23

to have falsehoods reasonably for the testing of men? And he answered: The falsehoods of the scriptures were permitted to be written by the request of evil for a certain just reason. And I speak reasonably thus: In theologies, the evil one, loving God no less than the good one, is inferior to the good one in one thing only, that he does not pardon even those who are impious due to ignorance, but out of affection for the one who is wronged by their impiety, he desires the destruction of the impious, not offering them healing. For the good one wishes to heal all through repentance, but saves only those who have known God. And he does not heal those who are ignorant, not because he does not wish to, but because it is not permitted to give the good things prepared for the sons of the kingdom to those who, through their lack of discernment, are likened to irrational animals. Such is the nature of the one and only God, who made the world and created us and has provided all things, that of anyone who is never outside the bounds of piety and who does not blaspheme his Holy Spirit, out of affection for him, he brings the soul to himself, by means of a form of love from him to it. And even if one is a sinner, after being punished according to the deserts of what he has done, it is his nature to be saved. But if someone denies him or is impious toward him in some other way by word, and then repents, he will be punished for the ways he sinned against him, but he will be saved, because having turned back, he loved. And perhaps by the excess of his piety and his supplication he will be released even from being punished, having given ignorance for the pardon of sin along with repentance. But those who have not repented will also have their end through the punishment of fire, even if they are most holy in all other respects. But, as I said, having been punished for a measured age in eternal fire, they will be extinguished. For they can no longer exist forever who have been impious toward the forever and only God. And impiety toward him is this: to die while in the account of piety, saying that there is another god, or that he is superior, or that he is inferior, or in whatever way speaking of one besides the one who truly is. For he who truly is is this one whose form the body of man bears, for whose sake the heaven and all the stars have submitted to serve, being superior in substance, the one who is inferior in substance because of the form of the superior one. So much has God benefited man above all things, that by loving the benefactor for the multitude of his benefits, he may be able, by that very love, to be saved also into a second age. Therefore, men's affection for God is sufficient for salvation. But the evil one, knowing that we are hastening to sow in the souls of those from the nations who are about to believe in the one and only God the immortalizing affection of men for him, the evil one himself, having a sufficient weapon against the ignorant for their destruction, is eager to sow the notion of many gods, or even of one as superior, so that, having conceived and been persuaded of things that are not lawful, when they die they may be cast out from his kingdom as on a charge of adultery. Therefore, everyone who has wished even just to hear anything of such a kind against the monarchy of God is worthy of being cast out. But if someone, as if trusting in scriptures, dares even to hear against God, let him first consider this with me, that if someone should fashion for himself a reasonable doctrine as he wishes, then if he looks closely into them, he will be able to find many things on behalf of what he has fashioned

