Recognitions

RECOGNITIONS OF ST. CLEMENT. TESTIMONIES OF THE ANCIENTS CONCERNING THE CLEMENTINE RECOGNITIONS. (GALLAND., Vet. Patr. Biblioth., I, 211.)

I.

ORIGEN, volume III of the Commentaries on Genesis, in *Philocalia*, ch. 22.

And indeed Clement the Roman, disciple of the apostle Peter, speaking in harmony with these things on the present question, to the Father, at Laodicea in the *Periods* (or Circuitions) ^A, brings forth at the end of such discourses something most necessary regarding those things which seem to have occurred through generation; in the fourteenth discourse: "And the Father," etc. *Recognit.* lib. X, cap. 10.

THE SAME, on Matthew XXVI, 6, etc.

Peter says something such as this to Clement; since good works which are done by unbelievers profit them in this age; not, however, in the other, for the attainment of eternal life. And consistently; because neither do they do them for the sake of God, but for the sake of human nature itself. But those who do them for the sake of God, that is, the faithful; it profits them not only in this age, but in the other as well; and more so in the other. *Recognit.* lib. VII, cap. 38.

II.

EUSEBIUS, *Ecclesiastical History*, lib. III, cap. 3.

*Rendering from Rufinus:* But the book which is called the Acts of Peter, and the Gospel inscribed in his name, and the books also called his Preaching and Revelation, it is evident have never been reckoned among Catholic writings; since neither any of the ancients, nor any of the ecclesiastical writers of our own time, have made use of testimonies from these books. ^{B C}

*From the version of Rufinus:* But that little book which is called the Acts of Peter, and that which is entitled the Gospel in his name, but also that which is called his Preaching or Revelation, are not held in the canonical Scriptures at all. Nor is any one of the ancient writers found using their testimonies. See Nicephorus, lib. II, cap. 46.

Concerning these Acts of Peter, in which the books of the Recognitions appear to be contained, and concerning others of the same name, one should consult: Jerome, infra; Isidore of Pelusium, lib. II, epist. 99; Philastrius, *On Heresies*, cap. 40; Pope Innocent, epist. 3, cap. 7; Gelasius, in the Roman council; Photius, both infra and in *cod.* CXIV; and Sigebert, *On Illustrious Men*, cap. 1. ^D

^A Furthermore, certain others have brought forward other long and voluminous works, as if by the same author, containing disputes of Peter and Apion; of which there is absolutely no mention among the ancients. Nor is there found in them the clear mark of the straight faith handed down by the apostles. Read the Prologue of Maximus to the *Works of Dionysius*; also Eusebius, lib. III, cap. 38.

Others, too, consider there to be no small number of his other minor works, such as the *Disputation of Peter and Apion*; which we find were not at all in use among the ancients, because it is not detected that the pure and uncorrupted rule of apostolic faith has remained in them. Read Nicephorus, lib. III, cap. 18.

*Regarding the Disputation of Peter and Apion, which appears to have been either a part or an appendix of the Clementine Recognitiones and the Acts of Peter, see below in Jerome, Photius, and Honorius of Autun.*

III. S. ATHANASIUS, in the *Synopsis of Sacred Scripture*

Again, the books of the New Testament which are disputed are: the *Circuits of Peter*, etc. From these, the truer parts and those inspired by God were chosen and translated. These are what are read, etc.

IV. S. EPIPHANIUS, *On Heresies* XXX, Ebionites, num. 15

They use, moreover, certain other books, namely those which are called the *Circuits of Peter*, composed by Clement; and they have indeed corrupted the things contained in them, but left a few true things; just as Clement himself refutes them in every way through the circular letters which, written by him, are read in the holy churches. For his faith and discourse have a different character from those which these men have forged under his name in the *Circuits*. For he teaches virginity, but they reject it. He commends Elijah, David, Samson, and all the prophets, whom they loathe. Therefore, in the *Circuits*, they have adapted everything to their own design, and have fabricated many lies about Peter: as if he bathed daily for the sake of purification, just as they do. They also say that he abstained from living creatures and meats, as they are accustomed to do; and from every other food that consists of flesh; since Ebion himself, and the Ebionites, abstain entirely from these. Read *Recognitiones*, lib. IV, cap. 3; lib. V, cap. 36; lib. VII, cap. 6, and lib. VIII, cap. 1 et 2.

V. St. Jerome, *On Illustrious Men*, chapter 1

^C But the books, of which one is inscribed as his *Acts* (of Peter), another as his *Gospel*, a third as his *Preaching*, a fourth as his *Apocalypse*, and a fifth as his *Judgment*, are considered apocryphal scriptures. ^D Read Freculphus, tom. II, lib. 1, cap. 20, and Honorius of Autun, cap. 1.

^A And the *Disputation of Peter and Apion*, written in a long discourse, which Eusebius refutes in the third volume of his *Ecclesiastical History*. Read Freculphus, tom. II, lib. II, cap. 10.

IDEM, *lib. I against Jovinian*, cap. 14.

We can, however, say concerning Peter that he had a mother-in-law at the time he believed, even though he no longer had a wife: although it is read in the *Periodoi* that he had his wife, and a daughter. But now, as for the canon, it is entirely a matter of contention. In the *Recognitions*, Peter's wife is mentioned in lib. VII, cap. 25, 26, and in lib. IX, cap. 38; but the daughter, nowhere.

IDEM, *lib. I of Commentaries on the Epistle to the Galatians*, I, 18.

Not that he (Paul) looked at his (Peter's) eyes, cheeks, and countenance, to see whether he was thin or fat, whether he had a hooked nose or a straight one: and whether he covered his brow with hair; or if, as Clement reports in his *Periodoi*, he was bald on his head. This is now not found in the *Recognitions*.

VI. ^B RUFINUS, *On the Adulteration of the Books of Origen*.

Clement, the disciple of the apostles, who presided over the Roman Church after the apostles as both bishop and martyr, published books which are called in Greek *ἀναγνωρισαμός*, that is, *Recognition*: in which, although the teaching is expounded in many places according to the person of the apostle Peter as if it were truly apostolic, in some places the dogma of Eunomius is written in such a way that it is believed to be nothing other than Eunomius himself arguing, asserting that the Son of God is a creature made from things that did not exist. Then, furthermore, that kind of adulteration is inserted, so that he might produce the nature of the devil and of the remaining demons, not as a product of intentional malice, ^C but as a quality of a creature excepted and separated [from good]; even though he had taught in other places that every rational creature was endowed with the faculty of free will. There are also a few other things inserted into his books which the ecclesiastical Rule does not accept at all. What, I ask, is to be thought of these things? That an apostolic man, nay, almost an apostle, does not write those things which the apostles say—to whom the apostle Paul gave testimony, saying: *With Clement and my other fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life* (Phil. IV, 3); and does he write that which is contrary to the books of life? Or is it rather to be believed what we said above; that perverse men, for the assertion of their own dogmas, under the names of holy men, inserted as if they were more easily believed those things ^D which they are to be believed neither to have thought nor to have written? Read Jerome, *Apology against Rufinus*, lib. II, cap. 4; and Rufinus’ *Preface* to these books of the *Recognitions*. Read also the *Recognitions*, lib. II, cap. 8.

IDEM, *in the peroration of his translation of the Explanations of Origen on the Epistle to the Romans*. (From the newest edition of Origen’s works, tom. IV, pag. 689.)

After this, indeed, the task calls upon us, which was once enjoined, but is now more vehemently urged by the blessed Bishop Gaudentius; namely, that the books of Clement of Rome, the companion and successor of the apostles, concerning the *Recognition*, be translated into Latin. In which work I know well that labor multiplies labor, if it takes on the burden. I shall satisfy my friends in this; I shall give the title my name, while the name of the author nonetheless remains. For it shall be written as *Clement by Rufinus*.

VII.

ST. PAULINUS OF NOLA, *Letter 46 to Rufinus*, no. 2.

Indeed, that for which you deign to admonish me with that affection with which you love yourself—that I should pursue my study of Greek letters more attentively—I gladly accept; but I cannot fulfill it: unless perhaps the Lord aids my desires, so that I may enjoy your company for longer. For how could I be able to make progress in an unknown language, if I lack you, through whom I might learn what is unknown? For I believe that in the translation of St. Clement, besides other failings of my own, you have considered my need foremost, because I have translated some things in which I could not understand or express the words, by grasping the sense instead, or (as I should more truly say) by translating what I conjectured.

^A The more I feel the need of the mercy of God, that He may grant me a fuller abundance for myself; because it will be enough for the poor man in exchange for riches, if he, like a hungry man, gathers the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table. Heribert Rosweyde explains this passage about the *Recognitions*.

VIII. The Author of the *Imperfect Work on Matthew*, hom. 27, on Matth. x, 41. (Among the Works of St. John Chrysostom, vol. VI, page 115, edition of BB.)

But hear the mystery which Peter explained to Clement. If a believer does a good work; it profits him here, delivering him from evils; and in that world, for the receiving of the heavenly kingdom: but more so there, than here. If, however, an unbeliever does a good work; his work profits him here: and here God renders him good things for his work. But in that ^B world his work profits him nothing: for he is not placed among the other believers on account of his work: and justly; because, moved by a natural good, he did good, not for the sake of God: therefore he receives the reward of his work into his own body, not in his soul. *Recognitions*, book VII, ch. 38.

IDEM on Matthæi xxiv, 15.

For there was an army of foreigners and the Roman emperor waiting around Jerusalem, which until that time had been holy. Peter also explains this to Clement. Read *Recognitions*, book I, ch. 39, 45; *Clementine Homilies*, hom. 3, no. 15; Lactantius, *Divine Institutes*, book IV, ch. 21.

IDEM on the 16th verse of the same chapter.

Just as Peter explains to Clement, power is to be granted even to the Antichrist to perform signs in their fullness. *Recognitions*, book III, ch. 60.

IDEM on verse 24.

"Great signs." Not useless, nor vain, which the ministers of the devil are accustomed to perform; but great, that is, useful and full, which the saints were accustomed to perform. For in the time of the apostles, and afterwards, the ministers of Christ indeed performed useful and full signs from the right side; such as healing the blind, and doing other things of this kind; but the ministers of the devil performed useless and vain ones, from the left side; which indeed excited admiration in those who saw them, but were of no benefit ^C to anyone. And it was [the duty of] the ministers of Christ, and the ministers of the devil, to judge from this who was doing useless and who was doing useful signs. But at the end of time, power is to be granted to the devil (as Peter explains in the *History of Clement*) so that they may perform useful signs, and from that side from which the saints previously were accustomed to perform them; so that we may not recognize the ministers of Christ by this, because they do useful signs, but [by the fact that] they do not perform all these signs. *Recognitions*, book III, ch. 59, 60.

IDEM on verse 42.

Whence also Peter wisely says to Clement how a person ought ceaselessly to think and speak of those things which are of God; since if the mind is occupied in these, the Evil One finds no place in the mind. *Recognitions*, book III, ch. 31.

IX. GENNADIUS, in his book *On Illustrious Men*, ch. 17.

Rufinus, presbyter of the church of Aquileia, was not a small part of the doctors of the Church; and he had an elegant talent for translating from Greek into Latin. In short, he exhibited the greater part of the Greek library to the Latins: namely, of Basil, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, of Gregory Nazianzen, the ^D most eloquent of men, [of] the *Recognitions* of Clement of Rome, books, etc. Whatever of all these are read by the Latins with prefaces, were translated by Rufinus: those which are without a preface were translated by another who did not wish to provide a preface, etc. Read Honorius of Autun.

X. Roman Council, under Gelasius.

The *Itinerary* by the name of Peter the apostle, which is called the ten books of Saint Clement, is apocryphal.

[XI.]

The Alexandrian Chronicle, so-called, from Rader’s edition, p. 50.

Whence also Peter the apostle explains to Clement, saying: He foretold that one righteous man, Noah, together with his own (and with their wives), should be saved in an ark; so that, all wicked and troublesome men being destroyed, the world might receive purification; and he who had been reserved for the second life of the human race might be made pure and clean. Yet, even when these things had come to pass, men began to be irreligious. [See Recogn., lib. IV, cap. 12, 15; Clementina, hom. 8, num. 17.]

Ibid., p. 62, concerning Mesraim or Zoroaster.

Peter hints at this man when he says that, after the flood, men again began to act irreligiously. [Recogn., lib. IV, cap. 13.]

Ibid., p. 64.

But Peter the apostle speaks of this man (Nimrod) in the *Clementines*, [describing] how he ruled in Babylon when he had received Egypt as his lot. For Peter says: This Nimrod migrated from Egypt to the Assyrians, to the city of Nineveh, which Assur had built; and having built the city, which was Babylon, he named it after the city. The Assyrians called Nimrod himself Ninus. This man taught the Assyrians to worship fire. Whence, the Assyrians made him their first king after the flood, whom they renamed Ninus. Such is what Peter [says] regarding him. [See Recogn., lib. I, cap. 30; lib. IV, cap. 29; Clementina, hom. 9, num. 4, etc.]

[XII.]

ALDHELM, *On the Praises of Virginity*, cap. 12.

Clement, the first successor of the bearer of the heavenly keys, and the second steward of the Roman Church (although some, not without reason, prefer Linus and Cletus in the administration of the pontificate), himself openly testifies in his own writings that he cherished the chastity of celibacy deep within his heart, even before he was submerged in the saving laver of baptism and purified from the stain of original sin, saying: "I, Clement, born in the city of Rome, from my earliest age practiced the study of chastity." Therefore, if he had craved for himself and so greatly prized that which is established as the most excellent of all the grades of virtues, and the most difficult for human nature, even before he was regenerated, ^C how much more [is it to be believed that], after having received the rudiments of the faith, having spurned the rite of the Gentiles, while he kept company with Peter through the provinces as he sowed the seeds of the divine word and planted the shoots of the evangelical vine in the trenches of believers, and uprooted the lethal wild grapes of Simonian necromancy, he preserved it more fully and perfectly: he who subsequently polished, more clearly than light, the *Itinerary of Peter*, digested into ten volumes, which Rufinus translated into Latin from the Greek libraries. See Recogn., lib. I, cap. 1. One should also consult his poem *On the Praise of Virgins*, in the place where he treats of Clement.

[XIII.]

BEDE, *On the Hexaemeron*, or as others falsely inscribe [it], JUNILIUS, *On the Earlier [Books] of Genesis*: on Gen. 1, 6, 7, 8.

Concerning these things which have been set forth thus far, it is also related that the apostle Peter said ^D of the creation of the first and second day: "In the beginning, when He had made, etc."; the inferior truth, however, is reported according to Clement.

^A Let the reader recognize this. Recognitiones, lib. 1, cap. 27.

The same BEDE, in Acts v, 34. This Gamaliel, as Clement indicates, was a companion in faith of the apostles, but remained in their counsel among the Jews, so that amidst such a storm he might be able to calm their fury.

The same, in his Retractation on Acts, at the same place. Concerning this Gamaliel we also read in the book of the holy Clement that he was secretly a disciple of the apostles; but that he was instructed to remain among the Jews by their counsel, to mitigate their fury whenever necessity should arise. But that this indeed happened truthfully, it has most certainly become known today to all the Churches of Christ throughout the world through the revelation of the remains of the most blessed protomartyr Stephen, which, by divine disposition, was brought about through that same man. For he appeared in a vision to the holy servant of God and presbyter Lucian, as that same presbyter Lucian later wrote to all the Churches; and he instructed him with the most sweet manifestation as to where the holy Stephen was buried, and at the same time Nicodemus, who buried the Lord with Joseph, and also Gamaliel himself with his son Abiban. Recognitiones, lib. 1, cap. 56, etc.

The same, in his book De ratione temporum, cap. 3. Finally, holy Clement, disciple of the apostles and third bishop of the Roman Church after Peter, writes thus in the sixth book of his Histories: "In the beginning God made, etc." Recognitiones, lib. vi.

XIV. NICEPHORUS CP., at the end of his Chronographia. From the version of Anastasius the Librarian. And what are apocryphal of the New (Testament): The Itinerary of Peter, 2700 verses, etc. ^C And as many of the New as are apocryphal. The Itinerary of Peter, 2750 verses.

XV. AGOBARD, in his book De Judaicis superstitionibus, cap. 16, edit. Baluz., tom. I, pag. 85. But also in the books of Clement, bishop of the Roman Church, are found some things said by the aforementioned apostle (Peter) concerning the observance of this matter, which we have deemed it not incongruous to insert here. For although these same books are judged to be apocryphal, yet most of the testimonies from them are found to be used by the doctors. Therefore, Clement introduces, when he was not yet purified by the grace of baptism, and for this reason was sequestered from the table of Peter along with others like him, the same apostle speaking to him in these words: "Not out of pride, O Clement, do I not dine with those who are not yet purified; but I fear lest I should harm myself without helping them." And a little ^D later: "Let none of you, therefore, be saddened," he says, "at being separated from our meal. For he who wishes to be baptized is separated only for a short time; but he who is tardier, much longer. And therefore it is in your hands, when you will, to come to our table; and in us, to whom it is not permitted to take food with anyone unless he has first been baptized." These things have necessarily been brought forward by us from the writings of Clement, to show to those who wish it that the most ancient observance of this matter was handed down by the apostles. For this also must be considered true; and so much the more, because it does not appear to differ in any way from the apostolic Acts. Read Recognitiones, lib. ii, cap. 71, 72.

XVI. FRECULF, tom. II, lib. ii, cap. 10 of his Chronicles. For the same most blessed Clement reports in his writings how he came to the faith of Christ, and stuck to Peter as his individual companion. ^D He says, among other things: "While the best desire for immortality was my companion, etc." Recognitiones, lib. 1, capp. 2, 6, 7, 12, etc.

XVII. PHOTIUS, Bibliotheca codd. CXII, CXIII. There were read two volumes of books of Clement of Rome: of which one, etc., and the other, indeed, the dedication.

and address, is made in the form of an Epistle to James, the brother of the Lord. ^A In this are contained the Acts which are called those of the apostle Peter, and the disputations with Simon Magus; to these are added the Recognition of Clement, and of his father and other brothers. Wherefore in some of the books the inscription is prefixed: *The Recognition of Clement of Rome*. But in some, as we have said, an Epistle is prefixed, as if to James the brother of the Lord. And this, indeed, is not the same, nor does it seem to have proceeded from the same person; but in some books it is sent as if from Peter the apostle to James; in others, however, as if from Clement to James; it is one thing and then another, just as we have said before. And the one declares ^B that Peter wrote his own deeds and sent them to James at his request; but the other reports that Clement wrote these same deeds by the command of Peter, and after he had departed for the immortal life, sent them to James. Therefore, it is permitted to conjecture that two editions of the Acts of Peter had been made; but since, with the lapse of time, the one had perished, that of Clement prevailed. For in all the books which we have seen, and they are certainly not few, after those various Epistles and inscriptions, we found the very same work without any variation, beginning thus: *I, Clement*; and the things which follow in order. But this work is ^C filled with countless absurd statements; and is full of blasphemy against the Son, according to the opinion of Arius. And infra: *But the book of the Acts of Peter, in splendor and majesty, and in purity and vehemence, and other gifts of eloquence and manifold doctrine, so far surpasses the Constitutions that no comparison should be made between these books as regards their style.* And a little later: *But the one which is called the second to the same (Corinthians) is rejected as spurious; just as also that long disputation, bearing the name of the blessed Peter and Apion.*

XVIII. HINCMARUS, On the divorce of Lothair and Theutberga, chap. 9.

And in the Itinerary of Peter, it is read concerning the father of Clement: ^D that in order that he might be killed by the faithful, he was rubbed with an ointment by Simon Magus, whom he had deserted, and he presented the image of that same Simon to the eyes of all; but Peter, who was observing him, and praying, recalled the disciples to their sight; and by deluding the illusion, restored to the eyes of those who were looking his own proper image. *Recognit.* lib. x, chap. 53, etc.

XIX. HUMBERTUS, Bishop of Silva Candida, in his Response to the book of Nicetas.

For the book of Clement, that is, the Itinerary of the apostle Peter, and the Apostolic Canons are numbered among the apocrypha. See the first part of the *Decretum*, dist. 16, chap. 3.

So at the margin of the codex of Maximus Margunius. HOESCH.

XX. GEORGIUS CEDRENUS, in Compendio Historiarum, edit. Basil., p. 170.

^A Other miracles (Peter and Simon Magus) they also performed; and not in Rome alone, but even before that in Syria; which Clement of Rome, the most wise disciple and companion of Peter, recounted: from which we shall set down a few here. Having brought these forward, he adds: These things, therefore, and other similar ones, Clement, as I have said, wrote were said and done in Syria. Read Recognit. lib. I, cap. 37, etc.; lib. II, cap. 47; lib. X, cap. 53; Clement, Hom. 3, n. 38, etc.

XXI. HONORIUS AUGUSTODUNENSIS, lib. De luminaribus Ecclesiæ, cap. 15.

Clement wrote an epistle to the Church of the Corinthians, very useful; and the Itinerary of Peter, and the Disputation of Peter and Apion; and many other things, which ^B are numbered among the apocryphal works. See the Life of Clement in the Pontifical book.

DISSERTATION

(Dom. Le Nourry, Apparatus ad Bibliothecam max. Vet. Patr., p. 211; Paris, 1703, in-fol.)

ARTICLE I. Analysis of these books.

The author of this work, from the very beginning of the first book, states that his name is Clement, and that Rome was his fatherland; and he narrates in what way he himself was brought to the knowledge of Christ, and by whom. He says, however, that when he had frequented the schools of the philosophers to no purpose, seeking to be taught about the immortality of the soul and the creation and duration of the world, he betook himself to Barnabas, a disciple of Christ, who had then arrived at Rome. He found him—as he himself says—holding public conversations with the people, and he defended him against the philosophers who were mocking his simple and unpolished manner of speaking, and later led him into his own house. Then, following him fifteen days later, as he was returning to Judea for the purpose of celebrating a great festival of the Jews, he caught up with him at Caesarea Stratonis. Barnabas, indeed, leads him immediately to Peter, by whom he is received most kindly and is commanded to listen attentively to all the sermons and disputations which he was to have from then on, until they arrived at Rome. Clement pledges himself, and asks Peter to demonstrate to him the immortality of our soul—which must be brought to the judgment of Christ after death—and that the world will one day accept an end. These things, indeed, ^C Peter proved so clearly, and furthermore showed with such brilliance who the true Prophet was, that Clement, having embraced the Christian faith, immediately composed the book On the True Prophet, which he sent to Jerusalem to James.

On the following day, having received news that Simon Magus had postponed for seven days the disputation he had declared with Peter, Clement, at Peter's request, recounted from memory whatever he had heard from him the previous day. Then Peter, praising the tenacity of his memory, narrated to him all the things most worthy of note that had happened from the creation of the world up to the final times of the true Prophet, and made plain in what manner the first and second coming of Christ had been foretold, and into what place the souls of men are to be gathered after their death.

After this, he sets forth the long disputation, which all and every one of the apostles had entered into with the Jews in the temple at Jerusalem for eight days, entire and complete, and explains how at the end of it, a sedition having arisen, they themselves withdrew to Jericho. From there, however, James directed Peter to Caesarea, that he might refute Simon, who boasted that he was the Christ and the highest power of the most high God. Finally, Clement—concerning all these things which [he had received] from Peter—

had begun, having given thanks, to resolve this first book.

In the SECOND BOOK, he narrates how, on the appointed day of Peter's disputation against Simon, the apostle himself, rising from his bed at the first cockcrow, and having prefaced a few words concerning the habit of rising early, wished to be made certain by Aquila and Nicetas—formerly disciples of Simon, but then converted to the Christian faith—as to who that magician was, and what his character and deeds were. Thus, therefore, Peter, instructed for the disputation, proceeds to the atrium of the house, in which a multitude was gathered with Simon. There the apostle, after a brief disputation concerning the peace brought into the world by Christ, proved with invincible arguments that God is the creator of heaven and earth; and he dissolved and overturned all of Simon’s objections, ^A both those taken from Sacred Scripture and those from reasoning. To this, he added that the eternity of immense light could be shown from the Law. Then Simon answered the apostle that he was making him great promises, and pledged that if on the following day he were willing to demonstrate both that the world was made and that souls are immortal, he himself would return for the disputation. With these words, Simon went away with only a third part of the people who had come with him; all the others voluntarily followed Peter, who healed very many in a miraculous way.

THE THIRD BOOK

But immediately digressing to another question, he demands of him, since God made all things as he claimed, whence is evil? Which, indeed, when Peter had demonstrated that it was being asked against the proper order of disputation, Simon then tried to prove by certain arguments of reason that each one is drawn by fate, ^C just as it is decreed for him. But Peter, on the contrary, asserted the free will of man with most certain arguments. After this, Simon asked him whether this visible heaven would be dissolved, and why it was made from the beginning. And again, a little while later, he asked him why he affirmed that God—whom Scripture says can be seen by no one—would nevertheless be seen by the just after their death. When these matters were clearly explained by Peter, the Magus asked again whether the soul were immortal. But since the examination of this question was put off until the next day, the people threw themselves at the feet of Peter, who sent away whole and sound many who were ^D sick or possessed by a demon.

On the following day, therefore, when Peter had recounted to his companions the things that had been debated the day before, he approached the customary place of disputation. There, however, having greeted the people, and having premised a few words about observing order in disputes, he first demonstrated the immortality of the soul from those things which God is about to render to every man after death. Then, he immediately answered Simon, who was raising several points with various arguments, that he could be made certain of this immortality of the soul from the image of the boy violently killed, which he kept in his inner chamber. At these words, Simon, struck by his conscience, suppliantly begged for pardon from Peter, whom he believed had learned this by a prophetic spirit. But when Peter had openly professed that he had received it from those who lived with him, then Simon, stirred by anger, and vexing the apostle with various insults, said: Fortune, this victory is not of truth. Peter, however, clearly convicted him as being a magician from those things which he had imprudently confessed. ^A Influenced by this, Simon went away, and having repeated his insults, tried in vain to stir up sedition. For, being ejected by the gathered crowd and abandoned by all, he had only one companion of his flight. After this, Peter taught in a brief sermon that the injuries inflicted by men, and the wicked men themselves, should be patiently tolerated. Finally, having prayed for the people, he warned all that they should gather more early on the following day.

He, however, before light appeared, in order to satisfy Nicetas’ request, showed at length what the distinction is between false and true miracles. But at the very first light, he received certain news that Simon had boarded a ship to go to Rome and had cast all the secrets of his magic into the sea. ^B He immediately announces this to the people who had gathered, and adds that, although he was forced to pursue the fleeing Magus so that he would not deprave the minds of men, he would nevertheless stay with them until they were confirmed in the doctrine of the faith.

For this stretch of time, therefore, he held sermons every single day to console them and to imbue them with the doctrine of the faith and the piety of character; he created Zacchaeus bishop, twelve presbyters, and four deacons; he added three others to his twelve associates; and from all these, he sent twelve forth to preach the faith of Christ and to defeat Simon, and he regenerated over twelve thousand men in the sacred waters of baptism. Finally, three months having passed, ^C Clement, at the command of the same Peter, reduced to ten books the sermons he had caught from him while he was preaching at Caesarea, and he sent them to James. Peter, however, set out for Tripoli, where he would spend the winter.

THE FOURTH BOOK

whose arrival he had been informed, had fled to Syria; and that the crowd was eagerly waiting at the door, so that they might hear his discourses.

Wherefore, having seized a suitable place, and taking as his argument those whom he had freed from bodily infirmities or from the possession of a demon, he made it plain to all by what stages the diseases and maladies of men had approached them, in the same way as they had fallen back from the true worship of God; and at length, that worship being utterly abandoned, and idolatry introduced—the origin of which, just as that of magic, he unfolded—the power of possessing their souls was given to the demons. Thereupon, he announced to his hearers that he and his own had been sent to restore the worship of the one true God, and he disclosed to them the distinction between false and true prophecies and visions, and between healing and a miracle falsely so-called. Finally, he exhorted them to embrace the true religion and to follow the custom of the apostles of Christ, and to establish their lives purely and religiously, and he advised them to present themselves early the next day at the same place.

When the day had dawned, Peter himself, after a silent prayer had been offered, delivered another discourse to the people, which is exhibited in the FIFTH BOOK. In it, he places before the eyes of all that man, having been made in the image of God, had dominion over earthly things so long as he obeyed the laws of justice; but when he departed from them, he immediately became subject to frailty, agitations of mind, temptations, the vexations of demons, and all miseries. Yet he warns that all sicknesses can be healed by a small grain of faith. He concludes, therefore, that this faith must be embraced by all, and that the true Prophet, whom they had already learned had arrived just as it had been foretold, must be served alone. He then teaches that the temptations suggested by the demon, which he enumerates one by one, are not to be heard. Furthermore, having dismissed everyone, he returns to his own, where he grants his companions the power to inquire about whatever they pleased, and immediately answered each of their questions one by one. But Clement, with great accuracy, reduced to writing everything that had been pronounced by him, which he sent to James.

The SIXTH BOOK also contains another discourse of Peter. Since he had risen later than usual on account of the shortness of the nights, he went to the accustomed place of the discourse. And there, he first explained how men might lay aside false opinions and arrive at the knowledge of the truth and of the true God. He then made it manifest that they could not have found it difficult to know, not indeed what God is, but what He is not, and therefore that He is not contained in idols fashioned by human art. But since all things are generated from water, which was created from the beginning through the Only-Begotten, through whom one arrives at the Father, he thence introduced the generation of baptism, the necessity and utility of which he attempted to demonstrate, declaring that we are reborn of water ^A for that reason. Those, however, who had been initiated into this sacrament of regeneration, he reminded that not only were all the good works which they had performed hitherto to be continued, but that they must always ascend to higher degrees of more perfect virtue. When Peter had said these and similar things, says Clement, he dismissed the crowds. For three whole months, he preached in the same manner among the Tripolitans, the greater number of whom he led to the faith. After these things, Clement and many others having been washed in holy baptism, he ordained Maro as bishop in Tripoli, and twelve presbyters, and certain deacons, and finally departing thence, he came to Antioch.

At the beginning of the SEVENTH BOOK, it is narrated that when Peter had arrived at Antaradus from Tripoli, he divided his companions, whose number had greatly increased, into two groups, which were to precede him; and he placed Nicetas over one and Aquila over the other. But Clement, having given thanks to Peter because he had retained him with himself, immediately declared to him, when asked how he had lost his father, mother, and brothers. The following day, Peter betook himself to the island of Aradus for the sake of seeing the columns of immense size, ^B and there Clement recognized his mother, Mathidia, who had been cast there by shipwreck and was seeking her life by alms. She, with the wife of Peter and all the others, was taken to Laodicea, in which city she was also recognized by her two other sons, with whom she had suffered the shipwreck. And they narrated how, after the shipwreck, they had been carried to Caesarea and sold to a certain widow named Justa, and had afterwards, by her care, applied themselves to literature and philosophy with Simon Magus and had imbibed his errors; but that, by the help of Zacchaeus, they had received the faith of Christ and had at length been offered to Peter. Having heard these things, Peter initiated Mathidia, who was requesting to be gifted with baptism, into that sacrament of regeneration in the sea after a fast of one day.

The following day, as the author narrates in the EIGHTH BOOK, Peter, with Clement and his two other brothers his companions, bathes in the sea and withdraws into a secret place for prayer. There, to him as he was leaving, there meets a certain poor old man, ^C in the habit of a laborer, who dared to assert that prayers are poured forth to God in vain, and that the world is not governed according to the providence of God... but that it is genesis [creation/emergence] that acts and contains all things. Meanwhile, a great concourse of people occurs, and Nicetas, given the power to speak by Peter who wished to answer the old man, taught that the world was made by God and is eventually to be dissolved by Him, and that individual tiny bodies or atoms, as in the opinion of Epicurus, do not produce any bodies, or minds endowed with intelligence. Then, by various arguments, he proved that the world was founded by wisdom and reason itself, when it pleased Him.

The next day, a meeting having been gathered in the house of a certain leading citizen, the old man repeats in summary what Nicetas had said, and, disputing against them, contends that certain things were made unjustly and inordinately; from

those things which are made in order, ^A he argues that providence is to be acknowledged. Furthermore, from those things which happen inordinately, he clearly demonstrates that nothing of these has existed from the origin of the world, but from the impiety of men their evils took their beginning. Finally, when he had responded at length to all the things that were being cast against him, he left the final objection of the old man—by which he said that all things happened to him by the necessity of birth—to be solved by his brother Clement on the following day. With these things said, Peter stated that the things which can or cannot be done by God have been made known to no man, except to the true prophet alone; nor is it to be expected that anyone will ever be taught this by that prophet unless, having abandoned the various subtleties of the philosophers, he is led by a sincere love of truth. Otherwise, for the investigation of truth, it is required only that men diligently inquire whether that prophet has always predicted things that were true.

At the beginning of the NINTH BOOK it is recorded that on the following day, according to custom, a dispute was held as to whether nothing happens outside the realm of fate. Wherefore Clement, through various arguments of reason, demonstrated that man is endowed with free will, by which he is able to do or not do anything whatsoever. The old man, however, argued that from the constellations and the various aspects of the stars, which he accurately recounted, men are made either good or evil. Against this, Clement, by a long induction by which various nations have always preserved the same laws and customs however much the aspects of the stars may have varied, proved this to be false. The old man recognized the force and weight of that argument. Wherefore, in order to persuade him that this was false through his own experience, he confessed that his name was Faustinianus, and he briefly narrated all that had happened to him. Thus he was recognized by his wife Mathidia and his sons, and they, having dismissed the people, remained together with Peter in the same house where the debate had taken place.

THE TENTH BOOK teaches how Peter, at the rising of the sun, and while Faustinianus was still asleep, instructed Clement and his brothers about the discussion that was to be held with him, and determined that a space of one year should be given to the same Faustinianus so that he might prepare himself to embrace the Christian religion. But when Faustinianus had arisen from his bed, he asked of them whether there is good and evil in substance and actions. Clement responded to this question, and having set forth the principles concerning the aspect of the stars regarding good ^D and evil, he proved that no necessity could be imposed upon men from it. Furthermore, when these things were being debated on both sides, Peter, seeing that the people were gathered, ordered that a discussion should next be held concerning idolatry and the false deities of the gods. Wherefore Clement unfolded the origin of idolatry, and said that the true crimes of the false gods, and primarily the rapes and adulteries of Jupiter, were most well-known to all, and that finally, even now, many of the tombs of his children—men surely of the most wicked sort—are still standing. To these things Aquila responds that those myths of the gods had been explained allegorically by philosophers and other wise men. Against this, however, Nicetas immediately shows him that these crimes of the gods are not posited by painters, sculptors, and poets allegorically, but in reality, and literally, before the eyes of all. Nicetas, however, at the request of Clement, proceeded with these allegorical expositions of the myths. Then Peter demonstrated that sacred Scripture is not to be explained according to that allegorical sense, but by another method which he himself taught. Then, turning to Faustinianus, he exhorted him most strongly to profess the Christian religion, which prescribes nothing but what is holy and honest. Finally, having restored health to the sick and those possessed by demons, he dismissed the joyful and healthy people.

After this, however, amidst the preparations for the meal, Faustinianus, with Peter’s approval, visited Appion and Anubion, who had come to Laodicea from Antioch with Simon. Then Simon, so that the ministers of Caesar, who were seeking him for the purpose of death, might deliver Faustinianus to death in his place, imposed his own face and countenance upon him by magic arts. But his wife and sons were so stupefied by the transformation of Faustinianus that Peter promised that, after he had used Simon’s countenance to destroy his errors, he would restore his original face to Faustinianus. Wherefore he sent the same Faustinianus to Antioch, so that he might calm all the crowds stirred up against him by the most bitter slanders of the Magician, by feigning the repentance of the same true Simon. This, indeed, Faustinianus accomplished through various fictions and lies, and afterward his original countenance was entirely restored to him by Peter. Then Peter, having created a bishop and presbyters at Laodicea, and having restored health to the sick and possessed, hastened to Antioch, from whence Simon had been driven. And as he entered the city, all the people, and all the elders, as well as the nobles, performing penance, went to meet him. He himself gave thanks to God for the conversion of so many men, healed all the sick, and within seven days washed twelve thousand men in holy baptism. Among these, Theophilus, a leading man of the people, consecrated a huge basilica of his own house in the name of the church, in which a cathedra was established for the apostle Peter by all the people. Finally, Peter baptized Faustinianus—who requested to be initiated by baptism—after a fast had been proclaimed to the people, and he explained to all the people everything that had happened to him up to that point.

ARTICLE II.

If faith is to be had in the author of this work, he was that Roman, from the family of Caesar, named Clement, whose father was Faustinianus, his mother Mathidia, his brothers Nicetas and Aquila, his master none other than Peter himself, the principal and most beloved disciple; who handed down many of the apostolic sermons and disputations in writings, and rendered them into various books. He affirms these things with such trust and such assertion that many writers

^A of the same work have not hesitated to cite various opinions of it under his own name without any hesitation. First among them occurs to us Origen, who praises these books thus: "Something of this kind Peter says also in Clement, since the good works which are done by the faithful in this present age profit them," etc. Elsewhere, however, another fragment, much longer than the previous one, wrote out these words: "And Clement of Rome, a disciple of the Apostle Peter, spoke to this question and opinion with the father at Laodicea in the *Circuits* (ἐν ταῖς Περιόδοις)," etc. But the author of the *Opus imperfectum in Matthaeum* assigns the same title to these books: "Peter in Clement," or "As Peter sets forth in the *History of Clement*." To these may be added Aldhelm, the Venerable Bede, the author of the *Chronicon Alexandrinum*, Freculf, Nicephorus, George Cedrenus, and several others, by whom this work is designated by the same name.

Others, however, reject it among the apocrypha. For thus do the Fathers of the Roman council under Gelasius determine regarding it: "The *Itinerarium* in the name of the apostle Peter, which is called the eight books of saint Clement, is apocryphal." Critics think that for "eight" one should read "ten." But the author of the *Stichometria*, after the *Chronographia* of Nicephorus of Constantinople, adds: "And [those] of the New Testament, namely, which are apocryphal: the *Itinerarium of Peter*, 2700 lines." Agobard also: "Although," he says, "the same books are apocryphal, yet most of the testimonies from them are found used by the doctors." Humbert, bishop of Silva Candida, also: "The book of Clement, that is, the *Itinerarium of the apostle Peter* and the *Canons of the Apostles*, are numbered among the apocrypha." To these is added Honorius of Autun: "Clement wrote... the *Itinerarium of Peter* and the *Disputation of Peter and Apion*, and many other things, which are numbered among the apocrypha." Before them, indeed, Athanasius is said to have declared: "Again, the books of the New Testament which are contradicted are the *Circuits of Peter*, etc."

ARTICLE III. What Eusebius, Jerome, and Epiphanius thought of these books.

Some suppose that Jerome held the same opinion regarding these books when he said: "But the books of which one is inscribed *Acts*, another *Gospel*, a third *Preaching*... are reputed among the apocryphal scriptures." Yet again, when he discusses Clement himself: "And the *Disputation of Peter and Apion*," he says, "which Eusebius refutes in the third volume of his *Ecclesiastical History*." And in fact, in the same book which Jerome cites, Eusebius has these words: "Furthermore, some have brought to light other prolix works under his name yesterday and the day before, such as the *Disputations of Peter and Apion*, of which no mention at all exists among the ancients. For neither is the sincere [doctrine] of the true faith, handed down by the apostles, found in them." ^B

However, as long as those copies, differing so greatly from ours, do not exist, for so long will it be uncertain whether these disputations are contained in them or in other books of the same writer, or whether they alone constituted some special volume. Be that as it may, perhaps to some it will seem that the same Eusebius called the books of the *Recognitions* by the name of *Acts of Peter*, when he wrote: "But the book which is called the *Acts of Peter*, and the *Gospel* inscribed with his name, and the books of his *Preaching* and *Revelation* are acknowledged never to have been held as catholic writings." Nor is it read that anyone, either of the more ancient or more recent writers of the Church, has ever used a testimony taken from those books. We are not, indeed, ignorant that the books about which Eusebius argues were cited by ancient writers, as we saw a little earlier. Yet it should not automatically be inferred from this that he was speaking not of Clement's books, but of the books of some other person. For, as Valesius prudently observes, Eusebius erred there and lapsed in memory; since he denies that the very same *Apocalypse*, or *Revelation of Peter*, which he here denies to have been cited by the ancients, was praised elsewhere by Clement: "Clement in his *Hypotyposeis* praises the *Apocalypse of Peter*." Furthermore, it is certain that the book which is inscribed the *Preaching of Peter* was cited by Origen and several others. Eusebius, therefore, could similarly be deceived in the other two books which he commemorates. However, one may object to this that he is arguing there about books written by Peter, and not by Clement. Furthermore, if Eusebius praises the books of the *Recognitions of Clement* in the cited places, he entirely denies that they are the genuine work of Clement. If, however, he makes no mention of them, the same argument is drawn from his silence. For he could never have passed over with such profound silence such long lucubrations which he would have known to have proceeded from Clement.

^C To those, however, whom it has been permitted to examine this work of Clement with more careful diligence, they bring a more certain opinion about it. Among these, Epiphanius recorded for memory that our Clement did indeed write something about the *Circuits of Peter* but that his writings were so corrupted by the heretical Ebionites that, with few true things left, they falsely substituted the rest themselves: "There are also other books," he says, "which they use, as the *Circuits of Peter*... ^D

which the Ebionites ^A assert were written by Clement. In this book, with a few true things left, they have assumed all the rest; just as Clement himself refutes them in all ways in those circular letters which, written by him, are read in the most holy Churches. From these it is evident that his faith and language abhorred those things which, under his name, exist as adulterated in those *Circuits*. For Clement taught virginity, which they repudiate: he commends Elijah, David, and Samson, and all the prophets, while the Ebionite detests them. Therefore, in those *Circuits*, they have adapted everything to their own principles, and have fabricated many lies about Peter. Of this kind is the fact, among others, that he washed himself for the sake of purity, a thing they were accustomed to do. Then, that he abstained from all living creatures, and from meats, and from everything else that consists of flesh; because the Ebion, of old, as well as the Ebionites today, all abhor these things. In truth, however, it is diligently observed in these books that Peter washed in the morning. In these, also, Peter is said to have stated: "Bread alone with olives, and rarely even with vegetables, is in use for me." Finally, in these, Christ alone is everywhere asserted to be the true Prophet. Furthermore, if Epiphanius seems to have related some things which do not occur at all in these books, he must certainly be said to have fallen upon manuscripts different from those from which Rufinus published his version.

ARTICLE IV. The Opinion of Rufinus and Photius concerning these books.

It is also the opinion of Rufinus himself that these books were written by Clement, the Roman pontiff, and were corrupted by heretics; but he testifies that more things, than Epiphanius thinks, are integral and proceeded truly from Clement himself, occurring in them in his own time. His words, although a little too long, because they contribute not a little to our subject, I have thought must be transcribed here: "Clement," he says, "a disciple of the apostles, who presided over the Roman Church after the apostles as both bishop and martyr, published books which are called in Greek *Anagnorismos*, that is, ^C *Recognition*; in which, although the doctrine is set forth as truly apostolic in the person of the apostle Peter in very many places, in some others the dogma of Eunomius is so written that nothing else is believed to be argued than Eunomius himself, asserting that the Son of God is a creature from non-existent things. Then, moreover, that kind of adultery is also inserted, that the nature of the devil and of other demons was produced not by the malice of purpose and will, but by a quality separate and apart from created things, who, however, in other respects had taught that every rational being was gifted with the faculty of free will. There are also some things inserted into his books which the ecclesiastical rule does not accept at all. What, I ask, does an apostolic man, nay, almost an apostle, not write concerning those things which the apostles say; to whom the apostle Paul gave testimony, saying: 'With Clement and the rest of my collaborators, whose names are in the book of life'; and should he write that which is contrary to the books of life? Or is that rather to be believed, which I have said above, that perverse men… inserted those things which are to be thought to have been neither sensed nor written by them." In the preface, however, to the interpretation of these same books, he has this: "There are also some things discussed about the unbegotten God and the begotten, and about some other things, which, to say nothing more, have exceeded our understanding. These things, therefore, as if they were above my strength, I chose to reserve for others, rather than to present them less fully." By which latter words he hints not obscurely that all these things were omitted by him, and not rendered in Latin. Moreover, he had various manuscript codices, far different from one another, and he observes that in some, things—and especially those things which are said about the transformation of the face of Faustinianus—did not occur: "I think," he says, "that it does not escape you that there are two editions of this same work of Clement’s in Greek, the *Anagnorismos*, that is, *Recognitions*, and that there are two bodies of books, different in some respects indeed, but in many of the same narrative: finally, the last part of this work, in which the transformation of Simon is related, is had in one body, but is not had in the other." Finally, he warns that the letter of Clement to James the brother of the Lord, which was prefixed to this work, was omitted by him: "The letter indeed, in which the same Clement, writing to James the brother of the Lord... I did not therefore prefix to this work... because it is both later in time, and was formerly translated and published by me."

Photius, however, who had also had more hand-written codices of this work, defines it thus: "The letter is prefixed as if to James the brother of the Lord, but this is neither the same, nor as if it proceeded from the same, but in some books as if sent from the apostle Peter to James: in others, again, as if from Clement to James... the former of these shows Peter himself to have written the events he did and to have sent them to James who requested them: the latter, however, relates that Clement, at the command of Peter, transmitted the same events, written down, to James after he had already migrated to the immortal life. From which it is conjectured that the deeds of St. Peter had been published; but when, in the length of time, one had perished, that one of Clement’s alone endured. For in all the books, which it has been my lot to see (certainly not a few of them), after those various letters and inscriptions I found this very beginning of the work without any variation: 'I, Clement,' and what follows in order. This work is filled with absurd trifles, not without many blasphemies against the Son from the opinion of Arius... yet the book of the Acts of Peter surpasses the *Constitutions* so much in clarity and gravity, and still in purity and vehemence and other rhetorical techniques, and also in the doctrine of various matters, that no comparison ought to be made between them, as far as the discourse is concerned... Some suppose this Clement to have been the second bishop of the city of Rome after Peter, others indeed the fourth; for Linus and Anacletus existed as pontiffs between the two."

and to have finished his life in the third year of Trajan. From this you may gather that in all the codices of Photius the beginning of this work was the same as in our printed editions. But no one, we opine, will easily persuade himself that this same work was attributed to Clement by that most learned man; seeing as he testifies that it was filled with absurd trifles and the blasphemies of the Arians.

ARTICLE V. The opinions of more recent authors concerning these books, and what is to be thought of them.

Nor do the opinions of more recent writers dissent and discord with each other any less than those of the ancients. For some do not depart far from the opinion of Rufinus, like Lambertus Gruterus Venradius, who feels as follows about these books: "As far as the Clementine Recognitions are concerned, I truly ascribe them to our Clement, although I acknowledge them to be corrupted, as will be mentioned below." And he certainly notes certain corruptions, to which he joins all those things that are read there concerning the transformation of Faustinianus's countenance. But others, with Bellarmine, lean more toward the opinion of Epiphanius; and they assert that these books were foully corrupted by heretics. But the more common opinion of other critics of this time denies that Clement is the author of those books, and affirms that they were depraved by some writer of the second century, and that they are replete with fables, trifles, dreams, lies, and inept, absurd, and ridiculous speeches and disputations; and finally that in them is found a fragment from the book of Bardesanes the Syrian, published against the astronomer Abydenus, transcribed word for word. That fragment, moreover, begins with these words: "Finally, the first Seres, who at the beginning of the earth, etc."

But if one is asked what is to be thought of these books, or to which opinion one should adhere, we will say that, in the way they are now and have been represented for so many centuries, they did not proceed from Clement of Rome. For it is agreed that whatever is narrated there concerning the change of Faustinianus's countenance, and afterwards, is entirely fictitious and openly false. And indeed, the very lies that are attributed there to Peter, the prince of the apostles, demonstrate this invincibly. Nor do the remaining things which we read in the rest of the work seem to us any more deserving of being attributed to Clement. For the journey of Mathidia, and the shipwreck of her sons Niceta and Aquila, their eventually fortuitous encounters, by which they are said to have recognized one another and their father Faustinianus and Clement himself, are plainly fabulous and gratuitously invented. Even grant that these things be most true; what, however, is more abhorrent to probability than the words and discourses which Peter is claimed to have had with his own and with the people? For how many trifles, ineptitudes, fables, how many childish, ridiculous, and insipid things, how many errors and lies occur there, good God? How beautifully ^A Peter plays the dialectician and sophist there, far more subtle than Simon Magus himself! And what can be said of his manner of living, of rising early, of instituting and ordering disputes, of entering into cities, and of separating himself from those who were not baptized? Do not these all clearly argue for the supposititious nature of this work? What is still more fabulous than that disputation in which the individual apostles are feigned to have contended, each in his own order, against Caiaphas, the Samaritans, the Scribes, and the other Jews? Finally, in that whole work we discover no marks, no characters of him to whom it is ascribed—that is to say, of Clement, the Roman pontiff, disciple of the apostles. Which fact will indeed be easily proven by any fair judge of matters, from the analysis of this work which we have provided.

ARTICLE VI. Whether anything from Clement survives in these books; and who is their author, and at what time were they written.

But, you ask, is there nothing at all left in the whole work that proceeded from Clement himself? That this question may be sufficiently satisfied, I wish you to observe that it is to be gathered from the points of reasoning that we have brought forward, that those who think that the greatest part of this work—with the exception of those things which were added by the depravity of heretics—ought to be adjudged to our Clement, are far from the truth.

Concerning the opinion of Epiphanius, however, which pronounces that a few things remained intact in these books, written by Clement, it is difficult to define anything certain. For since the epistles in which Clement complained of the corruption of his work perpetrated by heretics have not come down to us, we certainly cannot divine which are those few things that the heretics left intact. Wherefore, unless those few things are clearly and specifically demonstrated, it will be more easily persuaded to us that nothing in the whole work is sound, but that everything has been corrupted and depraved. But if Epiphanius found certain few things [that remained] sincere and genuine in his time, he seems not without reason to have fallen upon other manuscripts than those which survive today.

Furthermore, although the name of the author from whom that corrupted work proceeded has until now been unknown and undiscovered, yet because he composed it first in Greek, it is indeed very probable that he was a certain Greek man. He was, moreover, a dialectician and a very sharp disputer, who was extremely well versed in the various opinions of the philosophers, in astrology, mythology, all the fables of the pagans and their allegorical interpretations, and finally in the various laws, mores, and customs of various peoples. But he was entirely addicted to the errors of the heretics and especially of the Ebionites, and in order to dispense these more easily in his lucubrations, he wished them to be inscribed with the great name of Clement, the disciple of the apostles, having falsely used it.

"See Euseb., lib. vi, *Praeparatio evangelica*.

Finally, it is somewhat difficult to define the time when he himself brought these same books to light. But since Origen not only cited them but also transcribed a long fragment from them, it is clear that they are older than Origen himself. Indeed, it is not without reason that they are said to have been published for the general public in the second century of the Church. This can again be confirmed by the fact that Bardesanes the Syrian, as we have said, also translated another fragment, no less lengthy, into his book against Marcion. For that Bardesanes dedicated this same book to the Emperor Antoninus during the pontificate of Soter, a little after the middle of the second century. By then, therefore, those books of the Clementine Recognitions were already widely known. ^A

ARTICLE VII. Whether these books have come down to us as they were produced by their author; and concerning their utility, titles, and editions.

Furthermore, these books, however adulterated and corrupt they may have been, have not come down to us in the state in which they were written by their author. For there are currently no Greek manuscript codices of them to be found, which Rufinus and Photius testify were numerous in their time: we have only the Latin version of this work by Rufinus, who, as we have warned, ingenuously confessed that he had omitted several passages and had not wished to render them into Latin. And indeed, in his edition of these books, Cotelerius restored from three manuscripts—the Sorbonne, the Thuane, and the Candelerian—a fragment which he believes to be that very one concerning which our author, according to Rufinus, discoursed on the unbegotten and the begotten God; and because it favored the Arians, it had been intentionally omitted by that same Rufinus. Furthermore, if credit is to be given to that same Rufinus and to Photius, these books were depraved and adulterated by the Eunomians and Arians, who were far later than their original author.

Wherefore, although these same books are of the greatest antiquity, they must nevertheless be read with cautious and prudent eyes, since they were wickedly corrupted at various times by those who were attempting in whatever way they could to disseminate their own errors. ^B Yet they can still bring some profit to those who are not entirely imprudent, for the reason that they are an apology and defense of the Christian religion, through which the fables of the pagans, idolatry, the worship of false gods, and the errors of those who say that a fatal necessity is imposed upon man by the influence of the stars are impugned and destroyed. Nor will they be entirely useless to those who may wish to learn about the various opinions of the philosophers, the various customs and habits of different peoples, and the allegorical explanations of fables.

With regard to those who have cited them, various titles are prefixed. Sometimes they are called *Clement’s Recognition*, or *Recognitions*, *Clement’s Itinerary*, *Itinerary book of the Preaching of Peter*, *The Deeds of Clement*, or *History*, or *Chronicles*, or *Narrative*, and sometimes *The Journeys of Peter*, or *Circuits*, or *Itinerary*, or *Acts*. These were subsequently published in print from two manuscripts, along with various letters of certain supreme pontiffs, under the editorship of Johann Sichard in the year 1526. Later, Lambert Gruter of Venradius had them printed again, and claims to have corrected certain things in them. But since he said that he did not derive these corrections from manuscripts, it seems he arrived at them merely through his own conjectures. Nevertheless, from this edition, these books were again brought to light in the library at Lyons. Cotelerius, however, wished them to be published with the works of the Fathers who flourished in the apostolic times, and he testifies that he prepared this edition with the help of six manuscript codices, namely the Sorbonne, the Thuane, the Petri Candelerii, the Regis, the Petri Petiti, and the Discalced Carmelites. ^C Furthermore, we have in our possession another codex, written four hundred years ago, from the Colbertine library.

ARTICLE VIII. Concerning various notes and observations on these books, and other books published by the same author.

Gruter published some scholia on these books, which are neither of great importance nor of much utility. But Cotelerius wrote more learned and useful notes and observations on these books, by which the author's text is corrected and clarified. He warns, however, that he did not go through the greater part of the Recognitions with notes, because they pertain more to human disciplines than to theology. Yet he did write not a few animadversions on philosophical matters. And perhaps other things observed by him would have been no less pleasing and useful to the readers if he had digressed less often from the proposed text of the author.

One thing must be added to all these, namely, that our author, if he deserves any credit, composed many other books from the things he had heard from Peter. These, however, he enumerates accurately (Lib. 1, 3, 5), namely, the book *On the True Prophet*, the book *On the Predestination of God*, and ten other books besides the published *Recognitions*, the arguments of each of which he sets forth: and other little books composed from Peter's responses to the questions of his disciples. Whether, however, these books were ever brought to light or are merely sold falsely and deceptively through the vain ostentation of a lying writer can deservedly be called into doubt. But if they did ever appear in public, they are no less suppositious and adulterated than those we have discussed hitherto. ^D

J. B. COTELERIUS’ JUDGMENT ON THE BOOKS OF THE RECOGNITIONS.

As far as can be gathered from the matter itself, from the testimonies of the ancients, and from the judgments of more recent writers, these books are pseudepigraphical and apocryphal, composed in the second century by a man who was indeed learned and eloquent, but more a philosopher and philologist than a theologian, and who was clearly crude in devising and connecting fictional narratives. And he seems to be the creator of most, or at least some, of the apocrypha which bore the name of Peter or Clement, such as the Acts of Peter, the Doctrine of Peter, the Judgment of Peter, the Apocalypse or Revelation of Peter, the Preaching of Peter, the Gospel of Peter, the Clementines, and the Disputation of Peter and Apion—to which one might now add, from the list of works of the Rev. Father John Michael Vansleb of the Order of Preachers, the Epistle of Peter to Clement in the Ethiopic language. The work is titled in whole and in parts, and that either by Clement or by Peter. By Clement it is called: The Recognitions of Clement, and The Recognition; The Itinerary of Clement, Deeds, History, History [sic], Chronicles, and Clement. By Peter: The Periods and Itinerary of Peter; The Acts of Peter, through Clement, that is—others call them the Acts of Peter, as if Peter were the author—and the Disputation of Peter with Apion, for it is rightly considered to be part of the work. The Oxford Codex: The Itinerary of Clement of Rome to James, brother of the Lord. In the house of the Discalced Carmelites in this city: The Itinerary of Clement. In the Thuanian Library: The Itinerary Book of the Preaching of Peter. In the manuscript of the distinguished Peter Candelerius: The Deeds of Clement. In the library of the Most Christian King, and of our Sorbonne, and that of the royal printer Peter Petit: The History of Clement. The Munich library edition: The Narrative of the holy Martyr Clement, bishop of Rome, disciple of St. Peter, sent to James, brother of the Lord, bishop of Jerusalem. ^A John of Antioch, in the Appendix to the Council of Basel, in speaking of the Chronicles of Clement. Rufinus, however, concludes his translation of Origen’s Commentaries on the Epistle to the Romans—not, indeed, according to the editions, but from an excellent manuscript of the Thuanian library—as follows: "After this, he truly calls us to a work which was indeed enjoined a long time ago, but is now more urgently pressed by the blessed bishop Gaudentius, namely, the books of Clement of Rome, bishop, companion of the apostles and successor, regarding the Recognition, so that they may be translated into Latin. In which work, I well know that the labor will be taken up by multiple portions. I will certainly satisfy my friends in this. I will give it my name in the title, while the author's name remains nonetheless. For it will be inscribed as Rufinus's Clement." Added to the variety of the title is a diversity of text and translation of much greater importance—for it was distractedly, divisively, variedly, and in miserable ways interpolated, increased, diminished, and abridged, and indeed corrupted by heretics, with many errors inserted; the task of removing a part of which fell both to Rufinus the interpreter and to him who made the Epitome. ^B That it is the preface of Rufinus Turanius, or, as others call him, Turanius, Torannius, Turranius, Tyrannius, together with the following translation, the style proclaims, as do Gennadius, Aldhelm, Anastasius Bibliothecarius, and Rufinus himself; and likewise the book of the Discalced Carmelites, which begins thus: "The preface of Rufinus the priest to bishop Gaudentius on the Itinerary of Clement, translated by him from Greek into Latin." And after the preface, and Clement’s epistle to James, it has written: "The first book of the Itinerary of Clement, successor of the apostle Peter, begins, translated by Rufinus." But if anyone should object regarding the letter of Paulinus 47, he will receive the answer that it is neither of undoubted authority, nor is there any mention of the Recognitions in it. ^C

ON THE ANONYMOUS AUTHOR OF THE CLEMENTINE RECOGNITIONS.

SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS. I. The author of the Recognitions is investigated. II. The era is determined. Why the work is inscribed with the title of Recognition.

^A The books of the Recognitions clearly had another architect, after Peter, the third or fourth pontiff of the Roman Church. Regarding his age, it is established that he flourished before Origen. For Origen, who began to flourish under Elagabalus, is the first of all to bring forward testimonies from it—as from a writer already known, and indeed distinguished by the name of Clement—once and then again (18). Wherefore the artificer of the Clementine work cannot be called younger than Origen, but rather a little older; which naturally pertains to the time of the writing. Before Origen, or the third century of Christ our Lord, no one ever praised the Recognitions, and no one made mention of the Clementines. Two things reveal that the author of the books lived no later than the third century of Christ. One is that, having stolen a rather long piece from the Syriac dialogue of Bardesanes *On Fate* against Abidas the astrologer, he made it his own. The other is that he speaks not obscurely ^B of the Roman state as dominating the whole world. Yet Bardesanes flourished under M. Aurelius Augustus around the year 171, to whom he dedicated his Dialogue. But Caracalla, around the year 215, was the first of all to order, by an issued constitution, that the nations subject to the Roman empire, which had previously used their own laws, should transition to the rights of the City, the mistress of things. From these we perceive how greatly they are mistaken who wished to predefine the age of the Clementine writer to the second century. The line of these is led by Blondel (19), to whom were joined Cotelier (20) and Grabe (21). Yet Sixtus Senensis (22) had preceded all of them in this same opinion.

II. Dodwell thinks the Recognitions were compiled (23) between the years of the common era 218 and 231. He would have spoken more truly had he said between the years 211 and 217. For in the year 211 Caracalla began to reign alone, the author of the new constitution I mentioned, which is praised in the books of the Recognitions. Soon, in that same year 217, Caracalla was killed. By these facts the greatest error of Allix is repelled, who says (24) that the pseudo-Clement lived not long before Sulpicius, before whom he had lived, however, for two hundred years. Origen, the first herald of the Recognitions, fleeing the wrath of Caracalla, first withdrew from Alexandria into Palestine. Twice he traveled thither, as Huet observes (25). ^C Origen’s prior journey into Palestine, where he fixed his foot and became known to holy Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, is fixed by Huet to the year of the Lord 215. From this journey, after Caracalla was killed in the year 217, Origen, returning from Jerusalem to Alexandria, must be said to have brought the Recognitions with him, whence he himself mixed their sentiments into his own Commentaries; of which Eusebius shows (26) that the first eight tomes on Genesis were written at Alexandria from their ninth tome, and indeed after that first journey of Origen into Palestine. We easily believe with Blondel that the Recognitions were compiled in Palestine, since in them the throne of the Church of Jerusalem is exalted above the rest.

Furthermore, the word "Recognitions" clung to the work from its subject matter. For a recognition, or "Agnition," arises, as Aristotle says in his *Poetics*, when people, once very closely joined, eventually, after many accidents in tragedies and comedies, unexpectedly recognize one another. Thus, clearly, in this composition of the pseudo-Clement, it happens to Faustinianus, Mathidia, and the children—Clement, Faustus, and Faustinus. Thus, it becomes quite likely to Dodwell (27) that the work received not only the inscription but also a poetic form.

III. Pope Gelasius, in his genuine Decree, from the very ancient Vatican codex edited by me long ago (28), pronounced this censure concerning the Recognitions translated by Rufinus: *The Itinerary, in the name of Peter the apostle, which is called the work of Saint Clement, is apocryphal.* Here, as in other editions, the number of books is not explained, because that depended on the whim of the copyists. Gelasius said that it was indeed called the work of Saint Clement, but that it was not his; and he stripped it of public reading and canonical authority with the term "apocryphal." That Gelasius, defining it thus in the Roman council of seventy bishops, indicated the Clementine Recognitions translated by Rufinus under the name of the *Itinerary*, there is no doubt. Yet, for that reason, private authority among many writers of the Latin Church was not lacking for them. Regarding the Greeks ^D...

I do not speak. (But this matter must be dealt with shortly, where we treat of the Latin version of Rufinus.) Otherwise, we agree with Nourry that these books, although apocryphal, that is, lacking public authority, nevertheless, since they are of the greatest antiquity, can provide no small benefit. For they are an Apology for the Christian religion; and within them, the fables of the gentiles, their ethnic cults, and the errors of those who assert these things are refuted. Nor will the work be useless for those who wish to know the opinions of philosophers, the customs of nations, their ways of life, and allegorical explanations of fables. Nor would it be easy to understand many Latin passages if we lacked these *Recognitions*. This is also admitted by the author of the preface to the new Cotelerius edition, who otherwise, as is his habit, says not a few things incorrectly. We refrain from sketching an analysis of the books, since that praised Nourry has already done so (vid. supra).

Although we do not deny that the original and primary author of the *Recognitions* abounds in doctrine and in the variety and abundance of subject matter, no one fails to see that he reveals himself as a philosopher: yet certainly a Catholic one, even if more of a philologist than a theologian. I will not pass over the words of Cotelerius, who has encompassed the arguments of the whole commentary in the preface to his own edition, where he calls the work a synthesis filled with theological, historical, philosophical, and astrological matters. To this we may add Barthius, who says that the books are ancient and full of good things. He illustrates them many times over, and even lashes them with sharp censure, calling them an old fragment, and one translated into Latin when the style of speaking was not yet stained with too many barbarisms; nor does it smell of the mixture of Goths or such dross of old, even if it is not without its own flaws. He concludes the matter by saying that, for the sake of good *monitors*, he willingly reads through such things: "I am," he says, "as secure concerning their truth as if we were reading Apuleius, or some Apollonius, or Philostratus." Barthius is indeed right in such a judgment concerning historical truth, if you look to that from time to time. But it is not so regarding dogma, of which Lambertus Gruterus thinks differently: "Nowhere in this book," he says, "is the free will of man, the power, necessity, and dignity of baptism and the eucharist un- ^B defended. Furthermore, the trinity of persons of the one God, and providence are established. Likewise, it is taught that miracles performed at the sepulchers of martyrs are not to be held in contempt." But there are, nonetheless, certain places here, like flaws, which the pious reader ought either to read cautiously or hold in suspicion. Lest anyone be deceived, these things of this kind are noted by markers in their proper places, so that one may observe them. These flaws, explained by Gruterus, are six in number, which may be seen in his work. (Regarding this same opinion of Gruterus, see also what has been noted below by the most learned man Maranus, where the discourse is on the *Clementines*). Finally, let us add the judgment of Hugo Grotius upon these books: "The books," he says, "which are called *Recognitions*, are of weight with me only so far as they agree with the sayings of others. Otherwise, I approve of the judgment of Cardinal Baronius regarding them, who says, following Epiphanius, Rufinus, and others, that very many things were added to these books, and among them all those fables about what Peter is said to have done against Simon at Caesarea."

^C Furthermore, almost all writers of every Catholic order deny that the *Recognitions* belong to Clement of Rome.

First, from the senate of Cardinals, Baronius, admirable for his prudence and gravity. Baronius is followed by Bellarminus. From the order of bishops, Carolus Bovius, prelate of Ostuni. From the order of Preachers, Franciscus Victoria. From the presbyters of the Society of Jesus, Benedictus Pererius, Joannes Lorinus, Nicolaus Serarius, Antonius Possevinus. From the University of Louvain, Joannes Driedo. From the University of Paris, Natalis Beda.

IV. Now, however, we must treat of the Latin version of the ^D *Recognitions*. Paulinus of Nola, when Rufinus was about to go to Rome from the monastery of Pinetum, greeted him most humanely by letter, having given thanks to his friend because he had reminded him to study the Greek language more attentively, after he had transmitted to the same Rufinus the Latin edition of the works of Saint Clement that he himself had adorned. That holy and most modest man attributes it to his own lack of skill that in some places he translated the sense rather than the words, inasmuch as they were not understood by him. But let us hear Paulinus himself speaking: "Truly," he says, "that which you deign to advise with that affection with which you love us just as you love yourself, that I should study the Greek language more attentively, I accept willingly: but I am unable to fulfill it, unless perhaps the Lord aids my desires, that I might enjoy your company longer. For how shall I be able to make progress in an unknown language, if I lack one from whom I might learn what is unknown? For I believe that in the translation of Saint Clement, besides other defects of my own genius,

^A I have considered my own scarcity of skill, because I have translated some things in which I could not understand or express the words, by having rather grasped the sense, or, if I may speak more truly, by having conjectured its meaning: for which I am the more in need of the mercy of God, that He may grant me a fuller store; for to a poor man it will be as wealth, to pick up from the table of the rich, the crumbs falling to the ground, with the dry mouth of a famished heart.

That Paulinus is speaking here of Clement of Rome, there is no reason for anyone to doubt with Heribert Rosweydus. For he is distinguished by his own name from the Alexandrian and others, antonomastically among the ancients. Rufinus, who had brought the Clementine *Recognitions*, divided into ten books, from the East along with many other Greek codices, had, upon returning to Italy, entrusted them to his host Paulinus to be translated. But Paulinus, having begun the translation, did not by any means put the finishing touch to it, because Rufinus, from a sample sent to him, had perceived that it was executed with less accuracy, and had benevolently exhorted the holy man to apply greater study to the Greek letters. Paulinus reveals all these things to us. Rosweydus warns in his notes that either Rufinus or Paulinus had interpolated the translation, or that they were those new Clementines. A learned man ought not to be stalled by this manifest matter. For this latter is most certain. Nor would Rufinus have usurped another's translation, and one not approved by himself. This doubt of Rosweydus is sufficiently demolished by the fact that Paulinus says that in some places, where he could not understand the words, he translated by having rather grasped the sense. Rufinus, indeed, professes that he departed not only from the opinions but not even from the very discourses and elocutions: which matter, he says, although it renders the eloquence less ornate, yet renders the narration more faithful.

V. Rufinus had undertaken this labor of his Clementine translation, having been asked long ago by the holy virgin Silvia, whom Paulinus praises writing to Severus (46), having testified that she had brought relics of many martyrs from the East into Italy. Of her, Rufinus says in the prologue of the Clementine work to Gaudentius the Bishop of Brescia: "We," he says, "whom the poverty of our wit renders less prompt, and old age already renders slow and sluggish, the work which once the venerable Silvia of memory enjoined, that we should restore Clement to our own tongue, and which you afterwards demanded by hereditary right, ^B to which she herself had pledged it, died at Brescia in the see of Gaudentius, where her body rests in the house of Saint Lawrence, and her memory is kept on the 15th of December (47). Palladius, who in the *Lausiac History* testifies that he had sought out Egypt with Silvia, who was sixty years of age (48), calls her Salvia, or otherwise Silvania, and the sister of the ex-prefect Rufinus. In an old version of the same history of his, however, which is inscribed *The Paradise of Heraclides*, he does not say Silvania or Salvia, but Silvia (49). Both, however, Palladius and Heraclides, at the beginning of the subsequent chapter II, state that holy Olympias, the deaconess of the church of Constantinople, proposed the extraordinary virtues of Silvia for herself to imitate. Indeed, such was the renown and fame of the sanctity of Silvia, that she was given as an example to others!

The term ex-prefect, in Greek *tou apo eparchon*, there is no reason why Tillemont should say it should be referred to the time of the journey of Palladius with Silvia, or to the year 388 (50), when it ought to be referred truly to the year 420, when Palladius was writing. For Rufinus, the brother of Silvia, and the praetorian prefect in the East under Arcadius Augustus, paid the penalty for affected tyranny at Constantinople on the 5th of the Kalends of December, a.d. 395, and therefore after the year 388, from Philostorgius (51) and Socrates (52). With her brother Rufinus removed, his sister Silvia crossed over into Italy, where she was present in the year 398, from Paulinus (55). For in this year after the feast of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, as we have said (54), Paulinus sent Victor into Aquitania to Severus with the cited epistle 34, to which he added for the consecration of the new basilica a particle of the most holy cross, obtained from Melania. But he did not so add the sacred ashes requested by Severus, which he said he lacked. He says, however, that Victor has a copious hope of the same grace from Saint Silvia, who had promised him from the relics of many martyrs in the East. Therefore, Silvia had returned from the East into Italy by that time. Having died at Brescia around the end of the century, Gaudentius, the bishop of the city, requested by hereditary right the Clementine *Recognitions*, which our Rufinus had long before pledged to Silvia while she was alive. The same Rufinus, at the end of the peroration of his commentaries on the Epistle of Origen to the Romans, had pledged his faith to Gaudentius with these words: "After this ^C he indeed calls the work to us, which was once indeed enjoined (by Silvia). But now (after the death of Silvia) he is more vehemently urged by the blessed Bishop Gaudentius, namely, concerning Clement the Roman Bishop, the companion of the apostles: so that I might provide knowledge to their successors, the books are translated by us into Latin."

Rosweydus in his notes to Paulinus' epistle 47, which in the new edition is 46, and after him Cotelerius on the *Recognitions*, are equally uncertain, Gau-

- ^A dentius the bishop, to whom he inscribed that work, whether it was the Brescian or the Novarian, remained a doubt. The first publisher of the book, Jacobus Faber Stapulensis, turned elsewhere, having before his eyes Gaudentius the glorious martyr of Christ and bishop of Rimini: who, however, before that, under Constantius Augustus, had shed his blood for Christ so long before. While various people in this way saw the saw being drawn back and forth, how much better did David Blondellus understand it regarding the Brescian, entirely! Let us hear Rufinus in his preface to Gaudentius clearly proving this: "To you indeed, Gaudentius, the distinguished ornament of our learned men, there is such vigor of mind, or rather such grace of the Spirit, that if anything is said by you even in the manner of daily speech; if anything is declaimed in the church, it deserves to be held in books and to be handed down for the instruction of posterity." Further down: "It is fair indeed for you, who have also read these things in Greek (lest perhaps in some places you find the order of translation kept by us), to indicate the counsel of our interpretation." These praises heaped upon bishop Gaudentius by Rufinus can be applied to the Brescian alone; to no one else. For he was indeed a doctor or an ^B eminent expositor. For that those who would expound and teach the word of God and the sacred scriptures, either by voice or by writing, were called such by ecclesiastical writers everywhere, Franciscus Bernardinus Ferrarius noted, also adducing the example of Gaudentius of Brescia, by whom his *Sermons*, declaimed in the church, as Rufinus likes to say, are called "treatises" in the preface to Benivolus. That same eminent bishop says that he had learned that, by note-takers secretly stationed, his treatises had been collected from the mouth of the speaker. Rufinus says this same thing in these words: "If anything is said by you, even in the manner of daily speech, if anything is declaimed in the church, and we see it being handed down for instruction, it is by those, of course, who were sending forth note-takers to catch all those things privately." Gaudentius, by Rufinus' witness, was skilled in Greek letters. And why not, the man who testifies that he had undertaken sacred pilgrimages through the East, where the fame of his virtues reached so far that, by the persuasion of the Oriental prelates, after the death of Philastrius, he had placed the burden of the episcopate upon his shoulders, it having been announced to him by his own people through a mission sent there? In the same place he clung in strict intimacy to John Chrysostom before he was a bishop; and for him, later cast out of his bishopric, he was sent to Constantinople as a legate of the Roman Church. To the 16th sermon of the same Gaudentius, the 184th epistle of Chrysostom, the 4th chapter of Palladius' *Dialogue*, and Nicephorus Callistus, book XIII, chapter 22. So there remains no doubt that Gaudentius the bishop to whom Rufinus dedicated his Clement was indeed the Brescian, and no other.

