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of contradiction, but only of a difference in name. But I make so great a point, that even if the laws of the Old were contrary to those of the New, I would strongly maintain that not even so should one introduce another God. For if at the same time, for the same people, occupied with the same things, being in the same circumstances, he had commanded contrary laws, their sophism would perhaps have some reason; but if those were written for some people, and these for others, and those for them at one time, and these for them at another, with those being disposed in one way, and these in another, what necessity is there because of the difference of the laws to introduce two contrary lawgivers? I for my part see none, but if they have something to say, let them say it; but they would not have anything. For a physician also often does many contrary things; but not from a contrary intention, but from one that is harmonious. For he both burns and does not burn, cuts and does not cut the same body often; and now he gives bitter, now sweet medicines to drink; and the things that are done are contrary, but the intention, from which these things are done, is harmonious and one; for it looks to one end, the health of the sick. How then is it not absurd not to accuse a physician for doing many contrary things concerning the nature of one body, but to bring a charge against God, if at different times for different people He gave different commandments? 3. That therefore, even if the laws were contrary, one ought not even so to accuse, is clear from these things; but that they are not contrary, but only different, come, let us bring the laws forth into the midst. You have heard, he says, that it was said to them of old time, You shall not kill. This is the old law; let us see that of the New: But I say to you, that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the hell of fire. Are these commandments contrary, tell me? And what man, having any share of understanding, would say this? For if, when the first commanded not to kill, this one commanded to kill, perhaps someone would have said that what was said was an antinomy; but if when that one commanded not to kill, this one commanded not even to be angry, it is an intensification, not a contradiction of the former law by the second; for the one cut out the fruit of wickedness, murder, but this one also pulled up the root, anger; that one cut off the stream of wickedness, this one also dried up the very spring. For the spring and root of murder is passion and anger. That law prepared our nature for this, this one coming fulfilled what was lacking. What contradiction, when one cuts off the end of evils, and the other also the beginning? That one made the hand clean of blood, this one also freed the mind itself from wicked counsels. And these things are of laws agreeing with one another, not fighting; which the enemies of the truth strive up and down to establish, not perceiving that by this they subject the God of the New to a great charge of negligence and contempt; for he will be found (and may the blasphemy turn back upon the head of those who compel us 51.284 to say these things) to have managed our affairs unseasonably; and how, I will tell you. The instruction of the Old Testament resembles feeding with milk, but the philosophy of the New Testament, solid food; but no one, before feeding with milk, leads to solid food. Which the God of the New will have done if he is not himself the one who gave the Old; for before feeding with milk and with the instruction through the law, he led us to solid food. And not only to this, but again to another charge greater than this they subject him, if indeed after five thousand and more years he came to take thought for our race. For if it were not he, who through the prophets and the patriarchs and the just men managed all our affairs, but some other besides him, he will be found to have taken charge of our affairs late and slowly

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ἐναντιώσεως, ἀλλὰ διαφορᾶς ὀνόματος μόνης. Ἐγὼ δὲ τοσαύτην ὑπερβολὴν ποιοῦμαι, ὅτι, εἰ καὶ ἐναντίοι ἦσαν οἱ νόμοι τῆς Παλαιᾶς τοῖς τῆς Καινῆς, σφόδρα ἂν διισχυρισάμην, ὡς οὐδὲ οὕτως ἕτερον ἐπεισάγειν Θεὸν ἐχρῆν. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρὸν, τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἀνθρώποις, περὶ τὰ αὐτὰ διατρίβουσιν, ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς οὖσι πράγμασιν, ἐναντίους ἐπέταττε νόμους, εἶχεν ἄν τινα αὐτοῖς λόγον ἴσως τὸ σόφισμα· εἰ δὲ ἑτέροις μὲν ἐκεῖνοι, ἑτέροις δὲ ἐγράφησαν οὗτοι, καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ μὲν ἐκείνοις καιρῷ, ἐν ἑτέρῳ δὲ τούτοις, ἄλλως ἐκείνοις διακειμένοις, καὶ ἑτέρως τούτοις, ποία ἀνάγκη διὰ τὴν τῶν νόμων διαφορὰν ἐναντίους εἰσάγειν νομοθέτας δύο; Ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδεμίαν ὁρῶ, εἰ δὲ αὐτοὶ λέγειν ἔχουσι, εἰπάτωσαν· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν ἔχοιεν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἰατρὸς ἐναντία πολλὰ ποιεῖ πολλάκις· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπὸ ἐναντίας τῆς γνώμης, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ μιᾶς καὶ συμφώνου. Καὶ γὰρ καίει καὶ οὐ καίει, τέμνει καὶ οὐ τέμνει τὸ αὐτὸ σῶμα πολλάκις· καὶ νῦν μὲν πικρὰ, νῦν δὲ γλυκέα δίδωσι πίνειν φάρμακα· καὶ τὰ μὲν γινόμενα ἐναντία, ἡ γνώμη δὲ, ἀφ' ἧς ταῦτα γίνεται, σύμφωνος καὶ μία· πρὸς γὰρ ἓν τέλος βλέπει, τὴν τοῦ κάμνοντος ὑγίειαν. Πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄτοπον ἰατρῷ μὲν μὴ ἐγκαλεῖν ἐναντία ποιοῦντι πολλὰ καὶ περὶ σώματος ἑνὸς φύσιν, τῷ Θεῷ δὲ μέμψιν ἐπάγειν, εἰ κατὰ διαφόρους καιροὺς διαφόροις ἀνθρώποις διάφορα ἔδωκε τὰ προστάγματα; γʹ. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν, εἰ καὶ ἐναντίοι ἦσαν οἱ νόμοι, οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐγκαλεῖν ἔδει, δῆλον ἐκ τούτων· ὅτι δὲ οὐδέ εἰσιν ἐναντίοι, ἀλλὰ διάφοροι μόνον, φέρε, τοὺς νόμους εἰς μέσον προχειρισώμεθα. Ἠκούσατε, φησὶν, ὅτι ἐῤῥέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις, Οὐ φονεύσεις. Οὗτος παλαιὸς ὁ νόμος· ἴδωμεν τὸν τῆς Καινῆς· Ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, Ὁ ὀργιζόμενος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ εἰκῆ, ἔνοχός ἐστιν εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός. Ταῦτα ἐναντία, εἰπέ μοι, τὰ προστάγματα; Καὶ τίς ἀνθρώπων, κἂν ὁπωσοῦν διανοίας μετέχων, τοῦτο ἂν εἴποι; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ προτέρου κελεύσαντος μὴ φονεύειν, οὗτος ἐκέλευσεν, ἴσως ἄν τις ἀντινομίαν ἔφησεν εἶναι τὸ λεγόμενον· εἰ δὲ ἐκείνου κελεύοντος μὴ φονεύειν, οὗτος ἐκέλευσε μηδὲ ὀργίζεσθαι, ἐπίτασις, οὐκ ἐναντίωσις ὁ πρότερος τοῦ δευτέρου νόμος ἐστίν· ὁ μὲν γὰρ τὸν καρπὸν τῆς κακίας ἐξέτεμε, τὸν φόνον, οὗτος δὲ καὶ τὴν ῥίζαν ἀνέσπασε, τὴν ὀργήν· ἐκεῖνος τὸ ῥεῦμα τῆς πονηρίας ἐξέκοψεν, οὗτος καὶ τὴν πηγὴν αὐτὴν ἐξήρανε. Πηγὴ γὰρ καὶ ῥίζα τοῦ φόνου θυμὸς καὶ ὀργή. Ἐκεῖνος τοῦτο προπαρεσκεύασεν ὁ νόμος τὴν φύσιν τὴν ἡμετέραν, οὗτος ἐλθὼν τὸ λεῖπον ἐπλήρωσε. Ποία ἐναντιότης, ὅταν ὁ μὲν τὸ τέλος τῶν κακῶν, ὁ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐκκόπτῃ; Ἐκεῖνος τὴν χεῖρα καθαρὰν ἐποίησεν αἵματος, οὗτος καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτὴν ἀπήλλαξε τῶν πονηρῶν βουλευμάτων. Ταῦτα δὲ συμφωνούντων ἀλλήλοις νόμων, οὐχὶ μαχομένων ἐστίν· ὅπερ ἄνω καὶ κάτω σπουδάζουσι κατασκευάζειν οἱ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐχθροὶ, μὴ συνορῶντες, ὅτι ἐκ τούτου μεγάλῃ ῥᾳθυμίας καὶ ὑπεροψίας αἰτίᾳ τὸν τῆς Καινῆς Θεὸν ὑποβάλλουσιν· εὑρεθήσεται γὰρ (ἡ δὲ βλασφημία εἰς τὴν τῶν ταῦτα ἀναγκαζόντων 51.284 ἡμᾶς λέγειν περιτραπείη κεφαλὴν) ἀκαίρως τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς οἰκονομήσας· τὸ δὲ πῶς, ἐγὼ λέγω. Γαλακτοτροφίᾳ προσέοικεν ἡ τῆς Παλαιᾶς ∆ιαθήκης παιδαγωγία, στερεᾷ δὲ τροφῇ τῆς Καινῆς ∆ιαθήκης ἡ φιλοσοφία· οὐδεὶς δὲ πρὶν ἢ θρέψαι γάλακτι, πρὸς τὴν στερεὰν ἄγει τροφήν. Ὅπερ ἔσται πεποιηκὼς ὁ τῆς Καινῆς Θεὸς ἄνπερ μὴ αὐτὸς ᾖ ὁ τὴν Παλαιὰν δεδωκώς· πρὸ γὰρ τοῦ θρέψαι γάλακτι καὶ τῇ διὰ τοῦ νόμου παιδαγωγίᾳ, ἐπὶ τὴν στερεὰν ἡμᾶς ἤγαγε τροφήν. Οὐ τούτῳ δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρῳ μείζονι τούτου πάλιν αὐτὸν ὑποβάλλουσιν ἐγκλήματι, εἴ γε μετὰ πεντακισχίλια καὶ πλείονα ἔτη τοῦ γένους ἧκε προνοήσων τοῦ ἡμετέρου. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ αὐτὸς ἦν, ὁ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν καὶ τῶν πατριαρχῶν καὶ τῶν δικαίων ἀνθρώπων τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἅπαντα οἰκονομῶν, ἀλλ' ἕτερός τις παρὰ τοῦτον ὀψέ ποτε καὶ βραδέως εὑρεθήσεται τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐπειλημμένος