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He revealed to us, but that which it was profitable for us to know; but that which it was not profitable for us to know, He concealed. Let us not then hold God to account; for He Himself is the judge and He Himself is the fount of good things, and there is nothing good, unless it is what He Himself wills, just as there is no light unless it is what springs from the sun. 75 God Himself, then, being good and compassionate by nature, does not will sin, He does not will the death of the sinner nor is He pleased at the destruction of the living nor is He possessed by the passion of anger or punishes, but He gushes forth good things to all. He who desires receives, and the good man obtains good things; and in this life there is a certain economy and governance and unspeakable providence calling sinners to conversion and repentance, but after death there is no longer turning, no longer repentance, not that God does not accept repentance—for He cannot deny Himself nor does He cast off compassion—but the soul no longer turns. Wherefore, even if one performs all righteous deeds and, turning back, sins and departs from life desiring sin, he will die in his sin. Likewise also the sinner, if he repents and dies in his repentance, his sins shall not be remembered. For just as the demons after their fall do not repent nor do the angels now sin, but both have received immutability, so also men after death have immutability, and the righteous, desiring God and having Him always, rejoice in Him, but the sinners, desiring sin and not having the materials of sin, being devoured as if by fire and a worm, are punished, having no consolation. For what is punishment if not the deprivation of what is desired? In proportion then to their desire, those desiring God rejoice and those desiring sin are punished; for those who obtain what is desired rejoice according to the measure of their desire, and those who fail to obtain it are pained according to the measure of their desire. 76 But you tell us: What is Almighty? Surely, the one who rules all things; for the apostle says: “But he who built all things is God.” And how is God Almighty if He does not rule over matter and evil? Or how is He a creator if He did not Himself create matter? Or how is He God if He is imperfect and has deficient power? For why did He not destroy and subject matter, but allowed it to be seditious and until the turn of a moment? If it was because He was unwilling, He is not good; for it is not the part of a good or just one to be quiet towards those who sin. But if it was because He was unable, an unable god would not be God; for you cannot say, as we said concerning the coming into being and existence of the devil, that his very existence is a good thing. For we, granting his existence from the Good, would rightly say that his existence is a good thing; for what is granted by the Good is good. But you, not granting existence to matter from the Good, but even saying it is evil and evil by nature and utterly without a share of good, will not be able to say that its existence is a good thing. Therefore, according to you, God is either not good or not powerful for not having destroyed it from the beginning. And again: If all things are from the substance of the good and the substance of the evil, neither the good one is a creator nor the evil one, but they are fathers of beings. And again: If evil is opposed to the good as being to being and principle to principle and substance to substance and, to speak according to you, god to god, and it is in our power to do the good and the evil, it is in our power to give the prize of victory to the good or to the evil, and we are the cause of the predominance of either. 77 For we say there is one God, good, just, creator of all, ruler of all, all-powerful, able to do whatever He wills, and that all things were created by Him, both the visible and the invisible, not from His own substance, but from not-being into being—

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ἀπεκάλυψεν ἡμῖν, ἀλλ' ὅπερ συνέφερεν ἡμῖν γνῶναι· ὅπερ δὲ οὐ συνέφερεν ἡμῖν γνῶναι, ἀπέκρυψε. Μὴ οὖν εὐθύνωμεν τὸν θεόν· αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ κριτὴς καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ πηγὴ τῶν ἀγαθῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαθόν, εἰ μὴ ὃ αὐτὸς βούλεται, ὥσπερ οὐκ ἔστι φῶς εἰ μὴ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ ἡλίου πηγαζόμενον. 75 Αὐτὸς μὲν οὖν ὁ θεὸς φύσει ἀγαθὸς καὶ συμπαθὴς ὢν οὐ θέλει τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, οὐ θέλει τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ οὐδὲ τέρπεται ἐπ' ἀπωλείᾳ ζώντων οὐδὲ πάθει ὀργῆς κατέχεται ἢ κολάζει, ἀλλὰ πᾶσι βρύει τὰ ἀγαθά. Ὁ ποθῶν λαμβάνει καὶ ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἀγαθῶν τυγχάνει· καὶ ἐν μὲν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ οἰκονομία τίς ἐστι καὶ κυβέρνησις καὶ πρόνοια ἄρρητος πρὸς ἐπιστροφὴν καὶ μετάνοιαν καλοῦσα τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας, μετὰ δὲ θάνατον οὐκέτι τροπή, οὐκέτι μετάνοια, οὐχὶ τοῦ θεοῦ μὴ δεχομένου μετάνοιαν-αὐτὸς γὰρ ἑαυτὸν ἀρνήσασθαι οὐ δύναται οὐδὲ ἀποβάλλεται τὴν συμπάθειαν-, ἀλλ' ἡ ψυχὴ οὐκέτι τρέπεται. ∆ιὸ κἄν τις ποιήσῃ πάσας τὰς δικαιοσύνας καὶ ἐπιστρέψας ἁμαρτήσῃ καὶ ἐξέλθῃ ποθῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ βίου, ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἀποθανεῖται. Ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ ἁμαρτωλός, ἐὰν μετανοήσῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ μετανοίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἀποθάνῃ, οὐ μὴ μνησθῶσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι αὐτοῦ. Ὡς γὰρ οἱ δαίμονες μετὰ τὴν ἔκπτωσιν οὐ μετανοοῦσιν οὐδὲ οἱ ἄγγελοι νῦν οὐχ ἁμαρτάνουσι, ἀλλ' ἀμφότεροι ἔσχον τὸ ἄτρεπτον, οὕτω καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι μετὰ θάνατον τὸ ἄτρεπτον ἔχουσι, καὶ οἱ μὲν δίκαιοι ποθοῦντες τὸν θεὸν καὶ ἔχοντες αὐτὸν ἀεὶ ἐν αὐτῷ εὐφραίνονται, οἱ δὲ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ποθοῦντες τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ μὴ ἔχοντες τὰς ὕλας τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ὡς ὑπὸ πυρὸς καὶ σκώληκος κατεσθιόμενοι, κολάζονται μηδεμίαν παρηγορίαν ἔχοντες. Τί γάρ ἐστι κόλασις εἰ μὴ τοῦ ποθουμένου στέρησις; Κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν οὖν τοῦ πόθου οἵ τε τὸν θεὸν ποθοῦντες εὐφραίνονται καὶ οἱ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ποθοῦντες κολάζονται· καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἐπιτυγχάνοντες τοῦ ποθουμένου κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ πόθου εὐφραίνονται καὶ οἱ ἀποτυγχάνοντες κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ πόθου ὀδυνῶνται. 76 Ὑμεῖς δὲ εἴπατε ἡμῖν· Τί ἐστι παντοκράτωρ; Πάντως ὁ πάντων κρατῶν· φησὶ γὰρ ὁ ἀπόστολος· «Ὁ δὲ πάντα κατασκευάσας θεός.» Καὶ πῶς παντοκράτωρ ὁ θεὸς μὴ κρατῶν τῆς ὕλης καὶ τῆς κακίας; Ἢ πῶς δημιουργὸς μὴ αὐτὸς δημιουργήσας τὴν ὕλην; Ἢ πῶς θεὸς ἀτελὴς ὢν καὶ ἐλλιπῆ ἔχων τὴν δύναμιν; ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ οὐκ ἀνεῖλε καὶ ὑπέταξε τὴν ὕλην, ἀλλ' εἴασεν αὐτὴν στασιάζουσαν καὶ μέχρι ῥοπῆς καιροῦ; Εἰ μὲν μὴ βουληθείς, οὐκ ἀγαθός· οὐκ ἀγαθοῦ γὰρ οὐδὲ δικαίου τὸ ἐφησυχάζειν τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν. Εἰ δὲ μὴ δυνηθείς, θεὸς ἀδύνατος μὴ εἴη θεός· οὐ γὰρ δύνασθε εἰπεῖν, καθὼς ἡμεῖς ἔφημεν περὶ τοῦ γενέσθαι καὶ εἶναι τὸν διάβολον, ὅτι αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἀγαθόν ἐστιν. Ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ διδόντες αὐτῷ τὸ εἶναι ἀγαθὸν τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν δικαίως εἴποιμεν· τὸ γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ διδόμενον ἀγαθόν ἐστιν. Ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ διδόντες τῇ ὕλῃ ὕπαρξιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κακὴν ταύτην λέγοντες καὶ φύσει κακὴν καὶ παντελῶς ἀμέτοχον ἀγαθοῦ οὐκ ἀγαθὸν δυνήσεσθε εἰπεῖν τὸ εἶναι αὐτήν. Οὐκοῦν ἢ οὐκ ἀγαθὸς ἢ οὐ δυνατὸς ὁ θεὸς καθ' ὑμᾶς μὴ ἐξ ἀρχῆς αὐτὴν ἀνελών. Καὶ πάλιν· Εἰ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ κακοῦ τὰ πάντα, οὐδὲ ὁ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δημιουργὸς οὐδὲ ὁ πονηρός, ἀλλὰ πατέρες τῶν ὄντων. Καὶ πάλιν· Εἰ ἡ κακία ἐναντία τῷ ἀγαθῷ ὡς ὂν ὄντι καὶ ἀρχὴ ἀρχῇ καὶ οὐσία οὐσίᾳ καί, καθ' ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν, θεὸς θεῷ, ἐν ἡμῖν δέ ἐστι ποιῆσαι τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ κακόν, ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστι δοῦναι τὰ νικητήρια τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἢ τῷ πονηρῷ, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν αἴτιοι τῆς ἐπικρατείας ἑκατέρου. 77 Ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἕνα θεόν φαμεν ἀγαθόν, δίκαιον, πάντων δημιουργόν, πάντων κρατοῦντα, παντοδύναμον, ὅσα θέλει δυνάμενον, καὶ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐκτίσθαι τὰ πάντα, τά τε ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, οὐκ ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι-