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He named, and ears the faculty of hearing, and hands the faculty of doing, and the other energies in the same way. The foolish man, understanding none of these things, has attributed the human form to God. For so he understood the words: "Let us make man in our image and likeness." And suffering from irrationality, he did not perceive the invisible and immortal nature of the soul, but fixed his thought on the body alone. But more will be said about this, with God's help, in the treatises concerning the creation of man. They say, therefore, that this Audaeus said that darkness, and fire, and water are unbegotten. But those who have taken his name conceal these things. They make the excuse that they flee the communion of the Church because of the 83.429 usurers and those who cohabit with women, even though many worse things are dared among themselves. And they do not see that it is not easy even for the strictest of bishops to cut them off; but there is need for accusers, and need for witnesses, according to the apostolic law: "For," he says, "do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses." But that the ecclesiastical laws punish those who are caught, the things that happen everywhere on land and sea bear witness. For both bishops, and deacons, and presbyters are separated from the ecclesiastical rolls. But these men boastfully grant remission of sins. For having divided the sacred books along with the spurious ones into two parts (for they especially consider these to be apocryphal and mystical), and having placed them in rows on this side and that, they command each one to pass between them, and to confess his sins; then they grant remission to those who have confessed; not appointing a time for repentance, as the statutes of the Church command, but granting pardon by their own authority. But those passing through, knowing that what is happening is a game, conceal their true sins, and say some small things, and worthy of laughter, which one would hesitate to even say, unless he shared their madness. XI. —Concerning the Messalians, that is, the Euchites and Enthusiasts. The Messalians (this name, when translated into the Greek language, means the Euchites), say that baptism does not profit those who approach it at all; for like a razor it takes away former sins, but does not cut out the root of sin; but constant prayer both pulls up the root of sin by the roots, and drives out from the soul the evil demon that has been allotted to it from the beginning. For they say that a demon immediately accompanies every man who is born, and that this demon incites him to wicked deeds. And neither baptism nor anything else can drive this demon from the soul, but only the power of prayer. They say that the indwelling demon goes out through mucus and the excretions of spittle. Thus deceived, these thrice-wretched men pursue no work (for they call themselves spiritual), but supposedly being devoted to prayer, they sleep for the greater part of the day. Then, deceived by the demon that drives them to frenzy, they say they have seen revelations, and they attempt to foretell the future; but they are proven to be lying by the events. And they are haughty, claiming to see the Father, and the Son, and the All-holy Spirit, with the eyes of the body, and to receive the sensation of the 83.432 Spirit's visitation. But they are ready to deny, and if they are forced, they readily anathematize those who say any of these things. Immediately, therefore, when they were being judged before the all-praised Flavian, the bishop of the Antiochenes, they called the accusations that had been made slanders. But that all-wise man detected the hidden heresy. For pretending to be indignant against the accusers, and to be angry as though they had fabricated false reports, beside him

