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52. MAN. Why contrary? 53. ORTH. Because it both nourishes and constitutes the bodies, which you say belong to evil. And no one will dispute these things, without fighting against experience. But tell me this also, do you confess a judgment? 54. MAN. Yes. 55. ORTH. Who is the judge and who is the one being judged? 56. MAN. The good god judges, and the soul that has sinned is judged. 57. ORTH. But God is found punishing himself for having sinned, if the soul being judged is from his substance. And how is it judged at all, not having willingly done evil? For you say that evil things happen by necessity of nature and not by choice. 58. But since you say there are two principles, God and matter, and that God is good, but matter is evil, and you dare to assign to each nature a separate and distinct place and you attach other myths to these, that matter, having beheld the light of God, came into a state of desire, and rushed toward the light; and when the good God saw it preparing for war, he cut off a part of his own substance and cast it into matter, and it, having received it, gave birth to all bodies, since, therefore, you say these things, I will make a brief refutation of them. 59. First, then, the action must be examined, if it is fitting and suitable to the nature of God, then the purpose of the action, then the end. Let us see, therefore, in the case of God first, if what was done by him is fitting to the nature of God. What, then, is according to nature for God? Evidently, to be unbegotten and incorruptible and good and, according to you Manicheans, to remain in his own place. But the action, according to your hypothesis, is shown to be contrary to his nature; for it violates all the things that have been said. For the one good God does not remain one unbegotten being, when he is divided into two or even more unbegotten beings. Nor indeed does the one who is divided remain incorruptible, nor good. For how is he good who has made an enemy of himself, and betrayed a certain part of himself to his enemies? And how could he be good, freeing himself through the making of the world, but doing this to the destruction of the things created? But neither did he remain entirely in his own place; for a part of him passed over to the place of matter. 60. Secondly, it must be investigated if the action is consistent with the purpose. What then is the purpose? Evidently, victory. But the action is shown to be contrary to the purpose also; for it is clear that the united is stronger than the divided, and that which is according to nature is more powerful than that which has turned against nature, and the one who remains in his own place than the one who has passed over to another place. What then is consistent and fitting for the purpose? To preserve his strength rather, and not to make it weaker by division. 61. And let us see the third point, if the action is suitable to the end. What then do you say is the end resulting from the victory? For you will surely say either the preservation of God's constitution, or freedom, or not to move from his own place, or that matter might be destroyed, or that it might be changed for the better. But the action suggests that we should think the contrary to these things. For neither did the constitution of God remain in its natural state, since a part was betrayed, nor did freedom; for he was enslaved to the generation of the world, having placed a part of himself in the things that were created. Nor did he remain in his own place, since a part passed over to matter. Nor was the nature of matter destroyed or changed; for it remained what it was from the beginning, unchangeable, so that from every side the hypothesis which you have put together by telling myths is shown to be stale and foolish.

