Chapter XXXV.—Yet More Discrepancies. Just Now the Sex of Bythus Was an Object of Dispute; Now His Rank Comes in Question.  Absurd Substitutes for Bythus Criticised by Tertullian.

There are some who do not claim the first place for Bythus, but only a lower one. They put their Ogdoad in the foremost rank; itself, however, derived from a Tetrad, but under different names. For they put Pro-arche (Before the Beginning) first, Anennœtos (Inconceivable) second, Arrhetos (Indescribable) third, Aoratos (Invisible) fourth. Then after Pro-arche they say Arche (Beginning) came forth and occupied the first and the fifth place; from Anennœtos came Acataleptos (Incomprehensible) in the second and the sixth place; from Arrhetos came Anonomastos (Nameless) in the third and the seventh place; from Aoratos309    Tertullian, however, here gives the Latin synonyme, Invisibilis. came Agennetos (Unbegotten) in the fourth and the eight place. Now by what method he arranges this, that each of these Æons should be born in two places, and that, too, at such intervals, I prefer to be ignorant of than to be informed. For what can be right in a system which is propounded with such absurd particulars?

CAPUT XXXV.

Sunt qui nec principatum Bytho defendant, sed postumatum; Ogdoadem ante omnia praemittentes, ex Tetrade quidem et ipsam, sed et aliis nominibus derivatam. Primo enim constituunt Proarche, secundo Anennoeton, tertio Arrheton , quarto Aoraton. Ex Proarche itaque processisse primo et quinto loco Archen: ex Anennoeto, secundo et sexto loco Acatalepton: ex Arrheto tertio et septimo loco Anonomaston: ex invisibili, quarto et octavo loco 0590B Agenneton. Hoc quae ratio disponat, ut singula binis locis, et quidem tam intercisis, nascantur, malo ignorare quam discere. Quid enim recti habent, quae tam perversae proferuntur ?