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desiring to undertake to accomplish his will. And that this is so, it has been said also in the Law from the person of God: "I will kill and make alive, I will strike and I will heal." For truly he kills and gives life, he kills through the left hand, that is, through the evil one who was mixed so as to rejoice in the harming of the wicked- but he saves and does good through the right hand, that is, through the good one who was created so as to rejoice in the well-doing and salvation of the righteous. And these have their substances not from outside of God; for there is not any other principle. However, they were not put forth by God as living creatures (for they would have been of one mind with him), nor did they come to be by chance, arising automatically contrary to his will (since the greatest part of his power would have been taken away), but from God were put forth the four primary elements, the hot and the cold, the wet and the dry. whence indeed he is also father of every substance <...> being the judgment after the mixture; for when they were mixed externally, choice was born to them as a child. The evil one, therefore, having ministered blamelessly to God at the end of the present world, since indeed he is not of one substance directed to evil alone, can be remixed and become good. For not even now does he do anything evil, although he is evil, having received the authority to inflict harm lawfully. When Peter had said these things, Micah, who was also one of the followers, asked: "From where, then, do men get their sinning?" And Peter said: "From being ignorant that when a judgment comes concerning the evil things they do, they must certainly be punished; whence also, having desire for the succession of life, as I said at another time, they fulfill it haphazardly, either by adultery or the corruption of children or some other flattering sin. For by being ignorant that they are judged, as I said before, because of their fearlessness they hasten to fulfill their desire unlawfully. So that God is not evil, who rightly implanted desire so that there might be a succession of life, but they themselves are most impious, who have used the good of desire badly. Thus indeed it is also possible to reason concerning anger, that one who uses it justly, as is permitted, is pious- but one who goes beyond the measure and takes judgment for himself is impious. And Zephaniah said in turn: "Your long-suffering, my lord Peter, grants us boldness to inquire of you about many things for the sake of accuracy; therefore, being confident, we make our examination in every way. I remember, then, that yesterday Simon, in his debate with you, said that the evil one, if he has been born from God, is consequently of the same substance as the one who put him forth and ought to be good and not evil. And you answered that it is not altogether so, inasmuch as many evil children are born from good parents, just as from Adam two were born, of whom the one was evil, and the other good. And when Simon objected that you used human examples, you answered that by this reasoning one ought not accept that God begets at all; for this example is also human. But I, Zephaniah, accept that God begets, but I do not admit that he begets evil, even if good men beget evil children. And do not think that I unreasonably attribute some things pertaining to men to God, but others not, since I grant that he begets, but the

