130

having convicted him by making his wicked words manifest, we defeated him with the teaching of the true faith. Therefore, having crushed this man in the power of God, let us for our part give thanks to God, and let us undertake to proceed to the next things likewise as I said before.

2.5 Against the Marcosians 14, but of the sequence 34.

But a certain Marcus, from whom the so-called Marcosians are named, starting from these and daring other evils beyond these, vomited them upon the world. For he succeeds those around Secundus and Epiphanes and Ptolemy and Valentinus, and was lifted up to a more excessive, charlatan-like gathering. For he brought along women and men deceived and deceiving by him, the wretched man being supposed to be a corrector of the aforementioned impostors, being most experienced in magical trickery. And having deceived all the aforementioned men and women to pay attention to him as the most gnostic and as having the greatest power from the invisible and unnamable places, he has been shown to be truly a forerunner of the Antichrist. For having mixed the tricks of Anaxilaus with the villainy of the so-called magi, by means of these, creating illusions and practicing magic, he cast into amazement those who saw and were persuaded by him, so that even those from him still to this day perform this. But those who see the things from curious art * think that certain powers are performed at his hands and of those with them who do these things. For they themselves, having lost their minds, do not see, not knowing to test that the constitution of his trick is performed, so to speak, from magic. For they have become altogether stupefied, having been led away by a certain evil notion. For they say that three cups of white glass are prepared among them, mixed with white wine, and during the incantation performed by him, the so-called eucharist, they are immediately changed, one to red * as blood, another to purple, and another to dark blue. 2.6 I therefore, in order not to give myself over to a second labor, thought it necessary to be satisfied with what was written by the most blessed and most holy Irenaeus against this Marcus and those who spring from him, which I have taken pains to set forth here word for word, and they are as follows. For the holy Irenaeus himself, in exposing the things done by them, affirms, saying thus:

FROM THE WRITINGS OF SAINT IRENAEUS. Pretending to give thanks over cups mixed with wine and extending at great length the word of the invocation, he makes them appear purple and red, so that it seems that the Grace from the realms above all things drips her own blood into his cup through his invocation, and that those present greatly desire to taste of that drink, so that the Grace invoked by this magus might rain down upon them also. Again, giving mixed cups to women, he commands them to give thanks while he stands by. And when this is done, he himself, bringing forward another cup much larger than that over which the deceived woman gave thanks, and pouring from the smaller one, over which thanks had been given by the woman, into the one brought by him *, saying at the same time thus: «May the Grace that is before all things, the inconceivable and ineffable, fill your inner man and increase her knowledge in you, sowing the grain of mustard seed into the good ground». And saying some such things and driving the wretched woman to frenzy, he appeared a wonder-worker, the large cup having been filled from the small one, so that it even overflows

130

ἐλέγξαντες τῷ τὰ μοχθηρὰ ῥήματα αὐτοῦ φωρατὰ ποιῆσαι, τῇ τῆς ἀληθοῦς πίστεως διδασκαλίᾳ ἡττήσαμεν. ἐν τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ τοίνυν δυνάμει συντρίψαντες τοῦτον αὐτοὶ μὲν θεῷ εὐχαριστήσωμεν, ἐπὶ δὲ τὰς ἑξῆς ὁμοίως ὡς προεῖπον προέρχεσθαι ἐπιβαλώμεθα.

2.5 Κατὰ Μαρκωσίων ˉιˉδ, τῆς δὲ ἀκολουθίας ˉλˉδ.

Μάρκος δέ τις, ἀφ' οὗπερ οἱ Μαρκώσιοι καλούμενοι, ἀπὸ τούτων ὁρμώμενος καὶ ἕτερα παρὰ τούτους τολμήσας κακὰ τῷ κόσμῳ ἐξήμεσε· τούτους γὰρ διαδέχεται τοὺς περὶ Σεκοῦνδον καὶ Ἐπιφάνη καὶ Πτολεμαῖον καὶ Οὐαλεντῖνον, εἰς περισσοτέραν δὲ ἀγυρτώδη συνάθροισιν ἐπήρθη. γύναια γὰρ καὶ ἄνδρας παρ' αὐτοῦ πεπλανημένα τε καὶ πεπλανημένους ἐπηγάγετο, ὑποληφθεὶς ὁ ἐλεεινὸς διορθωτὴς εἶναι τῶν προειρημένων ἀπατεώνων, μαγικῆς ὑπάρχων κυβείας ἐμπειρότατος. ἀπατήσας δὲ τοὺς προειρημένους πάντας καὶ τὰς προειρημένας προσέχειν αὐτῷ ὡς γνωστικωτάτῳ καὶ δύναμιν τὴν μεγίστην ἀπὸ τῶν ἀοράτων καὶ ἀκατονομάστων τόπων ἔχοντι, ὡς πρόδρομος ὢν ἀληθῶς τοῦ Ἀντιχρίστου ἀποδέδεικται. τὰ γὰρ Ἀναξιλάου παίγνια τῇ τῶν λεγομένων μάγων πανουργίᾳ συμμίξας, δι' αὐτῶν φαντάζων τε καὶ μαγεύων, εἰς ἔκπληξιν τοὺς ὁρῶντάς τε καὶ πειθομένους αὐτῷ περιέβαλεν, ὡς καὶ οἱ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἔτι καὶ εἰς δεῦρο τοῦτο ἐπιτελοῦσιν. οἱ δὲ τὰ ἀπὸ περιεργίας * ὁρῶντες δοκοῦσι δυνάμεις τινὰς ἐν χερσὶν αὐτοῦ ἐπιτελεῖσθαι καὶ τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς ταῦτα ποιούντων. τὸν γὰρ νοῦν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀπολέσαντες οὐχ ὁρῶσι. μὴ γινώσκοντες δοκιμάσαι, ὅτι ἀπὸ μαγείας ἡ σύστασις τοῦ παρ' αὐτοῦ παιγνίου ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν ἐπιτελεῖται. αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἐμβρόντητοι παντάπασι γεγόνασιν, ὑπαχθέντες κακῇ τινι ὑπονοίᾳ. φασὶ γὰρ τρία ποτήρια λευκῆς ὑάλου παρ' αὐτοῖς ἑτοιμάζεσθαι κεκραμένα λευκῷ οἴνῳ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐπιτελουμένῃ παρ' αὐτοῦ ἐπῳδῇ, τῇ νομιζομένῃ εὐχαριστίᾳ, μετα2.6 βάλλεσθαι εὐθύς, τὸ μὲν ἐρυθρὸν * ὡς αἷμα, τὸ δὲ πορφύρεον, τὸ δὲ κυάνεον. Ἐγὼ τοίνυν ἵνα μὴ εἰς δεύτερον κάματον ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδῶ, ἀρκεσθῆναι δεῖν ἡγησάμην τοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ μακαριωτάτου καὶ ἁγιωτάτου Εἰρηναίου κατ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ Μάρκου καὶ τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ ὁρμωμένων πραγματευθεῖσιν, ἅτινα ἐνταῦθα πρὸς ἔπος ἐκθέσθαι ἐσπούδασα, καὶ ἔστιν τάδε. φάσκει γὰρ αὐτὸς Εἰρηναῖος ὁ ἅγιος ἐν τῷ ὑποφαίνειν τὰ ὑπ' αὐτῶν γενόμενα, λέγων οὕτως·

ΕΚ ΤΩΝ ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΕΙΡΗΝΑΙΟΥ. Ποτήρια οἴνῳ κεκραμένα προσποιούμενος εὐχαριστεῖν καὶ ἐπὶ πλέον ἐκτείνων τὸν λόγον τῆς ἐπικλήσεως πορφύρεα καὶ ἐρυθρὰ ἀναφαίνεσθαι ποιεῖ, ὡς δοκεῖν τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπὲρ τὰ ὅλα Χάριν τὸ αἷμα τὸ ἑαυτῆς στάζειν ἐν τῷ ἐκείνου ποτηρίῳ διὰ τῆς ἐπικλήσεως αὐτοῦ καὶ ὑπεριμείρεσθαι τοὺς παρόντας ἐξ ἐκείνου γεύσασθαι τοῦ πόματος, ἵνα καὶ εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐπομβρήσῃ ἡ διὰ τοῦ μάγου τούτου κλῃζομένη Χάρις. πάλιν δὲ γυναιξὶν ἐπιδοὺς ἐκπόματα κεκραμένα αὐτὰς εὐχαριστεῖν ἐγκελεύεται παρεστῶτος αὐτοῦ. καὶ τούτου γενομένου, αὐτὸς ἄλλο ποτήριον πολλῷ μεῖζον ἐκείνου, οὗ ἡ ἐξηπατημένη ηὐχαρίστησε, προσενεγκὼν καὶ μετακενώσας ἀπὸ τοῦ μικροτέρου τοῦ ὑπὸ τῆς γυναικὸς ηὐχαριστημένου εἰς τὸ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κεκομισμένον * ἐπιλέγων ἅμα οὕτως «ἡ πρὸ τῶν ὅλων, ἡ ἀνεννόητος καὶ ἄρρητος Χάρις πληρώσαι σου τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον καὶ πληθύναι ἐν σοὶ τὴν γνῶσιν αὐτῆς, ἐγκατασπείρουσα τὸν κόκκον τοῦ σινάπεως εἰς τὴν ἀγαθὴν γῆν». καὶ τοιαῦτά τινα εἰπὼν καὶ ἐξοιστρήσας τὴν ταλαίπωρον θαυματοποιὸς ἀνεφάνη, τοῦ μεγάλου πληρωθέντος ἐκ τοῦ μικροῦ ποτηρίου, ὥστε καὶ ὑπερεκχεῖσθαι