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the things in them, that it might show the times and foretell the order, which thing precedes which. For having ordered, thus it holds them together and transforms them. And he has made it clear to us as a law for a sign of the seventh principle established concerning us, in 13.12.13 which we have knowledge of human and divine matters. And through weeks the whole world of all things that are generated and all that grow revolves; and by its being called sabbath, it is interpreted as being rest. And Homer and Hesiod also make it clear, having taken from our books that it is sacred. Hesiod thus: 'the first, the ninth, and fourth, and seventh is a holy day'; and again he says: 'and on the seventh again the bright light of the sun.' 13.12.14 And Homer says thus: 'and then came the seventh, a holy day'; and again: 'it was the seventh day and on it all things were completed'; and: 'on the seventh dawn we left the stream from Acheron.' 13.12.15 This indeed signifying, that from the soul's forgetfulness and evil, in the truly seventh principle the aforesaid things are left behind and we receive knowledge 13.12.16 of the truth, as has been said before. And Linus says thus: 'on the seventh dawn all things were completed'; and again: 'the seventh is among the good, and the seventh is of birth'; and: 'the seventh is among the first, and the seventh is perfect'; and: 'seven all things were made in the starry heaven, appearing in cycles in the revolving years.'» Such then are the things from Aristobulus. And what sort of things were said by Clement on the same subject, you may know through these:

13.13.1 13. HOW CLEMENT SIMILARLY SHOWS THAT THE THINGS WELL SAID BY THE GREEKS ARE IN HARMONY WITH THE DOGMAS OF THE HEBREWS; FROM THE FIFTH

STROMATEIS OF CLEMENT

«What follows must be added and the Greek theft from the barbarian philosophy must now be more clearly presented. For the Stoics say that God is a body and spirit in essence, just as indeed also the soul. All these things you will find openly in the scriptures. For do not consider for me now their allegories as the gnostic truth hands them down, if, pointing to one thing, like skilled wrestlers, they indicate another. But they say that God passes through all substance, but we call Him only creator, and creator by the Word. 13.13.2 And that which is said in Wisdom led them astray, 'she passes and goes through all things by reason of her pureness,' since they did not understand that these things were said of the wisdom first-created by God. Yes, they say; but the philosophers postulate matter among the principles, both the Stoics and Plato and Pythagoras, 13.13.3 but also Aristotle the Peripatetic, but not one principle. Let them know then that what is called matter, said by them to be without quality and without form, has already more boldly been called non-being by Plato; and whether not most mystically, knowing the one truly existing principle, in the Timaeus he says in these very words: 'Now then let our position be as follows: concerning the principle or principles of all things or whatever we think about them, we must not speak now, for no other reason than because it is difficult to declare our opinions according to the present method of discussion.' 13.13.4 Besides, that prophetic saying: 'But the earth was invisible and unformed' has furnished them with starting-points for a material substance. Yes indeed, for Epicurus the intrusion of chance came from here, by not following the saying: 'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.' And for Aristotle it came to pass to bring providence down as far as the moon from this psalm: 'Lord, your mercy is in the heaven and your truth reaches to the clouds.' For the declaration of the prophetic mysteries was not yet revealed before the coming of the Lord. 13.13.5 and on the other hand

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τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἵνα τοὺς χρόνους δηλώσῃ καὶ τὴν τάξιν προείπῃ τί τίνος προτερεῖ. τάξας γάρ, οὕτως αὐτὰ συνέχει καὶ μεταποιεῖ. διασεσάφηκε δ' ἡμῖν αὐτὴν ἔννομον ἕνεκεν σημείου τοῦ περὶ ἡμᾶς ἑβδόμου λόγου καθεστῶτος, ἐν 13.12.13 ᾧ γνῶσιν ἔχομεν ἀνθρωπίνων καὶ θείων πραγμάτων. δι' ἑβδομάδων δὲ καὶ πᾶς ὁ κόσμος κυκλεῖται τῶν ζῳογονουμένων καὶ τῶν φυομένων ἁπάντων· τῷ δὲ σάββατον αὐτὴν προσαγορεύεσθαι διερμηνεύεται ἀνάπαυσις οὖσα. διασαφεῖ δὲ καὶ Ὅμηρος καὶ Ἡσίοδος, μετειληφότες ἐκ τῶν ἡμετέρων βιβλίων ἱερὰν εἶναι. Ἡσίοδος μὲν οὕτως· πρῶτον ἕνη τετράς τε καὶ ἑβδόμη ἱερὸν ἦμαρ· καὶ πάλιν λέγει· ἑβδομάτη δ' αὖτις λαμπρὸν φάος ἠελίοιο. 13.12.14 Ὅμηρος δὲ οὕτω λέγει· ἑβδομάτη δἤπειτα κατήλυθεν, ἱερὸν ἦμαρ· καὶ πάλιν· ἕβδομον ἦμαρ ἔην καὶ τῷ τετέλεστο ἅπαντα καί· ἑβδομάτῃ δ' ἠοῖ λίπομεν ῥόον ἐξ Ἀχέροντος. 13.12.15 τοῦτο δὴ σημαίνων, ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς κατὰ ψυχὴν λήθης καὶ κακίας ἐν τῷ κατὰ ἀλήθειαν ἑβδόμῳ λόγῳ καταλιμπάνεται τὰ προειρημένα καὶ γνῶσιν 13.12.16 ἀληθείας λαμβάνομεν, καθὼς προείρηται. Λίνος δέ φησιν οὕτως· ἑβδομάτῃ δ' ἠοῖ τετελεσμένα πάντα τέτυκται· καὶ πάλιν· ἑβδόμη εἰν ἀγαθοῖς καὶ ἑβδόμη ἐστὶ γενέθλη καί· ἑβδόμη ἐν πρώτοισι καὶ ἑβδόμη ἐστὶ τελείη καί· ἑπτὰ δὲ πάντα τέτυκται ἐν οὐρανῷ ἀστερόεντι, ἐν κύκλοισι φανέντ' ἐπιτελλομένοις ἐνιαυτοῖς.» Τὰ μὲν οὖν Ἀριστοβούλου τοιαῦτα. ὁποῖα δὲ καὶ Κλήμεντι περὶ τῆς αὐτῆς εἴρηται ὑποθέσεως, γνοίης ἂν διὰ τούτων·

13.13.1 ιγʹ. ΩΣ ΚΑΙ ΚΛΗΜΗΣ ΟΜΟΙΩΣ ΤΑ ΚΑΛΩΣ ΕΛΛΗΣΙΝ ΕΙΡΗΜΕΝΑ ΣΥΜΦΩΝΑ ΤΥΓΧΑΝΕΙΝ ΤΟΙΣ ΕΒΡΑΙΩΝ ΠΑΡΙΣΤΗ ∆ΟΓΜΑΣΙΝ· ΑΠΟ ΤΟΥ Ε

ΣΤΡΩΜΑΤΕΩΣ ΚΛΗΜΕΝΤΟΣ

«Τὰ δ' ἑξῆς προσαποδοτέον καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῆς βαρβάρου φιλοσοφίας Ἑλληνικὴν κλοπὴν σαφέστερον ἤδη παραστατέον. φασὶ γὰρ σῶμα εἶναι τὸν θεὸν οἱ Στωϊκοὶ καὶ πνεῦμα κατ' οὐσίαν, ὥσπερ ἀμέλει καὶ τὴν ψυχήν. πάντα ταῦτα ἄντικρυς εὑρήσεις ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς. μὴ γάρ μοι τὰς ἀλληγορίας αὐτῶν ἐννοήσῃς τὰ νῦν ὡς ἡ γνωστικὴ παραδίδωσιν ἀλήθεια, εἰ ἄλλο τι δεικνύουσαι, καθάπερ οἱ σοφοὶ παλαισταί, ἄλλο μηνύουσιν. ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν διήκειν διὰ πάσης τῆς οὐσίας τὸν θεόν φασιν, ἡμεῖς δὲ ποιητὴν μόνον αὐτὸν καλοῦμεν καὶ λόγῳ 13.13.2 ποιητήν. παρήγαγε δ' αὐτοὺς τὸ ἐν τῇ Σοφίᾳ εἰρημένον «διήκει δὲ καὶ χωρεῖ διὰ πάντων διὰ τὴν καθαρότητα», ἐπεὶ μὴ συνῆκαν λέγεσθαι ταῦτα ἐπὶ τῆς σοφίας τῆς πρωτοκτίστου τῷ θεῷ. ναί, φασίν· ἀλλὰ ὕλην ὑποτίθενται οἱ φιλόσοφοι ἐν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς, οἵ τε Στωϊκοὶ καὶ Πλάτων καὶ Πυθαγόρας, 13.13.3 ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἀριστοτέλης ὁ Περιπατητικός, οὐχὶ δὲ μίαν ἀρχήν. ἴστωσαν οὖν τὴν καλουμένην ὕλην, ἄποιον καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον λεγομένην πρὸς αὐτῶν, τολμηρότερον δὲ ἤδη μὴ ὂν πρὸς τοῦ Πλάτωνος εἰρῆσθαι· καὶ μή τι μυστικώτατα, μίαν τὴν ὄντως οὖσαν ἀρχὴν εἰδώς, ἐν τῷ Τιμαίῳ αὐταῖς φησι λέξεσι· «Νῦν δὴ οὖν τό γε παρ' ἡμῶν ὧδε ἐχέτω· τὴν μὲν περὶ ἁπάντων εἴτε ἀρχὴν εἴτε ἀρχὰς εἴτε ὅπη δοκεῖ τούτων πέρι, τὸ νῦν οὐ ῥητέον, δι' ἄλλο μὲν οὐδέν, διὰ δὲ τὸ χαλεπὸν εἶναι κατὰ τὸν παρόντα τρόπον τῆς διεξόδου δηλῶσαι τὰ δοκοῦντα.» 13.13.4 Ἄλλως τε ἡ λέξις ἡ προφητικὴ ἐκείνη· «Ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος» ἀφορμὰς αὐτοῖς ὑλικῆς οὐσίας παρέσχηται. ναὶ μὴν Ἐπικούρῳ μὲν ἡ τοῦ αὐτομάτου παρείσδυσις οὐ παρακολουθήσαντι τῷ ῥητῷ γέγονεν ἐντεῦθεν· «Ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων, τὰ πάντα ματαιότης.» Ἀριστοτέλει δὲ μέχρι σελήνης ἐπῆλθε καταγαγεῖν τὴν πρόνοιαν ἐκ τοῦδε τοῦ ψαλμοῦ· «Κύριε ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ τὸ ἔλεός σου καὶ ἡ ἀλήθειά σου ἕως τῶν νεφελῶν.» οὐδέπω γὰρ ἀπεκαλύπτετο ἡ τῶν προφητικῶν δήλωσις μυστηρίων πρὸ τῆς τοῦ κυρίου 13.13.5 παρουσίας. τάς τε αὖ