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to the world and passing through the Thebaid, for there are various harbors of the Red Sea, distinguished at the mouths of Roman territory, one leading to Aila, which is in the divine scripture Ailon; where Solomon’s ship, coming every three years, brought 3.17 gold and ivory tusks, and spices and peacocks and the other things, and another harbor to the Fort of Clysma, and another farther up to the so-called Berenice, through which so-called Berenice they are brought to the Thebaid, and the goods coming from India are distributed there to the Thebaid or to Alexandria by way of the Chrysorrhoas river, I mean the Nile, which is also called Geon in the scriptures, and are brought to all the land of the Egyptians and to Pelusium; and thus passing by sea to the other countries, those from India trade with Roman territory. 2. I have been diligent to relate these things in detail for the sake of history, so that those who wish to read may not be deprived of the roots of each hypothesis. For it is necessary that one who undertakes any narrative should, according to his ability, undertake it and make his introduction from the root; from there the things of the truth are found, and even if the speaker lacks elegance of speech and beauty of expression, nevertheless from the true history what is sought will be demonstrated to the intelligent. In the beginning, therefore, this Scythianus, puffed up by great wealth and possessions of spices and the other things from India, and having come to the Thebaid to a city so-called Hypselis, found there a most abandoned woman and conspicuous for the beauty of her body, which astonished his foolishness, and taking her from the brothel—for such a woman stands in public immodesty—he settled with the woman and having freed her, he was joined to her in marriage. And as much time went on, because of the excess of luxury which he had, the sinner did not endure it, but as an idle man accustomed to evils from the excess of wanton luxury, he then devised in his mind to bring something newer to life, and having thought it up by himself, he fabricated such words, not finding them from the divine scripture and the utterance of the Holy Spirit, but from the reasonings of wretched human nature, saying: For what reason do the unequal things lie in 3.18 the whole visible vessel of creation, black and white, red and pale green, wet and dry, heaven and earth, night and day, soul and body, good and evil, just and unjust, but that these things have certainly been composed from two principles? And the devil instilled in his mind, having warred against him further against human nature, the terrible thought, so as to suppose what is not and not to recognize what is, in order to start a certain war in the minds of the deceived among those who believe there is something after the One who is and, so to speak, that all things are activated from two roots or two principles; which is the most impious and wicked thing of all. But I will speak of this again. For in these things the aforementioned Scythianus, being blinded in his mind, having taken the pretexts from Pythagoras, thought thus and fabricates for himself four books, giving the name to the first *Mysteries*, to the second *Chapters*, to the third *Gospel*, to the fourth *Treasure*; in which he yoked together balanced and equipoised persons of the two principles according to each hypothesis *, thus supposing, the wretch, and thus he imagined in this part, as if he had found something great for life. And in reality he found a great evil for life, for himself and for those led astray by him. 3.19 3. And since the man was engaged in these things, and he had heard how the prophets and the law prophesied about the constitution of the world and about the one and sole ruler who always is and does not cease to be Father, and of his Son and of the Holy Spirit, he wished, being carried away by a certain excessive pleasure-seeking and mocking according to his own private mind and being led by heavy wantonness within himself,

