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to one who came to kiss, "Do not touch me, goat; for having touched106.4 you, you will set my beard on fire." And there have been not one Athena, but many: one who wanders and roams about Lake Tritonis, another the daughter of Oceanus, and another the daughter of Cronus, and many others. 106.5 Many Artemises: one the Ephesian, another the daughter of Zeus, and likewise not a few others. And Dionysuses too: the Theban, another son of Semele, the one over the Corybantes, and the one torn apart106.6 by the Titans and the Curetes, the one who initiates into the rite of eating raw flesh. 106.6 And Heracles, the one called by them Averter of Evil, whose deeds I will all pass over in silence, but I will point out one from among them all which is perhaps praised among them: it will suffice for him to have undergone this labor, so that salvation might come to the world. For if he had not deflowered fifty 106.7 virgins in one night, how would the world have been saved? Rather, it would have been destroyed. And simply I confess to you, I shrink from writing106.8 down their evil deeds in a list. 106.8 Furthermore, the most cruel kings and tyrants, having had certain persons much desired, and having buried them in the earth, having nothing more to bestow on them, since they themselves were also mortal like them, for their favor have handed106.9 over their tombs to be worshiped as those of gods by their own subjects, for the deception of life, under a wicked pretext, 106.9 as Antinous, who was buried in Antinoopolis, and lying in a pleasure boat was thus enrolled by Hadrian. And Timogenes in Asia, and Canopus the helmsman of Menelaus and his wife Menouthis, buried in Alexandria, are honored on the sea shore, twelve stades distant, and Marnas, the slave of Asterius the Cretan, among the Gazans, and Casius the ship-captain among the Pelusians. 107.1 Therefore, when you make all these things precise in the midst of the church, a bad † example of the deadly path * you * release those thus brought forward, and others you lead from adultery to self-control and not only do you free them from clandestine marriage, but also to despise * their own wife in continence, as still "the time is short," as the holy apostle says, and you catechize fornicators, so that having committed the unlawful deed before God and men they may not 107.2 be punished. And when, laboring, you hand over all these things by word and by deed, you persuade them to accept all things from you, having first done all things in deed and having formed them in yourselves, making your words credible through the deeds, by which you first taught107.3 yourselves, so that you might also make disciples of others. For you hold back and, being silent, 107.3 in the manner of the sun, which also in silence teaches all people everywhere; for as soon as it rises, though silent, it teaches everyone their skills. 107.4 And when you hand over the benefit of all these things to your own children, or rather most faithful brothers, you lead them on to walk upon the earth, but to have their "citizenship in heaven," and you engender in most of them a zeal for monks; 107.5 through the steadfastness and unfeigned faith in you, hating heretics, muzzling Manichaeans and Marcionites and the rest of their kind, you drive them from the fold of God, refuting all their pretexts and silencing107.6 them. For how many things do they dare to utter against God and against his holy prophets, being frivolous and empty of the Holy Spirit, and they blaspheme against the creator of all things, and whatever good things God has bestowed in the spirit through prophecy on all men through his holy prophets, these they hate, both the deepest things of the law and of the prophets, since they are earthly and 107.7 carnal, judging in an unspiritual manner, they do not understand. But they blaspheme in vain. Do not hesitate to immediately shake off their error from your hearers, refuting them from the true

