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willing, so that he might attribute the deed to the demon's profession and by this pretext destroy some with deceit; for it is entirely necessary to guard against the pollution of divination, as the lawgiver ordained. 24.11 But does not one consider abominable the causes of augury and the divinations of the ventriloquist and the omens from sounds? Let him hear how, having passed over it a little before, he decreed again: "But when," he says, "you enter into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations. 24.12 There shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who uses divination, or who observes omens, or an augur, or a sorcerer casting spells, a ventriloquist or a diviner of prodigies, or one who inquires of the dead. For everyone who does these things is an abomination to the Lord." 24.13 And after this, indicating that he also threatens foreigners with death and destruction on account of these things, he immediately added: "For because of these abominations the Lord will destroy them from before you." 24.14 It is evident, therefore, that the divination of the ventriloquist is joined together with all of the causes of idolatry, just as if in a fever with filth lying underneath within, things which arouse sickness and kindle evils, being accustomed to bring forth the pestilential disease with swelling and corruption. 24.15 And if indeed he also named the grim visions "divination of prodigies," 20which are related through the20 ventriloquists, he established that there is nothing true in them; 24.16 From here, I think, again in Leviticus he brought forth a more severe decision against them, adding in these very words: "And a man or a woman," saying, "<who> becomes a ventriloquist or a sorcerer among you, let them be put to death; you shall stone them with stones, they are guilty."

25.1 What, then, do they say who hold Origen's idle opinions to be worthy of welcome?

Does he command the ventriloquists to be destroyed as being guilty of the most hateful practices, or on the contrary as counsellors of good works? If, then, they are perpetrators of impious deeds, the lawgiver rightly drives away the accursed ones, who report nothing true. 25.2 But if they are discoverers of the noblest actions, the law has decreed superfluously against them. For if they bring up souls from Hades, and those who arrive here proclaim the future, they provide beneficially for those in need; then the lawgiver did not justly ordain that the benefactors be stoned. 25.3 So it is necessary to do one of two things, either to render these sayings useless, or to slander the words of the ventriloquist as stale and false. But what shall we say? Do the divine scriptures contradict themselves? And does the one vote conflict with the many? But if there is any conflict, the many prevail. 25.4 And indeed from the contrary passages they thus in unanimous concord vote against the ventriloquists as those doing unholy things. None the less still it is recorded in the fourth book of Kings that Manasseh, in an excess of impiety, in addition to murdering the righteous and worshipping all sorts of idolatrous matter, "made for himself," it says, "ventriloquists and seers." 25.5 But conversely again, he who was pre-eminent in the virtue of righteousness, Josiah the king, tore down all the man-made idols together, and reducing them to ash with fire, destroyed them; nevertheless, in addition to these things, "he removed," it said, "the ventriloquists and the seers and the teraphim and the idols and the carsaein"; then also after a little it says 20that he also "burned them," as being unlawful, of course20. 25.6 Therefore, if the same person is the author of both writings, and here he describes the lives of two kings, and of these he introduces the one as unjust, the other as just—but he blames the one furnished with unmixed injustice, because in addition to other things he also clung to the ventriloquists, but he praises the one roused by divine zeal for also removing the ventriloquists along with all the enemies—and if these things are so, it is established that he did not issue sayings that conflict with himself. 25.7 nor again the

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ἐθέλων, ἵνα ἐπιγράψῃ τῇ τοῦ δαίμονος ἐπαγγελίᾳ τὸ δρᾶμα καὶ διὰ τῆσδε τῆς προφάσεως ἀπάτῃ φθείρῃ τινάς· ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἐξ ἅπαντος φυλάττεσθαι τὸ τῆς μαντείας ἅγος, ὡς ὁ νομοθέτης ἐθέσπισεν. 24.11 ἀλλ' οὐ μυσερά τις ἡγεῖται τὰ τῆς οἰωνοσκοπίας αἴτια καὶ τὰ τῆς ἐγγαστριμύθου μαντεῖα καὶ σύμβολα κλῃδόνων; ἀκουέτω πῶς ὀλίγῳ πρόσθεν ὑπερβὰς ἐδογμάτισε πάλιν· «ἐὰν δὲ» φησὶν «εἰσέλθῃς εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι, οὐ μαθήσῃ ποιεῖν κατὰ τὰ βδελύγματα τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκείνων. 24.12 οὐχ εὑρεθήσεται ἐν σοὶ περικαθαίρων τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα αὐτοῦ ἐν πυρί, καὶ μαντευόμενος μαντείαν, καὶ κλῃδονιζόμενος καὶ οἰωνιζόμενος φαρμάκοις ἐπαοιδῶν ἐπαοιδήν, ἐγγαστρίμυθος καὶ τερατοσκόπος, ἐπερωτῶν τοὺς νεκρούς. ἔστι γὰρ βδέλυγμα κυρίῳ πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν ταῦτα». 24.13 μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο μηνύων ὅτι καὶ τοῖς ἀλλογενέσι διὰ ταῦτα θανάτου γένεσιν ἀπειλεῖ καὶ φθοράν, ἐπήγαγεν εὐθέως· «ἕνεκα γὰρ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τούτων κύριος ἐξολοθρεύσει αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ σοῦ». 24.14 φαίνεται τοίνυν ὡς ἡ μαντεία τῆς ἐγγαστριμύθου συνέζευκται μετὰ πάντων ὁμοῦ τῶν τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας αἰτιῶν, ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ πυρετῷ σκυβάλων ἔνδοθεν ὑποκειμένων, ἐγερτικῶν μὲν ἀρρωστίας, ὑπεκκαυμάτων δὲ μοχθηρῶν, οἰδήσει καὶ φθορᾷ τὴν λυμώδη νόσον ἀποκύειν εἰωθότων. 24.15 εἰ δὲ δὴ καὶ τερατοσκοπίας 20ὠνόμασε τὰς ἀμειδεῖς ὀπτασίας, ὅσαι διὰ τῶν20 ἐγγαστριμύθων ἱστοροῦνται, συνέστησεν ὅτι μηδέν ἐστιν ἀληθὲς ἐν αὐτοῖς· 24.16 ἐντεῦθεν, οἶμαι, πάλιν ἐν τῷ Λευϊτικῷ σκυθρωποτέραν ἀπόφασιν ἐξήνεγκε κατ' αὐτῶν, ἐπαγαγὼν αὐτοῖς ῥήμασιν· «καὶ ἀνὴρ ἢ γυνὴ» φάμενος «<ὃς> ἂν γένηται ἐγγαστρίμυθος ἢ ἐπαοιδὸς ἐν ὑμῖν, θανάτῳ θανατούσθωσαν· λίθοις λιθοβολήσατε αὐτούς, ἔνοχοί εἰσιν».

