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Malachi the prophet foretold: "Behold, the day of the Lord comes as a burning furnace, and it will burn up all the ungodly." and Isaiah: "For the wrath of God shall come <as fire and> as hail brought down with violence and as rushing water in a ravine." Therefore the Sibyl and the other prophets, but also the poets and philosophers have themselves declared concerning righteousness and judgment and punishment; and moreover also concerning providence, that God cares not only for us who are living but also for the dead, though they spoke unwillingly; for they were convicted by the truth. And of the prophets, Solomon said concerning the dead: "There will be healing for the flesh and care for the bones." and the same also David: "The humbled bones will rejoice." And in accordance with these Timocles has spoken, saying: God, being gracious, has mercy on the dead. And so the writers, after speaking of a multitude of gods, came down to monarchy, and after speaking of a lack of providence, they spoke of providence, and after asserting there is no judgment, they confessed that there will be a judgment, and those who deny there is sensation after death have confessed it. Homer, for instance, having said: "The soul, like a dream, has flown away and vanished," in another place says: "The soul, flying from the limbs, had gone to Hades," and again: "Bury me as quickly as possible, that I may pass the gates of Hades." And concerning the others, whom you have read, I think you know exactly in what manner they have spoken. But everyone who seeks the wisdom of God will understand all these things and who pleases him through faith and righteousness and good works. For a certain prophet of those we have written of before, by name Hosea, said: "Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? Prudent, and he shall know them? For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the ungodly shall be weak in them." Therefore it is necessary for the lover of learning also to love learning. Try therefore to meet more frequently, so that by hearing a living voice as well, you may learn the truth accurately. Theophilus to Autolycus, greeting. Since the writers want to compose a multitude of books for empty glory, some concerning gods and wars or times, and others of useless myths and the rest of vain labor, which you also practiced until now, and you do not shrink from enduring that toil, but meeting with us you still think the word of truth to be nonsense, supposing our scriptures to be recent and new, for this very reason I too will not hesitate, God granting, to set forth for you in summary the antiquity of our writings, making a memorandum for you in brief, so that you may not hesitate to read it, and may recognize the nonsense of the other composers. For it was necessary that the writers themselves be eyewitnesses of the things they affirm, or to have learned accurately from those who had seen them. For in a certain way those who write about obscure things the air

