173

he will be evil, being a judge of evil things. And in every way his hypothesis will be found overthrowing itself. But from where have the three principles received their being, say again. And who is the one who established a boundary for them? For if each is confined in its own place, the three will no longer be found perfect, being defined within certain containing places, and the container of each will be found to be greater than the contained, and the contained could no longer be called god, but rather the containing boundary-setting. But if, having come together with one another, each was allotted its own place by division, and each, being in its own place, does not encroach upon or attack the other, the principles are no longer contrary to one another, nor will any of them be found to be evil, because of caring for their own things in a just and quiet and stable manner, and not attempting to proceed further. But if the evil one is overpowered by the one above and is forced and oppressed, being divided and existing in its own place, a place which does not belong to the good one above at all, nor has anything there been created by him—I mean in the place of the evil one—the one above will be found to be more tyrannical and no longer good, having sent his own son, or rather Christ, that he might take what belongs to another. And where is the boundary that defines the three principles, according to the argument of the charlatan's2.103 hypothesis? For some fourth one will be sought, most fair and wiser than the three, a knower of boundaries and knowledgeable, who both distributed the measures to each and made peace among the three, so that they might not quarrel with one another nor one send into the things of another. And this one, having persuaded the three principles, will be found to be a fourth, and wiser and more fair. And he himself again will be sought in his own place, from which he came into the midst of the three and wisely defined the portion for each, so that they might not wrong one another. But if the two principles are living as citizens in the things of the one—I mean of the demiurge—both the evil one in the demiurge's † regions and places, and the Christ of the good one having come to reside there. Then the judge will no longer be found to be judge and demiurge only, but also good, allowing the two to do what they wish in his own things; or he will be found powerless and not able to hinder the foreign plunderers of his own things. And if he is weaker in power, creation will no longer be found subsisting, but would have ceased long ago, being snatched away each day both by the evil one into its own portion and by the good one to the things above. And how will creation still stand? But if you say that it will cease in time and that it is possible for it to cease altogether through the care of the good one, then the good one will be the cause of the harm, for not having done long ago what later seemed good to accomplish, and indeed for not having done it from of old, before the majority were wronged and came to be in the possession of the judge and remained below? 8. And again, not understanding the things of divine scripture correctly, he puts them forth and deceives the simple, distorting the saying of the apostle, that "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us," and says: If we were his, he would not have bought his own; but having bought, he came into a foreign world to redeem us who are not his. For we were the creation of another, and for this reason he himself bought us for his own life. But the fool is completely ignorant that Christ neither became a curse—may it not be so—but he took away the curse that was on account of our sins, having crucified himself and becom-2.104 ing death to death on account of our sins, and having himself become a curse to the curse. Therefore Christ is not a curse, but the dissolution of the curse, and a blessing to all those who have truly believed in him. So too the word "redeemed."* He did not say "bought"; for he did not come into another's domain to seize or to buy. For if he bought, he bought not having, and like a poor man he acquired what he did not have. And if the one who possessed us has sold us, being in want

