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visiting with her own seeds of the flesh, as if they were all her own, she brings forth the offspring together, that is, the ·»mata. And she promises to give the present earthly wealth as a dowry, wishing to exchange the slow for the swift, the small for the greater. Moreover, not only daring to speak of and hear of many gods, but also believing she can become one herself, and in the hope of becoming what is not in her nature, she also destroys what she has, and like a female becoming in her monthly courses, she is stained with blood on the pretext of sacrifices and thus defiles those who touch her. And when, having conceived, she brings forth temporary kings, she stirs up wars that shed much blood. And those who desire to learn the truth from her, because she says all [the] contradictory things and provides many and various services, she keeps them seeking always and finding nothing, until death itself; for from the beginning she is set as a pretext of death for blind men; for prophesying deceptive and ambiguous and obscure things, she deceives those who believe. Therefore to her firstborn she gave an ambiguous name, calling him Cain, which has a twofold interpretation; for it is interpreted as both possession and jealousy, as if he were going to be jealous in the future of either a wife or possessions or the affection of his parents toward him. But if none of these things should happen, even so it is well achieved to be called "possession"; for she first possessed him. which was also useful to her; for he was "a murderer" "and a liar" and not wishing to be at rest with sins, not even for the sake of ruling. Furthermore, those who came forth from his lineage became the first adulterers; and they fashioned psalteries and lyres and became smiths of weapons of war. Therefore also the prophecy of the descendants, being full of adulterers and psalteries, secretly through pleasures stirs up wars. But he who has in the sons of men a prophecy innate and proper to the soul, ·ητῶς as the male announcing the hopes of the age to come, named his son Abel, which without any doubt is interpreted as mourning. For he grants to his sons to mourn their deceived brothers, unerringly promising them consolation in the age to come. He says to ask for one God only, he himself neither speaks of gods nor believes another who speaks of them. He keeps the good which he has and increases it to more. He hates sacrifices, blood, libations. He loves the chaste, the pure, the holy. He extinguishes the fire of altars. He abolishes wars, he teaches peace. He commands self-control. He puts down sins. He esteems marriage, he allows continence, he leads all to purity. He makes men merciful. He esteems justice, he seals their perfect ones and reveals the word of rest. He prophesies ·ητὰ things, he says clear things. He frequently brings to mind the eternal fire of punishment, he continually proclaims the kingdom of God. He reveals heavenly wealth, he promises inalienable glory, he shows the forgiveness of sin by deed. And what must be said? The male is all truth. The female is all error, but he who is born of male and female partly lies, partly tells the truth. For the female, with her own blood as with red fire enveloping the white seed of the male, with the alien supports of bones establishes her own weakness and with the temporary flower of the flesh

