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to Job, saying: But put forth your hand, and touch what he has; surely he will blaspheme you to your face. He slandered God again to man; Fire fell from heaven, he said, and burned up the sheep; for he was eager to persuade him that this war was stirred up from above, from the heavens, and he set the servant against the master, and the master against the slave; or rather he did not set them against each other, but he attempted it, but was not strong enough, so that when you see another servant set against his master, Adam against God, and believing his slander, you may learn that he did not get his strength from his own 49.260 power, but from that one's indolence and carelessness. Therefore, for this reason he is called Slanderer (Diabolos); but slandering and not slandering is not a nature, but an action that happens and ceases to happen, an accident that occurs and ceases to occur; and such things do not hold the rank of nature or of substance. I know that to many this argument about substance and accidents is hard to grasp; but there are those who are able to hear more subtle things; for which reason we also have said these things. Do you wish that I should come to another name? And you will see that it too is not a name of substance or of nature. He is called wicked, but wickedness is not of nature, but of choice; for this too sometimes comes into being, and sometimes passes away. For do not tell me this, that in his case it remains always; for even in his case it was not so from the beginning, but came about afterwards, for which reason he is also called an apostate; and although many men are wicked, he alone is called wicked pre-eminently. Why then is he so called? Because, having been wronged in nothing by us, having no small or great charge to bring, when he saw man honored, he immediately envied his goods. What then could be worse than this wickedness, but when there is enmity and war that has no reasonable cause? Let the devil therefore be dismissed, and let us bring creation into the midst, that you may learn that the devil is not the cause of our evils, if we are willing to pay attention; that you may learn that he who is weak in choice and neglectful and indolent, even without the devil's existence, falls down and casts himself into many abysses of wickedness. The devil is wicked; I too know it, and this is confessed by all, but pay close attention to what is about to be said now. For these are not ordinary matters, but things about which arguments often arise in many places for many people, things about which there is much strife and war not only for the faithful against the unfaithful, but also for the faithful against the faithful; for this is what is full of pain. 3. The devil then, as I said, is confessed by all to be wicked; what shall we say about this good and wonderful creation? Is creation also wicked? And who is so defiled, who so senseless and crazed as to accuse creation? What then shall we say about it? For it is not wicked, but is both good and a sign of the wisdom and power and love for mankind of God. Hear then how the prophet admires it, saying: How magnified are your works, O Lord! in wisdom you have made them all; he did not go through each one, but yielded to the incomprehensibility of God's wisdom. But that He also usefully made it so good and great, hear someone saying that, From the greatness and beauty of created things their original author is seen by analogy; hear also Paul saying: For his invisible attributes, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made. For each of these hinted through what they said, that this leads us by the hand 49.261 to the knowledge of God; that this makes us recognize the Master. What then, if we see this good and wonderful creation itself having become a cause of impiety for many, shall we accuse it? In no way, but those who did not use the medicine as they ought. Where then is this, which leads us to the knowledge of God, a cause of impiety?

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Ἰὼβ, λέγων· ἀλλ' ἀπόστειλον τὴν χεῖρά σου, καὶ ἅψαι ὧν ἔχει· εἰ μὴ εἰς πρόσωπόν σε βλασφημήσει. ∆ιέβαλε πάλιν τὸν Θεὸν πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον· Πῦρ ἔπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, λέγων, καὶ κατέφλεγε τὰ πρόβατα· ἐσπούδαζε γὰρ αὐτὸν πεῖσαι, ὅτι ἄνωθεν ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν ὁ πόλεμος οὗτος ἀνεῤῥιπίσθη, καὶ συνέκρουσε τὸν οἰκέτην πρὸς τὸν δεσπότην, καὶ τὸν δεσπότην πρὸς τὸν δοῦλον· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ συνέκρουσεν, ἀλλ' ἐπεχείρησε μὲν, οὐκ ἴσχυσε δὲ ἵν' ὅταν ἴδῃς ἕτερον συγκρουόμενον οἰκέτην πρὸς τὸν δεσπότην, τὸν Ἀδὰμ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ πιστεύοντα αὐτοῦ τῇ διαβολῇ, μάθῃς ὅτι οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκείας 49.260 δυνάμεως, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκείνου ῥᾳθυμίας τε καὶ ἀμελείας τὴν ἰσχὺν ἔλαβε. ∆ιάβολος τοίνυν διὰ τοῦτο εἴρηται· τὸ διαβάλλειν δὲ καὶ μὴ διαβάλλειν οὐ φύσις ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ πρᾶγμα γιγνόμενον καὶ ἀπογιγνόμενον, συμβαῖνον καὶ ἀποσυμβαῖνον· τὰ δὲ τοιαῦτα οὐ φύσεως ἐπέχει τάξιν οὐδὲ οὐσίας. Οἶδα ὅτι πολλοῖς δυσκατάληπτος ὁ λόγος οὗτος ὁ περὶ τῆς οὐσίας καὶ τῶν συμβεβηκότων· ἀλλ' εἰσὶν οἱ καὶ λεπτότερον ἀκούειν δυνάμενοι· διόπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς ταῦτα εἰρήκαμεν. Βούλεσθε καὶ ἐφ' ἕτερον ὄνομα ἔλθω; καὶ ὄψεσθε κἀκεῖνο οὐ τῆς οὐσίας οὐδὲ τῆς φύσεως ὄνομα ὄν. Πονηρὸς καλεῖται, ἡ δὲ πονηρία οὐ φύσεώς ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ προαιρέσεως· καὶ γὰρ καὶ αὕτη ποτὲ μὲν ἐγγίνεται, ποτὲ δὲ ἀπογίνεται. Μὴ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτό μοι εἴπῃς, ὅτι ἐπ' ἐκείνου διαπαντὸς μένει· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπ' ἐκείνου οὐκ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἦν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπεγένετο, διὸ καὶ ἀποστάτης λέγεται· καίτοι πολλῶν ἀνθρώπων ὄντων πονηρῶν, μόνος ἐκεῖνος πονηρὸς κατ' ἐξοχὴν λέγεται. Τί δήποτε οὖν οὕτω καλεῖται; Ὅτι οὐδὲν παρ' ἡμῶν ἠδικημένος, οὐ μικρὸν, οὐ μέγα ἐγκαλεῖν ἔχων, ἰδὼν τιμηθέντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον, εὐθέως ἐβάσκηνεν αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς. Ταύτης οὖν τῆς πονηρίας τί γένοιτ' ἂν χεῖρον, ἀλλ' ἢ ὅταν ἔχθρα καὶ πολέμος ᾖ μηδεμίαν εὔλογον αἰτίαν ἔχων; Ἀφείσθω τοίνυν ὁ διάβολος, καὶ παραγάγωμεν εἰς μέσον τὴν κτίσιν, ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι οὐχ ὁ διάβολος ἡμῖν αἴτιος τῶν κακῶν, ἐὰν θέλωμεν προσέχειν· ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι ὁ ἀσθενὴς τὴν προαίρεσιν καὶ ἠμελημένος καὶ ῥᾴθυμος, καὶ διαβόλου οὐκ ὄντος καταπίπτει καὶ εἰς βάραθρα πολλὰ κακίας ἑαυτὸν καταβάλλει. Ὁ διάβολος πονηρός ἐστιν· οἶδα κἀγὼ, καὶ ὡμολόγηται τοῦτο παρὰ πᾶσιν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ ἀκριβείας πρόσεχε τοῖς μέλλουσι ῥηθήσεσθαι νῦν. Οὐ γὰρ τὰ τυχόντα ἐστὶν, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ ὧν πολλαχοῦ πολλοῖς πολλάκις γίνονται λόγοι, ὑπὲρ ὧν πολλὴ μάχη καὶ πόλεμος οὐχὶ πιστοῖς πρὸς ἀπίστους μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πιστοῖς πρὸς πιστούς· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ ὀδύνης γέμον. γʹ. Ὁ μὲν οὖν διάβολος ὡμολόγηται, καθὼς ἔφην, πονηρὸς εἶναι παρὰ πᾶσι· τί περὶ τῆς κτίσεως ἐροῦμεν τῆς καλῆς ταύτης καὶ θαυμαστῆς; ἢ καὶ ἡ κτίσις πονηρά; Καὶ τίς οὕτω μιαρὸς, τίς οὕτως ἀναίσθητος καὶ παραπλὴξ ὡς κατηγορῆσαι τῆς κτίσεως; Τί οὖν περὶ ταύτης ἐροῦμεν; Οὐ γάρ ἐστι πονηρὰ, ἀλλὰ καὶ καλὴ καὶ δεῖγμα τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίας καὶ δυνάμεως καὶ φιλανθρωπίας ἐστίν. Ἄκουσον γοῦν πῶς αὐτὴν ὁ προφήτης θαυμάζει, λέγων· Ὡς ἐμεγαλύνθη τὰ ἔργα σου, Κύριε! πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας· οὐ καθέκαστον ἐπεξῆλθεν, ἀλλὰ παρεχώρησε τῷ ἀκαταλήπτῳ τῆς σοφίας τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ χρησίμως αὐτὴν οὕτω καλὴν καὶ μεγάλην ἐποίησεν, ἄκουσόν τινος λέγοντος, ὅτι Ἐκ μεγέθους καὶ καλλονῆς κτισμάτων ἀναλόγως ὁ γενεσιουργὸς αὐτῶν θεωρεῖται· ἄκουσον καὶ τοῦ Παύλου λέγοντος· Τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασι νοούμενα καθορᾶται. Τούτων γὰρ ἕκαστος ᾐνίξατο δι' ὧν εἶπεν, ὅτι αὕτη πρὸς θεογνωσίαν ἡμᾶς 49.261 χειραγωγεῖ· ὅτι αὕτη ποιεῖ ἐπιγινώσκειν τὸν ∆εσπότην. Τί οὖν, ἐὰν ἴδωμεν τὴν καλὴν ταύτην καὶ θαυμαστὴν, αὐτὴν γενομένην ἀσεβείας αἰτίαν πολλοῖς, αἰτιασόμεθα αὐτήν; Οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλ' ἐκείνους τοὺς μὴ χρησαμένους εἰς δέον τῷ φαρμάκῳ. Ποῦ οὖν ἀσεβείας αἰτία αὕτη ἡ χειραγωγοῦσα πρὸς θεογνωσίαν;