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and nothing evil has been created from him nor comes into being. But if certain evil things are worked by the devil, behold we have found also * through him a crown being woven for the saints and a prize being given to those who have conquered. And his argument has fallen. For the corrupt tree and the good tree concerns good works and evil ones and is not about the Old Testament and the New, as the argument of Manes wishes. 63. Furthermore, the same man, wishing to present pretexts concerning the two principles, hunting for them, schemes with words that seem suitable to him but are not so, that, he says, he said to the Jews, “You are sons of the devil; he was a murderer, because his father was a liar.” And he wishes to blaspheme and say that the maker of heaven and earth is the father of the devil, it being in no way possible for this saying to be applied to this at all. For if they are sons of the devil at all, his argument has fallen and 3.102 Manes contradicts himself in his ignorance. For their souls are then set apart, having been born of the devil, and they are no longer from the power above according to his myth, or they are not a part of the light, or of his panoply, or of the pillar of light, or of the mother of life. But if they are of the devil at all, then also Abraham their father, whose seed the Jews themselves are, is also of the devil according to the argument of Manes. How then does the Savior say to them in refutation, “You are not children of Abraham, but of your father the devil. For if you were children of Abraham, you would do his works. For you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you. This Abraham did not do.” And do you see that the word is used improperly, for though they are sons of Abraham, they alienate themselves from the Lord through their works, not through their creation or their making; and we have already discussed this above; how then will a part of the same seed be at one time alien and of the devil, and at another time a part of God? But this he relates accusingly. For to whomever one subjects himself, of that one he is a slave according to his working and teaching, as Paul also says, “For though you have many teachers, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus through the gospel I have begotten you.” And do you see that he speaks of the teaching? And if Manes accepted Abraham, we would say that Abraham is of the god of light, but those born of him are of another. But the hypothesis is in this manner. They imitated the murderer, they imitated the betrayal of Judas, they accepted the slander of the traitor, they have become sons of his denial of God, he himself became a liar, “holding the money box and stealing,” and saying to him “Hail, Rabbi,” and being rebuked and hearing, “Friend, for what are you here?” This Judas imitated Cain, since he became a murderer, lying before the lord and saying, “Am I 3.103 my brother's keeper? I do not know where he is.” And he himself by imitation has become a son of the devil and by contemplation of the lying voice that spoke in the serpent, which said, “you will be as gods, knowing good and evil.” This is what was said by the Savior in the gospel: “You are sons of the devil”; for he says, “Did I not choose you twelve? One of you is a devil,” since “from the beginning he is a liar and a murderer, because his father was a liar.” and the question concerning this is resolved. For the Jews were not children of the devil, may it not be so. For the Samaritan woman says to the Savior that “here on this mountain our fathers worshiped, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where one must worship.” Then after many things the Savior said to her that “what we know, we speak, because salvation is from the Jews.” And again the apostle, “It is evident that the Lord has sprung from Judah.” And there are many things concerning this

