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a power, which they call Mother and Female; for it seems to them that there are also mothers above, and females and males, and they almost speak of kinships and patriarchies. 2.73 Since, therefore, she who is called Mother and Female had prevailed, they say, and knew that Abel had been killed, she considered and caused Seth to be born, and in him she placed her own power, and having cast in him a seed of the power from above and the spark sent from above for the first casting of the seed and constitution. And that this is the constitution of righteousness and the election of a seed and race, so that through such a constitution and this seed the powers of the angels who made the world and the two men from the beginning might be destroyed. For this reason, therefore, the race of Seth, having been set apart, is derived from this, being of the election and separated from the other race. For as the times went on, they say, and the two races, that of Cain and that of Abel, were together, and came together into the same place because of much wickedness and were mixed together, the Mother of all, seeing this, wished to produce the pure seed of men, as I said before, because Abel had been killed, and she chose this Seth and showed him to be pure, and in him alone she deposited the seed of her own power and purity, 3. But seeing again much mingling and a disordered impulse of angels and men, who had come to a mixture of the two races, and certain constitutions of races that produced their own disorder, the same Mother and Female went again and brought a flood and destroyed every station of man and every hostile race, so that, 2.74 forsooth, the pure and just race from Seth alone might remain in the world, for the constitution of the race from above and of the spark of righteousness. But again the angels escaped her notice and slipped Ham into the ark, he being of their seed. For of the eight souls saved in the ark of Noah at that time, they say that seven were of the pure race, but the one, Ham, belonged to the other power, and he slipped in without the Mother above noticing. But this was contrived by the angels to be accomplished in this way: for since, they say, the angels knew that all their seed was about to be wiped out in the flood, with some craftiness they smuggled in the aforementioned Ham for the preservation of the race of wickedness created by them. And from him forgetfulness and error concerning men, and disordered courses of sins and a great mixture of wickedness came to be in the world. And thus the world returned again to its ancient disorder and was filled with evils as from the beginning before the flood. But from Seth, according to seed and succession of race, Christ Jesus himself came, not according to birth but having appeared wondrously in the world, who is himself the Seth of that time and the Christ of now who has visited the race of men, sent from the Mother above. 4. All these things happened in this way, they say. But foolish and inert and full of empty sounds are such preachings, as is clear to anyone. For not two men were formed, but one, Adam, and from Adam both Cain and Abel and Seth; and no longer from two men, but from one * until the flood, with all the races 2.75 having their own constitutions in the world from Adam. And from the flood again from Noah, the one man, and not from different men, but from the one Noah who was by succession from the seed of Seth came every race of men, not divided into two, but into one race. From whom both Noah and his wife and Shem, Ham and Japheth, his sons, and the three wives of his sons all derive their race from Seth and not from two men who did not exist according to their