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προσελθόντι φιλῆσαι «μὴ ἅψῃ, τράγε· ἁψά106.4 μενος γὰρ σοῦ ἐμπρήσεις τὰ γένεια». Ἀθηναῖ δὲ γεγόνασιν οὐ μία, ἀλλὰ πολλαί· μία μὲν ῥεμβομένη καὶ περὶ τὴν Τριτωνίδα λίμνην ἀλωμένη, ἄλλη δὲ ἡ Ὠκεανοῦ, ἑτέρα δὲ ἡ Κρόνου καὶ πολλαὶ ἄλλαι. 106.5 Ἀρτέμιδες πολλαί· μία μὲν ἡ Ἐφεσία, ἄλλη δὲ ἡ τοῦ ∆ιὸς καὶ ἄλλαι ὡσαύτως οὐκ ὀλίγαι. καὶ ∆ιόνυσοι δὲ ὁ Θηβαῖος, ἄλλος δὲ ὁ Σεμέλης, ὁ ἐπὶ τῶν Κορυβάντων καὶ ὁ ὑπὸ τῶν Τιτάνων διασπώ106.6 μενος καὶ Κουρήτων ὁ τὴν κρεωνομίαν μυῶν. Ἡρακλῆς δὲ ὁ λεγόμενος παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀλεξίκακος, οὗ τὰς πράξεις πάσας ἀποσιωπήσω, μίαν δὲ ἀπὸ πασῶν τὴν παρ' αὐτοῖς τάχα ἐπαινουμένην ὑποδείξω· ἀρκέσει τούτῳ τὸν κάματον τοῦτον ὑποστῆναι, ἵνα τῷ βίῳ σωτηρία γένηται. εἰ μὴ γὰρ ἔφθειρεν ἐν μιᾷ νυκτὶ πεντήκοντα 106.7 παρθένους, πῶς ὁ κόσμος ἐσῴζετο; μᾶλλον δὲ ὠλώλει. καὶ ἁπλῶς ὁμολογῶ σοι, περικακῶ τὰς κακὰς αὐτῶν πράξεις καταλογάδην ἀνα106.8 γράψαι. ἔτι δὲ βασιλεῖς καὶ τύραννοι ἀπηνέστατοι, ἐπιποθήτους τινὰς ἐσχηκότες καὶ τούτους ἐν γῇ κατορύξαντες, πλέον τι μὴ ἔχοντες τούτοις χαρίσασθαι οἷα δὴ καὶ αὐτοὶ φθαρτοὶ κατ' αὐτοὺς ὄντες, εἰς τὴν ἐκείνων εὔνοιαν τοὺς τάφους αὐτῶν ἐπὶ πλάνῃ τοῦ βίου τοῖς ἰδίοις ὑπηκόοις ἐπὶ κακῇ προφάσει ὡς θεῶν θρῃσκεύεσθαι παρα106.9 δεδώκασιν, ὡς ὁ Ἀντίνους ὁ ἐν Ἀντινόου κεκηδευμένος, καὶ ἐν λουσορίῳ πλοίῳ κείμενος ὑπὸ Ἀδριανοῦ οὕτως κατετάγη. Τιμογένης δὲ ἐν Ἀσίᾳ, Κάνωβός τε ὁ Μενελάου κυβερνήτης καὶ ἡ τούτου γυνὴ Ἐνμενουθὶς ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ τεθαμμένοι τιμῶνται πρὸς τῇ ὄχθῃ τῆς θαλάσσης, ἀπὸ δεκαδύο σημείων διεστῶτες, καὶ Μαρνᾶς δοῦλος Ἀστερίου τοῦ Κρητὸς παρὰ Γαζαίοις, Κάσιος δὲ ὁ ναύκληρος παρὰ Πηλουσιώταις. 107.1 Ταῦτα οὖν πάντα ὅταν ἐν μέσῃ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀκριβοῦτε, κακὸν † ὑπόδειγμα θανασίμης ὁδοῦ * τοὺς * οὕτω προαχθέντας ὑπολύετε, ἄλλους δὲ ἀπὸ μοιχείας εἰς σωφροσύνην φέρετε καὶ μὴ μόνον τοῦ κλεψιγαμεῖν αὐτοὺς ἀπαλλάττετε, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἰδίας γαμετῆς κατὰ ἐγκράτειαν * καταφρονεῖν, ὡς ἔτι «ὁ καιρὸς συνεσταλμένος ἐστίν», ὥς φησιν ὁ ἱερὸς ἀπόστολος, πόρνους δὲ κατηχεῖτε, ἵνα μὴ τὴν ἀθέμιτον πρᾶξιν παρὰ θεῷ τε καὶ ἀνθρώποις ἐργασάμενοι 107.2 τιμωρηθῶσιν. καὶ ὅταν πάντα ταῦτα διὰ στόματος καὶ δι' ἔργων κάμνοντες παραδῶτε, πείθετε αὐτοὺς τὰ πάντα ἐγκαταδέξασθαι ὑμῶν, ἔργῳ πάντα πρῶτον πράξαντες καὶ ἐν αὑτοῖς ἀνατυπωσάμενοι, τοὺς λόγους πιστοποιοῦντες διὰ τῶν πράξεων, οἷς ἑαυτοὺς πρῶτον ἐδι107.3 δάξατε, ἵνα καὶ ἑτέρους μαθητεύσητε. ἐπέχετε γὰρ καὶ σιωπῶντες 107.3 τρόπον ἡλίου τοῦ καὶ σιωπῇ πάντας πανταχοῦ διδάσκοντος· εὐθὺς γὰρ ἀνατέλλων καὶ σιωπῶν τὰς τέχνας αὐτῶν πάντας ἀναδιδάσκει. 107.4 καὶ ὅταν μὲν τούτων ἁπάντων τὴν ὠφέλειαν τοῖς ἑαυτῶν τέκνοις εἴτ' οὖν ἀδελφοῖς πιστοτάτοις παραδῶτε, προβιβάζετε μὲν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς μὲν βαδίζειν, «ἐν οὐρανῷ» δὲ ἔχειν «τὸ πολίτευμα», μοναχῶν 107.5 δὲ ζῆλον τοῖς πλείστοις ἐγγεννᾶτε· διὰ τῆς ἐν ὑμῖν στερρότητος καὶ ἀνυποκρίτου πίστεως αἱρεσιώτας στυγοῦντες, Μανιχαίους φιμοῦντες Μαρκιωνιστάς τε καὶ λοιποὺς ὁμοίους αὐτῶν, τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ μάνδρας ἀπελαύνετε, πάσας αὐτῶν τὰς προφάσεις παραλύοντες καὶ ἐπιστομί107.6 ζοντες. πόσα γὰρ κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ κατὰ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ προφητῶν τολμηρῶς καταφθέγγονται, κοῦφοι ὄντες καὶ κενοὶ ἀπὸ ἁγίου πνεύματος, εἴς τε τὸν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργὸν βλασφημοῦσι καὶ ὅσα καλὰ διὰ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ προφητῶν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις κατὰ προφητείαν ἐν πνεύματι ὁ θεὸς ἐχαρίσατο, οὗτοι μισοῦσι τά τε βαθύτατα τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν οἷα δὴ γεώδεις ὄντες καὶ 107.7 σωματικοί, ψυχικῶς ἀνακρίνοντες οὐ νοοῦσι. μάτην δὲ βλασφημοῦσιν. εὐθὺς τὴν αὐτῶν πλάνην μὴ ὀκνεῖτε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀκουόντων ἀποσείεσθαι ἐλέγχοντες αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἀληθινῶν