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The rest, concerning the sea and heaven and earth and the formation of humans, with demonic dark inventions and the fabrications of a wicked mind, according to the divine Gregory, it presents, ostensibly veiling them mythically, introducing a polytheistic error to those persuaded by it and striving to show the existence of beings from a pre-existing matter, the moist substance. Wherefore, rejecting as untrue anything concerning the infinite years and the ten kings before the flood and whatever other absurdities are spoken in it, I do not accept the analysis of years into days or their division, nor those who allegorized these things and said that those before the flood reckoned a year as a day, having received from the fourth of the watchers, the ruler Chôrabiel, that the cyclical measure of the sun is in twelve zodiac signs, with three hundred and sixty degrees; and a degree is one day and one minute. not having learned, he says, what the quantity of a year is, because the measure of the year was not yet known to men. And how is it possible for one to learn the yearly cyclical time of the sun concerning the twelve zodiac signs, without knowing that the year is twelve-part and twelve-month? Then he says: Indeed, what is called a *saros* among them is 3600 days, the *neros* is 600 days, and the *sossos* is 60 days. And the *saros* of 3600 days, being broken down into the 365 days of the year, makes 9 years and 10 months. The *neros* of 600 days makes 1 year and 7 months #171γʹ, and the *sossos* makes 2 months. The 120 *saroi* make 43 myriads and two thousand days. And these, being broken down into each year, make 1183 years and 6 months #171γʹ. These, being joined to the 1057 kingless years, fulfill the 2242 years from Adam until the flood, in accordance with our Scripture. And the reckoning of the 1058 years was made by weeks, so that from Adam to Alorus there were 5 myriads and 167. Then, he says, having demonstratively dispelled the doubtful supposition of the Chaldeans, I thought it necessary first to interpret the things before the tradition until the 165th year of Enoch in the year 1286, then, next, to proceed to the elementary account from Adam until the twentieth anniversary of Constantine, so that through the naming of the kings who ruled nation by nation, I might collect and show without omission the period of 5816 years. Furthermore, also from the men genealogized in the divine scriptures from Adam until the all-praised twenty-second archbishop of Alexandria and Egypt and the two Libyas, the idol-destroyer Theophilus, having collected the times, I will set forth a number of 5904 years, so that the heresiarchs and pagans, wise in their own conceit, may find no occasion for opposition in our divine scriptures; because the pagans, wise in their own conceit, thought the world to be many myriads of years old, while the heresiarchs, on the contrary, confess Christ, the creator of time, to be under time, saying: 'there was a time when he was not'. But let all these depart, having heard from the catholic church: 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' The author has indeed provided a fine and well-accepted seal for the account, and we, along with the right-minded, accept the conclusion of the account as most excellent. But, since these things were so determined by him, as they said, that the pagans, wise in their own conceit, believe the world to be many myriads of years old, he should have spat upon their opinion and, as it agrees in nothing, he should have hastened rather to show this opinion to be false and opposed to God, contrary to our truth, since, as was clearly shown above and will be shown again from Genesis as the account proceeds by the grace of God, before the flood neither a kingdom nor a nation of Chaldeans appeared, nor was Babylon named, which they say was founded after the flood. But for him to add that from the beginning, in the six days of creation, the first book given to us through Moses did not indicate measures of time, except only for day and night and a week, is unsuitable;

