Epitome of the Preachings of Peter during his Travels

CLEMENT'S EPITOME OF THE PREACHING OF PETER DURING HIS TRAVELS

HOMILY I

I. I, Clement, a citizen of Rome, while still in the first stage of my life, was able to live modestly and temperately, since from boyhood my mind and thought drew me away from the desire that was rooted in me, towards sorrows and distress. For there was present within me a reflection, I know not from where, which kept bringing to mind the frequent thought of death: that I might not exist after death, and that no one would ever make mention of me—seeing that in the vastness of time, all things lead all things into oblivion—and that I would somehow not be, and would not know those who are, nor be known, nor have been, nor be coming into being. And further: has the world ever come into being, and what existed before it came into being? For if it always was, it will always be; but if it was created, it will also be dissolved; and what, then, will be after its dissolution, unless perhaps silence and oblivion? And perhaps there may be something which it is impossible to conceive at this present time. ^B

II. When I thought of these things and things like them incessantly, I know not from where, I was seized by such bitter sorrow that I grew pale and wasted away. And what was most grievous was that, whenever I deliberated on casting aside this concern as useless, the affection urged me on all the more vehemently. I was vexed by this, not knowing that I had a noble companion in that thought, one that would become for me the cause of the hope of immortality, as I later recognized by experience and gave thanks to God, the Lord of all things. For because that reflection pressed upon me from the beginning, I was compelled to come to the inquiry and discovery of the nature of things. And then I judged those to be wretched whom, out of ignorance, I had earlier dared to proclaim blessed. ^C

III. Therefore, since from boyhood I was living in such thoughts, for the sake of learning something certain I used to frequent the schools of the philosophers, and I saw nothing else but the destruction and construction of doctrines, and disputes, and contentions, and the arts of syllogisms, and the devising of premises. And at times, it would prevail, by way of example, that the soul is immortal, and at other times that it is mortal. Whenever, therefore, the argument that it was immortal prevailed, I rejoiced; but whenever the argument that it was mortal prevailed, I was grieved; and I was all the more downcast because I was not able to verify either for my own mind; yet I was understanding that the opinions and definitions of things were being imagined as either false or true, not according to the nature of the things themselves and the truth of their causes, but according to the wits of those defending them.

Having now observed ^A that knowledge is attained not through the arguments being defended, but rather is carried away by the ones who defend them, I was struck with even greater dizziness regarding the matter. Wherefore I groaned from the depths of my soul; for I was unable to affirm anything with certainty, nor could I shake off the anxiety regarding these things, though I wished to do so, as I said before; because, while I frequently ordered myself to be at rest, I know not how, the thought of such things would secretly creep into me with pleasure.

^B IV. And again, being at a loss, I said to myself: Why do I labor in vain, when the matter is clear? Because if I shall not be after death, it is not fitting for me to be distressed now, when I am. Therefore, I shall reserve my distress for that day when, since I shall not be, I shall not be distressed. But if I shall be, why does distress dwell in me uselessly now? And immediately after this, another thought came to me. For I said: Might I not have to suffer something worse there than what torments me now, if I have not lived piously, and be handed over, according to the accounts of certain philosophers, to Pyriphlegethon and Tartarus, as Sisyphus or Tityus or Ixion or Tantalus, and be punished in Hades for eternity? And again I would reply, saying: But these things are not. And again I would say: But if they are? Since therefore the matter is uncertain, I said, it is much safer for me to live piously. ^C And how shall I be able, for the sake of righteousness, looking toward an uncertain hope, to restrain the pleasures of the body? But neither do I fully and certainly know what is just and acceptable to God, nor do I know if the soul is immortal or mortal; and neither is any certain reason found, nor am I able to calm these movements of my mind.

V. What then must I do, but this? ^D I shall set out for Egypt, and I shall make myself a friend to the hierophants and prophets of the sanctuaries, and having sought out and found a magician, I shall persuade him with much money to perform an evocation of a soul, which they call necromancy, as if I were inquiring about some other business: but the inquiry will be to learn whether the soul is immortal. And the answer of the soul regarding its immortality will not be made known to me from its speech or my hearing, but from sight alone; that I, having seen it with my own eyes,

^A I might possess a sufficient and adequate declaration that it exists; and henceforth the uncertain words of hearing will no longer be able to overturn the firmness of the eyes. Nevertheless, I discussed this very deliberation with a certain philosopher, a friend of mine, who advised me not to dare this, for many reasons. For if, he says, the soul does not obey the magician, you, as one who has opposed the laws forbidding these things, will live with a bad conscience; but if it does obey, besides living with a bad conscience, I do not believe that those things which pertain to piety will continue to go well for you, for the sake of which you dared this. For they say that the Divine regards with hatred those who harass the souls of the dead upon the dissolution of their bodies. Hearing these things, I became more hesitant to attempt such a thing, yet I did not cease from my original resolve, but, as if hindered, I grieved at the restraint of my impulse. ^B

VI.

VII.

^A who is in heaven, whose world you inhabit unjustly before his righteous eyes. But if you repent and live according to his will, having been carried over into another age and become eternal, you will enjoy his ineffable goods; but if you are disobedient, your souls after the dissolution of the body will be cast into a place of fire, where, being punished eternally, they will repent in vain. For the present life of each individual is the time for repentance.

Now, as I heard these things, I was distressed that, among such a great multitude of people, not a single one who had received such great news had said: "I will go into Judea so that I may see if this person who says these things speaks the truth, namely that the Son of God has arrived in Judea for the sake of a good and eternal hope, manifesting the will of the Father who sent him." For what they say he preaches is not a small thing: he affirms that the souls of some, being immortal, will enjoy immortal goods, while those of others, cast into unquenchable fire, will be punished for eternity.

^B VIII. While I was saying these things about others, I also spoke to myself with these words: "Why do I blame others, while I continue in the same crime of negligence? But I will hasten to Judea, after I have settled my affairs." When I had resolved this, much time passed in delay, as it was difficult to be freed from the concerns of this life. At length, however, having considered the nature of life—knowing how it ensnares those who are in a hurry by entangling them in hope, and how much time had been snatched away from me while I was tossed about by expectations, and that in such busyness we men die—I abandoned all my possessions as they were and hastened to the port. Having arrived at the port ^C and having set sail, I was carried by contrary winds not to Judea, but to Alexandria. Detained there by the inclemency of the winds, I used to frequent the philosophers and tell them the rumors and the reports of the person who had appeared in Rome. But they answered: "We do not know the person who appeared in Rome; however, of the one who dwells in Judea and is spoken of by report as the Son of God, we have heard from many who come from there, and we have learned about all the miracles which he performs by his speech."

And when I said: "I should like to meet someone who has seen him," they immediately led me away, saying: "There is someone here, a Hebrew man named Barnabas, who has not only seen him but is also from that very region, who even says that he himself is one of his ^D disciples; and sitting here, he willingly recounts the words of the things promised by him to those who wish to hear." And indeed I went along with them. And coming with them—

^A I stood before the multitude, listening to the discourses; and I understood that he was telling the truth, not speaking with dialectical art, but simply and without preparation putting forth what he had heard and seen of the Son of God, who had appeared, both his deeds and his words. He also brought forward many witnesses to the miracles and discourses he recounted, even from the very crowd that stood by.

X. And since the crowds were gladly disposed toward those things which were spoken with simplicity, the philosophers who came from secular education undertook to laugh at him and mock him, attacking him with immoderate audacity, sneering and railing, as if using syllogisms as mighty weapons. But he, ^B warding off their nonsense, did not run to meet their crafty questioning, but fearlessly did not desist from his sermon. And at one time someone asked him why the gnat was so made that, being a very small thing, it has six feet and also carries wings, whereas the elephant, the largest of animals, having no wings, has only four feet. But he, after the questioning, resumed the discourse he had interrupted, as if he had replied to the inquiry, taking up again the discourse that had been proposed to him from the beginning, using this sole preamble at each interruption: "We have the command only to tell you the discourses and the wonderful deeds of him who sent us, and in place of logical demonstration we provide you as witnesses many of those standing here from among you, ^C whose faces I remember as living images, sufficient testimonies. It remains in your power to obey or to disbelieve. But I shall not cease to tell you what is useful, because to me it is a loss to be silent, but to you, not to believe is a harm. Furthermore, I could give you the proofs for your trifling questions if you had inquired with a love of truth. But it is not the opportune time now to explain to you the cause of the distinct creation of the gnat and the elephant, you who are ignorant of the God of all things."

XI. While he was saying these things, as if by common agreement they let out a chaotic laugh, trying to silence him and reduce him to straits, as if he were some barbarian possessed by a demon. ^D I, seeing these things, seized by a zeal I know not how, could no longer endure to remain silent with a pious anger, but I cried out with boldness, saying: "Rightly did God decree that his will is incomprehensible to you, foreseeing that you are unworthy, as it is evident from the present circumstances to those who use the judgment of their mind. For since now the heralds of his will have been sent forth, they do not require grammar..."

^A professing art, but with simple and sincere words revealing his counsel (so that whoever hears may understand what is said), and not with any envious affection, as though he were unwilling to offer himself to everyone; you, however, instead of understanding what is expedient for you, to your own ruin laugh at the truth which has been conducted among the barbarians to your condemnation, and which, when it came to you, you would not receive as a guest because of your lechery ^B and the meanness of its words, lest you be rebuked, seeing that you are rash lovers of speech, and not philosophers who are lovers of truth. How long, therefore, do you learn to speak, you who know not how to speak well? For many words of yours are not worth the price of a single word. But what will your Greek multitude, having become of one mind, say, if the judgment is to come, as this man says? "Why, O God, did you not proclaim your will to us?" Will you not hear, if you are deemed worthy of an answer, these things: "I, when I knew all future purposes before the foundation of the world, individually anticipated each one according to his own worth secretly; but, desiring to make this very fact clear to those who fled to me, ^C as to why from the beginning, from the first generations, I did not allow my will to be proclaimed publicly, now toward the end of the age I have sent the heralds of my counsel, who are actually laughed at and, affected with insults, are mocked by those who do not wish to be helped at all, as they have vehemently rejected my friendship." O great injury! For the preachers incur the danger of death; and that by the hands of those men who are called to salvation. ^D XXII. Furthermore, that thing which is unjustly done against my heralds would have been, from the beginning, a future event for all, if from the beginning those who are unworthy had been called to salvation. For what is now done by them injuriously is done in defense of my just providence, because I did not wish to expose a doctrine worthy of honor uselessly to public insult from the beginning, but I decided that it, as something to be revered, should be covered in silence; not, indeed, among those who were from the beginning worthy, to whom I also entrusted it, but among these and those like them, as you see, the unworthy, who pursue me with hatred and do not wish to love themselves. And now indeed, leaving off laughing at this man, hear from me his promise, or let whoever wishes respond to me as I ask. And do not, as lewd dogs, bark with noise

obstructing the ears of those who desire to be saved, you who are unjust and hateful to God, and who occupy the saving mind with unbelief. How will you be able to obtain forgiveness, insulting him who promises to announce to you the divinity of God, and this—a man whom you ought to have accepted, even if he were saying nothing of the truth, because of his good disposition towards you?

XIII. As I said these things, and those that follow them, a great murmuring arose among the crowds; and some, as if pitying Barnabas, favored me, but the foolish ones were gnashing their teeth severely against me. And when evening had already fallen, I took Barnabas by the hand, and though he was unwilling, I led him by force to my house, where I also made him stay, so that no one might lay hands on him. And having stayed for a few days, and having instructed me in a few of the true words—a little, as in the space of a few days—he said he was hastening to Judea for the sake of the religious festival, and that he wished for the rest of the time to be with his own countrymen.

XIV. ^B And he seemed to me to be clearly struck. For upon my saying, "Explain to me only those words of that man who appeared, which you heard, and I, having adorned them with my own speech, will preach the counsel of God, and then thus, within a few days, I will sail with you; for I long exceedingly to arrive at the region of Judea, and perhaps I will even dwell with you for my whole life." But he, hearing this, answered: "If you indeed wish to see our affairs and to learn what is expedient, sail with me at once; but if you do not wish, I will tell you the remaining signs of my dwelling place today and whatever you want, so that when you wish to come, you may find us; for I will go to my own affairs tomorrow." And indeed, seeing him inexorable, I went with him as far as the harbor; and having learned from him the signs of the dwellings he spoke of, I said to him, "If it were not that tomorrow I must collect something owed to me, I would sail with you at once—but I will overtake you shortly." And having said these things, and having entrusted him to the masters of the ship, I returned sad, remembering my good and sympathetic friend. ^C

XV. Having stayed for some days, and not being able to collect the whole debt, because of the haste, I neglected the remainder, as it was a hindrance, and I myself also sailed for Judea, and on the fifteenth day I arrived at Caesarea Stratonis. And when I had stepped onto the land and was searching for lodging, I learned that a certain Peter, the most approved disciple of that man who appeared in Judea and performed signs and wonders, would dispute tomorrow with Simon, who is from Gittha in Samaria. And I, having heard these things, requested that his lodging be pointed out to me; and as I learned it, I stood at the gate. And those who were in the house, having seen me, were debating ^D among themselves who I was and from where

^A I came. And behold, Barnabas, having come out, as soon as he saw me, embraced me, rejoicing greatly and weeping; and taking me by the hand, he led me into the place where Peter was, saying to me: "This is Peter, whom I declared to you as the greatest in the wisdom of God, and of whom I was constantly speaking to you. Enter then, of your own accord; for I have truly recounted to him the good things that are in you, and at the same time I have made manifest your resolve, so that he himself also desires to see you. I offer you, therefore, a great gift to him, taking you by my own hands." Having said this, and while presenting me, he said: "This is Clement, Peter."

XVI. But the good Peter, as soon as he heard the name, leaped up and kissed me, and having made me sit down, ^B he said at once: "You have acted rightly in receiving as a guest the herald of truth, Barnabas, for the honor of the true God, with a great spirit, not fearing nor dreading the fury of the ignorant crowds. You shall be blessed. For just as you have received the legate of the truth with all honor, so the truth itself, while you are a stranger, will constitute you a citizen of its own city: and then you will rejoice greatly because, having now lent a small favor—the willingness, I mean, for good discourses—you shall become an heir of eternal and irrevocable goods. And do not labor to recount your character to me; for Barnabas, who does not know how to lie, has explained all your affairs to us, making mention of your goodness almost every day. And that I may speak briefly to you, as to a sincere friend, as the matter stands: unless something is an impediment to you, take the journey with us, and receive the discourses of the truth, which I am about to deliver through the individual cities, even as far as Rome itself. ^C Furthermore, if you desire anything, speak."

XVI. And I set forth what I had been intending from the beginning, and how I had been exhausted by inexplicable questions, and all other things which I had before declared to you in the beginning, so that I might not write the same things again. I said, however: "I am indeed ready to set out with you; for I know not how, I desire this gladly: but first I wish to be made more certain concerning the truth, that I may know whether the soul is mortal or immortal; and if it is sempiternal, whether it ought to be judged because of the things which it did here: likewise also what is just or pleasing to God: and further, whether the world was made, and why it was made, and whether it will not be dissolved, or whether it will be dissolved, and whether it will be better, or will not be at all: and, not to follow through with every detail, I said that I wished to be instructed in these things and those which follow from them." ^D And he replied to these things: "I will briefly, Clement, present to you the knowledge of things; and attend now to what I say."

XVII. And I set forth... [index: entries preserved]

XVIII. The will of God has remained hidden for many reasons. First, there is bad instruction, evil association, pernicious habit, poor discourse, an incorrect preconception, and on account of these, error; then follow fearlessness, unbelief, fornication, avarice, vainglory, and ten thousand other such evils. Like a great multitude of smoke in one house—the world—they have clouded the vision of the men dwelling within, and they did not allow those who looked up from their distortion to perceive God who created them, or to know what is pleasing to Him. Therefore, those who are lovers of truth must cry out from their hearts within and call for help, with a mind that loves the truth, so that someone might open the door from within the house filled with smoke, so that the light of the sun from outside might be able to enter the house, and the smoke which is inside might be cast out by the fire.

^B XIX. I call this helper a man, the true prophet, who alone is able to illuminate the souls of men, so that with our own eyes we might be able to see the way of eternal salvation. Otherwise it is impossible, as you know and as you were saying a little while ago, that every argument is destroyed and constructed, and the same thing is deemed true or false according to the ability of the advocate; so that opinions, as they are, no longer appear, but take on the appearance of truth or falsehood at the hands of the disputants. For this reason the whole matter of piety required the true prophet, so that he might tell us things as they are, and how one ought to believe about all things. Wherefore it is first necessary for one, having tested the prophet by every prophetic examination and having recognized the truth, to believe all things that follow from him, and no longer to examine each of the things said by him individually, but to receive them as being certain, with faith to be sure, yet received by secure judgment; for they have been accepted by one demonstration from the beginning and by an accurate and complete examination, and all things have been assumed by right reason. Therefore, above all, the true prophet must be sought; for without him it is impossible for anything firm to exist among men.

^C XX. And at the same time he satisfied me, explaining who he is and how he is found; and he truly showed him to be easy for me to find, and by his discourses about the prophet he made the truth clearer to my ears than those things which are seen by the eyes, so that, struck with amazement, I marveled how, when the things that all seek are placed before them, no one perceives them. But having written the discourse concerning the prophet, at his command, he saw to it that the volume was sent to you from Caesarea Stratoris, having in my possession the order from you that...

I should write out and send to you the discourses and actions of each year. ^A Yet on the very first day, when he was only beginning to speak of the Prophet of truth, he fully assured me concerning all things; and then he said, "Watch carefully from now on for the discussions that I shall have against those who are in opposition; and if I should appear to come off worse, do not fear that you might waver concerning the truth that has been delivered to you, knowing well that it was I who seemed to be defeated, and not the subject matter delivered to us by the Prophet." Nevertheless, I hope that even in the inquisitive discourse I shall not come off worse in the eyes of those who have understanding—truth-lovers, I mean—who are able to discern which of the arguments are persuasive, artificial, and pleasing, and which are plain and simple, trusting only in the truth which they present.

^B XXI. After he had said these things, I replied: "I already give thanks to God, for even as I wished to receive the fullness of certainty, so he has also granted it to me. But as for me, be no longer anxious; for I shall never waver—no, not even if you yourself should ever wish to turn me away from faith in the Prophet; you could not accomplish an impossible thing, for I hold in my mind what I have received. And do not think that I am promising a great thing in this, that I shall never waver; but neither I myself, nor any man who has heard the discourses concerning the Prophet, could ever waver concerning the true subject matter, once he has heard and understood what the truth of the prophetic promise is. Therefore, have confidence in the God-pleasing doctrine. For every art of malice is thoroughly defeated. For against prophecy, nothing can avail—neither the artifices of words, nor the inventions of sophisms, nor syllogisms, nor any other device—if indeed the hearer of the true prophet truly reaches out for the truth, and not for something else under the pretext of truth. ^C Therefore, my lord Peter, do not be anxious, as if you had bestowed the greatest gift upon a man without sense. For you have given grace to one who perceives it, and to one who cannot be deceived concerning the truth that has been delivered. For I know that this is one of those things which a person would wish to receive quickly and not to arrive at slowly. I know, therefore, that what has been given to me is not to be despised because of the speed, and that it is incomparable and alone secure."

XXII. After I had spoken these things, Peter said: "I give thanks to God, both for your salvation and for my own advantage and delight. For I truly rejoice, knowing that you have recognized what the magnitude of prophecy is. Since, therefore, as you have said, even if I myself should ever wish ^D—which heaven forbid!—to transfer you to another dogma, I shall not be capable of persuading you, begin from now on from the

^A morrow to be present with me at the disputations against our adversaries. For my morrow is against Simon Magus." Having said this, he took some food himself and bade me also take some in private. Having blessed the food and given thanks, after he was satisfied, and having rendered me the reason for this very thing, he added, saying, "May God grant you to be made like me in all things, and having been baptized, to become a partaker of the same table as I." Having said these things, he ordered me to rest; for already the nature of the body was demanding sleep.

HOMILY II

I. On the following day, therefore, I, Clement, while it was still night, was awakened from my sleep, and having learned that Peter was awake and was discoursing with those who were with him concerning the worship of God—for they were sixteen in number, whose names, ^B as I learned each one in the course of time, I resolved to set forth, so that you might know who they were: of whom the first was Zacchaeus, who was once a tax collector, and Sophonias his brother, and Joseph, and his companion Michaeas; furthermore, Thomas and Eliezer the twins; but also Aeneas and Lazarus the priests; and in addition to these, Elisaeus, and Benjamin the son of Saphra, and likewise Rubilus and Zacharias the architects; and Ananias and Aggaeus the Jamneni; and also Nicetas and Aquila the associates—and so, having entered and greeted them, I sat down, as he bade me.

II. But he, interrupting the ^C discourse he had begun, as if defending himself, rendered the reason why he had not awakened me so that I might hear his words, offering as the cause the fatigue from the voyage—wishing for that to be digested within me, he allowed me to rest. For whenever the soul is occupied with what the body lacks, it does not receive the teachings offered to it according to their worth. For this reason, I do not wish to discourse with those who are greatly saddened by some calamity, or are excessively angry, or are turned to the madness of love, or are exhausted by bodily labor, or are harassed by worldly cares, or are disturbed by certain other ^D passions, in which men, as I have said, the soul, collapsing and suffering in sympathy with the ailing body, is bereft of its own prudence.

III. And let no one say, "Is it then not necessary to offer consolation...

^A consolation and admonitions to those who have and do something evil. I say that if anyone makes progress, let him proceed; if not, let him yield to the time. For I know that all things have their proper time. Therefore, it is necessary to provide those who strengthen the soul with discourse before vexation, so that if anything evil should happen to occur, the mind, having been armed beforehand with right reason, may be able to endure what has been brought upon it. For then, at the very height of the battle, the mind knows how to hasten to the help of him who has provided counsel.

IV. Moreover, I have heard, Clement, that Barnabas completely explained to you at Alexandria the doctrine concerning prophecy; is this not true? And I answered: It is so, and he did it very excellently. And Peter said: Therefore, there is no need for this time, which could serve us for other matters that you do not know, to be spent on explaining things which you already know. And I said: You speak rightly, Peter. Yet grant me this favor, since I have determined to remain with you always, to explain continuously and gladly the discourse concerning the prophet to one who listens. For without it, as I have learned from Barnabas, the truth cannot be learned.

V. Peter, being greatly pleased by this answer, said: Now the correction which pertains to you has reached its end, since you have recognized the magnitude of the ^B undoubted prophecy, without which it is impossible for anyone to attain that which is of supreme value. For when among existing things there are and can be many and various goods, the one which surpasses all in blessedness—whether it be eternal life, or perpetual health, or perfect intelligence, or light, or joy, or immortality, or whatever else may excel in the nature of things—it is not possible to possess it in any other way than by first knowing things as they are. But such knowledge ^C will never be attained unless one first recognizes the prophet of truth.

VI. Now the prophet of truth is he who knows all things whatsoever: the past as it was, the present as it is, and the future as it will be; who is sinless and merciful; and to whom alone the province of explaining the truth has been entrusted. Read, and you will find those who thought they had discovered the truth for themselves. For this is the property of a prophet, to reveal the truth, just as it is the property of the sun alone to bring the day. For this reason, as many as have ever desired to know the truth, but did not succeed in learning it from this one, having failed to find it, ^D passed away while still searching. For how could he who seeks the truth receive it from his own ignorance? Even if he should find it, because he does not recognize it, he will pass it by as if it were not the truth. Nor, again, will it be possible for him to grasp the truth from another who is likewise ignorant, however much he may promise knowledge, except for only a way of life, and even that is a way which can be recognized because it is reasonable, which is for each person, from...

knowledge of not wishing to be wronged, and [the knowledge] that one ought not to wrong another. ^A

VII. All those, therefore, who have at any time sought the truth, believing that they were able to find it for themselves, have been ensnared. This is what has happened to the philosophers of the Greeks and to the more diligent among the barbarians. For, starting from conjectures about visible things, they made pronouncements about obscure matters, assuming that what appeared to them in any way at all was truth. For as if they were experts in truth, those who are still seeking it reject some of the notions that present themselves to them and retain others, as if they knew—[yet they are] ignorant of which are true and which false; and those who seek the truth make definitions about truth, not knowing that he who seeks truth cannot learn it from his own error. For, as I said, he cannot recognize it even when it stands before him, since he does not know it. ^B

VIII. But [the error] persuades each one who seeks to learn from himself not necessarily what is true, but what is pleasing. Since, therefore, one thing pleases one person and another pleases another, one thing is held by one as true and another thing by another. But the truth is what seems right to the prophet, not what is agreeable to each individual. For if what pleased were truth, the one would be many—which is impossible. For this reason, also, the philologists ^C of the Greeks—not philosophers (lovers of words, not of wisdom)—approaching matters through conjectures, have taught many and various things, thinking their own consistency of hypotheses to be truth, not knowing that since they had defined false principles for themselves, their end agreed with their beginning.

IX. Hence, one ought to pass over all things and entrust oneself solely to the prophet of the truth, whom all of us are able to judge whether he is a prophet, even if we are highly unlearned, and unskilled in sophistry, and ignorant of geometry, and uninitiated in music. For God, as the caretaker of all, has made the discovery of him most easy for all, so that neither might the barbarians be weak [in finding him], nor the Greeks be incapable of finding him. The discovery of him is, therefore, easy. And it is this.

X. If he is a prophet, and is able to know how the world was made, and what things occur in it, and what things shall be at the end; if he has foretold anything to us which we have known to have come to pass at the end, we rightly believe that the future things also will come to pass, based on those things which have already occurred, not only as he who knows, but also as he who foreknows. To whom therefore—even if one possesses small intellect—does ^D it not appear that he must be believed above all others regarding the counsels of God, he who alone, above all men, understands them even though he has not been taught? Wherefore, if one believes such a man, tell me,

divinity of the Spirit which exists in Him. If anyone is unwilling to attribute the knowledge of truth to Him, but delivers it to some other person, is he not devoid of mind, for attributing to one who is not a prophet the knowledge which he was unwilling to grant to the prophet?

XI. Wherefore, before all things and all judgment, it is necessary to seek the prophet through prophetic promise; and, having known him, to adhere to the remaining words of his teaching without any doubt, and, trusting in the goods that are hoped for, to live according to the first judgment, knowing clearly that he who uttered these words is so constituted by nature that he cannot lie. Wherefore, if in the future anything said by him should seem to us not to have been said rightly, we must know that it was not said wrongly by him, but that we did not understand what was well said. For ignorance does not rightly judge knowledge, just as knowledge is not naturally able to judge foreknowledge; but rather, foreknowledge bestows knowledge upon the ignorant. ^B

XII. Wherefore, my friend Clement, if you desire to know the things that pertain to God, you can learn them from Him alone, because He alone knows the truth. For if any of the others knows anything, he has received it either from Him or from His disciples. Now His opinion and true preaching is this: that there is one God, whose work is the world, and who, being just, will certainly at some time render to each one according to his actions.

XIII. For it is necessary that he who asserts that God is by nature altogether just must also believe that the souls of men are immortal. Since where will His justice be, when some, although they had lived piously, were sometimes treated ^C badly and taken away by violence, while others, having been utterly impious and having indulged in the luxuries and delights of life, met with the common death of men? Since, therefore, without any contradiction, God is good and is also just, and He will not be known to be just in any other way unless the soul is immortal after its separation from the body, in order that the wicked man indeed, being placed in Hades, as one who has received good things here, may be punished there for the things in which he did wrong; but the good man, having been punished here for the things in which he did wrong, may there be established as an heir of good things, as in the bosom of the just. Since, therefore, God is just, it is evident to us that there will also be a judgment, and that souls are immortal. ^D

XIV. But if anyone, as it pleases Simon the Samaritan, is unwilling to grant that it is just for God to be just, to whom else can he attribute that He is just, or who else can even be able to be so? For if the root of all things does not possess this, it is altogether

^A necessity to think that this also in human nature, just as in fruits, cannot be found. But if it is to be found in men, how much more in God? And if it is nowhere—neither with God nor with men—then justice cannot be found; and absolutely neither can injustice. But justice does exist. For because there is justice, injustice is also spoken of; it is called by that name as when it is compared with justice and is found to be contrary to it.

XV. Therefore, God, teaching men the truth of things, and being Himself one, divided all the extremes into two parts, and contrarily, although He who made heaven and earth, day and night, light and fire, sun and moon, life and death, is Himself one from the beginning and the only God. In these things, however, He made man alone to have free will, having the aptitude to become just or unjust; and for him He alternated the images of the ^B conjunctions, setting before him small things first, and then great ones, such as the world and the age. And indeed, this present world is temporal, but the one to come is eternal. The first is ignorance, the second is knowledge. Thus, He also ordained the leaders of the prophecy. For because the present world is female, as a mother of children bringing forth souls, the future age is male, as a father receiving his own children. For this reason, the prophets in this world come consequently as sons of the future age, having the knowledge of men. But if pious men had understood this mystery, they would never have been led astray, but would even now have detected ^C Simon, who disturbs everyone, as a fellow-worker of error and deception. The discourse of the prophetic rule is as follows.

XVI. As in the beginning God, being one, like right and left, first made the heaven, then the earth, and thus established all the conjunctions in order; yet in the case of men it is no longer so, but He alternates all the conjunctions. For as from Him the first things are better and the second are inferior, we find the opposite in men; the first are worse, and the second are better. Thus, immediately from Adam, who was made according to the image of God, the first ^D to be born was the unjust Cain, the second the just Abel. And again, from the one you call Deucalion (46), two images of spirits were sent

^A I mean of the impure and the pure, namely the black raven, and the white dove afterward. And from the founder of our nation, Abraham, two first-borns have come, first Ishmael, then Isaac, who was blessed by God. And from the same Isaac, similarly there existed again two, Esau the impious, and Jacob the pious. In this order, the first as the first-born to the world is the high priest, then the lawgiver.

XVII.

XVIII.

XIX.

^A what she was, inasmuch as she enjoyed the same sustenance as the sons of the kingdom, obtained the healing she had sought for her daughter. For he would not have bestowed healing upon one who was a Gentile and remained in that same way of life, had he not done what he did at the beginning, because it was not lawful to grant it to one remaining as a Gentile.

XX. She, therefore, having embraced the life which is led according to the Law, was cast out of her own house, together with her healed daughter, by her own husband, who was of a contrary opinion to us. But she, being mindful of her agreements, and possessing an abundance of wealth, remained herself in widowhood, but gave her daughter in marriage to a certain man who was well-disposed toward the true faith and was poor. And since she abstained from marriage for the sake of her daughter, she bought two boys and, having brought them up, held them in the place of sons. These, having been educated from their childhood with Simon the Magician, thoroughly learned all that pertained to him. ^B For their friendship for him was so great that they would even hasten to join themselves to him in all things whenever he wished.

XXI. These, having encountered Zacchaeus who was staying there, and having learned from him the word of truth, repented of their former misdeeds and quickly condemned Simon. Being privy to all his secrets, as soon as I arrived there, they approached me together with the woman who had reared them; having been commended to me by Zacchaeus, from that time they have always remained with me, sharing in the teachings of the truth. When Peter had reached this point, he called them and directed them to explain to me accurately everything concerning Simon. And they, calling God to witness that they would in no way lie, began their account.

XXII. And Aquila began first to speak as follows: Hear, ^C most beloved brother to us, so that you may accurately know everything concerning this man—whose son he is, and who he is, and whence he comes, and what things he does, and how, and for what cause. This Simon is the son of Antonius and his mother is Rachel; he is a Samaritan by nation, from the village of Gittha, which is distant six schoeni from the city. This man, having been in Alexandria by the Nile, and having exercised himself greatly in Greek learning, and having become very powerful in magic and puffed up, wishes to be thought to be a supreme power, above even God himself who created the world. Sometimes, also, insinuating that he is Christ, he calls himself the Standing One. He has adopted this designation, ^D as though he were to exist forever, and has no cause of corruption so as to fall in body. Nor does he claim that God, the creator of the world, is the supreme One, nor does he believe that the dead will be raised. He denies Jerusalem and holds up Mount Gerizim in its stead.

^A He proclaims himself as Christ. He interprets the Law according to his own presumption. He says that the judgment will indeed be true, but he does not truly expect it; for being convinced that God will not judge him, he has dared to extend his impiety even to God himself. Hence some, not knowing that he uses piety toward God as a pretext to secretly plunder the truth, perish by believing, as if he were a believer, [all] that is said by him concerning the hope and the judgment.

XXIII. Now, the way in which he invaded the reputation of the religion came about thus: There was a certain John, a daily baptizer, who was also the forerunner of our Lord Jesus according to the principle of syzygy; and just as the Lord had twelve apostles, bearing the number of the twelve months of the sun, so likewise there were thirty leaders with him, fulfilling the monthly principle of the moon. Among this number, there was one woman named Helena, ^B so that not even this should be without a mystery. For the woman, being half of the man, established an imperfect number of the thirty, just as also in the moon, whose movement does not complete a perfect monthly course. Of these thirty, the first and most esteemed by John was Simon, and the reason why he was not declared prince after the death of John was this:

XXIV. For when he had traveled abroad to Egypt for the exercise of magic, John was killed; and a certain Dositheus, desiring the leadership, falsely announced his death and succeeded to the sect. But Simon, returning a little later, and greatly claiming that position as his own, [on] encountering Dositheus, did not demand the position back, knowing that a man who has seized the leadership against his [the master's] will cannot be removed. Therefore, with a feigned friendship, he slipped into the second place ^C after Dositheus for a short time. And not many days later, having been placed within the number of the thirty fellow-disciples, he began to disparage Dositheus, as one who was not imparting the doctrines sincerely. And he said that he did this not out of envy, but out of ignorance. And once Dositheus, perceiving Simon's artful slander—which was dissolving the opinion held by the multitude that he himself was *the Standing One*—arrived at the usual place of assembly in a rage and, finding Simon, struck him with a staff; but he, as though [the staff] had passed through smoke...

^A, seemed like a phantom body. Dositheus, astonished at this, said to him: "Tell me if you are the Standing One, so that I may worship you." And when Simon answered, "I am," Dositheus, perceiving that he himself was not the Standing One, fell down and worshipped him; and, casting himself into the number of the twenty-nine principal men, he placed Simon in the position that had been attributed to him by opinion. And so, not many days later, Dositheus, while he [Simon] was standing, fell down himself and died.

XXV. But Simon, having taken Helen with him, goes about; and up to the present, as you see, he deceives and stirs up the crowds. He says that this same Helen was sent down to the world from the highest heavens and is a mistress, as the mother of all, an essence and wisdom; for whose sake, he says, "Greeks and barbarians fought, ^B having imagined the likeness of truth"—for she who truly is, at that time resided with the First God. But by allegorizing in a plausible way such things compounded from Greek myths, he deceives many, especially by performing many monstrous miracles, so that if we had not known that he does these things by magic, we ourselves would have been deceived. But since we were his associates in the beginning, when, in doing such things, he harmed no part of religion, now when, being mad, he began to attempt to deceive those in religion, we withdrew from him.

XXVI. For he even began to practice murder, as he himself, while still a friend, revealed ^C to us as friends: that having separated the soul of a boy from his own body by unspeakable oaths, to be his assistant for the phantasy of whatever he wishes, he mapped the boy in an image and keeps it consecrated in an inner room where he himself sleeps, asserting that he once fashioned him out of air by divine transformations and, having mapped out his form, gave him back again to the air. ^D He explains his act of having done so in this way: He says that first the spirit of the man, having turned into a hot nature, attracts and imbibes the surrounding air just as a cupping-glass does; then, having become inside the shape of the spirit, he transforms it into water. And since, due to the continuity of the spirit, it cannot be poured out, he declared that the air within was converted into the nature of blood, and the blood, having congealed, formed the flesh; then in this way

^A having convinced himself that he could create a new man, he would say that by reversing the transformations he had returned him to the air. While he was telling these things to others, he was believed; but by us who were present at his rites, he was piously disbelieved. Wherefore, having condemned his impiety, we withdrew from him.

XXVII. When Aquila had said these things, his brother Nicetas said: "It is necessary, our brother Clement, that I should remind you of what was passed over by Aquila. First, indeed, God is witness that we assisted him in no impious work, but only looked on while he did it; and as long as he was performing harmless works, we were indeed delighted; but when he said ^B that the things done by magic were done by divinity, in order to deceive the godly, we no longer tolerated him, although he promised us many things: first, that a temple and statues of us should be erected, and that we should be esteemed as gods, and worshipped by the multitudes, and glorified by kings, and deemed worthy of public honors, and enriched with boundless wealth."

XXVIII. These things, and others which are thought greater, he promised us, provided only that, living with him, we would keep silent about his wicked endeavor, so that his fraud might succeed; but we did not consent. On the contrary, we gave him counsel to desist from such madness, saying to him: "Simon, mindful of the friendship we have had with you from childhood, and loving you, we give you useful advice: cease from such an ^C audacious crime. You cannot be god; fear Him who is truly God; recognize that you are a man, and that the time of your life is short. Even if you become very rich or even a king, in the short time of your life there are few things which you can enjoy; and things gotten impiously, as they quickly flee, prepare eternal punishment for the wicked man. Wherefore we counsel you to fear God, by whom every soul must be judged for the things which it has done here."

XXIX. He, hearing these things, laughed. And when we said: "Why do you laugh at us, who counsel you in what is ^D useful?" he said: "I laugh at your foolish opinion, that you believe the soul of man to be immortal." And I answered: "We do not marvel, Simon, if you attempt to deceive us; but we are astonished at the reasoning by which you deceive even yourself. Tell me, Simon, even if no one else has discovered that the soul is immortal, yet you and we certainly have; you, as one who has detached it from the human body, and conversed with it, and commanded it; and we, as those who were present and heard the command, and clearly witnessed the thing that was ordered.

And Simon said: "I indeed know what you are saying, but you do not know about what you are discussing." And Nicetas said: "Since you know, speak out; but if you do not know, do not imagine that we can be deceived, while you say that you know, but we do not. For we are not so foolish that you should plant in us a crafty suspicion by which we might think that you know of some ineffable things, and thus, held by greed, have us reduced to your power."

^B XXX. And Simon said: "That I have separated a soul from a human body, I know that you know; but that it is not the soul of the dead person that ministers—since it does not exist—but some demon, which pretends to be the soul and works, I know that you are ignorant of." And Nicetas said: "In this life we have heard many unbelievable things, but we did not expect to hear anything more senseless than this account. For if a demon pretends to be the soul of the dead, what was the use of the soul, that it should be separated from the body? Did we not ourselves, being present, hear you, when you were conjuring the soul from the corpse? And for what reason, when one was conjured, does another who was not conjured obey as if in fear? And were you not also tested by us at one time, and when we asked why sometimes the ^C 'assessions' [appearances of tutelary spirits] cease, did you not reply that the soul, having completed the time it was to spend on earth in the body, goes to Hades? And you added, saying that of those who have died by their own death, the souls, since they are kept in custody upon having arrived in Hades, are not easily allowed to come."

XXXI. When Nicetas had said these things, Aquila himself said again: "I would have wished to learn this one thing from you, Simon: whether it is a soul or a demon that is being conjured, by the fear of what does it not disregard the oaths?" And Simon said: "For it understands that it is about to pay the penalty if it does not obey." And Aquila continued: "Therefore, if an adjured soul comes, there is also ^D a judgment. If, then, souls are immortal, judgment certainly exists. Therefore, if you say that those also who are adjured for an evil deed, and then do not obey, are to be condemned, how were you not afraid to compel them, since those who are compelled suffer punishment on account of their disobedience? For the fact that you yourself have not yet been punished for those things which you committed happens only because the judgment is not yet [at hand], so that you might indeed pay the penalty for those things you compelled, but that which has been compelled might receive forgiveness, as having preferred the oath to the evil deed." And he, having heard these things, grew angry.

^B

XXXII. After Aquila said these things, I, Clement, asked what kind of miracles they were which he did. They replied to me: "He makes statues walk; he rolls himself in fire and is not burned; sometimes he even flies; he makes loaves of bread from stones; he becomes a serpent; he is transformed into a goat; he shows two faces; he is changed into gold; he opens locked doors; he melts iron; at banquets he presents images of every kind of shape; he makes vessels in a house appear to move spontaneously for service, though those who carry them are not seen." Hearing them recount these things, I was amazed. Moreover, those who were present themselves bore witness that they had seen many such things.

XXXIII. These things having been thus narrated, the noble Peter himself also began to speak: "You ought, brothers, to consider the truth of the rule of conjugation, from which rule he who has not departed cannot go astray. For since, as we have said, we see all things existing in a twofold and opposite manner—and just as first there is night and then day, and first ignorance and then knowledge, and first sickness and then health—even so, first in the life of the world comes error, and then truth follows after, as a physician to a disease. Immediately, therefore, when our God-beloved nation was to be delivered from the oppression of the Egyptians, first, through the rod which had been turned into a serpent and which had been delivered to Aaron, diseases were produced, and thus afterward healings were brought about by the prayers of Moses. And now also, when the nations were to be delivered from the worship regarding idols, wickedness again, as if reigning itself, anticipated and sent its own ally, as it were, a serpent, namely, him whom you see, Simon, who performs wonders for the sake of astonishment and deception, not however healing signs for conversion and salvation. Therefore, you also ought, from the miracles that occur, to pay attention to the doers, and whose servant each one is. If he produces useless miracles, he is a minister of wickedness, but if he performs useful ones, he is a leader of the good.

XXXIV. Now, the useless miracles are those which you said Simon has performed; I mean his making statues walk, and his rolling himself upon burning coals, and becoming a dragon, being transformed into a goat, flying in the air, and other such things, which, since they are not done for the healing of men, are by nature designed to deceive many. But the miracles of the merciful truth are full of humanity, such as the Lord

^A has manifested, and I too, following him, have accomplished through prayers; of which the greater part of you were witnesses, some having been delivered from various diseases, others from demons, others having had their hands or feet set straight, others having recovered their sight or hearing, and all other things such as a man can perform when he has become a friend of a spirit that loves mankind.

XXXV. When Peter had said these things, Zacchæus came in to us at dawn, and greeting Peter, said: Simon defers the disputation to the morrow; for this present day is his Sabbath, which recurs every eleven days. ^B Peter answered him: Tell Simon: Whenever you finally wish, know that we are ready to meet you, as you desire, by the providence of God who loves us. And Zacchæus, having heard this, went out to deliver the response.

XXXVI. But he, seeing me downcast and asking the reason, and having learned from me that it arose from nothing else but the postponement of the dispute, said: O friend Clement, he who believes that the world is governed by the good providence of God does not take it ill at whatever turn affairs may take, considering that by the dispensation of the Almighty things ^C come to a fitting conclusion. Whence, knowing that God is just and living with a good conscience, he knows how to cast off from his soul any incident trouble with right reason, knowing that it will come to pass in the end for some unknown good. And now, let not the postponement of the dispute with Simon Magus grieve you. For perhaps it has happened by God's providence for your own benefit. Wherefore, since you are a special friend to me, I will not hesitate to tell you this. ^D

XXXVII. Some of our companions are associating with Simon in pretense, as if they were persuaded by his most impious error, yet, by learning his designs, they reveal them to us, so that we may be able to deal appropriately and fittingly with that crafty man. And now I have learned from them the subject upon which he intends to speak in the dispute; and having learned this, I have given thanks to God, and I judge you blessed because you...

^A have been prepared by me on this subject, for when the matters which are about to be spoken by him for the distinguishing of those who do not know are brought forth, you, having been provided with information by me before the dispute, will be able to be an infallible listener.

XXXVIII. For the Scriptures have received many falsehoods against God 54, in accordance with this plan: when the prophet Moses, by the counsel of God, had delivered the Law to seventy chosen men with explanations, in order that they might also instruct those of the people who wished it, not long afterwards the written Law received some things that were false against the only God, the creator of heaven and earth and all things in them; the devil having dared to effect this for a certain just reason. And it happened by this reasoning and judgment, so that those who would dare to listen willingly to what was written against God might be detected, and those who, out of love for God, would not only refuse to believe these things said against Him, but would not even endure to hear them from the beginning, even if they happened to be true, judging it much safer to run the risk for the sake of ^B a pious faith than to live with a defiled conscience on account of blasphemous words.

XXXIX. Therefore, Simon, as I hear, intends to come into the midst and bring forward into the open those passages in the Scriptures that have been inserted for the sake of temptation against God, so that he may be able to drive away as many wretches as possible from the love of God. For we do not wish to say publicly that these passages have been intruded into the Scriptures; for we would disturb the unlearned common people, and thus we would be doing the will of the wicked man, Simon. For, being not yet endowed with the power of discernment, they will either flee from us as if we were impious, or, as if not only the blasphemous passages were false, they will depart from our doctrine as well. Therefore we have a necessity, while agreeing with the false passages, by questioning him about them in turn, to bring him into difficulties; but to those who are benevolent and candid, after a trial of their faith, to hand down separately the solution for the passages said against God, which indeed has one and a short way and method. And it is this.

XL. Every word or writing against God is a lie. That we say this ^C truly, not only for the sake of piety but also for the sake of truth, I shall give a certain reason a little later as the discourse proceeds. Therefore, my dearest Clement, do not be sorrowful...

that Simon has put off the discussion until this day. For today, before our discussion, having been instructed regarding the passages set forth in the Scriptures, you ought not to hesitate while we are discussing the one God, who is both good and the Creator of the world; rather, ^A even during the inquiry you will marvel at how the impious, neglecting the multitude of things said in the Scriptures in favor of God, cheerfully carry forward the things that have been said against Him; and thus, the hearers, having been made causes of their own ignorance by believing the things against God, become castaways from His kingdom. Wherefore, by the pretext of this delay, learn the mystery of the Scriptures, and having gained the grace not to sin against God, you will rejoice beyond comparison.

XLI. And I, Clement, upon hearing this, said: Truly do I rejoice and give thanks to God, the benefactor in all things, ^B who knows that I am unable to think anything other than what is for the sake of God in all matters. Wherefore, do not assume that I am asking you as one who doubts either the words spoken by God [or those that are to be spoken], but as one who, having learned, might also be able to teach another who desires to learn with a sincere mind. Therefore, tell me, what are the falsehoods present in the Scriptures, and how is it that they are truly falsehoods? And Peter answered: Even if you had not asked me, I would have set forth the demonstration I promised, following the order of the arguments. But listen, as to how the Scriptures utter many falsehoods against Him, as you will know when you examine them.

XLII. For the sake of an example, the things that are to be said will suffice. But I do not think, O friend Clement, ^C if anyone is able to retain even a slight love and gratitude toward God, that he could accept or even listen to the things said against Him. For what reason would he, who has been prejudiced by the opinion that there are many gods and not one, be able to possess a monarchical soul and live a holy life? Or if it is argued that He is one, but one finds Him in many deviations, who will strive to become holy, since he will hope that God, the Principle of all things, will not exact retribution for the transgressions of others because of the faults of His own nature?

XLIII. Wherefore, let it be far from us to believe that the Lord of all things, who created heaven and earth and all that is in them, shares His rule with others, or that He lies; for if He lies, then who speaks the truth? Or that He tests as if He were ignorant—for who then possesses foreknowledge? And ^D if He reflects and repents, who is perfect in mind and steadfast in judgment? If He envies, who is beyond comparison? If He hardens hearts, who is it that instructs? If He makes men blind and deaf, who is it that has given sight and hearing? If He counsels to defraud, who is it that administers justice? If He mocks, who is it that is sincere?

^A

XLIV. But if He desires a fat mountain, whose will all things be? If He lies, who is truthful? If He dwells in a tabernacle, who is the Immense One? If He desires the savor of sacrifices, victims, and libations, who is the One who stands in need of nothing, who is holy, who is pure, who is perfect? If He is delighted by lights and lamps, who is it that set the luminaries in heaven? If He is involved in gloom and darkness and storm and smoke, who is it that, being Light, illuminates the greatest age? If He approaches with trumpets and shoutings and darts and arrows, who is it that is the expected calm of all? If He Himself loves wars, who is it that desires peace? If He Himself creates evil things, who is it that fashions good things? If He is harsh, who is humane? ^B If He is not faithful in His promises, who will be believed? If He loves the wicked and adulterers and murderers, who shall be a just judge? If He repents, who is constant? Finally, if He chooses the wicked, who is it that admits the good?

XLV. Wherefore, O son Clement, restrain yourself, that you may not think anything else about God, except that He alone is God and Lord and Father, a good and just Creator, patient, merciful, a nurturer, a benefactor, a legislator of humanity, a counselor of chastity, eternal, the author of eternity, incomparable, dwelling in the minds of the good, imperceptible and perceptible, who has fixed the great age in the infinite as a center, who has spread out the heaven and compacted the earth, stored up the water, disposed the stars in the heaven, made the earth to spring forth with fountains, produced fruits, raised up the mountains, set boundaries to the sea, ordained winds and blasts; and ^C who provides security to the body encompassing in the immense sea, through the spirit of His counsel.

XLVI. This is our judge, by looking upon whom it behooves us to amend our own souls, to think everything for His sake, to bless Him; and to hold for certain that by His patience, bringing the impropriety of all into the public view, He alone exists as good. And He, at the end of the universe, will preside as a just judge over everyone for the deeds he has committed against reason.

XLVII. Hearing these things, I, Clement, said: Truly this is religion, truly this is piety. And again I said: I would like to know, therefore, for what reason the sacred books were written in this manner. For I remember you saying that it was done for ^D the refutation of those who were about to be so bold as to believe something spoken against God. But since you grant us to inquire of you as we wish, we dare to ask, at your bidding. If anyone, dearest Peter, should conceive the notion of saying to us: "The things that are said and written against God contain the truth, even if they seem false to you," how shall we answer him?

^A Peter replied: "You have questioned well; for it will be for your security. But listen: since there are many things said in the Scriptures against God, because the urgency of the hour owing to the evening presses, ask concerning one word you wish, and I will resolve it, showing it to be false—not only that it has been spoken against God, but that it is truly false." And I answered: "I wish to learn how, when the Scriptures say that God is ignorant, you can demonstrate that He is knowing."

^B Peter answered: "You have proposed a matter easy to refute. Yet listen to how God is ignorant of nothing, but even foreknows. But I ask you, first answer me: he who wrote the books and said how the world was created and that God does not foreknow, was he a man or not?" I said: "A man." Peter replied: "To a man, then, how was it possible to know accurately how the world was created, and that God does not foreknow?"

^C Then I, already sensing the solution, smiling, said: "Because he was a prophet." And Peter said: "If therefore the prophet, being a man, was ignorant of nothing, because he had received foreknowledge from God, how could He Himself who gave the foreknowledge to man, being God, be ignorant?" I said: "You have spoken rightly." And Peter said: "Still, therefore, inquire with me into this same matter. Since it is agreed by us that God foreknows all things, it is absolutely necessary that the Scriptures which say He is ignorant are lying, but those which say He knows Him are telling the truth." And I said: "It must be so."

