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and spirit and resurrection, and those who deny the writings of the prophets; and all who worship Christ in the shadows of the law. those who honor Depth and Silence as pre-temporal natures, and the male-female aeons, the poison of Simon Magus, whose offshoots are those who compose the godhead out of letters; those who divide the Old and New between two gods, a harsh one and a most good one; those who posit three unmoving natures, that of spirit, that of dust, and that between them both. those who rejoice in the primordial darkness of Manes. those who wrongly honor the spirit of Montanus; those of Novatus' empty haughtiness of brow. the confounders of the unconfused Trinity, the dividers of the indivisible nature; and again, from these, as from a single Hydra, many necks of impiety having sprung, he who ranks the Spirit alone with creation, he who also adds the Son to the Spirit; and those who introduce a God who is Caesar's contemporary; those who preposterously introduce Docetism; those who say the Son below is a second one; those who say the saved man is not perfect, but without a mind. For these are, to speak in outline, the divisions from orthodoxy and the mothers of abominations. But of these, who was so unmovable then, as not to incline his ear at least to my words? For some were won over by the power of the doctrines, others were tamed by the manner of my speech. For we brought forward our arguments not with enmity nor abusively, but rather with solicitude, grieving, not striking nor puffed up by a fleeting and deceptive opportunity, as some are—for what fellowship has reason with force? —nor making insolence a screen for irrationality—for this is a terribly contrived and rotten thing, to vomit out blackness from the depths, so as to escape refutations in the gloom—, but encountering them gently and suitably with our words as advocates of a reason that is compassionate and mild and strikes no one; from which it is reasonable even to be conquered, and to conquer is much more honorable, being won for God by persuasion than by force. Such things were inscribed on my tablets. This is another law of my instruction, wisely and beautifully written: not to know one road of piety, the easy and wicked talkativeness, nor in theaters and forums and drinking-parties, laughing together, enervated by songs, before even washing the tongue from shameful words, nor to cast the mystical words unsparingly to profane ears and those strange to Christ, making a game of things sought with toil; but to be pious especially in the commandments, feeding the poor, receiving strangers, tending to the sick, being steadfast, and in psalms, prayers, groans, tears, sleeping on the ground, pressures on the belly, strangling of the senses, taming the flesh by the power of the spirit through well-ordering anger, laughter, and lips. For there are many roads of salvation, all leading to communion with God; which you must travel, not only the one in word. For word suffices also for bare faith, with which God in fact saves the majority. But if faith fell to the wise alone, nothing would be poorer among us than God. But if you are one fond of talk or full of zeal, and it is terrible if a word will not flow from you (for I pray for you humanely even in this); speak, then, but in fear and not always, not everything nor among everyone nor everywhere, but to some, so much, and somewhere and sometime. For there is a season for everything, as you hear; and 'measure is best' is a saying of one of the wise. Apart are the territories of the Mysians and Phrygians, apart are the discourses of outsiders and my own. For the discourses of the one group are for display in gatherings of youths and in fictions, in which it is no great matter either to miss or hit a shadow—for they are no stronger than a shadow. But for us—for our aim is to speak the truth—it is a fearful matter for our discourse to be this way or not. For it is a precipitous road, and to fall from it is manifestly to fall into the gates of Hades. Wherefore we must especially guard our words, speaking some things, and listening wisely to others, and at other times withdrawing from both equally, using fear as a just measure. For the ear bears less risk than the tongue; and less than hearing is to flee from the midst. Why must you, having touched a torpedo fish, numb your mind, or approach the panting of a rabid dog?

