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to call him ruler, of things that are and things that will be, hints at one of two things: either that the philosopher has fallen into the affliction of ignorance, or, pretending to be one of those who suffer from this, to mix falsehood with the truth. In addition to these things, he shows that the so-called gods are not gods by nature; for who, not being completely insane, would call a god one who is not always a god? And this one indeed has said that these came into being in time; for he said: "Of gods that are and that will be." How could anyone be a god who has not yet come into being? How could one who has not yet received being share in the most venerable name? But the divine oracles call none of the created things god by nature. For it has bestowed the bare name on those entrusted with judging, and indeed also on those who have kept the divine image undefiled as far as possible; but it is accustomed to name as God by nature only the one who always is and is in the same state and in like manner. But let us keep this argument for later; for now it will suffice to show that the philosopher knows the ruler and cause of the universe and the father of the cause; it is possible to hear him saying also in the *Epinomis*: "And let us render honors, not assigning a year to one, a month to another, or a part of some month to another, nor any time in which it traverses its own circuit, completing an order, which the Word, the most divine of all things, ordained; which the blessed man first marveled at, then conceived a desire to learn as much as was possible for nature." And in these words he said that the Word arranged all things, not the father of the Word. And writing to Dionysius he says the following: "I must speak to you in riddles, so that if the tablet should suffer anything in the folds of the sea or land, he who reads it may not understand. For it is thus. All things are about the king of all, and for his sake are all things, and he is the cause of all good things; second, however, about the second things, and third about the third." Do you see how, shrinking and fearing, they brought forth the doctrines of the truth and proclaimed the truth enigmatically, not clearly, being suspicious of the error of the many? And indeed this fear he has also shown in the *Timaeus*; for he says thus: "Now then let our position be as follows: concerning the beginning or beginnings of all things, or whatever seems right about these, must not now be spoken of; not for any other reason, but because it is difficult in the present course of the argument to declare what seems true." And Numenius the Pythagorean, in what he wrote about the Good, taught these things more clearly; for he says: "It is not fitting for the first to be a creator, and one must consider the first god to be the father of the creator god." And Plotinus, too, who was a zealous follower of the philosophy of Plato, wrote a book concerning the three primary hypostases, in which he also said these things: "What then must we say about the most perfect? Nothing comes from it, but the greatest things are after it; and the greatest things after it are Mind and a second, for indeed Mind sees that one." And again: "Everything longs for and loves that which begot it, and especially when the begetter and the begotten are alone; and when the begotten is also the best, of necessity it is with it, so as to be separated only by otherness. And we say that Mind is an image of that one; for it is necessary to speak more clearly." And very many other things have been said both by him and by Plutarch and Numenius and the others, who were of their company. For indeed after the epiphany of our Savior these men, having been born, mixed many things of Christian theology into their own discourses. For example then, developing the thought of Plato, both Plotinus and Numenius say that he spoke of three transcendent and eternal principles: the Good and Mind and the soul of the universe, he naming the Good what we call the Father; Mind, whom we address as Son and Word; and the power that animates and gives life to all things he calling Soul, which the divine scriptures address as Holy Spirit. And these things, as I said, have been plundered from the philosophy and theology of the Hebrews. For indeed the hymnist David, striking up the divine melody and inspired by divine grace, cried out, saying: "By the

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προσειπεῖν ἡγεμόνα, τῶν τε ὄντων καὶ τῶν μελλόντων, δυοῖν αἰνίττεται θάτερον, ἢ τῷ τῆς ἀγνοίας πάθει περιπεσεῖν τὸν φιλόσοφον, ἢ τοὺς ταύτην 2.74 νοσοῦντας ὑποκρινόμενον ἀναμῖξαι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ τὸ ψεῦδος. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις δείκνυσι τοὺς καλουμένους θεοὺς οὐ φύσει ὄντας θεούς· τίς γὰρ μὴ κομιδῇ παραπαίων καλέσαι ἂν θεὸν τὸν οὐκ ἀεὶ ὄντα θεόν; οὗτος δέ γε ἐν χρόνῳ τούτους εἴρηκε γίνεσθαι· ἔφη γάρ· 2.75 "Τῶν τε ὄντων θεῶν καὶ τῶν μελλόντων." Πῶς δ' ἂν εἴη τις θεὸς ὁ μηδέπω γενόμενος; πῶς δ' ἂν τοῦ σεπτοτάτου μεταλάχοι ὀνόματος ὁ μηδέπω τὸ εἶναι λαβών; τὰ δὲ θεῖα λόγια τῶν γεγο 2.76 νότων οὐδὲν φύσει προσαγορεύει θεόν. Ὀνόματος μὲν γὰρ ψιλοῦ μεταδέδωκε τοῖς δικάζειν πεπιστευμένοις, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τοῖς τὴν θείαν εἰκόνα ὡς οἷόν τε τετηρηκόσιν ἀκήρατον· φύσει δὲ Θεὸν τὸν ἀεὶ ὄντα καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὰ καὶ ὡσαύτως ἔχοντα μόνον εἴωθεν ὀνομάζειν. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτον εἰς ὕστερον τὸν λόγον φυλάξωμεν· νῦν δέ γε ἀρκέσει δηλῶσαι, ὡς ὁ φιλόσοφος οἶδε τὸν τοῦ παντὸς ἡγε 2.77 μόνα καὶ αἴτιον καὶ τὸν τοῦ αἰτίου πατέρα· ἔστι δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀκοῦσαι κἀν τῇ Ἐπινομίδι λέγοντος· "Καὶ τιμὰς ἀποδιδῶμεν, μὴ τῷ μὲν ἐνιαυτόν, τῷ δὲ μῆνα, τῷ δὲ μηνός τινος μοῖραν τάττωμεν, μηδέ τινα χρόνον, ἐν ᾧ διεξέρχεται τὸν αὐτοῦ πόλον, ξυναποτε λῶν κόσμον, ὃν ἔταξε λόγος ὁ πάντων θειότατος· ὃν ὁ μὲν εὐδαί μων πρῶτον μὲν ἐθαύμασεν, ἔπειτα ἔρωτα ἔσχε καταμαθεῖν, ὁπόσα ἐνῆν τῇ φύσει δυνατά." Κἀν τούτοις τὸν λόγον ἔφησε τὰ 2.78 πάντα διακοσμῆσαι, οὐ τὸν τοῦ λόγου πατέρα. Καὶ ∆ιονυσίῳ δὲ γράφων τοιάδε φησίν· "Φραστέον δή σοι δι' αἰνιγμάτων, ἵν' ἄν τι δέλτος ἢ πόντου ἢ γῆς ἐν πτυχαῖς πάθῃ, ὁ ἀναγνοὺς μὴ γνῷ. Ὧδε γὰρ ἔχει. Περὶ τὸν πάντων βασιλέα πάντα ἐστί, καὶ ἐκείνου γε εἵνεκα πάντα, καὶ ἐκεῖνό γε αἴτιον πάντων καλῶν· δεύτερον δὲ περὶ τὰ δεύτερα, καὶ τρίτον περὶ τὰ τρίτα." 2.79 Ὁρᾶτε, πῶς ὀρρωδοῦντες καὶ δεδιότες τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας προσ έφερον δόγματα καὶ αἰνιγματωδῶς, οὐ σαφῶς, ἐκήρυττον τὴν ἀλήθειαν, τὸν τῶν πολλῶν ὑφορώμενοι πλάνον; Τοῦτο δέ γε τὸ 2.80 δέος κἀν τῷ Τιμαίῳ δεδήλωκεν· λέγει δὲ οὕτως· "Νῦν δὴ οὖν τὸ παρ' ἡμῶν ὧδε ἐχέτω· τὴν μὲν οὖν πάντων εἴτε ἀρχὴν εἴτε ἀρχάς, εἴτε ὅπῃ δοκεῖ τούτων πέρι, τὸ νῦν οὐ ῥητέον· δι' ἄλλο μὲν οὐδέν, διὰ δὲ τὸ χαλεπὸν εἶναι κατὰ τὸν παρόντα λόγον τῆς 2.81 διεξόδου τὰ δοκοῦντα δηλῶσαι." Καὶ Νουμήνιος δὲ ὁ Πυθαγό ρειος, ἐν οἷς τὰ περὶ τἀγαθοῦ γέγραφε, σαφέστερον ταῦτα ἐδί δαξε· φησὶ γάρ· "Οὔτε δημιουργεῖν ἐστι χρεὼν τὸν πρῶτον, καὶ τοῦ δημιουργοῦντος θεοῦ χρὴ εἶναι νομίζειν πατέρα τὸν πρῶτον θεόν." 2.82 Καὶ Πλωτῖνος δέ, ὁ τὴν Πλάτωνος φιλοσοφίαν ζηλώσας, περὶ τῶν τριῶν ἀρχικῶν ὑποστάσεων βιβλίον ξυνέγραψεν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ τάδε ἔφη· "Τί οὖν χρὴ περὶ τοῦ τελειοτάτου λέγειν; Οὐδὲν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, ἢ τὰ μέγιστα μετ' αὐτόν· μέγιστα δὲ μετ' αὐτὸν 2.83 νοῦς καὶ δεύτερον, καὶ γὰρ ὁρᾷ ὁ νοῦς ἐκεῖνον." Καὶ πάλιν· "Ποθεῖ δὲ πᾶν τὸ γεννῆσαν καὶ τοῦτο ἀγαπᾷ, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν ὦσι μόνοι τὸ γεννῆσαν καὶ τὸ γεγεννημένον· ὅταν δὲ καὶ τὸ ἄριστον ᾖ τὸ γεγεννημένον, ἐξ ἀνάγκης ξύνεστιν αὐτῷ, ὡς τῇ ἑτερότητι μόνον κεχωρίσθαι. Εἰκόνα δὲ ἐκείνου εἶναι λέγομεν τὸν νοῦν· δεῖ γὰρ σαφέστερον λέγειν." 2.84 Καὶ ἕτερα δέ γε πλεῖστα εἴρηται καὶ τούτῳ καὶ Πλουτάρχῳ καὶ Νουμηνίῳ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις, ὅσοι τῆς τούτων ἦσαν ξυμμορίας. Μετὰ γὰρ δὴ τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπιφάνειαν οὗτοι γενόμενοι, τῆς Χριστιανικῆς θεολογίας πολλὰ τοῖς οἰκείοις ἀνέμιξαν λόγοις. 2.85 Αὐτίκα τοίνυν τὴν Πλάτωνος διάνοιαν ἀναπτύσσοντες, καὶ ὁ Πλωτῖνος καὶ ὁ Νουμήνιος τρία φασὶν αὐτὸν εἰρηκέναι ὑπέρχρονα καὶ ἀΐδια, τἀγαθὸν καὶ νοῦν καὶ τοῦ παντὸς τὴν ψυχήν, ὃν μὲν ἡμεῖς Πατέρα καλοῦμεν, Τἀγαθὸν ὀνομάζοντα, Νοῦν δέ, ὃν ἡμεῖς Υἱὸν καὶ Λόγον προσαγορεύομεν, τὴν δὲ τὰ πάντα ψυχοῦ σαν καὶ ζωοποιοῦσαν δύναμιν Ψυχὴν καλοῦντα, ἣν Πνεῦμα ἅγιον 2.86 οἱ θεῖοι προσαγορεύουσι λόγοι. Καὶ ταῦτα δέ, ὡς ἔφην, ἐκ τῆς τῶν Ἑβραίων φιλοσοφίας τε καὶ θεολογίας σεσύληται. Ὁ γὰρ δὴ ὑμνοποιὸς ∆αυίδ, τὸ θεῖον ἀνακρουόμενος μέλος καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς θείας ἐνηχούμενος χάριτος, κέκραγε λέγων· "Τῷ