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to inquire the cause, looking at the woman he said: Alas, what can this be? Whom do I see? But coming near and looking more closely and being seen, he embraced her. And they both cried out from sudden joy and, wanting to speak to each other, overcome by speechlessness from insatiable joy they were not able to restrain themselves. Yet after not long the mother: I have you, Faustus, who are in all things most sweet to me. How is it that you live, you whom we heard a little while ago was dead? And these are our sons, Faustinus, Faustinianus and Clement. When she had said these things, we three fell upon him and, kissing him, we somehow dimly recalled his features. Seeing this, Peter said: Are you Faustus, this woman's husband and the father of her children? And he said: I am. And Peter: How then did you narrate your own story to me as if it were about another, speaking of toils and grief and a tomb? And the father answered: Being of Caesar's family and not wishing to be conspicuous, I cast the narrative in the person of someone else, so that who I am might not be known. For I knew that if I were recognized, the local governors, on hearing of it, doing a favor for Caesar, would recall me and bestow upon me the prosperity of this life, which I have renounced. For I was not able, having judged my most beloved ones to be dead, to give myself over to the luxury of this life. And Peter said: You did these things as you planned, but regarding genesis, were you asserting it falsely or did you affirm it as being true? And the father said: I will not lie to you; truly I was affirming that genesis exists. For I am not uninitiated in this theory, but there was with me a certain man, the best of astrologers, an Egyptian named Annubion, who, having become my friend at the beginning of my travels, declared the death of my wife with my children. And Peter said: Have you not then been persuaded by fact that the things concerning genesis do not hold true? And the father answered: It is necessary for me to set before you all the things that run through my mind, so that by hearing them I may learn. I know that astrologers are mistaken in many things, but also that they are right in many. I suspect, therefore, that in the things they get right, they speak the truth, but in the things they are mistaken, they suffer from ignorance, so that I surmise that the science is valid, but they themselves are wrong through ignorance, because it is not possible for everyone to be accurate about everything. And Peter answered: Take care lest in the things they speak truly, they are merely hitting the mark and not speaking accurately. For out of many things said, some must necessarily turn out to be true. And the old man said: How then is it possible to be fully informed about this, whether the doctrine of genesis is valid or not? Therefore, when both were silent, I said: Since I understand the science accurately, but my lord and my father do not, I would have wished that Annubion himself were present, and I would have held the discussion in the presence of my father. For thus the matter could have been brought to light, an expert having conducted the inquiry with a fellow expert. And the father answered: Where then is it possible to meet Annubion? And Peter said: In Antioch; for there I learn that Simon Magus is, whom Annubion follows and is inseparable from. So when we get there, if indeed we find them, the inquiry can take place. And having conversed together about many things and having rejoiced at the recognition and

