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whether through himself or through the prophets, wishing to signify this, that from every quarter God, both from existing things and from visions, has not neglected, having purposed to teach rational beings concerning the knowledge of himself, sometimes through the prophets, but now through his own Son. 7.75 Then, accordingly, for those who have been tested he has prepared also the future state, in which he would establish us, having made us incorruptible and immortal, filling us, as experienced ones, with the perfect knowledge of himself, as it is necessary for us to know. For this reason he has made the two states from the beginning, since we are not able, as has been said before, to receive all knowledge at once without learning; for only the divine is self-taught and a fount of knowledge, not having received it from another, but being able to supply it to others also, while we, being mortal and mutable, must be taught again from difficulties, since, as the Apostle says; "All discipline for the present seems to be not of joy, but of sorrow"; for without discipline and sorrows it is impossible for learning to occur. 7.76 For the sake of discipline, therefore, he has made this world mortal and mutable and various, so that by the tribulation of learning and the variety of the universe we might be able, through experience, to ascend to the knowledge of God. For if from the beginning he had made us immortal and immutable, we would have differed in nothing from the irrational creatures which naturally possess something useful, but are ignorant of what they possess, such as the bee wisely working its honeycomb, and the spider skillfully weaving its web, and the ant preparing its food in summer; they do not do these things with any rational knowledge, or like gold and pearl which are beautiful, but are not sensible of their own beauty. 7.77 Wisely, therefore, and very wisely has God made the two states from of old, so that, having been tested from this point by pleasures and sorrows, we may know perfectly in the second state the power of his goodness, through the unspeakable and eternal good things provided to us, and from what sort of things to what sort of things we are passing. These and such things all divine Scripture proclaims, and this is its entire purpose. For these excellent men are ignorant of the purpose of the divine Scriptures, they who are destroying the heavens and introducing other new ones to us. For God was never ignorant, and has now decided it is better to make other heavens and a better state, according to the myth of foolish and counterfeit Christians, but he is always the same, being in like manner and in the same state, knowing how and when and how much and where and what sort of entire cosmos he would make. 7.78 But nevertheless they bring before us, supposedly with good reason, the difficulty arising from this, saying: How then do embryos that die advance to the knowledge of God, not having been tested by pleasures and sorrows and thence been taught concerning God? To whom we shall say that the rational embryo, having tasted, so to speak, the maternal womb—the maternal womb being somehow dimly a symbol of this world, in which there is both heat and coldness and dryness and wetness—upon receiving knowledge in the future state, is reminded and comes to a perception of the maternal womb, in which it too has partially experienced such a state. 7.79 Furthermore, it also sees the elements and the entire cosmos standing as a teacher, and through perfect knowledge, reasoning by analogy, it too immediately comes to a recognition of the life that has passed, and at the same time to the recognition of God who created all things. 7.80 But concerning their judgment, we yield to God himself; for it is not possible for us to know all things in this life. We only say, so far as it can be said, that they are in some intermediate state, neither receiving crowns, nor enduring punishments, for they are freed from punishment on account of not having enjoyed the good things of this life, but they are deprived of crowns as not having toiled in this life. But if someone should also say this, that God knows what the conduct and manner of life of each of them would have been, if they had remained alive, and so will judge them, we do not reject the thought, but we yield to those who know more. For we concerning

