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who for many years had been troubled by demons and many passions, gnashing their teeth with wailing and falling down with supplication, having rebuked them and ordered them to be quiet and having promised their healing after he had spoken, he began to speak thus: Beginning to make the argument for piety to those who are completely ignorant of all things and whose minds are stained by the slanders of our adversary Simon, I thought it necessary first to make the argument that one ought not to blame the God who has made all things, beginning not from anywhere else but from the very pretext providentially and opportunely suggested by him, so that it might be known how reasonably the many were possessed by many demons and seized by strange passions, in order that in this also the justice of God might be revealed. And those who through ignorance blame him, now at last learning how they ought to think, will, through reverence and good deeds, retract their former accusation, putting forward ignorance as the cause of their wicked audacity for their pardon. It is thus: The only good God having made all things well and having delivered them to man, who was made in his image, he who was born, breathing the divinity of him who made him, being a true prophet and knowing all things, for the honor of the Father who bestowed all things on him and for the salvation of the sons born of him, as a genuine father preserving goodwill towards the children born of him, wishing them, for their own benefit, to love God and to be loved by him, revealed the way that leads to his friendship, teaching by what human actions the only God and master of all is gladdened, and, having declared the things pleasing to him, he established an eternal law for all things, which could neither be consumed by war, nor be adulterated by any impious person, nor be hidden away in one place, but could be read by all. Therefore, from obedience to the law, all things were abundant for them, the finest of fruits, the seasons perfect and without pain and without disease, bestowed without fear with every temperate condition of the airs. But since they had not first experienced evils, being insensible to the gift of good things, through abundant food and luxury they were turned to ingratitude, so as to think there was no providence, since they had not first toiled at righteousness and then received good things as a reward, as none of them had fallen under any suffering or disease or any other necessity, so that (as is common for men who have been afflicted by evil through sin) they might look around for a God who is able to heal. But indeed, immediately after the contempt arising from fearlessness and secure luxury, a just punishment met them, as if fitted to them in consequence of a certain harmony, repelling the good things as having been harmful, and introducing evil things in their place as being beneficial. For of the spirits inhabiting heaven, the angels who inhabit the lowest region, being vexed at the ingratitude of men towards God, ask to come into the life of men, so that, having truly become men, by a superior manner of life having convicted those who were ungrateful to him

