Chapter XXVIII.—The Tables Turned Upon Marcion, by Contrasts, in Favour of the True God.

Now, touching the weaknesses and malignities, and the other (alleged), notes (of the Creator), I too shall advance antitheses in rivalry to Marcion’s. If my God knew not of any other superior to Himself, your god also was utterly unaware that there was any beneath himself. It is just what Heraclitus “the obscure”748    Tenebrosus. Cicero, De finibus, ii. says: “Heraclitus qui cognomento Σκοτεινὸς perhibetur, quia de natura nimis obscure memoravit.” said; whether it be up or down,749    Sursam et deorsum. An allusion to Heraclitus’ doctrine of constant change, flux and reflux, out of which all things came. Καὶ τὴν μεταβολὴν ὁδὸν ἄνω κάτω, τόν τε κόσμον γίνεσθαι κατὰ ταύτην, κ.τ.λ. “Change is the way up and down; the world comes into being thus,” etc. (Diogenes Laertius, ix. 8). it comes to the same thing. If, indeed, he was not ignorant (of his position), it must have occurred to Him from the beginning. Sin and death, and the author of sin too—the devil—and all the evil which my God permitted to be, this also, did your god permit; for he allowed Him to permit it. Our God changed His purposes;750    Sententias. in like manner yours did also. For he who cast his look so late in the human race, changed that purpose, which for so long a period had refused to cast that look.  Our God repented Him of the evil in a given case; so also did yours. For by the fact that he at last had regard to the salvation of man, he showed such a repentance of his previous disregard751    Dissimulationes. as was due for a wrong deed. But neglect of man’s salvation will be accounted a wrong deed, simply because it has been remedied752    Non nisi emendata. by his repentance in the conduct of your god.  Our God you say commanded a fraudulent act, but in a matter of gold and silver. Now, inasmuch as man is more precious than gold and silver, in so far is your god more fraudulent still, because he robs man of his Lord and Creator. Eye for eye does our God require; but your god does even a greater injury, (in your ideas,) when he prevents an act of retaliation.  For what man will not return a blow, without waiting to be struck a second time.753    Non repercussus. Our God (you say) knows not whom He ought to choose. Nor does your god, for if he had foreknown the issue, he would not have chosen the traitor Judas. If you allege that the Creator practised deception754    Mentitum. in any instance, there was a far greater mendacity in your Christ, whose very body was unreal.755    Non verum. An allusion to the Docetism of Marcion. Many were consumed by the severity of my God. Those also who were not saved by your god are verily disposed by him to ruin.  My God ordered a man to be slain.  Your god willed himself to be put to death; not less a homicide against himself than in respect of him by whom he meant to be slain. I will moreover prove to Marcion that they were many who were slain by his god; for he made every one a homicide: in other words, he doomed him to perish, except when people failed in no duty towards Christ.756    Nihil deliquit in Christum, that is, Marcion’s Christ. But the straightforward virtue of truth is contented with few resources.757    Paucis amat. Many things will be necessary for falsehood.

CAPUT XXVIII.

Nunc et de pusillitatibus, et malignitatibus, caeterisque notis, et ipse adversus Marcionem antitheses aemulas faciam. Si ignoravit Deus meus esse alium super se, etiam tuus omnino non scivit esse alium infra se. Quod enim ait Heraclitus ille tenebrosus , 0318B eadem via sursum et deorsum. Denique si non ignorasset, et ab initio ei occurrisset. Delictum et mortem, et ipsum auctorem delicti diabolum, et omne malum, quod Deus meus passus est esse; hoc et tuus, qui illum pati passus est. Mutavit sententias suas Deus noster. Proinde qua et vester. Qui enim genus humanum tam sero respexit, eam sententiam mutavit, qua tanto aevo non respexit. Poenituit in aliquo Deum nostrum. Sed et vestrum. Eo enim quod tandem animadvertit ad hominis salutem, poenitentiam dissimulationis pristinae fecit, debitam malo facto. Porro malum factum deputabitur negligentia salutis humanae, nonnisi per poenitentiam emendata apud Deum vestrum. Mandavit fraudem Deus noster; sed auri et argenti. Quanto autem homo pretiosior auro et 0318C argento, tanto fraudulentior Deus vester, qui hominem Domino et factori suo eripit. Oculum pro oculo reposcit Deus noster; sed et vester vicem prohibens, iterabilem magis injuriam facit. Quis enim non rursus percutiet, non repercussus? Nesciit Deus noster quales allegeret? Ergo nec vester Judam traditorem adlegisset, si praescisset. Sic et mentitum alicubi dicis Creatorem: longe majus mendacium est in tuo Christo, cujus corpus non fuit verum. Multos saevitia Dei mei absumpsit? Tuus quoque Deus, quos salvos non facit, utique in exitium disponit. Deus meus aliquem jussit occidi? Tuus semetipsum voluit interfici; non minus homicida in semetipsum, 0319A quam in eum a quo vellet occidi, Multos autem occidisse Deum ejus probabo Marcioni. Nam fecit homicidam, utique periturum, nisi si populus nihil deliquit in Christum. Sed expedita virtus veritatis paucis amat. Multa mendacio erunt necessaria.