Contra Julianum Of the blessed Cyril, archbishop of Alexandria, an address to

 a fine thing for those who will encounter it, and for those who have a heart easily led astray and most readily carried away to things that are not fi

 1.1 Book One The wise and discerning, and those knowledgeable in the sacred doctrines, marvel at the beauty of the truth, and in every discourse have

 those after them would know the things of the first, and not rather those before them the things of the later Therefore, since the sons of the Hellen

 it was necessary to hide in the city of the Sun in Sippar. And Xisuthros, having accomplished these things, immediately sailed to Armenia, and straigh

 he made human affairs a preliminary exercise for more divine ones. Having brought the times down from Abraham to Moses, let us therefore begin here ag

 Azariah, also called Uzziah, governing the affairs of the Hebrews, and Arbaces of the Medes, and Proca Silvius of the Latins. 1.14 Therefore, from the

 coming together into a harmony of sound, Osirapis, so that in the same name Osiris and Apis might be understood. For both of these a death and a buria

 brought to them from Phoenicia, except that the things of Moses had been written And Solon, the discoverer of the laws in Athens, and indeed Plato hi

 stars and the elements of the world, fire and water, air and earth, from which all individual things are said to be composed but others again, having

 a time for the increase of what he had rightly learned sharpened his mind, then indeed, then he was taught the doctrines concerning the divinity more

 but the divine Abraham running up did not speak as to three: Lords, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant, but named the

 Upon the Sodomites who had sinned unbearably he sent the fire he rained, it says, upon Sodom fire and brimstone, the Lord from the Lord. 1.29 But to

 of nature and preeminence and worth would be reckoned both creator and creation, generated and ungenerated nature, incorruptible and under corruption,

 we are accustomed to grant the proper place, far from it but we also reckon ourselves among the children of Abraham. For we are the sons according to

 full of various counsels, and likewise that Leto suggests forgetfulness, and Hermes both memory and reason. Then he takes up natural philosophy and ex

 to them, and are some torn apart so as to think and say different things? But I would say, O excellent one, that those who were the first and earliest

 is, being a mixture of all the ages, and light of his own powers and works, the beginning of all things, a luminary in heaven, and father of all, mind

 Indeed, the sun which seems all-shining does not even seem to allow one to see himself, but if anyone gazes upon him shamelessly, he takes away his si

 what has been said by them concerning the Holy Spirit. For Porphyry says, setting forth the opinion of Plato, that the divine substance proceeded as f

 that not a few of the wise men among the Greeks, being self-willed, have gone astray, and have held opinions that rise up against each other, but ther

 found saying, setting this forth both in the middle and at the end, he would show that the arguments of his refutation were not, I suppose, produced i

 they set up their plot for the souls of the more simple. For they deceived those throughout all the earth, saying that the heaven and the other elemen

 having contrasted them with the Greeks' as being superior, how does he demand that we be silent, and make no mention at all of the things among them,

 Then do you think you have deliberated well, and not rather that you will suffer the very worst of all evil reputation? But if he should wish to under

 they reject certain foods, but they fear none of the strange things. And in addition to this they delight the supreme Zeus, having chosen to honor his

 belching forth according to what seems right to each, how could they not be thought to be guessers rather than men of knowledge of the truth? For some

 Of Plato. Consider, then, what he says about the creator and what words he puts in his mouth in the cosmogony, so that we may compare the cosmogony of

 distributed to all upon the earth, Moses was a helper and was shown to be an introducer of the most beautiful teachings to all, first by having cried

 it is not easy even for those who have known him to say he is capable in all things. And again, elsewhere: To this common conception of all men there

 the earth, and Apollo the sun and the golden-spindled, resounding one, that is Artemis, the moon? And simply applying to each of the things made by Go

 The supreme nature is understood and exists beyond all, beyond mind, reason, and wonder, having willed to make the living being like itself, as far as

 I will place upon you who are under me this commandment given to you through my Word for this law you have. For as I said just now, the Creator estab

 proclaimed, and thinks it a small thing to have been given by God to human nature to be made by Him in His image and likeness. And yet how would not a