23

ψευδῆ εὐλόγως πρὸς δοκιμὴν ἀνθρώπων ἔχειν; ὁ δὲ ἀπεκρίνατο· Τὰ ψευδῆ τῶν γραφῶν αἰτήματι κακίας δικαίῳ τινὶ λόγῳ γραφῆναι συνεχωρήθη· εὐλόγως δὲ λέγω οὕτως· Ἐν ταῖς θεολογίαις ὁ πονηρὸς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τὸν θεὸν οὐκ ἔλαττον ἀγαπῶν ἑνὶ μόνῳ ἀπολείπεται τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ὅτι καὶ τῶν ἀγνοίας αἰτίᾳ ἀσεβούντων οὐ συγγινώσκων, στοργῇ τῇ πρὸς τὸ ἀσεβούμενον τῶν ἀσεβούντων ἐπιθυμεῖ τὸν ὄλεθρον, οὐδὲ τὴν ἴασιν αὐτοῖς προσφέρων. ὁ γὰρ ἀγαθὸς ἰᾶσθαι πάντας θέλει ταῖς μεταμελείαις, σσζει δὲ μόνους τοὺς ἐγνω- κότας τὸν θεόν. τοὺς δὲ ἀγνοοῦντας οὐκ ἰᾶται, οὐχ ὅτι οὐ θέλει, ἀλλ' ὅτι οὐκ ἔξεστιν τὰ ἡτοιμασμένα τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς βασιλείας ἀγαθὰ τοῖς διὰ τὸ ἀδιάκριτον ἀλόγοις ζσοις παρεικασθεῖσιν παρασχεῖν. τοῦ ἑνὸς καὶ μόνου θεοῦ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον πεποιηκότος καὶ ἡμᾶς κτίσαντος καὶ πάντα παρεσχηκότος τοιαύτη πέφυκεν φύσις, παντὸς οὐδήποτε ἐκτὸς ὅρων θεο σεβείας ὄντος καὶ μὴ βλασφημοῦντος αὐτοῦ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, στοργῇ τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰς αὑτὸν φέρειν τὴν ψυχήν, ὑπ' αὐτοῦ εἰς αὐτὴν ἔρωτος ἰδέᾳ . κἂν ἁμαρτωλὸς ᾖ, μετὰ τὸ κατ' ἀξίαν ὧν ἔπραξεν κολασθῆναι σσζεσθαι φύσιν ἔχει. εἰ δέ τις αὐτὸν ἀρνήσεται ἢ ἑτέρως πως λόγῳ εἰς αὐτὸν ἀσεβήσει, ἔπειτα μετανοήσει, κολασθήσεται μὲν ἐφ' ὧν εἰς αὐτὸν ἥμαρτεν, σωθήσεται δέ, ὅτι ἐπιστρέψας ἠγάπησεν. ἴσως δὲ τῇ τῆς εὐσε- βείας ὑπερβολῇ καὶ τῆς ἱκεσίας [ἢ] καὶ τοῦ κολασθῆναι ἀπολυθήσεται, συγγνώμης τῆς ἁμαρτίας μετὰ τῆς μετανοίας δεδωκὼς τὴν ἄγνοιαν. οἱ δὲ μὴ μετανοήσαντες διὰ τῆς τοῦ πυρὸς κολάσεως καὶ τὸ τέλος ἕξουσιν, κἂν ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἅπασιν ὁσιώτατοι ὦσιν· ἀλλ' ὡς ἔφην, μεμετρημένου αἰῶνος τὸ πέμπτον πυρὶ αἰωνίῳ κολασθέντες ἀποσβεσθήσονται. εἶναι γὰρ εἰς ἀεὶ οὐκέτι δύνανται οἱ εἰς τὸν ἀεὶ καὶ μόνον ἀσεβήσαντες θεόν. ἡ δὲ εἰς αὐτὸν ἀσέβειά ἐστιν τὸ ἐν τῷ τῆς θεοσεβείας λόγῳ ὄντα τελευτᾶν λέγοντα ἄλλον εἶναι θεόν, ἢ ὡς κρείττονα ἢ ὡς ἥττονα ἢ ὁπώσ- ποτε λέγοντα παρὰ τὸν ὄντως ὄντα. ὁ γὰρ ὄντως ὢν οὗτός ἐστιν, οὗ τὴν μορφὴν τὸ ἀνθρώπου βαστάζει σῶμα, οὗ εἵνεκεν ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ πάντες οἱ ἀστέρες ὑπέμειναν δουλεύειν, κατ' οὐσίαν κρείττονες ὄντες, τῷ κατ' οὐσίαν χείρονι διὰ τὴν τοῦ κρείττονος μορφήν. τοσοῦτον ὁ θεὸς ὑπὲρ πάντα εὐεργέτηκεν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἵνα εἰς τὸ πλῆθος τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν τὸν εὐεργέτην ἀγαπήσας ὑπὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀγάπης καὶ εἰς δεύτε- ρον αἰῶνα διασωθῆναι δυνηθῇ. αὐτάρκης οὖν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἡ εἰς θεὸν ἀνθρώπων στοργή. εἰδὼς δὲ ὁ πονηρός, ἡμῶν σπευδόντων τοῖς ἀπὸ ἐθνῶν πιστεύειν μέλλουσιν ἑνὸς καὶ μόνου θεοῦ ἐν ψυχαῖς σπείρειν τὴν ἀθανατοποιὸν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνθρώπων στοργήν, αὐτὸς ὁ πονηρὸς κατὰ τῶν ἀγνοούντων ἱκανὸν ὅπλον ἔχων πρὸς ὄλεθρον σπουδάζει πολλῶν θεῶν ἢ καὶ ἑνὸς ὡς κρείττονος σπεῖραι τὴν ὑπόληψιν, ἵνα συλλαβόντες καὶ συνπεισθέντες ἃ μὴ θέμις, ἀποθανόντες ὡς ἐπὶ μοιχείας ἐγκλήματι τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας ἀποβληθῶσιν. ἄξιος οὖν τῆς ἀποβολῆς πᾶς κατὰ τῆς θεοῦ μοναρχίας αὐτὸ μόνον κἂν ἀκοῦσαί τι τοιοῦτον θελήσας· εἰ δ' ὡς γραφαῖς τεθαρρηκὼς κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τολμᾷ τις κἂν ἀκούειν, πρῶτον ἐκεῖνό μοι συνενθυμηθήτω ὅτι, ἄν τις εὔλογον ἑαυτῷ δόγμα ὡς βούλεται ἀναπλάσῃ, ἔπειτα αὐταῖς ἐνκύψῃ, δυνατὸς ἔσται πολλὰς ὑπὲρ οὗ ἐπλά-