De principiis

 To one who has received instruction and has practiced the ticklings and irritations occur, but reason, having been greatly strengthened and nourished

 He speaks to us as having free will and being the cause of our own destruction or salvation for he says, or do you despise the riches of his goodnes

 Since it was possible for him to be persuaded, and he certainly would have been persuaded, not being of an earthly nature, when constrained by the won

 In the underlying matter, from the one heat the wax is melted, but the clay is dried so the one energy working through moses on the one hand exposed

 In proportion to the unspeakable beneficence, to the greatest possible degree of blessedness they have attained. 3.1.13 therefore, he who is abandoned

 Stony hearts” and places in them “fleshy ones,” so that “his ordinances may be kept” and the commandments observed, it is not in our power to put away

 From the old [testament], being accused of such things. but if they seek a defense concerning the gospel, it must be said to them, unless they act rep

 Such things, by which having been seen and heard, the sin of those who after such great and numerous things have not believed is proven to be heavier

 Therefore, that which is from god is manifoldly and exceedingly more for salvation than that which is in our power. therefore, i think the saying mean

 Of the body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad” is it sound, when those who have done evil things have come to this course of a

 To advance to better things, while others fall from better things to worse, and some are preserved in good things or ascend from good things to better

 Nor when the teachers were many, to be preached everywhere in the world, so that greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish were added to the worship

 “grace is poured out on his lips”? for a proof of the “grace poured out on his lips” is that after a short time of his teaching (for he taught for abo

 In the sun and moon and stars and is not so manifest in the events of human life, as in the souls and the bodies of animals, since the “for what purp

 They thought, since the creator was imperfect and not good, that the savior had come announcing a more perfect god, whom they say is not the creator,

 You did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” 4.2.4 the way, therefore, that appears to us for how one ought to approach the scripture

 Character. but a spiritual interpretation for the one who is able to show of what “heavenly things the pattern and shadow” the jews “according to the

 Is so great upon the earth, and if not only upon the earth, but also elsewhere, it is necessary for us to learn. 4.2.8 these things, and others like t

 Like a farmer, that god 'planted a paradise in eden toward the east,' and made in it a 'tree of life,' visible and perceptible, so that by tasting of

 But also the saying “to be struck on the right jaw” is most improbable, since everyone who strikes, unless he happens to have some unnatural condition

 Every part has the spiritual, but not every part the corporeal for in many places the corporeal is shown to be impossible. therefore, much attention

 Of us.” and in another epistle: “but you have come to mount zion and to the city of the living god, the heavenly jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,

 Of israel or of those being far off, and the “descent into egypt of the seventy souls”, that there they might become “as the stars of heaven in number

like a farmer, that God 'planted a paradise in Eden toward the east,' and made in it a 'tree of life,' visible and perceptible, so that by tasting of the fruit with bodily teeth one might receive life; and again, that one partook of 'good and evil' by chewing that which was taken from this tree? And if it is said that 'God was walking in the paradise in the evening' and 'Adam was hiding under the tree,' I do not think anyone will doubt that these things signify certain mysteries tropologically, through a story that seems to have happened but did not happen bodily. But also 'Cain going out from the face of God' clearly appears to those who pay attention to move the reader to inquire, <what> 'the face of God' is, and what 'going out' from it is. And what more need I say, since those who are not entirely dull can collect countless such things, recorded as if they had happened, but not having happened according to the letter? But the Gospels, too, are filled with sayings of this kind, as when the devil takes Jesus up 'to a high mountain' in order from there 'to show him the kingdoms of the whole world and their glory'. For who that reads such things not carelessly would not condemn those who suppose that with the eye of the flesh, which needs height to be able to perceive things that are lower and beneath it, the kingdom of the Persians and Scythians and Indians and Parthians was seen, and how the kings are glorified among men? And in a similar way to these, there are countless other things in the Gospels for the careful observer to note, in order to agree that things that did not happen are interwoven with the histories that happened according to the letter. 4.3.2 But if we come also to the legislation of Moses, many of the laws, insofar as they are to be observed literally, show their irrationality, and others their impossibility. The irrationality, for instance, in the prohibition of eating vultures, since no one, even in the greatest famines, has been forced by want to resort to this animal; and in the command that 'uncircumcised eight-day-old children be destroyed from their kin,' when it would be necessary, if anything at all should have been legislated about these things according to the letter, that their fathers be ordered to be killed, or those by whom they are raised; but as it is, the Scripture says: 'every uncircumcised male, who shall not be circumcised on the eighth day, shall be destroyed from his kin'. But if you wish also to see impossible laws, let us consider that the goat-stag happens to be an animal whose existence is impossible, which Moses commands us to offer as clean; and a griffin has never been recorded to have become subject to man, which the lawgiver forbids to be eaten. But also the celebrated Sabbath command, for one who examines it closely: 'you shall sit each in your houses; let none of you go out from his place on the seventh day' is impossible to be observed according to the letter, since no living being is able to sit for the whole day and be still from sitting. Therefore, those of the circumcision and all who wish for nothing more to be signified than the letter do not investigate certain things at all, such as those concerning the goat-stag and griffin and vulture, but on some things they talk nonsense with specious reasoning, bringing forward frigid traditions, as also concerning the Sabbath, saying that the 'place' of each person is two thousand cubits, and others, among whom is Dositheus the Samaritan, condemning such an interpretation, think that one must remain until evening in the posture in which one is found on the Sabbath day. But also 'not to carry a burden on the Sabbath day' is impossible; wherefore the teachers of the Jews have come to endless talk, saying that a 'burden' is a shoe of such a kind, but not of such another kind, and a sandal with nails, but not one without nails, and that which is carried thus on one shoulder, but not on two shoulders. 4.3.3 And if, coming to the Gospel, we should seek similar things, what could be more irrational than: 'Salute no one on the way,' which the simple-minded suppose the Savior commanded the apostles?