 Did the Creator of all things entrust to other gods the necessity of laboring over the creation of the three kinds? From indolence, then, they might s

 it will campaign against His glory to think that others are also able to create and to call into existence the things that once were not for it is no

 of all nature. If, then, two things are acknowledged as existing, that which comes into being and that which makes, they are one by union, the one pre

 weave mortal to it? It is clear, then, that the demiurgic gods, having received creative power from their own father, generated the mortal animals upo

 of the ruling substances, and so he says: For Empedocles, Strife divides, and Friendship unites and this is also incorporeal for him, but the element

 of others, whatever things may have been made, and reaching even to the most insignificant of them. Is this not then a joke, tell me, and babbling hen

 if each one should need it, and showing that such a great and immeasurable creation is not without a superintendent, through which things it is well-o

 of God, and the earth his footstool. Rightly so, o noble one for I will recall God himself saying through one of the holy prophets. Heaven is my thro

of all nature. If, then, two things are acknowledged as existing, that which comes into being and that which makes, they are one by union, the one preceding, the other following; God the maker precedes, and that which comes into being, whatever it may be, follows. And let him not, because of the diversity of things that come into being, be on his guard, fearing to attach humility and dishonor to God; for to Him it is one glory to make all things, and this creation is, as it were, the body of God. But to Him who makes, nothing is considered evil or shameful. For these are the affections that follow upon generation, like rust on bronze and filth on the body; but neither did the coppersmith make the rust, nor did the parents make the filth. And after other things, he again comes with warmer words, setting forth a clear example, and says: Then is it permitted for the same painter to make heaven and earth and sea and gods and men and all irrational and inanimate things, but for God it is not possible to make all things? Oh, what great folly and ignorance concerning God! For such men suffer the most terrible thing of all; for claiming to revere and bless God, by not ascribing the creation of all things to Him, they do not even know God; and besides not knowing, they also commit the greatest impiety against Him, attributing to Him an affection of arrogance or inability. For if He does not make all things, He does not make them out of pride or because He is unable, which is impious; for God has only one affection, the good, and the one who is good is neither proud nor unable. For this is God: the good, the all-power to make all things. And that which is generated comes to be by the good and by the one who is able to make all things. But if you wish to learn how He Himself makes, and how the things that come into being are made, you may; see a most beautiful and similar image: a farmer casting seed into the earth, here wheat, there barley, and elsewhere another of the seeds; see the same one planting a vine and an apple tree and the other trees; so also God sows immortality in heaven, change on earth, and life and motion in the universe. 2.43 And these things, indeed, the ancient wise men among the Greeks, who were not insignificant, both thought for themselves and also deemed it right for others to choose to think. But this moderate and solitary man, having bid farewell to the opinions of others, is overcome by the words of Plato alone, and indeed he tries to explain clearly, as he thinks wisely, the public address which he says was made by him in the person of God, and says: {JULIAN} But is this not a dream? Considering it, learn. Plato names as gods the visible sun and moon, stars and heaven, but these are images of the invisible; the sun that appears to our eyes is of the intelligible and not visible, and again the moon that appears to our eyes and each of the stars are images of the intelligible things. Plato, therefore, knows those invisible gods, who pre-exist and co-exist and were begotten and came forth from the Demiurge himself; reasonably, therefore, the Demiurge in his work, addressing the invisible gods, says: gods of the visible gods, clearly. And the common Demiurge of both is he who crafted heaven and earth and sea, and stars, having begotten their archetypes in the intelligible realms. Consider, then, that the things following these are also well; for there are lacking, he says, three mortal kinds, namely that of humans, and that of animals, and that of plants; for each of these is defined by its own principles; if, then, he says, each of these were to come into being by me, it would be entirely necessary for it to become immortal. For to the gods and to the visible cosmos there is no other cause of immortality than to have been generated by the Demiurge. 2.44 What then does he say? How much of it is immortal, must it have been given to these things by the Demiurge? and this is the rational soul; Therefore, having sown and begun the forms of these things, I, with your willing, will hand them over; and for the rest, you to the immortal

παντὸς φύσεως· Εἰ τοίνυν δύο ὡμολόγηται τὰ ὄντα, τό τε γινόμενον καὶ τὸ ποιοῦν, ἕν ἐστι τῇ ἑνώσει, τὸ μὲν προηγούμενον, τὸ δὲ ἑπόμενον· προηγούμενον μὲν ὁ ποιῶν Θεός, ἑπόμενον δὲ τὸ γινόμενον, ὅ τι ἂν ᾖ. Καὶ μὴ διὰ τὴν ποικιλίαν τῶν γινομένων φυλάξῃ, φοβούμενος ταπεινότητα καὶ ἀδοξίαν Θεῷ περιάψαι· μία γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐστι δόξα τὸ ποιεῖν πάντα, καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὥσπερ τὸ σῶμα ἡ ποίησις. Αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ ποιοῦντι οὐδὲν κακὸν οὐδὲ αἰσχρὸν νομιζόμενον. Ταῦτα γάρ ἐστι τὰ πάθη τὰ τῇ γενέσει παρεπόμενα, ὥσπερ ὁ ἰὸς τῷ χαλκῷ καὶ ὁ ῥύπος τῷ σώματι· ἀλλ' οὔτε ὁ χαλκουργὸς τὸν ἰὸν ἐποίησεν οὔτε τὸν ῥύπον οἱ γεννήσαντες. Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα πάλιν διὰ θερμοτέρων ἔρχεται λόγων, ἐναργὲς παράδειγμα τιθείς, καί φησιν· Εἶτα τῷ μὲν αὐτῷ ζωγράφῳ ἔξεστι καὶ οὐρανὸν ποιῆσαι καὶ γῆν καὶ θάλασσαν καὶ θεοὺς καὶ ἀνθρώπους καὶ πάντα τὰ ἄλογα καὶ ἄψυχα, τῷ δὲ Θεῷ οὐ δυνατὸν πάντα ποιεῖν; Ὦ πολλῆς ἀνοίας καὶ ἀγνωσίας τῆς περὶ τὸν Θεόν. Τὸ γὰρ πάντων δεινότατον πάσχουσιν οἱ τοιοῦτοι· τὸν γὰρ Θεὸν φάσκοντες εὐσεβεῖν τε καὶ εὐλογεῖν, τῷ μὴ τὴν πάντων ποίησιν ἀνατιθέναι αὐτῷ οὐδὲ τὸν Θεὸν ἴσασι· πρὸς δὲ τῷ μὴ εἰδέναι, καὶ τὰ μέγιστα εἰς αὐτὸν ἀσεβοῦσι, πάθος αὐτῷ περιτιθέντες ὑπεροψίαν ἢ ἀδυναμίαν. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ πάντα ποιεῖ, ὑπερηφανῶν οὐ ποιεῖ ἢ μὴ δυνάμενος, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀσεβές· ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς ἓν μόνον ἔχει πάθος, τὸ ἀγαθόν, ὁ δὲ ἀγαθὸς οὔτε ὑπερήφανος οὔτε ἀδύνατος. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Θεός, τὸ ἀγαθόν, ἡ πᾶσα δύναμις ποιεῖν πάντα. Τὸ δὲ γενητὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ καὶ τοῦ πάντα δυναμένου ποιεῖν γίνεται. Εἰ δὲ πῶς μὲν αὐτὸς ποιεῖ, πῶς δὲ τὰ γινόμενα γίνεται βούλει μαθεῖν, ἔξεστί σοι· ἴδε εἰκόνα καλλίστην καὶ ὁμοιοτάτην, γεωργὸν σπέρμα καταβάλλοντα εἰς τὴν γῆν, ὅπου μὲν πυρόν, ὅπου δὲ κριθήν, ὅπου δὲ ἄλλο τι τῶν σπερμάτων· ἴδε τὸν αὐτὸν ἄμπελον φυτεύοντα καὶ μηλέαν καὶ τἄλλα τῶν δένδρων· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐν μὲν οὐρανῷ ἀθανασίαν σπείρει, ἐν δὲ γῇ μεταβολήν, ἐν δὲ τῷ παντὶ ζωὴν καὶ κίνησιν. 