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wicked men, the enemy man is the devil, the reapers are the angels, the harvest is the consummation of the age, the wheat is the good men. * when the Lord sends his angels and they gather the sinners from his kingdom and hand them over to be burned». and see, sons of truth, that this man, who has been newly presented to us in the place of Jannes and Jambres, puts forward against himself the very things he wishes to say. For he himself denies that the world belongs to God; but here the Savior said the world is the field, and the householder and lord of the field is God, that is, his own Father, and that he himself had sown his good seed. And he did not separate souls from bodies or bodies from souls, but he said that the enemy man had sown the weeds, which are the wicked men; and by men he does not mean bodies separately nor souls separately, but he said wicked men together. Again, likewise, the good seed which the householder sowed in his own field, he says are the good men. And he did not say their souls, but good men with body and soul. Therefore, through teaching God sows what is good in men, and through evil contrivance the devil sows wicked works in men. From this side and that we will not find a root of evil, but works accomplished through us; and God is not at all the cause of the sown weeds. For he immediately explains, saying «while men were sleeping», and he did not say "3while the householder was sleeping"3. For when we fall asleep from good works, when we neglect righteousness, when we do not make our mind watchful 3.106 towards the commandment of God, then sins are sown in us. Do you see that the reapers are preparing the bundles for the eternal fire? Tell me, O Manes, do they bind souls there or burn bodies without souls, or also the souls? For your argument about the purification of souls will no longer stand, since they will be handed over to punishment and judgment. But enough on these things up to this point. For to the intelligent the sayings of truth are clear. 66. He again takes up another saying, bringing it forth and not understanding what is contained in it, but misinterpreting in another way the power of the saving doctrine that the Savior said, «The ruler of this world is coming, and in me he finds nothing of his own», and again; «The ruler of the world will be cast down» and again from the Apostle that «The god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the light of the gospel of glory might not shine». Let us see, then, the ruler of this world, about whom the Lord speaks, if he will be cast down; for he adds «And if I am lifted up, I will draw all men to myself»; whom then does he mean by ruler of this world? And if he means the devil, how does John in the gospel say about the Savior that «He came to his own»? For we see these two statements as opposed to one another; for the Apostle says «The whole world lies in the evil one» and the Savior «was in the world». How then can both be accommodated? If the whole world lies in the evil one, where is the place for the Savior in the world for him to be «in the world»? And if the things of the world are the «own» of the Son of God, what ruler has dominion over God's own things? But if the things in the world are not the own of the Son of God, what ruler of the world would allow the things in the world to be the Savior's own? And if the world belongs to the Son of God, how did he allow 3.107 a ruler to possess his own world? But all the words of the divine scripture are spoken in wisdom, as the Lord himself says, «John came in the way of righteousness, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a man

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πονηροὶ ἄνθρωποι, ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν ὁ διάβολος, οἱ θερισταί εἰσιν οἱ ἄγγελοι, ὁ θερισμός ἐστιν ἡ συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος, ὁ σῖτός ἐστιν οἱ καλοὶ ἄνθρωποι. * ὅτε ἀποστέλλει ὁ κύριος τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ καὶ συνάγουσι τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ βασιλείας καὶ παραδιδόασιν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ καῆναι». καὶ θεωρεῖτε, υἱοὶ τῆς ἀληθείας, ὅτι αὐτὰ ἃ βούλεται λέγειν καθ' ἑαυτοῦ προβάλλεται οὗτος ὁ ἀνακαινισθεὶς ἡμῖν ἀντὶ τῶν περὶ Ἰαννῆν καὶ Ἰαμβρῆν. αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ ἀρνεῖται τὸν κόσμον τοῦ θεοῦ εἶναι· ὧδε δὲ ὁ σωτὴρ τὸν κόσμον ἔφη εἶναι τὸν ἀγρόν, τὸν δὲ οἰκοδεσπότην καὶ κύριον τοῦ ἀγροῦ τὸν θεόν, τουτέστι τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα, καὶ αὐτὸν ἐσπαρκέναι τὸ καλὸν αὐτοῦ σπέρμα. καὶ οὐδὲ διεῖλε ψυχὰς ἀπὸ σωμάτων ἢ σώματα ἀπὸ ψυχῶν, ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν ἐχθρὸν ἄνθρωπον ἔφη ἐσπαρκέναι τὰ ζιζάνια, ἅ εἰσιν οἱ πονηροὶ ἄνθρωποι, ἀνθρώπους δὲ οὐ λέγει σώματα κατ' ἰδίαν οὐδὲ ψυχὰς κατ' ἰδίαν, ἀλλὰ ὁμοῦ εἶπε πονηροὺς ἀνθρώπους. πάλιν δὲ ὡσαύτως τὸ ἀγαθὸν σπέρμα ὃ ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης ἔσπειρεν ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ ἀγρῷ, τοὺς ἀγαθούς φησιν ἀνθρώπους. καὶ οὐκ εἶπε τὰς τούτων ψυχάς, ἀλλ' ἀγαθοὺς ἀνθρώπους σὺν σώματι καὶ ψυχῇ. ἆρα γοῦν διὰ τῆς διδασκαλίας ὁ θεὸς σπείρει τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις καὶ διὰ τῆς κακομηχανίας ὁ διάβολος ὑποσπείρει τὰ πονηρὰ ἔργα ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. ἔνθεν δὲ καὶ ἔνθεν οὐ ῥίζαν εὑρήσομεν κακίας, ἀλλ' ἔργα δι' ἡμῶν ἐπιτελούμενα· καὶ οὐδὲ ὅλως ὁ θεὸς αἴτιός ἐστι τῶν ἐσπαρμένων ζιζανίων. εὐθὺς γὰρ φράζει λέγων «ἐν τῷ καθεύδειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους», καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν "3ἐν τῷ καθεύδειν τὸν οἰκοδεσπότην"3. ὅταν γὰρ ἡμεῖς ἀποκοιμηθῶμεν ἀπὸ ἀγαθῶν ἔργων, ὅταν ἀμελήσωμεν τῆς δικαιοσύνης, ὅταν τὸν νοῦν μὴ ἐγρήγορον ποιήσωμεν 3.106 πρὸς τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ ἐντολήν, τότε σπείρονται ἐν ἡμῖν τὰ ἁμαρτήματα. ὁρᾷς ὅτι οἱ θερισταὶ ἑτοιμάζουσι τὰς δεσμὰς εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον; λέγε μοι, ὦ Μάνη, ψυχὰς ἐκεῖ δεσμεύουσιν ἢ σώματα ἄνευ ψυχῶν καίουσιν ἢ καὶ τὰς ψυχάς; οὐκέτι γὰρ σταθήσεται ὁ περὶ καθαρισμοῦ σου τῶν ψυχῶν λόγος, ὁπότε εἰς τιμωρίαν καὶ κρίσιν παραδοθήσονται. ἀλλὰ ἀρκέσει περὶ τούτων ἕως τῶν ἐνταῦθα. τοῖς γὰρ συνετοῖς φαίνεται τὰ ῥητὰ τῆς ἀληθείας. 66. Ἐπιλαμβάνεται πάλιν ἑτέρου ῥητοῦ, εἰς μέσον φέρων καὶ μὴ νοῶν τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ ἐγκείμενα, ἑτέρως δὲ παρερμηνεύων τῆς σωτηριώδους διδασκαλίας τὴν δύναμιν τὸ δὴ εἰρηκέναι τὸν σωτῆρα ὅτι «ἔρχεται ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ οὐδὲν τῶν αὐτοῦ εὑρίσκει», καὶ πάλιν· «ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου βληθήσεται κάτω» καὶ πάλιν παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ ὅτι «ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσε τὰ νοήματα τῶν ἀπίστων, πρὸς τὸ μὴ καταυγάσαι τὸν φωτισμὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης». ἴδωμεν τοίνυν τὸν ἄρχοντα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, περὶ οὗ ὁ κύριος λέγει, εἰ βληθήσεται κάτω· ἐπιφέρει γάρ «ἐὰν δὲ ἐγὼ ὑψωθῶ, πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν»· τίνα οὖν λέγει ἄρχοντα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου; καὶ εἰ μὲν τὸν διάβολον λέγει, πῶς ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος λέγει ὅτι «εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθεν»; ὁρῶμεν γὰρ τὰς δύο λέξεις ταύτας ἀντιθέτους πρὸς ἀλλήλας· ὁ ἀπόστολος γάρ φησιν «ὅλος ὁ κόσμος ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται» καὶ «ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἦν» ὁ σωτήρ. πῶς ἄρα οἱ ἀμφότεροι χωρηθήσονται; εἰ ὅλος ὁ κόσμος ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται, ποῦ τόπος τῷ σωτῆρι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἐστὶν τοῦ εἶναι αὐτὸν «ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ»; καὶ εἰ «ἴδια» τυγχάνει τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ τοῦ κόσμου, ποῖος ἄρχων κυριεύει τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ ἰδίων; εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ἴδια τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, ποῖος ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου συνεχώρει ἴδια εἶναι τοῦ σωτῆρος τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ; καὶ εἰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τυγχάνει ὁ κόσμος, πῶς συνεχώρει 3.107 ἄρχοντι τὸν ἴδιον κόσμον κατέχειν; εἰσὶ δὲ πάντες οἱ λόγοι τῆς θείας γραφῆς ἐν σοφίᾳ εἰρημένοι, καθὼς αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος λέγει «ἦλθεν Ἰωάννης ἐν ὁδῷ δικαιοσύνης μὴ ἐσθίων μήτε πίνων, καὶ λέγουσι· δαιμόνιον ἔχει. ἦλθεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων, καὶ λέγουσιν· ἰδού, ἄνθρωπος