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is it not clear that the arts were invented in part through the wisdom given by God to men? For this reason also Scripture, ascribing everything to God, cries out: "All wisdom is from the Lord." They lie therefore, or rather are foolish, who suppose the world to be eternal, being refuted by the facts themselves; but rather the divine Scripture speaks truly, saying: "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth." 3.77 I would gladly ask the wise again: Since for every smith's art a hammer and anvil and tongs come first, who is it that made these? Let them tell us, let them not begrudge us. But not understanding to take refuge with God, the maker of all things, who gave wisdom to the race of men and gave them the beginning of invention, but wishing to refute and construct arguments with their own thoughts, being besieged by perplexity and tempests of reasoning, they boastfully declare that the world is eternal and has no beginning. 3.78 For such things have become for them the proofs of their perplexity, such as they experience concerning man and concerning birds, that the one is from seed, the others from eggs. And if this is true, were men and birds from seed and egg at the same time as God, or were they not? And if they were, of necessity the seed and the eggs will be found to have existed before God and men and birds; but if they were not, let them submit to the divine Scripture, being taught by Moses: "God said: Let us make man in our image," and by the Apostle in Athens on the Areopagus: "This God who made the world and all things in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, made from one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted seasons and the boundaries of their dwelling, to seek God, if they might perhaps feel their way toward him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us; for in him we live and move and have our being." 3.79 As has been said before, then, the sons of Seth, that is, those called the sons of God, against the counsel of God, rushed of their own accord and choice towards the daughters of men, that is, those from the race of Cain, and were joined to them in marriage. Seizing upon these things as an occasion from them, God again made a dispensation; and those who had sinned He destroyed with a flood, but having saved the righteous man through the ark, He transferred him to this land, which is better and almost equal to paradise. The text 3.80 Again, it is impossible to speak of divine doctrines and the creation of the world or prophecy, unless one learns from divine revelation, or receives it from the God-bearing men, the prophets and apostles themselves, and all the divinely inspired Scripture; for it is impossible to learn any such thing either from conjectures or from jaws or from human wisdom. But that the creation of the world is in harmony with the doctrine of the Christians, all the divine Scripture, as has been said, proclaims, both Moses and the prophets, the Lord Christ and the apostles, as we have often mentioned. 3.81 For God divided the one space from the earth up to the highest heaven, placing the second heaven in the middle, making two spaces; and He assigned to this mortal and changeable state the lower space, but to the immortal and unchangeable the upper space, which is also called the kingdom of heaven, just as the Lord Christ also says concerning this in the Gospel according to Matthew thus: "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." And again: "And he will say to those on his right: Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," as if prepared from that time. 3.82 And again: "If I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to myself." And again: "One is taken and one is left"; "one is taken," so that He might say in heaven, and "one is left," so that He might say on the earth. And again: "Enter into the joy of your Lord," as if into heaven. And again:

