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of the reign of Gratian, and the end is not yet according to the prophetess who boasted of herself, not knowing even the day of her own death. And it is possible to see how all those who have alienated themselves from the truth, that they have not remained in any stability of reason, but like infants, entangled by the ever-deceiving serpent, have given themselves over to destruction and to become food for the wolf, being found outside the fold, to be dragged away and thus to perish, not holding fast to the beginning, but having abandoned the truth, they have delivered themselves to shipwreck and to the surge of all error. For if Maximilla says that there will be no more prophets, then she abolishes the gift being among them and continuing even to this day. But if the gift remains until her time, 2.223 as I said before, then she herself did not partake of the gifts. 3. For she has been deceived; for the Lord sealed the church and filled it with gifts. For when there was a need for prophets, in a true spirit and a sound mind and an attentive intellect the saints themselves prophesied all things, being filled with the Holy Spirit, the gifts from the Spirit being given to each according to the analogy of faith and according to the proportion of faith for the common good. What good, then, have these people spoken, or what proportion of faith? How are these not rather they of whom the Lord spoke, that “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” For by comparing the things spoken by them with the things in the Old and New Testament that exist in truth and came to be in truth and were prophesied, let us test which is truly prophecy, and which is false prophecy. The prophet spoke and uttered everything from the Holy Spirit with a settled state of mind and with attentiveness, saying all things soundly, like Moses the servant of God and faithful in his house. The prophet was called 'the seer' * in the Old Testament. “The vision,” it says, “which Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet saw;” “I saw the Lord,” he says, “sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; and I saw Seraphim and Cherubim, and I heard the Lord saying to me: ‘Go, say to this people, “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive.”’” And having heard from the Lord, he came to the people and said, “Thus says 2.224 the Lord.” Do you not see that the word is from one who is attentive and not in ecstasy, nor was the utterance given as if from a mind in ecstasy? Likewise also Ezekiel the prophet, hearing from the Lord that, “Make for yourself bread on human dung,” said, “By no means, Lord; nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.” For knowing the word spoken to him by the Lord as a threat, and not being carried away in an ecstasy of mind did he attempt to do this, but he pleaded, having a sound and attentive mind, and said, “By no means, Lord.” For these things are characteristic of the true prophets, who have a sound mind in the Holy Spirit, both their teaching and their dialogue. And how is Daniel not found to be full of all understanding and attentive in his thoughts, who solved the riddles for Nebuchadnezzar and what that one had seen in dreams and had departed from him who saw it, this one recalled and immediately brought the interpretation, with a sound disposition and an abundance of grace, having wisdom more exceedingly than any man through the gift of the Holy Spirit, which truly makes wise the prophet and those who through the prophet are deemed worthy of the teaching of the truth. But what these people profess to prophesy, they will not appear stable nor having a coherent argument. For their sayings are crooked and distorted and possessing no correctness. 4. For straightaway Montanus says, “Behold, the man is like a lyre, and I fly upon him

