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is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” And in addition to these things, wishing to convict them of being more deeply deceived, he declared that the prophets, from whom indeed they affirmed that they had learned, died desiring truth and not having learned it, saying: “Many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and to hear what you hear, and I tell you truly, they neither saw nor heard.” Moreover, he said: “I am he of whom Moses prophesied, saying: The Lord our God will raise up for you a prophet from your brothers, just like me; listen to him in all things. But whoever will not listen to that prophet, shall die.” Whence it is impossible to attain to saving truth without his teaching, even if one should seek for an age where what is sought is not. And it was and is in the word of our Jesus. However, knowing the truths of the law, to the Sadducees who asked for what reason Moses allowed seven to marry, he said: “Moses, on account of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you; for from the beginning it was not so. For he who created man from the beginning made him male and female.” And to those who think (as the scriptures teach) that God swears, he said: “Let your yes be yes, and your no, no; for whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” And to those who say that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob died, he said: “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” And to those who suppose that God “tempts” (as the scriptures say), he said: “The evil one is the tempter,” who also tempted him. And to those who assume that God does not foreknow, he said: “For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, before you ask him.” And to those who believe (as the scriptures say) that he does not see all things, he said: “Pray in secret,” saying: “And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” And to those who suppose that he is not good (as the scriptures say), he said: “What man among you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him and to those who do his will?” And to those who affirm that he is in a temple, he said: “Do not swear by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool.” And to those who have preconceived that God desires sacrifices, he said: “God desires mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of him and not burnt offerings.” And to those who are persuaded that he is evil (as the scriptures say), he said: “Do not call me good; for one is good.” And again: “Be good and merciful as your Father in heaven, who makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” And to those who were deceived into supposing there are many gods (as the scriptures say), he said: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord.” Nevertheless, Simon, seeing that Peter was compelling him to use the scriptures as Jesus had taught, was unwilling for an examination to be made into the doctrine concerning God, although Peter had changed his ground as Simon himself had requested

