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a court? But if someone were to become an exact judge of human transgressions and were to examine carefully whence the first causes of sin arise, perhaps he would find the body to be the first to be disorderly in the charges. For often, while the soul is at rest and has an untroubled calm, the eye has looked with passion at things which it were better not to have seen, and by transmitting the disease to the soul, has changed its quiet into a storm and a surge. Similarly the ears, having heard some unseemly or provoking words, as if through certain channels of their own, bring the filth of disturbance or of disorder into the thoughts. And there are times when the nose also, through the sense of smell and vapors, inflicts great and incurable evils † upon the inner man. And the hands know how to effeminate the firmness of a strong soul through touch. And so to me, proceeding little by little and examining, the little body is found to be responsible for many sins. But it also bears the labors for virtue and toils in the contests 9.268 for what is good, being cut with iron and burned with fire and torn by scourges and weighed down with grievous bonds and enduring every outrage, so that it might not betray the sacred philosophy, as if it were a city of beautiful towers besieged by the war of wickedness. If, therefore, it toils together with the soul in good deeds and is not left behind in sins, from what starting point do you bring the incorporeal alone to the court? But the argument is neither just nor of those who are sound of mind. If it sinned alone and naked, punish it alone, but if it has a manifest collaborator, the judge, being just, will not release him. And I also hear this from scripture, saying that just punishments will be inflicted on the condemned: fire and darkness and the worm; all of which are punishments for composite and material bodies, but fire would never touch a soul by itself, nor would darkness distress it, lacking eyes and the organs of sight. And what would the worm do, being destructive of bodies, not of spirits? And for this reason, by these consequent reasonings we are driven from all sides to assent to the raising of the dead, which God will accomplish in the appointed times, confirming His own promises by deeds. Let us believe, therefore, Him who says: "For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised," and again: "The hour is coming in which all 9.269 who are in the tombs will hear His voice and will come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." For He not only promises, but also by the works which He performs daily, He teaches clearly that He is all-powerful; for neither did He grow weary creating in the beginning, nor will He be at a loss for wisdom in transforming. Let us consider the present things, and we will not disbelieve in what is to come; for since every work of God has as its consequence astonishment and great and ineffable wonder, whenever we see the likenesses of fathers and forefathers passing accurately into the forms of their descendants and the children becoming impressions from their ancestors, then indeed I am utterly astonished at the all-wise art of the master-artist God and Savior, how the imitations of archetypes that are neither existing nor appearing are created and fashioned in a secret mystery, raising up certain other dead persons through the operation of the types. And often the features of many persons together are represented in one body: the father's nose, the grandfather's eye, the uncle's gait, the mother's voice, and one person is seen like some plant that has received grafts from many trees and bears countless kinds of fruit for those who gather it.

All these things are wonderful and how they come to be is unknown to us, but they are easy for the Creator and are accomplished, as we know, with great ease. But it is utterly strange and ignorant, that the features of bodies already decayed and perished should be raised up in those who are now born day by day and that things belonging to others should pass over into others,

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δικαστήριον; εἰ δέ τις ἀκριβὴς γένοιτο δικαστὴς τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πλημμελημάτων καὶ σκοπήσειεν ἐπιμελῶς, πόθεν φύονται αἱ πρῶται τῆς ἁμαρτίας αἰτίαι, τάχα πρῶτον ἀτακτοῦν ἐν τοῖς ἐγκλήμασιν εὑρήσει τὸ σῶμα. ἠρεμούσης γὰρ πολλάκις τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ γαλήνην ἐχούσης ἀτάραχον εἶδεν ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς ἐμπαθῶς, ἃ μὴ θεάσασθαι βέλτιον ἦν, καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ παραπέμψας τὴν νόσον εἰς χειμῶνα καὶ κλύδωνα τὴν ἡσυχίαν μετέβαλεν. ὁμοίως αἱ ἀκοαὶ ἀσχημόνων τινῶν ἢ παροξυντικῶν ἐπακούσασαι λόγων οἷον διά τινων σωλήνων ἑαυτῶν τὸν τῆς ταραχῆς ἢ τὸν τῆς ἀκοσμίας βόρβορον τοῖς λογισμοῖς ἐπεισφέρουσιν. ἔστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ ἡ ῥὶς διὰ τῆς ὀσφρήσεως καὶ τῶν ἀτμῶν μεγάλα τε καὶ ἀνήκεστα κακὰ † διατίθησι τὸν ἔσωθεν ἄνθρωπον. οἴδασι δὲ καὶ αἱ χεῖρες διὰ τῆς ἐπαφῆς καρτερᾶς ψυχῆς ἐκθηλύνειν στερρότητα. καί μοι κατὰ μικρὸν οὕτως ἐπιόντι καὶ σκοπουμένῳ ὑπαίτιον εὑρίσκεται τῶν πολλῶν ἁμαρτιῶν τὸ σωμάτιον. Φέρει δὲ καὶ τοὺς ὑπὲρ ἀρετῆς πόνους καὶ τοῖς ἀγῶσιν 9.268 ἐμμοχθεῖ τῶν καλῶν τεμνόμενον σιδήρῳ καὶ πυρὶ φλεγόμενον καὶ ξαινόμενον μάστιξι καὶ βαρυνόμενον ἀργαλέοις δεσμοῖς καὶ πᾶσαν ὑπομένον λώβην, ἵνα μὴ προδῷ τὴν ἱερὰν φιλοσο φίαν ὥσπερ τινὰ πόλιν καλλίπυργον κεκυκλωμένην τῷ τῆς κακίας πολέμῳ. εἰ τοίνυν ἐν κατορθώμασι συμμοχθεῖ τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτήμασιν οὐκ ἀπολιμπάνεται, πόθεν ὁρμώ μενος μόνην τὴν ἀσώματον ἐπὶ τὸ δικαστήριον ἄγεις; ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστιν οὔτε δίκαιος οὔτε σωφρονούντων ὁ λόγος. εἰ μόνη καὶ γυμνὴ διήμαρτε, μόνην καὶ κόλασον, εἰ δὲ φανερὸν ἔχει τὸν συνεργόν, οὐκ ἀφήσει τοῦτον ὁ κριτὴς δίκαιος ὤν. ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τῆς γραφῆς ἀκούω λεγούσης, ὅτι τοῖς κατεγνωσμένοις ἐπιτεθήσονται δίκαιαι τιμωρίαι πῦρ καὶ σκότος καὶ σκώληξ· ἃ πάντα τῶν συνθέτων καὶ ὑλικῶν σωμάτων κολάσεις εἰσίν, ψυχῆς δὲ καθ' ἑαυτὴν οὔποτ' ἂν ἅψαιτο πῦρ οὐδ' ἂν σκότος αὐτὴν λυπήσειεν ἀμοιροῦσαν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ τῶν βλεπτικῶν ὀργάνων. τί δ' ἂν καὶ ὁ σκώληξ πράξειε σωμάτων ὑπάρχων φθαρτικός, οὐ πνευμάτων; καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοῖς ἀκολούθοις τούτοις λογισμοῖς πανταχόθεν συνελαυνόμεθα πρὸς συγκατάθεσιν τῆς ἐγέρσεως τῶν νεκρῶν, ἣν τοῖς καθήκουσι χρόνοις ἐκτελέσει ὁ θεὸς ἔργοις βεβαιῶν τὰς ἰδίας ἐπαγγελίας. Πιστεύσωμεν τοίνυν τῷ λέγοντι· Σαλπίσει γὰρ καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ ἀναστήσονται, καὶ πάλιν· Ἔρχεται ὥρα, ἐν ᾗ πάντες 9.269 οἱ ἐν τοῖς μνημείοις ἀκούσονται τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκπορεύσονται οἱ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ποιήσαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς, οἱ δὲ τὰ φαῦλα πράξαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν κρίσεως. οὐ γὰρ ὑπισχνεῖται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἔργοις, οἷς ἐκτελεῖ καθ' ἡμέραν, διδάσκει σαφῶς, ὥς ἐστι παντοδύναμος· οὔτε γὰρ ἐν ἀρχῇ δημιουργῶν ἔκαμεν οὔτε μεταμορφῶν ἀπορήσει σοφίας. τὰ παρόντα θεωρήσωμεν, καὶ τῷ μέλλοντι οὐκ ἀπιστήσομεν· πάσης γὰρ ἐνεργείας τοῦ θεοῦ ἀκόλουθον ἐχούσης τὴν ἔκπληξιν καὶ πολὺ τὸ θαῦμα καὶ ἄφραστον ὅταν τὰς τῶν πατέρων καὶ προπάππων ὁμοιότητας κατίδωμεν μεταβαινούσας ἀκριβῶς εἰς τὰς τῶν ἀπογόνων μορφὰς καὶ ἐκμαγεῖα γινομένους τοὺς παῖδας ἀπὸ τῶν προπατόρων, τότε δὴ τὴν πάνσοφον τέχνην τοῦ ἀριστοτέχνου θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ὑπερεκπλήττομαι, πῶς τῶν μήτε ὄντων μήτε φαινομένων ἀρχετύπων αἱ μιμήσεις ἐν ἀπορρήτῳ μυστηρίῳ δημιουργοῦνται καὶ ἀναπλάσσονται ἄλλους τινὰς τοὺς τεθνεῶτας διὰ τῆς ἐνεργείας τῶν τύπων ἐγείρουσαι. πολλάκις δὲ καὶ πολλῶν ὁμοῦ προσώπων τὰ ἰδιώματα ἐν ἑνὶ ἐξεικονίζε ται σώματι· τοῦ πατρὸς ἡ ῥίς, τοῦ πάππου ὁ ὀφθαλμός, τοῦ θείου τὸ βάδισμα, τῆς μητρὸς τὸ φθέγμα, καὶ εἷς ἄνθρωπος θεωρεῖται καθάπερ τι φυτὸν πολλῶν δένδρων τὰς ἐπιβολὰς δεξάμενον καὶ μυρία καρποφοροῦν γένη τοῖς ὀπωρίζουσιν.

Ταῦτα πάντα θαυμαστὰ μὲν καὶ ὅπως γίνεται ἡμῖν ἀγνοούμενα, πρόχειρα δὲ τῷ δημιουργῷ καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ὡς ἴσμεν τῆς ῥᾳστώνης ἐπιτελούμενα. ἄτοπον δὲ λίαν καὶ ἀμαθές, τὰ μὲν τῶν σαπέντων καὶ φθαρέντων ἤδη σωμάτων γνωρίσματα ἐν τοῖς νῦν καθ' ἡμέραν φυομένοις ἐγείρεσθαι καὶ τὰ ἀλλότρια μεταβαίνειν εἰς ἄλλους,