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Therefore, these will be called praiseworthy or blameworthy based on their free will, and the capacity will no longer be according to nature; since what benefit would he gain by proclaiming his teaching? But his argument has failed on all sides; for the Savior did not declare the word for the sake of teaching, but for the sake of eunuchism; and if he should say it was for teaching, the argument of Manes will no longer stand. But the same Manes says: I knew my own; "for my sheep know me and I know my sheep." But in all things he lies; for wishing to snatch souls by flattery, he uttered this word against those then present in the discussion, sowing bait, so to speak, so that through flattery they might seem to join him; so that when they have joined, he might begin to boast and to say that he knew them before they made their arrival to him. But it happened to him as in the myth of the Greeks concerning Apollo the prophet, who prophesied for others, but was unable to prophesy for himself, but having fallen from his oracle, 3.119 loving Daphne and having been rejected by her on account of her chastity; so also this Manes prophesied that he knew his own, but by nature he came on account of Marcellus, intending to take him captive. But his oracle failed. For neither was Marcellus persuaded by him nor any other of the men of that time.

78. Then he said that in the ancient years no one was saved, but from the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar until his own times; and Probus was emperor at that time, and Aurelian before him, when this Manes was visiting. And in this he is again completely refuted, since the Gospel and the apostolic sayings speak about those who had already been saved before. Likewise the Lord says, "there will be required from this generation all the blood of the righteous shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah shed between the temple and the altar." Whence then is Abel righteous, whence Zechariah, if not that salvation already existed and that they were already saved through the law and the prophets? * He says, "death reigned from Adam until Moses," so that you may know that in Moses death was checked, not completely abolished. For it was awaiting the "perfecter" of all things, "Jesus," so that when he should give himself for humanity, the immortal one dying, the unrestrained one becoming restrained, the life in the flesh enduring suffering, he might also break through death him who has the power of death, the sting of sin and death; when at last was fulfilled, "O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" For there in Moses, death, having been checked, was overthrown, having reigned until Moses. And first, indeed, the ones around Abel and Enoch were righteous, "he who was translated so as not to see death, 3.120 and was not found." But the written law did not yet exist, but the one according to nature from thought and from tradition, by succession from fathers to sons. But when the law was set forth clearly, there came to be, so to speak, a sword dividing the power of sin; but when the Savior came, the sting of death was shattered. And again death will be swallowed up in victory then *. And see how God was saving in many ways, but the perfection of salvation has come and will come in Christ Jesus our Lord, as also the Gospel says that "from his fullness we have all received." And what, he says, is the fullness? But "the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus." There it was given, here it came to be. If the law is from his fullness, grace and truth are through Jesus, old and new covenant * in the law and grace and truth.

79. And again the same Manes uses another saying, stating that "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us." Let him say then with what silver the purchase was made, what is the price that was given, that he might purchase us. For he did not say that