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τοῖς ἰδίοις τῆς σαρκὸς σπέρμασιν ἐπισκέπουσα ὡς ὅλα ἴδια συνεκφέρει τὰ γεννήματα, τουτέστιν τὰ ·»ματα. καὶ τὸν παρόντα ἐπίγειον πλοῦτον ὡς προῖκα δώσειν ἐπαγγέλλεται, τῷ ταχεῖ <τὸ βραδύ>, τὸ βραχὺ τῷ μείζονι ὑπαλλάξαι θέλουσα. πολλοὺς μέντοι θεοὺς λέγειν καὶ ἀκούειν οὐ μόνον τολμῶσα, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὴ γενέσθαι πιστεύουσα, καὶ ἐλπίδι τοῦ γενέσθαι ὃ μὴ ἔχει φύσιν καὶ ὃ ἔχει προσαπολλύουσα, καὶ ὡς θήλεια <ἐν> ἐνμηνίοις γινομένη προφάσει θυσιῶν αἱμάσσεται καὶ οὕτως τοὺς ψαύοντας αὐτῆς μολύνει. ἐπὰν δὲ συλλαβοῦσα τοὺς προσκαίρους τίκτῃ βασιλεῖς, τοὺς αἷμα πολὺ χέοντας ἐγείρει πολέμους. τοὺς δὲ παρ' αὐτῆς μαθεῖν ἀλήθειαν ὀρεγομένους τῷ τὰ πάντα λέγειν [τὰ] ἐναντία καὶ πολλὰς καὶ διαφόρους παρέχειν ὑπουργίας, ζητοῦντας αἰεὶ καὶ μηδὲν εὑρίσκοντας, μέχρις αὐτοῦ θανάτου καθίστησιν· ἀπ' ἀρχῆς γὰρ ἀνθρώποις τυφλοῖς θανάτου κεῖται πρόφασις· πλάνα γὰρ καὶ ἀμφίβολα καὶ λοξὰ προφη- τεύουσα τοὺς πιστεύοντας ἀπατᾷ. διὸ τῷ πρωτοτόκῳ αὐτῆς ἀμφο- τερίζον ἐπέθηκεν ὄνομα, καλέσασα Κάιν, ὃ διχῇ ἔχει τῆς ἑρμηνείας τὴν ἐκδοχήν· ἑρμηνεύεται γὰρ καὶ κτῆσις καὶ ζῆλος, ὡς ζηλοῦν αὐτοῦ μέλλον- τος ἐν τοῖς ἐσομένοις ἢ γυναῖκα ἢ κτήματα ἢ τὴν τῶν γονέων πρὸς αὐ- τὸν στοργήν. εἰ δ' ἄρα μηδὲν τούτων γένηται, καὶ οὕτως τὸ «κτῆμα» λέγεσθαι καλῶς ἐπιτέτευκται· αὐτὸν γὰρ πρῶτον ἐκτήσατο. ὅπερ αὐτῇ καὶ ἐχρησίμευσεν· «φονεὺς» γὰρ ἦν «καὶ ψεύστης» καὶ μετὰ ἁμαρτιῶν ἡσυχάζειν μηδὲ ἐπὶ τῷ ἄρχειν θέλων. ἔτι μὴν καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς τούτου διαδοχῆς προεληλυθότες πρῶτοι μοιχοὶ ἐγένοντο· καὶ ψαλτήρια καὶ κιθάρας ἡρμόσαντο καὶ χαλκεῖς ὅπλων πολεμικῶν ἐγένοντο. διὸ καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐγγόνων προφητεία, μοιχῶν καὶ ψαλτηρίων γέμουσα, λανθανόντως διὰ τῶν ἡδυπα- θειῶν ὡς τοὺς πολέμους ἐγείρει. ὁ δὲ ἐν υἱοῖς ἀνθρώπων προφητείαν ἔμφυτον ψυχῆς ἰδίαν ἔχων, ·ητῶς ὡς ἄρσην τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος τὰς ἐλπίδας μηνύων τὸν αὐτοῦ υἱὸν προσηγόρευσεν Ἄβελ, ὃ ἄνευ πάσης ἀμφιβολίας πένθος ἑρμηνεύεται. πενθεῖν γὰρ τοῖς αὐτοῦ υἱοῖς παρέχει τοὺς ἐξαπατωμένους ἀδελφοὺς αὐτῶν, ἀψευστὶ αὐτοῖς ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι τὴν παράκλησιν ὑπισχνούμενος. θεὸν ἕνα μόνον αἰτεῖν λέγει, θεοὺς οὔτε αὐτὸς λέγει οὔτε ἄλλῳ λέγοντι πιστεύει. καλὸν ὃ ἔχει τηρεῖ καὶ ἐπὶ πλείονα αὔξει. θυσίας, αἵματα, σπονδὰς μισεῖ. ἁγνούς, καθα- ρούς, ὁσίους ἀγαπᾷ. πῦρ βωμῶν σβέννυσιν. πολέμους καταργεῖ, εἰρήνην διδάσκει. σωφροσύνην ἐντέλλεται. τὰς ἁμαρτίας καθαιρεῖ. γάμον νομιτεύει, ἐγκράτειαν συγχωρεῖ, εἰς ἁγνείαν πάντας ἄγει. ἐλεημονικοὺς ποιεῖ. δι- καιοσύνην νομιτεύει, τοὺς τελείους αὐτῶν σφραγίζει καὶ τὸν τῆς ἀνα- παύσεως λόγον ἐκφαίνει. ·ητὰ προφητεύει, σαφῆ λέγει. πῦρ αἰώνιον κολάσεως πυκνῶς ὑπομιμνήσκει, βασιλείαν θεοῦ συνεχῶς καταγγέλλει. πλοῦτον οὐράνιον μηνύει, δόξαν ἀναφαίρετον ὑπισχνεῖται, τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν ἄφεσιν ἔργῳ δείκνυσιν. καὶ τί δεῖ λέγειν; ὁ ἄρσην ὅλος ἀλήθεια. ἡ θήλεια ὅλη πλάνη, ὁ δὲ ἐξ ἄρσενος καὶ θηλείας γεγονὼς ἃ μὲν ψεύ- δεται, ἃ δὲ ἀληθεύει. ἡ γὰρ θήλεια ἰδίῳ αἵματι ὥσπερ ἐρυθρῷ πυρὶ περιβάλλουσα τὸ τοῦ ἄρσενος λευκὸν σπέρμα, ἀλλοτρίοις ἐρείσμασιν ὀστέων τὸ ἀσθενὲς αὐτῆς συνίστησιν καὶ τῷ τῆς σαρκὸς προσκαίρῳ ἄνθει