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λοιπὰ περί τε θαλάττης καὶ οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς καὶ διαπλάσεως ἀνθρώπων δαιμονικοῖς εὑρήμασι σκοτεινοῖς καὶ διανοίας κακοδαίμονος ἀναπλάσμασι, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον Γρηγόριον, μυθικῶς δῆθεν συγκαλύπτουσα παρατίθεται, πολύθεον τοῖς πειθομένοις αὐτῇ πλάνην εἰσάγουσα καὶ ἐκ προϋποκειμένης ὕλης δεῖξαι σπουδάζουσα τῆς ὑγρᾶς οὐσίας τὴν τῶν ὄντων ὕπαρξιν. ∆ιὸ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀπείρων ἐτῶν καὶ τῶν δέκα βασιλέων τῶν πρὸ τοῦ κα τακλυσμοῦ καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἄτοπα ἐν αὐτῇ λέλεκται ἀπαγορεύων μηδὲν εἶναι ἀληθές, οὐδὲ τὴν τῶν ἐτῶν εἰς ἀνάλυσιν ἡμερῶν ἢ μερισμὸν ἀποδέχομαι, οὐδὲ τοὺς ταῦτα ἀλληγορήσαντας καὶ εἰπόντας τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ἡμέραν λο 33 γίζεσθαι τοὺς πρὸ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ, παραλαβόντας ἀπὸ τοῦ τετάρτου τῶν ἐγρηγόρων ἄρχοντος Χωραβιὴλ τὸ τοῦ ἡλίου ἀνακυκλευματικὸν μέ τρον εἶναι ἐν ζῳδίοις δώδεκα, μοίραις τριακοσίαις ἑξήκοντα· ἡ δὲ μοῖρά ἐστιν ἡμέρα μία καὶ λεπτὸν ἕν. μὴ μαθόντες, φησί, τί ἐστι ποσότης ἐνι αυτοῦ, διὰ τὸ μηδέπω ἐγνωρίσθαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὸ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ μέτρον. καὶ πῶς δυνατὸν μαθεῖν τινα τὸν περὶ ζῳδίων δώδεκα τὸν ἀνακυκλευτικὸν τοῦ ἡλίου ἐτήσιον χρόνον, μὴ γινώσκοντα ὅτι ἐνιαυτός ἐστι δωδεκαμερὴς καὶ δωδεκαμηνιαῖος; εἶτά φησιν· ὁ γοῦν παρ' αὐτοῖς σάρος λεγόμενος ἡμέραι εἰσὶ γχʹ, ὁ δὲ νῆρος ἡμέραι χʹ, ὁ δὲ σῶσσος ἡμέραι ξʹ. καὶ ὁ μὲν σάρος τῶν γχʹ ἡμερῶν ἀναλυόμενος εἰς τὰς τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ἡμέρας τξεʹ ποιεῖ ἔτη θʹ καὶ μῆνας ιʹ. ὁ δὲ νῆρος χʹ ἡμέραι ποιεῖ ἔτος αʹ καὶ μῆνας ζʹ #171γʹ, ὁ δὲ σῶσσος ποιεῖ μῆνας βʹ. οἱ ρκʹ σάροι ποιοῦσιν ἡμερῶν μὲν μυ ριάδας μγʹ καὶ δύο χιλιάδας. ταῦτα δὲ ἀναλυόμενα εἰς τὸν καθ' ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν ποιοῦσιν ἔτη αρπγʹ καὶ μῆνας ςʹ #171γʹ. ταῦτα συναπτόμενα τοῖς ἀβασιλεύτοις ἔτεσιν ανζʹ πληροῖ ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ ἕως τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ χρό νων τῷ βσμβʹ συμφώνως τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ γραφῇ. τῶν δὲ ανηʹ ἐτῶν ἡ ἀναμέτρησις δι' ἑβδομάδων ἦν γινομένη, ὡς εἶναι τὰς ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ ἕως Ἀλώρου μυριάδας εʹ καὶ ερξζʹ. εἶτα τὴν τῶν Χαλδαίων, φησίν, ἀμφίβο λον ὑπόνοιαν ἀποδεικτικῶς διαλύσας ἀναγκαῖον ἡγησάμην καὶ τὰ πρὸ παραδόσεως ἕως τοῦ ρξεʹ Ἐνὼχ ασπ ςʹ ἔτει πρῶτον ἑρμηνεῦσαι, εἶτα ἑξῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ ἕως τῆς εἰκοσαετηρίδος Κωνσταντίνου στοιχείωσιν ὁρμῆσαι, ἵνα διὰ τῆς τῶν κρατησάντων κατ' ἔθνος βασιλέων ὀνομασίας τὸν τῶν εωι ςʹ ἐτῶν ἀπαραλείπτως συνάξας ἐπιδείξω. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς γενεαλογουμένων ἀνδρῶν τῶν ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ ἕως τοῦ πανευφήμου δευτέρου καὶ κʹ ἀρχιεπισκόπου Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ Αἰγύπτου καὶ τῶν δύο Λιβύων εἰδωλοκτόνου Θεοφίλου τοὺς χρόνους συνάξας παραθήσομαι ἀριθμὸν ἐτῶν ε Ϡδʹ πρὸς τὸ μηδεμίαν ἀφορμὴν ἀντιθέσεως εὑρίσκειν ἐν ταῖς θείαις ἡμῶν γραφαῖς τοὺς οἰήσει σοφοὺς αἱρεσιάρχας τε καὶ ἐθνικούς· ὅτι οἱ μὲν ἐθνικοὶ οἰήσει σοφοὶ ἐνόμι σαν πολλῶν μυριάδων ἐτῶν εἶναι τὸν κόσμον, οἱ δὲ αἱρεσιάρχαι τὸ ἀνάπα λιν τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ χρόνου δημιουργὸν ὑπὸ χρόνον ὁμολογοῦσι λέγοντες· ἦν ποτε ὅτε οὐκ ἦν. ἀλλ' οὗτοι πάντες οἰχέσθωσαν τῆς καθολικῆς ἐκ κλησίας ἀκούσαντες· ἑταῖρε, πῶς εἰσῆλθες ὧδε μὴ ἔχων ἔνδυμα γάμου; καλὸν δὴ τὸ ἐπισφράγισμα τοῦ λόγου καὶ εὐαπόδεκτον ὁ συγγραφεὺς ἀπο 34 δέδωκε, καὶ ἡμεῖς σὺν τοῖς εὖ φρονοῦσιν ἀποδεχόμεθα τοῦ λόγου τὸ πέρας ὡς κράτιστον. ἀλλ' ἔδει τούτων οὕτως αὐτῷ διεγνωσμένων καθὼς ἔφησαν, ὅτι πολλῶν μυριάδων ἐτῶν εἶναι τὸν κόσμον νομίζουσιν οἱ ἐθνικοὶ οἰήσει σοφοί, διαπτύσαι τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν μηδενὶ συμφωνοῦσαν ὡς ψευδῆ καὶ ἀντίθεον τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἀληθείᾳ σπεῦσαι μᾶλλον ἀποδεῖξαι ταύτην, ἐπεί, καθὼς ἀνωτέρω σαφῶς ἀποδέδεικται καὶ αὖθις ἐκ τῆς Γενέσεως δειχθήσεται προϊόντος τοῦ λόγου θεοῦ χάριτι, πρὸ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ οὐδὲ Χαλδαίων ὤφθη βασιλεία ἢ ἔθνος οὐδὲ Βαβυλὼν ἐχρημάτισεν, ἥν φασι μετὰ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν ἐπικτισθῆναι. τὸ δὲ ἐπάγειν αὐτὸν ὅτι ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐν ταῖς τῆς κοσμοποιίας ἓξ ἡμέραις ἡ διὰ Μωυσέως δοθεῖσα ἡμῖν πρώτη βίβλος οὐκ ἐδήλου χρόνου μέτρα, εἰ μὴ μόνον ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα καὶ ἑβδομάδα, ἀπρόσφορον·