I have chosen to order the unordered matter in you, and just as the Word, having been begotten in the beginning, in turn begot our creation for himself, having fashioned matter, so I too, in imitation of the Word, having been born again and having attained the apprehension of the truth, am reforming the confusion of kindred matter. For matter is not without beginning, as God is, nor, because it is without beginning, is it of equal power with God, but it is begotten and not brought into being by another, but brought forth by the Creator of all things alone. And for this reason we have believed that there will be a resurrection of bodies after the consummation of all things, not as the Stoics dogmatize, according to certain cycles of periods in which the same things are always coming into being and ceasing to be for no useful purpose, but once our ages have been completed, the constitution of things will be entirely on account of men alone for the sake of judgment. And our judges are not Minos nor Rhadamanthus, before whose death not one of the souls, as they mythologize, was judged, but the examiner is God the Creator himself. For even if you consider us altogether triflers and babblers, it is no concern to us, since we have believed in this doctrine. For just as, not existing before I came to be, I did not know who I was, but existed only in the substance of fleshly matter, and having come into being, I who was not before, have through birth believed in my existence; in the same way, I who came to be and through death am no longer, and am again no longer seen, shall be again, just as though I had not come to be before and then was born. And if fire should consume my flesh, the world has received the matter that has been vaporized; and if I am consumed in rivers or in seas, or if I am torn apart by wild beasts, I am laid up in the storehouses of a rich Master. And the poor and godless man does not know the things that are laid up, but God the King, when He wills, will restore to its original state the substance that is visible to Him alone. For the heavenly Word, having become spirit from the Spirit and Word from the rational power, in imitation of the Father who begot him, made man an image of immortality, so that, just as incorruptibility is with God, in the same way man, having partaken of God's portion, might also have immortality. The Word, therefore, before the creation of men, becomes the creator of angels, and each form of creation has become free-willed, not having the nature of the good, which *** except only with God, but by the freedom of choice is brought to perfection by men, so that the wicked man may be justly punished, having become depraved through himself, while the just man on account of his noble deeds may be worthily praised, in accordance with his free will not having transgressed the will of God. And the things concerning angels and men are in this manner; but the power of the Word, having in itself the foreknowledge *** of what is going to happen

κοσμεῖν τὴν ἐν ὑμῖν ἀκόσμητον ὕλην προῄρημαι καὶ καθάπερ ὁ λόγος ἐν ἀρχῇ γεννηθεὶς ἀντεγέννησε τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς ποίησιν αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ, τὴν ὕλην δημιουργήσας, οὕτω κἀγὼ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ λόγου μίμησιν ἀναγεννηθεὶς καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἀληθοῦς κατά ληψιν πεποιημένος μεταρρυθμίζω τῆς συγγενοῦς ὕλης τὴν σύγχυσιν. οὔτε γὰρ ἄναρχος ἡ ὕλη καθάπερ καὶ ὁ θεός, οὔτε διὰ τὸ ἄναρχον καὶ αὐτὴ ἰσοδύναμος τῷ θεῷ, γενητὴ δὲ καὶ οὐχ ὑπὸ ἄλλου γεγονυῖα, μόνου δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ πάντων δημιουργοῦ προβεβλημένη. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ σωμάτων ἀνάστασιν ἔσεσθαι πε πιστεύκαμεν μετὰ τὴν τῶν ὅλων συντέλειαν, οὐχ ὡς οἱ Στωϊκοὶ δογματίζουσι κατά τινας κύκλων περιόδους γινομένων ἀεὶ καὶ ἀπογινομένων τῶν αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐπί τι χρήσιμον, ἅπαξ δὲ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς αἰώνων πεπερασμένων καὶ εἰς τὸ παντελὲς διὰ μόνων τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν σύστασιν ἔσεσθαι χάριν κρίσεως. δικάζουσι δὲ ἡμῖν οὐ Μίνως οὐδὲ Ῥαδάμανθυς, ὧν πρὸ τῆς τελευτῆς οὐδεμία τῶν ψυχῶν, ὡς μυθολογοῦσιν, ἐκρίνετο, δοκι μαστὴς δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ ποιητὴς θεὸς γίνεται. κἂν γὰρ πάνυ φλη νάφους τε καὶ σπερμολόγους ἡμᾶς νομίσητε, μέλον οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν, ἐπεὶ τούτῳ τῷ λόγῳ πεπιστεύκαμεν. ὥσπερ γὰρ οὐκ ὢν πρὶν ἢ γενέσθαι τίς ἤμην οὐκ ἐγίνωσκον, μόνον δὲ ἐν ὑπο στάσει τῆς σαρκικῆς ὕλης ὑπῆρχον, γεγονὼς δὲ ὁ μὴ πάλαι διὰ τῆς γενέσεως τὸ εἶναι πεπίστευκα· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὁ γενό μενος καὶ διὰ θανάτου μηκέτ' ὢν αὖθίς τε μηκέθ' ὁρώμενος ἔσομαι πάλιν ὥσπερ μὴ πάλαι γεγονὼς εἶτα γεννηθείς. κἂν πῦρ ἐξαφανίσῃ μου τὸ σαρκίον, ἐξατμισθεῖσαν τὴν ὕλην ὁ κόσμος κεχώρηκε· κἂν ἐν ποταμοῖς κἂν ἐν θαλάσσαις ἐκδαπανηθῶ κἂν ὑπὸ θηρίων διασπασθῶ, ταμείοις ἐναπόκειμαι πλουσίου δεσπό του. καὶ ὁ μὲν πτωχὸς καὶ ἄθεος οὐκ οἶδεν τὰ ἀποκείμενα, θεὸς δὲ ὁ βασιλεύων, ὅτε βούλεται, τὴν ὁρατὴν αὐτῷ μόνον ὑπό στασιν ἀποκαταστήσει πρὸς τὸ ἀρχαῖον. Λόγος γὰρ ὁ ἐπουράνιος πνεῦμα γεγονὼς ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ λόγος ἐκ λογικῆς δυνάμεως, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ γεν νήσαντος αὐτὸν πατρὸς μίμησιν εἰκόνα τῆς ἀθανασίας τὸν ἄν θρωπον ἐποίησεν, ἵν', ὥσπερ ἡ ἀφθαρσία παρὰ τῷ θεῷ, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον θεοῦ μοίρας ἄνθρωπος μεταλαβὼν ἔχῃ καὶ τὸ ἀθάνατον. ὁ μὲν οὖν λόγος πρὸ τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατασκευῆς ἀγγέλων δημιουργὸς γίνεται, τὸ δὲ ἑκάτερον τῆς ποιήσεως εἶδος αὐτεξούσιον γέγονε τἀγαθοῦ φύσιν μὴ ἔχον, ὃ *** πλὴν μόνον παρὰ τῷ θεῷ, τῇ δὲ ἐλευθερίᾳ τῆς προαιρέσεως ὑπὸ τῶν ἀν θρώπων ἐκτελειούμενον, ὅπως ὁ μὲν φαῦλος δικαίως κολάζηται δι' αὑτὸν γεγονὼς μοχθηρός, ὁ δὲ δίκαιος χάριν τῶν ἀνδραγα θημάτων ἀξίως ἐπαινῆται κατὰ τὸ αὐτεξούσιον τοῦ θεοῦ μὴ παραβὰς τὸ βούλημα. καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους καὶ ἀν θρώπους τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον· ἡ δὲ τοῦ λόγου δύναμις ἔχουσα παρ' ἑαυτῇ τὸ προγνωστικὸν *** τὸ μέλλον ἀποβαίνειν