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εἴτε δι' ἑαυτοῦ εἴτε διὰ τῶν προφητῶν, τοῦτο θέλων σημᾶναι ὡς πανταχόθεν ὁ Θεὸς ἔκ τε τῶν ὄντων, ἔκ τε τῶν ὀπτασιῶν, οὐκ ἠμέλησε διδάξαι προθέμενος τοὺς λογικοὺς περὶ τῆς αὑτοῦ γνώσεως, ποτὲ μὲν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν, νυνὶ δὲ διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου Υἱοῦ. 7.75 Εἶθ' οὕτω λοιπὸν πεπειραμένοις ἡτοίμασε καὶ τὴν μέλλουσαν κατάστασιν, ἐν ᾗ ἀφθάρτους καὶ ἀθανάτους ἡμᾶς ἐργασάμενος καταστήσειεν, ἐμπιπλῶν ἡμᾶς ὡς ἐμπείρους καὶ τῆς τελείας αὑτοῦ γνώσεως, καθὼς δεῖ γνῶναι ἡμᾶς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τὰς δύο καταστάσεις ἐξ ἀρχῆς πεποίηκεν, οὐ δυναμένων ἡμῶν, ὡς προείρηται, ὑφ' ἓν ἀθρόως πᾶσαν τὴν γνῶσιν δέξασθαι ἄνευ μαθήσεως· αὐτοδίδακτον γὰρ μόνον τὸ θεῖόν ἐστι καὶ πηγὴ γνώσεως, παρ' ἑτέρου μὴ προσλαβόν, ἀλλὰ δυνάμενον καὶ ἑτέροις χορηγῆσαι, ἡμᾶς δὲ διδαχθῆναι πάλιν, θνητοὺς ὄντας καὶ τρεπτούς, ἐκ τῶν δυσχερῶν, ἐπειδήπερ, φησὶν ὁ Ἀπόστολος· "Πᾶσα παιδεία πρὸς μὲν τὸ παρὸν οὐ δοκεῖ χαρᾶς εἶναι, ἀλλὰ λύπης"· χωρὶς γὰρ παιδείας καὶ λυπηρῶν ἀδύνατον μάθησιν γενέσθαι. 7.76 Παιδείας οὖν ἕνεκα τοῦτον τὸν κόσμον πεποίηκε θνητὸν καὶ τρεπτὸν καὶ ποικίλον, ἵνα τῇ συντριβῇ τῆς μαθήσεως καὶ τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τοῦ παντὸς διὰ πείρας δυνηθῶμεν ἀνελθεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσιν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀθανάτους καὶ ἀτρέπτους ἡμᾶς εἰργάσατο, οὐδὲν διεφέρομεν τῶν ἀλόγων τῶν φυσικῶς μὲν ἐχόντων τι χρήσιμον, ἀγνοούντων δὲ τί κέκτηνται, οἷον ἡ μέλιττα τὸ κηρίον σοφῶς ἐργαζομένη, καὶ ἡ ἀράχνη εὐτέχνως ἱστουργοῦσα, καὶ ὁ μύρμηξ θέρους ἑτοιμαζόμενος τὴν τροφήν, οὐκ ἐπιστήμῃ λογικῇ τινι ποιοῦσιν, ἢ ὡς ὁ χρυσὸς καὶ ὁ μαργαρίτης καλοὶ μέν, ἀλλ' οὐκ αἰσθάνονται τοῦ οἰκείου κάλλους. 7.77 Σοφῶς οὖν καὶ πάνυ σοφῶς ὁ Θεὸς τὰς δύο καταστάσεις ἀνέκαθεν πεποίηκεν, ἵνα πεπειραμένοι ἀπεντεῦθεν ἡδέων καὶ λυπηρῶν γνῶμεν τελείως ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ καταστάσει τὴν δύναμιν τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητος, διὰ τῶν παρεχομένων ἡμῖν ἀνεκλαλήτων καὶ αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν, καὶ ἐξ οἵων εἰς οἷα μετερχόμεθα. Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα κηρύττει πᾶσα ἡ θεία Γραφή, καὶ οὗτος αὐτῆς ἅπας ὁ σκοπός. Ἀγνοοῦσι γὰρ οἱ βέλτιστοι τὸν σκοπὸν τῶν θείων Γραφῶν, οἱ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἀπόλλοντες καὶ ἑτέρους ἡμῖν καινοὺς εἰσάγοντες. Οὐ γὰρ ἠγνόησέ ποτε ὁ Θεός, νῦν δὲ κρεῖττον ἐπέγνω ποιῆσαι ἑτέρους οὐρανοὺς καὶ κρείττονα κατάστασιν, κατὰ τὸν μῦθον τῶν ἀνοήτων καὶ πεπλασμένων χριστιανῶν, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ ὁ αὐτὸς ὑπάρχει, ὡσαύτως καὶ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ ὤν, γινώσκων πῶς τε καὶ πότε καὶ πόσον καὶ ποῦ καὶ οἷον ποιήσειε τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον. 7.78 Ἀλλ' ὅμως προβάλλονται ἡμῖν δῆθεν εὐλόγως τὸ ἀνακύπτον ἐκ τούτου ἄπορον λέγοντες· Τί οὖν τὰ ἔμβρυα τελευτῶντα εἰς γνῶσιν Θεοῦ προκόπτουσι, μὴ πεπειραμένα ἡδέων καὶ λυπηρῶν καὶ ἀπεντεῦθεν διδαχθέντα περὶ Θεοῦ; Πρὸς οὓς ἐροῦμεν ὅτι τὸ ἔμβρυον τὸ λογικὸν γευσάμενον, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, τῆς μητρῴας γαστρόςἀμυδρῶς πως ὡς σύμβολον οὖσα τούτου τοῦ κόσμου ἡ μητρῴα γαστήρ, ἐν ᾗ καὶ θερμότης καὶ ψυχρότης καὶ ξηρότης καὶ ὑγρότης ὑπάρχει, λαμβάνον γνῶσιν ἐν τῇ μελλούσῃ καταστάσει ὑπομιμνῄσκεται καὶ εἰς αἴσθησιν ἔρχεται τῆς μητρῴας γαστρός, ἐν ᾗ πεπείραται μερικῶς καὶ αὐτὸ τῆς τοιαύτης καταστάσεως. 7.79 Ἔτι δὲ ὁρᾷ καὶ τὰ στοιχεῖα καὶ τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον ἱστάμενον ὡς διδάσκαλον, καὶ διὰ τῆς τελείας γνώσεως ἀναλογιζόμενον εὐθέως εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν καὶ αὐτὸ ἔρχεται τοῦ παρεληλυθότος βίου, ἐν ταὐτῷ καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ δημιουργήσαντος τὰ πάντα. 7.80 Περὶ δὲ τῆς κρίσεως αὐτῶν, αὐτῷ τῷ Θεῷ παραχωροῦμεν· οὐ γὰρ ἐνδέχεται ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι πάντα ἐν τῷδε τῷ βίῳ. Μόνον δὲ λέγομεν, ὡς ἔστι λέγειν, ὅτι μέσα τινά εἰσι, μήτε στεφάνους ληψόμενα, μήτε τιμωρίας ὑπομένοντα, τῆς μὲν γὰρ τιμωρίας ἐλευθερούμενα διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀπολαῦσαι τῶν ἀγαθῶν τοῦ βίου τούτου, τῶν δὲ στεφάνων στερισκόμενα ὡς μὴ καμόντα ἐν τῷδε τῷ βίῳ. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο εἴποι τις ὅτι ἑκάστου αὐτῶν ὡς ἂν ἐπίσταται ὁ Θεός, εἰ ἐπέμενον ζῶντα, τὴν διαγωγὴν καὶ τὴν πολιτείαν, οὕτως αὐτὰ κρινεῖ, οὐκ ἀποβαλλόμεθα τὸν νοῦν, ἀλλὰ παραχωροῦμεν τοῖς πλέον τι εἰδόσιν. Ἡμεῖς γὰρ περὶ