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to the bishop, as has been said before, 3.49 but to Origen, as I have heard, and to Eusebius of Caesarea and Eusebius of Emesa, Serapion of Thmuis, Athanasius of Alexandria, George of Laodicea, Apollinaris of Laodicea, Titus, and to many of those who have spoken against him. And it will cause no harm to say a few things from our own poverty to the shame of that wretched man, for the overthrow of his mind, which has been deceived in every way, as we have already said before. And I would have wished not to make the refutation against him with harsh words, but gently according to my ability, except that he is not ashamed to blaspheme the master of all with unbridled tongue, immediately denying the creator himself, the one who created this whole expanse of heaven and earth and all that is in them and all things in the world, while imagining some other god who does not exist, and abandoning the one who does. For he has fallen from the truth, and what happened to him is the effect of the ridiculous proverb, like the crow which, having food in its mouth and seeing the reflection of the food in the water, wishing to get another piece of food, lost what it had and did not gain what it did not have. And who will tolerate the blasphemer? For if we have fathers according to the flesh and cannot bear to hear them being blamed by some, how much more so, if we hear the Lord God of all being blasphemed by the most terrible Manes? Therefore, when in the mercy of God rains are sent according to his goodness, he, blaspheming, is not ashamed to say that the 3.50 rains are not from God, but from an emanation of rulers. 22. And as for saying the other things, who would not laugh. As if, perhaps, the things of Philistion are more necessary than this man's buffoonery? For he creates the myth of a Shoulder-bearer, teaching that he carries the whole earth, and he says that after thirty years, when his shoulder grows weary, he transfers it to the other shoulder, and thus earthquakes happen. But if this were so, the matter would be according to nature and no longer a divine sign. But the words of the savior refute the impostor, who said "be good as your heavenly father is, because he makes his sun rise on the just and the unjust, and sends his rain on the evil and the good," and "there will be earthquakes in various places, and famines and plagues." But if earthquakes happened by nature or by custom, yet many times earthquakes happen in a region. And it happened that for a whole year the earth was shaken many times each night; so then, with the shoulders of the Shoulder-bearer having been wounded, is he restlessly driven, making the shaking continuous? And who will tolerate such foolish talk? What other incredible thing has he not dared to say? For such a one claims that, he says, the souls that come to be in the knowledge of his error are taken up to the moon, since the soul is a substance of light. For this reason, he says, the moon waxes and wanes, being filled by the souls of those who die in the knowledge of his unbelief. Then he says that they are unloaded from the moon, the smaller vessel as he says, to the sun, and he says the sun receives them and deposits them into the age of the blessed. But wickedness, being always blind, is ignorant of its own shame, as it is refuted by its own words, being unable to bring its lies to completion. 23. For first, one man, Adam, was formed, from whom sons and daughters were born; and at the beginning of the world's creation, 3.51 around the hundredth year of Adam, more or less, Abel is killed, being about 30 years old, more or less. after this first one

who was killed, Adam the first-formed dies on the earth after 930 years, the sun and the moon and the stars having been fixed and created in heaven from the fourth day. What then shall we say, O you? Shall we confess the refutation of your foolishness? For how could nine hundred and thirty years have passed without the moon waning and waxing?

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μὲν τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ, ὡς προείρηται, 3.49 Ὠριγένει δέ, ὡς ἀκήκοα, Εὐσεβίῳ δὲ τῷ Καισαρείας καὶ Εὐσεβίῳ τῷ Ἐμέσης, Σεραπίωνι Θμούεως, Ἀθανασίῳ τῷ Ἀλεξανδρείας, Γεωργίῳτῷ Λαοδικείας, Ἀπολλιναρίῳ τῷ Λαοδικείας, Τίτῳ, καὶ πολλοῖς τῶν κατ' αὐτοῦ εἰρηκότων. Οὐδὲν δὲ λυπήσει καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμῶν πτωχείας ὀλίγα εἰς αἰσχύνην τοῦ ἐλεεινοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰπεῖν πρὸς ἀνατροπὴν τῆς αὐτοῦ κατὰ πάντα τρόπον πεπλανημένης διανοίας, ὡς καὶ ἤδη προείπομεν. ἠβουλόμην δὲ μὴ αὐστηροῖς ῥήμασι τὸν κατ' αὐτοῦ ποιήσασθαι ἔλεγχον, ἀλλὰ κατὰ δύναμιν ἐπιεικῶς, εἰ μὴ ὅτι τὸν τῶν πάντων δεσπότην ἀθυρογλώττως βλασφημεῖν οὐκ αἰσχύνεται, εὐθὺς αὐτὸν τὸν ποιητὴν ἀρνούμενος, τὸν τόδε τὸ πᾶν κύτος οὐρανοῦ τε καὶ γῆς καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ πάντα δημιουργήσαντα, ἕτερον δέ τινα φανταζόμενος θεὸν τὸν μὴ ὄντα, τὸν δὲ ὄντα καταλιπών. ἐξέπεσε γὰρ τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ συνέβη αὐτῷ τὸ τῆς γελοίου παροιμίας ἐνέργημα, ὡς ὁ κόραξ, βρῶμα ἔχων περὶ τὸ στόμα καὶ σκιὰν ἐν ὕδατι τοῦ βρώματος θεασάμενος, βουλόμενος ἑτέρας τροφῆς περιγενέσθαι τὴν οὖσαν ἀπώλεσε καὶ τὴν μὴ οὖσαν οὐκ ἐκτήσατο. τίς δὲ ἀνέξεται τοῦ βλασφήμου; εἰ γὰρ πατέρας ἔχομεν κατὰ σάρκα καὶ οὐ φέρομεν ἀκούειν τὸν τούτων ὑπό τινων ψόγον, πόσῳ γε μᾶλλον, τὸν κύριον θεὸν πάντων ὑπὸ τοῦ χαλεπωτάτου Μάνεντος βλασφημούμενον ἐὰν ἀκούσωμεν; ὅταν οὖν ἐν τῷ ἐλέει τοῦ θεοῦ ὄμβροι ἀποστέλλωνται κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητα, αὐτὸς βλασφημῶν οὐκ αἰσχύνεται φάσκειν μὴ ἐκ θεοῦ τοὺς 3.50 ὄμβρους εἶναι, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ ἀπορροίας ἀρχόντων. 22. Τὰ δὲ ἄλλα εἰπεῖν τίς οὐκ ἐκγελάσειεν. ὡς τάχα τὰ τοῦ Φιλιστίωνος εἶναι ἀναγκαιότερα ἢ τὰ τῆς τούτου μιμολογίας; Ὠμοφόρον γὰρ μυθοποιῶν διδάσκει βαστάζοντα τὴν γῆν πᾶσαν, καὶ διὰ ἐτῶν φησὶ τριάκοντα κάμνοντος τοῦ ὤμου μεταφέρειν εἰς τὸν ἕτερον ὦμον, καὶ οὕτω τοὺς σεισμοὺς γίνεσθαι. εἰ δὲ ἦν τοῦτο, κατὰ φύσιν ἦν τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ οὐκέτι ἦν θεσπέσιον. ἐλέγχουσι δὲ τὸν γόητα οἱ τοῦ σωτῆρος λόγοι, ὃς ἔφη «γίνεσθε ἀγαθοὶ ὡς ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος, ὅτι ἀνατέλλει τὸν ἥλιον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ ἀδίκους, καὶ βρέχει αὐτοῦ τὸν ὑετὸν ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθούς», καὶ τὸ «ἔσονται σεισμοὶ κατὰ τόπον καὶ λιμοὶ καὶ λοιμοί». εἰ δὲ ἐκ φύσεως ἢ κατὰ συνήθειαν οἱ σεισμοὶ ἐγίνοντο, πολλάκις δ' ἔσθ' ὅτε σεισμοὶ κατὰ χώραν γίνονται. συνέβη δὲ καὶ ἐπ' ἐνιαυτὸν ὁλοτελῆ καθ' ἑκάστην νύκτα πολλάκις σαλεύεσθαι τὴν γῆν, ἆρά γ' οὖν τραυματωθέντων τῶν τοῦ Ὠμοφόρου ὤμων ἀφερεπόνως ἄγεται. ἐνδελεχῆ ποιούμενος τὸν σάλον; καὶ τίς ἀνέξεται τῆς τοιαύτης μωρολογίας; τί δὲ ἄλλο ἀπίθανον οὐκ ἐτόλμησεν εἰπεῖν; φάσκει γὰρ ὁ τοιοῦτος ὅτι, φησί, αἱ ἐν γνώσει τῆς αὐτοῦ πλάνης ψυχαὶ γενόμεναι ἀναλαμβάνονται εἰς τὴν σελήνην, φωτεινῆς οὐσίας τῆς ψυχῆς ὑπαρχούσης. διό, φησί, πλήθει ἡ σελήνη καὶ φθίνει, πληρουμένη ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν τῶν τελευτουσῶν ἐν γνώσει τῆς ἀπιστίας αὐτοῦ. εἶτα φησὶν ἀπογομοῦσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς σελήνης, τοῦ μικροτέρου ὥς φησι σκάφους, εἰς τὸν ἥλιον, τὸν ἥλιον δὲ παραλαμβάνειν καὶ ἀποτίθεσθαι εἰς τὸν τῶν μακάρων αἰῶνα φησίν. ἀεὶ δὲ τυφλὴ τυγχάνουσα ἡ κακία τὴν ἑαυτῆς αἰσχύνην ἀγνοεῖ, ὡς ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων αὐτῆς ἐλέγχεται, μὴ δυναμένη τελειῶσαι τῶν ψευσμάτων τὴν τελείωσιν. 23. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ὅτι εἷς ἄνθρωπος πέπλασται ὁ Ἀδάμ, ἐξ οὗπερ γεγένηνται υἱοί τε καὶ θυγατέρες· ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ δὲ τῆς κοσμοποιίας, 3.51 περὶ τὸ ἑκατοστὸν ἔτος τοῦ Ἀδὰμ πλείω ἐλάσσω, ἀποκτείνεται Ἄβελ, ὡς ἐτῶν ὑπάρξας ˉλ πλείω ἐλάσσω. μετὰ τοῦτον τὸν πρῶτον

ἀποκτανθέντα τελευτᾷ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὁ Ἀδὰμ ὁ πρωτόπλαστος δι' ἐτῶν ˉϠˉλ, τοῦ ἡλίου καὶ τῆς σελήνης καὶ τῶν ἄστρων ἀπὸ τετάρτης ἡμέρας ἐν οὐρανῷ πηχθέντων καὶ κτισθέντων. τί οὖν εἴπωμεν, ὦ οὗτος; ὁμολογήσωμεν τὸν τῆς ἀνοίας σου ἔλεγχον; πῶς γὰρ ἠδύνατο ἐνακόσια τριάκοντα ἔτη γενέσθαι ἄνευ τοῦ φθίνειν σελήνην καὶ πλήθειν;