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I will wish to go into detail, relating one by one the absurd 1.277 teachings of their falsely-named knowledge. But others of them, again busying themselves in different ways and striking and being struck in their faces, introduce a certain prophet Barkabbas, worthy of his very name. For 'kabbas' is interpreted as fornication in the Syriac dialect, but murder in the Hebrew, and again it is interpreted as a fourth part of a measure; but such a thing is worthy of mockery and laughter, or rather of indignation, among those who know this name in their own languages. And they bring us from this most wonderful prophet a shameful narrative, so that we might be persuaded to approach corruptible bodies and fall away from the hope from above, not being ashamed to recount in their own words the deeds of fornication, again the erotic poems of Cypris. But others of them again introduce a certain counterfeit, attractive work, to which work they have given a name, calling this the Gospel of Perfection. And truly this is not a gospel, but a grief of perfection. For the entire perfection of death is contained in such a sowing of the devil. Others are not ashamed to speak of a Gospel 1.278 of Eve. For in her name, supposedly as one who found the food of knowledge from the revelation of the serpent that spoke to her, * they propose a sowing. And just as in the unsteady mind of one who is drunk and talking nonsense the words would not be consistent, but some made for laughter and others full of weeping, so has the sowing of evil by these deceivers become in every way. 3. And they start from foolish visions and testimonies in which gospel they make their proclamations. For they say thus: 'I stood on a high mountain and saw a tall man and another one stunted, and I heard as it were a voice of thunder and I drew near to hear and it spoke to me and said: I am you and you are I, and wherever you are, I am there, and I am sown in all things. And from wherever you wish, you gather me, but in gathering me you gather yourself.' And oh, the sowing of the devil! From where has he diverted the mind of humanity and distracted it to foolish and incoherent things, away from the word of truth? For there is almost no need for one who has sense to bring about the overthrow of these things from scripture or from examples or from any other matter. For to right reason their stage-play of foolish talk and work of adulterers is manifest and detectable. By introducing these and such things, those concerned with 1.279 'knowledge,' joined to the heresy of Nicolas, have fallen away from the truth, not only diverting the mind of those persuaded by them, but also enslaving their bodies and souls to fornication and promiscuity; defiling their very gathering, forsooth, in the shamefulness of promiscuity, both eating and touching human flesh and impurities. Of which things I will not dare to speak out in full, unless I should be compelled on account of the excess of my grieving mind concerning the things done by them in vain, being astounded to what a mass and abyss of evils the enemy of men, the devil, leads those who obey him, so as to defile the mind and heart and hands and mouths and bodies and souls of these who have been ensnared by him in such great darkness. But I fear lest I might somehow reveal this whole great poison, like the face of some basilisk serpent, more to the harm of those who encounter it than to their correction. For the blasphemous assembly of great audacity truly pollutes the ears, as does the collection and narration of its shamefulness and the filthy malice of its charlatan-like obscenity, so that by some they are naturally called Borborians, but others call them Koddians—for a 'kodda' is called in the Syriac dialect a small dish or bowl, from the inability of some to with

