23

accomplishing so many things. 12.16 For this reason indeed the all-sovereign Word of God, who comes through all things, and is in all things, and pervades all things, both heavenly and earthly, governing the unseen and the seen, guides the sun itself and the heaven and the whole universe with ineffable powers, being present to all things with an active power and passing through all things, and he pours down upon the sun itself and the moon and the stars an ever-flowing light from his own fount, and having established the heaven as a most fitting image of his own greatness, he maintains it for ever, and the powers beyond heaven and the universe, of angels and intelligent spirits and rational beings, he fills with life and light and wisdom and every virtue and every beauty and good from his own treasures, and by one and the same creative art he never fails to provide substances to the elements and mixtures and blends and kinds and forms and shapes to bodies, and ten thousand qualities which he diversely bestows at different times on animals and plants and souls both rational and irrational, and supplying all things to all at once with one power, and clearly showing not a seven-stringed nor a many-stringed lyre, but one universe of many harmonies, the work of one world-creating Word. 13.1 Let us then speak of what follows and explain the reason for which so great a Word of God made his descent to men. This very Word of God who presides over heaven and earth, who was begotten from the highest fatherly Godhead as from a fount, and is indeed always present and co-existent with this world, providing clear proofs of his own providence and his care for men, a race of foolish men, not reasoning, assigned the venerable title to the sun and moon and heaven itself and the stars. And not even at this did they stop, but they also deified the earthly nature and the fruits from the earth and all kinds of food for bodies, making idols of Demeter and Kore and Dionysus and other things related to these. 13.2 And not even at this did they stop, but they did not shrink from proclaiming as gods the reasonings of their own minds and even the word that interprets these, naming the mind Athena and the word Hermes, and proclaiming the powers that attain to learning as Mnemosyne and the Muses. And not even at this did they stop, but increasing the absurdity with an excess of impiety, they deified their own passions, which indeed they ought to have turned away from and cured with sober reason, proclaiming as gods their own desire and the impassioned and licentious disease of their souls, and the parts and members of the body that draw towards shameful deeds, and even the incontinence of shameful pleasures, as Eros and Priapus and Aphrodite and certain other things akin to these. 13.3 And not even at this did they stop, but having fallen to concerns about the generation of bodies and the mortal life below, they deified mortal men and after the common death acclaimed them as heroes and gods, supposing the immortal and divine substance to be confined about memorials and tombs. And not even at this did they stop, but they have honored all kinds of irrational animals and the most harmful of reptiles with the venerable title; and not even at this did they stop, but having cut down oaks and quarried rocks and searched out the metals of the earth, both copper and iron and the other material, they fashioned types of females and forms of male men and shapes of beasts and of reptiles, and then they have conferred honors upon these. 13.4 And not even at this did they stop, but also to the evil demons lurking in the wooden images and sunk into dark recesses, who glut themselves on the libations and savor of sacrifices, they have assigned the same appellation of the gods. And not even at this did they stop, but also by certain binding spells of forbidden magic, with lawless and compelling songs and incantations, unseen powers around

