1. Hebrew Bible, Exodus, 23.7 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy, as false belief • Heresy, as schism • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 217; Schremer (2010) 66
23.7. מִדְּבַר־שֶׁקֶר תִּרְחָק וְנָקִי וְצַדִּיק אַל־תַּהֲרֹג כִּי לֹא־אַצְדִּיק רָשָׁע׃''. None | 23.7. Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked.''. None |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 1.1-1.2, 1.26-1.27, 2.7, 4.14 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Alexandria, heresy and epistemology • Eristic, connection with heresy • Heresy • Heresy, • Heresy, heretic • Heresy, human origin of • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • heresy and heretics • heresy, engagement with, in Christian writings • heresy/heretical/heretics • heretics (minim) • women, as centerpieces of heresies
Found in books: Allen and Dunne (2022) 182, 184, 189, 193, 199, 200, 207, 208; Ashbrook Harvey et al (2015) 159; Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 57; Bird and Harrower (2021) 318; Boulluec (2022) 73, 143, 206, 207, 220, 221, 395, 421; Bull Lied and Turner (2011) 279; Dijkstra and Raschle (2020) 340; Kessler (2004) 25; Kosman (2012) 182; Secunda (2014) 134, 135
1.1. בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ׃
1.1. וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לַיַּבָּשָׁה אֶרֶץ וּלְמִקְוֵה הַמַּיִם קָרָא יַמִּים וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים כִּי־טוֹב׃ 1.2. וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם׃ 1.2. וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם שֶׁרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה וְעוֹף יְעוֹפֵף עַל־הָאָרֶץ עַל־פְּנֵי רְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמָיִם׃
1.26. וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ וְיִרְדּוּ בִדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל־הָאָרֶץ וּבְכָל־הָרֶמֶשׂ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל־הָאָרֶץ׃ 1.27. וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָם׃
2.7. וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה׃
4.14. הֵן גֵּרַשְׁתָּ אֹתִי הַיּוֹם מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה וּמִפָּנֶיךָ אֶסָּתֵר וְהָיִיתִי נָע וָנָד בָּאָרֶץ וְהָיָה כָל־מֹצְאִי יַהַרְגֵנִי׃' '. None | 1.1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 1.2. Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.
1.26. And God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’ 1.27. And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.
2.7. Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
4.14. Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the land; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me.’' '. None |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 24.17, 25.8 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Exegesis, heresy as erroneous exegesis • Heresy, interior to Church • Hippolytus of Rome, Refutation of All Heresies • Satan, and heresy • heresy, Jewish origins denied • heresy/heretical/heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 487; Dijkstra and Raschle (2020) 340; Goldhill (2022) 298; Klawans (2019) 14
24.17. אֶרְאֶנּוּ וְלֹא עַתָּה אֲשׁוּרֶנּוּ וְלֹא קָרוֹב דָּרַךְ כּוֹכָב מִיַּעֲקֹב וְקָם שֵׁבֶט מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל וּמָחַץ פַּאֲתֵי מוֹאָב וְקַרְקַר כָּל־בְּנֵי־שֵׁת׃
25.8. וַיָּבֹא אַחַר אִישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־הַקֻּבָּה וַיִּדְקֹר אֶת־שְׁנֵיהֶם אֵת אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת־הָאִשָּׁה אֶל־קֳבָתָהּ וַתֵּעָצַר הַמַּגֵּפָה מֵעַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃''. None | 24.17. I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh; There shall step forth a star out of Jacob, And a scepter shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite through the corners of Moab, And break down all the sons of Seth.
25.8. And he went after the man of Israel into the chamber, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.''. None |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Proverbs, 27.10 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Philosophy, assimilation of heresy to • heresy/-ies
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 370; Černušková (2016) 96
| 27.10. Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; Neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity; Better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.''. None |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 1.1, 116.15 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy • Heresy, • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • church, heresy dividing • heresy • heresy, church divided by • heresy/-ies • heretics and heresy
Found in books: Allen and Dunne (2022) 226; Azar (2016) 73; Boulluec (2022) 207; Boustan Janssen and Roetzel (2010) 185; Rowland (2009) 356; Vinzent (2013) 174, 183; Černušková (2016) 65
1.1. אַשְׁרֵי־הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָלַךְ בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים וּבְדֶרֶךְ חַטָּאִים לֹא עָמָד וּבְמוֹשַׁב לֵצִים לֹא יָשָׁב׃
116.15. יָקָר בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה הַמָּוְתָה לַחֲסִידָיו׃' '. None | 1.1. HAPPY IS the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful.
116.15. Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints.' '. None |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Amos, 4.13 (8th cent. BCE - 6th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • heresy and heretics • heresy, and Christian exegesis • heresy, engagement with, in Christian writings
Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 2, 74; Hayes (2022) 392; Secunda (2014) 134, 135
4.13. כִּי הִנֵּה יוֹצֵר הָרִים וּבֹרֵא רוּחַ וּמַגִּיד לְאָדָם מַה־שֵּׂחוֹ עֹשֵׂה שַׁחַר עֵיפָה וְדֹרֵךְ עַל־בָּמֳתֵי אָרֶץ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי־צְבָאוֹת שְׁמוֹ׃''. None | 4.13. For, lo, He that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, And declareth unto man what is his thought, That maketh the morning darkness, And treadeth upon the high places of the earth; The LORD, the God of hosts, is His name.''. None |
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7. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 29.13 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Epicureanism, heresy assimilated to • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Heresy, human origin of • Martyr, Justin, use of Greek models for heresy • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • heretics as mocking realists • realism, legal, and heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 66, 67, 75, 461; Hayes (2015) 228
29.13. וַיֹּאמֶר אֲדֹנָי יַעַן כִּי נִגַּשׁ הָעָם הַזֶּה בְּפִיו וּבִשְׂפָתָיו כִּבְּדוּנִי וְלִבּוֹ רִחַק מִמֶּנִּי וַתְּהִי יִרְאָתָם אֹתִי מִצְוַת אֲנָשִׁים מְלֻמָּדָה׃''. None | 29.13. And the Lord said: Forasmuch as this people draw near, and with their mouth and with their lips do honour Me, But have removed their heart far from Me, And their fear of Me is a commandment of men learned by rote;''. None |
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8. Hesiod, Works And Days, 78, 81 (8th cent. BCE - 7th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Eristic, connection with heresy • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Myth, associated with heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • women, as centerpieces of heresies
Found in books: Ashbrook Harvey et al (2015) 159; Boulluec (2022) 137
78. ψεύδεά θʼ αἱμυλίους τε λόγους καὶ ἐπίκλοπον ἦθος'
81. Πανδώρην, ὅτι πάντες Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχοντες '. None | 78. Formed out of clay, at Cronus’ son’s behest,'
81. And cinctured, while the Graces and Seduction '. None |
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9. None, None, nan (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy, • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of
Found in books: Allen and Dunne (2022) 193; Boulluec (2022) 1
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10. Hebrew Bible, Daniel, 7.9, 9.27 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, exclusion of • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • heretic arguments, answered by, minim
Found in books: Bird and Harrower (2021) 23; Boulluec (2022) 521, 531, 532; Nikolsky and Ilan (2014) 292; Rowland (2009) 110, 525
7.9. חָזֵה הֲוֵית עַד דִּי כָרְסָוָן רְמִיו וְעַתִּיק יוֹמִין יְתִב לְבוּשֵׁהּ כִּתְלַג חִוָּר וּשְׂעַר רֵאשֵׁהּ כַּעֲמַר נְקֵא כָּרְסְיֵהּ שְׁבִיבִין דִּי־נוּר גַּלְגִּלּוֹהִי נוּר דָּלִק׃
9.27. וְהִגְבִּיר בְּרִית לָרַבִּים שָׁבוּעַ אֶחָד וַחֲצִי הַשָּׁבוּעַ יַשְׁבִּית זֶבַח וּמִנְחָה וְעַל כְּנַף שִׁקּוּצִים מְשֹׁמֵם וְעַד־כָּלָה וְנֶחֱרָצָה תִּתַּךְ עַל־שֹׁמֵם׃''. None | 7.9. I beheld Till thrones were placed, And one that was ancient of days did sit: His raiment was as white snow, And the hair of his head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire.
9.27. And he shall make a firm covet with many for one week; and for half of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease; and upon the wing of detestable things shall be that which causeth appalment; and that until the extermination wholly determined be poured out upon that which causeth appalment.’''. None |
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11. Philo of Alexandria, On The Confusion of Tongues, 14 (1st cent. BCE - missingth cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • heresy, heretics, heresiology
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 202; Novenson (2020) 251
| 14. Those, then, who put these things together, and cavil at them, and raise malicious objections, will be easily refuted separately by those who can produce ready solutions of all such questions as arise from the plain words of the law, arguing in a spirit far from contentious, and not encountering them by sophisms drawn from any other source, but following the connection of natural consequences, which does not permit them to stumble, but which easily puts aside any impediments that arise, so that the course of their arguments proceeds without any interruption or mishap. ''. None |
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12. Anon., Didache, 8.2, 11.1-11.2, 12.4 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, exclusion of • Ignatius of Antioch, on terminology for heresy • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Simon of Samaria, as source of all heresy • Simplicity, Virtue of simplicity versus heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • heresy • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Bird and Harrower (2021) 77; Boulluec (2022) 27, 148; Lieu (2004) 252; Malherbe et al (2014) 72
| 8.2. But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites; Matthew 6:16 for they fast on the second and fifth day of the week; but fast on the fourth day and the Preparation (Friday). Neither pray as the hypocrites; but as the Lord commanded in His Gospel, thus pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us today our daily (needful) bread, and forgive us our debt as we also forgive our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one (or, evil); for Yours is the power and the glory forever. Thrice in the day thus pray. ' "
11.1. Whosoever, therefore, comes and teaches you all these things that have been said before, receive him. But if the teacher himself turn and teach another doctrine to the destruction of this, hear him not; but if he teach so as to increase righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord. But concerning the apostles and prophets, according to the decree of the Gospel, thus do. Let every apostle that comes to you be received as the Lord. But he shall not remain except one day; but if there be need, also the next; but if he remain three days, he is a false prophet. And when the apostle goes away, let him take nothing but bread until he lodges; but if he ask money, he is a false prophet. And every prophet that speaks in the Spirit you shall neither try nor judge; for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven. But not every one that speaks in the Spirit is a prophet; but only if he hold the ways of the Lord. Therefore from their ways shall the false prophet and the prophet be known. And every prophet who orders a meal in the Spirit eats not from it, except indeed he be a false prophet; and every prophet who teaches the truth, if he do not what he teaches, is a false prophet. And every prophet, proved true, working unto the mystery of the Church in the world, yet not teaching others to do what he himself does, shall not be judged among you, for with God he has his judgment; for so did also the ancient prophets. But whoever says in the Spirit, Give me money, or something else, you shall not listen to him; but if he says to you to give for others' sake who are in need, let no one judge him. " "11.2. Whosoever, therefore, comes and teaches you all these things that have been said before, receive him. But if the teacher himself turn and teach another doctrine to the destruction of this, hear him not; but if he teach so as to increase righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord. But concerning the apostles and prophets, according to the decree of the Gospel, thus do. Let every apostle that comes to you be received as the Lord. But he shall not remain except one day; but if there be need, also the next; but if he remain three days, he is a false prophet. And when the apostle goes away, let him take nothing but bread until he lodges; but if he ask money, he is a false prophet. And every prophet that speaks in the Spirit you shall neither try nor judge; for every sin shall be forgiven, but this sin shall not be forgiven. But not every one that speaks in the Spirit is a prophet; but only if he hold the ways of the Lord. Therefore from their ways shall the false prophet and the prophet be known. And every prophet who orders a meal in the Spirit eats not from it, except indeed he be a false prophet; and every prophet who teaches the truth, if he do not what he teaches, is a false prophet. And every prophet, proved true, working unto the mystery of the Church in the world, yet not teaching others to do what he himself does, shall not be judged among you, for with God he has his judgment; for so did also the ancient prophets. But whoever says in the Spirit, Give me money, or something else, you shall not listen to him; but if he says to you to give for others' sake who are in need, let no one judge him. " '
12.4. But let every one that comes in the name of the Lord be received, and afterward you shall prove and know him; for you shall have understanding right and left. If he who comes is a wayfarer, assist him as far as you are able; but he shall not remain with you, except for two or three days, if need be. But if he wills to abide with you, being an artisan, let him work and eat; 2 Thessalonians 3:10 but if he has no trade, according to your understanding see to it that, as a Christian, he shall not live with you idle. But if he wills not to do, he is a Christ-monger. Watch that you keep aloof from such. ''. None |
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13. Clement of Rome, 1 Clement, 43.2 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Rome, on terminology for heresy • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, handling of dispute
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 14; Cohen (2010) 541
| 43.2. And what wonder is it if those in Christ who were entrusted with such a duty by God, appointed those ministers before mentioned, when the blessed Moses also, a faithful servant in all his house, noted down in the sacred books all the injunctions which were given him, and when the other prophets also followed him, bearing witness with one consent to the ordices which he had appointed? For, when rivalry arose concerning the priesthood, and the tribes were contending among themselves as to which of them should be adorned with that glorious title, he commanded the twelve princes of the tribes to bring him their rods, each one being inscribed with the name of the tribe. And he took them and bound them together, and sealed them with the rings of the princes of the tribes, and laid them up in the tabernacle of witness on the table of God. And having shut the doors of the tabernacle, he sealed the keys, as he had done the rods, and said to them, Men and brethren, the tribe whose rod shall blossom has God chosen to fulfil the office of the priesthood, and to minister unto Him. And when the morning had come, he assembled all Israel, six hundred thousand men, and showed the seals to the princes of the tribes, and opened the tabernacle of witness, and brought forth the rods. And the rod of Aaron was found not only to have blossomed, but to bear fruit upon it. What think ye, beloved? Did not Moses know beforehand that this would happen? Undoubtedly he knew; but he acted thus, that there might be no sedition in Israel, and that the name of the true and only God might be glorified; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. ''. None |
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14. Ignatius, To The Philadelphians, 2.2, 6.1-6.2 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Rome, novelty of heresy • Heresy, novelty of • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Ignatius of Antioch, on terminology for heresy • Ignatius of Antioch, on the causes of heresy • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • heresies, heretic, believers • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Berglund Crostini and Kelhoffer (2022) 190; Boulluec (2022) 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 198; Lieu (2004) 252, 291
| 2.2. For many specious wolves with baneful delights lead captive the runners in God's race; but, where ye are at one, they will find no place. " '
6.1. But if any one propound Judaism unto you, here him not: for it is better to hear Christianity from a man who is circumcised than Judaism from one uncircumcised. But if either the one or the other speak not concerning Jesus Christ, I look on them as tombstones and graves of the dead, whereon are inscribed only the names of men. 6.2. Shun ye therefore the wicked arts and plottings of the prince of this world, lest haply ye be crushed by his devices, and wax weak in your love. But assemble yourselves all together with undivided heart. '". None |
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15. Ignatius, To The Ephesians, 4.2, 10.2, 19.2-19.3 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy • Heresy, novelty of • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Hippolytus of Rome, Refutation of All Heresies • Ignatius of Antioch, on terminology for heresy • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • heresies, heretic, believers • heresies, heretic, viewpoints • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Berglund Crostini and Kelhoffer (2022) 190, 192; Bird and Harrower (2021) 210; Boulluec (2022) 17, 18, 24, 25; Goldhill (2022) 298; Lieu (2004) 295; Tite (2009) 206
| 4.2. And do ye, each and all, form yourselves into a chorus, that being harmonious in concord and taking the key note of God ye may in unison sing with one voice through Jesus Christ unto the Father, that He may both hear you and acknowledge you by your good deeds to be members of His Son. It is therefore profitable for you to be in blameless unity, that ye may also be partakers of God always.
10.2. Against their outbursts of wrath be ye meek; against their proud words be ye humble; against their railings set ye your prayers; against their errors be ye stedfast in the faith; against their fierceness be ye gentle. And be not zealous to imitate them by requital.
19.2. How then were they made manifest to the ages? A star shone forth in the heaven above all the stars; and its light was unutterable, and its strangeness caused amazement; and all the rest of the constellations with the sun and moon formed themselves into a chorus about the star; but the star itself far outshone them all; and there was perplexity to know whence came this strange appearance which was so unlike them. 19.3. From that time forward every sorcery and every spell was dissolved, the ignorance of wickedness vanished away, the ancient kingdom was pulled down, when God appeared in the likeness of man unto newness of everlasting life; and that which had been perfected in the counsels of God began to take effect. Thence all things were perturbed, because the abolishing of death was taken in hand. ''. None |
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16. Ignatius, To The Magnesians, 1.2, 8.1 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Rome, on terminology for heresy • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Ignatius of Antioch, on terminology for heresy • Ignatius of Antioch, on the causes of heresy • Satan, and heresy • heresies, heretic, viewpoints • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Berglund Crostini and Kelhoffer (2022) 192; Boulluec (2022) 15, 16, 17, 18, 23; Lieu (2004) 252
| 1.2. For being counted worthy to bear a most godly name, in these bonds, which I carry about, I sing the praise of the churches; and I pray that there may be in them union of the flesh and of the spirit which are Jesus Christ's, our never-failing life -- an union of faith and of love which is preferred before all things, and -- what is more than all -- an union with Jesus and with the Father; in whom if we endure patiently all the despite of the prince of this world and escape therefrom, we shall attain unto God. " '
8.1. Be not seduced by strange doctrines nor by antiquated fables, which are profitless. For if even unto this day we live after the manner of Judaism, we avow that we have not received grace: '". None |
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17. Ignatius, To The Trallians, 6.1 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Rome, on terminology for heresy • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Ignatius of Antioch, on terminology for heresy • Ignatius of Antioch, on the causes of heresy • Satan, and heresy • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 15, 16, 17, 23; Lieu (2004) 252
| 6.1. I exhort you therefore -- yet not I, but the love of Jesus Christ -- take ye only Christian food, and abstain from strange herbage, which is heresy: ''. None |
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18. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 13.171, 18.9, 18.11-18.22 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Sophistry, heresy connected to • heresy • heresy, and consensus • heresy, condemnation of novelty • tannaim, treatment of heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 31; Cohen (2010) 59; Klawans (2019) 41, 61; Osborne (2001) 151
13.171. Κατὰ δὲ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον τρεῖς αἱρέσεις τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων ἦσαν, αἳ περὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων διαφόρως ὑπελάμβανον, ὧν ἡ μὲν Φαρισαίων ἐλέγετο, ἡ δὲ Σαδδουκαίων, ἡ τρίτη δὲ ̓Εσσηνῶν.
18.9. Οὐιτέλλιος δὲ εἰς τὴν ̓Ιουδαίαν ἀφικόμενος ἐπὶ ̔Ιεροσολύμων ἀνῄει, καὶ ἦν γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἑορτὴ πάτριος, πάσχα δὲ καλεῖται, δεχθεὶς μεγαλοπρεπῶς Οὐιτέλλιος τὰ τέλη τῶν ὠνουμένων καρπῶν ἀνίησιν εἰς τὸ πᾶν τοῖς ταύτῃ κατοικοῦσιν καὶ τὴν στολὴν τοῦ ἀρχιερέως καὶ τὸν πάντα αὐτοῦ κόσμον συνεχώρησεν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ κειμένην ὑπὸ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ἔχειν τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν, καθότι καὶ πρότερον ἦν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσία.' "
18.9. οὕτως ἄρα ἡ τῶν πατρίων καίνισις καὶ μεταβολὴ μεγάλας ἔχει ῥοπὰς τοῦ ἀπολουμένου τοῖς συνελθοῦσιν, εἴ γε καὶ ̓Ιούδας καὶ Σάδδωκος τετάρτην φιλοσοφίαν ἐπείσακτον ἡμῖν ἐγείραντες καὶ ταύτης ἐραστῶν εὐπορηθέντες πρός τε τὸ παρὸν θορύβων τὴν πολιτείαν ἐνέπλησαν καὶ τῶν αὖθις κακῶν κατειληφότων ῥίζας ἐφυτεύσαντο τῷ ἀσυνήθει πρότερον φιλοσοφίας τοιᾶσδε:
18.11. ̓Ιουδαίοις φιλοσοφίαι τρεῖς ἦσαν ἐκ τοῦ πάνυ ἀρχαίου τῶν πατρίων, ἥ τε τῶν ̓Εσσηνῶν καὶ ἡ τῶν Σαδδουκαίων, τρίτην δὲ ἐφιλοσόφουν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι λεγόμενοι. καὶ τυγχάνει μέντοι περὶ αὐτῶν ἡμῖν εἰρημένα ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ βίβλῳ τοῦ ̓Ιουδαϊκοῦ πολέμου, μνησθήσομαι δ' ὅμως καὶ νῦν αὐτῶν ἐπ' ὀλίγον." "
18.11. ἐρασθεὶς δὲ ̔Ηρωδιάδος τῆς τούτου γυναικός, θυγάτηρ δὲ ἦν ̓Αριστοβούλου καὶ οὗτος ἀδελφὸς αὐτῶν, ̓Αγρίππου δὲ ἀδελφὴ τοῦ μεγάλου, τολμᾷ λόγων ἅπτεσθαι περὶ γάμου. καὶ δεξαμένης συνθῆκαι γίνονται μετοικίσασθαι παρ' αὐτόν, ὁπότε ἀπὸ ̔Ρώμης παραγένοιτο. ἦν δὲ ἐν ταῖς συνθήκαις ὥστε καὶ τοῦ ̓Αρέτα τὴν θυγατέρα ἐκβαλεῖν." "18.12. Οἵ τε γὰρ Φαρισαῖοι τὴν δίαιταν ἐξευτελίζουσιν οὐδὲν ἐς τὸ μαλακώτερον ἐνδιδόντες, ὧν τε ὁ λόγος κρίνας παρέδωκεν ἀγαθῶν ἕπονται τῇ ἡγεμονίᾳ περιμάχητον ἡγούμενοι τὴν φυλακὴν ὧν ὑπαγορεύειν ἠθέλησεν. τιμῆς γε τοῖς ἡλικίᾳ προήκουσιν παραχωροῦσιν οὐδ' ἐπ' ἀντιλέξει τῶν εἰσηγηθέντων ταῦτα οἱ θράσει ἐπαιρόμενοι." '18.12. Οὐιτέλλιος δὲ παρασκευασάμενος ὡς εἰς πόλεμον τὸν πρὸς ̓Αρέταν δυσὶ τάγμασιν ὁπλιτῶν ὅσοι τε περὶ αὐτὰ ψιλοὶ καὶ ἱππεῖς συμμαχοῦντες ἐκ τῶν ὑπὸ ̔Ρωμαίοις βασιλειῶν ἀγόμενος, ἐπὶ τῆς Πέτρας ἠπείγετο καὶ ἔσχε Πτολεμαί̈δα.' "18.13. ̔Ηρώδῃ τῷ μεγάλῳ θυγατέρες ἐκ Μαριάμμης τῆς ̔Υρκανοῦ θυγατρὸς γίνονται δύο, Σαλαμψιὼ μὲν ἡ ἑτέρα, ἣ γαμεῖται Φασαήλῳ τῷ αὐτῆς ἀνεψιῷ Φασαήλου παιδὶ ὄντι τοῦ ̔Ηρώδου ἀδελφοῦ δεδωκότος τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτήν, Κύπρος δὲ ̓Αντιπάτρῳ καὶ αὐτὴ ἀνεψιῷ ̔Ηρώδου παιδὶ τῆς ἀδελφῆς Σαλώμης. 18.13. πράσσεσθαί τε εἱμαρμένῃ τὰ πάντα ἀξιοῦντες οὐδὲ τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου τὸ βουλόμενον τῆς ἐπ' αὐτοῖς ὁρμῆς ἀφαιροῦνται δοκῆσαν τῷ θεῷ κρίσιν γενέσθαι καὶ τῷ ἐκείνης βουλευτηρίῳ καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῷ ἐθελήσαντι προσχωρεῖν μετ' ἀρετῆς ἢ κακίας." '18.14. ̓Αλεξάνδρῳ δὲ Τιγράνης ὁμώνυμος τῷ ἀδελφῷ γίνεται παῖς καὶ βασιλεὺς ̓Αρμενίας ὑπὸ Νέρωνος ἐκπέμπεται υἱός τε ̓Αλέξανδρος αὐτῷ γίνεται. γαμεῖ δ' οὗτος ̓Αντιόχου τοῦ Κομμαγηνῶν βασιλέως θυγατέρα ̓Ιωτάπην, ἡσίοδός τε τῆς ἐν Κιλικίᾳ Οὐεσπασιανὸς αὐτὸν ἵσταται βασιλέα." "18.14. ἀθάνατόν τε ἰσχὺν ταῖς ψυχαῖς πίστις αὐτοῖς εἶναι καὶ ὑπὸ χθονὸς δικαιώσεις τε καὶ τιμὰς οἷς ἀρετῆς ἢ κακίας ἐπιτήδευσις ἐν τῷ βίῳ γέγονεν, καὶ ταῖς μὲν εἱργμὸν ἀίδιον προτίθεσθαι, ταῖς δὲ ῥᾳστώνην τοῦ ἀναβιοῦν.' "18.15. καὶ δι' αὐτὰ τοῖς τε δήμοις πιθανώτατοι τυγχάνουσιν καὶ ὁπόσα θεῖα εὐχῶν τε ἔχεται καὶ ἱερῶν ποιήσεως ἐξηγήσει τῇ ἐκείνων τυγχάνουσιν πρασσόμενα. εἰς τοσόνδε ἀρετῆς αὐτοῖς αἱ πόλεις ἐμαρτύρησαν ἐπιτηδεύσει τοῦ ἐπὶ πᾶσι κρείσσονος ἔν τε τῇ διαίτῃ τοῦ βίου καὶ λόγοις." "18.15. οὐ μὴν ἐπὶ πλεῖόν γε ̔Ηρώδης ἐνέμεινε τοῖς δεδογμένοις, καίτοι γε οὐδ' ὣς ἀρκοῦντα ἦν: ἐν γὰρ Τύρῳ παρὰ συνουσίαν ὑπὸ οἴνου γενομένων αὐτοῖς λοιδοριῶν, ἀνεκτὸν οὐχ ἡγησάμενος ̓Αγρίππας τοῦ ̔Ηρώδου τε ἐπονειδίσαντος εἰς ἀπορίαν καὶ τροφῆς ἀναγκαίας μετάδοσιν, ὡς Φλάκκον τὸν ὑπατικὸν εἴσεισιν φίλον ἐπὶ ̔Ρώμης τὰ μάλιστα αὐτῷ γεγονότα πρότερον: Συρίαν δὲ ἐν τῷ τότε διεῖπεν." '18.16. Σαδδουκαίοις δὲ τὰς ψυχὰς ὁ λόγος συναφανίζει τοῖς σώμασι, φυλακῇ δὲ οὐδαμῶς τινων μεταποίησις αὐτοῖς ἢ τῶν νόμων: πρὸς γὰρ τοὺς διδασκάλους σοφίας, ἣν μετίασιν, ἀμφιλογεῖν ἀρετὴν ἀριθμοῦσιν. 18.16. ἡ δὲ ὑπισχνεῖτο, καὶ ὁ ̓Αλέξανδρος πέντε τάλαντα αὐτοῖς ἐν τῇ ̓Αλεξανδρείᾳ δοὺς τὸ λοιπὸν ἐν Δικαιαρχείᾳ γενομένοις παρέξειν ἐπηγγέλλετο, δεδιὼς τοῦ ̓Αγρίππου τὸ εἰς τὰ ἀναλώματα ἕτοιμον. καὶ Κύπρος μὲν ἀπαλλάξασα τὸν ἄνδρα ἐπὶ τῆς ̓Ιταλίας πλευσούμενον αὐτὴ μετὰ τῶν τέκνων ἐπὶ ̓Ιουδαίας ἀνέζευξεν.' "18.17. εἰς ὀλίγους δὲ ἄνδρας οὗτος ὁ λόγος ἀφίκετο, τοὺς μέντοι πρώτους τοῖς ἀξιώμασι, πράσσεταί τε ἀπ' αὐτῶν οὐδὲν ὡς εἰπεῖν: ὁπότε γὰρ ἐπ' ἀρχὰς παρέλθοιεν, ἀκουσίως μὲν καὶ κατ' ἀνάγκας, προσχωροῦσι δ' οὖν οἷς ὁ Φαρισαῖος λέγει διὰ τὸ μὴ ἄλλως ἀνεκτοὺς γενέσθαι τοῖς πλήθεσιν." "18.17. οὔτε γὰρ πρεσβειῶν ὑποδοχὰς ἐκ τοῦ ὀξέος ἐποιεῖτο ἡγεμόσι τε ἢ ἐπιτρόποις ὑπ' αὐτοῦ σταλεῖσιν οὐδεμία ἦν διαδοχή, ὁπότε μὴ φθαῖεν τετελευτηκότες: ὅθεν καὶ δεσμωτῶν ἀκροάσεως ἀπερίοπτος ἦν." '18.18. ̓Εσσηνοῖς δὲ ἐπὶ μὲν θεῷ καταλείπειν φιλεῖ τὰ πάντα ὁ λόγος, ἀθανατίζουσιν δὲ τὰς ψυχὰς περιμάχητον ἡγούμενοι τοῦ δικαίου τὴν πρόσοδον. 18.18. τιμία δὲ ἦν ̓Αντωνία Τιβερίῳ εἰς τὰ πάντα συγγενείας τε ἀξιώματι, Δρούσου γὰρ ἦν ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ γυνή, καὶ ἀρετῇ τοῦ σώφρονος: νέα γὰρ χηρεύειν παρέμεινεν γάμῳ τε ἀπεῖπεν τῷ πρὸς ἕτερον καίπερ τοῦ Σεβαστοῦ κελεύοντός τινι γαμεῖσθαι, καὶ λοιδοριῶν ἀπηλλαγμένον διεσώσατο αὐτῆς τὸν βίον.' "18.19. ἐπεὶ δ' ὁ Καῖσαρ περιοδεύσας τὸν ἱππόδρομον λαμβάνει τὸν ̓Αγρίππαν ἑστηκότα, “καὶ μὴν δή, φησίν, Μάκρων, τοῦτον εἶπον δεθῆναι”. τοῦ δὲ ἐπανερομένου ὅντινα, “̓Αγρίππαν γε” εἶπεν." "18.19. εἰς δὲ τὸ ἱερὸν ἀναθήματα στέλλοντες θυσίας ἐπιτελοῦσιν διαφορότητι ἁγνειῶν, ἃς νομίζοιεν, καὶ δι' αὐτὸ εἰργόμενοι τοῦ κοινοῦ τεμενίσματος ἐφ' αὑτῶν τὰς θυσίας ἐπιτελοῦσιν. βέλτιστοι δὲ ἄλλως ἄνδρες τὸν τρόπον καὶ τὸ πᾶν πονεῖν ἐπὶ γεωργίᾳ τετραμμένοι." "18.21. καὶ οὔτε γαμετὰς εἰσάγονται οὔτε δούλων ἐπιτηδεύουσιν κτῆσιν, τὸ μὲν εἰς ἀδικίαν φέρειν ὑπειληφότες, τὸ δὲ στάσεως ἐνδιδόναι ποίησιν, αὐτοὶ δ' ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν ζῶντες διακονίᾳ τῇ ἐπ' ἀλλήλοις ἐπιχρῶνται." '18.21. οὕτως ἀνεπαχθῶς ὡμίλησε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. ἐξ ὧν μέγα ὄφελος καὶ τῷ παιδὶ αὐτοῦ παρὰ πᾶσιν κατελέλειπτο τοῖς τε ἄλλοις καὶ μάλιστα τὸ στρατιωτικὸν ἦρτο, ἀρετὴν ἀριθμοῦντες τὸ περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐκείνῳ περιγενησομένης, εἰ δεήσει, καὶ τελευτᾶν.' "18.22. ἀξιῶ δέ σε μηδὲν ἀμνημονεῖν ὁμιλήσαντα αὐτῇ μήτ' εὐνοίας τῆς ἐμῆς, ὃς εἰς τοσόνδε ἀξιώματος καθίστημι μέγεθος," 18.22. ἀποδέκτας δὲ τῶν προσόδων χειροτονοῦντες καὶ ὁπόσα ἡ γῆ φέροι ἄνδρας ἀγαθούς, ἱερεῖς δὲ ἐπὶ ποιήσει σίτου τε καὶ βρωμάτων. ζῶσι δὲ οὐδὲν παρηλλαγμένως, ἀλλ' ὅτι μάλιστα ἐμφέροντες Δακῶν τοῖς πλείστοις λεγομένοις." "'. None | 13.171. 9. At this time there were three sects among the Jews, who had different opinions concerning human actions; the one was called the sect of the Pharisees, another the sect of the Sadducees, and the other the sect of the Essenes.
18.9. 3. But Vitellius came into Judea, and went up to Jerusalem; it was at the time of that festival which is called the Passover. Vitellius was there magnificently received, and released the inhabitants of Jerusalem from all the taxes upon the fruits that were bought and sold, and gave them leave to have the care of the high priest’s vestments, with all their ornaments, and to have them under the custody of the priests in the temple, which power they used to have formerly,
18.9. Such were the consequences of this, that the customs of our fathers were altered, and such a change was made, as added a mighty weight toward bringing all to destruction, which these men occasioned by their thus conspiring together; for Judas and Sadduc, who excited a fourth philosophic sect among us, and had a great many followers therein, filled our civil government with tumults at present, and laid the foundations of our future miseries, by this system of philosophy, which we were before unacquainted withal,
18.11. 2. The Jews had for a great while had three sects of philosophy peculiar to themselves; the sect of the Essenes, and the sect of the Sadducees, and the third sort of opinions was that of those called Pharisees; of which sects, although I have already spoken in the second book of the Jewish War, yet will I a little touch upon them now.
18.11. However, he fell in love with Herodias, this last Herod’s wife, who was the daughter of Aristobulus their brother, and the sister of Agrippa the Great. This man ventured to talk to her about a marriage between them; which address, when she admitted, an agreement was made for her to change her habitation, and come to him as soon as he should return from Rome: one article of this marriage also was this, that he should divorce Aretas’s daughter. 18.12. 3. Now, for the Pharisees, they live meanly, and despise delicacies in diet; and they follow the conduct of reason; and what that prescribes to them as good for them they do; and they think they ought earnestly to strive to observe reason’s dictates for practice. They also pay a respect to such as are in years; nor are they so bold as to contradict them in any thing which they have introduced; 18.12. 3. So Vitellius prepared to make war with Aretas, having with him two legions of armed men; he also took with him all those of light armature, and of the horsemen which belonged to them, and were drawn out of those kingdoms which were under the Romans, and made haste for Petra, and came to Ptolemais. 18.13. 4. Herod the Great had two daughters by Mariamne, the grand daughter of Hyrcanus; the one was Salampsio, who was married to Phasaelus, her first cousin, who was himself the son of Phasaelus, Herod’s brother, her father making the match; the other was Cypros, who was herself married also to her first cousin Antipater, the son of Salome, Herod’s sister. 18.13. and when they determine that all things are done by fate, they do not take away the freedom from men of acting as they think fit; since their notion is, that it hath pleased God to make a temperament, whereby what he wills is done, but so that the will of man can act virtuously or viciously. 18.14. Alexander had a son of the same name with his brother Tigranes, and was sent to take possession of the kingdom of Armenia by Nero; he had a son, Alexander, who married Jotape, the daughter of Antiochus, the king of Commagena; Vespasian made him king of an island in Cilicia. 18.14. They also believe that souls have an immortal rigor in them, and that under the earth there will be rewards or punishments, according as they have lived virtuously or viciously in this life; and the latter are to be detained in an everlasting prison, but that the former shall have power to revive and live again; 18.15. Yet did not Herod long continue in that resolution of supporting him, though even that support was not sufficient for him; for as once they were at a feast at Tyre, and in their cups, and reproaches were cast upon one another, Agrippa thought that was not to be borne, while Herod hit him in the teeth with his poverty, and with his owing his necessary food to him. So he went to Flaccus, one that had been consul, and had been a very great friend to him at Rome formerly, and was now president of Syria. 18.15. on account of which doctrines they are able greatly to persuade the body of the people; and whatsoever they do about divine worship, prayers, and sacrifices, they perform them according to their direction; insomuch that the cities give great attestations to them on account of their entire virtuous conduct, both in the actions of their lives and their discourses also. 18.16. 4. But the doctrine of the Sadducees is this: That souls die with the bodies; nor do they regard the observation of any thing besides what the law enjoins them; for they think it an instance of virtue to dispute with those teachers of philosophy whom they frequent: 18.16. o she undertook to repay it. Accordingly, Alexander paid them five talents at Alexandria, and promised to pay them the rest of that sum at Dicearchia Puteoli; and this he did out of the fear he was in that Agrippa would soon spend it. So this Cypros set her husband free, and dismissed him to go on with his navigation to Italy, while she and her children departed for Judea. 18.17. but this doctrine is received but by a few, yet by those still of the greatest dignity. But they are able to do almost nothing of themselves; for when they become magistrates, as they are unwillingly and by force sometimes obliged to be, they addict themselves to the notions of the Pharisees, because the multitude would not otherwise bear them. 18.17. for he did not admit ambassadors quickly, and no successors were despatched away to governors or procurators of the provinces that had been formerly sent, unless they were dead; whence it was that he was so negligent in hearing the causes of prisoners; 18.18. 5. The doctrine of the Essenes is this: That all things are best ascribed to God. They teach the immortality of souls, and esteem that the rewards of righteousness are to be earnestly striven for; 18.18. Now Antonia was greatly esteemed by Tiberius on all accounts, from the dignity of her relation to him, who had been his brother Drusus’s wife, and from her eminent chastity; for though she was still a young woman, she continued in her widowhood, and refused all other matches, although Augustus had enjoined her to be married to somebody else; yet did she all along preserve her reputation free from reproach. 18.19. But when Caesar had gone round the hippodrome, he found Agrippa standing: “For certain,” said he, “Macro, this is the man I meant to have bound;” and when he still asked, “Which of these is to be bound?” he said “Agrippa.” 18.19. and when they send what they have dedicated to God into the temple, they do not offer sacrifices because they have more pure lustrations of their own; on which account they are excluded from the common court of the temple, but offer their sacrifices themselves; yet is their course of life better than that of other men; and they entirely addict themselves to husbandry. 18.21. and neither marry wives, nor are desirous to keep servants; as thinking the latter tempts men to be unjust, and the former gives the handle to domestic quarrels; but as they live by themselves, they minister one to another. 18.21. that it turned greatly to the advantage of his son among all; and, among others, the soldiery were so peculiarly affected to him, that they reckoned it an eligible thing, if need were, to die themselves, if he might but attain to the government. 18.22. They also appoint certain stewards to receive the incomes of their revenues, and of the fruits of the ground; such as are good men and priests, who are to get their corn and their food ready for them. They none of them differ from others of the Essenes in their way of living, but do the most resemble those Dacae who are called Polistae dwellers in cities. 18.22. and I desire thee never to be unmindful when thou comest to it, either of my kindness to thee, who set thee in so high a dignity,' '. None |
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19. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 2.122, 2.137, 2.142, 2.162, 2.164, 2.166 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Sophistry, heresy connected to • heresy, and consensus
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 31, 67; Klawans (2019) 61
2.122. Καταφρονηταὶ δὲ πλούτου, καὶ θαυμάσιον αὐτοῖς τὸ κοινωνικόν, οὐδὲ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν κτήσει τινὰ παρ' αὐτοῖς ὑπερέχοντα: νόμος γὰρ τοὺς εἰς τὴν αἵρεσιν εἰσιόντας δημεύειν τῷ τάγματι τὴν οὐσίαν, ὥστε ἐν ἅπασιν μήτε πενίας ταπεινότητα φαίνεσθαι μήθ' ὑπεροχὴν πλούτου, τῶν δ' ἑκάστου κτημάτων ἀναμεμιγμένων μίαν ὥσπερ ἀδελφοῖς ἅπασιν οὐσίαν εἶναι." "
2.137. Τοῖς δὲ ζηλοῦσιν τὴν αἵρεσιν αὐτῶν οὐκ εὐθὺς ἡ πάροδος, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ ἐνιαυτὸν ἔξω μένοντι τὴν αὐτὴν ὑποτίθενται δίαιταν ἀξινάριόν τε καὶ τὸ προειρημένον περίζωμα καὶ λευκὴν ἐσθῆτα δόντες." '
2.142. πρὸς τούτοις ὄμνυσιν μηδενὶ μὲν μεταδοῦναι τῶν δογμάτων ἑτέρως ἢ ὡς αὐτὸς μετέλαβεν, ἀφέξεσθαι δὲ λῃστείας καὶ συντηρήσειν ὁμοίως τά τε τῆς αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν βιβλία καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ὀνόματα. τοιούτοις μὲν ὅρκοις τοὺς προσιόντας ἐξασφαλίζονται.
2.162. Δύο δὲ τῶν προτέρων Φαρισαῖοι μὲν οἱ μετὰ ἀκριβείας δοκοῦντες ἐξηγεῖσθαι τὰ νόμιμα καὶ τὴν πρώτην ἀπάγοντες αἵρεσιν εἱμαρμένῃ τε καὶ θεῷ προσάπτουσι πάντα,
2.164. Σαδδουκαῖοι δέ, τὸ δεύτερον τάγμα, τὴν μὲν εἱμαρμένην παντάπασιν ἀναιροῦσιν καὶ τὸν θεὸν ἔξω τοῦ δρᾶν τι κακὸν ἢ ἐφορᾶν τίθενται:
2.166. καὶ Φαρισαῖοι μὲν φιλάλληλοί τε καὶ τὴν εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ὁμόνοιαν ἀσκοῦντες, Σαδδουκαίων δὲ καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους τὸ ἦθος ἀγριώτερον αἵ τε ἐπιμιξίαι πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοίους ἀπηνεῖς ὡς πρὸς ἀλλοτρίους. τοιαῦτα μὲν περὶ τῶν ἐν ̓Ιουδαίοις φιλοσοφούντων εἶχον εἰπεῖν.'". None | 2.122. 3. These men are despisers of riches, and so very communicative as raises our admiration. Nor is there anyone to be found among them who hath more than another; for it is a law among them, that those who come to them must let what they have be common to the whole order,—insomuch that among them all there is no appearance of poverty, or excess of riches, but every one’s possessions are intermingled with every other’s possessions; and so there is, as it were, one patrimony among all the brethren.
2.137. 7. But now, if anyone hath a mind to come over to their sect, he is not immediately admitted, but he is prescribed the same method of living which they use, for a year, while he continues excluded; and they give him also a small hatchet, and the fore-mentioned girdle, and the white garment.
2.142. Moreover, he swears to communicate their doctrines to no one any otherwise than as he received them himself; that he will abstain from robbery, and will equally preserve the books belonging to their sect, and the names of the angels or messengers. These are the oaths by which they secure their proselytes to themselves.
2.162. 14. But then as to the two other orders at first mentioned: the Pharisees are those who are esteemed most skillful in the exact explication of their laws, and introduce the first sect. These ascribe all to fate or providence, and to God,
2.164. But the Sadducees are those that compose the second order, and take away fate entirely, and suppose that God is not concerned in our doing or not doing what is evil;
2.166. Moreover, the Pharisees are friendly to one another, and are for the exercise of concord, and regard for the public; but the behavior of the Sadducees one towards another is in some degree wild, and their conversation with those that are of their own party is as barbarous as if they were strangers to them. And this is what I had to say concerning the philosophic sects among the Jews.''. None |
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20. Josephus Flavius, Against Apion, 1.26, 1.31, 1.35, 1.42 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Irenaeus, criticism of heretical exegesis generally • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, influence of Hellenistic Jewish polemic against paganism
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 197, 261, 262; Cohen (2010) 543
1.26. ὅλως δὲ τὸ πάντων ἐναντιώτατον ἱστορίᾳ πράττοντες διατελοῦσι: τῆς μὲν γὰρ ἀληθοῦς ἐστι τεκμήριον ἱστορίας, εἰ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἅπαντες ταὐτὰ καὶ λέγοιεν καὶ γράφοιεν. οἱ δ' εἰ ταῦτα γράψειαν ἑτέρως, οὕτως ἐνόμιζον αὐτοὶ φανεῖσθαι πάντων ἀληθέστατοι." '
1.26. τὸ δὲ δὴ πάντων εὐηθέστατον ἴδωμεν: πυθόμενος γὰρ ταῦτα καὶ περὶ τῶν μελλόντων φοβηθεὶς τοὺς λελωβημένους ἐκείνους, ὧν αὐτῷ καθαρεῦσαι προείρητο τὴν Αἴγυπτον, οὐδὲ τότε τῆς χώρας ἐξήλασεν, ἀλλὰ δεηθεῖσιν αὐτοῖς ἔδωκε πόλιν, ὥς φησι, τὴν πάλαι μὲν οἰκηθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τῶν ποιμένων, Αὔαριν δὲ καλουμένην.
1.31. θεῶν τε ναοὺς καὶ βωμούς, οἷς ἂν περιτύχωσιν, ἀνατρέπειν. συναινεσάντων δὲ τῶν ἄλλων τὰ δοχθέντα ποιοῦντας διὰ τῆς ἐρήμου πορεύεσθαι, ἱκανῶς δὲ ὀχληθέντας ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην χώραν καὶ τούς τε ἀνθρώπους ὑβρίζοντας καὶ τὰ ἱερὰ συλῶντας καὶ ἐμπρήσαντας ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὴν νῦν ̓Ιουδαίαν προσαγορευομένην, κτίσαντας' "
1.31. τῶν ἱερέων ἄμικτον καὶ καθαρὸν διαμενεῖ προυνόησαν. δεῖ γὰρ τὸν μετέχοντα τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἐξ ὁμοεθνοῦς γυναικὸς παιδοποιεῖσθαι καὶ μὴ πρὸς χρήματα μηδὲ τὰς ἄλλας ἀποβλέπειν τιμὰς, ἀλλὰ τὸ γένος ἐξετάζειν ἐκ τῶν ἀρχαίων λαμβάνοντα τὴν διαδοχὴν
1.35. Οὐάρου μάλιστα δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς χρόνοις, οἱ περιλειπόμενοι τῶν ἱερέων καινὰ πάλιν ἐκ τῶν ἀρχαίων γραμμάτων συνίστανται καὶ δοκιμάζουσι τὰς ὑπολειφθείσας γυναῖκας. οὐ γὰρ ἐπὶ τὰς αἰχμαλώτους γενομένας προσίενται πολλάκις γεγονυιῶν" "
1.42. δῆλον δ' ἐστὶν ἔργῳ, πῶς ἡμεῖς πρόσιμεν τοῖς ἰδίοις γράμμασι: τοσούτου γὰρ αἰῶνος ἤδη παρῳχηκότος οὔτε προσθεῖναί τις οὐδὲν οὔτε ἀφελεῖν αὐτῶν οὔτε μεταθεῖναι τετόλμηκεν, πᾶσι δὲ σύμφυτόν ἐστιν εὐθὺς ἐκ πρώτης γενέσεως ̓Ιουδαίοις τὸ νομίζειν αὐτὰ θεοῦ δόγματα καὶ τούτοις ἐμμένειν καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν, εἰ δέοι, θνήσκειν ἡδέως."". None | 1.26. But now let us see the silliest thing of all:—the king, although he had been informed of these things and terrified, with the fear of what was to come, yet did not he even then eject these maimed people out of his country, when it had been foretold him that he was to clear Egypt of them; but as Manetho says, “He then upon their request, gave them that city to inhabit, which had formerly belonged to the shepherds, and was called Avaris;
1.26. and indeed these do what is of all things the most contrary to true history; for it is the great character of true history that all concerned therein both speak and write the same things; while these men, by writing differently about the same things, think they shall be believed to write with the greatest regard to truth.
1.31. for he who is partaker of the priesthood must propagate of a wife of the same nation, without having any regard to money, or any other dignities; but he is to make a scrutiny, and take his wife’s genealogy from the ancient tables, and procure many witnesses to it;
1.31. that the rest commended what he had said with one consent, and did what they had resolved on, and so travelled over the desert. But that the difficulties of the journey being over, they came to a country inhabited, and that there they abused the men, and plundered and burnt their temples, and then came into that land which is called Judea, and there they built a city, and dwelt therein,
1.35. those priests that survive them compose new tables of genealogy out of the old records, and examine the circumstances of the women that remain; for still they do not admit of those that have been captives, as suspecting that they had conversation with some foreigners;
1.42. and how firmly we have given credit to those books of our own nation, is evident by what we do; for during so many ages as have already passed, no one has been so bold as either to add any thing to them, to take any thing from them, or to make any change in them; but it becomes natural to all Jews, immediately and from their very birth, to esteem those books to contain divine doctrines, and to persist in them, and, if occasion be, willingly to die for them. ''. None |
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21. Mishnah, Avot, 1.1, 3.1, 5.17 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Sectarianism, heretics • heresy and heretics • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, handling of dispute • heresy, and orthodoxy
Found in books: Cohen (2010) 541; Fonrobert and Jaffee (2007) 259; Klawans (2019) 5, 72, 76; Secunda (2014) 182
1.1. משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי, וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הֵם אָמְרוּ שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים, הֱווּ מְתוּנִים בַּדִּין, וְהַעֲמִידוּ תַלְמִידִים הַרְבֵּה, וַעֲשׂוּ סְיָג לַתּוֹרָה:
1.1. שְׁמַעְיָה וְאַבְטַלְיוֹן קִבְּלוּ מֵהֶם. שְׁמַעְיָה אוֹמֵר, אֱהֹב אֶת הַמְּלָאכָה, וּשְׂנָא אֶת הָרַבָּנוּת, וְאַל תִּתְוַדַּע לָרָשׁוּת:
3.1. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, כָּל שֶׁרוּחַ הַבְּרִיּוֹת נוֹחָה הֵימֶנּוּ, רוּחַ הַמָּקוֹם נוֹחָה הֵימֶנּוּ. וְכָל שֶׁאֵין רוּחַ הַבְּרִיּוֹת נוֹחָה הֵימֶנּוּ, אֵין רוּחַ הַמָּקוֹם נוֹחָה הֵימֶנּוּ. רַבִּי דוֹסָא בֶן הַרְכִּינַס אוֹמֵר, שֵׁנָה שֶׁל שַׁחֲרִית, וְיַיִן שֶׁל צָהֳרַיִם, וְשִׂיחַת הַיְלָדִים, וִישִׁיבַת בָּתֵּי כְנֵסִיּוֹת שֶׁל עַמֵּי הָאָרֶץ, מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הָאָדָם מִן הָעוֹלָם:
3.1. עֲקַבְיָא בֶן מַהֲלַלְאֵל אוֹמֵר, הִסְתַּכֵּל בִּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים וְאִי אַתָּה בָא לִידֵי עֲבֵרָה. דַּע מֵאַיִן בָּאתָ, וּלְאָן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ, וְלִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן. מֵאַיִן בָּאתָ, מִטִּפָּה סְרוּחָה, וּלְאָן אַתָּה הוֹלֵךְ, לִמְקוֹם עָפָר רִמָּה וְתוֹלֵעָה. וְלִפְנֵי מִי אַתָּה עָתִיד לִתֵּן דִּין וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן, לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא:
5.17. כָּל מַחֲלֹקֶת שֶׁהִיא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם. וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, אֵין סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם. אֵיזוֹ הִיא מַחֲלֹקֶת שֶׁהִיא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, זוֹ מַחֲלֹקֶת הִלֵּל וְשַׁמַּאי. וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, זוֹ מַחֲלֹקֶת קֹרַח וְכָל עֲדָתוֹ:''. None | 1.1. Moses received the torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in the administration of justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah.
3.1. Akabyah ben Mahalalel said: mark well three things and you will not come into the power of sin: Know from where you come, and where you are going, and before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning. From where do you come? From a putrid drop. Where are you going? To a place of dust, of worm and of maggot. Before whom you are destined to give an account and reckoning? Before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be he.
5.17. Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, will in the end endure; But one that is not for the sake of Heaven, will not endure. Which is the controversy that is for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Hillel and Shammai. And which is the controversy that is not for the sake of Heaven? Such was the controversy of Korah and all his congregation.''. None |
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22. Mishnah, Berachot, 9.5 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • heresy, Jewish origins denied • heresy, and orthodoxy • heresy, definition of • tannaim, treatment of heretics
Found in books: Cohen (2010) 59; Klawans (2019) 14, 15, 71
9.5. חַיָּב אָדָם לְבָרֵךְ עַל הָרָעָה כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהוּא מְבָרֵךְ עַל הַטּוֹבָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ו) וְאָהַבְתָּ אֵת יְיָ אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ. בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ, בִּשְׁנֵי יְצָרֶיךָ, בְּיֵצֶר טוֹב וּבְיֵצֶר רָע. וּבְכָל נַפְשְׁךָ, אֲפִלּוּ הוּא נוֹטֵל אֶת נַפְשֶׁךָ. וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ, בְּכָל מָמוֹנֶךָ. דָּבָר אַחֵר בְּכָל מְאֹדֶךָ, בְּכָל מִדָּה וּמִדָּה שֶׁהוּא מוֹדֵד לְךָ הֱוֵי מוֹדֶה לוֹ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד. לֹא יָקֵל אָדָם אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ כְּנֶגֶד שַׁעַר הַמִּזְרָח, שֶׁהוּא מְכֻוָּן כְּנֶגֶד בֵּית קָדְשֵׁי הַקָּדָשִׁים. לֹא יִכָּנֵס לְהַר הַבַּיִת בְּמַקְלוֹ, וּבְמִנְעָלוֹ, וּבְפֻנְדָּתוֹ, וּבְאָבָק שֶׁעַל רַגְלָיו, וְלֹא יַעֲשֶׂנּוּ קַפַּנְדַּרְיָא, וּרְקִיקָה מִקַּל וָחֹמֶר. כָּל חוֹתְמֵי בְרָכוֹת שֶׁהָיוּ בַמִּקְדָּשׁ, הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים מִן הָעוֹלָם. מִשֶּׁקִּלְקְלוּ הַמִּינִין, וְאָמְרוּ, אֵין עוֹלָם אֶלָּא אֶחָד, הִתְקִינוּ שֶׁיְּהוּ אוֹמְרִים, מִן הָעוֹלָם וְעַד הָעוֹלָם. וְהִתְקִינוּ, שֶׁיְּהֵא אָדָם שׁוֹאֵל אֶת שְׁלוֹם חֲבֵרוֹ בַּשֵּׁם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (רות ב) וְהִנֵּה בֹעַז בָּא מִבֵּית לֶחֶם, וַיֹּאמֶר לַקּוֹצְרִים יְיָ עִמָּכֶם, וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ, יְבָרֶכְךָ יְיָ. וְאוֹמֵר (שופטים ו) יְיָ עִמְּךָ גִּבּוֹר הֶחָיִל. וְאוֹמֵר (משלי כג) אַל תָּבוּז כִּי זָקְנָה אִמֶּךָ. וְאוֹמֵר (תהלים קיט) עֵת לַעֲשׂוֹת לַייָ הֵפֵרוּ תוֹרָתֶךָ. רַבִּי נָתָן אוֹמֵר, הֵפֵרוּ תוֹרָתֶךָ עֵת לַעֲשׂוֹת לַייָ:''. None | 9.5. One must bless God for the evil in the same way as one blesses for the good, as it says, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). “With all your heart,” with your two impulses, the evil impulse as well as the good impulse. “With all your soul” even though he takes your soul life away from you. “With all your might” with all your money. Another explanation, “With all your might” whatever treatment he metes out to you. One should not show disrespect to the Eastern Gate, because it is in a direct line with the Holy of Holies. One should not enter the Temple Mount with a staff, or with shoes on, or with a wallet, or with dusty feet; nor should one make it a short cut, all the more spitting is forbidden. All the conclusions of blessings that were in the Temple they would say, “forever lit. as long as the world is.” When the sectarians perverted their ways and said that there was only one world, they decreed that they should say, “for ever and ever lit. from the end of the world to the end of the world. They also decreed that a person should greet his fellow in God’s name, as it says, “And behold Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, ‘May the Lord be with you.’ And they answered him, “May the Lord bless you’” (Ruth 2:. And it also says, “The Lord is with your, you valiant warrior” (Judges 6:12). And it also says, “And do not despise your mother when she grows old” (Proverbs 23:22). And it also says, “It is time to act on behalf of the Lord, for they have violated Your teaching” (Psalms 119:126). Rabbi Natan says: this means “They have violated your teaching It is time to act on behalf of the Lord.”''. None |
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23. Mishnah, Hagigah, 2.1 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy • Heresy,
Found in books: Allen and Dunne (2022) 196; Grypeou and Spurling (2009) 25; Rowland (2009) 226, 342
2.1. אֵין דּוֹרְשִׁין בַּעֲרָיוֹת בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה. וְלֹא בְמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית בִּשְׁנַיִם. וְלֹא בַמֶּרְכָּבָה בְּיָחִיד, אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן הָיָה חָכָם וּמֵבִין מִדַּעְתּוֹ. כָּל הַמִּסְתַּכֵּל בְּאַרְבָּעָה דְּבָרִים, רָאוּי לוֹ כְּאִלּוּ לֹא בָּא לָעוֹלָם, מַה לְּמַעְלָה, מַה לְּמַטָּה, מַה לְּפָנִים, וּמַה לְּאָחוֹר. וְכָל שֶׁלֹּא חָס עַל כְּבוֹד קוֹנוֹ, רָאוּי לוֹ שֶׁלֹּא בָּא לָעוֹלָם:''. None | 2.1. They may not expound upon the subject of forbidden relations in the presence of three. Nor the work of creation in the presence of two. Nor the work of the chariot in the presence of one, unless he is a sage and understands of his own knowledge. Whoever speculates upon four things, it would have been better had he not come into the world: what is above, what is beneath, what came before, and what came after. And whoever takes no thought for the honor of his creator, it would have been better had he not come into the world.''. None |
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24. Mishnah, Hulin, 2.9 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • heresy, Jewish origins denied • heresy, and orthodoxy • heresy, definition of • tannaim, treatment of heretics
Found in books: Cohen (2010) 59; Klawans (2019) 15
2.9. אֵין שׁוֹחֲטִין לֹא לְתוֹךְ יַמִּים, וְלֹא לְתוֹךְ נְהָרוֹת, וְלֹא לְתוֹךְ כֵּלִים. אֲבָל שׁוֹחֵט הוּא לְתוֹךְ עוּגָא שֶׁל מַיִם, וּבִסְפִינָה, עַל גַּבֵּי כֵלִים. אֵין שׁוֹחֲטִין לְגֻמָּא כָּל עִקָּר, אֲבָל עוֹשֶׂה גֻמָּא בְתוֹךְ בֵּיתוֹ בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁיִּכָּנֵס הַדָּם לְתוֹכָהּ. וּבַשּׁוּק לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה כֵן, שֶׁלֹּא יְחַקֶּה אֶת הַמִּינִין:''. None | 2.9. One may not slaughter so that the blood runs into the sea or into rivers, or into vessels, But one may slaughter into a pool (or vessel) of water. And when on board a ship on to vessels. One may not slaughter at all into a hole, but one may dig a hole in his own house for the blood to run into. In the street, however, he should not do so as not to follow the ways of the heretics.''. None |
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25. Mishnah, Megillah, 4.8-4.9 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • heresy, Jewish origins denied • heresy, and orthodoxy • heresy, definition of • tannaim, treatment of heretics
Found in books: Cohen (2010) 59; Klawans (2019) 15
4.8. הָאוֹמֵר אֵינִי עוֹבֵר לִפְנֵי הַתֵּבָה בִצְבוּעִין, אַף בִּלְבָנִים לֹא יַעֲבֹר. בְּסַנְדָּל אֵינִי עוֹבֵר, אַף יָחֵף לֹא יַעֲבֹר. הָעוֹשֶׂה תְפִלָּתוֹ עֲגֻלָּה, סַכָּנָה וְאֵין בָּהּ מִצְוָה. נְתָנָהּ עַל מִצְחוֹ אוֹ עַל פַּס יָדוֹ, הֲרֵי זוֹ דֶּרֶךְ הַמִּינוּת. צִפָּן זָהָב, וּנְתָנָהּ עַל בֵּית אֻנְקְלִי שֶׁלּוֹ, הֲרֵי זוֹ דֶּרֶךְ הַחִיצוֹנִים: 4.9. הָאוֹמֵר יְבָרְכוּךָ טוֹבִים, הֲרֵי זוֹ דֶּרֶךְ הַמִּינוּת. עַל קַן צִפּוֹר יַגִּיעוּ רַחֲמֶיךָ, וְעַל טוֹב יִזָּכֵר שְׁמֶךָ, מוֹדִים מוֹדִים, מְשַׁתְּקִין אוֹתוֹ. הַמְכַנֶּה בָעֲרָיוֹת, מְשַׁתְּקִין אוֹתוֹ. הָאוֹמֵר, וּמִזַּרְעֲךָ לֹא תִתֵּן לְהַעֲבִיר לַמֹּלֶךְ (ויקרא יח), וּמִזַרְעָךְ לֹא תִתֵּן לְאַעְבָּרָא בְּאַרְמָיוּתָא, מְשַׁתְּקִין אוֹתוֹ בִנְזִיפָה:''. None | 4.8. If one says, “I will not pass before the ark in colored clothes,” even in white clothes he may not pass before it. If one says, “I will not pass before it in shoes,” even barefoot he may not pass before it. One who makes his tefillin for the head round, it is dangerous and has no religious value. If he put them on his forehead or on the palm of his hand, behold this is the way of heresy. If he overlaid them with gold or put the one for the hand on his sleeve, behold this is the manner of the outsiders. 4.9. If one says “May the good bless you,” this is the way of heresy. If one says, “May Your mercy reach the nest of a bird,” “May Your name be mentioned for the good,” “We give thanks, we give thanks,” they silence him. One who uses euphemisms in the portion dealing with forbidden marriages, he is silenced. If he says, instead of “And you shall not give any of your seed to be passed to Moloch,” (Leviticus 18:21) “You shall not give your seed to pass to a Gentile woman,” he silenced with a rebuke.''. None |
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26. Mishnah, Parah, 3.3 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • heretics as mocking realists • realism, legal, and heretics • tannaim, treatment of heretics
Found in books: Cohen (2010) 59; Hayes (2015) 227
3.3. בָּאוּ לְהַר הַבַּיִת וְיָרְדוּ. הַר הַבַּיִת וְהָעֲזָרוֹת, תַּחְתֵּיהֶם חָלוּל, מִפְּנֵי קֶבֶר הַתְּהוֹם. וּבְפֶתַח הָעֲזָרָה הָיָה מְתֻקָּן קָלָל שֶׁל חַטָּאת, וּמְבִיאִין זָכָר שֶׁל רְחֵלִים וְקוֹשְׁרִים חֶבֶל בֵּין קַרְנָיו, וְקוֹשְׁרִים מַקֵּל וּמְסַבֵּךְ בְּרֹאשׁוֹ שֶׁל חֶבֶל, וְזוֹרְקוֹ לְתוֹךְ הַקָּלָל, וּמַכֶּה אֶת הַזָּכָר וְנִרְתָּע לַאֲחוֹרָיו, וְנוֹטֵל וּמְקַדֵּשׁ, כְּדֵי שֶׁיֵּרָאֶה עַל פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, אַל תִּתְּנוּ מָקוֹם לַצְּדוֹקִים לִרְדּוֹת, אֶלָּא הוּא נוֹטֵל וּמְקַדֵּשׁ:''. None | 3.3. They arrived at the Temple Mount and got down. Beneath the Temple Mount and the courts was a hollow which served as a protection against a grave in the depths. And at the entrance of the courtyard there was the jar of the ashes of the sin-offerings. They would bring a male from among the sheep and tie a rope between its horns, and a stick or a bushy twig was tied at the other end of the rope, and this was thrown into the jar. They then struck the male sheep was so that it started backwards. And a child took the ashes and put it enough so that it could be seen upon the water. Rabbi Yose said: do not give the Sadducees an opportunity to rule! Rather, a child himself took it and mixed it.''. None |
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27. Mishnah, Sanhedrin, 4.5 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy, • heresy, Jewish origins denied • heresy, and orthodoxy • heresy, definition of • tannaim, treatment of heretics
Found in books: Allen and Dunne (2022) 175, 176, 177, 179, 180, 183, 188, 197, 200, 207; Cohen (2010) 59; Klawans (2019) 14, 15
4.5. כֵּיצַד מְאַיְּמִין אֶת הָעֵדִים עַל עֵדֵי נְפָשׁוֹת, הָיוּ מַכְנִיסִין אוֹתָן וּמְאַיְּמִין עֲלֵיהֶן. שֶׁמָּא תֹאמְרוּ מֵאֹמֶד, וּמִשְּׁמוּעָה, עֵד מִפִּי עֵד וּמִפִּי אָדָם נֶאֱמָן שָׁמַעְנוּ, אוֹ שֶׁמָּא אִי אַתֶּם יוֹדְעִין שֶׁסּוֹפֵנוּ לִבְדֹּק אֶתְכֶם בִּדְרִישָׁה וּבַחֲקִירָה. הֱווּ יוֹדְעִין שֶׁלֹּא כְדִינֵי מָמוֹנוֹת דִּינֵי נְפָשׁוֹת. דִּינֵי מָמוֹנוֹת, אָדָם נוֹתֵן מָמוֹן וּמִתְכַּפֵּר לוֹ. דִּינֵי נְפָשׁוֹת, דָּמוֹ וְדַם זַרְעִיּוֹתָיו תְּלוּיִין בּוֹ עַד סוֹף הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁכֵּן מָצִינוּ בְקַיִן שֶׁהָרַג אֶת אָחִיו, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (בראשית ד) דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ צֹעֲקִים, אֵינוֹ אוֹמֵר דַּם אָחִיךָ אֶלָּא דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ, דָּמוֹ וְדַם זַרְעִיּוֹתָיו. דָּבָר אַחֵר, דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ, שֶׁהָיָה דָמוֹ מֻשְׁלָךְ עַל הָעֵצִים וְעַל הָאֲבָנִים. לְפִיכָךְ נִבְרָא אָדָם יְחִידִי, לְלַמֶּדְךָ, שֶׁכָּל הַמְאַבֵּד נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ אִבֵּד עוֹלָם מָלֵא. וְכָל הַמְקַיֵּם נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ קִיֵּם עוֹלָם מָלֵא. וּמִפְּנֵי שְׁלוֹם הַבְּרִיּוֹת, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמַר אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ אַבָּא גָדוֹל מֵאָבִיךָ. וְשֶׁלֹּא יְהוּ מִינִין אוֹמְרִים, הַרְבֵּה רָשֻׁיּוֹת בַּשָּׁמָיִם. וּלְהַגִּיד גְּדֻלָּתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁאָדָם טוֹבֵעַ כַּמָּה מַטְבְּעוֹת בְּחוֹתָם אֶחָד וְכֻלָּן דּוֹמִין זֶה לָזֶה, וּמֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא טָבַע כָּל אָדָם בְּחוֹתָמוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן וְאֵין אֶחָד מֵהֶן דּוֹמֶה לַחֲבֵרוֹ. לְפִיכָךְ כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד חַיָּב לוֹמַר, בִּשְׁבִילִי נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם. וְשֶׁמָּא תֹאמְרוּ מַה לָּנוּ וְלַצָּרָה הַזֹּאת, וַהֲלֹא כְבָר נֶאֱמַר (ויקרא ה) וְהוּא עֵד אוֹ רָאָה אוֹ יָדָע אִם לוֹא יַגִּיד וְגוֹ'. וְשֶׁמָּא תֹאמְרוּ מַה לָּנוּ לָחוּב בְּדָמוֹ שֶׁל זֶה, וַהֲלֹא כְבָר נֶאֱמַר (משלי יא) וּבַאֲבֹד רְשָׁעִים רִנָּה:"". None | 4.5. How did they admonish witnesses in capital cases? They brought them in and admonished them, saying, “Perhaps you will say something that is only a supposition or hearsay or secondhand, or even from a trustworthy man. Or perhaps you do not know that we shall check you with examination and inquiry? Know, moreover, that capital cases are not like non-capital cases: in non-capital cases a man may pay money and so make atonement, but in capital cases the witness is answerable for the blood of him that is wrongfully condemned and the blood of his descendants that should have been born to him to the end of the world.” For so have we found it with Cain that murdered his brother, for it says, “The bloods of your brother cry out” (Gen. 4:10). It doesn’t say, “The blood of your brother”, but rather “The bloods of your brother” meaning his blood and the blood of his descendants. Another saying is, “The bloods of your brother” that his blood was cast over trees and stones. Therefore but a single person was created in the world, to teach that if any man has caused a single life to perish from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had caused a whole world to perish; and anyone who saves a single soul from Israel, he is deemed by Scripture as if he had saved a whole world. Again but a single person was created for the sake of peace among humankind, that one should not say to another, “My father was greater than your father”. Again, but a single person was created against the heretics so they should not say, “There are many ruling powers in heaven”. Again but a single person was created to proclaim the greatness of the Holy Blessed One; for humans stamp many coins with one seal and they are all like one another; but the King of kings, the Holy Blessed One, has stamped every human with the seal of the first man, yet not one of them are like another. Therefore everyone must say, “For my sake was the world created.” And if perhaps you witnesses would say, “Why should we be involved with this trouble”, was it not said, “He, being a witness, whether he has seen or known, if he does not speak it, then he shall bear his iniquity (Lev. 5:1). And if perhaps you witnesses would say, “Why should we be guilty of the blood of this man?, was it not said, “When the wicked perish there is rejoicing” (Proverbs 11:10).''. None |
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28. Mishnah, Sotah, 9.15 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy • Sectarianism, heretics • heresy, and orthodoxy • tannaim, treatment of heretics
Found in books: Cohen (2010) 59; Fonrobert and Jaffee (2007) 259; Klawans (2019) 71; Rowland (2009) 356
9.15. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבִּי מֵאִיר, בָּטְלוּ מוֹשְׁלֵי מְשָׁלִים. מִשֶּׁמֵּת בֶּן עַזַּאי, בָּטְלוּ הַשַּׁקְדָּנִים. מִשֶּׁמֵּת בֶּן זוֹמָא, בָּטְלוּ הַדַּרְשָׁנִים. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, פָּסְקָה טוֹבָה מִן הָעוֹלָם. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל, בָּא גוֹבַי וְרַבּוּ צָרוֹת. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה, פָּסַק הָעשֶׁר מִן הַחֲכָמִים. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא, בָּטַל כְּבוֹד הַתּוֹרָה. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בֶּן דּוֹסָא, בָּטְלוּ אַנְשֵׁי מַעֲשֶׂה. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבִּי יוֹסֵי קַטְנוּתָא, פָּסְקוּ חֲסִידִים. וְלָמָּה נִקְרָא שְׁמוֹ קַטְנוּתָא, שֶׁהָיָה קַטְנוּתָן שֶׁל חֲסִידִים. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, בָּטַל זִיו הַחָכְמָה. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הַזָּקֵן, בָּטַל כְּבוֹד הַתּוֹרָה וּמֵתָה טָהֳרָה וּפְרִישׁוּת. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן פָּאבִי, בָּטַל זִיו הַכְּהֻנָּה. מִשֶּׁמֵּת רַבִּי, בָּטְלָה עֲנָוָה וְיִרְאַת חֵטְא. רַבִּי פִנְחָס בֶּן יָאִיר אוֹמֵר, מִשֶּׁחָרַב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, בּוֹשׁוּ חֲבֵרִים וּבְנֵי חוֹרִין, וְחָפוּ רֹאשָׁם, וְנִדַּלְדְּלוּ אַנְשֵׁי מַעֲשֶׂה, וְגָבְרוּ בַעֲלֵי זְרוֹעַ וּבַעֲלֵי לָשׁוֹן, וְאֵין דּוֹרֵשׁ וְאֵין מְבַקֵּשׁ, וְאֵין שׁוֹאֵל, עַל מִי לָנוּ לְהִשָּׁעֵן, עַל אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמָיִם. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר הַגָּדוֹל אוֹמֵר, מִיּוֹם שֶׁחָרַב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, שָׁרוּ חַכִּימַיָּא לְמֶהֱוֵי כְסָפְרַיָּא, וְסָפְרַיָּא כְּחַזָּנָא, וְחַזָּנָא כְּעַמָּא דְאַרְעָא, וְעַמָּא דְאַרְעָא אָזְלָא וְדַלְדְּלָה, וְאֵין מְבַקֵּשׁ, עַל מִי יֵשׁ לְהִשָּׁעֵן, עַל אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמָיִם. בְּעִקְּבוֹת מְשִׁיחָא חֻצְפָּא יִסְגֵּא, וְיֹקֶר יַאֲמִיר, הַגֶּפֶן תִּתֵּן פִּרְיָהּ וְהַיַּיִן בְּיֹקֶר, וְהַמַּלְכוּת תֵּהָפֵךְ לְמִינוּת, וְאֵין תּוֹכֵחָה, בֵּית וַעַד יִהְיֶה לִזְנוּת, וְהַגָּלִיל יֶחֱרַב, וְהַגַּבְלָן יִשּׁוֹם, וְאַנְשֵׁי הַגְּבוּל יְסוֹבְבוּ מֵעִיר לְעִיר וְלֹא יְחוֹנָּנוּ, וְחָכְמַת סוֹפְרִים תִּסְרַח, וְיִרְאֵי חֵטְא יִמָּאֲסוּ, וְהָאֱמֶת תְּהֵא נֶעְדֶּרֶת. נְעָרִים פְּנֵי זְקֵנִים יַלְבִּינוּ, זְקֵנִים יַעַמְדוּ מִפְּנֵי קְטַנִּים. (מיכה ז) בֵּן מְנַבֵּל אָב, בַּת קָמָה בְאִמָּהּ, כַּלָּה בַּחֲמֹתָהּ, אֹיְבֵי אִישׁ אַנְשֵׁי בֵיתוֹ. פְּנֵי הַדּוֹר כִּפְנֵי הַכֶּלֶב, הַבֵּן אֵינוֹ מִתְבַּיֵּשׁ מֵאָבִיו. וְעַל מִי יֵשׁ לָנוּ לְהִשָּׁעֵן, עַל אָבִינוּ שֶׁבַּשָּׁמָיִם. רַבִּי פִנְחָס בֶּן יָאִיר אוֹמֵר, זְרִיזוּת מְבִיאָה לִידֵי נְקִיּוּת, וּנְקִיּוּת מְבִיאָה לִידֵי טָהֳרָה, וְטָהֳרָה מְבִיאָה לִידֵי פְרִישׁוּת, וּפְרִישׁוּת מְבִיאָה לִידֵי קְדֻשָּׁה, וּקְדֻשָּׁה מְבִיאָה לִידֵי עֲנָוָה, וַעֲנָוָה מְבִיאָה לִידֵי יִרְאַת חֵטְא, וְיִרְאַת חֵטְא מְבִיאָה לִידֵי חֲסִידוּת, וַחֲסִידוּת מְבִיאָה לִידֵי רוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ, וְרוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ מְבִיאָה לִידֵי תְחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים, וּתְחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים בָּא עַל יְדֵי אֵלִיָּהוּ זָכוּר לַטּוֹב, אָמֵן:''. None | 9.15. When Rabbi Meir died, the composers of fables ceased. When Ben Azzai died, the diligent students of Torah ceased. When Ben Zoma died, the expounders ceased. When Rabbi Joshua died, goodness ceased from the world. When Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel died, locusts come and troubles multiplied. When Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah died, the sages ceased to be wealthy. When Rabbi Akiba died, the glory of the Torah ceased. When Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa died, men of wondrous deeds ceased. When Rabbi Yose Katnuta died, the pious men (hasidim) ceased and why was his name called Katnuta? Because he was the youngest of the pious men. When Rabban Yoha ben Zakkai died, the splendor of wisdom ceased. When Rabban Gamaliel the elder died, the glory of the torah ceased, and purity and separateness perished. When Rabbi Ishmael ben Fabi died, the splendor of the priesthood ceased. When Rabbi died, humility and fear of sin ceased. Rabbi Phineas ben Yair says: when Temple was destroyed, scholars and freemen were ashamed and covered their head, men of wondrous deeds were disregarded, and violent men and big talkers grew powerful. And nobody expounds, nobody seeks, and nobody asks. Upon whom shall we depend? Upon our father who is in heaven. Rabbi Eliezer the Great says: from the day the Temple was destroyed, the sages began to be like scribes, scribes like synagogue-attendants, synagogue-attendants like common people, and the common people became more and more debased. And nobody seeks. Upon whom shall we depend? Upon our father who is in heaven. In the footsteps of the messiah insolence (hutzpah) will increase and the cost of living will go up greatly; the vine will yield its fruit, but wine will be expensive; the government will turn to heresy, and there will be no one to rebuke; the meeting-place of scholars will be used for licentiousness; the Galilee will be destroyed, the Gablan will be desolated, and the dwellers on the frontier will go about begging from place to place without anyone to take pity on them; the wisdom of the learned will rot, fearers of sin will be despised, and the truth will be lacking; youths will put old men to shame, the old will stand up in the presence of the young, “For son spurns father, daughter rises up against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law a man’s own household are his enemies” (Micah 7:6). The face of the generation will be like the face of a dog, a son will not feel ashamed before his father. Upon whom shall we depend? Upon our father who is in heaven. Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair says, “Heedfulness leads to cleanliness, cleanliness leads to purity, purity leads to separation, separation leads to holiness, holiness leads to modesty, modesty leads to fear of sin, fear of sin leads to piety, piety leads to the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrection of the dead comes from Elijah, blessed be his memory, Amen.”''. None |
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29. Mishnah, Taanit, 2.1 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy
Found in books: Binder (2012) 51; Poorthuis and Schwartz (2014) 103
2.1. אֵין גּוֹזְרִין תַּעֲנִית עַל הַצִּבּוּר בְּרֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ, בַּחֲנֻכָּה וּבְפוּרִים, וְאִם הִתְחִילוּ, אֵין מַפְסִיקִין, דִּבְרֵי רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל. אָמַר רַבִּי מֵאִיר, אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאָמַר רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אֵין מַפְסִיקִין, מוֹדֶה הָיָה שֶׁאֵין מַשְׁלִימִין. וְכֵן תִּשְׁעָה בְאָב שֶׁחָל לִהְיוֹת בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת:'
2.1. סֵדֶר תַּעֲנִיּוֹת כֵּיצַד, מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הַתֵּבָה לִרְחוֹבָהּ שֶׁל עִיר, וְנוֹתְנִין אֵפֶר מִקְלֶה עַל גַּבֵּי הַתֵּבָה, וּבְרֹאשׁ הַנָּשִׂיא וּבְרֹאשׁ אַב בֵּית דִּין, וְכָל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד נוֹתֵן בְּרֹאשׁוֹ. הַזָּקֵן שֶׁבָּהֶן אוֹמֵר לִפְנֵיהֶן דִּבְרֵי כִבּוּשִׁין, אַחֵינוּ, לֹא נֶאֱמַר בְּאַנְשֵׁי נִינְוֵה, וַיַּרְא הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת שַׂקָּם וְאֶת תַּעֲנִיתָם, אֶלָּא (יונה ג) וַיַּרְא הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם, כִּי שָׁבוּ מִדַּרְכָּם הָרָעָה. וּבַקַּבָּלָה הוּא אוֹמֵר (יואל ב) וְקִרְעוּ לְבַבְכֶם וְאַל בִּגְדֵיכֶם: '. None | 2.1. What is the order of service for fast days?They take the ark out to the open space of the city. And they put ashes on the ark and on the head of the Nasi and on the head of the head of the court (av bet. And everyone else puts ashes on his own head. The elder among them says in front of them words of admonition, “Brothers, it does not say of the people of Nineveh, ‘And God saw their sackcloth and their fasting,’ but, ‘And God saw their deeds, for they turned from their evil way. (Jonah 3:10)’ And in the prophets it says, ‘And rend your heart and not your garments” (Joel 2:13).''. None |
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30. New Testament, 1 John, 2.18, 2.23, 4.2-4.3 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Rome, on the causes of heresy • Heresy • Heresy, novelty of • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Satan, and heresy • heresy • heresy, Origen opposing • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Azar (2016) 82; Boulluec (2022) 19, 24, 183, 184, 531, 532; Dignas Parker and Stroumsa (2013) 214; Lieu (2004) 296; Rowland (2009) 184, 185, 187
2.18. Παιδία, ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν, καὶ καθὼς ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἀντίχριστος ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἀντίχριστοι πολλοὶ γεγόνασιν· ὅθεν γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν.
