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I said, should one strike it down, there comes forth angered that very terrible but feeble little wasp; and if it finds a nearby rock or piece of wood, from the anger that filled it, it attacks with a whizzing sound and rushes and strikes the rock; and it harms the rock not at all, nor the wood, nor indeed the man, even if 2.199 it bites, except for a little pain; but it especially harms the rock not at all, but loses its stinger and thus perishes, while the rock will be harmed not at all by such a thing. So also this wasp-like [heresy], which has a small spark of torment, will be overthrown, when it encounters the rock, that is, the truth, and has lost its stinger. And having gone through this one, I will proceed again to the others, according to the hope of God, trusting that the promise will be fulfilled in God.

Against the Severians, 25, but 45 in the series.

1. After these in order follows Severus, either contemporary or about the time *; for I cannot speak with certainty about his time, except that they were near to each other. Nevertheless I will relate what has come down to us. A certain Severus arose, from whom the so-called Severians come, following in order the aforementioned Apelles. The mythologies told by him are these which I am about to speak of. He too wishes to attribute our creation to principalities and powers, and that there is a certain good God in some unnameable and highest heaven and aeon. He claims the devil is the son of the great ruler of the order of the powers, whose name is given sometimes as Ialdabaoth, sometimes as Sabaoth; and that this one, having been begotten from him, is a serpent. and that from the 2.200 power above he was cast down to the earth and having descended, being serpent-like, was driven into a frenzy and mingled with the earth as with a woman, and from him, when he ejaculated the seed of his issue, the grapevine sprouted. For which reason, inventing myths to represent their nonsense, he wishes to point out the serpent-like winding of the grapevine, saying that because of the crookedness of the plant it is like a serpent; and that the white [vine] is like a serpent, and the black one like a dragon. and that the grapes of the vine are like drops or rather globules of venom, because of the circular or tapering and ambiguous roundness of each grape. and that wine, coming from this origin, muddles the mind of humanity and sometimes leads to the charm of venereal pleasures, sometimes rouses to frenzy, and yet again produces anger, because the body is made foolish by the power of the wine and the venom of the aforesaid dragon. For this reason such people abstain completely from wine. 2. They also claim that woman is the work of Satan, just as the Archontics also said this. Therefore they say that those who engage in marriage are fulfilling the work of Satan. But also of man, one half is of God, and the other half of the devil. For he says the creation from the navel upwards is of the power of God, but from the navel downwards, the creation is of the evil power. Therefore he says all things concerning pleasure and frenzy and desire happen from the navel downwards. But the other heresies also said this was so. 3. Whence he too is caught in every way following the other charlatans who have prepared poisons for life. For he will be easily refuted; for the refutation against him will not require very much labor. For the whole body is mixed with things that have come to be in it well from God, I mean appetites that have come from God not for absurdity but for a good use and the order of necessary need, I mean the desire for sleep, food, drink, clothing and all the other things that pertain to

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ἔφην καταβάλοι, ἐξέρχεται θυμούμενον αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ δεινὸν μὲν βληχρὸν δὲ σφηκίον· καὶ ἐὰν εὕρῃ πέτραν πλησίον ἢ ξύλον, ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐμπλήσαντος αὐτὸ θυμοῦ ῥοίζῳ μὲν ἐφίσταται καὶ ὁρμᾷ καὶ παίει τὴν πέτραν· καὶ τὴν μὲν πέτραν οὐδὲν ἀδικεῖ ἀλλὰ οὔτε τὸ ξύλον οὔτε μὴν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κἄν τε 2.199 δάκοι, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ὀδύνην ὀλίγην· οὐδὲν δὲ ἀδικεῖ μάλιστα τὴν πέτραν, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν κέντρον ἀπόλλυσι καὶ οὕτω φθείρεται, ἡ δὲ πέτρα οὐδὲν ἀδικηθήσεται ὑπὸ τοῦ τοιούτου. οὕτω καὶ αὕτη ἡ σφηκιώδης ζωπύρου δίκην μικρὰν ἔχουσα τὴν περιωδυνίαν ἀνατραπήσεται, τῇ πέτρᾳ συντυχοῦσα τουτέστιν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ καὶ τὸ κέντρον ἀπολέσασα. ταύτην δὲ διελθὼν ἐπὶ τὰς ἑτέρας πάλιν βαδιοῦμαι, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐλπίδα πιστεύων ὅτι τὸ ἐπάγγελμα ἐν θεῷ πληρωθήσεται.

Κατὰ Σευηριανῶν ˉκˉε, τῆς δὲ ἀκολουθίας ˉμˉε.

