a book in writing. Terpander of Antissa was the first to add melody to poems, and he set the laws of the Lacedaemonians to music. Lasos of Hermione invented the dithyramb; Stesichorus of Himera composed hymns; Alcman of Lacedaemon created the chorus; Anacreon of Teos wrote love songs; Pindar of Thebes composed the hyporcheme; and Timotheus of Miletus was the first to sing laws with chorus and lyre. Indeed, Archilochus of Paros invented the iambic meter; Hippponax of Ephesus created the limping iambic; and Thespis of Athens invented tragedy, while Sisarion of Ikaria created comedy. At that time, children were taught by grammarians; it would take too long to give a detailed account of them, with Dionysus himself being shown, through whom both the Dionysia and theater, later than Moses, were established, or very soon after. They also say that the speeches used in daily life and rhetorical styles were invented, and that Antiphon the Sophist of Rhamnus was the first to write a paid forensic speech for a trial, as Diodorus says. Apollodorus of Cyme was the first to introduce the term "critic," and he was called a grammarian. Some say it was Eratosthenes of Cyrene; after all, he published two books called "Grammatical." inscribing. The first to be called a grammarian, as we now call it, was Praxiphanes, son of Dionysophanes, from Mytilene. Zaleucus the Locrian is the first recorded to have established laws; others say it was Minos, son of Zeus, at Lyceus. He comes after Danaus, in the eleventh generation from Inachus and Moses above, as we will show shortly by going down a little. Lycurgus, after many years following the fall of Ilium, legislated for the Lacedaemonians one hundred and fifty years before the Olympiads; for we have already mentioned the time of Solon. Draco, who was also a lawgiver, is found around the thirty-ninth Olympiad. Antilochus, who studied the historians from the time of Pythagoras until the death of Epicurus, which happened in the tenth year of the reign of Gamilion, counts all the years as three hundred and twelve. They also say that the heroic hexameter poem is by Phanothea, the wife of Icarius, but others say it is Themis, one of the Titanides, who composed it. Didymus, in his On Pythagorean Philosophy, records that Theano of Croton was the first woman to practice philosophy and to write poems. Greek philosophy, then, according to some, is sometimes a hostile companion to truth, vague and incomplete, and not of all truth; but according to others, it takes its movement from the devil. Some have supposed that certain powers have descended and inspired all philosophy. But if Greek philosophy does not grasp the full extent of truth, and is still weak in carrying out the main commandments, yet it prepares the way for the most royal teaching, guiding without mixing, and setting forth the character, and inclining toward acceptance of Providence, which honors truth.

Chapter 17

On that saying of the Savior: "All who came before me were thieves and robbers."

Yes, they say, it is written, "All who came before the presence of the Lord are thieves and robbers." All then who are in the Word (these indeed are those before the Word's incarnation), are heard more universally. But the prophets, since they were sent and inspired by the Lord, are not thieves, but servants. The Scripture indeed says: "Wisdom sent her servants, calling together with a loud proclamation to a wine vat." Philosophy was not sent by the Lord, but, they say, came stolen or given by a thief; so whether it was power or an angel, having learned something of the truth and not remaining in it, inspired these things and taught them by stealing, not without the knowledge of the Lord, who also knew from before the foundation of the world the ends of all things, but did not prevent it. For the theft coming to humans then had some benefit, not aiming at the profit of what was taken away, but directing the outcome of the bold act toward the good of Providence. I know many who constantly blame us, saying that not stopping it is the cause; for they say the cause of theft is the one who did not guard, or the one who did not prevent it—like with a fire, the one who did not put out the terrible beginning; and with a shipwreck, the captain who did not send out the sail. At once, those responsible for these things are punished by the law; for whoever had the power to prevent it is also held responsible for what happened. We say to them that the cause is to be understood in doing and acting and working; but not preventing is, by its nature, inactivity. Still, the cause is connected to the action; just as the shipbuilder is responsible for the making of the ship, and the builder for the construction of the house. But not preventing is separate from what happens; for this reason, it is fulfilled that the one who could prevent does not act, nor does he prevent. For what does one do who does not prevent? Already the argument reaches a conclusion for them, if indeed they blame not the arrow for the wound, but the shield that did not prevent the arrow from passing through; for they will not blame the thief, but the one who did not prevent the theft. And so, when the Greeks say that it was not Hector who set fire to the ships, but Achilles; because, being able to stop Hector, he did not stop him. But he, out of anger (and it was on him to be angry or not), did not put out the fire, and perhaps is partly responsible. But the devil, being self-willed, was both able to repent and to steal; and he himself is the cause of the theft, not the Lord who did not prevent it. But the giving was not harmful, so that the prevention would fail. But if one must be precise with them, let them know that the non-preventive thing, which we say happened in the theft, is not at all to blame; but the preventive thing is involved in the fault of the one responsible. For the one who defends is responsible to the one defended for not being wounded, by preventing him from being wounded. And to Socrates, the daimonion was responsible, not for not preventing, but for urging on, even if it did not actually urge. Neither praise nor blame, neither honors nor punishments are just, if the soul does not have control over impulse and motivation, but the evil is involuntary. Therefore, the one who prevents is responsible; the one who does not prevent is rightly judged by the choice of the soul; so that especially God is without blame for evil toward us. Since the choice and impulse come before sins, and there is a mistaken opinion sometimes in control, which we fail to abandon because of ignorance and lack of knowledge, punishments are reasonable. For having a fever is involuntary, but when someone has a fever because of themselves and because of weakness, we hold that person responsible.

And so it is also with evil when it is involuntary; for no one chooses evil as evil, but being carried away by the pleasure connected with it, thinking it is good, they consider it desirable. Since things are this way, it is up to us to free ourselves from both ignorance and the choice of the worthless and tempting, and before these, not to consent to those deceptive imaginations. "A robber and a thief" The devil is called a robber and a thief, mixing false prophets with the true prophets, like weeds in a fire: "Therefore, all those before the Lord are thieves and robbers;" not simply all people, but all the false prophets, and all those not truly sent by him. And the false prophets also had the stolen prophetic name, being called prophets, but of the liar. For the Lord says, "You are from your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he did not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks lies, he speaks from his own; because he is a liar, and his father is the same." Among the lies, the false prophets also spoke some truth. And indeed these, in "ecstasy," prophesied, as if "of a rebel" servants. And the Shepherd, the angel of repentance, also says to Herma about the false prophet: "For he speaks some true words; for the devil fills him with his own spirit, if he can break any of the righteous ones." Everything, then, is managed from above for good, "so that the manifold wisdom of God may be made known through the Church, according to the foreknowledge of the ages, which he made in Christ." To God nothing opposes, nor does anything resist him, being Lord and almighty. But even the plans and actions of those who have fallen away, though some are from a bad disposition, just like bodily diseases, are governed by the universal providence toward a healthy end, even if the cause is harmful. The greatest thing about divine providence is not allowing the evil that grows from voluntary rebellion to remain useless and harmful, nor to become entirely harmful in every way. For it is the work of divine wisdom, virtue, and power not only to do good (for this is, so to speak, the nature of God, like fire warming and light illuminating) but especially to bring about a good and beneficial end through evils devised by some, and to use them helpfully even for those who seem wicked, just as with the testimony that comes from trial. There is, then, even in philosophy, which has been stolen, just as fire was by Prometheus, a small trace of wisdom and movement from God, usefully kindled into a little light. These might be called "thieves and robbers." The philosophers among the Greeks, and before the Lord's coming, the Hebrew prophets, took parts of the truth not with full understanding, but as if they had claimed the teachings for themselves; and some they falsified, others they foolishly twisted out of curiosity, and some they even discovered; for perhaps even a "spirit of perception " they have held. Aristotle himself also agreed with Scripture, calling sophistry a thieving kind of wisdom, as we have foretold. But the Apostle says: "What we speak is not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit." For concerning the prophets: "All, he says, have received from his fullness." Clearly, from Christ. So the prophets are not thieves. "And my teaching is not mine, the Lord says, but of the one who sent me the Father." But concerning those who steal, "He who speaks on his own, he says, seeks his own glory." Such are the Greeks, "self-loving and boastful." The Scripture calls them wise, but it does not speak against those who are truly wise, only against those who seem to be wise.

Chapter 18

He explains that saying of the Apostle: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise."

And concerning these he says, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the understanding of the prudent." The Apostle indeed brings this up: "Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?" In contrast to the scribes, the seekers of this age, the philosophers from the nations, having arranged. "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" also to what is foolish and not true, as they thought. And if you ask the cause of their proud wisdom, "because of the hardness of their hearts," he will say: "when, in the wisdom of God," that is, through the prophets it was proclaimed, "the world did not know through wisdom," spoken through the prophets, "him," clearly God: "this God was pleased through the preaching of foolishness," which seemed to the Greeks to be foolishness, "to save those who believe; since Jews, he says, ask for signs" for faith: "but Greeks seek wisdom," the so-called persuasive arguments, and the other reasonings clearly, "but we preach Jesus Christ crucified; to Jews a stumbling block," because, knowing the prophecy, they do not believe in its outcome, "to Greeks foolishness;" For the so-called wise men think it a myth to say that the Son of God is a man, and that God has a son, and indeed that he has suffered; therefore, their prejudice of pride persuades them not to believe. For the coming of the Savior did not make people foolish and hard-hearted and unbelieving, but wise and obedient, and moreover faithful. But those who did not want to obey, having separated themselves from the voluntary submission of those who obeyed, were shown to be foolish, unbelieving, and senseless. "To these called ones, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God;" Should we then (which is even better) consider the statement, "God did not make the wisdom of the world foolish," to be negative," also, "He did not make foolish," so that the cause of their hard-heartedness would not appear to come from God, "of the one who made the wisdom foolish?" For in all, although being wise, they have become guilty of a greater fault by not believing the preaching; for both heresy and the choice of truth are voluntary. But also the saying, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise," He says that it will shine against the despised, arrogant barbarian philosophy; just as the lamp is outshone by the sun. It is said to be lost when it does not perform an equal function. Therefore, of all people called, those who are willing to obey are called "called " were named. For there is no injustice with God. Immediately from each race, those who believed, these are the "chosen people." And even in the Acts of the Apostles you would find the exact words, "Those who accepted his message were baptized;" but those who did not want to obey separated themselves, that is to say. To these the prophecy says: "If you are willing, and listen to me, you will eat the good things of the earth;" lying upon us, refuting both heresy and error. "Of God" But the Apostle spoke of the wisdom according to the Lord as "of God." so that he might show the true philosophy handed down through the Son. But even the pseudo-wise have certain exhortations, those from the Apostle urging to "put on the new man, created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Therefore, having put away falsehood, speak the truth. Do not give place to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal; rather, let him work hard, doing what is good" (To work is to strive earnestly, seeking the truth; for this is true kindness with reason) "so that you may have to share with the one in need," both of worldly possessions and of divine wisdom. For he wishes the word to be taught, and for the money to be placed on the tables, carefully tested, for lending out. Therefore he brings forward: "Let no rotten word come out of your mouth." This rotten word is from pride: "But if anyone speaks good for the building up of need, so that he may give grace to those who hear." But the word of God must be good. But how is the one who saves not good?

Chapter 19

He proves that the philosopher has grasped some part of the truth.

Since, then, even Greeks are shown to hold some true belief, it is possible to consider this further. Paul is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles as saying to the Areopagites: "I see that you are very religious. For as I passed by and carefully observed your objects of worship, I found an altar with this inscription: 'To an Unknown God.' Therefore, the one you do not know, him I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it—this one, who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands as if he needed anything. Instead, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. He made from one man every nation of people to live on all the face of the earth, and he set the appointed times and the boundaries of their lands. He did this so that they would seek God, if perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said."

"For we are indeed his offspring…"

From this it is clear that, even using poetic examples from Aratus's Phenomena, he approves what the Greeks have well said; and by the phrase "unknown god," he hinted that the creator God is honored by the Greeks in a roundabout way. But in full knowledge, it is necessary to receive and learn about him through the Son. "I have therefore sent you for this purpose to the nations, to open, he says, their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, to receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me." These then are the eyes of the blind being opened; the knowledge of the Father through the Son is the understanding of the Greek phrase; and the turning "from the power of Satan," is the turning away from sin, through which there has come slavery. We do not simply accept every philosophy, but that one about which Socrates says in Plato: "For indeed, they say, concerning the rites, many are the Narthex-bearers, but few are the Bacchae;" "Many are called, but few are chosen." hinting. He clearly adds, "These, in my opinion, are none other than those who have truly loved philosophy; of whom I, as far as I was able, left nothing undone in life, but in every way was eager to become one." But if I was truly eager, and we accomplished something by coming there, we will understand the clear meaning, if God wills, a little later." Does it not seem to you that the hope of the righteous after death is made clear from the Hebrew Scriptures? And also to Demodocus: (if indeed the writing is by Plato) "Do not think that to philosophize means to live looking down on the arts, nor to be very learned, but something else; for I myself was even a disgrace." For he knew well, I think, "that then he already has a very learned mind; which he teaches" according to Heraclitus. And in the fifth book of the Republic: "All these, then, he says, and others of such mathematical studies, and of the craftsmen, we will call philosophers? Not at all, he said, but similar to philosophers. But who, he said, do you call the true ones? Those who love the truth, I replied, are lovers of seeing." For philosophy is not in geometry, which has problems and assumptions; nor in music, which is speculative; nor in astronomy, which is based on natural, flowing, and probable arguments. But it is through knowledge and truth of the good itself, and through other paths that lead to the good; just as one goes toward the good. So not even the "encyclopedic" itself" gives the "encyclopedic" education to complete toward the good, but works together to awaken and train the soul toward the intelligible. If then, according to chance, the Greeks are said to have spoken something of true philosophy, this is the divine arrangement; for no one would praise it spontaneously because of their ambition toward us. Whether by coincidence, the coincidence is not without reason; or if one says that the Greeks had a natural understanding, we recognize the one creator of nature; just as we have also said that justice is natural. Or if they had a common mind, let us consider who is the father of this, and what justice is according to the distribution of the mind. For if they "cry out beforehand" someone should say, and "join in the cry" someone might accuse, saying that these are types of prophecy. Yes indeed, some want to say that in a sense of truth, something like this belongs to the philosophers. The divine Apostle then writes about us: "For now we see through a mirror." by reflection, we know ourselves, and also the creative cause of the divine within us, as much as possible, observing together.

"For you have seen, he says, your brother, you have seen your God;" I think that the Savior is called God for us now. But after the putting off of the flesh, "face to face." Then already definitively and truly, whenever "the heart is pure " becomes. And both in form and in substance those who have philosophized carefully among the Greeks perceive God; for such are the true visions according to weakness, just as a vision is seen in water, so we also see through transparent and clear bodies. Well then, Solomon rightly says, "The one who sows," says, "sowing righteousness works faith; but those who sow their own things, who produce more." And again: "Take care of the green plants in the field, and gather the tender grass; and collect ripe hay, so that you may have sheep for clothing;" you see how one must also take care of the outer shelter and protection; "And you must clearly know the souls of your flock. For when nations that do not have the law by nature do what the law requires, these, though they do not have the law, are a law to themselves, showing the requirements of the law written on their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing and sometimes defending them." According to the Apostle, even before the law and before the coming of the present time. The Word, making a comparison between those who come from philosophy and the so-called heretics, clearly says, "A friend who is near is better than a brother who lives far away." But the one who relies on lies is a shepherd of the winds and chases after winged birds." I do not think the Word is now speaking of philosophy, although in many ways philosophy attempts and seems plausible; rather, it condemns the heresies. It brings this up, saying, "For he has left the paths of his own vineyard; but he has gone astray from the tracks of his own farmer." These are the ones who abandon the Church from the beginning. Immediately, the one who has fallen into heresy "passes through a dry wilderness," Having left the truly existing God, a desert of God, seeking water without water, "coming upon an uninhabited and thirsty land, gathering with his hands fruitlessness. And I urge those who are lacking in understanding," Wisdom says clearly to those involved in heresies: "Sweetly touch the hidden breads, and the theft of sweet water." "Bread" "Bread and water " not on other things, but on bread and water according to the offering, not according to the rule of the Church, heresies clearly using Scripture as their guide. For there are some who even give thanks over plain water. "But jump away, do not linger in her place; place" She called the Synagogue, not the Church, by the same name. Then he exclaims: "Thus foreign water will pass through;" Considering the baptism of heresy as water that is not proper and genuine. "And it will cross a foreign river," carrying away and dragging down into the sea, into which the one who has strayed from the true foundation is thrown, again hidden away into the pagan and disorderly waves of life.

Chapter 20

In what way philosophy contributes to the understanding of divine truth.

Just as many people who pull a ship ashore would not say there are many causes, but one cause from many; for no one person alone is the cause of pulling the ship ashore, but along with others; so too philosophy, being a search for truth in order to grasp it, is understood—not as the cause of grasping, but as a cause along with others, and a helper; and perhaps even the helper is a cause. Just as there is one happiness, but many virtues exist as causes; and just as for warming, there is the sun, fire, a bath, and clothing; so too, for one truth, many things are involved in the search for it. The discovery, however, is through the Son. If we consider carefully, virtue is one in its power; but it happens to be called prudence in these matters, temperance in those, and courage or justice in others. According to the same reasoning, since there is one truth, in geometry there is the truth of geometry, in music the truth of music; and in true philosophy, the truth would be Greek. But this principal truth alone is beyond reach, which we are taught by the Son of God. We say this is like one and the same coin: when given to the ship captain, it is called freight; to the tax collector, a tax; to the innkeeper, rent; to the teacher, a wage; and to the seller, a deposit. Each virtue or truth, called by the same name, is the cause of its own effect alone; and living happily comes from using these rightly. For we do not become happy by names alone, when we call a right life happiness, and a person happy who has adorned the soul with good qualities. Even if philosophy is grasped from afar by the search for truth, stretching toward the kind of truth we hold closely, it is caught by one eager to reason carefully and to cling to knowledge. Greek truth is separated from our own, even though it has taken part in the same name, in the extent of knowledge, in stronger proof, in divine power, and in similar things. For we are taught by God, truly holy letters being given to us by the Son of God for instruction; from this source, souls are not moved in the same way, but by different teachings. But if we must be distinguished because of those who love piety, calling philosophy a partner and helper in the true grasp, being a search for truth, we will admit it as a kind of preparation for knowledge, not putting the partner as a cause; nor the helper as a binding force; nor as if it does not exist without philosophy. Since almost everyone is without the "general education," and Greek philosophy, and some even without letters, moved by divine and foreign philosophy, we have received the word about God through faith by power, trained in self-working wisdom. But when it works with another, being incomplete on its own to act, we say it is a partner and co-responsible, and that the cause comes from the co-responsible, and that the cause is named from coming together with the other; but on its own it cannot truly produce the result. And yet philosophy itself once justified the Greeks, not to universal justice, in which it is a partner, just as the first and second degree ascend to the highest, and the grammarian to the philosopher; not as if by its removal it either lacks the universal Word or destroys the truth; since sight also contributes, and hearing, and voice toward truth; and the mind that knows it does so fittingly. But among the partners, some offer greater power, others less. Certainly, clarity helps in handing down the truth; and dialectic helps to avoid falling into the chasing heresies. Therefore, the teaching according to the Savior is self-sufficient and independent, "being the power and wisdom of God." Greek philosophy, when added, does not make the truth stronger, but rather makes the sophistic attempt according to it impossible, and, striking against the deceitful plots against the truth, is a "barrier." It has been said to be a "fence and a hedge of the vineyard." And faith-based truth is like bread, necessary for living; but preliminary education seems like a mask and a morsel. "At the end of the meal, a sweet morsel, " according to the Theban Pindar. But the Scripture plainly says: "The innocent will become more cunning, understand; but the wise will accept knowledge." And "he who takes from himself seeks his own glory," the Lord says: "But he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true, and there is no injustice in him." On the other hand, the one who has taken for himself the things of the foreigners wrongs, and as if boasting of his own, increases his own glory, and lies about the truth; this one is called a thief by the Scripture. He says indeed: "Son, do not become a liar; for falsehood leads to theft." Now the thief, who takes away, truly has what he takes, whether it is gold, or silver, or a word, or a teaching. Therefore, in part, the things they have stolen are true, and they understand them thoughtfully and according to the necessities of words; having been taught, they will come to know them fully and clearly.

Chapter 21

From the time of Moses and other prophets, compared at length with the times of the Greeks, it is shown that the institutions and laws of the Jews are much older than Greek philosophy.

And concerning the claim that the doctrines of the philosophers were taken from the Hebrews, we will discuss this a little later; but first, as was next, we must speak about the times according to Moses; through these it will be shown without doubt that the philosophy according to the Hebrews is the oldest of all wisdom. These things have been explained in detail by Tatian in his Address to the Greeks; they have also been stated by Cassian in the first of the Explanations; however, the commentary demands that we also run through what has been said here according to the place. Apion the grammarian, called Pleistonices, in the fourth of the Egyptian Histories; although he was hostile toward the Hebrews, being Egyptian by birth, he wrote a book about the Jews, mentioning Amosis, king of the Egyptians, and he cites Ptolemaeus the Mendesian as a witness to his actions; and his words are as follows: "Amosis, descended from the Argive Inachus, dug up Athuria, as Ptolemaeus Mendesius wrote in the Chronicles." This Ptolemaeus was a priest; and in three complete books, he set forth the deeds of the Egyptian kings, saying that under Amosis, king of Egypt, Moses led the Jews in their departure from Egypt. From these, it is clear that Moses flourished under Inachus. Earlier than the Greek records are the Argive ones, those from Inachus, as Dionysius of Halicarnassus teaches in the Chronicles. Of these, the Attic records, from Cecrops the two-natured and native-born, are forty generations newer, as Tatian says word for word. The Arcadian records, from Pelasgus, are nine generations newer; he is also said to be native-born. Of these, the Phthiotic records, from Deucalion, are fifty-two generations newer. In the time of the Trojans, from Inachus, the generations are counted as twenty or more; and the years, so to speak, are four hundred, and forward. If the Assyrian records are many years older than the Greek ones, as Ctesias says, it will be shown at the second and thirtieth year of Moses, according to Amosis the Egyptian and Inachus the Argive, the movement out of Egypt. In Greece, according to Phoroneus who came after Inachus, there was the flood in the time of Ogygus, and the kingdom in Sicyon, first of Aegialeus, then of Europos, then of Telchinus; and Crete in Crete. For Acusilaus says that Phoroneus was the first man to be born; hence the poet of Phoronis said of him, "father of mortal men." From this, Plato, following Acusilaus, writes in Timaeus: "And once, wishing to lead them into discussions about ancient matters in this city, he attempts to speak of the very oldest things, about Phoroneus, the first mentioned, and about Niobe, and about those after the flood." According to Forbantus, Actaeus, from whom Attica was called Actaea; according to Triopas, Prometheus, and Atlas, and Epimetheus, who was also the two-natured Cecrops, and Ino. According to Crotopus, the burning caused by Phaethon; and the flood during Deucalion's time; according to Sthenelus, the reign of Amphictyon; and the arrival of Danaus in the Peloponnese; and under Dardanus, the founding of Dardania,

Which first,

Homer says,

Zeus, the cloud-gatherer, was born;

The birth from Crete to Phoenicia; the abduction of Persephone according to Lycus; and the founding of the sanctuary at Eleusis; the farming of Triptolemus, and the arrival of Cadmus in Thebes; the reign of Minos; according to Proetus, the war of Eumolpus against the Athenians; according to Acrisius, the crossing of Pelops from Phrygia, and the arrival of Ion in Athens, and the second Cecrops, the deeds of Perseus and Dionysus, Orpheus and Musaeus.

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Agamemnon, Troy fell, in the first year of Demophon, son of Theseus, reigning in Athens, on the second day of the month Thargelion, as Dionysius the Argive says; Aegias and Dercylus, on the third day of the month Panemus, the eighth day of the waning moon; for Hellanicus places it on the twelfth of Thargelion; and some of those who date the last year of Menestheus, when the moon was full.

It was night,

says the one who composed the Little Iliad,

The moon was at its highest, shining brightly;

Others place it on the same day of Skirophorion. But Theseus, being a rival of Heracles, is older than the Trojans by one generation. At least Homer remembers Tlepolemus, who was the son of Heracles, when he marched against Ilium. Therefore, Moses shows earlier dates for the deification of Dionysus, six hundred and four years; if indeed the reign of Perseus is counted to the thirty-second year, as Apollodorus says in the Chronicles. From Dionysus to Heracles and the best men around Jason who sailed in the Argo, sixty-three years are gathered; Asclepius and the Dioscuri also sailed with them, as the Rhodian Apollonius testifies in the Argonautica. From the reign of Heracles in Argos to the deification of Heracles himself and Asclepius, thirty-eight years are counted, according to the chronicler Apollodorus; from there to the deification of Castor and Polydeuces, fifty-three years; here perhaps also is the capture of Ilium. But if we must trust the poet Hesiod, let us hear him:

To Zeus, Maia bore the glorious Hermes to Atlas,

The immortal herald, ascending to the sacred bed.

And Cadmus' daughter Semele bore him a shining son,

Mixed in affection, the much-rejoicing Dionysus.

Cadmus, the father of Semele, comes to Thebes from Lyceus, and becomes the discoverer of the Greek letters. Triopas is a contemporary of Isis, in the seventh generation from Inachus. Isis, also called Io, is said to have wandered over the whole earth. Istros, in the work On the Egyptian Colony, calls her the daughter of Prometheus; Prometheus, according to Triopas, is in the seventh generation after Moses; so Moses seems to have flourished even before the Greek human genealogy.

Leo, who wrote about the gods of Egypt, says that Isis was called Demeter by the Greeks; she lived in Lyceus, in the eleventh generation after Moses. Apis, king of Argos, founded Memphis, according to Aristippus in the first Arcadians. Aristeas of Argos says that Apis was called Sarapis; and this is the one whom the Egyptians worship.

Nymphodorus of Amphipolis, in the third book of Nomimons of Asia, says that Apis the bull, after he died and was embalmed, was placed in a "sarcophagus" in the temple of the honored spirit; from this he was called Soroapis, and later Sarapis by some local custom.

Apis is the third from Inachus. Indeed, Leto is said to be descended from Tityus;

For Leto attracted the famous consort of Zeus.

Tityus was a contemporary of Tantalus. It is reasonable, then, that the Boeotian Pindar writes, "At the right time Apollo was born;" and it is no wonder, since he is found serving with both Admetus and Heracles "great for a year." Zethus and Amphion, the inventors of music, lived around the time of Cadmus. And if someone tells us that Phemonoe was the first to prophesy at Acrisius, let them at least know that after Phemonoe, twenty-seven years later, came those around Orpheus, and Mousaios, and Linus, the teacher of Heracles.

Homer and Hesiod are much younger than the Iliad; after them come the Greek lawmakers, much later still, like Lycurgus and Solon, and the seven wise men, and those around Syrian Pherecydes, and the great Pythagoras, probably born around the time of the Olympiads, as we have shown.

And among most of the gods of the Greeks, not only the so-called wise men and poets, Moses has been shown to be the oldest for us. And he is not alone; Sibyl is also older than Orpheus. There are many stories about her name and about the infamous oracles attributed to her. She was Phrygian and called Artemis; and she came to Delphi to sing;

"O Delphi, servants of far-shooting Apollo,"

"I have come, using the mind of Zeus who holds the aegis,"

"Angry with my own brother Apollo."

There is also another Erythraean, called Herophile. Heraclides Ponticus remembers these things in his work On Oracles. I mention also the Egyptian, and the Italian, who settled at Carmalus in Rome, whose son Evander, having built the temple of Pan in Rome, called Lupercal. It is indeed worthy here to investigate also the times of the other prophets among the Hebrews who came after Moses. After the death of Moses, Joshua succeeded to the leadership of the people, fighting for thirteen years, and then resting for twenty-five years in the good land. As the book of Joshua states, the aforementioned man succeeded Moses for twenty-seven years. Then the Hebrews sinned and were handed over to Chusachar, king of Mesopotamia, for eight years, as the book of the Judges records. Later, having prayed to God, they received as leader Gotoniel, the younger brother of Caleb, from the tribe of Judah, who, after killing the king of Mesopotamia, ruled the people for nine years in a row. And again, having sinned, they were handed over to Eglon, king of the Moabites, for eighteen years. When they returned, Othniel led them again for eighty years, a man skilled with both hands, from the tribe of Ephraim; he is the one who killed Eglon. When Othniel died, having sinned again, they were handed over to the king of Canaan, Jabin, for twenty years. At that time Deborah prophesied, a woman of Lapidoth, from the tribe of Ephraim; and the high priest was Ozi, son of Rhesa. Through her, Barak, son of Abinoam, from the tribe of Naphtali, led the army. He arranged battle against Sisera, the commander of Jabin, and won. From then on, Deborah judged the people for forty years. When she died, the people sinned again and were handed over to the Midianites for seven years. At this time, Gideon, from the tribe of Manasseh, son of Joash, led an army of three hundred men and destroyed twelve thousand of them. He ruled for forty years; after him, his son Achimelech ruled for three years. He was succeeded by Boeleth, son of Bedan, son of Harran, from the tribe of Ephraim, who ruled for three years out of a total of twenty. After him, the people sinned again and were handed over to the Ammonites for eighteen years. When they repented, Jephthah the Gileadite, from the tribe of Manasseh, led them; and he ruled for six years. After him, Abthan from Bethlehem, of the tribe of Judah, ruled for seven years. Then, Ephron the Zebulunite, ruled for eight years. Then Eglom, of Ephraim, ruled for eight years. Some connect the years of Abthan, seven, with those of Ephron, eight years. And after this, the people sinned again, and were under the Philistines for ten years. When they returned, Samson from the tribe of Dan led them, defeating the foreigners in war. He ruled for twenty years. And after him, during a time without a ruler, the priest Eli judged the people for forty years. Samuel the prophet succeeded him; together with whom Saul reigned, holding power for twenty-seven years. He also anointed David. But Samuel died two years before Saul, during the high priesthood of Abimelech. He anointed Saul as king, who was the first to reign over Israel after the judges; the total number of those judges up to Samuel is four hundred sixty-three years and seven months. Then, according to the first book of Kings, Saul reigned for twenty years after being renewed. After the death of Saul, David reigned second in Hebron, the son of Jesse, from the tribe of Judah, for forty years, as the second book of Kings records. And the high priest was Abiathar, son of Abimelech, from the family of Eli. But Gad and Nathan prophesied about him. So, from Joshua son of Nun until David took the kingdom, some say it was four hundred fifty years; but according to the current chronology, the total comes to five hundred twenty-three years and seven months, up to the death of David. And after this, Solomon, son of David, reigned for forty years. Nathan continues to prophesy at this time, and he also urged him concerning the building of the temple; likewise, Ahijah from Shiloh prophesied. Both kings, David and Solomon, were also prophets. Zadok, the high priest, was the first to serve in the temple that Solomon built; he was the eighth in line from Aaron, the first high priest. From Moses to the time of Solomon, the years amount to, as some say, five hundred ninety-five, but according to others, five hundred seventy-six. But if someone adds to the 450 years from Joshua to David the 40 years of Moses' leadership, and the other 80 years that Moses lived before leading the Hebrews out of Egypt, and also adds the 40 years of David's reign, the total will come to 610 years. More precisely, according to our chronology, if one adds to the 523 years and 7 months up to the death of David the 120 years of Moses and the 40 years of Solomon, the total will reach 683 years and 7 months up to the death of Solomon. Eiramos gives his daughter to Solomon, during the time after the fall of Troy when Menelaus arrived in Phoenicia, as Menander of Pergamum says, and Laitos in the Phoenicians. After Solomon, his son Rehoboam reigns for seventeen years; and the high priest was Abimelech, son of Zadok. At this time, when the kingdom was divided, Jeroboam, from the tribe of Ephraim and servant of Solomon, reigns in Samaria; and Ahijah the Shilonite still prophesies, along with Samaiah, son of Ammam, who came from Judah to Rehoboam and prophesied at the altar. After him, Abijam, his son, reigns for twenty-three years; and likewise his son Asa. He became lame in old age; and during his reign, Joah, son of Anani, prophesied. After him, Jehoshaphat, his son, reigns for five years. During his reign, Elijah the Tishbite, Micaiah son of Imlah, and Obadiah son of Anani prophesy. In the time of Micaiah, Zedekiah son of Chenaan was also a false prophet. After them follows the reign of Joram, son of Jehoshaphat, for eight years; during his time Elijah prophesies, and after Elijah, Elisha son of Shaphat. In his time, those in Samaria ate pigeon dung, even their own children. But the time of Jehoshaphat extends from the end of the third of the reigns to the fourth. In the time of Joram, Elijah was taken up; and Elisha, son of Shaphat, began to prophesy, being six years old and forty years old. Then Ahaziah reigned one year; during his reign Elisha still prophesied. And with him Abdaedon. After him, the mother of Uzziah, Jothaliah, reigned for eight years, having killed the children of her brother; for she was from the family of Ahab. The sister of Uzziah, Jehosheba, rescued the son of Uzziah, Joash, and later placed the kingdom upon him. During the reign of this Jothaliah, Elisha still prophesied; after her, as I said before, Joash, who was saved by Jehosheba, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, ruled; and everything happened over the course of forty years. It is gathered then from Solomon to the end of the prophet Elisha that the years are, as some say, one hundred and five, while others say one hundred and two; but as the present chronography shows, from the reign of Solomon it is one hundred and eighty-one years. From the Trojan War to the time of Homer's birth, according to Philochorus, it is one hundred and eighty years, later than the Ionian colony. Aristarchus, in his Archilochean commentaries, says that he lived during the Ionian colony; which took place forty years after the Trojan War. Apollodorus places it one hundred years after the Ionian colony, during the reign of Agesilaus the Doryssaean, king of the Lacedaemonians; so that Lycurgus, the lawgiver, can be assigned to him while still young. Euthymenes, in his Chronicles, says that Hesiod flourished during the time of Acastus in Chios, about the two hundredth year after the fall of Ilium; and this is also the opinion of Archemachus in the third book of his Euboean history; so that both Hesiod and Elisha the prophet are considered to be later. And if anyone wishes to follow the grammarian Crates, and says that Homer lived around the time of the Heraclids' return, eighty years after the fall of Ilium, he will again be found to be later than Solomon, at whose time Menelaus arrived in Phoenicia, as was said before. Eratosthenes, after the hundredth year since the fall of Ilium, assigns the age of Homer. Yes, Theopompus, in the forty-third book of the Philippics, records that Homer lived five hundred years after those who campaigned at Ilium. Euphorion, in his On the Aliads, places him at the time of Gyges, who began to reign from the eighteenth Olympiad; and he also says that Gyges was the first to be called tyrant. Sosibius the Lacedaemonian, in his Chronological Record, places Homer in the eighth year of the reign of Charillus, son of Polydectes. Charillus reigned for sixty-four years, after whom his son Nicander ruled for thirty-nine years. In the thirty-fourth year of Nicander's reign, he says the first Olympiad was established, placing Homer about ninety years before the start of the Olympic Games. After Ioan, his son Amazias succeeds to the throne, ruling for thirty-nine years. After him, Ozias, his son, likewise ruled for fifty-two years; and he died a leper. Amos and Isaiah, his son, prophesied during his time, along with Hosea son of Beeri, and Jonah son of Amittai, from Gath Hepher, who preached to the Ninevites, having passed through the sea monster. Then Jonathan, son of Ozias, reigns for sixteen years. During his reign, Isaiah still prophesies, along with Hosea, Micah the Morasthite, and Joel son of Pethuel. He is succeeded by his son Ahaz, who reigns for sixteen years. In his fifteenth year, Israel was taken to Babylon; Salmanassar, the king of the Assyrians, relocated those in Samaria to Media and Babylon. Again, Hezekiah succeeds Ahaz and reigns for eight years. Then comes Ezekiah, who reigns for twenty-nine years. To him, because of his holiness, as he approached the end of his life, God granted through Isaiah another fifteen years to live, by means of the turning back of the sun. Up to this point, Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah continue prophesying. These are said to have lived after Lycurgus, the lawgiver of the Lacedaemonians. For Dieuchidas, in the fourth book of the Megarian [Histories], places the height of Lycurgus around the two hundred and ninetieth year after the fall of Ilium. Isaiah appears to have prophesied two hundred years after the reign of Solomon, during which Menelaus went to Phoenicia; Micah also prophesied with him, as did Hosea and Joel, the son of Pethuel. Afterward, Hezekiah, his son, reigned for fifty-five years; then his son Amos reigned for two years; after him, Josiah, his son, the most law-abiding, reigned for thirty-one years. This one added "the weights" "the burdens of men upon the burdens of idols," as it is written in Leviticus. On this, in the eighteenth year, the Passover was brought, since from Samuel, neither in the time between was it celebrated. Then also Helkias, the priest, the father of the prophet Jeremiah, happened upon the book of the Law kept in the temple, and having read it, he died. On this matter, Oldah, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah prophesied. During the time of Jeremiah, a false prophet named Ananias appeared under Josiah. This man, disobeying the prophet Jeremiah, was killed by Necho, king of Egypt, near the Euphrates River, as he was going to meet the Assyrians. Jehoiachin succeeded Josiah, and his son Jehoahaz reigned for three months and ten days. Necho, king of Egypt, bound him and took him to Egypt, setting his brother Jehoiakim as king in his place, to pay tribute for the land, for eleven years. After him, his namesake Jehoiakim reigned for three months. Then Zedekiah, eleven years; and Jeremiah continued to prophesy up to this time. Also prophesied Buz, and Uriah son of Shemaiah, and Habakkuk with him; and finally, the history of the Hebrew kings ends. So, from the birth of Moses to this exile, there are years, according to some, nine hundred seventy-two; but according to the exact chronology, one thousand eighty-five years, six months, and ten days. From the reign of David to the captivity by the Chaldeans, there are four hundred fifty-two years and six months; but according to the accuracy of our current times, there are four hundred eighty years, six months, and ten days. In the twelfth year of Zedekiah's reign, Nebuchadnezzar, seventy years before the rule of the Persians, led a campaign against the Phoenicians and the Jews, as Berossus says in the Chaldaean Histories. Joab, writing about the Assyrians, admits that he took the history from Berossus, bearing witness to the truth of the man. Nebuchadnezzar, therefore, after blinding Zedekiah, leads him away to Babylon, and moves the entire people (and the captivity lasts for seventy years), except for a few who fled to Egypt. Jeremiah and Habakkuk also prophesy about Zedekiah. In the fifth year of his reign in Babylon, Ezekiel prophesies, followed by the prophet Nahum, then Daniel; again after him, Haggai and Zechariah prophesy during the reign of Darius the First (for two years); after them, the angel among the twelve. After Haggai and Zechariah, Nehemiah, the chief cupbearer of Artaxerxes, son of Hachaliah the Israelite, rebuilds the city of Jerusalem and repairs the temple. During this captivity, Esther and Mordecai come to be, of whom a book is said to exist, as well as that of the Maccabees. During this captivity, Mishael, Ananias, and Azarias, unwilling to worship the image, were thrown into a fiery furnace, but by the appearance of an angel they were saved. Then Daniel, thrown into the lions' den because of a dragon, was cared for by God's providence under Ahab and was saved after seven days. Here also the sign of Jonah took place, and Tobias, through the angel Raphael, is led to Sarah as his wife, after the demon had killed her first seven suitors; and after the marriage of Tobias, his father Tobit regains his sight. Here Zorobabel, by wisdom overcoming his opponents, obtains from Darius permission to renew Jerusalem, and after Ezra leads the people back to their ancestral land, through whom the people's redemption takes place, and the recognition of the inspired writings, and the renewal of the scriptures, and the saving Passover is celebrated, and the breaking of the law against marrying a brother's widow. Cyrus also proclaimed the restoration of the Hebrews. When the promise was fulfilled under Darius, the Feast of the Dedication was celebrated, just as also the Feast of the Tabernacles; and all the years together with those of the captivity until the restoration of the people amount to, from the birth of Moses, one thousand one hundred fifty-nine years, six months, and ten days; but from the reign of David, some say three hundred fifty-two years, while more accurately it is five hundred seventy-two years, six months, and ten days. The seventy weeks spoken of by Daniel the prophet are now fulfilled from the captivity that took place under Jeremiah the prophet in Babylon, as follows: "Seventy weeks are cut off for your people and for your holy city, to finish transgression, to seal up sin, to wipe away iniquity, to make atonement, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint the Most Holy; and you will know and understand from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem, until the Christ the leader comes, seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; and the street and the wall will be rebuilt, even in troublesome times; and after the sixty-two weeks, the anointed one will be cut off, and there will be no judgment in him; and the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed along with the coming leader." And they will be cut off in a flood, and until the end of the war they will be shortened by destruction. And he will strengthen a strong covenant for one week; and in the middle of the week my sacrifice and offering will be taken away; and on the temple will be the abomination of desolation, and until the end of the time, desolation will be completed. And in the middle of the week, he will put an end to the offering of incense and sacrifice, and until the completion and urgency, there will be a decree of destruction." For indeed the temple was built in seven weeks, this is clear; for it is also written in Ezra. And so Christ became king of the Jews, the leader, when the seven weeks were fulfilled, in Jerusalem; and in the sixty-two weeks all Judea was at peace, and it happened without wars; and our Lord Christ became "Holy of Holies," having come and fulfilled "the vision and the prophet," he was anointed" the flesh by the Spirit of his Father; in these "sixty-two weeks," just as the prophet said, and "in the one week," The Lord; in half of the week Nero was in power as king, and in the holy city Jerusalem he set up the abomination; and in the half of the week he himself was killed, along with Otho, and Galba, and Vitellius; but Vespasian held power, and destroyed Jerusalem, and laid waste the sanctuary. And just as these things are so, it is clear to anyone able to understand, just as the prophet said. Now, at the completion of the eleventh year, at the beginning of the next year, during the reign of Jehoiakim, the captivity to Babylon took place under King Nebuchadnezzar, in the seventh year of his reign over the Assyrians, and in the second year of the reign of Oaphra over the Egyptians, while Philip was ruler in Athens, in the first year of the 148th Olympiad. And the captivity lasted for seventy years, ending in the second year of Darius Hystaspes, who became king of the Persians, Assyrians, and Egyptians; at that time, as I have said before, Haggai and Zechariah, and the Angel from the twelve, prophesied; and the high priest was Joshua, son of Jehozadak. And in the second year of the reign of Darius, whom Herodotus says ended the rule of the magi, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, was sent to raise up and restore the temple in Jerusalem. So the years of the Persians are gathered as follows: Cyrus, thirty years; Cambyses, nineteen; Darius, forty-six; Xerxes, twenty-six; Artaxerxes, forty-one; Darius, eight; Artaxerxes, forty-two; Ochus or Arses, three. The total of the Persian years comes to two hundred thirty-five. After overthrowing this Darius, Alexander the Macedonian begins to reign according to the years given before; likewise, the years of the Macedonian kings are counted as follows: Alexander, eighteen years; Ptolemy son of Lagus, forty years; Ptolemy Philadelphus, twenty-seven years; then Euergetes, twenty-five years; then Philopator, seventeen years; after him Epiphanes, twenty-four years; he is succeeded by Philometor, who reigns thirty-five years; after him Physcon, twenty-nine years; then Lathyrus, thirty-six years; then the one called Dionysus, twenty-nine years; over all of them Cleopatra reigned twenty-two years; after her, the kingdom of the Cappadocians lasted eighteen days. Therefore, the total years of the Macedonian kings come to three hundred twelve years and eighteen days. Those who prophesied during the time of Darius Hystaspes are thus shown to be elders of Pythagoras, who lived around the second and sixtieth Olympiad, and of Thales, the oldest of the Greek wise men, who lived around the fiftieth Olympiad: Angaeus and Zacharias, and the Angel from the twelve, prophesying in the second year of his reign, and in the first year of the eighty-fourth Olympiad. The wise men counted alongside Thales were contemporaries, as Andron says in the Tripod. Heraclitus, being later than Pythagoras, mentions him in his writing. Therefore, without a doubt, the age of the aforementioned prophets, along with the so-called seven wise men, would be earlier than the first Olympiad, which is shown to be four hundred and seven years later than the time of the Iliad. It is therefore easy to realize that Solomon, who lived after Menelaus (and Menelaus was from the time of the Iliad), was many years older than the wise men among the Greeks. And again, by how many years Moses precedes him has been shown to us in the earlier sections. Alexander Polyhistor, called by that name, wrote in his work about the Jews some letters, one from Solomon to Oaphres, the king of Egypt, and to the Phoenicians of Tyre, and also their letters to Solomon. From these, it is shown that Oaphres sent eight thousand men of Egypt to Solomon for the building of the ship; and the other sent the timber along with the architect from Tyre, who was from a Jewish mother, of the tribe of David, whose name, as it is written there, was Hyperon. Indeed, Onomacritus the Athenian, who is said to be the author of the poems attributed to Orpheus, lived around the time of the Peisistratid rule, about the fiftieth Olympiad. Orpheus himself, who sailed with Heracles, was a student of Musaeus. Amphion comes two generations before the Iliad; Demodocus and Phemius lived after the fall of Ilium. The one was famous among the Phaeacians, the other among the suitors, both well known for their skill in playing the lyre. And those attributed to Musaeus are said to be the Oracles of Onomacritus; Cratetas is said to be of Orpheus, the son of Zopyrus the Heracleote; and the Descent into Hades is attributed to Prodicus of Samos. Ion of Chios, in the Trigrammi, relates that Pythagoras was somehow connected to Orpheus. Epigenes, in his writings on the poetry attributed to Orpheus, says that the Descent into Hades and the Sacred Discourse belong to Cercops of the Pythagorean school; but the Veil and the Physical [Works] belong to Brontinus. Indeed, some say that Terpander is ancient; Hellanicus at least records that he lived during the time of Midas. Phanias, placing Lesches the Lesbian before Terpander, considers Terpander younger than Archilochus. He says that Lesches was defeated in a contest by Arctinus. Xanthus the Lydian places him around the eighteenth Olympiad; Dionysius places the founding of Thasos around the fifteenth Olympiad. It is clear that Archilochus is known to have lived after the twentieth Olympiad. He also remembers the recent destruction of the Magnetes. Simonides is said to have lived after Archilochus; Callinus, who was not much older, remembers the Magnetes—Archilochus among those who perished, and Callinus among those who prospered. Eumelos the Corinthian, being older, is said to have imposed upon Archias, the founder of Syracuse. And these things we have advanced to say, that especially among the very ancient ones, the poets of the circle are placed. Already among the Greeks, soothsayers are said to have become frequent, like the Bacides, one a Boeotian, the other an Arcadian, who foretold many things to many people. By the advice of the Athenian Amphiletus, Peisistratus also gained control of the tyranny, revealing the right moment for the attack. Let Cometes the Cretan, Cinyras the Cypriot, Admetus the Thessalian, Aristaeus the Cyrenian, Amphiaraus the Athenian, Timoxeus the Corcyraean, Demainetus the Phocaean, Epigenes the Thespian, Nicias the Carystian, Ariston the Thessalian, Dionysius the Carthaginian, Cleophon the Corinthian, Hippotes son of Cheiron, and Boio, and Manto, and the many Sibyls, Samia, Colophonia, Cymaea, Erythraea, Phyto, Taraxandra, Maketis, the Thessalian, the Thesprotian; and Calchas again, and Mopsus, who lived during the Trojan War; Mopsus being the elder, as he sailed together with the Argonauts—let these be silent. They say that the so-called Mantike of Mopsus was compiled by Batton the Cyrenian; and Dorotheus, in the first Pandektis, hearing from Alcyone and Koronis, records the history of Mopsus. Pythagoras the great also always agreed with foreknowledge, as did Abaris the Hyperborean, Aristaeus the Proconnesian, Epimenides the Cretan, who came to Sparta, Zoroaster the Mede, Empedocles the Agrigentine, and Phormion the Lacedaemonian; indeed, Polyaratus the Thasian and Empedotimos the Syracusan as well; and above all these, Socrates the Athenian: "For it is to me," he says in the Theageitus, "beginning from childhood, a divine fate becoming a sign from a spirit. This is a voice, which, whenever it happens, stops me from doing what I am about to do, but it never urges me on." Exekestos, the tyrant of the Phocians, wore two rings enchanted to distinguish the right times for actions by the sound they made to each other; yet he died assassinated, even though the sound had warned him, as Aristotle says in the Constitution of the Phocians. But also among the people of Egypt, who became gods in human reputation, were Hermes of Thebes and Asclepius of Memphis; and again Tiresias and Manto in Thebes, as Euripides says; Helen already, and Laocoön, and Oenone, and Brennus in Ilium; for Crenus, one of the Heracleidae, is said to have been a famous seer; and another, Iamus, in Elis, from whom the Iamidae come; and Polyidus in Argos, in Megara, whom the tragedy remembers. Why should I mention Telemus, who, being a seer of the Cyclopes, foretells to Polyphemus the events of Odysseus' wandering; or Onomacritus among the Athenians; or Amphiaraus, who with the seven who marched against Thebes is said to have been older than the generation of the fall of Ilium; or Theoclymenus in Cephallenia; or Telmis in Caria; or Galeon in Sicily? There might also be others besides these: Idmon with the Argonauts; Phemonoë of Delphi; Mopsus, the son of Apollo and Manto in Pamphylia; Amphilochus, son of Amphiaraus, in Cilicia; Alcmaeon in Acarnania; Anius in Delos; and Aristander of Telmissus, who was with Alexander. Philochorus already reports that Orpheus became a seer in the first book On Divination. Theopompus, Ephorus, and Timaeus also mention a certain seer named Orthagoras; just as the Samian Pythocles does in the fourth book of Italic Matters, about Gaius Julius Nepos. But some say, "They are all thieves and robbers," As Scripture says, most have spoken beforehand by observation and likelihood, just like doctors and seers who judge by appearance; others have been moved by spirits, or disturbed by waters, incense, and air; among the Hebrews, the prophets by the power of God and inspiration; before the Law, Adam, who foretold the naming of the woman and the animals; and Noah, who preached repentance; and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, plainly revealing many things to come and even some things already present. Along with the Law, Moses and Aaron; after them prophesied Joshua the son of Nun, Samuel, Gad, Nathan, Ahijah, Semaiah, Iddo, Elijah, Micah, Obadiah, Elisha, Abaddonites, Amos, Isaiah, Hosea, Jonah, Joel, Jeremiah, Zephaniah son of Buz, Ezekiel, Uriah, Habakkuk, Nahum, Daniel, Mishael, who interprets visions, Haggai, Zechariah, who is also among the twelve angels. There are altogether thirty-five prophets; and among women (for they also prophesied), Sarah, Rebecca, Mary, Deborah, and Hulda. Then, around the same time, John prophesies up to the saving baptism; and after the birth of Christ, Anna and Simeon; for Zechariah, the father of John, is said in the Gospels to have prophesied even before the child. Therefore, from Moses onward, let us gather the chronology according to the Greeks. From the birth of Moses to the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt, eighty years; and from then until his death, another forty. The Exodus takes place according to Inachus, before the Sothiac period, with Moses leading the departure from Egypt three hundred forty-five years earlier. From the leadership of Moses and Inachus to the flood of Deucalion, which I call the second deluge, and to the burning of Phaethon, which indeed happens according to Crotopus, forty generations are counted; but for the hundred years, three generations are counted. From the flood to the burning of Mount Ida and the discovery of iron, and the Idaean Dactyls, seventy-three years, as Thrasyllus says; and from the burning of Mount Ida to the abduction of Ganymede, sixty-five years. From there to the campaign of Perseus, when Glaucus also established the Isthmian Games at Melicertes, fifteen years; and from the campaign of Perseus to the founding of Ilium, thirty-four years. From there to the sailing of the Argo, forty-four years. From this point to Theseus and the Minotaur, thirty-two years; then to the seven against Thebes, ten years. From there to the Olympic contest that Heracles established for Pelops, three years; and to the campaign against the Amazons in Athens, and the abduction of Helen by Theseus, nine years. From there to the deification of Heracles, eleven years; then to the abduction of Helen by Alexander, four years. From the fall of Troy to the arrival of Aeneas and the founding of Lavinium, ten years; and to the beginning of Ascanius's rule, eight years; and to the arrival of the Heracleidae, sixty-one years; and to the Olympiad of Ifitus, three hundred thirty-eight years. Eratosthenes records the times as follows: "From the fall of Troy to the arrival of the Heracleidae, eighty years; from there to the founding of Ionia, sixty years; and following these, to the rule of Lycurgus, one hundred fifty-nine years; and before that, to the first Olympiads, one hundred eight years." From that Olympiad to the crossing of Xerxes, two hundred ninety-seven years; from that to the start of the Peloponnesian War, forty-eight years; and to the downfall and defeat of the Athenians, twenty-seven years; and to the battle at Leuctra, thirty-four years; after which, to the death of Philip, thirty-five years. After these, to the change under Alexander, twelve years." Again, from the first Olympiad, some say that twenty-four years passed until the founding of Rome; from there to the fall of Babylon, consuls ruled for two hundred forty-three years; and from the fall of Babylon to the death of Alexander, one hundred eighty-six years. From there to the victory of Augustus, when Antony killed himself in Alexandria, two hundred ninety-four years; Augustus was consul for the fourth time. From that time to the contest that Domitian held in Rome, fourteen years; and from the first contest to the death of Commodus, eleven years. There are those who count from Cecrops to Alexander the Macedonian one thousand eight hundred twenty-eight years; from Demophon, one thousand two hundred fifty; and from the fall of Troy to the coming of the Heracleidae, one hundred twenty years, or one hundred eighty. From this point to the rule of Euanetus, at which time they say Alexander crossed into Asia, according to Phanias, seven hundred fifteen years; according to Ephorus, seven hundred thirty-five; according to Timaeus and Cleitarchus, eight hundred twenty; according to Eratosthenes, seven hundred seventy-four; according to Douris, from the fall of Troy to Alexander's crossing into Asia, one thousand years. From there to Euanetus, the ruler of the Athenians, at whose time Alexander died, eleven years. From there to the rule of Germanicus Claudius Caesar, three hundred sixty-five years; from that time, the years up to the death of Commodus are also clearly counted, as many as are gathered. After the Greek times, and also from the years concerning the barbarians, the greatest intervals must be given as well. From Adam to the flood, there are two thousand one hundred forty-eight years and four days; and from Shem to Abraham, one thousand two hundred ninety years. From Isaac to the inheritance, there are six hundred sixteen years. Then from the judges to Samuel, there are four hundred sixty-three years and seven months. And after the judges, there are five hundred seventy-two years, six months, and ten days of kings. After those times, there are two hundred thirty-five years of Persian rule; then of Macedonian rule until the death of Antony, three hundred twelve years and eighteen days. After that time, the Roman rule until the death of Commodus is two hundred twenty-two years. Again, from the seventy-year captivity and the restoration of the people to their native land, until the captivity under Vespasian, the years add up to four hundred ten; the last period from Vespasian to the death of Commodus is found to be one hundred twenty-one years, six months, and twenty-four days. Demetrius says in On the Kings in Judea that the tribe of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi were not taken captive by Senacherib, but from that captivity made by Nebuchadnezzar from Jerusalem until the last one, there are one hundred twenty-eight years and six months; and from when the ten tribes from Samaria were taken captive until Ptolemy IV, there are five hundred seventy-three years and nine months; and from when taken from Jerusalem, there are three hundred thirty-eight years and three months. Philo himself also wrote the kings of the Judeans differently from Demetrius. Moreover, Eupolemus, in a similar treatise, says that all the years from Adam until the fifth year of Demetrius Ptolemy, the twelfth king of Egypt, add up to 589,000 years. From the time Moses led the Judeans out of Egypt until the previously mentioned date, the years add up to two thousand five hundred eighty. From that time until the consuls Gaius Domitianus and Cassianus in Rome, the years add up to one hundred twenty. Euphorus and many other historians, as well as nations, say there are seventy-five; having heard the voice of Moses saying, "All the souls from Jacob were seventy-five, those who went down into Egypt". " The general dialects also seem to be seventy-two according to the true account, as our Scriptures hand down; but the many other dialects arise from the mixing of two, or three, or even more dialects. Dialect: it is a word showing the special character of a place; either a word showing the special character of a place, or a common character of a nation. The Greeks say there are five dialects among them: Attic, Ionic, Doric, Aeolic, and the fifth, the common dialect; but the sounds of the barbarians, which are not included, are not called dialects but languages. Plato also assigned a certain dialect to the gods, especially based on dreams and oracles; but also differently from the spirits, who do not use their own voice or dialect, but that of the spirits who possess them. He also thinks that irrational animals have dialects, of which the similar kinds can hear one another. When an elephant falls into the mud and cries out, if another is nearby and sees what happened, after a short time it returns, leading a herd of elephants with it, and saves the one that fell. They say that in Libya, if a scorpion cannot sting a person, it will return with many others; they cling to each other like chains, thus trying to reach their target by ambush. Surely they do not communicate by hidden signs used by irrational animals, nor do they reveal themselves by shape, but I think by their own dialect. Some others also say that if a fish is pulled out and escapes by breaking free from the fishing line, no fish of the same kind will be found in the same place that day. The first and general dialects are barbarian, but by nature they have names; for people also agree that prayers spoken in a barbarian language are more powerful. And Plato, in Cratylus, wanting to explain fire, says that the name is barbarian. At least he testifies to the Phrygians calling it this way, deviating a little. I think nothing worse follows from this, even to mention the times of the Roman emperors, to show the birth of the Savior. Augustus forty-four years; Tiberius twenty-two years; Gaius four years. Claudius fourteen years; Nero fourteen years; Galba one year; Vespasian ten years; Titus three years; Domitian fifteen years; Nerva one year; Trajan nineteen years; Hadrian twenty-one years. Antoninus twenty-one years; likewise again Antoninus and Commodus twenty-two years. Everything from Augustus to Commodus amounts to twenty-six years; and from Adam to the end of Commodus, five thousand two hundred forty-four years, two months, twelve days. Some, however, record the years of the Roman emperors as follows: Gaius Julius Caesar, three years, four months, five days; after whom Augustus reigned sixteen years, six months, one day. Then Tiberius, twenty-six years, six months, nineteen days; succeeded by Gaius Caesar, three years, ten months, eight days; then Claudius, thirteen years, eight months, twenty-eight days; Nero, thirteen years, eight months, twenty-eight days; Galba, seven months, six days; Otho, five months, one day; Vitellius, seven months, one day; Vespasian, eleven years, eleven months, twenty-two days; Titus, two years, two months; Domitian, fifteen years, eight months, five days; Nerva, one year, four months, nine days; Trajan, nineteen years, seven months, fifteen days; Hadrian, twenty years, ten months, twenty-eight days; Antoninus, twenty-two years, three months, seven days; Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, nineteen years, eleven days; Commodus, twelve years, nine months, fourteen days. From Julius Caesar then until the end of Commodus, there are sixty-six years, six months. All the time from Romulus, the founder of Rome, until the end of Commodus adds up to seven hundred and ninety-nine years, six months. Our Lord was born in the twenty-eighth year, when for the first time they ordered "censuses." to be taken, under Augustus. That this is true is written in the Gospel according to Luke as follows: "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, the word of the Lord came to John, the son of Zechariah." And again in the same [Gospel]: "Now Jesus came to be baptized, being about thirty years old." And that he was to preach for only one year, this too is written as follows: "The Lord has sent me to preach for a year acceptable to him." This the prophet also said, and the Gospel. In the fifteenth year then of Tiberius, and the fifteenth of Augustus; thus the thirty years are completed, up to the time when he suffered. From the time he suffered until the destruction of Jerusalem, there are 32 years, 3 months; and from the destruction of Jerusalem until the end of Commodus, 97 years, 10 months, 3 days. So, from the time the Lord was born until the end of Commodus, the total is one hundred ninety-four years, one month, and thirteen days. There are some who, being more curious about the birth of our Savior, add not only the year but also the day, which they say was in the 28th year of Augustus, on the fifth of Pachon and the twentieth day. Those who celebrate from the day of Basilides and his baptism begin the observance before nightfall with readings. They say it was the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, on the fifteenth day of the month Tybi; some say it was the eleventh day of the same month. Those who give exact details about his suffering place it in the sixteenth year of Tiberius Caesar, on the 20th of Phamenoth; others say on the 20th of Pharmuthi; still others say on the 19th of Pharmuthi, claiming that the Savior suffered then. Yes, indeed, some of them say he was born on the 24th or 20th of Pharmuthi. Moreover, those things must also be added to the chronology; I mean the days. These are the days that Daniel hints at from the desolation of Jerusalem: the seventh year of Vespasian, the seventh month. For the two years are added to those of Otho, Galba, and Vitellius, seventeen months, eight days; and so it becomes three years and six months, which is "half of the week," just as the prophet Daniel said. He said that 1,290 days would pass from the time the abomination was set up by Nero in the holy city until its destruction. For this is how the stated prophecy shows: "Until when will the vision stand, the taken-away sacrifice, the sin be made desolate, the given one, and the power and the holy be trampled down?" And he said to him: "Until evening and morning, twenty-three days; and the holy will be taken away." These twenty-three days then become six years and four months; of which Nero the emperor held half, and half a week came to be; the other half was held by Vespasian along with Otho, and Galba, and Vitellius. And for this reason Daniel says: "Blessed is the one who reaches the days of 135,000." For until these days there was war, but after these it ceased. This number is also shown from the assigned chapter, which says: "And from the time of the change of the continual sacrifice, and the giving of the abomination of desolation, there will be one thousand two hundred ninety days." Blessed is the one who endures and reaches the days 135,000." Flavius Josephus, the Jew who wrote the Jewish histories, bringing down the times, says that from Moses to David there are 430 years; from David to the second year of Vespasian, 1,280 years; then from that time until the tenth year of Antoninus, 87 years; so that from Moses to the tenth year of Antoninus all the years are 1,797. Others, counting up to the end of Commodus from Inachus and Moses, said that the years come to 2,744; and some, 2,824. In the Gospel according to Matthew, the genealogy from Abraham ends with Mary, the mother of the Lord: "For there are," he says, "From Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the exile to Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the exile to Babylon to Christ are likewise another fourteen generations; three secret periods, each completed by six sevens.

Chapter 22

On the Greek Interpretation of the Old Testament.

And let what has been recorded in many different ways about the times, and set forth to us, stand as it is here; but concerning the interpretation of the Scriptures, both the Law and the Prophets, they say it was done from the Hebrew language into the Greek language under King Ptolemy Lagus; or, as some say, under Philadelphus, who was called so, with the greatest ambition brought to this by Demetrius of Phalerum, who carefully investigated the matter of the interpretation. For still, while the Macedonians held Asia, the king, eager to adorn the library in Alexandria that had come to be under him with all kinds of writings, ordered the people of Jerusalem to translate the prophecies they had into the Greek language. But, since they still obeyed the Macedonians, choosing seventy elders from among their most respected men, experienced in the Scriptures and skilled in the Greek language, they sent them to him along with the sacred books. Each one, in turn, translated a prophecy separately, and all the translations were combined, comparing both the meanings and the words; for it was God's will that the message be carefully prepared for Greek listeners. It is not strange that by the inspiration of God, who gave the prophecy, the interpretation should act like a Greek prophecy; for even when the Scriptures were destroyed during the captivity under Nebuchadnezzar, in the time of Artaxerxes, king of the Persians, inspired Ezra the Levite, the priest, came and renewed all the old writings again and prophesied. Aristobulus, in the first letter to Philometor, writes word for word: "Plato also followed our law; and it is clear that he thoroughly worked through each of the things said in it . " The interpretation was made before Demetrius, by another, before the rule of Alexander and the Persians, concerning both the exodus of the Hebrews, our fellow citizens, from Egypt, and the revelation of all the events to them, and the holding of the land, and the explanation of the entire law; so that it is clear that the aforementioned philosopher received many things; for he became very learned; just as Pythagoras also brought many things from us into his own system of beliefs." Numenius, the Pythagorean philosopher, writes directly: "What is Plato, but Moses speaking in Attic Greek?" " This Moses, a theologian and prophet, was, as some say, an interpreter of the sacred laws. His race and deeds, and his life, these Scriptures proclaim as trustworthy; yet it is necessary for us also to speak, as is most fitting.

Chapter 23

On the age, birth, and life of Moses.

Moses, being from Chaldean stock originally, was born in Egypt, his ancestors having migrated from Babylon to Egypt because of a long-lasting famine. Born in the seventh generation, and raised in a royal manner, he was treated with such favor. When the Hebrews in Egypt had grown very numerous, the king of the land, fearing a plot from their great numbers, ordered that the female children born to the Hebrews be kept alive (for a woman is weak in war), but that the male children be destroyed, seeing their young men as strong warriors. The parents hid the child, who was a noble by birth, for three consecutive months and raised him, natural affection overcoming tyrannical cruelty. Later, fearing that the child might be killed along with others, they made a small box from local wood, placed the child inside, and set him down by the banks of the river, which was flowing. The child's sister watched from a distance as he was set afloat. At that time, the king's daughter, having not menstruated for a long time and longing for a child, came that day to the river, using baths and sprinklers; and hearing the child crying, she ordered it to be brought to her. Feeling pity, she sought a nurse. Then the child's sister ran up and said that a Hebrew woman, who had recently given birth, would serve as a nurse for her if she wished. When the woman agreed and asked, she brought the child's mother to be the nurse, as if she were someone else, for a fixed wage. Then the queen gave the child the name Moses, truly, because of the connection to "water." "to draw him out of the water"; for the water is "mōÿ-" which the Egyptians call "mōÿ"; into which he was placed to die by drowning. For indeed, Moses is called "the one drawn out of the water." they call him by this name. It is clear, then, that in earlier times, when the child was circumcised, the parents gave him a name; and he was called Joachim. He also had a third name in heaven after the ascension, as the initiates say, Melchi. When he came of age, he was taught arithmetic and geometry, rhythm and harmony, as well as medicine and music by the leading Egyptians; and in addition, the philosophy through symbols, which is shown in the hieroglyphic writings. The other general education was taught by Greeks in Egypt, as to a royal child, as Philo says in the Life of Moses. He also learned the letters of the Egyptians, and the science of the heavens from both the Chaldeans and the Egyptians; hence in the Acts it says, "he was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." It is reported. Eupolemus, in "On the Kings in Judea," "says that Moses was the first to become wise, and the first to hand down writing to the Jews; and that from the Jews he received Phoenicians, and from the Phoenicians Greeks." Having considered their nature, he increased his understanding, eagerly pursuing the education related by kinship and ancestry, even striking down and killing the Egyptian who unjustly attacked the Hebrew. The mystics say that he killed the Egyptian by word alone, just as Peter is later said in the Acts to have killed by word those who had stolen the honor of the place and lied. Artapanus, in his work On the Jews, records that Moses was locked up in prison by Nechephre, the king of the Egyptians, when he asked for the people to be allowed to leave Egypt. During the night, when the prison was opened by God's will, Moses went out, entered the royal chambers, stood over the sleeping king, and woke him up. The king, struck with amazement at what had happened, ordered Moses to say the name of the one who sent him. Moses bowed to the king's ear and spoke it. When the king heard it, he fell silent and fainted, but was held up by Moses and then came back to life." About the upbringing of Moses, Ezekiel, the poet of Jewish tragedies, agrees with us in his play called The Exodus," writing thus from the perspective of Moses:

For having seen our race grown enough,

He devised a great trick against us

King Pharaoh devised a great trick against us: he put some in brickworks,

and by heavy building tasks he oppressed mortals,

and by their cities' towers, he willingly harmed the unlucky.

Then he proclaims that they are of Hebrew race

He throws the Tarsian things into the deep-flowing river.

Here my mother who gave birth to me hid me.

Three months, as they said; and not forgetting,

She exposed me, having wrapped me in a cloth,

Near the edge of the river, in a rough deep marsh;

My sister Mary was watching nearby.

And then the king's daughter, together with her delicate companions,

Came down to the baths to brighten her youthful body.

She saw me immediately, and taking me, she lifted me up.

She recognized that I was a Hebrew and said these things:

Mary, the sister, running up to the queen,

"Do you want a nurse for this child? I will find one quickly."

"From the Hebrews?" And she nodded to the girl.

She agreed and said to the mother, and was present quickly.

She herself, the mother, took me into her arms.

The king's daughter said, "This one, woman,"

"Take care of him; and I will pay you a reward."

And she named him Moses, because of grace.

He drew up the baby from the wet riverbank.

When the time of infancy had passed for me,

My mother led me to the palace of the queen,

Having told me everything and spoken to me,

The family heritage and gifts from God.

So then, as long as we had time with the child,

With royal foods and teachings

He promised everything, as if from his very heart;

But when the full time of days had come,

They went out from the royal houses.…

Then, after recounting the conflict between the Hebrew and the Egyptian, and the burial in the Egyptian's sand, he speaks about the other battle:

"… why do you strike one weaker than yourself?"

He said, "Who sent you to be a judge over us?"

"Or are you a trustworthy one here? Do not kill me,"

"As if I were an enemy man? And fearing, I"

I said, "How did this become clear?"

He then fled from here and tended sheep, being trained for pastoral leadership; for pastoral care is a kind of preparation for kingship, to the one who is to oversee the most gentle of people like a flock, just as hunting is natural training for warriors. God led him from here to the leadership of the Hebrews. Then the Egyptians, often foolish, were warned; and the Hebrews became spectators, some of whom endured various evils, learning without danger the power of God. But when the Egyptians, refusing to accept the results of that power by hearing, became foolish and unbelieving, then, as it is said, it was declared, "the infants understood." Later, when the Hebrews went out, carrying off much spoil from the Egyptians, they left, not out of greed for money, as their accusers say; for God did not persuade them to desire what belonged to others. But first, having served the Egyptians all the time, they received a fresh wage; then also, in a certain way, they defended themselves, grieving the Egyptians as if they were greedy for money, by carrying off the spoil, just as those Egyptians had done to the Hebrews by enslaving them. Whether, then, as one might say in war, they deserved by law to carry off the enemies' goods, as the stronger over the weaker (and the cause of war is just). The Hebrews came to the Egyptians as suppliants because of famine; but the Egyptians, having enslaved the strangers, forced them to serve as captives, not even paying wages. Or, as in peace, they received the spoil as wages from those unwilling to pay for a long time, but rather withholding it.

Chapter 24

How Moses fulfilled the role of leader and set an example for others to carry out this duty.

Moses, then, is for us prophetic, legislative, tactical, military, political, and philosophical. How he was prophetic will be said later, when we discuss prophecy; the tactical part belongs to the military; the military part belongs to the royal. Again, the legislative part belongs to the royal, just as the judicial part does. The royal part has a divine aspect, like that concerning God and his holy Son, from whom both the good things on earth and those beyond, as well as perfect happiness, are granted: "Ask " For he says, "Ask for the great things, and the small things will be added to you." There is a second kind of kingship, after the purely rational and divine rule, which belongs only to the spirited part of the soul in kingship; in this kind, Heracles ruled Argos, and Alexander ruled the Macedonians. Thirdly, there is the kind that aims at only one thing: to conquer and to overthrow. But to make the victory serve evil or good is not possible for this kind; the Persians used this kind when they marched against Greece. For the spirited part is only competitive, having made domination for the sake of ruling; but the love of beauty belongs to the spirited part when it is used well in the soul. Fourthly, the worst of all is the kingship ordered according to desires; like that of Sardanapalus, and of those who make pleasure their goal, giving themselves up as much as possible to their desires. The royal power, both that which conquers by virtue and that which conquers by force, has the orderly as its instrument. But another is according to a different nature and material: in weapons and fighting animals, both living and non-living, the ordering is by soul and mind; but in the passions of the soul, over which we have power through virtue, the ordering is reason, sealed by self-control and temperance along with holiness, and good knowledge with truth, bringing the goal back to reverence for God. For in those who use virtue, the ordering is wisdom; the divine things are wisdom; the human things are politics; and the whole is kingship. Therefore, a king is the ruler according to laws, the one who has the knowledge of ruling over those who obey willingly; such is the Lord, leading those who trust in him and through him. For God has given all things, and has subjected all things to Christ, our king: "so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth; and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The strategy belongs to three kinds of ideas: secure, allegorical, and mixed from these. Each of these is made up of three parts, either through reason, or through actions, or through both at the same time. All these things exist to accomplish everything, whether persuading, or forcing, or wronging in defense, which are included; or those doing what is right, or lying, or telling the truth, or even some using these together at the same time. All these things together, and how each one must use them, the Greeks have received from Moses and have been helped by them. For the sake of example, I will recall one or even two examples of strategy. Moses, having led out the people, suspecting that the Egyptians would pursue, took the short and narrow route through the desert; and he used the night for most of the journey. For there was another arrangement by which the Hebrews were trained, through much wilderness and a long time, to believe in God alone, being accustomed to self-control through patience. The strategy of Moses, at least, teaches that before dangers, one must recognize what is useful and thus impose it. What was suspected did happen: the Egyptians pursued on horses and chariots; but they were destroyed quickly when the sea broke, and with horses and chariots they were overwhelmed, so that not even a remnant of them was left. After these things, a pillar of fire following them (for it led them ahead) guided the Hebrews by night through impassable places, training and testing them with hardships and journeys for both courage and endurance; so that even the good things of the land might appear after the trial of the dangers they thought they faced, to which the journey was sending them. Indeed, by changing his approach, he also killed the enemies who were stationed in the land, attacking them from the desert and rough roads (for such is the skill of a general). For it was the work of experience and generalship to take possession of the land of the enemies. Seeing this, Miltiades, the general of the Athenians who defeated the Persians in the battle at Marathon, copied this method: he led the Athenians by night, walking through rough paths, and confused the barbarians who were watching for him. For Hippias, the Athenian deserter, had brought the barbarians into Attica and, knowing the local terrain well, guarded the key places in advance. The task, then, was to catch Hippias off guard; therefore, it was reasonable that Miltiades, using the rough paths and attacking by night, succeeded in the battle against the Persians, led by Datis, along with those he himself commanded. But for Thrasybulus, who brought down those who had fallen from Phyle and wanted to catch them by surprise, a pillar served as a guide through the rough terrain. For Thrasybulus, at night, when the moon was absent and the weather was harsh, saw a fire burning ahead, which they had carelessly sent before them; it went out near Munychia. There now stands the altar of the Morning Star. Let our words then be trusted and let them be established among the Greeks: that it is indeed possible for the almighty God to lead the Hebrews by night with a pillar of fire, which also guided them on their way. It is also said in a certain oracle:

A pillar of joy to the Thebans is Dionysus,

from the story about the Hebrews. But Euripides also says in Antiope:

… Inside, in the chambers, a herdsman

Combing ivy, a pillar of the god Euoi.

The pillar signifies the unpictured nature of God. The illuminated pillar, in addition to meaning the unpictured, shows God as standing and permanent, and his light as unchanging and without form. Before the exact shapes of statues were fixed, the ancients, setting up columns, honored these as representations of God. The author of Phoronida writes this:

Callithoe, keeper of the keys of Olympias the queen

Hera of Argos, who with crowns and wreaths

She was the first to adorn a tall pillar for the queen. But also the one who made Europa tells the story that the statue of Apollo at Delphi was a pillar because of the following:

So that we might hang a tithe and a first-fruits offering to the god

From sacred weights and a tall pillar.

Apollo, indeed, is understood mystically as the one God "by the deprivation of many." But that fire, which resembles a pillar, and the fire that passes through the inaccessible place, is a symbol of holy light, passing out from the earth and running back again into heaven through the wood, through which sight has been granted to us in a spiritual way.

Chapter 25

How Plato, in composing his laws, imitated Moses.

Plato, the philosopher, having been helped by Moses concerning legislation, criticized the constitutions of Minos and Lycurgus for aiming only at courage; but he praised as more reverent the one that always spoke of one thing and always pointed toward one principle. For he says that we should philosophize more with strength, reverence, and wisdom, holding steadfastly to the same judgment about the authority of heaven, and concerning the same things. Therefore, he interprets the things according to the Law as aiming toward one God and commanding to act justly. He says that there are two kinds of the political: the one legal, and the other political, both called by the same name. And by political in the proper sense, he means the Creator, in the book of the same name; and those who turn toward him and live actively and justly, along with contemplation, he also calls political. But the political also called legal he divides into a cosmic (45-46) greatness of mind, and into a private order, which he called decency, harmony, and self-control, whenever rulers act fittingly toward those ruled, and the ruled become obedient to the rulers; which is the matter according to Moses that he earnestly intended to happen. Moreover, the legal is related to birth, but the political is related to friendship and harmony. Plato, having been helped, composed the philosopher in the Laws in the Epinomides as the one who knows the way out of every birth, through those who wander. Another philosopher is the Timaeus, who is astronomical and theoretical about their movement, sympathy, and mutual sharing, connecting them to the Republic. Then, for I think the end of the political life and the life lived according to law is contemplation; it is necessary, at least, to govern rightly; but the best is to philosophize. For the one having mind, gathering all his own things into knowledge, would live, directing life by good deeds, and dishonoring the opposite things, and following the lessons that lead toward truth. Law is not what is customary, (for not all that is seen is a vision;) nor is every opinion law; (for even the wicked are not law;) but law is a good opinion, and true opinion is good. True is the "being" finding, and attaining this. "The one who is sent me forth, " says Moses. Those who follow, clearly in the good glory, said that the law is a correct word: commanding what must be done, forbidding what must not be done.

Chapter 26

Moses is rightly called a divine lawgiver, although inferior to Christ, and by far having greater authority than the Greek lawgivers Minos and Lycurgus.

Therefore, the law has been rightly said to have been given through Moses, being a rule for both just and unjust; and this we would especially call a decree, the one handed down by God through Moses. It certainly has guidance toward the divine. Paul also says: "The law was put in place because of transgressions, until the seed to whom the promise was made should come". " Then, as if explaining the meaning, he adds: "But before faith came, we were held under the law, kept in custody," " that is, by fear of sins, "until the coming faith would be revealed; so the law became our guardian until Christ, that we might be justified by faith." The lawgiver is the one who assigns to each part of the soul its proper share and the works belonging to them. Moses, to sum up, was a living law, guided by the good Word. Indeed, he served a good constitution; and it is a good nourishment for people through fellowship. At once he used the judicial art, which is a corrective knowledge for those who sin, for the sake of justice. Corresponding to it was the punitive art, which is a kind of knowledge according to the measure of punishments. Punishment, being a correction, is a healing of the soul. The whole way of life, so to speak, is to Moses both educational for those who can become good and noble men, and hunting for those like them; this would be strategic. The practical wisdom for those who have been hunted would be, in a way, legislative wisdom; for it is proper both to acquire and to use this, being most royal. Only the wise do philosophers proclaim as king, lawgiver, general, just, holy, and god-loving. But if we find these things concerning Moses. As it is shown from the Scriptures, we would speak very confidently that Moses is truly wise. Just as we say that he cares for the flock of sheep; for so "the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep;" In the same way, we would say that he established the virtue of human lawgiving, reviving what is good in human nature according to its ability, being both supervisory and caring for the flock of humans. If the flock allegorized by the Lord is nothing other than a herd of humans, then the same one will be both a good shepherd and lawgiver of the one flock, "of his own sheep who hear his voice," the one guardian, "the one who seeks the lost and" and finding it, by law and word; if indeed the law is spiritual, and leads toward happiness; for the one who has become spiritual by the Holy Spirit is spiritual. But this one is truly the lawgiver, who not only promises good and noble things, but also understands them. And the law of this one, who has knowledge, is the saving command; rather, the law is a command of knowledge: "Power" For "power and wisdom" the Word "of God." He is also the interpreter of the laws, through whom the law was given; the first interpreter of the divine commands, the only-begotten Son who reveals the bosom of the Father. Then those who obey the law, and have some knowledge of it, can neither disbelieve nor be ignorant of the truth; but those who do not believe, and are least willing to do good works, if there are any such, are also confessedly ignorant of the truth. What then is the unbelief of the Greeks? Do you perhaps not want to obey the truth, which is said to have been given by God through Moses, especially since they themselves honor Moses among them? They say that Minos received the laws from Zeus in the ninth year, going to the cave of Zeus; and that Lycurgus, the lawgiver, constantly went to Delphi to Apollo to be educated, as Plato, Aristotle, and Ephorus write; and Chamaeleon of Heraclea in On Intoxication, and Aristotle in The Constitution of the Locrians, record that Zaleucus the Locrian received the laws from Athena. But those who, as much as possible, raise up the unreliability of the laws among the Greeks against the divine, like the prophecy according to Moses, are unwise, not acknowledging from there both the truth and the original pattern of what is recorded among them.

Chapter 27

The law looks out for the common good, even when it corrects and punishes.

Therefore, no one should run away from the law because of punishment, as if it were not good and noble. For no one would think that someone who removes a disease from the body is a benefactor; and one who tries to free the soul from injustice would not be more of a guardian, since the soul is more valuable than the body. But for the sake of the body's health, we endure cuts, burns, and medicines; and the one who applies these is called both savior and doctor—not out of envy or ill will toward the sufferer, but as the teaching of the art commands, cutting off some parts so that the healthy parts are not destroyed along with it. And no one would blame the doctor's art for wickedness. But for the soul, we would not endure the same, whether to flee or to pay penalties or to accept bonds, if someone were to try to gain justice only through injustice? For the law, caring for its subjects, trains them toward reverence for God and commands what must be done, forbidding each sin and imposing punishments on those who commit them moderately. But when it sees someone in such a state that seems incurable, driven to the utmost injustice, then, caring for the rest so that they are not corrupted by him, it cuts off that part like a part of the whole body, thus perhaps very healthily killing such a one. "And being judged by the Lord," says the Apostle, "we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world." For the prophet foretold, "The Lord disciplined me, but he did not give me over to death. For the sake of teaching you his righteousness, he disciplined you," he says, "And he tested you, and made you hungry, and made you thirsty in a desert land; so that all his laws and judgments might be known in your heart, as many as I command you today; and you will know in your heart that just as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord our God disciplines you." Because the example teaches self-control, immediately he says, "A crafty person, seeing a wicked one punished, is strongly disciplined himself;" since "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." The greatest and most perfect good is when someone can be led from doing wrong to virtue and success; this is what the law accomplishes. So even when someone falls into incurable evil, caught by injustice and greed, the one being corrected would be benefited. For the law is a benefactor, able to make the just out of the unjust, if only they are willing to learn from it; and it frees others from present evils. For those who choose to live wisely and justly, it promises immortality. But to know the law is the understanding of good sense. And again: "Evil men do not understand the law; but those who seek the Lord will be wise in every good thing." " It is necessary, then, that the ruling Providence be both master and good; for both powers manage salvation: one, correcting by punishment, as master; the other, acting kindly through good deeds, as benefactor. It is allowed not to be a son of disobedience, but to pass from darkness into life, and having placed hearing under wisdom, to be a lawful servant of God at first, then to become a faithful attendant, fearing the Lord God; but if anyone turns back, he is counted among the sons. But when "love covers a multitude of sins," to the blessed hope's fulfillment, having grown in love, to await this one. having been enrolled in the chosen adoption, the beloved called of God, already singing the prayer, and saying: "Let the Lord be to me a God." But the Apostle showed the goodness of the law through the section concerning the Jews, writing somewhat like this: "But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law," and boast in God, and know the will of God, and approve the things that differ, being instructed from the law, and you trust yourself to be a guide of the blind, a light to those in darkness, a teacher of fools, a teacher of children, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law;" For it is admitted that the law is able to do these things; and even if those who live according to the law do not behave accordingly, they live arrogantly as if under the law. "Blessed is the man who found wisdom, and the mortal who saw understanding. From her mouth," from the mouth of wisdom, clearly, "righteousness goes out; and law and mercy are carried on the tongue." For there is one Lord's work, who is "the power and wisdom of God," both the law and the Gospel; and the one whom the law has caused to fear, this merciful one leads to salvation. "Let mercy, and faith, and truth never leave you; bind them around your neck." Similarly, the prophecy reproaches the people through Paul, because they do not understand the law: "Destruction and misery are in their ways, and they have not known the way of peace; there is no fear of God before their eyes. Claiming to be wise, they became fools. But we know that the law is good if someone uses it lawfully; those who want to be teachers of the law do not understand," the Apostle says, "Neither do they understand what they say, nor about what things they insist." The goal of the command is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.

Chapter 28

The fourfold division of the Mosaic law.

The philosophy according to Moses is divided into four parts: the historical and the properly called legislative, which belong to the study of ethics; the third, the ritual, which is already part of natural theology; and the fourth, the theological aspect that applies to all, called "the vision." Plato says that this is truly one of the great mysteries; Aristotle calls this kind "Metaphysics" (After the Physics). And the dialectic according to Plato, as he says in the Politics, is a kind of science that discovers the explanation of beings. This skill is acquired by the wise, not for the sake of saying or doing something toward other people — like the dialecticians of today, who busy themselves with sophistry — but it is a gift from God to be able to speak and to act, with everything being in potential. True dialectic, being a philosophy mixed with truth, examines things and tests powers and authorities. It ascends beyond all to the strongest essence, and dares to go beyond to the God of all. It does not claim to be mere experience of mortals, but knowledge of the divine and heavenly. Along with this comes proper use concerning human matters, both in words and actions. It is fitting, then, that Scripture, wanting us to become such dialecticians, advises: "Become skilled in handling the table," rejecting the bad, and holding on to the good. For dialectic is truly the skill of dividing the intelligible, clearly and sincerely showing each of the beings according to its subject; or it is the power of dividing things down to their most specific parts, making each of the beings appear as pure as it can be. Therefore, this alone leads to true wisdom, which is the divine power of knowing beings as beings, having perfection and free from all passion; not without the Savior, who brought us down by the divine Word, who poured out upon the soul a misty ignorance from bad conduct, and gave the best, so that we might know well either God or even a man. This is the one who showed how beings must know themselves; this is the one who reveals the Father of all things to whoever he wishes, and who considers how it is possible to contain human nature in thought: "No one has known the Son except the Father; nor the Father, except the Son, and whoever the Son reveals him to." Rightly then the Apostle, by revelation, says that he has known the mystery, "just as I wrote briefly, so that you may be able, by reading, to understand my insight in the mystery of Christ." "So that you may be able", he said; since he knew that some had only taken milk, but not yet solid food, immediately not simply milk. We must take the will of the law in four ways: either as showing a sign, or as a command establishing right conduct, or as appointing a prophecy. But I know well, men, that such things must be distinguished and spoken of; for the whole Scripture is not just one Mykonos to be understood literally, as those who speak in proverbs say; rather, it must be approached more dialectically, especially by those who observe the sequence of divine teaching.

Chapter 29

The Greeks call boys from Egypt "recle" with regard to the Hebrews and their customs.

Wherefore the Egyptian priest who was with Plato said beautifully, "O Solon, Solon," he said, "you Greeks are always children, and you hold no ancient opinion in your souls through old hearing. There is no old man among the Greeks." By old men, I think he meant those who know the older things, that is, our things; and by young men, those who know the newer things and those practiced by the Greeks, who tell of what happened yesterday and the day before as if it were old and ancient.

He introduced the saying, "learning is gray with time," in a somewhat barbaric and simple way, not using our metaphor clearly. Yet the wise easily accept the whole form of the interpretation. About the Greeks he says their pride "differs little from myths." For it is not the childish myths that must be rejected, nor the myths made for children. He called those myths "children," as if seeing a little of the prideful voices among the Greeks, hinting that "learning is gray" means the truth older than the barbarians. With that word he put "child myth," refuting the mythical additions of the later ones, as if, like children, they have nothing older. Both commonly represent their myths and their words as childish.

Therefore, the power that speaks by revelation to Hermes says, "Visions and revelations are for the two-souled, those who debate in their hearts, whether these things are or are not." Likewise, from the learned treasury, proofs strengthen, confirm, and establish the demonstrative words, as long as their minds, like young ones, are still stirred.

"Then the command is a shining light," according to Scripture; "the law is the light of the way; for education reproves the ways of life." The law is the king of all, both mortals and immortals, says Pindar. But I hear the one who established the law through these things; and I take the Hesiodic saying that all things come from God, even if it was said thoughtfully by the poet, but not comprehensively understood.

For this law the son of Cronus established for men,

For to the fish and to the beasts and to the winged birds,

To eat one another; since there is no justice among them.

But to humans he gave justice, which is much the best.

Whether then the law given together with nature at birth, or the one given again, but from God, both the law of nature and the law of learning are one; just as Plato says in the Politicus that there is one lawgiver; and in the Laws, one who arranges the musical modes; through these teaching that the Word is one, and God is one. Moses seems to call the Lord a covenant; saying, "Behold, I make my covenant with you;" since earlier he said not to seek the covenant in writing; for there is a covenant which the cause of all, God, establishes. God is said to be beside the place, and order, and arrangement. And in Peter's Preaching you would find the Law and the Word called the Lord. But the first to describe for us according to true philosophy and the notes of the Gnostics is the Stromateus here.

Discourse 2 of the Eight Discourses

Chapter 1

OR PREFACE.

The author sets forth the matters to be discussed by him hereafter.

Next, it would be proper to explain, since Scripture called the Greeks thieves of the foreign philosophy, how this will be shown briefly. For we will not only show that they copied down the strange stories told among us; but also that they fabricated and falsified the main doctrines (which were in the earlier writings among us, as we have shown). We will refute them both on matters of faith, and on wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, as well as hope and love, and on repentance and self-control, and indeed also on the fear of God. a clear summary of the virtues of truth; and whatever explanation the local context requires will be included, and especially how those who truly studied the ancient philosophers have eagerly pursued the hidden, symbolic, and mysterious form of foreign philosophy, which is most useful and even necessary for the knowledge of truth. On these points, I think it is fitting to defend against the charges that the Greeks bring against us, using a few brief passages from Scripture, so that perhaps even the Jew, understanding quietly, might be able to turn back from what he believed to what he did not believe. Following rightly upon the noble philosophers comes a loving critique of their lives and the discovery of new doctrines, not to defend ourselves against the accusers (which is indeed necessary, since those who have learned to praise often curse, even if they bring empty blasphemies against us), but for the purpose of turning those very accusers back. Perhaps the all-wise ones, ashamed by the rebuke of a foreigner, might be corrected, so that at last they could see what kind of teachings these are, for which their long journeys across the seas are undertaken. For these things are indeed stolen, and these must be shown clearly, once their self-love is removed; but the things they claim to have found for themselves, the critique is of these. As a follow-up, there will also be a discussion about the so-called general education, concerning how many things are useless; and about astrology, mathematics, magic, and sorcery, which must be addressed. For indeed all the Greeks boast about these as the greatest sciences. He who openly refutes, makes peace. We have said many times already that they neither care to study nor even to practice Greek ways; for this is enough to lead many away from the truth. But true philosophy benefits the understanding, not the language, of those who are skilled. But I think that one who cares for the truth should not put together a statement out of trickery and worry; rather, one should try to call things only as one can and wishes. For those who are caught up in words and busy with them lose sight of the matters themselves. For the farmer, it is his own skill to take the rose growing among thorns unharmed; and for the craftsman, to find the pearl dug out from the oyster's flesh. They say that even birds have the sweetest quality of flesh when, without an abundance of food given to them, they scratch with their feet and carefully choose their food with effort. If then someone who studies the similar things longs to have the truth discussed among many plausible and Greek ideas, just as the true face is hidden under masks, after much effort, he will hunt it down. For in the vision of Hermes, the Power appeared and said: "Whatever can be revealed to you will be revealed."

Chapter 2

That knowledge of God can be reached through faith alone.

Do not be proud of your wisdom, the Proverbs say; in all your ways acknowledge her, so that she may guide your paths straight, and your foot will not stumble.. For it wants to show through these things that works must follow the word; and now it shows that we must have what is useful from all education by choosing it. The paths of wisdom are indeed many, cutting straight toward the path of truth; and the path is faith. "Let your foot not stumble," it says, about those who seem to oppose the one and divine providential guidance. Therefore it adds: "Do not be wise in your own eyes," according to the godless thoughts that resist the providence of God; "Fear the only powerful God," and follow him, opposing nothing to God. Moreover, the conclusion clearly teaches that "the divine fear is a turning away from evil." For it says: "And turn away from all evil." This is the discipline of wisdom: "For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines." He causes pain for understanding, but restores to peace and incorruption. The barbarian philosophy, which we follow, is truly perfect and genuine. He says indeed in Wisdom: "For he himself has given me true knowledge of things that exist, to know the structure of the world," and the following, up to: "And the power of roots." In all these, it has included the natural study of everything that has happened in the sensible world. Next, he also hints at the intelligible things, by which he means: "All that is hidden and revealed, I have known; for wisdom, the maker of all things, has taught me." You have in brief the summary of the philosophy we follow. The learning of these things, practiced with right conduct, leads through the wisdom of the maker of all things to the ruler of everything, an invincible and untouchable power, always retreating and moving far away from the one who pursues it. But he himself, though far away, has come very near, an unspeakable wonder. "I am God who comes near," says the Lord; in essence, I am far off; for how could the begotten ever come near the unbegotten? But very near in power, which embraces all things. "If someone does something secretly," he says, "will I not see it?" And indeed, he is always present with power that watches, helps, and teaches us; the power of God. Therefore Moses, convinced that God could never be known by human wisdom, says, "Show me yourself." And he tries to enter into the darkness where the voice of God was, that is, into the hidden and unchanging thoughts about being. For God is not in darkness or in a place, but above place, time, and the nature of things that have come into being; therefore, he is never partly contained, neither containing nor contained, neither by any limit nor by any cutting off. For what kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord; but he did not even build a house for himself, being uncontainable. And even if the heaven is called his throne, he is not contained by it, but rests, enjoying creation. It is clear to us, then, that the truth is hidden; and although it has already been shown by one example, shortly afterward we will also present it through many more. How then are those who wish to learn and are able not worthy of acceptance, according to Solomon, to know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive the turns of speech, and to understand true justice? Since there is also another kind of teaching, not according to the truth, coming from the laws of the Greeks and from other philosophers. "And to judge rightly," he says, not the courts, but the judgment within us must be healthy and unerring, he indicates; "so that he may give cunning to the innocent, and to the young child both perception and goodwill." For having heard these things, the wise man, convinced to obey the commandments, will be wiser in knowledge; and the understanding man will gain guidance; he will understand parables and obscure sayings, as well as the sayings of the wise and riddles. For the inspired words from God are not counterfeit, nor are those who trade in them from these; nor indeed the traps by which many sophists entangle the young, attending to nothing true. But those who have received the holy Spirit search the depths of God—that is, they become seekers of the hidden meaning concerning the prophecies. It is forbidden to share the holy things with dogs, lest they remain beasts. For it is never fitting to give what is sacred to the envious and disturbed, and to those still unbelieving in their habits, who would shamelessly bark in pursuit of the divine and pure stream of living water. Do not let water be spilled beyond your spring; let your waters go out into your streets. For many do not think such things, as many are involved; nor do they know, even after learning; but they seem to themselves, according to the noble Heraclitus. Does this one not also seem to you to blame those who do not believe? "The righteous one shall live by faith," the prophet has said. Another prophet also says, "If you do not believe, you will not understand." For how could a soul ever hold a supernatural vision of these things, struggling inside with unbelief about learning? Faith, which the Greeks, thinking it empty and foreign, slander, is a voluntary acceptance, a consent to godliness, the assurance of things hoped for, the proof of things not seen, according to the divine Apostle; for by this the elders were especially testified.. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Others have said that faith is a uniting consent to an unseen reality; just as one cares for a clear agreement about something unknown, without proof. If then it is a choice, being a desire of some kind, the desire is now intellectual; and since choice is the beginning of action, faith is found; for it is the beginning of action, the foundation of a sensible choice, which beforehand shows some proof to it through faith. To be willing to follow what is beneficial is the beginning of understanding. Unwavering choice provides a great leaning toward knowledge. Immediately, the study of faith becomes knowledge, supported by a firm foundation. At least, the children of philosophers define knowledge as an unchanging habit established by reason. There is, then, another such state of true godliness, of which reason alone is the teacher? I, for my part, do not think so. Theophrastus says that perception is the beginning of faith; for from this, the beginnings extend toward the reason and understanding within us. Therefore, the one who believes in the divine Scriptures, having a firm judgment, receives an undeniable proof of the voice of God given through the Scriptures. Faith is no longer strengthened through proof. Blessed, then, are those who have not seen and yet have believed. For the feats of the sirens, showing power beyond human ability, astonished those who happened upon them, almost unwillingly making them ready to accept what was said.

Chapter 3

He argues against heretics who claim that faith arises from the necessity of nature.

Here those around Basil consider faith to be natural; for they also place it on election, finding it by an unproven process to end in intellectual grasp. But those from Valentinus assign faith to the simple people, and knowledge to themselves, wanting it to exist in those saved by nature, according to the surplus seed of difference, far separated from faith, or calling it the spiritual part of the psychic. Moreover, those from Basil say that faith and election are proper to each time; and as a consequence of the election of the supernatural, worldly faith follows all nature, suitable to each one's hope and the gift of faith. Therefore, faith is no longer the achievement of free will if it is an advantage of nature; nor will the one who does not believe receive a just reward, being without blame; nor is the one who believes to blame. All the qualities and differences of faith and disbelief would not fall under praise or blame, rightly considered, having as their cause the natural necessity from the all-powerful. But when we are convulsed, like the lifeless, by natural forces, involuntary things are dragged along, and impulse is the leader of these. And I no longer think this is a living being, whose impulsive necessity is pierced by an external cause and moved. Where then is the repentance of the once unbeliever, through which forgiveness of sins comes? So baptism is no longer reasonable, nor a blessed seal, nor the Son, nor the Father; but God, I think, who assigns natures to them, is the foundation of salvation, voluntary faith not having.

Chapter 4

Again on the usefulness of believing, and that faith is the foundation of all knowledge.

