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to come to an accusation of their dogma. For he will be found demonstrating that the mystery of regeneration is in vain, and the mystical offering of gifts unprofitable, and the participation in these things becoming of no benefit to those who partake. For he says, after those intense struggles, in which he set forth Valentinians and Cerinthians and Basilides and Montanists and Marcionites for the slander of our dogma, and having established that those who declare the divine nature to be unknowable are not even properly related to the name of Christians, and the manner of the generation also unknowable, and having numbered us with those who have been slandered, he thus adds his own argument in these words: 20But we, being persuaded by holy and blessed men, say that the mystery of piety is confirmed neither by the solemnity of the names nor by the particularity of customs and mystical symbols, 3.9.55 but by the exactness of the dogmas.20. That he writes these things, then, having been persuaded neither by the evangelists nor the apostles nor any of the teachers of the more ancient scripture, is clear to everyone who is not ignorant of the sacred and divine scripture. It would be consistent, then, to think that by holy and blessed men he means Manichaeus, Nicolaus, Coluthus, Aetius, Arius, and all those of the same chorus, whom he follows in decreeing these things, that neither the confession of the names nor the customs of the church nor the mystical 3.9.56 symbols confirm piety. But we, having learned from the holy voice that unless one is born from above through water and spirit, he shall not enter into the kingdom of God, and that "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood, he will live forever," are persuaded that by the confession of the divine names, I mean of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the mystery of piety is confirmed, and that salvation is secured by the communion of the mystical customs and symbols; but dogmas have often been examined with care even by those outside the mystery, and one can hear of many who set forth our dogma as a subject for themselves in a contest of words, and some of them <we see> even attaining to the truth often and nonetheless being 3.9.57 alienated from the faith. Since, therefore, he despises the solemn names, through which the power of the diviner birth bestows grace on those who pursue it through faith, and he overlooks the communion of the mystical symbols and customs, in which Christianity has its strength, let us say, slightly paraphrasing the prophet's words to the hearers of the deceit, that "How long, O ye of heavy heart? Why do you love destruction and seek falsehood?" How do you not see the persecutor of the faith summoning those who are persuaded 3.9.58 by him to a transgression of Christianity? For if the confession of the solemn and precious names of the Holy Trinity is useless, and the customs of the church are unprofitable, and in these customs are the seal, prayer, baptism, the confession of sins, zeal for the commandments, right conduct regarding character, living according to self-control, looking toward what is just, not being provoked by desires nor being overcome by pleasure nor falling short of virtue, if, therefore, he says that none of such customs are rightly performed for good, nor that the mystical symbols become guardians of the goods concerning the soul, as we have believed, and averters of those things brought upon the faithful by the plot of the evil one, what else is he doing but openly shouting to men to consider the mystery of the Christians nonsense, to laugh at the solemnity of the divine names, to think the customs of the church a game, all the things performed according to the 3.9.59 mystery a kind of drivel and foolishness? What more do those who remain in Hellenism bring forth for the slander of our dogma? Do not they too make the solemnity of the names, in which the faith is secured, an occasion for laughter, and mock the mystical symbols and the customs observed by the initiated? But to think that piety must be in dogmas alone, whose