γεωργοῦ τὸν θεὸν «πεφυτευκέναι παράδεισον ἐν Ἐδὲμ κατὰ ἀνατολάς», καὶ «ξύλον ζωῆς» ἐν αὐτῷ πεποιηκέναι ὁρατὸν καὶ αἰσθητόν, ὥστε διὰ τῶν σωματικῶν ὀδόντων γευσάμενον τοῦ καρποῦ τὸ ζῆν ἀναλαμβάνειν· καὶ πάλιν «καλοῦ καὶ πονηροῦ» μετέχειν τινὰ παρὰ τὸ μεμασῆσθαι τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε τοῦ ξύλου λαμβανόμενον; ἐὰν δὲ καὶ «θεὸς τὸ δειλινὸν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ περιπατεῖν» λέγηται καὶ «ὁ Ἀδὰμ ὑπὸ τὸ ξύλον κρύπτεσθαι», οὐκ οἶμαι διστάξειν τινὰ περὶ τοῦ αὐτὰ τροπικῶς διὰ δοκούσης ἱστορίας καὶ οὐ σωματικῶς γεγενημένης μηνύειν τινὰ μυστήρια. ἀλλὰ καὶ «Κάιν ἐξερχόμενος ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ» σαφῶς τοῖς ἐπιστήσασι φαίνεται κινεῖν τὸν ἐντυγχάνοντα ζητεῖν, <τί> «πρόσωπον θεοῦ» καὶ τὸ «ἐξέρχεσθαί» τινα ἀπ' αὐτοῦ. καὶ τί δεῖ πλείω λέγειν, τῶν μὴ πάνυ ἀμβλέων μυρία ὅσα τοιαῦτα δυναμένων συναγαγεῖν, ἀναγεγραμμένα μὲν ὡς γεγονότα, οὐ γεγενημένα δὲ κατὰ τὴν λέξιν; ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ εὐαγγέλια δὲ τοῦ αὐτοῦ εἴδους τῶν λόγων πεπλήρωται, «εἰς ὑψηλὸν ὄρος» τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀναβιβάζοντος τοῦ διαβόλου, ἵν' ἐκεῖθεν αὐτῷ «δείξῃ τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου τὰς βασιλείας καὶ τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν». τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἂν τῶν μὴ παρέργως ἀναγινωσκόντων τὰ τοιαῦτα καταγινώσκοι τῶν οἰομένων τῷ τῆς σαρκὸς ὀφθαλμῷ, δεηθέντι ὕψους ὑπὲρ τοῦ κατανοηθῆναι δύνασθαι τὰ κατωτέρω καὶ ὑποκείμενα, ἑωρᾶσθαι τὴν Περσῶν καὶ Σκυθῶν καὶ Ἰνδῶν καὶ Παρθυαίων βασιλείαν, καὶ ὡς δοξάζονται παρὰ ἀνθρώποις οἱ βασιλεύοντες; παραπλησίως δὲ τούτοις καὶ ἄλλα μυρία ἀπὸ τῶν εὐαγγελίων ἔνεστι τὸν ἀκριβοῦντα τηρῆσαι ὑπὲρ τοῦ συγκαταθέσθαι συνυφαίνεσθαι ταῖς κατὰ τὸ ῥητὸν γεγενημέναις ἱστορίαις ἕτερα μὴ συμβεβηκότα. 4.3.2 Ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν νομοθεσίαν ἔλθωμεν τὴν Μωσέως, πολλοὶ τῶν νόμων, τὸ ὅσον ἐπὶ τῷ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς τηρεῖσθαι, τὸ ἄλογον ἐμφαίνουσιν, ἕτεροι δὲ τὸ ἀδύνατον. τὸ μὲν ἄλογον, γῦπες ἐσθίεσθαι ἀπαγορευόμενοι, οὐδενὸς οὐδὲ ἐν τοῖς μεγίστοις λιμοῖς ἐκβιασθέντος ὑπὸ τῆς ἐνδείας ἐπὶ τοῦτο τὸ ζῷον φθάσαι· καὶ «ὀκταήμερα παιδία ἀπερίτμητα ἐξολοθρεύεσθαι ἐκ τοῦ γένους αὐτῶν» κελευόμενα, δέον, εἰ ὅλως ἐχρῆν τι περὶ τούτων κατὰ τὸ ῥητὸν