Homiliae

But above all these things (so that I may not waste time recounting the lives of all gods and philosophers), let there be for you two greatest models: among gods, Zeus; among men, Socrates. As for the rest, from what I have written and reminded you, understand and take heed, lest you ever grieve your lover; for if you act contrary to the gods and lovers, you will be judged impious and will undergo the fitting punishment; but if you offer yourself to every lover, as one imitating the gods, you will obtain their beneficence. For the rest, dearest, remembering the mysteries I have revealed to you, show me your choice through a letter. Farewell. I, then, having received this book from Appion as if truly to send it to the beloved woman, pretended that she had written a reply to these things, and on the next day, when he came, I gave to Appion what was supposedly her reply, which ran as follows: [Copy of a letter to Appion as if from the beloved woman.] I am amazed that, after praising me for wisdom, you write to me as to a fool. For, wishing to persuade me for the sake of your own passion, you have taken your examples from the myths about the gods, not fearing to blaspheme Eros, the eldest of all (as you said), over all gods and men, in order to corrupt my soul and outrage my body. For the Eros that is in desires is not the founding god of the gods. For if he desires willingly, he is himself his own passion and punishment, and he who suffers willingly would not be a god.

But if he involuntarily desires intercourse and, passing through our souls as through instruments of our bodies, is borne to unions with the intelligibles, then the one who makes him desire and bears him is greater than he; and again, that one who bears him, being himself borne by another desire, another greater one is found who bears him, and there arises an infinite regress of lovers, which is impossible. Thus there is neither the bearer nor the borne, but the desiring part is a passion of the lover himself, increased by hope and diminished by despair. But those who do not wish to restrain base desire falsely accuse the gods, so that by showing the gods as having done first what they themselves do, they may escape blame. For if the so-called gods committed adulteries for the sake of procreation and not licentiousness, why did they also have intercourse with males? But, it is said, they gratified their beloveds by catasterizing them. So then, were there no stars before this, until the heaven was adorned with stars by adulterers on the pretext of licentiousness? And how is it that the offspring of those who were catasterized are punished in Hades—Atlas burdened, Tantalus tormented by thirst, Sisyphus straining at a rock, Tityus with his vitals being devoured, Ixion endlessly revolving on a wheel? And how is it that the lovers, being gods, catasterized those whom they defiled, but did not grant this to themselves? Therefore they were not gods, but riddles of tyrants. For a tomb of Cronus is shown in the Caucasian mountains (not in heaven but on earth), that of a savage and child-devouring man.

But also the tomb of the licentious Zeus, the mythical one, who likewise swallowed his daughter Metis, is seen in Crete. And in the Acherusian lake there is a tomb of Pluto, and of Poseidon in Tenos, of Helios in Atri, and of Selene in Carrhae, of Hermes in Hermopolis, of Ares in Thrace, of Aphrodite in Cyprus, of Dionysus in Thebes, and of the others in other places. In short, the tombs of the aforementioned gods are visible; for they were men, and wicked men and magicians at that. For they could not have become sole rulers (I mean the mythical Zeus and Dionysus) except by transformation, by which they prevailed over whatever they wished into whatever they wished. But if we must emulate their lives, let us imitate not only their adulteries but also their banquets. For Cronus swallowed his own children, and Zeus likewise swallowed his own daughter. And what need is there to say more? Pelops became a dinner for all the gods. Hence, before unlawful marriages, let us also perform a banquet similar to that of the gods. For thus the banquet would be worthy of the marriage. But you would never endure this, just as I would not commit adultery. In addition to these things, you threaten me with the wrath of Eros as a powerful god. Eros is not a god as he seems, but a desire arising from the mixture of the living for the succession of life, according to the providence of the one who set everything in motion, so that the whole race may never fail, but under the pretext of pleasure, from the substance of that which is about to die, another is born, having previously sprung from lawful marriage, so that he may know how to care for his own father in old age; which those born from adultery could not do, not having a natural affection for their parents.

Since, then, for the sake of succession and legitimate increase, as I said, erotic desire occurs, parents who are mindful of chastity must educate their children beforehand through books that instill self-control and accustom them to better discourses before desire arises (for habit is second nature), and in addition frequently remind them of the punishments from the laws, so that using fear as a bridle they do not rush into improper pleasures. It is also fitting, before desire reaches its peak, to satisfy the natural passion of their age through marriage, having first persuaded them not to gaze at the form of another woman. For our mind, once it has imprinted the form of the beloved with initial pleasure, as if looking in a mirror, is tormented by always beholding the image through memory; and if it does not obtain the object of desire, it devises ways to achieve it, but if it does obtain it, the desire increases all the more, like fire when it has plenty of fuel, especially when fear has not been previously impressed upon the soul of the lover before the passion. For just as water extinguishes fire, so fear is the extinguisher of irrational desire. Hence, having learned from a certain Jew what is fitting for God both to think and to do, I am not easily caught into adultery by false myths. And to you, who are willing and eager to be chaste, may God help your soul inflamed with love and grant healing.

When Appion heard this hypocritical response, he said, "Do I not hate the Jews with good reason? Now at any rate, some Jew, having met this woman and converted her to his religion, persuaded her to be chaste, and it is impossible for her henceforth to enter into union with any other, because such people, having set God as the all-seeing overseer of their actions, persist very strongly in chastity, since they cannot escape notice." Hearing this, I said to Appion: "Now I will confess the truth to you. I have never been in love with a woman nor with anyone else, my soul being entirely consumed by other desires and by the search for true doctrines; and up to now, having examined many opinions of philosophers, I have inclined toward none of them except that of the Jews alone, when a certain Jewish merchant, selling linens here in Rome, was staying and, through some good fortune, set forth the monarchic belief to me rather simply." When Appion heard my truth, he, who irrationally hates the Jews and neither knows nor wishes to know what their faith is, became unreasonably angry and, in silence, departed from Rome itself at that time; and since then, having now met him for the first time, I suspect his anger from that time is understandable. Nevertheless, in your presence I will ask him what he might have to say about the so-called gods, whose lives are mythologized as being subject to every passion, and are publicly sung for the imitation of the like, and for whom, in addition to human passions (as I said), tombs are shown in various places." Having heard these things from me beforehand and desiring to learn what followed, my companions came with me to visit Appion.

And indeed we found him already bathed and at a ready table, so we engaged only briefly in discussion concerning the gods. He, I think, perceiving our purpose, promised to have something to say about the gods on the following day and indicated to us the same place where he would hold the discussion. We, acknowledging our thanks to him for his promise, each departed to our own homes. [Μ Λ Ϛ.] On the third day, having come to the designated place in Tyre with my closest companions, I find Appion seated between Annubion and Athenodorus, with many other men of learning waiting for us. And yet, not at all dismayed, I greeted him and sat down opposite Appion, who after a short while began to speak: "I wish, having begun first, to come quickly from this point to the matter under inquiry. Before you, my child Clement, were present to us, this Annubion and Athenodorus, who yesterday along with the others heard you discoursing, related to me how, when I met you in Rome as one in love, I falsely accused the gods of many things, saying that they were pederasts, licentious, mingling with mothers, sisters, daughters, and involved in countless adulteries. But you should know, my child, that I did not write such things about the gods because I believed them, but out of affection for you I concealed the truth, which, if you now wish, you may hear from me.

The wisest of the ancient men, having learned all truth by their own labor, concealed their knowledge from the unworthy and those not desirous of divine teachings, so that they might not receive it. For neither were there twelve children born from Ouranos and his mother Ge, as the myth enumerates: males—Okeanos, Koios, Krios, Hyperion, Iapetos, Kronos; females—Theia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Demeter, Tethys, Rhea. Nor did Kronos, cutting off the genitals of his father Ouranos with an adamantine sickle (as you say), cast them into the deep. Nor did Aphrodite come into being from the drops of blood that flowed from the severing of Ouranos, nor did Kronos, having intercourse with Rhea and begetting Plouton first, swallow him, because of some decree of Prometheus, fearing that a child born from him, becoming more noble than himself, might deprive him of his kingdom. Nor did he, having begotten Poseidon second, likewise swallow him. Nor, after these, when Zeus was born, did his mother Rhea, having hidden him, give a stone to Kronos when he demanded to swallow it, instead of the child. Nor did the swallowed one, pressing the previously swallowed ones, expel them, so that first the first swallowed, Plouton, came forth, then Poseidon [and third, Zeus]. Nor indeed (as they say) did Zeus, preserved by his mother's foresight and ascending to heaven, depose his father from the kingdom. Nor did he punish his father's brothers. Nor did he descend into desire for mortal women. Nor did he have shameful intercourse with sisters or daughters, or with brothers' wives, or with boys. Nor did he, having begotten Metis, swallow her, so that from his head he might bring forth Athena from Metis, and from his thigh beget Dionysus, whom they say was torn apart by the Titans.

He does not prepare a dinner for the wedding of Thetis and Peleus. He does not drive away the Strife from the wedding. This Strife, dishonored, did not devise battle and discord among the feasters. She did not take a golden apple from the gardens of the Hesperides and inscribe it "Gift for the fair one." Then they mythologize that Hera and Athena and Aphrodite find the apple and, quarreling, come to Zeus; he himself did not judge them, but sent them through Hermes to the shepherd Paris to be judged concerning beauty. But neither were the goddesses judged, nor did Paris give the apple to Aphrodite. Aphrodite, honored, did not requite him with the marriage of Helen. For the honor of the goddess would not have become the pretext for a universal war, and that to the ruin of the one who received the honor and was related to the race of Aphrodite. But (as I said), my child, such things have a certain meaning, proper and philosophical, capable of being expressed by allegory, so that you, hearing it, would marvel. And I said: I beg you, do not torment me by delaying. And he said: Fear nothing; for I will not put it off, but will begin to speak at once. There was once a time when nothing existed except chaos and an indiscriminate mixture of disordered elements still jumbled together, which both nature acknowledges and great men have understood to be the case. And I will provide you with the greatest of the great in wisdom, Homer himself, as a witness, speaking about the primeval confusion: "But may you all become water and earth," as though all things had their origin from there and, after the dissolution of the moist and earthy substance, are restored again to their first nature, which is chaos. And Hesiod in the Theogony says:

First of all, chaos came into being." The phrase "came into being" clearly signifies having been generated as something generated, not being eternal as ungenerated things. And Orpheus compares chaos to an egg, in which there was a confusion of the first elements. This is what Hesiod posits as chaos, which Orpheus calls a generated egg, projected from infinite matter, and it came about thus: since the fourfold matter was animate and some infinite depth was always flowing and being carried about indiscriminately, pouring forth countless incomplete mixtures now in one way, now in another, and because of this dissolving them through disorder, and gaping as if for the generation of a living being, unable to be bound, it happened at some point, when the infinite sea itself was being driven around by its own nature, that by a natural motion it was whirled in an orderly fashion from the same point to the same point like a vortex and mixed the substances, and thus from each of all things the most essential part, which was most suitable for the generation of a living being, was whirled as if in a funnel to the middle of the whole and, carried by the all-bearing vortex, went into the depth, drew in the surrounding breath, and, as if conceived in the most fertile way, produced a critical constitution. For just as a bubble is wont to form in a liquid, so a spherical vessel was formed from all sides. Then, having been gestated within itself, being borne upward by the encompassing divine breath, it emerged into the light, this very great offspring, as if a living creation had been born from the whole infinite depth, resembling an egg in its roundness and in the speed of its flight.

Understand Cronus, then, as time, and Rhea as the flowing of moist substance, because all matter, borne along by time, like an egg gave birth to the encompassing spherical heaven; which at the beginning was full of generative marrow, able to produce elements and variegated colors, yet bore the appearance of variegation from a single substance and a single color. For just as in the egg of a peacock the color of the egg appears one, but potentially contains countless colors within itself of what will be perfected, so also the ensouled egg, born from infinite matter, moved from the underlying and ever-flowing matter, reveals variegated changes. For within the circumference a certain androgynous living thing is formed by the providence of the divine spirit present within it, which Orpheus calls Phanes, because when it appeared, everything shone forth from it, by the radiance of the most brilliant of elements, fire, being perfected in the moist. And it is not incredible that nature has granted us to see moist light, for the sake of an example, even in fireflies. The first-formed egg, then, being warmed from within by the living thing, is dissolved, and then, having been shaped, it emerges, just as Orpheus says, "when the broad-holding egg was split." And thus, by the great power of that which has emerged and appeared, the hollow takes on harmony and receives order, while he himself sits as if on the summit of heaven and, in mysteries, illuminates the infinite aeon. The generative matter left within the hollow, as if over much time of the underlying substance, the heat seething naturally, separated the substances of all things.

The lower part of it first, like a sediment, has subsided downward due to its weight, which because of its viscosity and because of the heavy and abundant mass of underlying substance they called Pluto, declaring him to be king of Hades and of the dead. This first, abundant, thick, and rough substance they say was naturally swallowed by Cronus, time, because of its downward subsidence. After the first sediment, the water that flowed together and floated on the first substratum they called Poseidon. The remaining third, the purest and most supreme, being transparent fire, they named Zeus because of the boiling nature in it; for fire, being upward-borne, was not swallowed by time, Cronus, toward the lower regions, but (as I said) the fiery substance, being vital and upward-borne, flew up into the air itself, which is also most intelligent because of its purity. By its own heat, Zeus (that is, the boiling substance) draws up from the underlying moisture the thinnest and divine breath left in it, which they called Metis. Coming to the summit of the aether and being swallowed by it, as moisture mixed with heat, it produces perpetual vibration and generates intelligence, which they also name Pallas because of its vibration, being a most crafty wisdom, by using which the aetherial craftsman crafted the entire cosmos. From this pervading Zeus (the hottest aether), the air extends as far as the regions here, which they call Hera.

be considered the sister of Zeus, as is reasonable, since she was born from the same substance; and his wife because she is subject to him as a woman. Hera is taken to represent the good mixture of the air, which is why she is most fertile; but Athena, whom they also call Pallas, because she is incapable of producing anything due to extreme heat, was considered a virgin. Similarly, Artemis, as she is interpreted, whom they place in the lowest recess of the air, and because she is barren due to extreme cold, they likewise called a virgin. They name Dionysus, as one who disturbs the mind, the turbid and drunken mixture from the vapors above and below. The water below the earth, which is one in nature and extends through all the pores of the land and is divided into many (as if cut up), they called Osiris. They also take Adonis for seasonal fruits, Aphrodite for union and generation, Demeter for the earth, Kore for seeds, and some take Dionysus for the vine. And understand all such things as having some such allegory; consider Apollo to be the sun that goes around, being the offspring of Zeus, whom they also called Mithras, completing the cycle of the year. And let these many transformations of Zeus, who pervades everywhere, be understood by you as his changes, and conceive of his countless wives as years or generations. For from the aether itself, the power that penetrates the air, consorting with each year and generation, changes it differently and thus generates or destroys the seasonal things.

and the beautiful fruits are called children, while the barren periods are the unions with males at certain times. As Appion was allegorizing these things, I was thoughtful and seemed not to follow what he was saying, so he interrupted his speech and said to me: "If you do not follow what I am saying, why am I even speaking at all?" And I answered: "Do not suppose that I am insensible to what you are saying; I understand it very well, since I have not heard it for the first time. But so that you may know that I am not ignorant of what you are saying, I will summarize what you have said, and I will complete the allegories of what you have omitted, in sequence, as I have heard from others." And Appion said: "Do as you say." And I answered: "I now omit speaking precisely about the ensouled egg that was produced by chance mixture from infinite matter, from which, when it was broken, the androgynous Phanes sprang forth. And I pass over all those things until the broken vessel received its harmony, while its marrow-like matter remained, and I run through in summary the account of what came forth from it, with the consequences. For (as you say) from Kronos and Rhea (that is, from time and matter) were born: first, Pluto, as the lower sediment that settled down; second, Poseidon, who is the middle moist substance that floated upon the lowest, most viscous nature; and third, the highest and ethereal, which is Zeus, which was not swallowed, but being a hot power and having an upward nature, as if by some force, flew up into the highest, most ruling aether.

The bonds of Cronus are the concretion of heaven and earth, as I have heard others allegorizing; the cutting off of the members is the separation and distinction of the elements, because all things were cut off from their own nature and separated to be arranged each by itself; and time no longer generates, but the things generated through it produce successions by the law of nature. And Aphrodite rising from the deep is the productive substance from the moist, with which the hot breath mingles and produces the desire for mixture and perfects the beauty of the cosmos. The wedding banquet, where Zeus celebrated the feast for the Nereid Thetis and the beautiful Peleus, has this allegory, so that you may know that even without you, Appion, we have heard such things. The banquet is the cosmos, the twelve are the celestial configurations of the divisions, which they call zodiac signs—Prometheus is forethought, by which all things came to be—Peleus is the clay from earth conceived for the generation of man and mingled with the Nereid, that is, water. From the mixture of the two (water and earth), the first, not born but molded, perfect, and because he did not bring lips to breasts, was called Achilles; and he is also the acme, which, if desire—Polyxena, being alien and foreign to truth—... is destroyed by the venom of a serpent, by a dart at the heel and by death creeping in at the footstep. Hera then, and Athena, and Aphrodite, and Eris, and the apple, and Hermes, and the judgment, and the shepherd hint at some such meaning: Hera is dignity, Athena is courage, Aphrodite is pleasures, Hermes is the interpretive word, the shepherd Paris is irrational impulse and barbarous.

If, then, at the prime of life, the reasoning that tends the soul happens to be barbarous and, having abandoned what is beneficial (having thrust aside courage and temperance), chooses only pleasures and awards the victory to desire alone, receiving from it the things that delight, he who has not judged rightly will receive delight to his own destruction and that of his own. Strife is the vice that loves contention. The golden apple of the Hesperides would be wealth, which sometimes knows how to lead even the temperate (like Hera) into despondency, and makes the courageous (like Athena) more contentious in matters not befitting them, and destroys beauty of soul (like Aphrodite) under the pretext of luxury. To speak concisely: wealth incites all to evil strife. Heracles, who slew the serpent, the ruler and guardian of wealth, is the genuine and philosophical mind, which, being stripped of all vice, goes about the world, visiting souls and bringing to their senses those it encounters—I mean men resembling lions in boldness, or deer in timidity, or wild boars, or many-formed hydras. Similarly, all the other labors said to have been performed by Heracles are enigmas of intellectual virtue. But let what has been said suffice for now; for to speak of each one, not even all time would suffice. Yet I marvel how these things, which could be clearly, piously, and beneficially set forth in straightforward openness, those who have concealed them in indirect enigmas and veiled them with evil myths are called by you prudent and wise, as though prompted by an evil demon, they have waylaid nearly all men.

For either these are not riddles, but true sins of the gods, and they ought not to have been exposed nor originally set before men for imitation—or they were spoken enigmatically, the deeds falsely attributed to the gods, and they erred, O Appion, because those whom you call wise, having veiled sacred things with profane myths, incited men to sin and insulted those whom they considered gods. Therefore, consider such men not wise, but evil demons, who set forth evil premises under the guise of good deeds, so that those wishing to become imitators of the better might emulate the actions of the so-called gods, which I did not conceal in my discourse on the previous day—I mean parricides, infanticides, impious unions of mothers, daughters, brothers, as well as indecent adulteries, pederasty, and abominable unspeakable acts, along with countless other such lawless unions. More impious are those who wish these things to be considered true, so that when they do similar things they may feel no shame. If they had wished to be pious, they ought (as I said just now), even if the gods actually did commit the evils attributed to them, to have veiled the indecencies with more seemly myths out of reverence for the gods, and not the opposite (as you claim), to have cast evil and indecent forms around good deeds done by them—forms which, when allegorized, can with difficulty be understood even through toil, and when understood by some, they provided to those the benefit of not being led astray in return for great labor, though it was possible not to toil, while those who were led astray they utterly destroyed.

Nevertheless, I accept those who allegorize these stories in a more dignified manner, just as those who hint that wisdom sprang from the head of Zeus. But perhaps the more plausible explanation to me is that these outrages were dared by wicked men who had acquired the reputation of gods. However, we do not find the poetic allegory of all the gods to be consistent. For instance, regarding the ordering of the universe, poets sometimes say that nature, and at other times that mind, was the originator of the entire creation. For the first motion and mixture of the elements came from nature, while the universe was ordered by the providence of mind. And having declared that the whole was created by nature, but being unable to demonstrate this faultlessly due to the artistry of creation, they also interweave the providence of mind, so as to be able to deceive even the very wise. But we say to them: If the world came into being from spontaneous nature, how did it still receive proportion and order? These things can only be brought about by surpassing wisdom and comprehended by knowledge that alone is able to ascertain them accurately. But if everything received its mixture and ordering through wisdom (which must necessarily be the case, and cannot be otherwise), how could it still be possible for these things to have come about spontaneously? Therefore, those who have wished to allegorize divine matters in a more shameful manner (such as Metis being swallowed by Zeus) have fallen into perplexity, not understanding that those who have indirectly philosophized about the gods through natural explanation have also destroyed the very existence of the gods, dissolving their forms through allegory into the substances of the world.

Therefore, it is more plausible to say that those whom they considered gods were actually wicked magicians, who, being depraved men, transformed themselves through magic, dissolved marriages, ruined lives, and, because people in ancient times did not know what magic was, seemed to be gods through their deeds. Their tombs and graves are still visible in various cities. For instance, as I have said elsewhere, in the Caucasus mountains the tomb of a certain Cronus, a man, is shown—a savage and child-murdering tyrant. And his son, named Zeus, became even worse; having emerged as a world-ruler through the power of magic, he dissolved many marriages and punished his father along with his uncles, and after his death the Cretans point out his tomb. In Mesopotamia, a certain Helius lies in Atrae, a certain Selene in Carrhae, a certain Hermes in Egypt—a man, Ares in Thrace, Aphrodite in Cyprus, Asclepius in Epidaurus; and tombs of many others of this kind are visible. Thus, it is plainly acknowledged by those who think correctly that they were men. And those who lived at the same time, perceiving that they were mortal, paid less attention to them after their death, but the passage of time clothed them with the reputation of gods. And do not be surprised that those who lived in the time of Asclepius and Heracles were deceived, or in the time of Dionysus or any other of that era, when even now Hector in Ilium and Achilles in the island of Leuce are worshipped by the people there, Patroclus by the Opuntians, and Alexander the Macedonian by the Rhodians. But also among the Egyptians, even to this day, a man is worshipped as a god before his death.

And this is a lesser impiety, that the Egyptians think divine honors are due to a living man, but the most ridiculous thing of all is that they also worship birds, reptiles, and all animals. For the majority of men neither understand nor do anything by judgment. But the most shameful thing, consider this: they depict Zeus himself, whom they call father of gods and men, as having consorted with Leda, and many have painted this on a tablet and set it up publicly. For the punishment of this outrage, I would wish that if they had painted their own king of the time in a shameful embrace, just as they have dared to do with Zeus, and set it up publicly, then, even from the anger of the temporal king (and he being a man), they might learn, after being punished, how to pay the proper honor. I say these things to you not as one who has already come to know the true God, but I confess with good will: I do not know what God is, but at least I think I know clearly that God is. For instance, the first four elements cannot be God, being produced by another; nor the mixture, nor the blending, nor the generation, nor the whole visible encompassing vault, nor the sediment flowing together in Hades, nor the water that floats on top, nor the boiling substance, nor the air extending from it down to here.

For the four elements, if they were separated from each other, could not, without some great craftsman, be mixed for the generation of a living being; or if they were always united with each other, they are still fitted together by a craftsman mind for the proper arrangement of the limbs and parts of the living being, so that it may preserve the proportion of each to each, have a well-defined condition, and all the internal parts receive the appropriate harmony; and likewise the craftsman mind also perfects the proper places of each with all beauty. To sum up: as for all other things that a living being must have, nothing was lacking in this great living being of the whole revolution. Thus it is necessary that there be an unbegotten craftsman mind, which either brought together the elements when they were separated, or, when they were together with each other, artfully blended them for the generation of a living being and completed one work from all; for it is impossible for a very wise work to be completed without some greater mind. Nor can Eros be the craftsman of all things, nor desire, nor strength, nor any other such thing, which by nature occur and result as passive states. But neither is that which is carried by another god, nor that which is altered by time or nature and dissolved into non-being.

As I was saying these things to Appion, Peter arrived from Caesarea, and there were gatherings of the crowds in Tyre, as they hastened to meet him and to give thanks for his visit. And Appion withdrew with only Annoubion and Athenodorus, but all the rest of us set out as if to meet Peter. I was the first to receive him before the gates and led him to the lodging. When we arrived, we dismissed the crowds, and at his request that I tell him what had happened, I concealed nothing, but reported Simon's slanders and the monstrous apparitions produced by him, and how many diseases he sent after the feast from the bull-sacrifice, and that of the sick some remained there in Tyre, while others had left with Simon at the time I came to Sidon, as if to be healed by him, and that I learned that none of them had obtained healing from him, and I related to Peter the discussion that had taken place between Appion and me. He, with affection and encouragement, praised and blessed me, partook of salt, and on account of the labors of the journey, entrusted himself to the most necessary rest of sleep.

On the fourth day of our stay in Tyre, at dawn, Peter had gone out ahead, and many from the surrounding region and a great multitude from Tyre itself met him, crying out, saying, "Let God through you have mercy on us, through you heal us." And Peter stood on a high stone so that he could be seen by all, and greeting them according to the law of piety, he began thus: "For God, who created the heaven and the whole universe, there is no lack of pretext for the salvation of those who wish to be saved. Therefore let no one, on account of things that seem unfortunate due to rashness, accuse him as being unphilanthropic. For the outcomes of events that befall a person are unknown to men, suspected as evil, but known to God as they will turn out favorably. For example, Simon, being a left-hand power of God and having authority over those who do not know God for evil-doing, was able to surround you with diseases, which, having been permitted to occur through the good providence of God, compelled you, after looking around and finding the one able to heal, and on the pretext of bodily healing, to accept what is pleasing to God and to be persuaded to think rightly, so that thus, along with your bodies being healed, you may also have your souls safe. I understand, then, that he sacrificed an ox and feasted you in the middle of the marketplace, and thus you, carried away with much wine, together with the evil demons, honored their ruler, and thus most of you were seized by the passions, drawing upon yourselves, by your own hands, the sword of destruction due to the cause of ignorance. For the demons would not have had authority over you if you had not previously become table-companions of their ruler.

For thus from the beginning, by the God who created all things, it was ordained for the two rulers, of the right and of the left, that neither of them should have authority unless he first becomes a table-companion of the one whom he wishes to benefit or harm. Therefore, just as you were enslaved to the leader of evil by partaking of the offerings dedicated to demons, so also, if you cease from these and flee to God through the good and right leader, offering him the honors he desires without sacrifices, know well that along with the healing of the body you will also have your souls healthy. For he alone, through the left hand destroying, through the right hand can give life, and likewise can strike down and raise up one who is fallen. For this reason, having first been deceived by the forerunner Simon, you died in soul to God and were struck in body; but you can likewise, through repentance (as I said), by undertaking what is pleasing to God, both restore your bodies and recover your souls. Now what is pleasing to God is to pray to him, to ask of him as one who gives everything according to a judicial law, to abstain from the "table of demons," not to taste dead flesh, not to touch blood, to wash away every impurity. As for the rest, in a single word, just as the Jews who revere God heard, so also hear all of you, having taken up one mind in many bodies: Whatever good each wishes for himself, let him also wish the same for his neighbor.

he would consider the good, if he were to discuss such matters with himself: you do not wish to be killed, do not kill another; you do not wish your own wife to be seduced by another, do not seduce another's wife; you do not wish any of your possessions to be stolen, do not steal anything from another. And thus, understanding and doing what is reasonable from yourselves, becoming beloved to God, you will obtain healing, since in the present age you will be tormented in your bodies and in the future age you will be punished in your souls. Having been instructed and healed by Peter in such matters within a few days, they were baptized, and as for the rest of his miracles, all the remaining people in the midst of the marketplaces, in public, sat on ashes and sackcloth, repenting for their earlier sins. And those in Sidon, hearing these things, did likewise and sent suppliants to Peter, since they themselves were unable to come to him because of their diseases. Peter, having spent not many days in Tyre and having instructed all those in it and having freed them from various afflictions, and having established a church and appointed a bishop for them from among the presbyters who followed him, set out for Sidon. But Simon, learning that Peter was coming, immediately fled to Berytus with Appion and his companions.

As Peter was entering Sidon, many people were carrying others on beds and placing them before him. He said to them: "Do not think, then, that I have any power to heal you, being a mortal man myself and liable to fall into many afflictions. But I do not begrudge showing you the way by which you can be saved, having myself learned from the prophet of truth the predetermined ordinances of God 'before the foundation of the world'—I mean, for what evil deeds he ordained that men should be afflicted by the ruler of evil, and likewise for what good deeds he ordained that those who first trust in him as healer should have their bodies saved, and then their souls be corrected toward indestructibility. Knowing these good and evil deeds, then, I foretell to you two ways, showing by which path those who walk are destroyed, and by which path those who travel are saved, guided by God. Now the way of the destroyed is broad and very smooth, but it destroys without toil; the way of the saved is narrow and rough, but it saves those who have traveled it with toil at the end. Over these two ways preside unbelief and belief, and those who have chosen pleasures travel through unbelief, while those who have not preserved the advantage through inquiry travel through belief. They are ignorant, however, that the counsels of God are not like those of men. For first, he knows the thoughts of all, and each is judged not only in the undertaking but also in the intention. And those who undertake good intentions but fail are far less impious than those who do not undertake good things at all.

that it seemed good to God Himself that one who falls away while knowing what is good should, in accordance with the measure of human transgressions, be saved after being moderately punished. But those who from the beginning have neglected even to know what is better, even if they do countless other good things, yet do not enter into the religion which He Himself ordained, incurring the charge of negligence, will be utterly extinguished by the greatest punishment. And the religion ordained by Him is this: to worship Him alone, to believe only in the prophet of truth, to be baptized "for the remission of sins," and thus through the most pure washing to be reborn to God through the saving water, not to partake of the "table of demons" (I mean of things offered to idols, of carrion, of strangled animals, of beasts slain by wild animals, of blood), not to live impurely, to wash after intercourse with a woman, for women to observe the menstrual period, for all to be chaste, to do good, not to do wrong, to expect eternal life from the all-powerful God, and to seek to obtain it through constant prayers and supplications. While Peter was giving such exhortations in Sidon, within a few days many there repented, believed, and were healed, and he established a church and, appointing one of the presbyters accompanying him as their bishop, he departed from Sidon.