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ἐθελήσω λεπτολογῆσαι, τὰ ἄτοπα 1.277 αὐτῶν τῆς ψευδωνύμου γνώσεως διδάγματα καθ' ἕκαστον ὑφηγούμενος. ἄλλοι δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν, διαφόρως πάλιν ἐπεντριβόμενοι τάς τε ὄψεις αὐτῶν κρούοντες καὶ περικρουόμενοι, Βαρκαββᾶν τινα προφήτην παρεισάγουσιν, ἄξιον τοῦ αὐτοῦ ὀνόματος. καββᾶ γὰρ ἑρμηνεύεται πορνεία κατὰ τὴν Συριακὴν διάλεκτον, φονοκτονία δὲ κατὰ τὴν Ἑβραϊκήν, καὶ πάλιν ἑρμηνεύεται τετάρτη μοῖρα τοῦ μέτρου· χλεύης δὲ καὶ γέλωτος τὸ τοιοῦτον, μᾶλλον δὲ σχετλιασμοῦ ἄξιον παρὰ τοῖς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦτο ἐπισταμένοις κατὰ τὰς ἰδίας γλώσσας. φέρουσι δὲ ἡμῖν ἐκ τούτου τοῦ θαυμασιωτάτου προφήτου διήγησιν αἰσχράν, ὅπως φθοριμαίοις σώμασι πλησιάσαι πεισθῶμεν καὶ τῆς ἄνωθεν ἐλπίδος ἐκπέσωμεν, οὐκ αἰσχυνόμενοι αὐτοῖς τοῖς ῥήμασι τὰ τῆς πορνείας διηγεῖσθαι πάλιν ἐρωτικὰ τῆς Κύπριδος ποιητεύματα. ἄλλοι δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν πάλιν ἐπίπλαστον εἰσάγουσιν ἀγώγιμόν τι ποίημα, ᾧ ποιητεύματι ἐπέθεντο ὄνομα, εὐαγγέλιον τελειώσεως τοῦτο φάσκοντες. καὶ ἀληθῶς οὐκ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ πένθος τῆς τελειώσεως. πᾶσα γὰρ ἡ τοῦ θανάτου τελείωσις ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ ὑποσπορᾷ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐμφέρεται. ἄλλοι δὲ οὐκ αἰσχύνονται λέγοντες εὐαγγέλιον 1.278 Εὔας. εἰς ὄνομα γὰρ αὐτῆς, δῆθεν ὡς εὑρούσης τὸ βρῶμα τῆς γνώσεως ἐξ ἀποκαλύψεως τοῦ λαλήσαντος αὐτῇ ὄφεως, * σπορὰν ὑποτίθενται. καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν ἀστάτῳ γνώμῃ μεθύοντος καὶ παραλαλοῦντος οὐκ ἴσα εἴη τὰ ῥήματα, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν γέλωτι πεποιημένα ἕτερα δὲ κλαυθμοῦ ἔμπλεα, οὕτως ἡ τῶν ἀπατεώνων γέγονε κατὰ πάντα τρόπον τῆς κακίας ὑποσπορά. 3. Ὁρμῶνται δὲ ἀπὸ μωρῶν ὀπτασιῶν καὶ μαρτυριῶν ἐν ᾧ εὐαγγελίῳ ἐπαγγέλλονται. φάσκουσι γὰρ οὕτως ὅτι «ἔστην ἐπὶ ὄρους ὑψηλοῦ καὶ εἶδον ἄνθρωπον μακρὸν καὶ ἄλλον κολοβόν, καὶ ἤκουσα ὡσεὶ φωνὴν βροντῆς καὶ ἤγγισα τοῦ ἀκοῦσαι καὶ ἐλάλησε πρός με καὶ εἶπεν· ἐγὼ σὺ καὶ σὺ ἐγώ, καὶ ὅπου ἐὰν ᾖς, ἐγὼ ἐκεῖ εἰμι, καὶ ἐν ἅπασίν εἰμι ἐσπαρμένος. καὶ ὅθεν ἐὰν θέλῃς, συλλέγεις με, ἐμὲ δὲ συλλέγων ἑαυτὸν συλλέγεις». καὶ ὦ τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου ὑποσπορᾶς. πόθεν τὸν νοῦν ἐξέτρεψε τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος καὶ εἰς μωρὰ καὶ ἀσύστατα περιέσπασεν ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ἀληθείας; οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ σχεδὸν τῷ νοῦν ἔχοντι χρεία ἀπὸ γραφῆς ἢ ἀπὸ παραδειγμάτων ἢ ἑτέρου τινὸς πράγματος ποιεῖσθαι τούτων τὴν ἀνατροπήν. τῷ γὰρ ὀρθῷ λογισμῷ εὔδηλος αὐτῶν καὶ φωρατὴ ἡ τῆς μωρολογίας δραματουργία καὶ μοιχῶν ἐργασία. ταῦτά τοι καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα εἰσηγούμενοι οἱ ἀμφὶ τὴν 1.279 γνῶσιν συνεζευγμένοι τῇ τοῦ Νικολάου αἱρέσει τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκπεπτώκασιν, οὐ μόνον τὸν νοῦν τῶν πεισθέντων αὐτοῖς ἐκτρέψαντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ σώματα καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς δουλώσαντες πορνείᾳ καὶ πολυμιξίᾳ· αὐτὴν δῆθεν τὴν σύναξιν αὐτῶν ἐν αἰσχρότητι πολυμιξίας φύροντες, ἔσθοντές τε καὶ παραπτόμενοι καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων σαρκῶν καὶ ἀκαθαρσιῶν. ὧν οὐ τολμήσω τὸ πᾶν ἐξειπεῖν, εἰ μή τι ἀναγκασθείην διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ἐν ἐμοὶ ἀλγούσης διανοίας περὶ τῶν ματαίως ὑπ' αὐτῶν γινομένων, ἐκπληττόμενος εἰς οἷον ὄγκον καὶ κακῶν βυθὸν ὁ ἐχθρὸς τῶν ἀνθρώπων διάβολος ἄγει τοὺς αὐτῷ πειθομένους, ὥστε μιᾶναι καὶ νοῦν καὶ καρδίαν καὶ χεῖρας καὶ στόματα καὶ σώματα καὶ ψυχὰς τούτων τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ τοσαύτῃ σκοτώσει παγιδευθέντων. δέδια δὲ μή πη ἄρα τὸν μέγαν τοῦτον ὅλον ἰὸν ἀποκαλύψαιμι, ὥσπερ βασιλίσκου τινὸς ὄφεως τὸ πρόσωπον, εἰς λύμην μᾶλλον τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ἤπερ εἰς διόρθωσιν. χραίνει μὲν γὰρ τὰ ὦτα ἀληθῶς ἡ τῆς μεγάλης τόλμης βλάσφημος συναγωγὴ καὶ τῆς αἰσχρότητος αὐτῆς συλλογή τε καὶ διήγησις καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀγυρτώδους αἰσχρουργίας βορβορώδης κακόνοια, ὡς καὶ παρά τισι φύσει Βορβοριανοὶ καλοῦνται, ἕτεροι δὲ Κοδδιανοὺς αὐτοὺς ἐπιφημίζουσι κοδδὰ γὰρ λέγεται κατὰ τὴν Συριακὴν διάλεκτον παροψὶς ἢ τρυβλίον, ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ δύνασθαί τινας μετ'