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Let them throw the world into confusion. Let them not say: “We honor the queen of heaven”. For Tahpanhes knows how to punish these women, the places of Magdolos know how to receive their bodies for decay. Do not be persuaded, Israel, by a woman, stand up from the counsel of an evil woman. “For a woman hunts for the precious souls of men”. “For her feet lead those who use her with death down to Hades”. “Do not pay attention to a worthless woman. For honey drips from the lips of a prostitute, who for a time soothes your throat, but afterward you will find her more bitter than gall and sharpened more than a two-edged sword”. Do not be persuaded by this worthless woman. For every heresy is a worthless woman, but even more so this heresy of the women and that of the one who deceived the first woman. Let our mother Eve be honored as formed by God, but let her not be listened to, so that she may not persuade the children to eat from the tree and transgress the commandment. And let her repent from empty talk, let her turn back in shame and put on fig leaves. And let Adam understand himself, and no longer be persuaded by her. For the persuasion of error and the counsel of a woman to the contrary brings about death for her own husband, and not only so, but also for the children. Eve destroyed the creature through the transgression, having been provoked by the voice and promise of the serpent, having been led astray from the proclamation and having gone over to another way of thinking. 9. For this reason the master and savior of all, wishing to heal the pain and to build up what had been destroyed and to correct what had been diminished, since “death entered into the world” through a woman, coming down he himself was born of a virgin woman, in order to shut out death and to fill up what was lacking and to perfect what had been diminished. But wickedness turns back on us again, in order to bring the defect forward into the world. But neither young nor old are persuaded by the woman because of the temperance from above. The Egyptian woman does not persuade the temperate Joseph nor lead him astray, although she devised the terrible counsel against the boy with much scheming. But a man who has received his prudence from the Holy Spirit is not persuaded, he does not destroy his temperance, so that he may not cheapen his nobility. He leaves behind his garments and does not destroy his body. He flees 3.484 the place, so that he may not fall into the trap; he is punished for a time, but he reigns for eternity; he is thrown into prison, but it is preferable to remain in custody “and in a corner of the open air,” “than with a quarrelsome and talkative woman.” And how many things are there to say? For either as worshipping Mary herself these idle women offer the collyris to her or they attempt to offer this aforesaid rotten fruit on her behalf, the whole thing is foolish and foreign and a raging and deceit from the movement of demons. But so that we may not prolong the discourse, what has been said will be sufficient for us. Let Mary be in honor, let the Lord be worshipped. For the just work error for no one. “For God is untempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one,” nor his servants, to deceit. “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desire and enticed. Then desire gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.” Considering that we have enough concerning all these things, beloved, and having crushed, so to speak, this beetle, which in appearance is golden, but is winged, so to speak, and flying, being venomous and possessing poison in itself, by the word of truth, let us go to the one yet remaining, again calling upon God to stand by in order to track down the parts of the truth and to work the complete overthrow of the opposition. - - - Against the Massalians, with whom are joined the Martyriani, being from the Greeks, and the Euphemitai and the Satanianoi, 60, but of the sequence 80. 1. Shamelessness has no satiety nor foolishness any fill, but to

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θροείτωσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην. μὴ λεγέτωσαν· «τιμῶμεν τὴν βασίλισσαν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ». οἶδε γὰρ Ταφνὰς ταύτας τιμωρεῖσθαι, οἴδασιν οἱ τόποι Μαγδούλων τούτων τὰ σώματα ὑποδέχεσθαι εἰς σῆψιν. μὴ πείθου, Ἰσραήλ, γυναικί, ἀνάκυπτε ἀπὸ κακῆς γυναικὸς συμβουλίας. «γυνὴ γὰρ τιμίας ψυχὰς ἀνδρῶν ἀγρεύει». «ταύτης γὰρ οἱ πόδες τοὺς χρωμένους μετὰ τοῦ θανάτου ἄγουσιν εἰς τὸν Ἅιδην». «μὴ πρόσεχε φαύλῃ γυναικί. μέλι γὰρ ἀποστάζει ἀπὸ χειλέων γυναικὸς πόρνης, ἣ πρὸς καιρὸν λιπαίνει σὸν φάρυγγα, ὕστερον μέντοι πικρότερον χολῆς εὑρήσεις καὶ ἠκονημένον μᾶλλον μαχαίρας διστόμου». μὴ πείθου ταύτῃ τῇ γυναικὶ τῇ φαύλῃ. πᾶσα γὰρ αἵρεσις φαύλη γυνή, πλέον δὲ ἡ τῶν γυναικῶν αἵρεσις αὐτὴ καὶ ἡ τοῦ ἀπατήσαντος τὴν πρώτην γυναῖκα. τιμάσθω ἡ μήτηρ ἡμῶν Εὔα ὡς ἐκ θεοῦ πεπλασμένη, μὴ ἀκουέσθω δέ, ἵνα μὴ πείσῃ τὰ τέκνα φαγεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου καὶ ἐντολὴν παραβῆναι. μετανοείτω δὲ καὶ αὐτὴ ἀπὸ κενοφωνίας, ἐπιστρεφέτω αἰσχυνομένη καὶ φύλλα συκῆς ἐνδυομένη. κατανοείτω δὲ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ὁ Ἀδάμ, καὶ μηκέτι αὐτῇ πειθέσθω. ἡ γὰρ τῆς πλάνης πειθὼ καὶ γυναικὸς εἰς τὸ ἐναντίον συμβουλία θάνατον τῷ ἰδίῳ συζύγῳ ἐργάζεται, οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις. κατέστρεψε τὸ πλάσμα Εὔα διὰ τῆς παραβάσεως, ἐρεθισθεῖσα διὰ τῆς τοῦ ὄφεως φωνῆς καὶ ἐπαγγελίας, πλανηθεῖσα ἀπὸ τοῦ κηρύγματος καὶ ἐφ' ἑτέραν βαδίσασα διάνοιαν. 9. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὁ πάντων δεσπότης καὶ σωτὴρ βουλόμενος θεραπεῦσαι τὸ ἄλγος καὶ οἰκοδομῆσαι τὸ κατεστραμμένον καὶ διορθώσασθαι τὸ ἠλαττωμένον, ἐπειδὴ ἀπὸ γυναικὸς «ὁ θάνατος εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν» κατελθὼν ἐκ γυναικὸς παρθένου αὐτὸς ἐγεννήθη, ἵνα τὸν θάνατον ἐκκλείσῃ καὶ τὸ ἐλλεῖπον πληρώσῃ καὶ τὸ ἠλαττωμένον τελειώσῃ. στρέφεται δὲ ἡμῖν πάλιν ἡ κακία, ἵνα τὸ ἐλάττωμα εἰς τὸν κόσμον προαγάγῃ. ἀλλ' οὔτε νέοι οὔτε γέροντες πείθονται τῇ γυναικὶ διὰ τὴν ἄνωθεν σωφροσύνην. οὐ πείθει ἡ Αἰγυπτία τὸν σώφρονα Ἰωσὴφ οὐδὲ παρεκτρέπει, καίτοι γε διὰ πολλῆς μηχανίας ἐργασαμένη τὸ δεινὸν πρὸς τὸν παῖδα τῆς συμβουλίας. ἀλλ' οὐ πείθεται ἄνθρωπος ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίου λαβὼν τὴν φρόνησιν, οὐ τὸ σῶφρον ἀφανίζει, ἵνα μὴ τὴν εὐγένειαν κατευτελίσῃ. καταλιμπάνει τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ τὸ σῶμα οὐκ ἀπόλλυσιν. ἀποδιδράσκει 3.484 τὸν τόπον, ἵνα μὴ πέσῃ τῇ παγίδι· πρὸς καιρὸν τιμωρεῖται, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα βασιλεύει· ἐν δεσμωτηρίῳ βάλλεται, ἀλλ' αἱρετὸν ἐν φυλακῇ καταμένειν «καὶ ἐν γωνίᾳ ὑπαίθρου», «ἢ μετὰ γυναικὸς μαχίμου καὶ γλωσσώδους». καὶ πόσα ἔστι λέγειν; ἤτοι γὰρ ὡς αὐτὴν προσκυνοῦντες τὴν Μαρίαν αὐτῇ προσφέρουσι τὴν κολλυρίδα αἱ ἀργαὶ αὗται γυναῖκες ἤτοι ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς προσφέρειν ἐπιχειροῦσι τὴν προειρημένην ταύτην σαθρὰν κάρπωσιν, τὸ πᾶν ἐστιν ἠλίθιον καὶ ἀλλότριον καὶ ἐκ δαιμόνων κινήσεως φρύαγμά τε καὶ ἀπάτη. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ παρεκτείνωμεν τὸν λόγον, ἀρκέσει τὰ εἰρημένα ἡμῖν. ἡ Μαρία ἐν τιμῇ, ὁ κύριος προσκυνείσθω. οὐδενὶ γὰρ ἐργάζονται οἱ δίκαιοι πλάνην. «ἀπείραστος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς κακῶν, πειράζει δὲ αὐτὸς οὐδένα», οὐδὲ οἱ αὐτοῦ δοῦλοι, πρὸς ἀπάτην. «ἕκαστος δὲ πειράζεται ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας ἐξελκόμενος καὶ δελεαζόμενος. εἶτα ἡ ἐπιθυμία τίκτει ἁμαρτίαν, ἡ δὲ ἁμαρτία ἀποτελεσθεῖσα ἀποκυεῖ θάνατον.» Ἱκανῶς δὲ ἔχειν περὶ πάντων τούτων νομίσαντες, ἀγαπητοί, καὶ ταύτην ὡς εἰπεῖν τὴν κανθαρίδα, τὴν τῷ εἴδει μὲν χρυσίζουσαν, πτερωτὴν δὲ ὡς εἰπεῖν καὶ πετομένην, ἰοβόλον οὖσαν καὶ δηλητήριον ἐν ἑαυτῇ κεκτημένην, τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας συντρίψαντες, ἐπὶ τὴν ἔτι μίαν περιλειφθεῖσαν ἴωμεν, πάλιν θεὸν ἐπικαλούμενοι παραστῆναι εἰς τὸ τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας ἰχνηλατεῖν μέρη καὶ κατὰ τῆς ἐναντιότητος τὴν ἀνατροπὴν τελείαν ἐργάσασθαι. - - - Κατὰ Μασσαλιανῶν, οἷς συνάπτονται Μαρτυριανοί, ἐξ Ἑλλήνων ὄντες, καὶ Εὐφημῖται καὶ Σατανιανοί, ˉξ, τῆς δὲ ἀκολουθίας ˉπ. 1. Κόρον οὐκ ἔχει ἡ ἀναισχυντία οὐδὲ πλησμονὴν ἡ ἀφροσύνη, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