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δόγματος αὐτῶν κατηγορίας ἐλθεῖν. εὑρεθήσεται γὰρ μάταιον μὲν ἀποδεικνὺς τὸ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας μυστή ριον, ἀνόνητον δὲ τὴν μυστικὴν δωροφορίαν, τήν τε μετου σίαν τούτων εἰς οὐδὲν πλέον τοῖς μετέχουσι γινομένην. φησὶ γὰρ μετὰ τοὺς συντόνους ἐκείνους ἀγῶνας, ἐν οἷς Οὐαλεντίνους τε καὶ Κηρίνθους καὶ Βασιλίδας καὶ Μοντανοὺς καὶ Μαρκίωνας εἰς διαβολὴν τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς προεστήσατο δόγ ματος, καὶ κατασκευάσας τὸ μηδὲ πρὸς τὴν τῶν Χριστιανῶν προσηγορίαν οἰκείως ἔχειν τοὺς ἄγνωστον ἀποφαινομένους τὴν θείαν φύσιν, ἄγνωστον δὲ καὶ τὸν τῆς γεννήσεως τρόπον, καὶ συναριθμήσας τοῖς διαβεβλημένοις ἡμᾶς, οὕτως ἐπάγει τὸν παρ' ἑαυτοῦ λόγον ἐν τούτοις τοῖς ῥήμασιν· 20ἡμεῖς δὲ πειθόμενοι τοῖς ἁγίοις καὶ μακαρίοις ἀν δράσιν οὔτε τῇ σεμνότητι τῶν ὀνομάτων οὔτε ἐθῶν καὶ μυστικῶν συμβόλων ἰδιότητι κυ ροῦσθαί φαμεν τὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον, 3.9.55 τῇ δὲ τῶν δογμάτων ἀκριβείᾳ20. ὅτι μὲν οὖν οὐδὲ τότε τοῖς εὐαγγελισταῖς οὔτε τοῖς ἀποστόλοις οὔτε τινὶ τῶν τῆς ἀρχαιοτέρας γραφῆς καθηγησαμένων πεισθεὶς ταῦτα γράφει, παντὶ δῆλον τῷ τὴν ἱεράν τε καὶ θείαν οὐκ ἀγνο οῦντι γραφήν. ἀκόλουθον δ' ἂν εἴη ἁγίους αὐτὸν καὶ μακα ρίους ἄνδρας οἴεσθαι λέγειν Μανιχαῖον Νικόλαον Κόλουθον Ἀέτιον Ἄρειον καὶ πάντας τοὺς τοῦ αὐτοῦ χοροῦ, οἷς ἀκολουθῶν ταῦτα νομοθετεῖ, ὅτι οὔτε τῶν ὀνομάτων ἡ ὁμολογία οὔτε τὰ ἔθη τῆς ἐκκλησίας οὔτε τὰ μυστικὰ 3.9.56 σύμβολα κυροῖ τὴν εὐσέβειαν. ἡμεῖς δὲ μεμαθηκότες παρὰ τῆς ἁγίας φωνῆς ὅτι ἂν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν δι' ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ὅτι Ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα ἐκεῖνος ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, πεπείσμεθα τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ τῶν θείων ὀνομάτων, πατρὸς λέγω καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ πνεύματος ἁγίου, κυροῦσθαι τὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας μυστήριον καὶ τῇ τῶν μυστικῶν ἐθῶν τε καὶ συμβόλων κοινωνίᾳ τὴν σωτηρίαν κρατύνεσθαι· δόγματα δὲ δι' ἐπιμελείας καὶ τοῖς ἔξω τοῦ μυστηρίου πολλάκις ἐξήτασται, καὶ πολλῶν ἔστιν ἀκούειν ὑπόθεσιν ἑαυτοῖς εἰς λόγων ἅμιλλαν τὸ ἡμέτερον δόγμα προβαλλομένων, καί τινας αὐτῶν <ὁρῶμεν> καὶ κατεπι τυγχάνοντας τῆς ἀληθείας πολλάκις καὶ οὐδὲν ἧττον ἠλ 3.9.57 λοτριωμένους τῆς πίστεως. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν καταφρονεῖ μὲν τῶν σεμνῶν ὀνομάτων, δι' ὧν τῆς θειοτέρας γεννήσεως ἡ δύναμις τοῖς διὰ πίστεως μετιοῦσι τὴν χάριν νέμει, περιορᾷ δὲ τὴν τῶν μυστικῶν συμβόλων τε καὶ ἐθῶν κοινωνίαν, ἐν οἷς ὁ Χριστιανισμὸς τὴν ἰσχὺν ἔχει, εἴπωμεν τὸ τοῦ προ φήτου μικρὸν παρῳδήσαντες πρὸς τοὺς ἀκροατὰς τῆς ἀπά της ὅτι Ἕως πότε βαρυκάρδιοι; ἵνα τί ἀγαπᾶτε τὴν ἀπώ λειαν καὶ ζητεῖτε ψεῦδος; πῶς οὐχ ὁρᾶτε τὸν διώκτην τῆς πίστεως εἰς παράβασιν τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ τοὺς πειθομένους 3.9.58 αὐτῷ προκαλούμενον; εἰ γὰρ ἄχρηστος μὲν ἡ τῶν σεμνῶν τε καὶ τιμίων τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος ὀνομάτων ὁμολογία, ἀνόνητα δὲ τὰ ἔθη τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἐν δὲ τοῖς ἔθεσι τούτοις ἐστὶν ἡ σφραγίς, ἡ προσευχή, τὸ βάπτισμα, ἡ τῶν ἁμαρ τιῶν ἐξαγόρευσις, ἡ περὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς προθυμία, ἡ περὶ τὸ ἦθος κατόρθωσις, τὸ κατὰ σωφροσύνην βιοῦν, τὸ πρὸς τὸ δίκαιον βλέπειν, τὸ μὴ ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις ἐρεθίζεσθαι μήτε ἡδονῆς ἡττᾶσθαι μήτε ἀρετῆς ἀπολείπεσθαι, εἰ οὖν μηδὲν τῶν τοιούτων ἐθῶν ἐπ' ἀγαθῷ κατορθοῦσθαι λέγει μηδὲ τὰ μυστικὰ σύμβολα φυλακτήρια μὲν τῶν περὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀγαθῶν, καθὼς πεπιστεύκαμεν, γίνεσθαι, ἀποτρόπαια δὲ τῶν κατ' ἐπιβουλὴν τοῦ πονηροῦ τοῖς πεπιστευκόσιν ἐπαγο μένων, τί ἄλλο καὶ οὐχὶ φανερῶς ἐμβοᾷ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις λῆρον ἡγεῖσθαι τῶν Χριστιανῶν τὸ μυστήριον, καταγελᾶν τῆς σεμνότητος τῶν θείων ὀνομάτων, παίγνιον οἴεσθαι τὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἔθη, φλυαρίαν τινὰ καὶ μωρίαν τὰ κατὰ τὸ 3.9.59 μυστήριον ἐνεργούμενα πάντα; τί πλέον οἱ τῷ Ἑλληνισμῷ παραμένοντες εἰς διαβολὴν τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς προφέρουσι δόγ ματος; οὐχὶ κἀκεῖνοι γέλωτος ἀφορμὴν τὸ σεμνὸν ποιοῦνται τῶν ὀνομάτων, ἐν οἷς ἡ πίστις κρατύνεται, καὶ διαχλευ άζουσι τὰ μυστικὰ σύμβολα καὶ τὰ διατηρούμενα παρὰ τῶν μεμυημένων ἔθη; τὸ δὲ ἐν δόγμασι δεῖν μόνοις οἴεσθαι τὴν εὐσέβειαν εἶναι, τίνος