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52. ΜΑΝ. ∆ιὰ τί ἐναντία; 53. ὈΡΘ. Ὅτι τὰ σώματα, ἃ τῆς κακίας ὑμεῖς εἶναι λέγετε, τρέφει τε καὶ συγκροτεῖ. Καὶ τούτοις οὐδεὶς ἀντερεῖ, μὴ τῇ πείρᾳ μαχόμενος. Εἰπὲ δέ μοι καὶ τοῦτο, κρίσιν ὁμολογεῖς; 54. ΜΑΝ. Ναί. 55. ὈΡΘ. Τίς ὁ κρίνων καὶ τίς ὁ κρινόμενος; 56. ΜΑΝ. Κρίνει μὲν ὁ ἀγαθὸς θεός, κρίνεται δὲ ἡ ἁμαρτήσασα ψυχή. 57. ὈΡΘ. Ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν ἁμαρτήσαντα κολάζων εὑρίσκεται ὁ θεός, εἴπερ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἡ κρινομένη ψυχή. Πῶς δὲ ὅλως κρίνεται μὴ ἑκουσίως ἐργασαμένη τὸ πονηρόν; Ἀνάγκῃ γὰρ φύσεως καὶ οὐ προαιρέσει γίνεσθαί φατε τὰ κακά. 58. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ δύο ἀρχὰς εἶναί φατε, θεὸν καὶ ὕλην, καὶ τὸν μὲν θεὸν ἀγαθόν, τὴν δὲ ὕλην πονηράν, καὶ ἑκάστῃ φύσει κεχωρι- σμένον καὶ ἰδιάζοντα τόπον ἀφορίζειν τολμᾶτε καὶ ἑτέρους δὲ τούτοις ἐπισυνάπτετε μύθους, ὅτι θεωρήσασα ἡ ὕλη τὸ φῶς τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς ἔρωτα ἦλθε, καὶ ὥρμησε πρὸς τὸ φῶς· ἣν ἰδὼν ὁ ἀγαθὸς θεὸς πρὸς πόλεμον παρασκευαζομένην τῆς οἰκείας οὐσίας μέρος ἀποτεμὼν ἐνέβαλε ταύτῃ, ἡ δὲ λαβοῦσα ἐγέννησε πάντα τὰ σώματα, ἐπεὶ οὖν ταῦτά φατε, ἀνατροπὴν τούτων σύντομον ποιήσομαι. 59. Πρῶτον οὖν ἐξεταστέον τὴν πρᾶξιν, εἰ ἁρμόττουσα καὶ κατάλληλός ἐστι τῇ φύσει τοῦ θεοῦ, εἶτα τῆς πράξεως τὸν σκοπόν, εἶτα τὸ τέλος. Εἴδωμεν τοίνυν ἐπὶ θεοῦ πρῶτον, εἰ ἁρμόττει τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ φύσει τὸ πραχθὲν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. Τί τοίνυν κατὰ φύσιν ἐστὶ τῷ θεῷ; ∆ηλονότι τὸ ἀγένητον καὶ τὸ ἄφθαρτον καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καί, καθ' ὑμᾶς τοὺς Μανιχαίους, τὸ ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ μεῖναι τόπῳ. Ἀλλ' ἡ πρᾶξις, κατὰ τὴν ὑμῶν ὑπόθεσιν, ἐναντία τῇ φύσει δείκνυται· λυμαίνεται γὰρ πᾶσι τοῖς εἰρημένοις. Οὔτε γὰρ εἷς ἀγένητος διαμένει ὁ εἷς ἀγαθὸς θεός, ὅταν εἰς δύο ἢ καὶ πλείονα ἀγένητα διαιρεθῇ. Οὔτε μὴν ἄφθαρτος ὁ μερισθεὶς διαμένει, ἀλλ' οὔτε ἀγαθός. Πῶς γὰρ ἀγαθὸς ὁ ἑαυτῷ ἐχθράνας, καὶ μέρος τι ἑαυτοῦ προδοὺς τοῖς πολεμίοις; Πῶς δ' ἂν εἴη ἀγαθός, ἑαυτὸν μὲν ἐλευθερῶν διὰ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου ποιήσεως, ἐπ' ὀλέθρῳ δὲ τῶν δημιουργηθέντων τοῦτο ποιῶν; Ἀλλ' οὔτε ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ τόπῳ διέμεινε παντελῶς· μετέπεσε γὰρ αὐτοῦ μέρος ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον τῆς ὕλης. 60. ∆εύτερον ζητητέον εἰ τῷ σκοπῷ ἀκόλουθός ἐστιν ἡ πρᾶξις. Τίς οὖν ὁ σκοπός; ∆ῆλον ὅτι ἡ νίκη. ∆είκνυται δὲ καὶ τῷ σκοπῷ ἐναντίως ἔχουσα ἡ πρᾶξις· δῆλον γὰρ ὅτι ὁ ἡνωμένος τοῦ μερισθέντος ἰσχυρότερος, καὶ ὁ κατὰ φύσιν τοῦ παρὰ φύσιν τραπέντος δυνατώτερος, καὶ ὁ ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τόπῳ μένων τοῦ μεταπεσόντος εἰς ἕτερον τόπον. Τί οὖν ἀκόλουθον καὶ πρεπῶδες τῷ σκοπῷ; Τηρῆσαι μᾶλλον τὴν ἰσχύν, καὶ μὴ τῇ διαστάσει ἀσθενεστέραν ταύτην ποιῆσαι. 61. Εἴδωμεν δὲ καὶ τὸ τρίτον, εἰ κατάλληλος τῷ τέλει ἡ πρᾶξις. Τί οὖν τὸ ἐκ τῆς νίκης τέλος φατέ; Ἢ γὰρ τὴν φυλακὴν τῆς συστάσεως τοῦ θεοῦ ἐρεῖτε πάντως, ἢ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν, ἢ τὸ τοῦ οἰκείου τόπου μὴ μεταστῆναι, ἢ ἵνα ἀναιρεθῇ ἡ ὕλη, ἢ ἵνα μεταβληθῇ ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον. Ἀλλ' ἡ πρᾶξις τὸ ἐναντίον τούτοις ὑπαγορεύει νοεῖν. Οὔτε γὰρ ἡ σύστασις τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν τῷ κατὰ φύσιν διέμεινε, προδοθέντος τοῦ μέρους, οὔτε ἡ ἐλευθερία· ἐδούλευσε γὰρ τῇ γενέσει τοῦ κόσμου, ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ μέρος τοῖς δημιουργηθεῖσιν ἐνθείς. Οὔτε δὲ ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ διέμεινε τόπῳ, μεταστάντος τοῦ μέρους ἐπὶ τὴν ὕλην. Οὔτε δὲ ἡ φύσις τῆς ὕλης ἀνῃρέθη ἢ μετεβλήθη· ἔμεινε γὰρ ὃ ἦν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀμετάτρεπτος, ὥστε πανταχόθεν ἕωλον καὶ μωρὰν δείκνυσθαι τὴν ὑπόθεσιν ἣν μυθολογοῦντες συνεθήκατε.