VI. I have pursued these things at greater length because of very learned men, Sixtus Senensis and the venerable Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, who too hastily held Rufinus' preface to Gaudentius as fake. I shall bring forward Bellarmine's words because of the gloss that Labbeus attaches to them: "Just as the *Recognitions* themselves are perhaps falsely attributed to Clement, so also it is not incredible that the preface of Rufinus, as the interpreter, was falsely attached to them." To this Labbeus writes: "But Gennadius, and his followers Honorius and Trithemius, did not recognize this imposture." After John Rainoldus, a writer of our own, in his *Censura apocryphorum*, Gerardus Joannes Vossius looked at it in the same light as Sixtus and Bellarmine, calling it a preface of Rufinus or another under his name. Nay, he signifies that he prefers to believe that not only the preface is entirely fictitious, but that the books of the *Recognitions* themselves were translated by someone other than Rufinus. Gaspar Barthius had preceded Vossius in this error with these words: "Whether the books inscribed with the title of Clement’s *Recognitions* have Clement as the author and Rufinus as the interpreter, is not easy to decide." I would not wish for such things to have escaped men most cultivated in literature. Is it difficult to decide what the thick and rich authority of ancient monuments proves? Is Rufinus himself nothing in the peroration of the *Commentaries on Origen on the Epistle of Paul to the Romans*, where, at the urgent insistence of Bishop Gaudentius, he says he is devoting labor to making Clement into Latin? Is Gennadius nothing, relating that the books of Clement of Rome’s *Recognitions* were rendered into Latin by Rufinus? The road to travel becomes long if I should then wish to run through others testifying to the same thing. But I will not allow some to go unmentioned. Anastasius the Librarian in his epistle to John the Deacon: "Clement," he says, "whom Rufinus, writing to Gaudentius, hints was rendered, restored, and returned into our language." Treating also of Rufinus' version, Saint Isidore, bishop of Seville, adduces testimony from it. Saint Aldhelm praises the *Itinerary of Peter* (these are Clement’s *Recognitions*), turning it from the libraries of the Greeks into Latin by Rufinus. In addition to this, Bede uses the *Recognitions*. Likewise Agobard, Freculf, Hincmar, and Honorius. All the manuscript codes of the *Recognitions* agree with such clear witnesses, bearing the name of Rufinus the interpreter. Where ^{C D}

^A less learned men, rushing off to other things, have missed these, there is no doubt; otherwise they would not have taken a certainty for a mere fabrication. Among those more recent, Cotelerius says that the preface to Gaudentius, as well as the translation of the whole work, is proved to be Rufinus's—even by its style (71)—and he vindicates both for Rufinus through the protection of the older manuscripts. For the one he praises begins thus: *The preface of Rufinus the presbyter to Gaudentius the bishop on the Itinerary of Clement; converted by him from Greek into Latin.* And after the preface and the letter of Clement to James, it has: *The first book of the Itinerary of Clement, successor of the Apostle Peter, begins, translated by Rufinus.* Furthermore, Bellarmine acknowledged that the Clementine *Recognitions* were translated by Rufinus: for, in the judgment of Baronius (72), there is no one who ought to doubt, since Gennadius himself testifies this of Rufinus. And yet we find ourselves listening to Dupin (73), who attributes to Bellarmine an entirely different opinion—namely, the one we have refuted. Nor do we find the librarian Anastasius caught in any less gross an error in the letter just adduced, and along with him, among more recent writers, Petrus Daniel Huetius (74), when they took these words, with which Rufinus begins his preface to Gaudentius ("in order that we might render Clement into our own tongue"), as if the *Recognitions* themselves had first been written in Latin, subsequently lost, and finally restored from Greek into Latin by Rufinus, and not translated from the Greek. But plainly this is something else; Rufinus did not write this, and those learned men were led into error because they only glanced hastily at the words, as often happens.

VII. Nor should we entirely pass over another place in Bellarmine, where he writes these things regarding the Clementine *Recognitions* (75): "According to Epiphanius, in heresy xxx, Clement himself testifies that the *Circuits* of Peter, written by him, had been corrupted by heretics." This man of the purple robe drew these things from the great *Annals* (76). But Lucas Holstenius discovered that Epiphanius did not say this, but that those *Periods* are convicted of falsehood from the encyclical letters of blessed Clement that are read in the churches. For they neither accord with the style of holy Clement, nor with his manner of teaching. These are the words of Holstenius in his manuscript notes on Bellarmine's *Catalog*, kept in our Museum. I have pointed out the lapse of so great a man, so that it may no longer be a source of offense to anyone on account of the authority of the speaker, as it was recently for another learned man—whom I ought not to name while correcting him, lest I seem to injure the friendship that exists between me and him. The same Epiphanius testifies that the books of Clement were corrupted by the Ebionites (77). Photius also calls the work (78) full of absurd trifles, and not without many blasphemies against the Son from the opinion of Arius. These things were persuaded by the theologian Dionysius Petavius (79); Photius’s codes were more corrupted than the interpretation of Rufinus, who had removed those things which, having been injected by heretics, especially the Eunomians, the same Rufinus had warned of in his little work *On the Adulteration of the Books of Origen*, since, by the witness of the same Rufinus, the ecclesiastical rule entirely forbids receiving them. But memory must recall that two old editions of the *Recognitions* are indicated by Rufinus in his preface to Gaudentius: "Know," he says, "that it is not hidden from you (Gaudentius) that in the Greek [original] of this work of Clement—that is, of the *Recognitions*—THERE ARE TWO EDITIONS: in some respects indeed different, yet in many, the same narrative." Finally, the last part of this work, in which the transformation of Simon is related, is had in ONE BODY. Moreover, there are also certain things in EACH BODY discoursed upon concerning the Unbegotten God and the Begotten and about some other things, which, to say nothing more, have exceeded our understanding. Now consider which edition of the Clementine work Epiphanius and Photius were criticizing. Certainly not the one that Rufinus turned into Latin. For this is free from the depravations of heretics; and holy men Paulinus and Gaudentius, who labored to have it given to Latium through a friend, bid us to believe that even in the Greek it had been free of them.

Furthermore, Jacob Faber in the margin of Rufinus's preface to Gaudentius, where it treats of the Unbegotten and Begotten God, annotated these words: "That part concerning the Unbegotten and Begotten God is known to have been vitiated by Eunomius or by others who followed the errors of Eunomius; even as Paul's epistle to the Corinthians had been corrupted by Marcion." Rightly, therefore, that [text] of Eunomius was not to be interpreted, just as Marcion was not [to be interpreted] in Paul. That scholion is missing in other editions, even in the Coteleriana itself; although in the Cologne edition of the year 1547, a very similar scholion might be read in the margin with these words: "I suspect these things were corrupted by Eunomius, just as the epistle of Paul to the Corinthians by Marcion." However, these things which Rufinus omitted in his Clement as corrupted by heretics, Cotelerius found the rest of his version inserted in three codices: the Candelarian, the Sorbonic, and the Thuanian; and there are ten chapters closed between the first and the twelfth, about which he says: "I do not know, therefore, who it was who took what had been omitted by Rufinus in order to interpret it." This betrays an addition, unless I am mistaken, to the version of Rufinus, revised and collated in ancient times against Greek exemplars.

VIII. Now let us come to the letter placed subject to the books of the *Recognitions*. At Rome from the house of the Roman people, in the year 1591, there appeared the letters of the supreme pontiffs, divided into three volumes: in the first of which, before all others, stands forth that which is called the Clementine epistle to James, the brother of the Lord, translated by Rufinus.

^A On page 7, a spurious appendix is noted in the margin with the title: *Compendium of the Christian Faith*. Labbe, who inserted it in volume I of his *Councils*, p. 89, writes concerning this supplement: "Here ends the epistle in some codices; the rest is added in the place of an appendix about the year 800, as it seems." Mabillon says almost the same thing. Petrus Crabbe had inserted the epistle, joined to the supplement, in volume I of his *Councils*, p. 14, Cologne edition, 1538. But Sichard, in his first edition of the *Recognitions* in 1526, had appended as the fourth of the epistles of Clement an appendix entitled: *Compendium of the Faith*. This is joined to the epistle itself in his second edition of 1536. Gruter also, following Sichard, joined it after the *Apostolic Constitutions*, p. 345, although Faber had separated it before. Theodorus Bibliander, in the book entitled *Christian and Catholic Doctrine*, Basel, by Jacob Parcus, 1550, p. 221, inserted the same epistle as translated by Rufinus, but with the appendix removed. Yet that same epistle had long before been inserted without the name of the translator and without the appendix on page 7 of another book, thus entitled: *Some Illustrious, Grave, and Erudite Epistles, although outside the Canon of the Scriptures, yet Apostolic and Pious*, Augsburg, by Alexander Weyssenhorn, 1529, in 8vo.

Blondel rashly placed it among the epistles of the Pseudo-Isidore, which he habitually attacks with virulent notes. The high regard in which Franciscus Turrianus held it is evident from the fact that he defends it as genuine and, for the strengthening of the Latin version, more than once invokes its Greek context from a Vatican codex ^B. But he does not admit that Rufinus is the author of the version, because it lacks a prologue. But who is unaware that, according to the opinion of Gennadius, Rufinus should have supplied prologues only to the longer Greek writings, not to a short and simple epistle? The testimony of Rufinus himself, who in his preface to Gaudentius asserts that he had long ago translated and edited it, proves the antiquity of the epistle; he did not place it before the *Recognitions* because it is later in time, namely because the *Recognitions* were thought to have been written by Clement beforehand. Cotelier followed this design of Rufinus and he himself placed it after the Clementine work, although he had found it inserted between the preface and the *Recognitions* in the Carmel codex. Indeed, the codices which Stapulensis used also had it inserted; and Photius also openly says concerning it ^C.

That the epistle of Clement to James, which Rufinus turned into Latin, is therefore the pure and genuine text which passes through everyone’s hands cannot be rightly doubted; nor indeed does Bellarmine doubt it. Blondel himself sufficiently proves this same thing, even though he mingles the poison of his own sect with his criticism. When Cotelier had edited the same epistle in Greek and Latin after the *Recognitions* without any addition, he soon appended the interpretation of Rufinus, collated as usual with old editions and manuscript codices, and divided into 20 chapters: the twenty-second of which he observed being cited in the first Council of Vaison, held in the year 442, can. 6, in the *Capitularies of the Kings of the Franks*, and in the Council of Metz, can. 12. It is also cited by Nicholas I, epist. 49, by John VIII, epist. 234, and by Gregory VII, lib. VII, epist. 21. Sidonius alluded to its title long before in lib. VI, epist. 1, and the Librarian commended it in Clement. It is believed to be very ancient, just as the books of the *Recognitions* are. But before Blondel, five distinguished Cardinals of the S. R. E. had judged it against Clement: Turrecremata, Cusanus, Baronius, Bellarmine, and Perronius. Among the ancients, Petrus Comestor, and later Marsilius of Padua, and Gobelinus Persona, had decreed the same. Of the third Clementine epistle, the interpretation of which is also attributed to Rufinus, I shall say nothing, since it is clear that it belongs entirely to the wares of Isidore.

^D Thus far the most learned Fontaninus: from whose work, however, we have excerpted only those things which pertained most to our subject, and we have arranged them according to the plan of our undertaking. As for our edition of the *Recognitions*, we have handed over the Cotelier exemplar, the most excellent of all, to be printed. We have restored the better variant readings placed in the margin to their own places. We have placed the editor's observations beneath the text. Moreover, the ancient monuments which the learned man wove into his own notes, in order that the reading of the work might not be too much hindered, we have relegated to an Appendix placed after the *Recognitions*.

RECOGNITIONS. PREFACES.

^A THE RECOGNITIONS OF ST. CLEMENT OF ROME, interpreted by Rufinus, presbyter of Aquileia, expressed according to the faith of the manuscripts and editions, under the editorship of E. G. Gersdorf, Ph. D., Master of Arts, Librarian of the University of Leipzig. First preface, etc. (Leipzig, at the expense of Bernh. Tauchnitz Jr., 1838, in 8vo.)

E. G. GERSDORF'S PREFACE

(Select Library of Latin Ecclesiastical Fathers, edited according to the faith of the best books, under the editorship of E. G. Gersdorf.—Vol. I. The Recognitions of St. Clement of Rome. Leipzig, 1838, in 8vo.)

The *Recognitions*, which circulate under the name of St. Clement of Rome, although diverse judgments were once pronounced concerning them, are now, by the authority of J. L. Mosheim, regarded by most men learned in antiquity and the writings of the ancient Christians as among the most outstanding monuments of the ancient age. For although it can by no means be proven that Clement, who at the close of the first century presided over the Roman Church in the place of the apostle Peter, was the author of these books, and while indeed it seems both verisimilar and probable for many reasons that they were composed at the end of the second or the beginning of the third century, nevertheless, ^B all ancient and modern scholars agree that they are exceptionally suitable, both for understanding the customs and institutions of the Christians who lived in the second century, and for comprehending the conditions of that age and the empty stories of the heretics—composed as they were by a learned man, one who was liberally educated in the study of the sacred books and the disciplines of Greek philosophy. For in order to attack and overthrow the false opinions of that age concerning the divine nature, the author ingeniously devised a story in which the apostle Peter, while traveling and having taken as a companion the Roman citizen Clement—a man learned from his earliest youth in doctrine and the liberal arts—refutes the empty stories and wicked deeds of Simon Magus, the prince of heretics. And from the very history of Clement, who gradually recovers and recognizes his parents and two uterine brothers—long ago snatched away from him by iniquitous fate and separated from one another—the author proves by most serious arguments that a dire necessity is not to be complained of by men, that God provides for human affairs, and that faith in Christ, once these vain and perverse opinions are excised from the minds of men, is truly salutary. But since his adversaries—as many as had embraced the worship of idols, or the opinions of the philosophers, or the decrees of the Jews, or, finally, the tales of the heretics, and were thereby hostile to the sacred Christian faith—were all castigated by this subtle disputation and within a single volume, and because the kind of narration used by the author, being entirely new and unusual, was not displeasing to readers, there already existed in the third century those who, to favor their own sects, interpolated and corrupted these books, whether by adding, diminishing, or by any other means, "falsifying what was in them, and leaving but few things true," as Epiphanius says (Haer. 30, 15; Vol. 1, p. 139, ed. Petav.). (96)

Hence, ancient ecclesiastical writers have used several and most diverse editions of these books, three of which have reached our times: I. The *Recognitions*, which in Greek were called *The Travels of Peter and the Discourses of Clement against Simon Magus, Acts, Readings, Recognition*, and which, translated into Latin by Rufinus, presbyter of the Church of Aquileia, toward the end of the fourth century, are inscribed in the manuscripts in various ways, e.g., *Clement’s Itinerary to James the Brother of the Lord*, *The Itinerary Book of the Preaching of Peter*, *The Deeds or History of Clement*, *Clement’s Books on the Disputation of Peter with Simon Magus*, etc. II. The *Clementines* (*Clement’s Epitome of the Travels and Preachings of Peter*), of which the first eighteen homilies and a part of the nineteenth, which was mutilated, were first edited in Greek by Cotelerius from a Paris manuscript. III. The *Clementines* (an epitome of the deeds of Peter: *Clement’s Account of the Deeds, Travels, and Preachings of the holy and chief of the apostles, Peter, etc.*), of which three recensions, not a little different from one another, according to Cotelerius, are preserved in the Royal Library of Paris, first printed by Adr. Turnebus. Now, if the books of the *Recognitions* are carefully compared with these *Clementines* and the *Epitome*, it is said on probable grounds that they exhibit a version of the *Travels of Peter* older than both, even though they themselves are not entirely free from every fault and error.

(96) Cf. Rufinus, in preface to *Gaudentius*, and his *Adultery of the Books of Origen*, Photius in *Bibliotheca*, cod. 113, all.

CLEMENT I, POPE OF ROME: DOUBTFUL WORKS

^A It will be confirmed without any doubt. Indeed, it is uncertain in such great obscurity of circumstances and in the lack of a faultless edition of the Clementine books what judgment to pass; nor does the nature of our undertaking permit us to propose and judge the opinions of individual learned men (97). The author, by nation a Jew, and by discipline an Alexandrian philosopher, as Mosheim reports, when he turned his mind to the sacred things of the Christian religion, did indeed reject part of the dogmas which he had received from the philosophers, but he also kept for himself very many, which he then adapted to the precepts of the Christian religion, so that a certain new and philosophical kind of religion emerged from it, which the *Clementine* books and the *Recognitions of Clement* exhibit. But there is divided faith concerning Rufinus himself and his method of interpreting Greek authors, and what he added from his own hand or what he omitted (see his preface) is unknown. But what if vain inventions of some foolish man were introduced a second time into the Latin interpretation of Rufinus? For the books written in many places differ so much among themselves (e.g., book 1, c. 2-12, 51-63, and more often) that, in my opinion, there can be no doubt that some of these things are entirely more recent, and some introduced from elsewhere, and things which are added in this or that ancient book are missing in another. ^B However, we have a not insignificant number of manuscript codices as proof that many were delighted by the reading of these books in the Middle Ages, which are preserved in the libraries of Paris, the Bodleian, Oxford, Basel, Bern, the Leipzig Pauline, and many others. Cotelerius, a man very deserving of all Christian antiquity, made use of the Parisian codices (the Royal, the Thuanus, the Sorbonne, that of P. Petitus, and that of the Carmelites) in his edition, but in emending Clement he was so timid and religious that he often dared not correct even the most manifest corruptions of the text, despite the authority of the best books. Grabius copied the Oxford books ^C for the first volume; for the two Bern codices, which Sinner reviewed in his *Catalogue* I, 51, I owe an accurate notice to the singular kindness of Rettig, a most celebrated professor of ancient letters in that city, who, at the urging of the distinguished Sauppe, professor at Zurich and most deserving librarian, examined them for my use. Concerning these, since they generally agree with each other and are reckoned among the best-regarded books, I add this one thing: that the passage of book II, c. 2-12, which is missing in the codex marked no. 164, of the 10th century, is found in the other, no. 66, of the 11th century. But two Leipzig books from the Pauline library were of the greatest help to me in editing this work; they are vellum, of which one (catal. no. 90, formerly of Pegau) is from the 11th century, the other (no. 94) was written in the year of Christ 1218 on the Holy Mountain. To restore the hand of Rufinus, not ignorant that these commentaries were corrupted in almost countless places by a singular kind of corruption, I decided that the readings of both the written books and those of the editors (Sichard of Basel 1526, the Parisian 1541 and 1568, Cotelerius, and Clericus [SS. Patrum apostoll. opp. Vol. I, Amstel. 1726], and finally Galland [Biblioth. vet. Patrum tom. II, Venet. 1756]) must be employed with diligent care. What aids I used, since almost every page was in need of emendation and there still remain even now some places which, deprived of the help of manuscript codices, I preferred to leave intact rather than change rashly—this I do not have time to set forth according to my original plan, and what manner of remedy was applied to each place in such ruin and corruption of the text it is ^D more for others to judge than for me to profess. Nor did I ever doubt that great authority must be attributed to the Leipzig manuscript codices in emending and conforming the books of the *Recognitions*, since I saw them agree with the best codices; but in this, I remain uncertain as to what should be decided about those places which are missing here and there in the Leipzig codices, and which were neither omitted by a negligent scribe nor were absolutely necessary for the series of the discourse and the harmony of the thoughts. To those asking what probable reason can be given for this matter, three things seem especially worthy of consideration: namely, that of those things which are missing in certain most ancient books, some were rashly added by heretics or insipid men more recent than the age of Rufinus, others were deleted by the defenders of the orthodox faith, and others finally were contracted into an epitome as it seemed appropriate for the sake of brevity, as, for example, book 1, c. 23-53, and book 8, c. 5-62. For in this latter place it reads thus in the Leipzig codices: "He will find the things that are unknown. Then Niceta began to explain to him openly and clearly both that God exists and that the world is ruled by His providence." (c. 41.) "Successor to him, Aquila confirmed with most firm assertions whatever had been said only partially by his brother, so that the old man said they were so prudently and strongly defended that nothing better could be said on the investigation of this matter. But he said that for this matter he was only troubled for himself, because he did not think that anything happened outside of genesis, saying that everything happened to him through the necessity of genesis." (c. 57.) "If, says Aquila, he attained the knowledge of mathematics from that very discipline." (c. 58.) "When Aquila had said these things and, 'I, Clement,' I said, 'do you say, father?' (c. 62.) 'Peter arose and dismissed the crowds,' etc." In such great obscurity and hesitation of affairs, therefore, when ten years ago I was engaged in a larger edition of the Clementine books, and I knew from the library catalogue (Biblioth. I, p. 106) that an accurate interpretation of the *Recognitions* could be found in the Royal Library of Paris, I easily persuaded Fleischer, that most beloved student of the distinguished Silvestre de Sacy at that time and now a most illustrious professor of oriental languages at our university, to communicate to me an accurate notice of the book he had perused. But the hope I placed in the Arabic version was frustrated for me. The Parisian manuscript codex, which is marked no. 70 among the oriental ones and is titled *Testament of Christ the Lord to Peter and all the mysteries which He revealed to him, author St. Clement of Rome*, etc., contains not a few things in its sections which seem to be extracted from the *Recognitions*, but they are mixed in a confused manner with absurdities and various hallucinations and tangled with complaints about the injuries and evils by which Christians living in the East in the fifteenth century after the birth of Christ were afflicted by the Muhammadans. Let these things be said about the *Recognitions*. But I see that many other things must be deferred to another time. For when Bernhard Tauchnitz, nephew of Karl Tauchnitz, a most honest man, had often requested of me that I should oversee the editing of a select library of ecclesiastical Fathers as soon as possible, which might be carefully recognized in its text and be affordable to those purchasing it at a modest price, although I was not unaware how arduous and difficult this task would be, I did not think that I should refuse my labor to the bookseller any longer, however insignificant it might be. I joined to myself in finishing this work men most erudite in letters and the studies of Christian antiquity, by whose work Cyprian, Lactantius, and certain writings of Tertullian, released to the press last year, will appear perpetually. And indeed, if all things do not deceive me, this very *Select Library of the Ancient Ecclesiastical Fathers* will be found by many to be useful, not a little serving the convenience of those who labor in theology and who think it is their duty to perceive and understand properly the ancient interpretation of the sacred books, the dogmas of the ancient Church, the form of ancient ecclesiastical discipline, and finally the origins and history of the rituals of the ancient Christians.

Given at Leipzig, on the day of St. Martin, A.D. MDCCCXXXVII.

E. G. GERSDORF.

RECOGNITIONS. PROOEMIA. RUFINUS OF AQUILEIA, PRESBYTER, PREFACE TO THE BOOKS OF THE RECOGNITIONS OF ST. CLEMENT, ADDRESSED TO BISHOP GAUDENTIUS.

To you, indeed, Gaudentius, a distinguished ornament of our teachers, there is such vigor of intellect, or rather such grace of spirit, that if anything is said by you even in the manner of daily discourse, if anything is declaimed in the church, it deserves to be kept in books and handed down for the instruction of posterity. We, however, rendered sluggish and slow both by the weakness of our intellect and by old age, have at last, after many delays, restored the work which the virgin Silvia, of venerable memory, formerly enjoined upon us, that we should render Clement into our own tongue, and which you subsequently requested by hereditary right. We bring back this spoil—not small, in my opinion, snatched from the libraries of the Greeks—for the use and utility of our own people, so that we may nourish with foreign food those whom we cannot feed with our own. For foreign things are accustomed to seem more pleasing, and sometimes indeed more useful as well. In short, almost everything that brings healing to our bodies, that meets diseases, that repels poisons, is foreign. Judea sends a tear of balsam, Crete sends the stalk of dittany, Arabia sends the flowers of aromatics, and India mows the harvest of spikenard; and though these things, when they reach us, have lost some of the freshness of their native soil, they nevertheless retain their grace of scent and their full power of healing. ^A Receive, therefore, my soul, our Clement returning to you; receive him now as a Roman. And do not wonder if, perchance, his countenance appears to you less florid in eloquence than usual. It matters nothing, provided the sense tastes the same. We have therefore transported foreign goods into our fatherland with much sweat. And I know not what pleased look the faces of my fellow citizens show me, as I bring them great spoils of Greece and unlock with the key of our own language the hidden treasures of wisdom. But may God favor your prayers, that no sinister eye nor envious look of anyone may confront us, so that, by an extreme kind of prodigy, while they to whom it is taken away do not envy, those to whom it is bestowed may nevertheless grow pale. It is right, indeed, for you, who may even read these things in Greek (lest perchance you think the order of our translation is not preserved in some places), to judge the intent of our interpretation. I think it does not escape you that there are two editions of this same work of Clement in Greek, that is, of the *Recognitions*, and that there are two bodies of books, in some things indeed diverse, yet in many of the same narrative. Finally, the last part of this work, in which the transformation of Simon is recounted, is contained in one body, while in the other it is entirely absent. ^B There are, moreover, certain things discussed in both bodies concerning the unbegotten and the begotten God, and concerning some other matters, which, to say no more, exceeded our intelligence. These things, therefore, as being beyond my meager powers, I chose to reserve for others, rather than to present them less than full. In other matters, however, to the best of our ability, we have applied our labor,

not only from the tenets, but not even from the spoken remarks and the rhetorical style. Although this renders the discourse of the narration less ornate, it makes it more faithful. I have not here prefixed the epistle in which the same Clement, writing to James the brother of the Lord, announces the death of Peter 4—and that he left him as successor to his chair and doctrine, in which also every ecclesiastical order is contained—because it is posterior in time, and was already long ago translated and edited by me. But if what might perhaps seem inconsistent in it to some persons is explained here, I do not think it should be considered absurd. For some inquire how, since Linus and Cletus 5 were bishops in the city of Rome before this Clement, Clement himself, writing to James, says that the chair of teaching was handed down to him by Peter. We have received the explanation of this matter to be as follows: that Linus and Cletus were indeed bishops in the city of Rome before Clement, but while Peter was still alive, namely so that they might manage the care of the episcopate, while he himself fulfilled the office of the apostolate, just as he is found to have done also at Caesarea, where, while he himself was present, he nevertheless had Zacchaeus ordained by himself as bishop. And in this way both things will appear true: that they are numbered as bishops before Clement, and yet that Clement received the seat of teaching after the death of Peter. But now let us see, as Clement writes to James the brother of the Lord, what beginning of his narration he himself takes.

BOOK ONE OF THE RECOGNITIONS

I. I, Clement, born in the city of Rome, from my first age practiced the study of purity, while an intention of spirit, as if bound by certain chains of anxiety and sorrow, held me from boyhood. For a thought was present within me (it is uncertain, indeed, whence it took its beginning), often bringing to my memory the condition of mortality, and at the same time discussing: whether there is for me some life after death, or I shall be nothing at all hereafter, if I had not been before I was born, or if there shall be no remembrance of this life at all after death, and thus the vastness of time will give all things to oblivion and silence, so that we not only do not exist, but that what we have been is not held in memory. And this also turned in my breast: when was the world made, or what was it before it was made, or has it always existed? For it seemed certain that if it was made, it was also destined to be destroyed, and if it is destroyed, what will there be again? Unless perhaps oblivion and silence cover all things, or perhaps something will exist, which the mind of mortals cannot now sense.

II. Turning these and similar things over in my mind, ^B I wasted away with incredible excessive sorrow; and what is more grave, if at any time I wished to repulse from myself such cares as less useful, stronger waves of anxieties surged up in me. For there was present a best companion, which would not let me rest: the desire for immortality. For as the outcome of things later taught, and the grace of almighty God showed, this intention of spirit brought me to the inquiry of truth and the recognition of true light. ^A From which it came about that I might later mourn those whom I previously believed to be blessed while ignoring them.

III. Therefore, when from my first age I was busied with such intention of mind, desiring to learn something, I frequented the schools of the philosophers, where I saw nothing else being done than assertions and impugnations of dogmas without end, contests, and the subtleties of syllogisms and conclusions being stirred up. And if at times this discourse prevailed, that the soul was immortal, I rejoiced; but if at any time it was argued as if it were mortal, I departed with sadness. Neither, however, held the firmness of truth in my heart, but I only understood this much: that the opinions and definitions of things were not imagined according to the nature of truth and the causes of things, but according to the genius of those defending them, whether false or true; and I was tormented in the depth of my breast all the more, because I could neither hold anything of those things which were said as firm, nor cast off the desire of seeking; but the more I tried to neglect and despise it, the more ardently, as I said above, as if with a certain pleasure a thought of this kind crept in secretly and possessed my mind and spirit.

IV. Being therefore straitened by the searching out of these things, I said within myself: Why do we labor in vain, when the end of things is manifest? For if I shall not be after death, I am now tormented superfluously; if, however, there shall be for me a life after death, let us serve the movements of that life of its own time, lest perhaps by those things which I now suffer, I be met with even sadder things, unless I live piously and soberly. ^C

^A And again I answered myself: But these are fables, or if it is so, in doubtful matters it is better to live piously. But I considered again with myself, how could I, under the uncertainty of the reward for justice, refrain from the lust of sin? Especially since even what justice itself is, which might please God, is held by me as uncertain, and I know not if the soul be immortal, and if it be, whether it can hope for anything, nor do I know what certainly shall come to pass. Yet I cannot be at rest from thoughts of this kind.

V. What then shall I do? I shall make for Egypt, and there become a friend to the hierophants or the prophets who preside over the shrines, and entreat them for money to invoke a magician, so that he may call up for me a soul from the underworld, through that which they call necromancy, as if I were wishing to consult them about some business. To me, however, this will be the consultation: if the soul is immortal. But the proof of the soul, that it is immortal, will not be certain to me from that which speaks, or from that which I hear, but from that which I see; so that, discerning it with my own eyes, I may hold most certain judgment henceforth concerning its immortality. For sight will not be able to be troubled further by the fallacy of words and uncertain hearing. Nevertheless, I related this very deliberation of mine to a certain philosopher, a friend of mine, who gave me counsel that I should not dare to do this. For, he said, if the soul does not obey the invoking magician, you, thinking after these things that there is nothing after death, will live more desperately, since you have attempted illicit things. But if, indeed, you should seem to yourself to see something there, what religion or what piety will be handed down to you from illicit and impious things? For they say that the Divinity abhors a business of this kind, and that God opposes those who vex souls after the release of their bodies. I, however, having heard these things, was made indeed more sluggish toward that which I was planning, yet I was not able either to lay aside the desire or to cast off the distress of the thought.

VI. And that I may not make a long story, while I was being tossed by these storms of thought, a certain report ^B taken from the regions of the East reached us, and, strengthening itself by degrees, like some good messenger sent by God, it was filling the whole world, nor did it suffer the divine will to be covered in silence. It was spreading, therefore, through every place, announcing that there was a certain man in Judea, who, having taken the beginning of his preaching from the time of spring, was evangelizing the kingdom of God to the Jews; and he said that those would receive it who had kept the precepts of his teachings. But that his word might be believed to be worthy of faith and full of divinity, he was said to achieve many virtues and signs and wonderful prodigies by command alone, so that, as though having power from God, he made the deaf to hear and the blind to see, raised the lame, and drove out all infirmity and cast out demons from men; but he also raised the dead who were brought to him, and healed lepers even by seeing them from afar, and there was nothing at all that seemed impossible to him. These things and things similar to these, at the progress of time, were being confirmed no longer by rumors, but by the manifest reports of those coming from those parts, and the truth of the matter was becoming evident day by day.

VII. Finally, in the city, meetings began to be held in various places and this discourse to be discussed, and the matter began to be held in wonder, who this might be who had appeared, or what message he had brought to men from God; until, in the same year, a certain man standing in the most famous place of the city, proclaimed to the people, saying: Hear me, O Roman citizens; the Son of God is present in the parts of Judea, promising eternal life to all who wish to hear him, if anyone ^C, however, directs his actions according to the will of God the Father, by whom he was sent. Wherefore, be converted from evils to good, from temporal to eternal things. Acknowledge that there is one God, the ruler of heaven and earth, in whose just sights you, being unjust, inhabit his world. But if you are converted and act according to his will, coming to the future age and having been made eternal, you will enjoy his ineffable goods and rewards. Now this man, who was saying these things to the people, was from the regions of the East, a Hebrew by nation, named Barnabas, who said that he was even one of his disciples, and that he was sent for this reason, that he might bring these things to those who were willing. ^D [index: entries preserved]

^A And the Almighty hides His will from you, those whom He foresaw to be unworthy of the knowledge of Himself, as is manifest to wise men from these things which you are now doing. For when you see the preachers of the will of God arrive, because their discourse makes no profession of the skill of grammatical art, but they convey the divine commandments to you in simple and unrefined speech, so that all who hear may be able to follow and understand what is being said; you ridicule the ministers and messengers of your salvation, ignorant that, for you who seem to yourselves to be skilled and eloquent, your condemnation is that the knowledge of truth is held among the rustic and the barbarian. And when this knowledge has come to you, it is not received as a guest—which, unless your intemperance and lust stood in the way, ought to have become a citizen and a native; so that from these things you might be reproved, because you are not friends of truth and philosophers, but rather followers of ostentation and garro- ^B lous, you who do not believe that the truth resides in simple words, but in subtle and crafty ones, and you bring forth innumerable words that are in no way worth the value of a single word. What, therefore, do you think will become of you—you, O entire crowd of Greeks—if there is a judgment of God, as this man says? But now, ceasing to laugh to your own ruin at this man, answer me, whoever among you is willing, since indeed you disturb with your baying not only the ears of those who wish to be saved, but you also turn aside to the slide of infidelity minds that were prepared for the faith by your own disturbances: what pardon will there ever be for you, who ridicule and insult the messenger of the Divinity, who promises you the knowledge of God? Whom indeed, even if he brought no truth, you ought nevertheless, on account of a purpose of kindness toward you, to hold as pleasing and acceptable.

IX. When he had said these things, as if by one consent, with undisciplined mouth all at once gave forth a laugh, desiring to strike him with shame and silence, and shouting that he was a barbarian and less than sound of mind. I, however, when I saw these things being done in this way, filled with a certain zeal, I know not from whence, and inflamed with a religious furor, could not keep silent, but crying out with all freedom: "Most rightly, O God," I said, ^C X. As I was continuing this and things similar to it, a great uproar of the standing crowd was stirred up, while some were moved with pity toward the guest, and approved of my discourse—a discourse, in consequence, that was well-ordered—while others, petulant and foolish, stirred up against me likewise, as against Barnabas, the anger of an unbridled mind. But when the day was already declining toward evening, having taken Barnabas by the hand, although he resisted, I nevertheless brought him into my house and caused him to remain there, lest perhaps someone from the untaught mob should lay hands upon him. We stayed there together for a few days, and I was listening gladly to the discourse of truth; he, however, urged his departure, saying that he must by all means celebrate the feast day of his religion, which was impending, in Judea, and that he would remain there for the rest of the time with his fellow-citizens and brethren, clearly indicating that he had been struck with horror by the outrage.

XI. Finally, when I said: "You, now, to me..."

^A explain the doctrine of that man whom you say has appeared, and I, comparing your words with my own, will preach the kingdom and justice of the almighty God; and after these things, if you wish, I will even sail with you; for I greatly desire to see Judea, and perhaps I shall stay with you forever." To this he said: "If you truly desire to see our country, and to learn what you desire, sail with me now; but if something holds you back, I will leave you signs of our dwelling, so that when you wish to come, you may find us easily; for I shall start my journey tomorrow." When I saw that he was unmoved, I went down with him as far as the port and diligently received from him the signs of the dwelling which he had spoken of, saying to him: "Because I must necessarily demand some money from my debtors, I would not delay at all, yet I shall quickly follow your path." When I had said these things, and having commended him ^B to those who were in charge of the ship, I returned sad. For the memory of the company of a good host and an excellent friend occupied me.

XII. I delayed for a few days, and after settling what was owed in some part (for I neglected many things in my haste, so that I would not be hindered from my purpose), I sailed immediately to Judea, and after fifteen days I landed at Caesarea Stratonis, which is the greatest city of Palestine. And when I had left the ship and was looking for lodging, I learned from the rumor of the people that a certain Peter, the most approved disciple of Him who had appeared in Judea and shown many wonders and prodigies divinely wrought among men, was to have an intellectual contest of words and questions on the morrow with a certain Simon the Samaritan from the village of Gethon. Having heard these things, I asked to be shown his lodging; and when I had found it and stood before the doors, I pressed the janitor with questions as to who I was and where I had come from; and behold, Barnabas came out and, as soon as he saw me, ran into my embrace, weeping with joy, and having taken me by the hand, led me in to ^C Peter. And when he had pointed him out to me from a distance, he said: "This is Peter, for whom I told you the greatest wisdom in God existed, and to whom I have spoken of you again without ceasing. Enter, therefore, as one well known to him. For he has most truthfully discovered all the good things that are in you, and has diligently acknowledged your religious purpose, on account of which he is moved by the supreme desire to see you. Thus, today I offer to him a great gift with my own hands"; and at the same time, having presented me, he said: "This is Clement, Peter."

XIII. But most kind Peter, having heard the name, running forward immediately, clung to my kisses, and after he had made me sit down, he said: "You have done well to receive into your hospitality Barnabas, the preacher of truth, fearing nothing from the madness of the insane populace; blessed shall you be. For just as you have deemed the messenger of truth worthy of every honor, so will Truth itself receive you, a wayfarer and a guest, and will enroll you as a citizen of its own city; and then there will be great joy for you, because, by bestowing a small grace now, you shall be written down as an heir of eternal goods. Now, therefore, do not expend your efforts to explain to me your mind; for Barnabas has fully taught me about you and your ^D character, repeating the memory of your good deeds daily, almost without ceasing. And that I may define for you briefly what is the case, as if to a friend who is already of one mind, if there is nothing that hinders you, travel with us, and hear the word of truth, which we are to hold through each place until we must arrive at the city of Rome itself; and now, if there is anything you desire, speak."

XIV. And when I had explained to him what I had done from the beginning of my purpose, and how I had been poured out through empty questions, I willingly promised that I would travel with him; for this, I say, is what I most eagerly awaited. Yet first I desire the account of truth to be explained to me, so that I may know whether the soul is mortal or immortal, and if it is immortal, whether it is led to judgment for the things it does here. But I also desire to know what is the justice that is pleasing to God. Then, furthermore, if the world was made, or why it was made, or if it is to be dissolved, or to be renewed for the better, or if it will not be at all after these things, and not to proceed through each detail, I replied that I wished to learn how these and things similar to them stand. To this Peter: "Briefly," he says, "O Clement, I will impart the knowledge of things to you, and listen now."

XV. The will of God and His counsel have been hidden from men for many reasons. First, indeed, because of a perverse education, because of worst associations, because of a wicked custom, because of discourses that are not good, because of presumptions that are less than right, because of these, I say, altogether, first error, then contempt, then infidelity and [(14)] malice, avarice also and vain-boasting, and other similar evils, like a certain immense smoke, have filled the whole house of this world, and have not given to those dwelling inside the possibility of looking upon, or a free view of, their Creator, nor [alt-version omitted]

[the ability] to see the things that are pleasing to Him. What, then, is fitting for those who are inside? That they should, from the depths of their hearts, send up a cry and invoke His aid, that He, who is not shut in by the house filled with smoke, may approach and open the door of the house, so that the smoke which is inside can be excluded, and the light of the sun which shines from without can be brought in.

XVI. Seek, therefore, the one who is ^A sought for the relief of this house, which is filled with the darkness of ignorance and the smoke of vices, [and] say that he is the one who is called the true prophet, 15 who alone has the power to illuminate the souls of men, so that they may clearly see with their own eyes the way of salvation. For otherwise it is impossible to know of divine and eternal things, unless one has learned from this true prophet; for as you yourself were mentioning a little while ago, the faith of things and their causes is weighed more by the talents of those who defend them. Hence, for this same reason, that which is now [thought] just is later thought unjust, and what just now seemed true, seems false through another's assertion. For this reason, the condition of religion and piety ^B has demanded the presence of the true prophet, that he might tell us of each thing, just as the truth itself holds, and teach how it is necessary for each thing to be believed. And therefore, before all else, the faith of the prophet must be tested with every examination; and when you have recognized that he is truly a prophet, you must for the rest believe all things to him, and not discuss him further point by point regarding what he has taught, but hold firm and sacred what he says, and although they may appear to be accepted by faith, they are nonetheless believed after the probation has preceded them. For when once from the beginning the truth of the prophet has been examined and established, the rest at last must be heard and held by faith, since it is already established that he is the teacher of truth. And just as it is certain that all things which pertain to divine knowledge must be held according to the rule of truth, so it is undoubted that it can be known from no one else but from him alone, what is true.

XVII. And having said these things to me so openly and so clearly, ^C he explained who was the prophet, and how he was to be found, such that I seemed to hold before my eyes and feel with my hand the proofs which he had brought forth concerning the prophetic truth, and [I was struck] with great amazement that those things which all men seek, although placed before their eyes, no one sees. Whence, at his command, [those things] which he spoke to me, by arranging them in order, I wrote down concerning the true prophet, and sent them to you from Caesarea, by his own order. For he used to say that he had received a command from you, that throughout every year, if there were any things said and done by him, he should send them to you in writing. Meanwhile, at the beginning of his discourse, which he held with me on the first day concerning the true prophet and many other things, when he had instructed me most fully, he added these things as well: "See," he said, "for the rest, and attend to my treatises; which, if necessity ever brings it about, I will hold with those who contradict; against whom, in disputing, even if I should perchance appear inferior, I will not fear, lest you, by chance, should come to doubt concerning those things which have been handed down to you by me; for even if I should appear to be overcome, not on that account, indeed, will the things which the true prophet has handed down to us appear infirm. I hope, however, that we shall not be overcome in the disputations, if only the listeners are reasonable and friends of truth, who are able to discern the force and the appearance of words, and to recognize which discourse comes from sophisticated art, not containing truth but an image of truth, and which is that which, spoken simply and without guile, possesses all its strength not in appearance and ornament, but in truth and reason."

XVIII. To this I [said]: "I give thanks to Almighty God," I said, "because I have been instructed as I desired. Nevertheless, you ought to be to such a degree secure concerning me, that I cannot come to doubt concerning those things which I have learned from you, that if you yourself should ever wish to transfer my faith from the true prophet, you would absolutely not be able to; so fully have I drunk in what you have handed down. And lest you think that I am promising you something great, in that I deny that I can be transferred from this faith, it is certain with me that whoever of men has received this reason concerning the true prophet, will be able in no way to doubt further concerning the truth. And therefore I am confident concerning this divine dogma defined from heaven, in which every art of malice is overcome. For against prophecy neither will any art be sufficient to stand, nor the wiles of sophisms and syllogisms. But every man who has heard about the true prophet, it is necessary that he should at once catch the desire for the truth itself, nor will he suffer from diverse errors under the pretext of seeking the truth. For which reason, my lord Peter, I do not want you to be anxious any longer, as if concerning one ^D [who does not know what he has received, and how much he has been…]*

*(Note: The page ends here, mid-sentence, corresponding to the transition to the next page.)*

and I cannot easily be deceived, because I seem to have quickly attained what I had long desired. For it can happen that one person, longing, quickly attains, and another does not arrive at his desires even slowly.

XIX. And Peter, having heard these things from me, said: I give thanks to my God, both for your salvation and for my rest; for I am greatly delighted, because I see that you have understood how great is the magnitude of prophetic virtue, and because, as you say, even if I myself were to desire it—which heaven forbid!—I would not be able to turn you to another faith. From this moment, begin to be with us, and attend our disputations tomorrow; for I shall have a contest with Simon Magus. And when he had said these things, he withdrew so that he might take food with his own, but he ordered me to dine apart. And after the meal, when he had given praise to God and rendered thanks, he also gave me the reason for this very act, and added, saying: May the Lord grant that you be made equal to us in all things, so that when you have received baptism you may be able to join us at the same table. And with these words, he ordered me to rest; for already the nature of the body and the requirement of the hour invited sleep.

XX. On the following day, Zacchæus came to us in the morning, and when he had greeted us, he said to Peter: Simon puts off the day of the contest until the eleventh day of the present month, which is seven days from now. For then, he asserts, he has more vacant time for debating. But it seems to me that his delay is even necessary for us, so that more may come together, who may become audience or judges of our disputation. Nevertheless, if it seems reasonable to you, let us discuss among ourselves ^B beforehand those things which we think may come into controversy, and let each of us, when he has learned what things should be proposed and what responded, reflect within himself whether they hold together rightly, or if the adversary will be able to find something to object, or how we might frustrate his objections. If, however, from every side it is clear that the things to be said by us are fortified, only then let the beginning of the question be entered upon. And indeed this is my opinion, that before all things it is required that we inquire what is the first of all things, and what is immediate, which is also to be taught as the cause of all things which are; then, whether all things which are, if they have been made, are ^A from one, or from two, or from many, and have received substance; and whether they are from things not subsistent, or have been taken and adorned from certain things; whether there is any power in the highest regions, or in the infernal; whether there is something better than all things, or inferior to all; whether there are any motions, or none; whether these things which are seen were always, and shall be; whether they have existed with no operator, and if they will dissolve with no solvent. If, I say, the disputation begins from these points, I think that those things which are sought will easily become clear, having been discussed with diligent examination. And when these things have been clarified, the recognition of those things which follow will be found readily at hand. I have brought forward what I have felt; do not be reluctant to indicate what also seems to you.

XXI. To this Peter said: Tell Simon in the meantime to do as he pleases, certain that, with Divine Providence bestowing it, he will always find us prepared. And Zacchæus indeed, having heard what he heard, went out to notify Simon. But Peter, looking at us, and understanding that I was saddened by the delay of the contest, said: He who believes that the world is governed by the providence of the supreme God, O friend Clement, ought not to take with disdain the individual things that happen in whatever way, certain that the justice of God dispenses even those things which seem superfluous or contrary in each ^C matter at the opportune exit and in a competent manner, especially however towards those who worship him more familiarly; and therefore, he who is certain of these things, as I have said, if any thing happens against his expectation, he knows how to expel from his mind the error concerning it, holding the manifest ^D opinion that, by the dispensation of the good God, even that which is thought to be contrary is turned into something better. On account of which, O Clement, do not let this delay of Simon Magus sadden you even now. For I believe that it has been done by God's providence for your benefit, so that I may be able to explain to you the rationale of our faith, in this seven-day postponement, without any noise, sequentially and in order according to the tradition of the true prophet, who alone knows what things have been done, that they might be done, and what things are being done, that they might be done, and what things will be, that they will be; which things, however, while they are indeed spoken of clearly, are not nevertheless written clearly, to the extent that when they are read, they cannot be understood without an expositor on account of the sin that has grown together with men, as we have said above. Therefore, then, I shall explain all things to you through myself, so that in these which have been written, you may recognize that which is the sentiment of the legislator. Not all things, because, just as...

if it were my native soul that exists unbegotten, which you have spoken of. For you have offered a most sweet cup to me, since I am excessively thirsty. And do not think that, forgetful of the matters, I am occupying you with words; I will now recall to memory what has been said, in which the order of your discussion helps me greatly. For because the things you say are directed consequentially and arranged in balance, they are therefore easily recalled to memory by the lines of their own order. For the order of what is said is of great profit for remembering; for when you have begun to run through the individual points by way of consequence, where something is missing, the sense at once searches for it, and when it has found it, it preserves it, or certainly, if it cannot investigate it, it will not be ashamed to ask the teacher. But that I may not cause delay in rendering what you ask of me, I will relate briefly what you taught concerning the definition of truth.

XXIII. And Peter, having gladly accepted this answer of mine: I congratulate you, he said, that you have answered thus, and not that you speak these things themselves easily, but that you have brought forward that you remember; for what is highest is worthy of being honored with silence. Yet for the faith of those things which you have remembered concerning the ineffable, tell me what you retain of those things which were spoken by us in the second place, which can be easily brought forward, so that, perceiving the tenacity of your memory, I may more promptly indicate to you those things which I wish, and willingly disclose them. Then I, when I noticed that he rejoices in the memory of his hearers: Not only, I said, am I mindful of your definition, but also of that pre-definition which is placed before the definition, and I preserve the entire sense of almost everything that you have explained, even if ^A I may not [retain] all [the words].

XXIV. There always was, and is, and shall be that from which the first Will was born in eternal existence, and from the first Will again [came] the Will. After these, the world, from the world time, from this the multitude of men, from the multitude the choice of friends, from whose unanimity the peaceful kingdom of God is constructed. But the remaining things, which ought to follow these, you promised you would tell me at another time. After these, when you had explained concerning the creation of the world, you intimated the definition of God, which He promised in the sight of all the first angels concerning His own will, and what eternal law He established for all, and that He placed two kingdoms, I mean of the present time and of the future, ^B and the times of each, and established that the day of judgment is to be awaited, which He Himself defined, in which there is to be a discernment of things and souls, so that the impious indeed may be handed over to eternal fire for their sins, but one who has lived according to the will of the Creator God, for good works [may have eternal life].

^A And if the evil demon snatches the words of salvation from his memory, even if he wishes to be saved, he cannot; for he loses the way by which one arrives at life. Therefore, for this reason, let us repeat what has been said more fully, and let us confirm them in your heart; that is, how or by whom the world was made, so that we may tend toward the friendship of the Creator. Friendship, however, is brought about by living well and by obeying His will, which will is the law of all living things. Briefly, therefore, for the sake of a firmer memory, we shall recount these same things for you.

XXVII. In the beginning, when God had made the heaven and the earth, [Gen. I] as a single house, the very shadow which was produced from the bodies of the world gave forth from itself darkness to those things which had been enclosed within. But when the will of God had introduced light, those shadows which had been caused by the shadow of the bodies were immediately consumed; then, from that point, light was assigned to the day, and darkness to the night. Now, however, the water that was within the world, in the middle of that first space of heaven and earth, was extended as if congealed by ice and solidified like crystal, and by such a firmament the middle spaces of heaven and earth were separated; and this firmament the Creator called heaven, ^B naming it by the term of the older one. And thus He divides the machine of the whole world, since it was one house, into two regions. The reason for this division was that the upper region might provide a dwelling place for the angels, but the lower one for men. After this, whatever remained of the waters in the lower parts, by the command of the eternal will, received the effect of the place of the sea and the abyss; and as they flowed down into the submerged and concave places, dry land indeed appeared. And the gatherings of the waters became the seas. And after this the earth, which had appeared, produced diverse kinds of herbs and shrubs; it also brought forth springs and rivers not only on the plains, but also in the mountains; and thus everything was prepared so that there might be the ability for men who were to dwell upon it to use all these things according to their own choice—that is, whether they might desire them for good, or indeed for evil.

XXVIII. After this, He adorned this visible heaven with stars. He also placed the sun and the moon in it, so that the day might use the light of the one, and the night that of the other, ^C and at the same time that they might be a sign of things past, present, and future. For they were made as signs of the times and of days, which indeed are seen by all, but are understood only by the learned and the intelligent. And when, after this, He had commanded living creatures to be produced from the earth and the waters, He made paradise, which He also named the place of delights. After all these things, however, He made man, for whose sake He had prepared everything, whose inner form is older, ^D

and whose body was formed from the seeds, the inhabitant of the world was brought forth and given its own dwelling place.

XXIX. Therefore, when all things in heaven and on earth had been completed, and the race of men, too, had been multiplied, in the eighth generation, righteous men who had lived the life of angels ^A, being seduced by the beauty of women, turned aside to promiscuous and illicit couplings. From then on, acting indiscriminately and against the order of things, they overturned the state of human affairs and the divinely handed-down order of life, so that all men, either by persuasion or by force, were compelled to sin against God, their Creator. Then, in the ninth generation, giants were born—those who are named from the age, not *drakontopodes* (serpent-footed) ^B, as the fables of the Greeks tell, but brought forth with immense bodies, the memory of whom still remains in some places, where bones of immense size are displayed as evidence. But against these, the just providence of God introduced a flood upon the world, so that the orb of the earth might indeed be washed clean of their contagion, and every place might be turned into a sea for the sake of the wicked. Only one righteous man was found then, by the name of Noah, who, having been saved in the ark with his three sons and their wives, after the waters

XXX. In the twelfth generation, when God had spoken to men and said, "Be fruitful and multiply," and they had received the command that they should not taste blood 1—for it was because of this that the flood also occurred—in the thirteenth generation, when one of the three sons of Noah, who was the middle one, had committed an injury against his father, he brought upon his posterity the condition of servitude from a curse. Meanwhile, his elder brother 2 received the lot of habitation that is in the middle of the earth, in which is the region of Judea; the younger one, however, obtained the eastern region, while he himself received the west. In the fourteenth generation, indeed, from the cursed progeny, a man, because of the magic arts, was the first 3 to serve the demons, offering them the honor of blood. In the fifteenth generation, first of all, men set up and worshipped an idol, and up to that time, the Hebrew tongue, given by God to the human race, held the monarchy. In the sixteenth generation, the sons of men moved from the east, and coming to the lands of their fathers, each one marked out the place of his lot with the appellation of his own name. In the seventeenth generation, near Baby-

1 Gen. VI, 2. 2 Gen. IX. 3

COTELERIUS' NOTES

Babylon, Nimrod first reigned, and built a city, and from there he migrated to the Persians, and taught them to worship fire. ^A

XXXI. In the eighteenth generation, cities were built and armies were instituted and weapons [made], and judges and laws were ordained, temples were constructed, and the princes of the nations were worshiped as gods. In the nineteenth generation, the descendants of him who was cursed after the flood, exceeding their own boundaries which they had received by lot in the western parts, drove out those who had been allotted the middle place of the earth and chased them into the eastern regions as far as Persia, and they themselves succeeded to the places of the expelled by an unjust lot. In the twentieth generation, on account of the crime of incest, a son was the first to die by his own death before his father.

XXXII. In the twenty-first generation, there existed a certain wise man, of the race of those who had been expelled, from the seed of the firstborn of the sons of Noah, by the name of Abraham, from whom our Hebrew race is derived. When the whole world was again oppressed by diverse errors, and a destruction, not now by water, but by fire, was being prepared as ripe for it on account of the enormity of its crimes, and when now the plague, taking its beginning from Sodom, was threatening the whole world of the earth; on account of the friendships by which he had familiarity with God, whom he had well pleased, he snatched away the whole world so that it might not likewise perish. Yet, while all others were wandering from the beginning, he, since he was an astrologer by art, was able to recognize the Creator from the reason and order of the stars, ^B and he understood by His providence that all things are governed. Whence also an angel, appearing to him in a vision,

instructed him more fully concerning the things he ought to feel. And He showed him what was owed to his kindred and posterity, and promised that these lands were not so much to be given to them as restored.

XXXIII. Therefore, when Abraham desired to know the causes of things, and turned them over in his mind with intent application, the true Prophet appeared to him, who alone knows the hearts and purposes of men, and revealed to him all that he desired. He taught the knowledge of the Divinity, and indicated alike the origin and the end of the world, and showed the immortality of the soul and the institutions of living by which God might be pleased; He also declared that the dead would rise again, and that there would be a future judgment, with a remuneration for the good and punishments for the evil, moderating all things by a just judgment; and having instructed him duly and sufficiently, He withdrew again to the invisible realms. But while Abraham was still living in ignorance, as we have already said to you before, two sons were born to him, one of whom was called Ishmael, and the other Heliesdros. From the one, barbarian nations descend, from the other, the peoples of the Persians. From these, some have followed the life and neighboring rituals of the Brahmans, while others settled in Arabia; from whose descendants, some were even dispersed into Egypt. From this, finally, some of the Indians and Egyptians learned to be circumcised and to be of a purer observance than the others, although in the passage of time, most of them turned this argument and indication of chastity to impiety.

XXXIV. Nevertheless, when we had received two sons in the time in which he had still lived in ignorance of things, having perceived the knowledge of God, he asked of Him—because he was just—that he might deserve to have offspring by Sarah, who was his legitimate wife, since she was sterile; and he received it, whom he named Isaac, from whom Jacob was born, and from Jacob the twelve patriarchs, and from those twelve, seventy-two. When a famine arose, these came into Egypt with all their household, and within four hundred years, having been multiplied by the blessing and promise of God, they were afflicted by the Egyptians. And when they were being afflicted, the true Prophet appeared to Moses, and He struck the home-land with ten celestial plagues, but led the people of God out of Egypt ^A. But those of the Egyptians who remained, having conspired with the spirit of their king, pursued the Hebrews; and when they had found them upon the seashore and were thinking to kill and destroy them all, Moses, with a prayer poured out to God, divided the sea into two parts, so that the water stood on the right and on the left as if congealed like ice, and the people of God indeed passed over as on dry land, but the Egyptians, having rashly entered while pursuing them, were killed. For when the last one of the Hebrew people ascended, the last of the Egyptians also descended into the sea, and immediately the waters of the sea, which were held back like ice, being relaxed by the command of Him who had held them back, took vengeance on the people of the impious, having received the liberty of their own nature. ^B

XXXV. After these things, Moses, by the command of God who provides for all things, led the people of the Hebrews into the desert, and leaving the shortest route, which leads from Egypt to Judea, he led the people through long circuits of the wilderness, that by the exercises of forty years he might abolish the evils which had become ingrained in them through long use of the customs of the Egyptians, by the innovation of a changed manner of life. In the interim, they arrived at Mount Sinai, and from there the law was delivered to them, inscribed with ten precepts by heavenly voices and visions; the first and greatest of which was that they should worship God Himself alone, and should set up no other image or form for themselves to worship. But when Moses had stayed behind on the mountain, and had remained there for forty days, ^C the people who had seen Egypt struck by ten plagues, and the sea divided and passed over on foot, and manna given to them from heaven as bread, and a drink provided from the following rock (which species of food, by the virtue of God, was turned into the taste that each one desired), and when they were placed under the hotter blaze of the sky, that they might not be baked by the heat, they were overshadowed by a cloud by day, and by night they were illuminated by a pillar of fire, that the horror of darkness might not also be added to the vastness of the desert: when, I say, Moses was delaying, they themselves, according to the likeness of Apis, whom they had seen worshipped in Egypt, made and worshipped the golden head of a calf. ^D

^A after so many and such great miracles as they had seen, they could not purge and cleanse themselves of the filth of their old habit. And on this account, abandoning the short journey that leads from Egypt to Judea, Moses led them in a vast circuit of the desert, so that, as we mentioned above, he might, if possible, exhaust the evils of their old custom by the change of a new institution.

XXXVI. Meanwhile, the faithful and prudent steward, Moses, perceiving that the vice of sacrificing to idols had taken deep root in the people from their association with the Egyptians, and that the root of this evil could not be excised from them, permitted them indeed to sacrifice to them, but allowed this to be done to God alone, ^B so that he might cut away as it were the middle part of the deeply ingrained vice; but the other half he reserved to be corrected at another time by another, namely by him of whom he himself said: *The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet* (38) *like me; him shall you hear in all things that he shall say unto you. For whoever shall not hear that prophet, his soul shall be destroyed from among his people.*

XXXVII. To these things, moreover, he also appointed the place in which alone it might be lawful for them to sacrifice to God. But all this was done with this view, that when the opportune time had come, and they had learned through the prophet that God desires mercy and not sacrifice, they might see that he who taught them that the place chosen by God was His wisdom, in which it is fitting that sacrifices be offered to God; but this place, which seemed to be chosen for a time, they would hear was often vexed by the inroads of enemies and by destructions, and would at last be utterly destroyed. In confirmation of which thing, even before the coming of the true prophet—who was to reject both the sacrifices and the place—it was often ravaged by enemies and burned with fire; and the people were led away into captivity in foreign nations, and from thence, when they fled to the mercy of God, they were recalled, so that by these things they might be taught that he who offers sacrifices is expelled and delivered into the hands of enemies, but he who performs mercy and justice is delivered from captivity without sacrifices and is restored to his native land. But it has happened that very few understand this. For although the majority were able to feel and perceive these things, they were nonetheless held by the irrational opinion of the crowd. For it is the lot of a few, with right freedom, to understand.

^C XXXVIII. Therefore, Moses, these things having been arranged, appointing a certain man named Ausen over the people, to lead them back to their native land, he himself, ascending a certain mountain by the command of the living God, died there; yet his death was such that unto this very day no one has found his burial place. As soon, therefore, as the people reached their native soil, through the providence of God, the inhabitants of the iniquitous nations were immediately purged upon their very entrance, and they received their paternal inheritance by lot as judge. Then, afterward, governed for some time by judges, and not by kings, they endured in a more tranquil state. But when they sought for themselves tyrants rather than kings, then even in the place which had been predestined for them for the sake of prayer, they constructed a temple for the sake of royal ambition, and thus, through the succession of impious kings one after another, the people also declined into greater impieties.

XXXIX. But as the time began to be at hand in which that which we said was lacking in the institutions of Moses was to be fulfilled, and the prophet whom he had foretold was to appear, who would first exhort them by the mercy of God to cease from sacrifices, and so that they might not think that with the cessation of offerings the remission of sins was not being made for them, he established for them baptism by water, in which, by the invocation of His name, they might be released from all sins, and for the rest, following a perfect life, might endure in immortality, purged not by the blood of cattle but by the purification of the wisdom of God. Finally, this also is set forth as an evident sign of this great mystery, that every one who believes in this prophet, who was foretold by Moses, is baptized in His name, and is kept unharmed from the destruction of war which hangs over the unbelieving nation and that place itself, but those who do not believe become outcasts from the place and the kingdom, so that even unwillingly they may understand and obey the will of God.

^D XL. These things, therefore, having been thus pre-ordained, He who was expected is at hand, bringing signs and wonders, the proofs by which He was to be made manifest. But not even so did the people believe, who had been taught for so many centuries to believe these things; and not only did they not believe, but they added to their unbelief blasphemy, calling Him who had come for their salvation a glutton and a wine-bibber, and saying that He was driven by a demon. To such an extent does the wickedness of evil men prevail, which, had not the Wisdom of God been present to those who love the truth...

would have involved almost everyone at the same time in impious error. We therefore chose the first twelve who believed in Him, whom He named apostles, and afterward seventy-two 40 other most approved disciples, so that by this means, having recognized the likeness of Moses, the multitude might believe that this is the one whom Moses predicted would come as a prophet note: the previous phrase "magum dicebant; alii finxerunt furatum" from the previous column's ending is here integrated as some said He was a magician; others invented that He had stolen [the body]. ^A

XLI. But perhaps someone might say that it is possible for anyone to imitate a number; and what will he say about the signs and wonders that He performed? Indeed, Moses had performed miracles and healings in Egypt. This one also, whom He himself predicted would rise like himself as a prophet, while He healed every sickness and every infirmity among the people, performed countless miracles, and preached eternal life, was—by the act of the impious—led to the cross; yet that very act was turned by His power into something good. Finally, when He was suffering, the whole world suffered with Him; for the sun was darkened, the mountains were rent, the tombs were opened, and the veil of the temple was torn [note: references omitted], as if lamenting the ruin impending upon that place. And yet, though the whole world was moved, they themselves, even now, are in no way moved to inquire into such great events.

XLII. But since it was necessary that the Gentiles be called into the place of those who remained incredulous, so that the number which had been shown to Abraham [note: reference omitted] might be filled, the preaching of the salutary kingdom of God is sent into the whole world. Because of this, the worldly spirits are troubled, for they always oppose those who seek freedom; and to destroy the building of God, they seek out engines of error, by which those who strive for the glory of salvation and liberty, resisting and laboring in no small struggles against them, having become stronger, may come to the crown of salvation, not without the palm of victory. Meanwhile, when He had suffered, and from the sixth hour until the ninth darkness had pressed upon the world—the sun having been restored and things having been returned to order—even wicked men, with the fear subsiding, returned to themselves and to their own ways. For some of them, keeping watch with all care at the place which they could not hold when He rose again, said that He was a magician; others invented that He had stolen [the body]. ^B

XLIII. Nevertheless, the truth was conquering everywhere. For as a proof that these things were being done by divine power, we who had been very few, in the passage of days, with God favoring us, were becoming far more numerous than they were, so that at times the priests would fear lest, by God's providence, the whole people might, to their own confusion, come over into our faith; frequently sending to us, they would ask that we speak to them about Jesus, whether He were the prophet whom Moses predicted, who is the eternal Christ [note: reference omitted]. On this point alone does there seem to be a difference between us who have believed in Jesus and the Jews who do not believe. But while we were frequently asked about this, a week of years had already been completed since the passion of the Lord, [and] the church of the Lord established in Jerusalem was growing, multiplied most copiously through James, who was ordained by the Lord as bishop in it, governed by the most upright dispensations. And we were seeking a suitable time. ^C

XLIV. But when we twelve apostles had assembled for the day of Passover with a huge multitude, each of us having entered the church of the brethren, when James asked what had been done by us through each individual place, we briefly explained it to the listening people. In which [assembly] Caiphas the high priest, having sent priests to us, asks that we come to him, so that either we might teach him with reason that Jesus is the eternal Christ, or he himself might teach us that He is not, so that the whole people might be in agreement in either faith; and he frequently pleads with us to do this. We, however, often put it off, always seeking a more suitable time. And I, Clement, answered to this: I think that this very thing which is sought—whether He is the Christ—is very beneficial for the reason of faith 41, otherwise the high priest would never so frequently ask that he might either learn about Christ or teach [about Him]. And Peter [said]: You have answered rightly, O Clement. For just as no one can see without eyes, nor grasp [what is heard] without ears, or smell without a nose, nor [succeed] without... ^D

having consumed the fruit of the spirit, from which this ointment is taken, I remember that I have sufficiently explained the whole nature to you. ^A

It is likewise impossible to know the things that are pleasing to God without the true Prophet. And I replied: I have already learned, through your teaching, that Christ himself is the true prophet; but I would like to learn what this "Christ" itself is, or why he is so called, so that my knowledge of so great a matter might not remain vague and uncertain.

XLV. Then Peter began to instruct me in this way: When God had made the world, just as He is Lord of the universe, He established princes over each individual creature [(42)], over the trees themselves, the mountains, the fountains, and the rivers, and all things, as we have said, which He had made. For it is too long to go through them one by one. He therefore appointed an angel as prince over the angels, a spirit over the spirits, a star over the stars, a demon over the demons, a bird over the birds, a beast over the beasts, a serpent over the ^B serpents, a fish over the fish, and a man over men, who is Christ Jesus. Christ, however, is a name used in a special kind of religious rite; for just as there are certain common names for kings—such that among the Persians there is Arsaces, among the Romans Caesar, among the Egyptians Pharaoh—so among the Jews, Christ is used as the common name for king. The reason for this appellation is this: because, although he was the Son of God and the beginning of all things, he was made man, and the Father anointed him first with oil that had been taken from the tree of life [(43)]. From that ointment, therefore, he is called Christ. And finally, in accordance with the predestination of the Father, he himself will also anoint all the pious, when they have arrived at his kingdom, as those who have overcome the rough road, with a similar oil for the refreshment of their labors, so that their own light may shine, and ^C they, filled with the Holy Spirit, may be endowed with immortality. ^D

XLVI. But now I will call to your memory, in the briefest summary, everything concerning this. In the present life, the first high priest, Aaron, was anointed with the composition of the chrism, which was made in the image of that spiritual ointment of which we spoke above; he was the prince of the people, and as king he received the first-fruits and the tribute per head from the people, and, having taken upon himself the lot of judging the people, he judged between the clean and the unclean. But even if anyone else was anointed with that same ointment, as if by virtue conceived from it, he would forthwith become king, or prophet, or high priest. If, then, this temporal grace, composed by men, was so powerful, understand now how great that ointment is which was brought forth by God from the shoot of life, since this, which was made by men, confers such distinguished dignities among men. For what is more glorious than a prophet, more illustrious than a high priest, or more sublime than a king in the present age?

XLVII. And I replied to these things: I remember, Peter, that you said of the first man that he was a prophet; but you did not say that he was anointed. If, therefore, there is no prophet without ointment, how was the first man a prophet when he was not anointed? Then Peter, smiling, said: If the first man prophesied, it is certain that he was also anointed. For although he who composed the law in the pages kept silent about his anointing, he nevertheless left this for us to understand clearly. For just as, if an anointed...

^A one were not, surely one would not doubt that he was also a prophet, even if it were not written in the Law: so, since it is certain that he was a prophet, it is likewise certain that he was anointed, because he could not prophesy without oil. But you ought rather to have said this: if chrism is composed by the apothecary's art by Aaron, how could the first man be anointed with oil before the arts of composition were discovered? And I replied: Do not try to lead me astray, Peter; for I am not speaking of composed oil and temporal oil, but of that simple and eternal oil which you taught was made by God, to the likeness of which you say this composition by men was made.

XLVIII. And Peter, upon hearing these things, as it seemed, indignant, said: Why, Clement, do you think that we can know all things before the time? But now, so that we do not depart from our proposed discourse, when your progress is manifest I will explain these things to you more openly. Now, the pontiff or prophet who was anointed with composed oil and who kindled the altar of God was held clear throughout the whole world. But after Aaron, who was the pontiff, another is taken from the waters—I do not mean Moses, but him who in the waters of baptism was called Son by God. For it is Jesus who extinguished that fire which the pontiff kindled for sins, through the grace of baptism; for from the time he appeared, the chrism ceased, by which the pontificate, or prophecy, or royalty was offered.

XLIX. Moses, who handed down the law of God to men, predicted that he would come; but so did another before him, as I have already told you. He himself, therefore, indicated his coming: in the first coming, indeed, humble, but in the second, glorious. And the first has now been fulfilled, when he came and taught, and was judged as the judge of all, and was put to death. But at the second coming he will come to judge, and he will condemn the impious, but he will receive the pious into the fellowship and society of his kingdom. Belief in the second coming persists from the first. For the prophets spoke of the first, and especially Jacob and Moses, though some spoke also of the second. But the magnificence of the prophecy is proved ^B chiefly in this, that they did not speak of future things according to the natural sequence of events; otherwise, wise men would have thought that they had merely conjectured what the natural sequence of events dictated.

L. For what I say is this: it was consequential that Christ should be accepted by the Jews to whom he came and that they should believe in him who was expected for the salvation of the people according to the traditions of the fathers, but that the foreign nations should be alien to him, to whom neither had anything been promised concerning him, nor had it been announced, nay, to whom he had not even been known by name at any time. And yet the prophets, contrary to the order and sequence of events, said that he would be the expectation of the nations, and not that of the Jews. And so, in the end, it was done. For when he had come, by those who seemed to expect him according to the tradition of the ancestors, he was utterly unrecognized; but those who had heard nothing of him at all and expected nothing, believe and hope that he will come. And thus in all things the prophecy, which said that he would be the expectation of the nations, appeared faithful. Therefore, the Jews erred concerning the first coming of the Lord; and between us and them there is a dispute on this ground alone. For that Christ is to come, they themselves also know and expect; but that he who is called Jesus has already come in humility, they are ignorant. And in this his advent is confirmed most of all, because not everyone believes in him.

LI. God therefore destined this one for the end of the world, because it was impossible for the evils of mortals to be purged through another, while the human race continued to exist intact, that is, with the freedom of choice preserved. This state, therefore, having been preserved intact, he came to invite to his kingdom all the just and those who have striven to please him, for whom he has prepared ineffable goods and the heavenly ^C Jerusalem, which shall shine above the splendor of the sun in the habitation of the saints. But the unjust and the impious, and those who held God for nothing and turned the life committed to them to various atrocities, and made the time of righteous work an exercise in malice, he will surrender to the retributions that are appropriate and worthy of them. But it is not permitted for angels nor for men to declare or utter the other things which will take place there; but it suffices for us to know this alone, that God will grant the eternal possession of goods to the good.

LII. To these things said by him I responded: If those whom he finds just at his coming will enjoy the kingdom of Christ, then will those who died before his coming be entirely deprived of the kingdom? Then Peter: You force me, he says, O Clement, to make public some of the ineffable things. Nevertheless, as far as it is permitted to be uttered, I shall not be sorry to do so. Christ, who was from the beginning and always is, was always present—though in hidden fashion—among the pious through each and every generation, especially those by whom he was expected and to whom he frequently appeared. But it was not the time for the resurrection to take place then, with bodies having been resolved; but this was seen rather as a reward from God, so that he who was found just might remain longer in the body, or at least, as is clearly related of a certain just man in the letters of the Law, that God translated him. By a similar example, the same has been done for the others who pleased his will, that they might be translated to paradise and kept for the kingdom; but as for those whose capability could not fulfill the norm of justice to the full, but who had in their flesh some residues of malice, their bodies were indeed resolved, but their souls were kept in good and joyful regions, so that in the resurrection of the dead, when they have received their own again, purified by the very resolution, they might enjoy eternal inheritance for the things they had done well. And therefore blessed are all who have attained the kingdom of Christ, because they will not only escape the punishments of hell, but will also remain incorruptible, and will see God the Father first, and will attain the order of honor among the first before God.

LIII. For which reason, not the least question is held concerning Christ, and every one of the infidels among the Jews…

^A is moved against us by madness, fearing lest he perchance be the very one against whom they have sinned; and their fear increases all the more because they know that, as soon as they had affixed him to the cross, the whole world sympathized with him, and that his body, guarded by them with diligent watch, had nowhere appeared, and that innumerable multitudes were gathering together toward the faith of his name. Whence they were also compelled, together with the high priest Caiaphas, to send frequently to us, that inquiries might be made concerning the truth of his name. And when they frequently demanded that we should either learn or teach concerning Jesus, whether he himself were the Christ, it seemed good to us to ascend to the temple, and to protest concerning him before all the people, and at the same time to rebuke the Jews for the many things which were being absurdly done by them. For the people were already being split into many factions, ^B having begun from John the Baptist.

LIV. For when the rise of Christ was now imminent, to repress the sacrifices, indeed, but to bestow the grace of baptism, the enemy, understanding from those things which had been foretold that the time was at hand, wrought various schisms in the people, so that if perchance he could have abolished the former sin, the second fault could not be corrected. There was, therefore, first the schism of those who were called Sadducees, having its beginning almost at the times of John. And these, as if more righteous than the rest, began ^C to segregate themselves from the gathering of the people, and to deny the resurrection of the dead, asserting this by an argument of unbelief, saying that it is not fitting that God should be worshipped as if for some reward set before us. The author, however, of this opinion was first Dositheus, and second Simon. There is another Samaritan schism; for they themselves, denying the resurrection of the dead, assert that God is to be worshipped not in Jerusalem, but on Mount Garizim. Who, nevertheless, rightly expecting one true prophet from the prophecies of Moses, were hindered by the wickedness of Dositheus, so that they did not believe the one they were expecting to be Jesus. The Scribes also and the Pharisees are led into another schism. But these, having been baptized by John, and holding the word of truth as the key to the kingdom of heaven, ^D which they had received from the tradition of Moses, hid it from the ears of the people. But also from the disciples of John, who seemed to be great, they separated themselves from the people and preached their master as if he were the Christ. But all these schisms were prepared so that the faith of Christ might be hindered by them, and baptism.

LV. Verily, however, as we had begun to say, when the high priest had frequently asked us through the priests that a discourse might be had between us concerning Jesus, when it seemed opportune and pleased the whole Church, we ascended to the temple, and standing on the steps together with our faithful brothers, after the utmost silence of the people had been made, the high priest first began to exhort the people that they should hear patiently and quietly, and at the same time become witnesses and judges of those things which were to be said. Then afterward, extolling with many praises the ritual of sacrifices, which as a gift from God had been granted to the human race for the remission of sins, he leveled accusations against the baptism of our Jesus as if it were newly introduced against these things. But Matthew, opposing his propositions, evidently showed that if anyone had not obtained the baptism of Jesus, he would not only be defrauded of the kingdom of heaven, but would also not be without danger in the resurrection of the dead, even if he were fortified by the prerogative of a good life and a right mind. Matthew, having pursued these things and similar ones, was silent.

LVI. But the party of the Sadducees, which denies that there is a resurrection of the dead, was indignant, so much so that one of them from the midst of the people cried out, saying that they err greatly who think that the dead ever rise again. Against him my brother Andrew, answering, taught that it was no error, but a most certain faith, that the dead rise again, according to those things which he taught whom Moses foretold would come as a prophet; or if it did not seem to them that he was the very one whom Moses foretold, he said that this should be sought first, that when he himself has been evidently proven, nothing further should remain to be doubted concerning those things which he taught. Andrew, having protested these things and many others similar, was silent.

LVII. But a certain Samaritan, speaking things contrary to the people and to God, and asserting neither that the dead were about to rise, nor that the worship of God which is in Jerusalem was to be held, but that Mount Garizim was to be venerated,

he added against us also this: that our Jesus was not He whom Moses had predicted would come as a prophet. Against this man, and another who with him was pursuing these same arguments, the sons of Zebedee, James and John, strongly contended; and although they had the command not to enter their cities nor to bring to them the word of preaching, yet, lest their discourse should harm the faith of others if it were not refuted, they answered so prudently and bravely that they imposed perpetual silence upon them. For James spoke at length with the favor of the whole crowd concerning the resurrection of the dead; and John showed that if they would cease from the error of Mount Garizim, they would consequently recognize that He is the Jesus who, according to the prophecy of Moses, was expected to come, since indeed He performed signs and wonders just as Moses did, and there is no doubt that the similarity of the signs bears witness that He is the very one of whom he said that He would come. Having protested these and many other similar things, they held their peace.

LVIII. And behold, one of the Scribes from among the crowd, crying out, said: "Your Jesus performed the signs and wonders which He did as a magician, not as a prophet." To him Philip vehemently countered, showing that by this reasoning he would accuse Moses also. For since Moses performed signs and wonders in Egypt, and Jesus likewise in Judea, it cannot be doubted that whatever was said of Jesus would seem to be said of Moses as well. Philip, having protested this and many similar things to him, held his peace. ^A

He is without doubt greater who is both prophet and Christ than he who is prophet only. Having pursued these and many other similar things, he held his peace. After him, James, son of Alphaeus, made a speech to the people in which he showed that one ought not to believe in Jesus because the prophets had foretold Him, but rather that one ought to believe in the prophets because they are true prophets, in that Christ renders1 testimony to them. For the presence and advent of Christ marks them as having been true prophets. For he said that a testimony of faith is given not by the inferior to the superior, but by the superior to the inferior. Having pursued these and many other similar things, James also held his peace. After him, Lebbaeus began to argue vehemently against the people, because they did not believe in Jesus, who had profited them so much by teaching them the things of God, by consoling the afflicted, by healing the infirm, and by comforting the poor, yet for all these good deeds they had rendered Him hatred and death. When he had protested these and many similar things to the people, he held his peace. ^B

LIX. Now a certain Pharisee, hearing these things, challenged Philip, saying that he called Moses equal to Jesus. Bartholomew, answering him, firmly taught that we do not say that Jesus is only equal to Moses, but greater; because Moses was indeed a prophet, which Jesus also was, but what Jesus was, Moses was not—that is, Christ—and therefore ^C

LX. And behold, one of the disciples of John asserted that Christ was John, and not Jesus; "to such an extent," he said, "that even Jesus Himself pronounced John greater than all men and prophets." If, therefore, he said, he is greater than all, without doubt he must be held to be greater than both Moses and Jesus Himself. But if he is greater than all, he is the Christ. To these things Simon the Canaanite, answering, asserted that John indeed had been greater than all the prophets, and than all who are sons of women, yet not greater than the Son of Man. And therefore Jesus is indeed the Christ, but John is only a prophet; and there is as much difference between him and Jesus, as there is between the forerunner and Him to whom he runs before, and as much as between him who gives the law and him who keeps the law. Having pursued these and many other similar things, the Canaanite also held his peace. After whom Barnabas, who is also Matthias, who was substituted in the place of Judas as an apostle, began to warn the people not to hold in hatred... ^D

Jesus nor to blaspheme him. For he said that it is much better, even for one who is ignorant or doubtful about Jesus, to love him than to hate him. For God has placed a reward for charity, and a penalty for hatred. For this very fact, he said, that he took upon himself a Jewish body and was born among the Jews, in what way did it not strike into all of you the incentives of his love? When he had finished speaking these and similar things, he made an end of his discourse.

LXI. Then Caiaphas attempted to blame the teaching of Jesus, saying that he spoke empty things: for he called the poor blessed, ^A and promised that there would be earthly rewards, and constituted the sum of the gift in an earthly inheritance, and promised that those who have kept righteousness shall be sated with food and drink; and he is found to have taught many such things. Thomas, answering him, refuted him for complaining in vain, showing that the prophets, in whom he himself also believes, taught in this way, nor did they show how these things will be or how they will be perceived, but Jesus, however, has demonstrated how these things ought to be received. And when he had said these and many more things like them, Thomas also fell silent.

LXII. After this, Caiaphas again, looking at me, and now as if warning, now as if blaming, said that I ought to cease from the rest of the preaching of Christ Jesus, lest I should do this to my own ruin, and lest I myself, deceived by error, should deceive others also by my error. Then, moreover, he reproached me for my rashness, that although I was myself unskilled, a fisherman and a rustic, I dared to take upon myself the office of a teacher. When he said these and many other things like them, I also replied in these words: To me, indeed, there is less danger if, as he says, this man is not the Christ, because I have received a teacher of the law; to you, however, there is huge peril if he himself should be the Christ, just as he certainly is. For I believe in him who has appeared; but he in whom the others believe they are keeping faith, who is he who has appeared to no one? But if I am an idiot, as you say, and unskilled and a fisherman and a rustic, and I understand more than the wise presbyters, this, I say, ought to strike more fear into you. For if I were arguing from some erudition and overcoming you wise and learned men, it would seem that such doctrine had been conferred upon me by long study and not by the grace of divine power; now, however, when, as I said, we the unskilled overcome and surpass you the wise, to whom that has any sense is it not plain that this is not a work of human cleverness, but of divine will and gift?

LXIII. These and other things of this kind accordingly, we went on to explain, and we taught ^B that we, though unskilled and fishermen, were nevertheless speaking of one only God of heaven, the Sadducees of the resurrection ^C of the dead, the Samaritans of the consecration of Jerusalem, yet we did not enter their city, but argued in public; the Scribes and Pharisees about the kingdom of heaven, the disciples of John, that they might not suffer scandal in John, and all the people, that Jesus is the eternal Christ. At the last, however, I warned them that before we proceeded to the nations to preach to them the acknowledgment of God the Father, they themselves should be reconciled to God by receiving his Son. For I showed that in no other way could they be saved, unless they hastened to be washed by the baptism of the threefold invocation of the Holy Spirit, and partook of the Eucharist of Christ the Lord, in whom alone they ought to believe regarding the things which he taught, so that thus they might deserve to attain eternal salvation; otherwise, it was absolutely impossible for them to be reconciled to God, even if they should kindle a thousand altars and shrines to him.

LXIV. For we, I said, have ascertained for certain that God is angered much more over the sacrifices which you offer, once the time of the sacrifices has passed. And because you are unwilling to acknowledge that the time for offering victims has now run out, for this reason the temple shall also be destroyed, and the abomination of desolation shall be set up in the holy place, and then the Gospel will be preached to the nations as a testimony against you, so that by their faith your infidelity may be judged. For the whole world suffers different sicknesses of wickedness at different times, either through all generally or through each individual specifically, and therefore it needs a physician who may visit it for salvation. We, therefore, protest to you, and we announce what has been hidden from each one of you. It is for you to deliberate what is expedient for you.

LXV. When these things had been said by me, the whole multitude of the priests groaned that I had predicted to them concerning the subversion of the temple. When Gamaliel, the prince of the people (who was secretly our brother in the faith, but was among them by our counsel), saw this ^D, because they were raging fiercely and were moved with great fury against us, he rose and said: Quietly for a moment, O men of Israel, for you do not heed the temptation which hangs over you; on account of which, cease from these men, and if indeed it is of human counsel that they act, it will soon cease, but if it is of God, why do you sin without cause and yet gain nothing? For who can overcome the will of God? Now, therefore, since the day is verging toward evening, tomorrow in this very place, with you listening, I myself will dispute with them, so that I may openly refute every error and clearly confound it. And with these words their fury was repressed to some extent, especially by the hope that on the morrow the error...

would be publicly argued. And thus he dismissed the people in peace.

LXVI. When we had come to our James, explaining all that had been said and done, we remained with him, and having taken food, we spent the whole night in prayer to almighty God, that the discourse of the coming disputation might reveal the undoubted truth of our faith. Therefore, the next day, James the bishop, together with us and the whole church, went up to the temple, where we found a huge multitude waiting for us from midnight. We stood, therefore, in the same places as before, so that by standing in a more elevated position we might be seen by the whole people. And when supreme silence had been made, Gamaliel, who, as we said above, belonged to our faith but by dispensation remained among them, so that if at any time they should plot anything wicked or impious against us, he might either prudently restrain them by counsel or warn us so that we might either attend to it or avoid it; he, therefore, acting as if against us, looking first of all at Bishop James, addressed him in this way: ^B

LXVII. If I, Gamaliel, do not consider it a disgrace to my learning or my old age to learn something from the young and the unlearned, if by chance there is anything of utility or salvation to be acquired (for he who lives rationally knows that nothing is more precious than the soul), how is it not lovable and desired by all that a person should learn what he does not know, and teach what he has learned? For it is most certain that neither friendship, nor kinship, nor the sublimity of a kingdom ought to be more precious to a man than the truth. And you, therefore, brothers, if you know anything more, do not be ashamed to set it forth to the people of God who are here, and likewise to your brothers, ^C since the whole people is listening willingly and in total quiet. For how should the people not do this, when they see that I myself wish to learn from you along with them, if perchance God has revealed anything more to you? But if you yourselves are in need of anything, likewise do not be ashamed to be taught by us, so that God may fulfill whatever is lacking on either side. But if by chance some fear now agitates you, on account of some of our people who meet you with prejudiced minds, and fearing their traps, you do not dare ^D to say what you think more openly, I will absolve you of this occasion of fear: I swear to you by almighty God and the Living One for all ages, that I will not allow anyone to lay hands upon you. Having, therefore, the whole of this people as witnesses of this oath, and holding the pledge of our covenant as a suitable guarantee, let each one of you without any delay bring forth what he has learned, and we brothers will listen intently and in silence.

LXVIII. By saying these things, Gamaliel did not please Caiaphas very much, and, as it seemed, holding him in suspicion, he himself began to insert himself more subtly into the discussions; for smiling at what Gamaliel had said, the prince of the priests begged James, the prince of the bishops, that the discourse should be held not about other things but about the Scriptures, so that we might know whether Jesus himself is the Christ, or not. Then James said, first, let us inquire from which Scriptures it is most fitting that the disputation be held. But he, having been scarcely and with difficulty overcome by the reasoning itself, responded that it must be held from the Law, and after that he also added mention of the prophets.

LXIX. To him our James began to show that even what the prophets say they have taken from the Law and have spoken in harmony with the Law. But he also discussed some things from the books of Kings, how and when and by whom they were written, and how one ought to use them. And when he had also disputed most fully about the Law, and had brought to light every single thing that pertains to Christ, he showed by most abundant proofs that Jesus is the Christ, and that in Him are fulfilled all the things that had been predicted concerning His humble advent. For he taught that there are two advents of Him: one of humility, which He fulfilled, and another of glory, which is hoped to be fulfilled, when He will come to give the kingdom to those who believe in Him and keep all that He commanded. And when he had evidently taught the people about these things, he added this also: that unless one had been baptized in water under the invocation of the threefold blessedness, as the true prophet taught, he would neither receive the remission of sins, nor enter the kingdom of heaven; and he confirmed that this is the pre-definition of the [unbegotten] God. To which he also added this: "Do not think that we say there are two unbegotten Gods, or one divided God."

[Note: Vocabula "Quibus etiam - de Paracleto dicimus" non leguntur in codd. Lips., qui etiam voc. ingeniti, quod uncis includimus, non agnoscunt.]

NOTES OF COTELERIUS

LXX. And when the matter had reached such a point ^C that they were about to come and be baptized, a certain enemy, entering the temple then with very few, began to cry out and say: "What are you doing, O men of Israel? Why are you so easily led astray? Why are you driven headlong by most wretched men, and by [Simon] Magus deceived?" And when he said these things, and added to them, and was overcome by James the bishop, he began to disturb the people and stir up sedition, so that the crowd could not hear what was being said. Therefore, he began to agitate everything with cries, and to tear down what had been arranged with great labor, and at the same time to accuse the priests and kindle their anger with insults and rebukes, and as if possessed by a frenzy, to incite each one to slaughter, saying: "What are you doing? Why do you hesitate? O sluggish and slothful ones, why do we not attack with our own hands and tear them all to pieces?" And when he had said these things, he was the first to take a heavy piece of wood from the altar and begin the slaughter. Then the others, seeing him, were carried away by a similar insanity; there was a clamor of all, of those falling and those being slain alike; much blood was shed, a confused flight ensued, when meanwhile that enemy man attacked James and threw him headlong from the top of the stairs, whom, having believed that he was dead, he neglected to punish further.

LXXI. But our people took him up when he had been cast down; for they were more numerous and greater in strength than they, ^D but out of reverence for God they suffered themselves to be slain by the few, rather than slay others. But when evening had arrived, the priests closed the temple; we, however, returned to the house of James, and passing the night there in prayer, before dawn we descended to Jericho with five thousand men. But after three days there came to them one of the brethren from Gamaliel, of whom we spoke above, bringing us secret intelligence that that enemy man had undertaken an embassy from Caiaphas the high priest, to persecute all who believed in Jesus and to proceed to Damascus with his letters, so that even there, using the aid of the infidels, he might bring destruction upon the faithful; and for this reason he hastened especially to Damascus, because he believed that Peter had fled there. And after about thirty days, he departed, going by way of Jericho to Damascus. In the same time, we proceeded to the tombs of certain two brethren, which were of their own accord whitewashed every year (56); by which miracle the fury of many against us was repressed, for they saw that our people are held in memory by God.

LXXII. Therefore, after we had been placed in Jericho, and were there giving ourselves to prayers and fastings, James the bishop sent for me and sent me from there here to Caesarea, saying: "For Zacchaeus of Caesarea has written to me that a certain Simon, a Samaritan magician, is subverting many of our people, asserting that he is a certain 'Standing One' (57), that is, appearing under another name as the Christ."

and the supreme power of the most high God(58), who is above the creator of the world, and at the same time showing many miracles, he made others to doubt and others to turn toward him; and he reported everything diligently ascertained from those who had previously been his companions or disciples, and had subsequently been converted to Zacchaeus. There are many, therefore, says James, O Peter, for whose salvation it is necessary for you to set out, and to refute the magician, and to teach the word of truth; but do not delay, nor let it grieve you that you set out alone, knowing that God is your companion and helper through Jesus, and that soon, through His grace, many will be your companions and of one mind. Do indeed make an effort that in each of the years you send to me all the chief things from your sayings and deeds written down, and especially through the weeks of the years. And having been dismissed by him with these words, in six days I arrived at Caesarea.

LXXIII. As I was entering, Zacchaeus, our most beloved brother, met me, and cleaving to my embraces, led me to the lodging where he himself was staying, asking me about each of the brothers, but especially about our honorable brother James. And when he had heard from me that he was still lame in one foot, and he kept asking for the cause, I recounted to him all these things which we have now explained to you; how we had been summoned by the priests and the high priest Caiaphas to the temple, and James, ^A the archbishop, standing on the top steps, had for seven continuous days assigned to the whole people from the Lord’s Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ, and in what way, all now acquiescing, [that] so that they might be baptized in the name of Jesus, the enemy of mankind, also showing many wonders, caused some to doubt and some to turn away; I say it again.

LXXIV. Having learned these things, Zacchaeus in turn explains to me what was being done by Simon; and meanwhile, his arrival having become known to me I know not whence, Simon himself sends to me: Tomorrow, he says, with the people listening, let us dispute. To whom I: Be it so, I say, as you wish. And this promise of mine became known to the whole city, so that even you, who had arrived on that very day, might learn that I would have a contest with Simon the next day, and having inquired for our lodging according to the signs you had received from Barnabas, you came to us. But when you arrived, I was so glad that, moved I know not whence, my spirit hastened to explain everything to you quickly, especially that which is the greatest in the faith concerning the true prophet, ^B which I do not doubt can suffice as the one foundation of all doctrine; then also the more secret understanding of the written law, for each and every chapter whose reasoning demanded it, I revealed to you, not hiding from you even the good things of the traditions. But the things that remain, beginning from the morrow, you will hear day by day from those things that will be brought forward in the questions with Simon, until, God favoring, we arrive at Rome itself, the city to which we believe our journey is directed. And when I professed that I owed him all gratitude for these things said by him, and promised most promptly that I would do everything he should command, having taken food he ordered us to rest and gave himself rest.

BOOK SECOND

I. But when the day appointed for the disputation with Simon was to dawn, Peter, rising at the first cock-crow, roused us also; for we were all thirteen sleeping together in the same room, among whom was the first after Peter, Zacchaeus, then Sophonias, Joseph, and Michaeus, I, Clement, and Nicodemus, then Niceta and Aquila, who had previously been disciples of Simon, and, by the teaching of Zacchaeus, had been converted to the faith of Christ. Of women, indeed, ^D there was absolutely none present. And while the evening light still lasted(59), we all sat down again, and

^A Peter, seeing us watching and attending to him, immediately gave us the beginning of his discourse as a lesson. I confess, brothers, that I marvel at the power of human nature, which I see to be fit and apt for everything. This thought, however, comes to my memory from things I have experienced myself. For when the middle of the night has passed, I wake up of my own accord, and sleep no longer comes to me; this happens to me because I have made it a habit to call to mind the words of my Lord which I had heard from Him, and because I commanded my mind and thoughts to be awakened by a desire for them, so that waking up, I might recall each detail and, by reviewing them, retain them in my memory. From this, then, while I desire to revolve the words of the Lord in my heart with all sweetness, the habit of waking has taken hold, even if there is nothing I wish to think about. Thus, by a certain ineffable reason, one habit being introduced, an old habit is changed, and that in truth, if you do not force it beyond measure, but as much as the measure of nature permits. For it is not possible to be entirely without sleep, otherwise the night would not have been made for rest.

II. And when I had heard this, I said: You have spoken very well, Peter, that habit is changed by habit. For I too, when I was first sailing, was troubled and everything felt turned upside down within me, so that I seemed to be suffering and could not bear the cold (60) or the misery of the sea; but after a few days, when a habit was formed, I began to bear it tolerably, so that I was even pleased to take food early in the morning together with the sailors, whereas before, I was not in the habit of taking food until the seventh hour. Now, therefore, from this habit alone, around the time I was accustomed to eat with the sailors, hunger warns me, which I hope to dispel again when another habit has been adopted. I believe, therefore, that the habit of watching has also been instituted for you, as you say; and you have chosen an opportune time to explain this, so that we too may not be loath to cast off and chase away a little of our sleep, so that we may be able to receive the teachings of the living doctrine. For when foods have been digested and the mind has received the stillness of the night, what is taught settles most effectively.

III. And Peter, willingly accepting that I had understood the reason for his preface to have been put forward for our benefit, praising me and encouraging me without doubt, began to set forth the following discourse: It seems opportune and necessary for me now to discuss some things about what is imminent, that is, about Simon. For I would like to know what his character and what his deeds are, which, if anyone knows, let him not hesitate to indicate; for it is important to know these things beforehand. For if we have it in our instructions that when arriving at a city we should first learn who in it is worthy that we should eat food with him; how much more does it befit ^B us to know who, or of what kind, is he to whom immortal words are to be entrusted? For we must be anxious, and very anxious, lest we cast our pearls before swine(61).

IV. But it is useful for other reasons, too, for me to have knowledge of this man. For if I know that in those matters concerning which there can be no doubt that they are good, he is reformed and blameless—that is, if he is sober, if he is merciful, if he is just, if he is mild and humane, which no one doubts are indeed good things—then it will seem reasonable that to him who possesses these good virtues, there should also be conferred what is lacking in faith and knowledge, and that those things in which his life seems to be stained, which is in other respects acceptable, should be amended. If, however, in those things which are manifest, he remains wrapped in and defiled by sins, I ought not to speak to him of the more secret and remote matters of divine knowledge, but rather to protest and urge him to cease sinning and to amend his actions from vices. But if he should insist and provoke us to speak of things that it is not fitting for him to hear while he is acting incorrectly, we must prudently evade him; for to answer nothing at all does not seem useful for the sake of the hearers, lest perhaps they think that we are declining the contest out of a penury of responses, and their faith be damaged, not understanding our purpose.

V. And when Peter had said these things to us, Nicetas asks to be allowed to say something, and with Peter’s indulgence, with permission he says: I beseech you, my lord Peter, listen to me, as I am very anxious for you and fearful ^C lest perhaps in the contest which you have with Simon, you may seem to be overcome. For it is wont to happen frequently that he who defends the truth does not always prevail, while either the hearers are prejudiced in advance, or they do not care greatly for the better opinion. Beyond all these, Simon himself is a most vehement orator, nurtured in the art of dialectic and the snares of syllogisms, and what is more serious than all of these, he is greatly practiced in the art of magic; and therefore I fear, lest perhaps being so strongly defended from every side, among those who are ignorant of him, having brought forward false things, he may be thought to be defending the truth. For not even we ourselves could have escaped him and been converted to the Lord, unless, while we were his helpers and associates in his errors, we had recognized that he was a deceisor and a magician.

VI. When Nicetas had said these things, Aquila also, asking that the faculty of speaking be given to him, ^D spoke in this same way: Receive, I pray, the concern of my love for you, best Peter; for I too am very anxious for you. And do not rebuke us for this, because care for someone comes from affection, whereas to neglect is nothing less than to hate. Truly, I call God as my witness, that I do not fear for you knowing you to be slower in the contest, seeing that never...

will I be present to you in the disputation; but because I know well the impieties of that man, I consider your estimation, and at the same time the frame of mind of the listeners, and above all the state of the truth itself. For this magician is vehement in all things which he desires, and wicked beyond measure; for in all things we have diligently known him, as we have been his hearers and ministers from childhood, and had not the love of God snatched us away from him, we would even now be wallowing in the same evils as he. But a certain affection for God, innate in us, made his crimes loathsome indeed, but the worship of God lovable. Whence I also think it was a work of divine providence that we first became his close associates, so that we might gain knowledge of how, or by what art, he brings about the prodigies which he seems to do. For who is there who would not be astonished at the miracles he performs, so as to think that he has descended from heaven as a God for the salvation of men? I confess for my own part, had I not known him from within, and had I not been present at his actions, he could easily have deceived me. Hence it was not a great thing for us to be separated from his company, knowing that he relies on magical arts and schemes of wickedness. But if you also wish yourself to learn everything about him—who he is, or of what kind, and from whence, or in what manner the things he does are wrought—listen.

VII. This Simon was born to Antonius, his father, and Rachel, his mother, a Samaritan by race from the village of Gethon, by art a magician, though thoroughly learned in Greek liberal studies; he is desirous of glory and boasting above all mankind, so that he wishes to be believed to be the exalted virtue which is above God the Creator, and to be thought to be Christ, and to be called the Standing one. And this appellation he uses as one who denies that he can ever be dissolved, asserting his flesh to be so compacted by the power of his divinity that it can endure for eternity. Hence therefore he is called the Standing one, as one who cannot fall through any corruption.

VIII. For after John the Baptist was killed—as even you know—when Dositheus had begun the start of his heresy, he, with thirty other principal disciples and one woman who was called Luna—whence they too, as if according to the course of the moon ^A (being placed in the number of the days), appeared to be—this Simon, ^B as I have said, being greedy for glory, approaches Dositheus and with feigned friendships prays that if ever any one of those thirty should have died, he might immediately substitute himself in the place of the deceased; because it was neither lawful among them to exceed the established number, nor to insert anyone unknown or not yet tested. Whence also the other students desire to be made worthy of the place and number, and strive in all things to please according to the institutes of the sect, so that each one of those who follow that number may be able, when by chance someone, as we have said, has departed, to seem worthy to be substituted in the place of the deceased. Therefore Dositheus, persuaded by him with many entreaties, when a place had been made within the number, introduced Simon.

IX. But not long after, this man fell in love with that woman whom they call Luna; and he used to entrust all things to us, as being his close associates—what a magician he was, and that he loved Luna, and that, being greedy for glory, he did not wish to enjoy her ingloriously, but to wait patiently until he could honorably enjoy her, if at least we would also conspire with him in all things that he wished. But he promised that he would also give us a reward for this ministry: that we would be affected with the highest honors, and be believed by men to be gods, provided only that, he said, “you defer the primacy to me, Simon, who can show by magic art many signs and prodigies through which the rationale of our glory or our sect may be established.” For I can ^C make it so that I do not appear to those wishing to apprehend me, and again, when I wish to be seen, I am in the open; if I wish to flee, I can pierce through mountains and pass through rocks as if through mud; if I precipitate myself from an exalted mountain, I am borne down as if carried, unharmed, to the earth. Bound, I can release myself; those who have cast bonds upon me, I will render bound; in prison, I can make the locks of my own accord be opened; I can make statues animate, so that they are thought by those who see them to be men; I can make new trees suddenly arise, and bring forth sudden shoots; casting myself into fire, I do not burn. I change my countenance so that I am not recognized, and I can further show to men that I have two faces. I can be made a sheep or a goat, I can provide children with a beard, I can fly through the air,

I will display much gold, and I will make kings and cause them to fall. I shall be worshipped as God, and publicly I shall be honored with divine honors, ^A so that they set up a statue of me [(64)] and honor and worship it just as a God. And what need is there to say much? Whatever I wish to do, I shall be able to do. Indeed, many things have already been accomplished by me for the sake of experiment. Finally, at one time, he said, when my mother Rachel ordered me to go out to the field to reap, seeing the sickle placed there, I ordered it to go and reap, and it reaped tenfold more than the others. I have already produced many new shoots from the earth and caused them to thrive; in a moment of time, I caused the neighboring mountain to appear and I tunneled through it, [and] I proceeded a second time.

X. But when he was saying these things about the produced shoots and the tunneled mountain, I was amazed at him, because he even wished to deceive us, to whom he seemed to commend and entrust himself; for we knew that these things had been from our ancestors, which he claimed had been recently done by himself. Therefore, hearing these criminal acts from him—and worse things than these—we nevertheless followed him and his wicked deeds ourselves, and we allowed others to be deceived by him, also lying about many things on his behalf; and this was before he had done any of the things he had promised, so that although nothing had yet been achieved, he was nevertheless thought by some to be God.

XI. Meanwhile, in the beginning, while he was still kept among the thirty disciples of Dositheus, he began to disparage Dositheus himself, as if he did not teach in its entirety nor in any perfect way, and [he claimed] that he did not do this out of envy, but from knowledge. But when Dositheus perceived that he was being disparaged by Simon, fearing that his own reputation might be obscured among the people, who thought he was the Standing One, he was moved to fury; and when they had assembled at the school as usual, having snatched up a rod, he began to beat Simon, and suddenly through his body as if through smoke, there appeared ^B to pass through [him] a rod. At which, Dositheus, struck with astonishment, said to him, "Tell me, if you are the Standing One, that I may worship you." And when Simon answered, "I am," Dositheus, seeing that he himself was not the Standing One, fell down and worshipped him, and he indeed ceded his leadership to Simon, and ordered the entire order of the thirty men to obey him, while he himself took his place in the seat of Simon, and not long after, he died [(65)].

XII. Therefore, after the death of Dositheus, Simon took Luna, with whom he circuitously wanders even to the present day, as you see, deceiving the crowds and asserting that he himself is a certain power that is above the Creator God, but that Luna, who is with him, is brought down from the heavens above, and he asserts that she is the wisdom [who is] the mother of all, for whom, he says, the Greeks and barbarians fought; they were able to see a likeness of her [(66)] in some measure, but they were entirely ignorant of her as she truly is, for she was dwelling with that first and only God of all. And uttering these and other similar things with a grandiloquence of words, he deceived many. But I must also point out this, that I remember having seen it myself: when that Luna of his was once in a certain tower, a huge crowd had gathered to behold her and was standing all around the tower; yet she seemed to lean and look down through all the windows of that tower at all the people. And he did and does many other marvelous things, so that men, astonished by these, think that he himself is the highest God.

XIII. For when I and Nicetas once asked him to explain how these things could be accomplished by magical art, and what the nature of this matter was, Simon, as if to his intimates, began to explain it as follows: "Boys," he said, "who are incorrupt and violently killed, their soul [(67)] being evoked by ineffable adjurations, stands by me."

and through it, everything I command is done." I said, "Is it possible, I ask, for a soul to do these things?" He replied: "I want you to know this, that the soul of a man, when it has been stripped of the darkness of its body, occupies the second place after God. Finally, it also possesses foreknowledge, for which reason it is evoked for necromancy." And I replied: "Why then do the souls of the murdered not take vengeance on their murderers?" But he said: "Do you not remember what I said, that when it has departed from the body, it also possesses foreknowledge?" "I remember," I said. "For this reason, then," he said, "when it departs from the body, it immediately foreknows that there is a judgment to come, and that everyone will give an account for the evils they have committed here; and therefore they do not wish to take vengeance on their murderers, because they themselves bear torments for their own evils which they had committed here, and they know that in judgment, more severe punishments await them. Moreover, beyond all these things, they are not permitted by the angels who are set over them to go forth or do anything." And I replied: "If they are not permitted by the angels to come here or do what they wish, how do the souls obey the magician who evokes them?" "They do not," he said, "indulge the souls who wish to come; but when those angels who are in charge are adjured by their superior, they—we who adjure them—have an excuse for the violence, that they might allow the souls whom we evoke to go forth; for it is not they who sin, who suffer violence, but we who impose the necessity." To this Niceta, no longer capable of bearing it, replied prematurely—which I myself was also about to do, but I wanted first to extract everything from him; but, as I said, Niceta forestalling me: "And you," he said, "are you not afraid of the day of judgment, you who do violence to angels, and evoke souls, and deceive men, and purchase divine honor for yourself from men? And how do you persuade us that there will be no judgment, as some of the Jews assert, nor that souls are immortal, as it appears to most, when with your own eyes you see them, and get a sense of the divine judgment from them?"

XIV. At these things said by him, Simon turned pale, and yet, pulling himself together after a little while, he replied thus: "Do not think," he said, "that I am a man of your race; I am neither a magician, nor a moon-struck lover, nor the son of Antonius. For before my mother Rachel had relations with him, I was conceived of her as a virgin." ^A And when it was in my power to be either small or great, and to appear a man among men, I chose you as my first friends for the sake of putting you to the test, so that, once I had proven you, I might place you as my first friends in heavenly and ineffable places. Therefore, I lied about myself as human, so that I might prove you more clearly, to see if you would keep your affection for me intact." But I, hearing this, while judging him to be wretched, yet admiring his impudence, and blushing for his sake, and at the same time fearing that he might plot some evil against us, gave a sign to Niceta to pretend with me for a little while, and I said to him: "Do not be angry with us, incorruptible God, as if we were corruptible men; but rather accept our affection and our mind, which wishes to know who God is; for we did not yet know who you were, and we did not perceive that you are the one whom we were seeking."

XV. After we said these and similar things with a look adapted to the occasion, the most vain man believed that we were deceived, and, being all the more elated, he added even these things: "I am already propitious to you, for the affection you bear toward me as God; for you were loving me without knowing it, and you were seeking me without recognizing me. But I do not want you to doubt that this truly is to be God, when one can become small or great, if he ^B wills, for I was able to appear to men in any way whatsoever. Now, therefore, I will begin to reveal to you what is true. By my power, at one time I turned air into water, and water back into blood, and solidifying flesh, I formed a new human boy, and I produced a work far more noble than the Creator God. For He created man from the earth, but I—which is more difficult—from the air; and when I dissolved it again, I returned it to the air, yet I placed the form and likeness of him, depicted in an inner chamber, so that it might be a sign and a memory of my work." We understood, however, that he was saying this concerning that boy whose soul, having been killed by his violence, he was using for whatever ministries he wanted.

XVI. But Peter, hearing these things, said with tears: "I marvel greatly at the immense patience of God, and, on the other hand, at the audacity of human rashness in some. For what argument can be found further that might persuade Simon that God judges the wicked? When he himself convinces himself that the obedience of souls is used for the ministry of his own crimes? But in truth, he is mocked by ^C demons; yet when through these very things he is ^D convinced...

that souls are immortal and are judged for what they have done, and believes he sees the very substance of the soul, although, as I have said, he is deluded by demons—when, I say, he will confess this, will he then act wickedly, placed in such great evil, or will he think he must be judged for what he has done, he who, knowing the judgment of God, despises it and shows himself an enemy to God, and dares to commit such abominable things? Hence it is certain, my brothers, that many do not oppose the truth and religion of God because the reason for faith seems to them to be in no way consistent, but because they are either enveloped in the excess of their sins, or are forestalled by their own evils and elated by the pride of their hearts, so that they do not even believe those things which they reckon they see with their own eyes.

XVII. But since it seemed that attachment to God the Creator was enough for the salvation of those who loved Him, the enemy strives to pervert this attachment in men, and to make them enemies and ungrateful to their Creator. I call heaven and earth to witness that if the enemy were permitted by God to rage as much as he desires, all men would have perished long ago; but for the sake of mercy, God does not allow it. But if ^A men would turn their attachment toward God, they would all without doubt be saved, even if they seemed to be chastised for some sins for the sake of justice. But now most men have become enemies of God, because the wicked one has penetrated their hearts, and has turned back upon himself the attachment which God the Creator had implanted in them for Himself. But as for others, who seemed to watch even a little, he produced in them a phantasy of glory and splendor, and by promising certain great and vast things, he made their minds and souls wander from the true God; yet he is permitted to perpetrate these things by a certain just reason.

XVIII. To this Aquila replied: "What then do men lack, if the wicked one, transforming himself into a light of splendor, promises men greater things than God the Creator Himself?" And Peter said: "I think, he replied, that there is nothing more unjust than this, and listen to how far it is unjust. If your son, who has been educated and nourished by you with all diligence, and brought to mature age, is ungrateful to you, and leaving you goes to another whom he happens to see is wealthier, and shows to him the honor which he owed to you, and in the hope of greater gain denies his nature and flees his paternal rights, does it seem to you righteous, or impious?" And Aquila replied: "It is plain to all that it is impious." And Peter: "If therefore you call this impious among men, how much more so in the case of God, who is worthy to be honored by men above all men? We enjoy not only His benefits, but we began to exist by His help and power when we were not, and if we please Him, we shall earn from Him the reward of being eternal in good things. Therefore, ^B that the faithful may be distinguished from the faithful and the pious from the impious, it is permitted to the malignant to use these arts, by which the attachments of each toward the true Father may be tested. But if there were truly some other god, yet was it right to have abandoned the One who had created us and had been our Father and Creator, and to pass over to an alien?" And Aquila: "God forbid!" he said. Then Peter: "How then shall we say that the malignant one is the cause of our sin, when this is done by the permission of God, so that through him those may be tested and, in the day of judgment, convicted, who, invited by greater promises, have abandoned the piety of their true Father and Creator, while those who have kept the faith and charity of their own Father, even with poverty, if it should happen, and with tribulation, may enjoy heavenly gifts in His kingdom and immortal rewards? But we shall explain these things more diligently at another time. But I desire to know what Simon did after these things."

XIX. And Niceta replied: "When we sensed that he had understood that he had been exposed by us, we conversed among ourselves about his crimes, left him, and came to Zacchaeus, informing him of these very things which we have now brought to you. But he received us most kindly, and teaching us about the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, he joined us to the number of the faithful." And when Niceta had said this, Zacchaeus, who had gone out a little before, was entering, saying: "It is time that you proceed to the disputation, Peter; for a great crowd gathered in the atrium of the house is waiting for you, in the midst of whom Simon stands, propped up by many followers." Then Peter, when he heard this, bidding me to withdraw for the sake of prayer (for I was not yet cleansed from the sins which I had committed in ignorance), said to the others: "Let us pray, brothers, that God through His Christ, for His ineffable mercy, may help me, who am going forth for the salvation of men who were created by Him." And when he had said this, after prayer he proceeded to the atrium of the house, in which a very great multitude of people had gathered; and when he saw them all intent upon him in supreme ^C silence, and the magician Simon standing in their midst like a standard-bearer, he began in this way:

XX. "Peace be with you all, who are prepared to give your right hands to the truth; for whoever obeys it, while they indeed seem to themselves to confer some grace upon God, yet they themselves receive the gift of the highest reward, walking in the paths of His justice. Because of this, the first thing of all is to seek the justice of God and His kingdom; justice, indeed, so that we may be taught to act rightly; the kingdom, indeed, so that we may know what is the reward set for labor and patience, in which there is for the good, indeed, the remuneration of eternal blessings, but for those who have acted against the will of God, the just restitution of punishments according to each one's deeds. Here, therefore—that is, placed in the present life—it is fitting for you to recognize the will of God, ^D where there is also a place for acting."

For if anyone wishes, before amending his own actions, to inquire about things which he cannot find out, such an inquiry will be foolish and ineffectual. For time is short, and the judgment of God will be conducted on the basis of deeds, not questions. And therefore, before all things, let us examine this: what we must do, or in what manner it befits us to act, so that we may deserve to attain eternal life.

XXI. For if we occupy this brief time of life with vain and useless questions, we shall journey to God empty and devoid of good works, where the judgment, as I have said, will be upon our deeds. For every thing has its own time and place. The place for works is here; the time for the future age. Therefore, let us not be hindered by changing the order of places and times; let us first seek what the justice of God is, so that, as if about to make a journey, we may be filled with good works as abundant provisions, by which we may be able to reach the kingdom of God, as if it were a great city. For God is manifest to those who think rightly through the very works of the world which He has made, using the testimony of His own creation, ^A and therefore, since there ought to be no doubt concerning God, let us now inquire only about His justice and kingdom. But if our mind suggests that we should inquire about some secret and recondite things before we inquire about the works of justice, we ought to offer an accounting to ourselves; for if, by acting well, we merit attaining salvation, then, as chaste and pure ones, we shall be filled with the Holy Spirit upon going to God, and we shall know all things that are secret and hidden without any cavil of questions—things which, even if one were to consume the whole time of his life in inquiring about them now, he would not only fail to find, but would also entangle himself in greater errors, because he does not strive to arrive at the harbor of life by walking first along the path of justice.

XXII. And for this reason, I advise that His justice be sought first, so that, by traveling along this path, and by running not with the speed of feet but with the goodness of works ^B—using Him as our guide—we may suffer no error on this way. For if we merit entering the city which we desire to reach by following Him, we shall behold all the things now being asked about with our own eyes, having become heirs of all things. Understand, therefore, that this course of our life is the way, that those who perform good works are travelers, and that the true prophet of whom we speak is the gate, and the city is the kingdom in which the omnipotent Father resides, whom only those who are pure in heart can see. Therefore, let not the labor of this journey seem difficult to us, for at its end there will be rest; ^C for the true prophet himself, running through the age from the beginning of the world, hastens toward rest. For He is present with us every day, and if ever it is necessary, He appears and corrects us, so that, by obeying Him, He may lead us to eternal life. This, therefore, is my opinion, even as it has seemed to the true prophet: that one should inquire first about justice, especially by those who profess to know God. If, therefore, anyone has something that he thinks is more correct, let him speak, and when he has spoken, let him listen, but with patience and quiet. For this reason, from the beginning, under the appearance of a greeting, I prayed for peace for all.

XXIII. To these things Simon replied: We have no need of your peace; for if there is peace and concord, we shall be able to make no progress toward finding the truth; ^D for thieves have peace among themselves, and fornicators, and all wickedness agrees with itself. And so, if we have gathered here for this reason—that for the sake of peace we should give assent to everything that is said—we shall confer nothing upon those who hear; but on the contrary, having deceived them, we shall depart as friends. For which reason, do not invoke peace, but rather its mother, warfare; and if you can, defeat errors. Neither seek friendship brought about by unjust flatteries; for it is necessary to know this before all things.

^A I understand your craftiness; for you want to propose to yourself those things whose solution you have well meditated upon, so that you may appear to the ignorant crowds to say something correctly; but here with me you will have no place for such things. Now, therefore, since you promise as a brave man that you will answer everyone who wishes to propose something, answer me first in the meantime. And Peter said: I am ready, provided only that the discourse be with peace. Then Simon said: Do you not see, most ignorant man, that you are acting contrary to your master, by demanding peace, which surely does not befit him who promises that he will storm ignorance? Or if you rightly demand peace from your hearers, did your master not speak rightly: "I have not come to bring peace on earth, but a sword"? For either you speak well, and he does not well, or if your master speaks well, you speak most poorly, you who have not understood that you are putting forward things contrary to Him whose disciple you profess to be.

XXVII. To this Peter: Neither did He who sent me do wrong to send a sword into the earth, nor do I act contrary to Him, by seeking the peace of the hearers. But you both ignorantly and rashly find fault with those things which you do not understand; for you have heard that the master did not come to bring peace on earth, but you have not heard that He said: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God." For this reason I do not feel differently from the master by persuading peace, which He assigned to those maintaining blessedness. And Simon said: Desiring to answer for the master, O Peter, you have accused Him much more gravely if, when He Himself did not come to make peace, He commanded this to be preserved by others. And how will another word of His stand, which He said: "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master"?

XXVIII. Peter to this: Our master, he said, who was a true prophet and was mindful of Himself in all things, neither spoke things contrary to Himself, nor commanded us things different from those which He Himself performed. For what He says: "I have not come to bring peace on earth, but a sword," and from this you will see the father separated from the son, the son from the father, the husband from the wife, and the wife from the husband, and the mother from the daughter, the daughter from the mother, the brother from the brother, the mother-in-law from the daughter-in-law, the friend from the friend—these all contain the doctrine of peace, and how, listen. At the beginning of His preaching, as one who wishes to invite all and bring them to salvation, and to persuade them to the patience of labors and temptations, He was blessing the poor, and promising them that they would obtain the kingdom of heaven because of their endurance in penury, so that under such hope they might bear the weight of poverty equably, having spurned covetousness. For there is one, the greatest of the most pernicious sins, which is covetousness. But He also promised that those who hunger and thirst for the eternal goods of righteousness would be satisfied, so that, bearing their destitution tolerably, they would attempt nothing of unjust work on account of it. He likewise called the pure in heart blessed, and that through this they would see God, so that each one, desiring to obtain such a ^D good, might restrain himself from the worst and polluted thoughts.

XXIX. Thus, therefore, our master, to his disciples…

^A inviting them to patience, persuaded them that the good of peace should be guarded even with labor. On the contrary, he mourned for those who lived in wealth and luxury, who distributed nothing to the poor, arguing that they would render an account because they did not have compassion on their neighbors—whom they ought to have loved as themselves—not even when they were placed in poverty. By saying these things, he caused some to obey, but he rendered others his enemies. Therefore, he commands those who believe and obey to have peace among themselves, and says to them: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." But against those who not only did not believe, but also became adversaries of his doctrine, he declares a war of word and refutation, and says: "For from this you shall see the son separated from the father, and the husband from the wife, and the daughter from the mother, and the brother from the brother, and the daughter-in-law from the mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies shall be those of his own household." For in every house, when a diversity begins to exist between the believer and the non-believer, a struggle of necessity arises, while the unbelievers fight against the faith, but the believers refute in them their ancient error and the vices of their sins.

XXX. Similar war he also wages against the scribes and Pharisees at the end of his teaching, arguing against them for their evil deeds and incorrect doctrine, and for the fact that they hid the key of knowledge which they received, handed down by Moses, through which the door of the heavenly kingdom could be opened. But also, our Lord, sending us to preach, commanded us that into whatever city ^B or house we should enter, we should say: "Peace to this house; and if, indeed," he says, "there shall be a son of peace there, your peace shall come upon him; but if there shall not be, your peace shall return to you; but when leaving that house or city, that we should even shake off the dust which has clung to our feet against them. Truly, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city or house." Which, indeed, he commanded to be done only if the word of truth is first preached in the city or house, so that, from it, either those who receive the faith of truth may become sons of peace and sons of God, or those who do not receive it may be refuted as enemies of peace and of God.

XXXI. Thus, therefore, we too, keeping the master’s institutions, first propose peace to our auditors, so that the way of salvation may be recognized without any perturbation. But if anyone does not receive the words of peace nor acquiesce to the truth, we know how to move the struggle of the word against him, and to argue more sharply by refuting his ignorance and rebuking his sins. Therefore, we necessarily propose peace, so that if there is any son of peace, our peace may come upon him; but from him who has made himself an alien to peace, our peace shall return to us. We do not, therefore, as you maintain, propose peace by an agreement with the wicked; for we would certainly have given ^C our right hand to you at once, but rather, that by quietness and patience, while we are debating, the truth of the word might be more easily recognized by the listeners. But if you dissent and… ^D resist yourself, how will you stand? It is necessary that he who is divided against himself fall. For every kingdom divided against itself shall not stand. In addition to these things, if you have anything to suggest, speak.

XXXII. And Simon: I wonder at your foolishness. You thus propose the words of your master to us, as if it were considered a certainty that he is a prophet, whom I can very easily demonstrate to have said many things contrary to himself. Finally, from those things which you yourself brought forward, I shall argue against you. For you say that he said, "Every kingdom or every city divided against itself shall not stand." And elsewhere you say again that he said that he himself brought the sword, so that he might separate those who are in the house, so that the son might be divided from the father, and the daughter from the mother, and the brother from the brother, so that if there are five in one house, three shall be divided against two, and two against three. If, therefore, everything that is divided falls, he who creates divisions provided the causes of falling, and if he is such a one, he is certainly evil. Respond to this if you can.

XXXIII. And Peter: Do not rashly disparage, O Simon, those things which you do not understand. First, therefore, I shall respond to the fact that you say I am proposing my master’s words and, from them, resolving the things about which there is doubt. Our Lord, sending us apostles to preach, commanded us that we should teach all nations concerning those things which have been mandated to us. We cannot, therefore, speak them as they were spoken by him. For we have it in our mandates not to speak them, but to teach them, and from them to show how each one of them is bolstered by truth. Nor, again, is it permitted for us to say anything of our own. For we have been sent, and of necessity he who has been sent reports that which he has been ordered, and explains the will of the sender. For if I were to say something other than what he who sent me commanded, I would be a false apostle, not saying what I was ordered to say, but what seems right to me. And whoever does that clearly wishes to show himself better than he who sent him, and he is without doubt a prevaricator. But if he follows those things which he has been ordered to do and brings forward their most manifest assertions, he will be seen to perform the work of an apostle, which I am now striving to fulfill and do not please you. Therefore, do not reproach me for bringing forward the words of him who sent me; but if there is anything in them which has not been stated correctly, you are free to argue against me from that point; which, however, can in no way be done. (For he is a prophet and cannot be contrary to himself.) Or if you do not think him to be a prophet, this should be investigated first.

XXXIV. And Simon: I have no need to say this with you, but how these things are consistent with each other. For if he is shown to be inconsistent, then at the same time it will be taught that he is not a prophet. Then Peter: But if I first, he says, show him to be a prophet, this which seems to be inconsistent will not be so, for no one is proven to be a prophet by consistency, because it is possible for many to do this; but if consistency is…

found to be in itself deep in reason, just as other things which seem to have consistency, when discussed more diligently, are found to be inconsistent, for this reason I do not think there is a straighter way to distinguish these things than if we first know if he who spoke those things which seem to be inconsistent is a prophet. For if he is found to be a prophet, it is certain that all those things which seem contrary to one another have consistency, but are not understood. Therefore, proofs should be more rightly sought from these. For we have been sent to explain the words of Him who sent us and to affirm His thoughts, but we have no mandate to speak anything of our own, but, as I said, to reveal the truth of His words. ^B

XXXV. And Simon said: "Teach us, then, how it is fitting for Him who causes divisions—divisions which cause those who are divided to fall—to be seen as either good, or to have come for the salvation of men." And Peter said: "Hear how our Master said that every kingdom, and every house divided against itself, cannot stand. But when He Himself causes this, see how it yields to salvation. He divides the kingdom of the world, and every house in it, which is placed in error, with the word of truth, undoubtedly so that error may fall and truth may reign. But if it happens to some house that error introduced by someone divides the truth, when error has prevailed, it is certain that truth cannot stand." And Simon said: "But it is uncertain whether your Master divides error or truth." And Peter said: "That is a matter for another question. But if it is certain to you that everything which is divided falls, it remains for me to show, if you are only willing to hear with peace, that our Jesus has divided and resolved error, ^C and taught the truth."

XXXVI. Then Simon said: "Cease, I pray, from frequently repeating the discourse on peace, but explain briefly what it is that you think or believe." And Peter said: "Why do you fear to hear often of peace? Or are you ignorant that peace is the perfection of the law? For wars and contentions are born from sins, but where no sin is committed, there is peace of soul; but where there is peace, truth is found in disputes, and justice in works." And Simon said: "You seem to me unable to profess what you think." And Peter said: "I will say it, yet by my own choice, not forced by your sophistries. For I desire that that which is saving and useful should be brought to the knowledge of all, and therefore I will not delay from stating it as briefly as possible. There is one God, the same who is the creator of the world, a just judge, and at some time restoring to everyone according to their acts. Truly, for the assertion of these things, I know that innumerous thousands of words can be brought forward."

XXXVII. And Simon said: "I marvel indeed at the speed of your wit, yet I do not embrace the error of your faith; for you have prudently foreseen that you could be contradicted, and you have even urbanely professed it yourself, ^D that for the assertion of these things, innumerous thousands of words will be moved; for the profession of your faith accords with no one. Finally, who is there who would accept this first point: that there is one God whose work the world is? I think that not one of the pagans, even if he were an ignoramus, and certainly none of the philosophers—but not even the most unlearned and miserable of the Jews—would receive it, nor even I myself, who know their law well." And Peter said: "Dismiss, I say, the opinions of those who are absent; state to him who is present what seems [right] to you." Then Simon said: "I can, I say, explain what I truly feel, but that consideration makes me slothful: for if I speak, since it is neither consistent with you nor seems right to this unlearned mob, you, indeed, as if struck dumb, immediately closing your ears as if they were being polluted by blasphemy, will turn to flight, because you will not find what to answer; while the irrational crowd, having agreed with you, will embrace you as if teaching what is known to them, but they will execrate me as one professing certain new and unheard-of things, and bringing my error into the minds of others."

XXXVIII. Then Peter: "Are you not using the very shifts in which you were accusing us, having nothing of truth to offer? But if you have it, begin without circumlocutions, if you only have confidence; and if what you say does not please any of the auditors, he will depart, but those who remain will be compelled to prove by your assertions what is true. Begin, therefore, to explain what seems right to you." And Simon said: "I say that there are many gods, yet one who is incomprehensible and unknown to all, and that He is the God of all these gods." Then Peter said: "This one, you say, who is incomprehensible and unknown to all, can you prove Him from the Scriptures of the Jews which are held in authority, or from some others—which we are all ignorant of—or from Greek authors, or from your own scriptures? Certainly, from whichever you wish, speak out, yet in such a way that you show them to be prophetic first; for so it will be that their authority is held to be indubitable."

XXXIX. And Simon said: "I will use assertions from the law of the Jews alone. For it is manifest to all who care for religion that this law is of full authority, yet that each one receives the understanding of this law according to his own sense. For so it was written by Him who created the world, so that faith might be held in the very nature of things. Whence, whether one wishes to bring forward true, or even false things, no assertion will be accepted without this law. Because, therefore, my knowledge most fully accords with the law, I have rightly declared that there are many gods, of whom one is more eminent and incomprehensible, and He is the God whom the law has taught. But that there are many gods, the law itself teaches me. First, indeed, where it is said by the person of the serpent to Eve, the first woman: 'Whatever day you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall be as gods', that is, as those who made man...

for at the beginning God says to the other gods: 'Let us make man in our image and likeness'. And that which he says: 'Let us cast him out'. And again: 'Come, let us descend and confound their languages'. All these things indicate that there are many gods. But it is also written: 'You shall not revile the gods, and the prince of your people you shall not curse'. And again, what is written: 'The Lord alone was leading them, and there was no alien god with them', shows that there are many gods. There are also many other testimonies that can be brought forth from the Law, not only obscure ones, but also manifest ones, by which it is taught that there are many gods; of whom one was chosen by lot to be the God of the people of the Jews. Yet I do not assert this one, but Him who is the God even of this one, whom not even the Jews themselves have known. For He is not their God, but the God of those who have recognized Him."

XL. Having heard these things, Peter said: "Do not be afraid, Simon; for see, we have neither closed our ears nor fled, but we respond to those things which you have falsely set forth with words of truth, asserting first this: that God is one, this very God of the Jews, who is the only God, the creator of heaven and earth, who is also the God of all whom you call gods. If, therefore, I show that none is superior to Him, but that He is above all things, you will confess that your error is above all things." And Simon said: "For what, even if I should not wish to confess it, will not my hearers who are present refute me if I am unwilling to profess what is true?"

XLI. "Listen then," said Peter, "so that you may know first ^B that although there are many said to be gods, as you claim, they are subject to the God of the Jews, to whom there is neither an equal, nor can there be a greater; for it is written that the prophet Moses spoke to the Jews thus: 'The Lord your God, this is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords, the great God'. So, even if there are many who are called gods, there is yet one God of all the Jews, who is also called the God of gods. For not everyone who has been called a god is immediately a god. Finally, Moses is called a god of Pharaoh, and it is certain that he was a man. And judges are called gods, and it is established that they were mortals. The idols of the nations are also called gods, and we all know that they are not; but to the impious, as though as a punishment, it has been given that, because they did not wish to know the true God, whatever shape or image occurred to them should be held by them as God. Since ^C they refused to receive the knowledge of one—who, as I said, is the God of all—it is therefore allowed to them to have those as gods who can do nothing of benefit for those who supplicate them. For what can either inanimate idols or living things confer upon men, when the power of all things resides in One?"

XLII. There are, therefore, three ways by which any one is called God: either because he is truly God, or because he serves Him who is truly God, and on account of the honor of the sender, so that his authority might be full. He who is sent is called by this name, which belongs to Him who sent him, as has often happened regarding the angels, who, however, when they have appeared to a man—if he be a prudent and learned man—he asks the name of him who has appeared, so that he may acknowledge both the honor of the one sent and the authority of the one sending. For there is an angel ^D of every nation, to whom the dispensation of that nation has been entrusted by God, although when he appears, however much he might be thought...

to be a god by those whom he rules, he himself will not give such testimony to himself. For the high God, who alone holds the power over all things, divided the total nations of the earth into seventy-two parts and appointed angel princes over them. But to the one who was greatest among the archangels, there was given by lot the dispensation of those who, beyond all others, received the worship and knowledge of the high God. Moreover, holy men, as we have said, are made gods of the impious, as those who have received power over them in life and death, as we mentioned above concerning Moses and the judges. For this reason it is written of them: "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people" (Exod. xxii, 28). Therefore the princes of individual nations are called gods. But the God of the princes is Christ, who is the judge of all. Truly, therefore, neither angels, nor men, nor any creature can be gods, seeing that they are placed under authority, as beings created and changeable; angels, indeed, as those who were not and have come to be, but men as mortals, and every creature as one that can be dissolved, but only if he who created it should dissolve it. And for that reason He alone is the true God, who not only Himself lives, but also grants life to others, which He can also take away when He wills.

XLII. For this reason, then, the Scripture cries out through the person of the God of the Jews, and says: "See, see that I am God, and there is no other besides me. I will kill and I will make alive; I will strike, and I will heal, and there is no one who shall deliver out of my hands" (Deut. xxxii, 39). See, therefore, how with an ineffable power the Scripture, occurring to the future errors of those who would affirm that another God, besides Him who is the God of the Jews, exists either in heaven or on earth, makes a proclamation, saying: "The Lord thy God is one God, in heaven above, and in the earth beneath, and besides Him there is no other" (Deut. iv, 39). How then have you dared to say that there is another God, besides Him who is the God of the Jews? And again the Scripture says: "Behold the heaven and the heaven of heaven of the Lord thy God, the earth and all things that are in them. Nevertheless, the Lord chose thy fathers to love them, and you after them" (Deut. x, 14, 15). Thus, on every side, this opinion is fortified by the Scripture, that He who created the world is the true and only God.

XLIV. For even if there are others, as we have said, who are called gods, they are under the authority of the God of the Jews, because the Scripture thus spoke to the Jews: "The Lord our God, He is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords" ^B (Deut. x, 17). The Scripture admonishes that Him alone is to be worshipped, saying: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve" (Deut. vi, 13; x, 20). And: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one God" (Deut. vi, 4). Finally, even the holy ones, filled with the Spirit of God and sprinkled with the drops of His mercy, cried out, saying: "Who is like unto thee among the gods, O Lord, who is like unto thee?" (Psal. lxxxv, 8). And again: "What God is there besides the Lord, and what God is there besides our God?" Thus Moses, when he saw the people progressing, gradually initiated them into the understanding of the monarchy, and the faith of the one God, as he says in what follows: "Thou shalt not commemorate the names of other gods" (Exod. xxiii, 13), remembering without doubt with what punishment the serpent was condemned, who first mentioned gods. For he is condemned to eat the earth, and is judged worthy of such food for that reason, that he introduced the first of all the appellations of gods into the world. If you also wish to introduce many gods, see that you do not suffer an end similar ^C to the serpent's.

XLV. But be certain that you shall not have us as associates in this daring, nor will we suffer ourselves to be deceived by you. For it will not profit us for an excuse in the judgment if we say that you deceived us, because not even the first woman could excuse herself for having wrongly believed the serpent, but she was condemned to death because she believed wrongly. For this reason, therefore, Moses, also commending the faith of the one God to the people, says: "Observe thyself, that thou be not seduced by the Lord thy God" (Deut. vi, 12). See that he uses the same word which the first woman also used in her excuse, saying that she had been seduced, but it profited nothing. Above all, however, even if some true prophet were to arise and perform signs and wonders, and were to wish to persuade us that we should worship other gods besides the God of the Jews, we could never believe him. For the divine law has so taught us, commending its secret word more purely by tradition. It says therefore: "If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives signs or wonders, and those signs or wonders come to pass, and he says to thee, let us go and worship gods... ^D

^A whom you do not know, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, because the Lord your God is testing you, to see whether you love the Lord your God."

XLVI. Therefore, even our Lord, in performing signs and wonders, preached the God of the Jews, and for this reason, His preaching is rightly believed. But you, even if you were truly a prophet and performed signs and wonders as you promise, and preached other gods besides Him who is true, it would be manifest that you had been raised up to test the people of God, and for this reason you cannot be believed at all. For there is one who is true, who is the God of the Jews, and it is for this reason that our Lord Jesus Christ taught that one should search not for the God whom they already knew well, but for His kingdom and righteousness; which the Scribes and Pharisees, having accepted the key of knowledge, had not locked away, but had excluded. For if they had been ignorant of the true God, He would certainly never have criticized them for such small and insignificant things—the very things that were the head of all matters—such as that they dilated their fringes, claimed the first places at banquets, and prayed while standing at crossroads, and other things similar to these, which, when compared to this great head of all matters—namely, ignorance of God—appear petty and small.

XLVII. And Simon said to these things: "By the words of your own master, I will convince you that even He introduces a God who was unknown to all. For since Adam knew God as his creator and the maker of the world, and Enoch, who was even translated by Him, and Noah, who was commanded by Him to build the ark, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and everyone else—the whole people and all nations—knew the maker of the world and confessed Him to be God, your Jesus, who appeared long after the Patriarchs, says: 'No one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.' Thus, therefore, your Jesus admits that there is another God, incomprehensible and unknown to all."

XLVIII. Then Peter said: "You do not perceive that you are offering things that are contrary to yourself. For if our Jesus knows this one whom you call the unknown God, then He is no longer known by you alone. Nay, if our Jesus knows Him, Moses also, who prophesied that Jesus would come, certainly did not ignore Him; for he was a prophet, and he who prophesied concerning the Son had undoubtedly known the Father. For if it is in the will of the Son to reveal the Father to whom He wills, the Son, who from the beginning and always was with the Father through every generation, as He revealed the Father to Moses, so He did to the other prophets; and if this is so, it is certain that the Father was unknown to no one. But as for you, who do not believe in the Son, how could the Father, who is known to no one except him to whom the Son wills to reveal Him, be revealed to you? Yet the Son reveals the Father to those who honor the Son just as they honor the Father."

XLIX. Then Simon said: "Remember," he said, "that you said ^B that God has a son; what an injury! For how can He have a son, unless He suffers things similar to men or animals? But there is no time now to argue against your profound stupidity, for I am hurrying to explain the immensity of the supreme light, and now listen. I believe that there is some virtue of an immense and ineffable light, whose magnitude is considered incomprehensible, which virtue even the creator of the world ignores, and the legislator Moses, and your master Jesus."

L. Then Peter: "Does it not seem to you to be a matter of madness to want to assert that there is some other God than the God of all, and to say: 'I think there is some virtue,' and before it is even certain to oneself what one is saying, to want to confirm it to others? Is there anyone so rash as to believe your words, in which he can see that you yourself are doubting; and to admit that there is some virtue unknown to the creator God, and to Moses, and to the prophets, and to the Law, and even to Jesus, our master, which virtue is so good that it wishes to be known by no one, except to one person alone, and that person you? Then furthermore, if that virtue is new, how does it not give us some new sense besides these five that we possess, so that from that new sense bestowed upon us by it, we might be able to grasp and understand itself, which is new? Or if it cannot bestow it, how has it bestowed it upon you? Or if it revealed it to you, why not to us? But if you perceived it by yourself, which not even the prophets were able to feel or understand, tell us now what each of us is thinking: For if there is such a great spirit in you, that you know those things which are above the heavens, unknown to all and incomprehensible to all, you would much more easily recognize human thoughts ^C which are held on earth. But if you cannot know our thoughts, we who stand here, how do you say that you know those things which you affirm to be known to no one?"

LI. "But believe me, that you would never know what light is, unless you had received both the sight and the intellect for seeing from the light itself; so it is with other things. From this, having received intelligence, you imagine something greater and more sublime in the manner of a dream, though the occasion is taken from these five senses, for whose giver you are ungrateful. But be certain that as long as you do not find some new sense, which is outside these five that we all use, you will not be able to assert the existence of a new God." And Simon said: "Since all things that exist consist of five senses, that virtue which is more eminent than all things cannot add anything new." And Peter said: "That is false. For there is also another, a sixth sense, that is, of foreknowing; for these five senses are capable of knowledge, but the sixth is of foreknowledge, which the prophets possessed. How, therefore, can you know a God unknown to all, you who have not even known the prophetic sense, which is of foreknowledge?" Then Simon began to say: "This virtue which I speak of as incomprehensible and more eminent than all things, even than God Himself who created the world, is known neither by any of the angels, nor ^D by demons, nor by the Jews, nor by any creature whatsoever that exists by God the creator. For..."

how, indeed, could the law teach me of the Creator Himself, when it did not even know what it was to teach LII. And Peter said, "I wonder how you could have learned more from the law than the law itself was able to teach or know, or how you can claim to bring forward proofs for these things from the law, when you assert that you know neither the things you speak of, nor Him who gave the law, that is, the Creator of the world? But I also wonder how you, who alone know these things, stand here in the narrow compass of this courtyard, surrounded by the crowd." And Simon, seeing Peter laughing along with all the people, said, "Do you laugh, Peter, while a discourse on such great and lofty matters is being held?" Then Peter said, "Do not be indignant, Simon; for we are not doing anything contrary to our promise, nor are we closing our ears, as you were saying, nor, immediately upon hearing ineffable things put forth by you, have we taken to flight, or even moved from our place. For not even things that are likely are produced by you, such as might in any way deter us, or at least open to us an understanding of this statement: how you say that you are taught by the law about a God whom the law itself does not know, and whom even He who gave the law ignores." And Simon said, "If you have finished laughing, I will prove it by evident assertions." And Peter said, "Be sure to finish, so that I may be able to learn from you how you have learned from the law what the law does not know and what the God of the law himself ignores."

LIII. And Simon said, "Listen. It is manifest to all, and discovered through a certain ineffable reasoning, that there is one God, who is better than all, from whom everything that is took its beginning; whence it is necessary that all things which are after Him be subject to Him, as to the Prince of all and the more eminent Being. Therefore, when I had known that this God who had created the world, according to what the law teaches, was in many respects weak—and infirmity is far removed from a perfect God—and saw that He was not perfect, I necessarily understood that there was another who was perfect. For this one, as I said, according to what the scripture of the law teaches, is found to be infirm in many respects. First, because the man whom He fashioned could not remain such as He himself had wished; and because He is not good who laid a law on the first man, that he might eat from all the trees of paradise, but should not touch the tree of knowledge, and yet if he did taste it, he would die. For why would He forbid him to eat and to know what was good and what was evil, that knowing them he might avoid evils indeed, and choose good things? But He did not even grant this; and because he tasted contrary to the command and knew what was good, and learned for the sake of honor to cover his shameful parts (for he felt it was indecorous to stand before his Creator with his shame revealed), He condemns to death him who had learned to show honor to God, and curses the serpent who had shown these things. But if man was to be harmed by this, why did He place the cause of harming in paradise at all? If, however, what He placed in paradise was good, it is not the act of a good being to prohibit what is good."

LIV. "Thus, therefore, since He who made man and the world is, according to what the law relates, ^A imperfect, another is without doubt to be understood who is perfect. For it is necessary that there be someone more excellent than all, for the sake of whom every creature keeps its order. Whence I also, knowing that it is absolutely necessary that there be someone more benign and more powerful than he who gave the law—an imperfect god—thinking through a comparison of the imperfect what is perfect, I understood from the Scripture itself the God about whom nothing had been written. And in this way I was able, O Peter, to learn from the law what the law did not know. And if the law had not provided the indications by which it was concluded that the God who built the world is imperfect, it would have been possible for me, even from those evils which are done in this world and are not corrected, to conclude either that its creator is incapable, since he does not correct things done ill if he cannot, or that, if he does not wish to take away evils, he himself is evil; if, however, he neither can nor will, he is neither powerful nor good. And from these things it is necessarily concluded that there is another God, more excellent and more powerful than all. If you have anything to say to this, do not delay."

LV. Peter answered, "Those who do not read the law with teachers to present it, but have themselves as teachers, and think they can understand the law which he who has learned from a master has not explained to them, are accustomed to meditate on such absurdities against God, O Simon. ^B Nevertheless, now, that we also may appear to follow the scripture of the law according to your own sense, because you say that the Creator of the world is shown to be both incapable and not good, how have you not seen that even this virtue of yours, which you say is more eminent than all, falls under and is subject to those very same reproaches? For in the same manner it can be said of it, that concerning all things which are done ill here, either that power is incapable because it does not correct them, or if it can and does not wish to, it is evil. If, however, it neither can nor wishes to, it is both incapable and imperfect. Whence your new virtue is found subject not only ^C to a similar fault, but even to a worse one, if, beyond all these things, it is even believed to exist when it does not. For he who created the world, that it exists is manifest from His work by which He created the world, as you yourself also confess. But that virtue which you say you alone know offers no evidence of itself, by which we might at least perceive that it is and subsists."

LVI. "What is it, then, that we should abandon God, in whose world we live and enjoy all things necessary for life, and follow I know not whom, from whom we not only attain nothing good, but cannot even know the very fact that he exists, namely because he does not even exist? For whether you call him light, and more brilliant than this light which we see, you borrow the very name from the Creator of the world; or if you say he is a substance above ^D

all things, you infer the understanding of him from the augmentation of speech—whether mind, or goodness, or life, or whatever else you might mention, you change the terms from this source. Since, therefore, you have nothing new concerning that power of which you speak, not only to be understood, but not even to be named, how do you introduce a new God, whose name you do not even find to be new? For power not only is not called the Creator of the world, but neither are the ministers of his glory and all the celestial host. Does it not seem better to you, therefore, that we should follow our Maker, God, as a Father who instructs us and trains us as He Himself has known? And if there is some God, as you say, who is more benign than all, it is certain that He is not angry with us; if He is angry, He is evil. But our God, if He is angry and seeks to avenge, is not evil but just, for He chastises and corrects His own children. But he who has nothing to do with us, if he should wish to take vengeance upon us by inflicting punishments because we have not abandoned our Father to follow him, drawn away by empty suspicions, how is this one then asserted by you to be "good," who cannot even be understood as just? ^A

LVII. Then Simon: "Are you so erring, Peter, that you do not know that our souls are from a good God, who is more excellent than all, but have been brought as captives into this world?" And Peter: "Therefore He is not unknown to all, as you were saying a little while ago; and yet how did the good God allow the captivity of His own souls to happen, if there was a power more potent than all?" And Simon: "He Himself sent the Creator God to create the world, but he, having created the world, proclaimed himself God." And Peter: "Therefore he is not unknown to the one who created the world, as you said above, nor do the souls ignore him, since they were led off by him. To whom, then, will he now be unknown, if even the Creator of the world knows him, as if sent by him—according to what you say—and all souls as if violently dragged here by him? Then, pray, tell me: did he who sent the creator of the world not know that he who was being sent would not keep faith? If he did not know, he was not foreknowing; but if he foreknew and suffered it, he himself is guilty of this deed because he did not forbid it; but if he could not, he is not omnipotent. But if, as if knowing it as a good thing, he did not prohibit it, he is found to be better who presumed to do that because he did not know the good which the sender avoided." ^B

LVIII. And Simon: "He receives," he says, "those who of their own will come to him, and he does good to them." And Peter: "Neither is this new; for he whom you confess to be the creator of the world does this also." And Simon: "But the good God grants salvation only if he is known, whereas the creator of the world expects even the law to be fulfilled." And Peter: "Does He then save both adulterers and murderers if they have known Him, but does not save the good and sober or the merciful if, having received no hint of Him, they have ignored Him? You proclaim a great and good god who saves the wicked as surely as one who grants no mercy to the good. And Simon: "It is indeed a great labor for a man placed in the flesh to recognize him. For this body, by which the soul is surrounded, is fouler than all darkness and heavier than all mire." And Peter: "Therefore this good God seeks things that are difficult. But He who is truly God seeks what is easier. Let Him therefore dismiss us, as a good Father and our Creator, and when we have departed from the body and have left behind these glooms of which you speak, then we shall recognize Him ^C more easily, and then the soul shall recognize its own Creator God the more, and it will remain with Him, and it will no longer be fatigued by diverse cogitations, nor will it wish to flee to another power, which is known to no one except to Simon alone; which is of such goodness that, unless someone has first been impious toward his own parent, he cannot come to it. I do not know how this power is to be called either good or just, to which it is not possible to be pleasing unless one has acted impiously toward Him by whom he was made."

LIX. And Simon: "It is not impious, for the sake of utility and greater gain, to flee to him who is of more opulent glory." And Peter: "If, as you say, it is not impious to flee to a stranger, it is much more pious to remain with one's own father, even if he is poor. But if you do not think it impious that, having left our father, we should flee to another as if to a better one, and you do not believe that our Creator is indignant for this, much more will the good God not be indignant that, when we were strangers to Him, we did not flee to Him but remained with our Creator; and I think that for this He will praise us the more, because we keep faith with our Creator God, considering that if we had been ^D His own, we never would have left Him to be seduced by alien enticements. For if anyone, enticed by more opulent promises, having left his own parent, should flee to a stranger, it may happen that, having again left him, he may go to another who has promised greater things, all the more because he was not the son of that one, inasmuch as he was able to leave even him who by nature was his father." And Simon: "What if the souls are from him, and they ignore him, and he is truly their father?"

LX. And Peter: "You show sufficiently," he says, "that he is invalid. For if he is, as you say, more potent than all, he is never to be believed to have had his spoils taken away by one less potent, or if he were able to have them taken away by force...

and sent into this world, how would the good God call to punishment those who, through his own sloth or infirmity, were able to be dragged to this place and enveloped by the body, as if by the darkness of ignorance? You seem to me to be ignorant of what Father and God is, or where souls come from, or when and how they were made. I could tell you, but it is not right to reveal these things to you now, placed as you are in such great error concerning the knowledge of God. Then Simon said: "There will be a time when you will repent that you did not understand what I said concerning the ineffable power." And Peter said: "Give us then, as I have often said already, as if you were a new God or one who has descended from him, some new sense through which we can recognize the new God you speak of; for these five senses, which the creator God has given us, keep faith with their Creator, nor do they perceive that there is any other God, as their own nature, which provides for them, dictates."

LXI. To this, Simon said: "Apply your mind to the things I am about to say, and make it travel along invisible paths to arrive at the things I shall demonstrate to you. Hearken, therefore, now: have you never, when fixed in thought, extended your mind to regions or islands situated far away, and remained so fixed in them in your spirit that you could not even see things present or know where you yourself were sitting, because of the sweetness of the things held before your eyes?" And Peter said: "It is true, Simon; this often happens to me." And Simon said: "So then, now too extend your sense into heaven, and again above heaven, and see that there must be some place that is beyond the world or outside the world, in which there is neither heaven nor earth, nor does the shadow of these create darkness there; and since there are no bodies in it, nor darkness from bodies, necessarily it must be an immense light. And consider of what sort the light could be, to which no darkness succeeds. For if the light of this sun fills this whole world, how great do you estimate that incorporeal and infinite light to be? It is without doubt so great that this light of the sun would appear to be darkness and not light in comparison to it."

LXII. When Simon said these things, Peter answered: "Listen patiently, therefore, concerning both things—that is, both the example of extending the sense and the immensity of the light. I know myself, O Simon, sometimes when fixed in thought to have extended my sense to regions, as you say, and to islands situated far away, and to have perceived them with my mind no less than with my eyes. When I was at Capharnaum, occupied in fishing, and sitting upon a rock, having in my hand a hook attached to a line and fitted for catching fish, I did not even feel the fish clinging to it, while my mind, stretched out, was running through the Jerusalem that is desirable to me, to which I had often gone for the sake of offerings and prayers, keeping watch. Indeed, hearing others marvel at this Cæsarea, I was accustomed to desire it, and to think of the city I had not yet been to ^B as if I were seeing the great city, its gates, walls, baths, streets, alleys, forums, and their consequences, according to those things, of course, which I had seen in other cities; and I was so delighted by the intention of such a contemplation that truly, as you yourself said, I neither saw the things and persons present, nor did I know where I was sitting." And Simon said: "Now you speak correctly."

LXIII. And Peter said: "Finally, when, occupied in mind, I did not in the least feel the very large fish that had clung to the hook, and even when it was forcibly pulling the fishing-line from my hands, my brother Andrew, who was sitting with me, seeing me stunned and almost about to fall, poked my side with his elbow and awakened me as if I were sleeping, saying: 'Do you not see, Peter, how large a fish you have caught? Have you lost your mind, that you are so stunned and stupefied? What is it that you are suffering? Tell me.' But I, being a little indignant at him because he had called me away from the sweetness of the things I was contemplating, replied that I was suffering no evil, but that I was contemplating in my mind the Jerusalem desirable to me, and at the same time Cæsarea, and while I was with him in body, my mind was being taken away entirely to that place. But he, inspired from I know not where, brought forth a deep and secret word of truth."

LXIV. "Cease," he said, "Peter; what is this that you are doing? For those who begin to be filled or moved by a demon in their mind have beginnings of this sort: through phantasies they are first transferred to all things pleasant and delightful; then, they are poured out into things that do not exist, with vain and empty motions. This, however, happens from a certain languor of the soul, by which it does not see the things that are, but desires to bring before its view things that are not. But it happens in the same way to those who suffer from frenzy and seem to themselves to see many images, because their soul, shaken and moved from its places by an excess of cold or heat, suffers an error of its natural service. But also those who labor with thirst, when they come into a stupor, seem to themselves to see rivers and springs and to drink; this, however, those who labor from the dryness of an intemperate body suffer. Because of which, it is certain that these things occur because of some vice of either the soul or the body."