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λαμβάνειν ἐπιθυμοῦσαι τὸ αὐτοῦ θέλημα ἐπιτελεῖν. ὅτι δὲ τοῦθ' οὕτως ἔχει, εἴρηται καὶ τῷ νόμῳ ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ· «Ἐγὼ ἀποκτενῶ καὶ ζῆν ποιήσω, πατάξω κἀγὼ ἰάσομαι». ἀληθῶς γὰρ ἀποκτέννει καὶ ζωογονεῖ, ἀποκτέννει μὲν διὰ τῆς ἀριστερᾶς, τουτέστι διὰ τοῦ ἐπὶ κα- κώσει τῶν ἀσεβῶν χαίρειν κραθέντος πονηροῦ-σσζει δὲ καὶ εὐεργε- τεῖ διὰ τῆς δεξιᾶς, τουτέστι διὰ τοῦ ἐπ' εὐεργεσίᾳ καὶ σωτηρίᾳ δικαίων χαίρειν δημιουργηθέντος ἀγαθοῦ. εἰσὶ δὲ οὗτοι τὰς οὐσίας ἔχοντες οὐκ ἔξω- θεν τοῦ θεοῦ· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔστιν ἑτέρα τις ἀρχή. οὐ μὴν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς ζῷα προεβλήθησαν (ὁμόδοξοι γὰρ αὐτῷ ἦσαν) οὔτε συμβεβήκασιν, αὐ- τομάτως παρὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ βουλὴν γεγονότες (ἐπεὶ τὸ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ μέγιστον ἀνῄρητο ἄν), ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ μὲν προβέβληνται τὰ πρώ τιστα στοιχεῖα τέσσαρα, τό τε θερμὸν καὶ ψυχρὸν ὑγρόν τε καὶ ξηρόν. ὅθεν δὴ καὶ πατὴρ τυγχάνει πάσης οὐσίας <...> οὔσης γνώμης τῆς μετὰ τὴν κρᾶσιν· ἔξω γὰρ κραθεῖσιν αὐτοῖς ὡς τέκνον ἡ προαίρεσις ἐγεννήθη. ὁ οὖν πονηρὸς πρὸς τῷ τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος κόσμου τέλει ὑπουργήσας ἀμέμπτως τῷ θεῷ, ἅτε δὴ οὐ μιᾶς οὐσίας ὢν τῆς πρὸς κακίαν μόνης, μετασυγκριθεὶς ἀγαθὸς γενέσθαι δύναται. οὐδὲ γὰρ νῦν κακόν τι ποιεῖ, καίτοι κακὸς ὤν, νομίμως κακουχεῖν εἰληφὼς τὴν ἐξουσίαν. Ταῦτα τοῦ Πέτρου εἰπόντος Μιχαίας, καὶ αὐτὸς τῶν ἀκολούθων τις ὤν, ἐπύθετο· Πόθεν οὖν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν; καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἔφη· Ἐκ τοῦ ἀγνοεῖν ὅτι περὶ ὧν πράσσουσι κακῶς κρί<σεως γε>νομένης πάντως κολασθῆναι ἔχουσιν· ὅθεν καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, ὡς ἄλλοτε εἶ<πον, εἰς> διαδοχὴν βίου ἔχοντες, ταύτην πληροφοροῦσιν ὡς ἔτυχεν, ἢ μ<οι- χείᾳ ἢ> παίδων φθορᾷ ἢ ἄλλῃ τινὶ κολακευούσῃ ἁμαρτίᾳ. τῷ γὰρ ἀγνο- εῖν ὅτι κρίνονται, ὡς φθάσας εἶπον, διὰ τὸ ἄφοβον τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν οὐ νομίμως πληροῦν ἐπείγονται. ὥστε οὐχ ὁ θεὸς κακός, ὁ καλῶς θεὶς τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, ἵνα διαδοχὴ βίου γένηται, ἀλλ' αὐτοὶ ἀσεβέστατοι οἱ τῷ καλῷ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας χρησάμενοι κακῶς. οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ὀργῆς ἔστι λογίσασθαι, ὅτι δικαίως μὲν αὐτῇ τις χρησάμενος ὡς ἔξεστιν, εὐσεβεῖ-παρὰ δὲ τὸ μέτρον ἐξελθὼν καὶ ἑαυτῷ τὴν κρίσιν λαβὼν ἀσεβεῖ. Καὶ ὁ Σοφονίας πάλιν ἔφη· Ἡ μακροθυμία σου, κύριέ μου Πέτρε, παρ- ρησίαν ἡμῖν χαρίζεται ἀκριβείας χάριν κατὰ πολλὰ πυνθάνεσθαί σου· διὸ θαρροῦντες παντὶ τρόπῳ τὴν ἐξέτασιν ποιούμεθα. μέμνημαι τοίνυν ὡς χθὲς Σίμων πρὸς σὲ τὴν ζήτησιν ἔχων ἔφη ὅτι ὁ πονηρός, εἰ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται, ἀκολούθως τῆς αὐτῆς τῷ προβαλόντι τυγχάνει οὐσίας καὶ ἀγαθὸς ὤφειλεν εἶναι καὶ οὐχὶ κακός. σὺ δὲ ἀπεκρίνω μὴ πάντως οὕτως ἔχειν, καθότι πολλοὶ ἐξ ἀγαθῶν κακοὶ γεννῶνται, ὥσπερ ἐκ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ὁποῖοί τινες ὄντες δύο ἐγεννήθησαν, ὧν ὁ μὲν ἦν κακός, ὁ δ' ἀγαθός. τοῦ δὲ Σί- μωνος αἰτιασαμένου ὅτι ἀνθρωπίνοις ἐχρήσω παραδείγμασιν, ἀπεκρίνω ὅτι τούτῳ τῷ λόγῳ οὐδὲ τὸ γεννῆσαι θεὸν παραδέξασθαι δεῖ· ἀνθρώπινον γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο τὸ παράδειγμα. ἐγὼ δὲ Σοφονίας τὸ μὲν γεννῆσαι θεὸν παρα- δέχομαι, τὸ δὲ κακὸν γεννῆσαι οὐ προσίεμαι, κἂν τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ ἀγαθοὶ κακοὺς γεννῶσι. καὶ μήτοι νομίσῃς με ἀλόγως τῶν ἀνθρώποις διαφερόντων ἔνια μὲν τῷ θεῷ ἀποδιδόναι, ἔνια δὲ οὔ, ἐπειδὴ τὸ μὲν γεννῆσαι δίδωμι, τὸ