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and if he does not at all oppose the one who wishes to save his own, he will also acknowledge a favor. But if he acknowledges a favor, first the savior will save him from whom are those who are saved, so that he may show in him 3.109 being saved his own goodness and that he does not wish to save the lesser ones more and leave aside the necessary one, from whom those who are saved have come to be. Or again otherwise: if he wishes not to save him, but saves those who have been begotten by him, then he does not accomplish a perfect work, nor is he able to work the good in perfection. But if, because he is of a nature that cannot be saved, it is impossible for him to save him, but he saves those who have been begotten by him, much more are those who have been begotten from him weaker than he is and are incapable of salvation. And otherwise: if, having nothing of his own to save, he came into what belongs to another for the sake of display, to show his own help, great is the helplessness that is unable to save its own and visits what belongs to another, in order to display the work which it was unable to display in its own things. And already the argument spoken by Mani about the savior and the ruler of this age has fallen apart, and in reality the god of this age will not be a god changed from the one who is, another one, nor another hypostatic god, may it not be so; for God, the master of all, who made the world, is one God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he never ceases. 69. Concerning which the apostle speaks, whom the unbelievers chose to be their god, I do not say that there is only one god of this age, may it not be so, but also many, to whom the unbelievers subjected themselves and were blinded in their mind, as he also says in another place, “whose god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame” and the Lord in the gospel says, “you cannot serve two masters,” then after many things, to show who the two masters are, he says, “you cannot serve God and mammon.” Therefore, God is God and mammon is the god of the world. For through mammon and the belly, these two, the greater part of human nature is blinded, being enticed, not having received the pretext from God, but through its own evil scheming, as each one, desiring in unbelief, gives himself over to be subject to all things. Whence also the apostle says, “the love of money is the root of all evils.” And for this reason he curses with an evil preconception of deification, saying “Foods for the belly and the belly for foods, but God will destroy both it and them,” cursing the desires of the stomach. The god of this age therefore blinded the minds 3.110 of the unbelievers, as also in the gospel the scribe is found † first and second saying, “What must I do to inherit eternal life? And he said: Honor your father and mother according to what is written.” For the things of the law were not foreign; as the Lord himself teaches that the observance of the law is the inheritance of life. Then he says, “All these I have done from my youth.” And hearing this, “he rejoiced,” to show that the commandments of the law were not alien to his divinity; for by saying that he rejoiced, he made an assent of the old covenant to the new covenant. But he says, “What do I still lack?” And he says to him, “If you wish to be perfect, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and take up your cross and follow me, and you will have treasure in heaven. But he went away grieving. For he was very rich.” Then the Lord said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” For the rich cannot enter, because they have been blinded by the god of this age, having considered mammon their god and having made themselves subject to the god of this age, that is, to the love of money. As he says, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy,” and in another place, “which is the love of money.” And to show the result and work of this, he says, “they are guides

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καὶ εἰ ὅλως οὐκ ἐναντιοῦται τῷ βουλομένῳ τὰ ἴδια σῴζειν, καὶ χάριν ὁμολογήσει. εἰ δὲ χάριν ὁμολογεῖ, πρῶτον ὁ σωτὴρ αὐτὸν σῴσει οὗ οἱ σῳζόμενοι, ἵνα δείξῃ ἐπ' αὐτῷ 3.109 σῳζομένῳ τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητα καὶ ὅτι οὐ τοὺς μικροὺς μᾶλλον βούλεται σῴζειν καὶ ἐᾶν τὸν ἀναγκαῖον, ἐξ οὗπερ οἱ σῳζόμενοι γεγόνασιν. ἢ ἄλλως πάλιν· εἰ μὲν βούλεται αὐτὸν μὴ σῴζειν, τοὺς δὲ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γεγενημένους σῴζει, ἄρα οὐ τέλειον ἀπεργάζεται, οὐδὲ δύναται τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐργάσασθαι ἐν τελειότητι. εἰ δὲ διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν φύσεως μὴ σῳζομένης αὐτὸν μὲν ἀδυνάτως ἔχει σῴζειν, τοὺς δὲ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γεγενημένους σῴζει, πολλῷ μᾶλλον οἱ ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγενημένοι σαθρότεροι αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχουσι καὶ ἀδυνάτως ἔχουσι πρὸς σωτηρίαν. καὶ ἄλλως δέ· εἰ μὲν ἴδιά τινα μὴ ἔχων σῴζειν εἰς τὰ ἀλλότρια ἦλθεν ἐπιδείξεως χάριν, τοῦ τὴν αὐτοῦ βοήθειαν δεῖξαι, πολλὴ ἡ ἀπορία ἡ μὴ δυναμένη ἴδια σῴζειν καὶ εἰς τὰ ἀλλότρια ἐπιδημοῦσα, ὅπως ἐνδείξηται τὸ ἔργον, ὃ ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀδυνάτως ἔσχεν ἐπιδείξασθαι. καὶ ἤδη διέπεσεν ὁ περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ τοῦ ἄρχοντος τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ὑπὸ τοῦ Μάνη εἰρημένος λόγος, καὶ ἔσται τῷ ὄντι ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου οὐ θεὸς παρηλλαγμένος παρὰ τὸν ὄντα ἄλλος, οὐδὲ ἐνυπόστατος θεὸς ἄλλος, μὴ γένοιτο· θεὸς γὰρ ὁ πάντων δεσπότης, ὁ τὸν κόσμον ποιήσας, εἷς ἐστι θεός, ὁ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ οὐδέποτε διαλείπει. 69. Περὶ οὗ δὲ ὁ ἀπόστολος λέγει, ὃν ᾑρέτισαν τὸν θεὸν ἑαυτῶν εἶναι οἱ ἄπιστοι, οὐ μόνον λέγω ἕνα θεὸν εἶναι τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, μὴ γένοιτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλούς, οἷς ἑαυτοὺς ὑπέταξαν οἱ ἄπιστοι καὶ ἐτυφλώθησαν τὴν διάνοιαν, ὡς καὶ ἐν ἄλλῳ τόπῳ λέγει «ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία καὶ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν» καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ «οὐ δύνασθε δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν» φησίν, εἶτα μετὰ πολλά, ἵνα δείξῃ τίνες εἰσὶν οἱ δύο κύριοι, φησίν «οὐ δύνασθε θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ». ἄρα οὖν ὁ θεὸς θεὸς καὶ μαμωνᾶς θεὸς τοῦ κόσμου. διὰ γὰρ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ καὶ τῆς κοιλίας, τῶν δύο τούτων, ἡ πλείστη φύσις τῶν ἀνθρώπων τυφλώττει δελεαζομένη, οὐχ ὑπὸ θεοῦ λαβοῦσα τὴν πρόφασιν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἰδίας κακομηχανίας, ὡς ἕκαστος ὀρεγόμενος ἐπὶ τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἑαυτὸν παραδίδωσιν ὑποχείριον πάντων. ὅθεν καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος λέγει «ῥίζα πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστιν ἡ φιλαργυρία». καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐπαρᾶται κακῇ προλήψει θεοποιίας λέγων «τὰ βρώματα τῇ κοιλίᾳ καὶ ἡ κοιλία τοῖς βρώμασιν, ὁ δὲ θεὸς καὶ ταύτην καὶ ταῦτα καταργήσει», ἐπαρώμενος γαστρὸς ἐπιθυμίαις. ὁ θεὸς τοίνυν τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσε τὰ νοήματα 3.110 τῶν ἀπίστων, ὡς καὶ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ εὑρίσκεται ὁ γραμματεὺς † πρῶτος καὶ δεύτερος λέγων «τί ποιήσας ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω; ὁ δὲ ἔφη· τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον». οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἀλλότρια τὰ τοῦ νόμου· ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος διδάσκει ζωῆς κληρονομίαν εἶναι τὴν παραφυλακὴν τοῦ νόμου. εἶτά φησι «ταῦτα πάντα ἐποίησα ἐκ νεότητός μου». καὶ ἀκούσας «ἐχάρη», ἵνα δείξῃ τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ νόμου οὐκ ἀλλοτρίας τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητος ὑπαρχούσας· διὰ γὰρ τοῦ εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἐχάρη συγκατάθεσιν ἐποιήσατο παλαιᾶς διαθήκης πρὸς νέαν διαθήκην. ἀλλά φησι «τί ἔτι ὑστερῶ»; καί φησι πρὸς αὐτὸν «εἰ θέλεις τέλειος γενέσθαι, πώλησον τὰ ὑπάρχοντά σοι καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς, καὶ λάβε τὸν σταυρόν σου καὶ ἀκολούθει μοι, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς. ὁ δὲ ἀπῆλθε λυπούμενος. ἦν γὰρ πλούσιος σφόδρα». εἶτα ὁ κύριος ἔφη «εὐκοπώτερόν ἐστι κάμηλον διὰ τρυμαλιᾶς ῥαφίδος εἰσελθεῖν ἢ πλούσιον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν». οὐ δύνανται γὰρ οἱ πλούσιοι εἰσελθεῖν, ὅτι ἐτυφλώθησαν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ αἰῶνος, ἡγησάμενοι τὸν μαμωνᾶν ἑαυτῶν θεὸν καὶ ἑαυτοὺς ὑποχειρίους πεποιηκότες τῷ θεῷ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου τουτέστι τῇ φιλαργυρίᾳ. ὡς λέγει «προσέχετε ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων, ἥτις ἐστὶν ὑπόκρισις,» καὶ ἐν ἄλλῳ τόπῳ «ἥτις ἐστὶ φιλαργυρία». καὶ ἵνα δείξῃ ταύτης τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα καὶ τὸ ἔργον, λέγει «ὁδηγοί εἰσι