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from the building of the tower until Abraham, 123 years, and the knowledge of God came from 241 Abraham and Isaac his son, and Jacob his grandson, and their seed, from whom are the Hebrews, who from the time of Abraham received the character of the nation through circumcision; and the tribe of Judah, the fourth of Jacob, ruled over the Jews and administered them, whence they also had the name. And in these times there appeared someone from the tribe of Japheth, by name Hesiod, who invented the Greek letters, who was also the theologian of the Greeks. That in the times of Pharaoh, also known as Achor, king of Egypt, there appeared a giant-like philosopher from the tribe of Japheth, by name Endymion, in the land of Caria, who, having and saying mystical prayers to the moon, asked to learn from her the divine name in a vision. Therefore, while he was praying, he fell into sleep, and heard in a vision, and did not rise, but his remains stood in the land of Caria, being shaken. concerning whom they say the moon loves him.

And Perswonios reigned over the Egyptians, when the exodus of the sons of Israel happened, and that seeing the wonders wrought by God through Moses, he went to Memphis to the renowned oracle, and having made a sacrifice, he asked the Pythia, saying, "make clear to me who is the first among you, and if the God of Israel is great," and an oracle was given to him thus: "There will be stepping over the great heaven a surpassing flame, an ethereal, ever-flowing, immortal fire, which all heaven trembles at, and earth and sea, the abyss of Tartarus, demons were shattered. This is God, self-fathered father, son himself of himself, thrice-blessed, and we are a small part of the angels; having learned this, depart in silence." In the times of Gideon of the Judges, there was Orpheus the Thracian, the lyrist, the most wise and renowned poet, who set forth the knowledge of God and the creation of the world and the fashioning of men, having said at the beginning of his writing, "that from his own thought, he did not set forth anything concerning God, or the creation of the world, but having asked to learn concerning the sun and creation, and who is their maker." And having spoken many verses concerning this, the same Orpheus concerning 242 the knowledge of God and the creation of the world, also wrote poetically through many verses. and what he set forth is this, "that from the beginning the aether was shown to the world, having been created by God, and on this side and that of the aether was chaos, and gloomy night held and covered all things under the aether, that night preceded the day." having said in his exposition, "that there is someone incomprehensible and pre-existent and creator of all things, both of the aether "itself and of the night, and of the creation being under the aether and being covered; and he said the earth was invisible under the darkness, and that the light, having broken through the aether, illuminated the earth and all creation, saying that light to be the one that broke through the aether, the aforementioned, that which is above all things." whose name Orpheus heard from the oracle, "Counsel, Light, Lifegiver," saying these same three names are divine powers in his exposition. that there is one power and dominion of the heavenly god, whose form or nature no one can see or know. And from this power all things came to be in the beginning as incorporeal, sun and moon and all stars, earth and sea, and the things seen in them and all things unseen. And the race of men, he said, was formed by God himself from the earth, and "received a rational soul" from him, just as the most wise Moses set forth. And the same Orpheus set forth, that through the three names of one divinity all things came to be. And these things the most wise Timotheus the chronographer set forth, saying how many years before Orpheus had spoken of a consubstantial Trinity.

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ἕως τῆς πυργοποιΐας ἕως Ἀβραὰμ ἔτη ρκγ, καὶ ἐγένετο θεογνωσία ἀπὸ 241 Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ Ἰακὼβ ἐγγόνου αὐτοῦ,καὶ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτῶν, ἐξ ὧν εἰσὶν Ἑβραῖοι ἀπὸ τοῦ χρόνου Ἀβραὰμ τὸν χαρακτῆρα τοῦ ἔθνους διὰ περιτομῆς εἰληφότες· ἡ δὲ τοῦ Ἰούδα φυλὴ τοῦ τετάρτου ω Ἰακὼβ, ἐκράτει τῶν Ἰουδαίωνκαὶ ἐδιοίκει, ὅθεν καὶ τὸ ὄνομα εἶχον. Ἐν δὲ τοῖς χρόνοις τούτοις ἀνεφάνη τίς ἐκ φυλῆς τοῦ Ἰάφεθ, ὀνόματι Ἡσίοδος, ὅστις ἐφεῦρε τὰ Ἑλληνικὰ γράμματα, ὁ καὶ θεολόγος τῶν Ἑλλήνων. Ὅτι ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις Φαραὼ τοῦ καὶ Ἀχὼρ βασιλέως Αἰγύπτου, ἀνεφάνη τις ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Ἰάφεθ γιγαντοειδὴς φιλόσοφος, ὀνόματι Ἐνδυμίων, ἐν τῇ Καρίᾳ χώρᾳ, ὅστις μυστικὰς εὐχὰς ἔχων καὶ λέγων εἰς τὴν σελήνην, ἠτεῖτο μαθεῖν παρ' αὐτῆς τὸ θεῖον ὄνομα ἐν ὁράματι. ἐν τῷ οὖν εὔχεσθαι αὐτὸν ἦλθεν εἰς ὕπνον, καὶ ἤκουσεν ἐν ὁράματι, καὶ οὐκ ἀνέστη, ἀλλ' ἔστη τὸ λείψανον αὐτοῦ ἐν Καρίᾳ χώρᾳ δωνούμενον. περὶ οὗ φασι τὴν σελήνην φιλεῖν αὐτόν.

Ἐβασίλευσε δὲ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων Περσώνιος, ὅτε γέγονεν ἡ ἔξοδος τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ ὅτι θεωρῶν τὰ τέρατα τὰ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ διὰ Μωσέως γινόμενα, ἀπελθὼν εἰς Μέμφιν εἰς τὸ περιβόητον μαντεῖον, καὶ ποιήσας θυσίαν, ἠρώτα τὴν Πυθίαν λέγων, "σαφήνισόν μοι τίς ἐστι πρῶτος ὑμῶν, καὶ εἰ μέγας ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ," καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ χρησμὸς οὕτως· "Ἔσται κατ' οὐρανοῖο μεγάλοιο βεβηκὼς φλογὸς ὑπερβάλλον αἰθέριον ἀέναον ἀθάνατον πῦρ, ὃν τρέμει πᾶς οὐρανὸς, γαῖά τε καὶ θάλασσα, τάρταρος βυθὸς, δαίμονες ἐρράγησαν. οὗτο οι Θεὸς αὐτοπάτωρ πατὴρ, υἱὸς αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ τρισόλβιος, εἰς μικρὸν δὲ μέρος ἀγγέλων ἡμεῖς, μαθὼν ἄπειθι σιγῶν." Ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις Γεδαιὼν τοῦ Κριτῶν, ἦν Ὀρφεὺς ὁ Θρὰξ, ὁ λυρικὸς, ὁ σοφώτατος καὶ περιβόητος ποιητὴς, ὅστις ἐξέθετο θεογνωσίαν καὶ κόσμου κτίσιν καὶ ἀνθρώπων πλαστουργίαν, εἰρηκὼς ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ τοῦ συγγράμματος αὐτοῦ, "ὅτι ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας αὐτοῦ ἐνθυμήσεως, οὐκ ἐξέθετο τί περὶ θεοῦ, ἢ τῆς κοσμικῆς κτίσεως, ἀλλ' αἰτησάμενος μαθεῖν περὶ τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ τῆς κτίσεως, καὶ τίς ποιητὴς αὐτῶν." Καὶ πολλοὺς περὶ τούτου εἰπὼν στίχους, ὁ αὐτὸς Ὀρφεὺς περὶ 242 θεογνωσίας καὶ κτίσεως κόσμου, καὶ συνεγράψατο διὰ στίχων πολλῶν ποιητικῶς. ἔστι δὲ ἅπερ ἐξέθετο ταῦτα, "ὅτι ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀνεδείχθη τῷ κόσμῳ ὁ αἰθὴρ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ δημιουργηθεὶς, καὶ ἔνθεν κακεῖθεν τοῦ αἰθέρος ἦν χάος, καὶ νὺξ ζοφερὰ πάντα κατεῖχε καὶ ἐκάλυπτε τὰ ὑπὸ τὸν αἰθέρα, τὴν νύκτα προτερεύειν τῆς ἡμέρας." εἰρηκὼς ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ ἐκθέσει, "ἀκατάληπτον τινὰ εἶναι καὶ προγενέστερον καὶ δημιουργὸν πάντων, καὶ τοῦ αἰθέρος "αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς νυκτὸς, καὶ τῆς ὑπὸ τὸν αἰθέρα οὔσης καὶ καλυπτομένης κτίσεως· τὴν δὲ γῆν εἶπεν ὑπὸ τοῦ σκότους ἀόρατον οὖσαν, καὶ ὅτι τὸ φῶς ῥήξαν τὸν αἰθέρα, ἐφώτισε τὴν γῆν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν κτίσιν, εἰπὼν ἐκεῖνο εἶναι τὸ φῶς τὸ ῥήξαν τὸν αἰθέρα, τὸ προειρημένον, τὸ ὑπέρπαντα τῶν πάντων." οὗ τὸ ὄνομα Ὀρφεὺς ἀκούσας ἐκ τῆς μαντείας, "βουλὴ, φῶς, ζωοδοτὴρ," εἰπὼν τὰς αὐτὰς τρεῖς τῶν ὀνομάτων θείας δυνάμεις ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ ἐκθέσει. μίαν δύναμιν εἶναι καὶ κράτος οὐρανίου θεοῦ, ὃν οὐδεὶς ὁρᾷν ἢ δύναται γνῶναι ἰδέαν ἢ φύσιν. ἐξ αὐτῆς δὲ τῆς δυνάμεως τὰ πάντα γενέσθαι κατ' ἀρχὰς ἀσωμάτους, ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην καὶ ἄστρα πάντα, γῆν καὶ θάλασσαν, καὶ τὰ ὁρώμενα ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα πάντα. τὸ δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος, εἶπεν ὑπὸ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ πλασθὲν ἐκ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ψυχὴν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ "λαβόντα λογικὴν," καθὼς καὶ Μωϋσῆς ὁ σοφώτατος ἐξέθετο. Ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς Ὀρφεὺς ἐξέθετο, ὅτι διὰ τῶν τριῶν ὀνομάτων μιᾶς θεότητος τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο. ταῦτα δὲ ὁ σοφώτατος Τιμόθεος χρονογράφος ἐξέθετο λέγων, πρὸ πόσων χρόνων τὸν Ὀρφέα εἰπόντα Τριάδα ὁμοούσιον.