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of the fathers have had two and three wives, the wives were not in one house. For this kind of behavior belongs to swine and such a union to cattle. But these men rather compel us to be astonished, as they profess to have no union with women, but on the contrary are rather working mockery and demonstrating their complete shame. For even if such men had wives, they ought to have possessed them separately, not mixed together. But if they are also in marriage, they ought not to be found bringing into the open by their own liberty that which was shown by God, the union of a man to a woman with decorum and gravity and knowledge. But if some also abstained from women, being in purity and in continence, they have outraged what is just through their foolishness and the practice of virtue through their reckless work in folly, since the apostles did not do this, nor did the prophets before the apostles command this. 9. Moses, at any rate, in the desert taking up the hymnody, sings a song to God, having come up from the sea, saying "Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously glorified; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea." And the men sang along with him together and nowhere the women, in order to show the well-ordered disposition, in order to proclaim the solemnity of the good order of the law of God. Then 3.494 afterwards it says "And Miriam, taking the timbrel, led the women and said: 'Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously glorified'." And the women sang along together with her who was of the same manner and of the same race and leading in some way, because of the ignorant and disorderly mind of those who promiscuously work at other doctrines. But concerning the resurrection the prophet says "And they will mourn tribe by tribe, tribe over against tribe; the tribe of Nathan by itself and their women by themselves; the tribe of Judah by itself and their women by themselves" and so forth. Thus also the apostles command the church, thus also the Lord commanded in the gospel, proclaiming the example to us from one, saying to his mother, "Do not touch me; for I have not yet ascended to the Father." Thus Gehazi approaches the Shunammite woman, pushing her away, so that he might not destroy the order, so that he might not insult the institution of the prophets. But the prophet, being borne by the Holy Spirit, saw that the Shunammite woman was in deep grief, and for the sake of consolation he overstepped the order and undertook for the moment for the sake of the woman's consolation, considering it equal for the woman to touch his feet against custom because of her affliction and grief in her mind. And why should I say much about these men who imitate dogs and emulate swine? But concerning his saying that he is Christ, to which of those who have understanding would the dogma not seem to be madness, or his saying "I am a prophet"? For what form of prophecy appears among them or what wondrous work of Christ is done? But if he himself is Christ, in what lord has he both hoped and believed? Why the empty utterances of error? Why the dogmas of the foolish? But what has been said against it will suffice also concerning this heresy. 10. And let it be up to this point to seal and to complete our entire treatise concerning these things, with God having appeared to us and having helped us, so that it is possible to confess with all soul and mind and to give thanks to the Lord himself, because the promise which we promised in the Lord himself we have been deemed worthy to complete, I mean against 80 heresies, having made the account and refutation, and at the same time having revealed what is done by each, according to our substance of weak humanity. For up to this point of eighty heresies, of which we have been informed in the world and have known the number and the names and of some the 3.495 sayings, both pretexts and relations, having pointed out without omission the impulses and the causes, being carried away with wonder we are astounded at that which is in the divine
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τῶνπατέρων δύο καὶ τρεῖς γυναῖκας ἐσχήκασιν, οὐκ ἐν μιᾷ οἰκίᾳ αἱ γυναῖκες ἦσαν. χοίρων γὰρ τὸ τοιοῦτον εἶδος καὶ κτηνῶν ἡ τοιαύτη συνάφεια. οὗτοι δὲ μᾶλλον εἰς ἔκπληξιν ἡμᾶς ἀναγκάζουσι φέρεσθαι, ἐπαγγελλομένων αὐτῶν πρὸς γυναῖκας συνάφειαν μὴ ἔχειν, τοὐναντίον μᾶλλον τὴν χλεύην ἀπεργαζόμενοι καὶ τὴν τελείαν αὐτῶν ἐνδεικνύμενοι αἰσχύνην. εἰ γὰρ καὶ γαμετὰς εἶχον οἱ τοιοῦτοι, σποράδην, οὐκ ἀναμὶξ ταύτας ὤφειλον κεκτῆσθαι. εἰ δὲ καί εἰσιν ἐν συζυγίᾳ, οὐκ ἔδει αὐτοὺς τὸ ἐκ θεοῦ καταδειχθέν, ἀνδρὸς πρὸς γυναῖκα συνάφειαν μετὰ εὐσχημοσύνης καὶ σεμνότητος καὶ ἐπιστήμης, καὶ ἐξ ἰδίας ἐλευθερίας ἐπὶ τὸ μέσον φέροντας φωρᾶσθαι. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἀπέσχοντο γυναικῶν ἐν ἁγνείᾳ τινὲς ὄντες καὶ ἐν ἐγκρατείᾳ, ἐξύβρισαν τὸ δίκαιον διὰ τῆς ἀνοησίας καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς πολίτευμα διὰ τῆς ἐν ἀφροσύνῃ ἀφειδοῦς ἐργασίας, οὐ τῶν ἀποστόλων τοῦτο πεπραχότων, οὐ τῶν πρὸ τῶν ἀποστόλων προφητῶν τοῦτο διαταξαμένων. 9. Μωυσῆς γοῦν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἀναλαβὼν τὴν ὑμνηγορίαν ᾄδει τῷ θεῷ ᾆσμα, ἀνελθὼν ἀπὸ θαλάσσης, φάσκων «ᾄσωμεν τῷ κυρίῳ, ἐνδόξως γὰρ δεδόξασται, ἵππον καὶ ἀναβάτην ἔρριψεν εἰς θάλασσαν». ὁμοῦ δὲ ἐπεφώνουν αὐτῷ οἱ ἄνδρες καὶ οὐδαμοῦ γυναῖκες, ἵνα τὴν εὔτακτον δείξῃ διάθεσιν, ἵνα τὸ σεμνὸν τῆς εὐταξίας τοῦ νόμου τοῦ θεοῦ κηρύξῃ. εἶτα 3.494 μετέπειτά φησι «καὶ λαβοῦσα Μαριὰμ τὸ τύμπανον ἦρχε τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ ἔλεγεν· ᾄσωμεν τῷ κυρίῳ, ἐνδόξως γὰρ δεδόξασται». καὶ γυναῖκες ὁμοῦ ἐπεφώνουν τῇ ὁμοτρόπῳ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ γένους ὑπαρχούσῃ καὶ ἔν τινι προαγούσῃ, διὰ τὴν ἀνεπιστήμονα καὶ τὴν συρφετώδη διάνοιαν τῶν ἀναμὶξ ἐργαζομένων ἑτεροδιδασκαλίας. περὶ δὲ τῆς ἀναστάσεώς φησιν ὁ προφήτης «καὶ κόψονται κατὰ φυλήν, φυλὴ κατέναντι φυλῆς· φυλὴ τοῦ Νάθαν καθ' ἑαυτὴν καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ' ἑαυτάς· φυλὴ τοῦ Ἰούδα καθ' ἑαυτὴν καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν καθ' ἑαυτάς» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. οὕτω καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι διατάσσουσι τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, οὕτω καὶ ὁ κύριος διέταξεν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ, ἀπὸ μιᾶς τὸ ὑπόδειγμα ἡμῖν κηρύττων, φήσας τῇ μητρὶ αὐτοῦ «μή μου ἅπτου· οὔπω γὰρ ἀναβέβηκα πρὸς τὸν πατέρα». οὕτως ὁ Γιεζεὶ προσέρχεται τῇ Σουμανίτιδι, ἀπωθούμενος ταύτην, ἵνα μὴ ἀφανίσῃ τὸ τάγμα, ἵνα μὴ ὑβρίσῃ τὸν θεσμὸν τῶν προφητῶν. ὁ δὲ προφήτης πνεύματι ἁγίῳ φερόμενος κατώδυνον ἑώρα τὴν Σουμανῖτιν, παραμυθίας δὲ χάριν ὑπερβέβηκε τὴν τάξιν καὶ ἀνεδέξατο πρὸς τὴν ὥραν παραμυθίας τῆς γυναικὸς χάριν, ἴσον ἡγησάμενος τὸ ἅπτεσθαι τῶν αὐτοῦ ποδῶν παρὰ συνήθειαν τὴν γυναῖκα ἕνεκεν τῆς αὐτῆς ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ κακώσεώς τε καὶ λύπης. καὶ τί μοι πολλὰ λέγειν περὶ τούτων τῶν τοὺς κύνας μιμουμένων καὶ τοὺς ὕας ζηλούντων; περὶ δὲ τοῦ εἰπεῖν ἑαυτὸν Χριστόν, τίνι μανίας ὂν οὐκ ὀφθείη τὸ δόγμα τῶν σύνεσιν κεκτημένων ἢ τὸ λέγειν ὅτι προφήτης ἐγώ; τί γὰρ προφητείας παρ' αὐτοῖς εἶδος φαινόμενον ἢ ποῖον Χριστοῦ θαυμαστὸν ἔργον γίνεται; εἰ δὲ αὐτὸς Χριστός, εἰς ποῖον κύριον ἤλπικέ τε καὶ πεπίστευκε; τί τὰ τῆς πλάνης κενοφωνήματα; τί τῶν ἀνοήτων τὰ δόγματα; ἀλλὰ ἀρκέσει καὶ περὶ ταύτης τὰ εἰς αὐτὴν εἰρημένα. 10. Καὶ ἕως ὧδε ἐχέτω τὸ σφραγίσαι καὶ τελειῶσαι τὴν πᾶσαν ἡμῶν περὶ τούτων πραγματείαν, τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῖν ἐπιφανέντος καὶ βοηθήσαντος, ὡς ὁμολογεῖν ἔστιν ἐκ πάσης ψυχῆς καὶ διανοίας εὐχαριστεῖν τε αὐτῷ τῷ κυρίῳ, ὅτι τὸ ἐπάγγελμα ὃ ἐπηγγειλάμεθα ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ κυρίῳ κατηξιώθημεν τελειῶσαι, κατὰ ˉπ αἱρέσεων δέ φημι τὴν διήγησιν καὶ ἀνατροπὴν ποιησάμενοι, ἅμα τε καὶ ἀποκαλύψαντες παρ' ἑκάστῃ τι πράττεται, ὡς κατὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν ὑπόστασιν τῆς ἀσθενοῦς ἀνθρωπότητος. ἕως γὰρ ἐνταῦθα ὀγδοήκοντα αἱρέσεων, ὧν ἐνηχήθημεν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ ἔγνωμεν τὸν ἀριθμὸν καὶ τὰς ὀνομασίας καί τινων τὰς 3.495 ῥήσεις, προφάσεις τε καὶ σχέσεις, τὰς ὁρμὰς καὶ τὰ αἴτια ἀπαραλείπτως ὑποδείξαντες, θαυμασμῷ φερόμενοι ἐκπεπλήγμεθα τὸ ἐν τῇ θείᾳ