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you were confounded with grief because I escaped your hands, repenting over a past deed. I commanded you not to attempt to attain the unattainable, and you try to seize me, being unable to reach my course. In addition to these things, I also instructed you not to believe an unbelievable word; but behold, you believed there to be in my entrails a pearl exceeding the measure of my age, and you did not have the sense to understand that my whole self does not reach the size of an ostrich's eggs, and how did I contain such a pearl within me? Thus, therefore, do also those who trust in idols act foolishly; for they have wrought these things with their own hands, and they worship what their fingers have made, saying: These are our creators. How then do they consider as creators those who were crafted and fashioned by them? But also, while keeping them in safety, lest they be plundered by thieves, they are called guardians of their own salvation; and indeed, how much foolishness is this, not to know that, being insufficient to guard and help themselves, how could they become guardians and saviors for others? For why, it says, do they seek the dead concerning the living? They empty out their treasures to raise up pillars and statues to demons, and they chatter that these are providers of good things, asking to receive from them things which they have never possessed, nor indeed will ever possess. Wherefore it is written: May those who make them become like them, and all who trust in them; who, it says, having hired a goldsmith, 140 made handmade things, and bowing down, they worshiped them. They lift them on their shoulders and go; and if they set them in place, they will remain in it, they will not be moved. And whoever cries out to them, it will not hear him, from evils it will not save him. Therefore be ashamed with an everlasting shame, you who trust in graven images, who say to molten images: You are our gods. For they sacrificed, it says, to demons and not to God, to gods whom their fathers did not know; new and recent ones have come, because it is a crooked generation and there is no faith in them. From this wicked and faithless generation, therefore, the Lord calls you, saying to you: Come out from their midst and be separate, and touch no unclean thing, but be saved from this crooked generation; arise and go, for this is not your rest; for the polyarchy of the gods among you is both disorderly and seditious and completely non-existent. But for us it is not so, nor are there many gods and lords; but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through him, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation and of all ages, because in him all things were created, things in the heavens and things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers; All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made; and one Holy Spirit, in whom are all things, the Lord and giver of life, God and deifying, a good Spirit, 142 a right Spirit, a comforting Spirit, a Spirit of adoption. Of these, each is considered God in himself; as the Father and the Son, as the Son and the Holy Spirit, but one God in three, one nature, one kingdom, one power, one glory, one substance, divisible only in the hypostases. For the Father is one, to whom unbegottenness is also proper; and the only-begotten Son is one, and to him begottenness is proper; and the Holy Spirit is one, and to him procession is proper. For thus we, illumined by the light of the Father, a light, the Son, in the light of the Holy Spirit, glorify one divinity in three hypostases; and he is the true and only God, who is known in Trinity, because from him and through him and for him are all things. By his grace, I, having known the things concerning you, was sent to teach you what

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συνεχύθης τῇ λύπῃ ὅτι σου τὰς χεῖρας ἐξέφυγον, μεταμελόμενος ἐπὶ πράγματι παρελθόντι. ἐνετειλάμην σοι μὴ ἐπιχειρεῖν τῶν ἀνεφίκτων ἐφικέσθαι, καὶ πειρᾷ κατασχεῖν με, μὴ δυνάμενος τῆς ἐμῆς ἐφικέσθαι πορείας. πρὸς τούτοις δὲ καὶ ἄπιστον ῥῆμα μὴ πιστεύειν σοι διεστειλάμην· ἀλλ' ἰδοὺ ἐπίστευσας ὑπάρχειν ἐν τοῖς ἐγκάτοις μου μαργαρίτην ὑπερβαίνοντα τὸ μέτρον τῆς ἡλικίας μου, καὶ οὐκ ἐφρόνησας συνιέναι ὅτι ὅλη ἐγὼ οὐκ ἐφικνοῦμαι τῷ μεγέθει τῶν τοῦ στρουθοκαμήλου ὠῶν, καὶ πῶς μαργαρίτην τοιοῦτον ἐχώρησα ἐν ἐμοί; Οὕτως οὖν ἀνοηταίνουσι καὶ οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπὶ τοῖς εἰδώλοις· εἰργάσαντο γὰρ ταῦτα ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν, καὶ προσκυνοῦσιν ἃ ἐποίησαν οἱ δάκτυλοι αὐτῶν, λέγοντες· Οὗτοι οἱ πλαστουργοὶ ἡμῶν. πῶς οὖν πλαστουργοὺς τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτῶν δημιουργηθέντας καὶ διαπλασθέντας νομίζουσιν; ἀλλὰ καὶ τηροῦντες αὐτὰ ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ, τοῦ μὴ ὑπὸ κλεπτῶν συληθῆναι, φύλακας ἀποκαλοῦνται τῆς σφῶν σωτηρίας· καὶ τοί γε πόσης ταῦτα ἀφροσύνης, καὶ τὸ μὴ γινώσκειν ὅτι, οὐκ ἐξαρκοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς φυλάσσειν καὶ βοηθεῖν, πῶς ἄλλοις γένοιντο φύλακες καὶ σωτῆρες; τί γάρ, φησίν, ἐκζητοῦσι περὶ τῶν ζώντων τοὺς νεκρούς; κατακενοῦσι χρήματα, στήλας τοῖς δαίμοσι καὶ ἀγάλματα ἐγεῖραι, καὶ φληναφοῦσιν ἀγαθῶν παρόχους αὐτοὺς ὑπάρχειν, αἰτοῦντες παρ' αὐτῶν λαβεῖν ἅπερ οὔτε πώποτε ἐκτήσαντο, οὔτε μὴν ἔτι κτήσονται. διὸ γέγραπται· Ὅμοιοι αὐτοῖς γένοιντο οἱ ποιοῦντες αὐτὰ καὶ πάντες οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπ' αὐτοῖς· οἵτινες, φησί, μισθωσάμενοι χρυσοχόον, 140 ἐποίησαν χειροποίητα, καὶ κύψαντες προσεκύνησαν αὐτοῖς. αἴρουσιν αὐτὰ ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων καὶ πορεύονται· ἐὰν δὲ θῶσιν αὐτὰ ἐπὶ τοῦ τόπου, μενεῖ ἐν αὐτῷ, οὐ μὴ κινηθῇ. καὶ ὃς ἂν βοήσῃ πρὸς αὐτά, οὐ μὴ εἰσακούσῃ αὐτοῦ, ἀπὸ κακῶν οὐ μὴ σώσῃ αὐτόν. ∆ιὸ αἰσχύνθητε αἰσχύνην αἰώνιον, οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπὶ τοῖς γλυπτοῖς, οἱ λέγοντες τοῖς χωνευτοῖς· Ὑμεῖς ἐστὲ θεοὶ ἡμῶν. Ἔθυσαν γάρ, φησί, δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ Θεῷ, θεοῖς οἷς οὐκ ᾔδεισαν οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν· καινοὶ καὶ πρόσφατοι ἥκασιν, ὅτι γενεὰ ἐξεστραμμένη ἐστὶ καὶ οὐκ ἔστι πίστις ἐν αὐτοῖς. Ἐκ ταύτης οὖν τῆς πονηρᾶς γενεᾶς καὶ ἀπίστου προσκαλεῖταί σε Κύριος, λέγων σοι· Ἔξελθε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καὶ ἀφορίσθητι, καὶ ἀκαθάρτου μὴ ἅψῃ, ἀλλὰ σώθητι ἐκ τῆς γενεᾶς τῆς σκολιᾶς ταύτης· ἀνάστηθι καὶ πορεύου, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι σοι αὕτη ἀνάπαυσις· ἡ γὰρ πολυαρχία τῶν παρ' ὑμῖν θεῶν καὶ ἄτακτον καὶ στασιῶδες καὶ παντελῶς ἀνύπαρκτον. ἡμῖν δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ἐστίν, οὐδὲ πολλοὶ θεοὶ καὶ κύριοι· ἀλλ' εἷς Θεὸς ὁ Πατήρ, ἐξ οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεὶς εἰς αὐτόν· καὶ εἷς Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα καὶ ἡμεῖς δι' αὐτοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος ἁπάσης τῆς κτίσεως καὶ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα, τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, εἴτε Θρόνοι, εἴτε Κυριότητες, εἴτε Ἀρχαί, εἴτε Ἐξουσίαι· Τὰ πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἓν ὃ γέγονε· καὶ ἓν Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον, ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα, τὸν Κύριον καὶ ζωοποιόν, Θεὸν καὶ θεοποιοῦν, Πνεῦμα ἀγαθόν, 142 Πνεῦμα εὐθές, Πνεῦμα παράκλητον, Πνεῦμα υἱοθεσίας. τούτων Θεὸς μὲν ἕκαστον καθ' ἑαυτὸ θεωρούμενον· ὡς ὁ Πατὴρ καὶ ὁ Υἱός, ὡς ὁ Υἱὸς καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, εἷς δὲ Θεὸς ἐν τρισί, μία φύσις, μία βασιλεία, μία δύναμις, μία δόξα, μία οὐσία, διαιρετὴ ταῖς ὑποστάσεσι καὶ μόνον. εἷς γὰρ ὁ Πατήρ, ᾧ καὶ ἴδιον ἡ ἀγεννησία· εἷς δὲ ὁ μονογενὴς Υἱός, καὶ ἴδιον αὐτῷ ἡ γέννησις· ἓν δὲ τὸ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, καὶ ἴδιον αὐτῷ ἡ ἐκπόρευσις. οὕτω γὰρ ἡμεῖς, ἐκ φωτὸς τοῦ Πατρὸς φῶς περιλαμφθέντες τὸν Υἱὸν ἐν φωτὶ τῷ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, μίαν δοξάζομεν θεότητα ἐν τρισὶν ὑποστάσεσι· καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ἀληθινὸς καὶ μόνος Θεός, ὁ ἐν Τριάδι γινωσκόμενος, ὅτι ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα. Τούτου τῇ χάριτι τὰ κατὰ σὲ γνοὺς κἀγὼ ἀπεστάλην διδάξαι σε ἃ