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Γρατιανοῦ βασιλείας, καὶ οὔπω ἡ συντέλεια κατὰ τὴν αὐχήσασαν ἑαυτὴν προφήτιδα, μὴ γνοῦσαν μηδὲ τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς αὑτῆς τελευτῆς. καὶ ἰδεῖν ἔστι πῶς πάντες οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας ἑαυτοὺς ἀπαλλοτριώσαντες, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν εὐσταθείᾳ τινὶ λόγου μεμενήκασιν, ἀλλ' ὡς νήπιοι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀεὶ πλανῶντος ὄφεως παραπεπλεγμένοι εἰς ἀπώλειαν ἑαυτοὺς ἐκδεδώκασι καὶ εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι κατάβρωμα τοῦ λύκου ἔξω τῆς μάνδρας εὑρεθέντες παρελκυσθῆναί τε καὶ οὕτως ἀπολέσθαι, μὴ κρατοῦντες τὴν ἀρχήν, ἀλλὰ καταλείψαντες τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἐν ναυαγίῳ ἑαυτοὺς καὶ ἐν κλύδωνι τῆς πάσης πλάνης παραδεδώκασιν. εἰ γὰρ λέγει Μαξίμιλλα ὅτι προφήτης οὐκέτι ἔσται, ἄρα ἀναιρεῖ τὸ εἶναι παρ' αὐτοῖς τὸ χάρισμα καὶ εἰς ἔτι δεῦρο φέρεσθαι. εἰ δὲ ἕως αὐτῆς 2.223 μένει τὸ χάρισμα, ὡς προεῖπον ἄρα καὶ αὐτὴ οὐ μετέσχε τῶν χαρισμάτων. 3. Πεπλάνηται γάρ· ἐσφράγισε γὰρ ὁ κύριος τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ ἐπλήρωσεν ἐν αὐτῇ τὰ χαρίσματα. ὅτε γὰρ ἦν χρεία προφητῶν, ἐν ἀληθινῷ πνεύματι καὶ ἐρρωμένῃ διανοίᾳ καὶ παρακολουθοῦντι νῷ οἱ αὐτοὶ ἅγιοι τὰ πάντα ἐπροφήτευον, ἐμπιπλώμενοι πνεύματος ἁγίου, κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως τῶν ἐκ πνεύματος χαρισμάτων ἑκάστῳ διδομένων καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον. τί οὖν συμφέρον οὗτοι εἰρήκασιν ἢ ποῖον ἀνάλογον τῆς πίστεως; πῶς δὲ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον οὗτοί εἰσιν περὶ ὧν εἶπεν ὁ κύριος ὅτι «προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῶν ψευδοπροφητῶν, οἵτινες ἔρχονται πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐν ἐνδύμασι προβάτων, ἔσω δέ εἰσι λύκοι ἅρπαγες». συγκρίνοντες γὰρ τὰ παρ' αὐτῶν εἰρημένα καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὴν παλαιὰν διαθήκην καὶ καινὴν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ ὄντα καὶ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ γενόμενα καὶ πεπροφητευμένα δοκιμάσωμεν, ποία ὄντως προφητεία τυγχάνει, ποία δὲ ψευδοπροφητεία. ὁ προφήτης πάντα μετὰ καταστάσεως λογισμῶν καὶ παρακολουθήσεως ἐλάλει καὶ ἐφθέγγετο ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου, τὰ πάντα ἐρρωμένως λέγων ὡς Μωυσῆς ὁ θεράπων τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πιστὸς ἐν οἴκῳ ὁ βλέπων * ἐλέγετο ὁ προφήτης ἐν τῇ παλαιᾷ διαθήκῃ. «ὅρασις, γάρ φησιν, ἣν εἶδεν Ἠσαΐας υἱὸς Ἀμὼς ὁ προφήτης»· «εἶδον τὸν κύριον, φησί, καθεζόμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπηρμένου· καὶ εἶδον Σεραφὶμ καὶ Χερουβίμ, καὶ ἤκουσα κυρίου λέγοντος πρός με· βάδιζε, εἰπὸν τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ, ἀκοῇ ἀκούσητε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψητε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε». καὶ ἀκούσας παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἐλθὼν πρὸς τὸν λαὸν ἔφη «τάδε λέγει 2.224 κύριος». οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅτι παρακολουθοῦντος ὁ λόγος καὶ οὐκ ἐξισταμένου, οὔτε ὡς ἐξισταμένης διανοίας ἡ φθογγὴ ἀπεδίδοτο; ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ Ἰεζεκιὴλ ὁ προφήτης ἀκούων παρὰ κυρίου ὅτι «ποίησον σεαυτῷ ἄρτον ἐπὶ κόπρου ἀνθρωπείας», ἔλεγε «μηδαμῶς, κύριε· οὐδέποτε κοινὸν ἢ ἀκάθαρτον εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ στόμα μου». γινώσκων γὰρ τὴν δι' ἀπειλὴν λεγομένην πρὸς αὐτὸν ῥῆσιν ὑπὸ κυρίου, καὶ οὐχ ὡς ἐν ἐκστάσει διανοίας φερόμενος ἐπεβάλλετο τοῦτο πράττειν, ἀλλὰ ἠξίου, ἐρρωμένην ἔχων τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ παρακολουθοῦσαν, καὶ ἔλεγε «μηδαμῶς, κύριε». ταῦτα γὰρ τῶν ἀληθῶς προφητῶν, ἐν ἁγίῳ πνεύματι ἐρρωμένην ἐχόντων τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ ἡ διδασκαλία καὶ ἡ διαλογή. πῶς δὲ ∆ανιὴλ οὐχ εὑρίσκεται πάσης συνέσεως ἔμπλεως καὶ τοῖς φρονήμασι παρακολουθῶν, ὃς τὰ αἰνίγματα τῷ Ναβουχοδονόσορ ἐπέλυσε καὶ ἃ ἐκεῖνος δι' ὀνειράτων ἐθεάσατο καὶ ἀπέστη ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἑωρακότος, οὗτος ὑπεμίμνῃσκε καὶ τὴν ἐπίλυσιν εὐθὺς ἐπέφερεν ἐρρωμένῃ καταστάσει καὶ ὑπερβολῇ χαρίσματος, περιττοτέρως τὴν φρόνησιν ἔχων ὑπὲρ πάντα ἄνθρωπον διὰ τὸ χάρισμα τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, τὸ σοφίζον ὄντως τὸν προφήτην καὶ τοὺς διὰ τοῦ προφήτου τῆς διδασκαλίας τῆς ἀληθείας καταξιουμένους. ἃ δὲ οὗτοι ἐπαγγέλλονται προφητεύειν, οὐδὲ εὐσταθοῦντες φανοῦνται οὔτε παρακολουθίαν λόγου ἔχοντες. λοξὰ γὰρ τὰ παρ' αὐτῶν ῥήματα καὶ σκαληνὰ καὶ οὐδεμιᾶς ὀρθότητος ἐχόμενα. 4. Εὐθὺς γὰρ ὁ Μοντανός φησιν «ἰδού, ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὡσεὶ λύρα κἀγὼ ἐφίπταμαι