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δύναμιν, ἣν Μητέρα φάσκουσι καὶ Θήλειαν· δοκεῖ γὰρ αὐτοῖς εἶναι καὶ μητέρας ἄνω καὶ θηλείας καὶ ἄρρενας, ὀλίγου δὲ δεῖ καὶ συγγενείας καὶ πατριαρχίας λέγειν. 2.73 ἐπεὶ οὖν κεκράτηκε, φασίν, ἡ Μήτηρ καὶ Θήλεια καλουμένη, γνοῦσα ὅτι ἀπέκτανται Ἄβελ, ἐνθυμηθεῖσα ἐποίησε γεννηθῆναι τὸν Σὴθ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἔθετο τὴν αὐτῆς δύναμιν, καὶ καταβαλοῦσα ἐν αὐτῷ σπέρμα τῆς ἄνωθεν δυνάμεως καὶ τὸν σπινθῆρα τὸν ἄνωθεν πεμφθέντα εἰς πρώτην καταβολὴν τοῦ σπέρματος καὶ συστάσεως. καὶ εἶναι ταύτην σύστασιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἐκλογὴν σπέρματος καὶ γένους, ὅπως διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης συστάσεως καὶ τούτου τοῦ σπέρματος καθαιρεθῶσιν αἱ δυνάμεις τῶν ἀγγέλων τῶν τὸν κόσμον πεποιηκότων καὶ τοὺς δύο ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ἀνθρώπους. διὰ ταύτην οὖν τὴν αἰτίαν καὶ τὸ γένος τοῦ Σὴθ ἀφορισθὲν ἐντεῦθεν κατάγεται, ἐκλογῆς ὂν καὶ διακεκριμένον τοῦ ἄλλου γένους. προβαινόντων γὰρ τῶν καιρῶν, φασί, καὶ ὁμοῦ ὄντων τῶν δύο γενῶν, τοῦ τε Κάϊν καὶ τοῦ Ἄβελ, εἰς τὸ αὐτό τε συνελθόντων διὰ κακίαν πολλὴν καὶ ὁμοῦ μιχθέντων, ἀποβλέψασα ἡ πάντων Μήτηρ καθαρὸν τὸ σπέρμα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἠβουλήθη ἀπεργάσασθαι, ὡς προεῖπον, διὰ τὸ τὸν Ἄβελ ἀπεκτάνθαι, καὶ τοῦτον τὸν Σὴθ ἐξελέξατο καὶ καθαρὸν ἔδειξεν καὶ ἐν τούτῳ τὸ σπέρμα μόνῳ τῆς αὐτῆς δυνάμεως καὶ καθαρότητος κατέθετο, 3. Ἰδοῦσα δὲ πάλιν πολλὴν ἐπιμιξίαν καὶ ἄτακτον ὁρμὴν τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, εἰς μῖξιν τῶν δύο γενῶν ἐλθόντων, καὶ συστάσεις τινὰς γενῶν τὴν αὐτῶν ἀταξίαν ἐμποιήσασαν, πορευθεῖσα πάλιν ἡ αὐτὴ Μήτηρ τε καὶ Θήλεια κατακλυσμὸν ἤνεγκε καὶ ἀπώλεσε πᾶσαν στάσιν ἀνθρώπου παντός τε γένους ἐναντίου, ἵνα 2.74 δῆθεν τὸ καθαρὸν γένος τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ Σὴθ καὶ δίκαιον μόνον μείνῃ ἐν κόσμῳ, εἰς σύστασιν τοῦ ἄνωθεν γένους τε καὶ σπινθῆρος τῆς δικαιοσύνης. ἔλαθον δὲ αὐτὴν πάλιν οἱ ἄγγελοι καὶ εἰσέδυσαν τὸν Χὰμ εἰς τὴν κιβωτόν, ὄντα τοῦ αὐτῶν σπέρματος. ὀκτὼ γὰρ ψυχῶν σωθεισῶν ἐν τῇ τότε λάρνακι τοῦ Νῶε ἑπτὰ μὲν εἶναι τοῦ καθαροῦ γένους φασί, τὸν δὲ ἕνα εἶναι τὸν Χὰμ τῆς ἄλλης δυνάμεως ὑπάρχοντα, ὃν εἰσδῦναι λαθόντα τὴν ἄνω Μητέρα. ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτο συσκευασθὲν οὕτως ἀποτελεσθῆναι· ἐπειδὴ γάρ, φασίν, ἔγνωσαν οἱ ἄγγελοι ὅτι μέλλει πᾶν τὸ σπέρμα αὐτῶν ἀπαλείφεσθαι ἐν τῷ κατακλυσμῷ, πανουργίᾳ τινὶ τὸν προειρημένον Χὰμ εἰς διατήρησιν τοῦ ὑπ' αὐτῶν κτισθέντος γένους τῆς κακίας παρεισέβαλον. καὶ ἐκ τούτου λήθη καὶ πλάνη περὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἄτακτοι φοραὶ ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ πολυμιξία κακίας ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ γεγένηται. καὶ οὕτως ὁ κόσμος εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον τῆς ἀταξίας αὖθις ἀνέκαμψεν καὶ ἐνεπλήσθη κακῶν ὡς ἐξ ἀρχῆς πρὸ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ. ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Σὴθ κατὰ σπέρμα καὶ κατὰ διαδοχὴν γένους ὁ Χριστὸς ἦλθεν αὐτὸς Ἰησοῦς, οὐχὶ κατὰ γέννησιν ἀλλὰ θαυμαστῶς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ πεφηνώς, ὅς ἐστιν αὐτὸς ὁ Σὴθ ὁ τότε καὶ Χριστὸς νῦν ἐπιφοιτήσας τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀπὸ τῆς Μητρὸς ἄνωθεν ἀπεσταλμένος. 4. Ταῦτα πάντα οὕτω γεγενῆσθαί φασιν ἐκεῖνοι. μωρὰ δὲ καὶ ἀδρανῆ καὶ κενοφωνίας ἔμπλεα τὰ τοιαῦτα κηρύγματα, ὡς παντί τῳ δῆλόν ἐστιν. οὐ γὰρ δύο ἄνθρωποι ἐπλάσθησαν, ἀλλὰ εἷς ὁ Ἀδὰμ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ὅ τε Κάϊν καὶ Ἄβελ καὶ Σήθ· καὶ οὐκέτι ἐκ δύο ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἑνὸς * ἕως τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ, τῶν γενῶν ὅλων 2.75 ἐκ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἐχόντων τὰς ἑαυτῶν συστάσεις ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ ἐκ τοῦ Νῶε πάλιν, τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου, καὶ οὐκ ἐκ διαφόρων ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ ἑνὸς τοῦ Νῶε τοῦ κατὰ διαδοχὴν ἐκ σπέρματος τοῦ Σὴθ πᾶν γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐκ εἰς δύο διαιρούμενον, ἀλλὰ εἰς ἓν γένος. ἀφ' οὗπερ καὶ Νῶε καὶ ἡ αὐτοῦ γυνὴ καὶ Σήμ, Χὰμ καὶ Ἰάφεθ, οἱ τούτου παῖδες, καὶ τρεῖς γυναῖκες τῶν αὐτοῦ παίδων ἀπὸ τοῦ Σὴθ τὸ γένος κατάγουσι πάντες καὶ οὐχὶ ἀπὸ δύο ἀνθρώπων τῶν μὴ γενομένων κατὰ τὴν τούτων