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1. Following these two heresies is another one connected to them, the heresy of the Pharisees; who held the same opinions as these, I mean the Scribes, who are interpreted as law-teachers; for the Lawyers were also with them. But again the Pharisees held other opinions beyond these, having a greater discipline. For some of them, when they practiced and set a term of ten years or eight years or four years, likewise of virginity or continence, praying continuously they more frequently undertook this struggle in order, forsooth, not to suffer anything bodily or to be robbed through dreams which produce a disagreeable emission of the body. And some fashioned for themselves a plank of only a span's width and placed themselves on it in the evening, so that if one should fall asleep and tumble to the ground, he would be awakened again to prayer, in order to live a sleepless life as much as possible. Others, collecting pebbles, would spread them under themselves so that, being pricked, they would not be carried away by deep sleep, but would force themselves to acquire wakefulness; and others had thorns 1.211 as bedding for the same reason. They fasted twice a week, on the second and fifth day; they tithed the tithe, gave the first-fruits, the thirtieths and the fiftieths, and paid their sacrifices and vows most securely. They went about in the aforementioned attire of the Scribes, through their robes and through the other attire and women's clothing, proceeding in broad phylacteries and tongues on their shoes. They were called Pharisees because they were separated from the others on account of the supererogatory worship practiced among them; for Phares in Hebrew is interpreted as separation. 2. These confessed a resurrection of the dead, and they believed in the existence of angels and a spirit, but they were ignorant of the son of God, like the others. But also fate and astronomy were very much in use among them. For example, the Greek names from the astronomy of the deluded have been renamed by them with other names according to the Hebrew dialect; for example, Helios (Sun) is hamà and sémes, Selene (Moon) is iéree and albaná, from which it is also called mene; for iéree means month, and mene means moon, just as among the Greeks on account of the month, Ares is chocheb okból, Hermes is chochebochomód, Zeus is chocheb báal, Aphrodite is zeroua or louéth, Cronos is chocheb sabéth—and it is called by other names among them, but I have not been able to set out their naming precisely. But also the names foolishly considered to be in the number of elements by the deluded, which they call zodiac signs * and unlawfully led the world into impiety, they again call them thus in Hebrew; telà sor thomìm 1.212 saratàn arì bethoulà mozanèm akràb késet gadì dallì denggìm; who, following the Greeks in vain—I mean the Pharisees—renamed the same names into Hebrew thus: the one called Ram among them as telá, Bull as sór, Twins as thomím, Crab as saratán, Lion as arí, Virgin as bethoulá, Scales as mozaném, Scorpion as akráb, Archer as késet, Goat-horned as gadí, Water-pourer as dallí, Fishes as denggím. 3. But these things have not been set down by me to confuse those who read them, nor so that I may commend the vulgar speech of those who introduced the inconsistent and mind-damaging foolish talk of astronomy into life; for this has been refuted by the truth as being inconsistent and erroneous. We have said many things in other discourses for the refutation of those who believe in nativity and fate, and also in the preface of this treatise we have dealt briefly with the same subjects; but so that no one might think we are proceeding against certain people slanderously and not having verified the truth from traditions

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1. Ταύταις ταῖς δυσὶν αἱρέσεσιν κατ' ἀκολουθίαν συνῆπται ἡ τῶν Φαρισαίων αἵρεσις ἄλλη τις· οἵτινες τὰ αὐτὰ τούτοις ἐφρόνουν, Γραμματεῦσι δέ φημι τοῖς ἑρμηνευομένοις νομοδιδασκάλοις· συνῆσαν γὰρ αὐτοῖς καὶ οἱ Νομικοί. ἄλλα δὲ καὶ παρὰ τούτους πάλιν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἐφρόνουν, πολιτείας μείζους ἔχοντες. τινὲς μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν, ὅτε ἤσκουν καὶ ὥριζον δεκαετίαν ἢ ὀκταετίαν ἢ τετραετίαν ὁμοίως παρθενίας ἢ ἐγκρατείας, συνεχῶς εὐχόμενοι πυκνότερον ἀγῶνα τοῦτον ἐνίσταντο διὰ τὸ δῆθεν μὴ σωματικόν τι παθεῖν ἢ κλαπῆναι δι' ὀνειράτων ἀηδῆ ῥύσιν σώματος ἀπεργαζομένων. καὶ οἱ μὲν σανίδα ἑαυτοῖς ἐφιλοκάλουν σπιθαμῆς μόνης τὸ πλάτος καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτην ἑαυτοὺς ἐτίθεσαν κατὰ τὴν ἑσπέραν, ἵν' εἰ ὑπνώσειέν τις καὶ καταπέσοι εἰς τοὔδαφος αὖθις ἐγείρηται εἰς εὐχήν, διὰ τὸ ἄγρυπνον ἔχειν τὸν βίον κατὰ τὸ δυνατόν. ἄλλοι δὲ κόχλακας συλλέγοντες ἑαυτοῖς ὑπεστρώννυον εἰς τὸ νυττομένους μὴ ὕπνῳ βαθεῖ φέρεσθαι, ἀλλὰ βιάζεσθαι γρηγόρησιν ἑαυτοῖς προσπορίζεσθαι· ἄλλοι δὲ καὶ ἀκάνθας 1.211 στρωμνὴν εἶχον διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ὑπόθεσιν. ἐνήστευον δὲ δὶς τοῦ σαββάτου, δευτέραν καὶ πέμπτην· ἀπεδεκάτουν δὲ τὴν δεκάτωσιν, τὰς ἀπαρχὰς ἐδίδουν, τριακοντάδας τε καὶ πεντηκοντάδας, τάς τε θυσίας καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς ἀσφαλέστατα ἀπετίννυον. τῷ δὲ προειρημένῳ σχήματι τῶν Γραμματέων προήρχοντο, διά τοι τῆς ἀμπεχόνης καὶ διὰ τῶν ἄλλων σχημάτων καὶ γυναικικῶν ἱματίων ἐν πλατείαις ταῖς κρηπῖσιν καὶ γλώτταις τῶν ὑποδημάτων προϊόντες. ἐλέγοντο δὲ Φαρισαῖοι διὰ τὸ ἀφωρισμένους εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων διὰ τὴν ἐθελοπερισσοθρῃσκείαν τὴν παρ' αὐτοῖς νενομισμένην· Φάρες γὰρ κατὰ τὴν Ἑβραΐδα ἑρμηνεύεται ἀφορισμός. 2. Ὡμολόγουν δὲ οὗτοι ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν, ἐπίστευόν τε ἀγγέλους εἶναι καὶ πνεῦμα, ἠγνόησαν δὲ υἱὸν θεοῦ ὡς οἱ ἄλλοι. ἀλλὰ καὶ εἱμαρμένη καὶ ἀστρονομία παρ' αὐτοῖς σφόδρα ἐχρημάτιζεν. αὐτίκα γοῦν τὰ Ἑλληνικὰ ὀνόματα τὰ ἐκ τῆς τῶν πεπλανημένων ἀστρονομίας κατὰ τὴν Ἑβραϊκὴν διάλεκτον ἑτέροις ὀνόμασι παρ' αὐτοῖς μετωνόμασται· οἷον Ἥλιος ἡμὰ καὶ σέμες, Σελήνη ἰέρεε καὶ ἀλβανά, ὅθεν καὶ μήνη καλεῖται ἰέρεε γὰρ ὁ μὴν λέγεται, μήνη δὲ ἡ σελήνη, ὡς καὶ παρ' Ἕλλησι διὰ τὸν μῆνα, Ἄρης χωχὲβ ὀκβόλ, Ἑρμῆς χωχὲβὀχομόδ, Ζεὺς χωχὲβ βάαλ, Ἀφροδίτη ζερούα ἤτοι λουήθ, Κρόνος χωχὲβ σαβήθ λέγεται δὲ παρ' αὐτοῖς καὶ ἄλλοις ὀνόμασιν, οὐκ ἠδυνήθην δὲ ἀκριβῶς τὴν τούτων ἐπωνυμίαν ἐκθεῖναι. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ματαίως νομιζόμενα εἰς ἀριθμὸν στοιχείων παρὰ τοῖς πεπλανημένοις ὀνόματα, ἃ ζῴδια καλοῦσι * καὶ ἀθεμίτως τὸν κόσμον εἰς ἀσέβειαν ἐπλάνησαν, οὕτω πάλιν Ἑβραϊκῶς αὐτὰ καλοῦσι· τελὰ σὼρ θωμὶμ 1.212 σαρατὰν ἀρὶ βεθουλὰ μωζανὴμ ἀκρὰβ κέσετ γαδὶ δαλλὶ δεγγίμ· οἵτινες τοῖς Ἕλλησι μάτην, λέγω δὴ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι, ἀκολουθήσαντες μετωνόμασαν εἰς τὴν Ἑβραΐδα τὰ αὐτὰ ὀνόματα οὕτω· Κριὸν δὴ τὸν παρ' ἐκείνοις λεγόμενον τελά, Ταῦρον σώρ, ∆ιδύμους θωμίμ, Καρκίνον σαρατάν, Λέοντα ἀρί, Παρθένον βεθουλά, Ζυγὸν μωζανήμ, Σκορπίον ἀκράβ, Τοξότην κέσετ, Αἰγόκερων γαδί, Ὑδρηχόον δαλλί, Ἰχθύας δεγγίμ. 3. Ταῦτα δέ μοι οὐκ εἰς στρόβησιν τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων κατατέτακται οὐδὲ ἵνα τὴν χυδαιολογίαν τῶν τὴν ἀσύστατον καὶ φρενοβλαβῆ μωρολογίαν τῆς ἀστρονομίας τῷ βίῳ παρεισαξάντων συστήσω· ἐλήλεγκται γὰρ αὕτη ὑπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀσύστατος οὖσα καὶ ἐσφαλμένη. εἴρηται δὲ ἡμῖν ἐν ἄλλοις λόγοις πολλὰ πρὸς ἀνατροπὴν τῶν γένεσιν καὶ εἱμαρμένην νομιζόντων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ προοιμίῳ τούτου τοῦ συντάγματος ἐν ὀλίγῳ ἡμῖν κατὰ τῶν αὐτῶν πεπραγμάτευται· διὰ δὲ τὸ μή τινα νομίσαι κατὰ συκοφαντίαν ἡμᾶς κατά τινων φέρεσθαι καὶ μὴ τὰ ἀληθῆ ἐκ παραδόσεων ἀκριβώσαντας