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their finger called the forefinger on the nose while praying, supposedly for the sake of dejection and self-righteousness, they were called by some Tascodrugitae, that is, peg-noses. And in this heresy, or in its sister-heresy called that of the Quintillians or Priscillian2.240 ists and Pepuzians, they say a terrible and unlawful deed takes place. For during a certain festival, they pierce a mere infant child all over its body with bronze needles and procure its blood for themselves, supposedly for the practice of a sacrifice. 15. But what we have said about this one is sufficient for us, O longed-for ones. For we promised not to begrudge but to reveal, concerning each heresy we know, what we have learned through hearing and through writings, and through documents and from some who have truly confirmed it to our understanding, so that by doing nothing superfluous with what we have learned, we may not seem to have it on our conscience that we ourselves invent and say incorrect things against people, falling into the same passion into which they too have fallen by not speaking the truth, but proclaiming things they have neither seen nor heard nor received from the true teaching of the Holy Spirit; but by accurately, as I said, going through everything concerning each heresy, revealing the terrible things for the correction of those who encounter them and, through the refutation from divine words and correct reasoning, making a healing medicine, so to speak, preparing it in the Lord in two ways: for those who are going through it, that they may recover from the disease and such great pain, and for those who have never fallen into it, as a preventative 2.241 aid, so to speak; imparting the medicine of truth to the intelligent, may we ourselves be called disciples of the Lord's disciples and of the Savior himself, who is the helper of bodies and souls. And since we consider the work here concerning this heresy to be sufficient, with the power of Christ let us proceed to the next ones, having crushed its venom and the hook-like drugs of its teeth on the wood of the cross of truth, for it resembles the hemorrhaging viper, whose venom drains the blood of the whole body of those bitten and thus inflicts death. For this heresy of the Quintillians also accomplishes this. For it pierces the body of an incorrupt child and carries off the blood for communion, * supposedly this for an initiation in the name of Christ, having deceived the deluded. But as we proceed to the next heresies in the power of Christ, let us call upon his truth, so that having traced, detected, and convicted the power of each error, we may, as is our custom, give thanks to God in all things. Against Quintillians or Pepuzians, who are also Priscillianists, to whom
are joined the Artotyrites, 29, but of the series, 49. 1. Again, the Quintillians, who are also called Pepuzians, and are called Artotyrites and Priscillianists, being the same as the Phrygians and originating from them, are yet divided in a certain way. For these Quintillians or Priscillianists say that in 2.242 Pepuza either Quintilla or Priscilla—for I cannot say exactly, but one of them, as I said before—was sleeping in Pepuza and that Christ came to her and slept with her in this way, as she, being deceived, said: "In the form," she says, "of a woman, fashioned in a brilliant robe, Christ came to me and put wisdom into me and revealed to me that this very place is holy and that here Jerusalem is to descend from heaven." Therefore they say that even until today some are initiated