25.1 Τί τοίνυν φασὶν οἱ τὰς Ὠριγένους ἀσπαστέας εἶναι τιθέμενοι δοξοκοπίας;

πότερον ὡς ἐχθίστων ἐπιτηδευμάτων αἰτίους ἀναιρεῖσθαι προστάττει τοὺς ἐγγαστριμύθους, ἢ τοὐναντίον ὡς ἀγαθῶν ὑποθήμονας ἔργων; εἰ μὲν οὖν ἀσεβῶν εἰσὶ δραμάτων αὐτουργοί, δικαίως ὁ νομοθέτης ἀπελαύνει τοὺς ἐναγεῖς, οὐδὲν εἰσαγγέλλοντας ἀληθές. 25.2 εἰ δὲ καλλίστων εὑρεταὶ πράξεών εἰσι, περιττῶς ὁ νόμος ἐψηφίσατο κατ' αὐτῶν. εἰ γὰρ ἀνάγουσι μὲν ἐξ ᾅδου ψυχάς, αἱ δὲ ἀφικνούμεναι δεῦρο κηρύττουσι τὸ μέλλον, ἐφοδιάζουσι τοὺς δεομένους ἐπωφελῶς· οὐ δικαίως ἄρα λιθοβολεῖσθαι τοὺς εὐεργέτας ἐθέσπισεν ὁ νομοθέτης. 25.3 ὥστε δυοῖν ἀνάγκη θάτερον, ἢ ταύτας ἀχρειῶσαι τὰς φωνάς, ἢ τὰ τῆς ἐγγαστριμύθου ῥήματα διαβαλεῖν ὡς ἕωλα καὶ ψευδῆ. ἀλλὰ τί φῶμεν; ἀντιδοξοῦσιν ἑαυταῖς αἱ θεῖαι γραφαί; ταῖς δὲ πολλαῖς ἡ μία μάχεται ψῆφος; εἰ δ' ἄρα καὶ μάχη τίς ἐστιν, ἐπικρατοῦσιν αἱ πολλαί. 25.4 καὶ μὴν ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων οὕτως ὁμοφώνῳ συνῳδίᾳ καταψηφίζονται τῶν ἐγγαστριμύθων ὡς ἀνόσια δρώντων. οὐδὲν ἧττον ἔτι κἀν τῇ τετάρτῃ τῶν Βασιλειῶν ἀνειλημμένον ἐστὶν ὅτι Μανασσῆς μὲν ἀσεβείας ὑπερβολῇ πρὸς οἷς ἐδικαιοκτόνει καὶ παντοίας ἐθρήσκευεν εἰδωλομόρφους ὕλας «ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ» φησὶν «ἐγγαστριμύθους καὶ γνώστας». 25.5 ἀντιστρόφως δ' αὖ πάλιν ὁ δικαιοσύνης ἀρετῇ διαπρέψας Ἰωσίας ὁ βασιλεὺς ἅπαντα μὲν ὁμοῦ τὰ χειρότευκτα καθεῖλεν ἀφιδρύματα, πυρὶ δὲ τεφρώσας ἠφάνισεν· οὐ μὴν ἀλλά γε πρὸς τούτοις «ἀφεῖλεν» ἔφη «τοὺς ἐγγαστριμύθους καὶ τοὺς γνώστας καὶ τὰ θεραφεὶμ καὶ τὰ εἴδωλα καὶ τὰ καρσαείν»· εἶτα καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα φησὶν 20ὅτι καὶ «ἐνεπύρισεν», ὡς ἀθέμιτα δηλαδή20. 25.6 τοιγαροῦν εἴπερ ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν συγγραφεὺς ἑκατέρου τοῦ γράμματος, ἐνταῦθα δὲ δύο πρόσωπα βιολογεῖ βασιλέων, εἶτα τούτοιν τὸ μὲν ἄδικον εἰσάγει, τὸ δὲ δίκαιον-ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ἀκράτῳ κεχορηγημένον ἀδικίᾳ μέμφεται, διὸ πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις εἴχετο καὶ τῶν ἐγγαστριμύθων, τὸ δὲ ζήλῳ θείῳ διεγηγερμένον ἐπαινεῖ τῷ καὶ τοὺς ἐγγαστριμύθους ἐξᾶραι πρὸς ἅπασι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς-εἰ δὲ ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει, συνέστηκεν ὡς οὐχ ἑαυτῷ μαχομένας ἐξεδίδου φωνάς. 25.7 οὐδ' αὖ τὸ