νενομοθετῆσθαι, τοὺς πατέρας αὐτῶν κελεύεσθαι ἀναιρεῖσθαι ἢ τοὺς παρ' οἷς τρέφονται· νῦν δέ φησιν ἡ γραφή· «ἀπερίτμητος πᾶς ἄρρην, ὃς οὐ περιτμηθήσεται τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ὀγδόῃ, ἐξολοθρευθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ γένους αὐτοῦ». εἰ δὲ καὶ ἀδύνατα νομοθετούμενα βούλεσθε ἰδεῖν, ἐπισκεψώμεθα ὅτι τραγέλαφος μὲν τῶν ἀδυνάτων ὑποστῆναι ζῷον τυγχάνει, ὃν ὡς καθαρὸν κελεύει Μωσῆς ἡμᾶς προσφέρεσθαι· γρὺψ δὲ οὐχ ἱστόρηταί ποτε ὑποχείριος ἀνθρώπῳ γεγονέναι, ὃν ἀπαγορεύει ἐσθίεσθαι ὁ νομοθέτης. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ διαβόητον σάββατον τῷ ἀκριβοῦντι τό· «καθήσεσθε ἕκαστος εἰς τοὺς οἴκους ὑμῶν· μηδεὶς ὑμῶν ἐκπορευέσθω ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτοῦ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ» ἀδύνατόν ἐστι φυλαχθῆναι κατὰ τὴν λέξιν, οὐδενὸς ζῴου δυναμένου δι' ὅλης καθέζεσθαι τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ ἀκινητεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ καθέζεσθαι. διόπερ τινὰ μὲν οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς καὶ ὅσοι θέλουσι πλέον τῆς λέξεως δηλοῦσθαι μηδὲν οὐδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ζητοῦσιν, ὥσπερ τὰ περὶ τραγελάφου καὶ γρυπὸς καὶ γυπός, εἴς τινα δὲ φλυαροῦσιν εὑρησιλογοῦντες, ψυχρὰς παραδόσεις φέροντες, ὥσπερ καὶ περὶ τοῦ σαββάτου, φάσκοντες τόπον ἑκάστου εἶναι δισχιλίους πήχεις, ἄλλοι δέ, ὧν ἐστι ∆οσίθεος ὁ Σαμαρεύς, καταγινώσκοντες τῆς τοιαύτης διηγήσεως οἴονται ἐπὶ τοῦ σχήματος, οὗ ἂν καταληφθῇ τις ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου, μένειν μέχρις ἑσπέρας. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ «μὴ αἴρειν βάσταγμα ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου» ἀδύνατον· διόπερ εἰς ἀπεραντολογίαν οἱ τῶν Ἰουδαίων διδάσκαλοι ἐληλύθασι, φάσκοντες «βάσταγμα» μὲν εἶναι τὸ τοιόνδε ὑπόδημα, οὐ μὴν καὶ τὸ τοιόνδε, καὶ τὸ ἥλους ἔχον σανδάλιον, οὐ μὴν καὶ τὸ ἀνήλωτον, καὶ τὸ οὑτωσὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου φορούμενον, οὐ μὴν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν δύο ὤμων. 4.3.3 Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἐλθόντες τὰ ὅμοια ζητήσαιμεν, τί ἂν εἴη ἀλογώτερον τοῦ· «μηδένα κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἀσπάσησθε», ὅπερ ἐντέλλεσθαι νομίζουσιν οἱ ἀκέραιοι τὸν σωτῆρα τοῖς ἀποστόλοις;