^D And Peter said: "If therefore some of the Scriptures are true and some are false, our Teacher rightly said: 'Become approved money-changers,' as there are some words in the Scriptures that are genuine, and others that are counterfeit. And He fittingly revealed the cause of their error to those who were being led astray by the false Scriptures, saying: 'Therefore you err, not knowing the true Scriptures; on account of which you also do not know the power of God.'" I said: "Very well."

^A For I do not believe against God, nor do I entertain an impious opinion regarding the righteous men mentioned in the Law. For I am persuaded that neither was Adam a transgressor, he who was fashioned by the hands of God, nor was Noah a drunkard, he who was found righteous above the whole world, nor did Abraham have three wives at once, he who was gifted with a multitude of children on account of his chastity, nor did Jacob consort with four, of whom two were sisters, he who became the father of the twelve tribes and signified that the coming of our Master was to arrive; nor was Moses a murderer, nor did he learn to judge from an idol-priest, he who prophesied the law of God to all ages and received testimony for his upright understanding as a faithful steward. ^B But the solution to these and similar matters I will provide for you in due time. As for the rest, since, as you see, evening is upon us, let what has been said today suffice. But whenever you wish, ask confidently about whatever you please, and we shall gladly and readily explain. Having said this, he arose; and thus, having taken food, we turned to sleep, for night had come.

HOMILY III

I. Two days having passed, and the third dawning, upon which I was to dispute with Simon, I, Clement, and my companions were awakened at the second cockcrow; we found the lamp still shining, and Peter praying on bended knees. Having completed his prayer, therefore, he turned and, seeing us ready to listen, he said: ^C II. "I wish you to know that those who, by our plan, remain with Simon in order to learn his absurdities and report them to us, so that we may be able to adapt ourselves to the variety of his malice, have themselves sent word to us, saying: 'Simon is ready today, just as he promised, to come before everyone and show from the Scriptures that He who created heaven and earth and all things in them is not the supreme God, but that there exists another, a certain unknown and supreme one, as a God of gods existing in ineffable realms; ^D who sent two gods, of whom one is the creator of the world, and the other the giver of the Law.' And he strives to say these things so that he may subvert the right faith of those who are about to worship the one and only God, the creator of heaven and earth. III. How could I have heard these things without feeling distressed? Therefore, I wished you, brothers who stand with me, to know that I am not moderately pained in spirit, while I see the devil indeed vigilant to tempt men, but men themselves utterly neglecting their own salvation."

^A For he devised, for those among the Gentiles who were about to be persuaded that earthly images are not gods, to introduce ideas of many other gods, so that if they should cease from the base craze for many gods, they might be deceived into speaking in another or even worse way against the monarchy of God; so that, having never preferred the things of the monarchy, they might never be able to attain mercy. Because of this audacity, Simon, armed with the false sections of the Scriptures, comes to make war against us. And what is more terrible, he is not afraid to teach such things against the true God from the prophets in whom he does not even believe.

IV. And against us, who have received from our ancestors to worship the God who created all things, and besides, the mystery of the books that are able to deceive, he will be able to do nothing; but against those from the Gentiles, ^B who have the polytheistic assumption as a foster-mother, and who do not know the falsehoods of the Scriptures, he will be able to do much. Not only will he himself be believed, but also if anyone else among the Gentiles should tell to them some useless myth against God, similar to a dream and richly adorned, he will be believed, because from childhood their mind is accustomed to receive things said against God. But rare among them will be some—few out of the multitude—who, because of a fair mind, will not wish even to lend an ear to a wicked word against the Creator of all; and to these alone among the Gentiles will it happen to be saved. Let no one, therefore, complain to us at all about Simon, or about anyone else. For nothing happens unjustly, since ^C even the falsehoods of the Scriptures happen to have been placed there reasonably for the testing of men.

V. And I, Clement, having heard, said: How say you, Lord, that even the falsehoods of the Scriptures have been placed there reasonably for the testing of men? And he answered: The falsehoods of the Scriptures were allowed to be written for a righteous reason, by the demand of wickedness. And I say "reasonably" thus. In theologies, the evil one is not less loving toward God than the good one in only one good, in that he, not forgiving those who are impious through ignorance, out of zeal for that which is being treated impiously, desires the destruction of the impious; but the good one offers them healing. For the good one wishes to heal all through repentance, ^D but saves only those who have known God; but those who are ignorant he does not heal, not because he does not wish to, but because it is not permitted to bestow the good things prepared for the sons of the kingdom upon men who, because of the lack of discernment, have been likened to irrational beasts.

VI. Of the one and only God, who made the world and created us and provided all things, such is the nature, that it draws to itself every soul that has already been placed within the boundaries of piety and does not blaspheme his holy Spirit, with love toward this man, by regard

^A for his soul, and leads it to himself through him. And even if one be a sinner, he has the nature to be saved after having been punished according to the worth of what he has done. But if anyone shall deny him or otherwise in some way blaspheme against him in word, then repent, he shall indeed be punished for the things in which he sinned against him, but he shall be saved, because he turned back and loved. Perhaps, through the abundance of piety and supplication, he shall even be released from being punished, having granted pardon for the sin, together with repentance, for that which was done in ignorance. But those who do not repent will also have their end through the punishment of fire, even if in all other respects they are most holy; but, as I said, having been punished by the eternal fire for the fifth part of a measured age, they will be extinguished. For those who have blasphemed against the eternal and only God can no longer exist forever.

VII. ^B Now, impiety toward him consists in this: for one who is in the discourse of piety to die saying that there is another God, either as greater or as lesser, or in whatever way he speaks of one other than him who truly is. For He who truly is, is this one, whose human form the body bears: on which account the heaven and all the stars, although by essence they are superior, endured to serve him who is inferior by essence, on account of the form of the Divinity. So great a benefit has God conferred upon man above all others, that, in view of the multitude of the benefits, having loved the Benefactor, he might, by this same love, be able to be saved also into the second age.

VIII. Sufficiency therefore for salvation is the love of God.

^A And the wicked one, knowing that we are hastening to sow in the souls of those Gentiles who are about to believe, the love of men toward the one and only God, which creates immortality in them—that same wicked one, having in himself a sufficient weapon against the ignorant for their destruction, strives to sow the notion of many gods, or even of one as more excellent, so that, by grasping and being persuaded of what is not lawful, they may die as if in a crime of adultery and be cast out of the kingdom of God.

IX. Everyone therefore is worthy of expulsion who desires even to hear anything of the sort against the monarchy of God. But if someone, as if trusting in the Scriptures, dares even to hear things against God, let him first consider this with me: if anyone fashions for himself an agreeable doctrine just as he wishes, and then looks into the Scriptures, he will be able to bring forth many testimonies from them for his feigned doctrine; how then is it right to trust in them against God, in which the opinion of all may be found?

X. ^B Straightaway, therefore, Simon is preparing to argue with us in public tomorrow against the monarchy of God, wishing to bring forth many voices from the Scriptures themselves, that there are many gods, and one who is not the creator of the world, but superior to him; and likewise he will have written proofs to provide. But we also have, from these same Scriptures, many passages to show clearly that this God who created the world is one, and there is no other besides him. But even if anyone should wish to speak in some other way, he too will have, from the same Scriptures, proofs to provide regarding whatever he wishes and as he wishes. For the Scriptures say all things, ^C so that no one who inquires ungratefully might find the truth, but rather what he wishes, while the truth is reserved for those who are grateful. Gratitude, however, consists in preserving love toward Him who was the author of our existence.

XI. Whence, before all things, one ought to know that one finds it from no source other than from the truth's prophet. A true prophet is he who knows all things whatsoever, and even the thoughts of all, and is sinless, as one who is most certain concerning the judgment of God; wherefore we ought not to judge simply concerning his foreknowledge, but [to see] if his foreknowledge can exist without another basis. For physicians predict, because they have the underlying material of the sick person’s pulse; and others by birds, others by victims, and others by having many other different materials underlying, predict, and yet they are not prophets.

XII. ^D But if anyone should wish to say that the foreknowledge through such

^A predictions is similar to true and innate foreknowledge, he is greatly deceived. For they indicate only present things, and that only if they are truthful. (Even so, they are useful to me, for they demonstrate that foreknowledge exists.) But the foreknowledge of Him who alone is true does not merely know present things, but extends prophecy infinitely as far as the future age itself; nor does it require anything for understanding, nor does it predict obscure and doubtful things, such that the words should require another prophet as interpreter, but it brings forth things clear and simple; just as our Teacher, being a prophet, knew everything absolutely by an innate and perpetual spirit.

XIII. Therefore, He confidently expounded the things that were to come to pass—I mean sufferings, places, and boundaries. For since He was an irreproachable prophet, with the immense eye of His soul He beheld and knew all things hidden. ^B But if we, like many, admit that even the true prophet does not know always, but sometimes, when he has the spirit, he foreknows, and when he does not have it, he is ignorant—if we assume this, we both deceive ourselves and lay snares for others. For that pertains to those who are furiously driven by an inordinate spirit and rage at the altars and gorge themselves on the savor.

XIV. For if it were granted to one wishing to display prophecy that, when he is caught as a liar, it should then be believed that he lacked the holy spirit of prophecy, it would not be easy to refute him as being a false prophet; for in those few things in which, as one who speaks much, he happens upon the truth, he would be believed to possess the spirit; even though he speaks the first things last, and the last first, the past as future, and the future as past, or things having no sequence, or things compiled and transformed from others, or things diminished, unformed, foolish, doubtful, unexpected, obscure, all of them crying out the depravity of his conscience. ^C

XV. But our Teacher used no such jugglery, but, as I said before, being a prophet, He confidently expounded all things he knew thoroughly by an innate and perpetual spirit, clearly, as I said before—events, places, fixed times, modes, and boundaries. Thus, therefore, He foretold about the temple: “Do you see these buildings?” ^D

^A Amen, I say to you, not a stone shall be left here that shall not be destroyed, and this generation shall not pass away until destruction begins to take its course.” For they shall come and sit here, and they shall surround [it] with a rampart, and they shall slaughter your children here. Yet he also spoke the subsequent things in a clear voice, which we see with our own eyes, that the event might follow where the word was spoken; for the prophet of truth provides his word as a demonstration for the faith of those who hear.

XVI. Nevertheless, there are many heralds of error, 99 having for their leader the one who is the prince of wickedness; by which reasoning, he who is the one leader of truth and piety will have all the prophets found pure in their own times. But this is the chief cause for the many who are led astray: that they did not first understand the doctrine of the pairing, which I shall not cease to explain to you separately, frequently, and in summary; for it is tedious to speak of individual things. Therefore, be for me lovers of truth as judges of what is being said.

[XVII.] I shall now begin to speak. If any man does not grant that the man formed by the hands of God, the author of all, possessed that great and holy spirit of His foreknowledge, how—if he attributes this to another born from an impure drop—does he not err most grievously? Nor do I think that forgiveness should be granted to him, even if he were led into error by an adulterated Scripture so as to think harsh thoughts against the Father of all. For he ^B who has done injury to the image, and that of the eternal King, will involve himself in sin by referring it back to Him to whose likeness that image was made. But, he says, after he sinned, the divine Spirit left him. Then did He sin together with him? And how is he who says this not in danger? But [he says] after he sinned, he received the Spirit. Is He therefore delivered to the unjust? And where is the justice? But it is provided to [both] the just and the unjust. This is the most unjust thing of all. Thus any lie, even if it is aided by a thousand inventions, will eventually receive its refutation.

XVIII. Do not be deceived. Our Parent was ignorant of nothing. Since even the law that is set forth publicly, which burdens him with the charge of ignorance for the sake of the unworthy, refers those who yearn for the truth back to him, saying: ^C “Question your father and he will tell you, your elders and they will announce to you” (b). It was necessary to seek this father, to seek these elders. But you did not search whose is the time of the kingdom, whose is the chair of prophecy, although He Himself indicates it by saying: “Upon the chair of Moses have sat the Scribes and the Pharisees; ^D all things therefore, whatsoever they may say to you” (c). He said "them," as being those to whom it was entrusted...

the key of the kingdom, which is knowledge, which alone can open the gate of life, through which alone it is possible to enter into eternal life. But, he says, they hold the key, yet they do not provide it to those who wish to enter ^A.

XIX. For this reason, I say, he himself rising from the chair, as a father for his children, preaching the things which from the age have been hidden and handed down to the worthy, extending mercy even to the Gentiles themselves, and having mercy on the souls of all, neglected his own blood. For, having been deemed worthy to be the king of the future age, regarding this age, which has received the kingdom by law, he was accurate in his promises. And what most of all saddened him was this, that he was opposed through ignorance by those for whose sake he undertook the war as if they were his children. And yet ^B he loved even those who hated him, and wept for the unbelieving, and blessed those who reviled him, and prayed for those who acted as enemies. And not only did he do these things as a father, but he also taught his disciples to do likewise, having affection for them as for brothers. This is a father, this is a prophet; this is consistent with reason, that he should command his own children, so that through the father’s love for his children, and the children’s innate honor toward the father, eternal peace might be able to arise. For when a good man rules, true joy is born among his subjects because of the ruler.

XX. But I return to the first discourse of truth. If one is unwilling to grant that the man who was produced by the hands of God possessed the holy spirit of Christ, how, if one were to concede that another, born from an impure stock, possessed it, would he not be most impious? ^C But he would be most pious if he did not attribute that spirit to another, but assigned it to him alone who, from the beginning of the age, changing forms together with names, runs through the age, until, having reached his own times, anointed by the mercy of God on account of his labors, he may possess rest forever. He is honored with the right to rule and dominate all things that are in the air and on the earth and in the waters: in addition to these, he received from him by whom man was made the breath, an unbreakable garment of the soul, so that he might be able to be immortal.

XXI. The same, who alone is the true prophet, to each animal, appropriately to its nature, exactly as its creator, did impose its own proper names. For what he named,

this was also the name of the created thing from the creator. Therefore, how could he still have had any need to approach the tree to see what was good or evil, if he had received the commandment not to eat? But those who lack judgment believe these things, thinking that a brute animal was more powerful than God, the creator of themselves and of all things. ^B

XXII. Nevertheless, a female nature was created with him as a consort, far inferior to him; as distant from him as substance is from accident, as the moon from the sun, as fire from light. She, as a female ruling over this present world, was believed to be the first prophetess, announcing prophecy among all those who are born of women. The other, however, as a son of man, is male, and he prophesies in an excellent manner concerning the future world as one who is male. ^C

XXIII. Let there be, therefore, two general prophecies for us: the one male. And let it be defined that, although the first is male, it is ranked second in the order of succession, while the second, which is female, was ordained to come first in the emergence of the pairs. She, then, who is among those born of women, as the female of this present world, wishing to be believed to be male, steals the seeds of the male. And, by covering them with her own seeds of the flesh, she brings them forth as if they were all her own offspring—that is, material goods—and promises to give this present earthly wealth as a dowry, wishing to exchange a slow thing for a fast one, and a small thing for a greater one.

XXIV. She not only endured saying and hearing that there are many gods, but she even believed that she herself would become one. And in the hope of becoming what she has no nature to be, she loses even what she does have, and as a female, she is stained by the occasion of sacrifices through her courses, and thus she defiles those who touch her. When she conceives and brings forth temporal kings, she stirs up wars that shed much blood. Furthermore, she makes those who are eager to learn the truth from her seek always and find nothing until death, because she speaks all things to the contrary and provides many and varied services. For from the beginning, the occasion of death has been set before blind men; for by prophesying false, ambiguous, and oblique things, she deceives those who believe her.

XXV. For this reason, the law ^D imposed an ambiguous name upon her firstborn, calling him Cain, which name admits of a double interpretation. For it is interpreted

^A both as "possession" and as "emulation," inasmuch as it was destined to emulate in the future either a woman, or possessions, or the affection of parents toward her. But if none of these things should come to pass, even so it has successfully attained the name of possession. For he first acquired that which was also useful to ^B him. For he was a murderer and a liar, and even with his sins he was unwilling to remain quiet or to refrain from ruling. Moreover, those who proceeded from his succession were the first to become adulterers; and they tuned psalteries and harps, and also became smiths of martial weapons. Therefore, the prophecy of his descendants, being full of adulterers and psalteries, secretly stirs up wars through its voluptuousness.

XXVI. Now, he who possessed an innate prophecy of the soul among the children of men, specifically declaring the hopes of the future age as a male, called his son Abel, which, without any ^B ambiguity, is interpreted as "mourning." For he provides that his children should mourn their brothers who have been deceived. He does not lie when he promises them consolation in the future age. He says that one God alone is to be besought: he himself neither speaks of gods, nor does he believe another who speaks of them. He keeps the good that he has, and increases it further. He abhors sacrifices, blood, and libations: he loves the chaste, the pure, and the holy. He extinguishes the fire of the altars, abolishes wars, teaches peace, commands chastity, expiates sins, sanctifies marriages, grants continence, leads all to modesty, ^C makes them merciful, determines justice, seals those who are perfect among them, and brings forth the word of rest; he prophesies with certainty, speaks clearly, frequently reminds of the eternal fire of punishment, constantly proclaims the kingdom of God, reveals heavenly riches, promises perpetual glory, and demonstrates by his work the forgiveness of sin.

XXVII. What need is there of words? The male is entirely truth, the female is entirely seduction: but he who is born from male and female partly lies, and partly proclaims truths. For the female, wrapping the white seed of the male with her own blood as if with a red fire, strengthens the weakness of her bones with foreign supports: and taking delight in the temporary flower of the flesh, with brief-

pleasures, she despoils the strength of the mind, leads the majority into adultery, and thus deprives them of the glorious bridegroom who was to be theirs. For every man is a bride, when, being sown with the white word of truth from the true prophet, he is illuminated in his mind.

XXVIII. Therefore, one must listen only to the prophet of truth, knowing that a word sown by another, having taken the charge of adultery, is cast out as if by the bridegroom of his kingdom. But to those who know the mystery, it results even in the death of the soul through adultery. For when the soul is sown by others, then, as having played the whore or committed adultery, it is abandoned by the Spirit, and thus the animate body, the life-giving Spirit having been separated, is dissolved into the earth, and the just punishment for sin is rendered to the soul at the time of judgment after the dissolution of the body; just as among men, she who is caught in adultery is first cast out of the house, and then is judged and condemned. ^B

XXIX. And when Peter was about to explain this mystical word to us completely, Zacchaeus came and said: "Now, Peter, it is time for you to go out and discourse. For a great crowd gathered in the courtyard is waiting for you, in the midst of which Simon stands, protected and surrounded by his people like a warlike leader." Peter, hearing this, ordered me to withdraw for the sake of prayer, as I had not yet received the baptism unto salvation, and he said to those who were already perfected: "Let us rise and pray, that God may assist me through His unfailing mercies, as I hasten toward the salvation of the men whom He created." And having said this and prayed, he went out into the open-air space of the courtyard, which was large, where many had gathered for the sake of seeing him, as his discernment had made them more eager to hasten to hear him. ^C

XXX. Standing, then, and seeing with all silence the whole crowd gazing at him, and Simon Magus standing in the midst, he began to speak in this manner: "Peace be to all of you who are prepared to give your right hands to the truth of God, which, as His great and incomparable gift in this present world, the One who sent us—the true prophet who exists in the excellence of the Good—commanded us, for the sake of salutation, to call out to you before the words of instruction, so that, if there is anyone among you who is a child of peace, through our teaching peace may embrace him; but if any of you should not wish to receive this, then we, having shaken off for a testimony against you ^D the dust of our feet, which we have brought to you after carrying it through the labors of the journey for the sake of your salvation, may depart to the houses and cities of others."

^A XXX. And truly we say to you: it will be more tolerable in the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for the place of unbelief; first, because you did not understand what is reasonable of yourselves; second, because when you had heard of us, you did not come to us; third, because even when we had come, you did not believe us. Therefore, doing you a favor, we pray unbidden that our peace may come upon you. If, then, you wish to have this, you must accept with a ready mind not to commit injury and to bear with fortitude the injury done to you—which the nature of man will not sustain unless it has first received knowledge of the exceeding good, which is to know the just nature of him who surpasses all things, that he punishes so as to avenge those affected by injury, and rewards the pious with benefits unto eternity.

XXXII. You, therefore, as it becomes grateful servants of God, understanding of yourselves what is in accordance with reason, embrace a life pleasing to him, so that, loving him and being loved by him, you may possess the good forever. For he alone can most provide this, who brought non-existent things into existence, who created heaven, compacted the earth, enclosed the sea, stored away those things that are in the underworld, and filled all things with air.

XXXIII. He alone converted the one and first simple substance in a fourfold and contrary manner; then, mixing them, he produced ten thousand compounds from them, so that, being turned into and mixed in opposite natures, they might procure the pleasure of life through opposition. He himself also alone, by the nod of his will, created peoples of angels and spirits, and with them filled the heavens; just as he adorned with stars the visible firmament, for which he defined paths and ordained their course; he compacted the earth for the increase of fruits; but he enclosed the sea, separating a dwelling place in dry lands; he stores away those things that are in the underworld, naming it the place of souls; but he filled all things with air, so that all living ^C things might have the respiration of life necessary for living, free.

XXXIV. O the great and prudent hand of God, doing all things in all! For an infinite multitude of winged creatures has existed through him, and it is so varied, and when compared to another, entirely different, I mean in colors, beaks, claws, appearance, senses, voices, and all other things. And how many are the various species of plants, distinguished by infinite colors, qualities, and odors! And how many are the animals of earth and water, of which it is impossible to enumerate the shapes, forms, positions, colors, ways of living, senses...

^A and instincts, natures, and multitudes: so that not even the frequency and heights of mountains, the diversities of stones, the terrible caverns, the fountains, rivers, marshes, seas, harbors, islands, forests, the whole habitable world, together with the uninhabitable places, can be described.

XXXV. How many other things also are unknown, and escape the sharp gaze of the human mind! And of those things which are known, what man knows the definition of even one? I mean, how the heaven is revolved, how the stars are carried, and what forms they have, and their constitution of life, and what are their airy paths. And whence the blasts of the winds are driven, and how they have diverse energies. How the fountains gush forth unceasingly, and perpetual rivers descend into the sea, yet neither does a void occur from whence they come, nor does a fullness occur where they go. How far the infinite depth of the boundless abyss ^B reaches; upon what the heaven that contains all things is suspended; in what manner clouds flow out from the air, and are drunk back into the air. What is the nature of thunders and lightnings, of snows, hail, of mist, ice, and crystals, of storms, rains, and suspended clouds; and how it creates plants and animals; and how these are continuously produced with such numberless diversities and with such total precision.

XXXVI. Nevertheless, if anyone were to consider the whole with accurate reasoning, he will find that God made it for the sake of man. For rains occur for the sake of fruits, so that man may partake ^C and beasts be fed, so that they might serve man; the sun shines and turns the air into four seasons, so that each season may bestow its own proper gifts upon man; and fountains gush forth, so that drink may be provided for men. To these things, who, as far as is possible, dominates over creation? Is it not man? Who has received industry to cultivate the earth, to sail the sea, to capture fish, birds, and wild beasts; to calculate the course of the stars, to explore the earth, to cleave the sea, to build cities, to appoint kings, to establish laws, to judge, to know the invisible God, to know the names of angels, to expel demons, to attempt to soothe diseases with remedies, ^D to find incantations against venomous serpents, and to devise counter-actions to the mutual antipathies of things?

XXXVII. But if you show yourself grateful, O man, having understood God who has benefited you in all things, you shall also be immortal, and the things created for your sake shall for the sake of gratitude continue to endure. And even now you can become incorruptible, if you recognize Him whom you did not know, if you love Him whom you had abandoned, if you pray to Him alone, who is able both to punish and to save your body and soul. Therefore, before all things, consider that no one rules with Him, no one shares in His appellation, namely, that which is called God. For He alone is both so called and so is.

^A Another it is permitted neither to think nor to name; and if any should dare to do so, he has his soul eternally punished.

XXXVIII. When Peter had said these things, Simon, outside the crowd, said with a loud voice: "Do you wish, by lying, to deceive the simple crowd standing by you, persuading it that it is not lawful to imagine or to call them gods, when the public books among the Jews assert that there are many gods? And now, indeed, I desire to argue with you before all of them from these very books regarding the necessity of believing in gods; and firstly concerning that God whom you have brought forward, proving that He is not the highest and all-powerful, because He is unforesighted regarding the future, imperfect, needy, not good, and subject to many thousands of grievous passions. Whence, this having been demonstrated from the Scriptures as I assert, it remains that there is another not mentioned in Scripture, foresighted of the future, perfect, free from need, good, and removed ^B from all grievous passions. But that one whom you speak of, the maker of the world, happens to be opposed to those contrary things."

XXXIX. "Immediately, therefore, the one who was made in His likeness, Adam, is created also blind, and it is handed down that he did not have knowledge of good or evil; and he is found a transgressor, and is cast out of Paradise, and is punished by death. And in a similar way, He who molded him—since He does not see from every side—says at the destruction of Sodom: 'Come, and let us go down and see whether they are acting according to the cry of them which comes to me; but if not, that I may know,' and He shows Himself to be ignorant. And by saying concerning Adam: 'Let us cast him out, lest perhaps he reach out his hand and take of the tree of life and eat and live forever'; by saying 'lest perhaps,' He is ignorant; but by adding 'lest perhaps he eats and live forever,' He is also envious. When it is written: ^C 'God considered within Himself that He had made man,' He is both led to repentance and is ignorant. For that 'He considered within Himself' is a deliberation, by which someone, because of an ignorance of those things which he desires [to know], diligently explores the end.

And that it is written, "And the Lord smelled an odor of sweetness," ^A belongs to one who is in need; and to be delighted by the savors of meats is not [characteristic] of one who is good. But to tempt, as it is written: "And the Lord tempted Abraham," is of one who is evil, and who is ignorant of the end of patience.

XL. Yet Simon, by using many passages from the Scriptures, appeared to prove that God is subject to every passion. And Peter said to these things: "Answer me, if a man who is evil and altogether wicked is in no way willing to indict himself for those things in which he sins?" Simon replied: "He would not wish to [do so]." Peter interposed: "How then can God be evil and wicked, if by His own will the reproaches written against Him have been publicly set forth?" And Simon: "It is possible that this indictment against Him was written by another power, contrary to His intent." ^B Peter said: "Let us first examine this. If He indicted Himself by His own counsel, as you previously confessed, He is not wicked; but if [He did so] by another power, one must inquire and examine with all strength whether someone has subjected Him, who alone is good, to all evils."

XLI. And Simon: "It is manifest that you do not wish to hear the indictment of your God from the Scriptures." And Peter: "You yourself appear to me to be doing this. For he who flees the order of a question does not desire a true examination to take place. Whence I, who use order, and wish first for the writer to be understood, am manifest in my desire to proceed by the straight path." And Simon: "Confess first if those things written against the Creator are true, and that He is not supreme over all, since according to the Scriptures He is subject to all wickedness, and afterward we shall inquire about the writer." And Peter: "That I may not seem to be inquiring merely because I do not wish to contradict your lack of order, I answer. I say that if the things written against God were true, they still do not show God to be wicked." And Simon said: "How can you prove this?"

XLII. And Peter: "Because there are things written which are contrary to those declarations which speak evil of God: for which reason neither [side] can be established as certain and firm." And Simon: "By what reason, then, is it permitted to recognize the truth, when some of the Scriptures call God evil, and others good?" And Peter: "Whatever words of the Scriptures are in agreement with the creation made by Him, they are true; but whatever are contrary [to it], they are false." ^C And Simon said: "How can you show that the Scriptures are contrary to themselves?" And Peter said: "You say that Adam was created blind, which was not the case. For He would not have commanded one who was blind..." ^D

and ^A said: 'But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do not eat.' And Simon said: He meant his mind was blind. And Peter said: How could [Adam's] mind be blind, when, even before he had tasted of the fruit, he had given names appropriate to all the animals in accordance with their Creator (71)? And Simon said: If Adam had foreknowledge, why did he not foresee the serpent who was going to deceive his wife (72)? And Peter said: If Adam did not have foreknowledge (73), how is it that, immediately upon their birth, he gave names to his sons according to their future actions? For he called the first Cain, which is interpreted as 'emulation,' and he, being led by emulation, slew his brother Abel, which name is translated as 'mourning,' for the parents mourned for him as the first of men to be slain (74). ^B

XLIII. But if Adam, who was the work of God, had foreknowledge, much more so did God, who created him. And it is false that it was written: 'God considered,' as if He had used reasoning because of ignorance; or furthermore that 'the Lord tempted Abraham,' that He might know if he would endure. And that which is written: 'Let us go down and see whether they fulfill their deeds according to their cry which has come to me; if not, so that I may know.' And that I may not prolong the speech to great length, whatever words they object to as implying His ignorance, or any other evil, are overturned and proven false by other words which affirm the contrary. For ^C that He truly foreknows, He says to Abraham: 'Knowing, thou shalt know that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they will enslave them, and they will afflict them, and they will humble them for four hundred years; but the nation whom they shall serve I will judge; and after these things they shall go out hence with much substance, but thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, nourished in a good old age.'

' ^A At the fourth generation they shall return hither: for the sins of the Amorites are not yet filled up even to the present time.

XLIV. But why, does not Moses also ^B predict the sins of the people and foretell the dispersion into the nations? And if God gave it to Moses to foreknow, how should He Himself not possess it? He does possess it, indeed. But if He has it, as we have also shown, that which is written, "He considered with Himself, and was led to repent," and that other phrase, "Going down I will see if it be according to their cry," and all such things, are rendered superfluous; for those things which, before they came to pass, were foreknown, even as they were about to happen, have received, through prudent administration, an outcome that requires no repentance.

XLV. That He did not desire sacrifices from them is apparent from the fact that those who lusted after meat were slain as soon as they tasted it, and because they were buried in that grave, the place was named the "tumulus of concupiscence." He, therefore, who from the beginning begrudged the immolation of animals, because He did not desire them to be slaughtered, did not command sacrifices, as if He sought them, nor did He exact first-fruits. For without the slaughtering of animals, neither can sacrifices be celebrated nor first-fruits be offered. But how could He be involved in darkness, and gloom, and tempest—for this indeed is written—He who established the pure heaven, and created the sun to exhibit light, and defined to all the innumerable stars the ^C irrevocable order of their courses? Thus, O Simon, the handwriting of God—I mean the heaven—shows the pure and stable intent of the Creator.

XLVI. Thus, the calumnious voices against the God who built the heaven are in like manner invalidated by contrary voices, and are refuted by creation; for they were not written by a prophetic hand, and therefore they are found to be contrary to the hand of the God who created all things. And Simon said: How can you show this? And Peter said: The law of God was given through Moses by word of mouth to seventy wise men, so that it might be handed down to the rest, and might be governed by succession. But after the ^D assumption of Moses, it was written by someone, though not by Moses. For in the law itself it is written: "And Moses died, and they buried him near the house of Phogor, and no one knows his sepulcher to this day." Was it possible for Moses, being dead, to write, "Moses died"? Since in the time after Moses, some five hundred years or thereabouts, in the built

temple the law was found, and after others it remained in like manner ^A for five hundred years: and thus it perished in the fire under Nabuchodonosor. And yet, though written after Moses and often lost, it also professed the foreknowledge of Moses, because he, foreseeing its abolition, did not compose it; but those who composed it, not foreseeing its abolition, were caught in ignorance, and therefore were not prophets.

XLVIII. Then Simon: Since the things concerning God, as you said, are to be understood from a comparison with creation, how is it possible to distinguish the remaining parts of the law, which are from the tradition of Moses and are true, but are mixed with false things? To this Peter said: A certain chapter, he says, has been salutarily recorded in the written law according to the providence of God, so that it might clearly appear which of the writings are true and which are false. And Simon: Indicate to us, which is that one. ^B

XLIX. Peter replied: I will say it straightway. It is written in the first volume of the law, near the end: *There shall not fail a prince from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes whose it is; and he shall be the expectation of the nations*. If therefore one is able to know him who came after the failure of the prince and leader from Judah, and who was to be expected by the nations, he, through that chapter and through the things that have occurred, will recognize that he who came is true, and by acquiescing in his doctrine, he will know which things in the Scriptures are true and which are false. And Simon: I understand that you are speaking of your Jesus, as being prophesied by the Scripture: let it be granted therefore that it is so. Tell me, then, how he taught you to discern the Scriptures.

L. And Peter: That the true things were mixed with the false, I remember he said when he was accusing the Sadducees, thus: *Therefore you err, not knowing the true things of the Scriptures, for which cause you are ignorant of the power of God*. If, however, he accused them of not knowing the true things of the Scriptures, it appears that there are also false things in the Scriptures. ^C But also by saying: *Be good money-changers*, he shows that both good and counterfeit sayings are contained in the Scriptures. And when he says: *Why do you not understand what is reasonable in the Scriptures?* he makes the mind of the man who wishes to understand candidly more firm.

LI. Now, regarding the proposition of the Scriptures to

scribes and teachers as those who know the true things of the Law, it is clear that he is sending them as to those who know the true things of the true Law. And indeed, his stating, "I have not come to abolish the Law," yet appearing to abolish it, was meant to signify that those things which he did abolish did not belong to the Law. And by further stating: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but one iota or one serif will not pass away from the Law," he signaled that those things which pass away before heaven and earth did not belong to the Law in its true sense.

107 LII. Since, therefore, while heaven and earth were still standing, sacrifices, kingdoms, and the prophecies among those born of women passed away, and all such things, as if they were not the commandments of God—hence he says: "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted." On account of this, he himself, being the true prophet, said: "I am the gate of life: he who enters through me enters into life," because there is no other doctrine that is able to save. Therefore he cried out, saying: "Come unto me, all you who labor," that is, you who are seeking the truth and not finding it. And again: "My sheep hear my voice." And at another time: "Seek and you will find," implying that the truth does not lie plainly exposed.

^B LIII. But also a witness voice was heard from heaven, saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: listen to him." And wishing to demonstrate even further that those prophets whom they affirmed they had learned from were themselves in error, he declared that they had died in a desire for, but not in a knowledge of, the truth, with these words: "Many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and to hear what you hear; and amen I say to you, neither did they see nor did they hear." Furthermore, he said: "I am the one of whom Moses prophesied, saying: 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brothers, like me; listen to him in all things. But whoever does not listen to that prophet will die.'"

LIV. Hence it is impossible, without his saving doctrine, to fix upon the truth, even if one seeks throughout all eternity, where what is sought does not exist; but it was and is in our Word, Jesus. Yet, knowing the true things of the Law, when the Sadducees inquired of him on what grounds Moses permitted ^C marriage with seven, he answered: "Moses permitted it to you because of your hardness of heart. For from the beginning it was not so. For he who created man from the beginning, made him male and female." ^D

^A LV. To those who suppose, as the Scriptures teach, that God swears, he said: "Let your word be 'Yes, yes,' and 'No, no,' for what is more than these is from the evil one." And to those who say that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob have died, he said: "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living." To those who imagine that God tempts, as the Scriptures say, he said: "It is the wicked one who tempts, who also tempted him." And to those who suppose that God does not foreknow, he said: "For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things before you ask him." To those who believe, as the Scriptures say, that he does not see all things, he said: "Pray in secret, and your Father, who sees what is secret, will reward you."

^B LVI. To those who imagine that he is not good, as the Scriptures say, he said: "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a snake? Therefore, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him and do his will?" And to those who maintain that he is in the temple, he said: "Do not swear by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet." And to those who presume that God desires sacrifices, he said: "God desires mercy and not sacrifice, knowledge of him and not burnt offerings."

^C LVII. To those who are persuaded that he is evil, as the Scriptures say, he said: "Do not call me good; for no one is good but one." And again: "Be good and merciful, as the Father who is in heaven, who makes his sun rise on the good and the evil, and sends rain on the just and the unjust." And to those who have been deceived into supposing that there are many gods, as the Scriptures say, he said: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one."

^D LVIII. Nevertheless, Simon, perceiving that Peter was compelling him to use the Scriptures just as Jesus taught, did not wish the examination regarding the discourse about God to take place, even though Peter had changed his mind, just as Simon himself requested, that the examination should take place through question and answer. But the discussion lasted for three days. As the fourth day began to dawn, Simon fled by night toward Tyre of Phoenicia. And not long—

After many days, some of those who used to go before came and said to Peter: "Simon, by performing great wonders in Tyre, has overwhelmed many of the inhabitants there, and has made you hateful through many slanders." ^A

LIX. When Peter heard these things, on the following night he had the crowd of listeners assemble, and to those who had gathered he said: "While I was hastening to the nations that claim there are many gods, to preach and teach that there is one God who created the heaven and the earth and all things that are in them, so that by loving Him they might be able to be saved, malice, anticipating me, sent Simon ahead according to the law of the syzygy, so that men, even if they should cease to speak of many gods on earth, having condemned those who are called such on earth, might think that there are many gods in heaven, ^B so that, never having prized the good of the Monarchy, they might utterly perish after their punishments. And the most terrible thing is that, since the true word has an incomparable power, by anticipating us, he persuades men through slanders not to receive me, lest perhaps he who slanders should be proven to be in reality a slanderer, and the true word, once it has been revealed, should be able to be believed. It is necessary, therefore, for me to quickly overtake him, so that the slander may not linger and utterly prevail over everyone. ^C

LX. Since, therefore, it is necessary to appoint someone in my place to fill my role, let us all with one purpose beseech God, that He Himself may reveal the most excellent among us, that, sitting upon the chair of Christ, he may piously administer His Church. Who then shall be appointed? For by the counsel of God is that man pronounced blessed, whom his lord shall set over the household of his fellow servants, to give them their food in due season, not thinking and saying in his heart: 'My lord delays to come,' and starting to beat his fellow servants, eating and drinking with harlots and drunkards; for the lord of that servant will come in an hour which he does not expect, and in a day which he does not know, and will cut him in two, and will appoint his portion with the hypocrites (a).

LXI. But if any of those present, being able to manage the wickedness of men, draws back, caring only for his own rest, let him also expect to hear: 'You wicked and slothful servant, you ought to have put my money with the bankers, and I, having come, would have exacted what is my own.' Cast the useless servant into the outer darkness (b). And rightly so. For it is your task, O man—He says—to test my words like money at the bankers, and like coin. ^D Therefore, the multitude of the faithful must believe one person, so that they may thus be able to continue in concord. For that which ends in the rule of one authority, by the representation of monarchy, fa—

^A puts those who submit in a state of enjoying the peace of good order; but for all to wish to rule and not to submit to one alone, is necessarily to fall into the cause of division.

LXII. But let those things which are placed before your eyes also persuade you: how, now that there are many kings throughout the whole earth, wars arise incessantly. For everyone takes the rule of another as an occasion for war. If, however, there were one ruler of the world, he, having ceased the cause of warring, would obtain eternal peace. Finally, for those who are to obtain eternal life, God constitutes one king of the universe in that age, that by monarchy a stable peace may arise. Therefore all must follow one as a leader of the way, thus honoring the image of God; and the leader must be ^B knowledgeable of the way by which one enters into the holy city.

LXIII. Whom else shall I choose from those present than Zacchæus, with whom our Lord also entered and remained, judging him worthy to be saved? Having said this, he placed his hand on the present Zacchæus, and compelled him to sit in his chair. Zacchæus, having fallen at his feet, begged that he might release him from the leadership; and at the same time he promised and said: "Whatever he who is in charge ought to do, I will do, only grant me not to have this name; for I dread to assume the name of leadership, since it abounds with bitter envy and danger."

LXIV. Peter said: "If you dread this, do not be called a prince, but a 'constituted one' (or prefect?), for indeed the Lord granted that name by these words: ^C 'Blessed is that man whom his master shall constitute over the household of his fellow servants' (Matth. xxiv, 44; Luc. xii, 44). But if you utterly refuse to be known as one who has the power of governing, you seem to me to be unaware that the acknowledged power of one who presides avails much toward persuading and swaying the multitude. For each one believes him who has obtained power, feeling it as a great necessity of conscience. But do you not also know for certain that you ought not to rule as the princes of the nations rule, but as a servant to minister to men, as a father to protect those ^D affected by injustice, as a physician to visit, as a shepherd to keep watch, and in one word, to take upon yourself all cares for their salvation? Or do you think I am unaware of the labors I compel you to take up, while I desire you to be judged by the crowd, whom it is impossible for anyone to please by any effort; even though it may very well be that he who works well is pleasing to God? Wherefore I pray you to take it up readily, for God, for Christ, on behalf of the brethren's

^A salvation, for their governance, and for your own benefit.

LXV. Consider also this, that just as it involves hard work and danger to govern the Church of Christ, so much the greater is the reward; but, furthermore, the punishment is also greater for him who is able but refuses. I desire, therefore, since I know you to be the most learned of those standing by, that you should put to interest the beautiful sentiments which have been entrusted to you by the Lord, so that you may hear: *Well done, good and faithful servant* (a), and not, like the one who hid the one talent, bear shame and be found liable to punishment. But if you do not desire to be appointed a good guardian of the Church, point out someone else instead of yourself, who is more learned and more faithful than you. But you will not; for you have associated with the Lord, and you have witnessed His miraculous works, and you have learned the administration of the Church.

LXVI. It is your task to command what is necessary, and the task of the brethren to submit and not to disobey. Those who have submitted will be saved, but those who have disobeyed will be punished by Christ, because he who presides has been entrusted with the place of Christ. Wherefore, either honor or insult shown toward the one presiding is directed to Christ, and from Christ is carried up to God. I have said this in order that the brethren themselves may not be ignorant of the danger of their disobedience toward you, for whoever disobeys you when you command, disobeys Christ, and he who disobeyed Christ provokes God to anger.

LXVII. The Church, therefore, ought, like a city built on a height, to have order pleasing to God and excellent administration. Before all, the bishop, as a leader, must be listened to in what he says; let the presbyters be diligent that the things commanded are done; let the deacons, walking about, inspect the bodies and souls of the brethren, and report to the bishop; let all the rest of the brethren accept being treated unjustly with readiness, but if they wish to be judged concerning the things in which they are treated unjustly, let them be reconciled by the presbyters; and let the presbyters refer the reconciliation to the bishop.

LXVIII. Let them hasten the marriages not only of the young, but also of those further on in years, lest a fervent desire, under the pretext of fornication or adultery, bring a plague upon the Church. For above every sin, the impiety of adultery is hated by God, because it destroys not only the one who has sinned, but also those ^D who eat and associate with him; for it is like madness, since it has the nature of communicating its own insanity. Therefore, for the sake of chastity, let not only the presbyters, but all, hasten to solemnize marriages; for the sin of one who has committed adultery necessarily comes upon everyone. Therefore, the first mercy is for the brethren to...

for this is the healing of the soul, just as food is the recreation of the body.

LXIX. Moreover, if you love your brethren, you will take nothing from them, but you will share what you have with them: you will feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and help those in prison to the best of your ability. Welcome strangers into your homes gladly, and malign no one. Your own mind will teach you how you ought to live piously, if you are attentive. But before all things, if it be necessary to say it to you, assemble frequently—would that it were every hour, or at least on the appointed days of the synagogue. For if you do this, you are within the walls of a sanctuary, since separation is the root of perdition. Let no one, therefore, under the pretext of a small and wicked spirit toward a brother, refrain from assembling. For if any one of you should refrain from gathering, he will be reckoned among those who scatter the Church of Christ, and will be punished as a leader of the enemies of Christ’s disciples, ^B and will be cast out along with adulterers; for as an adulterer, by the spirit existing in him, has (upon some pretext taken) separated himself, and has given the evil one a place against him, so as to snatch away a sheep, that is to say, one found outside the fold.

LXX. Furthermore, listen to your bishop, and do not cease to pay him every honor, knowing that through him you are led to Christ, and from Christ to God. Therefore, make manifold return to him who leads you. Honor the throne of Christ; seeing that you were also ordered to honor the chair of Moses, even though those who preside in it might be considered sinners. And these things have been said to you sufficiently. But as for Zacchaeus, I think it superfluous to say how he may live blamelessly, since he is a worthy disciple of him who taught me. ^C

LXXI. But, brethren, it is not necessary to wait to hear some things, but rather to understand from yourselves what is fair. Zacchaeus, giving himself over entirely to be at your disposal, has a stomach to feed; and since he does not provide for himself, how can he procure necessary food? Is it not truly just that you all take care of his sustenance, and not wait for him to ask it of you? For this becomes a beggar, but he would rather die of hunger than endure doing that. And how will you avoid punishment, if you do not consider that the laborer is worthy of his hire? Let no one say: "Is not the Word, therefore, delivered for free?" ^D

is sold? God forbid. For if anyone having [the means] wherewith to live receives [payment], he sells the word; but if one not having [means] for living receives food, as even the Lord did at suppers and among friends, having nothing, yet possessing all things in the future, he does not sin. Accordingly, therefore, honor the presbyters, catechists, and useful deacons, widows living uprightly, and orphans as children of the Church; but also whenever there is a need for money for some necessary purpose, do all of you contribute together. Exercise piety toward one another, not being reluctant to endure whatever it may be for the sake of your own salvation.

^B LXXII. Having said these things, he laid his hand upon Zacchaeus, saying: Master and Lord of all, Father and God, do you keep the shepherd with the flock. You are the cause, you are the power. We are they who are helped; you are the helper, the physician, the savior, the wall, the life, the hope, the refuge, the joy, the expectation, the rest; to speak briefly, you are all things to us. Aid us to obtain eternal salvation; deliver, keep [us]. You can do all things. For you are Ruler of rulers, and Lord of lords, Master of kings. Give authority to the one presiding to loose what things ought to be loosed, and to bind what things ought to be bound. You give wisdom; through him, as if by an instrument, do you keep the Church of your Christ as a beautiful bride. For yours is the eternal glory, the hymn, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, unto all the ages, Amen.

LXXIII. When he had said these things, he said afterwards: Whoever of you wish to be baptized, begin to fast from tomorrow, and receive the laying on of hands every day, and inquire about whatever things you wish. For I wish to remain with you for ten more days. ^C And after three days, when he had begun to baptize, he called me and Aquila and Nicetas and said: Being about to set out for Tyre after seven days, I wish you to depart immediately, and be lodged secretly with Berenice, the Canaanite, the daughter of Justa, and after having inquired diligently from her regarding the matters concerning Simon, write them to me. For it will contribute much to me, in order that I may prepare myself for that [encounter]. Therefore, depart immediately in peace. And indeed, leaving him baptizing, as he had ordered, we went before him into Tyre of Phoenicia.

HOMILY IV.

I. Departing then from Caesarea Stratonis, I, Clement, together with Nicetas and Aquila, entered ^D into Tyre of Phoenicia; and according to the command of Peter, who had sent us, we were lodged with Berenice, the Canaanite, daughter of Justa, who received us most gladly, and with much...

honor shown to me and affection toward Aquila and Niceta, she contended, as a friend rejoicing and confident, and she treated us with great kindness and courteously urged us to attend to the refreshment of our bodies. Having observed, therefore, that she was urging us to take a short respite, I said, "You do well, indeed, in hastening to fulfill the duties of charity. But the fear of our God must be preferred to this; for we who engage in the contest for many souls fear to place our own recreation before their salvation."

II. ^B We have heard, moreover, that Simon Magus, having been defeated in the discussion which he had with our master Peter at Caesarea and having immediately fled, is perpetrating many evils here. For among all those he encounters, he falsely slanders Peter and snatches away the souls of the many. For being a magus himself, he calls him a magus; and being an impostor himself, he proclaims him an impostor; and although in the discussion he was defeated in every point and fled, he professes that he has won; and he frequently commands that Peter should not be heard, as if, forsooth, he were anxious that they should not be deluded by a very wicked magician.

III. Having learned these things, our master Peter sent us ahead to be investigators of what was said about him: so that if things should be so, upon our writing to him he might be informed, and arriving, he might convict him face to face of the slanders against himself. Since, therefore, the danger to many souls lies before us, for this reason, having neglected the refreshment of our bodies for a short time, we wish to learn with certainty from you who dwell here, whether the things we have heard are true; and you may now relate each thing to us.

IV. Berenice, having been asked, said: "These things, indeed, are as you have heard; but hear the other things regarding this same Simon, which perhaps you do not know. For by making phantasms and specters and images appear in the middle of the forum, he astonishes the whole city throughout the day; and as he proceeds, statues move, and many shadows go before him, which he himself says are the souls of the departed. And many whom he had reconciled to himself, while they sought to expose him as a prestidigitator, he afterward, under the pretext of a banquet, having slaughtered an ox and given it to them for food, involved them in various diseases and consigned them to demons."

And not to say too much, after having afflicted many, he is thought to be a god, and is even honored beyond the fact that he is formidable.

V. Wherefore I do not think that anyone will be able to extinguish such a great fire that has been kindled. Nor does anyone doubt what he promises, but each one asserts that the matter is indeed so. Therefore, that you may not fall into danger, I exhort you to attempt nothing against him until Peter arrives, who alone, being the most approved disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, will be able to contend against such great power. For I am so afraid of the man, that if he had not previously debated with my master Peter and come off the worse for it, I would have advised you to persuade Peter himself not to risk entering into an examination with Simon.

VI. And I said: If our master Peter were ignorant that he alone prevails against his power, he would not have ordered us to go before him, that we might stealthily learn of the deeds of Simon and write them to him. However, when night had fallen, we took food and went to sleep. But in the morning, someone familiar with Berenice came and said that Simon had sailed to Sidon, but had left behind some of his disciples: Appion the Plistonic, an Alexandrian man, a grammarian by profession, whom I recognized as a friend of my father, and a certain Annubion, a Diospolite astrologer, and Athenodorus the Athenian, who was pleased with the doctrine of Epicurus. We, having learned the situation regarding Simon, wrote everything down in the morning and sent it to Peter, and then turned our steps for a walk.

VII. ^C And Appion met us, not only with the two aforementioned companions, but also with about thirty other men. And as soon as he saw me, he greeted and kissed me and said: "This is Clement, of whom I have spoken much to you, concerning his nobility and liberal character; that a man of the race of Tiberius Caesar and trained in all Greek discipline should have been deceived by a certain barbarian who is called Peter, to perform and preach the rites of the Jews. Wherefore I ask that you assist me in correcting him; and I will question him before you. Let him answer me, since he believes that he has surrendered himself to the practice of piety, how is he not most impious, seeing that he has abandoned his ancestral customs and declined toward barbaric ways?"

VIII. And I replied: "I indeed accept your good intention toward me, but I reject your ignorance. The intention is indeed good, that you wish that I manifest myself in those things which there seem good; but the knowledge [you possess], not having it truly, struggles to lay an ambush under the pretext of friendship." And Appion said: "Ignorance...

^A of your own tradition—does it seem right to you, while observing the ancestral rites, to hold the opinions of the Greeks?" I replied: "He who determines to live piously is not entirely bound to observe ancestral customs, but rather he should observe them if they are pious, and cast them aside if they happen to be impious. For it is possible for someone, born of an impious father but wishing to live piously, not to follow the father’s objects of worship." And Appion answered: "What then? Do you say your father was of an evil life?" I replied: "He was not, indeed, of an evil life, but of an evil opinion." And Appion said: "I wish to hear what his evil opinion was." And I said: "That he gave credence to the false and wicked fables of the Greeks." And Appion inquired: "Who are these false and wicked fables of the Greeks?" I replied: "The incorrect opinion concerning the gods, which, if you are patient, you shall hear ^B along with those who are eager to learn."

IX. Therefore, before the discussion, let us now withdraw to a more quiet place, where I may discourse with you. The reason why I wish to speak separately is this: because the majority of people, and not even all those who practice philosophy, approach the judging of matters with sincerity. For we know many who, even among those who pride themselves on the profession of philosophy, are led by empty glory or the desire for gain, and are not clad in the cloak for the love of virtue; and these, if they do not find what they are philosophizing for, turn to mockery. For the sake of such as these, let us choose a suitable place where we may be alone.

X. Then one of them, a rich man who possessed a field most elegantly adorned with leaves ^C, said: "Since the heat is burning intensely, let us withdraw a little from the city to my gardens." And having proceeded, they sat down where there were many streams of cool water and a green canopy of trees of every kind. There I willingly sat, and the others around me; who, being silent, instead of the voice with which they were about to ask me, were clearly seen by their eyes fixed upon me to be demanding the proof I had promised. And thus I began to speak:

XI. "There is a great difference, O men of Greece, between truth and custom. For truth, when sought sincerely, is found; but custom, whatever it may be assumed to be, whether true or false, is unthinkingly confirmed by itself; and when it is true, the one who possesses it ^D

rejoices, nor is he grieved by what is false. For such a person does not believe by judgment, but by prejudice, having surrendered his own hope to the opinion of those before him, trusting to uncertain fortune. And it is not easy to cast off this hereditary clothing, even if it is shown to him to be utterly foolish and ridiculous.

XII. Straightway, therefore, I say that the entire learning of the Greeks is a most destructive discipline of the evil demon. For some of them have introduced many gods, and these evil and subject to every kind of passion, so that he who wishes to do the same may not even be ashamed—which is proper to man—having, as an example, the wicked and base lives of the fabled gods; and because he is not ashamed, such a person shows no hope of repentance. Others have introduced fate, or what is called "genesis," beyond which no one can do or suffer anything. ^B Similarly, therefore, this also is the same as the first. For once someone thinks that no one can do or suffer anything apart from genesis, he easily turns to sinning, and having sinned, he does not repent of the things in which he has acted impiously, bringing instead as a defense that he was compelled by genesis to do these things; and as though he were unable to correct genesis, he does not even have the capacity for shame for the things in which he sins.

XIII. Still others introduce a chance that is without providence, as if all things were revolving automatically, with no master in charge. To think these things, as we have said, is the most destructive of all opinions. For as if there were no one in charge and providing and distributing to each according to their worth, ^C they easily perform everything they have the power to do, because they are devoid of fear. Whence those who think such things are not easily, or perhaps not at all, brought to sobriety; for they do not foresee the impending danger that might turn them back. But the doctrine of those whom you call the barbarous Jews is most pious, introducing one Father and Maker of this whole universe, by nature good and just: good, in that He grants forgiveness of sins to those who repent; and just, in that, after repentance, He deals with each according to the merit of their deeds.

XIV. This doctrine, ^D even if it happens to be a fable, with

^A its being pious, would not be useless to life. For each person, by the expectation of being judged by the all-seeing God, receives the more incentive to live temperately. And if the doctrine should also be true, it delivers the man who has lived temperately from eternal punishment, and further bestows upon him the eternal and ineffable goods that come from God.

XV. But I return to the primary opinion of the Greeks and Gentiles, which fabricates that there are many gods, subject to every kind of passion. And that I may not spend much time on clear matters by recounting the impious acts of each of those called gods, I will not speak of all their loves—those of Zeus, and Poseidon, and Pluto, and Apollo, and Dionysus, and Heracles, and of each one in particular, of whom ^B you yourselves are not ignorant, since you are educated in Greek literature, and have been taught those lives, so that as imitators of the gods you might perform the same things.

XVI. But I shall begin from the most kingly Zeus himself, whose father, Saturn, having devoured his own children, as you are accustomed to recount, and having shorn the genitals of his father Caelus with an adamantine sickle, showed an example of piety toward parents and love toward children to those who emulate the mysteries of the gods. And Zeus himself bound his own father and shut him up in Tartarus, and punishes the other gods. And as for those who wish to perform unspeakable things, having begotten Metis, he swallowed her; for Metis was seed—to swallow an infant is impossible. Furthermore, in defense of those who indulge in the loves of boys, he snatches up Ganymede; and by offering help to adulterers in their adultery, he is himself often found to be an adulterer. He even invites the taking of sisters, cohabiting with his sisters, Juno, Ceres, and the heavenly Venus, whom some call Dodona; and to those who desire to ^C consort with their daughters, having cohabited with Proserpina, he becomes a wicked example from the fables. He has committed ten thousand other impious acts, so that by impious men, on account of such exceeding intemperance, the fabulous dogma of his divinity might be established.

XVII. ^D It might seem fair for uneducated men not to be much angered about such opinions. But what must one say to those who have been trained in letters? Some of whom, aspiring to be grammarians and sophists, affirm that such actions are worthy of gods. For because they are themselves incontinent, having seized upon the pretext of the fables, as if they were imitators of the gods, they perform base things with impunity.

^A XVIII. Wherefore those who live in the country err much less than these, not being perversely instructed in those things with which those who dare such deeds have been imbued, having learned to be impious from evil education. For those who from childhood learn their letters through such fables, while the soul is still tender, implant in their own mind the impious acts of the so-called gods; wherefore, when they come to mature age, like evil seeds cast into the soul, they bear fruit: and what is most grievous of all, the impiety that has taken root is not easily cut out, when, having become men, they perceive that these things are grave and harmful. For in whatever each one is accustomed to from childhood, in that he delights to remain, and thus, because habit is not much less powerful than nature, they become difficult to change toward the good things which from the beginning were not cast into their soul.

^B XIX. Therefore, it is necessary that boys should not be exercised in corrupting disciplines, and that those who are in the flower of their age should be carefully kept back from hearing the myths of the Greeks. For their learning is much worse than ignorance; as we have shown from those living in the country, who, because they have not received Greek education, sin less. It is therefore necessary to flee such myths of theirs, and the theaters, and the books, and, would that it were possible, ^C even the cities. For, full of evil teachings and breathing them out upon those who mingle with them, they transmit to their neighbors, like a rabies, what they themselves have suffered. And what is worst, whoever is more educated among them is much more turned aside from the reason that is according to nature.

XX. But some among them who claim to be even philosophers declare such sins to be indifferent, and call those who are angry at such actions foolish. For they say, such things are not by nature sins, which have been forbidden by the laws of the wise men who lived in the beginning, because they knew that men, being of a fickle soul, are greatly offended by such things and rise up in war against one another: ^D for which reason the wise, having laid down a law, forbade such things as sins. But it is ridiculous to assume this. For how are those things not sins which are the cause of tumults and murders and every disturbance? For do not the destruction of lives, the ruin of houses, sorceries, deceits, straits, and many other evils arise from adultery?

XXI. "But why," he says, "does a man, if he is ignorant of his...

own wife committing adultery, not become jealous, not become angry, not make a disturbance, not wage war?" Thus such things are not evil by nature, but the foolish opinion of men makes them seem terrible. But I say that even if these terrible things do not occur, it is possible through intimacy with the adulterer for the wife to abandon her husband, or even to plot against him while living with him, or to provide for ^A the adulterer what was acquired by the labor of her husband; and when the husband has gone abroad, having conceived from the adulterer, because she fears the proof of her guilt, she may wish to destroy the fruit of her womb, and thus become a child-murderer, or even perish herself while attempting to destroy it. And if, while her husband is staying with her, she conceives from an adulterer and gives birth, the child being raised does not know its father, but thinks he is a father who is not, and thus the one who is not the father, on dying, leaves his property to another man’s child. How many other evils are accustomed to arise naturally from the character of adultery! Yet we are ignorant of the hidden nature of evils. For just as a mad ^B dog kills those whom he touches, communicating his most hidden madness, so also does the hidden evil of adultery, even if it is unknown, bring about the destruction of one's descendants.

XXII. But let us leave this for now. That one thing we all know, that generally for this reason men are unrestrained in their anger, and wars arise because of this, and the overthrow of homes, and the storming of cities, and ten thousand other things. Therefore I took refuge with the holy God of the Jews and their law; since I had held, with sure judgment, that both the law is fixed and defined by the just judgment of God, and the soul will altogether receive at some time according to the merits of what it has done.

XXIII. When I had said this, Appion added to the discourse: "What then? Do not," he says, "the laws of the Greeks also forbid evil things and punish adulterers?" I replied: "Therefore, if the gods of the Greeks do things contrary to their laws, they deserve punishment. But how shall I be able to restrain myself, when I suppose that the gods themselves were the first to commit all manner of base crimes along with adultery, and have paid no penalty, whereas they should have paid it all the more, as being not enslaved to desire? But if they were subject to desire, how were they gods?" And Appion replied: "Let them be for us as examples, not as gods, but as judges, looking to whom we shall fear to sin." And I replied: "It is not the same, O Appion. For he who has his goal fixed on a human being will dare to sin in the hope of remaining hidden; but he who has proposed God, the all-seeing overseer, as the ^D boundary of his own soul, knowing that he cannot escape His notice, will refrain from sinning even in secret."

XXIV. When Appion heard this, he said: "I had understood, from the time I heard you consorting with the Jews, that you had changed your opinion. For it is excellently said by someone: 'Evil communications corrupt good morals.'" And I said:

"Good conversations amend bad habits." I replied: "Therefore, good conversations amend bad habits." Appion said: "Today I have ^A had enough of knowing your position; therefore we have permitted you to speak first. But tomorrow here, if it pleases you, with the same friends gathered, I will demonstrate that our gods are neither adulterers, nor murderers, nor destroyers of children, nor have they approached their sisters or daughters; but the ancients, wishing that the mysteries should be known only to those eager for knowledge, hid them in the myths which you have mentioned. For they physiologize Jupiter as the boiling substance, Saturn as time, and Rhea as the perpetually flowing nature of water. However, as I promised, tomorrow morning when you have gathered, I shall, by allegorizing each species, reveal the manifest truth of existing things." And I to this said: "Tomorrow, as you promised, do so; but now, from this point on, listen also to these things which you are about to say. If the deeds of the gods, being good, were covered by evil myths, great is the malice shown by the one who covered them, because ^B he hid noble things with evil narratives, so that no one might become their imitator. But if they truly performed impious deeds, on the contrary, it was necessary to veil them with good myths, so that men, as if looking up to divinities, might not attempt to commit similar sins." When I had said this, those who were present were seen beginning to conceive a love for the words spoken by me. For they frequently and earnestly requested that I definitely come the next day, and then they departed.

HOMILY V.

I. On the following day at Tyre, just as we had agreed, coming to the quiet place, I saw and greeted the others—certain ones along with some others—but not seeing Appion, I asked the reason for his absence. And someone said that from that very evening he had been lying ill in body. And when I stated that it was reasonable to set out at once to visit him, almost all asked ^C that I should first discourse to them, so that afterward it might be possible for us to visit him. Since, therefore, there was one mind among all of them, I began to speak.

II. "Yesterday, departing from here, O friends, I confess that, being very anxious about the discussion that is to take place against Appion, I could not get any sleep. But as I kept watch, there came to my mind the things that had been contrived by me against him in Rome. Now they are such: From childhood I, Clement, being a lover of truth and seeking things advantageous to the soul, and spending my time on refutations and constructions, and being able to find nothing perfect, was driven by my mental distress into sickness. And while I was lying down, ^D Appion arrives in Rome, being a friend of my father, and is entertained by me. Learning that I was bedridden, he comes to me as if not unskilled in the medical art, and asks the cause of my state." I, however, [knowing the man perfectly]...

and that he held the Jews in such hatred that he had even written many books against them, was aware that he had now admitted Simon into his friendship, not out of any desire for learning or erudition, but because he knew him to be a Samaritan and an enemy of the Jews, and one who had advanced against them; for this reason he attached him to himself, that he might be able to learn something from him against the Jews.

III. I, knowing these things about Apion, when he asked the cause of my illness, answered him dissemblingly, that I was suffering from what the young suffer, and that I was sick at heart. To this he said: "Child, speak to me as if you were trusting a father; what is the illness of your soul?" When I sighed deeply again in a feigned manner, as if I were too ashamed to speak of love, by my silence and by nodding, ^B I offered him the suspicion I wished to convey. He, truly persuaded that I was wasting away for a woman, said: "There is nothing in life that cannot find a remedy. For I myself, when I was still young, having fallen in love with a most elegant woman, not only judged it impossible to enjoy her, but did not even expect to be able to greet her; yet, having chanced upon an Egyptian, one most skilled in the magic arts, and having contracted a friendship with him, I declared my love. And not only did he place himself at my disposal for everything I desired, but, bestowing his favors upon me most generously, he did not even begrudge me the knowledge of the spell through which I succeeded; and through that man’s secret demonstration, having been persuaded by the munificence of the master, and having succeeded once, I ceased to love."

IV. "Wherefore, if you also are suffering something of this kind in the human way, trust me and put aside your cares. For within seven days I will make you fully in possession of the woman." Upon hearing this, ^C looking towards my own goal, I said: "Forgive me for not fully believing that magic exists; for I have already experienced many who promised much and lied. Nevertheless, your promise moves me and brings me to hope. But I am afraid, when I reflect, that perhaps the demons sometimes do not obey the commands given to them."

V. Apion answered: "Grant me that I know these things better than you. Yet, so that you may not seem to have heard nothing from me regarding what you said, learn by what reason demons are forced to comply with the commands of magicians. For just as it is impossible for a soldier to contradict his commander, and just as commanders themselves cannot fail to obey the emperor (for if anyone ^D resists those set over them, he will surely pay the penalty), so it is impossible for demons not to serve the angels who are their commanders; through whom, when adjured, they yield trembling, knowing well that if they do not obey, they will be utterly punished. The angels themselves also,

^A adjured by the greater ones through magicians, yield, lest by being judged for disobedience they perish. For if all things endowed with soul and reason did not foresee the punishment from the greater power, confusion would have arisen, as all would be in sedition against one another.

VI. And I said: Is it not true, then, that what is said by poets and philosophers 57 is correct, that in Hades the souls of the impious are judged and punished for their crimes, for example the souls of Ixion, Tantalus, Tityus, Sisyphus, and the daughters of Danaus, and all others who have ever lived impiously on this earth? And if these things are not so, how is it possible for magic to exist? And when he replied that matters in Hades are indeed so, I asked: Why then do we ourselves not fear to practice magic, being convinced of the punishment for adultery in Hades? For I do not agree that it is just to force a woman who is unwilling to commit fornication. But if anyone promises that he will persuade her, I am ready for that, and moreover I shall be grateful.

VII. Appion replied: Does it not seem to you to be the same thing, whether you obtain her through magic or by persuading her with words? I answered: It is not at all the same; for there is a great difference between the two. For he who forces an unwilling woman by the power of magic, as one who plots against a chaste person, incurs the most severe punishment; but he who has persuaded her by speech, and has placed the choice in her own power and will, has not used force. And I think he who persuades will be punished less than he who forces. Therefore, if you are able to persuade her, I shall be grateful for having achieved it; otherwise, it is sweeter to me to die than to force one who is unwillingly ^B.

VIII. And Appion, truly perplexed, said: What must I say to you? For at one moment, as though burning with love, you desire to enjoy her; at the next, as though you did not love her, you prefer fear to desire, and you think that if you persuade her, you will escape as one who has not sinned, but if you succeed by the force of magic, you will suffer punishment. But you are ignorant of the fact that the end of every deed is judged, and that it is the fact, not the manner in which it was done, that is evaluated. And if you commit adultery, could it be that by magic you will be condemned as impious, but having persuaded her, you will be absolved from the sin of adultery? And I answered: Since I love, and altogether propose to myself to enjoy the beloved, it is necessary for me to choose one or the other, but I shall choose, if possible, to flatter rather than to use magic. But it will not be easy to persuade her even with flattery, for the woman is very much a lover of wisdom.

IX. And Appion said: I have all the more hope that it is possible to persuade her, as you yourself wish, if only we can converse with her. I replied: It is impossible. And Appion asked if ^C

^A it were possible to write to her. I said: This is indeed possible. And Appion said: "I shall write a booklet this very night, a panegyric on adultery, which you will receive from me and send to her, and I hope that, being persuaded, she will agree." And when Appion had written that booklet, he gave it to me, concerning which I had been thinking that night; and I conveniently remembered that I had it with me, along with other booklets that I am carrying. ^B Having related these things, I showed the booklet to those present, and to those who wished to hear, I read it; and having read it, I said: "This, men, is the education of the Greeks, having a noble premise for sinning without fear." The booklet was as follows.

X. The lover to his beloved (anonymously, because of the laws sanctioned by foolish men), by the command of Eros, the most ancient of all boys, sends greetings. I have known you to apply your mind to the study of philosophy and, for the sake of virtue, to emulate the life of the better sort. But who could be better, if not the gods among all things, and philosophers among men? For they alone know which actions are by nature bad or good, and which are considered such only by the decree of laws, though they are not so in reality. Therefore, some have believed that so-called adultery is a bad deed, even though it is ^C entirely good; for it is performed for the multiplication of the race, by the commands of Eros. Now, Eros is the most ancient of all the gods; for without Eros, there cannot be any union or generation of elements, of gods, of men, of brute animals, or of all other things; for we all are instruments of Eros. But he himself is the craftsman through us, who comes to the souls of all who are born. Whence we do not desire to act when we ourselves wish, but when we are commanded by him, we wish to perform his will. But if we, who desire by his will, attempt to suppress our desire for the sake of what is called modesty, how do we not commit the greatest impiety by resisting the most ancient of all gods and men?

XI. And so, may all doors be open to him, and may all troublesome and artificial laws be dissolved, ^D which were established by jealous men who, captured by folly and not wishing to understand what is reasonable, and furthermore being suspicious of so-called adulterers, are justly mocked by the gods because of the very laws of Jove established through Minos and Rhadamanthus. For it is not possible to restrain Love when it approaches the soul. For the passion of lovers is not voluntary. Thus, Jupiter himself, the lawgiver of these laws, lay with countless women; and indeed, at times, he granted his own union to men, appearing as a benefactor to certain wise men for the procreation of children; but among those who...

were not able to understand, he secretly changed his form, so that he might neither grieve them nor appear to be acting against the laws he himself had established. It is necessary, therefore, for one who applies himself to philosophy to imitate, for the sake of a noble life, those who are admitted to be better, whose unions have been countless. ^B

XII. And so as not to waste time in vain on more proofs, I will begin from Jupiter himself, the father of gods and men, to declare the unions of certain ones—for it is impossible, because of their number, to mention them all. Hear, therefore, about the great Jupiter himself, who, because of the jealousy of foolish men, used secret unions through transformation. For first, wishing to resolve for the wise the suspected sin of adultery concerning his varied union, at the time when he was about to marry, and knowing that, according to the many, he was behaving like an adulterer, by means of the sin that was only ^C presumed, as I said, he secured an unblamable marriage. For he marries his own sister, Juno, having become like the feather of a cuckoo, from whom Hebe and Ilithyia were born. For he begets Metis without any union with anyone, just as Juno did Vulcan.

XIII. Further, he has intercourse with the sister who was born to him from Heaven and Sea ^D from the emasculation of Saturn (from whom come Cupid and Cypris), whom they also call Dodona; he has intercourse also with Antiope, the daughter of Nycteus, having been made like a Satyr, from whom Amphion and Zethus were born. And he joins with Alcmena, the wife of Amphitryon, having been made like Amphitryon, who was the husband, from whom Hercules was born. And with Aegina, the daughter of Asopus,

he draws near, having become an eagle, from whom Aeacus is born; and, having been made like to Phocus, he lies with Amalthea ^A of Phocus, as a bear. And upon Danae, the daughter of Acrisius, gold flowed down, from whom Perseus flew forth. He grew fierce as a lion toward Callisto, the daughter of Lycaon, and she bears another, Arcas. He approached Europa, the daughter of Phoenix, by means of a bull, from whom Minos and Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon were born. He became an ant toward Eurymedusa, the daughter of Achelous, from whom Myrmidon was born. He became a vulture toward a nymph of Hersaeus, from whom were those of old who were wise in Sicily. In Rhodes he approached Eima, the earth-born, by means of a shower, from whom Pargaeus, Cronius, and Cytus were born; and he espoused her whom they call Cassiopeia, having been made like to her husband, Phoenix, from whom Anchinius was born to him. ^B Being transformed into a swan or a goose, he begat Helen from Nemesis, the daughter of Thestius, who is also thought to be Leda; and again, having become a star, he brought forth Castor and Pollux. And in order to win Lamia, he was transformed into a hoopoe.

XIV. The same one, having made himself like to a shepherd, makes Mnemosyne the mother of the Muses. He marries Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, by firing upon her, from whom he completes Dionysus. He himself deflowers his daughter, Proserpina, having either become like to a dragon himself, or she being thought to be the wife of his brother Pluto. And he lies with many other women without transformation, not having jealousy like men as if it were a sin, but well knowing that by generously sharing with their wives he begets, bestowing upon them Hermes, Apollos, Dionysi, Endymions, and as many others as we have mentioned, ^C most distinguished by his beauty from the union.

XV. And that I may not spend time on an infinite and inexplicable explanation, you will find abundant unions of all the gods with Zeus. But foolish men call them adulteries of the gods, not observing that the unions of the males are in no way shameful, but that they practice even this as something seemly. Straightway, then, Zeus himself loves Ganymede; Poseidon, Pelops; Apollo, Cinyras, Zacynthus, Hyacinthus, Phorbas, Hylas, Admetus, Cyparissus, Amyclas, Troilus, Branchus, Thymnaeum, Parus, Po-

Potniensis, Orpheus; Bacchus, Laonides, Ampelus, Hymenaeus, Hermaphroditus, Achilles; Aesculapius, Hippolytus; Vulcan, Peleus; Pan, Daphnis; Mercury, Perseus, Chryses, Therses, Odryses; ^A Hercules, Abderus, Dryops, Iocastus, Philoctetes, Hylas, Polyphemus, Haemon, Chonus, Eurystheus.

XVI. Thus I have set before you, my dearest, a portion of the loves of the more distinguished gods, so that you might recognize that jealousy concerning this matter arises only among foolish men. Hence they are mortal and drag out their lives in sorrow, because they themselves, through their own jealousy, have declared those things to be evil which the gods deem good. Therefore, from now on you will be blessed if you imitate the gods and not men. For men, seeing that you preserve what is ^B thought to be chastity, praise you because of their own emotion, but they do not help you. The gods, however, seeing that you have become like them, will both praise you and assist you.

XVII. For consider to how many beloveds they have made return; some of whom they have placed among the stars, and others they have benefited by granting them children or helpers. Thus, Zeus placed Callisto among the stars, the one called the Lesser Bear, which some also name Cynosura. Poseidon set the dolphin in the sky for the sake of Amphitrite; and ^C he honored Orion, born of Euryale the daughter of Minos, in the stars for the sake of his mother Euryale; Bacchus honored the crown of Ariadne. Zeus set the eagle, which he used in the abduction of Ganymede, among the stars, and placed Ganymede himself in the honor of Aquarius; and he honored the bull for the sake of Europa. Furthermore, to please Leda, he made Castor, Pollux, and Helen stars; and Perseus for the sake of Danae; and Arcas for the sake of Callisto; the virgin, who is also Dike, for the sake of Themis; and ^D Hercules for the sake of Alcmene. And I will no longer prolong my speech further; for it is a long task to relate in detail how many others the gods have benefited through their intercourse with humanity—intercourse which foolish men denounce as wicked acts, not knowing that pleasure is the greatest blessing among men.

XVIII. What then? Do not even the renowned among the wise

^A choose pleasure, and consort with whatever women they wish? Among whom is the primary teacher of Greece, of whom Phoebus himself said: "Socrates is the wisest of all men;" does he not, in the city governed by the best laws, Lacedaemon (92), propose that wives be held in common, and cover the beautiful Alcibiades with his cloak (93)? And does not the Socratic Antisthenes write that so-called adultery should not be shied away from? But also his disciple Diogenes, does he not publicly and freely consort with Lais, for the reward of carrying her on his shoulders? Does not Epicurus prefer pleasure? Does not Aristippus, anointed with perfumes, devote his whole self to Venus? Does not Zeno, hinting at promiscuous intercourse, say that the divine is in all things, so that it may be known to the wise that whoever one consorts with, one is consorting with oneself, and that it is superfluous to forbid so-called adulteries, or unions with a mother or daughter or sister or children? And Chrysippus (94), in his erotic epistles, mentions even the image in Argos, placing the face of Hera at the private parts of Zeus. ^B

XIX. I know that these things appear terrible and most shameful to those uninitiated in the truth, but they are not so to the gods and philosophers of the Greeks, nor in the mysteries of Dionysus and Demeter. But above all these things, so that I do not spend my time recounting the lives of all the gods and philosophers, let there be two main targets for you: among the gods, Zeus, and among men, the philosopher Socrates. As for the others of whom I have made mention in these letters, understand and take care not to grieve your lover, since, just as by doing the contrary to what the gods and heroes did, you will be judged guilty of impiety and will undergo the fitting punishment; if, however, you offer yourself to every lover, as if imitating the gods, you will obtain a benefit from them. As for the rest, / dearest,

mindful of the mysteries I have explained to you, show me your intention by letter. Farewell.

XX. I then, having accepted this book from Appion, as if I were truly going to send it to the beloved, fabricated a reply as if she had written back in response to these things, and on the following day, when Appion arrived, I handed it to him as if it were indeed her reply, which ran as follows:

Copy of a letter to Appion as if from the beloved.

XXI. I wonder how, since you praised me for wisdom, you write to me as if I were stupid. ^B For, wishing to persuade me to your passion, you have taken examples from the myths concerning the gods, and have not feared to blaspheme Love—whom you called the most ancient of all, above all gods and men—so that you might corrupt my soul and heap insult upon my body. For Love, which dwells in desires, is not the ruler and leader of the gods. For if he desires of his own will, he himself is his own passion and punishment, and he who suffers willingly cannot be a god; but if he desires union against his will, and, passing through our souls as though through the instruments of our bodies, is borne along to those unions which fall under the intellect, then he who causes him to love and brings him forward is greater than he; and, again, if this one who brings him forward is himself borne along by a desire for another, another who brings that one forward is found to be greater; and thus there arises an infinite chain of those who are moved by love, which is impossible. Thus, there is neither a mover nor one who is moved, but it is the desiring emotion of the lover himself, which is increased by hope and diminished by despair.

XXII. But those who do not wish to restrain shameful desire tell lies about the gods, so that by showing ^C that the gods were the first to perform these things, they may be freed from blame for what they themselves do. For if those who are called gods committed adulteries for the sake of procreation and not for the sake of lust, why did they also mingle with males? But, he says, wishing to gratify their beloved women, they transformed them into stars. Therefore, were there no stars before this, until the heavens were adorned with stars during an occasion of lust? And how is it that the children and descendants of those placed among the stars are punished in Hades: Atlas burdened by the weight, Tantalus tormented by thirst, Sisyphus rolling the stone, Tityus having his lungs torn out, and Ixion ^D endlessly revolving upon a wheel? How, moreover, if they were gods, did they as lovers place those whom they had defiled among the stars, yet did not grant this gift to themselves?

XXIII. They were not, therefore, gods, but the inventions of tyrants.

^A For the tomb of Saturn is not in heaven, but is pointed out on the earth in the Caucasian mountains—the tomb of a savage man and a devourer of his children. Likewise, the tomb of the lascivious and fabled Jupiter, who in like manner swallowed his daughter Metis, is seen in Crete; and in the Acherusian marsh are the tombs of Pluto and Neptune, of the Sun at Astres, and of the Moon at Carrhae; of Mercury at Hermopolis, of Mars in Thrace, of Venus in Cyprus, of Bacchus at Thebes, and of the others in other places. Yet the tombs of those mentioned are clearly to be seen. For they were men, and wicked men and magicians at that. Nor would they have become monarchs and lords, I mean the fabled Jupiter and Bacchus, had it not been by transformation, by which they mastered whom they wished, for whatever end they desired.

^B XXIV. But if one must emulate their lives, let us imitate not only their adulteries but also their banquets. For Saturn swallowed his own children, and Jupiter likewise his daughter. And what need is there of words? Pelops became a meal for all the gods. Whence we also, before an illicit marriage, should perform a similar feast to the gods; for thus would the banquet be worthy of the marriage. But no one would ever endure to do this, just as I would not endure to commit adultery. Moreover, you threaten me with the indignation of Love as if he were a powerful god. Love is not a god, as he seems to be, but is a desire that arises from the temperament of a living being, according to the providence of Him who fashioned all things, for the sake of the succession of life, so that the whole race might never at any point fail, but that by the occasion of pleasure, from the substance of a man who is to die, another may be born again, produced in lawful wedlock, so that he may recognize his father whom he may nourish in his old age—a thing which those who are born of adultery cannot do, since they possess no natural affection ^C for their progenitors.

XXV. Since, therefore, as I said, the desire of love arises for the sake of legitimate increase of progeny, it behooves parents, being concerned for chastity, to instruct their children before desire arrives, through books that are able to beget a good mind, and to [train them] in what is better—

^A instruct them frequently to be mindful of the punishments from the laws, so that, using fear as a bridle, they may not rush into absurd pleasures. It is also fitting that before desire reaches its peak, the natural passion of the age be satisfied through marriage, having first persuaded them not to gaze upon the form of another woman. For our mind, when it first imprints upon itself with pleasure the image of the beloved, as if always seeing the form in a mirror, is tormented by memory; and if it does not obtain the desire, it meditates on ways of succeeding, but if it succeeds, the desire increases all the more, like fire abundantly supplied with fuel, especially when there is no pre-existing fear imprinted upon the soul of the lover before the passion. For just as water extinguishes fire, so also fear is a quencher of irrational desire. Whence I, having learned ^B from a certain Jew both to think and to do what is pleasing to God, do not become easily caught for adultery by false fables. But to you, who wish and are eager to live chastely, when your soul is inflamed with desire, may God grant aid and provide the cure.

XXVII. Apion, having heard this feigned reply, said: "Do I hate the Jews without reason? For instance, a Jew once met this woman and, having converted her to his own worship, persuaded her to live in chastity; and it is impossible for her to come into the embrace of another hereafter, because such people, proposing to themselves God as the inspector of all their deeds, hold fast to chastity as those who cannot remain hidden."

XXVIII. Having heard these things, I said to Apion: "Now I will confess the truth to you. I did not fall in love with a woman, nor with anything of the sort; for my soul is entirely consumed by other ^C desires, namely, the discovery of true doctrines. And up to this present time, having examined many opinions of philosophers, I have inclined toward none of them, except to the religion of the Jews, when a certain merchant of theirs, selling linens, had arrived here in Rome, and by some good chance had simply commended to me the opinion regarding the monarchy of God."

XXIX. But Apion, having received the truth from me—he who hated the Jewish people without reason, and neither knew nor wished to know what their faith was—being angry without judgment, departed from Rome secretly; and from that time, having met him just now for the first time, I reasonably fear the anger of that time. Nevertheless, in your presence, I will ask what he might have to say regarding the so-called gods, whose lives, which the myths relate to be subject to every vice, are sung publicly on purpose for the imitation of the like; and for whom, in addition to human passions, as I have said, their tombs are also displayed in various places. ^D

XXX. When others had heard this from me before, and desired to learn the consequences, they gathered to me, as if intending to visit Appion. And truly we found him already bathed, and the table set. Therefore, we examined a few things concerning the doctrine regarding the gods. But he, perceiving our intent, I suppose, promised to have something to say concerning the gods on the following day, and indicated to us the same place where he would speak. So we, with that promise, having given him thanks, each returned home.

HOMILY VI

I. On the third day, however, I went to the field of Tyre appointed for the time, and I found Appion sitting between Anubion and Athenodorus, and with them many other learned men waiting for us. Nevertheless, fearing nothing, I greeted them and sat opposite Appion, who not long after began to speak: I wish, beginning first from here, to come quickly now to the point in question. Before you, my son Clement, were present with us, this Anubion here and Athenodorus, who yesterday along with the others heard you speaking, related to me how, in Rome, when I met you as one who was fond of me, I told many lies against the gods, proclaiming them to be catamites, lascivious, violators of their mothers, sisters, and daughters, and bound to innumerable adulteries. But you ought to have known, my son, that I did not write such things sincerely, but out of love for you I concealed the truth; which things, if you now desire, hear from me.

II. The wisest of the men of old, having themselves learned all truth through toil, concealed the tradition of knowledge from the unworthy and those not eager for divine teachings. For neither were twelve children born from Heaven and his mother Earth, as the fable enumerates—males, namely Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Saturn; females, namely Theia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Ceres, Tethys, Rhea. Nor did Saturn, cutting off the genitals of his father Heaven with a sickle of adamant, cast them into the sea, as you say; nor did Venus arise from the drops of blood spilled from the excision of Heaven. Nor did Saturn, having intercourse with Rhea and begetting Pluto, swallow him first, fearing a certain oracle of Prometheus, lest the child born from that union should become stronger than he and deprive him of his kingdom. He did not similarly swallow the second one born, Neptune. Nor, after these, did the mother Rhea hide the one born, Jupiter, nor did she hand a stone to Saturn to devour when he demanded it. He, not being swallowed, pressed upon and forced out those who had first been swallowed, so that there came forth first ^C Pluto, who had been the first swallowed, after him Neptune, and thirdly Jupiter. ^D

^A Nor, as they say, was Jupiter saved by the counsel of his mother, nor did he ascend into heaven and cast down his father from his kingdom. Nor did he punish his father's brothers. He did not fall into the desire of mortal women. He did not lie basely with sisters or daughters, nor with the wives of his brothers, nor with boys. He neither begat and swallowed Metis, that he might bring forth Minerva from his brain from Metis, and from his thigh bring forth Bacchus, who they say was torn apart by the Titans. He did not host a banquet at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus. He did not cast out Discord from the weddings. Discord did not, out of shame, contrive battle and sedition for the feasters. She did not, having taken a golden apple from the gardens of the Hesperides, write upon it: "A gift to the fair." Afterward they tell myths that Juno, Minerva, and Venus found the apple, and contending, came to ^B Jupiter; he, indeed, did not judge them himself, but through Mercury sent them to the shepherd Paris to be judged regarding their beauty. But the goddesses were not judged, nor did Paris hand the apple to Venus. Nor did Venus, having obtained the honor, reward Paris in turn with the marriage of Helen. For the honor of a goddess would not have been the cause of a war among so many nations, and that to the destruction of him who had been honored and who belonged to the race of Venus by right of kinship. But as I said, my son, such things have a certain proper and philosophical sense, which can be explained by allegory, so that, when you hear it, you will marvel. And I said, I pray you do not torment me by delaying. And he said: Fear nothing, for I will not delay, but I will begin to speak now. ^C III. There existed at one time a period when there was nothing except chaos and a confused mixture, still heaped together, of disordered elements; nature herself confesses this, and great men assert that it is so. And as a witness to those who are great in wisdom, I will bring before you the greatest himself, Homer, who says concerning the primeval confusion: But may you all become water and earth, as having derived their origin from thence, and after the dissolution of the humid and earthly substance, being restored again to the first nature, which is chaos. And Hesiod says in the Theogonia: In the first place, indeed, Chaos was made: ^D By the word "was made," it is clear what he signifies, namely that those things

are not always what exist as unbegotten. And Orpheus ^A compares to chaos that in which there was a confusion of the first elements. This Hesiod proposes as chaos, which Orpheus calls the "egg" that was begotten, produced from infinite matter, and made in such a way.

IV. Since matter, containing four kinds, had a soul, and the whole of a certain immense abyss was always flowing and being borne randomly, and was ever pouring forth countless imperfect mixtures, and for this reason was dissolving them because of [their] confusion, and was also gaping, as if it could not be compacted for the generation of an animal; it happened at some time that that infinite ocean, shaken by its own nature by a natural motion, flowed in an orderly way from the same to the same in the manner of a whirlpool, and mixed the substances; and thus, in a marvelous manner, that which was the best and most mature of all, and the most fit for the generation of an animal, flowed as if in a furnace ^B through the midst of the universe, and through the whirlpool bearing all things went down to the depths, and drew toward itself the surrounding spirit; and not only that, but as if conceived into the greatest fecundity, it made a distinct composition. For just as a bubble is wont to be formed in moisture, so an orbicular body was grasped on all sides. Then, itself conceived within itself, carried up by the divine spirit which it had assumed, this greatest germ or fetus came forth into the light, as if an animate handiwork begotten from the entire immense abyss, similar to an egg by its roundness and to birds by its swiftness.

V. Therefore, consider Saturn to be time for me, and Rhea that flowing aqueous substance: because by time all matter was turned, and like an egg, brought forth the heaven, which is round and comprehends all things. This egg ^C was in the beginning full of fecund marrow, inasmuch as it was able to procreate elements and all kinds of species, yet it bore an image of every kind from one substance and one species. For just as in the fetus of a peacock one color of the egg is indeed seen, but by power it has within itself a thousand colors of the animal that is to be fulfilled, so too the animate egg begotten from the immense matter, moved by the underlying and ever-flowing matter, displays all kinds of transformations. For within the circumference, some animal, which is male-female, is formed by the providence of the divine spirit present within it, which Orpheus calls Phanes, because upon his appearing, the all ^D

^A shone forth by the light of the most distinguished of the elements, the fire perfected in the moisture. And it is not incredible, that for the sake of an example, nature has granted to us to see ^B in glow-worms the humid light.

VI. The egg, therefore, which was first constituted, when it had been warmed by the animal within, is broken; then, having taken its form, that species comes forth, as Orpheus also says: ... the shell of the multi-receptive egg being broken; and thus, by the great power of him who has come forth and appeared, the mass receives harmony and maintains its arrangement, while he himself sits as if at the summit ^C of heaven, and illuminates the infinite age in mystic ways. But the matter of the shell that was left pregnant within, as it lay for a long time, until the heat naturally seething, distinguished the substances of all things. For the lower part of it first sank down like sediment by weight; and because of its entire density and the gravity and great quantity of the underlying substance, they called it Pluto, declaring him to be the king of Hades and of the dead.

VII. They say, then, that this first and much-sordid and rough substance was naturally swallowed up by Saturn—that is, ^D time—because of its downward recession. After the first sediment, the flowing water which overlaid the first dregs they called Neptune. And the remaining third, the purest and most exalted, as it was lucid fire, they named Zeus, on account of its seething nature. For since fire is borne on high, it was not swallowed up by time—that is, Saturn—with the lower parts; but, as I said, the fiery substance, being vital and upward-trending, flew up into the air, which also is most intelligent because of its purity.

By its own heat, therefore, Jupiter—that is to say, the boiling substance—draws up that which is left in the underlying moisture, the most powerful and divine ^A spirit, to which they gave the name Metis.

VIII. Coming to the very summit of the ether and becoming permeated by it, just as moisture is mixed with heat, it induces a perpetual movement of palpitation and begets intelligence, which they also call Pallas from the word *pallein* (to palpitate); it is the most technical prudence, using which the ethereal craftsman fashioned the whole world. From this penetrating Jupiter, that is, the most fervent ether, the air reaches down to these regions here, which they call Hera. And as it has receded from the purest substance of the ether, it is considered the sister of Jupiter as a female, on account of its purity, by comparison with the superior element—it being, as it were, of the same substance; and it is thought to be the wife ^B because it lies beneath, like a woman.

IX. Juno is taken as the good temperature of the air, and therefore she is most fertile. But Minerva, whom they also call Pallas, because she can produce nothing on account of her extreme heat, was believed to be a virgin. Likewise, they interpret Diana, whom they take for the infinite recess of the air, and because she is sterile due to the highest degree of cold, they also called her a virgin. But they name Dionysus from the turbid and sickening composition that arises from the vapors above and below, as one that disturbs the mind. And the water below the earth, since it is one in nature and traverses all terrestrial passages and is divided into many parts—as if chopped up—they called Osiris. And indeed, they take Adonis for the beautiful seasons, Venus for copulation and generation, Ceres for the earth, Proserpina ^C for the seeds, and some take Bacchus for the vine.

X. And consider that all things of this kind likewise have some allegory of the same sort. Consider Apollo to be the sun that goes around, the offspring of Jupiter, whom they also called Mithras, completing the year’s—

^A period. But let these many transformations of Jupiter, who pervades everything, be understood by you as his many turnings; and consider his myriad women to be the years or generations. For the power that reaches from the ether itself through the air, having intercourse with each year and generation, turns it in various ways, and thus generates or destroys the fruits. And the fruits are called children who are in season, while the barrenness of certain seasons are the demonstrations to the foolish.

XI. As Appion was allegorizing these things, I, being thoughtful, appeared not to follow what was being said by him. Wherefore, interrupting the discourse, he said to me: "If you do not follow what I am saying, why do you discuss it at all in the beginning?" And I answered: "Do not suppose that I am insensate to what you are saying. For I understand it perfectly well, as I have not heard it for the first time. But that you may know that I am not ignorant of what is said by you, I will summarize for you what you have said, and as for the things left out by you, I will complete the allegories in order, as I heard them from others." And Appion said: "Do as you say."

XII. And I answered: "I pass over for now to speak accurately about the animated egg produced from infinite matter through attained mastery of tempering, from which, when it burst, according to some, Phanes, male-and-female, sprang forth. And all those things I sum up, until the burst vessel received harmony, the medullary matter ^B of it being left behind; and I will run over the discourse concerning the things brought to pass from it within, along with their consequences. For he was born, as you say, from Saturn and Rhea, that is, from time and matter, first indeed Pluto, as the dregs that subsided below; second, Neptune, which is half-fluid substance, floating upon the very heavy nature below. But the third, the highest and being ether, which is Jupiter, which not being ab- ^C

(Note: The Greek text abruptly breaks off at "οὐ κατε-", the Latin at "non ab-". As the next page begins with "sorpta, sed calorida...", the translation continues:)

...sorbed, but being a warm power and having an upward-tending nature, just as if by some blast...

sorbed, but being a warm power and having an upward-tending nature, just as if by some blast, it flew up into the highest and most principal ether.

XIII. The bonds of Saturn are the fastening together of heaven and earth, as I have heard others interpret it. But the cutting off of his genital members is the separation and discernment of the elements: because all things were cut off and separated from their own nature, so that each might be set in order apart by itself; and time no longer generates, but the things generated through it follow the law of nature in their successions. And Venus, who emerged from the deep, ^A is the fertile substance of the moist, with which the warm spirit, being mixed, instills the desire of intercourse, and completes the beauty of the world.

XIV. Now the nuptial banquet, where Jupiter celebrated the feast for the sake of the Nereid Thetis and the excellent Peleus, has this allegory, so that you may know, Appion, that we have heard such things even without you. The banquet, therefore, is the world; and the twelve are the celestial supports of the regions, which they call signs (of the zodiac); Prometheus is providence, through which all things were made; Peleus is clay, which was devised from the earth for the generation of man, and was mingled with the Nereid, that is to say, with water. ^B And from the mixture of the both, of water and earth, the first man was not born, but fashioned perfect; and because he did not apply his lips to the breasts, he was named Achilles (8); and he himself is also the prime of life, which, if it desires Polyxena (9), as a thing foreign and strange to the truth, is destroyed by the sight of it, and by a dart against the heel and the track of death creeping in.

XV. Juno, therefore, and Minerva, and Venus, and Discord, and the apple, and Mercury, and the judgment, and the shepherd have this meaning. Juno is honesty; Minerva, fortitude; Venus, pleasures; Mercury, the word that interprets things; the shepherd Paris is the impulse devoid of reason ^C and barbarian. If, therefore, in the flower of age the intellect, the shepherd of the soul, should be barbarian, who, deserting what is useful,

^A rejecting manliness and temperance, chooses only pleasures and gives the victory to desire alone, so that he may receive from it in return sweet things for the destruction of himself and his own—he who has not judged pleasure rightly will receive it. Discord is contention-loving malice. And the golden apple of the Hesperides would be wealth, which sometimes incites even the temperate, like Juno, to sloth; and the brave, like Minerva, to things not becoming to them, rendering them more contentious; and destroys the beauty of the soul, like Venus, under the pretext of luxury. In a word, I shall say: wealth incites all to evil discord.

XVI. But Hercules, who killed the serpent, the leader and guardian of wealth, is the genuine and philosophical intellect, ^B which, stripped of all malice, goes about the world, visiting souls and bringing to their senses those who encounter it—I mean men who resemble bold lions or timid deer or wild boars or many-headed hydras. Likewise, all the other things which Hercules is said to have overcome are enigmas of intellectual virtue. And now, let these things said suffice. For not even all time would be enough to speak of each.

XVII. Furthermore, I wonder how, when these things could have been declared clearly, piously, and usefully by an open and straight path, those who concealed them in oblique enigmas and covered them up with shameful myths are said by you to have been prudent and wise, who, as if led by an evil ^C demon, have ensnared almost all men. For either these are not enigmas, but the true sins of the gods, and they ought not to have been revealed, nor in the beginning set forth to men for imitation; or they were revealed enigmatically, things which were not truly done by the gods, and they sinned, Appion, in that those you call wise, by veiling honorable things with dishonorable myths, incited men to sin, and that with the insult of those whom they also believed to be gods.

XVIII. Therefore, do not deem such people wise, but rather evil demons, who set forth the evil foundations of good works, so that those who wished to become imitators of the superior things might emulate those of the ^D commonly spoken-of gods.

^A I have not concealed the deeds which I discussed the day before yesterday—I mean patricides, child-murders, impious unions with mothers, daughters, or sisters, indecent adulteries, the intercourse of males, and impure, unspeakable outrages, along with countless other such illicit comminglings. Among these, the most impious are those who desire these crimes to be thought true, so that by doing similar things they might not feel shame. ^B If they wished to act piously, they ought—as I just said—even if the gods had really committed the shameful things sung about them, to cover up dishonorable matters with some more seemly myths out of reverence for the gods, and not the opposite, as you do: attributing bad and shameful forms to their good deeds, which, even when explained allegorically, can hardly be understood with much labor; and when they are understood by some, they have indeed provided them with the relief of not being led astray, though it was possible for them not to have been troubled by the labor at all, while they have utterly destroyed those who were led astray. Nevertheless, I commend those who interpret these accounts into more honorable allegories, just as those who suggest that wisdom sprang from the head of Zeus. Perhaps it seems more probable to me that those insults were dared by wicked men who gained the reputation of gods.

XIX. Furthermore, we do not find the poetic allegory regarding all the gods to be consistent. ^C For instance, in the ordering of the universe, poets sometimes say that nature, and other times that mind, was the leader of the entire creation. For they say that the first movement and commingling of the elements came from nature, but that it was ordered by the providence of the mind. And having declared that the universe was created by nature, but being unable to prove this faultlessly ^D because of the artful nature of the creation, they also weave in the providence of the mind, as if they were able to ensnare even the very wise. But we say to them: If the cosmos came into being from nature operating by chance, how has it received proportion and order, which is only possible for an excellent prudence to produce, and which can be grasped only by a knowledge capable of discerning and perfecting such things? But if all things have received their frame and disposition from prudence—which necessarily could not be otherwise—how was it still possible for these things to come about by chance?

XX. Those, therefore, who have wished to explain divine deeds by baser allegories, such as Metis being swallowed by Zeus, have fallen into straits, not understanding that those who have obliquely offered physical interpretations regarding the gods have also destroyed the very existence of the gods, by [interpreting] their forms through allegory

It is therefore more plausible to say that the gods invoked by them were certain wicked magicians, who, being base men, transformed themselves through magic and dissolved marriages and corrupted lives, but to the ancients, who did not know what magic was, they appeared to be gods on account of the things they did; whose deaths and tombs are seen throughout the cities.

XXI. Immediately, therefore, as I have said elsewhere, in the Caucasian mountains the tomb of a certain man named Saturn is shown, a cruel tyrant and child-murderer. His son, Jupiter by name, worse than his father, having appeared as the master of the world through the power of magic, dissolves many marriages, and punishes his father ^B along with his uncles; and his tomb is shown by the Cretans after he died. In Mesopotamia, meanwhile, lie a certain Sun at Atris, and a certain Moon at Carrhae, Mercury a certain man in Egypt, Mars in Thrace, Venus in Cyprus, Aesculapius in Epidaurus; and the tombs of many other such beings are seen.

XXII. That they were men, those who judge correctly will openly confess. And indeed, those who lived in their own age, understanding that they were mortal men, paid less attention to them when they died; but the long passage of time has thrown over them the reputation of being gods. And do not marvel if those living in the times of Aesculapius and Hercules, or ^C of Dionysus or any other of those who flourished then, were deceived, since the inhabitants of those places worship Hector in Ilium, and Achilles on the island of Leuce, and the Opuntians worship Patroclus, and the Rhodians worship the Macedonian Alexander.

XXIII. But even among the Egyptians, even now a man is worshipped as a god before he dies. And this, indeed, is a lesser impiety, that the Egyptians deem a living man worthy of divine honors; but the most ridiculous thing of all is that they worship birds, and serpents, and all kinds of animals. For the majority of men do not think or act according to judgment. But see for yourself the most shameful thing of all: they say that he whom they consider the father of gods and men was licentiously joined with Leda, whom many, ^D depicting him as Jupiter, consecrate on a public tablet. And for the retaliation of this insult, I would wish that their king of the time...

even though he was a human being, might have taught them through their own punishment how one ought to pay the proper honor. ^A I tell you this, not as though I myself already know Him who is truly God, but I confess with an impartial mind that, although I do not know what God is, yet I seem to myself to know clearly that God exists.

XXIV. In the first place, therefore, the four primary elements cannot be God, since they are made by another: not the mixture, not the temper, not the generation, not this whole visible mass that surrounds us, nor the sediment that has flowed down to the nether regions; neither the supernating water, nor the fervent substance, nor the air which extends from it up to this point. ^B For the four elements, if they were separated from one another, could not without a great artisan intellect have been mixed for the generation of an animal; but if they were always joined together, in that way also they are adapted by an artisan intellect to the propriety of the members and parts of an animal, so that they may be able to preserve the proportion of each to each, and may obtain a rightly conformed habit, and that all the interior parts may receive a convenient coherence. Similarly, the artisan intellect arranges the proper places of each single thing with all elegance. To speak briefly: and in all other things which an animal ought to have, nothing is lacking to this great animal of the whole world.

XXV. Thus it must necessarily be understood that there is a certain unbegotten artisan, who either joined the distant elements, or skillfully mixed those present with one another to produce an animal, and perfected one work from all of them. ^C For it cannot be that a most wise work is finished without some greater intellect. But neither can love be the artisan of all things; nor cupidity, nor force, nor anything else of that sort; all of which are subject to chance, and are accustomed to come and go. Nor is that which is moved by another God, nor that which is changed by time or nature and is dissolved into nothingness.

XXVI. While I was saying these things to Appion, Peter arrived from Caesarea, and crowds of people gathered in Tyre, hastening to meet him and to profess their gratitude for his arrival. And Appion indeed withdrew with Anubion and Athenodorus alone; ^D but the rest of us all went out to meet Peter. I was the first to receive him before the gates and brought him to lodging. When we were there, we dismissed the crowds, but as he was asking me to tell him what had happened, I hid nothing; but I pointed out the calumnies and portentous

all the stratagems performed by him, and how many diseases he inflicted after that banquet of the sacrificial ox, and that of the sick, some remained there at Tyre, while others, as soon as I arrived, departed with Simon to Sidon as if to be healed by him, and that I learned that none of them had obtained a cure from him. Also, I related to Peter the discussion I had had with Appion. He, out of affection and for my encouragement, bestowed praise and blessing upon me, and taking food, he surrendered himself to the quiet of sleep, which was most necessary on account of the fatigue of the journey. ^B

Homily VII.

I. On the fourth day of our stay in Tyre, Peter went out at dawn, and many people from the surrounding country and a great multitude from Tyre itself came to meet him, and they cried out, saying, "May God have mercy on us through you, and may He heal us through you." Peter stood upon a high stone so that he could be seen by all, and having greeted them in a religious manner, he began as follows:

II. God, the creator of heaven and the world, does not lack opportunity for the salvation of those who wish to be saved. Wherefore, let no one through rashness accuse Him regarding those things which appear evil, as though He were not a lover of men. For the ends of what befalls man are unknown to men, and suspected of being for evil, but to God they are known as destined for a happy outcome. Thus Simon, who is the left power of God and has the authority for malice against those who do not know God, was able to involve you in diseases; which diseases, being permitted by the good providence of God to happen, compelled you, once you had looked for and found the one capable of healing you, to accept under the pretext of bodily healing those things that are pleasing to God, and to believe, so that in this way, along with the bodies that are being saved, you might also have your souls saved. ^C

III. I hear, indeed, that he slaughtered an ox and gave a banquet for you in the middle of the forum, and so you, being carried away by much wine, together with the wicked demons, embraced their prince, and thus the majority of you were overtaken by passions, having drawn upon yourselves by your own hands the sword of destruction through ignorance. For the demons would not have had power against you, had you not first dined with their prince. For from the beginning, a law was ordained by God, the creator of all things, with two leaders on either side,

^A so that neither of them should have power, unless he first becomes a table-companion to the one whom he wishes to benefit or to harm. Just as, therefore, having partaken of sacrifices that had been offered to demons, you were enslaved to the prince of malice, so likewise, if you cease from these things and take refuge with God through the good and right leader, doing what He wills with honors devoid of sacrifice, know well that along with the health of the body, you shall also possess healthy souls. For He alone is able, through the left hand destroying, through the right to bestow life; and in like manner both to strike and to raise up him who lies low.

IV. Therefore, having first been deceived by the precursor Simon, you died in your souls to God and were afflicted in your bodies; but you are able in the same way, a second time, through repentance, as I said, by embracing what is pleasing to God, both to cause your bodies to recover and to regain your souls. Now, the things pleasing to God are these: to pray to Him; to ask of Him as One who gives all things according to a just law; to abstain from the table of demons; not to taste dead flesh; ^B not to touch blood; to be cleansed from every defilement. The rest, in a word, is this: whatever the Jews, as men religious toward God, have heard, do you also hear, all of you, having taken on one mind in many bodies; that what each one desires for himself as good, the same let him also devise for his neighbor. Thus, then, would each of you understand what is good, if he were to reason with himself such things as these: "You do not wish to be killed; do not kill another. You do not wish your own wife to be defiled by another; do not defile the wedded wife of another. You do not wish any of your things to be taken away by theft; steal nothing of another’s." And thus, by yourselves conceiving and doing what is reasonable, having become dear to God, you shall obtain health; otherwise, you shall be tortured in your bodies in the present age, ^C and you shall be punished in your souls in the age to come.

V. Having been taught and healed by Peter in a few days, these were baptized. Then, amidst his other miracles, all the rest sat throughout the marketplace in ashes and sackcloth, doing penance for their former sins. And those who dwelt in Sidon, hearing these things, did the like and sent supplicants to Peter, because they themselves were not able to come to him on account of their diseases. Now Peter, having spent not many days in Tyre, and having instructed all who were in it, and having freed them from all kinds of diseases and established a church, and from the presbyters who followed him having appointed a bishop for them, ^D set out for Sidon. But Simon, learning that Peter had arrived, immediately fled to Berytus with Appion and his companions.

VI. When Peter had entered Sidon, many brought those who were on beds and laid them before him. But he said to them: "Do not suppose that I have any power for your healing, for I am myself a mortal man and one who can fall into many sufferings; but I will not refuse to teach you the way by which you may be able to be saved, since I myself have learned from the Prophet of truth the terms prefixed by God before the foundation of the world—I mean, in what evil works He has disposed that men should be afflicted by the leader of malice, and likewise in what good works He has decreed that those who have believed in Him as in a physician should first be cured in body, and then also have their souls restored unto salvation."

VII. Knowing these good and evil actions, therefore, I forewarn you, setting before you as it were two ways, showing by which those who walk perish, and by which those who travel are saved, being led by God. The way of those who perish, therefore, is wide and most level, and leads to destruction without effort; but the way of those who are saved is narrow and rough, and saves those who travel it with toil at the end. Over these two ways preside incredulity and faith; and through incredulity proceed those who have preferred pleasures, on account of which—doing what is not pleasing to God and neglecting to save their soul by the Word—they have forgotten the day of judgment, ^B nor have they cared to seek what is useful. They are ignorant, however, that the counsels of God are not like those of men. For, in the first place, God knows the thoughts of all, and each one is judged not only for their deeds, but also for their thoughts. But those who attempt to understand good and fail are far less impious than those who do not attempt the good at all. For it has seemed good to God that he who has lapsed in his thinking of the good should be saved, having been moderately chastised ^C according to the measure of human lapses. But those who have neglected even to begin to know what is better, even if they perform innumerable other noble deeds, because they have not been in that religion defined by God, having incurred the charge of negligence, will be utterly extinguished by the greatest punishment.

VIII.

The religion defined by Him is this:

Sidon, at Peter’s persuasion, after many there also had repented and believed, and had been ^A healed, he established a church; and having appointed as bishop over them one of the presbyters who were accompanying him, he departed from Sidon.

IX. But as soon as he reached Berytus, an earthquake occurred; and the crowds approaching Peter said: Bring help, for we are afraid that we may all perish utterly. Then Simon, having devised a plot, together with Appion, Anubion, Athenodorus, and his other companions, cried out publicly to the crowds against Peter: Flee, O men, from this man; he is a great magician; believe me, it is he who brought the earthquake upon you, and he himself stirred up these diseases, ^B that he might terrify you, as if he himself were God. And many such things did those around Simon falsely assert against Peter, as if he were able to do things beyond human power. But when the crowds kept silence, Peter, smiling slightly with that boldness which strikes fear, said: Men, I acknowledge that, God willing, I am able to do what these men say; moreover, I am ready, if you do not believe me in what I say, to overthrow your entire city to its foundations.

X. And as the crowds were moved by fear and promised that they would do whatever was commanded by him: Let none of you, said Peter, have any dealings with these wicked men, nor be associated with them. ^C The crowds, as soon as they heard his brief command, took up staves and pursued them, until they had driven them entirely out of the city. Then those among them who were sick and troubled by demons came in and cast themselves at the feet of Peter. But he, seeing these things and wishing to resolve their astonishment, said to them:

XI. If I were able to cause earthquakes and do whatever I desire, I do not say that I would have destroyed Simon with his companions (for I have not been sent for the destruction of men), but I would have made him my friend, ^D so that by slandering my true preaching he might not be an obstacle to the salvation of many. But if you believe me, he is a magician, he is the devil, he is the minister of malice against those who do not know the truth. And for this reason, he is able to inflict illnesses upon sinners, having those sinners as his helpers in the power he exercises against them. But I am a servant of God, the Creator of all, and a disciple of His true Prophet. Therefore, being His apostle, I speak the truth; for, serving the Good, I have even been sent to drive away diseases; for I have been sent as a second, since illness comes first, and healing follows. By that wicked magician, therefore, you were made sick, being unbelieving toward God; but through me, if you believe in Him, you shall be healed; for thus by experience

having received the proof of the Power, turning to doing good, you might be able to be saved also in your souls.

XII. When he had said these things, ^A all fell on their knees and lay before his feet. But he, having lifted his hands to heaven and prayed to God, healed them all by prayer alone. And having remained not a few days with the Berytians, and having established many in the religion of the one God and baptized them, having appointed one of the presbyters who were following him as bishop for them, he went off to Byblos. And having arrived there and learned that Simon had not waited for them even for one day, but had immediately hastened to Tripoli, having remained with them for a few days, and having healed not a few, and having instructed them in the Scriptures, he proceeded to Tripoli ^B in the tracks of Simon, determined to pursue him and not to let him escape.

HOMILY VIII

I. But as Peter was entering Tripoli, those who were more eager to learn from Tyre and Sidon, Berytus and Byblos, and many from the surrounding regions came together. And there were great crowds of people from the city itself, desiring to see him. Therefore, the brothers who had been sent by him beforehand met us in the suburbs, in order to ascertain both the other things in the city and the deeds of Simon, so that having come they might report them. Having welcomed him, they led him to the house of Maro.

II. But he, being already at the doors of the lodging, turned to the crowds ^C and promised to discourse to them about the worship of God on the day after the next. But when he had gone inside, those who had been sent ahead were arranging lodgings for those who had come with him. Nor were those who were receiving them into hospitality inferior in eagerness to those who were requesting lodgings. But Peter, knowing nothing of this, when asked by us to take food, said that he would not partake before those who had come with him had rested. When we answered him that this had already been done, because out of affection for you they had eagerly received them all, to such an extent that those who did not have guests to lodge were exceedingly grieved, Peter, having heard this and being delighted at their prompt humanity, after blessing them, went out, and having bathed in the sea, ^D he came in, and taking food with those who had gone ahead, when evening had overtaken him, he went to sleep.

III. But at the second cockcrow, having been awakened, he found us awake; we were all sixteen with him, Peter himself and I, Clement, Nicetas and Aquila, and the twelve who had gone ahead. Having therefore greeted us, he said: Today, because we are not occupied with outsiders, we are at leisure for one another. Therefore I, for my part, will tell you what happened at Tyre after your departure.

^A Do you, on the other hand, explain to me more accurately what was done here by Simon. 30 After we had thus exchanged our respective accounts, one of the household servants entered, bringing this news to Peter: “Simon, when he learned that you had arrived, set off on the road to Syria. But the crowds, for whom this one night feels like a whole year, and who cannot wait for the deadline set by you, are standing before the doors. They are talking to one another in groups and circles about Simon’s slanders, saying that he had stirred them up and had promised that, upon your arrival, he would convict you of many crimes, yet once he knew you had arrived, he fled by night; nevertheless, they themselves desire to hear you. I do not know where the rumor arose that you were planning to speak to them today. So, that they may not be worn out in vain and disperse without purpose, you yourself know what you must do.”

^B IV. And Peter, marveling at the zeal of the crowd, answered: “See, brothers, how the words of our Lord are manifestly fulfilled. For I remember Him saying: ‘Many shall come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and shall sit down in the bosoms of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’ (a). But he also says, ‘Many are called, few are chosen’ (b). Now, that they themselves have come because they were called has been fulfilled. But because this is not their own achievement, but that of God, who called them and caused them to come, they do not receive a reward for this alone, because it is not their own doing, but that of the One who moved them. But if, after being called, they perform good works, which is their own doing, then they shall receive a reward for this.”

^C V. For neither are the Hebrews, who believe in Moses but do not keep what was spoken through him, saved, unless they keep what was spoken to them. For even their believing in Moses did not spring from their own will, but from God, who said to Moses (c): “Behold, I am coming to you in a pillar of cloud, that the people may hear when I speak to you, and may believe in you forever.” Since, therefore, it has been granted by God to both the Hebrews and those called from the Gentiles to believe the teachers of the truth, while it has been left to the individual judgment of each person to perform good works, the reward is justly repaid to those who do well. For there would have been no need for the coming of Moses, nor of Christ, if they had been willing to understand for themselves what is reasonable, nor does salvation come through believing in teachers and calling them lords.

^D VI. And for this reason, the Hebrews who 13...

^A have received Moses as their teacher have Jesus hidden from them; but from those who have believed in Jesus, Moses is hidden. For since there is but one doctrine through both, God accepts anyone who has believed in either one of them. But the reason for believing in a teacher is so that the things spoken by God may be performed. And that this is so, our Lord himself says: "I confess to you, Father of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and elders, and have revealed them to nursing infants." Thus God himself hid the teacher from some, as they already knew what they ought to do, and revealed him to others, as they were ignorant of what they needed to do.

VII. Neither, therefore, are the Hebrews condemned for their ignorance of Jesus, because of Him who hid him—provided that, while doing the things prescribed through Moses, they do not hate the One whom they did not know; nor, again, are those from the nations condemned for their ignorance of Moses, because of Him who hid him—provided that they too, by doing the things spoken through Jesus, do not hate the One whom they did not know. And it is of no benefit to anyone to call their teachers lords, yet not do the works of servants. For this very reason, our Jesus said to someone who frequently called Him Lord, but did nothing of what He had commanded: "Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" For saying it will not benefit anyone, but doing it will. By all means, therefore, there is a need for good works. But if anyone is found worthy to recognize both as having the same doctrine preached by them, this man is counted among those who are rich in God, having understood the old things as new in time, and the new things as being old.

VIII. ^C When Peter said these things, the entire multitude, as if called by someone, entered where Peter was. And when he saw the great crowd flowing gently like the calm stream of a river, he said to Maroon, "Where is there a place here that can better hold these crowds?" And when Maroon led him to an open-air place, a garden prepared for cultivation, the crowds followed. Peter, however, standing upon a statue's base that was not very high, as soon as he had greeted the people in a religious manner, seeing many of the standing crowd being troubled for a long time by demons and many diseases, and gnashing with wailing and falling down with supplication, rebuked them and ordered them to keep silence, and promising them healing after he had finished his sermon, he began to speak ^D as follows:

IX. "Beginning to speak about the true worship of God to those who are utterly ignorant of everything, and whose minds have been defiled by the calumnies of our opponent, Simon, I deemed it necessary first to have a discourse about the fact that one ought not to blame the Creator of all, God.

^A For he who does not begin from any other source than this opportunity that was providentially and opportunely provided by Him, will understand that it is with good reason that many have been beset by many demons and seized by strange diseases, so that in this way the justice of God might also appear. And even those who blamed Him through ignorance, if now, having learned how one ought to think, they recall themselves from their previous crime through good discourse and good deeds, attributing the cause of their evil daring to ignorance, they may obtain pardon.

X. The matter stands thus: Since the only good God had created all things well and had delivered them to man, who was made in His image, the man who was created, breathing the divinity of Him who had created him—being a true Prophet and knowing all things—in honor of the Father who had bestowed everything upon him, and for the salvation of the children to be born from him, as a genuine father preserving his goodwill toward those who would be his own children, desiring them to love God for their own benefit and to be loved by Him, revealed the way that leads to His friendship. He taught by what human deeds the only and all-sovereign God is delighted; and having shown what things pleased Him, He established an eternal law for all, which could neither be burned by enemies, nor corrupted by any impious person, nor be hidden in one place, ^B but could be read by all. Therefore, through obedience to the law, they possessed all things in abundance; the fruits were most beautiful, the years were complete, and they were gifted with life free from sorrow, free from disease, and ^C in complete safety, with the most wholesome tempering of the air.

XI. But they, because they had not yet experienced evil, being insensitive to the very gift of good things, turned through the abundance of food and luxury toward the vice of ingratitude, so as to think that Providence did not exist, because they had not received the good things as a reward for any prior labor of righteousness, inasmuch as none of them had fallen into any misfortune, disease, or any other necessity. Thus, as men afflicted by a wicked aberration are wont to do, they despised God, who was able to heal them. Yet, truly, immediately after this contempt, which proceeded from freedom from fear and from secure pleasure, there befell them—as if by a certain harmony appropriately adjusted—a just punishment, casting out the good things as if they were harmful, and bringing in the bad ones as if they were to be helpful. ^D

XII. For of those spirits who dwell in heaven, the angels who inhabit the lowest region, being offended at the ingratitude of men toward God, ask that it be permitted them to come into the life of humans, so that being truly made humans,

they might, by living a more virtuous life, expose those who have been ungrateful to God and subject each one to the punishment he deserves. When, therefore, they obtained what they asked for, they changed themselves into every nature, since they were of a more divine substance and could easily transform themselves into everything. And they became precious stones, and conspicuous pearls, and the most beautiful purple, if it happened to be such, and glorious gold, and every precious material. And they fell into the hands of some, and into the bosoms of others, and were willingly stolen by them. They were even transformed into quadrupeds and serpents, swimming creatures and winged ones, and into everything they wished. These are the things which your poets, because they fear nothing, sing about in their fables as they please, attributing the many and varied works of all things to one ^A.

XIII. But when, having become these things, they exposed those who had greedily snatched them up, and changed themselves into the nature of humans, in order that, by living according to holiness and showing that a holy life is possible, they might subject the ungrateful to punishments—since, I say, they truly became human in every way and possessed human desire, they were mastered by it and fell into the sexual union of women. Having ^B consorted with them, they became stained with defilement and, having been completely emptied of their first power, they were unable to restore those limbs which had been converted from fire back to the original purity of their own nature. For through the burden arising from carnal desire, once that fire had died out, they proceeded along an impious path downward; for, shackled by the bonds of flesh, they were held and bound fast, for which reason they could no longer ascend into the heavens.

XIV. For after the sexual union, being commanded to return to what they had formerly been, but no longer being able to provide it—since they could not do anything else after the defilement, and desiring to please the women they loved—they revealed to them the hidden treasures of the earth, I mean the flowers of the metals: gold, copper, silver, iron, and the like, along with all the most precious stones. Together with these magic-endowed ^C stones, they also handed down the arts pertaining to each of these things, and taught them magic and astronomy, along with the powers of roots and everything that is impossible for the human mind to discover, as well as the smelting of gold and silver and the like, and the various dyeings of garments. In short, everything that pertains to the adornment and delight of women is the invention of the demons bound in flesh.

XV. From this adulterous conjunction of theirs, there were born bastards, men much larger in stature than regular humans, whom those who came after called giants, not that they were snake-footed and waged war against God, as the impious fables of the Greeks sing, but that they were savage in their ways and, while indeed larger in the bulk ^D of their bodies than other men,

^A seeing that they were born of angels, yet they were smaller than angels, seeing that they were born of women. God, therefore, perceiving that they were exasperated towards ferocity, and that the world was not sufficient for their satiety (for the orbit was created for the proportions of men and for human uses), lest, through need of food, they should turn to the consumption of living creatures, which is against nature, and appear blameless, as if they had dared this out of necessity, the omnipotent God rained manna upon them for every varied longing, and they enjoyed everything they wished. But they, on account of their spurious nature, were not delighted by pure food, and craved only the taste of blood. Wherefore, they were the first to taste of flesh.

XVI. Those men who dwelt with them then first emulated them in doing the same. Thus, we are not born either good or evil, but we become so; and having become accustomed, we are with difficulty drawn back. Furthermore, when brute animals then failed, the spurious men ate even human flesh: for those who had already tasted flesh in other forms were no longer far from violating their own flesh.

XVII. Through the much blood that was shed, the pure air, defiled by an impure vapor and having become unwholesome, rendered those who breathed it subject to diseases, so that henceforth men died prematurely. The earth, therefore, being greatly polluted by these things, then first gave birth to venomous and harmful creatures. Since all things were tending toward the worse on account of the savage demons, ^C God determined to remove them as a base leaven, so that from an evil seed, each generation, being assimilated to the one preceding it and likewise impious, might not destroy the future age of those to be saved. Wherefore, after He had announced to one just man, along with the three born from him and their wives and sons, that they should be saved in an ark, He sent forth the waters of the flood; so that, after all had been consumed, the world, having been purified, might be restored pure to him who had been saved in the ark, for a second beginning of human life. And so it came to pass.

XVIII. Since, therefore, the souls of the dead giants were greater than human souls, ^D as they also excelled in the quality of their bodies, they received a new name as a new race. To those remaining in the world, a law was ordained by God through an angel as to how they must live. For since they were spurious in race, being from the fire of angels and the blood of women, and therefore likely to desire a race of their own, they were anticipated by a certain just law. For there was sent to them by

^A God a certain angel, declaring His will and saying:

XIX. These things seem good to the all-seeing God: that you should not rule over any man, nor cause trouble to anyone, unless someone of his own will subjects himself to you in servitude, worshipping you, and sacrificing, and pouring libations, and partaking of your table, or performing any other thing which is not proper, or shedding blood, or tasting the flesh of the dead, or of the remains of a wild beast, or of that which is cut, or strangled, or filled with any other unclean thing. But for those who take refuge in my law, not only shall you not touch them, but you shall even show them honor, ^B and shall flee from before their face. For whatever seems good unto them, being righteous as they are, against you, that you shall necessarily suffer. But if any of those who adhere to me should sin, either by committing adultery, or by practicing magic, or by living impurely, or by doing anything else that is not pleasing to me, then it shall be necessary that, by my command, they suffer something at your hands or at the hands of others; and regarding them, having considered their repentance, whether it is worthy of pardon or not, I shall pronounce the sentence. These things, therefore, you ought to remember and to do, well knowing that not even your thoughts will be able to escape His notice.

XX. Having commanded them such things, the angel departed. But you are still ignorant ^C of this law, that whoever worships demons, or sacrifices, or partakes of their table, having become a slave to them, will, as if under evil masters, receive all punishment from them. And because of this ignorance, having gone disastrously to their altars and having been filled by them, you have come under their power; and though your bodies are in every way subjected to outrage, you do not know it. You must know that the demons have power over no one, unless someone has first become a table-companion to them. Since not even their prince is able to do anything contrary to the law laid down by God against them, wherefore he has power over no one who has not worshipped him; nor can anyone receive from them anything he desires, ^D nor even be harmed in any way, as you can learn from the following.

XXI. For once, to our King of piety, there approached the king of the present time—not using force, for that was not permitted, but exhorting and persuading, because to be persuaded rests in the free will of each individual. Approaching, therefore, as king of the things present, he said to the King of the things to come: "All the kingdoms of the present world are subject to me; furthermore, the gold and the silver and all the luxury of this world are under my authority; wherefore, fall down and worship me, and I will give you all these things." He spoke these things knowing that after the act of worship he would have power over Him, and thus he would deprive Him of the future glory and kingdom. But He who knew all things not only did not worship him, but did not wish to receive any of his gifts. For He, together with His own subjects,

^A pledged those things which were given by him, which is that it was not permitted henceforth to touch anything whatever of what had been delivered by him. He answered, therefore: It is written, Thou shalt reverence the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve (a).

XXII. But the king of the impious, when he had tried very hard to bring the king of the pious to his own will and could not, made an end, and for the rest of his life endeavored to capture him. But you, being ignorant of the preordained law, are under his power because of your evil works. Therefore, you bear a stain in body and soul: and in the present you are mocked by diseases and demons, but in the future you will be punished in your souls. This, however, you have not suffered alone through ignorance; but some also of our own people, who, having been occupied in evil works by the leader of malice, afterward, when invited as if to a supper by a father celebrating his son’s nuptials, did not obey (b). But, in place of those who had declined on account of their occupation, the father who was celebrating the nuptials for his son commanded us through the Prophet of truth to go out to the exits of the ways, that is, to you, and clothe you in a pure nuptial garment, which is baptism, which is for the remission of your sins, and to lead the good into the supper of God from repentance, although at first they were absent from the feast. ^B

XXIII. If, therefore, you wish to become the garment of the divine Spirit, strive first to put off your sordid presumption, which is an unclean spirit and an impure covering. But you cannot put it off by any other means, unless you are first baptized in good actions: and thus, being made pure in body and soul, you shall enjoy the future everlasting kingdom. Therefore, do not believe in idols, nor be partakers of their impure table; do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not persecute with hatred those whom it is not fitting, do not steal, nor take part in any evil deeds at all. Otherwise, being deprived of the hope of future things, in the present age you shall be vexed by evil demons and grievous diseases, but in the future you shall bear the punishment of eternal fire. ^C What has been said to you today, therefore, is sufficient. As for the rest, whoever of you are afflicted with diseases, remain to receive health; but as for others, whoever wishes, depart in peace.

XXIV. When he had said these things, all remained, some that they might be cured, others to see those who were receiving health. But Peter, only laying his hands ^D upon them and praying, healed them: so that those who suddenly cur->

had been healed were overjoyed, while those who witnessed it were struck with great wonder and, praising God, believed with firm hope; they departed for their own homes together with those who had been healed, having received a command to assemble more promptly on the following day. When they had departed, Peter remained there with his companions and, having taken some food, refreshed himself with sleep. ^B

HOMILY IX.

I. On the following day, Peter went out with his companions and, coming to the place of the previous day, took his station and began to say: "God, having destroyed with water all the people of old who had acted impiously, and finding one pious man out of all of them, caused him to be saved in an ark together with his three sons and their wives. From this, one may perceive His nature: that it disregards the multitude of the impious, yet does not neglect the salvation of a single pious man. Therefore, the greatest of all impieties is to abandon the only Master of all and to revere as gods many who do not exist, as though they did.

II. If, therefore, as I explain and demonstrate to you that this is the greatest sin, which is able to destroy you all, it should come to your mind that you will not perish because you are a great multitude, you are mistaken; for you have the example of the world of old that was flooded. And yet, their sin was much less than yours. For they acted impiously toward their peers—either by murdering or by committing adultery—but you are impious toward the God of all, worshipping inanimate statues in His stead, or even alongside Him, and casting His divine name upon any matter lacking sense. First, then, you have fared unhappily in that you do not know the difference between the rule of one and the rule of many; for the monarchy ^C has the power to produce concord, whereas polyarchy is the cause of wars. For that which is one does not fight against itself, while many things have as a pretext to initiate war against one another.

III. Immediately, then, after the flood, Noah survived for three hundred and fifty years (a), living in concord with the multitude born of him, and was a king in the image of the only God. But after his death, many of his descendants desired the kingdom; and in their zeal to reign, each one devised a method by which he might rule. One indeed by war, another by guile, another by persuasion, and others in other ways. And one of these was from the race of Ham, the father of Mesraim, from whom ^D the Egyptian

(a) Gen. ix, 28.

^A and Babylonian and Persian races grew.

IV. From this race there arises someone, instructed in magic by succession, named Nebrod, who like a giant chose to think thoughts contrary to God, whom the Greeks ^A Zoroaster named. This man, after the flood, being desirous of a kingdom and being a great magician, compelled by magical arts the star that currently presides over the world—which causes the present evil—to grant him the kingdom. But that star, insofar as it was a ruler and had the power of the one being constrained, poured out with anger the fire of the kingdom, so that it might both admit the adjuration and punish him who first had compelled it.

V. From this flash, therefore, which fell from heaven to earth, the magician Nebrod, having been taken off, was renamed Zoroaster because of the event ^B that had happened, because the living flow of the star had fallen upon him. But the foolish men of those times, thinking that his soul had been sent up by a lightning bolt because of his friendship toward God, buried the remains of his body; they honored his tomb with a temple among the Persians, where the descent of the fire had occurred, and worshipped him as a god. By this example, the others there also bury those who die by lightning as friends of God, honor them with temples, and erect statues resembling the actual appearance of the dead. From this source, those who held power in various places ^C similarly felt the same jealousy; most of them ordered that the tombs of those they loved, who had not even died by lightning, be honored with temples and images, and by lighting altars they ordered them to be worshipped as gods. Much later, after a long time, they were truly believed by their descendants to be gods.

^A

VI. However, even though at the beginning there was one kingdom, many divisions occurred in the following manner. The Persians, first of all, having taken embers from the lightning that fell from heaven, kept them with their own food; and because they revered the fire as a heavenly god and were the first to worship it, they have been honored as the first kingdom by that very fire. After them, the Babylonians, having stolen embers from that fire and having brought them safely to their own lands and worshipped them, they too, consequently, reigned. The Egyptians, having done the same, called the fire in their own language *Phtha*, which is interpreted as Hephaestus [or Osiris], by whose name also the first to reign among them is called. Having adopted this manner, then, and those who reigned in each place, having established temples and ignited altars in honor of the fire, most of them fell away from the kingdom. ^B

VII. But they did not cease from the worship of images, due to the base invention of the magi, who found for them excuses capable of holding them to vain worship; for having established them with magic rites, they set feasts for them from sacrifices, libations, ^C and the sounding of pipes and drums, by the pretext of which the foolish are deceived; and although the royal power... ^D

^A has been taken from them, they do not desist from the superstitions that crowd upon them: to such an extent do they prefer error to the truth for the sake of pleasure. And those who, even after the drunkenness brought about at the altars, send forth howls, it is no wonder [that they do so], for the soul from its depths, as if in dreams, announces to them the punishment that will be brought upon them for such deeds.

VIII. Since, therefore, many religions have passed by in life, we are present to bring to you, as good merchants, the religion handed down to us by our ancestors and kept, ^B showing it as the seeds of plants and placing it under your judgment and power. Choose what seems best to you. If, therefore, you choose ours, you will not only be able to escape the demons and the diseases sent by them, but, having put both to flight and being entreated by the demons themselves, you will also eternally enjoy the benefits that are to be hereafter.

IX. Otherwise, on the contrary, in this present life you will be mocked by demons with atrocious diseases; and when your souls depart from the body, they will pay the penalty forever, not indeed because God condemns them, but because evil deeds merit such a judgment. For the demons, having received the power through the food given over to them, are introduced by your hands into your own bodies. For when they have lurked there for a long time, they are even ^C mingled with the soul. And because of the negligence of those who either do not think or do not wish to provide for themselves, the soul of these very people, when it is separated from the body, is of necessity carried by the demon united to it into the places he wishes. And what is most serious of all, when in the consummation of all things the demon is first delivered into the purifying fire, the soul mingled with him must of necessity be tortured in an unspeakable manner, while the demon rejoices. For it—since it is of light—not bearing the alien flame of the fire, is tormented; but he, since he is in the substance of his own kind, ^D greatly rejoices, having become a bond most difficult to break for the soul swallowed up by him.

X. But the reason why demons desire to enter into the bodies of men is this: being spirits and having a desire for food and drink and intercourse, yet unable to partake [of them], because, being spirits, they are in need of organs necessary for their use, they enter into the bodies of men, so that, having obtained them as serving instruments, they may be able to obtain what they desire, whether it be food, through the teeth of a man, or lust, through his genitalia.

^A Whence, for the putting to flight of demons, abstinence, fasting, and affliction are a most suitable help. For if they enter into the body of man to enjoy it, it is clear that they are put to flight by affliction. But because some, being more troublesome, once they have struggled, even though they may have been chastised, nevertheless remain in the chastised body, therefore it is necessary to flee to God with prayers and supplications, and by abstaining from every impure occasion, so that the hand of God may be able to approach for his healing, as one who is pure and faithful.

XI. It is necessary, moreover, in prayers, to confess that one has fled to God, and to testify not to the insensibility of the demon, but to his sluggishness. For all things happen to the one who believes, but to the unbeliever, nothing. Whence the demons themselves, knowing the quantity of the faith of those whom they occupy, measure out their stay in proportion to it. Therefore they persist in unbelievers, and linger in those who believe with difficulty; but in those who have believed completely and act righteously, they cannot stand even for the turning of a moment. For the soul turned by faith toward God, as into the nature of water, extinguishes the demon like a spark of fire. It is, therefore, a labor for each one to perceive the flight of his own demon. For, being mingled with souls, in order that one might neglect his own salvation, they inject thoughts into the mind of each one toward whatever they desire.

XII. Whence many, not knowing from whence they are stirred, consent to the evil suggestions injected by demons as if they were the deliberation of their own soul. Therefore they become more sluggish in coming to those who are able to save them, and, being captured by the demons who lie in wait for them, they are ignorant of it. For it is given to them, by the demons lurking in their souls, to think that they are not being vexed by a demon, but by a bodily disease—for example, by an acrid matter, or by bile, or by phlegm, or by an excess of blood, or by an inflammation of the membrane of the brain, or by something else. ^C But even if this were the case, neither would that cease to be a species of demon. For the universal and earthly soul, penetrating through all foods, having been taken up in excess through overeating, is itself united as a kindred spirit to that which is the soul of man, while that which is dense in the nourishment is united to the body and left behind for it as a grievous poison. Therefore, in all things, frugality is good.

XIII. But some of the malicious ^D demons lie in wait in another way. They do not reveal themselves at the beginning, that by not appearing, they may not, against...

^A their will, be easily subjected by the excuse of anger, or love, or some other thing—whether by the sword, or by the noose, or by a precipice, or by some other means—to offer sudden insult to the body, and in the end, to the souls they have deceived, which are joined to them, and which, as we have said, they hand over to be restrained in the purgatorial fire. Others, however, are ensnared in different ways and do not approach us, being deceived by the evil inspirations of demons, as if they were suffering these things from the gods themselves because of their own neglect toward them, and as if they could be reconciled to them through sacrifices, and hold that they ought not approach us, but on the contrary, flee and hate us. And yet they hate and flee from those who pity them the more, and who pursue them with kindness. XIV. Since, therefore, they hate and flee from us, they are ensnared, ^B not knowing whence it comes to them that they perceive things contrary to their own salvation. For we cannot force them if they do not wish to incline toward salvation, because we do not now have such power over them, nor can they themselves discern the evil prompting of the demon; for they do not know whence these evil thoughts are suggested to them. There are, however, those whom the demons terrify by appearing in whatever forms they wish. Sometimes, indeed, they even prescribe remedies to the sick; and thus, from those whom they previously deceived, they carry off the honor of gods. And that these are demons is hidden from many; but not from us, who know their mystery and why they do these things, transforming themselves in dreams against those who are in their power, and some they terrify, while to others they give oracles and demand sacrifices, and bid them to feast with them, so that they may swallow up their souls. ^C XV. For just as cruel vipers draw in sparrows with their breath, so also do the demons draw to their own will those who are partakers of their table, having mingled themselves with their mind through foods and drinks, transforming themselves in dreams according to the forms of idols, in order to increase the error. For an idol is neither an animal nor does it possess a divine spirit; but the demon who appeared has abused the form. How many like men have been seen by others through a dream and, having met while awake, and having made a comparison with the dream-vision, have not agreed? So that such a dream is no longer an appearance, but an accession either of a demon or of the soul (a), which from present ^D circumstances and desire [alt-version omitted]

^B expresses forms or ideas: for the soul, struck by fear, produces ideas while at rest. But if you suppose that statues are living and breathing, and are able to bring about such things, place them upon a scale, and having put an equal weight in the other balance, ask them to become either heavier or lighter; and if it turns out so, they are living—but it does not turn out so; and even if it did, such a thing would still not be a god. For it is possible for this to be brought about by the finger of a demon. Even worms move, and yet they are not called gods.

XVI. But that it is from an anticipation that the soul of each one figures the ideas of demons, and that those who are called gods do not appear, is clear from the fact that they are not seen by the Jews. But someone will object: How then do they give responses, predicting the future? And this is false; but let it be granted that it is true, it still is not a god. For if something predicts, it is not thereby a god. For even Pythonesses predict, but they are rooted out and put to flight by us as demons. But someone will say: They grant remedies to some. This is false; but let it be granted that it is so, it still is not a god. For physicians also cure many, and they are not gods. But he says: Physicians do not fully cure those whose care they undertake, whereas these, even by (giving) oracles, cure them. But the demons know what remedies are truly suited to each ailment; wherefore, since they are skilled physicians capable of healing, and that for diseases which can be known to men, and since they are also prophetic and know when each (disease) is cured of its own accord, they give remedies in such a way that they attribute the outcome to themselves.

XVII. Otherwise, why do they promise cures after a long time? And why, if they have all power, do they not restore health without the application of any remedy? And for what reason do they command remedies to some who pray to them, while to others, sometimes even to those more familiar to them, they give no response? It is clearly because when health is about to be recovered spontaneously, they promise it, so that they may claim the healing for themselves. But other sick persons, having prayed and recovered spontaneously, have ascribed it to those whom they invoked, and have hung up votive offerings. Those, however, who have been deceived after a vow and have died, cannot dedicate their misfortunes. But if the relatives of the deceased, or any of them, were to investigate how many times they did not obtain what they vowed, you would find more failures than successes. But no one, being preoccupied with them, wants to express an argument against them, being ashamed or afraid; but on the contrary, they conceal their proven crimes.

XVIII. How many, indeed, falsely claim oracles, ^{C D}

and confirm these cures with oaths? And how many have given themselves over for money, allowing themselves to suffer certain things through some artifices, and, having heralded them in this way, when they have recovered from the illness—which was cured by an opposing affliction—they say that they have been healed as promised by the oracle, so that they may inscribe the praise of the senseless worship? How many of them were achieved from the beginning by magic art, so that they might dream and divine? And yet, over a long period of time, this fraud has also fallen apart. And how many now, wishing to confirm such things, use jugglery? But if anything is divinatory or healing, it is not ^A a god.

XIX. For God can do all things. He is indeed good and just, patient with all at present, so that those who wish, by repenting of the evils they have committed and by living piously, may ^B receive their due merit on the day when all things are judged. Therefore, begin now, through good knowledge, persuaded by God, to resist your perverse desires and thoughts, so that you may be able to recall the first saving worship that was delivered to the human race. For thus will the good things spring up for you immediately, and by receiving these, you will henceforth cease from the experience of evils. But give thanks to Him who gave them, being destined to possess the kingdom of unspeakable goods with the King of peace forever.

In the present time, however, having been washed, as it were, in an eternal river or fountain or even the sea, in the thrice-blessed invocation, you will not only be able to expel the spirits that are lurking within you, but you yourselves, by no longer sinning and by believing in God without doubt, will expel the evil spirits and cruel demons of others, along with their grievous diseases. And sometimes they will flee when they merely look upon you. For they know those who have delivered themselves to God. Wherefore, honoring them and fearing them, they flee; as you saw yesterday, how when ^C I had deferred, after the sermon, to pray for those who were afflicted by diseases, the demons, on account of the honor of the religion, cried out and could not endure it even for a little while.

XX. Do not, therefore, think that we are of a different nature, and for that reason do not fear demons. For we are of the same nature as you, but not of the same religion. Therefore, we do not envy you that you may become not only much better than you are, but entirely better—we even advise you ^D to the contrary, knowing that all these demons honor and fear in a strange and wondrous way those who have been united to God.

XXI. For just as the soldiers under a tribune of Caesar, on account of him who gave the authority, pay honor to him who has received the power, to such a degree that those who are in command say to this one, "Come," and he comes; and to another, "Go," and he goes: so too, he who has delivered himself to God

^A and remains faithful, is heard only when he speaks against demons and diseases, and the demons, though they are much stronger than those who command them, withdraw. For by an ineffable power, God subjects the mind of each one to whom He wills. For just as many commanders, along with all their camps and cities, fear Caesar, since he is a man, while the heart of each one hastens to revere the image of the Lord of all; for, although all things are reduced to servitude by fear through the will of God, [the world] knows not the cause: so too, he who flees to God and carries the true faith in his heart as if it were His image, all the authors of diseases, the spirits, honor and flee, terrified by a certain natural instinct.

XXII. However, although all demons with all diseases flee from you, there is no reason to rejoice in this alone, but rather in the fact that, on account of well-pleasing conduct, your names are written in heaven ^B as those who are living forever. Thus also, the holy Spirit of God rejoices that man has conquered death; for the fact that demons are put to flight happens for the healing of another. We say these things, not as though denying that it is necessary to help others, but because it is not right to be puffed up by this and neglect ourselves. For it happens sometimes that demons flee from certain impious men on account of the venerable Name, and then both the one who expels them and the one who perceives it are laid-in-wait for. The one who expels them is laid-in-wait for, as if he were honored for his righteousness, while he remains ignorant of the malice of the demon; for as soon as he has honored the Name, both by his flight he casts the impious man into a conceit of righteousness, and deceives him so that he does not repent. The one who perceives it, as if having had dealings with a pious man in the one who expelled them, ^C hastens toward a similar way of life and perishes. sometimes, moreover, they even pretend to flee from the adjurations of those who are not devoted to God, but so that, having deceived them, they may destroy them when they wish.

XXIII. We wish you to know this, therefore: that unless someone voluntarily delivers himself as a slave to demons, as I said a moment ago, the demon has no power over him. Therefore, having chosen to worship one God, and having abstained from the table of demons, and having taken up temperance along with kindness and righteousness, and having been baptized into the remission of sins ^D by the thrice-blessed invocation, and delivering yourselves to the extent that you are able toward the perfection of purity, you are able to be snatched away from eternal punishment and become heirs of eternal goods. After saying these things he ordered those who were troubled by afflictions to come forward, and so many, because of those they had seen healed the day before, gathered and came forward. But he, having laid his hands upon them and prayed, healed them immediately, and commanded them, along with the others, to assemble earlier the next morning; and having washed and taken food, he surrendered himself to sleep.

(this is the first page of the chain)

HOMILY X

I. On the third day at Tripoli, having risen early from sleep, Peter went into the garden, where there was a large reservoir into which a great amount of water was continuously flowing. There he washed, and after praying, he sat down; and when he perceived that we were sitting around him and looking at him as if we desired to hear something, he said:

II. ^A It seems to me that there is much difference between those who are ignorant and those who are wandering. For he who is ignorant seems to me like a man who does not wish to set out for a renowned city, because of his ignorance of the good things situated there; but he who wanders is like one who indeed knows the good things of the city, but has changed his path on the journey he has undertaken and has therefore strayed. In this way, then, I think there is a great difference between the worshippers of idols and those who err within the true religion. For the worshippers of idols do not know the eternal life, concerning which they do not even have any desire; for what they do not know, they cannot love. But those who have proposed to themselves to worship the one God, and have been taught about the eternal life given to the good, if they have either believed or done something contrary to the will of God, are like those who have departed from the city of punishment, desiring to reach the prosperous city, ^B yet have wandered from the path of the right way.

III. While he was discussing these things with us, one of our number—the one appointed to report such matters to him—entered, saying: "There is a great multitude of people, my lord Peter, standing before the doors." By his permission, therefore, a great crowd entered. Rising and standing on the pedestal as he did yesterday, and having offered a greeting according to the rite of religion, he said: "Man, having been made in the image and after the likeness of God, the creator of heaven and earth and of all things contained in them—as the true prophet has told us—was established to rule and dominate, I say, over those things that are in the air, the earth, and the waters, as one may discern from the fact itself. For by his own ingenuity he brings down those things ^C that move in the air, he draws up those that dwell in the deep, and he hunts those that inhabit the land, although they are much stronger than he in might—I mean elephants and lions and things like them.

IV. As long, therefore, as he existed as a righteous man, he was superior to all evils, and as though in an immortal body, he could not experience the trial of pain. But when he sinned, as we showed yesterday and the day before, he became as it were a slave of sin and fell subject to all sufferings, being deprived of all good things by a just judgment. For it was not equitable that, once the Giver had been abandoned, his gifts should remain with the ungrateful. Whence, through His surpassing mercy, in order that together with the former things we might also obtain the coming eternal goods,

He sent His own prophet. And the prophet has commanded us to tell you what you ought to think and to do. Choose, therefore, for it lies within your own power. ^A Now, as to what you ought to think, it is this: to reverence God, the Creator of all; and when you have received Him into your mind, you shall obtain from Him both the former goods and the coming eternal blessings.

V. You will be able, therefore, to persuade yourselves to what is profitable, if, as though charming the terrible serpent that lurks in your hearts, you say: "You shall fear the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." For from every consideration it is profitable to reverence Him alone, not as an unjust being, but as a just one; for a man fears an unjust being lest he be destroyed unjustly, but he fears a just one ^B lest, having been caught in sin, he be punished. You are able, therefore, through fear of Him, to escape many harmful fears. For if you do not fear the one Lord and Creator of all, you will be slaves to all evils to your own harm—I mean to demons, and to passions, and to everything that is able to harm you in any way whatsoever.

VI. With confidence, therefore, approach God, you who were made in the beginning to rule and have dominion over all things, ^C and who bear His image in your body, just as you also bear the resemblance of His consciousness in your mind. Since, therefore, by acting like brute animals you have destroyed the human soul from within you, you have become, as it were, swine, and you have become playthings for demons. If, therefore, you receive the law of God, you shall become human again; for it is not possible to say to brute animals, "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal," and the rest. Wherefore ^D do not begrudge yourselves the grace of being called back to enter into your original nobility. For it is possible, if through good deeds you are made like to God. And through such likeness, being counted as sons of Him, you shall be able to be restored to dominion over all things.

VII. Begin, therefore, to strip off the harmful fears of empty idols, so that you may escape a servile slavery. For those have become your masters who would have been useless even as your servants. I speak of the matter of those inanimate statues that are not even useful to you for service. For they neither hear, nor see, nor perceive, nor indeed can they move. For would any of you wish to see as they see, and to hear as they hear, and to perceive and to be moved? But far be it from you to offer such an insult as to...

^A treat any man, who bears the image of God, even if he has lost the likeness, in that way.

^B VIII. Therefore, restore your gold and silver gods, or those made of any other material, to their first nature; I mean, into cups and basins and all the other things that can be useful to you for your service; and these goods, given to you in the beginning, will be able to be restored. But perhaps you will say, "The laws of those set over us do not permit us to do this." It is well that there are laws, and not an inherent power in the indifferent objects of worship themselves. How then have you deemed them gods, who are defended by human laws, guarded by dogs, and watched by crowds? And this is the case if they are gold, silver, or bronze; for stone or earthenware ones are protected by their own worthlessness, because no man desires to steal a stone or earthenware god. So that your gods, which are made of more precious material, are subject to great danger. And how can they be gods, which are stolen, melted down, weighed, and guarded?

IX. O the minds of miserable mortals, who fear things more dead than the dead themselves! ^C For I cannot even call them dead, since they have never lived, unless perhaps they are the tombs of men of old. For sometimes a traveler, entering unknown places, does not know whether the temples he sees are monuments of dead men or of those called gods; but having inquired and heard that they are of the gods, he has worshipped without being put to shame, because, had he not learned by asking, he would have passed by the tomb, on account of their equal resemblance, as if it were that of a dead man. But it is not necessary for me to bring forward much proof against such superstition. For it is easy for one who wishes to understand, that there is nothing here, unless one sees nothing at all. But now, hear that the idol does not hear, and understand that it does not understand. For the hands of a mortal man made it. But if he who made it has died, how shall that which was made by him not be destroyed? Why then do you worship the work of a mortal, which is utterly devoid of sense? ^D Since those who possess reason do not worship the animals, nor do they flatter or adore the elements created by God—I mean the heaven, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the sea, and all things contained in them—rightly judging that these should not be worshipped, even if they are things made by Him.

^A For in this, they themselves rejoice, that no one attributes to them the honor due to the Creator.

X. For to Him alone pertains the excellent glory, as the only unbegotten One, for all other things are created. As therefore it is the property of the unbegotten to be God, so whatever has come into being is not truly God. Before all things, therefore, you ought to perceive the malignant device of the serpent who deceives you internally; who cunningly seduces you with the promise of a better mind, creeping from your brain into the spinal marrow ^B and counting your deception as a great profit.

XI. For he knows the law from the beginning, that if he can lead you into an opinion regarding the so-called gods, only so that you may sin against the good of the Monarchy, your destruction becomes a profit to him. And by this argument: that since he was condemned to eat the earth, he has the power to devour him who, because of sin, has been resolved into earth and has become earth, while your souls pass into his fiery belly. In order, therefore, that you may suffer these things, he suggests to you every opinion contrary to your interests.

XII. ^C For from him are all the fallacious opinions sown against the Monarchy into your minds for your injury. First, so that by hearing the words of piety you might not dispel ignorance, the cause of evils, he lays his snares under the pretext of knowledge; suggesting first, and using against everyone the presumption which induces one, having received evil counsel, to think that if anyone does not hear the word of true religion, he is not liable to judgment. Therefore, some who are thus deceived do not wish to listen, in order that they may remain in ignorance, ^D not knowing that ignorance itself is by its nature a potent and lethal poison. For if anyone takes a deadly poison through ignorance, he does not for that reason fail to die. Thus, sins naturally destroy the sinner, even if he performs what he ought not through ignorance.

XIII. If, however, judgment is to be rendered for disobedience to words, much more will God destroy those who have not wished to accept the religion due to Him. For he who has not wished to learn so that he might not be guilty, is judged already as one who knows. For he to whom it is not desired to listen has known; so that no device can avail for an excuse before the Knower of hearts.

^A Therefore, flee from the craftily-suggested thought of the serpent to your mind. For if anyone finishes this present life in true ignorance, he will not be without blame, because having lived through his time, he did not know who was his benefactor and the provider of the food bestowed upon him; and because, as one without sense and most ungrateful, he is rejected as an unworthy servant from the kingdom of God.

XIV. Again the most wicked serpent suggests to you an opinion, that you should think and say this very thing, which almost the most part of you say: "We also know that there is one Lord of all, but these also are gods." For in the same way as there is one Caesar, who has under him administrators, consulars, prefects, tribunes, centurions, and decans; in the same way, while the great God is one, ^B like Caesar, these also, after the likeness of the lesser authorities, are gods, subject indeed to him, but our governors. Hearken, therefore, you who have been infected by this notion as if with a grievous poison—I mean the evil suspicion concerning the given example—so that you may know what is good and what is evil; for you have not yet perceived that you do not even understand those things which you propose.

XV. For if you say that God has the so-called gods in the place of subject authorities, in the likeness of Caesar, even so you do not follow your own example. ^C For if you were to follow it, you ought to know this: that, just as it is not permitted to give the name of Caesar to another—I say, whether to a consul or a prefect or a tribune or anyone else (for he who gives it shall not live, and he who receives it shall be put to death)—so, according to your own example, it is not permitted for the name of God to be given to another; since also, he who attempts to take it or give it perishes. But if the insult against a man brings punishment, much more will those who call others gods be subjected to eternal punishment as those who have insulted God. And justly so, because the name which was delivered to you for the honor of His monarchy, you have subjected to every insult you could. For the name "God" is not truly His own, ^D but you, having received it formerly, have treated it insultingly, being what was granted to you; so that as you have used it, it might be referred to His true name. But you have exposed it to every reproach.

XVI. Therefore, the leaders among your Egyptians, who boast of the knowledge of heavenly things and pride themselves on judging the nature of the stars, have through the evil suspicion lurking within them subjected that name to every ignominy, as far as lay within them. For some of them have handed down that the ox which is called Apis is to be worshipped;

^A others, a goat; others, a cat; others, a serpent; but also a fish, and onions, and the ventings of the belly, and drains, and the limbs of brute animals. And they have subjected that name to ten thousand other very shameful enormities.

223 XVII. When Peter had said this, the crowd standing by laughed. And Peter said in response to the laughter: "You laugh at their views, not knowing that you are laughed at by them far more. Yet you laugh at one another’s things, for you do not see your own, having been led into deception by bad habit. That you rightly laugh at the Egyptians, I agree, since you, being rational, worship irrational animals, which are in every way mortal. But how they, mocking you, speak, listen: 'We,' they say, 'even if we worship mortal things, yet we worship things that once lived; but you worship things that never lived.' Furthermore, they say, 'Wishing to honor the form of the one God, and not finding what sort it is, we resolved to honor every form.' And yet, by saying such things, they think they hold a belief more correct than yours." ^B

XVIII. "Wherefore you yourselves respond to them: 'You lie; for you do not worship them in honor of the truly existent God, for if you did, you would all worship every form, and not as you do. For those of you who think an onion to be divine, and those who worship the ventings of the belly, wage war against each other; and similarly, all of you, having preferred one thing, blame the worship of the others.' And with a differing mindset, of the limbs of the same animal one worships one thing, and another, another thing. But even among them, some who still retain something of a sound mind, blushing at the manifest shame, strive to drag everything into allegories, and through another madness desire to strengthen the death-dealing virus of their error. ^C Nevertheless, we would have confuted the allegories too, had we been in that place, where such a foolish affection has prevailed that it has created a very great sickness in their minds. For one ought not to apply a plaster to the healthy part of the body, but to the part that is ailing. Since, therefore, by laughing at the Egyptian things, you have shown that you are not yourselves suffering what they suffer, it is reasonable that I — since I am present with you — should provide the cure for the sickness that is in you."

XIX. He who chooses to worship God must, before all things, ^D know what alone is peculiar to the divine nature, which is impossible to be in another, so that, looking toward His peculiar property and not finding it in another, he may never be deceived into attributing divinity to another. Now, it is peculiar to God: that He alone is, as the creator of all, so [continues on next page]

^A and better. In power, that which makes is indeed better than that which is made; in magnitude, the infinite is better than the finite; in form, the most beautiful is better; in blessedness, that which is most happy; in mind, that which is most perfect. ^B Similarly, he excels in all other respects in an incomparable manner. Since, therefore, as I said, it is the property of God to be better than all things, and the world which encompasses all things is made by Him, it is absolutely necessary to say that nothing of the things made by Him can even be brought into comparison or be held equal to Him.

XX. Furthermore, the world, which is neither incomparable nor transcendent, and is not in all respects in want of nothing, cannot be God. But if the whole world—inasmuch as it has been created—cannot be this, how much more correctly would its parts not be called God? By parts, I mean those beings called gods by you, made of gold and silver, of bronze and stone, or of any other matter whatever, and these crafted by the hand of a mortal. Yet, let us see further how the persistent serpent, through the mouth of a man, infects those who are deceived with his enticements.

XXI. For many say: "In our acts of reverence we do not adore the gold, nor the silver, nor the wood, or the stone; for we too know that these are nothing but inanimate matter and the craft of a mortal man, but the spirit that resides in them—that we call God." Behold the malice of those who put these things forward. For because that which is visible can be easily proven to be nothing, they flee to the unseen, as if they could not be refuted in an uncertain matter. Yet, concerning this part, such persons admit to us that half of the structures among them is not God, but insensitive matter. Therefore, it remains for them to prove on what ground we should believe that a divine spirit dwells in them. But they cannot prove to us that it is so, because it is not. And we do not believe that it has appeared to them. We, however, will provide arguments to prove that they do not possess a divine spirit, so that lovers of truth, having heard the refutation of the opinion of those who affirm them to be endowed with spirit, may turn away from that rabid error.

XXII. First of all, if you worship them as though they possessed spirit, you also worship the tombs of ancient men, of whom it is confessed that they did not possess a divine spirit. Thus, you do not speak the truth in this either. Moreover, if your deities truly breathed, they would move of their own accord, they would emit a voice, they would banish the spiders that settle upon them, they would drive away those who plot against them and the thieves, and they would easily apprehend the plunderers ^D of their offerings. But in fact, the gods do none of these things, but are guarded like criminals, especially those that are of greater value, just as we said in the beginning. For what, indeed, does not

them, since they reap so much produce from the things there? And why have they not often been plundered by enemies, broken in pieces, and distributed? Do not the priests, more than those who worship from without, themselves—having condemned their own useless worship—filch many of the offerings?

XXIII. Yes, one will say, but it was by their providence that these men were caught. This is false. For how many of them have not been caught? But if they say that because some have been seized, the gods have power, they are deceived. For some of the tomb-robbers are indeed found out, while others escape notice, and certainly the ones who are caught are not caught through the power of the dead. We must think something of the same sort regarding the gods who are stolen and despoiled. But, he says, the gods who reside in them do not concern themselves with their images. Why, then, do you take care of them, wiping, washing, and cleaning them, crowning them, and offering sacrifices to them? Therefore, realize from this that you are doing nothing with sound reason. For just as you weep for the dead, so also do you sacrifice and pour libations to your gods.

XXIV. ^B Yet this no longer corresponds to the example of Caesar and the authorities under him, to call the gods administrators, since you yourself take all the care of them, as I said before, in all ways tending to the images for them. For they themselves, being able to do nothing, perform nothing. For tell us, what do they administer, what do they do of the sort that the local governors do? What, indeed, do they effect of the sort that the stars of God do? Unless, perhaps, they shine like the sun, to which you light lamps? ^C Can they, just as the clouds bring rain, also be able to bring showers, they who are not even able to move themselves unless men take hold of them? Or do they provide the same fruits to the earth for the labors of your hands, to which you offer sacrifices? They can do nothing.

XXV. But even if they were able to do anything, you would not rightly call them gods, since it is not permitted to call even the elements gods, through which good things are supplied. But we call Him alone God by right reason, who alone ordered the elements so that all things might be completed for our use, and who commanded them to serve man. You, not perceiving His bounty, have proclaimed the elements which were assigned to you as slaves to be your masters. And what need is there to speak of the elements, when you have made ^D even inanimate statues, and not only do you worship them, but you also desire as slaves to be wholly subjected to them? Because of this, you have become subject to demons through the things by which you have acted senselessly. Nevertheless, through the acknowledgment of God, by means of good works, you can become masters again and command the demons as slaves, and as sons of God you can...

to rule as masters, and to command demons as slaves, and to be established as sons of God and heirs of the eternal kingdom. ^A XXVI. Having said this, he ordered the demoniacs and those suffering from diseases to be brought to him; and when they were offered, he laid his hands upon them and, having prayed, he dismissed them in health, admonishing them and the remaining crowd to stay here for the days during which he remained to discourse. When therefore the others had departed, Peter, after he had bathed his body in the waters that flowed there, ordered a bed to be spread for him under the dense foliage of the trees for the sake of the shade, and he made each one recline in order; and thus we took food. When therefore he had blessed and given thanks to God for the refreshment taken, according to the customary faith of the Hebrews, since much of the day still remained, he permitted us to inquire about whatever we wished. And indeed he gave a solution to each one of us—who were twenty—who asked individually. But when evening had already fallen, having entered the most spacious room of the lodging, we all slept there with him. ^B

HOMILY XI

I. Therefore, on the fourth day at Tripoli, Peter rose and, finding us awake, when he had greeted us, went out to the place of the flowing water, so that after washing he might pray. We did the same accordingly. But after the common prayers, when we had sat down, he discoursed concerning chastity. And after the day had dawned, he permitted the people to enter. But when the multitude had entered and, according to custom, had greeted him, he began to speak: ^C

II. Since, by reason of the great neglect that has occurred in you and from you, the mind has brought forth very many and harmful opinions of superstitions, and you have become like land becoming overgrown for lack of a farmer, you are in need of much time for purification, so that the true word delivered to you, like excellent seed, may not be received by the mind and suffocated by evil anxieties, nor rendered fruitless for works that can save. Wherefore, it is necessary that those who take care of their own salvation listen more frequently, so that their sins, which have been multiplied over a long time, may—in the short time remaining—be able to be purged through continuous diligence. Since, therefore, the end of his own life is uncertain for each one, hasten to pull the many thorns out of your hearts, and not little by little; for you will not be able to be purified, because you have long gone to waste. ^D

III. But you will not otherwise endure to undertake much zeal for your purification, unless you are angry at yourselves and reproach yourselves for those things in which, like useless servants, you have been ensnared by being compliant with your evil desires, so that your just anger—

I mean the anger against evil desires—may learn from what good things ^A you have been lured away, to what punishment you have been destined, and by whom you have been deceived; and thus, your mind having become sober, and being kindled like fire by the teaching of him who sent us, it may have the power to consume the evils of desire. Believe me that, if you are willing, you will be able to set all things right.

IV. You are the image of the invisible God. Hence, those who wish to live piously must not say that idols are the image of God, and that for this reason they ought to be worshipped. For man is the image of God. He who wishes to live piously towards God confers benefits upon man, because the human body bears the image of God; but not all possess the likeness, only the pure mind of a good soul. However, since we know that man was made in the image and likeness of God, we exhort you to be pious towards him as towards God, whose image he is, so that the grace may be credited to God. Therefore, one ought to pay honor to the image of God, which is man, in this way: by providing food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, care to the sick, shelter to the stranger, and, as far as is possible, by ^B showing assistance to those in prison. And, not to list them one by one, whatever good things anyone desires for himself, let him likewise provide to another who is in need; and then a good reward can be credited to him for having lived piously towards the image of God; for which reason, if he refuses to do these things, he will be punished as one who has despised the image.

V. Is it therefore possible to say that, out of piety towards God, you worship every form, while you insult man, who is the true image of God, in all things, by killing, committing adultery, stealing, and doing wrong in many other ways? Yet you ought not to commit even one evil by which a man is distressed; but now you do all things by which a man is disheartened, for injustice and distress are created. Therefore you kill and take away his possessions and whatever else you know that you yourselves would not wish to suffer. But you, having been deceived unto wickedness by a certain evil serpent, through the suspicion of an opinion that introduces many gods, are impious towards the true image—that is, man—while you seem to yourselves to be pious towards things that have no perception. ^C

VI. But some say, "If God did not wish them to exist, they would not exist, but would have been destroyed." I also confess that this will certainly come to pass when all demonstrate their own will towards Him, and thus a change of the present world will occur. Yet, even if you wish to make Him do so, so that none of those things that are worshipped may exist ^D

tell us what part of creation you have not worshipped? Do not some of you worship the sun, others the moon, others water, others earth, or mountains, or trees, or seeds, or even man, as in Egypt? God ought, therefore, to have left nothing, nor even you yourselves, so that there would be nothing that is worshipped, nor anything that worships. Truly, he who lies lurking within you, the most wicked serpent, desires this to happen, who does not spare you. But it shall not be so. For that which is worshipped commits no sin, since it suffers violence from the one who worships it. For even if an unjust judgment is passed by all men, it is not so by God. Since it is not just that he who suffers and he who inflicts should receive the same punishment, unless he himself willingly accepts the honor of the only most honorable One. ^B

VII. But, he says, it was proper that those who worship should be destroyed by the true God, so that no one else would do this. But are you wiser than God, so that you might give Him counsel as if you were more prudent? He knows what He is doing. For He bears with all the impious, as a merciful and kind father, knowing that even from the impious, pious men are made. And many of the worshippers of impure and senseless things, having come to their senses, ceased to worship them and to commit sin, and many were saved and joined themselves to the true God through prayers, even among the Greeks.

VIII. But God ought to have made it so from the beginning that we should not have such thoughts at all. By saying these things, you are ignorant of what free will is, and how it is possible to be truly good. For he who is good by his own purpose is truly good; but he who is made good by the compulsion of another is not truly so, because what he is, is not of his own choice. ^C Since, therefore, the liberty of each one produces what is truly good and performs what is truly evil, God has contrived, through the occasions of circumstances and actions, that in each person that which is hostile or that which is friendly should come to pass. No, he says, but whatever we think, He Himself causes us to think. Desist. Why do you blaspheme more, you who say this? For if everything that we think is inspired into our minds by Him, you call Him the cause of fornications, lewdness, avarice, and every blasphemy. Cease speaking evil, you who ought to speak well, and grant Him all honor. And do not say: God has no need of honor. For although He has need of nothing, nevertheless you ought, looking to

^A equity, to remunerate Him who has bountifully provided you with all benefits with a grateful voice.

IX. But, he says, we do better who offer thanks to Him and to all at the same time. But in saying these things you do not know the snare laid for you. For just as when many physicians who can do nothing promise to cure one sick man, and the one who is truly able to heal does not offer his remedy, reckoning that if he himself should cure him, others will be credited with it, so also God, when requested along with many who can do nothing, does not grant the benefit. Why then, he says, does God act indignantly at this, if, when He Himself is healing, another is credited with it? I say, even if He does not feel indignation, yet He does not wish to be a collaborator in deception. For when He has bestowed a benefit, even the idol which did nothing is credited as having been able to do it. But I say to you, if He were not naturally injured—being distraught over those devoid of sense ^B—perhaps He would have endured even this; therefore be sober [or be watchful] in order to understand what is reasonable for your salvation. For God, being self-sufficient, has need of nothing, nor is He harmed. For it is our concern to be benefited or harmed. For just as Caesar ^C is neither harmed when slandered, nor benefited when thanked, but for him who gives thanks there results security, and for him who slanders, destruction, so those who praise God do not benefit Him at all, but they save themselves; likewise also those who slander Him do not commit injustice against Him, but they themselves are destroyed.

X. But, he says, it is not the same in the case of man and God. I agree—and I also say—that it is not the same. For the punishment is greater as the impiety is greater, and less for him who has sinned against a lesser being. Since, therefore, God is the greatest of all, so he who has acted impiously against Him will endure a greater punishment, as having sinned against a greater being, not because He Himself takes revenge with His own hand, but because the whole of creation is indignant at this and naturally seeks retribution. For neither will the sun give light to the blasphemer, nor the earth its fruits, nor the fountain the water, nor will the ruler stationed there in the underworld grant rest to the soul, since even now, while the predetermined time of the world still persists, all of creation is indignant. Therefore, neither do the perfect ^D

^A rains provide, nor does the earth give its fruits, wherefore the majority perish. The air itself also, enflamed with anger, turns to produce pestilence. Yet in the good things which we enjoy, God compels creation to benignity through His mercy toward our human nature. In this way, all of creation is indignant at you who dishonor the Creator of all things.

XI. For even if you escape punishment through the dissolution of the body, how will you be able to escape your soul, which is immortal, by death? For the soul of even the impious is immortal, for whom it would have been better not to have it immortal. For, being tormented in inextinguishable fire with perpetual punishment, and not dying, it has no end to receive as a relief for its evil. But perhaps one of you will say: "You are frightening us, Peter. Teach us, then, how, while keeping silent, we may present to you things as they are; for otherwise we cannot indicate them to you." If we keep silent, you will be deceived by evils through ignorance; but if we speak, we are suspected, as if we are frightening you for a false reason. How, then, are we to charm the evil that lurks ^B within your soul and artfully sows in you notions hostile to God under the pretext of friendship toward God? Be reconciled with yourselves; for the refuge to Him with good works is done for your own salvation. There is a certain enmity toward God which is in you—an irrational desire—because it confirms ignorance through a suspicion of wisdom.

XII. Still others say: "God does not care for us." And this also is false. For if He truly did not care, He would not make His sun to rise upon the good and the evil, nor would He send down His rain upon the just and the unjust (a). Others say: "We are more pious, by honoring both Him and [our] statues." I do not think, if someone speaking thus were to say to a king: "I bestow upon you the same honor that I do to the dead and to the dung cast away," I do not think, I say, that it would go well for him. But someone will ask, "Do you call our holy objects dung?" Yes, I say so; for you have made them useless to yourselves by enrolling them among the gods. Whereas perhaps their material [could have been put] to some other [use], ^C

(a) Matt. v, 45.

or to manure, it might have been useful. Yet now it is not even useful for this, since you have transformed and worship it. But how do you claim to be more pious, you who are the most impious of all, when you are incurring the destruction of your soul through this very single and incomparable sin against the True One, if you persist? For as if a son, having received many benefits from his father, were to offer the honor due to the father to someone else who is not his father, he would certainly be disinherited; but when he lives according to the will of his father and gives thanks for the benefits, he is justly left as heir.

XIII. Others say: "We shall be impious if we abandon the objects of worship handed down to us by our fathers; for it is the same as preserving a deposit." Therefore, by this reasoning, if anyone were born of a father who was a robber or a lecher, the son would not be permitted to be ^B virtuous and embrace a better life, lest he be impious and sin by not doing the same things as his parents. But how foolish are those who say: "We worship these so as not to be troublesome to God," as if that by which God is praised were troublesome to Him, while that by which He is treated with ingratitude and blasphemed were not troublesome! Why, therefore, when there is a lack of rain, do you all look toward heaven and offer prayers and supplications? And when you have obtained your request, you forget it more quickly. For, having harvested or gathered the vintage, you immediately offer the firstfruits to idols which are nothing, quickly forgetful of God, the author of the benefit. And thus, being in groves and temples, you perform sacrifices and enjoy yourselves. For this reason some of you say: "These things were well devised for the sake of comfort and enjoyment."

XIV. O foolish ones! Be you yourselves the just judges of this saying. For if one really had to give himself up here to some pleasure ^C for the gratification of the body, better would be that which [is found] in rivers and woods and groves, where there are banquets and feasts and shaded places, than where there is the madness of demons, and the cutting of hands, and the excision of members, and wild frenzy, and insanity, and disheveled hair, and shouting, and frenzied enthusiasm, and howling, and all those things which are done with hypocrisy to strike terror into the foolish, so that you may offer the prayers and thanksgivings due to them, and that to those who are more dead than the dead!

XV. And why do you do these things with joy? Since the serpent that lurks within, who sowed in you the fruitless desire, does not wish to tell you, I will say it and recount it. It is as follows: In the religion of God, it is preached to be sober, to be prudent, to control anger, not to steal what belongs to others, to live justly, kindly, ^D steadily, and meekly; to restrain and suppress oneself in times of need rather than, when one does not have, to wrongfully take away from another

^A Among the so-called gods, however, the contrary takes place. And though you announce certain things to the wonderment of justice, even if you were to keep all the commandments, ignorance of God alone is sufficient for your punishment. Nevertheless, gathering in the places assigned by you to them, you gladly grow drunk and light altars, whose savior [aroma], spreading about, leads the blind and deaf spirits by its force to the place of their sense of smell. And so, those who are there are filled, some with fanatical furors, others with strange foods, while others turn to lewdness, and others to thefts and adulteries. For the vapor of blood spilled there and the libation of wine satisfy even the impure spirits, which, lurking within you, make all these things pleasant, and through dreams entrap you with false specters and punish you with countless afflictions. For under the pretext of the so-called sacred sacrifices, you are filled with cruel demons. And these, while cleverly escaping your notice, destroy you so that you may not perceive their plotting. By the pretext of some injury, or love, or anger, or grief, they force [people] to depart from life—either by strangulation or by drowning in water, or by casting them from a precipice, or by self-murder, or by apoplexy, or by some other malady. ^B XVI. But none among us can suffer such a thing; rather, the demons themselves are tormented by us when, having entered into someone, they beseech us to go out slowly. ^C But someone will say: "Perhaps some of the worshipers of God also fall into such afflictions." I say that this is impossible. For he who is a worshiper of God—of whom I speak, the one who is truly a worshiper of God—is not one who is merely called so, but one who truly exists and performs the deeds of the law given to him. If anyone acts impiously, he is not pious. Just as, if a foreigner keeps the law, he is a Jew; but if he does not keep it, he is a Gentile. For the Jew, believing in God, fulfills the law, through which faith he also removes other evils as great and heavy as mountains. He who does not perform the law, however, clearly becomes a deserter by not believing in God, and therefore, as a sinner who is not in any way a Jew, he is overcome by the afflictions established to punish sinners on account of his sin. By the counsel of God, which was ordained from the beginning, punishment justly follows those who worship Him on account of their transgressions, and this occurs so that, after the penalty for sin has demanded its account for vexation like a debt, it may present those who have turned back pure at the judgment of all. ^D For just as present luxuries result in the loss of future goods for the wicked, so punishments are sent to Jews who fall into sin for the sake of collection, so that, by paying the penalty for the offense here, they may be freed from eternal punishment there.

^A XVII. You, however, cannot say these things, for you do not believe that the things there exist as we say—I mean, where retribution takes place for all. Because of this, while ignorant of what is to your advantage, you are deceived by temporal pleasures, so that you might not receive eternal ones. Therefore, we endeavor to provide you with proofs of what is to your advantage, so that, having been fully persuaded concerning the promises of piety, you might be able, through good works, to inherit with us the age that is free from sorrow. Until, therefore, you know us, do not be angry with us as if we were lying regarding the good things we desire for you. For we have not begrudged you the things which we have considered to be true and good, but on the contrary, we have hastened to make you co-heirs of the good things which we have recognized. For this is how one must speak to the ^B unbelievers. But you will not be able to know that we are truly speaking the truth about what we say, unless you first listen with a love of truth.

XVIII. Therefore, for the present, even if the serpent lurking within you wishes to lay traps for you by suggesting evil thoughts and distractions, yet you ought all the more, by contending against him, to listen to our words continually. For it is necessary that you, who have been greatly deceived, should come together and know how one must charm him. Otherwise, indeed, it is impossible. By charming, I mean to withstand their evil counsels in your mind, remembering that, by the promise of knowledge, he brought forth death into the world from the beginning.

XIX. Hence the prophet of truth, knowing that the world had greatly erred and seeing ^C that it had consented to wickedness, did not desire peace with it, as it consisted of error; but he fights against all who consent to wickedness until the end, and he sets forth truth in the place of error, and he casts, as it were, fire into those who have become sober, which is an anger against the one who laid the trap, a fire resembling a sword (a); and by putting forth the word, he destroys ignorance with knowledge, as if cutting and separating the living from the dead. Thus, while wickedness was being overcome by legitimate knowledge, war held everything. For the sake of salvation, a believing son separated himself from an unbelieving father, or a father from a son, a mother from a daughter, a daughter from a mother, and, in short, kindred from kindred, and friends from their associates.

XX. And may no one say: "How is this just, for parents to be separated from children and children from parents?" It is just, and very much so. For if, by remaining together, they not only did no good to others but were also perishing with them, how is it not just for him who wishes to be saved to separate from him who does not wish it, but desires to perish with him? Furthermore, those who have understood what is better are not even separated ^D [by being forced away];

instead, those who are unbelieving and do not wish to listen to them wage war against them, dividing, persecuting, and hating them. But those who endure these things, pitying those who are ensnared by ignorance, pray according to a pedagogy of prudence for those who inflict evils upon them, having learned that ignorance is the cause of the sin. For the Lord himself, the Master, being nailed to the cross, prayed to the Father that the sin might be forgiven to those who were killing him, saying: "Father, forgive them their sins, for they do not know what they are doing." Therefore, becoming imitators of the Master, they also, in what they suffered, prayed for those inflicting it, just as they had been taught. Thus, they did not separate from them out of hatred for parents, since they poured out continuous prayers even for those who were not parents or kin, but had become enemies, and they strove to love them as they had been instructed.

XXI. But tell me, how do you love your parents? Indeed, if you do so while always looking to what is just, it is well; but if it is haphazard, it is no longer well. For you are able to become their enemies for a small reason. But if you love them as those who are learned, tell me, what are parents? You will answer: "The authors of our origin." Why, then, do you not love God, the origin of all things, if you have undertaken to do this with righteous judgment? But you will say even now: "We do not know him." Why, then, do you worship things devoid of sense without having inquired? What is more? Even if it were difficult for you to know what God is, you could not have failed to know what is *not* God, so that you might consider that God is not wood, not stone, not bronze, nor anything else made of corruptible matter. ^B

XXII. For are not the images carved by iron, and the iron that carved them softened by fire, and the fire itself extinguished by water? And is not water moved by the Spirit, and does not the Spirit have the beginning of its existence from God, the maker of all things? For so the prophet Moses has said: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was invisible and unformed; and darkness was upon the abyss, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the water." For the Spirit, at God's command, made all things like His own hand: He separated the light from the darkness, ^C and after the invisible heaven He spread out the visible one, so that the upper regions might be inhabited by the angels of light, while the lower regions were administered by man together with all things made for his sake.

XXIII. For it is for your sake, O man, that God commanded the water that was upon the face of the earth to recede, so that the earth might be able to bring forth fruits for you; and He made channels by which He provided you with fountains and rivers ^D

^A to be at your service, so that all things might be able to be presented to you. For is it not for your sake that the winds blow for the production of fruits, and rains are brought, and the seasons occur? Immediately, then, the sun and the moon, along with the other stars, perform their risings and settings for your sake, and rivers and lakes, along with all the fountains, serve you. Whence, to you who are without sense, just as the greater honor was given, so also for your ingratitude the greater punishment of fire has been prepared, because you were not willing to know Him whom you ought to have known before all things.

XXIV. And even now, from the lesser things, recognize the cause of all, considering that water produces all things, and water receives its origin from the motion of the Spirit, and the Spirit has its beginning from the God of all. And thus it is fitting to reason, that you may be able to arrive at God through logic, so that, having recognized your own origin, and having been regenerated by the primogenitive water, you may also become an heir of the parents who begat you unto incorruption. ^B

XXV. Therefore, come readily as a son to a father, so that God may attribute the cause of your sins to your ignorance. But if, even after you are called, you are unwilling or delay, you shall perish by the just judgment of God, because you are unwilling, and He will not be willing for you. And do not think that, even if you were more pious than all who have ever been pious, yet you are unbaptized, you will ever be able to attain hope. For you will suffer even greater punishment for this, because you did not perform good works well. For a good deed is good when it is done as God commanded. But if you are unwilling to be baptized as it seemed good to Him, you are opposing His counsel by giving heed to your own will. ^C

XXVI. But perhaps someone will say: What does being baptized with water contribute to piety? Firstly, because you are doing what is pleasing to God; and secondly, because, having been regenerated to God through water, you change the first birth that you drew from concupiscence, which was a cause of fear, and thus you are able to attain salvation; otherwise it is impossible. For thus the prophet swore to us, saying: Amen I say to you, unless you are regenerated by living water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (a). Wherefore, come. For there is something merciful from the beginning, which is borne over the water, and it snatches those who have been baptized in the thrice-blessed invocation from future punishments, and it offers the good works which have been done by the baptized after their baptism to God as a gift. ^D Therefore, take refuge in the water.

^A for this alone can extinguish the violence of fire. He who does not yet wish to come to this still carries the spirit of madness, on account of which he is unwilling to approach the living water for his own salvation.

XXVII. Approach, therefore, whether you are just or unjust. For if you are just, you only needed to be baptized for salvation; but if unjust, for the remission of those things which you committed in ignorance. If you are unjust, it remains that you perform the good works of baptism in proportion to your impiety. Therefore, whether you are just or iniquitous, hasten to be born to God, because delay brings danger; for the time appointed for our death is uncertain. To the Father, who begot you from water, show likeness through good works. As a lover of truth, honor the true God as your Father. But his honor is that you live as he himself, who is just, desires. Furthermore, the will of the just is that you do not commit injustice. And injustice is to kill, to commit adultery, to hate, to defraud, and other things similar to these, of which there are many kinds.

XXVIII. Nevertheless, something else must be added to these things, which indeed is not common with the rest of men, but pertains properly to the religion of God. I refer to living in purity, to not approach one's own wife when she is in her time of purification: for this indeed the law of God commands. What then? If purity were not consecrated in the religion of God, you would wallow with pleasure like dung beetles. Wherefore, as human beings having something more than brute animals—namely, the fact that you are rational—cleanse your heart from evils through celestial understanding, and wash your body in the bath. For among things truly good is cleanliness. Not as though the chastity of the body precedes the purity of the heart, but because that which is clean follows after what is good. For our Master even rebuked some of our Pharisees and scribes ^C—who are separated, and who, as scribes, know the institutes of the law more than the rest—as hypocrites, because they purified only those things which are seen by men, but neglected the purity of the heart, which God alone beholds.

XXIX. He used this very voice, therefore, speaking in truth to the hypocrites among them, and not to all. For he commanded that some among them be obeyed, because the chair of Moses had been committed to them. But to the hypocrites he said: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you cleanse that which is on the outside of the cup and the dish, but within they are full of filth. ^D You blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is inside of the cup and the dish,

^A that the outsides of them may become clean as well. And truly, for when the mind is illuminated by knowledge, he who has learned it can be good; and purity follows this, because from the inner intellect comes the good provision for the outer body. Just as from the neglect of the body, provision for the mind cannot come to pass, so he who is pure can cleanse both what is exterior and what is interior. But he who cleanses the exterior does so looking toward the praise of men, and by the praise of those who observe him he receives nothing from God.

XXX. But to whom is it not apparent that it is better for a man not to have intercourse with a woman who is in her menstrual period, but to wait until she is purified and washed? It is also necessary to wash after intercourse. But if it irks you to do this, call to mind how you used to pursue the duties of chastity when you were worshipping senseless idols. ^B Be ashamed that here, where you ought to have embraced—I do not say a greater, but a singular and complete chastity, you have become more sluggish. Consider, therefore, him who had established you there, and you will understand who it is that is instilling in you sluggishness toward chastity here.

XXXI. But some of you will say: "Therefore, must we do everything that we used to do before idols?" I say to you: Not everything, but whatever you used to do well, and here in greater measure. For whatever is done well in error depends upon the truth, just as if anything is done badly in the truth, it comes from error. Therefore, recover your own from everywhere, not that which is alien, and do not say: "If the deluded do anything good, we ought not to do it." By this logic, if an idol-worshipper does not commit murder, ought we to commit murder, because he who is in error does not murder? ^C

XXXII. Not at all; but rather, if those who are in error do not commit murder, let us not even be angry; if the one in error does not commit adultery, let us not even harbor lustful thoughts from the start; if he who is in error loves him who loves him, let us love even our enemies; if he who is in error lends to those who have, let us give even to those who have not. Simply put, we who hope to inherit the eternal age ought to surpass in good works those who know only the present age, knowing that if their works and ours are weighed against one another on the day of judgment and are found to be equal in benevolence, we will have cause for shame, while they, having done what they did due to error, will perish. And I have said that there will be shame in this, because we have not done more than they, even though we have understood more. But if there will be shame if we show our benevolence to be equal to theirs and not greater, how much more so if we show our benevolence to be inferior to theirs? ^D

^A XXXIII. That in the day of judgment the actions of those who know the truth will truly be compared with the good works of those who are led astray, he who cannot lie taught us, saying to those who neglected to come and hear him: "The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here, and you do not believe." And to those among the people who were unwilling to repent at his preaching, he said: "The men of Nineveh will rise up with this generation and will condemn it, for upon hearing they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater is here, and no one believes." Thus, setting the good works of the Gentiles in opposition to the whole of their impiety, for the condemnation of those who in the true religion did not perform good works equal to those who were led astray, he admonished the sensible to not only equal the goodness of the Gentiles in their works, but even to surpass them. This discourse flowed to me, taking occasion from the fact that it is necessary to observe the time of purification and to wash the body after intercourse, and not to deny this purity, even if those who stray from the truth practice it; ^B since those who do well while in error, and condemn the men of true religion, are not saved, because they cultivate that chastity on account of error, and not for the sake of piety toward the true Father and God of all.

XXXIV. When he had said this, he dismissed the crowds and, according to custom, having taken food with his close companions, he rested. Thus, acting in this way and discoursing daily, he brought ^C additions to the law of God, confuting the supposed gods along with the belief in genesis, and showing that the rash outcome of things does not exist at all, but that the world is governed by Providence.

XXXV. When three months were therefore completed, having ordered me to fast for a certain number of days, he led me to the springs in the sea nearby and baptized me in the perennial water. Thus, therefore, with our brothers keeping a holiday and rejoicing at the second birth granted to me by God, Peter turned a few days later to the presbyters ^D and, before the whole Church, commanded them, saying: "The Lord and Prophet who sent us revealed to us how the devil, having conversed with him for forty days and being able to accomplish nothing against him, promised that he would send apostles from among his own followers to practice fraud. Therefore, before all else, be mindful to flee any apostle, or teacher, or prophet who does not compare his preaching with James, who was called the brother of my...

shall not have first accurately compared his preaching with James, who is called the brother of my Lord, and who has been entrusted with the government of the Church of the Hebrews in Jerusalem, and ^A have come to you with witnesses, lest malice, which disputed with the Lord for forty days and accomplished nothing, should afterwards, like lightning falling from heaven to earth, send a herald against you, as it sent Simon to us, preaching in the name of your Lord under the pretext of truth, and sowing error. For which reason He who sent us said: "Many will come toward me in sheep's clothing, but within they are ravening wolves: by their fruits you shall know them" (a).

XXXVI. And having said these things, he sent those who had been appointed to go ahead to Antioch of Syria, bidding them wait there for the time to come. After they had departed, Peter, having brought a great multitude of people to the faith, expelled diseases, infirmities, and demons, and baptized them in the springs near the sea, and broke the eucharist; and having appointed Maro, his host, who was already by then completely perfect, as bishop, and having designated twelve presbyters, and having appointed deacons, and having established what pertains to the order of widows, ^B and having spoken about the common good and what was conducive to the order of the Church, and having advised them to obey the bishop Maro, after three months had been completed, he took his leave of the inhabitants of Tripolis of Phoenicia and set out on the road to Antioch of Syria, with all of us accompanying him with the honor that was his due.

HOMILY XII.

I. Having then departed from Tripolis of Phoenicia, in order to come to Antioch of Syria, we traveled that day and stayed in Orthosia. And because it was near the city from which we had departed, and since almost everyone had already previously heard the preaching of the gospel, we stayed there for one day and left for Antaradus. ^C But as there were many of those traveling with us, Peter addressed Niceta and Aquila, saying: "Since the large multitude of those traveling with us creates no small envy against us as we enter the cities, I have necessarily thought it a matter of concern to take care, so that they may neither be grieved by being prevented from being with us, nor we, being public spectacles, fall into the envy of malice. For this reason I wish you, Niceta and Aquila, to travel ahead of me in two groups, scattered about, and to enter the cities of the Gentiles secretly."

II. "But I know that you are distressed to hear that this is to be done,

^A and that it is not pleasant to be separated from me even for the space of two full days. I wish you, therefore, to know that we who have persuaded you love those who have been persuaded by us far more than you love us who have persuaded you. Therefore, let us who love one another, by not acting unreasonably in what we wish, take thought for our safety as much as lies within our power. Furthermore, you shall not absent yourselves from me on any day that I am discoursing. For I have determined to remain for some days in each of the more notable cities of the provinces, as you also know, and to discourse; thus you, too, will be able to remain and discourse. Now, therefore, go ahead to Laodicea, which is nearest to us, and after two or three days, as far as my resolution is concerned, I shall overtake you. But wait for me alone at the gates on account of the rumor, so that, having entered in this way without clamor, we may be together with you. And from there, in like manner, after passing some days there, others in your stead shall go ahead to the regions beyond, according to a schedule, preparing lodgings."

III. When Peter said these things, they were compelled to agree, saying: "It does not greatly grieve us, Lord, to do this, because it is commanded by you. First, because you have been chosen by the providence of God as one worthy to think and advise well on all things; and in addition, because it is necessary that we be separated from you to go ahead for at most two days. And these represent a long time to us, ^B while we do not see you, our Lord Peter; nevertheless, we consider that those who have been sent far ahead will be much more grieved, as they have been commanded to await you for a longer time in each city, being distressed at being deprived for a longer time of seeing your most longing face. And we, being no less sad than they, do not shrink from doing what you command for the sake of utility." Having said these things, they went ahead, having received the command to speak to the multitude traveling with them at the first inn, so that they might enter the cities scattered and divided from one another.

IV. When they had departed, I, Clement, rejoiced greatly that he had wished me to be with him. And I replied, saying: "I thank God that you did not send me away, as you did the others, for I would have died of grief." But he replied: "What then? If there should be a necessity for you to be sent anywhere for the sake of instruction, would you for that reason die because you were for a short time usefully separated from me? Would you not rather, considering with yourself that those things which are imposed upon you by necessity must be borne, endure them with a calm mind? Or do you not know that friends are present together in memory, even if they are separated in body, just as some, being present in body, ^D wander far from their friends in their minds because of forgetfulness?"

^A V. And I replied: "Do not suppose, sir, that I would be enduring this grief senselessly, but with a very correct judgment. Since, my lord, I hold you in place of everything—father, mother, brothers, and kinsmen—because you became to me through God the author of the saving truth, I have you in place of all, and possess the greatest consolation. Besides this, fearing the natural craving of my youth, I was anxious lest perhaps, being a young man, if I were separated from you (having now so disposed my mind that I cannot be torn from you without some divine anger), I might be overcome by desire. But since it is much better and safer for me to be with you, the man whom my mind has rightly taken for reverence, I therefore pray to be with you in all things. In addition to this, I remember that you said in Caesarea: 'If any man wishes to accompany me, let him accompany me piously.' You spoke of piety as 'causing no one sorrow according to God,' such as by abandoning parents, a like-minded wife, or others attached to true religion. Wherefore I am in all respects a suitable traveling companion for you, to whom, if you wish to do me the greatest favor, you will permit me to perform the services of a servant."

VI. And Peter, hearing this, smilingly said: "What then do you think, Clement, that you are not by necessity yourself being reduced into the place of a servant for me? For who will guard for me ^B the fine and numerous linens, together with the rings and shoes that accompany me? Who indeed will prepare the pleasant and expensive dishes, which, being varied, require many skilled cooks, and all those things which, among effeminate men, are prepared for their desire as for a great beast, sought after through every luxury and deceit? But perhaps this purpose has come to you because you have not understood and ignore my way of life, in that I use only bread and olives, and rarely vegetables, and that I have for clothing and a garment—the very one in which I am wrapped—and I have need of no other nor any other things. For in these I even have abundance. My mind, indeed, perceiving there all eternal good things, looks at nothing of the things here. However, I accept your noble intention, and I marvel and praise how, being a man educated in luxurious habits, you have easily changed your way of living and transferred yourself to necessities only. For we, from childhood, I and Andrew, who is of the same blood as I and my brother according to God, being brought up not only in orphanhood, but also accustomed to work by poverty and hardships, now easily ^D endure the troubles of the roads. Whence, if you had been persuaded..."

^A I would have allowed you, as a working man, to fulfill the duties of a servant for me.

VII. But upon hearing this, I trembled and shed tears, that a man should speak such words, than whom no men of the present generation are lesser in the word of knowledge and piety. He, seeing me in tears, asked the cause of them. I answered: "What great sin have I committed, that you should say such a thing to me?" And Peter replied: "If it is an evil thing that I have said, to serve you, you are the first to sin, by asking me to do so." And I said: "It is not the same; for it is entirely fitting for me to do this, but for you, who are God's proclaimer and the savior of our souls, it is a grave matter to do it for me." And Peter answered: "I would have agreed with you, had not our Lord, who came for the salvation of the whole world, and being the most noble of all, endured servitude, in order to persuade us not to be ashamed to perform the ministries of ^B servants to our brothers, even if we happen to be very noble." Then I said: "If I think that I shall surpass you in argument, I am a fool; nevertheless, I give thanks to the providence of God, because I have been deemed worthy to have you in the place of a parent."

And Peter asked: "Is there no one remaining to you truly of your own kin?" I answered: "There are indeed many and powerful men, who are of the lineage of Caesar. For Caesar himself joined to my father, as one brought up with him, a kinswoman as his wife, from whom we three children were born: two before me, who, being twins, ^C were very similar to each other, as my father himself used to tell me. For I do not know them or my mother at all, but I recall their forms dimly, as if in a dream. My mother was called Mattidia, my father Faustus, and of my brothers, the one was called Faustinus, the other Faustinianus. Therefore, when I was born third after them, my mother (as my father related) saw a dream, as my father instructed me, that unless she immediately took her twin sons with her and departed from the city of Rome for twelve years, she and they were to perish by a most wretched death."

IX. The father, therefore, being a lover of his children, having provided them sufficiently ^D with servants and maids and travel money, in a ship...

^A he sent them to Athens to be educated, but kept me, as his only son, with him for his comfort. And for this I offer many thanks, that the dream did not command me also to depart with my mother from the city of the Romans. When a year had passed, therefore, my father sent money to his people at Athens, and at the same time to learn how they were faring. But those who had gone did not return. In the third year, my father, being downcast, sent others likewise with supplies for their living, who in the fourth year returned and reported that they had neither seen my mother or brothers, nor had they themselves reached Athens, nor had they even found a trace of anyone who had gone with them.

X. The father, therefore, hearing these things, and being struck with great grief, and not knowing where to turn in his search for them, took me and went down to the harbor, and questioned many, and more frequently than that, where each of them had seen or heard of a shipwreck having occurred four years prior. And one said one thing and another another. But he would ask again if they had seen the body of a woman with children cast up by the sea. And when they said that they had seen corpses in many places, my father, hearing this, would groan. Yet, being troubled by his natural affection, he inquired without reason, for he was attempting to search such a great expanse of sea. ^B Nevertheless, he was worthy of pardon, because in his yearning for those he sought, he was beguiled by empty hopes. And finally, having placed me under tutors and left me at Rome, a boy of twelve years old, he himself, with tears, descended to the harbor, and having embarked on a ship, set sail and went off in search of them. And from that time to the present day, I have neither received a letter from him, nor do I know for certain whether he lives or is dead. But I rather suspect that he too has died, either overcome by grief or having met with a shipwreck. ^C The proof of this is that it is now the twentieth year since that time, from which I have heard nothing true concerning him.

XI. Peter, however, hearing these things, shed tears out of compassion, and immediately said to the trusted friends who were there: "If any person who is placed in the service of God had suffered these things which this man’s father suffered, he would immediately have attributed the cause to his religion and blamed the devil. ^D Thus it also happens that the miserable Gentiles suffer, and we who are pious toward God are ignorant. But I have rightly called them miserable, because they wander here in errors and are cheated of the future hope. For when the worshippers of God suffer hardships, they endure them for the expiation of their sins."

^A XII. After Peter had said these things, one of our number took courage and asked him on behalf of all that on the morrow we might sail earlier to Aradus, an island opposite, which is distant, I think, not even thirty stades, in order to see there two vine-columns that are of huge mass. Peter, therefore, as he was most merciful, gave his consent, saying: "When you have disembarked from the ship, do not all proceed together to the sight you desire, for I do not wish a throng of the citizens to form around you." And so, sailing in the space of an hour, we were brought to the island. And disembarking from the boat, we went to where the vine-columns were, and at the same time, along with these, everyone viewed some other of the works of Phidias.

XIII. But Peter alone did not think it necessary to look at what was there, but looking more attentively at a certain woman sitting outside before the gates and begging for the sake of her livelihood, he said: "Woman, what part of your limbs is missing, that you have undergone such disgrace—I mean, begging—and do not rather work with as your hands, which you received from God, and seek your daily food?" But she, sighing, replied: "Would that I had hands able to work! But now they preserve for me only the appearance of hands, since they are dead, having been tormented by my own bites." And Peter asked: "What, then, was the cause of your suffering this grievous evil?" But she answered: "Weakness of soul, and nothing else. For if I had been possessed of a brave mind, there was a precipice, there was the deep, from which, by casting myself down, I could have brought an end to the evils that cause me pain."

^B XIV. Then Peter began: "What then? Do you suppose, woman, that those who destroy themselves are altogether delivered from punishments, or rather that the souls of those who die in this way ^C are punished with greater penalties in Hades on account of their self-murder?" But she said: "Would that I were persuaded that souls are truly found living in Hades! I would surely choose to die, despising the penalties, so that I might see for even one hour those most longed for by me." And Peter said: "I would like to know, woman, what it is that tortures you. For if you instruct me, for that favor I shall assure you that souls live in Hades, and instead of a precipice or the deep, I shall give you a remedy so that you may be able to depart from life without torment."

XV. And the woman, not understanding the ambiguous remark and having gladly accepted the promise, began to speak in this manner: ^D "To tell my lineage and fatherland, I do not think I could persuade

anyone [to listen]; yet what difference does it make to you to learn this, except only the cause for which, being afflicted with pain, I rendered my hands dead to sensation? Nevertheless, I will narrate the events concerning myself, as far as you are able to hear them. I, being of very noble birth, was married to a man who was a relative of a certain prince. And after twins, I had another son. But the brother of my husband, seized by a great madness, fell in love with wretched me, who greatly desired to live chastely. And wishing neither to consent to the lover, nor to expose to my husband the love of his brother for me, I devised a plan, so that I might not pollute myself by committing adultery, nor insult the marriage bed of my husband, nor turn brother against brother, nor subject the whole great family to reproach from all men. ^A I decided, I say, to depart from the city with my twin boys for a certain time, until the impure love of him who was flattering me to my own disgrace should come to an end. However, I left the other son behind with his father to be a consolation.

XVI. But in order that these things might come to pass, I conceived the plan to fabricate a dream, as if someone had stood by me at night and said: 'Woman, depart immediately from the city with your twin children for a certain time, until I indicate that you should return here; otherwise, you will suddenly perish miserably along with your husband and all your children.' And I did so. For as soon as I related the false dream to my husband, he became fearful, and sent me off by ship to Athens with my two sons, my slaves and handmaids, and much wealth, ^B to have the boys educated, 'until,' he said, 'it shall please the author of the vision for you to return to me.' But I, the wretched woman, sailing with my children, was cast by the unruly winds into these parts; and the ship being broken up at night, I fell into a shipwreck. And while all perished, I, miserable as I am, having been tossed by great waves, was thrown upon a rock; and sitting there in my despair, I did not throw myself into the deep then, in the hope of finding my children alive, although at that time, with my soul intoxicated by the waves, I could have done this easily.

XVII. But when dawn came, with a great cry and tearful wailing I looked around, seeking the dead bodies of my miserable children. Therefore, the local inhabitants, taking pity on me, and seeing me naked, first clothed me and then searched the deep, looking for my children. ^C And because they found nothing of those things which I sought, some of the hospitable women approached, for the sake of consolation, and each related her own misfortunes, that I might take comfort from the calamity of others—a thing which grieved me even more. For I said, 'Not so…

I was not so wretched as to receive consolation from the calamities of others.' And whereas many desired to receive me into their hospitality, one poor woman living here forced me with much pleading to come into her shack, saying to me: 'Take heart, woman; for my husband, being a sailor, died at sea while still in the flower of his youth; and from that time, though many have sought me in marriage, I have chosen to remain a widow, longing for my husband. Let us share whatever we can earn with our own hands.' [XVIII] And not to prolong my story with unnecessary words, I lived with her because of her love for her husband. But not long after, my unhappy hands became unusable from the bites [of disease], and she who had taken me in was completely overcome by some malady and lies bound to the house. Since, therefore, the compassion of the women who used to pity us has grown cold, and both she and I at home are weak and wretched, I have for a long time sat here, as you see, begging, and whatever I may obtain, I take it to my fellow-sufferer for our food. And my own circumstances may be thus sufficiently described. Do you now, why do you delay to fulfill what you promised—that you would provide the remedy? So that I may give it also to her who desires to die, and I too may thus, as you said, be able to exchange this life." [XIX] As the woman said these things, Peter seemed to stand balanced between many thoughts. And I, coming upon them, said: "I have been going around everywhere for a long time seeking you; and now, what are we to do?" But Peter directed me to go on before him to the boat and wait for him there. And because it was not possible to contradict him when he commanded, I did what was ordered. But Peter, with a slight suspicion—as he himself explained everything to me later—being moved in his heart, questioned the woman, saying: "Tell me, woman, your lineage and city and the names of your children, and I will now give you the remedy." But she, enduring violence and not wishing to tell, yet desirous of receiving the remedy, devised to tell other things instead of the truth; and she said that she was an Ephesian, but her husband a Sicilian, and likewise she changed the names of her three children. And Peter, thinking she was speaking the truth, said: "Alas, woman, I thought I was to bring some great joy today, for I suspected you to be a certain woman whom I was aware of, and whose affairs I have heard and know well." But she adjured him, saying: "I beseech you, tell me, that I may know if there is any woman among women more wretched than I." [XX] Then Peter, not knowing how to lie, out of pity for her began to speak the truth: "There is indeed a certain young man who follows me, eager for the words of piety, and a citizen of the Romans, who has told me that he had a father and two brothers

^A of whom none is to be seen." For the mother, she says, as my father related to me, having seen a dream, left the Roman city for a time with her twin children, lest she should die a wretched death, and having gone out with them, she is not found. Her husband, however, and father of this one, having also gone out in search of her, is not found.

XXI. When Peter had said these things, the woman, having paid attention, was struck with amazement and fainted. Peter approached and, holding her, exhorted her to come to her senses, persuading her to confess what it was that she was suffering. She, like one released from drunkenness in the rest of her body, recovered herself, being able to bear the magnitude of the hoped-for joy, and having rubbed her face, she said: "Where is this young man?" But he, already perceiving the whole matter, said: "Tell me first, for otherwise you cannot see him." And she, in haste, said: "I am the mother of the young man." And Peter said: "What is his name?" She said: "Clement." And Peter said: "It is he, and he is the one who was speaking with me a little while ago, whom I ordered to wait for me at the ship." She, falling at the feet of Peter, begged him to hasten to go to the ship. And Peter said: "If you keep your promise to me, I will do this also." And she said: "I will do everything; only show me my only son. For I shall seem through him as if I were seeing my two children who died here." ^B And Peter said: "When you see him, keep quiet until we depart from the island." And she said: "I will do so."

XXII. Peter therefore, taking her by the hand, led her to the ship. But I, seeing him leading a woman, laughed, and approaching, out of respect for him, I tried to lead her instead of him. And as soon as I touched her hand, she, howling aloud like a mother, embraced me and kissed me vehemently as her son. But I, being ignorant of the whole matter, pushed her away as if she were insane; yet, out of reverence for Peter, I restrained myself.

XXIII. But Peter said: "Alas, what are you doing, son Clement, pushing away her who truly gave you birth?" But I, when I heard this, became tearful and, falling upon my mother who was lying there, I kissed her. For as soon as this was told to me, I dimly recalled my mother's form. ^C Many crowds, therefore, were running together to see the beggar woman, saying to one another that her son, a distinguished man, had recognized her. Therefore, when we wished to leave the island immediately with my mother, my mother said: "My longed-for son, it is reasonable to say goodbye to the woman who took me in, who, being poor and totally paralyzed, lies at home." Peter, having heard this, marveled, ^D and all the surrounding crowds [marveled] at the woman's good judgment. And immediately Peter ordered some to go and carry the woman on a bed. And when she had been brought and the bed had been placed, all the ple-

crowds listening, Peter said: "If I am a herald of the truth, for the faith of those standing by, so that they may know there is one God who made the world, let her arise healthy immediately." And as Peter said these things, the woman rose healed and fell at Peter's feet, and having kissed her usual friend and acquaintance, she asked what this was. She briefly explained to her the whole matter of their recognition, and those who heard were struck with amazement. Then the mother, too, having seen her hostess healed, ^B begged that she also might obtain healing. And he, having laid his hand upon her, also healed her.

XXIV.

XXV.

^A to a woman who had suffered shipwreck, was mourning her children, a stranger, naked, left alone, and bitterly lamenting her misfortunes. In such misfortunes of hers, therefore, who, even among the impious, seeing her would not have pitied her? Thus, the hostess does not appear to have performed a work of philanthropy, but rather, moved by pity for her myriad misfortunes, she was urged to perform a benefaction; by how much more, then, did your mother—who was possessed of means and repaid the hostess—not perform a work of philanthropy, but one of friendship? For there is a great difference between friendship and philanthropy, because friendship arises from reciprocity, whereas philanthropy loves and benefits every human being as a human being, without any natural predisposition. If, therefore, the one who showed mercy, by being a hostess and showing mercy to those who had treated her unjustly, does a kindness ^B, she would be a lover of humanity; but if she is a friend or an enemy for any reason, and for any reason an enemy or a friend, such an one is a friend or enemy for some cause, not because of the human being.

XXVI. I answered: "Does it not seem to you, then, that even the hostess is a lover of humanity, having shown kindness to a stranger whom she did not know?" And Peter said: "I know how to call her merciful, but I do not dare to call her a lover of humanity, since not even a mother [is recognized] as loving her children; for she is impelled to love by the pains of childbirth and by their upbringing. Just as the one who is in love ^C is flattered by habit and bedding, and the friend by reciprocity, so also the one who shows mercy [is moved] by the misfortune. Nevertheless, the merciful person is close to the lover of humanity, because he is persuaded to receive without seeking for anything. However, he is not yet a lover of humanity." I said: "On what actions, then, can one be a lover of humanity?" And Peter answered: "Since I see you are eager to hear what the work of philanthropy is, I will not hesitate to speak. A lover of humanity is one who does good even to enemies. And that it is so, hear: philanthropy is male-female; its female part is called mercy, but its male part is named love toward the neighbor; and 'neighbor' to a human being is every human being, not just this or that person, for a human being is both the bad and the good, both the enemy and the friend. One, therefore, who practices philanthropy must be an imitator of God ^D, doing good to the just and the unjust, as God Himself provides His sun and His rain to all in this present world. But if you wish to do good only to the good, and no longer to the bad, or even to punish them, you are trying to perform the work of a judge, not striving to possess that of philanthropy." I said: "Does God, then, being about to judge one day, as you teach us, not [have] philanthropy—"

for he judges, and for this reason he is philanthropic. For by loving and having mercy on those who have been wronged, he punishes those who have wronged them." And I said: "Are I, then, not philanthropic if I benefit the good, but punish those who have wronged others as men?" And Peter answered: "If, along with foreknowledge (40), you also possessed the authority to judge, you would rightly do this; by the authority received, you would condemn those whom God created, and by the foreknowledge, you would judge unerringly, acquitting some as righteous and condemning others as unjust." And I said: "You have spoken rightly and truly; for it is impossible for anyone who lacks foreknowledge to judge correctly. For sometimes some appear good while secretly committing illicit acts, and others are thought to be evil due to the calumny of enemies. But even if one who has the authority to torture and examine judges, not even so would it be possible for him to judge entirely rightly. For some who were murderers, having endured the tortures, were released as innocent, while others who were innocent, not being able to endure the tortures, falsely accused themselves and were punished as guilty."

XXVIII. And Peter said: "These things, too, are trivial; but hear something greater. Of the things that some men do, whether sinning or doing good—of which they now perform some that are their own and others that are alien—it is just that each should be punished for his own sins or rewarded for his own good deeds. But it is impossible for anyone, except the prophet alone who possesses foreknowledge, to know, when things are done by someone, which are his own and which are not; for he sees all things that come to pass." And I said: "I would like to learn how, out of crimes or good deeds, some are one's own and others are alien."

XXIX. (41) And Peter answered that the Prophet of Truth said: "Good things must come; blessed, however, is he through whom they come. Likewise, it is necessary that evil things also come; but woe to him through whom they come." If, then, evils come through the evil and good things are brought through the good, it is necessary that what is proper should belong to each—the good or the evil—and that from what he has previously done, there should come through him the secondary good or evil things, which, being his own by choice, ^C are ^D

ordered to pass by the providence of God. ^A Since this judgment is from God, as in an athletic contest, that he who has passed through every affliction and has been found blameless should be deemed worthy of eternal life. For those who have advanced in goods by their own will are tempted by those who have remained in evil by their own will—being persecuted, hated, reviled, plotted against, beaten, defrauded, slandered, ^B compelled to serve, and insulted—suffering all those things through which it reasonably seems that anger arises and that one is spurred toward revenge.

XXX. But the Teacher, knowing that those who do these things unjustly are guilty because of their previous sins, and that God uses them as instruments of malice to effect these things, counseled that we should have mercy on those who are men, insofar as they are men, even if they have become instruments of evil because of their sins, so that by practicing philanthropy, and as far as it depends on them, those who are treated unjustly may release those who treat them unjustly from their condemnation. Thus, just as the sober help the drunken through prayers, fastings, and blessings, they should not resist or defend themselves, ^C so as not to force them to sin even more. For as to him who is entirely condemned to suffer, it is not reasonable to be angry at the one through whom the suffering comes, reflecting that even if he had not mistreated him, still, because he was entirely destined to be afflicted, the suffering would have happened through another. Why, then, do I show anger toward the one who deals it, when I was in any case condemned to suffer? But still further, if we do the same things to the wicked under the pretext of revenge, besides the fact that we are not the first, we, to whom the name of good is given, become the second-comers, doing the same things as the wicked. And as I said, one ought not to be indignant, since one knows that it is by the providence of God that the wicked punish the good. Those, therefore, who are incensed at their punishers are sinning, as if they were insulting those sent by God; but those who hold them in high esteem and think the opposite toward those who are thought to bring injury upon them, are pious toward God who has decreed it so. ^D

XXXI. And I answered to these things: Then those who do injury are not responsible, since by the judgment of God they injure the just? And Peter said: They sin greatly, for they have surrendered themselves to sinning. Whence, knowing this, God chooses to punish through them those who have justly repented of their previous sins, so that to the just, through such a punishment, those evils committed before repentance may be forgiven. But to the impious who desire to mistreat and do not wish to repent, it is permitted to mistreat the just for the fulfillment of their own punishment. For without the will of God, not even a sparrow—

^A falls into a snare. Thus, even the hairs of the just are numbered by God.

XXXII. That man is just who, for the sake of right reason, struggles against nature. For example, it is implanted in all by nature to love those who love them; but the just man strives also to love his enemies, to bless those who revile him, and furthermore to pray for his enemies, and to show mercy on those who treat him unjustly. Therefore, he suffers himself to be treated unjustly first, and in like manner blesses those who curse him, forgives those who strike him, retreats from those who persecute him, greets those who do not greet him, shares what he has with those who do not have, softens the angry man, reconciles the enemy, admonishes the stubborn, instructs the unbeliever, comforts the mourner, bears up when harassed, and does not take it indignantly when received ungratefully. He is disposed to love his neighbor as himself; he fears no poverty, but by distributing his own goods to those who have ^B none, he becomes poor. Nor yet does he avenge the one who sins. For he who loves his neighbor as himself, just as he himself, when he has sinned, knows that he does not wish vengeance to be taken on him, so neither does he punish sinners. And as he desires to be cajoled, blessed, honored, and for all his sins to be forgiven him, this he does for his neighbor, loving him as himself. In a word, what he desires for himself, he desires also for his neighbor. For this is the law of God and the prophets; this is the doctrine of truth. And these things, indeed—love toward every man—is the perfect, masculine part of benevolence, while mercy is its feminine part. Which is to feed the hungry, to provide drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, to receive the stranger, to visit and help to the utmost of one’s power those shut in prison, and, in short, to show mercy to ^C the calamitous.

XXXIII. And I, having heard this, said: "These things we are able to do, but to do good to enemies and to bear all their injustices, I think is impossible to be present in human nature." Then Peter replied: "You have spoken rightly. For since benevolence is the cause of immortality, it is valued highly." I said: "How, then, can it be conceived in the mind?" Peter replied: "Benevolence, beloved Clement, can be acquired if one is fully persuaded that enemies, while they harass those they hate for a time, are the causes of their deliverance from eternal punishment; and thus they will even be loved as benefactors. Furthermore, the way to acquire benevolence, friend Clement, is one, namely, the fear of God. For he who ^D fears God cannot indeed from the beginning love his neighbor as himself, for the soul does not arrive at this command; but by fear of God he can perform the works of those who love, and thus afterwards, when the works of...

as love, acting as a bride, attaches itself to fear as to a bridegroom; and in this way, by generating thoughts of humanity, it renders its possessor immortal, like an image of God, his nature being such that it cannot be mocked by corruption. ^A However, after he had set forth to us the doctrine of humanity, evening having overtaken us, we turned to sleep.

HOMILY XIII

I. But when morning came, Peter entered and said, “Let Clement, with his mother Mattidia and my wife, sit together in the carriage.” And it was done accordingly. And as we were traveling along the road that leads to Balaneas, my mother asked me how my father fared. I replied, “Having set out to search for you and for my twin brothers, Faustinus and Faustinianus, he has not appeared since. But I think that he has long ago died, having either met with a shipwreck, or been waylaid on the road, ^B or wasted away from grief.” Hearing this, she was moved to tears and sighed out of sadness, but because she had found me, she rejoiced, and her grief, which had arisen from the memory, was somewhat softened. Nevertheless, we arrived at Balaneas. On the following day, we set out for Paltum, and from there to Gabala, and on the next day we reached Laodicea. And behold, before the gates, Nicetas and Aquila met us, and having kissed us, led us to an inn. Peter, seeing a beautiful and great city, said, “It is right to remain here for some days. For the multitude is almost always more ^C effective for producing those whom we seek.” Then Nicetas and Aquila inquired of me who this foreign and unknown woman was. And I replied, “She is my mother, whom God has granted me to recognize through my lord Peter.”

II. When I had said this, Peter expounded everything to them in summary: how, after they had gone on ahead, I, Clement, had explained my family history to him, and the journey of my mother with her twin children under the pretext of a feigned dream, and further, the journey of my father to search for my mother; then also how Peter himself, after he had heard these things, entered the island and found the woman, and, seeing her begging and asking the cause of the begging, learned her family, her upbringing, ^D the feigned dream, the names of the children—mine, that is, who had been left behind with my father, and those of the twin sons who had traveled with her—and finally her suspicion concerning their death in the sea.

III. These things having been related in summary by Peter, Nicetas and Aquila were astonished and said, “Here, O Lord, all...

and Master of all, is this true, or is it a dream?” And Peter said: “If we are asleep, it is true.” They, having remained silent for a short while and having become thoughtful, said: “We are Faustinus and Faustinianus, and from the beginning, as you began to narrate, we, looking at one another, were pondering much among ourselves as to whether the things being said pertained to us, considering that many similar things happen in the lives of men; wherefore we remained silent, while our hearts were fluttering. But looking at the end of what was said, that the things being said pertained to us, we then made ourselves known.” And having said these things with tears, they went in to their mother, and finding her sleeping, they at once wanted to embrace her. But Peter prevented them, saying: “Leave me to lead you, so that I may present you to your mother, lest perhaps by the great and sudden joy she should fall into a stupor of mind, seeing that she is sleeping and her spirit is held by slumber.” ^B

IV. Therefore, when she had had her fill of sleep and the mother had awakened, Peter, having brought them in, began to discourse to her concerning the worship of God, first saying: “I wish you to know, O woman, the discipline of our religion. We worship one God, who made the world which you behold, and we keep His law, which contains in the first place that He alone is to be worshipped, and that His name is to be sanctified, and that parents are to be honored, and that temperance is to be cultivated, and that one must live piously. In addition to these, we do not live indifferently, nor do we take food from the table of the Gentiles, nor can we eat with them, because they live an impure life. But when we have persuaded them to think and to do those things which pertain to the truth, and have baptized them in a thrice-blessed invocation of the Name, then we eat with them. ^C Otherwise, even if it be a father, or a wife, or offspring, or a brother, or any other person dear by natural affection, we nowhere dare or are able to take food with them. Indeed, we do this chiefly for the sake of religion. Do not, therefore, deem it an injury if your son does not take food with you, until you think and act the same as he does.” ^D

V. Upon hearing these things, she said: “What then prevents me from being baptized today? For before I saw you, I was already averse to those who are called gods, by this reasoning: that, although I sacrificed much to them almost daily, they were not present to me in my adversities. And as for adultery, what need is there to speak? Since not even when I was wealthy did luxury entice me into this, nor could the poverty that followed force me to come to this, as I was holding fast to my chastity as my greatest ornament, for the sake of which I came into such a calamity.”

^A And yet, do not imagine, my lord Peter, that I am ignorant that a greater desire arises from prosperous fortune. Therefore, as I lived temperately in prosperous circumstances, I will not surrender myself to pleasures in my affliction. Nor, indeed, should you suppose that my mind is now free from sorrow, even if it has found some consolation through the recognition of Clement. For the sadness born of the loss of my two children returns ^B and somewhat dims my joy. For it is not so much that they perished in the sea that causes us grief, as it is that they died outside the divine religion toward God, having lost both soul and body as well. Moreover, their father, my husband, as I learned from Clement, went out in search of me and our children, and has not appeared for so many years; he has surely perished. For the poor man loved me out of chastity and was fond of his children. Wherefore, the old man, deprived of all of us whom he loved above all else, passed away from extreme grief.

VI. Upon the mother saying this, the the children, upon hearing it, could no longer contain themselves according to the admonition of Peter, but rose up and embraced her, weeping much and kissing her. And she said: "What is this?" And Peter answered: "Fortify your mind, woman, that you may enjoy your children. For these are Faustinus and Faustinianus, your sons, whom you said had perished in the deep. ^D As to how they live, having died in the sea on that dreadful night, and how one of them is now called Nicetas and the other Aquila, they themselves will be able to tell you, and we shall hear along with you." When Peter had said this, the mother, rejoicing greatly, all but swooned from the release of her emotion. But when we had revived her, she sat up, and having come to herself, she said: "I beseech you, my sweet children, tell us what happened to you after that terrible night."

VII. And Nicetas, who is also called Faustinus, began to say: "On that same night, as you know, when the ship was breaking up, certain men, who have no fear of practicing piracy in the deep, took us and put us in a boat; and by rowing, they would sometimes bring us to land, and sometimes would go to get food, and so they brought us to Caesarea Stratonis. And there, while we were weeping, they afflicted us with hunger, fear, and blows, so that we might not speak anything rashly against their purpose; and they even changed our names and were able to sell us. And a certain woman, a proselyte among the Jews, very honorable, by the name of Justa, having bought us, kept us in the place of sons and diligently educated us in all Greek learning. We, having grown to years of understanding and..."

having loved religion, applied ourselves earnestly to literature, so that by disputing with other nations we might be able to refute them of their error. But we also learned thoroughly the decrees of the philosophers—especially those most alienated from piety toward God, I mean those of Epicurus and Pyrrho—so that we might be able to refute them the more.

VIII. Moreover, having been brought up ^A together with a certain Simon, a magician, we were nearly led into deception by the tie of friendship. For there is a certain report concerning some man, who, wherever he appears, the whole multitude of the pious will live in his kingdom perpetually and without trouble. But these things shall be set forth to you, Mother, more accurately in due time. Meanwhile, as we were nearly being deceived by Simon, a certain colleague of our master Peter, named Zacchaeus, approached and warned us not to be deceived by the Magician, and he brought us to Peter, who had arrived, so that after he had fully instructed us, he might persuade us concerning matters pertaining to the worship of God. Therefore, Mother, we also pray that you may reach the good things which we have been ^B deemed worthy to attain, so that we may be able to share common salt and a table. This, then, Mother, is the cause for which you thought we had perished: that on that most grievous night we were seized by pirates at sea, and you believed we were lost.

IX. After Faustinus had said these things, our mother fell at the feet of Peter, begging and beseeching that he would immediately summon and baptize both her and her hostess, so that, she said, not even one day might be excluded from the time since I recovered my children, in which I might not have partaken of food with them. And when we joined our mother in ^C entreaty, Peter said: "What do you think, that I alone am unmerciful, in that I do not wish you to be joined at table with your mother by baptizing her today? But she must needs fast for even one day before baptism; and this is because she spoke a certain word on her own behalf, which I consider to be an adequate interpreter of her faith; otherwise, it would have been necessary for her to be purified for many days."

X. And I said: "Tell us, I pray, what word she spoke that manifested her faith." And Peter said: "Her request that her hostess and benefactress be baptized together with her. For she would not ^D have asked for this grace to be granted to the one whom she loves, unless she had first been disposed toward baptism as toward a great gift. Hence I find fault with many who, when they have been baptized and say that they believe, do nothing worthy of faith, nor do they exhort those whom they love (I mean their wives, or children, or friends) to this. For if they truly believed that eternal life [with]

fire awaits those who do not worship God, they would not cease to admonish them; or, seeing them disobedient, they would grieve as for unbelievers, being fully convinced of the punishment that awaits them. I will now call the hostess and ask her whether she chooses to embrace the law through us, and we shall act accordingly. ^B

XI. But as for your mother, since she is faithfully disposed toward baptism, let her fast for at least one day before her baptism. But she swore, saying: "For the two past days, while I was telling the woman about the outcome of the discovery, I could not take food for great joy, except for a little water yesterday." And the wife of Peter bore witness to the oath, saying: "She truly tasted nothing." And Aquila, or rather from now on Faustinus, said: "Therefore nothing prevents her from being baptized." And Peter, smiling, replied: "But this is not the fast of baptism, because it was not undertaken for that purpose." And Faustinus replied: "Perhaps, then, God, desiring that our mother should not be separated from our table for even one day after our discovery, foreordained this fast. For just as she preserved her chastity in ignorance, doing what befits the truth, so now God has perhaps provided for her to fast one day before for the true baptism, so that from the first day of our recognition she might be able to partake of salt or food with us." ^C

XII. Then Peter said: "Let not malice conquer us, finding a pretext in Providence and the affection of a mother; but rather let you and I, with you, remain in fasting today, and she shall be baptized tomorrow. For the hour of this present day is not suitable for baptism." And thus we all agreed that it should be done.

XIII. On that evening, therefore, we all enjoyed the teaching of Peter, who showed us, through the occasion of our mother, how the ends of chastity are good, while the ends of adultery are destructive, and are so constituted by nature as to bring destruction upon the whole race, even if not immediately, yet at least slowly. "To such an extent," he said, "does chastity please God, that even to those who are positioned in error, He confers no small grace for it in the present life. For ^D

^A that salvation there is rendered only to those who have been baptized through the hope in Him, and who live and act justly. As you have known what happened to your mother—I mean the good things she obtained in the end. For perhaps if she had committed adultery, she would have been cut off from the midst of life. Wherefore God, having pity on her because she lived chastely, averted the slaughter that was impending for her, and restored the children that had been taken away.

XIV. But perhaps someone will say: How many have perished on account of chastity? I say: Because they did not perceive it. For certainly, it is necessary that she who perceives either a lover or one who loves her should flee at once from intimacy with him, just as from a flaming fire or a rabid dog. Just as she did who gave birth to you, truly loving the good of chastity. For which reason, having been preserved together with you, she received the knowledge of the eternal kingdom. ^B A woman who desires to live chastely ought to know that she is envied by wickedness, and that she has many who lie in wait for her under the pretext of love. But by remaining chaste in a single impulse toward temperance, having obtained victory over all things, she has salvation. For indeed, if anyone were to have practiced all good things, it is necessary that she be punished for one single sin of adultery, the prophet said.

XV. The chaste woman, doing the will of God, becomes a glorious commemoration of His first creation; because God, who is one, created one woman for one man. ^C She remains even more truly chaste if she does not forget the creation but foresees the future punishment, and does not remain ignorant of the loss of eternal goods. The chaste woman, taking delight in those who wish to be saved, becomes a pious example to those who worship the Divine; for she is a law of the good life. She who desires to act chastely cuts off the occasions of slander; and if, while providing no occasion, she is spoken ill of as by an enemy, she is blessed and vindicated by God. The chaste woman yearns for God, loves God, delights God, brings glory to God; she provides men with no occasion for slander. The chaste woman perfumes the Church with a good fragrance and glorifies it by her modesty; and furthermore, she is the praise of teachers, and she happens to be a fellow worker to those who are practicing chastity.

XVI. The chaste woman is adorned as for a bridegroom, the Son of God, clothed in holy light. ^D Yet her own beauty is in her soul, a virtuous life. She exhales the ointment of a good reputation. She is brilliantly adorned, having put on modesty; and she is encircled with precious pearls, which are words that promote chastity. She is white, as one enlightened in her soul. She looks into the best mirror, she who gazes upon God. She uses a beautiful adornment, instructing her soul in the fear toward God. She is an excellent woman, not she who is ensnared by gold, but she who is loosed from temporary desires. The chaste woman is desired by the great King, is betrothed to Him, is guarded by Him, is loved by Him. The chaste woman is not...

provides no opportunities to be desired, except by her own husband. The chaste woman is grieved if she is desired by another. The chaste woman loves her husband with deep affection, and kisses him, and flatters, pleases, serves, and obeys him in all things, except where it would be to disobey God. For she who obeys God is, even without guards, chaste in soul and pure in body.^A

XVII. Every husband is foolish who separates his own wife from the fear of God. For she who does not fear God will not fear her husband either. If she does not fear God, who looks upon things invisible, how will she fear one who does not see them? And how will she be chaste if she does not gather herself to hear words that make one chaste? And how shall she obtain instruction? And how will she be chaste without guards, if she is not taught about the coming judgment of God, nor fully persuaded of the eternal penalty for a small pleasure? Therefore, cause her, compel her, coax her to always go to the word that makes one chaste.^B

XVIII. But it will be much better if you come taking her by the hand, so that you yourself may also become chaste; for you will desire to be chaste, so that you may know the end of an honorable marriage, and you will not hesitate, if you love, as they say, to become a father, to love your own children and to be loved by your own children. He who desires to have a chaste wife must himself also be chaste; he renders the due marriage debt, he eats with her, dwells with her, goes with her to the word that makes one chaste; he does not grieve her, does not quarrel in vain, does not make himself hateful, but provides the good things he can, and where he lacks, he makes up for it with flattery. The chaste woman does not wait to be flattered; she recognizes her husband as her lord, and calls him lord; if he is poor, she bears the poverty; she hungers with him when he hungers, she travels abroad with him when he travels, she comforts him when he is sad; and even if she had a greater dowry, she submits as if she had nothing. Let the husband, even if he has a poor wife, consider her chastity to be a great dowry. The chaste woman uses food and drink with self-restraint, so that the body, made fat by their weight, may not drag the soul down to unlawful desires.^C Furthermore, she does not associate privately with young men, and she is suspicious of the old; she rejects disorderly laughter, and by dedicating herself to God alone, she does not stumble; she is glad when she hears honorable words, but she rejects those which are not aimed at chastity.^D

^A XIX. God is witness, many murders are one adultery; and what is grave, the horror and impiety of those murders is not perceived. For when blood is shed, a dead body lies there, and the enormity of the calamity strikes everyone with awe. But the murders of the soul caused by adultery are more horrible, since, being invisible to men, they provide an unhesitating opportunity for desire to those who dare to commit them. Recognize, O man, whose breath you possess for living, and do not suffer it to be defiled. By adultery alone is the Spirit of God defiled; and for this reason, it drags the man who defiles it into the fire. For it hastens to deliver the insulter to eternal punishment.

XX. When Peter said these things, and seeing the good and modest Mattidia weeping for joy, thinking that she was grieving over the hardships she had endured, he said: "Take heart, woman. Since many have suffered many evils because of adultery, but you have suffered for the sake of chastity, therefore you have not perished. And even if you had died, you would have attained the salvation of your soul. You left your own land, Rome, for the sake of chastity; but by this occasion you found the truth, the diadem of the eternal kingdom. You were in danger in the sea, but did not die; but even if you had died, that very sea would have become a baptism for you, dying for the sake of chastity, unto the salvation of your soul. For a little time you were deprived of your children, who, since they were of legitimate seed, have been found in a better lot. Pressed by hunger, you begged for food; but you did not defile your body with fornication. You afflicted your body, but you saved your soul. You fled from the adulterer, so as not to defile your husband's bed: but God, who saw your flight, will ^B fill the place of the husband for the sake of your chastity. Reduced to sorrow and loneliness, you were deprived for a short time of husband and children: but all these were to be left by you through the necessity of death; it is better, therefore, that you were deprived voluntarily for the sake of chastity, than if you had later perished against your will in sins."

XXI. It is, therefore, much better that earlier things be burdensome and harsh. For when they are present, the hope that they will pass prevents them from being too distressing; indeed, the expectation of better things provides joy. But before all, I wish you to know how much chastity pleases God. A chaste woman is the choice of God, the good pleasure of God, the glory of God, the daughter of God. So many prerogatives does chastity possess. For were it not that the law exists, that not even a righteous person may enter into the kingdom of ^C

to enter the kingdom of God, perhaps those of the nations ^A who have wandered might be able to be saved through modesty alone. For this reason I am very anxious about those who live modestly in error, because, seeking to live modestly without good hope, they conduct themselves sluggishly regarding the reception of baptism. Therefore they are not saved; because the decree of God is established, that one who is bereft of baptism should not enter into His kingdom. After he had brought forth these things, and more than these, we turned to sleep.

HOMILY XIV.

I. Much earlier, however, than he was accustomed to do every day, Peter was awakened and came in to us, and having roused us he said: "Let Faustinus and Faustinianus, together with Clemens and their own family, follow me, so that coming to a sheltered place by the sea, we may be able to baptize her ^B secretly." But when we had arrived at the shores, and had found a calm and clean place between some rocks, he baptized her. We, however, the brothers, for the sake of the women, withdrew together with our brother and some others and bathed; and having gone to the women, we received them. And thus, having proceeded to an occult place, we prayed there. Afterwards Peter sent the women on ahead because of the crowd, commanding them to go to the hospice by another path, and he permitted only us men to accompany the mother and the same women. We, therefore, having come to the hospice and awaiting his arrival, were conversing with one another. But after several hours, Peter having returned, broke bread into the eucharist and, having added salt, gave it first to the mother, ^C and after her to us, her sons. And thus we ate with her and praised God.

II. Then finally Peter, seeing the crowd that had entered, and having sat down and ordered us to sit, explained first and taught us by what reason, after sending us on from the baptism, he himself had returned late. And he told the reason as follows: "As soon as you," he says, "had departed, an elderly laborer arrived, curiously concealing himself, and having watched us first, as he later confessed, in order to see what we might be doing having entered the sheltered place, he secretly came out and followed; ^D and having approached me in a convenient place and greeted me, he said: 'Having followed you for a long time and wishing to meet you, I was afraid that you might be angry with me as being a busybody; but now, if you wish, I will declare what seems to me to be true.' And I replied: 'Tell us what seems to you to be good, and we will praise you, even if in truth what you say is not good, since by prudent counsel you wished to speak what appeared to you to be good.'"

III. And the old man began to speak thus: "I saw you bathing in the sea, and after this having withdrawn to the [original-script column: see facsimile] secret place...

^A where you were entering to pray, and since I saw you 29 praying, I withdrew; but pitying you, I waited, so that when you came out I might speak with you and persuade you not to be deceived. For there is neither God, nor providence, but all things are subject to genesis, as I, from the things which I have suffered, have been fully persuaded, having learned the lesson well from many accurate observations. Do not therefore be deceived, my son. For whether you pray or not, you must of necessity suffer what comes from genesis; for if prayers were able to do anything or to do good, I myself would have been among the more fortunate. And now, if this poor clothing of mine does not deceive you, you will not disbelieve what I say. When I once lived in great abundance, I offered many sacrifices to the gods and gave to the needy, and ^B yet, even though I prayed and lived piously, I could not escape my fate." And I said: "What are the things which you have suffered?" And he answered: "There is no need to speak now; perhaps at the end you will hear who I am, and to whom I was born, and into what life calamities I have fallen. But now, it is my wish that you be persuaded that all things are subject to genesis."

IV. I said: "If all things are subject to genesis, and you are fully persuaded that this is so, you are thinking and counseling things against yourself. For if we are not even able to feel anything contrary to our birth, why do you labor in vain, counseling that to be done which cannot be? Furthermore, if nativity exists, do not labor to persuade me not to worship even the Lord of the stars, who, if He wishes something not to be, it cannot be. For that which is subject always has a necessity to obey the one who is over it and leads. Certainly to worship those who are thought to be gods, while genesis is dominant, is superfluous. For nothing happens contrary to what is pleasing to fate, nor can they do anything themselves, being subject to their own universal genesis. If genesis exists, it is repugnant for that which is not primary to command: nor can that which is unbegotten be subject, as being unbegotten, having nothing older than itself, I wish you to be fully persuaded, ^C that all things are subject to nativity."

V. When we were speaking these things to one another, a great multitude of people stood by. And then looking at the crowd I said: "I, with my family, have received from my ancestors the worship of God, and I have a commandment not to adhere to the nativity—that is to say, to the discipline of astrology: for this reason I did not apply my mind to it. Whence, I am not skilled in astrology, but I will set forth those things of which I do have skill. Since I am not able to refute genesis by the knowledge of genesis itself, I wish to demonstrate by another way that things are administered by the providence of God, and that each person, according to what he does, will receive reward or punishment ^D; and whether now or hereafter, it makes no difference to me

except that everyone will certainly enjoy the fruit of what he has done. ^A The demonstration, however, that there is no genesis [destiny by the stars], is this: If any of those standing by is bereft of their eyes, or has a maimed hand or a lame foot, or some other defect in their body which cannot return to integrity and is beyond every medical art—which even astrologers do not profess to be able to heal, because from the beginning of the age no such thing has happened—and I, having prayed to God, provide the healing, since such a condition could never be corrected by genesis: this being so, do not those who blaspheme God, the Creator of all things, go astray? The old man replied, "Is it blasphemy, then, to say that everything is subject to genesis?" I retorted, "Most certainly. For if all the sins and impieties and licentiousness of men arise from the stars, and the stars were ordained by God to perform these things so that they might be the producers of all wicked acts, then the sins of all are referred back to Him who placed the genesis in the stars." ^B

VI. And the old man replied, "You have spoken very truly, but my conscience resists your entire incomparable proof. For I, being an astrologer and having lived first in Rome, and having afterwards become a friend to a certain man who was of the lineage of Caesar, I had the genesis of that man and his wife accurately noted. And when I saw that matters had indeed happened just as their genesis portended, I cannot be persuaded by your words. For the woman had such a constellation, which makes [women] adulterous, in love with their own servants, and to die in a foreign land and in the waters. And so it happened. For, having fallen in love with her own servant, and not bearing the reproach, she fled with him, and having set out into a foreign land, and having shared a bed with him, she perished by the sea."

VII. And I replied, "And how, then, do you know that the one who fled, having arrived in a foreign land, married the servant and died after the marriage?" And the old man said, "I know the truth most certainly—not that she married the servant, since I did not even know that she loved him; but after she had departed, the brother of her husband told me the whole story of her love, and how he, being honorable, as befitted a brother, did not want to defile the marriage bed; and how she, the wretched woman, wishing [to leave] and fearing him and the reproach—for it is not possible to blame her, since she was forced by genesis to do and to suffer these things—she invented a dream, whether true or false I cannot say. ^D For he said that she had told him, 'Someone stood by me in a vision and ordered me to leave the city of Rome with my children without delay.' And the husband, anxious for her safety and that of his children, immediately sent them to Athens to be educated, with their mother and the servants; and having a third son, who was younger, he—

^A kept him with himself, as he had ^A permitted him to stay with him, responding to him in a dream. But when a long time had passed, he did not receive letters from her. Having often sent to Athens, and having taken me along as being more sincere to him than all others, he set out in search of her. I indeed labored cheerfully with him in his travels, remembering that in his former prosperity he had held me as his companion in all things, loving me above all his friends. And so we set sail from Rome, and thus we arrived at these parts of Syria and put in at Seleucia; and as we disembarked from the ship, not many days later he died from grief of heart. I, however, coming here, have provided for my livelihood with my hands from that time to this present day.

^B VIII. When the old man had said these things, I perceived from his speech ^B that the old man whom he said had died was the very person, from the things he described, who is your father. I did not wish, therefore, to discuss your affairs with him until I had communicated with you. Except that, when I found out his lodging and made my own known, for the sake of investigation I only asked this: "What is the old man's name?" He answered, "Faustas." "And the names of the twin sons?" He replied, "Faustinus and Faustinianus." "And the third son?" He said, "Clement." "And what is the name of their mother?" He said, "Mattidia." I, therefore, melting into tears out of compassion, dismissed the crowds and came to you, so that, after our common partaking of food, I might impart these things to you. But I did not wish to relate it before we partook of food, lest perchance, overcome by grief, you might pass the day of your baptism in mourning, when even the angels rejoice. As Peter was saying these things, we all together with our mother gave ourselves over to tears. But he, seeing us weeping, said: "Now let each one of you, for the sake of your fear of God, bear bravely what has been recounted. For your father did not die today, but long ago, as you yourselves have correctly surmised." ^C

IX. As Peter was speaking these things, the mother, not able to bear it, shouted and said: "Woe is me, husband; you having loved us wished to die, while we live and see the light and still partake of food!" But not yet had this one cry ended, when lo, the old man also entered, and at the same time, wishing to inquire into the cause of the shouting, as he looked ^D upon his wife he said: "Woe is me; what might this be? Whom do I see?" And approaching and looking more closely, and being seen, he embraced her. But both, from the sudden joy, were speechless. And wishing to speak to one another, they could not utter a voice, nor contain their insatiable joy, being seized by the excess of joy; indeed, in not much...

^A time, the mother said to him: "I have you, Faustus, in every way most sweet to me. How then do you live, whom we heard as dead a little while ago? But these are our sons, Faustinus, Faustinianus, and Clemens." When she had said this, we three falling upon him and kissing him, we recalled his form somewhat dimly.

X. Seeing this, Peter said: "Are you Faustus, the husband of this woman and the father of her children?" He replied: "I am." And Peter said: "How then did you tell me your own affairs as if they were another's, recounting labors and grief and funeral rites?" And the father answered: "Being of the lineage of Caesar, and not wishing to become conspicuous, I fabricated a story about someone else, so that it might not be understood who I was. For I knew that if I were recognized, the local governors, having heard of this, would be eager to do a favor for Caesar and would restore me, encircling me with the happiness of my former life, to which I had previously renounced with my whole soul. For, having condemned myself to the greatest hardships because I believed my dear ones to be dead, I could not indulge in the luxuries of that life."

XI. And Peter said: "This indeed you did as you planned. But concerning your claim about the horoscope, were you lying, or were you asserting it as if it were true?" The father replied: "I will not lie to you. I was affirming it as if the horoscope were truly factual. For I am not unversed in the mysteries of this discipline; but there was also with me a certain Egyptian, the most excellent of astrologers, by the name of Annubion, who, having become my friend from the beginning of my travels, indicated the death of my wife and children." Peter said: "Have you not then been persuaded by the facts themselves ^B now, that horoscopy has no consistency?" And the father answered: "It is necessary for me to set forth to you everything that comes into my mind, so that, hearing it, I might be able to learn your refutations of these matters. But I have noted that astrologers err, yet in many things they also speak truly. I suspect, therefore, that in those things which they have investigated, they speak truly, but in those in which they err, they suffer from ignorance; I conjecture, therefore, that the discipline itself is sound, but that they, through mere ignorance, declare falsehoods, because not everyone is able to have knowledge concerning all things." And Peter replied: "Beware lest, when they speak the truth, they hit upon it by chance and not by knowing it with certainty. For it is altogether necessary that, from many words, some should turn out to be true." Then the old man said: "By what reasoning, therefore, can there be certainty in this matter, as to whether horoscopy is consistent or not?"

XII. Since both were silent, I said:

"Because I am thoroughly acquainted with the discipline, while the Lord and my father are not, I would wish, if Annubion himself were here, to carry on the disputation in my father's presence. For in that way the matter could be brought into the light, while an expert in the art disputes with a man of the same profession." The father answered: "Where, then, is it possible to have a meeting and conversation with Annubion?" And Peter said: "At Antioch; for I hear that Simon Magus is there, whom Annubion follows and does not desert. Therefore, when we are there, if we happen upon them, the discussion can take place." And after we had discoursed on many things, being joyful because of the recognition and giving thanks to God, as night came on, we betook ourselves to sleep.

HOMILY XV.

^A And Peter said: “What is it, then, that restrains you from coming to our faith? Speak, so that we may begin to speak about that very thing.” For there are many things that restrain: for those who are persuaded, the occupation of buying and selling, of business, of agriculture, of anxieties, and all such things; but for those who are unbelievers—as you also are—the presumptions of thinking that either those who are not gods exist, or that all things are subject to birth or to chance, or that souls are mortal, or also that our teaching is false, as if there were no providence. ^B IV. I, for my part, affirm that all things are governed by the providence of God, from what has happened to you: that your separation from your own family lasted for so many years. For, since you were with them, perhaps they would not have listened to the words of true religion; therefore, the journey with your mother was ordained, as well as the shipwreck, the suspicion of death, and the sale into slavery; and further, that they be educated in the Greek and impious dogmas, so that they might be better able, as those who know these (things), to refute them; and in addition to these, that they might come to love the word of true religion, and be able to be joined to me, for the sake of assisting in my proclamation. But furthermore, that your brother Clement also should come, and thus your mother be recognized, and be assured by the healing of the divinity; and not long after, immediately, that your twin sons, having recognized and been recognized, should encounter you on the following day, and that you should recover your own. ^C I do not think, therefore, that such a rapid harmony, converging from all sides to one aim of purpose, has occurred without providence.

V. And the father began to say to Peter: “Do not think, my dearest Peter, that I do not hold in my mind the word being proclaimed by you. For at the end of this night that has passed, when Clement was urging me in many ways to assent to the truth which you proclaim, I answered: ‘For what newer thing can anyone command beyond what the ancients advised?’ And he, having smiled gently, said: ‘There is a great difference, father, between the words of religious truth and those of philosophy. For the word of truth is demonstrated from prophecy, but the word of philosophy, providing elegance of speech, appears to offer its demonstrations from conjectures.’ And yet, having said these things, for the sake of an example, he explained to me the teaching concerning humaneness which you had imparted to him, which seemed to me indeed most ^D unjust. And how that is, I shall say. It seemed to him to be just that—

to offer the other cheek also to one who strikes you on the cheek, and to add the cloak also to one who takes your mantle, and to go two miles with one who compels you for one, and such like.

VI. And Peter answered: But you have judged to be unjust what is most just. If you are willing, hear. And the father said: I am very willing. And Peter: Does it not seem to you, when there are two enemy kings and they hold divided regions, if any one of those who are subject to the one should be caught in the region of the other, and on this account may deserve death, if he is punished with a cuff and not with death, and thus escapes punishment, does not the one who granted the pardon appear to be humane? And the father said: Indeed, very much so. And ^B Peter said: What then, if this same person should also take away something peculiar to another, or even what is another's, and being caught in this, if he gives double, though he is a debtor of fourfold, and moreover of death, as having been caught in the borders of the adversary, does it not seem to you that the one who accepted the double and released him from death is humane? And the father said: He appears so. And Peter said: What then? Is it not necessary for one who is in the kingdom of another—and that of some wicked enemy—for the sake of life to flatter everyone, and to yield more to those who compel him, and to salute those who do not salute him, and to reconcile enemies to himself, and not to contend with those who are angry, and to give his own boldly to everyone who asks, and whatever things are of this sort? And the father said: He would, rather, reasonably endure all things, if he prefers life to these.

VII. And Peter: Are not, therefore, those whom you said to be suffering injustice themselves the transgressors of the borders, inasmuch as they are in the kingdom of another, and to that extent are defrauders, inasmuch as they possess? But those who appear to do ^C injustice grant to everyone on the contrary side as much as they allow them to have. For these things belong to those who have chosen present things. And they are so humane that they grant them life. And the example is thus. Hear now the matter itself. The prophet of truth, coming, taught us that the Creator of all and God assigned two kingdoms to two, to the good and to the evil, giving to the evil one the kingdom of the present world with law, so that he might have power to punish the unjust; but to the good one he has bestowed the future, eternal age. And he made each of men free, to have the power of assigning himself to whomever he wishes, either to the present evil or to the future good, of ^D which those who choose the present have the power to be rich, to live in luxury, to take pleasure, and all such things as they are able. For of the future goods they shall have none. But those of the future

kingdom who have chosen to receive it, it is not permitted to them to consider the things here as their own, as they belong to another king; unless you except merely water and bread, and even these obtained with sweat for the sake of living (since one is not permitted to die voluntarily). Furthermore, one is also permitted one garment, for it is not allowed to stand naked before the ^A heaven that sees all things.

VIII. If, therefore, you wish to hear the accurate account of this matter, those whom you said a little earlier were being treated unjustly are themselves the ones who do the greater injustice. For those who choose the future enjoy in the present [the same things] as the ^B wicked, in many respects participating in equal measure with them, in life itself, in light, in bread, in water, in clothing, and some other such things. But those who in your view are thought to do injustice have no part with the men who are to inherit the future goods.

And the father responded to these things: Now that you have persuaded me that those who do injustice are themselves being treated unjustly, and that those who are treated unjustly are rather the ones who are gaining the advantage, the matter seems to me still more iniquitous than ever; because those who appear to do injustice grant many things to those who have chosen the future, but those who appear to be treated unjustly are themselves doing them an injustice, because they do not provide there to those who have granted them [things] ^C here, what they themselves had granted to them.

And Peter said: Nor is this unjust, since each person has the power to choose the present or the future, whether they be small things or great. He who chooses by his own judgment and counsel is not treated unjustly. I say this, then, not even if he chooses the small things, since the great ones lay before him. For the small things also lay before him.

And the father said: You spoke rightly, for it has been said to some wise man among the Greeks: The fault belongs to those who choose; God is without fault ^D (45).

IX. But also explain this discourse to me further. I remember Clement saying to me that the injuries and af-

[alt-version omitted]

eeks: The fault belongs to those who choose; God is without fault ^A. And the passions ^B to which we are subjected are for the remission of sins. Peter said: That is correctly stated. For we who desired the things that are to come, if we possess more, whether clothes, or food, or drink, or any other things, we possess them as sins, because, as I explained shortly before, we ought to possess nothing. To all men, possessions are sins; and their deprivation, in whatever way it occurs, is the removal of sins. The father said: That is correct, just as you distinguished the two ends of the two kings, so that each one may choose from those things which are in the power of either as he wishes. But what of the fact that we justly suffer afflictions? And Peter replied: Most justly. For since the limit for those who are to be saved is, as I have said, that a man should have nothing, and yet many possess many things—which are otherwise sins—for this reason, through the exceeding human kindness of God, afflictions are brought upon those who do not live in purity, so that on account of their love for God, however small, they may be delivered from eternal punishments through temporary chastisements.

X. Then the father said: What then? Do we not see many wicked men who are poor? Should they therefore also be counted among those who are to be saved? And Peter replied: By no means. For poverty is not to be approved if it reaches out for things it ought not. Thus also, some are rich in will while poor in wealth, and they are punished as covetous of possessions. But neither, because a man is poor, is he immediately righteous. For one can be poor in money, yet be desiring or even doing what he should not by priority. For he either worships idols, or blasphemes, or commits fornication, or lives indifferently, or is perjured, or a liar, or lives in unbelief. However, our Master declared faithful poor people ^C blessed, and not because they gave anything as alms—for they had nothing—but because, while they committed no sin, they could not be condemned merely for the fact that they did not give alms, not having them to give. The father said: Truly, in accordance with the proposed question, things seem to be correctly stated; wherefore I have determined to hear the whole doctrine in order.

XI. And Peter said: Therefore, since you are now eager to learn the things pertaining to our religion, I must set forth the doctrine in order, beginning from God Himself, and showing that He alone must be called God, and that others ^D

and that he who does otherwise should be punished with eternal torment, as one who has committed the greatest impiety against the Lord of all himself. Having said these things, and having laid his hands upon those troubled by ailments, and the sick, and those possessed by demons, and having prayed, he healed them and dismissed the crowds. And afterwards, entering in this manner, he took his customary simple meal and gave himself to sleep. ^B

HOMILY XVI

I. In the morning, Peter went out and, having arrived at the place where he was accustomed to discourse, he saw a great crowd gathered together. And just as he was about to speak, one of his deacons came in, saying: "Simon, who arrived from Antioch late yesterday evening, having learned that you had promised to give a discourse concerning the monarchy, is prepared, together with Athenodorus the Epicurean, to come and argue against you, in order to oppose publicly all the words you may say concerning the monarchy." As the deacon was saying this, behold, Simon himself entered with Athenodorus and some others of his companions, and before Peter could utter a word, he, anticipating him, said:

II. "I have learned that you promised yesterday to Faustus that today you would show, in the order of your discourse, beginning from the Lord of all himself, that he alone must be called God, and that no others should be either spoken of or considered as such, since whoever does otherwise is to be punished with eternal torment. But before everything else, I truly marvel at your folly, in that you hoped ^C to win over a wise man to your own opinion, and an old man at that. But you shall not attain your designs, especially when I am present to refute your false arguments. For perhaps, had I not been present, the wise old man might have been deceived, being ignorant of the books that are publicly accepted among the Jews. And now I will refrain from many words, so that I may the more quickly refute your promise. Therefore, begin to speak what you promised before us who are skilled in the Scriptures. But if, fearing to be refuted before us, you wish to omit the promise, even so there will be sufficient proof that you are deceiving, since you have not dared to speak before men who are learned in the Scriptures. And indeed, why do I now wait for you to speak, when I have the elder standing by as the greatest witness of your promise?" And having said these words, ^D he looked at his father and said: "Tell me, most esteemed of men, did this man not promise you to show today that there is one God, and that it is not right to call or consider any other as God, and that he who does otherwise, as having committed the greatest sin, is to be punished with eternal torment? Or do you not answer me?"

III. And the father said: "It is right that I should give my testimony..."

^A from me, Simon, if Peter had denied it before. But now I shall not fear to speak what needs to be said. I think that you wish to enter this discussion inflamed by anger, which is inappropriate for you to do, and for us to listen, for it is to witness a battle, not to be benefited towards the truth. And now, out of Greek learning, I shall give you advice, as it is fitting for those who are searching to do. Let each of you set forth his own doctrine, and let the arguments be made alternately. But if Peter alone sets forth his opinion, and you suppress yours, it is possible that some argument brought forward by you might suppress both your opinion and his, and since you both have been defeated by the argument, it might not appear that you have been defeated; but the one who set forth his opinion appears to be defeated, while the other, who did not set it forth, might not appear likewise to be defeated, ^B but rather might be thought to have been victorious." And Simon answered: "I shall do as you say, but I am afraid that, having already been preoccupied by his words, you will not be a judge who is a lover of truth." IV. And the father answered: "Do not force me to agree with you rashly and without a hearing, so that I may appear a judge who loves the truth; but if you wish to hear the truth, I am rather preoccupied by your opinion." And Simon: "How are you preoccupied, not knowing what I think?" And the father: "It is easy to know that; and how, listen. You promised that Peter, who asserts that one God exists, would be convicted of falsehood by you. But one who promises that he will refute the assertor of one God for falsehood does not affirm the same thing as one who is speaking most evidently the truth. For if he said the same as the one who speaks falsehood, he himself also would be a liar; but if he shows that he is saying the contrary, ^C then he is speaking the truth. Therefore, you do not call the one who says there is one God a liar for any other reason than that you think there are many gods. But I also say that there are many gods. Therefore, by saying the same thing as you before the investigation, I am rather preoccupied on your behalf. Wherefore you ought not to be anxious about me, but rather about Peter, because I still think the contrary to what he thinks. Therefore, after your dispute, I hope that, as a judge studious of truth, having put aside preconception, I shall agree with the prevailing argument." When the father had said these things, a quiet clamor of applause arose from the crowd because the father had spoken in this way. V. And nevertheless Peter said: "I, as the ^D arbiter of the arguments has declared, am prepared to act; and now, without any delay, I shall set forth my opinion concerning God. I assert that one God exists, the creator of heaven and earth and all things contained in them. And it is not permitted either to speak of or to imagine another." Then Simon: "But I," he said, "affirm that the Scriptures believed among the Jews speak of many gods, and not to be angry about this

regarding God, since He Himself through His Scriptures has spoken of many gods. ^A

VI. Immediatly, therefore, in the very first pronouncement of the Law, He is seen declaring them to be like unto Himself. For so it is written: when the first man had a commandment from God to eat from every tree in paradise, but not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the serpent, through the woman, persuaded them to eat, promising them deity; and after they looked, God said to them: "Behold, Adam has become as one of us." The serpent, then, by saying, "You shall be as gods," appears to have spoken as if gods existed; and God gave testimony to this all the more by saying: "Behold, Adam has become as one of us." Thus, the serpent who said there are many gods did not lie. ^B Furthermore, by that which is written: "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor speak evil of the rulers of thy people," He signifies many gods, whom He does not even wish to be spoken ill of. But it is also written elsewhere: "If a God has dared to enter in and take for Himself a nation from the midst of a nation, as I, the Lord God." By saying "if another God has dared," He speaks as if there are others. And at another time: "Let the gods, who have not made heaven and earth, perish," as if those who have made them are not to perish. And in another place He says: "Take heed to thyself, that thou do not go and serve other gods, whom thy fathers knew not," speaking as if there are other gods whom they ought not to follow. And again: "The names of other gods shall not go up upon thy lips." Here, too, He speaks of many gods, whose names He does not wish to be mentioned. And again it is written: "The Lord thy God, He is the God of gods." And again: "Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods?" And again: "The Lord is the God of gods." And again: "God stood in the congregation of the gods, and in the midst He judges the gods." ^C Whence I wonder by what reasoning, when so many voices of the Scriptures testify that there are many gods, you have asserted that one ought neither to speak of them nor to imagine that they exist. As for the rest, if you have anything to say against these clearly stated words, declare it before all."

VII. Peter answered: "Hear more briefly in reply to what you have objected. The same Law which often names gods, it itself says to the Jewish people: 'Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord thy God, and all things that are in them,' ^D including that, even if there are gods, they are under Him, that is, under the God of the Jews. And again: 'For the Lord thy God, He is God in heaven above and on the earth'

another passage says to another of the Jews: 'The Lord thy God, this is God of gods,' ^A just as if to say that even if there are gods, they are under the God of the Jews. And in another place the Scripture says regarding Him: 'The God, the great and true, who does not accept a face, nor indeed accept a gift, executing judgment for the orphan and widow.' And by naming the God of the Jews great and true and the one who executes judgment, the Scripture indicated the others were small and not true. But in another place, the Scripture says: 'I live, says the Lord, there is no other God except me. I am first, I am hereafter, and except for me there is no God.' And again: 'You shall fear the Lord thy God, and Him alone you shall serve.' And again: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.' And yet so many voices seal with an oath that God is one, and apart from Him there is no God. Whence I wonder, seeing so many passages testify that God is one, how you can affirm that there are many. ^B

VIII. And Simon said: The argument from the beginning for me with you was to convict you from the Scriptures, since you falsely say that one ought not to utter the word 'gods.' Whence I showed many written passages, in that the divine Scriptures themselves speak of many gods. Then Peter: These same Scriptures which speak of many gods have themselves warned us, saying: 'The names of other gods shall not ascend upon your lips.' Thus, I did not speak contrary to what is written, O Simon. And Simon: Hear this also, you, O Peter. You seem to me to do wrong, since you disparage them, when the Scripture says: '(Gods) you shall not revile, and the rulers of your people you shall not speak ill of.' And Peter: I do not do wrong, Simon; I follow the Scriptures in prefiguring their destruction, ^C for so it is written: 'The gods who did not make the heaven and the earth, let them perish,' and by saying this, he did not say it as though some gods had made them and were not perishing, as you have interpreted. For one is declared to be the Creator by the fact that it is written from the beginning: 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.' And he did not say: 'The gods.' And in another place it says: 'And the firmament announces the work of His hands.' And in another place it is written: 'The heavens themselves shall perish, but You shall remain forever.'

IX. And Simon said: Regarding the fact that I showed there are many gods from the Scriptures, whose manifest words I exhibited, you in turn have brought forward as many or even more testimonies from the same Scriptures, proving that there is one God, ^D and that He is of the Jews. And regarding my saying: It is not fitting

^A to speak evil of gods, you added this to demonstrate that there is one who has created, and that those who have not created are destined to perish. But when I said that one must speak of gods since the Scriptures themselves mention them, you also demonstrated besides this that one must not pronounce their names, because the same Scripture says, "Do not pronounce the names of other gods." Since, therefore, the Scriptures themselves say that there are many gods, and at other times that there is only one, and at one time that we should not speak evil of them, and at another that we should, what must we conclude from this, unless the Scriptures themselves are deceiving us?

X. Peter replied: They do not deceive, but they refute, and they bring into the open the evil disposition that lies hidden in each person like a serpent against God. For they lie before us in many and varied types. Everyone, therefore, possessing a disposition similar to wax, while examining the Scriptures and finding everything in them, impresses upon them whatever kind of God he wishes to exist—that disposition, as I said, ^B being like wax. Since, therefore, whatever anyone wishes to believe about God is encountered in the Scriptures, for this reason one person fashions from them the ideas of many gods, but we have expressed the form of the true God, recognizing the true model from our own form. But also our soul within, having been clothed with His image for immortality, is endowed with it. If I abandon its begetter, by a just judgment it also has the power to abandon me, signifying by the very act that I am unjust, and as coming from the Just One, it will justly abandon me; and thus, after the punishment, I will lose my soul, being deprived of the help that arises from Him. ^C But if there is another God, let him first put on another idea, another form, so that through the new form of the body I may recognize the new God. But if he changes the form, does he not also change the substance of the soul? But if he changes that too, I am no longer myself, having become another in both form and substance. Let him therefore create others, if he is someone else. But he is not. For if he were, he would have created. Since, therefore, he has not created, as one who does not exist, let him leave the truly Existent to the Existent. For there is no one else, except in the sole opinion of Simon. I do not accept another God, ^D except Him alone who created me.

XI. And Simon said: Since I see that you converse more frequently regarding the God who created you, learn from me how you are also impious toward Him. Two creators appear, as the Scripture says: "And God said, Let us make man according to our image and likeness" (a). "Let us make" signifies two, or more, certainly not one.

XII. And Peter responded: One is He who said to His own wisdom: "Let us make man." To this wisdom indeed,

^A as if to His own spirit, He ever rejoiced. It is united to God as the soul, but it is extended from Him like a hand, producing the whole. For this reason also one man was created, and from him the female sex proceeded. And though it is a unity in kind, it makes a duality. For by extension and contraction, the unity is considered to be a duality. Therefore, I rightly do well in offering all honor to the one God, just as to parents. Simon said: "But what if the Scriptures also speak of other gods, will you not accept them?"

XIII. Peter replied: If the Scriptures or the prophets speak of gods, they speak for the trial of those who hear. For it is thus written: "If there arise among you a prophet, giving signs and wonders, and that sign and wonder come to pass, and he says to you: Let us go and worship other gods, whom your fathers did not know, you shall not listen to that prophet: in the first place, let your ^B hands be [upon him] to stone him. For he has tempted you to turn away from the Lord your God." But if you should say in your heart: "How did he perform that sign or wonder?" knowing you shall know that he who tempts is tempting to see if you fear the Lord your God. And indeed, because the tempter tempted, it is said; but it appears otherwise after the migration to Babylon. For God, who knows all things, as can be shown from many examples, would not have tempted [in order] to know, He who foreknows all things. But if you wish, we shall hold a discourse on this matter, and I will demonstrate that God is omniscient. That He should be ignorant, however, is false, and this too is shown to have been written for the sake of trial. Thus we, Simon, ^C are neither able to suffer scandal from the Scriptures nor from any other, nor are we led by fraud to admit many gods, nor do we assent to any speech uttered against God.

XIV. For we ourselves also know that angels have been called gods by the Scriptures. I speak, for example, of Him who spoke in the bush, and of Him who wrestled with Jacob, likewise of Him who is born as Emmanuel, and who was called the mighty God. But also, Moses was made a god to Pharaoh, yet in reality he was a man. And furthermore, the idols of the nations. But to us there is one God, the one author and adorner of all creatures; whose Son is Christ, by believing in whom we recognize the falsehoods in the Scriptures. And furthermore, instructed by the fathers concerning those things which are true in the Scriptures, we know one only, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the God of the Jews and of all.

^A And those who have chosen to worship Him, our ancestors, by a pious consideration, have prescribed and handed down to us as true, so that we may know that if anything is spoken against God, it is a falsehood. But I will say something even beyond measure: if this is not as I have said, may it happen to me, and to those who love the truth, that we incur danger regarding the glorification of the God who has created us.

XV. Having heard this, Simon said: Since you say that one ought not to believe a prophet who gives signs and wonders but proclaims another god, while knowing that he deserves death, it follows that your Master, who gave signs and wonders, has rightly been put to death. ^B And Peter answered: Our Lord neither declared that there were gods other than the Creator of all things, nor did He proclaim Himself to be God, but He rightly pronounced him blessed who had called Him the Son of God who set all things in order. And Simon replied: Does it not seem to you, then, that he who is from God is God? And Peter said: Tell us, how can this be? This, indeed, we cannot tell you, because we have not heard it from Him.

XVI. ^C In addition to these things, it is of the Father not to have been generated, but of the Son to have been generated; and the generated is not compared with the ungenerated or the self-generated. And Simon said: Even if it is not the same in generation, is it not the same being? And Peter said: He who is not in all things the same as someone, cannot have all the same appellations as him. And Simon: To say this is not to prove it. And Peter: Why do you not understand that the self-generated or ungenerated, and the generated, cannot be called that same thing, nor, even if the generated is of the same substance as the one who generated it, can they be called the same? But learn also this: The bodies of men have immortal souls, clothed with the breath of God, and those that have proceeded from God are indeed of the same substance, yet they are not gods. But if they are gods, then by this reasoning the souls of all men are gods.

But if, out of a love for contention, you say to me that these also are gods, what great thing will it be for Christ to be called God? For He will possess only that which all also possess.

XVII. We call God [only that] whose property it is not to be able to belong to another. For just as He who is infinite on all sides is for this reason called immense, and because it is absolutely necessary that He be called immense—since it is impossible for another to exist as infinite as He—(if, however, any one were to say this is possible, he errs; for two infinite things cannot exist simultaneously on all sides, since the one would be bounded by the other), so it is of the nature of things that there be one Unbegotten. And if He exists in a figure, in this respect also He is one and incomparable. For this reason ^B He is also called the Most High, because, being superior to all things, He has all things subject to Him.

XVIII. And Simon said: Is not that ineffable name of His, *God*, which all men name; and do you dispute so much about the name, lest it be given to another? Peter replied: I know that this is not His ineffable name (50*), but one spoken by the agreement of men, which, if you give it to another, you could also bestow that which is not spoken upon another, and that indeed by the exercise of the will. The name that is spoken precedes that which is as yet silent. In this way, an insult [offered to the known] redounds also to that which has not yet been uttered, just as honor [shown] to the known is referred to that which is as yet unknown.

XIX. And Simon said: I would like to know, Peter, if you truly believe that the form of man has been fashioned after the form of God. And Peter said: Truly, Simon, I am fully persuaded that it is so. And Simon: How can death dissolve a body fashioned with so great a seal? Then Peter: It is the form of the just God. When, therefore, it begins to act iniquitously, the inborn image flees, and thus the body is dissolved, so that the form may no longer appear, lest the form of the just God be held by an unjust body. However, the dissolution does not take place with regard to the seal, but with regard to the body that was sealed. Furthermore, without Him who sealed, that which is sealed is not dissolved. ^C Thus, apart from judgment, it is not even permitted to die. And Simon: What necessity was there, then, to bestow the form of God upon man who was raised from the earth? And Peter: It happened because of the philanthropy of the God who created him. For since, by the principle of essence, all things are superior to human flesh—I say, indeed, the ether, the sun, the moon, the stars, the air, the water, the fire, and ^D in a word all other things which were made for the service of man—though they are superior in substance, yet they gladly endure [to serve] him who is interior in substance

because of the form of the Greater One. For just as those who honor a clay statue of the emperor have the honor referred to him whose form the clay happens to possess, so too does the entire creation gladly serve man, who was made from the earth, looking toward the honor of him [whose form he bears].

XX.

XXI.

their beginning, will cooperate to bring forth the same things against God along with Simon. ^A And saying these things with tears, he called the crowd with his hand; and when they had approached, he laid his hands upon them and prayed, and thus dismissed them, admonishing them to assemble earlier. Saying this and sighing, he entered, and without taking food, he went to bed.

HOMILY XVII

I. On the following day, therefore, Peter, being about to dispute with Simon, awoke earlier and prayed. And as soon as he finished his prayer, Zacchaeus entered and said: "Simon is sitting outside with some of his own people, about thirty in number, discoursing." And Peter said: "Let him be allowed to speak until the multitude has gathered, and then let us begin to question, so that in this way, having heard what has been said by him, we may adapt ourselves to them, and having gone out, we may argue." And so it happened. Zacchaeus, therefore, having gone out and returned not long after, reported to Peter the words that Simon had spoken against him.

II. He said, moreover: "He accuses you, Peter, as being a minister of malice and very powerful in magic, and as one who bewitches the souls of men more terribly than idolatry does." ^B Indeed, he seemed to bring forward this argument to prove that you are a magician, saying: "I am conscious to myself that I do not remember a single word of those things that I pondered with myself when I was about to dispute with him. For when he himself is discoursing and I apply my mind to call to memory what those things are which I thought of while coming down to a colloquy with him, I hear nothing at all of the things he says. When, therefore, I suffer nothing of the kind with anyone else, but only with him, by what reasoning am I not bewitched by him?" That, moreover, what he teaches is worse than idolatry will be clear to one who has an understanding, after I have pointed it out. For there is no other utility ^C than that the soul should be rendered free from idols of every kind. For when it imagines an appearance, it is bound by fear, and believing that it suffers something, it grows weak and is alienated, or it is driven mad by a demon, and being seized by a demoniacal fury, it appears sober to the many.

III. Peter renders this to you by promising to make you wise. For under the pretext of one God, he seems indeed to free you from many soulless idols, which do not hurt their worshippers much, because they are seen by the very eyes to be of stone, or bronze, or gold, or of some other inanimate matter. Wherefore, when ^D the soul knows that what is seen is nothing, it is not able to be deceived by fear in the same way by an object of sight. But by a deceitful teaching...

while it looks toward a terrible God, it falls utterly away from those things which nature possesses. And I say this, not that I advise you to worship idols, but because Peter, while he seems to rescue your souls from formidable images, renders the mind of each one of you fanatical with a formidable idea, introducing God in a form, and as summatively just—an idea which is followed by terror, and the horror of the thinking soul, which has the power to dissolve even the vigor of right reason. For in such a storm the soul is constituted just as the sea is darkened by a violent wind and loses its brightness. Therefore, if he comes for your benefit, let him not, while he seems to dissolve the fears which have arisen gently from inanimate forms, introduce in their place a terrible form of God. But does God have a form? But if He has one, it consists in a figure. But if He consists in a figure, how is He not circumscribed? And being circumscribed, He exists in a place. ^A And being in a place, He is less than the place containing Him. But being less than something, how is He the greater or better or supreme over all? And these things, indeed, are so.

IV. That he does not truly believe even the things said by his Master is manifest. For he proclaims things contrary to Him. For when He said to someone, as I learn: "Do not call me good; for one is good," by saying "good," he no longer means Him who is the just one whom the Scriptures proclaim, who kills ^B and makes alive, killing indeed those who sin, but making alive those who live according to His will. That in truth he did not call the Creator good, is clear to one able to contemplate it. For the Creator having been known both to Adam who was formed by Him, and to Enoch who pleased Him, and to Noah who appeared just before Him, and likewise to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, but also to Moses and the people and the whole world, the master of Peter himself, Jesus, coming, said: "No one knows the Father, except the Son, just as no one knows the Son, except the Father, and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him." If, therefore, He who arrived was Himself the Son, after His ^C advent He revealed Him who was unknown to all to those whom He wished. And thus the Father was unknown to all before Him, and consequently He is not one known to all.

V. And saying this, Jesus does not even agree with Himself. For sometimes He commends a God to be feared and a just God with other voices of the Scriptures, saying: "Do not fear him who kills the body, but is not able to do anything to the soul; but fear Him who is able to cast both body and soul into the gehenna of fire. Truly I say ^D to you, fear Him." And that he is truly to be feared...

as a just God, to whom he says those who suffer injury cry out, he brings forward a parable to this effect, and subjoins the interpretation, saying: "If therefore the judge of iniquity acted thus, because he was very often entreated, how much more will the Father perform the vindication of those crying to Him day and night? Or do you think that because He is patient toward them, He will not act? Truly, I say to you, He will act, and quickly." But he who calls the God who vindicates and rewards a just God, establishes Him as such by nature, and not as good. Moreover, he confesses Him as Lord of heaven and earth. But if He is Lord of heaven and earth, He is acknowledged as Creator; and he who is Creator is just. By calling Him sometimes good, and sometimes just, he does not even thus agree with himself. A third point which his wise disciple was asserting yesterday—that the operation of a vision is of more value—is that of one ignorant that sensible evidence can be human, while a vision ^B is acknowledged to be of the Godhead.

VI. "These things and the like to these, Peter, Simon, while standing outside and discoursing to the multitudes, seems to me to be unsettling the greater part of them. Therefore go out at once, and by the power of truth dissolve his false discourses." When Zacchæus had said these things, Peter, after praying as was his custom, went out, and having stood in the same place where he had stood the day before, and having greeted the people according to the custom of piety, he began to speak as follows: "Our Lord Jesus Christ, as the true Prophet (as in due time I shall bring forward proofs concerning this also), used to deliver short sayings concerning those things which pertain to truth, ^C for these two reasons: first, because He was speaking to pious men who knew how to believe what was uttered by His sentence, for those things which were being said were not foreign to their custom. Second, because, having a fixed time for preaching, He did not use the method of demonstration, so that He might not spend all the time of the appointment on discourses, and so it happen that while being occupied in the interpretations of a few words—which could be understood with labor of soul—He might not much advance the doctrine of truth. Therefore, He would announce those things of which He wished, so that to the people who were able to understand—of whom we also are, who when (which rarely happened) we did not grasp what was said by Him, we would inquire separately, so that nothing of those things which He said might be obscure to us.

VII. "Knowing, therefore, that we understood all things which were put forth by Him, and were able to give the demonstrations, when He sent us to the ignorant nations, to baptize them ^D into the remission of sins, He commanded us first to teach them..."

^A to fear the Lord God and to worship Him alone. And He said that He ought to be feared whose angels, who are of the least among us faithful, stand in heaven, always beholding the face of the Father. For He has a form, by reason of the first and only beauty, and all [its] members, not for use: for it is not on that account that He has eyes, so that He might see from there, for He sees from every side, His body being incomparably brighter than the visual spirit in us, and more radiant than all light, so that, by comparison with it, the light of the sun is reckoned as darkness. But neither does He have ears on that account, so that He might hear, for He hears from every side, understands, moves, acts, and creates. But He has the most beautiful form for the sake of man, so that those who are pure in heart may be able to see Him, that they may rejoice for the sake of those things for which they endured these things. For in His own form, as in a most great seal, He impressed man, so that he might rule and be lord over all, and all things might serve him. Therefore, judging Him to be the whole, and man His image—He being Himself invisible, but His image, man, visible—he who wishes to worship Him honors His visible image, which is man. Whatever, therefore, any one does to man, whether good or evil, it is referred to Him. For this reason, His judgment also ^B will go forth, distributing to each according to their desert. For He avenges His own form.

VIII. But someone will say: If He has a form, He also has a figure, and is in a place; and being in a place, and contained by it as if inferior, how is He great above all things? And how can He also ^C be everywhere, while being in a figure? To one who raises these objections, it must first be said: The Scriptures persuade us to think and believe such things concerning Him; but we know the true meanings of these things, to which our Lord Jesus Christ has borne witness, on account of whose ^D

^A necessity it is incumbent upon us to demonstrate to you that it is so.

And first, I shall speak concerning place. Now the place of God is that which does not exist, but God is that which exists; and that which does not exist is not compared with that which exists. For how can place, being [a thing], exist? Unless it were a second space, such as heaven, earth, water, air, or if there is any other body which itself fills the void, which for this reason is called void: because it is nothing. For this, "nothing," is a name more proper to it. For that which is called a void is, as it were, a vessel that contains nothing, except the vessel itself; but the void, for it is not itself a place, but that in which the void itself exists, if indeed it is a vessel. For it is absolutely necessary that what exists be in that which is nothing. Now this, that which does not exist, I call that which by some is ^B called a place, for it is nothing. But how can nothing be compared with what exists? Unless, perchance, in the contrary sense, that the existing thing should not be, but that which does not exist should be called a place. But if it even is something, since many examples hasten to come forth from me for proof, I wish to use but one, that I may show that the containing is not in every way better than the contained. The sun is a circular figure and is encompassed on all sides by air, yet it illuminates this, warms it, cuts through it; and if it is absent from it, the air is wrapped in darkness, and whatever part of it becomes deprived of it grows cold as if it were dying, but by its rising is again illuminated, and wherever it is warmed by it, it is adorned with greater beauty. And these things it does through the communication of itself, while having a circumscribed substance. What, therefore, still prevents God, as the creator and Lord of this and of all things, from existing in figure, form, and beauty, and yet having a participation in Himself extended to infinity? ^C

IX. There is, therefore, one God in truth, who presides in most excellent form, and is the heart of things above and below, existing twice [as] that which pours forth from Himself as from a center the vital and incorporeal power; and all things, together with the stars and regions of heaven, air, water, earth, fire, and if there is anything else, are shown to be a substance infinite in height, unbounded in depth, and immense in width, thrice-infinite in the ^D communication of His...

^A life-giving and intelligent nature. It is necessary, therefore, that this which is infinite from Him on all sides should be a heart, having in its form Him who truly surpasses all things, who, wherever He may be, is as it were the center in the infinite, being the boundary of the whole. Therefore, the extensions starting from Him have their nature from those things that are boundless. Of these, one taking its beginning from Him reaches up to the height, another down into the depth, another to the right, another to the left, another to the front, and another to the back; looking toward these as into a number equal on all sides, He completes the world by means of six intervals of time, being Himself the rest, and having the future infinite age as an image, being both beginning and end. For the six infinite things terminate in Him, and from Him they receive their extension into the infinite.

X. This is the mystery of the week.

XI. But certain ones, being aliens to the truth and allies to wickedness, under the pretext of praise say that God is without form, so that, being formless and without shape, He may be visible to no one, and thus not be an object of desire. For a mind that does not see the form of God is void of Him. And how does one even pray, not having one to whom he might flee, upon whom he might lean? For not having a resistance, he sinks into the void. "Indeed," he says, "one ought not to fear God, but to love Him." I also say so. But this a good conscience regarding each good work will provide. But to act well arises from fear. "But," he says, "fear strikes the soul with terror." On the contrary, I say, it does not strike with terror, but awakens ^D and converts. Perhaps it would be rightly said that one ought not—

^A to fear God, if we did not fear many other things: I refer to the traps set by our fellows, and furthermore wild beasts, serpents, diseases, passions, demons, and countless other things. Therefore, let him who demands that we should not fear God, deliver us from these, so that we might not fear them either. But if he cannot, why does he grudge us the ability, through one single fear—that toward what is just—to be delivered from ten thousand fears, and through a brief faith in Him, to be capable of removing ten thousand passions, both our own and those of others, while also receiving the reward of good things? And thus, by the fear of God who sees all, not doing anything evil, we may continue even in this present life in peace.

XII. Thus, a thankful servitude toward the true Master sets all others free. If, therefore, anyone can avoid sinning without fearing God, let him not fear. For it is permitted by love toward Him to abstain from what is displeasing to Him; and indeed, it is written that He is to be feared, and it is commanded that He is to be loved, ^B so that each person may make use of the remedy convenient to his own temperament. Fear Him, therefore, because He is just. Whether, then, you are fearing or loving, do not sin. And would that someone, by fearing, might be able to master unlawful pleasures, not desire what belongs to others, practice humanity, be temperate, and act justly. For I see that some who are imperfect in their fear of Him commit very many sins. Let us then fear God, and not only because He is just; for, feeling pity for those who have been wronged, He punishes those who have wronged them. As, therefore, water extinguishes fire, so also does fear destroy the desire for evils. He who teaches an absence of fear does not himself fear, and he who does not fear does not believe that there will be a judgment; he increases his desires, practices sorcery, and accuses others of the very things that he himself performs. ^C

XIII. Upon hearing these things, Simon interrupted and said: "I know to whom you are saying these things, but so that I do not spend the time meant for refuting you in saying the same things as you, when I do not wish to, answer regarding the points defined for us. You have boasted, and said that you understand the affairs of your Master abundantly, because you were present and saw and heard Him clearly, and that no one else can have anything similar through a spectrum or vision. But I will show that this is false. One who hears someone clearly is not persuaded in every respect about what is said; for his mind has the opportunity to think, 'Is he perhaps lying, being a man, just as he appears?' But a vision, as soon as it occurs, provides faith to the one who sees that it is a Divinity. Answer me first regarding this."

XIV. And Peter said: ^D "You proposed to say one thing, and you have spoken another. For you proposed [to argue] that it is possible for someone who hears to understand more and to arrive at a faith in the

^A truth of things if he hears by vision, rather than by evidence. But you were persuading us that the one who hears by vision is more secure than the one who hears by evidence. And for this reason you were saying that you know the things of Jesus more competently than I do, as having heard the word by vision of him. But I shall answer to that which was proposed from the beginning. A prophet, because he is a prophet, first giving assurance concerning the things he says clearly, is safely believed, having been foreknown to be true, and answers when examined and questioned as the learner desires. But he who believes in a vision or a dream or a nightmare is insecure. For he does not know in whom he believes. For it is possible that it is either an evil demon or a deceitful spirit, which in its speeches pretends to be what it is not. But if anyone should wish to inquire who the one who has appeared might be, it can say to him whatever it wishes. And thus, like an evil thing, having flashed and remained as long as it wishes, it is extinguished, not remaining with the one inquiring for as much questioning as he might wish. But through dreams, he who sees is not even able to inquire about what he wishes. For the thought of the sleeper is not under his own authority. Hence, therefore, we ourselves, being eager to learn many things when awake, inquire about other things in our dreams, or even without inquiring we hear things that do not concern us, and having awakened we are downcast that we neither heard nor examined what we were eager to learn. ^B

XV. And Simon said: "If you say that visions are not altogether true, yet surely the sights and dreams which are sent by God, concerning whatever He wishes to speak, are not false." And Peter said: "You have rightly said that those which are sent by God are not false. But it is unclear whether he who has seen has seen a dream sent by God." And Simon: "If the one who has seen is righteous, he has seen truly." And Peter: "You have said rightly. But who is righteous, if he stands in need of a vision, in order to learn what he must learn, and to do what he must do?" And Simon: "Grant me this, that the righteous man alone is able to see a true vision, and I will answer you on that point. For it is judged by me that an impious man does not see a true dream." And Peter: "This is false, and ^C concerning this I can demonstrate, both without Scripture and through Scripture, though I do not promise to persuade. For he who has inclined toward the love of a base woman does not transfer his own mind to another woman who is in every respect beautiful for a lawful marriage. Sometimes even those who are aware of a better [woman] choose the worse, having been already possessed. You yourself are suffering from some such thing and do not know it." And Simon said: "Setting these things aside, speak to what you promised. For it seems impossible to me that impious men could have dreams sent by God in any way."

XVI. And Peter said: "I am mindful of myself, as I promised to show, both without Scripture and through Scripture, ^D

and to offer the proof of this. Now listen to the one who is speaking: "We know many (if you are of a fair mind, since I have those standing by as judges) who are idolaters and adulterers and sinners in every respect, who see visions and true dreams, and some even see appearances of demons. For I do not say that the ^A incorporeal (54) form of the Father or the Son can be seen by the eyes of mortals, because it shines with the greatest light. Whence, that it is not seen by a man turned into flesh is not the act of a God who begrudges, but of one who shows mercy. For he who has seen it cannot live. For the superabundance of the light dissolves the flesh of the onlooker, unless by the ineffable power of God the flesh is turned into the nature of light, so that it may be able to see the light, or the substance of the light is turned into flesh, so that it may be able to be seen by flesh. For to see the Father without change belongs ^B to the Son alone. But not so for the just. For in the resurrection of the dead, when their bodies having been turned into light become like the angels, then will they be able to see. At any rate, even if any of the angels is sent to be seen by a man, he is turned into flesh, so that he may be able to be seen by flesh. For no one can see an incorporeal power, not only of the Son, but not even of an angel. But if anyone sees a vision, let him understand it to be from an evil demon."

XVII. That impious men see true visions and dreams

^A XVIII. Thus it was revealed to me also, by the Father, who the Son is. Wherefore I know what the power of revelation is, having learned it from myself. For at the very moment the Lord asked, "Who do they say that he is?" and I heard others answering that he was one thing or another, it ascended into my heart; nor do I know by what means I said, "You are the Son of the living God." But He, declaring me blessed, indicated that it was the Father who had revealed it to me, and from that time I learned that a revelation is when we are instructed without an instructor, without visions or dreams. And it is truly so. For in the heart which God has placed within us, all truth exists like a seed, but it is covered and revealed by the hand of God, who works and knows the merit of each individual. But to have something made known from the outside through visions and dreams appears to be not of revelation, but of wrath. Finally, it is written in the Law that God, being angry with Aaron and Miriam, said: "If there shall rise up a prophet from among you, I will make myself known to him in visions and dreams; but not so as to Moses my servant, for I will speak to him in appearance, and not in dreams, as if a man should speak to his friend" (b). You see how those things that come from wrath are through visions and dreams, but those that come to a friend are face to face, in appearance, and not through riddles, visions, and dreams, as it is to an enemy.

^B XIX. Therefore, if our Jesus appeared to you in a vision and spoke to you, having been seen as though angered by an adversary, it is for this reason that he spoke to you through visions and dreams, or even through external revelations. But can anyone be truly instructed by a vision for teaching? And if you say that it is possible, why did the Lord remain for an entire year speaking with those who were awake? And how are we to believe this very thing, that he appeared to you? And how could he have appeared to you, when you entertain opinions contrary to his teaching? But if, having been visited and instructed by him for a single hour, you were made an apostle, then preach his words, interpret his findings, love his apostles, and do not wage war against me, who have lived with him. For you have stood against me as an adversary, against me, the solid rock, the foundation of the Church (c). If you were not an adversary, you would not truly be slandering me and attacking my preaching with insults, in order that I, who recount what I heard while standing by the Lord, should not be believed, as if I were one condemned and not one who has been judged worthy. Or if you say I have been condemned, do you judge the God who revealed ^{C D}

if you accuse me, you accuse the God who revealed Christ to me, and you rail against him who pronounced me blessed because of that revelation. But if you truly desire to assist the truth, learn first from us what we have learned from him, and having become a disciple of the truth, become our fellow-worker. ^A

XX. Having heard this, Simon said: Far be it from me to become a disciple of either him or you. For I am not ignorant of what it is necessary to know; but I was asking as one who is about to learn, in order to see if you could show the power of a vision to be more evident. But you have spoken as you wished, and have not shown it. And now, coming tomorrow to the discourse about God, whom you affirm to be the Creator, I shall prove that he is not supreme and good, and I shall refute you by showing that your own Master said the same things as I do, but that you have not understood. And having said these things, he went out, not wishing to hear what he had proposed. ^B

HOMILY XVIII

I. In the morning, however, when Peter had come out to hold the discussion, Simon anticipating him, said: Yesterday, upon departing, I promised you that I would return today to debate and to show that the maker of the world is not the supreme God, but another, who, being alone good, is even until now unknown. Tell me then, do you say that the Creator is also a lawgiver, or not? If, therefore, he is a lawgiver, he is just; but being just, he is not good. And if he is not good, Jesus proclaimed another when he said: "Do not call me good. For one is good, the Father who dwells in the heavens" (a). ^C It is not consistent for a lawgiver to be both just and good. Peter said: First tell us, in what actions you think the good man is good, and in what actions the just man is just, so that we may thus direct our words to the point. And Simon said: Do you first speak, what you think is good, or indeed what is just.

II. And Peter said: So that I may not spend time disputing contentiously, while justly demanding that you respond to my propositions, I shall provide answers to the questions myself, as it seems best to you. I say that he is good who is a giver, just as I see the Creator doing, who provides the sun to good and evil, and rain to the just and the unjust (b). And Simon said: This is most unjust, that he provides the same things to the just and the unjust. ^D And Peter said: Do you then tell us, from now on, how he would have to act in order to be good. Simon said: It is for you to speak. And Peter said: I shall speak. For if he provides the same things to the good and the just and, furthermore, to the evil and the unjust, and according to you he is not just, then you,

(a) Matt. xix, 17. (b) Matt. v, 45.

if he provided good things to the good and evil things to the evil, would reasonably call him just. By what action then would he be acting, if he were not using this way, by providing temporary things to the evil, in case they should change, and eternal things to the good, if they persevere? And thus, while providing to all, he bestows on various people: his justice is good, and it is the more magnanimous in this, if he forgives sins to those sinners who repent, and appoints eternal life for those who have acted well. ^B Being judge in the end, and distributing to each according to their desert, he is just. If therefore these things are rightly so, acknowledge it; but if it does not seem to you to be rightly so, refute it.

III. And Simon said: "I have said once: every legislator, looking toward justice, is just." And Peter: "If it is the mark of the good not to make a law, but of the just to make one, then in this way the Creator is both good and just. Good, indeed, because from the times of Adam until Moses he is not seen to have enacted the law in writing; but from Moses until the present times, as it is written, he is just." ^C And Simon: "From the words of your teacher show that it belongs to the same one to be good and just. For to me it seems impossible that the legislator who is good should be the same as being just." And Peter: "That the good is itself also just, listen. Our Teacher, to the Pharisee asking: 'What shall I do to inherit eternal life?' first said: 'Do not call me good; for one is good, the Father who is in the heavens'; and immediately added these words: 'But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.' (b) And when he said: 'Which?' he directed him to the commandments of the law. ^D He certainly would not have directed him to the commandments of the just one if he were signaling some other as good. That the just is one thing and the good another, I also acknowledge; but that it belongs to the same one to be good and just, you are ignorant. For he is good, while being patient with those who repent and receiving them now, but he is just when, judging, he distributes to each according to their merit."

IV. And Simon said: "How then, since the Creator is known—the one who also formed Adam and is known to those living as just under the law, and furthermore to the just and to the whole world—does your Teacher, who has come after all those, say: 'No one knows the Father except the Son, just as no one knows the Son except the Father, and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him?' (c) These things he would not have said, if he had not announced a certain Father existing in secrets, whom the law also calls the Most High, from whom neither good nor evil voice is heard (d)."

(a) Luc. xviii, 18. (b) Matth. xix, 17. (c) Matth. xi, 27. (d) Thren. iii, 38.

[Note: The English translation so far ends here. Continuing:]

^A ...a voice was heard (as Jeremiah also testifies in the Lamentations), who, according to the number of the sons of Israel when they entered Egypt, which is seventy, and having marked out the boundaries of the nations by seventy languages, gave the Hebrews as a portion to his own Son, who is also called Lord, and who fashioned the heaven and the earth, and defined him to be the God of gods; but I speak of gods, who have received the other portions of the nations. Laws, therefore, proceeded from all those said gods to their own portions, which are the remaining nations. In like manner also, from the Son, the Lord of all, the law placed among the Hebrews proceeded. And this was determined to be so, that if any one should flee to the law of anyone, he might belong to the portion of him whose law he undertook to keep. No one knew the Father who is in the ^B secret places to be the Most High, just as no one knew his Son as being the Son. Immediately, therefore, you, while attributing the things of the unknown Most High to the Son, do not know that he is the Son, who is the Father of Jesus, who is called among you the Christ.

V. When Simon had said these things, Peter said to him: Can you testify about him, that you so believe, not in him whom you now speak of as being in secret places, but in him whom you believe in and do not confess? For you talk nonsense, determining one thing in place of another. Wherefore if you testify that you believe these things which you speak, I will answer you. But if you stand arguing with me about things you do not believe, you compel me to beat the air. And Simon said: I heard from one of your disciples that these things were so determined. Peter took him up: Do not testify falsely. Simon replied: Do not cast reproaches at me, you most forward man. Then Peter: Until ^C you name the one who said it, you are a liar. And Simon: Take it that I invented these things, or that I heard them from another; answer me regarding them. For if they cannot be refuted, I have learned that this is the truth. And Peter: If it is a human fabrication, I do not answer to it; but if you are convinced by one's account of it as being true, confess this very thing to me, and I too have something to say regarding it. And Simon: I perceive that this is once for all the case. If you have anything to say to this, answer.

VI. And Peter said: If this is so, you are most impious. For if it belongs to the Son, the creator of heaven and earth, to reveal to whom he wills the Father who is hidden in mysteries, you, as I said, are most impious, revealing to those to whom he did not reveal. And Simon: But he himself wills that I should reveal it. And Peter: You do not understand what I say, Simon. However, listen and understand. By saying, "To whomsoever the Son wills he will reveal," he does not mean to say that one learns this by some teaching, but by revelation alone. Revelation is that which is hidden and lay secretly in the hearts of all men, being revealed by his will without a voice ^A. And thus it happens that one knows, not by having been taught, but by having understood. To the one, however, who understands, it is not permitted to demonstrate this to another, since he himself was not taught, nor is he able to reveal it, because he is not himself the Son, unless he were to say that he himself is the Son. But you are not the standing Son. For if you were the Son, you would certainly know those who are worthy of such a revelation. But you do not know. For if you understood, you would do the things that those who understand do ^B.

VII. And Simon said: I confess, I did not understand how you mean, "you would do the things that those who understand do." And Peter: If you did not understand, you cannot even know the mind of each one, and if you are ignorant, you do not even know who are worthy of the revelation, and if you do not know, you are not the Son. But the Son knows; wherefore he reveals to whom he wills, as to those who are worthy. And Simon said: Do not be deceived, I know who are worthy, and I am not the Son. Yet I did not understand what this "to whom he wills he reveals" means, as you say; and I said that I did not understand, not as if I were ignorant, but as one who knows that those standing by did not understand, so that you might speak it more clearly, in order that they may perceive the reasons for which we are holding this discussion ^C. And Peter: I cannot speak it more clearly; do you yourself speak it as you have understood it. And Simon: I have no necessity to speak your words. And Peter: You seem to me, Simon, not to understand it, and to be unwilling to confess it, lest you be caught in ignorance and be refuted as not being the standing Son. For you hint at this, even if you are unwilling to say it clearly; so that I, being a disciple of the true prophet, and not a prophet, understand your thoughts from those things which you hint at. But you, not understanding even those things that are clearly said, wish to call yourself the Son, resisting us. And Simon: I will take away every pretext of yours: I confess, I did not understand what this is, "and to whomsoever the Son wills he reveals." Speak it, therefore, more clearly. And Peter: Since you have confessed, even if hypocritically ^D, that you did not understand that which I am asking you,

^A answer me, and you shall learn. Tell me: do you say the Son, whoever he may be, is just or not? And Simon said: Most just. And Peter: But being just, why does he not reveal to all, but to whom he wills? And Simon: Because, being just, he wills to reveal to the worthy. And Peter: Is it not then necessary for him to know the mind of each one, so that he may reveal it to the worthy? And Simon: It is necessary that it be so. And Peter: Therefore, he alone was rightly appointed to reveal, as he alone knows the mind of each one, and not you, who cannot even understand the things being said by us.

IX. When Peter said this, there was applause from the crowds; but Simon, having been caught in a blunder, blushed for shame, and rubbing his brow, said: "Now they say I, a magician, have been not only defeated by Peter, but also overwhelmed by his arguments. But it is not permitted that if anyone is pressed by reasonings, he has therefore been carried away and the truth in him has been defeated. For the weakness of an advocate is not the truth of the one who is defeated. ^B Nevertheless, I tell you that I judged all those standing by to be worthy to know the Father in secret. Wherefore, when I reveal Him to them publicly, you yourself, out of envy, are angry at me for wishing to confer a benefit upon them."

X. And Peter said: "Since you spoke thus to please the crowds present, I will speak not to please, but truthfully. Tell me, how do you know that all those present are worthy, since not even one of them gave assent to you when you were indicating it? For the fact that they applauded me against you is not because they were in agreement with you, but with me, to whom they also accorded the praise as one who had spoken correctly. But because God, being just, judges the mind of each one—which you said is true—He did not wish for this to be given to the right hand by the left, for the reason that whoever receives something from a thief is himself also guilty. Therefore, for this reason, He did not wish them to receive what was being offered by you, but through the Son, who has been appointed to reveal. For to whom is it fitting to reveal the Father, except to the Son alone, because He detects who is worthy of such a revelation? ^C Thus, this is not something to be taught or learned, but to be revealed by an ineffable hand to him who is worthy to know it."

XI. And Simon said: "It contributes much to victory for one who is waging war to use his own weapons. For what a man loves, he can also defend sincerely: and what is defended sincerely possesses no ordinary power. Therefore, I will now set forth what I truly think. I say there is a certain power in secret, unknown to all, ^D even to the Maker of the world himself, just as even Jesus himself said, not knowing what he was uttering. For sometimes, out of much talking, one hits the mark of truth, not knowing what he says. I understand this also concerning that which he pronounced: 'No one has known the Father.' And Peter: In that you know his...

^A profession, you claim to know his doctrine. Now Simon: I do not profess to believe his doctrine, but I argue with you concerning the things that have fallen to his lot. And Peter: That I may not give you a pretext for flight, I will inquire of you as you wish. However, I call all to witness that even now you do not believe the word you spoke. For I know what you think. And that you may not think I am lying, I will reveal your own things to you, so that you may know that you are arguing with one who knows.

XII. We, O Simon, do not say that from the great Power, and that which is also called the mistress, two angels were sent, the one to create the world, and the other to give the law; nor that each of them, coming to that which he made, announced himself as if he were the author; nor that he who stands is about to stand as an adversary. Learn how you are an unbeliever, and concerning this hypothesis. The virtue which you say is in the arcana is full of ignorance. For it did not foreknow the ingratitude of the angels sent by it. And Simon, as Peter said this, being greatly angered, interrupted the speaker, saying: Why do you blather, O rash one and most forward of all, and before a teachable crowd you rashly lay bare the arcana? And Peter: Why do you begrudge the present hearers this benefit? And Simon: Therefore you confess that such knowledge is a benefit? And Peter: I confess it. For a falsehood, when known, is a benefit, so that we may not fall into the cause of ignorance. And Simon: You seem to me unable to answer that which I proposed to you. I state, however, that your Master also says that there is a certain Father in the arcana. ^B

XIII. And Peter said: I will answer what you wish concerning: 'No one has known the Father except the Son, nor does anyone know the Son except the Father, and those to whom the Son is willing to reveal him.' First, I wonder how, when this saying has ten thousand interpretations, you chose the more dangerous part, saying that the word was spoken concerning the ignorance of the Creator and all things under him. For, in the first place, the word can be spoken ^C to all the Jews, who thought David was the father of Christ, and considered Christ himself to be his son, and had not recognized the Son of God. Therefore it is aptly said: 'No one has known the Father,' because instead of God they all spoke of David; and that it adds, 'nor does anyone know the Son,' it is said because they did not know that he was the Son; and that it says, 'to whom the Son is willing to reveal,' is correctly said; for he who is from the beginning is the only one determined to reveal to whom he wishes. And thus Adam, the first-created, cannot have been ignorant of him, nor Enoch, who was pleasing to God, have not known ^D

^A him, nor Noah the just not have understood, nor Abraham the friend not have perceived, nor Isaac not have understood, nor Jacob who wrestled not have believed, and that it was not revealed to all those in the people who were worthy.

XIV. But if, as you say, he is now to be revealed through Jesus to all for them to know, how can you not say it is most unjust that those who were the seven pillars of the world, and were able to be pleasing to the most just God, did not know, and yet now so many impious ones from the nations have come to know everything? Were they, who were more excellent than all men, not deemed worthy to know? And how is that good, which is not just? Unless you wish to call him good who does not reward those who act justly with benefits, but who loves the unjust, even if they do not believe, to the point of revealing to them things hidden, which he did not wish to ^B reveal to the just. For such conduct befits neither a good nor a just being, but one who hates the pious. Are you, Simon, the "Standing One," who dare to utter things that were never before spoken in this way?

XV. And Simon, indignant at this, said: "Blame your own Master, who said: 'I confess to you, Lord of heaven and earth, that what was hidden from the wise, you have revealed to nursing infants' (a)." And Peter said: "The words were not indeed spoken in that way, as you say; yet I will speak first as if they were spoken as you think. Our Lord, even if he had said: 'What was hidden from the wise, those things the Father has revealed to infants,' he would not even so be understood to signify another God and Father besides the Creator of the world. For it is possible for the secrets of the Creator himself to be what he signifies, since ^C even Isaiah says: 'I will open my mouth in parables, and I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world' (b)." Do you then confess the prophet, who was not ignorant of the things which Jesus asserts were hidden from the wise, but revealed to infants? How then was the Creator ignorant, when his own prophet, Isaiah, was not ignorant? But our Jesus in truth did not say: 'What was hidden,' but, as it seems, he spoke more harshly; for he said: 'You have hidden these things from the wise, and revealed them to nursing infants' (c). He says: 'You have hidden,' as if they had once been known to them. For with them rested the key to the kingdom of heaven, that is, the knowledge of the mysteries.

(a) Matth. xi, 25. (b) Psal. lxxvii, 2; Matth. xiii, 35. (c) Matth. xi, 25; Luc. x, 21.

VARIOUS NOTES

XVI. ^A And do not say: "He acted impiously against the wise by hiding these things from them." Far be it to suppose this. For He did not act impiously, but because they used to hide the knowledge of the Kingdom, and neither entered themselves nor allowed those who wished to enter, for this reason, justly, even as they themselves hid the ways from those who desired them, so also were the mysteries hidden from them, so that, as they did, it might in turn happen to them, and with what measure they measured, it should be measured back to them. For to those worthy of knowing, what they do not know is owed; but from the unworthy, even if they seem to have something, it is taken away, even if they are wise in other matters, and it is given to the worthy, even if they be infants at the time of their learning.

XVII. ^B But if anyone says: "There was nothing hidden from the sons of Israel, because it is written: *Nothing escaped you, Israel, nor should you say, Jacob, the way is hidden from me*," he ought to understand that things pertaining to the Kingdom had been hidden from them, but the way that leads into the Kingdom—which is the manner of life—had not been hidden. For this reason He says: *Nor should you say that the way is hidden from me.* Now the way is the manner of life, to which Moses also said: *Behold, I have set before your face the way of life and the way of death.* And the Master said with one voice: *Enter through the narrow and constricted way, by which you shall enter into life.* And elsewhere, when someone asked: *What shall I do to inherit eternal life?* He pointed out the commandments of the Law.

XVIII. ^C But because Isaiah said in the person of God: *But Israel did not know me, and the people did not understand me*, it does not follow from this that Isaiah meant a God other than the known Creator; rather, he called the known God "unknown" in another cryptic sense—because the people, being ignorant of the just disposition of the known God, had sinned, and did not suppose that they would be judged by the good God. Therefore, after saying: *But Israel did not know me, and the people did not understand me*, he adds: *Woe to a sinful nation, a people full of sins.* For, as I said, because of their ignorance of His justice, not fearing Him, they became full of sins, having supposed the good God alone to be such that He would not visit their sins upon them.

XIX. ^D And some indeed sinned in this way, from the opinion that there would be no judgment on account of the kindness of God. Others, however, from the

^A opinion of the contrary, took the wicked and false voices in the Scriptures against God to be true, and thus did not know his true divinity and power. Therefore, considering him as one who is ignorant, who rejoices in slaughter, who dismisses the wicked for the gifts of sacrifices, and further as one who deceives, lies, and does all things unjustly, they themselves, as though imitating God, thought that in sinning they were acting piously. Wherefore they remained immutable for the better, and, even when admonished, they were not converted. For they did not fear, since they imagined themselves to be like God through such deeds.

XX. Furthermore, against those who think God to be such, one might rightly say it has been stated: *No one knows the Father, except the Son, just as no one knows the Son, except the Father*. And with good reason. For if they had known, they would never have sinned by believing in books truly written against God for the purpose of temptation. But he says also in another place, wishing to show them more clearly the cause of their error: *Therefore you err, not knowing the true [things] of the Scriptures, on account of which you are ignorant also of the power of God*. ^B Wherefore it behooves every man who desires to be saved to become, as the Master said, a judge of books written for temptation. For thus he spoke: *Become approved money-changers*. Now, there is need of money-changers, because counterfeit things are mixed among the genuine.

XXI. Having said these things, Peter—Simon, feigning to be struck by the discourse concerning the Scriptures, said as though astonished: "Far be it from me and from my friends to listen to your words. And so long as I did not know that you held these views about the Scriptures, I endured and conversed, but now I depart." "Yet it would have behooved me to withdraw from the beginning, since I heard you say: 'I believe nothing that anyone says against the Creator of the world, neither to angels, nor to prophets, nor to Scriptures, nor to priests, nor to teachers, nor to any other, even if one should perform signs and wonders, even if he should shine forth clearly in the air, or reveal [things] through visions or dreams.' ^C Who then is able to persuade you, whether for better or worse, to think anything other than what seems right to you, seeing that you remain so strongly and immovably in your own judgment?"

XXII. And Peter said to Simon, who was saying these things and preparing to depart: "Hear this from me still, and then go where you wish." And Simon having turned and remained, Peter said: "I know how you were struck when you heard me say at that time: 'Whoever speaks anything against the God who created the world, I do not believe.' Now, listen to something greater besides this: If indeed the God who created the world were of such a mind as the Scriptures indicate, or even better, if he were incomparably ^D

are they saying, and if he is somehow incomparable in his wickedness, as neither the Scriptures have been able to say, nor is any other person capable of conceiving it, in like manner I shall not desist from worshipping him alone, and doing his will. For I wish you to know and to be persuaded that he who does not have affection for his own maker, can never have it for another. But if he does have it for another, since it is contrary to nature, he does not know that he has love from an evil source, which is the mark of the unjust, nor will he be able to guard that love firmly. ^A And if there is some other being above the Creator, he will accept me as good, all the more because I love my own father, whereas he will not accept you, knowing that you have abandoned your natural maker—for I do not call him father—in the hope of something greater, without caring for what is reasonable. Thus, if you find someone better than him, he knows that you will eventually abandon him as well, and all the more so since he is not your father, seeing that you have already abandoned your true father.

XXIII. But you will say: He knows that there is no other above him, and for this reason he cannot be abandoned. I owe thanks, therefore, to his not existing; but as for the state of your mind, he knows it is ready for ingratitude. But if, while knowing you are ungrateful, he accepts you, yet while acknowledging me to be grateful, he does not receive me, he is irrational according to your own reasoning, as he does not use right reason. Thus, O Simon, you are a minister of wickedness and do not know it. And Simon answered: Where, then, did evil originate? Tell us. And Peter said: Since, he said, you have already hastened to depart today, and have said that you will not listen to me further as a blasphemer, tomorrow, ^B if you wish to learn, I will explain it to you when you come, and I will allow you to question me as you wish, without contentiousness. And Simon said: I will do as seems best to me. And having said this, he departed. But of those who had come in with him, no one went out; rather, they fell at the feet of Peter and begged that, because they had been led astray by Simon, they might obtain forgiveness and be received as penitents. Peter, however, receiving both them and the other crowds who were repentant, laid his hands ^C upon them, praying and healing those among them who were suffering, and thus dismissing them, he commanded them to hasten back at daybreak. And having said this and gone inside with his accustomed companions, he performed the usual tasks for the necessary rest, as evening had overtaken them.

HOMILY XIX

I. On the next day, Peter went out earlier, and seeing Simon waiting for him with many others, he greeted the multitude and began to discourse. But at the moment he began, Simon interrupted him and said: ^D Leaving aside these long prefaces of yours, answer me regarding the proposed subject, since I am making inquiry—

^A I understand (for I have it as certain from what I have heard from the beginning) that you have no other goal than to demonstrate by every device that the Creator is the one blameless God, and you are burning with such a desire to confirm this opinion that you even dare to call false certain chapters of the Scriptures which openly accuse him; for this reason I have determined today to prove that it is impossible for the creator of all things to be blameless. I can now begin the proof, if you will answer me regarding what I am about to ask.

II. You say there is a prince of malice, or do you not? For if you say there is not, I have it in my power from many things, and those brought forward by your Teacher, to show that he is. If, however, you have with an even mind confessed that evil exists, I will proceed with the discourse in a consistent manner. And Peter: It is impossible for me to deny the voice of my Teacher, wherefore I confess ^B that evil exists, because he who is the Teacher of all who spoke the truth often testified that he exists. For immediately he confesses that he was tempted by him, having conversed with him for forty days. And elsewhere I know he said: If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand? And that he saw the evil one falling as lightning from heaven, he declared. And elsewhere he said: But he who sows the bad seed is the devil. And again: Give no occasion to the evil one. Nay, he even gave us counsel in these words: Let your speech be, Yea, yea, and Nay, nay; but what is more than these is from the evil one. But also in the prayer which he handed down, we have it said: Deliver us from the evil one. And in another place he threatened to say to the impious: Depart into the outer darkness, which the Father has prepared for the devil and his angels. And that I may not lengthen the discussion, I know that my Teacher often taught that ^C the devil exists. Therefore I also confess that he exists. As for what remains, if you have anything to say in sequence, as you promised, speak.

III. And Simon: Since, therefore, you have confessed with an even mind that evil exists, tell us from the Scriptures how he came to be, if he was created, and by whom, and why? And Peter: Forgive me, Simon, I do not dare to say what is not written. Or if you affirm that it is written, show it. But if, insofar as it is not read, even you cannot show it, why do we take upon ourselves the risk of pronouncing on things not written? For if we have not believed, we shall be judged... ^D

^A not only for what we do, but also for what we say as believers, and for this reason we discuss God more boldly? But Simon, perceiving that he had spoken against his madness, said: "Let me be the one to be in danger, but do not you, on the pretext of what you call blasphemy, seize an excuse for withdrawing. For I understand that you wish to shrink away so that you may escape refutation before the people; sometimes because it is not written how and by whom and why the evil one came to be, you say that we ought not to dare to say more than the Scriptures; and therefore, as if being religious, you only assert that he exists. But by devising these things you deceive yourself, not knowing that if it is a blasphemy to inquire diligently about the evil one, the fault lies with me, the accuser, and not with you, the defender of God. And if that which is sought is not written, and for this reason you are unwilling to seek it, there are certain sufficient paths that are able ^B to demonstrate what is sought no less than the Scriptures. Immediately, then, is it not necessary that the evil one, whom even you admit to exist, was either created or uncreated?"

IV. And Peter answered, "It is necessary." And Simon said, "Therefore, if he is created, he was made by Him who created all things, God, either as an animal begotten, or brought forth according to substance, or added externally by mixture. For if the matter was outside of Him, being animate or inanimate, from whence he was made—either by God Himself, or by himself, or if he happened to arise from non-existent things, or if he is among relative things, or if he always existed. Every path, therefore, as I suppose, being divided here toward his discovery, it is necessary that he will be encountered by those proceeding along one of them. It is therefore necessary to traverse them one by one, seeking the origin, and once the author is discovered, to understand that he is liable to blame. Is it not? How does it seem to you?"

V. And Peter said, "It seems to me that, if he appears to have been made by God, the Maker is not yet to be blamed for having made him, lest his usefulness should be found to be the most necessary of all. But if he should be proven to be uncreated, as always existing, neither in this is the Creator to be blamed, or he is not the best of all, if he is unable to impose an end upon a power ^C that has no beginning, because he does not possess that nature. Or, if he is able but does not destroy him, since he judges it unfair to impose an end upon that which has no beginning, and not to spare him who is evil by nature, because he cannot be another thing, even if he desires to be. But if, wishing to do good, he is not able..." ^D

to do it, he is still good because he wills it though he cannot; and in that in which he lacks power, he is most powerful of all, since the ability to act does not belong to another. But if there is some other who is powerful, and does not correct that in which he is powerful, he is acknowledged to be evil, not restraining him, as if he delighted in the works done by him. But if neither is he able, he is better who, although destitute of that power, nevertheless according to his ability does not neglect to bestow benefits upon us. ^A

VI. And Simon said: When you have discussed each of the things I have proposed, I shall declare to you the author of evil; then I shall also respond to what you have said, and show the God whom you call blameless to be subject to blame. And Peter said: Since from those things which you have uttered from the beginning I perceive that you study nothing else than to subject God, as the prince of evil, to blame, I have determined to accompany you in all the ways you wish, to show that God is exempt from all blame. And Simon said: These things you say as if you loved the God whom you imagine, but you are not truthful. And Peter said: But you, as an evil man, hating the God whom you do not know, let slip blasphemous words. Simon said: Remember that you compared me to the prince of evil. Peter said: I confess, I was false in comparing you to the wicked one, for I was compelled because I did not find anyone equal to you or worse than you. For this reason I compared you to the wicked one; for you are much worse than the ^B prince of evil himself. For no one can show that the wicked one speaks against God, but we all who are present see you boldly slandering Him. And Simon said: He who seeks the truth ought not to favor anyone in anything contrary to what is. Otherwise, why does he inquire in the beginning? And why, indeed, can I not also, omitting a diligent examination of things, spend all my time in praises of the God whom I do not know? ^C

VII. Then Peter said: You are not so blessed as to exalt Him with praises and hymns, nor can you do this good thing. For you would be full of it. For so our teacher, who knows not how to lie, has declared: Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. XII, 34). Whence you, abounding in evil will because of ignorance, slander the only good God, and you have not yet suffered according to the merit of those things which you have uttered. If you do not believe there will be a judgment, perhaps you think that there is not even a God. Whence, not apprehending such great patience of His, you extend yourself more and more unto madness. And Simon said: Do not hope that you will move me by fear, nor that I will not seek from you the truth of examples. For I am so desirous of truth, that ^D

I do not regret even taking the risk for its sake. But as to the matters originally proposed to you by me, if you have something to say, say it now. ^A

VIII. And Peter said: Since you force us to dare to explain, after carefully researching, the arts of God, and this being done by men who are not able to even understand accurately the arts of similar things, I shall, for the sake of those standing by, and in place of the most pious silence, discuss those things which you desire. I agree with you that there is a certain leader of malice, whose origin Scripture did not dare to describe as either true or false. But let us investigate together in many ways how it came to be, if indeed it came to be, and let us choose that which seems more decent, since it is firmly accepted from reasonable grounds that it is proper to attribute to God what is more honorable, all the more so, since with all other suspicions cleared away, another suitable and ^B less dangerous suspicion lies at hand. But I promise you right now, before the searching begins, that every path of investigation can show Him, God alone, to be blameless.

IX. But, as you said, the wicked one is either created, or he has been brought forth as an animal, or he has been produced by Him according to substance, or he was tempered from without, or his choice happened by means of a mixture, or without mixture and counsel of God he happened to come into being out of non-existence, or he was created by God from out of nothing at all, or the matter was outside of God, being inanimate or animate, from which he took his origin, or he created himself, or he was created by God, or he is of the number of relative things, or he always existed; for we cannot say that he does not exist, because we have agreed that he does exist. ^C And Simon said: You have well divided all his paths and the sum of them. It remains for me, weighing the division, to show you that the Creator is party to blame. It is your task, as you have promised, to show that He is free from all blame. But I am amazed if you will be able to do so. For, in the first place, if the wicked one was created by God as an animal, he is consequently of the same malice as his producer. And Peter said: Not necessarily. For we see many men who, though good, have yet begotten bad children; and others who are bad, and have received good ^D ones; and others who, being bad, produce at the same time both good and bad; and others, finally, who, being good, have procreated both bad and good. For instance, the first created man begot the unjust Cain and the just Abel. To this Simon said: You act foolishly in discussing God and using human examples. And Peter said: You, therefore, speak to us about God, without using human examples, yet in such a way that what you say can be understood; but you will not be able to.

^A X. Come then, what were you saying at the beginning? If the evil one was begotten by God, being of his same substance, he also is evil. But when I showed, from the very example which you yourself provided, that evil ones arise from good ones, and good ones from evil ones, you did not accept it, saying that the example was human. Whence, even now, I do not accept that God was begotten, because begetting belongs to humans, not to God. But God cannot be either good or evil, or just or unjust; nor indeed prudent, nor an animal, nor all the other things that can inhere in humans; for such things are human. And if we must not, while searching regarding God, attribute to Him the good qualities that inhere in humans, there is nothing left to observe or say, unless it is to search only for that of His will which He Himself granted us to perceive, so that when we are judged, we may be without excuse regarding those things which, knowing, we did not observe.

^B XI. And Simon, hearing this, said: You will not force me, while silent about His substance, to inquire only about His will. For it is possible both to understand and to speak regarding His substance, I say, from the good qualities that inhere in humans. For example, it inheres in a human to live and to die, but for God, not to die, but to live, and to live eternally. As for the fact that it inheres in humans to be evil and good, for God it is to be incomparably good. And so that I may not lengthen the speech to great excess, God possesses eternally the superior versions of the things that inhere in humans. Peter said: Tell me, Simon, does it inhere in humans to beget evil and good ones, and to do evils and goods? And Simon answered: It does. Peter rejoined: Since you have affirmed this, one must attribute to God the superior versions of the things that humans have; since from humans are begotten evil and good ones, God is able to beget only good ones; furthermore, whereas humans do evil and good, He alone finds pleasure in doing only good. Thus, regarding God, is it not the case that, if one must either speak or be silent about that which is human, it is reasonable to attribute to Him the superior versions of the good qualities that humans possess? And thus He alone is the author of all good things. ^C

XII. And Simon said: Therefore, if God is the author only of good things, what else are we to understand, unless that some other power begat the evil one, or perhaps it is unbegotten? And Peter said: Neither did some other power beget the evil one, nor is evil unbegotten, as I shall show at the end. For now, it is my intent to demonstrate, as I promised from the beginning, that God is in every way blameless. We have granted, therefore, that God possesses to an incomparable degree the superior versions of the things that inhere in humans. From which it follows that He is the producer of the four substances, heat, ^D

cold, moisture, and dryness. And so it was prepared ^A that these, since they are primary, simple, and unmixed, should have no appetite for either, but having been brought forth by God and existing as an animal outside these mixtures, it has the will to destroy the wicked. And thus, everything having been generated from Him, the evil one is neither from elsewhere, nor has he taken malice from God Himself, the creator of all things (for whom it is impossible to exist), because the substances, being neutral, were brought forth from Him exactly and distinctly, and it befell them—being tempered by His art outside these—to have a desire to destroy the wicked. But the malice that has thus befallen them cannot destroy the good, not even if it wished to, for by law it has the power against those who sin. Therefore, the devil, being ignorant of the manners ^B of each, makes a trial against them and punishes those who are convicted. And Simon said: If God, therefore, is able to mix the elements and cause the temperings to be according to the wills He chooses, why did He not make the tempering of each one an appeter of the good?

XIII. And Peter: It must now be demonstrated to us how the evil one came to be, if indeed he came to be, and by whom: that this happened without blame, I shall explain once I have finished the discourse now set before me. Then I shall show how and why he came to be, and I shall provide full certainty that the Creator is blameless. But we said that the four substances were brought forth by God. And thus, by the counsel of the one co-ordinating them, it came about as He willed, the choice of evils. For if it had happened against His will, or from some other ^C substance or cause, the stability of God’s counsel would not hold; for fear that, even without His willing it, leaders of malice might always arise, opposing His purposes. But this cannot be so. For no living creature, and especially a governing one, can come into being accidentally; for it is necessary that everything that happens comes to be from something.

XIV. And Simon: What then, if matter, being coeval and equal in power to Him, produces for Him, as if it were an enemy, leaders that oppose His decrees? And Peter: If matter is eternal, it is not an enemy to anyone ^D

^A for that which is eternal is also impassible; and that which is impassible is blessed; and being blessed, it cannot become capable of enmity, not fearing to be deprived of anything by an eternal creation. But how does matter not rather love the Creator, since it appears to bring forth fruits for the nourishment of all things created by Him? And how does it not fear Him as its superior, as it even confesses by trembling at the movements of the earthquakes, and as it quieted down when the waves were greatly agitated, obeying without delay the Master who was sailing and commanding a calm? And why did the demons also, when they came out, not do so without fear and reverence, and others among them, when they wished to enter into the swine, thought it fitting to ask first, as those who had not even the power to enter into the swine without His permission?

^B XV. And Simon: But what if, being soulless, it has the nature to generate evils and goods? And Peter: In this way it is neither good nor evil, because, being devoid of soul and sense, it acts without counsel. Wherefore, this can also be understood: how an entity devoid of soul can procreate a soul as if it were endowed with one, and although lacking sense, it appears to fashion the skillful forms of both animals and plants. And Simon: But what if God Himself animated it; is He not Himself responsible for the evils it generates? And Peter: If God animated it according to His own will, His Spirit works in it, and no longer is there anything hostile to God, or equal in power, or impossible, because everything that happens, happens as He wills. But you will say: He himself is the author of evil, if He works evils through it. What evils, then, do you mean? Venomous reptiles ^C and deadly plants, or demons, or other things that can trouble men? These things would not have been grievous now if man had not sinned, because of whom death entered; for when man was without sin, the venom of reptiles did not work, nor did the energies of harmful plants, nor did the harassments of demons occur, nor did it have any other calamity in its nature. But through sin, having fallen from being immortal, as I said, it became receptive to every passion. If, however, you say: Why, then, was human nature from the beginning made receptive of death? I answer you: Because of free will. For if we were not receptive of death, we could not be punished for a voluntary sin as if we were immortal. And thus, because of impassibility, we would have had something more, even if we were evil in our choice ^D or even justice

would be diminished on account of indolence, since those who foster evil counsels could not be punished for the sake of immunity. XVI. ^A Ad haec Simon: "I have something else to say concerning the evil one. For if God created him from nothing, in this respect also the Creator is evil, inasmuch as He created him of such a nature, although it was permitted Him to make him good, had He created him born in such a way that he did not possess by his own nature a propensity toward evil." Peter answered: "That He created him from nothing with a propensity does not differ from that which we said above, that because he was composed of a mixture that rejoiced in evils, he appears to be the cause of those things which come to pass. Since the solution to both is the same, we shall explain hereafter why it was so ordained that he seems to rejoice in the destruction of the wicked." ^B And Simon: "If He made even the angels with free will, but the evil one ceased to be just, why was he honored with authority? He who honored him appears, by means of him whom he honored, to rejoice in evils." Peter answered: "If, after he had revolted, God appointed him to rule over those like himself by law, commanding him to inflict punishment upon those who sin, He is not unjust for this. But if, even after he had revolted, He honored him, He who honored him foresaw that something useful would result from it; for the honor is temporary, and it is right that the wicked should be ruled by someone wicked, and that those who sin should be punished by him."

XVII. ^C Simon said: "If he was not eternal, is not the partnership of the monarchy and the other power proceeding from matter destroyed by that very fact?" Peter answered: "If they differ in their substances, they differ also in their faculties, and the stronger rules the weaker. But if they are of the same substance, then they are equal in power, and are likewise either good or evil. But that they are not equal in power is clear, for they are not of the same substance; for matter was brought by the Creator into whatever form of world He willed. And it cannot be said that substance always existed, being matter as God’s storehouse. For it is not possible to say that it was a storehouse when God was lacking nothing, but He was always its sole ruler. Wherefore He also is alone eternal, and thus He might well be called the Being, the Ruler, and the Eternal." ^D And Simon said: "What then, if the evil one created himself? And is God good in such a way that, although He knew he would be engaged in evil, He did not destroy him, when as an incomplete being he was capable of being destroyed? For if he happened to be suddenly, and that too finished and therefore perfect, for this very reason he would war against the Creator, against whom he was naturally his equal in power from the beginning."

XVIII. Peter replied: "You are speaking things that cannot be; for indeed, he was not able to destroy him as an enemy by his own choice, for he was becoming so little by little. And foreknowing that he would not be good, He did not allow [him to exist], unless he were useful to Him...

^A Nor could he suddenly of himself become perfect. For he who did not yet exist could not form himself, nor can a perfect being be generated from non-existence, nor can one who possesses no essence be generated; and one would not rightly say that a generated being is equal in power to the Eternal. Simon answered: "Is it not, then, of those things which are created for some end? In this way, evil is not something perennial, as water is for fire, but is good for the earth that is thirsty at the proper time; just as iron is good for agriculture, but evil for committing murder; and desire also is not evil for marriage, but is grievous for adultery; as even to kill is a sin, although it may be noble according to the counsel of the judge; and avarice is an evil, although it is sweet to the avaricious; and whatever things are of this nature behave in the same way. But by this reasoning, neither is evil evil, nor does good happen to be good, since one produces the other. ^B Moreover, does not that which seems to be done wickedly delight the doer, but bring pains to the one suffering it? And if it seems unjust for one who has loved himself to delight in gratifying himself as much as possible, and for this reason to be destined to suffer grievous things from a just judge because he has loved himself, to whom does this not appear unjust?"

XIX. And Peter said: "We ought to castigate ourselves ^C just when desire wishes to impel us to the injury of another, knowing that the Evil One is able to destroy the wicked, having received at the beginning the authority over them. And this is not yet an evil to those who have done evil, but that their souls, after their destruction, remain to be punished—this, truly, being grievous—any one might rightly say, in the case of those who have been wrongly predestined, that it is just. Wherefore, as I said, we must avoid other injustice for the sake of a brief pleasure, lest for a small joy one suffer eternal punishment."

Then Simon: "Can it be that there does not exist that which is evil or good by nature, but it differs only by custom and fashion? Thus among the Persians, it is a custom to contract marriage with mothers, sisters, and daughters, while to marry others is called most grievous. Hence, there cannot be a judgment of God for all, since evils are not defined the same for all."

And Peter said: "This cannot hold; for it is evident to all that intercourse with mothers is an abomination, even if the Persians, being a small part of the human race, do not perceive the lawlessness of their abominable practice because of an evil custom. ^D Just as the Britons openly cohabit before everyone without shame; and others eat human flesh without disgust; and others perform the deeds of dogs and other unspeakable acts. Thus we must not make judgments based on a sense that has been perverted by custom. For even to be murdered is an evil, even if not all say so, since no one wishes to bring pains upon himself, and no one finds pleasure in his own punishment for theft. If, therefore, anyone does not at all concede that sin exists, necessarily a third judgment is rightly to be expected regarding these things." When Peter had said this,

Simon answered: "Tell me, does it seem so to you regarding the evil one?" ^A

XX. And Peter said: "We remember our Lord and Teacher, how He instructed us and said: 'Guard the mysteries for Me and for the sons of My house.' Therefore, He also explained to His disciples in private the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens. But for you, who fight against us and scrutinize nothing else but our words, whether they are true or false, it would be impious to speak of the ineffable. However, so that some of those standing by might not believe that I am unable to answer what has been said by you (for I am devising a pretext), I shall first ask you: if there were no pain, what would the evil one be?" And Simon said: "Nothing." And Peter said: "Is it then the case that the evil one is pain and death?" And Simon said: "It appears so." ^B And Peter said: "Therefore, the evil one does not exist always, nor can he even exist; for to feel pain and to die belong to those things that happen, neither of which is joined to the presence of well-being. For what is pain, if not a lack of harmony? And what is death, if not the separation of the soul from the body? Consequently, if there is harmony, pain does not enter in; for dying is not strictly among things that exist, because death is nothing else, as I said, than the separation of the soul from the body, upon the occurrence of which the body, being naturally without sensation, dissolves, but the soul, being sentient, continues to live. Wherefore, where there is harmony, there is no pain, nor is there dying; nor indeed are there deadly herbs, nor poisonous reptiles, nor any other such thing whose end is death. Thus, all things created will appear reasonably to have been made ^C under the prevalence of immortality. And this is how it will be when, by the cause of justice, man becomes immortal, with the peaceful kingdom of Christ prevailing; when his temperament is also well-balanced, so that he may not produce sharp impulses; and furthermore, when knowledge is unerring, so that nothing of the evils, taken as a good, shall bring about servitude or pain, so that he may not be mortal."

XXI. And Simon said: "These things you have spoken rightly; but does it not seem to you that in the present world man is capable of every passion? I mean desire, anger, grief, and such like." And Peter said: "These also belong to the things that happen, not to things that exist always, but they will be found to be usefully attached to the soul for the present. For desire was created by Him who created all things well, to be attached to the living being, so that, led by it, he might multiply the human race toward communion, from which a multitude of the elect becomes ^D fit for eternal life. Moreover, without desire, no one would have undertaken communion with a woman; but now, under the pretext of pleasure, as if gratifying himself, man does His will. Therefore, if anyone uses desire for lawful marriage,

^A he does not act impiously; but if he rushes toward adultery, he acts impiously, and for this reason he is punished, because he used badly what was well instituted. Furthermore, the capacity for anger has likewise been given to us by God, that we might be stirred by it to the retribution of sins. Yet he who uses it beyond measure acts unjustly, while he who uses it according to its worth performs what is just. ^B Indeed, we are also subject to grief, that we might be capable of sympathy at the death of relatives—of a wife, or children, or brothers, or parents, or friends, or others. For, being devoid of compassion, we would have stripped off human nature. Likewise, all other things will be found to be fittingly ordered, if they are considered in the way I have indicated.

XXII. Then Simon said: "But why is it that humans die prematurely, and periodic diseases occur, and furthermore, that demons, manias, and multiform calamities, which possess a great capacity for chastisement, continue to exist?" Peter answered: "Because men, by indulging their own lust in all things, cohabit inconsiderately, and thus, through seeds sown at an unseasonable time, innumerably many evils are produced according to the nature of their birth. They ought rather to have reflected that, just as a fit time is ordained for planting and sowing, so also are there days appointed ^C as suitable for coition. Hence, someone who is skilled in the traditions of Moses, accusing the people because of their sins, called them 'sons of the new moons and of the sabbaths' according to the moon. But in the beginning of the world, humans were both long-lived and immune to disease. But when, through negligence, they abandoned this observance, their children in turn, through ignorance, by cohabiting when they should not have, rendered their own children subject to innumerable calamities. Wherefore also our Master, when questioned by those who asked regarding him who was blind from birth and received sight from Him, whether he had sinned or his parents that he should be born blind, replied: 'Neither he nor his parents sinned, but [it is] that the power of God might be manifested through him, healing the sins of ignorance.' And in truth, such things happen by reason of ignorance—namely, from not knowing when one ought to cohabit with one's spouse, and whether she is free ^D from menstrual pollution. Now, indeed, the calamities which you mentioned before arise from ignorance, not from an evil deed committed. Moreover, grant me the person who does not sin, and you will receive one who does not suffer; and you will also find those who are immune to suffering [and thus] fit to serve Him. For example, Moses, on account of his piety, passed the entire time of his life free from evil, and healed the Egyptians, who were suffering on account of their sins, with his prayers.

XXIII. Then Simon said: "Let these things be so. Does not the inequality among men seem to you most unjust? For one begs while another abounds in riches, one is sick while another enjoys excess of health, and [there are] innumerable such things in human life." And Peter said:

"Do you not see, Simon, that you are again sending your words outside the scope? For while we were discoursing about evil, you made a diversion and introduced the argument concerning things which seem to contradict it. Nevertheless, I will answer even this: The world is a work artfully made, so that the female may eternally bring forth for the male, who is to be, just and eternal sons. But the pious could not reach perfection here if there were not the needy to whom they might render aid. In the same way, the sick are present, for whom they may provide. And the rest of the discourse follows this line." And Simon said: "Are the humble, then, unfortunate? For they suffer hardship for the sake of the just being perfected." And Peter said: "If their humiliation were eternal, it would be a great misfortune. But humiliations and exaltations befall men by lot. And if the lot does not please someone, it is possible for him, having used the right of appeal and having argued the case lawfully, to change the life he has chosen." And Simon said: "What is this lot and this 'right of appeal'?" And Peter said: ^B "This is a subject for another discourse. But if you will allow it, we can show you how, having been born again and having changed your generation and having lived lawfully, you may attain eternal salvation."

XXIV. And Simon, having heard these things, said: "Do not imagine that, because I was agreeing with you as I questioned you on each head, as if I were satisfied, I was moving on to the next head; but I was providing you an opportunity to persuade me of your ignorance, so that, by proceeding to another head, all your ignorance might be known to me and I might judge you, not by conjecture. But now that three days have already passed, dispute with me, and by continuing, I shall show that you know nothing." ^C When Simon had spoken these things and was about to leave, my father said: "Listen to me for a little, Simon, and afterwards, if you please, depart. I remember that at the beginning of the discussion, as if you did not know me, you despised my divinations. But now that I have heard the discussion of the other side, do I seem to you to judge rightly or not, if I have believed Peter to be your superior and confess that he speaks the truth? If indeed you say that I judge rightly, do not make a bargain, lest you appear, though preoccupied or beaten by the agreement, unwilling to concede. But if I was not rightly showing that Peter was superior in the discussion, persuade us how we have not judged rightly; or do not cease from the discussion before all, since it will be permitted to you to choose one of two things: either be overcome or come to an agreement. But perhaps you think it is a great punishment before all the ^D hearers for one who has been judged to be ashamed, because he performed his part poorly and suffers pain of soul from his conscience; for we know that you have been defeated by the deed itself, since we have heard the speech you delivered. Furthermore, I also do not believe that you came to the discussion as you promised, but you promised to return when you were departing, so that you might not be convicted."

XXV. And Simon, when he had heard these things, gnashing his teeth for anger, departed in silence. But Peter, since no small portion of the day remained, laid hands upon the sick for their healing, dismissed the multitude, and having entered the house with his intimates, sat down. Then one of his companions, by name Sophonias, said: ^A "Blessed, Peter, is the God who chose you, that the upright might be able to acquiesce in wisdom. For truly you disputed against Simon magnificently and with patience. We now ask of you that you also discourse to us concerning evil, hoping that you will render a more genuine account to us, though not indeed at this hour, but tomorrow, if it pleases you; for we must spare you on account of the labors you have undergone in the investigation." Peter answered: "I would have you know that ^B among these very labors he rests who labors willingly, whereas he who works against his will labors most of all even in rest itself. Therefore, you provide me with the greatest recreation if you make me discourse on those things which are my delight." Thus, satisfied with his resolve and indulging his weariness, we asked that he defer it until night, according to his custom of conversing with his intimates. And afterwards, having taken food, we betook ourselves to sleep.

HOMILY XX

I. When he arose by night and had awakened us, he sat down according to custom and said: "Ask me concerning what you wish." Then Sophonias first began to speak to him: "Explain to us, who desire to learn, what we should truly think concerning evil." And ^C Peter said: "I have already demonstrated this in the disputation held with Simon, although the things I set forth concerning it may not have appeared clearly in the various topics; for many topics, to which it seems that clear force is lacking, nevertheless supply to the multitude some knowledge of the truth; so that if I state to you now what I then said to Simon through many topics, do not think that you are graced with the same honor as he." And Sophonias said: "You speak rightly; for if you now define for us from the many topics offered then, you will make the truth ^D itself more clear."

II. Then Peter said: "Now hear the truth concerning the correct harmony of evil. God, having defined two kingdoms, constituted also two ages, assigning the present world to the evil one, because it remains for a short space of time and passes away quickly, but promised to give the coming world to the good one, as it is great and eternal. He therefore created man endowed with free will, so that he might possess the ability to incline toward the deeds he pleases. And his body is tripartite, since it draws its origin from the feminine; for it is dominated by desire, anger, grief, and the things pertaining to these. In like manner the spirit, since it is not of three kinds but tripartite, takes its origin from the masculine, and is capable of reasoning, knowing, fearing, and those things of

which pertain to this. And of each of the triads there is the same root, so that man is composed of two mixtures, of the feminine with the masculine. ^A Wherefore also two ways have been set before him, of law and of lawlessness; and two kingdoms have been defined, the one being called of the heavens, and the other of those who now reign upon the earth. And also two kings have been appointed, of whom the one is ordained by law to reign over the present and temporary world, who is kept to rejoice in the destruction of the wicked; but the other, being himself also a king of the age to come, loves the whole of human nature: who, even if he does not have the freedom of action in the present, is nevertheless secretly concerned with counseling things that are profitable.

III. Of these two, by God's ordaining, the one exerts force upon the other. Yet every human being ^B has the power, of whomever of them he wishes, to obey for the performing of good or evil things. But if anyone chooses to perform good things, he becomes the property of the future good king; but if one performs evil things, he becomes a subordinate of the present evil one. He indeed, having received through sin the power to punish him by just judgment, and desiring to use it before the eternal age, rejoices in chastising in this life, and as if gratifying his own desire, he fulfills the will of God. The other, however, having been created to rejoice in the command of the just, when he finds a righteous man, rejoices greatly, saving him for eternal life, and he himself also, as if granting a favor to himself, refers to God the grace on account of these. ^C Yet it is possible for every unjust man who has repented to be saved, and for every just man to pay the penalty for his last sins. For these two rulers are the swift hands of God, prompt to anticipate, so as to execute His will. And that this is so, it has been said also in the Law from the person of God: "I will kill and I will make to live; I will strike, and I will heal" (a). For He truly kills and makes alive. He kills through the left hand, that is, through the evil one, who is kept to take pleasure in the destruction of the impious. He saves and confers benefits through the right hand, that is, through the good one, who has been created to rejoice in the beneficence and salvation of the just. But these, though powerful, do not exist outside of God; for there is no other principality outside of Him. ^D Nor were they projected from God as living beings, for they were of equal opinion with Him; nor did they come into existence spontaneously contrary to His will. Since the [greatness] of His power would have been diminished. But from God were projected the first four elements: the hot and the cold, the moist and the dry. Wherefore He is also the father of every substance that exists (of the intention which is according to the mixture); for when they were mixed together, their intent was born outside of them as an offspring. The evil one, therefore, at the end of the present world having served God blamelessly, since he does not belong to one substance, being restored, can become good. For he no longer acts evilly.

^A Although he is wicked, having received the power to act lawlessly by law.

IV. When Peter had spoken thus, Micah, who himself was one of his companions, asked: Whence then does it happen that men sin? Peter answered: Because they are ignorant that for the things they have done wickedly, judgment being held, they must absolutely be punished. Whence also, as I have said at another time, even having offspring they indulge in lust, as happens in the slaughter of tender infants or in some other deceitful sin. For by being ignorant that they are being judged, as I have said before, because of the absence of fear, they hasten to satisfy their lust rashly and illicitly. Therefore God is not unjust, seeing that he has well ordained lust for the propagation of life; but they themselves are most wicked, seeing that they ^B have abused that which is good in lust. Thus also it must be considered concerning anger; that he who uses it rightly as is permitted, acts piously, but he who goes beyond the measure and brings judgment upon himself, acts impiously.

V. And again Sophonias said: Your long-suffering, my lord Peter, grants us boldness to ask you about many things for the sake of accuracy. Therefore, taking heart, in every way we make our examination. I remember, therefore, that yesterday Simon, having a discussion with you, said that the evil one, if he has been begotten by God, is consequently of the same substance as the one who produced him, and therefore he ought to be good, and not evil. But you answered that it is not altogether so, inasmuch as many wicked men are born from good parents, just as from Adam two such men were born, of whom one was wicked, and the other good. But when Simon chided you for using human examples, you answered that by this reasoning it is not even fitting to admit that God begets; for this example ^C is also human. But I, Sophonias, admit that God begets, but I do not accept that he begets evil, even if among men the good beget the wicked. And lest anyone think me irrational for attributing some things to God which distinguish human affairs, and others not, since I grant the begetting but do not grant the begetting of that which is unlike him. For men, as is reasonable, beget sons unlike their own minds for such a cause. For consisting of four parts, according to the various changes of the year, their bodies are turned in various ways, so that in the human body according to each season, that which is proper to the season of the year grows or decreases, destroying the proportionate mixture. For the seeds of temperaments not always remaining the same are separated in one way or another when mixed, and according to the mixture of the season, their purposes follow, whether good or evil. But concerning God, nothing of this sort is to be assumed. For since he is immutable and eternal, when he wishes to project, that which is begotten must be of the same kind as the creator, ^D as regards substance and mind. But if anyone says that he also

wishes to call him mutable, I do not understand at all how he can also affirm that he is immortal.

VI. Having heard these things, and having sat for a little while in contemplation, Peter replied: I do not believe that anyone can speak of evil without at the same time doing the will of evil. Wherefore, knowing this very thing, I am in doubt what to do, whether I should keep silent or speak. For if I should be silent, I would provoke laughter among the many, as one who, having professed that I would explain the truth, knows not how to speak of malice; but if I speak, I fear lest a disquisition instituted about evil should be displeasing to God, since to Him nothing but a disquisition about the good is pleasing. Nevertheless, I will explain to you even more clearly the things that I answered to the inquiry of Sophonias. I also concede that not all things which belong to men are to be attributed to God. Indeed, men, for whom bodies are ^A immutable, are not changed, but they have a tendency to vary as the year goes on. But God is not so; for by His innate spirit, by an ineffable power, the body becomes whatever He wishes. And this is all the more to be believed, since the air also, having received such a nature from Him, by the incorporeal mind that leads it [being diffused into it], has obtained the faculty that, being turned into liquid and condensed, it becomes water; and water, being condensed, is changed into stones and earth; and stones, when rubbed, kindle fire. In this way, the air, after translation and change, having first become water, through the conversions ceased into fire, and what was moist was changed into the contrary nature. But what then? Did not God also turn the rod of Moses into an animal, making it a serpent, which He again turned back into a rod? And by that same rod which had been changed, He turned the water of the Nile into blood, which He also made to return into water. But also man, who was dust, by the breathing of a spirit He changed into flesh, and again changed ^B back into dust. And was not Moses himself, being flesh, changed into a most great light, so that the sons of Israel could not look upon him? Much more, therefore, is God most powerful to change Himself into whatever He pleases.

VII. But perhaps some one of you has thought that, while one thing can become something else through another, yet a person cannot [by himself] change himself into whatever he desires, and that to be changed is a property of one who is aging and subject to death, but that this should not be thought of regarding the immortals. For are not the angels, being ageless ^C and of a fiery substance, changed into flesh? And were they not received as guests by Abraham, whose feet men also washed as being of the same substance as men? But also with Jacob, who was a man, an angel wrestled, having been changed into flesh, that he might be able to converse with him. And yet, after he had wrestled, by his own will he again put on his own nature. And indeed, having been transformed into fire, he did not burn the sinew of Jacob's thigh, but inflamed it and made him lame. But as for something else to become, whatever

he wills, being unable, as he is subject to his own nature, he is mortal; but whoever, being lord of his own nature, is able to become whatever he wills and whenever he wills, so that he comes to be anew, he is immortal. Hence, much more the power of God, when He wills, transforms the substance of the body into whatever He wills, and brings forth a substance like in kind, but not identical in essence, the change being accomplished. For the Creator can both turn it into another substance and turn it back again upon itself, since the son begotten from that mutation cannot become anything else without the will of the one who brought it forth, unless He grants it.

VIII. When Peter had said this, Micah, ^B who was also one of his accompanying companions, said: "I would like to learn from you whether the good man was also begotten in the same way as the evil one; for if they were made in an equal way, they seem to me to be brothers." Peter replied: "They were not begotten in a similar way, if you remember what I said in the beginning, that the quadruple substance of the body of the evil one was brought forth by God, having been distinguished according to its kinds; but outside of it, according to the will of the one who brought it forth, the disposition that delights in evil was tempered into the mixture. So that one must realize that the quadruple substance brought forth from God is indeed His creature, and is itself eternal. But why did the disposition that delights in evil, having arisen, come to be later, ^C tempered by Him outside the substance? And in this way it was neither begotten by God, nor by any other, nor has it been brought forth by Him, nor did it come forth spontaneously, nor did it always exist, as the substance did before the mixture, but it happened outside in the mixture according to the will of God. And that it is necessary for this to be so, we have often said. But the good one, having been born from the best transformation of God and not having come to be in an external mixture, is a son in truth. Nevertheless, since these things happen to be unwritten and verified by conjectures, let it not be confirmed that they are absolutely so. Otherwise, the mind, having already totally anticipated the truth, would cease from seeking. ^D And I also remember that it is not necessary to say such things to all, but to those who are most approved through experience. Nor should you rashly assert such things to one another, nor dare to speak as if you grasp the discovery of ineffable things, but you ought to remain in silence, only reflecting; for in speaking, perhaps he who speaks may err through ignorance, and will suffer punishment as one who has dared, even if toward himself, to utter things honored by silence."

IX. When Peter had said this, Lazarus, who was also one of the companions, said: "Tell us the harmony: how is it possible and reasonable that the evil one, having been constituted by the just God so as to be the punisher of those who have acted wickedly, should this same one later, together with his angels, with the

^A deceived sinners, be sent into the lowest darkness? And indeed I remember that the Master Himself said this. And Peter said, "I also acknowledge that the evil one does no evil in this respect, insofar as he carries out the law given to him. And although he possesses an evil disposition, nevertheless, out of fear toward God, he does nothing unjustly; however, because he slanders the teachers of truth to deceive the unwary, he is also called the devil." But that our truthful teacher said that he and his angels, along with the deceived sinners, should go away into the lowest darkness, carries a certain meaning of this kind: the evil one, having been created according to a composition such that he takes delight in darkness, rejoices when he descends with his fellow-servant angels into the darkness of Tartarus; for darkness is pleasant to fire. But the souls of men, being drops of pure light, though they are swallowed up by the essence of a different kind of fire, yet being immune to the nature of dying, are punished according to what they have deserved. And if the prince of wickedness, being human, were not sent into the darkness—as if he did not rejoice in it—then his composition, which rejoices in evils, could not be converted to a good disposition. And thus he will be judged to be a good one present there all the more, because, having obtained a composition that rejoices in evils, he has done nothing contrary to what seems good to the law of God out of fear toward God. And does not the Scripture mystically foreshadow, by the transformation of the rod of the high priest Aaron into a serpent and its return into a rod, that this pertains to the future ^B transformation of the commixture of evil?

X. After Lazarus, Joseph, who was also one of our companions, said, "You have spoken everything correctly. And explain this to me, as I desire to learn: why do you impart the same discourses to all, when some are persuaded, but others do not believe?" And Peter said, "The discourses are not incantations, such that it is necessary that whoever hears them must believe. The fact that some are persuaded and others not, clearly proves the freedom of the will." Having said this, we all blessed him.

XI. And as we were preparing to eat, someone entered, announcing, "Appion the Plistonices, with Annubion, has just arrived from Antioch and is being hosted by Simon." And the father, upon hearing this, rejoiced and said to Peter, "If you permit me, I will go to greet Appion and Annubion, since they were my friends from early youth. Perhaps I will also persuade Annubion to debate with Clement about genesis." And Peter said, "I permit it, and I praise your wanting to fulfill the duty of a friend. Nevertheless, consider how, by the providence of God, things ^C from all sides concur to complete the harmony for your full conviction. I say this because the arrival of Annubion is advantageous to you." And the father said, "I truly see that the matter is so." And having said these things, he departed toward Simon.

XII. We, however, who were with Peter, through the whole night ^D

questioning him on account of the pleasure and sweetness of the things being said, remained awake. ^A And when dawn was already breaking, Peter, looking upon me and my brothers, said: "I am in doubt as to what seems right to your father." And as he was saying this, the father arrived there, having found Peter speaking to us about him; and seeing him downcast, he greeted him and explained for what reason he had slept outside. But we, looking at him, were struck with astonishment, seeing the form of Simon, but hearing the voice of our father Faustus. And the father was astonished that we, while fleeing from him and loathing him, were treating him so harshly and in a hostile manner. But Peter alone, seeing his natural form, said to us: "For what reason do you, loathing him, push away your father?" And we, with our mother, answered: "This person appears to us to be Simon, although he has the voice of our father." And Peter said: "To you, indeed, his voice alone is known, unchanged by the enchantments, but to my eyes—which are not under a spell—his countenance also appears as it truly is; for it is not Simon, but Faustus your father." Then, looking also at the father, he said: "Your own face does not appear to them, but that of Simon, the most wicked and to us most hostile ^B of men."

XIII. While Peter was saying this, one of those who had been sent on ahead to Antioch arrived, and said to Peter: "I wish you to know, my lord, that Simon, performing many strange prodigies in public at Antioch, calls you a magician and a sorcerer, and has stirred up the inhabitants to such hatred that every man among those present there is breathing with a desire to feed upon your flesh. Therefore, we who were sent ahead, together with the brothers who were joined by you to Simon, when we saw the city vehemently stirred up against you, met secretly, considering what ought to be done. And while we were hesitating in uncertainty, Cornelius the centurion—whom the Lord delivered from a demon at Caesarea—arrived, having been sent by Caesar to the governor of the province. ^C He, having been summoned by us secretly and informed of the cause of our sadness, and asked to help, promised most readily that he would put him to flight, if indeed we would assist him in his undertaking. And when we had promised that we would diligently do everything, he said: 'I will spread the word through many of my friends that I have come to arrest him, since Caesar, having put away many other magicians and having become informed about him, has sent me for this purpose: that he might punish him in the same way as the magicians before him.' And those of your people who are staying with him, as if they had heard it secretly from somewhere, should report to him that I have been sent to arrest him. Having heard these things, perhaps, seized by fear, he will flee. But while we were thinking to do some other thing, ^D it came to pass just like this. For, because he heard it both from many outsiders, who reported it secretly as if conferring upon him a great benefit, and furthermore from our own men who were feigning friendship, and thought that this was their opinion, he recognized that he had to be on his guard. Therefore, fleeing from Antioch with

Athenodorus, he has come here, as we have heard. We therefore advise you not to enter that city yet, until we see whether, now that he is gone, the people can forget the slander that was spread against you.

XIV. When he who had arrived had reported these things, Peter, looking at our father, said: "Do you hear, Faustus? It is evident that your transformation was brought about by Simon Magus. For, thinking that he was being sought by Caesar for an evil deed, he fled in terror and affixed his own appearance upon you, so that, were you to die, grief might befall your sons." Hearing this, our father began to weep and wail, saying: "You have guessed rightly, Peter. For Annubion, a friend of mine who loves me, had revealed the plot to me under a mystery. But I, unhappy wretch, did not believe it, for I was deserving of suffering it."

XV. After the father had said these things, not long after, Annubion came to us, reporting that Simon had fled and had set out for Judea that very night. He found our father crushed and saying with tears: "Woe to me, woe to me in my misery! When I heard he was a magician, I did not believe it." The miserable man, having been recognized for one day by his wife and sons, had quickly returned to the previous misery of his ignorance. And our mother, lamenting, tore at her hair. We, being distressed about the alteration of our father, groaned, unable to understand what on earth it was. Annubion, seeing these things, stood stunned in silence. ^B Then Peter said to us, his sons, before everyone: "Believe me, this is Faustus, your father. Therefore, I command you to treat him as a father. For God will provide some opportunity through which, having cast off the form of Simon, he will clearly show his father's face again." Having said these things to us, he looked at our father and said: "I allowed you to go and greet Appion and Annubion, since you professed that they had been your friends from childhood, not to converse with Simon Magus." And the father said: "I have sinned, I confess." And Annubion said: "I myself, too, together with him, beg you to forgive a noble and good old man who has been deceived. For the unhappy man became a plaything of that notorious person. But I will tell you how it happened. This good old man came to greet us. It so happened that at that very hour we were with Simon, ^C who wanted to flee that night, having heard that some persons had arrived here in Laodicea by imperial command who were seeking him. And after he had turned all his fury against Faustus upon his entry, he spoke to us as follows: 'He who has arrived, make him a participant in your meal; but I shall prepare a certain ointment, so that, having dined and having taken it, he may smear his own face, and to everyone he will seem to bear my face. But you, having been smeared beforehand by me with the juice of a certain herb, will not be deceived by his form, although to all others Faustus will seem to be Simon.'" ^D

^A

XVII. When he had foretold these things, I said: "What profit, I ask, will come to you from a scheme of this kind?" And Simon answered: "First of all, once he is captured, those who are searching for me will desist from their investigation against me. But if he should even be removed by the royal hand, his sons, who have abandoned me and betaken themselves to Peter to work with him, will grieve greatly. For now, Peter, I confess the truth to you, that I was hindered by fear of Simon from signifying these things to Faustus. But in truth, Simon did not even give us time for a secret conversation; otherwise, I would have revealed Simon's wicked design to him. Meanwhile, in the middle of the night, Simon rose and fled to Judea, accompanied by Appion and Athenodorus. Then I feigned the discomforts of poor health, so that, by remaining at home after their departure, I might quickly send him back to his own, in case he could in some way be hidden among you, lest he be captured by Simon’s pursuers and perish in his place through royal enmity. Therefore, in the dead of night, I sent him to you, and I arrived here in the night, anxious to see him and return more quickly, before those who accompanied Simon could return." And turning to us, he said: ^B "I, Annubion, see the true countenance of your father, since I have been myself smeared by Simon, as I narrated before, so that the true face of Faustus appears to my eyes. Hence I am astonished and admire the magic of Simon, because you who are standing around do not recognize your father." And as the father and mother and we ourselves wept over the common calamity, Annubion, moved by pity, wept also.

XVIII. Then Peter promised us that he would restore the countenance to the father, saying to him: "You have heard, Faustus, what relates to us. If the false image of a countenance in you should become useful to us, and you assist us in the things I shall command, then I will restore your own face to you, if you first do what I shall order." And when the father said: "Whatever I can, I will gladly perform, if only you restore my likeness to me," Peter replied: "You have heard with your own ears from those who returned to me from Antioch, how Simon behaved there and stirred up the multitude against me, calling me a great deceiver and a sorcerer polluted with slaughter, to such an extent that all those there strongly desire to feed even upon my flesh. Therefore, do what I command you, and leaving Clement with me, lead us to Antioch with your wife and Faustinus and Faustinianus, your sons. There will also be some others with you, whom I shall deem suitable for assisting my plan." ^C

XIX. "When, therefore, you are in Antioch with them, and are seen to be indeed Simon, publicly preach your repentance and say: 'I, Simon, tell you...'" ^D

^A that I announced and confess that I falsely maligned Peter; for he is not a deceiver, nor polluted with slaughter, nor a magician, nor [did I speak] whatever other evil things I formerly said about him, being driven by anger.' I myself, being the cause of the hatred against him among you, beseech you to cease hating him, for he is the true apostle of the true prophet sent by God for the salvation of the world. Therefore I also advise you to believe him regarding what I preach, lest your whole city perish utterly. And I wish you to know for what reason I have confessed these things to you. This night the angels of God severely scourged me, the impious one, because I was an enemy to the herald of the truth. I implore you, therefore, even if I myself should come at another time and attempt to speak against Peter, do not accept me. For I confess to you: I am a magician, I am a deceiver, I am a sorcerer. For perhaps it is possible by repentance to wash away the sins previously committed by me."

XX. When Peter proposed these things, "I understand," said the father, "what you want. Therefore, do not weary yourself. For it will be no less a concern to me, when I have gone there, to discuss what I ought to announce about you." And Peter again instructed him: "When, therefore, you perceive the city having turned from hatred and seized with a desire to see us, send a messenger and inform me, and we shall reach you there immediately. And when I come there, I will banish the foreign form from you, and will make your own appear clearly to your own [people] and to all others." Having said this, he ordered his children, my brothers, and Mattidia, our mother, and some of the companions to go away ^B along with him. And the mother appeared reluctant to go with him, saying: "For I would certainly seem to be an adulteress if I were joined to the form of Simon. But if I am compelled to go away with him, it will nevertheless be impossible for me to sleep on the same bed. I do not know, however, if I can even be persuaded to go away with him." But Annubion encouraged her as she was going away against her will, saying: "Believe me and Peter and the voice itself, that he is Faustus, your husband, whom I love no less than you yourself do. And I myself will also go along with him." When Annubion had said these things, the mother promised to go along with the others.

XXI. But Peter [said]: "God orders our affairs most fittingly. For we have with us Annubion the astrologer ^C. For he will discuss more familiarly with us as a friend regarding the nativity of the rest, when we are in Antioch." And indeed, when the father had set out under the cover of night with those whom Peter had ordered, along with Annubion, toward nearby Antioch, early on the next day, before Peter had gone out to dispute, Appion and Athenodorus, the companions of Simon, came to Laodicea, seeking the father. Having learned this, he ordered them to enter. And when they had entered and sat down, and had asked, "Where is Faustus?" Peter replied, "We do not know; for since that evening when he went to you, he has appeared to none of his own people again. But yesterday morning ^D and Simon was seeking him, and since we answered nothing, I do not know what

^A he thought, having said that he himself was Faustus. Not being believed, he wept, lamented, and threatening to kill himself, rushed toward the sea.

XXII. When Appion and his companions heard this, they raised a cry and wailed, saying, "Why did you not receive him?" And just as Athenodorus was about to say to me, "That Faustus was your father," Appion, anticipating him, said, "We learned from someone that Simon, having met him, urged him to leave Peter and become his traveling companion, and promised to reveal the truth to him; and that Faustus himself begged him, saying that he never wished to see his sons again, since they had become Jews." When we heard these things, we came here for the purpose of seeking him. But because he is not found here, it appears that the one who reported it told the truth, which we have announced to you. I, ^B however, Clement, having perceived Peter’s intention—that he wished to sow suspicion among them that the old man was to be sought among them, so that, filled with fear, they might flee—cooperated with his purpose, and said to Appion, "Listen, my dearest Appion; we strive to offer to our father those things we believe to be good. But if he does not wish to accept them, and instead flees from us while cursing us, I will speak somewhat harshly: we, too, do not care about him." When I had stated these things, they departed, as if feeling aggrieved at my cruelty, and as we learned the next day, they followed in the footsteps of Simon with all speed for Judea.

XXIII. In the meantime, when ten days had passed, a certain man came from Antioch, sent by my father, ^C announcing how, by publicly accusing Simon while wearing his own face, and by extolling Peter with praises, he had filled the whole city of the Antiochians with a longing to see him. And he said that, because of this, everyone desired to have him with them. Some, however, because of their excessive love for Peter, were raging against my father, wishing to lay hands on Faustus as if he were Simon. Therefore, fearing that he might be killed, he had immediately sent the man to ask Peter to hasten to him, if he wished to find him alive and to appear opportunely to the ardent longing of the city. Upon learning these things, Peter gathered the multitude ^D together to deliberate in the assembly, and having ordained a bishop from among his companions, after having spent three days in Laodicea baptizing and healing, he hastened to set out for neighboring Antioch.