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not knowing how with their hands, and promising to define the celestial things by certain measures and of certain maieutic wombs as celestial, receiving knowledge of things that do not exist as though they do exist. But anyone hearing from these men, if he were one of the most foolish, thinking in his falsehood to have learned something sublime from them will easily be led away, "for every bird gathers according to its kind, and a man will cleave to his like," says the scripture; but if one of the intelligent who possesses right reason should encounter them, he will indeed laugh at such great nonsense, and from the very hypothesis of the things said by them he will know its refutation. For these men are completely refuted, arming against themselves the falsehoods of their own vain labor. For from where do you, O Ptolemies male and female, have the measures of the Bythos and the midwiferies of the childbirths and the knowledge of generative principles? For as if you were present and had beheld the natures of the celestial things and as if you pre-existed the very thing called Bythos among you, you promise to show the knowledge to us, although none of the prophets ever said this, not Moses himself, not those before him, not those after him, not the evangelists, not the apostles, unless perhaps you would speak of the mythic poems of the pagans concerning Orpheus and Hesiod and Hicesius and Stesichorus, among whom the generations of men were transformed into the names of gods and the things accomplished among men were dramatized poetically. For they 1.459 also thought thus, by deifying those such as Zeus and Rhea and Hera and Athena and Apollo and Aphrodite and honoring the offspring of their vices, they cast the world into an illusion of polytheism and idolatry. But no longer will there be much need for me for your refutation and conviction, O Ptolemy, and of those like you, since your forefathers have already been sufficiently refuted. But having established your shame through the things aforesaid, I will go through the error of the others, calling upon God as a helper of our mediocrity, so that I might expose and triumph over the hypothesis wickedly devised in each nation, asking for grace from God for the promise of my endeavor. 9. But so that your three little sayings may not be unexamined, which you boasted in your letter to the woman Flora, O Ptolemy—for serpentine teachings always deceive weak women laden with sins, according to the word of the apostle—by setting forth the very words themselves here at the proper time, I will proceed next in order to make their refutation, which is necessary so that no root of your weedy seed be left behind. For you assert, sir, that the law is divided into three parts, and that one has something from God, another from Moses, and another from the elders. And that what you think has been written from the elders you are nowhere able to prove, this is clear. For nowhere in the law are contained the traditions of the elders. But being ignorant of both the books and the truth you make a show of slandering and the consequences † being ignorant of each exact piece of knowledge. For the traditions of the elders are called Deuteroseis among the Jews. And these are four: one is that which bears the name of Moses, a second is that of the one called Rabbi Akiba, a third of Adda or Judah, a fourth of the sons 1.460 of Asamonaios. Since where can you, O contentious one and unstable in mind, show in the five books of the Pentateuch and the lawgiving of God that the word was said which was spoken by the Savior, "Whoever shall say to his father 'Corban,' that is, 'a gift,' he will not be helped by him"? But you cannot show it. Therefore, your argument has failed, since the saying is nowhere contained in the Pentateuch. And in vain did you deceive Flora who was tricked by you, but the things by Moses * were they not also legislated by God, but from

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χερσὶ μὴ ἐπιστάμενοι καὶ τὰ ἐπουράνια ἐπαγγελλόμενοι μέτροις τισὶν ὁροθετεῖν καί τινων μαιωτικῶν μητρῶν ὡς ἐπουρανίων, τῶν οὐκ οὐσῶν ὡς ὑπαρχουσῶν ἐπιστήμας ἀναδεχόμενοι. ἀκούσας δέ τις παρὰ τούτων, εἰ μὲν τῶν ἀφρονεστάτων εἴη, τῷ ψεύδει νομίζων τι παρ' αὐτοῖς μετάρσιον ἐγνωκέναι ῥᾳδίως ὑπαχθήσεται «ὅτι πᾶν ὄρνεον κατὰ γένος συνάγεται, καὶ τῷ ὁμοίῳ κολληθήσεται ἀνήρ», φησὶν ἡ γραφή· εἰ δέ τις περιτύχοι αὐτοῖς τῶν συνετῶν καὶ τὸν εὔλογον λογισμὸν κεκτημένων, καταγελάσει μὲν τῆς τοσαύτης ληρῳδίας, ἀπ' αὐτῆς δὲ τῆς ὑποθέσεως τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς λεγομένων τὴν ἀνατροπὴν εἴσεται. ἐλέγχονται γὰρ οὗτοι παντάπασι, καθ' ἑαυτῶν ὁπλιζόμενοι τὰ ψεύδη τῆς αὐτῶν ματαιοπονίας. πόθεν γὰρ ὑμῖν, ὦ οὗτοι Πτολεμαῖοί τε καὶ Πτολεμαῖαι, τοῦ Βυθοῦ τὰ μέτρα καὶ αἱ μαιώσεις τῶν τοκετῶν καὶ γεννητικῶν ὑποθέσεων ἡ γνῶσις; ὡς γὰρ παρόντες καὶ τῶν ἐπουρανίων τὰς φύσεις θεασάμενοι καὶ ὡς αὐτοῦ προόντες τοῦ παρ' ὑμῖν Βυθοῦ καλουμένου, ἐπαγγέλλεσθε τὴν εἴδησιν ἡμῖν ὑποδεικνύναι, οὐδενὸς πώποτε τῶν προφητῶν τοῦτο εἰρηκότος, οὐκ αὐτοῦ Μωυσέως οὐ τῶν πρὸ αὐτοῦ οὐ τῶν μετ' αὐτὸν οὐ τῶν εὐαγγελιστῶν οὐ τῶν ἀποστόλων, εἰ μὴ ἄρα τὰ ἐθνόμυθα ποιήματα εἴποις τῶν περὶ Ὀρφέα τε καὶ Ἡσίοδον καὶ Ἱκέσιον καὶ Στησίχορον, παρ' οἷς αἱ τῶνἀνθρώπων γενεαὶ μετεποιήθησαν εἰς θεῶν ἐπωνυμίας καὶ τὰ ἐν ἀνθρώποις τετελεσμένα ποιητικῶς ἐδραματουργήθη. κἀκεῖνοι γὰρ 1.459 οὕτως ἐνόμισαν, ἐκθειάσαντές τε τοὺς περὶ ∆ία καὶ Ῥέαν καὶ Ἥραν καὶ Ἀθηνᾶν καὶ Ἀπόλλωνα καὶ Ἀφροδίτην καὶ τὰς τούτων κακίαςγονὰς τιμήσαντες, εἰς φαντασίαν πολυθεΐας καὶ εἰδωλολατρείας τὸν κόσμον ἐνέβαλον. ἀλλὰ οὐκέτι μοι πολλή τις χρεία γενήσεται εἰς τὴν σοῦ, ὦ Πτολεμαῖε, ἀνατροπήν τε καὶ ἔλεγχον καὶ τῶν κατὰ σέ, ἤδη τῶν σῶν προπατόρων τὸν ἔλεγχον ἱκανῶς εἰληφότων. διὰ δὲ τῶν προειρημένων τὴν κατὰ σοῦ αἰσχύνην συστησάμενος διέξειμι τὴν τῶν ἑτέρων πλάνην, θεὸν ἐπικαλούμενος ἐπίκουρον τῆς ἡμῶν μετριότητος, ὅπως τὴν παρ' ἑκάστῳ ἔθνει κακῶς ἐπινενοημένην ὑπόθεσιν φωράσω τε καὶ θριαμβεύσω, ἐπὶ τῇ ἐπαγγελίᾳ τῆς σπουδῆς παρὰ θεοῦ αἰτούμενος τὴν χάριν. 9. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ ἀβασάνιστα ᾖ τὰ τρία σου λεξείδια, ἃ δὴ πρὸς Φλώραν τὸ γύναιον ἐπιστέλλων ἐκομπάσω, ὦ Πτολεμαῖε ἀεὶ γὰρ αἱ ὀφιώδεις διδασκαλίαι γυναικάρια σεσωρευμένα ἁμαρτίαις ἀπατῶσι, κατὰ τὸν τοῦ ἀποστόλου λόγον, καὶ αὐτὰς δὴ τὰς λέξεις καιρίως ἐνταῦθα παραθέμενος, καὶ τὴν αὐτῶν ἀνατροπήν, ἀναγκαίαν οὖσαν εἰς τὸ μὴ καταλειφθῆναι ῥίζαν τῆς ζιζανιώδους σου σπορᾶς, ἑξῆς ἀκολούθως ποιήσομαι. Φάσκεις γάρ, ὦ οὗτος, τὸν νόμον τριχῆ διῃρῆσθαι καὶ τὸ μὲν ἔχειν τι ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἐκ Μωυσέως, τὸ δὲ ἐκ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων. καὶ ὅτι μὲν ὅπερ ἐκ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων οἴει γεγραμμένον οὐκ ἔχεις που ἀποδεῖξαι, τοῦτό ἐστι δῆλον. οὐδαμοῦ γὰρ ἐν νόμῳ ἐμφέρονται αἱ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων παραδόσεις. ἀλλὰ ἀγνοῶν καὶ τὰς βίβλους καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν φαντάζῃ συκοφαντῶν καὶ τὰς ἀκολουθίας † ἀγνοῶν ἑκάστης ἀκριβοῦς εἰδήσεως. αἱ γὰρ παραδόσεις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων δευτερώσεις παρὰ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις λέγονται. εἰσὶ δὲ αὗται τέσσαρες· μία μὲν ἡ εἰς ὄνομα Μωυσέως φερομένη, δευτέρα δὲ ἡ τοῦ καλουμένου Ῥαββὶ Ἀκίβα, τρίτη Ἀδδᾶ ἤτοι Ἰούδα, τετάρτη τῶν υἱῶν 1.460 Ἀσαμωναίου. ἐπεὶ ποῦ ἔχεις, φιλόνεικε καὶ ἀκατάστατε τὴν γνώμην, δεῖξαι ἐν ταῖς πέντε βίβλοις τῆς πεντατεύχου καὶ θεοῦ νομοθεσίας ὅτι ἐρρήθη ὁ λόγος ὁ παρὰ τῷ σωτῆρι εἰρημένος «ὃς ἐρεῖ τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ κορβὰν ὅ ἐστι δῶρον, οὐκ ὠφεληθήσεταί τι ἐξ αὐτοῦ»; ἀλλὰ οὐκ ἔχεις δεῖξαι. ἄρα γοῦν ἐξέπεσέ σου ὁ λόγος, τοῦ ῥήματος οὐδαμοῦ ἐν τῇ πεντατεύχῳ ἐμφερομένου. καὶ μάτην τὴν ὑπὸ σοῦ ἠπατημένην Φλώραν ἐφάντασας τὰ δὲ ὑπὸ Μωυσέως * οὐκ ἐκτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ αὐτὰ ἐνομοθετήθη, ἀλλὰ ἐκ