But we, who have received from the Lord through the Scriptures the power over heresy and flight given to humans, rest on faith as an unchanging judge, showing a willing spirit, because we choose life, and through that voice we have trusted in God. And the one who has trusted the Word knows the matter is true; for the Word is truth. But the one who disbelieves the speaker has disbelieved God. By faith we understand the ages to be arranged by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from things that appear, says the Apostle; by faith Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was shown to be righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts; and through it, though dead, he still speaks, and the things that follow, until, which has a temporary enjoyment of sin. These, then, faith justified even before the Law, and made them heirs of the divine promise. What then remains to be said about faith from the history handed down to us? I present the testimonies? For time will fail me if I tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel, and the prophets, and those who followed them. There are four things: perception, mind, knowledge, and opinion; by nature, the first is the mind, but for us and toward us it is perception; from perception and mind comes the essence of knowledge; and what is common to both mind and perception is clarity. But perception is the foundation of knowledge; faith, traveling through the things perceived, leaves behind opinion; it hastens toward what is true and remains in the truth. If someone says that knowledge is demonstrative and based on reasoning, let him hear that even the first principles are not demonstrable; for they are known neither by art nor by reasoning. For knowledge about things that are possible to be otherwise is different; but productive knowledge, and especially theoretical knowledge, is otherwise. Therefore, they think that the beginning of all things can be reached by faith alone. For every kind of knowledge is taught; and what is taught comes from what is known beforehand. The beginning of all things was not known beforehand by the Greeks; neither by Thales, who knew water as the first cause, nor by the other natural philosophers who came after him. For Anaxagoras was the first to apply mind to things; but even he did not maintain the creative worth, painting some foolish whirlpools, along with the mind's inactivity and ignorance. Therefore the Word says: "Do not say to yourselves, 'A teacher is on the earth.'" For knowledge is a habit of demonstration; but faith is a gift that, without demonstration, raises the simple to the universal, which is neither with matter, nor matter itself, nor under matter. The unbelievers, it seems, draw everything down from heaven and the invisible into the earth, grasping stones and oak trees with their hands without skill, according to Plato. For touching such things, they insist that only what can be touched and touched exists. Defining body and substance as the same, they argue against themselves, very carefully defending from above, from the invisible and somewhere else, the existence of intelligible and immaterial beings, forcing them to be the true substance. Behold now, I am doing a new thing, says the Word, which the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man; with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, all that is visible and audible is grasped through faith and understanding, spiritually speaking, by those who are the Lord's disciples in hearing and doing. For there is a genuine coin, and another counterfeit, which deceives the common people no less, but not the money changers; who, having learned, know how to separate and distinguish the genuine from the forged. Thus the money changer says to the common person about this coin only that it is counterfeit; but how it is so, only the banker's expert, and the one anointed for this, knows. Aristotle says that what follows in knowledge is judgment, and that some judgment is truly faith. Faith is therefore more important than knowledge, and it is the test of it. Imagination, being a weak assumption, pretends to be faith; just as the flatterer pretends to be a friend, and the wolf pretends to be a dog. When the craftsman sees that by learning something he becomes an expert, and the pilot, having been taught the art, will be able to steer, it is not enough just to want to become good and noble; one must also learn by trusting. To trust the Word, whom we have called the teacher, is to believe in him without any contradiction. For how is it possible not to know God? Knowledge, then, is trustworthy; and faith becomes known through a certain divine following and also through a contrary following. Indeed, even Epicurus, who valued pleasure above truth, considers faith to be a preconception of the mind. He defines a preconception as an impression laid upon something clear, and upon the clear thing, a conception; and that no one can either seek, doubt, or even hold an opinion without a preconception. How could anyone, not having a preconception of what they desire, learn about what they seek? The one who has learned already makes the preconception a firm grasp. If the learner does not learn the acceptance of what is said without a preconception, he himself has ears for hearing the truth; but blessed is the one who speaks to ears that listen; and just as blessed is the one who pays attention in obedience. To understand thoroughly is to agree. If then faith is nothing else but a preconception of the mind about what is said, and this has been called both obedience and understanding with persuasion, no one will learn without faith; since not even without a preconception. Since it is truly so, the saying of the prophet is proven all the more: "If you do not believe, you will not understand." Heraclitus of Ephesus, paraphrasing this saying, said: "If one does not hope, he will not find the unexpected; it remains unexplored and without a way." But also the philosopher Plato, in the Laws, says that the one who is to become both blessed and happy must from the start be a sharer of truth, so that he may live as truly as possible for the longest time; for he is faithful. But the unbeliever, to whom falsehood is dear by choice; and to whom it is unwilling, being senseless, is not a living being; nor is there anything else worthy of envy.. For everyone who is unbelieving and ignorant is without love. And perhaps this is what the royal wisdom secretly says in Euthydemus.? In the Politics, he says in so many words: Thus the knowledge of the true king is royal; and whoever has obtained this, whether he happens to be a ruler or a private person, will rightly be called royal according to this very art. Immediately, those who have trusted in Christ are both good and called so; as those who are truly royal, caring for the king. Just as the wise are wise by wisdom, and the lawful are lawful by law; so too the kings are kings by Christ the king, and the Christians are Christians by Christ. Then going on, he clearly states: What is right would be lawful, and the right reason is a law by nature, and not in letters or in anything else. The Eleatic stranger also shows that the royal and political man is a living law.. Such a one fulfills the law, doing the will of the Father, and is directly inscribed on some high wood, presenting an example of divine virtue to those who are able to see. The Greeks know the rods of the ephors in Sparta, laws inscribed on wood; but my law, as I said before, is both royal and living; and the right reason; Law, the king of all, both mortals and immortals, as the Boeotian Pindar sings. Speusippus, in his first letter to Cleophon, seems to write similar things to Plato through this: For if kingship is important, only the wise man is king and ruler; the law, being right reason, is important; which indeed it is. Following these, the Stoic philosophers teach that kingship, priesthood, prophecy, lawgiving, wealth, true beauty, nobility, and freedom belong only to the wise man; but he is very hard to find, and even they admit this.

Chapter 5

He proves with many examples that the Greeks drew much from the sacred writers.

All the things mentioned before seem to have been handed down from the great Moses to the Greeks as teachings. All things, then, are said by the wise man to exist through these; And because God has had mercy on me, all things are mine; to Theophilus he reveals him, saying: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob. For the one called friend is found face to face; but the one called He Who Sees God is shown by a change of name; and Isaac, having been interpreted as a consecrated priest, he chose for himself, to be a symbol for us of the saving plan. Among the Greeks, Minos, the nine-year king, is sung as the judge of Zeus; it is said that God once spoke with them after Moses, as if someone were to speak to his own friend.. Moses was indeed wise, a king, a lawgiver; but our Savior surpasses all human nature; beautiful, as the only one to be loved by us who long for the true good; for he was the true light. He is shown as king even while still a child, and as proclaimed by unbelieving and ignorant Jews, and declared by their prophets. He was so rich that he was proud of having all the gold on earth, above the earth, and beneath it, along with all the glory given to him by the Opponent. What need is there to say that only the high priest, the only one knowledgeable in the service of God? King of peace, Melchizedek, the most able of all to lead the human race; and a lawgiver, since he gave the law through the mouths of the prophets, clearly commanding and teaching both what should be done and what should not. Who could be nobler than this one, whose only father is God? Then let us also bring in Plato and compare with the same teachings. The wise man said in the Phaedrus, "O dear Pan, saying, and all other gods here, grant me to become good from within; and whatever I have outside, let it be dear to those within me. I would consider the wise man rich!" The Athenian stranger, blaming those who think themselves rich by having much money, says this: "Rich and good at the same time is impossible for those whom most count as rich. They say those who have the greatest amount of money among a few men are wealthy possessions; but even a bad man can have these". . All the world's money belongs to the faithful, Solomon says; but not even a coin belongs to the unfaithful. Therefore, the Scripture must be trusted much more, which says, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to be a philosopher; and it blesses the poor instead, as Plato understood, saying: Poverty should be thought not as having less wealth, but as having more greed; for poverty is never a lack of money, but greed; and a good man who is free from greed would be rich as well. In the Alcibiades, he calls wickedness slavish, but virtue noble. "Take away," it says, "from you the heavy yoke, and take the gentle one," the Scripture says; just as the poets also call the yoke "slavish". And the phrase, You were sold because of your sins, agrees with what was said before. Everyone who commits sin is a slave; but a slave does not remain in the house forever. If the son sets you free, you will be free, and the truth will set you free. It is good, again, to be wise, as the Athenian stranger says in this song: if someone claimed to be just, even though their bodies were shameful; for according to the most just character, almost no one would be called good by saying this, and it would seem wrong to say it; and, His appearance was unlike all the sons of men, the prophecy said beforehand. Plato called the wise man a king in the Statesman; and the word is about to be explained. With these things having been shown, let us run back again to the discussion about faith. Indeed, even after all proof, Plato shows in this way that faith is needed everywhere, praising peace at the same time: "For a faithful and healthy person would not be anywhere in a state without complete virtue; and many mercenaries in war are eager and willing to die, most of whom become bold and unjust, both insolent and foolish, except for a very few." If these things are rightly said, then every lawgiver, even one with the smallest benefit, looking beyond the greatest virtue, will especially rely on the laws. This is faithfulness, which we need at every time, both in peace and in every war, and in all the rest of life; for it seems to hold together the others by embracing them. The best thing is neither war nor civil strife; for it is dreadful to have to ask for these things. Peace with one another, along with goodwill, is the very best. From these things it is clear that the greatest wish, according to Plato, is to have peace; and faithfulness is the greatest mother of virtues. It is fitting, then, that Solomon said: "Wisdom is in the mouth of the faithful." For Xenocrates also says in On Prudence that wisdom is the knowledge of first causes and of the intelligible being; he considers prudence to be twofold: practical and theoretical—the kind of wisdom that is truly human. Therefore, wisdom is prudence, but not every prudence is wisdom. It has been shown that the knowledge of the origin of all things is certain, but it is not a demonstration. For it is absurd that the followers of Pythagoras of Samos, rejecting the proofs sought, consider faith in the saying, "He himself said it", to be enough, relying only on the voice to confirm what they have heard; while those who love to see the truth, trying not to believe without a trustworthy teacher—the only Savior God—demand tests of what is said from him. But he says, "Let anyone who has ears to hear, hear." And who is this? Let Epicharmus say: "The mind sees, the mind hears; the rest are deaf and blind." Heraclitus says that some are unbelieving and stubborn: "They do not know how to listen, nor to speak." Surely this is taken from Solomon: "If you love to listen, you will receive; and if you incline your ear, you will be wise."

Chapter 6

On the excellence and benefit of faith.

Lord, who has believed our report?? Isaiah says. For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God, the Apostle says: "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?" How then will they believe in him of whom they have not heard? How then will they hear without someone preaching? How then will they preach, if they are not sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news"? Do you see how faith comes from hearing and the preaching of the apostles about the word of the Lord and the Son of God? We do not yet understand that the word of the Lord is proof. Just as throwing a ball does not depend only on the one who skillfully throws it, but also on the one who catches it smoothly, so that the ball game can be properly carried out according to the rules; in the same way, teaching becomes trustworthy when the faith of those listening, a kind of natural skill, so to speak, takes hold for learning. Also, the fertile ground that receives the seeds works together; for neither is the best education of any use without the acceptance of the learner, nor is prophecy, nor the obedience of those who hear, present. For even dry nails, being ready to receive the burning power, catch fire more easily; and the flint stone, when struck, draws iron because of their kinship; just as the tear from the eye draws the nails, and amber moves the straw. Those things drawn obey them, drawn by an ineffable spirit, not as causes, but as co-causes. Since there are two kinds of evil: one that comes with deceit and hiddenness, and the other that comes and carries on with force; the divine Word has cried out, calling all people together; knowing especially those who will not be persuaded, yet still, because it depends on us to obey or not, so that no one can claim ignorance, it has made the call just, and demands according to each one's ability. For those who both want and are able, this comes from practicing together and being purified; but those who are not yet able already have the desire. The willing is a work of the soul, but the doing is not without the body. Indeed, things are not judged only by their outcome, but also by each person's choice—whether they chose easily, whether they repented for their mistakes, whether they gained understanding about what they had done wrong, and whether they regretted it, which is to say, after that they knew; for knowledge comes slowly after repentance; but the first knowledge is sinlessness. Repentance is also the achievement of faith; for if one does not believe that what they were involved in was sin, they will not change. And if one does not believe that punishment awaits the wrongdoer, and salvation the one who lives according to the commandments, they will not change even then. And now hope has also been established from faith. Faith is defined by Basil as the soul's consent toward something that cannot be perceived by the senses, because hope is the expectation of gaining a good thing. And expectation must be faithful. Faithful is the one who keeps without fail what has been handed over; and the words about God, the divine words, the commandments, along with the practice of the instructions, have been handed over to us. This is the faithful servant, the one praised by the Lord. And if he says, God is faithful, to whom it is worthy to believe when revealed, he shows that the Word of God is revealed, and that God himself is faithful. How then, if believing means accepting, do the philosophers consider the things from them to be certain? For belief is not a voluntary consent before proof, but consent to something strong. Who then would be stronger than God? Unbelief is a weak negative opinion about the object; just as distrust is a state unwilling to accept belief. And faith is a voluntary opinion and a preconception of a grateful anticipation; expectation is the belief of something to come; the expectation of others is the belief of something unclear; confidence is a firm grasp of something. Therefore, we believe in the one in whom we have placed our trust for divine glory and salvation; we have confidence in the one God alone, whom we know will not fail the good promises made to us, and for this reason, who has kindly created and given these things to us. Goodwill is the desire for good things for another because of that person; for it is lacking in him. For us, it results in kindness, and the favor from the Lord, being divine goodwill, and goodwill toward doing good. If Abraham believed, it was counted to him as righteousness, and we are Abraham's offspring; through hearing, we too must believe. For we are Israelites, not by signs, but by hearing obedient. Therefore, "Rejoice, barren woman, you who do not bear; break forth and shout," it says, "you who do not suffer labor pains; for many are the children of the desert rather than those who have a husband." You have lived within the enclosure of the people; your children have been blessed in the tents of the fathers. But if the same promises are proclaimed to us and to the Patriarchs by the prophecy, God shows one covenant for both more clearly. For example, "You have inherited the covenant of Israel," by the calling from the nations, saying to the barren woman of this man, who is the Word, to the desert before the bridegroom. The righteous shall live by faith, according to the covenant and the commandments; since these two, given in name and time, in age and progress, are one in power—one old, the other new—are granted through the Son by one God the giver. As the Apostle says in the Epistle to the Romans: "For the righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith," the one, perfected from prophecy into the Gospel, teaching salvation through one and the same Lord. "This," he said, "I entrust to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies that went before you, so that you may fight the good fight in them, holding faith and a good conscience, which some, having rejected, have suffered shipwreck concerning the faith; because they have defiled their conscience, which came from God, with unbelief. Therefore, it is still reasonable to put faith forward as something to be defended, since it is easy and common, and also accessible to those who happen to encounter it. For if the practice were human, as the Greeks supposed, it would have also faded away; but if it grows, there is no place where it does not exist. I say, then, that faith, whether it is founded on love or even on fear, as the accusers claim, is something divine; neither scattered by any other worldly affection, nor dissolved by present fear. For love, in its friendship toward faith, makes people faithful; and faith is the foundation of love, responding to kindness; even when fear is the tutor of the law, faith is believed because of it, and faith is also believed to be fear. For if being is shown in action, the one who is about to act and threatens, but does not act and is not present, is not believed; and the being that is believed is not itself the source of faith, but the one who has been proven worthy of trust in relation to it. Such a great change is divine, when something becomes trustworthy from unbelief, and believes through both hope and fear. And indeed, faith appears to us as the first sign toward salvation, with which fear and hope and repentance, along with self-control and patience growing together, lead us on to both love and knowledge. Therefore, it is fitting that the apostle Barnabas, from whom he says, "I took part, and I have been eager little by little to send to you; so that with your faith you may have perfect love and knowledge," The companions of our faith are fear and patience; and the allies helping us are long-suffering and self-control. Therefore, he says, "As these remain pure toward the Lord, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and insight rejoice with them."

Indeed, faith has turned out to be more basic than the elements of knowledge of the virtues mentioned above, so necessary to the one who knows, just as breathing is to the one living in this world for life. Just as there is no life without the four elements, so there is no knowledge without faith to follow. This, then, is the foundation of truth.

Chapter 7

He shows the use of fear and defends it from the objections of those who criticize it.

But those who accuse fear rush through the law. But if it is of the law, it is clear that it is also of God who gave the law. For these three things necessarily exist from the underlying source: the one who rules, the ruling, and the one being ruled. If indeed the law were removed according to assumption, then it would be necessary that everyone who is led by desire, granted pleasure, would neglect what is good, despise the divine, and at the same time act impiously and unjustly without fear, having deserted the truth. Yes, they say fear is an irrational turning away, and a passion. What do you say? And how then could this definition still be saved for you, since the commandment was given to me through the Word? But the commandment forbids fear, raising it up through discipline to be corrected in this way. Fear is therefore not unreasonable; it is indeed reasonable, for how could it not be? Advising, You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness. But if the names are twisted, and the philosophers call the fear of the law "reverence," which is reasonable, it is a deviation. These fighters over names were not called Critolaus by Phaselites because of their manner. So the commandment, having been misunderstood by a change of name, appeared trivial and even excellent to those who accuse us. Reverence, then, is shown to be reasonable, being a turning away from what harms; from this arises the repentance of those who sinned before. For the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; and good understanding to all who do it. He calls wisdom a work? Which is the fear of God, the guide leading to wisdom. But if the law is the source of fear, the beginning of wisdom is the knowledge of the law; and no one is wise without the law. Therefore, those who reject the law are foolish; and it follows that they are considered godless. Education is the beginning of wisdom. "The ungodly will despise both wisdom and education," says Scripture. But let us see what dreadful things the law proclaims. If the things between virtue and vice, such as poverty, disease, disgrace, and low birth, and all similar things, are considered, these are praised even by the city laws that propose them; and among the Peripatetics, three kinds of goods are introduced, and those opposite to them are considered bad, and this opinion is harmonious. But the law given to us commands us to avoid what is truly evil: adultery, lewdness, pederasty, ignorance, injustice, disease of the soul, death—not the death that separates the soul from the body, but the death that separates the soul from truth. For these evils are truly terrible and dreadful, and so are the effects that come from them. "Surely nets are not stretched in vain for the winged," say the divine oracles; "for those who share in blood, they store up evil for themselves." How then is the law still not called good against certain heresies, when the Apostle shouts out, saying, "For through the law comes the knowledge of sin"? To those we say: The law did not make sin, but revealed it. For having commanded what must be done, it exposed what must not be done. The good is both to teach what saves and to show what is harmful; and it advises to use the one and commands to avoid the other. Immediately the Apostle, whom they do not understand, said that the knowledge of sin is revealed through the law, not that sin has taken a real existence. How then is not the law good that teaches, the tutor to Christ given, so that indeed we may turn back, being guided with a teaching fear, toward the perfection through Christ? I do not want, he says, the death of the sinner, but rather his repentance.. Repentance is made a command, both preventing what must not be done and promising benefits. By death, I think, he means ignorance. And the one near the Lord is full of scourges; the one who draws near, clearly by knowledge, experiences dangers, fears, despair, and troubles because of the longing for the truth. For a son who has been trained becomes wise; and a sensible son is saved from burning.. But a sensible son will accept commands. And Barnabas the Apostle, "Woe to the wise in their own eyes and knowledgeable before themselves," having commanded, brought this forward: "Let us become spiritual, a perfect temple for God; as far as it depends on us, let us take care to fear God, and let us strive to keep his commands, so that we may rejoice in his righteous acts." Therefore, "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God," is said reverently.

Chapter 8

He refutes the delusions of Basilides and Valentinus about fear as the cause of things.

Here those around Basilides, explaining this saying, claim that "the Ruler himself, having heard the report of the serving Spirit, was struck with fear both by what he heard and what he saw, the good news having been proclaimed beyond expectations; and his amazement was called fear, which became the beginning of wisdom that is discerning, distinguishing, perfecting, and restoring." For he not only distinguishes the world, but also the chosen ones, whom he sends ahead before all." It also seems that Valentinus, in a certain letter, held something like this in mind; for he writes these words: "And as he was very fearful concerning that creature among the angels, when he spoke more boldly than the rest of creation, because he had invisibly received within him the seed of the higher substance, and was speaking openly; so also among the generations of worldly men, fears became the works of men who made them, such as statues and images; and all hands reach out for the name of God; for Adam, having been formed in the name of man, gave fear before the existence of man, as if he himself were established in him, and they were struck with amazement, and quickly destroyed the work." Since there is one origin, as will be shown later, these men will appear to be shaping murmurs and whispers. Since it seemed fitting to God to instruct beforehand through the law and the prophets by the Lord, it has been said that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, given by the Lord through Moses to those who are disobedient and hard-hearted. For those whom reason does not take, fear disciplines them. And the Word who disciplines, foreseeing this from above, cleansing each of the two ways, fittingly joined fear as an instrument to godliness. Fear, then, is a sudden shock caused by an unusual image or by an unexpected vision, like a message; fear is wonder at something that has happened, or at what is real, or an overwhelming amazement. Therefore, those who are made passionate through sudden fear do not perceive the greatest God, who is praised by them, and who existed before the fear in ignorance. If ignorance came before the sudden fear, and if the sudden fear and fear became the beginning of wisdom, the fear of God, then the ignorance that causes it risks both the wisdom of God and the entire creation, as well as the restoration of that very choice. Ignorance is the cause that comes before. Then, is ignorance of good things or of bad things? But if it is of good things, then why does the sudden fear stop? And the servant, along with the preaching and the baptism, is set aside by them; but if it is of bad things, how can the evil be the cause of the best? For if ignorance had not existed before, the servant would not have come down; nor would the ruler have been seized with sudden fear, as they say; nor would the beginning of wisdom have come from fear in the guarding of both the election and the worldly things. But if the fear of the passing man made the angels envious of their own creature, as if the invisible seed of the higher essence had been implanted in the creation, or if they envied with empty suspicion —which is impossible—that the angels of the creation, to which they were entrusted, would become masters like a certain child, having condemned all ignorance; or if, being involved in foreknowledge, they were shaken; yet they would not have plotted against what they attempted, which they foreknew; nor would they have been terrified by the work of their own making, having understood the seed from above by foreknowledge; or if, trusting in the last knowledge, they dared—this is also impossible—knowing the difference in the full man to plot, they even took away the image, in which is the archetype, and which, together with the remaining knowledge, is incorruptible. To these same people and to some others, especially those from Marcion, Scripture cries out loudly that they do not understand: "But whoever listens to me will rest in peace, trusting, and will be quiet without fear from all harm." What then do they want with the law? They will not say that evil is good, but by separating what is just, they make the good of the just different. But the Lord, commanding to fear evil, does not free from evil by evil, but destroys the opposite by the opposite. Evil is opposite to good, just as injustice is opposite to justice. If then the beginning of evils is said to be fearlessness, which the fear of the Lord produces, fear is good; and the fear from the Law is not only just but also good, destroying wickedness. By introducing fear to fearlessness, it does not bring insensitivity to suffering, but through discipline it produces moderation in suffering. If then we hear: "Honor the Lord, and you will be strong; but do not fear anyone besides him," to fear is to sin, but to follow the commands given by God is the honor that we receive from God. Reverence is the fear of God. But even if fear is a passion, as some want to say that fear is a passion, not all fear is a passion; at least superstition is a passion, being fear of demons, both without reason and full of emotion. On the other hand, the fear of God that is without passion is passionless; for someone fears not God, but the falling away from God. The one who fears this, falling into evils, fears and has feared the evils; but the one who fears the fall wants to be incorruptible and without passion. The wise person, being afraid, turned away from evil; but the foolish one mixes, trusting. The Scripture says: again, "In the fear of the Lord is strong hope," it says.

Chapter 9

Christian virtues are connected to one another.

Such fear indeed leads both to repentance and to hope. Hope is the expectation of good things, or being hopeful when good is absent; neglect also is taken as hopeful, which we have learned to guide toward love. Love would be the harmony of thoughts, life, and behavior, or, to put it simply, the sharing of life; or a deep friendship and affectionate care with right reason about how companions should live. The companion is another self. Just as we call brothers those who have been reborn by the same word. Hospitality is closely connected to love, being a kind of care for the needs of strangers. Strangers are those whose worldly things are foreign; for we call worldly those who hope in the earth and listen to fleshly desires. "Do not conform," says the Apostle, "to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may test what is the will of God—what is good, pleasing, and perfect." [PG 8.66]. Hospitality, then, is concerned with what is useful to strangers. Strangers are those who are near; those who are near are friends; friends are brothers. "Dear brother," says Homer. And kindness, through which affection also exists, is a friendly use among people. Affection, being a kind of care for the love of friends or family, goes along with love. [PG 8.67] [PG 8.68]. If indeed the person within us is spiritual, then kindness is brotherly love for those who share in the same Spirit. [PG 8.69]. Affection, in turn, is the keeping of goodwill or love; love is a complete proof; and to love is to please the character, both as one leads and is led. [PG 8.70]. They are led into unity through harmony, which is the knowledge of shared goods. For agreement of mind is harmony of opinions. And, love, he says, "let us be sincere with one another," and "hating what is evil, let us become attached to what is good, along with brotherly affection," and the following: "If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with all people." Then, he says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." The same apostle also agrees to bear witness to the Jews, that they have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge; for, ignoring the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to the righteousness of God. For they did not know and do the will of the law, but what they assumed themselves, they thought that to be the will of the law. Nor did they believe the law as it was prophesied, but only in bare words; and with fear, but they did not follow with disposition and faith. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Therefore, it was said to them by Moses: "I will provoke you to jealousy with a people who are not a nation; I will anger you with a foolish nation," clearly intending obedience. And through Isaiah, he says, "I was found by those who did not seek me; I became visible to those who did not ask for me," that is, before the Lord's coming, after which the things prophesied to Israel are now said to be fulfilled: "I spread out my hands all day long to a people disobedient and opposing." You see the reason for the calling from the Gentiles clearly stated by the prophet as the disobedience and opposition of the people? Then the goodness of God is also shown in this: for the Apostle says, "But because of their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous and to want to repent." The Shepherd, simply applying the word to the dead, knows that there are some righteous among the Gentiles and the Jews not only before the Lord's coming, but also before the law, according to their pleasing God, like Abel, like Noah, or like some other righteous person. He says at least, "the apostles and teachers, those who preached the name of the Son of God, and who have fallen asleep, by their power and faith preached to those who had already died." Then he adds, "And they themselves gave them the seal of the preaching." They then went down with them into the water, and again they went up. But these, while alive, went down, and again while alive went up; those who had fallen asleep before went down dead, but went up alive. Through these things they were given life and came to know the name of the Son of God; for this reason they also went up together with them, and joined in building the tower, and were built together without flaw; they died in righteousness and in great purity; but they alone did not have this seal." For when nations that do not have the law by nature do the things of the law, these who do not have the law are a law to themselves, according to the Apostle. As the virtues follow one another, what need is there to say, having already shown that faith is hoped for through repentance, and reverence through faith; and that perseverance and practice in these things together are completed by learning into love, and love is perfected by knowledge? That must be noted necessarily, that only the divine is to be understood as wise by nature. Therefore, wisdom is also the power of God, who taught the truth; and here too, perhaps, the perfection of knowledge has been attained. The philosopher loves and cherishes the truth, because he is a genuine servant, already considered a friend through love. The beginning of this is to wonder at things, as Plato says in Theaetetus; and Matthias, in the Traditions, urging, Wonder at what is present; placing this first as the step toward knowledge of what is beyond. Just as it is also written in the Epistle to the Hebrews, "He who has wondered will reign," and the one who has reigned will rest. It is therefore impossible for the ignorant person, if he remains ignorant, to love wisdom; for one who has not taken in the idea of wisdom, which is the desire for what truly is and for the studies directed toward this, cannot be a lover of wisdom. Even if one is well practiced in doing good things, it is necessary to know how to do them, and to do them, and to work together at them, just as one becomes like God—I mean God the Savior—serving the God of all through the high priest, the Word, through whom the truly good and just things are seen. Piety is an action that follows and is attendant upon God.

Chapter 10

What the Christian philosopher claims for himself.

Of these three things, our philosopher claims to hold fast: first, to contemplation; second, to the carrying out of the commandments; third, to the making of good men. These together complete the intellectual work. Whatever is lacking in these weakens the knowledge. Hence the Scripture says divinely: And the Lord said to Moses, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them: I am the Lord your God. According to the customs of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the customs of the land of Canaan, (to which I bring you), you shall not do; and you shall not follow their laws; you shall do my judgments and keep my commandments; walk in them; I am the Lord your God; and keep all my commandments, and do them. The man who does them shall live by them. I am the Lord your God.

Therefore, whether Egypt and Canaan are symbols of the world and deception, or of passions and evils, which must be avoided or followed in certain ways, the divine teaching shows us the meaning. When it says, "The man who does them shall live by them," it speaks of the restoration of the Hebrews themselves, and also of our own training and progress, life both for them and for us. For the dead are made alive with Christ through our Covenant.

And often the Scripture repeats the phrase, "I am the Lord your God," teaching most severely to obey the God who gave the commandments, but gently reminding to seek God and to try to know him as best one can; which would be the greatest contemplation, the vision, the true knowledge, the unchanging knowledge made by reason. This alone would be the knowledge of wisdom, from which right action never separates.

Chapter 11

That knowledge which is handed down through faith is the most certain of all.

But the knowledge of the vain talkers, whether they are barbarian heresies or the philosophers among the Greeks, is natural according to the Apostle; but faithful is the knowledge that is a scientific proof of what is handed down according to true philosophy. We could say that it is a reason for those who doubt, providing faith from what is agreed upon. Since faith is twofold, one scientific and the other based on opinion, nothing prevents calling the proof twofold, the scientific and the opinion-based; for knowledge and foreknowledge are also called twofold, the one having its nature precisely, the other incomplete. And surely the proof we have would alone be true, since it is given by the divine Scriptures, the sacred writings, and by the wisdom taught by God, according to the Apostle? Learning, then, and obeying the commandments, is what it means to believe in God. And faith is a power from God, being the strength of the truth. Immediately he says: If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will move the mountain; and again, According to your faith, let it be done to you; and one is healed, receiving healing through faith; another dead rises because of the strength of the one who believed, that he will rise. The proof of glory is both human and made through rhetorical arguments or even dialectical reasoning. For the highest proof, which we have hinted at, gives scientific faith through the presentation and arrangement of the Scriptures to souls eager to learn, which would be knowledge. For if the things taken up toward the sought truth are accepted as true, since they are divine and prophetic, it is clear that the conclusion drawn from them will also be truly carried along; and the proof would rightly be knowledge for us. When, then, the remembrance of the heavenly and divine nourishment was commanded to be consecrated in a golden jar, Gomorrah says it was the tenth of the thirteen measures; for in us there are three measures, three standards revealed: sense for things sensed, word for names and verbs spoken, and mind for things understood. The one who knows will endure the sins committed by word, by thought, and by sense and action, having heard, as in "He who saw committed adultery through desire"; and having taken to heart, as in "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"; and knowing also, "It is not what enters the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth"—those things defile a person, for from the heart come evil thoughts. This, I think, is the true and just measure according to God, by which all measured things are measured: the ten that hold the person together, which represent the three measures mentioned above as their main heads. Let the body and soul be, along with the five senses, and the vocal and generative powers, and the intellectual or spiritual power, or however else you wish to call it. But it is necessary, so to speak, to rise above all the others and stand upon the mind, just as one might overlook the nine divisions in the world: first, the one placed in a single place through the four elements by equal rotation; then the seven wandering ones; the fixed one, the ninth, reaching the perfect number above the gods; and the tenth division arriving at the knowledge of God. All in all, they may be said to long for the creator after creation. For this reason, the tithes, both of the sheep and of the priests, were brought to God; and the feast of Passover began with a tenth, being a passage from every suffering and every perceptible thing. Therefore, the gnostic has matured in faith; but the proud wise man does not touch the truth at all, being driven by unstable and unfounded impulses. It is fitting, then, that it is written: Cain went out from the presence of God and lived in the land of Nod, opposite Eden. Nod is interpreted as turmoil, and Eden as delight; delight is faith and knowledge and peace; the one who disobeys is cast out of it. The proud wise man does not want to understand the origin of the divine commands, but, like a self-taught person, he rages and willingly moves into a stormy turmoil, descending into mortal and created things from the knowledge of the unbegotten, sometimes holding different opinions. Those who lack governance fall like leaves; reason and the ruling part, remaining flawless and guiding the soul, have been called its governor; for truly, the leading is unchanging toward the unchangeable. Thus Abraham stood before the Lord, and drawing near said. And to Moses it is said: But you, stand with him by me. Those around Simon, who is standing and whom they honor, wish to be like him in manner. Faith, then, and the knowledge of the truth always shape the chosen soul to be the same and in the same way. A kin to falsehood is change, turning away, and departure, just as to knowledge are calmness, rest, and peace. Just as philosophy has been corrupted by pride and arrogance, so too knowledge has been corrupted by false knowledge, which is called by the same name. About this, the Apostle writes, "O Timothy, guard the deposit, avoiding profane and empty babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge," which some, by claiming it, have missed the mark concerning faith. Under this voice being refuted, those from the heresies reject the Letters to Timothy. Then bring forward, if the Lord is truth, and the wisdom and power of God, as he truly is, that it be shown that the one who truly knows him is a knower of this one, and of his Father through him; for he is aware of the one speaking: "The lips of the righteous know what is high."

Chapter 12

On the Twofold Faith

Since faith, like time, is twofold, we might find two virtues dwelling together in both. For time has memory for what has passed, and hope for what is to come. We believe that what has passed has happened, and that what is to come will be. And we also love that the past is so, being convinced by faith, and we await the future with hope. For love has gone through all things that are known, knowing one God. "And behold, all things that have been created are very good." It knows and marvels. Godliness adds length to life, and the fear of the Lord adds days. Just as the days are a part of life by returning again, so the fear is the beginning of love, becoming faith by increase, and then love. But not as I fear a beast and hate it, for fear here is twofold; rather, I also fear the father, whom I both fear and love. Again, fearing lest I be punished, I love myself, choosing fear; the one who fears to offend the father loves himself. Blessed, then, is the one who becomes faithful, mixed with love and fear; for faith is strength for salvation and power for eternal life. Again, prophecy is foreknowledge; and knowledge is the understanding of prophecy, like the knowledge of those things previously known by the Lord who reveals all. The knowledge of what has been foretold shows a threefold outcome: either something that happened long ago, or something that is already present, or something that is about to happen. Then the extremes have fallen under faith, either of things completed or of things hoped for; and persuasion provides the present action for the confirmation of both extremes. For if, in a single prophecy, one part has already been fulfilled and the other completed, then both what is hoped for and what has passed become trustworthy and truly certain. For first it was present, then it has passed for us, so that the faith of what has passed comes to us after it has passed, and the hope of what is to come comes to us as the thing to come. Not only those from Plato, but also those from the Stoa, say that the agreements are with us. Every opinion, and judgment, and assumption, and learning by which we live and are always connected to the human race, is agreement; and this would be nothing else but faith. And disbelief, being a falling away from faith, shows clearly the power of both agreement and faith; for lack is not the same as absence. And if anyone looks closely at the truth, they will find that human nature is naturally inclined against agreement with falsehood, yet has reasons for faith in the truth. "Faith, then, which holds the Church together, as the Shepherd says, is virtue, through which the chosen of God are saved; and self-controlled courage. Follows them simplicity, knowledge, innocence, dignity, love. All of these are daughters of faith. And again, faith leads, fear builds up, and love perfects. One must fear the Lord, he says, for building up, but not the devil for destruction. On the other hand, the works of the Lord, that is, the commandments, must be loved and done, but the works of the devil must be feared and not done; for the fear of God disciplines and restores to love, but hatred dwells with the works of the devil." He also says that "repentance is great wisdom; for one who repents of what he has done no longer does or says it; and by suffering for what he has sinned, he does good to his own soul." Forgiveness of sins, then, differs from repentance; both, however, show what is in us."

Chapter 13

On the first and second repentance.

"Therefore, the one who has received the forgiveness of sins should no longer sin; for this first and only repentance of sins would be that which comes after the previous life according to the Gentiles, and the first life, which I mean the one in ignorance. Immediately, repentance is offered to those who are called, which cleanses the place of the soul from faults, so that faith may be established. Being the knower of hearts and foreseeing what is to come, both the changeable nature of man and the deceitful and crafty nature of the devil, he foresaw from the beginning, so that, zealous over the forgiveness of sins for man, he would cause some causes of sins to press upon the servants of God; cunningly working evil, so that they themselves might also fall away with him. Therefore, being full of mercy, he gave a second repentance even to those who fall into some fault after faith, so that if anyone should be tested after the calling, and being forced and deceived, they might still receive one more repentance that is unrepentant." For when we sin willingly after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and the zeal of fire is about to consume those who oppose.. Continuous and repeated repentances for sins differ in no way from those who have never truly believed, except in the mere feeling that they are sinning; and it is not clear whether it is worse for them to sin knowing what they do, or to repent for what they have done and then fail again. For sin appears to be reproved on both sides: on one side, it is condemned after it has been committed by the one who does the wrong; on the other, it is foreknown before it is done by the one who attempts something evil. And the one who gives in to anger or perhaps to pleasure, not unaware of what he is giving in to, and the one who repents for what he gave in to but then falls back again into pleasure, joins with the one who willingly sins from the start. For whoever repents but then does the same thing again, knowing that what he does is wrong, willingly completes that sin. The one who, coming from the Gentiles and that former way of life, has turned to faith, has once received forgiveness of sins; but the one who sins again after this, then repents, and even if he obtains pardon, ought to be ashamed, no longer bathing for the forgiveness of sins. For it is necessary not only to abandon the idols, which one formerly worshiped, but also the works of the former life, which is not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but is born again in the spirit; this would mean repenting of a fault that was not carried into the same thing. For often repenting is a practice of returning to sins, and a readiness for turning back through lack of discipline. Therefore, the many times asking for forgiveness, for the faults we often commit, is an appearance of repentance, not true repentance. Righteousness without fault correctly guides the paths, as Scripture has cried out. And again, The righteousness of the innocent will make his way straight. Yes indeed, Just as a father has compassion on his children, the Lord had compassion on those who fear him, David writes. Those who sow in tears will reap with joy; those who confess in repentance. Blessed indeed are all who fear the Lord.. Do you see the blessing that is similar in the Gospel? "Do not be afraid," he says, "when a man becomes rich, and when the glory of his house increases; for he will not take everything with him when he dies, nor will his glory go down with him. But I, by your mercy, will enter your house; I will worship toward your holy temple in your fear. Lord, guide me in your righteousness. A strong impulse of the mind is fearful either toward something or away from it; and passion is an excessive impulse, either stretching beyond the limits set by reason, or an impulse that carries one away and is disobedient to reason. Passions are movements of the soul against nature, in disobedience to reason. Rebellion, and ecstasy, and disobedience depend on us, just as obedience also depends on us; therefore, even voluntary actions are judged. Immediately, for each one of the passions, if someone were to examine closely, they would find irrational desires in them.

Chapter 14

In how many ways something can be involuntary.

Involuntary action, then, is not judged. It is twofold: that which happens through ignorance, and that which happens by necessity. For how could one judge about mistakes made in involuntary ways? Either someone was ignorant of himself, as Cleomenes and Athamas, who were mad, or of the matter he was doing, as Aeschylus, who revealed the mysteries on stage and was judged in the Areopagus and so was acquitted, showing himself uninitiated; or someone was ignorant of what he was doing, like the one who lets go of his enemy and kills a relative instead of the enemy; or what is done in some place, like the one training with javelins who kills someone when the spear misses the target; or how it is done, like the one in the stadium who kills his competitor—not for death, but for the sake of victory; or why it is done, like the doctor who gave a healthy antidote but killed the patient—the doctor did not give it to kill but to save.

The law, then, held the one who killed involuntarily responsible, like the one who had gonorrhea involuntarily, but not equally with the one who killed voluntarily. Still, even the involuntary one will be punished as if for a voluntary act, if someone brings the passion to the truth. For the one who lacks control over reason must be punished; this itself is an irrational passion of the soul, close to foolish talk. It is faithfully chosen to hide things by a breath.

The things done by choice, then, are judged. For the Lord examines hearts and kidneys; and the one who looks upon desire is judged. Therefore it says, "Do not desire," and, "This people honors me with their lips," he says, "but their heart is far from me. For God looks to the heart." Since even Lot's wife, having turned only voluntarily toward the worldly evil, was left senseless, like salt shown as stone, and standing so that her face could not turn— not a foolish and powerless image, but one that could be sprinkled and crushed by the one spiritually able to see.

Chapter 15

On the different kinds of voluntary acts and the sins that follow from them.

Voluntary action is either according to desire, or according to choice, or according to thought. At once, these are somehow placed alongside each other: sin, misfortune, wrongdoing. And sin, so to speak, is living in luxury and licentiousness; misfortune is striking a friend, as if an enemy, out of ignorance; wrongdoing is grave-robbing or sacrilege. To sin comes from not knowing what must be done, or from being unable to do it; just as someone falls into a ditch either by neglect or by ignorance, or because of bodily weakness is unable to climb out. But it depends on us, both in our education and in obeying the commandments; if we do not want to share in these, giving ourselves over to anger and desire, we will sin, and even more, we will wrong our own soul. For Laius himself says in the tragedy:

Nothing of these things you warn me about is necessary; but nature, having a mind, forces me,

that is, to become a slave to passion. And Medea herself similarly cries out on the stage:

"And I learn what evils I am about to do; but my anger is stronger than my plans."

But not even Ajax is silent, though he is about to kill himself; he has shouted out:

"Therefore, there was no suffering for a free man,"

"A soul is wounded just as deeply as a man is dishonored."

"I have suffered in this way, and misfortune has struck me too."

"A deep stain turns back from the depths,"

"Provoked by the bitter stings of madness."

Anger indeed causes these; but desire torments countless others, Phaedra, Anthia, Eriphyle,

She who received the golden gift of her dear husband.

For that comic Thrasonides, another scene, says, "A little slave girl has humbly enslaved me,. Misfortune is an unreasonable fault of the mind; but fault is voluntary wrongdoing; and wrongdoing is voluntary evil. Fault then is my voluntary act; (therefore he also says, "Fault will not rule over you, for you are not under law but under grace," speaking to those who have already trusted, "Because by his wound we have been healed."). But misfortune is the involuntary action of another upon me; wrongdoing alone is found to be voluntary, whether it is mine or another's. The Psalmist hints at these differences among faults, calling blessed those whose lawless acts God has wiped away and whose sins he has covered; he did not count the others against them and forgave the rest. For it is written: "Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not count sin, and in whose mouth there is no deceit." This blessing came upon those chosen by God through Jesus Christ our Lord. For love covers a multitude of sins, but the one who chooses repentance rather than death wipes them away. Not counted are those sins that are not done by choice; for he says, "He who has lusted has already committed adultery." The enlightening Word also forgives sins; "And in that time," says the Lord, "Israel will seek justice, and it will not be found, and the sins of Judah, and they will not be discovered." For who is like me? and who will oppose me face to face? You see one God proclaimed as good, both justly rewarding and forgiving sins. John also appears in the greater epistle teaching the differences of sins in these words: "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he will ask, and life will be given to him; to those sinning not leading to death, he said. For there is a sin leading to death; I do not say that one should ask about that · every injustice is sin; and there is a sin not leading to death.. "But also David, and before David Moses, show the knowledge of the three commandments through these: Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly; just as fish move in the dark into the depths; for those without scales, which Moses forbids touching, dwell at the bottom of the sea. Nor has he stood in the way of sinners; just as those who seem to fear the Lord sin, like the pig; for when hungry, it cries out; but when full, it does not recognize its master. Nor has he sat on the seat of the scornful, just as birds ready for prey. Moses also warned not to eat the pig, nor the eagle, nor the sharp-winged bird, nor the raven, nor any fish that does not have scales on it. "These things, Barnabas. I, for my part, have heard such things from a wise man: a counsel of the godless, he said, a way of sinners, the Jewish opinion, and a seat of plagues, taking up heresies. Another, more authoritative, said that the first blessing was assigned to those who did not follow the evil opinions that had turned away from God, and the second to those who did not remain on the wide and broad road, either those raised under the law or even those of the nations who had repented. A seat of plagues would be the theaters and the courts; which is even more so the case because of following evil and harmful powers and sharing in their deeds. But is his will not in the law of the Lord? Peter, in his preaching, called the Lord both the law and the Word. It also seems that the lawgiver teaches the acceptance of three kinds of sin: those in word through the voiceless fish—for in truth there is a silence different from speech; there is also a harmless honor in silence; those in deed through predatory and flesh-eating birds; the pig delights in mud and dung; and one must not even have a conscience defiled. Rightly then the prophet says, "Not so," he says, "the ungodly, but like chaff which the wind drives away from the face of the earth." For this reason the ungodly will not rise in judgment, those already condemned; since the one who does not believe is already judged; nor will sinners be in the council of the righteous; those already found guilty, so as not to be joined with those who live without blame; "for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly will perish." Again the Lord shows us clearly both the faults and the mistakes, suggesting suitable ways to heal the passions, wanting us to be corrected through Ezekiel by the shepherds; blaming, I think, some because they did not keep the commandments: "You did not strengthen the weak, and the following, until, 'And there was no one seeking, nor turning away.'". "For great joy before the Father is caused by one sinner being saved," the Lord says. Abraham is more praised for this, because he went as the Lord had spoken to him. From here, one of the wise men among the Greeks, having taken up the matter of following God, spoke out. But the godly, Isaiah says, planned wisely together. Counsel is the search for how we might rightly carry out things in the present; good counsel is wisdom directed toward plans. But what? Did not God also, soon after forgiving Cain, bring in the repentant Enoch, showing that forgiveness naturally gives birth to repentance? Forgiveness does not consist in pardon, but in healing. The same thing happens also in the anointing of the people by Aaron. Then one of the wise men among the Greeks spoke, saying, "Forgiveness is better than punishment." Just as the saying goes, "A pledge is neglect, but disaster is near," from the voice of Solomon who says, "Son, if you make a pledge for your friend, you will give your hand to a stranger; for a strong trap is the mouth of a man, and he is caught by the words of his own mouth." Even more mysterious is the saying "Know yourself," which comes from there: "If you have seen your brother, you have seen your God." Here is probably the command, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself." In these commandments, he says that the whole law and the prophets depend and hang. He agrees with these and those as well: "These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be fulfilled." This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. For the Lord is merciful and compassionate, and Christ is Lord over all. More clearly, Moses gives the advice, "Know yourself," saying many times, "Take care of yourself." By acts of mercy and faith, sins are cleansed; and by the fear of the Lord, everyone turns away from evil. The fear of the Lord is discipline and wisdom.

Chapter 16

How to explain places in Holy Scripture that attribute human feelings to God.

Here again the accusers object, saying that joy and sorrow are feelings of the soul; for they grant that joy is a reasonable uplift, and that delight is rejoicing over good things; but pity is sorrow over one who suffers undeservedly. They say such things are changes and feelings of the soul. But we, it seems, do not stop at understanding such things in the Scriptures in a fleshly way, nor do we interpret them from our own feelings, expecting the will of the impassible God to be moved in the same way as our own emotions. Just as we are able to hear, so we suppose it is with the almighty, yet we are mistaken in an unfaithful way. For it is not as the divine actually is that it was possible to speak; but as it was possible for us, bound by flesh, to understand, so the prophets spoke to us, with the Lord kindly accommodating the weakness of human beings. Since then it is the will of God to save the one who obeys the commandments and repents from sins, we rejoice in our salvation; the Lord, who spoke through the prophets, has made our paper (record) special—just as in the Gospel, speaking kindly of humanity, he says: "I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink". For whatever you did to one of the least of these, you did it to me. Just as one is nourished without feeding oneself because of the one who wants to nurture, so too he rejoiced without turning away, because the one who repented had become what he wished in joy. Since God is good and richly merciful, giving commandments both through the law and the prophets, and now more closely through the presence of the Son, saving and showing mercy, as has been said, to those who have been shown mercy; especially the stronger shows mercy to the weaker. And a man would not be stronger than another man, since he is human by nature; but God is stronger than man in every way. Therefore, if the stronger shows mercy to the weaker, God alone will show mercy to us. For a man becomes just by sharing with others and gives what he received from God, both through natural goodwill and through the commandments to which he obeys. God has no natural connection to us, as the creators of heresies want, neither making us out of nothing nor from matter; for the one is not at all, and the other is completely different from God. Unless someone dares to say that we are part of him and consubstantial with God. And I do not know how anyone skilled in this, having known God, would endure going into our life, in which we are troubled by evils. For it would be so, which is not right to say, that God sins partially, if the parts of the whole are parts and complements of the whole; but if they are not complements, they would not even be parts. But since God is naturally rich in mercy, because of his own goodness he cares for us, neither being parts of him nor children by nature. And indeed this is the greatest proof of God's goodness: that although we stand thus toward him, and are by nature completely alienated, yet he cares for us. For natural is the love toward children among animals, and friendship arises from habit among those of like mind; but the mercy of God toward us is rich, toward those who in no way belong to him—whether I mean by our essence, or by nature, or by the power inherent in our essence—only that they are the work of his will. And indeed he calls the willing, after training and teaching, who have taken up the knowledge of the truth, to sonship, the greatest of all progress. Transgressions accuse a man; each one is bound by the chains of his own sins, and God is without blame; and truly blessed is the man who overcomes all things through reverence.

Chapter 17

On the Various Kinds of Knowledge.

Since knowledge is a stable habit from which knowing happens, the grasp of it is unchanging through reason; likewise, ignorance is a kind of imagination, liable to change through reason; and what changes, like what is practiced, depends on reason in us. Experience and understanding, insight and perception, and knowledge are related to knowledge. Understanding would be knowledge of general things by kind, and experience would be knowledge by grasp; so each can be busy with many things. Perception is knowledge of what is perceived, and understanding is knowledge of what is combined, either unchanging combination or the power to combine, of which prudence is both knowledge and understanding, of one and each and all things into one reason. Knowledge is the knowledge of what is. Knowledge is in agreement with what comes to be; truth is knowledge of what is true; the habit of truth is knowledge of true things. Knowledge is made up through reason and is unchanging by another reason; here knowledge is busy with many things. What we do not do, either because we cannot or because we do not want to, or both. We do not fly, since we neither can nor want to; we do not swim, so to speak, just now, since we can but do not want to; we are not like the Lord, since we want but cannot. For no student is above the teacher; it is enough if we become like the teacher, not in essence; for it is impossible for what is by will to be equal to what is by nature; but to have become eternal, to have known the vision of beings, to be called sons, and to see the father apart from relatives, this alone. Willing comes before all; for the rational powers are servants of willing. "Will, he says, and you will be able." For the cognitive also has will, judgment, and practice as the same. If the same intentions, the same teachings and judgments, so that words and life and manner follow the thought, the heart seeks knowledge straight, and understands those things. "God has taught me wisdom, and I have known the knowledge of the holy."

Chapter 18

The Mosaic law is the source of all moral teaching, and from it the Greeks drew their ethics.

All other virtues, which are written down by Moses, are clearly the source for every moral teaching among the Greeks: I mean courage, temperance, prudence, justice, endurance and patience, reverence, self-control, and piety toward these things. But piety is clearly the highest and oldest cause of teaching to honor and respect, and the law itself sets forth justice, training prudence through abstaining from sensible images and through calling upon the maker and Father of all. From this source of glory, like a spring, all understanding grows. For sacrifices of the lawless are an abomination to the Lord; but prayers of the upright are acceptable to him; since justice is more acceptable to God than sacrifice. Such are also the words of Isaiah: "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?? says the Lord: and all the cutting off. Break every bond of injustice; for this sacrifice is acceptable to God, a heart crushed, and seeking the one who is crushed. Deceitful scales are an abomination before God; but a just balance is acceptable to him. From this, Pythagoras advises not to exceed the yoke. False righteousness is said to be the promise of heresies; and, The tongue of the wicked is destroyed, but the mouth of the righteous drips with wisdom. But indeed, the wise and prudent are called wicked. It would take too long to set forth testimony about these virtues, all of which the Scripture praises; since courage is defined as the knowledge of what is terrible and what is not terrible and what is in between, and self-control is a habit that saves the judgments of the mind by choice and avoidance. Along with courage is endurance, which they call steadfastness, the knowledge of what to hold to and what not to hold to; and also magnanimity, the knowledge that rises above what happens. But with self-control is reverence, which is a turning away together with reason. Guarding the commandments, keeping them unharmed, is the preservation of a secure life. And there is no endurance without courage, nor self-control without temperance. The virtues follow one another; and wherever the virtues follow, there also follows salvation, which is the keeping of what is good. It would be reasonable, having spoken further about these virtues, to consider that anyone who truly has one virtue has all of them because of their following one another. Self-control is immediately an unsurpassable disposition according to what has been shown by right reason. The one who holds back the impulses that go against right reason is self-controlled, or the one who holds himself so that he does not act against right reason. Temperance does not exist without courage; since it comes from commandments, following the God who has ordered it, it is both wisdom and the imitation of divine justice. By practicing temperance according to this, we become pure toward piety and then act in a way that follows God. We make ourselves like the Lord as much as we can, strengthening the nature we have. But this is just and holy to be done with wisdom. For the divine is without need and without passion; therefore it is not truly self-controlled, for it never falls into passion to be controlled by it. But our nature, being full of passion, needs self-control, through which, by practicing little by little, it tries to come close according to the disposition of the divine nature. For the serious person is little by little the border between immortal and mortal nature; the lack comes from both the body and its birth; but the need for self-control is small because of reason, having been taught. For what reason is there to say that the Law forbids a man to take up a woman's cloak? Or does it not want us to be courageous, neither in body and deeds nor in mind and reason becoming effeminate? For the one who truly devotes himself to truth becomes manly in endurance, in steadfastness, in life, in manner, in speech, and in discipline, both by night and by day; and if there is a need that comes through the witness of blood, he wants to seize it. Again, If anyone, he says, having recently feared a house, was not able to settle in it; or having worked a newly planted vineyard, has not yet gathered its fruit; or having pledged a virgin, has not yet married her; the Law, which is loving to mankind, commands that these be excused from military service. Strategically, so that we do not get distracted by desires, we serve the war willingly; for those who honestly give up their impulses to the dangers are free. And kindly, since the things concerning wars are unclear, considering it unjust both not to benefit from one's own labors and to take harshly the efforts of others who toil. The Law also seems to show courage of the soul, requiring the one who has planted to reap the fruit, the one who has built to dwell in it, and the one who has engaged to marry; for it does not make the hopes of those who have practiced according to the rational knowledge incomplete. For when a good man dies, hope is not lost even while he lives.. "I love those who love me," says Wisdom; "but those who seek me will find peace", and the following. But what? Did not the women of the Medes, because of their beauty, lead the Hebrews who were fighting against them from self-control into lawlessness through weakness? For having drawn over those from serious discipline to pleasures of companionship, having enticed them by their beauty, they made the women mad both at the sacrifices to idols and at foreign customs. And since they were defeated by pleasure along with the women, they turned away from God and also from the law. And it was little time before the whole people became subject to the enemies, having been overcome by a woman's trick, until fear warned them when they were in danger. Immediately, those who were left behind, eagerly taking up the struggle for piety, became masters over the enemies. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God; understanding is the foresight of the holy; and to know the Law is the sign of a good mind.. Therefore, those who took the Law as a possession out of passionate fear were neither good at understanding, nor did they truly grasp the Law; for the fear of the Lord gives life. But the one who is led astray will suffer in pains that knowledge does not oversee. Barnabas neglects it secretly, but God, the ruler of the whole world, says, "He will also give you wisdom and understanding, knowledge, insight into his laws, and patience.. Therefore, become taught by God, seeking what the Lord asks from you, so that on the day of judgment those who plot against these things may be found. He called them children of love and peace in a knowing way. About sharing and fellowship, since there are many things, I will only say this: the law forbids a brother to lend; calling brother not only one born from the same parents, but also anyone who is of the same nature, sharing the same mind and partaking in the same Word. It does not allow charging interest on money, but rather to give freely with open hands and good intentions to those in need. For God is the creator of such grace, and also the giver, and receives worthy interest—the most precious things among humans: gentleness, kindness, generosity, good reputation, and honor. Does it not seem to you that this command is an act of kindness? Just like that one: to pay the daily wage to the poor without delay, it teaches that the wage for services must be paid without fail. For, I think, the eagerness of the poor, weakened by hunger, grows weak toward the next day. He also says: "A lender must not enter the debtor's house by force to take a pledge; rather, the one outside should demand it, and the one who has it must not refuse to give it." In the case of the unpaid wages, preventing the loss of the falling drachmas hinders the owners; just as in the harvest, it encourages leaving some uncut. Because of this, it trains the owners well in sharing and generosity by giving up some of their own, and it provides the poor with a source of food. You see how the law proclaims both the justice and the goodness of God, who generously provides food to all. In the same harvest, it forbids reaping the leftover crops again and gathering the fallen grapes; the same rules apply to those who gather olives. Indeed, the tithes of both the crops and the herds taught to honor God and not to be entirely greedy, but to share kindness with neighbors. For from these first fruits, I think, the priests were supported; so now we understand that through the law we are being trained in piety, fellowship, justice, and kindness. Does it not indeed command that the land lie fallow every seventh year, and it ordered the poor to use the crops that grow by God's will without fear, allowing those who wish to farm according to nature? How then is the law not good and a teacher of justice? Again, at the fiftieth year, it commands the same things to be completed as at the seventh, giving back to each their own, if in the meantime a piece of land was taken away because of some circumstance, limiting the desire of those wanting to acquire by a time measured for harvest, and punishing those who promised long to the poor, not punishing them for life but taking a penalty. Almsgiving and faith are royal guards; a blessing is upon the head of the giver; and, "The one who shows mercy to the poor will be blessed," because it shows love toward what is like itself through love toward the Creator of the human race. The things mentioned earlier also have other explanations, more natural ones, about rest and the receiving of the inheritance; but these are not spoken of in the present text. Love is understood in many ways: through gentleness, through kindness, through patience, through generosity and lack of envy, through selflessness, through forgiveness; it is without division in all things, without partiality, and sharing. Again: If you see, he says, among your own family or friends, or generally among people you know, a beast of burden wandering in the wilderness, take it and give it back; and if by chance the owner is far away, having kept it safe with your own people until it is brought back, give it back. The discovery teaches natural fellowship, to consider it a trust, and not to hold a grudge against the enemy. The command of the Lord, truly a source of life, causes one to turn away from the trap of death. But what? Does it not command loving the strangers, not only as friends and relatives, but as oneself, both in body and soul? Yes, indeed, he honored the nations, and he does not hate even those who have done evil. He says directly: "You shall not despise an Egyptian, because you became a sojourner in Egypt", or indeed the foreigner, or even the whole worldly population, addressing them as "Egyptian." Even the enemies, even if they are already standing at the city walls, trying to take the city, should not yet be considered enemies until after they have been sent heralds and invited to peace. Yes indeed, he does not order one to associate with a captive for the sake of insult; but allowing her forty days, he says, to mourn as she wishes, then afterward, having changed her clothes, to come together according to the law of marriage. For he does not consider the associations to be for insult, nor even for hire, like with companions, but only for the sake of bearing children. Do you see kindness combined with self-control? To the lover, having become the master of the captive, he does not allow pleasure to be indulged; but he restrains desire with a measured interval, and furthermore he cuts off the captive's hair, so that the insolent love may be disgusted; for if reason persuades to marry, even if shameful, he will endure it. Then if someone, having grown tired of desire, no longer considers it proper to share with the captive, nor allows her to be sold, he is not permitted to do so; nor is he allowed to keep her as a servant any longer, but she is to be free and released from the household, so that if another woman comes in, he will not suffer some incurable harm from jealousy. But what then? And he commands us to help and lift the burdens of enemies who carry heavy loads, teaching us from afar not to welcome spitefulness, nor to take pleasure in enemies; so that, having trained ourselves in these things, he may teach us to pray for our enemies. For it is not right to be jealous or to be upset over the good things of those nearby, nor to take pleasure in the misfortunes of a neighbor. And if, wandering, you find the burden of some enemy, leaving aside the cause of the conflict, take it away and give it back; for goodness follows forgiveness, and with it comes the ending of hatred. From this, we are brought into harmony; and harmony leads to happiness. And if you consider someone an enemy out of habit, but catch them acting irrationally, whether by desire or even by anger, turn them back toward goodness. So the law that leads to Christ already clearly shows itself to be loving and kind? God is the same good one with justice, from the beginning to the end fittingly used for the salvation of every race? "Be merciful," the Lord says, "so that you may be shown mercy; forgive, so that you may be forgiven; as you do, it will be done to you; as you give, it will be given to you; as you judge, you will be judged; as you are kind, kindness will be shown to you; with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." Still, it prevents those who serve with food from being dishonored; and to those enslaved because of debts, it grants a truce for the whole seventh year. But it also prevents handing over suppliants to punishment. Therefore, that saying is even more true: "Just as gold and silver are tested in a furnace, so the Lord chooses the hearts of people." And, "A merciful man is patient; in everything, one who worries has wisdom; for care will fall upon a sensible man; being thoughtful, he will seek life; and whoever seeks God will find knowledge with righteousness." But those who sought him rightly found peace. It seems to me that Pythagoras also accepted the gentle treatment of irrational animals according to the law. Immediately he spoke about those born among the flocks, the goats, and the cattle, concerning instant enjoyment, not even under the pretext of sacrifices, saying that for the sake of parents and mothers, man is raised to gentleness below the irrational animals. He says, "At least grant the offspring to the mother, even for the first seven days; for if nothing happens without cause, the milk is poured upon the mothers for the nourishment of the offspring. To take away what is born disrupts the management of the milk and dishonors nature." Let the Greeks be ashamed, and anyone else who runs counter to the law; for if kindness is shown even to irrational animals, yet some expose the offspring of humans, although the law, far off and prophetic, restrains their cruelty through the command mentioned before. For if it forbids the separation of the offspring of irrational animals from the mother during nursing, much more does it prevent a raw and wild attitude toward humans, so that they may not despise nature, at least in learning. For it is allowed to carry young goats and lambs; and perhaps there is some excuse for the one who separates the offspring from the mother. But what reason is there for exposing a child? For one should not even marry if one is unwilling to have children, nor become a parent through lack of self-control from pleasure, becoming a child-killer. Again, the good law forbids a child and mother to be left exposed on the same day. From this comes the Roman practice that even if a pregnant woman is sentenced to death, they do not allow the punishment to be carried out before she gives birth. Certainly, the law does not allow any animals that are pregnant to be slaughtered until they give birth, holding back from the ease of doing harm to a human being. Thus, even for irrational animals, the reasonable law forbade it; so that, having practiced some kindness toward those of different species, we might show some measure of love for those of the same species. Some even kick the bellies of certain animals before they give birth, so that they may feast on flesh mixed with milk; they have made the womb, created for birth, a tomb for the unborn, openly against the command of the lawgiver, who says: "You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk". For the flesh says: let not the food of the living become a delight from the animal that was killed; nor let the cause of life become a partner in the destruction of the body. The same law also declares, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is threshing". For it is right that even the worker should receive food. It also forbids yoking together an ox and a donkey to plow the ground (4, 5). Perhaps this is partly out of concern for the animals, but it also clearly shows not to wrong any of the foreigners or to force them under a yoke, having no reason to blame them for being of a different race, which is innocent, neither from malice nor driven by malice. To me, the allegory also seems to indicate that one should not share the work of the Word's cultivation with both the pure and the impure, the faithful and the unfaithful. For the ox is considered pure, but the donkey is counted among the impure. The good Word, overflowing with kindness, teaches that even the materials of the day should not be cut down like trees, nor should one cut the ear of grain before the harvest in a destructive way. Rather, one must not destroy the ripe fruit altogether, neither of the land nor of the soul. For it does not allow cutting into the land of the enemies either. Indeed, even farmers benefit from the law in these matters; for it commands that newly planted trees be left alone for three full years, cutting off the excess shoots so they are not weighed down or pressed down, and so that the nourishment is not broken up and weakened by lack. It also commands plowing and digging around, so that nothing stops the growth. It does not allow the fruit to be picked incomplete from incomplete ones, but after three years, in the fourth year, having dedicated the first fruits to God, after the tree has matured. Let this be the model and method of teaching for farming: teaching that the extra growths of sins must be cut off, and the useless shoots that grow alongside the fruitful crop of the mind, so that the shoot of faith may be perfected and become strong. For in the fourth year, since the one being taught also needs a firm time, the group of four virtues is dedicated to God, the third already having been completed, reaching to the fourth foundation of the Lord. A sacrifice of praise instead of burnt offerings. For he says to you, "He gives strength to do" power. But if the matters are enlightened to you, having taken and gained strength, act with power in knowledge. For he shows through these both the good things and the gifts granted by God, and that we must, having become servants of divine grace, sow the good works of God and make those who come near both good and noble. So that, as it were especially, the sensible man honors the self-controlled, the brave man the noble, the wise the intelligent, and the just man fulfills the just.

Chapter 19

On the true Gnostic, who is an imitator of God, especially in kindness.

This is the Gnostic who is made in the image and likeness, who imitates God as much as possible, leaving nothing out that could lead to likeness; self-controlled, enduring, living justly, ruling over passions, sharing what he has as much as he can, doing good both in word and deed. This one is greatest, he says, in the kingdom, whoever does and teaches, imitating God by giving similar gifts; for the gifts of God are for the common good. But whoever attempts to act with pride, provokes God, he says; for arrogance of the soul is evil; from this he also commands repentance from other evils, arranging life properly by changing from disorder to better through these three: mouth, heart, and hands. These would be a symbol: the hands for action, the heart for will, and the mouth for speech. Well then, that saying has been spoken about those who repent: "Today you have chosen God to be your God; and the Lord has chosen you today to be his people". For God becomes close to the one eager to heal what is, being a servant; even if the number is only one, he is honored along with the people. For being a part of the people, he becomes their complement, restored from where he was; and the whole is also called by the part. But this nobility is shown in choosing and practicing the best things; for what good did such nobility do Adam? But none of his fathers is mortal; for he himself is the father of men in their origin. He eagerly chose the shameful things, following the woman, but he neglected the true and good things, by which a mortal would exchange his life for an immortal one, though not completely. But Noah, who did not become like Adam, is saved by divine oversight; for he offered himself to God. Abraham, having fathered children by three women not for the pleasure of enjoyment, but I think for the hope that the race would increase from the beginning, alone inherits the ancestral goods as heir; the others were separated from the family line. From him, twins were born; the younger inherits, having become pleasing to the father, and receives the blessings; the elder serves him, for the greatest good for the worthless is not to have self-rule. This arrangement is both prophetic and symbolic. That everything belongs to the wise man is clearly shown by the saying: "For God has shown mercy to me; all things are mine." For it teaches to desire one thing, through which all things came to be, and to the worthy the promised things are distributed. Therefore, it records the diligent person as heir and fellow citizen of the kingdom through divine wisdom, along with the righteous of old. Those who lived rightly according to the law and before the law, whose actions have become laws for us. Again, teaching that the wise one is king, he calls those who are not of the same race to him, saying: "King, you are from God among us." With the willing will of those who rule, obeying the diligent one through zeal for virtue. Plato the philosopher, setting happiness as the goal, says that it is a likeness to God as far as possible; whether also somehow cooperating with the teaching of the law (for the great natures, free from passions, somehow aim rightly at the truth, as Pythagorean Philon says, explaining the teachings of Moses); or whether also then re-taught by some scholars, always thirsty for learning. For the law says: "Follow after the Lord your God, and keep my commandments." For the law calls likeness a following; and such a following makes one like, as far as possible. "Be merciful," says the Lord, "and compassionate, just as your heavenly Father is compassionate." From this, the Stoics also taught that to live according to nature is the goal, having properly renamed God as nature; since nature extends even to plants, crops, trees, and stones. It has been clearly said: "Evil men do not understand the law; but those who love the law set up a wall for themselves." For wisdom will recognize the ways of the cunning; but foolishness of the senseless is in error. For to whom shall I look, if not to my gentle, quiet, and trembling words? The prophecy says. We learn that there are three kinds of friendship; and of these, the first and best is the one based on virtue. For love from reason is firm. The second and middle kind is based on exchange; this is social, sharing, and useful. For friendship from favor is common. The last and third kind, we say, is based on habit, but others call it one turned toward pleasure and changeable. And it seems to me that Hippodamus the Pythagorean writes perfectly about friendship: "Some come from the knowledge of the gods; some from the giving of humans; and some from the pleasure of animals." Therefore, one kind of friendship is that of the philosopher, another of the human, and another of the animal. For truly, man is the image of God, doing good; in whom he himself is also benefited. For just as the pilot both saves and is saved at the same time. Therefore, when someone asking receives something, he does not say to the giver, "You gave well," but rather, "You received well." In this way, the giver receives, and the receiver gives. The righteous show pity and show mercy; the kind will be inhabitants of the earth; the innocent will be left on it; but those who act unlawfully will be destroyed from it. And it seems to me that Homer, speaking as a true prophet, said, "Give to a friend; but help an enemy, so that he may not remain an enemy." For help is joined with goodwill, but it breaks enmity. But even if eagerness is present, it is welcome according to what it has, not according to what it does not have; for it is not so that others have relief while you have distress, but out of equality in the present time. And what follows: "He has scattered, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever," says the Scripture. For the image and likeness, as we said before, do not refer to the body (for it is not right for the mortal to be made like the immortal), but rather to the mind and reason; to these the Lord rightly seals the likeness for doing good and for ruling. For rulerships are not qualities of bodies, but are carried out by judgments of the mind; for cities are well governed by the plans of holy men, and a household is well managed too.

Chapter 20

But to practice Gnostic tolerance and self-control

Endurance itself also strives toward divine likeness, bearing fruit in impassibility through patience, if one considers the events concerning Ananias; among these was also Daniel the prophet, filled with divine faith. Daniel lived in Babylon, just as Lot lived in Sodom, and Abraham, who was a friend of God for a short time, lived in the land of the Chaldeans. The king of the Babylonians threw Daniel into a den full of wild animals; but the Lord, the faithful ruler of all, brought him up unharmed. This endurance will be possessed by the spiritual person, as is fitting for the spiritual one; he will bless while being tested, like the noble Job, and like Jonah he will pray while swallowed by the whale, and faith will restore him as a prophet to the Ninevites. And even if he is thrown among lions, he will tame the beasts; if he is thrown into fire, he will be cooled and will not be burned; he will bear witness by night and by day; in word, in life, and in manner he will bear witness. As a companion in the Lord, he remains a sharer and fellow eater according to the spirit; pure in body and pure in heart; sanctified in word. He says, "The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." This one, carrying the cross of the Savior, follows the Lord step by step, so that he becomes God, holy of holies. Therefore, the divine law, mindful of every virtue, especially anoints the person for self-control, laying this down as the foundation of virtues; and indeed it instructs us beforehand in the practice of self-control, forbidding us to share in the use of what is naturally richer, like the kind of swine, which happens to be very fleshy; for such use leads to indulgence. It is said, then, that some of the philosophers, explaining the name of the swine, say that it means "sacrificial," as if it is suitable only for sacrifice and slaughter; for this animal is given a soul for no other purpose than to make its flesh firm. Likewise, it forbade us to partake of fish, restraining our desires from those that have neither fins nor scales; for these differ from other fish in their fleshiness and greasiness. From this, I think it also forbids touching the rites of not only certain animals, but there are parts even of those sacrificed that have been excluded from use, for reasons known to the initiates. If indeed the stomach and what is under the stomach must be held back, it is clear that, as we have received from the Lord through the law, desire is cut off from above. It would be perfect if we could completely despise the burning away of desire, by which I mean pleasure, without any pretense. They say its nature is a smooth movement and gentle, along with some sensation. They say that Menelaus, serving this desire, after the fall of Troy, tried to take back Helen, since she had become the cause of so many evils, but he was not able to succeed, being overcome by her beauty, through which he came to remember the pleasure. Therefore, mocking him, the tragedians shouted at him in reproach:

But you, as if you had seen a breast, throwing away your sword,

You welcomed your lover, a treacherous and shameful dog.

And again:

"Have swords been silenced by beauty? I accept Antisthenes, Aphrodite saying, even if I were to shoot an arrow, if I hit; for she destroyed many of us good and beautiful women." He says that love is an evil by nature, and that the unlucky are weaker; they call the disease a god; for through these it is shown that the less wise are defeated by ignorance of pleasure, which should not be allowed, even if it is called a god, that is, even if it is given by a god for the need of procreation. And Xenophon, calling pleasure outright evil, says: "O miserable one, what good do you know, or what beauty do you consider? You do not even wait for the desire for pleasures, eating before you are hungry, drinking before you are thirsty; and in order to eat pleasantly, you contrive delicacies, and in order to drink pleasantly, you prepare costly wines; and in summer, you put on snow; and in order to sleep pleasantly, you prepare not only soft beds but also the supports for the beds." Therefore, as Ariston said, "overall, for the tetrachord—pleasure, pain, fear, desire—much exercise and struggle are needed."

For these very ones, these, even deep within the bowels,

They take up space and surround the heart of humans.

For even pleasure, according to Plato, makes the spirits that are thought to be sacred restless; because every pleasure and pain fastens the soul to the body, which does not separate and crucify itself from the passions. "Whoever loses his soul," the Lord says, "will save it." Either by risking it boldly for the Savior, as he himself did for us, or by losing it from the usual life of association. For if you wish to release, withdraw, and separate the soul (for this is what the cross means) from the pleasures and delights of this life, you will have it found and resting in the hope that is awaited. Let this be the practice of death, if we wish to be satisfied with only those desires measured by nature, not going beyond what is natural, either more or less than nature, where the sinful arises. Therefore, we must put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the schemes of the devil; since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but powerful through God to destroy strongholds, breaking down arguments and every proud obstacle raised against the knowledge of God, and capturing every thought to make it obedient to Christ, the divine Apostle says. A man is indeed needed who will use things wonderfully and without confusion, from which passions arise; such as wealth and poverty, honor and dishonor, health and sickness, life and death, pain and pleasure. For in order to use different things indifferently, we need great difference within ourselves, since we have been badly harmed by much weakness, and by a prior distortion from bad upbringing and diet, having already enjoyed ignorance beforehand. The simple teaching of our philosophy says that all passions are barriers of the soul, soft and seeming, like seals on the spiritual powers, against which the struggle is for us. For I think it is the task of the wicked powers to work something of their own condition in each case, trying to outdo and take over those who have refused them. It follows naturally that some are overcome in the struggle, while others use the contest more like athletes, fighting with all their might and reaching the crown. Then indeed, in much distress, the powers mentioned before give up, marveling at the victors. Of the things that move, some are moved by impulse and imagination, like animals; others are moved by change of place, like lifeless things. They say that even plants, which are lifeless, move by changing place in order to grow, if anyone allows that plants are lifeless. Stones have habit, plants have nature, and irrational animals share both impulse and imagination, as well as the two things mentioned earlier. The rational power, being proper to the human soul, does not owe impulse in the same way to irrational animals, but also distinguishes the imaginations and does not go along with them. The powers, then, about which we have spoken—beauty, opinions, adultery, pleasures, and certain such enticing imaginations—stretch out to willing souls like those who drive away shoots and bring in young plants; then, having tricked those who cannot distinguish true pleasure from false, and the harmful and insolent from the holy beauty, they lead them away into slavery. Each deception, constantly resting upon the soul, stamps the imagination within it; and indeed, the soul of the cause, carrying the image of the passion, escapes notice, both because of the lure and because of our consent. Those around Basilides are accustomed to calling the passions attachments; these are certain spirits that essentially exist attached to the rational soul, causing a kind of original disturbance and confusion. Moreover, other false spirits and foreign natures are said to grow upon these, like those of a wolf, monkey, lion, or goat; imagining their traits about the soul, they say that the desires of the soul are closely similar to those of animals. For since they carry the traits of these animals, they imitate their actions; and not only do they resemble the impulses and imaginations of irrational animals, but they also envy the movements and beauty of plants, because they are said to carry traits attached from plants as well. It also has traits of a habit, such as the hardness of diamond. But we will discuss this teaching later, when we take up the soul; for now, only this should be noted, that the man according to Basilides preserves the image of a Trojan horse, according to the poetic myth, having been filled with a host of so many different spirits in one body. The son of Basilides himself, Isidore, in the On the Attached Soul, aware of the teaching and as if accusing himself, writes literally: "For if you give someone an argument that the soul is not one-sided, but through the force of its attachments the sufferings of the worse parts happen, the wicked among men do not have the excuse of chance to say: I was forced, I was carried away, I acted unwillingly, I did not act by choice; considering himself the desire for evils, and not fighting against the violence of the attachments." But it is necessary that the better, rational parts become apparent as ruling over the lesser parts of our nature." For he also assumes that there are two souls in us, just like the Pythagoreans, about whom we will examine later. But even Valentinus, writing to some, says about the attachments with these words: "There is one good, whose revelation through the Son is with boldness, and through him alone the heart could become pure, with every evil spirit driven out of the heart; for many spirits dwell in it and do not allow it to be pure; and each of them carries out its own works, often insulting with desires that are not proper." And it seems to me that the heart suffers something similar to an innkeeper; for it is both trampled and dug up, and often filled with filth, by people behaving shamelessly, and taking no care of the place, as if it belonged to someone else. In this way, the heart, until it receives care, remains unclean, being the dwelling place of many demons; but when the one good Father visits it, it is made holy and shines with light; and thus the one who has such a heart is blessed, because he will see God." What then is the cause of such a soul not taking care from the beginning? Let it tell us. For it is not worthy (and how could care come to it as if from repentance?) unless the nature is preserved as it wishes; and it is necessary that this nature, cared for from the beginning because of its kinship, allows no entry to unclean spirits, unless it is forced and shown to be weak. For if he allows her, having repented, to choose the better, that one will say unwillingly what our truth teaches, that salvation comes from a change of will, not from nature. For just as the vapors, both from the earth and from marshes, gather into mists and cloudy swirls, so the stirrings of fleshly desires wear down the soul with weakness, scattering the images of pleasure before the soul. They darken the intellectual light, as the soul's stirrings from desire fall upon it, thickening the whirls of passions in a constant stream of pleasures. Gold is not taken from the earth as a lump, but is melted down and refined; then, having become pure, it is called gold, the earth having been purified. For you are told, "Ask, and it will be given to you," to those who are able to choose the best for themselves. Since we say that the devil's powers and unclean spirits sow themselves into the soul of the sinner, I do not need more words, having the apostolic Barnabas as a witness (he was one of the seventy and a companion of Paul), who says in effect: "Before we believed in God, our heart was a dwelling place and weak, truly a temple built by human hands; for it was full of idolatry, and was a house of demons, because it did what was against God." He says, then, that sinners perform the actions suitable to demons; but he does not say that the spirits themselves dwell in the soul of the unbeliever. For this reason he also adds: "Take care that the temple of the Lord be built gloriously; how? Learn by receiving the forgiveness of sins; and having hoped in the name, let us become new, being created again from the beginning." For it is not the demons who are driven out from us, but the sins, he says, which we likewise committed to them before we believed. It was fitting, then, that the things brought forward were opposed: "Therefore in our dwelling place God truly dwells; how? The Word of faith dwells in us, his calling of promise, the wisdom of righteousness, the commandments of teaching." I know that I encountered a certain heresy; and the leader of this heresy, through practice, claimed that pleasure must be fought with pleasure, this brave gnostic defecting to pleasure through a pretended fight. For he claimed to be a gnostic himself; since he said nothing great about avoiding pleasure without having tried it, but about not being mastered when it happens; hence, to be trained by it in it. The wretched man, trying to outsmart himself, was unaware of his own folly in the pleasure-loving craft. It is clear, then, that Aristippus the Cyrenean attacked this opinion, the sophist who boasted of the truth; being reproached for constantly associating with the Corinthian courtesan, he said, "For I have Laïs, but I am not owned by her." Such were also those who claimed to follow Nicolaus, carrying a certain memorandum of the man from encouragement, that one must make use of the flesh. But the noble man showed that it is necessary to restrain both pleasures and desires, and by this discipline to weaken the impulses and attacks of the flesh. But those who, like goats, rush headlong into pleasure, abusing their bodies, live in shame; not knowing that while the body is worn out, being naturally fluid, their soul is dug deep into the mud of wickedness, following the rule of that pleasure, not of a true man. For in what way do these differ from Sardanapalus? Of whom the life is shown by the epigram:

These are the things I have: as much as I ate, and I insulted, and after desire

I enjoyed pleasures; but those many and blessed things have passed away.

For I too am ashes, of great Ninus who reigned.

Pleasure as a passion is not absolutely necessary, but it follows certain natural needs, like hunger, thirst, cold, and marriage. If it were possible to live without this passion, or to do without food, or to have children, then no other need would be shown for it. For pleasure is neither an action, nor a state, nor even a part of ourselves; rather, it came into life as a servant, like salt, for the sake of seasoning food. But pleasure, having gone wild and taken control of the house, gives birth to the first desire, a craving and longing that is irrational for the one who enjoys it. Even Epicurus was persuaded to make pleasure the goal of the philosopher. For it establishes a stable condition of the body and a trustworthy hope about it. For what else is luxury but the craving of a pleasure-lover, an excessive surplus, given over to delight? Diogenes clearly writes in some tragedy:

Those of the manless and utterly ruined

Burdened in heart by pleasures of luxury,

Wishing to suffer not even slightly …

And what follows, as many shameful things have been said, but fittingly so by those who love pleasure. Therefore, it seems to me that the law necessarily raises fear in a godly way, so that with reverence and attention the philosopher may both gain and keep peace of mind, remaining unshaken and without fault in all things. For peace and freedom do not come about otherwise than through the relentless and unyielding struggle against our passions. For these opponents are thick and Olympian, like wasps, so to speak, they are sharper, and especially pleasure, which not only during the day but also at night in dreams, with seductive magic, plots harmfully and bites. How then can Greeks still justly run away from the Law, teaching even pleasure itself to be enslaved by fear? Socrates at least commands to guard oneself against obeying the impulses to eat when not hungry, and to drink when not thirsty, and that the eyes and kisses of beautiful things, by nature, send a poison more painful than that of scorpions and vipers. And Antisthenes chooses to be mad rather than to enjoy pleasure. The Theban Crates also—

Of those, he says, Crates, rejoicing in the character of the soul,

Neither enslaved by gold nor by desires

of the melting passions; nor are they any longer companions of the greedy.

And he sums up the whole by saying:

Pleasure enslaves men, yet they remain unbound and unshaken,

They love immortal kingship and freedom.

This man writes plainly in other places: "The uncontrolled desire for the pleasures of Aphrodite is a kind of hunger; if not that, then a snare." The comic poets also bear witness to the teaching of Zeno the Stoic, and indeed mockingly, in this way:

"For this man philosophizes an empty philosophy."

He teaches to be hungry, and he takes on students;

One bread, a piece of cooked food, and to drink water.

All of these, then, are not ashamed to clearly admit the benefit that comes from piety; but true and reasonable wisdom does not rely on fine words and decrees, but on invulnerable veils and effective mysteries, practicing the divine commandments through training and exercise, receiving divine power according to the part inspired by the Word. Indeed, they even paint the aegis of the creative Zeus.

A terrible thing, about which Fear is crowned all around

In Strife, in Strength, and in cold Laughter

And in the Gorgon's head, of a terrible giant,

Terrible and dreadful, a wonder of Zeus who bears the aegis.

But for those who are able to rightly see the saving truth, I do not know if anything will appear dearer than the reverence of the law and the devotion to its daughter. But when it is said that one sings with a raised tone, just as the Lord did toward some, so that some of those who envy him might not sing him down or out of tune, I hear it not as a raised tone, but as a raised tone for those unwilling to take up the divine yoke; for to the weak and faint, the moderate seems raised, and to the unjust, what is imposed seems extreme judgment. For those who, because of their friendly attitude toward sins, allow excuse to enter, these consider truth to be falsehood, strictness to be harshness, and the mercilessness of the one who neither sins with them nor condones sin. Well indeed, tragedy is written about Hades: [PG 8.123]

But you will come to a spirit like love,

Who is neither gentle nor gracious

He was harsh; but he loved simple justice alone.

For even if you are not yet able to do the things not commanded by the law, by observing that the best examples lie before us in him, we can nurture and increase the love of freedom; and by this, we would benefit if, according to our ability, we were more eager—sometimes being the ones who initiate, sometimes imitating, and sometimes even disliking. For neither did the ancient righteous live according to the law, being made from an oak tree or from a rock; rather, all of them, wishing truly to philosophize, entrusted themselves to God and were counted among the faithful. Senon rightly said about the Indians that he wanted to see one Indian who was blind, rather than learn all the proofs about pain. For us, there are countless sources of witnesses every day, seen with our own eyes, blinded, torn apart, and having their heads cut off. The fear of the law led all these to Christ as their guide, training them to be devout and to show their faith even through their blood. God stands in the assembly of gods; in the midst he judges the gods.. Who are these? Those who are stronger than pleasures, who differ from passions, who know each of the things they do, the Gnostics, the greater ones of the world. And again, I said, "You are gods and all sons of the Most High," whom does the Lord mean? To those who are asking, as far as possible, all that is human. And the Apostle says: For you are no longer in the flesh, but in the spirit.. And again he says: Being in the flesh, we do not fight according to the flesh; for flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption.. Behold, you die as humans, the Spirit has spoken, convicting us. Therefore, it is necessary to bring ourselves together in reverence against the passions that befall us, fleeing, according to true philosophers, the suffering caused by food and the unrestrained ease beside the bed, and luxury, and the passions for luxury, which are a heavy prize for others; but not for us anymore. For temperance is the greatest gift of God. For he himself said: I will not leave you, nor will I forsake you; worthy indeed to be trusted because of true choice.. Therefore, the good yoke of the Lord will kindly accept us, who approach with reverence, testing us from faith to faith, like one charioteer driving each of us forward toward salvation, so that the proper fruit of happiness may be gained. Exercise takes place according to Hippocrates of Cos, not only for the health of the body but also for the health of the soul, through tireless effort and constant nourishment.

Chapter 21

He reviews various philosophers' opinions about the highest good.

Epicurus, placing happiness in not being hungry, not being thirsty, and not shivering, called this state godlike, speaking irreverently, even if it meant fighting against Zeus the Father; like swine that eat dung, and not like rational and philosophical men, he declared this the blessed victory. For those who begin from pleasure are the Cyrenaics and Epicurus; for they say plainly that the goal is to live pleasantly; and they consider pleasure the only perfect good. Epicurus also says that pleasure is the removal of pain. He says it is something to be chosen, which first draws itself from itself, clearly existing always in motion. Deinomachus and Calliphon said that the goal is everything done for its own sake because of attaining pleasure and actually attaining it. And Hieronymus the Peripatetic said the goal is to live without trouble, and the final good is only happiness. And Diodorus likewise, coming from the same choice, declares the goal to be living without trouble and well. Epicurus and the Cyrenaics say that pleasure is the first natural good; for they say that virtue made pleasure by passing through pleasure. According to those around Calliphon, virtue came in because of pleasure, but later, seeing the beauty around it, it gave itself equal to the beginning, that is, to pleasure. But those around Aristotle say the goal is to live according to virtue; and neither happiness nor the goal belongs to everyone who has virtue. For the wise man, being troubled and falling into unwilling misfortunes, and because of these wanting to escape life unwillingly, is neither blessed nor happy. For virtue also requires some time; it is not completed in one day, which is also perfect. Since, as they say, no child is ever happy; the perfect human life would be time. Therefore, happiness is fulfilled from the threefold origin of goods. Therefore, neither the poor, nor the dishonored, nor the clever, nor even a servant would be considered so by them. Again, Zeno the Stoic considers the goal to be living according to virtue, while Cleanthes holds that it is living in agreement with nature, in reasoning well; which he took to lie in choosing according to nature. Antipater, his follower, thinks the goal lies in continuously and unshakably choosing what is according to nature and rejecting what is against nature. Archedemus also explained the goal in this way, choosing the greatest and most important things according to nature, which cannot be surpassed. In addition to these, Panaetius declared that living according to the natural starting points given to us is the goal. For all these, Posidonius holds that living is the goal, seeing the truth and order of all things, and shaping himself as much as possible, being led by nothing from the irrational part of the soul. Some of the later Stoics gave the goal as living according to the nature of a human being. What then, should I mention to you about Ariston? He said that this goal is indifference; but the indifferent simply leaves what is indifferent behind. Or should I bring up the views of Herillus? Herillus sets the goal as living according to knowledge. For some of the later members of the Academy think that the goal is to give a firm rejection to the appearances. Yes, indeed, Lyco the Peripatetic said that the true joy of the soul is the goal, just as Leucimus said it is the joy in the beautiful things. Critolaus, who was also a Peripatetic, said that perfection is a life flowing according to nature, showing the ancestral perfection completed from the three kinds. Therefore, we should not be satisfied with these things, but rather strive eagerly, especially, to present also the views of the natural philosophers about the matter at hand. For Anaxagoras the Clazomenian, they say that the contemplation is the goal of life, and freedom comes from this; and Heraclitus the Ephesian, the pleasure. Heraclides of Pontus reports that Pythagoras considered knowledge to be the perfection of the virtues of the soul and handed down that happiness is this; but the Abderites also teach that there is a goal: Democritus, in his On the Goal, says it is cheerfulness, which he also called good humor; and he often says: "For pleasure and painlessness are the limit of those who have passed through." Hecataeus says it is self-sufficiency; and indeed Apollodotus of Cyzicus says it is the care of the soul; just as Nausiphanes says it is astonishment; for he said that under Democritus this was called amazement. Furthermore, in addition to these, Diotimos declared that the complete perfection of the goods, which is called good humor, is the goal. Again, Antisthenes held that the goal is freedom from pride; but the so-called Annicerian school, coming from the Cyrenaic tradition, assigned no definite goal for the whole life; rather, they said that each action has its own goal, which is the pleasure that comes from the action itself. These Cyrenaics reject Epicurus' definition of pleasure, that is, the removal of pain, calling it a state of death; for they say we rejoice not only in pleasures but also in companionship and in ambitions. Epicurus, however, thinks that all joy of the soul comes from the original sensation of the body. Metrodorus, in the work On the Cause That Is Greater for Us toward Happiness from Things, the Good, says, "What else is the soul but the stable condition of the body and the sure hope concerning it?"

Chapter 22

Plato says that the highest good consists in likeness to God, with whom the sacred writers agree.

Indeed, the philosopher Plato says that the end is twofold: one is participatory and exists first in the forms themselves, which he calls the good; the other participates in that and receives from it likeness, which happens concerning humans, who are transformed by virtue and true philosophy. Therefore, Cleanthes, in the second book On Pleasure, says that Socrates teaches in every case that he himself is both just and happy; and to the first, when explaining justice apart from what is advantageous, he says it is like something impious that has been done; for those who separate what is advantageous from lawful justice are truly impious. Plato himself says that happiness is "to have a good daemon", and by daemon he means the ruling part of our soul; and he calls happiness the most perfect and fullest good. He also calls it a life acknowledged and in harmony with itself; and there are times when it is the most perfect according to virtue. This is placed in the knowledge of the good and in likeness to God; showing that it is just and holy with understanding. For do not some of our own people hold that man has received the one according to the image immediately at birth, but the one according to likeness afterward, as he reaches perfection? Immediately Plato, teaching that this likeness will be with the virtuous person along with humility, interprets that passage somewhere as: "Everyone who humbles himself will be exalted." He says then in the Laws: God, just as the ancient word says, having the beginning, middle, and end of all things, proceeds straight according to nature; and justice always follows him, being the avenger of those who fall short of the divine law.. You see how he himself also adds reverence to the divine law. He brings in, then: "He who is about to be happy, having it, is accompanied by humility and honor." Then, having joined these things with what follows, and having warned with fear, he adds: "Who then is a deed dear and pleasing to God? having one and the same ancient principle: that to the similar, the similar, being moderate, would be dear; but the immoderate neither to each other nor to the moderate. Therefore, the one who will become pleasing to God, because above all it is necessary for him to become such himself,. And according to this very reason, the sensible person is a friend to God; for he is similar. But the one who is not sensible is dissimilar and different. Saying that this doctrine is ancient, he hinted at the teaching that comes to it from the Law. And even to Theaitetos, giving him no choice but to consider the evils around mortal nature and this very place, he brings forward: Therefore. And one must try from here to flee there as quickly as possible. Flight is likeness to God as far as possible; and likeness is to become just and holy with understanding. Speusippus, the brother of Plato, says that happiness is a perfect state in those who live according to nature; or a state of goods; of which all people have a desire, and the good aim at freedom from trouble; and the virtues of happiness would be productive. Xenocrates of Chalcedon defines happiness as the possession of one's own virtue and the power that serves it. Then, as to what it happens in, he shows the soul; as to what it happens by, the virtues; as to what it happens from, as parts, the noble actions, and the serious habits and dispositions, and movements, and relations; and that these do not exist without the bodily and external things. Polemon, a follower of Xenocrates, seems to consider happiness to be self-sufficiency, wishing for all goods, or for the greatest and most numerous of them. He insists, at least, that without virtue happiness can never exist, but that virtue alone, apart from bodily and external things, is self-sufficient for happiness. Let these things stand as they are for now; the objections against the opinions just mentioned will be addressed in due time. As for us, we are destined to reach an unending goal, by obeying the commandments—that is, God's commandments—and by living according to them blamelessly and wisely, through the knowledge of the divine will.

This goal is both the likeness to right reason as far as possible, and the full adoption as children through the restoration by the Son, always glorifying the Father through the great high priest, who has made us worthy to say that we are brothers and co-heirs. And the Apostle, briefly outlining the goal in his Epistle to the Romans, says: "But now, having been set free from sin and having become slaves to God, you have your fruit leading to holiness; and the goal is eternal life." Knowing that hope is twofold, one expected and the other received, he already teaches the restoration of hope's goal: "For endurance produces character; and character produces hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Through this love also comes the restoration to hope, which elsewhere is said to be a rest laid up for us. You would find similar things also in Ezekiel, stated like this: "The soul that sins shall die by itself; but a man who becomes just and does what is right and fair, who has not eaten on the mountains, and has not lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, and has not defiled his neighbor's wife, and has not come near a woman during her impurity (for he does not want to insult the seed of man)." "And a man," he says, "will not do wrong; he will pay back a pledge when owed; he will not seize by force; he will give his bread to the hungry; and he will not take more than enough; he will turn away his hand from injustice; he will do true judgment between a man and his neighbor; he will walk in my laws, and keep my rules to do truth; he is just, he will live by life, says the Lord Adonai." Isaiah, encouraging the one who trusts in a life of reverence and the one with knowledge toward understanding, warns not to present the same virtue as belonging both to man and to God, saying this: "Seek the Lord, and when you find him, call upon him; but when the wicked draws near to you, let him leave his ways; and let the lawless man leave his ways; and let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy; until then, and your thoughts are from my mind." Therefore, according to the noble Apostle, we await the hope of righteousness through faith; for in Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any power, but faith working through love. We desire that each of you show the same eagerness for the full assurance of hope, until, According to the order of Melchizedek, becoming a high priest forever. The all-holy Wisdom says similar things to Paul: "But he who listens to me will dwell confidently on hope". For the restoration of hope is called by the same name, hope; through the word "will dwell" the phrase "confidently" was added in full, showing that such a person has rested, having received the hope he expected; therefore it also says, "And he will rest without fear from all evil." But directly the Apostle says plainly in the earlier letter to the Corinthians: "Be imitators of me, just as I am of Christ." So that this may happen: If you are of me, then I am of Christ; therefore, be imitators of Christ, and Christ is of God. The likeness to God, as far as it was possible to be just and holy with understanding, is set as the goal of faith; and finally, the restoration of the promise through faith. From these, then, flow the sources of those who have taught about the end, which we mentioned before. But enough of these things.

Chapter 23

On the benefits of marriage and the rules to be observed in its practice; which are treated more fully in the following book.

Since pleasure and desire seem to come under marriage, this must be discussed. Marriage, then, is the union of a man and a woman, the first according to law for the bearing of legitimate children. The comic poet Menander says:

… He says, "Children come from the seed of the legitimate."

"I give you my own daughter."

We ask whether one must marry; this is what is called having relations with someone. To whom must one marry, in what way, and whom, and how she is— for one must not marry just anyone, nor at any time, but there is a proper time, and a person to whom it is fitting, and an age, up to what point. Therefore, one must not marry just anyone, nor at any time, nor completely and shamelessly; but according to the proper way, and the kind of person, and the right time, and for the sake of the children, and someone who is similar in all respects, and who willingly loves the man, not by force or necessity. Therefore, Abraham says, holding to his wife as a sister: "She is my sister from my father, but not from my mother; and she became to me also a wife." Teaching that one should not take those who share the same mother to marriage. Let us briefly continue with the account. Plato, then, places marriage among the external goods, arranging it as a preparation for the immortality of our race, and as a kind of passing on of offspring from children to children; but Democritus rejects marriage and having children because of the many unpleasant and troublesome things that come from the necessary parts of it. Epicurus is also counted with him, and all those who place the good in pleasure and freedom from pain, and even in being without sorrow. Still, according to those from the Stoa, marriage and raising children are indifferent; but according to those from the Peripatetic school, they are good. In general, these people, having brought their teachings down to mere talk, became slaves to pleasures; some to mistresses, others to courtesans, and most to young boys. That wise fourfold woman in the garden, along with her companion, praised pleasure through her deeds. Therefore, none would escape the curse of the cow yoke, those who, without testing whether it benefits them, encourage others to do these things; or, on the other hand, the opposite. The Scripture has briefly made this clear, saying: "What you hate, do not do to another." But those who approve of marriage say, "Nature made us straight for marriage," as is clear from the structure of the bodies of both males and females; and the words "Be fruitful and multiply" continually call out in support. But even if this is so, it seems shameful to them that the human, created by God, should be more uncontrolled than irrational animals, which do not mate with many and shamelessly, but with one and of the same kind; like the turtledoves, the pigeons, the turtle-dove species, and all similar to these. Moreover, they say, "The childless person is left behind in natural perfection, since they have not replaced their own heir in their place; for the one who has made a likeness of themselves is perfect; even more so when they give that one the same likeness, that is, when they establish the offspring in the same nature as the begetter." Marriage must be taken up in every way, both for the sake of the homeland, and for the succession of children, and for the completion of the world as far as it depends on us. For poets pity an incomplete and childless marriage; and they bless the twins. Physical illnesses especially show the necessity of marriage; for the care of the woman, and the hardship of staying with her, seem to add burdens beyond those from other relatives and friends, as one chooses to endure and attend to it most of all according to affection. And indeed, according to Scripture, it is a necessary helper. The comic playwright Menander, fleeing from marriage but also opposing useful things, replies to the one who spoke:

"… I am badly disposed toward the matter."

"For you take it from the wrong side.…"

Then he adds:

"The difficult things and those that have caused you pain"

"You see the bad in it; but you do not look at the good."

And what follows. Marriage also helps, even as time goes on, by providing a wife who cares for you, and by raising children from her who will care for you in old age. Children for a man,

Indeed, keys have been made for the land;

But corks carry up the net from the depths,

And saving the spindle with flax, according to the tragic Sophocles. The lawmakers do not allow the highest offices to be held by those who have not married. Immediately, the lawgiver of the Laconians established a penalty not only for the unmarried but also for the monogamous, the late-married, and those who live alone. The noble Plato commands that a man who has not married must pay the cost of a wife to the public and must give the appropriate expenses to the rulers; for if those who have not married do not have children, they will cause a shortage of men for themselves, and they will destroy both the cities and the order that comes from them. Such behavior is impious, destroying divine generation. Already, the man who is without courage and weak (8 flees from living with a wife and children; since the loss of these is a misfortune, their possession is certainly a good thing. This is also true for other matters. But indeed, the loss of children is said to be the greatest of evils; therefore, the possession of children is a good thing; and if this is so, then marriage is also good.

But he says that a child would never exist without a father;

But without a mother, not even the conception of a child;

Marriage makes a father, just as a man makes a mother.

Therefore, Homer places the greatest prayer on both the man and the household, but not simply, rather with the agreement of what is noble. For the marriage of others is united in pleasure, but that of philosophers leads to harmony according to Reason, allowing the women to be adorned not by their appearance, but by their character, and commanding the husbands not to treat their wives as lovers, making the goal the excess of the body; but rather to keep marriage for the help of all life and the best self-control. For I think that a man who sows wheat and barley seeds at the proper times is more honorable, since all things grow for him; and the farmers also soberly cast down the seeds. Therefore, any filthy and polluted practice must be purified from marriage, so that we are not reproached with the union of irrational animals, which sings along with nature in human marriage more than the agreed-upon chorus. At the proper time, some of these things, as commanded, are immediately removed, leaving creation to governance. As for the tragedians, Polyxena, although recorded as being slaughtered, even in dying took great care to fall with dignity,

Hiding what the eyes of men ought to hide.

And in that case, marriage was a disaster. To give in and yield to passions is the worst slavery; just as neglecting to control them is the only true freedom. Indeed, the divine Scripture says that those who break the commandments commit acts foreign to their nature, until they turn back and repent. Therefore, marriage is pure, like a sacred statue, and must be guarded from those who defile it; when they rise from sleep with the Lord, they go to sleep with thanksgiving, and with prayers.

Both when one lies down to sleep, and whenever the sacred light comes, bearing witness to the Lord throughout our whole life; those who have gained reverence for God in their soul also lead a life of self-control even in their body. For truly, dear to God is to lead the proper conduct from the tongue to the actions; but the way leads to shamelessness through foul speech; and the end of both is foul speech. The Scripture advises marriage and never allows separation from the spouse; it commands directly: You shall not divorce your wife, except for the reason of fornication. Adultery is considered to be living with another while still joined to the separated spouse. A woman shows herself blameless against slander by not adorning herself, nor even dressing beyond what is proper, patiently enduring prayers and supplications earnestly; guarding most of the times the exits of the house, and shutting herself off as much as possible from facing those who are not appropriate, giving priority to the household duties rather than untimely chatter. He who takes a divorced woman commits adultery, he says; for if anyone divorces a woman, he commits adultery against her, that is, he forces her to be adulterous. Not only does the one who divorces become guilty of this, but also the one who takes her in, giving the woman a cause to sin; for if he did not accept her, she would return to her husband. What then does the law say? To stop the easy spread of passions, it commands that the woman who has committed adultery be put to death, and be exposed to punishment for this; but if she is a priestess, it commands that she be handed over to the fire. The adulterer is also stoned; but not in the same place, so that even death is not shared by them. The law does not fight against the Gospel; rather, it agrees with it. For how could it not, since both come from the same source, the Lord? For the woman who committed adultery lives in sin, but has died to the commandments; and the one who repents, as if reborn through the turning of life, has a new birth of life; she has died to the old life of the prostitute, and has passed into a new life born again through repentance. The Spirit testifies to what has been said through Ezekiel, saying: "I do not want the death of the sinner, but rather that he turn back". Immediately they become stoned, as if by hard-heartedness they have died under the law, to which they did not obey; but the punishment is increased for the priest, because to whom much is given, from him much will be demanded. Let the second one also be described here for us, the Stratēteus, because of the length and number of chapters.

Discourse 3 of the Eight Discourses

Chapter 1

Basilides' opinion on self-control and marriage is refuted.

Those, then, who follow Valentinus, starting from the divine revelations, approve of marriage; but those from Basilides, when asked, say that the Lord answered the apostles, "Not all can accept this word; for there are eunuchs, some from birth." some by necessity." The saying is explained in this way: "Some have a natural aversion to a woman from birth, and those who use this natural temperament do well by not marrying. These, they say, are those who are eunuchs from birth. But those who are eunuchs by necessity are those theatrical ascetics, who hold themselves back because of the desire for fame; and those who have been cut by misfortune have become eunuchs out of necessity. Those who become eunuchs out of necessity do not do so by reason; but those who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the eternal kingdom, because of the things, they say, that happen from marriage, take this thought—that is, they fear the distraction about acquiring what is needed. And the saying, "It is better to marry than to burn," not to throw your soul into fire, as the Apostle says, enduring night and day, and fearing that you might fall from self-control; for the soul that endures is divided in its hope." "Therefore, endure," Isidore says word for word in the "Ethics," "A fighting woman, so that you may not be torn away from the grace of God, having put out the fire, prays conscientiously. But when your thanksgiving, he says, falls into a request, and you no longer succeed, but do not fail, marry. But if someone is young, or poor, or lowly, and does not want to marry according to the teaching, let him not separate from his brother; let him say, "I have entered into the holy things; I am not able to suffer anything." But if he has suspicion, let him say, "Brother, lay your hand on me, so that I may not sin." And he will receive help, both understood and felt; let him only wish to take away what is good, and he will obtain it. Sometimes with the mouth we say, "We do not want to sin," but the mind is set on sinning. Such a person does not do what he wants out of fear, so that punishment may not be counted against him. But humanity has some things that are necessary and natural alone; it is necessary and natural to be clothed; but the things of lust are natural, not necessary." I have set forth these words to refute those Basilians who do not live rightly, as if they have the power both to sin because of their perfection, or at least to be saved by nature, even if they sin now, because of their innate choice; since even the founders of the doctrines do not allow them to do these things. Therefore, do not pretend to bear the name of Christ, and live more wildly than the most uncontrolled among the nations, bringing blasphemy upon the name; "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers," until, "whose end will be according to their works." Self-control, then, is pride of the body, according to the confession toward God; for self-control is not only about sexual matters, but also about other things that the soul desires wrongly, not being satisfied with what is necessary, self-control is turned around. There is also self-control concerning the tongue, and concerning possessions, and concerning use, and concerning desire. But the power itself, being divine grace, does not teach self-control alone, which indeed provides us with temperance. What then do you think about what has been said so far? It must be spoken about. We bless celibacy, and those to whom it has been given by God; but we admire monogamy and the dignity of marriage with one spouse. We say that we must share in suffering and bear one another's burdens, so that no one, thinking they stand firm, may fall themselves. About the second marriage, the Apostle says, "If you burn, marry."

Chapter 2

He refutes the opinion of Carpocrates and Epiphanes about sharing women.

Those who follow Carpocrates and Epiphanes claim that women are to be shared in common; from this arises the greatest blasphemy against the name. Epiphanes, whose writings are also preserved, was the son of Carpocrates, and his mother's name was Alexandria; on his father's side he was Alexandrian, and on his mother's side he was Cephallenian. He lived a total of seventeen years, and he is honored as a god in Sami of Cephallenia; there a sanctuary of flowing stones, altars, sacred precincts, and a museum have been built and dedicated to him. The Cephallenians come together at the sanctuary each new moon to offer sacrifices for the divine birthday of Epiphanes; they pour libations and feast, and hymns are sung. He was therefore educated by his father in general learning and in the teachings of Plato; and he taught the knowledge of the unique (one); from this also comes the sect of the Carpocratians. This one says in On Justice: "The justice of God is a kind of fellowship with equality. For indeed, the sky, stretched out equally on all sides, surrounds the whole earth in a circle; and night also shows all the stars alike. God has poured out the sun, the cause of the day and father of light, from above equally upon all on earth who are able to see (and all see it together); since it does not distinguish between rich or poor, ruler of a people, foolish or wise, female or male, free or slave. But not even among the irrational animals does he do anything different; he pours out the same light from above equally on all living creatures, both good and bad, establishing justice so that no one can have more or take away from their neighbor, so that he himself may have twice the light of that one. The sun rises to give common food to all animals; and common justice is also given to all. And in such cases, the kind of cattle is like the oxen, and the kind of swine like the pigs, and the kind of sheep like the sheep, and all the rest alike; for justice appears in them as their common bond. Then, according to their kind, all things are sown alike by common right; and common food is given to all the animals grazing on the ground, and to all alike, held by no law, but with justice present to all in agreement with the command of the giver. But not even the law of birth is written down; for it would be rewritten. They both sow and give birth as well, having an inborn share in justice; also, the creator and father of all has given to all a common eye for seeing, having established justice as a law from himself, not distinguishing female from male, not giving reason to the unreasonable, and altogether giving nothing to no one; but dividing sight equally and commonly, he has granted it to all alike by one command. The laws, it is said, were taught by humans unable to punish ignorance and prevent wrongdoing; for the nature of the laws cuts off and gnaws away the fellowship of the divine law; not understanding the clear statement of the Apostle, saying, "Through the law I became aware of sin". " He says that mine and yours have crept in through the laws; no longer sharing in common (for they are common things), neither land nor property, nor even marriage; for he made the vineyards common to all, which refuse neither a sparrow nor a thief; and so too the grain and the other fruits. But fellowship, having been broken by lawlessness, gave birth to a thief of crops and fruits of equality. Therefore, God made all things common to humans, bringing the female together with the male in common, and similarly joining all animals, revealing justice as fellowship with equality. But those who have come into being in this way denied the fellowship that gathers, their own origin; and he says, if one leads a single [life], let him share with all who are able, just as he showed the rest of the animals." Having said these things literally, he again applies the same words to them: "For desire made the males sharper and stronger toward the continuation of their kinds; which neither law, nor custom, nor anything else that exists can destroy. For it is a decree of God." And how could this one still be examined by us in speech, directly overthrowing both the law and the Gospel through these things? For he says, "You shall not commit adultery"; but he also says, "Everyone who looks with desire has already committed adultery with me." He says, for the commandment "You shall not covet," Addressed to the law, it points to one God, who is proclaimed through the law, the prophets, and the Gospel; for it says, "You shall not covet what belongs to your neighbor." But the neighbor is not the Jew to the Jew; for brotherhood and unity of the Spirit exist. So the term neighbor is left out when speaking of the foreigner; for how could he not be a neighbor, who is able to share in the Spirit? For Abraham is the father not only of the Hebrews but also of the nations. If the adulterous woman, and the man who commits fornication with her, are punished by death, then clearly the commandment that says, "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife," is meant," to apply to the nations; so that someone, keeping the law and refraining from both the neighbor's wife and sister, might hear directly from the Lord: "But I say to you, You shall not covet." Ἡ δὲ τοῦ "Ἐγὼ" The addition of the phrase "I" shows a more careful working of the commandment. And that both Carpocrates and Epiphanius fight against God in that very much talked-about book "On Justice." Saying in this way, he brings it word for word: "From here, as the lawgiver has said in a ridiculous way, this phrase must be heard, 'You shall not desire,'" To speak even more ridiculously, 'Of your neighbor's things.'" For he who gave the command about desire, seeing it as something that holds together the things of birth, orders this to be taken away, without taking away desire from any living being. But the phrase "Of the." neighbor's "wife" forcing association as a private matter, he said something even more ridiculous." And these things the noble Carpocratians teach as doctrine; they say that these, along with some others who are zealous for similar evils, gather together for feasts; (for not "love" I myself might call their gathering "love"; men and women together, and after they have been filled with the pleasure of lust, they say that, to put away the shameful justice of their prostitution, they mix freely, as they wish, by the light of a lamp turned around; having practiced such "love" in sharing, after a day they demand from whichever women they wish obedience to the law of Carpocrates (for it is not right to call it divine). Such things, I think, Carpocrates should have made law for the lusts of dogs, pigs, and goats. It also seems to me that he has misunderstood Plato in the "Republic." He says that women are common to all; common, that is, before marriage, to those who are about to ask for them, just as the theater is common to those who watch it; but once taken, each woman belongs to each man, and the married woman is no longer common. Xanthus, in the so-called "Magical [Texts]," says, "They are mixed," He says, "The magicians mix with mothers and daughters; and it is lawful to mix with sisters, and the women are common—not by force or secretly, but with the consent of both, whenever one wishes to marry the other's woman." On these matters, I think that Judas spoke prophetically in the letter about similar heresies: "Likewise, these also dream," (for their being, they impose upon the truth) until, "And their mouth speaks arrogant things."

Chapter 3

How far Plato and other ancient thinkers went before the Marcionites and other heretics, who abstain from marriage because they consider creation evil and think that people are born to punishment.

Already both Plato himself and the Pythagoreans, just as later those from Marcion, claimed that birth is evil, so it was necessary for him to propose common ownership of women. But those from Marcion say that nature is evil, coming both from bad matter and from a just Creator; for this reason, not willing to complete the world made by the Creator, they want to abstain from marriage, opposing their maker, and rushing toward the called good, but not the God, as they say, in another way. Therefore, not wanting to leave anything personal here, they do not become temperate by choice, but by their hatred toward the maker, not wanting to use what was created by him. But these people, impious and fighting against God with thoughts that go against nature, despising the patience and kindness of God, even if they do not want to marry, they still use the created foods, and breathe the air of the Creator, being his works and remaining in his things, and they preach the foreign, as they say, knowledge, even if in this way they owe thanks to the Lord of the world, since here they were preached to. But concerning these, whenever we discuss the matter of origins, we will speak very precisely; the philosophers we mentioned, from whom those from Marcion learned impiously that birth is evil, as if with their own doctrine they bark, do not want this to be evil by nature, but by the soul that passes on the truth; for they lead the soul here, which is divine, as if into a place of punishment, the world; and according to them, it is fitting for the souls that are embodied to be cleansed. And this doctrine is not proper to those from Marcion anymore, but to those who think it proper for souls to be embodied, to be clothed again, and to be transferred; about these another time might be suitable to speak, when we discuss the soul. Heraclitus at least seems to blame birth, saying: "When, he says, beings want to live, they have parts, but rather they rest; and they leave children to have parts." Empedocles also clearly agrees with him, saying:

He wept and wailed, seeing an unusual place.

And furthermore:

For from the living he produced the dead, changing their form.

And again:

"Oh, woe! The mortal race is miserable; oh, unhappy!"

"What kind of people have you become, born from quarrels and groans?"

And the Sibyl also says:

Mortal and fleshly men, being nothing;

Likewise to the writing poet;

The earth nourishes nothing more fragile than man.

Indeed, even Theognis shows the evil of birth, saying something like this:

Of all things, it is not best to be born among those who live on the earth,

Nor to see the rays of the sharp sun;

But to be born, so that as quickly as possible one may pass through the gates of Hades.

Following them also the tragedian Euripides writes:

For it was necessary for us, making a gathering,

To mourn the one who is born, for all the evils that come upon him;

But again, to mourn the one who has died and is freed from labors,

To send forth those rejoicing and praising quietly from the house.

And again, he will say similar things like this:

"Who knows", "if living is really dying,"

"and if dying is really living";

This seems to be the same for Herodotus when he makes Solon say: "O Croesus, every man is unlucky"; and the story about Cleobis and Biton clearly means nothing else than to blame birth but to praise death.

Just as the kind of leaves is such, so is the kind of men,

Homer says. But Plato in the "Cratylus" Orpheus sets forth the idea about the soul being punished in the body; he says this way: "For some say that a tomb is a sign of the soul, as if buried in the present time; and because this is what the soul signifies; and for this reason a tomb is rightly called a sign." However, those around Orpheus seem to give this name especially, as if giving justice to those for whose sake it is given." It is also worth recalling the saying of Philolaus; for the Pythagorean says this way: "The ancient theologians and seers also testify that for certain punishments the soul is joined to the body, and just as if buried in this tomb." But also Pindar, speaking about the mysteries at Eleusis, says: "Happy is the one who, having seen those things, shares in what is under the earth; for he knows both the end of life and the beginning given by Zeus." And Plato likewise in the "Phaedo" does not hesitate to write somewhat like this: "And those who established the rites for us did so not at another time," until, "After the gods dwell." But what does he mean when he says: "As long as we have the body, and our soul is joined with such a harm, we will never truly gain that which we desire?" he does not hint that the origin of the greatest evils is not a cause? And even in the Phaedo " he bears witness: "For those who truly grasp philosophy risk being forgotten by others, because they pursue nothing else but to die and to be dead." And again, "So then here too the soul of the philosopher most of all dishonors the body and flees from it; and it seeks to become by itself." And surely it does not agree with the divine Apostle, who says: "Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" unless the agreement of those led into evil, the "body of death," he speaks metaphorically. The fellowship, being the beginning of birth, and turning away before Marcion, he seems to do so in the first book of the "Republic"." Plato, praising old age, says, "Know well that for me, as the bodily pleasures fade away, the desires and pleasures of the mind grow just as much;" Remembering the use of sexual pleasures, he says, "Be silent, man; yet I gladly avoided it, as if escaping some raging and wild master." Again, in the "Phaedo"," blaming birth, he writes: "The speech about them, which is spoken in secret, is that people are as if in some prison." And again, "Those who, if they seem to live in a holy way, are these: those who are freed and released from these places on earth, like prisoners, and who come up to the pure dwelling above. But still, with things being this way, he perceives that the administration is going well, and says: "One should not free oneself from this. nor run away;" and, to sum up, to consider matter evil did not give Markion a starting point, having spoken piously about the world these things: "For from the one who put together all good things are obtained · but from the previous state, whatever harsh and unjust things happen in heaven, these it both has itself and works upon living beings." " He makes it even clearer: "For him the bodily form of the mixture is the cause, the companion of the ancient nature, because it shared in much disorder before coming into the present world." No less so also concerning the "Laws" The race of humans laments, saying this: "The gods, having pity on the race of humans, which is naturally burdened with toil, and having given them rest from their labors, established the cycles of festivals as relief." In the "Epinomides" as well" and it goes through the causes of pity, and says this: "From the beginning it is difficult for every living being to come into existence, first to share in the state of being pregnant, then to be born, and still to be nourished and educated, all this happens through countless pains, as we all say." But what? Does not Heraclitus also call birth death? Pythagoras also, in the passage in "Gorgias," to Socrates similarly, in which he says: "Death is all that we desire when awake; but all that we desire when asleep is sleep." But enough of these things; when we consider the principles, then we will examine these opposites as well, which both the philosophers hint at and those who argue about Marcion claim. But I think it has been shown clearly enough to us that Marcion has taken the starting points of foreign doctrines from Plato, both ungratefully and ignorantly. Let the discussion about self-control now proceed for us. We deny that the Greeks, who are difficult to deal with, have said many things about the birth of children; but those who follow Marcion have accepted these things irreverently, showing ingratitude to the Creator. For the tragedy says:

It is better not to be born than to grow into mortals.

Then children with bitter pains

I give birth; but if I give birth to foolish ones,

I groan in vain, seeing evils,

but I release the good; and if even those saved,

I melt my wretched heart with sorrow.

What then is the good? Is it not enough for one

To free one soul, and then to have no more pains?

And also likewise;

I would wish also, as I once thought,

that children should be raised, not men.

I see the hardships for those we raise.

And in what follows, he clearly brings back the cause of evils to the beginnings, saying this:

"O wretched nature, and to have acted badly"

"Become a human and the misfortune of life"

"From there you received, from where it began for all"

"The air nourishes, giving breath to mortals."

"Therefore, do not despise mortal things, being mortal yourself."

Again, then, he gives back things similar to these in this way:

No mortal is truly blessed or happy; for no one has yet been born without pain.

And then again:

"Alas, alas," "for all the sufferings of mortals,"

"All the forms! And no one could say the end."

And again likewise:

"… for among mortals"

No one is truly happy to the end.

Therefore, the Pythagoreans say to avoid sexual pleasures. But to me, it seems the opposite: to marry for the sake of having children, and to want to control the pleasure from sexual desire after having children. Secretly, they forbid using beans, not because the bean is spirit-producing, hard to digest, and causes disturbed dreams; nor because the bean is shaped like a human head, according to that little poem;

It is the same, indeed, to eat beans and the heads of one's parents;

Rather, it is because eating beans causes women to become infertile. Theophrastus, in the fifth book of his "Natural Causes," reports that the husks of beans, when placed around the roots of newly planted trees, dry up what is growing; and pet birds, when fed these beans continuously, become infertile.

Chapter 4

The excuses heretics use to practice all kinds of freedom and lust.

Of those who follow a heresy, we have mentioned Marcion of Pontus, who rejected the use of worldly things in opposition to the Creator. The Creator himself is made responsible for self-control, if this is to be called self-control, since Theomachus, thinking himself a giant standing against him, is unwillingly self-controlled, running away from both creation and the creature. And even if they make use of the Lord's voice, when he says to Philip, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but you, follow me." But let them pay attention to this: Philip also carries a similar fleshly form, yet he does not have a dead, defiled one. How then, having a body, did he not have a dead one? Because he rose from the tomb, the Lord having put to death the sufferings, but Christ living. We also remembered the unlawful association with women according to Carpocrates; having discussed the saying about Nicolaus, we passed over that. They say he had a beautiful wife, who, after the Savior's ascension, was brought before the apostles and, being reproached out of jealousy, he allowed her to marry whoever she wished. For they say this action followed that saying, that "one must make use of the flesh." And indeed, following what happened simply and without trouble, those who adopt his heresy shamelessly commit fornication. I have learned that Nicolaus did not use any woman other than the one he married; and that among his children, the daughters grew old as virgins, while his son remained undefiled. Since things were this way, the giving up of passion was shown in the middle of the apostles by the casting out of the jealous wife; and the self-control of those who strive most against pleasures was the saying, "to make use of the flesh." He taught. For I do not think they wanted, according to the command of the Savior, to serve two masters," pleasure and God. They say, then, that Matthias also taught in this way. "To fight against the flesh and to use it, giving it nothing toward unrestrained pleasure; but to grow the soul through faith and knowledge. There are some who call the common Aphrodite a secret communion, insulting even the name; for to do something bad is said to be to work evil, just as to do something good is to work good, using the same word; likewise, "communion"." is good, also in sharing silver, food, and clothing; but some have impiously called any kind of sexual union a communion. Some of them say that a certain man, seeing our young virgin's beauty, approached and said, "It is written, 'Give to everyone who asks you.'" But she answered very modestly, not understanding the human wickedness; she said, "But speak to my mother about marriage." O the godlessness! And the partners in wickedness, the brothers of lust, deny the Lord's words, a disgrace not only to philosophy but to all life; those who falsify the truth, and even undermine it as much as they can. These most wretched ones treat the fleshly union in sexual intercourse as something sacred, and they think it leads them into the kingdom of God. Such fellowship leads to brothels; and indeed, let the pigs and the goats be partners with them. Let the leading prostitutes of the house be their greatest hope, shamelessly accepting all who desire them. "But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Christ Jesus, to put away your former way of life, the old person who is corrupted by deceitful desires; but to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new person, created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth," according to the likeness of the Divine. "Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice to God, a fragrant aroma," Let no fornication, or any impurity, or greed even be named among you, as is proper for the holy, nor obscenity, nor foolish talk;" For indeed the Apostle teaches to practice purity even from the voice, writing: "For this you know for certain, that every fornicator," and the following, up to, "But rather also you should rebuke." The teaching flows to them from some hidden source; and indeed I will set forth the phrase that is the mother of their licentiousness. And whether they themselves are writers of the Bible, see their lawlessness, even if they deny God through lack of self-control; or whether others, encountering this, have adopted this fine teaching, having heard it in a twisted way. The meaning of the phrase is as follows: "All things were one; but since it seemed to him that unity should not be alone, a breath came out from it, and shared in it, and made the beloved one. From this came out from it a breath, with which having shared, it made powers, capable neither of being seen nor heard," until, "each one [was made] by its own name." For even if these, just like those from Valentinus, placed spiritual unions, perhaps some accepted their opinion; but to raise a union of fleshly arrogance to holy prophecy is a failure of salvation. Such things also those from Prodicus, falsely called Gnostics, proclaim as their doctrines; saying that they themselves are by nature sons of the first God, and making use of nobility and freedom, they live as they wish; and they wish to live in pleasure; having been appointed by no one to be controlled, so that they might be "lords of the Sabbath, and by nature above every race, royal children; and to the king, they say, there is an unwritten law. First, they do not do everything they want; for many things stop them, both those they desire and those they try; and what they do, they do not do as kings, but as scourges; for they commit adultery secretly, fearing to be caught, and avoiding being condemned, and fearing to be punished. How then is licentiousness and foul speech free? "For everyone, "he says, "who sins is a slave, " The Apostle says. But how does one live according to God who gives himself over to every desire, when the Lord said, "But I say to you, Do not desire"?" But if someone wants to sin willingly, and sets a rule to commit adultery, and to sleep around, and to violate the marriages of others—where even those who sin unwillingly we pity—? And even if they have come into a foreign world, being faithful and not becoming part of what is alien, they will not have the truth. But if a stranger insults the citizens and wrongs them—not as a mere visitor who uses what is necessary and lives without causing trouble to the citizens—? But how is it that those hated by the nations, because they do not do what the laws command—that is, the unjust, the weak-willed, the greedy, and the adulterers, doing the same things—are the only ones who say they know God? For they ought, even while present among strangers, to live well, so that truly they may show the royal nature in reality. And now they are hated both by human lawmakers and by the divine law, living unlawfully and deprived. He indeed, "having pierced " He indeed, "having pierced the fornicator, being careful, shows himself before God in the "Numbers. And if we say," John says in the letter, "that we have fellowship with him," that is, with God, "and if we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with him, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from sin." Where then are those who do such things better than the worldly people, and like the worst of the worldly? For, I think, their natures and their actions are alike. Since they claim to be superior by their noble birth, they ought also to be superior in their character, so that they may avoid being shut up in prison. Indeed, as the Lord said, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of God." " Concerning self-control over food, it is shown in Daniel; to sum up, it is about obedience, as David sings, saying, "In what will the young man keep his way pure?" And immediately he hears: "By guarding your word with all your heart;" " And Jeremiah says: "Thus says the Lord: Do not follow the ways of the nations;" From here some others, moved, small and insignificant, say that a person is formed by various powers, and that those up to the navel belong to a divine art, but those below belong to the weaker one; for whose sake, indeed, they long for union. They are mistaken, because even the upper parts are nourished and desire some things; and they oppose Christ, who said to the Pharisees the same God and "the one outside" of us" and "the one within." has made the human being. But desire is not of the body, even if it happens through the body. Some others, whom we also call Antitactae, say that God, the Father of all things, is by nature our Father, and all things that he made are good; but one of the things made by him sowed weeds, having produced the nature of evils; and indeed he surrounded all of us with these, setting us against the Father. Therefore, we ourselves also oppose this in revenge against the Father, acting against the will of the second. Since then this one says, "You shall not commit adultery," he has said, we say, that we commit adultery by breaking his commandment. We might also say to these that we have been deceived about the false prophets and those who pretend to speak the truth, as they are known by their actions. But if your works are slandered, how can you still say that you hold to the truth? For is there no evil at all, and nothing worthy of blame, that you accuse as being opposed to God, and that has not become a cause of some harm? For even the tree is destroyed along with the evil. Or if evil exists at all, let them tell us what they say the commandments given about justice, self-control, patience, forbearance, and things like these are—whether base or foolish? And if the commandment were base, since it forbids most shameful things, evil would legislate against itself for its own destruction, which is impossible; but if it is good, then by opposing the good commandments they admit that they oppose what is good and practice evil. Moreover, the Savior himself, whom they say alone is worthy of being obeyed, has forbidden hatred and insult; and he said, "If you go with your opponent, be eager to be freed from him as a friend." He says. Will they then also deny the advice of Christ, opposing what is opposed? Or, becoming friends, will they not oppose this. What then? Do you not know, noble ones, (for I would say this to those present:) that by fighting against the good commandments, you resist your own salvation? For you are not using what has been spoken profitably, but you are destroying yourselves. And the Lord said, "Let your good works shine," " He said, but you display your own immoral acts. Moreover, if you want to break the commandments of the lawgiver, what does the command "You shall not commit adultery" mean at all," and "You shall not corrupt children," " and all that contributes to self-control, you try to break through your lack of restraint; but you do not break the winter that has come from it, in order to make summer while winter is still in the middle; nor do you make the sea a floating land, but a walkable sea, just as those who wrote the histories wished to make the barbarian Xerxes? But why do you not oppose all the commandments? For it was said, "Be fruitful and multiply," Those who oppose you should not be joined with you in any way. And when it was said, "I have given you everything for food," and you will enjoy it, you should not enjoy anything from anyone. But also, "An eye for an eye," When it is said, "An eye for an eye," you should not give back an equal return; and when the thief is commanded to pay "fourfold," you should also give back more to the thief; likewise, when it is said, "You shall love the Lord," those who oppose the commandment, it was necessary neither to love the whole God. And again, when it is said, "You shall not make a carved image, nor an idol," you were following along and worshiping the carved images as well. How then are you not ungodly, opposing, as you say, the Creator, yet eagerly following the things like prostitutes and adulterers? How then do you not realize that you are doing something greater, which you consider weak? If what is done is what someone wants, but not what the good one willed, then it is not that. For again, your own father, as you say, is shown to be weak in some way. They also gather words from certain prophetic passages, picking out phrases and putting them together poorly, taking what was said figuratively in a straightforward way. For it says, "They stood against God, and were saved." But they also say, "To the shameless God" They add to it; and they accept this saying as a commanded plan, and they consider standing against the Creator as their salvation. "To the" "To the shameless God, then," "To the shameless God, it is not written; but even if it were so, you have heard the one called the devil, foolish ones, shameless either as slandering humanity, or as the accuser of sinners, or as a rebel. The people, then, about whom the passage was spoken, being disciplined for the things in which they had sinned and bearing it heavily, and groaning, were complaining about the said statement: that other nations who break the law are not punished, but they alone are punished for each offense; as Jeremiah also said: "Why does the way of the wicked prosper?" The passage spoken before by Malachi is similar to this. "They stood against God and were saved; for the prophets, acting as messengers, not only say that they hear something from God, but also, as messengers, they show by their actions the things whispered among the people, as if reporting some inquiries made by men; from these comes the present statement." And lest the Apostle, turning away from these, writes in the letter to the Romans: "And not as we are slandered, as some say that we say, 'Let us do evil so that good may come.'" "Of which the judgment is just." These are the ones who, according to the tone of the reading voice, twist the Scriptures to their own pleasures, and by changing some accents and marks, force what was commanded wisely and fittingly toward their own desires; "Those who provoke God by your words, Malachi says, and you say: In what way have we provoked him?" By saying to you: Everyone who does evil is good before the Lord, and he is pleased with them; and where is the God of justice?"

Chapter 5

He marks two kinds of heretics: first, those who declare that everything is allowed to everyone, whom he refutes.

If then we do not, going too far and nitpicking the place, recall more absurd heresies, and are not forced to speak about each one individually, let us be ashamed on their account, and let us bring forward the notes for the shortest time; come, dividing all heresies into two things, let us answer them; for either they teach to live without care, or, carrying excess, they declare self-control through impiety and hatred of goodness. First, we must discuss the former part: if it is allowed to choose any kind of life, it is clear that even a life with self-control is allowed; and if every life is safe for the chosen one, it is clear that a life with virtue and temperance is much safer; for when authority is given "to the Lord of the Sabbath," if indeed living without restraint is without blame, then much more the one who lives in an orderly manner will not be held responsible. "For all things are permitted, but not all things are beneficial," says the Apostle. But if indeed all things are permitted, it is clear that self-control also. Just as then the one who used his power to live according to virtue is praised, so much more the one who gave us power that is free and sovereign, and allowed us to live as we wish, is honorable and worthy of worship, not allowing our choices and desires to enslave us by necessity. But if each one has the same weakness, whether choosing lack of self-control or self-control, it is the honorable thing, not the same. For one, having given himself over to pleasures, indulges the body, but the self-controlled one frees the master soul of the body from passions. And even if they say that we are called to freedom, let us only not give freedom as a starting point to the flesh, according to the Apostle; but if we must please desire, then even the most shameful life must be considered indifferent, as they themselves say, that is, we must obey all desires and even do the most licentious and impious things, following those who persuade us; or do we reject some desires and no longer live indifferently. Nor should we shamelessly serve the most dishonorable parts of ourselves, the stomach and the genitals, flattering our dead body through desire. For desire, when served for enjoyment, is nourished and made alive, just as it withers when cut off. How is it possible, having been defeated by the pleasures of the body, to be like the Lord or to have knowledge of God? For desire rules over every pleasure; and desire is a kind of pain and worry, reaching out for something lacking. So it seems to me that those who have taken away this way mean nothing else but what is said here,

… And to suffer pains toward shamefulness;

They have chosen for themselves a harmful thing, now and also for the future. If indeed everything were allowed, and there was no fear of losing hope through evil actions, perhaps one might have an excuse for living badly and miserably; but since life has been shown to be blessed for us through commandments, which all must follow, not disobeying what has been said by anyone, nor neglecting what is proper, even if it is very little, we must follow where reason leads. If we stray from it, we must fall into immortal evil. But by following the divine Scripture, by which those who have trusted are guided, we must strive to be like the Lord as much as we can. Life should not be lived carelessly, but purified toward the power of pleasures and desires, and care must be taken of the soul, which must be devoted to God alone. For the mind, being pure and freed from all evil, is in some way receptive to the power of God, with the divine image rising within it. "And everyone who has this hope in the Lord purifies himself," it says, "just as he is pure." To gain knowledge of God is impossible for those still driven by passions; therefore, they cannot have hope, having made no knowledge of God. And the ignorance of God seems to accuse the one who fails at this goal; the way of life presents the one who is ignorant of God. For it is completely impossible to be both knowledgeable and ashamed of flattering the body; for what is good can never agree to be pleasure, or to be only good in appearance, or for the Lord to be only beautiful, and God only good, and only desirable. "In Christ you were circumcised with a circumcision not made by hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ." If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, think about the things above, not the things on the earth; for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God;" Not fornication, which they practice. "So then, put to death the members that are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, desire, through which comes the wrath of God." So also put away anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy talk from your mouth, stripping off the old self with its desires, and put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it." For the affairs of the state clearly expose those who have known the commandments; since as the word is, so is the life. And the tree is known by its fruits, not by its flowers and petals. Knowledge, then, comes from the fruit and the way of life, not from the word and the flower; for we say that knowledge is not a bare word, but a certain divine understanding. And that light, born in the soul from obedience to the commandments, makes all things clear—both those in creation and the person themselves—preparing them to know themselves and to become a witness of God. For just as the eye is in the body, so knowledge is in the mind. Do not call the slavery of pleasure freedom, like those who call bile sweet. For we have learned the freedom that the Lord alone frees us to—that frees us from pleasures and desires, and from other passions. "He who says, 'I know the Lord', yet does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and in this there is no truth," John says

Chapter 6

He attacks the second kind of heretics, namely those who, from an impious opinion about God the creator of all, practice self-control.

To those who piously through self-control act impiously toward both creation and the holy Creator, the almighty God alone, and who teach that marriage and having children should not be accepted, nor should one oppose others who are unfortunate in the world, nor provide nourishment to death, these things must be said: first, the words of the apostle John; "And now many antichrists have come; from this we know that it is the last hour." They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us." Then they must also be refuted, breaking apart what is claimed by them, in this way: "To Salome, the Lord, being asked, until when will death have power," Not as if life is evil and creation wicked, "Until, he said, you women bear children;" But rather teaching the natural order; for decay always follows birth. Therefore, the law has chosen to lead us away from luxury and all disorderliness. And this is its purpose: to lead us from injustice to justice, choosing marriages that are modest, and to childbearing, and to citizenship. But the Lord does not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it; and to fulfill it not as something lacking, but so that the prophecies according to the law may be completed at his coming. For the matters of right conduct and for those who lived justly before the law were proclaimed through the word. Therefore, many, not knowing self-control, live according to the body, but not according to the spirit. The body without spirit is earth and ashes; immediately the Lord judges adultery from the intention. For what? Is it not also right to use marriage with self-control, and not to try to break what "God has joined together"? " For such things are taught by those who divide marriage, through whom even the name is blasphemed. Saying that sexual union is unclean, these men, who themselves received the union from sexual union, how could they not be unclean? Of those things that have been made holy, I think even the seed is holy. Therefore, not only the spirit, but also the way of life, the conduct, and the body must be made holy for us. Since for what reason does the apostle Paul say that "the wife is sanctified by the husband, or the husband by the wife"?" What is it that the Lord said to those who were asking about divorce, "Is it lawful to divorce a wife, Moses permitting it"?" "Because of your hard-heartedness," he says, "Moses wrote these things; but you did not read that God said to the first-formed man, 'The two will become one flesh.'"? Therefore, the one who divorces his wife without the reason of sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery. But after the resurrection, he says, they neither marry nor are given in marriage." For it has also been said about the stomach and food: "Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food; but God will destroy both this and these;" Sewing them up like the skins of goats; and thinking they live like goats, so that they might eat without shame and defecate. If indeed they have denied the resurrection, as they themselves say, and for this reason reject marriage; let them neither eat nor drink; "they will be destroyed" For he said, "The stomach and the food" The Apostle in the resurrection. How then do they hunger and thirst, and suffer in the flesh, and the other things, when the one who has received through Christ the perfect resurrection that is expected will not hunger? But those who also worship idols abstain from both food and sexual pleasures; "The kingdom of God is not food and drink," he says. He says that the magicians also neglect care, and abstain from both wine and living things and sexual pleasures, worshiping angels and demons. Just as humility is gentleness, not bodily hardship, so also self-control of the soul is a virtue, not shown openly but in secret. There are some who openly call marriage fornication and claim that this comes from the devil; their leaders say that the Lord imitates them, neither marrying nor acquiring anything in the world. They boast that they have understood the Gospel better than others. The Scripture says to them: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Then they do not know the reason why the Lord did not marry; for first, he had his own bride, the Church; and secondly, he was not a common man, so that he would need help from anyone according to the flesh; nor was it necessary for him to have children, since he remained eternal and was the only Son of God. But this same Lord says: "God has joined together, let no man separate." And again: "Just as it was in the days of Noah, they were marrying, giving in marriage, building, planting, and just as it was in the days of Lot, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." And because he is not speaking to the Gentiles, he adds: "Will the Son of Man, when he comes, find faith on the earth?" And again: "Woe to the women who are pregnant and to those who are nursing in those days." And yet these things are also allegorical. For this reason, he did not even set the times, "which the Father has fixed by his own authority," " so that the world might continue through the generations. But the saying, "Not all can accept this word; for there are eunuchs who were born that way; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven," Let the one who is able to accept it, accept it." They do not know that after the saying about divorce, some asked, "If this is the case about the reason for a woman, it is not good for a man to marry;" Then the Lord said, "Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given." For those who asked to learn this wanted to know if it is allowed, when a woman is found guilty of sexual immorality and is sent away, to marry another. They say that many athletes abstain from sexual pleasures, practicing bodily discipline; such as the Crotonian Astylos, and Krison of Himera; and Amoibeus the lyre-player, who, being newly married, abstained from his bride; when Aristoteles of Cyrene, loving Laida, was the only one who surpassed her. Having sworn to his companion that he would not take her back to his homeland if she helped him against his rivals, after he had succeeded, gracefully fulfilling his oath, having painted her portrait as the one most like her, he set it up in Cyrene, as Istrus records in the On the Private Contests. So even eunuchism is not virtuous, unless it is done out of love for God. Immediately concerning those who detest marriage, the blessed Paul says: "In later times some will abandon the faith, paying attention to misleading spirits and teachings of demons, forbidding marriage and abstaining from foods." And again he says: "Let no one judge you in matters of voluntary religion, humility, and neglect of the body." The same one also writes these things: "You are bound to a wife? Do not seek a release. You are free from a wife? Do not seek a wife." And again: "Let each one have his own wife, so that Satan may not tempt you." But what then? Did not even the ancient righteous gladly partake of creation? And they also had children, having married with self-control. And to Elijah the ravens brought food, bread and meat; and Samuel the prophet, who left behind a staff from which he ate, brought it and gave it to Saul to eat. And those who say that even these surpass in conduct and life will not be able to be compared to the actions of those. "He who does not eat " Therefore, "let the one who eats not despise the one who does not eat; and let the one who does not eat not judge the one who eats; for God has accepted him." But the Lord also, speaking about himself, said, "John came, he says, neither eating nor drinking; and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'." Or even they reject the apostles? For Peter and Philip were mocked; and Philip even gave his daughters in marriage to men. And Paul did not hesitate in a certain letter to call his wife, whom he did not bring along because of the stability of his ministry. He says, then, in a certain letter: "We do not have the right to take a sister as a wife, just like the other apostles do." These men, holding firmly to the ministry without distraction from preaching, did not take their wives as wives, but as sisters, who would serve alongside the women who stayed at home, through whom the Lord's teaching entered the women's quarters without any scandal. For we also know what the noble Paul commands about deacon women in the other letter to Timothy. But indeed this same one has shouted out that "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking;" Nor is it abstaining from wine and meat; "but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit." Who among them, having a leather strap and belt, goes around like Elijah? But who has put on sackcloth, naked otherwise, and barefoot, like Isaiah? Or only a linen girdle, like Jeremiah? Who will imitate John's spiritual protest of life? But even living in this way, the blessed prophets gave thanks to the Creator. But the righteousness of Carpocrates, and also the fellowship of those who follow his licentiousness, is destroyed in this way: for at the same time he says, "To the one who asks you, give; " He adds: "And do not turn away the one who wants to borrow;" teaching this kind of fellowship, not lust. But how can the one who asks, and receives, and borrows, come from nothing of the one who has, and gives, and lends? But what then? When the Lord says, "I was hungry, and you fed me; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed me," and you took me in; I was naked, and you clothed me;" then he adds, "For as much as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me." Does not the same thing also hold in the Old Testament law? "He who gives a loan to the poor lends to God;" and, "Do not cease to do good to the needy," he says. And again: "Let not almsgiving and faith fail you," he said. "Poverty" "Poverty humbles a man; but the hands of men make them rich." It also brings this about: Or if someone has not lent his money at interest, he becomes acceptable;" And, "The ransom of a man's soul is his own wealth," is judged." Does it not make clear directly that the world is made up of opposites, just as from heat and cold, dry and wet, so also from those who give and those who receive? Again, when he says, "If you want to be perfect, sell what you have and give to the poor," he rebukes the one boasting that he has kept all the commandments from his youth; for the command, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," has not been fulfilled." But then, being perfected by the Lord, he was taught to share through love. Therefore, he did not forbid being rich, but rather being rich unjustly and greedily; "For wealth gained quickly becomes less with lawlessness. For there are those who, sowing, produce more, and those who, gathering, become fewer;" About these it is written: He scattered, he gave to the poor; his righteousness remains forever. "For the one who sows and gathers more is the one who, through earthly and temporary sharing, gains the heavenly and eternal; but another is the one who gives nothing, "vainly storing up on earth, where moth and rust destroy;" About whom it is written, "Gathering wages, he gathered them into a pierced vessel." Of this one, "to make the land fertile" The Lord says in the Gospel: then, wishing to store up the fruits, greater storehouses will be built, so to speak, speaking to himself according to the personification. "You have many good things stored up for many years; eat, drink, and be merry." "Fool," he said, "this very night they will demand your soul from you. So what will happen to what you have prepared?"

Chapter 7

In this matter, the self-control that Christians claim surpasses that of the philosophers.

Human self-control, according to the philosophers—I mean the Greeks—claims to fight against desire and not to serve it in actions. But the self-control according to us is not to desire at all, not so that someone who desires endures, but so that he controls even the desire itself. But this self-control cannot be attained in any other way than by the grace of God. For this reason he said, "Ask, and it will be given to you." Moses also received this grace, covering his weak body so that for forty days he neither hungered nor thirsted. Just as it is better for a sick person to talk about health than about sickness, so it is better for the light of the one who is about light to speak, and for true self-control to be taught rather than the kind taught by the philosophers. For where there is light, there is no darkness; but where desire settles, it alone remains, even if in its activity it rests through the body, it joins with memory toward what is not present. In general, let our speech come first about marriage, about food, and about other things, to do nothing according to desire, but to want only those things that are necessary. For we are not children of desire, but of will; and the one who marries for having children must practice self-control, so as not to desire even his own wife, whom he ought to love, but to have children with a serious and sensible will. For it is not to take care of the flesh for desire's sake." We have learned: "But decently, as in the daytime," In Christ, and in the Lord's bright way, "walking not in revelry and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in quarreling and jealousy." But self-control is not only about one kind, that is, the sexual desires; it also concerns the other things that our soul wastes away desiring, not being satisfied with what is necessary, but busying itself with luxury. Self-control is to despise money; to be above luxury, possessions, and show; to control the mouth; to master the thoughts of evil. Already some angels, having become lacking in self-control, caught by desire, have fallen down here from heaven. Valentinus, in his letter to Agathopodus, says, "Having endured everything, he was self-controlled; Jesus worked divinity; he ate and drank privately, not giving back the food. So great was the power of self-control in him that even the food did not decay within him; for he himself did not allow it to decay." Therefore, we, through love for the Lord and for this very reason embracing good self-control, sanctify the temple of the Spirit; for it is good "to make oneself a eunuch for the sake of the kingdom of heaven". " from every desire, "and to cleanse the conscience from dead works to serve the living God." But those who, because of hatred toward the flesh involved in marriage and partaking of the necessary food, desire to separate themselves ungratefully, being ignorant and godless, practice self-control without reason, just like most of the other nations. The Brahmins neither eat anything with life nor drink wine; but some of them take food every day, like we do, while others, according to Alexander the Polyhistor in his Indica, eat every three days. They despise death and consider living as nothing; for they believe in rebirth. They worship Heracles and Pan. Those called the Venerable among the Indians live their whole life naked; they practice truth, foretell future events, and worship a certain pyramid under which they believe the bones of a god are kept. Neither the Gymnosophists nor those called the Venerable marry women; for they think this is against nature and unlawful. For this reason, they keep themselves pure; the Venerable also remain virgins. They believe they observe the heavens and, by noting their signs, predict certain future events.

Chapter 8

He explains the places of Holy Scripture brought by heretics to criticize marriage; and first defends the words of the Apostle in Romans 6:14 from the twisted interpretation of heretics.

Since those who introduce indifference, eager to force certain passages of Scripture, think that these support their pleasure, let us also consider this one: "For sin shall not have dominion over you; for you are not under law, but under grace," and some others like these, which it is not reasonable to remember in such cases (for I do not prepare a pirate ship). Let us then briefly cut off their attempt; for the noble Apostle himself, bringing forward the previously mentioned saying, immediately removes the charge: "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means." Thus he strongly and prophetically destroys at once the sophistry of pleasure.

They do not seem to understand that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad," so that one may receive according to what he did through the body. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation," no longer sinful. "The old things have passed away," we have washed away the old life; "behold, all things have become new," purity from fornication, and self-control from lack of control, righteousness from unrighteousness. "For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what communion has light with darkness? What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? Therefore, having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."

Chapter 9

He explains the saying of Christ to Salome, which heretics quoted as if to criticize marriage.

Those who oppose the creation of God through honorable self-control also say those things spoken to Salome, which we mentioned earlier. It is found, I think, in the Gospel according to the Egyptians. For they say that the Savior himself said, "I have come to destroy the works of the female nature;" the female nature of desire, but the works are birth and decay. What then would he say? This management has been destroyed? He would not say so, for the world remains under the same order. But the Lord did not lie; for in fact, he destroyed the works of desire: greed, quarrelsomeness, ambition, lust for women, pederasty, gluttony, debauchery, and things like these. The origin of these is the corruption of the soul, since indeed "they are dead because of their sins." We become so; and this was a female lack of self-control. The origin and corruption in creation must happen first, until there is a complete separation and restoration of choice, through which the substances mixed with the world are assigned according to their nature. Therefore, naturally, concerning the completion announced by the Word, Salome says: "Until when will people die?" The Scripture calls a person in two ways, both the visible one and the soul; and again, the one being saved and the one not saved. And sin is called the death of the soul. Therefore, the Lord answers carefully: "Until women give birth," that is, until the desires are active. "For this reason, just as sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death passed to all men, because all sinned; and death reigned from Adam until Moses, " the Apostle says; but by natural necessity, according to divine arrangement, death follows birth; and with the union of soul and body, their separation follows. But if birth is for the sake of learning and knowledge, then separation is for restoration; and just as the woman is considered the cause of death because she gives birth, so life will be said to be ruled by the same cause. Immediately, the life that preceded the transgression " It was called so because of the cause of succession, becoming the mother of both those born and those sinning, likewise of the righteous as well as the unrighteous, each one justifying himself, or on the contrary, making himself disobedient. Therefore, I do not think that I should regard the life in the flesh as unclean, as the Apostle says: "But with all boldness, as always, and now, Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by life or by death; for to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." But if to live in the flesh, and this is the fruit of my work, what shall I choose, I do not know; I am pulled between the two, having the desire to be released and to be with Christ; for that is much better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary because of you." For I think it has been clearly shown through these things that the departure of the body is the perfecting of love toward God, and that the presence in the flesh is a grateful endurance for those who need to be saved. But what then? Do not the things said next about Salome bring forward everything more than according to the truly evangelical rule? For it is said of her: "Well then, I did rightly in not giving birth;" As the birth is not properly accepted, the Lord replies, saying: "Eat every herb; but do not eat the one that has bitterness;" For he means by these things that they are with us, not out of necessity, but according to the restraint of a command, either self-control or even marriage; and that marriage cooperates in some way with creation, making this clear in addition. Let no one then consider marriage according to the Word to be a sin, if it does not involve bitter child-rearing. For to many, on the contrary, childlessness is most sorrowful; nor would childbearing seem bitter to some, turning away from divine matters because of necessary cares. But if someone does not easily bear the single life, he desires marriage; since what is pleasing, together with self-control, is harmless, and each of us is free to choose about having children. I see how, under the pretext of marriage, some who have rejected it—not according to the holy understanding—have fallen into hatred of mankind, and love has left them; while others, having been held back and indulged in the pleasures allowed by the law, as the Prophet says, have become like animals.

Chapter 10

He explains mystically the words of Christ in Matthew 18:20.

Who are the "two or three gathered together in the name of Christ," among whom "the Lord is in the midst," does he not mean a man and a woman and a child when he says three? because a woman is joined to a man through God. But even if someone wants to be well married, not choosing to have children because of the trouble involved in childbearing, let him remain, says the Apostle, unmarried, "like me also." For they mean to say the Lord is explained, with most, to be the Creator, the God who brings things into being, but with the one chosen, the Savior, clearly the Son of another God, the good God. But it is not so; for God is with those who marry wisely and have children through the Son, and the same God is also with the one who controls himself rationally. Very well, then, the three are the spirit, desire, and reason, while the flesh, soul, and breath are something else; perhaps also the calling and the second choice, and thirdly the kind ranked with the first honor, the triad mentioned before, is hinted at; with these, the all-seeing power of God is perfectly divided. Therefore, the soul, using its natural powers properly, desires what is fitting among things, and hates what harms, just as the commandments order: "You will bless" For, he says, "You will bless the one who blesses, and curse the one who curses." But when, going beyond even these, he loves creation in action through the spirit and desire because of the God and maker of all, he will live knowingly, having made himself free from the burden of self-control according to the likeness to the Savior, uniting knowledge, faith, and love, being one from this point the judge, and truly spiritual, entirely free from all thoughts according to spirit and desire, the man who is perfectly carrying out the image of the Lord toward his maker, worthy already to be called brother by the Lord; this one is both friend and son. Thus, "the two and the three" are gathered together "to the same place," the spiritual person. And let the unity of the many also be counted from the three, with whom the Lord is, the one Church, the one person, the one race. Or surely the Lord was legislating with the one Jew; but already prophesying, and sending Jeremiah to Babylon, and also calling the peoples from the nations through prophecy, he gathered the two peoples together; the third was from the two "being created" one, "into a new man, in whom indeed he both walks and dwells" in that same Church? The Law and the prophets together with the Gospel in the name of Christ are gathered into one knowledge. Therefore, those who do not marry out of hatred, or who carelessly indulge the flesh through desire, are not counted among those saved with whom the Lord is.

Chapter 11

He explains the command of the Law and of Christ about not lusting.

Having shown these things in this way, bring forward how many Scriptures oppose these sophistical heresies; now let us present the rule of self-control kept according to reason. To each of the heresies, the one who understands will select the appropriate Scripture at the right time, and will use it to destroy those who teach doctrines contrary to the commandments. From above, then, the law, as we said before, states, "You shall not desire your neighbor's [wife]," Paying attention to the Lord's voice according to the New Testament, it has called out loudly, the same one speaking in person: "You have heard the law commanding, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you, 'You shall not desire'." For the law wanted men to use their wives wisely and only for procreation. This is clear from forbidding the "captive"." Immediately to join the unmarried; but if he desires once, he is allowed to mourn for thirty days, even cutting his hair. If the desire does not fade in this way, then he is to procreate, after the impulse that rules him has been tested during the set time, into a reasonable appetite. Therefore, you should not show a pregnant woman approaching any of the elders according to the Scripture; but later, after the pregnancy and after the newborn has been nursed, you would find the women again known among the men. Immediately you will find this guardian, who keeps the father of Moses, having passed three years after the birth of Aaron, having given birth to Moses. And the Levitical tribe, keeping the law of nature from God, entered the promised land with fewer numbers than the others; for the race does not easily grow into a large population, since the men who have received marriage according to the laws sow, but they wait not only for the pregnancy but also for the nursing. Therefore, it is fitting that Moses, gradually leading the Jews toward self-control, commanded them to abstain from sexual pleasure for three days afterward, so that they might listen to the divine words. "We are, then, temples of God, as the prophet said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people;'" if we live according to the commandments, whether each one of us individually, or the Church as a whole. "Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord; do not touch what is unclean; and I will receive you, and I will be a father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty." Not of those who are married, as some say, but of the nations still living in fornication, and also to be separated from the previously mentioned heresies, as from the unclean and godless, the prophet commands us. Therefore, Paul, distancing himself from those mentioned, says to his fellow believers, "So then, you have these promises, beloved; let us cleanse our hearts from every defilement of flesh and spirit, completing holiness in the fear of God." For I am zealous for you with the zeal of God; for I have betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ." The church does not marry another, having already obtained the bridegroom; but each one of us, whoever wishes to marry according to the law, I mean the first marriage, has the authority. "I fear lest, just as the serpent deceived Eve by cunning, your minds may be led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ;" The Apostle has spoken very reverently and instructively. Therefore the wonderful Peter says: "Beloved, I urge you as strangers and foreigners to abstain from fleshly desires, which wage war against the soul, while you have a good conduct among the Gentiles; because this is the will of God, doing good and silencing the foolish talk of ignorant people; as free men, and not using your freedom as a cover for evil, but as servants of God." Likewise, Paul also writes in the letter to the Romans: "Those of us who have died to sin, how can we still live in it? Because our old self was crucified, so that the body of sin might be destroyed," until, "Do not present the members of your body as weapons of unrighteousness to sin." And indeed, having come to this point, I think I must not omit to note clearly that the Apostle proclaims the same God through the law, the prophets, and the Gospel; for the command, "You shall not covet," written in the Gospel, he places in the law in the letter to the Romans, knowing that the one who proclaimed through the law and the prophets is the same as the Father who was announced through him in the Gospel. For he says, "What shall we say? The law to sin? By no means. But I would not have known sin except through the law; for I would not have known desire, if the law had not said, "You shall not desire." And if those opposing the heretics, rejecting Paul's teaching about the Creator, suppose that he said the following: "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh;" But when one reads what was said before, and what follows: for he said beforehand, "But sin dwells in me;" because of which it was natural to say, "that nothing good dwells in my flesh." Therefore he added: "But if what I do not want, this I do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin living in me;" which, "waging war against the law of God and my mind," he says, "it takes me captive by the law of sin, which is truly in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Again, on the other hand, (for no one benefits at all; ) he does not hesitate to reply: "For the law of the spirit has set me free from the law of sin and death;" since "through the Son God condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh. but according to the spirit." In addition, further clarifying what was said before, he cries out: "The body is dead because of sin;" showing that it is not a temple but still a tomb of the soul; for when it is sanctified by God, "The Spirit," will make, "Jesus, who was raised from the dead, dwell in you; who will give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you." Again, then, rebuking those who love pleasure, he adds these words: "For the mind set on the flesh is death. Because those who live according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh; and the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law. Those who are in the flesh" do not, as some suppose, "have the power to please God," but, as we said before. Then, in contrast to these, he says to the Church: "But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you." But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. So then, brothers, we owe it to ourselves not to live according to the flesh, that is, according to the sinful nature. For if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God." And regarding the nobility and the freedom, which is scornfully introduced by heretics, boasting shamelessly, he says: "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption as children, by which we cry, Abba, Father." That is, we received this so that we might know the one to whom we pray, the true Father, the only Father of all beings, the one who trains us for salvation as a father, and who removes fear.

Chapter 12

The words of the Apostle 1 Corinthians 7:5, 39, 40, and also the passages of Holy Scripture related to them, are explained.

The marriage that is agreed upon and allows time for prayer is a teaching of self-control; for the phrase "by mutual consent" was added," so that no one might break the marriage, "and for a time," so that the married man, practicing self-control not out of necessity, might not slip into sin, sparing his own wife but falling into desire for another. In what way, then, did he say that one who behaves badly toward the virgin's care is rightly considered to give his daughter in marriage. The intention of each person—both of the one who has made himself a eunuch and of the one who has joined in marriage for the sake of having children—must remain firm and unyielding toward the lesser. For if he is able to live a life of self-control, he will gain greater value before God by keeping himself pure and disciplined; but if, having gone beyond the rule he set for greater glory, he then falls away, he holds marriage, like eunuchhood, as a special service and ministry to the Lord, caring for children and wife. For the closeness of marriage seems to be a reason for the married person's full commitment, showing care for all things assigned according to the common household. Immediately he says: "Bishops." Bishops must be appointed from their own household and must be proven to be able to lead the whole Church. "Each one " Therefore, "in the calling in which he was called" let him carry out the ministry in deed, so that he may become free in Christ, receiving the proper reward for the ministry. Again, speaking about the law, using allegory: "For the woman who has a husband," he says, "is bound by law to the living husband," and what follows: again, "The woman is bound as long as her husband lives; but if he dies, she is free to marry, only in the Lord. But she is blessed if she remains thus, in my opinion." But concerning the previous passage, "You were put to death," he says, "by the law," not by marriage, "so that you might belong to another, to the one who was raised from the dead," a bride and a Church; which must be pure both in its inner thoughts opposed to the truth, and in the external temptations, that is, those who promote heresies and persuade to fornication away from the one man, the almighty God: "So that not, just as the serpent deceived Eve," the so-called "life", " and we, through the cunning of the heresies' false teachings, might break the commandments. The second passage establishes monogamy; for it should not be understood, as some have explained, that the bond of a woman to a man is a fleshly tie to corruption. For those who attach the institution of marriage directly to the devil accuse the lawgiver of the idea of godless men and risk being blasphemed. I think Tatian the Syrian dares to teach such things. He writes, indeed, word for word in the On the Arrangement According to the Savior: Agreement, then, is joined by prayer; but fellowship breaks the union through corruption. Very much indeed, he harshly blocks it through forgiveness; for again, "to the same point" having forgiven, "to become because of Satan and lack of self-control," the one who will be persuaded "to serve two masters" he showed clearly that, on the one hand, by agreement to God, and on the other hand, by disagreement through lack of self-control, fornication, and the devil." He says these things, explaining the Apostle. He twists the truth, making a falsehood out of what is true. For we agree that lack of self-control and fornication are passions of the devil; but the agreement of a chaste marriage acts as a mediator, both leading with self-control in prayer and marrying with dignity for the sake of having children. Knowledge, then, and the time for childbearing are mentioned in the Scripture, when it says: "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore a son; and he named his name Seth. For God has raised up for me another seed instead of Abel." " Do you see whom those who defile the chaste seed blaspheme, and to the devil they attribute its origin? For he did not simply name God when he declared the Almighty in the opening of the passage. The burden of the Apostle is: "And again be united to the same thing." Because of Satan, he interrupts that, so that it might never turn to other desires. For the temporary agreement, which offends the natural urges, is not completely rejected. For this reason, he again introduces the union of marriage, not for debauchery and fornication and the work of the devil, but so that it might not fall into debauchery and fornication and the devil. Tatian also separates the old man and the new, but not as we say: "old" old man" the law," "new" the law," "new" the Gospel, we agree with him ourselves saying this, except not in the way he wants, breaking the law as if it were from another god; but the same man and Lord, renewing the old, no longer allows polygamy; (for God demanded this when it was necessary to increase and multiply;) he introduces monogamy for childbearing and the care of the household, in which the woman was given as a helper; and if the Apostle allows a second marriage to someone out of weakness and burning desire with forgiveness, since even this one does not sin according to the Covenant (for he is not forbidden by the law), but does not fulfill the perfection of conduct required by the Gospel under command; yet he keeps for himself a heavenly hope, remaining faithful to himself, and guarding pure the marriage dissolved by death, and willingly obeying the arrangement by which he became undistracted in the service of the Lord. Nor indeed does the divine providence through the Lord now command that those separated from the marital bed, just as in the past, be baptized; for it does not force those who believe to stop childbearing, since the Lord, by one baptism, cleanses completely from fellowship, even though he included many things of Moses under one baptism. Therefore, from above, the law, foretelling our rebirth through physical birth, offered baptism at the point of the seed's generation, not rejecting human birth; for what appears as a born human, that is what the origin of the seed can produce. Therefore, many sexual unions are not fertile, but the acceptance by the womb acknowledges birth, as the seed is formed into an embryo in the workshop of nature. But how is it that marriage is only an ancient institution and a law's invention, while the marriage according to the Lord is different, with the same God watching over us? "Not" "For God did not join together what man would ever separate." Rightly so; much more, the Son also keeps what the Father commanded. But if the same lawgiver is also the evangelist, he never fights against himself. For the law lives, being spiritual and understood by knowledge; but we "have died to the law through the body of Christ so that we might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead," to the one foretold by the law, "so that we might bear fruit for God. "Therefore" The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and just, and good." So we died to the law, that is, to the sin revealed by the law; which the law does not produce, but through the command to do and the prohibition of not doing, it exposes the underlying sin, "so that sin might be shown". " But if sin is marriage according to the law, I do not know how anyone would say that they know God, claiming that the command of God is sin; "holy" and the law being "holy," holy is marriage. The mystery, then, the Apostle leads to Christ and the Church; just as "what is born of the flesh is flesh, so what is born of the Spirit is spirit," not only according to birth, but also according to learning. Immediately, "the children are holy;" the pleasing acts to God of those who have married their soul to the Lord's words. Fornication and marriage, then, are separated; since the devil has been cast far away from God. "And you, then, were put to death to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, who was raised from the dead." For it is closely heard together, having become obedient; for even according to the truth of the law, we obey the same Lord, who commands from afar. And surely it is fitting in such matters that "the Spirit directly says, that in later times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to spirits of error, and to the teachings of demons in the hypocrisy of liars, whose conscience is seared, forbidding to marry, abstaining from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful who know the truth, that every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected when received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." Therefore, it is not necessary to forbid marriage, nor to forbid eating meat or drinking wine; for it is written: "It is good not to eat meat, nor to drink wine, if it causes a stumbling." And: "It is good to remain as I do." But the one who uses [these things] with thanksgiving, and the one who does not use them but also with thanksgiving, and with self-control enjoys them, may live according to reason. And in general, all the letters of the Apostle teach temperance and self-control, about marriage, about having children, about managing the household, containing countless commands. Nowhere did they forbid marriage for the sensible person; but keeping the law's observance in line with the Gospel, they accept both: the one who has used marriage with thanksgiving to God in a sensible way, and the one living in celibacy, as the Lord wishes, living together, just as "each one was called." choosing without fault and completely. "And the land of Jacob was praised by all the earth," says the prophet, himself glorifying the vessel of the spirit. But someone rushes through the generations, calling it perishable and doomed to perish; and someone else hastens, saying that the Savior has already spoken about childbearing: "Do not store up on earth, where moth and rust destroy;" and he is not ashamed to add the words of the prophet to these: "You all will wear out like a garment, and moth will eat you." But we do not even contradict the Scripture, that our bodies are perishable and naturally subject to change. Perhaps also to those he was speaking, as sinners, he prophesies decay. But the Savior did not speak about having children, but encouraged sharing in fellowship, urging those who possess only wealth to help those in need who are unwilling. Therefore he says, "Work not for the perishable food, but for the food that remains for eternal life." Likewise, they also bring up that saying, "The sons of that age," About the resurrection of the dead, "They neither marry nor are given in marriage," But this question, even if someone asks them about it, will not find the Lord rejecting marriage, but rather treating the hope of fleshly desire according to the resurrection. But the saying, "The sons of this age," He did not say, "The sons of this age," to contrast them with the sons of another age, but rather in the same way as: "Those born in this age are sons of the age, and because they are sons by birth, they also beget and are begotten; for no one passes through this life without birth." But this birth, which takes on similar decay, no longer awaits the one-time separation of this life. "One is our Father, who is in the heavens;" but also the Father of all according to creation himself. "Do not call anyone on earth your father, then, " he says: For example, do not consider the one who planted your seed according to the flesh as the cause of your being, but rather as a partner in birth, and more so as a servant of birth. So then, turning back to become like children, he wants us to recognize the true Father, being born again through water, this being another kind of seed in creation. Yes, he says: "The unmarried cares for the things of the Lord; but the married, how he may please his wife." But indeed? Is it not also possible for the wife, pleasing according to God, to give thanks to God? Is it not also fitting for the married man, together with his wife, to care for the things of the Lord? But just as "The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit;" Just as the unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord to be holy in body and spirit, so also the married woman cares for the things of her husband and the Lord in the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and spirit; for both are holy in the Lord, the one as a wife, the other as a virgin. For the shame and hindrance of those who are eager to marry a second time, the Apostle speaks strongly and fittingly, and immediately says: "Every sin is outside the body; but the one who commits fornication sins against his own body." If anyone dares to call marriage fornication, again turning back to the law and the Lord, he blasphemes; for just as greed is called fornication, opposing self-sufficiency, and idolatry is the worship of many gods instead of one God, so fornication is the falling away from one marriage to many; for, as we have said, both fornication and adultery are taken by the Apostle in three ways. On these things the prophet says: "By your sins you were sold away"." And again: "You were defiled in a foreign land" Considering the fellowship as impure, joined to a foreign body, and not given to the one united in marriage for childbearing. Therefore the Apostle also says, "I desire then," he says, "to marry younger women, to bear children, to manage the household, giving no opportunity to the one who opposes, for the sake of reproach". For already some have turned away after Satan." Indeed, he fully accepts the husband of one wife, whether he is an elder, a deacon, or a layman, living without blame in marriage. "He will be saved through childbearing"." Again, the Savior said to the Jews, "a generation" saying, "an evil and adulterous generation," teaching those who do not understand the law, as the law desires: "he will hand over to the elders, and by the commands of men" who have followed, to commit adultery against the law, not as a man and master given over to their virginity. Perhaps he also knows them as enslaved to strange desires, through which, being constantly enslaved to sins, they were sold to foreigners; since among the Jews, common women were not accepted, and even adultery was forbidden. But he who said, "I have married a wife, and I cannot come to the divine banquet," was a warning to those who turn away from the divine command because of pleasures; for by this statement, neither the righteous before the coming nor those who have married after the coming, even if they are apostles, will be saved. And even if they bring that again, as the prophet says: "I have grown old among all my enemies;" Let sins be heard as enemies. But there is one sin, not marriage, but fornication; for they even called birth a sin, and the creator of birth.

Chapter 13

He responds to the words of the heretic Julius Cassianus; likewise to the place which he brought from the apocryphal gospel.

Julius Cassianus, the leader of the opinion, also attempts such arguments. In his work On Continence, or On Eunuchism, he says literally: "And let no one say that since we have such parts, the female is formed in this way, and the male in that way, the female for receiving, the male for sowing, that intercourse is allowed by God. For if such an arrangement were from God, to whom we hasten, he would not have blessed eunuchs; nor would the prophet have said, "They are not a barren tree," having transferred from the tree to the man by choice, castrating himself in such a sense."

And still struggling with this godless opinion, he adds: "How then could anyone reasonably blame the Savior if he transformed us, freed us from error, and from the sharing of parts and additions and shameful things?" He teaches doctrines similar to Tatian in this respect; he came from the school of Valentinus.

For this reason, Cassianus says: "When Salome asked when the things she asked about would be known, the Lord said, 'When you trample on the garment of shame, and when the two become one, and the male with the female, neither male nor female.'"

First of all, in the four Gospels handed down to us, we do not have this saying, but only in the Gospel according to the Egyptians. Then it seems to me that he is ignorant that "male" means the impulse of the spirit, and "female" means desire, as a riddle to those who have acted; repentance and shame follow.

Therefore, when no one is moved by spirit or desire, which indeed, growing from bad habit and food, overshadows and hides reason, but having cast off this gloom from them, ashamed by repentance, he will unite spirit and soul according to the obedience of the Word; then, as Paul says, "There is no male or female in us."

For having left behind this form, by which male and female are distinguished, the soul is transferred into union, being no longer two. This noble man considers this more Platonic—that the soul, divine from above, having become feminine by desire, has come here into generation and corruption.

Chapter 14

2 Corinthians 11:3 and Ephesians 4:24, explained.

Immediately Paul is eager to explain the origin of deception by saying through these words: "But I fear lest, as the serpent deceived Eve, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." But the Lord also came, as is agreed, to those who were "led astray"; and those led astray are not from above into this generation, for generation is the creator and creation of the Almighty, who would never bring a soul down from better to worse; but the Savior came to the minds of those led astray, to us—minds corrupted by disobedience to the commandments, by our lusts; perhaps even before our time, the time of the first man, and before the hour of the grace of marriage had come and was missed; because "Everyone who looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her," not waiting for the right time of willing. The same Lord was then judging the desire that came before marriage.

Therefore, when the Apostle says: "Put on the new man, created according to God", he is speaking to us, who have been formed by the will of the Almighty as we have been formed. He calls "old" not the origin or rebirth, but the life both in disobedience and in obedience. Cassianus considers the bodies to be "leathern tunics", about which later we will show that he and those who teach similarly are mistaken, when we explain the origin of man according to what has been said before.

He says: "For those who rule and are born under earthly powers; but our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also await a Savior." This is rightly said, and we too know this; since we ought to live as strangers and sojourners. Those who marry should live as if they do not marry; those who possess, as if they do not possess; those who have children, as if they bear mortal ones, as if leaving behind possessions, as if living even without a wife, if necessary; not using creation greedily, but with all thanksgiving, and with magnanimity.

Chapter 15

1 Corinthians 7:1; Luke 14:26; Isaiah 56:2, 3, explained.

Again, when it says: "It is good for a man not to touch a woman; but because of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife." As if explaining, it again says: "So that Satan may not tempt you." For it is not to those who live with self-control in marriage, concerning procreation alone, "because of lack of self-control," he says, but to those who desire to go beyond procreation; as if slightly nodding to the opposite, that desire might be born for another's pleasures. Perhaps it opposes those who live rightly because of jealousy and rivalry, wanting them to follow their own rule, and wishes to give them opportunities for hard self-control. He therefore says reasonably: "It is better to marry than to burn with desire," so that "the man may give to the woman what is owed, and the woman to the man, and they do not deprive each other" of the help given through divine aid for procreation." "But whoever does not hate," they say, "cannot be my disciple who does not hate father, or mother, or wife, or children." It does not urge to hate one's family; "Honor" for, he says, "Honor father and mother, so that it may go well with you;" but do not be led away, he says, by unreasonable impulses, nor even join with political customs; for a household is made up of family, and cities are made up of households; just as Paul also, concerning those busy about marriage, says "to please the world" he said. Again the Lord says: "Let the one who marries not divorce; and let the one who does not marry not marry." Let the one who has made a deliberate choice of celibacy, having agreed not to marry, remain unmarried. To both, the same Lord gives suitable promises through the prophet Isaiah, saying something like this: "Let the eunuch not say, 'I am a dry tree'. The Lord says these things to the eunuchs: If you keep my Sabbaths and do all that I command, I will give you a place better than sons and daughters;" For not only does celibacy justify, nor even the eunuch's Sabbath, if he does not keep the commandments. To those who have married, he brings this, and says: "My chosen ones will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children to a curse, because the seed is blessed by the Lord." For the one who has begotten and raised children according to the Word, and who has educated them in the Lord, just as the one who has begotten through true teaching, there is a reward, just like for the chosen seed. Others, however, receive a "curse" for childbearing, and they do not understand that the Scripture speaks against them. For those who are truly chosen by the Lord do not follow false teachings, nor do they bear children destined for a curse, like the heresies do. Eunuch, then, is not the one forced to be so, nor the unmarried, as has been said, but the one who is barren of truth. This wood was dry before; but having obeyed the Word, and kept the Sabbaths by refraining from sins, and having kept the commandments, it will be more honored than those who are educated only by words without a right way of life. "Little children," he says, "I am with you only a little longer," the Instructor. Therefore Paul, writing to the Galatians, says: "My little children, whom I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you." Again, writing to the Corinthians, he says, "For if you have ten thousand instructors in Christ," he says, "but not many fathers; for in Christ through the Gospel I have begotten you." Therefore, "a eunuch will not enter into the Church of God," the barren and fruitless in conduct and word; but "those" who have "eunuchized themselves" from all sin "for the kingdom of heaven," Blessed are those who fast from the world.

Chapter 16

Jeremiah 20:14; Job 14:3; Psalm 50:5; 1 Corinthians 9:27, explains.

"Cursed be the day on which I was born; and let it not be blessed," Jeremiah says: he does not call the birth simply cursed, but he laments over the sins of the people and their disobedience; he brings this out: "Why was I born, to see trouble and sorrow, and my days have passed in shame?" Immediately all who proclaim the truth, because of the disobedience of those who hear, were both persecuted and put in danger. "Why did the womb of my mother not become a grave, so that I would not see the trouble of Jacob, and the labor of the people of Israel?" The prophet Esdras says. "No one is pure from filth," Job says, "Not even if his life were one day." Let them tell us, where did the born child commit fornication? Or how did it fall under the curse of Adam, having done nothing at all? It seems they fail to follow through by saying that the origin is evil, not only of the body but also of the soul, because of which the body too. And when David says, "In sins I was conceived, and in iniquities my mother conceived me," He speaks prophetically of Eve as the mother, but "Eve the mother of the living." was made; and even if "in sins I was conceived," but not he himself in sin, nor indeed sin itself. But if anyone who turns back from sin to faith, from the habit of sin like a mother to life, one of the twelve prophets will testify to me, saying, "I know the firstborn fruit of my womb for ungodliness, for the sin of my soul;" He does not slander the one who said, "Increase and multiply;" but the first impulses from birth, by which we do not know God, he calls ungodliness. But if anyone says that the origin is evil according to this, let him also say that it is good according to that, since in it we know the truth: "Wash yourselves rightly, and do not sin; for some have ignorance of God," that is, those who sin: "Since our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the spiritual forces." The rulers of the darkness are able to test;" Therefore, the pardons. Therefore, Paul also said, "I discipline my body and bring it into slavery," he says, "For everyone who competes exercises self-control in all things;" Instead, he exercises self-control in all things; not as one who is abstaining from everything, but as one who uses self-control in what he has decided. "They do it to receive a perishable crown; we do it to receive an imperishable one," winning in the struggle, not crowned without effort. But some even hold up the widow of the virgin as an example of self-control, having grown proud, though she has experienced pleasure.

Chapter 17

Those who claim that marriage and procreation are evil also criticize God's creation and the very arrangement of the Gospel.

If birth is evil, then the blasphemers who speak evil also speak evil of the Lord who took on birth, and of the Virgin who gave birth. Woe to the wicked! They blaspheme the will of God and the mystery of creation, slandering birth itself. Because of this, the "appearance" To Cassian: because of this also to Marcion, yes, and even to Valentinus, the body is called psychic; for they say that man "was made like the animals," coming into union. But when he goes to another's bed, truly angry, then in fact such a person becomes wild like a beast: "Mares have become mad, each neighing over the wife of his neighbor." And even if the serpent, having taken the practice of intercourse from the irrational animals, and persuading Adam to agree to the union with Eve, says that the first humans did not use it by nature, as some claim; the creation is again blasphemed, making humans weaker by the nature of irrational animals, which the first humans of God followed. If nature led them, like the irrational animals, toward having children, but they moved faster than was proper, still young by nature, and were led astray by deception; then the judgment of God against those who did not hold to the will is just. But the creation is holy, through which the world was established, through which the essences, through which the natures, through which angels, through which powers, through which souls, through which commandments, through which law, through which the Gospel, through which the knowledge of God exists. "And all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man is like the flower of grass; and the grass withers, and the flower falls; but the word of the Lord remains," anointing the soul and uniting it with the spirit. How, without the body, did the economy according to the Church come to us, where even the head of the Church himself passed away in flesh, ugly and formless, teaching us to look toward the eternal and incorporeal cause of the divine? "For it is a tree of life," the prophet says, "it becomes by a good desire," teaching desires to be innocent and pure in the living Lord. But now they desire the union of man with woman according to marriage, "knowledge" to be called sin; for this is revealed by the eating "of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," through the "knowledge" teaching the breaking of a command through the meaning. But if this is so, then the knowledge of truth is also a kind of eating of the tree of life. Therefore, partaking of that tree is also the wise marriage. It has already been said to us that marriage can be used both rightly and wrongly; and this is the tree "of the knowledge," if we do not misuse marriage unlawfully. But what then? Is it not the Savior who healed the body from its sufferings just as he did the soul? It would not be so, if the flesh were an enemy of the soul; it would then have built a wall of enmity against it, overshadowing it for the sake of health. "I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption;" For sin is "corruption" being, cannot have fellowship with incorruption," which is righteousness. "Thus foolish." he says, "you are? "You began by the Spirit, now you are finishing by the flesh;"

Chapter 18

Two extreme opinions must be avoided: the first is that of those who, out of hatred for the Creator, abstain from marriage; the second is that of those who take this as an opportunity to indulge in wicked lusts.

The justice and harmony of salvation, being both solemn and firm, some have distorted, as we have shown, blasphemously accepting self-control along with every kind of godlessness; it is lawful to choose chastity according to the healthy rule with piety; giving thanks for the grace given, not hating the creation, nor despising those who are married; for the world is created, and chastity is also created; both giving thanks in the state to which they were assigned, if they understand and accept the state to which they were assigned. But those, having gone mad, insulted, saying, "effeminate horses" truly having become, and neighing at the neighbors' places;" They themselves, being uncontrolled, and persuading their neighbors to love pleasure; miserably misunderstanding those Scriptures: "Cast your lot among us; let us all get a common purse, and let there be one pouch for us." Because of these, the same prophet, advising us, says: "Do not walk in the way with them; turn your foot away from their paths." For nets are not spread in vain for those with wings; for they, sharing in blood, are storing up evil for themselves;" that is, by taking on uncleanness themselves and teaching their neighbors to do the same, "fighters, struck by their own tails," according to the prophet, whom the Greeks call kērkoi (tails). Let it be, then, that those whom the prophecy hints at are proud and uncontrolled, the fighters with their tails, children of darkness and "wrath;" bloodstained, their own masters, and murderers of their neighbors. "Cleanse out the old yeast, so that you may be a new batch," the Apostle shouts to us. And again, being disgusted at such people, he commands, "Do not associate with anyone who is called a brother if he is a fornicator, or a greedy person, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or a robber; do not even eat with such a one. For I have died to the law through the law," he says, "so that I may live to God." I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I," as I once lived according to desires; "but Christ lives in me." through the pure and blessed obedience to the commandments. So then, I once lived in the flesh in a fleshly way; "but now I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God." — "Do not go on the road to the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans;" Turning us away from the opposite way of life, the Lord says; since "the destruction of lawless men is evil; and these are the ways of all who bring about ruin." — "Woe to that man," the Lord says: "It would have been better for him not to have been born, than to cause one of my chosen ones to stumble. It would have been better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea, than to lead one of my chosen ones astray." For the name of God is blasphemed because of them." Therefore the Apostle boldly says, "I have written to you," he says, "in the letter, do not associate with the sexually immoral," until "The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body." And that he does not call marriage immorality, he shows by saying, "Or do you not know that the one joined to a prostitute is one body?" Or will someone call a virgin a prostitute before she is married? "And do not deprive," he says, "one another, except by agreement for a time; " through the "deprive" by the word, the duty of marriage, the begetting of children, showing what he declared earlier, saying: "The husband should give the wife her due; likewise, the wife to the husband; " with which creation according to household management and faith in Christ is a help. And speaking even more clearly: "To those who are married I command, not I, but the Lord, that a wife should not be separated from her husband; but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband; and a husband should not send away his wife. But to the rest I say, I, not the Lord: If any brother," until: "but now she is holy." But what do those who cling to the law and marriage say to these things, as if it were allowed by the law, but only also according to the New Testament? What can those who defile the seed and birth by the laws say in response to these things? Since even the "overseer of the household rightly presiding" legislates that the Church should be governed; and the Lord's household is established as the marriage of one wife. "Therefore, all things are pure to the pure," he says: "but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; rather, both their mind and their conscience are defiled." But concerning pleasure outside the rule: "Do not be deceived," he says: "Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And we, having been washed," we who have been made in these ways; but those who wash away licentiousness into fornication under the name of self-control, teaching to give in to pleasures and passions, instructing the incontinent to be temperate, and bearing their hope on the shamelessness of their genitals; they are declared rejected from the kingdom of God, but not enrolled, preparing students; with the title of false knowledge, having taken away the journey into outer darkness. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things, which you also learned; what you received and heard and saw in me, do these things; and the God of peace will be with you." And Peter says similar things in his Epistle: "So that your faith and hope are in God; having purified your souls by obedience to the truth; as children of obedience, not conforming to your former desires in ignorance; but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all conduct; for it is written, 'You shall be holy, because I am holy.'" But beyond what is proper, the necessary opposition to the false teachers of knowledge has taken us away for a long time, and has extended the discourse; hence the third of our notes on true philosophy according to the Gnostics, Stromateus, has this as its conclusion.

Discourse 4 of the Eight Discourses

Chapter 1

Order of topics to be discussed.

Next, I think it is fitting to discuss the nature of testimony, and what makes it complete; including what should be contained according to the demands of what is to be said, and how it must be philosophized alike by both slave and free, whether man or woman by birth. Then, having fulfilled what follows about faith and about seeking, we will present the symbolic form; so that, as in a brief overview, having summed up the ethical argument, we may clearly show the benefit handed down to the Greeks from foreign philosophy. After this outline, a brief exposition of the Scriptures addressed both to the Greeks and to the Jews will be given, and those things in the previous Stromateis that were set forth in one introduction according to the preface will be completed with a summary, since it was not possible to include everything due to the large number of topics. After this, when the outline concerning the matters before us has been completed as much as possible, the principles that have been explained to both the Greeks and the other barbarians, as far as their opinions reached us, must be recounted, and the main points intended by the philosophers must be addressed. What should follow, after the overview of theology, is to explain the matters handed down concerning prophecy; showing that the Scriptures, in which we have believed, are authoritative from the almighty ruler, and that through them one can proceed in order, and demonstrate to all heresies from this point on that there is one God and Lord almighty, who is revealed through the law and the prophets, and also truly proclaimed by the blessed Gospel. Many responses to the heretics await us, as we try to refute in writing the things they bring forward, and to persuade them even unwillingly, by using these to expose the errors of the Scriptures. Now then, with our whole purpose completed, in whatever way the Spirit wishes to assist us with reminders for the urgent need (for there is great need to owe the truth of what has been said before ), then indeed we begin the truly spiritual explanation of nature, having been initiated into the small mysteries before the greater ones, so that nothing may stand in the way of the truly divine revelation, with what must be previously purified and previously outlined and handed down having been prepared. The explanation of nature according to the rule of truth in spiritual tradition, or rather the vision, is based on the account of the creation of the world, rising from there up to the form of theology. Therefore, it is fitting that we begin the tradition from the foretold creation, partly also presenting the views of the heretics, and trying as much as possible to refute them. But what is written will be, if God wills, and as he may inspire; for now, however, we must turn to the matter at hand and complete the moral explanation.

Chapter 2

Why these books are called Stromateis.

Let the Notes be to you, as we have often said, because they meet with shameless ignorance many times, various, as the name itself says, "spread out," passing continuously from one thing to another, revealing one thing according to the order of the words, but showing something else. "For those who dig for gold," Heraclitus says, "dig up much earth and find little;" but those who mine the kindred metal of true gold will find much in little. For writing gathers together into one what is scattered. The authors of the Notes called Stromateis therefore take hold both for memory and for the clear expression of truth for those who seek with reason. You too must work hard at these and seek other things; since even for those who go on a path they do not know, it is enough to mark the one that leads. But one must walk on after that and find the rest for oneself. Just as, they say, to a certain slave who once asked what he should do to please his master, the Pythia answered, "You will find, if you seek." It is indeed difficult, it seems, to find hidden beauty; since "the sweat of virtue is about to come."

… But the journey to it is long and upright,

And shallow at first; but when it reaches the end,

Then it becomes easy, though it is difficult.

"For truly the way of the Lord is 'narrow ' and 'afflicted'; and 'the kingdom of God belongs to the violent.' Therefore, 'Seek, he says, and you will find,' truly holding to the royal way, and not turning aside. It is fitting, then, that much fruitfulness comes from a few seeds contained in this pursuit of teachings, just as Scripture says it is 'the all-nourishing herb of the field.' And the commentators of the commentaries have the main title, plainly according to that old blossomed offering, about which Sophocles writes;"

For there was a woolly sheep, and there was also a vineyard

A libation, and a well-stored loaf;

There was a mixture of all kinds of fruitfulness,

The richness of oil, and the most varied

A waxen instrument shaped by a blond bee.

Immediately our Stratētae, following the farmer Timokles the comic poet, say, "figs, oil, clusters of grapes, honey flow together, just like from a fertile region;" by which they bring about fruitfulness;

You speak of irrigation, not farming;

For Athenians were accustomed to shout aloud;

"Irrigation brings figs and rich bread,"

"And honey in a cup, and oil to anoint with."

Therefore, it is necessary many times, as in the tangled roots, shaking and scattering the mixed seeds, to select the wheat.

Chapter 3

In which true excellence of a person consists.

Most people have a state of mind like that of storms, wild and unreasonable: "Much unbelief has destroyed good things, faith has done harm;" as Epicharmus said, "Remember to distrust," he says, "These are the joints of the mind." Immediately, distrust toward the truth brings death, just as belief brings life; on the other hand, believing in falsehood and distrusting the truth leads to destruction. The same reasoning applies to both self-control and lack of self-control: to have self-control is the work of goodness; to avoid wrongdoing is the beginning of salvation. How it seems to me that the Sabbath is a symbol of self-control through the rejection of evils. And what is it that makes a man different from beasts, and again makes the angels of God wiser than him? "You have made him less," he says, "a little lower than the angels;" For the Scripture does not say they expect it from the Lord, although he also bore flesh, but from the perfect and knowing one, who is diminished by time and by the body compared to the angels. I do not mean any wisdom other than knowledge; for life does not differ from life. For living is common by nature to the mortal, that is, to man, who is made worthy of immortality, a habit of both contemplation and self-control, differing from each other. In this, it seems to me that Pythagoras was wise in saying that God alone is wise (since even the Apostle writes in the Epistle to the Romans: "To the obedience of faith among all the nations, made known to the only wise God through Jesus Christ" )." But he himself, because of his friendship with God, is a philosopher. "He was discussing, then, with Moses," he says, "God, as a friend to a friend." What is true is clear to God, and immediately brings forth the truth; but the one who knows loves the truth. "Go," he says, "Go to the ant, you lazy one, and become a student of the bee, " Solomon says: For if each one had a single work according to its own nature, both the ox, and the horse, and the dog alike, what would we say about the work proper to a human being? It seems to me to be like a centaur, a Thessalian creature, made up of both rational and irrational parts, soul and body. But the body works the earth and hurries toward the earth; the soul, however, is turned toward God. Either by true philosophy educating it, it hastens to those above, relatives, having turned away from the desires of the body, along with their toil and fear. And yet we have shown that it is directed toward the good, endurance, and fear. For if "through the law comes knowledge of sin," as those who run through the law say, and "sin was in the world before the law;" but "sin is not counted where there is no law," We reply to them: For when you take away the cause of fear, which is sin, you take away the fear; and much more the punishment, when the natural desire goes away. "For the law is not laid upon the righteous," the Scripture says. Heraclitus said well, "They would not have known the name of justice, if these things did not exist." " But Socrates said, "Law would not come into being for the sake of good things." But the accusers did not even understand this, as the Apostle says, "Whoever loves his neighbor does no wrong." " For the commandments, "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this one word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Surely in this, "You shall love the Lord your God," he says, "with all your heart; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." " If indeed "the one who loves his neighbor does no wrong," and "all the law is summed up in this one commandment, to love your neighbor," The commands that raise up fear produce love, not hatred. Therefore, the law is not a source of fear born from passion. "Therefore, the law is holy" and indeed "it is spiritual," according to the Apostle. It is necessary then, it seems, for those who are busy with the nature of the body and the essence of the soul to grasp the purpose of each, and not to consider death as evil. "For when you were slaves to sin," the Apostle says, "you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit then did you have at that time, from the things you now feel ashamed of? For the end of those things is death; but now, having been set free from sin and having become slaves to God, you have your fruit for sanctification, and the end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." It is therefore at risk to show that the sharing of the soul in the body, being sinful, is death, but life is the separation from sin. Many are the marks and trenches of desire in the feet, and the pits of anger and rage, which one must leap over, and avoid entirely the counterattacks of the plots, no longer "through a mirror " to behold the knowledge of God.

For half of virtue is granted by wide-eyed Zeus

Man, if only he might seize it on a day of slavery.

"Slaves " are those "under sin" and "having acted according to sins," those who love pleasure and their bodies, the Scripture knows; and they are more like beasts than men, "compared to animals, effeminate horses, neighing at the neighbors." — "A brutal donkey" is the unchaste one; "a wild wolf," the greedy one; and "a serpent" the deceiver. Now, the separation of the body from the soul, which is considered throughout life, prepares for the philosopher a knowledge-based eagerness, making it easier to endure the death of nature, being the dissolution of the bonds of the soul toward the body. "For to me the world is crucified, and I to the world," he says; and he already lives, being in the flesh, as "one who lives in heaven."

Chapter 4

Praises of the Martyrdom.

Therefore, the one rightly called the knowledgeable one obeys easily, and to the one asking for the body he willingly gives it up, and by putting off these passions of the flesh, he does not insult the one who tempts him, but rather, I think, he disciplines and rebukes him,

From what kind of honor, and what length of happiness,

as Empedocles says, leaving here, he lives among mortals again [PG 8.24]. This one truly testifies, that to him being faithful and genuine toward God, and to the one tempting him, he has zealously resisted in vain the one faithful out of love; and to the Lord again, he shows divine obedience to the teaching, from which he will not depart out of fear of death; indeed, he also confirms the truth of the preaching by his actions, showing that it is possible to prove the God to whom he hastens. You would marvel at his love, which he clearly teaches, gladly uniting himself with the kindred, and yet also by his precious blood silencing the unbelievers. This one, then, avoids denying Christ out of fear because of the commandment, so that indeed he may become a witness through fear; yet he does not sell his faith for the hope of prepared rewards, but with love toward the Lord, he will gladly be freed from this life. Perhaps also thanks to the one who gave the cause for his departure from here, and to the one who planned the plot, having been known, taking a reasonable excuse, which he himself did not provide, he shows who he is—one who endures patiently, out of love for the Lord, through which he was shown to the Lord even before birth, knowing the choice of the one who bore witness. Therefore, having taken courage toward the beloved Lord, for whom he willingly gave his body, and also his soul, as the judges expected, he comes, saying, "Dear brother," Having heard poetically from our Savior, because of the likeness of life. Immediately, "completion" We call it the martyrdom, not because it is an "end" a man has received the end of life, like the others, but because it is a "perfect" It showed itself to be a perfect work of love; and the ancients among the Greeks also praised those who died in war, not advising violent death, but because the one who dies in war is free from fear of dying, having been cut off from the body, and not weakened in soul, nor softened as people suffer in diseases; for they are freed, becoming less feminine and eager for life. For this reason, they do not release the soul purely, but, like lead, carry their desires with them, unless some of these have become reasonable through virtue. There are also those who die in war with desires, and these differ in no way, even if they were wasting away from disease. If then the confession toward God is a testimony, every soul that lives purely with knowledge of God, having obeyed the commandments, is a witness both in life and in word, so that it may one day be freed from the body; like blood poured out for faith throughout life, and also offered at the departure. Immediately the Lord says in the Gospel, "Whoever leaves father, or mother, or brothers," and the following, "for the sake of the Gospel and for my name," blessed is this one; not showing a simple testimony, but a knowledgeable one, as one who has lived according to the rule of the Gospel, through love toward the Lord (for the knowledge of the name means knowledge of the name itself, and that of the "Gospel" understanding, but not mere bare address); to leave behind the worldly family, and also to leave behind all substance and possessions, in order to live without struggle. "Mother" The homeland and nurse are allegorized as mother, "fathers" "and the laws are the fathers, the political ones; these indeed must be gladly respected by the noble-minded just man, for the sake of becoming a friend of God and receiving the right-hand portions of sanctification, just as the apostles have also made certain." Then Heraclitus says: "The gods honor the brave, and so do men;" And Plato in the fifth book of the Republic" writes: "But of those who have died in military service, whoever has ended well and gained honor, shall we not first say that he belongs to the golden race? Of all, indeed, most of all." The golden race belongs to the gods, those who are in heaven and the unchanging sphere, who especially hold the leadership of providence over humans. Some of the heretics, having heard from the Lord, live impiously and cowardly, claiming that the knowledge of the truly existing God is true (which we also confess), but that he is a murderer of himself, and a tyrant, the one who confessed through death; and they bring other such cowardly sophistries into the discussion. To whom it will be said, whenever the time demands: for they differ from us concerning the beginnings. We also say that those who have jumped over death (for there are some not truly ours, only sharers of the name, who indeed hasten to hand themselves over, wretchedly killing themselves out of hatred toward the Creator) bring themselves out without witness, even if they are punished publicly. For they do not preserve the mark of the faithful martyr, not truly knowing God; but they give themselves over to an empty death, just like the Indian Gymnosophists to a vain fire. Since these false-named ones slander the body, let them learn that the body's good condition also contributes to the mind's natural intelligence. Therefore, in the third book of the "Republic" Plato said, whom those who blame origin most loudly call as witness, "to take care of the body" is necessary "for the sake of the soul's harmony," through which one both lives and lives rightly, proclaiming the message of truth; for by living and by health we proceed, we learn knowledge. But it is not possible to reach any height by chance without being prepared in the necessary things, and by means of them doing everything that contributes to knowledge; how then could one not choose this for living well? At least in living, living well is achieved; and the practice of bodily care leads to a lasting habit of good living.

Chapter 5

On the contempt of pain, poverty, and other external things.

It is worthy of admiration also from the Stoics, who say that the soul should not be disturbed by the body in any way, neither toward evil because of illness nor toward virtue because of health, but they say that both of these are indifferent. And yet Job, by his great self-control and outstanding faith, having become poor from being rich, dishonored from being honored, shameful from being beautiful, and sick from being healthy, is written down as a good example for us, groaning against the one who tested him, blessing the one who made him. Bearing the latter things just as he did the former, he teaches very well to all who face trials that it is possible to use knowledge rightly. And indeed, the Apostle shows that the old achievements are like images pointing to our own corrections, saying, "So that my chains," he says, "to become known in Christ throughout the whole praetorium and to all the rest, and that most of the brothers, trusting in the Lord, dare to speak the word of God more boldly and without fear because of my chains." Since even the sufferings are examples of turning back, gloriously sanctified. "For all that the Scripture says was written for our teaching, so that through the patience and encouragement of the Scriptures we may have hope of encouragement." It seems somehow, when pain is present, that the soul nods away from it, and considers the release from present suffering to be honorable. At that time, he neglects and grows lazy in learning, whenever the other virtues are also neglected. And certainly we do not say that virtue itself suffers; for virtue does not fall ill. But the one who has shared in both, virtue and illness, is pressed down by the urgent distress. And even if one who has not yet acquired the habit of self-control does not become arrogant, he is thrown into confusion, and it is found to be the same to flee as not to endure. The same argument applies to poverty; since it also forces the soul to be busy with necessities, I mean with contemplation and pure sinlessness, compelling it to focus on acquiring resources, not giving itself wholly to God out of love. Just as health and abundance of necessities protect the soul free and unhindered, and teach it to use present things well. "For, the Apostle says, those who belong to the flesh will experience tribulation. But I spare you; for I want you to be free from worry about what is proper and pleasing to the Lord without distraction." Therefore, one must endure these things not for their own sake, but for the body; and care for the body is taken because of the soul, to which the attention is directed. For in this, the one who lives wisely must learn what is proper; since it is agreed that pleasure itself is not good, because there are some pleasures that are bad. In this way, good appears as evil, and evil as good. Then, if we choose some pleasures and avoid others, not every pleasure is good. Similarly, the same applies to pains: some we endure, and others we avoid. Choice and avoidance are made according to knowledge; so knowledge is the good, not pleasure, through which there are times when we choose even what kind of pleasure. Immediately, the witness chooses pleasure through hope because of the present pain. If pain is understood as thirst, and pleasure as drinking, then pain becomes the cause of pleasure that existed before it; but evil would not become the cause of good. Therefore, neither is it evil. Simonides, then, just like Aristotle. "To be healthy is best for a man," he writes, "second, to become naturally beautiful; and third, to be wealthy without deceit. And Theognis of Megara:

One must flee poverty and the deep-sounding sea

To cast off, and from the rocks, Kyrne, down the sunlit slopes.

On the other hand, Antiphanes the comic poet says: "Wealth, when taken while looking at another, makes one blind." Immediately, among the poets, he is declared blind from birth;

And he who became a boy, who did not see the sun,

says the Chalcidian Euphorion;

Therefore, the training for manliness was harmful

Wealth is for humans, and also excessive luxury,

Euripides said this about Alexander. It is said, "Poverty gains wisdom, because it is related. But love of money would take not only Sparta, but every city." — "Therefore this is not the only currency, white silver or gold, but also virtue is for mortals," as Sophocles says.

Chapter 6

He sets forth several chapters of blessings.

Our holy Savior, both concerning spiritual and sensible things, arranged poverty, wealth, and things like these; for he said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake," He clearly teaches us in every situation to seek the witness; whoever, if he is poor because of righteousness, "bears witness " righteousness is good, the one he loved; "even if he is hungry, even if he is thirsty because of righteousness," he bears witness that righteousness is the best thing to have. Likewise, the one who weeps and the one who mourns because of righteousness bear witness that the best law is good. Therefore, just as "those who are persecuted," so also "those who hunger and those who thirst because of righteousness," he calls blessed, accepting the genuine longing, which not even hunger was able to stop. And even if "they hunger for righteousness itself, blessed are they. blessed are they" but also "the poor" whether "in spirit" whether in wealth, clearly because of righteousness. So is it not simply the poor who are blessed, but those who have chosen to become poor because of righteousness? These are the ones blessed, not those who are proud of the honors here as if they were possessions of good. Likewise, those who have become beautiful in character and body through purity, both the noble and the famous, those who have been led to adoption as children because of righteousness, and for this reason "having received the power to become children of God, and to walk over snakes and scorpions," and to rule over both demons and the "army of the Adversary." And in general, the Lord's exercise leads the soul of the body gladly, if it also by itself is separated through change. "For whoever loves his own soul will lose it; and whoever loses it will find it." If only we would put on the imperishable nature of God in place of our temporary one. The will of God, the knowledge of God, which is fellowship with incorruption. Therefore, the one who knows according to the word of repentance that a sinner will "lose the soul," the soul to sin, from which it has been torn away; "having lost" it, will find" according to obedience, which sought by faith, but died by sin. This, then, is to find the soul, to "know oneself." As for the turning back toward the divine, the Stoics say it happens by a change, the soul changing into wisdom; Plato, however, says it is "the soul's turning toward the better, and a turning from some kind of night into day." Immediately, the philosophers also allow a reasonable release to the diligent, if someone should keep to acting in such a way that no longer he loses even the hope of action. The judge who is forced to deny the beloved seems to me to argue against the friend of God, and not the. Here no comparison remains about what one would choose more, a human threat or the love of God; and somehow, the avoidance of evil deeds is found to be both a lessening and an extinguishing of evils, by removing their activity through inaction; and this means, "Sell what you have, and give to the poor; and come, follow me." That is, to follow what is said by the Lord. Some say that what he said refers to the things in the soul that are foreign; and how these can be distributed to the poor, they cannot say; but God distributes everything to all according to their worth, since the management is just. Having despised, then, the possessions which God distributes through your greatness, follow what is said by me, hastening toward the ascent of the spirit, not only justified by avoiding evils, but also perfected in the Lord's good works. Immediately he rebuked the one boasting that he had fully kept the commands of the law, because he had not loved his neighbor; for love promises kindness, which rules over the Sabbath as a spiritual restoration. It is necessary, I think, neither out of fear of punishment nor because of any promise of reward, but for the sake of the good itself, to have come to the saving word. Such people stand on the right side of the sanctuary; but those who think they can exchange the perishable for the imperishable through the giving of perishable things, in the "of the two brothers" parable of the "hired men" are called. And surely here the phrase "according to likeness and image" arises? so that some may share citizenship according to the likeness to the Savior, while others, standing on the right side, according to their image. There are three, then, from the truth, both resting on one root, but not of equal heresy, rather of unequal difference according to the heresy. I think the difference lies in choosing according to imitation rather than according to knowledge, like the difference between something heated by fire and something enlightened. The light, then, according to the likeness in Scripture, is Israel; the other is the image. What does the phrase "of Lazarus" mean?" What does the parable of Lazarus to the Lord mean, showing the image of a rich man and a poor man? What does it mean, "No one can serve two masters, God and mammon"?" the love of money thus named by the Lord. Immediately, those who love possessions are called to the invitation of the feast but do not come; not because they were invited, but because they are eagerly holding on to what they have gained. "Foxes, then, have dens;" He called those who spend their time around the miner and the digger, greedy men and natives, foxes. Likewise, concerning Herod: "Go," he said, "tell that fox: 'Behold, I cast out demons, and healings I perform today and tomorrow, and on the third day I am made complete.'" — "For birds of the air," the ones distinguished among the other birds in the sky, truly pure, those who fly toward the knowledge of the heavenly Word, he called them; for not only wealth and glory and marriage, but also poverty, brings countless worries to the one who does not bear them. And indeed, in the parable of the fourfold seed, he hinted at these worries: "the seed of the Word" saying, "the one sown among thorns" and falling among thorns and thickets, "to be choked" by them, and not to be able to bear fruit. It is necessary, then, to learn how to make use of each of the things that happen to us, so that through a well-lived knowledge we may be trained into a habit of eternal life. "I saw " For, he says, "the wicked one exalted and lifted himself up like the cedars of Lebanon; and they passed by," the Scripture says, "and behold, he was not; and I sought him, but his place was not found. Keep innocence, and see uprightness; for there is a heritage for a peaceful man." This one would be the person who truly believes with all his heart and calms every part of his soul: "For the other people honor with their lips, but their heart is far away from the Lord. With their mouth they bless, but with their heart they curse. They loved him with their mouth, and with their tongue they lied to him; but their heart was not straight with him, nor were they faithful to his covenant." Therefore, "let all deceitful lips become silent; and the boastful tongue, those who say, 'Our tongue is our pride, our lips belong to us; who is Lord over us?'"? Because of the suffering of the poor and the groaning of the needy, now I will rise up, says the Lord; I will place salvation, and I will speak boldly through it." For Christ is humble, not proud over his flock. "Do not store up" Therefore, "do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves dig through and steal," Perhaps the Lord is reproaching the lovers of possessions; perhaps also those who simply worry and care; and already those who love their bodies, too. For desires, and diseases, and evil thoughts, "dig through" the mind and the whole person; "the" actually is a "treasure" our treasure, where the kinship of the mind is; since the social aspect of justice hands over, showing that it is necessary to give back to the habit of the old way of life the things acquired by it from us, and to turn to God, asking for mercy. This is truly a "purse that does not grow old," a provision for eternal life, a treasure that never fails in heaven," because "I will have mercy on the merciful, whoever is merciful, I will have mercy on," says the Lord. They also say these things to those who want to become poor through righteousness; for they have heard through the commandment that "the broad and spacious road leads to destruction, and many are those who go through it." He is not speaking about anything else, but about debauchery and love of women, ambition, love of power, and similar passions; "Fool" For he said, "Fool, on this night they demand your soul; and what you have prepared, to whom will it belong?" And as for the commandment, it goes word for word like this: "Be on your guard " Therefore, "from all greed; because life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. For what does a person gain if they win the whole world," but loses their own soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for their soul? Therefore I say to you: Do not worry about your soul, what you will eat; nor about your body, what you will wear; for the soul is more than food, and the body more than clothing." And again: "For your Father knows that you need all these things." But seek "first the kingdom of heaven and righteousness;" For these things are "great;" but the "small," and concerning life, these "will be added to you." Does it not directly urge us to follow the spiritual life, encouraging us by deed and word to seek the truth? Therefore, Christ, who trains the soul, considers not the gift, but the intention to be rich. Zacchaeus, then, and some say Matthias, a chief tax collector, having heard the Lord, was deemed worthy to come to him, saying, "Behold, I give half of my possessions to the poor," saying, "Lord, and if I have wronged anyone, I repay four times as much." On this account, the Savior also said, "The Son of Man, having come today, has found the lost." Again, looking into the treasury, "the" μὲν "πλούσιον" according to his possession having put in, "the" but "the widow" two copper coins, "more" he said, "the widow has put in more than all." for he said, "from the surplus," but she from her need." has put in together. That he brought all things toward the training of the soul, "Blessed," he says, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." The meek are those who have calmed the unbelieving battle within the soul, the anger and desires, and the images subjected to these. He praises as meek those who are so by choice, not by necessity. "They are" For with the Lord, both the rewards and the "units are greater," according to the measure of lives. "For whoever receives," he says, "Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever receives a righteous person because he is righteous will receive a righteous person's reward; and whoever receives one of these little disciples will not lose his reward." Again, he shows the proper differences in virtue by noble rewards through hours that are not equal in number; and also to each of the workers an equal wage is given, that is, salvation, which "the denarius" is hinted at, which also reveals justice through those who work at the inappropriate hours. They will work, then, according to the single hours appropriate to them, for which they were deemed worthy, as coworkers in the ineffable management and service. "But those who seem to have been called to live more devoutly," Plato says, "These are the ones who on earth are both freed and released from these things, like prisoners, and above come to a pure dwelling;" He says the same thing more clearly in this way: "Of these very ones, those who have been sufficiently purified in philosophy live without bodies altogether for all time;" and yet they put on certain forms, some of them airy, and others fiery. He further adds: "And they come to even better dwellings than these, which it is neither easy to explain, nor is the present time sufficient to do so." Therefore, it is fitting: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted;" For those who have repented of the things in which they have lived badly, to "the calling" they will come; for this is the "being comforted." There are two ways of repenting: the more common is fear about what has been done, the other is a special distress of the soul toward itself from conscience. Whether then here, or elsewhere, (since no place is inactive for the good works of God,) he again says: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." Mercy is not, as some philosophers have supposed, sorrow over the misfortunes of others; rather, it is something more noble, as the prophets say: "Mercy" For, he says, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." He wishes for those who show mercy to be merciful not only in doing mercy, but also in wanting to show mercy, even if they are not able; for some have the power to act according to their choice. Sometimes we want to show mercy by giving money, or by physical effort, to help someone in need, or to assist a sick person, or to be present for someone in trouble; and yet we are not able, either because of poverty, or illness, or old age (for this is a natural illness), to serve according to our choice, which moves us, and so we fail to bring to completion what we intended. Those who are willing share the same honor as those who are able, since their intention is equal, even if others have more wealth. Since there are two paths leading to the completion of salvation, works and knowledge, he called "blessed those who are pure in heart, because they will see God." And if we truly consider the truth, knowledge is the cleansing of the ruling part of the soul, and it is a good activity. Good, then, are some things by themselves, and others by sharing in good things, like good actions, we say. But without the things in between, which indeed give order to matter, neither good nor bad actions exist—such as life and health, and the other necessary or accidental things. Therefore, he wants the ruling part to be pure according to bodily desires and holy thoughts that reach knowledge of God, whenever the ruling part has nothing false added to its own power. Therefore, when he spends time in contemplation, speaking purely with the divine, the one who participates knowingly in the holy nature becomes more firmly established in a state of passionlessness, so that he no longer has knowledge or understanding, but rather knowledge and understanding are. Blessed, then, are the peacemakers: those who have overcome the law with the mind of our reason, the threats of the spirit, and the allurements of desire, and the other passions that fight against reason, having tamed and brought them under control; those who, with knowledge, have lived a life of good works and true speech will be restored to sonship with the greatest favor. May there be perfect peacemaking, steadfastly preserving the "peaceful" in all that happens, unshaken," calling it a holy and good governance, established in the knowledge of divine and human matters, through which the oppositions in the world are considered the finest harmony of creation. "Peacemakers" and also those here fighting against the strategies of sin, teaching them to yield to faith and peace. Chapter 4, I think, the Lord teaches us all virtue, that it is necessary to despise death for the love of God more than knowledge: "Blessed," he says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for they shall be called sons of God." Or, as some of those who have rearranged the Gospels say, "Blessed," he says, "Blessed are those persecuted by righteousness, for they shall be perfect." And, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for my sake, for they will have a place where they will not be chased away." And, "You are blessed when people hate you, when they exclude you, when they cast out your name as evil, because of the Son of Man;" If we do not clearly detest those who persecute us, and if we endure the punishments from them without hating them even for a short time or expecting to be tested, but knowing that this too is a reason for witness, the temptation that comes from somewhere.

Chapter 7

Blessed are those who shed blood for the sake of God.

Then the one who has lied, and shown himself unfaithful, and having turned to the devil's army, in what, do we think, is he involved in evil? He therefore lies against the Lord, but even more, he denies his own hope, who does not believe in God; and he does not believe who does not do what he has been commanded. But what then? He who denies the Lord does not deny himself? For the master is not taken away from the lord, who also deprives himself of his relationship to him. He, then, who denies the Savior, denies life; for "the light was life." He does not call these people weak in faith, but unbelievers and hypocrites; the name is written down, but they deny being faithful. He is called faithful, and a servant, and a friend. So if anyone loves himself, he loves the Lord, and he confesses salvation, in order to save the soul. And indeed, even if you die for your neighbor out of love, consider the Savior as your neighbor ("For God is near," who saves, was said to the one being saved), choosing death for life, and suffering for yourself rather than for that one. And surely for this reason it was said, brother? He who suffers for love toward God, suffers salvation for himself; and he who dies for himself gains salvation, endures for the love of the Lord. For he himself said, "life" being, through whom he suffered, he wished to suffer, so that through his suffering we might live; "Why do you call me Lord, Lord," he says, "and do not do what I say?" For the people "loving with their lips, but having their heart far from the Lord," he is one thing, convinced of another; and willingly he has sold himself to this; but those who keep the commands of the Savior, with each action they "bear witness," doing what he wants, but then calling the Lord accordingly, and by their work "bearing witness" to whom they are convinced to belong, those who have crucified the flesh with its desires and passions. If we live by the spirit, let us also follow the spirit," he says. "He who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh; but he who sows to the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit." But to the wretched among men, death is the most violent thing. The Lord's testimony through blood seems to show that they do not know that such a gate of death is truly the beginning of life. And they do not want to understand either the honors given after death to those who have lived piously, or the punishments for those who have lived unjustly and wickedly. I do not say this only from our Scriptures (for almost all the commandments declare these things), but they also refuse to obey the words of their own people. For Theano the Pythagorean writes: "Truly, life was a feast for the wicked, for those who did evil, and then they die—if the soul were not immortal, death would be a ruin." " And Plato in Phaedo: "For if death were the complete release from everything," and what follows. Therefore, according to Aeschylus' Telephus, it is not to be thought that "a simple journey leads to Hades;" there are many paths, and sins lead away. Aristophanes, mocking the unbelievers, seems to call them wanderers: "Come on," he says, "men of dim life, like a generation of leaves, weak in strength, creatures of wax, a race like shadows, without courage, wingless, short-lived." And Epicharmus says: "This is the nature of humans, born like bags." But the Savior has told us: "The spirit is willing; but the flesh is weak;" because "the mind of the flesh is hostility toward God," The Apostle explains: "For the law of God is not subject to it; nor indeed can it be. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God." And further explaining, he adds, "so that no one, like Marcion, receives creation as evil without gratitude. But if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness." Again he says: "For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us. If indeed we suffer with him, so that we may also be glorified together, as co-heirs with Christ. But we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified. Do you see the testimony taught through love. And if you are willing to bear witness through the reward of good things, listen again: "For in hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what one already sees?" But if what we do not see, we hope for, through patience we wait for it. "But even if we suffer for righteousness, we are blessed," Peter says. "Do not fear their fear, nor be troubled; but honor the Lord Christ as holy in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; but do this with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, in whatever you speak, those who speak against your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil." And if someone speaks arrogantly and says, "And how is it possible for the weak flesh to stand against the powers, and the spirits of authority to resist?" But let him know this: that, trusting in the Almighty and the Lord, we oppose the rulers of darkness and death. "While you are still speaking, he says," he will say, "Behold, I am coming." Behold the unconquerable helper, the one defending us. "Do not be surprised, then," Peter says, "at the fiery trial that is happening to you as if something strange were happening to you. But rejoice as you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy at the revelation of his glory. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. As it is written, "For your sake we are killed all day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." But in all these things we overcome by the one who loved us.

What you need to learn from my mind, neither by cutting down, nor by setting terrible saws from the top of the head to the ends of the feet, would you be able to understand, not even if you were to attack all the bonds.

Without fear, a woman shows courage beside the tragedy. Antigone, too, despising the decree of Creon, boldly says:

For it was not Zeus who proclaimed these things to me; but God proclaims to us, and we must obey him: "For the heart trusts in righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made for salvation. The Scripture says indeed: Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." Therefore, Simonides rightly writes: "There is a saying, that virtue flows over hard-to-pass rocks; but now it follows swiftly a pure place; and it is not visible to the eyes of all mortals, to whom no biting sweat comes from within, reaching the height of courage." And Pindar: "The cares of youth, twisting with toil, find glory; and works shining with the sky shine with time." Taking up this idea, Aeschylus says:

… To the one who labors, help comes from the gods

The offspring of labor is glory.

"For greater fates receive greater shares," according to Heraclitus.

Who is a slave, being thoughtless about dying?

"For God did not give us a spirit of slavery again to fear, but of power, and love, and self-control; therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner," he writes to Timothy. And such a person would be "one who clings to what is good," according to the Apostle, "hating what is evil, holding to sincere love; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." And if God of hope is this one, to whom we bear witness, just as he is, then we confess our hope in him, eagerly striving toward hope. But the greatest, "filled with all knowledge," he says, are those of "goodness." The philosophers of the Indians say to Alexander the Macedonian: "Bodies indeed move from place to place, but you will not force our souls to do what we do not want. Fire is the greatest punishment for humans; we despise it." And from this Heraclitus chose one fame instead of all; but he admits that for the many it is necessary to yield, acknowledging that they are satisfied not like beasts.

For the many suffer because of the body;

For this reason we have found a sealed house,

To dig white silver, and to sow the earth.

But the other things, as many as we know by name,

For many, then, this is a chosen vanity; but the Apostle says to us: "Now we know that the old man of ours was crucified, so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and that we should no longer be slaves to sin." "Does not the Apostle plainly bring these things forward, showing the shame of faith before many?" "For I think God has shown us apostles last of all, as men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. Up to this very hour we hunger and thirst, we are naked, beaten, and unstable, and we toil with our own hands; being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being slandered, we appeal; we have become as the refuse of the world." Such things are also in Plato's Republic: "Even if the just man is twisted, even if his eyes are dug out, he will be happy." Therefore, the end of the Gnostic writing will never be about the soul, but about always being happy and blessed, and a royal friend of God; and even if someone covers this person with dishonor, and flees, and confiscates, and puts him to every death, he will never be torn away from the freedom and supreme love toward God, "which covers all things and endures all things." Love is rightly convinced to govern all things by divine providence. "Therefore I urge you: be imitators of me," he says. The first step of the body, then, is the teaching with fear, through which we abstain from injustice; the second is hope, through which we strive for better things; and love perfects, as is fitting, already disciplining in a Gnostic way. For Greeks, I do not know how, having been forced by necessity to accept irrational things that happen, unwillingly they agree. Euripides indeed says:

Therefore, whatever I advise, accept these things from me, woman;

No one was born who does not suffer among mortals;

He buries children, and sows other new ones,

He himself dies; and mortals are burdened by these things.

Then he brings forward;

… These things must

To cover, what must be according to nature; and it is necessary to complete

There is nothing terrible among the necessary things for mortals.

The knowledge of those who hasten toward perfection is this, whose foundation is the holy Trinity, "faith, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love." He does not neglect to say, "All things are lawful, but not all things are beneficial; all things are lawful, but not all things build up," as the Apostle says; and, "Let no one seek his own, but also the things of others," so that one may both do and teach together, building up and being built up. For it is confessed that "the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof," but the conscience of the weak is borne with. "By conscience I mean not one's own, but that of another; for why is my freedom judged by another's conscience? If I partake by grace, why do I blaspheme for the one for whom I give thanks? Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of the Lord." With these weapons the spiritual man is armed, saying, "O Lord, grant opportunity, and take demonstration; let this terrible thing go forth; I despise dangers because of my love toward you;"

Therefore, virtue alone among humans

Does not take hold from outward appearances;

It itself holds the prize of its own labors.

"Therefore, put on, as chosen of God, holy and beloved, tender mercies, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience; and above all these, love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were also called in one body. And be thankful," those still in the body, just like the ancient righteous, bearing the fruit of a calm soul and untroubled mind.

Chapter 8

In the church, women no less than men, and slaves along with free people, are candidates for martyrdom.

Since not only Aesopians, but also Macedonians and Laconians, though twisted, endured, as Eratosthenes says in his "On Goods and Evils":" But also Zeno of Elea, forced to say something of the unspeakable, endured the tortures without confessing anything; and when he died, biting off his tongue, he spat it at the tyrant whom some call Nearchus, others Demylus. Similarly, Theodotus the Pythagorean did the same, and Paul, the companion of Lakydus, as Timotheus of Pergamum says in "On the Courage of Philosophers," and Achaicus in the "Ethics." But also Postumus the Roman, having been captured by Peucetion, not only refused to reveal any of the hidden things, but also placed his hand on the fire, as if on bronze, and held it there without turning away at all, showing great firmness. For I am silent about the things of Anaxarchus, "Ptisse," "shouting out," the pouch of Anaxarchus; for you do not spit on Anaxarchus." When he was being nailed with iron shackles by the tyrant, he spat. Neither the hope of happiness nor the love toward God is troubled by what happens, but remains free; even if it falls to the wildest beasts, even if it falls to all-consuming fire, even if it is killed by tyrannical tortures, having been taken away from divine friendships, it roams free above, giving up the body to those who alone can hold it. A barbarian nation is said, not without experience of philosophy; they choose an elder each year to go to Zamolxis the hero. Zamolxis was one of the acquaintances of Pythagoras. Then the most approved one, having been chosen, is slaughtered, while those who have studied philosophy are rejected, not having been chosen, as if they have failed in their service to happiness. The whole Church, then, is full of those who have practiced a fiery death for Christ throughout their entire life, just like men, and also like modest women. For it is possible for anyone living among us to practice philosophy even without letters, whether he is a barbarian, or a Greek, or a slave, or an old man, or a child, or a woman; for self-control is common to all people who choose it. It is agreed that each one of us has the same nature by kind, and that the same virtue belongs to all. Therefore, the woman does not have a different nature from humanity, nor does the man appear to have a different one, but the same; and so also virtue. If the virtue of a man is surely self-control, and justice, and all those qualities thought to follow these, then they belong only to a virtuous man, but to a woman they belong to one who is unrestrained and unjust. But it is improper even to say this; therefore, self-control and justice, and all the other virtues, must be cared for equally by the woman and equally by the man, both free and slave; since it has happened that there is one and the same virtue for the same nature. Therefore, we do not say that the female has the same nature as the male, since she is female; for certainly there must be some difference belonging to each of them, which is why one became female and the other male. At least, we say that bearing and giving birth belong to the woman because she happens to be female, not simply because she is human. If there were no difference at all between man and woman, each of them would have done and suffered the same things. Since the soul is the same, virtue will come to it in the same way; but where there is a difference, according to the nature of the body, it will come to pregnancy and household management. "I want" For I want "you," The Apostle says, "I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of a woman is the man. For a man does not come from a woman, but a woman from a man." But neither is a woman without a man, nor a man without a woman in the Lord." Just as we say that a man should be sensible and stronger than pleasures, so too we should consider a woman to be sensible as well, and eager to fight against pleasures. "I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the desire of the flesh," The Apostolic command advises: "For the flesh desires against the Spirit, but the Spirit against the flesh. These things therefore oppose each other," not as evil against good, but as fighting for what is beneficial. It brings this about: "So that you do not do what you want," The works of the flesh are clear, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self-control, goodness, faith, gentleness." "Flesh," I think that sinners, as "spirit" has said the righteous." Yes, indeed, the quality of courage should be accepted as being close to boldness and patience, just like "to the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and to the one who takes your cloak, let him have your tunic as well." those who hold fast to anger strongly. For we do not train women in the warlike courage of the Amazons; rather, we want them to be peaceful even toward men. I hear, indeed, of Sauromatian women who take part in war no less than men; and other Saka women, who shoot arrows backward while pretending to flee, also against men. I know also the women near Iberia who use manly work and toil; and even when they give birth, they do not stop doing what must be done. But often, in the very struggle of their labors, the woman who has given birth, taking up the baby, carries it home. Already, at least, the women do no less than the men: they keep watch over the house, they hunt, and they guard the flocks.

A Cretan dog ran swiftly along the track of a deer.

Therefore, women must be taught in a way similar to men, even if men happen to be better at first in all things, unless they become soft. It is necessary, then, for the whole human race to have both education and virtue, if indeed they aim for happiness. And why does Euripides write so fittingly? Sometimes he says, "Every wife is worse than her husband, even if the strongest man marries a well-regarded woman." At other times, he says, "Every wise woman is a slave to her husband; but the unwise woman dominates her companion through folly."

… For it is neither better nor superior,

Than when two who think alike hold a household together

A man and a woman.…

The head, then, is the ruling part. If "the Lord is the head of the man, and the man is the head of the woman;" the man is the lord of the woman, being the image and glory of God. Therefore, in the letter to the Ephesians it says: "Be subject to one another in the fear of God. Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church, himself the savior of the body. But as the Church is subject to Christ, so also wives should be subject to their own husbands in everything." Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church; so also husbands owe love to their own wives, as to their own bodies. The one who loves his own wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh." Also in the letter to the Colossians, it says, "Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord." Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything; for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so that they may not become discouraged. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only when they are watching to please people, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. And whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for people, knowing that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. You serve the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong they have done, and there is no favoritism. Masters, provide what is just and fair to your slaves, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and in all." The earthly church is the image of the heavenly one; which is why we also pray, "Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Putting on tender mercies, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as Christ forgave us, so also we must forgive. Above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection; and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body. And be thankful." Nothing often prevents the same Scripture from being presented to shame Marcion, if he should somehow be changed by being convinced; one must learn to be grateful to the faithful Creator God, who called us and preached the gospel in the flesh. The unity from faith is clear to us from these things; and who is perfect has been shown. So even if some are unwilling and most resist, and punishments are raised against the man or the master, both the servant and the wife will act wisely. Yes, even a free man, if the death of a tyrant is threatened against him, if he is brought before courts, and drawn into the greatest dangers, and risks all his possessions, will not give up his piety in any way. Neither will he ever grow weary—the wife living with a worthless husband, the son if he has a worthless father, or the servant if he has an evil master—holding firmly to virtue with courage. But it is noble for a man to die for virtue, for freedom, and for himself; and so it is also for a woman. For this is not peculiar to the male nature, but to the nature of the good. Therefore, the elder, the young man, and the servant will live faithfully by obeying the commands, and if necessary, they will die—whatever it may be to be made alive through death. We know, then, that children, women, and servants have often become the best, even when fathers, masters, and men were unwilling. Therefore, those who are about to live piously should not be less eager, even when some seem to block them. But I think it is much more fitting to hurry and struggle especially, so that, not being defeated, they may overthrow the best and most necessary plans. For I do not think it is possible to compare which is better: to become a follower of the Almighty, or to choose the darkness of the demons. For the things done for the sake of others we would do each time, trying to look toward those for whose sake it seems we exist, considering this the measure of the grace given in them; but those things of theirs more than of others, these would happen to us with equal eagerness, whether they seem pleasing to some or not. If indeed some indifferent things have gained such honor that even against the will of some they seem to be chosen, virtue must be considered much more worth fighting for; not looking to anything else, but to that which can be done well, whether it seems so to some others or not. Epikouros Menokeis writes well: "Let no one, whether young or old, delay in loving philosophy; for no one is either too early or too late to be healthy in soul. The one who says that the time for philosophizing has not yet come or has already passed is like someone who says that the time for happiness has not yet come or is no longer present. Therefore, both the young and the old must philosophize; for the young, so that as they grow old they may grow in goodness because of the grace of what has happened, and for the old, so that they may be both young and old at the same time because of the fearlessness of what is to come."

Chapter 9

What Christ said about the benefits of martyrdom, he gathers together and explains.

About martyrdom, the Lord has spoken openly (and we will also bring together what is written in various ways): "I tell you, everyone who confesses me before people, the Son of Man will also confess before the angels of God in him." But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him before the angels. For whoever is ashamed of me, or of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father, with his angels. Therefore, everyone who confesses me before people, I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. But when they bring you before the synagogues, and the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry beforehand about how you will defend yourselves, or what you will say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you must say." Explaining this passage from Heracleon, the most respected of the Valentinian school, he says literally, "Confession is both that which is in faith and conduct, and that which is in voice." Confession in voice, then, takes place before the authorities. This alone, he says, most people consider to be confession; but this is not healthy. Even hypocrites are able to make this kind of confession. But this statement will not be found to be universally true; for not all who are saved have confessed by voice, and they have gone out. Among these are Matthew, Philip, Thomas, Levi, and many others. And the confession by voice is not universal, but partial. But the universal confession, which he now speaks of, is that in deeds and actions fitting to the faith in him. Following this confession is also the partial one, concerning authority, and if needed, the word chooses; for this one will confess rightly also with the voice, having first confessed with the disposition. And rightly concerning those who confess, "in me," he said; but concerning those who deny, the "me" he added. For these, even if they confess him with their voice, deny him by not confessing with their actions; only those confess him who live according to his confession and actions, in whom he himself also confesses, having taken them up, and being held by them. Therefore, "he can never deny himself;" But those who are not in him deny him; for he did not say, "Whoever denies in me," but, "me." For no one who is in him ever denies him. But the phrase "before men," and of those being saved, and also of the Gentiles alike, before whom some have even citizenship, and before others even a voice; therefore they are never able to deny him; but those who are not in him deny him." These things Heracleon said; and the rest seem to agree with us according to this passage; but he did not mention the point that even if some do not act, they have nevertheless "confessed Christ before men" in their life," but to confess by voice in courts, and not to deny even when being tortured to death, they seem to have believed from disposition. Disposition confessed, and especially one not turned away even by death, cuts off all sufferings, which indeed are born from bodily desire; for it is, so to speak, a full repentance according to action at the end of life, and a true confession to Christ, confirmed by the voice. If indeed the "Spirit of the Father" bears witness in us, how can there still be hypocrites, whom he said to bear witness by voice alone? And some will be given, if it is fitting, to make a defense, so that through both testimony and confession all may benefit, those within the Church being strengthened, and those from the nations, marveling and being led into faith, having sought salvation with much curiosity; but the rest, being seized with amazement. So it is necessary to confess by everyone; for it is upon us. But to make a defense is not for everyone; for this also is not upon us. "But the one who endures to the end will be saved;" Since who among those who think well would not choose to reign in God rather than to serve? "Therefore, they confess God" some "to know," according to the Apostle, "but by their works they deny him; being detestable and disobedient, and unfit for every good work." But those who even confess this alone have accomplished one thing: a good work to the end. Therefore, the testimony seems to be a cleansing of sins with glory. Immediately the Shepherd says: "You will escape the power of the wild beast if your heart becomes pure and blameless." But even the Lord himself said: "Satan has demanded you," He says, "to hand over; but I have refused." Therefore, the Lord alone, because of the people plotting against him and the cleansing of the unbelievers, "drank the cup;" imitating which the apostles, so that they might be true gnostics and perfect, suffered for the churches which they founded. So then, those who follow the apostolic path closely must be gnostics who are without sin, and love both the Lord and their neighbor out of love; so that, if the situation calls for it, they may drink the cup, enduring troubles without causing scandal, for the sake of the church." But those who in deed live beyond this life, and in word testify in court, whether expecting hope or enduring fear, are better than those who confess salvation with the mouth only. But if someone even goes beyond in love, truly that person is blessed and a genuine witness, having fully confessed both the commandments and God through the Lord; having loved him, he has recognized a brother, giving his whole self for God, as if gladly and lovingly returning a demanded person as a deposit.

Chapter 10

He severely rebukes those who offer themselves to judges.

But if he says again, "When they persecute you in this city, flee to another," he does not encourage fleeing as if persecution were evil, nor does he command avoiding it out of fear of death. Rather, he wants us to be guilty of no evil, neither solely nor jointly, toward anyone—neither to those persecuted nor to the persecutors and killers. For in some way, he indicates that one should stand firm. The one who disobeys is bold and reckless. If the one who kills sins against God by killing a "man of God," then the one who brings himself before the court is also guilty. This person would be the one who does not avoid persecution, exposing himself to capture through boldness. This person, as far as he is concerned, becomes a partner in the evil of the persecutor. And if he provokes, he is fully responsible, called the beast. And so, even if he provides a cause for battle, or loss, or lawsuit, or hatred, he has given a reason for persecution. Therefore, it is commanded that we resist no one in life, but also "to give to the one who takes your cloak your tunic as well." Not so that we remain helpless, but so that, not returning evil for evil, we do not make those who judge us harsh toward themselves, and through us stir up blasphemy against the name.

Chapter 11

He answers the objection: If your God cares for you, why do you suffer?

Yes, they say: If God cares for you, why are you persecuted and killed at all? Or does he himself hand you over to this? But we do not think that the Lord allows us to fall into these situations by his will. Rather, he has foretold prophetically what will happen, that because of his name we will be persecuted, killed, and plundered. So he did not want us to be persecuted, but he announced beforehand what we would suffer through the prophecy of what would happen, to train us in endurance, which he promised as our inheritance. And yet, we are not punished alone, but along with many others. But those, they say, being wicked, rightly deserve punishment. Therefore, unwillingly, they bear witness to our righteousness by being unjustly punished for righteousness' sake. But the injustice of the judge does not touch the providence; for the judge must be master of his own judgment, not a puppet of lifeless instruments of punishment, perhaps taking his motives only from an outside cause. At least, the one who judges is tested in what he judges, just as we are, both by the choice of those chosen and by endurance. And even if we do not do wrong, the judge takes his motive from how he is wronged; for he does not know what is about us, nor does he want to learn; he is carried away by empty prejudice; and so he is judged. They pursue us, not having caught us being unjust, but assuming that the Christian life itself is unjust, both living that way themselves and encouraging others to choose a similar life. But why are you not helped when you are persecuted? They say. For why should we be wronged against ourselves, being released to the Lord by death, and enduring a change of life just as a change of age? But if we think well, we will receive grace for those who have given the occasion of a quick departure, if we bear witness through love; but if not, we seem to most to be worthless men. But if they themselves also knew the truth, all would gladly follow the way; but there would be no choice. But indeed our faith is "light" being "of the world," convicts unbelief. "For Antitus and Melitus would indeed kill me, but they would not harm me at all; for I do not think it is right to suffer harm from the better rather than the worse." So each of us speaks with confidence: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what a man can do to me." For the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God; and no torment will touch them.

Chapter 12

Basilides' opinion, which considers martyrdom a kind of punishment, is refuted.

Basilides, in the twenty-third book of the "Explanations," concerning those punished through martyrdom, says these things in these words: "For I say that those who fall into the so-called afflictions, either having sinned in other hidden faults, are led to this by the good kindness of the one who governs, truly blaming one another, so that they do not suffer as condemned for acknowledged evils, nor are they insulted as the adulterer or the murderer, but because they have been made Christians; which will comfort them and make them seem not to suffer. And even if someone suffers without having sinned at all, it is rare, but even this person will not be persuaded by any plot of power; rather, he will be persuaded that even the child who seems not to have sinned has suffered." Then going further, he adds again: "Just as the child has not sinned before, nor actively sinned at all in himself, but the one who has the capacity to sin, when subjected to suffering, is benefited and gains many hard-won advantages; so also, even if a perfect person has not sinned in deed, but happens to suffer and endure afflictions, he has experienced the same thing as the child in a similar way: having the sinfulness within himself, but not having taken the occasion to sin, he has not sinned. Therefore, it must not be counted against him that he did not sin. For just as one who wants to commit adultery is an adulterer, even if he does not succeed in committing adultery; and one who wants to commit murder is a murderer, even if he is not able to kill; so too, the sinless person I speak of, if I see him suffering, even if he has done no wrong, I will say that it is wrong to want to sin. For I will say everything rather than say that it is wrong to intend." Then going on, and speaking about the Lord directly, as about a man, he says: "But if, leaving out all these words, you come to speak badly of me, because of certain people, if it happens, saying, 'So-and-so sinned; so-and-so suffered;' if you allow it, I will say: He did not sin, but he was like a suffering child; but if you force the matter more strongly, I will say: A man, whatever name you give him, is a man, but God is just; "For no one is pure," just as someone said, "from filth." But the case concerning Basil says that the soul, having sinned beforehand in another life, endures punishment here, the one chosen suffering punishment through martyrdom, but the other being cleansed by its own punishment. And how is this true, since it depends on us to confess and be punished, or not? For the providence according to Basil is undone in the case of one who denies it. I will ask him then about the one who has been held as a confessor: whether he will suffer martyrdom and punishment according to providence, or not? For the one who denies will not be punished; but if he says that, according to providence, the loss of those who deny is both the outcome and that they should not be punished, he will unwillingly bear witness as well. But how can a reward still be laid up in heaven for the one who has suffered martyrdom because of having suffered martyrdom? But if providence did not allow the sinner to come to sin, it becomes unjust on both sides: both for the one being dragged into punishment through righteousness without being saved, and for the one willing to do wrong being saved; for the one who acted through what he wished, and for the one who prevented the deed and did not justly punish the sinner. [PG 8.69]. But how can he not be godless, who honors the devil yet dares to call a sinful man Lord? For the devil tests us, knowing who we are but not knowing if we will endure, and wanting to separate us from faith, he tests us to lead us away to himself. This is the only thing allowed to him, because we must be saved from ourselves, having received motives from the commandment, because of the shame of the one who tested and failed, because of the strengthening of those in the Church, and because of the conscience of those who have admired the endurance. But if martyrdom is a repayment through punishment, and faith and teaching are the reasons for the martyrdom, then these are partners in punishment. What greater proof could there be? But concerning those doctrines, whether the soul is reincarnated, and about the devil, it will be said at the proper times; now let us add these things to what has been said: Where then is the faith, as a repayment for the sins committed before the martyrdom occurs? But where is the love toward God, persecuted and enduring because of the truth? But where is the praise of the one who confesses, or the blame of the one who denies? But what use is right conduct, to kill desires, and to hate none of the created things? But if, as Basilides himself says, we have taken one part of what is called the will of God, "to love all," because they keep reason toward the whole of everything; but another [part], "to desire nothing;" and a third, "to hate not even one," there will be will of God and punishments; which is impious to think. For neither did the Lord suffer by the will of the Father, nor are those persecuted persecuted by the will of God; since one of two things must be true: either persecution will be good because of the will of God, or those who arrange and cause suffering are innocent. But indeed nothing happens without the will of the Lord of all. It remains then to say briefly that such things happen not without the permission of God; for this alone preserves both the providence and the goodness of God. Therefore, it should not be thought that he causes the sufferings; (for that would not be the right idea!) but rather that he does not prevent those who cause them, and that he is to be trusted and used for good against the boldness of the enemies. "I will surely break down the wall," he says, "and it will become a place to trample on; " There is a providence of this kind of disciplinary art; in the case of others, it is because of each one's own sins, but in the case of the Lord and the apostles, it is because of our own. Immediately the divine Apostle said: "For this is the will of God," he says, "This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to acquire his own vessel in sanctity and honor, not in the passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know the Lord; that you do not go beyond or take advantage of your brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger concerning all these things; just as we told you before, and solemnly warned you." For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in sanctification. Therefore, the one who rejects does not reject a human, but God, who also gives his holy Spirit to you." Therefore, the Lord was not prevented from suffering for our sanctification. If then, one of them defending himself says that the witness is punished because of the sins before this union with the body, but that the fruit of the life lived according to this way will be lost again; for so the order of governance has been arranged; we will learn from him whether the reward is given by forethought. For if the divine governance did not exist, the plan of purifications would fail, and their case would be lost; but if the purifications are by forethought, then the punishments are also by forethought. Forethought, although it seems to begin moving from the ruler, is implanted together with the essences and with the generation of the essences from the God of all. Since things are so, it is necessary to admit either that the punishment is not unjust, and that those who condemn and persecute the witnesses act justly; or that the persecutions also happen by the will of God. No longer then does pain and fear, as they themselves say, come upon things like poison on iron, but it comes to the soul from its own will. And concerning these matters there is much to say, which they will consider later at the proper time.

Chapter 13

He refutes the lamentations of Valentinus on the abolition of death.

Valentinus, in a certain discourse, writes word for word: "From the beginning you are immortal, and children of eternal life; and you wished to share death among yourselves, so that you might spend it and consume it, and that death might die in you, and through you. For whenever you destroy the world, but you yourselves are not destroyed, you rule over all creation and all decay." For a race that is preserved by nature is assumed, and it is naturally akin to the King; but from above to us this different race has indeed come, to bring about the removal of death; and the origin of death is the work of the one who created the world. Therefore, the Scripture receives that saying in this way: "No one will see the face of God and live." as the cause of death. About this God, he hints at those things, writing with these words: "The image of the living face is so much less, the world of the living Age is so much weaker." What then is the cause of the image? The greatness of the face, having been given form by the painter, so that it might be honored through its name; for the shape was not truly found, but the name filled what was lacking in the image. The invisible nature of God also works together to bring faith to the formed image;" For the creator, called God and Father, is "the image of the true God," and "Prophet" he said to him: "painter" but the Wisdom, whose creature is the image, he painted for the glory of the invisible; since whatever comes from union is fullness, but whatever comes from one is images. Since what appears is not his, the soul coming from the middle is the difference; and this is the breath of the differing spirit, and in general, it is breathed into the soul, which is the image of the spirit; and in general, the things said about the Creator, who was made according to the image, these they say were foretold in the image's sensible part at the time of birth concerning the generation of man; and indeed they transfer the likeness to themselves, giving over to the Creator the unknown fact that the differing spirit's breath was placed within. Whenever, then, we discuss the oneness of God, who is proclaimed through the law, the prophets, and the Gospel, we will explain and speak about this; for the word is original, but the urgent matter must be answered. If the differing kind comes to abolish death, then Christ did not abolish death, unless he is also said to be of the same substance with them; but if he abolished it to prevent touching the differing kind, then these opponents of the Creator, who breathe the life from above into their own image of the soul from the middle, according to the heresy of the doctrine, do not abolish death. And even if they say this happens through the mother, or even if they say that death is conquered together with Christ, they admit the hidden doctrine, daring to claim the divine power of the Creator runs through his creation, trying to restore it as stronger, attempting to save the soul's image, which he himself was not able to rescue from corruption. And may the Lord also be better than the Creator God; for the Son would never quarrel with the Father, and these things happen among gods. But that this one is the Father of the Son, the Creator of all things, the almighty Lord, we turn our attention to those matters on which we promised to debate against the heresies, showing that he alone is the one proclaimed by him. But the Apostle writes to us about endurance in suffering: "And this," he says, "is from God, that you were given the grace not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him; having the same struggle, as you see in me, and now hear in me." If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, fulfill my joy by thinking the same thing, having the same love, being united in spirit, and thinking as one. But if he rejoices and shares joy in the sacrifice and the service of faith," To whom the word of the Apostle is addressed, the Philippians, "partners in grace " of good things, how to be "of one mind" with them" and united in spirit, he says? Similarly, writing about Timothy and himself, he says, "For I have no one who is genuinely of the same mind, who will sincerely care for your interests. For all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ." Therefore, do not [call them] "natural" The ones mentioned before, as well as the Phrygians, call us "natural" in a reproachful way; for even these now call those who do not pay attention to the new prophecy "natural." They call them "natural," against whom, in the work "On Prophecy," we will argue. Therefore, one must practice perfect love, and from there hasten toward divine friendship, fulfilling the commandments through love. To love one's enemies does not mean to love evil, nor impiety, nor adultery, nor theft, but it means not to regard the thief, the impious person, and the adulterer as sinners by their sin and action, which defile the name of a person as a human being and as a work of God. Sinning lies in the action, not in the being; therefore, it is not a work of God. The sinners have been called enemies of God, indeed enemies of the commandments, which they have not obeyed, becoming like friends those who have obeyed—some through closeness, others through separation—having been called by choice. For neither enmity nor sin exists without the enemy and the sinner; and "to desire nothing," not as if the desires belong to others, teaches not to have longing, just as those who claim that the Creator is another besides the first God assert; nor as if the origin is hateful and evil (for these opinions are atheistic); "foreign" but we say that the things of the world are not strange, nor are they not from God, the Lord of all, but because we do not remain in them forever; they are foreign possessions, existing in succession; each of us has our own use for them, through which they came into being; except insofar as it is necessary for us to be present with them. Therefore, according to natural desire, those who are restrained must use it well, giving up all excess and passion.

Chapter 14

On the love of all, even enemies.

How great is kindness? "Love your enemies," he says; "bless those who curse you; and pray for those who mistreat you," and similar things; to which he adds: "So that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven," hinting at the likeness to God. Again he says: "Be quick to settle with your opponent while you are with him on the way." The opponent is not the body, as some want, but the devil and those like him, the one who "accompanies" us through people who envy his works in this earthly life.

Therefore, it is not possible for those who confess themselves to be of Christ, but who become involved in the works of the devil, not to suffer hostility. For it is written: "Lest the judge deliver you to the officer," the judge being the servant of the devil's authority. "For I am convinced that neither death," the one who brings harm to persecutors; "nor life," this present life; "nor angels," the fallen ones; "nor rulers," the rulers belonging to Satan, the life he has chosen; for such are the authorities and powers of darkness; "nor things present," in which we live according to the time of life, like a soldier's hope or a merchant's profit; "nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature," by its own power opposing the faith of the one who chooses; "creature" is also used synonymously with power or activity, being our work. Such power "will not be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

You have here the summary of a knowledgeable witness.

Chapter 15

On avoiding scandal.

"We know that we all have knowledge," the common knowledge shared among all, and that there is one God, for he sent [his message] to the faithful; hence it says, "But knowledge is not in all," but it is given only to a few. There are some who say that the knowledge about food offered to idols is not held by all, "lest our freedom become a stumbling block to the weak; for the weak is destroyed by your knowledge." And if they say, "Everything sold in the market must be bought," following the custom, adding, "Without questioning anything," and likewise those who question will offer a ridiculous explanation; for the Apostle says, "Buy everything else sold in the market without questioning anything," by way of taking away what is shown according to the catholic epistle of all the apostles, "together with the good pleasure of the holy Spirit," which is written in the Acts of the Apostles, and was delivered to the believers through the ministry of Paul; for they declared, "It is necessary to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality; by keeping themselves from these, they will do well." Another thing, then, is what is said by the Apostle: "Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to lead about a sister as a wife, just as the other apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas do? But we have not used this right, he says, but we endure all things so that we do not cause any obstacle to the gospel of Christ;" Or carrying burdens, we must be gentle toward all; or becoming an example to those who want to practice self-control, not being built up by eating what is offered unpleasantly, and speaking with a woman as it happens; especially those convinced by such discipline ought to be an example to learners by living a pure life. "For being free from all, I made myself a slave to all," he says, "so that I might win over all. And everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. But the earth belongs to the Lord, and all that fills it. Because of the conscience" Therefore, one must forgive those things which must be forgiven. "By conscience I mean not one's own;" for it is a knowing one; but that of the other, so that one does not build badly, imitating ignorance in what one does not know, becoming a despiser instead of a magnanimous person. "For why is my freedom judged by another's conscience? If I share by grace, why do I speak evil about what I give thanks for? So then, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God;" Whatever is permitted under the rule of faith to be done.

Chapter 16

Certain passages of Scripture illustrate the steadfastness, patience, and love of the martyrs.

"With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation." The Scripture says indeed, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame;" that is the word of faith which we preach: that if you confess with your mouth the word that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." It directly confirms perfect righteousness, fulfilled both in deed and in vision. "Therefore, those who persecute must be blessed." Bless, and do not curse; for this is our boast, the testimony of our conscience, that we have known God in holiness and sincerity;" by this small pretext showing the work of love, that "we did not walk in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God in the world." These things concerning knowledge the Apostle says; but the common teaching of faith is "the fragrance of knowledge" he said in the second letter to the Corinthians. "For until this day the same veil remains over the reading of the Old Testament for many," not being uncovered because of the turning to the Lord. Therefore, he also showed the resurrection to those who were able to see, while still living in the flesh and crawling on the belly. From there also "offspring of vipers" he called such people, those who love pleasure, who serve the belly and shameful desires, and who cut off the heads of one another because of worldly desires. "Little children, let us not love in word or with the tongue," John teaching to be perfect, "but in deed and truth; in this we shall know that we are from the truth." For "God is love," Love and piety, "there is no fear in love; but perfect love drives out fear. This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." Again, it is written to the one who desires to become knowledgeable, "But be an example to the believers, in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." For I think that the perfection of faith is distinguished from common faith. And indeed the divine Apostle sets forth the rule for the knowledgeable by means of so many things, writing this: "For I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be self-sufficient; I know both how to be humble, and I know also how to abound. In everything and in all things I have been instructed, both to be full and to hunger, and to abound and to suffer need; I can do all things through the one who strengthens me." And this, too, when speaking to others with a warning, he does not hesitate to say: "Remember the earlier days, when, having been enlightened, you endured a great struggle of sufferings, some of which you faced as spectators of insults and troubles, and others having become sharers in those who lived in such ways. For you also suffered with my chains, and you accepted the loss of your possessions with joy; knowing that you have for yourselves a better and lasting possession. Therefore, do not lose your boldness, which has a great reward; for you need endurance, so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise. For a little while longer, the one who is coming will come, and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of faith to the preservation of the soul." soul. Then it presents to you a swarm of divine examples. "For is it not by faith," he says, "through endurance those who were tested by mockings and whippings succeeded, even more so through chains and imprisonment? They were stoned, they were tested, they died by the sword's murder; they wandered in skins of goats and sheep, lacking necessities, suffering, mistreated—people the world was not worthy of; they wandered in deserts, and mountains, and caves, and in the holes of the earth. And all, having been witnessed through faith, did not receive the promise of God;" It remains to understand what is said by way of silence, "only." He at least brings this: "Concerning us, something better has been promised by God," (for it was good;) "so that they might not be perfected without us. Therefore, we too, having such a great cloud surrounding us," a holy and well-known "cloud of witnesses, laying aside every weight and the easily entangling sin, let us run with endurance the race set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Since then he speaks of one salvation in Christ for the righteous and for us, he has clearly said this before; but no less, speaking also about Moses, he adds: "Considering the greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, the reproach of Christ; for he looked ahead to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king; for he endured as if seeing the invisible one." Divine Wisdom speaks about the witnesses: "They seemed to die in the eyes of fools, and their departure was considered harm, and their leaving us was destruction; but they are at peace. For even if they are punished in the sight of people, their hope is full of immortality." Then it adds, teaching that martyrdom is a glorious purification: "And after a little discipline, they will receive great blessings; for God tested them." That is, he allowed them to be tested as a trial and silence for the one testing them: "and he found them worthy of himself, to be called sons." Clearly. "Like gold in a furnace he tested them, and as a full harvest of sacrifice he accepted them; and in the time of their oversight they will shine forth, and like sparks they will run among the reeds; they will judge nations, and they will rule peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever."

Chapter 17

He brings a citation from the letter of St. Clement to the Corinthians, relating to the argument of the preceding chapter.

Indeed, in the letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Clement, also giving us a kind of example of the Gnostic, says: "For who, having sojourned with you, has not tested your all-holy and firm faith and found it genuine? and has not admired your wise and gentle godliness in Christ? and has not proclaimed the magnificent spirit of your hospitality? and has not blessed your complete and sure knowledge? For you do everything without partiality, and you walk in the laws of God;" and the following things. Then more clearly, "Let us look closely at those who have fully served him with majestic glory. Let us take Enoch, who, found righteous in obedience, was taken away; and Noah, who was saved by faith; and Abraham, who through faith and hospitality is called "friend of God", " He was called the father of Isaac. Through hospitality and piety, Lot was saved from Sodom; through faith and hospitality, Rahab the prostitute was saved; through endurance and faith, they walked around in goat skins, with belts and camel hair nets, proclaiming the kingdom of Christ. We speak of Elijah and Elisha, and also Ezekiel and John, the prophets. For the one called "friend of God" because of faith, Abraham was not lifted up by glory; but he spoke modestly, saying, "I am dust and ashes." About Job it is written this way: "But Job was righteous and blameless, true and God-fearing, turning away from all evil." This one, having conquered the tempter through patience, and having both testified and been testified to by God; who endures humility, "and says: No one is pure from defilement, not even if his life lasts but one day." Moses, "the faithful servant in all his house," to the one speaking from the burning bush said: "Who am I, that you send me? But I am weak of voice and slow of speech," to serve as the voice of the Lord through a human tongue. And again: "But I am a vapor from a pot". For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." "Yes indeed, and David, about whom the Lord testifies, says: "I have found a man after my own heart, David, son of Jesse; with holy oil I have anointed him." But he himself also says to God: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy; and according to the abundance of your compassion, erase my wrongdoing. Wash me thoroughly from my lawlessness, and cleanse me from my sin; for I know my lawlessness, and my sin is always before me." Then, hinting at the sin that does not fall under the Law, showing moderate knowledge, he brings forward: "To you alone I have sinned, and I have done evil in your sight." "For the Scripture says somewhere: 'The Spirit of the Lord is a lamp, searching the innermost parts of the womb.'"." And the more someone acts righteously and becomes more knowledgeable, the more carefully the illuminating Spirit watches over that person. "Thus the Lord draws near to the righteous, and nothing is hidden from him of the thoughts and intentions we have; I mean the Lord Jesus," the one who, by his almighty will, is the overseer of our hearts; "whose blood was sanctified for us". Let us then respect those who came before us, and honor the elders; let us value the young, and nurture the teaching of God." Blessed is the one who teaches and does the things of the Lord properly; for it is a sign of noble mind and of a contemplative understanding of the truth. Let us correct our women toward what is good; let them show the lovable character of purity; let their will show the integrity of gentleness; let the kindness of their speech be made clear through silence; let them make clear their love, not showing favoritism, but giving equal respect to all who fear God. Let our children share in the education in Christ; let them learn what humility has power before God, what pure love can do before God, and how the fear of the Lord is good and great, saving all who live in him with holiness in a pure heart. For he is a searcher of thoughts and intentions; his breath is in us, and whenever he wishes, he takes it away. All these things are confirmed by faith in Christ. "Come, children," The Lord says: "Listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, who loves to see good days?" Then the mystery of the seventh and eighth day brings a knowledge: "Stop your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit; turn away from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it." For it hints at knowledge through these things, teaching that one is made perfect by both refraining from evils and by doing good, through deed and word alike. "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to wipe out their memory from the earth. The Lord cried out and listened, and delivered him from all his troubles. For many are the punishments of the sinners; but mercy will surround those who hope in the Lord." He says that the one who truly hopes is surrounded by abundant mercy; for, as it is written in the "letter to the Corinthians," it is written, "Through Jesus Christ our foolish and darkened mind blossoms into the light". Because of this, the Master of immortal knowledge willed that we should taste." Making clearer even the special nature of knowledge, he added: "Since these things are clearly shown to us, and we have been brought down into the depths of divine knowledge, we owe it to arrange all things that the Master commanded to be done, according to the appointed times". Let the wise man then show his wisdom, not only in words, but also in good works. Let the humble person be testified, not by himself, but by being testified by another; let the one pure in body not be boastful, knowing that the one who grants him self-control is someone else. See, brothers, how much more knowledge we have been made worthy of, to that same extent we are exposed to greater danger."

Chapter 18

On love and restraining desires.

"Our reverent and pure conduct of love for mankind, according to Clement, seeks what is for the common good," whether it bears witness, or also corrects by deed and word; by these two means, both unwritten and written. This is love, to love God and neighbor; "this leads up to an unspeakable height; "Love covers a multitude of sins;" Love endures all things, is patient with all; love joins us to God, does all things in harmony; in love all the chosen of God were perfected; without love nothing is pleasing to God; of this perfection there is no explanation, he says. Who is able to be found in it, except those whom God himself deems worthy?" Immediately the apostle Paul: "If I give my body to be burned," he says, "but if I do not have love, I am only a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal." If I do not testify from a chosen disposition through knowledgeable love, he says, and if I expect a reward with fear, applauding with my lips as a testimony to the Lord, I would confess the Lord, but I am a common man, merely sounding the Lord, not knowing him. For there is also the people who love with their lips; there is also another who gives over the body to be burned. "And if I give away all my possessions," he says, not according to the word of loving fellowship, but according to that of repayment either from the person benefited or from the promised Lord: "And if I have all faith, enough to move mountains," and to cast away the passions that darken the mind; not "through love, but" I am not anything, if I am not trusted in the Lord, "not through love, but if I have faith in the Lord, I am nothing," as compared to the one who bears witness with knowledge to the full, and considering the nothing to make no difference. "All the generations from Adam until this very day have passed away; but those perfected in love according to the grace of God have a place among the devout, who will be revealed in the oversight of the kingdom of Christ. Love does not allow sin; but if one should fall unwillingly into such a situation because of the slips caused by the Opponent, imitating David, he sings: "I will confess to the Lord, and it pleases him more than a young calf, bearing horns and hooves." Let the poor see, and let them rejoice." For he says: "Offer to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Lord, and call on me in the day of your trouble, and I will deliver you, and you will honor me." For a broken spirit is a sacrifice to God." "Love" Therefore, "God" It is said, being good; whose "love does not do harm to the neighbor," neither wronging nor ever seeking revenge; but doing good to all simply according to the image of God. "Love is therefore the fulfillment of the law," just as Christ, that is, the presence of the Lord who loves us, and our teaching and conduct according to Christ's love. Love, then, perfects not committing adultery and not desiring what belongs to one's neighbor, first restrained by fear. The same action has a difference, either done through fear or completed through love, and either carried out through faith or even knowingly. Naturally, then, the differences of these things have been prepared for the one who knows, "what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man." But to the one who has simply believed, it bears witness "a hundredfold." Of which there remains, the promise has come to fall into the understanding of men. Here, having come upon it, I remembered someone claiming to be a gnostic himself. For explaining the saying, "But I say: Whoever looks at a woman with desire has already committed adultery," He did not think that mere desire should be judged, but only if, in desire, the act corresponding to it goes beyond desire itself and is fully carried out; for either the dream already cooperates with the imagination and with the body. Those who compiled the histories say that Bokchoridas the Just gave this judgment: A young man in love persuades a courtesan, for a certain agreed wage, to bring a girl to him the next day. When the dream of desire came before the girl, having been satisfied beyond hope, he stopped the beloved from entering at the appointed time. But she, learning what had happened, demanded the wage, saying that in this way she had somehow fulfilled the desire of the lover. So they came before the judge. The judge ordered the young man to offer the payment, and at noon he commanded the courtesan to take the shadow; charmingly ordering the image to give the payment to the image's counterpart. Someone dreams, with the imagination of the soul agreeing; but the one who dreams looks toward desire. Not only, as the so-called Gnostic said, if at the same time with the sight of the woman he grasps the idea of union; for this is already the work of desire, as desire. But if someone looks at the beauty of the body, the Word says, and the flesh seems beautiful to him according to desire, having seen it bodily and sinfully, through this he is judged and amazed. On the other hand, the one who looks upon beauty through pure love does not regard the flesh, but the soul as beautiful. The body, I think, is admired like a statue, through which he himself refers to the craftsman and the truly beautiful. Showing the bright mark of righteousness to those angels who stand by during the ascent is a holy symbol —I mean the anointing of favor, the quality of the disposition resting in the soul, matured by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The people were not able to look at the glory that shone on the face of Moses; therefore, a veil covered the glory for those who look with a fleshly mind. For those who demand the goal are held back by their own burdensome passions, which come from some of the worldly things they cling to; but the one who is stripped of what falls short of the goal, yet full of knowledge and righteousness from works, praying together, they send on, blessing the man along with his work: "And his leaf shall not wither," of the living tree, the one "by the channels of the waters" nourished; and the righteous is compared to fruit-bearing trees, not only those according to the sacrifice of the threshing floors. There were also among the offerings of sacrifices according to the law the inspectors of the priests' faults. The experts in these matters distinguish desire as appetite; and they classify the one toward pleasures and excess, which is irrational, while the appetite for what is naturally necessary has a rational movement.

Chapter 19

Both women and men are capable of attaining perfection, as is confirmed by the examples of heroines among foreigners.

It is also possible for both a man and a woman to share in this perfection. Certainly, it was not only Moses who heard from God: "I have spoken to you once and twice, saying: I have seen this people, and behold, they are stubborn; let me destroy them, and I will wipe out their name from under heaven, and I will make you into a great and marvelous nation, much more than this;" He answers, pleading, not looking to his own interest, but to the common salvation: "By no means, Lord; forgive the sin of this people, or erase me also from the book of the living." As much as the perfection of the one who wished to die together with the people, or to be saved alone? But also Judith, perfected among women, when the city was under siege, having prayed to the elders, goes out against the camp of the foreigners, despising all danger for the sake of her country, giving herself over to the enemies in faith in God. And she immediately receives the reward of faith, excelling as a woman against the enemy of faith, becoming mistress of Holofernes' head. Again, the perfect in faith Esther, saving Israel from tyrannical power and the cruelty of the satrap," the only woman, troubled by fasting, stood firm against countless armed foes, breaking the tyrant's plan through faith. And indeed, she subdued the one and stopped Haman, and she preserved Israel unharmed through perfect prayer to God. For I am silent about Susanna and Moses' sister, since the one joined forces with the prophet, being the chief among all the wise and well-regarded women among the Hebrews; and the other, showing great holiness even to death, condemned by unchaste lovers, remained a clear witness of purity. Indeed, the philosopher Dion tells the story of a certain woman named Lysidice, who, out of extreme modesty, would wash herself in her tunic; and Philotera, whenever she was about to enter the bath, would quietly fold up her tunic, as the water covered her nakedness; then, after a little while, as she came out again, she would put it back on. Did not the Attic woman Leaina also endure tortures bravely, having learned about the plot against Hipparchus by Harmodius and Aristogeiton? She did not say anything at all, twisting her words very skillfully. They say that the Argive women, led by Telesilla the poetess, showed the brave Spartans as enemies only to turn them to flight, and that these women took care to make death seem less shameful. The same thing is said by the author of the "Danaid." Having composed the "Danaid" about the daughters of Danaus, he says this:

And then quickly the daughters of Danaus armed themselves

Before the lord of the well-flowing river Nile.

and the following passages. The rest of the poets sing of Atalanta's swiftness in the hunt, and of Anticlea's loving care, and of Alcestis' devoted love, and of Macaria's, and of the courage of the Hyacinthides. What then? Is it not true that Theano, the Pythagorean, reached such a level of philosophy that, in response to one who was asking too curiously and speaking, she said, "The forearm is beautiful"?" "But not public," to answer. Of the same dignity is that saying: for when asked, "What kind of woman goes from her husband to the Thesmophoria festival? From her own [house] and immediately," she said, "But from another's never at any time." Indeed, Themistō, the wife of Zōilos, from Lampsakos, the wife of Leontēs of Lampsakos, studied Epicurean philosophy, just like Myia, the daughter of Theanos, studied Pythagorean philosophy; and Arignōtē, who wrote about Dionysius; for all the daughters of Diodōros, called Kronos, became dialecticians, as Philo the dialectician says in the "Menexenus," whose names are listed as follows: Menexene, Argeia, Theognis, Artemisia, Pantakleia. I also remember a certain Cynic named Hipparchia, a woman from Marōnē, the wife of Kratēs, under whom the Cynic weddings were held in the Poikile. Arete, the daughter of Aristippus, a Cyrenean woman, educated Aristippus, who was called Metrodidaktos. Lastheneia the Arcadian and Axiothea the Phliasian also studied philosophy under Plato; for Aspasia of Miletus, about whom the comic poets write many things, Socrates led her to philosophy, while Pericles led her to rhetoric. I therefore refer to the others because of the length of the speech, without listing the poets, Corinna and Telesilla, Myia and Sappho; or the painters, such as Irene, daughter of Cratinus, and Anaxandra, daughter of Nealkus, as Didymus says in Symposiacs. The daughter of Cleobulus, the wise ruler of the Lindians, did not consider it proper to wash the feet of foreign guests; for even Sarah, the blessed wife of Abraham, herself the one who kept the "secrets," prepared the angels; and royal daughters among the Hebrews tended the sheep; hence also Nausicaa in Homer went to the washing places. Therefore, the sensible woman would choose, first of all, to persuade her husband to share with her the things that lead to happiness; but if this is not possible, she should hurry alone toward virtue, obeying her husband in everything so that she never does anything against his will, except for those things that are considered to lead to virtue and salvation. But even if someone were to prevent such a disposition from arising sincerely, whether a wife or even a servant, it seems that the person acting in this way is doing nothing else but choosing to lead the household away from justice and self-control, while at the same time preparing it to be unjust and unrestrained. It is therefore impossible for a man or a woman to become wise in anything without learning, practice, and exercise; and we say that virtue belongs to no others more than to us. One can resist other things by fighting against them; but what depends on us cannot be resisted at all, nor can it be taken away especially; for it is a gift from God, and it does not fall to anyone else. Therefore, licentiousness would not be thought to be an evil caused by anything else than the one who acts licentiously, and self-control is a good belonging to the one who is able to be self-controlled.

Chapter 20

He describes the duty of a well-behaved wife.

Euripides describes a loving husband with dignity, advising:

… To bless

when she says something, she must seem to speak, even if she does not speak,

… And to be weary,

If one is about to speak kindly to the companion.

And again, perhaps, similar things to these;

… It is pleasant, if evil

To do something, to frown upon one's wife, to share in common both sorrow and pleasure.

Then gently and lovingly to show this somehow, and even in misfortunes, to bring it about;

But for you, I will endure suffering along with you even when you are ill,

And I will share in your troubles.

And;

… It is nothing to me

Bitter: for it is right to succeed with friends.

For what else is a friend but this?

"Marriage is indeed sanctified" and completed according to the "Word", if the union falls under God, and is managed with "a true heart in the fullness of faith, with hearts purified from a guilty conscience, and bodies washed with pure water, and holding the confession of hope; for the one who promised is faithful." One must never judge a happy marriage by wealth or beauty, but by virtue.

… No

says the tragedy,

Beauty brought profit to a husband as a companion,

Virtue brought many benefits; for every good woman

Who is joined to a husband knows how to be sensible.

Then, as if giving advice, he says:

First of all, this is true, even if the husband is ugly,

One must think him beautiful to the mind that is possessed.

For it is not the eye that judges, but the mind;

and the things related to these. For indeed the Scripture especially calls it a "helper" It said that the woman was given to the man by God. It is clear, I think, that each of the troubles that come to the man in marriage should be treated with reason and willingly addressed with persuasion. But if he does not obey, then he will be tested, as far as it is possible by human nature to live a blameless life, whether he must die with reason or live; considering God to be a partner and sharer in such an action, truly a helper and savior, both for the present and for the future; making him the general and leader of every action, thinking that this work is of prudence and justice, and that it achieves a god-pleasing end. It is indeed charming that in the Epistle to Titus, the Apostle says that the "older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not enslaved to much wine, so that they may train the young women to be loving to their husbands, loving their children, sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, submissive to their own husbands; so that the word of God may not be blasphemed." Rather," He says, "Pursue peace with all, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Watch carefully that no one is a fornicator or profane, like Esau, who for one meal sold his birthright; and that no root of bitterness, growing up, troubles you, and through it many become defiled." Then, as if adding a climax to the matter of marriage, he says: "Marriage is honorable in all, and the marriage bed undefiled; but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers." Indeed, Peter speaks of one goal and one end for a man and a woman who are bound together, the perfect one, in the Epistle: "Just a little while ago, if necessary, you were grieved by various trials, so that the tested quality of your faith—much more precious than gold that perishes though tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Whom you have not seen, you love; in whom, though now you do not see him, you believe and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." Therefore Paul also boasts because of Christ that he has been "in more labors, in many more beatings, in many deaths often."

Chapter 21

He describes the perfect or truly spiritual person.

Here I find the perfect one understood in many ways according to the virtue achieved in each case. One is perfected, then, as reverent, and as patient, and as self-controlled, and as a worker, and as a witness, and as one who knows; but altogether perfect I do not know if any of men, still being a man, except only the one who put on a human for our sake, although according to the law he was without blemish. Who then would be perfect? Who then is perfect?

It is the one who promises to avoid evils; and this is the way both according to the Gospel and according to good works. But the perfection of the legalist is the knowledgeable acceptance of the Gospel, so that he may become perfect according to the law; for this is what Moses, the legalist, foresaw—that it is necessary to hear, so that according to the Apostle we may receive the fullness of the law in Christ. In the Gospel, the knowledgeable one already progresses, not relying only on the law, but also understanding it and realizing that the Lord, who gave the Covenants, handed it over to the Apostles. And even if he were to live rightly, (as it is therefore impossible for knowledge to follow through with difficulty;) having most rightly confessed as a witness for these things, he would become through love, receiving a greater reward as among men; yet even so, he would not be called perfect in the flesh. Since the completion of life has already taken this title beforehand, when the perfect work of the knowledgeable witness has arrived to be shown and presented chiefly through thankful knowledgeable love of the blood, with the spirit sent forth; blessed from there he would be, and declared perfect in justice, "so that the surpassing power may be of God, and not from us," as the Apostle says: let us preserve only the voluntary and love; "in everything we are troubled, but not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." For it is necessary for those who strive for completion, according to the same Apostle, "to give no cause for offense in anything, but in everything to present themselves, not to men, but to God." Let obedience to men be a consequence as well; for this is reasonable, because of the harmful blasphemies that affect them. But the endurance is "with much patience," in tribulations, in necessities, in hardships, in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in sleepless nights, in fastings, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love, in the word of truth, in the power of God, so that we may be the temples of God, cleansed from every defilement of flesh and spirit. And I, he says, will receive you, and I will be to you a father, and you will be to me sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. We then complete, he says, holiness with the fear of God." For even if fear produces sorrow, "I rejoice," I say, "not because you were grieved, but because you were gently affected toward repentance. For you were grieved according to God, so that you would suffer no loss from us. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation without regret; but worldly sorrow produces death. Behold, this very godly sorrow you felt has worked in you such earnestness? But a defense, but indignation, but fear, but longing, but zeal, but revenge; in all things you proved yourselves to be pure in the matter." These are the preliminary exercises of spiritual knowledge. Since the almighty God himself "gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all reach the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;" We must eagerly strive to grow in spiritual maturity and be perfected, especially while still living in the flesh, by practicing perfect unity from here on, so as to work together with the will of God toward the restoration of truly perfect nobility and kinship in "the fullness of Christ," the one from "perfecting" completely perfected. Now we clearly see where and how and when the divine Apostle calls the "perfect one" he says, and how he shows the differences of the perfect ones. Again, it says: To each one is given the revelation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith in the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing in the same Spirit, to another workings of power, to another prophecy, to another discernment of spirits, to another kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these things are done by one and the same Spirit, distributing to each one individually as he wills." Since these things are so, the prophets are perfect in prophecy, the righteous in righteousness, and the martyrs in confession; others are perfect in preaching, not without participation in the common virtues, but fulfilling what they were appointed to. For who, thinking well, would say that the prophet is not righteous? For what reason? For why not also the righteous, just as Abraham prophesied?

For to one God gave works of war,

To another, a dancer; to another, a lyre and song,

Homer says, "But each one has his own gift from God; one in this way, another in that way." And the apostles are filled with all of them. You will find, if you want, from their deeds and writings knowledge, life, preaching, righteousness, purity, and prophecy. It must be known, however, that even though Paul is young in years, he flourished immediately after the Lord's ascension; yet the scripture is attached to him from the Old Testament, breathing and speaking from there. For faith in Christ and knowledge of the gospel is an explanation and fulfillment of the law. And for this reason it is said to the Hebrews: "If you do not believe, you will not understand"; that is, if you do not believe in the one prophesied through the law and established by the law, you will not understand the Old Testament covenant, which he explained according to his own presence.

Chapter 22

Perfect, or truly spiritual, is to do duty neither from fear of punishment nor hope of reward, but from the sole contemplation of what is good and beautiful.

The one who is truly understanding and discerning is the spiritual person. His work is not simply the avoidance of evils [for this is indeed the greatest step forward ], nor is it doing some good out of fear; for it is written: "Where shall I flee, and where shall I hide myself from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there; if I go away to the farthest parts of the sea, there is your right hand; if I go down into the depths, there is your spirit;" But not even through the hope of promised honor; for it is said: "Behold the Lord, and his reward is before his face, to give to each according to his works; things which no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, which God has prepared for those who love him;" Only good works done through love, for that very good, are acceptable to the one who knows. Immediately it is said from the face of God to the Lord, "Ask from me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance;" Teaching to ask for the most royal request, the salvation of people, without pay, so that indeed we may inherit and possess the Lord. For again, because of some need, to desire this to happen to me, and that not to happen, concerning the knowledge about God, is not proper for one who truly knows; for knowledge itself is the cause of contemplation. For I would dare to say that the one who pursues divine knowledge through it does not choose knowledge in order to be saved; for understanding grows from practice into constant understanding; and this constant understanding becomes the very being of the knower, an unbroken mixture by nature, and remains an eternal contemplation, a living reality. If someone were to propose hypothetically to the knower whether he would choose the knowledge of God or eternal salvation—if these were separate things, rather than existing together—without any hesitation at all, he would choose the knowledge of God, judging it to be desirable because it is the return of faith through love into the special state of knowledge. This, then, is the first good deed of the perfect person, when it is not done because of some need pressing upon those striving toward him. Since he judges that doing good is beautiful, the energy carried out intensely in all actions becomes good; not depending on this or that, but standing in a state of kindness, doing good neither for praise, nor, as the philosophers say, for fame; neither for reward from people nor from God, but living life according to the image and likeness of the Lord. And if somehow something opposes the one doing good, he will accept the opposition as a good reward, without holding a grudge, based on "to the just and the unjust." [PG 8.99] " Becoming just and good. To such people the Lord says: "Be perfect, as your Father is perfect." In this, the flesh has died. But he himself lives alone, having dedicated the tomb as a holy temple to the Lord, returning the old sinful soul to God. This one is no longer self-controlled, but has become in a state of passionlessness; waiting to put on the divine form. "If you do," he says, "Let no one know if you give alms. And if you fast, anoint yourself, so that God alone may know," and not a single person among men. But not even the one who shows mercy himself, because he shows mercy, ought not to know; for it will be that sometimes he is compassionate, and at other times not. But if he does the good deed out of habit, he will imitate the nature of a good person; and the disposition and nature will also be a kind of training. It is not necessary for those who have been freed to be changed, but for those who are walking to arrive where they ought. For this is "to be drawn by the Father," through all "the narrow" passing through "the way," It is fitting to receive the power of grace from God, to run without hindrance; and even if some hate the chosen one, he knows their ignorance, pitying their opinion born of foolishness. Therefore, this knowledge rightly loves, and it both teaches and disciplines all creation that is ignorant; to honor the almighty God. If someone has learned to love God, this person will never lose virtue, neither in reality, nor in a dream, nor even in any imagination; since the habit never departs from itself, falling away from being a habit. Whether knowledge is called a habit or a disposition; for the ruling part remains unchanged, never allowing different thoughts to enter, nor taking on any foreign imaginations, like the dreamlike idolatries that come from daily movements. For this reason, the Lord also said, "Stay awake." He commands us to be watchful, so that our soul never suffers even in a dream; and he also orders us to keep the conduct of the night, as if it were active in the day, pure and unstained. For this is the likeness according to power to God, to keep the mind in the same relation. This is the relation of mind to mind; but the varied disposition comes from the effort directed toward material things. ᾟ μοι δοκοῦσιν "εὐφρόνην" They seem to me to have called it "the night"; " because then the soul, having rested from the senses, agrees with itself, and more fully shares in "understanding." For this reason, the rites also take place mostly at night, indicating the soul's withdrawal from the body during the night. "Then let us not sleep like the others, but let us watch and be sober; for those who sleep do so at night, and those who get drunk do so at night. But we, being of the day, should be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of the hope of salvation." As for what they say about sleep, the same must be understood about death; for each shows the soul's departure, one more clearly, the other less so. This is also found in Heraclitus: "A man, in his right mind, touches light when he has died, extinguished; but while living, he touches a dead man sleeping, extinguished in his sight; awake, he touches one who is sleeping." Blessed indeed are those who know the Lord," according to the Apostle: "For it is time for you to wake up from sleep; now salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. The night has passed, and the day has come. Let us then put aside the works of darkness; and let us put on the armor of light. The day" But the Son is also allegorized as light; and the commands are called "weapons of light," figuratively. They say that those who are washed must go to the sacred rites and prayers pure and bright; and this is meant as a symbol, both to be adorned outwardly and to be purified. Purity is to think in a holy way; and indeed, this would be the image of baptism, and it is given by Moses to the priests in this way:

The one being washed, having clothes clean on the skin;

Penelope comes to the prayer;

… And Telemachus,

Washing his hands with gray salt, he prays to Athena;

This is the custom of the Jews, just as often at the bed,

It is also said that they are baptized often at the bed. Indeed, that too has been well spoken;

"Be pure not by bath, but by mind."

Purity, I think, is perfect when it comes to the mind, and also to actions and thoughts; and sincerity in words is related to this, and finally, sinlessness in dreams is the last stage. I think that repentance, which is exact and sure, is enough cleansing for a person; if, having judged themselves for past actions, they go forward, "after these things understanding," and lifting up the mind again from both the pleasures of the senses and past faults. If indeed one must define knowledge by its true meaning, and from the "stance" its application must be taken; that it is the soul's standing in matters, previously carried in different ways at different times; so also faith must be defined as the soul's standing concerning what is real. We always desire to learn what is always and in all things just; one who, neither fearing punishment from the law, nor revering the ill will of those present and coming against the wrongdoers, nor enduring the danger from those being wronged, remains just; for the one who avoids doing wrong not willingly but out of fear is not truly good, but good out of fear. And Epicurus says, "to want to do wrong for some gain" He says that the wise man according to him is "for one cannot have trust concerning what is hidden." So if he is persuaded to lose, according to him, he will do wrong. And these are the obscure teachings; but even if someone holds on to the hope of a reward from God for the just, he will not willingly act kindly in wrongdoing. For just as fear controls the former, so the reward of justice controls the latter, and it shows that it is better to seem just. Not only those who follow barbarian wisdom know the hope after death—good people have a good hope, and the wicked the opposite—but also the Pythagoreans; for they too promised hope to those who philosophize. Indeed, Socrates says in Phaedo, "With good hope, the noble souls depart from here." and again, blaming the wicked, he opposes them: "For they live with bad hope," saying. Heraclitus also seems to agree with this, saying in his conversation about humans:" People remain after death with nothing to hope for, nor do they think. Therefore, Paul directly commands the Romans in a divine way: "Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope; and hope does not put to shame," For through hope, endurance looks forward to what is coming. Hope is used in the same way for both the hope itself and the fulfillment and restoration of that hope; which also "does not put to shame," not being put to shame any longer. But he who obeys the simple call, just as he is called, does not act out of fear or pleasure toward knowledge; for he does not consider whether some useful gain or enjoyment comes to him from outside. Drawn by love for the truly real, and led toward what is right, he reveres God. Therefore, even if he were to receive authority from God to do what is forbidden, and be unpunished, and even if he were promised the reward of the blessed goods for these things, and even if he were persuaded that he would receive God by doing them (which is impossible), he would never wish to act against the right reason, choosing the truly good and desirable from himself, and by this alone choosing to be beloved. For we have understood that what is good does not come from the appetite of the stomach. That one has heard that food will not sustain us, nor marriage, nor even abstaining from marriage in ignorance, but the work of knowledge according to virtue; since even the dog, an irrational animal, is said to be self-controlled, fearing the raised stick, and because of this avoiding the blow. Know well that when the promised pledge is taken away, the threatened fear is removed, and the expected danger is separated, the intention is tested.

Chapter 23

For this reason, when things are complete, one should abstain as much as possible from pleasant sensations, namely for the sake of contemplating better things.

For it is not natural to the thing itself, as truly to grasp it knowingly, that all things made for our use are good; such as marriage and childbearing, taken with moderation. But it is better for the likeness to God to become free from passion and virtuous. They avoid the outward things that are pleasant or unpleasant; some do, others do not. But even those from which they abstain, being disgusted by them, seem to slander creation and the Creator. And even if they live according to appearances faithfully, their judgment remains impious. But the command, "You shall not desire," does not require necessity born of fear, which forces one to avoid pleasures, nor reward, which by promise persuades one to restrain desires. Nor do those who obey because of the command choose obedience, but those who obey because of the promise choose it, drawn by the lure of pleasure. Nor does the turning away from the sensible things necessarily lead to a natural connection with the intelligible things; on the contrary, the natural connection with the intelligible things comes as a movement of the mind from the sensible things, by the choice of the good taken knowingly, marveling at the origin, and sanctifying the maker; and sanctifying the likeness to God.

But I would say, "I will release myself from desire," because of my connection to you, Lord. For the created order is indeed good, and everything is governed well; nothing happens without reason.

I must be in your presence, Almighty; and even if I am here, I am with you. I want to be without shame, so that I may be able to come near you, to be content with little, studying your just choice of the good from among the similar things. Most mysteriously and most reverently, the Apostle teaches us the truly grateful choice, not by rejecting the others as worthless, but by making the good things better. He made this clear by saying: "So the one who marries his virgin does well; and the one who does not marry does better, in order to be proper and pleasing to the Lord without distraction." We know that some things are difficult to understand but not necessary; however, the necessary things have been made easy to obtain by God, who loves what is good. Therefore Democritus rightly says that "nature and teaching are similar." And we have briefly explained the cause; for teaching rearranges the person, and by rearranging, it makes them natural. It has brought nothing about except either to be formed by nature in this way or to be reshaped over time and through learning. Both have been provided by the Lord: the one according to creation, the other according to the formation and renewal from the Covenant. What benefits the master is more desirable; and the mind is the most masterful of all. Therefore, true goodness seems sweetest to this one, and from it he obtains the fruit he desires, the stability of the soul. "But whoever listens to me," he says, "will rest in peace, trusting, and will be calm without fear from all harm." Be confident with all your heart and your mind in God." In this way, it is possible for the one who knows to already become God. "I said, 'You are gods and sons of the Most High.'"

Empedocles also says that the souls of the wise become gods, writing something like this:

And finally, both prophets, and hymn-singers, and healers,

And they are leaders among earthly men;

From there the gods, most excellent in honor, grow anew.

This man, then, is simply formed according to the idea of the innate spirit; for he is not made without form, nor misshapen, in the workshop of nature, where the birth of a human is secretly completed, being common both to art and to substance; but the man who is shaped according to the pattern given to the soul is marked by whatever qualities he chooses. We say that Adam was perfect as to his formation; for nothing that defines the idea and shape of a human was lacking in him. But the perfection he was receiving in becoming, and by obedience was justified, this was being taken away—the thing lying upon him. The cause was his choice, and even more so the hindrance of his choice; God is without blame. For there are two kinds of birth: that of those born, and that of those made. And the courage of a man, when he is passionate, they say makes the one who has it fearless and unconquerable by nature; and the spirit is the mind's companion in patience, endurance, and similar qualities. But self-control and saving wisdom are placed under desire. God is without passion, without spirit, and without desire. And he is not fearless in the way that avoids dangers; nor is he prudent in the way that rules over desires. For the nature of God would neither fall into any danger, nor would God flee out of fear; just as he would not desire, so that he might also rule over desire. Secretly, then, the Pythagorean teaching was also said about us, "that man must become one." Since even the high priest himself is one, because God is one according to the unchanging nature of the eternal." The good things are a habit. Immediately the Savior, through desire, also destroys the spirit, desire being a punishment; for the passive is generally a kind of desire for every kind. Looking toward impassibility, a person becomes pure, unique. Just as those in the sea, pulled by the anchor, drag the anchor but do not pull it toward themselves, instead they bring themselves toward the anchor; so those who, according to the spiritual life, pull God have unknowingly brought themselves closer to God; for the one who serves God serves himself. In the contemplative life, then, a person takes care of himself, worshiping God, and through his own sincere purification, he watches the holy God in holiness; for self-control, when it comes to attention, constantly observing and watching itself, becomes like God in power.

Chapter 24

On the nature and purpose of punishments inflicted by God.

Certainly, what is under our control, over which we are also masters and rulers, is whether we philosophize or not, and whether we believe or disbelieve. Because we are also masters over each of these choices, what is under our control is found to be possible. And indeed, the commandments are such that they can be followed or not followed by us, with praise or blame rightly following; and those who are punished do so because of the sins they have committed—they punish themselves alone; for what has happened has passed, and what has happened could never be undone. Therefore, the Lord forgives those sins committed before faith, not so that they never happened, but as if they had not happened. However, Basil says that not all sins are forgiven, but only those that are involuntary and done in ignorance; just as a certain man, but not God, grants such a great gift. The Scripture says this about that: "You thought, lawless one, that I would be like you." But even when we are punished for voluntary sins, it is not so that they might not have happened, but because they did happen, that we are punished. Punishment does not help the sinner not to have sinned, but to sin no longer, and also that no one else fall into similar sins. Here then the good God disciplines for three reasons: first, so that the one being disciplined may become better than before; second, so that those who can be saved through examples may be warned beforehand by correction; and third, so that the one who is wronged is not despised and is fit to be wronged. There are two kinds of correction: the one is teaching, the other is punishment, which we have also called discipline. It must be understood, however, that those who fall into sins after baptism are the ones being disciplined; for the sins committed before are forgiven, but those committed afterward are cleansed away. About the unbelievers it is said, "Consider them as chaff, which the wind blows away from the face of the earth, and a drop from a bucket."

Chapter 25

True perfection lies in the knowledge and love of God.

"Blessed is the one who has gained knowledge from history, who is neither led astray by the opinions of citizens, nor driven to unjust actions, but who, looking upon the immortal, unaging order of nature, sees where it began, where it is, and how it is, and such a person never applies themselves to shameful deeds."

Therefore, it is fitting that Plato also says, "The God who contemplates the ideas is said to live among men; mind is the realm of ideas; and God is mind." He spoke of the invisible God as a contemplative god living among men. And in the "Sophist", Socrates called the Eleatic stranger, a dialectician, "god": "like the gods who resemble strangers to foreigners, visiting the cities. For when the soul, having descended from birth, is by itself and communes with the ideas; like the one who is the chief in the "Theaetetus"; like an angel already made, he will be with Christ, being contemplative, always observing the will of God, truly

Such a wise person, while others rush about like shadows. For the dead bury their own dead. Therefore Jeremiah says: "I will fill her with the dead of the earthborn, whom my wrath has struck." God, being beyond proof, is not knowable by science; but the Son is both wisdom, and knowledge, and truth, and all other things related to these. And indeed he has both proof and a way out; and all the powers of the Spirit, taken together as one thing, work toward the same goal, the Son; but the idea of each of his powers is in the infinitive form. And indeed the Son does not become one as if by artless unity, nor many as if parts, but as all things in one; hence also all things; for the circle is the same of all the powers, being gathered into one and united. For this reason, "Alpha and Omega" the Word has been said: whose end alone becomes the beginning, and again finishes at the above beginning, taking no separation anywhere. Therefore, to believe in him and through him is the only way to be made, united inseparably in him; but to disbelieve is to hesitate, to separate, and to be divided. "For this reason the Lord says these things: 'Every son who is foreign-born, uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh—that is, unclean in body and spirit—will not enter into the holy places among the foreigners in the midst of the house of Israel, but only the Levites.'". Foreign-born" He has said those who wished not to believe, but rather chose to disbelieve. Therefore, only those priests who live purely are truly of God. For this reason, among all the tribes that were circumcised, those anointed as high priests, kings, and prophets were considered holier. Therefore, he commands them not to touch the dead, nor to enter places occupied by them; not because the body is unclean, but because of sin and disobedience, and because the flesh is carnal, lifeless, and for this reason detestable. Therefore, the priest is allowed to enter only when the father, mother, son, or daughter has died; because these are the only relatives by flesh and seed. From them, the priest has received the close reason for passing into life. They are also purified after seven days, during which their formation is completed; for on the seventh day rest is observed; and on the eighth day "atonement is offered." As it is written in Ezekiel, during which atonement is to receive the promise. Perfect, I think, is the cleansing that comes through the law and the prophets toward the gracious faith of the Gospel, and the purity through complete obedience, along with the laying aside of worldly things for the thankful return of the soul from enjoyment to the dwelling place. Whether then the time is restored through the seven periods counted toward the ultimate rest; or the seven heavens, which some count by their order of ascent; or even the fixed region, which is said to be the eighth, approaching the intelligible world—still, the gnostic must say that it is necessary to go back beneath birth and sin. At any rate, on the seven days the sacrifices are offered for sins; for there is still care for change; and the seventh day touches the cycle. Job the righteous, "He himself," says, "Naked I came out from my mother's womb, naked I will also go back there;" without possessions naked; for this is both small and common; but as a righteous one, he goes naked of both evil and sin, and of the following ever-living idol to those who live unjustly; for this was the saying: "Unless you turn and become like children, pure in the flesh and holy in the soul, abstaining from evil deeds, showing that he wishes us to be such as those born from the womb of water; for birth, following birth, wishes to make us immortal by progress; "But the lamp of the ungodly will be extinguished." Yes indeed, the purity both of body and soul, which the knowledgeable and all-wise Moses desires, having fittingly used repetition, revealed clearly, describing the incorruption of both body and soul upon Rebecca in this way: "And the virgin was beautiful; a man did not know her." Rebecca is interpreted as "Glory of God." The glory of God is incorruptibility. This is true righteousness, not to take advantage of another, but to be a whole, holy temple of the Lord. Righteousness, then, is peace of life and stability, by which the Lord released, saying: "Go in peace." Salem means peace; of which our Savior is called king, whom Moses says, "Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who brings out bread and wine." giving the consecrated food as a symbol of thanksgiving. And indeed Melchizedek is interpreted as "righteous king;" and it is a synonym for righteousness and peace. Basileides is the person, and righteousness and her daughter peace are understood to remain arranged in the eighth day. Therefore, one must move from the more natural things to the clearer ethical ones; for the discussion about those will follow after the practical work with the hands. Therefore, the Savior himself initiates us simply according to the tragedy;

Seeing those who see, and he gives mysteries.

And if he learns,

These are the mysteries if you have any knowledge of them; listen again,

Unutterable, not to be known by the Bacchantes to mortals.

And if someone is very curious about what it is, let him listen again;

It is not right for you to hear; but it is worthy to know;

Practicing impiety, he angers the rage of God.

God is without beginning, the origin of all things, complete, the cause of the beginning. What then is substance? It is the origin of the creative place; as far as it is good, it is the origin of the moral; and where there is mind, it is the place of reason and judgment; from which also the only teacher, the only one of the highest pure Father, who educates man, comes.

Chapter 26

How the truly perfect person uses the body and worldly things.

Then those who run after creation and blame the body do so without reason; they do not see that the design of the human is rightly made for the view of heaven, and that the organs of the senses are made to help knowledge, and that the limbs and parts are arranged for what is good, not for pleasure. Therefore, this dwelling place of the soul, most precious to God, becomes capable of receiving the Holy Spirit according to the sanctification of both soul and body, being perfected by the Savior's arrangement. And indeed, the sequence of the three virtues around the person is found to be cognitive, both morally and naturally, and rationally engaged with the divine. For wisdom is the knowledge of divine and human things; justice is the harmony of the parts of the soul; piety is the service of God. But if someone slanders the flesh and claims that it came into being, citing Isaiah who says, "All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man is like the flower of grass; the grass withers, and the flower falls away; but the word of the Lord remains forever;" Let him listen to the Spirit interpreting the matter through Jeremiah: "And I scattered them like chaff driven by the wind into the wilderness; this is the lot and portion of your disobedience, says the Lord. Because you forgot me and trusted in lies, I will uncover what is behind you before your face; and your shame, your adultery, and your whispering will be revealed," and the things that follow. For this is "the flower of the grass," and "walking according to the flesh," and "to be fleshly," according to the Apostle, being in sins. The soul is confessed to be better than the body, but the body is less so; yet neither is the soul naturally good, nor is the body naturally bad; and what is not good is not immediately evil. For there are also certain middles and those that come before and those that come after among the middles. It was necessary, then, that the composition of a human, made up of sensible things, be formed from different parts, but not from opposites, both body and soul. Good actions, then, are always attached to the better, the ruling spirit; but the pleasure-loving and sinful ones are assigned to the weaker, the sinful part. Immediately the wise and knowing soul, as if a guest coming to the body, offers itself to it with dignity and honor, not forcibly, as not yet; if the time of departure calls, leaving behind the tent: "I am a stranger on the earth, and a sojourner with you," it says." And from there Basiledes says that the soul has taken a foreign choice of the world, as if by nature it is above the world. But it is not so; for all things belong to one God; and no one would be by nature a stranger to the world, since it is one being, one God. Rather, the chosen one lives as a stranger, knowing all things both acquired and lost; and he uses the threefold goods that the worldly people desire. He also treats the body as one who is setting out on a long journey, staying at inns and roadside homes; caring for the worldly things, the place where he rests; but leaving behind the dwelling and the possessions, just as the use of them, willingly and without struggle following the one who leads life away, never turning back for any reason. Giving thanks for the sojourn, blessing the departure, he embraces the dwelling place in heaven. "For we know that if our earthly house of this tent is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens." And indeed in this we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling; for if, indeed, having put it on, we will not be found naked. For we walk by faith, not by sight," as the Apostle says. "We are well pleased rather to depart from the body and to be at home with God"." The comparison is about the "rather"; and the comparison is based on those who fall under likeness: just as the braver man is braver than brave men, so the coward is the most brave among cowards. Therefore he introduced: "Therefore we make it our ambition, whether to depart or to be at home," to be pleasing to him, the one God clearly, of whom are all things, both work and creation, both the world and the things beyond the world. I admire Epicharmus, clearly saying: "A pious mind by nature suffers no evil even in death; the spirit remains above, in the heavens;" and the poet singing: "The souls of the impious are under the earth, suffering in deadly pains, under the unbreakable yoke of evils; but the souls of the pious dwell above in heavenly homes, blessed with songs, always singing great hymns." So then, no soul is sent down here from heaven to the lower things; for God works for all that is better; but the one who chooses the best life exchanges earth for heaven, from God and justice. Reasonably then, Job became a seeker of knowledge, saying: "Now I know," he said, "that you are able to do all things; nothing is impossible for you. For who reports to me things I did not know, great and wonderful, which I was not aware of? But I despised myself, thinking that I was dust and ashes." For the one who is in ignorance is also a sinner, "both dust and ashes." But the one who stands in knowledge, likening himself to God as much as he can, is already spiritual, and for this reason chosen. But that the foolish and disobedient are "earth" That the Scripture calls them earth, the prophet Jeremiah makes clear concerning Jehoiakim and his brothers, saying: "Earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord; write this man down as a rejected man." Another prophet says: "Hear, heaven, and listen, earth; the understanding," speaking of hearing, and "heaven" the heaven of the knowing soul. the divine of heaven and the divine things having been taken up, and to this one to have become an Israelite; for on the other hand, choosing ignorance and hard-heartedness, he called it earth; and the "Listen," "Listen, from the organs of hearing, the ears," he addressed, assigning the fleshly things to those who endure the sensible. These are the ones about whom the prophet Micah says: "Hear, O peoples, the word of the Lord, you who dwell with pain." And Abraham, "By no means," said the Lord who judges the earth;" since the one who has disbelieved, according to the saving voice, "has already been judged." It is also written in the "Kings" The judgment and decision of the Lord are as follows: God listens to the righteous, but does not save the ungodly, because they do not want to know God; for the Almighty will not bring about absurd things. Why do heresies still speak against this, when the Scripture proclaims the Almighty as a good God, and innocent of evil and injustice? If ignorance arises from not knowing, God "does nothing absurd." For this one is," he says, "Our God is one, and there is no savior besides him." For there is no injustice with God," according to the Apostle. Clearly even the prophet teaches the will of God, and the progress in knowledge through these things. "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you, except to fear the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve him alone? He asks of you, the one who has the power to choose salvation. What then do the Pythagoreans mean by wanting "to pray with a voice"?" they command? It seems to me, not that the divine was thought unable to hear those who speak quietly, but that they wanted the prayers to be just, which no one would be ashamed to make when many are watching. As for the prayer, we will discuss it in due time as the argument proceeds; but we must have the deeds already done, "as walking in the day." For let your works shine, and behold, a man and his works before his face. Behold, God, and his works." One must imitate God, as far as one is able, in the spiritual life. But to me, even the poets call the chosen ones among them "godlike." they seem to call them "godlike" and "divine," and "god-opposed," and "to Zeus having plans unyielding, and having no equal to the gods, and godlike," devouring the image and likeness." Euripides indeed says: "Golden wings around me" on my back," he says, "and the lovely sandals of the Sirens are fitted; I will go up into the great air, mixing with Zeus." But I would pray that the spirit of Christ would give me wings to go to my Jerusalem. For even the Stoics say that heaven is truly a city, but those on earth here are no longer cities; they are called cities, but they are not. For a city is important, and the people form a kind of community, and a crowd of people governed by law, just as the Church is governed by the Word, an unconquered, unruled city on earth; a divine will on earth, as it is in heaven. Poets also create images of this city in their writings; for the Hyperboreans and the Arimaspians have cities, and the Elysian Fields are the communities of the righteous. We also know from Plato about a "city, a pattern set in heaven".

Discourse 5 of the Eight Discourses

Chapter 1

As for the knowledge, this much by way of overview; let us now proceed to what follows, and indeed we must again discuss faith. For there are those who distinguish our faith concerning the Son from the knowledge concerning the Spirit. They are mistaken in thinking that one must truly believe in the Son—that he is the Son, and that he came, and how, and why, and about his suffering—but that it is necessary to know who the Son of God is. But now neither knowledge without faith, nor faith without knowledge. Nor indeed the Father without the Son; for at the same time the Father is the Father of the Son. The Son is the true teacher about the Father; and in order for someone to believe in the Son, it is necessary to know the Father, to whom the Son also belongs. Again, in order to know the Father beforehand, it is necessary to believe in the Son, because the Son of God teaches; for through faith in the Son, the Father is known. The knowledge of the Son and the Father, according to the true rule of knowledge, which is genuinely knowledge, is the laying on and grasping of truth through truth. Therefore, we are the faithful among those who do not believe, and the knowledgeable among those who do not know; that is, among all who do not know and do not believe, but only a few who believe and know, we are the knowledgeable; knowledgeable not by words describing actions, but by the very act of contemplation itself. Blessed is the one who says this to listening ears; faith is the ears of the soul. And the Lord hints at this faith, saying: "Let the one who has ears to hear, listen," so that indeed, having believed, he may understand what he says as he says it. But even Homer, the oldest poet, used a special word for hearing instead of a general one when speaking of perceiving by listening, … V 9, p 12 p 12 "especially they themselves heard," he writes. For the whole, the harmony and agreement of both faiths, comes together into one end, salvation. The Apostle is an unfailing witness for us, saying: "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you a spiritual gift to strengthen you." And this is to be encouraged together with you through the mutual faith of both you and me. And again, going further, he adds: "But the righteousness of God is revealed in it from faith to faith." The Apostle, then, seems to proclaim a twofold faith; but rather one faith that admits growth and perfection. For the common faith lies as a foundation; to those who long to be healed, the Lord, moved by faithful ones, said, "Your faith has saved you." But the faith that is built up especially is perfected in the believer, and is completed again by learning and by fulfilling the commandments of the word; such were the apostles, about whom it is said that they could move mountains of faith and transplant trees. Therefore, perceiving the greatness of the power, they thought it right to add to them a faith like a mustard seed, which profitably stirs the soul, and in it grows greatly, so that the words about the transfigurations might rest upon it. For if anyone by nature knows God, as Basiledes thinks, he holds that faith is both exceptional understanding and a kingdom, and worthy of a good created substance; interpreting it as a substance existing near the one who made it, but not as power, nor as nature, nor as a hypostasis of creation, an indescribable beauty beyond all, and not as the self-ruling soul, he calls faith a rational consent. Therefore, the commandments, both those of the old and those of the new Testament, are drawn along as if they are naturally saving, as Valentinus wishes, and as Basiledes thinks, as if they belong to someone naturally faithful and chosen; and it would be possible for nature to shine forth once again even apart from the time of the Savior's presence. But if they say that the Lord's coming is necessary, then the natural qualities are lost to them—by learning, and by purification, and by the good works of deeds, but not by the election being naturally saved. Now Abraham, having believed by hearing the voice, the one promised under the oak in Mamre: "To you I give this land and to your seed"—was he chosen, or not. But if he was not, how did he immediately believe as if naturally? But if he was chosen, their argument falls apart, since the election existed even before the Lord's coming, and indeed was also saving; for it is said, "He was counted to him as righteousness." For if anyone, boldly following Marcion, says that the Creator saves the one who believes in him, and that this salvation is before the Lord's coming, and that the election is indeed saving, his power of goodness will be approved; even if late, and after the Creator, praised by them, is imposed as saving, it will either learn or imitate this. But even if the Good One saves in this way according to them, he does not attempt the salvation of his own, nor of creation along with the will of the maker, but by force or deceit. And how is he still good, being like this, and later? But if the place is different, and the dwelling of the almighty is absent from the dwelling of the good God; yet the saving will of the good one is not absent, which indeed began beforehand. Then the unbelievers are shown to be foolish from what has been explained to us before: for their paths are twisted, and they do not know peace, the prophet says. The divine Paul advised to avoid foolish and uneducated disputes, because they produce fights; and Aeschylus also cried out:

Do not toil in vain over things that bring no benefit.

For the inquiry that understands with faith, building upon the foundation of faith, the magnificent knowledge of truth, we know to be excellent. We know, then, that neither are the obvious things sought, such as whether it is day when there is day; nor the hidden and never-to-become clear things, like whether the stars are even or odd; nor even the opposing things —and by opposing things, I mean those that are equally argued by those who hold the opposite view—such as whether the creature in the womb is alive or not. The fourth way is when an irrefutable and unsolvable argument is put forward from one of these other parts. If then the cause for seeking is removed by all the ways, faith is established; for we present to them that irrefutable thing, which is God speaking, and concerning each one of the things sought, setting them forth in writing. Who then is still an atheist, refusing to believe in God, and demanding proofs as if from human beings rather than from God? Again, some questions require sense perception, for example, if someone asks whether fire is hot or snow is white; others require advice and rebuke, as Aristotle says, such as the question of whether parents should be honored; and there are things worthy of punishment; like asking for proof whether Providence exists. If there is Providence, then to think that all prophecy and the plan concerning the Savior did not happen according to Providence is impious. And perhaps it is not even necessary to try to prove such things, since the divine Providence is clear from the sight of all visible skilled and wise works; some are made in order, others show order. And the one who gave us being and life also gave us reason, wanting us to live rationally and well at the same time. For the Logos of the Father of all is not the spoken word, but the most evident wisdom and goodness of God, and a power that is all-powerful and truly divine; nor is it incomprehensible to those who do not agree, but a will that rules all. Since the unbelievers and the quarrelsome do not all reach the perfection of the good. For it is not possible to obtain it without choice; nor does everything depend on our own judgment—for example, what will happen. For we are saved by grace, not without good works, however. But those who are naturally inclined toward the good must make some effort to hold on to it. They must also have a sound mind, unrepentant in the pursuit of what is good. For this especially we need divine grace, right teaching, pure sensitivity, and the Father's drawing toward him. For being bound to a material body, we grasp the things that can be sensed through the body, but we touch the things that can be understood through the power of reason itself. But if someone expects to grasp everything through the senses, they have fallen far from the truth. Spiritually, then, the Apostle writes about the knowledge of God: "For now we see through a mirror; then face to face." For the vision of the truth has been given to few. Plato also says in the Epinomis: "I do not say that it is possible for all people, both blessed and fortunate, to become so, except for a few." As long as I live, I set this as a limit: a good hope for the one who has died to obtain everything. Moses wishes the same things for them: "No one shall see my face and live." For it is clear that no one can ever fully grasp God during the time of life. But the pure in heart will see God when they reach the final perfection. Since the soul was weak to grasp what exists, we needed a divine teacher; the Savior is sent down, both teacher and giver of the good creation, the holy sign of the great providence's secret. Where then is the scribe, where is the debater of this age? Did God not make foolish the wisdom of this world? he says. And again: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the understanding of the prudent;" clearly, of those who seem wise and quarrelsome. Jeremiah also clearly says: "Thus says the Lord: Stand on the roads, and ask for the ancient paths, which is the good way; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." "Ask," he says, "and inquire from those who know, without quarrel and without partiality." Having learned the way of truth, then let us walk straight without turning back, until we reach what is desired. It is reasonable, then, that the Roman emperor (his name was Numa), being a Pythagorean, was the first among all people to establish a sacred temple of Faith and Peace. To Abraham, who believed, righteousness was credited. This one, who rejected the changeable things happening in the air and the unstable things moving in the sky, was called Abraham; which means, "father of the one who is raised up." Later, looking up to the sky, whether seeing the Son in the spirit, as some say, or a glorious angel, or otherwise recognizing God as greater than creation and all the order within it, he takes up the alpha, the knowledge of the one and only God, and is called Abraham; becoming wise and God-loving instead of a natural philosopher. For it is interpreted as "father of the chosen sound"; for the spoken word makes a sound; and the mind is the father of this; and the mind of the serious person is the chosen one. And it is right for me to greatly praise the poet from Akragas, who in some way praises faith like this:

O friends, I know indeed that truth still exists beyond myths,

I will tell you who they are; a very painful urge has been formed in men, and a hard-to-accept impulse in their minds—a longing for faith. For this reason the Apostle also encourages us, that our faith may not rest on the wisdom of men who claim to persuade, but on the power of God, who alone can save through pure faith without proofs. For the one who is most tested knows how to guard; and indeed, justice will catch false builders and witnesses, as the Ephesian says. For he also knows, having learned from barbarian philosophy, the purification by fire of those who have lived badly, which later the Stoics called "ekpyrosis"; according to this, they also teach that the maker himself will rise, holding to that, the resurrection. But Plato V 9, p 24 says that the earth is purified by fire and water over certain periods of time in this way: Many destructions of humans have happened at different times, and the greatest will be by fire and water; but there are many others that are shorter in number. And after a short time it brings about: The truth is that there is a change of things going around the earth and in the sky, and over long periods of time there is great destruction by fire upon the things on earth. Then concerning the flood he adds: "But when the gods cleanse the earth with waters and flood it, some are saved in the mountains, the herdsmen and shepherds, while others in the cities near us are carried into the sea by the rivers." In the first Strōma, we showed that the Greek philosophers are called thieves, because they did not gladly accept the main teachings from Moses and the prophets. To these things we will add that those angels who had received the upper portion, having fallen into pleasures, revealed the secret things to women, and whatever knowledge came to them, while the other angels kept it hidden, especially those who guarded the presence of the Lord. From there flowed the teaching of Providence, and the revelation of the heavens, and prophecy had already spread among the Greeks. The doctrinal study given to the philosophers was partly true, imposed according to their aim, and partly mistaken, because they did not understand the hidden meaning of prophetic allegory. This will be briefly explained; they will quickly run through the urgent matters. Therefore, faith must not be lazy and alone, but must go together with inquiry. We say that it must show forth. For I do not say this to mean do not seek at all; for it says, "Seek, and you will find".

… but the thing sought

Capturable; but what is neglected escapes;

According to Sophocles. And Menander the comic poet also says similar things;

V 9, p 25 p 25 … all things sought

The wisest say that one must have care;

But the clear-sighted part of the soul must stretch toward discovery, and clear away obstacles; also to completely cast aside rivalry and envy, and strife itself, which is the worst destroyer among people. For Timon of Phlius writes very well:

Mortal ruin, empty strife, wanders about, the brother of murderous Strife and Rivalry; it rolls over everything else; but then

It fixes its head on mortals, and casts itself into hope.

Then, descending a little, it brings about;

For who has agreed to fight alongside this destructive strife?

A crowd joined in sound; for when it is silent, it is angered,

It stirred up a terrible disease among men, and many were destroyed;

About a falsely pretended word and horned, also having been mixed with crocodile-like, still piled up and covered, and about doubts V 9, p 28 p 28 and sophisms. But to seek about God, if it does not lead to strife but to discovery, is saving. For it is written in David: The poor will eat and be filled, and those who seek the Lord will praise him; their heart will live forever and ever. For those who seek according to true seeking, praising the Lord, will be filled with the gift from God, that is, knowledge; and their soul will live; (for heart is allegorized as soul, the one who grants life;) because the Father is known through the Son. Yet it is not proper for all to shamelessly give their ears to those who speak and write with bias; since even cups, when taken to many ears, having been defiled, both lose their ears and, falling off, themselves break. For in the same way, those who defile the pure hearing of faith with many babblings, at last becoming deaf to the truth, become useless and fall to the ground. Therefore, we do not advise children lightly, who take their ears, to love the proper ones; this we hint at, that through hearing the foretaste of love may come. And love is God, known to those who love; as God is faithful, given to the faithful through teaching; and we must become familiar with him through divine love; so that indeed we may see the like in the like, listening to the word of truth sincerely and purely, like children who obey us. And this was what he hinted at, whoever he was, the one who wrote on the entrance of the ship in Epidaurus.

One must go pure inside the fragrant ship

To be.…

Purity is to think what is holy. And even if you do not become like children in these things, you will not enter, he says, into the kingdom of heaven. For here the ship of God, founded on three foundations—faith, hope, and love—appears.

Chapter 2

Concerning faith, we have set forth enough testimonies from the writings of the Greeks; but so that we do not prolong this too much, and being most eager to gather many things also about hope and love, we will say only these things briefly: just as Socrates in the Crito, before living, placing well-living and dying, thinks that there is some hope of another life after death. For also in the Phaedrus, speaking of the soul itself, he says that it alone is able to partake of true wisdom and a power stronger than human strength, whenever the love from here wings it up to heaven, coming through the love of philosophy to the end of hope. He says it takes its beginning from an eternal other life. And in the Symposium, he says that all have a natural love mixed in for the birth of the like; and for humans, it is only for humans, but for the serious person, for the similar. But it is impossible for the serious person to do this without having perfect virtues, by which he will educate the young who come near; and, as he says in Theaetetus, he will bring forth and complete men; for he will bear some according to the body, others according to the soul. Since even among the barbarian philosophers, to instruct and enlighten is said to be to be born again; and, "I have begotten you in Christ Jesus," the good Apostle says somewhere. Empedocles, in the beginnings, is also counted among lovers of wisdom, meaning a kind of comparative love.

Which you see with the mind, but not with the eyes, as if enchanted.

But also Parmenides, in his own poem, hinting about hope, says such things:

Yet he clearly sees what is absent with the mind as if it were present.

For what exists will not cease to be what it is.

Nor does it break apart completely according to order,

Nor does it come together …

Chapter 3

Since the one who hopes, just like the one who believes, sees the invisible and the future with the mind. If then we say that something is just, we also say it is good; and we also speak of some truth; but we have never seen any of these things with the eyes, only with the mind. The Word of God says, "I am the truth"; therefore, the Word is to be seen by the mind. But who do you call true philosophers? "Those who love to see the truth," I replied. And in the Phaedrus, when Plato speaks about truth as ideas, he shows that the idea is a concept of God; which the barbarians have called the Word of God. The meaning of the term is this: One must be bold to speak the truth, especially when speaking about truth itself; for truth is truly a substance without color, without shape, and without touch, a soul, visible only to God the sole ruler. Then the Word, being the cause of creation, generates itself, when the Word becomes flesh, so that it may also be seen. Therefore, the just person will seek a loving discovery, and hastening toward it, will succeed. For to the one who knocks, it is said, it will be opened. "Ask, and it will be given to you." For those who seize the kingdom are violent, not by quarrelsome words, but by persistent upright living and unceasing prayers, they are said to force their way, having wiped away the stains of former sins;

Indeed, wickedness is easy to choose and can be appeased. But to the one who works hard, God also helps. For gifts are not placed in the middle for the one who strives to carry them without struggle. At any rate, knowledge of ignorance is the first lesson for the one who walks according to the Word. If someone is ignorant, he searches; and having searched, he finds the teacher; and having found, he believes; and having believed, he hopes; and having loved, from then on he becomes like the one he loves, hastening to be what he loved when he arrived. Socrates shows such a method to Alcibiades, who asks like this: "Do you not think I could know about justice in any other way?" "Yes, if you find it." "But would you not think I could find it?" "Certainly, if you search." "Then would you not think I should search?" "Indeed, if you think you do not know." This is why the wise virgins' lamps are lit, burning through much of the darkness of ignorance at night; a night that Scripture hinted at. Wise souls, pure as virgins, knowing themselves to be in worldly ignorance, light the light, awaken the mind, and illuminate the darkness, driving out ignorance, seeking the truth, and waiting for the appearance of the teacher. Therefore, I said, it is impossible for a crowd to become philosophers;

Many are indeed those who carry the thyrsus, and few are Bacchantes, according to Plato. For many are called, but few are chosen; and, "Not all have knowledge," says the Apostle. Pray, then, that we may be delivered from unreasonable and evil men; for faith is not in all. And Cleantheus, the Stoic philosopher, writes poetically about similar things in this way:

Do not seek to become wise quickly for the sake of glory,

Do not fear the unjudged and shameless opinion of many.

For the crowd does not have wise judgment, nor just,

Nor honorable; but you would find this among a few men.

The comic poet is more pointed in a brief phrase.

It is shameful to judge what is good by the loud noise of the crowd; for I think they have not heard that beautiful wisdom speaking to us: "Keep your time in the midst of the foolish; but among those who understand, be persistent." And again: "The wise will hide their perception." For many demand proof as a pledge of the truth, not being satisfied with the simple salvation that comes from faith alone.

But with evil people it is especially necessary to hold fast to unbelief;

As for the pledges of the muse that are commanded by our side,

Know this: when the word is cut within the heart.

For this is usual with the wicked, says Empedocles, to want to hold on to the truth by means of unbelief. But that our beliefs are honorable and worthy of trust, the Greeks will know better by examining the following words; for we are taught by what is similar to it: "Answer a fool according to his folly," says Solomon, "so he will not be wise in his own eyes." Therefore, those who seek wisdom must desire what is proper from those who have it, so that they may more easily come to faith in the truth through what is their own. For to all things I have become, he says, that I might win all. Since even the rain of divine grace falls upon the just and the unjust. Is God only for the Jews, and not also for the Gentiles? Yes, also for the Gentiles, if God is one, as the noble Apostle has declared.

Chapter 4

But since they neither want to believe rightly in what is good nor in knowledge leading to salvation, we ourselves, thinking these things our own, because all things belong to God, and especially since the good has come to the Greeks from us, we try to speak to them, as they are naturally able to hear. For the sensible, or rather the just, great crowd does not judge by the truth, but by whatever pleases them. They would rather be pleased by those like themselves than by others; for as long as they are still blind and deaf, without understanding, and without the clear and sharp sight of a soul that loves to see, which the Savior alone gives, they must stand outside the divine choir, like one uninitiated in the mysteries, or unmusical in the dances, not yet pure nor worthy of holy truth, still careless, disorderly, and material.

For we compare spiritual things with spiritual people. Because of this hiddenness, the divine way, truly divine and most necessary for us, lies stored in the sanctuary of truth, a sacred and secret word. The Egyptians hinted at it through their so-called sanctuaries, and the Hebrews through the veil. Only those consecrated to God, that is, those who have cut off the desires of the passions out of love for God alone, were allowed to enter. For it was not right, as Plato also thought, for the pure to touch the impure. Hence the prophecies and oracles are spoken in riddles, and the mysteries are not shown plainly to those who come upon them, but only after certain purifications and preparations; [PG 8.40]

For the muse is not greedy for gain

And then it was not a worker either;

Nor did sweet things take hold

The honey-voiced songs to Terpsichore

Faces brightened with silver

Soft-voiced songs.

Immediately those being educated among the Egyptians first of all learn the method of Egyptian letters, called epistolary; second, the priestly method, which the sacred scribes use; last and final, the hieroglyphic method; the first is literal through the basic elements, the second is symbolic. The symbolic method is partly interpreted literally by imitation, and partly written figuratively; and partly it is directly allegorized through certain riddles. If they want to write the sun, they make a circle; for the moon, a crescent shape according to the literal form; figuratively, they transfer and change it by association; some they exchange; others they carve, changing them in many ways. They record the praises of kings by handing them down through theological myths, writing them out in relief carvings. Let this be an example of the third kind of riddles: for the other stars, because of their slanting path, they were depicted as snake bodies; but the sun was represented by the shape of a kantharos; since it is more circular, shaped from the ox horn of the letter V, it stands as the counterpart of a cylinder. They also say that this animal lives six months under the earth, and the other part of the year above the earth; that it sows seed into the sphere and gives birth; and that it does not become a female kantharos. All, then, so to speak, who wrote about the gods, both barbarians and Greeks, hid the beginnings of things, but handed down the truth in riddles and symbols, in allegories and metaphors, and by such means; the kind also found in Greek oracles; and this is why Apollo the Pythian, called Loxias, is said to speak this way. Indeed, even the sayings of those called wise among the Greeks show the meaning of a greater matter in few words; for example, "Spare time"; either because life is short, and one should not waste this time in vain; or, by contrast, to be sparing with private expenses, so that even if you live many years, he says, you will not lack necessities. Likewise, the saying "Know yourself" shows many things; that you are mortal, and that you became a human; and also, in comparison to other things in life, that you are not of any importance, whether famous or rich; or the opposite, that being rich and famous, you do not boast in pride alone; and it says, know what you have become, and whose image you bear; what your essence is, and what your creation is, and what your relationship to the divine is, and things like these. The Spirit also speaks through the prophet Isaiah: "I will give you hidden, secret treasures; treasures of God, and unending wealth", which is the hard-to-get wisdom. But also the poets taught in theology by these prophets philosophize much by suggestion; I mean Orpheus, Linus, Musaeus, Homer and Hesiod, and those wise men like them. The poetic entertainment serves as a veil for them toward the many. Dreams and symbols, all more hidden from people, not out of envy, (for it is not right for a mortal mind to understand God with passion;) but so that, by entering into the meaning of riddles, the search may run toward the discovery of truth. Sophocles, the poet of tragedy, says somewhere about this:

And I understand God to be such,

To the wise, indeed, always an enigma of oracles,

To the foolish, however, worthless, even if a brief teacher;

setting the worthless against the simple. Indeed, directly about all the Scriptures according to us, it is written in the Psalms, as if spoken in a parable: "Listen, my people, to my law; incline your ear to the words of my mouth." I will open my mouth in parables; I will speak riddles from the beginning. And the noble Apostle says something similar like this: "But we speak wisdom among the mature; yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." The philosophers did not act to insult the presence of the Lord; therefore, it is fitting to throw back the arrogance of the wise among the Jews at the Apostle. Therefore, he also brings forward: "But we preach as it is written," he says, "things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man; which God has prepared for those who love him." For God has revealed them to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For the disciple of the Holy Spirit, who is given from God, knows spiritually and with understanding; he is the mind of Christ. But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit; for they are foolishness to him. Immediately the Apostle, to contrast spiritual maturity with common faith, calls one the foundation and the other milk, writing in this way:

"Brothers, I could not speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to fleshly people, as to infants in Christ; I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able; and even now you are not able; for you are still fleshly." For where there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and do you walk according to man? Heretical things belong to sinful men; but those who have withdrawn from these think divine thoughts and partake of the knowledge of the true food. According to the grace given to me, he says, as a wise master builder, I have laid a foundation; but another builds upon it gold and silver, precious stones. These are the spiritual building materials on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ; but the deposits of heresies are like reeds, and wood and grass. The fire will test the quality of each one's work. He also alludes to the spiritual building in the Letter to the Romans, saying: "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to strengthen you." But it was not possible to send such gifts openly.

Chapter 5

Immediately after, the Pythagorean symbols were very secretly attached to the barbarian philosophy. At least the Samians advise not to have a swallow in the house, that is, a talkative, whispering, and tattling person who cannot keep what they share, nor receive it. For the swallow and the turtledove, country sparrows, know the times of their entrances, as Scripture says; and it is never right to live with babblers. And indeed, the complaining turtledove, showing ungrateful gossip of blame, is rightly accustomed to being driven away;

So that you do not leak to me while sitting nearby, one from one place and another from another; but the swallow, which hints at the story of Pandion, deserves to be devoted to the passions whispered about her; from which we have learned that Tereus both suffered and did some things. It also chases the cicadas, the musicians; hence the pursuer of speech is rightly driven away. Yes, the Hera who watches over Olympus, the earth-digger, is for me a trustworthy keeper of the tongue, as poetry says; and Aeschylus too;

But there is also for me a key and guardian upon the tongue.

Again Pythagoras: When the pot is taken off the fire, do not leave the mark in the ashes, but order it to be mixed; and to disturb the bedsheets of those who have just risen from sleep. For he hinted that it was necessary not only to erase the mark, but also not to leave any trace of anger; and when it has cooled down and stopped, it settles, and wipes away all resentment. The sun, the Scripture says, must not go down on your anger. And the one who said, "You shall not covet," removed all resentment; for anger is found to be the impulse of desire in the soul of the day, according to V 9, p 49, an unreasonable form of defense. In the same way, the bed is also advised not to be disturbed; neither by any dreaming, nor by sleep during the day, and not even to remember the pleasure of the night anymore. Perhaps he was hinting that the gloomy imagination must be confused with the light of truth; David says, "Be angry, and do not sin," teaching that one must not agree with imagination, nor allow the deed to justify the use of anger. Again, "Do not sail upon the earth" is a Pythagorean symbol; it shows that the ends and the likenesses of wages are turbulent and unstable, and one must avoid them. For this reason, the Word says that tax collectors will be saved with difficulty. Again, Pythagoras advises not to wear a ring or to engrave images of gods on them; just as Moses long ago clearly established in the law, nothing carved, melted, shaped, or painted should be made as a statue or image. This is so that we do not give honor to what is perceptible by the senses, but instead focus on what is intelligible. For the habit of ready sight dishonors the sacredness of the divine; and to honor the intelligible essence through matter is to dishonor it through sense perception. Therefore, the wisest of the Egyptian priests set apart the seat of Athena as outdoors, just as the Hebrews entered the temple without an image. There are those who, worshiping God, having made a likeness of the sky surrounding the stars, worship it; indeed, as the Scripture says, "Let us make man in our image and likeness." I think it is also fitting to present the voice of Eurysus of Pythagoras, which goes like this: In his work On Chance, calling the Creator, who used a pattern for himself to make man, he said: "The figure is like the others, as if made from the same material, and shaped by an artisan with a chisel; the one who crafted it used an archetype for himself." And generally, Pythagoras and his followers, along with Plato, spoke very strongly to the lawgiver more than other philosophers, as if their teachings were to be combined; and according to a certain kind of prophecy, they gave an accurate report, not godless, joining in some prophetic voices, revealing the truth in parts and forms, with names not obscure, nor going beyond the explanation of things, they honored the connection to the truth, having taken on the emphasis of closeness to it. Therefore, Greek philosophy is like a torch lit from a spark; people light it, skillfully stealing the light from the sun. When the Word was proclaimed, all that holy thing shone forth light. Then, at night the stolen light serves in the houses, but by day the fire shines, and the whole night is lit up by the sun, which is so much the light of the mind. Immediately Pythagoras made a summary of what was said about justice to Moses, saying, "Do not go beyond the yoke", that is, do not pass beyond the equal divisions, honoring justice,

… who are always friends to friends,

Cities to cities, allies to allies

It unites; for equality is natural and lawful among people.

He always becomes an enemy to the one who has more.

The less, and hostile days begin.

According to poetic grace. For this reason the Lord says, "Take my yoke upon you, because it is gentle and light"; and to those who contend about first places, he plainly commands equality, saying that they must become like children. Likewise, the Apostle writes, "Let no one be a slave or free in Christ, or Greek or Jew; for the new creation in Christ is without rivalry and without greed, and equality is just." For envy stands outside the divine choir, as do jealousy and sorrow. The initiates forbid the heart to consume these; teaching that one should never use laziness and pain over things that happen unwillingly to bite and devour the soul. Wretched indeed is that one, whom Homer also says wanders alone, whom anger devours. Again, two paths are proposed by the Gospel and the apostles, just as by all the prophets: one they call narrow and constricted, limited by commandments and prohibitions; the other opposite, leading to destruction, wide and spacious, free for pleasures and anger. And they say, "Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners." This is the fable of Prodicus of Ceos about virtue and vice. And Pythagoras does not hesitate to forbid walking the broad roads, commanding not to follow the opinions of the many, which are uncertain and disagreeing. Aristocritus, in the first of his letters opposing Heracleodorus, recalls a certain letter that says: "King Atoias of the Scythians to the people of Byzantium: Do not harm my revenues, so that my horses do not drink your water." For symbolically the barbarian showed that war was about to come upon them. Similarly, the poet Euphorion brings forward Nestor saying:

But those who have not yet yoked the Achaean horses of Simoeis. For this reason the Egyptians set up the sphinxes before their temples, because the word about God is mysterious and unclear; and perhaps also because one must both love and fear the divine: to love it as kind and favorable to the holy, but to fear it as absolutely just toward the impious. For the sphinx hints at the image of both beast and man.

Chapter 6

It would take a long time to explain all the prophetic and legal sayings, which are spoken in riddles and then explained; for almost all Scripture is established in this way. But it is enough, I think, for one who has understanding to have a few examples set forth as a sign of what is being discussed. Immediately the hidden meaning is admitted concerning the old temple of the seven enclosures, as told by the Hebrews; the arrangement according to the foot-length through various symbols related to the visible things, hinting at the covenant from heaven down to earth; also the veil and curtain, embroidered with hyacinth and purple, with scarlet and fine linen. It was argued, then, that the nature of the elements holds back the revelation of God; for purple comes from water, fine linen from the earth; and hyacinth is likened to air, being dark, just as scarlet is to fire. Between the veil and the curtain, where the priests were allowed to enter, there stood an incense altar, a symbol of the earth placed in the middle of this world; from it the smoke offerings arose. The middle place inside the curtain, where only the high priest was allowed to enter on certain days, and the outer curtain that was open to all the Hebrews, is said to be the middle point of heaven and earth; others say it is a symbol of the world, both the spiritual and the visible. The veil, then, a barrier against the unbelief of the people, was stretched in front of the five columns, blocking those in the courtyard. In this, the five loaves are most mysteriously laid down before the Savior and increase for the crowd of listeners. For many endure only what is perceptible to the senses. Plato says, "Look closely, so that none of the uninitiated overhear." There are those who think nothing else exists except what can be taken directly by the hands; they do not accept actions, origins, or anything invisible as part of being. For such people only endure the five senses alone. The understanding of God is inaccessible to hearing and to its kindred faculties. From this comes the saying that the Son is the face of the Father, the five senses, the Word of the Father's message, becoming flesh-bearing. If we live by the spirit, let us also follow the spirit. We walk by faith, not by sight, the good Apostle says. Inside the veil, then, the priestly service is hidden, and it keeps many of those outside from struggling within it. Again, the curtain of the entrance to the Holy of Holies; there are four pillars there, a sacred sign of the four old covenants. But also the four-letter mysterious name, which was enclosed for the ones alone who had access to the sanctuary; it is called Iao, which is interpreted as "the one who is" and "the one who will be." And indeed, even among the Greeks, the name of God contains a group of four letters. But into the intelligible world, the Lord alone, having become, enters, slipping into the knowledge of the ineffable through the sufferings, withdrawing beyond every name by which he is known by voice. Indeed, the lamp was placed in the southern part of the incense altar; through it, the movements of the seven light-bearers are revealed, making their rounds in the south. For three branches have been fixed on each side of the lamp, and on them are the lamps; just as the sun, like the lamp, placed in the middle among the other planets, gives off light to those above it and those below it according to a certain divine harmony. The golden lamp also has another riddle, a sign of Christ, not only in its shape but also in the many ways it casts light and in many parts upon those who believe in it, both hoping and seeing through the ministry of the first-created. They say that the seven spirits are the seven eyes of the Lord, resting on the rod that blooms from the root of Jesse. On the north side of the altar of incense was the table, on which the bread was placed; because the north parts are the most nourishing of the spirits. There might be some monastic communities united into one body and one assembly of like-minded Churches; those things recorded on the holy ark reveal the things of the spiritual world, which is hidden and closed off to most people. And indeed those golden statues there, each with six wings, either represent the two bears, as some wish, or, more likely, the two hemispheres. The name of the cherubim means great knowledge. But both have twelve wings, and through the zodiac circle, and the time carried along by it, they show the sensible world. About these things, I think the tragedy "Physiologus" says: "Tireless time moves around full of an eternal flow, producing itself; and the twin bears watch the Atlantic pole with their swift-winged blows." Atlas, the pole that does not suffer, can indeed be the fixed sphere, but it is perhaps better to think of it as the unmoving axis. I think it is better that the ark, called "Theboutha" from the Hebrew name, means something else. It is interpreted as one instead of all places. Whether then the eighth and the intelligible world, or the one that contains all things, God is shown to be formless and invisible; let what follows now be said. But it signals rest with the spirits who praise, which the cherubim symbolize; for he who never advised making a carved idol himself would not portray the image of the saints; nor is the beginning composed of anything sensible and living in heaven arranged in this way. The face is a symbol of the rational soul; the wings (V 9, p 64) are the ministries and activities of the powers on both the right and left sides; the voice is the praise that is pleasing in unceasing contemplation. It is enough to have advanced the mystical interpretation up to this point. The footed garment of the high priest is a symbol of the sensible world; of the seven planets, five are stones and two are coals, because of Cronus and the Moon. For the one is midday and moist, earthy and heavy; the other is airy; therefore Artemis is said to be something like an air-cutter to some, and the air is gloomy. Working together in the creation of these things, he shows that those placed over the planets, by divine providence, are fittingly set upon the chest and shoulders; through these, the creative action of the first week takes place. The chest is the dwelling place of the heart and soul. There could be, indeed, other kinds of stones as means of salvation; some are placed on those who have risen above, others on those who have descended, established for the whole body being saved. The three hundred and sixty bells hung on the footed garment represent the yearly time, a year accepted by the Lord, proclaiming and teaching the greatest manifestation of the Savior. But also the golden cap, the raised one, announces the royal authority of the Lord; for indeed the Savior is the head of the Church. The cap above it is indeed a sign of the highest authority; moreover, we have heard, as it has been said, that God is the head of Christ, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes indeed, the breastplate, made from the shoulder piece, which is a symbol of work, and from the Word; this signifies the Word by which it was made, and it is an image of heaven, made by the Word, who is subject to the head of all, Christ, moving in the same way and manner. The bright emerald stones on the shoulder piece, then, signify the sun and the moon, the helpers of nature. The shoulder, I think, is the beginning of the hand. The twelve stones arranged in four rows on the breastplate outline for us the zodiac circle according to the four turning points of the year. In any case, the Lord's head should have the law and the prophets beneath it, through whom the righteous are revealed in each of the covenants. For calling the apostles both prophets and righteous, we could rightly say that one and the same Holy Spirit works through them all. Just as the Lord is above the whole world, and even more beyond the realm of the mind, so the name written on the petal is worthy to be above every rule and authority; it is written both through the written commandments and through the visible presence. The name spoken of is God's; for just as the Son sees the goodness of the Father, so God, called Savior, works—the ruler of all. This ruler, first and invisible from God before all ages, has imprinted the things that came after it. Indeed, the word shows the prophecy that cries out to the Word and proclaims it, and also the coming judgment; for the same Word is the one who prophesies, judges, and at the same time distinguishes each thing. They also say that the garment reaching to the feet symbolizes the prophecy according to the flesh, the plan by which he appeared more closely to the world. Putting this on, the high priest puts on the consecrated tunic, (for the world and the creation in the world are consecrated by the good agreeing with what is made ); he bathes, and puts on another holy tunic, as it were the holy of holies, the one entering into the inner sanctuary for him. It seems to me that this shows the Levite and the Gnostic, as the leader of the other priests (those washed with water and clothed only in faith, and expecting only their own solitude), distinguishing the spiritual from the sensible, hastening beyond the other priests to the passage of the spiritual, those who are cleansed here no longer by water, as before, but are purified, being assigned to the Levitical tribe. But now, by the Gnostic word, the whole heart is pure, and having set his life straight very well to the highest degree under the priest, growing greater, having been thoroughly purified both in word and deed, and having put on the garment of glory, that of the spiritual and perfect man, he receives the secret inheritance, which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and which has not entered into the heart of man; becoming a son and a friend, he is already filled face to face with insatiable vision. There is nothing like hearing the Word itself, giving a greater mind through Scripture. For it says here: "And he will take off the linen robe which he wore when entering the holy place; and he will put it away there, and will wash his body with water in a holy place, and will put on his robe." But I think the Lord takes off and puts on his garments differently, coming down into sense; and differently the one who believes through him takes off and puts on, as the Apostle also declared, the consecrated robe. From here, according to the image of the Lord, the most tested men were chosen as high priests from the consecrated tribe, and those chosen for the kingdom and for prophecy were anointed.

Chapter 7

Therefore, the Egyptians did not entrust their mysteries to those who merely happened to be near them, nor did they reveal the knowledge of the divine to the unholy. Instead, they gave it only to those who were about to advance to the kingdom, and among the priests, only to those who were judged to be the most tested, based on their upbringing, education, and family. Similarly, among the Hebrews, the secrets and riddles of the Egyptians were kept hidden. The Egyptians, some show the sun on a ship, others on a crocodile. They mean that the sun, moving through the sweet and moist air, produces time; which the crocodile hints at through some other sacred story. Indeed, in Diospolis of Egypt, on the temple called the Gate, there is a depiction: a child, a symbol of birth, and an old man, a symbol of decay; and the hawk is a symbol of God, just as the fish is a symbol of hatred; and again, the crocodile signifies shamelessness in another way. It seems, then, that the whole combined symbol is meant to show this: that those who come into being and pass away, God hates shamelessness. The creators consecrate both the ears and the eyes from pure material, dedicating them to the gods in the temples; clearly hinting that God sees and hears everything. Along with these, the lion is a symbol of strength and power; the ox, of the earth itself, farming, and food; the horse, of courage and boldness; and the sphinx, of strength combined with wisdom, having the whole body of a lion but the face of a human. Similarly to these, the human, symbolizing understanding and memory, power and skill, is engraved near them in the sacred places. Already, at the so-called festivals near them, golden statues of the gods are carried around: two dogs, one hawk, and one ibis. They call the four statues images, four letters. At least the dogs are symbols of the two hemispheres, as if patrolling and guarding; the hawk is of the sun, fiery and destructive; immediately they assign the plague diseases to the sun; and the ibis is of the moon, with the dark parts represented by the black of the feathers, and the bright parts by the white. There are those who want the dogs to signify the tropics, as they guard and watch over the sun's passage through the south and north. The hawk shows the equator, which is high and burning, just as the ibis shows the oblique line; for the ibis seems to have given the Egyptians the idea and measure of animals, as the oblique of the circles.

Chapter 8

But not only the most rational among the Egyptians, but also among the other barbarians, all who desired philosophy, have admired the symbolic form. They say that Idanthyras, king of the Scythians, as recorded by Pherecydes the Syrian, when Darius was crossing the Danube, threatening war, sent a symbol instead of letters: a mouse, a frog, a bird, a dart, a plow. Since there was confusion, as one would expect, about these symbols, the commander Orontopagas said they would surrender their rule. He reasoned this from the mouse representing their homes, the frog the waters, the bird the air, the dart the weapons, and the plow the land. Xiphodres, however, interpreted it differently; for he said, "If we do not rise up like birds, or like mice along the ground, or like frogs in the water, we will not escape their arrows; for we are not masters of the land." Anacharsis, the Scythian, is said to have held, even while sleeping, his genitals with his left hand and his mouth with his right; hinting that both are necessary, but that the power of the tongue is greater than that of pleasure. And why should I spend time on the barbarians, when it is possible to present the Greeks themselves, who have made great use of concealment? And Androcydes, the Pythagorean, says that the so-called Ephesian letters, though much talked about, have an order of symbols; and that shadowless means darkness, for it has no shadow; and shadowed light, since it shines upon the shadow; and lix is the earth by ancient name; and the year has four parts because of the hours; and damnameneus is the sun, the tamer; and the aisia are the true voice. The symbol then means how the divine things are arranged; for example, darkness compared to light, and the sun compared to the year, and the earth compared to the various kinds of nature's birth. But also Dionysius the Thracian, the grammarian, in his work On the Meaning of the Symbol of the Wheels, says literally: "I meant not only through words, but also through symbols some actions; through words, as in the so-called Delphic maxims, "Nothing in excess," and "Know yourself," and the like; but through symbols, as the wheel turning in the temples of the gods, drawn from the Egyptians; and the sprouting of the shoots given to those who worship." For Orpheus the Thracian says

All the works of the shoots that have cared for mortals upon the earth,

Has no single share in the mind, but is turned around in a circle

All things around; but it is not right to stand in one place,

But each has an equal part in the course, as they began. The shoots are either a sign of the first nourishment, or so that many may understand that the fruits grow and increase through the whole, remaining most abundant; but that they themselves have received only a short time of life. For this reason, they want the shoots to be given; perhaps also so that they may understand that just as these burn up, so too those who live this life will quickly pass away, and become the work of fire.

Therefore, the form of symbolic interpretation is very useful for many things, cooperating with true theology, with piety, with the demonstration of understanding, with the practice of brevity, and the display of wisdom. For the grammarian Didymus says rightly that it is wise to use symbolic language skillfully, and to know what is meant through it.

Indeed, the elementary teaching for children includes the interpretation of the four elements: for Bēdus says that the Phrygians call water by that name, just as Orpheus does;

And Bēdus calls the water of the Nymphs bright water. But also Thutes Dion seems to write similarly: "And Bēdus, taking it, pours it through his hands, and turns toward the sacred sight."

On the other hand, the comic poet Philydeos calls Bēdus the air, being life-giving; through these things he knows it.

I pray to draw the saving Bēdus;

Which is the greatest part of health;

To draw the air pure, not clouded.

The Kyzikian Neanthes, agreeing with such an opinion, writes to the Macedonian priests in their prayers to call Bēdus kindly upon themselves and their children; which they interpret as air. But the fire, according to those near the heat, was received ignorantly; the sea is called thus, as Euphorion states in the copies addressed to Theoridas;

But fire also at the rocks of ships brings deadly harm.

Dionysios the Iambic poet likewise:

The salt sea of the raging Pontus is surrounded by fire.

Likewise, Kratinos the younger comic poet:

The Zaps carries off crabs and little fish.

And Simmias the Rhodian:

The salty Zaps was born of the Amasignetae and the Telchines.

The earth is the land, spread out in size. And some say the striker is the pole, others say it is the air, which strikes and moves everything by nature and growth, the one who fills all things. But these did not read Cleanthes the philosopher, who directly calls the striker the sun; for in the east, it leans its rays, as if striking the world, leading the light into its harmonious path. And from the sun, the other stars are signaled. The sphinx is not the understanding of all things, nor the world's rotation according to the poet Aratus; but perhaps it is the spiritual tone passing through and holding the world together. It is better to accept the all-holding and binding ether, as Empedocles also says:

If then I may first speak of the sun as the beginning, from which indeed all things now seen came into being: both the earth and the stormy sea, and the moist air, Titan, and the ether, all binding together in a circle. Apollodorus of Corcyra says that these verses were uttered by the seer Branchus, cleansing the Milesians from plague (Mil. V 9, p. 77). For he, sprinkling the crowd with branches of laurel, began the hymn somewhat like this:

Sing, children, to far-shooting and far-working. And the people, as it were, chanted along: Bedy, Zaps, Earth, Striker, Sphinx, Knaxzbi, Chthuptes, Phlegmos, Dros. Callimachus also remembers the story in his Iambs. Knaxzbi, by derivation, is the disease from the verb "to gnaw" and means "to differ"; and also to burn with lightning. Thespis, the tragic poet, however, says that these words mean something else, writing somewhat like this: "Behold, I pour a libation to Knaxzbi, the white one, squeezing from the breasts of the gnawers; behold, I mix cheese with red honey for Chthuptes, against your own, Pan of two horns, I set up sacred altars; behold, I pour the fiery flame of Bromius." He is speaking in riddles, I think, about the milky first food of the soul made from the twenty-four elements; after which the milk has already become solid food; and lastly the blood of the vine of the Word, the fiery wine, which teaches the perfect joy of the journey. Dros, the active Word, who from the first instruction leads to the growth of a man, to the measure of maturity, burning and enlightening the person. But there is also a third line, which is childish: snatchers, sphinx, weeping, in a confused way. It means, I think, through the governance of the elements and the world, that we must take the path toward the knowledge of the more perfect things, which is gained by force and effort in the course of eternal salvation; for to snatch is to grasp firmly. The sphinx means the harmony of the world; the phrase "in a confused way" shows the difficulty; and weeping reveals the hidden knowledge of the Lord as well as the day. But what? Is it not also Epigenes, in his On the Poem of Orpheus, setting forth the peculiar things from Orpheus, who says that the curved-colored rods are shown to the plows? They are placed in the furrows of the fields; the seed is said to be the thread; and the rain reveals the tears of Zeus; and the parts of the moon, the thirtieth, the fifteenth, and the new moon, are the fates; therefore Orpheus also calls these the white-robed ones, since they are parts of light. Again, the flower is spring by nature, the night is called silver because of rest; and the moon is called gorgon because of its face; and the time to sow is called Aphrodite according to Theologus; the Pythagoreans also hinted at such things, calling the wandering stars the dogs of Persephone; and the sea is an allegory for the tears of Cronus; and countless things we would find both among philosophers and poets spoken enigmatically; where all books show the hidden intention of the author; as also in Heraclitus' On Nature; who is called obscure for this very reason. Similar to this book is also the theology of Pherecydes of Syros. For Euphorians, the poet, and Callimachus' Aitia, and Lycophron's Alexandra, and things similar to these, all depend on a gymnasium for the explanation of grammar. Therefore, even the foreign philosophy, about which we are about to speak, can be revealed secretly and prophesied through symbols, as has been shown. "Moses advises such things: these common ones, indeed, not to eat a pig, nor a vulture, nor an eagle, nor a raven. For the pig shows a pleasure-loving and unclean desire for food, and a spark of lust and defiled debauchery, always itching, both wild and lying in the mud, fed for slaughter and destruction. On the other hand, it allows eating the split-hoofed and cud-chewing animals; Barnabas says this shows that those who fear the Lord must cling together, and those who study the word deeply in their heart, with those who speak the Lord's laws and keep them, with those who know that study is a work of joy, and who chew over the word of the Lord. What then is the meaning of "split-hoofed"? Because the righteous one walks in this world, and awaits the holy age." Then he adds: "See how well Moses legislated. But how could those people think or understand these things? We rightly understand the commandments and speak them as the Lord wished; for this reason, we circumcise our ears and our hearts, so that we may understand these things. And indeed, when he says, "You shall not eat the eagle, the sharp-winged one, the kite, and the raven," he means that you shall not be joined to or become like those people who do not know how to provide food for themselves through labor and sweat, but live by robbery and lawlessness; for the eagle signifies robbery, the sharp-winged one injustice, and the raven greed. It is also written: "With an innocent man you shall be innocent, and with the chosen you shall be chosen; but with the perverse you shall pervert." Therefore, it is fitting to cling to the holy ones, because those who cling to them will be made holy." From here Theognis writes:

For from the good you will learn good things; but if with the bad,

if you mix with them, you will lose even your present mind.

And again in Ode he says: "For gloriously it has been glorified; he threw the horse and rider into the sea, the many-legged and beastly and impulsive passion, desire, along with the charioteer who rode it, having given the reins to pleasures, he threw them into the sea, casting them away into worldly disorder." Thus Plato also, in On the Soul, says that the charioteer and the runaway horse, the irrational part, which is indeed divided into two, falls into anger and desire. The myth also hints that Phaethon fell because of the lack of self-control of the horses. And indeed, concerning Joseph, his brothers, jealous of this young man who seemed somewhat superior in knowledge, stripped off his colorful coat; and having taken it, they threw him into a pit (the pit was empty, it had no water), thus rejecting the colorful knowledge born from the eagerness of the earnest learner; or, using the pure faith according to the law, they threw him into a pit empty of water, selling him off to Egypt, the desert of the divine word. The pit was empty of knowledge; having been thrown into it and stripped of knowledge, the one who was wise but betrayed seemed to be like his brothers, naked of knowledge. In another sense, desire would be a colorful garment, hanging over a vast and bottomless pit. If someone opens a pit or digs a quarry, it is said, and does not cover it, and a calf or a donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit will pay money and give it to the neighbor; but the dead animal will belong to him. Here that prophecy came to me: "The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's manger; but Israel did not understand me". So that no one, falling into the knowledge taught by you, becomes weak in the truth, and both disobeys and falls, be safe, he says, regarding the use of the word. And to those who come without reason, close off the living spring deep down; but offer a drink to those who thirst for the truth. Hiding, then, from those unable to receive the depth of knowledge, he covered the pit. The master of the pit, the gnostic himself, will suffer loss, he says, bearing the blame for the one who was caused to stumble—either swallowed up by the greatness of the word while still being small-minded; or having moved the worker toward contemplation, and having led him away by the pretext of makeshift faith. He will give silver, bearing account and penalties to the will of the almighty. This, then, is the pattern of the law and the prophets, up to John; but he, although speaking more clearly so as no longer to prophesy but to show the one who was announced from the beginning symbolically as already present, nevertheless says, "I am not worthy to loosen the strap of the Lord's sandal." For he admits he is not worthy of such power to baptize; for those who make clean must free the soul from the body and its sins, just as one frees the foot from a chain. Perhaps also the final work of the Savior toward us—the immediate one I mean, hidden by the riddle of prophecy through his presence—he who, by direct sight, showed the one appointed, announcing the coming presence that was truly approaching openly from afar, indeed brought to an end the limits of the words of the plan, revealing the meaning of the symbols. And the matters among the Romans, concerning the covenants, have taken their order: those things through righteousness, the weights and the measures, the fruits, and the touchings of the ears. For some things are so that justice may be done; others are for the distribution of honor; and the rest so that the one who happens by, as if a weight is placed upon him, may stand and listen, and take the role of mediator.

Chapter 9

But, it seems, I have been carried away by a desire to show off, going beyond what was necessary. For life will fail me to present the full number of those who philosophize symbolically. For the sake of memory and brevity, and because I am devoted to the truth, here are some writings of foreign philosophy. For many have often come close to them, and have tested everything according to faith and according to life; only they want true philosophy and true theology to exist. And indeed, they want us to need an interpreter and teacher; for in this way we will study more carefully and will not be deceived, receiving from those who know well, and benefiting those who deserve it. They took this approach, especially since everything that appears through some veil shows the truth as greater and more honorable; just as the clear parts reveal the water, but the shapes through the veils give them certain appearances that please. For the surrounding lights serve as tests, so that even the things clearly seen are understood in only one way. Therefore, it is possible to take more general meanings, just as we do, from the things said with some concealment. With these things being so, the inexperienced and ignorant are mistaken, but the knowledgeable understands. Indeed, I would not want everything to be openly revealed even to those who happen upon it, nor to share the good things of wisdom with those whose souls are not even purified in their dreams (for it is not right to reach out to those who encounter what has been gained through so many struggles), nor yet to explain the mysteries of the Word to the unholy. They say that Hipparchus the Pythagorean, who had a reason to write clearly about the teachings of Pythagoras, was forgotten during his lifetime, and that a tombstone was set up over him as if he were dead. Therefore, in V 9, p 89, they call those who have fallen away from the teachings dead in the barbarian philosophy, and those who have subjected the mind to the passions of the soul. For what share has righteousness with lawlessness? According to the divine Apostle: "What fellowship has light with darkness?" But what agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what share has the faithful with the unbeliever? For the honors of the Olympians and the dead are separate; therefore the Lord says, "Go out from among them and be separate; do not touch what is unclean; and I will receive you, and I will be a father to you; and you will be my sons and daughters." So it is not only the Pythagoreans and Plato who kept many things hidden, but also the Epicureans say that some things are secret even among themselves, and they do not allow everyone to have access to these writings. But the Stoics say that some things were written by Zeno the first, which they do not easily allow their students to read, unless they have first given proof that they truly love philosophy. The followers of Aristotle also say that some of their writings are for insiders only, while others are common and public. But even those who established mysteries, being philosophers, covered their teachings with myths, so that they would not be clear to everyone. Then some, hiding human opinions, prevented the ignorant from encountering them; but it was not better for the holy and blessed vision of truly real things to be hidden from everyone? But neither those of foreign philosophy, nor the Pythagorean myths, nor those in Plato's Republic addressed to Armenius, and in Gorgias about Aeacus and Rhadamanthus, and in Phaedo about Tartarus, and in Protagoras about Prometheus and Epimetheus, and besides these, the war between the Atlanteans and the Athenians in the Atlantic, are simply to be allegorized according to all their names; rather, only those things that signify universal meaning of the mind. And indeed, we would find these revealed through symbols, hidden under the veil of allegory. Indeed, both the gathering of Pythagoras and the double fellowship with his followers called many "listeners" who heard, and some others "mathematicians," the genuine ones who grasped philosophy; but what was said openly and what was kept hidden was hinted at for the many. Perhaps also that double kind from the Peripatetic school, called in their speeches both honorable and scientific, did not avoid dividing opinion from both reputation and truth.

But may no flowers of honor bloom for you from a good reputation,

To be taken away from mortals, for which it is more fitting to speak of what is holy.

At any rate, the Iades Muses plainly say, "Many follow the singers of the people who think themselves wise, and use laws, knowing that many are bad and few are good; but the best are pursued by fame. For the best, it is said, are chosen against all others, the never-ending fame of mortals. But most are satisfied like beasts, with their stomachs and genitals, and the most shameful parts among us, measuring happiness by these." And the great Eleatic Parmenides introduces a teaching of two paths, writing somewhat like this:

The one of truth, with a heart steady and obedient,

The other, of mortal opinions, in which there is no true trust.

Chapter 10

It is fitting, then, that the divine Apostle, in the Letter to the Ephesians, says, "The mystery was made known to me" (as I briefly wrote before, so that by reading you may understand my insight into the mystery of Christ), a mystery that was not made known to other generations of the children of men, but now has been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets. For there is also a perfect knowledge, about which, writing to the Colossians, he says: "We do not cease praying and asking for you, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might." And again: "According to the stewardship of God given to me for you, to complete the word of God, the mystery hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to his saints, to whom God chose to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles." So, some mysteries were hidden until the time of the apostles, and were received from them as handed down from the Lord; but those hidden in the Old Testament were revealed to the saints. But the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles is something else: it is the faith and hope in Christ, about whom another foundation has been spoken. And again, as if eager to show knowledge, he writes somewhat like this: "Admonishing every person in all wisdom, so that we may present every person perfect in Christ." Not simply every person; for no one would be unbelieving. Nor indeed every believer perfect in Christ, but he says every person, as if to say the whole person, purified in body and soul. Since the knowledge of all does not plainly bring this about, "being united in love, and reaching to all the riches of the full understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God in Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Be persistent in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving. And thanksgiving is not only for the soul and spiritual gifts, but also for the body and the good things of the body. And even more clearly he reveals that the knowledge is not for all, choosing his words carefully: "Praying also for us, that God may open to us a door to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am bound, so that I may make it clear as I ought to speak." For there was something handed down unwritten immediately to the Hebrews: "For you ought to be teachers by now," he says, "because of the time, but you need again someone to teach you the basic principles of the first teachings about God; and you have come to need milk, not solid food." For everyone who drinks milk is inexperienced in the word of righteousness; for he is like a baby, trusting in the first lessons. But solid food is for the mature, for those whose senses have been trained by habit to distinguish good and evil. Therefore, leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ, let us move on to maturity. But even Barnabas, who himself preached the word alongside the Apostle during the ministry to the Gentiles, says in his Epistle to the Hebrews, "I write to you so that you may understand." Then going on, now giving a clearer trace of the secret teaching, he says: What does the other prophet Moses say to them? Behold, the Lord God says this: Enter the good land, which the Lord God, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, has sworn to give you; and take possession of it, a land flowing with milk and honey. What does the knowledge say? Learn this: "Hope," it says, "in Jesus who will appear to you in the flesh; for man is an earth that suffers. For from the face of the earth, the creation of Adam came into being." What then does it say about the good land, the one flowing with milk and honey? Blessed is our Lord, brothers, who has placed wisdom and understanding within us of his hidden things. For the prophet says: "Who will understand the Lord's parable, if not one who is wise, knowledgeable, and loving toward his Lord?" These things are for a few to understand; for the Lord did not command with envy, he says, in a certain Gospel, "My mystery is for me and for the sons of my house," making the choice in safety and without worry, so that what is taken by those he has chosen may become superior in zeal. For the one who does not have knowledge of good is evil, because there is one good, the Father; but to not know the Father is death, just as to know him is eternal life, by participation in the power of the incorruptible; and not to be corrupted is to share in divinity; but separation from the knowledge of God brings corruption. Again the prophet says: "And I will give you hidden treasures, dark, invisible, so that you may know that I am the Lord God." David also sings in a similar way: "For behold, you have loved truth; you have revealed to me the hidden and secret things of your wisdom." For day speaks to day, and night to night declares knowledge, the written word openly; and there are no words or speeches whose voices are not heard; to God who said: "Someone will do secret things, and I will not see them"? For this reason, learning is called enlightenment, because it reveals what is hidden, only after the teacher has uncovered the lid of the ark. On the other hand, the poets say of Zeus, V 9, p 100, that he takes hold of the jar of good things, but opens the one of bad things. I know that, coming to you, the Apostle says, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ; the spiritual gift and the knowledge tradition, which, being present, he longs to share with them (for these things could not be communicated by letter), having called the fullness of Christ according to the revelation of a mystery kept silent for eternal times, but now revealed through the prophetic scriptures, by the command of the eternal God, made known for obedience of faith to all the nations—that is, to those believing from the nations—that he is. To a few of these, also, what these things are that are in mystery is shown. Reasonably then, Plato also, discussing God in his letters, says, "You must speak in riddles, so that if any tablet from the sea or the earth suffers folding, the reader will not understand." For the God of all, who is beyond every voice and every thought and every understanding, could never be handed down in writing, being ineffable in his power; which Plato himself also showed by saying: "Therefore, looking at these things, be careful that you never regret now falling unworthily." The greatest safeguard is not to write, but to learn thoroughly; for it is not possible, it is not possible that what is written will not be lost. Alongside these things, the holy apostle Paul says, preserving the prophetic and truly ancient secret, from which good teachings flow to the Greeks: We speak of wisdom among the perfect; but not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak of the wisdom of God, hidden in mystery. Then going on, regarding the careful avoidance of speaking too much to the many, he teaches in this way: "And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as spiritual, but as worldly, as infants in Christ; I gave you milk, not solid food; for you were not yet able; and even now you are not able; for you are still worldly." If then milk is said by the Apostle to be the food of infants, and solid food the nourishment of the perfect; milk is understood as catechesis, a kind of first food for the soul; and solid food is the contemplative vision; these are the flesh and blood of the Word, that is, the grasp of divine power and essence. "Taste and see that Christ is the Lord," he says. For thus he shares himself with those more spiritual who partake of such food, when indeed the soul already nourishes itself according to the truth-loving Plato; for knowledge of the divine essence is the eating and drinking of the divine Word; therefore Plato also says in the second book of the Republic, that one should seek about God as one would seek a sacrifice not of a pig, but a pure and inexhaustible offering. But the Apostle writes, "And our Passover was sacrificed, Christ; truly an inexhaustible sacrifice, the Son of God sanctified for us".

Chapter 11

Sacrifice to God is the unrepentant separation of the body and its sufferings; this is true and genuine reverence for God. And surely the study of death is fitting; for this reason philosophy was said to Socrates? For he who neither relies on sight in thinking, nor draws upon any of the other senses, but meets things with a pure mind itself, shares in true philosophy. This is why Pythagoras also wanted the silence of five years, which he prescribed to his followers, so that having turned away from the senses, they might behold the divine with a pure mind; those at the highest level among the Greeks philosophized in this way, following Moses. For he commands that the burnt offerings be divided into parts; since the knowing soul, having become stripped of its material skin, without bodily nonsense and all the passions, which empty and false opinions create, having put off the fleshly desires, must be consecrated to the light. Most people, putting on their mortal nature, like snails, and around their weaknesses, like hedgehogs curling into a ball, hold such opinions about the blessed and incorruptible God as they do about themselves. But they are blind, even if they happen to be near us, to the countless gifts God has given us, of which he himself is not a part: being uncreated in origin; needing no nourishment; growing in equality; and having both good old age and immortality, existing immortal and ageless. Therefore, no one should think that hands, feet, mouth, eyes, entrances, exits, anger, or threats are the sufferings of God, as the Hebrews say; not at all. Rather, some of these names are to be understood more spiritually; and indeed, as the discussion continues, we will clarify this at the proper time. The cure-all of all medicines is wisdom, Callimachus writes in the Epigrams; another wise man from another time, both long ago and now, says Bacchylides in the Paeans: For it is not easy to find the gates of unspeakable words. Isocrates speaks well in the Panathenaicus: "Whom then do I call educated?" He goes on to say: First, those who handle well the daily affairs that come upon them, and who have a good reputation at the right times, and who are able to judge wisely what is beneficial; then, those who always associate properly and justly with those nearby, and who easily and readily endure the unpleasantness and harshness of others, while making themselves as light and moderate as possible for those who are with them; furthermore, those who are masters of pleasures but not overly defeated by misfortunes, but who behave manfully in them, and who live worthily of the nature in which we participate. Fourth, which is the greatest, those who are not corrupted by success, nor thrown off course by it, nor become proud, but who remain steadfast in the order of those who think well. Then he brings the climax of the speech: But those who have a soul's habit fitting not just one of these, but all of these, I say are wise and complete men, and possess all virtues. Do you see how even the Greeks (although not knowing that one must truly understand) praise the life of knowledge? They do not even know in a dream what knowledge is. If then it is agreed that knowledge is food for the mind, truly blessed according to Scripture are those who hunger and thirst for truth; for they will be filled with everlasting nourishment. Very wonderfully, the philosopher Euripides, who is on the stage, is found to be a companion to what we have said before through these things, hinting at the Father and the Son together, I do not know how; saying:

To you, who rule over all, a libation

Bringing a libation, Zeus, or even Hades

Called by name, you are loved; but you, to me

A sacrifice lacking in all fruitfulness

Receive the full libation poured out.

V 9, p 108

For Christ is the whole fruit and an unfruitful sacrifice on our behalf. And because he does not know the Savior himself, he says, making it clear by adding:

For you are among the gods in the heavenly places

Wielding the scepter of Zeus,

You share the rule of the earthly Hades.

Then he says directly:

Send light to the souls of men

To those willing to learn to endure struggles

From where did it grow, what is the root of evils,

What indeed to those born of the blessed

To find rest from labors.

It is not unreasonable, then, that among the mysteries of the Greeks, the first to begin are the purifications, just as for the barbarians it is the bath; after these come the lesser mysteries, which have the nature of teachings and preparations for what is to come; but the greater mysteries, concerning the whole cosmos, no longer remain to be learned, but to be seen clearly and to understand both the nature and the things themselves. Let us take the purifying method by agreement, and the contemplative by analysis, advancing toward the first understanding through analysis, making the origin from what underlies it, removing the natural qualities of the body, and taking in the depthwise separation; then, the widthwise; and on these, the lengthwise. For what remains is a point, having, so to speak, a position of unity; and if we take away the position, unity is understood. If then, having taken away everything that belongs to bodies and to the so-called incorporeal things, we cast ourselves into the greatness of Christ; and from there we proceed into the boundless holiness, bringing near the understanding of the almighty, knowing not what is, but what is not; form and motion, or standing, or throne, or place, or right hand, or left hand, of the Father of all must not be thought of at all, although these things are also written; but what he wishes to show of each will be revealed according to its proper place. Then the first cause is not in a place, but above place, time, name, and understanding. For this reason, Moses also says, "Show me yourself," most clearly hinting that God is not teachable to humans, nor is God expressible, but is known only through the power given by him; for the search is always unseen, but the grace of knowledge comes from him through the Son. Most clearly Solomon will testify to us in this way, saying: "Human understanding is not in me, but God gives me wisdom; and I know holy things." Immediately Moses allegorizes divine understanding, calling it the tree of life, planted in the paradise; which indeed can be both paradise and world, in which all things created by the Creator have their nature. In this, the Word both blossomed and bore fruit by becoming flesh, and gave life to those who tasted of his goodness; for not even without the tree has knowledge come to us. For our life was hung upon our faith. And Solomon again says: "The tree of immortality is for those who hold fast to it." Therefore he says: "Behold, I set before you life and death, to love the Lord God, to walk in his ways, to listen to his voice, and to believe in life." But if you break the laws and the judgments that I have given you, you will be destroyed by ruin; for this is life, the length of your days, to love the Lord your God. Again: V 9, p 112

Abraham, having come to the place which God had told him, on the third day, looking up, sees the place from afar. For the first day is by the sight of beautiful things, the second is the best desire of the soul; but on the third day the mind sees spiritual things, when the eyes of the understanding are opened by the teacher who rose on the third day. Let the three days of the seal also be a mystery, through which the true God is believed. From a distance, then, he sees the place in order; for the land of God is hard to reach. Plato, having seen this place, called it the place taken from Moses, as the one that contains all things and everything. But rightly, it is seen from afar by Abraham, because it is in Genesis; and it is carefully revealed through an angel. From here the Apostle says, "We now see as in a mirror"; but then face to face, according to those pure and incorporeal acts of the mind alone. It is also possible, when speaking, to contemplate God, if someone tries without all the senses, through reason alone, to grasp what each thing is, and not to stray from what exists before returning upward to what is above it, which is good, and to grasp it with the mind itself, becoming in it the perfection of the intelligible, according to Plato. Again, Moses did not allow altars and sacred places to be built in many places, but having established one temple of God, the only-begotten world, as Basilides says, and the one God, as Basilides no longer seems to think, he proclaimed God. And because the unknowable cannot be contained by place, the Gnostic Moses did not dedicate any foundation to the temple, which is venerable; showing that God is invisible and indescribable, and bringing the Hebrews to the concept of God through the honor of the name according to the temple. But indeed the argument blocks all the sacred structures and all the sacrifices, hinting that the almighty is not in any place, through which he says: What kind of house will you build for me? the Lord says. The heaven is my throne, and the things that follow. Likewise concerning the sacrifices: I do not desire the blood of bulls or the fat of lambs; and on these things, through the prophet, the Holy Spirit forbids them. Certainly, then, Euripides agrees with these things, writing: Who would, being formed under the hands of builders, throw the divine Demas around with folds of walls? And concerning the sacrifices, he says likewise:

For God does not need, if indeed he is truly God,

… these wretched words of singers.

For God did not make the world out of need, so that he might receive honors from humans, or from other gods and spirits, as Plato says, as if gaining some kind of income from creation; from us, he receives smoke; from gods and spirits, their own services. Most instructive, then, is Paul in the Acts of the Apostles: "The God who made the world," he says, "and everything in it, this one, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in handmade temples, nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else." Zeno, the founder of the Stoic school, also says in his book On the Republic that neither temples nor statues should be made; for nothing is worthy of the gods as a crafted object. And he was not afraid to write these words to them: "There is no need to build temples; for a temple is not worth much, and nothing should be considered holy; the work of builders and craftsmen is neither worthy nor holy." Therefore, it is fitting that Plato, knowing the world as the temple of God, showed the citizens a place in the city where the idols were to be set up for them. But privately he said that no one should possess statues of the gods. Therefore, no one else, he says, should consecrate temples to the gods. For gold and silver, in other cities both privately and in temples, are objects of envy; but ivory, having lost the life of the body, is not a holy offering; iron and bronze are tools of war; and wood, a single piece, let anyone dedicate whatever they want; in the same way, stone too is for the common temples. It is reasonable, then, in the great letter: for he says that rhetoric is by no means like the other subjects; but it comes from a great gathering about the matter itself, and from suddenly living together, like light suddenly born from a fire leaping up in the soul, it already nourishes itself. Are these things not similar to what the prophet Sophonias said? And the spirit took me up, and carried me into the fifth heaven, and I saw angels called lords; and their crown resting in the Holy Spirit, and the throne of each of them was seven times as bright as the rising sun, dwelling in temples of salvation, and praising God, the ineffable, the highest.

Chapter 12

For it is impossible to find the father and creator of this whole universe and then explain him fully to everyone. For it is not at all clear, like other lessons, as the truth-loving Plato says. For the very wise Moses heard well when he went up the mountain for holy contemplation; necessarily, he was separated to the top of the intelligible things, so that he would not bring the whole people up with him. And when the Scripture says, "And Moses entered the cloud where God was", this shows to those who can understand that God is invisible and ineffable. The cloud truly is the disbelief and ignorance of many, which is placed over the light of truth. And Orpheus, the theologian, also benefited from this, saying:

One is self-existent, all things are born from one, or, it is natural; for it is also written like this: it brings forth,

… and no one

He is seen by mortals, but he himself sees all.

He chooses more clearly;

I do not see him; for a cloud has settled around him.

For to all mortals, mortal eyes are small; since flesh and bones have grown together. The Apostle will bear witness to what has been said, saying, "I know a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven, and from there into paradise; who heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to speak." Thus he hinted at the unspeakable things of God; not by law or fear adding some command about what is not lawful, but by holy power showing that the divine message is unutterable. For indeed, he begins to speak beyond the third heaven, as is fitting for those who initiate the chosen souls there. For I know the things from Plato (for many examples from foreign philosophy are being set before me now by scripture, waiting for the right time according to the first promises); many heavens are understood. Having been puzzled in the Timaeus about whether one must think there are many worlds or only this one, he is indifferent about the names, calling both the world and the heaven anonymously; but the meaning of the word is as follows: So, have we rightly said there is one heaven or many and countless? It would be more correct to say one, if indeed it will have been created according to the pattern. But even in the letter to the Romans to the Corinthians, the boundless Ocean is written for humans, and the worlds that follow it. Then again he speaks out: "O the depth of the riches, and of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" V 9, p 120 p 120 the noble Apostle. And perhaps this was what the prophet was hinting at, urging that the unleavened be made in secret? indicating that the sacred mystery concerning the unbegotten one and his powers must truly be kept hidden in a secret teaching. Confirming these things in the Letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle clearly said: "But we speak wisdom among the perfect; not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing; but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom." And again elsewhere he says: "To the knowledge of the mystery of God in Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Our Savior himself confirms these things, saying something like this: "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven." And again the Gospel says that our Savior spoke the word in mystery to the apostles. For the prophecy about him says: "He will open his mouth in parables, and will reveal things hidden since the foundation of the world." And already through the parable about the yeast, the Lord shows the hidden meaning; for he says: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until the whole was leavened." For the threefold soul is saved through obedience, according to the spiritual power hidden in it by faith; or because the strength of the Word given to us, being brief and powerful, secretly and invisibly draws to itself everyone who accepts it and gains it within themselves, and gathers their whole being into unity. Most wisely then these things about God were written to Solon:

It is most difficult to understand an unseen judgment

Measure: which indeed alone has proof of all things.

For the divine, as the poet from Akragas says,

It is not possible to approach it with the eyes.

For our hands to touch it; which indeed is the greatest

The chariot of persuasion falls into the minds of men.

V 9, p 121 p 121 And John the apostle said: No one has ever seen God; the only-begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has explained. But some have called the invisible and unspeakable bosom God, having named it deep, as if having embraced and enfolded all things, both accessible and infinite. Yes indeed, the most mistreated word about God is this. For since the beginning of every thing is hard to find, the very first and oldest beginning is especially hard to show, which is also the cause for all other things to come into being and to exist. For how could it be expressed in words, when it is neither a kind, nor a difference, nor a form, nor an atom, nor a number; but neither an accident, nor something to which an accident has happened? No one could properly say the whole about it; for the whole is arranged according to size, and it is the father of all things. Nor indeed should any parts of it be spoken of; for the one is indivisible. And because of this, it is also infinite—not in the sense of being impassable, but in the sense of being unbroken, and having no limit. And so it is without shape, and without a name. And if we ever name it, we do not do so properly; calling it either the One, or the Good, or the Mind, or Being itself, or the Father, or God, or the Creator, or the Lord, we do not speak these as its true name. But out of difficulty, we use these names, so that the mind may have something to hold on to, and not be led astray about other things. For none of these is a specific sign of God, but all together they indicate the power of the almighty. For the things said are either from their attributes explicitly, or from their relation to each other; but it is not possible to take any of these concerning God. But it is not grasped even by demonstrative knowledge; for this consists of earlier and better-known things, and nothing precedes the unbegotten. So it remains that only by divine grace and by the Word from him alone can the unknown be understood; as Luke also records in the Acts of the Apostles, quoting Paul saying, "Men of Athens, in every way I see you as more religiously superstitious." For passing through and examining your shrines, I found an altar on which was inscribed, "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD." Therefore, the one you worship without knowing, this I proclaim to you.

Chapter 13

Everything, then, that falls under a name is begotten, whether they want it or not. So, either the Father himself draws to himself all who have lived purely, and who have entered into the understanding of the blessed and incorruptible nature; or the free will within us, coming to the knowledge of the good, leaps and jumps beyond the dug-out places, which the trainers call, but not without grace, it flies with a special wing and rises and lifts itself above what lies beneath, the soul laying aside all heaviness and giving it back to its kindred. Plato also says in Meno that virtue is God-given, as these words show: "From this reasoning, then, O Meno, virtue appears to us as coming by divine fate to those to whom it comes." Does it not seem to you that the divine fate is a riddle for the knowledge that comes to all? He makes it clearer: "If now we have rightly searched in every part of this argument, virtue would be neither natural nor taught, but coming by divine fate, not without mind, to those to whom it comes." Wisdom, then, being God-given and the power of the Father, urges our free will, accepts faith, and rewards the knowledge of choice with the highest fellowship. And I will set before you Plato himself, already worthy to be trusted as a child of God; for in the Timaeus he speaks about gods who are invisible and begotten. And about the other spirits, he says that to speak and know their origin is greater than for us; and what has been said before must be believed, that they are descendants of gods, as they said, and clearly somehow knowing their own ancestors. It is impossible, then, for children of gods to disbelieve, even though they speak without proofs or necessary evidence. I do not think it is possible to be more clearly attested by Greeks about our Savior; and those who have been anointed for prophecy, some called children of God, and the Lord, being a true son, are truthful witnesses about divine things; therefore, it is necessary to believe them, being inspired, he added. And if someone says more harshly not to believe;

For it was not Zeus who proclaimed these things to me; rather, let it be known that God himself proclaimed the Scriptures through the Son. The one who proclaims what belongs to him is faithful; for the Lord says, "No one has known the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son reveals him." Therefore, this must be believed, even according to Plato, even if it is proclaimed and spoken without clear signs and necessary proofs, through both the Old and the New Testament: "If you do not believe," says the Lord. "You will die in your sins;" but again, "Whoever believes has eternal life." Therefore, all who have trusted in him are blessed; trusting is more than just faith. For when someone is certain that the Son is the teacher of God, they have truly trusted that his teaching is true. Just as learning, according to Empedocles, increases the mind, so trusting in the Lord increases faith. Therefore, we say that they both blame philosophy and run after faith; they praise injustice and consider a life lived according to desire to be happy. Faith already, even if it is a willing consent of the soul, is a worker of good things and the foundation of righteous action. And even if Aristotle calls a craft the making and the ordering of irrational animals and inanimate things, teaching this, he says that action belongs only to humans; let those who say that God is the maker of all things be straightened out; as for what is to be done, he says it is either good or necessary. To do wrong, then, is not good; for no one does wrong except through something else. And nothing among the necessary things is voluntary; so doing wrong is voluntary, and therefore not necessary. Among the wicked, the serious ones differ most of all in their choices and foolish desires. For every wickedness of the soul comes with weakness of will; and the one who acts through passion acts through weakness of will, and wickedness. Then it is right for me to marvel at that divine voice in each case: "Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who does not enter the sheepfold through the door, but climbs up some other way, that one is a thief and a robber; but the one who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. Then, explaining this, the Lord says: 'I am the door of the sheep.'". Therefore, it is necessary to be saved through Christ by having learned the truth, even if they happen to have philosophy; for now it has been clearly shown, which was not made known to other generations, but has now been revealed to the sons of men. For the clear sign of the one almighty God was always naturally present to all who think well; and most people, even though not fully perfected toward the truth, received a share of the eternal good provided by divine providence. In general, then, Xenocrates of Carthage does not despair of the concept of the divine even among irrational animals. Democritus, even if he does not want to, must agree because of the sequence of doctrines; for he made the same images fall upon humans and irrational animals from the divine essence. It is of great importance that humans are not without a share of the divine idea; for he is recorded to partake of the breath in Genesis, having shared in a purer essence than the other animals. From this, those around Pythagoras say that the mind comes to humans by a divine portion, just as Plato and Aristotle agree. But we say that the holy Spirit is breathed upon the one who believes; those around Plato say that the mind is a divine portion flowing into the soul, and that the soul dwells in the body. For it is clearly said through Joel, one of the twelve prophets: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." But not as a part of God in each one of us is the spirit. How this distribution is made, and what the holy Spirit actually is, will be shown to us in the writings about prophecy and about the soul. But good disbelief, according to Heraclitus, hides the depths of knowledge; for disbelief escapes when it is not understood.

Chapter 14

What follows must be explained, and the Greek theft from barbarian philosophy must be made clearer; for the Stoics say that God is a body, and essentially a spirit, just as they also neglect the soul. You will find all these things directly in the Scriptures. Do not think that their allegories now mean the truth as the Gnostic teaching gives it, if they show something else; just as the old wise wrestlers signal one thing but mean another. But they say that God passes through all of being, while we call him only the creator, and the creator through the Word. They were led astray by what is said in Wisdom: "He passes through and moves through all things because of purity"; since they did not understand that these words apply to the wisdom of the first-created God. Yes, they say so; but the philosophers place matter in the principles, both the Stoics, and Plato, and Pythagoras, as well as Aristotle the Peripatetic; not just one principle. Let them then know that the so-called matter is called for them shapeless and without form, and even bolder than what Plato said before. And perhaps knowing one truly existing principle in the most mysterious way, he says this in the Timaeus with these very words? Now then, let what is with us be like this: Whether about all things there is one principle, or several principles, or something else regarding these, it must not be stated now—not for any other reason, but because it is difficult in the present way to explain what seems to be so. Moreover, that prophetic saying, "And the earth was invisible and unformed," gave them a starting point of material substance. Indeed, for Epicurus, the intrusion of the automatic, without following the spoken word, happened from here: "Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity." But Aristotle went as far as the moon to bring down providence from this psalm: "Lord, in heaven is your mercy, and your truth reaches to the clouds." For the revelation of the prophetic mysteries had not yet been uncovered before the coming of the Lord. But the punishments after death and the punishment by fire, from barbarian philosophy, all poetic muse, and also Greek philosophy, rejected them. Plato, then, in the last part of the Republic, says these very words: "Here indeed, men who are wild and fiery to see, standing by, and hearing the speech, some took them aside privately and led them away, while others bound Aridaios and the rest by hands and feet and head, threw them down and beat them, dragging them off the road outside among the thorn bushes, beating them; for the fiery men want to show him angels who, having taken the unjust, punish them. He says, "The ones who make his angels are spirits, and his servants are burning fire." And following these, the soul is said to be immortal. For the one being punished or disciplined, while in sensation, lives, even if it is said to suffer. But what then? Does not Plato know, and calling prophetically the rivers of fire, the depths of the earth, the place called Tartarus by the barbarians, as well as Cocytus and Acheron, and Phlegethon, and such things, introducing them as punishments to correct through discipline? But concerning the lesser ones, according to Scripture, even the angels who see God, and also showing the oversight that has come to us through the angels appointed over us, he does not hesitate to write: Since all souls have chosen their lives, as if by lot, to be in order before Lachesis; and she sends with each one, whom she has chosen, a guardian spirit of life, and a fulfiller of what has been chosen. Perhaps even to Socrates the daimonion was such a kind of thing, hinted at. Yes, the philosophers accepted from Moses the belief that the world is created. And Plato himself said directly: Whether there was no beginning of creation, or it came into being having started from some beginning? For being visible, it is tangible; and being tangible, it also has a body. Again, whenever he says: Then the maker, and the Father of this whole, he shows the world not only to be created, but also to have come from him, like a son; and he calls him the Father, as if coming from the only one who exists and from one who does not exist. Indeed, the Stoics also hold that the world is created. Plato says in the tenth book of the Laws these words about the devil, who is spoken of by barbarian philosophy as the ruler of the demons and an evil soul: A soul that governs all things moved is surely not necessary to be said to govern even the heaven? What then? One or more? I answer for more than one of them. Let us put nothing less than two, to work out both the benefactor and the one able to do the opposite. Likewise, he writes these things also to Phaedrus: "There are indeed other evils; but some spirit has mixed pleasure with most things at the moment." But also in the tenth book of the Laws, it shows clearly that apostolic teaching: Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the spiritual forces of the heavens. Writing somewhat like this: "For since we have allowed them to be for us a heaven full of many good things, and also of opposites, but more of those not good; truly we say that such a battle is immortal, and it needs a marvelous guarding." Again, the foreign philosophy knows the intelligible world, and the sensible world; the one is the archetype, the other the image of what is called the pattern; and it assigns the one a unit, as being intelligible, and the other a sixfold number, as being sensible. For marriage among the Pythagoreans, as a fertile number, is called the sixfold; and in the unit they place the invisible heaven, the holy earth, and the intelligible light. For it is said, "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth;" and the earth was invisible; then it adds, "And God said, Let there be light, and there was light." In the sensible creation, indeed, he makes the solid heaven (and the solid is sensible), the visible earth, and the visible light. Does it not seem to you that Plato from here leaves the ideas of living beings in the intelligible world, and creates the sensible forms and kinds in the intelligible? Moses then rightly says that the body is formed from the earth, which Plato calls an earthly tent; but the rational soul is breathed in from above by God into a person. For here they say that the ruling part is established, interpreting the soul's entrance through the senses as an incidental entry into the first-formed; therefore, man has come to be according to image and likeness. For the image of God is a divine and royal word, a man without passion; but the human mind is the image of that image. If you want to take the likeness by another name, you would find in Moses what is called the divine following; for he says, "Follow after the Lord your God, and keep his commandments." I think that all the virtuous are followers and servants of God. From this point, the Stoics said that the goal of philosophy is to live according to nature; but Plato called it the likeness of God, as we showed in the second book of the Stromateis. Zeno the Stoic, taking from Plato, but also from foreign philosophy, said that all good people are friends to one another. For in the Phaedrus, Socrates says that evil is not destined to be a friend to evil, nor good to good without friendship; and he also showed this clearly in Lysis, that friendship could never be saved in injustice and wickedness. And the Athenian stranger likewise says that action is dear and following God, and has one ancient reason: that whenever the similar is to the similar, being moderate, it is a friend; but the things without measure are neither to the immoderate nor to the moderate. But God would be to us the measure of all things. Then going down, he brings it back again: For every good thing is like to a good thing; and because of this, he is also like God, being a friend both to every good thing and to God. There, having come, I remembered that one as well. At the end of the Timaeus, he says: "The one who understands must make like to the thing understood according to the original nature; and having made it like, it must have the purpose of the good life proposed by the gods for the human, both for the present and for the future time." For those things are equal to these: The seeker will not stop until he finds; having found, he will be amazed; having been amazed, he will rule; and having ruled, he will rest. But what then? Is it not also from these that Thales took the idea that God is to be praised forever and ever, and that he is called the knower of hearts, directly interpreted for us? When Thales was asked, "What is the divine?" "It is neither a beginning nor an end," he said. And when another asked if a person acts without the divine knowing, he said, "How could he, who does not even think," Yes, only the barbarian philosophy knows that the good is beautiful, and that virtue is self-sufficient for happiness, whenever it might say: "Look, I have placed before your eyes the good and the bad, life and death; choose life." For the good is called life, and the choice of it is called beautiful; but the choice of the opposite is called bad. The goal of both the good and life is one: to become loving of God. For this life of yours, even if long, is to love what is true. Those things are clearer. For the Savior, having commanded to love God and neighbor, says that the whole law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. The Stoics break these teachings into parts; and before them, Socrates in Phaedrus prays: "O Pan and other gods, grant that I may be beautiful within." And in Theaetetus he says clearly. For the one who speaks well is both noble and good. And even in Protagoras, it is agreed among Protagoras' companions that it is better to meet Alcibiades; for if anything is the wisest, it is the most beautiful. For he said that virtue is the beauty of the soul; but on the other hand, vice is the shame of the soul. Antipater, the Stoic, having written three books on the subject, demonstrates that according to Plato alone the beautiful is good, proving that virtue itself is sufficient for happiness according to him; and he cites many other teachings in agreement with the Stoics. Aristobulus, who lived under Ptolemy Philadelphus, whom the author of the summary of the Maccabean history mentions, wrote enough books through which he proves that Peripatetic philosophy was derived from the law of Moses and the other prophets. Let these things be held for now. But that we are brothers, as of one God and one teacher, Plato seems to show in some way like this: For you are certainly brothers in the city (as we might say to them in a story); but God, the creator, mixed gold in the nature of those of you who are fit to rule; therefore they are the most honorable; and those who are helpers, silver; and iron and bronze to the farmers and the other craftsmen. From this it is necessary, he says, to be born and to greet and love, those on the basis of knowledge, and those on the basis of opinion; perhaps he is prophesying a chosen nature longing for knowledge; unless, by assuming three certain natures, he outlines three forms of government, as some have supposed; and silver belongs to the Jews, the third to the Greeks; but to the Christians, to whom royal gold has been mixed in, is the holy Spirit. Showing the Christian life, he writes word for word in Theaetetus: "Let us speak then about the leaders." For what would anyone say about those who spend their time poorly in philosophy? But these people probably do not even know the way to the market, nor to the court or council, or any other public meeting place of the city; they neither see nor hear the written laws and decrees; and the serious meetings of clubs and assemblies, and the revelries with flute players, do not even appear to them as a dream to take part in. Whether someone has become well or badly in the city, or what evil has come to him from his ancestors, it is more hidden from them than the so-called sea goblets. And these things not because he does not know —he does know—but in fact his body lies and stays at home; he himself flies around Pindar, beneath the earth, and above the sky beyond the stars, searching everywhere through all of nature. Again, regarding the Lord's saying, "Let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No" (V 9, p 149), that must be reflected; but to allow falsehood and to hide the truth is in no way right. This statement in the tenth of the Laws agrees with the prohibition against swearing: "Praise and oath are to be avoided in all things." And altogether, Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato, saying that they hear the voice of God, see the arrangement of all things as having been made precisely by God and held together without interruption; for they have heard Moses saying, "He said, and it came to be." They understand the word of God to be the work that shapes everything. Standing on the formation of man from the earth, the philosophers call the body earthly in each part. Homer does not hesitate to place in the part of curses the phrase,

But you all become water and earth.

Just as Isaiah says, "And you trample them down," speaking of them as clay. Callimachus also writes clearly:

That man was a year old, at which time a bird,

And both the sea and the four-footed animal, in this way

He spoke out like the clay of Prometheus.

Again, the same one,

"… If you," said Prometheus,

"You were formed, and you came from clay, not from anything else."

Hesiod also speaks about Pandora;

Hephaestus ordered the famous one, that as quickly as possible

to pour water on the earth, and to put the voice of a human within it,

And mind …

Fire, then, is defined by the Stoics as nature moving toward generation by a technical process; fire and light are also allegorized as God and his Word according to Scripture. But what then? Did not Homer also, paraphrasing the separation of water from earth, and the revelation, the appearance of the dry land, speak of both the mother Tethys and Ocean?

For indeed they have been apart from each other for a long time now

Of rest and affection.

Again, even the most learned among the Greeks attach the possible to God; Epicharmus, who was Pythagorean, saying:

"Nothing escapes the divine; this you must know."

"He himself is our overseer; and God is powerless over nothing."

"The poet, however,"

"God is able to bring forth from black"

"light pure from night without stain,"

"From the dark clouded darkness"

"To cover the pure brightness of day;"

He says that the one alone who is able to make night from the present day is God. In the Phenomena, Aratus writes:

"Let us begin from Zeus," saying, "whom men never allow"

"Unspoken; and all the streets are full of Zeus,"

"All the marketplaces of men; and the sea is full,"

"And the harbors; everywhere we all have used Zeus"

V 9, p 153 p 153 Ἐπιφέρει,

For we are also of his race.…

Like a creation;

… but he is gentle toward humans

To mean the right hand, he raises peoples to works;

For he himself established these signs in heaven,

Distinguishing the stars; and he crowned them for a year

Stars; those which especially were made to be signs

For men to know the seasons, so that everything might grow steadily.

And they are always first and last to be appeased;

Rejoice, father, great wonder, a great blessing to men.

And before this, Homer, arranging the shield forged by Hephaestus according to Moses:

"He made the earth, and the sky, and the sea," he says.

"And he set all the stars; the sky is crowned with them."

For through poems and carefully arranged writings, Zeus, singing, brings the idea to God. And now, so to speak, Democritus writes of a few men who, raising their hands here to what we Greeks now call the air, Zeus speaks of everything, and he knows all things, and gives and takes away; and he is king of all. More mysterious is the Boeotian Pindar, being a Pythagorean,

"One of men, one of gods" "is the kind."

"From one mother we both breathe."

Of matter, he hands over; and one is the creator of these, whom he calls a master craftsman father, who also has granted progress according to worth into divinity. For I am silent about Plato, who directly in the letter to Erastus and Coriscus appears as Father and Son, I do not know how, showing from the Hebrew Scriptures, urging literally; Swearing both eagerly and not carelessly, and with study as a sister to education, swearing to the cause of all God, and to the Father Lord, the ruler and cause; whom, if you philosophize rightly, you will know. And in the discourse in Timaeus, she calls the creator father, saying somewhat like this: "God of gods, of whom I am father, and creator of works." So also when he says, "Everything belongs to the king of all, and for his sake all things exist; and he is the cause of all good things; second, concerning the second things, and third, concerning the third things"—I hear no other explanation than that the holy Trinity is being revealed; for the third is the holy Spirit; the Son is second, through whom all things came into being according to the will of the Father. He himself, in the tenth book of the Republic, Hero V 9, p 157 p 157 of Armenius, of the family of Pamphylus, mentions—who is Zoroaster. Zoroaster himself writes: "These things were written by Zoroaster the Armenian, of the family Pamphylus." Having died in war, having gone to Hades, I learned from the gods. Plato says that this very Zoroaster came back to life on the twelfth day while lying on the fire. Perhaps then he means the resurrection, or perhaps those things figuratively, that through the twelve signs the path is made for the souls to the ascent; and he himself says that the same descent happens at birth. It should be understood that the labors of Heracles are twelve in number; after these, the soul attains release from this whole world. I do not refer to Empedocles, who naturally remembers the ascent of all things in this way, as if there will be a change someday into the nature of fire. Heraclitus of Ephesus is very clear in this opinion, having tested that one world is eternal, and that another, the one subject to arrangement, is perishable; not being something other than that, but somehow having that nature. But that the world made eternally from all being is eternal, he knew, and makes this clear by saying: The same world of all neither any of the gods nor humans made; but it was, and is, and will be, an ever-living fire, kindled by measure, and extinguished by measure. That it is both generated and perishable, he also held as an opinion, showing this by what follows: The changes of fire, first to sea; and of the sea, half is earth, and the other half is air. For he says that by power, fire is turned by the governing Reason, and God, through air, into moisture, which is like the seed of order; this he calls the sea. From this again come earth and sky, and all that they contain. How it is again taken up, and burned out, he clearly shows through these things: The sea spreads out, and is measured according to the same ratio as it was at first or as the earth came to be. Similarly, concerning the other elements, the same applies. Very similar to this, the most respected of the Stoics teach about the burning up, and about the governance of the world, and about the making of the world and of humans, and about the dwelling of our souls. Again, Plato in the seventh book of the Republic called the day here a night, I think, because of the rulers of the world, of this darkness; and sleep and death are the soul's descent into the body, according to the same ideas as Heraclitus V 9, p 161 p 161. And surely the Spirit did not foretell this about the Savior through David, saying: "I slept, but my heart was awake; I was asleep, and I awoke, because the Lord will help me." For it does not mean only the resurrection of Christ as a rising from sleep, but also the Lord's descent into the flesh is symbolized by sleep. At once the same Savior urges, "Stay awake;" as if saying, "Practice living, and try to separate the soul from the body." On the Lord's Day, in the tenth book of The Republic, Plato predicts this through these things: Since to those in the meadow seven days had passed, having risen, then indeed on the eighth day they were to go and arrive on the fourteenth. The meadow, then, must be understood as the steady sphere, like a gentle place, and friendly, and a space of the holy; and seven days mark each movement of the seven, and all the work of labor hastens toward the end of rest. But the journey after the wandering ones leads to heaven, that is, to the eighth movement and day. He says that souls go away in four parts, showing the journey through the four elements. But not only the Hebrews, but also the Greeks know the seventh day as holy; around it the whole world revolves, of all things that give life and grow. Hesiod says this about it:

First is the four, and also the seventh is a holy day.

And again:

And on the seventh again, the bright light of the sun.

But Homer:

And on the seventh then the sacred day came to an end.

And,

The seventh day was sacred.

And again,

The seventh day came, and everything was completed.

And once more,

On the seventh dawn we left the stream from Acheron.

Indeed, Callimachus the poet writes:

On the seventh dawn all things were completed.

And again,

"The seventh is among the good," "and the seventh is birth."

And,

"The seventh is among the first, and the seventh is perfect."

And,

"All seven were made in the starry heaven,"

"Appearing in circles, shining in the passing years."

But even the elegies of Solon greatly praise the number seven. What then? Is it not similar to what the Scripture says, "Let us raise up the righteous one, for he is troublesome to us"? Plato, alone prophesying the saving plan, says in the second book of the Republic as follows: "Thus the just man, being disposed in this way, will be whipped, twisted, bound; his eyes will be gouged out; dying after suffering all kinds of evil, he will be resurrected." Socratic Antisthenes, paraphrasing that prophetic voice, says, "To whom have you likened me?" The Lord says in V 9, p 165, "You resemble no one"; therefore no one can learn from a likeness who he is. Something similar Xenophon the Athenian says word for word: "He who shakes and trembles everything, as if he were great and powerful, is visible; but what his form is, is invisible; not even the sun, seeming to be very bright, resembles him in allowing him to be seen. But if anyone shamelessly looks at him, he takes away the sight."

For who of flesh can grasp the heavenly and true?

With eyes to see God immortal, who dwells in the heavens?

But not even by rays opposite to the sun

Can mortals, born to die, stand firm;

The Sibyl spoke beforehand. And well indeed did Xenophanes of Colophon, teaching that God is one and without body, say;

One God, greatest both among gods and men.

Not at all similar in body or mind to mortals. And again;

But mortals think that gods are born;

That they have their own clothing, and both voice and body.

And again;

But if indeed oxen or lions had hands,

or to write with their hands, and to perform works just like men;

Horses are like horses, and oxen are like oxen,

And even if they were to paint the images of gods, and make bodies,

Even though they themselves had a similar body.

Let us then listen again to Bacchylides the poet speaking about the divine:

The uninitiated are always full of many diseases,

And innocent, not at all like humans.

Cleanthes the Stoic, in a certain poem about God, wrote these things:

You ask me what the good is like; listen then.

It is ordered, just, holy, and pious;

It holds itself, useful, beautiful, and necessary;

Strict, self-controlled, always beneficial;

Fearless, without grief, profitable, painless;

Useful, pleasing, acknowledged;

Famous, unpretentious, careful, gentle, intense;

Lasting, blameless, always enduring.

He himself, according to what is left unspoken, brings forward the idolatry slandered by many;

Everyone who seeks glory is unfree,

Just as one who obtains something good from that source.

Therefore, it is no longer necessary to follow the common opinion about God;

For I do not think secretly,

that it imitates the form of an evil light;

That you go to this bed, like a human,

Amphion says to Antiope. Sophocles writes cheerfully:

For Zeus indeed married this mother,

Not golden-haired, nor dressed in fine clothes

A swan's feather cloak, like the maiden from Pleuron

He wore a tunic; but he was a full-grown man.

Then again, coming upon him, he arrested him;

Quickly, he was caught in the bridal steps

The adulterer.

On these points, the lack of self-control of the mythical Zeus is told even more clearly in this way:

But he neither touched the feast nor the hand-washing basin,

He went to the bed, driven by desire;

He shattered that whole joyful night.

Let these things then be left to the foolishness of the theaters; but directly opposite, Heraclitus says that people always become senseless before they hear what is right, and even after hearing it the first time. The poet Melanippides, singing, says:

"Listen to me", "O father, wonder of mortals,"

"Ruler of the ever-living soul."

Parmenides the great, as Plato says in the Sophist, writes about God somewhat like this:

"Very much, since it is ungenerated and indestructible,"

"Whole, unique, and unshaken, and ungenerated."

"But also Hesiod;"

"For he says that he himself is the king and ruler of all."

"Of the immortals; and no other power has contended with yours."

Indeed, tragedy too, having torn itself away from idols, teaches to look up to heaven; Sophocles, as Hecataeus, the compiler of histories, says, in the work against Abraham and the Egyptians, shouts directly on the stage:

"One is the truth, one is God."

"He who made the heaven and the wide earth,"

"The dark sea of Pontus, and the force of the winds."

"Mortals, wandering with much confusion of heart,"

"We have established a faintness of spirit through sufferings,"

"Statues of gods made from stone or bronze,"

"Or images crafted from gold or ivory;"

"Offerings to these, and beautiful festivals"

"We think that by crowning them in this way, we show piety."

Euripides, on the same tragic stage, in Orestes, says, "Do you see this high and boundless sky, and the earth held around in moist arms?" He thought this one was Zeus, and he considered him the leading god.

In the Perithous drama, the same man also says these things in tragedy:

"You, the self-born one, who is in the airy realm"

"Who weaves the nature of all things with rain"

"Whom light surrounds, and around whom is darkness"

"Night with shifting colors, and the indistinct of stars"

"A crowd continuously dances all around."

For here he has spoken of the self-generated creative mind; and what follows is arranged concerning the world, in which there are also opposites of light and darkness. Both Euphorion and Aeschylus speak very solemnly about God;

"Zeus is the air, Zeus is the earth, and Zeus is the sky";

"Zeus is indeed all things, nothing is above these".

I know that Plato also bears witness to Heraclitus, writing: Wisdom is one, and does not want to be called by any other name than Zeus. And again: Law and counsel must obey one. And if you want to bring that saying back, "Let the one who has ears to hear, hear," you would find it somehow appearing like this from the Ephesian: The senseless, having heard, seem like the deaf; rumor testifies that they are present but going away. But do you long to hear clearly one principle, even among the Greeks? Timaeus the Locrian in his work on nature will testify to me word for word like this: One principle of all is unbegotten; for if it were born, it would no longer be a principle, but those things from which the principle was born; for true opinion flows from there. "Hear," he says, "O Israel: The Lord your God is one; and you shall worship him alone."

This clearly and without error exists for all,

as the Sibyl says. And already Homer seems to show Father and Son through these, as it happened by true prophecy, saying:

If indeed No one forces you, as if you were something,

But it is not right to avoid the sickness of great Zeus;

For the Cyclopes do not avoid Zeus, the aegis-bearer.

And before this, Orpheus, speaking against what was about to happen, said:

Son of great Zeus, father Zeus, aegis-bearer.

Xenocrates of Chalcedon, calling one Zeus the highest and the other the youngest, leaves the distinction between Father and Son. And most surprisingly, Homer seems to know the divine, the one who brings in the gods as suffering with humans; whom Epicurus does not respect in the same way. He says at least:

Why do you chase me, son of Peleus, with swift feet, though I am mortal, and you an immortal god? Nor ever yet have I.

You knew that I am a god.…

For the divine is not to be captured by a mortal, nor grasped; neither by feet, nor hands, nor eyes, nor at all by the body, it has been shown. To what have you made the Lord like? Or in what image have you made him like? The Scripture says, "Did the craftsman make an image?" Or "Did a molten mass of gold, melting gold, cover him in gold?" and the things on top of these. And the comic poet Epicharmus clearly says about the Word, in the Constitution, something like this: Life for humans very much needs reason and number.

We live by number and reason.

For these things save mortals.

Then he clearly states:

Reason guides people, saving them in a way.

Then:

If there is to a person reasoning, there is also divine reason.

The reason is naturally in a person concerning life and food.

But divine reason is indeed present in all the arts,

Always teaching them himself what it is necessary to do for their benefit.

For it is not a human who discovered the art; rather, God brings it forth.

But the human reason is born from the divine reason.

Yes, indeed, through Isaiah, the Spirit cried out, "What to me is the multitude of sacrifices?" says the Lord. "I am full of whole burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of lambs and the blood of bulls I do not desire." And shortly after adding, "Wash yourselves, become clean; remove evil from your souls." And on these things Menander the comic writer writes with these words:

But if anyone offering a sacrifice, O Pamphilus,

A multitude of bulls or rams, or by Zeus

Of such others; or the preparations,

Having made golden cloaks, or purple ones;

Or by ivory or emerald constellations,

He thinks God to be well-disposed;

That one is mistaken, and has empty minds.

For a man must be naturally useful,

Not one who destroys virgins and commits adultery,

Stealing and killing for the sake of money.

Do not desire even a single needle, Pamphilus.

For God sees you, present nearby.

God is near, I say, and not a God far away. Would a man do something in secret, and I would not see him? This is what Jeremiah says. And again Menander, paraphrasing that Scripture, says: "Offer a sacrifice of righteousness, and put your hope in the Lord," thus it is written:

… Not even a needle, O dearest,

If you ever desire another's; for God

Delights in righteous deeds, and not in unrighteous ones;

But he allows the one who is suffering to raise up his own life,

Plowing the earth by night and by day.

Sacrificing to God continually, being righteous,

Not shining in your cloaks as in your heart.

If you hear thunder, do not flee, not knowing

He himself to himself, master; for God

He sees you, present nearby.…

While you are still speaking, the Scripture says, I will say, "Behold, I am present." The comic poet Diphilus again discusses such things concerning judgment;

"Do you think, Nikirates, that the dead,

"Having shared in all luxury in life, have escaped the divine, as if forgotten";

"There is the eye of Justice, which sees all things."

"For indeed, we believe there are two paths through Hades;"

"One, of the righteous"; "and the other to be of the impious."

"A boundary. And even if the earth covers both,"

"By nature", "to all time. Having seized, it took away,"

"Steal, rob, steal". "Do not be deceived;"

"There is also a judgment of Hades"; "which indeed will bring about"

God, the Master of all, whose name

It is more terrible, I could not even name it;

Who gives to those who sin a length of life.

If anyone among mortals thinks that the appointed day,

Doing some evil, that the gods are unaware,

He seems wicked, and thinking he is caught,

When he happens to have a chance for Justice.

Behold, all of you who think there is no God;

For there is, there is. And if anyone acts badly,

He is naturally bad; let him cheat time.

For later, time will give him justice.

Tragedy agrees with these things through the following:

For there will be, there will be a new age of time,

When it will split open the treasure full of fire

The golden-faced sky, and the flame that has been fed

It will burn all things below the earth and above, raging wildly.…

And after a short time again it brings forth;

… whenever all things have passed away,

The whole depth will be a sea of waves,

The earth will be a desert of foundations. For neither will there be any longer

Winged tribes will grow no more;

And then it will save all things that it had lost before.

We will find similar things to these and to the Orphic writings written somewhat like this:

For all things are icy cold, and again light returns to the fertile earth.

From the sacred heart it was brought up, performing cares.

If we live piously and justly, we are blessed here, and even more blessed after leaving this life, not having happiness for a certain time, but able to rest forever.

Sharing with other immortals, both at the tables

Being heirs of brave Achaeans, without parents,

The philosopher Empedocles speaks poetically. No one will be great among the Greeks by being above justice; nor small by escaping it. Orpheus himself also says these things:

But looking toward the divine word, he attended to it,

Guiding the thoughtful depth of the heart; and he proceeded well

Along the untrodden path, and he alone saw the ruler of the world

Immortal.

Again, speaking about God as invisible, he says that he was known to only one person, of the Chaldean race, either calling him Abraham or even his son, through these.

Unless someone is the only-begotten offspring of a race from above

of the Chaldeans; for he was skilled in the course of the star,

And the movement of the sphere turning around the earth as it revolves,

A circle-turner, also moving equally along its own axis.

But the Spirit guides the reins around the air and around the moisture.

Then, as if paraphrasing the phrase, "The heaven is mine,"

The throne, and the earth the footstool of my feet,

he brings forward;

He himself again has firmly set up a great one on high in heaven

He is on a golden throne, and the earth is placed under his feet.

And his right hand reaches around the ends of the Ocean.

He has stretched it out; and the foundation of the mountains trembles within his spirit,

It cannot bear the strong force. And it is everywhere

He himself is heavenly, and on earth he brings all things to an end,

He himself holds the beginning, the middle, and the end.

V 9, p 185 p 185 "Otherwise, it is not right for you to speak"; "and I tremble at the limbs"

He rules in the mind from the highest place;

And the things related to these. For through these, all those prophecies have been made clear: If you open the heaven, trembling will seize the mountains from you, and they will melt, just as wax melts from the presence of fire. And through Isaiah: Who has measured the heaven with a span, and the whole earth with a drachma? Again, when he says:

Ruler of the air and the unseen, and of the sea and the earth,

With thunder you shake the mighty house of Olympus;

Demons shudder at him, and the assembly of gods fears him,

To whom the fates obey, relentless though they are;

The immortal father of the gods, whose spirit moves all things;

As you stir the winds and cover all things with clouds,

Splitting the wide sky with lightning bolts; in you, indeed, in the stars

Order, running in unchanging courses;

But by the fiery throne stand many toilers

Angels, who care how all things are accomplished for mortals;

Your spring shines new with purple flowers;

Your winter comes with cold clouds,

Which once distributed the Bacchic autumn fruits.

Then it brings, plainly calling him the almighty ruler

God;

Imperishable, immortal, clearly known only to the immortals.

Come, greatest of all gods, with mighty necessity,

Fearful, unconquered, great, imperishable, whom the upper air crowns.

Because of this, the ancestor of the mother not only revealed the origin from non-being, but also gave reasons to those who bring in the forecourts, perhaps even to think of a consort of God; he paraphrases those prophetic writings, both the one through Isaiah, "I make firm thunder and create the spirit; whose hands founded the army of heaven," and the one through Moses, "Behold, behold that I am, and there is no other God besides me. I will kill, and I will make alive; I will strike, and I will heal; and there is no one who will be taken from my hands."

He himself from good plants evil for mortals.

And cold war, and tearful pains,

According to Orpheus. Such things also the Parian Archilochus says:

O Zeus, your power over the sky;

You see deeds done in the heavens;

The work of the people and what is right.

Again, let the Thracian Orpheus sing for us;

But the right hand upon the boundary of Ocean

He stretched out on all sides, and the earth stood firm beneath his feet.

These things have been clearly received from there: The Lord will save inhabited cities; and he will take hold of the whole world with his hand like a young eagle. The Lord, the one who made the earth by his own strength, as Jeremiah says, and who raised up the world in his wisdom. Furthermore, according to Phocylides, who calls angels demons, some of them are good, others evil; through these he presents them, since we too have received some as deserters.

But then demons are sometimes different among men.

Some, when evil comes upon a man, are released.

Therefore, Philémon the comic poet rightly exposes idolatry through these.

We do not have any fortune that is a god.

It does not exist; but it is self-moving, what happens

Chance is called to each person as it happens.

Sophocles the tragedian:

He says, "Not all things happen by chance even for the gods."

Apart from Zeus; for he has both the end and the beginning.

When Orpheus said:

"One power, one spirit became a great burning heaven;"

"All things are created in it; in which all these things are contained,"

"Fire and water and earth;"

"and those things upon them. Pindar, the poet, as if in a Bacchic frenzy, says directly:"

What is God; That which is the whole;

V 9, p 192 p 192 And again;

God is the maker of all mortals.

But if he should say;

What is hoped is that a man has a little more wisdom than another man?

It is difficult for a mortal mind to search out the plans of the pure ones;

He was born mortal from a mother;

From there he tore apart his understanding: Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has become his counselor? But even Hesiod, through what he writes, agrees with those mentioned before;

No mortal man is a prophet,

Whoever might know the mind of Zeus, the aegis-holder.

So it is fitting that Solon the Athenian, in his Elegies, also follows Hesiod himself;

But the mind of the immortals is completely hidden from men,

He writes. Again, concerning Moses, that the woman will be born into troubles and toils because of the transgression, as prophesied, some notable poet writes:

… nor ever a day

They will cease from toil and misery, nor any night

They become: but the gods will give harsh worries.

Even Homer, having spoken,

He himself stretched out golden talents, revealing the just god; Menander the comic poet, interpreting god well, says:

"A spirit stands by every man."

"Immediately at birth, a guide of life."

"Good; for an evil spirit must not be thought to exist."

"There is a good spirit that harms life."

Then he says that God brings all things, and that all things are good; either meaning that all things are called good because of God, or, even more, that God is good in all things. Again, Aeschylus the tragedian, setting forth the power of God, does not hesitate to call him the Highest through these words:

Separate God from mortals, and do not think

that he is like them, made of flesh.

You do not know him; sometimes he appears like fire,

Unfailing impulse, sometimes water, and sometimes mist;

And he himself becomes like wild beasts,

To wind, cloud, lightning, thunder, and rain;

The sea and rocks serve him,

And every spring, source of water, provides for him.

Mountains and earth tremble, and the mighty

The depths of the sea, and the great height of the mountains,

Whenever he looks up with a fierce eye of the Master

All things; for the glory of the Most High God is powerful.

Does it not seem to you to paraphrase that, "The earth trembles before the face of the Lord"? On these things, the most prophetic Apollo, testifying to the glory of God, is forced to speak about Athena, when the Medes were campaigning against Greece, as he both begged and prayed to Zeus concerning Attica. The oracle is as follows:

Pallas cannot appease Zeus Olympian,

Though she pleads with many words and deep counsel;

And she will give many ships of the immortals to a fierce fire,

Those who now stand flowing with sweat, stand,

Trembling with fear.…

And the things following these. Thearidas writes in On Nature: There is truly one beginning of beings, one; for that at the beginning is one and only;

Nor is there any other without a great king,

Orpheus says. To whom the comic poet Difilos, most wisely, obeying, says: The one who is of all, he says

The Father; honor him alone through the end,

The discoverer and creator of so many good things.

It is fitting, then, that Plato teaches that the best natures arrive at learning, which we said earlier is the greatest thing, to see the good, and to ascend by that ascent. This, it seems, would not be a turning of a shell, but a turning of the soul, a return from some night to the true day of what truly is, which I will say is true philosophy. And those who have partaken in this, to judge of the golden race: "You are indeed all brothers," he says; but to judge of the golden race most precisely and in every way. From the Father and Creator of all things, it naturally and without teaching takes hold of everything in relation to everything else: the lifeless things sympathize with the living, and among the living, some are already immortal, working daily, while others are still mortal; some of these, still moved in fear and through their mother, still stirred in the womb, and others by their own free reason. And among humans, all Greeks and barbarians alike, no race anywhere of those who farm, nor of nomads, nor of city-dwellers can live without a prior trust in the stronger; therefore, every eastern nation and every western one, whether northern or all things toward the south, has one and the same expectation about the one who has established leadership; even if the most universal of his actions has passed through all equally. Much more so among the Greeks are the busy philosophers, who, starting from foreign origins of philosophy, gave care to the invisible and only one, the most powerful and most skilled, and the cause of the finest things; the following things, if they had not been taught by us, they would not have known, nor even how to understand God by nature, but only, as we have often said already, true in appearance. Reasonably then the Apostle says, "Is God the God of Jews only?" "Is he not also of the Greeks?" Not only speaking prophetically and that those from the Greeks who believe will be Greeks who know God, but also indicating this: that in power the Lord and God would be the ruler of all and truly almighty; but in knowledge, not all have God. For neither what he is, nor how he is Lord and Father and creator, nor the other understanding of the economy of truth, unless they have been taught by it. Likewise, the prophetic words have the same power as the apostolic message. For Isaiah says: "If you say, "On the Lord our God we have trusted," now be mixed with the Lord my king of the Assyrians." And he adds: "And now we did not go up against this land to fight it without the Lord." But Jonah, who is also a prophet, hints at the same thing, saying this: "And the captain went in to him and said to him, 'Why are you lying down?'"? "Get up, call on your God, so that he may save us, and we do not perish." For the phrase, "Your God," is said to the one who knows with understanding; but the phrase, "so that God may save us," shows the awareness of the nations who put their mind toward the Almighty, though they have not yet believed. And again the same one says: "And he said to them, 'I am a servant of the Lord, and I fear the Lord God of heaven.'". And again the same one says: "And he said, 'By no means, Lord, let us not perish because of the life of this man.'". But the prophet Malachi clearly shows God saying: "I will not accept sacrifice from your hands; for from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name has been honored among the nations, and in every place a sacrifice is offered to me." And again: "For I am a great king, says the Lord Almighty, and my name is glorious among the nations." What name? Among those who have believed, the Son reveals the Father; among the Greeks, he is the creator God. Plato shows free will by the following: virtue is uncontrolled; each person, whether honoring or dishonoring it, shares in it more or less. Cause when chosen: V 9, p 201 p 201 God is without cause; for God is never the cause of evils.

O Trojans, lovers of war,

The lyric poet says:

Zeus, high-thundering, who sees all things,

He is not the cause of great sorrows for mortals; but he lies in the middle to find

For all humans, a holy and pure justice,

The follower of good order

And the wise Themis.

O children of the blessed, having found him as a fellow dweller.

Pindar directly introduces Soter, the savior, dwelling together with Zeus and Themis, as king, savior, and just one, interpreting it somewhat like this:

First of all, the heavenly Themis, who is wise in counsel,

By the icy shore of Oceanus with golden horses

The Fates by a sacred ladder

They led the shining descent from Olympus,

to be the ancient wife of Zeus, the Savior.

But she bore the golden-robed, bright-fruited good saviors.

Therefore, the one not obeying the truth, but blinded by human teaching, wretched and unhappy, and according to Euripides;

Who, looking at these things, does not understand God,

He threw himself away from the meteorologists

Crooked deceits, of which there are countless

The tongue shoots freely about unseen things,

Having no share in understanding.

Therefore, whoever wishes to come to true knowledge, let him listen to the promise of Parmenides of Elea:

V 9, p 204 p 204 You will know the nature of the upper air, and all that is in the upper air

The signs, and of the pure, holy sun

The works of the shining torch, unseen, and from where they came forth

You will learn the works of the cyclops wandering around the moon,

And its nature; and you will know also the heaven surrounding it;

From there it was born, and how necessity led it to bring it forth

To have experience of the stars …

Of Metrodorus, although he was an Epicurean, having spoken these things with inspiration: Remember, Menestratus, because you are mortal by nature, and having received a limited life, ascending with your soul, you have seen even the age and the infinity of things, both what will be and what was before; when, with a happy chorus, according to Plato, we will behold a blessed vision and sight, following with us after Zeus, and others after other gods, performing a rite which it is right to call the most blessed; which we will celebrate with frenzy, being whole ourselves and free from evils, all that we have endured in later time; being whole and unshaken, both initiated and beholding pure apparitions in clear light, pure and unmarked by this, which we now call the body wandering about, bound in the manner of a shell. But the Pythagoreans call the opposite heaven the counter-earth; from which earth, through Jeremiah, it is said: "I will appoint you as children, and I will give you a chosen land as an inheritance from the almighty God, which those who inherit it will rule over the earth." And countless upon countless flow to me to be set beside. But for the sake of symmetry, the discourse must now be stopped, so that we ourselves do not suffer the fate of the tragic poet Agathon;

V 9, p 205 p 205 Considering the side task as the main work,

But working on the main task as if it were a side task.

Having thus clearly shown, as I think, how the Greeks must be called thieves against the Lord, I willingly pass over the doctrines of the philosophers. For even if we were to explain their words, we would not reach the full number by gathering notes, showing all the wisdom brought to the Greeks from foreign philosophy. We will touch again on this theory as needed, whenever we review the opinions about the principles held by the Greeks. But even this is left to us to consider quietly from what has been said, how it is necessary to examine the waves within the Greek writings in the way that is truly possible.

Happy, it seems, is the one according to Empedocles, who gained the wealth of divine wisdom. But cowardly is the one who cares about the dark reputation of the gods. He showed knowledge and ignorance as the boundaries of happiness and misfortune in a divine way. For it is necessary to be a very good observer of many men, the philosophers, according to Heraclitus, and indeed it is necessary,

We must seek much, having been led astray, for what is good. Now it is clear to us from what has been said that the goodness of God is eternal, and natural justice is equally and plainly given to all from the beginning without a ruler, made according to the worth of each kind, never having a start. For God has not taken a beginning to be Lord and good, being always what he is; nor will he ever cease doing good, even if he brings all things to an end. Each of us shares in this goodness according to what he wishes; since the difference of choice, which becomes worthy of the soul, both its selection and its practice, has been made. Thus, let the fifth of our notes on true philosophy, the Stromateus, come to an end.

Discourse 6 of the Eight Discourses

Chapter 1

V 9, p 208 p 208 Now the sixth and seventh of the spiritual treatises according to true philosophy, called Stromateis, having outlined especially the ethical discourse contained in these, and having shown what kind of person the spiritual one is in life, go before the philosophers to show that this person is by no means atheistic, as some have supposed, but in fact reverent toward God in the manner of the spiritual religion, setting forth in summary form all that can be safely inscribed in a memorial writing. "For to work for the food that remains forever" the Lord commanded. And indeed the prophet says: "Blessed is the one who sows by all waters, where the calf and the donkey tread." the people gathered from the law and from the nations into one faith. "The weak one eats vegetables," according to the noble Apostle. When the Instructor came to us, dividing into three books, he presented the guidance and nourishment from childhood, that is, a way of life growing together with faith from catechesis, and preparing the soul, which is being enrolled into adulthood, to be virtuous, for the reception of knowledge and understanding. Clearly then, from what the Greeks have learned through what has been said to us in these writings, that by impiously persecuting the God-loving one, they themselves act irreverently, V 9, p 209 p 209, at that time, as the notes were already advancing according to the character of the Stromateis, it is necessary to resolve both what is left uncertain for us by the Greeks and by the barbarians concerning the coming of the Lord. In the meadow, then, the flowers bloom in many different ways, and in the garden, the planting of the nut trees is not separated by kind among those of different origins; although some meadows, and Heliconian flowers, and wax, and veils, gathered by lovers of learning in various ways, were written together; but those that come to memory by chance, neither purified by order nor by expression, and scattered on purpose, the sketch of the Stromateis given to us is mixed like a meadow, variegated. And indeed, having these notes for me, they would be a kind of fuel for one eager for knowledge, if by chance they come upon these, so that the inquiry may become useful and beneficial with effort. For it is right to consider not only the labor of food, but much more the labor of knowledge, for those who travel along the "narrow and troubled way of the Lord." to eternal and blessed salvation, to which they are being sent. Our knowledge and the spiritual paradise itself is our Savior, to whom we take refuge, having been transplanted and grafted into the good land from the old life. But the change of the planting leads to fruitfulness. The Lord is light and true knowledge, into whom we have been transferred. Knowledge is also said to be twofold: common knowledge, which is the understanding and perception shared alike by all people, according to each one's awareness of what is present, and which appears everywhere; not only do rational beings share in this, but perhaps also irrational ones; this I would never call true knowledge, and it is natural to perceive it through the senses. But the other, called special knowledge, is defined by judgment and reason; through this alone do rational powers become truly knowledgeable, as they sincerely apply themselves to the intelligible by the pure activity of the soul. "A good man," says David, "is the merciful." V 9, p 212 p 212 of those who are lost in error, "and of the miserable" from the sharing of the word of truth, not by chance; for "he will manage his words with judgment," with deep thought; "He who scatters, gives to the poor."

Chapter 2

Before beginning the main attempt, it is necessary to give in the preface what belongs to the end of the fifth book of the Stroma. For since we have shown the symbolic form to be the beginning, and that it was used not only by the prophets among us, but also by most of the ancient Greeks, and by many of the other barbarians among the nations, it was also necessary to touch on the mysteries of the rites performed. I set these aside to explain clearly when we come to the parts about the origins among the Greeks; for in this we will show the vision and the mysteries. Having presented the emphasis of Greek thought illuminated by the truth given to us through the Scriptures, by which it is indicated that the theft of the truth was directed toward them, we have shown this, if it is not unpleasant to say so. Let us present witnesses of the theft themselves among the Greeks; for those who take what belongs to themselves so openly from one another prove that they are thieves, yet unwillingly they secretly display the truth from us to their own kind. For if not even their own, they would at least give careful attention to ours. And I will keep silent about their philosophical doctrines, which they admit in writing, those who spread heresies, so that they may not be accused of ingratitude, as having been taken from Socrates and being the most authoritative of doctrines; but having used testimonies from a few well-known and respected men among the Greeks, having refuted their thieving nature, I will turn to the following by using various times. Since Orpheus made, then,

That no other woman was more faithful and more devoted,

Homer plainly says:

Thus, no other woman was more terrible and more faithful.

And when Musaeus wrote:

For skill is always much better than strength,

Homer says:

"Is the woodcutter better than you either by force?"

Again, from Musaeus who composed:

Just as the fertile soil grows leaves, so too:

Some wither on the honey-sweet trees, while others grow;

Just so the race and leaf of man also turns;

Homer transcribes;

Leaves some the wind scatters to the ground, others the forest

growing tall, and spring comes on in its season.

So it is with the race of men: some grow, and others come to an end.

Again, when Homer says:

"It is not right to pray for those who have died among men,"

Archilochus and Cratinus also write, the one saying,

For it is not good to mock those who have died among men;

Cratinus, however, in his play The Laconians,

"It is terrible," "for men who have died in battle to boast greatly."

Again Archilochus, transferring that Homeric line,

"I have suffered," "and I myself do not deny it, unlike many others;"

He writes somewhat like this:

"Foolish, and somewhere he met another kind of ruin."

Just as he neglected that saying as well:

"Enyalios together, and he killed even while killing."

Changing it himself, he somehow brought it out like this:

… I will begin;

For Ares is truly a companion to men.

Still, translating that as well:

Victory lies among men as a boundary of the gods.

Through this iambic verse, it is clear also to encourage the young.

Victory is a boundary among the gods.

Again, as Homer said,

… without swift feet, to lie on the ground;

Euripides writes in Erechtheus:

… sleeping on an unspread floor,

The springs do not wet the feet.

As Archilochus has likewise said,

But one heals the heart of another,

contrary to the Homeric,

For one man delights others with his deeds;

Euripides says in Oeneus:

"But one man is more pleasing to others by his ways."

"But I have heard Aeschylus saying:"

"At home one must remain, if he is truly happy,"

"And the one who acts well, he must also remain;"

And Euripides says similar things on the stage of the chorus:

"Happy is the one who, being fortunate, stays at home;"

"But also Menander says something like this in his comedy;"

"One must stay at home and stay free;"

"Or no longer be the one who is truly fortunate."

"Again, as Theognis says,"

"No friend and faithful companion exists for one who is fleeing."

"Euripides made [this statement]:"

"Everyone flees from a poor friend on foot."

"When Epicharmus said, 'O daughter, alas alas'"

V 9, p 217 p 217 "Fortunes; settling me, O you who dwell beyond the river Sessa," and continuing, "For one indeed takes another young woman, another courts someone else." Euripides writes:

"To join an old woman to a young man is a bad thing".

"For he desires to take the bed of another,"

"But she, being in need of this, plans evil."

Euripides says in Medea,

"For the gift of a bad man does not bring benefit."

Sophocles says in Ajax the Whip-Bearer, that iambic verse,

"Gifts from enemies are not gifts, and are not useful."

Solon made this:"

"For excess breeds arrogance, whenever great wealth follows."

Theognis writes directly:

"Excess breeds arrogance, whenever evil wealth follows."

Therefore Thucydides says in his histories: "Most people, he says, whenever they have the greatest and most unexpected good fortune, even from the smallest cause, tend to turn to arrogance." And Philistus similarly echoes the same idea, saying: "Most people who succeed reasonably well are safer than those who succeed by chance or by misfortune; for those who succeed unexpectedly by chance are especially accustomed to turning to arrogance." Again, Euripides wrote,

For from a father and mother who work hard

The children are better off than harsh ways of life.

Critias writes: "I begin with the birth of a person, how the body might become best and strongest; if the one who raises the child exercises and eats healthily, and the body is not worn down; and the mother of the child to be will have a strong body and will exercise." Again, Homer says about the shield made by Hephaestus:

"I made the earth, and the sky, and the sea."

"And in it he placed the great strength of the river Oceanus."

Pherecydes the Syrian says: "Zeus makes a great and beautiful beacon; and in it he adorns the earth and Oceanus, and the halls of Oceanus." And Homer says:

"Aidos, who honors the great man and benefits him," Euripides writes in Erechtheus:

As for Aidos I myself hold an uncertain view about her:

For it is necessary to have her, since there is great evil in her.

You might take a passage from the parallel of theft and also from those who have come together and competed with each other in such matters. From Euripides, indeed, in Orestes:

O dear enchantress of sleep, helper in sickness;

From Sophocles, in Eriphyle:

Go away, sleep, healer of sickness;

And from Euripides, from Antigone:

May nature give a blameworthy name to the illegitimate one.

And from Sophocles, from the Eleans:

All that is good has an equal nature

Again, from Euripides in Ctimene.

For the one who suffers, even God helps; and from Sophocles in Minos.

Fortune is no ally to those who do not act;

Yes, indeed, from Euripides by Alexander.

Time will show, having learned by proof,

Whether you are good or bad, I will know.

From Sophocles, from Hipponus:

To these things, hide nothing; for the one who sees all

And the time reveals all things, hearing everything.

But let us also run to those things in the same way. For Eumelus made them;

The nine daughters of Memory and Olympian Zeus, Solon of elegy begins like this:

The glorious children of Memory and Olympian Zeus.

Again, Euripides paraphrasing Homer:

Who are you among men? From where is your city and your parents;

These use the Iambics in the Aegean;

What land do we say you have left behind?

To be entertained by many hosts; but what land, and what homeland or mountain?

Who is the one who gave you birth? Who proclaimed your father?

But what? Did not Theognis say:

Drinking much wine is harmful if anyone is addicted to it.

If used wisely, it is not harmful, but good.

Panus writes:

As wine is the best gift from the gods to mortals,

Drinking in moderation; but excessive, worse?

But also Hesiod saying:

To you I will give, instead of fire, an evil thing, by which all might

Delight themselves;

Euripides says: " For instead of fire, women are a greater and harder-to-fight fire." Along with this, Homer says:

V 9, p 224 p 224 But the belly cannot be filled,

the destructive one, who gives many evils to men,

Euripides says,

"Need wins, and the destructive one wins badly."

The belly, from which indeed all evils come forth.

Still, Callias the comic writer says, "They say that all must be mad among the mad;" likewise, Menander in Polumenae appears saying:

Wisdom does not fit everywhere at hand.

And sometimes things must happen.

Antimachus of Teos having said,

For from gifts many evils come upon people;

Augias composed:

For gifts have touched the mind of people, and also their deeds.

When Hesiod said,

For a man does not better rob a woman

Of a good one; but of a bad one, nothing is more terrible;

Simonides said:

A man robs nothing of a woman's property.

Better to be good than worse to be bad.

Again, when Epicharmus said, "As one will live a long time, so too a short time, so think," Euripides writes,

What good fortune is not clearly lost, having been profaned,

Should we not live as happily as possible, without being troubled?

Similarly, when the comic poet Diphilus said, "Life is changeable for humans," Posidippus:

No one has lived life without pain,

Being human; and not even until the end again

Has remained fortunate.

And in other places Plato says to you, writing about man as a changeable animal. Again, Euripides says,

O life full of toil for mortals,

How on every side you lie unstable;

And some things you increase, and others you cause to perish;

And there is no boundary set, nor

One, whatever it is that must be completed by mortals,

Except when the cold from Zeus comes

The end of death sent from above;

Diphilus writes:

There is no life, that has not acquired evils,

V 9, p 228 p 228 Sorrows, worries, seizures, distortions, diseases;

Of these, death appears just like a doctor,

He gave rest to those who had them, having given rest by sleep.

Still, after Euripides said,

Many are the forms of the spirits,

Many gods bring about results unexpectedly;

The tragic poet Theodectes likewise writes:

"That the fortunes of mortals are not certain".

Bacchylides also said: "But to those to whom the spirit has given all the time of mortals, to reach old age with a gray head at the right time, before two moons come;" The comic poet Moschion writes:

"He is the most blessed of all,"

"He who, through to the end, has lived a smooth life".

"You would also find, as Theognis said,"

"Indeed, a young woman is not suitable for an old man" "to be a wife";

For she does not obey the rudder as a small boat does;

Aristophanes, the comic playwright, wrote:

"It is shameful for a young woman to have an old man as a husband".

For it was composed by Anacreon,

"For love is gentle"

"I sing", "flowing with myrtle wreaths"

"Singing among many flowers;"

"And he is also the ruler of the gods;"

"And he also conquers mortals;"

Euripides writes:

"For love comes upon not only men,"

"Nor only women, but also the gods above"

"disturbs souls, and comes even over the sea."

But so that the discourse does not go on wandering, and because some of us take pride in showing the agreeable as a kind of theft from the Greeks, both in words and in teachings, let us bring forward Hippias the sophist from Elis, who comes to me with the same subject for consideration, and let us set him before us speaking somewhat like this: "Perhaps some of these things have been said by Orpheus, others briefly by Musaeus, others elsewhere, others by Hesiod, others by Homer, others by the other poets, some in writings, some to the Greeks, some to the barbarians. But I, gathering the greatest and kindred parts from all these, will make this new and varied discourse."

And so that philosophy and history are not left out, nor rhetoric either, let us look at a similar kind of proof, and it is reasonable to add a few of these. For when Alcmaeon of Croton said, "It is easier to guard against an enemy than a friend," Sophocles made use of this in Antigone;

"… For what"

"Could there be a wound greater than a bad friend?"

Xenophon said: "One would not be harmed by enemies in any other way than by a friend seeming to be one." And indeed, in Euripides' Telephus, when it is said,

"Being Greeks, shall we serve barbarians?"

Thrasymachus, in the speech for the Larissaeans, says: "Are we to serve Archelaus, a barbarian, being Greeks?" And when Orpheus composed,

"Water is life to the soul, but death is the exchange for water."

From water comes the earth, and from the earth again water. From this comes the soul, changing the whole ether. Heraclitus, forming his sayings from these, writes somewhat like this: "To the soul, death is to become water; to water, death is to become earth; from earth, water is made; from water, soul." And indeed, when Athamas the Pythagorean said, "Thus is born the origin of all; and there are four roots: fire, water, air, earth; for from these come the births of things that come to be," Empedocles, the man from Acragas, made this.

Four are the roots of all things; first, listen:

Fire, and water, and earth, and the boundless height of ether;

For from these come all that was, all that will be, and all that is.

And Plato says, "For this reason, the gods, who are the wise ones among humans, those whom they make most of, quickly free them from living;" Menander has made,

"He whom the gods love dies young".

Euripides, in the Oinomaus, writing,

"We judge the unseen by the present"; and in the Phoenician,

… The unseen is rightly discovered by proofs. Hyperides says, "What is unseen must be sought by teaching with proofs and likelihoods." And Isocrates also says, "What is to come must be judged by what has come before." And Andocides does not hesitate to say, "It is necessary to use proofs from what was previously thought about what will happen." Also, Theognis composed,

"Uncontrolled ruin of false gold and silver,"

"Cyrnus", "and it is easy for a wise man to discover".

But the mind of a dear man is hidden within the chest,

Being false, and deceitful, he holds a heart in his thoughts,

God made this the most counterfeit thing for mortals,

and to know this is more discouraging than all;

Euripides writes:

"O Zeus," "what indeed of gold, which was counterfeit,"

"You gave clear proof to humans:"

"That a man must recognize the wicked one"

"No one has a mark naturally fixed to the body;"

Hyperides himself also says: "No mark is on the face of the mind for humans." Again, when Stasinos made,

V 9, p 233 p 233 Foolish is he who, killing his father, leaves behind children,

Xenophon says: "For it seems to me now that I have done the same, as if someone, having killed his father, spared his children." And when Sophocles made [the play] Antigone,

"Of a mother in Hades and a father being made,"

"He is not a brother who is ever newly born;"

Herodotus says: "With mother and father no longer living, I will have no other brother." In addition to this, Theopompus made [a statement]:

The old men are twice children in the true sense;

And before this, in Sophocles' Peleus:

Peleus the Aeacid the only guardian of the house

I lead the old and educate the young again;

For again, the old man is once more a child;

Antiphon the orator says: "Old age is like child-rearing." But also the philosopher Plato, "So it seems, the old man would become a child twice." Indeed, when Thucydides says, "Only the men of Marathon dared to take the risk," Demosthenes said, "By those who risked first at Marathon." I will not even mention those; when Cratinus said in Poetinē:

Perhaps you know the preparation;

Andocides the orator says: "The preparation, O men of the jury, and the eagerness of my enemies, almost all of you will know." Likewise, Nicias in his speech against Lysias about the deposit says, "You see the preparation and the eagerness of the opponents, O men of the jury." And after this, Aeschines says (V 9, p 236), "You see the preparation, O men of Athens, and the arrangement." Again, Demosthenes said, "As much as, O men of Athens, zeal and command have been shown about this contest, I think almost all of you have noticed." Philinus similarly says, "As much zeal and arrangement as there has been about this contest, O men of the jury, I think not one of you is unaware." Isocrates also said, "Just like money, but not related to that one." Lysias in the Orphic speeches says, "And it has become clear that it is not related to the bodies, but to the money." Since even Homer made:

O Pepôn, if indeed, fleeing from this man, you avoided war,

Truly, we would always be both ageless and immortal

If only I myself would not fight among the first,

Nor would I send you into battle for glory;

For now, however, the fates of death stand over us,

Countless, which no mortal can escape or avoid;

Let us go if we may reach some glory, or if someone will help us;

Theopompus writes: "If it were possible to escape the present danger and live the remaining time without fear, it would not be strange to be eager for life; but now so many disasters have come upon life that death in battle seems more desirable." What then? Is it not also from Chilon the sophist, who said, "Surety brings ruin"? Epicharmus expressed the same idea under another name, saying, "Surety is the daughter of ruin, surety is punishment." But also from the physician Hippocrates, who wrote, "One must watch the right time and place, and age, and a sound mind." Euripides says in hexameter verse:

As many as heal well,

In regard to the lifestyles of those living in the city,

Having seen the land, it is necessary to observe the diseases.

V 9, p 237 p 237 Again made by Homer:

I say that no man escapes his fate;

Archinus says: "All men must die, either sooner or later." And Demosthenes says: "For death is the end of life for all men, even if someone locks himself up in a house." Also, Herodotus, in the speech about Glaucus the Spartan, says that the Pythia said, "What is spoken by God and what is done become equal." Aristophanes said:

For the one who acts can think equally;

And before this, the Eleatic Parmenides said: "To think and to be are the same." Or is it not also said by Plato: "We may perhaps show this not in a strange way, that the beginning of love is sight; desire lessens, hope nourishes, memory preserves, and habit keeps." Philemon the comic writer says:

Everyone first sees; then they wonder,

Then they looked closely; then they fell into hope;

Is love made in this way from these things?

But also, when Demosthenes said, "For death is owed to all of us," and what follows; Phanocles writes in Eros or The Beautiful:

But truly the thread of the Fates is unbreakable for me, and it is not yet possible

to escape, as many as we come upon the earth.

You would also find, when Plato said: "For the first shoot of every plant, well started, aims at the excellence of its own nature, to put the most fitting end;" the historian writing: "But even among wild plants, not one is naturally tamed, V 9, p 240 p 240 when they change their younger age." And that of Empedocles,

For once I was both a boy and a girl,

A bush and a bird, and a fish darting in the sea;

Euripides in Chrysippus transcribes:

And nothing dies

Of things that come into being; but what is distinguished

From one another,

it showed a different form.

When Plato said in the Republic that women are common, Euripides writes in Protesilaus:

For the bed is also common to women.

But as Euripides writes,

Since these things are enough for the sensible ones.

Epicurus says the opposite: self-sufficiency is the richest of all. Again, as Aristophanes writes,

You will have a secure life by being just,

You will live well without noise or fear;

Epicurus says: The greatest fruit of justice is tranquility. The ideas of the Greek intellectual theft, as a clear example for one able to see, being such, were enough. But now not only the thoughts and words have been taken and paraphrased, as will be shown; rather, even the very texts themselves, held entirely face to face, will be examined. For completely taking from others, they presented them as their own, just as Eugamon the Cyrenean did with the whole book about the Thesprotians from Mousaios, and Pisander of Camirus, son of Pisinus of Lindus, did with the Heraclean; and Panyasis of Halicarnassus, from Cleophilus the Samian, did with the capture of Oechalia. One would even find Homer, the great poet, those very verses,

Just as a man nourishes the shoot of a fruitful olive tree,

and the following, word for word transferred from Orpheus about the disappearance of Dionysus. In the Theogony, Orpheus has made this about Cronus:

"Lying down, having broken his thick neck, sleep bound him fast"

"He lifts up the all-conquering one…"

These things Homer transferred to the Cyclops. Hesiod also applies them to Melampus:

"Sweet indeed is the learning of all that the gods have shown to mortals."

"Immortals; a clear sign of both the cowardly and the noble,"

And the following, taken word for word from the poet Musaeus. Aristophanes the comic playwright, in the first part of The Wasps, transferred verses from Cratinus' Embers. Plato the comic playwright and Aristophanes weave their works together in Daedalus; Philémon the comic playwright replaced Kokalos, who was properly made to fit Aristophanes, and performed a comedy in Hypobolimaios. Eumelos and Akousilaos, the historians, changed Hesiod's works into prose and presented them as their own. Gorgias of Leontini and Eudemus of Naxos, the historians, stole from Melisagoras; and on top of these, Bion of Prinkipos, who also copied the old Cadmus V 9, p 244, summarizing it; Amphilochus and Aristocles, and Leander, and Anaximenes, and Hellanicus, and Hecataeus, and Androtion, and Philochorus; and Dieuchidas the Megarian changed the beginning of the story from Hellanicus' Deucalionia. I remain silent about Heraclitus of Ephesus, who took most of his material from Orpheus. Plato broke the idea from Pythagoras that the soul is immortal; the others took it from the Egyptians. Many writers after Plato have made use of his works, through which they prove that the Stoics, as we said at the start, and Aristotle for the most part and in the main points, received their doctrines from Plato. But Epicurus adapted earlier doctrines from Democritus. So much for this matter; my life will fail me if I were to go through each one, examining the Greek texts and their self-loving theft, and how they claim as their own the best discoveries of doctrines that they took from us.

Chapter 3

Now they are not only accused of stealing doctrines from the barbarians, but also, in addition, of imitating those from us, which, coming from divine power through those who lived holy lives, work in a strange way toward our return, fabricating Greek mythology. And indeed we will learn from them whether these things they record are true or false. But they would not say that these are false; for they would not condemn themselves, therefore they would not willingly write the greatest foolishness as false; they would have to admit that these things are true. And how, then, do the things shown through Moses and the other prophets appear unbelievable to them, when they have been shown in a marvelous way? For the almighty God, who cares for all people, turns some by commands, others by threats, and some by mighty signs, and others by gentle promises, toward salvation. But the Greeks, once the land of Greece was long wasted by drought and suffering from barrenness of crops, those left behind, they say, came as suppliants to Delphi because of famine, and asked the Pythia how they might be freed from the disaster. One help against their disaster was given to them, if they would use the prayer of Aeacus. Persuaded, then, Aeacus, having gone up to the Greek mountain, stretched out his clean hands to heaven, calling God common to all, and prayed that he would have mercy on Greece, which had been worn out. And as he was praying, a sudden thunderclap struck, and all the surrounding air was filled with mist. Fierce and continuous rains poured down, filling the whole land. From there, abundant and rich fruitfulness came to pass for the land, brought about by the prayers of Aeacus. "And Samuel called upon the Lord; and the Lord gave thunder and rain on the day of harvest." You see that "he who rains on the just and the unjust" through the powers set under him, there is one God? And the entire Scripture concerning us is full of the prayers of the righteous, with God both hearing and fulfilling each of their requests. Again, the Greeks tell that once, when the Etesian winds failed, Aristaeus in Ceos sacrificed to Isthmian Zeus; for there was great destruction, as things were burning with fire, and indeed, since the winds that were used to refresh the crops were not blowing, he easily called them back. But Delphi, when Xerxes marched against Greece, was silent from the Pythia;

O Delphi, pray for the winds, and it will be better;

Having made an altar and a sacrifice to the winds, they had them as helpers. For they blew strongly around the Sepiada promontory and destroyed all the preparation of the Persian fleet. Empedocles of Acragas was called "wind-stopper." It is said that, from the Acragas mountain, a heavy and harmful wind once blew, causing illness to the locals and even infertility to their women, and that he stopped the wind; therefore, he himself writes in his verses:

V 9, p 248 p 248 You will stop the strength of tireless winds, which upon the earth

Rising up, they destroy the fields of mortals;

And again, when you wish, you will set the winds to blow back.

I said to follow him: "Some, having used divination, and others, indeed, having been bound by harsh iron disease." But straight on, the righteous have trusted in our Scriptures to bring about healings, signs, and wonders; for though some powers do stir the winds and distribute the rains, let them listen to the psalmist: "How lovely are your dwellings, Lord of hosts." This is the Lord of hosts and of rulers and authorities, about whom Moses says, so that we may join with him: "Circumcise your hard hearts, and do not harden your necks any longer; for the Lord of lords and God of gods, the great and mighty God," and all that is above them. And Isaiah also says, "Lift up your eyes on high," and "see who has made all these things known." Some say that famines, hailstorms, storms, and similar things do not come only from material disorder, but also from the anger of certain demons or even evil angels. They say immediately that the magicians in Cleonae, who watch the sky, when hailstorms are about to fall, drive away the threat of anger with songs and sacrifices. They also say that if an animal ever falls into distress, they mark their own finger with blood and rely on the sacrifice. Mantinean Diotima, when the Athenians were about to sacrifice before the plague, caused a delay of ten years in the disease; just as the sacrifices of the Cretan Epimenides gave the Athenians an equal extension of time during the Persian war. They think there is no difference, if then we say that these souls are gods or even angels. Immediately, the experienced ones in speech, according to the foundations in many of the temples, and almost all the places where inhabitants lived, established these; calling these souls daimons, and teaching that they should be worshiped by humans, because having gained authority through purity of life by divine providence, they watch over the earthly place in service to humans. For they understood that some souls are naturally held by the body. But about these, in the discourse concerning angels, as the Scripture progresses, we will speak in due time. Democritus, predicting many things from the observation of eclipses, was called Wisdom. When Damasus, his brother, kindly received him, having shown proof from certain stars, he foretold that there would be a great rain. Those who believed him gathered the crops; for it was still summer during the harvests. But the others lost everything because of the unexpected and heavy downpour. How can the Greeks still disbelieve the divine appearance on Mount Sinai, when fire was burning without consuming any of the plants on the mountain, and the sound of trumpets was heard, blown without any instruments? For that so-called descent upon the mountain of God is a manifestation of divine power, reaching throughout the whole world and proclaiming the inaccessible light. For such is the allegory according to the Scripture. But the fire was seen, as Aristobulus says, by a crowd of no less than one hundred thousand, besides the young men gathered in a circle around the mountain, for not less than five days, the time of the circuit around the mountain. Therefore, throughout the whole place of the vision, the fire burning was seen by all around as if it were surrounding them; so the descent was not local. For God is everywhere. Those who have written the histories also say that around the British island there is a cave beneath a mountain; on the summit is a chasm. When the wind falls into the cave and strikes the sides of the hollow, sounds like cymbals being rhythmically struck can be heard. Often, too, through the woods, when the leaves move from a sudden gust of wind, a sound similar to the singing of birds falls upon the ear. But those who wrote the Persian histories say that in the lands beyond, in the country of the Magi, there are three mountains in a row in a long plain. Those traveling through the area, when they reach the first mountain, hear a loud noise like the shouting of many thousands, as if arranged in formation. When they come to the middle mountain, they hear an even greater and clearer noise together. Finally, at the last mountain, they hear sounds like those of victors celebrating with paeans. I think the cause of all the echo is both the smoothness of the places and the cavernous nature. When the wind that entered is then driven out again into the same space, it makes a louder sound. And these things are so. But to God the almighty, with no one above him, it is possible to give voice and form to hearing, showing his own greatness beyond the usual natural effect, as a response to the turning back of the soul that does not yet believe, and the acceptance of the command given. Since there is a cloud and a high mountain, how is it not possible for a different sound to be heard, with the wind moving through the active cause? Therefore the prophet also says, "You hear the sound of words, but you do not see a form." You see how the Lord's voice is the Word without any change in form, the power of the Word, a bright word of the Lord, truth coming down from heaven above to the gathering of the Church, working through the bright service of prayer.

Chapter 4

We might also find another proof to confirm that the best of the doctrines have been taken over by the best of the philosophers among us, as if to shine through and be gathered also from the other barbarians, who contribute something to each heresy, especially the Egyptians, both in other matters and in the doctrine about the transmigration of the soul. For the Egyptians have their own particular philosophy called Metis. This is shown most clearly by their sacred religion; for first comes the chant, carrying one of the symbols of music. They say that this chant must have been taken from two books of Hermes; one of which contains hymns to the gods, and the other a reflection on royal life. After the chant comes the horoscopist, carrying a sundial in his hand and the palm branch, symbols of astrology, as he approaches. They say that the astrology of Hermes' books, which number four, must always be spoken aloud; one is about the order of the fixed stars, another about the conjunctions and illuminations of the sun and moon; the rest concern the risings. Next comes the sacred scribe, wearing wings on his head, holding a book in his hands and a ruler, with which both the writing ink and the line on which they write are measured. This one must know the so-called hieroglyphics, about cosmography and geography, the order of the sun and the moon, and about the five wandering stars, the mapping of Egypt and the course of the Nile, about the recording of the vessels of the temples and the lands dedicated to them, about measures and those useful in the temples. Then the adornment officer follows those mentioned before, holding both the cubit of justice and the libation vessel. This one knows all the educational and incense-sacrificing matters; there are ten things belonging to the honor of the gods among them, and containing Egyptian piety; such as about sacrifices, first fruits, hymns, prayers, processions, festivals, and things like these. Over all these things the prophet presides, clearly marked by the water jar worn at the waist; V 9, p 256 p 256, followed by those who carry the sending out of the breads. This one, as the guardian of the temple, learns the ten books called the priestly ones, and they contain both laws and gods, and the whole education of the priests; for the prophet among the Egyptians is also the overseer of the distribution of the revenues. There are forty-two books altogether that are very necessary to Hermes; of these, the thirteen contain the whole philosophy of the Egyptians, which the ones mentioned before study; the remaining six, carried by the pastors, are medical, about the structure of the body, about diseases, about organs, about drugs, about eyes, and the last one about women. And as for the Egyptians, to put it briefly, there are this many; but the philosophy of the Indians is also well known. So Alexander the Macedonian, having taken ten Indian gymnosophists, who seemed to be the best and most concise, put problems to them, threatening to destroy anyone who did not answer correctly, ordering him to judge the eldest of them. The first, when questioned, was asked whether he thinks there are more living or dead; he said the living, for the dead do not exist. The second was asked whether the earth or the sea feeds larger animals; he said the earth, because the sea is part of it. The third was asked which of the animals is the most cunning, something not known until now; he said, "Man". The fourth, when questioned about what reasoning caused Sabbas to rebel, being a ruler himself, answered, "To live well if he wishes, or to die badly." The fifth, when asked whether he thinks the day came before the night, said, "One day". For in difficult questions, the answers must also be difficult. The sixth, when asked how one might be most loved, said, "If, being the strongest, he is not feared." The seventh, when asked how someone among humans could become God, said, "If he did what a human cannot do". The eighth, when asked which is stronger, life or death, said, "Life, since it brings so many evils." The ninth, when examined about how far a person lives well, said, "As long as he does not think that dying is better than living." When Alexander ordered the tenth to say something—since he was a judge—he said, "One said something worse than another." But when Alexander said, "Then you too will die first," judging such things. And how, he said, king, could you be truthful in saying that you would kill first the one who answered first in the worst way? And since the Greeks are said to be thieves of every kind of writing, I think this is shown sufficiently by many proofs.

Chapter 5

That the most respected Greeks do not know God by true knowledge, but only by reputation, Peter says in his preaching: "Therefore know that there is one God, who made the beginning of all, and has authority over the end; and the invisible one, who sees all; the uncontainable, who holds all things; the one without need, who needs all things, and through whom all things exist; the incomprehensible, eternal, incorruptible, unmade, who made all things by the word of his power," according to the spiritual scripture V 9, p 260 p 260," that is, the Son. Then he adds: "Worship this God, not according to the Greeks;" since clearly both we who worship the same God and the respected Greeks do so, but they have not fully learned the tradition through the Son with true knowledge. "Therefore, do not," he says, "worship," he did not say, "worship the God whom the Greeks do," but rather, "not according to the Greeks;" changing the manner of worship of God, but not declaring another [god]. What then does it mean, "not according to the Greeks," Peter himself makes it clear by saying: "Because, being carried away by ignorance, and not knowing God," As we, according to perfect knowledge, "which he gave them authority to use", shaped wood and stone, bronze and iron, gold and silver, from their material and use, raising up slaves of their existence, they worship; and what God gave them for food, birds of the air, and swimming creatures of the sea, and reptiles of the earth, and wild beasts along with the four-footed animals of the field, also cattle and mice, wildcats and dogs, and monkeys; and they offer their own food to mortals as sacrifices; and they offer dead things to the dead as gods, being ungrateful to God, denying him through these things." And indeed, although it is said to be the same God known by both us and the Greeks, yet not in the same way, he would make it again, somewhat like this: "Do not worship according to the Jews, for they alone, thinking they know God, do not understand, worshiping angels and archangels, the moon and the month; and if the moon does not appear, they do not keep the so-called first Sabbath; nor do they keep the new moon, nor unleavened bread, nor festival, nor a great day." Then he adds the climax of what is sought: "Therefore, you also, learning piously and justly, keep what we hand down to you, worshiping God anew through Christ; for we find in the Scriptures, as the Lord says: Behold, I am making a New Covenant with you, not like the one I made with your fathers on Mount Horeb." He made a New one for you; for the old ones belong to the Greeks and the Jews, but you, who worship him in a new way as the third generation, are Christians. For clearly, I think, he showed the one and only God—known by the Greeks in a pagan way, by the Jews in a Jewish way, but newly known by us in a spiritual way. And also to show that the same God is the giver of both Covenants, the one who is also the source of Greek philosophy for the Greeks, through which the almighty is honored among the Greeks, he made this clear from there as well. From Greek education, then, and also from the law, those who approach faith are gathered into the one saved people, not divided by time among the three peoples, so that no one might think there are three natures, but rather different educations of the Covenants, truly of the one Lord, by the word of one Lord. For just as God wished to save the Jews by giving prophets, so too he raised up the most approved among the Greeks, their own prophets in their language, as those able to receive the benefit from God, distinguishing them from common people. The apostle Paul shows this in his preaching to Peter, saying: "Take also the Greek books, recognize Sibyl, as she shows one God and what is to come; and take Hystaspes, read him, and you will find the Son of God written much more clearly and brightly, and how many kings will arrange themselves against Christ, hating him, and those who bear his name, and his faithful ones, and the endurance, and his coming." Then in one word he asks us: "The whole world and all that is in the world, of whom is it?" Is it not of God?" Therefore Peter says that the Lord spoke to the apostles: "If anyone from Israel wants to repent and believe in God through my name, their sins will be forgiven after twelve years. Go out into the world, so that no one may say, "We did not hear."

Chapter 6

But just as the preaching has now come in its time, so in its time the law and the prophets were given to the barbarians, and philosophy to the Greeks, training their hearing for the preaching. "The Lord who saved Israel says: At the right time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you; I gave you as a covenant to the nations, to settle the land and to inherit the inheritance of the desert, saying to those in chains, 'Come out,' and to those in darkness, 'Be revealed.'"." For if "those in chains" are indeed Jews, concerning whom the Lord also said, "Come out," he said, "from the chains, those who want," those who are bound willingly, and "the heavy burdens " he says, having imposed them on themselves through human intervention, saying: It is clear that "these would be those in darkness, those who have the rule dug out in idolatry; for to those who are righteous according to the law, faith was lacking. Therefore, the Lord, healing even these, said, "Your faith has saved you." But for those who are righteous according to philosophy, not only faith in the Lord was needed, but also to turn away from idolatry. As soon as the truth was revealed, they themselves also regretted the things they had done. Therefore the Lord also preached the good news to those in Hades. The Scripture says then: "Hades says to destruction; We have not seen his form, but we have heard his voice." Not the place, of course, having received a voice, spoke the things said before, but those assigned to Hades, and having given themselves over to destruction, just as from a ship willingly thrown into the sea. They themselves, then, are the ones who heard the divine power and voice; for who, being reasonable, would think that in one condemnation both the souls of the righteous and the souls of sinners are together, pouring injustice on providence? But what then? Do they not clearly show that the Lord preached the gospel to those lost in the flood, and even more to those bound, and to those in "prison"?" and also in "guard"?" being held tightly? It is also shown in the second Stromateis that the apostles, following the Lord, preached the gospel to those in Hades; for it was necessary, I think, just as here, so also there, for the best of the disciples to become imitators of the teacher, so that some might lead the Jews, and others the Gentiles, to repentance—that is, those who lived in righteousness according to the law and philosophy, but not completely, rather living their lives in sin. For this was fitting in the divine plan: those who had more worthily lived in righteousness and previously lived rightly, and who had repented for their faults, even if they happen to be in another place, might be saved by confessing the one true God the Almighty, according to each one's own knowledge. I think the Savior also works, since saving is his task. Therefore, he did what he did, drawing those who were willing to believe in him through the preaching, wherever they happened to be, pulling them toward salvation. If then the Lord went down into Hades for no other reason than to preach the gospel, as he did go down, either to preach to all, or only to the Jews. If then he preached to all, all who have believed will be saved, even if they happen to be from the Gentiles, having already confessed there; since the punishments of God are both saving and instructive, leading to repentance of the sinner rather than choosing death. And this is clearer to see for souls freed from bodies, even if they are darkened by suffering because they no longer have a body added to them. But if he preached only to the Jews, to whom knowledge and faith through the Savior were lacking, it is clear that, since God is impartial, the apostles also, just as here, preached the gospel to the Gentiles who were suitable for repentance there as well. And it was rightly said to the Shepherd: "They went down to the water; but these went down alive, and went up alive; but those who had fallen asleep went down dead, and went up alive." Yes indeed, the Gospel says that many of the dead bodies "rose up," It is clearly better that, after their order was changed. So there was a general movement and change according to the plan of the Savior. The righteous man, then, is no different from a righteous man, just as he is righteous; whether he is a Jew or a Greek. For God is Lord not only of the Jews, but of all people, and more especially the Father of those who know him. For living well and according to the law is living rightly, and living reasonably is living according to the law; those who lived rightly before the law were counted as having faith and were judged to be righteous. It is clear, then, that even those outside the law, because of the nature of the voice, lived rightly, even if they happened to be in Hades and in prison, having heard the voice of the Lord, whether the original one or the one working through the apostles, by which they quickly turned back and believed. For we remember that "the power of God" is the Lord, and his power could never fail. Thus I think it is shown that God is good, and the Lord is powerful to save with justice and fairness those who turn back, whether here or elsewhere. For the active power does not reach only here, but it is everywhere, and it always works. Immediately in Peter's preaching, the Lord says to the disciples after the resurrection: "I have chosen you twelve disciples, whom I judge worthy of me;" Whom the Lord also wished to be apostles, considering them faithful, sending them into the world to preach to the people throughout the earth, to make known that there is one God; through faith in Christ, revealing by me the things to come, so that those who hear and believe may be saved; but those who do not believe, having heard, will bear witness, not having an excuse to say: We did not hear. What then? Did not the same plan take place even in Hades, so that there all souls, having heard the preaching, might either show repentance or confess that the punishment is just for those through whom they did not believe? It would be a work of greed, not of what happened, if those who went ahead of the Lord's coming were not evangelized, nor given the cause by them, according to whether they believed or not, to share either in salvation or in punishment. For it is not right that some be judged without distinction, while only those after the coming of the divine justice be condemned. To all rational souls from above it has been said: "Whatever anyone has done in ignorance, not clearly knowing God, if they come to know and repent, all their sins will be forgiven them." "Behold, I have set before you death and life, to choose life;" God says that death and life have been set before you for comparison and choice, not that both have been made. And in another Scripture it says: "If you listen to me and are willing, you will eat the good things of the earth; but if you do not listen to me, nor are willing, the sword will devour you; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things." Again, David, or rather the Lord speaking through the holy man, says directly; this is one from a change of the world; everyone who, through faith at different times, has been saved and will be saved: "My heart has rejoiced and my tongue has been glad." Moreover, my flesh will also dwell in hope, he says; because you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence." Just as the people are precious to the Lord, so the whole holy people are with the Jew, and the one returning from the nations; this is the proselyte who was foretold. Rightly then he says, "a bull and a bear" " The Scripture says they will be together: the bull is said to be the Jew, because he is judged under the yoke of the law from a clean animal, since the bull both chews the cud and has split hooves; the Gentile is shown by the bear, an unclean and wild beast. The animal gives birth to an unmarked flesh, which forms in the shape of the beast only in the tongue; for by word it is formed into taming from the wild life of the one returning from the nations; having been tamed already, he is also purified like a bull. Immediately the prophet says: "Sirens will bless me, and the daughters of ostriches, and all the beasts of the field." The beasts of the field are known as unclean animals, that is, of the world; since those who live a wild and filthy life in faith, not purified by righteousness according to the law, are called beasts. However, changing from being beasts through the Lord's faith, they become people of God, beginning by willing to change and progressing toward becoming so. For the Lord urges some, and to those who have already made an attempt, he stretches out his hand and lifts them up: "The master of all does not withdraw his face; nor will his greatness be ashamed, since he made both the small and the great, and he cares for all alike." And David says: "Even if the nations were caught in corruption, in which they acted, their foot was caught in the very trap where they hid." But the Lord became a refuge for the poor, a helper in time of need and distress." So those who were in distress were timely comforted with good news. And for this reason he says: "Declare among the nations his deeds," so that they may not be judged unjustly. If then he brought good news to those in the flesh for this reason, so that they might not be condemned unjustly, how could he not also have brought good news for the same reason to those who had gone before his coming? "For the Lord is righteous, and he has loved righteousness; his face beholds uprightness." But the one who loves injustice hates his own soul." If then in the flood every sinful flesh was destroyed, as a punishment meant for their correction, first of all the will of God, being both disciplinary and active, must be believed to save those who turn back. Then also the more subtle thing, the soul, would never suffer anything terrible before the thicker water, because of its thinness and the lack of strength in its simplicity, which is also called immaterial. But whatever becomes thickened from sin is thrown away along with the fleshly spirit, which desires against the soul. V 9, p 276 p 276

Already the leader of those who advocate for community, Valentinus, in his Discourse On Friends, writes word for word: "Many of the things written in the public books are found written in the Church of God; for these empty words are the sayings from the heart; the written law is in the heart, this is the people of the beloved, the one who is loved, and loving him." For the public books, whether he means the Jewish Scriptures or those of the philosophers, reveal the truth. Isidore, son of Basileides and also a disciple, in the first of the prophet Parchor's Commentaries, writes word for word: "The Athenians say that a certain demon was sent to Socrates to be with him; and Aristotle says that all humans use demons, and they sin along with them beyond the time of incarnation. Having received this prophetic teaching, and setting it down in his own books, he did not admit from where he took this saying." And again, in the second of the same collection, he writes somewhat like this: "And let no one think that what we say is peculiar to the elect; this has been previously stated by certain philosophers. For it is not their own discovery; but, having taken it from the prophets, they added it to what, according to them, does not exist, calling it wisdom." Again, in the same place, he says: "For it seems to me that those who pretend to philosophize do so in order to learn what the winged oak is and the cloak decorated upon it; all that Pherecydes allegorized and spoke about the gods, he took from the prophecy of Ham."

Chapter 7

The subject, as we noted long ago, we do not say is the teaching according to each sect, but what truly is philosophy, rightly a technical wisdom providing experience about matters of life; and wisdom, a firm knowledge, a certain sure and unchanging grasp of divine and human things, having taken hold of what is, what has passed, and what is to come; which the Lord taught us both through his presence and through the prophets; and it is unchanging, handed down by the Word. In this there is truly a will, known through the Son; and one is eternal, the other beneficial in time; and one is one and the same, the others many and indifferent; and one without any passive movement, the other with passive desire; and one is perfect, the other lacking. Philosophy, then, desires this wisdom, that of the soul, and the correctness of reason, and the purity of life, lovingly and kindly disposed toward wisdom, and doing everything for the sake of obtaining it. Philosophers are called by us those who love wisdom, that of the creator and teacher of all, that is, the knowledge of the Son of God; but among the Greeks, those who engage in discussions about virtue. Philosophy would be the unassailable teachings of each of the schools, those I speak of as philosophical, combined with the acknowledged way of life into one collected choice; which themselves, taken from the barbarian by divine grace, have been adorned with Greek speech. For some were stolen, and others were overheard; and among the rest, some have been spoken of while in motion but not fully worked out; others fall into human speculation and reasoning, in which they also stumble. They think they impose truth completely, but as we find them, only partially. Therefore, they know nothing more than this world. And just as geometry deals with measures, sizes, and shapes through drawing on flat surfaces, and painting seems to take in the whole visible space on the scenes being painted; this painting falsely represents the appearance by using points applied to the visual lines according to the art. From this come appearances, assumptions, and phases that are preserved, some seeming to stand out, others to hold back, and others to appear in different ways on the smooth and flat surface. In the same way, philosophers imitate truth as if it were a painting; self-love is the cause of all mistakes for each person at each time. Therefore, it is not right, choosing the opinion of people, to be self-loving, but loving God, to become truly holy with understanding. If then someone uses the partial as if it were the whole, and the slave as if he were the Lord, and is in charge, he is mistaken about the truth, not understanding what David said in confession: "I have eaten the earth like bread of ashes". " Self-love and pride are to him like earth and error. But if this is knowledge and understanding from learning, and there is learning, then it is necessary to seek a teacher. For Cleanthes is called a student of Zeno, Theophrastus of Aristotle, Metrodorus of Epicurus, and Plato of Socrates. But even if I come to Pythagoras, and Pherecydes, and Thales, and the first wise men, I stand seeking their teacher; and even if you say Egyptians, or Indians, or Babylonians, or the magi themselves, I will not stop demanding their teacher. I will lead you even to the first origin of humans; and there I begin to seek who the teacher is. No human, for they have not yet learned; nor any angel, for as angels announce, being angels, humans do not hear them so; nor do they have ears as we do, nor do they have a tongue as we do; nor would anyone give angels organs of voice—lips, I mean, and those parts connected to them, and the throat, and the artery, and the entrails, and breath, and the air that is struck. It is very important to call upon God with inaccessible holiness, and separated from the chief angels. Already we have passed over the truth that even the angels have learned, and the rulers over them; for they are created. It remains, then, having gone further up, for us to desire the teacher of these as well. Since one is the unbegotten, the almighty God, and one also is the begotten first, "through whom all things came into being, and without him not even one came into being. For there is one God who truly exists, who made the beginning of all things," signaling the firstborn Son, Peter writes, understanding clearly the phrase, "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth." This one is called Wisdom by all the prophets; he is the teacher of all who are born, the counselor of God, who foreknew all things. But the one from above, from the first foundation of the world, in many ways and in many forms, "has both taught and perfected," from which it is fittingly said: "Do not say to yourselves, 'A teacher is on the earth.'"." Do you see from where true philosophy draws its power, even if the law is a likeness and shadow of the truth? For the law is a shadow of the truth. But the self-love of the Greeks proclaims certain men as teachers. Just as all the fatherland runs to the creator God, so too the teaching of what is good runs to the Lord, both justifying and leading, and guiding and supporting for this purpose. If from some kind of making, by any means, they took seeds of the truth, some did not nurture them; but having been given to barren and rainless land, they were choked by wild weeds. Just as the Pharisees turned away from the law, introducing human teachings; the teacher is not to blame for these, but those who have chosen to disobey. Those who are persuaded by them, both by the Lord's presence and by the clarity of the Scriptures, come to know the law; just as those from philosophy, through the Lord's teaching, come to know true philosophy. "For the words of the Lord are pure words, silver refined, tested by the earth, purified seven times;" Just as silver, often purified, becomes a test, so the righteous is established, becoming a coin of the Lord and receiving a royal stamp; or as Solomon also says, "the tongue of the righteous is silver refined." Showing that tested and wise teaching is praised and accepted when it is richly purified by the earth, that is, when the spiritual soul is sanctified in many ways according to the abstinence from the burning heat of the soil. The body in which it dwells is also purified, being set apart for the sincerity of a holy temple. The cleansing of the soul within the body is the first and foremost; this is the abstaining from evils. Some consider this to be perfection, and it is simply the perfection of the common believer, both Jew and Greek. But for the Gnostic, after what is commonly thought to be perfection, righteousness advances into the active practice of good works. And to the one whose knowledge of righteousness has led to doing good, that person will have perfection in unchanging goodness, remaining in good works in the likeness of God. For those who are the seed of Abraham are still servants of God; these are the called. But the sons of Jacob are his chosen ones, who have shaken off the power of evil. If then we say that Christ himself is wisdom, and his work, the one through the prophets, by which the Gnostic tradition is learned, as he himself taught the holy apostles during his presence; knowledge would be wisdom, being the understanding and grasp of things existing and to come, and of those that have passed, firm and secure, as it was handed down and revealed by the Son of God. And indeed, even if the goal of the wise is contemplation, the philosopher still longs for divine knowledge; yet he does not attain it unless he learns and receives the prophetic voice clearly revealed to him, through which he takes hold of what is, what will be, and what was before what is, how it is, has been, and will be. That very knowledge, handed down orally in succession to a few of the apostles, has come down; from this it is necessary to train either knowledge or wisdom into a habit of contemplation that is eternal and unchanging.

Chapter 8

Since Paul also, in his Epistles, does not seem to speak against philosophy; but he does not consider one who shares in the knowledge of the spiritual realm worthy to turn back again to the Greek "philosophy," which he allegorizes as the elements of the world, being somewhat elemental and a preliminary instruction to the truth. Therefore, when writing to the Hebrews, who are turning back to the law from faith, he says, "Again, you need someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food." Likewise, to the Colossians who are turning away from the Greeks, he says, "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the elemental principles of this world, and not according to Christ," enticing them again to run back to philosophy, the elementary teaching.

And if someone says that philosophy is found according to human wisdom among the Greeks, I find that the Scriptures say that wisdom is sent from God. The Psalmist indeed considers wisdom the greatest gift and asks, saying, "I am your servant; teach me understanding." And not asking for the experience of knowledge, David writes, "Teach me goodness, discipline, and knowledge, for I have trusted in your commandments." He acknowledges the covenants to be sovereign and given to the more honorable. The Psalm says again about God, "He has done no so to any nation, and his judgments he has not made known to them."

"He has not done so," He shows that he has done it, but not "so." At least in comparison, the "so" compared to the superiority that happens to us; it was indeed possible for the prophet simply to say "He has not done it," without the addition of "So." Yes, indeed, Peter also says in the Acts, "Truly I perceive," he says, "that God is not a respecter of persons; but in every nation the one who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him." Therefore, the impartiality of God is not a matter of time, but from eternity; nor indeed did his kindness ever begin, nor is it limited to certain places or people; for his goodness is not partial. "Open to me the gates of righteousness," he says; "through them I will enter and give thanks to the Lord." This is the gate of the Lord. The righteous will enter through it." Explaining the saying of the prophet Barnabas, he adds: "Of many gates opened, the one in righteousness is this one in Christ; through it all who enter are blessed." Of the same meaning is also that prophetic saying: "The Lord is over many waters;" Not only of the covenants, which are different, but also of the ways of teaching, both those among the Greeks that lead to righteousness and those among the barbarians. And clearly David also bears witness to the truth, singing: "Let the sinners be turned away to Hades, all the nations that forget God;" They clearly forget the one they once remembered; and the one they knew before they forgot, they now reject. So then, was there some faint knowledge of God even among the nations. And let him hold to this as well. The Gnostic must be very learned. And since the Greeks say, with Protagoras as the first to begin, V 9, p 288 p 288, that every argument must be met with an opposing argument, it is fitting to say this also about such kinds of arguments. For Scripture says, "The one who speaks much will also be answered." But who will understand the parable of the Lord, if not one who is wise, knowledgeable, and loves his Lord? Let such a person then be faithful; let him be able to explain knowledge; let him be wise in judging words, swift in actions, and pure. For all the more he ought to be humble, the more he seems to be greater," Clement says in his letter to the Corinthians: such a person is able to obey that command: "And those whom you seize from the fire, have mercy on those who are wavering." The sickle does not neglect what has already grown for the sake of pruning; rather, we also separate the intertwined branches within it, and cut off the thorns that have grown together with the vines, which are not easy to approach. All these things aim toward the act of pruning. Again, a person first comes to the knowledge of God; but also measures, farms, and philosophizes; of these, some aim at living, some at living well, and some at practicing the proofs. Indeed, let those who say that philosophy comes from the devil also know this, that Scripture says, "the devil transforms himself into an angel of light." What shall I do? It is clear that he is prophesying. But if he prophesies as an angel of light, then he will speak the truth. If he prophesies in an angelic and radiant way, and with benefit, then even when he changes form according to the likeness of his power, he may be someone else in the underlying nature of the apostasy; for how could he deceive anyone except by leading the lover of learning through truths into familiarity, and thus later drawing him into falsehood? Moreover, since he knows the truth, he will be found out; and even if not fully, at least he will not be completely ignorant of it. Philosophy is therefore not false, even if the thief and the liar speak the truth by a change in the power of their activity. Nor indeed should one wrongly judge the speaker because of what is said; this must also be observed regarding those who now prophesy. Instead, what is said must be examined to see if it holds the truth. And since we already say in a general way that all things necessary and useful for life come to us from God, we would not be wrong. But philosophy, and especially to the Greeks, has been given as a kind of own covenant, a foundation of the philosophy according to Christ. Even if those who practice philosophy among the Greeks will willingly ignore the truth, despising the voice of the barbarians, or even looking down on the danger of death imposed on the faithful by the political laws. Just as in barbarian philosophy, so also in Greek philosophy "the weeds were sown." like those of the weeds to their own farmer; from this, heresies have grown up among us alongside the fertile fire, both those who proclaim the atheism and pleasure of Epicurus, and all other things sown apart from right reason, declaring them Greek philosophy—illegitimate fruits to the Greeks from the divine gift of cultivation. This is the "wisdom of this age" the Apostle calls it pleasure-loving and self-loving, as if it teaches only about the things of this world and around it, and is consequently subject to the authority of those who rule here. Therefore, this partial philosophy is elemental, going beyond the world to the perfect knowledge about the things that are understood by the mind, and even dealing with those things that are more spiritual, "which no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of humans," before the teacher makes clear to us the account about these things, having revealed the holy of holies and even more sacred things beyond these to those who are truly and not falsely heirs of the Lord's sonship. At once we dare to say (for here is the gnosis faith) that it is the knower of all things, and the one who embraces all, having been used with firm grasp, and truly knowing the things that are beyond us and indeed; such were James, Peter, John, Paul, and the other apostles; for prophecy is full of knowledge as given by the Lord, and again made clear through the Lord to the apostles. And surely knowledge is a special quality of the rational soul, exercised for this purpose, so that through knowledge it may be inscribed for immortality? For both are powers of the soul, knowledge and impulse. Impulse is found to be a movement with some consent; for the one who is moved toward some action first takes the knowledge of the action, and second the impulse. Let us also consider this: since learning to act is earlier, for by nature the one who acts learns first what he wants to do. Knowledge comes from learning; acting comes from impulse; and knowledge comes from learning. Impulse follows knowledge, with which comes action. Knowledge would be the beginning and creator of every rational action. So again, it is fitting that the rational property of the soul is characterized by this alone. For impulse, like knowledge, is a movement toward beings; knowledge, however, is the vision of what the soul's being is among beings—whether of one thing or of some things—perfected by all things together. And yet some say that the wise man is convinced that there is something incomprehensible, just as he also has some understanding about these things, grasping that the incomprehensible will be incomprehensible, which is common even to those who can foresee a little; for such a person is certain that there is something incomprehensible. But the Gnostic, the one I am speaking about, himself grasps those things that seem incomprehensible to others; believing that nothing is incomprehensible to the Son of God, and therefore nothing is unlearned; for the one who suffered out of love for us would not have withheld anything from teaching knowledge. Therefore, this faith becomes a firm proof; since truth follows what has been handed down by God. And if someone also longs for much experience, "he knows the ancient things, and he guesses the things to come; he understands the turns of words and the solutions of riddles, he foreknows signs and wonders, and the outcomes of seasons and times," the student of wisdom.

Chapter 9

For such a one is the knower, who alone falls into sufferings caused by the solitude of the body, such as hunger, thirst, and similar things. But to demand from the Savior's body, as a body, the necessary services for living would be laughable; for he did not eat because of the body, which is united with the holy power. Rather, it would be to suggest that those present think differently about him. Just as some later carelessly supposed he appeared, he himself was completely without passion, into whom no passive movement enters—neither pleasure nor pain. But the apostles, holding more knowledge through the Lord's teaching against anger, fear, and desire, and even rejecting what seemed to be good among the passive movements—such as courage, zeal, joy, and desire—did not accept these either. They remained fixed in a firm state of mind, never changing in any way, but always remaining uncorrupted in a state of practice, especially after the Lord's resurrection. For even if someone accepts the previously mentioned goods when they come with reason, still they must not be accepted as perfect—one who has no courage. For such a person does not become frightened in dangers, nor considers anything in life terrible, nor can he turn away from the love toward God. Nor does he need cheerfulness; for he does not fall into sorrow, being convinced that all things happen well. Nor does he get angry; for there is nothing that can move him to anger, always loving God and focused entirely on him alone, and because of this, hating none of God's creatures. But he does not even envy; for he lacks nothing to be like what is good and noble. Nor does he then love any common friendship, but loves the Creator through the creatures. Nor does he fall into any desire or craving, nor is he lacking in soul toward any other person, already united through love to the beloved; to whom indeed he is joined by choice and by the habit formed through practice, drawing closer to him with care, and being blessed because of the possession of good things. So, for the sake of these things, he strives to become like the teacher in being without passion; for the Word of God is intellectual, through which the image of the mind is seen only by man; by which the good man is both godlike and resembling God in soul; and God, in turn, is humanlike; for the form of each is the mind by which we are characterized; because of this even those who sin against man are impious and ungodly. For it is foolish to claim that the knowledgeable and perfect person should not remove anger and courage, as if he would rise above circumstances without these, and not endure hardships. But even if we were to remove desire from him, since he would be completely overwhelmed by sorrows, and for this reason would be very badly freed from life, if he did not share in that by which it seemed good to some; he would not receive the same inclinations toward what is noble and good. If then all attachment toward what is good happens with desire, how can the one who longs for what is good remain without passion, he says? But it seems these people do not understand the divine nature of love; for love is no longer desire in the one who loves, but a fond attachment, restored by faith's unity to the one who knows, not needing time or place. But the one who has already become what he will be through love, having taken hold of hope through knowledge, does not long for anything, having, as far as possible, the very thing desired; therefore, it is fitting that he remains in one state, unchanging, loving knowingly. And so he will not envy being made equal to the beautiful through love of beauty. Who still needs courage or desire, when he has received the fond attachment from love toward the impassible God, and through love has inscribed himself among his friends? Therefore, we must set apart the one who knows as perfect and free from all passion of the soul; for knowledge is practice, practice is habit or disposition, and such a state produces impassibility, not moderation; and impassibility results in the complete cutting off of desire. But the one who knows does not share in those budding goods, that is, the passive goods that belong to the passions; for example, I mean cheerfulness, which is connected to pleasure and sadness; for it is yoked to sorrow and reverence; it has been subdued by fear. But not even anger; for this one is set apart from wrath. And even if some say that these things are no longer evil, but already good; for it is impossible for one who has been perfected once through love, and whose cheerfulness from contemplation is eternal and insatiable, to take pleasure in small and lowly things. For who still has a reasonable cause to turn back to worldly goods, for the one who has "the inaccessible"?" the light that brings no threat? And even if not yet according to time and place, but through that very knowledge-filled love, by which both the inheritance and the complete restoration follow, confirmed through the works of the rewarder, who, by choosing knowingly, the one who has reached through love has already received beforehand. For is he not a traveler toward the Lord through love for him, even if his tent is seen on earth, yet he does not remove himself from life; for it is not allowed to him. But he has removed the soul from passions; for it is permitted to him. And he lives by killing desires, and no longer uses the body; only it is allowed to him to use it for necessities, so that he may not give cause for dissolution? How then is there still need for courage in one who does not become fearful in dangers, who is not absent but already fully present with the beloved? But who needs self-control except the one who lacks it? For to have such desires that require self-control over them is not yet pure, but still passionate. Courage is received through both fear and cowardice; for it is no longer fitting that the friend of God, whom God predestined before the foundation of the world V 9, p 297 p 297 to the highest adoption as a son, should fall into pleasures or fears, and be occupied with controlling passions. For I might boldly say that just as one is predestined for what he will do and what he will obtain, so also he who predestined has in mind for whom he knew and loved, not having an uncertain future, as most people live by guessing, but having received through knowing faith what is hidden to others. And for him the future is already present through love; for he has firmly believed both through prophecy and through the presence of the God who does not lie. And what he has believed, he holds and possesses the promise; and the one who promised is true. And the fulfillment of the promise, through the trustworthiness of the one who promised, has been firmly received with full knowledge. But he, knowing the firm state of what is to come in what exists, meets the future with love. Immediately he will not even pray to receive the things here, being convinced that he will truly obtain good things, but will always have controlling and effective faith. And in addition to these, he will pray many times to become most like himself for the glory of God, which is perfected through knowledge; for one who becomes like the Savior is saved. It is right for the human nature to contain the image of him, faithfully fulfilling the commandments without fail. But true worship is to honor the divine through genuine righteousness, both in works and in knowledge. The Lord does not wait for a voice according to the prayer: "Ask," saying, "and I will do; be mindful, and I will give;" For it is altogether impossible for what is unchanging to take hold and be fixed in what is changing. But in constant change, and because the ruling power becomes unstable, the active force is not preserved; for one who is always changed by external pressures and attacks, how could he ever be in a stable condition and disposition, and altogether have a firm hold on knowledge? And indeed, the philosophers consider virtues to be stable conditions, dispositions, and knowledge. But since knowledge is not innate to humans, but mixed, learning requires attention at the beginning, as well as nurture and growth; then, through continuous practice, it becomes a habit. Thus, perfected in habit by the mystical, it remains unchanging through love; for not only does it firmly hold the first cause and the cause produced by it, and have stable, permanent, unchanging, and immovable reasons, but also concerning good and evil, concerning all creation, and altogether, in short, concerning what the Lord spoke about, it holds the most exact truth from the foundation of the world to the end, having learned the truth. It would not appear anywhere to be probable or compelling according to Greek reasoning, choosing truth before it. And the things said by the Lord, having received them clearly and plainly, even if hidden from others, already hold knowledge about all things. The words given to us declare about what exists as it is; about what will be, as it will be; and about what has happened, as it happened. Only in the sciences, as a true expert, will he excel and take the lead in the discussion about the good, always focused on the intelligible things, describing from above the archetypes his management of human affairs, just like sailors steering their ship toward a star. He is prepared to be ready for every proper action, accustomed to overlooking all troublesome and terrible things; whenever endurance is needed, he acts neither rashly nor against reason, never doing anything harmful to himself or to the community. Being foresighted and unmoved by pleasures, both present and those through dreams, he is accustomed to a simple and self-sufficient way of life, prudent and well-balanced, existing with dignity, needing only a few necessities to live; he avoids anything unnecessary. But he does not treat these as priorities; rather, he approaches them as necessary for living in the flesh, to the extent that is required by the circumstances of life.

Chapter 10

For knowledge comes before it. Accordingly, it is also assigned to those who train themselves in knowledge, receiving from each study what is appropriate to the truth. Pursuing the proportion in music as it applies to harmonies, and in arithmetic noting the increases and decreases of numbers, and the relations between them, and how most things fall under some kind of numerical proportion; considering the essence of geometry itself as continuous and unchanging, thinking of it as a continuous interval and an unchanging essence, a different kind of body from these; and from astronomy, being earthbound yet lifted in mind to the heavens and following the movement of the celestial spheres; always studying the divine and the harmony between things; from these starting points, Abraham ascended to the knowledge of the creator. But the one who seeks knowledge will also make use of dialectic, choosing the division into kinds of genera, and adding the distinction of beings, until he touches upon the first and simplest things. Most people, like children afraid of bogeymen, fear Greek philosophy, fearing that it might lead them astray. If their faith is such (for I would not call it knowledge), so that it might be undone by plausible argument, then let it be undone especially through these, since they admit that they do not have the truth. For truth, he says, is unconquerable; but false opinion is destroyed. At once, we choose purple by contrasting it with another purple. So if someone admits that their heart is not corrected, they do not have the table of the money changers, nor even the judgment of reason. And how can this one still be a money changer, unable to test and distinguish the counterfeit coin of forgery? David cried out, "For the righteous will never be shaken forever, neither by deceitful words, nor by misguided pleasure;" Therefore, he will not be shaken even from his own inheritance. "Therefore, he will not fear evil news;" Nor will he fear empty slander, nor the false praise about him; but he will not be afraid of crafty words, since he is able to recognize them and to both ask correctly and answer; for dialectic is like a hedge, so that truth is not trampled down by the sophists. "For it is necessary to praise in the holy name of the Lord," according to the Prophet, 'to make the heart glad, those seeking the Lord. Seek him then and be strengthened; seek his face always in every way;" — "for in many ways and by many methods" having spoken, he is not simply made known. Therefore, the gnostic will not be learned simply by using such virtues with us, but will join with certain helpers and, according to V 9, p 304, will distinguish both what is common and what is proper, applying the truth; for the cause of every error and false belief is the inability to distinguish, both what belongs together and what separates them. But if someone does not guide the word according to clear distinctions, he will confuse both what is common and what is proper; and when this happens, it is necessary to fall into confusion and error. The distinction of both names and things also brings great light to the souls through the Scriptures themselves; for it is necessary to listen to the many words that signify, and to the many that sometimes mean the same thing. From this comes the ability to answer correctly. One must reject much uselessness, which busies itself with things that do not concern us at all; rather, as if with helpful exercises, one should engage in the precise handing down of the truth, as much as possible and undistracted, associating with the teachings of the gnostic, and as a safeguard against poorly made arguments, cutting off falsehood from the truth. Therefore, the general studies and Greek philosophy will not be left behind by those who make progress; but not according to the previous way of speaking, rather in a necessary, secondary, and incidental manner. For whatever those who labor according to heresies use cunningly, the gnostic will use well for good purpose. Since the truth shown in Greek philosophy is only partial, the real truth, like the sun shining on colors—white and black, each showing what it is—likewise reveals every kind of sophistical plausible argument. So it is fitting that it was also announced beforehand to the Greeks: "Truth is the queen of great virtues."

Chapter 11

Just as we have Abraham as an example in astronomy, so too in arithmetic we have the same Abraham. "For having heard that Lot was taken captive, he counted his own family members," and going out, he seized a very large number of the enemies. They say, then, that the Lord's sign is a type according to the form of the three hundredth element, while the iota and eta mean the saving name; so it is announced that Abraham's family are saved; those who have fled to the sign and the name have become masters over their captors and over the many unbelieving nations who follow them. Now the number three hundred is a triad in a hundred; the ten is acknowledged to be perfect; and the eight is the first cube, equality in all dimensions—length, width, and depth. "So the days of humans will be years, he says, a hundred and twenty years." The number is, by composition from one, the fifteenth; and the moon becomes full on the fifteenth. The number of one hundred and twenty is triangular, and it consists of the equality of fourteen. Its partial composition produces square numbers: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15; from the inequality of sixteen, seven even numbers from two, which produce the rectangular numbers, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14. In another way, the number one hundred and twenty is composed of four parts: one triangular number, the fifteenth; another square number, the twenty-fifth; a third square number, the thirtieth; and a fourth hexagonal number, the thirty-fifth. For according to the same pattern, the number fifteen is taken for each kind: from the triangular numbers starting at one, the fifteenth; from the square numbers, the twenty-fifth; and similarly for the others. Indeed, the twenty-fifth number, being from one, is said to be a symbol of the tribe of Levi. The thirtieth also belongs to the arithmetic, geometric, and harmonic diagram made from doubles, the numbers six, eight, nine, twelve, whose composition produces the thirtieth. In these days, the Jews say that the seven-month periods are formed; the thirty-fifth number comes from the diagram of triples, from six, nine, twelve, eighteen, whose composition produces the thirty-fifth. And similarly, in these days, they say that the nine-month periods are formed. This then is the kind of arithmetic pattern; let the tent being made and the ark being constructed be proof of geometry. They are formed by certain very reasonable proportions, divine ideas, made according to wise design, leading us from the sensible to the intelligible, and more so from these to the holy things, and from the holy things to the Holiest. For the square "wood," the square shape always has right angles, showing stability; and "the length is three hundred cubits" of the structure, "the width is fifty; the depth is forty; and the height is one cubit above" is completed, the ark tapering like a pyramid from the broad base; a symbol of those purified and tested by fire. This geometric proportion is given as a reference to those holy monasteries, whose differences are indicated by the differences in the numbers assigned. The corresponding numbers are six times as much, like the three hundred of the ninety. And ten times as much, like the forty's ten times, the three hundred; and sharing in the portion; for the ninety are sharers of the forty. There are those who say that the three hundred cubits are a symbol of the Lord's sign; the ninety are of hope and of forgiveness according to the fiftieth; and the forty, or as some say, twelve, indicate the preaching, showing that the Lord preached in the three hundredth year; the apostles were twelve; and that the structure is completed to a cubit, to a unit that marks the progress of the righteous, and to the unity of faith. V 9, p 309 p 309 The table in the temple was six cubits long; and the four legs were one and a half cubits each. They gather all to twelve cubits, in agreement with the annual cycle's turning of the twelve months, during which the earth brings forth and completes everything, governed by the four seasons. I think the table shows an image of the earth, standing on four feet—summer, autumn, spring, and winter—through which the year passes. Therefore also "twisting waves" He says that the table has "twisting waves," either because everything moves in cycles of seasons, or perhaps because it shows the earth flowing around the ocean. Still, let David, singing an example from music and prophesying at the same time, praise God with melody; the harmonious mode fits very well with the Dorian harmony, and the Phrygian with the diatonic, as Aristoxenus says. The harmony of the barbarian psaltery, showing the solemnity of the melody and being very ancient, becomes especially a model for Terpander in relation to the Dorian harmony praising Zeus, in this way:

Zeus, ruler of all, leader of all,

Zeus, to you I send these beginnings of hymns.

Let the lyre be an allegory for the psalmist, meaning on the one hand the Lord as the first sign, and on the other hand those who attentively strike the souls under the guidance of the Lord as the leader. And if the saved are called the people, the lyre is by inspiration of the Word, and by knowledge of God, glorifying musically, it is heard, struck into faith in the Word. You might also take the church's musical harmony, made up of the law and the prophets together, and the apostles along with the gospel; and the accompaniment of each prophet's stepping forward in turn through the changes of voices. But, it seems, most of those whose names are written down, like the companions of Odysseus, listen to the words in a rustic way, not the Sirens, but the rhythm and the melody passing by, having closed their ears through ignorance; since they know they will not be able, having once promised to learn the Greek lessons, afterward to make a return. But for the one gathering what is necessary for the benefit of the catechumens, especially since they are Greeks (for the earth and its fullness belong to the Lord ), one must not neglect the love of learning, like irrational animals; rather, more help, as is especially the case in some, must be sought for those who understand. But by no means should one spend time on these things, except for the useful part from them; having taken and gained this, one can then go home to true philosophy, with the soul firmly persuaded of the security provided by all things. Music must then be applied for the adornment and control of character. Even in drinking, we sing to one another, making merry our desire, and praising God for the abundant gift of human pleasures, which are endlessly supplied both for the growth of the body and for the growth of the soul. Excessive music must be rejected, the kind that overwhelms the soul and throws it into confusion—sometimes mournful, sometimes licentious and pleasure-loving, sometimes Bacchic and mad. The same applies to astronomy: for it, along with the history of eclipses, concerning the shape of the whole, the movement of the sky, and the motion of the stars, brings the soul closer to the creating power. It teaches to be sensitive to the changing hours, the changes of the air, and the rising of the stars. Since navigation and farming depend on this knowledge, just as architecture and building depend on geometry. This study also prepares the soul to be especially attentive, both truly insightful and able to expose falsehoods. It is inventive in recognizing agreements and proportions, so that it can find the similar in the dissimilar. It leads us to discover unlimited length, immeasurable surface, and perfect point, and it moves us from the things we sense to the things we understand. The studies are therefore helpers of philosophy, and philosophy itself leads to the discussion about truth. At first, the cloak was made of wool; then it became dyed, and it became saffron-colored and striped; and then it was woven. Therefore, the soul must be prepared and worked on in many ways if it is to be made excellent; for part of truth is knowable, and part is creative, and it flows from the theoretical. It needs much practice, training, and experience. But even in the theoretical, some things are about what is near, and others about what is about itself; therefore, education must be prepared in such a way that it fits both. It is possible, then, for those who have learned the connecting parts that lead to knowledge to live self-sufficiently, resting in the calm of the rest, guiding their actions toward contemplation. But for the benefit of what is near, some go on to writing, while others send the word to be passed on; and the other education is useful, and the reading of the Lord's Scriptures is necessary for the proof of what is said, especially if those skilled are raising education from the Greek. David describes such a Church: "The queen stands at your right hand, clothed in gold-embroidered robes, adorned with many colors;" And with the Greek and the elaborate, "clothed in golden fringes, adorned with many colors." But the truth is through the Lord: "For who has known your counsel, except you have given wisdom, and sent your Holy Spirit from on high? And so the paths on the earth were set right, and your pleasing things were taught to people, and they were saved by wisdom?" For the gnostic knows the ancient things according to the scripture, and guesses the things to come; he understands twists of words and solutions to riddles; he foreknows signs and wonders, and the outcomes of seasons and times, as we said before. Do you see the source of the teachings, rising from wisdom? But to those who object, "What use is it to know the causes of how the sun moves, or to explain the other stars, or to study geometric theorems, or dialectics, or each of the other disciplines?" For these things do not help at all in fulfilling duties, nor is Greek philosophy human understanding; for it is not a teacher of truth. These things must be said: First, that even about the greatest of beings they fail, that is, the choice of the mind. "For those who guard, they say, the holy things will be made holy; and those who have been taught them will find a defense". " For only the one who has knowledge will rightly do all things that must be done in a holy way, as he has been trained according to the Lord's teaching, received through men. Again, it is possible to hear: "For in his hand, that is, in power and wisdom, are both we and our words, and all understanding, and the knowledge of works; for God loves nothing except the one who lives with wisdom." Then they did not read what was said by Solomon. For speaking about the construction of the temple, he says directly: "But skillful wisdom built it; and your providence, father, governs it." And how is it not unreasonable to think that philosophy is worse than carpentry and shipbuilding? Perhaps also the Lord fed that large crowd lying on the grass by the shore of the Sea of Tiberias with two fish and five barley loaves; hinting at the preliminary teaching of both Greeks and Jews before the divine bread, the food cultivated according to the law. Barley is indeed more suitable than wheat for a summer season. The Greek philosophy, born and carried along the waves of the pagan world, was represented by the fish, given as food to those still lying low on the ground. Although it did not increase like the fragments of the loaves, those who partook of the Lord's blessing were inspired with the resurrection of divinity through the power of the Word. But even if you are curious, take the circular one of the two fish, and let the other one represent that philosophy which has risen again; these are indeed corresponding to the word of the Lord. "A dance of silent fish flowed forth," The tragic muse perhaps said: "I too must be lessened, to grow" only now the Lord's word, to which the law is brought to an end, as the prophet John has said. I already understand the mystery of the truth, granting pardon if I hesitate to go further in the explanation, only proclaiming this: "All things were made through him, and without him not even one thing was made. Do not neglect: "A cornerstone has been spoken of, in which every building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple of God," according to the divine Apostle. I am silent now about the parable in the Gospel that says: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who cast a net into the sea, and from the large number of fish caught, he made a selection of the better ones." Already, the wisdom among us openly proclaims the four virtues in this way, so that even the sources of these are said to have come to the Greeks from the Hebrews. It is possible to learn from these things: "And if someone loves righteousness, the efforts for it are virtues." For temperance and prudence teach justice and courage, of which nothing is more useful in human life." It was necessary to know all these things and also this: that by nature we have become suitable for virtue, but not so as to have it from birth, rather suitable to acquire it.

Chapter 12

By what argument is the difficulty for us concerning the heretics resolved, whether Adam was created perfect or imperfect. But if he was imperfect, how could the work of a perfect God be imperfect, especially a man? But if he was perfect, how does he break the commandments? For it will be heard even from us that he was not perfect by nature, but suitable to receive virtue; for there is surely a difference between being suitable for virtue and possessing it. And he wishes to be saved by us from ourselves. This nature of the soul, then, moves by itself; and since we are rational, and philosophy is rational, we have something in common with it. Suitability is indeed a movement toward virtue, but virtue itself is not. All, then, as I said, are by nature inclined toward gaining virtue; but some come closer, others less so, through both learning and practice. Therefore, some have reached perfect virtue, while others have reached only partway; and some, having been neglected, even if they were otherwise naturally gifted, turned in the opposite direction. Far more difficult to acquire is knowledge, which surpasses all kinds of learning in size and truth, and it is gained through much effort. "But, it seems, they did not understand the mysteries of God: that God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own nature; " According to this nature, the one who knows all, the knowledgeable, the just, and the holy, with understanding, strives to reach the measure of perfect maturity. Not only actions and thoughts, but also words are pure for the one who knows: "You have tested my heart; I will visit it by night," it says (V 9, p 320). "You have tried me, and no wrongdoing was found in me; so that my mouth may not speak the works of men." And what am I saying about the works of men? It recognizes sin itself, not one committed in repentance; for this is common to other believers as well, but what sin is. For it does not condemn this or that sin, but simply all sin; and it does not condemn what someone has done wrong, but points out what should not be done. Therefore, repentance is twofold; the one common, for the one who has made a mistake, and the other, understanding the nature of sin, persuades to turn away from sinning according to the previous reasoning, followed by not sinning. Therefore, do not say that the one who does wrong and sins is at fault because of demons; for even if he were innocent, by choosing the same things as demons in sinning, he becomes unrestrained, empty, and changeable in desires, and, like a demon, a person becomes demonic. Immediately, the one who is evil by nature, having become sinful through wickedness, has become bad, holding the one he willingly chose; being sinful, he also sins through his actions; but on the other hand, the diligent one corrects himself. Therefore, we call not only virtues but also good actions good. Of the good things, we know that some are chosen for their own sake, like knowledge (for from it we seek nothing else but only to have it present, and to be in constant contemplation, and to struggle toward it and through it); but others are chosen for the sake of something else, like faith, because of the escape from punishment that comes from it, and the benefit that comes from reward. For fear is the cause that most people do not sin. The promise is the incentive to pursue obedience, through which salvation comes. Therefore, knowledge is the most perfect good, chosen for its own sake; and as a result, the good things that follow from it also come along. And punishment is the cause of correction for the one being punished; for those who can see from afar, it becomes an example, through which falling into the same faults as others is stopped. Let us then accept knowledge, not aiming at what results from it, but embracing it for the sake of knowing itself. For the first benefit is the habit of knowledge, providing harmless pleasures and joy, both now and in the future. They say that joy is gladness, being a reflection of virtue according to truth, through a certain focus and outpouring of the soul. The works that partake in knowledge are good and noble actions. True wealth is the increase found in actions according to virtue; poverty is the lack that comes from worldly desires. For possessions and uses of necessities do not have harmful quality, but harmful quantity beyond measure. Therefore, the knowledgeable person limits desires both in acquisition and in use, not going beyond the measure of what is necessary. Therefore, considering necessary life here as a growth in knowledge and the care of understanding, he will make living well, not just living, the greatest goal. Neither children nor marriage nor parents should be preferred over love for God and righteousness in life; a wife is considered a sister after bearing children, as if sharing the same father. Only then, when she cares for the children, does she remember the husband, truly becoming a sister even after the shedding of the flesh, which separates and defines the knowledge of spiritual things by the nature of bodily forms. For souls themselves are also distinct; souls are neither male nor female, as long as they neither marry nor are married. And is the woman thus transferred to the man, becoming also masculine and perfect, without losing her femininity? That was then the laughter of Sarah, at the news of the birth of a child; I think she did not disbelieve the angel, but was deeply troubled again by the conversation through which she was to become the mother of a child. And is it not since then that Abraham, when Sarah's beauty was in danger before the king of Egypt, called her his sister in a familiar way, though they were neither yet of the same mother nor the same father? Therefore, God grants requests through prayers to those who have repented from sins and do not have firm faith; but to those who live without sin and with understanding, He gives only to those who are enlightened. Immediately, only after Anna was enlightened, was the conception of the child Samuel given: "Ask," says the Scripture, "and I will do; be enlightened, and I will give." V 9, p 324 p 324." For we have received God as the knower of hearts, not judging by the movement of the soul, as we humans do; nor even by the outcome; for it would be ridiculous to think so. Nor did God, as the master builder, praise the work after making it, and then, having made the light, look at it and say it was good. But he, even before making it, knowing how it would be, praised what came to be, making good by power from above through the unoriginated intention, the future good in its activity. Immediately, the future was already declared to be good, hiding the truth behind the surpassing expression. Therefore, the spiritual person prays at every hour with full understanding, being united with God through love. First, he will ask for the forgiveness of sins; then, after no longer sinning, to be able to do good, and to understand all creation and management according to the Lord, so that, having become pure in heart through the knowledge given by the Son of God, he may be initiated face to face into the blessed vision, having heard the Scripture saying: "Fasting with prayer is good." Fasts are abstentions that plainly reveal the absence of all evils, both in action and in word and even in the very thought itself. As it seems, then, righteousness is a square, equal and uniform on all sides—in word, in deed, in abstaining from evils, in doing good, in full knowledge, never faltering anywhere—so that it does not appear unjust or uneven. So, whoever is just is completely faithful; but whoever is faithful is not yet just. I mean the righteousness that comes through progress and perfection, by which one is called a knowledgeable just person. Immediately, Abraham, having become faithful, was counted as righteous, having advanced to a greater and more perfect faith. For one who only abstains from evil deeds is not just, unless he also works at doing good and knowing; for this reason, some things must be avoided, and others must be actively done. "Through the weapons of righteousness, both right and left," The Apostle says that the righteous are sent to the highest inheritance, protected on one side and active on the other; for the shield alone of all-weaponed defense, and the abstaining from sins, is not enough for perfection, unless it is joined with the work of righteousness, the active doing of good. Then the one who is skillful with his right hand and knowledgeable in righteousness is revealed to us, already glorified even from here, just as Moses "the face" of the soul; which before we said was the body, the mark of the righteous soul. Just as with wool, the pressing of the dye that remains gives the wool its special quality and difference from others; so too with the soul, the pain has passed, but the good remains; the pleasant is left behind, while the shameful is shaken off. For these are the marks of each soul, by which the one is known as glorified, and the other as condemned. And just as for Moses, from his righteous conduct and from his continual conversation with the God who spoke to him, a certain brightness settled upon his face, glorified; so also upon the righteous soul, a divine power of goodness, filled with oversight, prophecy, and governing activity, like a reflection of the mind, like the rays of the sun, is impressed with a certain mark, a clear seal of righteousness, a light united to the soul through boundless love, both bearing God and being borne by God. Here the likeness to the Savior God appears to the one who knows, as far as is naturally allowed for a human, becoming perfect, "as the Father," he says, "who is in heaven." He himself is the one saying, "Little children, I am with you a little longer." Since even God, who is not good by nature, remains blessed and incorruptible in this way, having neither possessions nor giving to another, but doing good in a special way; truly God and father, being good and becoming so in unceasing acts of kindness, remains unchangeably in the same goodness. For what use is there in a good thing that neither acts nor becomes good?

Chapter 13

Therefore, having first practiced moderation and trained himself toward passionlessness, and having grown in the goodness of knowledgeable kindness to perfection, here he is an equal-angel. Now shining brightly and like the sun in his kindness, he hastens with just knowledge through the love of God toward the holy monastery, just like the apostles; not because they were chosen apostles by some special nature or unique quality; for even Judas was chosen with them; but because they were able to become apostles by being chosen, with the goal already in view. Indeed, Matthias, who was not chosen with them, showing himself worthy to become an apostle, is appointed in place of Judas. It is therefore possible even now for those who have practiced the Lord's commandments on the Lord's day, living fully according to the Gospel and with understanding, to be enrolled among the chosen apostles. This one is truly a presbyter of the Church, and a true servant of the will of God, if he does and teaches the things of the Lord; not being ordained by men, nor considered a presbyter because of being just; but because he is just, he is counted among the presbyters; and even if here on earth he is not honored with the first seat, among the twenty-four he sits on thrones, judging the people, as John says in the Revelation. For truly there is one saving covenant, which has reached us from the foundation of the world, and through various generations and times, the gift received has been different. For there is one unchanging gift of salvation from one God, through one Lord who benefits in many ways; for this reason, "the dividing wall " is taken away, which separated the Jew from the Greek into a chosen people. And so both come to the unity of faith; and the choice from both is one; and among the elect, he says, those who have been perfected in full knowledge and have blossomed in that Church are more chosen, and honored with the most magnificent glory, judges and rulers also, both from the Jews and from the Greeks, the twenty-four, with grace doubled; since even here, according to the Church, the progress of bishops, elders, and deacons, I think, are imitations of angelic glory and of that administration which the Scriptures say the five have lived according to the footsteps of the apostles in the perfection of righteousness according to the Gospel. The Apostle writes that these, lifted up in clouds, are to serve first, then to be appointed to the presbyterate according to the progress of glory; ("for glory differs from glory") until they reach the status of a "perfect man"." grow into.

Chapter 14

Such ones, according to David, "will rest on the holy mountain of God," to the highest Church, around which the philosophers gather of God, "the truly Israelites, the pure in heart, in whom no deceit is found;" those who did not remain in a week of rest, but by good works of divine likeness have surpassed into the inheritance of eighth-day blessings, patiently enduring the sincere vision of insatiable contemplation; "There are also, the Lord says, other sheep that are not from this fold;" belonging to another fold and solitary place, worthy according to their faith. "But my sheep listen to my voice," understanding the commandments with knowledge; and it is noble and worthy to receive also the reward and the following of works. So, when we hear, "Your faith has saved you," we do not simply expect him to say that whoever believes will be saved, unless works also follow. At once, he was speaking this word only to the Jews, to the legal experts who lived blamelessly, to whom only faith in the Lord was lacking. Therefore, he would not be faithful with weakness, but even if he goes out of the flesh, it is necessary for him to put aside passions, so that he may be able to enter into his own dwelling. More than believing is knowing, just as it is careless to be saved, so too is it careless not to be honored with the highest respect after being saved. Therefore, having put off passions through much discipline, the faithful one shares with us in the greatest punishment for the betterment of his former state; carrying the mark of repentance for the sins committed after baptism. He still feels distress; rather, either not yet, or not at all, having what he sees others have received; and moreover, he is ashamed of the faults committed by himself; these indeed are the greatest punishments for the faithful. For the righteousness of God is good, and his goodness is just. And if the punishments then cease somewhere according to the completion of the creation and each purification, they have the greatest remaining sorrow, because having been found worthy of the other court, they suffer the pain for not agreeing with those glorified through righteousness. Immediately Solomon calls the knowledgeable wise, regarding those who admire his honor of solitude, saying these things: "For they will see the end of the wise man, and they will not understand what he planned about him, or why the Lord secured him." And about his glory they say, "This is the one we once had for laughter and as a parable of reproach, the foolish ones." We considered his life madness, and his death dishonorable; how was he counted among the sons of God. and among the saints, V 9, p 333 p 333 his portion is? Not only, then, is the believer judged righteous, but also the Gentile most justly; for God, being a foreknower, knew that this one would not believe, yet no less in some way accepts the perfection according to himself. He gave him philosophy, but before faith; and he gave the sun and the moon and the stars for worship; which God made for the nations, says the law, so that they, not becoming completely godless, might not be utterly destroyed. But those who, even having become ignorant in this commandment, clung to carved statues, and even if they do not repent, are judged: some because, though able, they did not wish to believe in God; others because, though willing, they did not manage to become faithful. Indeed, even those who did not turn back from the worship of the stars to their maker; for this way was given to the nations, to look up to God through the worship of the stars. But those who did not wish to remain with the stars given to them, but even fell away from these to stones and wood, "like dust," it says, "they were counted, and like a drop from a bucket." Many are saved by salvation, those who reject the body; just as simple salvation is of the means, but right and proper accomplishment; so also every action, of the knowledgeable, is an accomplishment, but of the simply faithful, it might be called a middle action, not yet performed according to reason, nor yet accomplished with understanding; but the opposite of all this for the Gentile is sin; for it is not simply doing well, but doing actions with a certain purpose and acting with reason that is required, as the Scriptures show. Just as those inexperienced should not touch the lyre to play it, nor those inexperienced should play the flute; so also, matters should not be handled by those who have not received knowledge, even if they know how life should be lived according to reason. The struggle for freedom is fought not only in wars by the warriors, but also at banquets, and in bed, and even in courts, by those who have anointed themselves with speech, ashamed to become captives of pleasure. "I would never exchange virtue for unjust gain." Unjust gain is directly opposed by pleasure and pain, labor and fear, and, in short, all the passions of the soul, whose immediate effect is pleasant but whose outcome is painful. "For what profit is there, if you gain the world," he says, "but lose your soul?" It is clear, then, that those who do not complete good deeds do not even understand what is beneficial for themselves. If this is so, then these people are not even able to pray properly to receive good things from God, since they do not know what is truly good. And even if they received these things, they would not recognize the gift, nor would they enjoy it properly, because of their lack of experience in using well what has been given, and because of their great ignorance, they have not yet learned to make good use of the divine gifts. Ignorance is the cause of unawareness; and I think it is a boast of a proud soul, though not a conscientious one, to speak out about what happens according to circumstances: "For this, one must also struggle; for what is good will be with me, and justice will be an ally; and I will never act wrongly by mistake." This conscientiousness preserves what is holy toward God and what is just toward people, keeping the soul pure with reverent thoughts, pure words, and righteous deeds. Thus, having gained strength from the Lord, the soul strives to be godly. It considers no evil other than ignorance and acting against right reason. Always giving thanks to God for everything, through just hearing and divine reading, through seeking the truth, through holy offerings, and through blessed prayer, praising, hymning, blessing, and singing—such a soul is never separated from God at any time. It has been rightly said: "And those who trust in him will understand the truth; and the faithful will remain with him in love." You see how wisdom speaks about those who have knowledge; accordingly, the rewards vary according to the worth of those who have believed. Immediately Solomon said: "For to him the grace of chosen faith will be given, and an inheritance in the temple of the Lord, more memorable." For the comparative shows what has been set under the temple of God, which is the whole Church; but it leaves out the superlative, where the Lord is. These three alone are chosen, as the numbers in the Gospel hint: "the thirty (2-3), and the sixty, and the hundred." And the perfect inheritance is for those who are "perfect men." Arriving at the image of the Lord, the likeness is not like some, the human form according to shape; for this is a godless inheritance. Nor is it the one according to virtue, directed toward the first cause; for this is also impious, expecting the same virtue to belong to both a human and the almighty God. "You have taken up lawlessness," it says, "because I will be like you; but enough." for it is enough "for the disciple to become like the teacher," says the Instructor. Therefore, the one who has been adopted as a son and brought into friendship with God becomes like God by likeness, according to the joint inheritance of the lords and gods, if, as the Lord himself taught, he is perfected according to the Gospel.

Chapter 15

The Gnostic, then, carefully takes up the closer likeness—the mind of the teacher, which he understood, commanded, and advised the wise and prudent. Understanding this, as the one who taught wished, and grasping the great meaning through understanding, he taught worthily "upon the rooms " those who are able to be built up highly, having first begun the activity of what is said according to the pattern of the polity; for he commanded what was possible. And indeed, the royal nature is both original and ruling and Christian; since we were not commanded to rule only over external beasts, but also over the wild passions within ourselves. Therefore, by knowledge, as it seems, the gnostic is saved from a life of evil and good, "more than the Scribes and Pharisees." understanding and acting. "Strive and succeed and rule," David writes, "for the sake of truth and gentleness and righteousness, and your right hand will lead you wonderfully;" that is, the Lord. "Who then is wise? and understands these things; sensible? and will know them; for the ways of the Lord are straight," the prophet says, showing that only the one with knowledge can understand and explain clearly what has been secretly spoken by the Spirit. "And the one who understands in that time will keep silent," the Scripture says: clearly, it is to those who are unworthy to speak out; for the Lord says, "Let the one who has ears to hear, hear;" not everyone has the ability to hear and understand, saying. Immediately David says, "Dark water lifted up in the clouds," he writes: "From the brightness before him, the clouds passed through, hail and coals of fire;" Teaching that the holy words are hidden, and indeed to the knowledgeable they are clear and bright, like harmless hailstones sent down from God as a message; but to many others they are dark, like coals extinguished from fire, which if no one lights and rekindles, will neither burn nor be illuminated. "The Lord " The Lord then, he says, "gives me a tongue of instruction, to know how to speak a word in season, when it is necessary to say it," not only according to the testimony, but also for question and answer; "And the instruction of the Lord opens my mouth;" Therefore, the knowledge is also about knowing how to use the word, and when, and how, and toward whom. And already the Apostle says, "According to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ," the Greek teaching they hand down as elementary, but the teaching according to Christ as perfect, just as we have already explained before. "Immediately the wild olive is grafted into the fruitfulness of the olive;" And indeed it grows alike with the tame olives; for what is grafted uses the tree into which it is grafted instead of the earth. And all the plants together have been defiled by divine command; therefore, even if the wild olive is the cotinus, it crowns the Olympic victors, and the elm, raising the vine up high, teaches it to bear fruit well. And we already see that the wild trees draw in more nourishment, because they cannot fall. The wild branches of the tame trees remain unfallen; and the cause of their wildness is a lack of digestive power. Therefore, the grafted olive receives more nourishment because it is grafted onto the wild. But once it becomes accustomed to falling, it shares in the nourishment together with the fruitfulness of the tame tree. In the same way, the philosopher, likened to a wild olive, has much that does not fall off, because he is inquisitive, attentive, and eager for the fruitfulness of truth. If he receives divine power through faith, and is grafted onto good and tame knowledge, just like the wild olive grafted onto the truly good and merciful word, he both falls off the nourishment given and becomes a fine olive tree. For grafting makes the worthless noble, and forces the barren to bear fruit, by agricultural skill and the knowledge of wisdom. They say that grafting happens in four ways. First, the grafted part must fit between the wood and the bark, as the untrained people from the nations are instructed, receiving the word superficially. Second, when they split the wood and insert the noble plant into it; this happens with those who have studied philosophy. For when their doctrines are cut through, knowledge of the truth comes about. Just as with the Jews, when the old Scripture is passed through, the new and noble olive plant is grafted in. The third kind of grafting touches the wild and heretical, those who are forcibly brought into the truth. For having cut away each side with a sharp sickle until the inner bark is exposed but not pulled off, they bind them together. The fourth way of grafting is called "inlaying." A bud is taken from a noble branch, with bark cut around it in a circle about the length of a wrestling belt. Then the branch is cut along the bud, equal to the circle's size. It is then inserted, tied, and wrapped with clay, making sure the bud remains unharmed and unpolluted. This is a kind of teaching of knowledge, able to nurture things; and this method is especially useful for tame trees. The grafting called "grafting into the olive tree" by the Apostle is possible" The grafting called "grafting into the olive tree" by the Apostle can happen, with Christ himself being planted into the wild and unbelieving nature, that is, into those who believe in Christ; but it is better for each person's faith to be grafted into the soul itself. For the Holy Spirit is also in a way transplanted into this one, distributed according to each person's description, yet beyond description. About knowledge, Solomon, speaking, says these things: "Wisdom is bright and unfading, and is easily seen by those who love it; it reaches those who desire to be known." He who rises early to seek it will not grow weary; for remembering it is the perfection of understanding. And he who stays awake for it will soon be without care; because wisdom goes around seeking those worthy of it. (For knowledge is not for everyone.) And it shows itself kindly to them in their paths." The paths are the course of life and the variety according to the Scriptures. Immediately it brings this: "And in every thought it meets them," Viewed in many ways, clearly through all instruction. Then it chooses perfect love, presenting it through reasoned argument and true principles in the most convincing and truthful way, thus somehow leading the argument forward: "For the beginning of it is the most true desire for instruction," that is, of knowledge; "care is the love of instruction; love is the keeping of its laws; attention, then, is the firm holding of incorruption; and incorruption makes one near to God. Desire for wisdom, then, leads up to the kingdom. For it teaches, I think, that true instruction is a certain desire for knowledge; and the practice of instruction consists in love of knowledge; and love is the keeping of the commands that lead to knowledge; and keeping them is the firm holding of the commands, through which incorruption comes; and incorruption makes one near to God." V 9, p 345 p 345 If love of knowledge makes one incorrupt, and leads the royal man near to God the king, then one must seek knowledge in order to find it. Seeking is the impulse to grasp by means of certain signs the thing that lies beneath; but finding is the end and rest of seeking, coming with the grasp; which is knowledge. And this is truly finding—knowledge, the grasp that exists as the result of seeking. They say a sign is something that comes before, or exists alongside, or follows after. The finding in the matter of seeking God is the teaching through the Son, and the sign of his being our Savior is that very Son of God. The prophecies that came before his presence announce him, and the testimonies that exist alongside his visible birth confirm him. Moreover, his powers are proclaimed and clearly shown both after his ascension. The proof that the truth is with us is that the Son of God himself has taught it. For if concerning every universal matter these things are found, both the person and the fact, the true truth is shown only by us; since the person of the truth being shown. is the Son of God, and the fact is the power of faith, which overcomes every opposing force and the whole world standing against it. But since this has been confessed to be confirmed in eternal works and words, and punishment has already appeared, anyone who does not believe in providence is not worthy of refutation, and in fact is godless; it is before us what we should do and how we should live, so that we may come to the knowledge of the almighty God, and how by honoring the divine we may become the cause of salvation for ourselves, not by the sophists, but by knowing and learning from God himself what is pleasing to him, we try to do what is just and holy. To be saved is pleasing to him; and salvation comes through both good works and knowledge—of both the Lord is the teacher. If then it is possible to learn the truth only from God or from the descendants of God, according to Plato, it is reasonable to choose the testimonies from the divine writings; we boast that the truth is taught through the Son of God, first having been foretold, and then also made clear. The things that help in the discovery of truth are not themselves unreliable. Philosophy, indeed, announces providence, and briefly speaks of the reward of a happy life and the punishment of an unhappy one; but it no longer preserves accuracy or the details. For it does not treat the same way about the Son of God or about the providential economy; it did not know religion according to God. Therefore, the heresies of philosophy among the barbarians, even if they speak of one God and praise Christ, speak only in general terms and not toward the truth. For they find a different God, and they do not receive Christ as the prophecies hand him down. But indeed, the falsehoods of their doctrines are opposed to the way of truth, which is with us. Immediately Paul circumcised Timothy because of those believing from the Jews, so that when he was no longer present, those taught from the law, who were more fleshly, would not turn away from the faith. He knew exactly that circumcision does not justify: "for to all things it becomes." He agrees according to conduct, preserving the main points of the doctrines, "so that he may win all." Daniel, however, "the madman " endured on behalf of the king of the Persians, not looking away so as to avoid seeing the lion suffer. Then those who behave according to the management of salvation, or those who are in some way mistaken, are not truly false; rather, those who fall away from the most important things, denying the Lord as much as is in them, and depriving the Lord of the true teaching. These are the ones who speak and hand down the Scriptures not according to the worthiness of God and the Lord. For the teaching according to the Lord, given through his apostles, is a trust handed over to God, along with the understanding and practice of godly tradition. "What you hear with your ear," secretly and in mystery; (for such things are said to the ear in allegory;) "On the rooftops, he says, proclaim;" receiving with great respect and handing down with high authority, and according to the rule of truth, explaining the Scriptures clearly; for neither the prophecy nor the Savior himself simply spoke the divine mysteries plainly to those who happened upon them, but spoke in parables. The apostles indeed say about the Lord that "he spoke everything in parables, and he spoke nothing to them without a parable." But if "everything was made through him, and without him not even one thing was made," and so prophecy and the law were also made through him, and they were spoken through him in parables; but "all things are rightly before those who understand," Scripture says; that is, V 9, p 349 p 349, those who accept and preserve the clear explanation of the Scriptures given by him according to the church rule. The church rule is the harmony and agreement of the law and the prophets with the covenant handed down according to the Lord's presence. Knowledge then is followed by prudence, and temperance follows prudence. Let it be said that knowledge is divine, and among those who become divine, temperance is mortal and is found in humans who philosophize, but not yet as wise men—if indeed virtue is divine and knowledge is of itself. Temperance is like an incomplete prudence, striving for prudence, working hard, but not contemplative. Just as justice, being human, was joined in common with holiness, existing as divine justice. For perfect justice is not in political contracts or in the prohibition of the law, but comes from personal action and love toward God. For many reasons, the Scriptures hide the mind; first, so that we may be seekers and always stay alert in finding the saving words. Then, also, it was not fitting for everyone to understand in the same way, so as not to be harmed by receiving differently the things spoken savingly by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, to the chosen of men, those approved from faith into knowledge, the holy mysteries of the prophecies are kept and covered by parables. For the character of the Scriptures is parabolic. Because the Lord, not being worldly, came to men as if worldly. For he also wore all virtue; and he was about to lead the companion of the world, man, through knowledge, from one world to the higher and spiritual things. Therefore, Scripture also uses metaphorical language. For a parable is a saying not from the main point itself, but carrying the main point, leading the one who understands to the truth and the main meaning. Or, as some say, it is a way of speaking by means of other things that surround the main meaning with power. Indeed, the whole plan concerning the Lord that was foretold by the prophets truly appears as a parable to those who have not known the truth, when someone says that the Son of God, who made all things, took on flesh and was conceived in the womb of a virgin* V 9, p 352 p 352 (since his sensible body was formed of flesh); and then, as it happened, suffered and rose again. He speaks, and they hear, "To the Jews a stumbling block, to the Greeks foolishness," as the Apostle says. But when the Scriptures are opened, and to those who have ears, they reveal the truth itself—that which the flesh suffered, which the Lord took on—"the power of God and the wisdom" they proclaim. The parabolic form of Scripture, being the oldest, as we have shown, naturally increased especially among the prophets, so that the Holy Spirit might reveal the coming presence of the Lord and the secret teaching to be handed down by him, to philosophers among the Greeks and to the wise among other barbarians who had ignored the holy. Therefore, prophecy rightly proclaims the Lord, not speaking according to the common opinions of many, so that some might think it blasphemy, but shaping the meanings with voices able to lead to other understandings. Immediately all the prophets who foretold the coming of the Lord and with it the holy mysteries were persecuted and killed; just as the Lord himself, having made the Scriptures clear to them, and those close to him who preached the word, like him, put their lives at risk after him. Hence Peter, speaking in the preaching about the apostles, says: "But we, having opened the books which we had from the prophets, some by parables, some by riddles, and some authentically and word for word naming Christ Jesus, found also his coming, and his death, and the cross, and all the other punishments which the Jews inflicted on him, and the resurrection, and the ascension into the heavens, before Jerusalem was built, just as it was written: All these things which he was to suffer, and after him what would happen." Having recognized these things, we believed in God through the Scriptures written about him." And shortly after, by divine providence, he again presents the prophecies as having come to be, saying here V 9, p 353 p 353, "For we know that God ordered them to be so, and we say nothing apart from Scripture." The Hebrew language also has certain other qualities, just like each of the other languages, containing a certain meaning that shows a national character. A dialect is defined as a word made up with a national character; but prophecy does not become familiar through those dialects. For in the Greek dialects called by artful names of styles, the changes make the hidden meanings, modeled after the prophecies among us; yet when the change is voluntary and departs from the correct measured or approximate expression, it is shown. The style, then, is a way of speaking prescribed by the Lord to avoid what is improper, for the sake of arrangement and for the sake of ease of expression in the word. Prophecy does not at all aim for the forms of words for the beauty of expression, nor for all things to be true; rather, it is hidden in many ways, revealing its light only to those initiated into knowledge, those who seek the truth through love. The form of prophecy is called a proverb according to foreign philosophy; it is also called a parable; and a riddle is added to these. But indeed also "wisdom " is called; and also as another form of it, "education," and words" again "of understanding," and "turns of speech," and "true righteousness," and also the teaching "to direct judgment," and "cunning against the innocent," According to instruction, both perception and understanding come to the newly catechized; "He who hears these things," he says, "of the prophets will be wise, wiser still; and the intelligent one will gain governance, and will understand parables and dark sayings, as well as the sayings of the wise and riddles." If, however, from the Greek Zeus called Deucalion by name, the Greek dialects came to be called, then from the years we have reached and are present at, it is easy to see in how many generations the later dialects of the Hebrew language among the Greeks exist. As the writing progresses, having marked the previously mentioned methods of the prophet in each passage, we will present the spiritual guidance, skillfully showing it according to the rule of truth. For was it not also in the vision to Hermes that the Power, appearing in the form of the Church, gave the book for transcription, which he wished to be announced to the chosen? He says that he transcribed this into letters, not finding the syllables to complete. He showed then that the Scripture is clear to all, understood through plain reading, and that this is the faith having the order of elements, through which also "the reading according to the letter" is allegorized; but the spiritual unfolding of the Scriptures, as faith advances, we expect to be understood according to the syllabic reading. But also Isaiah the prophet, a book "new" commands to take, "to write down" something. the holy knowledge through the explanation of the Scriptures would later come to be, the Spirit still prophesying, which at that time was still unwritten, because it was not yet known; for it had been said from the beginning only to those who understand. Immediately after the Savior taught the apostles, the unwritten tradition of the written word was already being passed on to us, written in new hearts according to the renewal of the book by the power of God. This, the most learned among the Greeks, those who follow Hermes—whom they say is the word—set as holy the fruit of the flow because of the interpretation; for the word is rich in meaning. It is reasonable, then, that Jesus son of Naveh saw Moses taken up in two ways: one with angels, and the other on the mountains, near the valleys, considered worthy of burial. Jesus saw this vision below, lifted up in spirit, together with Caleb; but both were not seen in the same way. One descended more quickly, carrying much weight; the other, having come down later, recounted the glory as if he had seen it, being able to pierce through the vision of the other, having become purer. This, I think, shows that the story does not contain the full knowledge. For some look to the body of the Scriptures, the words and names, just as to the body of Moses; others perceive the thoughts and what is signified by the names, observing the Moses who was with angels as more inquisitive. Many also neglect the Lord himself, who is called out to by many, saying, "Son of David, have mercy on me," They said, few recognized the Son of God, like Peter; whom he also blessed, saying, "For flesh and blood did not reveal the truth to him, but rather his Father who is in heaven," showing that the one who truly knows is not through his flesh, which was poured out, but through the power of the Father, to know the Son of the Almighty. Not only, then, is the possession of truth difficult for those who simply seek it, but even for those who have their own knowledge, the vision is not given all at once. The history according to Moses teaches this, until they become accustomed to facing it, just as the Hebrews did to the glory of Moses, and the saints of Israel to the visions of angels. In the same way, we will be able to look steadily at the flashes of truth.

Chapter 16

Let the Decalogue stand as an example for us, by way of digression, toward clear knowledge. And that the ten words are sacred, it is unnecessary to say now. But if the tablets that are written are the work of God, showing natural creation, they will be found: "finger" for the "finger of God" The power of God is understood as the power of God, through which the creation of heaven and earth is perfected; the tablets of both will be understood as symbols. For the writing of God and the form impressed upon the tablet is the creation of the world. The Decalogue, according to the heavenly image, contains the sun and moon, stars, clouds, light, spirit, water, air, darkness, fire. This is the natural Decalogue of heaven; the image of the earth, however, contains humans, cattle, reptiles, wild beasts, and the fish and sea creatures of the waters; likewise, the birds, both the flesh-eating and those that feed on plants; and plants as well, both fruit-bearing and fruitless. This is the natural Decalogue of the earth. And "the ark" But the ark, having enclosed these things, would be the knowledge and wisdom of both the divine and the human. Perhaps these two tablets would be the double prophecy of the two covenants. V 9, p 360 p 360

They were therefore renewed mysteriously, as ignorance and sin both increased. They are written doubly, it seems, with two spirits in the commandments, both the ruling and the subject; since "the flesh desires against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh." There is also a certain tenfold aspect concerning the person himself: the five senses, the vocal power, and the generative power; and this is indeed the eighth, the spiritual one according to the formation; the ninth is the ruling power of the soul; and the tenth is the characteristic mark of the Holy Spirit that comes through faith. Moreover, the law seems to command ten human parts: sight and hearing, smell, touch, and taste, and the organs that serve these, being twofold, with hands and feet; for this is the formation of the human being. The soul is enclosed, and the ruling part that we reason with is enclosed first, not born according to the origin of the seed, so that the tenth number, by which all the activity of the human is accomplished, can exist even without it. For man, being formed according to order, immediately takes the beginning of life from the passive parts. We say, then, that the reasoning and ruling part is the cause of the animal's composition; but this irrational part is also both animated and a part of it. Immediately, the vital power, which includes the nutritive, the growth, and the general movement, is received by the bodily spirit, being quick-moving, and going through all parts both by the senses and through the rest of the body, also experiencing first sensations through the body; but the ruling part has the power of choice, around which are inquiry, learning, and knowledge. But indeed, the whole return of all things is arranged into one—the ruling part—and through it man both lives and somehow lives. Through the bodily spirit, then, man senses, desires, feels pleasure, gets angry, is nourished, and grows; and indeed, through this he carries out actions both of thought and understanding; and when he gains control over his desires, the ruling part rules. Therefore, the command, "You shall not desire," He says, "You shall not desire, you shall not serve the bodily spirit, but you shall rule over it; for the flesh desires against the spirit," and it rises up to rebel against nature; and "the spirit against the flesh" prevails in the natural course of a person's life. Surely then it is fitting "to have been made in the image of God" It has been said that man is made in the image, not of the body's form, but since God creates all things by word, and man, having become rational, carries out good actions through reason? It is fitting, then, that the two tablets, given to the two spirits, contain the commandments—both those handed down before the law to the one who formed and to the ruler—and it has also been said that they reveal, and that the movements of the senses are imprinted according to the mind and are made clear through the activity coming from the body. For the grasp comes from both. Just as perception is directed toward what is perceived, so understanding is directed toward what is understood. There are also two kinds of actions: those according to conception, and those according to activity. And the first commandment of the Decalogue states that there is only one God Almighty, who led the people out of Egypt through the wilderness into the ancestral land, so that they might grasp, as far as they were able, his power through divine works, and turn away from the idolatry of created things V 9, p 364 p 364, placing all their hope in the true God. The second commandment forbade taking or bringing the great power of God (which is the name; for this alone many even now are able to learn) and forbade applying this name to created and vain things, which human craftsmen have made, over which the being does not preside (for the being alone is unbegotten in its identity). The third commandment declares that the world was made by God, and that he gave us the seventh day as a rest because of the hardships of life; for God is perfect and without suffering, and needs nothing. We who carry flesh need rest. Therefore, the seventh day is proclaimed as a rest, a stopping from evils, preparing the original day, the true rest for us; which was also the first day of the true light's creation, in which all things are seen together and all things are inherited. From this day, the first wisdom and knowledge shine upon us; for the light of truth is a true light, shadowless, and the Spirit of the Lord is shared without division to those sanctified through faith, holding the rank of a lamp, leading to the knowledge of all that exists. Therefore, following him throughout our whole life, we become free from suffering; and that is to rest. Therefore, Solomon says that wisdom came before heaven and earth and all things to the Almighty, whose participation, I say according to power, not according to essence, teaches one to be a knowledgeable receiver of both divine and human things. Here, having come to this point, these things must also be noted in passing; since the discussion about the seventh and eighth has entered. For the eighth risks being the seventh properly, and the sixth the seventh according to what is obvious; and the one is properly the Sabbath, while the seventh is the worker. For the creation of the world is completed in six days; and the movement of the sun from one turning point to another is completed in six months; during which some trees lose their leaves, others sprout plants, and the seeds reach their full growth. They also say that the embryo is completed precisely in the sixth month, that is, in one hundred eighty days and two and a half, as Polybus the physician records in On the Eight Months, and Aristotle the philosopher in On Nature. The Pythagoreans, I think, from this point, based on the world's generation according to the prophet, consider the number six perfect, and they call it the midpoint and marriage, because it is in the middle of the straight line, that is, between ten and two; for it seems equally distant from both. Just as marriage produces offspring from male and female, so six is born from the excess of three, which is called the male number, and the even two, which is considered female; for six is twice three. So much again for the most general movements, by which all creation is carried up, down, to the right, to the left, forward, and backward. It is reasonable, then, that the number seven is considered barren and unproductive, interpreting the Sabbath, and allegorizing it as a form of rest; during which "they neither marry nor are given in marriage any longer." For the seven neither comes from adding any number to another, nor, when taken from any, does it make either of the parts within the twelve. They call the eighth a cube, counting it along with the seven wandering stars as the fixed sphere, through which the great year is made, like a cycle of the promised returns. On this one, the Lord, having gone up fourth to the mountain, becomes sixth, and shines with spiritual light, having stripped away the power from him, as much as those chosen to see were able to behold. Through the seventh, the voice is proclaimed that he is the Son of God, so that some may rest, persuaded about him, and he, through the birth which the six showed, being marked, existing as the eighth, may appear as God in the flesh, showing power. Though counted as a man, he was hidden as who he was. For in the order of numbers, six is also counted, but the sequence of the elements shows clearly what is not written. Here, according to V 9, p 369, the numbers themselves are preserved in order, each odd number into the seventh and eighth, but according to the number of the elements, zeta becomes the sixth, and eta the seventh. But with the marked sign stolen into the writing, I do not know how, even so we follow, the seventh becomes the sixth, and the eighth the seventh; therefore, in the sixth the man is said to have been made, becoming faithful to the mark, so that he may immediately receive the rest of the Lord's inheritance. The sixth hour of the saving plan shows something like this, during which man was completed. Yes indeed, of the eight, the middles become seven. But the seven appear to be six intervals; for there is another reason there, when the seventh glorifies the eighth, and "the heavens declare the glory of God to the heavens". " The sensible forms of these are the vowel elements among us. Thus the Lord himself is said to be the Alpha and Omega, "the beginning and the end, through whom all things came into being, and without him not one thing came into being." Therefore, God has not rested from his rest, as some suppose; for being good, if he were ever to stop doing good works, he would also cease to be God—which is not even right to say. So then, to have rested means to have been appointed to keep the order of all things that come into being without fail through all time, and to have ended every disorder of the old creation; for the creations made on the different days have received the greatest sequence, so that they might have honor from the earlier ones among all things that come into being, all created at once in thought, but not all equally honorable. Nor would the birth of each one be made clear by a single voice, if creation were said to be done all at once; for it was necessary to name something first. Therefore, it was first foretold that the second things would come from the first, all together from one substance by one power; for, I think, the will of God is one in the same unity. How then could creation come into being in time, when time itself is joined with the things that exist? Already, in seven days, the whole world is completed, including all that is life-giving and all that grows. There are seven original rulers of angels who hold the greatest power; and there are also seven stars said to be the wanderers from the teachings, carrying out the earthly governance. Under their influence, the Chaldeans believe that everything concerning mortal life comes to be, and on that basis, some promise to speak about future events. Among the fixed stars, there are seven Pleiades; and the seven-starred Bears, around which farming and navigation are completed; and the moon undergoes its changes over seven days. During the first week, it becomes divided into two parts; during the second, it is full moon; on the third, after the waning, it again becomes divided into two parts; and on the fourth, it disappears. But it also, just as Seleucus the mathematician teaches, changes shape seven times; for it becomes moon-shaped without light, then divided into two parts, then crescent-shaped and full moon; and after waning, again crescent-shaped, divided into two parts, and moon-shaped.

V 9, p 373 p 373 On the seven-stringed lyre we will sing new hymns,

A certain poet, not unknown, writes and teaches that the old lyre has seven tones. Seven sensory organs are also present on our face: two for the eyes, two for the ears, two for the nostrils, and the seventh for the mouth. The changes of the ages happen in seven-day cycles, as the elegies of Solon somehow show:

A child, still immature and a baby, has a fence of teeth

Blowing, he first casts them out in seven years;

But the others, when God completes seven years.

Youth reveals the seeds of becoming.

At the third generation, the beard grows on the cheeks

The bloom of the skin changes into downy hair.

At the fourth week, everyone is at their greatest strength in the seventh week.

The strength, which men have as a sign of virtue.

At the fifth season, a man is ready to be remembered for marriage to be,

And to seek children for the next generation.

At the sixth, the mind of a man is trained for everything,

Nor yet does he want to see useless works.

At seven, the mind and the tongue are very excellent in the seventh year.

Eight is the age of both at fourteen years.

At the ninth year, it is still possible, but more moderately than before.

Body and strength tend toward great virtue.

At the tenth year, when God completes seven years,

Not being untimely, one would have a share in death.

Again, in illnesses, the seventh and the fourteenth are critical, during which nature struggles against the disease-causing agents; and countless such cases, sanctifying the number, are given by Hermippus the Berutian in his On the Seventh. Clearly, the blessed David hands down the secret teaching about the seventh and eighth to those who understand, singing somewhat like this: "Our years are like a spider's web woven." The days of our years in them are seventy years. But if in strength, eighty years. May it be granted for us to reign." So then, in order that the world might be knowable, let us learn that we should not think God made it in time; the prophecy has brought this about: "This is the book of the generation and of those in it, when it was made, on the day God made the heaven and the earth." For the phrase "When it was made," expresses an indefinite and timeless meaning; but the phrase, "on the day God made," that is, in which and by which he made all things, "without which not even one came into being," it shows the work through the Son; whom David says, "This is the day the Lord made; let us rejoice and be glad in it," that is, according to the knowledge handed down through him, let us celebrate the divine feast. For it is said, the day, the Word who enlightens the hidden things, and through whom every one of the creatures came into light and being. And in general, the Decalogue, through the letter iota, shows the blessed name, representing Jesus as the Word. The fifth one in order is a word about honoring father and mother. He clearly calls the father the Lord God; therefore, he also names those who know him as sons and gods. The Lord and Father is the creator of all, but the mother is not, as some say, the substance from which we came, nor, as others have claimed, the Church; rather, it is divine knowledge and wisdom, as Solomon says, "the mother of the righteous." calling back wisdom, and it is through her that choice is made. And again, all that is good and honorable is known from God through the Son. Next comes the word about adultery; adultery is when someone, leaving the church knowledge and true understanding about God, turns to a false opinion that does not belong, either by making something created into a god or by making something nonexistent into an idol beyond measure, but more truly a failure of knowledge. False opinion is foreign to the one who knows, just as true opinion is proper and joined to them. Therefore, the noble Apostle also calls idolatry one form of fornication, following the prophet who says: "The wood has committed adultery with the stone; to the wood it said, 'You are my father'; and to the stone, 'You gave birth to me.'"." Next comes the word about murder. Murder is a sure outbreak of anger. Therefore, whoever wants to reject the true word about God and his eternity, in order to approve falsehood, says either that everything is without reason, or that the world is uncreated, or that those who are firm according to the true teaching are utterly destroyed. After this comes the word about theft. Just as the thief who steals what belongs to others, greatly doing wrong, rightly falls into deserved evils; so too the one who, by skill—whether in sculpture or painting —takes for himself the divine works, and claims to be the maker of animals and plants; likewise, those who imitate true philosophy are thieves. And if someone is a farmer, or a father of a child, he is a servant of the planting of seeds; but God, providing the growth and increase of all things, leads what is produced according to nature. Most people, along with the philosophers, attribute the growth and changes to the stars according to V 9, p 380 p 380 the previous text, depriving the Father of all things of the tireless power over them. The elements and the stars, that is, the governing powers, were commanded to carry out what is necessary for the order of things; and they obey and are led by those appointed over them, wherever the word of the Lord leads. For the divine power is naturally hidden but works through everything. Therefore, whoever claims to have planned or made anything related to creation will bring down the blame of impious boldness. The tenth is the discussion about all desires. Just as one is held responsible for improper desires, in the same way one is not allowed to desire false things, nor to suppose that among things in nature, some living things can act on their own, while others lifeless cannot either heal or harm at all. And if someone says that an antidote cannot heal, and that poison destroys, trying to be clever, he has forgotten. For none of these things work without the one using the herb or the drug; just as neither the axe acts without the one chopping, nor the saw without the one sawing. Just as by themselves they do not act, but have certain natural qualities that, together with the skill of the craftsman, complete their proper work; so also, by the universal providence of God, through the more immediate movers, the active power is distributed down to the particular things.

Chapter 17

But, as it seems, the philosophers of the Greeks, calling him God, do not truly know him; since they do not worship God as God. The things they philosophize about, according to Empedocles, are "As having come through many tongues, a little of the whole of knowledge is vainly poured out from the mouths." For just as the light from the sun, through a glass vessel full of water, is skillfully directed toward fire, so philosophy, having taken the spark from the divine Scripture, shows it in a small way. Yes indeed, just as all living things breathe the same air, but each in a different way and toward some difference; so also most people grasp the truth, but even more so the discussion about truth. For they do not speak about God, but rather, by attributing their own passions to God, they explain things. For their life has become one that seeks what seems likely, not what is true; and truth is not learned by imitation, but by learning. For we do not believe in Christ in order that we may seem to be so, just as we do not pass by the sun only to appear to be in the sun; but here, for the sake of avoiding error, and there, for the sake of being good and noble, we strive to be Christians; because the kingdom especially belongs to those who strive, through seeking, learning, and practicing, to become perfect and bear fruit as kings. The one who imitates, then, reveals both the appearance and the assumption. When someone, having taken a starting point in the matter, kindles within the soul a desire and learning, everything moves toward understanding based on these. For whoever does not grasp it, neither desires it nor welcomes the benefit that comes from it. The one who is knowledgeable, then, imitates the Lord in the perfection of deeds, as far as is possible for humans, taking on a certain lordly quality, in likeness to God; but those who do not understand knowledge are not even able to regulate the truth. Therefore, it is not possible to share in the contemplations of the knowledgeable unless we empty ourselves of earlier thoughts; for truth is simply called common to all that is both intelligible and perceptible. At once, it is possible to see the truth of painting beyond the common, and the solemnity of music beyond the unrestrained. And so there is a certain truth of philosophy beyond the other philosophers, and a true beauty beyond the deceptive. Therefore, one must never be busy with partial truths, by which truth is described, but with the truth itself, not seeking to learn names; for the matter concerning God is not one, but countless. There is a difference between saying God and speaking about things concerning God. To speak generally about each thing, one must distinguish the accidents of the essence; and it seems to me proper to say that the Lord is God of all; but I say the Lord of all independently, with no one excluded by exception. Since there are two kinds of ideas of truth, both names and things, some speak of the names, those who spend their time on the beauty of words, the philosophers among the Greeks; but the things themselves are with us, the barbarians. At once the Lord did not wish in vain to use a humble bodily form, so that no one, praising the beautiful and admiring the beauty, would turn away from what is said, and, bearing with what remains, would be cut off from the things that are understood. Therefore, one must consider not the word itself, but what is signified; for the word is not believed by those who perceive it but are not moved toward knowledge. Since even crows imitate human voices without understanding the meaning of what they say, perception is an intellectual grasp held by faith. Thus Homer said.

… Father of men and gods.

Not knowing who the father is or what the father is like. Just as for someone who has hands, it is natural to take hold; and for someone who has healthy eyes, it is natural to see the light; so for someone who has received faith, it is natural to share in knowledge, if they work on it and "build up gold, silver, precious stones," on the laid "foundation" it would be fitting. Therefore, it does not promise to want to share, but to begin; nor to intend, but to be both royal and bright, and fitting to be knowledgeable; not in name, but in deed it is proper to grasp the things. For God, being good, because of his leadership over all creation, wanting this to be saved, turned to doing and the rest; granting this first kindness, the coming into being, from the beginning to them; everyone would agree that it is much better to be than not to be. Then, as it was possible for nature to have it, each thing came to be and is coming to be, advancing toward the same better state. Therefore, it is not unreasonable that philosophy has been given by divine Providence, preparing the way for perfection through Christ, if philosophy, learning with a foreign knowledge, is not ashamed to advance toward the truth. But "the hairs have been counted" and the small movements; but how could philosophy not be in reason? And indeed, even to Samson the power was given in his hair; so that even the discarded skills of life, lying down and remaining after the departure of the soul to the ground, would not be given to be understood without divine power. Immediately, he says, Providence flows from above through the preceding things, like a head into all, just as "the ointment," he says, "that came down on Aaron's beard and on the hem of his garment," that is, of the great High Priest, "by whom all things were made, and without his hand not even one came to be;" not for the world of the body; but outside of the people, love of wisdom, like a garment. The philosophers, then, who have trained themselves in the proper sense of the spirit, when they do not seek a part of philosophy but philosophy as a whole, honestly and modestly bear witness to the truth. Even if they advance in understanding through the teachings of those with different beliefs on noble matters, they progress toward insight according to the divine governance—the ineffable goodness—which is always called forth into what is better according to the nature of beings present.

Then, having spoken not only to Greeks but also to barbarians, they are led by common training toward faith and personal understanding. Having accepted the foundation of truth, they gain strength to move forward in inquiry. From there, loving what they have learned and growing in knowledge, they hasten toward salvation. To this, Scripture says, "Spirit of perception" "has been given by God to the artisans; and it is nothing else but understanding, a power of the soul that contemplates beings, both similar and dissimilar, both discerning and combining, and commanding and forbidding, and reflecting on things to come." But it extends not only to the arts, but also to philosophy itself. What then is the meaning of the serpent being called "wise"?" It has been said? Since even in wicked schemes there is a certain order, and distinction, and combination, and foresight of what is to come, and the most fixed of injustices escape notice because the wicked adapt them to themselves, avoiding punishments altogether and in every way. Since prudence is many-sided, extending through the whole universe and through all human things, it changes its name for each one. When it lays hold on the first causes, it is called understanding; but when this is confirmed by a demonstrative argument, it is called knowledge, wisdom, and science. When it works toward reverence and accepts the original reason without theory, it is called faith, according to the keeping of the process within it. And when it trusts in what is sensible, what seems to be the truest in these things is called right opinion. And in the actions that come after manual work, it is called skill. Where, without theory of the first causes, a certain impulse and arrangement will make a keeping and transition of similar things, it is called experience. That is a special thing, and in fact it is masterly and guiding, which the believing spirit takes up after firm faith as holy under oversight. Philosophy, having taken part in different kinds of perception, as has been shown from what was said before, shares in prudence. The rational explanation about things understood, involving choice and consent, is called dialectic; it is confirmatory regarding what is said about truth through demonstration, and refutative against the difficulties raised. Those who claim that philosophy has not come from God risk saying it is impossible to know God in all his parts, nor that he is the cause of all good things, even if each part of them happens to be from him; nor would the principle of beings stand, if God were unwilling and inactive. But if philosophy is from God, then it is such as God willed it to be, because of those who are freed from evils only in this way or that. For God knows all things, not only what exists, but also what will be, and how each thing will be; foreseeing the individual movements, he "sees all things, and hears all things," seeing the soul naked within, and the thought of each individual part through eternity; and what happens in the theaters, and in each part, according to his insight and careful observation, and comprehensive vision, this happens with God. For he looks at all things together, and each thing in part, with a single glance; yet not all according to the previous order of succession. Already then, many things in life, and through some human reasoning, receive their origin, having taken their beginning from God. Immediately, health comes through medicine, and well-being through anointing, and wealth through commerce, receiving both origin and presence according to divine Providence, but through human cooperation. Understanding also comes from God. Immediately, the will of God is especially obeyed by the good men's choice; therefore, many of the advantages are common both to good and to bad people. Yet these things become beneficial only to the good and earnest, for whose sake God made them. For the power given by God is naturally meant for the use of good men. But also the thoughts of virtuous people become divine thoughts, as the soul is somehow disposed, and the divine will is passed on to human souls, who are partly caught up in divine workings for such services. For the commands of the angels are assigned both to nations and cities; and perhaps also to certain individuals, of whom some are appointed in certain cases. The shepherd cares for each of his sheep; and especially for these, his oversight is more attentive, those who stand out both in nature and in their power to benefit many. These are the leaders and teachers; through them the activity of providence is clearly shown whenever God wishes people to do well, either through education or through some rule and governance. And he always wishes this; therefore, he moves those suitable to the useful work directed toward virtue, peace, and good deeds. Every virtue comes from virtue itself and leads toward virtue; it is given either to become earnest or to use the natural advantages one has. For it works together both in general matters and in particular ones. How then is it not absurd to attribute disorder and injustice to the devil, making him the giver of this virtuous thing called philosophy? For he is more likely to become favorable to the Greeks among good men, through divine Providence and wisdom. On the other hand, I think it is proper to give back to each what belongs to them, both what is their own and what is added, according to the law and every correct reason. For just as the lyre belongs only to the harpist, and the flute to the flutist, so the virtues of good men are possessions; just as it is the nature of the good-doer to do good, like fire to warm, and light to shine; a good man would not do evil, just as light does not produce darkness, nor fire cold; in the same way, evil would not produce anything virtuous; for its activity is to do harm, like darkness confuses the eyes. Philosophy, therefore, when it makes men virtuous, is not the work of evil; it certainly lacks God, whose work alone is to do good; and all things that are given by God are given rightly and received rightly. Indeed, the use of philosophy is not for evils, but it has been given to the best of the Greeks; and it is clear from where it was given, from the providence that rightly assigns what is fitting to each according to their worth. Therefore, it is reasonable that the law is for the Jews, and philosophy for the Greeks until the present time; from there comes the universal calling to a chosen people of righteousness, according to the teaching from faith, gathered by one Lord, the one God of both Greeks and barbarians, and indeed of all the human race. We have often said that philosophy is the pursuit of truth according to philosophy, even if it attains only a part of it; and now even the good things in the arts, as in the arts, have their origin from God. Just as doing something skillfully is contained within the principles of the art, so is doing something wisely. Prudence is placed under wisdom; and prudence is a virtue, and its own characteristic is to know the other things, and much earlier those that belong to itself. Wisdom, being a power, is nothing else but the knowledge of divine and human goods. "The earth and all its fullness belong to God," Teaching that the good things come to humans from God, Scripture has said: by divine power and the strength of their distribution fitting for human help. Immediately there are three ways of all benefit and giving from one to another: one is by following along, like a trainer shaping the child; another is by likeness, like one who encourages another to give after having given first; and one cooperates with the learner, the other helps the receiver. The third way is by command, when the trainer, no longer shaping the learner, nor showing the exercise for the child to imitate, since the child is already more practiced, commands the exercise by name. The knowledgeable one, then, having received from God the ability to help, benefits some by shaping them through following along, others by encouraging them through likeness, and others by educating and teaching through command; and he himself also benefits equally from the Lord. Thus, then, the benefit given by God to humans becomes familiar, with angels encouraging alongside; for through angels the divine power provides the good things, whether they are seen or not. Such also is the manner according to the appearance of the Lord. But when he also breathes into the thoughts and reasonings of humans " both power and he places within" strength and a clearer understanding in the mind, and a steadfastness" and courage of eagerness," both for inquiries and for deeds it provides; and yet there lie before us wonderful and truly holy examples of virtue for imitation and likeness through the recorded actions. And indeed, the very clear form of action is shown, both through the Lord's covenants, through the laws among the Greeks, and also through those prescribed by philosophy. And, to sum up, all practical benefit, according to the highest reason, comes from the almighty God, the Father who rules all, through the Son, who also for this reason is called "Savior of all people," the Apostle says, "especially of those who believe; " but according to what is appropriate, by those who are responsible for each, according to the command and order of the Lord, the first cause, who is responsible for the one above.

Chapter 18

V 9, p 396 p 396 The Gnostic always dwells with us in the most important matters; but if there is some time of leisure and rest from the previous things, instead of other laziness and Greek philosophy, he touches it like a little snack at dinner; not neglecting the better things, but taking up also these, as far as is fitting, for the reasons I mentioned before. Those who desire the unnecessary and superfluous parts of philosophy, and who only put up with the quarrelsome sophistries, have been left without the necessary and most important things, chasing after the mere shadows of words without skill. It is good, then, to know everything; but when the soul is weak and stretches toward much-learned experience, it will choose only the earlier and better things. For true knowledge, which we say only the Gnostic has, is a firm grasp through true and certain words, leading up to the knowledge of the cause. The one who truly knows about what he is discussing is also immediately knowledgeable about the false concerning the same matter. And indeed that argument seems to me to be somewhat correct, that one must philosophize; for something follows from it itself. But even if one should not philosophize (for no one would condemn someone who did not know this first), then one must philosophize all the same. Since these things are so, the Greeks must be taught through the law and the prophets to worship only one God, the truly existing almighty one, and then to be taught through the Apostle: "For us there is no idol in the world." Since it is not possible for any image of God to exist among created things, it is further taught that even the statues of those whom they worship might be images; for there is not yet any such form according to the nature of souls, like the ones the Greeks shape for their idols. Souls are invisible, not only the rational ones but also those of other animals; their bodies never become parts of the souls, but are instruments—some being habitats, others vehicles, and others possessions in a different way. But it is not possible to clearly imitate the instruments themselves; for someone might shape the sun as it is seen, and represent the rainbow with its colors. When the idols are left behind, then they will hear the Scripture, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees." " those who are justified by avoiding evils, together with the perfection that comes through these, and "loving one's neighbor," and being able to do good, you will not be kings. For the demand of righteousness according to the law shows the intellectual one. Just as someone, following the leader of their own body, having reached the highest point of faith, will also make that knowledge—the one around which all the senses revolve—equally the highest part of the inheritance. The ruling part of knowledge is clearly shown by the Apostle to those able to nurture it, writing to those Greeks in Corinth in this way: "Having hope, as your faith grows, that it will be greatly increased in you according to our rule, to overflow, to preach the gospel beyond you;" Not speaking of the extension of the preaching according to place; for even in "Achaia" he himself says that faith has overflowed. It is also reported in the Acts of the Apostles, and in "Athens" preaching the Word; but he teaches that knowledge, being the perfection of faith, surpasses the abundance of catechesis according to the greatness of the Lord's teaching, and the ecclesiastical rule. Therefore, going further, he adds: "Even if one is a layman in speech, but not in knowledge." But those who boast among the Greeks about having grasped the truth, let them tell us from whom they learned it, for they are arrogant. For they would not say from God; but from men they admit. And even if this is so, or at least from themselves, having learned late, just as some of them boast carelessly and blindly, or from others like themselves. But men speaking about God are not trustworthy teachers, since they are men; for it is not fitting, being human, to speak the truth about God, the weak and unreliable one concerning the unbegotten, and the incorruptible, and the work concerning the creator. Then, since he is not able to speak the truth about himself, should he not be trusted even less about things concerning God? For as much as a man lacks the power of God, so much does his word weaken, even if he does not speak of God himself, but about God and the divine word. For human speech is weak by nature, and unable to express God; I do not mean the name—for this is common and called so not only by philosophers but also by poets—but not the essence; for that is impossible; rather, the power and the works of God. And indeed, those who are called teachers of God hardly reach the understanding of God, grace taking hold of them for some measure of knowledge; for example, willing the will, and becoming accustomed to seeing the Holy Spirit with the holy Spirit: "for the Spirit searches the depths of God." But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit." Therefore, the only wisdom taught by God among us is the one from which all the springs of wisdom have drawn, those that truly aim at truth. He does not care that, with the Lord coming to men, countless messengers, heralds, forerunners, ready from above since the foundation of the world, through works and words announce beforehand, prophesying that he will come, and where, and how, and what the signs will be. Far away, the law and prophecy prepare beforehand; then the forerunner points to the one who is present. After him, the preachers of the manifestation teach the power, announcing it to a few only, and even these did not all accept it, but Socrates to Plato, and Plato to Xenocrates, Aristotle to Theophrastus, and Zeno to Cleanthes—who convinced only their own heretics. But the teaching of our master did not remain only in Judea, as philosophy did in Greece; rather, it was spread throughout the whole world, persuading both Greeks and barbarians alike, by nation and village, and every city, entire households and each individual who heard it, and even many of the philosophers themselves were already being converted to the truth. And if a ruler happens to block Greek philosophy, it immediately disappears; but since the first proclamation, our teaching has been blocked by kings and tyrants alike, and by local rulers and governors with all their mercenaries, and even by countless people, who wage war against us and try with all their power to cut it off. Yet it grows even more. For teaching does not die like a human, nor does a weak gift wither; for no gift of God is weak. It remains unhindered, having been foretold that it will be persecuted to the end. Then concerning poetry, Plato said, "For a poet is something light and sacred," he writes: "and he is not able to create before he becomes both inspired and out of his mind." And Democritus likewise: "A poet, whatever he may write with enthusiasm and sacred spirit, is very beautiful." We know what poets say. No one could be amazed at the prophets of the almighty God, who became instruments of the divine voice! Therefore, just as we have shaped a statue of the knower, we have already shown who he is, both in size and in the beauty of his character, as indicated in the inscription; for what kind he is according to the vision in natural things will be revealed later, when we begin to discuss the creation of the world.

Discourse 7 of the Eight Discourses

Chapter 1

Now it is time to show the Greeks that the Gnostic truly is god-fearing, so that after learning from the philosophers what kind of person the Christian really is, they may realize their own ignorance. They have been wrongly, and just by chance, persecuting the name, and wrongly calling god-knowers atheists and. I think it is better to use arguments with the philosophers that are clearer, so that those already trained by their own education can understand, even if they have not yet considered themselves worthy to share in the power to believe. We will not recall the prophetic words at present, but later, at the appropriate places, we will use the Scriptures; meanwhile, we will briefly indicate what is signified by them, confirming Christianity, so as not to interrupt the flow of the argument by including the Scriptures. And this is for those who do not yet understand their words; when we show what is meant, then those who believe from their own wealth will also have the testimonies revealed to them. And if what we say from the Lord's Scriptures appears different to some of the many, it should be known that the meaning alone, not the exact wording, is taken from them, and that it is from there that it draws its life and inspiration. For a more detailed treatment, not done at the right time, would rightly seem excessive; then one would not even look at what is urgent, a careless and insufficient collection. "Blessed indeed are those who search the testimonies of the Lord; they will seek him with all their heart." The law and the prophets bear witness concerning the Lord. It is therefore about presenting to us only the Gnostic as both holy and devout, worshiping the true God in a godly way; and to what is godly, the God-loving and God-fearing follow. All that is superior is rightly considered honorable according to its worth and must be honored: among the sensible things, the rulers and parents, and all elders; among the taught, the most ancient philosophy and the oldest prophecy; and among the intelligible things, the eldest in origin, the timeless and unoriginated beginning and first of beings, the Son. From him one learns about the cause beyond, the Father of all, the eldest and most beneficent of all, no longer revealed by voice but revered in silence and awe with holy reverence, most sacred and most lordly. He is spoken of by the Lord, as much as those learning could understand, but understood by those chosen for knowledge from the Lord, "those who perceive the sensible," says the Apostle, "being trained together." The care of God, then, is the constant attention of the soul to the gnostic, and the unceasing concern for his divine love. For the care for human beings is both improving and serving. Medicine is for the body, philosophy for improving the soul; to parents from children and to rulers from those under their authority, serving help is added. Similarly, in the Church, the elders preserve the improving aspect, while the deacons take care of the serving aspect. Both of these ministries are served by angels to God according to the arrangement of earthly matters, and the gnostic himself, serving God, shows to people the improving vision, so that he may also be appointed to educate for the restoration of people; for only the godly one serves God well and without fault in matters concerning people. Just as the best care of plants, by which fruits grow and are gathered, provides benefit to people through agricultural knowledge and experience, so the godliness of the gnostic receives the fruits of those who have believed through him into itself, producing a best harvest through experience as more come to know and are saved by this. But godliness is a habit that is fitting to God and saves; only the godly one is loved by God. This one would be the one who knows what is fitting, both according to knowledge and according to the life by which one must live, and indeed already becoming like God. Therefore, first of all, god-loving to this one; just as the one who honors the father is a father-lover, so the one who honors God is god-loving. Indeed, it also appears to me that there are three results of the power of knowledge, V 9, p 408 p 408: first, to know the things; second, to accomplish whatever the Word commands; and third, to be able to hand over in a godly way the things hidden by the truth. Therefore, the one convinced that God is almighty, and having learned the divine mysteries from his only-begotten Son, how can this one be godless? For godless is the one who does not believe that God exists; but superstitious is the one who fears the spirits, who makes everything divine—wood, stone, and spirit, and even a man living rationally, enslaved.

Chapter 2

Faith, then, is knowing God, the first along with the Savior's teaching, the confidence to act justly in no way, this is to be considered proper for the knowledge of God. In this, the most excellent on earth is the most god-fearing man, and the most excellent in heaven is an angel, the one nearest in place and already purer, sharing in the eternal and blessed life. Most perfect and most holy indeed, and most lordly and most ruling, and most royal, and most beneficent is the nature of the Son, who is closest to the only almighty. This greatest superiority, which arranges all things according to the will of the Father, and governs everything in the best way, working all things with tireless and unwearied power, through which it watches over the hidden thoughts as it acts. For the Son of God never departs from his own glory; not divided, not cut off, not moving from place to place, but being everywhere always, and contained nowhere; wholly mind, wholly the Father's light, wholly eye, seeing all, hearing all, knowing all, examining all powers by power. V 9, p 409 p 409 To him every army of angels and gods is subject, to the Word of the Father, who has been appointed to the holy administration because of the one who subjected them; through whom also all his people are subject—some with knowledge, others not yet; some as friends, others as faithful servants; others simply as servants. This teacher, who trains the knowledgeable by mysteries, the faithful by good hopes, and the hard-hearted by corrective discipline through sensory action; from here comes providence privately, publicly, and everywhere. That the Son is of God, and that this one is the Savior and Lord whom we confess, the divine prophecies plainly show. To this one, the Lord of all, both Greeks and barbarians, persuades those who are willing; for salvation from him is not taken by force but through choosing, and he is able to fulfill all things needed to receive hope from him. This is the one who gives philosophy even to the Greeks through the lesser angels. For they are "jointly distributed" by divine and ancient command, "angels according to nations." But "the portion of the Lord" is the glory of those who believe. For the Lord does not care for all people; and this is either because he is unable to suffer, (which is not proper; for it is a sign of weakness,) or because he does not wish to, though he is able; but suffering is not good. Therefore, he is not lazy from ease, who took on the suffering flesh for us; or he cares for all, which is fitting for the Lord who became all things; for he is Savior—not for some, but not for others. According to the ability each one had, he distributed his own kindness. To both Greeks and barbarians, and to those from these who were predestined, and according to the proper time called, faithful and chosen. Therefore, he would never be jealous if he called all alike, but gave special honors to those especially trusted; nor would the Lord of all ever be hindered by another, especially serving the good and almighty will of the Father. But the Lord's jealousy, being without passion and without beginning, does not touch this; nor do human matters stand so that they are jealous toward the Lord; rather, the one who is jealous is someone who has been touched by passion. And indeed, it is not out of ignorance to say that the Lord does not wish to save humanity, because he does not know how to care for each one. For ignorance does not touch God, who became the counselor of the Father before the foundation of the world. For this was the wisdom "by which he took delight" The almighty God; for the Son is the power of God, being the firstborn Logos of the Father before all things created, and his wisdom; truly he might also be called the master of those things created through him; yet not being drawn away by any pleasure would ever abandon the care of humans; who, indeed, having taken on the flesh that by nature is subject to passion, trained it into a state of impassibility. How could he be Savior and Lord, if not Savior and Lord of all? But he is Savior of those who have believed, because they have been made certain by knowledge; and Lord of those who have disobeyed, since they will be able to confess the benefits they have received through him, which are proper and fitting. Every action of the Lord refers back to the almighty, and the Son's work is, so to speak, a kind of fatherly action. Therefore, the Savior could never be a hater of humanity; rather, because of his extraordinary love for humanity, he did not overlook the weakness of human flesh but took it on, coming to the common salvation of all people. For the faith of those who are chosen is common. But he would never neglect his own work, since man alone among all other animals was given understanding according to God's creation; nor would there be a better and more harmonious governance of people for God than the one assigned. It is therefore always fitting by nature for the stronger to lead the weaker, and for the one who is able to govern well to be given authority over that governance. The divine Word is truly ruler and leader, and his providence watches over all things, neglecting none of its own care. Those who choose to be his own are those perfected through faith. The Son becomes the cause of all good things by the will of the almighty Father, the first originator of movement, a power beyond perception. For he did not appear as he was to those unable to receive him because of the weakness of the flesh; but taking on a flesh that could be sensed, he came to show what is possible for humans through obedience to the commandments. Being thus a power of the Father, he easily accomplishes whatever he wishes, not neglecting even the smallest part of his own governance; for otherwise, the whole would not have been well done by him. The greatest power, I think, is the careful examination of all parts, down to the smallest detail, belonging to the first ruler of all, who governs the salvation of all by the will of the Father. Others oversee others, being appointed leaders; one might come to the great high priest. For from one original source above, acting according to the will, the first, second, and third things depend; then at the end of what appears, there is the highest blessed angelic order. And indeed, even up to us, others are arranged under others, saved and saving through one and by one. Just as the smallest piece of iron is moved by the spirit of the Heraclean stone through many iron rings stretched out, so also, being drawn by the holy Spirit, the virtuous dwell in the first rank, while others follow in order down to the last; but the weak and evil, through greed and unjust weakness, neither holding nor being held, fall apart completely, twisted by their passions, and fall down to the ground. For this is the law from above, that whoever wishes may choose virtue; therefore, the commandments both according to the law and before the law, are not legalistic, ("for the law does not rest on what is just"); they appointed that the one who chooses it should receive eternal life and a blessed reward; but the one who is overcome by wickedness is allowed to share in what he has chosen; and again, the soul that is improved each time, advancing toward virtue and the growth of justice, receives a better order in everything, extending with each progress into the habit of passionlessness, until "he reaches the measure of a perfect man." "both in the full measure of knowledge and in the excellence of inheritance". These saving cycles are divided according to the order of change, both by times, and places, and honors, and knowledge, and inheritances, and ministries for each one, each until the soul has climbed back up and is present before the Lord in eternal vision. The guide is the lover toward the vision of himself, having clothed his whole self with the love of knowledge through contemplation. Therefore, the Lord, drawing the commandments he gave, both the earlier and the later, from one single wellspring, neither looked down on those who were lawless before the law, nor allowed them to go mad by not understanding the philosophy of the foreigners. For to some he gave commandments, and to others philosophy, enclosing unbelief until the presence; when no one who has not believed can give an answer. For it leads from another kind of progress, both Greek and foreign, toward perfection through faith. If anyone among the Greeks, having passed beyond the earlier stage of Greek philosophy, immediately rushed toward the true teaching, this person surpassed, even if a layman, the summary of salvation through faith, choosing it for perfection. Therefore, everything that did not prevent a person's free choice became both a helper toward virtue and a sign, so that the one true almighty good God, saving from age to age through the Son, might appear clearly even to those who can only see faintly. Evil, on the other hand, is completely without cause; for everything is arranged for the salvation of the whole by the Lord of all, both in general and in detail. The work of saving righteousness is always to lead each person forward as far as possible toward the better; for salvation and lastingness belong to the stronger, and everything is governed according to each one's own character, even the smaller things. Immediately, every virtuous habit changes into a better one, having as the cause of change the choice of knowledge, which the soul has gained as its own ruler. Necessary punishments, by the goodness of the great overseeing judge, through the attending angels, through various decisions, and through the final judgment, force those who have sinned excessively to repent.

Chapter 3

I keep silent about the rest, praising the Lord. But I say this about those gnosis souls, whose life surpasses every holy order by the grandeur of their vision, through which the blessed dwellings of the gods are appointed and allotted, considered holy among the holy, and having been wholly transferred from all things, arriving in better and better places, not embracing the divine vision through mirrors or by means of mirrors, but clearly, as in some cases especially, and precisely and sincerely fixed upon the insatiable, extraordinarily loving souls, remaining honored in the same identity of all their excellence through endless ages. This is the pure vision grasped by the heart. This then is the activity of the perfected gnostic, to converse with God through the great high priest, being made like a power to the Lord through all the service to God, which extends salvation to humans under the care of the kindness shown to us; both through worship, through teaching, and through good works. Indeed, he builds and creates himself; and he also adorns those who understand him, the gnostic being made like God. To nature, he makes like the one who has gained impassibility, restrained by practice toward impassibility, as in some cases especially; and he does this without distraction, both conversing with and being united to the Lord. Gentleness, I think, and love for humanity, and majestic reverence for God are the rules of the gnostic's likeness. I say that these virtues are "a sacrifice acceptable to God, an unburnt heart." " with right knowledge, "the full fruit of God." as the Scripture says, being enlightened into an indistinguishable union with all that has been taken up into holiness in a person. For it says that it "captures them as prisoners," and kills themselves, "the old man, who is corrupted by desires," killing him, and the new man rising from the death "of the old corruption," Both the Gospel and the Apostle command those who put off the passions to become without sin. This was what the law also hinted at, commanding the sinner to be put to death, and to be transferred from death to life, the life of passionlessness through faith. The teachers of the law, not understanding this, having taken the law with a spirit of rivalry, have given occasion to those who try to slander in vain; for this reason, we rightly do not offer sacrifice to God, who has provided everything for all; but we glorify the one who was made a priest for us, honoring them as priests, both for what is lacking from the lacking and for what is without passion from the passionless. For God delights only in our salvation. Rightly then we do not offer sacrifice to pleasures that are not overcome, not even up to the thickest clouds, but far beyond them, to those reached by the smoke of the incense. Therefore, the divine is neither lacking nor fond of pleasure, nor greedy for gain or money, being full and providing everything to every created thing, and it is not in need; it is not called upon by sacrifices, nor by votive offerings, nor by glory and honor, nor is it influenced by such things, but it appears only to good and noble men, who would never betray justice either out of fear of threat or because of the promise of greater gifts. Those who have not seen the freedom of the human soul and its unwillingness to be controlled in choosing a way of life, being troubled by the evils caused by uneducated injustice, do not believe that there is a God. Equal to these, according to their opinion, are those who, falling into the mixing of pleasures, terrible pains, and unwilling misfortunes, and becoming weary of troubles, say that there is no God, or that if there is one, he is not all-seeing. Others are convinced that the gods are bribed by sacrifices and gifts, as if they take part in their immoral acts, and they do not even want to believe that there is only one true God, who exists in the unity of just goodness. Therefore, the knowledgeable person is truly pious, first taking care of himself, then of his neighbors, so that we may become the best. For even the son is pleasing to the good father, showing himself serious and like the father, and obeying the ruler who rules; because believing and obeying depend on us. If someone were to consider the cause and material of evils to be weakness and the unwilling impulses of ignorance; the knowledgeable person, having become like a beast through learning, removes the irrational necessities caused by ignorance, imitating the divine will, and does good to those who want it among people according to their ability. And if he ever comes to a position of authority, like Moses, he will lead for the salvation of those under his rule, taming the wild and unbelieving, honoring the best and punishing the wicked, according to the discipline written in reason. For the soul of a just person is truly a divine image and worthy of God, in which the ruler of all, both mortal and immortal, is established and honored through obedience to commands. He is king and creator of all good things, truly law, and ordinance, and the eternal Word, being one Savior both individually to each and universally to all. This Only-begotten, truly, the character of the glory of the all-ruler and almighty Father, being sealed upon the knowledgeable one the perfect vision according to the image of himself, as being already the third divine image, the power so great as to be likened to the second cause, to the truly living one, through whom we live the true life; thus, describing the knowledgeable one becoming for us about the certain and completely unchanging things, turning back. Therefore, being ruler of himself and of his own, having gained a firm grasp of divine knowledge, he approaches truth sincerely. For the knowledge and grasp of the intelligible things could rightly be called firm science, whose task is to consider the divine works, what is the first cause, and what is "through whom all things came to be, and without whom nothing came to be." What things serve as helpers, and what things as containers, and which are joined together, and which are separated; and what order each of these has, and what power, and what function each one carries; and in human matters, what a human being is in himself, and what is natural or unnatural for him; how it is fitting to act or to suffer; what virtues and what vices he has; about good things, and bad things, and the middle ones; all that concerns courage, and wisdom, and self-control, and justice, which is the complete virtue over all. But prudence and justice have been used as possessions leading to wisdom, while courage is not only in enduring circumstances, but also in opposing with force or with some kind of trickery the pleasures and desires, as well as the pain and anger, and generally everything that opposes us. For one must not endure evils and good things, but rather obey and endure the fearful. Pain, then, is also found to be useful according to medicine, education, and punishment; and through it, character is corrected for the benefit of people. The kinds of courage are endurance, greatness of mind, magnanimity, freedom, and nobility. And for this reason, the one who is knowledgeable neither takes part in blame nor in the wrong opinions of the many, nor is subjected to praise or flattery; enduring pains in bearing some part of what is proper, and becoming courageously above all circumstances, a man truly appears to others in other matters; preserving his reason, he is temperate in the calmness of his soul, accepting the promises as his own, and turning away from shameful things as foreign, becoming orderly and beyond order, acting in the world and in rank, and making no mistakes anywhere; rich, as it were, especially in desiring nothing, being modest and in possession of every good through the knowledge of the good. For the first work of justice is to live loving one's fellow humans, and to be united with them both on earth and in heaven. In this, he is also generous with whatever he has; being loving toward humans, and most hateful of evil according to the complete turning away from all wrongdoing. Therefore, one must learn to be faithful both to oneself and to those nearby, and obedient to the commandments; for this is the servant of God, the one who willingly follows the commandments; but the one who is pure in heart not because of the commandments, but because of the very knowledge itself, is a friend of God. For we are neither born with virtue by nature, nor does it come naturally afterward, like some other parts of the body; since it would not be voluntary nor praiseworthy. Nor does virtue become perfect through chance or acquired habit, as dialectic does; for vice comes close to this way. Nor does knowledge come from any craft, whether productive or those concerning the care of the body. Nor does it come from general education; for it would be desirable if it could only prepare the soul and serve it. For political laws are perhaps able to restrain wicked actions; but even trustworthy words, being superficial, would not provide a lasting knowledge of the truth. Greek philosophy, as it were, prepares and trains the soul to accept faith, upon which truth builds knowledge. This is truly the athlete who, in the great and beautiful stadium, is crowned with the true victory over all passions. For the judge is God the Almighty; and the prize-giver is the Only Begotten Son of God; the spectators are angels and gods; and the all-powerful contest is "not against blood and flesh," but against the spiritual powers working through the flesh, the passions of sinful sufferings. Surpassing these great struggles, and like certain contests overcoming the one who tempts with pride, he gained victory over immortality; for the divine vote is unquestionable toward the most just judgment. The place of contest is called the theater, but the athletes wrestle in the stadium; and it is from these that the obedient one is made, becoming subject to the anointer. For everything is laid out equally before God, and he himself is blameless. The one who is able is shown mercy, and the one who wishes has strength. In this way, we have also taken the mind, so that we may know what we are doing; and the saying, "Know yourself." Here is to know on what we have become; and we have become obedient to the commandments, if we would choose to be saved. This is indeed Adrasteia, by which it is impossible to escape God. Human work, then, is obedience to God, who has declared salvation in many ways through commandments. Pleasure is confession; for the benefactor precedes the good deed; but the one who, with the proper thoughts, willingly accepts and keeps the commandments is faithful; and the one who, in return, is empowered by love for the good deed is already a friend. The most important reward from people is to do those things that are pleasing to God; just as a teacher and savior accepts the benefits and corrections of people as if they were from his own offspring and, in a way, from a related result, for his own grace and honor; just as he also regards the harms done to those who have trusted him as his own ingratitude and dishonor. For what other dishonor could touch God? Therefore, there is no reward at all worthy of the salvation given by the Lord. Just as those who harm their masters insult their property, and just as those who harm soldiers insult their commander, so the harm done to those consecrated to the Lord is an offense that cannot be undone. For just as the sun not only lights up the sky and the whole world, shining upon the earth and the sea, but also sends its rays through windows and small openings into the innermost rooms, so the Word, poured out everywhere, watches over even the smallest actions of life.

Chapter 4

The Greeks, just as they imagine their gods in human form, also attribute to them human passions. And just as each one paints their shapes to look like themselves, as Xenophanes says, "The Ethiopians say their gods are black with flat noses, the Thracians say they are red-haired and blue-eyed." In the same way, they make their souls alike and shape them after themselves; immediately, barbarians have wild and savage customs, while Greeks are more gentle, but still passionate. Therefore, it is reasonable that the wicked have poor ideas about the gods, while the noble have the best. And for this reason, the one who is truly royal in soul and wise, being both god-fearing and reverent, believes that the only God is honorable, solemn, majestic, good-doing, beneficent, the source of all good, and innocent of all evil.

As for Greek superstition, I think we have sufficiently shown in the speech called the Exhortation, which we presented to you, by fully using history as it demands. So there is no need to retell the clearly stated myths again; but as for those that happened in a certain place, I will take a few from many and present these as evidence to show the atheists who portray the divine as the worst of men. For either the gods are harmed by men, and are shown to be worse than men by being harmed by us; or, if not this, how is it that they become bitter, like a sharp old woman provoked to anger, at things that do not harm them? For example, they say that Artemis was angered at Oeneus of the Aetolians. How could she not have thought, being a god, that Oeneus did not despise her, but rather either forgot or neglected her because he was distracted or careless? And the same goddess defends herself against Athena for being angry at her childbirth in the temple, saying :

… spoils indeed deadly to mortals

You rejoice to see ruins from the dead:

These things are not unclean to you; but if I gave birth,

You consider this terrible …

"And yet even other animals that give birth in the temples do no harm." Therefore, it is reasonable that the superstitious, being concerned about those who are easily angered, consider all signs to be causes of misfortune; [if a mouse digs through an altar made of clay,] or if, having nothing else, it breaks a small oil flask; if a rooster raised in the temple crows at evening, they take this as a sign of something. Menander mocks such a person in the Superstitious.

"Good may it be for me, precious gods!"

V 9, p 432 p 432 Suspecting, he stepped on the strap of the right hand

I tore through.

"Rightly so, you fool; for it was rotten; but you are a petty talker, unwilling to buy new things." Charming is the saying of Antiphon; when someone predicted that a sow had eaten her piglets, having seen her wasting away from hunger because of the small-heartedness of her feeder, he said, "Rejoice," he said, "at the sign; for, being so hungry, she did not eat your children."—"And what is wonderful," says Bion, "if the mouse tore through the bag, not finding anything to eat? For that would be wonderful, if, (as Arcesilaus jokingly attempted,) the bag had eaten the mouse." Diogenes also mocked the one who was amazed because he found the snake wrapped around the upper part, "Do not be amazed," he said; "for it would have been even stranger if I had seen the upper part wrapped around the snake upright." For even irrational animals must run and hunt, and fight, and give birth, and die; these things, being natural to them, could never be unnatural for us;

Birds also many fly under the rays of the sun.

The comic poet Philemon also makes fun of such things;

When I see [he says] someone watching what bird has flown,

Or someone has spoken, or who is the one going ahead

V 9, p 433 p 433 Watching, I immediately sell this one in the market.

He walks by himself, and talks, and sneezes

Each one of us, not those in the city.

Things happen just as they are naturally.

Then, being sober, they ask for health; but when they become overfull and roll in drunkenness during the festivals, they bring on diseases. Many also fear the written records that are laid out. Diogenes, quite humorously, upon finding on the house of some wicked man an inscription, said, "Callinicus Heracles lives here; let no evil enter." And he said, "How then will the master enter the house?"

These same people worship every piece of wood and every stone, the so-called "oily" ones, as well as red wool, and salt grains, and torches; they even fear skilla and sulfur, having been bewitched by magicians into certain impure purifications. But God, the true God, knows only the holy nature of the just, just as he hates the unjust and wicked.

At least the ears can see, from those who have been purified, if they are warmed and made life-giving; but this would not happen if the evils of the purified were taken up.

Even the comic poet Diphyllus mocks the magicians with these words:

"Purifying the daughters of Prietus, and their father too"

"Prieton Abantiades and an old woman as the fifth among these,"

"With one torch", "and one skilla, how many bodies of light!"

Divine and steady, and of the loud-roaring sea,

From the unceasing deep-flowing Ocean.

But, blessed air, send through the clouds

Anticyra, so that I may make this girl a bee.

For even Menander well said:

If indeed you had some true evil, kissing was a true cure; you should have done this.

But now you do not have. You have found the cure to be empty,

For the empty. But you thought that something would help you.

Let the women wipe you all around in a circle,

And let them place around you water from three fountains

To pour water, having thrown in salt and lenses.

Everyone is pure who sees no evil in himself.

Immediately the tragedy says: "Orestes, what disease destroys you? Understanding; because I know well the terrible thing I have done." For truly purity is nothing else but the avoidance of sins. So also Epicharmus says well: "If you have a pure mind, your whole body is pure." Certainly, we say that souls must also be cleansed from evil and wicked beliefs through right reason; and then one should turn to the reminder of the previous chapters in this way; since also the tradition of the mysteries requires some purification for those about to be initiated, so that having cast away godless opinion, they turn to the true tradition.

Chapter 5

For we do not rightly and truly describe the infinite in any place, nor do we enclose in handmade things that which contains all? What sacred work could there be for builders, stonecutters, or craftsmen of manual trades? Are not those who consider the air and the surrounding, and even more the whole world and the universe, worthy of the excellence of God, no less than these? V 9, p 437 p 437? It would be ridiculous, as the philosophers themselves say, for a human being to be a plaything of God, and for God to work and become a child's toy of art; since what is made is the same and similar to the one from whom it is made, just as what comes from ivory is ivory, and what comes from gold is gold. But the statues and sacred objects made by human craftsmen come from lifeless material; so even these would be lifeless, material, and profane. And even if you complete the craft, you have only taken part in manual labor. Therefore, the works of the craft are no longer sacred and divine. What could even be established, if no one happens to establish anything? Since everything is in place. And indeed, what is established is established by someone, having been previously unestablished. If then God is established by humans, he was once unestablished and did not exist at all. For this would be unestablished, that is, not existing; since everything that does not exist is established; but what exists would not be established by what does not exist; nor by another; for it truly exists by itself; therefore it remains by itself. And how would it bring forth something from itself? Or how would the being establish itself to be itself? Was the unestablished being first, and then established itself? But it would not even be; since what is not, is unestablished. And how could establishing be thought to make what already existed later into itself? But where things exist, how then could this need someone? But even if the divine were like a human, it would need from a human things equal to it: food and shelter, a home, and the accompanying sufferings. For those who are similar in shape and similar in feeling will need the same kind of lifestyle. If the sacred is taken in two ways, both God himself and the thing made for his honor, how could we not properly call the Church, made holy in knowledge for the honor of God, the temple of God, which is much more worthy, and not made by a common skill, nor crafted by the hand of a craftsman, but made by the will of God into a temple? For now I do not call the place, but the gathering of the chosen, the Church. This temple is better in receiving the greatness of God's worth. For the living being, worthy of much and worthy of the all, but especially worthy of none, is consecrated through the excess of holiness. Let this one be the knowledgeable person, worthy of much, honored by God, in whom God is established—that is, the knowledge about God is consecrated. Here we would also find the image, the divine and holy statue in the just soul, whenever it happens to be blessed itself, as it is already purified, and blessed in the works it performs. Here too is what is not yet established and what is established; the former in those who are already knowledgeable, the latter in those who are able to become such, even if they are not yet worthy to receive the knowledge of God. For everything that is to come believes, is already trustworthy to God, and is established as an honorable statue of virtue laid up for God.

Chapter 6

Just as God cannot be described by place, nor is ever represented in the shape of a living creature; so too is he not subject to passion or need, like created beings who, as a sacrifice of food, long for it through hunger. Whatever passion touches is entirely perishable; and it is pointless to offer food to one who is not nourished. And that comic poet Pherecrates, in his play The Defectors, wittily made the gods blame humans for their sacred rites,—"Since you offer sacrifices to the gods, first answer us: the shame you think you have is to speak out? Did we, taking the two thighs as a bundle up to the groin, and the bare loin as a bundle, then divide the rest of the spine itself like a rind, and share it out, just like dogs, to us? Then, ashamed of one another, you do not hide it from many." Eubulus, who was also a comic poet, wrote somewhat like this about sacrifices:

V 9, p 441 p 441 To the gods themselves, only the tail

And the thigh, as if to pederasts, you sacrifice.

And having brought Dionysus to Semele, he made him appear shrunken: "First of all, whenever some offer me a sacrifice, let it be blood, a bladder, but not a heart nor a superficial one; for I do not eat sweet things nor thighs." Menander also said, "The extreme loin," he said, "the bile, the bones that are uneatable," placing these on the gods, "while they themselves consume the rest." For is not the smoke of the burnt offerings to be given up even to the beasts? But if indeed the smoke is the honor of the gods among the Greeks, then the cooks who make gods, who claim equal happiness, and worship the very smoke, would not surpass it in carefulness for the precious smoke; and perhaps Hesiod, in some division of meats, says that Zeus was deceived by Prometheus, taking white bones of an ox, cleverly covered with shiny fat, for the people.

From the immortals to the race of men on earth

They burn white bones on the fragrant altars.

But they do not at all say that God is nourished according to desire arising from lack. Therefore, they make him like a plant fed without appetite, and like wild animals that live in dens; at least, they say these things, whether nourished by the thickness of the air, or again by the very vapor rising from the body itself, growing harmlessly. And yet, if God is nourished without need by them, who still has need of food for the one without need? But if one rejoices in honoring, being by nature without need, it is not unreasonable that we honor God through prayer; and we offer this sacrifice, the best and most holy, with righteousness to the most just Word whom we honor; through whom we receive knowledge, and through whom we glorify what we have learned. Certainly, the earthly altar we have here is the gathering of those offered in prayers, having as if one common voice and one mind. But the offerings through the sense of smell, even if holier than the foods through the mouth, are signs of breath. What then do they say about God? Is he breathed upon, like the race of demons? Or is he only breathed into, like the living creatures during the expansion of the gills? Or is he breathed around, like the insects when they press through their wings? But they would not be able to resemble God in any of these ways, even if they thought well; and whatever air is breathed in by the lung during its expansion and contraction against the chest, it draws in the air. Then, if they gave organs and arteries, and veins, and nerves, and parts to God, they would introduce nothing different. The common breath is said especially of the Church. For the sacrifice of the Church is a prayer offered up from the holy souls, with the whole mind being revealed to God along with the sacrifice. But they have said that the most ancient altar in Delos is pure; to which alone they say even Pythagoras came, having not been stained by murder or death. But a truly holy altar, they who do not believe us say, is the just soul and the incense from it, the holy prayer? I think that sacrifices are a pretext for flesh-eating among people; but it was also possible, without such idolatry, for anyone who wished to partake of meat. For the sacrifices according to the law symbolize the piety concerning us, just as the turtle dove and the pigeon offered for sins signify the cleansing of the irrational part of the soul, which is acceptable to God; but if one of the righteous does not burden the soul with the eating of meat, he uses it for some reasonable purpose—not as Pythagoras and those who follow him, dreaming of the soul's transmigration. It seems that Xenocrates, dealing specifically with food from animals, and Polemon, in his writings on natural living, clearly say that eating flesh is harmful, since it has already been done and is similar to the actions of irrational souls. In this, the Jews especially abstain from pork, because this animal is unclean; for it destroys and ruins the fruits of the earth more than any other. If they say that animals have been given to humans, we agree, but not entirely for food; and not all of them, only those that are inactive. Therefore, it is not wrong that the comic playwright Plato says in his play The Festivals:

For none of the four-footed animals should be killed

The rest of us, except pigs; for the meats

have the sweetest flavor, and nothing comes from the pig

Except bristles for us, and also mud and dung.

Therefore Aesop rightly said, "Pigs are the worst; for they are useful to no one for anything except when they are being led to sacrifice." " Therefore Cleanthes says, "Instead of salt, let them have the soul," so that the flesh does not rot. Some then eat it as useless, others as harmful to the crops; and others, because the animal is harmful in company, do not eat it. By this law, not even the goat is sacrificed, except only for the expulsion of evils; since pleasure is the mother city of evil. Immediately they also say that eating goat meat contributes to epilepsy. They say that most swelling comes from pork; therefore, for some, the body benefits from it, but others try to increase the soul itself, because of the sluggishness that comes from eating meat, no longer. Perhaps someone among the knowledgeable and those devoted to discipline would abstain from eating meat, and from the flesh not being strong around the sexual parts. "For wine," And Androcydes says, "For wine also causes growth in the flesh; it makes the body strong but the soul more sluggish." Such food is therefore unsuitable for clear understanding. Therefore, the Egyptians in their own purity rites do not allow their priests to eat meat; they use birds because they are the lightest. They do not touch fish either, and for various other reasons, but especially because such food makes the flesh soft and weak. Already, both the land animals and the birds feed on the same air that our souls breathe, having a soul related to the air. But they say that fish do not breathe this air, but rather the one mixed with water directly according to the original creation, just like the other elements; which is also a sign of their material existence. Therefore, sacrifices must be offered to God, not lavish ones, but those pleasing to God; and that compound incense in the law, made from many tongues and sounds, composed according to the prayer, but even more so that made from various nations and races, prepared according to the covenants for "the unity of faith," and gathered according to the praises, with a pure mind, and a just and upright way of life, from holy works and a righteous prayer; since

Who here is foolish,

according to the poetic grace,

and very freely

A trusting man of men, who hopes in gods,

Of fleshless bones, and burning bile,

Which even hungry dogs do not eat,

Rejoicing in deceit, and to receive this honor,

and to pay back favor to those who do these things, whether they are robbers or tyrants? But we say that fire is holy, not the flesh, but the sinful souls; fire not the all-consuming and cruel kind, but the wise one we speak of, the fire passing through the soul that is passing through.

Chapter 7

We must be commanded to worship and honor the same one, believing that the Word is both Savior and ruler, and through him the Father, not on special days, like some others, but continuously doing this throughout the whole life, and in every way; the chosen race does not neglect, "Seven times a day I praise you," he says, according to the justified command. Therefore, neither a fixed place, nor a special temple, nor certain appointed festivals and days, but the whole life, the Gnostic honors God everywhere, even if he happens to be alone by himself, and wherever he has some of those who have likewise believed, he honors God, that is, he acknowledges the grace of the knowledge of the way of life. If the presence of a good man always shapes the one he meets because of shame and respect for what is better, how much more should the one who is always present, through knowledge and life and continuous thanksgiving to God, rightly be better than himself in every way, in deeds and words and attitude? Such a person is convinced that God is always present everywhere, not confined to certain fixed places, so that he might think himself ever apart from God and live without restraint both night and day. Therefore, living our whole life as a celebration, convinced that God is present everywhere and always, we work praising, we sail singing hymns, and in the rest of our conduct we behave skillfully. Indeed, the spiritual person lives closer to God, being both serious and cheerful in all things; serious because of turning toward the divine, and cheerful because of reflecting on the human blessings that God has given us. The Prophet, standing apart, shows the excellence of knowledge like this: "Teach me goodness, discipline, and knowledge;" Increasing again the guiding principle of perfection. This then is truly the royal man; this is the holy priest of God; which even now among the most learned of the barbarians is preserved, the priestly class having been brought into the kingdom. This one, then, never surrenders himself to mob rule, the master of the theaters; nor does he even dream of what is said, done, or seen for the sake of leading to pleasure. Neither then does he desire these pleasures of sight, nor the variety of other enjoyments, such as the luxury of incense charming the sense of smell, or the mixing of foods and the pleasures derived from various wines, enticing the taste; nor the many-flowered and fragrant braids, which soften the soul through the senses. Always leading the solemn enjoyment of all things up to God, he is content with the giver of all for food, drink, and anointing, acknowledging grace both through gift and use, and through the Word given to him. Rarely does he urge himself to come to the festive banquets of all, except when the friendly and harmonious feast is promised to him. For he is convinced that he knows everything about God and understands, not only by voice but also by meaning; since hearing for us, working through bodily organs, does not grasp by bodily power, but through some spiritual sense and the discerning understanding of the voices that signify. God is not therefore human-like for this reason, nor does he need senses to hear; as the Stoics liked to say, "especially of hearing and sight; for it is impossible to perceive otherwise". " But also the sensitivity of the air, and the sharpest perception of the angels, and the power of the conscious soul, touched by it, know all things by an ineffable power and without sensible hearing, at the same time by understanding. And even if someone says that the voice reaches God, rolling below around the air; it is the thoughts of the saints that it cuts through, not only the air but the whole universe as well. Divine power reaches, like light, to shine through the whole soul. But what then? Do not even the choices reach God, going before their own voice? Are they not also ferried by conscience? What voice remains, the one who, according to purpose, has known the chosen and the one who will be, before birth, as if already existing? Or does not the light of power shine fully into the depths of the whole soul, "the treasures" of the one searching, which the Scripture says, "of the lamp of power?" All hearing and all sight, so that someone may use these names for God. Therefore, no proper reverence for God is saved by any means—neither in hymns nor in words, nor even in writings or doctrines—when the opinion about God is inappropriate, but turns toward lowly and shameful thoughts and suspicions; hence, "the praise of many is no different from blame," because of ignorance of the truth. Since desires and longings exist, and more generally impulses, from these come also the prayers. Therefore, no one desires the drink itself, but to drink the drink; nor the inheritance itself, but to inherit it; in the same way, not knowledge itself, but to know; for not a correct way of life, but to live rightly. From these come the prayers, which are also requests; and from these requests, which are also desires; and to pray and to long properly is to come to have the good things and the benefits that come with them. Therefore, the one who knows makes the prayer and the request for the truly good things concerning the soul, and prays, working together also to come into a state of goodness, so as no longer to have the good things as if they were some external lessons, but to be good. Therefore, it is especially fitting for those who know the divine as they should, and who have the proper virtue for it, to pray; those who know what the truly good things are, and what must be asked for, and when, and how each thing. The greatest ignorance is to ask from those who are not gods as if they were gods; or to ask for things that are not beneficial, imagining evils as goods for themselves. Therefore, since there is rightly only one good being, God, we and the angels pray that some good things be given by him, and others remain; but not in the same way. For it is not the same to ask that a gift remain, or to strive eagerly to receive authority. And turning away from evils is a kind of prayer, but it must not be joined with a prayer like this one about harm to humans; except if, by devising a return to justice, the spiritual person might manage the request for those who have suffered. Prayer is, then, to speak more boldly, a conversation with God. And even if we whisper, then, without opening our lips, speaking in silence, we have shouted from within. For God continuously understands every inward conversation. With this, we also raise our head, and lift our hands to heaven, and we lift our feet at the final joining of the prayer, following the eagerness of the spirit toward the invisible essence; and trying to separate the body from the earth by the word, making the soul, winged by the desire for better things, leap, we hurry to enter the holy places, thinking highly of the bond of the flesh. For we know very well that the spiritual knowledge is a transcendence of the whole world, just as the Jews in Egypt carelessly did, willingly doing it, clearly showing more than anything else that one would be especially close to God. But if some assign fixed hours to prayer, like the third, sixth, and ninth, the spiritual person prays throughout life, eagerly rushing to be united with God through prayer, but leaves behind, in short, all things that are useless there, so that from here on he has already received the completion of what is done in love. But those who know the blessed triad of the holy monastics also know the division of the hours into three parts and the equal prayers assigned to them. At this point, having come here, I was reminded of those about not needing to pray to certain heretics, that is, those who introduce doctrines around the heresy of Prodicus. So that their godless wisdom may not be swollen with foreign arrogance even on this point of theirs, let them learn that it was first taken up by the so-called Cyrenaic philosophers. However, in due time, the impious knowledge of these false ones will meet its refutation, so that the memorandum, which is now being introduced, will not be without effect, though it is a considerable attack on them, interrupting the spoken word in hand, showing that ours alone is truly holy and God-fearing according to the actual ecclesiastical rule of knowledge, by which alone the request is granted according to the will of God both to the one who asks and to the one who understands. For just as God is able to do everything He wishes, so also the spiritual person receives everything he asks for. For God knows in general both those who are worthy of good things, and those who are not. Therefore, he gives to each what is appropriate; so often he does not give to the unworthy those things they have asked for, but he clearly gives to the worthy. The request is not refused, even if the good things are given without worthiness. Immediately, both thanksgiving and the request for the return of those nearby are the work of the one who knows; this is what the Lord also prayed for, giving thanks as he completed the ministry, and praying that as many as possible might come to knowledge, so that among those saved through salvation, God may be glorified in knowledge, and the only good and only Savior may be recognized through the Son from age to age. And indeed, faith in receiving is a kind of prayer laid down by the one who knows. But if prayer becomes a starting point for conversation with God, no opportunity for approaching God should be missed. Careless, joined with blessed providence, is the piety of the one who knows; according to voluntary confession, it shows the perfect kindness of God. For the piety of the one who knows is like a return to providence, and a reciprocal goodwill of the friend of God. For God is not good unwillingly, like fire is warming; the giving of good things to him is voluntary, even if it comes before the request. Nor will the one being saved be saved unwillingly; for he is not without soul. Rather, he will hasten to salvation more willingly and by choice. Therefore, man received the commandments so that he might be eager on his own whenever he wishes for both the desirable and the avoidable. Therefore, God does not do good by necessity, but does good by choice to those who turn back from them. For the providence that comes to us from God is not like a servant moving from worse to better; rather, the careful administrations of providence work out of mercy for our weakness. Just as the care of shepherds is for the sheep, and the care of a king is for those who are ruled, so too is our obedient care for those who lead us, who have been appointed to govern according to the order entrusted to them by God. Therefore, the servants and healers of the divine bring the most noble and royal service, through godly understanding and knowledge. Therefore, every place is truly holy where we receive the care of God, and time too. But when the well-disposed and thankful person asks by prayer, something helpful comes together for receiving, gladly obtaining what is desired through what he prays for. For whenever the giver of good things grants what is favorable to us, all good things follow quickly in its gathering. The manner in which prayer relates to what is proper is carefully examined. But if voice and speech are given to us for the sake of understanding, how could God not listen to the soul and mind itself, where indeed soul understands soul, and mind understands mind? Therefore God does not wait for many-voiced languages, like human interpreters do, but simply knows all thoughts at once; and what our voice signifies, that is what our understanding speaks to God, which even before creation knew how to come into understanding. It is therefore not necessary to express prayer by voice, straining it, but only to turn inwardly all the spiritual being into an intelligible voice, according to the undistracted turning toward God. Since the rising sun is the image of the birthday, and from there the light grows, shining first out of darkness, so too prayers rise like a day of true knowledge for those who were called from ignorance, according to the reason of the sun, toward the morning sunrise. Therefore even the oldest of the sacred places faced west, so that those standing opposite the statues might turn toward the east and be taught. "Let my prayer be directed like incense before you; the lifting up of my hands is an evening sacrifice," The Psalms say. Therefore, the prayer of wicked men is harmful not only to others but also to themselves. Even if they were to receive the good things they ask for, it harms those who receive them, because they do not understand how to use them. For some pray to get what they do not have, and they ask for things that seem good, not things that really are; but the wise person prays for what he already has, for endurance, for skill to go beyond what is coming, and for immortality for what he will not receive; and he prays that the truly good things for the soul may be his and may remain with him; in this, he does not long for anything that is missing, but is content with what is present. For he is not lacking in his own goods, already sufficient for himself through divine grace and knowledge; but having become self-sufficient, he is in need of nothing else; knowing the all-powerful will, and both having and praying for it, he becomes close to the all-mighty power, striving to be spiritual through boundless love, united with the Spirit. Thus the great-minded one, who has gained the most honored of all things, the best of all things according to knowledge, is easily moved by the approach of contemplation, but firmly holds the power of the contemplators in the soul—that is, the sharpness of insight from knowledge. He especially strives to gain this power, becoming self-controlled over the thoughts opposing him; and while constantly attending to contemplation, he trains himself by exercise in the restraint of pleasures and in the proper handling of actions. Along with this, he makes much use of experience from both learning and life, and he speaks boldly—not with a simple careless tongue, but with power used through plain speech—never hiding anything that should be said at the right time, neither out of favor nor out of fear, in a worthy way. He who has grasped the things concerning God, toward the truth itself, uses the greatness of virtue, urged by a secret speech of the sacred choir, according to its worth and the things shown by it, with the fervor of a divine prayer, dwelling most knowingly with the intelligible and spiritual realities. Therefore, always gentle and mild, approachable, easy to meet, patient, grateful, and conscientious; this one is strict with us, strict not only toward incorruption but also toward the untried. For the soul never places itself under the control or capture of pleasure or pain; if the Word is a judge, becoming unwavering and not yielding in any way to the passions, it walks in the way it is naturally just to walk. Fully convinced that everything is well governed, and that progress always moves toward the better for souls choosing virtue, they can arrive at the good itself, standing at the threshold, so to speak, of the Father, having become attentive to the great high priest. This one, the spiritual and faithful one, is convinced that the affairs of the world are governed in the best way. He cares for all and is pleased with whatever happens. Rightly, then, he seeks nothing in life beyond what is necessary, nor anything at all, being convinced that God, who knows all things, grants whatever is beneficial and good without being asked. For just as, I think, to the craftsman things are given in a way fitting to the craft, and to the pagan things are given in a way fitting to the pagan, so also to the knowledgeable things are given in a way fitting to knowledge. And the one turning from the nations will seek faith; but the one ascending to knowledge will ask for the perfection of love. The knowledgeable person, now at the top, wishes both to increase and to remain in contemplation, just as an ordinary person wishes to remain continually healthy. Yes indeed, he will never ask to fall away from virtue, especially working together to become unbreakable. For he knows that some of the angels, through laziness, have slipped down again to the ground, not yet fully reaching that one state, having crushed themselves out of the double readiness into the single one. But for the one who has reached the highest point of knowledge and the height of a man fully trained in progress, living all things according to time and place without turning back, and practicing constant firmness of mind everywhere; for those in whom some corner still remains heavy and leaning downward, the ascent through faith is pulled down. Therefore, the habit of virtue, made by the exercise of knowledge, becomes unshakable; and just as weight is to a stone, so this knowledge becomes unshakable, not unwillingly, but willingly, by rational power, knowledge, and foresight. And in order not to be lost, it becomes unshakable through reverence; it holds fast to reverence for not sinning, and to good judgment for the unshakable nature of virtue. Knowledge seems to provide good judgment, teaching how to see the things that help in maintaining virtue. Therefore, the greatest knowledge is the knowledge of God; for this reason, the unshakable nature of virtue is preserved by it. The one who has known God is holy and devout; therefore, only the one who has knowledge has been shown to be devout to us. This one rejoices in the good things present, and is glad about the promised things, as if they are already present; for it is not hidden from him as if they were still absent, having come to know what they are like. Therefore, being convinced by knowledge and that each of the things to come is as it is, he has gained this. For what is lacking and what is needed is measured by what is about to come. If indeed he has gained wisdom, and wisdom is divine, then one who lacks nothing and shares in it would be without lack. For the sharing of wisdom among those who are active and strong happens through participation in both the power and the sharing itself; it does not come from something being taken away, nor does it cause anyone to become lacking. Therefore, the activity is shown to be without loss through this very sharing. Thus, the one who knows has all the good things according to power; but not yet according to number, since even if he were unchanging in the owed divine progress and guidance. God also agrees with this, honoring it with a more careful oversight. For was it not through the favor of good men, and for the possession and benefit of these, but even more for salvation, that all things came to be? Then the things that have come to be through virtue, through these men, would not be taken away from them. For it is clear that it honors their good nature and holy choice, and it inspires strength toward further salvation in those who live well and have been taken up; urging some only, but in those worthy, coming together from themselves as well. For all good is a fruit of knowledge; if indeed the goal is to know and to act skillfully in each thing. Just as a doctor provides health to those cooperating toward health, so God provides eternal salvation to those cooperating toward knowledge and good deeds; and along with doing, since we have what the commandments order, the promise is fulfilled. And it seems to me that this is rightly said among the Greeks as well: A certain athlete, not of low birth in old times, having trained his body very well for courage over a long time, having gone up to the Olympic games, looking upon the statue of Zeus at Pisa, said, "If all things, O Zeus, necessary for the contest have been properly prepared for me, grant that I may justly receive the victory." For in this way, the one who is knowledgeable, having fully and conscientiously fulfilled everything required of himself, both for learning, for practice, and for good deeds, and for pleasing God, gathers everything together toward perfect salvation. These things, then, are demanded from us concerning what is ours and what belongs to those related to us, both present and absent: choice and desire, possession and use, and perseverance. Therefore, the one who associates with God must have a pure and undefiled soul, truly having completely made himself good; but if not, at least advancing in knowledge and striving for it, and completely separated from the works of evil. But it is also proper to offer all prayers with moderation and gentleness; for it is harmful to be involved in the sins of others. Concerning these things, then, the spiritual person prays together with those who have more recently believed, for these are also the matters in which it is right to cooperate; and his whole life is a holy festival. Immediately, sacrifices, prayers, and praises are his, as well as the readings from the Scriptures before the meal; psalms and hymns are sung by the hearth, both before going to bed; and again, prayers at night. Through these things, he unites himself with the divine choir by constant remembrance, appointed for everlasting contemplation. What then? Does he not also recognize the other sacrifice, the offering according to the needs, rules, and funds? And very much so; but he uses the brief prayer spoken aloud, given by the Lord, and having learned what must be asked. Therefore, in every place, he does not pray openly or plainly before many; but he prays while walking, and in conversation, and in silence, and in reading, and in works according to reason, in every way. And even if it is only in the very treasury of the soul that he is mindful, with "inarticulate sighs" " he will call upon the Father; and the one who is near is present even while he is still speaking. Being the end of all action, three things work through what is good and beneficial; but they abandon completing it because they pursue a common life that is hateful.