1. Τούτων καθεξῆς Σευῆρος ἕπεται, ἤτοι σύγχρονος ἤτοι περὶ τὸν χρόνον *· οὐκ ἔχω γὰρ περὶ τοῦ χρόνου αὐτοῦ ἀσφαλῶς λέγειν, πλὴν σύνεγγυς ἀλλήλων ἦσαν. ὅμως δὲ τὰ εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐλθόντα διηγήσομαι. Σευῆρός τις ἀνέστη, ἐξ οὗπερ οἱ Σευηριανοὶ καλούμενοι, καθεξῆς συνεπόμενος τῷ προειρημένῳ Ἀπελλῇ. τὰ δὲ παρ' αὐτῷ μυθολογήματα ταῦτά ἐστιν ἅτινα μέλλω λέγειν. βούλεται δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀρχαῖς τε καὶ ἐξουσίαις προσάπτειν τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς κτίσιν, εἶναί τε ἐν ἀκατονομάστῳ τινὶ ἀνωτάτῳ τε οὐρανῷ καὶ αἰῶνι ἀγαθόν τινα θεόν. τὸν δὲ διάβολον υἱὸν εἶναι φάσκει τοῦ μεγάλου ἄρχοντος τῆς τῶν ἐξουσιῶν τάξεως, ᾧ ὄνομα τίθεται πῆ μὲν Ἰαλδαβαώθ, πῆ δὲ Σαβαώθ· τοῦτον δὲ γεννηθέντα ἐξ αὐτοῦ εἶναι ὄφιν. ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς 2.200 ἄνω δυνάμεως καταβεβλῆσθαι εἰς τὴν γῆν καὶ κατεληλυθότα ὀφιείκελον ὄντα εἰς οἶστρον ἐληλακέναι καὶ τῇ γῇ μεμίχθαι ὥσπερ γυναικί, καὶ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τὸ σπέρμα ἀποσπερματίσαντος τῆς γονῆς τὴν ἄμπελον βεβλαστηκέναι. διὸ δὴ μυθολογῶν εἰς παράστασιν τῆς αὐτῶν ληρῳδίας τὸ ὀφιείκελον τῆς ἀμπέλου περιφερὲς βούλεται ἐκτυποῦν, λέγων διὰ τὸ σκαληνὸν τοῦ φυτοῦ εἶναι αὐτὸ ὄφεως δίκην· καὶ τὴν μὲν λευκὴν εἶναι ὡς ὄφιν, τὴν δὲ μέλαιναν ὡς δράκοντα. εἶναι δὲ καὶ τοὺς ῥᾶγας τῆς ἀμπέλου ὥσπερ ἰοῦ ῥαθάμιγγας εἴτουν σταγόνας, διὰ τὸ κυκλοειδὲς ἢ τὸ μείουρον καὶ διαμφὲς ἑκάστου ῥωγὸς στρογγυλώσεως. τὸν δὲ οἶνον ἐκ τῆς ὑποθέσεως ταύτης ὄντα τὸν νοῦν θολοῦν τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος καὶ πῆ μὲν εἰς θέλξιν ἀφροδισίων ἄγειν, πῆ δὲ εἰς οἶστρον ἐγείρειν, ἠδ' αὖ πάλιν ὀργὴν ἐμποιεῖν διὰ τὸ κεπφοῦσθαι τὸ σῶμα ἐκ τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴνου δυνάμεως καὶ τοῦ ἰοῦ τοῦ προειρημένου δράκοντος. ὅθεν ἀπέχονται οἴνου παντελῶς οἱ τοιοῦτοι. 2. Φάσκουσι δὲ καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα εἶναι ἔργον τοῦ Σατανᾶ, καθάπερ καὶ οἱ Ἀρχοντικοὶ τοῦτο ἔφασαν. διὸ τοὺς γάμῳ πλησιάζοντας τοῦ Σατανᾶ τὸ ἔργον πληροῦν λέγουσιν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ εἶναι τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἥμισυ τοῦ διαβόλου. ἀπ' ὀμφαλοῦ γὰρ καὶ ἀνωτάτω εἶναι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμεως λέγει τὴν πλάσιν, ἀπὸ δὲ ὀμφαλοῦ καὶ κατωτάτω τῆς πονηρᾶς ἐξουσίας τὴν πλάσιν. διόπερ φησὶ πάντα τὰ καθ' ἡδονὴν καὶ οἶστρον καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν ἀπ' ὀμφαλοῦ καὶ κατωτάτω γίνεσθαι. ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ ἄλλαι αἱρέσεις τοῦτο ἔφασαν εἶναι. 3. Ὅθεν καὶ οὗτος ἁλίσκεται κατὰ πάντα τρόπον τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπακολουθῶν ἀγύρταις τοῖς τὰ δηλητήρια τῷ βίῳ κατασκευάσασιν. ἀνατραπήσεται γὰρ ῥᾳδίως· οὐ γὰρ παμπόλλου ἐπιδεηθήσεται καμάτου ἡ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνατροπή. ὅλον γὰρ τὸ σῶμα συγκεκερασμένον τοῖς καλῶς ἐν αὐτῷ γεγονόσιν ἐκ θεοῦ, φημὶ δὲ ὀρέξεσιν οὐ δι' ἀτοπίαν ἐκ θεοῦ γενομέναις ἀλλὰ διὰ χρῆσιν ἀγαθὴν καὶ ἀναγκαίας χρείας τάξιν λέγω δὲ τὸ ὀρέγεσθαι ὕπνου βρωτῶν πόματος ἐνδύσεως καὶ τῶν ἄλλων πάντων τῶν εἰς τὰ