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who are thought to be Christians and yet reckon the divine Scripture as nothing, but despising and being arrogant like the pagan philosophers, they suppose the shape of the heaven to be spherical, being deceived by the solar and lunar eclipses. I have therefore fittingly divided the entire subject matter of the book into five parts. First of all, the first book was written against those who have been mentioned and are deceived, showing that it is not possible for one who wishes to be a Christian to be led astray by the plausible error of those outside, since the divine Scripture proposes other things; for if anyone should wish to examine the Greek hypotheses, he will surely find fictions and mythical sophisms and things that are utterly impossible. ηψπο.5 Then, next, for the Christian who requested it and is bound to say: 'With these things refuted, what true hypotheses should be introduced instead?' the second book was written, explaining the Christian hypotheses, proceeding from the divine Scripture, and showing the shape of the entire cosmos, and that some of the ancient pagans were of such an opinion. Then again, as if someone were perplexed and saying: 'How is it clear if Moses and the prophets are telling the truth when they say such things?' the third book demonstrates the trustworthiness of Moses and the prophets, and that they did not speak from themselves, but being inspired by divine revelation and tested by deed and fact, having foreseen these things they thus spoke, both those in the Old and those in the New, and what is the use of the shapes of the cosmos, and from where the supposition of the sphere had its occasion and beginning. Then again, for those desiring to receive the shapes by sight, the fourth book was written, being a brief recapitulation and diagram of the aforementioned things, and the refutation of the sphere and the antipodes. ηψπο.6 Then again, for the one who requested the Christian hypotheses, the fifth book was written, showing that we have not spoken or drawn diagrams by fashioning them for ourselves, nor by inventing new myths, but from the revelation and command of God who created the cosmos, having beheld the model of the entire cosmos, I mean the tabernacle constructed by Moses, which the New Testament also in agreement declared to be a copy of the entire cosmos, which Moses also, dividing it by the veil, made the one into two, just as God from the beginning divided the one space, that from the earth to the heaven, by the firmament into two spaces; in the tabernacle the outer and the inner, here the lower and the upper space; the lower is this world, and the upper is the world to come, where also the Lord Christ, having risen from the dead according to the flesh, ascended first of all, and the righteous will again ascend after these things. ηψπο.7 And that from Adam to Moses, and from Moses to John, and from John all the apostles and evangelists, all in agreement both through words and through types spoke about these two states, and that none of them disagreed, neither speaking of another before this one, nor proposing a third after the second, but all, as inspired by one divine Spirit, spoke of the two states alone. ηψπο.8 Wherefore, taking courage from the truly divine Scripture, we have also drawn the shapes of the whole cosmos and the places themselves, in which you will find also the exodus of the Israelites themselves and the mountain, on which they received the law in writing and were taught the experience of letters, and the diagram of the tabernacle and their possession of the land of promise, until he who was expected from them and proclaimed through all the ancient men and prophets appeared, revealing the future second state, which, when he came, he showed to all of us in himself, having entered into the inner tabernacle, into the upper heavenly space, into which he calls the righteous at the second coming, saying: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." To him be the

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χριστιανίζειν νομιζόμενοι καὶ τὴν θείαν Γραφὴν μηδὲν λογιζόμενοι, ἀλλὰ περιφρονοῦντες καὶ ὑπερφρονοῦντες κατὰ τοὺς ἔξωθεν φιλοσόφους, σφαιρικὸν εἶναι τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὑπολαμβάνουσιν ἐκ τῶν ἡλιακῶν καὶ σεληνιακῶν ἐκλείψεων πλανώμενοι. Πᾶσαν τοίνυν τῆς βίβλου τὴν ὑπόθεσιν εἰς πέντε μέρη ἁρμοδίως διειλόμην. Πρῶτον πάντων πρὸς τοὺς εἰρημένους καὶ πλανωμένους ὁ πρῶτος λόγος ἐγένετο, ὡς οὐ δυνατὸν τὸν χριστιανίζειν ἐθέλοντα ἀπάγεσθαι τῇ πιθανῇ τῶν ἔξωθεν πλάνῃ, ἕτερα τῆς θείας Γραφῆς ὑποτιθεμένης· καὶ γὰρ ἐάν τις θελήσειε βασανίσαι τὰς ἑλληνικὰς ὑποθέσεις, πλάσματα πάντως εὑρήσει καὶ μυθώδη σοφίσματα καὶ ἀδύνατα παντελῶς. ηψπο.5 Εἶτα λοιπὸν πρὸς τὸν αἰτησάμενον χριστιανὸν ὀφείλοντα λέγειν· Τούτων ἀναιρουμένων, ποίας χρὴ ἀντεισάγειν ὑποθέσεις ἀληθεῖς; ὁ δεύτερος λόγος ἐγένετο ἐξηγούμενος τὰς χριστιανικὰς ὑποθέσεις ἐκ τῆς θείας Γραφῆς προερχόμενος, καὶ δηλῶν παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου τὸ σχῆμα, καὶ ὅτι τινὲς τῶν ἔξωθεν παλαιῶν τοιαύτης δόξης ἐγένοντο. Εἶτα πάλιν ὡσανεὶ τινὸς ἀποροῦντος καὶ λέγοντος· Πόθεν δῆλον εἰ ἀληθεύει Μωϋσῆς καὶ οἱ προφῆται τοιαῦτα λέγοντες; ὁ τρίτος λόγος τὸ ἀξιόπιστον ἀποδείκνυσι Μωϋσέως καὶ τῶν προφητῶν, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν ἐλάλησαν, ἀλλ' ἐκ θείας ἀποκαλύψεως ἐμπνευσθέντες καὶ δοκιμασθέντες ἔργῳ καὶ πράγματι, προθεωρήσαντες αὐτὰ οὕτως ἐξεῖπον καὶ οἱ ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ καὶ οἱ ἐν τῇ Νέᾳ, καὶ τί τὸ χρήσιμον τῶν σχημάτων τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ πόθεν ἀφορμὴν καὶ ἀρχὴν ἔσχε τῆς σφαίρας ἡ ὑπόνοια. Εἶτα πάλιν περὶ τῶν ποθούντων ὄψει παραλαβεῖν τὰ σχήματα ὁ τέταρτος λόγος ἐγένετο, σύντομος ἀνακεφαλαίωσις καὶ διαγραφὴ τῶν προειρημένων ὑπάρχων, καὶ τῆς σφαίρας καὶ τῶν ἀντιπόδων ἡ ἀνατροπή. ηψπο.6 Εἶτα πάλιν πρὸς τὸν αἰτησάμενον τὰς χριστιανικὰς ὑποθέσεις ὁ πέμπτος λόγος ἐγένετο, δηλῶν ὡς οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς πλασάμενοι, οὔτε νέους μύθους ἐφευρηκότες εἰρήκαμεν ἢ διεγράψαμεν, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἀποκαλύψεως καὶ προστάξεως Θεοῦ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον δημιουργήσαντος, θεωρήσαντες τὸ ἐκμαγεῖον τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου, τὴν σκηνὴν λέγω τὴν ὑπὸ Μωϋσέως κατασκευασθεῖσαν, ἣν καὶ ἡ Νέα συμφώνως ἐκτύπωμα παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου αὐτὴν ἔφησεν εἶναι, ἣν καὶ διελὼν ὁ Μωϋσῆς διὰ τοῦ καταπετάσματος τὴν μίαν εἰς δύο πεποίηκε, καθάπερ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὸν χῶρον τὸν ἕνα, τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἕως τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, διὰ τοῦ στερεώματος διεῖλεν εἰς δύο χώρους· ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ ἡ ἐξωτέρα καὶ ἐσωτέρα, ἐνταῦθα κατώτερος καὶ ἀνώτερος χῶρος· ὁ κατώτερος μέν ἐστιν ὁ κόσμος οὗτος, ὁ ἀνώτερος δὲ ὁ μέλλων κόσμος, ἔνθα καὶ ὁ ∆εσπότης Χριστὸς κατὰ σάρκα ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστὰς πρῶτος πάντων ἀνελήλυθε, καὶ οἱ δίκαιοι μετὰ ταῦτα πάλιν ἀνελεύσονται. ηψπο.7 Καὶ ὅτι ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι Μωϋσέως, καὶ ἀπὸ Μωϋσέως ἕως Ἰωάννου, καὶ ἀπὸ Ἰωάννου πάντες οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ εὐαγγελισταί, συμφώνως πάντες καὶ διὰ λόγων καὶ διὰ τύπων ἐξεῖπον περὶ τῶν δύο τούτων καταστάσεων, καὶ ὅτι οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν διεφώνησεν, οὔτε πρὸ ταύτης εἰπὼν ἑτέραν, οὔτε μετὰ τὴν δευτέραν τρίτην ὑποθέμενος, ἀλλὰ πάντες ὡς ἐξ ἑνὸς θείου Πνεύματος ἐμπνευσθέντες τὰς δύο μόνας καταστάσεις ἐξεῖπον. ηψπο.8 Ὅθεν θαρρήσαντες τῇ θείᾳ ὄντως Γραφῇ κατεγράψαμεν καὶ τὰ σχήματα τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς τόπους, ἐν οἶς εὑρήσεις καὶ τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτῶν τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν καὶ τὸ ὄρος, ἐν ᾧ τὸν νόμον ἐγγράφως ἐδέξαντο καὶ τῶν γραμμάτων τὴν πεῖραν ἐδιδάχθησαν, καὶ τῆς σκηνῆς τὴν διαγραφὴν καὶ τὴν κατάσχεσιν αὐτῶν τὴν ἐν τῇ γῇ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, ἄχρις ἂν ὁ προσδοκώμενος ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ προκηρυττόμενος διὰ πάντων τῶν ἀρχαίων ἀνθρώπων καὶ προφητῶν παρεγένετο ἀναδεικνύων τὴν μέλλουσαν δευτέραν κατάστασιν, ἣν καὶ παραγενόμενος ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔδειξε πᾶσιν ἡμῖν, εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν ἐσωτέραν σκηνήν, εἰς τὸν ἀνώτερον οὐράνιον χῶρον, εἰς ὃν προσκαλεῖται τοὺς δικαίους ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ παρουσίᾳ λέγων· "∆εῦτε, οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ Πατρός μου, κληρονομήσατε τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου." Αὐτῷ ἡ