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δαιμόνων τε καὶ πολλῶν παθῶν ἐκ πολλῶν χρόνων ἐνοχλουμένους, βρύχον- τάς τε μετὰ οἰμωγῆς καὶ πίπτοντας μετὰ ἱκεσίας, ἐπιτιμήσας αὐτοῖς καὶ ἡσυ- χίαν ἔχειν προστάξας καὶ τὴν ἴασιν μετὰ τὸ διαλεχθῆναι ὑποσχόμενος τοῦ λέγειν ἤρξατο οὕτως· Ἀρχόμενος τὸν ὑπὲρ θεοσεβείας λόγον ποιεῖσθαι τοῖς παντελῶς ἀγνοοῦσι τὰ πάντα καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν τοῦ ἀντικειμένου ἡμῖν Σίμωνος διαβολῶν ἐσπιλω- μένοις τὸν νοῦν, ἀναγκαῖον ἡγησάμην πρῶτον ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν μέμφεσθαι τὸν τὰ πάντα πεποιηκότα θεὸν τὸν λόγον ποιήσασθαι, οὐκ ἄλλοθεν ἀρχό- μενος ἢ ἀπ' αὐτῆς τῆς κατὰ πρόνοιαν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ εὐκαίρως ὑποβληθείσης προφάσεως, ἵνα γνωσθῇ ὡς εὐλόγως οἱ πολλοὶ ὑπὸ πολλῶν δαιμόνων συνεσχέ- θησαν καὶ ὑπὸ ἀλλοκότων παθῶν κατελήφθησαν, ὅπως καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ δίκαιον φανῇ. καὶ οἱ δι' ἄγνοιαν μεμφόμενοι αὐτὸν κἂν νῦν μαθόντες ὡς δεῖ φρονεῖν, δι' εὐφημίας τε καὶ εὐποιίας τοῦ προτέρου ἐγκλήματος ἑαυτοὺς ἀνακαλέσονται, αἰτίαν τοῦ κακοῦ τολμήματος τὴν ἄγνοιαν εἰς τὴν συγγνώμην προθέμενοι. ἔχει δὲ οὕτως· τοῦ μόνου ἀγαθοῦ θεοῦ τὰ πάντα καλῶς πεποιηκότος καὶ παραδεδωκότος τῷ κατ' εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ γενομένῳ ἀνθρώπῳ, ὁ γεγονὼς τῆς τοῦ πεποιηκότος αὐτὸν πνέων θειότητος, ἀληθὴς προφήτης ὢν καὶ εἰδὼς τὰ ὅλα, εἰς τιμὴν τοῦ πάντα αὐτῷ δωρησαμένου πατρὸς καὶ εἰς σωτηρίαν τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ γενομένων υἱῶν, ὡς πατὴρ γνήσιος πρὸς τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γενομένους παῖδας ἀποσσζων τὸ εὔνουν, βουλόμε- νος αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον αὐτοῖς φιλεῖν θεὸν καὶ φιλεῖσθαι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, τὴν πρὸς φιλίαν αὐτοῦ ἄγουσαν ἐξέφηνεν ὁδόν, διδάξας ποίαις ἀνθρώπων πράξεσιν ὁ μόνος καὶ πάντων δεσπότης θεὸς εὐφραίνεται, καὶ τὰ ἐκείνῳ δοκοῦντα ἐκφήνας νόμον αἰώνιον ὥρισεν τοῖς ὅλοις, μήτε πο- λέμῳ ἐμπρησθῆναι δυνάμενον μήθ' ὑπὸ ἀσεβοῦς τινος ὑπονοθευόμενον μήτε ἑνὶ τόπῳ ἀποκεκρυμμένον, ἀλλὰ πᾶσιν ἀναγνωσθῆναι δυνά- μενον. ἦν οὖν αὐτοῖς ἐκ τῆς πειθαρχίας τοῦ νόμου πάντα ἄφθονα, τὰ τῶν καρπῶν κάλλιστα, τὰ τῶν ἐτῶν τέλεια καὶ ἄλυπα καὶ ἄνοσα, μετὰ πάσης τῆς τῶν ἀέρων εὐκρασίας ἀδεῶς δεδωρημένα. οἱ δὲ ἐπεὶ μὴ πρῶτον τῶν κακῶν ἐπειράθησαν, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν δωρεὰν ἀναισθήτως ἔχοντες ὑπὸ τῆς ἀφθόνου τροφῆς καὶ τρυφῆς εἰς ἀχαριστίαν ἐξετρέποντο, ὡς νομίσαι αὐτοὺς μήδ' εἶναι πρόνοιαν, ἐπεὶ μὴ πρότερον καμόντες ἐπὶ δικαιοσύνης ὡς μισθὸν τὰ ἀγαθὰ εἰλήφεσαν, ἅτε μηδενὸς αὐτῶν ἢ πάθει τινὶ ἢ νόσῳ ἢ ἄλλῃ τινὶ ἀνάγκῃ ὑποπεσόντος, ἵνα (ὡς ἀνθρώποις φίλον ἐστὶν ὑπὸ τῆς κακῆς δι' ἁμαρτίας κακωθεῖσιν) ἑαυτοῖς τὸν ἰᾶσθαι δυνάμενον περιβλέψωνται θεόν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ εὐθέως μετὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἀφοβίας καὶ ἀδεοῦς τρυφῆς καταφρόνησιν ὥσπερ ἐξ ἁρμονίας τινὸς ἀκολούθως ἐφηρμοσμένης δικαία τις αὐτοῖς ἀπήντησεν τιμωρία, τὰ μὲν ἀγαθὰ ὡς βλάψαντα ἀπωθοῦσα, τὰ δὲ κακὰ ὡς ὠφελήσοντα ἀντεισφέρουσα. Τῶν γὰρ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐνοικούντων πνευμάτων οἱ τὴν κατωτάτω χώραν κατοικοῦντες ἄγγελοι, ἀχθεσθέντες ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς θεὸν ἀχαριστίᾳ αἰτοῦνται εἰς τὸν ἀνθρώπων ἐλθεῖν βίον, ἵνα ὄντως ἄνθρωποι γενόμενοι, ἐπὶ πολιτείᾳ πλείονι τοὺς εἰς αὐτὸν ἀχαριστήσαντας ἐλέγξαντες