LXV. "Finally, so that you may receive proof of the matter: concerning Jerusalem, which I had often seen, I was telling my brother what places or what assemblies I had thought I saw. But also concerning Cæsarea, which I had never seen, I was nonetheless contending that it was such as I had conceived in my mind and thought. When, however, I had come here, looking at nothing at all similar to those things which I had seen through phantasies, I rebuked myself and noted it well, because from other things I had seen, I had granted it gates and walls and other buildings, truly taking a likeness from other things. For no one can imagine something new, the form of which has never existed. For even if one should wish to form from his own thought bulls with five heads, he fashions those with five heads from those he has seen with single heads. And you, therefore, now, if you are truly—"

^A able to look into your thought and see beyond the heavens, it is not to be doubted that you are contemplating from these things what you see while placed on earth. But if you think that access to your mind beyond the heavens is easy, and that you are able to contemplate what is there, and to grasp the knowledge of that immense light, I think that for one who can comprehend those things, it would be easier that he should cast into the heart and breast of one of us who stand by, the thoughts which he keeps within him, and speak them. If, therefore, you are able to declare the thoughts of the heart of any one of us—who, however, is not preoccupied with your favor—we shall perhaps be able to believe you, that you have also been able to know those things which are above the heavens, although those things are much higher.

LXVI. To this Simon replied: You who have woven so many trifles, listen now. It is impossible that everything which has come into the mind of man should not also exist in reality and truth; for things that do not exist do not even have form, and those which do not have form cannot even occur to thought. And Peter said: If everything that can come into thought exists, this place of immensity outside the world of which you speak, if one were to think of it in his heart as light, and another as darkness, how can one and the same place, according to those who have thought differently about it, be both light and darkness? And Simon: Leave aside now these things which I have said; say yourself what you think is above the heavens?

LXVII. And Peter said: If you believed in the true source of light, I could teach you what and how that which is immense is, and I would offer not a vain fantasy, but a consistent and necessary reason of truth, and I would not use sophisticated assertions, but the testimonies of law and nature, that you might know that the law especially contains the faith of immensity. But if the reason of immensity does not escape the law, surely nothing else can escape it, and therefore it is false that you thought there is something which the law is ignorant of. But nothing at all will escape Him who gave the law. Yet I cannot speak to you of immensity and those things which are without end, unless you either receive our argument regarding those heavens which are bounded by certain limits, or you yourself bring forth your own. But if you cannot understand those things which are concluded by certain limits, you will neither be able to know nor to learn anything about those which are without end.

LXVIII. To this Simon said: It seems better to me, he says, simply to believe that God is, and that this alone which we see is the heaven in the whole world. And Peter said: Not so, but it is fitting to confess one God who truly is; that there are heavens ^B which were made by Him, just as the law also says, of which one heaven is the higher one, by which also the visible firmament is contained, and that it is perpetual and eternal with those who dwell there; but this visible one is to be resolved and pass away at the consummation of the age, so that that heaven which is more ancient and higher may appear after the judgment to the saints and the worthy. To this Simon replied: That these things are so, as you say, may appear to believers, but to one who expects the reasons for these things, it is impossible that they be brought forth from the law, and especially regarding the immensity of light.

LXIX. And Peter said: Do not think that we say that these things should be received by faith alone, but also established by reason. For it is not safe to entrust these things to mere faith without reason, since truth certainly does not lack reason. And therefore, whoever has received these things fortified by reason can never lose them; but he who receives them without arguments by the assent of simple discourse, can neither preserve them safely, nor is he certain if they are true, because he who believes easily, also easily recedes; but he who has sought the reason of those things which he believed, and has received it, as though bound by certain ties of reason itself, can never be torn away or separated from what he has believed. And therefore the more inclined one is to seek after reason, the stronger he will be in preserving the faith.

LXX. To this Simon said: It is a great thing, he says, that you promise that the eternity of the immense light can be shown from the law. And when Peter had said: Whenever you wish, Simon says: Since the hour is now late, for tomorrow standing by me and persisting, if you can prove that this world was made and that souls are immortal, you shall have me as a helper of your preaching. And when he had said these things, he went out, but a third part of all the people, which had come with him, followed him, who were about a thousand men; but the others, on bended knees, prostrated themselves before Peter, over whom he, having invoked the name of God, cured others who had demons, and healed others who were languishing, and thus dismissed the rejoicing people, commanding them that they should convene more maturely on the morrow. But when the crowds had withdrawn, Peter ordered a mat to be spread under the open air of the atrium where the discussion had been held, and he reclined together with the eleven; but I, with certain others who themselves had received the beginnings of hearing the word of God and were very dear, reclining, was taking food.

LXXI. But most benignant Peter, considering lest perhaps this separation should bring me sadness, said to me: Not out of pride, O Clement, do I not hold a banquet with those who are not yet purified, but I fear lest perhaps I should do harm to myself, while to them...

of no profit to me. For I wish you to know this for certain, that every one who has ever worshipped idols and adored those whom the pagans call gods, or has tasted of things offered to them, is not without an unclean spirit; for he has become a guest of demons, and has taken a share in that demon whose likeness he has formed in his mind, either through fear or love. And because of this, the world is not free from the unclean spirit, and therefore it needs the purification of baptism, so that the unclean spirit may depart from it, which has settled within the inner affections of his soul, and what is worse, that he who hides himself within should not be manifested, so that he might be put to flight once he is made public. ^B LXXII. For these unclean spirits love to cling to the bodies of men, so that they may satisfy their own desires through their ministry, and by inclining the motions of the soul toward those things which they themselves desire, force them to obey their lusts, that they may be made entirely vessels of demons. Of whom one is this Simon, who, being gripped by such a disease, cannot now be cured, because he is sick by his own will and purpose. Nor— ^C therefore, if anyone should wish to drive him away and expel him from him, since he is inseparable, and, if I may say so, has already become his soul, he will appear to be killing him rather and to incur the crime of homicide. Let no one of you, therefore, be saddened to be separated from our meal, for each one of you ought to observe a time of abstinence as long as he himself wishes. For he who wishes to be baptized quickly is separated for a short time, but he who wishes to be delayed for a longer time. Each one, therefore, has in his own power to demand a short or long time for his penance, and for this reason it is up to you when you wish to come to our table, and not up to us, to whom it is not permitted to take food with anyone unless he has been baptized. You, therefore, rather prevent us from your meal, if you have delays in being purified and are baptized slowly. Having said these things, when he had given thanks, he took food. And after this, when he had given thanks to God, he went inside and rested, and likewise all of us, for it was already night.

BOOK THREE

I. Meanwhile, Peter, rising while the rooster was crowing, found us watching—the evening light still lingering—and when he had greeted us in the usual way and we had all sat down, he began as follows: There is nothing more difficult, my brothers, than to dispute about the truth in the midst of a mixed multitude of people. For it is not permitted to say things as they are to everyone, because of those who listen with malice and guile; nor is it expedient to mislead, because of those who sincerely desire to hear the truth. What, then, shall he do who has to address an indiscriminate crowd? Should he hide what is true? And how will he instruct those who are worthy? But if he proclaims the naked truth to those who do not desire to obtain salvation, he does injury to the One by whom he was sent, from whom he also received the commandment not to cast the pearls of His words before swine and dogs, who, ^D resisting these things with arguments and sophistries, entangle the things themselves in the mud of carnal intelligence, while with their barking and filthy answers—which I too, at great length, was trying to test by using a certain circuit of speech, lest I publish the primary understanding of the supreme Divinity to ears that are unworthy. And after this, beginning about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, he explained it to us briefly and clearly, so that we all, hearing him, marveled at how men, forsaking the truth, have turned to vanity.

II. At these words of Peter, Aquila said: You spoke rightly; therefore tell us what is proper to the truth. And Peter: Ask me about what you wish. And Aquila said: Dispute about the Principle and principles, and about that which Simon finds fault with as inconvenient, that the Son of God is called Christ, so that God may not appear to suffer things similar to plants and other inanimate objects. Peter, however, seeing that all were wishing to hear this very thing, explained the whole reasoning thus:

III. The name of the Principle in its many and diverse meanings—

[index: entries preserved]

is applied to things, namely to sensible and intelligible things. But lest we should seem to decline from sensible to intelligible things before testing the former, it is fitting to begin first from visible things, so that, taking an example from what is near, we may come again to the comprehension of intelligible things. Just as the sun, for example, is established in the beginning or head of the day, but the moon on the contrary of the night; these indeed are established to bear rule, from which they also received that they should be in the beginning. But He who composed these things created the heaven and the earth first, and besides these, He composed terrestrial, aquatic, and winged animals, also trees and herbs, and after these man—not just that these might have a beginning of being, but also that they should live according to the commandment of God. Thus, therefore, there can indeed be many principles, but for Him who exists, there are no principles. For there is one principle, and one principle without a beginning; but the things that are after these are called principles abusedly, if indeed they are called so. ^A I have previously set forth the cause of this example, namely from sensible things to intelligible ones, so that by using this path we may possess a firm and certain protection regarding the tradition of intelligible things. We say, therefore, that God is without beginning, as His ineffable providence demonstrates, who was not made by Himself nor begotten by Himself; for He is without beginning and unbegotten. The appellation "unbegotten" does not give us to understand what He is, but that He has not been made; but those who have called that which is unbegotten "self-father" and "self-begotten" (αὐτοπάτορα vero et αὐτογενῆ), that is, the Father to Himself and the Son to Himself, have attempted to do injury, serving dubious reasonings. For they thought, understanding in the manner of infants, that that which existed before it was born was in need of birth, and placing that which had been instead of the fact that it had been, they went mad with the insanity of saying that it was made by itself, and—as those possessed by demons have dared—to compare that which is unbegotten to plants. But those who have everything set in impiety have a consequent ignorance. For they have not understood that by saying this very thing, they have both been and not been. For in so far as He begot, He was; but in so far as He has been born, He was not. It is therefore evident that He did not exist in so far as He was born, but that He existed in so far as He begot. But the profession of piety does not permit one to say that He underwent both of these at the same time. ^B Or do you dare to say that the very thing which is unmade is an effect? But they thought that they were saying this with discipline, just as drunkards who take shadows for pits. For which reason it behooves us before all things, making an examination of immortal things, to begin from the Dominical traditions, where, separating the condition of mortals from immortals, He taught us to endure dangers and temptations even unto death for the sake of the hope of the goods of the kingdom, saying: "Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell." And truly, if the soul does not die with the body, it is certainly not divided, nor does it suffer any other thing of those which the body suffers, for example, influx or defluxion, thinness or thickness, health or infirmity, amputation or conjunction. ^C But even in the very procreation of men, the soul does not commit anything according to defluxion, but in every movement the substance stands, evidently immutable, while by a different movement it urges the body to suffer this or that. Therefore, the body flows and suffers substantially, as is known by experience, after that coagulation of the born has occurred through the emptiness of the womb, on account of the growth of the infant pushing and being pushed as if in a struggle, by the word of the Creator: For that which is coagulated hastens to come forth; but that which coagulated desires to set it forth. The cause, however, transfers these very passions to the succession of the same thing, but the passion having occurred, a common danger happens more often than a special one.

V. Furthermore, everything that serves womanly desires is promoted and premeditated naturally according to each one's age; for instance, differently for a boy, differently for an adolescent, and differently for a man. For an infant indeed has the operation of these in potency, but not yet does it have in potency the movements of the soul; the adolescent is indeed prepared for the destination, but not yet has he the use of digestion; but the man, conspiring, possesses the purpose of perfection. And it must not be said only from those things that the soul is immortal, but the body flowing, but also from those things which consist in the common person for it by the mandates, which the Lord says: "It was said to those of old: You shall not commit adultery; but I say to you: You shall not even serve desire with your look," ^D speaking too cautiously. For if the body is naturally bound to female couplings, but is rather compelled to serve those things which it has received, so that it might exist and have in a state what is also the principle of carnal procreation, how might one suspect that it was said to the body: "You shall not commit adultery, but I say to you, you shall not even serve desire," and not rather to that which is free—the substance, which has the power of the passions to relax or restrain the body according to its operation—this commandment of the better thing...

is insinuated? For thus we do not become angry when expecting future things, and we restrain our fury, and we despise women, lifting up our sense with the hope of future things, as I said, not having everything that we are as something servile subject to feminine operations, but having one part serving nature, which is the body, as we have shown, and another part free, which is the mind, which is the motion of the immortal soul. ^A Remember, therefore, that these are passions of the bodies, which we also shun attributing to the soul, for fear that its immortality might perhaps be taken away by these attributes.

God therefore generated that which we have also learned to call a "creature," and so he permits us to apply that same term, and "generation," and "creature," and the rest of these words, to that which consists without a shape of the generator’s form. For among those for whom there is a difference of shapes, it is necessary that generation and creation be observed in them. Staying as he was, therefore, God generated, having suffered no division. For it is not more honorable to God, and to this Unbegotten One, that which is, in that it is not as though generated. For, wishing, he did not have a slow virtue toward that which he willed, nor did his virtue exceed his will; but according to the measure that he willed, such also did he generate. For if, by remaining and not suffering, he causes bodies serving necessities of density and shadows to exist, how much more should we grant that the Unbegotten Virtue brought forth the Unigenitus by his will. And just as shadows are again pre-understood to bodies, so also is the unbegotten substance ^B more pre-understood than the generated one, even if it received from that which was, that it should be. For this reason, therefore, it is competently called both generation and creation, because its substance is not the Unbegotten. I am mindful, indeed, that Simon accused us of blasphemy, on the grounds that we called Christ the Son of God, equaling him to God as if he were like men and plants; but you, hasten to learn out of desire.

VII. Clemens, however, and the rest asked what this "Unbegotten" is, wishing to hear. And Peter, noticing this, says: "It is no small danger to speak or hear about that which is without beginning; but you, out of desire for those things which have been said, are in danger of falling into an immeasurableness, and you are trying to make me suffer this, as I see, by thinking that you can steal from me that which is ineffable regarding that One. I warn you, however, brothers and fellow servants, not to desire to hear what it is, but only that it is. And about this it is not right to say anything more. The Unbegotten is not to be honored by an appellation alone; for he is also without beginning; but this 'without beginning' and 'Unbegotten' is God, who is announced ^C by the sole opinion of those things that have been made, but is comprehended by himself. For he will not find anything to have been before himself, and behold anything made after himself, because he is known to be without beginning; but this is a visitation of those things which have been made, because that which is ineffable has no space for an inquiry into himself, to foresee what it was before it was; for curiosity about his essence is not seconded by him who is. He knows himself, therefore, who does not question himself about himself. But we have said even more than is fitting about these things, for the Unbegotten loves to be honored by silence alone. Therefore, you have received that there is no beginning to this substance, as far as we were able to perceive, without danger."

VIII. He who therefore did not begin to be, the aforementioned God, generated the firstborn of every creature, as was fitting for God; not changing himself, not converting himself, not ^D dividing himself, not flowing, not extending anything.

IX. As all were willingly nodding in agreement, Peter says: "The way of this incredulity is manifest, O Aquila and the rest. For he who does not know for certain, but has only heard an opinion, fears to believe, whereas, when he could easily cast away the excuse for his incredulity from himself out of the joy of that which is promised, he who is assumed to make public the incredulity he had concerning that which is sought, does not doubt out of a desire to learn. But let there be a second discourse on this matter, lest at some point a hollow hope of faith be snatched away and received in place of faith for an inquiry. But everywhere let God and the thought of him be preferred before us. God, existing of his own accord as inviolable and unbegotten, has virginally guarded his operation by his will. But that which is not Unbegotten, cannot of its own accord be virgin. For it was made as though brought under the touch of the generator and maker. But let it be understood how it was fitting for God to generate the Unigenitus and the firstborn of every creature, but not as from something; for this is the servitude of things animate and inanimate. But neither, coming into operation, did he generate something of himself; for he would not remain inviolable and impassible, having operated.

^A in himself; but these things, concerning the Unbegotten, are full of impiety to suspect, for the sons of the wicked are in peril, thinking themselves to understand piously, while introducing a great blasphemy against the Unbegotten, deeming him to be male and female. I am indeed mindful of Him who warned us, brethren.

^B For God is Autopator, that is, Father to himself; how could he not rather love to remain in an unbegotten consensus, that which was indeed unbegotten in substance, but in generation divided into a duality? For the mother of this inconsistency is ignorance concerning God, while its fellow-worker and sister is negligence concerning the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit, the pledge for the preservation of those things which were given to us by the Lord (whom we received not many days after his assumption), has that which is from the Only-Begotten, the fullest declaration of his virtue; just as the Only-Begotten and first-born of all creation is the immutable image of unbegotten virtue, an image indeed unique, remaining immaculate, rendering the vision of the Unbegotten, although he is visible, capable of being understood by those endowed with intellect and sense; in the same way as if one wishing to show the sun, for the sake of an example, or anything else, to those who cannot see it by themselves—yet there is a necessity for them to see the sun—tempering that very necessity for their sight, hastens to show the sun through a mirror, and does not cast the sun itself into the mirror; so also the Only-Begotten himself is indeed not unbegotten, but he demonstrates the whole unbegotten virtue in himself, since he is such and so great in deity. But by those who have not diligently inquired, he was suspected to be unbegotten, whereas among those in whom the very inquiry precedes the fear of God (86), they not only refuse to say such a thing, but even take care to think it. Since, therefore, one is unbegotten and one is begotten, the Holy Spirit can be called ^C neither Son nor first-born; for he was made through the begotten (87), and is sub-enumerated to the Father and the Son, as the first of the second through the seal of the virtue of the created. For he, bearing the equal-weighted will of the Father, and the operation in the image of the unbegotten perseverance, is afterward worthily and rightly enumerated. But many other things concerning the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, he set forth to us briefly and evidently, so that we all, hearing, wondered how men, having abandoned the truth, have turned to vanity.

X. God, therefore, while remaining, begat by a preceding will (85), as has been said before. Therefore he is truly called the Only-Begotten; for he has what he is from the Unbegotten, and is truly called the Son, for he is born from the Innate. But yet, by our will, we gently and gradually relax the harmful controversy of those who dare to say that the uncreated differs from the created only in name, and that which is distinctly begotten is an unbegotten substance against the Innate. But if it is said thus, that which is said is not, and that which is, is not said. For the uncreated is substance; but if it is called created, it abhors that which is not named, especially since God exists voluntarily as rational and voluntarily without beginning, which is not impossible; but it is more impious, and that which is voluntarily rational and voluntarily unbegotten would not rather wish to be conjoined to itself than to undergo the order of duality, deeming birth more honorable than innate perseverance. For it is not one, nor does it command itself, saying: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet. But neither does it contend against itself, that one part of it should remain unbegotten, while another should be subjected to birth: for one to know and pre-know unbegottenly that something of his own would be born, and something else would result from his generation; not being ignorant that he himself would be more honorable than himself, one part indeed commanding, and another receiving the command, for example, that which is said: ^D Sit at my right hand, or even that which pertains to the mission, or what he, preferring himself, complimented, saying: And God saw that they were good, after those things which it is agreed were made had been effected by the Only-Begotten in six days, seeing his own will immutable in the results of the divine operation of the Only-Begotten.

XI. But if the Unbegotten is not a created Father or the creator of himself, as we have shown; how, then, could he make or generate from himself anything that did not receive birth and creation even to the name? For he does not have what is through these; but to say such things of God is impious. For it is manifest to those who can see even a little that this is the unbegotten, impassible, innate substance. But if even after birth the substance never...

XII. But when the day had dawned (88), a certain man entered, saying: A great multitude is waiting in the atrium, in whose midst stands Simon, wishing to anticipate the ears of the people with evil persuasions. And Peter straightway went out and stood in the place where he had disputed the day before, and the whole people, having turned to him, were intent upon him with joy. But Simon, when he sensed that the people were glad at the sight of Peter, and were moving toward affection for him, being struck with astonishment, said: I marvel at the foolishness of men, who call me a magician and Peter...

^A a magician—though to me, to whom affection is almost owed by custom, it is not offered, whereas to him, to whom it is owed by no user, it is abundantly bestowed.

XIII. And when Simon had said many things of this kind, Peter, having saluted the people as was his custom, replied thus: It is sufficient for everyone, O Simon, to confute himself by his own conscience; but if you marvel at this, that not only do they not love you, but your own people even hate you, learn the cause from me. Since you are a seducer, you profess to preach the truth; on this account many, having a desire for truth, held you as a friend. But when they saw ^B in you the contrary of what you professed, because they were, as I have said, lovers of the truth, they began not only not to love you, but even to hate you. Yet you were not immediately deserted by them, because you still promised that you could show them what is true. Therefore, so long as there was no one present who could show them, they endured you; but when the hope of a better doctrine smiled upon them, they despised you, desiring to know what is better. And you, indeed, acting with wicked arts, believed from the beginning that you could remain hidden, but you are not hidden; for you are pressed and, contrary to your hope, you are made public, because you not only were ignorant of the truth, but did not even wish to hear from those who knew it. For if you had wished to listen, that saying [85 Matth. x, 26.] of His would have been known to you, which says: "For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor hidden that shall not be known." ^C

XIV. While Peter was saying these and like things, Simon replied: I do not want you to occupy me with words, Peter; I demand from you what you promised yesterday; for you were saying that you could show that the Law teaches concerning the immensity of the eternal light, and that there are two heavens only, and that they themselves were created, but that the seat of that light is higher, in which the ineffable Father resides alone forever; and that this visible heaven was made in the likeness of that heaven, which also you affirmed would pass away. You said, therefore, that there is one Father of all, because there cannot be two who are immense, otherwise neither of them will be immense, because in him in whom the other subsists, he makes an end of the other's subsisting. If, therefore, you not only promise these things but can also show them from the Law, omitting to speak of other ^D things, begin from this. And Peter: If, he said, I were asked to speak of these things on your account, who only come to contradict, you would never be able to hear a single word from me; but since it is necessary for a farmer who wants to sow good ground not to lose some seeds, either among rocky places, or among those that are to be trodden underfoot by men, or in thickets and places filled with thorns, as our Master [88 Luc. VIII, 5.] also explained, indicating by these the difference of the purpose of each soul, I will not delay.

XV. Then Simon said: You seem to me, he said, to be angry; but if so, it is not necessary to enter into conflict. And Peter: I see that you feel that you are to be blamed, and you seek to avoid the contest in a civilized manner; for what have you seen me do in anger to you, a man who desires to deceive such a great multitude, and who, while you have nothing to say, simulate modesty? You who even command with your authority that the controversy be moved in whatever way you yourself wish and not as the order requires. And Simon: I will command myself to be patient toward your ignorance, so that I may show that you indeed wish to seduce the people, but that I teach what is true. But now I omit discussing the immense light; answer me this that I ask you: When God made all things, as you say, whence is evil? And Peter: To ask in this way is not that of an opponent, but of a learner. If, therefore, you wish to learn, confess it, and I will first teach you how you ought to learn, and when you have learned to listen, then I will begin to teach you in order. But if you do not wish to learn as one who knows everything, I will first set forth the faith that I preach; set forth you also what seems true to you, and when the profession of each has been made manifest, let it be judged by the hearers whose discourse is supported by truth. And Simon replied to these things: It is a laugh to me, look, who promises that he will teach me. Nevertheless, I will suffer you and bear your ignorance and arrogance. I confess, I wish to learn, let us see how you will be able to teach me.

XVI. And Peter said: If, he said, you truly wish to learn, learn this first, how ignorantly you have asked; for you say, when God has created all things, whence is evil? For before you asked this, three species of questioning went before: first, if evil exists; second, what evil is; third, to whom it is, and whence. To these Simon: O most ignorant, he said, and most unlearned, is there anyone of men who does not confess that there is evil in this life? Whence I too, thinking that you had at least the common sense of all, asked whence evil is, not as one wishing to learn, who know all things, but to show that you are ignorant of all things, especially from you who know nothing. And do not think that because I am angry I speak more harshly to you; it is pity for those who are present, whom you try to deceive, that possesses me. And Peter said: You are very evil, if you commit such insults not being angry; but it is impossible for smoke not to rise where there is fire. Nevertheless, I will speak, lest I seem to you to fill the time with words, so that I might not answer those things which were spoken by you inconveniently. You say that all confess that there is evil, which is certainly false; for first of all, the whole nation of the Hebrews denies that evil subsists.

XVII. And Simon, interrupting his discourse: They rightly do, he said, who say there is no evil. And Peter: We did not propose to speak of this now, but because not all say that there is evil. But the second thing was to ask you, what is evil, a substance, or an accident, or an act? but also many other things of this kind. And after these things, toward what or how

does it exist, or to whom does evil exist, whether to God or to angels, or to men, whether to the pious or to the impious, to all or to some, to oneself or to none? And then you should have asked whence it is, whether from God or from nothing, whether it has always existed, or whether it began in time, whether it is useful or useless, and many other things which a proposition of this kind requires." To these things Simon replied: "Forgive me, I erred about the first interrogation, but suppose me now for the first time asking, is there evil or not?"

XVIII. And Peter said: "How are you asking, as if wishing to learn or to teach, or for the sake of starting a question? If indeed as if wishing to learn, I have that which I may first teach you, so that coming through the consequence and order of doctrine, you may understand from yourself what evil is. But if you are proposing it as one teaching, I do not need to be taught by you, for I have a master from whom I have learned all things. But if it is for the sake of starting a question and disputing, let each of us first set forth what seems good to him, and so let a struggle be held. For it is not true ^A that you should ask as if wishing to learn, and contradict as if teaching, so that after my answer it may be in your judgment to say whether I have spoken well or ill. For this reason, you cannot stand in the place of a contradictor and be the judge of those things which we say; and therefore, as I said, if a struggle is to be held, let each of us set forth what he thinks, and these religious auditors will be fair judges for us as we are set in conflict."

XIX. And Simon said: "Does it not seem absurd to you that an unskilled populace should have judgment of our words?" And Peter said: "It is not so; for that which perhaps is little clear to one can be investigated by many; for often even the reputation of the vulgar holds the appearance of prophecy. ^B Beyond all these things, this whole present populace stands here constrained by the love of God, and for the sake of knowing the truth, and therefore all these are to be considered as one, for the sake of one and the same affection toward the love of truth, just as on the contrary if two disagree among themselves, they are many and diverse. But if you wish to take a trial, consider how all this populace which stands by is as if it were one man, by its very silence and quiet, how with all patience, as you see, even before they learn, they defer honor to the truth of God. For they have not yet learned the greater worship which they ought to defer to it. For which reason I hope from the clemency of God that He will embrace the religious proposition of their mind toward Himself, and will give the palm of victory to the one preaching the truth, so that He may make the herald of truth manifest to them."

XX. Then Simon said: "About what, he said, do you wish the struggle to be held? Say, so that I also may define what seems good to me, and thus the question may begin." And Peter replied: ^C "Indeed, as it seems to me, I wish the command of my master to be done, who first of all to the Hebrew nation, whom He knew to have knowledge of God and that He Himself was the one who had made the world, commanded, not that they should seek Him whom they knew, but that they should seek His will and righteousness, knowing that it is placed in the judgment of men that seeking this they might find and do and observe those things concerning which they are to be judged. And therefore He ordered us to seek, not whence evil is, as you were asking a little before, but the righteousness of the good God and His kingdom, and all these things, He says, shall be added unto you. And Simon: "Since, he said, these things are commanded to the Hebrews as to those who rightly know God and think that everyone has it in his own power to do those things of which he is to be judged, but my opinion differs from theirs, from whence do you wish me to begin?"

XXI. Then Peter: "I, he says, advise that we should first seek if it is in our power to know whence we are to be judged." And Simon: "Not so, he said, but about God, ^D whence all who are present desire to hear." And Peter: "It is certain, therefore, in your view, that there is something in the power of the will; only confess this if it is, and we shall seek, as you say, about God." Simon replied to these things: "By no means." And Peter: "If therefore nothing is in our power, it is superfluous for us to seek anything about God, since it is not in the power of those who seek to find. Whence I had well said that this ought to be the first thing sought, if there is anything in the power of the will." Then Simon: "We cannot, he said, even understand this very thing that you say, if there is anything in the power of the will." But Peter seeing that he turns aside to a more contentious part, fearing to be overcome, so that he may confound all things as if they were uncertain, replied: "How then do you know that it is not in the power of man to know anything, when you know this very thing?"

XXII. And Simon: "I do not know, he said, if I even know this very thing; for each one, just as it is decreed for him by fate, either does something or understands or suffers." Then Peter: "See, he says, brothers, into what absurdities Simon has fallen, who before my arrival preached that men had in their power both to understand and to do what they wished, now reduced to an impasse by the necessity of words, he denies that it is in the power of man either to sense anything or to act, and yet he dares to profess himself a teacher. But tell me, how then does God judge each one according to truth for his own acts, if he had nothing in his power to do? If this is maintained, all things are overturned, the effort of seeking better things will be in vain, but even the judges of this age will preside over laws in vain and punish those who do evil; for they do not have it in their power...

to prevent sinning. For such, laws and the judgments of the people, which decree punishments for evil deeds, will be in vain; and miserable, indeed, will be those who observe justice with labor, but blessed will be those who, placed in luxuries, live in wickedness and hold tyranny. According to these things, therefore, there will be neither justice, nor goodness, nor any virtue, and, as you wish, not even God. But I know, O Simon, why you say these things; you are wishing, of course, to escape questions, so that you cannot be refuted more manifestly, and therefore you say that it is not in the power of man to feel or to discover anything. For if you had truly felt it to be so, you would not have proclaimed yourself a teacher among the people even before my arrival. I, therefore, say that a man is of his own choosing. And Simon: What does 'of his own choosing' mean? Tell us. Peter replied: If nothing can be learned, why do you wish to hear me? And Simon: You have nothing to say to this that you can answer? ^B XXIII. Then Peter: I will speak, not compelled by you, but asked by the hearers. The power of choice is a sensation of the soul, having a force whereby it can be inclined toward those acts which it wishes. Then Simon, praising Peter for the things he had said: Truly, he said, you have explained it magnificently and incomparably, for I owe you testimony for what you have spoken; yet this one thing that I ask you: if you will explain it to me now, I will obey you in all other matters; therefore, what I want to learn is this: If that which God wishes to be, is; and if that which He does not wish to be, is not—answer me on this. And Peter: If you do not know that you are asking absurdly and incompetently, I will forgive you and explain it myself; but if you know that you are asking inconsistently, you do not act rightly. Then Simon: I swear, he said, by the Supreme Divinity itself, whatever that may be, which has judgment and vengeance upon those who sin, that I am ignorant of what I have said incompetently and what is held to be absurd in my words, at least regarding those things which I have proposed. ^C XXIV. To this Peter: Since, he said, you have confessed that you are ignorant, learn. Your interrogation has demanded one conclusion from two mutually contradictory points. For every motion is divided into two parts, so that some things are moved by necessity, and others by the will; and those things which necessity moves are always in motion, but those which the will moves are not always so. To give an example: the motion of the sun is led by necessity so that it may complete its ordained course, and every state ^D of the heavens and its ministries consist in necessary motions. But man, in truth, bears voluntary motions of his own acts. And therefore some things were created for this purpose, that they might serve in their ministries by necessity, nor could they do anything else except what was ordained for them, and when they have fulfilled their ministry, the Creator of all, who established them as He wished, preserves them. But others are those where there is the power of the will, and in which there is free choice to do what they wish. These, as I said, do not always remain in the order in which they were created, but as the will has led them and the judgment of the soul has inclined, they will strive for either good or evil; and therefore He has set rewards for those doing good, and punishments for those doing evil. XXV. You say, then, if God wishes something to be, it is; and since what He wishes is, and what He does not wish is not, you would say: Therefore He Himself wishes the evil things which are done in this world to exist, because everything that He wishes is, and what He does not wish is not. If, however, I had responded that it is not the case that what God wishes is, and what He does not wish is not, then with a retort you would say: Therefore God is impossible, if what He wishes He cannot do, and you would exist insolently, as one who, having said nothing right, would believe himself to have conquered. And therefore you do not know, O Simon, and you are very ignorant, how the will of God is in all individual things. For He wished some things, as we have said, so to be that they could not be other than that which they were instituted to be by Him, and for these He established neither rewards nor punishments; but those things which He wished to be in such a way that they have in their power to do what they wish, for these He established that, according to their acts and their wills, they might merit either rewards or punishments. Since, therefore, all things that move are divided into two parts, according to the distinction which we have said above, everything that God wishes is, and what He does not wish is not. XXVI. And Simon to this: Was He not able to make us all such that we were good, and could not be otherwise? Peter answers: You also ask this absurdly. For if He had made us of an inconvertible nature and immovable from good, we would not be truly good, because we could not be otherwise; and it would not have been of our own purpose that we were good, nor would it have been ours that we were doing, but of the necessity of nature. How therefore would this be called good, which is not done of one's own purpose? On account of this also it needed more wordy arguments.

this present world, until the number of the souls which have been predestined to its completion is filled up; and then this visible heaven shall be rolled up like a scroll, and that which is above shall appear; and the souls of the blessed, restored to their bodies, shall be brought into the light, while the souls of the impious, surrounded by flaming spirit for their foul deeds, shall be submerged into the deep of unquenchable fire, to undergo punishment for an age. That these things are so, the true prophet has testified to us; and if you wish to know that he is a prophet, I will teach you by countless assertions. For from those things which were spoken by him, even now each one which he said is being fulfilled; and those things which he said were future are also believed to be about to be fulfilled, for faith in future things is given from those which have already come to pass.

[AXVII] XXVII. But Simon, to whom it was clear that Peter was giving a lucid account concerning the title of prophet, by which the whole question is resolved, declined to have further discourse on this; and responding, he said: "Answer me concerning what I wish, and tell me: if this visible heaven, as you say, shall be dissolved, why was it made in the beginning?" Peter answered: "It was made for the sake of this present life of men, that there might be a kind of interposition and division, lest anyone, perchance unworthy, should see the habitation of the heavens and the seat of God himself, which are being prepared to be seen only by those who are pure of heart. But now, that is, in the time of the contest, it has pleased that those things which are destined for the victors as a reward should be invisible." And Simon said: "If the Creator is good and the world is good, how will the good ever dissolve what is good? If, however, he shall dissolve what is good, how will he himself appear good? But if he dissolves and destroys it as an evil thing, how will he not appear evil, who made what is evil?"

^B XXVIII. Peter to these things [replied]: "Since," he said, "we have pledged to you that we would not flee from you should you blaspheme, for you yourself shall render an account for those things which you say, we bear it patiently. Hear then now: this heaven which is visible and passes away, if it had been made for its own sake, would perhaps have some reason in what you say, in that it should not be dissolved at all. But if it was made for the sake of something else and not for itself, it is necessary that it be dissolved, so that that for which it is seen to have been made may appear. As, for example, I might say, the shell of an egg, however beautifully made and carefully formed it may appear, it is nevertheless necessary that it be broken and dissolved, so that the chick may proceed from it, and that for which the whole form of the egg is seen to be provided may appear. So therefore it is necessary for the state of this world to pass away, that that more sublime state of the heavenly kingdom may shine forth."

^C XXIX. And Simon: "It does not seem to me that the heaven which was made by God can be dissolved. For from the eternal, eternal things come to be; from the corruptible, temporal and decaying things." And Peter: "It is not so; but from mortals, indeed, in every way corruptible and temporal things come to be; but from the Eternal, not always corruptible, nor ^D according to incorruptible [laws], but as the Creator has willed, so shall those things be which he creates. For the power of God is not under law, but the law to his creatures is his will." Simon also answered: "I recall you," he said, "to the first question: you said that God is now invisible to everyone, but when that heaven shall have been dissolved and that supernal state of the heavenly kingdom, shall have shone forth, then those who are pure of heart will also see God; which opinion is contrary to the law, for there it is written that God said: *No one shall see my face and live*."

XXX. And Peter answered: "To those who do not read the law according to the tradition of Moses, my discourse seems contrary; but hear how it is not contrary. God is seen by the mind, not by the body; by spirit, not by flesh. Whence also the angels, who are spirits, see God; and men, therefore, so long as they are men, cannot see God. But after the resurrection of the dead, when they shall have become as the angels, they shall be able to see God. And in this way my discourse is not contrary to the law, nor to that which my Master said: *Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God*. For he indicates a future time, in which men shall become as angels, who in the spirit of the mind shall see God." After these words and many others similar to these, with many oaths Simon began to affirm, saying: "Give me an account of this alone: if the soul is immortal, and I will submit in all things to your will; but [do it] tomorrow," he said, "for today it is already late." Wherefore when Peter began to speak, Simon went out, and with him a very few of his companions, and this out of shame. But all the rest, converted to Peter, having placed their knees, prostrated themselves before him, of whom several, gripped by diverse ailments or beset by demons, were healed by Peter's prayer and departed rejoicing, as if they had obtained the doctrine of the true God, and at the same time his mercy. When therefore the crowds had departed, and we alone, his familiar friends, remained with him, having returned to our spots on the ground, each one recognizing his usual place, and having taken food and given thanks to God, we rested.

XXXI. On the following day, however, Peter, rising as was his custom before dawn, found us already watching and ready to hear, and thus he began: "I entreat you, brothers and my fellow servants, that if anyone among you perchance cannot keep watch, he should not, blushing, extort from himself my presence, because a sudden change is difficult; but if one grows accustomed to it gradually over a long time, labor will not be what comes from habit. For we have not all been of the same training, although in the course of time we shall be able to be tempered into one custom; for they say that custom obtains a place according to nature. I call God to witness, however, that I am not indignant if anyone perchance cannot keep watch, but rather if, when one has been sleeping the whole night...

he does not by day make up for what he omitted in the night. For it is necessary to devote oneself intently and incessantly to the study of doctrine, so that our mind may be filled with the memory of God alone, because in the mind that is filled with the memory of God, no place will be given to the Evil One. ^A

XXXII. When Peter said these things to us, each one of us was solicitously satisfying him, because although we were satisfied with a brief sleep, we were afraid to wake him, for it did not become disciples to command their master; yet we had almost dared to presume this, O Peter, while our heart, leaping with an excessive desire for your words, completely banished sleep from our eyes. But again, our affection for you stood in the way, and violently forbade us to wake you. Then Peter said: Since, therefore, you assert that you are willing to keep watch out of a desire for hearing, I wish to repeat to you more diligently and explain in order those things which were spoken yesterday in a scattered manner. This I also intend to do through every daily disputation, so that during the night, where the seclusion of place and time is granted, if anything perhaps—inasmuch as it was in a contest—was said less fully, I may reveal it in complete order and in a direct line of explanation. And after this he began to show us how the disputation ought to have been conducted yesterday, and how, on account of the contention or ignorance of the opponent, it could not be so conducted, and therefore he had used only the profession, and had merely destroyed the things that were being said by the adversary, but had not explained his own things either fully or manifesty; and he discussed for us, in complete order and with full reasoning, each individual point. ^B

XXXIII. But when day was already dawning, having gone out to the crowds after prayer, he stood in the accustomed place for disputing, and seeing Simon standing in the midst of the crowds, after having first saluted the people as was his custom, he said: I confess that it is a grief to me that there are some men who, when they come to us so that they may learn something, when we have begun to teach them, they themselves in turn profess to be masters, and indeed they ask as if they were ignorant, but they contradict as if they were knowing. But perhaps someone may say that he who asks, asks for this purpose: so that he may learn, yet when that which he hears does not seem to him to be rightly said, it is necessary that he should respond, and this seems to be a contradiction, which is not a contradiction, but a re-interrogation.

XXXIV. Let them hear these things, therefore: The discipline of all doctrine has a certain order, and there are some things which must be delivered first, others indeed which must be in the second place, and others in the third, and so each individual thing in order, which, if they are delivered in sequence, become manifest; but if they are brought forth out of order, they will seem to be said even against reason. And therefore, in the first place, order is to be preserved, if, however, we seek with this purpose, that we may be able to find what we seek. For he who has received the right beginning of the way will also consequently observe the second place, and from the second will find the third more easily; and by as much as he proceeds further, by so much more will the way of knowledge become clearer to him, until he arrives at the very city of truth towards which he tends. But he who is unskilled and ignorant of the way of inquiry does not know the way, just as a wandering pilgrim, ignorant and erring, if he is unwilling to use a citizen and native as a guide, will without doubt, having wandered from the way of truth, remain outside the gates of life, and thus, enveloped in the darkness of the gloomy night, he will walk through the paths of destruction. Since, therefore, if things that must be sought are inquired into in order, they can be found most easily, but the unskilled man is ignorant of the order of inquiry, it is right that the ignorant should yield to the one who knows and first learn the order of inquiry, so that thus at last he may find the discipline of asking and answering.

XXXV. And Simon to this replied: Truth, therefore, is not for all, but only for those who have known the art of disputing, which is surely absurd, since God is equally the God of all, yet not all are equally [B (cont)] able to recognize His will. And Peter said: All, he said, were created equal by Him, and He has equally given to all the capacity to be capable of the truth. But that none of those who are born is born learned, but that learning is subsequent to birth, is in no doubt. Since, therefore, the birth of men holds equity in this, that all are similarly capable of receiving discipline, the diversity is not in nature, but in learning. Or who does not know that those things which each one has learned, he was ignorant of before he learned them? And Simon said: You speak truly. Then Peter said: If, therefore, in these arts which common usage has, one first learns, and then teaches, how much more does it behoove those who profess themselves to be teachers of souls, first to learn, and thus to teach, lest, when they themselves are unskilled, it should appear ridiculous if they promised to provide knowledge to others? Then Simon said: In the arts which common usage has, it is true that each one is ignorant unless he has learned, but in the word of knowledge, as soon as one has heard, he has learned. ^C

XXXVI. And Peter said: If indeed he hears in order and consequently, he can know what is true, but he who refuses to receive the rule of a more moderate life and of a chaster conversation, which is surely the consequence of the knowledge of truth, does not wish to confess to know what he knows. Just as we also see some who, having abandoned the arts which they had learned from boyhood, confer themselves to other acts, and so that there may be an excuse for their own sloth, they begin to blame the art as if it were unfruitful. And Simon said: Ought all who hear to believe what they hear to be true? Then Peter said: Those who have heard the word of truth in order, cannot contradict at all, but they know that what is said is true, if, however, they also willingly accept the habits of life. But those who are ashamed to confer themselves to good works as they hear, the lust for doing evil does not allow to acquiesce to those things which they judge as right. Whence it is shown that it is placed in the power of the hearers to choose which they prefer. But if all who hear were to obey, there would be more of a necessity of nature, which would lead all by one way. For just as a person cannot be persuaded to become shorter or longer, because the force of nature does not allow it; so also to the truth, if all were to be converted by the word or ^D

if none were to be converted at all, it would seem necessary—so that the just and the unjust might be held in the order of their merits—that they would seem to be in His presence.

^B XXXIX. And Simon: "There is one thing about which I would like to be satisfied: whether the soul is immortal; for I cannot undertake the burden of justice unless I first know about the immortality of the soul, which, indeed, if it is not immortal, the profession of your preaching will not be able to stand." Then Peter: "Let us first," he said, "ask whether God is just; for if that shall become clear, the entire order of religion will certainly stand firm." And Simon: "You seem to me, you who boast of knowing the order of disputation, to have now answered contrary to the order; for when I requested that you show whether the soul is immortal, you say that we ought first to inquire whether God is just." And Peter said: "It follows very consistently and correctly." Simon: "I would like to learn."

XL. Peter: "Hear," he said, "some men, blaspheming God and leading their whole life in injustice and pleasure, have died in their beds, having attained the end of life among their own and an honorable burial; while others, worshiping God and conserving their lives with all justice and sobriety in frugality, have perished in deserts for their observance of justice, so that they were not even considered worthy of a grave. Where, therefore, is the justice of God if the soul is not immortal, ^C which, if it has acted impiously, may suffer punishments in the future, or if it has acted piously and justly, may attain rewards?" And Simon said: "This is indeed what makes us incredulous, because many who act well perish miserably, and again many who act impiously finish a long life with happiness."

XLI. And Peter: "This very thing," he said, "which draws you to incredulity, makes certain faith for us, because there will be a judgment. For since it is certain that God is just, it is necessary and consequent that there be another age, in which everyone, receiving according to his merits, may prove the justice of God. But if now all men were to receive according to their merits, we would truly seem to be deceived when we say that there will be a judgment, and therefore this very fact, that in the present life it is not rendered to everyone according to his deeds, makes indubitable faith for those who know that God is just, because there will be a judgment." And Simon: "Why, therefore, am I not persuaded?" Peter: "Because you have not heard the true prophet saying: 'Seek first His justice, and all these things will be added to you.' " And Simon: "Indulge me," he said, "me who am unwilling to seek justice first, before I know if the soul is immortal." And Peter: "And you, indulge me in this one thing, because I cannot act otherwise than as the prophet of truth has taught me." Then Simon: "It is certain," he said, "that you cannot assert that the soul is immortal, and on account of this you quibble, knowing that if it is proven mortal, the entire profession of this religion which you strive to assert is torn out by the roots; and therefore I indeed praise your prudence, but I do not approve your persuasion; for you persuade many to undertake [this] religion and [to abandon] lust."

^A

XLII. Petrus, hearing these things, gnashing his teeth and striking his forehead with his hand, and sighing with deep sorrow, says: "Armed with the craftiness of the ancient serpent, you stand ready for the deceiving of human souls; and for this reason, as a serpent wiser than the other beasts, from the beginning you have professed yourself to be a teacher. And again, as a serpent, you desired to introduce many gods, concerning which, having been refuted, you now assert that there is no God at all. For on the occasion of I know not what unknown God, you denied the God who is the Creator of the world, but were confirming that He was either evil, or had many equals to Himself, or, as we have said, that there is no God at all. After you had been overcome even in this, you now assert that the soul is mortal, that one may not live rightly and justly in the hope of future things. For if future things are despaired of, why, if mercy is cut off, should one not indulge in luxury and pleasures, from which it is certain that all injustice arises? And while you introduce the doctrine of such great impiety to this wretched life of mortals, you call yourself pious and me impious, as one who does not allow men to take up arms under the hope of future good things and to attack one another, to plunder and subvert all things, and to plot all things which lust may dictate. And what will be the state of this life which is introduced by you—that men should fight and be fought against, that they should be angry and perturbed, and always live in fear? For it is necessary that those who bring evils upon others should themselves also expect similar things. Do you not see that you exist as a leader of perturbation and not of peace, of iniquity and not of equity? Truly I, not as one who cannot show that the soul is immortal, have feigned anger, but I pity the souls of men, which you are attempting to deceive. I will speak, therefore, but not as if you are compelling me; for I know how I will speak, and you will be the only one who will stand in need not so much of persuasion as of admonition concerning this; but those who truly are ignorant of this, I shall teach as is fitting." ^B

XLIII. Then Simon says: "If you are angry, I will not question you, nor do I wish to hear." And Peter: "You, indeed, are now seeking an opportunity to escape; you have the license, and without anyone's occasion. For all have heard that you say nothing correctly, nor have you been able to confirm anything, but you have asked questions for this reason alone, that you might contradict, which anyone can do. For since it is difficult to answer after evident assertions, you have said nothing. But that you may know that I am able to show you in one word that the soul is immortal, I will ask you a question that everyone knows; answer me, and in one word I will prove that it is immortal." Then Simon, who had seemed to himself to have already found an opportunity from Peter's anger to depart, resisted for the reason that something wonderful was being promised to him, and said: "Question me, that I may answer you what everyone knows, and I may hear in one word, as you have promised, how the soul is immortal?"

XLIV. And Peter: "I shall speak in such a way that it may be approved by you more than by all the others. Answer me, therefore: what is it that can more likely persuade an unbeliever, sight or hearing?" And Simon: "Sight." Then Peter: "How, therefore, do you wish to learn from me by word what is proved to you by the thing itself and by sight?" And Simon says: "I do not know what you mean." And Peter: "If you do not know, go now into your house, and having entered into an inner chamber, you will see an image placed there, containing the effigy of a boy violently killed and covered in purple; interrogate it, and it will teach you either by response or by sight. For what need is there to hear from him if the soul is immortal, when you see it standing present? For if it were not, it could not at all be seen. But if you do not know which image I mean, come immediately with ten men from among those who are present, and let us go to your house."

XLV. But Simon, hearing these things and struck in his conscience, his color changed and he became bloodless; for he feared lest by chance, if he denied it, his house would be searched, or that Peter, indignant, would expose him more clearly and make known to everyone who he was, and so he answered: "I beseech you, Peter, by that good God who is in you, that you may overcome the malice which is in me; admit me to penitence, and you shall have me as a helper of your preaching. For now I have truly learned from the facts themselves that you are a prophet of the true God, and for that reason alone you know the secrets and hidden things of men." And Peter says: "You see, brothers, Simon seeking penitence; shortly you will see him turn back to his infidelity. For thinking me to be a prophet, because I have published his evil deeds which he had in secret and in private, he promised that he would do penance; but for me, to lie is not lawful, nor must I deceive, whether this infidel be saved or not saved. For I call heaven and earth to witness that I did not speak prophetically what I have said, or what, as far as was possible, I have indicated to the listening crowds, but I learned what had been done by him in secret from certain ones who had then been his companions in his works, but now have been converted to our faith; therefore, I have spoken what was known, not what was foreknown." ^C

XLVI. But Simon, when he heard these things, attacks Peter with these curses and revilings, saying: "O most wicked and deceitful of all, to whom fortune, not truth, gave the victory. Truly, I did not seek penitence for lack of knowledge, but that you, thinking that I would be your disciple through penitence, might entrust all the secrets of your profession to me, so that I might at last confute you when everything was known. But as a cunning man, you understood for what cause I feigned penitence, and you acquiesced as if not understanding my trick, so that you might first expose me before the people as if I were unskilled, then afterward, foreseeing that I, being thus exposed to the people, would necessarily have to be indignant and confess that I do not truly bear penitence, you anticipated [me] so that you might say that I would return to my infidelity after penitence, so that you might seem to have conquered in every respect, and if I were to remain in the penitence which ^D

I had professed, and if I did not remain, so that you might be thought wise, as one having foreseen these things, while I, however, might appear deceived, because I did not foresee your guile; but having foreseen mine, you used craft to circumvent me. But, as I said, this victory is of fortune, not of truth; I know, however, why I did not foresee these things, because, standing by you, I spoke out of my own kindness, and I dealt with you patiently. Now, however, I will show you the power of my divinity, so that you may suddenly fall down and worship me.

XLVII. I am the primary Power, who am always and without beginning. I entered the womb of Rachel, and was born as a man from her, that I might be seen by men; I flew through the air, I was commingled with fire and became one body, I made statues move, I animated the inanimate, I made stones into bread, I flew from mountain to mountain, and, sustained by the hands of angels, I descended to the earth. Not only did I do these things, but I can do them even now, that I might prove to all by the things themselves that I am ^B the Son of God standing forever, and that I will make those who believe in me likewise stand forever. Your words, however, are all vain, nor can you show any work of truth, just as neither can he who sent you, the magus, who could not even save himself from the punishment of the cross.

XLVIII. At these things said by Simon, Peter answered: Do not act strangely, for you yourself, by the very things you have done, have confessed and manifested that you are a magus; but our Master, who is the Son of God and of man, is manifestly good; that, however, he truly is the Son of God, it has been said and will be said to those to whom it behooves. If, however, you do not wish to confess that you are a magus, let us go with all this crowd to your house, and then it will appear who is a magus. But as Peter was saying this, Simon began to act with blasphemies and curses, that, a sedition having been made and everyone being perturbed, he might not be refuted, and that Peter might be seen to be vanquished, withdrawing as if for the cause of blasphemy. But he persisted, and began to refute him more vehemently.

XLIX. Then the people, indignant, cast Simon out of the atrium, drove him beyond the door of the house, and he who was driven out was followed by only one person. But silence having been made, Peter began to address the people in this way: You ought, brothers, to bear the wicked patiently, knowing that because God, although he can cut them off, nevertheless allows them to endure until the appointed day, in which judgment will be made concerning all; how, then, shall we not endure those whom God endures? Or why do we not tolerate with a strong soul the injuries brought upon us by them, since He who can do all things does not avenge Himself, that both His goodness and the impiety of the wicked might be known? But if the evil one had not found Simon as an instrument for himself, he would have found another without doubt; for it is necessary that scandals come to this age; but woe, however, to him by whom they come. And therefore ^A Simon is even more to be lamented, because he was made a vessel of election for the evil one; which he certainly would not have been, had he not accepted power over him for his previous sins. For what shall I say of the fact that he believed in our Jesus, and that he persuaded himself that souls are immortal? Although he is mocked in this by demons, nevertheless he persuaded himself that he has the soul of a boy violently killed, ministering to him in whatever he may desire; in which, truly, as I said, he is mocked by demons. And therefore I spoke to him according to the things which appeared to him; for he also learned from the Jews that there is a judgment and vengeance to be brought forth against those who come against the true faith and do not do penance; but those are they to whom the evil one appears as if they were perfect in wickedness, that he might deceive them, lest at any time they turn to penance.

L. You, therefore, who are turning to the Lord through penance, bend your knees to Him. When he had said this, the whole multitude bent their knees to God. And Peter, looking up to heaven, with tears prayed over them, that God might deign, in His own goodness, to receive those fleeing to Him. And after he had prayed and commanded that they should gather more early on the following day, he dismissed the multitude. Then, according to custom, having taken food, we rested.

LI. Therefore, Peter rising at the usual hour of the night, found us watching, and when, having greeted us according to custom, he had sat down, Niceta first said: If you permit, my lord Peter, I have something to ask. And Peter: I permit, he said, not only to you but to all, and not only now but always, that every one should confess what moves him, and the part in his mind which pains him, that he might be able to obtain a remedy. For those things which are covered by silence and are not made known to us, like the vices of a long time, are difficult to heal, and therefore since medicine of opportune and necessary discourse cannot easily be applied to those who are silent, everyone ought to bring forth that in which his mind languishes through ignorance; but to give a remedy to one who is silent is for God alone; we, however, can also, but through a circuit of much time. For it is necessary that the word of doctrine running from the beginning in order, and meeting each and every question, should open everything, and resolve everything, and arrive even at that which everyone requires in his own mind; but this, as I said, can be done through a long time. Now, however, ask what you desire.

LII. And Niceta says: I give you abundant thanks, O most clement Peter, but this is what I desire to learn: Why was Simon, who stands against God, able to do so many such things? For he did not lie in any of these things which he professed himself to have done. To these things the blessed ...

Peter thus responded: God, who is one and true, ^A is the eternal, immutable God, and He remains so. He established that good and faithful friends should be prepared for His Firstborn; but knowing that they could not be good unless they had the power of sensation by which they might become good, so that they might be what they will by their own purpose—otherwise they could not be truly good if they were held to goodness not by purpose but by necessity—He gave to each the power of his own will, so that he might be able to be what he wills. And again, foreseeing that this power of the will would make some choose good things, but others evil, and that by this the human race would necessarily have to be propagated into two orders, He granted to each order both a place and a king whom he might choose; for a good king rejoices in the good, and a wicked one in the wicked. And although I have explained these things to you, O Clement, more fully in that treatise which I discussed concerning predefinition and the end, nevertheless it also behooves me now to disclose to Nicetas, who is asking, what is the reason that Simon, who stands against God, was able to do such great wonders.

^B LIII. Therefore, first of all, he is judged to be evil before God who does not wish to inquire what is profitable to him. For how will such a person love another, who does not love his own self? Or to whom will he not be an enemy, who could not be a friend to his own self? Therefore, that those who choose good and those who choose evil might be distinguished, God hid from men what is useful, that is, the possession of the kingdom of heaven, and laid it up and hid it as a secret treasure, so that no one might be able to attain to it easily by his own virtue and wisdom ^C alone. Yet He brought its fame to the hearing of all through various names and opinions throughout each generation, so that if there were any lovers of the good, upon hearing what would be useful and salutary for themselves, they might seek and find it; but they should seek it not from themselves, but from Him who hid it, and pray that an entrance and a way of knowledge might be given to them, which is opened only to those who would love it above all the goods of this world; nor could any one by any other means understand it, even though he might seem most prudent. But those who had neglected to seek what would be useful and salutary for themselves, as if hating themselves and being enemies to their own selves, would be defrauded of its goods, as those who love evil things.

LIV. It is fitting, therefore, for the good to love it above all things, that is, above riches, glory, rest, parents, relatives, friends, and everything that is in this world. But he who perfectly loves this possession of the kingdom of heaven will without doubt cast away every practice of evil custom, neglect, sloth, malice, anger, and all things similar to these. For if you prefer any of these to it, as one who has loved the vices of his own lust more than God, you will not be able to attain to the possession of the heavenly kingdom, because it is also truly foolish to love anything more than God. For whether they are parents, they die; whether relatives, they do not remain; whether friends, they change. ^D God alone is the eternal, immutable God. He who therefore does not wish to inquire what is useful to himself is evil, in so much that his malice surpasses even the prince of iniquity. For that one abuses the goodness of God for the purpose of his own malice, and is pleased with himself; but this one neglects the goods of his own salvation, so that, by his own destruction, he may please the evil one.

LV. On account of these, therefore, who by the neglect of their own salvation please the evil, and those who by the endeavor of their own interest desire to please the good, certain equal things have been set for the trial of this present age, according to the number of the ten plagues which were inflicted upon Egypt. For when Moses, according to the command of God, asked of Pharaoh that he should let the people go, and showed signs as a testimony of the heavenly rule, the rod thrown upon the ground was turned into a serpent. And when on account of these things Pharaoh did not wish to acquiesce, as he possessed the liberty of his own will, again the magi seemed to do similar signs, God permitting it, so that the purpose of the king might be tested by the liberty of his will, whether he would believe more in the signs of Moses, who was sent by God, than in those which the magi were seen to do—or rather seemed to do—than what they were actually doing; whom indeed he ought to have understood by name not to be workers of the truth, because they were called not sent by God but magi, just as tradition also indicates. Finally, up to a certain point they were seen to have a struggle, and after these things, having confessed, they yielded to the better. The last plague is therefore introduced, the destruction of the firstborn, and then Moses is commanded to consecrate the people by the sprinkling of blood, and thus with great prayer, with gifts also offered, he is asked to depart with the people.

LVI. In a similar manner, therefore, I see that things are now also being carried out through me. For just as then, as Moses was urging the king to believe in God, the magi were resisting as if by a display of similar signs, and were preventing the incredulous from salvation, so also now, when I have gone forth to teach all nations that they should believe in the true God, Simon Magus resists, doing the same things against me which they then did against Moses, so that if there are any among the Gentiles who do not use right judgment, they may be made manifest, but those who have a right discernment of the signs may be saved. When Peter had said these things, Nicetas replied: I beg you, if anything comes to your memory, permit me to bring it forward. Then Peter, delighted at the zeal of his disciples: Say, he said, what you wish.

LVII. And Nicetas said: What was the sin of the Egyptians, if they did not believe Moses, since the magi also performed similar signs, even if they seemed to happen rather than were done in truth? For even if I had been there then, from the fact that the magi performed similar things, would I not have either believed that Moses was a magician, or thought that the things which the magi were showing were done by divine power? Because it would not seem likely to me that, even if by a phantasm, the same things could be done by the magi which he who was sent by God was performing. And so now, what sin do those commit who believe Simon, when they see him do such great wonders? Or

is it not equally to be considered a sin for him who, for the sake of signs and powers, believed in our Lord?

LVIII. And Peter says: I gladly accept that you examine the truth with precision, and do not allow the impediments to faith to lie hidden in your soul. Whence you are also easily able to obtain a remedy. Do you remember that I said that it is the worst of all things when someone neglects what it is useful for him to learn? And Niceta answered: I remember. Peter: And again, that God has hidden His truth so that He might reveal it to those who faithfully follow Him? And Niceta: Not even this have I forgotten. Then Peter: What then do you think? That God has hidden the truth in the earth, and placed mountains over it, so that it might be found only by those who are able to dig into the depths? It is not so; but just as He surrounded the earth and the mountains with the embrace of heaven, so also He has covered the truth with the veil of His charity, so that he alone may reach it who has first knocked at the door of divine love. ^C

LIX. For as I began to say before, God ordained certain pairs for this world: he who comes first of the pairs is from the evil one, he who comes second is from the good. In this, the opportunity for a just judgment is given to every man, whether he be simple or prudent. For if he is simple and has believed him who came first, being moved by signs and prodigies, it is necessary by the same reasoning that he should also believe him who comes second; for he will now be persuaded by signs and prodigies, just as he was before. But when he has believed this second one, he will learn from him that he ought not to have believed the first, who came from the evil one, and thus the error of the first is corrected by the improvement of the second. If, however, because he believed the first, he is unwilling to receive the second, he will be deservedly condemned as unjust; for it is unjust that when he believed the first on account of signs, he should not believe the second, who brings the same or even greater signs. But if he did not believe the first, it is logical that he should be moved to believe the second. For he did not remain so firm in his mind that he could not be persuaded by redoubled miracles. But if he is prudent, he can attain to a discernment of the signs. And if indeed he believed the first, he will be moved toward the second by the comparison of the virtues, and by comparison he will discover which are the better, although they are held as manifest proofs among all the learned, just as I have demonstrated through the consequence of the order. But if someone is as a healthy man, and in no need of a physician, and is not moved by the first, he will be roused to the second by the perseverance of the matter itself, and he will make a distinction of signs and miracles in this manner (94): He who is from the evil one, the signs which he does, profit no one; but those which he who is good does, profit men. ^D

LX. For tell me, I pray, what utility is there in displaying walking statues, barking bronze or stone dogs, leaping mountains, flying through the air, and other things like these, which you say Simon did? But those things which are of good are brought for the salvation of men, as are those which our Lord did, who made the blind see, made the deaf hear, raised up the weak and the lame, put to flight sicknesses and demons, made the dead rise again, and other things like these which you see done also through me. Those signs, therefore, which profit for the salvation of men and confer some good upon men, the evil one cannot do, except only at the end of the world (95). For then it will be granted to him to intermingle with it some things even from the signs of the right hand, that is, that he may either put demons to flight or heal sicknesses, and for this reason, as one who has exceeded his boundaries and is divided against himself, and has impugned himself, he will be destroyed. And on account of this the Lord predicted that in the last times there would be a temptation such that, if it were possible, the elect would be deceived; for it is necessary that those who seem learned in the discerning of spirits and distinguishing of virtues be perturbed by the, so to speak, confused indications of the signs.

LXI. Therefore, the ten pairs that we have mentioned are destined for this world from the beginning of the age. Cain and Abel were one pair; the second was that of the giants and Noah; the third, Pharaoh and Abraham; the fourth, the Philistines and Isaac; the fifth, Esau and Jacob; the sixth, the magi and the lawgiver Moses; the seventh, the tempter and the Son of Man; the eighth, Simon and me, Peter; the ninth, all the nations and him who shall be sent to sow the word among the nations; the tenth, Antichrist and Christ, concerning which pairs we will explain more lengthily to you in other places. And when Peter said these things, Aquila said: Truly there is a need for constant instruction, so that one may be able to know the reason for each individual thing.

COTELERII NOTES

^A LXII. But Peter said: "Who is there that is diligent in regard to doctrine and eagerly inquires into each single thing, if it be not he who loves his own soul for its salvation and renounces all the business of this world, so that he may be free for the word of God alone? Whom the true prophet judges to be the only prudent man, as he sells all that is his, and buys the one true pearl, and understands what the difference is between temporal and eternal things, between small and great, between men and God? For he understands what is the eternal hope with the true and good God. Who, moreover, is there who loves God, unless he has recognized His wisdom? But how can anyone be able to recognize the wisdom of God, if he is not diligent to hear His word? From which it happens that he conceives love for Him and venerates Him with worthy honor, with hymns and prayers poured out to Him, and resting most gladly in these, and counting it the greatest detriment if ever he should speak or do anything else even for a moment of time, because in truth a soul that is filled with the love of God cannot look upon anything else except that which pertains to God, nor can it be satiated from love for Him, while meditating on those things which it knows to be pleasing to Him. Those, however, who have not at all conceived of His affection, and do not bear His illuminated charity in their mind, are like those placed in darkness who cannot see the light. And therefore even before they begin to acquire knowledge of God, being, as it were, oppressed by toil, they fail immediately, and, filled with weariness, they are continually snatched away by their own custom to those words by which they are delighted. For to hear anything about God is tedious and troublesome to such people, for the reason that their mind has received no sweetness of divine charity." ^{B C} LXIII. As Peter was saying these things, day broke, and behold, there came one of the disciples of Simon, crying out and saying: "I beseech you, Peter, receive me, a wretch deceived by Simon the Magician, to whom I was looking as to a heavenly God, on account of those miracles which I saw being done by him. Having heard your sermons, however, he began now to seem like a man to me, and indeed an evil one. Nevertheless, when he was leaving here, I followed him alone, for I had not yet clearly recognized his impieties. But when he saw me following, calling me blessed, he brought me to his house; and around the middle of the night he said to me: 'I will make you better than all men, if you are willing to persevere with me to the end'; and when I had promised him this, he exacted from me an oath of perseverance, and, having received it, he placed upon my shoulders some polluted and execrable secrets of his to carry, and ordered me to follow him. When, however, we came to the sea, having entered a ship which happened to be there, he took from my neck what he had ordered me to carry. And a little later, having gone out, he brought nothing out, it being certain that he had thrown it into the sea. He asked me, however, to travel with him, saying that he was making for Rome, for there, he claimed, he would be so pleasing that he would be thought to be a God and would be gifted with divine honors in public. Then, ^D he said to me, he would restore me filled with all riches if it should please me to return here, and he would support me with more ministries. Hearing these things, and seeing nothing in him consistent with this profession, but understanding that he was a magician and a deceiver, I replied: 'I beseech you, forgive me, because my feet are sore, and for that reason I am not able to depart from Caesarea; besides, I have a wife and small children, whom I cannot leave at all.' But he, hearing these things and accusing me of cowardice, set out for Dora, saying: 'When you hear how much glory I shall have in the city of Rome, you will repent.' And after these things, he himself, as he said, made for Rome, but I immediately returned here, praying that you might receive me to penance, because I have been deceived by him."

LXIV. When he who had returned from Simon had said these things, Peter ordered him to remain in the courtyard. But he himself, going forward and seeing very many crowds, much more than on previous days, stood in the usual place and, pointing out him who had come, he began to speak in this way: "This man, brothers, whom I point out to you, came to me a little while ago, telling of the wicked arts of Simon, and how he had thrown the very workshop of his wickedness into the depths—not as one led by penance, but fearing lest, being caught, he might be subject to public laws. He was asking this man, as he says, to remain with him, promising him immense rewards. But when he could not persuade him at all, he left him, upbraiding him as a coward, and he himself made for Rome." And when Peter had indicated these things to the crowds, the man himself who had returned from Simon, standing publicly, began to set forth to the people every detail concerning the crimes of Simon. And when they were deeply troubled by these things which they were hearing had been done by Simon through magic arts, Peter said:

LXV. "Do not, brothers, be troubled about these things which have passed, but be watchful concerning the future; for the things which have passed are already finished, but the things which are imminent are dangerous to those who may fall into them; for scandals will never be wanting to this world, as long as the enemy is permitted to act according to his will, so that all the prudent and those who understand his wiles may overcome the agonies stirred up for them by him, while those who neglect to learn the things that pertain to the salvation of their soul may be caught by his just deceptions. Since, therefore, as you yourselves have heard, Simon has gone out to forestall the ears of the Gentiles who have been called to salvation, it is necessary that I too follow his tracks, so that if by chance anything has been disputed by him, it may be corrected by us. But since it is just that greater solicitude be exercised for you, who are already contained within the walls of life—because what has been acquired, if it perishes, brings loss, but that which has not yet been found, if it can be found, is gain, but if not, the only loss is that the gain has not been made—therefore, so that you may be strengthened more and more in the truth, and the Gentiles who are called to salvation may not be able to be forestalled in any way by the wickedness of Simon, I have thought to ordain Zacchaeus as pastor for you, while I myself..."

remain with you for three months, and thus depart for the Gentiles, lest through our lingering here, the wickedness of Simon, which rages everywhere, should make them insane. ^A LXVI. As he said this, the entire populace wept, hearing that he was about to depart. But Peter, having compassion on them, shed tears himself, and looking up to heaven, said: "To you, O God, who made heaven and earth and all things that are therein, we pour out our suppliant prayer, that you may comfort those who take refuge in you in their tribulation; for because of the affection which they have toward you, they love me, who have announced your truth to them. For which reason, with the right hand of your mercy, guard them; for neither Zacchaeus nor any other man can be a sufficient guardian for them." After Peter had said these things and others similar to them, he laid his hands on Zacchaeus ^B and prayed that he might faithfully keep the office of his episcopate. After this, he ordained twelve presbyters and four deacons, and said: "This Zacchaeus I have ordained as bishop for you, knowing that he has the fear of God and is learned in the Scriptures; him whom you should honor as one holding the place of Christ, being obedient to him for your own salvation, and knowing that whether it is honor or injury that is offered to him, it redounds to Christ, and from Christ to God. Hear him, therefore, more attentively and receive from him the doctrine of the faith, but the admonitions of life from the presbyters, and the order of discipline from the deacons. Show religious care for widows, aid orphans more zealously, show mercy to the poor, teach the young modesty, and—to say everything briefly—sustain one another as the situation requires. Worship God who created heaven and earth, believe in Christ, love one another, be merciful to all, and fulfill charity not by word alone, but by deed and works."

^C LXVII. And when he had enjoined these and similar things, he made an announcement to the people, saying: "Since I have decided to spend three months with you, if any of you desires, let him be baptized, so that being delivered from former evils, he may henceforth from his own deeds become heir of heavenly goods. Let him, therefore, who wishes, come to Zacchaeus and give his name to him, and hear from him the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Let him apply himself to frequent fastings and prove himself in all things, so that when these three months are finished, he may be able to be baptized on the feast day. Everyone of you shall be baptized in perennial waters, with the name of the Trinal Blessedness invoked upon him, having been first anointed with oil ^D consecrated by prayer, so that finally, through these things, he may be able to receive from the holy things."

LXVIII. And when he had said many things concerning the reason of baptism, he dismissed the crowds and retired to his customary dwelling, and there, with the twelve standing by him—that is, Zacchaeus and Sophonias, Joseph and Micah, Eleazar and Phinees, Lazarus and Eliseus, myself, Clement, and Nicodemus, Nicetas and Aquila—he spoke in this manner: "Let us consider, brothers, what is just; for we ought to bring some aid to the Gentiles who are called to salvation. You yourselves heard that Simon, wishing to preempt our journey, departed; it was fitting that we should have followed in his footsteps, so that if he attempted to subvert anyone anywhere, he could be immediately refuted by us. But since it seems unjust to me that, leaving those who have already turned to God, we should offer our care to those who are still far off, I think it right that I should remain for three months with those who in this city have turned to the faith, and make them firmer, yet not altogether neglect those who are still far off, lest perhaps, if they are long infected by the poisons of a most evil doctrine, they should be recalled with greater difficulty. And therefore I wish, if it seems just also to you, that in place of Zacchaeus, whom we have ordained bishop here, there be substituted in the number Benjamin, the son of Saba, and in place of Clement, whom I have decided to have with me always, because coming from the Gentiles he possesses a great desire to hear the word of God, Ananias, the son of Safra; but in place of Nicetas and Aquila, who have recently turned to the faith of Christ, Rubelus, the brother of Zacchaeus, and Zacharias the builder. With these four substituted for those four, I wish the number of twelve to be fulfilled, so that Simon may feel that I am always with him in them."

LXIX. Therefore, having sequestered myself, Clement, and Nicetas and Aquila, he said to the twelve: "I wish you to depart the day after tomorrow to the Gentiles and follow the footsteps of Simon, so that you may make manifest to me all things that he does. But also inquire diligently into the purpose of each individual, and announce to them that I will come without delay, and—not to tell you many things—instruct the Gentiles in all matters to await my arrival." And when he had said these and similar things: "Also, you, brothers," he said, "if anything seems right to you concerning these matters, speak, lest perhaps it is not correct that which pleases me alone." Then all with one voice praising him: "We ask rather," they said, "that you arrange all things according to your own judgment and command what seems best to you yourself; for we think this to be a work of entire piety, if we fulfill whatever you command."

^A Since the appointed day had come and they stood before Peter, "Do not think, Peter," they said, "that the grief we feel is small, because we are deprived of hearing you for three months. But since it is expedient to do that which you command, we shall obey most promptly; always retaining your countenance in our hearts, as you commanded, we set out with gladness." And he, having poured out a prayer for them to the Lord, sent them away. And when those twelve who had been sent ahead had departed, Peter entered the place of disputation as was his custom and stood. A multitude of the people had gathered, a more numerous crowd than usual, and they all gazed at him with tears, because they had heard the day before that he was to leave on account of Simon. But even he himself, seeing them weeping, suffered similarly, although he tried to conceal and restrain his tears; yet by the trembling of his voice and the interruption of his speech, it was betrayed that he was moved by a similar emotion.

^B LXXI. Nevertheless, rubbing his forehead with his hand, "Be of good courage, brothers," he said, "and comfort your souls with the reason of wisdom by being merciful, referring all things to God, whose will alone must be fulfilled and preferred in all things. For if, for example, we suppose that on account of the affection we bear for you, we might stay with you while acting against his will, could he not, by the death he sends, impose upon me an even longer departure from you? Therefore, it is better that we fulfill this shorter one with his will, as those to whom it is determined to obey God in all things; hence you also ought to obey him with similar obedience, seeing that you love me for no other reason than for his love. As friends of God, therefore, comply with his will; but you yourselves also test what is just. Would it not seem impious if, when Simon was deceiving you, I had not come to you, held back by the brothers who were in Jerusalem, and that too when you had with you Zacchaeus, an upright man and ready in speech? So therefore, judge it impious now if, when Simon sallies forth to assail the Gentiles, who have no defender at all, I do not follow after him because I am held back by you. On account of this, let us be watchful, lest by unjust affection we perform the will of the wicked."

LXXII. "Meanwhile," I said, "I shall remain with you for three months; be diligent in listening to the word, and when these are finished, if there are any who can and wish to follow us, it is permitted to them with piety preserved. But what I say, 'with piety preserved,' is this: that he should not sadden by his departure anyone who ought not to be saddened, or parents ^C leaving those who should not be left, or a faithful wife, or if there are any persons of this kind to whom it is fitting that solace should be deferred for God's sake." Meanwhile, disputing and teaching daily, he completed the proposed time in the labor of doctrine. And when the feast day had arrived, over ten thousand were baptized.

LXXIII. But in those days a letter was sent from the brothers who had gone before, in which the crimes of Simon were contained; how he deceived the crowds through the cities and tore Peter apart everywhere, so that when he might perhaps arrive, no one would grant him a hearing. For he asserted that he was a magician and without God, injurious, cunning, unskilled, and professing impossibilities. For he asserts that the dead are to rise again, which, he says, is impossible. If anyone indeed wishes to confute him, he is destroyed by secret ambushes by his satellites; on account of which, he says, even I, when I had overcome and triumphed over him, feared his ambushes and fled, lest perhaps he might destroy me with witchcraft or plot my death through ambushes. They reported, however, that he was staying for the most part at Tripolis.