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ἑαυτῶν τὸν δάκτυλον τὸν λεγόμενον λιχανὸν ἐπὶ τὸν μυκτῆρα ἐν τῷ εὔχεσθαι, δῆθεν κατηφείας χάριν καὶ ἐθελοδικαιοσύνης, ἐκλήθησαν ὑπό τινων Τασκοδρουγῖται τουτέστιν πασσαλορυγχῖται. ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ τῇ αἱρέσει ἢ ἐν τῇ συζύγῳ αὐτῆς τῇ τῶν Κυϊντιλλιανῶν εἴτ' οὖν Πρισκιλλια2.240 νῶν καὶ Πεπουζιανῶν καλουμένῃ, δεινόν τι καὶ ἀθέμιτον ἔργον φασὶ γίνεσθαι. παῖδα γὰρ κομιδῆ νήπιον ὄντα κατὰ ἑορτήν τινα δι' ὅλου τοῦ σώματος κατακεντῶντες χαλκαῖς ῥαφίσι τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ προσπορίζονται ἑαυτοῖς, εἰς ἐπιτήδευσιν δῆθεν θυσίας. 15. Ἀρκεῖ δὲ ἡμῖν ἃ καὶ περὶ ταύτης εἰρήκαμεν, ὦ ἐπιπόθητοι. ἐπηγγειλάμεθα γὰρ ἀπὸ ἑκάστης ἧς ἴσμεν αἱρέσεως μὴ φθονῆσαι, ἀλλὰ ὑποφῆναι ἅ τε δι' ἀκοῆς ἅ τε διὰ συγγραμμάτων, ἅ τε δι' ἐγγράφων καὶ ἅ τε ὑπό τινων ἀληθῶς πιστωσαμένων τὴν ἡμῶν ἔννοιαν κατειλήφαμεν, ἵνα μηδέν τι περιττὸν ὧν γε ἔγνωμεν ποιησάμενοι μὴ ὑπὸ συνείδησιν δόξωμεν εἶναι μὴ ὀρθὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐφευρίσκοντες κατὰ ἀνθρώπων λέγειν, ἀλλὰ ὑποπίπτοντες πάθει ᾧ καὶ αὐτοὶ ὑπέπεσαν, ἀλήθειαν μὴ λέγοντες, ἀλλὰ κηρύττοντες ἃ μὴ ἑωράκασιν οὐδὲ ἤκουσαν οὐδὲ παρὰ τῆς ἀληθοῦς διδασκαλίας τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος παρειλήφασιν· ἀκριβῶς δὲ πάντα ὡς ἔφην διεξερχόμενοι περὶ ἑκάστης αἱρέσεως, τὰ μὲν δεινὰ ἀποκαλύπτοντες εἰς διόρθωσιν τῶν παρεντυγχανόντων καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀνατροπῆς τῆς ἀπὸ θείων λόγων καὶ ἐξ ὀρθῶν λογισμῶν ποιούμενοι ἰατικὸν ὡς εἰπεῖν φάρμακον, κατὰ διττοὺς τρόπους κατασκευάζοντες αὐτὸ ἐν κυρίῳ, τοῖς μὲν διερχομένοις εἰς τὸ ἀνασφῆλαι τῆς νόσου καὶ τῆς τοσαύτης ἀλγηδόνος, τοῖς δὲ μηδὲ παρεμπεσοῦσί ποτε εἰς προκαταληπτικὸν 2.241 ὡς εἰπεῖν τὸ βοήθημα, τοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας φαρμάκου μεταδιδόντες τοῖς συνετοῖς μαθηταὶ καὶ αὐτοὶ κληθῶμεν τῶν τοῦ κυρίου μαθητῶν καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ σωτῆρος, βοηθοῦ ὑπάρχοντος σωμάτων καὶ ψυχῶν. ὡς δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐνταῦθα ἱκανῶς ἔχειν ἡγησάμενοι περὶ ταύτης τῆς αἱρέσεως ἐργασίαν σὺν δυνάμει Χριστοῦ ἐπὶ τὰς ἑξῆς προβῆναι ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιδῶμεν, τὸν μὲν ἰὸν καὶ τὰ ἀγκιστροειδῆ τῶν ὀδόντων αὐτῆς φάρμακα ἐν τῷ τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ σταυροῦ ξύλῳ καταθλάσαντες, τῇ αἱμορροίᾳ ἐχίδνῃ ἐοικυίας, ἧς ἡ λύμη τῶν δεδηγμένων τὸ αἷμα παντὸς τοῦ σώματος ἐκκρίνει καὶ οὕτως τὸν θάνατον ἐμβάλλει. αὕτη γὰρ καὶ ἡ τῶν Κυϊντιλλιανῶν αἵρεσις τοῦτο ἐπιτελεῖ. ἀφθόρου γὰρ παιδὸς κατακεντᾷ τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὸ αἷμα πρὸς μετάληψιν ἀποφέρεται, * δῆθεν τοῦτο εἰς μυσταγωγίαν ὀνόματος Χριστοῦ, τοὺς ἠπατημένους πλανήσασα. ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐπὶ τὰς ἑξῆς ἐν δυνάμει Χριστοῦ προερχόμενοι τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀλήθειαν ἐπικαλεσώμεθα, ὅπως ἑκάστης πλάνης ἰχνηλατήσαντες τὴν δύναμιν, φωράσαντές τε καὶ ἐλέγξαντες θεῷ ἐν ἅπασι συνήθως εὐχαριστήσωμεν. Κατὰ Κυϊντιλλιανῶν εἴτ' οὖν Πεπουζιανῶν τῶν καὶ Πρισκιλλιανῶν, οἷς
συνάπτονται Ἀρτοτυρῖται ˉκˉθ, τῆς δὲ ἀκολουθίας ˉμˉθ. 1. Κυϊντιλλιανοὶ δὲ πάλιν, οἱ καὶ Πεπουζιανοὶ καλούμενοι, Ἀρτοτυρῖταί τε καὶ Πρισκιλλιανοὶ λεγόμενοι, οἱ αὐτοὶ μὲν ὄντες τοῖς κατὰ Φρύγας καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν ὁρμώμενοι, διῄρηνται δὲ κατά τινα τρόπον. φασὶ γὰρ οὗτοι οἱ Κυϊντιλλιανοὶ εἴτ' οὖν Πρισκιλλιανοὶ ἐν 2.242 τῇ Πεπούζῃ ἢ Κυΐντιλλαν ἢ Πρίσκιλλαν οὐκ ἔχω γὰρ ἀκριβῶς λέγειν, μίαν δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν ὡς προεῖπον ἐν τῇ Πεπούζῃ κεκαθευδηκέναι καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν πρὸς αὐτὴν ἐληλυθέναι συνυπνωκέναι τε αὐτῇ τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ, ὡς ἐκείνη ἀπατωμένη ἔλεγεν· «ἐν ἰδέᾳ, φησί, γυναικός, ἐσχηματισμένος ἐν στολῇ λαμπρᾷ ἦλθε πρός με Χριστὸς καὶ ἐνέβαλεν ἐν ἐμοὶ τὴν σοφίαν καὶ ἀπεκάλυψέ μοι τουτονὶ τὸν τόπον εἶναι ἅγιον καὶ ὧδε τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατιέναι». διό φασι καὶ ἄχρι τῆς δεῦρο μυεῖσθαί τινας