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having collected the evil pretext, one after another wanting something even more * for the sake of display, prefigured for himself a difference of evil invention. And they all named themselves Gnostics, I mean Valentinus and the Gnostics before him, but also Basilides and Saturnilus and Colorbasus, Ptolemaeus and Secundus, Carpocrates and many others. But though we have named them all here on account of the connection of their emergence and evil growth * at one time, nevertheless we will relate separately the evil intent of each one's seed. For the present, however, I will come to the heresiarch and tragedian at hand, I mean Valentinus and his teaching, which comes from this great Gnostic profession, but is of condemnable nonsense *, as it is found by the intelligent to be condemnable and ridiculous. 2. This Valentinus, then, succeeds in time those set forth before him, Basilides and Saturnilus, and Ebion 1.384 and Cerinthus and Merinthus and those with them; for all these sprang up evilly in life at one time, but those around Cerinthus and Merinthus and Ebion rather a little before; for they sprang up along with those already pointed out by me before them. Now, his homeland or from where this man was born, most people do not know; for it has not been an easy concern for any of the writers to show his place. But a certain report has come to our ears; for which reason we will not pass it by, without indicating his place, though it is a debatable matter if one must speak the truth, yet we will not be silent about the account that has come to us. For some said that he was a Phrebonite, a Paralites of Egypt, and that he was educated in Greek learning in Alexandria. Whence, in imitation of Hesiod's Theogony and the thirty gods spoken of in it, and having taken the heathen mythical poetry into his own mind, and having acquired his notion from those who with him and before him had fallen from the truth, he also, remaking the same things as Hesiod from other names into others, wished to represent the world. For this man also wishes to introduce thirty gods and aeons and heavens; of whom the first is Depth, as he himself said, being foolish in his mind, just as, of course, his projector of the idea, Hesiod, said "Chaos was the very first of gods"; but to whom would it not be clear that Chaos and Depth possess the same name? But behold the impostor's dramatized myth-making and wicked teaching. For this man, as I said, wishes to present thirty aeons, which he also names gods, saying there are fifteen