the evils that have come to pass, after the persecution which occurred through Heraclius, they again do not cease slandering to the emperor. For they are confident that as impious men they are heard, so that something more than ex 65.3 ile may happen, and that henceforth those not persuaded by their impieties may be destroyed. For thus also now growing bold, Secundus the all-wicked of Pentapolis and his fellow conspirator Stephen, knowing that even if they do wrong, they have their heresy for a defense; since they saw a presbyter in Barca who was not persuaded by them, and he was called Secundus, (of the same name but not of the same faith as the heretic), they killed him with kicks. And he, while being killed, imitated the saint, saying: "Let no one avenge me before judges; I have the Lord who avenges me, for whose sake I also suffer these things from them," but they neither pitied him as he spoke nor were they ashamed of the days; for in the very Quadragesima, they killed the man by kicking him. 66.1 O new heresy that has put on the whole devil in impiety and in practice. For this evil has now first been devised. And if some ever seemed to reason about it, 66.2 yet they concealed it and were unnoticed in holding these opinions. But Eusebius and Arius, like snakes coming out of a den, have vomited forth the poison of this impiety. And Arius for his part undertook the open daring to blaspheme, but Eusebius its patronage. But he was not strong enough to be a champion of the heresy before, unless, as I said before, he found an emperor as its patron. 66.3 Our fathers, therefore, have held an ecumenical council, and three hundred bishops, more or less, having come together, condemned the Arian heresy and all declared it to be alien and foreign to the ecclesiastical faith; but the champions of this heresy, seeing themselves now disgraced and having no reasonable argument, devised another way and attempted to vindicate it through external authority; at which one might rather marvel at their new and wicked practice, and how they surpass the other 66.4 heresies. For the inventions of the other heresies have their madness in plausibility of words for the deceit of the simple. And the Greeks indeed, as the Apostle said, make their attempt with excellency and persuasiveness of speech and with plausible sophistries, but the Jews, having henceforth abandoned the divine scriptures, as the Apostle said, have their contention "in myths and endless genealogies." For Manichaeans and Valentinians with them and others, trafficking in the divine scriptures, 66.5 tell myths with their own fictitious words. But the Arians are more daring than the other here 66.5 sies and have shown those to be lesser sisters of themselves, being more impious than they, as has been said, and having emulated all, but especially the Jews in wickedness. For just as they, not being able to refute Paul concerning the things they alleged, immediately brought him to the tribune and the governor, so these men, devising even more than they, use only the authority of the judges. And if anyone only contradicts them, he is dragged before the governor or the general. 67.1 And the other heresies, when refuted by the proofs from truth itself, fall silent, doing nothing more than being ashamed at the refutations, but this new and abominable heresy of theirs, when it is overturned by arguments, when, shamed by the truth itself, it falls, then attempts to drag by violence and blows and imprisonment those whom it has not been able to persuade by words, 67.2 thus making itself known to be anything rather than godly. For it is a characteristic of godliness not to compel, but to persuade, as we have said. For the Lord himself, not using force, but leaving the choice free, said to all: "If anyone wishes to come after me," and to the disciples: 67.3 "Do you also wish to go away"? This is entirely foreign to godliness. What else should it do but the contrary of the Savior, as one who fights against Christ, having inscribed for itself Constantius as a leader of impiety, as

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γενόμενα κακά, μετὰ τὸν δι' Ἡρακλείου γενόμενον διωγμὸν πάλιν οὐ παύονται διαβάλλοντες βασιλεῖ. θαρροῦσι γὰρ ὡς ἀσεβοῦντες ἀκούονται, ἵνα πλέον τι τοῦ ἐξο 65.3 ρισμοῦ γένηται καὶ λοιπὸν οἱ μὴ πειθόμενοι ταῖς ἀσεβείαις αὐτῶν ἀναιρῶνται. οὕτω γὰρ καὶ νῦν καταθρασυνόμενοι Σεκοῦνδος μὲν ὁ παγκάκιστος Πενταπολίτης καὶ ὁ τού του συνωμότης Στέφανος εἰδότες ὅτι, κἂν ἀδικῶσιν, ἔχουσι πρὸς ἀπολογίαν τὴν αἵρεσιν· ἐπειδὴ μὴ πειθόμενον αὐτοῖς ἐν Βάρκῃ πρεσβύτερον ἑωράκασι, Σεκοῦνδος δὲ ἐκαλεῖτο, (ὁμώνυμος μὲν οὐχ ὁμόπιστος δὲ τῷ αἱρετικῷ), ἀπέκτειναν λακτίσμασιν αὐτόν. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἀναιρούμενος ἐμιμεῖτο τὸν ἅγιον λέγων· «μηδείς με παρὰ δικασταῖς ἐκδικείτω· ἔχω τὸν ἐκδικοῦντά με κύριον, δι' ὃν καὶ ταῦτα πάσχω παρ' αὐτῶν», οἱ δὲ οὔτε λέγοντα ἠλέουν οὔτε τὰς ἡμέρας ἐδυσωποῦντο· ἐν αὐτῇ γὰρ τῇ τεσσαρακοστῇ λακτίζοντες ἀπέκ τειναν τὸν ἄνθρωπον. 66.1 Ὦ καινῆς αἱρέσεως ὅλον ἐνδυσαμένης τὸν διάβολον ἐν ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ πράξει. ἄρτι γὰρ πρῶτον ἐπενοήθη τοῦτο τὸ κακόν. εἰ δὲ καί τινες ἐδόκουν ποτὲ περὶ αὐτῆς λογίζεσθαι, 66.2 ἀλλ' ἔκρυπτον καὶ ἐλάνθανον ταῦτα φρονοῦντες. Εὐσέβιος δὲ καὶ Ἄρειος ὡς ὄφεις ἐξελθόντες ἀπὸ φωλεοῦ τὸν ἰὸν τῆς ἀσεβείας ταύτης ἐξήμεσαν. καὶ ὁ μὲν Ἄρειος τὴν τοῦ βλασφημεῖν ἐκ φανεροῦ τόλμην ἀνεδέξατο, ὁ δὲ Εὐσέβιος τὴν ταύτης προστασίαν. ἀλλ' οὐ πρότερον ἴσχυσε προστῆναι τῆς αἱρέσεως εἰ μή, καθὰ προεῖπον, βασιλέα εὗρε προστάτην 66.3 ταύτης. οἱ μὲν οὖν πατέρες ἡμῶν οἰκουμενικὴν σύνοδον πεποιήκασι καὶ τριακόσιοι πλεῖον ἢ ἔλαττον ἐπίσκοποι συνελθόντες κατέκριναν τὴν ἀρειανὴν αἵρεσιν καὶ ἀπεφήναντο πάντες ἀλλοτρίαν αὐτὴν καὶ ξένην τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς πίστεως εἶναι, οἱ δὲ προστάται ταύτης ὁρῶντες ἑαυτοὺς λοιπὸν ἀσχημονοῦντας καὶ μηδὲν εὔλογον ἔχοντας ἄλλην ὁδὸν ἐπενόησαν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἔξωθεν ἐξουσίας ἐκδικεῖν ταύτην ἐπεχείρησαν· ἐφ' ᾧ μᾶλλον ἄν τις αὐτῶν θαυμάσειε τὸ καινὸν καὶ πονηρὸν ἐπιτήδευμα, καὶ πῶς ὑπερβάλλουσι τὰς ἄλλας 66.4 αἱρέσεις. τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἄλλων αἱρέσεων τὰ ἐφευρήματα ἐν πιθανότητι ῥημάτων ἔχει τὴν μανίαν πρὸς ἀπάτην τῶν ἀκεραίων. καὶ Ἕλληνες μέν, ὡς εἶπεν ὁ ἀπόστολος, ἐν ὑπερο χῇ καὶ πειθοῖ λόγων καὶ σοφίσμασι πιθανοῖς ἐπιχειροῦσιν, Ἰουδαῖοι δὲ ἀφέντες τὰς θείας γραφὰς λοιπόν, ὡς εἶπεν ὁ ἀπόστολος, «ἐν μύθοις καὶ γενεαλογίαις ἀπεράντοις» ἔχουσι τὴν ἔριν. Μανιχαῖοι γὰρ καὶ Οὐαλεντῖνοι σὺν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἄλλοι καπηλεύοντες τὰς θείας γραφὰς 66.5 τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἐπιπλάστοις λόγοις μυθολογοῦσιν. οἱ δὲ Ἀρειανοὶ τῶν μὲν ἄλλων αἱρέ 66.5 σεών εἰσι τολμηρότεροι καὶ μικροτέρας ἑαυτῶν ἀδελφὰς ἀπέδειξαν ἐκείνας πλέον αὐτῶν ἀσεβοῦντες, καθάπερ εἴρηται, καὶ πάντας, μάλιστα δὲ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ζηλώσαντες ἐν πο νηρίᾳ. ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι μὴ δυνάμενοι τὸν Παῦλον ἐλέγξαι περὶ ὧν ἐπροφασίζοντο εὐθὺς ἤγαγον αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν χιλίαρχον καὶ τὸν ἡγεμόνα, οὕτως οὗτοι καὶ πλέον ἐκείνων ἐπινο οῦντες τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ μόνῃ τῶν δικαστῶν κέχρηνται. καὶ μόνον τις αὐτοῖς ἀντείρηκεν, ἕλκεται πρὸς τὸν ἡγεμόνα ἢ τὸν στρατηλάτην. 67.1 Καὶ αἱ μὲν ἄλλαι αἱρέσεις ἐλεγχόμεναι ταῖς ἀποδείξεσιν ὑπ' αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας σιωπῶσι μηδὲν πλέον ἢ ἐντρεπόμεναι τοῖς ἐλέγχοις, ἡ δὲ νέα καὶ μυσαρὰ τούτων αἵρεσις, ὅταν ἀνατραπῇ τοῖς λόγοις, ὅταν ὑπ' αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας αἰσχυνθεῖσα πέσῃ, λοιπὸν οὓς μὴ δεδύνηται πεῖσαι λόγοις, τούτους τῇ βίᾳ καὶ πληγαῖς καὶ δεσμωτηρίοις ἕλκειν ἐπιχειρεῖ 67.2 γνωρίζουσα ἑαυτὴν καὶ οὕτως, ὡς πάντα μᾶλλόν ἐστιν ἢ θεοσεβής. θεοσεβείας μὲν γὰρ ἴδιον μὴ ἀναγκάζειν, ἀλλὰ πείθειν, ὥσπερ εἴπαμεν. καὶ γὰρ ὁ κύριος αὐτὸς οὐ βιαζόμενος, ἀλλὰ τῇ προαιρέσει διδοὺς ἔλεγε πᾶσι μέν· «εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἐλθεῖν», τοῖς δὲ μαθηταῖς· 67.3 «μὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς θέλετε ἀπελθεῖν»; αὕτη παντελῶς ἀλλοτρία τῆς θεοσεβείας ἐστί. τί ποιεῖν αὐτὴν ἐχρῆν ἢ τἀναντία τοῦ σωτῆρος ὡς χριστομάχον ἡγεμόνα τῆς ἀσεβείας ἐπιγραφο μένην Κωνστάντιον ὡς

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