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to dare the father of lies; for the divine scripture has taught through many examples that men have sinned and that the divine sentence has been passed against men; but a cursory reading of the divine scripture causes ignorance in many people; for the sacred writer, having said how Seth was born from Adam, and Enos from Seth, added, "This man hoped to call upon the name of the Lord God." But Aquila interpreted this thus: "Then it was begun to call in the name of the Lord;" and the text hints that on account of his piety this man was the first to attain the divine appellation and was named God by his kinsmen; whence those descended from him were called sons of God; just as we too are called Christians from the name of the Lord Christ. But if anyone does not accept this interpretation, because Aquila interpreted it thus, let him hear God speaking through David the prophet: "I have said, You are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High." And "God stood in the assem 46 bly of gods; in the midst he will judge gods." Thus he names the rulers, as the following shows, "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to sinners? Judge for the orphan and the poor; vindicate the humble and the needy" and the rest; and again "The God of gods, the Lord, has spoken and summoned the earth." Of these, clearly, who by grace were deemed worthy of this appellation; so also the lawgiver said, "You shall not revile the gods, nor speak evil of the rulers of your people;" those men, therefore, as pious, were named sons of God. For the race of Seth was separate and did not mix with those from Cain, because of the curse brought upon him by the God of all. But after a long time had passed—for God brought on the flood after more than two thousand years—seeing the fair daughters of the kinship of Cain and being bewitched, as is likely, by the musical instruments devised by them—for Jubal, who flourished from among them, introduced the psaltery and the harp—they mingled with them and corrupted their own noble lineage; and they suffered the same things as the Israelites, who, having mixed with the daughters of the Midianites and partaken of their impiety, received a divinely-sent punishment. About these, the divine David also said, "And they were mingled among the nations, and learned their works, and served their carved idols." Thus those who traced their lineage from Seth, formerly being called sons of God as men who cultivated virtue; but being enticed by the beauty of the unholy women, they confounded the separated races, and received utter destruction as the fruit of their inheritance. It must be noted, however, that the divine word does not simply accuse their sin, but the 47 transgression committed with care and diligence. For this is what "everyone imagines in his heart diligently upon evil things all the days" indicates; for those who are displeased at the assault of sin, but are overcome by wickedness through the laziness of the mind, and afterwards feel pain and groan, have some moderate excuse in some way; but those who incline completely to licentiousness and wickedness, and render their reasoning a slave to their passions, so as to even devise other forms of evil, and this not once or twice, but throughout their whole life, of what pardon are they worthy? And what punishment is not small for those who have thus given themselves over to destruction? XLVIII Whom does the divine scripture call giants? Some say those who have lived for many years; others, god-hating and god-opposing men. But those who have understood these things thus do not say that these men had bodies larger than other men. But when I hear the divine scripture saying about Anak that "he was a descendant of the giants," and about Og that "his bed was of iron, nine cubits in length and four cubits in breadth," and that this man "was left from the Rephaim;" and of the spies relating that "we were like grasshoppers in their sight," and of God confirming their words and saying that "I have delivered to you the Amorite, whose height was as

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τολμῆσαι τὸν τοῦ ψεύδους πατέρα· διὰ πολλῶν γὰρ ἐδίδαξεν ἡ θεία γραφὴ καὶ ἀνθρώπους ἡμαρτηκέναι καὶ κατ' ἀνθρώ πων ἐξενηνέχθαι τὴν θείαν ψῆφον· ποιεῖ δὲ τοῖς πολλοῖς τὴν ἄγνοιαν τὸ παρέργως ἀναγινώσκειν τὴν θείαν γραφήν· εἰρηκὼς γὰρ ὁ συγγραφεύς, ὅπως ἐκ μὲν τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ὁ Σὴθ ἐγεννήθη, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ Σὴθ ὁ Ἐνώς, προσέθηκεν, " οὗτος ἤλπισεν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ". ὁ δὲ Ἀκύλας οὕτως τοῦτο ἡρμήνευσεν· " τότε ἤρχθη τοῦ καλεῖν ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου "· αἰνίττεται δὲ ὁ λόγος, ὡς διὰ τὴν εὐσέβειαν οὗτος πρῶτος τῆς θείας προσηγορίας τετύχηκε καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν συγγενῶν ὠνομάσθη Θεός· ὅθεν οἱ ἐκ τούτου φύντες υἱοὶ Θεοῦ ἐχρημάτιζον· ὥσπερ δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐκ τῆς τοῦ δεσπότου Χριστοῦ προσηγο ρίας χριστιανοὶ καλούμεθα. εἰ δέ τις ταύτην οὐ δέχεται τὴν διάνοιαν, διὰ τὸ τὸν Ἀκύλαν οὕτως ἡρμηνευκέναι, ἀκουσάτω τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ ∆αβὶδ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· " ἐγὼ εἶπα, θεοί ἐστε, καὶ υἱοὶ Ὑψίστου πάντες ". καὶ " ὁ Θεὸς ἔστη ἐν συνα 46 γωγῇ θεῶν, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ θεοὺς διακρινεῖ ". οὕτω δὲ ὀνομάζει τοὺς ἄρχοντας, ὡς δηλοῖ τὰ ἑξῆς, " ἕως πότε κρί νετε ἀδικίαν καὶ πρόσωπα ἁμαρτωλῶν λαμ βάνετε; κρίνατε ὀρφανῷ καὶ πτωχῷ, ταπεινὸν καὶ πένητα δικαιώσατε " καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· καὶ αὖθις " Θεὸς θεῶν Κύριος ἐλάλησε καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὴν γῆν ". τούτων αὐτῶν δηλονότι τῶν χάριτι τῆς προσηγορίας ταύτης ἠξιωμένων· οὕτω καὶ ὁ νομο θέτης ἔφη, " θεοὺς οὐ κακολογήσεις καὶ ἄρχοντας τοῦ λαοῦ σου οὐκ ἐρεῖς κακῶς "· κἀκεῖνοι τοίνυν ὡς εὐσε βεῖς ὠνομάσθησαν υἱοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ. κεχώριστο γὰρ τοῦ Σὴθ τὸ γένος καὶ οὐκ ἐπεμίγνυτο τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ Κάϊν, διὰ τὴν ἐπενεχθεῖσαν αὐτῷ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων ἀράν. ἀλλὰ χρόνου συχνοῦ διελθόντος-μετὰ πλείονα γὰρ ἢ δισχίλια ἔτη τὸν κατακλυσμὸν ἐπήγαγεν ὁ Θεός-, εὐειδεῖς θεασάμενοι τῆς τοῦ Κάϊν συγγενείας τὰς θυγατέρας καὶ καταθελχθέντες, ὡς εἰκός, τοῖς παρ' αὐτῶν ἐπινοηθεῖσι μουσικοῖς ὀργάνοις-ὁ γὰρ Ἰουβὰλ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀνθήσας ψαλτήριον καὶ κιθάραν κατέδειξεν-, ἐπεμίγησαν αὐταῖς καὶ διέφ θειραν τὴν οἰκείαν εὐγένειαν· καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ τοῖς ἰσραηλίταις ὑπέμειναν, οἳ ταῖς τῶν μαδιανιτῶν θυγατράσι μιγέντες καὶ τῆς ἐκείνων δυσσεβείας μετέσχον, καὶ θεήλατον τιμωρίαν ἐδέξαντο. περὶ τούτων καὶ ὁ θεῖος ἔφη ∆αβίδ, " καὶ ἐμίγησαν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι καὶ ἔμαθον τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐδούλευσαν τοῖς γλυπτοῖς αὐτῶν ". οὕτως οἱ ἐκ τοῦ Σὴθ τὸ γένος κατάγοντες, πάλαι μὲν ὡς ἀρετῆς ἐπιμελούμενοι υἱοὶ Θεοῦ ἐχρημάτιζον· ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς ὥρας τῶν ἀνο σίων γυναικῶν δελεασθέντες, συνέχεαν μὲν διακεκριμένα τὰ γένη, καρπὸν δὲ κληρονομίας τὴν πανωλεθρίαν ἐδέξαντο. ἐκεῖνο μέντοι ἐπισημήνασθαι χρή, ὡς οὐχ ἁπλῶς αὐτῶν ἁμαρτίαν ὁ θεῖος λόγος κατηγορεῖ, ἀλλὰ τὴν 47 μετ' ἐπιμελείας καὶ σπουδῆς παρανομίαν. τοῦτο γὰρ δηλοῖ τὸ " πᾶς τις διανοεῖται ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐπιμελῶς ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρὰ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας "· οἱ μὲν γὰρ δυσχεραίνον τες τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν προσβολήν, ἡττώμενοι δὲ διὰ τὴν τοῦ νοῦ ῥαθυ μίαν τῇ πονηρίᾳ, εἶθ' ὕστερον ἀλγοῦντες καὶ στένοντες, ἔχουσί τινα μετρίαν ἁμῆ γέ πῃ παραίτησιν· οἱ δὲ εἰς ἀκολασίαν καὶ πονηρίαν παντά πασιν ἀποκλίνοντες, καὶ δοῦλον τῶν παθῶν τὸν λογισμὸν ἀποφαίνοντες, ὥστε καὶ προσεπινοεῖν ἑτέρας κακίας ἰδέας, καὶ τοῦτο οὐχ ἅπαξ ἢ δίς, ἀλλὰ παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον, ποίας ἄξιοι συγγνώμης; ποία δὲ κόλασις οὐ σμικρὰ τοῖς οὕτω σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐκδεδωκόσιν εἰς ὄλεθρον; XLVIII Τίνας καλεῖ γίγαντας ἡ θεία γραφή; Τινές φασι τοὺς ἔτη πολλὰ βεβιωκότας· τινὲς δὲ τοὺς θεομισεῖς καὶ ἀντι θέους ἀνθρώπους. οἱ δὲ ταῦτα οὕτω νενοηκότες οὔ φασι τούτους μείζονα τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων σώματα ἐσχηκέναι. ἐγὼ δὲ ὅταν ἀκούσω τῆς θείας γραφῆς λεγούσης περὶ τοῦ Ἐνὰκ ὅτι " ἀπόγονος ἦν τῶν γιγάντων ", καὶ περὶ τοῦ Ὢγ ὅτι " ἡ κλίνη αὐτοῦ ἦν σιδηρᾶ, ἐννέα πήχεων τὸ μῆκος καὶ τεσσάρων πήχεων τὸ εὖρος ", καὶ ὅτι οὗτος " ἐκ τῶν ῥαφαῒν ὑπε λείφθη "· καὶ τῶν κατασκόπων διηγουμένων ὅτι " ἦμεν ἐνώ πιον αὐτῶν ὡσεὶ ἀκρίδες ", καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ βεβαιοῦντος τοὺς λόγους καὶ λέγοντος ὅτι " παραδέδωκά σοι τὸν ἀμορ ραῖον, οὗ τὸ ὕψος ἦν ὡς