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to God, saying to him, "We will be yours"; and having said to him, "We will be yours," let us become no one else's, not of a spirit of anger, not of a spirit of grief, not of a spirit of desire, let us not become of the devil, nor of his angels; but having been called and having said, "Behold, we will be yours," let us show by our works that, having promised to become his, we have dedicated ourselves to no one else but him. And we say, "For you are the Lord our God"; for we confess no god, not the belly like the gluttons, "whose god is the belly"; not money like the avaricious, and greed, which is idolatry, nor do we deify or make a god of anything else which the many make into gods, but for us the God over all, the one "over all," the one "through all," the one "in all" is God, and <since> we are attached to the love for God—for love joins us to God—we say, "Behold, we will be yours, because you are the Lord our God." 5.3 Then, having condemned our former evils—when we considered the idols great and lofty, we worshipped and thought wonderful the things we served, but now we have condemned them because all those things were false and amounted to nothing - we say, "returning": "Truly the hills were a falsehood," and we, having condemned our former high things and our former wonders. And perhaps if we are artful, we will find the difference between the hills and mountains among the nations, which those who said, "Behold, we will be yours, for you are the Lord our God," having abandoned them, accuse them of being false, both the hills and the mountains. What, then, is the difference between the mountains and hills among the nations, which we, having condemned, say: "Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were a falsehood"? This we say, having condemned our former ways. The things worshipped among the nations, some are worshipped as gods, others as heroes. For they themselves also confess concerning some, <that they were formerly men> and were deified; they worship Heracles not as one born a god, but as one transformed from a man into a god; they worship Asclepius as one transformed from among men into a god through virtue; but when they worship the fathers of these, called gods among them, they worship them not as having been transformed from men into gods, but as they think, being gods from the beginning. Therefore, <those> considered gods from the beginning by the nations will be the mountains and "the strength of the mountains," while those considered by them to be gods now, but to have been men before, these are "the hills." Therefore, having recognized both <the> orders of worshipped beings, they say: "Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were a falsehood." For those who serve them do not suppose that these things are false; therefore they think the oracles <are true oracles> and the healings are true healings, not seeing the difference between "every power and signs and wonders of falsehood in every deception of wickedness for those who are perishing" and every power of signs and wonders of truth. For the things that Christ Jesus did, these were signs of truth, and before him the things that Moses did were a power of truth, but the things that the Egyptians did were signs and wonders of falsehood, and so also the things that Simon the magician did after Jesus, so as to lead astray the nation of Samaria and to be considered "the power of God," these too were signs and wonders of falsehood. When, therefore, we condemn those things, we who have condemned them say: "Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were a falsehood"; 5.4 of the mountains"; then, since we who are from the nations know that by the "transgression of Israel we received a way of salvation," and they are cast outside, until our fullness comes in, and we know that if "the fullness of the nations comes in, after this all Israel will be saved," for this reason we say first, "Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were a falsehood," and second, concerning Israel which will be saved after the fullness of the nations: "But through the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel." But since we have once mentioned the

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θεῷ, λέγοντες αὐτῷ τὸ «ἐσόμεθά σοι»· καὶ εἰπόντες αὐτῷ τὸ «ἐσόμεθά σοι» μηδενὸς ἄλλου γενώμεθα, μὴ πνεύματος ὀργῆς, μὴ πνεύματος λύπης, μὴ πνεύματος ἐπιθυμίας, μὴ τοῦ διαβόλου γενώμεθα, μὴ τῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ· ἀλλὰ κληθέντες καὶ εἰπόντες· «Ἰδοὺ ἡμεῖς ἐσόμεθά σοι», δείξωμεν τοῖς ἔργοις, ὅτι ἐπαγγειλάμενοι γενέσθαι αὐτοῦ, οὐδενὶ ἄλλῳ ἢ αὐτῷ ἑαυτοὺς ἀνεθήκαμεν. Καὶ λέγομεν· «Ὅτι σὺ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν εἶ»· οὐδένα γὰρ θεὸν ἡμεῖς ὁμολογοῦμεν, οὐ τὴν κοιλίαν ὡς οἱ γαστρίμαργοι, «ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία»· οὐ τὸ ἀργύριον ὡς οἱ φιλάργυροι, καὶ τὴν πλεονεξίαν, ἥτις ἐστὶν εἰδωλολατρία, οὐδὲ ἄλλο τι ἐκθεοῦμεν καὶ θεο ποιοῦμεν, ὧν οἱ πολλοὶ θεοποιοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ ἡμῖν ὁ ἐπὶ πᾶσι θεός, ὁ «ἐπὶ πάντων», ὁ «διὰ πάντων», ὁ «ἐν πᾶσι» θεός ἐστιν, καὶ <ἐπεὶ> ἠρτήμεθα τῆς ἀγάπης τῆς πρὸς τὸν θεόν-ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη κολλᾷ ἡμᾶς τῷ θεῷ-λέγομεν· «Ἰδοὺ οἵδε ἡμεῖς ἐσόμεθά σοι, ὅτι σὺ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν.» 5.3 Εἶτα καταγνόντες τῶν προτέρων ἡμῶν κακῶν-ὅτε μεγάλα μὲν ἐνομίζομεν καὶ ὑψηλὰ τὰ εἴδωλα, προσεκυνοῦ μεν καὶ θαυμαστὰ ἐνομίζομεν οἷς ἐλατρεύομεν, νυνὶ δὲ κατέγνωμεν ὅτι ἐκεῖνα πάντα ψευδῆ ἦν καὶ οὐδὲν ἐτύγχανεν - λέγομεν «ἐπιστρέφοντες»· «Ὄντως εἰς ψεῦδος ἦσαν οἱ βουνοί», καὶ ἡμεῖς καταγνόντες τῶν προτέρων ὑψη λῶν καὶ τῶν προτέρων θαυμασίων. Καὶ τάχα ἐὰν φιλοτεχ νῶμεν, εὑρήσομεν τὴν διαφορὰν τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι βουνῶν καὶ ὀρέων, ἅτινα καταλιπόντες οἱ εἰπόντες· «Ἰδοὺ οἵδε ἡμεῖς ἐσόμεθά σοι, ὅτι σὺ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν εἶ», κατη γοροῦσιν αὐτῶν ὡς ψευδῶν, καὶ τῶν βουνῶν καὶ τῶν ὀρέων. Τίς οὖν ἡ διαφορὰ τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὀρέων καὶ βουνῶν, ὧν κατεγνωκότες λέγομεν· «Ὄντως εἰς ψεῦδος ἦσαν οἱ βουνοὶ καὶ ἡ δύναμις τῶν ὀρέων»; Τοῦτο λέγομεν ἡμεῖς καταγνόντες τῶν προτέρων. Τὰ προσκυνούμενα παρὰ τοῖς ἔθνεσι τὰ μὲν προσκυνεῖται ὡς θεοί, τὰ δὲ ὡς ἥρωες. Ὁμολογοῦσι γὰρ καὶ αὐτοὶ περί τινων, <ὅτι ἄνθρω ποι> πρότερον ἦσαν καὶ ἀπεθεώθησαν· Ἡρακλέα προσκυ νοῦσιν οὐχ ὡς γεγεννημένον θεόν, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐξ ἀνθρώπου εἰς θεὸν μεταβληθέντα· Ἀσκληπιὸν προσκυνοῦσιν ὡς ἐξ ἀνθρώπων δι' ἀρετὴν εἰς θεὸν μεταβεβληκότα· ὅταν δὲ προσκυνῶσι τοὺς πατέρας τούτων ὀνομαζομένους παρ' αὐτοῖς θεούς, προσκυνοῦσιν οὐχ ὡς μεταβαλόντας ἐξ ἀνθρώ πων εἰς θεούς, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐκεῖνοι οἴονται, θεοὺς ἀρχῆθεν ὄντας. Ἔσονται μὲν οὖν <οἱ> ἀρχῆθεν μὲν θεοὶ νομιζόμε νοι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν τὰ ὄρη καὶ «ἡ δύναμις τῶν ὀρέων», οἱ δὲ νομιζόμενοι παρ' αὐτοῖς νῦν μὲν εἶναι θεοί, πρότερον δ' ἄνθρωποι γεγονέναι, οὗτοί εἰσιν «οἱ βουνοί». Ἐγνωκότες οὖν ἀμφότερα <τὰ> προσκυνούμενα τάγματά φασιν· «Ὄντως εἰς ψεῦδος ἦσαν οἱ βουνοὶ καὶ ἡ δύναμις τῶν ὀρέων.» Οὐ γὰρ ὑπολαμβάνουσιν οἱ αὐτοῖς λατρεύον τες, ὅτι ψευδῆ ἐστι ταῦτα· διόπερ οἴονται τοὺς χρησμοὺς <ἀληθινοὺς εἶναι χρησμοὺς> καὶ τὰς θεραπείας ἀληθινὰς εἶναι θεραπείας, οὐχ ὁρῶντες διαφορὰν «πάσης δυνάμεως καὶ σημείων καὶ τεράτων ψεύδους ἐν πάσῃ ἀπάτῃ ἀδικίας τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις γινομένων» πρὸς πᾶσαν δύναμιν σημείων καὶ τεράτων ἀληθείας. Ἃ μὲν γὰρ ἐποίει Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς, ταῦτα ἦν σημεῖα ἀληθείας, καὶ πρὸ αὐτοῦ ἃ μὲν ἐποίει Μωσῆς, δύναμις ἦν ἀληθείας, ἃ δὲ ἐποίουν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι, σημεῖα μὲν ἦν καὶ τέρατα ψεύδους, οὕτως δὲ καὶ ἃ ἐποίει Σίμων μετὰ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ὁ μάγος, ὥστε ἀποπλανᾶν τὸ ἔθνος τῆς Σαμαρείας καὶ νομίζεσθαι αὐτὸν εἶναι «δύνα μιν θεοῦ», καὶ αὐτὰ ἦν σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα ψεύδους. Ὅταν οὖν καταγνῶμεν ἐκείνων, λέγομεν οἱ κατεγνω κότες· «Ὄντως εἰς ψεῦδος ἦσαν οἱ βουνοὶ καὶ ἡ δύναμις 5.4 τῶν ὀρέων»· εἶτα ἐπεὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἴσμεν ὅτι τῷ «παραπτώματι τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ὁδὸν ἐλάβομεν σωτη ρίας», καὶ ἐκεῖνοι ἔξω εἰσὶν ἐκβεβλημένοι, μέχρι τὸ πλή ρωμα ἡμῶν εἰσέλθῃ, ἴσμεν δὲ ὅτι ἐὰν «τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰσέλθῃ, μετὰ τοῦτο πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται», διὰ τοῦτό φαμεν πρῶτον μὲν τὸ «Ὄντως εἰς ψεῦδος ἦσαν οἱ βουνοὶ καὶ ἡ δύναμις τῶν ὀρέων», δεύτερον δὲ περὶ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ σωθησομένου μετὰ τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν· «Πλὴν διὰ κυρίου θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἡ σωτηρία τοῦ Ἰσραήλ.» Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἅπαξ ἐμνήσθημεν τοῦ