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τὴν αἰτίαν πυνθάνεσθαι εἰς τὴν γυναῖκα ἐμβλέψας ἔφη· Oἴμοι, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι; τίνα ὁρῶ; προσελθὼν δὲ καὶ ἀκριβέστερον ἐνιδὼν καὶ ὁραθεὶς περιεπλέκετο. οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ χαρᾶς αἰφνιδίου διεφώνουν ἀμφό- τεροι καὶ λαλεῖν ἀλλήλοις βουλόμενοι, ἀφασίᾳ συσχεθέντες ἐκ τῆς ἀπλή- στου χαρᾶς οὐκ ἐδύναντο κρατεῖν. πλὴν μετ' οὐ πολὺ ἡ μήτηρ· Ἔχω σε, Φαῦστε, τὸν κατὰ πάντα μοι γλυκύτατον. πῶς ἄρα ζῇς, ὃν ὡς τεθνεῶτα μικρῷ τάχιον ἠκούσαμεν; πλὴν οὗτοί εἰσιν ἡμῶν υἱοί, Φαυστῖνος, Φαυ- στινιανὸς καὶ Κλήμης. ταῦτα εἰπούσης ἡμεῖς οἱ τρεῖς προσπεσόντες αὐτῷ καὶ καταφιλοῦντες ἀμαυρῶς πως τὴν μορφὴν αὐτοῦ ἀνεφέρομεν. Ταῦτα βλέπων ὁ Πέτρος ἔφη· Σὺ εἶ Φαῦστος, ὁ ταύτης ἀνὴρ καὶ τῶν αὐτῆς παίδων πατήρ; ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Ἐγώ εἰμι. καὶ ὁ Πέτρος· Πῶς οὖν μοι τὰ σεαυτοῦ ὡς περὶ ἄλλου διηγήσω, πόνους εἰπὼν καὶ λύπην καὶ τάφον; καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἀπεκρίνατο· Πρὸς γένους ὑπάρχων Καίσαρος καὶ περίφωρος μὴ θέλων γενέσθαι, εἰς ἄλλου τινὸς τὴν ἐξήγησιν ἀνετυπωσάμην, ἵνα αὐτὸς ὅστις εἰμὶ μὴ νοηθῶ. ᾔδειν γὰρ ὅτι, ἂν γνώριμος γένωμαι, οἱ κατὰ τόπον ἡγούμενοι ἀκούσαντες, Καίσαρι κεχαρισμένα ποιοῦντες ἀνακαλέσαντες, τὴν τοῦ βίου μοι εὐδαιμονίαν περιθήσουσιν, ὅπερ ἀπεταξάμην. οὐ γὰρ ἠδυνάμην, περὶ τῶν ἐμοὶ ἠγαπημένων τὰ μέγιστα ὡς περὶ θανόντων κρίνας, πρὸς τὴν τοῦ βίου τρυφὴν ἑαυτὸν ἀποδιδόναι. καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἔφη· Ταῦτα μὲν ἐποίησας ὡς ἐβουλεύσω, περὶ δὲ γενέσεως ἆρα ψευδόμενος διισχυρίζου ἢ ὡς ἀληθεύων ἐβεβαίους; καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἔφη· Oὐ ψεύσομαι πρὸς σέ, ἀληθῶς ὡς οὔσης γενέσεως ἐβεβαίουν. εἰμὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἀμύητος τοῦ θεωρήματος, πλὴν συνῆν μοί τις, ἀστρολόγων ἄριστος, ἀνὴρ Aἰγύπτιος, Ἀννουβίων ὀνόματι, ὅστις ἐν ταῖς ἀποδημίαις κατ' ἀρχάς μοι φιλωθεὶς τὸν τῆς ἐμῆς συμβίου μετὰ τῶν τέκνων θάνατον ἐδήλου. καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἔφη· Oὐκοῦν ἔργῳ πέπεισαι ὅτι οὐ συνέστηκεν τὰ κατὰ γένεσιν; καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἀπεκρίνατο· Ἀνάγκη με πάντα τὰ ὑποτρέχοντά μου εἰς τὸν νοῦν ἐκτίθεσθαί σοι, ἵνα πρὸς αὐτὰ ἀκούων μανθάνειν ἔχω. πολλὰ πταίειν οἶδα τοὺς ἀστρολόγους, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἀληθεύειν. ὑποπτεύω οὖν μήπως ἃ μὲν ἀκριβοῦσιν, ἀλη- θεύουσιν, ἃ δὲ πταίουσιν, ἀμαθίᾳ πάσχουσιν, ὡς ὑπονοεῖν με τὸ μὲν μάθημα συνεστάναι, αὐτοὺς δὲ δι' ἀμαθίαν ψεύδεσθαι διὰ τὸ μὴ πάντας περὶ πάντων ἀκριβοῦν δύνασθαι. καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἀπεκρίνατο· Ἔπεχε μήπως περὶ ὧν ἀλη- θεύουσιν, ἐπιτυγχάνουσιν καὶ οὐχὶ ἀκριβοῦντες λέγουσιν. ἀνάγκη γὰρ πᾶσα ἐκ πολλῶν τῶν λεγομένων ἀποβαίνειν τινά. καὶ ὁ γέρων ἔφη· Πῶς οὖν ἔστιν περὶ τούτου πληροφορηθῆναι, τὸ εἴτε συνέστηκεν τὸ κατὰ τὴν γένεσιν ἢ οὔ; ἀμφοτέρων οὖν σιωπώντων ἔφην ἐγώ· Ἐπειδὴ τὸ μάθημα ἀκριβῶς ἐπί- σταμαι, ὁ δὲ κύριος καὶ ὁ πατὴρ οὐχ οὕτως, ἤθελον εἰ αὐτὸς Ἀννουβίων παρῆν, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐποιησάμην λόγον. οὕτω γὰρ ἂν τὸ πρᾶγμα εἰς φανερὸν ἐλθεῖν ἠδύνατο, τεχνίτου πρὸς ὁμότεχνον τὴν ζήτησιν ἐσχηκότος. καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἀπεκρίνατο· Ποῦ οὖν δυνατόν ἐστιν Ἀννου- βίωνι συντυχεῖν; καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἔφη· Ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ· ἐκεῖ γὰρ μανθάνω Σίμωνα τὸν μάγον ὄντα, ᾧ Ἀννουβίων παρεπόμενος ἀχώριστός ἐστιν. ὡς ἂν οὖν ἐκεῖ γενώμεθα, ἐάν γε καταλάβωμεν αὐτούς, ἡ ζήτησις γενέσθαι δύναται. καὶ ὁμῶς πολλὰ διαλεχθέντες καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ ἀναγνωρισμῷ χαρέντες καὶ