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προσηγόρευσε, καὶ ὦτα τὴν ἀκουστικὴν, καὶ χεῖρας τὴν πρακτικὴν, καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἐνεργείας ὡσαύτως. Τούτων οὐδὲν συνεὶς ὁ ἀνόητος, τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν τῷ Θεῷ μορφὴν περιτέ θεικεν. Οὕτω γὰρ ἐνόησε καὶ τό· "Ποιήσωμεν ἄν θρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν." Καὶ ἀλογίαν νοσῶν, τὸ μὲν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀόρατον καὶ ἀθάνατον οὐ συνεῖδε, τῷ δὲ σώματι μόνῳ τὸν λογι σμὸν προσαπήρεισε. Ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τούτου ἐν τοῖς περὶ τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου διαπλάσεως σὺν Θεῷ φάναι λεχθήσεται. Τοῦτον τοίνυν φασὶ τὸν Αὐ δαῖον, καὶ τὸ σκότος εἰπεῖν, καὶ τὸ πῦρ, καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ ἀγέννητα. Οἱ δὲ τῆς τούτου προσηγορίας μετειλη χότες κατακρύπτουσι ταῦτα. Σκήπτονται δὲ φεύγειν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὴν κοινωνίαν, διὰ τοὺς 83.429 τοκογλύφους, καὶ γυναιξὶ συνοικοῦντας, καίτοι πολ λῶν καὶ παρ' αὐτοῖς τολμωμένων χαλεπωτέρων. Καὶ οὐ συνορῶσιν, ὡς οὐδὲ τοῖς ἀκριβέσι τῶν ἐπισκόπων τὸ ἐκτέμνειν εὐπετές· ἀλλὰ χρεία μὲν κατηγόρων, χρεία δὲ μαρτύρων, κατὰ τὸν ἀποστολικὸν νόμον· "Κατηγορίαν γὰρ, φησὶ, κατὰ πρεσβυτέρου μὴ καταδέξῃ ἐκτὸς δύο ἢ τριῶν μαρτύρων." Ὅτι δὲ τοὺς ἁλισκομένους οἱ ἐκκλησιαστικοὶ κολά ζουσι νόμοι, μαρτυρεῖ πανταχοῦ γῆς καὶ θαλάττης τὰ γινόμενα. Καὶ γὰρ ἐπίσκοποι, καὶ διάκονοι, καὶ πρεσβύτεροι, τῶν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν καταλόγων χωρί ζονται. Οὗτοι δὲ ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτημάτων ποιεῖσθαι νεανιεύονται. ∆ιχῆ γὰρ τὰς ἱερὰς βίβλους μετὰ τῶν νόθων διελόντες (διαφερόντως γὰρ ταύτας νομίζουσιν ἀποκρύφους καὶ μυστικὰς), καὶ στιχηδὸν ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν τεθεικότες, διαβαίνειν ἕκαστον μεταξὺ τού των κελεύουσι, καὶ τὰ πλημμεληθέντα ὁμολογεῖν· εἶτα τοῖς ὡμολογηκόσιν δωροῦνται τὴν ἄφεσιν· οὐ χρόνον ὁριζόμενοι εἰς μετάνοιαν, καθὰ κελεύουσιν οἱ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας θεσμοὶ, ἀλλ' ἐξουσίᾳ ποιούμενοι τὴν συγχώρησιν. Εἰδότες δὲ οἱ διαβαίνοντες παιδιὰν τὸ γινόμενον, τὰ μὲν ἀληθῆ πλημμελήματα κατα κρύπτουσι, σμικρὰ δέ τινα λέγουσι, καὶ γέλωτος ἄξια, ἃ καὶ λέγειν ὀκνήσειεν ἄν τις, εἰ μὴ τὴν τού των ἔχοι φρενοβλάβειαν. ΙΑʹ. -Περὶ Μεσσαλιανῶν, ἤγουν Εὐχιτῶν καὶ Ἐνθουσιαστῶν. Μεσσαλιανοὶ δὲ (τοὔνομα δὲ τοῦτο μεταβαλλό μενον εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα φωνὴν, τοὺς Εὐχίτας σημαίνει), τὸ μὲν βάπτισμά φασι μηδὲν ὀνεῖν τοὺς προσ ιόντας· ξυροῦ γὰρ δίκην ἀφαιρεῖται τῶν ἁμαρτημά των τὰ πρότερα, τὴν δὲ ῥίζαν οὐκ ἐκκόπτει τῆς ἁμαρτίας· ἡ δὲ ἐνδελεχὴς προσευχὴ, καὶ τὴν ῥίζαν τῆς ἁμαρτίας πρόῤῥιζον ἀνασπᾷ, καὶ τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς συγκληρωθέντα πονηρὸν δαίμονα τῆς ψυχῆς ἐξελαύ νει. Ἑκάστῳ γάρ φασιν ἀνθρώπῳ τικτομένῳ παραυτίκα συνέπεσθαι δαίμονα, καὶ τοῦτον εἰς τὰς ἀτόπους πράξεις παρακινεῖν. Τοῦτον δὲ οὔτε τὸ βάπτισμα, οὔτε ἄλλο τι δύναται τῆς ψυχῆς ἐξελάσαι, ἀλλὰ μόνη τῆς προσευχῆς ἡ ἐνέργεια. Ἐξιέναι δέ φασι τὸν ἔνοικον δαίμονα διὰ κορύζης καὶ τῶν περιττωμάτων τοῦ πτύσματος. Οὕτως ἐξαπατηθέντες οἱ τρισάθλιοι ἔργον μὲν οὐδὲν μετίασι (πνευματικοὺς γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς ὀνομάζουσι), τῇ δὲ εὐχῇ δῆθεν ἐσχολα κότες, τῆς ἡμέρας τὸ πλεῖστον καθεύδουσιν. Εἶτα ὑπὸ τοῦ σφᾶς ἐκβακχεύσαντος δαίμονος ἐξαπατη θέντες, ἀποκαλύψεις ἑωρακέναι φασὶ, καὶ τὰ ἐσόμε να προλέγειν ἐπιχειροῦσιν· ἐλέγχονται δὲ διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων ψευδόμενοι. Βρενθύονται δὲ καὶ τὸν Πα τέρα βλέπειν, καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ τὸ πανάγιον Πνεῦμα, τοῖς τοῦ σώματος ὀφθαλμοῖς, καὶ τῆς γινομένης τοῦ 83.432 Πνεύματος ἐπιφοιτήσεως τὴν αἴσθησιν δέχεσθαι. Πρό χειροι δέ εἰσιν εἰς ἄρνησιν, κἂν βιασθῶσιν, ἀναθε ματίζουσιν εὐπετῶς τοὺς τούτων τι λέγοντας. Αὐτίκα τοίνυν ἐπὶ τοῦ πανευφήμου Φλαβιανοῦ, τοῦ τῆς Ἀν τιοχέων ἐπισκόπου, κρινόμενοι, συκοφαντίας ἐκάλουν τὰς γεγενημένας κατηγορίας. Ἀλλ' ὁ πάνσοφος ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ τὴν λανθάνουσαν ἐφώρασεν αἵρεσιν. Ἀγανακτεῖν γὰρ κατὰ τῶν κατηγόρων δόξας, καὶ χαλεπαίνειν ὡς ψευδεῖς λόγους συντεθεικότων, παρ' αὐτὸν