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the refutation of them will appear from their own words † against them. 34. First, that their opinions are different among themselves, and one professes to destroy the teachings of another; second, that the fables among them are unfounded, with neither scripture anywhere saying so, nor the law of Moses, nor any prophet of those after Moses, nor yet the savior, nor his evangelists, nor indeed the apostles. For if these things were true, the Lord who came to enlighten the world, and before him the prophets, and then also the apostles who refuted idolatry and every unlawful practice and did not shrink from writing against every unlawful teaching and opposition, would have clearly announced such things to us, and especially with the savior himself saying that “to those outside in parables, but to you † the parables must be spoken for the explanation of the kingdom of heaven.” At least whatever parables he has spoken in the gospels, he is seen to have immediately explained; Indeed, he says also what the mustard seed is and what the leaven is and what the woman is who put the leaven into the three measures, what the vineyard is, what the fig tree is, what the sower is, what the most beautiful earth is; and in vain these men are inspired, being driven by demons, about whom the most holy apostle Paul says “in later times some will depart from the teaching, giving heed to myths and doctrines of demons.” And again, the holy James, saying about such teaching that “this wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic; but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, impartial, full of mercy and good fruits” and so on, of which not even one fruit is found among the aforementioned. For among them is “disorder and every unlawful practice,” both the offspring of demons and 1.437 the hissings of serpents, with each of them speaking differently at different times; among whom no mercy, no pity is found, but divisions and differences, and nowhere purity, nowhere peace, nowhere gentleness. 35. But I wish again, being compelled by my discourse, although I promised to stop, to refute by mentioning a few of the things said by them. For I am not concerned with a technical argument, but with the benefit of the readers. They say, therefore, that the twelfth aeon, the one that came into being in deficiency, completely fell out of the number of the twelve and the twelfth number is destroyed. And they say this happened by Judas, being the twelfth, having fallen away, and thus the twelfth number vanished; and likewise also concerning the woman with the issue of blood and the one who lost the one drachma from the ten drachmas. But it is shown that neither the twelfth aeon will be able to have the person of Judas, as was previously said by the most holy Irenaeus, - for Judas was completely destroyed, but the so-called twelfth aeon, according to their own fabrication, was not emptied; for there stood before it the Redeemer or the Limiter, saying to it "Iao," as they themselves say, and thus it was established, -nor will the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years be likened to their drama; for she was saved after twelve years, during which she was afflicted with the flow of blood. For she did not remain unafflicted for eleven years and have the flow in the twelfth, but rather she had the flow for the eleven years, and in the twelfth she was saved, -nor did the woman who possessed the ten drachmas lose the one permanently, so that the lost aeon of matter might be mythologized by them; for she lit the lamp and found the drachma. 36. From these two or three arguments, therefore, all their dramatic productions, having been immediately refuted, will be understood as both inert and stale by the sons and children of wisdom of the holy catholic church of God. For lest by being carried along against the same things 1.438 I should drive the treatise to infinite length, as far as the

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αὐτῶν λόγων ἡ ἀνατροπὴ αὐτῶν † κατ' αὐτῶν φανήσεται. 34. Πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι διάφορα παρ' αὐτοῖς τὰ φρονήματα καὶ ἕτερος τὰ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταλύειν ἐπαγγέλλεται· δεύτερον δὲ ὅτι ἀσύστατα τὰ παρ' αὐτοῖς μυθοποιήματα, οὔτε που γραφῆς εἰπούσης οὔτε τοῦ Μωυσέως νόμου οὔτε τινὸς προφήτου τῶν μετὰ Μωυσέα, ἀλλ' οὔτε τοῦ σωτῆρος οὔτε τῶν αὐτοῦ εὐαγγελιστῶν, ἀλλ' οὔτε μὴν τῶν ἀποστόλων. εἰ γὰρ ταῦτα ἀληθινὰ ὑπῆρχεν, ὁ ἐλθὼν φωτίσαι τὴν οἰκουμένην κύριος καὶ πρὸ αὐτοῦ οἱ προφῆται, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι οἱ ἐλέγξαντες τὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν πᾶσάν τε παράνομον πρᾶξιν καὶ μὴ δειλιάσαντες γράφειν κατὰ πάσης παρανόμου διδασκαλίας καὶ ἐναντιότητος σαφῶς ἂν τὰ τοιαῦτα ἡμῖν κατήγγελλον, καὶ μάλιστα αὐτοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος λέγοντος ὅτι «τοῖς μὲν ἔξω ἐν παραβολαῖς, ὑμῖν δὲ † τὰς παραβολὰς εἰς ἐπίλυσιν βασιλείας οὐρανῶν ῥητέον». ὅσας γοῦν ἐν εὐαγγελίοις παραβολὰς εἴρηκεν εὐθὺς ἐπιλύσας φαίνεται· ἀμέλει φησὶν καὶ τίς ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σινάπεως καὶ τίς ἡ ζύμη καὶ τίς ἡ γυνὴ ἡ βαλοῦσα τὴν ζύμην εἰς τὰ τρία σάτα, τίς ὁ ἀμπελών, τίς ἡ συκῆ, τίς ὁ σπορεύς, τίς ἡ καλλίστη γῆ· καὶ μάτην οὗτοι ἐνθουσιῶνται ὑπὸ δαιμόνων ἐλαυνόμενοι, περὶ ὧν φησιν ὁ ἁγιώτατος Παῦλος ὁ ἀπόστολος «ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς ἀποστήσονταί τινες τῆς διδασκαλίας, προσέχοντες μύθοις καὶ διδασκαλίαις δαιμόνων». καὶ πάλιν ὁ ἅγιος Ἰάκωβος λέγων περὶ τῆς τοιαύτης διδασκαλίας ὅτι «οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνωθεν αὕτη ἡ σοφία κατερχομένη, ἀλλὰ ἐπίγειος ψυχικὴ δαιμονιώδης· ἡ δὲ ἄνωθεν σοφία πρῶτον μὲν ἁγνή ἐστιν, ἔπειτα εἰρηνικὴ εὐπειθὴς ἀδιάκριτος, μεστὴ ἐλέους καὶ καρπῶν ἀγαθῶν» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, ἧς οὐδὲ εἷς καρπὸς ἐν τοῖς προειρημένοις εὑρίσκεται. παρ' αὐτοῖς γάρ «ἀκαταστασία καὶ πᾶν παράνομον πρᾶγμα», δαιμόνων τε κυήματα καὶ 1.437 συρίγματα δρακόντων, ἄλλοτε ἄλλως καὶ ἄλλο ἑκάστου αὐτῶν λαλοῦντος· παρ' οἷς οὐκ ἔλεος οὐκ οἶκτος εὑρίσκεται, ἀλλὰ διακρίσεις καὶ διαφοραί, καὶ οὐδαμοῦ ἁγνεία οὐδαμοῦ εἰρήνη οὐδαμοῦ ἐπιείκεια. 35. Βούλομαι δὲ πάλιν ἀναγκαζόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου, εἰ καὶ παύσασθαι ὑπεσχόμην, ὀλίγων τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς εἰρημένων μνημονεύσας ἀνατρέψαι. οὐ γὰρ τοῦ κατὰ τέχνην μοι λόγου μέλει, ἀλλὰ τῆς τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ὠφελείας. λέγουσι τοίνυν ὅτι ὁ δωδέκατος αἰὼν ὁ ἐν ὑστερήματι γενόμενος παντελῶς τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ τῶν δώδεκα ἐξέπεσεν καὶ ἀπόλλυται ὁ ἀριθμὸς ὁ δωδέκατος. τοῦτο δέ φασι γεγενῆσθαι τῷ τὸν Ἰούδαν, ὄντα δωδέκατον, ἐκπεπτωκέναι καὶ οὕτω τὸν δωδέκατον ἀριθμὸν ἠφανίσθαι· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τῆς αἱμορροούσης καὶ τῆς τὴν μίαν δραχμὴν ἀπὸ τῶν δέκα δραχμῶν ἀπολεσάσης. δείκνυται δὲ ὅτι οὔτε ὁ δωδέκατος αἰὼν πρόσωπον τοῦ Ἰούδα ἔχειν δυνήσεται, ὡς τῷ ἁγιωτάτῳ Εἰρηναίῳ προείρηται, - Ἰούδας μὲν γὰρ παντελῶς ἀπόλωλεν, ὁ δωδέκατος δὲ λεγόμενος αἰὼν κατὰ τὸ αὐτῶν πλάσμα οὐκ ἐκενώθη· ἔστη γὰρ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ὁ Μεταγωγεὺς ἢ ὁ Ὁροθέτης, φήσας πρὸς αὐτὸν Ἰαώ, ὡς αὐτοί φασι,καὶ οὕτως ἐστερεώθη, -οὔτε ἡ δώδεκα ἔτεσιν αἱμορροοῦσα τῷ αὐτῶν δράματι ὁμοιωθήσεται· ἐσώθη γὰρ μετὰ δώδεκα ἔτη, ἐν οἷς τῷ αἵματι τῆς ῥύσεως ἐφέρετο. οὐ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἕνδεκα ἔτεσιν ἀπαθὴς διετέλει καὶ ἐν τῷ δωδεκάτῳ ἔρρευσεν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς ἕνδεκα ἔρρει, τῷ δωδεκάτῳ δὲ σέσωσται, -οὔτε ἡ τὰς δέκα δραχμὰς κεκτημένη ἀπώλεσε τὴν μίαν εἰς τέλος, ἵνα ὁ αἰὼν τῆς ὕλης ἀπολωλὼς μυθεύηται παρ' αὐτοῖς· ἧψεν γὰρ τὸν λύχνον καὶ ηὗρεν τὴν δραχμήν. 36. Ἐκ τοίνυν τῶν δύο λόγων τούτων ἢ τριῶν τὰ πάντα αὐτῶν εὐθὺς ἐλεγχθέντα καταληφθήσεται δραματουργήματα καὶ ἀδρανῆ καὶ ἕωλα τοῖς τῆς φρονήσεως υἱοῖς καὶ τέκνοις τοῖς τῆς ἁγίας τοῦ θεοῦ καθολικῆς ἐκκλησίας. ἵνα γὰρ μὴ κατὰ τῶν αὐτῶν 1.438 φερόμενος εἰς μῆκος ἄπειρον ἐλάσω τὴν πραγματείαν, ἕως τῆς