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he willed, and at the same time as he willed, that which he willed is also conceived, being conceived at the time he wills, and willing at the time he is conceived, being wholly conception, wholly will, wholly mind, wholly light, wholly eye, wholly ear, wholly a fount of all good things and contained within no passion; for he is God, and not taking thought and being at a loss like Bythos or Zeus, concerning whom Homer speaks, whom Ptolemy imitated when speaking of Bythos. But for a more thorough refutation of the deceiver, I will set down in order and present the alluring and poisonous words written by Ptolemy himself to a certain woman, Flora, so that no one may think we are refuting the deceiver from hearsay alone, without first having encountered the teaching falsified by him; for in addition to what has been said, he is not ashamed to blaspheme the law of God given through Moses, which are as follows: Ptolemy to Flora. 3. "That the law established through Moses, my good sister Flora, has not been understood by many, who have known neither its establisher nor its commandments precisely, I think will also become clear to you when you learn 1.451 the conflicting opinions about it. For some say that it was legislated by God the Father, but others, turning to the opposite path, maintain that it was established by the opposing, corrupting devil, just as they also attribute the creation of the world to him, saying that he is the father and maker of this universe. But these have certainly erred, being at odds with each other, and each of them missing, on their own terms, the truth of the matter at hand. For it does not appear that this was established by the perfect God and Father, for it follows that it is imperfect and in need of being fulfilled by another, and having commandments foreign to the nature and mind of such a God; nor, on the other hand, should we attribute the law to the injustice of the adversary * since it abolishes injustice; * and [they are like] those who fail to see what follows, according to the words spoken by the Savior; "for a house or a city divided against itself cannot stand," our Savior declared. Furthermore, the apostle says that the creation of the world is his own, and that all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made, having beforehand deprived the unsubstantial wisdom of the liars, and not of a corrupting god, but of one who is just and hates evil; but this is the view of improvident men, who do not grasp the cause of the creator's providence and who are maimed not only in the eye of the soul, but also in that of the body. 1.452 That these, then, have missed the truth is clear to you from what has been said. And each of them has suffered this in their own way, some through ignoring the God of justice, and others through ignoring the Father of all, whom only he who knows came and revealed. It remains, then, for us, who have been deemed worthy of the knowledge of both of these, to declare and make precise to you the law itself, what kind it is, and by whom it was established, the lawgiver, presenting the proofs for what we are about to say from the words of our Savior, through which alone it is possible to be guided without stumbling to the comprehension of existing things. 4. First, then, one must learn that that entire law contained in the Pentateuch of Moses was not legislated by any one person, I mean not by God alone, but some of its commandments were also established by men. And the words of the Savior teach us that this is divided in three ways. For it is divided into God himself and his legislation, and it is divided into Moses—not insofar as God legislates through him, but insofar as Moses, proceeding from his own thought, also legislated something—and it is divided into the elders of the people, who also themselves

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ἠθέλησεν, καὶ ἅμα τῷ θελῆσαι καὶ ἐννοεῖται τοῦθ' ὅπερ καὶ ἠθέλησεν, τότε ἐννοούμενος ὅτε θέλει καὶ τότε θέλων ὅτε ἐννοεῖται, ὅλος ἔννοια ὤν, ὅλος θέλημα ὤν, ὅλος νοῦς, ὅλος φῶς, ὅλος ὀφθαλμός, ὅλος ἀκοή, ὅλος πηγὴ πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ οὐδενὸς εἴσω πάθους περιεχόμενος· θεὸς γάρ, καὶ οὐ φροντίζων καὶ ἀπορῶν ὡς ὁ Βυθὸς ἤτοι ὁ Ζεύς, περὶ οὗ λέγοντα Ὅμηρον Πτολεμαῖος περὶ Βυθοῦ λέγων ἐμιμήσατο. εἰς δὲ περισσότερον ἔλεγχον τοῦ ἀπατεῶνος καθεξῆς ὑποτάξας παραθήσομαι τὰ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ φύσει Πτολεμαίου Φλώρᾳ τινὶ γυναικὶ γραφέντα ἐπαγωγά τε καὶ δηλητήρια ῥήματα, ἵνα μή τις νομίσειεν ἡμᾶς ἐξ ἀκοῆς μόνον τὸν ἀπατεῶνα ἐλέγχειν, μὴ πρότερον ἐντυχόντας τῇ παρ' αὐτοῦ παραπεποιημένῃ διδασκαλίᾳ· πρὸς γὰρ τοῖς εἰρημένοις καὶ τὸν νόμον τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν διὰ Μωυσέως βλασφημῶν οὐκ αἰσχύνεται, ἃ καὶ ἔστι ταῦτα· Πτολεμαίου πρὸς Φλώραν. 3. «Τὸν διὰ Μωσέως τεθέντα νόμον, ἀδελφή μου καλὴ Φλώρα, ὅτι μὴ πολλοὶ προκατελάβοντο, μήτε τὸν θέμενον αὐτὸν ἐγνωκότες μήτε τὰς προστάξεις αὐτοῦ ἀκριβῶς, ἡγοῦμαι καὶ σοὶ εὐσύνοπτον ἔσεσθαι μαθούσῃ 1.451 τὰς διαφωνούσας γνώμας περὶ αὐτοῦ. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς νενομοθετῆσθαι τοῦτον λέγουσιν, ἕτεροι δὲ τούτοις τὴν ἐναντίαν ὁδὸν τραπέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀντικειμένου φθοροποιοῦ διαβόλου τεθεῖσθαι τοῦτον ἰσχυρίζονται, ὡς καὶ τὴν τοῦ κόσμου προσάπτουσιν αὐτῷ δημιουργίαν, πατέρα καὶ ποιητὴν τοῦτον λέγοντες εἶναι τοῦδε τοῦ παντός. πάντως δὲ διέπταισαν οὗτοι, διᾴδοντες ἀλλήλοις καὶ ἑκάτεροι αὐτῶν διαμαρτόντες παρὰ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς τῆς τοῦ προκειμένου ἀληθείας. οὔτε γὰρ ὑπὸ τοῦ τελείου θεοῦ καὶ πατρὸς φαίνεται τοῦτον τεθεῖσθαι ἑπόμενον γάρ ἐστιν, ἀτελῆ τε ὄντα καὶ τοῦ ὑφ' ἑτέρου πληρωθῆναι ἐνδεῆ, ἔχοντά τε προστάξεις ἀνοικείας τῇ τοῦ τοιούτου θεοῦ φύσει τε καὶ γνώμῃ· οὔτ' αὖ πάλιν τῇ τοῦ ἀντικειμένου ἀδικίᾳ νόμον προσάπτειν * τὸ ἀδικεῖν ἀναιροῦντα· * τῶν τε ἑξῆς τι μὴ συνορώντων, κατὰ τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος εἰρημένα· «οἰκία γὰρ ἢ πόλις μερισθεῖσα ἐφ' ἑαυτὴν ὅτι μὴ δύναται στῆναι» ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν ἀπεφήνατο. ἔτι τε τὴν τοῦ κόσμου δημιουργίαν αὐτοῦ ἰδίαν λέγει εἶναι τά τε πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ γεγονέναι καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ γεγονέναι οὐδὲν ὁ ἀπόστολος, προαποστερήσας τὴν τῶν ψευδηγορούντων ἀνυπόστατον σοφίαν, καὶ οὐ φθοροποιοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ δικαίου καὶ μισοπονήρου· ἀπρονοήτων δέ ἐστιν ἀνθρώπων τοῦτο, τῆς προνοίας τοῦ δημιουργοῦ μὴ αἰτίαν λαμβανομένων καὶ μὴ μόνον τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ὄμμα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τοῦ σώματος πεπηρωμένων. 1.452 οὗτοι μὲν οὖν ὡς διημαρτήκασι τῆς ἀληθείας δῆλόν σοί ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων. πεπόνθασι δὲ τοῦτο ἰδίως ἑκάτεροι αὐτῶν, οἱ μὲν διὰ τὸ ἀγνοεῖν τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης θεόν, οἱ δὲ διὰ τὸ ἀγνοεῖν τὸν τῶν ὅλων πατέρα, ὃν μόνος ἐλθὼν ὁ μόνος εἰδὼς ἐφανέρωσε. περιλείπεται δὲ ἡμῖν ἀξιωθεῖσί γε τῆς ἀμφοτέρων τούτων γνώσεως ἐκφῆναί σοι καὶ ἀκριβῶσαι αὐτόν τε τὸν νόμον, ποταπός τις εἴη, καὶ τὸν ὑφ' οὗ τέθειται, τὸν νομοθέτην, τῶν ῥηθησομένων ἡμῖν τὰς ἀποδείξεις ἐκ τῶν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν λόγων παριστῶντες, δι' ὧν μόνον ἔστιν ἀπταίστως ἐπὶ τὴν κατάληψιν τῶν ὄντων ὁδηγεῖσθαι. 4. Πρῶτον οὖν μαθητέον ὅτι ὁ σύμπας ἐκεῖνος νόμος ὁ ἐμπεριεχόμενος τῇ Μωσέως πεντατεύχῳ οὐ πρὸς ἑνός τινος νενομοθέτηται, λέγω δὴ οὐχ ὑπὸ μόνου θεοῦ, ἀλλ' εἰσί τινες αὐτοῦ προστάξεις καὶ ὑπ' ἀνθρώπων τεθεῖσαι. καὶ τριχῆ τοῦτον διαιρεῖσθαι οἱ τοῦ σωτῆρος λόγοι διδάσκουσιν ἡμᾶς. εἴς τε γὰρ αὐτὸν τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὴν τούτου νομοθεσίαν διαιρεῖται, διαιρεῖται δὲ καὶ εἰς τὸν Μωσέα οὐ καθὰ δι' αὐτοῦ νομοθετεῖ ὁ θεός, ἀλλὰ καθὰ ἀπὸ τῆς ἰδίας ἐννοίας ὁρμώμενος καὶ ὁ Μωσῆς ἐνομοθέτησέ τινα καὶ εἰς τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους τοῦ λαοῦ διαιρεῖται, οἳ καὶ αὐτοὶ