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“Let the earth bring forth grass”-and at his command every tree sprouted, <and every> kind of herb and plant has within itself seminal power. The seed of every plant and herb is animate, which, falling back into the earth of its own accord or even being sown by another, sprouts again, not being formed by anyone, but obeying the first command of God. Behold, I too, as I said before, being possessed of free will, in those things alone which I have already mentioned, wherever I sow, whether into my own wife or into another's, using my power, it sprouts and comes to be, obeying the first command of God, not that even now he forms and works each day, since in the first week “God made the heaven and the earth and the whole cosmos in six days and on the seventh he rested from all his works which he had begun to do,” as the scripture also testifies to me. But the Saracen: And how does God say to Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and from the womb I have sanctified you?” The Christian: In the belly of every man God formed the animate and seminal power, from Adam and in succession. For Adam, having Seth in his belly, begat him, as I said before, and Seth, Enos, and each man having a son in his belly, the son also begat and begets until the present. But as for “from the womb I have sanctified you,” understand the one who truly begets the children of God according to the testimony of the holy gospel: “For as many as received him,” it says, “to them he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood nor of the will of man nor of the will of flesh, but of God” through baptism. 2 But the opponent: And was there baptism before Christ? For Jeremiah was born before Christ. The Christian: There was, according to the testimony of the holy apostle who says that some were baptized through the cloud, others through the sea. And the Lord says in the Gospels: “Unless one is born of water and the spirit, he will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Therefore Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and the other saints before Christ, entering into the kingdom of heaven, were baptized beforehand, since according to the testimony of Christ, if they had not been baptized, they would not have been saved. And the Holy Spirit testifies, saying: “Sinners were estranged from the womb,” that is, of baptism. For this reason we confess, that all who have been saved and who are being saved were saved and are saved through baptism by the grace of God. 3 The Saracen: Do you say that one who does the will of his God is good or evil? But the Christian, knowing his cunning, said: I know what you want to say. The Saracen: Reveal it to me. The Christian: You want to say, did Christ suffer willingly or unwillingly? And if I say to you: He suffered willingly, so that you might say to me: Go away then, worship the Jews, because they did the will of your God. The Saracen: Thus, he says, I wanted to say to you; if you have a word, answer me. The Christian: What you call will, I call forbearance and long-suffering. The Saracen: From where can you demonstrate this? The Christian: By a deed; for while you and I are sitting or standing, can one of us stand up or move without the power and lordship of God? And the Saracen: No. The Christian: When God has said: “You shall not steal, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not murder,” does he will that we steal and commit fornication and murder? The Saracen: No; for if he willed it, he would not have said: “You shall not steal, you shall not commit fornication, you shall not murder.” The Christian: Glory to God, that you have confessed by saying what I want to say. Behold, you have agreed with me, that none of us can stand up or move without God and that God does not will that we steal or commit fornication. If I now stand up and go away and steal or