males and as many females. And he and his followers say that each aeon is male-female and a pair; and they say there are fifteen dyads, which they call syzygies. And the number is thirty aeons, and each female generates from the male the successive aeons; and these are as is set out below, according to the juxtaposition of each ma1.385le name placed opposite the female name, and it is: Ἀμψίου Αὐραὰν Βουκοῦα Θαρδουοῦ Οὐβουκοῦα Θαρδεδδεὶν Μερεξὰ Ἀτὰρ Βαρβὰ Οὐδουὰκ Ἐστὴν Οὐδουουὰκ Ἐσλὴν Ἀμφαὶν᾿σουμὲν Οὐανανὶν Λαμερτάρδε Ἀθαμὲς Σουμὶν Ἀλλωρὰ Κουβιαθὰ ∆αναδαρία ∆αμμὼ Ὠρὴν Λαναφὲκ Οὐδινφὲκ Ἐμφιβοχὲ Βάρρα Ἀσίου Ἀχὲ Βελὶμ ∆εξαριχὲ Μασεμών. and thus they are arranged as according to a male-female syzygy, but in the sequence according to succession thus: Ἀμψίου Αὐραὰν Βουκοῦα Θαρδουοῦ Οὐβουκοῦα Θαρδεδδεὶν Μερεξὰ Ἀτὰρ Βαρβὰ Οὐδουὰκ Ἐστὴν Οὐδουουὰκ Ἐσλὴν Ἀμφαὶν᾿σουμὲν Οὐανανὶν Λαμερτάρδε Ἀθαμὲς Σουμὶν Ἀλλωρὰ Κουβιαθὰ ∆αναδαρία ∆αμμὼ Ὠρὴν Λαναφὲκ Οὐδινφὲk Ἐμφιβοχὲ Βάρρα Ἀσίου Ἀχὲ Βελὶμ ∆εξαριχὲ Μασεμών; The interpretations of which names are 1.386 these: Depth and Silence, Mind and Truth, Word and Life, Man and Church,

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τὴν κακὴν πρόφασιν ἐρανισάμενοι, ἄλλος ἀπὸ ἄλλου ἔτι περισσότερόν τι βουλόμενος * ἐπιδείξεως χάριν ἑαυτῷ προετύπωσε διαφορὰν κακῆς ἐξευρέσεως. καὶ πάντες Γνωστικοὺς ἑαυτοὺς ὠνόμασαν, Οὐαλεντῖνός τε φημὶ καὶ οἱ πρὸ αὐτοῦ Γνωστικοί, ἀλλὰ καὶ Βασιλείδης καὶ Σατορνῖλος καὶ Κολόρβασος, Πτολεμαῖός τε καὶ Σεκοῦνδος, Καρποκρᾶς καὶ ἄλλοι πλείους. ἀλλὰ τὰς πάσας ἐνταῦθα ὀνομάσαντες διὰ τὴν ἐν ἑνὶ καιρῷ σχέσιν πάντων τῆς ἀναδύσεως καὶ κακοβλάστου *, ὅμως τῆς ἑκάστου σπορᾶς κακόνοιαν ἰδίᾳ ἀφηγησόμεθα. τέως δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν προκείμενον αἱρεσιάρχην καὶ τραγῳδοποιὸν ἐλεύσομαι, φημὶ δὲ Οὐαλεντῖνον καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίαν, τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς μεγάλης ταύτης Γνωστικῆς ἐπαγγελίας ὑπάρχουσαν, καταγνωστικῆς δὲ ληρῳδίας *, ὡς τοῖς συνετοῖς καταγινωσκομένη εὑρίσκεται καὶ καταγέλαστος. 2. Οὐαλεντῖνος μὲν οὖν οὗτος τῷ χρόνῳ διαδέχεται τοὺς πρὸ αὐτοῦ προτεταγμένους, Βασιλείδην τε καὶ Σατορνῖλον, Ἐβίωνά τε 1.384 καὶ Κήρινθον καὶ Μήρινθον καὶ τοὺς ἀμφ' αὐτούς· οὗτοι γὰρ πάντες ἐν ἑνὶ καιρῷ τῷ βίῳ κακῶς ἐφύησαν, ὀλίγῳ δὲ πρόσθεν μᾶλλον οἱ περὶ Κήρινθον καὶ Μήρινθον καὶ Ἐβίωνα· ἅμα γὰρ τοῖς ἤδη μοι πρὸ αὐτῶν δεδηλωμένοις ἀνεφύησαν. τὴν μὲν οὖν αὐτοῦ πατρίδα ἢ πόθεν οὗτος γεγέννηται, οἱ πολλοὶ ἀγνοοῦσιν· οὐ γάρ τινι ῥᾴδιον τῶν συγγραφέων μεμέληται τούτου δεῖξαι τὸν τόπον. εἰς ἡμᾶς δὲ ὡς ἐνηχήσει φήμη τις