23

τοσαῦτα κατεργαζομένη. 12.16 ταύτῃ τοι καὶ ὁ παμβασιλεὺς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, ὁ διὰ πάντων ἥκων, ἐν πᾶσί τε ὢν καὶ πάντα ἐπιπορευόμενος, οὐράνιά τε καὶ ἐπίγεια, τὰ ἀφανῆ καὶ τὰ ὁρώμενα διακυβερνῶν, ἥλιόν τε αὐτὸν οὐρανόν τε καὶ τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον ἀρρήτοις δυνάμεσιν ἡνιοχεῖ, δραστικῇ δυνάμει τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐπιπαρὼν καὶ διὰ πάντων χωρῶν, ἔτι αὐτῷ μὲν ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ ἄστροις ἐξ οἰκείας πηγῆς ἀέναον φῶς ἐπομβρεῖ, οὐρανὸν δὲ οἰκείου μεγέθους προσφυεστάτην εἰκόνα ὑποστησάμενος εἰς αἰῶνα διακρατεῖ, τὰς δ' ἐπέκεινα οὐρανοῦ καὶ κόσμου δυνάμεις ἀγγέλων καὶ πνευμάτων νοερῶν τε καὶ λογικῶν οὐσιῶν ζωῆς ὁμοῦ καὶ φωτὸς καὶ σοφίας καὶ πάσης ἀρετῆς καλοῦ τε καὶ ἀγαθοῦ παντὸς ἐκ τῶν παρ' αὐτῷ θησαυρῶν ἐμπίπλησιν, μιᾷ δὲ καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ δημιουργῷ τέχνῃ καὶ στοιχείοις οὐσίας οὔποτε διαλιμπάνει παρέχων καὶ τοῖς σώμασι μίξεις καὶ κράσεις καὶ εἴδη καὶ μορφὰς καὶ σχήματα, ποιότητάς τε μυρίας ἔν τε ζώοις καὶ φυτοῖς καὶ ψυχαῖς λογικαῖς τε καὶ ἀλόγοις ἄλλοτε ἄλλως καταποικίλλων καὶ πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ πάντα μιᾷ δυνάμει ἐπιχορηγῶν, διαρρήδην τε ἐπιδεικνὺς οὐχ ἑπτάχορδον οὔτε πολύχορδον λύραν, ἕνα δὲ κόσμον πολυαρμόνιον ἑνὸς λόγου κοσμοποιοῦ ἔργον. 13.1 Λέγωμεν δὴ τὰ ἑξῆς καὶ διασαφῶμεν τὴν αἰτίαν, δι' ἣν ὁ τοσοῦτος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος τὴν εἰς ἀνθρώπους κάθοδον ἐποιεῖτο. τοῦτον δὴ τὸν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ἐπιστατοῦντα τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον, τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς οἷα πηγῆς τῆς ἀνωτάτω πατρικῆς θεότητος γεγεννημένον, καὶ τῷδε μὲν ἀεὶ τῷ κόσμῳ παρόντα καὶ συνόντα, τῆς δ' αὐτοῦ προνοίας καὶ τῆς εἰς ἀνθρώπους κηδεμονίας ἐναργῆ παρεχόμενον τὰ γνωρίσματα, ἀνθρώπων ἀφρόνων γένος μὴ συλλογισάμενον, ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ αὐτῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ ἄστροις τὴν σεβάσμιον ἀνέθεντο προσηγορίαν. καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν γεώδη φύσιν καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ γῆς καρποὺς τροφάς τε σωμάτων παντοίας ἐθέωσαν, ∆ήμητραν καὶ Κόρην καὶ ∆ιόνυσον καὶ ἀδελφά γε τούτων ἕτερα ἀνειδωλοποιήσαντες. 13.2 καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς σφῶν αὐτῶν διανοίας τοὺς λογισμοὺς καὶ αὐτὸν δὴ τὸν τούτων ἑρμηνέα λόγον θεοὺς ἀνειπεῖν οὐκ ἀπώκνησαν, Ἀθηνᾶν μὲν τὴν διάνοιαν τὸν δὲ λόγον Ἑρμῆν ἐπονομάσαντες καὶ τάς γε τῶν μαθημάτων ἐπηβόλους δυνάμεις Μνημοσύνην καὶ Μούσας ἀνειπόντες. καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἐπὶ μεῖζον δ' αὔξοντες ἀτοπίας ὑπερβολῇ δυσσεβείας τὰ οἰκεῖα πάθη, ἃ δὴ ἐχρῆν ἀποτρέπεσθαι καὶ λόγῳ σώφρονι θεραπεύειν, οἵδε ἐθέωσαν, αὐτήν τε τὴν σφῶν ἐπιθυμίαν καὶ τὴν ἐμπαθῆ καὶ ἀκόλαστον τῶν ψυχῶν νόσον τά τε ὁλκὰ πρὸς αἰσχρουργίαν μέρη τε καὶ μέλη τοῦ σώματος καὶ ἔτι τὴν τῶν αἰσχρῶν ἡδονῶν ἀκράτειαν Ἔρωτα καὶ Πρίηπον καὶ Ἀφροδίτην καὶ ἄλλ' ἄττα συγγενῆ τούτοις ἀνειπόντες. 13.3 καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀμφὶ τὰς σωμάτων γενέσεις καὶ τὸν κάτω θνητὸν βίον καταπεσόντες, ἀνθρώπους θνητοὺς ἐξεθείασαν καὶ μετὰ τὸν κοινὸν θάνατον ἥρωας καὶ θεοὺς ἐπεφήμισαν, ἀμφὶ μνήματα καὶ τάφους τὴν ἀθάνατον καὶ θείαν οὐσίαν ὑποτοπήσαντες εἰλεῖσθαι. καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ζώων ἀλόγων παντοῖα γένη ἑρπετῶν τε τὰ βλαπτικώτατα τῇ σεβασμίῳ προσηγορίᾳ τετιμήκασιν· καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δρῦς κατακόψαντες καὶ πέτρας ἐκτεμόντες γῆς τε μέταλλα, καὶ χαλκοῦ καὶ σιδήρου καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ὕλης, διερευνησάμενοι, θηλειῶν τύπους καὶ ἀρρένων ἀνδρῶν σχήματα θηρίων τε μορφὰς καὶ ἑρπετῶν ἀνεπλάσαντο, κἄπειτα τούτοις τιμὰς περιτεθείκασιν. 13.4 καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἐμφωλεύουσι τοῖς ξοάνοις σκοτίοις τε μυχοῖς ἐγκαταδεδυκόσι δαίμοσι πονηροῖς ἀμφὶ τὰς τῶν θυσιῶν λοιβάς τε καὶ κνίσας λιχνεύουσιν τὴν αὐτὴν τῶν θεῶν ἀνέθηκαν ἐπηγορίαν. καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοῖς καταδέσμοις τισὶν ἀπειρημένης γοητείας, ἐκθέσμοις τε καὶ ἐπανάγκοις ᾠδαῖς καὶ ἐπῳδαῖς, δυνάμεις ἀφανεῖς ἀμφὶ