Front Matter

Theophilus to Autolycus

ΘΕΟΦΙΛΟΥ ΠΡΟΣ ΑΥΤΟΛΥΚΟΝ

Theophilus of Antioch

Translated by Rick Brannan
with assistance from AI techniques

APPIAN WAY PRESS

THEOPHILUS TO AUTOLYCUS ΘΕΟΦΙΛΟΥ ΠΡΟΣ ΑΥΤΟΛΥΚΟΝ

Copyright 2025 by Rick Brannan

Published 2025 by Appian Way Press

Web: https://AppianWayPress.com

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About This Translation

This translation was created on 2025-06-06 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.

Theophilus to Autolycus

Book I

1. A multitude of words and smooth speech provide pleasure and praise to wretched men who have a corrupted mind for empty glory; but the lover of truth does not attend to polluted words, but examines the work of the word, what it is and of what kind.

Since then, my friend, you have astonished me with empty words, boasting in your gods, your stone and wooden ones, fir trees and carved and molded and painted ones, who neither see nor hear; for they are idols and works of human hands; moreover, you say that I am a Christian, as if bearing an evil name.

I indeed confess that I am a Christian, and I bear this God-loving name, hoping to be acceptable to God. For it is not, as you suppose, a difficult name of God; rather, it is so. Perhaps even you yourself, being useless to God, think thus concerning God.

2. But even if you say so, show me your God. And I would say to you, Show me your man, and I will show you my God. Since you must show, looking with the eyes of your soul, and the ears of your heart hearing, for just as those who see with the eyes of the body perceive the affairs of life and earthly matters, at the same time testing the differences, whether light or darkness, or white or black, or continuous or beautiful, or well-ordered and measured, or irregular and unmeasured, or beyond measure or truncated, likewise also the things falling under hearing, whether sharp-sounding or deep-sounding, or sweet-sounding. So it would be with regard to the ears of the heart and the eyes of the soul, being able to behold God. For God is seen by those able to behold Him, whenever they have the eyes of the soul opened. For all indeed have eyes, but some have them clouded and do not see the light of the sun. And not because the blind do not see, but already the light of the sun no longer shines for them. But let the blind blame themselves, and their own eyes. So also you, O man, have the eyes of your soul clouded by your sins and your wicked deeds. Just as a mirror is polished, so a person must have a pure soul. Therefore, if there is a speck of dust in the mirror, the face of the person cannot be seen in the mirror. Just so, whenever sin is in a person, such a person cannot behold God. Show then also yourself, if you are not an adulterer, if you are not a fornicator, if you are not a thief, if you are not a robber, if you are not a defrauder, if you are not a sodomite, if you are not an insolent person, if you are not a reviler, if you are not quick-tempered, if you are not envious, if you are not a braggart, if you are not arrogant, if you are not a striker, if you are not a lover of money, if you are not disobedient to your parents, if you do not sell your children. For God does not reveal Himself to those who do these things, unless first they cleanse themselves from every defilement. And so to you, everything grows dark, just like a burden of wood, whenever it happens that your eyes are unable to gaze upon the light of the sun. So also to you, O man, impieties grow darkened, preventing you from being able to see God.

3. You will say to me then: You who see, describe to me the form of God. Listen, O man: The form of God is ineffable and inexpressible, and cannot be seen by fleshly eyes. For He is uncontainable in glory, incomprehensible in magnitude, beyond thought in height, incomparable in strength, incompatible with wisdom, imitable in goodness, and indescribable in beauty of works. For if I say light, I speak of His creation; if I say word, I speak of His beginning; if I say mind, I speak of His understanding; if I say spirit, I speak of His breath; if I say wisdom, I speak of His offspring; if I say strength, I speak of His power; if I say might, I speak of His activity; if I say providence, I speak of His goodness; if I say kingdom, I speak of His glory; if I say lord, I speak of His judge; if I say judge, I speak of His righteousness; if I say father, I speak of all things; if I say fire, I speak of His wrath.

You will say to me then: Does God become angry? Indeed; He is angry with those who do evil, but He is good and kind and merciful toward those who love and fear Him; for He is a teacher of the godly and a father of the righteous, but a judge and punisher of the impious.

4. He is without beginning, because He is unbegotten; and immutable, because He is immortal. He is called God because He has placed all things upon His own security, and because He runs; and to run is to move, and to act, and to nourish, and to provide, and to govern, and to give life to all things. He is Lord because He rules over all; Father because He is before all; Creator and Maker because He is both creator and maker of all; Highest because He is above all; Almighty because He holds and contains all things. For the heights of the heavens, and the depths of the abysses, and the ends of the inhabited world are in His hand; and there is no place of His rest. The heavens are His work, the earth is His creation; the sea is His creature; man is His formation and image. The sun, moon, and stars are His elements, appointed for signs and seasons and days and years, for the service and subjection of men; and God made all things out of nothing into being, so that through His works His greatness might be known and understood.

5. Just as the soul in a man is not seen, being invisible to men, but through the movement of the body the soul is perceived; so it would be with God, who cannot be seen by human eyes; but through His providence and works He is seen and understood. For just as one who has observed a ship in the sea, equipped and running and entering a harbor, it is clear that the one steering it is the helmsman; so one must understand God to be the helmsman of all, even if He is not seen by fleshly eyes because He is uncontainable. For if a man cannot look upon the sun, a least element, because of the exceeding heat and power, how much less can a mortal man gaze upon the glory of God, being inexpressible?

For just as a grape, having a rind that encloses it within, has many partitions separated by membranes, and many seeds dwelling within it; so all creation is enclosed by the Spirit of God, and the spirit that encloses it together with creation is enclosed by the hand of God.

Therefore, just as the seed dwelling inside the grape cannot see the things outside the rind while being inside; so neither can man, enclosed together with all creation by the hand of God, see God.

Then an earthly king is believed to exist, although not seen by all, yet through his laws and ordinances, and authorities and powers and images he is understood; would you not wish to understand God through His works and powers?

6. Consider, O man, His works: the change of seasons according to times, and the turning of the airs, the well-ordered course of the elements, the orderly progression of days and nights, and of months and years; the varied beauty of seeds and plants and fruits; the manifold generation of four-footed beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of swimmers, both aquatic and marine; or the understanding given to these animals to beget and nourish not for their own use, but for the sake of man; the providence which God exercises in preparing food for every flesh; or the subjection which He has ordained, that all things be subject to humanity; the flow of sweet springs and unceasing rivers; the timely supply of dew and showers and rains; the manifold movement of the heavens; the rising of the Morning Star, announcing the coming of the perfect luminary; the conjunction of the Pleiades and Orion; the course of Arcturus and the other stars as they move in the circle of the sky, to which the manifold wisdom of God has given each its own name.

This God alone made light out of darkness, who brought forth light from His treasures, the storehouses of the south and the treasures of the abyss, and the boundaries of the seas, and the treasures of snow and hail; gathering waters in the storehouses of the abyss, and gathering darkness in His treasures; and bringing forth the sweet and desirable and pleasant light from His treasures; raising clouds from the ends of the earth and increasing lightning for rain; sending thunder as a warning and announcing the sound of thunder through the lightning, so that no soul, suddenly disturbed, might be chilled; and also measuring the sufficiency of the lightning descending from the heavens so as not to burn the earth; for if lightning were to take full power, it would burn the earth; and if thunder, it would destroy what is in it.

7. This is my God, the Lord of all, who alone stretched out the heaven, and set the breadth under the heaven; who stirs the depths of the sea, and makes its waves resound; who rules over its power, and calms the tossing of the waves; who founded the earth upon the waters, and gave it the spirit that nourishes it; for the breath quickens all things; if the spirit withdraws from itself, all things will perish.

You speak of Him, O man; you breathe His spirit, yet you are ignorant of Him. This has happened to you because of the blindness of your soul and the hardness of your heart. But if you will, you can be healed; give yourself to the physician, and he will open the eyes of your soul and heart.

Who is the physician? God, who heals and gives life through the Word and wisdom. God made all things through His Word and wisdom. By His Word the heavens were established, and by His Spirit all their power. His wisdom is supreme. God founded the earth by wisdom; He prepared the heavens by understanding; the abysses were broken open by His perception, and clouds poured down dew.

If you understand these things, O man, living purely, piously, and justly, you can see God. But before all, let faith and fear of God arise in your heart, and then you will understand these things. When you put off the mortal and put on incorruption, then you will see God according to your worth. For God will raise your flesh immortal together with the soul; and then, having become immortal, you will see the immortal, if you now believe in Him; and then you will know that you have spoken unjustly of Him.

8. But you disbelieve that the dead will be raised. When it shall be, then you will believe, whether willing or unwilling; and your faith will be counted as unbelief, if you do not believe now. But why do you disbelieve? Do you not know that faith precedes all things? For who can warm the earth, if he does not first believe the seed in the earth? Or who can cross the sea, if he does not first trust himself to the ship and the helmsman? And who, being sick, can be healed, if he does not first trust himself to the physician? What art or knowledge can one learn, if he does not first give himself and trust the teacher?

If then the farmer trusts the earth, and the sailor the ship, and the sick man the physician, will you not wish to trust yourself to God, having so many pledges from Him? For first, that He made you from non-being into being (for if your father were not, nor your mother, much more would you never have been), and fashioned you from a small and least drop of moist substance, which itself was never; and God led you forth into this life. Then you believe that images made by men are gods and do good deeds; but can you disbelieve the God who made you and yet be able to do anything in between?

9. And the very names of those whom you say are to be revered as gods are the names of dead men. And of what sort and kind are these? Is not Cronus found to be a child-eater, consuming his own children? And if you say that Zeus is his son, learn thoroughly also his deeds and conduct: first, that he was reared in Ida under a goat, and having slain and flayed it, according to the myths, he made for himself a garment. His other deeds, concerning fratricide, adultery, and child-murder, Homer and the other poets narrate better about him. Why should I recount further concerning his sons? Heracles burning himself; Dionysus drunken and raging; and Apollo fearing and fleeing Achilles, and loving Daphne, and not knowing the fate of Hyacinthus; or Aphrodite wounded; and Ares the destroyer of mortals, and still the gore flowing from these so-called gods? And these things are moderate to say, where indeed a god is found to be pitiful, the one called Osiris, for whom yearly rites are held as if he is dying, and being found, and being sought in parts. For neither is it thought that he perishes, nor is it shown that he is found. What shall I say of Attis being castrated, or Adonis wandering in the woods, hunting and being wounded by a boar? Or Asclepius struck by lightning? And Serapis, the exile from Sinope who came to Alexandria? Or the Scythian Artemis, herself an exile, a slayer of men, and a huntress, and loved by Endymion? For these things we do not say, but those writers and poets among you proclaim them.

10. Why then should I recount the multitude of animals that the Egyptians worship, both creeping things and beasts, and wild animals, and birds, and swimming water creatures; moreover, even foot-washers and sounds of shame? And if you mention the Greeks and other nations, they worship stones, and wood, and the rest of the material world, as we have said, images of dead men. For Phidias is found in Pisa making the Olympian Zeus for the Eleans, and for the Athenians on the Acropolis the Athena. And I will tell you also, O man, how many Zeuses there are; for Zeus is first called Olympian, and Zeus Latiarius, and Zeus Cassius, and Zeus Thunderer, and Zeus Progenitor, and Zeus of the whole night, and Zeus Poliouchos, and Zeus Capitoline. And the Zeus who is the son of Cronus, having become king of the Cretans, has a tomb in Crete, but the others perhaps were not even deemed worthy of burial. And if you say also the mother of the so-called gods, may it not be mine to speak of her deeds by mouth (for it is unlawful for us to name such things) or the deeds of her attendants by whom she is served, and all the rites and offerings that she and her sons provide to the king. For they are not gods, but idols, as we said before, works of human hands, and unclean demons. Such may those who make them and those who hope in them become.

11. Therefore I will honor the king, not by worshiping him, but by praying for him. But to God, the true and genuine God, I worship, knowing that the king was appointed by Him.

You will say to me, "Why do you not worship the king?" Because he was not made to be worshiped, but to be honored with lawful respect; for he is not a god, but a man appointed by God, not to be worshiped, but to judge justly. For in some way a stewardship is entrusted by God; and even he himself, those who are appointed under him, does not wish to be called kings; for "king" is his title, and it is not possible for him to be called otherwise. Thus, one ought not to worship anyone but God alone. So you are utterly mistaken in all things, O man.

But honor the king by favoring him, submitting to him, and praying for him. For by doing this, you do the will of God; for the law of God says: "Honor, son, God and the king, and be not disobedient to any of them." For suddenly they will repay their enemies.

12. Concerning your mocking me, calling me a Christian, you do not know what you say. First, that the anointed is sweet and useful and not laughable. For what ship can be useful and saved if it is not first anointed? Or what tower or house is beautiful and useful if it has not been anointed? And what man, entering into this life or contest, is not anointed with oil? And what work or ornament can have beauty if it is not anointed and polished? Moreover, air and all things under heaven in some way are anointed with light and spirit; but you do not wish to be anointed with the oil of God? Therefore, we are called Christians because we are anointed with the oil of God.

