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every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and every tongue confess to him, and that he should execute righteous judgment towards all, sending the spiritual hosts of wickedness, and the angels who transgressed and became apostates, and the impious, and unrighteous, and lawless, and blasphemous among men into the eternal fire; but to the righteous and holy, and those who have kept his commandments, and have persevered in his love, some from the beginning, and others from their repentance, by granting them life, he may bestow on them incorruption, and may surround them with eternal glory- 31. This preaching, then, and this faith, as we have said before, the Church has received, and though scattered throughout the whole world, she diligently guards, as if inhabiting one house; and she likewise believes these things, as if having one soul and the same heart, and she proclaims them, and teaches them, and hands them down, in harmony, as if possessing one mouth. For although the languages throughout the world are dissimilar, yet the power of the tradition is one and the same. And neither do the Churches established in Germany believe otherwise or hand down otherwise, nor in the Iberian provinces, nor among the Celts, nor in the East, nor in Egypt, nor in Libya, nor those established in the central regions of the world; but as the sun, that creation of God, is one and the same in the whole world, so also the * light, the preaching of the truth, shines everywhere, and enlightens all men who are willing to come to a knowledge of the truth. And neither will he who is very powerful in speech among the rulers in the Churches say other things than these (for no one is above the teacher), nor will he who is weak in speech diminish the tradition; for since the faith is one and the same, neither he who is able to speak much about it has added to it, nor he who can say little has taken away from it. 1.433 But the fact that some know more or less with respect to understanding does not consist in changing the hypothesis itself, and inventing another God besides the Creator and Maker and Sustainer of this universe, as if not being content with this one, or another Christ, or another Only-Begotten, but in working out more fully the things which have been said in parables, and fitting them to the hypothesis of the faith; and in narrating the activity and the economy of God which took place for humanity; and making clear that God was longsuffering in the apostasy of the transgressing angels and in the disobedience of men; and declaring why one and the same God has made some things temporal and others eternal, some heavenly and others earthly; and understanding why God, being invisible, appeared to the prophets not in one form, but differently to different ones; and showing why more covenants than one were made with humanity, and teaching what is the character of each of the covenants; and investigating why God has shut up all in disobedience, that he may have mercy on all; and giving thanks for why the Word of God was made flesh and suffered; and proclaiming why the coming of the Son of God was in the last times, that is, the beginning appeared at the end; and unfolding what is contained in the Scriptures concerning the end and things to come; and not being silent about why God has made the Gentiles, who were despaired of, fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers with the saints; and proclaiming how this mortal flesh shall put on immortality, and the corruptible, incorruption; how he says, “That which was not a people is a people; and she who was not beloved is beloved,” and how, “More are the children of the desolate than of her that has a husband,” he preaches—for concerning these things and others like them the apostle exclaimed, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!”, but not in devising above the Creator and Maker a Mother of this one and of them, the Enthymesis of a wandering Aeon, and arriving at such a degree 1.434 of blasphemy; nor in the