2.23. πᾶς ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν υἱὸν οὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει· ὁ ὁμολογῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει.
4.2. Ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκετε τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ· πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ ὁμολογεῖ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθότα ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστίν, 4.3. καὶ πᾶν πνεῦμα ὃ μὴ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου, ὃ ἀκηκόατε ὅτι ἔρχεται, καὶ νῦν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν ἤδη.''. None | 2.18. Little children, these are the end times, and as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen. By this we know that it is the end times. ' "
2.23. Whoever denies the Son, the same doesn't have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also. " '
4.2. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, ' "4.3. and every spirit who doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already. "'. None |
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31. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 1.14-1.16, 2.9-2.10, 3.1, 3.3-3.4, 3.18, 6.12-6.13, 8.1, 9.9, 9.12, 11.19, 12.27, 14.34, 15.1-15.2 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Alexandria, assimilation of heresy to paganism • Clement of Alexandria, heresy and epistemology • Clement of Alexandria, moral criticism of heresy • Clement of Alexandria, on sophistry of heretics • Clement of Rome, and heresy • Clement of Rome, on terminology for heresy • Epicureanism, heresy assimilated to • Eristic, connection with heresy • Exegesis, heresy as erroneous exegesis • Gnosticism, as heretical or ‘other’ • Gnosticism, distinction from other heresies • Hegesippus, schema of stages of heresy • Heresy • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, human origin of • Heresy, interior to Church • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Heretics {see also Gnostics; Marcionites) • Ignatius of Antioch, on terminology for heresy • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Irenaeus, on heresy and paganism • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Jewish succession, as origin of heresies • Marriage, heretical contempt for • Marriage, heretical promiscuity regarding • Martyr, Justin, use of Greek models for heresy • Martyrdom, heretics sophistically avoid • Myth, associated with heresy • Origen, distinctions between heresies and their taxonomy • Origen, exclusive account of sects and heresy • Origen, on Gnosticism as heresy • Origen, strategies for linking heresy with various others • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Philosophy, assimilation of heresy to • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • beast, heretics as • heresy • heresy, Catholic Christianity, heretics • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, use of minim for all opponents • heresy, and supersessionism • supersessionism, inverse of heresy
Found in books: Bird and Harrower (2021) 317, 318; Boulluec (2022) 15, 16, 17, 102, 103, 130, 139, 144, 145, 146, 147, 183, 184, 293, 294, 295, 296, 323, 328, 329, 334, 349, 350, 351, 390, 391, 433, 472, 473, 485, 486, 487, 488, 489, 496, 497, 522, 523, 524, 541, 555, 556, 569; Cohen (2010) 536; Dignas Parker and Stroumsa (2013) 214; Klawans (2019) 37; Lampe (2003) 160; Malherbe et al (2014) 51, 72, 73, 429; Rowland (2009) 157; Tite (2009) 219
1.14. εὐχαριστῶ ὅτι οὐδένα ὑμῶν ἐβάπτισα εἰ μὴ Κρίσπον καὶ Γαῖον, 1.15. ἵνα μή τις εἴπῃ ὅτι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα ἐβαπτίσθητε· ἐβάπτισα δὲ καὶ τὸν Στεφανᾶ οἶκον· 1.16. λοιπὸν οὐκ οἶδα εἴ τινα ἄλλον ἐβάπτισα.
2.9. ἀλλὰ καθὼς γέγραπταιἋ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν καὶοὖς οὐκ ἤκουσεν 2.10. ἡμῖν γὰρ ἀπεκάλυψεν ὁ θεὸς διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος, τὸ γὰρ πνεῦμα πάντα ἐραυνᾷ, καὶ τὰ βάθη τοῦ θεοῦ.
3.1. Κἀγώ, ἀδελφοί, οὐκ ἠδυνήθην λαλῆσαι ὑμῖν ὡς πνευματικοῖς ἀλλʼ ὡς σαρκίνοις, ὡς νηπίοις ἐν Χριστῷ.
3.3. Ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ἔτι νῦν δύνασθε, ἔτι γὰρ σαρκικοί ἐστε. ὅπου γὰρ ἐν ὑμῖν ζῆλος καὶ ἔρις, οὐχὶ σαρκικοί ἐστε καὶ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον περιπατεῖτε; 3.4. ὅταν γὰρ λέγῃ τις Ἐγὼ μέν εἰμι Παύλου, ἕτερος δέ Ἐγὼ Ἀπολλώ, οὐκ ἄνθρωποί ἐστε;
3.18. Μηδεὶς ἑαυτὸν ἐξαπατάτω· εἴ τις δοκεῖ σοφὸς εἶναι ἐν ὑμῖν ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, μωρὸς γενέσθω, ἵνα γένηται σοφός,
6.12. Πάντα μοι ἔξεστιν· ἀλλʼ οὐ πάντα συμφέρει. πάντα μοι ἔξεστιν· ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐγὼ ἐξουσιασθήσομαι ὑπό τινος. 6.13. τὰ βρώματα τῇ κοιλίᾳ, καὶ ἡ κοιλία τοῖς βρώμασιν· ὁ δὲ θεὸς καὶ ταύτην καὶ ταῦτα καταργήσει. τὸ δὲ σῶμα οὐ τῇ πορνείᾳ ἀλλὰ τῷ κυρίῳ, καὶ ὁ κύριος τῷ σώματι·
8.1. Περὶ δὲ τῶν εἰδωλοθύτων, οἴδαμεν ὅτι πάντες γνῶσιν ἔχομεν.
9.9. ἐν γὰρ τῷ Μωυσέως νόμῳ γέγραπταιΟὐ φιμώσεις βοῦν ἀλοῶντα.μὴ τῶν βοῶν μέλει τῷ θεῷ, ἢ διʼ ἡμᾶς πάντως λέγει;
9.12. εἰ ἄλλοι τῆς ὑμῶν ἐξουσίας μετέχουσιν, οὐ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς; ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐχρησάμεθα τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ταύτῃ, ἀλλὰ πάντα στέγομεν ἵνα μή τινα ἐνκοπὴν δῶμεν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ χριστοῦ.
11.19. δεῖ γὰρ καὶ αἱρέσεις ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι· ἵνα καὶ οἱ δόκιμοι φανεροὶ γένωνται ἐν ὑμῖν.
12.27. ὑμεῖς δέ ἐστε σῶμα Χριστοῦ καὶ μέλη ἐκ μέρους.
14.34. Αἱ γυναῖκες ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις σιγάτωσαν, οὐ γὰρ ἐπιτρέπεται αὐταῖς λαλεῖν· ἀλλὰ ὑποτασσέσθωσαν, καθὼς καὶ ὁ νόμος λέγει.
15.1. Γνωρίζω δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ὃ εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν, ὃ καὶ παρελάβετε, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἑστήκατε, 15.2. διʼ οἷ καὶ σώζεσθε, τίνι λόγῳ εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν, εἰ κατέχετε, ἐκτὸς εἰ μὴ εἰκῇ ἐπιστεύσατε.''. None | 1.14. I thank God that Ibaptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, 1.15. o that no oneshould say that I had baptized you into my own name.' "1.16. (I alsobaptized the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don't know whetherI baptized any other.)" '
2.9. But as it is written,"Things which an eye didn\'t see, and an ear didn\'t hear,Which didn\'t enter into the heart of man,These God has prepared for those who love him." 2.10. But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For theSpirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.' "
3.1. Brothers, I couldn't speak to you as to spiritual, but as tofleshly, as to babies in Christ." "
3.3. for you are still fleshly. For insofar as there is jealousy,strife, and factions among you, aren't you fleshly, and don't you walkin the ways of men?" '3.4. For when one says, "I follow Paul," andanother, "I follow Apollos," aren\'t you fleshly?
3.18. Letno one deceive himself. If anyone thinks that he is wise among you inthis world, let him become a fool, that he may become wise.
6.12. "All things are lawful for me," but not all thingsare expedient. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not bebrought under the power of anything. 6.13. "Foods for the belly, andthe belly for foods," but God will bring to nothing both it and them.But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord; and theLord for the body.
8.1. Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we allhave knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
9.9. For it is written in the law of Moses,"You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." Is it forthe oxen that God cares,' "
9.12. If others partake of this right overyou, don't we yet more? Nevertheless we did not use this right, but webear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the gospel ofChrist." '
11.19. For there also mustbe factions among you, that those who are approved may be revealedamong you.
12.27. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
14.34. let your wives keepsilent in the assemblies, for it has not been permitted for them tospeak; but let them be in subjection, as the law also says.
15.1. Now I declare to you, brothers, the gospel which I preachedto you, which also you received, in which you also stand, 15.2. bywhich also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preachedto you -- unless you believed in vain.''. None |
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32. New Testament, 1 Thessalonians, 5.21 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Exegesis, heresy as erroneous exegesis • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Heresy, interior to Church • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Satan, and heresy • heretic
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 485, 486, 487, 488, 533, 534; van , t Westeinde (2021) 209
5.21. πάντα δὲ δοκιμάζετε, τὸ καλὸν κατέχετε,''. None | 5.21. Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good. ''. None |
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33. New Testament, 1 Timothy, 1.3-1.4, 1.11-1.14, 1.20, 2.7, 3.3, 3.11, 3.16, 4.1-4.5, 4.7, 5.17-5.18, 5.21, 6.3, 6.12, 6.16, 6.20-6.21 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Alexandria, heresy and epistemology • Clement of Alexandria, moral criticism of heresy • Clement of Alexandria, reduction of diverse heresies to common errors • Clement of Rome, and heresy • Clement of Rome, on terminology for heresy • Dialectic, perversion of dialectic by heretics • Eristic, connection with heresy • Exegesis, heresy as erroneous exegesis • Gnosticism, assimilation of other heresies to • Gnosticism, distinction from other heresies • Hegesippus, schema of stages of heresy • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, human origin of • Heresy, interior to Church • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Heretics {see also Gnostics; Marcionites) • Ignatius of Antioch, on terminology for heresy • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Jewish succession, as origin of heresies • Marriage, heretical contempt for • Myth, associated with heresy • Origen, distinctions between heresies and their taxonomy • Origen, on the link between heresy and pleasure • Origen, strategies for linking heresy with various others • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Simon of Samaria, as source of all heresy • Simplicity, Virtue of simplicity versus heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • conscience, of heretic • heresy • heresy, categorization of • heretics, naming of • women, as centerpieces of heresies
Found in books: Ashbrook Harvey et al (2015) 159; Bird and Harrower (2021) 317, 318; Boulluec (2022) 15, 16, 17, 60, 96, 112, 113, 145, 146, 147, 148, 179, 184, 346, 356, 357, 362, 386, 395, 408, 493, 494, 507, 519, 522, 523, 524, 531, 533, 554, 568, 569; Humfress (2007) 223; Lampe (2003) 147; Malherbe et al (2014) 73, 74, 117, 120, 121, 122, 196, 416, 429, 439, 443, 446, 451, 503, 516, 517, 518, 519, 520, 521, 522, 523, 524, 552, 570, 571
1.3. Καθὼς παρεκάλεσά σε προσμεῖναι ἐν Ἐφέσῳ, πορευόμενος εἰς Μακεδονίαν, ἵνα παραγγείλῃς τισὶν μὴ ἑτεροδιδασκαλεῖν 1.4. μηδὲ προσέχειν μύθοις καὶ γενεαλογίαις ἀπεράντοις,αἵτινες ἐκζητήσεις παρέχουσι μᾶλλον ἢ οἰκονομίαν θεοῦ τὴν ἐν πίστει,
1.11. κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς δόξης τοῦ μακαρίου θεοῦ, ὃ ἐπιστεύθην ἐγώ. 1.12. Χάριν ἔχω τῷ ἐνδύναμώσαντί με Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ὅτι πιστόν με ἡγήσατο θέμενος εἰς διακονίαν, 1.13. τὸ πρότερον ὄντα βλάσφημον καὶ διώκτην καὶ ἱβριστήν· ἀλλὰ ἠλεήθην, ὅτι ἀγνοῶν ἐποίησα ἐν ἀπιστίᾳ, 1.14. ὑπερεπλεόνασεν δὲ ἡ χάρις τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν μετὰ πίστεως καὶ ἀγάπης τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.
1.20. ὧν ἐστὶν Ὑμέναιος καὶ Ἀλέξανδρος, οὓς παρέδωκα τῷ Σατανᾷ ἵνα παιδευθῶσι μὴ βλασφημεῖν.
2.7. εἰς ὃ ἐτέθην ἐγὼ κῆρυξ καὶ ἀπόστολος, — ἀλήθειαν λέγω, οὐ ψεύδομαι, — διδάσκαλος ἐθνῶν ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ.
3.3. μὴ πάροινον, μὴ πλήκτην, ἀλλὰ ἐπιεικῆ, ἄμαχον, ἀφιλάργυρον,
3.11. γυναῖκας ὡσαύτως σεμνάς, μὴ διαβόλους, νηφαλίους, πιστὰς ἐν πᾶσιν.
3.16. καὶ ὁμολογουμένως μέγα ἐστὶν τὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον·
4.1. Τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ῥητῶς λέγει ὅτι ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς ἀποστήσονταί τινες τῆς πίστεως, προσέχοντες πνεύμασι πλάνοις καὶ διδασκαλίαις δαιμονίων 4.2. ἐν ὑποκρίσει ψευδολόγων, κεκαυστηριασμένων τὴν ἰδίαν συνείδησιν, 4.3. κωλυόντων γαμεῖν, ἀπέχεσθαι βρωμάτων ἃ ὁ θεὸς ἔκτισεν εἰς μετάλημψιν μετὰ εὐχαριστίας τοῖς πιστοῖς καὶ ἐπεγνωκόσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν. 4.4. ὅτι πᾶν κτίσμα θεοῦ καλόν, καὶ οὐδὲν ἀπόβλητον μετὰ εὐχαριστίας λαμβανόμενον, 4.5. ἁγιάζεται γὰρ διὰ λόγου θεοῦ καὶ ἐντεύξεως.
4.7. τοὺς δὲ βεβήλους καὶ γραώδεις μύθους παραιτοῦ. γύμναζε δὲ σεαυτὸν πρὸς εὐσέβειαν·
5.17. Οἱ καλῶς προεστῶτες πρεσβύτεροι διπλῆς τιμῆς ἀξιούσθωσαν, μάλιστα οἱ κοπιῶντες ἐν λόγῳ καὶ διδασκαλίᾳ· 5.18. λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφήΒοῦν ἀλοῶντα οὐ φιμώσεις·καὶ Ἄξιος ὁ ἐργάτης τοῦ μισθοῦ αὐτοῦ.
5.21. Διαμαρτύρομαι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν ἀγγέλων, ἵνα ταῦτα φυλάξῃς χωρὶς προκρίματος, μηδὲν ποιῶν κατὰ πρόσκλισιν.
6.3. Ταῦτα δίδασκε καὶ παρακάλει. εἴ τις ἑτεροδιδασκαλεῖ καὶ μὴ προσέρχεται ὑγιαίνουσι λόγοις, τοῖς τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τῇ κατʼ εὐσέβειαν διδασκαλίᾳ,
6.12. ἀγωνίζου τὸν καλὸν ἀγῶνα τῆς πίστεως, ἐπιλαβοῦ τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς, εἰς ἣν ἐκλήθης καὶ ὡμολόγησας τὴν καλὴν ὁμολογίαν ἐνώπιον πολλῶν μαρτύρων.
6.16. ὁ μόνος ἔχων ἀθανασίαν, φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον, ὃν εἶδεν οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπων οὐδὲ ἰδεῖν δύναται· ᾧ τιμὴ καὶ κράτος αἰώνιον· ἀμήν.
6.20. Ὦ Τιμόθεε, τὴν παραθήκην φύλαξον, ἐκτρεπόμενος τὰς βεβήλους κενοφωνίας καὶ ἀντιθέσεις τῆς ψευδωνύμου γνώσεως, 6.21. ἥν τινες ἐπαγγελλόμενοι περὶ τὴν πίστιν ἠστόχησαν. Ἡ χάρις μεθʼ ὑμῶν.''. None | 1.3. As I exhorted you to stay at Ephesus when I was going into Macedonia, that you might charge certain men not to teach a different doctrine, ' "1.4. neither to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God's stewardship, which is in faith -- " '
1.11. according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. 1.12. And I thank him who enabled me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he counted me faithful, appointing me to service; 1.13. although I was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and insolent. However, I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 1.14. The grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1.20. of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.
2.7. to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
3.3. not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;
3.11. Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.
3.16. Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, Justified in the spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, And received up in glory.
4.1. But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, 4.2. through the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; 4.3. forbidding marriage and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4.4. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving. 4.5. For it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer. ' "
4.7. But refuse profane and old wives' fables. Exercise yourself toward godliness. " '
5.17. Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching. 5.18. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle the ox when it treads out the grain." And, "The laborer is worthy of his wages."
5.21. I charge you in the sight of God, and Christ Jesus, and the elect angels, that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing by partiality. ' "
6.3. If anyone teaches a different doctrine, and doesn't consent to sound words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, " '
6.12. Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you confessed the good confession in the sight of many witnesses.
6.16. who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
6.20. Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called; 6.21. which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen. ''. None |
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34. New Testament, 2 Peter, 2.1, 3.16 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Hegesippus, schema of stages of heresy • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Myth, associated with heresy • heresy • heresy, Catholic Christianity, heretics • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, use of minim for all opponents
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 100, 229; Cohen (2010) 536; Dignas Parker and Stroumsa (2013) 214; Vinzent (2013) 49
2.1. Ἐγένοντο δὲ καὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐν τῷ λαῷ, ὡς καὶ ἐν ὑμῖν ἔσονται ψευδοδιδάσκαλοι, οἵτινες παρεισάξουσιν αἱρέσεις ἀπωλείας, καὶ τὸν ἀγοράσαντα αὐτοὺς δεσπότην ἀρνούμενοι, ἐπάγοντες ἑαυτοῖς ταχινὴν ἀπώλειαν·
3.16. ὡς καὶ ἐν πάσαις ἐπιστολαῖς λαλῶν ἐν αὐταῖς περὶ τούτων, ἐν αἷς ἐστὶν δυσνόητά τινα, ἃ οἱ ἀμαθεῖς καὶ ἀστήρικτοι στρεβλοῦσιν ὡς καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς γραφὰς πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν αὐτῶν ἀπώλειαν.''. None | 2.1. But there also arose false prophets among the people, as among you also there will be false teachers, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.
3.16. as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. ''. None |
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35. New Testament, 2 Thessalonians, 2.4, 3.7-3.8 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Eristic, connection with heresy • Exegesis, heresy as erroneous exegesis • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Satan, and heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • heresy
Found in books: Bird and Harrower (2021) 23; Boulluec (2022) 146, 147, 534, 535; Malherbe et al (2014) 739
2.4. ὁ ἀντικείμενοςκαὶ ὑπεραιρόμενος ἐπὶ πάνταλεγόμενονθεὸνἢ σέβασμα, ὥστε αὐτὸνεἰς τὸνναὸντοῦ θεοῦ καθίξαι,ἀποδεικνύντα ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ἔστινθεός—.
3.7. αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἴδατε πῶς δεῖ μιμεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς, ὅτι οὐκ ἠτακτήσαμεν ἐν ὑμῖν οὐδὲ δωρεὰν ἄρτον ἐφάγομεν παρά τινος, 3.8. ἀλλʼ ἐν κόπῳ καὶ μόχθῳ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ἐργαζόμενοι πρὸς τὸ μὴ''. None | 2.4. he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God. ' "
3.7. For you know how you ought to imitate us. For we didn't behave ourselves rebelliously among you, " "3.8. neither did we eat bread from anyone's hand without paying for it, but in labor and travail worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you; "'. None |
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36. New Testament, 2 Timothy, 2.15-2.19, 3.4-3.7, 3.16, 4.4 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Alexandria, moral criticism of heresy • Eristic, connection with heresy • Heresy • Heresy, heretic • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Myth, associated with heresy • Origen, exclusive account of sects and heresy • Origen, on Gnosticism as heresy • Origen, on the link between heresy and pleasure • Origen, strategies for linking heresy with various others • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Philosophy, assimilation of heresy to • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • conscience, of heretic • heresy • heresy, categorization of • heretics, naming of
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 145, 442, 482, 495, 546; Bull Lied and Turner (2011) 265; Humfress (2007) 223; Malherbe et al (2014) 72, 73, 74, 120, 121, 122, 123, 195, 212, 429, 439, 443, 518, 519, 521, 570; Tite (2009) 166
2.15. σπούδασον σεαυτὸν δόκιμον παραστῆσαι τῷ θεῷ, ἐργάτην ἀνεπαίσχυντον, ὀρθοτομοῦντα τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας. 2.16. τὰς δὲ βεβήλους κενοφωνιας περιίστασο· ἐπὶ πλεῖον γὰρ προκόψουσιν ἀσεβείας, 2.17. καὶ ὁ λόγος αὐτῶν ὡς γάγγραινα νομὴν ἕξει· ὧν ἐστὶν Ὑμέναιος καὶ Φίλητος, 2.18. οἵτινες περὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἠστόχησαν, λέγοντες ἀνάστασιν ἤδη γεγονέναι, καὶ ἀνατρέπουσιν τήν τινων πίστιν. 2.19. ὁ μέντοι στερεὸς θεμέλιος τοῦ θεοῦ ἕστηκεν, ἔχων τὴν σφραγῖδα ταύτηνἜγνω Κύριος τοὺς ὄντας αὐτοῦ,καί Ἀποστήτω ἀπὸ ἀδικίας πᾶς ὁὀνομάζων τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου.
3.4. προδόται, προπετεῖς, τετυφωμένοι, φιλήδονοι μᾶλλον ἢ φιλόθεοι, 3.5. ἔχοντες μόρφωσιν εὐσεβείας τὴν δὲ δύναμιν αὐτῆς ἠρνημένοι· καὶ τούτους ἀποτρέπου. 3.6. ἐκ τούτων γάρ εἰσιν οἱ ἐνδύνοιτες εἰς τὰς οἰκίας καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζοντες γυναικάρια σεσωρευμένα ἁμαρτίαις, ἀγόμενα ἐπιθυμίαις ποικίλαις, 3.7. πάντοτε μανθάνοντα καὶ μηδέποτε εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν δυνάμενα.
3.16. πᾶσα γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος πρὸς διδασκαλίαν, πρὸς ἐλεγμόν, πρὸς ἐπανόρθωσιν, πρὸς παιδείαν τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ,
4.4. καὶ ἀπὸ μὲν τῇς ἀληθείας τὴν ἀκοὴν ἀποστρέψουσιν, ἐπὶ δὲ τοὺς μύθους ἐκτραπήσονται.''. None | 2.15. Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who doesn't need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth. " '2.16. But shun empty chatter, for they will proceed further in ungodliness, 2.17. and their word will consume like gangrene, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 2.18. men who have erred concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past, and overthrowing the faith of some. 2.19. However God\'s firm foundation stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness."
3.4. traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 3.5. holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof. Turn away from these, also. 3.6. For of these are those who creep into houses, and take captive gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 3.7. always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
3.16. Every writing inspired by God is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction which is in righteousness,
4.4. and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside to fables. '". None |
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37. New Testament, Acts, 8.9-8.24, 8.37, 10.9, 10.48, 13.10, 15.3, 17.8, 18.3, 20.25-20.30, 23.8 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Rome, and heresy • Epicureanism, heresy assimilated to • Eristic, connection with heresy • Gnosticism, as heretical or ‘other’ • Heresy • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, interior to Church • Heresy, novelty of • Irenaeus, on heresy and paganism • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Martyr, Justin, use of Greek models for heresy • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Pelagius, heretic, on raven • Philosophy, assimilation of heresy to • Satan, and heresy • Simon of Samaria, as source of all heresy • Simplicity, Virtue of simplicity versus heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • Succession, heretical succession • beast, heretics as • heresies, heretic • heresy • heresy / heretics • heresy, Jewish origins denied • heresy, condemnation of novelty • heresy, definition of • heresy, novelty of • raven, as heretic
Found in books: Berglund Crostini and Kelhoffer (2022) 71; Boulluec (2022) 59, 60, 67, 79, 133, 146, 147, 148, 152, 174, 175; Hillier (1993) 78, 80, 81, 82, 83; Janowitz (2002) 17; Klawans (2019) 10, 14; Malherbe et al (2014) 51, 72, 212, 274; Poorthuis and Schwartz (2014) 444; Tanaseanu-Döbler and von Alvensleben (2020) 208
8.9. Ἀνὴρ δέ τις ὀνόματι Σίμων προυπῆρχεν ἐν τῇ πόλει μαγεύων καὶ ἐξιστάνων τὸ ἔθνος τῆς Σαμαρίας, λέγων εἶναί τινα ἑαυτὸν μέγαν, 8.10. ᾧ προσεῖχον πάντες ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου λέγοντες Οὗτός ἐστιν ἡ Δύναμις τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ καλουμένη Μεγάλη. 8.11. προσεῖχον δὲ αὐτῷ διὰ τὸ ἱκανῷ χρόνῳ ταῖς μαγίαις ἐξεστακέναι αὐτούς. 8.12. ὅτε δὲ ἐπίστευσαν τῷ Φιλίππῳ εὐαγγελιζομένῳ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐβαπτίζοντο ἄνδρες τε καὶ γυναῖκες. 8.13. ὁ δὲ Σίμων καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπίστευσεν, καὶ βαπτισθεὶς ἦν προσκαρτερῶν τῷ Φιλίππῳ, θεωρῶν τε σημεῖα καὶ δυνάμεις μεγάλας γινομένας ἐξίστατο. 8.14. Ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ ἐν Ἰεροσολύμοις ἀπόστολοι ὅτι δέδεκται ἡ Σαμαρία τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάνην, 8.15. οἵτινες καταβάντες 8.37.
10.9. Τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον ὁδοιπορούντων ἐκείνων καὶ τῇ πόλει ἐγγιζόντων ἀνέβη Πέτρος ἐπὶ τὸ δῶμα προσεύξασθαι περὶ ὥραν ἕκτην.
10.48. προσέταξεν δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ βαπτισθῆναι. τότε ἠρώτησαν αὐτὸν ἐπιμεῖναι ἡμέρας τινάς.
13.10. Ὦ πλήρης παντὸς δόλου καὶ πάσης ῥᾳδιουργίας, υἱὲ διαβόλου, ἐχθρὲ πάσης δικαιοσύνης, οὐ παύσῃ διαστρέφων τὰς ὁδοὺς τοῦ κυρίου τὰς εὐθείας; καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ χεὶρ Κυρίου ἐπὶ σέ,
15.3. Οἱ μὲν οὖν προπεμφθέντες ὑπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας διήρχοντο τήν τε Φοινίκην καὶ Σαμαρίαν ἐκδιηγούμενοι τὴν ἐπιστροφὴν τῶν ἐθνῶν, καὶ ἐποίουν χαρὰν μεγάλην πᾶσι τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς.
17.8. ἐτάραξαν δὲ τὸν ὄχλον καὶ τοὺς πολιτάρχας ἀκούοντας ταῦτα,
18.3. καὶ διὰ τὸ ὁμότεχνον εἶναι ἔμενεν παρʼ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἠργάζοντο, ἦσαν γὰρ σκηνοποιοὶ τῇ τέχνῃ. διελέγετο δὲ ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ κατὰ πᾶν σάββατον,
20.25. καὶ νῦν ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ οἶδα ὅτι οὐκέτι ὄψεσθε τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ὑμεῖς πάντες ἐν οἷς διῆλθον κηρύσσων τὴν βασιλείαν· 20.26. διότι μαρτύρομαι ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ σήμερον ἡμέρᾳ ὅτι καθαρός εἰμι ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος πάντων, 20.27. οὐ γὰρ ὑπεστειλάμην τοῦ μὴ ἀναγγεῖλαι πᾶσαν τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ ὑμῖν. 20.28. προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς καὶ παντὶ τῷ ποιμνίῳ, ἐν ᾧ ὑμᾶς τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἔθετο ἐπισκόπους, ποιμαίνειντὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ, ἣν περιεποιήσατο διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου. 20.29. ἐγὼ οἶδα ὅτι εἰσελεύσονται μετὰ τὴν ἄφιξίν μου λύκοι βαρεῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς μὴ φειδόμενοι τοῦ ποιμνίου, 20.30. καὶ ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν ἀναστήσονται ἄνδρες λαλοῦντες διεστραμμένα τοῦ ἀποσπᾷν τοὺς μαθητὰς ὀπίσω ἑαυτῶν·
23.8. Σαδδουκαῖοι γὰρ λέγουσιν μὴ εἶναι ἀνάστασιν μήτε ἄγγελον μήτε πνεῦμα, Φαρισαῖοι δὲ ὁμολογοῦσιν τὰ ἀμφότερα.''. None | 8.9. But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who had used sorcery in the city before, and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one, 8.10. to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is that great power of God." 8.11. They listened to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries. 8.12. But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 8.13. Simon himself also believed. Being baptized, he continued with Philip. Seeing signs and great miracles done, he was amazed. 8.14. Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 8.15. who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit; 8.16. for as yet he had fallen on none of them. They had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 8.17. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. ' "8.18. Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, " '8.19. saying, "Give me also this power, that whoever I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit." 8.20. But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! ' "8.21. You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn't right before God. " '8.22. Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 8.23. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity." 8.24. Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that none of the things which you have spoken come on me."
8.37.
10.9. Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon.
10.48. He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay some days.
13.10. and said, "Full of all deceit and all cunning, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
15.3. They, being sent on their way by the assembly, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles. They caused great joy to all the brothers.
17.8. The multitude and the rulers of the city were troubled when they heard these things.
18.3. and because he practiced the same trade, he lived with them and worked, for by trade they were tent makers.
20.25. Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about preaching the Kingdom of God, will see my face no more. 20.26. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am clean from the blood of all men, ' "20.27. for I didn't shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. " '20.28. Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood. 20.29. For I know that after my departure, vicious wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 20.30. Men will arise from among your own selves, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
23.8. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess all of these. ''. None |
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38. New Testament, Apocalypse, 2.14-2.15, 2.19 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Rome, novelty of heresy • Heresy • Heresy, novelty of • Ignatius of Antioch, on terminology for heresy • Ignatius of Antioch, on the causes of heresy • Irenaeus, on heresy and paganism • Karpocrates, heretic • Kerdon, heretic • Kerinthos, heretic • Marcion of Sinope, heretic • Marriage, heretical promiscuity regarding • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • heresy/heretics • heretics
Found in books: Blidstein (2017) 74; Boulluec (2022) 22, 27, 128, 129, 130; Marek (2019) 542; Rowland (2009) 157; Tite (2009) 166
2.14. ἀλλὰ ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὀλίγα, ὅτι ἔχεις ἐκεῖ κρατοῦντας τὴν διδαχὴνΒαλαάμ,ὃς ἐδίδασκεν τῷ Βαλὰκ βαλεῖν σκάνδαλον ἐνώπιοντῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραήλ, φαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα καὶ πορνεῦσαι· 2.15. οὕτως ἔχεις καὶ σὺ κρατοῦντας τὴν διδαχὴν Νικολαϊτῶν ὁμοίως.
2.19. Οἶδά σου τὰ ἔργα, καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην καὶ τὴν πίστιν καὶ τὴν διακονίαν καὶ τὴν ὑπομονήν σου, καὶ τὰ ἔργα σου τὰ ἔσχατα πλείονα τῶν πρώτων.' '. None | 2.14. But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling block before the children of Israel , to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 2.15. So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans in the same way.
2.19. I know your works, your love, faith, service, patient endurance, and that your last works are more than the first.' '. None |
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39. New Testament, James, 2.13 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • heresy • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Malherbe et al (2014) 451; Nissinen and Uro (2008) 381
2.13. ἡ γὰρ κρίσις ἀνέλεος τῷ μὴ ποιήσαντι ἔλεος· κατακαυχᾶται ἔλεος κρίσεως.''. None | 2.13. For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. ''. None |
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40. New Testament, Colossians, 1.15, 1.18, 2.2, 2.8, 2.18, 4.1 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Gnosticism, distinction from other heresies • Heresy • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Jewish succession, as origin of heresies • Myth, associated with heresy • Origen, distinctions between heresies and their taxonomy • Origen, exclusive account of sects and heresy • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • heresy • heresy / heretics • heresy/heretics • heretics,
Found in books: Bird and Harrower (2021) 317; Boulluec (2022) 226, 526, 552, 553, 554, 559, 560, 572, 573; Huttner (2013) 301; Malherbe et al (2014) 72, 769; Rowland (2009) 157; Tabbernee (2007) 112; Tanaseanu-Döbler and von Alvensleben (2020) 208
1.15. ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως,
1.18. καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος, τῆς ἐκκλησίας· ὅς ἐστιν ἡ ἀρχή, πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, ἵνα γένηται ἐν πᾶσιν αὐτὸς πρωτεύων,
2.2. ἵνα παρακληθῶσιν αἱ καρδίαι αὐτῶν, συνβιβασθέντες ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ εἰς πᾶν πλοῦτος τῆς πληροφορίας τῆς συνέσεως, εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ,
2.8. Βλέπετε μή τις ὑμᾶς ἔσται ὁ συλαγωγῶν διὰ τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου καὶ οὐ κατὰ Χριστόν·
2.18. μηδεὶς ὑμᾶς καταβραβευέτω θέλων ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ θρησκείᾳ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἃ ἑόρακεν ἐμβατεύων, εἰκῇ φυσιούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ νοὸς τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ,
4.1. Οἱ κύριοι, τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα τοῖς δούλοις παρέχεσθε, εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ ὑμεῖς ἔχετε κύριον ἐν οὐρανῷ.''. None | 1.15. who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
1.18. He is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
2.2. that their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love, and gaining all riches of the full assurance of understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, ' "
2.8. Be careful that you don't let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ. " '
2.18. Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
4.1. Masters, give to your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. ''. None |
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41. New Testament, Ephesians, 1.21, 2.15, 3.5-3.6 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Martyr, Justin, use of Greek models for heresy • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Simon of Samaria, as source of all heresy • Succession, heretical succession • heresy
Found in books: Bird and Harrower (2021) 317; Boulluec (2022) 79, 214; Malherbe et al (2014) 451; Rowland (2009) 182
1.21. ὑπεράνω πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ κυριότητος καὶ παντὸς ὀνόματος ὀνομαζομένου οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι·
2.15. ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ αὐτοῦ, τὸν νόμον τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐν δόγμασιν καταργήσας, ἵνα τοὺς δύο κτίσῃ ἐν αὑτῷ εἰς ἕνα καινὸν ἄνθρωπον ποιῶν εἰρήνην,
3.5. ὃ ἑτέραις γενεαῖς οὐκ ἐγνωρίσθη τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὡς νῦν ἀπεκαλύφθη τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ προφήταις ἐν πνεύματι, 3.6. εἶναι τὰ ἔθνη συνκληρονόμα καὶ σύνσωμα καὶ συνμέτοχα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου,''. None | 1.21. far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.
2.15. having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordices, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace;
3.5. which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 3.6. that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, ''. None |
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42. New Testament, Galatians, 4.4, 5.17, 5.21 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Alexandria, ‘liberal’ tolerance of heresy • Gnosticism, distinction from other heresies • Heresy, interior to Church • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Irenaeus, on heresy and paganism • Marriage, heretical promiscuity regarding • Myth, associated with heresy • Origen, distinctions between heresies and their taxonomy • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • heresy • heresy, Christian views depicted by rabbis as heresy • heretics
Found in books: Bird and Harrower (2021) 317; Blidstein (2017) 85; Boulluec (2022) 128, 129, 342, 343, 344, 555, 556, 561, 562; Hayes (2022) 389; Malherbe et al (2014) 122; Monnickendam (2020) 53, 55
4.4. ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου, ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικός, γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον,
5.17. ἡ γὰρ σὰρξ ἐπιθυμεῖ κατὰ τοῦ πνεύματος, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα κατὰ τῆς σαρκός, ταῦτα γὰρ ἀλλήλοις ἀντίκειται, ἵνα μὴ ἃ ἐὰν θέλητε ταῦτα ποιῆτε.
5.21. φθόνοι, μέθαι, κῶμοι, καὶ τὰ ὅμοια τούτοις, ἃ προλέγω ὑμῖν καθὼς προεῖπον ὅτι οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες βασιλείαν θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσιν.' '. None | 4.4. But when the fullness of the time came,God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,
5.17. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and theSpirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one other, that youmay not do the things that you desire.
5.21. envyings,murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which Iforewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practicesuch things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. ' '. None |
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43. New Testament, Hebrews, 8.8-8.9 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • heresy, and supersessionism • heresy, heretics, heresiology • supersessionism, inverse of heresy
Found in books: Klawans (2019) 37; Novenson (2020) 292
8.8. μεμφόμενος γὰρ αὐτοὺς λέγει 8.9. ''. None | 8.8. For finding fault with them, he said, "Behold, the days come," says the Lord,"That I will make a new covet with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; 8.9. Not according to the covet that I made with their fathers, In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they didn\'t continue in my covet, And I disregarded them," says the Lord. ''. None |
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44. New Testament, Philippians, 3.2-3.5, 3.19-3.20, 4.1-4.20 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Eristic, connection with heresy • Heresy • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, interior to Church • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Sophistry, heresy connected to • beast, heretics as • heresy • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Bird and Harrower (2021) 317; Boulluec (2022) 146, 147, 499, 500; Gunderson (2022) 110, 121; Malherbe et al (2014) 51; Tite (2009) 125
3.2. Βλέπετε τοὺς κύνας, βλέπετε τοὺς κακοὺς ἐργάτας, βλέπετε τὴν κατατομήν. 3.3. ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν ἡ περιτομή, οἱ πνεύματι θεοῦ λατρεύοντες καὶ καυχώμενοι ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἐν σαρκὶ πεποιθότες, 3.4. καίπερ ἐγὼ ἔχων πεποίθησιν καὶ ἐν σαρκί. Εἴ τις δοκεῖ ἄλλος πεποιθέναι ἐν σαρκί, ἐγὼ μᾶλλον· 3.5. περιτομῇ ὀκταήμερος, ἐκ γένους Ἰσραήλ, φυλῆς Βενιαμείν, Ἐβραῖος ἐξ Ἐβραίων, κατὰ νόμον Φαρισαῖος,
3.19. ὧν τὸ τέλος ἀπώλεια, ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία καὶ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν, οἱ τὰ ἐπίγεια φρονοῦντες.
3.20. ἡμῶν γὰρ τὸ πολίτευμα ἐν οὐρανοῖς ὑπάρχει, ἐξ οὗ καὶ σωτῆρα ἀπεκδεχόμεθα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν,
4.1. Ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοὶ καὶ ἐπιπόθητοι, χαρὰ καὶ στέφανός μου, οὕτως στήκετε ἐν κυρίῳ, ἀγαπητοί. 4.2. Εὐοδίαν παρακαλῶ καὶ Συντύχην παρακαλῶ τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν ἐν κυρίῳ. 4.3. ναὶ ἐρωτῶ καὶ σέ, γνήσιε σύνζυγε, συνλαμβάνου αὐταῖς, αἵτινες ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ συνήθλησάν μοι μετὰ καὶ Κλήμεντος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν συνεργῶν μου, ὧν τὰ ὀνόματα ἐνβίβλῳ ζωῆς. 4.4. Χαίρετε ἐν κυρίῳ πάντοτε· πάλιν ἐρῶ, χαίρετε. 4.5. τὸ ἐπιεικὲς ὑμῶν γνωσθήτω πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις. ὁ κύριος ἐγγύς· 4.6. μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε, ἀλλʼ ἐν παντὶ τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ τῇ δεήσει μετʼ εὐχαριστίας τὰ αἰτήματα ὑμῶν γνωριζέσθω πρὸς τὸν θεόν· 4.7. καὶ ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν φρουρήσει τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. 4.8. Τὸ λοιπόν, ἀδελφοί, ὅσα ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ, ὅσα σεμνά, ὅσα δίκαια, ὅσα ἁγνά, ὅσα προσφιλῆ, ὅσα εὔφημα, εἴ τις ἀρετὴ καὶ εἴ τις ἔπαινος, ταῦτα λογίζεσθε· 4.9. ἃ καὶ ἐμάθετε καὶ παρελάβετε καὶ ἠκούσατε καὶ εἴδετε ἐν ἐμοί, ταῦτα πράσσετε· καὶ ὁ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης ἔσται μεθʼ ὑμῶν.
4.10. Ἐχάρην δὲ ἐν κυρίῳ μεγάλως ὅτι ἤδη ποτὲ ἀνεθάλετε τὸ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ φρονεῖν, ἐφʼ ᾧ καὶ ἐφρονεῖτε ἠκαιρεῖσθε δέ.
4.11. οὐχ ὅτι καθʼ ὑστέρησιν λέγω, ἐγὼ γὰρ ἔμαθον ἐν οἷς εἰμὶ αὐτάρκης εἶναι· οἶδα καὶ ταπεινοῦσθαι,
4.12. οἶδα καὶ περισσεύειν· ἐν παντὶ καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν μεμύημαι, καὶ χορτάζεσθαι καὶ πεινᾷν, καὶ περισσεύειν καὶ ὑστερεῖσθαι·
4.13. πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με.
4.14. πλὴν καλῶς ἐποιήσατε συνκοινωνήσαντές μου τῇ θλίψει.
4.15. οἴδατε δὲ καὶ ὑμεῖς, Φιλιππήσιοι, ὅτι ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, ὅτε ἐξῆλθον ἀπὸ Μακεδονίας, οὐδεμία μοι ἐκκλησία ἐκοινώνησεν εἰς λόγον δόσεως καὶ λήμψεως εἰ μὴ ὑμεῖς μόνοι,
4.16. ὅτι καὶ ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς εἰς τὴν χρείαν μοι ἐπέμψατε.
4.17. οὐχ ὅτι ἐπιζητῶ τὸ δόμα, ἀλλὰ ἐπιζητῶ τὸν καρπὸν τὸν πλεονάζοντα εἰς λόγον ὑμῶν.
4.18. ἀπέχω δὲ πάντα καὶ περισσεύω· πεπλήρωμαι δεξάμενος παρὰ Ἐπαφροδίτου τὰ παρʼ ὑμῶν,ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας,θυσίαν δεκτήν, εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ.
4.19. ὁ δὲ θεός μου πληρώσει πᾶσαν χρείαν ὑμῶν κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος αὐτοῦ ἐν δόξῃ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. 4.20. τῷ δὲ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ ἡμῶν ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.''. None | 3.2. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision. 3.3. For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh; 3.4. though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I yet more: 3.5. circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee;
3.19. whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
3.20. For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
4.1. Therefore, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. 4.2. I exhort Euodia, and I exhort Syntyche, to think the same way in the Lord. 4.3. Yes, I beg you also, true yoke-fellow, help these women, for they labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4.4. Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, Rejoice! 4.5. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 4.6. In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 4.7. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. 4.8. Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things. 4.9. The things which you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: do these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
4.10. But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at length you have revived your thought for me; in which you did indeed take thought, but you lacked opportunity.
4.11. Not that I speak in respect to lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it.
4.12. I know how to be humbled, and I know also how to abound. In everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in need.
4.13. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
4.14. However you did well that you had fellowship with my affliction.
4.15. You yourselves also know, you Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no assembly had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you only.
4.16. For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again to my need.
4.17. Not that I seek for the gift, but I seek for the fruit that increases to your account.
4.18. But I have all things, and abound. I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a sweet-smelling fragrance, an acceptable and well-pleasing sacrifice to God.
4.19. My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 4.20. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever! Amen. ''. None |
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45. New Testament, Romans, 2.26, 2.28-2.29, 3.30, 5.7, 7.2, 7.4-7.6, 7.9, 12.3, 12.8, 15.24, 16.7, 16.18 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Alexandria, assimilation of heresy to paganism • Clement of Alexandria, moral criticism of heresy • Clement of Alexandria, reduction of diverse heresies to common errors • Gnosticism, as heretical or ‘other’ • Gnosticism, assimilation of other heresies to • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, interior to Church • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Heretics {see also Gnostics; Marcionites) • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Marriage, heretical contempt for • Martyrdom, heretics sophistically avoid • Myth, associated with heresy • Origen, distinctions between heresies and their taxonomy • Origen, on Gnosticism as heresy • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Simplicity, Virtue of simplicity versus heresy • Succession, heretical succession • beast, heretics as • heresy • heresy named after founder • heresy, Old Testament and • heresy, Origen opposing • heresy/heretics • heretics
Found in books: Azar (2016) 79, 81, 96; Bird and Harrower (2021) 317; Blidstein (2017) 85; Boulluec (2022) 151, 279, 280, 281, 334, 352, 353, 356, 361, 362, 466, 540, 541, 542, 543, 562, 569; Lampe (2003) 160; Malherbe et al (2014) 51, 72, 73; Marek (2019) 534; Osborne (2001) 150; Tabbernee (2007) 151
2.26. ἐὰν οὖν ἡ ἀκροβυστία τὰ δικαιώματα τοῦ νόμου φυλάσσῃ, οὐχ ἡ ἀκροβυστία αὐτοῦ εἰς περιτομὴν λογισθήσεται;
2.28. οὐ γὰρ ὁ ἐν τῷ φανερῷ Ἰουδαῖός ἐστιν, οὐδὲ ἡ ἐν τῷ φανερῷ ἐν σαρκὶ περιτομή· 2.29. ἀλλʼ ὁ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος, καὶ περιτομὴ καρδίας ἐν πνεύματι οὐ γράμματι, οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλʼ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.
3.30. ναὶ καὶ ἐθνῶν, εἴπερ εἷς ὁ θεός, ὃς δικαιώσει περιτομὴν ἐκ πίστεως καὶ ἀκροβυστίαν διὰ τῆς πίστεως.
5.7. μόλις γὰρ ὑπὲρ δικαίου τις ἀποθανεῖται· ὑπὲρ γὰρ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τάχα τις καὶ τολμᾷ ἀποθανεῖν·
7.2. ἡ γὰρ ὕπανδρος γυνὴ τῷ ζῶντι ἀνδρὶ δέδεται νόμῳ· ἐὰν δὲ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἀνήρ, κατήργηται ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ ἀνδρός.
7.4. ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐθανατώθητε τῷ νόμῳ διὰ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ χριστοῦ, εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι ὑμᾶς ἑτέρῳ, τῷ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐγερθέντι ἵνα καρποφορήσωμεν τῷ θεῷ. 7.5. ὅτε γὰρ ἦμεν ἐν τῇ σαρκί, τὰ παθήματα τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν τὰ διὰ τοῦ νόμου ἐνηργεῖτο ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἡμῶν εἰς τὸ καρποφορῆσαι τῷ θανάτῳ· 7.6. νυνὶ δὲ κατηργήθημεν ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, ἀποθανόντες ἐν ᾧ κατειχόμεθα, ὥστε δουλεύειν ἡμᾶς ἐν καινότητι πνεύματος καὶ οὐ παλαιότητι γράμματος.
7.9. ἐγὼ δὲ ἔζων χωρὶς νόμου ποτέ· ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἡ ἁμαρτία ἀνέζησεν,
12.3. Λέγω γὰρ διὰ τῆς χάριτος τῆς δοθείσης μοι παντὶ τῷ ὄντι ἐν ὑμῖν μὴ ὑπερφρονεῖν παρʼ ὃ δεῖ φρονεῖν, ἀλλὰ φρονεῖν εἰς τὸ σωφρονεῖν, ἑκάστῳ ὡς ὁ θεὸς ἐμέρισεν μέτρον πίστεως.
12.8. εἴτε ὁ παρακαλῶν ἐν τῇ παρακλήσει, ὁ μεταδιδοὺς ἐν ἁπλότητι, ὁ προϊστάμενος ἐν σπουδῇ, ὁ ἐλεῶν ἐν ἱλαρότητι.
15.24. ὡς ἂν πορεύωμαι εἰς τὴν Σπανίαν, ἐλπίζω γὰρ διαπορευόμενος θεάσασθαι ὑμᾶς καὶ ὑφʼ ὑμῶν προπεμφθῆναι ἐκεῖ ἐὰν ὑμῶν πρῶτον ἀπὸ μέρους ἐμπλησθῶ,—
16.7. ἀσπάσασθε Ἀνδρόνικον καὶ Ἰουνίαν τοὺς συγγενεῖς μου καὶ συναιχμαλώτους μου, οἵτινές εἰσιν ἐπίσημοι ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις, οἳ καὶ πρὸ ἐμοῦ γέγοναν ἐν Χριστῷ.
16.18. οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν Χριστῷ οὐ δουλεύουσιν ἀλλὰ τῇ ἑαυτῶν κοιλίᾳ, καὶ διὰ τῆς χρηστολογίας καὶ εὐλογίας ἐξαπατῶσι τὰς καρδίας τῶν ἀκάκων.' '. None | 2.26. If therefore the uncircumcised keep the ordices of the law, won't his uncircumcision be accounted as circumcision? " '
2.28. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; 2.29. but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.
3.30. since indeed there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through faith.
5.7. For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Yet perhaps for a righteous person someone would even dare to die.
7.2. For the woman that has a husband is bound by law to the husband while he lives, but if the husband dies, she is discharged from the law of the husband.
7.4. Therefore, my brothers, you also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you would be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit to God. 7.5. For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were through the law, worked in our members to bring forth fruit to death. 7.6. But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter.
7.9. I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.
12.3. For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.
12.8. or he who exhorts, to his exhorting: he who gives, let him do it with liberality; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
15.24. whenever I journey to Spain, I will come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while.
16.7. Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives and my fellow prisoners, who are notable among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. ' "
16.18. For those who are such don't serve our Lord, Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the innocent. " ". None |
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46. New Testament, Titus, 1.7, 1.10, 1.16, 2.14, 3.4, 3.10-3.11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Eristic, connection with heresy • Gnosticism, distinction from other heresies • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, heretic • Heresy, interior to Church • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Irenaeus, on heresy and paganism • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Jewish succession, as origin of heresies • Magi, as part of heretical succession • Myth, associated with heresy • Origen, distinctions between heresies and their taxonomy • Origen, exclusive account of sects and heresy • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Philosophy, assimilation of heresy to • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • heresy • heresy/-ies
Found in books: Bird and Harrower (2021) 317; Boulluec (2022) 66, 117, 146, 147, 229, 531, 554, 555, 556, 563, 564, 566, 568, 569, 571, 572, 573, 585, 586, 587; Bull Lied and Turner (2011) 270; Malherbe et al (2014) 73, 74, 121, 122, 410, 411, 412, 415, 416, 439, 503, 504, 522, 570, 571; Černušková (2016) 96
1.7. δεῖ γὰρ τὸν ἐπίσκοπον ἀνέγκλητον εἶναι ὡς θεοῦ οἰκονόμον, μὴ αὐθάδη, μὴ ὀργίλον, μὴ πάροινον, μὴ πλήκτην, μὴ αἰσχροκερδῆ,
1.10. Εἰσὶν γὰρ πολλοὶ ἀνυπότακτοι, ματαιολόγοι καὶ φρεναπάται, μάλιστα οἱ ἐκ τῆς περιτομῆς,
1.16. θεὸν ὁμολογοῦσιν εἰδέναι, τοῖς δὲ ἔργοις ἀρνοῦνται, βδελυκτοὶ ὄντες καὶ ἀπειθεῖς καὶ πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἀδόκιμοι.
2.14. ὃς ἔδωκεν ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἵνα λυτρώσηται ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάσης ἀνομίας καὶκαθαρίσῃ ἑαυτῷ λαὸν περιούσιον,ζηλωτὴν καλῶν ἔργων.
3.4. ὅτε δὲ ἡ χρηστότης καὶ ἡ φιλανθρωπία ἐπεφάνη τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ,
3.10. αἱρετικὸν ἄνθρω πον μετὰ μίαν καὶ δευτέραν νουθεσίαν παραιτοῦ, 3.11. εἰδὼς ὅτι ἐξέστραπται ὁ τοιοῦτος καὶ ἁμαρτάνει, ὢν αὐτοκατάκριτος.''. None | 1.7. For the overseer must be blameless, as God's steward; not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain; " '
1.10. For there are also many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,
1.16. They profess that they know God, but by their works they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.
2.14. who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.
3.4. But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared,
3.10. Avoid a factious man after a first and second warning; 3.11. knowing that such a one is perverted, and sins, being self-condemned. '". None |
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47. New Testament, John, 1.1-1.5, 1.9, 1.14, 1.18, 2.16, 3.16, 8.44, 9.22, 14.6, 14.9, 14.16, 14.26, 15.26 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Arian heresy • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Alexandria, heresy and epistemology • Clement of Alexandria, ‘liberal’ tolerance of heresy • Heresy • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, human origin of • Heresy, interior to Church • Heresy, novelty of • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Irenaeus, criticism of heretical exegesis generally • Irenaeus, on heresy and paganism • Myth, associated with heresy • Origen, distinctions between heresies and their taxonomy • Origen, exclusive account of sects and heresy • Origen, on Gnosticism as heresy • Origen, on the link between heresy and pleasure • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Succession, heretical succession • church, heresy dividing • heresy • heresy named after founder • heresy, church divided by • heresy, heretics • heresy/heretics
Found in books: Azar (2016) 73; Bird and Harrower (2021) 317, 318; Boulluec (2022) 117, 185, 218, 229, 230, 258, 337, 338, 344, 395, 421, 467, 494, 500, 501, 531, 547, 569, 570, 572, 573; Goldhill (2020) 83; Lieu (2004) 140; Marek (2019) 544; Osborne (2001) 152; Rowland (2009) 185; Tabbernee (2007) 341, 378, 391, 392; Tite (2009) 23
1.1. ΕΝ ΑΡΧΗ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. 1.2. Οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. 1.3. πάντα διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν. 1.4. ὃ γέγονεν ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων· 1.5. καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
1.9. Ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον.
1.14. Καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός, πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας·?̔
1.18. θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακεν πώποτε· μονογενὴς θεὸς ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκεῖνος ἐξηγήσατο.
2.16. καὶ τοῖς τὰς περιστερὰς πωλοῦσιν εἶπεν Ἄρατε ταῦτα ἐντεῦθεν, μὴ ποιεῖτε τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός μου οἶκον ἐμπορίου.
3.16. Οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλὰ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
8.44. ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστὲ καὶ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν θέλετε ποιεῖν. ἐκεῖνος ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἦν ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ οὐκ ἔστηκεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἀλήθεια ἐν αὐτῷ. ὅταν λαλῇ τὸ ψεῦδος, ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων λαλεῖ, ὅτι ψεύστης ἐστὶν καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ.
9.22. ταῦτα εἶπαν οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐφοβοῦντο τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, ἤδη γὰρ συνετέθειντο οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἵνα ἐάν τις αὐτὸν ὁμολογήσῃ Χριστόν, ἀποσυνάγωγος γένηται.
14.6. λέγει αὐτῷ Ἰησοῦς Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή· οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν πατέρα εἰ μὴ διʼ ἐμοῦ.
14.9. λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Τοσοῦτον χρόνον μεθʼ ὑμῶν εἰμὶ καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωκάς με, Φίλιππε; ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑωρακεν τὸν πατέρα· πῶς σὺ λέγεις Δεῖξον ἡμῖν τὸν πατέρα;
14.16. κἀγὼ ἐρωτήσω τὸν πατέρα καὶ ἄλλον παράκλητον δώσει ὑμῖν ἵνα ᾖ μεθʼ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα,
14.26. ὁ δὲ παράκλητος, τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὃ πέμψει ὁ πατὴρ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου, ἐκεῖνος ὑμᾶς διδάξει πάντα καὶ ὑπομνήσει ὑμᾶς πάντα ἃ εἶπον ὑμῖν ἐγώ.
15.26. Ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ παράκλητος ὃν ἐγὼ πέμψω ὑμῖν παρὰ τοῦ πατρός, τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας ὃ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται, ἐκεῖνος μαρτυρήσει περὶ ἐμοῦ· καὶ ὑμεῖς δὲ μαρτυρεῖτε,''. None | 1.1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1.2. The same was in the beginning with God. 1.3. All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. 1.4. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ' "1.5. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn't overcome it. " '
1.9. The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.
1.14. The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
1.18. No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
2.16. To those who sold the doves, he said, "Take these things out of here! Don\'t make my Father\'s house a marketplace!"
3.16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. ' "
8.44. You are of your Father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn't stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. " '
9.22. His parents said these things because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
14.6. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
14.9. Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, \'Show us the Father?\ '
14.16. I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever, --
14.26. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.
15.26. "When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. ''. None |
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48. New Testament, Luke, 1.27, 10.4-10.7, 11.3 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Eristic, connection with heresy • Gnosticism, as heretical or ‘other’ • Heresy • Heresy, novelty of • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Marriage, heretical contempt for • Martyrdom, heretics sophistically avoid • Origen, on Gnosticism as heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • heresy
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 25, 146, 147, 543; Malherbe et al (2014) 429, 446; Monnickendam (2020) 53, 55; Tite (2009) 219; Zawanowska and Wilk (2022) 215
1.27. πρὸς παρθένον ἐμνηστευμένην ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὄνομα Ἰωσὴφ ἐξ οἴκου Δαυείδ, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς παρθένου Μαριάμ.
10.4. μὴ βαστάζετε βαλλάντιον, μὴ πήραν, μὴ ὑποδήματα, καὶ μηδένα κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἀσπάσησθε. 10.5. εἰς ἣν δʼ ἂν εἰσέλθητε οἰκίαν πρῶτον λέγετε Εἰρήνη τῷ οἴκῳ τούτῳ. 10.6. καὶ ἐὰν ἐκεῖ ᾖ υἱὸς εἰρήνης, ἐπαναπαήσεται ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἡ εἰρήνη ὑμῶν· εἰ δὲ μήγε, ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς ἀνακάμψει. 10.7. ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ τῇ οἰκίᾳ μένετε, ἔσθοντες καὶ πίνοντες τὰ παρʼ αὐτῶν, ἄξιος γὰρ ὁ ἐργάτης τοῦ μισθοῦ αὐτοῦ. μὴ μεταβαίνετε ἐξ οἰκίας εἰς οἰκίαν.
11.3. τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δίδου ἡμῖν τὸ καθʼ ἡμέραν·''. None | 1.27. to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. " '
10.4. Carry no purse, nor wallet, nor sandals. Greet no one on the way. ' "10.5. Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house.' " '10.6. If a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. ' "10.7. Remain in that same house, eating and drinking the things they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Don't go from house to house. " '
11.3. Give us day by day our daily bread. '". None |
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49. New Testament, Mark, 7.7, 12.18 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Epicureanism, heresy assimilated to • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Sophistry, heresy connected to • heresy, and orthodoxy • heretics as mocking realists • realism, legal, and heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 67, 461; Hayes (2015) 228, 229; Klawans (2019) 71
7.7. μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με, διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων·
12.18. Καὶ ἔρχονται Σαδδουκαῖοι πρὸς αὐτόν, οἵτινες λέγουσιν ἀνάστασιν μὴ εἶναι, καὶ ἐπηρώτων αὐτὸν λέγοντες''. None | 7.7. But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' " '
12.18. There came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying, '". None |
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50. New Testament, Matthew, 3.11, 7.7, 7.13-7.15, 11.25-11.27, 17.2, 19.29, 24.11, 27.63 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Alexandria, heresy and epistemology • Clement of Rome, and heresy • Dialectic, perversion of dialectic by heretics • Eristic, connection with heresy • Exegesis, heresy as erroneous exegesis • Gnosticism, as heretical or ‘other’ • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, human origin of • Heresy, interior to Church • Heresy, novelty of • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Ignatius of Antioch, on terminology for heresy • Ignatius of Antioch, on the causes of heresy • Irenaeus, Against Heresies • Irenaeus, criticism of heretical exegesis generally • Irenaeus, on heresy and paganism • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Magi, criticism as heresy • Marriage, heretical promiscuity regarding • Myth, associated with heresy • Origen, tension between exclusive and inclusive accounts of heresy • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Simplicity, Virtue of simplicity versus heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • heresy • heresy / heretics • heresy, Catholic Christianity, heretics • heresy, Clement on • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, use of minim for all opponents • heresy/-ies • heresy/heretical/heretics
Found in books: Bird and Harrower (2021) 338; Boulluec (2022) 18, 24, 25, 29, 30, 59, 60, 62, 128, 137, 139, 144, 145, 153, 183, 184, 205, 225, 243, 251, 259, 393, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 412, 413, 459, 502, 517, 531, 532; Cohen (2010) 536; Dignas Parker and Stroumsa (2013) 214; Dijkstra and Raschle (2020) 245; Moss (2012) 149; Osborne (2001) 152; Tanaseanu-Döbler and von Alvensleben (2020) 210; Vinzent (2013) 49, 173, 174; Černušková (2016) 65
3.11. ἐγὼ μὲν ὑμᾶς βαπτίζω ἐν ὕδατι εἰς μετάνοιαν· ὁ δὲ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἰσχυρότερός μου ἐστίν, οὗ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς τὰ ὑποδήματα βαστάσαι· αὐτὸς ὑμᾶς βαπτίσει ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρί·
7.7. Αἰτεῖτε, καὶ δοθήσεται ὑμῖν· ζητεῖτε, καὶ εὑρήσετε· κρούετε, καὶ ἀνοιγήσεται ὑμῖν.
7.13. Εἰσέλθατε διὰ τῆς στενῆς πύλης· ὅτι πλατεῖα καὶ εὐρύχωρος ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ἀπώλειαν, καὶ πολλοί εἰσιν οἱ εἰσερχόμενοι διʼ αὐτῆς· 7.14. ὅτι στενὴ ἡ πύλη καὶ τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ζωήν, καὶ ὀλίγοι εἰσὶν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν. 7.15. Προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν, οἵτινες ἔρχονται πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐν ἐνδύμασι προβάτων ἔσωθεν δέ εἰσιν λύκοι ἅρπαγες.
11.25. Ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ καιρῷ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν Ἐξομολογοῦμαί σοι, πάτερ κύριε τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅτι ἔκρυψας ταῦτα ἀπὸ σοφῶν καὶ συνετῶν, καὶ ἀπεκάλυψας αὐτὰ νηπίοις· 11.26. ναί, ὁ πατήρ, ὅτι οὕτως εὐδοκία ἐγένετο ἔμπροσθέν σου. 11.27. Πάντα μοι παρεδόθη ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός μου, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐπιγινώσκει τὸν υἱὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ πατήρ, οὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα τις ἐπιγινώσκει εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱὸς καὶ ᾧ ἐὰν βούληται ὁ υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψαι.
17.2. καὶ μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἔλαμψεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς.
19.29. καὶ πᾶς ὅστις ἀφῆκεν οἰκίας ἢ ἀδελφοὺς ἢ ἀδελφὰς ἢ πατέρα ἢ μητέρα ἢ τέκνα ἢ ἀγροὺς ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἐμοῦ ὀνόματος, πολλαπλασίονα λήμψεται καὶ ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσει.
24.11. καὶ πολλοὶ ψευδοπροφῆται ἐγερθήσονται καὶ πλανήσουσιν πολλούς·
27.63. λέγοντες Κύριε, ἐμνήσθημεν ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ὁ πλάνος εἶπεν ἔτι ζῶν Μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἐγείρομαι·''. None | 3.11. I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.
7.7. "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.
7.13. "Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. 7.14. How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it. 7.15. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep\'s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
11.25. At that time, Jesus answered, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants. 11.26. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight. 11.27. All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.
17.2. He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as the light. ' "
19.29. Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life. " '
24.11. Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray.
27.63. saying, "Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: \'After three days I will rise again.\ '. None |
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51. Polycarp of Smyrna, Letter To The Philippians, 7.1 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Ignatius of Antioch, on the causes of heresy • Satan, and heresy • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 23; Lieu (2004) 296
7.1. I Joh. 4, 2. 8; II Joh. 7 Πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν μὴ ὁμολογῇ Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν σαρκὶ ἐληλυθέναι, ἀντιχριστός ἐστιν: καὶ ὃς ἂν μὴ ὁμολογῇ τὸ μαρτύριον τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν: καὶ ὃς ἂν μεθοδεύῃ τὰ λόγια τοῦ κυρίου πρὸς τὰς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας καὶ λέγῃ μήτε ἀνάστασιν μήτε κρίσιν, οὗτος πρωτότοκος ἐστι τοῦ σατανᾶ.''. None | 7.1. ''. None |
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52. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy • heretic arguments, answered by, minim
Found in books: Nikolsky and Ilan (2014) 326; Rowland (2009) 342
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53. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Babylonian rabbis, sages, avoidance of Christians, Biblereading heretics • Bible-reading heretics, non-Jews, Babylonian rabbis relationships with • Bible-reading heretics, non-Jews, defined • Bible-reading heretics, non-Jews, evidence on disputations • Bible-reading heretics, non-Jews, interaction with Palestinian rabbis • Bible-reading heretics, non-Jews, presence in Persia • Heresy • Palestinian rabbis, sages, contact with minim, Christians, Bible-reading heretics • Sectarianism, heretics • heresy, and orthodoxy
Found in books: Fonrobert and Jaffee (2007) 258; Kalmin (1998) 68, 69, 71, 138; Klawans (2019) 71; Poorthuis and Schwartz (2014) 170, 178
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54. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Bible-reading heretics, non-Jews, defined • Bible-reading heretics, non-Jews, interaction with Palestinian rabbis • Heresy, Hebrew word for • Palestinian rabbis, sages, contact with minim, Christians, Bible-reading heretics • heresy, minim • tannaim, treatment of heretics
Found in books: Cohen (2010) 59; Hayes (2022) 275; Kalmin (1998) 69, 138; Schremer (2010) 155
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55. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Rome, novelty of heresy • Heresy, novelty of • Heretics • Ignatius of Antioch, on the causes of heresy • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 22; Cain (2016) 187; Lieu (2004) 252, 297
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56. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Heresy • Ignatius of Antioch, on terminology for heresy • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Satan, and heresy • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 27, 183, 184, 531, 532; Lieu (2004) 297; Rowland (2009) 184
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57. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Hegesippus, schema of stages of heresy • Heresy, interior to Church • Heresy, novelty of • heresy • heresy named after founder • heresy/heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 95, 96; Malherbe et al (2014) 72; Marek (2019) 545
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58. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Alexandria, alterations to heresy’s link to philosophy • Heresy, heretic • Heresy, interior to Church • Origen, strategies for linking heresy with various others • Philosophy, assimilation of heresy to • Platonism, heretics unfaithful to • heretics
Found in books: Blidstein (2017) 85; Boulluec (2022) 300, 301, 489, 492; Bull Lied and Turner (2011) 270
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59. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Heresy • Satan, and heresy • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 184; Lieu (2004) 297; Rowland (2009) 40
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60. Anon., Acts of Thomas, 27, 165 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy • heresies, heretic, traditions
Found in books: Berglund Crostini and Kelhoffer (2022) 203; Rowland (2009) 184, 540
| 27. And the apostle arose and sealed them. And the Lord was revealed unto them by a voice, saying: Peace be unto you brethren. And they heard his voice only, but his likeness they saw not, for they had not yet received the added sealing of the seal (Syr. had not been baptized). And the apostle took the oil and poured it upon their heads and anointed and chrismed them, and began to say (Syr. And Judas went up and stood upon the edge of the cistern and poured oil upon their heads and said): Come, thou holy name of the Christ that is above every name. Come, thou power of the Most High, and the compassion that is perfect. Come, gift (charism) of the Most High. Come, compassionate mother. Come, communion of the male. Come, she that revealeth the hidden mysteries. Come, mother of the seven houses, that thy rest may be in the eighth house. Come, elder of the five members, mind, thought, reflection, consideration, reason; communicate with these young men. Come, holy spirit, and cleanse their reins and their heart, and give them the added seal, in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Ghost. And when they were sealed, there appeared unto them a youth holding a lighted torch, so that their lamps became dim at the approach of the light thereof. And he went forth and was no more seen of them. And the apostle said unto the Lord: Thy light, O Lord, is not to be contained by us, and we are not able to bear it, for it is too great for our sight. And when the dawn came and it was morning, he brake bread and made them partakers of the eucharist of the Christ. And they were glad and rejoiced. And many others also, believing, were added to them, and came into the refuge of the Saviour.
165. But the men ran after Thomas, desiring to deliver him from death. And two soldiers went at the right hand of the apostle and two on his left, holding spears, and the officer held his hand and supported him. And the apostle Thomas said: O the hidden mysteries which even until our departure are accomplished in us! O riches of his glory, who will not suffer us to be swallowed up in this passion of the body! Four are they that cast me down, for of four am I made; and one is he that draweth me, for of one I am, and unto him I go. And this I now understand, that my Lord and God Jesus Christ being of one was pierced by one, but I, which am of four, am pierced by four.''. None |
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61. Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, 6.35.5, 6.37, 9.7 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Gnosticism, distinction from other heresies • Heresy • Heretics {see also Gnostics; Marcionites) • Marcus, as heretic • Origen, distinctions between heresies and their taxonomy • heresies, heretic • heresies, heretic, succession • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Berglund Crostini and Kelhoffer (2022) 252; Boulluec (2022) 551; Janowitz (2002b) 46; Lampe (2003) 295, 296, 305; Nissinen and Uro (2008) 460; Tite (2009) 9
| 6.35.5. And this (Marcus), infusing (the aforesaid) mixture into a smaller cup, was in the habit of delivering it to a woman to offer up the Eucharistic prayer, while he himself stood by, and held (in his hand) another empty (chalice) larger than that. And after his female dupe had pronounced the sentence of Consecration, having received (the cup from her), he proceeded to infuse (its contents) into the larger (chalice), and, pouring them frequently from one cup to the other, was accustomed at the same time to utter the following invocation: Grant that the inconceivable and ineffable Grace which existed prior to the universe, may fill your inner man, and make to abound in you the knowledge of this (grace), as She disseminates the seed of the mustard-tree upon the good soil. And simultaneously pronouncing some such words as these, and astonishing both his female dupe and those that are present, he was regarded as one performing a miracle; while the larger was being filled from the smaller chalice, in such a way as that (the contents), being superabundant, flowed over. And the contrivance of this (juggler) we have likewise explained in the aforesaid (fourth) book, where we have proved that very many drugs, when mingled in this way with liquid substances, are endued with the quality of yielding augmentation, more particularly when diluted in wine. Now, when (one of these impostors) previously smears, in a clandestine manner, an empty cup with any one of these drugs, and shows it (to the spectators) as if it contained nothing, by infusing into it (the contents) from the other cup, and pouring them back again, the drug, as it is of a flatulent nature, is dissolved by being blended with the moist substance. And the effect of this was, that a superabundance of the mixture ensued, and was so far augmented, that what was infused was put in motion, such being the nature of the drug. And if one stow away (the chalice) when it has been filled, (what has been poured into it) will after no long time return to its natural dimensions, inasmuch as the potency of the drug becomes extinct by reason of the continuance of moisture. Wherefore he was in the habit of hurriedly presenting the cup to those present, to drink; but they, horrified at the same time, and eager (to taste the contents of the cup), proceeded to drink (the mixture), as if it were something divine, and devised by the Deity. ' "
6.37. For also the blessed presbyter Irenaeus, having approached the subject of a refutation in a more unconstrained spirit, has explained such washings and redemptions, stating more in the way of a rough digest what are their practices. (And it appears that some of the Marcosians,) on meeting with (Irenaeus' work), deny that they have so received (the secret word just alluded to), but they have learned that always they should deny. Wherefore our anxiety has been more accurately to investigate, and to discover minutely what are the (instructions) which they deliver in the case of the first bath, styling it by some such name; and in the case of the second, which they denominate Redemption. But not even has this secret of theirs escaped (our scrutiny). For these opinions, however, we consent to pardon Valentinus and his school. But Marcus, imitating his teacher, himself also feigns a vision, imagining that in this way he would be magnified. For Valentinus likewise alleges that he had seen an infant child lately born; and questioning (this child), he proceeded to inquire who it might be. And (the child) replied, saying that he himself is the Logos, and then subjoined a sort of tragic legend; and out of this (Valentinus) wishes the heresy attempted by him to consist. Marcus, making a similar attempt with this (heretic), asserts that the Tetrad came to him in the form of a woman - since the world could not bear, he says, the male (form) of this Tetrad, and that she revealed herself who she was, and explained to this (Marcus) alone the generation of the universe, which she never had revealed to any, either of gods or of men, expressing herself after this mode: When first the self-existent Father, He who is inconceivable and without substance, He who is neither male nor female, willed that His own ineffability should become realized in something spoken, and that His invisibility should become realized in form, He opened His mouth, and sent forth similar to Himself a Logos. And this (Logos) stood by Him, and showed unto Him who he was, viz., that he himself had been manifested as a (realization in) form of the Invisible One. And the pronunciation of the name was of the following description. He was accustomed to utter the first word of the name itself, which was Arche, and the syllable of this was (composed) of four letters. Then he subjoined the second (syllable), and this was also (composed) of four letters. Next he uttered the third (syllable), which was (composed) of ten letters; and he uttered the fourth (syllable), and this was (composed) of twelve letters. Then ensued the pronunciation of the entire name, (composed) of thirty letters, but of four syllables. And each of the elements had its own peculiar letters, and its own peculiar form, and its own peculiar pronunciation, as well as figures and images. And not one of these was there that beholds the form of that (letter) of which this was an element. And of course none of them could know the pronunciation of the (letter) next to this, but (only) as he himself pronounces it, (and that in such a way) as that, in pronouncing the whole (word), he supposed that he was uttering the entire (name). For each of these (elements), being part of the entire (name), he denominates (according to) its own peculiar sound, as if the whole (of the word). And he does not intermit sounding until he arrived at the last letter of the last element, and uttered it in a single articulation. Then he said, that the restoration of the entire ensued when all the (elements), coming down into the one letter, sounded one and the same pronunciation, and an image of the pronunciation he supposed to exist when we simultaneously utter the word Amen. And that these sounds are those which gave form to the insubstantial and unbegotten Aeon, and that those forms are what the Lord declared to be angels- the (forms) that uninterruptedly behold the face of the Father. " "
9.7. Callistus happened to be a domestic of one Carpophorus, a man of the faith belonging to the household of Caesar. To this Callistus, as being of the faith, Carpophorus committed no inconsiderable amount of money, and directed him to bring in profitable returns from the banking business. And he, receiving the money, tried (the experiment of) a bank in what is called the Piscina Publica. And in process of time were entrusted to him not a few deposits by widows and brethren, under the ostensive cause of lodging their money with Carpophorus. Callistus, however, made away with all (the moneys committed to him), and became involved in pecuniary difficulties. And after having practised such conduct as this, there was not wanting one to tell Carpophorus, and the latter stated that he would require an account from him. Callistus, perceiving these things, and suspecting danger from his master, escaped away by stealth, directing his flight towards the sea. And finding a vessel in Portus ready for a voyage, he went on board, intending to sail wherever she happened to be bound for. But not even in this way could he avoid detection, for there was not wanting one who conveyed to Carpophorus intelligence of what had taken place. But Carpophorus, in accordance with the information he had received, at once repaired to the harbour (Portus), and made an effort to hurry into the vessel after Callistus. The boat, however, was anchored in the middle of the harbour; and as the ferryman was slow in his movements, Callistus, who was in the ship, had time to descry his master at a distance. And knowing that himself would be inevitably captured, he became reckless of life; and, considering his affairs to be in a desperate condition, he proceeded to cast himself into the sea. But the sailors leaped into boats and drew him out, unwilling to come, while those on shore were raising a loud cry. And thus Callistus was handed over to his master, and brought to Rome, and his master lodged him in the Pistrinum. But as time wore on, as happens to take place in such cases, brethren repaired to Carpophorus, and entreated him that he would release the fugitive serf from punishment, on the plea of their alleging that Callistus acknowledged himself to have money lying to his credit with certain persons. But Carpophorus, as a devout man, said he was indifferent regarding his own property, but that he felt a concern for the deposits; for many shed tears as they remarked to him, that they had committed what they had entrusted to Callistus, under the ostensive cause of lodging the money with himself. And Carpophorus yielded to their persuasions, and gave directions for the liberation of Callistus. The latter, however, having nothing to pay, and not being able again to abscond, from the fact of his being watched, planned an artifice by which he hoped to meet death. Now, pretending that he was repairing as it were to his creditors, he hurried on their Sabbath day to the synagogue of the Jews, who were congregated, and took his stand, and created a disturbance among them. They, however, being disturbed by him, offered him insult, and inflicted blows upon him, and dragged him before Fuscianus, who was prefect of the city. And (on being asked the cause of such treatment), they replied in the following terms: Romans have conceded to us the privilege of publicly reading those laws of ours that have been handed down from our fathers. This person, however, by coming into (our place of worship), prevented (us so doing), by creating a disturbance among us, alleging that he is a Christian. And Fuscianus happens at the time to be on the judgment-seat; and on intimating his indignation against Callistus, on account of the statements made by the Jews, there was not wanting one to go and acquaint Carpophorus concerning these transactions. And he, hastening to the judgment-seat of the prefect, exclaimed, I implore of you, my lord Fuscianus, do not believe this fellow; for he is not a Christian, but seeks occasion of death, having made away with a quantity of my money, as I shall prove. The Jews, however, supposing that this was a stratagem, as if Carpophorus were seeking under this pretext to liberate Callistus, with the greater enmity clamoured against him in presence of the prefect. Fuscianus, however, was swayed by these Jews, and having scourged Callistus, he gave him to be sent to a mine in Sardinia. But after a time, there being in that place other martyrs, Marcia, a concubine of Commodus, who was a God-loving female, and desirous of performing some good work, invited into her presence the blessed Victor, who was at that time a bishop of the Church, and inquired of him what martyrs were in Sardinia. And he delivered to her the names of all, but did not give the name of Callistus, knowing the acts he had ventured upon. Marcia, obtaining her request from Commodus, hands the letter of emancipation to Hyacinthus, a certain eunuch, rather advanced in life. And he, on receiving it, sailed away into Sardinia, and having delivered the letter to the person who at that time was governor of the territory, he succeeded in having the martyrs released, with the exception of Callistus. But Callistus himself, dropping on his knees, and weeping, entreated that he likewise might obtain a release. Hyacinthus, therefore, overcome by the captive's importunity, requests the governor to grant a release, alleging that permission had been given to himself from Marcia (to liberate Callistus), and that he would make arrangements that there should be no risk in this to him. Now (the governor) was persuaded, and liberated Callistus also. And when the latter arrived at Rome, Victor was very much grieved at what had taken place; but since he was a compassionate man, he took no action in the matter. Guarding, however, against the reproach (uttered) by many - for the attempts made by this Callistus were not distant occurrences - and because Carpophorus also still continued adverse, Victor sends Callistus to take up his abode in Antium, having settled on him a certain monthly allowance for food. And after Victor's death, Zephyrinus, having had Callistus as a fellow-worker in the management of his clergy, paid him respect to his own damage; and transferring this person from Antium, appointed him over the cemetery. And Callistus, who was in the habit of always associating with Zephyrinus, and, as I have previously stated, of paying him hypocritical service, disclosed, by force of contrast, Zephyrinus to be a person able neither to form a judgment of things said, nor discerning the design of Callistus, who was accustomed to converse with Zephyrinus on topics which yielded satisfaction to the latter. Thus, after the death of Zephyrinus, supposing that he had obtained (the position) after which he so eagerly pursued, he excommunicated Sabellius, as not entertaining orthodox opinions. He acted thus from apprehension of me, and imagining that he could in this manner obliterate the charge against him among the churches, as if he did not entertain strange opinions. He was then an impostor and knave, and in process of time hurried away many with him. And having even venom imbedded in his heart, and forming no correct opinion on any subject, and yet withal being ashamed to speak the truth, this Callistus, not only on account of his publicly saying in the way of reproach to us, You are Ditheists, but also on account of his being frequently accused by Sabellius, as one that had transgressed his first faith, devised some such heresy as the following. Callistus alleges that the Logos Himself is Son, and that Himself is Father; and that though denominated by a different title, yet that in reality He is one indivisible spirit. And he maintains that the Father is not one person and the Son another, but that they are one and the same; and that all things are full of the Divine Spirit, both those above and those below. And he affirms that the Spirit, which became incarnate in the virgin, is not different from the Father, but one and the same. And he adds, that this is what has been declared by the Saviour: Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? John 14:2 For that which is seen, which is man, he considers to be the Son; whereas the Spirit, which was contained in the Son, to be the Father. For, says (Callistus), I will not profess belief in two Gods, Father and Son, but in one. For the Father, who subsisted in the Son Himself, after He had taken unto Himself our flesh, raised it to the nature of Deity, by bringing it into union with Himself, and made it one; so that Father and Son must be styled one God, and that this Person being one, cannot be two. And in this way Callistus contends that the Father suffered along with the Son; for he does not wish to assert that the Father suffered, and is one Person, being careful to avoid blasphemy against the Father. (How careful he is!) senseless and knavish fellow, who improvises blasphemies in every direction, only that he may not seem to speak in violation of the truth, and is not abashed at being at one time betrayed into the tenet of Sabellius, whereas at another into the doctrine of Theodotus. The impostor Callistus, having ventured on such opinions, established a school of theology in antagonism to the Church, adopting the foregoing system of instruction. And he first invented the device of conniving with men in regard of their indulgence in sensual pleasures, saying that all had their sins forgiven by himself. For he who is in the habit of attending the congregation of any one else, and is called a Christian, should he commit any transgression; the sin, they say, is not reckoned unto him, provided only he hurries off and attaches himself to the school of Callistus. And many persons were gratified with his regulation, as being stricken in conscience, and at the same time having been rejected by numerous sects; while also some of them, in accordance with our condemnatory sentence, had been by us forcibly ejected from the Church. Now such disciples as these passed over to these followers of Callistus, and served to crowd his school. This one propounded the opinion, that, if a bishop was guilty of any sin, if even a sin unto death,1 John 5:16 he ought not to be deposed. About the time of this man, bishops, priests, and deacons, who had been twice married, and thrice married, began to be allowed to retain their place among the clergy. If also, however, any one who is in holy orders should become married, Callistus permitted such a one to continue in holy orders as if he had not sinned. And in justification, he alleges that what has been spoken by the Apostle has been declared in reference to this person: Who are you that judges another man's servant? Romans 14:4 But he asserted that likewise the parable of the tares is uttered in reference to this one: Let the tares grow along with the wheat; Matthew 13:30 or, in other words, let those who in the Church are guilty of sin remain in it. But also he affirmed that the ark of Noe was made for a symbol of the Church, in which were both dogs, and wolves, and ravens, and all things clean and unclean; and so he alleges that the case should stand in like manner with the Church. And as many parts of Scripture bearing on this view of the subject as he could collect, be so interpreted. And the hearers of Callistus being delighted with his tenets, continue with him, thus mocking both themselves as well as many others, and crowds of these dupes stream together into his school. Wherefore also his pupils are multiplied, and they plume themselves upon the crowds (attending the school) for the sake of pleasures which Christ did not permit. But in contempt of Him, they place restraint on the commission of no sin, alleging that they pardon those who acquiesce (in Callistus' opinions). For even also he permitted females, if they were unwedded, and burned with passion at an age at all events unbecoming, or if they were not disposed to overturn their own dignity through a legal marriage, that they might have whomsoever they would choose as a bedfellow, whether a slave or free, and that a woman, though not legally married, might consider such a companion as a husband. Whence women, reputed believers, began to resort to drugs for producing sterility, and to gird themselves round, so to expel what was being conceived on account of their not wishing to have a child either by a slave or by any paltry fellow, for the sake of their family and excessive wealth. Behold, into how great impiety that lawless one has proceeded, by inculcating adultery and murder at the same time! And withal, after such audacious acts, they, lost to all shame, attempt to call themselves a Catholic Church! And some, under the supposition that they will attain prosperity, concur with them. During the episcopate of this one, second baptism was for the first time presumptuously attempted by them. These, then, (are the practices and opinions which) that most astonishing Callistus established, whose school continues, preserving its customs and tradition, not discerning with whom they ought to communicate, but indiscriminately offering communion to all. And from him they have derived the denomination of their cognomen; so that, on account of Callistus being a foremost champion of such practices, they should be called Callistians. "'. None |
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62. Irenaeus, Refutation of All Heresies, None (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Against the Heresies (Irenaeus of Lyons) • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Alexandria, alterations to heresy’s link to philosophy • Clement of Alexandria, moral criticism of heresy • Clement of Alexandria, reduction of diverse heresies to common errors • Clement of Alexandria, ‘liberal’ tolerance of heresy • Clement of Rome, and heresy • Epicureanism, heresy assimilated to • Eristic, connection with heresy • Gnosticism, as heretical or ‘other’ • Gnosticism, assimilation of other heresies to • Hegesippus, schema of stages of heresy • Heresy • Heresy [ Heterodoxy ] • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, human origin of • Heresy, interior to Church • Heresy, novelty of • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Heretics • Heretics {see also Gnostics; Marcionites) • Heterodoxy [ Heresy ] • Irenaeus of Lyons, ,and heresy • Irenaeus, criticism of heretical exegesis generally • Irenaeus, on heresy and paganism • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Magi, as part of heretical succession • Magi, criticism as heresy • Marcus, as heretic • Marriage, heretical contempt for • Marriage, heretical promiscuity regarding • Martyr, Justin, use of Greek models for heresy • Martyrdom, heretics too eager for • Myth, associated with heresy • Origen, distinctions between heresies and their taxonomy • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Philosophy, assimilation of heresy to • Platonism, heretics unfaithful to • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Simon of Samaria, as source of all heresy • Simplicity, Virtue of simplicity versus heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • Succession, heretical succession • heresy • heresy, Catholic Christianity, ecclesiological theory • heresy, Catholic Christianity, heretics • heresy, Irenaeus on • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, handling of dispute • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, use of minim for all opponents • heresy, condemnation of novelty • heresy, definition of • heresy, heretics • heresy, heretics, heresiology • heresy, novelty of • heresy/heretics • heretics • marriage, condemned by ascetic and heretical groups
Found in books: Beatrice (2013) 86; Blidstein (2017) 74, 85; Boulluec (2022) 25, 60, 62, 79, 80, 82, 83, 96, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 160, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 181, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 205, 222, 226, 228, 229, 232, 233, 234, 237, 242, 243, 248, 249, 250, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 262, 263, 282, 283, 299, 308, 345, 346, 351, 357, 361, 363, 376, 425, 431, 432, 438, 452, 455, 456, 459, 569; Cain (2016) 187; Cohen (2010) 535, 536, 541; Grypeou and Spurling (2009) 119; Janowitz (2002) 17; Janowitz (2002b) 46; Klawans (2019) 10; Lampe (2003) 241, 250, 251, 285, 289, 294, 296, 297, 298, 302, 303, 305, 309, 310, 311, 312, 318, 319, 320, 379, 387, 388, 390, 391, 392, 394; Lieu (2004) 208; Linjamaa (2019) 8, 124, 218; Moss (2012) 117, 157; Nissinen and Uro (2008) 458, 460, 461, 468, 469, 482; Novenson (2020) 263, 285; Osborne (2001) 150, 151, 152, 153; Rowland (2009) 157; Tabbernee (2007) 96, 167; Tite (2009) 1, 219; Vinzent (2013) 130, 172
1.1. I. ΛΕΓΟΥΣI 1γάρ τινα εἶναι ἐν ἀοράτοις καὶ ἀκατονομάστοις ὑψώμασι 2τέλειον Αἰῶνα προόντα· τοῦτον δὲ καὶ Epiph. Hær. xxxi. cf. Tbeodoret. Hær. Pab. 1.7. dre. Tertull. adv. Val. προαρχὴν καὶ προπάτορα καὶ Bυθὸν καλοῦσιν. 3 ὑπάρχοντα δ᾿ αὐτὸν ἀχώρυτον καὶ ἀόρατον, ἀΐδιόν τε καὶ ἀγέννητον. ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ καὶ ἠραμίᾳ πολλῇ γεγονέναι ἐν ἀπείροις αἰῶσι 4 χρόνων . συνυπάρχειν δ᾿ αὐτῷ καὶ Ἔννοιαν, ἣν δὲ καὶ Χάριν, καὶ Σιγὴν ὀνομάζουσι· καὶ ἐννονθῆναί ποτε ἀφʼ LIB. I. i. l. GR. I. i. l. MASS. I. i. l. ἑαυτοῦ προβαλέσθαι τὸν Bυθὸν τοῦτον, ἀρχὴν τῶν πάντων καὶ καθάπερ σπέρμα, τὴν προβολὴν ταύτην, ἣν προβαλέσθαι ἐνενοήθη, καὶ καθέσθαι ὡς ἐν μήτρα τῇ συνυπαρχούσῃ ἑαυτῷ Σιγῇ· ταύτην δὲ ὑποδεξαμένην τὸ σπέρμα τοῦτο καὶ ἐγκύμονα γενομένην, ἀποκυῆσαι Νοῦν, ὅμοιόν τε καὶ ἶσον τῷ προβαλόντι, καὶ μόνον χωροῦντα τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ Πατρός· τὸν δὲ Νοῦν τοῦτον καὶ Μονογενῆ καλοῦσι, καὶ Πατέρα, 2καὶ Ἀρχὴν τῶν G. 8. πάντων· συμπροβεβλῆσθαι δὲ αὐτῷ Ἀλήθειαν· καὶ εἶναι ταύτην πρῶτον καὶ ἀρχέγονον 3Πυθαγορικὴν τετρακτὺν, ἣν καὶ M.6. ῥίζαν τῶν πάντων καλοῦσιν· ἔστι γάρ Βοθὸς καὶ Σιγὴ, ἔπειτα LIB. I. i. l. GR. I. i. l. MASS. I. i. 2. Νοῦς καὶ Ἀλήθεια. Αἰσθόμενόν τε τὸν Μονογενῆ τοῦτον ἐφʼ οἷς προεβλήθη, προβαλεῖν καὶ αὐτὸν Λόγον καὶ Ζωὴν, πατέρα πάντων τῶν μετʼ αὐτὸν ἐσομένων, καὶ ἀρχὴν καὶ 1 μόφωσιν παντὸς τοῦ πληρώματος. Ἐκ δὴ τοῦ Λόγου καὶ τῆς Ζωῆς προβεβλῆσθαι κατὰ συζυγίαν 2Ἄνθρωπον καὶ Ἐκκλησίαν· καὶ εἶναι ταύτην ἀρχέγονον Ὀγδοάδα, ῥίζαν καὶ ὑπόστασιν τῶν πάντων, τέτρασιν ὀνόμασι παῤ αὐτοῖς καλουμένων, l. καλουμένην Βυθῷ, καὶ Νῷ, καὶ Λόγῳ, καὶ Ἀνθρώπῳ· εἶναι γὰρ αὐτῶν ἕκαστον ἀῤῥενόθηλυν· οὕτως πρῶτον τὸν Προπάτορα ἡνῶσθαι κατὰ συζυγίαν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ Ἐννοίᾳ· τὸν δὲ Μονογενῆ, τουτέστι τὸν Νοῦν, τῇ Ἀληθείᾳ· τὸν δὲ Λόγον τῇ Ζωῇ, καὶ τὸν Ἄνθρωπον τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ. Τούτους δὲ τοὺς Αἰῶνας εἰς δόξαν τοῦ Πατρὸς προβεβλημένους, βουληθέντας καὶ αὐτοὺς διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου δοξάσαι τὸν Πατέρα, προβαλεῖν προβολὰς ἐν συζυγίᾳ· τὸν μὲν Λόγον καὶ τὴν Ζωὴν, μετὰ τὸ προβαλέσθαι τὸν Ἄνθρωπον καὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, ἄλλους δέκα Αἰῶνας, ὧν τὰ ὀνόματα λέγουσι ταῦτα· Βύθιος καὶ LIB. I. i. l. GR. I. i. l. MASS. I i. 3. Μίξις, 1Ἀγήρατος καὶ Ἑνώσις, Αὐτοφυὴς καὶ Ἡδονὴ, Ἀκίνητος καὶ Σύγκρασις, Μονογενὴς καὶ Μακαρία· οὗτοι δέκα Αἰῶνες, οὓς καὶ φάσκουσιν ἐκ Λόγου καὶ Ζωῆς προβεβλῆσθαι. τὸν δὲ Ἄνθρωπον καὶ αὐτὸν προβαλεῖν μετὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας Αἰῶνας δώδεκα, οἷς ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα χαρίζονται· Παράκλητος M. 7. καὶ Πίστις, Πατρικὸς καὶ Ἐλπὶς, Μητρικὸς καὶ Ἀγάπη, 2Ἀείνους καὶ Σύνεσις, Ἐκκλησιαστικὸς καὶ Μακαριότης, G. 9. Θλητὸς καὶ Σοφία· οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ τριάκοντα Αἰῶνες τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν, οἱ 3σεσιγημένοι καὶ μὴ γινωσκόμενοι· τοῦτο τὸ ἀόρατον καὶ πνευματικὸν κατʼ αὐτοὺς πλήρωμα, τριχῆ διεσταμένον 4εἰς ὀγδοάδα, καὶ δεκάδα, καὶ δωδεκάδα. Καὶ διὰ II. xil. LIB. L. i. l. GR. I. i. l. MASS. I. i. 3. τοῦτο τὸν Σωτῆρα λέγουσιν (οὐδὲ γὰρ Μύριον ὀνομάζειν αὐτὸν θέλουσι) τριάκοντα ἔτεσι κατὰ τὸ φανερὸν μηδὲν πεποιηκέναι, ἐπιδεικνύντα τὸ μυστήριον τούτων τῶν Αἰώνων. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς παραβολῆς τῶν εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα πεμπομένων ἐργατῶν φασὶ φανερώτατα τοὺς τριάκοντα τούτους Αἰῶνας μεμηνύσθαι· πέμπονται γὰρ οἱ μὲν περὶ πρώτην ὥραν, οἱ δὲ περὶ τρίτην, οἱ δὲ περὶ ἕκτην, οἱ δὲ περὶ ἐνάτην, ἄλλοι δὲ περὶ ἑνδεκάτην· συντιθέμεναι οὖν αἱ προειρημέναι ὧραι εἰς ἑαυτὰς, τὸν τῶν τριάκοντα ἀριθμὸν ἀναπληροῦσι· μία γὰρ, καὶ τρεῖς, καὶ ἓξ, καὶ ἐννέα, καὶ ἕνδεκα, τριάκοντα γίνονται· διὰ δὲ τῶν ὡρῶν τοὺς Αἰῶνας μεμηνύσθαι θέλουσι. Καὶ ταῦτʼ εἶναι τὰ μεγάλα καὶ θαυμαστὰ καὶ ἀπόῤῥητα Μυστήρια, ἃ καρποφοροῦσιν αὐτοὶ, καὶ εἴ που τι τῶν ἐν LIB. I. i. 2. GR. I. i. 2. MASS. I. ii. 1. πλήθει εἰρημένων ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς δυνηθείη προσαρμόσαι, καὶ εἰκάσαι τῷ πλάσματι αὐτῶν. G. 10. M.8.' '1.2. 2. Τὸν μὲν οὖν Προπάτορα αὐτῶν γινώσκεσθαι μόνῳ λέγουσι τῷ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγονότι Μονογενεῖ, τουτέστι τῷ Νῷ· τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς πᾶσιν ἀόρατον καὶ ἀκατάληπτον ὑπάρχειν· μόνος δὲ ὁ Νοῦς κατ᾿ αὐτοὺς ἐτέρπετο θεωρῶν τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τὸ ἀμέτρητον αὐτοῦ κατανοῶν ἠγάλλετο· καὶ διενοεῖτο καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς αἰῶσιν ἀνακοινώσασθαι τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἡλίκος τε καὶ ὅσος ὑπῆρχε, καὶ ὡς ἦν ἄναρχός τε καὶ ἀχώρητος, καὶ οὐ καταληπτὸς ἰδεῖν· 1κατέσχε δὲ αὐτὸν ἡ Σιγὴ βουλήσει τοῦ Πατρὸς, διὰ τὸ θέλειν πάντας αὐτοὺς εἰς ἔννοιαν καὶ πόθον ζητήσεως τοῦ προειρημένου Προπάτορος αὐτῶν ἀγαγεῖν. Καὶ οἱ μὲν λοιποὶ ὁμοίως Αἰῶνες ἡσυχῇ πως ἐπεπόθουν τὸν προβολέα τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῶν ἰδεῖν, καὶ τὴν ἄναρχον 2ῥίζαν ἱστορῆσαι· προήλατο δὲ πολὺ ὁ τελευταῖος LIB. I. i. 2. GR. I. i. 2. MASS. I. ii. 2. καὶ νεώτατος τῆς δωδεκάδος, τῆς ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου καὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, προβεβλημένος Αἰὼν, τουτέστιν ἡ Σοφία, καὶ ἔπαθε πάθος ἄνευ τῆς ἐπιπλοκῆς τοῦ ζνγοῦ l. συζ. τοῦ Θελητοῦ· ἐνήρξατο μὲν ἐν τοῖς περὶ τὸν Νοῦν καὶ τὴν Ἀλήθειαν, 2ἀπέσκηψε δὲ εἰς τοῦτον τὸν παρατραπέντα, 3πρόφασιν μὲν G. 11. ἀγάπης, τόλμης δὲ, διὰ τὸ μὴ κεκοινωνῆσθαι τῷ Πατρὶ τῷ LIB. I. i. 2. GR. I. i. 2. MASS. I. ii. 2. τελείῳ, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Νοῦς. Τὸ δὲ πάθος εἶναι ζήτησιν τοῦ Πατρός· ἤθελε γὰρ, ὡς λέγουσι, τὸ μέγεθος αὐτοῦ καταλαβεῖν· ἔπειτα μὴ δυνηθῆναι, διὰ τὸ ἀδυνάτῳ ἐπιβαλεῖν M. 2. πράγματι, καὶ ἐν πολλῷ πάνυ ἀγῶνι γενόμενον, διά τε τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ βάθους, καὶ τὸ ἀνεξιχνίαστον τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν στοργὴν, 1ἐκτεινόμενον ἀεὶ ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσθεν, 2ὑπὸ τῆς γλυκύτητος αὐτοῦ τελευταῖον ἂν καταπεπόσθαι, καὶ ἀναλελύσθαι εἰς τὴν ὅλην 3οὐσίαν, εἰ μὴ τῇ στηριζούσῃ καὶ ἐκτὸς τοῦ ἀῤῥήτου μεγέθους φυλασσούσῃ τὰ ὅλα συνέτυχε δυνάμει. Ταύτην δὲ τὴν δύναμιν καὶ Ὅρον καλοῦσιν, ὑφʼ ἧς LIB. I. i. 3. GR. I. i. 3. MASS. I. ii. 3. 1ἐπεσχῆσθαι καὶ ἐστηρίχθαι, καὶ μόγις ἐπιστρέψαντα εἰς ἑαοτὸν, καὶ παισθέντα ὅτι 2ἀκατάληπτός ἐστιν ὁ Πατὴρ, ἀποθέσθαι τὴν προτέραν ἐνθύμησιν σὺν τῷ ἐπιγινομένῳ πάθει ἐκ τοῦ ἐκπλήκτου ἐκείνου θαύματος. 1.3. 3. Ἔνιοι δὲ αὐτῶν 3πῶς τὸ πάθος τῆς Σοφίας καὶ τὴν ἐπιστροφὴν μυθολογοῦσιν· ἀδυνάτῳ καὶ ἀκαταλήπτῳ πράγματι αὐτὴν ἐπιχειρήσασαν τεκεῖν οὐσίαν ἄμορφον, 4οἵαν φύσιν εἶχε θήλειαν τεκεῖν· ἣν καὶ κατανοήσασαν πρῶτον μὲν λυπηθῆναι, διὰ τὸ ἀτελὲς τῆς γενέσεως, ἔπειτα φοβηθῆναι 5μηδὲ αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι τελείως ἔχειν· εἶτα ἐκστῆναι καὶ ἀπορῆσαι, ζητοῦσαν LIB. I. i. 3. GR. I. i. 3. MASS. I. ii. 4. G. 12. M. 10. 1 τὴν αἰτίαν, καὶ ὅντινα τρόπον ἀποκρύψει τὸ γεγονός. Ἐγκαταγενομένην δὲ τοῖς πάθεσι λαβεῖν ἐπιστροφὴν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Πατέρα ἀναδραμεῖν πειρασθῆναι, καὶ μέχρι τινὸς τολμήσασαν, ἐξασθενῆσαι, καὶ 2ἱκέτιν τοῦ πατρὸς γενέσθαι· συνδεηθῆναι δὲ αὐτῇ καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς Αἰῶνας, μάλιστα δὲ τὸν Νοῦν. Ἐντεῦθεν λέγουσι πρώτην ἀρχὴν ἐσχηκέναι τὴν 3οὐσίαν, ἐκ τῆς ἀγνοίας, καὶ τῆς λύπης, καὶ τοῦ φόβου, καὶ τῆς ἐκπλήξεως. Ὁ δὲ Πατὴρ τὸν προειρημένον Ὅρον ἐπὶ τούτοις 4διὰ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς LIB. I. i. 3. GR. I. i. 3. MASS. I. ii. 4. προβάλλεται ἐν εἰκόνι ἰδίᾳ, 1ἀσύζυγον, ἀθήλυντον. Τὸν γὰρ Πατέρα ποτὲ μὲν μετὰ συζυγίας τῆς Σιγῆς, ποτὲ δὲ καὶ cf. p. 11. n. 4. ὑπέραῤῥεν, καὶ ὑπέρθηλυ εἶναι θέλουσι. Τὸν δὲ Ὅρον τοῦτον καὶ 2Σολλυτρωτὴν l. Σταυρὸν καὶ Λυτρωτὴν καὶ 3Καρπιστὴν, καὶ Ὁροθέτην, καὶ 4Μεταγωγέα καλοῦσι. Διὰ M. 11. δὲ τοῦ Ὅρου τούτου φασὶ κεκαθάρθαι καὶ ἐστηρίχθαι LIB. I. i. 3. GR. I. i. 3. MASS. I. ii. τὴν Σοφίαν, καὶ ἀποκατασταθῆναι τῇ 1συζογίᾳ· χωρισθείσης γὰρ τῆς Ἐνθυμήσεως ἀπʼ αὐτῆς σὺν τῷ ἐπιγινομένῳ G. 13. μένῳ πάθει, αὐτὴν μὲν ἐντὸς πληρώματος εἶναι· l. μεῖναι· LIB. I. i. 3. GR. I. i. 3. MASS. I. ii. 5. Tert. remansisse. τὴν δὲ ἐνθύμησιν αὐτῆς σὺν τῷ πάθει τοῦ Ὅρου ἀφορισθῆναι καὶ ἀποστερηθῆναι l. ἀποσταυρωθῆναι, καὶ ἐκτὸς αὐτοῦ γενομένην, εἶναι μὲν πνευματικὴν οὐσίαν, φυσικήν τινα Αἰῶνος ὁρμὴν τυγχάνουσαν· ἄμορφον δὲ καὶ ἀνείδεον 2διὰ τὸ μηδὲν καταλαβεῖν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο 3καρπὸν ἀσθενῆ καὶ θῆλυν αὐτὸν λέγουσι. 1.4. 4. Μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἀφορισθῆναι ταύτην ἐκτὸς τοῦ πληρώματος τῶν Αἰώνων, τήν τε Μητέρα αὐτῆς ἀποκατασταθῆναι τῇ ἰδία συζυγία, 4τὸν Μονογενῆ πάλιν ἑτέραν προβαλέσθαι συζυγίαν κατὰ προμήθειαν τοῦ Πατρὸς, 1ἴνα μὴ ὁμοίως LIB. I. i. 4. GR. I. i. 4. MASS. I. ii. 5. ταύτῃ πάθῃ τις τῶν Αἰώνων, Χριστὸν καὶ Πιεῦμα ἅγιον εἰς 2πῆξιν καὶ στηριγμὸν τοῦ Πληρώματος, ὑφʼ ὦν καταρτισθῆναι τοὺς Αἰῶνας. 3Τὸν μὲν γὰρ Χριστὸν διδάξαι αὐτοὺς συζογίας φύσιν, ἀγεννήτου κατάληψιν γινώσκοντας, ἱκανοὺς εἶναι, ἀναγορεῦσαί M. 12. τε ἐν αὐτοῖς τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπίγνωσιν, ὅτι τε ἀχώρητός ἐστι καὶ ἀκατάληπτος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν οὔτε ἰδεῖν οὔτε ἀκοῦσαι αὐτόν· διὰ μόνου τοῦ Μονογενοῦς γινώσκεται. G. 14. Καὶ τὸ μὲν αἴτιον τῆς αἰωνίου διαμονῆς τοῖς λοιποῖς τὸ πρῶτον 4καταληπτὸν ὑπάρχειν τοῦ Πατρὸς, τῆς δὲ γενέσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ Lib. I 1.4. GR. I. 1.4. MASS.I11.6. μὲν ἄρτι προβληθεὶς Χριστὸς ἐν αὐτοῖο ἐδημιούργησε. Τὲ δὲ ἓν Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον 2ἐξισωθέντας αὐτοὺς πάντας εὐχαριστεῖν ἐδίδαξε, καὶ τὴν ἀληθινὴν ἀνάπαυσιν ἡγήσατο l. εἰσηγήσατο . Οὕτως τε μορφῇ καὶ γνώμῃ ἴσους κατασταθῆναι τοὺς Αίῶνας λέγουσι, πάντας γενομένους Νόας, καὶ πάντας Λόγους, καὶ πάντας Ἀνθρώπους, καὶ πάντας Χριστούς· καὶ τὰς θηλείας ὁμοίως πάσας Ἀληθείας, καὶ πάσας Ζωὰς, καὶ 3Πνεύματα, καὶ Ἐκκλησίας. Στηριχθέντα δὲ ἐπὶ τούτῳ τὰ ὅλα, καὶ ἀναπαυσάμενα τελέως, μετὰ μεγάλης χαρᾶς φησιν ὑμνῆσαι τὸν Προπάτορα, πολλῆς εὐφρασίας μετασχόντα. LIB. I. i. 4. GR. I. i. 4. MASS. I. ii. 6. Καὶ ὅπὲρ τῆς εὐποιΐας ταύτης βουλῇ μιᾷ καὶ γνώμῃ τὸ πᾶν Πλήρωμα τῶν Αἰώνων, συνευδοκοῦντος τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος, 1τοῦ δὲ Πατρὸς αὐτῶν συνεπισφραγιζμένου, ἕνα ἕκαστον τῶν Αἰώνων, ὅπερ εἶχεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ κάλλιστον καὶ ἀνθηρότατον συνενεγκαμένους καὶ ἐρανισαμένους, καὶ ταῦτα ἁρμοδίως πλέξαντας, καὶ ἐμμελῶς ἑνώσαντας, M. 13. προβαλέσθαι προβλήματα εἰς τιμὴν καὶ δόξαν 2τοῦ Βυθοῦ, τελειότατον κάλλος τε καὶ 3ἄστρον τοῦ Πληρώματος, τέλειον καρπὸν τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ὃν καὶ Σωτῆρα προσαγορευθῆναι, καὶ Χριστὸν, καὶ Λόγον πατρωνυμικῶς, 4καὶ κατὰ G. 15. καὶ τὰ Πάντα, διὰ τὸ ἀπὸ πάντων εἶναι· δορυφόροις τε αὐτῶν αὐτῷ εἰς τιμὴν τὴν αὐτῶν 5ὁμογενεῖς Ἀγγέλους συμπροβεβλῆσθαι. LIB. I. i. 5. GR. I. i. 5. MASS. I. iii. I. 1.5. 5. Αὕτη μὲν οὖν ἐστιν ἡ ἐντὸς πληρώματος ὑπʼ αὐτῶν λεγομένη πραγματεία, καὶ ἡ τοῦ πεπονθότος Αἰῶνος, καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν ἀπολωλότος, ὡς ἐν πολλῇ ὕλῃ διὰ ζήτησιν τοῦ Πατρὸς συμφορὰ, καὶ ἡ τοῦ Ὅρου, καὶ Στύλου Σταυροῦ, καὶ Λυτρωτοῦ, καὶ Καρπιστοῦ, καὶ Ὁροθέτου, καὶ Μεταγωγέως ἐξ 1ἀγῶνος σύμπηξις, καὶ ἡ τοῦ 2πρώτου Χριστοῦ σὺν τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ ἐκ μετανοίας ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς αὐτῶν μεταγενεστέρα τῶν Αἰώνων γένεσις, καὶ ἡ τοῦ 2δευτέρου Χριστοῦ, M. 14. ὃν καὶ Σωτῆρα λέγουσιν, ἐξ ἐράνου σύνθετος κατασκευή. Ταῦτα δὲ φανερῶς μὲν μὴ εἰρῆσθαι, διὰ τὸ μὴ πάντας χωρεῖν τὴν γνῶσιν, μυστηριωδῶς δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος διὰ παραβολῶν μεμηνύσθαι τοῖς συνιεῖν δυναμένοις οὕτως· τοὺς μὲν γὰρ τριάκοντα LIB. I. i. GR. I. i. MASS. I. in. Αἰῶνας μεμηνύσθαι διὰ τῶν τριάκοντα ἐτῶν 1ὡς προέφαμεν, ἐν οἷς οὐδὲν ἐν φανερῷ φάσκουσι πεποιηκέναι τὸν Σωτῆρα, καὶ διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς τῶν ἐργατῶν τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος. Καὶ τὸν G. 16. Παῦλον φανερώτατα λέγουσι τούσδε Αἰῶνας ὀνομάζειν πολλάκις, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὴν τάξιν αὐτῶν τετηρηκέναι οὕτως εἰπόντα, εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς τῶν αἰώνων τοῦ αἰῶνος· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡμᾶς 2ἐπὶ τῆς εὐχαριστίας λέγοντας, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, ἐκείνους τοὺς αἰῶνας σημαίνειν· καὶ ὅπου ἂν αἰὼν ἢ αἰῶνες ὀνομάζονται, τὴν ἀναφορὰν εἰς ἐκείνους εἶναι θέλουσι. Τὴν δὲ τῆς δωδεκάδος τῶν Αἰώνων προβολὴν μηνύεσθαι, διὰ τοῦ δωδεκαετῆ ὄντα τὸν Κύριον διαλεχθῆναι τοῖς νομοδιδασκάλοις, καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν Ἀποστόλων ἐκλογῆς· δώδεκα γὰρ Ἀπόστολοι. Καὶ LIB. I. i. 5. GR. I. i. 5. MASS. I. iii. 2. τοὺς λοιποὺς δεκαοκτὼ Αἰῶνας φανεροῦσθαι, διὰ τοῦ μετὰ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν 1δεκαοκτὼ μησὶ λέγειν διατετριφέναι αὐτὸν σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς· ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν προηγουμένων τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ δύο γραμμάτων, τοῦ τε ἰῶτα καὶ τοῦ ἦτα, τοὺς δεκαοκτὼ Αἰῶνας εὐσήμως μηνύεσθαι. Καὶ τοὺς δέκα Αἰῶνας ὡσαύτως διὰ τοῦ ἰῶτα γράμματος, ὃ προηγεῖται τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ, σημαίνουσι λέγεσθαι σημαίνεσθαι λέγουσι . καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἰρηκέναι τὸν Σωτῆρα, ἰῶτα ἓν μία κεραία οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται. Τὸ δὲ περὶ τὸν δωδέκατον M. 15. Αἰῶνα γεγονὸς πάθος 2ὑποσημαίνεσθαι λέγουσι τῆς ἀποστασίας 11. xxxvi. στασίας διὰ Ἰούδαν, ὃς δωδέκατος ἦν τῶν Ἀποστόλων, γενομένης προδοσίας δείκνυσθαι λέγουσι, καὶ ὅτι τῷ 3 δωδεκάτῳ μηνὶ ἔπαθεν· ἐνιαυτῷ γὰρ ἑνὶ βούλονται αὐτὸν μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα LIB. I. i. 5. GR. I. i. 5. MASS. I. iii. 3. αὐτοῦ κεκηρυχέναι. Ἔτι τε ἐπὶ τῆς αἱμοῤῥούσης σαφέ- τοῦτο δηλοῦσθαι· δώδεκα γὰρ ἔτη παθοῦσαν αὐτὴν ὑπὸ G. 17. τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος παρουσίας τεθεραπεῦσθαι, ἁψαμένην τοῦ κρασπέδου αὐτοῦ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἰρηκέναι τὸν Σωτῆρα, τίς μου ἥψατο; διδάσκοντα τοὺς μαθητὰς τὸ γεγονὸς ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσι μυστήριον, καὶ τὴν ἴασιν τοῦ πεπονθότος αἰῶνος· 1ἡ γὰρ παθοῦσα δώδεκα ἔτη, ἐκείνη ἡ δύναμις, ἐκτεινομένης αὐτῆς, καὶ εἰς ἄπειρον ῥεούσης τῆς οὐσίας, ὡς λέγουσιν, εἰ μὴ ἔψαυσε τοῦ φορήματος αὐτοῦ, τουτέστι τῆς ἀληθείας τῆς πρώτης τετράδος, ἥτις διὰ τοῦ κρασπέδου μεμήνυται, 3ἀνελύθη ἂν εἰς τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτῆς· LIB. I. i. 5. GR. I. i. 5. MASS. I. iii. 3. ἀλλὰ 1ἔστη καὶ ἐπαύσατο τοῦ πάθους· ἡ γὰρ ἐξελθοῦσα δύναμις M. 16. τούτου, εἶναι δὲ ταύτης ταύτην τὸν Ὅρον θέλουσιν, ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτὴν, καὶ τὸ πάθος ἐχώρισεν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς. Τὸ δὲ, 2Σωτῆρα τὸν ἐκ πάντων ὄντα τὸ πᾶν εἶναι, διὰ τοῦ λόγου τοῦ τούτου, πᾶν ἄῤῥεν διανοῖγον μήτραν, δηλοῦσθαι λέγουσιν· ὃς τὸ πᾶι ὢν, 3διήνοιξε τὴν μήτραν τῆς Ἐνθυμήσεως τοῦ πεπονθότος 4Αἰῶνος, καὶ ἐξορισθείσης ἐκτὸς τοῦ πληρώματος· ἣν δὴ καὶ δευτέραν ὀγδοάδα καλοῦσι, περὶ ἧς μικρὸν ὕστερον G. 18. ἐροῦμεν. Καὶ ὁπὸ τοῦ Παύλου δὲ φανερῶς διὰ τοῦτο εἰρῆσθαι λέγουσι· 5καὶ αὐτός ἐστι τὰ πάντα· καὶ πάλιν, πάντα εἰς αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὰ πάντα· καὶ πάλιν, ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικεῖ πᾶν LIB. I. i. 5. GR. I. i. 5. MASS. I. iii. 4. τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος· καὶ τὸ, ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαι δὲ τὰ πάντα ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ διὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ suppl. οὕτως, ἑρμυνεύουσιν εἰρῆσθαι, καὶ εἴ τινα ἄλλα τοιαῦτα. 1.6. 6. Ἔπειτα περὶ τοῦ Ὅρου αὐτῶν, ὃν δὴ καὶ πλείοσιν ὀνόμασι καλοῦσι, δύο ἐνεργείας ἔχειν αὐτὸν ἀποφαινόμενοι, τὴν ἑδραστικὴν καὶ τὴν μεριστικήν· καὶ καθὰ μὲν ἑδράζει καὶ 1στορίζει, Σταυρὸν εἶναι, καθὸ δὲ μερίζει καὶ διορίζει, Ὅρον· τὸν μὲν Σταυρὸν l. Σωτῆρα οὕτως λέγουσι μεμηνυκέναι τὰς ἐνεργείας αὐτοῦ· καὶ πρῶτον μὲν τὴν ἑδραστικὴν ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν· M. 17. 2ὃς οὐ βαστάζει τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθεῖ μοι, μαθητὴς ἐμὸς οὐ δύναται γενέσθαι· καὶ ἄρας τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ, LIB. I. i. 6. GR. I. i. 6. MASS. I. iii. 5. ἀκολουθεῖ μοι· τὴν δὲ διοριστικὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν· οὐκ ἦλθον βαλεῖν εἰρήνην, ἀλλὰ κάχαιραν. Καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην δὲ λέγουσιν αὐτὸ τοῦτο μεμηνυκέναι, εἰπόντα· τὸ πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ διακαθαριεῖ τὴν ἅλωνα, καὶ συνάξει τὸν σίτον εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ· καὶ διὰ τούτου τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Ὅρου μεμηνυκέναι· πτύον γὰρ ἐκεῖνον τὸν Σταυρὸν ἑρμηνεύουσιν εἶναι, 1ὃν δὴ f. l. δεῖ καὶ ἀναλίσκειν τὰ ὑλικὰ πάντα, ὡς ἄχυρα πῦρ· καθαίρειν δὲ τοὺς σωζομένους, ὡς τὸ πτύον τὸν σῖτον. Παῦλον δὲ τὸν Ἀπόστολον καὶ αὐτὸν ἐπιμιμνήσκεσθαι τούτου τοῦ Σταυροῦ λέγουσιν οὕτως· ὁ λόγος γὰρ ὁ τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῖς μὲν ἀπολλυμένοις μωρία ἐστὶ, τοῖς δὲ σωζομένοις ἡμῖν δύναμις Θεοῦ· καὶ πάλιν· ἐμοὶ δὲ μὴ γένοιτο ἐν μηδενὶ καυχᾶσθαι, εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, δἰ οὗ ἐμοὶ κόσμος ἐσταύρωται, G. 19. κᾀγὼ τῷ κόσμῳ. Τοιαῦτα μὲν οὖν περὶ τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτῶν, καὶ τοῦ πλάσματος πάντες l. τοῦ πάντος λέγουσιν, 2ὲφαρμόζειν βιαζόμενοι τὰ καλῶς εἰρυμένα τοῖς κακῶς ἐπινενουμένοις LIB. I. i. 6. GR. I. i. 6. MASS. I. iii. 6. ὑπʼ αὐτῶν· καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐκ τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν καὶ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν πειρῶνται τὰς ἀποδείξεις ποιεῖσθαι, παρατρέποντες τὰς ἑρμηνείας, καὶ ῥᾳδιουργοῦντες τὰς ἐξηγήσεις· ἀλλὰ, καὶ ἐκ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν, ἅτε πολλῶν παραβολῶν καὶ ἀλληγοριῶν εἰρημένων, καὶ εἰς πολλὰ ἕλκειν δυναμένων τὸ ἀμφίβολον διὰ τῆς ἐξηγήσεως, ἕτεροι δὲ δεινῶς, 1 δεινοτέρως τῷ πλάσματι M. 18. αὐτῶν καὶ δολίως ἐφαρμόζοντες, αἰχμαλωτίζουσιν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας τοὺς μὴ ἑδραίαν τὴν πίστιν 2εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν πατέρα παντοκράτορα, καὶ εἰς ἕνα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ διαφυλάσσοντας. 1.7. 7. Τὰ δὲ ἐκτὸς τοῦ πληρώματος λεγόμενα ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐστι τοιαῦτα· τὴν Ἐνθύμησιν τῆς ἄνω Σοφίας, ἣν καὶ 3 καλοῦσιν, ἀφορισθεῖσαν τοῦ ἄνω πληρώματος σὺν τῷ πάθει λέγουσιν, ἐν σκιαῖς καὶ 4σκηνώματος κενώματος τόποις LIB. I. i. 7. GR. I. i. 7. MASS. I. iv. l. ἐκβεβράσθαι κατὰ ἀνάγκην. Ἔξω γὰρ 1φωτὸς ἐγένετο καὶ Πληρώματος, ἄμορφος καὶ ἀνείδεος, ὥσπερ ἔκτρωμα, διὰ τὸ μηδὲν 2κατειληφέναι· οἰκτείραντά τε αὐτὴν τὸν ἄνω Χριστὸν, καὶ διὰ τοῦ Σταυροῦ ἐπεκταθέντα, 3τῇ ἰδία δυνάμει μορφῶσαι μόρφωσιν τὴν κατʼ οὐσίαν μόνον, ἀλλʼ οὐ τὴν κατὰ γνῶσιν· καὶ πράξαντα τοῦτο 4ἀναδραμεῖν συστείλαντα αὐτοῦ τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ καταλιπεῖν, ὅπως αἰσθομένη τοῦ περὶ αὐτὴν πάθους διὰ τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν τοῦ Πληρώματος, ὀρεχθῇ τῶν διαφερόντων, ἔχουσά τινα ὀδμὴν ἀφθαρσίας, ἐγκαταλειφθεῖσαν LIB. I. i. 6. GR. I. i. 6. MASS. I. iv. l. αὐτὴν l. αὐτῇ ὑπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου 1 Πνεύατος. G. 20. Διὸ καὶ 2αὐτὴν τοῖς ἀμφοτέροις ὀνόμασι καλεῖσθαι, 3 τε πατρωνυμικῶς, (ὁ γὰρ πατὴρ αὐτῆς Σοφία κληΐζεται), καὶ M. 19. πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἀπὸ τοῦ περὶ τὸν Χριστὸν πνεύματος. Μορφωθεῖσάν τε αὐτὴν, καὶ 4ἔμφρονα γενηθεῖσαν, παραυτίκα δὲ κενωθεῖσαν ἀοράτου αὐτῇ συνόντος Λόγου, τουτέστι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, 5ἐπὶ ζήτησιν ὁρμῆσαι τοῦ καταλιπόντος αὐτὴν inf. § 8. φωτὸς καὶ μὴ δυνηθῆναι καταλαβεῖν αὐτὸ, διὰ τὸ κωλυθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ Ὅρου. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸν Ὅρον κωλύοντα αὐτὴν τῆς εἰς τοὔμπροσθεν ὁρμῆς εἰπεῖν Ἰαώ· ὅθεν τὰ 8Ἰαὼ ὄνομα LIB. I. i. 7. GR. I. i. 7. MASS. I. iv. l. γεγενῆσθαι φάσκουσι. Μὴ δονηθείσαν δὲ διοδεῦσαι τὸν Ὅρον, διὰ τὸ συμπεπλέχθαι τῷ πάθει, καὶ μόνην ἀπολειφθεῖσαν ἔξω, παντὶ μέρει τοῦ πάθους ὑποπεσεῖν πολυμεροῦς καὶ πολυποικίλου ὑπάρχοντος, καὶ παθεῖν, λύπην μὲν, ὅτι οὐ κατέλαβε· φόβον δὲ, μὴ καθάπερ 1αὐτὴν τὸ φῶς, οὕτω καὶ τὸ ζῇν ἐπιλίπῃ· 2ἀπορίαν τε ἐπὶ τούτοις· 3ἐν ἀγνοία δὲ τὰ πάντα. Καὶ οὐ καθάπερ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτῆς, ἡ πρώτη Σοφία καὶ Αἰὼν, LIB. I. i. 7. GR. I. i. 7. MASS. I. iv. l. 1ἑτεροίωσιν ἐν τοῖς πάθεσιν εἶχεν, ἀλλὰ ἐναντιότητα. Ἐπισυμβεβηκέναι δʼ αὐτῇ καὶ ἑτέραν διάθεσιν, τὴν τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς ἐπὶ τόν ζωοποιήσαντα. Ταύτην 2σύστασιν καὶ οὐσίαν τῆς ὕλης G. 21. γεγενῆσθαι λέγουσιν, ἐξ ἧς ὅδε ὁ κόσμος συνέστηκεν. Ἐκ μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς τὴν τοῦ κόσμου καὶ 3τοῦ δημιουργοῦ πᾶσαν ψυχὴν τὴν γένεσιν εἰληφέναι, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ φόβου καὶ τῆς λύπης τὰ λοιπὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐσχηκέναι· 4ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν δακρύων αὐτῆς cf. § 10. γεγονέναι πᾶσαν ἔνυγρον οὐσίαν· ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ γέλωτος, τὴν M. 20. φωτεινήν· ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς λύπης καὶ τῆς ἐκπλήξεως, τὰ σωματικὰ LIB. I. i. 7. GR. I. i. 7. MASS. I. iv. 2. τοῦ κόσμου στοιχεῖα. Ποτὲ μὲν γὰρ ἔκλαιε καὶ ἐλυπεῖτο, ὡς λέγουσι, διὰ τὸ καταλελείφθαι μόνην ἐν τῷ σκότει καὶ τῷ κενώματι· ποτὲ δὲ εἰς ἔννοιαν ἥκουσα τοῦ καταλιπόντος αὐτὴν φωτὸς, διεχεῖτο καὶ ἐγέλα· ποτὲ δ᾿ αὖ πάλιν ἐφοβεῖτο· ἄλλοτε δὲ διηπόρει, καὶ ἐξίστατο. 1.8. 8. Καὶ τί γάρ τραγῳδία πολλὴ λοιπὸν ἦν ἐνθάδε, καὶ φαντασία ἑνὸς ἑκάστου αὐτῶν, ἄλλως καὶ ἄλλως 1 ἐκδιηγουμένου ἐκ ποταποῦ πάθους, ἐκ ποίου στοιχείου 2ἡ οὐσία cf. note 2. τὴν γένεσιν εἴληφεν· ἃ καὶ εἰκότως δοκοῦσί μοι μὴ ἅπαντας θέλειν ἐν φανερῷ διδάσκειν, ἀλλʼ μόνους ἐκείνους τοὺς καὶ μεγάλους μισθοὺς ὑπὲρ τηλικούτων μυστηρίων τελεῖν δυναμένους. Οὐκέτι γὰρ ταῦτα ὅμοια ἐκείνοις, περὶ ὧν ὁ Κύριος ὑμῶν εἴρηκε, δωρεὰν ἐλάβετε, δωρεὰν δότε ἀλλὰ ἀνακεχωρηκότα, καὶ τερατώδη καὶ βαθέα μυστήρια μετὰ πολλοῦ καμάτου περιγινόμενα τοῖς φιλοψευδέσι. Τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἐκδαπανήσειε πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μάθῃ, ὅτι ἀπὸ τῶν δακρύων τῆε Ἐνθυμήσεως τοῦ πεπονθότος Αἰῶνος, θάλασσαι, καὶ πηγαὶ, καὶ ποταμοὶ, καὶ πᾶσα ἔνυδρος οὐσία τὴν γένεσιν εἴληφεν, ἐς δὲ τοῦ γέλωτος αὐτῆς τὸ φῶς, καὶ ἐκ LIB. I. i. 8. GR. I. i. 8. MASS. I. iv. 3. τῆς ἐκπλήξεως καὶ τῆς ἀμηχανίας τὰ σωματικὰ τοῦ κόσμου στοιχεῖα; Βούλομαι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς συνεισενεγκεῖν τι τῇ καρποφορία αὐτῶν. Ἐπαιδὴ γὰρ ὁρῶ τὰ μὲν γλυκέα ὕδατα ὄντα, G. 22. οἶον πηγὰς, καὶ ποταμοὺς, καὶ ὄμβρους, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα· τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ ταῖς θαλάσσαις ἁλμυρά· ἐπινοῶ μὴ πάντα ἀπὸ τῶν δακρύων αὐτῆς προβεβλῆσθαι, διότι τὸ δάκρυον ἁλμυρὸν τῇ ποιότητι ὑπάρχει· φανερὸν οὖν, ὅτι τὰ ἁλμυρὰ ὕδατα ταῦτά ἐστι τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν δακρύων. Εἰκὸς δὲ αὐτὴν ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ πολλῇ M. 21. καὶ ἀμηχανίᾳ γεγονυῖαν καὶ ἱδρωκέναι· ἐντεῦθεν δὴ κατὰ τὴν ὑπόθεσιν αὐτῶν ὑπολαμβάνειν δεῖ, πηγὰς καὶ ποταμοὺς, καὶ εἴ τινα ἄλλα γλυκέα ὕδατα ὑπάρχει τὴν γένεσιν μὴ l. μετεσχ. ἐσχοκέναι ἀπὸ τῶν δακρύων ἱδρώτων αὐτῆς· ἀπίθανον γὰρ, μιᾶς ποιότητος οὔσης τῶν δακρύων, τὰ μὲν ἁλμυρὰ, τὰ δὲ γλυκέα ὕδατα ἐξ αὐτῶν προελθεῖν· τοῦτο δὲ πιθανώτερον, τὰ μὲν εἶναι ἀπὸ τῶν δακρύων, τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἱδρώτων. Ἐπαιδὴ LIB. I. i. 8. GR. I. i. 8. MASS. I. iv. 4. καὶ θερμὰ καὶ δριμέα τινὰ ὕδατά ἐστιν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, νοεῖν ὀφείλεις, τὶ ποιήσασα, καὶ ἐκ ποίου μορίου προήκατο ταῦτα· ἁρμόζουσι γὰρ τοιοῦτοι καρποὶ τῇ ὑποθέσει αὐτῶν. Διοδεύσασαν οὖν πᾶν πάθος τὴν Μητέρα αὐτῶν, καὶ μόγις ὑπερκύψασαν, 1ἐπὶ ἱκεσίαν τραπῆναι τοῦ καταλιπόντος αὐτὴν φωτὸς, τουτέστι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, λέγουσιν· ὃς ἀνελθὼν μὲν εἰς τὸ πλήρωμα, αὐτὸς μὲν εἰκὸς ὅτι 2ὤκνησεν ἐκ δευτέρου κατελθεῖν, τὸν 3Παράκλητον δὲ ἐξέπεμψεν εἰς αὐτὴν, τουτέστι τὸν σωτῆρα, 4ἐνδόντος αὐτῷ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ πατρὸς, καὶ πᾶν ὑπ᾿ ἐξουσίαν παραδόντος, 5καὶ τῶν αἰώνων δεόμενος δὲ ὁμοίως, ὅπως ἐν αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα κτισθῇ τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ G. 23. ἀόρατα, Θρόνοι, 6θεότητες, κυριότητες· ἐκπέμπεται δὲ πρὸς αὐτὴν μετὰ τῶν 1ἡλικιωτῶν αὐτοῦ τῶν Ἀγγέλων. Τὴν δὲ LIB. I. i. 8. GR. I. i. 8. MASS. I. iv. 5. Ἀχαμὼθ ἐντραπεῖσαν αὐτὸν λέγουσι πρῶτον μὲν 2 ἐπιθέσθαι δἰ αἰδῶ, μετέπειτα δὲ ἰδοῦσαν αὐτὸν σὺν ὅλῃ τῇ M. 22 3καρποφορίᾳ αὐτοῦ, προσδραμεῖν αὐτῷ, δύναμιν λαβοῦσαν ἐκ τῆς ἐπιφανείας αὐτοῦ· κᾀκεῖνον μορφῶσαι αὐτὴν 4μόρξωσιν τὴν κατὰ γνῶσιν, καὶ ἴασιν τῶν παθῶν ποιήσασθαι αὐτῆς· χωρίσαντα δʼ αὐτὰ αὐτῆς, 5μὴ ἀμελήσαντα δὲ αὐτῶν, οὐ γὰρ ἦν 6δονατὰ ἀφανισθῆναι, ὡς τὰ 7τῆς προτέρας, διὰ τὸ ἑκτικὰ LIB. I. i. 8. GR. I. i. 8. MASS. I. iv. 5. ἤδη καὶ 1δυνατὰ εἶναι· ἀλλʼ ἀποκρίναντα 2χωρήσει τοῦ χωρὶς, εἶτα συγχέαι καὶ πῆξαι, καὶ ἐξ ἀσωμάτου πάθους εἰς 3ἀσώματον τὴν ὕλην μεταβαλεῖν αὐτά· εἶθʼ οὕτως ἐπιτηδειότητα καὶ G. 24. φύσιν ἐμπεποιηκέναι αὐτοῖς, ὥστε εἰς συγκρίματα καὶ σώματα ἐλθεῖν, πρὸς τὸ γενέσθαι 4δύο οὐσίας, τὴν φαύλην τῶν παθῶν, τήν τε τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς ἐμπαθῆ· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο δυνάμει τὸν LIB. I. i. 8. GR. I. i. 8. MASS. I. iv. 5. Σωτῆρα 1δεδημιουργηκέναι φάσκουσι. Τήν τε Ἀχαμὼθ ἐκτὸς πάθους γενομένην, καὶ 2συλλαβοῦσαν τῇ χαρ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ M. 23. φώτων τὴν θεωρίαν, τουτέστι τῶν Ἀγγέλων τῶν μετʼ αὐτοῦ, καὶ 3ἐγκισσήσασαν αὐτοὺς, κεκυηκέναι καρποὺς κατὰ τὴν εἰκόνα διδάσκουσι, κύημα πνευματικὸν καθʼ ὁμοίωσιν γεγονότως γεγονὸς τῶν δορυφόρων τοῦ Σωτῆρος. 1.9. 9. Τριῶν οὖν ἤδη τούτων ὑποκειμένων κατ᾿ αὐτοὺς, τοῦ μὲν ἐκ τοῦ πάθους, ὃ ἦν ὅλη· τοῦ δὲ ἐκ τῆς 4ἐπιστροφῆς, ὃ LIB. I. i. 9. GR. I. i. 9. MASS. I. v. l. ἦν τὸ ψυχικόν· τοῦ δὲ ἀπεκύησε, τουτέστι τὸ πνευματικὸν, Bul Def. Fid. N. II. i. l. οὕτως ἐτράπη ἐπὶ τὴν μόρφωσιν αὐτῶν. Ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πνευματικὸν μὴ δεδονῆσθαι αὐτῇ αὐτὴν μορφῶσαι, ἐπειδὴ ὁμοούσιον ὑπῆρχεν αὐτῇ· τετράφθαι δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν μόρφωσιν τῆς γενομένης ἐκ τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς αὐτῆς ψυχικῆς οὐσίας, 1προβαλεῖν τε τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος μαθήματα. Καὶ πρῶτον μεμορφωκέναι αὐτὴν ἐκ τῆς ψυχικῆς οὐσίας λέγουσι τὸν Πατέρα καὶ βασιλέα πάντων, τῶν τε ὁμοουσίων αὐτῷ, τουτέστι τῶν ψυχικῶν, ἃ δὲ 2δεξιὰ καλοῦσι, καὶ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ πάθους καὶ τῆς ὕλης, ἃ δὴ ἀριστερὰ καλοῦσι· πάντα γὰρ τὰ κατ᾿ f. l. μετʼ αὐτὸν φάσκουσι μεμορφωκέναι, λεληθότως κινούμενον ὑπὸ τῆς Μητρός· ὅθεν καὶ 3Μητροπάτορα, καὶ Ἀπάτορα, καὶ Δημιουργὸν M. 24. G. 25. αὐτὸν, καὶ Πατέρα καλοῦσι· τῶν μὲν διξιῶν πατέρα λέγοντες αὐτὸν, τουτέστι τῶν ψυχικῶν· τῶν δὲ ἀριστερῶν, τουτέστι τῶν ὑλικῶν, δημιουργὸν, συμπάντων δὲ βασιλέα. Γὴν γὰρ Ἐνθόμησιν ταύτην βουληθεῖσαν εἰς τιμὴν τῶν Αἰώνων τὰ πάντα ποιῆσαι, εἰκόνας λέγουσι πεποιηκέναι αὐτῶν, 4μᾶλλον δὲ τὸν Σωτῆρα δι᾿ αὐτῆς· καὶ αὐτὴν ἑαυτὴν μὲν 1ἐν εἰκόνι τοῦ ἀοράτου Πατρὸς LIB. I. i. 9. GR. I. i. 9. MASS. I. v. l. τετηρηκέναι μὴ γινωσκομένην ὑπὸ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ· τοῦτον δὲ τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ, τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν Αἰώνων τοὺς ὑπὸ τούτων τούτου γεγονότας Ἀρχαγγέλους τε καὶ Ἀγγέλους. Πατέρα οὖν καὶ Θεὸν λέγουσιν αὐτὸν γεγονέναι τῶν ἐκτὸς τοῦ πληρώματος, ποιητὴν ὄντα πάντων ψυχικῶν τε καὶ ὑλικῶν· διακρίναντα γὰρ τὰς δύο οὐσίας συγκεχυμένας, καὶ ἐξ ἀσωμάτων 2σωματοποιήσαντα, δεδημιουργηκέναι τά τε οὐράνια καὶ τὰ γήϊνα, καὶ γεγονέναι ὑλικῶν καὶ ψυχικῶν, 3δεξιῶν καὶ ἀριστερῶν δημιουργὸν, κούφων καὶ βαρέων, ἀνωφερῶν καὶ LIB. I. i. 9. GR. I. i. 9. MASS. I. v. 2. κατωφερῶν· 1ἑπτὰ γὰρ l. καὶ \xa0 οὐρανοὺς κατεσκεακέναι, ὧν ἐπάνω τὸν Δημιουργὸν εἶναι λέγουσι· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καλοῦσιν αὐτὸν, τὴν δὲ μητέρα τὴν Ἀχαμὼθ Ὀῳδοάδα, ἀποσώζουσαν τὸν ἀριθμὸν τοῦ τῆς ἀρχεγόνου, καὶ πρὸ τῆς πρώτης τοῦ πληρώματος Ὀγδοάδος. Τοὺρ δὲ ἑπτὰ οὐρανοὺς οὐκ d. οὐκ εἶναι 3νοητούς f. l. νοερούς φασιν· Ἀγγέλους δὲ αὐτοὺς ὑποτίθενται, καὶ τὸν δημιουργὸν δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν ἄγγελον LIB. I. i. 9. GR. I. i. 9. MASS. I. v. 2. Θεῷ ἐοικότα· ὡς καὶ τὸν Παράδεισον ὑπὲρ τρίτον οὐρανὸν M. 25. ὄντα, τέταρτον Ἄγγελον λέγουσι δυνάμει ὑπάρχειν, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου τι εἰληφέναι τὸν Ἀδὰμ διατετριφότα ἐν αὐτῷ. Ταῦτα G. 26. δὲ τὸν δημιουργὸν φάσκουσιν ἀφʼ ἑαυτοῦ μὲν 1ὠῆσθαι κατασκευάζειν, πεποιηκέναι δ᾿ αὐτὰ τῆς Ἀχαμὼθ προβαλλούσης· οὐρανὸν πεποιηκέναι μὴ εἰδότα τὸν οὐρανόν· καὶ ἄνθρωπον πεπλακέναι, μὴ εἰδότα τὸν ἄνθρωπον· γῆν τε δεδειχέναι, μὴ ἐπιστάμενον τὴν γῆν· καὶ ἐπὶ πάντων οὕτως λέγουσιν 2ἠγνοηκέναι αὐτῶν τὰς ἰδέας ὧν ἐποίει, καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν μητέρα· αὐτὸν δὲ μόνον ὠῆσθαι πάντα εἶναι. Αἰτίαν δ᾿ αὐτῷ γεγονέναι τὴν μητέρα τῆς οἰήσεως ταύτης φάσκουσιν, τὴν οὕτω βουληθεῖσαν προαγαγεῖν αὐτὸν, κεφαλὴν μὲν καὶ ἀρχὴν τῆς ἰδίας οὐσίας, κύριον δὲ τῆς ὅλης πραγματείας. 3Ταύτην δὲ τὴν LIB. I. i. 9. GR. I. i. 9. MASS. I. v. 3. Μητέρα καὶ Ὀγδοάδα καλοῦσι, καὶ Σοφίαν, καὶ Γῆν, καὶ Ἱερουσαλὴμ, καὶ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, καὶ Κύριον ἀρσενικῶς. Ἔχειν δὲ τὸν τῆς μεσότητος τόπον αὐτὴν, καὶ εἶναι ὑπεράνω μὲν τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ, ὑποκάτω δὲ ἢ ἔξω τοῦ Πληρώματος μέχρι 1συντελείας.'1.10. 10. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τὴν ὑλικὴν οὐσίαν ἐκ τριῶν παθῶν συστῆναι λέγουσι, φόβου τε, καὶ 2λύπης, καὶ ἀπορίας· ἐκ μὲν τοῦ φόβου καὶ τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς τὰ ψυχικὰ τὴν σύστασιν εἰληφέναι· ἐκ μὲν τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς τὸν Δημιουργὸν βούλονται τήν γένεσιν ἐσχηκέναι, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ φόβου τὴν λοιπὴν πᾶσαν ψυχικὴν ὑπόστασιν, ὡς ψυχὰς ἀλόγων ζώων, καὶ θηρίων, καὶ ἀνθρώπων. Διὰ τοῦτο ἀτονώτερον αὐτὸν ὑπάρχοντα πρὸς τὸ M. 26. γινώσκειν τινὰ πνευματικὰ, 3αὑτὸν νενομικέναι μόνον εἶναι Θεὸν, καὶ διὰ τῶν Προφητῶν εἰρηκέναι· ἐγὼ Θεὸς, πλὴν ἐμοῦ LIB. I. i. 10. GR. I. i. 10. MASS. I. v. 4. οὐδείς. 1Ἐκ δὲ τῆς λύπης τὰ πνειματικὰ τῆς πονορίας διδάσκουσι γεγονέναι· ὅθεν τὸν 2Διάβολον τὴν γένεσιν ἐσχηκέναι, ὃν καὶ 3κοσμοκράτορα καλοῦσι, καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια, καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν πνευματικὴν τῆς πονηρίας ὑπόστασιν. LIB. I. i. 10. GR. I. i. 10. MASS. I. v. 4. Ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν Δημιουργὸν οἱὸν τῆς Mητρὸς αὐτῶν λέγουσι, τὸν δὲ κοσμοκράτορα κτίσμα τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ· καὶ τὸν μὲν G. 27. κοσμοκράτορα γινώσκειν τὰ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸκ, ὅτι 1πνεῦμά πνευματικά ἐστι τῆς πονηρίας· τὸν δὲ Δημιουργὸν ἀγνοεῖν, ἅτε ψυχικὰ ὑπάρχοντα. Οἰκείν δὲ τὴν Μητέρα αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν ὑπερουράνιον τόπον, τουτέστιν ἐν τῇ μεσότητι· τὸν Δημιουργὸν δὲ εἰς τὸν 2ὑπερουράνιον ἐπουράνιον, τουτέστιν ἐν τῇ ἑβδομάδι· τὸν δὲ παντοκράτορα κοσμοκράτορα ἐν τῷ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς κόσμῳ. Ἐκ δὲ τῆς ἐκπλήξεως καὶ τῆς ἀμυχανίας l. ἀπομίας, ὡς ἐκ τοῦ ἀσημοτέρου τὰ σωματικὰ, καθὼς προείπαμεν, τοῦ κόσμου στοιχεῖα γεγονέναι· τὴν l. γῆν μὲν κατὰ τῆς ἐκπλήξεως στάσιν, ὕδωρ δὲ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ φόβου τῶν δακρύων d. τῶν δακρύων κίνησιν, 3ἀέρα τε κατὰ τὴν λύπης πῆξιν· τὸ M. 27. δὲ πῦρ ἅποσιν αὐτοῖς ἐκπεφυκέναι θάνατον καὶ φθορὰν, ὡς LIB. I. i. 10. GR. I. i. 10. MASS. I. v. 4. καὶ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τοῖς τρισὶ πάθεσιν ἐγκεκρύφθαι διδάσκουσι. Δημιουργήσαντα δὴ τὸν κόσμον, πεποιηκέναι καὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν χοϊκόν· οὐκ ἀπὸ ταύτης δὲ τῆς ξηρᾶς γῆς, ἀλλʼ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀοράτου οὐσίας, ἀπὸ τοῦ κεχυμένου καὶ ῥευστοῦ τῆς ὕλης λαβόντα· καὶ εἰς τοῦτον ἐμφυσῆσαι τὸν ψυχικὸν διορίζονται. Καὶ τοῦτον εἶναι τὸν κατʼ εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν γεγονότα· κατʼ εἰκόνα μὲν τὸν ὑλικὸν ὑπάρχειν, παραπλήσιον μὲν, ἀλλʼ οὐχ 2ὁμοούσιον τῷ Θεῷ· καθʼ ὁμοίωσιν δὲ τὸν ψυχικὸν, ὅθεν καὶ πνεῦμα ζωῆς τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ εἰρῆσθαι, ἐκ πνευματικῆς G. 28. ἀποῤῥοίας οὗσαν. Ὕστερον δὲ περιτεθεῖσθαι λέγουσιν αὐτῷ τὸν LIB. I. i. 10. GR. I. i. 10. MASS. I. v. 5. δερμάτινον χιτῶνα· τοῦτο δὲ τὸ αἰσθητὸν σαρκίον εἶναι λέγουσι. 2Τὸ δὲ κύημα τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῆς αὐτῶν τῆς Ἀχαμὼθ, ὃ κατὰ τὴν θεωρίαν τῶν περὶ τὸν Σωτῆρα ἀγγέλων ἀπεκύησεν, ὁμοούσιον ὑπάρχον τῇ μητρὶ, πνευματικὸν, καὶ αὐτὸν ἠγνοηκέναι τὸν Δημιουργὸν λέγουσι· καὶ λεληθότως 3κατατεθεῖσθαι εἰς αὐτὸν, μὴ εἰδότος αὐτοῦ, ἵνα δἰ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ ψυχὴν σπαρὲν, καὶ εἰς τὸ ὑλικὸν τοῦτο σῶμα, LIB. I. i. 10. GR. I. i. 10. MASS. I. v. 6. κυοφορηθὲν ἐν τούτοις καὶ αὐξηθὲν, ἕτοιμον γένηται εἰς ὑποδοχὴν τοῦ 1τελείου λόγου . Ἔλαθεν οὖν, ὡς φασὶ, τὸν Δημιουργὸν ὁ συγκατασπαρεὶς τῷ ἐμφυσήματι αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τῆς Σοφίας πνευματικὸς ἀνθρώπων ἄνθρωπος ἀῤῥήτῳ adj. δυνάμει καὶ προνοίᾳ. Ὡς γὰρ τὴν μητέρα ἠγνοηκέναι, οὕτω καὶ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτῆς· ὅ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸ ἐκκλησίαν εἶναι λέγουσιν, ἀντίτυπον τῆς ἄνω Ἐκκλησίας· καὶ τότε τόνδε εἶναι M. 28. τὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἄνθρωπον ἀξιοῦσιν, ὥστε ἔχειν αὐτοὺς τὴν μὲν ψυχὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ, τὸ δὲ σῶμα ἀπὸ τοῦ χοὸς, καὶ τὸ σαρκικὸν ἀπὸ τῆς ὕλης, τὸν δὲ πνευματικὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀπὸ τῆς μητρὸς τῆς Ἀχαμώθ. G. 29. 1.11. 11. 2Τριῶν οὖν ὄντων, τὸ μὲν ὑλικὸν, ὃ καὶ ἀριστερὸν II. xlii. καλοῦσι, κατὰ ἀνάγκην ἀπόλλυσθαι λέγουσιν, ἅτε μηδεμίαν ἐπιδέξασθαι πνοὴν ἀφθαρσίας δυνάμενον· τὸ δὲ ψυχικὸν, ὃ καὶ δεξιὸν προσαγορεύουσιν, ἅτε μέσον ὂν τοῦ τε πνευματικοῦ LIB. I. i. 11. GR. I. i. 11. MASS. I. v. l. καὶ ὑλικοῦ, 1ἐκεῖσε χωρεῖν, ὅπου ἂν καὶ τὴν πρόσκλισιν ποιήσηται· τὸ δὲ πνευματικὸν ἐκπεπέμφθαι, ὅπως ἐνθάδε τῷ ψυχικῷ συζυγὲν μορφωθῇ, συμπαιδευθὲν αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ ἀναστροφῇ. Καὶ τοῦτʼ εἶναι λέγουσι τὸ ἅλας, καὶ τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου· ἔδει γὰρ τῶν ψυχικῶν τῷ ψυχικῷ καὶ αἰσθητῶν παιδευμάτων. Δἰ ὧν καὶ κόσμον κατεσκευάσθαι λέγουσι, καὶ τὸν Σωτῆρα δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦτο παραγεγονέναι τὸ ψυχικὸν, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτεξούσιόν ἐστιν, ὅπως αὐτὸ σώσῃ. Ὧν γὰρ ἤμελλε σώζειν, τὰς ἀπαρχὰς αὐτῶν εἰληφέναι φάσκουσιν, ἀπὸ μὲν τῆς Ἀχαμὼθ τὸ πνευματικὸν, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ ἐνδεδύσθαι τὸν ψυχικὸν Χριστὸν, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς οἰκονομίας 3περιτεθεῖσθαι σῶμα ψυχικὴν cf. p. 60. n. 3. ἔχον οὐσίαν, κατεσκευασμένον δὲ ἀῤῥήτῳ πέχνῃ, πρὸς τὸ καὶ 4ἀόρατον, καὶ ἀψηλάφητον, leg. ὅρατον καὶ ψηλάφητον M. 29 καὶ παθητὸν γεγενῆσθαι· 5καὶ ὑλικὸν δὲ οὐδʼ ὁτιοῦν εἰληφέναι λέγουσιν αὐτόν· μὴ γὰρ εἶναι τὴν ὕλην δεκτικὴν σωτηρίας LIB. I. i. 11. GR. I. i. 11. MASS. I. iv. l. Τὴν δὲ συντέλειαν ἔσεσθαι, ὅταν μορφωθῇ καὶ τελειωθῇ πᾶν τὸ πνευματικὸν, τουτέστιν οἱ πνευματικοὶ ἄνθρωποι, οἱ τὴν τελείαν γνῶσιν ἔχοντες περὶ Θεοῦ καὶ τῆς Ἀχαμώθ· μεμυημένους δὲ μυστήρια εἶναι τούτους ὑποτίθειται. Ἐπαιδεύθησαν γὰρ τὰ ψυχικὰ οἱ ψυχικοὶ ἄνθρωποι, οἱ δἰ ἔργων καὶ πίστεως ψιλῆς βεβαιούμενοι, καὶ μὴ τήν τελείαν γνῶσιν LIB. I. i. 11. GR. I. i. 11. MASS. I. vi. 2. ἔχοντες· εἶναι δὲ τούτους ἀπὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἡμᾶς λέγουσι· διὸ καὶ ἡμῖν μὲν ἀναγκαίον εἶναι τὴν ἀγαθὴν πρᾶξιν ἄλλως γὰρ ἀδύνατον σωθῆναι. Αὐτοὺς δὲ μὴ διὰ πράξεως, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ 2φύσει πνευματικοὺς εἶναι, πάντῃ τε καὶ πάντως σωθήσεσθαι δογματίζουσιν. Ὡς γὰρ τὸ χοϊκὸν ἀδύνατον σωτηρίας μετασχεῖν· (οὐ γὰρ εἶναι λέγουσιν αὐτοὶ δεκτικὸν αὐτῆς) οὕτως πάλιν τὸ πνευματικὸν θέλουσιν οἱ αὐτοὶ ὁ θέλουσιν αὐτοὶ εἶναι ἀδύνατον φθορὰν καταδέξασθαι, 3κᾂν ὁποίαις συγκαταγένωνται πράξεσιν. Ὃν γὰρ τρόπον χρυσὸς ἐν βορβόρῳ κατατεθεὶς οὐκ ἀποβάλλει τήν LIB. I. i. 11. GR. I. i. 11. MASS. I. vi. 2. καλλονὴν αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἰδίαν φύσιν διαφυλάττει, τοῦ βορβόρου μηδὲν ἀδικῆσαι δυναμένου τὸν χρυσόν· οὕτω δὲ καὶ αὐτοὺς λέγουσι, κᾂν ἐν ὁποίαις ὑλικαῖς πράξεσι καταγένωνται, M. 30 μηδὲν αὐτοὺς παραβλάπτεσθαι, μηδὲ ἀποβάλλειν τὴν πνευματικὴν ὑπόστασιν. 1.12. 12. Διὸ δὴ καὶ τὰ ἀπειρημένα πάντα ἀδεῶς οἱ τελειότατοι πράττουσιν αὐτῶν, περὶ ὧν αἱ γραφαὶ διαβεβαιοῦνται, τοὺς ποιοῦντας αὐτὰ βασιλείαν Θεοῦ μὴ κληρονομήσειν. Καὶ γὰρ 1εἰδωλόθοτα διαφόρως ἀδιαφόρως ἐσθίουσι, μηδὲ μηδὲν μολύνεσθαι ὑπʼ αὐτῶν ἡγούμενοι· καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἑορτάσιμον τῶν ἐθνῶν 2τέρψιν εἰς τιμὴν τῶν εἰδώλων γινομένην G. 31 πρῶτοι συνίασιν, ὡς μηδὲ τῆς παρὰ Θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις LIB. I. i. 12. GR. I. i. 12. MASS. I. vi. 3. θέας ἀπέχεσθαι ἐνίους αὐτῶν. Οἱ δὲ καὶ ταῖς τῆς σαρκὸς ἡδοναῖς κατακόρως δουλεύοντες τὰ σαρκικὰ τοῖς σαρκικοῖς, καὶ τὰ πνευματικὰ τοῖς πνευματικοῖς ἀποδίδοσθαι λέγουσι. Καὶ οἱ μὲν αὐτῶν λάθρα τὰς διδασκομένας ὑπʼ αὐτῶν τὴν διδαχὴν ταύτην γυναῖκας διαφθείρουσιν, ὡς πολλαὶ πολλάκις ὑπʼ ἐνίων αὐτῶν ἐξαπατηθεῖσαι, ἔπειτα ἐπιστρέψασαι γυναῖκες εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, σὺν τῇ λοιπῇ πλάνῃ καὶ τοῦτο ἐξωμολογήσαντο· οἱ δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸ φανερὸν ἀπερυθριάσαντες, ὧν ἂν ἐρασθῶσι γυναικῶν, ταύτας ἀπʼ ἀνδρῶν ἀποσπάσαντες, ἰδίας γαμετὰς ἡγήσαντο. Ἄλλοι δὲ αὖ πάλιν σεμνῶς κατʼ ἀρχὰς, ὡς μετʼ ἀδελφῶν προσποιούμενοι συνοικεῖν, προϊόντος τοῦ χρόνου ἠλέγχθησαν, ἐγκύμονος τῆς ἀδελφῆς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ γενηθείσης. Καὶ ἄλλα δὲ πολλὰ μυσαρὰ καὶ ἄθεα πράσσοντες, ὑμῶν μὲν διὰ τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ φυλασσομένων καὶ μέχρις ἐννοίας καὶ λόγου ἁμαρτεῖν, κατατρέχουσιν, ὡς ἰδιωτῶν, καὶ μηδὲν ἐπισταμένων· ἑαυτοὺς δὲ ὑπερυψοῦσι, M.31. τελείους ἀποκαλοῦντες, καὶ σπέρματα ἐκλογῆς. Ἡμᾶς μὲν γὰρ LIB. I. i. 12. GR. I. i. 12. MASS. I. vi. 4. ἐν χρήσει τὴν χάριν λαμβάνειν λέγουσι· διὸ καὶ ἀφαιρεθήσεσθαι αὐτῆς αὐτήν · αὐτοὺς δὲ ἰδιόκτητον ἄνωθεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀῤῥήτου καὶ ἀνονομάστου συζυγίας συγκατεληλυθυῖαν ἔχειν τὴν χάριν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο προστεθήσεσθαι αὐτοῖς. Διὸ καὶ ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου δεῖν αὐτοὺς ἀεὶ τὸ τῆς συζυγίας μελετᾷν μυστήριον. Καὶ τοῦτο πείθουσι τοὺς ἀνοήτους, αὐταῖς λέξεσι λέγοντες οὕτως· ὃε ἂν 1ἐν κόσμῳ γενόμενος γυναῖκα οὐκ ἐφίλησεν, ὥστε αὐτὴν κρατηθῆναι, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐξ ἀληθείας, καὶ οὐ χωρήσει εἰς ἀλήθειαν· ὁ δὲ ἀπὸ κόσμου γενόμενος, 3μὴ l. καὶ κρατηθεὶς γυναικὶ οὐ χωρήσει εἰς ἀλήθειαν, διὰ τὸ μῆ ἐν l. τὸ ἐν τῇ G. 32 ἐπιθυμίᾳ κρατηθῆναι γυναικός. Διὰ τοῦτο οὖν ἡμᾶς 4καλοὺς LIB. I. i. 12. GR. I. i. 12. MASS. I. vi. 4. ψυχικοὺς ὀνομάζουσι, καὶ ἐκ κόσμου εἶναι λέγουσι, καὶ ἀναγκαίαν ἡμῖν τὴν ἐγκράτειαν καὶ ἀγαθὴν πρᾶξιν, ἵνα δἰ αὐτῆς ἔλθωμεν εἰς τὸν τῆς 1μεσότητος τόπον· αὐτοῖε δὲ πνευματικοῖς τε καὶ τελείοις καλουμένοις μηδαμῶς· οὐ γὰρ πρᾶξις εἰς πλήρωμα εἰσάγει, ἀλλὰ τὸ σπέρμα τὸ ἐκεῖθεν νήπιον ἐκπεμπόμενον, 2ἐνθὰ δὲ τελειούμενον. Ὅταν δὲ πᾶν τὸ σπέρμα τελειωθῇ. τὴν M. 32. μὲν Ἀχαμὼθ τὴν μητέρα αὐτῶν μεταβῆναι τοῦ τῆς μεσότητος τόπου λέγουσι, καὶ ἐντὸς πληρώματος εἰσελθεῖν, καὶ ἀπολαβεῖν τὸν νυμφίον αὐτῆς τὸν Σωτῆρα, τὸν ἐκ πάντων γεγονότα, ἵνα συζογία γένηται τοῦ Σωτῆρος καὶ τῆς Σοφίας τῆς Ἀχαμώθ. Καὶ τοῦτο εἶναι 3νυμφίον καὶ νύμφην, 4νυμφῶνα δὲ τὸ πᾶν πλήρωμα. Τοὺς δὲ πνευματικοὺς 1ἀποδυσαμένοις LIB. I. i. 12. GR. I. i. 12. MASS. I. vii. 1. τὰς ψυχὰς καὶ πνεύματα νοερὰ γενομένους, ἀκρατήτως καὶ ἀοράτως ἐντὸς πληρώματος εἰσελθόντας νύμφας ἀποδοθήσεσθαι τοῖς περὶ τὸν Σωτῆρα ἀγγέλοις. Τὸν δὲ Δημιουργὸν μεταβῆναι καὶ αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν τῆς μητρὸς 2Σοφίας τόπον, τουτέστιν ἐν τῇ μεσότητι· τάς τε τῶν δικαίων ψυχὰς ἀναπαύσεσθαι καὶ αὐτὰς ἐν τῷ τῆς μεσότητος τόπῳ. Μηδὲν γὰρ ψυχικὸν ἐντὸς πληρώματος χωρεῖν. 1.13. 13. Τούτων δὲ γενομένων οὔτως, τὸ ἐμφωλεῦον τῷ κόσμῳ πῦρ ἐκλάμψαν καὶ ἐξαφθὲν, καὶ 3κατεργασάμενον cf. II. 52. πᾶσαν ὕλην 4συναναλωθήσεσθαι αὐτῇ, καὶ εἰς τὸ μηκέτʼ εἶναι χωρήσειν διδάσκουσι. Τὸν δὲ Δημιουργὸν μηδὲν τούτων ἐγνωκέναι LIB. I. i. 13. GR. I. i. 13. MASS. I. vii. 2. ἀποφαίνονται πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος παρουσίας. Εἰσὶ δὲ οἱ λέγοντες προβαλέσθαι αὐτὸν καὶ Χριστὸν υἱὸν ἴδιον, ἀλλὰ cf. III. 18. 31. 32. καὶ ψυχικόν· καὶ περὶ τούτου διὰ τῶν Προφητῶν λελαληκέναι. G. 33. M. 33. Εἶναι δὲ τοῦτον τὸν διὰ Μαρίας διοδεύσαντα, καθάπερ ὕδωρ 2διὰ σωλῆνος ὁδεύει, καὶ εἰς τοῦτον ἐπὶ τοῦ βαπτίσματος κατελθεῖν ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ Πληρώματος ἐκ πάντων Σωτῆρα, ἐν εἴδει περιστερᾶς· γεγονέναι δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ l. ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀχαμὼθ σπέρμα πνευματικόν. Τὸν οὖν Κύριον ἡμῶν ἐκ 3τεσσάρων τούτων σύνθετοι γεγονέναι φάσκουσιν, ἀποσώζοντα τὸν τύπον τῆς ἀρχεγόνου καὶ πρώτης 1τετρακτύος· ἔκ τε τοῦ πνευματικοῦ, ὃ ἦν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀχαμὼθ. LIB. I. i. 13. GR. I. i. 13. MASS. I. vii. 2. καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ψυχιοῦ, ὃ ἦν ἀπὸ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῆρ οἰκονομίας, 2ὃ ἦν κατεσκευασμένον ἀῤῥήτῳ τέχνῃ, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ p. 52. Σωτῆρος, ὃ ἦν κατελθοῦσα εἰς αὐτὸν περιστερά. Ναὶ τοῦτο l. τοῦτον μὲν ἀπαθῆ διαμεμενηκέναι· (οὐ γὰρ ἐνεδέχετο παθεῖν αὐτὸν 3ἀκράτητον καὶ ἀόρατον ὑπάρχοντα·) 4καὶ διὰ LIB. I. i. 13. GR. I. i. 13. MASS. I. vii. 2. τοῦτο ᾖρθαι, προσαγομένου αὐτοῦ τῷ Πιλάτῳ, τὸ εἰς αὐτὸν ματατεθὲν πνεῦμα Χριστοῦ. Ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς μητρὸς σπέρμα πεπονθέναι λέγουσιν. 1Ἀπαθὲς γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ l. ἅτε πνευματικὸν, καὶ ἀόρατον καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ δημιουργῷ. Ἔπαθε δὲ λοιπὸν κατ᾿ αὐτοὺς ὁ ψυχικὸς Χριστὸς, καὶ ὁ ἐκ τῆς οἰκονομίας κατεσκευασμένος μυστηριωδῶς, ἵνʼ ἐπιδείξῃ δι᾿ αὐτοῦ ἡ μήτηρ τὸν τύπον τοῦ ἄνω Χριστοῦ, ἐκείνου τοῦ ἐπεκταθέντος τῷ 3Σταυρῷ, καὶ μορφώσαντος τὴν Ἀχαμὼθ μόρφωσιν τὴν κατʼ οὐσίαν· πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα τόπους ἐκείνων εἶναι λέγουσι. Τὰς δὲ ἐσχηκυίας τό σπέρμα τῆς Ἀχαμὼθ ψυχὰς ἀμείνους λέγουσι γεγονέναι τῶν λοιπῶν· διὸ καὶ πλεῖον τῶν ἄλλων ἠγαπῆσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ, μὴ εἰδότος τὴν αἰτίαν, ἀλλὰ παῤ αὑτοῦ λογιζομένου εἶναι τοιαύτας. Διὸ καὶ εἰς προφήτας, φασὶν, ἔτασσεν αὐτοὺς αὐτὰς, καὶ M. 34. G. 34. ἱρεῖς, καὶ βασιλεῖς. Καὶ πολλὰ 1ὑπὸ τοῦ σπέρματος τούτον LIB. I. i. 13. GR. I. i. 13. MASS. I. vii. 3. εἰρῆσθαι διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ἐξηγοῦνται, ἅτε ὑψηλοτέρας φύσεως 2ὑπαρχούσας· πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τὴν μητέρα περὶ τῶν IV. lxix. ἀνωτέρω εἰρηκέναι λέγουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τούτου καὶ τῶν ὑπὸ τούτου γενομένων ψυχῶν. Καὶ λοιπὸν 4τέμνουσι τὰς προφητείας, τὸ μέν τι ἀπὸ τῆς μητρὸς εἰρῆσθαι θέλοντες, cf. c. xxxiv. τὸ δέ τι ἀπὸ τοῦ σπέρματος, τὸ δέ τι ἀπὸ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ὡσαύτως, τὸ μέν τι ἀπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος σἰρηκέναι, τὸ δέ τι ἀπὸ τῆς μητρὸς, τὸ δέ τι ἀπὸ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ, καθὼς ἐπιδείξομεν προϊόντος ἡμῖν τοῦ λόγου. Τὸρ δὲ Δημιουργὸν, ἅτε ἀγνοοῦντα τὰ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν, κινεῖσθαι μὲν ἐπὶ τοῖς λεγομένοις, καταπεφρονηκέναι δὲ αὐτῶν, ἄλλοτε ἄλλην αἰτίαν νομίσαντα, ἢ 5τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ προφητεῦον, ἔχον LIB. I. i. 13. GR. I. i. 13. MASS. I. vii. 5. καὶ αὐτὸ ἰδίαν τινὰ κίνησιν, ἢ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἢ τὴν προσπλοκὴν τῶν χειρῶν χειρόνων καὶ οὕτως ἀγνοοῦντα 1 ἄχρι τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ Κυρίου. Ἐλθόντος δὲ τοῦ Σωτῆρος, μαθεῖν αὐτὸν παῤ αὐτοῦ πάντα λέγουσι, καὶ ἄσμενον αὐτῷ 2προσχωρήσαντα μετὰ πάσης τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ ἑκατόνταρχον. λέγοντα τῷ Σωτῆρι· καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ ὑπὸ τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ ἐξουσίαν ἔχω στρατιώτας καὶ δούλους, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν προστάξω, ποιοῦσι. Τελέσειν δὲ αὐτὸν τὴν κατὰ τὸν κόσμον οἰκονομίαν μέχρι τοῦ M. 35. δέοντος καιροῦ, μάλιστα δὲ διὰ τὴν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐπιμέλειαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τοῦ ἑτοιμασθέντος αὐτῷ ἐπάθλου, ὅτι εἰς τὸν τῆς μητρὸς τόπον χωρήσει. 1.14. 14. Ἀνθρώπων δὲ τρία γένη ὑφίστανται, πνευματικὸν, χοϊκὸν, ψυχικὸν, καθὼς ἐγένοντο Κάϊν, Ἄβελ, Σήθ· καὶ ἐκ τούτων1 τὰς τρεῖς φύσεις, 2οὐκέτι καθʼ ἓν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ LIB. I. i. 14. GR. I. i. 14. MASS. I. vii. 5. γένος. Καὶ 3τὸ μὲν χοϊκὸν εἰς φθορὰν χωρεῖν· καὶ τὸ ψυχι κὸν, ἐὰν τὰ βελτίονα ἕληται, 4ἐν τῷ τῆς μεσότητος τόπῳ ἀναπαύ σ εσθαι· ἐὰν δὲ τὰ χαίρω, χωρήσειν καὶ αὐτὸ πρὸς G. 35. τὰ ὅμοια· τὰ δὲ πνευματικὰ, 5ἃ ἂν κατασπείρῃ ἡ Ἀχαμὼθ ἔκτοτε ἕως τοῦ νῦν δικαίαις ψυχαῖς, παιδευθέντα ἐνθάδε καὶ ἐκτραφέντα, διὰ τὸ νήπια ἐκπεπέμφθαι, ὕστερον τελειότητος ἀξιωθέντα, νύμφας ἀποδοθήσεσθαι τοῖς τοῦ Σωτῆρος Ἀγγέλοις δογματίζουσι, τῶν ψυχῶν αὐτῶν ἐν μεσότητι κατ᾿ ἀνάγκην 6μετὰ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ ἀναπαυσαμένων εἰς τὸ παντελές. LIB. I. i. 14. GR. I. i. 14. MASS. I. vii. 5. Καὶ αὐτὰς μὲν τὰς ψυχιὰς 1 ψυχὰς πάλιν ὑπομερίζοντες λέγουσιν, ἃς μὲν φύσει ἀγαθὰς, ἃς δὲ φύσει πονηράς. Καὶ τὰς μὲν ἀγαθὰς ταύτας εἶναι τὰς δεκτικὰς τοῦ σπέρματος γινομένας· τὰς δὲ φύσει πονηρὰς μηδέποτε ἂν ἐπιδέξασθαι ἐκεῖνο τὸ σπέρμα. 1.15. 15. 2Τοιαύτης δὲ τῆς ὑποθέσεως αὐτῶν οὔσης, ἣν οὔτε Προφῆται ἐκήρυξαν, οὔτε ὁ Κύριος ἐδίδαξεν, οὔτε Ἀπόστολοι M. 36. παρέδωκαν, ἣν 3περὶ τῶν ὅλων αὐχοῦσι πλεῖον τῶν ἄλλων ἐγνωκέναι, 4ἐξ ἀγράφων ἀναγινώσκοντες, καὶ τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, 5ἐξ ἄμμου σχοινία πλέκειν ἐπιτηδεύοντες, ἀξιοπίστως ἀξιόπιστα Assem. προσαρμόζειν πειρῶνται 6τοῖς εἰρημένοις, ἤτοι παραβολὰς κυριακὰς, ἢ ῥήσεις προφητικὰς, λόγους LIB. I. i. 15. GR. I. i. 15. MASS. I. vili. 1. ἀποστολικοὺς, ἵνα τὸ πλάσμα αὐτῶν μὴ ἀμάρτυρον εἶναι δοκῇ· τὴν μὲν τάξιν καὶ τὸν εἱρμὸν τῶν γραφῶν ὑπερβαίνοντες,\xa0 λέξιν Ephr. Syr. καὶ, ὅσον ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῖς, λύοντες τὰ μέλη τῆς ἀληθείας. Μεταφέρουσι δὲ καὶ μεταπλάττουσι, καὶ ἄλλο ἐξ ἄλλου ποιοῦντες ἐξαπατῶσι πολλοὺς τῇ τῶν ἐφαρμοζομένων κυριακῶν λογίων κακοσυνθέτῳ σοφίᾳ φαντασίᾳ Ephr. S. . Ὅνπερ τρόπον εἴ τις βασιλέως 1εἰκόνος καλῆς κατεσκευασμένης ἐπιμελῶς G. 36. 2ἐκ ψηφίδων ἐπισήμων ὑπὸ σοφοῦ τεχνίτου, λύσας τὴν ὑποκειμένην τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἰδέαν, 3μετενέγκῃ τὰς ψηφῖδας μετενέγει Ephr. μεθαρμόσει Ephr. ποεησας Ephr. cf. xxxv. ἐκείνας, καὶ μεθαρμόσοι, καὶ ποιήσει μορφὴν κυνὸς ἢ ἀλώπεκος, καὶ 4ταύτυν φαύλως κατεσκευασμένυν, ἔπειτα διορίζοιτο, καὶ λέγοι ταύτην εἶναι τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐκείνην εἰκόνα τὴν καλὴν, LIB. I. i. 15. GR. I. i. 15. MASS. I. vili. 1. ἣν ὁ σοφὸς τεχνίτης κατεσκεύασε, δεικνὺς τὰς ψηφῖδας τὰς καλῶς ὑπὸ τοῦ τεχνίτου τοῦ πρώτου εἰς τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ὐπὸ τοῦ δευτέρου Ephr. Syr. εἰκόνα συντεθείσας, κακῶς δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ ὑστέρου εἰς κυνὸς μορφὴν μετενεχθείσας, καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν ψηφίδων φαντασίας μεθοδεύοι τοὺς ἀπειροτέρους, τοὺς κατάληψιν βασιλικῆς μορφῆς οὐκ ἔχοντας, καὶ πείθοι ὅτι αὕτη ἡ σαπρὰ τῆς ἀλώπεκος ἰδέα ἐστὶν ἐκείνη ἡ καλὴ τοῦ βασιλέως εἰκών· τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ συγκαττύ- ουσι Assem. τρόπον καὶ οὗτοι γραῶν μύθους συγκαττύσαντες, ἔπειτα M. 37. ῥήματα καὶ λέξεις καὶ παραβολὰς ὅθεν καὶ πόθεν ἀποσπῶντες, μεθεπμόζειν Ephr. Syr. ἐφαρκόζειν βούλονται τοῖς μόθοιο αὐτῶν ἑαυτῶν Ephr. S. τὰ λόγια τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ ὅσα μὲν ἐν τοῖς l. τοῖς ἐντὸς τοῦ Πληρώματος ἐφαρμόζουσιν, εἰρήκαμεν. 1.16. 16. Ὅσα δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἐκτὸς τοῦ Πληρώματος αὐτῶν προσοικειοῦν πειρῶνται ἐκ τῶν γραφῶν, ἔστι τοιαῦτα· τὸν Κύριον ἐν τοῖς ἐσχάτοις τοῦ κόσμου χρόνοις διὰ τοῦτο ἐληλυθέναι ἐπὶ τὸ πάθος λέγουσιν, ἵν᾿ ἐπιδείξῃ τὸ περὶ τὸν ἔσχατον τῶν Αἰώνων γεγονὸς πάθος, καὶ δἰ αὐτοῦ τοῦ τέλους Jac. v. 11. ἐμφῄνῃ τὸ τέλος τῆς περὶ τοὺς Αἰῶνας πραγματείας. Τὴν δὲ δωδεκαετῆ παρθένον ἐκείνην, τὴν τοῦ ἀρχισυναγώγου θυγατέρα, ἣν ἐπιστὰς ὁ Κύριος ἐκ νεκρῶν ἤγειρε, τύπον εἶναι διηγοῦνται τῆς Ἀχαμὼθ, ἣν 1ἐπεκταθεὶς ὁ Χριστὸς αὐτὸν LIB. I. i. 16. GR. I. i. 16. MASS. I. vili. 2. αὐτῶν ἐμόρφωσε, καὶ εἰς αἴσθησιν ἤγαγε τοῦ καταλιπόντος αὐτὴν φωτός. Ὅτι, δὲ αὐτῇ ἐπέφανεν ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐκτὸς οὔσης cf. § 7. τοῦ Πληρώματος, ἐν ἐκτρώματος μοίρα, τὸν Παῦλον λέγουσιν εἰρηκέναι ἐν 2τῇ adj. πρώτῃ πρὸς Κορινθίους· Ἔσχατον δὲ πάντων, ὡσπερεὶ τῷ ἐκτρώματι, ὤφθη κᾀμοί. Τήν τε μετὰ τῶν ἡλικιωτῶν τοῦ Σωτῆρος παρουσίαν πρὸς τὴν Ἀχαμὼθ, ὁμοίως cf. § 8. πεφανερωκέναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ ἐπιστολῇ, εἰπόντα· Δεῖ τὴν γυναῖκα 3κάλυμμα ἔχειν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς διὰ τοὺς ἀγγέλους. LIB. I. i. 16. GR. I. i. 16. MASS. I. vili. 2. Καὶ ὅτι ἥκοντος τοῦ Σωτῆρος πρὸς αὐτὴν, δἰ αἰδὼ κάλυμμα G. 37. ἐπέθετο ἡ Ἀχαμὼθ, Μωσέα πεποιηκέναι φανερὸν, κάλυμμα θέμενον ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ. Καὶ τὰ πάθν δὲ αὐτῆς, ἃ ἔπαθεν, ἐπισεσημειῶσθαι τὸν Κύριον φάσκουσιν ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ. Καὶ ἐν μὲν τῷ εἰπεῖν· Ὁ Θεός μου, ὁ Θεός μοι, M. 38. εἰς τί ἐγκατέλιπές με; μεμηνυκέναι αὐτὸν, ὅτι ἀπελείφθη ἀπὸ τοῦ φωτὸς ἡ Σοφία, καὶ ἐκωλύθη ὑπὸ τοῦ Ὅρου τῆς εἰς τοὔμπροσθεν ὁρμῆς· τὴν δὲ λύπην αὐτῆς, ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν· Περίλυπός ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή μου ἕως θανάτου del. ἕ. θ. · τὸν δὲ φόβον, ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν· Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, παρελθέτω ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ τὸ ποτήριον· καὶ τὴν ἀπορίαν δὲ ὡσαύτως, ἐν τῷ εἰρηκέναι· Καὶ τί εἴπω, 1οὐκ οἶδα. Τρία δὲ γένη ἀνθρώπων οὕτως δεδειχέναι διδάσκουσιν αὐτόν· τὸ μὲν ὑλικὸν, 2ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν τῷ ἐρωτήσαντι, Ἀκολουθήσω σοι; Οὐκ ἔχει ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου LIB. I. i. 16. GR. I. i. 16. MASS. I. vili. 3. ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλῖναι κλίνῃ · τὸ δὲ ψυχικὸν, ἐν τῷ εἰρηκέναι τῷ εἰπόντι, Ἀκολουθήσω σοι, ἐπίτρεψον δέ μοι πρῶτον ἀποτάξασθαι τοῖς ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ μου· Οὐδεὶς ἐπʼ ἄροτρον τὴν χεῖρα ἐπιβαλὼν, καὶ εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω βλέπων, εὔθετός ἐστιν ἐν τῇ βασιλεία εἰς τὴν β. τῶν οὐρανῶν. Τοῦτον γὰρ λέγουσι τὸν μέσον εἶναι. Κᾀκεῖνον δὲ ὡσαύτως τὸν τὰ πλεῖστα μέρη τῆς δικαιοσύνης ὁμολογήσαντα πεποιηκέναι, ἔπειτα μὴ θελήσαντα ἀκολουθῆσαι, ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ πλούτου ἡττηθέντα, πρὸς τὸ μὴ τέλειον γενέσθαι, καὶ τοῦτον τοῦ ψυχικοῦ γένους γεγονέναι θέλουσι. Τὸ, δὲ πνευματικὸν, ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν· Ἄφες τοὺς νεκροὺς θάψαι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν νεκρούς· σὺ δὲ πορευθεὶς διάγγελλε τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ ἐπὶ Ζακχαίου του τελώνου εἰπών· Σπεύσας κατάβηθι, ὅτι σήμερον ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου δεῖ με μείναι· τούτους γὰρ πνευματικοῦ γένους καταγγέλλουσι γεγονέναι. Καὶ τὴν τῆς ζύμης παραβολὴν, ἥν ἡ γυνὴ LIB. I. i. 16. GR. I. i. 16. MASS. I. viii. 3. ἐγκεκρυφέναι λέγεται εἰς ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία, τὰ τρία γένη δνλοῦν λέγουσι· γοναῖκα μὲν γὰρ τὴν Σοφίαν λέγεσθαι διδάσκουσιν· ἀλεύρου σάτα τὰ τρία, τὰ τρία γένη τῶν M. 30. ἀνθρώπων, πνευματικὸν, ψυχικὸν, χοϊκόν· ζύμην δὲ αὐτὸν τὸν Σωτῆρα εἰρῆσθαι διδάσκουσι. Καὶ τὸν Παῦλον διαῤῥήδην εἰρηκέναι χοϊκοὺς, ψυχικοὺς, πνευματικούς· ὅπου μὲν, Οἷος ὁ χοϊκὸς, τοιοῦτοι καὶ οἱ χοϊκοί· ὅπου δὲ, ψοχικὸς δὲ ἄνθρωπος G. 38. οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος1· ὅπου δὲ, Πνευματικὸς ἀνακρίνει πάντα. Τὸ, δὲ, ψυχικὸς οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος, ἐπὶ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ φασὶν εἰρῆσθαι, ὃν ψυχικὸν ὄντα 2μὴ ἐγνωκέναι μήτε τὴν μητέρα πνευματικὴν οὖσαν, μήτε τὸ σπέρμα αὐτῆς, μήτε τοὺς ἐν τῷ Πληρώματι Αἰῶνας. Ὅτι ἰδὼν ὅτι δὲ, ὧν ἤμελλε σώ ζεῖν ὁ Σωτὴρ, τούτων τὰς ἀπαρχὰς ἀνέλαβε, τὸν Παῦλον εἰρηκέναι· Καὶ ἢν ἡ ἀπαρχὴ ἁγία, καὶ τὸ φύραμα. Ἀπαρχὴν μὲν τὸ πνευματικὸν εἰρῆσθαι διδάσκοντες· φύραμα δὲ ἡμᾶς, τουτέστι τὴν ψυχικὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, ἧς τὸ φύραμα ἀνειληφέναι λέγουσιν αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ 1συνεσταλκέναι, LIB. I. i. 17. GR. I. i. 17. MASS. I. viii. 4. ἐπειδὴ ἦν αὐτὸς χύμη. 1.17. 17. Καὶ ὅτι ἐπλανήθη ἡ Ἀχαμὼθ ἐκτός τοῦ Πληρώτοῦ ματος, καὶ ἐμορφώθη ὑπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἀνεζητήθη ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος, μηνύειν αὐτὸν λέγουσιν ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν, αὐτὸν ἐληλυθέναι ἐπὶ τὸ πεπλανημένον suppl. πρόβατον . Πρόβατον μὲν γὰρ πεπλανημένον τὴν μητέρα αὐτῶν ἐξηγοῦνται λέγεσθαι, ἐξ ἧς τὴν ὧδε θέλουσιν ἐσπάρθαι Ἐκκλησίαν· πλάνην δὲ, τὴν ἐκτὸς Πληρώματος ἐν Int. πᾶσι τοῖς πάθεσι διατριθὴν, ἐξ ὧν γεγονέναι τὴν ὕλην ὑποτίθενται. Τὴν δὲ γυναῖκα τὴν σαροῦσαν τὴν οἰκίαν, καὶ εὑρίσκουσαν τὴν δραχμὴν, τὴν ἄνω Σοφίαν διηγοῦνται λέγεσθαι, ἥτις ἀπολέσασα cf. 3 and 13. τὴν Ἐνθόμησιν αὐτῆς, ὕστερον καθαρισθέντων πάντων διὰ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος παρουσίας εὑρίσκει αὐτήν· διὸ καὶ ταύτην 2ἀποκαθἱστασθαι κατʼ αὐτοὺς ἐντὸς πληρώματος. Συμεῶνα τὸν LIB. I. i. 17. GR. I. i. 17. MASS. I. viii. 4. εἰς τὰς ἀγκάλας λαβόντα τὸν Χριστὸν, καὶ εὐχαριστήσαντα M. 41. 1αὐτῷ, καὶ εἰπόντα· Νῦν ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου, δέσποτα, ματὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου ἐν εἰρήνῃ, τύπον εἶναι τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ λέγουσιν, ὡς ὃς ἐλθόντος τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἔμαθε τὴν μετάθεσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ηὐχαρίστησε τῷ Βυθῷ. Καὶ διὰ τῆς ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ κηρυσσομένης προφήτιδος, ἑπτὰ ἔτη μετὰ ἀνδρὸς ἐζηκυίας, τὸν δὲ λοιπὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον χήρας μενούσης, ἄχρις οὗ τὸν Σωτῆρα ἰδοῦσα ἐπέγνω αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐλάλει περὶ αὐτοῦ πᾶσι, φανερώτατα τὴν Ἀχαμὼθ μηνύεσθαι διορίζονται, ἥτις πρὸς ὀλίγον ἰδοῦσα τὸν Σωτῆρα μετὰ τῶν 3ἡλικιωτῶν αὐτοῦ, G. 39. τῷ λοιπῷ χρόνῳ παντὶ μένουσα ἐν τῇ μεσότητι προσεδέχετο LIB. I. i. 17. GR. I. i. 17. MASS. I. viii. 4. αὐτὸν, πότε πάλιν ἐλεύσεται καὶ ἀποκαταστήσει αὐτὴν τῇ αὐτῆς συζυγίᾳ. Καὶ τὸ ὄνομα δὲ αὐτῆς μεμηνύσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐν τῷ εἰρηκέναι· Καὶ ἐδικαιώθη ἡ σοφία ἀπὸ τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς· καὶ ὑπὰ Παύλου δὲ οὕτως· Σοφίαν δὲ λαλοῦμεν ἐν τοῖς τελείοις. Καὶ τὰς συζνγίας δὲ τὰς ἐντὸς πληρώματος τὸν Παῦλον εἰρηκέναι φάσκουσιν 1ἐπὶ ἑνὸς δείξαντα· περὶ γὰρ τῆς περὶ τὸν βίον συζυγίας γράφων ἔφη· Τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστὶν, ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν. 1.18. 18. Ἔτι τε l. δὲ Ἰωάννην τὸν μαθοτὴν τοῦ Κυρίου διδάσκουσι τὴν πρώτην ὀγδοάδα 2μεμηνυκέναι αὐταῖς λέξεσι, λέγοντες οὕτως· Ἰωάννης ὁ μαθητὴς τοῦ Κυρίου βουλόμενος LIB. I. i. 18. GR. I. i. 18. MASS. I. viii. 5. εἰπεῖν τὴν τῶν ὅλων γένεσιν, καθʼ ἣν τὰ πάντα προέβαλεν ὁ Πατὴρ, ἀρχήν τινα ὑποτίθεται τὸ πρῶτον γεννηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὃν ὃ δὴ καὶ Υἱὸν Μονογενῆ καὶ Θεὸν κέκληκεν, ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα ὁ Πατὴρ 1προέβαλε σπερματικῶς. Ὑπὸ δὲ τούτου M. 41. φησὶ τὸν Λόγον προβεβλῆσθαι, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τὴν ὅλην 2τῶν Αἰώνων οὐσίαν, ἣν αὐτὸς ὕστερον ἐμόρφωσεν ὁ Λόγος. Ἐπεὶ οὖν περὶ πρώτης γενέσεως λέγει, καλῶς ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς, τουτέστι τοῦ 3Θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ Λόγου, τὴν διδασκαλίαν ποιεῖται· λέγει δὲ οὕτως· Ἐν ἄρχῃ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος· οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. Πρότερον διαστείλας τὰ τρία, Θεὸν, καὶ Ἀρχὴν, καὶ Λόγον, πάλιν αὐτὰ ἑνοῖ, ἵνα καὶ τὴν προβολὴν ἑκατέρων LIB. I. i. 18. GR. I. i. 18. MASS. I. viii. 5. αὐτῶν δείξῃ, τοῦ τε Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Λόγου, καὶ τὴν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἅμα, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα ἕνωσιν. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἡ ἀρχὴ, ἐν ἀρχῇ δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἀρχῆς ὁ Λόγος. Καλῶς οὖν εἷπεν· Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος· ἦν γὰρ ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ· καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· καὶ γὰρ ἡ ἀρχή· καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος, ἀκολούθως· 1τὸ γὰρ ἐκ Θεοῦ γεννηθὲν, Θεός ἐστιν· οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· G. 40. ἔδειξε τὴν τῆς προβολῆς τάξιν· πάντα δἰ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο 2οὐδ᾿ ἕν· πᾶσι γὰρ τοῖς μετ᾿ αὐτὸν Αἰῶσι μορφῆς καὶ γενέσεως αἴτιος ὁ Λόγος ἐγένετο. Ἀλλὰ LIB. I. i. 18. GR. I. i. 18. MASS. I. viii. 5. ἐμήυνυσε· Τὰ μὲν γὰρ ὅλα, ἔφη, δἰ αὐτοῦ γεγενῆσθαι, 1τὴν δὲ ζωὴν ἐν αὐτῷ. Αὕτη οὖν ἡ ἐν αὐτῷ γενομένη οἰκειοτέρα ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτῷ τῶν δἰ αὐτοῦ γενομένων· σύνεστι γὰρ αὐτῷ, καὶ δἰ αὐτοῦ καρποφορεῖ· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐπιφέρει, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ 2φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, Ἄνθρωπον εἰπὼν ἄρτι, καὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ὁμωνύμως τῷ Ἀνθρώπῳ ἐμήνυσεν, ὅπως διὰ τοῦ ἑνὸς ὀνόματος M. 42. δηλώσῃ τὴν τῆς συζυγίας κοινωνίαν. Ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ Λόγου καὶ τῆς Ζωῆς Ἄνθρωπος γίνεται καὶ Ἐκκλησία. Φῶς δὲ εἶπε τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν Ζωὴν, διὰ τὸ πεφωτίσθαι αὐτοὺς ὑπʼ αὐτῆς, ὃ δή ἐστι μεμορφῶσθαι καὶ πεφανερῶσθαι. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος λέγει· Πᾶν γὰρ τὸ φανερούμενον φῶς ἐστιν. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ἐφανέρωσε καὶ ἐγέννησε τόν τε Ἄνθρωπον καὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ἡ Ζωὴ, φῶς εἰρῆσθαι εἴρηται αὐτῶν. Σαφῶς οὖν δεδήλωκεν ὁ Ἰωάννης διὰ τῶν λόγων τούτων, τά τε ἄλλα, καὶ τὴν τετράδα τὴν δευτέραν, Λόγον καὶ Ζωὴν, Ἄνθρωπον καὶ Ἐκκλησίαν. Ἀλλὰ μήν καὶ τήν πρώτην ἐμήνυσε τετράδα· διηγούμενος γὰρ περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος, καὶ λέγων πάντα τὰ ἐκτὸς τοῦ LIB. I. i. 18. GR. I. i. 18. MASS. I. viii. 5. πληρώματος δἰ αὐτοῦ μεμορφῶσθαι, καρπόν εἶναί φησιν αὐτὸν 1παντὸς τοῦ πληρώματος. Καὶ γὰρ φῶς εἴρηκεν αὐτὸν τὸ ἐν τῇ σκοτία φαινόμενον, καὶ μὴ καταληφθὲν ὑπʼ αὐτῆς, ἐπαιδὴ πάντα τὰ 2γενόμενα ἐκ τοῦ πάθους ἁρμόσας ἠγνοήθη ὑπ᾿ 3αὐτῆς. Καὶ οἱὸν δὲ, καὶ ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ζωὴν λέγει αὐτὸν καὶ λόγον σάρκα γενόμενον· οὗ τὴν δόξαν ἐθεασάμεθά, φησι, καὶ ἦν ἡ δόξα αὐτοῦ, 4οἵα ἦν ἡ τοῦ μονογενοῦς, ἡ ὑπὸ τοῦ G. 41. πατρὸς δοθεῖσα αὐτῷ, 5πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας. Λέγει LIB. I. i. 18. GR. I. i. 18. MASS. I. viii. 5. δὲ οὕτως· Καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ Πατρὸς, πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας. Ἀκριβῶς οὖν καὶ τὴν πρώτην ἐμήνυσε τετράδα· 1Πατέρα εἰπὼν, M. 43. καὶ Χάριν, καὶ τὸν Μονογενῆ, καὶ Ἀλήθειαν. Οὕτως ὁ Ἰωάννης περὶ τῆς πρώτης καὶ μητρός τῶν ὅλων Αἰώνων ὀγδοάδος εἴρηκε. Πατέρα γὰρ εἴρηκε, καὶ Χάριν, καὶ Μονογενῆ, καὶ Ἀλήθειαν, καὶ Λόγον, καὶ Ζωὴν, καὶ Ἄνθρωπον, καὶ 2. 1.19. 19. Ὁρᾷς, ἀγαπητὲ, τίν μέθοδον, ᾗ οἱ χρώμενοι φρεναπατοῦσιν ἑαυτοὺς, ἐπηρεάζοντες τὰς γραφὰς, τὸ πλάσμα αὐτῶν ἐξ αὐτῶν συνιστάνειν πειρώμενοι. Διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς αὐτὰς παρεθέμην αὐτῶν 1τὰς λέξεις, ἵα ἐξ αὐτῶν LIB. I. i. 19. GR. I. i. 19. MASS. I. ix. 1. κατανοήσῃς τὴν πανουργίαν τῆς μεθοδείας, καὶ τὴν πονηρίαν τῆς πλάνης. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ εἰ προέκειτο Ἰωάννῃ τὴν ἄνω ὀγδοάδα μηνύσειν, τὴν τάξιν ἂν τετηρήκει τῆς προβολῆς, καὶ f. 1. μηνύσσι. τὴν πρώτην τετράδα σεβασμιωτάτην οὖσαν, καθὼς λέγουσιν, ἐν πρώτοις ἂν τεθείκει τοῖς ὀνόμασι, καὶ οὕτως 2ἐπεζεύχθη τὴν δευτέραν, ἵνα διὰ τῆς τάξεως τῶν ὀνομάτων ἡ τάξις δειχθῇ τῆς ὀγδοάδος· καὶ οὐκ ἂν μετὰ τοσοῦτον διάστημα, ὡς ἐκλελησμένος, ἔπειτα ἀναμνησθεὶς, ἐπʼ ἐσχάτῳ πρώτης ἐμέμνητο τετράδος. Ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τὰς συζυγίας σημᾶναι θέλων, καὶ τὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας οὐκ ἂν παρέλιπεν ὄνομα· ἀλλʼ ἢ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν συζυγιῶν ἠρκέσθη τῇ τῶν ἀῤῥένων προσηγορίᾳ, ὁμοίως δυναμένων κᾀκείνων συνυπακούεσθαι, ἵνα τὴν ἑνότητα διὰ πάντων ᾖ πεφυλακώς· suppl. ἢ εἰ τῶν λοιπῶν τὰς συζύγους LIB. I. i. 19. GR. I. i. 19. MASS. I. ix. 1. κατέλεγε, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου ἂν μεμηνύκει σύζυγον, καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἀφῆκεν ἐκ μαντείας ὑμᾶς λαμβάνειν τοὔνομα αὐτῆς. Φανερὰ οὗν ἡ τῆς ἐξηγήσεως παραποίησις. Τοῦ γὰρ Ἰωάννου ἕνα Θεὸν παντοκράτορα, καὶ ἕνα μονογενῆ Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν κηρύσσοντος, δἰ οὗ τὰ πάντα γεγονέναι λέγει, τοῦτον υἱὸν M. 44. l. Λόγον Θεοῦ, τοῦτον Μονογενῆ, τοῦτον πάντων ποιητὴν, τοῦτον φῶς ἀληθινὸν φωτίζοντα πάντα ἄνθρωπον, τοῦτον κόσμου ποιητὴν, τοῦτον εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἐληλυθότα, τοῦτον αὐτὸν σάρκα γεγονότα, καὶ ἐσκηνωκότα ἐν ἡμίν· οὗτοι παρατρέποντες κατὰ τὸ πιθανὸν τὴν ἐξήγησιν, ἄλλον μὲν τὸν Μονογενῆ θέλουσιν εἶναι κατὰ τὴν προβολὴν, ὃν δὴ καὶ 2ἀρχὴν καλοῦσιν, ἄλλον δὲ τὸν Σωτῆρα γεγονέναι θέλουσι, καὶ ἄλλον τὸν Λόγον 3υἱὸν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς, καὶ ἄλλον τὸν Χριστὸν εἰς ἐπανόρθωσιν τοῦ πληρώματος προβεβλημένον· G. 42. καὶ ἓν ἕκαστον τῶν εἰρημένων ἄραντες ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας, καταχρησάμενοι τοῖς ὀνόμασιν, εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν ὑπόθεσιν μετήνεγκαν, ὥστε κατ᾿ αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς τοσούτοις τὸν Ἰωάννην τοῦ LIB. I. i. 19. GR. I. i. 19. MASS. I. ix. 2. Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μνείαν suppl. μὴ ἂν ποιεῖσθαι. Εἰ γὰρ Πατέρα εἴρηκε, καὶ Χάριν, καὶ Μονογενῆ, καὶ Ἀλήθειαν, καὶ Λόγον, καὶ Ζωὴν, καὶ Ἄνθρωπον, καὶ Ἐκκλησίαν, κατὰ τὴν ἐκείνων ὑπόθεσιν περὶ τῆς πρώτης ὀγδοάδος εἴρηκεν, ἐν ᾗ οὐδέπω Ἰησοῦς, οὐδέπω Χριστὸς ὁ τοῦ Ἰωάννου διδάσκαλος. Ὅτι δὲ οὐ περὶ τῶν συζογιῶν αὐτῶν ὁ Ἀπόστολος εἴρηκεν, ἀλλὰ περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου ὑμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὃν καὶ Λόγον οἶδε τοῦ Θεοῦ, αὐτὸς πεποίηκε φανερόν. Ἀνακεφαλαιούμενος γὰρ περὶ τοῦ εἰρημένου αὐτῷ 1ἄνω ἐν ἀρχῇ Λόγου, ἐπεξηγεῖται· Καὶ ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν. Κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐκείνων ὑπόθεσιν, οὐχ ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, ὅς γε οὐδὲ ἦλθέ ποτε ἐκτὸς Πληρώματος· ἀλλὰ ὁ τῆς 2οἰκονομίας μεταγενέστερος τοῦ Λόγου Σωτήρ. LIB. I. i. 20. GR. I. i. 20. MASS. I. ix. 3. 1.20. 20. Μάθετε οὖν ἀνόητοι, ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ὁ παθὼν ὑπὲρ M. 45. ἡμῶκ, ὁ κατασκυνώσας ἐν ἡμῖν, οὗτος αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλος τις τῶν Αἰώνων ὑπὲρ τῆς ὑμῶν αὐτῶν σωτηρίας σὰρξ ἐγένετο, εἰκὸς ἦν περὶ ἄλλου εἰρηκέναι τὸν Ἀπόστολον. Εἰ δὲ ὁ Λόγος ὁ τοῦ Πατρὸς ὁ καταβὰς, αὐτός ἐστι καὶ ὁ ἀναβὰς, 1ὁ τοῦ μόνου Θεοῦ μονογενὴς υἱὸς, κατά τὴν τοῦ Πατρὸς εὐδοκίαν σαρκωθεὶς ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπων, οὐ περὶ ἄλλου τινὸς, οὐδὲ περὶ ὀγδοάδος τὸν λόγον 2ἐμπεποίηται, ἀλλʼ ἢ περὶ τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ Λόγος κατʼ αὐτοὺς προηγουμένως σὰρξ γέγονε. Λέγουσι δὲ τὸν Σωτῆρα ἐνδύσασθαι 1σῶμα ψυχικὸν ἐκ τῆς οἰκονομίας κατεσκευασμένον LIB. I. i. 20. GR. I. i. 20. MASS. I. ix. 3. 2ἀῤῥήτῳ προνοίᾳ, πρὸς τὸ ὁρατὸν γενέσθαι, καὶ ψηλαφητόν. Σὰρξ δέ ἐστιν ἡ ἀρχαία ἐκ τοῦ χοῦ κατὰ τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἡ γεγονυῖα πλάσις ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἣν ἀληθῶς γεγονέναι τὸν Λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐμήνυσεν ὁ Ἰωάννης. Καὶ λέλυται αὐτῶν πρώτη καὶ ἀρχέγονος ὀγδοάς. Ἑνὸς γὰρ καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ δεικνυμένου Λόγου, καὶ Μονογενοῦς, καὶ Ζωῆς, καὶ Φωτὸς, καὶ Σωτῆρος, καὶ Χριστοῦ, καὶ Υἱοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τούτου αὐτοῦ σαρκωθέντος ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, λέλυται ἡ τῆς ὀγδοάδος σκηνοπηγία. G. 43 Ταύτης δὲ λελυμένης, διαπέπτωκεν αὐτῶν πᾶσα ἡ ὑπόθεσις, ἣν 4ψευδῶς ὀνειρώττοντες 5κατατρέχουσι τῶν γραφῶν, ἰδίαν ὑπόθεσιν ἀναπλασάμενοι. Ἔπειτα λέξεις καὶ ὀνόματα σποράδην κείμενα συλλέγοντες, μεταφέρουσι, καθὼς προειρήκαμεν, ἐκ τοῦ LIB. I. i. 20. GR. I. i. 20. MASS. I. ix. 4. κατὰ φύσιν εἰς τὸ παρὰ φύσιν· ὅμοια ποιοῦντες τοῖς ὑποθέσαις τὰς τυχούσας αὐτοῖς προβαλλομένοις, ἔπειτα πειρωμένοις ἐκ τῶν Ὁμήρου ποιημάτων 1μελετᾷν αὐτὰς, ὥστε τοὺς ἀπειροτέρους δοκεῖν ἐπʼ ἐκείνης τῆς ἐξ ὑπογυίου μεμελετημένης ὑποθέσεως Ὅμηρον τὰ ἔπη πεποιηκέναι, καὶ πολλοὺς συναρπάζεσθαι διὰ τῆς τῶν ἐπῶν συνθέτου ἀκολουθίας, μὴ ἄρα ταῦθʼ οὕτως Ὅμηρος εἴη πεποιηκώς. Ὡς ὁ τὸν Ἡρακλέα ὑπὸ M. 46. Εὐρυσθέως ἐπὶ τὸν ἐν τῷ Ἅδῃ κύνα πεμπόμενον 2διὰ τῶν Ὁμηρικῶν στίχων γράφων οὕτως· (οὐδὲν γὰρ κωλύει παραδείγματος χάριν ἐπιμνησθῆναι καὶ τούτων, ὁμοίας καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς οὔσης ἐπιχειρήσεως τοῖς ἀμφοτέροις.) od. κ΄. 76. Ὡε εἰπὼν, ἀπέπεμπε δόμων βαρέα στενάχοντα Od. Φ΄. 26. Φῶθʼ Ἡρακλῆα, μεγάλων ἐπιΐστορα ἔργων, 11 τ΄. 123. Εὐρυσθεὺς, Σθενέλοιο πάϊς Περσηϊάδαο Ἐξ Ἐρέβευς ἄξοντα κύνα στυγεροῦ Ἀΐδαο. LIB. I. i. 20. GR. I. i. 20. MASS. I. ix. 4. Βῆ δʼ ἴμεν, ὥστε λέων ὀρεσίτροφος ἀλκὶ πεποιὼς, Καρπαλίμως 1ἀνὰ ἄστυ· φίλοι δʼ 2ἀνά πάντες ἕποντο, Il. θ΄. 368. Od. ζ΄. 130. Il. ω΄. 327. Od. λ΄. 38. Il. ω΄. 328. \xa0Od. λ΄. 625. Il. β΄. 