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ἐστίν μου ὁ υἱὸς ὁ ἀγαπητός, εἰς ὃν εὐδόκησα, τούτου ἀκούετε». καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ἐπὶ πλεῖον αὐτοὺς πεπλανημένους ἐλέγξαι θέλων τοὺς προφήτας, παρ' ὧν δὴ μεμαθηκέναι ἐβεβαίουν, ἐπιθυμοῦντας ἀληθείας καὶ μὴ μεμαθηκότας τελευτήσαντας ἀπεφήνατο εἰπών· «Πολλοὶ προφῆται καὶ βασιλεῖς ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν, ἃ ὑμεῖς βλέπετε, καὶ ἀκοῦσαι, ἃ ὑμεῖς ἀκούετε, καὶ ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὔτε εἶδον οὔτε ἤκουσαν». ἔτι μὴν ἔλεγεν· «Ἐγώ εἰμι περὶ οὗ Μωυσῆς προεφήτευσεν εἰπών· Προφήτην ἐγερεῖ ὑμῖν κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑμῶν ὥσπερ καὶ ἐμέ· αὐτοῦ ἀκούετε κατὰ πάντα. ὃς ἂν δὲ μὴ ἀκούσῃ τοῦ προφήτου ἐκείνου, ἀποθανεῖται». ὅθεν ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν ἄνευ τῆς τούτου δι- δασκαλίας ἀληθείᾳ σῳζούσῃ ἐπιστῆναι, κἂν τὸν αἰῶνά τις ζητῇ ἔνθα τὸ ζητούμενον οὐκ ἔστιν. ἦν δὲ καὶ ἔστιν ἐν τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἡμῶν λόγῳ. πλὴν τἀληθῆ τοῦ νόμου εἰδὼς Σαδδουκαίοις πυνθανομένοις καθ' ὃν λόγον Μωυσῆς ἑπτὰ συνεχώρησεν γαμεῖν, ἔφη· «Μωυσῆς κατὰ τὴν σκλη- ροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν ἐπέτρεψεν ὑμῖν· ἀπ' ἀρχῆς γὰρ οὕτως οὐκ ἐγένετο. ὁ γὰρ κτίσας ἀπ' ἀρχῆς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐ- τόν». τοῖς δὲ νομίζουσιν (ὡς αἱ γραφαὶ διδάσκουσιν) ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ὀμνύει, ἔφη· «Ἔστω ὑμῶν τὸ ναὶ ναί, τὸ οὒ οὔ· τὸ γὰρ περισσὸν τούτων ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐστιν». καὶ τοῖς λέγουσιν ὅτι Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ ἀπέθανεν, ἔφη· «Oὐκ ἔστιν θεὸς νεκρῶν, ἀλλὰ ζώντων». τοῖς δὲ οἰομένοις ὅτι ὁ θεὸς «πειράζει» (ὡς αἱ γραφαὶ λέγουσιν) ἔφη· «Ὁ πο- νηρός ἐστιν ὁ πειράζων», ὁ καὶ αὐτὸν πειράσας. τοῖς δὲ ὑπολαμβάνου- σιν ὅτι ὁ θεὸς οὐ προγινώσκει, ἔφη· «Oἶδεν γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος ὅτι χρῄζετε τούτων ἁπάντων, πρὶν αὐτὸν ἀξιώσετε». τοῖς δὲ πι- στεύουσιν (ὡς αἱ γραφαὶ λέγουσιν) ὅτι μὴ πάντα βλέπει, ἔφη· «Ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ εὔχεσθε» εἰπών· «Καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ βλέπων τὰ κρυπτὰ ἀποδώσει ὑμῖν». τοῖς δὲ οἰομένοις αὐτὸν μὴ ἀγαθὸν εἶναι (ὡς αἱ γραφαὶ λέγουσιν) ἔφη· «Τίνα ὑμῶν αἰτήσει υἱὸς ἄρτον, μὴ λίθον ἐπιδώσει αὐτῷ; ἢ καὶ ἰχθὺν αἰτήσει, μὴ ὄφιν ἐπιδώσει αὐτῷ; εἰ οὖν ὑμεῖς, πονηροὶ ὄντες, οἴδατε δόματα ἀγαθὰ διδόναι τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος δώσει ἀγαθὰ τοῖς αἰτουμένοις αὐτὸν καὶ τοῖς ποιοῦσιν τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ;» τοῖς δὲ αὐτὸν διαβεβαιουμένοις ἐν ναῷ εἶναι ἔφη· «Μὴ ὀμόσητε τὸν οὐρανόν, ὅτι θρόνος θεοῦ ἐστιν, μήτε τὴν γῆν, ὅτι ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ ἐστιν». τοῖς δὲ προλαβοῦσιν ὅτι θυσιῶν ὀρέγεται ὁ θεός, ἔφη· «Ὁ θεὸς ἔλεος θέλει καὶ οὐ θυσίας, ἐπίγνωσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐχ ὁλο- καυτώματα». τοῖς δὲ πειθομένοις κακὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι (ὡς αἱ γραφαὶ λέ- γουσιν) ἔφη· «Μή με λέγε ἀγαθόν· ὁ γὰρ ἀγαθὸς εἷς ἐστιν». καὶ πάλιν· «Γίνεσθε ἀγαθοὶ καὶ οἰκτίρμονες ὡς ὁ πατὴρ ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ὃς ἀνα- τέλλει τὸν ἥλιον ἐπ' ἀγαθοῖς καὶ πονηροῖς καὶ φέρει τὸν ὑετὸν ἐπὶ δικαίοις καὶ ἀδίκοις». τοῖς δὲ ἠπατημένοις πολλοὺς θεοὺς ὑπονοεῖν (ὡς αἱ γραφαὶ λέγουσιν) ἔφη· «Ἄκουε Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν». Ὁμῶς ὁ Σίμων συνιδὼν ὅτι Πέτρος αὐτὸν συνάγει ταῖς γραφαῖς χρῆ- σθαι ὡς Ἰησοῦς ἐδίδαξεν, εἰς τὸν περὶ θεοῦ λόγον ἐξέτασιν γενέσθαι οὐκ ἠθέλησεν, καίτοιγε μεταθεμένου τοῦ Πέτρου ὡς αὐτὸς Σίμων ἠξίωσεν