Chapter 8

V 9, p 472 p 472

It is very important for one examined in such piety to be ready both about lying and about swearing; for an oath is a binding confession with the addition of the divine. But how could one who is faithful even once make himself unfaithful, so as to need an oath? Should not life itself be a firm and definite oath to this? He lives and conducts himself, and he shows the trustworthiness of his confession in an unchangeable and steady way, both in life and in word. If in judging the one who acts and speaks, the injustice lies not in the suffering of the one served, he will neither lie nor swear falsely, knowing that it is naturally harmful to wrong the divine; nor will he lie or break anything for the sake of his neighbor, whom he has learned to love, even if he is not a close friend. For himself, then, he will still more certainly neither lie nor swear falsely, since willingly he would never be found unjust toward himself. But he does not think that the word "Yes" applies only to consent," but that the word "No" applies to denial." choosing to assign a predicate. For to swear is to offer an oath, or something like an oath, from the mind in a vivid way. It is enough, then, for him to add either with consent or with denial the phrase, "Truly I say," to make clear to those who do not see it the certainty of the answer. For, I think, one must have toward outsiders a life worthy of trust, so as not even to need to ask for an oath; but toward oneself and those who understand, gratitude, which is voluntary justice. Immediately, the knowledgeable person is quick to swear, but not eager to swear, since he rarely comes to swearing; so indeed, as we said. And indeed, to speak the truth according to the oath happens with agreement about what is true. To find, then, happens according to success in what is proper. V 9, p 473 p 473 Where then is there still need for an oath for the one living in complete truth? The one who swears falsely is not worth much; the one who does not break any of the agreements would never need to swear at all. Where the penalty for both breaking and fulfilling the actions lies in the deeds themselves, just as lying and false swearing are neglected in speech, so too is swearing beyond what is proper. The one who lives justly, breaking none of the duties, where the judgment of truth is examined, is well confirmed by his actions. Therefore, the testimony by the tongue is unnecessary for him. Being fully convinced that God is always present, and fearing to speak falsely, knowing that he is unworthy both to speak truthfully and to lie, he relies only on his divine conscience and his own. And by this conscience he does not lie, nor does he do anything against his agreements; nor is he ever required to swear an oath, nor does he ever deny it, so that he might not lie, even if he should die under torture.

Chapter 9

The one who takes upon himself the protection of the teaching of others adds something greater and more intense to the principle of knowledge, having accepted by word and deed the stewardship of the greatest good on earth, through which he mediates both connection and communion with God. Just as those who worship earthly things pray to statues as if they were experts, placing firm agreements upon them, so too the true majesty of the Word is received from the trustworthy teacher over the living statues of men, and the benefit given to these is referred back to the Lord, who, forming and reshaping the true man in his image, educates and renews the catechumen for salvation. Just as the Greeks call iron Ares and wine Dionysus by a certain association, so the gnostic, considering the benefit to those near him as his own salvation, would rightly call a living statue of the Lord—not according to the form's nature, but as a symbol of power and as a likeness of the proclamation. Therefore, whatever is in the mind is also expressed by the tongue, speaking to those worthy of understanding with agreement and insight, along with lives. For he thinks truly and speaks truth; except perhaps in the part of healing, just as a doctor toward the sick for the salvation of the ailing, he may lie or speak falsehood, according to the sophists. Immediately the noble Apostle cut around Timothy, shouting and writing, "circumcision" "the circumcision made by human hands is of no benefit; but so that I do not tear away the circumcision of the heart, which comes from faith, from the law all at once, and so that I do not drive the Jewish listeners to madness and force them to break away from the synagogue, he behaved as a Jew to the Jews, 'he became a Jew to win over all'. " Therefore, the one who condescends to behavior for the salvation of those near, for the salvation of those for whom he behaves, is not acting with any hypocrisy because he shares the danger imposed by the righteous from those who are jealous; this person is not forced at all. But for the benefit of those nearby, he will do something that he would not have done before if not for them. This one gives himself up for the Church, for those he knows, whom he himself has born in faith, as an example to those who will inherit the highest stewardship of the loving and God-fearing teacher, as a demonstration of the truth of his words, as the working out of love toward the Lord.

He is unyielding in fear, truthful in speech, patient in suffering, never wanting to lie even in spoken words; and in this he always achieves blamelessness. For falsehood, since it is spoken with some deceit, is not a harmless word but works toward evil. Therefore, the one who has knowledge bears witness to the truth in every way, both in deed and in word. For he always succeeds completely in everything, both in word and in deed, and even in the very intention itself. This, then, is the godliness of the Christian, as if seen in a brief glimpse. If indeed he does these things properly and according to right reason, he acts piously and justly. If these things are so, then the knower alone would truly be pious, just, and godly. Therefore, the Christian is not godless; for this was what was to be shown to the philosophers: that he will never do anything evil or shameful, which is unjust, in any way. Therefore, he is not impious either, but alone truly fears God, reverently and properly honoring the truly existing God as leader, king, and ruler of all, rightly urged by true godliness.

Chapter 10

For knowledge is, so to speak, a kind of perfection of a person as a person, completed through the understanding of divine things, and in manner, life, and speech it is consistent and in agreement both with itself and with the divine Word. For through this faith is perfected, as the believer is made perfect only by this. Faith, then, is an inward good, and even without seeking God, it acknowledges him to be such and praises him as existing. Therefore, it is necessary, starting from this faith and growing in it, to receive by the grace of God the knowledge about him, as far as possible. We say that knowledge differs from wisdom that comes through teaching: for whatever knowledge is, that is always also wisdom; but whatever wisdom is, it is not always knowledge. For the name of wisdom seems to belong only to spoken speech. But not doubting about God, V 9, p 480 p 480, believing is the foundation of knowledge. Both Christ is the foundation and the building, through whom both the beginning and the ends exist. And the extremes are not taught, both the beginning and the end; I mean faith and love. But knowledge, handed down from tradition by the grace of God, is entrusted to those worthy of it, who offer themselves as a deposit of teaching, from which the principle of love shines forth, from light to light. For it is said, "To the one who has, more will be given;" To faith, knowledge; to knowledge, love; to love, inheritance. This happens whenever someone is united with the Lord through faith, through knowledge, and through love, and goes up with him to where the God and guardian of our faith and love is. Therefore, in the end, knowledge is handed down to those who are suitable and approved for it, because it requires greater preparation and training, both to listen to what is said, and to control one's life, and to have gone beyond the righteousness according to the law in understanding. This leads the endless and perfect to the end, teaching the way of life with the gods according to God that is to come for us, after we have been freed from all punishment and penalty, which we endure as saving discipline because of sins. With this redemption, the honor and rewards are given back to the perfected, those who have ceased from purification and also from other service, even if it is holy and among the holy. Then, having become pure in heart according to the Lord's command, eternal restoration awaits them in the vision; and the thrones of the other gods, who will become the first appointed under the Savior, are called gods by name. Therefore, knowledge quickly leads to purification, and is suitable for the welcome change to something better. Therefore, it easily moves to what is kindred to the soul, both divine and holy, and by some familiar light it leads the secret progress of the person, until it restores them to the highest place of rest, pure in heart, teaching them to behold God face to face in knowledge and beyond understanding. For here is surely the perfection of the knowing soul, having surpassed all purification and service, becoming one with the Lord, to whom it is closely subject. Faith, then, is brief, as it were, knowledge of urgent matters; but knowledge is the strong and sure proof of what has been received through faith, built upon faith by the Lord's teaching, leading to the unchanging and, with understanding, graspable. And it seems to me that the first change is the saving one—from the nations to faith, as I said before; the second is from faith to knowledge. But love, when it is completed, places the one who knows beside the one who is known, friend to friend. And soon such a one, having already gone ahead from here, holds the "equal-to-the-angels" " to be. After the last excellence in the flesh, always changing properly toward the better, he hastens to the fatherly court on the Lord's Day truly through the holy week, becoming, so to speak, a standing light and remaining privately, entirely and completely unchanging. The first mode of the Lord's action is shown to us as an example of reverent exchange. Since there are many testimonies, I will present one, briefly, as said by the prophet David in this way: "Who will go up to the mountain of the Lord, or who will stand in his holy place?" Innocent hands and a pure heart; who has not taken his soul in vain, nor sworn deceitfully against his neighbor; this one will receive blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his Savior. This is the generation of those who seek the Lord, those who seek the face of the God of Jacob." Briefly, I think, the prophet revealed the spiritual knowledge; by a slip, it seems, David showed us the Savior to be God, calling him the face of the God of Jacob, the one who announced the good news and taught about the Spirit. Therefore the Apostle also said, "the character of the glory of the Father" he called the Son, who taught the truth about God and marked him, that God and Father are one and only the almighty, V 9, p 484 p 484 "whom no one has known except the Son, and to whom the Son will reveal." That God is one is made known through those seeking the face of the God of Jacob; our Savior and God calls him the only true God the Father, the good one. The generation of those seeking him is the chosen race, the one seeking knowledge. For this reason the Apostle also says, "I will do you no good if I do not speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophecy, or by teaching." And indeed, he will do something even for those who are not knowledgeable correctly, but not according to reason, as in the case of courage. For some, being naturally quick-tempered, and then having nurtured this without reason, they rush irrationally in most cases, and act like the brave, so that sometimes they achieve the same things, such as enduring hardships easily; but neither from the same cause as the knowledgeable, nor with the same intention; nor would they give their whole body. "For they do not have love," according to the Apostle, the love that comes through knowledge. Every action done through knowledge is success; but that done through ignorance is failure, even if it saves from harm. For it does not become brave through reason, nor does it direct its action toward anything useful that leads to virtue or results from virtue. The same principle applies to the other virtues; so it is also fitting for piety. Therefore, not only is such knowledge ours according to piety; but also, following the scientific piety, there are promises concerning the rest of our conduct. For now, we are to describe the life of the knowledgeable person, not to present the theory of doctrines, which we will set forth later at the appropriate time, preserving also the proper sequence.

Chapter 11

Concerning the whole, truly and magnificently, he has divided it, so that it might contain divine teaching. Beginning then with marveling at creation, a willing student of the Lord takes as proof of the ability to gain knowledge from home. And immediately upon hearing, he believed in God and providence from what he had marveled at. Starting from there, he works in every way toward learning, doing all those things through which he will be able to gain the knowledge he desires. Desire, growing along with the progress of faith, is joined together by strength; and this is worthy to become the cause of so great and such a high contemplation. Thus the one who knows will taste the will of God; for he does not offer mere hearing, but presents his soul to the realities revealed by what is said. Therefore, having received the very substances and things through words, he rightly leads the soul toward what is proper: "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder," understanding them personally, as has been said to the one who knows, not as they have been commanded to others. Approaching, then, being trained by scientific contemplation to struggle for the more universal and more noble things spoken of; knowing very well that "the one who teaches a person knowledge," according to the Prophet, is Lord, the Lord working through a human mouth. In this one also, the flesh has been taken up. It is reasonable, then, that what is pleasant is never chosen before what is beneficial; nor would it be seized by a beautiful woman who, in a hostile situation, forces it upon someone in a companion-like way. For even the master's wife was not able to overcome Joseph's resistance; she took off his coat, which he was holding onto by force, and he became naked of sin but clothed with the dignity of his character. For if the eyes of the master, I mean the Egyptian, did not see Joseph, surely the eyes of the almighty were watching. For we hear the voice and see the bodies; but God examines the reality from which the voice comes and is seen. Therefore, even if a disease comes upon the one who knows, and especially the most terrible death, it remains unchanged for the soul, knowing fully that such things are a necessity of creation. But even so, by the power of God, it becomes a medicine of salvation, benefiting those who are corrected more harshly through discipline, sharing in truly good and deserved providence. Therefore, using created things, whenever the Word speaks, as far as it speaks, it does so with thanksgiving toward the Creator, and becomes master of enjoyment. He never holds a grudge, nor is he angry with anyone, even if he deserves hatred for what he does; for he reveres the Creator and loves the partner of life, feeling pity and even praying for him because of his ignorance. And indeed, he also suffers with the body, naturally bound to a body that is subject to suffering. But he does not suffer first according to the passion. Chapter 41. Therefore, in involuntary circumstances, raising himself up from sufferings to what is proper, he does not share in those of others; but he only endures what is necessary for himself, as long as the soul is kept unharmed. For he does not wish to be faithful in opinion, nor even in seeming; but in knowledge and truth, which is certain in deed, and word, and action. Therefore, he not only praises what is good, but also strives to be good himself, passing from being a good and faithful servant through love to being a friend, because of the perfection of the habit, which he gained purely through learning the truth and much practice. So, striving to reach the highest point of knowledge, adorned with virtue, restrained in appearance, having all those advantages that belong to the truly knowledgeable, he looks toward the beautiful images: many who have succeeded, his patriarchs; very many prophets; countless angels, whom we count by number; and the Lord over all, who taught and made it possible to attain that highest life. For this reason, he does not love all the common things of the world, so that he may not remain lowly, but rather the things hoped for, and even more the things already known, and those hoped for for possession. Therefore, he endures the labors, the torments, and the sufferings, not like the brave men among the philosophers who hope to stop the present pains and then again to share in pleasures; but knowledge has given him the strongest bridle to cut off all hope for future things. Therefore, he despises not only the punishments here, but also all pleasures. They say then that the blessed Peter, seeing his wife being led to death, was pleased with the calling and the return home, and cried out very well, both encouragingly and comfortingly, saying in the name of the Lord: "Let her be remembered by the Lord." Such was the marriage of the blessed, and the perfect attitude even toward the dearest. To this the Apostle also says, "He who marries, says, as if he does not marry;" He considers marriage to be pure and undistracted from love toward the Lord; having this, when he departs from life to the Lord, the man truly encouraged his wife. Was not their faith in the hope after death clear to them, those who even in the very peak of torments give thanks to God? For they gained, I think, a firm faith, by which faithful actions also followed. Therefore, the soul of the knowledgeable person is strong in every situation, just as the body of an athlete stands in peak health and strength. For the just person is wise in what must be done concerning humans, judging according to principles given from God above, and is made gentle toward the divine likeness, having mastered the pleasures and pains of the body; and he boldly rises above fears, trusting in God. Therefore, the knowledgeable soul is an unskilled earthly image of divine power, adorned with perfect virtue, gathered from all these things at once: nature, practice, and reason combined. This beauty of the soul becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit, whenever it acquires a disposition fully in agreement with the Gospel throughout life. Such a person then rises above every fear, every terror, not only of death, but also of poverty, illness, disgrace, and all things related to these, becoming undefeated by pleasure and master of irrational desires. For he knows well what should and should not be done, having fully understood both the real dangers and those that are not; therefore, he wisely endures what is necessary and proper, as reason commands, distinguishing with knowledge the truly brave things—that is, the good—from what only seems so, and the truly fearful from what only appears so, such as death, illness, and poverty, which belong more to opinion than to truth. This man, truly good, who is free from passions, by the habit or disposition of a virtuous soul, has overcome the whole life of suffering. For him, everything is attached to himself toward the attainment of the goal. For the so-called accidental evils are not terrible to the serious person, because they are not truly bad; but the real evils are foreign to the Christian who has knowledge, completely opposed to the good, since evils and their opposites meet at the same time in the same place and toward the same person, which is impossible. Therefore, answering without blame the drama of life, whatever God allows to be struggled with, he knows both what must be done and what must be endured. Is it not then through ignorance of evils, and not evils themselves, that cowardice is formed? Therefore, only the one with knowledge is truly brave, knowing both the present goods and those to come; and understanding these, as I said, also the evils that are not real. Since he knows that only one thing is truly evil and that it is hostile and destructive to those who advance in knowledge, armed with the weapons of the Lord, he fights against it. For if something comes about through foolishness and the work of the devil, it is rather a cooperation of both; this is immediately the devil or foolishness, because no action is wisdom. Wisdom is a habit; but no action is a habit. Therefore, an action that comes about through ignorance is not itself ignorance, but rather evil because of ignorance, though not ignorance itself; for neither passions nor sins are evils, even though they come from evil. No one who is without reason is truly brave in knowledge; since even some might call children brave, who face dangers out of ignorance of the terrible things; they at least touch fire in this way. And wild animals, moving toward spears, are called brave without reason by those who speak of virtue. Perhaps these same people would even call magicians brave, because they flip knives with some skill, clumsily working for a poor reward. But the truly brave man, clearly aware of the danger because of the zeal of many, boldly faces whatever comes before him; separating himself from the other so-called witnesses, among whom some, giving themselves reasons, throw themselves into dangers without knowing how (for it is right to be accurate); while others, restraining themselves according to correct reason, then willingly offering themselves to the true calling of God, and confirming the calling from having recognized nothing reckless in themselves, also allow the man to be tested in true rational courage. Therefore, they do not endure lesser evils out of fear of greater ones like the rest, nor do they bear blame from their peers and those who share their views, but they hold firmly to the agreement of their calling; rather, because of their love for God, they willingly obey the calling, choosing no other goal than to please God, not for the rewards of their sufferings. For some endure out of ambition, others out of fear of a harsher punishment; and others, enduring certain pleasures and joys after death, are children in faith. They are blessed, but not yet men in the love toward God, as the Gnostic is. For there are, just as in the gymnastic contests, so also in the Church, crowns for both men and children; and this love itself is chosen for its own sake, not for any other reason. Therefore, the perfection of manhood grows almost like the Gnostic's knowledge, from the practice of life, always training to master the passions. Therefore, love, anointing without fear, empty of doubt, and trusting in the Lord, trains and prepares its own athlete, just as righteousness always makes him live truthfully in life. For it is said to be the summary of righteousness: "Let your Yes be yes, and your No, no". " The same saying also applies to self-control. For no one is truly self-controlled either out of ambition, like athletes who compete for crowns and fame, nor out of love of money, as some pretend to be self-controlled, chasing after a terrible passion instead of the good; nor indeed out of love for the body, for the sake of health; but no one is truly sober and free from pleasures through harshness. Those who live a life worn down by labor, having tasted pleasures carelessly, immediately break the firmness of self-control when it comes to pleasures. Such are also those who are restrained by law and fear; for when they find an opportunity, they break the law, fleeing from what is good. But self-control, chosen for its own sake and perfected through knowledge, always remaining, makes a man master and ruler of himself, so that he is the wise self-controlled one, and unyielding to pleasures and pains, like, as they say, a diamond to fire. The cause of these things, then, is the most holy and supreme love of all knowledge; for through the care of the best and most excellent, which indeed is attributed to the one, the knowing person produces a friend and son at the same time, "perfect." truly as a "man, according to the measure of maturity" grown up. But also agreement about the same thing is consent; and the same is one. Friendship is completed through likeness, which is based on sharing in the one. Therefore, the spiritual person, truly loving the one God, is truly a perfect man and friend of God, ranked in order under the Son. For these are names of nobility, knowledge, and perfection according to the vision of God, which the spiritual soul attains as its highest progress, becoming pure and perfect, a "face," he says, "face to face." being deemed worthy to see the almighty God forever face to face. For having become entirely spiritual and united with the kindred, having taken part in the spiritual Church, it remains in the rest of God.

Chapter 12

These things, then, to this one. The one who is spiritual relates to the body and the soul, and also to those near him, whether he is a servant or has become an enemy by law, or whoever else, he is found equal and alike; for he does not "look down on his brother." According to the divine law, being of the same father and mother; he cares for the one who is suffering, easing him with encouragement, impulses, and help for daily needs, giving to all who need it, but not equally—justly and according to their worth. And even toward the one who persecutes and hates him, if he should need it, paying little attention to those who say he gave out of fear, if not out of fear, then he does it for help. For those who are generous and hate laziness toward enemies, how much more loving they are toward their own family? Such a person goes beyond this to know exactly to whom, how much, when, and in what way to give. Who, then, could reasonably be an enemy of a man who gives no cause for hatred at all? And surely, just as we say that God opposes no one and is not an enemy to anyone (for he is the creator of all, and nothing that exists is without his will), we say that those who disobey him and do not follow his commands—like those who oppose him in the Covenant—are enemies of him. In the same way, we would find that the knower would never be an enemy to anyone in any way; rather, those who turn to the opposite path are thought to be enemies to him. Moreover, the habit we have that is shared is called justice; but also the one that, according to value, distinguishes between more and less, in the things it must know by science, is a form of the highest justice. There are, then, some things that are achieved privately in relation to certain people, like self-control over pleasures. For among the nations, both because they cannot have what they see and because of fear of others, there are those who abstain from the greater pleasures of the feet. In the same way, some exercise self-control through faith, or through promise, or through fear of God. But such self-control is the foundation of knowledge, and a kind of leading toward the better, and a striving toward the perfect. "For the beginning of wisdom," he says, "is the fear of the Lord." But the perfect one, through love " bears all things, endures all things, not pleasing to man, but to God." And yet praise follows him as a consequence, not for his own benefit, but for the imitation and use of those who praise him. It is also said in another sense that a person is self-controlled not only when mastering passions, but also when becoming self-controlled over good things, and firmly acquiring the great things of knowledge, from which he bears fruit in actions according to virtue. At no time, even when a change in his own condition occurs, does the knowledgeable person depart from this; for the possession of the good is firm and unchanging, being knowledge of divine and human matters. Therefore, knowledge never becomes ignorance, nor does it change what is good into what is bad; and so one eats and drinks, and marries, not beforehand, but out of necessity. But to marry, if the Word so wills, I say, and as is fitting. For having become perfect, he has the likeness of the apostles, and truly a man is not shown to live a solitary life, but rather he conquers a man by marriage and childbearing, and by the care of the household, having trained himself without pain or sorrow together with the care of the household, becoming unceasingly filled with the love of God, and having thoroughly experienced everything, through children and a wife, and through servants and possessions being entrusted to him; but for the inexperienced one, many things have happened without experience. Therefore, caring only for oneself, he is defeated both in what is left behind regarding his own salvation, and in the management of life, which surpasses, saving a small part with the care of truth in an unskillful way. But for us, above all, the soul must be trained in many ways, so that it may become helpful toward the reception of knowledge. Do you not see how wax softens and bronze is worn down, so that they may receive the coming stamp? Just as death is the separation of the soul from the body, so knowledge is like a rational death, urging and separating the soul from passions, and leading it toward the life of goodness, so that then it may say with boldness to God: "As you wish, I live." For the one who chooses to please people cannot please God, since most choose not what is beneficial but what is pleasing; yet one who pleases God becomes pleasing to the serious among people as a result. Then how could the pleasures of food, drink, and sexual delight still be pleasing to him, when even these involve some kind of pleasure of reason, a movement of the mind, and a delightful activity? "For no one can serve two masters," to God and to mammon; not speaking simply of money itself, but of the giving of money for various pleasures. In truth, it is not possible for one who has truly and nobly known God to serve the pleasures that oppose him. There is only one who is undesired from the beginning, the Lord who loves humanity, who also became human for our sake; but those who strive to be made like the seal given by him force themselves to become undesired through discipline. For the one who has desired, and has mastered himself, is like a widow who, through self-control, again becomes a virgin. This is the reward of knowledge given to the Savior and Instructor, which he himself asked for: the avoidance of evils, and the practice of good deeds, through which salvation is achieved. Just as those who have learned crafts provide the food by means of which they were trained, so the knowledgeable person is saved by providing life through what he understands; for the one who has not wished to cut off the passion of the soul has killed himself. But as it seems, ignorance is the wasting away of the soul, while knowledge is its nourishment. These are the spiritual knowledge souls, which the Gospel likened to the holy virgins, who are waiting for the Lord. For they are virgins, having kept away from evils; and waiting because of love for the Lord, and kindling their own light into the contemplation of things, they are wise souls. Saying, "We long for you, O Lord, to receive you at last; accordingly, we have lived according to your commands, not having transgressed any of the things ordered." Therefore also the promises.

We demand; but we pray for what is beneficial, not as if it is proper to ask from you the best things; and we accept all things at the right time, even if the trials that come seem bad, which your providence offers us for the exercise of steadfastness. The spiritual person, therefore, because of excessive holiness in asking, is more ready to fail than to succeed without asking. Prayer for him is his whole life and fellowship with God; and even if he is pure from sins, he will receive whatever he wishes. For God says to the righteous: "Ask, and I will give to you; be mindful, and I will do it." If, then, it is beneficial, he will receive it immediately; but he will never ask for what is harmful; therefore, he will not receive it. Thus, what he wishes will be. And if someone tells us that some sinners also succeed in their requests, this happens rarely because of God's just goodness; but it is given by others who are also able to do good; therefore, the giving does not happen because of the one who asks, but because of the plan, seeing beforehand the one who is to be saved through it, and again makes the gift just; and to those who are worthy, the truly good things are given even without their asking. So when a person is righteous not out of necessity or fear or hope, but by choice, this way is called royal, which the royal race follows; the other paths are slippery and steep. If then someone removes fear and honor, I do not know if the noble ones among the outspoken philosophers will still endure hardships. Desires and the other sins have been called thorns and splinters. Therefore, the spiritual person works in the Lord's vineyard, planting, pruning, watering, truly being a divine farmer of those planted in faith. Those who have not done evil claim a reward for receiving rest; but the one who has done good from a free choice demands the reward as a good worker. He will be careless and receive double, both for what he did not do and instead of what he did well. This knowledgeable person is tested by no one; except if God allows it, and even this for the benefit of those present. Therefore, he is strengthened toward faith through the encouragement of manly patience. And for this reason, the blessed apostles also cared for the steadfastness and confirmation of the Churches, being brought to trial and witness of perfection. Therefore, the spiritual person has as a means the voice saying, "Whom I strike, you have mercy on," and he asks those who hate to repent. For the punishment of evildoers completed in the stadiums is like that of children not being allowed to watch; for it is not possible that the spiritual person could ever be trained or nourished by the same ones, having chosen to be good and noble by his own will and having practiced this, and having become unyielding to pleasures; never falling into sins, he is not trained by the examples of others' evils. It is not necessary at all for him to be pleased by earthly pleasures and visions, this one who has even despised the promises of worldly things, though they are divine. "Not everyone" "So not everyone who says, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of God, but the one who does the will of God." This one would be the spiritual worker, who holds back from worldly desires, still being in the flesh; but concerning those things he has come to know about the future and still unseen, he is firmly convinced that he should consider these things more than those present before his feet. This worker is well-prepared, rejoicing in what he has come to know, yet restraining himself because of the demands of life, not yet worthy of fully sharing in the active participation of what he has understood. To this life, which is like a foreign one, he uses his share only as much as necessity requires. He himself knows the riddles of fasting for these days, I mean the four-day fast and the preparation. They are named after Hermes on the one hand, and Aphrodite on the other. Immediately he fasts according to a life of both love of money and love of pleasure, from which all evils grow; for many times we have shown the three highest kinds of immorality according to the Apostle: love of pleasure, love of money, and idolatry. Therefore, he fasts according to the law from evil deeds, and according to the perfection of the Gospel from evil thoughts. To this, temptations are added not for cleansing, but for the benefit of those nearby, as we said, if, having tested pain and suffering, he despised them and sent them away. The same applies to pleasure; for it is greatest when experienced, and then to abstain from it. For what is great if someone is self-controlled over things he does not know? Having fulfilled the command according to the Gospel, he keeps that Lord's Day, whenever he casts away a worthless thought and receives a spiritual one, glorifying in himself the resurrection of the Lord. But even when he attains a scientific vision, he thinks he sees the Lord, guiding his sight toward visible things, and even if he seems to see what he does not want to see. He punishes the visible, whenever he feels pleasure in the attack of his sight; since this is the only thing he wants to see and hear, what is proper for him. Immediately, looking at the souls of the brothers, and seeing the beauty of the flesh with the soul that is accustomed to consider only what is good without fleshly pleasure. Brothers truly are, according to their chosen creation, and according to their likeness, and according to the substance of their works, doing the same things, and thinking, and speaking holy and good deeds, which the Lord wished them to think as chosen. For faith is in choosing the same things; knowledge is in having learned and thought the same things; hope is in doing the same things. And if, according to the necessities of life, he spends a little time on food, he thinks he is ruined, being distracted by the matter. To this one, not even a dream ever appears unsuitable to the chosen, without artifice. For this person is a stranger and a sojourner in every life, who, living in a city, has despised the things of the city, admired by others; and just as in a desert he lives in the city, so that the place does not force him, but his choice shows him to be just. This Gnostic, to sum up, fills in for the apostolic absence, living rightly, knowing precisely, benefiting those close by, moving the mountains of their neighbors, and casting off the irregularities of their souls. And yet each of us is both his vineyard and his worker. But the one who does the best wishes to keep people unaware, persuading both the Lord and himself that he lives according to the commandments, choosing these things because he has trusted in them: "For where the mind is of someone," he says, "there also is his treasure;" he harms himself, so that he will never see a brother in trouble, because of the perfection in love, if he especially understands more easily that he himself will bear the lack of his brother. He considers the pain of that one his own pain; and even if, because of his own lack, he suffers some hardship through kindness, he does not become upset about it, but rather increases his good deed even more. For he has pure faith concerning things, praising the Gospel through works and vision; and indeed, not "praise from men, but from God." He bears fruit by doing what the Lord taught. This one, relying on his own hope, does not enjoy the good things of the world, all of which here are marked by pride. He has pity on those who, after death, are being disciplined through punishment and unwillingly confess. He is clear in conscience toward his departure, and always ready, as one who is "a stranger and a sojourner." Remembering only the possessions here as his own inheritance, and considering all things here as foreign; not only admiring the Lord's commands, but, so to speak, by this knowledge sharing in the divine will, truly belonging to the Lord and chosen among the commands as righteous; ruling and royal, as the one who knows. He regards all the gold on earth and under the earth, and the kingdom stretching from one end of the Ocean to the other, as nothing compared to the service of the Lord alone. Therefore, eating, drinking, and marrying, if the Word wills it, and even seeing dreams, he makes them holy and understands them; by this he is always pure for prayer. He also prays with the angels, as if already an equal to the angels, and never leaves the holy guard, even when praying alone, for he holds the choir of the saints together. He knows two things: the activity of the one who believes, and the rightful superiority of the one who is believed in; for righteousness is also twofold: one through love, the other through fear. It has been said at least: The fear "of the Lord is pure, enduring forever and ever;" For those who turn from fear to faith and righteousness remain forever. Immediately the one who fears works to avoid evil; and love encourages doing good, building up toward the willing, so that someone may hear from the Lord: "I no longer call you servants, but friends," and trusting, he already approaches with prayers. The very form of prayer is thanksgiving for what has happened, for what is present, and for what is to come, as if they are already present through faith. This is guided by the knowledge received; and indeed, one asks to live the appointed life in the flesh in this way, as one with knowledge, as one without flesh; and to obtain the best things, and to avoid the worse. One also asks for relief concerning the things we have sinned in, and for a turning back to knowledge; thus quickly following the one who calls at the departure, as if he leads forward, so to speak, hastening to give thanks because of a good conscience; and there, having become with Christ, offering oneself worthy through purity, according to the right mixture, to hold the power of God, granted through Christ. For he does not wish to be warm by participation in heat, nor bright by fire, but to be entirely light. This one knows exactly what was said: "If you do not hate your father and mother, and even your own soul, and if you do not carry the cross." For he has greatly hated the fleshly passions, which have a filter of pleasure, and he thinks himself greater than all things belonging to the creation and nourishment of the flesh; but he also rises up against the bodily soul, putting a muzzle on the irrational spirit that rages: "For the flesh desires against the spirit. But to carry the cross" is to carry around death, having rejected it while still alive to all; for the love of the one who "sowed the flesh is not equal." and of the one who created the soul for knowledge. This one, having become gentle in disposition, benefits more quickly than by speaking well, wishing to share the sins of his brothers for confession and the turning back of relatives, and eager to share his own goods with his dearest friends; and in this way, the friends themselves respond to him. Therefore, increasing the seeds entrusted to him according to the farming the Lord commanded, he remains without sin, becomes self-controlled, and lives with his fellow believers with the spirit as a guide among the assemblies of the saints, even if he still lives on earth. This one, speaking and doing the commands of the Lord all day and night, rejoices greatly, not only rising early and at midday, but also walking and sleeping, putting on and taking off clothes, and teaching his son, if he has a son by birth, being inseparable from the commandment and hope, always giving thanks to God just like the living creatures that praise, allegorized through Isaiah; patient toward every trial: "The Lord," says, "The Lord has given, the Lord has taken away." For such was Job, who, when all external things were taken away along with the health of his body, endured everything through his love toward the Lord; "he was " for, he says, "righteous, devout, refraining from all evil." But the "devout" refers to what is just toward God and the whole conduct of life. For knowing these things, he was a man of knowledge. For it is necessary neither, if they are good, to stand alongside these things as human, nor again, if they are bad, to hate them; but to be above both, trampling on some, and sending away others to what is needed. The man of knowledge is safe in conduct so that he does not go astray, or else conduct becomes a habit.

Chapter 13

He never remembers those who have sinned against him, but forgives them; therefore he rightly prays, saying, "Forgive us," for we also forgive." For this is also one of the things that God wills: to desire nothing and to hate no one; for all people are the work of one will. And is not the Gnostic called "perfect"? " Our Savior wishes to be "like the heavenly Father," That is, himself, who says: "Come, children, listen to my fear of the Lord;" He no longer wishes this one to be dependent on help through angels, but to become worthy by himself, and to have protection from himself through obedience? Such a person demands from the Lord, but does not ask; and concerning the suffering brothers, the spiritual one will not ask for a wealth of money to share, but will pray that those in need may receive help. For in this way the spiritual one also gives prayer to those in need, and through the prayer, help is given both secretly and without show. Poverty, then, often along with illness and such trials, is offered as a warning, both for correcting what has passed and for turning back those who are to come. Such a person, asking for relief from these things, having the special gift of knowledge, does not act out of vanity, but because of being spiritual, works for good, becoming an instrument of God's goodness. In the Traditions, they say that the apostle Matthias said in each case, "If a chosen neighbor sins, the chosen one has sinned; for if he led himself as the Word commands, both his life and the neighbor's would be restrained from sinning." What then shall we say about that spiritual person? "Or do you not know," says the Apostle, "that you are the temple of God? "The spiritual person, then, is divine, and already holy, bearing God and being borne by God. Immediately, presenting sin as something foreign, Scripture sells those who have fallen to the foreigners: "Do not look with desire at a woman who belongs to another," saying: directly foreign, and against the nature of the temple of God, sin is called. The temple is both great, like the Church, and small, like the person who preserves the seed of Abraham. Is it not then

will someone who has God resting within desire something else. Freeing himself from all obstacles, and cutting through all the proud material that surrounds him, he cuts through the sky by means of knowledge; and passing through the spiritual beings and every rule and authority, he reaches the highest thrones, aiming only at that one thing, which alone he has known. Having mixed "the serpent with the dove," He lives fully and with a clear conscience at the same time, blending faith with hope toward the expectation of what is to come. For he senses the gift he has received, having become worthy to obtain it, and having been transferred from slavery into sonship, he follows knowledge closely, not failing to know God, but rather being fully known by him to the end, showing by his deeds the worthiness of the grace; for works follow knowledge just as a shadow follows the body. Therefore, he is not reasonably disturbed by what happens, nor does he suspect those things that occur according to the plan for the benefit; nor is he ashamed to die, being conscious to appear before the authorities; having cleansed all, so to speak, the stains of the soul, he, who knows well, is better off after departure. Therefore, he never prefers what is pleasant and profitable over the plan, training himself through the commandments, so that he may be pleasing to the Lord in all things and praised by the world; since everything stands by the one almighty God. "To his own matters," he says, " "The Son of God came," and his own people did not receive him." Therefore, according to the use of worldly things, he not only gives thanks and admires creation, but also, using them as is proper, he is praised; since his goal is completed through the activity of knowledge according to the commandments into contemplation. From here, now, through knowledge, reaping the provisions of contemplation, and proudly accepting the greatness of knowledge, he advances toward the holy reward of transformation. For you have heard the psalm saying: "Surround Zion, and take her in; tell the story in her towers;" For it hints, I think, that those who receive the Word with high regard will be like tall towers, firmly standing both in faith and in knowledge. And let these things be said briefly, as in some way, about the spiritual to the Greeks in seed form. It must be understood that if a believer succeeds in one or even a second of these, but not in all, and not even with the highest knowledge, like the spiritual person, then.

Chapter 14

V 9, p 517 p 517 And indeed, concerning the impassibility according to the spiritual person for us, so to speak, by which the perfection of the believer is reached "through love to a perfect man, advancing to the measure of the full age," being made like God, truly becoming a fellow angel, many other testimonies from Scripture also follow to be set forth; but I think it better to pass over such ambition because of the length of the discourse, allowing those who wish to labor and to work carefully through the doctrines by choosing from the Scriptures at their own discretion. Therefore, I will mention one briefly, so as not to leave the passage unnoticed. For the divine Apostle says in the earlier letter to the Corinthians: "Does anyone among you dare, having a matter against another, to be judged before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?" Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? and the things following. Since the passage is very important, using the timely words of the apostles, we will translate briefly, as if in a quick overview, the saying, presenting the meaning of the spoken Apostle, by which he marks the perfection of the spiritual person. For the spiritual person does not stand only on being wronged rather than wronging, but also teaches to be without resentment, not even allowing oneself to pray against the one who has wronged. For the Lord himself knows directly to "pray for those who hate you." having commanded. So, to say that the one wronged should judge the wrongdoers means nothing other than that he wants to repay and take revenge in turn, which is just as much as doing wrong to them himself. But to "judge the saints" To say that some want to "judge the saints" shows those who, through prayer, ask to be repaid with greed by those who wrong them. And indeed, the latter are better than the former, not yet disobedient, but if not, having become completely without bitterness, they will pray according to the Lord's teaching even for their enemies. It is therefore good for them to receive a good mind from repentance toward faith. For even if the truth seems to want those who envy their enemies to possess them, it is not at all hostile to anyone; for "God causes the sun to rise on the just and the unjust alike," V 9, p 520 p 520" And indeed, the Lord himself sent upon both the just and the unjust; and he who strives to be like God, through great forgiveness, having forgiven seventy times seven, as throughout his whole life and during the entire worldly journey, counted by sevens as a sign, is kind to all, even if someone wrongs this entire time of life in the flesh to the one who knows. For the one who has greatly wronged him does not think it right to allow others only to possess him, but the righteous also wishes to ask the judges for forgiveness of sins from those who have wronged him; and rightly so. For if only the external and bodily matters, even if they go as far as death, were involved, those who try to do wrong would have the advantage—none of which belongs to the one who knows. How could someone judge even angels who have fallen away, when he himself has become a deserter from that forgiveness according to the Gospel? "Why are you not rather wronged more?" he says: "Why are you not rather deprived more?" But you wrong and deprive," wishing against those who clearly sin out of ignorance, and you are deprived of the kindness and goodness of God, as much as you have for those for whom you pray, "and the brothers " not only those according to faith, but also the proselytes, saying. For even if the one now perishing will later believe, we do not yet know. From this it is clear that, even if not all are such, they seem to us to be brothers themselves. Already all people, being the work of one God and having one image, clothed in one essence, even if some happen to be more clouded than others, only the one who knows understands, and through the creatures the operation by which again the will of God is worshiped. "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?" The one who opposes does wrong, whether by deed, or even by word, or even by the intention of willing, which the Gospel describes after the instruction of the law. "And you were some of these?" Such people are clear, the kind whom you still happen to be, even though you do not agree with them yourself. "But wash yourselves;" Not simply like the others, but with understanding, throw off the passions of the soul, in order to become like, as much as possible, the goodness of God's providence through both patience and forgiveness; "for to the just and the unjust" the kindness of word and deed, shining like the sun. So then, whether the spiritual person gains this by greatness of mind, or imitates the better one. The third cause is, "Forgive, and it will be forgiven to you;" as if forced, like a command leading to salvation through an excess of goodness. "But be holy;" V 9, p 521 p 521 For the one who has come to this state, it happens to be holy, not falling into any of the passions in any way, but like one already without flesh, and holy apart from this earth. Therefore, "You have been justified," he says, "by the name of the Lord." You have been made, so to speak, righteous by him as he is, and by the Holy Spirit you have been especially called according to power. For is it not, "all things are lawful for me"? But I will not be given permission," he says, to do, or to think, or to speak anything against the Gospel. "Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, which God will destroy," that is, those who think and live in this way, as if they exist only for eating, not rather eating so that they may live according to what follows, but enduring what comes before with knowledge. And does he say that these are like the flesh of the holy body? The body is an allegory for the Church of the Lord, the spiritual and holy assembly; from which those who are called by name only, but live not according to reason, are flesh. "But this body " "But this body is spiritual, that is, the holy Church, not given to fornication, nor to the falling away from the Gospel, which belong to the pagan life, in no way and not at all should one become accustomed to them. For he who lives among the pagans in the Church commits fornication against the Church and his own body, whether in deed, or even in word, or even in thought itself. He who "clings to the harlot," to the harlot, who acts against the Covenant, is another "body" he becomes not holy "into one flesh," and a pagan life, and another hope; "but he who clings to the Lord" in "spirit" a spiritual body different from the kind of union; he is entirely a son, a holy man, without passion, knowledgeable, perfect, being shaped by the teaching of the Lord, so that, in deed, word, and even in the spirit itself, he may be closely attached to the Lord and receive that unique dwelling owed to one who has been so made human. The example is sufficient for those who have ears. For one should not fully explain the mystery, but reveal just enough to remind those who have shared in the knowledge, who will also understand what was said by the Lord, "Be perfect, as your Father is perfect." forgiving sins, and forgetting wrongs, and living in the state of passionlessness. For just as we say a doctor is perfect, and a philosopher is perfect, so, I think, is a perfect knower. But none of these things, although they are great, lead to likeness to God; for we do not say, like the Stoics, that the same virtue of a human is exactly the same as that of God. Then surely we must become perfect, just as the Father wishes? For it is impossible and beyond reach for anyone to become perfect as God is; but the Father wishes us to live according to the obedience of the Gospel, and to become perfect without fault. If then, by falling short of what is said, we obey what is necessary, to make up for what is left out in the passage for those able to understand, we will know the will of God, and according to the worth of the commandment, we will live both piously and with dignity.

Chapter 15

Since it is necessary to defend ourselves against the charges brought against us by Greeks and Jews, and since some of the difficulties are similar to those already mentioned, as well as the heresies concerning other teachings, it would be good, after clearing away the obstacles, to proceed properly to the solutions of these difficulties in the following part of the Stromateis. First of all, they bring this charge against us, saying that we should not believe because of the disagreement among the heresies; for truth is also stretched out, as others teach different doctrines. To these we say: That even among you Jews, and among the most respected philosophers among the Greeks, there have been very many heresies; and surely one should not hesitate either to philosophize or to be a Jew because of the disagreement among the heresies you have among yourselves. Then, heresies are said to be torn apart by the truth, just as weeds are by fire," it has been prophetically said by the Lord, and it is impossible for what was foretold not to happen; and the reason for this is that every good thing is followed by a flaw. So then, should we, if someone breaks an agreement and fails to keep their promise to us, because they have lied in their promise, also give up on the truth? But the reasonable person must be truthful and not break any of the promises they have made, even if others break agreements; in the same way, it is not right for us in any way to break the church rule; and especially we keep the confession about the greatest matters, while others break it. Therefore, one must believe those who firmly hold to the truth. Now, since this defense is being used widely, it is possible to say to them that even doctors, who hold opposing opinions according to their own schools, also heal by their work. Surely then, if someone is suffering in the body and needs treatment, they do not avoid a doctor because of the different schools of medicine? Therefore, the one whose soul is sick and full of idols will not refuse, for the sake of healing and turning to God, to make use of the different schools as an excuse. Yes indeed, because of "the approved ones," he says, "the sects;" By "approved ones," he means those who come to faith, approaching the Lord's teaching more selectively, just like approved bankers distinguish the Lord's genuine coin from the counterfeit; or those who have already become approved in the same faith, both in life and in knowledge. Therefore, for this reason, we need greater care and foresight in examining how exactly one should live, and what true godliness really is. For it is clear that, because truth is difficult and hard to work with, controversies have arisen from this, from which selfish and ambitious heresies come, since they neither learn nor truly receive the truth, but think they have gained knowledge. Therefore, with greater care, the true truth must be investigated, which alone concerns the truly existing God; and with effort comes a sweet discovery and remembrance. Therefore, one must strip off the effort of discovery because of the heresies, but not completely abandon it; for even when the season of truth is ripe and the season of what is like wax is brought in as if it were most present, both must be endured because of their similarity. At the same time, the true must be distinguished from the apparent by both clear contemplation and the most careful reasoning. And just as on one road there may be a royal path, while many others lead to cliffs or to a swiftly flowing river or a shallow sea, no one would hesitate to travel the safe, royal, and main road because of the differences; so too, when others speak differently about the truth, one must not abandon them, but rather pursue more carefully the most accurate knowledge of it; for even among cultivated vegetables, weeds also grow up together. Do not farmers then avoid the care of gardening? Having many natural starting points for examining what is said, we owe it to ourselves to discover the following of truth; therefore, it is right that we be judged by those whom we should trust, neither agreeing with them blindly nor rejecting what is argued, which is improper, unnatural, and false, and separates us from what is true, fitting, and natural; these starting points must be used to gain knowledge of the truth that truly exists. This excuse is therefore useless for the Greeks; for those who want it will be able to find the truth, but for those who put forward unreasonable reasons, the judgment is without defense. Do they reject or agree that there is proof? I think everyone would agree except those who deny the senses. Since there is proof, it is necessary to submit to investigation, and through the Scriptures to learn clearly how the heresies went wrong, and how in the one true and ancient Church there is the most exact knowledge and the truly best choice. Of those who turn away from the truth, some deceive only themselves, while others try to deceive even those nearby. Those called sophists, who think they have found the truth but have no true proof, deceive themselves, thinking they have rested. Their number is not small. They turn away from investigation because of the challenges, and they avoid teaching because of blame. But those who deceive those who come near are very crafty; and those who follow them, though they know nothing, darken the truth with plausible arguments. Another, I think, is the nature of plausible arguments, and another is the nature of the true ones. And that the name of heresies must be used in contrast to the truth, we know; from which, having drawn some away to the harm of people, the sophists, digging into their discovered human arts, boast of leading a way of life more than a Church.

Chapter 16

But those ready to work hard for the best things will not turn away before seeking the truth, until they have received proof from the Scriptures themselves. There are, then, certain common standards for people, just like the senses; but the others belong to those who have willed and practiced the true things through mind and reasoning, both in true and false arguments. The greatest thing is to put aside even pride, standing in the middle between precise knowledge and reckless opinion, and to understand that the one who hopes for eternal rest knows that its entrance is difficult and "troubled." " The one who has once been evangelized, and the saving message, he says, at the hour he recognizes it, must not "turn back to what is behind, like Lot's wife," Nor to the former life that belongs to the senses, nor indeed to wander back into heresies; for those who do not know God become accustomed to being unfruitful. "For whoever loves father or mother more than me," the true father and teacher of the truth, who renews and restores, and nourishes the chosen soul, "is not worthy of me," he says, to be a son of God, and a disciple of God, as well as a friend and relative: "For no one who looks back and puts his hand to the plow is fit for the kingdom of God." But, as it seems, and even until now to many, Mary is thought to be a woman who has just given birth because of the birth of the child, though she is not a woman who has just given birth; for after giving birth, she is said to have been found a virgin. Such are the Lord's Scriptures for us, revealing the truth, and remaining virgins along with the hiddenness of the mysteries of the truth. "She gave birth and yet did not give birth," Scripture says: as if she did not conceive by union from her; therefore the Scriptures have conceived for the Gnostics. The heresies, not understanding that they have conceived, are sent away as if they have not conceived. Since all people have the same judgment, some, following the Word who will speak, make their beliefs; but others, having given themselves over to pleasures, force the Scripture toward their desires. But it is necessary, I think, for the lover of truth with a sound soul; for those who take on the greatest tasks must be greatly mistaken if they do not hold the rule of truth taken from truth itself. Such people, having fallen from the right path, and in most parts going astray, do so reasonably because they do not have a true and false judge, precisely trained to choose what is right. For if they had it, they would obey the divine Scriptures. Just as if someone among men were to become like a beast, similar to those bewitched by Circe's potions, so a man who has rejected the Church's tradition and has turned away to the false glories of human heresies has lost being a child of God and remaining faithful to the Lord. But the one who turns back from this deception, who listens to the Scriptures, and who turns his own life back to the truth, is made a God from a man. For we have the source of teaching in the Lord, through the prophets, through the Gospel, and through the blessed apostles, "in many ways and in many forms." From the beginning to the end, the guide of knowledge. If anyone thinks that another beginning is needed, truly no beginning would then be preserved. Therefore, the one who is trustworthy in himself and reasonably credible in the Lord's Scripture and voice would be active through the Lord for the benefit of people. He is careless about discovering the truth of things; we use the thing itself as the judge. Everything that is judged is still unbelieved before it is judged; so even a beginning needs judgment. Therefore, reasonably, having clothed the beginning with faith that cannot be proven, and having taken the proofs about the beginning from the possession of that very beginning, we are taught by the voice of the Lord toward the knowledge of the truth. For we do not pay attention simply to men who appear, to whom it is also possible to respond in return. If it is not enough simply to say what seems likely, but what is said must be believed, we do not rely on testimony from men, but we trust the voice of the Lord for what is sought; this is more certain than all proofs, and indeed it is the only proof there is. By this knowledge, some who have only tasted the Scriptures are faithful, while others who have gone further are accurate seekers of the truth, the gnostics. For even in daily life, craftsmen have something more than amateurs, and they produce the best beyond common ideas. Thus, we too, fully proving from the Scriptures themselves about themselves, are persuaded by faith in a convincing way. And even if those who follow heresies dare to use the prophetic Scriptures, first, not all of them, then not perfectly, nor as the whole body and style of prophecy requires; but choosing the doubtful sayings, they bring them into their own opinions, gathering a few scattered voices here and there; not aiming at what is meant by them, but sticking to the bare words themselves. For almost in all the sayings offered, they seem to accept only the names, ignoring the meanings; neither do they understand them as they are said, nor do they use them as they naturally are, even though they bring selections. Truth is not found in changing the meanings; for in this way they would overturn every true teaching; but in examining what is fully fitting and proper for the Lord and almighty God, and also in confirming each of the things proven according to the Scriptures again by similar Scriptures. So they neither want to turn back to the truth, fearing to give up their love of self; nor do they have the ability to give up their own opinions, forcing the Scriptures. Having come to bring false teachings to people, they openly fight against almost all the Scriptures, and are always being refuted by us who argue against them. Even now they still hold on, some refusing to let go of the prophetic texts, others slandering us as if we belong to a different nature, claiming we are not able to understand what is proper to them. Sometimes they even deny their own teachings when they are proven wrong, ashamed to admit openly what they privately boast of teaching in this way. For in this way, the wickedness of their teachings can be seen in all the heresies that arise from them. For when they are overturned before us, as we clearly show them opposing the Scriptures, there are two things to be seen by the leaders of the teaching: either they despise the consistency of their own doctrines, or they despise the prophecy itself, and even more so their own hope. They choose each time for their own opinion to appear clearer than what the Lord has said through the prophets, and also through the Gospel, and even with the apostles bearing witness and confirming it. Seeing then the danger to them not about one teaching, but about preserving the heresies, not finding the truth (for those who met us casually and briefly despised it as worthless), they tried to go beyond the common faith and stepped outside the truth. For not having learned the mysteries of ecclesiastical knowledge, nor having grasped the greatness of the truth, they gave up in despair before reaching the depths of the matters, reading superficially, they misinterpreted the Scriptures. Raised up by vain wisdom, they continue to argue, having become clear that they aim more to seem wise than to truly philosophize. Immediately, without laying down the necessary foundations of things, stirred by human opinions, and then inevitably bringing about their own ruin, they quarrel because of the challenges from those who practice true philosophy; and they endure everything rather than give in, and they say they stir up everything, even if they are about to act impiously because they do not believe the Scriptures, rather than change their position, driven by ambition, heresy, and the much-talked-about primacy in their churches. For this reason, they also embrace that same fellowship seat through false love. The knowledge of truth among us is gained from the faithful to those not yet faithful, and it produces faith; which, as one might say, becomes the very essence of proof. But, it seems, every heresy does not have a beneficial beginning for those who listen, but only opens the way to pleasure. For even if one of them is healed, if he only wishes to obey the truth. The third cure is for false belief, just like for any passion: learning about the cause and how it might be removed; and third, the training of the soul, and the habit of being able to follow correctly what has been judged. [PG 8.98]. For just as a disturbed eye, so too the soul, clouded by unnatural beliefs, is not able to see clearly the light of truth, but even mistakes what is underfoot. [PG 8.99]. They say that in muddy water even eels are caught, blinded. And just as bad children shut out their teacher, so these people keep the prophecies from their Church, looking down on them through criticism and correction. They carelessly accept many falsehoods and fabrications, so that they may reasonably seem not to accept the Scriptures. Therefore, these are not godly, displeasing the divine commands, that is, the Holy Spirit. Just as empty almonds are called so not because they have nothing inside, but because what is inside is useless, so we say that heretics are empty of the will of God and the traditions of Christ, truly bitter like the wild almond, rejecting teachings, except for those which, by the power of the true ones, they were not able to remove or hide. Just as in war one must not abandon the order that the general has given to the soldier, so also one must not abandon the order given by the Word, whom we have accepted as ruler of knowledge and life. Most people have not even examined this, whether there is anything to follow, and to whom, and how. For just as the Word is such, so the life that belongs to the faithful must be such, so that from the beginning they can follow God, who sets all things straight. If someone goes against the Word and through this against God, if they have weakened because of a sudden temptation, the logical imaginations must be made ready; but if, defeated by a habit already held, they have become, as Scripture says, vulgar, the habit must be completely stopped, and the soul must be trained to oppose it. And if some seem to be drawn to conflicting doctrines, these must be avoided, and one must follow the peacemakers of doctrines, who soothe the fearful among the ignorant with the divine Scriptures, making the truth clear through the harmony of the Covenants. But, as it seems, we lean more toward the glorious, even if it happens to be opposed, rather than toward the truth; for it is strict and solemn. And indeed, of the three states of the soul—ignorance, pride, and knowledge—the nations are in ignorance, the true Church is in knowledge, and those who follow heresies are in pride. Nothing is clearer than to see those who know what they know being certain, and about what they think, especially when they are certain without proof. They despise one another and mock each other; and the same mind is present, with some being most honorable, and others caught in madness. And indeed, we have learned that pleasure is one thing, which must be given to the nations; strife is another, which must be preferred in heresies; joy is another, which belongs to the Church; and gladness is another, which must be given to the true spiritual knowledge. And just as, if someone listens to Ischomachus, he will make him a farmer; and to Lampides, a ship captain; and to Charidemus, a general; and to Simon, a cavalryman; and to Perdix, a shopkeeper; and to Krobyle, a cook; and to Archelaus, a dancer; and to Homer, a poet; and to Pyrrho, a debater; and to Demosthenes, an orator; and to Chrysippus, a dialectician; and to Aristotle, a natural philosopher; and to Plato, a philosopher—so too the one who obeys the Lord and follows the prophecy given through him is fully completed in the image of the teacher, God walking in the flesh. Those who do not follow God fall away from this height, if he judges; and he judges according to the Spirit-inspired Scriptures. Among the countless things that people do, there are almost two roots of all sin: foolishness and weakness; both depend on us, those who neither want to learn nor to control their desires. Because of these, some do not judge correctly, and others do not have the strength to follow what has been rightly judged; for no one, having been deceived in their mind, can act well, even if they are very able to do what is known; nor can one who has the strength to judge what is right offer themselves blameless in their actions while being weak. Accordingly, two kinds of training are given to each type of sin: to one, clear knowledge and vivid proof from the Scriptures; to the other, discipline according to the Word, guided by faith and fear. Both together lead to perfect love; for I think the goal of knowledge here is twofold: on one hand, scientific contemplation, and on the other, action. May those heretics also learn from these notes, be corrected, and turn back to the almighty God! But if, like the deaf to the serpent's song—newly spoken but very ancient—they do not understand the hymn, let them be trained by God, enduring the ancestral warnings before judgment; then, ashamed, they might repent, but without fully carrying themselves into judgment through stubborn disobedience! For there are also certain kinds of training called punishments, into which many of us, having fallen into sin, slip away from the Lord's people. But just as children are corrected by their teacher or father, so we are disciplined by Providence. God is not punished; for punishment is the repayment of evil. Yet he disciplines for what is useful, both generally and personally, to those being disciplined. Wishing to turn away those who love learning from falling into heresies, I have set these things before them; but for those caught up in the passing troubles—whether from ignorance, carelessness, weakness, or whatever else one must call it—I try to stop their suffering, to change them, and to bring them back to the truth, at least for those not completely hopeless. With this aim, I have used these words. For there are some who do not even endure to listen to those urging them toward the truth, and indeed try to babble nonsense, pouring out blasphemous words against the truth, granting to themselves the greatest things that exist, without having learned, without having sought, without having struggled, without having found the proper path. One might pity them or hate such a perversion. But if someone happens to be healable, able to bear the boldness of the truth like fire or iron, which cuts away and burns their false opinions, let them hold open the ears of their soul. But this will happen if, urged by laziness, they reject the truth, or, despising honor, they force themselves to innovate. For they are lazy in the present, failing to draw proofs from the divine Scriptures themselves, choosing instead what suits their pleasures entirely. Those who desire honor, who willingly try to be clever by adding to the inspired words handed down by the blessed apostles and teachers, attempt other methods, opposing the divine tradition with human teachings in order to establish heresy. For who, truly among such men, in the Church's knowledge, was lacking in argument—Markion, so to speak, or Prodikos and others like them—who did not follow the right path? For the men before them would not have been surpassed in wisdom, as if to add something to what was truly spoken by those before them; but it was pleasing to them if they were able to learn what had been handed down before. The Gnostic alone, having grown old in these Scriptures, preserves the apostolic and ecclesiastical correct teaching of the doctrines, living very rightly according to the Gospel. He finds the proofs, as he may seek them, being sent forth by the Lord, from both the law and the prophets. For the life, I think, of the Gnostic is nothing else but deeds and words following the tradition of the Lord's follower. But "not all have the knowledge. For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers," The Apostle says, "that all were under the cloud, and partook of the spiritual food and drink," making it clear that not all who heard the word had reached the full measure of knowledge in deed and word; therefore he added, "But he was not pleased with all of them;" Who is this? He who said, "Why do you call me Lord, and do not do the will of my Father?" " That is, the teaching of the Savior, which is spiritual food for us, and a drink for the thirst of those who do not understand, the water of knowing life. Yes, he says, knowledge is said to "inflate." To those we say: Perhaps the seeming knowledge "inflates" is said, which one might suppose means to interpret the word as being blinded. But if, as is more likely, the Apostle's voice shows that it means to think greatly and truly, then the confused matter is solved; so, following the Scriptures, let us confirm what has been said. "The wisdom," Solomon says, "Wisdom breathed life into her children." Certainly not V 9, p 545 for the Lord did not create blindness in some regarding the teaching, but rather to trust in the truth and to be great-minded in the knowledge handed down through the Scriptures, preparing one to be proud over those dragged into sin; this is what the phrase "breathed life into" means." The phrase means: it teaches the grandeur of wisdom implanted in the children who follow learning. Immediately the Apostle says: "And I will know not the word of those born naturally, but the power," if you understand the Scripture with a great mind (which is truly so; and nothing is greater than truth). For here "the power of the naturally born children of wisdom." For example, "I will understand," he says, "if you think rightly about knowledge: 'For known is" according to David, "God is in Judah," that is, to those Israelites who have true knowledge. For Judaea is interpreted as confession. It is fittingly said by the Apostle: "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, in the saying, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"." For it is never right, just as those who follow heresies do, to commit adultery against the truth, nor to steal the rule of the Church, giving it up to private desires and ambitions, deceiving the neighbor; rather, loving them above all, it is fitting to teach to hold fast to that very truth. It has indeed been said directly, "Announce his deeds among the nations," so that they may not be judged, but those who heard beforehand may turn back; but those who deceive with their own tongues," have written warnings.

Chapter 17

Those who touch the words of the ungodly, leading others astray, and not rightly using the divine words but erring, neither enter the kingdom of heaven themselves, nor allow those they deceive to attain the truth; but without even having the key V 9, p 548 p 548 of entry themselves, they have some false key, and, as custom says, an anti-key, by which, without opening the curtain as we do through the Lord's tradition, they cut open a window and secretly dig through the wall of the Church, going beyond the truth, and become initiators into the souls of the ungodly. For they have made human gatherings later than the catholic Church; not many words are needed. For the Lord's teaching during his presence, beginning from Augustus and Tiberius Caesar, is completed in the middle of Augustus's reign; and the teaching of his apostles is completed up to the ministry of Paul under Nero; but later, around the time of Emperor Hadrian, those who invented heresies came into being, and they extended their age even up to Antoninus the Elder, just as Basileides, even if Glaucias is called a teacher, as they boast, is an interpreter of Peter. And so they also claim that Valentinus heard Theodotus; this man was a companion of Paul. For Marcion, having lived in the same time according to them, as an elder he joined with the younger ones; after him, when Simon was preaching briefly, he listened to Peter. Since these things are so, it is clear from the earlier and most true Church that these later heresies, and even those that came after them in time, are innovations and falsifications. From what has been said, I think it is clear that there is one true Church, the one truly ancient, into which the just are counted according to their purpose; for there is one God and one Lord, and for this reason the most precious unity is praised, being a likeness of the unity of the one beginning. The one Church is joined together by the nature of the one, but heresies force it to be cut into many parts. Therefore, according to substance and according to thought, according to origin and according to excellence, we say that the ancient and universal Church alone exists, united in one faith according to the proper covenants, but more so according to the one covenant of God through different times, who by the will of one Lord gathers those already appointed, whom God foreknew would be righteous before the foundation of the world. But also the excellence of the Church, just like the origin of its composition, is in its unity, surpassing all else, and having nothing similar or equal to itself. The same applies also later on; the heresies are called by their names, such as those of Valentinus, Marcion, and Basilides, even if they claim the authority of Matthew. For the teaching of all the apostles became one, and so did the tradition. Others are named after places, like the Peratics. Others are named after nations, like that of the Phrygians. Others are named after their practices, like that of the Encratites. Others are named after their peculiar doctrines, like those of the Docetes and the Hematitans. Others are named after their assumptions and honors, like the Cainites and the Ophians. Others are named after those who unlawfully practiced and dared, like the Simonian Entychites.

Chapter 18

Now then, having shown a brief example to those who love to see the Church, from the law concerning sacrifices, both about the common Jews and about the heresies secretly distinguished, as unclean from the divine Church concerning clean and unclean animals, let us stop the discussion. For the Scriptures hand over to God what is clean and acceptable from the priests, who divide and chew over the matter, so that it may be offered to the Father and to the Son through faith.

Those who live righteously follow the path of the righteous; for this is the firmness of those who divide, who study and reflect on the words of God day and night, and who carry them up in the vessel of the soul's teachings. The law allegorizes this as the chewing of a clean animal, which is also a kind of gnostic exercise. But whatever has neither of these qualities, nor the other, it sets apart as unclean.

Immediately, those who chew but do not divide are a riddle for most Jews; they have the words of God on their lips, but they do not have the faith and foundation through the Son to the Father, supported by truth. Hence, the kind of food they feed on is slippery, so that they are not cloven-footed, nor supported by the double faith. "No one, it says, knows the Father except the Son and the one to whom the Son reveals him."

On the other hand, those who are unclean are likewise those who divide but do not chew. For these are the heretics, who have come in the name of the Father and the Son, but who weaken and destroy the precise clarity of the words, and who approach the works of righteousness more completely, but not more accurately, even if they do approach them. To such people the Lord says, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" But all who neither divide nor chew are entirely unclean.

But you, O Megarians (Theognis says), are neither third nor fourth,

Neither twelfth, nor in word, nor in number,

"But rather like the dust that the wind blows away from the face of the earth, and like a drop from a jar." Having explained these things to us, and the moral way as if signed briefly in a summary, as we promised, and having scattered the living sparks of true knowledge's teachings, so that it would not be easy for the uninitiated to find the holy traditions, let us proceed to the promise.

The Stromateis seem somehow not to be trained in paradises, but rather those planted in the element V 9, p 557 p 557 for the pleasure of the eye; but the mountain is more like a certain thick shade, planted with cypresses and plane trees, with laurel and ivy, with apple trees and olive trees together, and fig trees, intentionally mixed planting of both fruit-bearing and fruitless trees, so that those who dare to steal and take away the crops at the proper times might be caught, while the Scripture remains hidden.

From these, then, the farmer, having transplanted and replanted, will arrange a beautiful garden and a pleasant grove. Therefore, the Stromateis do not care about order or expression; wherever they want, they even purposely do not want the words to be Greek, and they secretly scatter the teachings, and they do not make them according to the truth, though some might happen to be diligent and inventive in preparing them. For there are many and varied temptations because of the differences among the fish.

And now, after this seventh one, we will make the Stromateus speech from another beginning.

Discourse 8

Chapter 1

But not even the oldest of the philosophers were inclined to dispute and be at a loss, we might say, those who truly hold to genuine philosophy, whom Scripture directly encourages to investigate and seek for discovery. For the younger philosophers among the Greeks, driven by empty and incomplete ambition, are led into useless babble both critically and contentiously. On the other hand, the foreign philosophy, casting out all strife, says, "Seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; ask, and it will be given to you." The speech that goes toward questioning and answering knocks on the door of truth according to appearance; and once the obstacles to inquiry are removed, scientific knowledge comes about. To those who thus knock, I think, what is sought is opened. And to those who thus ask for insights according to the Scriptures, the gift of God-given knowledge is granted in a graspable way, through truly shining logical inquiry.

For it is not possible to find without seeking; nor to seek without investigating; nor to investigate without unfolding and spreading out the question toward clarity, leading to what is sought; nor again to allow every examination without finally receiving the reward of the knowledge sought. But it is possible to find for the one who seeks; to seek, if he thinks he does not know before. Led by desire toward the discovery of the good, he seeks with gratitude, without rivalry, without ambition, asking and answering, and also examining the things said. For those who have understanding ought to make inquiries not only into the divine Scriptures but also into common concepts, toward some useful end that concludes in discovery.

Another place and crowd welcomes the restless of men and the marketplace of clever ideas; but the lover of truth, who is also a knower, ought to be peaceful and proper in his inquiries, coming to knowledge through scientific proof, without greed and with love of truth.

Chapter 2

What other method could be better or clearer as a beginning for such a teaching than to go through the proposed name in words so clearly as to follow all those who agree? Is then such a name of demonstration, like the sound of a flute, only a noise, meaning nothing? And how is it that neither the philosopher, nor the speaker, nor even the judge, speaks of the demonstration as a meaningless name, nor does anyone among those judging fail to understand the meaning, that it does not exist? At once, philosophers provide the demonstration as a substance, each in a different way. Therefore, concerning anything sought, if someone thinks correctly, they would not bring the argument back to any other agreed starting point than what is agreed by all people of the same nation and language to be meant by the name. Then, starting from here, it is necessary to seek whether the meaning of the term exists or not. Next, if it is shown to exist, one must carefully investigate its nature, what kind it is, and whether it ever goes beyond the given order. If it is not enough to simply state the opinion about what is sought (for it is also allowed to respond to the one who opposes, as he wishes), one must trust what has been said; if the judgment about it refers to something equally disputed, and that again refers to another equally disputed thing, it will go on endlessly and be unprovable; but if the trust in what is agreed upon by all refers to something universally acknowledged, that must be made the starting point of the teaching. Therefore, every proposed name must be taken into an argument that is agreed upon and clear to those sharing in the inquiry, becoming the starting point of the teaching and explaining the discovery of what is sought. Then let the name "the sun" be proposed. The Stoics say, then, that this is a "mental fire kindled from the waters of the sea"." Is not the explanation of that name less clear, needing another proof to show whether it is true? It is better, then, to say in common and clear language that the brightest of those moving in the sky is called the sun; for this explanation, I think, is more trustworthy and clearer, and is agreed upon alike by all.

Chapter 3

Since in this way all people would agree that the proof is reasonable, providing faith to those who doubt from what is agreed upon. Not only is it called proof, faith, and knowledge, but also foreknowledge is spoken of in two ways: one is scientific and certain, the other is only hopeful. Most importantly, then, proof is called that which places scientific faith into the minds of those learning; the other is called opinion-based. Just as a person is truly a person, one who has common sense, while another is wild and beast-like. So too the comic poet said, as "a man is charming, he would be a man if he truly were one." V 9, p 565 p 565." And the same applies to the ox, the horse, and the dog, apart from the virtue or vice of the animal; for looking to the perfection of the kind, we come to the most important of the signs. At once we understand a doctor as one who lacks nothing of the power of medicine; and a knowledgeable person as one who lacks nothing of scientific understanding. And there is a difference between an indication and a syllogism: in an indication, the thing indicated is one and the same as the demonstrative; for example, we say that pregnancy is an indication that a woman is no longer a virgin. But in a syllogism, from one thing that is taken, more than one thing follows; for example, if it happened that Byzantines were betrayed by Python, not just one but many things are taken as demonstrative. And to conclude is to reason from agreed-upon premises, while to demonstrate is to conclude from true premises; so the usefulness of demonstration is something composite, both from taking what is received as true in relation to what is sought, and from bringing a conclusion that follows from them. If the first is not present, or the second does not follow from it, then he has not demonstrated, but only reasoned. For to reason is only to bring a fitting conclusion from the premises; but for each of the premises to be true is not just to reason, but also to have demonstrated. To conclude, as is clear from the very name, is to lead to the end. The end in every argument is surely the thing sought; and this is what is called the conclusion. No simple and first argument is called a syllogism, even if it is true; rather, it is at least composed of three such parts, two as premises and one as conclusion. Either all proofs require demonstration, or some of them are certain in themselves. But if the first is true, asking for the proof of every demonstration will lead us to infinity, and so demonstration will be overturned; but if the second is true, then these very certain principles will become the foundations of demonstrations. Immediately the philosophers admit that the principles of all things are indemonstrable; so if there is demonstration, it is necessary that everything prior be certain in itself; this is called first and indemonstrable. Therefore, all demonstration rests on faith in the indemonstrable. There could also be other principles of demonstrations after the source from faith, those clearly shown to both sense and understanding. What happens to the senses is simple and unsolvable; what happens to the understanding is simple, logical, and first; but what comes from these is compound, yet no less clear, certain, and more logical than the first. It follows, then, and is contested, that we all naturally have a special power of reasoning. If then there is found a kind of reasoning that is able to produce belief from things already believed to those not yet believed, we will say that this is the very essence of demonstration. It has been said that the kind of belief and the kind of demonstration are twofold: persuasion affects only the minds of those who hear, while demonstration produces knowledge. If then someone were to begin from things clear to the senses and the mind, and then bring in the proper conclusion, this truly demonstrates. But if someone begins only from commonly accepted opinions, and not from first principles—that is, not from things clear to the senses or the mind—if the conclusion is proper, it reasons correctly but does not make the demonstration scientific; but if the conclusion is not proper, it does not even reason from the starting point. Demonstration differs from analysis: for each thing to be demonstrated is shown through certain things already demonstrated by others, until we reach those that are trustworthy by themselves or those clear to the senses and the mind—which is called analysis. Demonstration, however, is when the thing sought is reached from the first principles through all the intermediate steps. Therefore, the man who demonstrates must take great care with the truth of the premises, but pay no attention to the names, whether he wants to call them axioms, or propositions, or premises. Similarly, one must take great care about what the subjects of things are concluded from in this way; whether someone wants to call the argument conclusive, or definitive, or syllogistic, they should pay very little attention to the name. I say that the demonstrator must always keep these two things: to take the premises as true, and to bring a conclusion that follows from them; which some also call the "application". " They call it the "application," the thing brought to the premises concerning each problem about what is being sought. The premises must be different, but related to the problem presented, and it is necessary that the problem takes part in the argument presented to it. This argument must be agreed upon by all. But if premises unrelated to the problem are taken, it is not possible to find anything good from it, since the whole problem, which is also called the question of nature, is ignored. In all cases of what is being sought, there is something known beforehand, which is absolutely trusted without proof because it is certain in itself; this must serve as the starting point for the inquiry and as the standard for judging what seems to have been found.

Chapter 4

For every inquiry is found from knowledge that already exists; and this knowledge that existed before what is sought is sometimes the essence itself, simply known, while its activities are unknown (such as stones and all living things, whose operations we do not know), or it is the knowledge of its passions, or powers, or simply one of the things belonging to beings. At times, some of these powers or passions are known, or some of these, like the desires and passions of the soul, are unknown and yet the essence is sought. In many cases, when our own understanding is applied to itself, all these things are considered to be a search for some of the essences, if indeed it is so; for by taking the concepts of both the essence and the activity in the mind, we thus come to the inquiry. There are also cases where, although we know the activities along with the essences, we do not know the passions. The method of discovery is as follows: it is necessary to start from what is known about the problems themselves. Often, the form of the expression deceives and confuses the mind, making it difficult to easily find from what difference something arises. For example, if the thing conceived is not an animal, since we have the idea of both an animal and something conceived, we ask whether what is conceived is an animal in existence. This means whether the conceived essence has the power to move, and also whether it has sensation. Therefore, the inquiry is about activities and passions based on a previously known essence. Immediately, then, one must question the person who puts forward the idea: what exactly is called an animal? This must be done especially when we see the name used in different ways. It must also be investigated whether the meaning is disputed because of the name, or whether it is agreed upon by everyone. For if we say to call an animal whatever grows and is nourished, then again we will ask whether plants are also considered animals. And after saying this, one must then show what it is that is conceived as growing and being nourished. For Plato (21-22) also calls plants animals, as they share only the third kind of soul, the desiring soul; Aristotle, however, thinks that plants share the natural and nutritive soul, but does not consider them worthy to be called animals. For it is only the participation in the other soul, the sensitive soul, that he considers worthy of being called an animal. Indeed, the Stoics already call the vegetative power a soul. When the one who claims that plants are also animals is refuted, we will show that he is contradicting himself. For having defined an animal as something that is nourished and grows, but then denying that a plant is an animal, he seems to be saying nothing else than that what is nourished and grows is both an animal and not an animal. What then does he want to learn? Let him say: Is what grows and is nourished by the stomach, or has some kind of sensation, or even shares in movement by impulse? According to Plato, the plant is both living and animated; but according to Aristotle, it is not yet living, for it lacks sensation; yet it is already animated; for the living substance is an animated, sensing being. According to the Stoics, the plant is neither animated nor living; for the living being is an animated substance. If then the living being is animated, and the soul is a sensing nature, it is clear that the animated is already sensing. If then the questioner, when asked in return whether what is nourished and grows by the stomach is still called living, answers yes, the response applies to what is nourished and grows. But if he claims that what he seeks is whether the growing thing is already sensing, or even has some movement by its own impulse, then the investigation of the matter becomes clear, no longer stuck in the deception about the name.

But if he does not answer the question asked, nor wishes to say what he means, or by what feature he applies the name living, he has made a proposition and commands us to argue among ourselves, being contentious and thus made known. If indeed there are two ways—one according to question and answer, and the other according to detailed explanation—and he denies one of these, let him listen carefully to all that we say in full about the problem; then, when we have finished, he will be able to take up each part separately for discussion. But if he tries to interrupt the examination by asking questions, it is clear that he does not want to listen at all. But if he chooses to answer, first of all he must be asked why he applies the name living to the thing; and when he answers this, he must again be asked what exactly he means by the growing thing—whether he means the thing growing by the stomach, or those already formed and living, and the seed itself cast down, whether he wants to say that the thing growing by the stomach is what he means; or only those that are jointed and already formed, called embryos. When he answers even this, one must then finish the matter in order and proceed to teach. But if he wants us to speak without answering himself, let him listen: Since you do not want to say according to what you mean by what you stated (for in that case I would not be speaking about meanings, but rather I would be looking at the things themselves), know that you have done something like this, for example, if you said that a dog is a living thing; then I might reasonably ask, "Of what kind of dog?" For I would go through the kinds of dogs one by one—those on land, those in the sea, and those under the starry sky, but also those of Diogenes and others; for I would not be able to guess whether you are asking about all dogs or just some particular one. So what you will do afterward, learn this already: clearly say about which one you are asking. But if you are turning to names, the thing called a name is clearly this: it is neither a living being nor a plant, but rather a name and a sound, and a body, and a being, and something, and more than a living being in every way. And if you put this forward, you have the answer. Certainly not is the thing signified by the name called a living being; rather, that is both incorporeal, and something to be spoken of, and a thing, and a thought,

V 9, p 577 p 577

and more than a living being in every way. But the nature of a living being is something else; for the thing itself being sought was clearly shown, I mean the nature of the embryo, what it is like; the question about the things signified by the name living being is a different problem. I say then, if you call a living being one that is able to sense and to move by impulse, a living being is not simply one that moves by impulse and senses; for it can also sleep, or not sense when the senses are not present. But the one that is naturally able either to see or to sense is the mark of a living being. For something like this is signified from these things: first, if the thing moved by impulse is able not to sense or to move, which is what is to be examined; second, if the thing moved is ever able to sense or to be moved by impulse; and no one clearly seeks what is signified by this. It was asked whether the embryo is already a living being or still a plant; then the meaning of the word living being was taken up in order to make it clear. Having found that it differs from the non-living by sensing and moving by impulse, we again defined it by the things related to it, saying that one is the potential living being, which is not yet sensing and moving but will be such at some point; the other is the living being already existing in action. Of this, one is already active, the other is able to act but is resting or sleeping; this is what is being sought. For it must not be said that the embryo is a living being simply because it is nourished, since this separates it from the essence of what is being sought, while the mind attends to other things that happen differently. The proof, which is a reason, is set as common to all things found and said, trusting something different from others. Of the things that must be trusted for the thing sought, it is necessary for the learner both to agree and to know them. The beginning of all these things is what is clear to both sense and understanding. The first proof, then, is made up of all these things; and the one that has already been demonstrated, by completing something else through this, is no less trustworthy than the earlier one. However, it cannot be called first, because it is not completed from first propositions. The first kind of difference in what is sought, among three, has been shown; I mean the ignorance of some of the works or sufferings of the essence as it is known. The second kind was a difference of problems, in which we all know the works and sufferings, but we do not know the essence; for example, in which part of the body the ruling part of the soul is.

Chapter 5

The same attempt at proof also applies to this problem. Some therefore say that they do not allow there to be more than one principle in one living being. So, they do not allow there to be more than one homogeneous principle in one living being; but since the kinds differ, nothing is unreasonable about that. To the Pyrrhonians, they say, suspension of judgment is certain to be nothing; it is clear that, starting from itself, it will first cancel itself out. Either then they allow that something true exists, and it is not necessary to suspend judgment about everything; or they hesitate, saying that nothing true exists; and it is clear that even this will not be true at first. For either this is true, or it is not true. But if it is true, they allow that something unheard-of is true; but if it is not true, the true things that it wanted to destroy remain. For in showing that the suspension of judgment is false, it shows that the things being denied are true, just like the dream that says all dreams are false; since it itself is denying, it becomes master over the others. And in general, if it is true, it will make itself the beginning, not being a suspension of judgment from something else, but first from itself; then, if it is caught in that it is a human or that it suspends judgment, it is clear that it does not suspend judgment. But how could he even answer the question asked? For concerning this very thing, it is clear that it does not suspend judgment; indeed, it even declares that it does suspend judgment. And if it is necessary to be persuaded that it suspends judgment about everything, we will first consider it concerning the suspension itself, whether it should be believed or not. Moreover, if this very thing is the truth—that not knowing is the truth—then no true beginning is given from that. But if he says that even this is questionable, that not knowing the truth, in this very thing they give the true as known, in which the suspension concerning it seems not to be certain. If heresy is a leaning toward opinions, or, as some say, a leaning toward many opinions following one another and including appearances, contributing to living well; and an opinion is a certain logical grasp; a grasp is a habit and consent of the mind; not only the skeptics, but also every dogmatist is accustomed to hold back at times, either because of weakness of opinion, or because of uncertainty about things, or because of the equal strength of arguments.

Chapter 6

The approaches and principles of inquiries about

these things and are among these.

It is necessary first to state the definitions, the proofs, and the divisions, and in what way the thing sought is spoken of; both the homonyms must be handled carefully, and the synonyms clearly arranged according to their meanings. Then it must be asked whether the subject in question is considered in relation to other things, or taken by itself; after this, if there is any, what it is, and what has happened to it; or also, if there is, what it is, and why it is. For the consideration of these things, knowledge of each particular case and of the general also contributes, including the earlier points, those concerning the differences, and their divisions. Induction provides the universal and the definition; the divisions give the species and what it was to be and the indivisible; theory of the "how much" gives the grasp of the proper; the perplexities supply the differences according to each and the proofs, and generally support the theory, along with what follows from it. From all these, knowledge and truth are present. Again, the thing defined comes from the division; for the definition is taken both before (V 9, p 584) and after the division. It is before when it is allowed or proposed; it is after when it is demonstrated. And according to perception, the universal is grasped from each particular; for perception is the beginning of induction, and the universal is the end. Induction, then, does not show what something is, but that it is or is not; division shows that it is present; and definition, like division, teaches the essence and what it is, but not whether it exists. Proof, however, shows all three: whether it exists, what it is, and that it exists. And it makes clear why it is. There are also some definitions that include the cause. To know is to see the cause; and there are four causes: matter, the mover, the form, and the end. The definition will be in four parts. First, then, one must take the genus, in which the closest of the above are found; after that, the specific difference. The sequence of the differences, being cut and divided, completes the answer to what it was to be. It is not necessary to state all the differences of each, but only those that define the species. Geometric analysis and synthesis resemble dialectical division and definition; and from division, we return to the simpler and more basic things. We divide the general kind of the thing sought into species that belong to it; for example, for the human, which is a kind of animal, we divide into the visible species, mortal and immortal; and so, always cutting what seems to be complex kinds into simpler species, we come to what is not sought and no longer admits division. For when we divide the animal into mortal and immortal, then the mortal into land and water, and again the land animal into flying and walking, and so on, by dividing the species closest to the thing sought, which also includes the thing sought, we arrive by cutting to the simplest species, which is nothing else but only includes the thing sought. Again, we divide the walking animal into rational and irrational; then, choosing the species closest to the human from the division, and combining them into one statement, we give the definition of human, which is a mortal, land, walking, rational animal. Therefore, division holds the order of matter, while the definition seeks the simplicity of the name; the definition, when combined and constructed by the artisan and creator, presents the knowledge of being. We do not have universal concepts of these things. We say that the interpretive statements of these concepts exist; for from these concepts, divisions also arise. Some of the divisions divide the thing being divided into species, like a genus; others divide it into parts, like a whole; and others divide it into accidents. The division of the whole into parts is, for the most part, thought of according to size; but the division into accidents can never be completely grasped, even though each being must necessarily have a substance. Therefore, both of these divisions are faulty, but only the division of a genus into species is sound, by which both the sameness according to genus and the difference according to specific differences are defined. A species is always seen in some part; yet not the other way around—if something is a part of something else, it does not become a species. For example, the hand is a part of a man, but it is not a species. And the genus exists within the species; for the animal is both in the man and in the ox. But the whole does not exist in the parts; for the man does not exist in the feet. Therefore, the species of the part is more proper; and whatever is predicated of the genus will also be predicated of the species. The best way, then, is to consider the genus as having two kinds; but if not, then three. The kinds, then, are divided more generally by being marked by both the same and the different; then, divided by what is generally signified, they are marked. For each of the kinds is either a substance; just as when we say, "Among beings, some are bodies, others are not bodies"; or quantity, or relation, or place, or time, or action, or passion. Therefore, whoever has knowledge of anything will also give its definition; just as one who is not able to grasp and define something by reason would never be knowledgeable about it. And from ignorance of the definition come many disputes and deceptions. For if one who knows the thing has in mind the knowledge of it, and is also able to explain clearly in words what he thinks, then the explanation of the mind is a definition. It is necessary, therefore, that the one who knows the thing be able to give its definition. Difference is also understood by definitions, which hold the order of a sign for the definition. At least for the definition of "man," adding "laughing" makes the whole: a rational, mortal, land-dwelling, walking, laughing animal. For signs are those things added to the definition by difference that belong to the things themselves; but the nature of those things is not shown. Difference is said to be the proper definition; and since the one having the difference differs from all others, and alone exists and is predicated of the thing in the definitions, it is necessary first to take the genus as the leader and foundation. In the longer definitions, the number of species found is through the ten categories; but in the shorter ones, taking the preceding relevant species, it marks the essence and nature of the thing; and the shortest consists of three, the genus and two of the most necessary species. This is done for the sake of brevity. We say then: A human is a laughing animal; what must be added to the thing being defined as an exception is either its own special virtue or its own particular action, and some other things like these. The definition, then, being explanatory of the essence of the thing, is unable to include exactly the nature of the thing; but through the main species it makes clear the essence, and the definition has the essence almost in the form of a quality.

Chapter 7

The causes of suspension in judgment are two main ones: first, the changeable and unstable nature of human opinion, which by its very nature is generative of disagreement—either disagreement among people with one another or within themselves; second, the disagreement among things that exist, which rightly has been made the cause of suspension in judgment. For we have come to suspension neither by being able to believe all opinions because of the conflict, nor by disbelieving all because it is said that all are untrustworthy and all are included among the untrustworthy; nor by believing some and disbelieving others because of equality.

Of these two original causes of suspension, the uncertainty of the mind is the source of disagreement; and disagreement is the close cause of suspension in judgment. Hence life is full of courts and councils, and generally of choosing between what is called good and evil, which is the result of a perplexed mind and the weakness of evidence concerning the things themselves.

The shelves are full of books, and the writings and treatises of those who disagree in their doctrines, each confident that he knows the truth about what exists.

Chapter 8

There are three things concerning the voice: first, the names, which are symbols of meanings according to what was said before, and also follow the subjects; second, the meanings, which are likenesses and impressions of the subjects. Therefore, the meanings are the same for everyone, because they all come from the same impression of the subjects; but the names are no longer the same, because of the different dialects. Third, the underlying things, from which the meanings are impressed upon us. Grammar traces the names back to the general elements in chapter 24; for the elements must be definite. Since each kind is infinite, there can be no knowledge of them; but knowledge is specific, resting on universal theorems and definite principles. Therefore, the particulars are traced back to the universal. The inquiry of the philosophers concerns both the meanings and the underlying things. Regarding these things, the particulars, some infinite elements of them were found, under which everything sought is included; and if it appeared to be under one or more of these elements, we would show it to be so; but if it escapes all, it does not exist at all. Of the things said, some are said without combination, like "man" and "runs," and those that do not make a statement, which indeed have truth or falsehood; but of those said with combination, some indicate substance, some what it does, some quantity, some relation, some place, some time, some position, some having, some doing, some suffering; these we say are the elements of beings, those in matter and after the principles; for these are observable by reason; but the immaterial are grasped only by the mind at first approach; of those subjected under the ten categories, some are said by themselves, like the nine categories, and some in relation to something. And again, among the things under these ten categories, some are synonyms, like ox and man, as in V 9, p 592, p 592, animal; for they are synonyms, whose name is common to both, that is, animal; and the meaning is the same, that is, the term, that is, a living substance; but heteronyms are those that belong to the same subject but have different names, like ascent and descent; for the way is the same, either upward or downward. Another kind of heteronyms is like horse and black, and name and word, each having a different meaning from the other, and not sharing in the subject; others must be spoken of, which are not heteronyms. Polysemous are those having the same meaning but a different name; like sword, blade, and saber. Paronyms are those named differently but related to something, like "brave" from "bravery." Homonyms are those using the same name but not having the same meaning; for example, "man," both the living being and the written character. Of the homonyms, some are so by chance, like Ajax the Locrian and Ajax the Salaminian; others are by intention. Among these, some are by similarity, like "man," both the living being and the written character; others are by analogy, like the feet of Mount Ida and our feet, because they are lower; and others are by function, like the foot of a ship, by which the ship sails, and our foot, by which we move. The term homonyms is said to come from "the same" and "toward the same"; for example, from the doctor, both the medical book and the medical chisel, because they are used by the doctor and relate to the same medical purpose.

Chapter 9

Of causes, some are preliminary; others are conjoining; others are cooperating; and others are those without which it cannot be. Preliminary causes are those that first provide a starting point for something to come into being, like beauty for those who are uncontrolled in love; for having seen it, it alone inspires the erotic feeling, though not by force. Conjoining causes, which are also called synonymous and self-sufficient, because they are independently productive of the result. Next, all the causes must be shown to the learner; the father is a preliminary cause of learning; the teacher is a conjoining cause; the nature of the learner is a cooperating cause; and time is the cause without which there is no reason. A cause is properly called that which actively brings about something; for we say that iron is a cutting tool not only when it cuts, but also when it does not cut. Thus, then, the cause means both: that which is already active, and that which is not yet active but has the potential to act. Some say that causes are bodies, while others say they are non-bodies; some say that the body is the proper cause, but the non-body is called a cause by way of extension and in a secondary sense. Others, on the contrary, reverse this, saying that causes are properly non-bodies, and bodies are causes only by extension; for example, cutting, being an activity, is immaterial, and it is the cause of cutting, since the activity is immaterial, while the knife and the thing being cut are bodies. The cause of something is said in three ways: first, the one who is the cause, like the sculptor; second, that of which it is the cause, the becoming of the statue; and third, that to which it is the cause, like the material; for bronze is the cause of the statue's becoming. Becoming and cutting, which are the things of which there are causes, are activities and are immaterial. For what kind of predicates, or, as some say, of what is said (for Cleantus and Archedemos call the predicates "said"), are the causes? Or rather, the causes will be said to be causes of predicates, such as "it is being cut," of which the case is "the cutting"; and the causes of statements, like "the ship is becoming," of which the case again is "the ship's becoming." Aristotle calls these kinds of things predications, such as house, ship, burning, cutting; and it is agreed that the case is immaterial. Therefore, that sophism is solved in this way. What you say passes through your mouth; which is true. But you say "house," so the house passes through your mouth; which is false. For we do not say the house as a body, but the case, which is immaterial, of which the house happens to be. And we say that the builder builds according to the relation to what will come into being. Thus we say that a cloak is woven; for the maker shows the activity. The maker and the cause are not different; they are the same for both the cloak and the house. For whoever is the cause of coming into being is also, in that way, the maker of coming into being. The same is therefore both the cause and the maker, and through it. And if something is both cause and maker, it is certainly also the through which; but if something is the through which, it is not necessarily also the cause. Many things come together for one result, through which the end happens; but not all are causes. For Medea would not have killed her children if she had not been angry; nor would she have been angry if she had not been jealous; nor this, if she had not been in love; nor this, if Jason had not sailed to Colchis; nor this, if the Argo had not been built; nor this, if the wood had not been cut from Helios. For in all these things, which happen through them, not all turn out to be causes of the killing of the children, only Medea herself; therefore, what does not prevent it is inactive; therefore, what does not prevent is not a cause, but what prevents is. For the cause is understood in the acting and doing of something. Moreover, what does not prevent is separate from what happens; but the cause is connected to what happens. Therefore, what does not prevent would not be a cause. For this reason, then, it is accomplished because the one able to prevent is not present. The cause is said in four ways: the making cause, like the sculptor; the material cause, like the bronze; the formal cause, like the engraving; and the final cause, like the prize of the trainer. Of these, the bronze is not without reason considered necessary for the statue to come into being, and similarly, it is a cause. For everything without which the result cannot possibly come into being is necessarily a cause; but a cause not simply by itself—for what is without which is not a mere holder, but a co-worker. And everything that acts provides the result with the suitability of what is affected; for the cause arranges, and each thing suffers according to what it is naturally fitted for, with the suitability being present, and those things without which it is not without reason held. Therefore, the cause is powerless without suitability; it is not a cause, but a co-worker; since every cause is understood in the action. The earth itself could not make itself; so it would not even be a cause of itself. It is laughable to say that fire is not the cause of burning, but the wood is; nor that the knife is not the cause of cutting, but the flesh is; nor that in wrestling the strength of the opponent causes the wrestler to be overcome, rather than his own weakness. The binding cause does not require time; for the burning agent provides pain at the same moment it is pressed against the flesh. Some of the preliminary causes require time until the result comes about; others do not, like the falling of a broken bone. Surely these things are not called timeless because they lack time, but because of a lessening of time, just as "sudden" is not something that happens without time. Every cause, as a cause, is grasped by the mind in relation to something, and is thought of with respect to something: indeed, with respect to some result, like a knife is for cutting; and with respect to something suitable, like fire is to wood; for fire will not burn diamond. The cause of the "with respect to something": for it is understood according to the relation toward another; so we add two things in order to understand the cause as a cause. The same V 9, p 597 p 597, and a discourse about the creator and maker and father. Nothing is the cause of itself, nor is anyone the father of himself; for the first will become the second. The cause acts and arranges, while that which comes from the cause suffers and is arranged. But the same thing taken toward itself cannot both act and be arranged at the same time, nor can it be both son and father. And in another way, the cause of what comes from it precedes it in being, like a knife precedes the cutting. But the same thing cannot at the same time both precede the matter as its cause and be later and come after, since this is the work of the cause. The being of becoming is different; so the cause is of what comes to be, and the father is of the son. For the same thing cannot at the same time both be and become; therefore, nothing is the cause of itself. They are not causes of each other, but causes for each other; for the spleen's condition, which comes first, is not the cause of the fever, but of the fever's coming to be; and the fever, which comes first, is not the spleen, but of the increase of the condition. In the same way, virtues are causes for each other in not being separated, because of their following one another; and the stones on the scissors are causes for each other of the cutting action, but they are not causes of each other; and the teacher and the learner are causes for each other of the progress action. They are called causes for each other, sometimes of the same thing, as the merchant and the shopkeeper are causes for each other of making a profit; and sometimes of different things, like the knife and the flesh: the knife causes the flesh to be cut; the flesh causes the knife to cut the eye instead of the eye, and the soul instead of the soul. For the one who strikes someone fatally is the cause of that person's death, or of the death coming to be; but the one fatally struck by him has him as a cause in return, not as the cause of how it happened, but in another way. For he becomes the cause of death to him, but death does not in turn cause the fatal wound to him; rather, it is the one wounded himself. So, he himself became the cause of one thing, but had another as the cause of something else. And the one who wrongs another becomes the cause of the wrong done to the one wronged; but the law commanding retaliation is not a cause of wrongdoing, rather it is a cause of justice for one and of discipline for the other. So, they are not causes of each other as causes, which is what causes truly are. It is still being asked whether many things together from one cause become many causes; for men, gathered together, are the causes of the ship being dragged down, but along with others, unless something else is also a co-cause. Others say that if there are many causes separately, each one becomes the cause of one. The virtues, being many, happen to be the causes of one's happiness; likewise, there are many causes of both warming and feeling pain. Could it be, then, that the many virtues are one in power, just like the things that warm and the things that cause pain? And since the number of virtues happens to be one in kind, it becomes the cause of one's happiness? In reality, the preliminary causes of one thing become many, both in kind and in form; in kind, for example, of being sick in some way, such as cold, sweating, fatigue, loss of appetite, drunkenness; and in form, of fever. But the contributing causes are only in kind, no longer also in form. Since the cause of smelling good is one in kind, there are many causes in form; for example, incense, rose, saffron, storax, myrrh, perfume; for the rose would not be as fragrant as the myrrh. The same cause becomes the cause of opposites; sometimes because of the size and power of the cause, and sometimes because of the suitability of the thing affected. Because of the kind of power, the same string, by its tension or relaxation, gives a sharp or deep sound; but because of the suitability of those affected, honey sweetens the healthy, but makes the feverish bitter. And one and the same wine leads some to anger, others to calm; and the same sun melts the wax but dries the clay. Of causes, some are obvious, others are grasped by reasoning; some are hidden; others are found by calculation. And of the hidden causes, some are hidden for a time, concealed at certain times but at other times clearly seen; others are hidden by nature, unable to become clear at any time. And among those hidden by nature, some are graspable—these are not truly hidden, as they are understood through signs by reasoning, like the symmetry of the parts observed by reason; others are ungraspable, unable in any way to be understood, and these are truly hidden, to be spoken of only in general. And some causes are preliminary, others are connective, some are joint causes, and others are cooperative; some belong to what is natural, others to what is unnatural, some to disease, and according to what has occurred, some are from conditions, others from their intensity, and others from time and circumstances. Of the preliminary causes, when they are removed, only the result remains; but a connective cause is one that, while present, the result remains, and when it is removed, the result is removed. The connective cause is also called autonomous, because it alone is fully effective in producing the result. But if the cause shows independent activity, the cooperative cause means assistance and working together with another. If nothing is supplied, it will not be called a cooperative cause; but if something is supplied, it certainly becomes a cause of what is supplied, that is, of what is produced through it. A cooperative cause is one whose presence makes the result happen; obviously it is present, but it is unclear when it is not obvious. And the co-cause is also from the class of causes, just as a fellow soldier is a soldier, and a fellow youth is a youth. The cooperative cause helps the active cause in applying pressure to produce the effect; but the co-cause is not of the same concept. For a co-cause can exist even if it is not an active cause. For the co-cause is understood together with another, and not by itself able to produce the result on its own, being a cause together with a cause. The cooperative cause differs from the co-cause in that the co-cause does not produce the result on its own; but the cooperative cause, while not producing it by itself, comes alongside another who does produce it on their own, and helps them to make the result happen more strongly. Especially, the cooperative cause that comes before the main cause shows the power of the cause to extend itself.