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Μαλαχίας ὁ προφήτης προείρηκεν· "Ἰδοὺ ἡμέρα ἔρχεται κυρίου ὡς κλίβανος καιόμενος, καὶ ἀνάψει πάντας τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς." καὶ Ἠσαΐας· "Ἥξει γὰρ ὀργὴ θεοῦ <ὡς πῦρ καὶ> ὡς χάλαζα συγ- καταφερομένη βίᾳ καὶ ὡς ὕδωρ σῦρον ἐν φάραγγι." Τοίνυν Σίβυλλα καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ προφῆται, ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ οἱ ποιηταὶ καὶ φιλόσοφοι καὶ αὐτοὶ δεδηλώκασιν περὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ κρίσεως καὶ κολάσεως· ἔτι μὴν καὶ περὶ προνοίας, ὅτι φροντίζει ὁ θεὸς οὐ μόνον περὶ τῶν ζώντων ἡμῶν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν τεθνεώτων, καίπερ ἄκοντες ἔφασαν· ἠλέγχοντο γὰρ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας. καὶ τῶν μὲν προφητῶν Σολομὼν περὶ τῶν τεθνηκότων εἶπεν· "Ἔσται ἴασις ταῖς σαρξὶν καὶ ἐπιμέλεια τῶν ὀστέων." τὸ δ' αὐτὸ καὶ ∆αυίδ· "Ἀγαλ- λιάσεται ὀστᾶ τεταπεινωμένα." τούτοις ἀκόλουθα εἴρηκεν καὶ Τιμοκλῆς, λέγων· Τεθνεῶσιν ἔλεος ἐπιεικὴς θεός. καὶ περὶ πλήθους οὖν θεῶν οἱ συγγραφεῖς εἰπόντες καθῆλθον εἰς μοναρχίαν, καὶ περὶ ἀπρονοησίας λέγοντες εἶπον περὶ προνοίας καὶ περὶ ἀκρισίας φάσκοντες ὡμολόγησαν ἔσεσθαι κρίσιν, καὶ οἱ μετὰ θάνατον ἀρνούμενοι εἶναι αἴσθησιν ὡμολόγησαν. Ὅμηρος μὲν οὖν εἰπών· Ψυχὴ δ' ἠΰτ' ὄνειρος ἀποπταμένη πεπότηται, ἐν ἑτέρῳ λέγει· Ψυχὴ δ' ἐκ ·εθέων πταμένη Ἄϊδόσδε βεβήκει, καὶ πάλιν· Θάπτε με ὅττι τάχιστα πύλας Ἀΐδαο περήσω. Τὰ δὲ περὶ τῶν λοιπῶν, οὓς ἀνέγνωκας, ἡγοῦμαί σε ἀκριβῶς ἐπίστασθαι ᾧ τρόπῳ εἰρήκασιν. ταῦτα δὲ πάντα συνήσει πᾶς ὁ ζητῶν τὴν σοφίαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εὐαρεστῶν αὐτῷ διὰ πίστεως καὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἀγαθοεργίας. καὶ γάρ τις εἶπεν προφήτης ὧν προεγράψαμεν, ὀνόματι Ὠσηέ· "Τίς σοφὸς καὶ συνήσει ταῦτα, συνετὸς καὶ γνώσεται; ὅτι εὐθεῖαι αἱ ὁδοὶ τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ δίκαιοι εἰσελεύσονται ἐν αὐταῖς, οἱ δὲ ἀσεβεῖς ἀσθενήσουσιν ἐν αὐταῖς." χρὴ οὖν τὸν φιλομαθῆ καὶ φιλομαθεῖν. πειράθητι οὖν πυκνότερον συμβαλεῖν, ὅπως καὶ ζώσης ἀκούσας φωνῆς ἀκριβῶς μάθῃς τἀληθές. Θεόφιλος Aὐτολύκῳ χαίρειν. Ἐπειδὴ οἱ συγγραφεῖς βούλονται πληθὺν βίβλων συγγράφειν πρὸς κενὴν δόξαν, οἱ μὲν περὶ θεῶν καὶ πολέμων ἢ χρόνων, τινὲς δὲ καὶ μύθων ἀνωφελῶν καὶ τῆς λοιπῆς ματαιοπονίας, ἧς ἤσκεις καὶ σὺ ἕως τοῦ δεῦρο, κἀκείνου μὲν τοῦ καμάτου οὐκ ὀκνεῖς ἀνεχόμενος, ἡμῖν δὲ συμβαλὼν ἔτι λῆρον ἡγῇ τυγχάνειν τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας, οἰόμενος προσφάτους καὶ νεωτερικὰς εἶναι τὰς παρ' ἡμῖν γραφάς, διὸ δὴ κἀγὼ οὐκ ὀκνήσω ἀνακεφαλαιώσασθαί σοι παρέχοντος θεοῦ τὴν ἀρχαιότητα τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν γραμμάτων, ὑπόμνημά σοι ποιού- μενος δι' ὀλίγων, ὅπως μὴ ὀκνήσῃς ἐντυγχάνειν αὐτῷ, ἐπιγνῷς δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν συνταξάντων τὴν φλυαρίαν. Ἐχρῆν γὰρ τοὺς συγγράφοντας αὐτοὺς αὐτόπτας γεγενῆσθαι περὶ ὧν διαβεβαιοῦνται, ἢ ἀκριβῶς μεμαθηκέναι ὑπὸ τῶν τεθεα- μένων αὐτά. τρόπῳ γάρ τινι οἱ τὰ ἄδηλα συγγράφοντες ἀέρα