378

wasting time? How the wretched man is not ashamed of blaspheming, calling the one who spoke in the Law and in the prophets the ruler of darkness. Blessed are our hopes, that Christ came and compelled an offering to be made to the ruler of darkness. For having cleansed the leper, he commands that the gift written in the Law be offered by him who spoke in the Law; "go and offer your gift," saying to the leper who was cleansed by him, "as Moses commanded." And the gift for leprosy was a bird for a sacrifice and fine flour for a burnt offering. But if he were the ruler of darkness *, the Word who came from above, the Son of God, who came to turn man from the error of the rulers according to the word of Manichaeus, would not have 3.94 prepared the leper who was healed by him to become subject, but rather would have prepared him to run away, teaching him not to perform this. But since he did not come to abolish the law—for he himself gave the law—nor the prophets, but to fulfill, so that he himself might show the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets, the undividedness of the Gospel, that the prophets worshiped the same God and the law was given by him, but now worship is not performed to the same God through the same gifts, but through prayers and thanksgivings and the other business. For to them as to slaves he commanded heavy things, because they could be persuaded in this way, but to those in the gospel lighter things, as a free man, because of the excess of his love for mankind. Since there is one God of the same element for both the Law and the Gospel, with the service of neither time having been neglected, he is the same one God, who reigns over the whole age, being served by his slaves, but in each generation as befits his love for mankind. And his error has been refuted from every side, with the Savior permitting the things of the Law to be performed and after permitting the things of the Law to be performed, loosing the things of the Law, not abolishing, but fulfilling, permitting other offerings to be brought to God beyond those in the Law, that is, of piety and goodness, and of purity and conduct. 58. And again he says that the old man will come and show his image in the last days, and then the Shoulder-bearer, seeing his face, lets go of the earth, and thus the eternal fire consumes the earth. And the brutish man has forgotten again, showing it to be material, which was said by him a little while ago to have been created from the living spirit. For he supposes that the whole cosmos will again be consumed by fire together. And then, he says, after these things the restoration of the two natures will arrive at the same state, to the archetype. O what great labor and after the labor nothing brought forth for correction. For if after being created and coming into being it will be consumed and will vanish, so that the archetypes might remain again in the identity of the two natures, of good and of evil, there will be again a friction of the evil one to turn again and to institute war and to seize again another power, so that another world might come into being again. But if 3.95 this no longer happens, then will evil be taught prudence so as no longer to be rubbed against goodness, and the evil god, no longer raising war against the good? But if it will ever be taught prudence, it will not be evil, since it has been changed, having been turned from its ancient nature of evil. And if the nature of evil happens to be mutable, it is in every way that it changes from evil to good, and the nature that has a turning to goodness will no longer be evil. For even today the evil one can be turned and, while the world still exists, be changed to good. And for what reason is the one who is going to turn not turning already? And if the evil one is turned by the contrivance of God, so that he is no longer able to do evil, the evil one is no longer the cause himself, but the good one who is able to restrain his evil and not

378

χρονοτριβούμενος; ὡς καὶ βλασφημῶν οὐκ αἰσχύνεται ὁ τάλας τὸν λαλήσαντα ἐν τῷ νόμῳ καὶ ἐν τοῖς προφήταις ἄρχοντα λέγειν τοῦ σκότους. μακάριαι ἡμῶν αἱ ἐλπίδες, ὅτι ἄρχοντι τοῦ σκότους ὁ Χριστὸς ἐλθὼν προσφέρειν ἠνάγκαζε. καθαρίσας γὰρ τὸν λεπρὸν τὸ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ γραφέν, ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ λαλήσαντος τὸ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ ἐπιτελεῖσθαι δῶρον κελεύει· «ἀπελθὼν προσένεγκε τὸ δῶρόν σου,» τῷ καθαρισθέντι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ λεπρῷ λέγων «καθὼς προσέταξε Μωυσῆς». δῶρον δὲ ἦν ἐπὶ τῆς λέπρας ὄρνις εἰς θυσίαν καὶ σεμίδαλις εἰς ὁλοκαύτωσιν. εἰ δὲ ἄρχων ἦν τοῦ σκότους *, οὐκ ἂν ὁ ἐλθὼν ἄνωθεν Λόγος, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ ἐλθὼν ἐπιστρέψαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀπὸ πλάνης τῶν ἀρχόντων κατὰ τὸν Μανιχαίου λόγον, οὐκ ἂν 3.94 ὑποχείριον τὸν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἰαθέντα λεπρὸν παρεσκεύαζε γενέσθαι, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον παρεσκεύαζεν ἀποδρᾶναι αὐτόν, τοῦτο μὴ ἐπιτελεῖν διδάσκων. ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἦλθε καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον αὐτὸς γὰρ δέδωκε τὸν νόμον οὔτε τοὺς προφήτας, ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι, ἵνα πλήρωσιν τοῦ νόμου καὶ τῶν προφητῶν αὐτὸς δείξῃ τὸ ἀπερίσπαστον τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, ὅτι τῷ μὲν αὐτῷ θεῷ οἱ προφῆται προσεκύνησαν καὶ νόμος ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ἐδόθη, νῦν δὲ οὐ διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν δώρων τῷ αὐτῷ θεῷ προσκύνησις τελεῖται, ἀλλὰ δι' εὐχῶν καὶ εὐχαριστιῶν καὶ τῆς ἄλλης πραγματείας. ἐκείνοις μὲν γὰρ ὡς δούλοις προσέταττε τὰ βαρέα, διότι οὕτως ἠδύναντο πεισθῆναι, τοῖς δὲ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ ἐλαφρότερα, ὡς ἐλευθέριος, διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπίας. ἑνὸς δὲ ὁμοστοίχου ὑπάρχοντος θεοῦ τοῦ τε νόμου καὶ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, μὴ παραλελυμένης μηδ' ὁποτέρας χρόνων ὑπηρεσίας, ὁ αὐτὸς εἷς θεός ἐστιν, ὁ βασιλεύων τοῦ σύμπαντος αἰῶνος, θεραπευόμενος ἀπὸ τῶν δούλων, καθ' ἑκάστην δὲ γενεὰν ὡς προσήκει τῇ αὐτοῦ φιλανθρωπίᾳ. καὶ ἐλήλεγκται πανταχόθεν ἡ τούτου πλάνη, τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐπιτρέποντος τὰ τοῦ νόμου τελεῖσθαι καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἐπιτρέψαι τὰ τοῦ νόμου τελεῖσθαι λύοντος τὰ τοῦ νόμου, οὐ καταργοῦντος, ἀλλὰ πληροῦντος, προσφορὰς ἑτέρας ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐν τῷ νόμῳ προσενέγκαι τῷ θεῷ ἐπιτρέποντος, τουτέστιν εὐσεβείας καὶ ἀγαθότητος, ἁγνείας τε καὶ πολιτείας. 58. Φάσκει δὲ πάλιν ὅτι ἐλεύσεται ὁ πρεσβύτης καὶ δείξει αὐτοῦ τὴν εἰκόνα ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν, καὶ τότε ὁ Ὠμοφόρος ἰδὼν αὐτοῦ τὸ πρόσωπον ἀφίησι τὴν γῆν, καὶ οὕτως τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον καταδαπανᾷ τὴν γῆν. καὶ ἐπελάθετο ὁ κτηνώδης πάλιν ὑλώδη αὐτὴν ὑποφαίνων, τὴν πρὸ ὥρας αὐτῷ λεγομένην ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ζῶντος κεκτίσθαι. ὁμοῦ γὰρ τὸν πάντα κόσμον πάλιν ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς ἀναλίσκεσθαι ὑποτίθεται. καὶ τότε, φησί, μετὰ ταῦτα ἡ ἀποκατάστασις τῶν δύο φύσεων ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ εἰς τὸ ἀρχέτυπον παρελεύσεται. ὦ πολλοῦ καμάτου καὶ μετὰ τὸν κάματον οὐδενὸς ἐπὶ διορθώσει φερομένου. εἰ γὰρ μετὰ τὸ κτισθῆναι καὶ γενέσθαι δαπανηθήσεται καὶ ἀφανισθήσεται, ἵνα τὰ ἀρχέτυπα μείνῃ πάλιν ἐν ταυτότητι τῶν δύο φύσεων, ἀγαθοῦ τε καὶ κακοῦ, ἔσται πάλιν ἐπιτριβὴ τοῦ πονηροῦ πρὸς τὸ ἐπιστρέψαι πάλιν καὶ πόλεμον ἐνστήσασθαι καὶ ἁρπάξαι πάλιν ἄλλην δύναμιν, ἵνα πάλιν ἄλλος κόσμος γένηται. εἰ δὲ 3.95 οὐκέτι τοῦτο γίνεται, ἄρα σωφρονήσει ἡ κακία τοῦ μηκέτι ἐπιτρίβεσθαι πρὸς τὴν ἀγαθότητα, καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς θεός, πρὸς τὸν ἀγαθὸν μηκέτι πόλεμον ἐγείρων. εἰ δὲ καὶ σωφρονισθήσεταί ποτε, οὐκ ἔσται κακός, ὁπότε ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχαίας αὐτοῦ φύσεως τῆς κακίας μετήλλακται μετατραπείς. εἰ δὲ καὶ τρεπτὴ τυγχάνει ἡ φύσις τοῦ κακοῦ πάντως ὅτι ἀπὸ κακοῦ εἰς ἀγαθὸν μεταβάλλεται, καὶ οὐκέτι ἔσται κακὸν ἡ ἔχουσα τροπὴν ἀγαθότητος φύσις. δύναται γὰρ καὶ σήμερον τραπῆναι καὶ ἔτι περιόντος τοῦ κόσμου εἰς ἀγαθὸν μεταβληθῆναι τὸ πονηρόν. καὶ τίνι τῷ λόγῳ ὁ μέλλων τρέπεσθαι ἤδη οὐ τρέπεται; καὶ εἰ μὲν διὰ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ μηχανήσεως ὁ πονηρὸς τρέπεται, τοῦ μηκέτι δύνασθαι τὸ πονηρὸν ἐργάζεσθαι, οὐκέτι παραίτιος ὁ πονηρὸς ἑαυτοῦ τυγχάνει, ἀλλ' ὁ ἀγαθὸς ὁ δυνάμενος ἀναστεῖλαι αὐτοῦ τὴν κακίαν καὶ μὴ