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3.40 to concede a concession of free will, to allow all to use their own will for whatever undertaking each might wish, so that He Himself might be blameless for evil things, and there will be a distinction of those advancing in virtue and, in turn, of those who receive the rewards of His own loving-kindness and goodness. But this madman Manes, wishing to exempt God from evil, rather set up an equal evil in opposition to Him. And at the same time he is not ashamed to revile all creation, having cast off the pretexts arising from the errors among us and weaving into all of creation * of the equally balanced things, he has become more a champion and a defender of the evil which he claims to denounce, and instead of hatred toward it, he embraces a certain friendship and fellowship with it, whenever he gives it substance and proclaims it to be eternal, being always with God and never ceasing to exist. And by calling it by certain names, he will be caught having fallen away from the truth throughout all his hypotheses, since all creation was created well by God, from the testimonies which he himself adduces. 17. And first, that he has called this matter, and in the same sense he considers it to be corruption. And first: if it is corruption, of what, then, might it be the corruption? And if it exists as the corruption of other things, but is itself enduring, then long ago it corrupted existing things and this alone has survived, in so long a time working the effective power of its own might and not being cut off. But if it is its own corruption, both corrupting and subduing and consuming and destroying, it is being destroyed and will not stand, being something consumptive and destructive of itself. How then has it stood for so long, existing according to the imposter's account, and at the same time will have no fellowship at all with life, nor at the same time be found a partaker of life or of goodness? But since in each of the creatures reviled by him goodness is also present, his argument about evil has fallen apart on all 3.41 sides, because one of the things spoken by him has communion with the other, as for instance concerning snakes and the other venomous reptiles. For as many things as are constructed for a useful purpose, but are reviled by him in name, in them is also found the opposite of evil, as for instance in the case of snakes and the other venomous reptiles. For from those things from which there is venom for death, in them there is also an antidote for the destruction of death and harm † of things reviled. And day is for work for men, as also for being enlightened and seeing; but also the night, which is reviled by him in name, is found to be a certain rest that has come from God for men; and so each single thing is found to be good and unable to have its name from the sins among us or to bear the same name as what is equally evil. 18. For all things are good and pleasant, and nothing is to be rejected, according to the one who says, “and behold,” he says, “all things are very good.” and nowhere is there a root of evil. For for this reason also God from the beginning, creating the whole world by His goodness, added “the good” to each of the created things, saying “and God saw that it was good,” so that he might bear witness to the good and might take away the terribleness of those who plot against human nature, of those who by wicked myths contrived to destroy the truth from among men. For he made the heaven and the earth and the light and the things on the earth on the first day, “and he saw, and behold, it was good,” says the scripture. For did He not know that He was about to make something good, that after it was made He says, “behold, it is good”? and so in succession in the case of the waters, in the case of the sea, in the case of the vegetation, in the case of the trees, in the case of the luminaries in heaven, in the case of the cattle, in the case of the birds and reptiles and fish. For in each case he said, “and God saw, and behold, it was good,” not being ignorant beforehand nor learning after it was made, as if having the knowledge that it was good through experience, but from the fact that 3.42 all things are good and nowhere is there evil, He prophesied on account of the malevolent

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3.40 συγχώρησιν δὲ αὐτεξουσιότητος συγχωρεῖν τοῖς ἅπασιν ἰδίᾳ βουλήσει χρῆσθαι ἐφ' ᾧ θελήσειαν ἐπιχειρήματι ἕκαστος, ἵνα αὐτὸς μὲν ἀναίτιος τῶν φαύλων εἴη, διάκρισις δὲ ἔσται τῶν εἰς ἀρετὴν προκοπτόντων καὶ πάλιν τῆς αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπίας καὶ ἀγαθότητος τὰ βραβεῖα εἰσκομιζομένων. ὁ δὲ μανιώδης οὗτος Μάνης, βουλόμενος κακίας ὑπεξαιρεῖν τὸν θεόν, μᾶλλον αὐτῷ κακίαν πρὸς ἴσον ἀντεκατέστησεν. ὁμοῦ δὲ κακίζων τὴν πᾶσαν κτίσιν οὐκ αἰσχύνεται, ἐκ τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν σφαλμάτων γινομένων τὰς προφάσεις ἀπεμπολήσας καὶ εἰς τὴν πᾶσαν δημιουργίαν * τῶν ἰσορρόπων συνυφήνας, ὑπέρμαχος μᾶλλον γεγένηται καὶ ὑπερασπιστὴς ἧς φάσκει ἀπαγορεύειν κακίας καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ πρὸς αὐτὴν μίσους φιλίαν τινὰ καὶ κοινωνίαν πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀσπάζεται, ὁπότε σύστασιν αὐτῇ δίδωσι καὶ ἀιδιάζουσαν αὐτὴν καταγγέλλει, σὺν θεῷ τε ἀεὶ οὖσαν καὶ μηδέποτε λήγουσαν τοῦ εἶναι. ὀνόμασι δέ τισιν αὐτὴν ἀποκαλῶν διὰ πασῶν τῶν ὑποθέσεων ἐκπεσὼν τῆς ἀληθείας φωραθήσεται, τῆς πάσης κτίσεως ἐκ θεοῦ καλῶς ἐκτισμένης, ἐξ ὧν αὐτὸς παρατίθεται μαρτυριῶν. 17. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ὅτι ὕλην ταύτην κέκληκε, κατὰ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν νοῦν λογίζεται ταύτην εἶναι φθοράν. καὶ πρῶτον μέν· εἰ ἔστι φθορά, τινὸς ἄρα εἴη φθορά; καὶ εἰ μὲν ἄλλων φθορὰ ὑπάρχει, αὐτὴ δὲ ἐμπαράμονός ἐστιν, ἄρα ἔκπαλαι ἔφθειρε τὰ ὄντα καὶ μόνη αὕτη συνέστηκεν, ἐν χρόνῳ τοσούτῳ τὸ τῆς αὐτῆς δυνάμεως ἐνεργητικὸν ἐργαζομένη καὶ μὴ ἐκκοπτομένη. εἰ δὲ ἑαυτῆς ἐστι φθορά, φθείρουσά τε καὶ δαμάζουσα καὶ ἀναλίσκουσα καὶ ἀπόλλουσα, ἀπολλυμένη ἐστὶ καὶ οὐ σταθήσεται, ἑαυτῆς ἀναλωτική τις οὖσα καὶ φθαρτική. πῶς οὖν ἕστηκε τοσοῦτον χρόνον ὑπάρχουσα κατὰ τὸν τοῦ ἀγύρτου λόγον ἅμα δὲ οὐ συγκοινωνήσει ὅλως τῇ ζωῇ, οὐδὲ ἅμα ζωῆς μέτοχος εὑρεθήσεται οὐδὲ ἀγαθότητος; ὁπότε δὲ ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κακιζομένων κτισμάτων καὶ ἀγαθότης ἔνεστι, διέπεσε παν3.41 ταχόθεν ὁ περὶ κακίας αὐτοῦ λόγος, διὰ τὸ ἐπικοινωνεῖν θάτερον τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ λεγομένων θατέρῳ, ὡς εἰπεῖν περὶ ὄφεων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἑρπετῶν ἰοβόλων. ὅσα γάρ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τὸ χρήσιμον κατεσκευασμένα, παρ' αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ ὀνόματι κακιζόμενα, ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὸ ἀντίθετον τῆς κακίας εὑρίσκεται, ὡς εἰπεῖν ἐπὶ ὄφεων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἑρπετῶν ἰοβόλων. ἐξ ὧν γὰρ ἰὸς εἰς θάνατον, ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἀντίδοτος πρὸς ἀφανισμὸν θανάτου καὶ κακώσεως † κακιζομένων. καὶ ἡμέρα μὲν εἰς ἐργασίαν ἀνθρώποις, ὡς καὶ εἰς τὸ φωτίζεσθαί τε καὶ ὁρᾶν· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ νὺξ ἡ παρ' αὐτῷ ὀνόματι κακιζομένη ἀνάπαυσίς τις εὑρίσκεται ἐκ θεοῦ ἀνθρώποις γεγονυῖα· καὶ οὕτως τὸ καθ' ἓν ἀγαθὸν ὑπάρχον εὑρίσκεται καὶ μὴ δυνάμενον ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν ἁμαρτημάτων τὸ ὄνομα ἔχειν ἢ εἰς τὸ ἴσον τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν ὁμωνυμίαν φέρειν. 18. Πάντα γὰρ καλὰ καὶ ἡδέα, καὶ οὐδὲν ἀπόβλητον, τῷ λέγοντι «καὶ ἰδού, φησί, πάντα καλὰ λίαν». καὶ οὐδαμοῦ κακίας ἐστὶ ῥίζα. τούτου γὰρ χάριν καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς, κτίζων τὸν πάντα κόσμον τῇ αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητι, καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν κτισμάτων τὸ καλὸν ἐπέφερε, λέγων «καὶ εἶδεν ὁ θεὸς ὅτι καλόν», ὅπως τῷ καλῷ μαρτυρήσῃ καὶ ἀνέλοι τὴν τῶν ἐπιβούλων τῆς ἀνθρωπείας φύσεως δεινότητα, τῶν διὰ μύθων πονηρῶν ἐπινοησάντων ἀφανίσαι ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν ἀλήθειαν. ἐποίησε γὰρ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὸ φῶς καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ γῇ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ ἡμέρᾳ «καὶ εἶδε, καὶ ἰδοὺ καλόν», φησὶν ἡ γραφή. ἆρα γὰρ οὐκ ᾔδει ὅτι καλὸν ἤμελλεν ἐργάζεσθαι, ὅτι μετὰ τὸ γενέσθαι λέγει «ἰδοὺ καλόν»; καὶ οὕτω καθεξῆς ἐπὶ τῶν ὑδάτων, ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης, ἐπὶ τῶν βλαστημάτων, ἐπὶ τῶν ξύλων, ἐπὶ τῶν φωστήρων ἐν οὐρανῷ, ἐπὶ τῶν κτηνῶν, ἐπὶ τῶν πτηνῶν καὶ ἑρπετῶν καὶ ἰχθύων. καθ' ἕκαστον γὰρ ἔλεγε «καὶ εἶδεν ὁ θεός, καὶ ἰδοὺ καλόν», οὐ τὸ πρότερον ἀγνοῶν οὐδὲ μετὰ τὸ γενέσθαι μαθών, ὡς διὰ πείρας ἐσχηκὼς τὸ εἰδέναι ὅτι καλόν, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ 3.42 εἶναι πάντα καλὰ καὶ οὐδαμοῦ εἶναι κακὸν προεθέσπιζε διὰ τὴν τῶν κακοβούλων