LXXIV. Therefore, Peter ordered the letter to be read to the people, and after the reading, having addressed them, he instructed them most fully about all things, especially, however, that they should obey Zacchaeus, whom he appointed as their bishop. But he commended the presbyters and deacons to the people, and to them nonetheless the people. And at the same time, announcing that he was to winter at Tripolis, "I commend you," he said, "to the grace of God, intending to depart tomorrow with the Lord's will." For during the whole three months ^D which we spent at Caesarea for the sake of doctrine, whatever he discussed before the people during the day, these things he explained to us more fully and more perfectly while we kept watch with him in secret, as those who were more faithful and clearly proven to him. At the same time, he also ordered me, because he understood that I was more studiously committing to memory the things I heard, to comprehend in books each and every thing that seemed worthy of remembrance and to send them to you, my master James, just as I did in obedience to his precepts.

LXXV. Therefore, the first book of those which I previously sent to you contains matters concerning the true prophet and the nature of the understanding of the Law, according to what the tradition of Moses teaches. The second contains matters concerning the beginning, whether there is one principle or many, and that the Law of the Hebrews is not ignorant of what immensity is. The third, concerning God and those things which were instituted by him. The fourth, that although many are called gods, there is one true God according to the testimonies of the Scriptures. The fifth, [index: entries preserved]

that there are two heavens, one of which is this visible firmament which shall also pass away, the other being eternal and invisible. Sixth, concerning good and evil, and that all things are subjected to good by the Father, but why and how and whence evil is, and that it co-operates indeed with the good, but not with a good purpose; and what the signs of good are, and what those of evil, and what the difference is between duality and conjunction. Seventh, what things the twelve apostles pursued among the people in the temple. Eighth, concerning the sayings of the Lord which seem to be contrary to one another, but are not, and what the solution for these is. Ninth, that the law which is set by God ^A is just and perfect, and is the only thing that can make peace. Tenth, concerning the carnal birth of men and the generation which is through baptism, and what the succession of carnal seed in man is, and what the nature of his soul is, and how freedom of choice exists within it; which, since it was not ingenerate but created, could not be immutable from the good. Accordingly, regarding each of these things which were discussed at Caesarea by Peter, as I have said, I have sent to you the ten volumes written by his command. We, however, on the following day, as had been determined, set out from Caesarea with some faithful men who had decided to follow Peter.

BOOK FOURTH.

I. We set out from Caesarea for Tripoli, and made our first stop at the short-distanced town of Dora, because it was not far off. And almost everyone who had believed through the preaching of Peter could with great difficulty bear to be separated from him, but as they traveled along with us, while it was a pleasure to see him again, to embrace him again, to confer again, we came to the lodging. On the following day we came to Ptolemais, where we stayed for ten days, and since some had received the word of God, and some of them, who seemed more attentive and were desirous to detain us for longer for the sake of doctrine, we indicated to them that they should follow us to Tripoli if they wished. Likewise we did at Tyre and Sidon and Berytus, and to those who desired more fully to hear the preaching, we gave notice that they should expect us at Tripoli. Therefore, when ^C eager souls from each of the cities accompanied Peter, a very great multitude of the chosen enter Tripoli. But at once before the gates of the city, the brethren who had been sent ahead meet us, and receiving us, conduct us to the lodgings which they had prepared. A great commotion and gathering took place in the city, of those desiring to see Peter.

II. And when we had come to the house of Maro, in which lodging had been prepared for Peter, he turned to the crowds and promised that he would make a discourse to them on the day after the next. Therefore the brethren who had been sent ahead divide up the lodgings for all who had come with us. Peter, however, having entered the house of Maro, when he was asked to take food, replied that he would by no means do so unless he first knew if all who had accompanied him were resting in their lodgings. But he learned from the ^B brothers who had been sent ahead, that they were received not only with lodging but also with every kindness by the citizens, because of the desire they had conceived for Peter, to such an extent that some were even saddened because there were not more for them to provide for; for so prepared had all been, that if many more had come, they would have felt that they were more in need of those to receive them than those who were doing the receiving.

III. At these things Peter, being greatly delighted, commended and blessed them and bade them remain with him. He himself, however, when he had washed in the sea, having taken food, rested in the evening. And rising from his wonted sleep at the song of the birds, while the evening light still remained, he found everyone keeping watch; for we were all sitting with him, Peter and I, Clement, Niceta and Aquila, and the twelve who had preceded ^D us. Peter, therefore, greeting us as he was accustomed to do, says: "Today, because we are not occupied with others, let us be with ourselves. And I shall recount to you what things were done at Caesarea after your departure; but you, indicate to me what things have been perpetrated here by Simon." And while the discourse was held between one or the other of these things, at the break of day some of those familiar with us announce to Peter that Simon, when he had learned of his arrival, had set out through the night, heading for Syria. The crowds, however, say that they consider this day, which you have interposed for them, to be an immense time because of their desire, and finally, not bearing it, they stand before the door, conferring among themselves about those things which they desire to hear, and they hope that you will see them by all means before the appointed time, and the more the day brightens, the more the multitudes gather, and that they are about to hear your sermon, I know not...

from where they are most firmly confident, are now hesitating regarding what seems best to you; command us what to say to them, for it is ^A absurd that a multitude this great should have gathered and should depart in sorrow, especially if no answers are given to them. They will not think that they did not wait for the appointed day, but rather that they are regarded with contempt.

IV. Then Peter, wondering, said: You see, brethren, how every word of the Lord spoken prophetically is fulfilled. For I remember he said: "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest." Behold then, now those things which were spoken in mystery are being fulfilled. And also what he said: "Many shall come from the east and west, from the north and south, and shall sit down in the bosoms of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob"; this too, as you see, is being fulfilled likewise. Wherefore I beseech you, my fellow-servants and helpers, that you may learn more attentively the order of preaching and the ways of absolution, so that you may be able to save the souls of men, who, by the hidden virtue of God, recognize whom they ought to love even before they are taught. For you see them, like good servants, desiring him whose arrival they hope to announce to their Lord, so that they may be able to fulfill his will when they have learned it. Therefore, they have from God the desire to hear the word of God and to seek his will, and this is the beginning of the gift of God that is given to the Gentiles, that they might be able by this to receive the doctrine of truth.

V. For thus it was given to the people of the Hebrews from the beginning, to love Moses and to believe his word. [Whence it is also written: "The people believed God and Moses his servant."] That which was the special gift from God toward the nation of the Hebrews, we now see being given even to those who are called to the faith from the Gentiles. The manner of works, however, is left to the power and will of each individual, and this is their own; but [to have desire toward the teacher of truth]—this is a gift from the heavenly Father. But salvation consists in doing the will of him whose love and desire you have conceived by the grace of God; lest that saying of his be spoken to you: "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" There is, therefore, a special gift granted by God to the Hebrews, that they should believe Moses, but to the Gentiles, that they should love Jesus. For the Master himself indicated this when he said: "I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise ^B and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." By which it is declared that the people of the Hebrews, who were instructed by the law, ignored him, but the people of the Gentiles acknowledged Jesus and venerate him; wherefore he shall be saved, not only by acknowledging him, but also by doing his will. But he who is of the Gentiles, and has it from God that he should love Jesus, ought to have it as his own purpose that he should also believe in Moses. And again, he who has it from God that he should believe Moses, ought to have it from his own purpose that he should believe in Jesus, so that each of them, having in himself one part of the divine gift and another of his own industry, may be made perfect from both. For of such a man did our Lord speak as one bringing forth "out of his treasure things new and old."

VI. But enough on these matters; for time presses, and the religious devotion of the people invites us to discourse unto them. And when he had said these things, he sought a place that might be suitable for disputation. And Maro said: I have a very spacious hall, which can receive more than five hundred men, and there is a garden within the house; or if it pleases you to be in some public place, this is what all desire more, for there is no one who does not wish to see even your face alone. And Peter said: Show me the hall or the garden. And when he had seen the hall, he entered so that he might also see the garden, and suddenly the whole multitude, as if summoned by someone, entered the house with haste, and from there rushed to the garden, where Peter was already standing, considering what place might be fit for disputation.

VII. But when he saw the crowds as if a great river had flooded a gentle channel, ascending a certain base which stood by chance near the wall of the garden, he first greeted the people after the manner of religion. Some, however, of those who were present, and who had been long fatigued by demons, threw themselves upon the ground, the unclean spirits begging that it might be granted to them to remain in the possessed bodies for even one day; whom Peter rebuking ordered to depart, and without delay they departed. After them, others afflicted with long-standing illnesses begged Peter that they might receive health, for whom he promised that he would entreat the Lord, when the word of doctrine had been finished. But as soon as he promised, they were freed from their illnesses, and he ordered them to sit apart ^D with those who had been cured of demons, as if after the fatigue of exertion. Meanwhile, while these things were being done, a very great multitude gathered, whom not only the desire for Peter, but also the health of...

^A those who had been accomplished, had drawn by fame. But Peter, teaching the people to be quiet and composing the crowds in tranquility, made his exordium in this way:

VIII. To one who is beginning to speak about the true worship of God, it seems necessary to me, first of all, to teach those who have not yet attained any knowledge of this matter, that Divine Providence—by which the world is ruled and governed—must be set forth as blameless in all things. The reason for the present work, and the circumstances of those whom the power of God has healed, gave us this title for an exordium, that we might demonstrate that it is by right reason that very many are possessed by various demons, so that by this the justice of God may appear. For ignorance will be found to be the mother of almost all evils. But let us now come to the cause.

IX. When God had made man in His own image and likeness, He inserted into His work a certain breath and fragrance of His own divinity, so that by this means mortals might become partakers of His Only-begotten, and through Him also exist as friends of God and sons by adoption; whence, and by what path they might attain this, He Himself, as the true prophet, taught them, knowing by what actions of men the Father would be delighted. Thus, at that time among men, there was one worship of God: a pure mind and an incorrupt spirit. And because of this, every creature preserved an inviolable covenant for the human race. For, out of reverence for the Creator, there was no sickness among them, no defect of the body, no corruption dominated by foods, from which it came to pass that a life of a thousand years did not fall into the fragility of old age.

X. But when life, devoid of labor, did not believe that good things came from divine bounty but rather granted by chance, and that they enjoyed the delights of divine pleasantness without any sweat, they accepted it as a debt of nature and not as a gift of God's goodness. Through this, men arrived at contrary and impious thoughts, thinking that the life of the gods was born without any labors and without any merits. Hence, they progressed for the worse, so that they believed neither that the world was ruled by the providence of God, nor that there was any place for virtues, since they knew themselves to possess ^B the sum of ease and delights without any good works having been previously assigned, and to be held as friends of God without any labors.

XI. Therefore, by the most just judgment of God, in those who were languishing in such vanity of thoughts, labors and afflictions were conferred as a remedy. When, therefore, labor and tribulation were present, they were excluded from the place of delights and pleasantness. But the earth began to produce nothing for them without labor; and then, thought having been converted in men, it is prompted to seek the help of its Creator, and to invite His protection with prayers and vows. And so it happened, that the worship of God which they had neglected for the sake of good things, they might recover for the sake of evil, and that affliction might amend the thoughts toward God which indulgence had perverted. Thus, therefore, Divine Providence, seeing that this was more useful to men, withdraws from men the ways of kindness and abundance, as things that might harm, and introduces the way of vexation and tribulation.

XII. But to show that these things were done for the ungrateful, [God] took one from among those who had first begun to be mortal—because He saw him not unmindful of His grace, and because he hoped to invoke the name of the Lord—and translated him to the immortals, while the others, who had been so ungrateful that they could neither be amended nor corrected by labors and tribulations, were condemned by a most grave death. Yet He found even among them one righteous man with his house, whom He might spare, having given him the command to build an ark, and in it, when all things were being destroyed by the flood, he himself, with those for whom it had been commanded, could escape, so that the world might receive purification once the impious were destroyed by the inundation of waters, and he who had been reserved for the posterity of the race might, by the water, repair the world, made new again.

XIII. But when all these things were done, men again turned to impiety, and on account of this, a law is laid down by God which might teach the manner of living; but in the process of time, the worship of God and justice is corrupted by the unfaithful and the impious, as we shall show more clearly a little later. But perverse and erratic religions are introduced, to which the greater part of men gave themselves on the occasion of holidays and solemnities, instituting potations and banquets, following pipes and flutes and harps and diverse kinds of musical instruments, and offering themselves up to drunkenness and luxury in all things. Thence all error received its origin, thence they found groves and altars, thence crowns and victims, and after drunkenness, to be driven as if by ^C lymphatic motions; from this, power was now given to demons to enter minds of this kind, so that they might appear to lead insane dances and to rave for Bacchus; thence to gnash their teeth, and to moan from their deep-seated bowels, thence a terrible countenance and a wild look in men, so that he whom drunkenness had subverted and a demon had instigated was believed by the deceived and the erring to be filled with the deity.

XIV. Whence, since so many false and erratic religions had been introduced into this world, we have been sent, bringing to you, as good merchants, the worship of the true God handed down and preserved from the fathers, the seeds of which we scatter to you through these words, and place for your judgment ^D.

For when the soul comes to the faith of God, it attains the power of the heavenly water, by which it may extinguish the demon like a spark of fire. ^A For if you accept what is ours, you will be able not only to escape the incursions of the demon yourselves, but also to drive them out of others, and at the same time follow the rewards of eternal goods. But those who shall disdain to receive what is said by us will, in the present life, be subject to various demons and the evils of sickness, and after the departure from the body, their souls will also be tormented forever. For God is not only good, but also just; for if He were always good and never just, so as to render to everyone according to his deeds, the good would be found unjust. For it is unjust if the impious is held in the same regard before Him as the pious.

XV. Therefore, demons, as we said a little before, when they have found the opportunity, are able to intrude themselves through evil and foul acts into the bodies of men; if they remain in them for a long time through their own negligence, because they do not seek what is useful for their souls, they necessarily force them to do the will of the demons dwelling in them from then on. But what is worst of all, at the consummation of the age, when that demon is consigned to eternal fire, the soul which obeyed him will necessarily be tormented ^B by the same eternal fires, together with its body which it defiled.

XVI. Now, this is the reason why demons have the desire to immerse themselves in the bodies of men. They are spirits having a purpose turned toward malice; therefore, through immoderate foods and drinks and lust, they urge men to sin; yet they who carry out the purpose of sinning, who, while they seem to wish to fulfill the necessary requirements of nature, do not hold to the measure but through excess make room for demons to enter into them. As long as the measure of nature is preserved and the legitimate limit is kept, the clemency of God does not grant them the power to enter into men. But wherever the mind has declined toward impiety, or the body is filled with immoderate foods and drinks, they receive power, as if invited by the will and purpose of those who so neglect themselves, as if against those who have broken the law established by God.

XVII. You see, therefore, how great the recognition of God and the observance of divine religion avails, which not only defends believers from the incursions of the demon, but also makes them command those who dominate others. And therefore it is necessary for you, who are from the Gentiles, to flee to God and to keep yourselves from all uncleanness, so that with the demons cast out, a dwelling-place of God may be made in you. At the same time, commend yourselves to God through prayers, and call upon Him against the impudence of the demons; for believing, whatever you ask, you shall receive.* But even the demons themselves, the more they see that faith grows in a man, so much the more do they flee from him, residing only in that part in which some remaining infidelity may have lingered; but from those who believe with full faith, they depart without any lingering.

XVIII. Therefore, there is a measure of faith, which, if it be whole, drives the demon entirely from the soul; if, however, it has anything less than that, ^C something of the demon's portion still resides in the portion of infidelity, and there is much labor for the soul to understand when or how, whether fully or less fully, the demon has been driven out from it. For if he has remained in any part, when he finds the time, he subjects thoughts to the hearts of men, and they, not knowing whence these come, believe the suggestions of the demons as if they were the sensations of their own soul. Therefore, they suggest to some to follow pleasures out of bodily necessity, they excuse the anger of others through the abundance of bile, they color the madness of others with the vehemence of black bile, but they also excuse the stupidity of some due to a multitude of phlegm. Even if this were so, yet these individual things could not be troublesome to the body unless from the excess of foods and drinks, which, when they are taken more than is just, their abundance, which the natural heat is not enough to digest, festers into a certain poison, and this, overflowing like a sewer into all the viscera and veins, renders the movements of the body insane and foul. Because of this, temperance is to be obtained in all things, so that neither is a place given to the demons, nor is the soul obsessed by them delivered with them to be tormented by eternal fires.

XIX. There is also another error of the demons, which they subject to the senses of men, so that they think they suffer what they suffer from those who are called gods, so that through these things, by offering sacrifices and gifts, as if propitiating them, they confirm the worship of a false religion, but shun us who are busy for their salvation, that they may be freed from error; but this, as I have said, they do, ^D ignorant that the demons suggest these things to them, so that they may not be saved. Therefore, it is in the power of each one, since man has been made of free will, whether he wishes to hear us unto life, or the demons unto destruction. Also, demons appear to others in visions through various images, sometimes intending threats, sometimes promising healings for infirmities, so that they might nonetheless insert into those whom they deceive the opinion that they are gods, and that it may be unknown that they are demons. But they do not escape us, who know the mystery of creation and for what reason it is permitted for demons to do these things in the present age—so that it may be allowed for them either to transform themselves into whatever images they wish, or to suggest wicked thoughts, or to insert themselves through food and drink consecrated to them into the minds or bodies of those who have taken of it, or to contrive empty dreams for the veneration of some idol.

XX. And yet, who is found so without sense, who should have to be persuaded that he ought to worship an idol, whether it be made of gold or of any metal whatsoever? To whom does not

* Matt. XXI, 22.

^A it seem that it is that metal which the craftsman intended? How, therefore, must divinity be thought to be in it, which, if the craftsman had not willed it, would not exist at all? Or how can they hope that future things will be announced to them from it, where there is not even any understanding of present things? Even though they might divine something, they could not immediately be held to be gods; for divination is one thing, and divinity is another. For even the Python spirits seem to divine, and yet they are not immediately gods; finally, they are driven out by Christian men; and how is he a God who is driven out by man? But you say perhaps: What of the fact that they effect healings, and show how someone may be cured? By this reasoning, physicians also ought to be worshipped as gods, for they heal many, and the more skilled anyone is, the more he will heal.

XXI. Whence it is evident that these, since they are demonic spirits, know some things much more quickly and much more perfectly; for they are not weighed down by the slowness of the body in learning. And therefore, the things which physicians attain to by long time and very much labor, these they know as spirits, without any delay and without difficulty. It is not therefore a wonder if they know something more than men; but this must be considered, that the things they know, they put forth not for salvation but for the deception of souls, so that through these they may teach them the worship of a false religion. But God, lest the error of so great a deception should lie hidden and He Himself should appear to be the cause to those who are wandering, since He permitted so much to be allowed to them, that they might be able to deceive men through divinations, through healings, and through dreams, provided a remedy of His own clemency to men, and placed the distinction between false and true, for those desiring to know, in plain sight. This, therefore, is the distinction: What is said by the true God, whether through prophets or through diverse visions, is always true: but what is predicted by demons is not always true. It is therefore of evident proof that those things in which there is sometimes a lie are not said by the true God, for in truth there is never a lie, whereas in those who lie, something of truth can sometimes be admitted, by which lies may be seasoned.

XXII. But if anyone should ask more curiously: What need was there for this very thing, that it should be permitted to them even sometimes to say what is true, and through this so great error be introduced to mortals, let him hear in response to this: If it had never been granted to them to say anything true, they would not predict anything at all; but not predicting, they would not even be known to be ^B demons. But if it were ignored that there are demons in this world, the cause of our struggle and our contest would have remained hidden from us, and we would suffer openly what is carried out in secret; for if the power to act only against us, and nothing to speak ^C was granted to them, it would seem [so]. But now, when sometimes true things, sometimes false things are spoken, we must recognize, as I said above, that the responses are the demons' and not God's, with whom there is never a lie.

XXIII. But if anyone, proceeding more curiously, should say: For what need was there for evils of this kind to be done by God, toward which there was such an intent to subvert human minds? To one proposing these things we shall answer: It must be asked first of all if there is anything evil in substance. And although it would suffice to say to him that it is not fitting that a creature should judge the Creator, but that it is the right of him to judge another's work who is of a similar craft or similar power; yet, so that we may not use circumlocutions, we say absolutely that there is nothing evil in substance. But if this is so, the Creator of substances is blamed in vain.

XXIV. But you will encounter me and say: Even if it came to this from the liberty of the will, did He who was creating them not know that they whom He was creating were going to decline into evil? It was necessary, therefore, that they whom He foresaw would deviate from the path of justice should not be created. Let those who propose such things hear in response to this, that by assertions of this kind He wished to show why the malice of those who were not yet did not conquer the goodness of the Creator. For if, wishing to fulfill the number and measure of His creation, He had feared the malice of those who were to be, and as one who could find no other way of remedy and medicine, except this alone, that He should withdraw Himself from the purpose of creating, lest the malice of those who were to be should be ascribed to Him; what else would be taught by these things, except the unworthy passion and unseemly frailty of the Creator, who so feared the acts of those who were not yet, that He ceased from the proposed creation?

XXV. But these things being far removed, let us contemplate this in our mind, that God, the Creator of the universe, foreseeing the future differences of His creation, looked out for and foresaw to each creature according to its own motions, which it brought forth from the liberty of its will, diverse orders and differing offices, so that when all were of one substance according to the definition of a creature, yet there was diversity in orders and offices according to the proper motions of their souls, to be brought forth from the liberty of the will. He foresaw, therefore, the future faults in the creatures, and the account of His justice demanded ^D that on account of amendment, punishment should follow the faults. It was necessary, therefore, that there be also ministers of punishments, whom nevertheless the liberty of the will would draw into this order; besides these, however, they also ought to have

^A worthy ministries, instructed men (5) that demons could be obedient to certain arts practiced by mortals—that is, to magical invocations—and as if from a certain furnace and workshop of malice, they filled the whole world, with the light of piety removed, with the smoke of impiety.

XXVII. For these and some other reasons the flood was brought upon the world, as has already been said in other places and as we shall say; and all who were upon the earth were destroyed, except the family of Noah, who survived with his three sons and their wives. From these, one named Cham, to a certain one of his sons who was called Mesraim, from whom the race of the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Persians is derived (6), handed down the illicit discipline of the magical art; those who were then ^B the nations called this man Zoroastres (7), admiring him as the first author of the magical art, in whose name also many books are held to exist on this subject (8). He, therefore, being much and frequently intent upon the stars ^{C D}

^A frequently intent, and wishing to be seen by men as God, he began to produce certain sparks from the stars and display them to men, so that the unrefined and ignorant might be drawn into an amazement at the miracle, and desiring to augment this opinion about himself, he labored at these things quite often, until he was consumed by fire, having been burned up by the very demon whom he pursued with excessive importunity.

XXVIII. But the foolish men who were there at that time, when they ought of course to have cast off the opinion they had conceived regarding him—since they had seen it refuted by his death by punishment—extolled him all the more. For having built a sepulcher to his honor, as though he had been carried up to heaven by the vehicle of a thunderbolt as a friend of God, they dared to worship him and to revere him as a living star. From this source, indeed, his name after his death, Zoroaster—that is, "living star"—was given to him by those who, after one generation, had been filled with the speech of the Greek language. By this example, in fact, even now many revere those who have died by lightning, honoring them with tombs as friends of God. ^B He, therefore, having begun with the fourteenth generation, died in the fifteenth, in which the tower was built, and the languages of men were divided in many ways.

XXIX. Among these, the first one who, nonetheless by magical art, was called king as if by a flash of light brought down to him, was a certain Nimrod, whom even the Greeks called Ninus, from whose name the city of Nineveh took its name. Thus, therefore, diverse and erratic superstitions took their beginning from magical art. For since it was difficult to draw the human race away from the love of God and lead them to deaf and soulless idols, for that reason the magi used more sublime deceptions, so that they might be turned toward persuading (men) to erratic cults, as if by astronomical signs and motions drawn from heaven and the will of God. And the ashes of his funeral pyre—of him whom we said above had been burned up by the indignation of the demon to whom he had been excessively troublesome—these people, who had been deceived from the beginning, collected as if they were remnants of lightning-fire, and carried them to the Persians, so that by them it might be preserved with perpetual watch, as if it were fire fallen from heaven, and in order that the celestial God might be worshipped.

XXX. By a similar example, ^C indeed, through other places, the remaining men were eager to build temples, to set up images, to institute mysteries and ceremonies and sacrifices for those whom they had admired either in certain arts or in virtue, or whom at least they had held in very great affection, and for all purposes to hand down to posterity the fame of these as gods, especially because, as we have said above, they seemed to be filled with certain phantasms of the magical art, so that by the invocation of demons something seemed to be moved and actuated by them for the deception of men. To these they added certain solemnities and drunken banquets, by which men might indulge themselves more willingly, and the demons, having entered in as if by vehicles through these debaucheries, might be mixed into their very vitals, in which, once ensconced, they might deflect the actions and thoughts of men to their every will. Such errors, therefore, having been introduced from the beginning, and through them lust and drunkenness, by which carnal men are especially delighted, ^D

religion, which once consisted in continence and sobriety, began to wane and was almost abolished among men.

^A XXXI. For when, from the beginning, men worshiped God as the judge who oversees all things, they dared neither to sin themselves nor to do injury to their neighbors, certain that God beheld the deeds and movements of each one. But when the worship of religion was turned toward lifeless idols—as if they were things of which they were certain that they neither saw, nor heard, nor moved in any way—they began to sin freely and to proceed toward every crime, since they feared to suffer nothing from those whom they worshiped as gods. Hence the madness of wars burst forth, hence booty, rapine, and captivities, and liberty was reduced to servitude; each one satisfied his own lust and desire as he could, although no force can ever satisfy desire. For just as the more wood fire receives, the more it is kindled and grows, so the madness of desire increases and becomes more violent through the things it obtains.

XXXII. Therefore, begin now with5a better understanding to resist within yourselves those things which you do not rightly conceive, if by any chance you can repair and restore in yourselves that purity of religion and innocence of life which was handed down to mortals by God from the beginning, so that through it the hope of immortal goods may be restored to you. And give thanks to the Giver of all, the Father, through Him whom He has established as the King of Peace and the treasury of ineffable goods, so that, in this present time, your sins may be washed away through the water of a fountain, or river, or even the sea, by invoking over you the trine name of blessedness. Through this, not only will malignant spirits be put to flight if they dwell within you, but also, when you have desisted from sins and have believed in God with full faith and total purity of mind, you shall be able to drive away malignant spirits and demons from others as well, and to free others from passions and sicknesses. For the demons themselves know and recognize those who have surrendered themselves to God, and sometimes they are driven off by their mere presence, as you saw a little while ago—how, when we had merely spoken the voice of greeting to you, the demons immediately began to cry out because of the honor of our religion, and could not bear our presence even for a short time.

XXXIII. ^B Are we, then, of some other, superior nature, and is that why the demons fear us? We are of the same nature as you, but we differ in religion. And if you wish to be such, we do not envy you; rather, we exhort you and wish you to be certain that when there is in you the same faith and religion and innocence of life that is in us, with God rewarding your faith, there will be in you, too, the same power and virtue against the demons. For just as he who has received soldiers under him, even if he himself is inferior and they are superior in strength, yet says to this one, "Go," and he goes, and to another, "Come," and he comes, and to another, "Do this," and he does it—yet this he can do not by his own power, but by the fear of Caesar: so every believer commands the demons, even if they seem to be much stronger than men, not because of his own virtue, but because of the power of God who has subjected them to him. For the very thing we said, that Caesar is feared among all soldiers and in all camps and in every kingdom, although he is one and perhaps weak in strength, is done by nothing but the power of God, who gives fear to all that they should obey one.

XXXIV. Indeed, we wish you to know this: that a demon has no power against a man unless one has surrendered himself to his will of his own accord. Whence even he who is the prince of malice approached this one, whom we said was destined by God as the King of Peace; he began to tempt him and to promise him all the glory of the world, which, having offered to others for the sake of deceiving them, he knew to be worshiped. ^C Impious and unmindful of himself—which is the peculiar and special mark of malice—he presumed that the one by whom he knew he was to be destroyed should worship him. Our Lord, therefore, confirming the worship of the one God, answered him: "It is written: You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve." Deterred by this answer, and fearing lest the true religion of the one and true God be restored, he hastens immediately to send into this world false prophets and false apostles and false teachers, who might speak under the name of Christ, but do the will of the demon.

XXXV. Therefore, observe more cautiously that you should believe no teacher unless he brings testimony from James, the brother of the Lord, from Jerusalem, or from whoever comes after him. For unless someone has gone up there and has been proved to be a teacher suitable and faithful to preach the word of Christ, unless, I say, he brings testimony from there, he is not to be received at all; and let neither prophet nor apostle be expected by you in this time other than us. For there is one true prophet, whose words we, the twelve apostles, preach. For He is the acceptable year of God, having us, the apostles, as the twelve months. But for what reason the world itself was made, or the diversities that exist ^D therein have occurred, and why our Lord, coming for its reparation, chose us twelve apostles and sent us, shall be explained more fully elsewhere. In the meantime, He commanded us to go forth to preach and to invite you to the banquet of the celestial King, which the Father has prepared for the marriage of His Son, and that we should give you wedding garments, which is the grace of baptism. Whoever has obtained this, like a clean garment with which he must enter to the King’s banquet, must take care that it is not stained in any part by sin, lest on this account he be cast out as unworthy and reprobate.

XXXVI. The causes, however, by which this is stained

are these: if any one withdraws from God the Father and Creator of all, receiving another teacher besides Christ, who alone is the faithful and true prophet, and who sent us twelve apostles to preach the word; and if any one thinks regarding the substance of the Divinity, which surpasses all things, otherwise than is worthy, these are the things which stain the baptismal garment until death. But those things which stain us in our actions are these: homicides, adulteries, hatreds, avarice, and evil desires. But those things which stain both soul and body at once are these: participating in the table of demons, that is, tasting things sacrificed, or blood, or carrion which has been suffocated, and if there be anything else which has been offered to demons. Therefore let this be for you the first grade of the three, which grade produces thirty mandates from itself, and the second which is sixty, the third which is a hundred, just as we shall explain to you more fully at another time.

XXXVII. And when he had said these things, and had commanded that on the next day they should assemble more punctually at the same place, he dismissed the crowds; and as they were unwilling to depart, Peter said: "Grant me this favor because of the labors of yesterday’s journey; and now depart, and assemble more punctually tomorrow;" and thus they departed with joy. But Peter, commanding me to withdraw a little for the sake of prayer, ordered after this that a couch be spread in the place of the garden which the shade covered, and each one, acknowledging the place of his own order according to custom, we took food. Then, because a little of the day still remained, after he had spoken to us about the miracles of the Lord, when evening had come, he entered his chamber and rested.

BOOK FIFTH

I. On the following day, Peter rose earlier than was his custom; and when he perceived that we were still sleeping, he ordered silence to be kept for himself, in order to give us the opportunity to rest. But when we had arisen refreshed by sleep, we found him, after prayer had been made, waiting for us within the chamber. And when it was already twilight, he greeted us briefly as was his custom, and proceeded immediately to the usual place for the sake of teaching, where, having seen that a great many had gathered to listen, after the first rite of religion, having invoked peace upon them, he began to speak in this manner:

II. God, the Creator of all, made man from the beginning according to His own image, and gave to him dominion over the earth, the sea, and the air itself, just as the true prophet has narrated to us, and as the very reason of things teaches; for he alone is rational, and it follows that reason should dominate the irrational. This man, therefore, from the beginning, while he was still just, was superior to all vices and every fragility; but when he sinned, as we taught yesterday, and became a slave of sin, he is made at once subject to fragility. Which is therefore written, that men may know that just as they were made passible through disobedience, so through piety they can be impassible, and not only impassible, but also, through a small faith in God, curing the passions of others. For so the true prophet promised us, saying: "Amen I say to you, that if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, Remove from hence, and it shall remove." You yourselves have received proofs of this voice; for yesterday you saw how, while we stood by, the demons with the passions which they had brought upon men, departed and were put to flight.

III. Since, therefore, some men suffer, while others who are suffering are cured, the cause without doubt must be known of either suffering or being cured, which is shown to be none other than infidelity in those who suffer, but faith in those who cure. For infidelity, while it does not believe that there is a future judgment of God, provides license for sinning, but sin makes a man subject to passions. Faith, however, believing that there is a future judgment of God, restrains men from sin; and those who do not sin are not only free from demons and passions, but are even able to put to flight the demons and passions of others.

Fifth Book

^A IV. From all these things, therefore, it is gathered that the origin of all evil descends from ignorance, and that it is the mother of all evils—which is begotten indeed by carelessness and sloth, but is nourished and increased by negligence and is rooted in the senses of men. If anyone perhaps should try to teach that it ought to be driven away, it is pulled up painfully and indignantly, like old and hereditary homesteads. And therefore we must labor a little, that by searching we may cut away the presumptions of ignorance with the reason of knowledge, especially in those who have been forestalled by certain wrong opinions, through which, as if under the guise of some knowledge, ignorance is more vehemently rooted in them. For nothing is more grievous than if a person believes he knows what he is ignorant of, and defends as true what is false—which is such as if a drunken man were to think himself sober, and would indeed act in everything as a drunkard, yet would consider himself sober and wish to be called so by others. Thus, therefore, are they who, being ignorant of what is true, yet hold the appearance of some knowledge, and conduct themselves in evils as if they were good, and hasten toward destruction as if toward salvation.

V. Because of this, before all things, we must hasten to the knowledge of the truth, so that we may be able, as if by a light kindled for us from it, to dispel the darkness of errors; for ignorance is a great evil, as we have said, but because it has no substance, it is easily driven away by those who are studious. For ignorance is nothing other than not having known what is necessary; but when you have known, ignorance perishes. Therefore, the knowledge of the truth must be sought for greatly, which no one else can assign except the true prophet. For this is the gate of life for those who wish to enter, and the path of good works for those proceeding to the city of salvation.

VI. If anyone, in truth, hearing the sermon of the true prophet, wishes to receive it or does not wish to, and to embrace his burden—that is, the commandments of life—he has it in his own power; for we are of free will. For if it were such that those hearing him no longer had in their power to do other than they had heard, it would be a certain compulsion of nature, through which it would not be free to move to another opinion. Or if, on the other hand, none at all among the hearers were to receive it, this too would be a compulsion of nature, which would force one thing to happen and would not give room to the other part. But now, because it is free for the mind to incline its judgment in whichever direction it wishes, and to choose the way it has approved, it is clearly established that liberty of the will exists in men.

VII. Therefore, before anyone hears what is necessary for him, it is certain that he is ignorant, and being ignorant, he wishes and desires to do what is not necessary, on account of which he is not judged for this. But when he has heard the causes of his error and has received the reason for the truth, then if he remains in those errors by which he had previously been forestalled, rightly will he now be called to judgment to pay the penalties, as to why he consumed the span of his life, which he received for living well, in the mockeries of error. But he who, hearing these things, receives them willingly and gratefully seeks the doctrine of good things to have been brought to him, he does not cease to learn, until he knows if there is truly another age in which rewards are prepared for the good; and when he is certain of this, giving thanks to God that He has shown him the light of truth, he henceforth directs his acts in all good works, for which he is certain that a reward is prepared in the future, wondering at and stunned through all things at the errors of other men, and that no one sees the truth placed before their eyes. Yet he himself, rejoicing over the riches of wisdom which he has found, desires insatiably to enjoy them and takes delight in the exercise of good works, hastening to arrive at the future age with a clean heart and pure conscience, where he may even be able to see God, the king of all.

^B VIII. Now, it is ignorance alone that makes us lack and be cheated of all these things. For while men are ignorant of how much good knowledge contains, they do not suffer the evil of ignorance to be excluded from themselves; for they do not know what great difference there is in the changing of these things. Because of this, I give counsel to each of those learning, to lend an ear willingly to the Word of God, and to hear with love of the truth what we say, so that the mind, having received the best seed, may bear joyful fruits through good acts. For if, when I am teaching those things that pertain to salvation, anyone refuses to receive it, and with a mind occupied by depraved opinions strives to resist, he will have the cause of perishing not from us, but from himself. For he ought to examine with just judgment what we say, and understand that we speak the words of truth, so that, having known those things which are as they are, and directing his life in good acts, he may be found a partaker of the kingdom of heaven, subjecting to himself the desires of the flesh, and having become master of them, so that thus at last he himself may also become a joyful possession of the Master of all.

IX. For he who remains in evil and is a servant of evil cannot be made a portion of the good as long as he remains in evil, because from the beginning, as we said before, God established two kingdoms, and gave power to each of men, that he might become a portion of that kingdom to which he himself submits to obey. And because it has been defined by God that one man cannot be a servant of both kingdoms, apply yourselves with all zeal to contend for the covenant and laws of the good King. For this reason, finally, the true prophet, while he was present with us and saw some of the wealthy who were negligent regarding the worship of God, opened the truth of this matter thus: "No one," he says, "can serve two masters; you cannot serve God and mammon"*; calling riches "mammon" in their native tongue.

X. This, therefore, is the true prophet who appeared to us in Judea, as you have heard; who, standing publicly, by his word alone made the blind see, the deaf hear, cast out demons, restored health to the sick, and life to the dead. And since nothing was impossible for him, he even saw through the thoughts of men, which is possible to no one except God alone. This man announced the kingdom

^A of God, to whom we, regarding all that he said, believe as a true prophet, deriving the firmness of our faith not only from his words, but also from his deeds. For both the sayings of the Law, which had explained his presence many ages before, were confirmed in him, and the images of the deeds of Moses, and even before him of the patriarch Jacob, bore the type of him throughout everything. The time also of his advent, that is, the very time in which he came, is agreed to have been predicted by them; and above all, the fact that he was to be expected by the gentiles is comprised in the sacred scriptures, in which all things are likewise fulfilled in him.

XI. That the prophet of the Jews predicted that he was to be expected by the gentiles, confirms the faith of the truth in him beyond doubt. For if he had said he was to be expected by the Jews, it would not seem that he had prophesied something remarkable, since he whose advent had been promised for the salvation of the world would be hoped for by his fellow tribesmen and his own people; for the consequence of events would seem to be that this should happen, rather than ^B any prophetic magnificence. But now, when the prophets say that all that hope which is promised for the salvation of the world, and the newness of the kingdom which is to be established through Christ, and all the things which are indicated concerning him, are to be transferred to the gentiles, it is no longer confirmed according to the course of events, but by a certain incredible magnificence of prophetic divination. For the Jews had received by a most true tradition from the beginning that this man would appear—he through whom all things would be restored—and meditating and watching daily when his advent would take place, when they saw him present and fulfilling signs and wonders, just as it had been written of him, blinded by envy, they could not recognize the one present, in whose hope they were waiting ^C for the absent one; yet we few, who have been chosen by him, have understood.

XII. But this was done by the providence of God, so that the knowledge of this good might also be handed down to the gentiles, and those who had never heard of him nor learned from the prophets might recognize him, whereas those who had known through daily meditations might remain ignorant. For behold, through you who are now present, and who desire to hear the doctrine of his faith and to know who, and in what manner, and of what nature his advent is, the prophetic truth is fulfilled. For this is what the prophets predicted, that he would be sought by you [Isa. lxv, 1] who never heard of him. And therefore, seeing in yourselves the prophetic sayings being fulfilled, you rightly believe in this one, you rightly expect him, you rightly inquire about him, ^D so that you may not only expect him, but also, believing, obtain the inheritance of his kingdom, according to what he himself said, that each one is the servant of him to whom he has submitted himself [John viii, 34].

XIII. Therefore, keep watch, and credit to yourselves as our Lord God the Lord who is Lord of heaven and earth, and reform yourselves to his image and likeness [Gen. i, 26], just as the true prophet himself teaches, saying: *Be merciful just as your heavenly Father [Luc. vi, 36] is merciful, who makes his sun rise over the good and the bad, and rains upon the just and the unjust* [Matth. v, 45]. Imitate him, therefore, and fear him, as the command is given to men: *You shall adore the Lord your God, and him alone shall you serve* [Deut. vi, 13; Matth. iv, 10]. It is expedient for you to serve this one Lord, so that, by knowing the one God through him, you may be freed from the many whom you feared to no purpose. For he who does not fear God, the creator of all, but fears those who he himself made with his own hands, what does he do but make himself liable to a vain and useless fear? And he renders himself more vile and abject than those very things whose fear he has conceived in his mind. Rather, through the goodness of him who invites you, return to your former nobility, and show by your good deeds that you bear the image of your creator himself, so that from the contemplation of his likeness you may be believed to be his children as well.

XIV. Begin, therefore, to cast out from your senses the vain species of idols and useless and empty fears, so that you may also be able to escape the condition of unjust servitude. For your masters are those who could not even be useful servants to you. For how would inanimate images seem suitable to you for servitude, when they neither hear, nor see, nor perceive anything? Except that, as for the matter itself out of which they were made—whether gold, or silver, or even bronze or wood—since it could be useful to you for necessary tasks, you, by forming them into gods, have made it idle and useless in every way. We, therefore, announce to you true worship of God, and at the same time we warn and exhort you, the worshipers, that through good deeds you imitate him whom you worship, and hasten to return to his image and likeness, as we said above.

XV. I would wish, however, that those who worship idols would tell me if they desire to become like those whom they worship. Does any one of you wish to see the way they see? Or to hear the way they hear? Or to have sense the way they have it? Far be this from every one of you who are listening; for this must be considered a curse rather than a reproach to a man who bears the image of God in himself, even if he has lost the likeness. What kind of gods, therefore, are those to be considered, whom it would be execrable to imitate? COTELERIUS' NOTES: what is to be believed. He who is accustomed to be called Eusebius of Emesa, in his homily that idols should not be worshiped: Tell me, when you venerate wood and stone, if it were said to you: "Be such as your god is"; would you not consider it a reproach? Would you not reckon it an injury? And are you not ashamed to venerate him whose likeness you would not want to be called, and to whom you would be ashamed to be compared? And do you attribute the worship of God to him, to whom you would consider it a most grievous curse to be assimilated?

^A And is it not a shame to have a likeness to them? What then? Break up your useless idols, and fashion useful vessels; break up the idle and slothful matter, and fashion instruments suited for human use. But, he says, human laws do not permit this. Very well, because they are human laws, not their own strength. How then are they gods, which are defended by human laws and not by their own power? And in this way they are preserved from thieves by the watchfulness of dogs and the fortifications of barriers, and this only if they be of silver or gold or even bronze; for those of stone and pottery are protected by their own worthlessness, for no one steals a stone or earthen god. Hence they seem more miserable, to whom a more precious metal invites closer dangers. Those, therefore, who can be stolen, who need to be guarded by men, who can be melted down, weighed out, and struck with hammers, ought these to be considered gods by men who have sense?

XVI. O into what misery has the intelligence of mortals fallen! For if it is considered the height of folly to fear the dead, what are we to judge of those who fear something even worse than the dead are? For these images are not even to be counted in the number of the dead, because they never lived. Even the tombs of the dead are to be preferred to them, since, though they are now dead, they once had life; but those whom you worship never even possessed the life—which is the foulest of all—that frogs and toads have. But what need is there to say more about these, when it suffices to say to him who worships them: Do you not see that he whom you worship does not see? Hear that he whom you worship does not hear, and understand that he does not understand; for he is the work of mortal hands, and necessarily lacks sense. You therefore worship an insensible thing, when each one who has sense does not even believe that those things which were created by God and possess sense—that is, the sun and moon, or the stars, and all things that are in heaven and on earth—should be worshipped. For they think it just that not those things which were made for the service of the world, but the Creator of them and of the whole world, should be venerated; for even these things rejoice when He is worshipped and adored, and they do not willingly accept that the honor of the Creator should be deferred to a creature. For the worship of God alone is excepted, who alone is uncreated, while all other things are His handiwork. ^B Just therefore as it is proper to Him who alone was not made to be God, so everything that is made is truly not God.

XVII. Before all things, therefore, you ought to understand the deception of the ancient serpent and his cunning suggestions, which creep like a sort of reason into your senses, and beginning from the very summit, glide through your inmost marrow, counting your deception a great gain for himself. He therefore intersperses in your senses the opinions of whatever gods he may, only that he may recall you from the faith of the one God, knowing that your sin is his solace. For he, on account of his own iniquity, was condemned from the beginning to eat the earth, and on account of Him who was taken from the earth, he has caused him to be resolved back into earth, until the time when your souls, having been purified by fire, shall be restored, as we shall teach more fully elsewhere. From him, therefore, are all the errors and ambiguities by which you are disturbed from the faith and credulity of the one God.

XVIII. And first of all, he subjects the thoughts of men, so that they do not listen to the words of truth by which they might flee the ignorance of evils. And this he does as if by the opportunity of another kind of knowledge, asserting to them that opinion which many use, that they will not be held guilty if they remain in ignorance, nor will they have to give an account for those things which they have not heard; and for this reason he persuades them to turn their hearing away from the word. But receive, against these arguments, that ignorance is in itself a most powerful poison, which is sufficient—without any added, extrinsic factor—to destroy the soul. And therefore there is no one who, being ignorant, escapes by the fact that he is ignorant, but it is certain that he perishes. For naturally the power of sins destroys the sinner. ^C But since the judgment will be a rational one, the cause and origin of both the ignorance and each individual sin will be sought. He, therefore, who refused to know how he could come to life, but preferred to remain in ignorance so that he might not appear to be held guilty for this very reason, is judged from this fact alone, as one who had known and possessed the knowledge. For he knew what it was that he did not want to hear, and no shrewdness sought out by the serpent's artifice will avail him for an excuse; for with the person who is judged will be the Reason, from whom the heart is not hidden. But so that you may know that ignorance in itself brings universal destruction, when the soul has departed from the body, if it emerges such that it is ignorant of Him by whom it was created, from whom it has obtained in this world all the things that were necessary for its uses, it is cast out as ungrateful and unfaithful from the light of His kingdom.

XIX. The most wicked serpent again subjects to men another opinion, which many of you are wont to bring forward: We too, they say, call God the Lord of all things one; but these, they say, ^D are gods...

^A subordinate to that greater God, though they administer what is in this world. Hear, then, concerning these things, how you are refuted by the principles of truth, even in these very matters which you propose for the sake of deception. You say that God holds the place of Caesar, and that those who are called gods serve the likeness of his judges and powers. Keep then, as you have proposed, the example of Caesar, and know that just as it is not lawful for any of the judges or administrators of Caesar—that is, the prefects, or proconsuls, or generals, or tribunes—to have the name of Caesar imposed upon them; otherwise, both he who accepts it and they who confer it will perish together: so also you ought to notice concerning this that if anyone imposes the name of God on anyone other than Himself, and he receives it, they will share one and the same destruction, by a much more grievous fate than the ministers of Caesar. For he who has offended against Caesar will suffer a temporal death; but he who offends against the One who is the sole and true God, will suffer punishments for eternity, and deservedly so, as one who has violated by an injurious condition the name which is unique.

XX. Although even this name, God ^B, is not the name of God itself, but is a term provisionally granted to men as if it were His name—which, however, as I have said, when treated with contumely, is referred as an injury to His true name. In short, the ancients among the Egyptians, who seemed to have found for themselves an account of the celestial course and the nature of the stars—the demon having beset their senses—nevertheless subjected all things to this incommunicable name with insults. For some of them handed down that the ox, which is called Apis, should be worshipped; others, the goat; others, cats; some, the ibis; certain others, the serpent, and even fish, and onions, and sewers, and the flatulence of the belly, as deities to be held in honor, and other innumerable things that it is even shameful to name.

XXI. As Peter said these things, all who heard laughed. And Peter said: You laugh, he says, at the dishonor of others, because you do not see your own, handed down by long custom. For you rightly laugh at the folly of the Egyptians, who, while they themselves are rational, worship mute animals. Hear, however, how they also mock you; for they say: We worship living animals, even if they are destined to die, but you worship and adore things that have never lived at all. ^C They add, moreover, that these are figures and allegories of certain virtues, by whose assistance the human race is governed; but by this refuge of shame, and by connecting some similar things, they strive to veil their own error. But it is not now the time to answer the Egyptians, and, by neglecting the care of those present, to heal the ailments of the absent. For it is a certain proof that you are yourselves considered alien to this kind of infirmity, since you did not grieve for it as your own, but laughed at it as another's.

XXII. But let us return to you, to whom it is pleasing that God be held as Caesar, but that gods be held as ministers and procurators of Caesar; follow me more attentively, and I will now show you the lurking-places of the serpent, situated in the curved windings of this argument. It ought to be certain and indubitable among all, that God—because He was made by no one, but He Himself made all things—cannot be made equal to any of His works; for no one can be found so irrational as to think that a work can be compared to its maker. If, therefore, the human mind, not only by reason but also by a certain natural movement, rightly holds this opinion—that He is called God to whom nothing can be compared or made equal, but who excels and surpasses all things—how is that name, which is believed to be above all, rightly believed to be given to those whom you think were appointed for the ministry and provision of human life? But we will add even this: this world is without doubt made and is corruptible, as we shall also show more fully later on; meanwhile, it is established that it is both made and corruptible. If, therefore, the world cannot be called God—and rightly so, because it is corruptible—how will the parts of the world receive the name of God? For that which cannot be the whole world, will much less be a part of it. Therefore, if we return to the example of Caesar, see how ^D

far you err. For although Caesar is a human being of the same nature as he whom he rules, no one may be compared to him; yet do you believe that any being should be compared to God, who, by the very fact that He was made by no one but Himself made all things, surpasses everything? You do not dare to give the name of Caesar to any other, because he immediately punishes his violator; but do you dare to do so toward God, because He delays in punishing the one who has offended Him, out of a desire for repentance?

XXIII. Furthermore, the serpent is accustomed to bring forth by the mouths of others words of this kind: "We honor visible images to the honor of the invisible God"; which is most certainly false. For if you truly wish to honor the image of God, you would honor the true image of God in man by doing good to him. For in every human being there is the image of God, though not in all the likeness, but where a kind soul and pure mind are present (24). If, therefore, you truly wish to honor the image of God, we reveal to you what is true: that you should bestow honor and reverence upon the human being who was made in the image of God, by ministering what is necessary to the hungry—giving food, to the thirsty a cup, to the naked clothing, to the sick service, to the traveler hospitality, and to the prisoner relief; and this is what will be reckoned as truly offered to God. These things, moreover, so greatly contribute to the honor of God’s image that he who has not done these things is believed to have brought insult upon the divine image. What, therefore, is this honor of God—to go running to stone and wooden forms, and to venerate empty and lifeless figures as deities, while scorning the human being in whom the image of God truly resides? Rather, be assured that whoever commits homicide or adultery, and whatever is done for the injury or punishment of men, in all these things the image of God is violated. For it is a great impiety toward God to injure a person; therefore, everything you would not wish to suffer yourself, when you do it to another, you defile the image of God with iniquitous sorrows. Understand, therefore, that this suggestion comes from the serpent lurking within, which persuades you that you can seem pious while worshiping insensible things, and not seem impious while you injure those who are sensible and rational.

XXIV. But at these things the serpent answers us with another mouth and says: "If God did not want these things to be, they certainly would not exist." I do not yet say to you how, for the testing of each person's mind, many contrary things are permitted to exist in this world; but that which is appropriate to say for now is this: if, according to you, everything that was to be worshiped ought not to have existed, then almost nothing would have existed in this world. For what is there that you have left, which you have not worshiped? The sun, moon, stars, water, earth, mountains, trees, stones, men; there is nothing of these which you have not worshiped. Therefore, according to your own word, it was fitting that none of these should have been made by God, lest you have something you could worship; but it should not even have been that men themselves existed, who could worship. Truly, this is what the serpent who hides within you desires; he spares none of you, he wishes no one to escape from destruction; but it shall not be so. For hear this: it is not the thing that is worshiped that does wrong, but he who worships. For the judgment before God is just, and He judges the one suffering injury in one way, and the one inflicting it in another.

XXV. But you say: "It was fitting, therefore, that those who worship what is forbidden to be worshiped should be immediately destroyed by God, so that others would not do this." But are you not wiser than God, that you should suggest plans to Him? He knows what He is doing. For to all who are placed in ignorance He grants patience, because He is merciful and pious, and He foresees that many are made pious from the impious, and from those very people who venerate impure figments and polluted images, not a few are turned to God, and, calling themselves back from their sins and doing good works, reach salvation. "But," he says, "we ought not to have come even to the thought of doing these things." You are ignorant of what free will is, and it escapes you that He alone is truly good who is good by His own purpose; but he who is kept in goodness by necessity cannot be called good, because what he is is not his own. Because, therefore, in each person there is liberty in the choice of good or evil, he seeks for himself either rewards or destruction. "Nay," he says, "whatever we think, God brings to our mind." What are you doing, O men? You blaspheme; for if everything we think is brought to our mind by Him, then He Himself suggests to us thoughts of adultery, and avarice, and blasphemy, and every kind of luxury. Cease, I beseech you, from such blasphemies, and understand what honor is worthy of God. And do not say, as some of you are accustomed to do, that God does not need the honor of mortals. He is indeed truly in need of nothing, but you ought to recognize that the honor which you offer to God brings benefit to you. For what is so detestable, as if a man should not know how to return gratitude to his own Creator?

XXVI. "But," he says, "we do better, who give thanks both to Him and to all things with Him." In this you do not understand the subversion of your own salvation. Such is

THE NOTES OF COTELERIUS

For this is as if someone were to invite a sick man to a remedy for his own health, yet summon at the same time toxic agents, since although they may indeed be able to harm, they cannot cure; but the true physician would refuse to mix their poisons with his own remedies, lest either ruin be ascribed to the good, or health to the harmful. You say: Therefore, does God become indignant or envious if, while He himself does good, thanks are rendered to others? Even if He were not indignant, He does not, however, wish to be the author of error, so that through the benefit of His own work, credit is given to a vain idol. What, indeed, is so impious, so ungrateful, as to receive a benefit from God, and return thanks to wood and stones? For which reason, awaken and understand your salvation; for God needs nothing, nor does He require anything, nor is He harmed in any way, but we are the ones who are either helped or harmed by whether we are grateful or ungrateful. For what is conferred upon God by our praises? Or what is taken away by blasphemies? Except that God makes the soul that gives Him thanks close and familiar to Himself, while the evil demon possesses the ungrateful one.

XXVII. But I also wish you to know this: that God himself does not of His own accord bring vengeance against such souls, but His whole creation rises up and takes penalties from the impious; and although in this present age the goodness of God equally grants the light of the world and the services of the earth to the pious and the impious, yet the sun does not provide its light to the impious without pain, nor do the other elements show them service. In short, sometimes the elements, exhausted by the crimes of the impious, are even overcome against the goodness of the Creator, and from this it is that either the fruits of the earth are corrupted, or the temper of the air is disturbed, or the heat of the sun is increased beyond measure, or the immense force of rains and cold is spread. Thence arise plagues, and famine, and the diverse face of death runs through it, for creation hastens to move vengeance against the impious. The goodness of God, however, restrains it, and checks it from the indignation of the impious, and forces it to obey His mercy rather than to be inflamed by the sins and crimes of men; for the patience of God waits while they are in this body for the conversion of men.

XXVIII. But if any persist in impiety until the end of life, then the soul, which is immortal, departing, suffers penalties for the perseverance of its own impiety. For the souls of the impious also are immortal, which they themselves perhaps might wish to be ended along with their bodies; but it is not so; they suffer the punishments of eternal fire without end, and they do not have by their own nature the power of dying. But perhaps you will say to me: "You are frightening us, Peter. And how shall we declare the truth if you say what is in the matter? Or are we not to present things otherwise than they are, if we keep silent? But if we keep silent, we shall give you cause for pernicious ignorance, and we shall satisfy the serpent that lies hidden within you and beseiges your senses, who craftily suggests these things to you, that you may always remain enemies to God. But we have been sent for this purpose, to expose his lurking places to you, and, by resolving enmities, to reconcile you to God, that you may be converted to Him and please Him in good works. For the enmities of man toward God are an irrational and impious mind and a wicked purpose, especially when it seems to itself to know something while it is in ignorance. But when, having cast these aside, the same things begin to please you that please God, and the same things begin to displease you, and you begin to will those things which God wills, then you will truly be called His friends."

XXIX. But perhaps some of you will say: "God has no care for human affairs, and if we cannot even reach knowledge of Him, how shall we reach His friendships?" That God cares for human affairs, the governance of the world itself is a witness, which the sun serves daily, which the rains minister to, to which the springs, rivers, winds, and all the elements serve; these, the more manifest they appear to men, the more they indicate the care of God toward men. For unless it were by the power of the Most High, the higher things would never serve the lower; and by this, we are taught not only that God has care for men, but a certain great affection, for whose service He has enslaved such noble elements. But that men may even reach the friendships of God, we have as an example those to whose prayers He granted so much, that He closed the heaven at their will, and when they asked, He opened it again; and He granted many other things to those doing His will, which would not be granted except to those most beloved. But you will say: "What is God harmed if these are also worshipped by us? If any of you should pay the honor due a father, from whom he has received very many benefits, to another, and worship a stranger and an outsider as if he were his father, does he not seem to you to exist as impious toward his father, and deserving of disinheritance?"

XXX. Others say: "It is impious, if we do not worship the things which have been handed down to us by our fathers, and we violate the religion given by our ancestors." By this reasoning, if anyone’s father was a robber, or if anyone’s father was a pimp, he must not change the custom handed down to him by his fathers, nor be recalled to a better way from paternal errors, and he is considered impious if he does not sin with his parents, or is not impious with them.

What else but things of lust, things of injustice, and things of cruelty do they perform, and compel you to obey in all things in which they themselves delight? God truly permits you to suffer this from them by a certain just judgment, so that from the very disgrace of your actions and perceptions you might understand how unworthy it is to be subject to demons and not to God. Hence, through friendships with demons, one arrives at indecorous and foul acts; hence, one reaches even the destruction of life itself, either through the flame of lust, or through the madness of anger or an excess of sorrow—as is often noted, with some even having laid hands upon themselves. This, as we have said, is not hindered by God by a certain just judgment, that you might both understand to whom you have submitted yourselves, and recognize whom you have abandoned. ^{B A} Others say: "We should not be troublesome to God, nor burden him always either with complaints of our miseries or with the necessities of our petitions." How foolish and saltless a reply! Do you think it troublesome to God if you give thanks to him for his benefits, concerning whom you do not think it troublesome if you offer thanks for his gifts to wood and stones? And how is it that, when by chance rain is suspended by long drought, we all stretch our eyes to heaven and ask the omnipotent God for the gifts of rain, and all together with our little ones, with prayers poured out to God, beseech his mercies? But in truth, ungrateful souls, when they have obtained what they asked for, quickly forget; for when harvests or vintages have been gathered, they immediately carry the first fruits of their crops to deaf and dumb idols, and for those things which God has conceded, they fulfill vows in temples or groves, and there offer sacrifices to demons, and thus exchange the giver of grace for the grace received.

XXXI. But some say: "These things were instituted for the sake of joy and invented for the refreshment of minds, so that the human mind might be relaxed a little from its cares and sorrows." See how you are yourselves the accusers of the things you do. If these things were discovered as a cause for relieving sorrow and for joy, why do invocations of demons take place in groves and forests? Why the insane rotations of men, the cutting of limbs, and the abscission of private parts? How is a rabid fury conceived in these things? How is madness invited? How are women thrown about, raging with disheveled hair? Whence the gnashing and grinding of teeth? Whence the groaning of the heart and bowels, and all those things which, whether feigned or even put together by the ministry of demons, are brought forth for the terror of stupid and ignorant men? Are these done for the sake of relieving the mind, or rather for oppressing it? Do you not yet feel or understand that these are the counsels of the serpent hiding within you, which leads you away from the reason of truth through irrational suggestions of error, so that it might hold you as servants and ministers of lust, concupiscence, and all disgrace?

XXXII. But I call you all to witness with the clear voice of my preaching, that on the contrary, the religion of God recalls you to sobriety and chastity, commands you to be continent from luxury and fury, to prune away the lapses of anger through patience and meekness, to be content with your own, and by the virtue of thrift—so that, even when compelled by poverty, you might not plunder the property of others, but in all things maintain justice—to remove you utterly from the sacrifice to idols. For through these things you invite demons to yourselves, and of your own accord provide them with an opening to enter, and from this you receive the causes of fury or the fires of lust.

XXXIII. From this descends the origin of all impiety, from this are conceived homicides, adulteries, thefts, and the nursery of all evils and flagrant crimes, while you indulge in profane libations and odors, and provide a place for malign spirits to rule over you and in a certain way obtain a right to you. For having entered your senses, ^C XXXIV. But someone will say: "These passions sometimes happen even to those who worship God." It is not true; for we say that he is a worshiper of God who does the will of God and keeps the precepts of the law. For before God, not he who is named a Jew among men is a Jew, nor is he a Gentile who is so called, but he who, believing in God, has fulfilled the law and done his will, even if he is not circumcised. The true worshiper of God is he who is not only free from passions himself, but also makes others free from them, even if they are so heavy that they are equal to mountains; through the faith by which he believes in God, he moves them; indeed, he moves even the mountains themselves with their trees, if need be, through faith. But he who seems indeed to worship God, but is fortified neither by full faith nor by the works of the commandments, but is a sinner, has given place to passions in himself for his sins, which were established by God for the punishment of sinners, so that through the sufferings thereby inflicted they might exact the debt of sins, and lead them more purged to that general judgment of all, if only faith does not abandon their chastisement. For the chastisement of infidels in the present life is a judgment by which they begin to exist as strangers to future goods; but the chastisement of those who worship God, since it is brought upon them for the sins that have occurred, exacts the debt of what they have committed, so that by forestalling judgment in the present age they might pay the debt of sin and be liberated, at least in part, from the eternal punishments that are prepared there.

XXXV. But he who does not believe there will be a judgment of God does not accept that things are so, and for this reason, being bound by the pleasures of the present age, he is excluded from eternal goods. And therefore we do not neglect to preach to you the things we know to be necessary for your salvation, and to show you what the true worship of God is, so that, believing in God, you may be able, through good works, to exist together with us as heirs of the age to come. But if it is not yet certain among you that the things we say are true, in the meantime you ought not for this reason to take it ill and be hostile because we announce to you what we think are good things; and what we believe to be salutary for us, we do not begrudge to confer also upon you, laboring with all effort, as I have said, so that

as heirs of the goods which we believe will be ours. Whether, however, that which we announce to you is true for certain, you cannot know in any other way than by being obedient to those things which are commanded, so that you may be instructed by the very outcome of these things and by the most certain end of blessedness.

XXXVI. And therefore, even though a serpent lurking within may occupy your senses with a thousand arts of depravation and may cast in your way a thousand obstacles by which it might turn your hearing away from saving doctrine, the more you ought to resist it, and, scorning its suggestions, gather more frequently to hear the word from us and to accept the doctrine, since no one can learn anything who is not taught. And when he had said these things, he ordered those who were oppressed by illnesses or demons to be brought to him, and he laid his hands upon them with prayer, and so dismissed the crowds, admonishing them to attend to the hearing of the word on the days which he was to spend there. Therefore, when the crowds had departed, Peter, cleansing his body with the waters which flowed in the garden, and with the others who were willing, ordered them to lie on the ground under a certain tree whose shade was very great, and he commanded us to dine in order, as was established at Caesarea. And thus, having taken food and giving thanks to God according to the rite of the Hebrews, finding that a little of the day still remained, he bids us ask about whatever we wish. And when we were all twenty with him, he explained to each one what he wanted to ask, which things I have already sent to you previously, having gathered each point into booklets. But when evening had already fallen, we entered the lodging with him and took our rest, each in his own place.

BOOK SIXTH

^A 1. But when dim light began to bring on the twilight, Peter, having entered the garden for the sake of prayer, and coming out from there and entering again, seemed to apologize to us as though he had come to us later than usual. He was saying, therefore: Where natural time has made the day longer, it is necessary that the night should become shorter; if anyone, therefore, for the sake of study, desires to occupy some part of the night, he ought not to observe the same hours for watching at every season, but to spend the same lengths of time—whether the night is shorter or longer—in sleeping; and take great care, lest assuming from these spaces which he is accustomed to have for study, he should add to his sleep and diminish the time for watching. For this also must be observed, lest by chance, if sleep is interrupted while the food is not yet digested, the undigested body may weigh down the mind, and, exhaling vapors still raw, render ^B the inner sense confused and turbid. It is right, therefore, that this part also should be fostered with appropriate rest, so that, the body having sufficiently satisfied those things which are owed to it, it may offer its just ministry to the mind in the remaining time.

II. And when he had said these things, with many having gathered as was the custom in the place in the garden to listen, Peter went forward, and after the crowds had been greeted in the customary manner, he began to speak in this way: Since it is true that, even as the earth, if neglected by the plowman, necessarily produces thorns and thistles, so your sense, through the neglect of a long time, has germinated many noxious opinions of matters and understandings of false knowledge; there is now need for much diligence toward cultivating the field of your mind, so that the word of truth, which is a true and diligent cultivator of the heart, may cultivate it with assiduous disciplines. ^C It is yours, therefore, to offer it obedience and to prune away superfluous occupations and anxieties, lest the noxious germ choke the good seed of the word. For it can happen that brief and assiduous diligence may repair the negligence of a long time; for the time of every person's life is uncertain, and therefore one must hasten to salvation, lest perchance sudden death forestall the lingering person.

III. And for this reason one must strive more keenly, that while there is a space of time, the vile things of gathered evil habit may be cut away. Which you will not be able to do otherwise than by becoming, in a certain manner, angry against yourselves for those things which you have done uselessly and shamefully. For this is a just and necessary anger, by which each person, in those things wherein he has erred and acted wrongly, is indignant and accuses himself, from which indignation a certain fire is kindled in us, which, being cast into a sterile field as it were, having consumed and withered the roots of the worst pleasure, prepares for the good seed of the Word of God a more fertile soil of the heart. But I think that you have sufficiently worthy causes for anger, from which this most just fire might coalesce, if you consider into how many errors the evil of ignorance has led you, and into how many falls and how many precipices it has cast you for committing sin, from how many good things it has abstracted you, and into what evils it has plunged you, and what is more grievous than all things, what it has done making you subject to eternal punishments in the future age. Does not the fire of most just indignation kindle for all these things, where the light of truth has shone upon you, and does not the fire of anger pleasing to God rise up within you, by which everything that has sprouted within you of evil concupiscence—which might possibly have appeared within you—is consumed and rooted out?

IV. Whence also He who sent us, when He had come and had seen that the whole world had declined into malice, did not immediately grant it peace while it was placed in errors, lest He should confirm it in evils, but He opposed the knowledge of the truth to the ruins of its ignorance, so that, if by chance they might repent and look upon the light of truth, they might justly grieve that they had been deceived and dragged into the precipices of error, and might conceive the fire of salutary anger against the ignorance that deceived them. For this reason, therefore, He was saying: I have come to send fire upon the earth, and what do I wish but that it be kindled ^D

^A (27). There is, therefore, a certain struggle that we must wage in this life; for the discourse of truth and of knowledge necessarily separates men from error and ignorance, just as we have often seen putrefied and dead flesh of the body separated by the cutting iron from the connection of the living members. Such, then, is the effect of the knowledge of the truth; for it is necessary that for the sake of salvation the son, for example, who has received the discourse of the truth, should be separated from unbelieving parents, or, conversely, that the father should be separated from the son, or the daughter from the mother. And in this way, between relatives and kinsmen, between believers and unbelievers, between intelligence and ignorance, and between truth and error, a struggle arises. And for this reason He who sent us said again: I have not come to send peace upon the earth, but a sword.

V. But if anyone says, "And how does it seem just to be separated from one's parents?" hear how it is just. Because, if they remain in error together with them, they will neither be of benefit to them, nor will they themselves perish together with them. It is just, therefore, and most just, that he who wishes to be saved should be separated from him who does not wish to be. But observe also this, that this separation does not come from those who understand more rightly; for they desire to be together and to be of benefit to them and to teach them better things, but it is a peculiar vice of ignorance that it cannot bear to have the light of truth close at hand when it refutes it, and thence that separation is born from them. For those who receive the knowledge of the truth, because it is full of goodness, desire—as if it were given by a good God—to have it in common with everyone, if it were possible, ^B even with those who hate and persecute them; for they know that the cause of their ignorance is sin. For this reason, finally, the Master Himself, when He was being led to the cross by those who were ignorant of Him, prayed to the Father for His executioners and said: Father, forgive them their sin; for they do not know what they are doing. His disciples also, imitating their Master, even when they themselves were suffering, similarly prayed for their own executioners. ^C But if it is a discipline for us to pray even for our executioners and persecutors, how ought we not also to endure the persecutions of parents and relatives, and pray for their conversion?

VI. Then, we must also consider even more diligently what is the reason for us to love our parents. They are, he says, the authors of our life, as it seems. Parents are not the authors of our life, but ministers; for they do not provide life, but they provide the ministry for us to enter into this life, but the author of life is one, and He is God alone. If, therefore, we wish to love the author of life, let us know that He is the one whom we ought to love. But, he says, we could not know Him, but these we both know and have in our affection. Be it so; you could not know who God is, but what God is not—that you could easily know. For how could it escape a man that wood, or stone, or brass, or other material of this kind is not God? But if, in those things which you could easily grasp, you did not wish to turn your mind to examine them, it is certain that you were hindered in the knowledge of God not by impossibility, but by sloth; for if you had wished to, from these very useless idols you would surely have received the way of understanding. ^D

[alt-version omitted]

^A VII. For it is certain that idols are made through iron, and iron is fashioned by fire, which fire is extinguished by water, but water is moved by the Spirit, and the Spirit has its beginning from God. For thus says Moses the prophet: *In the beginning God created heaven and earth; but the earth was invisible and unorganized, and darkness was upon the abyss, and the Spirit of God was upon the waters.* This Spirit, by the command of God, like the very hand of the Creator, separated the light from the darkness, and after that invisible heaven produced this visible one, so that it might make the higher regions a dwelling place for angels, and the lower for men. Therefore, for your sake, by God’s command, the water that was upon the face of the earth receded, so that the earth might produce fruits for you, into which He also secretly inserted veins of moisture, so that springs and rivers might flow forth for you from it. For your sake it was commanded to produce living things, and all things that would serve your use and will. Or do the winds not blow for your sake, so that the earth, conceiving from them, might bring forth fruits for you? Do the rains not fall for your sake, and do the seasons not change their vicissitudes? Does the sun not rise and set for your sake, and does the moon not undergo its changes? Does the sea not exhibit its service for your sake, so that all things might be subject to you, ungrateful as you are? Will there not be a just punishment of retribution for all these things, because you have ignored the giver of all these things—whom you ought to have recognized and venerated before all else—alone above all others?

^B When you are reborn, the filth of that from which you were generated is removed. Therefore, draw near with prepared minds like children to a father, so that your sins may be washed away and the cause of them may be proved to be only ignorance before God. For if, after the recognition of these things, you remain in unbelief, it will no longer be reckoned as ignorance, but as the cause of your perdition. Nor should you think that even if you cultivate all piety and all justice, yet do not receive baptism, you can have hope before God; nay rather, he who does not do good works well will be worthy of a greater punishment, for merit is conferred upon a man from good deeds, but only if they are performed just as God commands. For God has commanded every one who worships Him to be sealed with baptism; and if you resist and obey your own will rather than God’s, you are without doubt opposed and an enemy to His will.

VIII. But now I lead you to understanding by the same paths; for you see that all things are born from the waters, but the water was made from the beginning through the Only-Begotten, and God the Only-Begotten is the head, through whom, in such an order as we have said above, one arrives at the Father; but when you have arrived at the Father, you will recognize that this is His will, that you should be born again through the waters that were first created. For whoever has been regenerated by water is released from good works [that were polluted by] ^C the entire debt of his wickedness, and the acknowledgement of God is sufficient for piety. For even if it is not possible to grasp what God is, it is possible to say what He is not.

When you are reborn, the filth of that from which you were generated is removed. Therefore, draw near with prepared minds like children to a father, so that your sins may be washed away and the cause of them may be proved to be only ignorance before God. For if, after the recognition of these things, you remain in unbelief, it will no longer be reckoned as ignorance, but as the cause of your perdition. Nor should you think that even if you cultivate all piety and all justice, yet do not receive baptism, you can have hope before God; nay rather, he who does not do good works well will be worthy of a greater punishment, for merit is conferred upon a man from good works, but only if they are performed just as God commands. For God has commanded every one who worships Him to be sealed by baptism; but if you resist and obey your own will rather than God’s, you are without doubt contrary and an enemy to His will.

IX. But perhaps you will say: What does the baptism of water contribute to the worship of God? First, indeed, because that which is pleasing to God is fulfilled; second, because for one regenerated by the waters and reborn by God, the fragility of the former birth, which was made for you through man, is cut away, and thus at last you will be able to arrive at salvation; otherwise, however, it is impossible. For so the true Prophet has testified to us with a sacrament, saying: *Amen I say to you, unless one is born again of water, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.* And therefore make haste, for there is a certain power of mercy in these waters, which from the beginning was borne over them, and it recognizes those who are baptized under the invocation of the triple sacrament, and receives them from future punishments, offering the souls consecrated through baptism to God as a kind of gift. Flee, therefore, to these waters; for they alone are able to extinguish the power of the future fire; and it is evident that he who delays to approach them remains in his former unbelief, and is prevented by his own self from hastening to the waters which confer salvation. For whether one is just ^D or unjust, baptism for you is not…

^A entirely necessary. In the just man, it is necessary so that perfection may be fulfilled in him and he may be regenerated unto God; in the unjust man, however, so that the remission of the sins which he committed in ignorance may be granted. Therefore, everyone must hasten to be reborn unto God without delay, because the end of the life of each individual is uncertain.

X. But when you have been regenerated through water, show forth in your deeds the likeness of the Father who begat you. For you have acknowledged God; honor the Father. His honor is achieved by living as He Himself wills. He wills that you live such that you know not homicide or adultery; that you flee hatred, avarice, anger, pride, and boastfulness; and that you reject and consider envy and other things similar to these as entirely alien to you. There is, indeed, a certain observance proper to our religion, which is not so much imposed upon men as it is properly sought by everyone who worships God for the sake of purity. I speak of the sake of chastity, of which there are many kinds; but primarily, that each person should observe not to have relations with a menstruating woman, for the law of God considers this execrable. And if the law of God had not admonished us concerning these things, would we, like beetles, willingly roll ourselves in dung? We ought to have something more than animals, as we are rational men capable of celestial reason, for whom it should be the greatest endeavor to guard the conscience from every defilement of the heart.

XI. It is also good, and fitting for purity, to wash the body with water. I say it is good, not as the principal matter in which the mind is purified, but as the consequence of that good in which the flesh is washed. For thus also our Master rebuked certain of the Pharisees and Scribes, who seemed to be better than the rest and separated from the common people, calling them hypocrites, because they purified only those things which were seen by men, but left the hearts, which God alone beholds, defiled and filthy. Therefore, to some of them, not to all, He said: Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of filth. Blind Pharisee, first clean what is inside, and what is outside will be clean. For indeed, if the mind be cleansed by the light of knowledge, when it itself has become clean and splendid, then it necessarily also takes care of the man who is on the outside, that is, of his flesh, so that it too may be purified. But where that purification of the flesh which is on the outside is neglected, it is certain that there is no care taken for the purity of the mind and the cleanliness of the heart. So it comes to pass that he who is clean on the inside is undoubtedly cleaned also on the outside, but he who is cleaned on the outside is not always clean on the inside, namely when he does these things to please everyone.