ἐλήλυθε· διὸ οὐ παρελευσόμεθα, καὶ τὸν τούτου τόπον μὴ ὑποδεικνύντες, ἐν ἀμφιλέκτῳ μέν εἰ δεῖ τὰ ἀληθῆ λέγειν, ὅμως τὴν εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐλθοῦσαν φάσιν οὐ σιωπήσομεν. ἔφασαν γὰρ αὐτόν τινες γεγενῆσθαι Φρεβωνίτην, τῆς Αἰγύπτου Παραλιώτην, ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ δὲ πεπαιδεῦσθαι τὴν τῶν Ἑλλήνων παιδείαν. ὅθεν κατὰ μίμημα τῆς κατὰ τὸν Ἡσίοδον Θεογονίας τῶν τε παρ' αὐτῷ τῷ Ἡσιόδῳ τριάκοντα θεῶν λεγομένων καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν ἐθνόμυθον ποίησιν εἰς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ νοῦν λαβὼν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ καὶ πρὸ αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκπεπτωκότων τὴν ὑπόνοιαν κτησάμενος, καὶ αὐτὸς τὰ ἴσα τῷ Ἡσιόδῳ ἀπὸ ἑτέρων ὀνομάτων εἰς ἕτερα μεταποιήσας ἠθέλησε φαντάσαι τὸν κόσμον. τριάκοντα γὰρ καὶ οὗτος θεοὺς καὶ αἰῶνας καὶ οὐρανοὺς βούλεται παρεισάγειν· ὧν ὁ μὲν πρῶτός ἐστι Βυθός, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς ἔφη ἀφραίνων τῇ διανοίᾳ ὁποῖα ἀμέλει καὶ ὁ αὐτοῦ προβολεὺς τῆς ἐννοίας Ἡσίοδος «Χάος πρώτιστα θεῶν» ἔφη· Χάος δὲ καὶ Βυθὸς τίνι οὐκ ἂν σαφῆ εἴη τὸ ὁμώνυμον κεκτημένα; ὅρα δὲ τὴν τοῦ ἀγύρτου τετραγῳδημένην μυθοποιίαν καὶ μοχθηρὰν διδασκαλίαν. τριάκοντα γὰρ οὗτος, ὡς ἔφην, αἰῶνας βούλεται παριστᾶν, οὓς καὶ θεοὺς ὀνομάζει, δεκαπέντε ἄρρενας καὶ θηλείας τοσαύτας εἶναι λέγων. ἕκαστον δὲ αἰῶνα ἀρρενόθηλυν καὶ ζεῦγός φησιν αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ αὐτοῦ· δεκαπέντε δὲ δυάδας φασὶν εἶναι, ἃς συζυγίας καλοῦσι. τὸν ἀριθμὸν δὲ εἶναι τριάκοντα αἰῶνας, ἑκάστην δὲ θήλειαν γεννᾶν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄρρενος τοὺς καθεξῆς αἰῶνας· εἶναι δὲ τούτους ὡς ὑποτέτακται, κατὰ ἀντιπαράθεσιν ἑκάστου ἀρ1.385 ρενικοῦ ὀνόματος τεταγμένου ἄντικρυς τοῦ θηλυκοῦ ὀνόματος, καὶ ἔστιν· Ἀμψίου Αὐραὰν Βουκοῦα Θαρδουοῦ Οὐβουκοῦα Θαρδεδδεὶν Μερεξὰ Ἀτὰρ Βαρβὰ Οὐδουὰκ Ἐστὴν Οὐδουουὰκ Ἐσλὴν Ἀμφαὶν᾿σουμὲν Οὐανανὶν Λαμερτάρδε Ἀθαμὲς Σουμὶν Ἀλλωρὰ Κουβιαθὰ ∆αναδαρία ∆αμμὼ Ὠρὴν Λαναφὲκ Οὐδινφὲκ Ἐμφιβοχὲ Βάρρα Ἀσίου Ἀχὲ Βελὶμ ∆εξαριχὲ Μασεμών. καὶ οὕτως μὲν σύγκεινται ὡς κατὰ συζυγίαν ἀρρενοθήλεος, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀκολουθίᾳ κατὰ διαδοχὴν οὕτως· Ἀμψίου Αὐραὰν Βουκοῦα Θαρδουοῦ Οὐβουκοῦα Θαρδεδδεὶν Μερεξὰ Ἀτὰρ Βαρβὰ Οὐδουὰκ Ἐστὴν Οὐδουουὰκ Ἐσλὴν Ἀμφαὶν᾿σουμὲν Οὐανανὶν Λαμερτάρδε Ἀθαμὲς Σουμὶν Ἀλλωρὰ Κουβιαθὰ ∆αναδαρία ∆αμμὼ Ὠρὴν Λαναφὲκ Οὐδινφὲκ Ἐμφιβοχὲ Βάρρα Ἀσίου Ἀχὲ Βελὶμ ∆εξαριχὲ Μασεμών· ὧν ὀνομάτων ἑρμηνεῖαί εἰσιν 1.386 αἵδε· Βυθὸς καὶ Σιγή, Νοῦς καὶ Ἀλήθεια, Λόγος καὶ Ζωή, Ἄνθρωπος καὶ Ἐκκλησία,