13. But also your denying that the dead rise For you say Show me even one who has been raised from the dead, so that, seeing him, I may believe. First of all, how great it is if, having seen what has happened, you believe! Then you believe indeed Heracles, who burned himself, to be alive, and Asclepius, who was struck by lightning, to have been raised. But the things spoken to you by God you disbelieve. Perhaps also I will show you one dead who has been raised and is living, and even this you will disbelieve. The God, therefore, shows you many proofs for believing in Him. For if you wish, consider the end of seasons and days and nights, how even these come to an end and rise again. And why not also the resurrection of seeds and fruits that occurs, and this too for the use of men? For if I may say, a grain of wheat or of other seeds, when it is cast into the earth, first dies and dissolves, then it rises and becomes an ear of grain. And how does not the nature of trees and nut-bearing plants, by God's command, from the unseen and invisible, at the proper times, produce their fruits? Moreover, sometimes even a little bird or one of the other birds, having swallowed the seed of an apple tree, or a fig tree, or some other, came upon a rocky hill or a tomb, and deposited it there; and that seed, having taken root, grew into a tree, which had once been swallowed, and having passed through such great heat. All these things are wrought by the wisdom of God, in order to demonstrate also through these that God is able to bring about the universal resurrection of all men. But if you wish to behold a more marvelous spectacle made to demonstrate the resurrection not only of earthly things but also of those in heaven, consider the resurrection of the moon occurring monthly, how it wanes and rises again. Still, listen to a work of resurrection taking place within yourself, even if you are unaware of it, O man. For perhaps at some time, having fallen into illness, you lost your flesh, and your strength, and your form; but having obtained mercy and healing from God, He restored to you again your body and your form, and your strength. And just as you do not know where your flesh went, having vanished, so you do not know either from where they came, or whence they originated. But you will say From foods and juices extracted from the blood Well said But this also is the work of God who created it thus, and not of any other.

14. Therefore, do not be unbelieving, but believe; for I too was unbelieving that this would be so, but now having understood these things, I believe; and at the same time having encountered the sacred Scriptures of the holy prophets, who also foretold by the Spirit of God the things that had happened, how they happened, and the present things in what manner they come to pass, and the things to come in what order they will be fulfilled. Having therefore received proof of the things that happen and were foretold, I do not disbelieve; but I believe, obeying God, to whom, if you will, you also submit, believing in him, lest now, having disbelieved, you be persuaded and then suffer in eternal punishments. Of these punishments foretold by the prophets, later poets and philosophers, having become, stole from the holy Scriptures, so that their doctrines might become credible. But they themselves also foretold concerning the punishments that will be upon the impious and unbelievers, so that, as a witness to all, no one might say, "We have not heard, nor have we known." And if you also wish, apply yourself eagerly to the prophetic Scriptures; and they will guide you more firmly to escape eternal punishments and to obtain the eternal goods of God. For He who gave a mouth to speak, and formed ears to hear, and made eyes to see, will examine all things and judge justly, giving to each according to the worth of their rewards. To those who, with patience through good works, seek incorruption, He will grant eternal life, joy, peace, rest, and abundance of goods, which neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man; but to the unbelieving, and the contemptuous, and disobedient to the truth, and persuaded by injustice, when they become inflamed with adultery, and fornications, and male relations, and greed, and unlawful idolatries, there will be wrath, and anger, tribulation and distress; and the end will cast such ones into eternal fire. Since you have added, O companion, "Show me your God"; this is my God, and I advise you to fear Him and believe in Him.

Book II

1. Since before these days a conversation arose between us, O most excellent Autolycus, in which you inquired who my God is, and having granted your ears for a little while to our discourse, I explained to you about my piety; and even after we parted from one another, with the greatest friendship we each went to our own home, although at first things were harsh toward us. For you know and remember that you took our discourse to be foolishness. Therefore, after this you urged me, though I am a layman in the matter, yet I wish now also through this writing to show more precisely the vanity and vain religion in which you are held, and also through a few of the histories concerning you that you read, and perhaps do not yet know, to make the truth clear to you.

2. For it seems to me ridiculous that stonecutters and sculptors, or painters, or founders, shape and paint and carve and cast gods, which, once made by artisans, they do not consider to be anything; yet when they are purchased for a temple or some house called a sanctuary, not only do those who bought them sacrifice to them, but also those who made and sold them come with zeal and arrangement of sacrifices and libations to worship them, and they regard them as gods, not knowing that they are such as they were when made by them, whether stone or bronze, or wood, or paint, or some other material. This also has happened to you who read the histories and genealogies of the so-called gods. For whenever you come upon their origins, you think of them as men; but later you call them gods and worship them, not considering or understanding that you have read that they were born as such as they were made.

3. And as for those gods of old, if indeed they were born, a great origin was found; but where is the origin of the gods now shown? For if then they were born and came into being, it is clear that gods born must also come into being up to the present; but if not, such an idea will be weak. For either they grew old, and so no longer beget, or they died and no longer exist. For if gods were born, they must also be born up to now; just as men are born. Indeed, there ought to be more gods than men, as the Sibyl says;

If gods beget, and yet remain immortal,

More numerous than men have the gods been born, and yet they were,

There would never have been a place for mortals to stand.

For if the children born of mortal men, who live but a short time, are shown to this day, and the cessation of birth among men has not occurred, whereby cities and villages increase, and even lands are inhabited, how much more ought the gods, who do not die, according to the poets, to be born and to give birth, since you say that the origin of the gods has taken place? But why then was the mountain called Olympus inhabited by the gods, and now it happens to be deserted? Or for what reason did Zeus dwell on Ida then, and was known to live there according to Homer and the other poets, but now he is unknown? And why was he not everywhere, but found only in part of the earth? Was it because he cared not for the rest, or was it impossible for him to be everywhere and to oversee all things? For if he was, to speak hypothetically, in an eastern place, he was not in a western place; and if again he was in the west, he was not in the east. But for God the Most High and Almighty, and truly God, this means not only to be everywhere, but also to see all things and hear all things; indeed, not to be confined to a place; but if not, a greater place will be found to contain him; for the container is greater than what is contained. For God is not contained, but he himself is the place of all things. But why did Zeus also leave Ida? Did he die, or did that mountain no longer please him? And where did he go? To the heavens? No. But you will say to Crete? Yes; where his tomb is shown to this day. Again you will say to Pisa, the famous one, where the hands of Phidias are known to this day. Let us then come to the writings of the philosophers and poets.

4. Some of the Stoics deny even that God is from the whole; or, if he exists, they say that God cares for no one except himself. And these things entirely reveal the folly of Epicurus and Chrysippus. Others say that everything is by chance, and that the world is ungenerated, and has its own nature, and they dared to say that the whole has no providence of God; but they say that God is only the consciousness of each individual. Others again assert that God is the spirit that permeates the whole. Plato and those of his school confess that God is ungenerated, and the father, and the creator of all things; then they suppose that God and matter are ungenerated, and they say that matter has been coeternal with God. But if God is ungenerated, and matter ungenerated, then according to the Platonists God is no longer the creator of all things, nor is the monarchy of God shown, as they claim. Moreover, just as God, being ungenerated, is immutable, so if matter were ungenerated, it would also be immutable and equal to God; for what is generated is changeable and perishable; but what is ungenerated is unchangeable and imperishable. What is great, then, if God made the world from underlying matter? For even a craftsman, when he takes matter from somewhere, makes from it whatever he wishes. But the power of God is shown in this, that he makes whatever he wishes out of non-being; just as it is not from another that he gives soul and motion, but from God alone. For even a man can make an image, but he cannot give reason and breath or sensation to what is made by him. But God possesses this in greater measure: the power to make rational, living, and sensible things. Therefore, just as God is more powerful than man in all these things, so also is he able to make and have made what exists and whatever he wishes out of non-being, as he wishes.

5. Thus the opinion according to the philosophers and writers is discordant. For when these things are declared by them, the poet Homer is found introducing the origin not only of the world but also of the gods under a different hypothesis; for he says somewhere:

Oceanus, the origin of the gods, and their mother Tethys,

From whom indeed all the rivers and the whole sea [are born].

What he says no longer constitutes a god. For who does not know that Oceanus is water? And if water, then surely not a god. But God, if He is the creator of all things, as He is, is therefore also the creator of water and the seas. Hesiod himself not only declared the origin of the gods, but also of the world itself. And having said that the world is created, he refrained from saying from what it came into being. Moreover, he said that Cronus and from him Zeus, Poseidon, and Pluto are gods, and we find these to be later than the world. Furthermore, he relates that Cronus was at war with Zeus, his own son. For he says thus:

Having victoriously overcome his father Cronus with strength; and well [ordered] are all things

Yet he arranged all things among the immortals, and assigned honors.

Then he proceeds to mention the daughters of Zeus, whom he also calls the Muses, to whom a suppliant comes seeking to learn from them by what manner all things came into being. For he says:

Rejoice, children of Zeus, grant a lovely song;.

You are called the sacred race of the immortals, ever existing,

Who were born from Earth and starry Heaven,

And gloomy Night, whom the salty Sea nourished.

Say then how first the gods and Earth came into being,

And Rivers, and boundless Sea swelling with waves,

And shining Stars, and the wide Heaven above,

Who are the gods that came into being from them, givers of breezes;

Thus they distributed wealth, and thus they allotted honors,

And also how they held the first many-fold Olympus;

Tell me these things, O Muses who hold the Olympian halls,

From the beginning, and say what first came into being among them.

How then did the Muses, being later than the world, know these things? Or how could they relate them to Hesiod, when indeed their father was not yet born?

6. And matter is in a certain way posited and the creation of the world is spoken of;

First indeed Chaos came into being, but then

Earth, broad-bosomed, the secure foundation of all forever

Of the Immortals, who hold the peak of snowy Olympus,

And Tartarus, misty, in the recess of the wide-wayed earth,

And Eros, who is the most beautiful among the immortal gods,

The liberator from limbs, both of all the gods and of all men

He rules in the breast the mind, and prudent counsel.

From Chaos came Erebus, and black Night was born.

From Night again were born Aether and Day,

Whom, embracing, Night bore, mingling in love with Erebus.

And Earth indeed first came into being, equal to herself

The starry Heaven, so that it might cover him all around ,

So that it might be a secure dwelling forever for the blessed gods;

And long mountains came into being, the charming dwelling-places of the gods,

Nymphs, who dwell upon the wooded mountains.

And also the unharvested sea gave birth, swelling with waves,

the Sea, without the fleeting affection of love; but then,

Having lain with Heaven, she bore Oceanus, deep-flowing.

And having said these things, he did not even thus make clear from whom they came into being. For if at first there was chaos, and some matter existed beforehand, being uncreated, who then was the one rearranging this, and reordering, and transforming? Was it that matter itself transformed itself and adorned itself? (For Zeus was born after a long time, not only of matter, but also of the cosmos, and of the multitude of men; indeed even his father Cronus), or rather was there some lord who made it? I mean God, who also ordered it. Yet in every way he is found babbling, and saying things contrary to himself; for having said earth and heaven and sea, he wishes the gods to have come from these, and from these he reports certain terrible men akin to the gods, the race of Titans and Cyclopes, and a multitude of Giants, and the demons according to Egypt, or vain men, as Apollodorus, also called Horapius, remembers in the book entitled Semenuth, and in the other histories according to him concerning the religion of the Egyptians and their kings and their folly,

7. But what shall I say about the myths among the Greeks? Pluto reigning over darkness, and Poseidon plunging beneath the seas, and entwined with Melanippe, and having begotten a man-slaying son; or about the many things the writers have dramatized concerning the children of Zeus, and that these were born men and not gods, their own genealogies recount. Aristophanes the comic poet, in the play entitled The Birds, attempting to speak about the creation of the world, said that at first the constitution of the world was born as an egg, saying:

First of all, Night with black wings hatches the egg beneath.

But also Satyrus, recording the demes of the Alexandrians, beginning from Philopator, who was also called Ptolemy, reports that Dionysus became their leader; therefore Ptolemy established the first tribe. Satyrus says thus: Dionysus and Althea, daughter of Thestius, begot Deianeira; and she, I suppose, bore Hyllus, son of Heracles and Zeus, then Cleodemus, then Aristomachus, then Timomenes, then Ceison, then Maron, then Thestius, then Akoos, then Aristomidus, then Karanos, then Koinos, then Tyrimmas, then Perdikkas, then Philippos, then Aeropos, then Alketas, then Amyntas, then Bokros, then Meleagros, then Arsinöe; and from her, Ptolemy, also called Soter, son of Lagus; and from Berenice, Ptolemy Philadelphus; and from Arsinoe, Ptolemy Euergetes; and from Berenice the Great, who reigned in Cyrene, Ptolemy Philadelphus. Thus the kinship with Dionysus among those ruling in Alexandria is contained in this way. Hence, in the Dionysian tribe, the demes are divided: Althes from the woman born of Dionysus, daughter of Thestius, Althea; Deianeira from the daughter of Dionysus and Althea, wife of Heracles, whence the demes have their surnames; Ariadne from the daughter of Minos, wife of...

Dionysus, the son dear to his father, who was mingled with Dionysus in the form of a stern; Thestis from Thestius, father of Althea; Thoantis from Thoantus, son of Dionysus; Staphylis from Staphylus, son of Dionysus; Euainis from Eunoeus, son of Dionysus; Maronis from Maron, son of Ariadne and Dionysus; for all these are sons of Dionysus. But many other names have also arisen and exist to this day, called Heracleidae from Heracles, and Apollonidae and Apollonii from Apollo, and Poseidonioi from Poseidon; and from Zeus, the Dios and Diogenes.

8. And why should I further recount the multitude of such names and genealogies? Thus, in every way, all the writers, both poets and those called philosophers, mock; indeed, even those who attend to them. For they composed myths rather than wisdom concerning the gods among them. For they did not prove them to be gods, but men, some drunken, others prostitutes and murderers. But also concerning the cosmogony, they spoke inconsistently with one another and basely. First, some declared the world to be ungenerated, as we showed above. And those who claimed it to be ungenerated and of a peculiar nature did not speak consistently with those who held it to be generated. For these uttered these things by conjecture and human understanding, and not according to truth; others again said that there was providence, and they explained the doctrines of these. Aratus therefore says:

Let us begin from Zeus, whom men never forsake

Unspoken; and all the streets are full of Zeus,

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

And harbors, and everywhere we all make use of Zeus;

For we are of his race; and he is gentle toward men

He signals with his right hand; and he rouses peoples to action,

Reminding of life; and he says when the best morsel

For cattle and mattocks; and he says when the right seasons ,

And to turn plants around, and for all seeds to be sown.

Whom then shall we trust, whether Aratus in this or Sophocles speaking

Providence is clear to no one ,

It is best to live by chance as one might be able.

But Homer again does not agree with this; for he says:

Zeus grants and increases virtue to men.

And Simonides:

No one obtains virtue without the gods,

Neither city nor mortal; God is the all-wise .

There is nothing harmful in them.

Similarly, Euripides;

There is nothing without God among men.

And Menander;

Therefore, none of us cares, except God alone.

And again Euripides;

For to save whenever it seems good to God,

He gives many reasons for salvation.

And Thestius :

God willing, even if you sail upon a wave, you are saved.

And having said countless such things, they contradicted themselves. Sophocles, at least, speaks of carelessness in another passage :

A mortal does not leap over a blow from God.

But they introduced also a multitude, or said it was monarchy; and those who say it is providence have called the opposite carelessness. Hence Euripides confesses, saying:

But we strive much in vain under hopes.

Enduring toils, knowing nothing;

And not willing, they confess that they do not know the truth; inspired by demons, and being possessed by them, what they said, they said through them. For indeed the poets, Homer and Hesiod, as they say, inspired by the Muses, spoke in imagination and error, and not with a pure spirit, but with delusion. From this it is clearly shown that even those possessed by demons are sometimes exorcised up to this time in the name of the true God, and those deluded spirits confess themselves to be demons, who then acted through them. Yet sometimes some, having come to their senses in soul from them, spoke following the prophets, so that as a testimony both to themselves and to all men, concerning the monarchy and judgment of God, and the rest of what they declared.

9. But the men of God, bearing the Spirit of the Holy Spirit and becoming prophets, inspired and made wise by God Himself, became God-taught, both holy and just. Therefore, they were deemed worthy to receive this recompense, becoming instruments of God, and having received wisdom from Him, through which wisdom they spoke also concerning the creation of the world and all the rest. For they foretold plagues and famines and wars; and not just one or two, but many at various times and seasons came forth among the Hebrews (and also among the Greeks, Sibyl) and all have spoken kindly of one another and in agreement, both the things that happened before them, and those that happened according to them, and those now being fulfilled among us; therefore we are also persuaded that the things to come will be just as the former were completed.

10. And first, they taught us in agreement that He made all things out of non-being. For it was not fitting for God, but being Himself place, and lacking nothing, and existing before the ages, He willed to make man to be known; therefore He prepared the world for him beforehand. For the created is needy and dependent; but the uncreated depends on nothing. Having therefore God His own Word inwardly in His own bowels, He begot it together with His own Wisdom, having brought it forth before all things. This Word He had as helper of those things made by Him, and through it He made all things. This one is called the beginning, because He rules and dominates all things created through Him. This one, therefore, being the Spirit of God, and beginning and wisdom, and power of the Most High, came down upon the prophets, and through them spoke concerning the creation of the world and all the rest. For the prophets were not when the world was made, but the wisdom in it was that of God, and His holy Word always present with it. Therefore also through the prophet Solomon it says thus: "When He prepared the heavens, I was present with Him, and as He established the foundations of the earth, I was fittingly with Him." Moses, who was before Solomon by many years, but rather the Word of God as an instrument through him says: "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth." First He named beginning and creation, then thus He established God; for it is not fitting to call God late and void. For divine wisdom foreknew that some would babble and name many gods of those not existing. So that God, who is being, might be understood through works, and that in His Word God made the heaven and the earth and the things in them, He said: "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth." Then having spoken of their creation, He shows us: "But the earth was invisible and unformed, and darkness was upon the abyss, and the Spirit of God moved upon the water." These things the divine Scripture teaches first, in a certain way a created matter, made by God, from which God made and fashioned the world.

11. The beginning of creation is light. Since the things being ordered reveal the light. Therefore He says "And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. and God saw the light that it was good. Clearly, it was good, having come into being for man. "And He separated between the light and between the darkness, and God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. And God said Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate between the waters and the waters. And it came to pass so. And God made the firmament, and separated between the waters that were under the firmament, and between the waters that were above the firmament. And God called the firmament Heaven. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning, the second day. And God said Let the water under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it came to pass so. And the waters were gathered into their gatherings, and the dry land appeared. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gatherings of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, herb yielding seed according to its kind and likeness, and fruit tree bearing fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its likeness. And it came to pass so. And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed according to its kind, and fruit tree bearing fruit, whose seed was in itself according to its kind upon the earth. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, to separate between day and night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, to shine upon the earth. And it came to pass so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars. And God placed them in the firmament of the heaven, to shine upon the earth, and to rule over the day and the night, and to separate between the light and between the darkness. And God saw that it was good And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day And God said Let the waters bring forth creeping creatures of living souls, and flying birds upon the earth, according to the firmament of the heaven And it came to pass so. And God made the great sea creatures, and every living soul of creeping animals which the waters brought forth according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds multiply upon the earth. And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And God said Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind: cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kind. And it came to pass so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kind, and the cattle according to their kind, and all the creeping things of the earth. And God saw that it was good. And God said Let us make man in our image and likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the sky, and the beasts, and all the earth, and all the creeping things that creep upon the earth. And God made man In the image of God He made him; male and female He made them. And God blessed them, saying Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over all the beasts, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. And God said Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing herb that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has in itself fruit of seed-bearing seed; to you it shall be for food; and to all the beasts of the earth, and to all the birds of the air, and to every creeping thing upon the earth, which has in itself the breath of life, I have given every green herb for food. And it came to pass so. And God saw all that He had made, and behold, very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. And the heaven and the earth were completed, and all their host. And God finished on the sixth day His works which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His works which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His works. "Which God began to make."

12. No human being, therefore, is able to fully recount with due worth the entire narration and arrangement of the Six Days, not even if he had a thousand mouths and a thousand tongues; nor even if one were to live for ten thousand years, dwelling in this life, would he be sufficient to say anything worthy about these things, because of the surpassing magnitude and the wealth of the wisdom of God, which is present in this prewritten Six Days. Many writers, then, have imitated and wished to compose an account concerning these matters, although having taken their starting points from here, either about the creation of the world or about the nature of man, and yet they did not say anything worthy of the truth even by chance.

It seems that the things said by philosophers or writers and poets are indeed credible, despite being adorned in their expression; but their discourse is shown to be foolish and empty, because there is a great abundance of their nonsense; and the chance of truth is not found in them. For even if something seems to be truly proclaimed through them, it is mixed with error. Just as a medicine combined with poison, or honey, or wine, or something else, makes the whole harmful and useless; so also the verbosity found in them is vanity and rather harmful to those who are persuaded by it.

Furthermore, even concerning the seventh day, which all men indeed name, but the majority are ignorant of; for among the Hebrews what is called the sabbath is interpreted in Greek as the week, which is named for every kind of men, but they do not understand the cause for which they call it so.

To say that Hesiod the poet was born from Chaos Erebus, and that Earth and Love rule over the gods and men according to him, is a vain and cold statement, and shows something alien to all truth. For God must not be overcome by pleasure; where even wise men abstain from all shameful pleasure and evil desire.

13. But also to begin and to speak of the creation of things that have come into being from the earthly below is a human, lowly, and very weak conception in relation to God. For a man, being lowly, begins to build from the earth, and is not able to make the structure and the roof in order unless he lays the foundation. The power of God is shown in this, that first He makes what comes into being out of non-being, as He wills. For the things impossible for men are possible with God. Therefore, the prophet first spoke of the creation of the heaven as having the nature of a roof, saying In the beginning, God made the heaven, that is, the heaven came into being through the beginning, as we have shown clearly. By "earth" it means the power of the ground and foundation, and by "abyss" the multitude of waters and darkness, because the heaven was made by God to cover the waters like a lid together with the earth. And by "spirit" is meant that which moves over the water, which God gave to the creation for life-giving, just as to a human being the soul mingles the subtle with the subtle. For the spirit is subtle and the water is subtle, so that the spirit nourishes the water, and the water together with the spirit nourishes the creation, permeating everywhere. The spirit, holding a place of light, mediated between the water and the heaven, so that in a certain way the darkness would not share with the heaven, which is nearer to God, before one speaks of God. Let there be light Just as the vault, being the heaven, enclosed the matter, resembling a bowl. For indeed another prophet named Isaiah also spoke concerning the heaven, saying This is the God who made the heaven like a vault, and stretched it out like a tent to dwell in. The arrangement, therefore, of God is this: His word, appearing like a lamp in a closed room, illuminated what is under the heaven, having made it apart from the world. And God called the light Day, but the darkness Night. Since indeed a man would not know to call the light Day, or the darkness Night, but neither the other things, if he had not received the naming from God who made them. Therefore, in the first account of the history and origin of the world, the Holy Scripture did not speak about this firmament, but about another heaven which is invisible to us, with which this visible heaven is called the firmament, upon which half of the water has been lifted so that it may be for humanity as rain, showers, and dew. But the other half of the water was left on the earth in rivers, springs, and seas. While the water still covered the earth, especially the hollow places, God, through His Word, caused the water to be gathered into one collection, and the dry land to become visible, which before had been invisible. The earth having thus become visible was still unformed. God therefore fashioned and adorned it with all kinds of grasses, seeds, and plants.

14. Consider further the variety, the diverse beauty, and the abundance in these things, and that through them the resurrection is shown, as a sign of the future resurrection of all men. For who, having understood, would not marvel that a fig tree comes from a fig seed, or that from the smallest seeds great trees grow? We say that the world is like the sea in likeness. For just as the sea, if it did not have the flow and supply of rivers and springs for nourishment, would long ago have dried up because of its saltiness; so too the world, if it did not hold fast to the law of God and the prophets flowing and springing forth sweetness and compassion, and justice, and the teaching of the holy commandments of God, would already have perished because of the growing evil and sin within it. And just as in the sea there are islands, some inhabited, fertile, and fruitful, having harbors and ports to provide refuge for those being storm-tossed; so God has given to the world, tossed and stormed by sins, assemblies, which we call churches, holy, in which, like safe harbors on islands, are the teachings of truth; to which those wishing to be saved flee, becoming lovers of truth, and desiring to escape the wrath and judgment of God. And just as there are other islands that are rocky, barren, fruitless, wild, and uninhabited, harmful to those sailing and storm-tossed, in which ships are wrecked and those who enter perish; so are the teachings of error, I mean heresies, which destroy those who approach them. For they are not guided by the word of truth; but just as pirates, when they fill their ships, sail around the aforementioned places to destroy them (42-43); so it happens also to those led astray from the truth to be destroyed by error.

15. On the fourth day the lights were made. Since God, being foreknowing, was aware of the babblings of vain philosophers, that they would say that those things growing on the earth come from the elements in order to deny God, therefore, so that the truth might be shown, the plants and seeds of the elements were made earlier. For the later cannot produce their earlier. These things hold a sign and type of a great mystery. For the sun is a type of God; the moon, of man. And just as the sun differs greatly from the moon in power and glory, so God differs greatly from humanity. And just as the sun always remains full, never becoming less, so God always remains perfect, being full of all power, understanding, wisdom, immortality, and all good things. But the moon wanes monthly and in power dies, being a type of man; then it is reborn and grows as a sign of the future resurrection. Likewise, the three days of the lights are types of the Trinity, of God, and of His Word, and of His Wisdom. In the fourth place is man, who needs the light, so that he may be God, Word, Wisdom, and man. For this reason the lights were created on the fourth day. The arrangement of the stars is an economy and order for the righteous and devout who keep the law and commandments of God. For the prominent stars are bright as an imitation of the prophets; therefore they remain steadfast, not moving from place to place. Those having a different order of brightness are types of the people of the righteous. And those that move and flee from place to place, called wanderers, are themselves a type of those who fall away from God, abandoning His law and commands.

16. On the fifth day the creatures from the waters were made; through them also the manifold wisdom of God is shown. For who could number the abundance and the manifold offspring in them? Moreover, those born from the waters were blessed by God, so that this too might be a sign of the future, that men would receive repentance and forgiveness of sins through water and the bath of regeneration, all who come to the truth and are reborn, receiving blessing from God. But the beasts and the flesh-eating birds are likewise a likeness of the greedy and transgressors. For just as the aquatic creatures and birds come from one nature, some remain by nature not wronging their weaker fellows, but keep the law of God and eat from the seeds of the earth; others among them transgress the law of God by being flesh-eaters, wronging their weaker fellows. So also the righteous, keeping the law of God, neither bite nor wrong anyone, living piously and justly. But the rapacious, murderers, and godless resemble beasts, and wild animals, and flesh-eating birds; for by their power they swallow up the weaker than themselves. Now the offspring of the aquatic and creeping creatures, having partaken of the blessing of God, possess nothing of their own.

17. On the sixth day God made the four-footed animals, the beasts, and the terrestrial reptiles, but He is silent concerning the blessing upon them, preserving the blessing for man, whom He was about to make on the sixth day. At the same time, the four-footed animals and beasts became types of some men who are ignorant of God and ungodly, who think earthly things and do not repent. For those who turn back from their lawlessness and live righteously, like birds, soar with their souls, thinking on things above and pleasing the will of God. But those who are ignorant of God and ungodly are like birds that have wings but cannot fly upward to the divine; thus such men are called men, but they think earthly and lowly things, weighed down by sins. The animals are called beasts from the fact of being hunted, not because they were originally evil or venomous (for nothing evil came from God [55]), but all things are good, and very good; sin has corrupted them concerning man. For when man transgressed, they also transgressed along with him. Just as if a master of a house acts well, necessarily the servants live orderly; but if the master sins, the servants sin along with him; in the same way it happened that the master concerning man sinned, and the servants sinned together. Therefore, whenever man again runs back to what is according to nature, no longer doing evil, those things also will be restored to their original gentleness.

18. Concerning the creation of man, the divine Scripture, though brief, expresses it in an ineffable manner as regards man himself. For when God says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," He first reveals the dignity of man. For God made all things by His Word, considering all else as secondary, but He regards the creation of man alone as a work worthy of His own hands. Moreover, God is found to need help, saying, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." He does not say "let us make" to anyone else, but to His own Word and His own Wisdom. Having made him and blessed him to increase and fill the earth, He subjected all things under him as servants and slaves; and He commanded that from the beginning he should have his sustenance from the fruits of the earth, and from seeds, and grasses, and nuts, also ordering that the animals should share in his diet, so that he might eat from all the seeds of the earth.

19. Thus God completed the heaven and the earth, and the sea and all that is in them on the sixth day, and rested on the seventh day from all His works which He had made. Then the holy Scripture summarizes thus, saying: "This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth, when God made the heaven and the earth, and every green herb of the field before it grew, and every herb of the field before it sprouted". For God had not yet rained upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground. By this He revealed to us that the whole earth at that time was watered by a divine spring, and did not need man to work it; but the earth brought forth all things spontaneously according to the command of God, so that man would not toil in labor. And so that the creation might be shown, so as not to seem a matter found among men, since it was said by God, "Let us make man," and his creation was not yet revealed, Scripture teaches us by saying: "A spring went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground; and God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul." Hence the soul is called immortal by most. After forming man, God chose for him a place in the eastern regions, distinct in light, with clearer and brighter air, and with all kinds of plants, in which He placed man.

20. The explicit statements of the sacred history the Holy Scripture thus contains "And God planted the garden of Eden toward the east, and placed there the man whom He had formed" And God caused to spring up from the earth every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And a river flows out of Eden to water the garden. From there it divides into four heads. The name of one is Pishon. This one encircles all the land of Havilah. There, then, is gold. But the gold of that land is good. And there is also the onyx and the green stone. And the name of the second river is Geon. This one encircles the whole land of Ethiopia. And the third river, Tigris, This one flows opposite the Syrians. But the fourth river is the Euphrates. And the Lord God took the man whom He had formed, and placed him in the garden to work it and to keep it. And God commanded Adam, saying, From every tree in the garden you shall eat fruit. But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it. But on the day you eat from it, you shall surely die. And the Lord God said, It is not good for man to be alone Let us make for him a helper corresponding to him And God formed from the ground all the wild animals of the field and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to Adam And whatever living soul Adam called them, that was its name. And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper like to him. And God cast a deep sleep upon Adam, and a slumber. And He took one of his ribs, and filled it with flesh in its place. And the Lord God built the rib which He had taken from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam. And Adam said This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. Because of this a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. And the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and they were not ashamed."

21. But the serpent was more cunning than all the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And the serpent said to the woman "Why is it that God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the paradise'?" And the woman said to the serpent From every tree of the paradise we may eat, but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the paradise, God said, you shall not eat. You shall not eat from it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman You will not die a death. For God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes to look upon, and that it was desirable for gaining understanding; and she took from its fruit and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to Adam, and said to him Where are you? And he said to him I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I am naked, and I hid myself. And he said to him Who told you that you are naked, except from the tree of which I commanded you alone not to eat, from it you have eaten? And Adam said The woman whom you gave to me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate. And God said to the woman What is this that you have done? And the woman said The serpent deceived me, and I ate. And the Lord God said to the serpent Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the beasts upon the earth; on your breast and on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise its heel. And He said to the woman I will greatly multiply your pains, and your sighing You shall bear children in pain, and your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. And to Adam He said Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you alone not to eat, from it you have eaten. Cursed is the ground because of you; in sorrow you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return. The history of man, therefore, and of paradise, the statements of the Holy Scripture contain thus.

22. You will say to me, then: You say that God cannot be contained in a place; and how now do you say that He walks in paradise? Listen to what I say: God, the Father of all, is uncontainable, and is not found in a place; for there is no place of His rest. But His Word, through whom all things were made, being His power and wisdom, taking the face of the Father and Lord of all, this one came into paradise in the person of God, and conversed with Adam. For even the divine Scripture teaches us that Adam heard a voice. And what else is a voice but the Word of God, who is also His Son? Not as the poets and mythographers say, sons of gods born from intercourse, but as truth narrates the Word, who is always inwardly present in the heart of God. For before anything came into being, He had this counselor, being His own mind and reason. And when God willed to make all that He had planned, He begot this Word verbally, the firstborn of all creation, not emptying Himself of the Word, but having begotten the Word, and always conversing with His Word. Hence the holy Scriptures and all the spirit-bearers teach us, from whom John says: In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God; showing that at first only God existed, and in Him the Word. Then he says: And the Word was God; all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing came into being. Therefore, being God, the Word, and born of God, whenever the Father of all wills, He sends Him to some place, who, coming and being heard and seen, is sent by Him, and is found in a place.

23. God made man on the sixth day, and revealed his formation after the seventh day, when He also made paradise, to be in a better place and a distinct region. And that these things are true, the work itself shows. For how is it not possible to understand the pain that women suffer in childbirth, and afterward the forgetting of the pain, so that the word of God may be fulfilled, to increase and multiply the human race? And why not also the condemnation of the serpent, how hateful it is, creeping on its belly and eating dust; so that this too may be a demonstration to us of the things previously stated?

24. Stretching forth again, therefore, God brought forth from the earth every tree, still all, beautiful to behold and good to eat For at first only those things that were created on the third day existed, plants and seeds and grasses but those in paradise were made with diverse beauty and splendor where indeed the plantation, having been planted by God, was called And the remaining plants were similar, and the world held them so But the two trees, that of life and that of knowledge, no other earth held, but only in the paradise alone That indeed paradise is also earth, and is planted upon the earth, Scripture says And God planted a paradise in Eden, toward the east, and placed there the man. And God caused to spring up from the earth every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. Now then, the divine Scripture clearly teaches us that paradise is under this heaven, from the earth and toward the east, under which both sunrise and earth are. Eden, then, in Hebrew, the said word is interpreted as "delight." A river is said to have flowed forth from Eden to water the paradise, and from there to be divided into four heads. Of these, two are called Phison and Geon, which water the eastern regions, especially the Geon, who encircles all the land of Ethiopia, which they say appears in Egypt, called the Nile. The other two rivers are clearly known to us, called the Tigris and the Euphrates. For these border even up to our regions. God placed man, as we have said before, in the paradise, to work it and keep it, and commanded him to eat from all the fruits, evidently including also from the tree of life; but He commanded him not to taste from the tree of the knowledge. God transferred him from the earth, from which he had been formed, into the paradise, giving him a starting point for progress so that, growing and becoming perfect, and moreover having been revealed as a god, he might thus ascend even to heaven (for man was made a middle being, neither wholly mortal nor entirely immortal, but capable of both). Thus also the place, the paradise, as to its beauty, was made the middle of the world and heaven, possessing eternity. When He said, "work", He indicated no other labor than to keep the commandment of God, so that by not disobeying, he would not destroy himself, just as he did perish through sin.

25. The tree of knowledge itself was good, and its fruit was good. For the tree did not, as some suppose, bring death, but disobedience did. For there was nothing else in the fruit but knowledge alone; and knowledge is good, provided one uses it properly. But since Adam was still a child in age, he was not yet able to receive knowledge worthily. For even now, when a child is born, he cannot yet eat bread, but is first nourished with milk, then gradually, according to his age, he comes to solid food. So it was also with Adam. Therefore, God did not command him not to eat from the tree of knowledge out of envy, as some think. Indeed, He wished to test him, whether he would obey His command. Moreover, He wanted man to remain simple and pure for a longer time, as a child. For this is holy, not only before God but also before men, to submit to one's parents in simplicity and innocence. Furthermore, children must obey their parents. If children must obey their parents, how much more must they obey God, the Father of all? It is also improper for children to think beyond their age; just as one grows in order according to age, so also in understanding. But so that when a law commands abstaining from something, and someone disobeys, it is clear that the law itself does not inflict punishment, but disobedience and rebellion do. For a father sometimes commands his own child to abstain from certain things, and when the child does not obey the paternal command, he is beaten and punished because of disobedience. And it is no longer the things themselves that are blows, but disobedience brings insult upon the disobedient. Thus disobedience caused the first-formed man to be cast out of paradise; not because the tree of knowledge was evil, but because through disobedience man exhausted toil, pain, sorrow, and finally fell under death.

26. And this too God granted as a great benefit to man, that he should not remain forever in sin, but in a certain manner, by a likeness of exile, He cast him out of paradise, so that through chastisement, having paid for sin in due time, and having been disciplined, he might afterward be recalled. Therefore, even though man was created in this world, it is mysteriously written in Genesis that he was placed twice in paradise; so that the first time might be once and for all fulfilled, and the second time is destined to be fulfilled after the resurrection and judgment. Moreover, just as a vessel, when created and bearing some defect, is melted down or reshaped to become new and whole, so it happens to man through death; for he is broken in power, so that in the resurrection he may be found healthy; I mean spotless, just, and immortal. And to call and say to God, "Where are you, Adam?"—not as if God did not know this, but being patient, He gave him an opportunity for repentance and confession.

27. But someone will say to us: Was man by nature mortal? By no means. Then was he immortal? We do not say that either. But someone will ask: So nothing came to be? Not even this, I say. Therefore, he became neither mortal by nature nor immortal. For if he had been made immortal from the beginning, he would have been made God. Again, if he had been made mortal, God would seem to be the cause of his death. Therefore, God made him neither immortal nor mortal, but, as we said above, capable of both; so that he might incline toward immortality by keeping God's commandment, receiving from Him as reward immortality, and become god; but if he turns toward death, having disobeyed God, he himself is the cause of his death. For God made man free and self-determining. What then he brought upon himself through neglect and disobedience, this God now grants to him through His own philanthropy and mercy, if he obeys Him. For just as a disobedient man drew death upon himself, so one who obeys the will of God, if he wishes, can obtain for himself eternal life. For God gave us a holy law and commandments, which anyone who keeps can be saved and, having attained the resurrection, inherit incorruption.

28. And Adam, having been cast out of paradise, thus came to know Eve his wife, whom God made for him as a woman from his side. And this not because God was unable to fashion his wife by His own power, but because He foresaw that men would call a multitude of gods. Being therefore foreknowing and knowing that error through the serpent would call a multitude of gods those who are not (for there is one God), from that time error already took care to sow a multitude of gods, and says "You will be like gods." Might it then be implied that this one God made the man, but another made the woman, and therefore did not make both together? By no means; rather, through this also the mystery of the monarchy according to God is revealed. At the same time, God made his woman, [and the two shall be one flesh. Which indeed is also shown to be fulfilled in ourselves. For who, lawfully married, does not honor mother, and father, and all kinship and all things:] and so that goodwill toward them may be greater Therefore, Adam spoke to Eve This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh He also prophesied, saying For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh Which indeed is also shown to be fulfilled in us ourselves For who is the one lawfully married who does not disregard mother, and father, and every kinship, and all his relatives, but rather clings to and is united with his own wife, showing more favor toward her? Therefore, even until death, some often become responsible because of their own wives. This Eve, because she was deceived from the beginning by the sight, and became the originator of sin, the evil spirit, who is also called Satan, who then spoke to her through the sight, even up to now working in those inspired by him, is called Eve. The demon is also called a dragon, because he has fled away from God. For he was an angel at first. And much is said concerning this one. Therefore, now I refer you to the account concerning them. For indeed the discourse about him has occurred to us in other places.

29. Therefore, when Adam knew his wife Eve, having conceived, she bore a son, whose name was Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man through God." And she added that she bore a second, whose name was Abel, who began to be a shepherd of sheep; but Cain was a tiller of the ground. Now the history concerning them is more extensive, yet also the arrangement of the narrative; therefore, the book entitled Genesis of the World can teach those who love learning more precisely about the history.

When Satan saw not only Adam and his wife alive but also children born to them, against whom he was powerless to bring death, carried by envy, when he saw Abel pleasing to God, having acted upon his brother called Cain, he caused him to kill his brother Abel. And thus the beginning of death came into this world, continuing until now among all human kind.

But God, being merciful and willing to provide an occasion for repentance and confession to Cain, just as to Adam, said, "Where is Abel, your brother?" But Cain answered disobediently to God, saying, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" Thus, angered at him, God said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground, which has received your brother's blood from your hand. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth." Since then, the earth, fearing, no longer receives the blood of man, nor of any animal. It is clear that this is not its cause, but the transgressing man.

30. Now Cain himself also had a son, whose name was Enoch; and he built a city, which he named after the name of his son Enoch. From that time began the building of cities, and this was before the flood; not as Homer falsely says:

For the city of mortal men had not yet been established.

Enoch had a son named Gaidad, who begot the one called Mehel, and Mehel begot Methuselah, and Methuselah begot Lamech. Lamech took two wives for himself, whose names were Adah and Zillah. From then on began both polygamy and music. For Lamech had three sons: Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-cain. Jabal became a man dwelling in tents and tending livestock; Jubal is the one who showed the lyre and the pipe; and Tubal-cain became a forger, a smith of bronze and iron. Thus far the genealogy of Cain's seed is recorded; the rest of the lineage fell into oblivion because he killed his brother.

In the place of Abel, God allowed Eve to conceive and bear a son named Seth; from him the rest of the human race has descended down to the present. For those who desire to learn about all the generations, it is easy to demonstrate through the holy Scriptures. Indeed, part of this account has already been given by us in another discourse, as we said above, the order of genealogy in the first book concerning histories.

All these things the Holy Spirit teaches us through Moses and the other prophets, so that the most ancient writings concerning us, the God-fearing, are shown to be not only the oldest but also the truest of all authors and poets. Yet some have foolishly claimed that Apollo was the inventor of music; others say Orpheus discovered music from the sweet-sounding birds. Their argument is empty and vain; for these men lived many years after the flood.

The account concerning Noah, whom some call Deucalion, is found in the book we mentioned earlier, which you, if you wish, can also consult.

31. After the flood, there began again cities and kings, in this manner. The first city was Babylon, and Orech, and Arphaxad, and Calneh in the land of Shinar. And their king was named Nimrod. From these came forth a man named Asshur, from whom the Assyrians are called. Nimrod built cities: Nineveh, Rehoboth, Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; and Nineveh became at first a great city.

Another son of Shem, son of Noah, named Mestraim, begot the Ludim, and those called Anamim, and the Lehabim, and the Naphtuhim, and the Pathrusim, and the Casluhim, from whom came forth the Philistines.

From the three sons of Noah, and their completion, and genealogy, we have a summary list in the book we mentioned before. And now we will recall what was omitted concerning cities and kings, both those that existed when there was one lip and one tongue. These cities were founded before the tongues were divided.

When they were about to be scattered, they made a counsel by their own will, and not by God's, to build a city and a tower whose top would reach to heaven, so that they might make a name of glory for themselves. Since they dared to do a grievous work against God's will, God overthrew their city and laid the tower low. From then on, He changed the tongues of men, giving each a different dialect.

Thus the Sibyl has prophesied, foretelling the wrath that is to come upon the world; she said as follows:

But whenever the great threats of God are fulfilled,

Which He once threatened to mortals, when they built a tower ,

In the land of Assyria; and all were of one voice,

And they wished to ascend to the starry heaven;

Immediately the Deathless One imposed a great necessity

On the Spirits; but then the winds raised high a great tower

They cast down, and stirred up strife among mortals against one another.

But when the tower fell, and the tongues of men

Were divided into many dialects of mortals,

The earth of mortals was filled with kings divided;

And the following: These things indeed came to be in the land of the Chaldeans And in the land of Canaan there arose a city, whose name was Harran According to those times, the first king of Egypt was Pharaoh, who among the Egyptians was also called Necho, and thus the kings came one after another And in the land of Senaar, among those called Chaldeans, the first king was Arioch And after him, another, Ellasar And after him, Chodollagomor, king of Elam; and after him, Thargal, king of the nations called Assyrians Five other cities arose in the portion of Ham, son of Noah The first, the one called Sodom Then Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, and the one called Zoar And the names of their kings are these Ballas king of Sodom, Barsas king of Gomorrah, Sennaar king of Admah, Hymor king of Zeboim, Balach king of Zoar, called Kefalak These served under Khodollagomor, king of the Assyrians, for twelve years But in the thirteenth year, they revolted from Khodollagomor And thus it came to pass that then the four kings of the Assyrians made war against the five kings This was the first beginning of wars occurring upon the earth And they cut down the giants Karanaeans, and strong peoples together with them in the city, and the Horraioi who are called Sheir in the mountains, as far as the place called Terebinth of Pharan, which is in the desert. At the same time, there arose a just king named Melchizedek in the city of Salem, which is now Jerusalem. He became the first priest of all priests of God the Most High. From this one, the city was named Jerusalem, the aforementioned Hierosolyma. From this one, priests were also found, becoming over all the earth. After him, Abimelech reigned in Gerar. After him, another Abimelech. Then Ephron, also called the Hittite, reigned. The names of the kings who previously reigned concerning these matters are contained as follows. Among the many years concerning the Assyrians, the remaining kings have been omitted from being recorded, all of the latest in our times being commemorated. The kings of the Assyrians who have been are Theglaphasar. And after him, Sennacherib. Then Sennacherim. And the third ruler was Adramelech Lithios, who also reigned over Egypt. And yet, despite these things, it is much more recent compared to our own writings.

32. Therefore, it is for those who love learning and antiquity to understand the histories, where what is told by us through the holy prophets is recent. For in the beginning, there were few people in the land of Arabia and Chaldea, and after their languages were divided, many began to exist and multiply over the whole earth; and some inclined to dwell toward the east, others toward the parts of the great continent, and those toward the north, so that they extended as far as the Britons in the Arctic regions. Others inhabited the land called Canaan, and Judea, and Phoenicia, and the regions of Ethiopia, and Egypt and Libya, and the so-called burnt land, and the climates extending toward the west; and the rest inhabited the coastal regions, and Pamphylia, and Asia, and Greece, and Macedonia, and the remainder Italy, and the so-called Gaul, and Spain, and Germany; so that thus the entire inhabited world was filled.

Since the habitation of humans on earth was originally threefold, in the east, south, and west, then the remaining parts of the earth were inhabited, the people becoming base. Not knowing these things, the writers wish to say that the world is spherical, and compare it as if to a cube. How can they claim these things to be true, not knowing the creation of the world nor its habitation? As the number of people increased and multiplied on the earth, as we said before, so too were the islands of the sea and the other climates inhabited.

33. Who then among the so-called wise men, poets, or historians was able to speak the truth, having been born long after them, and introducing a multitude of gods, who themselves appeared after so many years of the cities, last also among kings, nations, and wars? For they ought to have remembered all things, including those that happened before the flood; concerning the creation of the world, and the making of man, and the subsequent events, to recount precisely those prophets among the Egyptians or Chaldeans, and the other writers, if indeed they spoke by divine and pure spirit, and reported truthfully what was said through them; and not only the past or present, but also those things coming upon the world they ought to have foretold. Therefore, it is shown that all the rest are mistaken; only Christians have received the truth, who are taught by the Holy Spirit, who spoke through the holy prophets and foretold all things.

34. And henceforth, let it be for you to inquire kindly into the things of God, I mean those spoken through the prophets, so that, comparing both what is said by us and by others, you may be able to find the truth. As for the names of the so-called gods, since among them are found the names of men, as we have shown above, from those very histories which they wrote, we have demonstrated. Their images, however, are still daily engraved—idols, works of human hands. And the multitude of vain men worship these; but they reject the creator and maker of all things and nourisher of every breath, obeying vain doctrines through the error of foolish ancestral opinion.

Yet God, both Father and Creator of all, did not abandon humanity, but gave a law and sent holy prophets to proclaim and show the human race, so that each one of us might be revived and come to know that there is one God; who also taught to abstain from unlawful idolatry, and adultery, and murder, and fornication, and theft, and greed, and false oath, and anger, and all licentiousness and impurity; and all things which a man would not wish to happen to himself, so that he might not do them to another, and thus the righteous doer may escape eternal punishments and be deemed worthy of eternal life from God.

35. The divine law not only forbids worshiping idols, but also the elements, the sun, the moon, or the other stars. But neither to heaven, nor to earth, nor to the sea, nor to springs, nor to rivers is one to offer worship; rather, one must worship only the one true God and creator of all, with holiness of heart and sincere intention. Therefore, the holy law says: You shall not commit adultery. You shall not kill. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. Likewise, the prophets Solomon, therefore, teaches us not to sin even by a mere gesture, saying Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids wink rightly. And Moses himself, also a prophet, speaking concerning the monarchy of God, says This is your God, who established the heavens, and created the earth, whose hands have formed the entire host of heaven, and did not command them to go backward. Isaiah also says Thus says the Lord God, who established the heavens, and founded the earth, and all that is in it, and who gives breath to the people upon it, and spirit to those who walk on it, this is the Lord your God. And again through him I, he says, made the earth and man upon it. I with my hand established the heaven. And in another chapter This is the God of you who made the ends of the earth. He will not hunger, nor will he grow weary, nor is there any searching for his understanding. Likewise Jeremiah also says He who made the earth by his strength, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heaven, and the abundance of waters is in the sky, and he brings up clouds from the ends of the earth. He made lightning for rain, and brought forth winds from his treasuries. It is evident how all the prophets spoke lovingly and in harmony, having uttered with one and the same spirit concerning both the monarchy of God and the creation of the world, and the making of man. But indeed they also writhed in pain, mourning the godless race of men and those who seemed to be wise, because of the error and hardness of their hearts, they despised. Jeremiah said Every man has become foolish through his knowledge; every goldsmith has been put to shame by his engravings. In vain the silversmith silversmiths. There is no spirit within them; on the day of their visitation they will perish. The same also says David They have perished and have been abhorred because of their own practices. There is no one doing good; there is not even one. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless. Likewise, Habakkuk What profit is there in a carved man, since he carved for himself a false image? Woe to the one who says to the stone, "Arise, and to the wood be exalted." Likewise spoke the other prophets of truth.

And why should I recount to myself the multitude, there being many prophets, and countless dear and consistent things having been said? For those willing are able, encountering what has been said through them, to know precisely the truth, and not to be led astray by reasoning and futility. These then, whom we mentioned before, became prophets among the Hebrews, illiterate and shepherds and laymen.

36. But the Sibyl among the Greeks, and among the other nations becoming a prophetess, at the beginning of her prophecy reproaches the race of men, saying:

Men mortal and fleshly, being nothing,

How quickly you are exalted, not seeing the end of life;

You neither tremble nor fear God, your overseer,

The Most High, the knower, the all-seeing, witness of all,

The all-nourishing, creator, who is a sweet spirit in all

He established, and made the leader of all mortals;

One God, who alone rules, immense, unbegotten,

Almighty, invisible, who alone sees all things,

He himself, however, is not seen by any mortal flesh.

For what flesh is able to behold the heavenly and true

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

But not even by the rays opposite the sun

Can mortals stand, having become mortal?

Men, in their bones being veins and flesh.

Him alone, being the leader of the world, you should honor,

Who alone was begotten for eternity and from eternity ,

Self-generated, uncreated, ruling all things altogether ,

Uniting for all mortals the tribunal in a common light.

But you will receive the just reward of your malice,

Because, having abandoned the true and eternal God

to glorify, and to offer to Him sacred hecatombs,

You made sacrifices to demons, those in Hades .

You walk in blindness and madness, and tread a crooked path

Leaving the straight path behind, you have gone the way through thorns.

And of thorns; why do you wander ? Mortals, cease your vain ways

Reckoning in darkness and the black night without light;

And leave the darkness of night, and take up the light.

Behold, this one is clear to all, and unfailing.

Come, do not pursue darkness, nor ever the gloom,

Behold, the sweet-seeing light of the sun shines forth excellently.

Know, then, laying aside wisdom in your hearts;

There is one God, sending down rains, winds, and earthquakes.

He who sends forth lightning, famines, plagues, and grievous sorrows,

And snowfalls, hailstones. What then do I declare in one?

He rules the heavens, holds sway over the earth, he himself exists.

And concerning those called created, he said:

If it is altogether created and perishes, it is not possible for a man

To be formed from parts, and God from a womb.

But God alone, one, most supreme, who has made

The heaven, and the sun, and the stars, and the moon,

The fruit-bearing earth, and the waters' swelling of the sea,

And the lofty mountains, and the ever-flowing streams of springs;

And of the aquatic creatures again it brings forth an innumerable great multitude;

Reptiles of the earth, moving and cold-blooded,

Various clear-voiced birds, chirping,

Reddish, clear-voiced, disturbing the air with their feet;

And in the glens of the mountains, it produced a wild race of beasts;

And it subjected all beasts to us mortals;

And it appointed the god-formed leader of all,

And it placed under man, varied in many ways and beyond comprehension.

For who among mortals is able to know all these things?

But he alone knows, the one who made these from the beginning,

Incorruptible, creator, eternal, dwelling in the ether;

To the good, bestowing good, a far greater reward;

But to the wicked and unjust, stirring up wrath and anger,

And war, and plague, or pains shedding tears

Men, why do you vainly exalt yourselves and are uprooted?

Be ashamed, you who make divine the milk and curds;

Is it not madness and frenzy of the mind, and fruitless burdens

If the gods steal the dishes, but plunder the pots;

Instead of dwelling by a golden chariot along fertile pastures

He has seen the grain-eater, and he has feared the dense webs of spiders.

Worshipping snakes, dogs, cats, senseless ones,

And you revere birds, and creeping beasts of the earth,

And stone idols, and hand-crafted statues,

And in the pathways, heaps of stones. You revere these,

Many other vain things, which indeed it is shameful even to speak of.

And indeed the gods are deceitful deceivers of mortals lacking judgment,

From whose very mouth deadly poison flows.

There is neither life, nor imperishable, eternal light,

Nor joy sweeter to men than sweet honey,

It pours forth; indeed, it alone bends the neck,

And it smooths, through the ages, those who recline in piety.

Leaving all these things behind, a cup full of justice,

More lively, solid, burdened, and very full to the brim,

All drew it in with reckless spirits driven mad,

And it does not wish to awaken, nor to come to a sober mind,

And to know the King God, who watches over all.

Therefore, the gleam of blazing fire comes upon you,

You will be burned by flames forever, all day long,

Ashamed because of falsehoods before useless idols.

But those who honor God the true and eternal,

They themselves will inherit life for the age [the time].

Dwelling likewise in paradise, a fruitful garden,

Feasting on the sweet bread from the starry heaven.

That these things are indeed true, and beneficial, and just, and pleasing to all men, is clear.

37. And that those who have acted wickedly necessarily deserve to be punished according to the worth of their deeds, some of the poets have already expressed in words for themselves, and as a testimony to those who commit injustice, saying that they will be punished. Aeschylus said:

For indeed, the one who has acted is also bound to suffer.

Pindar himself also said:

Since one who has done something seems also to suffer.

Likewise, Euripides said:

Endure suffering, for you rejoiced in acting;

The law is to act against the enemy, wherever you find him, badly.

And again the same [author] says:

I consider it part of a man to act badly against an enemy.

Similarly, Archilochus also says:

One great thing I know, to act badly

To repay evil with evil for one who has done something terrible.

And that God watches over all things, and nothing escapes Him, being long-suffering He endures until the time comes to judge, and concerning this Dionysius has said:

The eye of justice, as through quiet

Gazing steadily at the face, to swear by all if he sees.

And that the judgment of God is about to take place, and that evils suddenly overtake the wicked, this too Aeschylus indicated, saying:

Evil comes swiftly upon mortals,

And it lies as a stumbling block to the one who transgresses the law.

You see a silent judgment, not one that is visible,

To the one sleeping, and to the one walking, and to the one sitting

In succession it provides a standard, at another time later;

Night does not conceal what has been ill wrought.

But whatever dreadful thing you do, believe that someone sees it.

Why not also Simonides says:

It is not unavenged by men,

But God overturns all things in a short time.

Again Euripides:

Never happiness

The misfortune of a wicked man, and arrogant prosperity

One must rightly guess with certainty,

Nor the race of the unjust.

For no time, born of anyone,

Shows the wickedness of men.

Euripides also [says]:

For it is not foolish

The divine, but it requires understanding

Badly fixed oaths and compelled.

And Sophocles:

If you have done terrible things, you must also suffer terrible things.

That is, then, concerning the unjust oath, or indeed concerning some other fault, because God is about to examine it, and they themselves have almost foretold it; or even concerning the burning up of the world, whether willing or unwilling, they have spoken in consequence to the prophets, although coming much later, and having stolen these things from the law and the prophets.

38. And why indeed did they become last, or even first? Except that at least they themselves spoke in consequence to the prophets. Concerning the burning up, the prophet Malachi foretold: Behold, the day of the Lord comes like a burning furnace, and it will set on fire all the impious. And Isaiah: For the wrath of God will come like hail violently falling, and like water rushing down a ravine. Therefore Sibyl, and the other prophets, but indeed also the poets and philosophers, have made clear concerning righteousness, and judgment, and punishment; moreover, even concerning providence, God cares not only for those of us living, but also for the dead, although all declared this; for they were convicted by the truth. And of the prophets, Solomon said concerning the dead: There will be healing for the flesh, and care for the bones. The same also David: The humbled bones will rejoice. Following these, Timocles also spoke, saying:

God is merciful and gentle toward the dead.

And concerning the multitude of gods, the writers having spoken, descended into monarchy, and speaking about lack of providence, they spoke about providence, and asserting about lack of discernment, they agreed that there will be judgment, and those who deny sensation after death, they agreed as well. Homer indeed said:

The soul, like a fair dream, flies away and departs,

he says in another place:

But the soul, having flown from the river depths, has gone to Hades.

And again:

Bury me, so that I may quickly pass through the gates of Hades.

As for the rest of what you have read, I think you understand precisely how they have been spoken. And all who seek the wisdom of God will comprehend these things, and will please Him through faith, righteousness, and good works. For a certain prophet, Hosea by name, whom we have cited, said: "Who is wise, and will understand these things? prudent, and will know? That the ways of the Lord are straight, and the righteous will walk in them; but the wicked will stumble in them." Therefore, the lover of learning and of learning itself must strive to bring together more closely, so that having heard the living voice, you may accurately learn the truth.

Book III

1. Theophilus to Autolycus, greetings. Since writers desire to compose a multitude of books for empty glory—some concerning gods and wars, or times, others even about useless myths and the remaining vanity, which you also have practiced up to now—and you do not shrink from enduring that toil, yet joining with us, you still consider the discourse of truth to be foolish, thinking that the writings among us are recent and novel; therefore indeed I will not hesitate to summarize for you, God granting, the antiquity of the writings among us, making a brief memorial for you, so that you may not hesitate to meet with it; and you will recognize the nonsense of those who have composed the rest.

2. For those who write ought to have been eyewitnesses concerning what they affirm, or at least to have learned accurately from those who have seen them; for in some way those who write about the invisible grasp at air. What benefit, then, did Homer gain by composing the Iliad and deceiving many? Or Hesiod by his catalog of the gods named among those with him? Or Orpheus by his three hundred and sixty-five gods, whom he himself at the end of his life rejects, saying in his testament that there is one God? What benefit did Aratus gain from his spherography of the cosmic circle, or those who said similar things, except for human praise, which they did not even receive worthily? And did they say anything true? Or what benefit did the tragedies of Euripides and Sophocles, or the other tragedians, bring? Or the comedies of Menander and Aristophanes and the other comedians? Or the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides? Or the secrets of Pythagoras, and the pillars of Heracles? Or the Cynic philosophy of Diogenes? Or Epicurus' doctrine that there is no providence? Or Empedocles' teaching of atheism? Or Socrates' swearing by the dog, the goose, the plane tree, and the thunderstruck Asclepius, and the demons he invoked? And why did he willingly die? What kind and what reward did he hope to receive after death? What benefit did Plato gain from his education according to himself? Or the doctrines of the other philosophers? So as not to enumerate their number, since there are many, we say these things to show their useless and godless thinking.

3. For all these, having been enamored of empty and vain glory, neither themselves knew the truth, nor did they urge others toward the truth; for what they said refutes them, in that they spoke inconsistently; and most of them even destroyed their own doctrines. For they not only overturned one another, but some already made their own doctrines invalid; so that their glory turned into disgrace and folly, being condemned by the wise. For they themselves spoke about gods, but later taught atheism; or even concerning the origin of the world, they said that everything is the last product of chance. But even speaking about providence, they dogmatized that the world is without providence. And why not, attempting to write about reverence, they taught that licentiousness, fornication, and adultery are to be practiced, and even introduced detestable obscene acts? And they proclaim their own gods first to be united in shameless intercourse, and in unlawful feasts. For who does not sing of Cronus devouring his children, and Zeus swallowing his child Metis, and preparing foul banquets for the gods; where also some lame Hephaestus is said to serve them as a smith, and Hera, his own sister, not only marries Zeus but also through her mouth performs impure acts? You are likely aware of the rest of the deeds concerning him, as many poets sing of them. Why then should I recount the matters concerning Poseidon, Apollo, Dionysus, Heracles, Athena the lover of the bosom, and Aphrodite the shameless, whose story we have more accurately composed elsewhere?

4. For it was not necessary for us to refute these things, were it not that I see you now hesitating concerning the discourse of truth. For being wise, you patiently endure fools gladly. Since you would not be moved to be led away by empty words of senseless men, nor to believe the slanders falsely uttered by godless mouths against us, who are called God-fearing and Christians, claiming that our women are common to all and joined in various intercourse, even with their own sisters, and that we touch the most godless and most savage of all human flesh. But also, since the discourse concerning us is recent, and they say we have nothing to say in proof of the truth of our teaching, and that our discourse is foolishness. I indeed marvel especially at you, who, having become serious and a seeker of all things in other matters, listen to us more carelessly. For if it is possible for you, you do not hesitate even to spend the night in the libraries.

5. Since then you have read many things, what did the writings of Zeno or Diogenes, and Cleanthes, contain, as their books teach man-eating, that fathers should boil and devour their own children, and if anyone did not wish or rejected a portion of the miserable food, that he himself should be eaten for not having eaten? Moreover, there is an even more godless voice, that of Diogenes, teaching that children should offer their own parents as a sacrifice and eat them. And does not Herodotus the historian relate that Cambyses killed the children of Harpagus, boiled them, and set them before their father as food? Furthermore, even among the Indians, it is said that fathers are eaten by their own children. O the godless teaching of those who wrote such things, and even more those who taught them! O the impiety and atheism of them! O the mind of those who philosophized so precisely and professed philosophy! For those who dogmatized these things filled the world with impiety.

6. For concerning lawless acts, almost all who have been led astray about the chorus of philosophy have agreed. And first indeed Plato, who seems to have philosophized more solemnly among them, in the first book of the Republic explicitly legislates in a certain way that the women are common to all, using the example of Zeus and the Cretans as lawmakers, so that through this pretext there may be much procreation from such unions, and that those distressed by such relations should be comforted accordingly; (Epicurus also advises to teach atheism and to consort with mothers and sisters,) even beyond the laws that forbid this; for Solomon also clearly legislated concerning this, that children born from lawful marriage be recognized, so that those born from adultery would not be, lest someone honor a man who is not a father as a father, or dishonor the true father, not knowing him as father; and as many other laws of the Romans and Greeks forbid such practices. Why then do Epicurus and the Stoics dogmatize that brotherly cohabitation and male dominance are to be performed, from whose teachings they have filled libraries, so that from children one learns lawless communion? And why should I further waste time concerning them, where even about the gods they proclaim similar things?

7. For although they said there are gods, they again considered them to be nothing. Some said that they were composed of atoms; others that they could be divided into atoms, and that the gods are no more than men. But Plato, having said that there are gods, wishes to compose them of material substance. Pythagoras, having labored so much concerning the gods, and having made the journey up and down, defines their nature at last and says that the gods are automatons and care nothing for men. And as much as Cleitomachus the Academic introduced concerning atheism. And why not also Critias and Protagoras the Abderite, saying: "For whether there are gods or not, I am unable to speak about them, nor to show what sort they are; for many things prevent me." As for Euhemerus, the most atheistic, it is superfluous for us even to speak. For having dared to utter many things about the gods, he finally wishes that there are no gods, but that all things are governed by automatism. Plato, having said so much about the monarchy of God and the human soul, asserting that the soul is immortal, is not found later to contradict himself by saying that souls pass into other men, and some even pass into irrational animals? How terrible and unlawful will his doctrine appear to those who have understanding, that a man may at some time again be a wolf, or a dog, or a donkey, or some other irrational beast? Following this, Pythagoras is found babbling, and cutting off providence as well. Whom then shall we trust among them? To Philemon the Comic, who said:

For those who worship God have good hopes

They have hope for salvation;

Or shall we trust those we mentioned before, Euhemerus and Epicurus and Pythagoras, and the rest who deny piety and abolish providence? Concerning God and providence, Ariston said:

Take courage, for he helps all who are worthy

God is accustomed; and especially to such as these.

If no high office is granted

For those living as is proper, what more is there than to be pious?

Let it be so; but I also see very clearly

To lead those who choose piety rightly

Acting improperly; but those who do nothing other than

What is profitable and what is solely for themselves alone,

Having a disposition more honorable than ours

Regarding the present. But one must look far ahead,

And await the destruction of all things.

For not in the manner that in some it has prevailed

A malignant reputation, and useless to life,

There is a certain impulse that is spontaneous, or is judged

As everything happened. For those who judge these things have

The wicked have provisions for themselves in a base manner.

There is also for living beings a pious precedence,

And for the wicked, as is fitting, a punishment.

For nothing happens without forethought.

As for the many others who have spoken about God and providence, nearly all, it is possible to see how they declared these things to be consistent with one another. For some rejected God and providence as a whole; but others established God, and agreed that all things are governed by providence. Therefore, the intelligent listener and reader must pay close attention to what is said; just as Simylus also said:

It is customary to call poets common.

And those who are extraordinary by nature, and those who are noble.

It was proper to judge.

Just as Philémon also;

A difficult listener, sitting without understanding;

For through folly he does not blame himself.

Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention and to understand what is said, critically examining the statements made by the philosophers and the other poets.

8. For by denying that gods exist, they themselves again confess, and say that these very gods commit lawless deeds. And first of all, the poets sing more melodiously the harsh deeds of Zeus. But Chrysippus, who has spoken much nonsense, how is he not found to signify that Hera is joined in a foul union with Zeus by his mouth? For what shall I recount of the debaucheries of the mother called a goddess? Or of Zeus the Latian thirsting for human blood? Or of Attus being beheaded; or that Zeus, called the tragedian, having drenched his own hand, as they say, is now honored as a god among the Romans? I keep silent about the temples of Antinous and those of the other so-called gods. For even the accounts given to the wise are laughable. Therefore, concerning impiety, those who have philosophized such things are themselves refuted by their own doctrines, or even concerning promiscuity and lawless association. Moreover, cannibalism is found among them, through which they composed writings, and they record these deeds as done by the very first whom they honored as gods.

9. But we also confess God, yet one only, the creator and maker and artisan of this whole universe, and we know that all things are governed by providence, but by him alone. and we have learned the holy law. But we have as our lawgiver the true God, who teaches us to act justly, to be devout, and to do good. And concerning piety he says You shall have no other gods besides me You shall not make for yourself an idol, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth. You shall not worship them, nor serve them. For I am the Lord your God. And concerning doing good, he said Honor your father and your mother, that it may go well with you, and that you may be long-lived upon the earth, which the Lord your God gives you. Further, concerning righteousness You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor with false testimony** You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not covet his house, nor his field, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any of his cattle, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor. You shall not pervert the judgment of the poor in his cause. You shall keep yourself away from every unjust word. You shall not kill the innocent and the righteous. You shall not justify the ungodly. And you shall not receive bribes. For gifts blind the eyes. Seeing, he also plunders just words. Therefore, Moses became the servant of this divine law, who is also the servant of God, to all the world indeed, but especially to the Hebrews, who are also called Jews, whom the king of Egypt enslaved from the beginning, being a righteous seed of God-fearing and holy men, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. God, remembering and performing wondrous and extraordinary miracles through Moses, delivered them and led them out of Egypt, guiding them through the desert called whom He also restored to the land of Canaan, later called Judea, and He set forth the law and taught them these things. The great and wondrous law, surpassing all righteousness, consists of ten chapters, which we have previously mentioned, and are as follows.