XII. But also that species of chastity must be observed, that one does not have relations with women indiscriminately and solely for the sake of lust, but for the sake of procreating offspring. Since this observance is found even in some beasts, it is a matter of shame if it is not ^D observed by rational men and those who worship God. Forasmuch as chastity is to be preserved among those who hold to the true worship of God, through these species which we have mentioned above and others similar to them, it ought to be observed even more attentively among those who are still held in errors by the devil; for even among them there is some observance of chastity. What, therefore, is this: that you, having been corrected, will not observe that which you used to observe while you were in error?

XIII. But perhaps someone among you will say: Ought we then to keep everything we did while we worshipped idols? Not everything; but whatever things were done well, it is proper to observe even now, because if anything is done rightly by those who are in error, it is certain that it is taken from the truth. For even if anything is not done rightly in the true religion, there is no doubt that it was borrowed from error; for evil done by those in error is still evil, and good done by those who follow the truth is still good. Or shall we be so foolish that, if we see him who worships idols being sober, we who worship God should refuse to be sober, lest we appear to do the same things as he who worships idols? It is not so; but let this be our endeavor: that if those who err do not commit homicide, we should not even be angry; and if they do not commit adultery, we should not even covet another woman; if they love their neighbors, we should love even our enemies; if they lend to those from whom they hope to receive, we should give even to those from whom we do not hope to receive. And in all things, we who hope for the inheritance of the eternal age ought to excel those who know only the present age, knowing that if their works, when compared to our works, are found to be similar and equal on the day of judgment, it will be our confusion that we are found equal in these works to those who are condemned on account of their ignorance and who had no hope of a future age.

XIV. And it is truly a worthy confusion, where we have done nothing more than those whom we understood better. But if it will be our confusion to be found equal to them in good works, what will become of us if a future examination finds us inferior and worse? Hear, therefore, how the true Prophet Himself taught us concerning these things; for to those who neglect to hear the words of wisdom, He says: The queen of the south shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, more than Solomon is here, and they do not hear. To those indeed who refused to repent of their evil deeds, He says: The men of Nineveh shall rise in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, more than Jonah is here. You see, therefore, how He condemns those who were taught by the Law, having brought to their example those who came from gentile ignorance, and showing them not to be even equal to those who seemed to be positioned in error, by that comparison alone. From all of which the discourse which we have proposed is approved, that chastity...

that which is observed to some extent even by those who are in error, is held much more purely and attentively in every particular case, as we have shown above, by us who follow the truth, all the more because ^A with us the eternal rewards for its observance are laid up.

XV. When he had said these and similar things, he dismissed the crowds, and, as was his custom, took food with his family and rested. In this manner, while he taught the Word of God for three continuous months and converted many to the faith, at the last he ordered me to fast, and after the fast gave me baptism in the fountains which are held to be adjacent to the sea, using the perennial water. And when, because of the grace of regeneration bestowed upon me by God, we had spent our time in joy with the brethren, Peter commanded those who had been ordained to go ahead to wait for him at Antioch for three other months. When they had departed, he himself, leading those who had fully received the faith of the Lord to the fountains which we said above were adjacent to the sea, baptized them, and breaking the eucharist with them, he appointed Maro, who had received him into his hospitality and was already perfect in all things, as their bishop, and ordained twelve priests with him, and at the same time deacons. He also instituted the order of widows and arranged all the ministries of the Church, and warned everyone to obey Maro the bishop in all things that he might command. And so, all things having been suitably arranged, when the time of three months had been completed, bidding farewell to those who were at Tripoli, we set out for Antioch.

BOOK SEVENTH

1. Finally, when we had even departed from Tripoli, a city of Phoenicia, we made our first stop at Ortosias not far from Tripoli, where we also remained the following day, because almost all who had believed in the Lord, since they could not be parted from Peter, had followed him as far as that place; thence we came to Antaradus. But because many were accompanying us, Peter said to Niceta and also to Aquila: "Since indeed very many crowds of the brethren are with us, and we incur no small envy entering into every single city, it seems to me that provision must be made, so that it may be neither displeasing to them if they are forbidden to follow, nor that the malignant may stir up envy against us for some show. I think therefore that thou, Niceta, and Aquila, should precede us with them, so that you also may lead the multitude divided into two parts, so that we may enter the cities of the Gentiles ^B traveling scatteredly rather than in one congregation; and for the rest, regarding my plan, I will follow you. Wait for me at the stable nearest to the city gate, and thence again similarly, when we have spent a few days there, you will precede me to the cities further on; and I wish you to do this for every single one, for the sake of avoiding envy as much as is in us, and so that the brethren who are with us, by your providence, finding hospices prepared throughout individual cities, may appear less like wanderers."

HI. Knowing, however, that it seems sad to you that you appear to be separated from me for at least two days' time; believe me, that by the measure with which you love me, a tenfold greater affection is felt by me also towards you; but if for the sake of the affection which we bear toward one another we do not do what is fitting and honorable, such love will appear irrational. And therefore, without any diminution of the title of charity, let us procure what seems useful and necessary, especially since no day can pass by in which you cannot be present at my disputations. For through each one of the nobler cities of the provinces I have proposed, ^C as you also know, to remain for three months for the sake of teaching. Now therefore proceed me to Laodicea, which is the nearest city, and I, after two days or at most three, will follow you.

III. To this saying of Peter, they necessarily acquiesce, saying: "It does not greatly sadden us to do this, because we are commanded by you, who have been chosen through Christ's providence to both do all things well and to counsel well; but even to not see our lord Peter for one day, or at most two, although it is a great space in all this time, is nevertheless tolerable. For we consider what those twelve of our brethren suffer who precede us, and are deprived of the hearing and vision of you for nearly an entire month out of the three months which you reside in each city. As therefore you command, because you command all things rightly, we will not delay." And with these words they went ahead, having received instructions that they should speak to the brethren outside the city who were journeying with them, that they should not enter the cities in a crowd and as if with a tumult, but spread out and divided by twos.

IV. Truly (33) when they had departed, I, Clement, rejoiced greatly that he had made me be with him, and I said to him: "I give thanks to God, that you did not send me ahead with the others, for I would have died of sadness." Then Peter: "And what will happen," he asked, "if necessity requires you to be sent somewhere for the sake of doctrine? Will you, separated from me for utility’s sake, die? Or will you not command yourself to bear it patiently ^D?

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V. And I replied: Do not think, my master, that I endure these things irrationally, but there is a certain cause and reason for this affection of mine for you. For I hold you alone in place of all my affections: for father, for mother, for brothers; and beyond all these things, the reason is that you alone exist for me as the cause of salvation and of the knowledge of the truth. But this, too, is not held in the last place by me: that the youthful age which is in me is subjected to the snares of desires, and I fear to be without you, whose presence alone makes all luxury, however lacking in reason it may be, blush with shame; even though I trust in the mercy of God, that even my mind, from those things which it has conceived through your doctrine, can no longer admit anything else into its thought. Furthermore, I remember you saying at Caesarea that if anyone wishes to accompany me with piety intact, let him accompany me. But you said "with piety intact" so that he might not sadden any person to whom, according to God, he ought to cleave—for example, that he should not leave a faithful wife or parents or other persons of this kind—from whom I am quite free, and therefore fit to follow you; and I hope you will grant me that I may demonstrate to you even the ministry of a servant.

VI. Then Peter, smiling at these words, said: And what do you think, Clement, that necessity itself does not make you a servant to me? For who else will be able to spread out linens for me and arrange beautiful coverlets? Who will guard the rings and clothing which I ought to change constantly ^B (34), and prepare them? Who will also command the cooks and provide diverse and choice dishes, which are prepared with the most sophisticated and varied art, and all those things that are brought together through unjust expenses for men who are softly brought up—or rather, for their desire, as if for some most ravenous beast? But perhaps, although you seem to be placed with me, you have not recognized my life; bread alone with olives and rarely even [anything] with herbs is in use ^A (35), and this tunic with a cloak; and having these, I seek nothing else. This suffices for me, because my mind does not look to these present things, but to those which are eternal, and therefore nothing of present and visible things delights me. Whence I indeed embrace and admire your good spirit toward me, and I praise you the more, as to how, when you are a man coming from a habit of great abundance, you have been able to transfer and adapt yourself so quickly to this life of ours, which uses only what is necessary. For we from boyhood, that is, I and my own brother Andrew, grew up not only as orphans but also as very poor, and by necessity became accustomed to being laborers, whence even now we easily endure the hardships of journeys. But rather, if you would acquiesce to me and permit it, I, being more of a laborer, could more easily fulfill for you the ministry of a servant.

VII. But hearing these things, I trembled, and tears immediately burst forth from me, that such a man, to whom the whole world is considered inferior, should say such a speech to me. Then he, seeing me weeping, asked the cause. To whom I replied: In what have I sinned so much against you that you should burden me with such a speech? Peter said: If it is a sin, he said, that I said I would serve you, you sinned first by saying this to me. And I: It is not, I said, similar; for it is fitting for me to do this for you, but for you, who have been sent as a herald of the most high God to save the souls of men, it is a grave matter that you should say this to me. And Peter: I would acquiesce to you, he said, unless our Lord, who came for the salvation of the whole world, and who was nobler than every creature, had allowed Himself to serve, so that He might persuade us not to blush to show the ministry of servants to our brothers. Then I: If I think that I can overcome you, I am very foolish; nevertheless, I give thanks to the providence of God, that I have earned the right to have you in the place of parents.

VIII. Then Peter said: Does no one, he said, truly remain for you from your lineage? I replied: There are indeed many powerful men coming from the lineage of Caesar ^C (36);

^A, to whom Caesar himself, as to one close to him and raised with him, joined a noble wife of equal family, from whom he begot two twin sons before me, not, as my father used to say, very much alike to each other; for I did not know them very well. But I have no strong memory of my mother either, but it is as if through a dream that I faintly recall the appearance of her face. My mother was named Matthidia, my father was called Faustinianus, and of my brothers one was called Faustinus, the other Faustus. Meanwhile, when I was yet scarcely five years old, my mother, as I learned from my father, had a dream, by which she was warned that unless she immediately left the City with her two twin sons and stayed away for ten years, she herself along with her children would perish in a ruinous death.

IX. Then my father, who dearly loved his children, having attached servants and maids and provided sufficient funds, sent the children with their mother to Athens to be educated, reserving me alone as a son for himself for his consolation, and in this indeed giving thanks ^B, because the dream did not also command me to depart along with my mother. But when a year had passed, my father sent men and funds to them at Athens, desiring to know at the same time what they were doing; yet those who were sent did not return. In the third year again, the most sorrowful father sent others with money, who returned in the fourth year and reported that they had seen neither the mother nor the brothers, and that they had not even reached Athens at all, nor could any trace be found anywhere of anyone who had been with them.

X. My father, hearing these things and stunned by much sadness, not knowing where to turn or where to search, descended with me to the port, and inquiring of the sailors if, some four years earlier, they had seen a woman’s body cast ashore with two little children. Since many said many things, and nothing clear appeared to us as we searched the vast sea, yet on account of the great affection ^C which the father bore for his own, he was fed by empty hopes, until it seemed best to him that he should leave me at Rome, placed under guardians, when I was twelve years old, and that he himself should set out to search. Weeping, therefore, he descended to the port, and boarding a ship, he departed. From that time until today, I have neither received his letters, nor do I know if he is alive or dead. But I suspect rather that he himself has also perished, overcome either by sadness or shipwreck; for twenty years have passed since these things occurred, and not even a messenger has come to me about him.

XI. Peter, hearing these things, shed tears out of compassion, and said to the family members who were present: If anyone, placed in the worship of God, had suffered what this man’s father suffered, men would immediately attribute the cause of the tribulations to his religion; but when these things happen to miserable pagans, they attribute the cause of their evils to fate. But I call them miserable because they are vexed here by errors and are defrauded of future hope; when the worshippers of God suffer these things, it results in the purgation of their sins, because they bear it patiently.

XII. After these words, one of those standing by began to ask Peter that on the following day we might set out sooner to the nearest island, which was no more than six stadia away, named Aradus ^D, for the sake of seeing in it some wonderful work, vine-like columns of immense size. To whom Peter, as he was merciful...

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^A and compliant, consented, but warned us, when we had disembarked from the ship, not to all rush together to see it; for, he said, I do not wish you to be marked out by the crowd. When, therefore, on the following day, we had arrived at the island at the moment of the hour, we proceeded immediately to the place where the marvelous columns were. They were placed in a certain temple, in which were held the very magnificent works of Phidias, by the sight of which each of us was detained, intent upon them.

XIII. But Peter, when he had marveled at the vine-like columns alone, being in no way captivated by the grace of the painting, went out and saw before the doors a certain wretched woman begging alms from those entering; considering her more attentively, he said: "Tell me, woman, what limb of your body is missing, that you have submitted yourself to this injury of begging, and do not rather seek your food by working with your hands, which you received from God?" But she, sighing, said: "Would that I indeed had hands that could be moved; now, however, only the appearance of hands is preserved, for they themselves are dead, and rendered weak and without feeling by my own gnawing." And Peter: "What, he said, was the cause, that you yourself brought so much evil upon yourself?" "Idleness," she said, "and nothing else; for if there had been in me any strength, I could have used even a precipice, or cast myself into the depths of the sea, and given an end to my sorrows."

XIV. Then Peter: "What do you think, he said, woman, that those who destroy themselves are freed from punishments? Unless their souls, who have laid hands upon themselves, are subject to greater penalties." But she: "Would that, she said, that were made certain to me, because souls live in hell; I would gladly embrace even the punishments of an inflicted death, only that I might see my sweet children for at least one hour." And Peter: "What is such a great thing, that affects you with such grave sadness, I would like to know. For if you were to teach me the cause, I could also clearly show you, O woman, that souls live in hell, and in place of a precipice or the deep, I could give you some medicine, so that you might be able to end your life without torture."

XV. Then the woman, having gratefully accepted this promise, began to say: "My lineage and fatherland, what they are, I think it neither easy to believe nor necessary to tell, but it is enough to show merely the cause of my sorrow, why I have myself rendered my hands weak by my own gnawing. Born of noble parents, and having obtained the marriage of a man equally powerful, I received two twin children, and after them one other. But the brother of my husband burned vehemently with an illicit love for me. But since for me, above all things, there was care for modesty, and I wished neither to acquiesce in such great wickedness nor to disclose the shameful act of the brother to my husband, I thought of how I might both myself escape unpolluted, and not make my husband’s brother mine enemy and foe, lest I should give the whole lineage, which was of noble family, to ignominy. Therefore, I decided to depart from my country and city with my two twins, until the incestuous love should subside, which perhaps the sight of my presence was stroking and inflaming; ^B

XVI. but in order that these things could be done, I let my dream go, as if a certain deity stood by me in a vision and said that I should immediately depart with my twins from the City and be away for so long until he himself should command me to return; for if I did not do this, I would perish together with all my children. And so it was done. For immediately as I related the dream to my husband, he feared, and, having become my associate with two sons, also with menservants and maidservants, with abundant money also given, he ordered me to sail to Athens, where I might be able both to educate the children and stay, he said, there until it should seem best to him who commanded me to go out, so that you may return to us. Meanwhile, sailing together with my children, through the violence of the winds I was driven in a miserable nocturnal shipwreck to these places, and when all had perished, a more violent wave cast me, having been seized, onto a certain cruel rock; where, since I sat with that one hope by which I might perhaps find my own children, I did not cast myself into the deep, then when my soul was still disturbed and drunk with sorrows, it both dared and was able to do this. ^C

XVII. But when the day had risen, and I with crying and wailing was looking around for the unhappy children, if perhaps I might see the corpses cast up, certain ones, moved by compassion among those who had seen me, searched first through the sea, then also around the shores, if by chance they might find any of my infants. But when nowhere was any one found, the women of the place began to console the grieving me, telling each of their own miseries, so that from the likeness of the calamities I might take comfort; which saddened me more, for I did not have such a character, as to deem the evils of others to be my own comforts. And when many desired to receive me into hospitality, a certain poor woman living here persuaded me to succeed to her hut, saying that she had had a husband, a sailor, and that he had died in the sea young, and that to her from that day, when many desired to take her in marriage, the widowhood for the love of her husband had been more dear. "There will be, therefore," she said, "things in common for us, whatever we shall be able to seek by working with our hands."

XVIII. And that I may not use a long and less useful narration, I willingly lived with her on account of the affection of faith which she had maintained for her husband. But not long after, for me, unhappy, my hands, long ago mangled by gnawing, were loosened, and she who had received me, incurred paralysis and lies at home in bed. But the affection of those women who before were pitying, cooled; we both are weak, I as you see sit begging for alms, and if by chance anything is sought, it becomes food for two unhappy ones. Behold, now you have heard sufficiently what is mine; what do you now delay to fulfill what you had promised, and to give the medicine by which, as you say, each of us could end the lot of a miserable life without torture?"

XIX. As the woman was saying these things, Peter was thinking many things ^D

^A and stood as if astonished, and I, Clement, coming upon him, said, "I have been running about for a long time, as I said, seeking you; and now what shall we do?" But he commanded me to go ahead to the little boat and wait for me there, he said. And because it was impossible to contradict him, I fulfilled what he ordered. But he, as he later told me everything, was struck by a certain suspicion and was asking the woman for her lineage and homeland, and at the same time the names of her children, saying, "If you tell me these, I will immediately give you the medicine." But she, as if enduring force, because she neither wished to confess these things nor was desirous of the medicine, kept inventing one thing after another, and said that she herself was Ephesian, but her husband Sicilian, and likewise she changed the names of her children. Then Peter, thinking she had answered truly, said, "Alas! Woman," said he, "I thought some great joy would arise for us this day; for I suspected that you were a certain woman about whom I recently learned similar things for the faith." But she adjured him, saying, "I beg you to tell me who that woman is, so that I may know if there is anyone among women more miserable than I."

XX. Then Peter, not knowing how to deceive and moved by compassion, began to say, "There is a certain young man among those who follow me for the sake of religion and the sect, a Roman citizen, who told me that he had a father and two twin brothers, none of whom survives. My mother, he said, as I learned from my father, had a dream that she should depart from the city of Rome for a time with her two twin-born sons, lest they perish by an untimely death; and when she had departed, she appeared nowhere in the world. But his father, after these things, set out in search of his wife and sons, and he too is not to be found."

XXI. When Peter had said these things, the woman fell down, struck with amazement. Then Peter began to hold her and console her, and to ask what might be the cause or what she was suffering. And she, with difficulty finally recovering her breath, and bracing herself for the greatness of the joy she hoped for, and at the same time wiping her face, said, "Is this the young man of whom you speak?" But Peter, ^B when he understood the matter, said, "Tell me yourself first, for you cannot see him yet." She said, "I," she said, "am the mother of the youth." And Peter: "What is his name?" And she: "Clement," she said. Peter: "It is he, and he was the one who was speaking with me a little before and whom I ordered to go ahead to the boat." Then she, falling at the feet of Peter, began to beg that he would hasten to the boat. And Peter: "If," he said, "you keep faith with me to do what I say." And she: "Everything," she said, "I will do; only show me my only-begotten son, for I think that through him I might see [my husband] and my twins." And Peter: "When you have seen him," he said, "do so, but meanwhile hide it for a little while, until we depart from the island." "So," she said, "I will do."

XXII. And taking her hand, ^C Peter led her to the ship. Seeing him giving his hand to the woman, I began to laugh, yet approaching out of respect for him, I began to intend to put my own hand forward in his stead and to support the woman; but as soon as I touched her hand, she let out a huge wail and rushed into my embrace, and began to overwhelm me with maternal kisses. But I, ignorant of the whole matter, was repelling the woman as if she were insane, and at the same time, though with shame, I was nevertheless indignant in a certain way toward Peter.

XXIII. But he said, "Cease, what are you doing, O son Clement? Do not repel your mother." But I, when I heard these things, was immediately suffused with tears and collapsed upon my mother as she lay there and began to kiss her. For at the same time as I heard it, I was little by little recalling her face to memory, and it became the more familiar to me the more I looked at it. Meanwhile, a great crowd was gathering, hearing that the woman who was sitting to beg for alms had been recognized by her son, a good man. And when we wished to set sail immediately from the island, my mother said to me, "My sweetest son, it is right that I should say goodbye to the poor little woman who took me in, for she is needy and paralyzed, lying in a bed." Upon hearing these things, Peter and all who were present were amazed at the goodness and prudence of the woman, and Peter immediately ordered some to go and carry the woman in the bed where she lay. And when she had been brought and placed in the middle of the standing crowd, in the sight of all Peter said, "If I am a preacher of truth, to confirm the faith of all these who assist, that they may know and believe that there is one God who made heaven and earth, in the name of Jesus Christ, His Son, let this woman arise." And immediately as he had said this, she arose whole and fell at the feet of Peter, and seeking her friend and acquaintance with kisses, she inquired of her what this matter was. But she briefly explained to her the whole sequence of the recognition, so that even the standing crowd marveled.

XXIV. Then Peter ^D (42), concerning the faith of God and religious institutions, as far as it pertained to him, spoke to the crowds for some time; he even added this, that if anyone wanted to learn more diligently about these things, they should come to Antioch, where he said we would reside for three months and teach what pertains to salvation. For if, he said, men do not fear to leave their homeland and parents for the sake of business or soldiering, and to endure long journeys, why does it seem burdensome and difficult to travel for at least three months for the sake of eternal life? And when he had said these and other things similar to these, I gave a thousand drachmas to the woman who had taken in my mother and had received her health through Peter, and I commended her in the presence of everyone to a certain good man, the leading man of that town, who also...

promised that he would gladly do what we requested. And I also distributed a small amount of money to certain other women who were said to have once been comforted in their miseries, to whom I also gave thanks. And after this we sailed away together with my mother to Antaradus.

XXV. And when we had arrived at the inn, my mother began to inquire of me, where my father had gone. I said to her, "He went away to seek you and did not return." But she, upon hearing this, only sighed, for though she had great joy because of me, she was comforted regarding her other sorrows. On the next day, sitting together with the wife of Peter (43), she travelled with us, and we came to Balaneas (44), where we remained for three days; from there we approached Pathos (45) and after this Gabala (46), and thus we arrived at Laodicea, where Niceta and Aquila met us before the gates, and embracing us, conducted us to an inn. Peter, however, seeing the large and splendid city, said, "It is fitting that we remain here for ten days or even longer." Then Niceta and Aquila inquired of me who this unknown woman was. And I replied, "She is my mother, whom God has restored to me through my lord Peter." ^B

XXVI. When I had said this, Peter began to set forth everything to them in order and said: "When we had come to Aradus and I had ordered you to go ahead, after you had departed, as the occasion for speaking arose that same day, Clement set forth to me his race and family, and that he had been orphaned of his parents and had had two twin brothers before him; and as he told me, his mother once saw a dream, in which she was ordered to depart from the city of Rome with her twins, lest they perish suddenly and together. And when she had indicated the dream to her husband, he, who loved his sons with tender affection, lest they suffer any evil by chance, placed his wife and sons on a ship with all things necessary and sent them to Athens to be educated. After this, he sent once and again those who might search for them, and nowhere did he find even a trace of them. At last, the father himself set out to search, and until the present, he himself is nowhere to be found." When Clement had told me these things, a certain man approached us asking that we might go to the island of Aradus, which was nearby, for the sake of seeing columns of ^C wondrous size; I agreed, and upon arriving at the place, the others all went inside the building, but my spirit, for I know not what reason, had no further desire to go inside.

XXVII. "But while I waited for them outside, I began to observe this woman, as to in which part of her limbs she was infirm, so that she did not seek her living through the labor of her hands, but endured the shame of begging; I therefore inquire of her the causes. She confesses that she had been born of a noble family and that she had been joined in marriage to a noble husband, whose brother, she said, fired with illicit love for me, desired to defile the brotherly bed. Which I, abhorring, and again not daring to tell my husband of such a crime, lest I provoke war between brothers and bring disgrace upon my family, judged it better to depart from my homeland with my two twin sons, leaving the younger child behind for the solace of my husband [the father]. And so that these things, she said, might happen under a seemly guise, I decided to feign a dream and to tell my husband that a certain divine power had stood by me in a vision and had said that I must depart at once from the City with my two twins, until I should hear from him when I ought to return. Having heard these things, she said her husband believed [it], and she sent her twins with her children to Athens to be educated there, but by a severe storm, they were driven to this island, where, the ship being broken, she was cast by the waves onto a certain rock, having delayed death for this reason only, ^D until, she said, I could at least embrace the lifeless limbs of my unhappy children and commit them to burial. But when the day had dawned and the crowds had gathered, moved by compassion, they threw a garment to me. But I, unhappy woman, prayed with many tears that they might search to see if they could find the little corpses of my unhappy children. But I, tearing my whole body with my teeth, cried out with groanings and wailings nothing else but, 'Where is Faustus for me in my misery? Where is Faustinus?'"

XXVIII. And when Peter was saying these things, Niceta and Aquila suddenly rise up and, stupefied, began to be troubled, saying: "Master Lord and God of all, are these things true, or is it a dream that is taking place?" Then Peter said: "Unless we are insane, these things are true." But they, having delayed a little and rubbing their faces, say: "We are Faustinus... [index: entries preserved]

and Faustus." But also from the beginning, when you began to narrate, ^A we immediately fell into suspicion, lest perhaps what was being said might pertain to us; yet, on the contrary, considering that many similar things happen in the lives of men, we remained silent, although our heart was stirred by some hope. We were, therefore, looking toward the end of the discourse, so that if it were established that it was entirely about us, then we would confess it. And when they had said these things, they were entering in with tears to their mother. And when they had found her resting and wanted to embrace her, Peter prevented them, saying: "Allow me first to prepare the mother's mind and so present you to her, lest perhaps through great and sudden joy she should lose her mind and her senses be disturbed, especially since she is now also occupied by sleep and is dazed."

XXIX. Therefore, when the mother had risen from sleep, ^B Peter began to address her, saying: "I wish you to know, woman, the observance of our religion. We worship one God who made the world, and we keep his law, which commands in the first place that He himself be worshipped and His name revered, that parents be honored, and that chastity and justice be kept. But we also observe this: not to have a common table with Gentiles, unless they shall have believed and have been baptized in the received truth, and consecrated by the triple invocation of the blessed name; and then we take food with them. Otherwise, even if it be father or mother, ^C or wife or children or brothers, we cannot have a common table with them. Since, therefore, we do this for the sake of religion, let it not seem injurious to you that your son cannot take food with you until there is the same sentiment of faith in you as there is in him."

XXX. Upon hearing these things, she said: "And what forbids me to be baptized today? For even before I saw you, I utterly abhorred those whom they call gods, because they were able to provide me with nothing, though I was frequently and almost daily sacrificing to them. For what shall I say regarding chastity? Since neither did pleasures deceive me then, nor has poverty compelled me to sin now. However, I think it has sufficiently become known to you what great love of chastity I have had since then, for which, in order to escape the snares of illicit love, I feigned a dream, so that I might go away with my two ^D children, and I left this my only son, Clement, as a consolation to his father. For if two were hardly enough for me, how much more would it have saddened the father if he had had none at all? For the poor man had such great affection for his children, that only with difficulty could the authority of my dream extort from him the permission to let me take Faustinus and Faustus, the brothers of this Clement, and let him be content with Clement alone."

XXXI. As she was saying these things, my brothers, no longer able to bear it, rushed into the embraces of their mother with many tears, and they kissed her. But she said: "What do you mean, does this mean?" Then Peter: "Do not be disturbed, woman; be steadfast; these are Faustinus and Faustus, your sons, whom you said had perished in the deep; but how they live and how they escaped from the deep on that horrible night, and how one of them is called Niceta and the other Aquila, they themselves shall explain to you."

XXXII. Then Niceta began to say: "On that night, O mother, when the ship had been broken and we were struggling, cast about the sea on a certain fragment of planks, certain men, whose trade it is to practice piracy on the deep, found us and placed us on their own little boat, and, overcoming the vortices of the waves with oars, they carried us by various journeys to Caesarea Marastonis, and there, afflicting us with hunger, blows, and fear, so that we might not reveal anything of the truth, they sold us, after changing our names, to a certain widow, a very honorable woman, by the name of Justa; who, when she had bought us, held us in the place of sons, so that she also educated us most attentively in Greek letters and liberal studies. But when we had grown up, we also gave ourselves to the studies of philosophers, so that by asserting the dogmas of divine religion in philosophical disputations, we might be able to refute the Gentiles.

XXXIII. "But we clung to a certain magician, Simon, who was brought up with us, on account of old friendships and childhood custom, so that we were almost able to be deceived by him. For there is a report in our religion concerning a certain prophet, whose advent is expected by all who serve this religion, by whom an immortal and blessed life is promised to be given to believers. Him, therefore, we thought to be Simon. But these things, mother, will be explained to you more opportunely. Meanwhile, when we were already almost being deceived by Simon, a certain colleague of my master Peter, named Zacchæus, warned us not to be deceived by the magician, but offered us to Peter, who was arriving, so that we might be taught by him the things that were sound and perfect; which we desire to happen to you also, just as God granted it to us, so that we might also be able to have food and table in common. Hence, therefore, it was, mother, that you believed we had been snatched by pirates and had perished in the sea."

XXXIV. When Niceta had said this, our mother fell down at the feet of Peter, asking and beseeching that he might call both herself and her hostess without delay and baptize them, so that, she said, "I may not suffer the loss of the companionship and society of my sons for one day." Similarly, we, her sons, were also asking Peter. But he said: "Why do you think," he said, "that I alone am unmerciful, and that I do not want you to be joined in the companionship of your mother? But it is necessary for her to fast at least one day beforehand and thus be baptized; and this is because I heard a certain discourse from her, through which her faith was made clear to me and which gave proof of her belief; otherwise it would have been necessary for her to be instructed and taught for many days beforehand."

XXXV. And I said: "I beseech you, my master Peter, tell me, what is this discourse which you say gave you proof of her faith?" And Peter: "That discourse is the one by which she asked that her hostess also, to whose benefits she desires to repay the favor, be baptized together with her."

^A And she would not have asked for this grace to be granted to one whom she loves, had she not believed that there was some great gift in baptism. Whence I also rebuke many who, while they themselves are baptized and believe, yet do nothing worthy of the faith with those whom they love—that is, their wives or children or friends—whom they do not urge toward that which they themselves have attained, if indeed they have truly believed that eternal life is given through it. In short, if they see them sick or carnally exposed to some danger, they grieve and mourn, because they are certain that ruin hangs over them. If, therefore, they were also certain of this, that for those who do not worship God, the punishment of eternal fire remains, when would they cease from warning and urging them? Or, if they were to resist, how would they not grieve and lament for them, knowing that eternal punishments hang over them? Now, therefore, we shall call that woman presently, and we shall see if she loves the faith of our religion, and we shall act as the circumstances require. But since she has felt faithfully regarding baptism, let her fast for one day before baptism.

XXXVI. Now she, with an oath, assured the wife of my master Peter, who was present, that ever since she recognized her son, for great joy she had been unable to take food, except that yesterday she drank only a cup of water. The wife of Peter also testified that it was so. And Aquila said: "Why then is there any obstacle to her being baptized?" Then Peter, smiling, said: "It is not, he said, this the fast of baptism, which was not fasted for the sake of baptism." And Niceta said: "Perhaps, he said, God, wishing that our mother should not be separated from the companionship of our table for even one day after we recognized her, ordained this, that she should fast beforehand. For just as he preserved her chastity in ignorance, so that it might profit her unto the grace of baptism, so she fasted before she knew the reason for the fast, so that it might profit her unto baptism, and that from the beginning of our recognition she might enjoy the companionship of our table together with us."

XXXVII. Then Peter: "Let not, he said, the evil one defeat us by taking an occasion through the affection for our mother, but rather let you and I with you fast today along with her, and tomorrow she shall be baptized; for it is not right that for the grace of someone’s person or friendship, the precepts of the truth should be loosened and weakened. Let it not, therefore, weary us to labor more with her, because to pass over any commandment is a sin. Let us teach our bodily senses, which are on the outside, to serve the interior senses, and let us not force the interior senses, which savor of the things of God, to follow the exterior ones, which savor of the things of the flesh. For this reason the Lord also gave the commandment, saying: *Whosoever shall look upon a woman to lust after her, already he has committed adultery with her in his heart* (Matt. V, 28). And to these things he added: ^B *If thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than thy whole body be cast into the hell of fire* (Matt. V, 29). He did not say: 'if it has scandalized thee,' so that after thou hast sinned thou shouldst then cast away the cause of sin, but: 'if it scandalize thee'—that is, so that before thou sinnest, thou shouldst cut off the cause of sin that provokes and irritates thee. But let no one among you think, brothers, that the Lord commanded the amputation of members: He wishes the intention to be cut off in this, not the members and the causes that entice one to sin, so that our thought, carried by the vehicle of sight, might strive towards the love of God, which is invisible to bodily senses, and not that the reins and bridles should be slackened for carnal eyes, as if they were lascivious horses desiring to turn the chariot off the path of the commandments, but rather let it ^C recall the sight of the body to the judgment of the mind; and let it not allow our eyes, which God willed to be the inspectors and witnesses of his work, to become the panderers of evil desire. And therefore let the bodily senses, just as the internal thought, yield to the law of God, and minister to the will of Him whose works they know themselves to be.

XXXVIII. Therefore, as the order of the mystery and reason demanded, on the following day she was baptized in the sea, and having returned to the lodging, she was imbued with all the subsequent mysteries of religion. And we also were present, her sons, Niceta and Aquila and I, Clement. And after these things we dined with her, and together we glorified God, rendering thanks for the pursuits and the teaching of Peter, who showed us, through the occasion of our mother, how the good of chastity does not perish in the sight of God, just as on the contrary, ^D impurity, he said, even if not immediately, yet even if late, does not escape punishment. To such an extent, he said, is chastity pleasing to God, that it confers some grace in the present life even on those who are placed in error. For future happiness is reserved only for those who have preserved chastity and justice through the grace of baptism. In short, there is an example for this thing also in that which was done toward your mother, for whom this whole salvation was restored as a reward for chastity, for the guarding and preserving of which, continence alone is not sufficient; but where one senses that snares and deception are being prepared, he should immediately flee, as from the onset of a fire or the rush of a mad dog, and not trust that anyone can easily restrain such snares by philosophizing or by feeling them out; but, as I have said, one must flee and go far away, just as your mother did, truly and completely loving the good of chastity. For which reason it was also preserved for you, and you for her, and furthermore she was endowed with the knowledge of eternal life. When he had said these and many other things similar to these, evening having come, we rested.

BOOK EIGHT

I. The next day, Peter took my brothers and me, and we went down to the harbor to bathe in the sea, and after this, we withdrew to a more secluded place for the sake of prayer. A certain old man, a pauper, and, as appeared from his attire, a workman, began to observe us curiously from a hiding place, to see what we might be doing while positioned in secret. And when he had seen us praying, he waited until we came out, and greeting us, said: "If you do not take it amiss, and do not mark me as curious or importunate, I would like to hold a conversation with you, because, having pity on you, I would not want you, under the guise of truth, to wander into error and have fear concerning things that do not exist; or if you think there is some truth in them, pass it on to me as well. If therefore you accept this patiently, I can teach you in a few words what things are right; but if it is annoying, I will go on and attend to my own affairs." To whom Peter replied: "Speak, pray, what seems good to you, and we will gladly receive it, whether it be true or even false; for you are to be embraced, because you wished to advise us concerning what seems good to you, like a father concerned for his sons." ^A

II. Then the senior began to say: "I saw you bathing in the sea, and after this you withdrew to a secret place; and observing from hiding what you were doing in secret, I watched you praying; therefore, pitying your error, I began to wait until you came out, so that I might speak to you and teach you not to err in this kind of observance, because there is no God, nor is there any worship here, nor is there providence in the world, but fortuitous chance and genesis [astrological fate] govern all things, as I myself have discovered, being learned in the science of mathematics beyond most others. Do not therefore err; for whether you pray, or do not pray, what your genesis contains will be yours." And I, Clement, felt my heart stirred, I know not how, recalling many things as if known to me in him; for someone well said that what is born of something, even if it is absent for a long time, the spark of kinship is never extinguished. I began, therefore, to ask him who he was and whence he came, or how he originated. But he, unwilling to answer these things, said: "What does this pertain to what I have said to you? But first, if it seems good, let there be a discussion concerning what we have proposed, and after this, if the matter requires it, we may disclose to each other our name and lineage and fatherland, as friends might to friends." Yet we all marveled at the man’s eloquence, and the gravity of his character, and the tranquility of his speech.

III. But Peter, gradually proceeding in speech, looked for an opportune place for conversation. And when he had discerned a certain secluded recess near the harbor, he made us sit down, and thus he himself begins, and he did not show contempt for the old man, nor did he despise him because his clothing was vile and sordid. He said therefore: "Since you appear to me to be a learned man and compassionate from the fact that you approached us, and that you did not want what seemed good to you to be hidden from us, we too wish to set forth for you what are believed by us to be good and right, which if they seem less true to you, you also should gladly receive our good proposal toward you, just as we did yours." And while Peter was saying this, a great multitude gathered. Then the old man said: "Perhaps the presence of the multitude troubles you." And Peter said: "By no means, unless I fear only this, lest perhaps, when the truth has been made public in our disputation, you might suffer shame due to the presence of the multitude, and yield and acquiesce to what you understand to be said truly." To this the old man said: "I have not grown old so foolishly as to deny what is true for the sake of the favor of the crowd." ^B

IV. Peter therefore began to say: "Those who speak the word of truth and who illuminate the souls of men seem to me to be like the rays of the sun, which, once they have proceeded and appeared to the world, can in no way be hidden or concealed, since they do not so much see men as provide for all to see. Hence it has also been well said by someone to the heralds of truth: 'You are the light of the world, and a city set upon a mountain cannot be hidden, nor do they light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but upon a lampstand, so that it may shine for all who are in the house' [Matt. v, 14, 15]. And the old man said: 'Very well said, whoever that is.' But let one of you, indeed, set forth what seems to him to be followed, so that we may direct our words to a certain goal. ^C For it does not suffice for the finding of truth to destroy those things which are said in opposition, but also to bring forth into the middle that which can be challenged by him who is on the opposite side. To ensure, therefore, that the contest of the parties may be equal, it seems right to me that first, what each of us defends should be stated; and if it pleases, I myself will begin. I say that the world is not governed according to the providence of God, because we see many things done in it unjustly and inordinately, but I say that it is *genesis*, which drives and contains all things."

V. When Peter wanted to respond to this, Niceta, anticipating, said: "Let my master Peter forgive me for answering this, and let it not appear arrogant that I, a youth, should have a conflict with an old man, but that I may speak as a son with a father." And the old man: "Not only do I wish, my son, that you should pursue what seems good to you, but if any of your companions, if any even of the bystanders seem to know something, let him bring it forth without hesitation; we receive it gladly; for a gathering of many ^D

will more easily find things that are unknown." Then Niceta answered: "Do not imagine, Father, that I have acted rashly in inserting myself into the discourses of my master Peter, but rather I felt it right to do this for his honor. For he is a man of God, full of all knowledge, whom not even Greek learning escapes, because he is filled with the Spirit of God, whom nothing escapes. But since it is fitting for him to speak of heavenly things, I will respond concerning those things that pertain to the loquacity of the Greeks. But after we have disputed in the manner of the Greeks, and have arrived at a point where no outcome appears, then he himself, as one filled with the knowledge of God, will openly and clearly reveal to us the truth of all things, so that not only we, but also all the listeners who are present, may recognize the way of truth. And therefore let him now sit as an arbiter, so that when one of us has yielded, he himself, taking up the matter, may provide an indubitable judgment."

VI. When Niceta had said these things, those who had gathered began to speak among themselves: "Is this he whom we heard was the most approved disciple of that Peter who appeared in Judea and performed very many signs and miracles?" And looking toward him, they stood with great fear and veneration, as good servants offering honor to their master. When Peter perceived this, he said to them: "Let us listen more attentively, keeping a right judgment regarding the things to be said by both, and after their conflict, we too shall add what may seem necessary." And when Peter had said this, the crowds were pleased.

Niceta then began to speak in this way: "You have defined, Father, that the world is not governed by the providence of God, but that all things are subject to genesis, both what pertains to the character of each individual and what pertains to their deeds. To these things I could have answered immediately; but since it is just to preserve order, we also define what we hold, just as you yourself asked to be done. I say that the world is governed by the providence of God, at least in those things which have need of His governance. For there is one who holds all things, who also made the world, a just God, who will one day render to each according to his deeds. Behold, you have our definition; now pursue what you wish, either destroying my position or asserting your own, so that I may respond to those things which follow from you. Or if you wish me to speak first, I will not delay."

^A The old man responded: "Whatever pleases you, my son, is fine with me, or if it pleases you more that I should speak first, it makes no difference to me, especially among those who dispute with good grace. Speak, however, you first; I receive it gladly, and I wish that you could also pursue the points that must be spoken by me, and object to those things which are contrary, and by a comparison of both show the truth." Niceta answered: "If you wish, he said, I can also speak your side, and answer to these things." And the old man said: "Show me first how you can know things that I have not yet spoken, and then I will believe you, when you are able to pursue my side." And Niceta: "Your sect, he said, and the opinion which you defined, is manifest to those who are learned in such disciplines, and its consequence is certain. And because I am not ignorant of what the definitions of the philosophers are, from those things which you proposed, I recognize what follows, especially because I frequented the schools of Epicurus more than other philosophers. But my brother Aquila has followed the Pyrrhonists more, while our other brother has followed the Platonists and Aristotelians; therefore, you are speaking with learned listeners." Then the old man: "Well, he said, and you have taught consequently how, from the definitions which were proposed, you were able to discern also those things which follow. But I have professed something more than what Epicurus feels, because I introduced genesis, and I have posited it as the cause of all deeds for men."

VIII. And when the old man had said these things, I, Clement, said to him: "Listen, Father, if my brother Niceta has won the point with you, that the world is not managed without the providence of God, in that part which remains concerning genesis, I will be able to respond to you; for I have knowledge of this science." And when I had said these things, my brother Aquila: "What is the necessity, he said, for us to call him father, when we have it in the commandments to call no man father upon the earth?" And after these things, looking to the old man: "Do not take it offensively, he said, Father, that I blamed my brother because he called you father; for we have such a commandment, not to call anyone by this name." And when Aquila had said this, the assembly ^C of all those standing by laughed together with the old man and Peter. But when Aquila asked the reason, why all had laughed, I said to him: "Because that which you blame others for, you do yourself, for you called the old man 'father'." But he denied it, saying: "I truly do not know if I called him father." Meanwhile, Peter was moved by certain suspicions, as he himself later narrated to us, and looking ^D to Niceta: "Explain," he said…

^A what you have proposed.

IX. Then Niceta began in this way: Everything that exists is either simple or composite. That which is simple lacks number, division, color, difference, roughness, smoothness, weight, lightness, quality, quantity, and because of this, also an end. But that which is composite is composed either of two or three or four, or certainly of more, and whatever is composite can necessarily also be divided. And the old man, hearing these things: "You speak excellently and very learnedly, my son," he said. And Niceta: "Therefore, that which is simple and lacks all these things by which what subsists can be dissolved, is without doubt incomprehensible and immense, knowing neither any beginning nor any end, and therefore it is one and alone, and subsists without a creator. But that which is composite, and is subject to number and diversity and division, was necessarily composed by some creator, and the diversity was gathered into one form. Therefore, that which is immense is Father by goodness, and Creator by power. Nor, therefore, could the power of creating cease in the immense, nor could goodness remain idle, but it is stirred by goodness to substitute the things which exist, and by power to compose and strengthen them. Therefore, some things are substituted and composed, as we have said, of two or three, others from four, and still others from more. But since we are now inquiring about the reason for the world and its substance, which it is agreed is composed of four elements, to which all those ten differences which we comprehended above happen, we shall come to the superior things, starting from these lower steps. For a way is given to us toward intellectual and invisible things from those which we see and touch, just as it is contained in the mathematical disciplines, where, when inquiring about divine matters, one ascends from lower to higher numbers, but when the rationale of present and visible things is explained, the order is directed from higher to lower numbers. Or is it not so?"

X. And the old man said: "You pursue this very well." And Niceta: "Now, therefore, we must proceed regarding the reason of the world, whose first question is divided into two parts. For it is asked whether it was made or not; and if indeed it was not made, it itself will be that unbegotten thing from which all things come. But if it was made, this question is again split into two parts: whether it was made of itself or by another. And if indeed it is of itself, Providence is ^B undoubtedly excluded. If Providence is not accepted, the soul is directed toward virtue in vain, for if there is no one who might restore to the just what they deserve, justice is kept in vain. But not even the soul itself will appear immortal if no providence of dispensation receives it after the dissolution of the body."

XI. Now if it is taught that Providence exists, and that the world was made through it, other things again occur which must be discussed; for it will be asked in what way Providence exists: whether generally toward all things, or specifically toward the parts, or if both generally toward all things and specifically toward the parts. "General" is understood in this way: as if God, creating the world from the beginning, gave order to things and established their course, and ceased to have care for the things that occur beyond that. "Specific," however, is toward the parts in this way: that He bears providence toward some men or places, but does not bear it toward others. "General toward all and specific toward the parts at the same time" is in this way: as if God not only made all things from the beginning, but also bears providence through each individual soul until the end, and renders to each according to its actions.

XII. Therefore, that first proposition, which says that because God made all things from the beginning, and having imposed a course and order upon things, He calls nothing back to Himself, confirms that all things are done according to *genesis* (fate). To this, therefore, we shall first respond, and especially to those who worship gods and defend *genesis*, who, when they offer sacrifices to the gods and pray to them, without doubt hope to obtain something against *genesis*, and by this they dissolve *genesis*. But when they mock those who urge toward virtue and exhort toward temperance, and say that no one can do or suffer anything unless it has been decreed for him by fate, they cut off entirely the worship of the Divinity. For why do you worship those from whom you can merit nothing, which is not suffered by the calculation of the decree? These things meanwhile have been said against them. But I truly say that the world was made by God, and is at some time to be dissolved by Him, so that He might appear who is eternal, and the world was made for this: that it might always exist and receive those worthy of the judgment of God. But that there is another invisible world, which contains this visible one within itself, after we have discussed the visible world, then we shall come to that one.

XIII. Now meanwhile, that this visible world was made, many of the wise men among the philosophers also testify. But lest we seem to have wished to use witnesses as if we were lacking in assertions, let us ask, if it seems good, about its principles. That the world is corporeal...

and visible, is sufficiently ^A agreed by the very fact that it is visible, and it could not have within it anything else by which it could be dissolved and divided. But every body is subject to two differences: it is either connected and solid, or divided and separate. And if indeed the body from which the world was made was connected and solid, and that body was distributed and divided into different species and parts according to its differences, it must be understood that there was some one who broke up the body that was connected and solid, and led it into many parts and diverse forms. Or if this whole mass of the world is composed and joined together from diverse and dispersed parts of bodies, it must nonetheless be understood that there was some one who gathered the dispersed parts into one, and endowed the things with diverse species.

XIV. And indeed I know that more of the philosophers have felt this, that from one body, which they call matter, God the creator made divisions and distinctions; yet so that it consisted of four simple elements, and mixed into one by a certain temperament of divine Providence. For I think it was said superfluously by some (51) that there is a simple body, that is, one without any conjunction, since it is evident that there cannot be a body which is simple, nor can it be mixed or propagated or dissolved; all of which we see happen to the bodies of the world. For how would it be dissolved if it were simple and had nothing within it by which it could be broken up or divided? But if bodies are seen to consist of two or three, or even of four, to whom is it not manifest, even to one having little sense, that there was some one who gathered many things into one, and by keeping a moderation of temperament, made a solid body from diverse parts? This one, therefore, we call the creator of the world, this one we recognize as the author of the universe.

XV. For the philosophers of the Greeks, seeking about the principles of the world, one has gone one way, another another. In short, Pythagoras says that the elements of principles are numbers, Callistratus qualities (52), Alemæon contrarieties (53), Anaximander immensity, Anaxagoras equality of parts (54), Epicurus atoms, Diodorus *amere* (55), that is, from those in which there are no parts, Asclepiades *oncous* (56), which we can call swellings or elevations, the Geometers points (57), Democritus ideas (58), Thales water, Heraclitus fire, Diogenes air (59), Parmenides earth (60). Zeno, Empedocles, Plato [add] fire, water, air, earth; Aristotle also introduces a fifth element, which he named *acatonomaston*, that is, incompellable (61), without doubt indicating him who, joining four elements into one, created the world. Whether therefore there be two or three or four or

even more, or numberless things from which the world consists, from every side, ^A he who gathered the many into one and again led the gathered things into diverse species, God is shown; and it is proved by these things that the mechanism of the world could not have consisted without a maker and provider.

XVI. But from this very fact, that in the joining of the elements, if one is lacking or abounding, the rest are resolved and fall apart, it is shown that they received a beginning from nothing. For example, if moisture fails in something, neither will the dry remain; for the dry is nourished by moisture, just as the cold by the hot, in which, as we have said, if one fails, the whole is utterly dissolved, and in this are produced the indications of their origin, from which they were made out of nothing. But if matter itself is proved to be made, how will its parts and the species of which the world consists appear unmade? ^B But there is no place here to speak of matter and qualities; let it suffice to have taught this only, that God is the creator of all, because neither, if the body of which the world consists was solid and connected, could it be separated and discerned without a creator, nor, if it were gathered into one from diverse and discrete parts, could it be aggregated and mixed without an artisan. Therefore, if God is shown so evidently to be the creator of the world, what place will there be for Epicurus to introduce atoms, and to assert that not only sensible bodies, but also intellectual and rational minds are made from insensible corpuscles?

XVII. But you will say, as it seemed to Epicurus: Through the ceaseless course of atoms coming forever, mixing themselves through immense and endless times and conglobing into one, solid bodies are made. I do not approach these things to call them a fabulous and ineptly composed matter; let us see rather if, such as it is, what is said can stand. For they say that the corpuscles themselves which they call atoms (62) are of diverse qualities, and that some are indeed moist and on this account heavy and tending downward, others indeed dry and earthly and on this account no less heavy, others however fiery and on this account always tending upward, others truly cold and on this account sluggish and always in the middle. How then, when some always tend upwards as being fiery, and others always downwards as being moist and dry, and others are truly middle and do not proceed with an equal course, could they come together and make one body? ^C For if someone should cast down from the heights, for example, very minute chaff, and to the same magnitude particles of very minute lead, could the light parts of chaff, however equal they may be in magnitude, overtake the leaden particles? For heavier things reach the bottom much more swiftly. Thus therefore also atoms, even if they are equal in magnitude, being however unequal in weight, will never be able to overtake the heavier; but if they cannot overtake them, without doubt they can neither be joined together nor form a body.

XVIII. Then furthermore, if they are carried incessantly and always come, and new weights are always added to things whose measure is already complete, how can the universe stand, when new weights are always being heaped upon such immense weights? But I also ask this: if this circuit of the sky which we see was being built up by the gradual coming together of corpuscles, how did it not immediately fall as it was rising? If indeed the summit of the mechanism itself, being gaping, was not being braced by any bolts. For just as those who build domes of buildings into a circle, if they have not tightened the conclusion of the middle vertex, the whole is dissolved together; so also the circle of the world, which we see gathered in such a handsome form, if it were not suddenly and by the rotation of one divine virtue effected by the power of the founder, but gradually by atoms running together and building it—not as reason demanded, but as a fortuitous event happened—how did it not collapse and dissolve before it could be gathered and concluded? To these things I also ask this: what is the support upon which foundations of so immense a mass have been cast? And again, that which you would call support, upon what does it lie? ^D And likewise that other thing, upon what? and I will proceed by asking until the answer reaches to nothing and the void.

XIX. But if anyone should say that atoms of fiery quality joined together made one body for themselves, and that because the quality of fire tends not downward but upwards, the fiery nature, always striving to the higher parts, supports the mass of the world placed upon it; we shall answer to these things: How could atoms of fiery quality, which always contend towards the higher parts, descend into the lower parts and be found in the deep and in a place submerged under all? Since certainly all heavier things—that is, earthy or moist qualities—precede the lighter, as we have said, from which they assert the sky, as if it were the fabric of the higher parts, to be built from fiery atoms, which are both lighter and always flee upwards. Therefore, the world can have neither foundations of fire nor any others, nor can any association or connection suit heavier atoms with lighter ones, that is, those which are always precipitated downwards and those which always flee upwards. Therefore, that it is impossible for the bodies of the world to be solidified from the conjunction of atoms has been sufficiently said, and that insensible bodies, even if they could by any reason come together and be connected, could not give forms to bodies, nor measures, nor make limbs, nor effect qualities, nor express quantities; all of which, by the modulation of themselves, testify to the hand of an artisan and show the work of reason, which reason I call the Word and God.

XX. But someone will say that these things are done by nature. Now on this point there is a controversy about the name. For since it is clear that it is the work of mind and reason, that which you call nature, I call God the creator; it is certain that the species of bodies, instituted with such necessary distinctions, or the sensations of minds, could neither have been able [to be made] nor can be made [by nature].

by an irrational work which lacks sense. ^A But if philosophers seem to you to be suitable witnesses, Plato testifies concerning these things in the *Timaeus*, where, discussing the construction of the world, he asks whether it always existed or whether it had a beginning, and he declares that it was made: for he says that it is visible and palpable and corporeal, and it is certain that all things which are of such a kind have been made; and that which has been made is without doubt held to have an author, by whom it was made. Therefore, he says, it is difficult to find the maker and father of all, and impossible to explain him to the common people when found. Plato says these things; but even if he and other Greek philosophers had wished to be silent about the construction of the world, would it not be plain to all who have understanding? For who is a man of at least slight sense, who, when he sees a house containing all things necessary for our use, whose chamber he sees gathered into the rounding of a sphere, and it is depicted with various splendor and diverse images, adorned with main and greatest lights; who, I ask, is there, who, seeing such a structure, would not immediately declare it to have been constructed by a most wise and powerful craftsman? And so who will be found so foolish that, when he looks upon the work of the sky, sees the splendor of the sun and moon, and observes the courses and species and paths of the stars defined by certain reasons and times, he would not cry out that these things were made not so much by a wise craftsman and reason, as by wisdom and reason itself?

XXI. But if you also wish to listen according to other Greek philosophers, and you are imbued with mechanical disciplines, the things which are handed down concerning the high heavens are without doubt not hidden from you. For they posit a sphere gathered equally from every part, and looking equally toward all things, and separated by equal spaces from the center of the earth, and so stable by its own equality that this equality, gathered on every side, does not allow it to decline in any direction; and thus the sphere is held suspended, supported by no prop. But if the machinery of the world truly has this similarity, it is evident that it is the work of a divine power. If, however, as it has seemed to others, ^B the sphere is placed above the waters, or is carried above them, or revolves in them, even so is the work of a great craftsman declared in it.

XXII. But lest our assertion concerning these things which are not plain to all seem uncertain, let us come to those things which are hidden from no one. Who arranged the course of the stars with such great reason, and instituted their risings and settings, and gave to each one to hold the circuit of the sky in certain and measured times? Who permitted some to always tend toward the setting, while others [are permitted] to return to the rising? Who placed a measure upon the courses of the sun, so that it might sign the hours and days and months and the vicissitudes of the seasons with diverse motions, and now distinguish winter, then spring, summer, and after that autumn, by the certain dimension of its course, and always bind the circle of the year in the same turns with unconfused variety? Who, I say, would not proclaim the wisdom of God itself to be the moderatrix of such order? And these things truly [are] according to those things said to us, which are handed down from the Greeks concerning the higher disciplines.

XXIII. But what about these things which we see either on land or in the sea? Are we not evidently taught that there is in these not only the work of God, but also His providence? For the fact that lofty mountains are found in certain places on the earth, so that the air, as if compressed and narrowed by these, is by the ordinance of God forced and pressed out into winds, from which both the fruits receive their germ, and the summer heat takes its temperance, when the Pleiades have glowed with the burning heats of the sun. But you will say: Why is the heat of the sun required for temperance? And how would the crops necessary for human uses reach maturity? But observe also this, that toward the meridian axis, where there is more heat, there is not given a great condensation of clouds, nor does an abundant supply of rains pour down, lest disease be generated for the inhabitants; for humid clouds, if they are cooked by rapid heat, render the air corrupted and pestiferous. But even the earth, receiving warm rain, provides not nourishment for the crops, but destruction; in which who doubts that there is a work of divine Providence? Finally, because Egypt burns from the nearby Ethiopian heats, lest it receive incurable corruptions of the air through the necessity of rains, its fields do not receive rain provided by clouds, but receive a kind of earthly rain as the Nile overflows. ^{C D}

^A

XXIV. What shall we say of the fountains and rivers, which flow with a perennial course into the sea? And by divine Providence, neither does their abundant flow fail, nor does the sea, receiving such quantities of waters, feel any increase, but the elements flourish in the same measure both in what they contribute and in what is contributed to them there. But you say to me: "Salt water naturally consumes the fresh flow that is poured into it." And in this, therefore, the work of Providence is manifest, that He made that element salt into which He turned the course of all the waters which He had provided for the use of men; so that, through such great spans of time, the bed of the sea, having been filled, might not render a destructive inundation to the lands and to men. Nor will any man be so foolish as to suppose that such a great system and such great providence was arranged by an irrational nature.

XXV. What then of shrubs, what shall I say of animals? Has it not been done by providence that, when the old age of time is dissolved, shrubs are repaired by the plants or seeds which they themselves have dropped, but animals are repaired through progeny? And by a certain wondrous dispensation of Providence, milk is prepared for the coming offspring in the udders, and as soon as it is born, without any instructor, it knows where to seek the granaries of its sustenance. Moreover, not only males are born, but also females, so that from both the posterity can continue again. But that men might not think these things happen by a certain order of nature and not by the dispensation of the Creator, He provided a few things as an indication and proof of His providence, ^B having ordered the class to preserve itself on earth, for example, that the crow might conceive through its mouth, and the weasel might generate through its ear ^C (68), that some birds, like hens, might sometimes lay eggs conceived by the wind or by dust (69), and that certain other animals might turn the male into the female by alternate shifts and change their sex every year, as hares and hyenas, which they call beasts (70); others even might arise from the earth and thence take flesh, as moles; others from ash, as vipers; others from putrid flesh, as wasps indeed from horses (71), but bees from oxen; others from the dung of oxen (72), as beetles; others from herbs, as the scorpion from basil (73); and again, herbs from animals, as parsley and asparagus from the horn of a stag or a goat.

XXVI. And what need is there to enumerate more things, in which divine Providence, by changing the order which is thought to be given by nature, wished the birth of animals to consist in manifold differences, through which the irrational course of things might not be taught, but the reason of His dispensation itself? Or is the work of divine Providence not most fully demonstrated in this too, where seeds cast from earth and water are repaired for the life of men? Which, when they have been entrusted to the earth, by the will of God the soil squeezes out the moisture it has received, as if into its own udders, for the seeds. For in the waters there is a certain force of spirit given by God from the beginning, by whose work the habit of the future body begins to be formed in the seed itself and to be restored through the stalk and the ear; for when the grain has been swollen by the moisture of the seed, through certain narrow passages of the veins...

that power of the spirit which was given to be in the waters, as if passing incorporeally, wakes the seeds to growth and forms the species of growing things. By the ministry, therefore, of the humid element, in which that vital spirit is always implanted and native, it is brought about that not only is it restored, but that, in all things, a similar species and form should return to the seeds that had been sown. Which principle, to anyone possessing even a slight understanding, will seem to consist not through an irrational nature, but through divine wisdom? Finally, these things also were formed after the likeness of human generation; for the earth seems to hold the place of the womb, to which the seed, injected by force of water and spirit, as we have said above, is both formed and nourished.

^B XXVII. But in this also is divine Providence to be admired, that it makes us, indeed, see and recognize the things that happen, but it has placed the manner how and the method by which they happen in secret and hidden, so that they might not be subject to the unworthy for acknowledgement, but might be revealed to the worthy and faithful when they become deserving. But that we may prove by the things themselves and by examples that nothing at all is given from the earthly substance in seeds, but that the whole consists by the virtue of the element of water and the spirit which is in it: place for me, for example, in some vessel of most ample magnitude, one hundred talents of earth; and let there be sown in it diverse species of seeds, whether of vegetables or even of shrubs, and let sufficient water be provided to them for irrigation, and for several years let this diligence be maintained. But let the seeds which have been collected be gathered—for example, of wheat or barley and other species—separately throughout each year, until the heap of each individual seed ascends to the weight of one hundred talents; then let the trees also, plucked up by the roots, be weighed, and from all these let the earth that was taken from the vessel be weighed; it will nonetheless restore its one hundred talents whole. Whence, therefore, shall we say that all that weight and the whole quantity of diverse seeds and trees has risen? Does it not obviously appear that it is from the waters? For the earth keeps what is its own intact, but the water which was injected throughout is nowhere at all, on account of the powerful virtue of divine condition, which, through the one species of water, repairs the substances of so many seeds and shrubs, and forms the species, and guards the genus with multiplied interest.

XXVIII. From all these things I think it sufficiently and abundantly clear that it is through an artistic sense and not an irrational nature ^A that all things are brought to pass and the universe consists. But let us come further, if it seems good, also to our own—that is, to the substance of man, who is a small world, and let us consider how great the reason is with which he is composed; and from this you will especially understand the wisdom of the Creator, who, since he consists of diverse substances—that is, mortal and immortal—the diversity does not flee from the association through the skillful providence of the Creator, and indeed, from substances far removed from one another [alien and diverse]. For one thing is assumed from the earth and formed by the Creator, but another is given from immortal substances; yet the honor of immortality is not infringed for him through such conjunction, nor does it consist, as it seems to some [of the reasonable and the concupiscible and the irascible], but rather such affections seem to be present in him, by which he is able to be moved toward these individual things. For the body, which consists of bones and flesh, takes its beginning from the seed of a man, which heat, drawing from the marrow, consigns as if to the earth of the womb, to which, adhering and gradually watered by a fountain of blood, it is produced into flesh and bones, and is reformed into the species of the sower of the injected seed.

XXIX. And see in this the work of the Artist, how he inserted bones like certain columns, by which the flesh might be supported and carried. Then let an equal measure be kept on either side, that is, on the right and the left, so that foot corresponds to foot, and hand to hand, and fingers also to fingers, so that individuals might agree with individuals in total equality; but also eye to eye, and ^C ear to ear, which are formed not only consonant to one another and concordant, but also adapted for necessary uses. For the hands are such as to be convenient for work, the feet to serve for steps, the eyes to be guarded by the watch of the eyebrows to serve for sight, the ears formed for hearing in such a way that, like a cymbal, they might render the reverberating sound of the received word more deeply and send it even to the sense of the heart; but the tongue, for speaking, renders the office of a plectrum against the teeth, and the teeth themselves, some so that they may cut and divide the food and hand it over to the interior parts, and the interior ones so that they may act in the manner of a millstone to prepare and grind it, so that it may be more opportunely cooked when handed over to the stomach, whence they are also called molars.

XXX. But also the nostrils were made for the sake of passing breath and for returning and receiving it, so that by the renewal of the spirit the natural heat which is in the heart might either be kindled or cooled, as the situation demands, through the office of the lungs, which were given to be attached to the chest.

^A that it might by its softness palpate and cherish the vigor of the heart, in which life is seen to consist—I mean life, not the soul. And what shall I say of the substance of the blood, which, proceeding as a river from a spring, and carried first in one channel, then divided through innumerable veins as if through irrigation canals, waters the whole earth of the human body with vital streams, ministered by the work of the liver, which lies on the right side for the efficacy of the digestion of foods and their transformation into blood? On the left, however, is the place of the spleen, which can draw to itself and in a way purge the impurities of the blood. XXXI. What, then, is the rationale of the intestines? They are ordered in long coils and circles for this purpose: that they might gradually discharge the digestions of food that have been received, so that they neither suddenly create empty spaces nor be hindered by foods that have been additionally supplied. Moreover, the membranes were made in such a way that they might gradually absorb from the outside the moisture, which, had it been poured out suddenly, would have emptied the internal parts, nor, if prevented by a denser skin, would it have rendered the things that are on the outside dry and troubled the whole human frame with the necessity of thirst. XXXII. Furthermore, the feminine position and the shape of the womb are most convenient for receiving the seed and for cherishing and enlivening it. Who would not be persuaded that these things were created with reason and prudence, since the woman differs from the male species only in that part of the limbs where posterity is received and cherished, and conversely, the male habit is changed only in that part of the limbs where the power of sowing and generating man resides? And in this, a great testimony of Providence is indeed given, from the necessary diversity of the limbs; but even greater where, in the similarity of the habit, a diversity of use and variety of office is found. For breasts are in men just as they are in women, but those of women alone are filled with the gift of milk so that, immediately upon giving birth, the infant may find for itself suitable nourishment. If, therefore, we see in man members so disposed that he appears similar in all other respects, but differs only in those where use requires a diversity—and we see neither anything superfluous or lacking in the man, nor anything wanting or abundant in the woman—who from all these things would not evidently recognize the work of reason and the wisdom of the Creator? XXXIII. The rational diversity of the other animals also supports this, each being suited to its own use and ministry. The variety of trees and the diversity of herbs attest to this, as varied in species as in juices. The alternation of the seasons, divided into four distinct changes, asserts this, and the cycle of the year completing itself with fixed hours, days, and months, not exceeding by even one hour the established rationale; from this finally, the very age of the world is reckoned by a certain and stable rationale, with a conceived number of years. ^B

XXXIV. But you will say, "When was the world made, and why so late?" You might propose this even if it had been made earlier; for you would say, "Why not even before this?" and thus, transcending immense ages, you could always inquire, "Why not before this?" But our discourse now is not about this—why it was not made before it was made—but whether it was made at all. For if it is certain that it was made, it is necessarily the work of a powerful and supreme artisan; but if this is certain, when he willed to make it is to be left to the judgment and discretion of a wise artisan. Unless it seems to you that all this wisdom, which constructed such an immense machine of the world and gave to each individual thing forms and species—the habit of which it placed not only in accordance with beauty but also most apt and necessary for future uses—only escaped it, so that it might assume an opportune time for so magnificent a condition. There is certainly a fixed rationale with Him, and there are evident causes why and when and how He made the world, which it has been sluggish for men, to whom these things placed before their eyes and testifying to His providence have been given, to inquire into and understand. It was, indeed, not appropriate; for the things that are held in secret and are stored within the senses of wisdom, as if within royal treasuries, are open to no one except those who have learned from Him with whom these things were sealed and deposited. Therefore, it is God who made all things, and He Himself was made by no one. Those, however, who name nature as God and testify that all things were made by nature, the error of their appellation escapes them. For if they think that nature is irrational, it is most foolish that a rational creation should proceed from an irrational maker. If, however, it is reason—that is, Logos—through which the whole creation is established, they change the name in vain when they acknowledge the Creator's reason. If you have anything to say to these things, Father, proceed.

XXXV. When Niceta had said these things, the old man replied: "You indeed, my son, have spoken prudently and bravely, so much so that I do not think it can be said better concerning Providence. But since the hour is now late, I wish to respond tomorrow to these things which you have set forth, concerning which, if you satisfy me, I confess myself a debtor of grace." And with these words said by the old man, Peter rose. But one of those standing by, the first of the Laodiceans, asked Peter and us that the old man might change the garments he was wearing, which were dirty and torn; whom Peter and we embraced, and praising him for his honest and best intention, said: "Because we are not so unwise and impious that, although we entrust such precious words to him, we should not much more provide these things which are necessary for bodily uses—which we believe he will also willingly accept as from sons to a father—but we also believe this will provide him with shelter and a common life." ^C When we were saying these things, and that leading man of the city desired with all his might and many blandishments to take the old man away from us, we, however, held him the more vehemently, the whole populace acclaimed that what pleases the old man should be done; and when silence had been made, the old man ^D forestalled them with an oath, saying: "Today regarding no one...

will I remain, nor will I receive anything from anyone, lest the love of one person become the sorrow of another; for these things can be done later if it shall seem right."

^A XXXVI. And when the old man had said this, Peter said to the chief man of the city: "Since you have shown your good will by our presence, you must not depart sad; but we shall receive grace for grace from you. Show us your house, and prepare it so that the discussion which is to be tomorrow may be held there, and let those who wish to be present to hear it be permitted." When the chief of the city heard this, he was very glad, but the whole populace also heard it willingly. And when the crowds had departed, he showed his house; but the old man also began to depart. I, however, ordered one of my attendants to follow the footsteps of the old man secretly, and to learn where he stayed. We, however, when we had returned to our lodging, recounted to the brethren all that had passed between us and the old man, and thus, having taken food according to custom, we rested.

XXXVII. On the following day, however, Peter rising early awakened us, and we proceeded together to the secret place where we had also been the day before for the sake of prayer; and then, after the prayer, while we were coming to the appointed house, on the way he was instructing us, saying: "Listen to me, most beloved fellow-servants; it is good that each of you, according to his ability, should profit those approaching the faith of our religion. And therefore, do not be reluctant to instruct and teach the ignorant, discussing according to the wisdom which has been conferred upon you by God's providence, provided, however, that you join to these things which you have heard from me and which have been delivered to you only the eloquence of your own speech. Nor should you speak out anything of your own that has not been delivered to you, even if it seems plausible to you, but proceed with those things, as I said, which I myself received from the True Prophet and delivered to you, even if they seem to be of less complete assertion. For from this it often happens that some decline from the truth, while they believe themselves to have discovered by their own thoughts a semblance of a truer and stronger truth."

XXXVIII. To these things said by Peter we gladly assented, saying to him that we would do nothing unless it seemed so to him. Then he said: "Therefore," he said, "so that you may be practiced without danger, debate before me individually, so that one may succeed another and each may explain his own questions. Now, therefore, since Niceta discoursed sufficiently yesterday, today let Aquila make the speech, and after Aquila, Clement; then I, if the matter also demands that I add something." Meanwhile, while we were exchanging words of this kind, we reached the house in which the master of the house, receiving us, introduced us to a certain place collected in the likeness of a theater and beautifully built, in which we found very many crowds awaiting us from the time of night, among whom was also the old man who had debated with us the day before. And so we entered, having Peter in the midst, also looking around to see if we might discern the old man; whom Peter, seeing first as he lay hidden in the midst of the crowd, called to himself, saying: "To many more clear ^B in possessing a soul, why do you lie hidden in secrecy and cover yourself with bashfulness? Approach here more closely, and carry out what seems right to you."

XXXIX. When Peter said these things, the crowds immediately began to make room for the old man. And when he had approached, he began: "Although I do not remember the words of those things which the youth pursued yesterday, yet I hold the sense and the order, and therefore I think it necessary, on account of those who were not present yesterday, to make a recapitulation of those things which were said, and to repeat everything briefly, so that even if something has escaped me, I may be reminded by him who, having been present, pursued them. This, therefore, was the sense of yesterday's discussion: that all things which are seen, since they consist of a certain measure and art and form and shape, must without doubt be believed to have been made by a wise virtue; but if it is mind and reason which founded these things, it is a consequence that the world is governed by the providence of reason itself, even if those things which are done in the world seem to us to be handled less rightly. It follows, however, that if God is the creator of all and is mind, He is also just; and if He is just, He necessarily judges; if He judges, it is necessary that men should be judged concerning their actions; and if each one is judged concerning his actions, there will therefore be at some time a just discrimination between the righteous and the sinners. This was, as I think, the sum of the whole discourse."

XL. "If, therefore, it can be shown that mind and reason have founded all things, it is a consequence that those things also which follow are handled by reason and providence. But if an imprudent and blind nature generates the universe, the reason for judgment is without a doubt destroyed, nor will discussion of sins and reward for good deeds be hoped for, where there is no judge. Because, therefore, all things depend on this and adhere to this head, do not be indignant if perhaps I should want these things to be discussed and handled a little more broadly. For in this, to all the things that are proposed, as if by a first gate, it is closed, and therefore I wish this to be opened to me before all else. Now, therefore, hear what I teach, and let whoever of you wishes answer me; for I will not be ashamed to learn if I hear what is true, and to acquiesce to one speaking rightly. Therefore, the discourse uttered by you yesterday, which asserted that all things consist by art and measure and reason, does not much persuade me that it is mind and reason which made the world; for I have many things ^D which I will show to consist by a competent measure and form and shape, and yet not founded through mind and reason. Then, moreover, I see many things handled incongruously, inconsequently, and unjustly in the world, and that nothing can be done without the course of genesis; which after all things I will also prove most manifestly from myself."

XLI. When the old man said these things, Aquila answered: "Since you yourself proposed that whoever wishes should have the opportunity of responding to those things which you were saying, my brother Niceta yields to me to make a speech today." And the old man said: "Proceed, son, as you wish." And Aquila answered: "You promised that you would show that there are many things in the world which bear a form and shape collected by an equal reason, which nonetheless you claim are not produced by God the creator. Now, therefore, what you promised,"

show me." And the old man replied: "Behold, we see the rainbow in the sky ^A holding a circle collected by every measure, and having the appearance of reality, which perhaps neither the mind could have conceived nor reason described, yet it is not produced by any mind. Behold, I have stated the whole thing in brief, answer these points."

XLII. Then Aquila said: "It does not follow, he said, if anything is expressed from a pattern and form, that it is to be understood that it exists by reason and cannot be made without a mind, since the pattern itself which expresses figures and shapes was not made without a mind. For example, if wax is pressed upon an engraved seal, it indeed takes the image and figure from the seal, which without doubt lacks sense; but the seal that expresses the likeness was engraved by the hand of an artisan, and there was a mind and reason which gave the pattern to the seal. So, therefore, the rainbow is also expressed in the air; for the sun, by imprinting its rays upon the thinning clouds and impressing the pattern of its own sphere upon the moist cloud just as on soft wax, gives back the appearance of a bow, and this is effected, as I said, by the very reflection of the sun's splendor in the clouds, and by giving back the brightness of its circle from them. This, however, does not happen always, but when the moist clouds provide the opportunity for it by thinning out. Whence also, again, when the clouds thicken and come together, the form of the bow is resolved and fades away; finally, the bow never appears without the sun and the clouds, just as an image is not expressed without a pattern and wax or some other material of this kind. It is not therefore surprising if God the Creator from the beginning made patterns, from which forms and species are now expressed. This is similar to that which was said, that from the beginning God created the inanimate elements, with which He might use to form and unfold all other things. But those who form statues also first fashion a pattern of clay or wax, and from it the likeness of the statue is rendered; then afterwards the shadow is rendered from the statue, which shadow in every way bears the form and likeness of the statue. What, therefore, shall we say, that the inanimate statue forms the shadow, collected with as diligent a reason as the statue itself is? Or shall the collection of the shadow without doubt be attributed to him who also fashioned the statue?"

