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delighting and with brief pleasures undermining the strength of reason, leads the majority into adultery, and thus deprives them of the future good bridegroom. For every human being is a bride, whenever, being sown with the pure word of truth from the true prophet, is enlightened in the mind. Therefore, it is necessary to listen to the one and only prophet of truth, knowing that he who is sown by the word of another, having incurred the charge of adultery, is cast out of his kingdom as by a bridegroom. But for those who know the mystery, death also comes by spiritual adultery. Whenever the soul is sown by others, then, as having committed fornication or adultery, it is abandoned by the spirit, and thus the ensouled body, being separated from the life-giving spirit, is dissolved into earth, and the punishment worthy of the sin is rendered to the soul at the time of judgment after the dissolution of the body; just as among men she who is caught in adultery is first cast out of the house, and then later is judged for condemnation. As Peter was about to explain this very mystical doctrine perfectly to us, Zacchaeus came, saying: It is now time, O Peter, for you to go out and discourse. For a great crowd, having gathered in the courtyard, awaits you, in the midst of which stands Simon, like a war-leader, surrounded by them as a bodyguard. And Peter, on hearing this, having ordered me to withdraw for the sake of the prayer, as one who had not yet received the baptism for salvation, said to those who were already perfect: Let us rise and pray, that God, with His unfailing mercies, may cooperate with me as I set out for the salvation of the men created by Him. And having said these things and prayed, he went out to the open space of the courtyard, which was large, where many had gathered for the sake of watching, the controversy having made them more eager to hasten to listen. So taking his stand and seeing the whole crowd gazing at him with great quietness, and Simon the magician standing in the midst, he began to speak thus: Peace be to all of you who are ready to give the right hand to the truth of God, which gift, being his great and incomparable gift in the present world, He who sent us, being the unerring prophet of that which is pre-eminently profitable, commanded us to pronounce this to you under the guise of a greeting before the words of teaching, so that if there be any among you a child of peace, our peace may come upon him through our teaching, but if any of you should not wish to receive it, then we, shaking off from our feet for a testimony the dust from the roads, which through our toils we have carried and brought to you so that you might be saved, will go away to the houses and cities of others. And truly we say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for the place that persists in disobedience; first, because you did not perceive what is reasonable of yourselves; second, because having heard the things concerning us you did not come to us; third, because you disobeyed us even when we came. Therefore, sparing you, we freely pray for our peace to come upon you. If, then, you wish to have it, you must readily undertake not to do wrong and to bear being wronged nobly, which a man's nature could not endure, unless first

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τέρπουσα καὶ βραχείαις ἡδοναῖς τοῦ λογισμοῦ τὴν ἰσχὺν ὑποσυλῶσα τοὺς πλείονας εἰς μοιχείαν ἄγει καὶ οὕτως τοῦ μέλλοντος καλοῦ στερίσκει νυμφίου. νύμφη γάρ ἐστιν ὁ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος, ὁπόταν τοῦ ἀληθοῦς προ- φήτου λευκῷ λόγῳ ἀληθείας σπειρόμενος φωτίζηται τὸν νοῦν. διὸ ἑνὸς μόνου τοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας προφήτου ἀκούειν δεῖ, εἰδότα ὅτι ὁ παρ' ἑτέρου σπαρεὶς λόγῳ, μοιχείας ἔγκλημα λαβών, ὡς ὑπὸ νυμφίου τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἐκβάλλεται. τοῖς δὲ τὸ μυστήριον εἰδόσιν ὑπὸ ψυχικῆς μοιχείας καὶ θάνατος γίνεται. ὁπόταν ἡ ψυχὴ ὑφ' ἑτέρων σπαρῇ, τότε ὡς πορνεύσασα ἢ μοιχευσαμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος ἐγκαταλείπεται καὶ οὕτως τὸ ἔμψυχον σῶμα, τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ πνεύματος χωρισθέν, εἰς γῆν ἀναλύεται, καὶ τοῦ ἁμαρτήματος ἡ κατ' ἀξίαν κόλασις ἐν τῷ τῆς κρίσεως καιρῷ ἀποδίδοται τῇ ψυχῇ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἀνάλυσιν· ὥσπερ ἐπ' ἀνθρώπων ἡ ἐπὶ μοιχείᾳ φωραθεῖσα πρῶτον τῶν οἴκων ἐκβάλλεται, εἶθ' ὕστερον ἐπὶ καταδίκῃ κρίνεται. Τοῦ Πέτρου τοῦτον αὐτὸν μέλλοντος ἡμῖν τελείως ἐκφαίνειν τὸν μυστι- κὸν λόγον, Ζακχαῖος ἧκεν λέγων· Ἤδη λοιπόν, ὦ Πέτρε, καιρὸς πρὸς τὸ ἐκ- βάντα διαλεχθῆναί σε. πολὺς γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς αὐλῆς συναθροισθεὶς ἀναμένει σε ὄχλος, οὗ ἐν μέσῳ ὡς πολέμαρχος ὑπ' αὐτοῦ δορυφορούμενος ἕστηκε Σί- μων. ὁ δὲ Πέτρος ἀκούσας, εὐχῆς χάριν ὑποχωρῆσαί μοι κελεύσας ὡς μήπω εἰληφότι τὸ πρὸς σωτηρίαν βάπτισμα, τοῖς ἤδη τελείοις ἔφη· Ἐγερθέντες εὐξώμεθα, ἵνα ὁ θεὸς τοῖς ἀνεκλείπτοις αὐτοῦ οἰκτιρμοῖς συνεργήσῃ μοι ὁρμῶντι πρὸς σωτηρίαν τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κτισθέντων ἀνθρώπων. καὶ ταῦτ' εἰ- πὼν εὐξάμενος ἐξῄει εἰς τὸν ὕπαιθρον τῆς αὐλῆς τόπον μέγαν ὄντα, ἔνθα συνεληλυθότες ἦσαν πολλοὶ τοῦ ἐποπτεῦσαι χάριν, τῆς διακρίσεως αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὸ σπεύδειν τοῦ ἀκούειν σπουδαιοτέρους πεποιηκυίας. στὰς οὖν καὶ ἰδὼν μετὰ πολλῆς ἡσυχίας τὸν πάντα λαὸν εἰς αὐτὸν ἀτενίζοντα, Σίμωνα δὲ τὸν μάγον εἰς μέσον ἑστῶτα, τοῦ λέγειν ἤρξατο οὕτως· Eἰρήνη εἴη πᾶσιν ὑμῖν τοῖς ἑτοίμως ἔχουσιν δεξιὰς διδόναι τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀληθείᾳ, ἣν αὐτοῦ μεγάλην τε καὶ ἀσύγκριτον ἐν τῷ νῦν κόσμῳ ὑπάρχουσαν δωρεὰν ὁ ἀποστείλας ἡμᾶς, τοῦ ἐν ὑπεροχῇ συμφέροντος ἀψευδὴς ὑπάρ- χων προφήτης, ταύτην ἡμῖν ἐνετείλατο προφάσει προσηγορίας πρὸ τῶν τῆς διδασκαλίας λόγων ὑμῖν ἐπιφθέγγεσθαι, ἵνα, ἐὰν ᾖ τις ἐν ὑμῖν εἰρή- νης τέκνον, διὰ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἡμῶν καταλάβῃ αὐτὸν ἡ εἰρήνη, εἰ δὲ ταύτην λαβεῖν ὑμῶν τις μὴ θέλοι, τότε ἡμεῖς ἀποτιναξάμενοι εἰς μαρ τυρίαν τῶν ποδῶν ἡμῶν τὸν ἐκ τῶν ὁδῶν κονιορτόν, ὃν διὰ τοὺς καμάτους βαστάξαντες ἠνέγκαμεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ὅπως σωθῆτε, εἰς ἑτέρων ἀπίωμεν οἰκίας καὶ πόλεις. καὶ ἀληθῶς ὑμῖν λέγομεν, ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται γῇ Σοδόμων καὶ Γομόρρας ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ἢ τῷ τῆς ἀπειθείας τόπῳ ἐνδιατελεῖν· πρῶτον μέν, ὅτι τὸ εὔλογον ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν οὐκ ἐνοήσατε· δεύτερον, ὅτι ἀκούσαντες τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς οὐκ ἤλθετε πρὸς ἡμᾶς· τρίτον, ὅτι καὶ ἐλθοῦσιν ἡμῖν ἠπειθήσατε. διὸ φειδόμενοι ὑμῶν προῖκα εὐχό- μεθα τὴν εἰρήνην ἡμῶν ἐλθεῖν ἐφ' ὑμᾶς. εἰ οὖν ταύτην ἔχειν θέλετε, δεῖ ὑμᾶς προθύμως τὸ μὴ ἀδικεῖν ἀναδέξασθαι καὶ τὸ ἀδικεῖσθαι γεν- ναίως φέρειν, ὅπερ ἀνθρώπου φύσις οὐκ ἂν ὑποσταίη, ἐὰν μὴ πρότερον