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ἐπαινετοὶ οὖν ἤτοι ψεκτοὶ οὗτοι ἐπὶ τῷ αὐτεξουσίῳ κληθήσονται, καὶ οὐκέτι κατὰ φύσιν ἔσται τὸ χώρημα· ἐπεὶ τί ἂν ὠφελήσειε τὴν αὐτοῦ καταγγέλλων διδασκαλίαν; ἐξέπεσε δὲ πανταχόθεν αὐτοῦ ὁ λόγος· οὔτε γὰρ διὰ διδασκαλίαν ὁ σωτὴρ τὸν λόγον ἀπεφήνατο, ἀλλὰ δι' εὐνουχισμόν· κἄν τε διὰ διδασκαλίαν εἴποι, οὐκέτι σταθήσεται τοῦ Μάνη ὁ λόγος. φησὶ δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς Μάνης· ᾔδειν τοὺς ἡμετέρους· «καὶ γὰρ τὰ ἐμὰ πρόβατα γινώσκει με καὶ γινώσκω τὰ ἐμὰ πρόβατα». ἐν ἅπασι δὲ ψεύδεται· βουλόμενος γὰρ θωπείᾳ ἁρπάσαι ψυχὰς κατὰ τῶν τότε παρόντων ἐν τῇ συζητήσει τοῦτον ἐξεῖπε τὸν λόγον, ὑποσπείρων δέλεαρ ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἵνα διὰ τῆς κολακείας δόξωσιν αὐτῷ συνάπτεσθαι· ἵνα ὅταν συναφθῶσιν ἄρξηται κομπάζειν καὶ λέγειν εἰδέναι αὐτοὺς πρὶν ἢ τὴν ἄφιξιν πρὸς αὐτὸν ποιήσονται. γέγονε δὲ αὐτῷ ὡς ὁ τῶν Ἑλλήνων μῦθος κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα τὸν μάντιν, μαντευόμενον τοῖς ἄλλοις, ἑαυτῷ δὲ μὴ δυνάμενον μαντεύεσθαι, ἀλλὰ ἐκπεπτωκότα αὐτὸν τοῦ μαντείου, 3.119 ἐρῶντα τῆς ∆άφνης καὶ ἐκπεπτωκότα αὐτῆς διὰ σωφροσύνην· οὕτω καὶ οὗτος ὁ Μάνης ἐμαντεύετο μὲν εἰδέναι τοὺς ἰδίους, φύσει δὲ διὰ Μάρκελλον ἧκεν ὑποχείριον αὐτὸν ληψόμενος. διέπεσε δὲ τὸ αὐτοῦ μαντεῖον. οὔτε γὰρ αὐτῷ Μάρκελλος ἐπείσθη οὐδέ τις ἕτερος κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ τῶν τότε ἀνθρώπων. 78. Εἶτα ἔφη ὅτι τὰ παλαιὰ ἔτη οὐδεὶς ἐσώθη, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ πεντεκαιδεκάτου ἔτους Τιβερίου Καίσαρος ἄχρι τῶν αὐτοῦ χρόνων· Πρόβος δὲ ἦν ὁ κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ βασιλεὺς καὶ Αὐρηλιανὸς ὁ πρὸ αὐτοῦ, ὅτε οὗτος ὁ Μάνης ἐνεδήμει. καὶ ἐν τούτῳ πάλιν ἐλέγχεται πάντῃ, τοῦ εὐαγγελίου λέγοντος καὶ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ῥημάτων περὶ τῶν ἤδη πρότερον σεσωσμένων. ὡσαύτως ὁ κύριος λέγει «ζητηθήσεται ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης πᾶν αἷμα δικαίου ἐκχυνόμενον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἀπὸ αἵματος Ἄβελ τοῦ δικαίου μέχρις αἵματος Ζαχαρίου τοῦ ἐκκεχυμένου ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ ναοῦ καὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου». πόθεν οὖν δίκαιος Ἄβελ, πόθεν Ζαχαρίας, εἰ μὴ ὅτι ἦν ἤδη ἡ σωτηρία καὶ ὅτι ἐσώθησαν ἤδη διὰ νόμου καὶ προφητῶν; * φησιν «ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ θάνατος ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι Μωυσέως», ὅπως γνῷς ὅτι ἐν Μωυσῇ ἀνεκόπη ὁ θάνατος, οὐ παντάπασιν ἀφανισθείς. ἀπεξεδέχετο γὰρ τὸν «τελειωτὴν» πάντων «Ἰησοῦν», ἵνα ὅταν ἑαυτὸν παραδῴη ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος, ὁ ἀθάνατος θανών, ὁ ἀκράτητος κρατητὸς γενόμενος, ἡ ζωὴ ἐν σαρκὶ τὸ παθεῖν ὑπομένων, καὶ κλάσῃ διὰ τοῦ θανάτου τὸν τὸ κράτος ἔχοντα τοῦ θανάτου, τὸ κέντρον τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ τὸν θάνατον· ὅτε λοιπὸν ἐπληροῦτο τὸ «ποῦ σου θάνατος τὸ κέντρον; ποῦ σου Ἅιδῃ τὸ νῖκος»; ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ ἐν Μωυσῇ ἀνετράπη ἐπισχεθεὶς ὁ θάνατος, βασιλεύσας ἄχρι Μωυσέως. καὶ πρῶτον μὲν δίκαιοι ἦσαν οἱ περὶ Ἄβελ καὶ Ἐνώχ, «ὁ μετατεθεὶς τοῦ μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατον, 3.120 καὶ οὐχ ηὑρίσκετο». ἀλλὰ οὔπω ἦν ὁ ἔγγραπτος νόμος, ἀλλὰ ὁ κατὰ φύσιν ἐκ διανοίας καὶ ἐκ παραδόσεως, κατὰ διαδοχὴν πατέρων πρὸς τοὺς υἱούς. ὅτε δὲ τηλαυγῶς ἐξετέθη ὁ νόμος, ἐγένετο ὡς εἰπεῖν μάχαιρα διχάζουσα τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας· ὅτε δὲ ὁ σωτὴρ παρεγένετο, συνετρίβη τὸ κέντρον τοῦ θανάτου. καὶ πάλιν καταποθήσεται ὁ θάνατος εἰς νῖκος τότε *. καὶ ὅρα πῶς ἔσῳζεν ὁ θεὸς διὰ πολλῶν τρόπων, τὸ δὲ τέλειον τῆς σωτηρίας ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν γεγένηται καὶ γενήσεται, ὡς καὶ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον φάσκει ὅτι «ἐκ τοῦ πληρώματος αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἐλάβομεν». καὶ ποῖον, φησί, τὸ πλήρωμα; ἀλλ' «ὁ νόμος διὰ Μωυσέως ἐδόθη, ἡ χάρις καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια διὰ Ἰησοῦ ἐγένετο». ἐκεῖ μὲν ἐδόθη, ὧδε ἐγένετο. εἰ ἐκ πληρώματος αὐτοῦ ὁ νόμος, ἡ χάρις καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια διὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, παλαιὰ καὶ καινὴ διαθήκη * ἐν τῷ νόμῳ καὶ χάριτι καὶ ἀληθείᾳ. 79. Ἑτέρᾳ δὲ πάλιν λέξει κέχρηται ὁ αὐτὸς Μάνης φάσκων ὅτι «ὁ Χριστὸς ἐξηγόρασεν ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς κατάρας τοῦ νόμου, γενόμενος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κατάρα». λεγέτω τοίνυν ποίοις ἀργυρίοις ἡ ἀγορασία γεγένηται, ποῖον τὸ τίμημα ὃ δέδοται, ἵνα ἡμᾶς ἀγοράσῃ. οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν ὅτι