2.43 Καὶ ταυτὶ μὲν οἱ πάλαι τῶν παρ' Ἕλλησι σοφῶν οὐκ ἄσημοι γεγονότες πεφρονήκασί τε αὐτοί, καὶ μὴν καὶ ἑτέρους ἑλέσθαι φρονεῖν ἠξίουν. Ὅ γε μὴν ἐπιεικὴς καὶ ἀτιμάγελος οὑτοσὶ ταῖς τῶν ἄλλων δόξαις ἐρρῶσθαι φράσας μόνων ἡττᾶται τῶν τοῦ Πλάτωνος λόγων, καὶ δὴ διατρανοῦν πειρᾶται, καθάπερ οὖν οἴεται, σοφῶς, ἣν ἐκ προσώπου Θεοῦ πεποιῆσθαί φησι δημηγορίαν αὐτῷ, καί φησιν· {ΙΟΥΛΙΑΝΟΣ} Ἀλλ' ἆρα μὴ τοῦτο ὄναρ ἐστίν, ἐννοήσαντες αὐτὸ μάθετε. Θεοὺς ὀνομάζει Πλάτων τοὺς ἐμφανεῖς ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην, ἄστρα καὶ οὐρανόν, ἀλλ' οὗτοι τῶν ἀφανῶν εἰσιν εἰκόνες· ὁ φαινόμενος τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν ἥλιος τοῦ νοητοῦ καὶ μὴ φαινομένου, καὶ πάλιν ἡ φαινομένη τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν σελήνη καὶ τῶν ἄστρων ἕκαστον εἰκόνες εἰσὶ τῶν νοητῶν. Ἐκείνους οὖν τοὺς ἀφανεῖς θεοὺς ἐνυπάρχοντας καὶ συνυπάρχοντας καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ∆ημιουργοῦ γεννηθέντας καὶ προελθόντας ὁ Πλάτων οἶδεν· εἰκότως οὖν φησιν ὁ ∆ημιουργὸς ὁ παρ' αὐτῷ θεοὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀφανεῖς λέγων, θεῶν τῶν ἐμφανῶν δηλονότι. Κοινὸς δὲ ἀμφοτέρων ∆ημιουργὸς οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τεχνησάμενος οὐρανὸν καὶ γῆν καὶ θάλασσαν, καὶ ἄστρα, γεννήσας ἐν τοῖς νοητοῖς τὰ τούτων ἀρχέτυπα. Σκόπει οὖν ὅτι καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τούτοις καλῶς· λείπει γάρ, φησί, τρία θνητὰ γένη, δηλονότι τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τὸ τῶν ζῴων, καὶ τὸ τῶν φυτῶν· τούτων γὰρ ἕκαστον ἰδίοις ὥρισται λόγοις· εἰ μὲν οὖν, φησί, καὶ τούτων ἕκαστον ὑπ' ἐμοῦ γένοιτο, παντάπασιν ἀναγκαῖον ἀθάνατον αὐτὸ γενέσθαι. Καὶ γὰρ τοῖς θεοῖς οὐδὲν ἄλλο τῆς ἀθανασίας αἴτιον καὶ τῷ φαινομένῳ κόσμῳ ἢ τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ ∆ημιουργοῦ γενέσθαι. 2.44 Τί οὖν φησιν· Ὁπόσον ἐστὶν ἀθάνατον, ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστιν ἐν τούτοις εἶναι παρὰ τοῦ ∆ημιουργοῦ δεδόσθαι; τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ἡ λογικὴ ψυχή· τούτων οὖν τὰ εἴδη καὶ ὑμῶν ἐθελόντων σπείρας καὶ ὑπαρξάμενος ἐγὼ παραδώσω· τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν ὑμεῖς ἀθανάτῳ