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καὶ φαῦλον ἐξ αὐτοῦ οὐδὲν κέκτισται οὐδὲ γίνεται. εἰ δὲ ἐκ διαβόλου ἐνεργεῖται πονηρά τινα, ἰδοὺ εὑρήκαμεν καὶ * δι' αὐτοῦ στέφανον πλεκόμενον ἁγίοις καὶ βραβεῖον διδόμενον τοῖς νενικηκόσι. καὶ διέπεσεν ὁ αὐτοῦ λόγος. τὸ γὰρ σαπρὸν δένδρον καὶ ἀγαθὸν δένδρον περὶ ἀγαθῶν ἔργων τυγχάνει καὶ περὶ φαύλων καὶ οὐκ ἔστι περὶ παλαιᾶς διαθήκης καὶ καινῆς, καθὼς βούλεται ὁ τοῦ Μάνης, λόγος. 63. Ἔτι δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς βουλόμενος παριστᾶν τὰς περὶ τῶν δύο ἀρχῶν προφάσεις θηρώμενος μεθοδεύεται τὰς αὐτῷ δοκούσας λέξεις οὐχ οὕτως ἐχούσας, ὅτι, φησί, τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἔλεγεν «ὑμεῖς υἱοὶ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστέ· ἐκεῖνος ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἦν, ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ψεύστης ἦν». βούλεται δὲ βλασφημεῖν καὶ λέγειν τὸν ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς πατέρα εἶναι τοῦ διαβόλου, μηδαμῶς δυνάμενον ὅλως ἐπὶ τοῦτο τὸ ῥητὸν φέρεσθαι. εἰ γὰρ ὅλως τοῦ διαβόλου υἱοί εἰσι, διέπεσεν ὁ κατ' αὐτὸν λόγος καὶ 3.102 ἑαυτῷ ἀντιμάχεται ὁ Μάνης ἀγνοῶν. ἀφωρίσθησαν γὰρ λοιπὸν αἱ αὐτῶν ψυχαὶ ἐκ διαβόλου γεγενημέναι, καὶ οὐκέτι εἰσὶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἄνωθεν δυνάμεως κατὰ τὸν αὐτοῦ μῦθον ἢ οὔκ εἰσι μέρος τοῦ φωτὸς ἢ πανοπλίας τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἢ τοῦ στύλου τοῦ φωτὸς ἢ μητρὸς τῆς ζωῆς. εἰ δὲ ὅλως αὐτοὶ τοῦ διαβόλου εἰσίν, ἄρα καὶ ὁ Ἀβραὰμ ὁ τούτων πατήρ, οὗ σπέρμα τυγχάνουσιν αὐτοὶ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ αὐτὸς τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστὶ κατὰ τὸν τοῦ Μάνη λόγον. πῶς οὖν ὁ σωτὴρ ἐλεγκτικῶς λέγει αὐτοῖς «ὑμεῖς οὐκ ἐστὲ τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, ἀλλὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ διαβόλου. εἰ γὰρ ἦτε τέκνα τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ἐποιεῖτε. ὑμεῖς γὰρ ζητεῖτέ με ἀποκτεῖναι, ἄνθρωπον, ὃς τὴν ἀλήθειαν λελάληκα ὑμῖν. τοῦτο Ἀβραὰμ οὐκ ἐποίησε». καὶ ὁρᾷς ὅτι καταχρηστικός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος, αὐτῶν γὰρ ὄντων υἱῶν τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τοῦ κυρίου ἀπαλλοτριούντων ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τῶν ἔργων, οὐχὶ διὰ τοῦ πλάσματος, ἢ διὰ τῆς ποιήσεως ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἄνω διηγησάμεθα περὶ τούτου· πῶς οὖν τὸ μέρος τοῦ αὐτοῦ σπέρματος ἔσται ποτὲ μὲν ἀλλότριον καὶ τοῦ διαβόλου, ποτὲ δὲ μέρος θεοῦ; ἀλλὰ τοῦτο ἐγκληματικῶς διηγεῖται. ᾧ γάρ τις ἑαυτὸν ὑποτάσσει, τούτου δοῦλος τυγχάνει κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειάν τε καὶ διδασκαλίαν, ὡς καὶ ὁ Παῦλός φησι «εἰ γὰρ καὶ πολλοὺς διδασκάλους ἔχετε, ἀλλ' οὐ πολλοὺς πατέρας. ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς ἐγέννησα». καὶ ὁρᾷς ὅτι τὴν διδασκαλίαν λέγει; καὶ εἰ μὲν ὁ Μάνης ἐδέχετο τὸν Ἀβραάμ, ἐλέγομεν ἂν τὸν μὲν Ἀβραὰμ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ φωτός, τοὺς δὲ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γεγεννημένους ἄλλου. ἡ δὲ ὑπόθεσις τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον. ἐμιμοῦντο τὸν φονέα, ἐμιμοῦντο τὴν παράδοσιν τοῦ Ἰούδα, κατεδέξαντο τὴν διαβολὴν τοῦ προδότου, υἱοὶ γεγόνασι τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐπαρνησιθεΐας, αὐτὸς ψεύστης ἐγένετο, «τὸ γλωσσόκομον κατέχων καὶ κλέπτων», καὶ λέγων αὐτῷ «χαῖρε Ῥαββί», καὶ ἐλεγχόμενος καὶ ἀκούων, «ἑταῖρε, ἐφ' ᾧ πάρει;» οὗτος ὁ Ἰούδας ἐμιμήσατο τὸν Κάϊν, ἐπειδὴ ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἐγένετο, ψευδόμενον ἐναντίον τοῦ κυρίου καὶ λέγοντα «μὴ φύλαξ εἰμὶ 3.103 τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μου; οὐκ οἶδα ποῦ ἐστι». καὶ αὐτὸς κατὰ μίμησιν υἱὸς τοῦ διαβόλου γεγένηται καὶ κατὰ θεωρίαν τῆς ἐν τῷ ὄφει λαλησάσης ψευδηγόρου φωνῆς τῆς λεγούσης «ἔσεσθε ὡς θεοί, γινώσκοντες καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν». τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ παρὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος εἰρημένον «ὑμεῖς υἱοί ἐστε τοῦ διαβόλου»· λέγει γάρ «οὐχὶ δώδεκα ὑμᾶς ἐξελεξάμην; εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐστι διάβολος», ἐπειδὴ «ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ψεύστης ἐστὶ καὶ ἀνθρωποκτόνος, ὅτι ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ψεύστης ἦν». καὶ λέλυται ἡ περὶ τούτου ζήτησις. οὐ γὰρ τοῦ διαβόλου ἦσαν τέκνα οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, μὴ γένοιτο. λέγει γὰρ ἡ Σαμαρεῖτις πρὸς τὸν σωτῆρα ὅτι «ὧδε ἐν τῷ ὄρει τούτῳ προσεκύνησαν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν, καὶ ὑμεῖς δὲ λέγετε ὅτι ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐστὶν ὁ τόπος ὅπου δεῖ προσκυνεῖν». εἶτα μετὰ πολλὰ ὁ σωτὴρ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἔφη ὅτι «ἃ οἴδαμεν λαλοῦμεν, ὅτι ἡ σωτηρία ἐκ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐστί». καὶ πάλιν ὁ ἀπόστολος «δῆλον ὅτι ἐξ Ἰούδα ἀνατέταλκεν ὁ κύριος». καὶ πολλὰ ἔστι περὶ τούτου