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πρόδηλον ὅτι κατὰ μέρος αἱ τέχναι ἐφευρέθησαν διὰ τῆς σοφίας τῆς δεδομένης παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ Γραφὴ τῷ Θεῷ τὸ πᾶν ἀνατιθεμένη βοᾷ· "Πᾶσα σοφία παρὰ Κυρίου." Ψεύδονται τοίνυν, ἤτοι μωραίνουσιν, οἱ ἀΐδιον τὸν κόσμον ὑποτιθέμενοι, ἐλεγχόμενοι ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων· ἀληθεύει δὲ μᾶλλον ἡ θεία Γραφὴ λέγουσα· "Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν." 3.77 Ἡδέως ἂν πάλιν ἠρόμην τοὺς σοφούς· Πάσης χαλκευτικῆς τέχνης, σφύρας καὶ ἄκμονος καὶ λαβίδος προηγουμένων, τίς ὁ ταῦτα κατασκευάσας; Εἰπάτωσαν, μὴ φθονησάτωσαν ἡμῖν. Μὴ συνιέντες δὲ καταφυγεῖν πρὸς τὸν τῶν ὅλων ποιητὴν Θεόν, τὸν σοφίσαντα τὸ γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ δόντα αὐτοῖς τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ἐπινοίας, ἀλλ' ἰδίαις ἐνθυμή σεσι θέλοντες ἀνασκευάζειν καὶ κατασκευάζειν τοὺς λόγους, ἀπορίᾳ πολιορκούμενοι καὶ τρικυμίαις λογισμῶν, ἀλαζονευόμενοι λοιπὸν ἀΐδιον τὸν κόσμον λέγουσι καὶ ἀρχὴν μὴ ἔχειν. 3.78 Τὰ τοιαῦτα γὰρ αὐτοῖς τῆς ἀπορίας ἐγένοντο τεκμήρια, οἷον πάσχουσι καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρνιθίων, ὅτι ὁ μὲν ἐκ σπέρματος, τὰ δὲ ἐξ ᾠῶν; Καὶ εἰ τοῦτο ἀληθές, ἅμα τῷ Θεῷ ἄνθρωποι καὶ ὄρνιθες ἐκ σπέρματος καὶ ᾠοῦ ἦσαν, ἢ οὐκ ἦσαν; Καὶ εἰ μὲν ἦσαν, ἐξ ἀνάγκης εὑρεθήσεται τὸ σπέρμα καὶ τὰ ᾠὰ προϋπάρχοντα τοῦ τε Θεοῦ καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τῶν ὀρνίθων· εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἦσαν, ὑποκύψωσι τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ διδασκόμενοι παρὰ μὲν Μωϋσέως· "Εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν", παρὰ δὲ τῷ Ἀποστόλῳ ἐν Ἀθήναις ἐν τῷ Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ· "Οὗτος ὁ Θεὸςὁ ποιήσας τὸν κόσμον καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ· οὗτος οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ὑπάρχων Κύριος ἐποίησέ τε ἐξ ἑνὸς πᾶν ἔθνος ἀνθρώπων κατοικεῖν ἐπὶ παντὸς προσώπου τῆς γῆς, ὁρίσας προστεταγμένους καιροὺς καὶ τὰς ὁροθεσίας τῆς κατοικίας αὐτῶν, ζητεῖν τὸν Θεόν, εἰ ἆρα γε ψηλαφήσειεν αὐτόν, εἰ εὕροιεν, καίτοι οὐ μακρὰν ἀπὸ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου ἡμῶν ὑπάρχοντα· ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καί ἐσμεν." 3.79 Ὡς προείρηται οὖν, οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ Σήθ, τουτέστιν οἱ καλούμενοι υἱοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, παρὰ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ αὐτονόμως καὶ αὐθαιρέτως ὥρμησαν πρὸς τὰς θυγατέρας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τουτέστι τὰς ἐκ τοῦ γένους τοῦ Κάϊν οὔσας, καὶ συνήφθησαν αὐταῖς πρὸς γάμον. Πρὸς ταῦτα ἀφορμῆς αὐτῶν δραξάμενος ὁ Θεὸς πεποίηκε πάλιν οἰκονομίαν· καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἁμαρτήσαντας κατακλυσμῷ διέφθειρε, διὰ δὲ τῆς κιβωτοῦ τὸν δίκαιον διασώσας ἐν τῇ γῇ ταύτῃ μετέστησε, κρείττονι ὑπαρχούσῃ καὶ σχεδὸν ἴσῃ τοῦ παραδείσου. Τὸ κείμενον 3.80 Θεῖα δὲ πάλιν δόγματα καὶ κατασκευὴν κόσμου ἢ προφητείαν ἀμήχανον εἰπεῖν, εἰ μὴ ἐκ θείας ἀποκαλύψεώς τις μάθῃ, ἢ ἐκ τῶν θεοφόρων ἀνδρῶν, αὐτῶν τῶν προφητῶν καὶ ἀποστόλων, καὶ πάσης τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς παραλάβῃ· ἀμήχανον γὰρ ἢ ἐκ στοχασμῶν ἢ ἀπὸ γνάθων ἢ ἐκ σοφίας ἀνθρωπίνης μαθεῖν τι τοιοῦτον. Ὅτι δὲ ἡ κατασκευὴ τοῦ κόσμου ἁρμόζει τῷ δόγματι τῶν χριστιανῶν, πᾶσα, ὡς εἴρηται, κηρύττει ἡ θεία Γραφή, Μωϋσῆς τε καὶ οἱ προφῆται, ὁ ∆εσπότης Χριστὸς καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι, ὡς πολλάκις ἐμνημονεύσαμεν. 3.81 ∆ιεῖλε γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἕνα χῶρον ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἕως τοῦ ἀνωτέρου οὐρανοῦ μεσάσας τὸν δεύτερον οὐρανόν, ποιήσας χώρους δύο· καὶ ἀπένειμε τῇ θνητῇ καὶ τρεπτῇ ταύτῃ καταστάσει τὸν κατάγαιον χῶρον, τῇ δὲ ἀθανάτῳ καὶ ἀτρέπτῳ τὸν ἀνάγαιον χῶρον, ὃς καὶ βασιλεία οὐρανῶν κέκληται, ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ ∆εσπότης Χριστὸς λέγει περὶ τούτου ἐν τῷ κατὰ Ματθαῖον Εὐαγγελίῳ οὕτως· "Ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἀναστάσει οὔτε γαμοῦσιν, οὔτε γαμίσκονται, ἀλλ' ὡς ἄγγελοι Θεοῦ εἰσὶν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ." Καὶ πάλιν· "Καὶ ἐρεῖ τοῖς ἐκ δεξιῶν· ∆εῦτε, οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ Πατρός μου, κληρονομήσατε τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου", ὡσανεὶ ἐκ τότε ἡτοιμασμένην. 3.82 Καὶ πάλιν· "Ἐὰν ὑψωθῶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς, πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν." Καὶ πάλιν· "Εἷς παραλαμβάνεται καὶ εἷς ἀφίεται"· τὸ "εἷς παραλαμβάνεται", ἵνα εἴπῃ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ "εἷς ἀφίεται", ἵνα εἴπῃ ἐν τῇ γῇ. Καὶ πάλιν· "Εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ Κυρίου σου", ὡσανεὶ εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. Καὶ πάλιν·