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to those who have been mixed by his own art, by his will, has occurred the desire for the destruction of the evil ones—but the occurring evil cannot destroy the good, not even if it should wish; for by law it has authority over those who sin. Being ignorant, therefore, of the manner of each, it makes a trial against them and having convicted them, punishes. And Simon said: Since God, then, is able to mix the elements and to make mixtures for which he wishes choices to come into being, why did he not make the mixture of each one disposed to good? And Peter: Now our discourse is set before us to show how the evil one came to be, if indeed he came to be, and by whom; but as to whether it was blamelessly, whenever I go through the discourse now set before us, then I will show how and why he came to be and I will give full assurance that the one who made him is blameless. Nevertheless, we said that the four substances were put forth by God, and thus by the will of the one who combined them it happened as the choice of the evil ones wished. For if it had happened contrary to his choice or from some other substance or even pretext, God would not have the certainty of his will; lest, if he were unwilling, leaders of evil might always arise, making war against his purposes. But it is impossible for these things to be so. For no living thing, and that a ruling one, can come into being by chance; for it is necessary for everything that comes to be, to come to be by someone. And Simon: What then? If matter, being contemporary and equal in power with him, as an enemy puts forth for him rulers, hindering his purposes? And Peter: If matter is eternal, it is not an enemy of anyone; for that which always is is also impassible, and that which is impassible is blessed, and that which is blessed cannot become susceptible to enmity, not being afraid of being deprived of anything by an eternal creation. And how does matter not rather love the creator, when it is seen bringing forth fruits for the nourishment of all the things that have been made by him? And how is it not afraid of him as its superior, as it confesses by trembling through earthquakes, and as, when it was greatly agitated with waves, it was quickly persuaded and became calm when the teacher was sailing and commanded it to be still? What then? And did not the demons come out with fear and reverence, and others, first entreating to enter into swine, pleaded as though having no authority even to enter into swine without his permission? And Simon: What then? If being without soul it has a nature to bring forth evils and goods? And Peter: According to this argument, it is neither good nor evil, because it does not act by choice, being without soul and without sensation. Wherefore it is also possible to see here how, being without soul, it puts forth animate things, and being without sensation, it is seen creating the artful shapes of both animals and plants. And Simon: What then? If God himself gave it a soul, is he not himself the cause of the evils which it bears? And Peter: If God gave it a soul according to his will, his spirit works it and it is no longer anything hostile to God or equal in power or impossible, because everything that comes to be by him comes to be as he wills. But you will say: He himself is the cause of evil, if he himself works evils through it. What evils, then, will you say? Venomous reptiles and deadly herbs, or demons, or any other things that can trouble humans? Which things <now

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ταῖς κραθείσαις ὑπὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ τέχνης βουλήσει συμβέβηκεν ἡ πρὸς τὸν τῶν κακῶν ὄλεθρον ἐπιθυμία-ἀγαθοὺς δὲ ἡ συμβεβηκυῖα κακία ὀλο- θρεῦσαι οὐ δύναται, οὐδ' εἰ βουληθείη· νόμῳ γὰρ κατὰ τῶν ἁμαρτανόν- των τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἔχει. ἀγνοῶν οὖν τὸν ἑκάστου τρόπον τὴν κατ' αὐτῶν λαμβάνει διάπειραν καὶ διελέγξας τιμωρεῖ. καὶ ὁ Σίμων ἔφη· ∆υνατὸς οὖν ὑπάρχων ὁ θεὸς κιρνᾶν τὰ στοιχεῖα καὶ ποιεῖν κράσεις πρὸς ἃς βούλεται γενέσθαι προαιρέσεις, διὰ τί μὴ ἀγαθῶν προαιρετικὴν ἐποίει τὴν ἑκάστου κράσιν; καὶ ὁ Πέτρος· Νῦν ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος πρόκειται δεῖξαι πῶς ἐγένετο ὁ πονηρός, εἴπερ γέγονεν, καὶ ὑπὸ τίνος· τὸ δὲ εἰ ἀμέμπτως, ὁπόταν διεξίω τὸν νῦν ἡμῖν προκείμενον λόγον, τότε τὸ πῶς καὶ διὰ τί ἐγένετο δείξω καὶ ὅτι ἄμεμπτος ὁ πεποιηκὼς πληροφορήσω. πλὴν ἔφαμεν ὑπὸ θεοῦ προβεβλῆσθαι τὰς τέσσαρας οὐσίας, καὶ οὕτως βουλῇ τοῦ συγκρίναν- τος συμβέβηκεν ὡς ἠθέλησεν ἡ τῶν κακῶν προαίρεσις. εἰ γὰρ παρὰ τὴν προαίρεσιν αὐτοῦ ἢ ἐξ ἄλλης τινὸς οὐσίας ἢ καὶ προφάσεως συμβεβήκει, οὐκ ἦν ἂν τῷ θεῷ τὸ τῆς βουλῆς βέβαιον· μήπως αὐτοῦ μὴ βουλομένου ἡγεμόνες αἰεὶ κακίας συμβήσωνται προσπολεμοῦντες αὐτοῦ τοῖς βου- λήμασιν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχειν ἀδύνατον. οὐδὲν γὰρ ζῷον καὶ ταῦτα ἡγεμονικὸν ἐκ συμβεβηκότος γενέσθαι δύναται· ἀνάγκη γὰρ πᾶν τὸ γινόμενον ὑπό τινος γίνεσθαι. καὶ ὁ Σίμων· Τί δέ; εἰ ἡ ὕλη αὐτῷ σύγχρονος οὖσα καὶ ἰσοδύναμος ὡς ἐχθρὰ προβάλλει αὐτῷ ἡγεμόνας, ἐμποδίζοντας αὐτοῦ τοῖς βουλήμασιν; καὶ ὁ Πέτρος· Eἰ ἀίδιός ἐστιν ἡ ὕλη, οὐδὲ ἐχθρὰ τινός ἐστιν· τὸ γὰρ αἰεὶ Χν καὶ ἀπαθές ἐστιν, ἀπαθὲς δὲ Χν μακάριόν ἐστιν, μακάριον δὲ Χν ἔχθρας δεκτικὸν γενέσθαι οὐ δύ- ναται, ἀιδίῳ κτίσει στερηθῆναί τινος μὴ πεφοβημένη. πῶς δὲ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἀγαπᾷ τὸν δημιουργὸν ἡ ὕλη, ὁπότε φαίνεται καρποὺς ἐκφύουσα εἰς τροφὴν πάντων τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γεγενημένων; πῶς δ' οὐχ ὡς κρείτ- τονα πεφόβηται, ὡς καὶ διὰ τῶν σεισμῶν τρέμουσα ὁμολογεῖ καὶ ὡς με- γάλα κυματουμένη τῷ διδασκάλῳ πλέοντι καὶ γαλήνην ἐπιτάξαντι τά- χιστα πεισθεῖσα ἡσύχασε; τί δέ; καὶ οἱ δαίμονες οὐ μετὰ τοῦ φοβεῖσθαι καὶ προτιμᾶν ἐξέβαινον, ἄλλοι δὲ εἰς χοίρους εἰσελθεῖν πρότερον παρα- καλοῦντες ἠξίουν ὡς μηδὲ τοῦ εἰς χοίρους εἰσελθεῖν ἄνευ τῆς αὐτοῦ συγχωρήσεως ἐξουσίαν ἔχοντες; καὶ ὁ Σίμων· Τί δέ; εἰ ἄψυχος οὖσα φύσιν ἔχει ἐκφύειν τὰ κακὰ καὶ τὰ ἀγαθά; καὶ ὁ Πέτρος· Κατὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦτον οὔτε ἀγαθή ἐστιν οὔτε κακή, ὅτι μὴ προαιρέσει πράτ- τει, ἄψυχος οὖσα καὶ ἀναίσθητος. διὸ καὶ ἐνταῦθα διιδεῖν ἔστι πῶς ἄψυ- χος οὖσα ἔμψυχα προβάλλει καὶ ἀναίσθητος οὖσα τεχνικὰ σχήματα τά τε ζσων καὶ φυτῶν δημιουργοῦσα φαίνεται. καὶ ὁ Σίμων· Τί δέ; εἰ ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸς ἐνεψύχωσεν αὐτήν, οὐκ αὐτὸς αἴτιός ἐστιν ὧν αὕτη τίκτει κακῶν; καὶ ὁ Πέτρος· Eἰ ὁ θεὸς αὐτὴν ἐνεψύχωσε κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ βούλησιν, τὸ αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα αὐτὴν ἐργάζεται καὶ οὐκέτι τῷ θεῷ ἐχθρόν τι ἐστὶν ἢ ἰσο- δύναμον ἢ ἀδύνατον, ὅτι πᾶν τὸ γινόμενον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ὡς θέλει γίνεται. ἀλλ' ἐρεῖς· Aὐτὸς τῆς κακίας αἴτιος, εἴπερ αὐτὸς δι' αὐτῆς ἐργάζεται τὰ κακά. ποῖα ἄρα ἐρεῖς τὰ κακά; ἑρπετὰ ἰοβόλα καὶ βοτάνας θανασίμους ἢ δαίμονας ἢ καὶ ἄλλα τινὰ τῶν ἀνθρώποις ὀχλεῖν δυναμένων; ἅπερ τὰ <νῦν