10. Since then they became proselytes in the land of Egypt, being of the Hebrew race from the land of Chaldea (at that time a famine having arisen, they were compelled to go into Egypt where food was sold, and there they sojourned for a time; these things happened to them according to the forewarning of God); having sojourned in Egypt for four hundred and thirty years, at the time when Moses was about to lead them out into the desert, God taught them through the law saying: You shall not oppress a proselyte; for you yourselves know the soul of the proselyte, for you were once proselytes in the land of Egypt.

11. The law given to them by God when the people transgressed, God being good and merciful, not wishing to destroy them for the law He had given, later also sent prophets from among their own brothers to teach and remind them of the law, and to turn them to repentance, so that they would sin no more. But if they persisted in their evil deeds, He foretold that they would be handed over as subjects to all the kingdoms of the earth; and it is clear that this has already happened to them. Concerning repentance, Isaiah the prophet speaks generally to all, but explicitly to the people: Seek the Lord, and when you find Him, call upon Him; and when He draws near to you, let the wicked forsake his ways, and the lawless man his plans, and let him turn to the Lord his God, and He will have mercy, for He will abundantly pardon your sins. And another prophet, Ezekiel, says: If the wicked turns away from all the sins he has committed, and keeps my commandments, and does my judgments, he shall surely live, and shall not die; all his injustices which he has done shall not be remembered, but because he has done what is just, he shall live; for I do not desire the death of the wicked, says the Lord, but that he should turn from his evil way and live. Again Isaiah says: Turn back, you who devise deep plans and lawlessness, that you may be saved. And another, Jeremiah: Turn back to the Lord your God, as a grape-gatherer to his cluster, and you shall be shown mercy. Many, indeed, and even more countless are the things said in the holy Scriptures about repentance, always with God willing that the race of men turn from all their sins.

12. Moreover, concerning righteousness, of which the law spoke, the words of the prophets are found to follow, and those of the Gospels also, because all who are inspired spoke with one Spirit of God. Isaiah, then, said thus: Remove the evil from your souls, learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, judge the orphan, and defend the widow. Again the same prophet says: Break every yoke of injustice; undo the bonds of violence; send away the oppressed with forgiveness; and tear apart every unjust writing; give your bread to the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house. If you see one naked, clothe him, and do not despise from your own seed. Then your light will break forth early, and your healing will quickly rise; and your righteousness will go before you. Similarly Jeremiah says: Stand on the roads, and look, and ask which is the good way of the Lord our God, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Judge with righteous judgment, for in these things is the will of the Lord your God. Likewise Moses says: Guard justice, and draw near to the Lord your God, who established the heavens and created the earth. And another, Joel, said following these: Gather the people, sanctify the Church, receive elders, gather infants nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom come forth from his chamber, and the bride from her bridal chamber, and earnestly pray to the Lord your God, that He may have mercy on you, and wipe away your sins. Likewise another, Zechariah: Thus says the Lord Almighty: Judge with true judgment, and show mercy and compassion each to his neighbor; and do not oppress the widow, the orphan, or the proselyte, and let no one harbor malice against his brother in your hearts, says the Lord Almighty.

13. And concerning chastity, the holy word teaches us not only not to sin in deed, but even in intention—not to conceive any evil in the heart, nor, having seen with the eyes, to desire another's wife. Solomon, then, becoming king and prophet, said: Let your eyes look straight ahead; let your eyelids look right before you; make straight the paths of your feet. But the Gospel voice teaches more strictly concerning purity, saying: Everyone who looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery; and whoever divorces a wife except for the reason of fornication causes her to commit adultery. For Solomon says: Can one bind fire in his garment, and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be scorched? So he who goes to a woman who is not his wife will not be innocent.

14. And not only to favor foreigners, as some suppose, Isaiah the prophet said: Say to those who hate you and to those who detest you, "You are our brothers," so that the name of the Lord may be glorified, and joy may be seen in them. But the Gospel says, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors and the robbers do the same. He teaches those who do good not to boast, so that they may not be people-pleasers. Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing, he says. Moreover, concerning submission to authorities and praying for them, the divine word commands us, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life. And it teaches to give to all what is due: To the one who honors, honor; to the one who fears, fear; to the one who pays tax, pay tax; owe nothing to anyone except to love all.

15. Consider then whether those who learn such things can live indifferently, and consort with unlawful unions, or the most impious of all, to touch human flesh; where even the spectacles of the gladiators are forbidden to us, lest we become sharers and accomplices of murders. But one must not even watch the other spectacles, lest our eyes and ears be defiled, becoming participants in the voices sung there. For if someone were to speak of cannibalism, there are the children of Thyestes and Tereus being eaten; but if about adultery, not only concerning humans but also concerning gods, whom they announce with sweet voices amid honors and contests, it is acted out in tragedy before them. Far be it from Christians even to think of doing such a thing among those where temperance is present, self-control is practiced, monogamy is kept, chastity is guarded, injustice is destroyed, sin is uprooted, righteousness is cultivated, law is observed, piety is practiced, God is confessed, truth is honored, grace is preserved, peace watches over, the holy word guides, wisdom teaches, life is rewarded, God reigns. Having much to say concerning our own conduct, and the commandments of God, and the creator of all creation, we now consider it sufficient to remind you, so that you may especially stand firm in what you read up to this point, that just as you have become a lover of learning, so also you will remain a lover of learning up to this point.

16. And now, God willing, I want to show you more precisely the times, so that you may recognize that the teaching concerning us is neither recent nor fictitious, but older and truer than all poets and writers who have written on uncertain matters. For some, having said that the world is uncreated, have gone into the infinite; others, saying it is created, have stated that fifteen myriad years and three thousand seventy-five years have already passed. These things, then, Apollonius the Egyptian records. But Plato, who is thought to have become the wisest of the Greeks, to what great nonsense did he descend? For in his Republic, which is titled as such, it plainly says: "For how could anything new ever be found, if all time remained as it is now arranged? For indeed, those times then were fifteen myriad years ago, and a thousand years or twice as many have passed since then, some belonging to Daedalus, some to Orpheus, some to Palamedes." And having said these things, he indicates that fifteen myriad years passed from the flood to Daedalus. And having said many things about the ordering of cities, houses, and nations, he admits that these things were spoken in conjecture. For he says: "If, stranger, God has promised us that we may attempt the consideration of lawmaking concerning what has now been said," clearly meaning in conjecture; but if in conjecture, then the things said by him are not truly certain.

17. Therefore, one must rather become a disciple of the law of God, as even he himself confessed that it is impossible to learn the truth otherwise, unless God teaches through the law. And why not also the poets—Homer, Hesiod, and Orpheus—claimed that they had learned from divine providence? Moreover, seers and prophets have come to be, according to the writers, and those who learned from them are said to have written accurately. How much more, then, shall we know the truth, who learn from the holy prophets, who were endowed with the holy Spirit of God? Therefore, all the prophets spoke in agreement and affection for one another, and proclaimed beforehand the things that would come to pass for the whole world. For those who love learning, and even more those who love truth, this outcome is able to truly teach that the things previously foretold, and already fulfilled, are indeed true concerning the times and seasons before the flood, from which the world was created until now, as the years have passed, in order to show the folly of the falsehood of the writers, that what was said by them is not true.

18. For Plato, as we have said before, having declared that a flood occurred, said that it was not of the whole earth, but only of the plains, and that those who escaped were saved on the highest mountains. Others say that Deucalion and Pyrrha existed, and that they too were saved in an ark; and that Deucalion, after coming out of the ark, cast stones behind him, and men were born from the stones; whence it is said that peoples are called the multitude of men. Others again said that Clymenus lived in a second flood. That those who wrote such things and philosophized in vain are wretched, very impious, and foolish, is clear from what has been said before. But our prophet and servant of God, Moses, recounting the origin of the world, related in what manner the flood came upon the earth; and also how the flood happened; not inventing Pyrrha, nor Deucalion, nor Clymenus, nor that only the plains were flooded, and that those who escaped on the mountains alone were saved.

19. But he does not indicate that a second flood occurred. Rather, he said that there would never again be a flood of water upon the world, such as neither happened before nor will happen in the future. He says that eight souls of men were saved in the ark, constructed by the command of God, not by Deucalion, but by Noah in Hebrew, which is interpreted into the Greek language as rest; as we also showed in another passage, that Noah, announcing to the people of that time that a flood was about to come, prophesied to them, saying: "Come, God calls you to repentance." Therefore, Deucalion was appropriately named. This Noah had three sons, as we also stated in the second volume, whose names are Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and each of them had a wife, and he himself and his wife. Some have called this man Eunouchos. Thus, all eight souls of men were saved, those found in the ark.

Moses indicated that the flood lasted for forty days and forty nights, the floodgates pouring down from the sky, and bursting forth from the springs of the abyss so that the water was raised above every high mountain, fifteen cubits. And thus the race of all the men of that time perished; only those kept safe in the ark, whom we mentioned as eight, were saved. The remains of this ark are still shown to this day in the Arabian mountains. Such, then, is the summary account of the flood.

20. Moses, having led the Jews, as we have said before, expelled from the land of Egypt by the king Pharaoh, whose name was Amasis, who, they say, reigned for twenty-five years and four months after the expulsion of the people, as Manaethon records. And after him, Chebron reigned for thirteen years. After him, Amenophis for twenty years and seven months. After him, his sister Amessis for twenty-one years and one month. After her, Mipherres for twelve years and nine months. After him, Methrammothosis for twenty years and ten months. And after him, Tuthmosis for nine years and eight months. And after him, Daphenophis for forty years and ten months. After him, Horus for fifty-five years and five months. His daughter reigned for ten years and three months. After her, Mercheres for twelve years and three months. After him, Armais for forty years and one month. After him, Messes Miammo for six years and two months. And after him, Rameses for one year and four months. And after him, Amenophis for nineteen years and six months. Then Thoissos and Rameses for ten years, who are said to have had great power in cavalry and a fleet.

After their own times, the Hebrews, dwelling in Egypt at that time and enslaved by the king, as mentioned before, Tethmosis, built for him fortified cities, both Pithom and Rameses, and On, which is Heliopolis. Thus, the Hebrews are shown to be earlier than the famous cities of Egypt at that time, being our ancestors, from whom we have the sacred books, which are the oldest of all writers, as we have said before.

Egypt, the land, was named after the king Sethos. For Sethos, they say, is the name from which Egypt is called. Sethos had a brother named Armain, who is called Danaus, the one who came to Argos from Egypt, as other writers, who are considered very ancient, remember.

21. Manaethon, the Egyptian, having spoken many things at length, indeed even blasphemously, said that Moses and the Hebrews with him were expelled from Egypt supposedly because of leprosy. For he called them shepherds and enemies of the Egyptians, but he did not find the exact times to say.

He unwillingly called them shepherds, being refuted by the truth; for our ancestors, who dwelt in Egypt, were indeed shepherds, but not leprous. For when they came to the land called Jerusalem, where they also lived among each other, it is shown by the manner of their priests, by the command of God, who steadfastly served the temple, that they then healed every disease, so that even those with leprosy and every defect were cured.

King Solomon of Judah built the temple. Regarding the error of Manaethon about the times from those he mentioned, it is clear. (But also concerning the king who expelled them, Pharaoh by name, he no longer reigned over them. For having pursued the Hebrews with his army, he was drowned in the Red Sea. Moreover, he lies about those he said were shepherds who fought the Egyptians.)

For three hundred and thirteen years ago they came out of Egypt, and since then they have inhabited the land still called Judea, before Danaus also arrived in Argos. That this one is considered older than the others among the Greeks is clear.

Thus, Manaethon unwillingly revealed two elements of the truth to us through his writings: first, he acknowledged that they were shepherds; second, he said that they went out from the land of Egypt. Therefore, even from these records it is shown that Moses and those with him lived nine hundred or even a thousand years before the Trojan War.

22. But also concerning the building of the temple in Judea, which King Solomon built five hundred and sixty-six years after the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, it is recorded by the Tyrians that the temple was built, and in their archives the records have been preserved, in which writings it is found that the temple existed one hundred and forty-three years before the Tyrians founded Carthage, eight months (the record was made by Hierom, the name of the king of the Tyrians, son of Abimalech, because by paternal connection Hierom had become a friend of Solomon). Also on account of the surpassing wisdom which Solomon possessed. For they continually exercised one another with riddles. As proof of this, it says that copies of their letters have been preserved up to the present among the Tyrians, and that they sent letters to one another, as Menander of Ephesus recalls, writing concerning the kingship of the Tyrians, saying thus: For at the death of Abimelus, king of the Tyrians, his son Hiram succeeded to the kingship, having lived fifty-three years He was succeeded by Bazorus, having lived fifty-three years, who reigned for seventeen years After him Methusastartes, having lived fifty-four years, reigned for twelve years After him his brother Atharymos, having lived fifty-nine years, reigned for nine years His brother Hellēs, by name, killed him; who, having lived fifty years, reigned eight months. Iouthōbalos, priest of Astarte, killed him; who, having lived forty years, reigned twelve years. His son Bazōros succeeded him; who, having lived fifty years, reigned seven years. His son, Mettēn, who, having lived forty-two years, reigned twenty-nine years. He was succeeded by Pygmalion, son of Pygmalion, who, having lived fifty-six years, reigned seven years. In the seventh year of his reign, his sister, fleeing into Libya, founded a city which to this day is called Carthage. Therefore, the entire time from the reign of Hieron to the founding of Carthage amounts to 154 years and eight months. In the twelfth year of Hieron's reign, the temple was built in Jerusalem. So that the entire time from the building of the temple until the founding of Carthage amounts to 143 years and eight months.

23. Concerning the testimony of the Phoenicians and Egyptians, as those who have written about the times concerning us have recorded, namely Manaethus the Egyptian, and Menander of Ephesus, and also Josephus who wrote the Jewish War, which happened to them under the Romans, what has been said is sufficient for us. For from these ancient sources it is shown that the other writings are later than the books given to us through Moses, and indeed also later than those among the prophets. For the last of the prophets, named Zechariah, lived during the reign of Darius. Moreover, all the lawgivers are found in between, legislating. For if someone were to say Solon the Athenian, he lived in the times of the kings Cyrus and Darius, during the time of the aforementioned prophet Zechariah, separated by very many years. Likewise, concerning Lycurgus, or Draco, or Minos among the lawgivers, Josephus writes that the sacred books precede them in antiquity, where it is also shown that letters preceded the divine law given to us through Moses, even from the time of Zeus who reigned over the Cretans, and indeed from the time of the Trojan War.

In order to make the demonstration of the times and years more precise, God granting us the ability, we will now recount not only those things recorded after the flood, but also those before the flood, so that we may speak the number of all things as far as possible. We will begin from the very beginning of the world's creation, which Moses the servant of God wrote down through the Holy Spirit. For having spoken about the creation and origin of the world, of the first-formed man, and of those things that happened afterward, he also indicated the years before the flood.

I ask grace from the one God, so that I may speak all things accurately according to His will, so that you, and all who encounter these things, may be guided by the truth and by His grace. I will therefore begin first from the recorded genealogies, speaking from the beginning by making the origin from the first-formed man.

24. Adam until he begot [his son], 130 years His son, Seth, [lived] 105 years His son Enos [lived] 90 years His son Cainan [lived] 70 years His son Mahalalel [lived] 65 years His son Jared [lived] 62 years His son Enoch [lived] 65 years His son Methuselah [lived] 67 years His son Lamech [lived] 182 years And to him a son was born, the aforementioned Noah, who begot Shem at the age of 40 years At his time the Flood occurred, when he was 600 years old All things, therefore, up to the Flood, were 1,656 years in number But immediately after the Flood, Shem, being 100 years old, begot Arphaxad Arphaxad, being 35 years old, begot Salah Salah, being 30 years old, begot Of him, a son, Eber, being 34 years old From whom also their race was called Hebrews Of him, a son, Peleg, being years old 34 Of him, a son, Reu, being years old 32 Of him, a son, Serug, being years old Of him, a son, Nahor, being years old Of him, a son, Tharra, being years old Of him, a son, Abraham, our patriarch, begot Isaac, being years old There are therefore until Abraham years 398 Isaac, the aforementioned, lived until fatherhood for 60 years, who begot Jacob Jacob lived until the migration that took place in Egypt, which we mentioned above, being 130 years old. The sojourn of the Hebrews in Egypt lasted 400 years. And after their departure from the land of Egypt, they dwelt in the desert called [the wilderness] for 40 years. Thus the whole period amounts to 480 years, at which time, upon the death of Moses, Joshua son of Nun succeeded to leadership, who led them for 27 years. After Joshua, the people having transgressed the commandments of God, served a king of Mesopotamia named Chusarathon for eight years. Then, when the people repented, judges were appointed over them. Gothoniel for forty years, Eglon for eighteen years, Oth for eight years. Then, when they sinned, foreigners ruled over them for twenty years. Then Deborah judged them for forty years. Then the Midianites ruled over them for seven years. Then Gideon judged them for forty years, Abimelech for three years, Tola for twenty-two years, Jair for twenty-two years. Then the Philistines and the Ammonites ruled over them for eighteen years. Then Jephthah judged them for six years, Ibzan for seven years, Elon for ten years, Abdon for eight years. Then foreigners ruled over them for forty years. Then Samson judged them for twenty years. Then peace came to them for forty years. Then Samgar judged them for a year. Elijah for twenty years, Samuel for twelve years.

25. After the judges, kings arose among them, the first named Saul, who reigned for twenty years, then David our ancestor for thirty years. Therefore, everything comes down to the reign of David, a total of seventy-six years. After these, Solomon reigned, who first built the temple in Jerusalem according to the counsel of God, reigning for thirty years; after him Rehoboam for seventeen years, and after him Abijah for seven years, and after him Asa for forty years, and after him Jehoshaphat for twenty-five years, after him Joram for eight years, after him Ahaziah for one year, and after him Athaliah for six years, after her Josiah for thirty years, and after him Amaziah for twenty-nine years, and after him Uzziah for fifty-two years, after him Jotham for sixteen years, after him Ahaz for seventeen years, and after him Hezekiah for twenty-nine years, after him Manasseh for fifty years, after him Amos for two years, after him Josiah for thirty years, and after him Jehoahaz for three months. After him Jehoiakim for eleven years. Then another Jehoiakim for three months and ten days, and after him Zedekiah for eleven years. After these kings, the people remaining in their sins and not repenting, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, the king of Babylon, named Nebuchadnezzar, came up against Judah. He deported the people of the Jews to Babylon. And he destroyed the temple, which Solomon had built. And during the Babylonian exile, the people spent ninety years. Thus, everything occurs until the exile in the land of Babylon for 438 years, 6 months, 11 days. Just as God foretold through Jeremiah the prophet that the people would be taken captive to Babylon, so He also signified their return again to their land after forty years. When the forty years were completed, Cyrus became king of the Persians, who, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, in the second year of his reign proclaimed, commanding by written decree all the Jews in his kingdom to return to their own land, and to rebuild the temple to God, which the aforementioned king of Babylon had destroyed. Moreover, Cyrus, following the command of God, ordered Sabassar and Mithridates, his personal bodyguards, to bring back and place in the temple the vessels taken from the temple of Judea by Nebuchadnezzar. In the second year of Cyrus, the forty years foretold by Jeremiah are fulfilled.

26. From this point, it is possible to see how the sacred writings that concern us are older and more accurate than those concerning the Greeks and Egyptians, or even some other historians. For Herodotus and Thucydides, or even Xenophon, or however the other historians, mostly began their accounts almost from the reigns of Cyrus and Darius, unable to accurately recount the earlier and more ancient times. For what great things did they say concerning Darius and Cyrus, the kings over the barbarians, or concerning the Greeks, Zopyrus and Hippias, or the wars of the Athenians and Lacedaemonians, or the deeds of Xerxes, or Pausanias who was endangered by famine in the sanctuary of Athena, or concerning Themistocles, and the Peloponnesian War, or concerning Alcibiades and Thrasybulus? For our purpose is not a matter of lengthy discourse, but to reveal the total span of years from the foundation of the world, and to refute the vanity and babbling of the writers who claim that there are neither tens of thousands nor myriads of years, as Plato said, from the flood until his own time, asserting such a number of years; nor indeed fifteen myriads and forty years, as we have said Apollonius the Egyptian to have recorded; nor is the world uncreated and an automatic unfolding of all things, as Pythagoras and others have babbled; but rather it is created, and governed by the providence of God who made all things; and all time and years are shown to those willing to obey the truth. Therefore, I do not wish to seem to have demonstrated only up to Cyrus, yet to neglect the times in between, as if lacking the means to prove them, God providing; and I will attempt, as far as possible, to explain the order of the subsequent years.

27. In the twenty-ninth year of Cyrus' reign, and after he was killed by Tomyris in Massagetae, at that time being the two hundred sixty-second Olympiad, From then on, the Romans were already growing greater, strengthened by God, with Rome founded by Romulus, the child said to be of Ares and Ilia, in the seventh Olympiad, on the 11th and 1st Kalends of May, of the year then counted as ten months. When Cyrus died, as we have said, in the sixty-second Olympiad, the time from the founding of Rome amounted to sixty years, at which time the Roman Tarquinius Superbus began to rule, who was the first to exile certain Romans, to corrupt children, and to make local slaves. Moreover, he also corrupted the virgins, giving them over for marriage. Therefore, Superbus was aptly called by the Roman language. It is interpreted as arrogant. For he himself was the first to decree that those who embraced him should be embraced in return by another. Who reigned for seventy years. After him, annual consuls, military tribunes, or market officials began for fifty-nine years, whose names we consider it excessive and unnecessary to enumerate. For if anyone wishes to learn, from the records he will find those which Chryseros the Nomenclator, having become a freedman of Aurelius Verus, wrote down, who from the founding of Rome until the death of his own patron emperor Verus, clearly recorded everything, both the names and the times. The annual magistrates of the Romans, therefore, held office, as we say, for fifty-nine years. Then in this way the so-called emperors began to rule. The first was Gaius Julius, who reigned three years, four months, and six days. Then Augustus [reigned] sixteen years, four months, and one day. Tiberius [reigned] twenty-two years; then another Gaius [reigned] three years, eight months, and seven days. Claudius [reigned] twenty-three years, eight months, and twenty-four days. Nero [reigned] thirteen years, six months, and twenty-seven days. Galba [reigned] two years, seven months, and six days. Otho [reigned] three months, and five days. Vitellius [reigned] six months, and twenty-two days. Vespasian [reigned] nine years, eleven months, and twenty-two days. Titus [reigned] two years, and twenty-two days. Domitian [reigned] fifteen years, five months, and six days. Nero [reigned] one year, four months, and ten days. Trajan [reigned] nineteen years, six months, and sixteen days. Hadrian [reigned] twenty years, eleven months, and twenty-seven days. Antoninus [reigned] twenty-two years, seven months, and six days. Vespasian [reigned] nineteen years and ten days. Thus, the time of the Caesars until the death of Emperor Vespasian amounts to 57 years, and 5 days. Therefore, from the death of Cyrus, and the beginning of the Romans under Tarquinius Superbus, until the death of Emperor Vespasian, as we have said before, the entire time amounts to 784 years.

28. From the foundation of the world, the entire time is summarized as follows. From the creation of the world until the flood, there were 1656 years. From the flood until the birth of Abraham our forefather, there were 430 years. From Isaac, the son of Abraham, until the time when the people dwelt with Moses in the wilderness, there were 26 years. From the death of Moses, and the beginning of Joshua son of Nun, until the death of David the patriarch, there were 40 years. From the death of David, and the reign of Solomon, until the exile of the people in the land of Babylon, there were 515 years, 6 months, and 10 days. From the beginning of Cyrus until the death of Emperor Aurelian Vespasian, there were 784 years. Altogether, from the creation of the world, all amount to 6966 years, including the running months and days.

29. Therefore, when all the years and those previously mentioned are summed together, one can see the antiquity of the prophetic writings, and the divinity of the word among us, in that the word is not recent, nor indeed, as some suppose, are the things concerning us fictitious and false, but rather they are older and truer. For even Thallos, when Belus reigned over the Assyrians, and Cronus the Titan, recalls, saying that Belus waged war with the Titans against Zeus and the gods said to be with him, where he says also that Gyges, having been defeated, fled to Tartessus, then called the Coast of that land, now called Attica, over which Gyges then ruled. And the remaining lands and cities, from which they received their surnames, we do not consider it necessary to enumerate, especially to you who are knowledgeable in histories. That Moses is shown to be the oldest of all writers (not only he alone, but also most of the prophets who came after him), and that of Cronus, and Belus, and the Trojan War, is evident. For according to the history of Thallos, Belus is found to be earlier than the Trojan War by 32 years. That Moses precedes the fall of Troy by about 70 or even a thousand years, we have shown above. When Cronus and Belus flourished together, most do not know who Cronus is, or who Belus is. Some worship Cronus, and call him Bel, or Bal, especially those dwelling in the eastern regions, not knowing who Cronus is, nor who Belus is. Among the Romans, he is called Saturn. For they themselves do not know which of them came first, Cronus or Bel. As for the origin of the Olympiads, they say that the religion began from Iphitus, but according to some, from Linus, who was also called Ilius. We have, then, shown above the number of years and the order of the Olympiads as it stands. As for the impiety of the matters among you, and the entire number of years, I believe that now they have been stated accurately, as far as possible. For even if time has escaped us, if it happens to be said, nine years, or twenty, or even thirty, certainly not myriads or thousands of years, as Plato and Apollonius and the others have previously stated falsely. Which perhaps we do not know precisely—the number of all the years—because the running months and days were not recorded in the sacred books. That Berossus also agrees concerning the years we mention, he who philosophized among the Chaldeans and revealed to the Greeks the Chaldean letters, and who subsequently said certain things to Moses, recounting the flood and many other matters. Moreover, he has spoken in part in agreement with the prophets, Jeremiah and Daniel. For he mentions the events that happened to the Jews under the king of the Babylonians, whom he himself calls Abovassaron, but who is known among the Hebrews as Nebuchadnezzar. And also concerning the temple in Jerusalem, how it was laid waste by the king of the Chaldeans. And that in the second year of Cyrus's reign, the foundations of the temple were laid, and again in the second year of Darius's reign, the temple was completed.

30. The Greeks do not remember the histories of the truth; firstly, because they have only recently become participants in the knowledge of experience. And they themselves admit, claiming that the letters were found, some from the Chaldeans, others from the Egyptians, and still others from the Phoenicians. Secondly, because they follow and err, not making mention of God, but of vain and useless matters. For thus they remember Homer, Hesiod, and the other poets fondly; but the glory of the incorruptible and only God they not only forgot, but also slandered. Indeed, they even persecuted those who worship Him, and continue to persecute them daily; moreover, they assign prizes and honors to those who blaspheme God with flattering words; but those who hasten toward virtue and live a holy life, some they stoned, others they put to death; and even to this day they surround them with cruel insults. Therefore, such people necessarily lost the wisdom of God, and did not find the truth well. If then you wish, come upon these things carefully, so that you may have a sign and a pledge of the truth.