61

they may hunt for wickedness. «but the judgment of these» according to what is written «is just», as the holy apostle Paul said; for because of their 1.305 evil deeds the recompense will be rendered to them. For having fearlessly given over their mind to a frenzy, they have surrendered themselves to the passions of countless pleasures. For they say that whatever things are considered by men to be evil are not evil, but good by nature; for nothing is evil by nature, but is considered by men to be base. And if anyone does all these things in this one presence, his soul is no longer reincarnated to be cast down again, but having accomplished every deed under one, it will be released, having been freed and no longer owing anything of what must be done in the world. But what kind of deed I fear to say again, lest I uncover the sewer of a covered-up mire, as it were, and seem to some to be causing an intake of pestilential stench. But nevertheless, since we are compelled by truth to reveal the things of the deceived, I will force myself to speak more soberly and not to step outside of the truth. What else but that they commit every unspeakable and unlawful deed, which it is not lawful to bring to the lips, and every form of sodomy and of more wanton intercourse with women in every member of the body; and performing magic and sorcery and idolatry, they say this is the work of rendering 1.306 the debts in the body so that it may no longer be accused or be about to be required to do any work of action, and for this reason the soul is not to turn back after its release from here and proceed again to reincarnation and transfusion. 5. For their treatises are such that an intelligent person, upon reading them, would be amazed and astonished and disbelieve if these things could be done by humans, not only of those who dwell in our city, but also of those with wild beasts and like wild beasts and cattle * and, so to speak, of those who dare to do the things of dogs and swine. For they say it is necessary to make every use of these things in every way, so that the souls, having departed and lacking some deed, may not on this account be turned back again into bodies to do again what they did not do. And this is, they say, what Jesus said in the Gospel through the parable: that «Come to terms with your adversary while you are on the way with him, and work to be released from him, lest the adversary hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the last penny». But they 1.307 fabricate a certain myth for the interpretation of this parable, and say that the adversary is one of those angels who made the world and has been fashioned for this very purpose, to lead the souls that depart from here out of their bodies to the judge; and there they are convicted; but not having performed every work, they are handed over by the ruler to the officer. And the officer is an angel, serving the judge, the world-maker, in order to bring the souls back again and pour them into different bodies. And this is the adversary, whom we said the Lord spoke of in the Gospel, whom they say is one of the world-making angels, having the name Devil. For they say that the prison is the body, and they wish the last penny to be the reincarnation; * in each presence of bodies to perform the last deed and no longer to leave anything unlawful to be done. For it is necessary, they say as we have said before, having gone through and done everything one by one and been freed, to ascend to the unknown one above, having passed beyond the world-makers and the world-maker. And they say again that it is necessary, having done them even in one presence of the reincarnation, to then depart upwards freed; but if they do not do them in one presence, in each presence of reincarnation having done them little by little

61

κακίας θηράσωνται. «τὸ δὲ κρίμα τούτων» κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον «ἔνδικόν ἐστιν», ὡς ὁ ἅγιος ἀπόστολος Παῦλος ἔφη· διὰ γὰρ τὰς 1.305 κακὰς αὐτῶν πράξεις τὸ ἀνταπόδομα ἀποδοθήσεται αὐτοῖς. ἀδεῶς γὰρ τὸν νοῦν αὐτῶν εἰς οἶστρον ἐκδεδωκότες πάθεσιν ἡδονῶν μυρίων ἑαυτοὺς παραδεδώκασι. φασὶ γὰρ ὅτι ὅσα νομίζεται παρὰ ἀνθρώποις κακὰ εἶναι οὐ κακὰ ὑπάρχει, ἀλλὰ φύσει καλά οὐδὲν γάρ ἐστι φύσει κακόν, τοῖς δὲ ἀνθρώποις νομίζεται εἶναι φαῦλα. καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ἐάν τις πράξῃ ἐν τῇ μιᾷ ταύτῃ παρουσίᾳ, οὐκέτι μετενσωματοῦται αὐτοῦ ἡ ψυχὴ εἰς τὸ πάλιν ἀντικαταβληθῆναι, ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ ἓν ποιήσασα πᾶσαν πρᾶξιν ἀπαλλαγήσεται, ἐλευθερωθεῖσα καὶ μηκέτι χρεωστοῦσά τι τῶν πρὸς πρᾶξιν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. ποίαν δὲ πρᾶξιν δέδια πάλιν εἰπεῖν, μὴ βορβόρου δίκην κεκαλυμμένου ὀχετὸν ἀποκαλύψω καί τισι δόξω λοιμώδους δυσοδμίας ἐργάζεσθαι τὴν ἐμφόρησιν. ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐπειδήπερ ἐξ ἀληθείας συνεχόμεθα τὰ παρὰ τοῖς ἠπατημένοις ἀποκαλύψαι, σεμνότερον εἰπεῖν τε καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας μὴ ἔξω βαίνειν ἐμαυτὸν καταναγκάσω. τί δὲ ἀλλ' ὅτι πᾶσαν ἀρρητουργίαν καὶ ἀθέμιτον πρᾶξιν, ἣν οὐ θεμιτὸν ἐπὶ στόματος φέρειν, οὗτοι πράττουσιν καὶ πᾶν εἶδος ἀνδροβασιῶν καὶ λαγνιστέρων ὁμιλιῶν πρὸς γυναῖκας ἐν ἑκάστῳ μέλει σώματος· μαγείας τε καὶ φαρμακείας καὶ εἰδωλολατρείας ἐκτελοῦντες τοῦτο εἶναί φασιν ἐργασίαν ἀποδόσεως 1.306 τῶν ἐν τῷ σώματι ὀφλημάτων εἰς τὸ μηκέτι ἐγκαλεῖσθαι ἢ μέλλειν τι πράξεως ἔργον ἀπαιτεῖσθαι, καὶ τούτου ἕνεκα μὴ ἀποστρέφεσθαι τὴν ψυχὴν μετὰ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἀπαλλαγὴν καὶ πάλιν εἰς μετενσωμάτωσιν καὶ μεταγγισμὸν χωρεῖν. 5. Οὕτως γὰρ ἔχει τὰ αὐτῶν συντάγματα ὡς ἀναγνόντα τὸν συνετὸν θαυμάζειν καὶ ἐκπλήττεσθαι καὶ ἀπιστεῖν εἰ ταῦτα οὕτως ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπων γενήσεται, οὐ μόνον τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς πόλιν κατοικούντων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν μετὰ θηρῶν καὶ ὁμοίων θηρσὶ καὶ κτήνεσι * καὶ σχεδὸν εἰπεῖν τὰ κυνῶν καὶ ὑῶν πράττειν τολμώντων. φασὶ γὰρ δεῖν πάντως πᾶσαν χρῆσιν τούτων ποιεῖσθαι, ἵνα μὴ ἐξελθοῦσαι καὶ ὑστερήσασαί τινος ἔργου τούτου ἕνεκα καταστραφῶσιν εἰς σώματα πάλιν αἱ ψυχαὶ εἰς τὸ πρᾶξαι αὖθις ἃ μὴ ἔπραξαν. καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι, φασίν, ὅπερ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ εἶπεν διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς ὅτι «ἴσθι εὐνοῶν τῷ ἀντιδίκῳ σου ἐν ᾧ εἶ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ μετ' αὐτοῦ καὶ δὸς ἐργασίαν ἀπηλλάχθαι ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, μή πως ὁ ἀντίδικος παραδῷ σε τῷ κριτῇ καὶ ὁ κριτὴς τῷ ὑπηρέτῃ, καὶ ὁ ὑπηρέτης βάλῃ σε εἰς φυλακήν· ἀμὴν λέγω σοί, οὐ μὴ ἐξέλθῃς ἐκεῖθεν, ἕως ἂν ἀποδῷς τὸν ἔσχατον κοδράντην». μῦθον δέ τινα 1.307 πλάττουσιν οἱ αὐτοὶ πρὸς ἐπίλυσιν τῆς παραβολῆς ταύτης καί φασιν εἶναι τὸν ἀντίδικον ἐκεῖνον τῶν τὸν κόσμον πεποιηκότων ἀγγέλων ἕνα καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο κατεσκευάσθαι, εἰς τὸ ἀπάγειν τὰς ψυχὰς πρὸς τὸν κριτὴν τὰς ἐντεῦθεν ἐξερχομένας ἐκ τῶν σωμάτων ἐκεῖσε δὲ ἐλεγχομένας· μὴ ποιησάσας δὲ πᾶσαν ἐργασίαν παραδίδοσθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄρχοντος τῷ ὑπηρέτῃ. ἄγγελον δὲ εἶναι τὸν ὑπηρέτην, ἐξυπηρετούμενον τῷ κριτῇ τῷ κοσμοποιῷ εἰς τὸ φέρειν τὰς ψυχὰς πάλιν καὶ εἰς σώματα καταγγίζειν διάφορα. εἶναι δὲ τὸν ἀντίδικον τοῦτον, ὃν ἔφημεν τὸν κύριον εἰρηκέναι ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ, ὃν οὗτοι ἄγγελον ἕνα τῶν κοσμοποιῶν φασιν, ὄνομα ἔχοντα ∆ιάβολον. φασὶ γὰρ εἶναι τὴν φυλακὴν τὸ σῶμα, τὸν δὲ ἔσχατον κοδράντην θέλουσιν εἶναι τὴν μετενσωμάτωσιν· * καθ' ἑκάστην παρουσίαν σωμάτων ἐπιτελεῖν ἐσχάτην πρᾶξιν καὶ μηκέτι ὑπολείπεσθαι πρὸς τὸ ἀθέμιτόν τι πρᾶξαι. δεῖ γάρ, φασὶν ὡς προείπαμεν, πάντα διελθοῦσαν καὶ πράξασαν καθ' ἕκαστον καὶ ἐλευθερωθεῖσαν ἀνελθεῖν πρὸς τὸν ἄνω ἄγνωστον, ὑπερβᾶσαν τοὺς κοσμοποιοὺς καὶ τὸν κοσμοποιόν. φασὶ δὲ πάλιν ὅτι δεῖ κἄν τε ἐν μιᾷ παρουσίᾳ τῆς μετενσωματώσεως πραξάσας λοιπὸν ἄνω ἐλευθερωθείσας ἀπιέναι· εἰ δὲ μὴ ἐν μιᾷ παρουσίᾳ πράξωσι, καθ' ἑκάστην παρουσίαν μετενσωματώσεως κατὰ βραχὺ ποιησάσας