has a separating power 25.3 from material activities. And since some things have come from the unbegotten and incorruptible, the spermatic principles of life, <is gathered like> the wheat and is stored away, but the material, as long as it is with the better part, remains; but when it is separated from that, it is destroyed; for it had its being in another. This, then, has a separating power, the spirit, and a consuming power, the fire, and the fire must be understood as the material 25.4 one. But since that which is saved is like wheat, and that which has grown around the soul is like chaff, and the one is incorporeal, while that which is separated is material, he has set in opposition to the incorporeal the spirit, which is fine and pure almost beyond conception, and to the material the fire, which is not evil or bad, but strong and a purifier of evil; for fire is understood as a good and strong power, destructive of the worse things and preservative of the better, wherefore this fire is also called 'intelligent' by the prophets.

26.1 So, then, also when God is called 'a consuming fire,' not 26.2

of evil, but the name and symbol of power must be understood; for just as fire is the strongest of the elements and rules over all things, so also God is all-powerful and all-ruling, able to rule, to found, to make, to nourish, to increase, to save, having authority over body and soul. As, therefore, fire surpasses the elements, so the Almighty surpasses both gods and 26.3 powers and principalities. And the power of fire is twofold, the one suited for creation and the ripening of fruits and the generation and nourishment of animals, of which the sun is an image, the other for consumption and 26.4 destruction, like the fire on earth. When, therefore, God is called 'a consuming fire,' it means a strong and irresistible power, to which nothing is impossible, 26.5 but even to destroy is possible. About such a power the Savior also says: 'I came to cast fire upon the earth,' evidently a power purifying for the saints, but for the material, as they say, destructive, but as we would say, corrective. And fire has fear, and light has diffusion.

27.1 But the elders did not write, neither wishing to distract the

teaching care of the tradition with the other care of writing, nor indeed spending the time for considering what was to be said 27.2 on writing. Perhaps also, convinced that the literary and the didactic forms were not an achievement of the same nature, they yielded to those 27.3 who were naturally suited for this. For the one, the stream of the speaker, is carried along unhindered and with momentum, and perhaps is even able to carry one away, but the other, being tested at every turn by its readers, receiving close examination, is deemed worthy also of the utmost care, and it is, so to speak, a written confirmation of teaching, and thus the voice is transmitted to later generations 27.4 through the composition. For the deposit of the elders, speaking through writing, uses the writer as a minister for the tradition <for the salvation> of those who will read it. 27.5 Just as, then, the magnetic stone, passing by other matter, draws only the iron to itself because of its suitability, so also books, though many read them, draw to themselves only those who are able to understand. 27.6 For the word of truth is to some 'foolishness,' to others 'a stumbling block,' but to a few it is found to be 'wisdom' and thus also the 'power 27.7 of God'; but let envy be far from a Gnostic. For on this account he even asks which is worse, to give to one who is unworthy or not to hand it down to one who is worthy, and because of great love he is in danger of sharing not only with everyone who is suitable, but sometimes even with an unworthy person who asks insistently, not because of the asking (for he is not ambitious), but because of the persistence of the one who asks, practicing toward faith through much asking.

28.1 But there are some who, saying they are Gnostics, envy their own people more than those

outside. And as the sea is open to all, but one swims, another trades, and another

διαχωριστικὴν ἔχει δύναμιν 25.3 ἐνεργειῶν ὑλικῶν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐξ ἀγεννήτου καὶ ἀφθάρτου γέγονεν, τὰ σπερματικὰ ζωῆς, <συνάγεται ὡς> ὁ πυρὸς καὶ ἀποτίθεται, τὸ δὲ ὑλικόν, μέχρι σύνεστι τῷ κρείττονι, μένει· ὅταν δὲ ἐκείνου χωρισθῇ, ἀπόλλυται· ἐν ἑτέρῳ γὰρ εἶχε τὸ εἶναι. τοῦτο γοῦν χωριστικὸν μὲν δυνάμει, τὸ πνεῦμα, ἀναλωτικὸν δὲ τὸ πῦρ, πῦρ δὲ τὸ ὑλικὸν νοη 25.4 τέον. ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ μὲν τὸ σῳζόμενον σίτῳ ἔοικεν, τὸ δὲ περιπεφυκὸς τῇ ψυχῇ τῷ ἀχύρῳ, καὶ τὸ μὲν ἀσώματον, τὸ δὲ χωριζόμενον ὑλικόν ἐστιν, ἀντέθηκεν τῷ μὲν ἀσωμάτῳ τὸ πνεῦμα, λεπτὸν καὶ καθαρὸν σχεδὸν ὑπὲρ νοῦν, τῷ δὲ ὑλικῷ τὸ πῦρ, οὐ πονηρὸν οὐδὲ κακὸν ὑπάρχον, ἀλλ' ἰσχυρὸν καὶ κακοῦ καθαρτικόν· ἀγαθὴ γὰρ δύναμις τὸ πῦρ νοεῖται καὶ ἰσχυρά, φθαρτικὴ τῶν χειρόνων καὶ σωστικὴ τῶν ἀμεινόνων, διὸ καὶ φρόνιμον λέγεται παρὰ τοῖς προφήταις τοῦτο τὸ πῦρ.

26.1 Οὕτως γοῦν καὶ ὅταν ὁ θεὸς λέγηται "πῦρ καταναλίσκον", οὐ 26.2

κακίας, ἀλλὰ δυνάμεως ὄνομα καὶ σύμβολον ἐκδεκτέον· ὡς γὰρ τὸ πῦρ ἰσχυρότατον τῶν στοιχείων καὶ πάντων κρατοῦν, οὕτω καὶ ὁ θεὸς παντοδύναμος καὶ παντοκράτωρ, ὁ δυνάμενος κρατῆσαι, κτί σαι, ποιῆσαι, τρέφειν, αὔξειν, σῴζειν, σώματος καὶ ψυχῆς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων. ὡς οὖν τῶν στοιχείων ὑπερέχει τὸ πῦρ, οὕτως θεῶν τε καὶ 26.3 δυνάμεων καὶ ἀρχῶν ὁ παντοκράτωρ. διπλῆ τε ἡ δύναμις τοῦ πυρός, ἣ μὲν πρὸς δημιουργίαν καὶ πέπαυσιν καρπῶν καὶ ζῴων γένεσιν καὶ τροφὴν ἐπιτήδειος, ἧς εἰκὼν ὁ ἥλιος, ἣ δὲ πρὸς ἀνάλωσιν καὶ 26.4 φθοράν, ὡς τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἐπίγειον. "πῦρ" οὖν ὅταν λέγηται ὁ θεὸς "καταναλίσκον", δύναμις ἰσχυρὰ καὶ ἀπροσάντητος, ᾗ μηδὲν ἀδύνατον, 26.5 ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἀπολέσαι δυνατόν. περὶ τοιαύτης δυνάμεως καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ λέγει· "πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν", δηλονότι δύναμιν τῶν μὲν ἁγίων καθαρτικήν, τῶν δὲ ὑλικῶν, ὡς μὲν ἐκεῖνοί φασιν, ἀφανιστι κήν, ὡς δὲ ἡμεῖς ἂν φαίημεν, παιδευτικήν. ἔχει δὲ καὶ φόβον τὸ πῦρ καὶ διάχυσιν τὸ φῶς.

27.1 Οὐκ ἔγραφον δὲ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι μήτε ἀπασχολεῖν βουλόμενοι τὴν

διδασκαλικὴν τῆς παραδόσεως φροντίδα τῇ περὶ τὸ γράφειν ἄλλῃ φροντίδι, μηδὲ μὴν τὸν τοῦ προσκέπτεσθαι τὰ λεχθησόμενα καιρὸν 27.2 καταναλίσκοντες εἰς γραφήν. τάχα δὲ οὐδὲ τῆς αὐτῆς φύσεως κατόρ θωμα τὸ συντακτικὸν καὶ διδασκαλικὸν εἶδος εἶναι πεπεισμένοι τοῖς 27.3 εἰς τοῦτο πεφυκόσι συνεχώρουν. τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἀκωλύτως καὶ μετὰ ῥύμης φέρεται ῥεῦμα τοῦ λέγοντος, καί που τάχα καὶ συναρπάσαι δυνά μενον, τὸ δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ἑκάστοτε βασανιζόμενον, ἀκρι βοῦς τῆς ἐξετάσεως τυγχάνον, ἄκρας καὶ τῆς ἐπιμελείας ἀξιοῦται, καὶ ἔστιν οἷον εἰπεῖν ἔγγραφος διδασκαλίας βεβαίωσις, καὶ εἰς τοὺς ὀψι 27.4 γόνους οὕτως διὰ τῆς συντάξεως παραπεμπομένης τῆς φωνῆς. ἡ γὰρ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων παρακαταθήκη διὰ τῆς γραφῆς λαλοῦσα ὑπουργῷ χρῆται τῷ γράφοντι πρὸς τὴν παράδοσιν <εἰς σωτηρίαν> τῶν ἐντευ 27.5 ξομένων. καθάπερ οὖν ἡ μαγνῆτις λίθος τὴν ἄλλην ὕλην παραπεμ πομένη μόνον ἐφέλκεται δι' ἐπιτηδειότητα τὸν σίδηρον, οὕτως καὶ τὰ βιβλία πολλῶν ὄντων τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων τοὺς οἵους τε συνιέναι 27.6 μόνους ἐπισπᾶται. ὁ γὰρ τῆς ἀληθείας λόγος τοῖς μὲν "μωρία", τοῖς δὲ "σκάνδαλον", ὀλίγοις δὲ "σοφία" οὕτως καὶ "δύναμις" εὑρίσκεται 27.7 "θεοῦ"· φθόνος δὲ ἀπείη γνωστικοῦ. διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ζητεῖ πότε ρον χεῖρον, ἀναξίῳ δοῦναι ἢ ἀξίῳ μὴ παραδοῦναι, καὶ κινδυνεύει ὑπὸ πολλῆς τῆς ἀγάπης οὐ μόνον παντὶ τῷ προσήκοντι, ἀλλ' ἔσθ' ὅτε καὶ ἀναξίῳ λιπαρῶς δεομένῳ κοινωνήσειν, οὐ διὰ τὴν δέησιν (οὐ γὰρ φιλοδοξεῖ), ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν ἐπιμονὴν τοῦ δεομένου μελετῶντος εἰς πίστιν διὰ πολλῆς τῆς δεήσεως.

28.1 Εἰσὶ δ' οἳ λέγοντες εἶναι γνωστικοὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις φθονοῦσι μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς

ἐκτός. ὡς δὲ ἡ θάλασσα ἀνίεται πᾶσιν, ἀλλ' ὃ μὲν νήχεται, ὃ δὲ ἐμπορεύεται, ὃ δὲ