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recalled from everywhere, from the ancestral error of the tyranny of the demons through the voice of our saviour, and redeeming the people dwelling to the ends of the earth from the deceit that from eternity has possessed all of life, so that from that time until now the ancient foundations of the error of all the nations, with their temples and wooden images, have been dissolved and overthrown, and truly holy sanctuaries and schools of piety have been raised to the all-king and creator of all things in the midst of cities and villages throughout the whole world by the power and virtue of our saviour, and that the sacrifices appropriate to God are performed daily and perpetually by all the nations with prayers and a holy disposition purged of all evil, in passionlessness of soul and in the assumption of every virtue according to the divine and saving teachings, 4.4.2 which are indeed the only acceptable and pleasing sacrifices to the God over all. And since these things are so, how could we not have shown at the same time that with sober reasoning, and not by giving ourselves over to irrationality, we have become apostates from the ancestral superstition, having loved what is better with a just and true judgment and having become lovers of the inspired and true piety. But enough of these things; now we must take up the matters before us. 4.5.1

5. WHAT IS THE DIVISION OF THEOLOGY AMONG THE GREEKS Indeed, those who have carefully examined Greek theology, dividing the entire account into four kinds in a different manner than we have previously mentioned, say that first of all, having set apart the first god, they know this one to be the first over all and father and king of all gods, after whom there exists a second race of gods, followed by that of demons, and a fourth of heroes; all of which, having partaken of the idea of the better, in one way lead, and in another are led, and every such thing is called light by participation in light. But they say that evil is the leader of the worse substance; and this is a race of wicked demons, in no way friendly to the good, but possessing the first power in the nature of opposites, just as God does among the better things; 4.5.2 and every such thing is called darkness. Having distinguished these things in this way, they say that heaven and the aether as far as the moon have been assigned to gods, the regions around the moon and the air to demons, and the regions on the earth and under the earth to souls. Using such a distinction, they say that one must first of all worship the heavenly and aetherial gods, second the good demons, third the souls of the heroes, and fourth to propitiate the base and wicked 4.5.3 demons. But while dividing these things in theory, in practice they confuse everything, worshipping only the evil powers instead of all the aforementioned, and being wholly enslaved to them, as the argument will demonstrate as it proceeds. You may therefore consider what sort of powers work through the wooden images and declare them to be, whether gods or demons, and whether base or 4.5.4 good, from what will be set forth. For our divine oracles do not call any demon good at all, but that all who share in this lot and this name are wicked, just as there is no other God truly and properly except the one cause of all; but the refined and good powers, since they are created by nature and far inferior to the uncreated God who is also their own maker, and moreover are distinct from the wicked race of demons, it does not deem it right to call them either gods or demons, but being intermediate between God and demons, by a direct and intermediate name, angels of God and ministering spirits and divine powers and archangels and by certain other

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πανταχόθεν ἐκ τῆς πατροπαραδότου πλάνης τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων καταδυναστείας διὰ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν φωνῆς ἀνακεκλημένον καὶ τοὺς μέχρις ἐσχατιῶν γῆς οἰκοῦντας ἀνθρώπους τῆς ἐξ αἰῶνος κατασχούσης τὸν πάντα βίον ἀπάτης λελυτρωμένον, ὥστε ἐξ ἐκείνου καὶ εἰς δεῦρο λελύσθαι μὲν καὶ καθῃρῆσθαι αὐτοῖς ναοῖς καὶ ξοάνοις τὰ πεπαλαιωμένα τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων πλάνης ἱδρύματα, ἱερὰ δὲ ὄντως σεμνὰ καὶ εὐσεβείας διδασκαλεῖα τῷ παμβασιλεῖ καὶ δημιουργῷ τῶν ὅλων ἐν μέσαις πόλεσί τε καὶ κώμαις δυνάμει καὶ ἀρετῇ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀνὰ τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον ἀνεγηγέρθαι θυσίας τε τὰς θεοπρεπεῖς εὐχαῖς ὁσίων διαθέσει κεκαθαρμένῃ κακίας ἁπάσης ἔν τε ἀπαθείᾳ ψυχῆς καὶ πάσης ἀρετῆς ἀναλήψει κατὰ τὰ θεῖα καὶ σωτηριώδη παιδεύματα ἐξ ἁπάντων ὁσημέραι διηνεκῶς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιτελεῖσθαι, τὰς 4.4.2 δὴ καὶ μόνας ἀρεστὰς οὔσας καὶ προσηνεῖς θυσίας τῷ ἐπὶ πάντων θεῷ. τούτων δὲ οὕτως ἐχόντων πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἴημεν δεδειχότες ἐν ταὐτῷ καὶ ὅτι μετὰ σώφρονος λογισμοῦ, οὐχὶ δὲ ἀλογίᾳ ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιδόντες ἀποστάται τῆς πατροπαραδότου γεγόναμεν δεισιδαιμονίας, κρίσει δικαίᾳ καὶ ἀληθεῖ τὸ κρεῖττον ἀγαπήσαντες καὶ τῆς ἐνθέου καὶ ἀληθοῦς εὐσεβείας ἐρασταὶ γεγενημένοι. ἀλλὰ τούτων μὲν ἅλις, ἁπτέον δὲ λοιπὸν τῶν προκειμένων. 4.5.1