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πᾶν γόνυ κάμψῃ ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων καὶ πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσηται αὐτῷ καὶ κρίσιν δικαίαν ἐν τοῖς πᾶσι ποιήσηται, τὰ μὲν πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας καὶ ἀγγέλους τοὺς παραβεβηκότας καὶ ἐν ἀποστασίᾳ γεγονότας καὶ τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς καὶ ἀδίκους καὶ ἀνόμους καὶ βλασφήμους τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς τὸ αἰώνιον πῦρ πέμψῃ, τοῖς δὲ δικαίοις καὶ ὁσίοις καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τετηρηκόσι καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ αὐτοῦ διαμεμενηκόσι τοῖς μὲν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, τοῖς δὲ ἐκ μετανοίας ζωὴν χαρισάμενος ἀφθαρσίαν δωρήσηται καὶ δόξαν αἰωνίαν περιποιήσῃ- 31. τοῦτο τὸ κήρυγμα παρειληφυῖα καὶ ταύτην τὴν πίστιν ὡς προέφαμεν ἡ ἐκκλησία, καίπερ ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ διεσπαρμένη, ἐπιμελῶς φυλάσσει ὡς ἕνα οἶκον οἰκοῦσα καὶ ὁμοίως πιστεύει τούτοις ὡς μίαν ψυχὴν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχουσα καρδίαν καὶ συμφώνως ταῦτα κηρύσσει καὶ διδάσκει καὶ παραδίδωσιν ὡς ἓν στόμα κεκτημένη. κἂν γὰρ αἱ κατὰ τὸν κόσμον διάλεκτοι ἀνόμοιαι, ἀλλ' ἡ δύναμις τῆς παραδόσεως μία καὶ ἡ αὐτή, καὶ οὔτε αἱ ἐν Γερμανίαις ἱδρυμέναι ἐκκλησίαι ἄλλως πεπιστεύκασιν ἢ ἄλλως παραδιδόασιν οὔτε ἐν ταῖς Ἰβηρίαις οὔτε ἐν Κελτοῖς οὔτε κατὰ τὰς ἀνατολὰς οὔτε ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ οὔτε ἐν Λιβύῃ οὔτε αἱ κατὰ μέσα τοῦ κόσμου ἱδρυμέναι· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ὁ ἥλιος, τὸ κτίσμα τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ εἷς καὶ ὁ αὐτός, οὕτω καὶ τὸ * φῶς, τὸ κήρυγμα τῆς ἀληθείας, πανταχῇ φαίνει καὶ φωτίζει πάντας ἀνθρώπους τοὺς βουλομένους εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν, καὶ οὔτε ὁ πάνυ δυνατὸς ἐν λόγῳ τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις προεστώτων ἕτερα τούτων ἐρεῖ οὐδεὶς γὰρ ὑπὲρ τὸν διδάσκαλον οὔτε ὁ ἀσθενὴς ἐν τῷ λόγῳ ἐλαττώσει τὴν παράδοσιν· μιᾶς γὰρ καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς πίστεως οὔσης, οὔτε ὁ πολὺ περὶ αὐτῆς δυνάμενος εἰπεῖν ἐπλεόνασεν οὔτε ὁ τὸ ὀλίγον ἠλαττόνησεν. 1.433 Τὸ δὲ πλεῖον ἢ ἔλαττον κατὰ σύνεσιν εἰδέναι τινὰς οὐκ ἐν τῷ τὴν ὑπόθεσιν αὐτὴν ἀλλάσσειν γίνεται καὶ ἄλλον θεὸν παρεπινοεῖν παρὰ τὸν δημιουργὸν καὶ ποιητὴν καὶ τροφέα τοῦδε τοῦ παντός, ὡς μὴ ἀρκουμένους τούτῳ, ἢ ἄλλον Χριστὸν ἢ ἄλλον Μονογενῆ, ἀλλὰ ἐν τῷ τὰ ὅσα ἐν παραβολαῖς εἴρηται προσεπεξεργάζεσθαι καὶ συνοικειοῦν τῇ τῆς πίστεως ὑποθέσει καὶ ἐν τῷ τήν τε πραγματείαν καὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀνθρωπότητι γενομένην ἐκδιηγεῖσθαι καὶ ὅτι ἐμακροθύμησεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπί τε τῇ τῶν παραβεβηκότων ἀγγέλων ἀποστασίᾳ καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ παρακοῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων σαφηνίζειν· καὶ διὰ τί τὰ μὲν πρόσκαιρα τὰ δὲ αἰώνια καὶ τὰ μὲν οὐράνια τὰ δὲ ἐπίγεια εἷς καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς θεὸς πεποίηκεν ἀπαγγέλλειν· καὶ διὰ τί ἀόρατος ὢν ἐφάνη τοῖς προφήταις ὁ θεὸς οὐκ ἐν μιᾷ ἰδέᾳ, ἀλλὰ ἄλλως ἄλλοις συνιεῖν· καὶ διὰ τί διαθῆκαι πλείους γεγόνασι τῇ ἀνθρωπότητι μηνύειν, καὶ τίς ἑκάστης τῶν διαθηκῶν ὁ χαρακτὴρ διδάσκειν· καὶ διὰ τί συνέκλεισε πάντα εἰς ἀπείθειαν ὁ θεός, ἵνα τοὺς πάντας ἐλεήσῃ, ἐξερευνᾶν· καὶ διὰ τί ὁ Λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἔπαθεν, εὐχαριστεῖν· καὶ διὰ τί ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν καιρῶν ἡ παρουσία τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, τουτέστιν ἐν τῷ τέλει ἐφάνη ἡ ἀρχή, ἀπαγγέλλειν· καὶ περὶ τοῦ τέλους καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ὅσα τε κεῖται ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς, ἀναπτύσσειν· καὶ τί ὅτι τὰ ἀπεγνωσμένα ἔθνη συγκληρονόμα καὶ σύσσωμα καὶ συμμέτοχα τῶν ἁγίων πεποίηκεν ὁ θεός, μὴ σιωπᾶν· καὶ πῶς τὸ θνητὸν τοῦτο σαρκίον ἐνδύσεται ἀθανασίαν καὶ τὸ φθαρτὸν ἀφθαρσίαν, διαγγέλλειν· πῶς τε ἐρεῖ «ὁ οὐ λαὸς λαὸς καὶ ἡ οὐκ ἠγαπημένη ἠγαπημένη», καὶ πῶς «πλείονα τῆς ἐρήμου τὰ τέκνα, μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα» κηρύσσειν-ἐπὶ τούτων γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὁμοίων αὐτοῖς ἐπεβόησεν ὁ ἀπόστολος «ὦ βάθος πλούτου καὶ σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως θεοῦ, ὡς ἀνεξερεύνητα τὰ κρίματα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεξιχνίαστοι αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ», ἀλλὰ οὐκ ἐν τῷ ὑπὲρ τὸν κτιστὴν καὶ δημιουργὸν Μητέρα τούτου καὶ αὐτῶν Ἐνθύμησιν Αἰῶνος πεπλανημένου παρεπινοεῖν καὶ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἥκειν 1.434 βλασφημίας· οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ τὸ