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they attach a consort to him, so that the first syzygy might come into being, and from this one and from that one they might thus dramatize the remaining things. And there is much nonsensical dreaming among them, which brings their mind down into a deep sleep. And why should I waste much time, since their hypothesis is obtuse, and their refutation and overthrow is clear from what has been said before to everyone who wishes to hold on to his life and not be deceived by empty myths? But let these things have been said by me concerning these matters. But having passed this one by, I will proceed to the next, examining for myself a safe road and a smooth path, so that by going through and refuting the wickednesses of these people I may save both myself and my hearers in the power of God, through the teaching and true contemplation of our Lord. Therefore, like a mousetrap, having trampled down this viper, which is like many other vipers, with the shoe of the gospel, let us examine the next ones.

1.448 Against the Ptolemaeans, 13, but in the series, 33.

1. Ptolemy succeeds those around Secundus and the one named Epiphanes, who sold off the pretext from Isidore for his own hypothesis, being of the same heresy of the so-called Gnostics and being one of the followers of Valentinus along with certain others, but proposing other things contrary to his teachers, whose name those who are persuaded by him boast, being called Ptolemaeans. This Ptolemy, then, and those with him, has come forth to us as even more expert than his own teachers, having invented excesses of some addition to their teaching. For this man both devised and bestowed two consorts on the God called Bythos among them; and he called these "dispositions", both Thought and Will. And Thought, on the one hand, as always co-existing with him, always thinking to project something, but Will, on the other, as arising in him afterwards. For first he thought to project something, then, he says, he willed it. Wherefore, from these two dispositions, or even powers (for he calls them powers again), Thought and Will, as if being mixed together into one another, the projection of the Only-begotten and of Truth came into being as a syzygy. which came forth as visible types and images of the two invisible dispositions of the Father, Nous from Will, and Aletheia from Ennoia; and for this reason the male became an image of the supervenient Will, but the female of the unbegotten Thought, of the Will. Will, therefore, became the power of Thought. For Thought was always thinking the projection, but it was not able to project by itself what it was thinking; but when the power of Will supervened, then it projected what it was thinking. 2. And alas for such nonsense of the vain-minded one; for this would not be accepted even in the case of a human being by anyone having a sound mind, much less in the case of God. But Homer seems to me to be wiser than him, in his writing of Zeus taking thought with himself, both worrying and being angry and having remained sleepless all night, about how he might plot against the Achaeans, since Thetis had asked him to exact punishment from the leaders of the Hellenes and the Hellenes themselves because of the hubris against Achilles. For this Ptolemy devised nothing more plausible for the glory of his Father of all things, who is also called Bythos, than the things said by Homer about Zeus, but he has rather comprehended Zeus himself, as if having taken the idea from Homer; for one might reasonably say that he had the Homeric conception concerning Zeus and the Achaeans, 1.450 having vomited forth such great audacity of his, rather than the one concerning the master of all things, who at the same time as thinking it has also accomplished that very thing which

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συνευνέτιν αὐτῷ προσάπτουσιν, ἵνα γένηται πρώτη συζυγία καὶ ἐκ τούτου καὶ ἐκ ταύτης τὰ κατάλοιπα οὕτω δραματουργήσωσι. καὶ πολλή τίς ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἡ εἰς ὕπνον βαθὺν τὸν νοῦν αὐτῶν καταφέρουσα ληρολόγος ὀνειροπολία. Καὶ τί μοι ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ κατατρίβεσθαι, πωρατῆς οὔσης τῆς κατ' αὐτοὺς ὑποθέσεως καὶ τοῦ κατ' αὐτῶν ἐλέγχου καὶ ἀνατροπῆς ἀπὸ τῶν προειρημένων παντὶ τῷ βουλομένῳ τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ ἔχεσθαι καὶ μὴ ἀπατᾶσθαι κενοῖς μύθοις; ἀλλὰ ταῦτά μοι περὶ τούτων εἰρήσθω. παρελθὼν δὲ ταύτην ἐπὶ τὰς ἑξῆς βαδιοῦμαι, διασκοπήσων ὁδὸν ἐμαυτῷ ἀσφαλῆ καὶ τρίβον λείαν, ὅπως τὰς τούτων μοχθηρίας διεξιών τε καὶ ἐλέγχων ἐμαυτόν τε καὶ τοὺς ἀκούοντας ἐν τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμει διασώσω διὰ τῆς τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν διδασκαλίας καὶ ἀληθινῆς θεωρίας. ὡς μύαγρον οὖν ταύτην τὴν ἔχιδναν, τὴν πολλαῖς ἑτέραις ἐχίδναις ἐοικυῖαν, τῷ ὑποδήματι τοῦ εὐαγγελίου καταπατήσαντες τὰς ἑξῆς διασκοπήσωμεν.

1.448 Κατὰ Πτολεμαϊτῶν ˉιˉγ, τῆς δὲ ἀκολουθίας ˉλˉγ.

1. Τοὺς περὶ Σεκοῦνδον καὶ τὸν ὀνομασθέντα Ἐπιφάνην, ἐξ Ἰσιδώρου τὴν πρόφασιν εἰς ἑαυτοῦ ὑπόνοιαν ἀπεμπολήσαντα, Πτολεμαῖος διαδέχεται, τῆς μὲν αὐτῆς τῶν καλουμένων Γνωστικῶν ὑπάρχων αἱρέσεως καὶ τῶν κατὰ Οὐαλεντῖνον εἷς ὢν σὺν ἑτέροις τισίν, ἕτερα δὲ παρὰ τοὺς αὐτοῦ διδασκάλους ὑποτιθέμενος, οὗ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐχοῦσιν οἱ αὐτῷ πειθόμενοι, Πτολεμαῖοι καλούμενοι. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ Πτολεμαῖος καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ ἔτι ἐμπειρότερος ἡμῖν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ διδασκάλων προελήλυθε, τῇ ἐκείνων ὑφηγήσει προσθήκης τινὸς ὑπερβολὰς ἐξευρών. δύο γὰρ οὗτος συζύγους τῷ θεῷ τῷ παρ' αὐτοῖς Βυθῷ καλουμένῳ ἐπενόησέν τε καὶ ἐχαρίσατο· ταύτας δὲ καὶ διαθέσεις ἐκάλεσεν, Ἔννοιάν τε καὶ Θέλημα. καὶ τὴν μὲν Ἔννοιαν ἀεὶ συνυπάρξασαν αὐτῷ, ἐννοουμένην ἀεὶ τό τι προβαλέσθαι, τὸ δὲ Θέλημα ἐν αὐτῷ ἐπιγινόμενον. πρῶτον γὰρ ἐνενοήθη τι προβαλεῖν, εἶτα, φησίν, ἠθέλησεν. διὸ καὶ τῶν δύο διαθέσεων τούτων ἢ καὶ δυνάμεων δυνάμεις γὰρ αὐτὰς πάλιν καλεῖ, τῆς Ἐννοίας καὶ τῆς Θελήσεως ὥσπερ συγκραθεισῶν εἰς ἀλλήλας ἡ προβολὴ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς καὶ τῆς Ἀληθείας κατὰ συζυγίαν ἐγένετο. οὕστινας τύπους καὶ εἰκόνας τῶν δύο διαθέσεων τοῦ Πατρὸς προελθεῖν τῶν ἀοράτων ὁρατάς, τοῦ μὲν Θελή1.449 ματος τὸν Νοῦν, τῆς δὲ Ἐννοίας τὴν Ἀλήθειαν· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοῦ ἐπιγενητοῦ Θελήματος ὁ μὲν ἄρρην εἰκὼν γέγονεν, τῆς δὲ ἀγεννήτου Ἐννοίας ὁ δὲ θῆλυς τοῦ Θελήματος. τὸ Θέλημα τοίνυν δύναμις ἐγένετο τῆς Ἐννοίας. ἐνενόει μὲν γὰρ ἀεὶ ἡ Ἔννοια τὴν προβολήν, οὐ μέντοι προβαλεῖν αὐτὴ καθ' ἑαυτὴν ἠδύνατο ἃ ἐνενόει· ὅτε δὲ ἡ τοῦ Θελήματος δύναμις ἐπεγένετο, τότε ὃ ἐνενόει προέβαλεν. 2. Καὶ φεῦ τῆς τοιαύτης τοῦ ματαιόφρονος ληρῳδίας· τοῦτο γὰρ οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ ἐπὶ ἀνθρώπου λαμβάνοιτο παρά τινι τῶν ἐχόντων ἐρρωμένην τὴν διάνοιαν, μήτι γε ἐπὶ θεοῦ. δοκεῖ δέ μοι φρονιμώτερος αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχειν Ὅμηρος ἐν τῷ τὸν ∆ία φροντίδα παρ' αὐτῷ ποιούμενον ἀναγράφεσθαι, μεριμνῶντά τε καὶ χαλεπαίνοντα καὶ ἄϋπνον παννύχως διατετελεκότα, τὸ πῶς τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς ἐπιβουλεύσῃ, τῆς Θέτιδος αὐτὸν ἀξιωσάσης εἰς τὸ δίκην τῖσαι τοὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐξάρχους τε καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς Ἕλληνας διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Ἀχιλλέα ὕβριν. οὐδὲν γὰρ οὗτος ὁ Πτολεμαῖος εἰς δόξαν τοῦ παρ' αὐτοῦ Πατρὸς τῶν ὅλων τοῦ καὶ Βυθοῦ καλουμένου εὐλογώτερον τῶν παρὰ Ὁμήρου εἰς τὸν ∆ία εἰρημένων ἐπενόησεν, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν κατείληφε μᾶλλον τὸν ∆ία, ὡς παρὰ Ὁμήρου λαβὼν τὴν ἔννοιαν· μᾶλλον γὰρ τὴν Ὁμηρικὴν κατάληψιν περὶ ∆ιὸς καὶ Ἀχαιῶν εἰκότως ἂν φήσειέν τις αὐτὸν ἐσχηκέναι, 1.450 τὴν τοσαύτην αὐτοῦ τόλμαν ἐξεμέσαντα, ἢ τὴν περὶ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων δεσπότου, ὃς ἅμα τῷ ἐννοηθῆναι καὶ ἐπιτετέλεκε τοῦθ' ὅπερ