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κόσμῳ καὶ διὰ τῆς Θηβαΐδος διιών, ὅρμοι γὰρ τῆς ἐρυθρᾶς θαλάσσης διάφοροι, ἐπὶ τὰ στόμια τῆς Ῥωμανίας διακεκριμένοι, ὁ μὲν εἷς ἐπὶ τὴν Αἰλᾶν, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ θείᾳ γραφῇ Αἰλῶν· ἔνθα που ἡ ναῦς Σολομῶντος διὰ τριῶν ἐτῶν ἐρχομένη ἔφερε 3.17 χρυσὸν καὶ ὀδόντας ἐλεφαντίνους, ἀρώματά τε καὶ ταῶνας καὶ τὰ ἄλλα, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ὅρμος ἐπὶ τὸ Κάστρον τοῦ Κλύσματος, ἄλλος δὲ ἀνωτάτω ἐπὶ τὴν Βερνίκην καλουμένην, δι' ἧς Βερνίκης καλουμένης ἐπὶ τὴν Θηβαΐδα φέρονται, καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς ἐρχόμενα εἴδη ἐκεῖσε τῇ Θηβαΐδι διαχύνεται ἢ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀλεξανδρέων διὰ τοῦ Χρυσορρόᾳ ποταμοῦ, Νείλου δέ φημι, τοῦ καὶ Γεὼν ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς λεγομένου, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τῶν Αἰγυπτίων γῆν καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ Πηλούσιον φέρεται· καὶ οὕτως εἰς τὰς ἄλλας πατρίδας διὰ θαλάσσης διερχόμενοι οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰνδικῆς ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥωμανίαν ἐμπορεύονται. 2. Ταῦτα δέ μοι κατὰ λεπτὸν ἐσπουδάσθη ἱστορίας χάριν παραδοῦναι, ὅπως καὶ τῶν ῥιζῶν ἑκάστης ὑποθέσεως οἱ ἐντυγχάνειν ἐθέλοντες μὴ ἀμοιρήσωσι. δεῖ γὰρ τὸν ἐπιβαλλόμενον διηγήσει τινὶ κατὰ δύναμιν ἐπιβάλλεσθαι καὶ ἐκ τῆς ῥίζης ποιεῖσθαι τὴν εἰσαγωγήν· ἔνθεν εὑρίσκεται καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας, κἄν τε ἀπορῇ ὁ λέγων εὐκοσμίας λόγου καὶ εὐεπείας φθογγῆς, ὅμως ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἱστορίας τὸ ζητούμενον τοῖς συνετοῖς ἀποδειχθήσεται. ἐν ἀρχῇ τοίνυν οὗτος ὁ Σκυθιανὸς πλούτῳ πολλῷ ἐπαρθεὶς καὶ κτήμασιν ἡδυσμάτων καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰνδίας καὶ ἐλθὼν περὶ τὴν Θηβαΐδα εἰς Ὑψηλὴν πόλιν οὕτω καλουμένην, εὑρὼν ἐκεῖ γύναιον ἐξωλέστατον καὶ κάλλει σώματος πρόοπτον ἐκπλῆξάν τε αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀσυνεσίαν, ἀνελόμενός τε τοῦτο ἀπὸ τοῦ στέγους ἕστηκε γὰρ ἡ τοιαύτη ἐν τῇ πολυκοίνῳ ἀσεμνότητι ἐπεκαθέσθη τῷ γυναίῳ καὶ ἐλευθερώσας αὐτὸ συνήφθη αὐτῷ πρὸς γάμον. χρόνου δὲ πολλοῦ προκόπτοντος διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν ἧς εἶχε τρυφῆς οὐκ ἤνεγκεν ὁ ἀλιτήριος, ἀλλὰ ὡς ἀργὸς καὶ ἐθὰς κακῶν ἐκ τοῦ περισσοῦ τῆς τρυφῆς στρήνου ἐπενόει λοιπὸν κατὰ τὸν νοῦν τι καινότερον τῷ βίῳ προσοῖσαι καὶ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ διανοηθεὶς ἐπλάσατο ῥήματα τοιαῦτα, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς θείας γραφῆς εὑράμενος καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου φθογγῆς, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ λογισμῶν ἀνθρωπείας φύσεως τῶν δειλαίων φάσκων· τίνι τῷ λόγῳ ἄνισα κεῖται τὰ ἐν 3.18 παντὶ τῷ ὁρωμένῳ τῆς κτίσεως κύτει, μέλαν καὶ λευκόν, πυρρὸν καὶ χλωρόν, ὑγρὸν καὶ ξηρόν, οὐρανὸς καὶ γῆ, νὺξ καὶ ἡμέρα, ψυχὴ καὶ σῶμα, ἀγαθόν τε καὶ φαῦλον, δίκαιόν τε καὶ ἄδικον, ἀλλ' ὅτι πάντως ταῦτα ἐκ δύο τινῶν ἀρχῶν συνέστηκεν; ἐνεκίσσα δὲ ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ διανοίᾳ ὁ διάβολος, ἐπὶ πλεῖον στρατεύσας αὐτὸν κατὰ τῆς ἀνθρωπείας φύσεως, τὸ δεινὸν φρόνημα, ὡς ὑπονοεῖν τὸ μὴ ὂν καὶ τὸ ὂν μὴ ἐπιγινώσκειν, ἵνα πόλεμόν τινα ἐν ταῖς διανοίαις τῶν ἠπατημένων ἐνστήσηται τοῖς νομίζουσιν εἶναί τι μετὰ τὸν ὄντα καὶ ὡς εἰπεῖν ἐκ δύο ῥιζῶν ἢ δύο ἀρχῶν ἐνεργεῖσθαι τὰ πάντα· ὅπερ ἐστὶ πάντων δυσσεβέστατον καὶ μοχθηρότατον. ἀλλὰ περὶ τούτου αὖθις ἐρῶ. ἐν τούτοις γὰρ ὁ προειρημένος Σκυθιανὸς τυφλωθεὶς τὴν διάνοιαν, λαβὼν παρὰ Πυθαγόρου τὰς προφάσεις οὕτως ἐφρόνησε καὶ βίβλους τέσσαρας ἑαυτῷ πλάσσεται, τῇ μιᾷ ὄνομα θέμενος Μυστηρίων, τῇ δὲ δευτέρᾳ Κεφαλαίων, τῇ τρίτῃ Εὐαγγέλιον, τῇ τετάρτῃ Θησαυρόν· ἐν αἷς τὰ ἰσόζυγα καὶ τὰ ἰσόρροπα τῶν δύο ἀρχῶν συζεύξας πρόσωπα καθ' ἑκάστην ὑπόθεσιν *, οὕτως ὑπολαβὼν ὁ τάλας καὶ οὕτως κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος ἐφαντάζετο, ὥς τι μέγα εὑρὼν τῷ βίῳ. καὶ τῷ ὄντι μέγα κακὸν εὕρατο τῷ βίῳ καθ' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ πλανωμένων. 3.19 3. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ ἐν τούτοις ἦν, ἀκηκόει δὲ πῶς οἱ προφῆται καὶ ὁ νόμος προεφήτευον περὶ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου συστάσεως καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἑνὸς καὶ μονάρχου τοῦ ἀεὶ ὄντος καὶ μὴ διαλείποντος τοῦ εἶναι πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ἠθέλησε, περιττοτέρᾳ τινὶ φερόμενος ἡδυπαθείᾳ καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἰδιωτικὸν αὐτοῦ νοῦν ἐπιτωθάζων καὶ βαρεῖ στρήνῳ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἀγόμενος,