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might subject each one on the spot to a punishment according to their desert. When, therefore, having asked, they received, they changed themselves into every nature, being of a more divine substance and able to be easily changed into everything. And they became a precious stone and a conspicuous pearl and, as it might be, the most beautiful purple dye and glorious gold and every precious material. And they fell into the hands of some, and into the bosoms of others, and they were willingly stolen by them, and they changed into four-footed creatures and into reptiles, swimming and flying creatures, and into whatever they wished. which things the poets among you also, out of fearlessness, sing of at random, assigning, then, to one the many and various deeds of all. But when, having become these things, they convicted as covetous those who had seized them and changed themselves into human nature, so that, having lived piously and having shown the possibility of so living, they might subject the ungrateful to judgment, since they truly became men in all respects and had human desire, being overcome by this, they slipped into intercourse with women, with whom having been entwined and being ensnared by defilement and being completely emptied of their first power, they were not strong enough to re-form their members which had been turned from fire into the first undefiled state of their own nature. For by the weight of desire, their fire having ended in flesh, they journeyed the impious road downward; for they themselves have been restrained, fettered by the bonds of flesh, and are strongly bound, on account of which they were no longer able to ascend into the heavens. For after intercourse, being required to become what they formerly were and being no longer able to do so, because they were not able to make themselves anything else after their defilement, and wishing to please their beloveds, they showed them the marrows of the earth instead of themselves, I mean the flowers of metals, gold, copper, silver, iron and the like, along with all the most precious stones. And along with these enchanted stones they also handed down the arts for each matter and showed them magic and taught astronomy and the powers of roots and whatever it is impossible to be discovered by human thought, furthermore, the smelting of gold and silver and the like and the various dyes for garments. And simply everything, whatever is for the adornment and pleasure of women, are the inventions of the demons bound in the flesh. And from their bastard union bastard men were born, much greater than men in height, whom those after them named giants, not being serpent-footed and having taken up war against God, as the blasphemous myths of the Greeks sing, but beast-like in character and greater than men in size, since they came from angels, but less than angels, since they were born of women. God, therefore, knowing them to be grown savage and beast-like and not having the world sufficient for their own gluttony (for it was created in proportion to men and for human use), so that they might not, turning to the unnatural eating of animals out of lack of food, seem to be blameless, as having dared this out of necessity, the almighty God rained down manna for them, of every kind they desired, and they enjoyed everything which they wished; but they, by their bastard nature, with the pure food

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αὐτόθι τῇ κατ' ἀξίαν ἕκαστον ὑποβάλωσιν τιμωρίᾳ. ὁπότε οὖν αἰτήσαντες ἔλαβον, πρὸς πᾶσαν ἑαυτοὺς μετέβαλον φύσιν, ἅτε θειωδεστέρας ὄντες οὐσίας καὶ ·ᾳδίως πρὸς πάντα μετατρέπεσθαι δυνάμενοι. καὶ ἐγένοντο λίθος τίμιος καὶ μαργαρίτης περίβλεπτος πορφύρα τε εἰ τύχοι καλλίστη καὶ χρυσὸς ἔνδο- ξος καὶ πᾶσα πολυτίμιος ὕλη. καὶ τῶν μὲν εἰς χεῖρας, τῶν δὲ εἰς κόλπον ἐνέπιπτον καὶ ὑπὸ αὐτῶν ἑκόντες ἐκλέπτοντο, μετεβάλλοντο δὲ καὶ εἰς τετρά- ποδα καὶ εἰς ἑρπετὰ νηκτά τε καὶ πτηνὰ καὶ εἰς πᾶν ὅπερ ἤθελον. ἅτινα καὶ οἱ παρ' ὑμῖν ποιηταὶ ἀφοβίας αἰτίᾳ ὡς ἔτυχεν °δουσιν, ἑνὶ τοίνυν τὰς πάντων πολλὰς καὶ διαφόρους πράξεις ἀπονέμοντες. πλὴν ὅτε ταῦτα γενόμενοι τοὺς διαρπάσαντας αὐτοὺς πλεονέκτας ἤλεγξαν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀνθρώ πων φύσιν ἑαυτοὺς μετέβαλον, ἵνα ὁσίως πολιτευσάμενοι καὶ τὸ δυνα- τὸν τοῦ πολιτεύεσθαι δείξαντες τοὺς ἀχαρίστους εὐθύναις ὑποβάλωσιν, ἐπειδὴ ὄντως τὰ πάντα ἄνθρωποι ἐγίνοντο καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἔσχον τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην, ὑπὸ ταύτης κρατούμενοι εἰς γυναικῶν μίξιν ὤλισθον, αἷς συμπλακέντες καὶ μιασμῷ παγέντες καὶ τῆς πρώτης δυνάμεως παντελῶς κενωθέντες τὰ ἐκ πυρὸς τραπέντα μέλη εἰς τὸ πρῶτον αὐτῶν τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως ἀμίαντον μετασυγκρῖναι οὐκ ἐξίσχυσαν. τῷ γὰρ βάρει τῷ ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας εἰς σάρκα τελευτήσαντος αὐτῶν τοῦ πυρός, τὴν ἀσεβοῦσαν ὥδευσαν ὁδὸν κάτω· σαρκὸς γὰρ αὐτοὶ δεσμοῖς πεπεδημένοι κατέσχηνται καὶ ἰσχυρῶς δέδενται, οὗ ἕνεκεν εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνελθεῖν οὐκέτι ἐδυνήθη- σαν. μετὰ γὰρ συνουσίαν, ὃ τὸ πρῶτον ἐγίνοντο ἀπαιτηθέντες καὶ παρα- σχεῖν μηκέτι δυνηθέντες, διὰ τὸ ἄλλο τι μετὰ μιασμὸν ἑαυτοὺς ποιῆσαι μὴ δύνασθαι ἀρέσκειν τε ταῖς ἐρωμέναις βουλόμενοι ἀνθ' ἑαυτῶν τοὺς τῆς γῆς μυελοὺς ὑπέδειξαν, λέγω δὲ τὰ ἐκ μετάλλων ἄνθη, χρυσόν, χαλκόν, ἄργυρον, σίδηρον καὶ τὰ ὅμοια, σὺν τοῖς τιμιωτάτοις ἅπασιν λίθοις. σὺν τούτοις δὲ τοῖς μαγευθεῖσιν λίθοις καὶ τὰς τέχνας τῶν πρὸς ἕκαστα πραγμάτων παρέδοσαν καὶ μαγείας ὑπέδειξαν καὶ ἀστρονομίαν ἐδίδαξαν δυνάμεις τε ·ιζῶν καὶ ὅσα ποτὲ ὑπὸ ἀνθρωπίνης ἐννοίας εὑρε- θῆναι ἀδύνατον, ἔτι δὲ χρυσοῦ καὶ ἀργύρου καὶ τῶν ὁμοίων χύσιν τάς τε τῶν ἐσθήτων ποικίλας βαφάς. καὶ πάνθ' ἁπλῶς, ὅσαπερ πρὸς κόσμου καὶ τέρψεώς ἐστι γυναικῶν, τῶν ἐν σαρκὶ δεθέντων δαιμόνων ἐστὶν εὑρέματα. ἐκ δὲ τῆς νόθου μίξεως αὐτῶν ἄνθρωποι ἐγένοντο νό- θοι, πολλῷ γε τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατὰ κορυφὴν μείζους, οὓς οἱ μετὰ ταῦτα γίγαντας ὠνόμασαν, οὐ δρακοντόποδες ὄντες καὶ πρὸς θεὸν πόλεμον ἀράμενοι, ὡς οἱ βλάσφημοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων °δουσιν μῦθοι, ἀλλὰ θηριώδεις τὸν τρόπον καὶ μείζους μὲν ἀνθρώπων τὰ μεγέθη, ἐπείπερ ἐξ ἀγγέλων ἐγένοντο, ἀγγέλων δὲ ἐλάττους, ἐπείπερ ἐκ γυναικῶν γεγέννηντο. ὁ οὖν θεὸς εἰδὼς αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὸ θηριῶδες ἐξηγριωμένους καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἑαυτῶν πλησμονὴν τὸν κόσμον οὐκ ἔχοντας αὐτάρκη (πρὸς γὰρ ἀνθρώ πων ἀναλογίαν ἐδημιουργήθη καὶ χρῆσιν ἀνθρωπίνην), ἵνα μὴ ἐνδείᾳ τροφῆς ἐπὶ τὴν παρὰ φύσιν τῶν ζσων βορὰν τρεπόμενοι ἀνεύθυνοι δοκῶσιν εἶναι, ὡς δι' ἀνάγκην τοῦτο τετολμηκότες, μάννα αὐτοῖς ὁ παν- τοδύναμος θεὸς ἐπώμβρισεν ἐκ ποικίλης ἐπιθυμίας, καὶ παντὸς οὗπερ ἐβούλοντο ἀπήλαυον· οἱ δ' ὑπὸ νόθου φύσεως τῷ καθαρῷ τῆς τροφῆς