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καὶ πνεῦμα καὶ ἀνάστασιν, οἵ τε προφητῶν γράμματ' ἐξαρνούμενοι· Χριστόν θ' ὅσοι σέβουσιν ἐν νόμου σκιαῖς. οἱ τὸν Βυθὸν Σιγήν τε προχρόνους φύσεις τιμῶντες αἰῶνάς τε τοὺς θηλάρσενας, Σίμωνος ἰὸς τοῦ Μάγου, ὧν φύματα οἱ συντιθέντες τὴν θεότητ' ἐκ γραμμάτων· οἱ τὴν Παλαιὰν καὶ Νέαν δύω θεοῖς νείμαντες, αὐστηρῷ τε κἀγαθωτάτῳ· οἱ τρεῖς φύσεις τιθέντες οὐ κινουμένας, τὴν πνεύματος χοός τε τήν τ' ἀμφοῖν μέσην. οἱ τῷ Μανοῦ χαίροντες ἀρχικῷ σκότῳ. οἱ Μοντανοῦ τὸ πνεῦμα τιμῶντες κακῶς· οἱ τὴν Ναυάτου κενὴν ἔπαρσιν ὀφρύος. οἱ τῆς ἀρεύστου τριάδος συναιρέται, οἱ τῆς ἀτμήτου φύσεως διαιρέται· αὖθις τε τούτων ὥσπερ ἐξ ὕδρας μιᾶς πολλῶν φυέντων δυσσεβείας αὐχένων, ὁ τῇ κτίσει τὸ πνεῦμα συντιθεὶς μόνον, ὁ καὶ τὸν υἱὸν προστιθεὶς τῷ πνεύματι· οἵ τ' εἰσάγοντες ἥλικα Καίσαρος θεόν· οἱ τὴν δόκησιν εἰσάγοντες ἐκτόπως· οἱ δεύτερον λέγοντες υἱὸν τὸν κάτω· οἱ μὴ τέλειον τὸν σεσωσμένον, ἀλλ' ἄνουν. αὗται γάρ εἰσιν, ὡς τύπῳ φράσαι, τομαί τῆς ὀρθότητος ἐκτόπων τε μητέρες. Τούτων δὲ τίς ἦν οὕτως ἀκίνητος τότε, ὡς μὴ τὸ οὖς γε τοῖς ἐμοῖς κλίνειν λόγοις; τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ᾕρει τὸ κράτος τῶν δογμάτων, οἱ δ' ἡμεροῦντο τῷ τρόπῳ τῆς λέξεως. οὐ γὰρ μετ' ἔχθρας οὐδὲ λοιδόρως πλέον ἢ κηδεμονικῶς τοὺς λόγους προήγομεν, ἀλγοῦντες, οὐ παίοντες οὐδ' ἐπηρμένοι καιρῷ ῥέοντι καὶ πλάνῳ καθώς τινες- τίς γὰρ λόγῳ τε καὶ κράτει κοινωνία; - οὐδὲ πρόβλημα τὸ θράσος ποιούμενοι τῆς ἀλογίας-δεινῶς γὰρ ἔντεχνον τόδε καὶ σηπιῶδες, τὸ μέλαν ἐκ βάθους ἐμεῖν, ὡς τοὺς ἐλέγχους ἐκδιδράσκειν τῷ ζόφῳ-, ἀλλ' ἡμέρως τε τοῖς λόγοις καὶ προσφόρως ἐντυγχάνοντες ὡς λόγου συνήγοροι τοῦ συμπαθοῦς τε καὶ πράου καὶ μηδένα πλήσσοντος· ἐξ οὗ καὶ τὸ νικᾶσθαι λόγος, καὶ τὸ κρατεῖν δὲ τιμιώτερον πολύ πειθοῖ βιαίᾳ τῷ θεῷ προσκτώμενον. τοιαῦτα πλαξὶ ταῖς ἐμαῖς ἐνεγράφη. Ἄλλος τις οὗτος τῆς ἐμῆς παιδεύσεως νόμος, σοφῶς τε καὶ καλῶς γεγραμμένος· μὴ μίαν ὁδὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας εἰδέναι τὴν εὔκολόν τε καὶ κακὴν γλωσσαλγίαν, μηδ' ἐν θεάτροις καὶ φόροις καὶ συμπόταις ὁμοῦ γελῶντας, ᾄσμασιν χαυνουμένους, πρὶν καὶ πλυθῆναι γλῶσσαν ἐξ αἰσχρῶν λόγων, μηδ' ἐν βεβήλοις ὠσὶ καὶ Χριστοῦ ξένοις ῥίπτειν ἀφειδῶς τῶν λόγων τοὺς μυστικούς, παίζοντας ἐν τοῖς καὶ πόνῳ θηρωμένοις· ἀλλ' ἐντολαῖς μὲν ὡς μάλιστα εὐσεβεῖν πτωχοτροφοῦντα, ξενοδοχοῦντα, ταῖς νόσοις ἀρκοῦντα, καρτεροῦντα, καὶ ψαλμῳδίαις, εὐχαῖς, στεναγμοῖς, δάκρυσιν, χαμευνίαις, γαστρὸς πιεσμοῖς, ἀγχόναις αἰσθήσεων, θυμοῦ γέλωτος χειλέων εὐταξίᾳ τὴν σάρκα κοιμίζοντα πνεύματος κράτει. Πολλαὶ γάρ εἰσιν αἱ σωτηρίας ὁδοί, πᾶσαι φέρουσαι πρὸς θεοῦ κοινωνίαν· ἃς χρή σ' ὁδεύειν, οὐ μόνην τὴν ἐν λόγῳ. λόγος γὰρ ἀρκεῖ καὶ ψιλῆς τῆς πίστεως, μεθ' ἧς ἀτεχνῶς τὸ πλέον σῴζει θεός. εἰ δ' εἰς σοφοὺς ἔπιπτεν ἡ πίστις μόνον, θεοῦ παρ' ἡμῖν οὐδὲν ἦν πενέστερον. ἀλλ' εἶ φιλόγλωσσός τις ἢ ζήλου πλέως καὶ δεινόν, εἴ σοι μὴ ῥυήσεται λόγος (ἀνθρώπινον γὰρ εὔχομαι κἀνταῦθά σοι)· λάλει μέν, ἐν φόβῳ δὲ μηδὲ πάντοτε, μὴ πάντα μηδ' ἐν πᾶσι μηδὲ πανταχοῦ, ἀλλ' ἔστιν οἷς ὅσον τε καί που καί ποτε. καιρὸς γὰρ παντός, ὡς ἀκούεις, πράγματος· «μέτρον τ' ἄριστον» τῶν σοφῶν ἑνὸς λόγος. Χωρὶς τὰ Μυσῶν καὶ Φρυγῶν ὁρίσματα, χωρὶς τὰ τῶν ἔξωθεν τῶν τ' ἐμῶν λόγων. τῶν μὲν γάρ εἰσι πρὸς ἐπίδειξιν οἱ λόγοι ἐν μειρακίσκων συλλόγοις καὶ πλάσμασιν, ἐν οἷς μέγ' οὐδὲν ἢ ἀτυχεῖν ἢ τυγχάνειν σκιᾶς-σκιᾶς γὰρ οὐδὲν εὐσθενέστερα. ἡμῖν δ'-ἀληθεύειν γάρ ἐστιν ὁ σκοπός- οὕτως ἔχειν, ἢ μή, περιδεὲς τὸν λόγον. ὁδὸς γὰρ ἀμφίκρημνος, ἧς ἔξω πεσεῖν πεσεῖν προδήλως ἐστὶν εἰς Ἅιδου πύλας. ὅθεν μάλιστα τοὺς λόγους φυλακτέον, τὰ μὲν λέγοντας, τῶν δ' ἀκούοντας σοφῶς, ἔστιν δ' ὅτ' ἐκχωροῦντας ἀμφοῖν ἐξίσης στάθμῃ δικαίᾳ τῷ φόβῳ κεχρημένους. ἧττον γὰρ οὖς ἢ γλῶσσα κίνδυνον φέρει· ἧττον δ' ἀκοῆς τὸ καὶ φυγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ μέσου. τί δεῖ σε νάρκης ἁψάμενον νεκροῦν φρένα ἢ πλησιάζειν ἄσθματι λυσσῶντος κυνός;