upon matter, which will be mixed with it throughout; for the death of matter will be the separation of this power from it at some later time. Thus, then, by the providence of God the soul has been mixed with matter, a dissimilar thing with a dissimilar. But in the mixture the soul suffers along with matter; for just as what is in a poor vessel is often changed along with it, so also the soul, having suffered some such thing in matter, has been diminished from its existing nature into a participation of evil. God therefore pitied this and sent another certain power, which we call the demiurge; upon whose arrival and undertaking of the world-making, that part of the power was separated from matter which had suffered nothing amiss from the mixture, and first became the sun and the moon, but that which had come to be in moderate evil became the stars and the entire heaven. Therefore, the part of matter from which the sun and moon were separated has been driven outside the cosmos, and that is a fire, burning but dark and lightless, like unto night. But in the other elements and plants and animals in these, the divine power, having been mixed, is borne irregularly. Wherefore also the cosmos has come to be, and in it the sun and moon, by their generations and corruptions always separating the divine power from matter and sending it up to God.

4 For indeed, upon the demiurge, another power, having come down upon the light-form of the sun, has managed these things, and the matter is manifest and, as one might say, clear to a blind man. For during its waxing the moon receives the power being separated from matter and becomes full of it during this time, but when filled, during its waning it sends it up to the sun; and it releases it to God, and having done this, it awaits again the migration of the soul to it from the next full moon and having received it, likewise allows it to be borne automatically to God and to work this out through all. And such an image is seen in the sun, as is the form of man, and matter rivaled this by making man out of itself according to the mixture of the power throughout all of itself, he also having something of the soul; however, the form contributed much to man partaking of the divine power more than the other mortal animals, for he is an image of the divine power. But Christ is mind; who, having once come from the place above, has released most of this power to God and indeed, finally, having been crucified, has furnished knowledge in such a way, and the divine power has been fitted into, has been crucified in, matter. Since, therefore, it is a dogma of God that matter is to be destroyed, they abstain from all animate things, but eat vegetables and whatever is inanimate, and they abstain from marriages and sexual acts and procreation, so that the power may not dwell more in matter according to the succession of the race. Not to bring out of themselves, contriving a purification of those things by which the mixture of matter has defiled the power.

5 These are the main points of what they say. They especially honor the sun and moon, not as gods, but as a way through which it is possible to arrive at God. They say that when the divine power has been precisely separated, the outer fire, having fallen upon itself and the entire remainder, whatever is left of matter, will burn it all up together. The more elegant among them and not inexperienced in Greek literature remind us from their own sources, from the mysteries, citing in their account Dionysus who was torn apart by the Titans, just as they themselves say the divine power is divided into matter; and from the poems of the gigantomachy, that not even they were ignorant of the

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ἐπὶ τὴν ὕλην, ἥτις αὐτῇ διὰ πάσης μιχθήσεται· ἔσεσθαι γὰρ τῆς ὕλης θάνατον τὸν μετὰ ταῦτά ποτε τῆς δυνά μεως ταύτης χωρισμόν. οὕτως οὖν κατὰ πρόνοιαν τοῦ θεοῦ μεμῖχθαι τὴν ψυχὴν τῇ ὕλῃ, ἀνόμοιόν τι πρᾶγμα ἀνομοίῳ. ἐν δὲ τῇ μίξει συμπαθεῖν τῇ ὕλῃ τὴν ψυχήν· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν φαύλῳ ἀγγείῳ συμμεταβάλλεσθαι πολ λάκις τὸ ἐνυπάρχον, οὕτω δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ ὕλῃ τοιοῦτό τι τὴν ψυχὴν παθοῦσαν παρὰ τὴν οὖσαν ἠλαττῶσθαι φύσιν εἰς μετουσίαν κακίας. οἰκτεῖραι οὖν τοῦτο τὸν θεὸν καὶ πέμψαι τινὰ ἑτέραν δύναμιν, ἣν ἡμεῖς καλοῦ μεν δημιουργόν· ἧς δὴ ἀφικομένης καὶ τῇ κοσμοποιίᾳ ἐπικεχειρηκυίας ἀποκεκρίσθαι τῆς ὕλης ἐκεῖνο τῆς δυ νάμεως, ὅσον ἀπὸ τῆς μίξεως οὐδὲν ἦν ἄτοπον πεπον θός, καὶ γεγονέναι ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην πρῶτον, τὸ δὲ ἐν μετρίᾳ γεγονὸς κακίᾳ ἀστέρας καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν σύμπαντα. τῆς οὖν ὕλης ἧς ἀπεκρίθησαν ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη τὸ μέρος ἐκτὸς τοῦ κόσμου ἀπεληλάσθαι, καὶ εἶναι ἐκεῖνο πῦρ, καυστικὸν μὲν σκοτῶδες δὲ καὶ ἀφεγ γές, νυκτὶ προσόμοιον. ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις στοιχείοις καὶ φυτοῖς καὶ ζῴοις τοῖς ἐν τούτοις ἀνωμάλως φέρε σθαι τὴν θείαν δύναμιν μεμιγμένην. διὸ δὴ καὶ τὸν κόσμον γεγονέναι καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην ταῖς γενέσεσιν καὶ ταῖς φθοραῖς ἀεὶ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν θείαν τῆς ὕλης ἀποχωρίζοντας καὶ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν παρα πέμποντας.

4 ἐπὶ γάρ τοι τῷ δημιουργῷ ἑτέραν δύναμιν ἐπὶ τὸ φωτοειδὲς τοῦ ἡλίου κατελθοῦσαν ταῦτα διαπραγματεύσασθαι, καὶ εἶναι καὶ ἐμφανὲς τὸ πρᾶγμα καί, ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι, τυφλῷ δῆλον. ἐν μὲν γὰρ ταῖς αὐξήσεσιν τὴν σελήνην λαμβάνειν τὴν ἀποχωριζομένην δύναμιν ἀπὸ τῆς ὕλης καὶ πλήρη γίνεσθαι ταύτης τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον, πληρωθεῖσαν δὲ ἐν ταῖς μειώσεσιν εἰς τὸν ἥλιον ἀναπέμπειν· τὸν δὲ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀφιέναι, ποιήσαντα δὲ τοῦτο ἐκδέχεσθαι πάλιν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἑτέρας πανσελήνου πρὸς αὐτὸν τῆς ψυχῆς μετοίκησιν καὶ παραλαβόντα ὁμοίως πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἐᾶν αὐτομάτως φέρεσθαι καὶ τοῦτο διὰ παντὸς ἐκπονεῖν. καὶ εἰκόνα δὲ ἐν ἡλίῳ ἑωρᾶσθαι τοιαύτην, οἷόν ἐστι τὸ τοῦ ἀν θρώπου εἶδος, καὶ ἀντιφιλοτιμήσασθαι τὴν ὕλην ποι ῆσαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐξ αὑτῆς κατὰ τὴν διὰ πάσης αὐτῆς τῆς δυνάμεως μῖξιν, ἔχοντα καὶ αὐτόν τι τῆς ψυχῆς· πολὺ μέντοι συμβεβλῆσθαι τὸ εἶδος εἰς τὸ πλεῖόν τι παρὰ τὰ ἄλλα θνητὰ ζῷα τῆς δυνάμεως τῆς θείας τὸν ἄνθρωπον μετασχεῖν, ὑπάρχειν γὰρ αὐτὸν θείας δυνά μεως εἰκόνα. τὸν δὲ χριστὸν εἶναι νοῦν· ὃν δὴ καὶ ἀφικόμενόν ποτε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄνω τόπου πλεῖστόν τε τῆς δυνάμεως ταύτης πρὸς τὸν θεὸν λελυκέναι καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον ἀνασταυρωθέντα παρασχέσθαι γνῶσιν τοιῷδε τρόπῳ καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν θείαν ἐνηρμόσθαι, ἐνεσταυρῶσθαι τῇ ὕλῃ. ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀπόλλυσθαι τὴν ὕλην ἐστὶ θεοῦ δόγμα, ἀπέχεσθαι μὲν ἐμψύχων πάντων, σιτίζεσθαι δὲ λάχανα καὶ πᾶν ὅ τι ἀναίσθητον, ἀπέχε σθαι δὲ γάμων καὶ ἀφροδισίων καὶ τεκνοποιίας, ἵνα μὴ ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἡ δύναμις ἐνοικήσῃ τῇ ὕλῃ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ γένους διαδοχήν. μὴ ἐξάγειν δὲ ἑαυτοὺς μηχανω μένους κάθαρσιν ὧν ἐλυμήνατο ἡ μῖξις τῆς ὕλης τὴν δύναμιν.

5 τὰ μὲν κεφαλαιωδέστερα ὧν λέγουσίν ἐστιν ταῦτα. τιμῶσι δὲ μάλιστα ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην οὐχ ὡς θεούς, ἀλλ' ὡς ὁδὸν δι' ἧς ἔστιν πρὸς θεὸν ἀφικέσθαι. ἀποχωρισθείσης δὲ ἀκριβῶς τῆς θείας δυ νάμεως τὸ ἔξω πῦρ φασι συμπεσὸν ἑαυτό τε καὶ τὸ ἄλλο σύμπαν, ὅ τι δἂν λείπηται τῆς ὕλης, συγκατα φλέξειν. Οἱ δὲ ἐν τούτοις χαριέστεροι καὶ ἑλληνικῶν οὐκ ἄπειροι λόγων ἀναμιμνῄσκουσιν ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων, ἐκ μὲν τῶν τελετῶν τὸν κατατεμνόμενον ∆ιόνυσον τῷ λόγῳ ἐπιφημίζοντες ὑπὸ τῶν Τιτάνων, καθάπερ λέγου σιν αὐτοὶ τὴν θείαν δύναμιν μερίζεσθαι εἰς τὴν ὕλην· ἐκ δὲ τῶν ποιήσεων τῆς γιγαντομαχίας, ὅτι μηδὲ αὐ τοὶ ἠγνόησαν τὴν τῆς

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