XLIII. "If, therefore, it seems to you that this is the case and what has been said on this matter is sufficient, let us come to inquire into other things; or if you think something is still lacking, let us repeat." And the old man said: "I want you to repeat regarding this, for there are also many other things which I see happen in a similar way; for even the fruits of trees are born, fashioned in a similar way, beautifully and collected in a round shape with wonder, and the species of leaves is formed with great beauty, and a green membrane is woven with exquisite art; then, besides these, fleas, mice, lizards, and similar things—shall we say that these too are made by God? Whence from these viler things an inference is taken regarding better ones, that they are not fashioned by the art of a mind at all." "Well," said Aquila, "from the texture of leaves ^B and from small animals you conclude that faith in better things should also be taken away; but do not let these things deceive you, so that you might think that God, working as if with two hands, cannot complete all the things that come to be, but remember how my brother Niceta responded to you yesterday, and opened the mystery before its time, truly as one speaking with a father, and explained why and how these things, which seem useless, come to be."

XLIV. And the old man: "Why these useless things happen by the will of that supreme mind, I would like to hear from you." "If," he said, "it is clearly established to you that there is a work of mind and reason in them, then at last it will not be grievous to you to be told also why they were made and to be taught that they were made justly." To this the old man answered: "I cannot, my son, say that those things which are seen to be formed by art are made by a mind, on account of the other things which we see done unjustly and inordinately in the world." ^C "If," said Aquila, "those things which happen inordinately do not allow you to say that they were done through the Providence of God, why do not those which happen in an orderly manner compel you to say that they were done by God, and that a non-rational nature cannot produce a rational work? For it is certain, and we by no means deny it, that in this world some things happen in an orderly way, and some inordinately; those things, therefore, which happen rationally, believe that they happen through Providence, but those which happen irrationally and inordinately, that they happen naturally and occur by chance. But I am surprised that men do not notice that where there is sense, things can be done in an orderly way and inordinately; but where there is no sense at all, neither can be done; for reason makes order, but the course of order, if something contrary occurs to disturb the order, necessarily produces something inordinate." And the old man: "This very thing I wish to be shown to me by you."

XLV. "I will not delay, Aquila," he said. "Two visible signs are shown in the sky, one of the sun, the other of the moon; these are followed also by the other five stars, each one unfolding its own diverse and proper course. These, therefore, God set in the sky, by which the temper of the air is dispensed according to the ^D reason of the seasons, and the order of the vicissitudes and changes is preserved. And through the ministry of these very things, if ever, on account of the sins of men, a plague and corruption is cast upon the lands, the air is disturbed, a pestilence is induced for living creatures, corruption for the fruits, a pestilent year for mortals in every way, and so it happens that by one and the same ministry both order is preserved and it is corrupted. For it is plain to the unbelieving and the unskilled that the course of the sun is useful and necessary to the world, and, given through Providence, is always held to be orderly; but the moon, by comparison with the course of the sun, in its augmentations and diminutions, appears to the unskilled to have an inordinate and uncomposed course. For the sun

is moved by certain distinctions and ordered ^A measures; from it are the hours, from it the day when it arises, from it the night when it sets, from it the months and years are numbered, from it the vicissitudes of the seasons occur, while ascending to the higher regions it tempers the spring, but when it has arrived at the summit of the heavens, it kindles the heat of summer; returning again, it restores the milder weather of autumn, and when it has returned to the lower circle, it leaves us from the icy structure of the heavens the rigor of winter cold.

XLVI. But we shall discuss these things more fully elsewhere. Now, meanwhile, although that minister is good for moderating the vicissitudes of the seasons, yet when, according to the will of God, correction is given to mortals, it glows more fiercely and burns the world with more vehement flames. Similarly, the course of the moon, even this change which appears disordered to the unskilled, is for the convenience of the growth of crops and cattle and all living things; for by its increments and diminutions, by a certain wonderful art of Providence, everything that is produced is nourished and grows; concerning which we could speak more fully and explain the reason for each point, unless the order of our proposed question called us back. Yet by these very ministries through which they are produced, all things are nourished and increased; when the temper of the established order has been changed for any just cause, corruption and intemperance arise, so that, as we said above, ^B chastisement proceeds by the will of God.

XLVII. But perhaps you will say: What, then, since in this common chastisement both the impious and the pious suffer similar things? It is true, we also admit it; but to the pious, chastisement yields progress, so that in the present life they come afflicted and more purified to the future one, in which a perpetual rest is prepared for them, while at the same time the impious also may progress somewhat from their chastisement, or the just sentence of future judgment be brought against them, since in these same chastisements the just indeed give thanks to God, but the unjust blaspheme. Therefore, since opinion is divided into two parts regarding things—that some occur by order and others against order: it ought to be believed that Providence exists in those things which are according to order; but regarding those things which are done against order, one should seek the causes from those who have learned them through prophetic teaching; for it is possible for the prophetic word to reach everyone, and they know when and for what cause blight, hail, pestilence, and similar things have arisen through each generation, and for what sins these were given as vengeance, whence the cause of sadness has happened to the human race, whence groanings and sorrows, whence also even the languor of trembling has arrived, and that these have been from the beginning the vengeance for parricide.

XLVIII. For from the origin of the world none of these things existed, but these evils took their beginning from the impiety of men, and thence the number of evils grew as iniquities always increased. But for this reason Divine Providence established judgment over all, because the present age was not such that everyone could be dispensed according to his merits. Therefore, one must not contemplate those evils which have happened to the world due to the sins of men as those things which, when no causes of evil existed from the beginning, were instituted well and in an orderly manner. Finally, as an indication of those things which were from the beginning, some nations are found that are alien to such evils. For the Seres, because they live chastely, are held to be free from all these things, because among them it is not right that a woman be approached after conception, nor when she is menstruating; no one there feeds on unclean flesh, no one knows of sacrifices, all, according to justice, become judges for themselves. Therefore, they are neither chastised with these plagues which we mentioned above, and, lasting a long time in life, they finish their life without sickness. We, however, miserable, dwelling as it were with most wicked ^C serpents, I mean with iniquitous men, necessarily endure with them the plagues of afflictions in this world, but we carry hope from the consolation of future goods.

XLIX. If on account of the iniquities of others, says the old man, even the just are tormented, God ought as a provider to have commanded men not to do those things from which it was necessary for the just to be afflicted along with the unjust, or if they did so, to apply some amendment or purification to the world. Aquilus says: God, he says, did command these things and gave precepts through the prophets how men ought to live; but they despised even these, nay rather, even if any perchance desired to observe them, they attacked them with various injuries, until they cast even them down from their proposed observance and nevertheless turned the multitude to incredulity and made them like themselves.

L. Therefore, finally, from the beginning, when all the earth had been stained by sins, God brought a flood upon the world, which you say happened under Deucalion, and then He preserved one certain just man with his sons in the ark, and with him ^D the seeds of all living things. And yet even they who were born from them, with time intervening, again do things similar to the former; for those things which had happened were given to oblivion, so that their descendants did not even believe this very thing, that a flood had occurred. Whence God also established that in the present age a flood should not again occur, otherwise...

A in accordance with the rationale of sins, it was necessary for this also to happen through individual generations for the sake of infidelity; but rather He indulged, through individual nations, certain angels to exercise authority who rejoice in evils, to whom, however, power against each one of mortals was given under this condition: if first anyone had made himself obnoxious to them by sinning, until He who rejoices in goods should arrive, and through Him the number of the just might be completed, and with the multitude of the pious increasing throughout the whole world, impiety might be partly suppressed and it might become known to all that everything which is good comes from God.

LI. From the liberty of the will, however, every man, while he is an unbeliever concerning things to come, incurs evils through evil acts. And these are the things which are seen in the world to be done contrary to order, to which infidelity has given the causes to exist. Wondrous, therefore, in every way is the dispensation of Divine Providence, which gave to those who from the beginning have walked in the good path of life, to enjoy incorruptible goods; but where they have sinned, B they have received the origin of evil from the sin that gave birth to it, and to every good, as if by a certain treaty of marriage, evil is in part associated, since the earth has been polluted with human blood, and the altars have burned for demons, and they have polluted the air itself with the incestuous smoke of sacrifices, and thus the elements, corrupted first, have handed down to men a vice of corruption, just as roots hand it down to branches and fruits.

LII. See, therefore, in this, as I have said, how justly Divine Providence assists in vitiated things, so that, since evils which had their origin from sin have been associated with the good things of God, He might set two princes over these two parts, and for him who rejoices in good things—the order of goods, which He established to lead those who believe to the faith of His providence; but for him who rejoices in C evils, those things which are done contrary to order and uselessly, from which without doubt the faith of providence also comes into doubt; and by this, a just division has been made by a just God. Hence, therefore, it is that when the ordered course of the stars makes faith that the world was founded by the hand of an artificer, conversely, the disturbance of the air, the pestilential breeze, the wandering fires of lightning, refute the work of Providence. For they have, as we have said, each and every good, contrary and connected evils; as hail is an enemy to fruitful rains, as corruption is associated with the placid dew of rust, as whirlwinds of storms are joined to gentle winds,—fruitless things are bound to fruitful trees, harmful things to useful herbs, wild and pernicious things are connected to tame animals. And all these things were placed by God, for the reason that the will of the human D choice has departed from the purpose of good things and has declined to evil.

LIII. Therefore, in all the things of the world this division is held, and just as there are the pious, so also there are the impious; as there are prophets, so there are false prophets; but also among the Gentiles there are philosophers, and there are false philosophers; the Arabic nations and many others have also imitated the circumcision of the Jews for the ministry of their own impiety. Thus also, the worship of demons is contrary to divine worship, and baptism to baptism, and laws to laws, and A to apostles are the pseudo-apostles, and to doctors, false teachers. And thence it is that among philosophers some assert providence, others deny it; some defend one God, others many. The matter eventually reached this point, that when demons are put to flight by the word of God, by which it is declared that Providence exists, the magical art has discovered how it may also imitate this from contraries in order to confirm infidelity. Thus, for example, it has been discovered to mitigate the poisons of serpents by incantations, and to induce healings contrary to the word and power of God. The magical art also finds ministries contrary to the angels of God, setting up evocations of souls against these and the figments of demons. And that I may not draw out the discourse longer by enumerating many things, there is absolutely nothing that makes for the faith of Providence that does not have, on the contrary, another thing prepared for infidelity; and therefore those who are ignorant of this B division of things, because of those things that are discordant in the world by themselves, do not think that there is a Providence. But you, Father, as a wise man, choose the part from this division which preserves order and makes for faith in providence, and do not follow only that part which runs contrary to order and derogates from the faith of Providence.

LIV. To this the old man answered: Give me a way, my son, by which I may be able to confirm in my senses one of these two orders, of which one asserts, the other refutes, Providence. It is right, said Aquila, to one having judgment, that the distinction is easy: for this very thing which you say, order and disorder, can be done by an artificer, but it cannot be done by an insensitive nature; for, for the sake of argument, let us set an abrupt rock to be carried headlong from a high cliff and to be crushed into many fragments on the ground it strikes, can it happen in any way that in that multitude of fragments C one fragment at least may be found in which some perfect species and form resides in all respects? And the old man answered: It cannot. But if there were present, said Aquila, an artificer of signs, he could form the rock cut from the mountain with an artificer's hand and rational sense into whatever species he might wish. And the old man: True, he said, that is so. Therefore, said Aquila, where there is no rational sense, no species can be formed entirely; but where sense is an artificer, there both form and informality can exist: for example, if an artificer hews a rock from a mountain to which he wishes to impose a form, it is necessary that it first be cut formless and crude, then afterwards, little by little, by hewing and sculpting it to the balance of his art, he expresses the form which he has conceived in his mind. So, therefore, from informality or deformity, one arrives at form by the hand of the artificer, and both proceed from the D artificer; therefore, in a similar way, those things which are done in the world are done through the providence of the artificer, even if they seem less ordered. And therefore, because these two ways have become known to you, and you have accepted the divisions of them, flee the way of infidelity, lest by chance it lead you to that prince who rejoices in evils; follow the way of faith, that you may reach a safe haven, to that King who rejoices in good men.

LV. To this the old man answered: But why was that prince who rejoices in evils made, and whence

does he originate—is he made or not made? Aquila says: This discussion belongs to another time; but lest you depart without this answer, I will hint a few things about this as well. God, the foreknower of all things, knowing before the foundation of the world that future men would incline, some towards good, others towards the opposite, associated those who chose the good with his own sovereignty and care, and named them his own inheritance. But those who inclined toward evil, he permitted to be governed by angels who, not through their substance but by an opposite course, refused to remain with God, corrupted by the vice of envy and pride; therefore, he made them princes of those worthy of themselves. Yet he so handed them over, that they should have no power to do what they wish to those men, unless they exceed the limit set for them from the beginning. And this is the set limit: that unless someone first does the will of the demons, the demons have no power over him. ^A

LVI. And the old man said: You have spoken magnificently, my son; but it remains now for you to say whence the substance of evil is; for if it was made by God, the bad fruit indicates a culprit root, for it seems that it is itself of an evil nature. If, however, this substance was coeternal with God, how can that which is equally unbegotten and coeternal be subject to another? It was not always, says Aquila; but neither, if it was made by God, is it immediately necessary that its creator be such as that which is made by him. For God indeed made the substances of all things, but if a rational mind, which was made by God, by no means acquiesces in the laws of its creator, and exceeds the measure of the temperance set for it, what does this concern the creator? Or if there is some reason for this which is higher ^B, we are ignorant of it; for we cannot know everything to perfection, and especially we are not to be judged regarding those things of which we are ignorant. But those things for which we are to be judged are very easy to understand, and are fulfilled in almost one word. For almost the entire observance of our actions is gathered into this: that we do not inflict upon others what we ourselves do not want to suffer; just as you do not wish to be killed, you ought to take care not to kill another; and just as you do not wish your own marriage to be violated, you should not defile the bed of another; you do not wish to suffer theft, then do not do it yourself; and within this rule every single human action concurs. ^C

LVII. Then the old man: Do not be annoyed, he says, my son, at what I am about to say; however valid your remarks may be, nonetheless they cannot bend me to believe that things can happen outside of genesis. For I know that all things have happened to me by the necessity of genesis, and therefore I cannot be persuaded that it is in our power to act either well or ill; and if we do not have our actions in our power, it cannot be believed that there is going to be a judgment, by which punishments are awarded to the wicked or rewards to the good. Finally, since I see that you are imbued with disciplines of this kind, I will put forward a few points from the art itself. If, says Aquila, you wish to build up some argument from the discipline itself, my brother Clement will answer you more diligently, as he has more fully attained the knowledge of mathematics; for I can assert in other ways that our actions are placed in our power, but these things which I have not learned, I ought not to presume. ^D

LVIII. When Aquila had said these things, I, Clement, said: Tomorrow, I ask, Father, you will speak as you wish, and we will listen gladly, for I think you will also be grateful that your discourse will be with those who are not without the discipline you have proposed. When, therefore, it had been agreed between me and the old man that on the following day the dispute concerning the reason of genesis would be held between us—whether all things happen from it, or whether there is something in us which is governed not by genesis but by the judgment of the mind—Peter stood up and began his discourse in this way: It is very astonishing to me that men make things which can be found easily into difficult ones through exquisite thoughts and words, and these are especially those who seem wise to themselves, and who, wishing to comprehend the will of God, use God as if he were a man, or even less than that; for no one can know the counsel or the sense of a man, unless he himself who has thought it reveals it, nor is anyone able to learn an art unless he has been imbued for a long time by a teacher; how much more so can no one know the sense or the work of the invisible and incomprehensible God, unless he himself sends a prophet who may declare his counsel and explain the way of his creation, insofar as it is lawful for men to learn. Hence I think it ridiculous when men judge concerning the virtue of God with natural methods, and think that this is indeed possible for him, but that impossible, or this greater, that lesser, being ignorant of all things, who, although they are unjust men, judge God to be just, the unskilled judge the artisan, the corrupt judge the incorruptible, the creature judges the creator.

LIX. And do not think that by saying these things I destroy the faculty of judging concerning things, but I give counsel lest anyone, walking through devious paths, fall into endless errors. And therefore, not only to the wise, but to all men...

to those who have a desire to know what is expedient for them, I advise that they seek the true Prophet, because He alone is the One who knows all things, and knows what and how each one seeks. For He exists within the mind of each one of us, but in those who have no desire for the knowledge of God and His righteousness, He remains idle; while in those who seek what is expedient for their soul, He is at work and kindles the light of knowledge. For this reason, first of all, seek Him, whom if you do not find, do not hope to learn anything from another. But He is quickly found by those who seek with a love of truth, and whose soul is not held fast by malice. For He is present to those who desire Him in the innocence of their spirit, who endure with patience, and who produce sighs from the depth of their heart out of love for the truth; but He flees from wicked minds, because, as a prophet, He knows the thoughts of each one. And therefore let no one think that he can find Him by his own prudence, unless, as I said above, he has emptied his mind of all wickedness, and has conceived a pure and faithful desire for His knowledge. For when one has so prepared himself, He, as a Prophet, seeing the prepared mind, spontaneously offers Himself to be known. ^A

LX. If anyone, therefore, wishes to learn all things, not because he is examining them one by one—for he will not be able, being mortal, to investigate the counsel of God and to scrutinize His very immensity—but if he desires to learn, as we have said, all things, let him seek the true Prophet. When he has found Him, let him not deal with Him by way of questions, and disputes, and arguments, but if He has answered anything, if He has pronounced anything, it cannot be doubted that this is certain. And therefore the true Prophet is to be sought above all else, and His words are to be held fast; regarding which, the only thing that each one must discuss is to satisfy himself whether His words are truly prophetic—that is, if they contain undoubted faith regarding future events, if they mark out definite times, if they maintain the order of events, if they do not tell what is first as last, and what is done in the last as first, if they contain nothing crafty, nothing composed by magic art for the purpose of deception, or if they have not transferred to themselves what was revealed to others, mingled with lies. And when all these things have been examined with sound judgment, and the words have been established as prophetic, then one ought to believe them regarding all things of which they have spoken. ^B

LXI. For let us consider the work of divine Providence more diligently. For the fact that the philosophers introduced certain subtle and difficult words, so that even the very terms of their discourse could be known and understood by no one, this shows that God made those who seemed to themselves to be the craftsmen of words altogether unlearned regarding the knowledge of the truth. For the knowledge of things is simple and manifest and brief, which is handed down through the true Prophet, whereas they, treading along pathless ways and thorny difficulties of words, have been entirely ignorant of the path. Therefore, to modest and simple minds, when they have seen that the things which were predicted have come to pass, it is abundantly sufficient that they take hold of most certain knowledge from the most certain foreknowledge, and for the rest rest, having assumed the evident knowledge of the truth; all other things are handled by conjecture, in which nothing can be firm. For what discourse is there that does not admit of contradiction? And what argument is there that cannot be subverted by another argument? And it is for this reason that men can attain to no end of knowledge and understanding through such disputation, and they find the end of their lives sooner than the end of their questions. ^C

LXII. And therefore, since in these things everything is held to be uncertain, one must come to the true Prophet, whom God the Father, wishing to be loved by all, willed to thoroughly extinguish these things which men had introduced, in which nothing can be apprehended, so that this [Prophet] might be the more sought after, and that He might open the way of truth to men which they had blocked. For it is for His sake that God even made the world, and by Him the world is filled; whence He is present everywhere to those who seek Him, even if He be sought in the farthest ends of the earth. But if one does not seek Him purely, nor holily, nor faithfully, He is indeed within him, because He is everywhere and is found within the senses of all; but, as we have said above, to the unfaithful He sleeps and is held to be absent by those by whom He is not believed to exist. And when Peter had gone through these and other things of this kind concerning the true Prophet, he dismissed the crowds, but although he had asked the old man to stay with us, he could not obtain it, but he himself also departed, to return on the other day as had been agreed. And after this, we, together with Peter, entered the inn, and we partook of food and took our usual rest. ^D

BOOK NINE

I. On the following day, Peter, together with us, hastened early in the morning to the place where the disputation had been held the day before, and when he saw that many crowds had already gathered to hear [him] and the old man with them, he said to him: Yesterday, O old man, it had been agreed with Clement that today a discourse would take place, and that either you would show that nothing happens outside of fate, or Clement would teach that there is no fate [but that what we do is in us and in our power]. To these things the old man replied: I remember what was agreed upon, and I hold your words which you spoke after the compacts, by which you taught that it is impossible for a man to know anything, unless he has learned it from a true Prophet.

"Petrus says: 'You do not know, he says, in what sense I spoke, but now I will remind you; I spoke of the will and counsel of God, which He had before the world was, and by what counsel He made the world, established times, gave the law, promised the future age to the just for the reward of their good deeds, and established punishments for the unjust by the sentence of judgment. This is the counsel and this is the will of God which I said could not be found by men, because no man can collect the sense of God by surmises and estimates, unless a prophet sent by Him declares it. Therefore, I did not speak of any disciplines or studies, which I said could not be found or known without a prophet; for I know that arts and disciplines can be known and practiced by men, which they have learned not from a true prophet, but from human teachers.'

II. 'Since, therefore, you have professed to be an expert in the position and course of the stars, by which you might convince Clement that all things are subject to genesis, or learn from him that all things are governed by Providence, and that there is also something in us, it is fitting for you to resolve this.' To this the old man answered: 'Already, indeed, it would not have been necessary to raise questions of this kind, if it were possible for us to learn and hear from a true prophet a definite opinion on whether there is something in us and placed in the liberty of our own free will; for your discourse of yesterday, in which you argued concerning the prophetic power, moved me greatly. Whence I also assent and confirm your opinion, that nothing certain and indubitable can be known by man, to whom the time of life is small and his breath is short and tenuous, by which he seems to be held in life. Nevertheless, since before I heard anything concerning the prophetic power, I seemed to promise Clemens that I would show that all things are subject to genesis, or learn from him that there is something also in us, let him grant me the favor in this, that he may begin first and propose and solve what can be objected; for I, since I heard a few things from you about the power of prophecy, considering the magnitude of foreknowledge, stood amazed, I confess, and I do not think that anything should be accepted at all which is gathered by surmises and estimates.'

III. And when the old man had said these things, I, Clement, began to speak thus: 'God through His Son created the world as a double house, divided by the interjection of this firmament which is called heaven, and He gave that in the superior realm angelic powers should dwell, but in this visible world a multitude of men should be born, from whom He might choose friends for His Son, with whom He might rejoice, and who might be prepared for Him as a beloved bride for a groom. But until the time of the wedding, which is the presence of the age to come, He established a certain power, which from those who are born in this world might choose and guard the better ones, and keep them sequestered for His Son in a certain place of the world which is outside sin, in which there are already some who are there, as I said, being prepared as a bride, adorned for the presence of the groom. For the prince of this world and of the present time is like an adulterer, who corrupts and violates the minds of men, and seducing them from the desire of the true Groom, drags them to illicit desires.' ^A

IV. 'But someone will say: Why then was it necessary for this prince to exist, who would turn away the minds of men from the true Prince? Because God, as I have said, wished to prepare friends for His Son, He did not wish them to be such as by the necessity of nature could not be otherwise, but who by their own judgment and will would desire to be good; because that which is not desirable is neither laudable, nor is that judged good which is not sought by purpose: for there is no praise in being that which the necessity of nature does not allow you to change. Therefore, the Providence of God wished a multitude of men to be born in this world, so that from many, those might be chosen who would love a just life. And because He foresaw that the present world could not consist otherwise than by diversity and inequality, according to the diversities of present things He gave to each mind liberty of movement, and placed this prince, by whose agitation of what seem to be contrary things, the election of the better ones might consist through the work of virtue.'

V. 'But that what we are saying may be clearer, we shall explain it point by point. Was it necessary, for example, that all in this world should be kings, or princes, or masters, or teachers, or lawyers, or geometers, or goldsmiths, or bakers, or craftsmen, or grammarians, or rich men, or farmers, or gardeners, or fishermen, or poor? It is certain that they could not all be these. Yet the present life of men requires all these offices and many more, and without them it cannot be passed; therefore, inequality is necessary in this world. For a king cannot exist unless he has those whom he may rule and over whom he may command, nor can a master exist unless he has someone over whom he may exercise mastery, and the rest similarly.' ^B

VI. 'Therefore the Creator, knowing that no one comes to the struggle of their own accord while labor is avoided—that is, to the practicing of these arts which we mentioned above, through which either the justice or the mercy of each individual can be manifest—made for man a body which would receive hunger and thirst and cold, so that men, compelled for the sake of replenishing the body, would descend by the necessity of sustaining life to all the arts which we have explained above. For we are taught to seek each of the individual arts for the sake of food, drink, and clothing. And here now the purpose of each individual’s mind is declared, whether he makes amends for the compulsion of hunger and cold through thefts and murders and perjuries, and through other crimes of this kind, or guarding justice, mercy, and continence, he fulfills the ministry of the looming necessity by the study of an art and the labor of his hands. For if he passes through the necessity of the body with justice, piety, and mercy, as a victor of the proposed struggle, he departs as a friend of the Son of God and chosen; but if, through frauds, iniquities, and crimes he serves bodily lusts, he becomes a friend of this prince of the world and of all the demons, by whom he is also taught to attribute to the courses of the stars the errors of his own evils, which he chose only by his own purpose and will. For indeed, the arts, by the compulsion, as we have said, of food and drink'

are learned and exercised; which pleasure, when the knowledge of the truth has approached each one, is rendered weaker by the succeeding restraint. For what is the expense to those who use water and bread, and who hope for these things from God?

VII. There is, therefore, as we have said, a certain inequality necessary in the dispensation of the world, since while all men cannot know or fulfill all crafts, they are all in need, in practice and ministry, of almost everything; and for this reason it is necessary for one to work, for another to offer a wage to the worker, for one to serve, for another to rule, for one to be king, and for another to be governed. But this inequality, which has necessarily followed the life of mortals, Divine Providence turns to an occasion of justice, mercy, and humanity, so that while these things occur among men, there may be for each one a cause for acting justly with him to whom the wage for his work is to be paid, and for showing mercy to him who, perhaps through intervening weakness or poverty, cannot pay his debt, and even for acting humanely with those who are seen to be subject by their condition, and for ^B preserving meekness toward those under one’s authority, and for doing all things entirely according to the law of God. For He gave the law, aiding human minds through this, so that they might more easily notice how they ought to act in every matter, by which way they might escape evil and move toward future goods, and so that, regenerated in water through good works, they might extinguish the fire of their former birth. For our first birth descends through the fire of concupiscence, and therefore, by divine dispensation, this second birth is introduced through water, which may extinguish the nature of fire; and the soul, ^C illuminated by the celestial spirit, may cast off the fear of its first birth, if, however, it remains in such a way for the rest of its life that it seeks no pleasures of this world at all, but is as a traveler and guest, and a citizen of another city.

VIII. But perhaps you might say, since in those matters in which natural necessity demands the ministry of arts and works, everyone can have it in his power to preserve justice and to impose whatever measure he might wish, either upon desires or upon actions; what are we to say concerning the sicknesses and infirmities which happen to men, and that some are harassed by demons, and by fevers and chills, and some are even driven by madness and lose their minds; and all those things which press upon the race of mortals in countless circumstances? To ^D these, we shall say—if one considers the reason for the whole mystery—that he will pronounce these things to be more just than those which we have exposed above. For God gave to men a nature through which they can both be taught about the good and resist the evil, that is, that they are able both to learn arts and to resist pleasures, and to prefer the law of God in all things; and for this reason, He permitted certain contrary powers to wander through this world and to wrestle with us, for causes which have already been stated above, so that from their struggle there might arise for the just the palm of victory and the merit of rewards.

IX. From these things, therefore, it happens sometimes that if any behave incontinently, and choose not so much to resist as to yield and to give place to them in themselves, an intemperate and vicious progeny is generated by their harmful aspiration. For while everything is indulged for the sake of lust, and there is no observance of restraint, an untimely generation receives the vices and frailties of those demons beyond a doubt, at whose instigation these things occur. And therefore, for such vices of the born children, the parents will be liable, who did not wish to keep the law of intercourse, although there are also other more secret causes ^B by which souls are rendered liable to these evils, which it is not the time to bring forth now. Yet it behooves everyone to recognize the law of God, so that from it he may take an observance of generation and decline the causes of impurity, so that which is born may be able to be clean. For it is not right that, while in the planting of shrubs or the sowing of crops an opportune time should be sought—the earth is purged and all things that are convenient are prepared, lest by chance the fallen seed be harmed and perish—there should be in man alone, who is above all these things, no observance of sowing and no caution.

X. But what, you might say, of those who, when in their first age they were without bodily vice, in the process of time incur these evils, so that some are even violently precipitated into death? Concerning these, too, the reason is near and almost the same; for those powers which we said were contrary to the human race are invited in a certain way to the heart of each one through many and diverse concupiscences, and they receive a place to enter; and there is in them an influence and power, which is to exhort and incite only, not one which compels and performs. If, therefore, one should acquiesce to them, so as even to do the things which he desires wickedly, he will find the wage of destruction and of the worst death for his consent and act. But if, thinking of the future judgment, he is restrained by very fear and has recalled himself, lest he fulfill in act what he conceived in wicked thought, he will escape not only present destruction, but also future punishments. For every cause of sin seems to be like hemp covered in pitch, which, when it has received the heat of fire, is immediately inflamed: but the burning of this fire is understood to be the works of the demons. If, therefore, any one is found covered in sins and concupiscences as if with pitch, the fire easily dominates him. But if the hemp is not covered in the pitch of sin, but has been infused with the water of purification and regeneration, the fire of the demons will not be able to be kindled in it.

XI. But someone will say: And what shall we now do, to whom it has happened that we are covered in sins as if with pitch? I shall respond: Nothing else, except that you should hasten to be washed, by which the matter of fire may be purged from you through the invocation of the holy name, and that for the remainder you may fear the future judgment...

^A and curb your lusts, and repel the opposing powers with full stubbornness when by chance they approach your senses. But you will say: If someone falls into love, how can he be able to contain himself, even if he saw before his eyes that very river of fire which they name Pyriphlegethon? This is the excuse of those who do not wish to be converted to repentance. In short, I do not wish you to bring Pyriphlegethon into the middle now; propose to yourself the punishments of men, and see how much fear avails. Can anyone, when he is led to punishment for the crime of love and is bound to a stake to be burned (81), at that time either conceive desire for her whom he loved or propose her form before his eyes? By no means, you will say. You see, therefore, that present fear cuts off wicked desires. But if those who believe in God, and confess the future judgment and the punishment of eternal fire, do not restrain themselves from sin, it is certain that they do not believe with a full faith; for if faith were certain, fear also becomes certain; but if there is something lacking in faith, fear is relaxed, and then contrary powers find a place to enter, to whose persuasions when they have yielded, it is necessary that they should both become subject to their power and be driven to the precipices of sin by the very ones persuading them.

He knows how and why one who sins, sins, and what cause leads each one to sin. But this must be understood generally: that if those who are not evil in mind, as they are in actions, nor are driven to sin by intent, to these, punishment is rendered more quickly and more in the current life; for everywhere and always God, as He judges fitting, renders to each according to his acts. But for those who practice malice by intent, so that sometimes they even rage against those from whom they have obtained benefits, and take no thought for repentance, He defers punishments to the future; for these do not deserve, as those of whom we spoke above, to end the vengeance for their crimes in the present life, but the present time is permitted to them to fill up as they wish, because their amendment is not now such as to require temporal ^B castigations, but such as requires the punishments of eternal fire in hell, whose souls will there seek repentance where they will not be able to find it.

XII. Therefore, astrologers, being ignorant of mysteries of this kind, think that these things happen by the courses of the stars, wherefore to those who approach them to consult about anything regarding the future, those who answer are deceived in most things; and no wonder, for they are not prophets, but by the practice of much time, the authors of errors find a certain refuge in those things by which they were deceived, and they introduce certain climacterics, so that they may feign knowledge about uncertain matters. For they call climacterics a time of danger, as it were (82), in which sometimes one may perish, sometimes one may not perish; being ignorant that the course of the stars does not govern these things, but the operation of demons, who, serving to confirm the error of astrology, deceive men with the calculations of mathematics into sinning, so that when, either by God permitting or by the laws demanding, they have given satisfaction for sin, the astrologer may appear to have said the truth. And yet they are deceived even in this; for if they be quickly turned to repentance, and have conceived the remembrance and fear of future punishment, the punishment of death is dissolved for those turned to God through the grace of baptism.

XIII. But someone will say: Many have committed homicide and adultery and other crimes, and have suffered no evil. This indeed happens rarely to men, yet to those ignorant of the counsel of God it frequently seems to happen; but God ^C who knows all things, ^D XIV. But if, placed in this life, they had placed before their eyes the punishments which they will suffer there, they would have restrained their desires and would by no means have fallen into sin. For sense has much power in the soul to cut off all its cupidities, especially when it has received the knowledge of celestial things, through which, having received the light of truth, it will turn away from all the obscurity of evil acts. For just as the sun dulls and covers all the stars with the splendor of its brightness, so also the mind, through the light of knowledge, renders all the concupiscences of the soul ineffective and idle, emitting the memory of future judgment over them like its own rays, so that they cannot even appear any longer in the soul.

XV. But that the fear of God has much power to repress concupiscences, take the example of human fear. Who is there who does not desire the things of others among men? And yet, by the fear of punishment which is established by the laws, he is restrained and acts more continent. Nations are subject to a king because of fear, and an armed army obeys. Servants, though they are stronger than their masters, yet because of fear bear the commands of their masters. Even wild beasts themselves are tamed by fear: the strongest bulls submit their necks to the yoke, and huge elephants obey their masters through fear. But why should we use human examples when divine ones are not lacking? Does not the earth itself remain under the fear of the precept, which it testifies to even by its own motion and trembling? The sea keeps its appointed limit, the angels guard the peace, the stars and the courses of rivers keep their order, and it is certain that demons are turned to flight by fear. And lest by...

^A producing the discourse at too great length, observe how the fear of God keeps every single thing, gathering all things together in their own harmony and in the bond of their own order. How much more, then, ought you to be certain that even the concupiscences of demons which arise in your hearts can be extinguished and utterly abolished by the admonition of the fear of God, since even the very instigators of concupiscence flee when fear dominates them? Knowing that matters stand thus, if anything seems to you to require an answer, begin."

XVI. Then the old man said: "Wisely, my son Clement, has he prepared his own prosecution, so that he has left nothing for us to say against these things; yet all his discourse, which he has set forth regarding the nature of man, holds this consistency: that along with the fact that there is liberty of will, there is also an extrinsic cause of evil, from which men are indeed incited through various concupiscences, yet they are not compelled to sin; because of this, he says, that far stronger than these is the fear that withstands and restrains the impulses of the desires, so that when natural movements occur, by putting to flight those demons who incite and inflame them, sin cannot be admitted. But these things do not bring me to ^B faith, for I am conscious to myself of certain men from whom I know well that they are made of a [particular] composition as to their souls and commit homicide or adultery or other evils. Similarly, however, even honest and chaste women are forced to be good from that same source."

XVII. Finally, when Mars, holding the center [(85)], in his own house, from a quartile aspect has looked upon Saturn with Mercury at the center, with the Moon coming upon him when full, in a diurnal nativity, he produces homicides and those destined to fall by the sword [(84)], those who are bloodthirsty, drunkards, lustful, demon-possessed [(85)], searchers into secrets, evildoers, sacrilegious persons, and whatever things are similar to these, especially when none of the beneficent stars has looked upon them. But even Mars himself [(86)], again, having a quartile schema towards Venus, being partly at the center and with no beneficent star looking upon it, produces adulterers and brings about marriages with sisters and daughters and mothers. Venus, with the Moon in the bounds and houses of Saturn, ^C if she is with Saturn, with Mars attesting [(87-88)], makes women viragos, prompt for agriculture, for building, and for every male work; they are mingled with whomsoever they wish and are not reproved by their husbands for adultery, they use no softness, no ointments, no feminine garments, no feminine footwear, but act in the manner of men; while men are as women and do not carry out anything manly; [the] cacodemon Venus ^D produces men who are skilled in all masculine works, and [they] are mingled and sleep with whomsoever they want, and are not forbidden by their husbands. Thus she makes females 'viragoes' in Capricorn, [and] in Aquarius the cacodemon Venus; in men, however, on the contrary, if she is with Mars in Aries. Whence it is impossible to restrain concupiscences by fear, or by the threats of anyone, or by art, because of the fatal lot of the stars. [note: original-script column: see facsimile] [index: entries preserved]

XVIII. And when the old man had pursued many things concerning these subjects, and had enumerated every schema of mathematical configuration and the positions of the stars, wishing by these to show that fear is not sufficient to restrain concupiscences, I replied once again: "Truly, Father, you have discoursed most learnedly and expertly, and my own reason invites me to respond something to the things you have discussed, since indeed the science of mathematics is known to me, and I gladly hold conversation with a learned man. Receive, therefore, a response to what you have said, so that you may clearly recognize that *genesis* does not come at all from the stars, and that it is possible for the onslaughts of demons to be resisted by those who flee to God, and, as I have previously said, that natural concupiscences can be held in check not only by the fear of God but also by the fear of men, just as we shall now teach."

XIX. Laws ^A are established by men in every region or kingdom, whether lasting by writing or even by custom, which no one easily transgresses. Finally, the first Seres, who inhabit the beginning of the world, have a law not to know homicide, nor adultery, nor fornication, nor to commit theft, nor to worship idols; and in that whole region, which is the greatest, neither a temple is found, nor an idol, nor a harlot, nor is an adulteress, nor a thief brought to judgment, nor is even an assassinated man ever reported there; and yet the free will of no one there has been compelled by your "fiery star of Mars," so that he would use iron for the murder of a man, nor did Venus, when placed with Mars, compel an alien marriage to be violated, although Mars certainly holds the center of the celestial circle over them every single day. But among the Seres, the fear of laws is stronger than the configuration of genesis.

XX. Similarly, ^B there are also among the Bactrians in the regions of the Indians immense multitudes of Brahmans, who themselves, by the tradition of their ancestors and by concordant mores and laws, commit neither homicide nor adultery, neither do they worship idols nor are they in the habit of consuming living creatures; they are never intoxicated, never do they perform anything maliciously, but they always fear God; and this is true of these people, while the rest of the Indians commit both homicides and adulteries, and worship idols, and get drunk, and practice other abominations of this kind. But even in the western parts of India itself there is a certain region [(91)] where, when guests fall into their hands, they are seized, sacrificed, and eaten. And neither did the good stars prevent them from such abominations and detestable foods, nor did the malignant stars compel the Brahmans to do anything evil. Again, there is a custom among the Persians to take their own mothers into marriage, and their sisters and daughters, and under that same sky, the Persians enter into incestuous marriages. ^C

XXI. And lest it be possible for those who follow mathematics to use that refuge where they say that there are certain tracts of the sky to which it is granted to have certain peculiar characteristics, some from the very race of the Persians have journeyed to foreign parts, who are called Magusaei [(92)], of whom even to this day there are some in Media, others in Parthia, and some even in Egypt, but more in Galatia and Phrygia, who all guard the form of this incestuous tradition unchangeably, and transmit it to their descendants to be kept, even when they have changed the tract of the sky; and yet Venus with the Moon, in the bounds and houses of Saturn, with Saturn also bearing witness, and even Mars, have not compelled them to have *genesis* among other people [(93)].

XXII. Among the Geli [(94)] there is also a custom that women...

cultivate the fields, build, and perform all manly work, yet they are allowed to have intercourse with whom they wish, nor are they accused by their husbands or called adulteresses; for they mingle promiscuously, and especially with guests. They do not know of perfumes, nor do they wear dyed clothing, nor use shoes. Conversely, the men of the Geli decorate themselves, comb their hair, and wear soft and variegated clothing, ornamented with gold and anointed with perfumes; and this is not a sign of the dissolution of their strength, for they are most warlike and keen hunters. ^A Yet not all women of the Geli had Venus as a cacodemon when born in Capricorn or Aquarius, nor did their men have Venus positioned with Mars in Aries, through which configuration the Chaldean discipline asserts that effeminate and dissolute men are born.

XXIII. Furthermore, in Susa, the women use perfumes, and indeed the best ones, adorned with ornaments of precious stones; and supported by the services of maidservants, they proceed with much greater ambition than the men. Nor, however, do they cultivate modesty, but they have an indifferent use with whomever they wish, both with servants and guests, such license being permitted by their husbands; and not only are they not blamed for this, but they even dominate the men. Nor, however, is the *genesis* of all women of Susa in the middle of heaven, having Venus with Jove and Mars in the houses of Jove. In the further parts of the East, if a boy submits to the injury of a woman, once it is recognized, he is killed by his brothers or parents or any of his closest kin, and is not granted burial. And again among the Gauls, ancient law established that youths be handed over publicly for marriage, ^B or that some shame be derived from this; and could it be that everyone who falls so basely among the Gauls had Lucifer with Mercury in the houses of Saturn and the regions of Mars?

XXIV. In the parts of Britain, many men have one wife; in Parthia, many women have one husband, and each part of the world follows its own customs and institutions. The Amazons do not have husbands, but just like animals, once a year around the vernal equinox, having gone out beyond their own boundaries, they mingle with the men of the neighboring nation, observing a certain solemnity by this, and when they have conceived from them, they return; and if they have brought forth a male, they cast it away; they nourish the females. And since the childbearing of all is at one time, it is absurd that Mars should be thought to be with Saturn in equal portions in the *genesis* of males, but never in that of females. Nor yet that Mercury had been positioned in his own houses with Venus to make painters or sculptors or money-changers there, or in the houses of Venus to produce perfumers or singers or poets. Among the Saracens and the Upper Libyans and the Moors and those living around the shores of the Ocean, but also in the extreme parts of Germany and among the Sarmatians and Scythians and all the nations of the Pontic shore that lie under the axis of the north, and in the island of Chrysea, one never finds a money-changer or sculptor, or painter, or architect, or geometer, or tragedian, or poet; therefore, the constellation of Mercury and Venus is lacking among them. ^C

XXV. From out of the whole world of lands, only the Medes...

cast those who are still breathing into the jaws of dogs with the highest observance, and yet they do not on this account have Mars positioned with the Moon in Cancer according to their daily genesis. The Indians burn their dead, with whom their wives also, offering themselves voluntarily, are consumed. Yet, it is not for this reason that all of the Indian women who are burned alive have the Sun with Mars in the parts of Mars in their nocturnal genesis. Most of the Germans end their lives by the noose, and ^A they do not on this account all have the Moon encompassed by the hour, Saturn, and Mars. But are men not born in every nation, and on every day, throughout all the diversity of genesis? From all these things it appears that the fear of laws dominates in every region, and the freedom of will which is implanted in men by the spirit submits to laws; nor can genesis force the Seres to commit homicide, or the Brahmins to eat meat, or the Persians to avoid incest, or the Indians not to be burned, or the Medes not to be devoured by dogs, the Parthians not to have many wives, or the women of Mesopotamia not to preserve their chastity, the Greeks not to practice in the wrestling schools, the boys of the Gauls not to suffer effeminacies, or barbarian nations to be trained in the studies of the Greeks. But, as we have said, every nation makes use of its own laws according to the freedom of its will, and wards off the decrees of genesis by the severity of its laws.

^B XXVII. Moreover, we ought to remember the things which were enumerated above: that in one region of India there are those who eat the flesh of men, and there are those who abstain even from cattle, birds, and all living creatures; and that the Magusaei not only take their mothers and daughters in marriage in Persia, but also in every nation wherever they have lived, they preserve the incestuous customs of their forefathers. Furthermore, we have also recalled countless nations that are entirely ignorant of the study of letters. And yet, some wise men have changed the very laws in certain places, while others have even been abandoned voluntarily due to their impossibility or dishonor. Certainly, it is easy to know how many emperors have changed the laws and customs of the nations they had conquered, and subjected them to their own laws! This is clearly taught by what was done by the Romans, who converted almost the whole world, and all the nations living at first by their own varied laws and customs, into the justice and civil statutes of the Romans. ^C It remains, therefore, that the stars of the nations which have been conquered by the Romans should have lost their climates and partitions.

XXVIII. I will still add a matter which may satisfy even the highly incredulous. All the Jews who live under the law of Moses circumcise their sons on the eighth day without any delay, and shed the blood of the tender infant; yet, from the beginning of time, no one from the gentiles has undergone this on the eighth day, and conversely, no one of the Jews has omitted it. How, then, will the theory of genesis stand in this? Since all Jews live mixed among the gentiles through all parts of the world and carry iron [the blade] on the eighth day in place of a member, and none of the gentiles—but only these alone, as I have said—do this, ^D not driven by a star, nor urged by the shedding of blood, but moved by the law of their religion; and in whatever place of the world they may be, this is for them a native hallmark. But also, that one name belongs to all of them wherever they may be, does this too come from genesis?

And that no infant born among them is ever exposed, and that on every seventh day they all, wherever they may be, rest and neither travel nor use fire? What is it then that forces no Jew on that day to travel by genesis, or to build, or to sell anything, or to buy? [XXIX] Nay, I shall give even greater evidence of present things. For behold, from the arrival of the true Prophet, it is scarcely seven years, in which men gathering from all nations to Judea, and moved by the signs and virtues which they saw, and also by the majesty of his doctrine, as soon as they received his faith, departing to their own regions, renounced all the illicit rites of the gentiles and incestuous marriages. Finally, among the Parthians, as Thomas, who preaches the Gospel among them, wrote to us, many no longer indulge in multiple marriages, nor do many among the Medes expose their dead to dogs, nor are the Persians delighted by the marriages of mothers or the incestuous marriages of daughters, nor do the women of Susa commit lawful adulteries; nor could genesis force to crimes those whom the doctrine of religion forbade.

[XXX] Behold, from this very thing, form a conjecture, and from these places where we are, take a guess: how, with fame only carrying the report to the ears of men that a Prophet had appeared in Judea, who by signs and virtues taught men to worship one God, everyone with ready and intent minds was waiting, even before the arrival of my lord Peter, that if anyone should appear who might teach, he should announce it. But that I may not seem to enumerate many things, I shall say to what all things ought to be concluded: Since God is just and He Himself made the nature of man, how could it come to pass that He Himself should impose a genesis contrary to us, which would force us to sin, and again He Himself punish the sinners? Whence it is certain that for no other cause does God punish the sinner, whether in the present or in the future age, except because He knows that he could have overcome, but has neglected the victory; for He brings vengeance upon men even in the present age, just as He did upon those who perished in the flood, who were certainly all destroyed in one day, nay, in one hour, when it is certain that they were not born in one hour according to the order of genesis. But it is most absurd to say that it happens to us from nature to suffer evils, if sins have not first preceded.

[XXXI] And therefore, if we take care of our salvation, we ought before all else to apply ourselves to knowledge, certain that if our mind persists in ignorance, we shall endure not only the evils of genesis, but also all other things whatsoever that shall seem good to the demons externally, unless the fear of the laws and of future judgment resists all desires and restrains the impulse to sin. For human fear also accomplishes many good things and many evil things, which genesis does not know, as we showed above. Therefore, our mind is subject to errors in a threefold way: from those things which come through bad habit, or from those things which the body naturally suggests to the desires, or from those things which contrary powers urgently press upon us; but to these...

things ^A that the mind has the power to resist and oppose, once the recognition of truth has shone upon it, through which knowledge fear of future judgment is given—a fear which is a suitable governor of the soul and which can recall it from the precipices of its lusts—that these things are in our power, has been sufficiently stated.

XXXII. Now you also, old man, if you have anything to respond to these things, begin. The old man replied to this: You have shown most fully, son; but I, as I said from the beginning, am prevented by my own conscience from giving consent to this entire incomparable assertion of yours. For I know both my own nativity ^B and that of my wife, and I know what that nativity dictated to each of us was to happen; and I cannot now be diverted by words from those things which have been proven to me by facts and deeds. Furthermore, since I see you are very well-versed in disciplines of this kind, listen to the chart of my wife, and you will find a design whose outcome has indeed occurred. For she had Mars with Venus over the center, and the Moon in the sunset in the houses of Mars and the bounds of Saturn—a design ^C which makes for adulterous women and causes them to love their own slaves, and to die in travel and on the waters, just as it happened; for she fell in love with a slave, and fearing at once danger and disgrace, she fled with him, and having set out abroad where she satisfied her love, she perished in the sea.

XXXIII. And I answered: How do you know that she was joined to her slave abroad and died in his company? And the old man replied: Most certainly, he said, I know it; not, in truth, because she married a slave, for as she was most chaste, ^D I had not even sensed that she loved him—but after she had departed, my brother recounted it to me, saying that at first she had indeed become infatuated with him; but he, because he was honorable, as a brother, did not want to pollute his brother's bed with the stain of incest. But she, fearing me and not bearing the disgrace, wretched that she was (nor indeed should it be imputed to her, what her nativity compelled her to do), feigned a dream and said to me: "Someone stood by me in a vision, who ordered me to depart from the City without delay with my two twins." When I had heard these things, therefore, concerned for her safety and that of my children, I immediately caused her and the children to leave; one, who was the younger, I kept back for myself; for she said that the one who had given the answers in her sleep had permitted this.

XXXIV. Then I, Clement, understanding that perhaps he was my own father, was filled with tears; and when my brothers also wished to leap forward and reveal the matter, Peter restrained them, saying: "Keep quiet until I see fit." Peter then answered the old man: What was the name of your younger son? And he said: Clement. And Peter said: If I were to restore to you today your most chaste wife along with your three sons, do you believe that a chaste mind can overcome irrational impulses, and that all the things that have been said by us are true, and that nativity is nothing? And the old man said: Just as it is impossible, he said, for you to produce what you have promised, so it is impossible for anything to happen outside of nativity. Then Peter said: I want all of these people who are present to be witnesses that today I shall restore your wife to you along with your three sons; and now receive the faith of the facts from this, that I know the whole cause much more diligently than you, and I will recount to you in order all the things that have been done, so that both you may know and those who are present may learn.

XXXV. And when he had said these things, he turned to the crowds and began thus: This man whom you see, O men, in this rather poor clothing, is a citizen of the Roman city, descending from the family of Caesar himself; his name is Faustinianus, and he also took as his wife a most noble woman named Matthidia, from whom he received three sons, of whom two are twins, and one, however, who was younger, whose name is Clement—this is he. And when he had said this, he pointed to me with his finger. But his twin sons are these, Niceta and Aquila, one of whom was previously called Faustinus, and the other Faustus. But as soon as Peter uttered our names, the old man, his limbs relaxing, collapsed as if struck. We, however, the sons, rushing upon him, embraced and kissed him, fearing at the same time that he might not be able to catch his breath. And while these things were happening, the people themselves were struck dumb with sheer admiration.

XXXVI. But Peter ordered us to rise from the embraces of our father, lest we destroy him, and he himself, having taken his hand, raising him as if from a deep sleep and reviving him a little, began to explain all the things that had been done according to truth: how his brother had fallen into love with Matthidia, and she, most chaste, did not wish to indicate the illicit love of her brother, lest she might bring either war upon the brothers or disgrace upon the family, but wisely feigned a dream, by which she was ordered to depart from the City with him and the twin sons, while the younger was left with his father; and how while sailing they suffered shipwreck by the force of a storm, and were cast out to an island called Antaradus, and Matthidia was thrown up upon a certain rock by the tossing waves, but the twin children were snatched by pirates and brought to Caesarea, and were sold to a certain religious woman, who, having them in place of sons, educated them liberally and had them instructed; and the pirates changed their names and called one Niceta and the other Aquila; and how after these things they attached themselves to Simon for the sake of studies and custom, and when they saw he was a magician and a deceiver, they turned away and approached Zacchæus, and how after that they were joined to him; but also how Clement, having set out from the City for the sake of recognizing the truth, came to Caesarea through his acquaintance with Barnabas and made himself known and attached himself to him, and how he was taught by him about the faith of religion; but also how he found and recognized his mother, a beggar at Antaradus, and how the whole island rejoiced in their recognition, and of his nursing of his most chaste mother and the health brought about by his own hand, and of the liberality of Clement toward those who had been beneficent toward his mother; and how after these things Niceta and Aquila, asking who the foreign woman was, having heard the whole business from Clement, [heard] that they were his twin sons Faustinus

exclaimed, and laid open the whole history which had brought them there; and that afterwards, he himself should carefully break it to their mother, so that she might not be overwhelmed by sudden joy when she was presented to Peter.

XXXVII. But when Peter was setting forth these things in the hearing of the crowd, as the story of the old man was most pleasant, to the point that the listeners were weeping at the miracles of the events and the pity of his human kindness, the mother, hearing—I know not whence—of the recognition of the father, rushed in with rapid speed into our midst, crying out: "Where is my husband, my lord Faustinianus, who for so many years has been afflicted, wandering through individual cities and seeking me?" ^A While she was crying out these things as if mad, and looking around, the old man ran up and began to embrace and clasp her with many tears. And while these things were being done, Peter asked the crowds to depart, saying that it was unseemly to persist any longer, but that a place should be given to them to see one another more privately; and he said that tomorrow, if any of you wish, let them gather to hear the word.

XXXVIII. These things having been said by Peter, the crowds departed, and when we also wished to go to the inn, the master of the house said to us: "It is shameful and impious for such and so great men to remain in a stable, when I have almost the whole house vacant, and very many beds spread, and whatever things are necessary made ready." But when Peter refused, the wife of the master of the house, together with her children, prostrated herself before him and besought him, saying: "I beg you, stay with us." But not even then would Peter agree, until their daughter, who was beseeching them, having been troubled for a long time by an unclean spirit and bound in chains, ^C and who had been inside a closed chamber, with the demon having been driven from her and the doors opened, came with her chains and fell at the feet of Peter, saying: "It is right, my lord, that you should perform my salvation today, and not grieve me nor my parents." But while Peter was asking for the reason for the chains and her words, the parents, rendered happy beyond hope at the healing of their daughter, were as if struck dumb with a certain stupor, so that they themselves were unable to speak, but the servants standing by said: "She, having been possessed by a demon from the seventh year of her age, never ceased—and has done so for twenty years up to now—to tear, to mangle with bites, and even to dismember all those who attempted to approach her, nor could she be cured by anyone, and no one was even able to approach her; for she rendered many useless, and others she even killed, for she was stronger than all men, relying ^B without doubt on the powers of the demon. But now, as you see, at your presence the demon has indeed fled, and the doors which had been closed with the highest security have been opened, and she herself stands healthy before you, asking that you make this day of her salvation happy both for herself and for her parents, and that you stay with them." When one of the servants had thus related these things, and the very chain had fallen of its own accord from her hands and feet, Peter, certain that by him this health had been restored to the girl, agreed to stay with them. But he also ordered those who had remained at the inn to move together with his wife, and each of us having received rooms separately, we remained, and after food had been taken according to custom and praises rendered to God, we each rested in our own places.

BOOK X.

I. But in the morning, the sun having risen, I, Clement, and Niceta, and Aquila, came with Peter to the place in which the father was resting together with the mother; and when we had found them still sleeping, we sat down before the doors, where Peter uses such words with us: "Hear me, most dear fellow-servants; I know that you have great affection for your father, therefore I fear lest you should urge him before the time to take up the yoke of religion, not yet prepared for that, to which perhaps he might seem to agree for the sake of your favor. But this is not firm; for that which is done for the sake of men is not probable and is quickly undone. Therefore it seems to me that you should concede to him one year to live according to his own judgment, in which he can, journeying with us while we teach others, also simply hear; and hearing, if he holds the right intention of acknowledging the truth, he himself will ask to take up the yoke of religion, or if it does not please him to receive it, let him remain a friend. For those who do not take it up from the heart, when they begin to be unable to bear it, not only do they throw away what they had taken up, but as if by way of an excuse for their own weakness, they begin to blaspheme the way of religion, and to speak ill of those whom they were in no way able to follow or imitate."

II. To these things Niceta answered: "I do not contradict, my lord Peter, your right and good counsels, but I wish to say something, that through this I might learn what I do not know. What if, within this current year in which you order him to be deferred, our father should die? He will descend into hell empty and to be tormented for eternity." Then Peter: "I embrace," he said, "your kind intention towards your father, and I pardon you for those things which you do not know. For what do you think, because if anyone is thought to have lived justly, he will immediately be saved? Do you not think he must be examined by Him who knows the secrets of men, as to how he has lived justly, lest perhaps by the rite of the Gentiles ^D and their institutions,

or for the sake of human friendships, or merely by habit or some other cause or necessity, he acts, and not for the sake of justice itself, nor for the sake of God? For they who shall have lived justly for the sake of God alone and His justice, they shall attain to eternal rest and shall receive the perpetuity of the heavenly kingdom. For salvation is not acquired by force, but by liberty; nor by the favor of men, but by faith in God. Moreover, you must consider that God is foreknowing and knows if this man is His own; but if He knows he is not, what shall we do regarding the things that were ordained by Him from the beginning? As to what I can do, I give this counsel: when he has awakened and we have sat down, suggest—as if you were desiring to learn something—only those things which it is expedient for him to learn, and while we speak among ourselves, he will be instructed. Yet first, be quiet, so that if by chance he himself seems to wish to ask something; if he does so, it will be a more suitable occasion for discourse. But if he asks nothing, we shall, as I said, ask one another in turn, as if desiring to learn something. So it seems to me, and do you also tell me what pleases you.

III. And when we had praised his right counsel, I, Clement, said: In all things, the end looks for the most part to the beginning, and a result similar to the principles of things is given; I hope, therefore, also regarding our father, that since through you God has granted good beginnings, He will grant a corresponding and worthy end. But I also suggest this: if, as you said, we begin, in the presence of our father, to speak as if among ourselves for the sake of discussing or learning something, you, my lord Peter, ought not to act that part, as one who ought to learn something; for if he sees this, perhaps he will be more offended, for he is certain that you know all things diligently, just as it is truly so. What will it be, then, if he sees you feigning ignorance? This, as I said, may hurt him even more, if he is ignorant of your design. But let us brothers indeed hold conversation among ourselves, and if we doubt in any matter, let a fitting end be given to our question by you; for even if he sees you hesitating or doubting, then he will truly think that there is no knowledge of the truth with anyone.

IV. And Peter answered to these things: Let us omit these matters, and if indeed it is worthy that he should enter the gate of life, God will give a suitable opportunity, and the beginning will be from God and not from man. And therefore, as I said before, permit him, while he is on his journey, to hear us discussing something; but since I saw you hurrying, I therefore said that an opportunity must be sought, which, when God gives it, do you also obey me regarding the things I shall say. While we were talking of these things, a boy came saying that his father was now awake; and when we wished to enter to him, he himself came to us, and greeting us with a kiss, ^B when we had sat down, he said: Is it permitted to inquire, if anyone wishes to know anything, or must one always be silent according to the Pythagoreans? And Peter said: We compel those who come to us neither to be silent always nor to inquire, but we leave it to their own liberty to do as they wish, knowing that he who takes care of his own salvation, if he feels in any part a pain of his soul, does not suffer to be silent. But whoever neglects his own salvation, if he is compelled to ask, nothing is added to his utility by this, except only this, that he may appear studious and diligent. Wherefore, if you wish to learn anything, inquire.

V. And the old man said: There is a certain discourse among the Greek philosophers ^C strongly vehement, which says that in the life of men there is in reality neither anything good nor evil; but those things which appear to men as good or evil are such by custom and the habits of a life pre-empted by usage. For neither is homicide truly evil, because it releases the soul from the bonds of the flesh; finally, they say, even just judges slay those who sin. For if they knew homicide to be evil, surely just men would not do it. Nor do they say that adultery is evil: for if a husband is ignorant or does not care, they say there is no evil. But neither is theft considered evil: for what is lacking to one, he takes from another who has it, which indeed ought to have been taken freely and publicly; but because it is done secretly, in this, the inhumanity of him from whom it is secretly taken is rather exposed. For the common use of all things that are in this world ought to have been for all men; but through iniquity one says this is his, and another that, and thus a division has been made among mortals. Finally, a certain very wise man among the Greeks ^D knowing things to be thus, says that all things ought to be common to friends; and among all things, there is no doubt that there are also wives. And just as the air cannot be divided, nor the splendor of the sun, so neither ought the rest of the things that have been given in common in this world to all for possession to be divided, but ought to be held in common. But this he meant to say...

that the things which are naturally common, such as air and the splendor of the sun, ought to be common. But I think that I ought not to bring forward assertions to you from elsewhere, unless they are from those disciplines which you yourself use and which you yourself confirm, and which to you are indubitable. You set certain limits for all elements and stars; and you say that some stars join together in some instances without harm, as in lawful marriages, but in others they are mingled harmfully, as in acts of adultery. And you say that some things are general to all, while others are neither common to all nor general. But, lest the disputation become prolix, I shall speak briefly and to the point. The earth, which is dry, requires a union and mingling with water so that it can produce fruits, without which there is no life for men; this, therefore, is a lawful union. Conversely, if either the cold of frost is mingled with the earth or heat with the waters, a conjunction of this kind produces corruption; and this, in such cases, is adultery.

^D VIII. And my father replied: "But just as the harm of an incongruous conjunction of elements or stars is immediately brought forth, so too adultery ought immediately to be shown to be evil." And I say: "First confirm this for me: if, as even you yourself have confessed, evils are brought about by an incongruous and discordant mixture, then that will be sought after in the following points." And my father said: "You speak according to the nature of the matter, my son." Then I replied: "Since, therefore, you desire to learn about these things, see how great are the evils which are doubted by no one. Does it not seem evil to you to be a fever, a conflagration, sedition, ruin, slaughter, chains, punishments, sorrows, mourning, and things like these?" And my father said: "It is true, my son, that these are evils, and very great evils; or at least let him who denies that these are evils suffer them."

IX. And I replied: "Because, therefore, my conversation is with one who is learned in the astrological discipline, I shall proceed with you according to it, so that by receiving from those things that are in use among you the logic of the matter, you may the sooner acquiesce. Hear now, therefore. You have confessed that the things we mentioned above are evils—that is, fevers, conflagrations, and things like these—and these are said by you to be brought about by the malicious stars, that is, by the moist Saturn and the hot Mars; but their opposites are brought about by the benign stars, that is, by the temperate Jupiter and the moist Venus; or is it not so?" And my father replied: "It is so, my son, nor can it be otherwise." Then I: "Since, therefore, you say that goods are produced by the good stars, I mean Jupiter and Venus, let us see, when each of the evil stars has been mingled with the good ones, what it is that it produces; and let us understand that to be evil. For you posit that Venus brings about marriages; and if she has Jupiter in her configuration, she makes them chaste, but if Jupiter is not looking on, and Mars is present, you predict that the marriages are corrupted by adultery." And my father said: "It is indeed as you say." I replied: "Therefore adultery is an evil, since it is committed from the mixture of evil stars; and so that we may explain it more compendiously, all the things which you say are made to deviate from the good stars by the mixture of evil stars are, without doubt, to be pronounced evil. These stars, therefore, by whose mixture we have said that fevers, conflagrations, and the rest like these are made evil, they themselves, according to you, also bring about homicides, adulteries, and thefts, and they themselves even make men perverse and dull-witted."

X. And my father said: "Truly, you have briefly and incomparably shown that there are evils in actions, but I would like to learn this still: how does God justly judge those who sin, as you say, if genesis compels them to sin?" Then I replied: "I fear to tell you something, father, because it is fitting that you be held in all honor by me; otherwise there might be something I could say if it were fitting." And the father said: "Say what occurs to you, my son, even if it seems injurious; for it is not you, but the logic of the question that does the injury, just as a chaste woman might be indignant on behalf of her integrity and temperance regarding an intemperate man." And I replied: "If we do not well retain the first things that have been confirmed and confessed between us, but those things which have been defined are always being dissolved by forgetfulness, we shall seem to be weaving the web of Penelope, unweaving those things which we have woven; and therefore we ought either not..."

to agree easily before the proposed discourse is diligently examined, or if we have already agreed and the opinion is confirmed, to keep always that which has once been defined, so that we may be able to inquire about other things as well. And my father ^A said: You speak well, my son, and I know for what reason you speak, because yesterday, while discussing natural causes, you showed that a certain malignant power, transforming itself into the order of the stars, stirs up human desires, provoking to sin in various ways, yet without compelling or causing sin. To whom I replied: It is well that you both remember, and that while remembering, you were at fault. And my father said: Forgive me, son; for I do not yet have much practice in these matters; for yesterday your arguments did indeed overcome me with truth itself, so that I agreed with you, yet in my conscience there remain, as it were, certain remnants of a fever, which draw me back a little from faith—so to speak—from health. For I am tormented because I know that many things, indeed almost everything, happened to me according to genesis [the horoscope].

XI. And I replied: Hear then, father, what the nature of astrology is, and do as I tell you. See a mathematician ^B and tell him first that certain evils happened to me at that time; from whence, therefore, or in what manner, or through what stars they happened to me, I wish to learn. He will answer you that Mars or Saturn, or someone of that sort, was ^C *apocatastatic* 12, or that someone gazed upon your year 15 from the diameter, or was in conjunction, or in the center, or will answer other things similar to these, adding that in all these cases someone was either *asyndetus* with an evil 14, or invisible, or in a [bad] configuration, or outside the [required] horoscope, or *deficiens* 15, or not contiguous, or in obscure stars, and he will answer many other things similar to these according to his own systems and will assign responsibility for each. After him, approach another mathematician and state the contrary: that some good befell me at that time; but state the same time, and ask from which parts of the genesis this good happened to you, and observe the same times you inquired about concerning evils. And when you have deceived him regarding the times, see how many configurations he will find for you, through which he may show that goods ought to have happened to you in those very times. For it is impossible for those who treat of the genesis of men not to find, in every region of the stars they speak of, ^D some stars well-placed and others ill-placed; for the circle is equally collected from every part according to astrology, receiving diverse and varied causes, from which they may take the opportunity of saying whatever they please.

^A For if our Master professed not to know the day and the hour, of which He even predicted the signs, so that He might refer all things to the Father, how shall we deem it a disgrace if we confess that we are ignorant of some things, since we have the Master as our example in this? Yet this one thing we do profess: that we know those things which we have learned from the true Prophet; and those things have been delivered to us by the true Prophet which He judged sufficient for human knowledge.

XII. For just as it is accustomed to happen when men have seen dim dreams and understand nothing certain, when some outcome of events occurs, then they even adapt the vision of the dream to those things which have happened, so it is also with astrology; before anything comes to pass, nothing certain is declared, but afterwards, when something has happened, they collect the causes of the matter already done. Finally, frequently when they have erred and the matter has turned out otherwise, they blame themselves, saying that it was such-and-such a star that hindered, that met [us], and we did not see it, ignorant that their error does not descend from the incompetence of the art, but from the incompatibility of the whole cause: for they are ignorant of what those things are, which we indeed desire to do, yet do not indulge in the desires. ^B But we, who have learned the reason of this mystery, know also the cause, that because we have freedom of will, we sometimes resist the desires, and sometimes yield: and therefore the outcome of human actions is uncertain, because it hangs upon the freedom of the will. For while the mathematician can point out the desire, which an evil power works, yet whether the acts or the outcome of this desire can be fulfilled or not, because it is in the liberty of the will, can be known by no one before the effect of the matter. And this is what the ignorant astrologers invented for themselves to call "climacterics," that is, refuges for an uncertain matter, as we most fully showed yesterday.

XIII. To this, if anything seems to you to be said, speak it. And the father said: Nothing is truer, my son, than these things which you have set forth. And while we were speaking these things among ourselves, someone announced that a great crowd was standing outside who had gathered for the sake of hearing, and Peter ordered that they be given the opportunity of entering; for the place was opportune and spacious. And when they had entered, Peter said to us: If anyone among you desires it, let him make a discourse to the people and discuss the matter of idolatry. To which I, Clement, replied: Much kindness and gentleness toward all and patience of yours indulges us, so that we dare to speak before you and ask what we desire; and therefore, as I said, the meekness of your character invites and exhorts all to receive the precepts of saving doctrine. I have not seen this in anyone else up to the present, except in you alone, in whom there is no envy nor indignation; or how does it seem to you? ^C

XIV. And Peter: Not only do these things come from envy or indignation, but sometimes there is in some people a shyness, lest perchance they might not be able to answer fully about the things that are proposed, and they flee from the mark of incompetence. But for this, no one ought to suffer shyness, because neither is there any human being who ought to profess that he knows all things; for there is one who knows all things, He who also made all things.

XV. Then I, Clement, began to speak thus: At Tripolis, when you were disputing against the Gentiles, my lord Peter, I marvelled greatly at you, who, having been imbued by your fathers with the Hebrew rite and the observances of your own law, and being untainted in any way by the studies of Greek erudition, were able to expound so magnificently and so incomparably, so that you even touched upon certain [accounts] from the histories of the gods which are usually sung in the theaters. But since I perceived that the fables and blasphemies themselves were less known to you, if it pleases you, I would discourse from the very beginning, repeating some things in your hearing. And Peter: Speak, he said; you do well to assist our preaching. Then I: I will speak, therefore, since you command it, not as teaching, but as bringing into the midst how foolish the opinions are which the Gentiles hold concerning their gods.

XVI. And when I wished to speak, Niceta bit his lip, gesturing for me to be silent; which when Peter saw, he said: Why do you wish to harm a free and noble nature, so that you would want him to be silent in honor of me, who is nothing? Or do you not know that if all the Gentiles, after they have heard the preaching of the truth from me and have believed, should wish to betake themselves to teaching, they would procure for me greater glory, if indeed you think me to be greedy for glory? For what is as glorious as to have prepared disciples for Christ, not those who are silent and are saved alone, but who speak what they have learned, and benefit many? ^D I wish indeed that you, Niceta, and you, sweetest Aquila, would help me to preach the word of God, the more so because the matters in which the Gentiles err are well known to you: and not only you, but I desire that all who hear me, as I have said, so hear and learn, that they may also be able to teach; for the world is in need of many helpers, by whom men may be called back from error. And when he had said these things, he said to me: Do you, therefore, Clement, execute what you have begun.

XVII. And I immediately added: Since, as I said, while disputing at Tripolis, you discoursed usefully and necessarily about many things concerning the gods of the Gentiles, I desire to set forth before you the ridiculous [nature] of their origin, so that it may not escape you, the fabrication of this vain superstition, and...

those who attend to these things may recognize the shames of their own error. ^A They say, therefore, that those who are esteemed the wisest among the Gentiles claimed that, first of all, there was a chaos: for a long time this, consolidating its outer parts, formed boundaries for itself and a kind of bottom, collected in the manner and shape of an immense egg; inside which, for a long time nonetheless, as if inside the shell of an egg, a certain animal was warmed and brought to life; and after this immense globe was broken, a certain creature of dual form emerged, which they call male-female; this one they also named Phanetas 20, from appearing, because, they say, when it appeared, then light also shone forth. And from this they say that substance, prudence, motion, and coitus were born: from these, heaven and earth were made. From heaven were born six males, whom they also call Titans 21; likewise, from the earth, six females, whom they called Titanides; and the names of those who were born from heaven are these: Oceanus, Coeus, Crios, Hyperion, Iapetos, Cronos, who with us is named Saturn. Similarly, the names of those who were born from the earth are these: Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Tethys 22, Hebe 23.

XVIII. From among all these, he who had been born first from heaven took the first daughter of the earth as his wife, the second took the second, and the others did likewise in order. The first, therefore, who had taken the first woman, was led downwards on her account; but the second, on account of her whom he had married, ascended upwards; and thus, through the order and action of each, they remained in those places which had fallen to them by nuptial lot. They assert that countless others were also born from the unions of these. But of those six males, one, who is called Saturn, took Rhea in marriage, and having been warned by a certain oracle that he who would be born from her ^B would be stronger than himself and would drive him from the kingdom, he set out to devour all the sons who would be born to him. Therefore, the first son is born to him, whom they called Aiden, who with us is termed Orcus; whom the father, for the causes we stated above, took and devoured. After him he begot a second, whom they call Neptune, and whom he devoured in a similar way. He begot the youngest, whom they call Jove; but his mother, Rhea, having pity on him, by a ruse withdrew him from the father who was about to devour him, and, in the first place, lest the wailing of the child should be noticed, she made certain Corybantes strike cymbals and drums, so that the wailing of the infant might not be heard through the deafening sound.

XIX. But when the father had understood from the reduction of her womb that a child had been delivered, he sought it to devour it; then Rhea, offering him a large stone, said, "This I have brought forth." But he, taking it, swallowed it; and the stone, having been devoured, forced and compelled those whom he had first swallowed, the sons, to come out. Therefore, the first one coming forth descended to Orcus, and occupies the lower, that is, the infernal places. The second, as being his superior, is relegated to the waters; this is he whom they call Neptune. The third, who survived through the craft of his mother Rhea, was placed by the same goat onto heaven and sent forth.

XX. Let the old woman’s fable and genealogy of the Gentiles proceed thus far; for it is endless if I should wish to set forth all the generations of those whom they call gods, and their impious deeds. But for the sake of example, omitting the others, I will recount the flagitious deeds of the one whom they hold as greatest and chief, and whom they call Jove. ^C For they say that he holds heaven as being better than the others, who, as soon as he grew up, took his own sister, whom they call Juno, as his wife—in which respect, at least, he immediately becomes like a beast. Juno bears Vulcan, but, as they hand down the tradition, not from Jove. ^D [alt-version omitted]

And from Jove himself he begat Medea ^A, after he had received the response that whoever might be born of her would be stronger than he and would drive him from the kingdom, he took her and devoured her. And again, he begat Minerva from his brain, and Liber from his thigh. After these things, when he had fallen in love with Thetis, they say that Prometheus proclaimed to him that if he were to lie with her, the child born of her would be stronger than his father, and for this reason, fearing, he gave her in marriage to a certain Peleus. Then he mingled with Persephone, who had been sired by him upon Ceres, from whom he begat Dionysus, who was torn apart by the Titans. But, he says, remembering that his father Saturn might perhaps beget another son who would be born stronger than himself and drive him from the kingdom, he sets out to attack his father together with his brothers the Titans; and having overcome them, he finally even cast his father into chains, and having cut off his genitals, threw them into the sea. But the blood that flowed from the wound, taken up by the waves and turned into foam by constant churning, engendered her whom they call Aphrodite, and whom we call Venus. From the intercourse of this woman, who was indeed his sister, they say that this very Jove begat Cypris, from whom they say Cupid was also born.

XXI. These, then, are the accounts of his incestuous acts; hear now also of his adulteries. He violates Europa, the wife of Oceanus, from whom is born Dodonaeus; Helen, [daughter] of Pandion, from whom is born Musaeus; Eurynome, [daughter] of Asopus, from whom is born Ogygius; Hermione, [daughter] of Oceanus, from whom are born the Graces, Thalia, Euphrosyne, Aglaia; Themis, his own sister, from whom are born the Hours, Eunomia, Dice, Irene; Themisto, [daughter] of Inachus, from whom is born Arcas; Idea, [daughter] of Minos, from whom is born Asterion; Phoenissa, [daughter] of Alphio, from whom is born Endymion; Io, [daughter] of Inachus, from whom is born Epaphus; Hippodamia and Isione, ^B daughters of Danaus, one of whom, Hippodamia, Olenus possessed, and Isione, Orchomenus or Chryses; Carmen, [daughter] of Phoenix, from whom is born Britomartis, who was a companion of Diana; Callisto, [daughter] of Lycaon, from whom is born Orcas; Lybea, [daughter] of Munantius, from whom is born Belus; Latona, from whom are born Apollo and Diana; Leanida, [daughter] of Eurymedon, from whom is born Coron; Lysithea, [daughter] of Evenus, from whom is born Helenus; Hippodamia, [daughter] of Bellerophon, from whom is born Sarpedon; Megaclite, [daughter] of Macareus, from whom are born Thebe and Locrus; Niobe, [daughter] of Phoroneus, from whom are born Argus and Pelasgus; Olympias, [daughter] of Neoptolemus, from whom is born Alexander; Pyrrha, [daughter] of Prometheus, from whom is born Helmetheus; Protogenia and Pandora, daughters of Deucalion, from whom he begat Ethelius and Dorus and Melera and Pandorus; Thaicrucia, [daughter] of Proteus, from whom is born Nympheus; Salamina, [daughter] of Asopus, from whom is born Saracon; Taygete, Electra, Maia, Plutide, daughters of Atlas, from whom he begat Lacedaemon from Taygete, Dardanus from Electra, Mercury from Maia, Tantalus from Plutide; Phthia, [daughter] of Phoroneus, from whom he begat Achaeus; Chonia, [daughter] of Aramonus, from whom he begat Lacon; Chalcea, a nymph, from whom is born Olympus; Charidia, a nymph, from whom is born Alchanus; Cloris, who was [wife] of Ampycus, from whom is born Mopsus; Cotonia, [daughter] of Lesbus, from whom is born Polymedes; Hippodamia, [daughter] of Anicetus; Chrysogenia, [daughter] of Peneus, from whom is born Thisseus.

XXII. But there are also very many other adulteries of his, from which he obtained no progeny, which it would take too long to enumerate. But among all those we have enumerated, some he violated by transforming himself, being a magician. Finally, he corrupted Antiope, [daughter] of Nycteus, having turned into a satyr, from whom are born Amphion and Zethus; ^C Alcmena, having changed into her husband Amphitryon, from whom is born Hercules; Aegina, [daughter] of Asopus, having changed into an eagle, from whom is born Aeacus. But he also violates Ganymede, [son] of Dardanus, having changed likewise into an eagle; Manthea, [daughter] of Phocus, having changed into a bear, from whom is born Arctos; Danae, [daughter] of Acrisius, having changed into gold, from whom is born Perseus; Europa, [daughter] of Phoenix, having changed into a bull, from whom is born Minos and Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon; Eurymedusa, [daughter] of Achelous.

^A changed into an ant, from whom arises Myrmidon; having changed into a vulture [for] Thalia (Aetna) (38) the nymph, from whom arise the Palisci in Sicily; having changed into a shower [for] Imandra, [daughter] of Geneanus, at Rhodes; having changed into her husband Phoenix [for] Cassiopeia (40), from whom is born Anchinos; having changed into a swan [for] Leda, [daughter] of Thestius, from whom is born Helen; and again having changed the same into a star, from whom arise Castor and Pollux; having changed into a hoopoe [for] Lamia; having changed into a shepherd [for] Mnemosyne, from whom arise the nine Muses; having changed into a gander [for] Nemesis; having changed into fire [for] Semele, [daughter] of Cadmus, from whom is born Dionysus. Furthermore, from his daughter Ceres he begat Persephone, whom he himself also violated having changed into a dragon.

XXIII. But he also commits adultery with Europa, the wife of his uncle Oceanus, and her sister Eurynome, and punishes his father, and commits adultery with the daughter of his son Plutus, son of Atlantis, from whom he condemns the son born to him, Tantalus. From Larissa (41) he also begat Tityus of Orchomenus, whom he likewise handed over to torments, and snatching away Dia, the wife of his son Ixion, he subjects him to eternal punishments; and he condemned almost all the sons he begat from adulteries to the condition of a violent death, the sepulchers of nearly all of whom are manifest. Finally, he who is a parricide (42), who both killed his uncles and violated their wives, and brought debauchery upon his sisters—the sepulcher of this multiform magician is evident among the Cretans, who, nevertheless, knowing and confessing his unspeakable and incestuous deeds, and relating them to all, are not ashamed to confess him as a god; whence it seems to me very wonderful how he who excels all mortals in wickedness and shameful acts should have received a holy name, and one that is above every good, as if he were called the father of gods and men; unless, perhaps, he who rejoices in the evils of men persuaded unhappy souls to bestow honor upon him whom he saw excelling others in wickedness, so that he might invite everyone to the imitation of evils.

XXIV. But as for his children, who are considered gods among them, their sepulchers are most manifestly demonstrated in each and every place: Mercury at Hermopolis (43), Cyprian Venus at Cyprus (44), Mars in Thrace (45), Liber at Thebes (46), where he is said to have been torn to pieces, Hercules at Tyre, where he was consumed by fire (47), and in Epidaurus, Aesculapius (48): all of whom are taught not only as having died as men, but as having been punished as wicked men for their crimes, and yet they are worshipped by foolish men as gods.

XXV. But if they wish to argue, and affirm that these locations are rather of their births than of their burials or deaths, they are refuted by occurrences that are neighboring and still recent in comparison to things of old, since we have taught that they are worshipped by those who themselves acknowledge them to have been men and dead, or rather to have been punished—for example, as the Syrians [worship] Adonem, the Egyptians Osiris (49), the people of Ilium Hector (50), at Leuconessus Achilles (51), at Pontus Patroclus (52), at Rhodes Alexander the Macedonian.

^A And there are many others in different places that individuals worship and adore as gods, whom they do not doubt to have been dead humans. Whence it follows that their predecessors also, having fallen into a similar error, attributed divine honor to dead humans who perhaps had possessed some power or craft, especially if they had brought foolish men into amazement by magical phantasms.

XXVI. From here it is added that poets might adorn the fabrications of error with the elegance of their speech and persuade [people] by the sweetness of their style that those who were mortal had become immortal; nay, they even say something more, that from humans were made stars, and trees, and animals, and flowers, and birds, and springs, and rivers—and if it did not seem too wordy, I could enumerate almost all the stars that they assert were made from humans, or trees, or springs and rivers; however, for the sake of example, I will mention at least a few from each category. They say that Andromeda and Cepheus were turned into a star, Daphne, daughter of the river Ladon, was changed ^B into a tree, Hyacinth, beloved of Apollo, into a flower, Callisto into the constellation they call the Bear (Arctos), Procne and Philomela with Tereus (54) into birds, Theisbe in Cilicia into a spring, and Pyramus, in that same place, resolved into a river; and they confirm that almost all, as I said, whether stars, trees, springs and rivers, or flowers and animals, or birds, were at one time human.

XXVII. But Peter, hearing these things, says: "Therefore, according to them, before humans were changed into stars or the other things you enumerate, both the heaven was without stars and the earth without trees and animals, nor were there ^C springs, or rivers, or birds; and how did humans themselves live without these, who were changed into them afterwards, when it is certain that humans could not possibly have led a life on earth without these things?" And I answered: "But they do not even know how to observe the very worship of their gods consistently; for each one of them that they worship has something dedicated to him, from which the worshippers ought to abstain—for instance, they say the olive is dedicated to Minerva, a goat to Jove, seeds to Ceres, wine to Liber, water to Osiris (55), a ram to Hammon, a stag to Diana, a fish and a dove to the demon of the Syrians, fire to Vulcan; and to each one, as I said, there is something properly dedicated, from which it was fitting that the worshippers should abstain in honor of those to whom they were dedicated. But now, by observing themselves with respect to one single thing, they have all the others angry for the sake of the honor of one—whom, indeed, if they wished to appease, they would have to abstain from all things before the day of judgment, lest, condemned by their own sentence, they perish by a most miserable death from voluntary starvation."

XXVIII. But let us return to the subject. What, by heaven, is the reason—nay, what madness possesses the minds of mortals—that a human whom they know to be not only impious, wicked, profane, incestuous, and a parricide (I speak of Jove), but also a known adulterer—and not only know it, but sing it publicly in the theaters—do they worship and adore this one as a god? Or if he deserved to be a god for these deeds, then even now they ought to worship as gods those whom they hear are murderers, adulterers, parricides, and incestuous persons. But I cannot at all understand why they curse these things in others, yet venerate them in him. And Peter answered: "Since you say you do not know, learn from me why they venerate wicked deeds in him: first, indeed, because they know that they themselves will be accepted by him if they do similar things, inasmuch as they copy him in his crimes; second, ^D because the ancients left these things cleverly hidden in literature and elegantly inserted into verses. And now, under the pretext of childish schooling, since acquaintance with them has clung to tender and simple minds, it can be uprooted and cast away only with difficulty."

XXIX. When Peter had said these things, Niceta answered: "Do not suppose, my lord Peter, that the learned among the Gentiles have no arguments by which they defend these things that seem culpable and shameful—which I do not say to confirm their errors (far be it from me that such a thing should even come to my mind), but I know that there are among their wiser men certain defenses by which they are accustomed to assert and color over these things that seem absurd. And if it pleases you, I will bring forward some of these, which I retain in some part, as you command." And when Peter had permitted it, Niceta began in this way:

XXX. "All discourse among the Greeks that is written regarding the origin of antiquity has, among many others, two principal authors: Orpheus and Hesiod. Therefore, the writings of these men are understood in two parts—that is, according to the letter and according to allegory; and truly to those things which are according to the letter, the crowd of the ignoble common folk has flocked, but the entire loquacity of philosophers and learned men has admired those things which consist according to allegory." Orpheus, therefore (56), is the one who says that in the beginning there was a chaotic, immense, and unbegotten void...

^A from which all things were made; indeed, he says that this chaos itself was not darkness, nor light, nor moist, nor dry, nor hot, nor cold, but all things mixed together, and that it was ever one and formless. At some time, however, as if in the manner of an immense egg, after immense ages had been fulfilled, it brought forth and produced from itself a certain double nature, which they call male-female, and from the contrary mixing of such diversity, it brought forth a concrete species; and he says that this is the beginning of all things, which was the first to emerge from the purer matter, and which, as it proceeded, gave the separation of the four elements; and from the two elements which were the first, he made the heaven, but from the others, the earth, from which he says that all things are now born and begotten by mutual participation in one another. Such, indeed, is Orpheus.

XXXI. Moreover, Hesiod adds to these, saying that immediately after chaos, heaven and earth were made, from which he says those eleven—whom he sometimes also calls twelve (57)—were born; of these he puts six as males and five as females. He gives the names to the males: Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Cronus, who is also Saturn; likewise to the females: Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Tethys. They interpret these names by allegory in this way: they say that the number of eleven or twelve is the first nature itself, which they also wish to be called Rhea from flowing; but they call the remaining ten its accidents, which they also call qualities; they add, however, a twelfth, Cronus, whom we call Saturn; this one they accept as time. Therefore, they place Saturn and Rhea as time and matter, which, when they have been mixed with the moist and the dry and the hot and the cold time, generate all things.

XXXII. This, he says, in the first time of all, generated a certain concrete thing like a bubble, which, collected little by little from the spirit that was in the waters, swelled up, and for some time circulating through the surface of the matter from which it had gone forth as if from a womb, hardened by the rigor of the cold and always increasing with icy growths, it was finally plunged abruptly into the ^B deep, and, dragged down by its own weight, it descended into the underworld; and because it became invisible, it was called Aides, which is also named Orcus or Pluto. And when it was submerged from the upper regions into the infernal ones, it provided a place for the moist element to flow together, and the thicker part, which is earth, was laid open as the waters receded.

^C Hanc ergo aquarum libertatem, quæ prius bulla obtegente premebatur, postquam illa inferni sortita est locum, Neptunum esse appellatam. Post hoc cum elementum frigidum per concretionem glacialis bullæ ad inferiora fuisset absorptum, et aridum fuisset humidumque discretum, nullo jam inpediente, elementum calidum ignis utpote vigore et levitate ad superiora convolavit aeris, spiritum et procellam subvectum. Hanc ergo procellam, quæ χαταιγὶς Græce appellatur, ægem, id est capram dixerunt, et ignem qui ad superna conscendit, Jovem; et ideo eum capra subvectum conscendisse Olympum dicunt.

XXXIII. The Greeks even wish Jove to be named from living or from giving life, and our own from helping. They relate that this is the living substance which, placed in the higher regions, draws all things to itself by the force of heat as if by the circuit of a brain, and composing them by the moderation of a certain temperament, is said to have generated wisdom from his head, which they call Minerva, who is named by the Greeks Athena on account of immortality (58); and because the father of all founded all things through his wisdom, she is said to be born from his very head and from the principal position of all, and it is held that she formed and adorned the entire world by the tempered mixing of the elements. Therefore, the species which were implanted in matter so that the world might be made, because they are constrained by the force of heat, are said to be contained by the powers of Jove. And since these possess themselves sufficiently, and need no new thing to be added to them, but each singular thing is repaired by the posterity of its own seed, the hands of Saturn are said to be bound by Jove: because time, as I have said, now produces nothing new from matter, but heat restores all things according to their own species, nor does the birth of Rhea—that is, the propagation of flowing matter—rise further, and therefore they call that first division of the elements the abscission of Saturn, as if he who can no longer generate the world.

XXXIV. For they hand down an allegory about Venus in this way: Where, they say, there is a sea subject to the ether, when the splendor of heaven had shone back more gracefully upon the waters, the beauty of things which had appeared more beautiful from the waters was named Venus (59), who, joined to her brother as if to the ether, because she made desireable beauty, is remembered to have generated Cupid. This

in the manner of allegory, they hand down: that Cronus, who is Saturn, is time, as we have said; Rhea is matter; Hades, that is Orcus, is the depth of the underworld; Neptune is water; Jupiter is the ether, that is, the element of heat; Venus is the beauty of things; Cupid is the desire that is in all things, by which posterity is repaired, or else it is the reason of things which, when wisely inspected, delights. Hera, that is Juno, is set as that middle air which descends from the heavens down to the earth. They hand down that Diana, whom they also call Proserpina, is the air below. They also call Apollo the sun itself, going round the pole; Mercury is the word by which a reason is rendered for each and everything; Mars is the intemperate fire, which consumes everything. But lest we delay by enumerating them one by one, those who possess a more secret skill regarding such matters seem to themselves to render honest and just reasons for this kind of allegory concerning each of those whom they worship.

XXXVIII. But if, as they say, these things are done so honestly and piously, yet are administered with such a dishonest and impious rite, then whoever it is that either handed these down from the beginning or now persists in performing them, even if incorrectly handed down, is surely sacrilegious. Further, what shall we say of the poets' books? ^B Should they not, if they defamed the deeds of the gods with shameful fables, have been immediately cast out and consigned to the fire, lest they persuade the tender age of children that Jupiter himself, the prince of the gods, was a parricide toward his parents, incestuous toward his sisters and daughters, and even profane toward boys, and that Venus and Mars were adulterers, and all those other things which have already been said above? Or what seems to you, my lord Peter?

XXXV. When Niceta had said these things, Aquila replied: It seems to me, whoever the author and inventor of these things is, he has proven himself impious, if he hid those things which seem pleasant and honest, and placed the rite of his superstition in disgraceful and shameful observances, when those things which are written according to the letter are manifestly dishonest and shameful, and their whole religious observance consists in these very things, so that through such crimes and impieties they teach [men] to imitate the gods they worship. For what utility will there be for them in these allegories? Which, however honest an assertion of error it might have been, nevertheless, no one ever arrived at worship or amendment of morals through them.

XXXVI. Whence it is more evident that prudent men, when they saw that the common superstition was so disgraceful and so shameful, and yet had not learned any means or knowledge of how to correct it, strove with whatever arguments and interpretations they could to veil dishonest things with honest speech, and not, as they say, to hide honest reasons with dishonest fables; for if that were the case, their very statues and their own portraits of them would never be formed with their vices and crimes. The swan would not be sculpted for the adultery of Leda, nor the bull for Europa, and they would not turn him, whom they consider better than all others, into a thousand monsters. If indeed those who are great and wise men among them knew this to be feigned, not true, would they not accuse those who, to the injury of the gods, would either paint such things or sculpt such statues of impiety and sacrilege? Finally, let them depict the king of their own time in the form of an ox, or a goose, or an ant, or a vulture, and let them write the name of their king above it, and place such a statue or image; they would surely perceive the injury of the deed and the magnitude of the retribution.

XXXVII. But since these things are more true—which the public shame testifies to, and which were sought out and contrived by the subtle language of prudent men as veils for the sake of excuse—therefore not only are they not forbidden, but even the very mysteries of the children of Saturn ^A are expressed by the sound of cymbals and drums. But as to the castration of Saturn, what greater proof of the truth will there be than that, in honor of their god, his very worshippers are castrated, sharing a similar lot of misfortune? Since, therefore, these things are clearly discerned, who will be found of such faint sense—or rather, so dull—to whom it is not plain that these things are more true regarding the miserable gods, which the even more miserable worshippers attest to also by the wounding and mutilation of their own bodies?

XXXIX. Then he replied: Be sure, sweetest Aquila, that all things were done by the good providence of God, so that the cause which was to be contrary to the truth might not only be weak and fragile, but even shameful. For if a stronger and more plausible [explanation] had been in it, he who had been deceived would [hardly] return to the path of truth. For if now, when so many disgraces and shames are brought forth concerning the gods of the gentiles, scarcely anyone leaves their shameful error, how much more if there were something honest and plausible there? For the mind is transferred with difficulty from those things in which it has been anticipated from an early age; and for this reason, as I have said, it was brought about by divine Providence that the substance of the error should be both weak and shameful. But divine Providence also disposes all other things in a similar way, fittingly and conveniently, even if to us, who are ignorant of the reasons for things, the logic of the good and optimal divine dispensation is not clear.

XL. When Peter had said these things, I, Clement, asked Niceta to explain some of the gentiles' allegories, which he had diligently touched upon, for the sake of knowledge; for it is useful that, when we dispute with the gentiles, these things should not be utterly unknown to us. And Niceta said: If my lord Peter permits, I can speak. Then Peter said: Today, he said, I have allowed you to speak against the gentiles, as you know. And Niceta said: Speak then, Clement, concerning what you wish to hear. To whom I say: How the gentiles hand down the story of the banquet of the gods, which they had at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, which they say is Paris the shepherd, and whom they pose [there]—Juno, Minerva, and Venus, who are judged by him—and who Mercury is, or what the apple is, and the rest that follow in order, explain to us.

XLI. Then Niceta: Regarding the cause of the banquet of the gods, this...

is how it stands. They say the banquet is the world, the arrangement of reclining is the position of the stars, whom Hesiod names as the first children of heaven and earth, among whom they refer the six males and six females to the number of the twelve signs that encompass the whole world. Moreover, they say that the reasons and causes of things are the dishes of the banquet, sweet and desirable, from which the manner in which this world is governed and ruled is gathered by the position of the signs and the courses of the stars. Yet they say that these things are consonant with the liberty of the banquet, because every person’s mind has the power, if it wishes, to taste something of such knowledge or not; and just as in a banquet no one is forced, but the freedom of eating rests with each individual, so too the method of philosophizing depends on the arbitration of the will. They call carnal concupiscence the discord that rises against the purpose of the mind and impedes the study of philosophy; and therefore they say that it is, in short, the time in which marriage is pursued. They posit Peleus and the nymph Thetis as the dry and moist element, from the mixture of which the substance of bodies consists. They teach that Mercury is the Word, through which doctrine is conveyed to the mind; Juno is chastity, Minerva is fortitude, Venus is lust, and Paris is the mind. If, therefore, they say, it happens in a man that he has a rustic and unskilled mind, unaware of right judgment, with chastity and virtue scorned, he will give the palm to lust, which is evil; through which not only for himself, but also for his fellow citizens and his whole nation, subversion and destruction will follow. Now, although it is possible for them to construct these things from any material that seems fit, yet they can be adapted to every man, because if anyone has a pastoral, rustic, and unskilled mind and does not wish to be instructed, when the heat of the body suggests the sweetness of lust, he immediately, having spurned the virtues of studies and the benefits of knowledge, directs his mind to the pleasures of the body. And hence it is that implacable wars arise, cities fall, and homelands perish, just as Paris, having abducted Helen, armed Greeks and barbarians for mutual destruction. ^B XLII. And Peter, praising his discourse, says: I see, talented men reap many probabilities from what they read, and therefore it must be diligently observed that, when the law of God is read, it should not be read according to the understanding of one's own talent. For there are many words in the divine Scriptures that can be drawn to the meaning which anyone has presumed for himself of his own accord; which ought not to happen. For you ought not to seek a meaning that you have brought from elsewhere, one that is foreign and extraneous, to confirm by the authority of the Scriptures; rather, you must take the meaning of truth from the Scriptures themselves. And therefore it is necessary to learn the understanding of the Scriptures from one who holds it according to the truth handed down to him from the elders, so that he himself may also be able to assert competently those things which he has rightly received. For when anyone has received from the divine Scriptures an entire and firm rule of truth, it will not be absurd if he uses something even from common erudition and from liberal studies, which perhaps in childhood ^C he may have touched upon, to contribute to the assertion of true doctrine, yet in such a way that where he has learned what is true, he may decline what is false and feigned.

XLIII. And when he had said these things, looking to our father, he says: You, therefore, old man, if indeed you consult for the salvation of your soul, so that when it is released from the body it may find eternal rest after this brief conversion, inquire about whatever you wish and seek advice, so that you may be able to cast aside whatever doubt is in you. For the time of life is uncertain even for the young, but for the elderly it is no longer even uncertain; for it is not doubted that, however much is thought to remain, it is brief. And therefore it is right that both young and old should be very anxious about conversion and penance, and strive for the rest of the time to adorn their soul with the most worthy ornaments, that is, with the dogmas of truth, with the beauty of chastity, the splendor of justice, the candor of piety, and all other things with which a rational mind ought to be adorned; and then, furthermore, to turn away from dishonest and infidel associations, and to have alliances with the faithful and frequent those gatherings in which there is talk of chastity, of justice, and of piety; to pray to God always from the heart and to ask of Him what is fitting to be asked of God; to offer Him thanks, to bear true repentance for past deeds; and also a little, if it is possible, to help penance through the mercy shown to the poor; for through these things a more ready pardon will be given, and it will be granted to the one who shows indulgence more quickly.

XLIV. But if he who comes to penance is of a more advanced age, he ought to give thanks to God all the more, because after all the force of carnal concupiscence is broken, and the knowledge of truth is received, no fight of struggle looms over him through which he might repress the pleasures of the body rising against the soul. It remains, therefore, to be exercised in the recognition of the truth and in works of mercy, that he may bring forth fruits worthy of penance, nor should he think that the proof of conversion is shown in the length of time, and not in the firmness of devotion and purpose. For to God, who does not calculate the timing of times but of souls, minds are manifest: for He Himself approves if anyone, once the preaching of the truth is known, did not delay nor consume time in negligence, but immediately and, if it can be said, in the same moment, shuddering at the past, began the desire for future things and burned with love for the heavenly kingdom.

XLV. On account of which let none of you dissemble any longer nor look back, but let him come gladly to the Gospel of the kingdom of God. Let not the poor man say, "When I have become rich, then I will convert"; God does not require money from you, but a merciful soul and a pious mind. Nor should the rich man defer his conversion because of worldly solicitude, while he thinks how he might dispense the abundance of his produce; nor should he say within himself, "What shall I do, where will I store my fruits?" Nor should he say to his soul, "You have many goods stored up for many years, feast, be merry"; for it will be said to him: "Fool, this night it will be taken from you."

Therefore, let every age, every sex, and every condition hasten to repentance, so that it may attain eternal life. Let young men indeed be grateful in this, that in the very vigor of their desires, they subject their necks to the yoke of discipline. Old men, too, are praiseworthy, because they exchange the habit of a long time, in which they had been wrongly preempted, for the fear of God.

XLVI. Let no one, therefore, delay, let no one hesitate; for what reason is there to delay to do good? Or do you fear that when you have done well, you will not find the reward there, as you thought? And what harm will you feel if you have done well for nothing, would not conscience alone be sufficient among these things? But if you find as you presume, will you not receive great things in return for small, and eternal things for temporal? But I have said these things for the sake of the unbelievers. As for us, the things we preach are so, because they cannot be otherwise, being things promised by the prophetic voice.

XLVII. If, however, anyone desires to know accurately the truth of our preaching, let him come to listen, and let him recognize who the true prophet is, and then at last all ambiguity in him will cease; if, however, he does not resist with obstinate mind those things that he discovers to be true. For there are some who in any way at all look only to this, that they may win, and seek praise for this rather than salvation, for whom it would be better that nothing be said, lest the noble word also suffer injury, and he condemn himself by his own injury to eternal death. For what is there in our preaching that anyone ought to oppose? Or in what is the word of our preaching found to be against the faith of truth and honesty? Which says that God must be honored, the Creator and Father of all, and his Son, who alone knows him and his will, and to whom alone one must believe concerning all things he has commanded; for he alone is the Lawgiver and the just Judge, whose law decrees that God, the Lord of all, must be honored through a life that is sober, chaste, just, and merciful, and that all hope must be placed in him alone.

XLVIII. But someone will say, such precepts are given also by the philosophers. There is nothing like it; for while it is true that justice and sobriety are commanded by them, they do not know God as the rewarder of good and evil deeds, and therefore their laws and precepts merely avoid public accusation, but they cannot purify the conscience. For what should he fear who sins in secret, who does not know that there is an arbiter and judge of secret things? Furthermore, the philosophers add in their precepts that gods who are demons should be honored, which fact alone, even if they seemed plausible in other things, can convict them of the gravest impiety and condemn them by their own sentences, in that they pronounce that there is one God, yet for the sake of pandering to human error, command that many be honored. The philosophers also say this, that God is not angry, not knowing what they are saying. For anger is evil, where it disturbs the mind, so that ^A it loses right judgment; but that which punishes the wicked does not bring disturbance to the mind, but is, if I may so speak, one and the same disposition that bestows both rewards upon the good and punishment upon the evil; for if he were to restore good things to both the good and the evil, and use similar remuneration towards the pious and the impious, he would seem unjust rather than good.

XLIX. But you say: God ought not to have created evil. You speak truly; and he did not create it. But those who were created by him, while they do not believe that they are to be judged, indulging their own pleasures, have fallen away from piety and justice. But you will say: If it is just to punish the wicked, they ought to be punished as soon as they do evil. You indeed are in a great hurry; but He who is eternal and whom nothing escapes, as there is no end to him, so too his patience is long, and he looks not to the speed of vengeance, but to the causes of salvation; for he delights not so much in the death as in the conversion of the sinner. Therefore, finally, he has also granted holy baptism to men, to which if one hastens to come, and remains amended for the rest of his time, all sins which were committed through ignorance are wiped away from him.

L. For what have the philosophers contributed to the life of mortals by saying to men that God is not angry? They have surely taught them that they have no fear of any vengeance or judgment, and through this they have loosened all reins for those who sin. Or what have they helped the human race who said there is no God, but that all things are moved by chance and fortuitously? Did they not, when men heard these things and ^B thought there was no judge, no provisor of things, cast themselves headlong into every crime which either rage or avarice or lust had dictated, fearing no one? For they truly helped the life of mortals much, they who said nothing can be done without "genesi" (fate), namely that everyone, ascribing the cause of his sin to fate, might pronounce himself innocent in his crimes, while he does not wash away his own crime by repenting, but doubles it by blaming fate. For what shall I say of those philosophers who introduced that gods are to be honored, and such gods as you heard of a little while ago? What was this other than decreeing that vices, that crimes, that flagrant sins should be honored? I am ashamed and pity you, if you believe that these things were unworthy and impious and execrable, or if you have not perceived it until now, or having perceived and understood, you have honored evils as good and best things.

LI. Then besides, what is it that some of the philosophers have presumed to speak even about God, since they are mortals, and to speak by opinion alone about invisible things or about the origin of the world, where they were not present when it was made, or about its end or about the dispensation and judgment of souls in the lower world, not knowing that it is the lot of a reasonable man to know present and visible things, but to know the past and the future and the invisible is the lot of prophetic prescience alone. These things, therefore, are not to be gathered by conjectures and opinions, in which men are greatly deceived, but by faith of a prophetic

authority that has been delivered and manifested to us. If any one wishes to receive clear proofs regarding its prescience and prophetic power, as I have said, he should be zealous and diligent to listen, and we will provide evident proofs, whereby he may believe that he can not only hear the force of this prophetic prescience with his ears, but also see and handle it with his eyes. When he has conceived a certain faith in this, he will take up the yoke of righteousness and piety without any labor, and will feel such sweetness in it that he will not only claim that there is no labor in it, but will also desire that something more be added and imposed upon him.

LII. And when he had said these things and others like them, and had healed many of those who were present who were infirm and oppressed by demons, he dismissed the crowds while they were giving thanks and praising God, commanding them that they should gather at the same place on the following days for the sake of hearing. And when we were at home among ourselves and preparing to eat, someone entered and announced that Apion the Plistonic ^A had recently arrived from Antioch with Anubion, and was being hosted by Simon. Then my father, hearing this, rejoiced and said to Peter: “If you permit, I wish to go and greet Apion and Anubion, because they are very dear friends of mine; perhaps I will also be able to persuade Anubion to dispute with Clement about genesis.” And Peter said: “I permit it, and I commend that you cherish your friends; nevertheless consider how, through the providence of God, all things concur for you according to your desire; for behold, not only has your own affection been restored, God granting it, but the presence of your friends is also provided.” And my father said: “Truly, I perceive that it is as you say.” And when he had said these things, he went to Anubion.

LIII. We, however, remained with Peter throughout the whole night, questioning him on various matters and learning from him, remaining sleepless. And when dawn was already breaking, Peter, looking at me and my brothers, said: “I wonder what has happened to your father.” And when he was saying these things, my father arrived and found Peter talking to us about him. And when he had greeted us, he began to make amends and to explain the reason why he had stayed out. We, however, looking at him, were terrified, seeing the countenance of Simon in him, ^B yet hearing the voice of our father. And when we drew back from him and cursed him, our father was astonished that we were acting so austerely and cruelly toward him. Peter alone, however, was the one who saw his natural countenance; who also said to us: “Why do you curse your father?” To whom we, together with our mother, replied: “He seems to us to be Simon, having the voice of our father.” And Peter said: “To you, indeed, his voice alone, which has not been changed by witchcraft, is familiar; but to me, his countenance also, which to others appears changed by the art of Simon, is known as that of your father Faustinianus.” And looking at my father, he said: “The cause that confounds your wife and children is this: the appearance of your countenance in you does not look like that which it was, but the face of the accursed Simon appears in you.”

LIV. And when he was saying these things, one of those who had gone before to Antioch returned and was saying to Peter: “I wish you to know, my lord Peter, that Simon, performing many signs and prodigies publicly at Antioch, persuaded the people of nothing else but things that pertain to hatred of you, calling you a magician, a sorcerer, a murderer; and he has stirred up such great hatred against you ^C among them that they greatly desire, if they can find you anywhere, to even devour your flesh; and for this reason we, who were sent ahead, seeing the city greatly moved against you, were gathering in secret and considering what ought to be done.”

LV. And when we saw no outcome to the matter, Cornelius the centurion arrived, sent by Caesar to the governor of Caesarea for the sake of public business; him we summoned to us alone, and the cause by which ^D

you said he was a friend to you from a boy, we explained, though not that you might aid us if he could, but we exhorted him in the matter. Then he very readily promised that he would immediately put him to flight, if we too would assist him with his counsel. And when we promised that we would diligently perform everything, he said: "Caesar has commanded that sorcerers be searched for and put to death in the city of Rome and throughout the provinces, and very many of them have already been put to death. I will therefore spread the word among friends that I have come to capture that particular magician and on this account have been sent by Caesar, that he may be punished here along with the rest of his associates. You, therefore, who are secretly with him, as if you had heard it from some source or other, indicate to him that I have been sent to capture him; and it is certain that when he hears this, he will flee, or if you see something better, say so." What more? It was done thus by our people who were with him, pretending to be there for the sake of exploration. When Simon learned that they had come for him, as if accepting a great favor conferred upon him by them, he turned to flight. Departing, therefore, from Antioch, he came hither with Athenodorus, as we have heard. ^B

LVI. This, therefore, seemed best to all of us who had come before, that for the time being you should not ascend to Antioch, until we see if, with his departure, the hatred which he sowed among the people against you is in some measure emptied out. When he who had come from Antioch had suggested these things, Peter, looking at our father, said: "Faustinianus, your countenance has been transformed by Simon Magus, as is apparent; for thinking that he was being sought by Caesar for punishment, he fled in terror and imposed his own countenance upon you, if by chance you should be captured in his stead and be led to death, that he might cause sorrow to your sons." But the father, when he heard this, exclaiming with tears: "You have judged correctly, Peter," he said, "for Anubion, because he was a very great friend to me, had begun to indicate to me under a certain mystery concerning his snares, but I, unhappy man, did not believe, because I had committed no evil against him."

LVII. And while we were all being driven by sadness and tears together with our father, meanwhile Anubion also came to us, indicating to us that Simon had fled during the night, making for Judea. But seeing our father weeping and lamenting and saying: "Unhappy me, who hearing him to be a magician did not believe; what has befallen me, wretch that I am, that on one day being recognized by my wife and sons, I could not rejoice with them, but am returned to the former miseries which I endured in my error?" The mother, however, was weeping much more grievously with hair disheveled and torn; we also, at the transformation of our father’s countenance, were shivering as if we were astonished and out of our minds, nor could we understand what it was. But Anubion also, seeing us all so afflicted, stood as if mute. Then Peter, looking at us, his sons, said: "Believe me, that this very man is your father; for which reason I also exhort you, that you should serve him as a father. For God will grant some opportunity, by which, when the face of Simon is removed, he may be able to recover the manifest image of your father, that is, his own."

LVIII. And turning to our father, he said: "I promise to salute Appion and Anubion for you, whom ^C you said had been your friends from boyhood, yet not so that you might speak with Simon." And the father said: "I have sinned," he says, "I confess." Then Anubion: "And I," he says, "with him ask and entreat you, that you might forgive the old man, a good and generous man; he was seduced, unhappy man, and made a laughingstock by the self-styled magician; for I will tell how the thing was done: When he came to greet us, it happened that in that very hour we were surrounding Simon, hearing him saying that he wanted to flee in that very night; for he had heard that certain ones had come even to this city of Laodicea, who would arrest him by command of the Emperor; but he himself wanted to turn all his fury upon this Faustinianus who has recently arrived. And he said to us: 'Only,' he said, 'you see to it that he dines with us, and I will prepare a certain ointment, with which he may try to anoint his face, so that from this he may seem to have my face to everyone; but you, before, must anoint your faces with the juice of a certain herb, so that you may not be deceived concerning the change of his countenance, so that, except for you, he may seem to all others to be Simon.'"

LIX. And when he said these things, I said to him: "And what gain is conferred upon you from this deed?" Then Simon: "First," he says, "that they who seek me may arrest him, and cease to seek me. If, however, he should be punished by Caesar, that his sons may have the greatest grief, who, having abandoned me, fled to Peter and are now his helpers. I, however, confess to you, Peter, that it is the truth; I feared then to tell these things to Faustinianus, but neither did Simon himself give us the space that we might be able to speak more privately and more fully open to him the counsel of Simon." Meanwhile, about the middle of the night, Simon fled, making for Judea. But Athenodorus and Appion led him away, and I simulated an inequality of body, so that by remaining at home I might cause this man to return to you more quickly, if by chance it were possible for him to be hidden among you in some way, so that he might not be arrested by those who seek Simon and be led to Caesar and perish for nothing; and now, anxious for him, I have come to see him and to return before they arrive, who led away Simon. And turning to us, Anubion said: "I, Anubion, truly see your father's true face, because I was previously anointed by Simon himself as I narrated to you, so that your father's true face appeared to my eyes, whence I am sufficiently astonished and marvel at the art of Simon ^D the Magician, that you, standing now, do not recognize your father." And while father and mother and all of us were weeping for those things which had happened, moved by pity, Anubion also wept.

LX. Then Peter, moved by mercy, promises that he will restore the face of our father, saying to him: "Listen, Faustinianus, when this error of the transformed face has first brought forth some utility for us and has ministered to the things which we want, then I will restore to you the true image of your countenance, if, however, you shall first have performed the things which are commanded to you by me." And when my father promised that he would fulfill everything that he should command with all effort, only that he might recover his own image, Peter thus began: "Listen with your ears"

and you have heard that one of those who had been sent ahead, having returned from Antioch, reported how Simon, arrived there, had stirred up crowds against me and had inflamed the whole city into hatred of me; confirming that I am a magician, a murderer, and a deceiver, to such an extent that, if they saw me, they would even desire to devour my flesh. Do therefore what I say to you: leaving Clement with me, go ahead of us to Antioch with your wife and with Faustus and Faustinus your sons. But I will also send others with you who shall seem good to me, who may obey the things I shall command."

[LXI] "When therefore you have arrived at Antioch along with them, since you will be seen by Simon, stand in public and preach your repentance and say: 'I, Simon, announce to you and confess that I have deceived you in everything regarding Peter; for he is neither a seducer, nor a magician, nor a murderer, nor any of those things which I have spoken against him; but I said all those things moved by fury. I beseech you, therefore, I myself, who formerly gave you causes of hatred against him, that you feel nothing of the kind concerning him; but put away your hatred and cease from your indignation, because he is truly sent by God for the salvation of the world as a disciple of the true Prophet and an apostle. For which reason I urge, exhort, and advise that you listen to him and believe him preaching the truth to you, lest by chance, if you spurn him, your very city may suddenly perish. And I will indicate to you the reason why I now confess these things to you. This night the angel of God seized upon me, the impious one, and because I was an enemy to the herald of the truth, he scourged me very vehemently. I ask you, therefore, that even if I myself, after these things, coming to you, should attempt to say something against Peter, you do not receive it nor believe it. For I confess to you, I was a magician, I was a seducer, I was a deceiver, but I am doing penance; for it is possible through penance to erase former evil deeds.'"

[LXII] When Peter had indicated these things to my father, he replied: "I know what you wish; do not labor further; for I have understood and I know what I ought to follow when I arrive at the place." And Peter again urged him, saying: "When, therefore, you arrive at the place and see the people converted by your speech, and having laid aside their hatreds, recovering the desire for us, send and command me, and I shall come immediately. When, however, I shall have come, without delay I shall banish this strange countenance from you, and I shall restore your own, which is known to all your people." And with these words he ordered my three ^B brothers to set out with him, and Matthidia our mother, and certain of our relatives as well. But our mother refused to set out with him and said: "I seem to myself as if I were an adulteress if I were joined to the face of Simon; and although I should be forced to go along, it is nevertheless impossible that I should lie in the same bed with him, but I do not know if I could even acquiesce to setting out together." And when she very strongly refused, Anubion began to urge her, saying: "Believe me and Peter; but does not your own voice also persuade you that he is not Faustinianus, your husband? Whom, truly, I love no less than you do. Finally, I myself will also come with you." And when Anubion had said these things, our mother promised that she would set out at the same time.

[LXIII] Then I said, "Fittingly, Peter, God manages our affairs; for we have Anubion the astrologer with us, with whom, if we reach Antioch, we shall dispute more attentively concerning genesis." And when, after the middle of the night, our father had set out with those whom Peter had commanded, and with Anubion; in the morning, before Peter proceeded to the disputation, those who had brought Simon, that is, Appion and Athenodorus, returned and came to us seeking my father. But Peter when he knew it, ordered them to enter. And when they had sat down, they said, "Where is Faustinianus?" Peter replied: "We do not know; for in the evening after he came to you, he was seen by no one of his own people; yesterday, however, in the morning, Simon came seeking him, and because we answered him nothing, I know not what seemed to him, he kept saying that he was Faustinianus." When no one believed this of him, weeping and grieving he threatened that he would destroy himself, and ^C after these things he went off toward the sea.

[LXIV] When Appion and those who were with him had heard these things, they raised a great howl, saying: "What have you done? Why did you not receive him?" And when Athenodorus wanted to tell me that he himself was Faustinianus, your father, Appion, anticipating him, said: "We found out from someone who went with Simon, that he himself, Faustinianus, begged him, for the reason that he did not want to see his sons, because they were Jews. We, therefore, when we had heard these things, came to seek him here, but because he is not here, it is apparent that he truly said—he who reported—that he had gone with Simon; this, therefore, we report to you." But I, Clement, when I understood the plan of Peter, that he wished ^D

to give them suspicion so that the old man, being sought by them, might fear and flee, I began to help his plan and I say to Appion: "Listen, most dear Appion, we wish to hand down to our father even what we believe is good; but if he does not wish to receive it, but rather, as you say, fleeing from us in horror, perhaps what I say is harsh, nor do we care about him." And when I had said these things, as if loathing my cruelty, they leave, following the tracks of Simon, as we discovered the following day. ^A

LXV. Meanwhile, when Peter was teaching the people daily according to his custom and was performing many miracles and healings, after ten days there came one of our number sent by my father from Antioch, announcing to us how my father was publicly standing, indeed accusing Simon—who appeared in his [Peter's] likeness—but honoring Peter with immense praises and commending him to all the people and making him desirable, so that all, changed by his speech, longed to see him; however, many had come to such a love for Peter that they were raging against my father as if he were Simon, and wanted to lay hands on him, as though he had committed so much evil against Peter; on account of which, he said, "Hurry, lest he be killed; for he was placed in great fear and sent me quickly, that you might come without delay, so that you may catch him alive, and at the same time appear opportunely to the city that is growing in its desire for you." He told also how as soon as my father had entered the city of Antioch, all the people gathered to him as if to Simon, and he began to confess publicly to all according to what the restoration of the people demanded; for all the nobles and various rich and poor alike had gathered, hoping that some wonders might usually be performed by him, and all he addressed with this voice:

LXVI. "It is a long time that divine patience has withstood me, Simon, the most wretched of men; for whatever you have admired in me has been brought about not by the ministry of truth, but by the lies and arts of demons, so that I might overthrow your faith and condemn my own soul. I confess that I was lying about all things concerning Peter; for he is neither a magician nor a murderer, but was sent by God for the salvation of you all, whom if you think is to be despised from this hour, let it be certain among you that your very city could suddenly perish. But the reason why I freely confess these things to you: I was vehemently rebuked by an angel of God this night, and most violently lashed for why I have been an enemy to him. I beseech you therefore, that if from this hour I open my mouth against him, cast me from your sight; for that unclean demon, the enemy of the salvation of men, speaks through my mouth against him, lest through him you arrive at life. For what could magic art show you through me of [true] virtue? I made bronze dogs bark and statues move, the shapes of men to be changed and suddenly disappear from the sight of men; and by these things you ought to have loathed the magic art, which, while it presented to you an empty miracle, was entrapping your souls in diabolical snares." ^B

LXVII. As he continued to say these and similar things, the people began to loathe him, and they gave way to weeping and groaning because they had sinned against Peter, believing him a magician and an impious man. But on that same day at evening, his own proper face was restored in Faustinianus, and the appearance of Simon Magus departed from him. But Simon, hearing that his countenance had resulted in benefit to Peter's glory in him, hastened to get ahead of Peter and, desiring to act by his own art so that the likeness might depart from Faustinianus—since Christ had already fulfilled this according to the word of his apostle. But Niceta and Aquila, seeing that after the necessary preaching the fatherly face was restored, giving thanks to God, did not permit him to address the people any further.

LXVIII. But Simon began to go about, albeit secretly, through his friends and acquaintances, and to slander Peter more than before. Then all, spitting upon his face, drove him from the city, saying: "You will be guilty of your own death if you believe that you ought to come here to speak further against Peter." When these things were known, Peter on the following day ordered the people to convene, and having ordained one of those who followed him as bishop for them, and also other presbyters, and having baptized very many, and having restored to health all who were harassed by infirmities or demons, he delayed there for another three days, and when all things had been duly settled, bidding them farewell, he set out from Laodicea, much desired by the populace of the Antiochenes; and all the city began to hear through Niceta and Aquila that Peter was arriving. But all the people of the city of Antioch, hearing that Peter was coming, ran to meet him, and almost all the elders and nobles, with ashes sprinkled on their head, did penance because they had accepted Simon the magician against his preaching.

LXIX. Following these and similar things, they offered him those vexed by infirmities and tired out by demons, and those suffering from paralyses and various dangers; and there was an infinite multitude of those languishing. Seeing them, Peter, not only doing penance because they had thought evil of him through Simon, but also showing such complete faith in God, so that even all who were suffering diverse illnesses believed that they could be saved through him, spread his hands to heaven, and pouring out prayer with tears, giving thanks to God, he said: "I bless you, Father to be preached, who deigns to fulfill every word and promise of your Son, that every creature may know that you alone are God in heaven and on earth," ^C

LXX. Saying these and similar things, he ascended to a more elevated place and ordered the entire multitude of the sick to be placed before him, whom he addressed all with this voice: "Seeing that I am a man similar to you, do not think that you can recover your health from me, but through him who, descending from heaven, showed to those who believe in him for the whole of soul and body ^D

medicine; hence may your voice have this whole people as a witness, because you believe with your whole heart in the Lord Jesus Christ, so that even they may know that they too can be saved by him. And when the whole multitude of the sick cried out with one voice that he is the true God whom Peter proclaims, suddenly ^A a massive light of the grace of God appeared in the midst of the people; and the paralyzed began to run to the feet of Peter, sound; the blind, having recovered their sight, began to shout; the lame, with their gait restored, began to give thanks; the languishing began to rejoice in their recovered health; some indeed who had been living only by breath, now without awareness and without voice, were restored; and all those who were lunatic or possessed by demons were freed.

LXXI. Therefore, the Holy Spirit showed such grace of his power on that day that all, from the least to the greatest, confessed the Lord with one voice. And, not to dwell on many things, within seven days more than ten thousand people, believing in God, were baptized and consecrated by sanctification, such that Theophilus (65), who was more exalted than all the powerful in the city, with every eagerness of desire dedicated the huge basilica of his house to the name of the Church, in which a cathedra (66) was established by the whole people for Peter the apostle, and the whole multitude, gathering daily to hear the word, believed in the healthy doctrine which the efficacy of the healings confirmed. ^B

LXXII. Then I, Clement, along with my brothers and mother, addressed my father to see if any relics of infidelity remained in him. But he said, "Come, and you shall see before Peter how much the increase of faith has grown in me." Then Faustinianus, approaching, fell at the feet of Peter, saying, "The seeds of your word, which the tilled land of my mind received, have already sprouted, and have been promoted to such fruitful maturity that nothing is lacking, except that you, with that spiritual sickle of yours, should reap me from the chaff and store me in the Lord’s granary, making me a participant in the divine table." Then Peter, with all alacrity, taking hold of his hand, handed him over to me, Clement, and to my brothers, saying: "Just as God restored to you, as a father, his sons, so too do the sons now restore the father to God." He then proclaimed a fast for the whole populace, ^C and on the coming Lord's Day baptized him, and taking the subject of his conversion in the midst of the people, he explained all his circumstances, so that the whole city received him as if he were an angel, and showed him no less grace than they offered the apostle. [Upon learning these things, Peter ordered the people to convene the next day, and having ordained as bishop one of those who followed him, and other presbyters, he baptized a great many of the people, and restored to health all who were vexed by infirmities.]

COTELERIUS' NOTES

(65) *Theophilus.* He is thought to be the seventh bishop of Antioch by William of Tyre, *History of the Holy War*, bk. 4, ch. 9, and by James of Vitry, ch. 32, *History of Jerusalem*. Concerning this cathedra of Peter at Antioch, and its feast, the Martyrologies treat under February 22, the *Legenda Sanctorum* ch. 44, *Gemma Animae* bk. 3, ch. 26; Ivo of Chartres, ^D and others. In the *Itinerary* of Wilbrand of Oldenburg; in this Church of Antioch is shown the cathedra of B. Peter. I also found this title in the catalog of manuscripts of the Church of St. Peter of Beauvais: *A Sermon of St. Clement the Pope on the session of Peter, prince of the apostles, by which he established the cathedra at Antioch.* That catalog, however, I owe to that man famous for his birth and virtues, Antoine Vioni Herovallius, whose tireless study for the promotion of literature and for the merit of the learned, all today praise, all marvel at, and no age will fail to celebrate and admire.

APPENDIX OF MONUMENTS TO THE CLEMENTINE RECOGNITIONS

I. Ad lib. 1, cap. 24.

^A Of St. Clement, bishop of Rome, who after the apostle Peter presided over the apostolic see, concerning the Holy Spirit. Blessed is he who has opened closed eyes, etc. (67).

II. To book 1, chapter 54 (from Royal codex 1818).

Most accurate exposition of how one ought to receive him who comes to the faith of the Christians from among the Hebrews.

I. It is necessary that he first publish and proscribe whatever exists for the Hebrews as legal, as custom, and as institution: then prove that he wishes to embrace Christianity from his whole heart and with sincere faith: and indeed openly in the Church renounce all Judaic worship, and all legal observances: and later anathematize the institutions and customs which have been devised against the will of God: and thus join himself to Christ, and to the faith according to Him: namely, with the priest speaking the words first; and he himself answering verse by verse, or his sponsor, if he be a child.

It proceeds as follows: I, such a one, who today come from the Hebrews to the faith of the Christians, not through any force, or necessity, fear, vexation, or poverty, nor on account of a debt or crime charged against me, nor because of worldly honor, certain benefits, money, or things promised to me by anyone, nor entirely for the sake of any utility or human patronage, or because of a quarrel or contention that has arisen with any of the men of my own faith, or as if wishing thereby to take vengeance upon the Christians, as though a zealot of the law, or even having been injured by them; but as having loved Christ and His faith with my whole soul and heart: I renounce all Hebrew worship, and circumcision, and all legal observances, and the Unleavened Bread, and the Passover, and the sacrifice of the Lamb, and the feast of Weeks, and the Jubilee, and the Trumpets, and the Atonement, and the Tabernacles, and all the remaining feasts of the Hebrews; likewise the sacrifices, prayers, sprinklings, purifications, expiations, fasts, Sabbaths, New Moons, and the foods and drinks

and absolutely I renounce every custom and institution of Jewish law. To these I add my anathema against the heresies found among the Jews, and against the heretics themselves: the Sadducees, who are called the righteous, who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, deny the resurrection of the dead, and reject the angels; the Pharisees, the "separated ones," who fast on the second and fifth days of the week, feign virginity for set periods and afterward cast off all continence, who preach fate, and occupy themselves with astrology; the Nasareans, the rebellious ones, who do not accept the Law of Moses regarding sacrifices, and for this reason abstain from living things and do not sacrifice at all; the Ossaeans, the most insolent ones, who use other scriptures besides the Law, and rejecting most of the prophets, boast of a man as their teacher, Elxai by name—which means "hidden power"—and who worship as goddesses women from his own lineage, Martho and Marthana; the Herodians, who glorify the alien king of the Jews, Herod, who was eaten by worms, as if he were Christ; the Hemerobaptists, who share the views of the Pharisees but further teach that no man can be saved unless he bathes daily; the Scribes, or teachers of the law, who, not content to live according to the Law but wishing to do more than it prescribes, devise baptisms for pitchers, cups, dishes, and other domestic utensils, and at the same time frequently wash their hands and cleanse their vessels, and in general add many of their own traditions to the Law, calling these "Deuteroseis," as if they were secondary laws of God; and they falsely attribute the first to Moses, the second to Rabbi Akiba, the third to Annas who is also called Judas, and the fourth to the sons of Asamonaeus, who also violated the Sabbath in battle. ^B Therefore, in anathematizing all these Jewish heresies, and their heresiarchs, and the Deuteroseis, and the Deuterotists, I also anathematize with them those who celebrate the festival of the so-called Mardochaios on the first Saturday of the Christian fasts, and who, having allegedly nailed Haman to a piece of wood, then mix in the sign of the cross and burn it together, and subject the Christians to all manner of imprecations and anathemas.

II. I anathematize, besides the ancients, the Archirabbis and the new evil teachers of the Jews; I mean Lazarus, the inventor of the impious festival which is called among them Monopodaria, and Elias, who in no way yields to him in impiety, and likewise Benjamin and Zebedaeus, and Abramius, and Symbatius, and the rest. And to all these things I pronounce anathema and double-anathema upon him who is expected by the Jews to come as Christ, the Messiah or Anointed One—but in reality the Antichrist—and renouncing him, I betake myself to the true and only Christ and God. I believe in the Fa- ^D

Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the holy and consubstantial and indivisible Trinity. And ^A I confess the Incarnate dispensation and the coming among men of one of the holy Trinity, namely, the only-begotten Son and Word of God, who was begotten of the Father before all ages, through whom all things were made; I believe that he is the Messiah who was announced by the Law and the prophets; and I am fully persuaded that he has already come upon the earth for the salvation of the human race, and that he truly became man, not departing from his own divinity, and that the same is truly God and truly man, without confusion, change, or alteration, in one hypostasis and two natures, and that he voluntarily suffered all things and was crucified in the flesh, while his divinity remained impassible; and that he was buried, and rose on the third day, and ascended into the heavens, and is to come in glory to judge the living and the dead. ^B And I believe and declare the holy virgin Mary, who in the flesh brought forth this one, and remained a virgin after the birth, to be properly and truly Theotokos [Mother of God], and as the mother of God made man in truth, and for this reason made by grace the lady and mistress of all creation, I worship and honor her. And the bread and wine, which are mystically consecrated among Christians as they receive them in the divine mysteries, I am convinced, and I confess, and I believe to be the body and blood in truth of the Lord Jesus Christ, transformed by his divine power intellectually and invisibly beyond all natural thought, as he alone knows; and I thus agree that I myself shall partake of them, as truly being in reality his flesh and blood, and for the sanctification of soul and body, and for eternal life, and for the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven for those who partake of them in perfect faith. ^C Furthermore, I seek to receive the holy baptism of Christ with a pure and sincere soul and heart, and with sincere faith, being fully persuaded that it is truly an intelligible cleansing and a regeneration of soul and body.

III. And the venerable cross of the same true Christ and our God, not as an instrument of destruction and of a curse anymore, but as an instrument of liberty and eternal life, and a sign of the victory won against death and the devil; ^D and furthermore the venerable icons of the epiphany of the Word of God in the flesh among men, and of the pure virgin and Mother of God who ineffably brought him forth, and of the godlike angels, and of all the saints, I receive and honor and embrace as symbols of the prototypes. And the holy angels themselves and all the saints, not only the ancient fathers and prophets, but also the apostles and martyrs and confessors and teachers and holy ones and all who without exception have pleased the Christ who has already come, I honor and venerate as his servants and faithful ministers, because of the honor due to him. And thus with my whole soul and heart and true purpose, I approach the faith of the

^A Christians. But if I speak these things with hypocrisy and deceit, and not from a faith of my whole soul and heart loving Christ who has already come, but because of some violence, or necessity, or fear, or abuse, or poverty, or debt, or an accusation being brought against me, or for worldly honor, or certain benefits, or money, or things promised by someone, or in general for any advantage, or human protection, or because of strife or contention that has arisen with certain people of my own co-religionists, or as if wishing thereby to take revenge on Christians as a zealot, forsooth, of the Law, or having been wronged by them, I now pretend to become a Christian, but later I shall wish to deny it, and to return again to the Jewish religion, or I be found eating with the Jews, or celebrating festivals with them, or fasting, or conversing with them in secret, and slandering Christianity, or going to their synagogues and prayer-houses, and renewing or patronizing these, and do not rather openly rebuke them and their deeds and reject their vain faith—may there come upon me now all the curses which Moses wrote in Deuteronomy, and the trembling of Cain, and the leprosy of Gehazi, and not only be held liable to the penalties of the civil laws without appeal, but also in the world to come may there be for me anathema and catathema, and may my soul be set with Satan and the demons. ^B

How one must anathemetize in writing their heresy, for those coming from the Manichaeans to the holy catholic and apostolic Church of God.

I anathemetize Manes, who is also Manichaeus, and Cubricus, who dared to call himself Paraclete and Apostle of Jesus Christ. I anathemetize Scythianus, and Terebinthus who is also Budas, the teachers of Manes. I anathemetize Zarades, whom Manes said was a god appearing before him among the Indians and Persians, and whom he called the Sun; and with him I also anathemetize the so-called Zaradean prayers. I anathemetize all the gods whom Manes fashioned: namely, the quadriform father of greatness, and the one called the first man, and the Crown-bearer, and the one named the Virgin of light, ^C and the light-chanter (72), and the five intellectual lights, and the so-called Creator, and the just judge brought forth by him, and the shoulder-bearer who supports the earth, and the Elder, and all the gods and Aeons and Aeons of Aeons whom Manes simply invents, and whatever he concocted about giants and abortions. I anathemetize all who have said, or are saying, or are about to say that there are two unbegotten principles opposed to one another, the one good and the other evil. I anathemetize Marcion, and Valentinus, and Basilides, and every man who has dared, dares, or will dare ^D

^A to blaspheme against the Old or New Testament, or to set aside and treat with contumely Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua the son of Nun, Samuel, David, Elijah, and all the rest of the prophets, and the writings composed by them. And simply, I anathematize those who blaspheme the true Creator of all, and who do not confess that the God of the Old and New Testaments is one and the same, and who do not believe that those who shone forth in either Testament are saints and friends of God. I anathematize every man who does not confess that there is one only true God, good and Creator and Almighty, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with Him and the Holy Spirit, out of non-existent things, and things that in no way whatsoever existed, by the impulse of His will, brought forth the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things in them, and did not require matter that did not yet exist, nor the skins and sinews and bodies and sweats of the evil rulers, as Manes fabricated. I anathematize those who say that the body originated from an evil principle, and that evils are by nature. I anathematize the delirious myth of Manes, in which he says that the first man—that is, Adam—was not fashioned by God in our likeness, but by Saclas, the prince of fornication, and by Nebrod, which he says is matter; that Adam and Eve were made; that the former was created in a beastly form, while the latter was inanimate; and that Eve received life from the so-called masculine virgin, but Adam was liberated from his ferocity by Eve. I anathematize those who say that our Lord Jesus Christ was manifested to the world only in appearance, ^B and who do not confess that He was truly incarnate of the holy Virgin Mary, who is descended from David, bone of our human bone and consubstantial with us, and that He was perfectly made man, and was born of her after a period of nine months, and for thirty years associated with men, and was baptized by John, the most holy forerunner and Baptist, in the Jordan, and was testified to by the heavenly and true and good Father, that He Himself is His Son, the true God and consubstantial with Him, having become man by incarnation from the Virgin, while remaining God.

II. I anathematize, therefore, as has been said, those who think contrary to these things, and who hold that the one who was born of Mary and was baptized—or, rather, as they rave, was immersed—is one person, and that the one who ascended from the water and received witness, whom they call the unbegotten Jesus and the Light, who appeared in the figure of man, is another person; and who mythologize that the one is from the evil principle, and the other from the good. I anathematize those who say that our ^C Lord Jesus Christ suffered only in appearance, and that one was on the cross, while another stood far off and laughed, as though another were suffering in his stead. I anathematize, therefore, those who do not confess that He is the Word of God, who was incarnate from the holy Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, and was born, and truly suffered in the flesh, and died ^D

^A a true death, and rose on the third day as God. I anathematize those who say that Christ is the sun, and who offer prayers to the sun, or to the moon, or to the stars, and in general pay attention to them as gods, and call them Most Radiant gods; and those who do not pray to the true God toward the East alone, but revolve themselves according to the motion of the sun in their myriad prayers. I anathematize those who say that Zarades, and Buddha, and Christ, and Manichaeus, and the sun, are one and the same. I anathematize those who, regarding the Paraclete whom the Lord promised to send, dare to name that wretch Manes, and do not confess the true Paraclete, the Spirit of Truth, who descended upon the holy disciples and apostles of Christ on the day of Pentecost, through whom they also knew the languages under heaven, and raised the dead, and performed other miracles. I anathematize those who say that human souls are consubstantial with God, and are swallowed up by matter, and that God now sits and draws them up from below through the sun and the moon, which they also call ships. I anathematize those who approve of metempsychosis, which they themselves call the migration of souls, and those who take all herbs and plants and water and everything else to be animate, and those who cut these things—or rather, who say that they themselves will be transformed into them—and who call us Christians, who do not accept such fables, "Simples." I anathematize those who deny the resurrection of the flesh, ^B and those who teach inhumanity, and do not allow alms to be given to the poor; and those who take away free will, and say that it is not in our power to be good or evil; and those who command abstinence from foods which God created for our participation. I anathematize those who defile themselves with their own urine, and do not endure to wash their filth away with water, lest, they say, the water be polluted. I anathematize those who practice unnatural lewdness, not only men but also women, and who reject marriage, and abstain from lawful intercourse with women, lest, they say, they beget children and drag souls down into the mire of human animality. ^C I anathematize and curse all the Manichaeans, and their opinions and dogmas, along with their souls and bodies, and their abominable, impure, and deception-filled mysteries, and what they call their Bema, and all that they perform impiously, which is contained in their Manichaean—or rather, their deceitful—books. I anathematize all the dogmas and writings of Manes, and his book of Epistles, and all the Manichaean books; such as his death-dealing ^D Gospel, which they call "Living"; and the Treasury of Death, which they call the Treasury of Life; and the book called [the book] of Mysteries, in which they strive to overturn the Law and the Prophets; and the book of Apocryphal

^A Memories; and that which was written by Adas and Adimantus against Moses and the other prophets; and the book called the Heptalogus of Agapius; and the book of Aristocritus, which he entitled Theosophia, that is, the Wisdom of God, in which he attempts to show that Judaism, Hellenism, Christianity, and Manichaeism are one and the same dogma, and, so that he may seem to speak persuasively, he attacks even Manes himself as being evil. I anathematize and curse all Manichaeans, and every book of theirs, and every prayer, or rather sorcery, and all their leaders, and teachers, and bishops, and presbyters, and the chosen men, and the chosen women, and the hearers, and the disciples, together with their souls and bodies, and their godless tradition. ^B I anathematize the father of Manes, Patecius, as a liar and the father of lies; likewise his mother Carossa, and Hierax, and Heraclides, and Aphthonius, who wrote commentaries and expositions on his books; and all the rest of his disciples: Sisinnius, the successor of his madness; Thomas, who composed the book called according to him the Gospel; Budas, Herman, Adam, Adimantus, Zaruas, Gabriabius, Agapius, Hilarius, Olympius, Aristocritus, Salmaeus, Innaeus, Paapis, Baraeas; and furthermore those who in the very last times presided over the heresy, Paul and John, the sons of Callinice, Constantine who is also Silvanus, Simeon who is also Titus, Genesis who is also Timothy, Zacharias the hireling, Joseph who is also Epaphroditus, Baannes the filthy, Sergius who is also Tychicus; and his disciples who were also called his companions, Michael, Canacarius, John, Theodotus, Basil, and Zosimus; of whom those higher in rank, called Notaries, had taken charge of the abominable orgies or rites. Besides these, I anathematize the most wicked Carbeas, and his relative by birth, who was his son-in-law through his daughter, Chrysocheres. ^C IV. Anathema to the so-called Churches of the Manichaeans; which are these: Macedonia, that is, Cibossa in Colonia; Achaia, that is, Argais in Lycia; [the Church] of the Colossians, that is, of the Cynochoritae; [the Church] of the Ephesians, that is, the one in Mopsuestia; and the Church of the Philippians. Anathema to those who do not say that the Father is almighty, the maker of heaven and earth and of all things in them, both visible and invisible, but [say that He is] only a heavenly Father who has power only over the future age, as if the present age and the entire world were not made by Him, but by the evil prince of the world who is opposed to Him. ^D Anathema to those who insult the holy Theotokos Mary, while pretending to honor her, and instead of her understand the heavenly Jerusalem, into which, they say, the Lord entered and from which He went forth; and to those who blaspheme the venerable cross, while pretending to venerate it, and instead of it understand Christ, who, they say, by extending His hands, traced the figure of the cross; and to those

who despise the communion of the precious blood and body of Christ, while pretending to accept it, and instead of it understand the words of Christ’s teaching which, they say, in delivering to the apostles He spoke: "Take, eat, drink"; and to those who detest baptism, while pretending to value it highly, and instead of it understand Christ ^A who, they say, said: "I am the living water"; and to those who turn away from the catholic Church, while saying they honor it, and instead of it understand their own assemblies and meeting places, and John the brother of Paul, the leader of their heresy.

Anathema, therefore, to all those mentioned, and to those who hold similar views; and to those who reject the Churches of the Christians, whom they themselves call Romans; and who are insulting to the holy Mother of God, Mary, and the venerable cross, and the holy icons, and the saving baptism; and who hate the partaking ^B of the divine mysteries, but use the burned umbilici of infants for the purification, or rather the defilement, of their souls, and thereby defile their own food. Anathema to those who defile themselves by eating carrion; and to those who reject every Christian fast, but gorge themselves on cheese and milk during the time of what they consider to be Lent. Anathema to those who deny or corrupt the four Gospels of Christ and the Epistles of the holy apostle Paul; and instead of the God who is the Creator of all things, they worship him who is called the prince of this world; and instead of ^C the apostle Paul, they honor Paul the son of Callinice, and receive his four disciples in the image of the four Gospels, while designating the other three with the name of the Trinity. Anathema to those who commingle with sister, and mother-in-law, and daughter-in-law; and to those who, on the first day of the month of January, as if for a festival, gather together, and after evening drunkenness extinguish the lights, and carnally abuse one another, sparing no gender, nor relationship, nor age whatsoever. Anathema to those who never speak the truth in an oath, but deliberately always lie and perjure themselves, according to the doctrine of the thrice-accursed Manes, who speaks thus: "I am not ^D unmerciful, like Christ, nor will I deny him who has denied me before men; but even him who has lied for the sake of his own salvation, and him who has denied his own faith through fear, I will receive with joy." If I do not think and say these things from my whole soul, I, so-and-so, but have made the aforementioned anathemas with hypocrisy, let there be anathema and curse upon me, both in the present age and in the one to come, and may my soul be condemned and perish and suffer in Tartarus forever.

VI. Upon the one who approaches saying these things before the church, we make him a Christian, or rather we hold him as an unbaptized Christian, as are generally the followers of Christos

On the second day we count him among the catechumens, reciting over him the prayer which we are accustomed to say over catechumen children. On the following day we employ the prayers of exorcism; and thus, in order, we perform all the rites established for baptism. ^A

(IV. To book v, ch. 20. (From codices Reg. 919, 1769, 2216).)

Jupiter invented the art of navigation; Neptune, that of the helmsman; Vulcan, smithing; Æsculapius, medicine; Apollo, music; Minerva, weaving; Diana, hunting; Juno, clothing; Ceres, agriculture; the Phoenicians, letters; Homer, poetry; Zeno the Eleatic, dialectic; Corax of Syracuse, rhetoric; Aristæus, the fruit of the bees; Triptolemus, the sowing of grain; Solon the Athenian and Lycurgus the Spartan, laws; Palamedes, the composition of letters, numbers, measures, and weights; the Egyptians, geometry; the Chaldeans, astrology and genethlialogy; ^B the Arabs and Phrygians, augury; the Medes and Persians, magic, conjuration, and poisoning; the Tyrrhenians, the building of city walls.

Note who have been the originators of arts and sciences. Apelles, of herbalism; Demosthenes, of rhetoric; Papinian, of jurisprudence; Antinous (or Antylus), of spear-making; Eurynous, of archery; Eurydamnus the Messenian, of the warlike breastplate; Evander, of greaves and the shield; Oppianus, of fishing; Triptolemus, of wheat-sowing; Pamphilus, of painting; Typhis, of navigation; Argus, of shipbuilding, from whom also the Argonauts; Archimedes, of mechanics. ^C

V. To book x, ch. 40.

And the father said: "Forgive me, my son; for I do not yet have much experience in such matters. For although your words of yesterday have convinced me by the truth itself, so that I might agree with you, nevertheless there remain in my conscience, as it were, certain remnants of fever, which pull me back from faith—as if from health—for I am tormented by the fact that I know that many things, or rather almost everything, happened to me according to my horoscope." And I replied: "Listen, therefore, father, as to what is the nature of 'mathesis' [astrology], and do just as I tell you. Go to a mathematician, and say to him first: 'Such and such evils happened to me at such a time; whence, therefore, or how, or through which stars did they happen to me? I wish to learn.' He will answer you without doubt that the 'malefic' Mars or Saturn took charge of your times, or that some star of these was 'apocatastatic' ^D; or that one of them looked at your year from a diameter [opposition], or was in conjunction, or in the center; or he will answer other things similar to these, adding that in all these [configurations] one was 'asyndetos' [unconnected] with the evil, or was invisible, or in a [specific] figure, or outside a 'haeresis,' or lacking, or not reaching, or at obscure stars; and he will answer many other things similar to these, according to their own rules, and he will assign a reason for each individual instance. After this one, then, approach another, and say the opposite: 'This good thing happened to me at this time.' But mention the same time; and demand from him [to know] from which star

^A genesis this good thing happened to you; and keep the same times about which you had asked concerning the evils. And when you have been deceived in the times, see how many configurations he will find for you, by which he may show that in those very times good things ought to have happened to you. For it is impossible for those dealing with the genesis of men not to find, in every region of the stars which they name, some stars well-placed and some badly. For the circle is gathered equally from every part according to mathematics, receiving diverse and various causes, from which they may take the opportunity to say what they wish. For just as it is accustomed to happen regarding obscure dreams ^B which men see and understand nothing certain; but when some outcome of events has occurred, they then adapt the vision of the dream to the things which have happened. So also is [this] mathematics: before anything happens, nothing certain is announced; but after something has occurred, they gather the causes for the event that has already taken place. Finally, frequently when they have erred, and the matter has turned out otherwise, they reproach themselves, saying that such-and-such was the star which hindered, which occurred, and which we did not see; ^C ignorant that their error does not proceed from the imprudence of their art, but from the incompatibility of the whole cause. For they are ignorant of those things which we truly desire to do, yet do not indulge our concupiscences. We, however, who have learned the reason for this mystery, know also the cause: that, having freedom of the will, we sometimes resist our concupiscences, and sometimes yield. And therefore the outcome of human actions is uncertain, because it hangs upon the freedom of the will. For while the mathematician can point out the concupiscence which the malignant power works, yet whether the act or outcome of this concupiscence can be fulfilled or not—because it is in the freedom of the will—can be known by no one before the effect of the matter. And this is what the ignorant astrologers invented for themselves, so that they might speak of 'climacterics,' that is, the refuges for an uncertain matter, as we most fully showed yesterday. To this, if you think anything should be said, say it.' And the father, having sworn, ^D answered, 'Nothing is more true, my son, than these things which you have set forth.'

ADDENDA

Of this volume, cols. 459–460, after fragment marked no. IX.

—

X

(From the *Sacred Matters* of Leontius and John, bk. II, in Mai, *Scriptorum veterum nova Collectio*, VII, 84.)

^A From the ninth epistle of the holy Clement of Rome: "So that we might also come into being, He having willed it, who were not before we were born; and having come into being, we might enjoy the things that have come to be for our sake; for this reason we are human beings, and we possess understanding and reason received from Him."

St. Clement of Rome, from epistle 9: "So that we might also come into being at His will, who did not exist before we were born, and once created might enjoy the things created for our use; for this reason we are human beings and possess wisdom, by reason received from Him."

^B NOTE. Nothing of Clement of Rome is extant except the first epistle to the Corinthians and a part of the second. And indeed, a passage exists in the codex from 1 Cor. ch. XXXIII, which I refrain from transcribing, although it varies from the reading published by Cotelerius, and also from that in Damascenus, *Paral.*, p. 310. Now, regarding the ninth epistle of Clement, which Leontius cites here, what am I to say? Is it from those Clementine epistles in which Jerome (*Adv. Jov.* 1, 12) used to read praises of virginity much more extensive than those appearing in the two published ones? This passage does not follow the passage of the first in the codex. Certainly, in the collection of Mercator, there are five epistles of Clement. But nevertheless Turrianus (*Pro epp. pontif.*, bk. V, ch. 20, ed. Flor., p. 555) says that Leontius in this work cites the first and second of Clement to the Corinthians.

ORDO RERUM: TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME

Dissertation on the writers of the first age of the Church in general. Chap. I. How few works of the writers of the first age of the Church remain: why God permitted more to perish; and what is to be treated in this dissertation. 9 Chap. II. What was the character of the writers of the first age, their studies, occupations, and opportunities for writing. 10 Chap. III. On the origin, progress, and end of the heresies of the first century, and their conquerors; and first on the heresy of Simon Magus. 12 Chap. IV. On the heresy of Menander. 16 Chap. V. On the heresy of Cerinthus. 17 Chap. VI. On the heresy of the Ebionites. 19 Chap. VII. On the heresy of the Nazarenes. 22 Chap. VIII. On the heresy of the Nicolaitans. 25 Chap. IX. What utility comes from this description of heresies. 26 Chap. X. On the origin of Christian schools. 27

ST. CLEMENT I, POPE OF ROME. Notice from the pontifical book of Pope Damasus. 31 Various historical-literary proems to the epistles of the holy Pope Clement. I. — From the edition of Cotelerius. Testimonies of the ancients regarding the epistles of holy Clement. 31 Judgments of recent authors, and first of all the preface of Patrick Young. 43 His same *Prosemeiosis*. 45 Epistle of Jerome Bignon to Hugo Grotius. 47 Epistle of Hugo Grotius to Jerome Bignon. 47 Second epistle of the same Bignon. 49 Epistle of Hermann Conring to Joachim Johann Mader. 49 Preface of Joachim Johann Mader to the reader. 55 Divination of Gottfried Wendelin regarding the time of Clement and his epistles. 61 J. B. Cotelerius' judgment on the former epistle of St. Clement. 67 J. B. Cotelerius' judgment on the latter epistle of St. Clement. 69

II. — From the edition of Peter Coustant. — When and how long St. Clement sat. 75 Admonition to the first epistle to the Corinthians. 77 Admonition to the second epistle. 81 III. — From the edition of Galland. Dissertation on the two epistles to the Corinthians. 85 Dissertation on the two epistles to virgins. 107 IV. — From P. Lumper’s *Historia Patrum Critica*. 121 Chap. I. Single article. — History of the life of St. Clement. 121 Chap. II. — On the writings of St. Clement, first Roman pontiff. 125 Article I. — On his first epistle written to the Corinthians. 125 Article II. — On the second epistle to the Corinthians. 129 Article III. — On the time when each epistle was written to the Corinthians. 135 Article IV. — Brief analysis of both epistles. 138 Chap. III. Single article. — What is to be thought of the two epistles of Clement to virgins. 141 Chap. IV. — On the writings falsely bearing the name of St. Clement. 145 Article I. — On the five pseudo-Clementine epistles. 145 Article II. — On the books of Recognitions, the Clementine liturgy, and other supposititious works. 147 Article III. — On the Clementines and some other supposititious writings inscribed with his name. 150 Article IV. — On the acts of the martyrdom of St. Clement. 151 Chap. V. — Doctrine of St. Clement. 153 Article I. — Dogmatic observations on the genuine epistles of St. Clement of Rome. 153 § I. — On Holy Scripture and tradition. 155 § II. — On the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and His grace. 159 § III. — On the resurrection. 165 § IV. — On the ecclesiastical hierarchy. 166 Article II. — Moral observations. 172 § I. — On humility and charity, and the vice opposite to it, emulation. 179