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it is possible to enter eternal life. But yes (he says), they hold the key, but they do not provide it to those who wish to enter. For this reason (I say), he himself, having arisen from the chair, like a father for his children, preaching the things that have been handed down to the worthy in secret from eternity, extending mercy to the nations themselves and having mercy on the souls of all, neglected his own blood. For having been deemed worthy to be king of the age to come, towards the one who now in due time has received the kingdom by law <...> and the greatest thing which very much grieved him is this: that he was warred against by those for whom, as for children, he was making the fight, on account of their ignorance. And yet he loved even those who hated him and wept for those who disobeyed and blessed those who reviled him, and prayed for his enemies. And not only did he do these things as a father, but he also taught his disciples to do the same things as brothers. This one is a father, this one a prophet, it is reasonable that he himself should be king of his own children, so that by the affection from a father to children and by the heartfelt honor of the children to the father, eternal peace might be able to come into being. For when the reasonable one is king, true joy concerning the one who reigns comes upon those who are ruled. But I return to the first account of the truth. If someone does not grant that the man formed by the hands of God has the holy Spirit of Christ, how is he not committing the greatest impiety by granting that some other, born from a foul drop, has it? But he shows the greatest piety if he does not grant that another has it, but says that only that one has it who from the beginning of the age, along with the names, changing forms, runs through the age until, having obtained his own times, having been anointed through the mercy of God on account of his labors, he will have rest forever. This one has been honored both to rule and to be lord of all things in the air and on earth and in the waters; and in addition to these things, he has received the breath of the one who made man, an unbreakable covering for the soul, so that he might be able to be immortal. This one himself, being the only true prophet, has appropriately assigned the names to each living thing according to the worthiness of its nature, just as the one who made him. For if he named something, this was also the name from the maker for what had come into being. Why then did he still have need to take from a plant, in order that he might see what is good or evil? “he was commanded.” But the undiscerning believe these things, those who thought that an irrational beast had become more beneficent than the God who created both them and all things. However, a female nature was created with him as a partner, much inferior to him, as a participation of substance, as the moon to the sun, as fire to light. She, as a female ruling a like present world, is believed to be the first prophetess, proclaiming prophecy with all those “among those born of women.” But the other, being male, as “son of man,” prophesies the things that are superior, as a male, to the age to come. Let there be, then, for us two generic prophecies: the one masculine (and let it be specified that the first, being masculine, is henceforth ranked second according to the principle of progression, while the second, being female, has been appointed to come first in the procession of the syzygies)—so the one being “among those born of women,” proclaiming as a female the things of the present world, wishes to be believed to be masculine. Therefore, stealing the seeds of the male and

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τὴν αἰωνίαν ζωὴν εἰσελθεῖν ἔστιν. ἀλλὰ ναί (φησίν), κρατοῦσι μὲν τὴν κλεῖν, τοῖς δὲ βουλομένοις εἰσελθεῖν οὐ παρέχουσιν. διὰ τοῦτο (φημί) αὐτὸς τῆς καθέδρας ἐγερθείς, ὡς πατὴρ ὑπὲρ τέκνων, τὰ ἀπὸ αἰῶνος ἐν κρυπτῷ ἀξίοις παραδιδόμενα κηρύσσων, μέχρις αὐτῶν ἐθνῶν τὸν ἔλεον ἐκτείνων καὶ ψυχὰς πάντων ἐλεῶν, ἰδίου αἵματος ἠμέλει. μέλλοντος γὰρ αἰῶνος βασιλεὺς εἶναι κατηξιωμένος πρὸς τὸν νῦν ἐνπρο- θέσμῳ παρειληφότα νόμῳ τὴν βασιλείαν <...> καὶ τὸ μέγιστον ὅπερ αὐτὸν λίαν ἐλύπει ἐστὶν τοῦτο ὅτι, ὑπὲρ ὧν ὡς τέκνων τὴν μάχην ἐποιεῖτο, ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἀγνοίας αἰτίᾳ ἐπολεμεῖτο. καὶ ὅμως ἠγάπα καὶ τοὺς μισοῦν- τας καὶ ἔκλαιε τοὺς ἀπειθοῦντας καὶ εὐλόγει τοὺς λοιδοροῦντας, ηὔχετο ὑπὲρ ἐχθραινόντων. καὶ οὐ μόνον ταῦτα ἐποίει ὡς πατήρ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς αὐτοῦ μαθηταῖς ὡς πρὸς ἀδελφοὺς ἔχοντας τὰ ὅμοια ποιεῖν ἐδί- δασκεν. τοῦτο πατήρ, τοῦτο προφήτης, τοῦτο εὔλογον τὸ αὐτὸν ἰδίων τέκνων βασιλεῦσαι, ἵνα τῇ ἐκ πατρὸς πρὸς τέκνα στοργῇ καὶ τῶν τέκνων πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἐνδιαθέτῳ τιμῇ αἰώνιος εἰρήνη γενέσθαι δυνηθῇ. τοῦ γὰρ εὐλόγου βασιλεύοντος, ἐπὶ τοὺς βασιλευομένους ἀληθὴς χαρὰ περὶ τοῦ βασιλεύοντος γίνεται. Πλὴν ἐπὶ τὸν πρῶτον τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπάνειμι λόγον. ἐὰν τῷ ὑπὸ χειρῶν θεοῦ κυοφορηθέντι ἀνθρώπῳ τὸ ἅγιον Χριστοῦ μὴ δῷ τις ἔχειν πνεῦμα, πῶς ἑτέρῳ τινὶ ἐκ μυσαρᾶς σταγόνος γεγενημένῳ διδοὺς ἔχειν οὐ τὰ μέγιστα ἀσεβεῖ; τὰ δὲ μέγιστα εὐσεβεῖ, ἐὰν ἑτέρῳ μὲν μὴ δῷ ἔχειν, ἐκεῖνον δὲ μόνον ἔχειν λέγῃ ὃς ἀπ' ἀρχῆς αἰῶνος ἅμα τοῖς ὀνόμασιν μορφὰς ἀλλάσσων τὸν αἰῶνα τρέχει μέχρις ὅτε ἰδίων χρόνων τυχών, διὰ τοὺς καμάτους θεοῦ ἐλέει χρισθείς, εἰς ἀεὶ ἕξει τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν. οὗτος ἄρχειν τε καὶ κυριεύειν πάντων τῶν ἐν ἀέρι καὶ γῇ καὶ ὕδασιν τετίμηται· πρὸς τούτοις δὲ αὐτοῦ τοῦ πεποιηκότος τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὴν πνοὴν ἔσχεν, ψυχῆς ἄρρηκτον περι- βολήν, ὅπως ἀθάνατος εἶναι δυνηθῇ. οὗτος αὐτὸς μόνος ἀληθὴς ὑπάρξας προφήτης ἑκάστῳ ζσῳ κατ' ἀξίαν τῆς φύσεως, καθὼς ὁ πεποιηκὼς αὐ- τόν, οἰκείως τέθεικεν τὰ ὀνόματα. εἴ τι γὰρ ἐπωνόμασεν, τοῦτο ἦν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πεποιηκότος ὄνομα τῷ γεγενημένῳ. διὸ πῶς ἔτι φυτοῦ χρείαν εἶχε προσλαβεῖν, ἵνα τί ποτ' ἔστιν ἴδῃ καλὸν ἢ κακόν; «ἐνετέλλετο». ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πιστεύουσιν οἱ ἄκριτοι, οἱ ἄλογον θηρίον θεοῦ τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτούς τε καὶ τὰ πάντα εὐεργετικώτερον γεγενῆσθαι οἰηθέντες. πλὴν τούτῳ σύζυγος συνεκτίσθη θήλεια φύσις, πολὺ ἀποδέουσα αὐτοῦ, ὡς οὐσίας μετουσία, ὡς ἡλίου σελήνη, ὡς φωτὸς τὸ πῦρ. αὕτη τοῦ νῦν κόσμου ὡς θήλεια ὁμοίου ἄρχουσα πρώτη προφῆτις εἶναι πεπίστευται, μετὰ πάντων τῶν «ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν» προφητείαν ἐπαγγελλομένη. ὁ δὲ ἕτερος, ὡς «υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου» ἄρσην ὤν, καὶ τὰ διαφέροντα ὡς ἄρσενι τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι προ- φητεύει. δύο οὖν ἡμῖν γενικαὶ ἔστωσαν προφητεῖαι· ἡ μὲν ἀρσενική (καὶ διωρίσθω ὅτι ἡ μὲν πρώτη ἄρσην οὖσα δευτέρα τοῦ λοιποῦ τέτακται κατὰ τὸν τῆς προόδου λόγον, ἡ δὲ δευτέρα θῆλυς οὖσα πρώτη ὡρίσθη ἔρχεσθαι ἐν τῇ τῶν συζυγιῶν προελεύσει)-ἡ μὲν οὖν «ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν» οὖσα, ὡς θήλεια τοῦ νῦν κόσμου ἐπαγγελλομένη, ἀρσενικὴ εἶναι πιστεύεσθαι θέλει. διὸ κλέπτουσα τὰ τοῦ ἄρσενος σπέρματα καὶ