409. Νύμφαι τʼ ἠΐθεσί τε, πολύτλητοὶ τε γέροντες, 2Οἶετῤ ὀλοφυρόμενοι, ὡσεὶ θάνατόνδε κίοντα. Ἑρμείας δʼ 4ἀπέπεμπεν, ἰδέ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη· Ἤιδεε γὰρ κατὰ θυμὰν ἀδελφεὸν, ὡς ἐπονεῖτο. Τίς οὐκ ἂν τῶν ἀπανούργων συναρπαγείη ὑπὸ τῶν ἐπῶν τούτων, καὶ νομίσειεν οὕτως αὐτὰ Ὅμηρον ἐπὶ ταύτης τῆς ὑποθέσεως πεποιηκέναι; Ὁ δʼ ἔμπειρος τῆς Ὁμηρικῆς ὑποθέσεως ἐπιγνώσεται, suppl. μὲν τὰ ἔπη, τὴν δʼ ὑπόθεσιν οὐκ ἐπιγνώσεται, εἰδὼς ὅτι τὸ μέν τι αὐτῶν ἐστι περὶ Ὀδοσσέως εἰρημένον, τὸ δὲ περὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Ἡρακλέος, τὸ δὲ περὶ Πριάμου, τὸ δὲ περὶ Μενελάου καὶ Ἀγαμέμνονος. Ἄρας δὲ αὐτὰ, καὶ ἓν ἕκαστον ἀποδοὺς G. 44. τῇ 5ἰδίᾳ, ἐκποδὼν ποιήσει τὴν ὑπόθεσιν. Οὕτω δὲ καὶ ὁ LIB. I. i. 20. GR. I. i. 20. MASS. I. ix. 4. κανόνα τῆς ἀληθείας ἀκλινῆ ἐν ἑαυτῷ κατέχων, 1ὃν διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος εἵληφε, τὰ μὲν ἐκ τῶν γραφῶν ὀνόματα, καὶ M. 47. τὰς λέξεις, καὶ τὰς παραβολὰς ἐπιγνώσεται, τὴν δὲ βλάσφημον ὑπόθεσιν ταύτην αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐπιγνώσεται. Καὶ γὰρ εἰ τὰς ψηφῖδας γνωρίσει, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀλώπεκα ἀντὶ τῆς βασιλικῆς εἰκόνος οὐ παραδέξεται· ἓν ἕκαστον δὲ τῶν εἰρημένων ἀποδοὺς τῇ ἰδίᾳ τάξει, καὶ προσαρμόσας τῷ τῆς ἀληθείας σωματίῳ, γυμνώσει LIB. I. i. 20. GR. I. i. 20. MASS. I. ix. 5. καὶ ἀνυπόστατον ἐπιδείξει τὸ πλάσμα αὐτῶν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ τῇ σκηνῇ ταύτῃ λείπει ἡ 1ἀπολύτρωσις, ἵνα τις τὸν 2μῖμον αὐτὸν l. αὐτῶν 3περαιώσας τὸν ἀνασκευάζοντα λόγον ἐπενεγκεῖν, l. ἐπενέγκῃ, καλῶς ἔχειν ὑπελάβομεν ἐπιδείξαι πρότερον, ἐν οἶς οἱ πατέρες αὐτοὶ τοῦδε τοῦ 4μύθου διαφέρονται πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ὡς ἐκ διαφόρων πνευμάτων τῆς πλάνης ὄντες. Καὶ ἐκ τούτου γὰρ ἀκριβῶς συνιδεῖν ἔσται ἐστι, καὶ 5πρὸ τῆς ἀποδείξεως, βεβαίαν τὴν ὑπὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας κηρυσσομένην ἀλήθειαν, καὶ τὴν ὑπὸ τούτων παραπεποιημένην ψευδηγορίαν. '. None | 1.1.1. THEY maintain, then, that in the invisible and ineffable heights above there exists a certain perfect, pre-existent AEon, whom they call Proarche, Propator, and Bythus, and describe as being invisible and incomprehensible. Eternal and unbegotten, he remained throughout innumerable cycles of ages in profound serenity and quiescence. There existed along with him Ennoea, whom they also call Charis and Sige. At last this Bythus determined to send forth from himself the beginning of all things, and deposited this production (which he had resolved to bring forth) in his contemporary Sige, even as seed is deposited in the womb. She then, having received this seed, and becoming pregt, gave birth to Nous, who was both similar and equal to him who had produced him, and was alone capable of comprehending his father's greatness. This Nous they call also Monogenes, and Father, and the Beginning of all Things. Along with him was also produced Aletheia; and these four constituted the first and first-begotten Pythagorean Tetrad, which they also denominate the root of all things. For there are first Bythus and Sige, and then Nous and Aletheia. And Monogenes, perceiving for what purpose he had been produced, also himself sent forth Logos and Zoe, being the father of all those who were to come after him, and the beginning and fashioning of the entire Pleroma. By the conjunction of Logos and Zoo were brought forth Anthropos and Ecclesia; and thus was formed the first-begotten Ogdoad, the root and substance of all things, called among them by four names, viz., Bythus, and Nous, and Logos, and Anthropos. For each of these is masculo-feminine, as follows: Propator was united by a conjunction with his Ennoea; then Monogenes, that is Nous, with Aletheia; Logos with Zoe, and Anthropos with Ecclesia." '1.1. It is said that Thales of Miletus, one of the seven wise men, first attempted to frame a system of natural philosophy. This person said that some such thing as water is the generative principle of the universe, and its end - for that out of this, solidified and again dissolved, all things consist, and that all things are supported on it; from which also arise both earthquakes and changes of the winds and atmospheric movements, and that all things are both produced and are in a state of flux corresponding with the nature of the primary author of generation - and that the Deity is that which has neither beginning nor end. This person, having been occupied with an hypothesis and investigation concerning the stars, became the earliest author to the Greeks of this kind of learning. And he, looking towards heaven, alleging that he was carefully examining supernal objects, fell into a well; and a certain maid, by name Thratta, remarked of him derisively, that while intent on beholding things in heaven, he did not know, what was at his feet. And he lived about the time of Croesus. ' "1.2. But there was also, not far from these times, another philosophy which Pythagoras originated (who some say was a native of Samos), which they have denominated Italian, because that Pythagoras, flying from Polycrates the king of Samos, took up his residence in a city of Italy, and there passed the entire of his remaining years. And they who received in succession his doctrine, did not much differ from the same opinion. And this person, instituting an investigation concerning natural phenomena, combined together astronomy, and geometry, and music. And so he proclaimed that the Deity is a monad; and carefully acquainting himself with the nature of number, he affirmed that the world sings, and that its system corresponds with harmony, and he first resolved the motion of the seven stars into rhythm and melody. And being astonished at the management of the entire fabric, he required that at first his disciples should keep silence, as if persons coming into the world initiated in (the secrets of) the universe; next, when it seemed that they were sufficiently conversant with his mode of teaching his doctrine, and could forcibly philosophize concerning the stars and nature, then, considering them pure, he enjoins them to speak. This man distributed his pupils in two orders, and called the one esoteric, but the other exoteric. And to the former he confided more advanced doctrines, and to the latter a more moderate amount of instruction. And he also touched on magic - as they say - and himself discovered an art of physiogony, laying down as a basis certain numbers and measures, saying that they comprised the principle of arithmetical philosophy by composition after this manner. The first number became an originating principle, which is one, indefinable, incomprehensible, having in itself all numbers that, according to plurality, can go on ad infinitum. But the primary monad became a principle of numbers, according to substance. - which is a male monad, begetting after the manner of a parent all the rest of the numbers. Secondly, the duad is a female number, and the same also is by arithmeticians termed even. Thirdly, the triad is a male number. This also has been classified by arithmeticians under the denomination uneven. And in addition to all these is the tetrad, a female number; and the same also is called even, because it is female. Therefore all the numbers that have been derived from the genus are four; but number is the indefinite genus, from which was constituted, according to them, the perfect number, viz., the decade. For one, two, three, four, become ten, if its proper denomination be preserved essentially for each of the numbers. Pythagoras affirmed this to be a sacred quaternion, source of everlasting nature, having, as it were, roots in itself; and that from this number all the numbers receive their originating principle. For eleven, and twelve, and the rest, partake of the origin of existence from ten. of this decade, the perfect number, there are termed four divisions - namely, number, monad, square, (and) cube. And the connections and blendings of these are performed, according to nature, for the generation of growth completing the productive number. For when the square itself is multiplied into itself, a biquadratic is the result. But when the square is multiplied into the cube, the result is the product of a square and cube; and when the cube is multiplied into the cube, the product of two cubes is the result. So that all the numbers from which the production of existing (numbers) arises, are seven - namely, number, monad, square, cube, biquadratic, quadratic-cube, cubo-cube. This philosopher likewise said that the soul is immortal, and that it subsists in successive bodies. Wherefore he asserted that before the Trojan era he was Aethalides, and during the Trojan epoch Euphorbus, and subsequent to this Hermotimus of Samos, and after him Pyrrhus of Delos; fifth, Pythagoras. And Diodorus the Eretrian, and Aristoxenus the musician, assert that Pythagoras came to Zaratas the Chaldean, and that he explained to him that there are two original causes of things, father and mother, and that father is light, but mother darkness; and that of the light the parts are hot, dry, not heavy, light, swift; but of darkness, cold, moist, weighty, slow; and that out of all these, from female and male, the world consists. But the world, he says, is a musical harmony; wherefore, also, that the sun performs a circuit in accordance with harmony. And as regards the things that are produced from earth and the cosmical system, they maintain that Zaratas makes the following statements: that there are two demons, the one celestial and the other terrestrial; and that the terrestrial sends up a production from earth, and that this is water; and that the celestial is a fire, partaking of the nature of air, hot and cold. And he therefore affirms that none of these destroys or sullies the soul, for these constitute the substance of all things. And he is reported to have ordered his followers not to eat beans, because that Zaratas said that, at the origin and concretion of all things, when the earth was still undergoing its process of solidification, and that of putrefaction had set in, the bean was produced. And of this he mentions the following indication, that if any one, after having chewed a bean without the husk, places it opposite the sun for a certain period - for this immediately will aid in the result - it yields the smell of human seed. And he mentions also another clearer instance to be this: if, when the bean is blossoming, we take the bean and its flower, and deposit them in a jar, smear this over, and bury it in the ground, and after a few days uncover it, we shall see it wearing the appearance, first of a woman's pudendum, and after this, when closely examined, of the head of a child growing in along with it. This person, being burned along with his disciples in Croton, a town of Italy, perished. And this was a habit with him, whenever one repaired to him with a view of becoming his follower, (the candidate disciple was compelled) to sell his possessions, and lodge the money sealed with Pythagoras, and he continued in silence to undergo instruction, sometimes for three, but sometimes for five years. And again, on being released, he was permitted to associate with the rest, and remained as a disciple, and took his meals along with them; if otherwise, however, he received back his property, and was rejected. These persons, then, were styled Esoteric Pythagoreans, whereas the rest, Pythagoristae. Among his followers, however, who escaped the conflagration were Lysis and Archippus, and the servant of Pythagoras, Zamolxis, who also is said to have taught the Celtic Druids to cultivate the philosophy of Pythagoras. And they assert that Pythagoras learned from the Egyptians his system of numbers and measures; and I being struck by the plausible, fanciful, and not easily revealed wisdom of the priests, he himself likewise, in imitation of them, enjoined silence, and made his disciples lead a solitary life in underground chapels. " '1.3. But Empedocles, born after these, advanced likewise many statements respecting the nature of demons, to the effect that, being very numerous, they pass their time in managing earthly concerns. This person affirmed the originating principle of the universe to be discord and friendship, and that the intelligible fire of the monad is the Deity, and that all things consist of fire, and will be resolved into fire; with which opinion the Stoics likewise almost agree, expecting a conflagration. But most of all does he concur with the tenet of transition of souls from body to body, expressing himself thus:- For surely both youth and maid I was, And shrub, and bird, and fish, from ocean stray'd. This (philosopher) maintained the transmutation of all souls into any description of animal. For Pythagoras, the instructor of these (sages), asserted that himself had been Euphorbus, who sewed in the expedition against Ilium, alleging that he recognised his shield.The foregoing are the tenets of Empedocles. " '1.4.3. Now what follows from all this? No light tragedy comes out of it, as the fancy of every man among them pompously explains, one in one way, and another in another, from what kind of passion and from what element being derived its origin. They have good reason, as seems to me, why they should not feel inclined to teach these things to all in public, but only to such as are able to pay a high price for an acquaintance with such profound mysteries. For these doctrines are not at all similar to those of which our Lord said, "Freely ye have received, freely give." They are, on the contrary, abstruse, and portentous, and profound mysteries, to be got at only with great labour by such as are in love with falsehood. For who would not expend lull that he possessed, if only he might learn in return, that from the tears of the enthymesis of the AEon involved in passion, seas, and fountains, and rivers, and every liquid substance derived its origin; that light burst forth from her smile; and that from her perplexity and consternation the corporeal elements of the world had their formation?' "1.4. But Heraclitus, a natural philosopher of Ephesus, surrendered himself to universal grief, condemning the ignorance of the entire of life, and of all men; nay, commiserating the (very) existence of mortals, for he asserted that he himself knew everything, whereas the rest of mankind nothing. But he also advanced statements almost in concert with Empedocles, saying that the originating principle of all things is discord and friendship, and that the Deity is a fire endued with intelligence, and that all things are borne one upon another, and never are at a standstill; and just as Empedocles, he affirmed that the entire locality about us is full of evil things, and that these evil things reach as far as the moon, being extended from the quarter situated around the earth, and that they do not advance further, inasmuch as the entire space above the moon is more pure. So also it seemed to Heraclitus. After these arose also other natural philosophers, whose opinions we have not deemed it necessary to declare, (inasmuch as) they present no diversity to those already specified. Since, however, upon the whole, a not inconsiderable school has sprung (from thence), and many natural philosophers subsequently have arisen from them, each advancing different accounts of the nature of the universe, it seems also to us advisable, that, explaining the philosophy that has come down by succession from Pythagoras, we should recur to the opinions entertained by those living after the time of Thales, and that, furnishing a narrative of these, we should approach the consideration of the ethical and logical philosophy which Socrates and Aristotle originated, the former ethical, and the latter logical. 1.5. Anaximander, then, was the hearer of Thales. Anaximander was son of Praxiadas, and a native of Miletus. This man said that the originating principle of existing things is a certain constitution of the Infinite, out of which the heavens are generated, and the worlds therein; and that this principle is eternal and undecaying, and comprising all the worlds. And he speaks of time as something of limited generation, and subsistence, and destruction. This person declared the Infinite to be an originating principle and element of existing things, being the first to employ such a denomination of the originating principle. But, moreover, he asserted that there is an eternal motion, by the agency of which it happens that the heavens are generated; but that the earth is poised aloft, upheld by nothing, continuing (so) on account of its equal distance from all (the heavenly bodies); and that the figure of it is curved, circular, similar to a column of stone. And one of the surfaces we tread upon, but the other is opposite. And that the stars are a circle of fire, separated from the fire which is in the vicinity of the world, and encompassed by air. And that certain atmospheric exhalations arise in places where the stars shine; wherefore, also, when these exhalations are obstructed, that eclipses take place. And that the moon sometimes appears full and sometimes waning, according to the obstruction or opening of its (orbital) paths. But that the circle of the sun is twenty-seven times larger than the moon, and that the sun is situated in the highest (quarter of the firmament); whereas the orbs of the fixed stars in the lowest. And that animals are produced (in moisture ) by evaporation from the sun. And that man was, originally, similar to a different animal, that is, a fish. And that winds are caused by the separation of very rarified exhalations of the atmosphere, and by their motion after they have been condensed. And that rain arises from earth's giving back (the vapours which it receives) from the (clouds ) under the sun. And that there are flashes of lightning when the wind coming down severs the clouds. This person was born in the third year of the XLII . Olympiad. " '1.6.1. There being thus three kinds of substances, they declare of all that is material (which they also describe as being "on the left hand") that it must of necessity perish, inasmuch as it is incapable of receiving any afflatus of incorruption. As to every animal existence (which they also denominate "on the right hand"), they hold that, inasmuch as it is a mean between the spiritual and the material, it passes to the side to which inclination draws it. Spiritual substance, again, they describe as having been sent forth for this end, that, being here united with that which is animal, it might assume shape, the two elements being simultaneously subjected to the same discipline. And this they declare to be "the salt" and "the light of the world." For the animal substance had need of training by means of the outward senses; and on this account they affirm that the world was created, as well as that the Saviour came to the animal substance (which was possessed of free-will), that He might secure for it salvation. For they affirm that He received the first-fruits of those whom He was to save as follows, from Achamoth that which was spiritual, while He was invested by the Demiurge with the animal Christ, but was begirt by a special dispensation with a body endowed with an animal nature, yet constructed with unspeakable skill, so that it might be visible and tangible, and capable of enduring suffering. At the same time, they deny that He assumed anything material into His nature, since indeed matter is incapable of salvation. They further hold that the consummation of all things will take place when all that is spiritual has been formed and perfected by Gnosis (knowledge); and by this they mean spiritual men who have attained to the perfect knowledge of God, and been initiated into these mysteries by Achamoth. And they represent themselves to be these persons. 1.6.3. Wherefore also it comes to pass, that the "most perfect" among them addict themselves without fear to all those kinds of forbidden deeds of which the Scriptures assure us that "they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." For instance, they make no scruple about eating meats offered in sacrifice to idols, imagining that they can in this way contract no defilement. Then, again, at every heathen festival celebrated in honour of the idols, these men are the first to assemble; and to such a pitch do they go, that some of them do not even keep away from that bloody spectacle hateful both to God and men, in which gladiators either fight with wild beasts, or singly encounter one another. Others of them yield themselves up to the lusts of the flesh with the utmost greediness, maintaining that carnal things should be allowed to the carnal nature, while spiritual things are provided for the spiritual. Some of them, moreover, are in the habit of defiling those women to whom they have taught the above doctrine, as has frequently been confessed by those women who have been led astray by certain of them, on their returning to the Church of God, and acknowledging this along with the rest of their errors. Others of them, too, openly and without a blush, having become passionately attached to certain women, seduce them away from their husbands, and contract marriages of their own with them. Others of them, again, who pretend at first. to live in all modesty with them as with sisters, have in course of time been revealed in their true colours, when the sister has been found with child by her pretended brother. 1.6.4. And committing many other abominations and impieties, they run us down (who from the fear of God guard against sinning even in thought or word) as utterly contemptible and ignorant persons, while they highly exalt themselves, and claim to be perfect, and the elect seed. For they declare that we simply receive grace for use, wherefore also it will again be taken away from us; but that they themselves have grace as their own special possession, which has descended from above by means of an unspeakable and indescribable conjunction; and on this account more will be given them. They maintain, therefore, that in every way it is always necessary for them to practise the mystery of conjunction. And that they may persuade the thoughtless to believe this, they are in the habit of using these very words, "Whosoever being in this world does not so love a woman as to obtain possession of her, is not of the truth, nor shall attain to the truth. But whosoever being of this world has intercourse with woman, shall not attain to the truth, because he has so acted under the power of concupiscence." On this account, they tell us that it is necessary for us whom they call animal men, and describe as being of the world, to practise continence and good works, that by this means we may attain at length to the intermediate habitation, but that to them who are called "the spiritual and perfect" such a course of conduct is not at all necessary. For it is not conduct of any kind which leads into the Pleroma, but the seed sent forth thence in a feeble, immature state, and here brought to perfection. 1.6. But Anaximenes, who himself was also a native of Miletus, and son of Eurystratus, affirmed that the originating principle is infinite air, out of which are generated things existing, those which have existed, and those that will be, as well as gods and divine (entities), and that the rest arise from the offspring of this. But that there is such a species of air, when it is most even, which is imperceptible to vision, but capable of being manifested by cold and heat, and moisture and motion, and that it is continually in motion; for that whatsoever things undergo alteration, do not change if there is not motion. For that it presents a different appearance according as it is condensed and attenuated, for when it is dissolved into what is more attenuated that fire is produced, and that when it is moderately condensed again into air that a cloud is formed from the air by virtue of the contraction; but when condensed still more, water, (and) that when the condensation is carried still further, earth is formed; and when condensed to the very highest degree, stones. Wherefore, that the domit principles of generation are contraries - namely, heat and cold. And that the expanded earth is wafted along upon the air, and in like manner both sun and moon and the rest of the stars; for all things being of the nature of fire, are wafted about through the expanse of space, upon the air. And that the stars are produced from earth by reason of the mist which arises from this earth; and when this is attenuated, that fire is produced, and that the stars consist of the fire which is being borne aloft. But also that there are terrestrial natures in the region of the stars carried on along with them. And he says that the stars do not move under the earth, as some have supposed, but around the earth, just as a cap is turned round our head; and that the sun is hid, not by being under the earth, but because covered by the higher portions of the earth, and on account of the greater distance that he is from us. But that the stars do not emit heat on account of the length of distance; and that the winds are produced when the condensed air, becoming rarified, is borne on; and that when collected and thickened still further, clouds are generated, and thus a change made into water. And that hail is produced when the water borne down from the clouds becomes congealed; and that snow is generated when these very clouds, being more moist, acquire congelation; and that lightning is caused when the clouds are parted by force of the winds; for when these are sundered there is produced a brilliant and fiery flash. And that a rainbow is produced by reason of the rays of the sun failing on the collected air. And that an earthquake takes place when the earth is altered into a larger (bulk) by heat and cold. These indeed, then, were the opinions of Anaximenes. This (philosopher) flourished about the first year of the LVIII . Olympiad. 1.7. After this (thinker) comes Anaxagoras, son of Hegesibulus, a native of Clazomenae. This person affirmed the originating principle of the universe to be mind and matter; mind being the efficient cause, whereas matter that which was being formed. For all things coming into existence simultaneously, mind supervening introduced order. And material principles, he says, are infinite; even the smaller of these are infinite. And that all things partake of motion by being moved by mind, and that similar bodies coalesce. And that celestial bodies were arranged by orbicular motion. That, therefore, what was thick and moist, and dark and cold, and all things heavy, came together into the centre, from the solidification of which earth derived support; but that the things opposite to these - namely, heat and brilliancy, and dryness and lightness - hurried impetuously into the farther portion of the atmosphere. And that the earth is in figure plane; and that it continues suspended aloft, by reason of its magnitude, and by reason of there being no vacuum, and by reason of the air, which was most powerful, bearing along the wafted earth. But that among moist substances on earth, was the sea, and the waters in it; and when these evaporated (from the sun), or had settled under, that the ocean was formed in this manner, as well as from the rivers that from time to time flow into it. And that the rivers also derive support from the rains and from the actual waters in the earth; for that this is hollow, and contains water in its caverns. And that the Nile is inundated in summer, by reason of the waters carried down into it from the snows in northern (latitudes). And that the sun and moon and all the stars are fiery stones, that were rolled round by the rotation of the atmosphere. And that beneath the stars are sun and moon, and certain invisible bodies that are carried along with us; and that we have no perception of the heat of the stars, both on account of their being so far away, and on account of their distance from the earth; and further, they are not to the same degree hot as the sun, on account of their occupying a colder situation. And that the moon, being lower than the sun, is nearer us. And that the sun surpasses the Peloponnesus in size. And that the moon has not light of its own, but from the sun. But that the revolution of the stars takes place under the earth. And that the moon is eclipsed when the earth is interposed, and occasionally also those (stars) that are underneath the moon. And that the sun (is eclipsed) when, at the beginning of the month, the moon is interposed. And that the solstices are caused by both sun and moon being repulsed by the air. And that the moon is often turned, by its not being able to make head against the cold. This person was the first to frame definitions regarding eclipses and illuminations. And he affirmed that the moon is earthy, and has in it plains and ravines. And that the milky way is a reflection of the light of the stars which do not derive their radiance from the sun; and that the stars, coursing (the firmament) as shooting sparks, arise out of the motion of the pole. And that winds are caused when the atmosphere is rarified by the sun, and by those burning orbs that advance under the pole, and are borne from (it). And that thunder and lightning are caused by heat falling on the clouds. And that earthquakes are produced by the air above falling on that under the earth; for when this is moved, that the earth also, being wafted by it, is shaken. And that animals originally came into existence in moisture, and after this one from another; and that males are procreated when the seed secreted from the right parts adhered to the right parts of the womb, and that females are born when the contrary took place. This philosopher flourished in the first year of the LXXXVIII . Olympiad, at which time they say that Plato also was born. They maintain that Anaxagoras was likewise prescient. 1.8.1. Such, then, is their system, which neither the prophets announced, nor the Lord taught, nor the apostles delivered, but of which they boast that beyond all others they have a perfect knowledge. They gather their views from other sources than the Scriptures; and, to use a common proverb, they strive to weave ropes of sand, while they endeavour to adapt with an air of probability to their own peculiar assertions the parables of the Lord, the sayings of the prophets, and the words of the apostles, in order that their scheme may not seem altogether without support. In doing so, however, they disregard the order and the connection of the Scriptures, and so far as in them lies, dismember and destroy the truth. By transferring passages, and dressing them up anew, and making one thing out of another, they succeed in deluding many through their wicked art in adapting the oracles of the Lord to their opinions. Their manner of acting is just as if one, when a beautiful image of a king has been constructed by some skilful artist out of precious jewels, should then take this likeness of the man all to pieces, should rearrange the gems, and so fit them together as to make them into the form of a dog or of a fox, and even that but poorly executed; and should then maintain and declare that this was the beautiful image of the king which the skilful artist constructed, pointing to the jewels which had been admirably fitted together by the first artist to form the image of the king, but have been with bad effect transferred by the latter one to the shape of a dog, and by thus exhibiting the jewels, should deceive the ignorant who had no conception what a king's form was like, and persuade them that that miserable likeness of the fox was, in fact, the beautiful image of the king. In like manner do these persons patch together old wives' fables, and then endeavour, by violently drawing away from their proper connection, words, expressions, and parables whenever found, to adapt the oracles of God to their baseless fictions. We have already stated how far they proceed in this way with respect to the interior of the Pleroma." '1.8. Archelaus was by birth an Athenian, and son of Apollodorus. This person, similarly with Anaxagoras, asserted the mixture of matter, and enunciated his first principles in the same manner. This philosopher, however, held that there is inherent immediately in mind a certain mixture; and that the originating principle of motion is the mutual separation of heat and cold, and that the heat is moved, and that the cold remains at rest. And that the water, being dissolved, flows towards the centre, where the scorched air and earth are produced, of which the one is borne upwards and the other remains beneath. And that the earth is at rest, and that on this account it came into existence; and that it lies in the centre, being no part, so to speak, of the universe, delivered from the conflagration; and that from this, first in a state of ignition, is the nature of the stars, of which indeed the largest is the sun, and next to this the moon; and of the rest some less, but some greater. And he says that the heaven was inclined at an angle, and so that the sun diffused light over the earth, and made the atmosphere transparent, and the ground dry; for that at first it was a sea, inasmuch as it is lofty at the horizon and hollow in the middle. And he adduces, as an indication of the hollowness, that the sun does not rise and set to all at the same time, which ought to happen if the earth was even. And with regard to animals, he affirms that the earth, being originally fire in its lower part, where the heat and cold were intermingled, both the rest of animals made their appearance, numerous and dissimilar, all having the same food, being nourished from mud; and their existence was of short duration, but afterwards also generation from one another arose unto them; and men were separated from the rest (of the animal creation), and they appointed rulers, and laws, and arts, and cities, and the rest. And he asserts that mind is innate in all animals alike; for that each, according to the difference of their physical constitution, employed (mind), at one time slower, at another faster. Natural philosophy, then, continued from Thales until Archelaus. Socrates was the hearer of this (latter philosopher). There are, however, also very many others, introducing various opinions respecting both the divinity and the nature of the universe; and if we were disposed to adduce all the opinions of these, it would be necessary to compose a vast quantity of books. But, reminding the reader of those whom we especially ought - who are deserving of mention from their fame, and from being, so to speak, the leaders to those who have subsequently framed systems of philosophy, and from their supplying them with a starting-point towards such undertakings - let us hasten on our investigations towards what remains for consideration. ' "1.9.5. But since what may prove a finishing-stroke to this exhibition is wanting, so that any one, on following out their farce to the end, may then at once append an argument which shall overthrow it, we have judged it well to point out, first of all, in what respects the very fathers of this fable differ among themselves, as if they were inspired by different spirits of error. For this very fact forms an a priori proof that the truth proclaimed by the Church is immoveable, and that the theories of these men are but a tissue of falsehoods. 1.9. For Parmenides likewise supposes the universe to be one, both eternal and unbegotten, and of a spherical form. And neither did he escape the opinion of the great body (of speculators), affirming fire and earth to be the originating principles of the universe- the earth as matter, but the fire as cause, even an efficient one. He asserted that the world would be destroyed, but in what way he does not mention. The same (philosopher), however, affirmed the universe to be eternal, and not generated, and of spherical form and homogeneous, but not having a figure in itself, and immoveable and limited. 1.10.2. As I have already observed, the Church, having received this preaching and this faith, although scattered throughout the whole world, yet, as if occupying but one house, carefully preserves it. She also believes these points of doctrine just as if she had but one soul, and one and the same heart, and she proclaims them, and teaches them, and hands them down, with perfect harmony, as if she possessed only one mouth. For, although the languages of the world are dissimilar, yet the import of the tradition is one and the same. For the Churches which have been planted in Germany do not believe or hand down anything different, nor do those in Spain, nor those in Gaul, nor those in the East, nor those in Egypt, nor those in Libya, nor those which have been established in the central regions of the world. But as the sun, that creature of God, is one and the same throughout the whole world, so also the preaching of the truth shineth everywhere, and enlightens all men that are willing to come to a knowledge of the truth. Nor will any one of the rulers in the Churches, however highly gifted he may be in point of eloquence, teach doctrines different from these (for no one is greater than the Master); nor, on the other hand, will he who is deficient in power of expression inflict injury on the tradition. For the faith being ever one and the same, neither does one who is able at great length to discourse regarding it, make any addition to it, nor does one, who can say but little diminish it. 1.10. But Leucippus, an associate of Zeno, did not maintain the same opinion, but affirms things to be infinite, and always in motion, and that generation and change exist continuously. And he affirms plenitude and vacuum to be elements. And he asserts that worlds are produced when many bodies are congregated and flow together from the surrounding space to a common point, so that by mutual contact they made substances of the same figure and similar in form come into connection; and when thus intertwined, there are transmutations into other bodies, and that created things wax and wane through necessity. But what the nature of necessity is, (Parmenides) did not define. 1.11.1. Let us now look at the inconsistent opinions of those heretics (for there are some two or three of them), how they do not agree in treating the same points, but alike, in things and names, set forth opinions mutually discordant. The first of them, Valentinus, who adapted the principles of the heresy called "Gnostic" to the peculiar character of his own school, taught as follows: He maintained that there is a certain Dyad (twofold being), who is inexpressible by any name, of whom one part should be called Arrhetus (unspeakable), and the other Sige (silence). But of this Dyad a second was produced, one part of whom he names Pater, and the other Aletheia. From this Tetrad, again, arose Logos and Zoe, Anthropos and Ecclesia. These constitute the primary Ogdoad. He next states that from Logos and Zoe ten powers were produced, as we have before mentioned. But from Anthropos and Ecclesia proceeded twelve, one of which separating from the rest, and falling from its original condition, produced the rest of the universe. He also supposed two beings of the name of Horos, the one of whom has his place between Bythus and the rest of the Pleroma, and divides the created AEons from the uncreated Father, while the other separates their mother from the Pleroma. Christ also was not produced from the AEons within the Pleroma, but was brought forth by the mother who had been excluded from it, in virtue of her remembrance of better things, but not without a kind of shadow. He, indeed, as being masculine, having severed the shadow from himself, returned to the Pleroma; but his mother being left with the shadow, and deprived of her spiritual substance, brought forth another son, namely, the Demiurge, whom he also styles the supreme ruler of all those things which are subject to him. He also asserts that, along with the Demiurge, there was produced a left-hand power, in which particular he agrees with those falsely called Gnostics, of whom to we have yet to speak. Sometimes, again, he maintains that Jesus was produced from him who was separated from their mother, and united to the rest, that is, from Theletus, sometimes as springing from him who returned into the Pleroma, that is, from Christ; and at other times still as derived from Anthropos and Ecclesia. And he declares that the Holy Spirit was produced by Aletheia for the inspection and fructification of the AEons, by entering invisibly into them, and that, in this way, the AEons brought forth the plants of truth. 1.11. And Democritus was an acquaintance of Leucippus. Democritus, son of Damasippus, a native of Abdera, conferring with many gymnosophists among the Indians, and with priests in Egypt, and with astrologers and magi in Babylon, (propounded his system). Now he makes statements similarly with Leucippus concerning elements, viz. plenitude and vacuum, denominating plenitude entity, and vacuum nonentity; and this he asserted, since existing things are continually moved in the vacuum. And he maintained worlds to be infinite, and varying in bulk; and that in some there is neither sun nor moon, while in others that they are larger than with us, and with others more numerous. And that intervals between worlds are unequal; and that in one quarter of space (worlds) are more numerous, and in another less so; and that some of them increase in bulk, but that others attain their full size, while others dwindle away and that in one quarter they are coming into existence, while in another they are failing; and that they are destroyed by clashing one with another. And that some worlds are destitute of animals and plants, and every species of moisture. And that the earth of our world was created before that of the stars, and that the moon is underneath; next (to it) the sun; then the fixed stars. And that (neither) the planets nor these (fixed stars) possess an equal elevation. And that the world flourishes, until no longer it can receive anything from without. This (philosopher) turned all things into ridicule, as if all the concerns of humanity were deserving of laughter. 1.12. But Xenophanes, a native of Colophon, was son of Orthomenes. This man survived to the time of Cyrus. This (philosopher) first asserted that there is no possibility of comprehending anything, expressing himself thus:- For if for the most part of perfection man may speak, Yet he knows it not himself, and in all attains surmise. And he affirms that nothing is generated or perishes, or is moved; and that the universe, being one, is beyond change. But he says that the deity is eternal, and one and altogether homogeneous and limited, and of a spherical form, and endued with perception in all parts. And that the sun exists during each day from a conglomeration of small sparks, and that the earth is infinite, and is surrounded neither by an atmosphere nor by the heaven. And that there are infinite suns and moons, and that all things spring from earth. This man affirmed that the sea is salt, on account of the many mixtures that flow into it. Metrodorus, however, from the fact of its being filtered through earth, asserts that it is on account of this that it is made salt. And Xenophanes is of opinion that there had been a mixture of the earth with the sea, and that in process of time it was disengaged from the moisture, alleging that he could produce such proofs as the following: that in the midst of earth, and in mountains, shells are discovered; and also in Syracuse he affirms was found in the quarries the print of a fish and of seals, and in Paros an image of a laurel in the bottom of a stone, and in Melita parts of all sorts of marine animals. And he says that these were generated when all things originally were embedded in mud, and that an impression of them was dried in the mud, but that all men had perished when the earth, being precipitated into the sea, was converted into mud; then, again, that it originated generation, and that this overthrow occurred to all worlds. 1.13.2. Pretending to consecrate cups mixed with wine, and protracting to great length the word of invocation, he contrives to give them a purple and reddish colour, so that Charis, who is one of those that are superior to all things, should be thought to drop her own blood into that cup through means of his invocation, and that thus those who are present should be led to rejoice to taste of that cup, in order that, by so doing, the Charis, who is set forth by this magician, may also flow into them. Again, handing mixed cups to the women, he bids them consecrate these in his presence. When this has been done, he himself produces another cup of much larger size than that which the deluded woman has consecrated,) and pouting from the smaller one consecrated by the woman into that which has been brought forward by himself, he at the same time pronounces these words: "May that Chaffs who is before all things, and who transcends all knowledge and speech, fill thine inner man, and multiply in thee her own knowledge, by sowing the grain of mustard seed in thee as in good soil." Repeating certain other like words, and thus goading on the wretched woman to madness, he then appears a worker of wonders when the large cup is seen to have been filled out of the small one, so as even to overflow by what has been obtained from it. By accomplishing several other similar things, he has completely deceived many, and drawn them away after him. 1.13.3. It appears probable enough that this man possesses a demon as his familiar spirit, by means of whom he seems able to prophesy, and also enables as many as he counts worthy to be partakers of his Charis themselves to prophesy. He devotes himself especially to women, and those such as are well-bred, and elegantly attired, and of great wealth, whom he frequently seeks to draw after him, by addressing them in such seductive words as these: "I am eager to make thee a partaker of my Charis, since the Father of all doth continually behold thy angel before His face. Now the place of thy angel is among us: it behoves us to become one. Receive first from me and by me the gift of Chaffs. Adorn thyself as a bride who is expecting her bridegroom, that thou mayest be what I am, and I what thou art. Establish the germ of light in thy nuptial chamber. Receive from me a spouse, and become receptive of him, while thou art received by him. Behold Charis has descended upon thee; open thy mouth and prophesy." On the woman replying," I have never at any time prophesied, nor do I know how to prophesy;" then engaging, for the second time, in certain invocations, so as to astound his deluded victim, he says to her," Open thy mouth, speak whatsoever occurs to thee, and thou shalt prophesy." She then, vainly puffed up and elated by these words, and greatly excited in soul by the expectation that it is herself who is to prophesy, her heart beating violently from emotion, reaches the requisite pitch of audacity, and idly as well as impudently utters some nonsense as it happens. to occur to her, such as might be expected from one heated by an empty spirit. (Referring to this, one superior to me has observed, that the soul is both audacious and impudent when heated with empty air.) Henceforth she reckons herself a prophetess, and expresses her thanks to Marcus for having imparted to her of his own Chaffs. She then makes the effort to reward him, not only by the gift of her possessions (in which way he has collected a very large fortune), but also by yielding up to him her person, desiring in every way to be united to him, that she may become altogether one with him. 1.13.4. But already some of the most faithful women, possessed of the fear of God, and not being deceived (whom, nevertheless, he did his best to seduce like the rest by bidding them prophesy), abhorring and execrating him, have withdrawn from such a vile company of revellers. This they have done, as being well aware that the gift of prophecy is not conferred on men by Marcus, the magician, but that only those to whom God sends His grace from above possess the divinely-bestowed power of prophesying; and then they speak where and when God pleases, and not when Marcus orders them to do so. For that which commands is greater and of higher authority than that which is commanded, inasmuch as the former rules, while the latter is in a state of subjection. If, then, Marcus, or any one else, does command,--as these are accustomed continually at their feasts to play at drawing lots, and in accordance with the lot to command one another to prophesy, giving forth as oracles what is in harmony with their own desires,--it will follow that he who commands is greater and of higher authority than the prophetic spirit, though he is but a man, which is impossible. But such spirits as are commanded by these men, and speak when they desire it, are earthly and weak, audacious and impudent, sent forth by Satan for the seduction and perdition of those who do not hold fast that well- compacted faith which they received at first through the Church. 1.13.5. Moreover, that this Marcus compounds philters and love-potions, in order to insult the persons of some of these women, if not of all, those of them who have returned to the Church of God--a thing which frequently occurs--have acknowledged, confessing, too, that they have been defiled by him, and that they were filled with a burning passion towards him. A sad example of this occurred in the case of a certain Asiatic, one of our deacons, who had received him (Marcus) into his house. His wife, a woman of remarkable beauty, fell a victim both in mind and body to this magician, and, for a long time, travelled about with him. At last, when, with no small difficulty, the brethren had converted her, she spent her whole time in the exercise of public confession, weeping over and lamenting the defilement which she had received from this magician. 1.13.6. Some of his disciples, too, addicting themselves to the same practices, have deceived many silly women, and defiled them. They proclaim themselves as being "perfect," so that no one can be compared to them with respect to the immensity of their knowledge, nor even were you to mention Paul or Peter, or any other of the apostles. They assert that they themselves know more than all others, and that they alone have imbibed the greatness of the knowledge of that power which is unspeakable. They also maintain that they have attained to a height above all power, and that therefore they are free in every respect to act as they please, having no one to fear in anything. For they affirm, that because of the "Redemption" it has come to pass that they can neither be apprehended, nor even seen by the judge. But even if he should happen to lay hold upon them, then they might simply repeat these words, while standing in his presence along with the "Redemption:" "O thou, who sittest beside God, and the mystical, eternal Sige, thou through whom the angels (mightiness), who continually behold the face of the Father, having thee as their guide and introducer, do derive their forms from above, which she in the greatness of her daring inspiring with mind on account of the goodness of the Propator, produced us as their images, having her mind then intent upon the things above, as in a dream,--behold, the judge is at hand, and the crier orders me to make my defence. But do thou, as being acquainted with the affairs of both, present the cause of both of us to the judge, inasmuch as it is in reality but one cause." Now, as soon as the Mother hears these words, she puts the Homeric helmet of Pluto upon them, so that they may invisibly escape the judge. And then she immediately catches them up, conducts them into the bridal chamber, and hands them over to their consorts. 1.13. One Ecphantus, a native of Syracuse, affirmed that it is not possible to attain a true knowledge of things. He defines, however, as he thinks, primary bodies to be indivisible, and that there are three variations of these, viz., bulk, figure, capacity, from which are generated the objects of sense. But that there is a determinable multitude of these, and that this is infinite. And that bodies are moved neither by weight nor by impact, but by divine power, which he calls mind and soul; and that of this the world is a representation; wherefore also it has been made in the form of a sphere by divine power. And that the earth in the middle of the cosmical system is moved round its own centre towards the east. 1.14.1. This Marcus then, declaring that he alone was the matrix and receptacle of the Sige of Colorbasus, inasmuch as he was only-begotten, has brought to the birth in some such way as follows that which was committed to him of the defective Euthymesis. He declares that the infinitely exalted Tetrad descended upon him from the invisible and indescribable places in the form of a woman (for the world could not have borne it coming in its male form), and expounded to him alone its own nature, and the origin of all things, which it had never before revealed to any one either of gods or men. This was done in the following terms: When first the unoriginated, inconceivable Father, who is without material substance, and is neither male nor female, willed to bring forth that which is ineffable to Him, and to endow with form that which is invisible, He opened His mouth, and sent forth the Word similar to Himself, who, standing near, showed Him what He Himself was, inasmuch as He had been manifested in the form of that which was invisible. Moreover, the pronunciation of His name took place as follows:--He spoke the first word of it, which was the beginning of all the rest, and that utterance consisted of four letters. He added the second, and this also consisted of four letters. Next He uttered the third, and this again embraced ten letters. Finally, He pronounced the fourth, which was composed of twelve letters. Thus took place the enunciation of the whole name, consisting of thirty letters, and four distinct utterances. Each of these elements has its own peculiar letters, and character, and pronunciation, and forms, and images, and there is not one of them that perceives the shape of that utterance of which it is an element. Neither does any one know itself, nor is it acquainted with the pronunciation of its neighbour, but each one imagines that by its own utterance it does in fact name the whole. For while every one of them is a part of the whole, it imagines its own sound to be the whole name, and does not leave off sounding until, by its own utterance, it has reached the last letter of each of the elements. This teacher declares that the restitution of all things will take place, when all these, mixing into one letter, shall utter one and the same sound. He imagines that the emblem of this utterance is found in Amen, which we pronounce in concert. The diverse sounds (he adds) are those which give form to that AEon who is without material substance and unbegotten, and these, again, are the forms which the Lord has called angels, who continually behold the face of the Father. 1.14. Hippo, a native of Rhegium, asserted as originating principles, coldness, for instance water, and heat, for instance fire. And that fire, when produced by water, subdued the power of its generator, and formed the world. And the soul, he said, is sometimes brain, but sometimes water; for that also the seed is that which appears to us to arise out of moisture, from which, he says, the soul is produced. So far, then, we think we have sufficiently adduced (the opinions of) these; wherefore, inasmuch as we have adequately gone in review through the tenets of physical speculators, it seems to remain that we now turn to Socrates and Plato, who gave special preference to moral philosophy. 1.15. Socrates, then, was a hearer of Archelaus, the natural philosopher; and he, reverencing the rule, Know yourself, and having assembled a large school, had Plato (there), who was far superior to all his pupils. (Socrates) himself left no writings after him. Plato, however, taking notes of all his (lectures on) wisdom, established a school, combining together natural, ethical, (and) logical (philosophy). But the points Plato determined are these following. ' "1.16. Plato (lays down) that there are three originating principles of the universe, (namely) God, and matter, and exemplar; God as the Maker and Regulator of this universe, and the Being who exercises providence over it; but matter, as that which underlies all (phenomena), which (matter) he styles both receptive and a nurse, out of the arrangement of which proceeded the four elements of which the world consists; (I mean) fire, air, earth, water, from which all the rest of what are denominated concrete substances, as well as animals and plants, have been formed. And that the exemplar, which he likewise calls ideas, is the intelligence of the Deity, to which, as to an image in the soul, the Deity attending, fabricated all things. God, he says, is both incorporeal and shapeless, and comprehensible by wise men solely; whereas matter is body potentially, but with potentiality not as yet passing into action, for being itself without form and without quality, by assuming forms and qualities, it became body. That matter, therefore, is an originating principle, and coeval with the Deity, and that in this respect the world is uncreated. For (Plato) affirms that (the world) was made out of it. And that (the attribute of) imperishableness necessarily belongs to (literally follows) that which is uncreated. So far forth, however, as body is supposed to be compounded out of both many qualities and ideas, so far forth it is both created and perishable. But some of the followers of Plato mingled both of these, employing some such example as the following: That as a waggon can always continue undestroyed, though undergoing partial repairs from time to time, so that even the parts each in turn perish, yet itself remains always complete; so after this manner the world also, although in parts it perishes, yet the things that are removed, being repaired, and equivalents for them being introduced, it remains eternal. Some maintain that Plato asserts the Deity to be one, ingenerable and incorruptible, as he says in The Laws: God, therefore, as the ancient account has it, possesses both the beginning, and end, and middle of all things. Thus he shows God to be one, on account of His having pervaded all things. Others, however, maintain that Plato affirms the existence of many gods indefinitely, when he uses these words: God of gods, of whom I am both the Creator and Father. But others say that he speaks of a definite number of deities in the following passage: Therefore the mighty Jupiter, wheeling his swift chariot in heaven; and when he enumerates the offspring of the children of heaven and earth. But others assert that (Plato) constituted the gods as generable; and on account of their having been produced, that altogether they were subject to the necessity of corruption, but that on account of the will of God they are immortal, (maintaining this) in the passage already quoted, where, to the words, God of gods, of whom I am Creator and Father, he adds, indissoluble through the fiat of My will; so that if (God) were disposed that these should be dissolved, they would easily be dissolved. And he admits natures (such as those) of demons, and says that some of them are good, but others worthless. And some affirm that he states the soul to be uncreated and immortal, when he uses the following words, Every soul is immortal, for that which is always moved is immortal; and when he demonstrates that the soul is self-moved, and capable of originating motion. Others, however, (say that Plato asserted that the soul was) created, but rendered imperishable through the will of God. But some (will have it that he considered the soul) a composite (essence), and generable and corruptible; for even he supposes that there is a receptacle for it, and that it possesses a luminous body, but that everything generated involves a necessity of corruption. Those, however, who assert the immortality of the soul are especially strengthened in their opinion by those passages (in Plato's writings), where he says, that both there are judgments after death, and tribunals of justice in Hades, and that the virtuous (souls) receive a good reward, while the wicked (ones) suitable punishment. Some notwithstanding assert, that he also acknowledges a transition of souls from one body to another, and that different souls, those that were marked out for such a purpose, pass into different bodies, according to the desert of each, and that after certain definite periods they are sent up into this world to furnish once more a proof of their choice. Others, however, (do not admit this to be his doctrine, but will have it that Plato affirms that the souls) obtain a place according to the desert of each; and they employ as a testimony the saying of his, that some good men are with Jove, and that others are ranging abroad (through heaven) with other gods; whereas that others are involved in eternal punishments, as many as during this life have committed wicked and unjust deeds. And people affirm that Plato says, that some things are without a mean, that others have a mean, that others are a mean. (For example, that) waking and sleep, and such like, are conditions without an intermediate state; but that there are things that had means, for instance virtue and vice; and there are means (between extremes), for instance grey between white and black, or some other color. And they say, that he affirms that the things pertaining to the soul are absolutely alone good, but that the things pertaining to the body, and those external (to it), are not any longer absolutely good, but reputed blessings. And that frequently he names these means also, for that it is possible to use them both well and ill. Some virtues, therefore, he says, are extremes in regard of intrinsic worth, but in regard of their essential nature means, for nothing is more estimable than virtue. But whatever excels or falls short of these terminates in vice. For instance, he says that there are four virtues- prudence, temperance, justice, fortitude- and that on each of these is attendant two vices, according to excess and defect: for example, on prudence, recklessness according to defect, and knavery according to excess; and on temperance, licentiousness according to defect, stupidity according to excess; and on justice, foregoing a claim according to defect, unduly pressing it according to excess; and on fortitude, cowardice according to defect, foolhardiness according to excess. And that these virtues, when inherent in a man, render him perfect, and afford him happiness. And happiness, he says, is assimilation to the Deity, as far as this is possible; and that assimilation to God takes place when any one combines holiness and justice with prudence. For this he supposes the end of supreme wisdom and virtue. And he affirms that the virtues follow one another in turn, and are uniform, and are never antagonistic to each other; whereas that vices are multiform, and sometimes follow one the other, and sometimes are antagonistic to each other. He asserts that fate exists; not, to be sure, that all things are produced according to fate, but that there is even something in our power, as in the passages where he says, The fault is his who chooses, God is blameless; and the following law of Adrasteia. And thus some (contend for his upholding) a system of fate, whereas others one of free-will. He asserts, however, that sins are involuntary. For into what is most glorious of the things in our power, which is the soul, no one would (deliberately) admit what is vicious, that is, transgression, but that from ignorance and an erroneous conception of virtue, supposing that they were achieving something honourable, they pass into vice. And his doctrine on this point is most clear in The Republic, where he says, But, again, you presume to assert that vice is disgraceful and abhorred of God; how then, I may ask, would one choose such an evil thing? He, you reply, (would do so) who is worsted by pleasures. Therefore this also is involuntary, if to gain a victory be voluntary; so that, in every point of view, the committing an act of turpitude, reason proves to be involuntary. Some one, however, in opposition to this (Plato), advances the contrary statement, Why then are men punished if they sin involuntary? But he replies, that he himself also, as soon as possible, may be emancipated from vice, and undergo punishment. For that the undergoing punishment is not an evil, but a good thing, if it is likely to prove a purification of evils; and that the rest of mankind, hearing of it, may not transgress, but guard against such an error. (Plato, however, maintains) that the nature of evil is neither created by the Deity, nor possesses subsistence of itself, but that it derives existence from contrariety to what is good, and from attendance upon it, either by excess and defect, as we have previously affirmed concerning the virtues. Plato unquestionably then, as we have already stated, collecting together the three departments of universal philosophy, in this manner formed his speculative system. " "1.17. Aristotle, who was a pupil of this (Plato), reduced philosophy into an art, and was distinguished rather for his proficiency in logical science, supposing as the elements of all things substance and accident; that there is one substance underlying all things, but nine accidents - namely, quantity, quality, relation, where, when, possession, posture, action, passion; and that substance is of some such description as God, man, and each of the beings that can fall under a similar denomination. But in regard of accidents, quality is seen in, for instance, white, black; and quantity, for instance two cubits, three cubits; and relation, for instance father, son; and where, for instance at Athens, Megara; and when, for instance during the tenth Olympiad; and possession, for instance to have acquired; and action, for instance to write, and in general to evince any practical powers; and posture, for instance to lie down; and passion, for instance to be struck. He also supposes that some things have means, but that others are without means, as we have declared concerning Plato likewise. And in most points he is in agreement with Plato, except the opinion concerning soul. For Plato affirms it to be immortal, but Aristotle that it involves permanence; and after these things, that this also vanishes in the fifth body, which he supposes, along with the other four (elements) - viz., fire, and earth, and water, and air - to be a something more subtle (than these), of the nature of spirit. Plato therefore says, that the only really good things are those pertaining to the soul, and that they are sufficient for happiness; whereas Aristotle introduces a threefold classification of good things, and asserts that the wise man is not perfect, unless there are present to him both the good things of the body and those extrinsic to it. The former are beauty, strength, vigour of the senses, soundness; while the things extrinsic (to the body) are wealth, nobility, glory, power, peace, friendship. And the inner qualities of the soul he classifies, as it was the opinion of Plato, under prudence, temperance, justice, fortitude. This (philosopher) also affirms that evils arise according to an opposition of the things that are good, and that they exist beneath the quarter around the moon, but reach no farther beyond the moon; and that the soul of the entire world is immortal, and that the world itself is eternal, but that (the soul) in an individual, as we have before stated, vanishes (in the fifth body). This (speculator), then holding discussions in the Lyceum, drew up from time to time his system of philosophy; but Zeno (held his school) in the porch called Poecilé. And the followers of Zeno obtained their name from the place - that is, from Stoa- (i.e., a porch), being styled Stoics; whereas Aristotle's followers (were denominated) from their mode of employing themselves while teaching. For since they were accustomed walking about in the Lyceum to pursue their investigations, on this account they were called Peripatetics. These indeed, then, were the doctrines of Aristotle. " '1.18.4. As to the Duodecad, in connection with which the mystery of the passion of the defect occurred, from which passion they maintain that all things visible were framed, they assert that is to be found strikingly and manifestly everywhere in Scripture. For they declare that the twelve sons of Jacob, from whom also sprung twelve tribes,--the breastplate of the high priest, which bore twelve precious stones and twelve little bells,--the twelve stones which were placed by Moses at the foot of the mountain,--the same number which was placed by Joshua in the river, and again, on the other side, the bearers of the ark of the covet,--those stones which were set up by Elijah when the heifer was offered as a burnt-offering; the number, too, of the apostles; and, in fine, every event which embraces in it the number twelve,--set forth their Duodecad. And then the union of all these, which is called the Triacontad, they strenuously endeavour to demonstrate by the ark of Noah, the height of which was thirty cubits; by the case of Samuel, who assigned Saul the chief place among thirty guests; by David, when for thirty days he concealed himself in the field; by those who entered along with him into the cave; also by the fact that the length (height) of the holy tabernacle was thirty cubits; and if they meet with any other like numbers, they still apply these to their Triacontad. 1.18. The Stoics themselves also imparted growth to philosophy, in respect of a greater development of the art of syllogism, and included almost everything under definitions, both Chrysippus and Zeno being coincident in opinion on this point. And they likewise supposed God to be the one originating principle of all things, being a body of the utmost refinement, and that His providential care pervaded everything; and these speculators were positive about the existence of fate everywhere, employing some such example as the following: that just as a dog, supposing him attached to a car, if indeed he is disposed to follow, both is drawn, or follows voluntarily, making an exercise also of free power, in combination with necessity, that is, fate; but if he may not be disposed to follow, he will altogether be coerced to do so. And the same, of course, holds good in the case of men. For though not willing to follow, they will altogether be compelled to enter upon what has been decreed for them. (The Stoics), however, assert that the soul abides after death, but that it is a body, and that such is formed from the refrigeration of the surrounding atmosphere; wherefore, also, that it was called psyche (i.e., soul). And they acknowledge likewise, that there is a transition of souls from one body to another, that is, for those souls for whom this migration has been destined. And they accept the doctrine, that there will be a conflagration, a purification of this world, some say the entire of it, but others a portion, and that (the world) itself is undergoing partial destruction; and this all but corruption, and the generation from it of another world, they term purgation. And they assume the existence of all bodies, and that body does not pass through body, but that a refraction takes place, and that all things involve plenitude, and that there is no vacuum. The foregoing are the opinions of the Stoics also. 1.19. Epicurus, however, advanced an opinion almost contrary to all. He supposed, as originating principles of all things, atoms and vacuity. He considered vacuity as the place that would contain the things that will exist, and atoms the matter out of which all things could be formed; and that from the concourse of atoms both the Deity derived existence, and all the elements, and all things inherent in them, as well as animals and other (creatures); so that nothing was generated or existed, unless it be from atoms. And he affirmed that these atoms were composed of extremely small particles, in which there could not exist either a point or a sign, or any division; wherefore also he called them atoms. Acknowledging the Deity to be eternal and incorruptible, he says that God has providential care for nothing, and that there is no such thing at all as providence or fate, but that all things are made by chance. For that the Deity reposed in the intermundane spaces, (as they) are thus styled by him; for outside the world he determined that there is a certain habitation of God, denominated the intermundane spaces, and that the Deity surrendered Himself to pleasure, and took His ease in the midst of supreme happiness; and that neither has He any concerns of business, nor does He devote His attention to them. As a consequence on these opinions, he also propounded his theory concerning wise men, asserting that the end of wisdom is pleasure. Different persons, however, received the term pleasure in different acceptations; for some (among the Gentiles understood) the passions, but others the satisfaction resulting from virtue. And he concluded that the souls of men are dissolved along with their bodies, just as also they were produced along with them, for that they are blood, and that when this has gone forth or been altered, the entire man perishes; and in keeping with this tenet, (Epicurus maintained) that there are neither trials in Hades, nor tribunals of justice; so that whatsoever any one may commit in this life, that, provided he may escape detection, he is altogether beyond any liability of trial (for it in a future state). In this way, then, Epicurus also formed his opinions. ' "1.20.1. Besides the above misrepresentations, they adduce an unspeakable number of apocryphal and spurious writings, which they themselves have forged, to bewilder the minds of foolish men, and of such as are ignorant of the Scriptures of truth. Among other things, they bring forward that false and wicked story which relates that our Lord, when He was a boy learning His letters, on the teacher saying to Him, as is usual, "Pronounce Alpha," replied as He was bid, "Alpha." But when, again, the teacher bade Him say, "Beta," the Lord replied, "Do thou first tell me what Alpha is, and then I will tell thee what Beta is." This they expound as meaning that He alone knew the Unknown, which He revealed under its type Alpha. 1.20.3. But they adduce the following passage as the highest testimony, and, as it were, the very crown of their system:--"I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes. Even so, my Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knoweth the Father but the Son, or the Son but the Father, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him." In these words they affirm that He clearly showed that the Father of truth, conjured into existence by them, was known to no one before His advent. And they desire to construe the passage as if teaching that the Maker and Framer of the world was always known by all, while the Lord spoke these words concerning the Father unknown to all, whom they now proclaim.' "1.20. And another opinion of the philosophers was called that of the Academics, on account of those holding their discussions in the Academy, of whom the founder Pyrrho, from whom they were called Pyrrhonean philosophers, first introduced the notion of the incomprehensibility of all things, so as to (be ready to) attempt an argument on either side of a question, but not to assert anything for certain; for that there is nothing of things intelligible or sensible true, but that they appear to men to be so; and that all substance is in a state of flux and change, and never continues in the same (condition). Some followers, then, of the Academics say that one ought not to declare an opinion on the principle of anything, but simply making the attempt to give it up; whereas others subjoined the formulary not rather (this than that), saying that the fire is not rather fire than anything else. But they did not declare what this is, but what sort it is. 1.21.1. It happens that their tradition respecting redemption is invisible and incomprehensible, as being the mother of things which are incomprehensible and invisible; and on this account, since it is fluctuating, it is impossible simply and all at once to make known its nature, for every one of them hands it down just as his own inclination prompts. Thus there are as many schemes of "redemption" as there are teachers of these mystical opinions. And when we come to refute them, we shall show in its fitting-place, that this class of men have been instigated by Satan to a denial of that baptism which is regeneration to God, and thus to a renunciation of the whole Christian faith. 1.21.2. They maintain that those who have attained to perfect knowledge must of necessity be regenerated into that power which is above all. For it is otherwise impossible to find admittance within the Pleroma, since this regeneration it is which leads them down into the depths of Bythus. For the baptism instituted by the visible Jesus was for the remission of sins, but the redemption brought in by that Christ who descended upon Him, was for perfection; and they allege that the former is animal, but the latter spiritual. And the baptism of John was proclaimed with a view to repentance, but the redemption by Jesus was brought in for the sake of perfection. And to this He refers when He says, "And I have another baptism to be baptized with, and I hasten eagerly towards it." Moreover, they affirm that the Lord added this redemption to the sons of Zebedee, when their mother asked that they might sit, the one on His right hand, and the other on His left, in His kingdom, saying, "Can ye be baptized with the baptism which I shall be baptized with?" Paul, too, they declare, has often set forth, in express terms, the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; and this was the same which is handed down by them in so varied and discordant forms. 1.21.3. For some of them prepare a nuptial couch, and perform a sort of mystic rite (pronouncing certain expressions) with those who are being initiated, and affirm that it is a spiritual marriage which is celebrated by them, after the likeness of the conjunctions above. Others, again, lead them to a place where water is, and baptize them, with the utterance of these words, "Into the name of the unknown Father of the universe--into truth, the mother of all things--into Him who descended on Jesus--into union, and redemption, and communion with the powers." Others still repeat certain Hebrew words, in order the more thoroughly to bewilder those who are being initiated, as follows: "Basema, Chamosse, Baoenaora, Mistadia, Ruada, Kousta, Babaphor, Kalachthei." The interpretation of these terms runs thus: "I invoke that which is above every power of the Father, which is called light, and good Spirit, and life, because Thou hast reigned in the body." Others, again, set forth the redemption thus: The name which is hidden from every deity, and dominion, and truth which Jesus of Nazareth was clothed with in the lives of the light of Christ--of Christ, who lives by the Holy Ghost, for the angelic redemption. The name of restitution stands thus: Messia, Uphareg, Namempsoeman, Chaldoeaur, Mosomedoea, Acphranoe, Psaua, Jesus Nazaria. The interpretation of these words is as follows: "I do not divide the Spirit of Christ, neither the heart nor the supercelestial power which is merciful; may I enjoy Thy name, O Saviour of truth!" Such are words of the initiators; but he who is initiated, replies, "I am established, and I am redeemed; I redeem my soul from this age (world), and from all things connected with it in the name of Iao, who redeemed his own soul into redemption in Christ who liveth." Then the bystanders add these words, "Peace be to all on whom this name rests." After this they anoint the initiated person with balsam; for they assert that this unguent is a type of that sweet odour which is above all things. 1.21.4. But there are some of them who assert that it is superfluous to bring persons to the water, but mixing oil and water together, they place this mixture on the heads of those who are to be initiated, with the use of some such expressions as we have already mentioned. And this they maintain to be the redemption. They, too, are accustomed to anoint with balsam. Others, however, reject all these practices, and maintain that the mystery of the unspeakable and invisible power ought not to be performed by visible and corruptible creatures, nor should that of those beings who are inconceivable, and incorporeal, and beyond the reach of sense, be performed by such as are the objects of sense, and possessed of a body. These hold that the knowledge of the unspeakable Greatness is itself perfect redemption. For since both defect and passion flowed from ignorance, the whole substance of what was thus formed is destroyed by knowledge; and therefore knowledge is the redemption of the inner man. This, however, is not of a corporeal nature, for the body is corruptible; nor is it animal, since the animal soul is the fruit of a defect, and is, as it were, the abode of the spirit. The redemption must therefore be of a spiritual nature; for they affirm that the inner and spiritual man is redeemed by means of knowledge, and that they, having acquired the knowledge of all things, stand thenceforth in need of nothing else. This, then, is the true redemption. 1.21.5. Others still there are who continue to redeem persons even up to the moment of death, by placing on their heads oil and water, or the pre-mentioned ointment with water, using at the same time the above-named invocations, that the persons referred to may become incapable of being seized or seen by the principalities and powers, and that their inner man may ascend on high in an invisible manner, as if their body were left among created things in this world, while their soul is sent forward to the Demiurge. And they instruct them, on their reaching the principalities and powers, to make use of these words: "I am a son from the Father--the Father who had a pre-existence, and a son in Him who is pre-existent. I have come to behold all things, both those which belong to myself and others, although, strictly speaking, they do not belong to others, but to Achamoth, who is female in nature, and made these things for herself. For I derive being from Him who is pre-existent, and I come again to my own place whence I went forth." And they affirm that, by saying these things, he escapes from the powers. He then advances to the companions of the Demiurge, and thus addresses them:--"I am a vessel more precious than the female who formed you. If your mother is ignorant of her own descent, I know myself, and am aware whence I am, and I call upon the incorruptible Sophia, who is in the Father, and is the mother of your mother, who has no father, nor any male consort; but a female springing from a female formed you, while ignorant of her own mother, and imagining that she alone existed; but I call upon her mother." And they declare, that when the companions of the Demiurge hear these words, they are greatly agitated, and upbraid their origin and the race of their mother. But he goes into his own place, having thrown off his chain, that is, his animal nature. These, then, are the particulars which have reached us respecting "redemption." But since they differ so widely among themselves both as respects doctrine and tradition, and since those of them who are recognised as being most modern make it their effort daily to invent some new opinion, and to bring out what no one ever before thought of, it is a difficult matter to describe all their opinions. 1.21. But there is also with the Indians a sect composed of those philosophizing among the Brachmans. They spend a contented existence, abstain both from living creatures and all cooked food, being satisfied with fruits; and not gathering these from the trees, but carrying off those that have fallen to the earth. They subsist upon them, drinking the water of the river Tazabena. But they pass their life naked, affirming that the body has been constituted a covering to the soul by the Deity. These affirm that God is light, not such as one sees, nor such as the sun and fire; but to them the Deity is discourse, not that which finds expression in articulate sounds, but that of the knowledge through which the secret mysteries of nature are perceived by the wise. And this light which they say is discourse, their god, they assert that the Brachmans only know on account of their alone rejecting all vanity of opinion which is the soul's ultimate covering. These despise death, and always in their own peculiar language call God by the name which we have mentioned previously, and they send up hymns (to him). But neither are there women among them, nor do they beget children. But they who aim at a life similar to these, after they have crossed over to the country on the opposite side of the river, continue to reside there, returning no more; and these also are called Brachmans. But they do not pass their life similarly, for there are also in the place women, of whom those that dwell there are born, and in turn beget children. And this discourse which they name God they assert to be corporeal, and enveloped in a body outside himself, just as if one were wearing a sheep's skin, but that on divesting himself of body that he would appear clear to the eye. But the Brachmans say that there is a conflict in the body that surrounds them, (and they consider that the body is for them full of conflicts); in opposition to which, as if marshalled for battle against enemies, they contend, as we have already explained. And they say that all men are captive to their own congenital struggles, viz., sensuality and inchastity, gluttony, anger, joy, sorrow, concupiscence, and such like. And he who has reared a trophy over these, alone goes to God; wherefore the Brachmans deify Dandamis, to whom Alexander the Macedonian paid a visit, as one who had proved victorious in the bodily conflict. But they bear down on Calanus as having profanely withdrawn from their philosophy. But the Brachmans, putting off the body, like fishes jumping out of water into the pure air, behold the sun. " '1.22.1. The rule of truth which we hold, is, that there is one God Almighty, who made all things by His Word, and fashioned and formed, out of that which had no existence, all things which exist. Thus saith the Scripture, to that effect "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens established, and all the might of them, by the spirit of His mouth." And again, "All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made." There is no exception or deduction stated; but the Father made all things by Him, whether visible or invisible, objects of sense or of intelligence, temporal, on account of a certain character given them, or eternal; and these eternal things He did not make by angels, or by any powers separated from His Ennoea. For God needs none of all these things, but is He who, by His Word and Spirit, makes, and disposes, and governs all things, and commands all things into existence,--He who formed the world (for the world is of all),--He who fashioned man,--He who is the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, above whom there is no other God, nor initial principle, nor power, nor pleroma,--He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we shall prove. Holding, therefore, this rule, we shall easily show, notwithstanding the great variety and multitude of their opinions, that these men have deviated from the truth; for almost all the different sects of heretics admit that there is one God; but then, by their pernicious doctrines, they change this truth into error, even as the Gentiles do through idolatry,--thus proving themselves ungrateful to Him that created them. Moreover, they despise the workmanship of God, speaking against their own salvation, becoming their own bitterest accusers, and being false witnesses against themselves. Yet, reluctant as they may be, these men shall one day rise again in the flesh, to confess the power of Him who raises them from the dead; but they shall not be numbered among the righteous on account of their unbelief. 1.22.2. Since, therefore, it is a complex and multiform task to detect and convict all the heretics, and since our design is to reply to them all according to their special characters, we have judged it necessary, first of all, to give an account of their source and root, in order that, by getting a knowledge of their most exalted Bythus, thou mayest understand the nature of the tree which has produced such fruits. 1.22. And the Celtic Druids investigated to the very highest point the Pythagorean philosophy, after Zamolxis, by birth a Thracian, a servant of Pythagoras, became to them the originator of this discipline. Now after the death of Pythagoras, Zamolxis, repairing there, became to them the originator of this philosophy. The Celts esteem these as prophets and seers, on account of their foretelling to them certain (events), from calculations and numbers by the Pythagorean art; on the methods of which very art also we shall not keep silence, since also from these some have presumed to introduce heresies; but the Druids resort to magical rites likewise. 1.23.2. Now this Simon of Samaria, from whom all sorts of heresies derive their origin, formed his sect out of the following materials:--Having redeemed from slavery at Tyre, a city of Phoenicia, a certain woman named Helena, he was in the habit of carrying her about with him, declaring that this woman was the first conception of his mind, the mother of all, by whom, in the beginning, he conceived in his mind the thought of forming angels and archangels. For this Ennoea leaping forth from him, and comprehending the will of her father, descended to the lower regions of space, and generated angels and powers, by whom also he declared this word was formed. But after she had produced them, she was detained by them through motives of jealousy, because they were unwilling to be looked upon as the progeny of any other being. As to himself, they had no knowledge of him whatever; but his Ennoea was detained by those powers and angels who had been produced by her. She suffered all kinds of contumely from them, so that she could not return upwards to her father, but was even shut up in a human body, and for ages passed in succession from one female body to another, as from vessel to vessel. She was, for example, in that Helen on whose account the Trojan war was undertaken; for whose sake also Stesichorus was struck blind, because he had cursed her in his verses, but afterwards, repenting and writing what are called palinodes, in which he sang her praise, he was restored to sight. Thus she, passing from body to body, and suffering insults in every one of them, at last became a common prostitute; and she it was that was meant by the lost sheep. 1.23. But Hesiod the poet asserts himself also that he thus heard from the Muses concerning nature, and that the Muses are the daughters of Jupiter. For when for nine nights and days together, Jupiter, through excess of passion, had uninterruptedly lain with Mnemosyne, that Mnemosyne conceived in one womb those nine Muses, becoming pregt with one during each night. Having then summoned the nine Muses from Pieria, that is, Olympus, he exhorted them to undergo instruction:- How first both gods and earth were made, And rivers, and boundless deep, and ocean\'s surge, And glittering stars, and spacious heaven above; How they grasped the crown and shared the glory, And how at first they held the many-valed Olympus. These (truths), you Muses, tell me of, says he, From first, and next which of them first arose. Chaos, no doubt, the very first, arose; but next Wide-stretching Earth, ever the throne secure of all Immortals, who hold the peaks of white Olympus; And breezy Tartarus in wide earth\'s recess; And Love, who is most beauteous of the gods immortal, Chasing care away from all the gods and men, Quells in breasts the mind and counsel sage. But Erebus from Chaos and gloomy Night arose; And, in turn, from Night both Air and Day were born; But primal Earth, equal to self in truth begot The stormy sky to veil it round on every side, Ever to be for happy gods a throne secure. And forth she brought the towering hills, the pleasant haunts of nymphs who dwell throughout the woody heights. And also barren Sea begot the surge-tossed Flood, apart from luscious Love; but next Embracing Heaven, she Ocean bred with eddies deep, And Caeus, and Crius, and Hyperian, and Iapetus, And Thia, and Rhea, and Themis, and Mnemosyne, And gold-crowned Phoebe, and comely Tethys. But after these was born last fittest for bearing arms" (for service, as we say).}-- the wiley Cronus, Fiercest of sons; but he abhorred his blooming sire, And in turn the Cyclops bred, who owned a savage breast. And all the rest of the giants from Cronus, Hesiod enumerates, and somewhere afterwards that Jupiter was born of Rhea. All these, then, made the foregoing statements in their doctrine regarding both the nature and generation of the universe. But all, sinking below what is divine, busied themselves concerning the substance of existing things, being astonished at the magnitude of creation, and supposing that it constituted the Deity, each speculator selecting in preference a different portion of the world; failing, however, to discern the God and maker of these. The opinions, therefore, of those who have attempted to frame systems of philosophy among the Greeks, I consider that we have sufficiently explained; and from these the heretics, taking occasion, have endeavoured to establish the tenets that will be after a short time declared. It seems, however, expedient, that first explaining the mystical rites and whatever imaginary doctrines some have laboriously framed concerning the stars, or magnitudes, to declare these; for heretics likewise, taking occasion from them, are considered by the multitude to utter prodigies. Next in order we shall elucidate the feeble opinions advanced by these. Books 2 and 3 are wanting. < 1.24.5. Salvation belongs to the soul alone, for the body is by nature subject to corruption. He declares, too, that the prophecies were derived from those powers who were the makers of the world, but the law was specially given by their chief, who led the people out of the land of Egypt. He attaches no importance to the question regarding meats offered in sacrifice to idols, thinks them of no consequence, and makes use of them without any hesitation; he holds also the use of other things, and the practice of every kind of lust, a matter of perfect indifference. These men, moreover, practise magic; and use images, incantations, invocations, and every other kind of curious art. Coining also certain names as if they were those of the angels, they proclaim some of these as belonging to the first, and others to the second heaven; and then they strive to set forth the names, principles, angels, and powers of the three hundred and sixty-five imagined heavens. They also affirm that the barbarous name in which the Saviour ascended and descended, is Caulacau. 1.25.4. So unbridled is their madness, that they declare they have in their power all things which are irreligious and impious, and are at liberty to practise them; for they maintain that things are evil or good, simply in virtue of human opinion. They deem it necessary, therefore, that by means of transmigration from body to body, souls should have experience of every kind of life as well as every kind of action (unless, indeed, by a single incarnation, one may be able to prevent any need for others, by once for all, and with equal completeness, doing all those things which we dare not either speak or hear of, nay, which we must not even conceive in our thoughts, nor think credible, if any such thing is mooted among those persons who are our fellow-citizens), in order that, as their writings express it, their souls, having made trial of every kind of life, may, at their departure, not be wanting in any particular. It is necessary to insist upon this, lest, on account of some one thing being still wanting to their deliverance, they should be compelled once more to become incarnate. They affirm that for this reason Jesus spoke the following parable:--"Whilst thou art with thine adversary in the way, give all diligence, that thou mayest be delivered from him, lest he give thee up to the judge, and the judge surrender thee to the officer, and he cast thee into prison. Verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt not go out thence until thou pay the very last farthing." They also declare the "adversary" is one of those angels who are in the world, whom they call the Devil, maintaining that he was formed for this purpose, that he might lead those souls which have perished from the world to the Supreme Ruler. They describe him also as being chief among the makers of the world, and maintain that he delivers such souls as have been mentioned to another angel, who ministers to him, that he may shut them up in other bodies; for they declare that the body is "the prison." Again, they interpret these expressions, "Thou shalt not go out thence until thou pay the very last farthing," as meaning that no one can escape from the power of those angels who made the world, but that he must pass from body to body, until he has experience of every kind of action which can be practised in this world, and when nothing is longer wanting to him, then his liberated soul should soar upwards to that God who is above the angels, the makers of the world. In this way also all souls are saved, whether their own which, guarding against all delay, participate in all sorts of actions during one incarnation, or those, again, who, by passing from body to body, are set free, on fulfilling and accomplishing what is requisite in every form of life into which they are sent, so that at length they shall no longer be shut in the body. 1.27.1. Cerdo was one who took his system from the followers of Simon, and came to live at Rome in the time of Hyginus, who held the ninth place in the episcopal succession from the apostles downwards. He taught that the God proclaimed by the law and the prophets was not the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the former was known, but the latter unknown; while the one also was righteous, but the other benevolent. 1.27.2. Marcion of Pontus succeeded him, and developed his doctrine. In so doing, he advanced the most daring blasphemy against Him who is proclaimed as God by the law and the prophets, declaring Him to be the author of evils, to take delight in war, to be infirm of purpose, and even to be contrary to Himself. But Jesus being derived from that father who is above the God that made the world, and coming into Judaea in the times of Pontius Pilate the governor, who was the procurator of Tiberius Caesar, was manifested in the form of a man to those who were in Judaea, abolishing the prophets and the law, and all the works of that God who made the world, whom also he calls Cosmocrator. Besides this, he mutilates the Gospel which is according to Luke, removing all that is written respecting the generation of the Lord, and setting aside a great deal of the teaching of the Lord, in which the Lord is recorded as most dearly confessing that the Maker of this universe is His Father. He likewise persuaded his disciples that he himself was more worthy of credit than are those apostles who have handed down the Gospel to us, furnishing them not with the Gospel, but merely a fragment of it. In like manner, too, he dismembered the Epistles of Paul, removing all that is said by the apostle respecting that God who made the world, to the effect that He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and also those passages from the prophetical writings which the apostle quotes, in order to teach us that they announced beforehand the coming of the Lord. 1.27.4. But since this man is the only one who has dared openly to mutilate the Scriptures, and unblushingly above all others to inveigh against God, I purpose specially to refute him, convicting him out of his own writings; and, with the help of God, I shall overthrow him out of those discourses of the Lord and the apostles, which are of authority with him, and of which he makes use. At present, however, I have simply been led to mention him, that thou mightest know that all those who in any way corrupt the truth, and injuriously affect the preaching of the Church, are the disciples and successors of Simon Magus of Samaria. Although they do not confess the name of their master, in order all the more to seduce others, yet they do teach his doctrines. They set forth, indeed, the name of Christ Jesus as a sort of lure, but in various ways they introduce the impieties of Simon; and thus they destroy multitudes, wickedly disseminating their own doctrines by the use of a good name, and, through means of its sweetness and beauty, extending to their hearers the bitter and maligt poison of the serpent, the great author of apostasy?' "1.28.1. Many offshoots of numerous heresies have already been formed from those heretics we have described. This arises from the fact that numbers of them--indeed, we may say all--desire themselves to be teachers, and to break off from the particular heresy in which they have been involved. Forming one set of doctrines out of a totally different system of opinions, and then again others from others, they insist upon teaching something new, declaring themselves the inventors of any sort of opinion which they may have been able to call into existence. To give an example: Springing from Saturninus and Marcion, those who are called Encratites (self-controlled) preached against marriage, thus setting aside the original creation of God, and indirectly blaming Him who made the male and female for the propagation of the human race. Some of those reckoned among them have also introduced abstinence from animal food, thus proving themselves ungrateful to God, who formed all things. They deny, too, the salvation of him who was first created. It is but lately, however, that this opinion has been invented among them. A certain man named Tatian first introduced the blasphemy. He was a hearer of Justin's, and as long as he continued with him he expressed no such views; but after his martyrdom he separated from the Church, and, excited and puffed up by the thought of being a teacher, as if he were superior to others, he composed his own peculiar type of doctrine. He invented a system of certain invisible AEons, like the followers of Valentinus; while, like Marcion and Saturninus, he declared that marriage was nothing else than corruption and fornication. But his denial of Adam's salvation was an opinion due entirely to himself." "1.31.1. Others again declare that Cain derived his being from the Power above, and acknowledge that Esau, Korah, the Sodomites, and all such persons, are related to themselves. On this account, they add, they have been assailed by the Creator, yet no one of them has suffered injury. For Sophia was in the habit of carrying off that which belonged to her from them to herself. They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas. 1.31.2. I have also made a collection of their writings in which they advocate the abolition of the doings of Hystera. Moreover, they call this Hystera the creator of heaven and earth. They also hold, like Carpocrates, that men cannot be saved until they have gone through all kinds of experience. An angel, they maintain, attends them in every one of their sinful and abominable actions, and urges them to venture on audacity and incur pollution. Whatever may be the nature of the action, they declare that they do it in the name of the angel, saying, "O thou angel, I use thy work; O thou power, I accomplish thy operation !" And they maintain that this is "perfect knowledge," without shrinking to rush into such actions as it is not lawful even to name. 1.31.4. Wherefore I have laboured to bring forward, and make clearly manifest, the utterly ill-conditioned carcase of this miserable little fox. For there will not now be need of many words to overturn their system of doctrine, when it has been made manifest to all. It is as when, on a beast hiding itself in a wood, and by rushing forth from it is in the habit of destroying multitudes, one who beats round the wood and thoroughly explores it, so as to compel the animal to break cover, does not strive to capture it, seeing that it is truly a ferocious beast; but those present can then watch and avoid its assaults, and can cast darts at it from all sides, and wound it, and finally slay that destructive brute. So, in our case, since we have brought their hidden mysteries, which they keep in silence among themselves, to the light, it will not now be necessary to use many words in destroying their system of opinions. For it is now in thy power, and in the power of all thy associates, to familiarize yourselves with what has been said, to overthrow their wicked and undigested doctrines, and to set forth doctrines agreeable to the truth. Since then the case is so, I shall, according to promise, and as my ability serves, labour to overthrow them, by refuting them all in the following book. Even to give an account of them is a tedious affair, as thou seest. But I shall furnish means for overthrowing them, by meeting all their opinions in the order in which they have been described, that I may not only expose the wild beast to view, but may inflict wounds upon it from every side. 2.14.5. Moreover, as to their saying that the Saviour was formed out of all the AEons, by every one of them depositing, so to speak, in Him his own special flower, they bring forward nothing new that may not be found in the Pandora of Hesiod. For what he says respecting her, these men insinuate concerning the Saviour, bringing Him before us as Pandoros (All-gifted), as if each of the AEons had bestowed on Him what He possessed in the greatest perfection. Again, their opinion as to the indifference of eating of meats and other actions, and as to their thinking that, from the nobility of their nature, they can in no degree at all contract pollution, whatever they eat or perform, they have derived it from the Cynics, since they do in fact belong to the same society as do these philosophers. They also strive to transfer to the treatment of matters of faith that hairsplitting and subtle mode of handling questions which is, in fact, a copying of Aristotle. 2.14.8. Thus far, then, by means of ascribing to their AEons human feelings, and by the fact that they largely coincide in their language with many of those who are ignorant of God, they have been seen plausibly drawing a certain number away from the truth. They lead them on by the use of those expressions with which they have been familiar, to that sort of discourse which treats of all things, setting forth the production of the Word of God, and of Zoe, and of Nous, and bringing into the world, as it were, the successive emanations of the Deity. The views, again, which they propound, without either plausibility or parade, are simply lies from beginning to end. Just as those who, in order to lure and capture any kind of animals, place their accustomed food before them, gradually drawing them on by means of the familiar aliment, until at length they seize it, but, when they have taken them captive, they subject them to the bitterest of bendage, and drag them along with violence whithersoever they please; so also do these men gradually and gently persuading others, by means of their plausible speeches, to accept of the emission which has been mentioned, then bring forward things which are not consistent, and forms of the remaining emissions which are not such as might have been expected. They declare, for instance, that ten AEons were sent forth by Logos and Zoe, while from Anthropos and Ecclesia there proceeded twelve, although they have neither proof, nor testimony, nor probability, nor anything whatever of such a nature to support these assertions; and with equal folly and audacity do they wish it to be believed that from Logos and Zoe, being AEons, were sent forth Bythus and Mixis, Ageratos and Henosis, Autophyes and Hedone, Acinetos and Syncrasis, Monogenes and Macaria. Moreover, as they affirm, there were sent forth, in a similar way, from Anthropos and Ecclesia, being AEons, Paracletas and Pistis, Patricos and Elpis, Metricos and Agape, Ainos and Synesis, Ecclesiasticus and Macariotes, Theletos and Sophia. 2.15.3. The account which we give of creation is one harmonious with that regular order of things prevailing in the world, for this scheme of ours is adapted to the things which have actually been made; but it is a matter of necessity that they, being unable to assign any reason belonging to the things themselves, with regard to those beings that existed before creation, and were perfected by themselves, should fall into the greatest perplexity. For, as to the points on which they interrogate us as knowing nothing of creation, they themselves, when questioned in turn respecting the Pleroma, either make mention of mere human feelings, or have recourse to that sort of speech which bears only upon that harmony observable in creation, improperly giving us replies concerning things which are secondary, and not concerning those which, as they maintain, are primary. For we do not question them concerning that harmony which belongs to creation, nor concerning human feelings; but because they must acknowledge, as to their octiform, deciform, and duodeciform Pleroma (the image of which they declare creation to be), that their Father formed it of that figure vainly and thoughtlessly, and must ascribe to Him deformity, if He made anything without a reason. Or, again, if they declare that the Pleroma was so produced in accordance with the foresight of the Father, for the sake of creation, as if He had thus symmetrically arranged its very essence, then it follows that the Pleroma can no longer be regarded as having been formed on its own account, but for the sake of that creation which was to be its image as possessing its likeness (just as the clay model is not moulded for its own sake, but for the sake of the statue in brass, or gold, or silver about to be formed), then creation will have greater honour than the Pleroma, if, for its sake, those things above were produced. 2.27.1. A sound mind, and one which does not expose its possessor to danger, and is devoted to piety and the love of truth, will eagerly meditate upon those things which God has placed within the power of mankind, and has subjected to our knowledge, and will make advancement in acquaintance with them, rendering the knowledge of them easy to him by means of daily study. These things are such as fall plainly under our observation, and are clearly and unambiguously in express terms set forth in the Sacred Scriptures. And therefore the parables ought not to be adapted to ambiguous expressions. For, if this be not done, both he who explains them will do so without danger, and the parables will receive a like interpretation from all, and the body of truth remains entire, with a harmonious adaptation of its members, and without any collision of its several parts. But to apply expressions which are not clear or evident to interpretations of the parables, such as every one discovers for himself as inclination leads him, is absurd. For in this way no one will possess the rule of truth; but in accordance with the number of persons who explain the parables will be found the various systems of truth, in mutual opposition to each other, and setting forth antagonistic doctrines, like the questions current among the Gentile philosophers. 2.28.4. For consider, all ye who invent such opinions, since the Father Himself is alone called God, who has a real existence, but whom ye style the Demiurge; since, moreover, the Scriptures acknowledge Him alone as God; and yet again, since the Lord confesses Him alone as His own Father, and knows no other, as I shall show from His very words,-- when ye style this very Being the fruit of defect, and the offspring of ignorance, and describe Him as being ignorant of those things which are above Him, with the various other allegations which you make regarding Him,--consider the terrible blasphemy ye are thus guilty of against Him who truly is God. Ye seem to affirm gravely and honestly enough that ye believe in God; but then, as ye are utterly unable to reveal any other God, ye declare this very Being in whom ye profess to believe, the fruit of defect and the offspring of ignorance. Now this blindness and foolish talking flow to you from the fact that ye reserve nothing for God, but ye wish to proclaim the nativity and production both of God Himself, of His Ennoea, of His Logos, and Life, and Christ; and ye form the idea of these from no other than a mere human experience; not understanding, as I said before, that it is possible, in the case of man, who is a compound being, to speak in this way of the mind of man and the thought of man; and to say that thought (ennoea) springs from mind (sensus), intention (enthymesis) again from thought, and word (logos) from intention (but which logos? for there is among the Greeks one logos which is the principle that thinks, and another which is the instrument by means of which thought is expressed); and to say that a man sometimes is at rest and silent, while at other times he speaks and is active. But since God is all mind, all reason, all active spirit, all light, and always exists one and the same, as it is both beneficial for us to think of God, and as we learn regarding Him from the Scriptures, such feelings and divisions of operation cannot fittingly be ascribed to Him. For our tongue, as being carnal, is not sufficient to minister to the rapidity of the human mind, inasmuch as that is of a spiritual nature, for which reason our word is restrained within us, and is not at once expressed as it has been conceived by the mind, but is uttered by successive efforts, just as the tongue is able to serve it. 2.28.7. But we shall not be wrong if we affirm the same thing also concerning the substance of matter, that God produced it. For we have learned from the Scriptures that God holds the supremacy over all things. But whence or in what way He produced it, neither has Scripture anywhere declared; nor does it become us to conjecture, so as, in accordance with our own opinions, to form endless conjectures concerning God, but we should leave such knowledge in the hands of God Himself. In like manner, also, we must leave the cause why, while all things were made by God, certain of His creatures sinned and revolted from a state of submission to God, and others, indeed the great majority, persevered, and do still persevere, in willing subjection to Him who formed them, and also of what nature those are who sinned, and of what nature those who persevere,--we must, I say, leave the cause of these things to God and His Word, to whom alone He said, "Sit at my right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool." But as for us, we still dwell upon the earth, and have not yet sat down upon His throne. For although the Spirit of the Saviour that is in Him "searcheth all things, even the deep things of God," yet as to us "there are diversities of gifts, differences of administrations, and diversities of operations;" and we, while upon the earth, as Paul also declares, "know in part, and prophesy in part." Since, therefore, we know but in part, we ought to leave all sorts of difficult questions in the hands of Him who in some measure, and that only, bestows grace on us. That eternal fire, for instance, is prepared for sinners, both the Lord has plainly declared, and the rest of the Scriptures demonstrate. And that God fore-knew that this would happen, the Scriptures do in like manner demonstrate, since He prepared eternal fire from the beginning for those who were afterwards to transgress His commandments; but the cause itself of the nature of such transgressors neither has any Scripture informed us, nor has an apostle told us, nor has the Lord taught us. It becomes us, therefore, to leave the knowledge of this matter to God, even as the Lord does of the day and hour of judgment, and not to rush to such an extreme of danger, that we will leave nothing in the hands of God, even though we have received only a measure of grace from Him in this world. But when we investigate points which are above us, and with respect to which we cannot reach satisfaction, it is absurd that we should display such an extreme of presumption as to lay open God, and things which are not yet discovered, as if already we had found out, by the vain talk about emissions, God Himself, the Creator of all things, and to assert that He derived His substance from apostasy and ignorance, so as to frame an impious hypothesis in opposition to God. 2.28.9. But if any lover of strife contradict what I have said, and also what the apostle affirms, that "we know in part, and prophesy in part," and imagine that he has acquired not a partial, but a universal, knowledge of all that exists,--being such an one as Valentinus, or Ptolemaeus, or Basilides, or any other of those who maintain that they have searched out the deep things of God,--let him not (arraying himself in vainglory) boast that he has acquired greater knowledge than others with respect to those things which are invisible, or cannot be placed under our observation; but let him, by making diligent inquiry, and obtaining information from the Father, tell us the reasons (which we know not) of those things which are in this world,--as, for instance, the number of hairs on his own head, and the sparrows which are captured day by day, and such other points with which we are not previously acquainted,--so that we may credit him also with respect to more important points. But if those who are perfect do not yet understand the very things in their hands, and at their feet, and before their eyes, and on the earth, and especially the rule followed with respect to the hairs of their head, how can we believe them regarding things spiritual, and super-celestial, and those which, with a vain confidence, they assert to be above God? So much, then, I have said concerning numbers, and names, and syllables, and questions respecting such things as are above our comprehension, and concerning their improper expositions of the parables: I add no more on these points, since thou thyself mayest enlarge upon them. 2.30.9. Justly, therefore, do we convict them of having departed far and wide from the truth. For if the Saviour formed the things which have been made, by means of him (the Demiurge), he is proved in that case not to be inferior but superior to them, since he is found to have been the former even of themselves; for they, too, have a place among created things. How, then, can it be argued that these men indeed are spiritual, but that he by whom they were created is of an animal nature? Or, again, if (which is indeed the only true supposition, as I have shown by numerous arguments of the very clearest nature) He (the Creator) made all things freely, and by His own power, and arranged and finished them, and His will is the substance of all things, then He is discovered to be the one only God who created all things, who alone is Omnipotent, and who is the only Father rounding and forming all things, visible and invisible, such as may be perceived by our senses and such as cannot, heavenly and earthly, "by the word of His power;" and He has fitted and arranged all things by His wisdom, while He contains all things, but He Himself can be contained by no one: He is the Former, He the Builder, He the Discoverer, He the Creator, He the Lord of all; and there is no one besides Him, or above Him, neither has He any mother, as they falsely ascribe to Him; nor is there a second God, as Marcion has imagined; nor is there a Pleroma of thirty Aeons, which has been shown a vain supposition; nor is there any such being as Bythus or Proarche; nor are there a series of heavens; nor is there a virginal light, nor an unnameable Aeon, nor, in fact, any one of those things which are madly dreamt of by these, and by all the heretics. But there is one only God, the Creator--He who is above every Principality, and Power, and Dominion, and Virtue: He is Father, He is God, He the Founder, He the Maker, He the Creator, who made those things by Himself, that is, through His Word and His Wisdom--heaven and earth, and the seas, and all things that are in them: He is just; He is good; He it is who formed man, who planted paradise, who made the world, who gave rise to the flood, who saved Noah; He is the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of the living: He it is whom the law proclaims, whom the prophets preach, whom Christ reveals, whom the apostles make known s to us, and in whom the Church believes. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: through His Word, who is His Son, through Him He is revealed and manifested to all to whom He is revealed; for those only know Him to whom the Son has revealed Him. But the Son, eternally co-existing with the Father, from of old, yea, from the beginning, always reveals the Father to Angels, Archangels, Powers, Virtues, and all to whom He wills that God should be revealed. 2.32.4. If, however, they maintain that the Lord, too, performed such works simply in appearance, we shall refer them to the prophetical writings, and prove from these both that all things were thus predicted regarding Him, and did take place undoubtedly, and that He is the only Son of God. Wherefore, also, those who are in truth His disciples, receiving grace from Him, do in His name perform miracles, so as to promote the welfare of other men, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. For some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed from evil spirits frequently both believe in Christ, and join themselves to the Church. Others have foreknowledge of things to come: they see visions, and utter prophetic expressions. Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole. Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years. And what shall I more say? It is not possible to name the number of the gifts which the Church, scattered throughout the whole world, has received from God, in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and which she exerts day by day for the benefit of the Gentiles, neither practising deception upon any, nor taking any reward from them Ion account of such miraculous interpositions. For as she has received freely from God, freely also does she minister to others. 3.1.1. WE have learned from none others the plan of our salvation, than from those through whom the Gospel has come down to us, which they did at one time proclaim in public, and, at a later period, by the will of God, handed down to us in the Scriptures, to be the ground and pillar of our faith. For it is unlawful to assert that they preached before they possessed "perfect knowledge," as some do even venture to say, boasting themselves as improvers of the apostles. For, after our Lord rose from the dead, the apostles were invested with power from on high when the Holy Spirit came down upon them, were filled from all His gifts, and had perfect knowledge: they departed to the ends of the earth, preaching the glad tidings of the good things sent from God to us, and proclaiming the peace of heaven to men, who indeed do all equally and individually possess the Gospel of God. Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him. Afterwards, John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia. 3.2.1. When, however, they are confuted from the Scriptures, they turn round and accuse these same Scriptures, as if they were not correct, nor of authority, and assert that they are ambiguous, and that the truth cannot be extracted from them by those who are ignorant of tradition. For they allege that the truth was not delivered by means of written documents, but viva voce: wherefore also Paul declared, "But we speak wisdom among those that are perfect, but not the wisdom of this world." And this wisdom each one of them alleges to be the fiction of his own inventing, forsooth; so that, according to their idea, the truth properly resides at one time in Valentinus, at another in Marcion, at another in Cerinthus, then afterwards in Basilides, or has even been indifferently in any other opponent, who could speak nothing pertaining to salvation. For every one of these men, being altogether of a perverse disposition, depraving the system of truth, is not ashamed to preach himself. 3.3.3. The blessed apostles, then, having founded and built up the Church, committed into the hands of Linus the office of the episcopate. of this Linus, Paul makes mention in the Epistles to Timothy. To him succeeded Anacletus; and after him, in the third place from the apostles, Clement was allotted the bishopric. This man, as he had seen the blessed apostles, and had been conversant with them, might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echoing in his ears, and their traditions before his eyes. Nor was he alone in this, for there were many still remaining who had received instructions from the apostles. In the time of this Clement, no small dissension having occurred among the brethren at Corinth, the Church in Rome despatched a most powerful letter to the Corinthians, exhorting them to peace, renewing their faith, and declaring the tradition which it had lately received from the apostles, proclaiming the one God, omnipotent, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Creator of man, who brought on the deluge, and called Abraham, who led the people from the land of Egypt, spake with Moses, set forth the law, sent the prophets, and who has prepared fire for the devil and his angels. From this document, whosoever chooses to do so, may learn that He, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, was preached by the Churches, and may also understand the apostolical tradition of the Church, since this Epistle is of older date than these men who are now propagating falsehood, and who conjure into existence another god beyond the Creator and the Maker of all existing things. To this Clement there succeeded Evaristus. Alexander followed Evaristus; then, sixth from the apostles, Sixtus was appointed; after him, Telephorus, who was gloriously martyred; then Hyginus; after him, Pius; then after him, Anicetus. Sorer having succeeded Anicetus, Eleutherius does now, in the twelfth place from the apostles, hold the inheritance of the episcopate. In this order, and by this succession, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles, and the preaching of the truth, have come down to us. And this is most abundant proof that there is one and the same vivifying faith, which has been preserved in the Church from the apostles until now, and handed down in truth. 3.3.4. But Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried on earth a very long time, and, when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present time,--a man who was of much greater weight, and a more stedfast witness of truth, than Valentinus, and Marcion, and the rest of the heretics. He it was who, coming to Rome in the time of Anicetus caused many to turn away from the aforesaid heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that he had received this one and sole truth from the apostles,--that, namely, which is handed down by the Church. There are also those who heard from him that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus, and perceiving Cerinthus within, rushed out of the bath-house without bathing, exclaiming, "Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within." And Polycarp himself replied to Marcion, who met him on one occasion, and said, "Dost thou know me?" "I do know thee, the first-born of Satan." Such was the horror which the apostles and their disciples had against holding even verbal communication with any corrupters of the truth; as Paul also says, "A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject; knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself." There is also a very powerful Epistle of Polycarp written to the Philippians, from which those who choose to do so, and are anxious about their salvation, can learn the character of his faith, and the preaching of the truth. Then, again, the Church in Ephesus, founded by Paul, and having John remaining among them permanently until the times of Trajan, is a true witness of the tradition of the apostles.' "3.4.3. For, prior to Valentinus, those who follow Valentinus had no existence; nor did those from Marcion exist before Marcion; nor, in short, had any of those maligt-minded people, whom I have above enumerated, any being previous to the initiators and inventors of their perversity. For Valentinus came to Rome in the time of Hyginus, flourished under Pius, and remained until Anicetus. Cerdon, too, Marcion's predecessor, himself arrived in the time of Hyginus, who was the ninth bishop. Coming frequently into the Church, and making public confession, he thus remained, one time teaching in secret, and then again making public confession; but at last, having been denounced for corrupt teaching, he was excommunicated from the assembly of the brethren. Marcion, then, succeeding him, flourished under Anicetus, who held the tenth place of the episcopate. But the rest, who are called Gnostics, take rise from Meder, Simon's disciple, as I have shown; and each one of them appeared to be both the father and the high priest of that doctrine into which he has been initiated. But all these (the Marcosians) broke out into their apostasy much later, even during the intermediate period of the Church." '3.11.3. But, according to these men, neither was the Word made flesh, nor Christ, nor the Saviour (Soter), who was produced from the joint contributions of all the Aeons. For they will have it, that the Word and Christ never came into this world; that the Saviour, too, never became incarnate, nor suffered, but that He descended like a dove upon the dispensational Jesus; and that, as soon as He had declared the unknown Father, He did again ascend into the Pleroma. Some, however, make the assertion, that this dispensational Jesus did become incarnate, and suffered, whom they represent as having passed through Mary just as water through a tube; but others allege him to be the Son of the Demiurge, upon whom the dispensational Jesus descended; while others, again, say that Jesus was born from Joseph and Mary, and that the Christ from above descended upon him, being without flesh, and impassible. But according to the opinion of no one of the heretics was the Word of God made flesh. For if any one carefully examines the systems of them all, he will find that the Word of God is brought in by all of them as not having become incarnate (sine carne) and impassible, as is also the Christ from above. Others consider Him to have been manifested as a transfigured man; but they maintain Him to have been neither born nor to have become incarnate; whilst others hold that He did not assume a human form at all, but that, as a dove, He did descend upon that Jesus who was born from Mary. Therefore the Lord\'s disciple, pointing them all out as false witnesses, says, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us."' "3.11.7. Such, then, are the first principles of the Gospel: that there is one God, the Maker of this universe; He who was also announced by the prophets, and who by Moses set forth the dispensation of the law,--principles which proclaim the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and ignore any other God or Father except Him. So firm is the ground upon which these Gospels rest, that the very heretics themselves bear witness to them, and, starting from these documents, each one of them endeavours to establish his own peculiar doctrine. For the Ebionites, who use Matthew's Gospel only, are confuted out of this very same, making false suppositions with regard to the Lord. But Marcion, mutilating that according to Luke, is proved to be a blasphemer of the only existing God, from those passages which he still retains. Those, again, who separate Jesus from Christ, alleging that Christ remained impassible, but that it was Jesus who suffered, preferring the Gospel by Mark, if they read it with a love of truth, may have their errors rectified. Those, moreover, who follow Valentinus, making copious use of that according to John, to illustrate their conjunctions, shall be proved to be totally in error by means of this very Gospel, as I have shown in the first book. Since, then, our opponents do bear testimony to us, and make use of these documents, our proof derived from them is firm and true." '3.11.9. These things being so, all who destroy the form of the Gospel are vain, unlearned, and also audacious; those, I mean, who represent the aspects of the Gospel as being either more in number than as aforesaid, or, on the other hand, fewer. The former class do so, that they may seem to have discovered more than is of the truth; the latter, that they may set the dispensations of God aside. For Marcion, rejecting the entire Gospel, yea rather, cutting himself off from the Gospel, boasts that he has part in the blessings of the Gospel. Others, again (the Montanists), that they may set at nought the gift of the Spirit, which in the latter times has been, by the good pleasure of the Father, poured out upon the human race, do not admit that aspect of the evangelical dispensation presented by John\'s Gospel, in which the Lord promised that He would send the Paraclete; but set aside at once both the Gospel and the prophetic Spirit. Wretched men indeed! who wish to be pseudo- prophets, forsooth, but who set aside the gift of prophecy from the Church; acting like those (the Encratitae) who, on account of such as come in hypocrisy, hold themselves aloof from the communion of the brethren. We must conclude, moreover, that these men (the Montanists) can not admit the Apostle Paul either. For, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, he speaks expressly of prophetical gifts, and recognises men and women prophesying in the Church. Sinning, therefore, in all these particulars, against the Spirit of God, they fall into the irremissible sin. But those who are from Valentinus, being, on the other hand, altogether reckless, while they put forth their own compositions, boast that they possess more Gospels than there really are. Indeed, they have arrived at such a pitch of audacity, as to entitle their comparatively recent writing "the Gospel of Truth," though it agrees in nothing with the Gospels of the Apostles, so that they have really no Gospel which is not full of blasphemy. For if what they have published is the Gospel of truth, and yet is totally unlike those which have been handed down to us from the apostles, any who please may learn, as is shown from the Scriptures themselves, that that which has been handed down from the apostles can no longer be reckoned the Gospel of truth. But that these Gospels alone are true and reliable, and admit neither an increase nor diminution of the aforesaid number, I have proved by so many and such arguments. For, since God made all things in due proportion and adaptation, it was fit also that the outward aspect of the Gospel should be well arranged and harmonized. The opinion of those men, therefore, who handed the Gospel down to us, having been investigated, from their very fountainheads, let us proceed also to the remaining apostles, and inquire into their doctrine with regard to God; then, in due course we shall listen to the very words of the Lord. 3.12.5. They were confounded, therefore, both by this instance of healing ("for the man was above forty years old on whom this miracle of healing took place"), and by the doctrine of the apostles, and by the exposition of the prophets, when the chief priests had sent away Peter and John. These latter returned to the rest of their fellow-apostles and disciples of the Lord, that is, to the Church, and related what had occurred, and how courageously they had acted in the name of Jesus. The whole Church, it is then said, "when they had heard that, lifted up the voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, Thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is; who, through the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of our father David, Thy servant, hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ. For of a truth, in this city, against Thy holy Son Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined before to be done." These are the voices of the Church from which every Church had its origin; these are the voices of the metropolis of the citizens of the new covet; these are the voices of the apostles; these are voices of the disciples of the Lord, the truly perfect, who, after the assumption of the Lord, were perfected by the Spirit, and called upon the God who made heaven, and earth, and the sea,--who was announced by the prophets,--and Jesus Christ His Son, whom God anointed, and who knew no other God. For at that time and place there was neither Valentinus, nor Marcion, nor the rest of these subverters of the truth, and their adherents. Wherefore God, the Maker of all things, heard them. For it is said, "The place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness" to every one that was willing to believe. "And with great power," it is added, "gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus," saying to them, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye seized and slew, hanging Him upon a beam of wood: Him hath God raised up by His right hand to be a Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are in this witnesses of these words; as also is the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that believe in Him." "And daily," it is said, "in the temple, and from house to house, they ceased not to teach and preach Christ Jesus," the Son of God. For this was the knowledge of salvation, which renders those who acknowledge His Son\'s advent perfect towards God.' "3.12.6. But as some of these men impudently assert that the apostles, when preaching among the Jews, could not declare to them another god besides Him in whom they (their hearers) believed, we say to them, that if the apostles used to speak to people in accordance with the opinion instilled into them of old, no one learned the truth from them, nor, at a much earlier date, from the Lord; for they say that He did Himself speak after the same fashion. Wherefore neither do these men themselves know the truth; but since such was their opinion regarding God, they had just received doctrine as they were able to hear it. According to this manner of speaking, therefore, the rule of truth can be with nobody; but all learners will ascribe this practice to all teachers, that just as every person thought, and as far as his capability extended, so was also the language addressed to him. But the advent of the Lord will appear superfluous and useless, if He did indeed come intending to tolerate and to preserve each man's idea regarding God rooted in him from of old. Besides this, also, it was a much heavier task, that He whom the Jews had seen as a man, and had fastened to the cross, should be preached as Christ the Son of God, their eternal King. Since this, however, was so, they certainly did not speak to them in accordance with their old belief. For they, who told them to their face that they were the slayers of the Lord, would themselves also much more boldly preach that Father who is above the Demiurge, and not what each individual bid himself believe respecting God; and the sin was much less, if indeed they had not fastened to the cross the superior Saviour (to whom it behoved them to ascend), since He was impassible. For, as they did not speak to the Gentiles in compliance with their notions, but told them with boldness that their gods were no gods, but the idols of demons; so would they in like manner have preached to the Jews, if they had known another greater or more perfect Father, not nourishing nor strengthening the untrue opinion of these men regarding God. Moreover, while destroying the error of the Gentiles, and bearing them away from their gods, they did not certainly induce another error upon them; but, removing those which were no gods, they pointed out Him who alone was God and the true Father." '3.12.12. For all those who are of a perverse mind, having been set against the Mosaic legislation, judging it to be dissimilar and contrary to the doctrine of the Gospel, have not applied themselves to investigate the causes of the difference of each covet. Since, therefore, they have been deserted by the paternal love, and puffed up by Satan, being brought over to the doctrine of Simon Magus, they have apostatized in their opinions from Him who is God, and imagined that they have themselves discovered more than the apostles, by finding out another god; and maintained that the apostles preached the Gospel still somewhat under the influence of Jewish opinions, but that they themselves are purer in doctrine, and more intelligent, than the apostles. Wherefore also Marcion and his followers have betaken themselves to mutilating the Scriptures, not acknowledging some books at all; and, curtailing the Gospel according to Luke and the Epistles of Paul, they assert that these are alone authentic, which they have themselves thus shortened. In another work, however, I shall, God granting me strength, refute them out of these which they still retain. But all the rest, inflated with the false name of "knowledge," do certainly recognise the Scriptures; but they pervert the interpretations, as I have shown in the first book. And, indeed, the followers of Marcion do directly blaspheme the Creator, alleging him to be the creator of evils, but holding a more tolerable theory as to his origin, and maintaining that there are two beings, gods by nature, differing from each other,--the one being good, but the other evil. Those from Valentinus, however, while they employ names of a more honourable kind, and set forth that He who is Creator is both Father, and Lord, and God, do nevertheless render their theory or sect more plasphemous, by maintaining that He was not produced from any one of those Aeons within the Pleroma, but from that defect which had been expelled beyond the Pleroma. Ignorance of the Scriptures and of the dispensation of God has brought all these things upon them. And in the course of this work I shall touch upon the cause of the difference of the covets on the one hand, and, on the other hand, of their unity and harmony. 3.15.2. For this is the subterfuge of false persons, evil seducers, and hypocrites, as they act who are from Valentinus. These men discourse to the multitude about those who belong to the Church, whom they do themselves term "vulgar," and "ecclesiastic." By these words they entrap the more simple, and entice them, imitating our phraseology, that these dupes may listen to them the oftener; and then these are asked regarding us, how it is, that when they hold doctrines similar to ours, we, without cause, keep ourselves aloof from their company; and how it is, that when they say the same things, and hold the same doctrine, we call them heretics? When they have thus, by means of questions, overthrown the faith of any, and rendered them uncontradicting hearers of their own, they describe to them in private the unspeakable mystery of their Pleroma. But they are altogether deceived, who imagine that they may learn from the Scriptural texts adduced by heretics, that doctrine which their words plausibly teach. For error is plausible, and bears a resemblance to the truth, but requires to be disguised; while truth is without disguise, and therefore has been entrusted to children. And if any one of their auditors do indeed demand explanations, or start objections to them, they affirm that he is one not capable of receiving the truth, and not having from above the seed derived from their Mother; and thus really give him no reply, but simply declare that he is of the intermediate regions, that is, belongs to animal natures. But if any one do yield himself up to them like a little sheep, and follows out their practice, and their "redemption," such an one is puffed up to such an extent, that he thinks he is neither in heaven nor on earth, but that he has passed within the Pleroma; and having already embraced his angel, he walks with a strutting gait and a supercilious countece, possessing all the pompous air of a cock. There are those among them who assert that that man who comes from above ought to follow a good course of conduct; wherefore they do also pretend a gravity of demeanour with a certain superciliousness. The majority, however, having become scoffers also, as if already perfect, and living without regard to appearances, yea, in contempt of that which is good, call themselves "the spiritual," and allege that they have already become acquainted with that place of refreshing which is within their Pleroma. 3.17.4. The Spirit, therefore, descending under the predestined dispensation, and the Son of God, the Only-begotten, who is also the Word of the Father, coming in the fulness of time, having become incarnate in man for the sake of man, and fulfilling all the conditions of human nature, our Lord Jesus Christ being one and the same, as He Himself the Lord doth testify, as the apostles confess, and as the prophets announce,--all the doctrines of these men who have invented putative Ogdoads and Tetrads, and imagined subdivisions of the Lord\'s person, have been proved falsehoods. These men do, in fact, set the Spirit aside altogether; they understand that Christ was one and Jesus another; and they teach that there was not one Christ, but many. And if they speak of them as united, they do again separate them: for they show that one did indeed undergo sufferings, but that the other remained impassible; that the one truly did ascend to the Pleroma, but the other remained in the intermediate place; that the one does truly feast and revel in places invisible and above all name, but that the other is seated with the Demiurge, emptying him of power. It will therefore be incumbent upon thee, and all others who give their attention to this writing, and are anxious about their own salvation, not readily to express acquiescence when they hear abroad the speeches of these men: for, speaking things resembling the doctrine of the faithful, as I have already observed, not only do they hold opinions which are different, but absolutely contrary, and in all points full of blasphemies, by which they destroy those persons who, by reason of the resemblance of the words, imbibe a poison which disagrees with their constitution, just as if one, giving lime mixed with water for milk, should mislead by the similitude of the colour; as a man" superior to me has said, concerning all that in any way corrupt the things of God and adulterate the truth, "Lime is wickedly mixed with the milk of God." 3.23.8. All therefore speak falsely who disallow his (Adam\'s) salvation, shutting themselves out from life for ever, in that they do not believe that the sheep which had perished has been found. For if it has not been found, the whole human race is still held in a state of perdition. False, therefore, is that, man who first started this idea, or rather, this ignorance and blindness--Tatian. As I have already indicated, this man entangled himself with all the heretics. This dogma, however, has been invented by himself, in order that, by introducing something new, independently of the rest, and by speaking vanity. he might acquire for himself hearers void of faith, affecting to be esteemed a teacher, and endeavouring from time to time to employ sayings of this kind often made use of by Paul: "In Adam we all die;" ignorant, however, that "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Since this, then, has been clearly shown, let all his disciples be put to shame, and let them wrangle about Adam, as if some great gain were to accrue to them if he be not saved; when they profit nothing more by that, even as the serpent also did not profit when persuading man to sin, except to this effect, that he proved him a transgressor, obtaining man as the first-fruits of his own apostasy. But he did not know God\'s power. Thus also do those who disallow Adam\'s salvation gain nothing, except this, that they render themselves heretics and apostates from the truth, and show themselves patrons of the serpent and of death. 3.25.2. Again, that they might remove the rebuking and judicial power from the Father, reckoning that as unworthy of God, and thinking that they had found out a God both without anger and merely good, they have alleged that one God judges, but that another saves, unconsciously taking away the intelligence and justice of both deities. For if the judicial one is not also good, to bestow favours upon the deserving, and to direct reproofs against those requiring them, he will appear neither a just nor a wise judge. On the other hand, the good God, if he is merely good, and not one who tests those upon whom he shall send his goodness, will be out of the range of justice and goodness; and his goodness will seem imperfect, as not saving all; for it should do so, if it be not accompanied with judgment. 3.25.3. Marcion, therefore, himself, by dividing God into two, maintaining one to be good and the other judicial, does in fact, on both sides, put an end to deity. For he that is the judicial one, if he be not good, is not God, because he from whom goodness is absent is no God at all; and again, he who is good, if he has no judicial power, suffers the same loss as the former, by being deprived of his character of deity. And how can they call the Father of all wise, if they do not assign to Him a judicial faculty? For if He is wise, He is also one who tests others; but the judicial power belongs to him who tests, and justice follows the judicial faculty, that it may reach a just conclusion; justice calls forth judgment, and judgment, when it is executed with justice, will pass on to wisdom. Therefore the Father will excel in wisdom all human and angelic wisdom, because He is Lord, and Judge, and the Just One, and Ruler over all. For He is good, and merciful, and patient, and saves whom He ought: nor does goodness desert Him in the exercise of justice, nor is His wisdom lessened; for He saves those whom He should save, and judges those worthy of judgment. Neither does He show Himself unmercifully just; for His goodness, no doubt, goes on before, and takes precedency. 3.25.5. Plato is proved to be more religious than these men, for he allowed that the same God was both just and good, having power over all things, and Himself executing judgment, expressing himself thus, "And God indeed, as He is also the ancient Word, possessing the beginning, the end, and the mean of all existing things, does everything rightly, moving round about them according to their nature; but retributive justice always follows Him against those who depart from the divine law." Then, again, he points out that the Maker and Framer of the universe is good. "And to the good," he says, "no envy ever springs up with regard to anything;" thus establishing the goodness of God, as the beginning and the cause of the creation of the world, but not ignorance, nor an erring Aeon, nor the consequence of a defect, nor the Mother weeping and lamenting, nor another God or Father. 4.2.2. Again, our Lord Jesus Christ confesses this same Being as His Father, where He says: "I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth." What Father will those men have us to understand by these words, those who are most perverse sophists of Pandora? Whether shall it be Bythus, whom they have fabled of themselves; or their Mother; or the Only-begotten? Or shall it be he whom the Marcionites or the others have invented as god (whom I indeed have amply demonstrated to be no god at all); or shall it be (what is really the case) the Maker of heaven and earth, whom also the prophets proclaimed,--whom Christ, too, confesses as His Father,--whom also the law announces, saying: "Hear, O Israel; The Lord thy God is one God?" 4.2. Employing these (as analogies), Euphrates the Peratic, and Acembes the Carystian, and the rest of the crowd of these (speculators), imposing names different from the doctrine of the truth, speak of a sedition of Aeons, and of a revolt of good powers over to evil (ones), and of the concord of good with wicked (Aeons), calling them Toparchai and Proastioi, and very many other names. But the entire of this heresy, as attempted by them, I shall explain and refute when we come to treat of the subject of these (Aeons). But now, lest any one suppose the opinions propounded by the Chaldeans respecting astrological doctrine to be trustworthy and secure, we shall not hesitate to furnish a brief refutation respecting these, establishing that the futile art is calculated both to deceive and blind the soul indulging in vain expectations, rather than to profit it. And we urge our case with these, not according to any experience of the art, but from knowledge based on practical principles. Those who have cultivated the art, becoming disciples of the Chaldeans, and communicating mysteries as if strange and astonishing to men, having changed the names (merely), have from this source concocted their heresy. But since, estimating the astrological art as a powerful one, and availing themselves of the testimonies adduced by its patrons, they wish to gain reliance for their own attempted conclusions, we shall at present, as it has seemed expedient, prove the astrological art to be untenable, as our intention next is to invalidate also the Peratic system, as a branch growing out of an unstable root. 4.6.6. For by means of the creation itself, the Word reveals God the Creator; and by means of the world does He declare the Lord the Maker of the world; and by means of the formation of man the Artificer who formed him; and by the Son that Father who begat the Son: and these things do indeed address all men in the same manner, but all do not in the same way believe them. But by the law and the prophets did the Word preach both Himself and the Father alike to all; and all the people heard Him alike, but all did not alike believe. And through the Word Himself who had been made visible and palpable, was the Father shown forth, although all did not equally believe in Him; but all saw the Father in the Son: for the Father is the invisible of the Son, but the Son the visible of the Father. And for this reason all spake with Christ when He was present upon earth, and they named Him God. Yea, even the demons exclaimed, on beholding the Son: "We know Thee who Thou art, the Holy One of God."\' And the devil looking at Him, and tempting Him, said: "If Thou art the Son of God;"--all thus indeed seeing and speaking of the Son and the Father, but all not believing in them. 4.15.1. They (the Jews) had therefore a law, a course of discipline, and a prophecy of future things. For God at the first, indeed, warning them by means of natural precepts, which from the beginning He had implanted in mankind, that is, by means of the Decalogue (which, if any one does not observe, he has no salvation), did then demand nothing more of them. As Moses says in Deuteronomy, "These are all the words which the Lord spake to the whole assembly of the sons of Israel on the mount, and He added no more; and He wrote them on two tables of stone, and gave them to me." For this reason He did so, that they who are willing to follow Him might keep these commandments. But when they turned themselves to make a calf, and had gone back in their minds to Egypt, desiring to be slaves instead of free-men, they were placed for the future in a state of servitude suited to their wish,--a slavery which did not indeed cut them off from God, but subjected them to the yoke of bondage; as Ezekiel the prophet, when stating the reasons for the giving of such a law, declares: "And their eyes were after the desire of their heart; and I gave them statutes that were not good, and judgments in which they shall not live." Luke also has recorded that Stephen, who was the first elected into the diaconate by the apostles, and who was the first slain for the testimony of Christ, spoke regarding Moses as follows: "This man did indeed receive the commandments of the living God to give to us, whom your fathers would not obey, but thrust Him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us; for we do not know what has happened to this Moses, who led us from the land of Egypt. And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifices to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their own hands. But God turned, and gave them up to worship the hosts of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets: O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to Me sacrifices and oblations for forty years in the wilderness? And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of the god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them;" pointing out plainly, that the law being such, was not given to them by another God, but that, adapted to their condition of servitude, it originated from the very same God as we worship. Wherefore also He says to Moses in Exodus: "I will send forth My angel before thee; for I will not go up with thee, because thou art a stiff-necked people." 4.18.4. Inasmuch, then, as the Church offers with single-mindedness, her gift is justly reckoned a pure sacrifice with God. As Paul also says to the Philippians, "I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things that were sent from you, the odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, pleasing to God." For it behoves us to make an oblation to God, and in all things to be found grateful to God our Maker, in a pure mind, and in faith without hypocrisy, in well-grounded hope, in fervent love, offering the first-fruits of His own created things. And the Church alone offers this pure oblation to the Creator, offering to Him, with giving of thanks, the things taken from His creation. But the Jews do not offer thus: for their hands are full of blood; for they have not received the Word, through whom it is offered to God. Nor, again, do any of the conventicles (synagogoe) of the heretics offer this. For some, by maintaining that the Father is different from the Creator, do, when they offer to Him what belongs to this creation of ours, set Him forth as being covetous of another\'s property, and desirous of what is not His own. Those, again, who maintain that the things around us originated from apostasy, ignorance, and passion, do, while offering unto Him the fruits of ignorance, passion, and apostasy, sin against their Father, rather subjecting Him to insult than giving Him thanks. But how can they be consistent with themselves, when they say that the bread over which thanks have been given is the body of their Lord, and the cup His blood, if they do not call Himself the Son of the Creator of the world, that is, His Word, through whom the wood fructifies, and the fountains gush forth, and the earth gives "first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." 4.26.1. If any one, therefore, reads the Scriptures with attention, he will find in them an account of Christ, and a foreshadowing of the new calling (vocationis). For Christ is the treasure which was hid in the field, that is, in this world (for "the field is the world"); but the treasure hid in the Scriptures is Christ, since He was pointed out by means of types and parables. Hence His human nature could not be understood, prior to the consummation of those things which had been predicted, that is, the advent of Christ. And therefore it was said to Daniel the prophet: "Shut up the words, and seal the book even to the time of consummation, until many learn, and knowledge be completed. For at that time, when the dispersion shall be accomplished, they shall know all these things." But Jeremiah also says, "In the last days they shall understand these things." For every prophecy, before its fulfilment, is to men full of enigmas and ambiguities. But when the time has arrived, and the prediction has come to pass, then the prophecies have a clear and certain exposition. And for this reason, indeed, when at this present time the law is read to the Jews, it is like a fable; for they do not possess the explanation of all things pertaining to the advent of the Son of God, which took place in human nature; but when it is read by the Christians, it is a treasure, hid indeed in a field, but brought to light by the cross of Christ, and explained, both enriching the understanding of men, and showing forth the wisdom of God and declaring His dispensations with regard to man, and forming the kingdom of Christ beforehand, and preaching by anticipation the inheritance of the holy Jerusalem, and proclaiming beforehand that the man who loves God shall arrive at such excellency as even to see God, and hear His word, and from the hearing of His discourse be glorified to such an extent, that others cannot behold the glory of his countece, as was said by Daniel: "Those who do understand, shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and many of the righteous as the stars for ever and ever.\'\' Thus, then, I have shown it to be, if any one read the Scriptures. For thus it was that the Lord discoursed with, the disciples after His resurrection from the dead, proving to them from the Scriptures themselves "that Christ must suffer, and enter into His glory, and that remission of sins should be preached in His name throughout all the world." And the disciple will be perfected, and rendered like the householder, "who bringeth forth from his treasure things new and old." 4.26.2. Wherefore it is incumbent to obey the presbyters who are in the Church,--those who, as I have shown, possess the succession from the apostles; those who, together with the succession of the episcopate, have received the certain gift of truth, according to the good pleasure of the Father. But it is also incumbent to hold in suspicion others who depart from the primitive succession, and assemble themselves together in any place whatsoever, looking upon them either as heretics of perverse minds, or as schismaries puffed up and self-pleasing, or again as hypocrites, acting thus for the sake of lucre and vainglory. For all these have fallen from the truth. And the heretics, indeed, who bring strange fire to the altar of God--namely, strange doctrines--shall be burned up by the fire from heaven, as were Nadab and Abiud. But such as rise up in opposition to the truth, and exhort others against the Church of God, shall remain among those in hell (apud inferos), being swallowed up by an earthquake, even as those who were with Chore, Dathan, and Abiron. But those who cleave asunder, and separate the unity of the Church, shall receive from God the same punishment as Jeroboam did. 4.28.3. For the sesame heretics already mentioned by us have fallen away from themselves, by accusing the Lord, in whom they say that they believe. For those points to which they call attention with regard to the God who then awarded temporal punishments to the unbelieving, and smote the Egyptians, while He saved those that were obedient; these same facts, I say, shall nevertheless repeat themselves in the Lord, who judges for eternity those whom He doth judge, and lets go free for eternity those whom He does let go free: and He shall thus be discovered, according to the language used by these men, as having been the cause of their most heinous sin to those who laid hands upon Him, and pierced Him. For if He had not so Come, it follows that these men could not have become the slayers of their Lord; and if He had not sent prophets to them, they certainly could not have killed them, nor the apostles either. To those, therefore, who assail us, and say, If the Egyptians had not been afflicted with plagues, and, when pursuing after Israel, been choked in the sea, God could not have saved His people, this answer may be given;--Unless, then, the Jews had become the slayers of the Lord (which did, indeed, take eternal life away from them), and, by killing the apostles and persecuting the Church, had fallen into an abyss of wrath, we could not have been saved. For as they were saved by means of the blindness of the Egyptians, so are we, too, by that of the Jews; if, indeed, the death of the Lord is the condemnation of those who fastened Him to the cross, and who did not believe His advent, but the salvation of those who believe in Him. For the apostle does also say in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians: "For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them which are saved, and in them which perish: to the one indeed the savour of death unto death, but to the other the savour of life unto life." To whom, then, is there the savour of death unto death, unless to those who believe not neither are subject to the Word of God? And who are they that did even then give themselves over to death? Those men, doubtless, who do not believe, nor submit themselves to God. And again, who are they that have been saved and received the inheritance? Those, doubtless, who do believe God, and who have continued in His love; as did Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, and innocent children, who have had no sense of evil. But who are they that are saved now, and receive life eternal? Is it not those who love God, and who believe His promises, and who "in malice have become as little children?" 4.33.3. This spiritual man shall also judge all the followers of Valentinus, because they do indeed confess with the tongue one God the Father, and that all things derive their existence from Him, but do at the same time maintain that He who formed all things is the fruit of an apostasy or defect. He shall judge them, too, because they do in like manner confess with the tongue one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, but assign in their system of doctrine a production of his own to the Only- begotten, one of his own also to the Word, another to Christ, and yet another to the Saviour; so that, according to them, all these beings are indeed said in Scripture to be, as it were, one; while they maintain, notwithstanding, that each one of them should be understood to exist separately from the rest, and to have had his own special origin, according to his peculiar conjunction. It appears, then that their tongues alone, forsooth, have conceded the unity of God, while their real opinion and their understanding (by their habit of investigating profundities) have fallen away from this doctrine of unity, and taken up the notion of manifold deities,--this, I say, must appear when they shall be examined by Christ as to the points of doctrine which they have invented. Him, too, they affirm to have been born at a later period than the Pleroma of the Aeons, and that His production took place after the occurrence of a degeneracy or apostasy; and they maintain that, on account of the passion which was experienced by Sophia, they themselves were brought to the birth. But their own special prophet Homer, listening to whom they have invented such doctrines, shall himself reprove them, when he expresses himself as follows:-- 4.33.9. Wherefore the Church does in every place, because of that love which she cherishes towards God, send forward, throughout all time, a multitude of martyrs to the Father; while all others not only have nothing of this kind to point to among themselves, but even maintain that such witness-bearing is not at all necessary, for that their system of doctrines is the true witness for Christ, with the exception, perhaps, that one or two among them, during the whole time which has elapsed since the Lord appeared on earth, have occasionally, along with our martyrs, borne the reproach of the name (as if he too the heretic had obtained mercy), and have been led forth with them to death, being, as it were, a sort of retinue granted unto them. For the Church alone sustains with purity the reproach of those who suffer persecution for righteousness\' sake, and endure all sorts of punishments, and are put to death because of the love which they bear to God, and their confession of His Son; often weakened indeed, yet immediately increasing her members, and becoming whole again, after the same manner as her type," Lot\'s wife, who became a pillar of salt. Thus, too, she passes through an experience similar to that of the ancient prophets, as the Lord declares, "For so persecuted they the prophets who were before you;", inasmuch as she does indeed, in a new fashion, suffer persecution from those who do not receive the word of God, while the self-same spirit rests upon her as upon these ancient prophets. 4.35.4. They affirm that certain things still, besides these, were spoken from the Pleroma, but are confuted by those which are referred to in the Scriptures as beating on the advent of Christ. But what these are that are spoken from the Pleroma they are not agreed, but give different answers regarding them. For if any one, wishing to test them, do question one by one with regard to any passage those who are their leading men, he shall find one of them referring the passage in question to the Propator--that is, to Bythus; another attributing it to Arche--that is, to the Only- begotten; another to the Father of all--that is, to the Word; while another, again, will say that it was spoken of that one iron who was formed from the joint contributions of the Aeons in the Pleroma; others will regard the passage as referring to Christ, while another will refer it to the Saviour. One, again, more skilled than these, after a long protracted silence, declares that it was spoken of Horos; another that it signifies the Sophia which is within the Pleroma; another that it announces the mother outside the Pleroma; while another will mention the God who made the world (the Demiurge). Such are the variations existing among them with regard to one passage, holding discordant opinions as to the same Scriptures; and when the same identical passage is read out, they all begin to purse up their eyebrows, and to shake their heads, and they say that they might indeed utter a discourse transcendently lofty, but that all cannot comprehend the greatness of that thought which is implied in it; and that, therefore, among the wise the chief thing is silence. For that Sige (silence) which is above must be typified by that silence which they preserve. Thus do they, as many as they are, all depart from each other, holding so many opinions as to one thing, and bearing about their clever notions in secret within themselves. When, therefore, they shall have agreed among themselves as to the things predicted in the Scriptures, then also shall they be confuted by us. For, though holding wrong opinions, they do in the meanwhile, however, convict themselves, since they are not of one mind with regard to the same words. But as we follow for our teacher the one and only true God, and possess His words as the rule of truth, we do all speak alike with regard to the same things, knowing but one God, the Creator of this universe, who sent the prophets, who led forth the people from the land of Egypt, who in these last times manifested His own Son, that He might put the unbelievers to confusion, and search out the fruit of righteousness. 5.2.2. But vain in every respect are they who despise the entire dispensation of God, and disallow the salvation of the flesh, and treat with contempt its regeneration, maintaining that it is not capable of incorruption. But if this indeed do not attain salvation, then neither did the Lord redeem us with His blood, nor is the cup of the Eucharist the communion of His blood, nor the bread which we break the communion of His body. For blood can only come from veins and flesh, and whatsoever else makes up the substance of man, such as the Word of God was actually made. By His own blood he redeemed us, as also His apostle declares, "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the remission of sins." And as we are His members, we are also nourished by means of the creation (and He Himself grants the creation to us, for He causes His sun to rise, and sends rain when He wills). He has acknowledged the cup (which is a part of the creation) as His own blood, from which He bedews our blood; and the bread (also a part of the creation) He has established as His own body, from which He gives increase to our bodies. 5.4.1. Those persons who feign the existence of another Father beyond the Creator, and who term him the good God, do deceive themselves; for they introduce him as a feeble, worthless, and negligent being, not to say malign and full of envy, inasmuch as they affirm that our bodies are not quickened by him. For when they say of things which it is manifest to all do remain immortal, such as the spirit and the soul, and such other things, that they are quickened by the Father, but that another thing viz. the body which is quickened in no different manner than by God granting life to it, is abandoned by life,--they must either confess that this proves their Father to be weak and powerless, or else envious and maligt. For since the Creator does even here quicken our mortal bodies, and promises them resurrection by the prophets, as I have pointed out; who in that case is shown to be more powerful, stronger, or truly good? Whether is it the Creator who vivifies the whole man, or is it their Father, falsely so called? He feigns to be the quickener of those things which are immortal by nature, to which things life is always present by their very nature; but he does not benevolently quicken those things which required his assistance, that they might live, but leaves them carelessly to fall under the power of death. Whether is it the case, then, that their Father does not bestow life upon them when he has the power of so doing, or is it that he does not possess the power? If, on the one hand, it is because he cannot, he is, upon that supposition, not a powerful being, nor is he more perfect than the Creator; for the Creator grants, as we must perceive, what He is unable to afford. But if, on the other hand, it be that he does not grant this when he has the power of so doing, then he is proved to be not a good, but an envious and maligt Father. 5.8.2. Those persons, then, who possess the earnest of the Spirit, and who are not enslaved by the lusts of the flesh, but are subject to the Spirit, and who in all things walk according to the light of reason, does the apostle properly term "spiritual," because the Spirit of God dwells in them. Now, spiritual men shall not be incorporeal spirits; but our substance, that is, the union of flesh and spirit, receiving the Spirit of God, makes up the spiritual man. But those who do indeed reject the Spirit\'s counsel, and are the slaves of fleshly lusts, and lead lives contrary to reason, and who, without restraint, plunge headlong into their own desires, having no longing after the Divine Spirit, do live after the manner of swine and of dogs; these men, I say, does the apostle very properly term "carnal," because they have no thought of anything else except carnal things. 5.8.3. For the same reason, too, do the prophets compare them to irrational animals, on account of the irrationality of their conduct, saying, "They have become as horses raging for the females; each one of them neighing after his neighbour\'s wife." And again, "Man, when he was in honour, was made like unto cattle." This denotes that, for his own fault, he is likened to cattle, by rivalling their irrational life. And we also, as the custom is, do designate men of this stamp as cattle and irrational beasts.' 5.20.1. Now all these heretics are of much later date than the bishops to whom the apostles committed the Churches; which fact I have in the third book taken all pains to demonstrate. It follows, then, as a matter of course, that these heretics aforementioned, since they are blind to the truth, and deviate from the right way, will walk in various roads; and therefore the footsteps of their doctrine are scattered here and there without agreement or connection. But the path of those belonging to the Church circumscribes the whole world, as possessing the sure tradition from the apostles, and gives unto us to see that the faith of all is one and the same, since all receive one and the same God the Father, and believe in the same dispensation regarding the incarnation of the Son of God, and are cognizant of the same gift of the Spirit, and are conversant with the same commandments, and preserve the same form of ecclesiastical constitution, and expect the same advent of the Lord, and await the same salvation of the complete man, that is, of the soul and body. And undoubtedly the preaching of the Church is true and stedfast, in which one and the same way of salvation is shown throughout the whole world. For to her is entrusted the light of God; and therefore the "wisdom" of God, by means of which she saves all men, "is declared in its going forth; it uttereth its voice faithfully in the streets, is preached on the tops of the walls, and speaks continually in the gates of the city." For the Church preaches the truth everywhere, and she is the seven-branched candlestick which bears the light of Christ. 5.20.2. Those, therefore, who desert the preaching of the Church, call in question the knowledge of the holy presbyters, not taking into consideration of how much greater consequence is a religious man, even in a private station, than a blasphemous and impudent sophist. Now, such are all the heretics, and those who imagine that they have hit upon something more beyond the truth, so that by following those things already mentioned, proceeding on their way variously, in harmoniously, and foolishly, not keeping always to the same opinions with regard to the same things, as blind men are led by the blind, they shall deservedly fall into the ditch of ignorance lying in their path, ever seeking and never finding out the truth. It behoves us, therefore, to avoid their doctrines, and to take careful heed lest we suffer any injury from them; but to flee to the Church, and be brought up in her bosom, and be nourished with the Lord\'s Scriptures. For the Church has been planted as a garden (paradisus) in this world; therefore says the Spirit of God, "Thou mayest freely eat from every tree of the garden," that is, Eat ye from every Scripture of the Lord; but ye shall not eat with an uplifted mind, nor touch any heretical discord. For these men do profess that they have themselves the knowledge of good and evil; and they set their own impious minds above the God who made them. They therefore form opinions on what is beyond the limits of the understanding. For this cause also the apostle says, "Be not wise beyond what it is fitting to be wise, but be wise prudently," that we be not east forth by eating of the "knowledge" of these men (that knowledge which knows more than it should do) from the paradise of life. Into this paradise the Lord has introduced those who obey His call, "summing up in Himself all things which are in heaven, and which are on earth;" but the things in heaven are spiritual, while those on earth constitute the dispensation in human nature (secundum hominem est dispositio). These things, therefore, He recapitulated in Himself: by uniting man to the Spirit, and causing the Spirit to dwell in man, He is Himself made the head of the Spirit, and gives the Spirit to be the head of man: for through Him (the Spirit) we see, and hear, and speak. 5.21.2. Now the Lord would not have recapitulated in Himself that ancient and primary enmity against the serpent, fulfilling the promise of the Creator (Demiurgi), and performing His command, if He had come from another Father. But as He is one and the same, who formed us at the beginning, and sent His Son at the end, the Lord did perform His command, being made of a woman, by both destroying our adversary, and perfecting man after the image and likeness of God. And for this reason He did not draw the means of confounding him from any other source than from the words of the law, and made use of the Father\'s commandment as a help towards the destruction and confusion of the apostate angel. Fasting forty days, like Moses and Elias, He afterwards hungered, first, in order that we may perceive that He was a real and substantial man--for it belongs to a man to suffer hunger when fasting; and secondly, that His opponent might have an opportunity of attacking Him. For as at the beginning it was by means of food that the enemy persuaded man, although not suffering hunger, to transgress God\'s commandments, so in the end he did not succeed in persuading Him that was an hungered to take that food which proceeded from God. For, when tempting Him, he said, "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." But the Lord repulsed him by the commandment of the law, saying, "It is written, Man doth not live by bread alone." As to those words \'of His enemy, "If thou be the Son of God," the Lord made no remark; but by thus acknowledging His human nature He baffled His adversary, and exhausted the force of his first attack by means of His Father\'s word. The corruption of man, therefore, which occurred in paradise by both of our first parents eating, was done away with by the Lord\'s want of food in this world. But he, being thus vanquished by the law, endeavoured again to make an assault by himself quoting a commandment of the law. For, bringing Him to the highest pinnacle of the temple, he said to Him, "If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down. For it is written, That God shall give His angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest perchance thou dash thy foot against a stone;" thus concealing a falsehood under the guise of Scripture, as is done by all the heretics. For that was indeed written, namely, "That He hath given His angels charge concerning Him;" but "east thyself down from hence" no Scripture said in reference to Him: this kind of persuasion the devil produced from himself. The Lord therefore confuted him out of the law, when He said, "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the LORD thy God;" pointing out by the word contained in the law that which is the duty of man, that he should not tempt God; and in regard to Himself, since He appeared in human form, declaring that He would not tempt the LORD his God. The pride of reason, therefore, which was in the serpent, was put to nought by the humility found in the man Christ, and now twice was the devil conquered from Scripture, when he was detected as advising things contrary to God\'s commandment, and was shown to be the enemy of God by the expression of his thoughts. He then, having been thus signally defeated, and then, as it were, concentrating his forces, drawing up in order all his available power for falsehood, in the third place "showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them," saying, as Luke relates, "All these will I give thee,--for they are delivered to me; and to whom I will, I give them,--if thou wilt fall down and worship me." The Lord then, exposing him in his true character, says, "Depart, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." He both revealed him by this name, and showed at the same time who He Himself was. For the Hebrew word "Satan" signifies an apostate. And thus, vanquishing him for the third time, He spurned him from Him finally as being conquered out of the law; and there was done away with that infringement of God\'s commandment which had occurred in Adam, by means of the precept of the law, which the Son of man observed, who did not transgress the commandment of God. 5.26.2. If therefore the great God showed future things by Daniel, and confirmed them by His Son; and if Christ is the stone which is cut out without hands, who shall destroy temporal kingdoms, and introduce an eternal one, which is the resurrection of the just; as he declares, "The God of heaven shall raise up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed,"--let those thus confuted come to their senses, who reject the Creator (Demiurgum), and do not agree that the prophets were sent beforehand from the same Father from whom also the Lord came, but who assert that prophecies originated from diverse powers. For those things which have been predicted by the Creator alike through all the prophets has Christ fulfilled in the end, ministering to His Father\'s will, and completing His dispensations with regard to the human race. Let those persons, therefore, who blaspheme the Creator, either by openly expressed words, such as the disciples of Marcion, or by a perversion of the sense of Scripture, as those of Valentinus and all the Gnostics falsely so called, be recognised as agents of Satan by all those who worship God; through whose agency Satan now, and not before, has been seen to speak against God, even Him who has prepared eternal fire for every kind of apostasy. For he did not venture to blaspheme his Lord openly of himself; as also in the beginning he led man astray through the instrumentality of the serpent, concealing himself as it were from God. Truly has Justin remarked: That before the Lord\'s appearance Satan never dared to blaspheme God, inasmuch as he did not yet know his own sentence, because it was contained in parables and allegories; but that after the Lord\'s appearance, when he had clearly ascertained from the words of Christ and His apostles that eternal fire has been prepared for him as he apostatized from God of his own free-will, and likewise for all who unrepentant continue in the apostasy, he now blasphemes, by means of such men, the Lord who brings judgment upon him as being already condemned, and imputes the guilt of his apostasy to his Maker, not to his own voluntary disposition. Just as it is with those who break the laws, when punishment overtakes them: they throw the blame upon those who frame the laws, but not upon themselves. In like manner do those men, filled with a satanic spirit, bring innumerable accusations against our Creator, who has both given to us the spirit of life, and established a law adapted for all; and they will not admit that the judgment of God is just. Wherefore also they set about imagining some other Father who neither cares about nor exercises a providence over our affairs, nay, one who even approves of all sins. '. None |
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63. Justin, First Apology, 12.9, 16.8, 26.1, 26.3-26.7 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Author of the Refutation of All Heresies • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Rome, and heresy • Gnosticism, as heretical or ‘other’ • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, human origin of • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Heretics {see also Gnostics; Marcionites) • Ignatius of Antioch, on the causes of heresy • Magi, as part of heretical succession • Magi, criticism as heresy • Martyr, Justin, heretical sects versus philosophical schools • Martyr, Justin, use of Greek models for heresy • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Simon of Samaria, as source of all heresy • Succession, heretical succession • heresy • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 29, 30, 55, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 85, 200, 201, 205, 531; Janowitz (2002) 17; Lampe (2003) 241, 250, 260, 386, 393; Lieu (2004) 208, 258, 267, 268; Moss (2012) 84; Tabbernee (2007) 358; Vinzent (2013) 171
| 12.9. And more than all other men are we your helpers and allies in promoting peace, seeing that we hold this view, that it is alike impossible for the wicked, the covetous, the conspirator, and for the virtuous, to escape the notice of God, and that each man goes to everlasting punishment or salvation according to the value of his actions. For if all men knew this, no one would choose wickedness even for a little, knowing that he goes to the everlasting punishment of fire; but would by all means restrain himself, and adorn himself with virtue, that he might obtain the good gifts of God, and escape the punishments. For those who, on account of the laws and punishments you impose, endeavour to escape detection when they offend (and they offend, too, under the impression that it is quite possible to escape your detection, since you are but men), those persons, if they learned and were convinced that nothing, whether actually done or only intended, can escape the knowledge of God, would by all means live decently on account of the penalties threatened, as even you yourselves will admit. But you seem to fear lest all men become righteous, and you no longer have any to punish. Such would be the concern of public executioners, but not of good princes. But, as we before said, we are persuaded that these things are prompted by evil spirits, who demand sacrifices and service even from those who live unreasonably; but as for you, we presume that you who aim at a reputation for piety and philosophy will do nothing unreasonable. But if you also, like the foolish, prefer custom to truth, do what you have power to do. But just so much power have rulers who esteem opinion more than truth, as robbers have in a desert. And that you will not succeed is declared by the Word, than whom, after God who begot Him, we know there is no ruler more kingly and just. For as all shrink from succeeding to the poverty or sufferings or obscurity of their fathers, so whatever the Word forbids us to choose, the sensible man will not choose. That all these things should come to pass, I say, our Teacher foretold, He who is both Son and Apostle of God the Father of all and the Ruler, Jesus Christ; from whom also we have the name of Christians. Whence we become more assured of all the things He taught us, since whatever He beforehand foretold should come to pass, is seen in fact coming to pass; and this is the work of God, to tell of a thing before it happens, and as it was foretold so to show it happening. It were possible to pause here and add no more, reckoning that we demand what is just and true; but because we are well aware that it is not easy suddenly to change a mind possessed by ignorance, we intend to add a few things, for the sake of persuading those who love the truth, knowing that it is not impossible to put ignorance to flight by presenting the truth. ' "14. For we forewarn you to be on your guard, lest those demons whom we have been accusing should deceive you, and quite divert you from reading and understanding what we say. For they strive to hold you their slaves and servants; and sometimes by appearances in dreams, and sometimes by magical impositions, they subdue all who make no strong opposing effort for their own salvation. And thus do we also, since our persuasion by the Word, stand aloof from them (i.e., the demons), and follow the only unbegotten God through His Son - we who formerly delighted in fornication, but now embrace chastity alone; we who formerly used magical arts, dedicate ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and communicate to every one in need; we who hated and destroyed one another, and on account of their different manners would not live with men of a different tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies, and endeavour to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good precepts of Christ, to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God the ruler of all. But lest we should seem to be reasoning sophistically, we consider it right, before giving you the promised explanation, to cite a few precepts given by Christ Himself. And be it yours, as powerful rulers, to inquire whether we have been taught and do teach these things truly. Brief and concise utterances fell from Him, for He was no sophist, but His word was the power of God. ' "
16.8. And concerning our being patient of injuries, and ready to serve all, and free from anger, this is what He said: To him that smites you on the one cheek, offer also the other; and him that takes away your cloak or coat, forbid not. And whosoever shall be angry, is in danger of the fire. And every one that compels you to go with him a mile, follow him two. And let your good works shine before men, that they, seeing them, may glorify your Father which is in heaven. For we ought not to strive; neither has He desired us to be imitators of wicked men, but He has exhorted us to lead all men, by patience and gentleness, from shame and the love of evil. And this indeed is proved in the case of many who once were of your way of thinking, but have changed their violent and tyrannical disposition, being overcome either by the constancy which they have witnessed in their neighbours' lives, or by the extraordinary forbearance they have observed in their fellow-travellers when defrauded, or by the honesty of those with whom they have transacted business. And with regard to our not swearing at all, and always speaking the truth, He enjoined as follows: Swear not at all; but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil. Matthew 5:34, 27 And that we ought to worship God alone, He thus persuaded us: The greatest commandment is, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve, with all your heart, and with all your strength, the Lord God that made you. Mark 12:30 And when a certain man came to Him and said, Good Master, He answered and said, There is none good but God only, who made all things. Matthew 19:6, 17 And let those who are not found living as He taught, be understood to be no Christians, even though they profess with the lip the precepts of Christ; for not those who make profession, but those who do the works, shall be saved, according to His word: Not every one who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven. For whosoever hears Me, and does My sayings, hears Him that sent Me. And many will say unto Me, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten and drunk in Your name, and done wonders? And then will I say unto them, Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Then shall there be wailing and gnashing of teeth, when the righteous shall shine as the sun, and the wicked are sent into everlasting fire. For many shall come in My name, clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but inwardly being ravening wolves. By their works you shall know them. And every tree that brings not forth good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire. And as to those who are not living pursuant to these His teachings, and are Christians only in name, we demand that all such be punished by you. " "
26.1. And, thirdly, because after Christ's ascension into heaven the devils put forward certain men who said that they themselves were gods; and they were not only not persecuted by you, but even deemed worthy of honours. There was a Samaritan, Simon, a native of the village called Gitto, who in the reign of Claudius C sar, and in your royal city of Rome, did mighty acts of magic, by virtue of the art of the devils operating in him. He was considered a god, and as a god was honoured by you with a statue, which statue was erected on the river Tiber, between the two bridges, and bore this inscription, in the language of Rome: - Simoni Deo Sancto, To Simon the holy God. And almost all the Samaritans, and a few even of other nations, worship him, and acknowledge him as the first god; and a woman, Helena, who went about with him at that time, and had formerly been a prostitute, they say is the first idea generated by him. And a man, Meder, also a Samaritan, of the town Capparet a, a disciple of Simon, and inspired by devils, we know to have deceived many while he was in Antioch by his magical art. He persuaded those who adhered to him that they should never die, and even now there are some living who hold this opinion of his. And there is Marcion, a man of Pontus, who is even at this day alive, and teaching his disciples to believe in some other god greater than the Creator. And he, by the aid of the devils, has caused many of every nation to speak blasphemies, and to deny that God is the maker of this universe, and to assert that some other being, greater than He, has done greater works. All who take their opinions from these men, are, as we before said, called Christians; just as also those who do not agree with the philosophers in their doctrines, have yet in common with them the name of philosophers given to them. And whether they perpetrate those fabulous and shameful deeds - the upsetting of the lamp, and promiscuous intercourse, and eating human flesh - we know not; but we do know that they are neither persecuted nor put to death by you, at least on account of their opinions. But I have a treatise against all the heresies that have existed already composed, which, if you wish to read it, I will give you. " "26.7. And, thirdly, because after Christ's ascension into heaven the devils put forward certain men who said that they themselves were gods; and they were not only not persecuted by you, but even deemed worthy of honours. There was a Samaritan, Simon, a native of the village called Gitto, who in the reign of Claudius C sar, and in your royal city of Rome, did mighty acts of magic, by virtue of the art of the devils operating in him. He was considered a god, and as a god was honoured by you with a statue, which statue was erected on the river Tiber, between the two bridges, and bore this inscription, in the language of Rome: - Simoni Deo Sancto, To Simon the holy God. And almost all the Samaritans, and a few even of other nations, worship him, and acknowledge him as the first god; and a woman, Helena, who went about with him at that time, and had formerly been a prostitute, they say is the first idea generated by him. And a man, Meder, also a Samaritan, of the town Capparet a, a disciple of Simon, and inspired by devils, we know to have deceived many while he was in Antioch by his magical art. He persuaded those who adhered to him that they should never die, and even now there are some living who hold this opinion of his. And there is Marcion, a man of Pontus, who is even at this day alive, and teaching his disciples to believe in some other god greater than the Creator. And he, by the aid of the devils, has caused many of every nation to speak blasphemies, and to deny that God is the maker of this universe, and to assert that some other being, greater than He, has done greater works. All who take their opinions from these men, are, as we before said, called Christians; just as also those who do not agree with the philosophers in their doctrines, have yet in common with them the name of philosophers given to them. And whether they perpetrate those fabulous and shameful deeds - the upsetting of the lamp, and promiscuous intercourse, and eating human flesh - we know not; but we do know that they are neither persecuted nor put to death by you, at least on account of their opinions. But I have a treatise against all the heresies that have existed already composed, which, if you wish to read it, I will give you. " '56. But the evil spirits were not satisfied with saying, before Christ's appearance, that those who were said to be sons of Jupiter were born of him; but after He had appeared, and been born among men, and when they learned how He had been foretold by the prophets, and knew that He should be believed on and looked for by every nation, they again, as was said above, put forward other men, the Samaritans Simon and Meder, who did many mighty works by magic, and deceived many, and still keep them deceived. For even among yourselves, as we said before, Simon was in the royal city Rome in the reign of Claudius C sar, and so greatly astonished the sacred senate and people of the Romans, that he was considered a god, and honoured, like the others whom you honour as gods, with a statue. Wherefore we pray that the sacred senate and your people may, along with yourselves, be arbiters of this our memorial, in order that if any one be entangled by that man's doctrines, he may learn the truth, and so be able to escape error; and as for the statue, if you please, destroy it. " '58. And, as we said before, the devils put forward Marcion of Pontus, who is even now teaching men to deny that God is the maker of all things in heaven and on earth, and that the Christ predicted by the prophets is His Son, and preaches another god besides the Creator of all, and likewise another son. And this man many have believed, as if he alone knew the truth, and laugh at us, though they have no proof of what they say, but are carried away irrationally as lambs by a wolf, and become the prey of atheistical doctrines, and of devils. For they who are called devils attempt nothing else than to seduce men from God who made them, and from Christ His first-begotten; and those who are unable to raise themselves above the earth they have riveted, and do now rivet, to things earthly, and to the works of their own hands; but those who devote themselves to the contemplation of things divine, they secretly beat back; and if they have not a wise sober-mindedness, and a pure and passionless life, they drive them into godlessness. 65. But we, after we have thus washed him who has been convinced and has assented to our teaching, bring him to the place where those who are called brethren are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in common for ourselves and for the baptized illuminated person, and for all others in every place, that we may be counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the commandments, so that we may be saved with an everlasting salvation. Having ended the prayers, we salute one another with a kiss. There is then brought to the president of the brethren bread and a cup of wine mixed with water; and he taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our being counted worthy to receive these things at His hands. And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all the people present express their assent by saying Amen. This word Amen answers in the Hebrew language to &'. None |
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64. Justin, Dialogue With Trypho, 2.1-2.4, 2.6, 35.3-35.6, 51.2, 80.2-80.5, 120.6, 137.2 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Alexandria, heresy and epistemology • Clement of Rome, and heresy • Gnosticism, as heretical or ‘other’ • Hegesippus, schema of stages of heresy • Heresy • Heresy [ Heterodoxy ] • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, human origin of • Heresy, interior to Church • Heresy, novelty of • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Heretics {see also Gnostics; Marcionites) • Irenaeus, on heresy and paganism • Magi, criticism as heresy • Martyr, Justin, heretical sects versus philosophical schools • Martyr, Justin, use of Greek models for heresy • Origen, distinctions between heresies and their taxonomy • Origen, exclusive account of sects and heresy • Origen, themes on heresy in the Commentary on Matthew • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Satan, and heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Simon of Samaria, as source of all heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • Succession, heretical succession • heresy • heresy, Jewish origins denied • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, influence of historiographical outlook of the philosophical schools • heresy, and orthodoxy • heresy, definition of • heresy, heretics • heretics • heretics (minim) • min (pl. minim), as heretics • philosophical schools, as influencing Rabbinic treatment of heresy
Found in books: Bar Asher Siegal (2018) 7; Blidstein (2017) 74; Boulluec (2022) 31, 42, 46, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 66, 67, 72, 75, 76, 79, 80, 85, 100, 130, 200, 202, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 390, 470, 471, 479, 480, 481, 531, 569; Cohen (2010) 546; Kessler (2004) 25; Klawans (2019) 14, 15; Lampe (2003) 147, 250, 260, 376, 390; Lieu (2004) 267, 291, 297; Linjamaa (2019) 218; Tite (2009) 11; Vinzent (2013) 172
| 2.1. Justin: I will tell you what seems to me; for philosophy is, in fact, the greatest possession, and most honourable before God, to whom it leads us and alone commends us; and these are truly holy men who have bestowed attention on philosophy. What philosophy is, however, and the reason why it has been sent down to men, have escaped the observation of most; for there would be neither Platonists, nor Stoics, nor Peripatetics, nor Theoretics, nor Pythagoreans, this knowledge being one. I wish to tell you why it has become many-headed. It has happened that those who first handled it i.e., philosophy, and who were therefore esteemed illustrious men, were succeeded by those who made no investigations concerning truth, but only admired the perseverance and self-discipline of the former, as well as the novelty of the doctrines; and each thought that to be true which he learned from his teacher: then, moreover, those latter persons handed down to their successors such things, and others similar to them; and this system was called by the name of him who was styled the father of the doctrine. Being at first desirous of personally conversing with one of these men, I surrendered myself to a certain Stoic; and having spent a considerable time with him, when I had not acquired any further knowledge of God (for he did not know himself, and said such instruction was unnecessary), I left him and betook myself to another, who was called a Peripatetic, and as he fancied, shrewd. And this man, after having entertained me for the first few days, requested me to settle the fee, in order that our intercourse might not be unprofitable. Him, too, for this reason I abandoned, believing him to be no philosopher at all. But when my soul was eagerly desirous to hear the peculiar and choice philosophy, I came to a Pythagorean, very celebrated - a man who thought much of his own wisdom. And then, when I had an interview with him, willing to become his hearer and disciple, he said, 'What then? Are you acquainted with music, astronomy, and geometry? Do you expect to perceive any of those things which conduce to a happy life, if you have not been first informed on those points which wean the soul from sensible objects, and render it fitted for objects which appertain to the mind, so that it can contemplate that which is honourable in its essence and that which is good in its essence?' Having commended many of these branches of learning, and telling me that they were necessary, he dismissed me when I confessed to him my ignorance. Accordingly I took it rather impatiently, as was to be expected when I failed in my hope, the more so because I deemed the man had some knowledge; but reflecting again on the space of time during which I would have to linger over those branches of learning, I was not able to endure longer procrastination. In my helpless condition it occurred to me to have a meeting with the Platonists, for their fame was great. I thereupon spent as much of my time as possible with one who had lately settled in our city, - a sagacious man, holding a high position among the Platonists - and I progressed, and made the greatest improvements daily. And the perception of immaterial things quite overpowered me, and the contemplation of ideas furnished my mind with wings, so that in a little while I supposed that I had become wise; and such was my stupidity, I expected immediately to look upon God, for this is the end of Plato's philosophy. " "19. Justin: It is this about which we are at a loss, and with reason, because, while you endure such things, you do not observe all the other customs which we are now discussing. This circumcision is not, however, necessary for all men, but for you alone, in order that, as I have already said, you may suffer these things which you now justly suffer. Nor do we receive that useless baptism of cisterns, for it has nothing to do with this baptism of life. Wherefore also God has announced that you have forsaken Him, the living fountain, and dug for yourselves broken cisterns which can hold no water. Even you, who are the circumcised according to the flesh, have need of our circumcision; but we, having the latter, do not require the former. For if it were necessary, as you suppose, God would not have made Adam uncircumcised; would not have had respect to the gifts of Abel when, being uncircumcised, he offered sacrifice and would not have been pleased with the uncircumcision of Enoch, who was not found, because God had translated him. Lot, being uncircumcised, was saved from Sodom, the angels themselves and the Lord sending him out. Noah was the beginning of our race; yet, uncircumcised, along with his children he went into the ark. Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High, was uncircumcised; to whom also Abraham the first who received circumcision after the flesh, gave tithes, and he blessed him: after whose order God declared, by the mouth of David, that He would establish the everlasting priest. Therefore to you alone this circumcision was necessary, in order that the people may be no people, and the nation no nation; as also Hosea, one of the twelve prophets, declares. Moreover, all those righteous men already mentioned, though they kept no Sabbaths, were pleasing to God; and after them Abraham with all his descendants until Moses, under whom your nation appeared unrighteous and ungrateful to God, making a calf in the wilderness: wherefore God, accommodating Himself to that nation, enjoined them also to offer sacrifices, as if to His name, in order that you might not serve idols. Which precept, however, you have not observed; nay, you sacrificed your children to demons. And you were commanded to keep Sabbaths, that you might retain the memorial of God. For His word makes this announcement, saying, 'That you may know that I am God who redeemed you.' Ezekiel 20:12 " '23. Justin: But if we do not admit this, we shall be liable to fall into foolish opinions, as if it were not the same God who existed in the times of Enoch and all the rest, who neither were circumcised after the flesh, nor observed Sabbaths, nor any other rites, seeing that Moses enjoined such observances; or that God has not wished each race of mankind continually to perform the same righteous actions: to admit which, seems to be ridiculous and absurd. Therefore we must confess that He, who is ever the same, has commanded these and such like institutions on account of sinful men, and we must declare Him to be benevolent, foreknowing, needing nothing, righteous and good. But if this be not so, tell me, sir, what you think of those matters which we are investigating. And when no one responded: Wherefore, Trypho, I will proclaim to you, and to those who wish to become proselytes, the divine message which I heard from that man. Do you see that the elements are not idle, and keep no Sabbaths? Remain as you were born. For if there was no need of circumcision before Abraham, or of the observance of Sabbaths, of feasts and sacrifices, before Moses; no more need is there of them now, after that, according to the will of God, Jesus Christ the Son of God has been born without sin, of a virgin sprung from the stock of Abraham. For when Abraham himself was in uncircumcision, he was justified and blessed by reason of the faith which he reposed in God, as the Scripture tells. Moreover, the Scriptures and the facts themselves compel us to admit that He received circumcision for a sign, and not for righteousness. So that it was justly recorded concerning the people, that the soul which shall not be circumcised on the eighth day shall be cut off from his family. And, furthermore, the inability of the female sex to receive fleshly circumcision, proves that this circumcision has been given for a sign, and not for a work of righteousness. For God has given likewise to women the ability to observe all things which are righteous and virtuous; but we see that the bodily form of the male has been made different from the bodily form of the female; yet we know that neither of them is righteous or unrighteous merely for this cause, but is considered righteous by reason of piety and righteousness. ' "
35.3. Trypho: I believe, however, that many of those who say that they confess Jesus, and are called Christians, eat meats offered to idols, and declare that they are by no means injured in consequence. Justin: The fact that there are such men confessing themselves to be Christians, and admitting the crucified Jesus to be both Lord and Christ, yet not teaching His doctrines, but those of the spirits of error, causes us who are disciples of the true and pure doctrine of Jesus Christ, to be more faithful and steadfast in the hope announced by Him. For what things He predicted would take place in His name, these we do see being actually accomplished in our sight. For he said, 'Many shall come in My name, clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.' Matthew 7:15 And, 'There shall be schisms and heresies.' 1 Corinthians 11:19 And, 'Beware of false prophets, who shall come to you clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.' Matthew 7:15 And, 'Many false Christs and false apostles shall arise, and shall deceive many of the faithful.' Matthew 24:11 There are, therefore, and there were many, my friends, who, coming forward in the name of Jesus, taught both to speak and act impious and blasphemous things; and these are called by us after the name of the men from whom each doctrine and opinion had its origin. (For some in one way, others in another, teach to blaspheme the Maker of all things, and Christ, who was foretold by Him as coming, and the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, with whom we have nothing in common, since we know them to be atheists, impious, unrighteous, and sinful, and confessors of Jesus in name only, instead of worshippers of Him. Yet they style themselves Christians, just as certain among the Gentiles inscribe the name of God upon the works of their own hands, and partake in nefarious and impious rites.) Some are called Marcians, and some Valentinians, and some Basilidians, and some Saturnilians, and others by other names; each called after the originator of the individual opinion, just as each one of those who consider themselves philosophers, as I said before, thinks he must bear the name of the philosophy which he follows, from the name of the father of the particular doctrine. So that, in consequence of these events, we know that Jesus foreknew what would happen after Him, as well as in consequence of many other events which He foretold would befall those who believed on and confessed Him, the Christ. For all that we suffer, even when killed by friends, He foretold would take place; so that it is manifest no word or act of His can be found fault with. Wherefore we pray for you and for all other men who hate us; in order that you, having repented along with us, may not blaspheme Him who, by His works, by the mighty deeds even now wrought through His name, by the words He taught, by the prophecies announced concerning Him, is the blameless, and in all things irreproachable, Christ Jesus; but, believing on Him, may be saved in His second glorious advent, and may not be condemned to fire by Him. " "
51.2. It is proved that this prophecy has been fulfilled Trypho: All the words of the prophecy you repeat, sir, are ambiguous, and have no force in proving what you wish to prove. Justin: If the prophets had not ceased, so that there were no more in your nation, Trypho, after this John, it is evident that what I say in reference to Jesus Christ might be regarded perhaps as ambiguous. But if John came first calling on men to repent, and Christ, while John still sat by the river Jordan, having come, put an end to his prophesying and baptizing, and preached also Himself, saying that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and that He must suffer many things from the Scribes and Pharisees, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again, and would appear again in Jerusalem, and would again eat and drink with His disciples; and foretold that in the interval between His first and second advent, as I previously said, priests and false prophets would arise in His name, which things do actually appear; then how can they be ambiguous, when you may be persuaded by the facts? Moreover, He referred to the fact that there would be no longer in your nation any prophet, and to the fact that men recognised how that the New Testament, which God formerly announced His intention of promulgating, was then present, i.e., Christ Himself; and in the following terms: 'The law and the prophets were until John the Baptist; from that time the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. And if you can receive it, he is Elijah, who was to come. He that has ears to hear, let him hear.' Matthew 11:12-15" "62. The words Let Us make man agree with the testimony of Proverbs Justin: And the same sentiment was expressed, my friends, by the word of God written by Moses, when it indicated to us, with regard to Him whom it has pointed out, that God speaks in the creation of man with the very same design, in the following words: 'Let Us make man after our image and likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heaven, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creeping things that creep on the earth. And God created man: after the image of God did He create him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and said, Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and have power over it.' And that you may not change the force of the words just quoted, and repeat what your teachers assert — either that God said to Himself, 'Let Us make,' just as we, when about to do something, oftentimes say to ourselves, 'Let us make;' or that God spoke to the elements, to wit, the earth and other similar substances of which we believe man was formed, 'Let Us make,'— I shall quote again the words narrated by Moses himself, from which we can indisputably learn that God conversed with some one who was numerically distinct from Himself, and also a rational Being. These are the words: 'And God said, Behold, Adam has become as one of us, to know good and evil.' Genesis 3:22 In saying, therefore, 'as one of us,' Moses has declared that there is a certain number of persons associated with one another, and that they are at least two. For I would not say that the dogma of that heresy which is said to be among you is true, or that the teachers of it can prove that God spoke to angels, or that the human frame was the workmanship of angels. But this offspring, which was truly brought forth from the Father, was with the Father before all the creatures, and the Father communed with Him; even as the Scripture by Solomon has made clear, that He whom Solomon calls Wisdom, was begotten as a Beginning before all His creatures and as offspring by God, who has also declared this same thing in the revelation made by Joshua the son of Nave (Nun). Listen, therefore, to the following from the book of Joshua, that what I say may become manifest to you; it is this: 'And it came to pass, when Joshua was near Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and sees a man standing over against him. And Joshua approached to Him, and said, Are you for us, or for our adversaries? And He said to him, I am Captain of the Lord's host: now have I come. And Joshua fell on his face on the ground, and said to Him, Lord, what do You command Your servant? And the Lord's Captain says to Joshua, Loose the shoes off your feet; for the place whereon you stand is holy ground. And Jericho was shut up and fortified, and no one went out of it. And the Lord said to Joshua, Behold, I give into your hand Jericho, and its king, and its mighty men.'" "
80.2. The opinion of Justin with regard to the reign of a thousand years. Several Catholics reject it Trypho: I remarked to you sir, that you are very anxious to be safe in all respects, since you cling to the Scriptures. But tell me, do you really admit that this place, Jerusalem, shall be rebuilt; and do you expect your people to be gathered together, and made joyful with Christ and the patriarchs, and the prophets, both the men of our nation, and other proselytes who joined them before your Christ came? Or have you given way, and admitted this in order to have the appearance of worsting us in the controversies? Justin: I am not so miserable a fellow, Trypho, as to say one thing and think another. I admitted to you formerly, that I and many others are of this opinion, and believe that such will take place, as you assuredly are aware; but, on the other hand, I signified to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and are true Christians, think otherwise. Moreover, I pointed out to you that some who are called Christians, but are godless, impious heretics, teach doctrines that are in every way blasphemous, atheistical, and foolish. But that you may know that I do not say this before you alone, I shall draw up a statement, so far as I can, of all the arguments which have passed between us; in which I shall record myself as admitting the very same things which I admit to you. For I choose to follow not men or men's doctrines, but God and the doctrines delivered by Him. For if you have fallen in with some who are called Christians, but who do not admit this truth, and venture to blaspheme the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are Christians, even as one, if he would rightly consider it, would not admit that the Sadducees, or similar sects of Genistæ, Meristæ, Galilæans, Hellenists, Pharisees, Baptists, are Jews (do not hear me impatiently when I tell you what I think), but are only called Jews and children of Abraham, worshipping God with the lips, as God Himself declared, but the heart was far from Him. But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, as the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare." "80. The opinion of Justin with regard to the reign of a thousand years. Several Catholics reject it Trypho: I remarked to you sir, that you are very anxious to be safe in all respects, since you cling to the Scriptures. But tell me, do you really admit that this place, Jerusalem, shall be rebuilt; and do you expect your people to be gathered together, and made joyful with Christ and the patriarchs, and the prophets, both the men of our nation, and other proselytes who joined them before your Christ came? Or have you given way, and admitted this in order to have the appearance of worsting us in the controversies? Justin: I am not so miserable a fellow, Trypho, as to say one thing and think another. I admitted to you formerly, that I and many others are of this opinion, and believe that such will take place, as you assuredly are aware; but, on the other hand, I signified to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and are true Christians, think otherwise. Moreover, I pointed out to you that some who are called Christians, but are godless, impious heretics, teach doctrines that are in every way blasphemous, atheistical, and foolish. But that you may know that I do not say this before you alone, I shall draw up a statement, so far as I can, of all the arguments which have passed between us; in which I shall record myself as admitting the very same things which I admit to you. For I choose to follow not men or men's doctrines, but God and the doctrines delivered by Him. For if you have fallen in with some who are called Christians, but who do not admit this truth, and venture to blaspheme the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are Christians, even as one, if he would rightly consider it, would not admit that the Sadducees, or similar sects of Genistæ, Meristæ, Galilæans, Hellenists, Pharisees, Baptists, are Jews (do not hear me impatiently when I tell you what I think), but are only called Jews and children of Abraham, worshipping God with the lips, as God Himself declared, but the heart was far from Him. But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, as the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare."
120.6. Christians were promised to Isaac, Jacob, and Judah Justin: Observe, too, how the same promises are made to Isaac and to Jacob. For thus He speaks to Isaac: 'And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.' Genesis 26:4 And to Jacob: 'And in you and in your seed shall all families of the earth be blessed.' Genesis 28:14 He says that neither to Esau nor to Reuben, nor to any other; only to those of whom the Christ should arise, according to the dispensation, through the Virgin Mary. But if you would consider the blessing of Judah, you would perceive what I say. For the seed is divided from Jacob, and comes down through Judah, and Phares, and Jesse, and David. And this was a symbol of the fact that some of your nation would be found children of Abraham, and found, too, in the lot of Christ; but that others, who are indeed children of Abraham, would be like the sand on the sea-shore, barren and fruitless, much in quantity, and without number indeed, but bearing no fruit whatever, and only drinking the water of the sea. And a vast multitude in your nation are convicted of being of this kind, imbibing doctrines of bitterness and godlessness, but spurning the word of God. He speaks therefore in the passage relating to Judah: 'A prince shall not fail from Judah, nor a ruler from his thighs, till that which is laid up for him come; and He shall be the expectation of the nations.' Genesis 49:10 And it is plain that this was spoken not of Judah, but of Christ. For all we out of all nations do expect not Judah, but Jesus, who led your fathers out of Egypt. For the prophecy referred even to the advent of Christ: 'Till He come for whom this is laid up, and He shall be the expectation of nations.' Jesus came, therefore, as we have shown at length, and is expected again to appear above the clouds; whose name you profane, and labour hard to get it profaned over all the earth. It were possible for me, sirs, to contend against you about the reading which you so interpret, saying it is written, 'Till the things laid up for Him come;' though the Seventy have not so explained it, but thus, 'Till He comes for whom this is laid up.' But since what follows indicates that the reference is to Christ (for it is, 'and He shall be the expectation of nations'), I do not proceed to have a mere verbal controversy with you, as I have not attempted to establish proof about Christ from the passages of Scripture which are not admitted by you which I quoted from the words of Jeremiah the prophet, and Esdras, and David; but from those which are even now admitted by you, which had your teachers comprehended, be well assured they would have deleted them, as they did those about the death of Isaiah, whom you sawed asunder with a wooden saw. And this was a mysterious type of Christ being about to cut your nation in two, and to raise those worthy of the honour to the everlasting kingdom along with the holy patriarchs and prophets; but He has said that He will send others to the condemnation of the unquenchable fire along with similar disobedient and impenitent men from all the nations. 'For they shall come,' He said, 'from the west and from the east, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness.' And I have mentioned these things, taking nothing whatever into consideration, except the speaking of the truth, and refusing to be coerced by any one, even though I should be immediately torn in pieces by you. For I gave no thought to any of my people, that is, the Samaritans, when I had a communication in writing with Cæsar, but stated that they were wrong in trusting to the magician Simon of their own nation, who, they say, is God above all power, and authority, and might." "
137.2. He exhorts the Jews to be converted Justin: Say no evil thing, my brothers, against Him that was crucified, and treat not scornfully the stripes wherewith all may be healed, even as we are healed. For it will be well if, persuaded by the Scriptures, you are circumcised from hard-heartedness: not that circumcision which you have from the tenets that are put into you; for that was given for a sign, and not for a work of righteousness, as the Scriptures compel you to admit. Assent, therefore, and pour no ridicule on the Son of God; obey not the Pharisaic teachers, and scoff not at the King of Israel, as the rulers of your synagogues teach you to do after your prayers: for if he that touches those who are not pleasing Zechariah 2:8 to God, is as one that touches the apple of God's eye, how much more so is he that touches His beloved! And that this is He, has been sufficiently demonstrated. And as they kept silence, I continued: My friends, I now refer to the Scriptures as the Seventy have interpreted them; for when I quoted them formerly as you possess them, I made proof of you to ascertain how you were disposed. For, mentioning the Scripture which says, 'Woe unto them! For they have devised evil counsel against themselves, saying' Isaiah 3:9 (as the Seventy have translated, I continued): 'Let us take away the righteous, for he is distasteful to us;' whereas at the commencement of the discussion I added what your version has: 'Let us bind the righteous, for he is distasteful to us.' But you had been busy about some other matter, and seem to have listened to the words without attending to them. But now, since the day is drawing to a close, for the sun is about to set, I shall add one remark to what I have said, and conclude. I have indeed made the very same remark already, but I think it would be right to bestow some consideration on it again." "". None |
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65. Tertullian, Against Marcion, 2.20, 2.27, 3.24.4, 5.2-5.21 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Marcion of Sinope, heretic • Roman law, against heresy • Tertullian, scriptural interpretation against heretics • heresy • heresy named after founder • heresy, heretics • heresy/heretics • heretics see also Donatists Manichaeans, Tertullian’s scriptural interpretation against
Found in books: Gunderson (2022) 120; Humfress (2007) 175; Marek (2019) 543; Tabbernee (2007) 156; Vinzent (2013) 173; Yates and Dupont (2020) 97, 98
| 2.20. But these saucy cuttles (of heretics) under the figure of whom the law about things to be eaten Deuteronomy 14 prohibited this very kind of piscatory aliment, as soon as they find themselves confuted, eject the black venom of their blasphemy, and so spread about in all directions the object which (as is now plain) they severally have in view, when they put forth such assertions and protestations as shall obscure and tarnish the rekindled light of the Creator's bounty. We will, however, follow their wicked design, even through these black clouds, and drag to light their tricks of dark calumny, laying to the Creator's charge with special emphasis the fraud and theft of gold and silver which the Hebrews were commanded by Him to practise against the Egyptians. Come, unhappy heretic, I cite even you as a witness; first look at the case of the two nations, and then you will form a judgment of the Author of the command. The Egyptians put in a claim on the Hebrews for these gold and silver vessels. The Hebrews assert a counter claim, alleging that by the bond of their respective fathers, attested by the written engagement of both parties, there were due to them the arrears of that laborious slavery of theirs, for the bricks they had so painfully made, and the cities and palaces which they had built. What shall be your verdict, you discoverer of the most good God? That the Hebrews must admit the fraud, or the Egyptians the compensation? For they maintain that thus has the question been settled by the advocates on both sides, of the Egyptians demanding their vessels, and the Hebrews claiming the requital of their labours. But for all they say, the Egyptians justly renounced their restitution-claim then and there; while the Hebrews to this day, in spite of the Marcionites, re-assert their demand for even greater damages, insisting that, however large was their loan of the gold and silver, it would not be compensation enough, even if the labour of six hundred thousand men should be valued at only a farthing a day a piece. Which, however, were the more in number - those who claimed the vessel, or those who dwelt in the palaces and cities? Which, too, the greater - the grievance of the Egyptians against the Hebrews, or the favour which they displayed towards them? Were free men reduced to servile labour, in order that the Hebrews might simply proceed against the Egyptians by action at law for injuries; or in order that their officers might on their benches sit and exhibit their backs and shoulders shamefully mangled by the fierce application of the scourge? It was not by a few plates and cup - in all cases the property, no doubt, of still fewer rich men - that any one would pronounce that compensation should have been awarded to the Hebrews, but both by all the resources of these and by the contributions of all the people. If, therefore, the case of the Hebrews be a good one, the Creator's case must likewise be a good one; that is to say, his command, when He both made the Egyptians unconsciously grateful, and also gave His own people their discharge in full at the time of their migration by the scanty comfort of a tacit requital of their long servitude. It was plainly less than their due which He commanded to be exacted. The Egyptians ought to have given back their men-children also to the Hebrews. " "
2.27. And now, that I may briefly pass in review the other points which you have thus far been engaged in collecting, as mean, weak, and unworthy, for demolishing the Creator, I will propound them in a simple and definite statement: that God would have been unable to hold any intercourse with men, if He had not taken on Himself the emotions and affections of man, by means of which He could temper the strength of His majesty, which would no doubt have been incapable of endurance to the moderate capacity of man, by such a humiliation as was indeed degrading to Himself, but necessary for man, and such as on this very account became worthy of God, because nothing is so worthy of God as the salvation of man. If I were arguing with heathens, I should dwell more at length on this point; although with heretics too the discussion does not stand on very different grounds. Inasmuch as you yourselves have now come to the belief that God moved about in the form and all other circumstances of man's nature, you will of course no longer require to be convinced that God conformed Himself to humanity, but feel yourselves bound by your own faith. For if the God (in whom you believe,) even from His higher condition, prostrated the supreme dignity of His majesty to such a lowliness as to undergo death, even the death of the cross, why can you not suppose that some humiliations are becoming to our God also, only more tolerable than Jewish contumelies, and crosses, and sepulchres? Are these the humiliations which henceforth are to raise a prejudice against Christ (the subject as He is of human passions ) being a partaker of that Godhead against which you make the participation in human qualities a reproach? Now we believe that Christ did ever act in the name of God the Father; that He actually from the beginning held intercourse with (men); actually communed with patriarchs and prophets; was the Son of the Creator; was His Word; whom God made His Son by emitting Him from His own self, and thenceforth set Him over every dispensation and (administration of) His will, making Him a little lower than the angels, as is written in David. In which lowering of His condition He received from the Father a dispensation in those very respects which you blame as human; from the very beginning learning, even then, (that state of a) man which He was destined in the end to become. It is He who descends, He who interrogates, He who demands, He who swears. With regard, however, to the Father, the very gospel which is common to us will testify that He was never visible, according to the word of Christ: No man knows the Father, save the Son. Matthew 11:27 For even in the Old Testament He had declared, No man shall see me, and live. Exodus 33:20 He means that the Father is invisible, in whose authority and in whose name was He God who appeared as the Son of God. But with us Christ is received in the person of Christ, because even in this manner is He our God. Whatever attributes therefore you require as worthy of God, must be found in the Father, who is invisible and unapproachable, and placid, and (so to speak) the God of the philosophers; whereas those qualities which you censure as unworthy must be supposed to be in the Son, who has been seen, and heard, and encountered, the Witness and Servant of the Father, uniting in Himself man and God, God in mighty deeds, in weak ones man, in order that He may give to man as much as He takes from God. What in your esteem is the entire disgrace of my God, is in fact the sacrament of man's salvation. God held converse with man, that man might learn to act as God. God dealt on equal terms with man, that man might be able to deal on equal terms with God. God was found little, that man might become very great. You who disdain such a God, I hardly know whether you ex fidebelieve that God was crucified. How great, then, is your perversity in respect of the two characters of the Creator! You designate Him as Judge, and reprobate as cruelty that severity of the Judge which only acts in accord with the merits of cases. You require God to be very good, and yet despise as meanness that gentleness of His which accorded with His kindness, (and) held lowly converse in proportion to the mediocrity of man's estate. He pleases you not, whether great or little, neither as your judge nor as your friend! What if the same features should be discovered in your God? That He too is a judge, we have already shown in the proper section: that from being a judge He must needs be severe; and from being severe He must also be cruel, if indeed cruel. " "
5.2. The epistle which we also allow to be the most decisive against Judaism, is that wherein the apostle instructs the Galatians. For the abolition of the ancient law we fully admit, and hold that it actually proceeds from the dispensation of the Creator, - a point which we have already often treated in the course of our discussion, when we showed that the innovation was foretold by the prophets of our God. Now, if the Creator indeed promised that the ancient things should pass away, to be superseded by a new course of things which should arise, while Christ marks the period of the separation when He says, The law and the prophets were until John Luke 16:16 - thus making the Baptist the limit between the two dispensations of the old things then terminating - and the new things then beginning, the apostle cannot of course do otherwise, (coming as he does) in Christ, who was revealed after John, than invalidate the old things and confirm the new, and yet promote thereby the faith of no other god than the Creator, at whose instance it was foretold that the ancient things should pass away. Therefore both the abrogation of the law and the establishment of the gospel help my argument even in this epistle, wherein they both have reference to the fond assumption of the Galatians, which led them to suppose that faith in Christ (the Creator's Christ, of course) was obligatory, but without annulling the law, because it still appeared to them a thing incredible that the law should be set aside by its own author. Again, if they had at all heard of any other god from the apostle, would they not have concluded at once, of themselves, that they must give up the law of that God whom they had left, in order to follow another? For what man would be long in learning, that he ought to pursue a new discipline, after he had taken up with a new god? Since, however, the same God was declared in the gospel which had always been so well known in the law, the only change being in the dispensation, the sole point of the question to be discussed was, whether the law of the Creator ought by the gospel to be excluded in the Christ of the Creator? Take away this point, and the controversy falls to the ground. Now, since they would all know of themselves, on the withdrawal of this point, that they must of course renounce all submission to the Creator by reason of their faith in another god, there could have been no call for the apostle to teach them so earnestly that which their own belief must have spontaneously suggested to them. Therefore the entire purport of this epistle is simply to show us that the supersession of the law comes from the appointment of the Creator - a point, which we shall still have to keep in mind. Since also he makes mention of no other god (and he could have found no other opportunity of doing so, more suitable than when his purpose was to set forth the reason for the abolition of the law - especially as the prescription of a new god would have afforded a singularly good and most sufficient reason), it is clear enough in what sense he writes, I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him who has called you to His grace to another gospel Galatians 1:6-7 - He means) another as to the conduct it prescribes, not in respect of its worship; another as to the discipline it teaches, not in respect of its divinity; because it is the office of Christ's gospel to call men from the law to grace, not from the Creator to another god. For nobody had induced them to apostatize from the Creator, that they should seem to be removed to another gospel, simply when they return again to the Creator. When he adds, too, the words, which is not another, Galatians 1:7 he confirms the fact that the gospel which he maintains is the Creator's. For the Creator Himself promises the gospel, when He says by Isaiah: Get you up into the high mountain, you that brings to Sion good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, you that brings the gospel to Jerusalem. Also when, with respect to the apostles personally, He says, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, that bring good tidings of good Isaiah 52:7 - even proclaiming the gospel to the Gentiles, because He also says, In His name shall the Gentiles trust; that is, in the name of Christ, to whom He says, I have given you as a light of the Gentiles. Isaiah 42:6 However, you will have it that it is the gospel of a new god which was then set forth by the apostle. So that there are two gospels for two gods; and the apostle made a great mistake when he said that there is not another gospel, Galatians 1:7 since there is (on the hypothesis) another; and so he might have made a better defense of his gospel, by rather demonstrating this, than by insisting on its being but one. But perhaps, to avoid this difficulty, you will say that he therefore added just afterwards, Though an angel from heaven preach any other gospel, let him be accursed, Galatians 1:8 because he was aware that the Creator was going to introduce a gospel! But you thus entangle yourself still more. For this is now the mesh in which you are caught. To affirm that there are two gospels, is not the part of a man who has already denied that there is another. His meaning, however, is clear, for he has mentioned himself first (in the anathema): But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel. Galatians 1:8 It is by way of an example that he has expressed himself. If even he himself might not preach any other gospel, then neither might an angel. He said angel in this way, that he might show how much more men ought not to be believed, when neither an angel nor an apostle ought to be; not that he meant to apply an angel to the gospel of the Creator. He then cursorily touches on his own conversion from a persecutor to an apostle - confirming thereby the Acts of the Apostles, in which book may be found the very subject of this epistle, how that certain persons interposed, and said that men ought to be circumcised, and that the law of Moses was to be observed; and how the apostles, when consulted, determined, by the authority of the Holy Ghost, that a yoke should not be put upon men's necks which their fathers even had not been able to bear. Now, since the Acts of the Apostles thus agree with Paul, it becomes apparent why you reject them. It is because they declare no other God than the Creator, and prove Christ to belong to no other God than the Creator; while the promise of the Holy Ghost is shown to have been fulfilled in no other document than the Acts of the Apostles. Now, it is not very likely that these should be found in agreement with the apostle, on the one hand, when they described his career in accordance with his own statement; but should, on the other hand, be at variance with him when they announce the (attribute of) divinity in the Creator's Christ - as if Paul did not follow the preaching of the apostles when he received from them the prescription of not teaching the Law. " "5.3. But with regard to the countece of Peter and the rest of the apostles, he tells us that fourteen years after he went up to Jerusalem, in order to confer with them Galatians 2:1-2 about the rule which he followed in his gospel, lest perchance he should all those years have been running, and be running still, in vain, (which would be the case,) of course, if his preaching of the gospel fell short of their method. So great had been his desire to be approved and supported by those whom you wish on all occasions to be understood as in alliance with Judaism! When indeed he says, that neither was Titus circumcised, Galatians 2:3 he for the first time shows us that circumcision was the only question connected with the maintece of the law, which had been as yet agitated by those whom he therefore calls false brethren unawares brought in. Galatians 2:4 These persons went no further than to insist on a continuance of the law, retaining unquestionably a sincere belief in the Creator. They perverted the gospel in their teaching, not indeed by such a tampering with the Scripture as should enable them to expunge the Creator's Christ, but by so retaining the ancient régime as not to exclude the Creator's law. Therefore he says: Because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ, that they might bring us into bondage, to whom we gave place by subjection not even for an hour. Galatians 2:4-5 Let us only attend to the clear sense and to the reason of the thing, and the perversion of the Scripture will be apparent. When he first says, Neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised, and then adds, And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, Galatians 2:3-4 etc., he gives us an insight into his reason for acting in a clean contrary way, showing us wherefore he did that which he would neither have done nor shown to us, if that had not happened which induced him to act as he did. But then I want you to tell us whether they would have yielded to the subjection that was demanded, if these false brethren had not crept in to spy out their liberty? I apprehend not. They therefore gave way (in a partial concession), because there were persons whose weak faith required consideration. For their rudimentary belief, which was still in suspense about the observance of the law, deserved this concessive treatment, when even the apostle himself had some suspicion that he might have run, and be still running, in vain. Galatians 2:2 Accordingly, the false brethren who were the spies of their Christian liberty must be thwarted in their efforts to bring it under the yoke of their own Judaism before that Paul discovered whether his labour had been in vain, before that those who preceded him in the apostolate gave him their right hands of fellowship, before that he entered on the office of preaching to the Gentiles, according to their arrangement with him. He therefore made some concession, as was necessary, for a time; and this was the reason why he had Timothy circumcised, Acts 16:3 and the Nazarites introduced into the temple, Acts 21:23-26 which incidents are described in the Acts. Their truth may be inferred from their agreement with the apostle's own profession, how to the Jews he became as a Jew, that he might gain the Jews, and to them that were under the law, as under the law, - and so here with respect to those who come in secretly -and lastly, how he became all things to all men, that he might gain all. Now, inasmuch as the circumstances require such an interpretation as this, no one will refuse to admit that Paul preached that God and that Christ whose law he was excluding all the while, however much he allowed it, owing to the times, but which he would have had summarily to abolish if he had published a new god. Rightly, then, did Peter and James and John give their right hand of fellowship to Paul, and agree on such a division of their work, as that Paul should go to the heathen, and themselves to the circumcision. Galatians 2:9 Their agreement, also, to remember the poor Galatians 2:10 was in complete conformity with the law of the Creator, which cherished the poor and needy, as has been shown in our observations on your Gospel. It is thus certain that the question was one which simply regarded the law, while at the same time it is apparent what portion of the law it was convenient to have observed. Paul, however, censures Peter for not walking straightforwardly according to the truth of the gospel. No doubt he blames him; but it was solely because of his inconsistency in the matter of eating, which he varied according to the sort of persons (whom he associated with) fearing them which were of the circumcision, Galatians 2:12 but not on account of any perverse opinion touching another god. For if such a question had arisen, others also would have been resisted face to face by the man who had not even spared Peter on the comparatively small matter of his doubtful conversation. But what do the Marcionites wish to have believed (on the point)? For the rest, the apostle must (be permitted to) go on with his own statement, wherein he says that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith: Galatians 2:16 faith, however, in the same God to whom belongs the law also. For of course he would have bestowed no labour on severing faith from the law, when the difference of the god would, if there had only been any, have of itself produced such a severance. Justly, therefore, did he refuse to build up again (the structure of the law) which he had overthrown. The law, indeed, had to be overthrown, from the moment when John cried in the wilderness, Prepare the ways of the Lord, that valleys and hills and mountains may be filled up and levelled, and the crooked and the rough ways be made straight and smooth Luke 3:4-5 - in other words, that the difficulties of the law might be changed into the facilities of the gospel. For he remembered that the time had come of which the Psalm spoke, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast off their yoke from us; since the time when the nations became tumultuous, and the people imagined vain counsels; when the kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against His Christ, in order that thenceforward man might be justified by the liberty of faith, not by servitude to the law, because the just shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4 Now, although the prophet Habakkuk first said this, yet you have the apostle here confirming the prophets, even as Christ did. The object, therefore, of the faith whereby the just man shall live, will be that same God to whom likewise belongs the law, by doing which no man is justified. Since, then, there equally are found the curse in the law and the blessing in faith, you have both conditions set forth by the Creator: Behold, says He, I have set before you a blessing and a curse. Deuteronomy 11:26 You cannot establish a diversity of authors because there happens to be one of things; for the diversity is itself proposed by one and the same author. Why, however, Christ was made a curse for us, Galatians 3:13 is declared by the apostle himself in a way which quite helps our side, as being the result of the Creator's appointment. But yet it by no means follows, because the Creator said of old, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree, that Christ belonged to another god, and on that account was accursed even then in the law. And how, indeed, could the Creator have cursed by anticipation one whom He knew not of? Why, however, may it not be more suitable for the Creator to have delivered His own Son to His own curse, than to have submitted Him to the malediction of that god of yours - in behalf, too, of man, who is an alien to him? Now, if this appointment of the Creator respecting His Son appears to you to be a cruel one, it is equally so in the case of your own god; if, on the contrary, it be in accordance with reason in your god, it is equally so - nay, much more so - in mine. For it would be more credible that that God had provided blessing for man, through the curse of Christ, who formerly set both a blessing and a curse before man, than that he had done so, who, according to you, never at any time pronounced either. We have received therefore, the promise of the Spirit, as the apostle says, through faith, even that faith by which the just man lives, in accordance with the Creator's purpose. What I say, then, is this, that that God is the object of faith who prefigured the grace of faith. But when he also adds, For you are all the children of faith, Galatians 3:26 it becomes clear that what the heretic's industry erased was the mention of Abraham's name; for by faith the apostle declares us to be children of Abraham, and after mentioning him he expressly called us children of faith also. But how are we children of faith? And of whose faith, if not Abraham's? For since Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness; Galatians 3:6 since, also, he deserved for that reason to be called the father of many nations, while we, who are even more like him in believing in God, are thereby justified as Abraham was, and thereby also obtain life - since the just lives by his faith - it therefore happens that, as he in the previous passage called us sons of Abraham, since he is in faith our (common) father, so here also he named us children of faith, for it was owing to his faith that it was promised that Abraham should be the father of (many) nations. As to the fact itself of his calling off faith from circumcision, did he not seek thereby to constitute us the children of Abraham, who had believed previous to his circumcision in the flesh? In short, faith in one of two gods cannot possibly admit us to the dispensation of the other, so that it should impute righteousness to those who believe in him, and make the just live through him, and declare the Gentiles to be his children through faith. Such a dispensation as this belongs wholly to Him through whose appointment it was already made known by the call of this self-same Abraham, as is conclusively shown by the natural meaning. " "5.4. But, says he, I speak after the manner of men: when we were children, we were placed in bondage under the elements of the world. This, however, was not said after the manner of men. For there is no figure here, but literal truth. For (with respect to the latter clause of this passage), what child (in the sense, that is, in which the Gentiles are children) is not in bondage to the elements of the world, which he looks up to in the light of a god? With regard, however, to the former clause, there was a figure (as the apostle wrote it); because after he had said, I speak after the manner of men, he adds), Though it be but a man's covet, no man disannuls, or adds thereto. For by the figure of the permanency of a human covet he was defending the divine testament. To Abraham were the promises made, and to his seed. He said not 'to seeds,' as of many; but as of one, 'to your seed,' which is Christ. Galatians 3:16 Fie on Marcion's sponge! But indeed it is superfluous to dwell on what he has erased, when he may be more effectually confuted from that which he has retained. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son Galatians 4:4 - the God, of course, who is the Lord of that very succession of times which constitutes an age; who also ordained, as signs of time, suns and moons and constellations and stars; who furthermore both predetermined and predicted that the revelation of His Son should be postponed to the end of the times. It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain (of the house) of the Lord shall be manifested; and in the last days I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh as Joel says. It was characteristic of Him (only) to wait patiently for the fullness of time, to whom belonged the end of time no less than the beginning. But as for that idle god, who has neither any work nor any prophecy, nor accordingly any time, to show for himself, what has he ever done to bring about the fullness of time, or to wait patiently its completion? If nothing, what an impotent state to have to wait for the Creator's time, in servility to the Creator! But for what end did He send His Son? To redeem them that were under the law, Galatians 4:5 in other words, to make the crooked ways straight, and the rough places smooth, as Isaiah says Isaiah 40:4 - in order that old things might pass away, and a new course begin, even the new law out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, Isaiah 2:3 and that we might receive the adoption of sons, Galatians 4:5 that is, the Gentiles, who once were not sons. For He is to be the light of the Gentiles, and in His name shall the Gentiles trust. Isaiah 42:4, 6 That we may have, therefore the assurance that we are the children of God, He has sent forth His Spirit into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Galatians 4:6 For in the last days, says He, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh. Now, from whom comes this grace, but from Him who proclaimed the promise thereof? Who is (our) Father, but He who is also our Maker? Therefore, after such affluence (of grace), they should not have returned to weak and beggarly elements. Galatians 4:9 By the Romans, however, the rudiments of learning are wont to be called elements. He did not therefore seek, by any depreciation of the mundane elements, to turn them away from their god, although, when he said just before, Howbeit, then, you serve them which by nature are no gods, Galatians 4:8 he censured the error of that physical or natural superstition which holds the elements to be god; but at the God of those elements he aimed not in this censure. He tells us himself clearly enough what he means by elements, even the rudiments of the law: You observe days, and months, and times, and years Galatians 4:10 - the sabbaths, I suppose, and the preparations, and the fasts, and the high days. For the cessation of even these, no less than of circumcision, was appointed by the Creator's decrees, who had said by Isaiah, Your new moons, and your sabbaths, and your high days I cannot bear; your fasting, and feasts, and ceremonies my soul hates; Isaiah 1:13-14 also by Amos, I hate, I despise your feast-days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies; Amos 5:21 and again by Hosea, I will cause to cease all her mirth, and her feast-days, and her sabbaths, and her new moons, and all her solemn assemblies. Hosea 2:11 The institutions which He set up Himself, you ask, did He then destroy? Yes, rather than any other. Or if another destroyed them, he only helped on the purpose of the Creator, by removing what even He had condemned. But this is not the place to discuss the question why the Creator abolished His own laws. It is enough for us to have proved that He intended such an abolition, that so it may be affirmed that the apostle determined nothing to the prejudice of the Creator, since the abolition itself proceeds from the Creator. But as, in the case of thieves, something of the stolen goods is apt to drop by the way, as a clue to their detection; so, as it seems to me, it has happened to Marcion: the last mention of Abraham's name he has left untouched (in the epistle), although no passage required his erasure more than this, even his partial alteration of the text. For (it is written) that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bond maid, the other by a free woman; but he who was of the bond maid was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by promise: which things are allegorized (that is to say, they presaged something besides the literal history); for these are the two covets, or the two exhibitions (of the divine plans), as we have found the word interpreted, the one from the Mount Sinai, in relation to the synagogue of the Jews, according to the law, which genders to bondage - the other genders (to liberty, being raised) above all principality, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come, which is the mother of us all, in which we have the promise of (Christ's) holy church; by reason of which he adds in conclusion: So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free. In this passage he has undoubtedly shown that Christianity had a noble birth, being sprung, as the mystery of the allegory indicates, from that son of Abraham who was born of the free woman; whereas from the son of the bond maid came the legal bondage of Judaism. Both dispensations, therefore, emanate from that same God by whom, as we have found, they were both sketched out beforehand. When he speaks of the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, Galatians 5:1 does not the very phrase indicate that He is the Liberator who was once the Master? For Galba himself never liberated slaves which were not his own, even when about to restore free men to their liberty. By Him, therefore, will liberty be bestowed, at whose command lay the enslaving power of the law. And very properly. It was not meet that those who had received liberty should be entangled again with the yoke of bondage Galatians 5:1 - that is, of the law; now that the Psalm had its prophecy accomplished: Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us, since the rulers have gathered themselves together against the Lord and against His Christ. All those, therefore, who had been delivered from the yoke of slavery he would earnestly have to obliterate the very mark of slavery - even circumcision, on the authority of the prophet's prediction. He remembered how that Jeremiah had said, Circumcise the foreskins of your heart; Jeremiah 4:4 as Moses likewise had enjoined, Circumcise your hard hearts Deuteronomy 10:16 - not the literal flesh. If, now, he were for excluding circumcision, as the messenger of a new god, why does he say that in Christ neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision? Galatians 5:6 For it was his duty to prefer the rival principle of that which he was abolishing, if he had a mission from the god who was the enemy of circumcision. Furthermore, since both circumcision and uncircumcision were attributed to the same Deity, both lost their power in Christ, by reason of the excellency of faith- of that faith concerning which it had been written, And in His name shall the Gentiles trust? Isaiah 42:4 - of that faith which, he says works by love. Galatians 5:6 By this saying he also shows that the Creator is the source of that grace. For whether he speaks of the love which is due to God, or that which is due to one's neighbor - in either case, the Creator's grace is meant: for it is He who enjoins the first in these words, You shall love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength; Deuteronomy 6:5 and also the second in another passage: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Leviticus 19:18 But he that troubles you shall have to bear judgment. Galatians 5:10 From what God? From (Marcion's) most excellent god? But he does not execute judgment. From the Creator? But neither will He condemn the maintainer of circumcision. Now, if none other but the Creator shall be found to execute judgment, it follows that only He, who has determined on the cessation of the law, shall be able to condemn the defenders of the law; and what, if he also affirms the law in that portion of it where it ought (to be permanent)? For, says he, all the law is fulfilled in you by this: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' Galatians 5:14 If, indeed, he will have it that by the words it is fulfilled it is implied that the law no longer has to be fulfilled, then of course he does not mean that I should any more love my neighbour as myself, since this precept must have ceased together with the law. But no! We must evermore continue to observe this commandment. The Creator's law, therefore, has received the approval of the rival god, who has, in fact, bestowed upon it not the sentence of a summary dismissal, but the favour of a compendious acceptance; the gist of it all being concentrated in this one precept! But this condensation of the law is, in fact, only possible to Him who is the Author of it. When, therefore, he says, Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ, Galatians 6:2 since this cannot be accomplished except a man love his neighbour as himself, it is evident that the precept, You shall love your neighbour as yourself (which, in fact, underlies the injunction, Bear one another's burdens), is really the law of Christ, though literally the law of the Creator. Christ, therefore, is the Creator's Christ, as Christ's law is the Creator's law. You are deceived; God is not mocked. Galatians 6:7 But Marcion's god can be mocked; for he knows not how to be angry, or how to take vengeance. For whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7 It is then the God of recompense and judgment who threatens this. Let us not be weary in well-doing; Galatians 6:9 and as we have opportunity, let us do good. Galatians 6:10 Deny now that the Creator has given a commandment to do good, and then a diversity of precept may argue a difference of gods. If, however, He also announces recompense, then from the same God must come the harvest both of death and of life. But in due time we shall reap; Galatians 6:9 because in Ecclesiastes it is said, For everything there will be a time. Ecclesiastes 3:17 Moreover, the world is crucified unto me, who am a servant of the Creator - the world, (I say,) but not the God who made the world - and I unto the world, Galatians 6:14 not unto the God who made the world. The world, in the apostle's sense, here means life and conversation according to worldly principles; it is in renouncing these that we and they are mutually crucified and mutually slain. He calls them persecutors of Christ. But when he adds, that he bare in his body the scars of Christ - since scars, of course, are accidents of body - he therefore expressed the truth, that the flesh of Christ is not putative, but real and substantial, the scars of which he represents as borne upon his body. " "5.5. My preliminary remarks on the preceding epistle called me away from treating of its superscription, for I was sure that another opportunity would occur for considering the matter, it being of constant recurrence, and in the same form too, in every epistle. The point, then, is, that it is not (the usual) health which the apostle prescribes for those to whom he writes, but grace and peace. 1 Corinthians 1:3 I do not ask, indeed, what a destroyer of Judaism has to do with a formula which the Jews still use. For to this day they salute each other with the greeting of peace, and formerly in their Scriptures they did the same. But I understand him by his practice plainly enough to have corroborated the declaration of the Creator: How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good, who preach the gospel of peace! Isaiah 52:7 For the herald of good, that is, of God's grace was well aware that along with it peace also was to be proclaimed. Now, when he announces these blessings as from God the Father and the Lord Jesus, 1 Corinthians 1:3 he uses titles that are common to both, and which are also adapted to the mystery of our faith; and I suppose it to be impossible accurately to determine what God is declared to be the Father and the Lord Jesus, unless (we consider) which of their accruing attributes are more suited to them severally. First, then, I assert that none other than the Creator and Sustainer of both man and the universe can be acknowledged as Father and Lord; next, that to the Father also the title of Lord accrues by reason of His power, and that the Son too receives the same through the Father; then that grace and peace are not only His who had them published, but His likewise to whom offense had been given. For neither does grace exist, except after offense; nor peace, except after war. Now, both the people (of Israel) by their transgression of His laws, and the whole race of mankind by their neglect of natural duty, had both sinned and rebelled against the Creator. Marcion's god, however, could not have been offended, both because he was unknown to everybody, and because he is incapable of being irritated. What grace, therefore, can be had of a god who has not been offended? What peace from one who has never experienced rebellion? The cross of Christ, he says, is to them that perish foolishness; but unto such as shall obtain salvation, it is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 And then, that we may know from whence this comes, he adds: For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.' Now, since these are the Creator's words, and since what pertains to the doctrine of the cross he accounts as foolishness, therefore both the cross, and also Christ by reason of the cross, will appertain to the Creator, by whom were predicted the incidents of the cross. But if the Creator, as an enemy, took away their wisdom in order that the cross of Christ, considered as his adversary, should be accounted foolishness, how by any possibility can the Creator have foretold anything about the cross of a Christ who is not His own, and of whom He knew nothing, when He published the prediction? But, again, how happens it, that in the system of a Lord who is so very good, and so profuse in mercy, some carry off salvation, when they believe the cross to be the wisdom and power of God, while others incur perdition, to whom the cross of Christ is accounted folly -(how happens it, I repeat,) unless it is in the Creator's dispensation to have punished both the people of Israel and the human race, for some great offense committed against Him, with the loss of wisdom and prudence? What follows will confirm this suggestion, when he asks, Hath not God infatuated the wisdom of this world? 1 Corinthians 1:20 and when he adds the reason why: For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. 1 Corinthians 1:21 But first a word about the expression the world; because in this passage particularly, the heretics expend a great deal of their subtlety in showing that by world is meant the lord of the world. We, however, understand the term to apply to any person that is in the world, by a simple idiom of human language, which often substitutes that which contains for that which is contained. The circus shouted, The forum spoke, and The basilica murmured, are well-known expressions, meaning that the people in these places did so. Since then the man, not the god, of the world in his wisdom knew not God, whom indeed he ought to have known (both the Jew by his knowledge of the Scriptures, and all the human race by their knowledge of God's works), therefore that God, who was not acknowledged in His wisdom, resolved to smite men's knowledge with His foolishness, by saving all those who believe in the folly of the preached cross. Because the Jews require signs, who ought to have already made up their minds about God, and the Greeks seek after wisdom, 1 Corinthians 1:22 who rely upon their own wisdom, and not upon God's. If, however, it was a new god that was being preached, what sin had the Jews committed, in seeking after signs to believe; or the Greeks, when they hunted after a wisdom which they would prefer to accept? Thus the very retribution which overtook both Jews and Greeks proves that God is both a jealous God and a Judge, inasmuch as He infatuated the world's wisdom by an angry and a judicial retribution. Since, then, the causes are in the hands of Him who gave us the Scriptures which we use, it follows that the apostle, when treating of the Creator, (as Him whom both Jew and Gentile as yet have) not known, means undoubtedly to teach us, that the God who is to become known (in Christ) is the Creator. The very stumbling-block which he declares Christ to be to the Jews, 1 Corinthians 1:23 points unmistakeably to the Creator's prophecy respecting Him, when by Isaiah He says: Behold I lay in Sion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Isaiah 8:14 This rock or stone is Christ. Isaiah 28:16 This stumbling-stone Marcion retains still. Now, what is that foolishness of God which is wiser than men, but the cross and death of Christ? What is that weakness of God which is stronger than men, 1 Corinthians 1:25 but the nativity and incarnation of God? If, however, Christ was not born of the Virgin, was not constituted of human flesh, and thereby really suffered neither death nor the cross, there was nothing in Him either of foolishness or weakness; nor is it any longer true, that God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; nor, again, has God chosen the weak things of the world to confound the mighty; nor the base things and the least things in the world, and things which are despised, which are even as nothing (that is, things which really are not), to bring to nothing things which are (that is, which really are). 1 Corinthians 1:27 For nothing in the dispensation of God is found to be mean, and ignoble, and contemptible. Such only occurs in man's arrangement. The very Old Testament of the Creator itself, it is possible, no doubt, to charge with foolishness, and weakness, and dishonour and meanness, and contempt. What is more foolish and more weak than God's requirement of bloody sacrifices and of savoury holocausts? What is weaker than the cleansing of vessels and of beds? What more dishonourable than the discoloration of the reddening skin? Leviticus 13:2-6 What so mean as the statute of retaliation? What so contemptible as the exception in meats and drinks? The whole of the Old Testament, the heretic, to the best of my belief, holds in derision. For God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound its wisdom. Marcion's god has no such discipline, because he does not take after (the Creator) in the process of confusing opposites by their opposites, so that no flesh shall glory; but, as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord. In what Lord? Surely in Him who gave this precept. Unless, forsooth, the Creator enjoined us to glory in the god of Marcion. " "5.6. By all these statements, therefore, does he show us what God he means, when he says, We speak the wisdom of God among them that are perfect. 