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«Βλαστησάτω ἡ γῆ βοτάνην χόρτου»-καὶ τῷ προστάγματι αὐτοῦ ἐβλάστησεν ἕκαστον δένδρον, <πᾶν δὲ> εἶδος βοτάνης καὶ φυτοῦ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἔχει σπερματικὴν δύναμιν. Ἡ σπορὰ δὲ παντὸς φυτοῦ καὶ βοτάνης ἔμψυχός ἐστιν, ἥτις ἐν τῇ γῇ πάλιν ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς πίπτουσα ἢ καὶ ὑπὸ ἄλλου σπερομένη ἀναβλαστάνει, μὴ πλαττομένη ὑπό τινος, ἀλλὰ τῷ πρώτῳ προστάγματι τοῦ θεοῦ ὑπακούουσα. Ἰδοὺ καὶ ἐγώ, καθὰ πρώην ἔφην, αὐτεξούσιος ὤν, ἐν οἷς μόνοις προεῖπα, ὅπου ἐὰν σπείρω κἂν εἰς ἰδίαν γυναῖκα, κἂν εἰς ἀλλοτρίαν τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ μου χρώμενος, ἀναβλαστάνει καὶ γίνεται τῷ πρώτῳ προστάγματι τοῦ θεοῦ ὑπακούουσα, οὐχ ὅτι καὶ νῦν καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν πλάττει καὶ ἐργάζεται, ἐπειδὴ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ ἑβδομάδι «ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον ἐν ἓξ ἡμέραις καὶ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ κατέπαυσεν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ, ὧν ἤρξατο ποιεῖν», καθὼς καὶ ἡ γραφὴ μαρτυρεῖ μοι. Ὁ δὲ Σαρακηνός· Καὶ πῶς φησιν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Ἰερεμίαν· «Πρὸ τοῦ με πλάσαι σε ἐν κοιλίᾳ ἐπίσταμαί σε καὶ ἐκ μήτρας ἡγίακά σε;» Ὁ Χριστιανός· Παντὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐν κοιλίᾳ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς τὴν ἔμψυχον καὶ σπερματικὴν δύναμιν ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ καὶ καθεξῆς. Ἀδὰμ γὰρ ἐν κοιλίᾳ ἔχων τὸν Σὴθ ἐγέννησεν, ὡς προεῖπον, καὶ Σὴθ τὸν Ἐνώς, καὶ ἕκαστος ἄνθρωπος προέχων ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ αὐτοῦ υἱὸν καὶ ὁ υἱὸς ἐγέννησε καὶ γεννᾷ μέχρι τοῦ παρόντος. Τὸ δὲ «ἐκ μήτρας ἡγίακά σε» νόησον τὴν ὄντως γεννῶσαν τὰ τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ κατὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τοῦ ἁγίου εὐαγγελίου· «ὅσοι γὰρ ἔλαβον αὐτόν, φησίν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, οἳ οὐκ ἐξ αἱμάτων οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρὸς οὐδὲ ἐκ θελήματος σαρκός, ἀλλ' ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν» διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος. 2 Ὁ δὲ ἐναντίος· Καὶ ἦν πρὸ Χριστοῦ βάπτισμα; Ὁ γὰρ Ἰερεμίαςπρὸ Χριστοῦ γεννᾶται. Ὁ Χριστιανός· Ἦν κατὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τοῦ ἁγίου ἀποστόλου φάσκοντος, ὅτι οἱ μὲν διὰ νεφέλης, οἱ δὲ διὰ θαλάσσης ἐβαπτίσθησαν. Καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐν εὐαγγελίοις φησίν· «Ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ δι' ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν.» Ὥστε ὁ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ πρὸ Χριστοῦ ἅγιοεἰσερχόμενοι εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν προεβαπτίσθησαν, ἐπεὶ κατὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, εἰ μὴ ἐβαπτίσθησαν, οὐκ ἂν ἐσῴζοντο. Μαρτυρεῖ δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον λέγον· «Ἀπηλλοτριώθησαν οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀπὸ μήτρας», τουτέστι τῆς τοῦ βαπτίσματος. Χάριν τούτου ὁμολογοῦμεν, ὅτι πάντες οἱ σωθέντες καὶ οἱ σῳζόμενοι διὰ βαπτίσματος ἐσώθησαν καὶ σῴζονται χάριτι θεοῦ. 3 Ὁ Σαρακηνός· Τὸν ποιοῦντα τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ καλὸν εἶναι λέγεις ἢ κακόν; Γνοὺς δὲ τὴν πανουργίαν αὐτοῦ ὁ Χριστιανὸς ἔφη· Ὃ θέλεις εἰπεῖν, ἐπίσταμαι. Ὁ Σαρακηνός· Φανέρωσόν μοι αὐτό. Ὁ Χριστιανός· Εἰπεῖν θέλεις, ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς θέλων ἔπαθεν ἢ μὴ θέλων; Καὶ ἐάν σοι εἴπω· Θέλων ἔπαθεν, ἵνα μοι εἴπῃς· Ἄπελθε λοιπόν, προσκύνησον τοὺς Ἰουδαίους, διότι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ σου ἐποίησαν. Ὁ Σαρακηνός· Οὕτως, φησί, σοὶ ἤθελον εἰπεῖν· εἰ ἔστι σοι λόγος, ἀποκρίθητί μοι. Ὁ Χριστιανός· Ὅ τι σὺ λέγεις θέλημα εἶναι, ἐγὼ λέγω ἀνοχὴν καὶ μακροθυμίαν. Ὁ Σαρακηνός· Πόθεν δύνῃ τοῦτο παραστῆσαι; Ὁ Χριστιανός· ∆ιὰ πράγματος· διὸ καθημένου ἐμοῦ καὶ σοῦ ἢ ἱσταμένου δύναταί τις ἐξ ἡμῶν ἄνευ τῆς ἐξουσίας καὶ δεσποτείας τοῦ θεοῦ ἀναστῆναι ἢ κινηθῆναι; Καὶ ὁ Σαρακηνός· Οὔ. Ὁ Χριστιανός· Τοῦ θεοῦ εἰπόντος· «Μὴ κλέψῃς, μὴ πορνεύσῃς, μὴ φονεύσῃς», θέλει, ἵνα κλέψωμεν καὶ πορνεύσωμεν καὶ φονεύσωμεν; Ὁ Σαρακηνός· Οὐχί· εἰ γὰρ ἤθελεν, οὐκ ἂν εἶπεν· «Μὴ κλέψῃς, μὴ πορνεύσῃς, μὴ φονεύσῃς.» Ὁ Χριστιανός· ∆όξα τῷ θεῷ, ὅτι σὺ ὡμολόγησας λέγων, ἃ θέλω εἰπεῖν. Ἰδοὺ συνέθου μοι, ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἐξ ἡμῶν ἄνευ τοῦ θεοῦ δύναται ἀναστῆναι ἢ κινηθῆναι καὶ ὅτι οὐ θέλει ὁ θεός, ἵνα κλέπτωμεν ἢ πορνεύωμεν. Ἐὰν ἄρτι ἀναστὰς ἀπέλθω καὶ κλέψω ἢ