173

πονηρὸς ἔσται ὁ πονηρῶν δικαστὴς ὑπάρχων. καὶ εὑρεθήσεται κατὰ πάντα τρόπον ἡ αὐτοῦ ὑπόθεσις ἑαυτὴν ἀνατρέπουσα. Πόθεν δὲ εἰλήφασι τὸ εἶναι αἱ τρεῖς ἀρχαί, πάλιν λέγε. τίς δὲ ὁ ταύταις ὁρισμὸν συστησάμενος; εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἕκαστος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τόπῳ περιορίζεται, οὐκέτι τέλεια τὰ τρία εὑρεθήσεται ὁριζόμενα ἔν τισι περιεκτικοῖς τόποις, εὑρεθήσεται δὲ τὸ ἑκάστου περιεκτικὸν μεῖζον τοῦ περιεχομένου καὶ οὐκέτι τὸ περιεχόμενον θεὸς ἂν κληθείη, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἡ περιεκτικὴ ὁροθεσία. εἰ δὲ καὶ εἰς ταὐτὸν ἀλλήλοις γενόμενοι ἕκαστος κατὰ δίεσιν τὸν ἴδιον ἐκληρώθη τόπον καὶ ἕκαστος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ ὢν τῷ ἑτέρῳ οὐκ ἐντρίβεται οὐδὲ ἐπέρχεται, οὐκέτι αἱ ἀρχαὶ ἀλλήλαις ἐναντίαι οὐδέ τις αὐτῶν φαύλη εὑρεθήσεται, διὰ τὸ κατὰ τὸ δίκαιον καὶ ἥσυχον καὶ εὐσταθὲς τῶν ἰδίων ἐπιμέλεσθαι καὶ μὴ περαιτέρω βαίνειν ἐπιβάλλεσθαι. εἰ δὲ ὁ μὲν πονηρὸς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἄνω κατισχύεται καὶ βιάζεται καὶ καταπονεῖται, μεμερισμένος ὢν καὶ ἐν ἰδίῳ τόπῳ ὑπάρχων, οὗ τόπου τῷ ἄνω ἀγαθῷ οὐδὲν προσήκει, οὐδέ τι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κέκτισται τῶν ἐνταῦθα λέγω ἐν τῷ τοῦ πονηροῦ τόπῳ, τυραννικώτερος μᾶλλον εὑρεθήσεται ὁ ἄνω καὶ οὐκέτι ἀγαθός, τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν εἴτ' οὖν Χριστὸν ἀποστείλας, ἵνα τὰ ἀλλότρια λάβῃ. καὶ ποῦ ὁ ὅρος ὁ διορίζων τὰς τρεῖς ἀρχὰς κατὰ τὸν τοῦ ἀγύρ2.103 του τῆς ὑποθέσεως λόγον; ζητηθήσεται γὰρ τέταρτός τις ἐπιεικέστατος καὶ τῶν τριῶν σοφώτερος, ὁριογνώμων τε καὶ ἐπιστήμων, ὃς τὰ μέτρα ἑκάστῳ διένειμέν τε καὶ τοὺς τρεῖς εἰρηνοποίησεν, ἵνα μὴ στασιάσαιεν πρὸς ἀλλήλους μηδὲ εἰς τὰ ἄλλου ἄλλος ἀποστέλλοι. καὶ οὗτος μὲν πείσας τὰς τρεῖς ἀρχὰς εὑρεθήσεται τέταρτος καὶ σοφώτερος καὶ ἐπιεικέστερος. καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ἐν ἰδίῳ τόπῳ πάλιν ζητηθήσεται, ἀφ' οὗπερ εἰς μέσον ἦλθεν τῶν τριῶν καὶ ἑκάστῳ τὸ μέρος σοφῶς διώρισεν, ἵνα μὴ ἀλλήλους ἀδικοῖεν. εἰ δὲ ἐν τοῖς τοῦ ἑνός, λέγω δὴ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ αἱ δύο ἀρχαί εἰσιν ἐμπολιτευόμεναι, ὅ τε πονηρὸς ἐν τοῖς τοῦ δημιουργοῦ † χώραις τε καὶ χώροις καὶ ὁ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ Χριστὸς ἐπιδημήσας. οὐκέτι ἄρα κριτὴς καὶ δημιουργὸς μόνον ὁ κριτὴς εὑρεθήσεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀγαθός, συγχωρῶν τοῖς δυσὶν εἰς τὰ ἴδια ποιεῖν ὃ βούλονται· ἢ ἀδρανὴς εὑρεθήσεται καὶ μὴ ἰσχύων κωλῦσαι τῶν ἰδίων τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους ἅρπαγας. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἥσσων τῇ δυνάμει ἐστίν, οὐκέτι εὑρεθήσεται ἡ δημιουργία συνεστῶσα, ἀλλ' ἐξέλιπεν ἔκπαλαι, ἀναρπαζομένη καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ὑπό τε τοῦ πονηροῦ εἰς τὸ ἴδιον μέρος καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ εἰς τὰ ἄνω. καὶ πῶς ἔτι ἡ δημιουργία σταθήσεται; εἰ δὲ ὅτι χρόνῳ λήξει λέγεις καὶ δυνατὸν ταύτην ὅλως λήγειν διὰ τῆς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐπιμελείας, οὐκοῦν ὁ ἀγαθὸς αἴτιος τῆς βλάβης ἔσται ὁ μὴ πάλαι ποιήσας, ὅπερ ὕστερον ἀγαθὸν ἔδοξεν ἐπιτελεῖν, μήτε μὴν πεποιηκὼς ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνέκαθεν, πρὶν ἢ τοὺς πλείους ἀδικηθῆναι καὶ ἐν καθέξει αὐτοὺς γενέσθαι τοῦ κριτοῦ καὶ κάτω μεμενηκέναι; 8. Πάλιν δὲ τὰ τῆς θείας γραφῆς οὐκ ὀρθῶς νοῶν προφέρει καὶ τοὺς ἀκεραίους ἐξαπατᾷ διαστρέφων τὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου ῥητόν, ὅτι «Χριστὸς ἡμᾶς ἐξηγόρασεν ἐκ τῆς κατάρας τοῦ νόμου, γενόμενος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κατάρα» καί φησιν· εἰ ἦμεν αὐτοῦ, οὐκ ἂν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἠγόραζεν· ἀγοράσας δὲ εἰς ἀλλότριον κόσμον ἦλθεν ἡμᾶς ἐξαγοράσαι τοὺς οὐκ ὄντας αὐτοῦ. ποίημα γὰρ ἦμεν ἑτέρου καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἡμᾶς αὐτὸς ἠγόραζεν εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ζωήν. ἀγνοεῖ δὲ ὅλως ὁ ἠλίθιος ὅτι οὔτε Χριστὸς κατάρα γεγένηται μὴ γένοιτο, ἀλλὰ τὴν κατάραν τὴν διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἀφεῖλεν, ἑαυτὸν σταυρώσας καὶ γενόμε2.104 νος θάνατος θανάτῳ διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν καὶ κατάρα αὐτὸς τῇ κατάρᾳ γενόμενος. διὸ οὐκ ἔστι Χριστὸς κατάρα, ἀλλὰ τῆς κατάρας λύσις, εὐλογία δὲ πᾶσι τοῖς εἰς αὐτὸν ἀληθῶς πεπιστευκόσιν. οὕτω καὶ τὸ «ἐξηγόρασεν» *. οὐκ εἶπεν «ἠγόρασεν»· οὔτε γὰρ εἰς ἀλλότριον ἦλθεν ἁρπάσαι ἢ ἀγοράσαι. εἰ γὰρ ἠγόρασεν, μὴ ἔχων ἠγόρασε καὶ ὡς πτωχὸς ἃ μὴ εἶχεν ἐκτήσατο. καὶ εἰ ὁ κεκτημένος ἡμᾶς πέπρακεν, ἀπορήσας