εʹ. ΤΙΣ Η ∆ΙΑΙΡΕΣΙΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΑΘ' ΕΛΛΗΝΑΣ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΙΑΣ Οἱ μὲν δὴ τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν θεολογίαν ἐξηκριβωκότες, καθ' ἕτερον παρὰ τοὺς προειρημένους ἡμῖν τρόπον εἰς γένη τέτταρα πάντα τὸν λόγον διαιροῦντες, πρώτιστα πάντων τὸν πρῶτον ἀφορίσαντες θεὸν εἰδέναι φασὶ τοῦτον εἶναι τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι πρῶτόν τε ὄντα καὶ πάντων θεῶν πατέρα τε καὶ βασιλέα, μεθ' ὃν γένος τὸ θεῶν ὑπάρχειν δεύτερον, ἑπόμενον δὲ τὸ δαιμόνων, τὸ δὲ ἡρώων τέταρτον· ἃ πάντα τῆς τοῦ κρείττονος ἰδέας μετασχόντα πῆ μὲν ἄγειν, πῆ δὲ ἄγεσθαι, καὶ φῶς ἅπαν προσαγορεύεσθαι τὸ τοιόνδε φωτὸς μετοχῇ. ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τοῦ χείρονος οὐσίας τὸ κακὸν ἡγεῖσθαί φασι· τοῦτο δὲ εἶναι μοχθηρῶν δαιμόνων γένος, φίλῳ μὲν οὐδαμῶς χρώμενον τἀγαθῷ, δύναμίν γε μὴν ἐν τῇ τῶν ἐναντίων φύσει κεκτημένον πρώτην, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς κρείττοσιν ὁ θεός· 4.5.2 πᾶν δὲ τὸ τοιόνδε σκότος προσαγορεύεσθαι. ταῦτα τοῦτον διαστειλάμενοι τὸν τρόπον θεοῖς μὲν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὸν ἄχρι σελήνης αἰθέρα φασὶν ἀποτετάχθαι, δαίμοσιν δὲ τὰ περὶ σελήνην καὶ ἀέρα, ψυχαῖς δὲ τὰ περὶ γῆν καὶ ὑπόγεια. τοιούτῳ δ' ἀφορισμῷ κεχρημένοι πρῶτον ἁπάντων φασὶ τοὺς οὐρανίους δεῖν καὶ αἰθερίους θεοὺς θεραπεύειν, δεύτερον τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς δαίμονας, τρίτον τὰς τῶν ἡρώων ψυχάς, τέταρτον τοὺς φαύλους καὶ πονηροὺς 4.5.3 ἀπομειλίσσεσθαι δαίμονας. ταῦτα δὲ λόγῳ διαιροῦντες ἔργῳ συγχέουσι τὰ πάντα, μόνας ἀντὶ τῶν εἰρημένων πάντων τὰς πονηρὰς δυνάμεις θεραπεύοντες καὶ ὅλοι ταύταις καταδουλούμενοι, ὡς ὁ λόγος προϊὼν ἀπελέγξει. πάρεστι γοῦν σοι τὰς διὰ τῶν ξοάνων ἐνεργούσας δυνάμεις ὁποίας χρῆν ἀποφαίνεσθαι σκοπεῖν, πότερα θεοὺς ἢ δαίμονας καὶ εἴτε φαύλους εἴτε 4.5.4 ἀγαθούς, ἐκ τῶν παρατεθησομένων. τὰ μὲν γὰρ παρ' ἡμῖν θεῖα λόγια οὐδ' ὅλως ἀγαθὸν οὐδέν' ὀνομάζειν δαίμονα, πάντας δὲ πονηροὺς εἶναι τοὺς τῆς λήξεως ταύτης καὶ δὴ καὶ τῆς προσηγορίας μετειληφότας, ὡς οὐδ' ἕτερον θεὸν ἀληθῶς καὶ κυρίως πλὴν ἕνα τὸν πάντων αἴτιον· τὰς δὲ ἀστείας καὶ ἀγαθὰς δυνάμεις, ἅτε τὴν φύσιν γενητὰς οὔσας καὶ πολλῷ τὸν ἀγένητον καὶ σφῶν αὐτῶν ποιητὴν θεὸν ἀφυστερούσας, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ τῶν δαιμόνων μοχθηροῦ γένους ἀφωρισμένας, οὔτε θεοὺς οὔτε δαίμονας ἀποκαλεῖν ἀξιοῖ, μέσας δὲ οὔσας θεοῦ καὶ δαιμόνων εὐθυβόλῳ καὶ μέσῃ προσηγορίᾳ ἀγγέλους θεοῦ καὶ πνεύματα λειτουργικὰ δυνάμεις τε θείας καὶ ἀρχαγγέλους καί τισιν ἄλλαις