1 Corinthians 2:6-7 It is that God who has confounded the wisdom of the wise, who has brought to nought the understanding of the prudent, who has reduced to folly the world's wisdom, by choosing its foolish things, and disposing them to the attainment of salvation. This wisdom, he says, once lay hidden in things that were foolish, weak, and lacking in honour; once also was latent under figures, allegories, and enigmatical types; but it was afterwards to be revealed in Christ, who was set as a light to the Gentiles, Isaiah 42:6 by the Creator who promised through the mouth of Isaiah that He would discover the hidden treasures, which eye had not seen. Now, that that god should have ever hidden anything who had never made a cover wherein to practise concealment, is in itself a wholly incredible idea. If he existed, concealment of himself was out of the question - to say nothing of any of his religious ordices. The Creator, on the contrary, was as well known in Himself as His ordices were. These, we know, were publicly instituted in Israel; but they lay overshadowed with latent meanings, in which the wisdom of God was concealed, to be brought to light by and by among the perfect, when the time should come, but pre-ordained in the counsels of God before the ages. 1 Corinthians 2:7 But whose ages, if not the Creator's? For because ages consist of times, and times are made up of days, and months, and years; since also days, and months, and years are measured by suns, and moons, and stars, which He ordained for this purpose (for they shall be, says He, for signs of the months and the years), it clearly follows that the ages belong to the Creator, and that nothing of what was fore-ordained before the ages can be said to be the property of any other being than Him who claims the ages also as His own. Else let Marcion show that the ages belong to his god. He must then also claim the world itself for him; for it is in it that the ages are reckoned, the vessel as it were of the times, as well as the signs thereof, or their order. But he has no such demonstration to show us. I go back therefore to the point, and ask him this question: Why did (his god) fore-ordain our glory before the ages of the Creator? I could understand his having predetermined it before the ages, if he had revealed it at the commencement of time. But when he does this almost at the very expiration of all the ages of the Creator, his predestination before the ages, and not rather within the ages, was in vain, because he did not mean to make any revelation of his purpose until the ages had almost run out their course. For it is wholly inconsistent in him to be so forward in planning purposes, who is so backward in revealing them. In the Creator, however, the two courses were perfectly compatible - both the predestination before the ages and the revelation at the end thereof, because that which He both fore-ordained and revealed He also in the intermediate space of time announced by the pre-ministration of figures, and symbols, and allegories. But because (the apostle) subjoins, on the subject of our glory, that none of the princes of this world knew it, for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory, 1 Corinthians 2:8 the heretic argues that the princes of this world crucified the Lord (that is, the Christ of the rival god) in order that this blow might even recoil on the Creator Himself. Any one, however, who has seen from what we have already said how our glory must be regarded as issuing from the Creator, will already have come to the conclusion that, inasmuch as the Creator settled it in His own secret purpose, it properly enough was unknown to all the princes and powers of the Creator, on the principle that servants are not permitted to know their masters' plans, much less the fallen angels and the leader of transgression himself, the devil; for I should contend that these, on account of their fall, were greater strangers still to any knowledge of the Creator's dispensations. But it is no longer open to me even to interpret the princes and powers of this world as the Creator's, since the apostle imputes ignorance to them, whereas even the devil according to our Gospel recognised Jesus in the temptation, Matthew 4:1-11 and, according to the record which is common to both (Marcionites and ourselves) the evil spirit knew that Jesus was the Holy One of God, and that Jesus was His name, and that He had come to destroy them. Luke 4:34 The parable also of the strong man armed, whom a stronger than he overcame and seized his goods, is admitted by Marcion to have reference to the Creator: therefore the Creator could not have been ignorant any longer of the God of glory, since He is overcome by him; nor could He have crucified him whom He was unable to cope with. The inevitable inference, therefore, as it seems to me, is that we must believe that the princes and powers of the Creator did knowingly crucify the God of glory in His Christ, with that desperation and excessive malice with which the most abandoned slaves do not even hesitate to slay their masters. For it is written in my Gospel that Satan entered into Judas. Luke 22:3 According to Marcion, however, the apostle in the passage under consideration 1 Corinthians 2:8 does not allow the imputation of ignorance, with respect to the Lord of glory, to the powers of the Creator; because, indeed, he will have it that these are not meant by the princes of this world. But (the apostle) evidently did not speak of spiritual princes; so that he meant secular ones, those of the princely people, (chief in the divine dispensation, although) not, of course, among the nations of the world, and their rulers, and king Herod, and even Pilate, and, as represented by him, that power of Rome which was the greatest in the world, and then presided over by him. Thus the arguments of the other side are pulled down, and our own proofs are thereby built up. But you still maintain that our glory comes from your god, with whom it also lay in secret. Then why does your god employ the self-same Scripture which the apostle also relies on? What has your god to do at all with the sayings of the prophets? Who has discovered the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counsellor? Isaiah 40:13 So says Isaiah. What has he also to do with illustrations from our God? For when (the apostle) calls himself a wise master-builder, 1 Corinthians 3:10 we find that the Creator by Isaiah designates the teacher who sketches out the divine discipline by the same title, I will take away from Judah the cunning artifi cer, etc. And was it not Paul himself who was there foretold, destined to be taken away from Judah - that is, from Judaism- for the erection of Christianity, in order to lay that only foundation, which is Christ? 1 Corinthians 3:11 of this work the Creator also by the same prophet says, Behold, I lay in Sion for a foundation a precious stone and honourable; and he that rests thereon shall not be confounded. Isaiah 28:16 Unless it be, that God professed Himself to be the builder up of an earthly work, that so He might not give any sign of His Christ, as destined to be the foundation of such as believe in Him, upon which every man should build at will the superstructure of either sound or worthless doctrine; forasmuch as it is the Creator's function, when a man's work shall be tried by fire, (or) when a reward shall be recompensed to him by fire; because it is by fire that the test is applied to the building which you erect upon the foundation which is laid by Him, that is, the foundation of His Christ. Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 Now, since man is the property, and the work, and the image and likeness of the Creator, having his flesh, formed by Him of the ground, and his soul of His afflatus, it follows that Marcion's god wholly dwells in a temple which belongs to another, if so be we are not the Creator's temple. But if any man defile the temple of God, he shall be himself destroyed - of course, by the God of the temple. 1 Corinthians 3:17 If you threaten an avenger, you threaten us with the Creator. You must become fools, that you may be wise. 1 Corinthians 3:18 Wherefore? Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. 1 Corinthians 3:19 With what God? Even if the ancient Scriptures have contributed nothing in support of our view thus far, an excellent testimony turns up in what (the apostle) here adjoins: For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness; and again, The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. For in general we may conclude for certain that he could not possibly have cited the authority of that God whom he was bound to destroy, since he would not teach for Him. Therefore, says he, let no man glory in man; 1 Corinthians 3:21 an injunction which is in accordance with the teaching of the Creator, wretched is the man that trusts in man; Jeremiah 17:5 again, It is better to trust in the Lord than to confide in man; and the same thing is said about glorying (in princes). " "5.7. And the hidden things of darkness He will Himself bring to light, 1 Corinthians 4:5 even by Christ; for He has promised Christ to be a Light, Isaiah 42:6 and Himself He has declared to be a lamp, searching the hearts and reins. From Him also shall praise be had by every man, 1 Corinthians 4:5 from whom proceeds, as from a judge, the opposite also of praise. But here, at least, you say he interprets the world to be the God thereof, when he says: We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 1 Corinthians 4:9 For if by world he had meant the people thereof, he would not have afterwards specially mentioned men. To prevent, however, your using such an argument as this, the Holy Ghost has providentially explained the meaning of the passage thus: We are made a spectacle to the world, i.e. both to angels, who minister therein, and to men, who are the objects of their ministration. of course, a man of the noble courage of our apostle (to say nothing of the Holy Ghost) was afraid, when writing to the children whom he had begotten in the gospel, to speak freely of the God of the world; for against Him he could not possibly seem to have a word to say, except only in a straightforward manner! I quite admit, that, according to the Creator's law, Leviticus 18:8 the man was an offender who had his father's wife. 1 Corinthians 5:1 He followed, no doubt, the principles of natural and public law. When, however, he condemns the man to be delivered unto Satan, 1 Corinthians 5:5 he becomes the herald of an avenging God. It does not matter that he also said, For the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord, 1 Corinthians 5:5 since both in the destruction of the flesh and in the saving of the spirit there is, on His part, judicial process; and when he bade the wicked person be put away from the midst of them, 1 Corinthians 5:13 he only mentioned what is a very frequently recurring sentence of the Creator. Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. 1 Corinthians 5:7 The unleavened bread was therefore, in the Creator's ordice, a figure of us (Christians). For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. 1 Corinthians 5:7 But why is Christ our passover, if the passover be not a type of Christ, in the similitude of the blood which saves, and of the Lamb, which is Christ? Exodus 12 Why does (the apostle) clothe us and Christ with symbols of the Creator's solemn rites, unless they had relation to ourselves? When, again, he warns us against fornication, he reveals the resurrection of the flesh. The body, says he, is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body, 1 Corinthians 6:13 just as the temple is for God, and God for the temple. A temple will therefore pass away with its god, and its god with the temple. You see, then, how that He who raised up the Lord will also raise us up. 1 Corinthians 6:14 In the body will He raise us, because the body is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And suitably does he add the question: Do you not know that your bodies are the members of Christ? 1 Corinthians 6:15 What has the heretic to say? That these members of Christ will not rise again, for they are no longer our own? For, he says, you are bought with a price. 1 Corinthians 6:20 A price! surely none at all was paid, since Christ was a phantom, nor had He any corporeal substance which He could pay for our bodies! But, in truth, Christ had wherewithal to redeem us; and since He has redeemed, at a great price, these bodies of ours, against which fornication must not be committed (because they are now members of Christ, and not our own), surely He will secure, on His own account, the safety of those whom He made His own at so much cost! Now, how shall we glorify, how shall we exalt, God in our body, 1 Corinthians 6:20 which is doomed to perish? We must now encounter the subject of marriage, which Marcion, more continent than the apostle, prohibits. For the apostle, although preferring the grace of continence, 1 Corinthians 7:7-8 yet permits the contraction of marriage and the enjoyment of it, and advises the continuance therein rather than the dissolution thereof. 1 Corinthians 7:27 Christ plainly forbids divorce, Moses unquestionably permits it. Now, when Marcion wholly prohibits all carnal intercourse to the faithful (for we will say nothing about his catechumens), and when he prescribes repudiation of all engagements before marriage, whose teaching does he follow, that of Moses or of Christ? Even Christ, however, when He here commands the wife not to depart from her husband, or if she depart, to remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband, 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 both permitted divorce, which indeed He never absolutely prohibited, and confirmed (the sanctity) of marriage, by first forbidding its dissolution; and, if separation had taken place, by wishing the nuptial bond to be resumed by reconciliation. But what reasons does (the apostle) allege for continence? Because the time is short. 1 Corinthians 7:29 I had almost thought it was because in Christ there was another god! And yet He from whom emanates this shortness of the time, will also send what suits the said brevity. No one makes provision for the time which is another's. You degrade your god, O Marcion, when you make him circumscribed at all by the Creator's time. Assuredly also, when (the apostle) rules that marriage should be only in the Lord, 1 Corinthians 7:39 that no Christian should intermarry with a heathen, he maintains a law of the Creator, who everywhere prohibits marriage with strangers. But when he says, although there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, 1 Corinthians 8:5 the meaning of his words is clear - not as if there were gods in reality, but as if there were some who are called gods, without being truly so. He introduces his discussion about meats offered to idols with a statement concerning idols (themselves): We know that an idol is nothing in the world. 1 Corinthians 8:4 Marcion, however, does not say that the Creator is not God; so that the apostle can hardly be thought to have ranked the Creator among those who are called gods, without being so; since, even if they had been gods, to us there is but one God, the Father. 1 Corinthians 8:6 Now, from whom do all things come to us, but from Him to whom all things belong? And pray, what things are these? You have them in a preceding part of the epistle: All things are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. 1 Corinthians 3:21-22 He makes the Creator, then the God of all things, from whom proceed both the world and life and death, which cannot possibly belong to the other god. From Him, therefore, among the all things comes also Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:23 When he teaches that every man ought to live of his own industry, 1 Corinthians 9:13 he begins with a copious induction of examples - of soldiers, and shepherds, and husbandmen. 1 Corinthians 9:7 But he wanted divine authority. What was the use, however, of adducing the Creator's, which he was destroying? It was vain to do so; for his god had no such authority! (The apostle) says: You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain, and adds: Does God take care of oxen? Yes, of oxen, for the sake of men! For, says he, it is written for our sakes. 1 Corinthians 11:10 Thus he showed that the law had a symbolic reference to ourselves, and that it gives its sanction in favour of those who live of the gospel. (He showed) also, that those who preach the gospel are on this account sent by no other god but Him to whom belongs the law, which made provision for them, when he says: For our sakes was this written. Still he declined to use this power which the law gave him, because he preferred working without any restraint. of this he boasted, and suffered no man to rob him of such glory 1 Corinthians 9:15 - certainly with no view of destroying the law, which he proved that another man might use. For behold Marcion, in his blindness, stumbled at the rock whereof our fathers drank in the wilderness. For since that rock was Christ, 1 Corinthians 10:4 it was, of course, the Creator's, to whom also belonged the people. But why resort to the figure of a sacred sign given by an extraneous god? Was it to teach the very truth, that ancient things prefigured the Christ who was to be educed out of them? For, being about to take a cursory view of what befell the people (of Israel) he begins with saying: Now these things happened as examples for us. 1 Corinthians 10:6 Now, tell me, were these examples given by the Creator to men belonging to a rival god? Or did one god borrow examples from another, and a hostile one too? He withdraws me to himself in alarm from Him from whom he transfers my allegiance. Will his antagonist make me better disposed to him? Should I now commit the same sins as the people, shall I have to suffer the same penalties, or not? 1 Corinthians 10:7-10 But if not the same, how vainly does he propose to me terrors which I shall not have to endure! From whom, again, shall I have to endure them? If from the Creator, What evils does it appertain to Him to inflict? And how will it happen that, jealous God as He is, He shall punish the man who offends His rival, instead of rather encouraging him. If, however, from the other god - but he knows not how to punish. So that the whole declaration of the apostle lacks a reasonable basis, if it is not meant to relate to the Creator's discipline. But the fact is, the apostle's conclusion corresponds to the beginning: Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11 What a Creator! How prescient already, and considerate in warning Christians who belong to another god! Whenever cavils occur the like to those which have been already dealt with, I pass them by; certain others I dispatch briefly. A great argument for another god is the permission to eat of all kinds of meats, contrary to the law. 1 Corinthians 10:25-27 Just as if we did not ourselves allow that the burdensome ordices of the law were abrogated - but by Him who imposed them, who also promised the new condition of things. The same, therefore, who prohibited meats, also restored the use of them, just as He had indeed allowed them from the beginning. If, however, some strange god had come to destroy our God, his foremost prohibition would certainly have been, that his own votaries should abstain from supporting their lives on the resources of his adversary. " "5.8. The head of every man is Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:3 What Christ, if He is not the author of man? The head he has here put for authority; now authority will accrue to none else than the author. of what man indeed is He the head? Surely of him concerning whom he adds soon afterwards: The man ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image of God. 1 Corinthians 11:7 Since then he is the image of the Creator (for He, when looking on Christ His Word, who was to become man, said, Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness Genesis 1:26), how can I possibly have another head but Him whose image I am? For if I am the image of the Creator there is no room in me for another head. But wherefore ought the woman to have power over her head, because of the angels? 1 Corinthians 11:10 If it is because she was created for the man, 1 Corinthians 11:9 and taken out of the man, according to the Creator's purpose, then in this way too has the apostle maintained the discipline of that God from whose institution he explains the reasons of His discipline. He adds: Because of the angels. 1 Corinthians 11:10 What angels? In other words, whose angels? If he means the fallen angels of the Creator, there is great propriety in his meaning. It is right that that face which was a snare to them should wear some mark of a humble guise and obscured beauty. If, however, the angels of the rival god are referred to, what fear is there for them? For not even Marcion's disciples, (to say nothing of his angels,) have any desire for women. We have often shown before now, that the apostle classes heresies as evil 1 Corinthians 11:18-19 among works of the flesh, and that he would have those persons accounted estimable who shun heresies as an evil thing. In like manner, when treating of the gospel, we have proved from the sacrament of the bread and the cup the verity of the Lord's body and blood in opposition to Marcion's phantom; while throughout almost the whole of my work it has been contended that all mention of judicial attributes points conclusively to the Creator as to a God who judges. Now, on the subject of spiritual gifts, 1 Corinthians 12:1 I have to remark that these also were promised by the Creator through Christ; and I think that we may derive from this a very just conclusion that the bestowal of a gift is not the work of a god other than Him who is proved to have given the promise. Here is a prophecy of Isaiah: There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a flower shall spring up from his root; and upon Him shall rest the Spirit of the Lord. After which he enumerates the special gifts of the same: The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of religion. And with the fear of the Lord shall the Spirit fill Him. Isaiah 11:1-3 In this figure of a flower he shows that Christ was to arise out of the rod which sprang from the stem of Jesse; in other words, from the virgin of the race of David, the son of Jesse. In this Christ the whole substantia of the Spirit would have to rest, not meaning that it would be as it were some subsequent acquisition accruing to Him who was always, even before His incarnation, the Spirit of God; so that you cannot argue from this that the prophecy has reference to that Christ who (as mere man of the race only of David) was to obtain the Spirit of his God. (The prophet says,) on the contrary, that from the time when (the true Christ) should appear in the flesh as the flower predicted, rising from the root of Jesse, there would have to rest upon Him the entire operation of the Spirit of grace, which, so far as the Jews were concerned, would cease and come to an end. This result the case itself shows; for after this time the Spirit of the Creator never breathed among them. From Judah were taken away the wise man, and the cunning artificer, and the counsellor, and the prophet; that so it might prove true that the law and the prophets were until John. Luke 16:16 Now hear how he declared that by Christ Himself, when returned to heaven, these spiritual gifts were to be sent: He ascended up on high, that is, into heaven; He led captivity captive, meaning death or slavery of man; He gave gifts to the sons of men, that is, the gratuities, which we call charismata. He says specifically sons of men, and not men promiscuously; thus exhibiting to us those who were the children of men truly so called, choice men, apostles. For, says he, I have begotten you through the gospel; 1 Corinthians 4:15 and You are my children, of whom I travail again in birth. Galatians 4:19 Now was absolutely fulfilled that promise of the Spirit which was given by the word of Joel: In the last days will I pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, and their sons and their daughters shall prophesy; and upon my servants and upon my handmaids will I pour out of my Spirit. Since, then, the Creator promised the gift of His Spirit in the latter days; and since Christ has in these last days appeared as the dispenser of spiritual gifts (as the apostle says, When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son; Galatians 4:4 and again, This I say, brethren, that the time is short ), it evidently follows in connection with this prediction of the last days, that this gift of the Spirit belongs to Him who is the Christ of the predicters. Now compare the Spirit's specific graces, as they are described by the apostle, and promised by the prophet Isaiah. To one is given, says he, by the Spirit the word of wisdom; this we see at once is what Isaiah declared to be the spirit of wisdom. To another, the word of knowledge; this will be the (prophet's) spirit of understanding and counsel. To another, faith by the same Spirit; this will be the spirit of religion and the fear of the Lord. To another, the gifts of healing, and to another the working of miracles; this will be the spirit of might. To another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues; this will be the spirit of knowledge. See how the apostle agrees with the prophet both in making the distribution of the one Spirit, and in interpreting His special graces. This, too, I may confidently say: he who has likened the unity of our body throughout its manifold and various members to the compacting together of the various gifts of the Spirit, shows also that there is but one Lord of the human body and of the Holy Spirit. This Spirit, (according to the apostle's showing,) meant not that the service of these gifts should be in the body, nor did He place them in the human body); and on the subject of the superiority of love above all these gifts, He even taught the apostle that it was the chief commandment, just as Christ has shown it to be: You shall love the Lord with all your heart and soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as your own self. Luke 10:27 When he mentions the fact that it is written in the law, how that the Creator would speak with other tongues and other lips, while confirming indeed the gift of tongues by such a mention, he yet cannot be thought to have affirmed that the gift was that of another god by his reference to the Creator's prediction. 1 Corinthians 14:21 In precisely the same manner, when enjoining on women silence in the church, that they speak not for the mere sake of learning 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 (although that even they have the right of prophesying, he has already shown when he covers the woman that prophesies with a veil), he goes to the law for his sanction that woman should be under obedience. Now this law, let me say once for all, he ought to have made no other acquaintance with, than to destroy it. But that we may now leave the subject of spiritual gifts, facts themselves will be enough to prove which of us acts rashly in claiming them for his God, and whether it is possible that they are opposed to our side, even if the Creator promised them for His Christ who is not yet revealed, as being destined only for the Jews, to have their operations in His time, in His Christ, and among His people. Let Marcion then exhibit, as gifts of his god, some prophets, such as have not spoken by human sense, but with the Spirit of God, such as have both predicted things to come, and have made manifest the secrets of the heart; 1 Corinthians 14:25 let him produce a psalm, a vision, a prayer 1 Corinthians 14:26 - only let it be by the Spirit, in an ecstasy, that is, in a rapture, whenever an interpretation of tongues has occurred to him; let him show to me also, that any woman of boastful tongue in his community has ever prophesied from among those specially holy sisters of his. Now all these signs (of spiritual gifts) are forthcoming from my side without any difficulty, and they agree, too, with the rules, and the dispensations, and the instructions of the Creator; therefore without doubt the Christ, and the Spirit, and the apostle, belong severally to my God. Here, then, is my frank avowal for any one who cares to require it. " "5.9. Meanwhile the Marcionite will exhibit nothing of this kind; he is by this time afraid to say which side has the better right to a Christ who is not yet revealed. Just as my Christ is to be expected, who was predicted from the beginning, so his Christ therefore has no existence, as not having been announced from the beginning. Ours is a better faith, which believes in a future Christ, than the heretic's, which has none at all to believe in. Touching the resurrection of the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:12 let us first inquire how some persons then denied it. No doubt in the same way in which it is even now denied, since the resurrection of the flesh has at all times men to deny it. But many wise men claim for the soul a divine nature, and are confident of its undying destiny, and even the multitude worship the dead in the presumption which they boldly entertain that their souls survive. As for our bodies, however, it is manifest that they perish either at once by fire or the wild beasts, or even when most carefully kept by length of time. When, therefore, the apostle refutes those who deny the resurrection of the flesh, he indeed defends, in opposition to them, the precise matter of their denial, that is, the resurrection of the body. You have the whole answer wrapped up in this. All the rest is superfluous. Now in this very point, which is called the resurrection of the dead, it is requisite that the proper force of the words should be accurately maintained. The word dead expresses simply what has lost the vital principle, by means of which it used to live. Now the body is that which loses life, and as the result of losing it becomes dead. To the body, therefore, the term dead is only suitable. Moreover, as resurrection accrues to what is dead, and dead is a term applicable only to a body, therefore the body alone has a resurrection incidental to it. So again the word Resurrection, or (rising again), embraces only that which has fallen down. To rise, indeed, can be predicated of that which has never fallen down, but had already been always lying down. But to rise again is predicable only of that which has fallen down; because it is by rising again, in consequence of its having fallen down, that it is said to have re-risen. For the syllable RE always implies iteration (or happening again). We say, therefore, that the body falls to the ground by death, as indeed facts themselves show, in accordance with the law of God. For to the body it was said, (Till you return to the ground, for out of it were you taken; for) dust you are, and unto dust shall you return. That, therefore, which came from the ground shall return to the ground. Now that falls down which returns to the ground; and that rises again which falls down. Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:21 Here in the word man, who consists of bodily substance, as we have often shown already, is presented to me the body of Christ. But if we are all so made alive in Christ, as we die in Adam, it follows of necessity that we are made alive in Christ as a bodily substance, since we died in Adam as a bodily substance. The similarity, indeed, is not complete, unless our revival in Christ concur in identity of substance with our mortality in Adam. But at this point (the apostle) has made a parenthetical statement concerning Christ, which, bearing as it does on our present discussion, must not pass unnoticed. For the resurrection of the body will receive all the better proof, in proportion as I shall succeed in showing that Christ belongs to that God who is believed to have provided this resurrection of the flesh in His dispensation. When he says, For He must reign, till He has put all enemies under His feet, we can see at once from this statement that he speaks of a God of vengeance, and therefore of Him who made the following promise to Christ: Sit at my right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool. The rod of Your strength shall the Lord send forth from Sion, and He shall rule along with You in the midst of Your enemies. It is necessary for me to lay claim to those Scriptures which the Jews endeavour to deprive us of, and to show that they sustain my view. Now they say that this Psalm was a chant in honour of Hezekiah, because he went up to the house of the Lord, and God turned back and removed his enemies. Therefore, (as they further hold,) those other words, Before the morning star did I beget you from the womb, are applicable to Hezekiah, and to the birth of Hezekiah. We on our side have published Gospels (to the credibility of which we have to thank them for having given some confirmation, indeed, already in so great a subject ); and these declare that the Lord was born at night, that so it might be before the morning star, as is evident both from the star especially, and from the testimony of the angel, who at night announced to the shepherds that Christ had at that moment been born, and again from the place of the birth, for it is towards night that persons arrive at the (eastern) inn. Perhaps, too, there was a mystic purpose in Christ's being born at night, destined, as He was, to be the light of the truth amidst the dark shadows of ignorance. Nor, again, would God have said, I have begotten You, except to His true Son. For although He says of all the people (Israel), I have begotten children, Isaiah 1:2 yet He added not from the womb. Now, why should He have added so superfluously this phrase from the womb (as if there could be any doubt about any one's having been born from the womb), unless the Holy Ghost had wished the words to be with special care understood of Christ? I have begotten You from the womb, that is to say, from a womb only, without a man's seed, making it a condition of a fleshly body that it should come out of a womb. What is here added (in the Psalm), You are a priest for ever, relates to (Christ) Himself. Hezekiah was no priest; and even if he had been one, he would not have been a priest for ever. After the order, says He, of Melchizedek. Now what had Hezekiah to do with Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God, and him uncircumcised too, who blessed the circumcised Abraham, after receiving from him the offering of tithes? To Christ, however, the order of Melchizedek will be very suitable; for Christ is the proper and legitimate High Priest of God. He is the Pontiff of the priesthood of the uncircumcision, constituted such, even then, for the Gentiles, by whom He was to be more fully received, although at His last coming He will favour with His acceptance and blessing the circumcision also, even the race of Abraham, which by and by is to acknowledge Him. Well, then, there is also another Psalm, which begins with these words: Give Your judgments, O God, to the King, that is, to Christ who was to come as King, and Your righteousness unto the King's son, that is, to Christ's people; for His sons are they who are born again in Him. But it will here be said that this Psalm has reference to Solomon. However, will not those portions of the Psalm which apply to Christ alone, be enough to teach us that all the rest, too, relates to Christ, and not to Solomon? He shall come down, says He, like rain upon a fleece, and like dropping showers upon the earth, describing His descent from heaven to the flesh as gentle and unobserved. Solomon, however, if he had indeed any descent at all, came not down like a shower, because he descended not from heaven. But I will set before you more literal points. He shall have dominion, says the Psalmist, from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. To Christ alone was this given; while Solomon reigned over only the moderately-sized kingdom of Judah. Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him. Whom, indeed, shall they all thus worship, except Christ? All nations shall serve Him. To whom shall all thus do homage, but Christ? His name shall endure forever. Whose name has this eternity of fame, but Christ's? Longer than the sun shall His name remain, for longer than the sun shall be the Word of God, even Christ. And in Him shall all nations be blessed. In Solomon was no nation blessed; in Christ every nation. And what if the Psalm proves Him to be even God? They shall call Him blessed. (On what ground?) Because blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who only does wonderful things. Blessed also is His glorious name, and with His glory shall all the earth be filled. On the contrary, Solomon (as I make bold to affirm) lost even the glory which he had from God, seduced by his love of women even into idolatry. And thus, the statement which occurs in about the middle of this Psalm, His enemies shall lick the dust (of course, as having been, (to use the apostle's phrase,) put under His feet ), will bear upon the very object which I had in view, when I both introduced the Psalm, and insisted on my opinion of its sense - namely, that I might demonstrate both the glory of His kingdom and the subjection of His enemies in pursuance of the Creator's own plans, with the view of laying down this conclusion, that none but He can be believed to be the Christ of the Creator. " "5.10. Let us now return to the resurrection, to the defense of which against heretics of all sorts we have given indeed sufficient attention in another work of ours. But we will not be wanting (in some defense of the doctrine) even here, in consideration of such persons as are ignorant of that little treatise. What, asks he, shall they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not? 1 Corinthians 15:29 Now, never mind that practice, (whatever it may have been.) The Februarian lustrations will perhaps answer him (quite as well), by praying for the dead. Do not then suppose that the apostle here indicates some new god as the author and advocate of this (baptism for the dead. His only aim in alluding to it was) that he might all the more firmly insist upon the resurrection of the body, in proportion as they who were vainly baptized for the dead resorted to the practice from their belief of such a resurrection. We have the apostle in another passage defining but one baptism. Ephesians 4:5 To be baptized for the dead therefore means, in fact, to be baptized for the body; for, as we have shown, it is the body which becomes dead. What, then, shall they do who are baptized for the body, Ephesians 4:5 if the body rises not again? We stand, then, on firm ground (when we say) that the next question which the apostle has discussed equally relates to the body. But some man will say, 'How are the dead raised up? With what body do they come?' 1 Corinthians 15:35 Having established the doctrine of the resurrection which was denied, it was natural to discuss what would be the sort of body (in the resurrection), of which no one had an idea. On this point we have other opponents with whom to engage. For Marcion does not in any wise admit the resurrection of the flesh, and it is only the salvation of the soul which he promises; consequently the question which he raises is not concerning the sort of body, but the very substance thereof. Notwithstanding, he is most plainly refuted even from what the apostle advances respecting the quality of the body, in answer to those who ask, How are the dead raised up? With what body do they come? For as he treated of the sort of body, he of course ipso facto proclaimed in the argument that it was a body which would rise again. Indeed, since he proposes as his examples wheat grain, or some other grain, to which God gives a body, such as it has pleased Him; 1 Corinthians 15:37-38 since also he says, that to every seed is its own body; 1 Corinthians 15:38 that, consequently, there is one kind of flesh of men, while there is another of beasts, and (another) of birds; that there are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial; and that there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars 1 Corinthians 15:39-41 - does he not therefore intimate that there is to be a resurrection of the flesh or body, which he illustrates by fleshly and corporeal samples? Does he not also guarantee that the resurrection shall be accomplished by that God from whom proceed all the (creatures which have served him for) examples? So also, says he, is the resurrection of the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:42 How? Just as the grain, which is sown a body, springs up a body. This sowing of the body he called the dissolving thereof in the ground, because it is sown in corruption, (but is raised) to honour and power. 1 Corinthians 15:42-43 Now, just as in the case of the grain, so here: to Him will belong the work in the revival of the body, who ordered the process in the dissolution thereof. If, however, you remove the body from the resurrection which you submitted to the dissolution, what becomes of the diversity in the issue? Likewise, although it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:44 Now, although the natural principle of life and the spirit have each a body proper to itself, so that the natural body may fairly be taken to signify the soul, and the spiritual body the spirit, yet that is no reason for supposing the apostle to say that the soul is to become spirit in the resurrection, but that the body (which, as being born along with the soul, and as retaining its life by means of the soul, admits of being called animal (or natural ) will become spiritual, since it rises through the Spirit to an eternal life. In short, since it is not the soul, but the flesh which is sown in corruption, when it turns to decay in the ground, it follows that (after such dissolution) the soul is no longer the natural body, but the flesh, which was the natural body, (is the subject of the future change), forasmuch as of a natural body it is made a spiritual body, as he says further down, That was not first which is spiritual. 1 Corinthians 15:46 For to this effect he just before remarked of Christ Himself: The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45 Our heretic, however, in the excess of his folly, being unwilling that the statement should remain in this shape, altered last Adam into last Lord; because he feared, of course, that if he allowed the Lord to be the last (or second) Adam, we should contend that Christ, being the second Adam, must needs belong to that God who owned also the first Adam. But the falsification is transparent. For why is there a first Adam, unless it be that there is also a second Adam? For things are not classed together unless they be severally alike, and have an identity of either name, or substance, or origin. Now, although among things which are even individually diverse, one must be first and another last, yet they must have one author. If, however, the author be a different one, he himself indeed may be called the last. But the thing which he introduces is the first, and that only can be the last, which is like this first in nature. It is, however, not like the first in nature, when it is not the work of the same author. In like manner (the heretic) will be refuted also with the word man: The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:47 Now, since the first was a man, how can there be a second, unless he is a man also? Or, else, if the second is Lord, was the first Lord also? It is, however, quite enough for me, that in his Gospel he admits the Son of man to be both Christ and Man; so that he will not be able to deny Him (in this passage), in the Adam and the man (of the apostle). What follows will also be too much for him. For when the apostle says, As is the earthy, that is, man, such also are they that are earthy - men again, of course; therefore as is the heavenly, meaning the Man, from heaven, such are the men also that are heavenly. For he could not possibly have opposed to earthly men any heavenly beings that were not men also; his object being the more accurately to distinguish their state and expectation by using this name in common for them both. For in respect of their present state and their future expectation he calls men earthly and heavenly, still reserving their parity of name, according as they are reckoned (as to their ultimate condition ) in Adam or in Christ. Therefore, when exhorting them to cherish the hope of heaven, he says: As we have borne the image of the earthy, so let us also bear the image of the heavenly, - language which relates not to any condition of resurrection life, but to the rule of the present time. He says, Let us bear, as a precept; not We shall bear, in the sense of a promise - wishing us to walk even as he himself was walking, and to put off the likeness of the earthly, that is, of the old man, in the works of the flesh. For what are this next words? Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 15:50 He means the works of the flesh and blood, which, in his Epistle to the Galatians, deprive men of the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 In other passages also he is accustomed to put the natural condition instead of the works that are done therein, as when he says, that they who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:8 Now, when shall we be able to please God except while we are in this flesh? There is, I imagine, no other time wherein a man can work. If, however, while we are even naturally living in the flesh, we yet eschew the deeds of the flesh, then we shall not be in the flesh; since, although we are not absent from the substance of the flesh, we are notwithstanding strangers to the sin thereof. Now, since in the word flesh we are enjoined to put off, not the substance, but the works of the flesh, therefore in the use of the same word the kingdom of God is denied to the works of the flesh, not to the substance thereof. For not that is condemned in which evil is done, but only the evil which is done in it. To administer poison is a crime, but the cup in which it is given is not guilty. So the body is the vessel of the works of the flesh, while the soul which is within it mixes the poison of a wicked act. How then is it, that the soul, which is the real author of the works of the flesh, shall attain to the kingdom of God, after the deeds done in the body have been atoned for, while the body, which was nothing but (the soul's) ministering agent, must remain in condemnation? Is the cup to be punished, but the poisoner to escape? Not that we indeed claim the kingdom of God for the flesh: all we do is, to assert a resurrection for the substance thereof, as the gate of the kingdom through which it is entered. But the resurrection is one thing, and the kingdom is another. The resurrection is first, and afterwards the kingdom. We say, therefore, that the flesh rises again, but that when changed it obtains the kingdom. For the dead shall be raised incorruptible, even those who had been corruptible when their bodies fell into decay; and we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. 1 Corinthians 15:52 For this corruptible - and as he spoke, the apostle seemingly pointed to his own flesh - must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality, 1 Corinthians 15:53 in order, indeed, that it may be rendered a fit substance for the kingdom of God. For we shall be like the angels. This will be the perfect change of our flesh - only after its resurrection. Now if, on the contrary, there is to be no flesh, how then shall it put on incorruption and immortality? Having then become something else by its change, it will obtain the kingdom of God, no longer the (old) flesh and blood, but the body which God shall have given it. Rightly then does the apostle declare, Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; 1 Corinthians 15:50 for this (honour) does he ascribe to the changed condition which ensues on the resurrection. Since, therefore, shall then be accomplished the word which was written by the Creator, O death, where is your victory - or your struggle? O death, where is your sting? 1 Corinthians 15:55 - written, I say, by the Creator, for He wrote them by His prophet - to Him will belong the gift, that is, the kingdom, who proclaimed the word which is to be accomplished in the kingdom. And to none other God does he tell us that thanks are due, for having enabled us to achieve the victory even over death, than to Him from whom he received the very expression of the exulting and triumphant challenge to the mortal foe. " "5.11. If, owing to the fault of human error, the word God has become a common name (since in the world there are said and believed to be gods many 1 Corinthians 8:5), yet the blessed God, (who is the Father) of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 1:3 will be understood to be no other God than the Creator, who both blessed all things (that He had made), as you find in Genesis, Genesis 1:22 and is Himself blessed by all things, as Daniel tells us. Now, if the title of Father may be claimed for (Marcion's) sterile god, how much more for the Creator? To none other than Him is it suitable, who is also the Father of mercies, 2 Corinthians 1:3 and (in the prophets) has been described as full of compassion, and gracious, and plenteous in mercy. In Jonah you find the signal act of His mercy, which He showed to the praying Ninevites. Jonah 3:8 How inflexible was He at the tears of Hezekiah! How ready to forgive Ahab, the husband of Jezebel, the blood of Naboth, when he deprecated His anger. How prompt in pardoning David on his confession of his sin 2 Samuel 12:13 - preferring, indeed, the sinner's repentance to his death, of course because of His gracious attribute of mercy. Ezekiel 33:11 Now, if Marcion's god has exhibited or proclaimed any such thing as this, I will allow him to be the Father of mercies. Since, however, he ascribes to him this title only from the time he has been revealed, as if he were the father of mercies from the time only when he began to liberate the human race, then we on our side, too, adopt the same precise date of his alleged revelation; but it is that we may deny him! It is then not competent to him to ascribe any quality to his god, whom indeed he only promulged by the fact of such an ascription; for only if it were previously evident that his god had an existence, could he be permitted to ascribe an attribute to him. The ascribed attribute is only an accident; but accidents are preceded by the statement of the thing itself of which they are predicated, especially when another claims the attribute which is ascribed to him who has not been previously shown to exist. Our denial of his existence will be all the more peremptory, because of the fact that the attribute which is alleged in proof of it belongs to that God who has been already revealed. Therefore the New Testament will appertain to none other than Him who promised it - if not its letter, yet its spirit; 2 Corinthians 3:6 and herein will lie its newness. Indeed, He who had engraved its letter in stones is the same as He who had said of its spirit, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh. Joel 2:28 Even if the letter kills, yet the Spirit gives life; 2 Corinthians 3:6 and both belong to Him who says: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal. Deuteronomy 32:39 We have already made good the Creator's claim to this twofold character of judgment and goodness - killing in the letter through the law, and quickening in the Spirit through the Gospel. Now these attributes, however different they be, cannot possibly make two gods; for they have already (in the prevenient dispensation of the Old Testament) been found to meet in One. He alludes to Moses' veil, covered with which his face could not be steadfastly seen by the children of Israel. 2 Corinthians 3:7, 13 Since he did this to maintain the superiority of the glory of the New Testament, which is permanent in its glory, over that of the Old, which was to be done away, 2 Corinthians 3:7-8 this fact gives support to my belief which exalts the Gospel above the law and you must look well to it that it does not even more than this. For only there is superiority possible where was previously the thing over which superiority can be affirmed. But then he says, But their minds were blinded - of the world; certainly not the Creator's mind, but the minds of the people which are in the world. of Israel he says, Even unto this day the same veil is upon their heart; 2 Corinthians 3:15 showing that the veil which was on the face of Moses was a figure of the veil which is on the heart of the nation still; because even now Moses is not seen by them in heart, just as he was not then seen by them in eye. But what concern has Paul with the veil which still obscures Moses from their view, if the Christ of the Creator, whom Moses predicted, is not yet come? How are the hearts of the Jews represented as still covered and veiled, if the predictions of Moses relating to Christ, in whom it was their duty to believe through him, are as yet unfulfilled? What had the apostle of a strange Christ to complain of, if the Jews failed in understanding the mysterious announcements of their own God, unless the veil which was upon their hearts had reference to that blindness which concealed from their eyes the Christ of Moses? Then, again, the words which follow, But when it shall turn to the Lord, the evil shall be taken away, 2 Corinthians 3:16 properly refer to the Jew, over whose gaze Moses' veil is spread, to the effect that, when he is turned to the faith of Christ, he will understand how Moses spoke of Christ. But how shall the veil of the Creator be taken away by the Christ of another god, whose mysteries the Creator could not possibly have veiled - unknown mysteries, as they were of an unknown god? So he says that we now with open face (meaning the candour of the heart, which in the Jews had been covered with a veil), beholding Christ, are changed into the same image, from that glory (wherewith Moses was transfigured as by the glory of the Lord) to another glory. 2 Corinthians 3:18 By thus setting forth the glory which illumined the person of Moses from his interview with God, and the veil which concealed the same from the infirmity of the people, and by superinducing thereupon the revelation and the glory of the Spirit in the person of Christ - even as, to use his words, by the Spirit of the Lord - he testifies that the whole Mosaic system was a figure of Christ, of whom the Jews indeed were ignorant, but who is known to us Christians. We are quite aware that some passages are open to ambiguity, from the way in which they are read, or else from their punctuation, when there is room for these two causes of ambiguity. The latter method has been adopted by Marcion, by reading the passage which follows, in whom the God of this world, 2 Corinthians 4:4 as if it described the Creator as the God of this world, in order that he may, by these words, imply that there is another God for the other world. We, however, say that the passage ought to be punctuated with a comma after God, to this effect: In whom God has blinded the eyes of the unbelievers of this world. In whom means the Jewish unbelievers, from some of whom the gospel is still hidden under Moses' veil. Now it is these whom God had threatened for loving Him indeed with the lip, while their heart was far from Him, Isaiah 29:13 in these angry words: You shall hear with your ears, and not understand; and see with your eyes, but not perceive; and, If you will not believe, you shall not understand; and again, I will take away the wisdom of their wise men, and bring to nought the understanding of their prudent ones. But these words, of course, He did not pronounce against them for concealing the gospel of the unknown God. At any rate, if there is a God of this world, He blinds the heart of the unbelievers of this world, because they have not of their own accord recognised His Christ, who ought to be understood from His Scriptures. Content with my advantage, I can willingly refrain from noticing to any greater length this point of ambiguous punctuation, so as not to give my adversary any advantage, indeed, I might have wholly omitted the discussion. A simpler answer I shall find ready to hand in interpreting the god of this world of the devil, who once said, as the prophet describes him: I will be like the Most High; I will exalt my throne in the clouds. Isaiah 14:14 The whole superstition, indeed, of this world has got into his hands, so that he blinds effectually the hearts of unbelievers, and of none more than the apostate Marcion's. Now he did not observe how much this clause of the sentence made against him: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to (give) the light of the knowledge (of His glory) in the face of (Jesus) Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 Now who was it that said; Let there be light? Genesis 1:3 And who was it that said to Christ concerning giving light to the world: I have set You as a light to the Gentiles - to them, that is, who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death? (None else, surely, than He), to whom the Spirit in the Psalm answers, in His foresight of the future, saying, The light of Your countece, O Lord, has been displayed upon us. Now the countece (or person ) of the Lord here is Christ. Wherefore the apostle said above: Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 Since Christ, then, is the person of the Creator, who said, Let there be light, it follows that Christ and the apostles, and the gospel, and the veil, and Moses- nay, the whole of the dispensations - belong to the God who is the Creator of this world, according to the testimony of the clause (above adverted to), and certainly not to him who never said, Let there be light. I here pass over discussion about another epistle, which we hold to have been written to the Ephesians, but the heretics to the Laodiceans. In it he tells them to remember, that at the time when they were Gentiles they were without Christ, aliens from (the commonwealth of) Israel, without intercourse, without the covets and any hope of promise, nay, without God, even in his own world, Ephesians 2:12 as the Creator thereof. Since therefore he said, that the Gentiles were without God, while their god was the devil, not the Creator, it is clear that he must be understood to be the lord of this world, whom the Gentiles received as their god - not the Creator, of whom they were in ignorance. But how does it happen, that the treasure which we have in these earthen vessels of ours 2 Corinthians 4:7 should not be regarded as belonging to the God who owns the vessels? Now since God's glory is, that so great a treasure is contained in earthen vessels, and since these earthen vessels are of the Creator's make, it follows that the glory is the Creator's; nay, since these vessels of His smack so much of the excellency of the power of God, that power itself must be His also! Indeed, all these things have been consigned to the said earthen vessels for the very purpose that His excellence might be manifested forth. Henceforth, then, the rival god will have no claim to the glory, and consequently none to the power. Rather, dishonour and weakness will accrue to him, because the earthen vessels with which he had nothing to do have received all the excellency! Well, then, if it be in these very earthen vessels that he tells us we have to endure so great sufferings, 2 Corinthians 4:8-12 in which we bear about with us the very dying of God, (Marcion's) god is really ungrateful and unjust, if he does not mean to restore this same substance of ours at the resurrection, wherein so much has been endured in loyalty to him, in which Christ's very death is borne about, wherein too the excellency of his power is treasured. 2 Corinthians 4:10 For he gives prominence to the statement, That the life also of Christ may be manifested in our body, 2 Corinthians 4:10 as a contrast to the preceding, that His death is borne about in our body. Now of what life of Christ does he here speak? of that which we are now living? Then how is it, that in the words which follow he exhorts us not to the things which are seen and are temporal, but to those which are not seen and are eternal 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - in other words, not to the present, but to the future? But if it be of the future life of Christ that he speaks, intimating that it is to be made manifest in our body, 2 Corinthians 4:11 then he has clearly predicted the resurrection of the flesh. 2 Corinthians 4:14 He says, too, that our outward man perishes, 2 Corinthians 4:16 not meaning by an eternal perdition after death, but by labours and sufferings, in reference to which he previously said, For which cause we will not faint. 2 Corinthians 4:16 Now, when he adds of the inward man also, that it is renewed day by day, he demonstrates both issues here - the wasting away of the body by the wear and tear of its trials, and the renewal of the soul by its contemplation of the promises. " "5.12. As to the house of this our earthly dwelling-place, when he says that we have an eternal home in heaven, not made with hands, 2 Corinthians 5:1 he by no means would imply that, because it was built by the Creator's hand, it must perish in a perpetual dissolution after death. He treats of this subject in order to offer consolation against the fear of death and the dread of this very dissolution, as is even more manifest from what follows, when he adds, that in this tabernacle of our earthly body we do groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with the vesture which is from heaven, 2 Corinthians 5:2-3 if so be, that having been unclothed, we shall not be found naked; in other words, shall regain that of which we have been divested, even our body. And again he says: We that are in this tabernacle do groan, not as if we were oppressed with an unwillingness to be unclothed, but (we wish) to be clothed upon. 2 Corinthians 5:4 He here says expressly, what he touched but lightly in his first epistle, where he wrote:) The dead shall be raised incorruptible (meaning those who had undergone mortality), and we shall be changed (whom God shall find to be yet in the flesh). 1 Corinthians 15:52 Both those shall be raised incorruptible, because they shall regain their body - and that a renewed one, from which shall come their incorruptibility; and these also shall, in the crisis of the last moment, and from their instantaneous death, while encountering the oppressions of anti-christ, undergo a change, obtaining therein not so much a divestiture of body as a clothing upon with the vesture which is from heaven. So that while these shall put on over their (changed) body this, heavenly raiment, the dead also shall for their part recover their body, over which they too have a supervesture to put on, even the incorruption of heaven; because of these it was that he said: This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:53 The one put on this (heavenly) apparel, when they recover their bodies; the others put it on as a supervesture, when they indeed hardly lose them (in the suddenness of their change). It was accordingly not without good reason that he described them as not wishing indeed to be unclothed, but (rather as wanting) to be clothed upon; 2 Corinthians 5:4 in other words, as wishing not to undergo death, but to be surprised into life, that this moral (body) might be swallowed up of life, by being rescued from death in the supervesture of its changed state. This is why he shows us how much better it is for us not to be sorry, if we should be surprised by death, and tells us that we even hold of God the earnest of His Spirit 2 Corinthians 5:5 (pledged as it were thereby to have the clothing upon, which is the object of our hope), and that so long as we are in the flesh, we are absent from the Lord; 2 Corinthians 5:6 moreover, that we ought on this account to prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord, 2 Corinthians 5:8 and so to be ready to meet even death with joy. In this view it is that he informs us how we must all appear before the judgement-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according as he has done either good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10 Since, however, there is then to be a retribution according to men's merits, how will any be able to reckon with God? But by mentioning both the judgment-seat and the distinction between works good and bad, he sets before us a Judge who is to award both sentences, 2 Corinthians 5:10 and has thereby affirmed that all will have to be present at the tribunal in their bodies. For it will be impossible to pass sentence except on the body, for what has been done in the body. God would be unjust, if any one were not punished or else rewarded in that very condition, wherein the merit was itself achieved. If therefore any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new; 2 Corinthians 5:17 and so is accomplished the prophecy of Isaiah. Isaiah 43:19 When also he (in a later passage) enjoins us to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and blood (since this substance enters not the kingdom of God 1 Corinthians 15:50); when, again, he espouses the church as a chaste virgin to Christ, 2 Corinthians 11:2 a spouse to a spouse in very deed, an image cannot be combined and compared with what is opposed to the real nature of the thing (with which it is compared). So when he designates false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves into likenesses of himself, 2 Corinthians 11:13 of course by their hypocrisy, he charges them with the guilt of disorderly conversation, rather than of false doctrine. The contrariety, therefore, was one of conduct, not of gods. If Satan himself, too, is transformed into an angel of light, 2 Corinthians 11:14 such an assertion must not be used to the prejudice of the Creator. The Creator is not an angel, but God. Into a god of light, and not an angel of light, must Satan then have been said to be transformed, if he did not mean to call him the angel, which both we and Marcion know him to be. On Paradise is the title of a treatise of ours, in which is discussed all that the subject admits of. I shall here simply wonder, in connection with this matter, whether a god who has no dispensation of any kind on earth could possibly have a paradise to call his own - without perchance availing himself of the paradise of the Creator, to use it as he does His world - much in the character of a mendicant. And yet of the removal of a man from earth to heaven we have an instance afforded us by the Creator in Elijah. 2 Kings 2:11 But what will excite my surprise still more is the case (next supposed by Marcion), that a God so good and gracious, and so averse to blows and cruelty, should have suborned the angel Satan- not his own either, but the Creator's - to buffet the apostle, 2 Corinthians 12:7-8 and then to have refused his request, when thrice entreated to liberate him! It would seem, therefore, that Marcion's god imitates the Creator's conduct, who is an enemy to the proud, even putting down the mighty from their seats. Is he then the same God as He who gave Satan power over the person of Job that his strength might be made perfect in weakness? How is it that the censurer of the Galatians Galatians 1:6-9 still retains the very formula of the law: In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established? 2 Corinthians 13:1 How again is it that he threatens sinners that he will not spare them 2 Corinthians 13:2 - he, the preacher of a most gentle god? Yea, he even declares that the Lord has given to him the power of using sharpness in their presence! 2 Corinthians 13:10 Deny now, O heretic, (at your cost,) that your god is an object to be feared, when his apostle was for making himself so formidable! " "5.13. Since my little work is approaching its termination, I must treat but briefly the points which still occur, while those which have so often turned up must be put aside. I regret still to have to contend about the law - after I have so often proved that its replacement (by the gospel) affords no argument for another god, predicted as it was indeed in Christ, and in the Creator's own plans ordained for His Christ. (But I must revert to that discussion) so far as (the apostle leads me, for) this very epistle looks very much as if it abrogated the law. We have, however, often shown before now that God is declared by the apostle to be a Judge; and that in the Judge is implied an Avenger; and in the Avenger, the Creator. And so in the passage where he says: I am not ashamed of the gospel (of Christ): for it is the power of god unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek; for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, Romans 1:16-17 he undoubtedly ascribes both the gospel and salvation to Him whom (in accordance with our heretic's own distinction) I have called the just God, not the good one. It is He who removes (men) from confidence in the law to faith in the gospel - that is to say, His own law and His own gospel. When, again, he declares that the wrath (of God) is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness, Romans 1:18 (I ask) the wrath of what God? of the Creator certainly. The truth, therefore, will be His, whose is also the wrath, which has to be revealed to avenge the truth. Likewise, when adding, We are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth, Romans 2:2 he both vindicated that wrath from which comes this judgment for the truth, and at the same time afforded another proof that the truth emanates from the same God whose wrath he attested, by witnessing to His judgment. Marcion's averment is quite a different matter, that the Creator in anger avenges Himself on the truth of the rival god which had been detained in unrighteousness. But what serious gaps Marcion has made in this epistle especially, by withdrawing whole passages at his will, will be clear from the unmutilated text of our own copy. It is enough for my purpose to accept in evidence of its truth what he has seen fit to leave unerased, strange instances as they are also of his negligence and blindness. If, then, God will judge the secrets of men - both of those who have sinned in the law, and of those who have sinned without law (inasmuch as they who know not the law yet do by nature the things contained in the law) Romans 2:12-16 - surely the God who shall judge is He to whom belong both the law, and that nature which is the rule to them who know not the law. But how will He conduct this judgment? According to my gospel, says (the apostle), by (Jesus) Christ. Romans 2:16 So that both the gospel and Christ must be His, to whom appertain the law and the nature which are to be vindicated by the gospel and Christ - even at that judgment of God which, as he previously said, was to be according to truth. Romans 2:2 The wrath, therefore, which is to vindicate truth, can only be revealed from heaven by the God of wrath; Romans 1:18 so that this sentence, which is quite in accordance with that previous one wherein the judgment is declared to be the Creator's, cannot possibly be ascribed to another god who is not a judge, and is incapable of wrath. It is only consistent in Him among whose attributes are found the judgment and the wrath of which I am speaking, and to whom of necessity must also appertain the media whereby these attributes are to be carried into effect, even the gospel and Christ. Hence his invective against the transgressors of the law, who teach that men should not steal, and yet practise theft themselves. Romans 2:21 (This invective he utters) in perfect homage to the law of God, not as if he meant to censure the Creator Himself with having commanded Exodus 3:22 a fraud to be practised against the Egyptians to get their gold and silver at the very time when He was forbidding men to steal, - adopting such methods as they are apt (shamelessly) to charge upon Him in other particulars also. Are we then to suppose that the apostle abstained through fear from openly calumniating God, from whom notwithstanding He did not hesitate to withdraw men? Well, but he had gone so far in his censure of the Jews, as to point against them the denunciation of the prophet, Through you the name of God is blasphemed (among the Gentiles). Romans 2:24 But how absurd, that he should himself blaspheme Him for blaspheming whom he upbraids them as evil-doers! He prefers even circumcision of heart to neglect of it in the flesh. Now it is quite within the purpose of the God of the law that circumcision should be that of the heart, not in the flesh; in the spirit, and not in the letter. Romans 2:29 Since this is the circumcision recommended by Jeremiah: Circumcise (yourselves to the Lord, and take away) the foreskins of your heart; Jeremiah 4:4 and even of Moses: Circumcise, therefore, the hardness of your heart, - the Spirit which circumcises the heart will proceed from Him who prescribed the letter also which clips the flesh; and the Jew which is one inwardly will be a subject of the self-same God as he also is who is a Jew outwardly; Romans 2:28 because the apostle would have preferred not to have mentioned a Jew at all, unless he were a servant of the God of the Jews. It was once the law; now it is the righteousness of God which is by the faith of (Jesus) Christ. Romans 3:21-22 What means this distinction? Has your god been subserving the interests of the Creator's dispensation, by affording time to Him and to His law? Is the Now in the hands of Him to whom belonged the Then? Surely, then, the law was His, whose is now the righteousness of God. It is a distinction of dispensations, not of gods. He enjoins those who are justified by faith in Christ and not by the law to have peace with God. With what God? Him whose enemies we have never, in any dispensation, been? Or Him against whom we have rebelled, both in relation to His written law and His law of nature? Now, as peace is only possible towards Him with whom there once was war, we shall be both justified by Him, and to Him also will belong the Christ, in whom we are justified by faith, and through whom alone God's enemies can ever be reduced to peace. Moreover, says he, the law entered, that the offense might abound. Romans 5:20 And wherefore this? In order, he says, that (where sin abounded), grace might much more abound. Romans 5:20 Whose grace, if not of that God from whom also came the law? Unless it be, forsooth, that the Creator intercalated His law for the mere purpose of producing some employment for the grace of a rival god, an enemy to Himself (I had almost said, a god unknown to Him), that as sin had in His own dispensation reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto (eternal) life by Jesus Christ, Romans 5:21 His own antagonist! For this (I suppose it was, that) the law of the Creator had concluded all under sin, Galatians 3:22 and had brought in all the world as guilty (before God), and had stopped every mouth, Romans 3:19 so that none could glory through it, in order that grace might be maintained to the glory of the Christ, not of the Creator, but of Marcion! I may here anticipate a remark about the substance of Christ, in the prospect of a question which will now turn up. For he says that we are dead to the law. It may be contended that Christ's body is indeed a body, but not exactly flesh. Now, whatever may be the substance, since he mentions the body of Christ, whom he immediately after states to have been raised from the dead, Romans 7:4 none other body can be understood than that of the flesh, in respect of which the law was called (the law) of death. But, behold, he bears testimony to the law, and excuses it on the ground of sin: What shall we say, therefore? Is the law sin? God forbid. Romans 7:7 Fie on you, Marcion. God forbid! (See how) the apostle recoils from all impeachment of the law. I, however, have no acquaintance with sin except through the law. But how high an encomium of the law (do we obtain) from this fact, that by it there comes to light the latent presence of sin! It was not the law, therefore, which led me astray, but sin, taking occasion by the commandment. Romans 7:8 Why then do you, (O Marcion,) impute to the God of the law what His apostle dares not impute even to the law itself? Nay, he adds a climax: The law is holy, and its commandment just and good. Romans 7:13 Now if he thus reverences the Creator's law, I am at a loss to know how he can destroy the Creator Himself. Who can draw a distinction, and say that there are two gods, one just and the other good, when He ought to be believed to be both one and the other, whose commandment is both just and good? Then, again, when affirming the law to be spiritual Romans 7:14 he thereby implies that it is prophetic, and that it is figurative. Now from even this circumstance I am bound to conclude that Christ was predicted by the law but figuratively, so that indeed He could not be recognised by all the Jews. " "5.14. If the Father sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, Romans 8:3 it must not therefore be said that the flesh which He seemed to have was but a phantom. For he in a previous verse ascribed sin to the flesh, and made it out to be the law of sin dwelling in his members, and warring against the law of the mind. On this account, therefore, (does he mean to say that) the Son was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, that He might redeem this sinful flesh by a like substance, even a fleshly one, which bare a resemblance to sinful flesh, although it was itself free from sin. Now this will be the very perfection of divine power to effect the salvation (of man) in a nature like his own. For it would be no great matter if the Spirit of God remedied the flesh; but when a flesh, which is the very copy of the sinning substance - itself flesh also - only without sin, (effects the remedy, then doubtless it is a great thing). The likeness, therefore, will have reference to the quality of the sinfulness, and not to any falsity of the substance. Because he would not have added the attribute sinful, if he meant the likeness to be so predicated of the substance as to deny the verity thereof; in that case he would only have used the word flesh, and omitted the sinful. But inasmuch as he has put the two together, and said sinful flesh, (or flesh of sin,) he has both affirmed the substance, that is, the flesh and referred the likeness to the fault of the substance, that is, to its sin. But even suppose that the likeness was predicated of the substance, the truth of the said substance will not be thereby denied. Why then call the true substance like? Because it is indeed true, only not of a seed of like condition with our own; but true still, as being of a nature not really unlike ours. And again, in contrary things there is no likeness. Thus the likeness of flesh would not be called spirit, because flesh is not susceptible of any likeness to spirit; but it would be called phantom, if it seemed to be that which it really was not. It is, however, called likeness, since it is what it seems to be. Now it is (what it seems to be), because it is on a par with the other thing (with which it is compared). But a phantom, which is merely such and nothing else, is not a likeness. The apostle, however, himself here comes to our aid; for, while explaining in what sense he would not have us live in the flesh, although in the flesh - even by not living in the works of the flesh - he shows that when he wrote the words, Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Corinthians 15:50 it was not with the view of condemning the substance (of the flesh), but the works thereof; and because it is possible for these not to be committed by us while we are still in the flesh, they will therefore be properly chargeable, not on the substance of the flesh, but on its conduct. Likewise, if the body indeed is dead because of sin (from which statement we see that not the death of the soul is meant, but that of the body), but the spirit is life because of righteousness, Romans 8:10 it follows that this life accrues to that which incurred death because of sin, that is, as we have just seen, the body. Now the body is only restored to him who had lost it; so that the resurrection of the dead implies the resurrection of their bodies. He accordingly subjoins: He that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal bodies. Romans 8:11 In these words he both affirmed the resurrection of the flesh (without which nothing can rightly be called body, nor can anything be properly regarded as mortal), and proved the bodily substance of Christ; inasmuch as our own mortal bodies will be quickened in precisely the same way as He was raised; and that was in no other way than in the body. I have here a very wide gulf of expunged Scripture to leap across; however, I alight on the place where the apostle bears record of Israel that they have a zeal of God - their own God, of course - but not according to knowledge. For, says he, being ignorant of (the righteousness of) God, and going about to establish their own righteousness, they have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God; for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes. Romans 10:2-4 Hereupon we shall be confronted with an argument of the heretic, that the Jews were ignorant of the superior God, since, in opposition to him, they set up their own righteousness - that is, the righteousness of their law - not receiving Christ, the end (or finisher) of the law. But how then is it that he bears testimony to their zeal for their own God, if it is not in respect of the same God that he upbraids them for their ignorance? They were affected indeed with zeal for God, but it was not an intelligent zeal: they were, in fact, ignorant of Him, because they were ignorant of His dispensations by Christ, who was to bring about the consummation of the law; and in this way did they maintain their own righteousness in opposition to Him. But so does the Creator Himself testify to their ignorance concerning Him: Israel has not known me; my people have not understood me; Isaiah 1:3 and as to their preferring the establishment of their own righteousness, (the Creator again describes them as) teaching for doctrines the commandments of men; moreover, as having gathered themselves together against the Lord and against His Christ - from ignorance of Him, of course. Now nothing can be expounded of another god which is applicable to the Creator; otherwise the apostle would not have been just in reproaching the Jews with ignorance in respect of a god of whom they knew nothing. For where had been their sin, if they only maintained the righteousness of their own God against one of whom they were ignorant? But he exclaims: O the depth of the riches and the wisdom of God; how unsearchable also are His ways! Romans 11:33 Whence this outburst of feeling? Surely from the recollection of the Scriptures, which he had been previously turning over, as well as from his contemplation of the mysteries which he had been setting forth above, in relation to the faith of Christ coming from the law. If Marcion had an object in his erasures, why does his apostle utter such an exclamation, because his god has no riches for him to contemplate? So poor and indigent was he, that he created nothing, predicted nothing - in short, possessed nothing; for it was into the world of another God that he descended. The truth is, the Creator's resources and riches, which once had been hidden, were now disclosed. For so had He promised: I will give to them treasures which have been hidden, and which men have not seen will I open to them. Isaiah 45:3 Hence, then, came the exclamation, O the depth of the riches and the wisdom of God! For His treasures were now opening out. This is the purport of what Isaiah said, and of (the apostle's own) subsequent quotation of the self-same passage, of the prophet: Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counsellor? Who has first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? Now, (Marcion,) since you have expunged so much from the Scriptures, why did you retain these words, as if they too were not the Creator's words? But come now, let us see without mistake the precepts of your new god: Abhor that which is evil, and cleave to that which is good. Romans 12:9 Well, is the precept different in the Creator's teaching? Take away the evil from you, depart from it, and be doing good. Then again: Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love. Romans 12:10 Now is not this of the same import as: You shall love your neighbour as your self? Leviticus 19:18 (Again, your apostle says:) Rejoicing in hope; Romans 12:12 that is, of God. So says the Creator's Psalmist: It is better to hope in the Lord, than to hope even in princes. Patient in tribulation. Romans 12:12 You have (this in) the Psalm: The Lord hear you in the day of tribulation. Bless, and curse not, Romans 12:12 (says your apostle.) But what better teacher of this will you find than Him who created all things, and blessed them? Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Romans 12:16 For against such a disposition Isaiah pronounces a woe. Isaiah 5:21 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Romans 12:17 (Like unto which is the Creator's precept:) You shall not remember your brother's evil against you. Leviticus 19:17-18 (Again:) Avenge not yourselves; Romans 12:19 for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Live peaceably with all men. Romans 12:18 The retaliation of the law, therefore, permitted not retribution for an injury; it rather repressed any attempt thereat by the fear of a recompense. Very properly, then, did he sum up the entire teaching of the Creator in this precept of His: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Romans 13:9 Now, if this is the recapitulation of the law from the very law itself, I am at a loss to know who is the God of the law. I fear He must be Marcion's god (after all). If also the gospel of Christ is fulfilled in this same precept, but not the Creator's Christ, what is the use of our contending any longer whether Christ did or did not say, I am not come to destroy the law, but to fulfil it? Matthew 5:17 In vain has (our man of) Pontus laboured to deny this statement. If the gospel has not fulfilled the law, then all I can say is, the law has fulfilled the gospel. But it is well that in a later verse he threatens us with the judgment-seat of Christ,- the Judge, of course, and the Avenger, and therefore the Creator's (Christ). This Creator, too, however much he may preach up another god, he certainly sets forth for us as a Being to be served, if he holds Him thus up as an object to be feared. " "5.15. I shall not be sorry to bestow attention on the shorter epistles also. Even in brief works there is much pungency. The Jews had slain their prophets. 1 Thessalonians 2:15 I may ask, What has this to do with the apostle of the rival god, one so amiable withal, who could hardly be said to condemn even the failings of his own people; and who, moreover, has himself some hand in making away with the same prophets whom he is destroying? What injury did Israel commit against him in slaying those whom he too has reprobated, since he was the first to pass a hostile sentence on them? But Israel sinned against their own God. He upbraided their iniquity to whom the injured God pertains; and certainly he is anything but the adversary of the injured Deity. Else he would not have burdened them with the charge of killing even the Lord, in the words, Who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, although (the pronoun) their own be an addition of the heretics. Now, what was there so very acrimonious in their killing Christ the proclaimer of the new god, after they had put to death also the prophets of their own god? The fact, however, of their having slain the Lord and His servants, is put as a case of climax. Now, if it were the Christ of one god and the prophets of another god whom they slew, he would certainly have placed the impious crimes on the same level, instead of mentioning them in the way of a climax; but they did not admit of being put on the same level: the climax, therefore, was only possible by the sin having been in fact committed against one and the same Lord in the two respective circumstances. To one and the same Lord, then, belonged Christ and the prophets. What that sanctification of ours is, which he declares to be the will of God, you may discover from the opposite conduct which he forbids. That we should abstain from fornication, not from marriage; that every one should know how to possess his vessel in honour. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 In what way? Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles. 1 Thessalonians 4:5 Concupiscence, however, is not ascribed to marriage even among the Gentiles, but to extravagant, unnatural, and enormous sins. The law of nature is opposed to luxury as well as to grossness and uncleanness; it does not forbid connubial intercourse, but concupiscence; and it takes care of our vessel by the honourable estate of matrimony. This passage (of the apostle) I would treat in such a way as to maintain the superiority of the other and higher sanctity, preferring continence and virginity to marriage, but by no means prohibiting the latter. For my hostility is directed against those who are for destroying the God of marriage, not those who follow after chastity. He says that those who remain unto the coming of Christ, along with the dead in Christ, shall rise first, being caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 I find it was in their foresight of all this, that the heavenly intelligences gazed with admiration on the Jerusalem which is above, Galatians 4:26 and by the mouth of Isaiah said long ago: Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves with their young ones, unto me? Isaiah 60:8 Now, as Christ has prepared for us this ascension into heaven, He must be the Christ of whom Amos spoke: It is He who builds His ascent up to the heavens, Amos 9:6 even for Himself and His people. Now, from whom shall I expect (the fulfilment of) all this, except from Him whom I have heard give the promise thereof? What spirit does he forbid us to quench, and what prophesyings to despise? 1 Thessalonians 5:19-20 Not the Creator's spirit, nor the Creator's prophesyings, Marcion of course replies. For he has already quenched and despised the thing which he destroys, and is unable to forbid what he has despised. It is then incumbent on Marcion now to display in his church that spirit of his god which must not be quenched, and the prophesyings which must not be despised. And since he has made such a display as he thinks fit, let him know that we shall challenge it whatever it may be to the rule of the grace and power of the Spirit and the prophets- namely, to foretell the future, to reveal the secrets of the heart, and to explain mysteries. And when he shall have failed to produce and give proof of any such criterion, we will then on our side bring out both the Spirit and the prophecies of the Creator, which utter predictions according to His will. Thus it will be clearly seen of what the apostle spoke, even of those things which were to happen in the church of his God; and as long as He endures, so long also does His Spirit work, and so long are His promises repeated. Come now, you who deny the salvation of the flesh, and who, whenever there occurs the specific mention of body in a case of this sort, interpret it as meaning anything rather than the substance of the flesh, (tell me) how is it that the apostle has given certain distinct names to all (our faculties), and has comprised them all in one prayer for their safety, desiring that our spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord and Saviour (Jesus) Christ? Now he has here propounded the soul and the body as two several and distinct things. For although the soul has a kind of body of a quality of its own, just as the spirit has, yet as the soul and the body are distinctly named, the soul has its own peculiar appellation, not requiring the common designation of body. This is left for the flesh, which having no proper name (in this passage), necessarily makes use of the common designation. Indeed, I see no other substance in man, after spirit and soul, to which the term body can be applied except the flesh. This, therefore, I understand to be meant by the word body- as often as the latter is not specifically named. Much more do I so understand it in the present passage, where the flesh is expressly called by the name body. " "5.16. We are obliged from time to time to recur to certain topics in order to affirm truths which are connected with them. We repeat then here, that as the Lord is by the apostle proclaimed as the awarder of both good and woe, He must be either the Creator, or (as Marcion would be loth to admit) One like the Creator - with whom it is a righteous thing to recompense tribulation to them who afflict us, and to ourselves, who are afflicted, rest, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed as coming from heaven with the angels of His might and in flaming fire. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 The heretic, however, has erased the flaming fire, no doubt that he might extinguish all traces herein of our own God. But the folly of the obliteration is clearly seen. For as the apostle declares that the Lord will come to take vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel, who, he says, shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 - it follows that, as He comes to inflict punishment, He must require the flaming fire. Thus on this consideration too we must, notwithstanding Marcion's opposition, conclude that Christ belongs to a God who kindles the flames (of vengeance), and therefore to the Creator, inasmuch as He takes vengeance on such as know not the Lord, that is, on the heathen. For he has mentioned separately those who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Thessalonians 1:8 whether they be sinners among Christians or among Jews. Now, to inflict punishment on the heathen, who very likely have never heard of the Gospel, is not the function of that God who is naturally unknown, and who is revealed nowhere else than in the Gospel, and therefore cannot be known by all men. The Creator, however, ought to be known even by (the light of) nature, for He may be understood from His works, and may thereby become the object of a more widely spread knowledge. To Him, therefore, does it appertain to punish such as know not God, for none ought to be ignorant of Him. In the (apostle's) phrase, From the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power, 2 Thessalonians 1:9 he uses the words of Isaiah who for the express reason makes the self-same Lord arise to shake terribly the earth. Well, but who is the man of sin, the son of perdition, who must first be revealed before the Lord comes; who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; who is to sit in the temple of God, and boast himself as being God? 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 According indeed to our view, he is Antichrist; as it is taught us in both the ancient and the new prophecies, and especially by the Apostle John, who says that already many false prophets are gone out into the world, the fore-runners of Antichrist, who deny that Christ has come in the flesh, 1 John 4:1-3 and do not acknowledge Jesus (to be the Christ), meaning in God the Creator. According, however, to Marcion's view, it is really hard to know whether He might not be (after all) the Creator's Christ; because according to him He is not yet come. But whichsoever of the two it is, I want to know why he comes in all power, and with lying signs and wonders? 2 Thessalonians 2:9 Because, he says, they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved; for which cause God shall send them an instinct of delusion (to believe a lie), that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 If therefore he be Antichrist, (as we hold), and comes according to the Creator's purpose, it must be God the Creator who sends him to fasten in their error those who did not believe the truth, that they might be saved; His likewise must be the truth and the salvation, who avenges (the contempt of) them by sending error as their substitute - that is, the Creator, to whom that very wrath is a fitting attribute, which deceives with a lie those who are not captivated with truth. If, however, he is not Antichrist, as we suppose (him to be) then He is the Christ of the Creator, as Marcion will have it. In this case how happens it that he can suborn the Creator's Christ to avenge his truth? But should he after all agree with us, that Antichrist is here meant, I must then likewise ask how it is that he finds Satan, an angel of the Creator, necessary to his purpose? Why, too, should Antichrist be slain by Him, while commissioned by the Creator to execute the function of inspiring men with their love of untruth? In short, it is incontestable that the emissary, and the truth, and the salvation belong to Him to whom also appertain the wrath, and the jealousy, and the sending of the strong delusion, 2 Thessalonians 2:11 on those who despise and mock, as well as upon those who are ignorant of Him; and therefore even Marcion will now have to come down a step, and concede to us that his god is a jealous god. (This being then an unquestionable position, I ask) which God has the greater right to be angry? He, as I suppose, who from the beginning of all things has given to man, as primary witnesses for the knowledge of Himself, nature in her (manifold) works, kindly providences, plagues, and indications (of His divinity), but who in spite of all this evidence has not been acknowledged; or he who has been brought out to view once for all in one only copy of the gospel - and even that without any sure authority - which actually makes no secret of proclaiming another god? Now He who has the right of inflicting the vengeance, has also sole claim to that which occasions the vengeance, I mean the Gospel; (in other words,) both the truth and (its accompanying) salvation. The charge, that if any would not work, neither should he eat, 2 Thessalonians 3:10 is in strict accordance with the precept of Him who ordered that the mouth of the ox that treads out the grain should not be muzzled. Deuteronomy 25:4 " "5.17. We have it on the true tradition of the Church, that this epistle was sent to the Ephesians, not to the Laodiceans. Marcion, however, was very desirous of giving it the new title (of Laodicean), as if he were extremely accurate in investigating such a point. But of what consequence are the titles, since in writing to a certain church the apostle did in fact write to all? It is certain that, whoever they were to whom he wrote, he declared Him to be God in Christ with whom all things agree which are predicted. Now, to what god will most suitably belong all those things which relate to that good pleasure, which God has purposed in the mystery of His will, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might recapitulate (if I may so say, according to the exact meaning of the Greek word ) all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, Ephesians 1:9-10 but to Him whose are all things from their beginning, yea the beginning itself too; from whom issue the times and the dispensation of the fullness of times, according to which all things up to the very first are gathered up in Christ? What beginning, however, has the other god; that is to say, how can anything proceed from him, who has no work to show? And if there be no beginning, how can there be times? If no times, what fullness of times can there be? And if no fullness, what dispensation? Indeed, what has he ever done on earth, that any long dispensation of times to be fulfilled can be put to his account, for the accomplishment of all things in Christ, even of things in heaven? Nor can we possibly suppose that any things whatever have been at any time done in heaven by any other God than Him by whom, as all men allow, all things have been done on earth. Now, if it is impossible for all these things from the beginning to be reckoned to any other God than the Creator, who will believe that an alien god has recapitulated them in an alien Christ, instead of their own proper Author in His own Christ? If, again, they belong to the Creator, they must needs be separate from the other god; and if separate, then opposed to him. But then how can opposites be gathered together into him by whom they are in short destroyed? Again, what Christ do the following words announce, when the apostle says: That we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ? Ephesians 1:12 Now who could have first trusted - i.e. previously trusted - in God, before His advent, except the Jews to whom Christ was previously announced, from the beginning? He who was thus foretold, was also foretrusted. Hence the apostle refers the statement to himself, that is, to the Jews, in order that he may draw a distinction with respect to the Gentiles, (when he goes on to say:) In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel (of your salvation); in whom you believed, and were sealed with His Holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:13 of what promise? That which was made through Joel: In the last days will I pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, Joel 2:28 that is, on all nations. Therefore the Spirit and the Gospel will be found in the Christ, who was foretrusted, because foretold. Again, the Father of glory Ephesians 2:17 is He whose Christ, when ascending to heaven, is celebrated as the King of Glory in the Psalm: Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory. From Him also is besought the spirit of wisdom, Ephesians 1:17 at whose disposal is enumerated that sevenfold distribution of the spirit of grace by Isaiah. Isaiah 11:2 He likewise will grant the enlightenment of the eyes of the understanding, Ephesians 1:18 who has also enriched our natural eyes with light; to whom, moreover, the blindness of the people is offensive: And who is blind, but my servants?...yea, the servants of God have become blind. In His gift, too, are the riches (of the glory) of His inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:18 who promised such an inheritance in the call of the Gentiles: Ask of me, and I will give You the heathen for Your inheritance. It was He who wrought in Christ His mighty power, by raising Him from the dead, and setting Him at His own right hand, and putting all things under His feet Ephesians 1:19-22 - even the same who said: Sit on my right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool. For in another passage the Spirit says to the Father concerning the Son: You have put all things under His feet. Now, if from all these facts which are found in the Creator there is yet to be deduced another god and another Christ, let us go in quest of the Creator. I suppose, forsooth, we find Him, when he speaks of such as were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein they had walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, who works in the children of disobedience. Ephesians 2:1-2 But Marcion must not here interpret the world as meaning the God of the world. For a creature bears no resemblance to the Creator; the thing made, none to its Maker; the world, none to God. He, moreover, who is the Prince of the power of the ages must not be thought to be called the prince of the power of the air; for He who is chief over the higher powers derives no title from the lower powers, although these, too, may be ascribed to Him. Nor, again, can He possibly seem to be the instigator of that unbelief which He Himself had rather to endure at the hand of the Jews and the Gentiles alike. We may therefore simply conclude that these designations are unsuited to the Creator. There is another being to whom they are more applicable - and the apostle knew very well who that was. Who then is he? Undoubtedly he who has raised up children of disobedience against the Creator Himself ever since he took possession of that air of His; even as the prophet makes him say: I will set my throne above the stars;... I will go up above the clouds; I will be like the Most High. This must mean the devil, whom in another passage (since such will they there have the apostle's meaning to be) we shall recognize in the appellation the god of this world. For he has filled the whole world with the lying pretence of his own divinity. To be sure, if he had not existed, we might then possibly have applied these descriptions to the Creator. But the apostle, too, had lived in Judaism; and when he parenthetically observed of the sins (of that period of his life), in which also we all had our conversation in times past, Ephesians 2:3 he must not be understood to indicate that the Creator was the lord of sinful men, and the prince of this air; but as meaning that in his Judaism he had been one of the children of disobedience, having the devil as his instigator - when he persecuted the church and the Christ of the Creator. Therefore he says: We also were the children of wrath, but by nature. Ephesians 2:3 Let the heretic, however, not contend that, because the Creator called the Jews children, therefore the Creator is the lord of wrath. For when (the apostle) says, We were by nature the children of wrath, inasmuch as the Jews were not the Creator's children by nature, but by the election of their fathers, he (must have) referred their being children of wrath to nature, and not to the Creator, adding this at last, even as others, Ephesians 2:3 who, of course, were not children of God. It is manifest that sins, and lusts of the flesh, and unbelief, and anger, are ascribed to the common nature of all mankind, the devil however leading that nature astray, which he has already infected with the implanted germ of sin. We, says he, are His workmanship, created in Christ. Ephesians 2:10 It is one thing to make (as a workman), another thing to create. But he assigns both to One. Man is the workmanship of the Creator. He therefore who made man (at first), created him also in Christ. As touching the substance of nature, He made him; as touching the work of grace, He created him. Look also at what follows in connection with these words: Wherefore remember, that you being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which has the name of circumcision in the flesh made by the hand - that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covets of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. Ephesians 2:11-12 Now, without what God and without what Christ were these Gentiles? Surely, without Him to whom the commonwealth of Israel belonged, and the covets and the promise. But now in Christ, says he, you who were sometimes far off are made near by His blood. Ephesians 2:13 From whom were they far off before? From the (privileges) whereof he speaks above, even from the Christ of the Creator, from the commonwealth of Israel, from the covets, from the hope of the promise, from God Himself. Since this is the case, the Gentiles are consequently now in Christ made near to these (blessings), from which they were once far off. But if we are in Christ brought so very near to the commonwealth of Israel, which comprises the religion of the divine Creator, and to the covets and to the promise, yea to their very God Himself, it is quite ridiculous (to suppose that) the Christ of the other god has brought us to this proximity to the Creator from afar. The apostle had in mind that it had been predicted concerning the call of the Gentiles from their distant alienation in words like these: They who were far off from me have come to my righteousness. For the Creator's righteousness no less than His peace was announced in Christ, as we have often shown already. Therefore he says: He is our peace, who has made both one Ephesians 2:14 - that is, the Jewish nation and the Gentile world. What is near, and what was far off now that the middle wall has been broken down of their enmity, (are made one) in His flesh. Ephesians 2:15 But Marcion erased the pronoun His, that he might make the enmity refer to flesh, as if (the apostle spoke) of a carnal enmity, instead of the enmity which was a rival to Christ. And thus you have (as I have said elsewhere) exhibited the stupidity of Pontus, rather than the adroitness of a Marrucinian, for you here deny him flesh to whom in the verse above you allowed blood! Since, however, He has made the law obsolete by His own precepts, even by Himself fulfilling the law (for superfluous is, You shall not commit adultery, when He says, You shall not look on a woman to lust after her; superfluous also is, You shall do no murder, when He says, You shall not speak evil of your neighbour,) it is impossible to make an adversary of the law out of one who so completely promotes it. For to create in Himself of two, for He who had made is also the same who creates (just as we have found it stated above: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus), Ephesians 2:10 one new man, making peace (really new, and really man - no phantom - but new, and newly born of a virgin by the Spirit of God), that He might reconcile both unto God Ephesians 2:15-16 (even the God whom both races had offended - both Jew and Gentile), in one body, says he, having in it slain the enmity by the cross. Ephesians 2:16 Thus we find from this passage also, that there was in Christ a fleshly body, such as was able to endure the cross. When, therefore, He came and preached peace to them that were near and to them which were afar off, we both obtained access to the Father, being now no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God (even of Him from whom, as we have shown above, we were aliens, and placed far off), built upon the foundation of the apostles Ephesians 2:17-20 - (the apostle added), and the prophets; these words, however, the heretic erased, forgetting that the Lord had set in His Church not only apostles, but prophets also. He feared, no doubt, that our building was to stand in Christ upon the foundation of the ancient prophets, since the apostle himself never fails to build us up everywhere with (the words of) the prophets. For whence did he learn to call Christ the chief corner-stone, Ephesians 2:20 but from the figure given him in the Psalm: The stone which the builders rejected has become the head (stone) of the corner? " "5.18. As our heretic is so fond of his pruning-knife, I do not wonder when syllables are expunged by his hand, seeing that entire pages are usually the matter on which he practises his effacing process. The apostle declares that to himself, less than the least of all saints, was the grace given of enlightening all men as to what was the fellowship of the mystery, which during the ages had been hid in God, who created all things. Ephesians 3:8-9 The heretic erased the preposition in, and made the clause run thus: (what is the fellowship of the mystery) which has for ages been hidden from the God who created all things. The falsification, however, is flagrantly absurd. For the apostle goes on to infer (from his own statement): in order that unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might become known through the church the manifold wisdom of God. Ephesians 3:10 Whose principalities and powers does he mean? If the Creator's, how does it come to pass that such a God as He could have meant His wisdom to be displayed to the principalities and powers, but not to Himself? For surely no principalities could possibly have understood anything without their sovereign Lord. Or if (the apostle) did not mention God in this passage, on the ground that He (as their chief) is Himself reckoned among these (principalities), then he would have plainly said that the mystery had been hidden from the principalities and powers of Him who had created all things, including Him among them. But if he states that it was hidden from them, he must needs be understood as having meant that it was manifest to Him. From God, therefore, the mystery was not hidden; but it was hidden in God, the Creator of all things, from His principalities and powers. For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counsellor? Isaiah 40:13 Caught in this trap, the heretic probably changed the passage, with the view of saying that his god wished to make known to his principalities and powers the fellowship of his own mystery, of which God, who created all things, had been ignorant. But what was the use of his obtruding this ignorance of the Creator, who was a stranger to the superior god, and far enough removed from him, when even his own servants had known nothing about him? To the Creator, however, the future was well known. Then why was not that also known to Him, which had to be revealed beneath His heaven, and on His earth? From this, therefore, there arises a confirmation of what we have already laid down. For since the Creator was sure to know, some time or other, that hidden mystery of the superior god, even on the supposition that the true reading was (as Marcion has it)- hidden from the God who created all things - he ought then to have expressed the conclusion thus: in order that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to Him, and then to the principalities and powers of God, whosoever He might be, with whom the Creator was destined to share their knowledge. So palpable is the erasure in this passage, when thus read, consistently with its own true bearing. I, on my part, now wish to engage with you in a discussion on the allegorical expressions of the apostle. What figures of speech could the novel god have found in the prophets (fit for himself)? He led captivity captive, says the apostle. With what arms? In what conflicts? From the devastation of what country? From the overthrow of what city? What women, what children, what princes did the Conqueror throw into chains? For when by David Christ is sung as girded with His sword upon His thigh, or by Isaiah as taking away the spoils of Samaria and the power of Damascus, Isaiah 8:4 you make Him out to be really and truly a warrior confest to the eye. Learn then now, that His is a spiritual armour and warfare, since you have already discovered that the captivity is spiritual, in order that you may further learn that this also belongs to Him, even because the apostle derived the mention of the captivity from the same prophets as suggested to him his precepts likewise: Putting away lying, (says he,) speak every man truth with his neighbour; Ephesians 4:25 and again, using the very words in which the Psalm expresses his meaning, (he says,) Be angry, and sin not; Ephesians 4:26 Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Ephesians 4:26 Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; Ephesians 5:11 for (in the Psalm it is written,) With the holy man you shall be holy, and with the perverse you shall be perverse; and, You shall put away evil from among you. Again, Go out from the midst of them; touch not the unclean thing; separate yourselves, you that bear the vessels of the Lord. (The apostle says further:) Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, Ephesians 5:18 - a precept which is suggested by the passage (of the prophet), where the seducers of the consecrated (Nazarites) to drunkenness are rebuked: You gave wine to my holy ones to drink. Amos 2:12 This prohibition from drink was given also to the high priest Aaron and his sons, when they went into the holy place. Leviticus 10:9 The command, to sing to the Lord with psalms and hymns, Ephesians 5:19 comes suitably from him who knew that those who drank wine with drums and psalteries were blamed by God. Isaiah 5:11-12 Now, when I find to what God belong these precepts, whether in their germ or their development, I have no difficulty in knowing to whom the apostle also belongs. But he declares that wives ought to be in subjection to their husbands: what reason does he give for this? Because, says he, the husband is the head of the wife. Ephesians 5:23 Pray tell me, Marcion, does your god build up the authority of his law on the work of the Creator? This, however, is a comparative trifle; for he actually derives from the same source the condition of his Christ and his Church; for he says: even as Christ is the head of the Church; Ephesians 5:23 and again, in like manner: He who loves his wife, loves his own flesh, even as Christ loved the Church. You see how your Christ and your Church are put in comparison with the work of the Creator. How much honour is given to the flesh in the name of the church! No man, says the apostle, ever yet hated his own flesh (except, of course, Marcion alone), but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord does the Church. Ephesians 5:29 But you are the only man that hates his flesh, for you rob it of its resurrection. It will be only right that you should hate the Church also, because it is loved by Christ on the same principle. Yea, Christ loved the flesh even as the Church. For no man will love the picture of his wife without taking care of it, and honouring it and crowning it. The likeness partakes with the reality in the privileged honour. I shall now endeavour, from my point of view, to prove that the same God is (the God) of the man and of Christ, of the woman and of the Church, of the flesh and the spirit, by the apostle's help who applies the Creator's injunction, and adds even a comment on it: For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, (and shall be joined unto his wife), and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery. Ephesians 5:31-32 In passing, (I would say that) it is enough for me that the works of the Creator are great mysteries in the estimation of the apostle, although they are so vilely esteemed by the heretics. But I am speaking, says he, of Christ and the Church. Ephesians 5:32 This he says in explanation of the mystery, not for its disruption. He shows us that the mystery was prefigured by Him who is also the author of the mystery. Now what is Marcion's opinion? The Creator could not possibly have furnished figures to an unknown god, or, if a known one, an adversary to Himself. The superior god, in fact, ought to have borrowed nothing from the inferior; he was bound rather to annihilate Him. Children should obey their parents. Ephesians 6:1 Now, although Marcion has erased (the next clause), which is the first commandment with promise, still the law says plainly, Honour your father and your mother. Exodus 20:12 Again, (the apostle writes:) Parents, bring up your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 For you have heard how it was said to them of old time: You shall relate these things to your children; and your children in like manner to their children. Exodus 10:2 of what use are two gods to me, when the discipline is but one? If there must be two, I mean to follow Him who was the first to teach the lesson. But as our struggle lies against the rulers of this world, Ephesians 6:12 what a host of Creator Gods there must be! For why should I not insist upon this point here, that he ought to have mentioned but one ruler of this world, if he meant only the Creator to be the being to whom belonged all the powers which he previously mentioned? Again, when in the preceding verse he bids us put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, Ephesians 6:11 does he not show that all the things which he mentions after the devil's name really belong to the devil- the principalities and the powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, Ephesians 6:12 which we also ascribe to the devil's authority? Else, if the devil means the Creator, who will be the devil in the Creator's dispensation? As there are two gods, must there also be two devils, and a plurality of powers and rulers of this world? But how is the Creator both a devil and a god at the same time, when the devil is not at once both god and devil? For either they are both of them gods, if both of them are devils; or else He who is God is not also devil, as neither is he god who is the devil. I want to know indeed by what perversion the word devil is at all applicable to the Creator. Perhaps he perverted some purpose of the superior god - conduct such as He experienced Himself from the archangel, who lied indeed for the purpose. For He did not forbid (our first parents) a taste of the miserable tree, from any apprehension that they would become gods; His prohibition was meant to prevent their dying after the transgression. But the spiritual wickedness did not signify the Creator, because of the apostle's additional description, in heavenly places; Ephesians 6:12 for the apostle was quite aware that spiritual wickedness had been at work in heavenly places, when angels were entrapped into sin by the daughters of men. But how happened it that (the apostle) resorted to ambiguous descriptions, and I know not what obscure enigmas, for the purpose of disparaging the Creator, when he displayed to the Church such constancy and plainness of speech in making known the mystery of the gospel for which he was an ambassador in bonds, owing to his liberty in preaching - and actually requested (the Ephesians) to pray to God that this open-mouthed utterance might be continued to him? Ephesians 6:19-20 " "5.19. I am accustomed in my prescription against all heresies, to fix my compendious criterion (of truth) in the testimony of time; claiming priority therein as our rule, and alleging lateness to be the characteristic of every heresy. This shall now be proved even by the apostle, when he says: For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; which has come unto you, as it is unto all the world. Colossians 1:5-6 For if, even at that time, the tradition of the gospel had spread everywhere, how much more now! Now, if it is our gospel which has spread everywhere, rather than any heretical gospel, much less Marcion's, which only dates from the reign of Antoninus, then ours will be the gospel of the apostles. But should Marcion's gospel succeed in filling the whole world, it would not even in that case be entitled to the character of apostolic. For this quality, it will be evident, can only belong to that gospel which was the first to fill the world; in other words, to the gospel of that God who of old declared this of its promulgation: Their sound is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. He calls Christ the image of the invisible God. Colossians 1:15 We in like manner say that the Father of Christ is invisible, for we know that it was the Son who was seen in ancient times (whenever any appearance was vouchsafed to men in the name of God) as the image of (the Father) Himself. He must not be regarded, however, as making any difference between a visible and an invisible God; because long before he wrote this we find a description of our God to this effect: No man can see the Lord, and live. Exodus 33:20 If Christ is not the first-begotten before every creature, as that Word of God by whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made; John 1:3 if all things were not in Him created, whether in heaven or on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers; if all things were not created by Him and for Him (for these truths Marcion ought not to allow concerning Him), then the apostle could not have so positively laid it down, that He is before all. For how is He before all, if He is not before all things? How, again, is He before all things, if He is not the first-born of every creature - if He is not the Word of the Creator? Now how will he be proved to have been before all things, who appeared after all things? Who can tell whether he had a prior existence, when he has found no proof that he had any existence at all? In what way also could it have pleased (the Father) that in Him should all fullness dwell? Colossians 1:19 For, to begin with, what fullness is that which is not comprised of the constituents which Marcion has removed from it - even those that were created in Christ, whether in heaven or on earth, whether angels or men? Which is not made of the things that are visible and invisible? Which consists not of thrones and dominions and principalities and powers? If, on the other hand, our false apostles and Judaizing gospellers have introduced all these things out of their own stores, and Marcion has applied them to constitute the fullness of his own god, (this hypothesis, absurd though it be, alone would justify him;) for how, on any other supposition, could the rival and the destroyer of the Creator have been willing that His fullness should dwell in his Christ? To whom, again, does He reconcile all things by Himself, making peace by the blood of His cross, Colossians 1:20 but to Him whom those very things had altogether offended, against whom they had rebelled by transgression, (but) to whom they had at last returned? Conciliated they might have been to a strange god; but reconciled they could not possibly have been to any other than their own God. Accordingly, ourselves who were sometime alienated and enemies in our mind by wicked works Colossians 1:21 does He reconcile to the Creator, against whom we had committed offense - worshipping the creature to the prejudice of the Creator. As, however, he says elsewhere, Ephesians 1:23 that the Church is the body of Christ, so here also (the apostle) declares that he fills up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in his flesh for His body's sake, which is the Church. Colossians 1:24 But you must not on this account suppose that on every mention of His body the term is only a metaphor, instead of meaning real flesh. For he says above that we are reconciled in His body through death; Colossians 1:22 meaning, of course, that He died in that body wherein death was possible through the flesh: (therefore he adds,) not through the Church (per ecclesiam), but expressly for the sake of the Church (proper ecclesiam), exchanging body for body - one of flesh for a spiritual one. When, again, he warns them to beware of subtle words and philosophy, as being a vain deceit, such as is after the rudiments of the world (not understanding thereby the mundane fabric of sky and earth, but worldly learning, and the tradition of men, subtle in their speech and their philosophy), Colossians 2:8 it would be tedious, and the proper subject of a separate work, to show how in this sentence (of the apostle's) all heresies are condemned, on the ground of their consisting of the resources of subtle speech and the rules of philosophy. But (once for all) let Marcion know that the principle term of his creed comes from the school of Epicurus, implying that the Lord is stupid and indifferent; wherefore he refuses to say that He is an object to be feared. Moreover, from the porch of the Stoics he brings out matter, and places it on a par with the Divine Creator. He also denies the resurrection of the flesh - a truth which none of the schools of philosophy agreed together to hold. But how remote is our (Catholic) verity from the artifices of this heretic, when it dreads to arouse the anger of God, and firmly believes that He produced all things out of nothing, and promises to us a restoration from the grave of the same flesh (that died) and holds without a blush that Christ was born of the virgin's womb! At this, philosophers, and heretics, and the very heathen, laugh and jeer. For God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise 1 Corinthians 1:27 - that God, no doubt, who in reference to this very dispensation of His threatened long before that He would destroy the wisdom of the wise. Thanks to this simplicity of truth, so opposed to the subtlety and vain deceit of philosophy, we cannot possibly have any relish for such perverse opinions. Then, if God quickens us together with Christ, forgiving us our trespasses, Colossians 2:13 we cannot suppose that sins are forgiven by Him against whom, as having been all along unknown, they could not have been committed. Now tell me, Marcion, what is your opinion of the apostle's language, when he says, Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath, which is a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ? Colossians 2:16-17 We do not now treat of the law, further than (to remark) that the apostle here teaches clearly how it has been abolished, even by passing from shadow to substance - that is, from figurative types to the reality, which is Christ. The shadow, therefore, is His to whom belongs the body also; in other words, the law is His, and so is Christ. If you separate the law and Christ, assigning one to one god and the other to another, it is the same as if you were to attempt to separate the shadow from the body of which it is the shadow. Manifestly Christ has relation to the law, if the body has to its shadow. But when he blames those who alleged visions of angels as their authority for saying that men must abstain from meats - you must not touch, you must not taste - in a voluntary humility, (at the same time) vainly puffed up in the fleshly mind, and not holding the Head, (the apostle) does not in these terms attack the law or Moses, as if it was at the suggestion of superstitious angels that he had enacted his prohibition of sundry aliments. For Moses had evidently received the law from God. When, therefore, he speaks of their following the commandments and doctrines of men, Colossians 2:22 he refers to the conduct of those persons who held not the Head, even Him in whom all things are gathered together; for they are all recalled to Christ, and concentrated in Him as their initiating principle - even the meats and drinks which were indifferent in their nature. All the rest of his precepts, as we have shown sufficiently, when treating of them as they occurred in another epistle, emanated from the Creator, who, while predicting that old things were to pass away, and that He would make all things new, commanded men to break up fresh ground for themselves, and thereby taught them even then to put off the old man and put on the new. " "
5.20. When (the apostle) mentions the several motives of those who were preaching the gospel, how that some, waxing confident by his bonds, were more fearless in speaking the word, while others preached Christ even out of envy and strife, and again others out of good-will, many also out of love, and certain out of contention, and some in rivalry to himself, Philippians 1:14-17 he had a favourable opportunity, no doubt, of taxing what they preached with a diversity of doctrine, as if it were no less than this which caused so great a variance in their tempers. But while he exposes these tempers as the sole cause of the diversity, he avoids inculpating the regular mysteries of the faith, and affirms that there is, notwithstanding, but one Christ and His one God, whatever motives men had in preaching Him. Therefore, says he, it matters not to me whether it be in pretence or in truth that Christ is preached, Philippians 1:18 because one Christ alone was announced, whether in their pretentious or their truthful faith. For it was to the faithfulness of their preaching that he applied the word truth, not to the rightness of the rule itself, because there was indeed but one rule; whereas the conduct of the preachers varied: in some of them it was true, i.e. single-minded, while in others it was sophisticated with over-much learning. This being the case, it is manifest that that Christ was the subject of their preaching who was always the theme of the prophets. Now, if it were a completely different Christ that was being introduced by the apostle, the novelty of the thing would have produced a diversity (in belief.). For there would not have been wanting, in spite of the novel teaching, men to interpret the preached gospel of the Creator's Christ, since the majority of persons everywhere now-a-days are of our way of thinking, rather than on the heretical side. So that the apostle would not in such a passage as the present one have refrained from remarking and censuring the diversity. Since, however, there is no blame of a diversity, there is no proof of a novelty. of course the Marcionites suppose that they have the apostle on their side in the following passage in the matter of Christ's substance - that in Him there was nothing but a phantom of flesh. For he says of Christ, that, being in the form of God, He thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant, not the reality, and was made in the likeness of man, not a man, and was found in fashion as a man, Philippians 2:6-7 not in his substance, that is to say, his flesh; just as if to a substance there did not accrue both form and likeness and fashion. It is well for us that in another passage (the apostle) calls Christ the image of the invisible God. Colossians 1:15 For will it not follow with equal force from that passage, that Christ is not truly God, because the apostle places Him in the image of God, if, (as Marcion contends,) He is not truly man because of His having taken on Him the form or image of a man? For in both cases the true substance will have to be excluded, if image (or fashion) and likeness and form shall be claimed for a phantom. But since he is truly God, as the Son of the Father, in His fashion and image, He has been already by the force of this conclusion determined to be truly man, as the Son of man, found in the fashion and image of a man. For when he propounded Him as thus found in the manner of a man, he in fact affirmed Him to be most certainly human. For what is found, manifestly possesses existence. Therefore, as He was found to be God by His mighty power, so was He found to be man by reason of His flesh, because the apostle could not have pronounced Him to have become obedient unto death, Philippians 2:8 if He had not been constituted of a mortal substance. Still more plainly does this appear from the apostle's additional words, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:8 For he could hardly mean this to be a climax to the human suffering, to extol the virtue of His obedience, if he had known it all to be the imaginary process of a phantom, which rather eluded the cross than experienced it, and which displayed no virtue in the suffering, but only illusion. But those things which he had once accounted gain, and which he enumerates in the preceding verse - trust in the flesh, the sign of circumcision, his origin as an Hebrew of the Hebrews, his descent from the tribe of Benjamin, his dignity in the honours of the Pharisee - he now reckons to be only loss to himself; Philippians 3:7 (in other words,) it was not the God of the Jews, but their stupid obduracy, which he repudiates. These are also the things which he counts but dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Philippians 3:8 (but by no means for the rejection of God the Creator); while he has not his own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through Him, i.e. Christ, the righteousness which is of God. Philippians 3:9 Then, say you, according to this distinction the law did not proceed from the God of Christ. Subtle enough! But here is something still more subtle for you. For when (the apostle) says, Not (the righteousness) which is of the law, but that which is through Him, he would not have used the phrase through Him of any other than Him to whom the law belonged. Our conversation, says he, is in heaven. Philippians 3:20 I here recognise the Creator's ancient promise to Abraham: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven. Genesis 22:17 Therefore one star differs from another star in glory. 1 Corinthians 15:41 If, again, Christ in His advent from heaven shall change the body of our humiliation, that it may be fashioned like His glorious body, it follows that this body of ours shall rise again, which is now in a state of humiliation in its sufferings and according to the law of mortality drops into the ground. But how shall it be changed, if it shall have no real existence? If, however, this is only said of those who shall be found in the flesh 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 at the advent of God, and who shall have to be changed, what shall they do who will rise first? They will have no substance from which to undergo a change. But he says (elsewhere), We shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord (in the air). 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Then, if we are to be caught up alone with them, surely we shall likewise be changed together with them. " "
5.21. To this epistle alone did its brevity avail to protect it against the falsifying hands of Marcion. I wonder, however, when he received (into his Apostolicon) this letter which was written but to one man, that he rejected the two epistles to Timothy and the one to Titus, which all treat of ecclesiastical discipline. His aim, was, I suppose, to carry out his interpolating process even to the number of (St. Paul's) epistles. And now, reader, I beg you to remember that we have here adduced proofs out of the apostle, in support of the subjects which we previously had to handle, and that we have now brought to a close the topics which we deferred to this (portion of our) work. (This favour I request of you,) that you may not think that any repetition here has been superfluous, for we have only fulfilled our former engagement to you; nor look with suspicion on any postponement there, where we merely set forth the essential points (of the argument). If you carefully examine the entire work, you will acquit us of either having been redundant here, or diffident there, in your own honest judgment. <" ". None |
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66. Tertullian, Against Praxeas, 1.5 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Arian heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Tertullian, anti-heretical writings • heresies, heretic • heresies, heretic, catalogue of • heresy/heretics
Found in books: Berglund Crostini and Kelhoffer (2022) 254, 259; Boulluec (2022) 206; Esler (2000) 1034; Goldhill (2020) 83; Tabbernee (2007) 37, 87, 120
| 1.5. In various ways has the devil rivalled and resisted the truth. Sometimes his aim has been to destroy the truth by defending it. He maintains that there is one only Lord, the Almighty Creator of the world, in order that out of this doctrine of the unity he may fabricate a heresy. He says that the Father Himself came down into the Virgin, was Himself born of her, Himself suffered, indeed was Himself Jesus Christ. Here the old serpent has fallen out with himself, since, when he tempted Christ after John's baptism, he approached Him as the Son of God; surely intimating that God had a Son, even on the testimony of the very Scriptures, out of which he was at the moment forging his temptation: If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Matthew 4:3 Again: If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from hence; for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning you- referring no doubt, to the Father - and in their hands they shall bear you up, that you hurt not your foot against a stone. Or perhaps, after all, he was only reproaching the Gospels with a lie, saying in fact: Away with Matthew; away with Luke! Why heed their words? In spite of them, I declare that it was God Himself that I approached; it was the Almighty Himself that I tempted face to face; and it was for no other purpose than to tempt Him that I approached Him. If, on the contrary, it had been only the Son of God, most likely I should never have condescended to deal with Him. However, he is himself a liar from the beginning, John 8:44 and whatever man he instigates in his own way; as, for instance, Praxeas. For he was the first to import into Rome from Asia this kind of heretical pravity, a man in other respects of restless disposition, and above all inflated with the pride of confessorship simply and solely because he had to bear for a short time the annoyance of a prison; on which occasion, even if he had given his body to be burned, it would have profited him nothing, not having the love of God, 1 Corinthians 13:3 whose very gifts he has resisted and destroyed. For after the Bishop of Rome had acknowledged the prophetic gifts of Montanus, Prisca, and Maximilla, and, in consequence of the acknowledgment, had bestowed his peace on the churches of Asia and Phrygia, he, by importunately urging false accusations against the prophets themselves and their churches, and insisting on the authority of the bishop's predecessors in the see, compelled him to recall the pacific letter which he had issued, as well as to desist from his purpose of acknowledging the said gifts. By this Praxeas did a twofold service for the devil at Rome: he drove away prophecy, and he brought in heresy; he put to flight the Paraclete, and he crucified the Father. Praxeas' tares had been moreover sown, and had produced their fruit here also, while many were asleep in their simplicity of doctrine; but these tares actually seemed to have been plucked up, having been discovered and exposed by him whose agency God was pleased to employ. Indeed, Praxeas had deliberately resumed his old (true) faith, teaching it after his renunciation of error; and there is his own handwriting in evidence remaining among the carnally-minded, in whose society the transaction then took place; afterwards nothing was heard of him. We indeed, on our part, subsequently withdrew from the carnally-minded on our acknowledgment and maintece of the Paraclete. But the tares of Praxeas had then everywhere shaken out their seed, which having lain hid for some while, with its vitality concealed under a mask, has now broken out with fresh life. But again shall it be rooted up, if the Lord will, even now; but if not now, in the day when all bundles of tares shall be gathered together, and along with every other stumbling-block shall be burnt up with unquenchable fire. Matthew 13:30 " "5. But since they will have the Two to be but One, so that the Father shall be deemed to be the same as the Son, it is only right that the whole question respecting the Son should be examined, as to whether He exists, and who He is and the mode of His existence. Thus shall the truth itself secure its own sanction from the Scriptures, and the interpretations which guard them. There are some who allege that even Genesis opens thus in Hebrew: In the beginning God made for Himself a Son. As there is no ground for this, I am led to other arguments derived from God's own dispensation, in which He existed before the creation of the world, up to the generation of the Son. For before all things God was alone - being in Himself and for Himself universe, and space, and all things. Moreover, He was alone, because there was nothing external to Him but Himself. Yet even not then was He alone; for He had with Him that which He possessed in Himself, that is to say, His own Reason. For God is rational, and Reason was first in Him; and so all things were from Himself. This Reason is His own Thought (or Consciousness) which the Greeks call &". None |
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67. Tertullian, Apology, 21 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heretic • heresy/heretics
Found in books: Binder (2012) 199, 201; Tabbernee (2007) 160
| 21. But having asserted that our religion is supported by the writings of the Jews, the oldest which exist, though it is generally known, and we fully admit that it dates from a comparatively recent period - no further back indeed than the reign of Tiberius- a question may perhaps be raised on this ground about its standing, as if it were hiding something of its presumption under shadow of an illustrious religion, one which has at any rate undoubted allowance of the law, or because, apart from the question of age, we neither accord with the Jews in their peculiarities in regard to food, nor in their sacred days, nor even in their well-known bodily sign, nor in the possession of a common name, which surely behooved to be the case if we did homage to the same God as they. Then, too, the common people have now some knowledge of Christ, and think of Him as but a man, one indeed such as the Jews condemned, so that some may naturally enough have taken up the idea that we are worshippers of a mere human being. But we are neither ashamed of Christ - for we rejoice to be counted His disciples, and in His name to suffer - nor do we differ from the Jews concerning God. We must make, therefore, a remark or two as to Christ's divinity. In former times the Jews enjoyed much of God's favour, when the fathers of their race were noted for their righteousness and faith. So it was that as a people they flourished greatly, and their kingdom attained to a lofty eminence; and so highly blessed were they, that for their instruction God spoke to them in special revelations, pointing out to them beforehand how they should merit His favor and avoid His displeasure. But how deeply they have sinned, puffed up to their fall with a false trust in their noble ancestors, turning from God's way into a way of sheer impiety, though they themselves should refuse to admit it, their present national ruin would afford sufficient proof. Scattered abroad, a race of wanderers, exiles from their own land and clime, they roam over the whole world without either a human or a heavenly king, not possessing even the stranger's right to set so much as a simple footstep in their native country. The sacred writers withal, in giving previous warning of these things, all with equal clearness ever declared that, in the last days of the world, God would, out of every nation, and people, and country, choose for Himself more faithful worshippers, upon whom He would bestow His grace, and that indeed in ampler measure, in keeping with the enlarged capacities of a nobler dispensation. Accordingly, He appeared among us, whose coming to renovate and illuminate man's nature was pre-announced by God- I mean Christ, that Son of God. And so the supreme Head and Master of this grace and discipline, the Enlightener and Trainer of the human race, God's own Son, was announced among us, born - but not so born as to make Him ashamed of the name of Son or of His paternal origin. It was not His lot to have as His father, by incest with a sister, or by violation of a daughter or another's wife, a god in the shape of serpent, or ox, or bird, or lover, for his vile ends transmuting himself into the gold of Danaus. They are your divinities upon whom these base deeds of Jupiter were done. But the Son of God has no mother in any sense which involves impurity; she, whom men suppose to be His mother in the ordinary way, had never entered into the marriage bond. But, first, I shall discuss His essential nature, and so the nature of His birth will be understood. We have already asserted that God made the world, and all which it contains, by His Word, and Reason, and Power. It is abundantly plain that your philosophers, too, regard the Logos- that is, the Word and Reason - as the Creator of the universe. For Zeno lays it down that he is the creator, having made all things according to a determinate plan; that his name is Fate, and God, and the soul of Jupiter, and the necessity of all things. Cleanthes ascribes all this to spirit, which he maintains pervades the universe. And we, in like manner, hold that the Word, and Reason, and Power, by which we have said God made all, have spirit as their proper and essential substratum, in which the Word has in being to give forth utterances, and reason abides to dispose and arrange, and power is over all to execute. We have been taught that He proceeds forth from God, and in that procession He is generated; so that He is the Son of God, and is called God from unity of substance with God. For God, too, is a Spirit. Even when the ray is shot from the sun, it is still part of the parent mass; the sun will still be in the ray, because it is a ray of the sun - there is no division of substance, but merely an extension. Thus Christ is Spirit of Spirit, and God of God, as light of light is kindled. The material matrix remains entire and unimpaired, though you derive from it any number of shoots possessed of its qualities; so, too, that which has come forth out of God is at once God and the Son of God, and the two are one. In this way also, as He is Spirit of Spirit and God of God, He is made a second in manner of existence- in position, not in nature; and He did not withdraw from the original source, but went forth. This ray of God, then, as it was always foretold in ancient times, descending into a certain virgin, and made flesh in her womb, is in His birth God and man united. The flesh formed by the Spirit is nourished, grows up to manhood, speaks, teaches, works, and is the Christ. Receive meanwhile this fable, if you choose to call it so - it is like some of your own - while we go on to show how Christ's claims are proved, and who the parties are with you by whom such fables have been set a going to overthrow the truth, which they resemble. The Jews, too, were well aware that Christ was coming, as those to whom the prophets spoke. Nay, even now His advent is expected by them; nor is there any other contention between them and us, than that they believe the advent has not yet occurred. For two comings of Christ having been revealed to us: a first, which has been fulfilled in the lowliness of a human lot; a second, which impends over the world, now near its close, in all the majesty of Deity unveiled; and, by misunderstanding the first, they have concluded that the second - which, as matter of more manifest prediction, they set their hopes on - is the only one. It was the merited punishment of their sin not to understand the Lord's first advent: for if they had, they would have believed; and if they had believed, they would have obtained salvation. They themselves read how it is written of them that they are deprived of wisdom and understanding - of the use of eyes and ears. Isaiah 6:10 As, then, under the force of their pre-judgment, they had convinced themselves from His lowly guise that Christ was no more than man, it followed from that, as a necessary consequence, that they should hold Him a magician from the powers which He displayed - expelling devils from men by a word, restoring vision to the blind, cleansing the leprous, reinvigorating the paralytic, summoning the dead to life again, making the very elements of nature obey Him, stilling the storms and walking on the sea; proving that He was the Logos of God, that primordial first-begotten Word, accompanied by power and reason, and based on Spirit, - that He who was now doing all things by His word, and He who had done that of old, were one and the same. But the Jews were so exasperated by His teaching, by which their rulers and chiefs were convicted of the truth, chiefly because so many turned aside to Him, that at last they brought Him before Pontius Pilate, at that time Roman governor of Syria; and, by the violence of their outcries against Him, extorted a sentence giving Him up to them to be crucified. He Himself had predicted this; which, however, would have signified little had not the prophets of old done it as well. And yet, nailed upon the cross, He exhibited many notable signs, by which His death was distinguished from all others. At His own free-will, He with a word dismissed from Him His spirit, anticipating the executioner's work. In the same hour, too, the light of day was withdrawn, when the sun at the very time was in his meridian blaze. Those who were not aware that this had been predicted about Christ, no doubt thought it an eclipse. You yourselves have the account of the world-portent still in your archives. Then, when His body was taken down from the cross and placed in a sepulchre, the Jews in their eager watchfulness surrounded it with a large military guard, lest, as He had predicted His resurrection from the dead on the third day, His disciples might remove by stealth His body, and deceive even the incredulous. But, lo, on the third day there a was a sudden shock of earthquake, and the stone which sealed the sepulchre was rolled away, and the guard fled off in terror: without a single disciple near, the grave was found empty of all but the clothes of the buried One. But nevertheless, the leaders of the Jews, whom it nearly concerned both to spread abroad a lie, and keep back a people tributary and submissive to them from the faith, gave it out that the body of Christ had been stolen by His followers. For the Lord, you see, did not go forth into the public gaze, lest the wicked should be delivered from their error; that faith also, destined to a great reward, might hold its ground in difficulty. But He spent forty days with some of His disciples down in Galilee, a region of Judea, instructing them in the doctrines they were to teach to others. Thereafter, having given them commission to preach the gospel through the world, He was encompassed with a cloud and taken up to heaven, - a fact more certain far than the assertions of your Proculi concerning Romulus. All these things Pilate did to Christ; and now in fact a Christian in his own convictions, he sent word of Him to the reigning C sar, who was at the time Tiberius. Yes, and the C sars too would have believed on Christ, if either the C sars had not been necessary for the world, or if Christians could have been C sars. His disciples also, spreading over the world, did as their Divine Master bade them; and after suffering greatly themselves from the persecutions of the Jews, and with no unwilling heart, as having faith undoubting in the truth, at last by Nero's cruel sword sowed the seed of Christian blood at Rome. Yes, and we shall prove that even your own gods are effective witnesses for Christ. It is a great matter if, to give you faith in Christians, I can bring forward the authority of the very beings on account of whom you refuse them credit. Thus far we have carried out the plan we laid down. We have set forth this origin of our sect and name, with this account of the Founder of Christianity. Let no one henceforth charge us with infamous wickedness; let no one think that it is otherwise than we have represented, for none may give a false account of his religion. For in the very fact that he says he worships another god than he really does, he is guilty of denying the object of his worship, and transferring his worship and homage to another; and, in the transference, he ceases to worship the god he has repudiated. We say, and before all men we say, and torn and bleeding under your tortures, we cry out, We worship God through Christ. Count Christ a man, if you please; by Him and in Him God would be known and be adored. If the Jews object, we answer that Moses, who was but a man, taught them their religion; against the Greeks we urge that Orpheus at Pieria, Mus us at Athens, Melampus at Argos, Trophonius in Bœotia, imposed religious rites; turning to yourselves, who exercise sway over the nations, it was the man Numa Pompilius who laid on the Romans a heavy load of costly superstitions. Surely Christ, then, had a right to reveal Deity, which was in fact His own essential possession, not with the object of bringing boors and savages by the dread of multitudinous gods, whose favour must be won into some civilization, as was the case with Numa; but as one who aimed to enlighten men already civilized, and under illusions from their very culture, that they might come to the knowledge of the truth. Search, then, and see if that divinity of Christ be true. If it be of such a nature that the acceptance of it transforms a man, and makes him truly good, there is implied in that the duty of renouncing what is opposed to it as false; especially and on every ground that which, hiding itself under the names and images of dead, the labours to convince men of its divinity by certain signs, and miracles, and oracles. "". None |
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68. Tertullian, On Baptism, 17 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • heresy, Catholic Christianity, heretics • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, use of minim for all opponents • heresy, heretics
Found in books: Cohen (2010) 536; Lieu (2004) 53
| 17. For concluding our brief subject, it remains to put you in mind also of the due observance of giving and receiving baptism. of giving it, the chief priest (who is the bishop) has the right: in the next place, the presbyters and deacons, yet not without the bishop's authority, on account of the honour of the Church, which being preserved, peace is preserved. Beside these, even laymen have the right; for what is equally received can be equally given. Unless bishops, or priests, or deacons, be on the spot, other disciples are called i.e. to the work. The word of the Lord ought not to be hidden by any: in like manner, too, baptism, which is equally God's property, can be administered by all. But how much more is the rule of reverence and modesty incumbent on laymen- seeing that these powers belong to their superiors - lest they assume to themselves the specific function of the bishop! Emulation of the episcopal office is the mother of schisms. The most holy apostle has said, that all things are lawful, but not all expedient. Let it suffice assuredly, in cases of necessity, to avail yourself (of that rule, if at any time circumstance either of place, or of time, or of person compels you (so to do); for then the steadfast courage of the succourer, when the situation of the endangered one is urgent, is exceptionally admissible; inasmuch as he will be guilty of a human creature's loss if he shall refrain from bestowing what he had free liberty to bestow. But the woman of pertness, who has usurped the power to teach, will of course not give birth for herself likewise to a right of baptizing, unless some new beast shall arise like the former; so that, just as the one abolished baptism, so some other should in her own right confer it! But if the writings which wrongly go under Paul's name, claim Thecla's example as a licence for women's teaching and baptizing, let them know that, in Asia, the presbyter who composed that writing, as if he were augmenting Paul's fame from his own store, after being convicted, and confessing that he had done it from love of Paul, was removed from his office. For how credible would it seem, that he who has not permitted a woman even to learn with over-boldness, should give a female the power of teaching and of baptizing! Let them be silent, he says, and at home consult their own husbands. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 "". None |
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69. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heretics {see also Gnostics; Marcionites) • Magi, criticism as heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 215, 216; Lampe (2003) 285, 289, 291
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70. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Tertullian, anti-heretical writings • heresy named after founder
Found in books: Esler (2000) 1034; Marek (2019) 534
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71. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Blasphemy, heresy as • Clement of Alexandria, heresy and epistemology • Eristic, connection with heresy • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Heretic • Heretics {see also Gnostics; Marcionites) • Irenaeus, criticism of heretical exegesis generally • Irenaeus, on heresy and sophism • Myth, associated with heresy • Roman law, against heresy • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Simon of Samaria, as source of all heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • Tertullian, anti-heretical writings • Tertullian, scriptural interpretation against heretics • heresy / heretics • heresy, Catholic Christianity, ecclesiological theory • heresy, Catholic Christianity, heretics • heresy, Rabbinic Judaism, use of minim for all opponents • heresy, condemnation of novelty • heresy, definition of • heresy, heretics • heresy, novelty of • heretics see also Donatists Manichaeans, Tertullian’s scriptural interpretation against
Found in books: Binder (2012) 9, 83, 200; Boulluec (2022) 139, 140, 261, 262, 405, 436, 456; Cohen (2010) 535, 536; Esler (2000) 1033; Humfress (2007) 175; Klawans (2019) 10, 11; Lampe (2003) 147, 241, 251, 317, 319, 388; Nissinen and Uro (2008) 469; Tanaseanu-Döbler and von Alvensleben (2020) 38, 205, 207, 208, 210; Yates and Dupont (2020) 95, 96
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72. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy, division/multiplicity of • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • heresy
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 423; Osborne (2010) 214
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73. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Clement of Alexandria, alterations to heresy’s link to philosophy • Clement of Alexandria, heresy and epistemology • Clement of Alexandria, moral criticism of heresy • Clement of Alexandria, on sophistry of heretics • Clement of Alexandria, reduction of diverse heresies to common errors • Clement of Alexandria, ‘liberal’ tolerance of heresy • Dialectic, perversion of dialectic by heretics • Epicureanism, heresy assimilated to • Eristic, connection with heresy • Exegesis, heresy as erroneous exegesis • Gnosticism, assimilation of other heresies to • Heresy, exclusion of • Heresy, interior to Church • Heresy, novelty of • Heresy, reduction/amalgamation of • Magi, as part of heretical succession • Magi, criticism as heresy • Marriage, heretical contempt for • Martyrdom, heretics sophistically avoid • Martyrdom, heretics too eager for • Myth, associated with heresy • Paganism, heresy assimilated to • Philosophy, assimilation of heresy to • Platonism, heretics unfaithful to • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • Sophistry, heresy connected to • Succession, heretical succession • heresy • heresy, Clement on • heresy, heretics • heresy/-ies
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 273, 279, 280, 281, 288, 293, 300, 301, 303, 304, 305, 311, 340, 341, 345, 346, 367, 368, 370, 391, 407, 408, 425, 430, 433, 434, 452, 461; Moss (2012) 156; Nissinen and Uro (2008) 460; Osborne (2010) 214; Černušková (2016) 81, 83, 90, 96, 108, 141, 310
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74. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Bible-reading heretics, non-Jews, defined • Heresy
Found in books: Kalmin (1998) 138; Poorthuis and Schwartz (2014) 103
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75. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • heresy, and orthodoxy • heresy, rabbinic rivalry and hostility to Rome
Found in books: Hayes (2022) 344, 346; Klawans (2019) 71
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76. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy, alterity/otherness/exteriority of • Heresy, interior to Church • Scripture, as weapon/criterion against heresy • heresy
Found in books: Boulluec (2022) 206, 376; Vinzent (2013) 183, 184
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77. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy, in early rabbinic literature • heresy, Jewish origins denied
Found in books: Klawans (2019) 14; Schremer (2010) 181
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78. None, None, nan (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heretics {see also Gnostics; Marcionites) • heresy named after founder
Found in books: Lampe (2003) 355; Marek (2019) 536
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79. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Bible-reading heretics, non-Jews, defined • heresy, Christian views depicted by rabbis as heresy • heresy, minim
Found in books: Hayes (2022) 388, 389; Kalmin (1998) 138
10a. כל פרשה שהיתה חביבה על דוד פתח בה באשרי וסיים בה באשרי פתח באשרי דכתיב (תהלים א, א) אשרי האיש וסיים באשרי דכתיב (תהלים ב, יב) אשרי כל חוסי בו:,הנהו בריוני דהוו בשבבותיה דר"מ והוו קא מצערו ליה טובא הוה קא בעי ר\' מאיר רחמי עלויהו כי היכי דלימותו אמרה לי\' ברוריא דביתהו מאי דעתך משום דכתיב (תהלים קד, לה) יתמו חטאים מי כתיב חוטאים חטאים כתיב,ועוד שפיל לסיפיה דקרא ורשעים עוד אינם כיון דיתמו חטאים ורשעים עוד אינם אלא בעי רחמי עלויהו דלהדרו בתשובה ורשעים עוד אינם,בעא רחמי עלויהו והדרו בתשובה:,אמר לה ההוא צדוקי לברוריא כתיב (ישעיהו נד, א) רני עקרה לא ילדה משום דלא ילדה רני,אמרה ליה שטיא שפיל לסיפיה דקרא דכתיב כי רבים בני שוממה מבני בעולה אמר ה\',אלא מאי עקרה לא ילדה רני כנסת ישראל שדומה לאשה עקרה שלא ילדה בנים לגיהנם כותייכו:,א"ל ההוא צדוקי לר\' אבהו כתיב (תהלים ג, א) מזמור לדוד בברחו מפני אבשלום בנו וכתיב (תהלים נז, א) לדוד מכתם בברחו מפני שאול במערה הי מעשה הוה ברישא מכדי מעשה שאול הוה ברישא לכתוב ברישא,אמר ליה אתון דלא דרשיתון סמוכין קשיא לכו אנן דדרשינן סמוכים לא קשיא לן,דא"ר יוחנן סמוכין מן התורה מנין שנא\' (תהלים קיא, ח) סמוכים לעד לעולם עשוים באמת וישר,למה נסמכה פרשת אבשלום לפרשת גוג ומגוג שאם יאמר לך אדם כלום יש עבד שמורד ברבו אף אתה אמור לו כלום יש בן שמורד באביו אלא הוה הכא נמי הוה:,אמר ר\' יוחנן משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי מאי דכתיב (משלי לא, כו) פיה פתחה בחכמה ותורת חסד על לשונה כנגד מי אמר שלמה מקרא זה לא אמרו אלא כנגד דוד אביו שדר בחמשה עולמים ואמר שירה,דר במעי אמו ואמר שירה שנאמר (תהלים קג, א) ברכי נפשי את ה\' וכל קרבי את שם קדשו,יצא לאויר העולם ונסתכל בכוכבים ומזלות ואמר שירה שנאמר (תהלים קג, כ) ברכו ה\' מלאכיו גבורי כח עושי דברו לשמוע בקול דברו ברכו ה\' כל צבאיו וגו\',ינק משדי אמו ונסתכל בדדיה ואמר שירה שנאמר (תהלים קג, ב) ברכי נפשי את ה\' ואל תשכחי כל גמוליו,מאי כל גמוליו אמר ר\' אבהו שעשה לה דדים במקום בינה,טעמא מאי אמר (רבי) יהודה כדי שלא יסתכל במקום ערוה רב מתנא אמר כדי שלא יינק ממקום הטנופת,ראה במפלתן של רשעים ואמר שירה שנאמר (תהלים קד, לה) יתמו חטאים מן הארץ ורשעים עוד אינם ברכי נפשי את ה\' הללויה,נסתכל ביום המיתה ואמר שירה שנאמר (תהלים קד, א) ברכי נפשי את ה\' ה\' אלהי גדלת מאד הוד והדר לבשת,מאי משמע דעל יום המיתה נאמר אמר רבה בר רב שילא מסיפא דעניינא דכתיב (תהלים קד, כט) תסתיר פניך יבהלון תוסף רוחם יגועון וגו\',רב שימי בר עוקבא ואמרי לה מר עוקבא הוה שכיח קמיה דר\' שמעון בן פזי והוה מסדר אגדתא קמיה דר\' יהושע בן לוי אמר ליה מאי דכתיב (תהלים קג, א) ברכי נפשי את ה\' וכל קרבי את שם קדשו אמר ליה בא וראה שלא כמדת הקדוש ברוך הוא מדת בשר ודם מדת בשר ודם צר צורה על גבי הכותל ואינו יכול להטיל בה רוח ונשמה קרבים ובני מעים והקב"ה אינו כן צר צורה בתוך צורה ומטיל בה רוח ונשמה קרבים ובני מעים והיינו דאמרה חנה (שמואל א ב, ב) אין קדוש כה\' כי אין בלתך ואין צור כאלהינו.,מאי אין צור כאלהינו אין צייר כאלהינו,מאי כי אין בלתך אמר ר\' יהודה בר מנסיא אל תקרי כי אין בלתך אלא אין לבלותך שלא כמדת הקדוש ברוך הוא מדת בשר ודם מדת בשר ודם מעשה ידיו מבלין אותו והקב"ה מבלה מעשיו,א"ל אנא הכי קא אמינא לך הני חמשה ברכי נפשי כנגד מי אמרן דוד לא אמרן אלא כנגד הקב"ה וכנגד נשמה,מה הקב"ה מלא כל העולם אף נשמה מלאה את כל הגוף מה הקדוש ברוך הוא רואה ואינו נראה אף נשמה רואה ואינה נראית מה הקב"ה זן את כל העולם כלו אף נשמה זנה את כל הגוף מה הקב"ה טהור אף נשמה טהורה מה הקב"ה יושב בחדרי חדרים אף נשמה יושבת בחדרי חדרים יבא מי שיש בו חמשה דברים הללו וישבח למי שיש בו חמשה דברים הללו:,אמר רב המנונא מאי דכתיב (קהלת ח, א) מי כהחכם ומי יודע פשר דבר מי כהקדוש ברוך הוא שיודע לעשות פשרה בין שני צדיקים בין חזקיהו לישעיהו חזקיהו אמר ליתי ישעיהו גבאי דהכי אשכחן באליהו דאזל לגבי אחאב (שנאמר (מלכים א יח, ב) וילך אליהו להראות אל אחאב) ישעיהו אמר ליתי חזקיהו גבאי דהכי אשכחן ביהורם בן אחאב דאזל לגבי אלישע,מה עשה הקב"ה הביא יסורים על חזקיהו ואמר לו לישעיהו לך ובקר את החולה שנאמר (מלכים ב כ, א) בימים ההם חלה חזקיהו למות ויבא אליו ישעיהו בן אמוץ הנביא ויאמר אליו כה אמר ה\' (צבאות) צו לביתך כי מת אתה ולא תחיה וגו\' מאי כי מת אתה ולא תחיה מת אתה בעולם הזה ולא תחיה לעולם הבא,אמר ליה מאי כולי האי אמר ליה משום דלא עסקת בפריה ורביה א"ל משום דחזאי לי ברוח הקדש דנפקי מינאי בנין דלא מעלו,א"ל בהדי כבשי דרחמנא למה לך מאי דמפקדת איבעי לך למעבד ומה דניחא קמיה קודשא בריך הוא לעביד,אמר ליה השתא הב לי ברתך אפשר דגרמא זכותא דידי ודידך ונפקי מנאי בנין דמעלו א"ל כבר נגזרה עליך גזירה א"ל בן אמוץ כלה נבואתך וצא,כך מקובלני מבית אבי אבא אפי\' חרב חדה מונחת על צוארו של אדם אל ימנע עצמו מן הרחמים,אתמר נמי רבי יוחנן ורבי (אליעזר) דאמרי תרוייהו אפילו חרב חדה מונחת על צוארו של אדם אל ימנע עצמו מן הרחמים שנא\' (איוב יג, טו) הן יקטלני לו איחל''. None | 10a. Every chapter that was dear to David, he began with “happy is” and concluded with “happy is.” He opened with “happy is,” as it is written: “Happy is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked or stood in the way of sinners or sat in the dwelling place of the scornful” (Psalms 1:1). And he concluded with “happy,” as it is written at the end of the chapter: “Pay homage in purity, lest He be angry, and you perish on the way when His anger is kindled suddenly. Happy are those who take refuge in Him” (Psalms 2:12). We see that these two chapters actually constitute a single chapter.,With regard to the statement of Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, that David did not say Halleluya until he saw the downfall of the wicked, the Gemara relates: There were these hooligans in Rabbi Meir’s neighborhood who caused him a great deal of anguish. Rabbi Meir prayed for God to have mercy on them, that they should die. Rabbi Meir’s wife, Berurya, said to him: What is your thinking? On what basis do you pray for the death of these hooligans? Do you base yourself on the verse, as it is written: “Let sins cease from the land” (Psalms 104:35), which you interpret to mean that the world would be better if the wicked were destroyed? But is it written, let sinners cease?” Let sins cease, is written. One should pray for an end to their transgressions, not for the demise of the transgressors themselves.,Moreover, go to the end of the verse, where it says: “And the wicked will be no more.” If, as you suggest, transgressions shall cease refers to the demise of the evildoers, how is it possible that the wicked will be no more, i.e., that they will no longer be evil? Rather, pray for God to have mercy on them, that they should repent, as if they repent, then the wicked will be no more, as they will have repented.,Rabbi Meir saw that Berurya was correct and he prayed for God to have mercy on them, and they repented.,The Gemara relates an additional example of Berurya’s incisive insight: A certain heretic said to Berurya: It is written: “Sing, barren woman who has not given birth, open forth in song and cry, you did not travail, for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, said the Lord” (Isaiah 54:1). Because she has not given birth, she should sing and rejoice?,Berurya responded to this heretic’s mockery and said: Fool! Go to the end of the verse, where it is written: “For the children of the desolate shall be more numerous than the children of the married wife, said the Lord.”,Rather, what is the meaning of: “Sing, barren woman who has not given birth”? It means: Sing congregation of Israel, which is like a barren woman who did not give birth to children who are destined for Gehenna like you.,In explaining passages from Psalms, the Gemara relates another instance of a response to the question of a heretic: A certain heretic said to Rabbi Abbahu, it is written: “A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son, Absalom” (Psalms 3:1), and similarly it is said: “To the chief musician, al tashḥet, a mikhtam of David when fleeing from Saul into the cave” (Psalms 57:1). Which event was first? Since the event with Saul was first, it would have been appropriate to write it first.,Rabbi Abbahu said to him: For you, who do not employ the homiletic method of juxtaposition of verses, it is difficult. But for us, who employ the homiletic method of juxtaposition of verses, it is not difficult, as the Sages commonly homiletically infer laws and moral lessons from the juxtaposition of two verses.,Regarding the juxtaposition of verses, Rabbi Yoḥa said: From where in the Bible is it derived that one may draw homiletical inferences from the juxtaposition of verses? As it is said: “The works of His hands in truth and justice, all His commandments are sure. Adjoined forever and ever, made in truth and uprightness” (Psalms 111:7–8). Conclude from here that it is appropriate to draw inferences from the juxtaposition of God’s commandments. Accordingly, David’s fleeing from Absalom is situated where it is in order to juxtapose it to the next chapter, which mentions the war of Gog and Magog; the second chapter of Psalms opens: “Why are the nations in an uproar?”,Why was the chapter of Absalom juxtaposed with the chapter of Gog and Magog? They are juxtaposed so that if a person should say to you, expressing doubt with regard to the prophecy of the war of Gog and Magog “against the Lord and against His anointed”: Is there a slave who rebels against his master? Is there someone capable of rebelling against God? You too say to him: Is there a son who rebels against his father and severs the relationship with the one who brought him into the world and raised him? Yet, nevertheless, there was such a son, Absalom, and so too there can be a situation where people will seek to rebel against God.,Rabbi Yoḥa said explanations of other verses in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: What is the meaning of that which is written: “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of loving-kindness is on her tongue” (Proverbs 31:26)? The Sages explain that this chapter discusses the wisdom of Torah and those who engage in its study, so with reference to whom did Solomon say this verse? He said this verse about none other than his father, David, who was the clearest example of one who opens his mouth in wisdom, and who resided in five worlds or stages of life and his soul said a song of praise corresponding to each of them. Five times David said: “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” each corresponding to a different stage of life.,He resided in his mother’s womb, his first world, and said a song of praise of the pregcy, as it is stated: “of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me bless His holy name” (Psalms 103:1), in which he thanks God for creating all that is within his mother, i.e., her womb.,He emerged into the atmosphere of the world, his second world, looked upon the stars and constellations and said a song of praise of God for the entirety of creation, as it is stated: “Bless the Lord, His angels, mighty in strength, that fulfill His word, listening to the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all His hosts, His servants, that do His will. Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His kingship, bless my soul, Lord” (Psalms 103:20–23). David saw the grandeur of all creation and recognized that they are mere servants, carrying out the will of their Creator (Ma’ayan HaBerakhot).,He nursed from his mother’s breast, his third world, and he looked upon her bosom and said a song of praise, as it is stated: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all His benefits gemulav” (Psalms 103:2). The etymological association is between gemulav and gemulei meḥalav, which means weaned from milk (Isaiah 28:9).,We still must understand, however, what is meant by all His benefits? What in particular is praiseworthy in what God provided, beyond merely providing for the infant? Rabbi Abbahu said: In contrast with most other animals, God placed her breasts near her heart, the place that is the source of understanding.,What is the reason that God did this? Rav Yehuda said: So that the nursing child would not look upon the place of his mother’s nakedness. Rav Mattana said: So that the child would not nurse from a place of uncleanliness.,He witnessed in both vision and reality the downfall of the wicked and he said a song of praise, as it is stated: “Let sinners cease from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul, Halleluya” (Psalms 104:35).,The fifth world was when David looked upon the day of death and said a song of praise, as it is stated: “Bless the Lord, O my soul. Lord my God, You are very great; You are clothed in glory and majesty” (Psalms 104:1); for even death is a time of transcendence for the righteous.,The connection between this final praise and the day of death is unclear. The Gemara asks: From where is it inferred that this verse was stated with regard to the day of death? Rabba bar Rav Sheila says: We can derive this from the verses at the end of the matter, where it is written: “You hide Your face, they vanish; You gather Your breath, they perish and return to the dust” (Psalms 104:29).,Other interpretations of this verse exist. The Gemara relates how Rav Shimi bar Ukva, and some say Mar Ukva, would regularly study before Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi, who was well versed in aggada and would arrange the aggada before Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi. rOnce, Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said to him: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me bless His Holy name”? rRav Shimi bar Ukva said to Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi: Come and see that the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like the attribute of flesh and blood, as this verse praises the formation of man in his mother’s womb. The attribute of flesh and blood is such that he shapes a form on the wall for all to see, yet he cannot instill it with a spirit and soul, bowels and intestines. While the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not so, as God shapes one form within another form, a child in its mother’s womb, and instills it with spirit and soul, bowels and intestines. And this is the explanation of what Hannah said with regard to the birth of Samuel: “There is none holy like the Lord, for there is none like You, and there is no Rock like our God” (I Samuel 2:2).,What is the meaning of there is no rock tzur like our God? There is no artist tzayyar like our God.,The Gemara continues to interpret the rest of that verse homiletically: What is the meaning of “there is none like You”? Rabbi Yehuda ben Menasya said: Do not read the verse to mean “there is none like You biltekha”; rather, read it to mean “none can outlast You levalotkha,” as the attribute of the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like the attribute of flesh and blood: The attribute of flesh and blood is such that his creations outlast him, but the Holy One, Blessed be He, outlasts His actions.,This did not satisfy Rav Shimi bar Ukva, who said to Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi: I meant to say to you as follows: Corresponding to whom did David say these five instance of “Bless the Lord, O my soul”? He answered him: He said them about none other than the Holy One, Blessed be He, and corresponding to the soul, as the verse refers to the relationship between man’s soul and God. The five instances of “Bless the Lord, O my soul” correspond to the five parallels between the soul in man’s body and God’s power in His world.,Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, fills the entire world, so too the soul fills the entire body. rJust as the Holy One, Blessed be He, sees but is not seen, so too does the soul see, but is not seen. rJust as the Holy One, Blessed be He, sustains the entire world, so too the soul sustains the entire body. rJust as the Holy One, Blessed be He, is pure, so too is the soul pure. rJust as the Holy One, Blessed be He, resides in a chamber within a chamber, in His inner sanctum, so too the soul resides in a chamber within a chamber, in the innermost recesses of the body. rTherefore, that which has these five characteristics, the soul, should come and praise He Who has these five characteristics.,With regard to redemption and prayer, the Gemara tells the story of Hezekiah’s illness, his prayer to God, and subsequent recuperation. Rav Hamnuna said: What is the meaning of that which is written praising the Holy One, Blessed be He: “Who is like the wise man, and who knows the interpretation pesher of the matter” (Ecclesiastes 8:1)? This verse means: Who is like the Holy One, Blessed be He, Who knows how to effect compromise peshara between two righteous individuals, between Hezekiah, the king of Judea, and Isaiah the prophet. They disagreed over which of them should visit the other. Hezekiah said: Let Isaiah come to me, as that is what we find with regard to Elijah the prophet, who went to Ahab, the king of Israel, as it is stated: “And Elijah went to appear to Ahab” (I Kings 18:2). This proves that it is the prophet who must seek out the king. And Isaiah said: Let Hezekiah come to me, as that is what we find with regard to Yehoram ben Ahab, king of Israel, who went to Elisha the prophet, as it is stated: “So the king of Israel, Jehosaphat and the king of Edom went down to him” (II Kings 3:12).,What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do to effect compromise between Hezekiah and Isaiah? He brought the suffering of illness upon Hezekiah and told Isaiah: Go and visit the sick. Isaiah did as God instructed, as it is stated: “In those days Hezekiah became deathly ill, and Isaiah ben Amoz the prophet came and said to him: Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Set your house in order, for you will die and you will not live” (Isaiah 38:1). This seems redundant; what is the meaning of you will die and you will not live? This repetition means: You will die in this world, and you will not live, you will have no share, in the World-to-Come.,Hezekiah said to him: What is all of this? For what transgression am I being punished? rIsaiah said to him: Because you did not marry and engage in procreation. rHezekiah apologized and said: I had no children because I envisaged through divine inspiration that the children that emerge from me will not be virtuous. Hezekiah meant that he had seen that his children were destined to be evil. In fact, his son Menashe sinned extensively, and he thought it preferable to have no children at all.,Isaiah said to him: Why do you involve yourself with the secrets of the Holy One, Blessed be He? That which you have been commanded, the mitzva of procreation, you are required to perform, and that which is acceptable in the eyes of the Holy One, Blessed be He, let Him perform, as He has so decided.,Hezekiah said to Isaiah: Now give me your daughter as my wife; perhaps my merit and your merit will cause virtuous children to emerge from me. rIsaiah said to him: The decree has already been decreed against you and this judgment cannot be changed. rHezekiah said to him: Son of Amoz, cease your prophecy and leave. As long as the prophet spoke as God’s emissary, Hezekiah was obligated to listen to him. He was not, however, obligated to accept Isaiah’s personal opinion that there was no possibility for mercy and healing.,Hezekiah continued: I have received a tradition from the house of my father’s father, from King David, the founding father of the dynasty of kings of Judea: Even if a sharp sword rests upon a person’s neck, he should not prevent himself from praying for mercy. One may still hold out hope that his prayers will be answered, as was David himself when he saw the Angel of Destruction, but nonetheless prayed for mercy and his prayers were answered.,With regard to the fact that one should not despair of God’s mercy, the Gemara cites that it was also said that Rabbi Yoḥa and Rabbi Eliezer both said: Even if a sharp sword is resting upon a person’s neck, he should not prevent himself from praying for mercy, as it is stated in the words of Job: “Though He slay me, I will trust in Him” (Job 13:15). Even though God is about to take his life, he still prays for God’s mercy.''. None |
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80. Babylonian Talmud, Hagigah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Heresy • heretic arguments, answered by, minim
Found in books: Nikolsky and Ilan (2014) 292; Poorthuis and Schwartz (2014) 103; Rowland (2009) 110, 342, 501
14a. קודם שנברא העולם ולא נבראו עמד הקב"ה ושתלן בכל דור ודור והן הן עזי פנים שבדור,ורב נחמן בר יצחק אמר אשר קומטו לברכה הוא דכתיב אלו תלמידי חכמים שמקמטין עצמן על דברי תורה בעולם הזה הקב"ה מגלה להם סוד לעולם הבא שנאמר (איוב כב, טז) נהר יוצק יסודם,אמר ליה שמואל לחייא בר רב בר אריא תא אימא לך מילתא מהני מילי מעליותא דהוה אמר אבוך כל יומא ויומא נבראין מלאכי השרת מנהר דינור ואמרי שירה ובטלי שנאמר (איכה ג, כג) חדשים לבקרים רבה אמונתך ופליגא דר\' שמואל בר נחמני דאמר ר\' שמואל בר נחמני אמר ר\' יונתן כל דיבור ודיבור שיוצא מפי הקב"ה נברא ממנו מלאך אחד שנאמר (תהלים לג, ו) בדבר ה\' שמים נעשו וברוח פיו כל צבאם,כתוב אחד אומר (דניאל ז, ט) לבושיה כתלג חיור ושער (רישיה) כעמר נקא וכתיב (שיר השירים ה, יא) קוצותיו תלתלים שחורות כעורב לא קשיא כאן בישיבה כאן במלחמה דאמר מר אין לך נאה בישיבה אלא זקן ואין לך נאה במלחמה אלא בחור,כתוב אחד אומר (דניאל ז, ט) כרסיה שביבין דינור וכתוב אחד אומר (דניאל ז, ט) עד די כרסון רמיו ועתיק יומין יתיב לא קשיא אחד לו ואחד לדוד כדתניא אחד לו ואחד לדוד דברי ר\' עקיבא אמר לו ר\' יוסי הגלילי עקיבא עד מתי אתה עושה שכינה חול אלא אחד לדין ואחד לצדקה,קיבלה מיניה או לא קיבלה מיניה ת"ש אחד לדין ואחד לצדקה דברי רבי עקיבא אמר לו ר"א בן עזריה עקיבא מה לך אצל הגדה כלך מדברותיך אצל נגעים ואהלות אלא אחד לכסא ואחד לשרפרף כסא לישב עליו שרפרף להדום רגליו שנאמר (ישעיהו סו, א) השמים כסאי והארץ הדום רגלי,כי אתא רב דימי אמר שמונה עשרה קללות קילל ישעיה את ישראל ולא נתקררה דעתו עד שאמר להם המקרא הזה (ישעיהו ג, ה) ירהבו הנער בזקן והנקלה בנכבד,שמונה עשרה קללות מאי נינהו דכתיב (ישעיהו ג, א) כי הנה האדון ה\' צבאות מסיר מירושלם ומיהודה משען ומשענה כל משען לחם וכל משען מים גבור ואיש מלחמה שופט ונביא וקוסם וזקן שר חמשים ונשוא פנים ויועץ וחכם חרשים ונבון לחש ונתתי נערים שריהם ותעלולים ימשלו בם וגו\',משען אלו בעלי מקרא משענה אלו בעלי משנה כגון ר"י בן תימא וחביריו פליגו בה רב פפא ורבנן חד אמר שש מאות סדרי משנה וחד אמר שבע מאות סדרי משנה,כל משען לחם אלו בעלי תלמוד שנאמר (משלי ט, ה) לכו לחמו בלחמי ושתו ביין מסכתי וכל משען מים אלו בעלי אגדה שמושכין לבו של אדם כמים באגדה גבור זה בעל שמועות ואיש מלחמה זה שיודע לישא וליתן במלחמתה של תורה שופט זה דיין שדן דין אמת לאמיתו נביא כמשמעו קוסם זה מלך שנאמר (משלי טז, י) קסם על שפתי מלך זקן |
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