As soon as he set foot in Berytus, an earthquake occurred. And the crowds, approaching Peter, said, "Help us, for we are afraid," they said, "lest we all be utterly destroyed." Then Simon, emboldened, together with Appion, Annubion, Athenodorus, and the rest of his companions, cried out publicly to the crowds against Peter: "Flee, men, from this man; he is a magician, believe us, and he himself caused the earthquake for us and stirred up the diseases himself, in order to terrify you as though he himself were a god." And many such things, as though Peter had power beyond human ability, were falsely claimed by those around Simon. When the crowds granted him silence, Peter, smiling slightly with awe-inspiring frankness, said, "Men, I confess that I am able, if God wills, to do what these men say; and in addition to this, I am ready, if you do not believe me concerning what I say, to uproot your entire city." When the crowds became frightened and readily promised to do whatever he might command, Peter said, "Let none of you either converse with these sorcerers or mingle with them." And the crowds, as soon as they heard this concise command, took up sticks and pursued them until they drove them completely out of the city. And those among them who were sick and possessed by demons came and threw themselves at the feet of Peter. Seeing this and wishing to dispel their terror, he said to them:

If I were able to cause earthquakes and do whatever I wish, I would not say that I would destroy Simon together with his companions (for I have not been sent for the destruction of men), but I would have made him a friend to myself, so that he might not hinder many from salvation by slandering my true proclamation. But if you believe me, he is a magician, he is a devil, he is a servant of wickedness against those who are ignorant of the truth; and for this reason he is able to work diseases, having as his co-workers those who sin against the power that is over them. But I am a servant of God who has made all things, a disciple of his right-hand prophet. Therefore, being an apostle of that one, I speak the truth. For serving the good, I also drive away diseases; for I was sent second, since disease comes first, and healing follows. So then, through that evil magician, having disbelieved in God, you fell ill; but through me, if you believe in him, you will be healed. For thus, having experienced the power of the capable one, turning to doing good, you might be able to save your souls as well. While he was saying these things, all were prostrate at his feet. And he, raising his hands to heaven and praying to God, healed them all by prayer alone. And after remaining with the Berytians for not a few days, and having accustomed many to the monarchic religion and baptized them, and having appointed one of the elders who followed him as their bishop, he departed for Byblos.

And having arrived there and learned that Simon had not remained with them even a single day, but had immediately set out for Tripolis, after staying with them a few days, healing not a few, and training them in the books, he followed in Simon's footsteps to Tripolis, having chosen to pursue him rather than to flee. When Peter entered Tripolis, the more eager learners from Tyre, Sidon, Berytus, and Byblus, and many from the neighboring regions, entered with him. Not least of all, crowds from the city itself gathered, wishing to see him. So the brothers sent out by him met us in the suburbs, having been sent to ascertain accurately the state of the city and Simon's activities, so that they might report upon their return. Having welcomed him, they led him to the house of Maroones. When he had already arrived at the gate of the lodging, he turned to the crowds and promised to speak to them about piety on the following day. After he entered, those who had come ahead prepared lodging for those who had gathered. Nor did those who welcomed and entertained him fall short of the eagerness of those who made requests. Peter, knowing none of this, when asked by us to partake of food, said that he would not partake himself before first seeing that those who had come with him were rested. When we answered that

This had happened in this way, on the pretext of affection for you, all of them receiving them with such zeal that those who did not have guests to entertain were exceedingly grieved. Peter, hearing this and being pleased, blessed them for their ready philanthropy, and went out, bathed in the sea, and entering, partook of food with the advance party, and when evening came, he slept. At the second crowing of the cocks, he awoke and found us awake. We were all together, sixteen in number: Peter himself, I Clement, Nicetas, Aquila, and the twelve who had gone ahead. So greeting us, he said: "Today, not being busy with outsiders, we have leisure for each other. Therefore, I will relate to you what happened after my departure from Tyre, and you in turn relate to me more precisely what Simon did here." So when we had exchanged partial narratives with each other, one of the usual attendants entered, announcing to Peter: "Simon, learning that you had arrived, set out on the road to Syria, and the crowds, considering this single night as a year's time and being unable to wait for the deadline you set, are standing before the doors in groups and assemblies, talking among themselves about Simon's slander, that he, having raised their hopes and promised to refute you on many charges, fled by night when he learned you had arrived. Moreover, since they are eager to hear you, some rumor has fallen upon them, I know not whence, that you are going to speak to them today. So, lest they tire themselves for long and be dismissed without reason, you yourself know what you must do.

And Peter, marveling at the zeal of the crowds, answered: "See, brothers, how the words of our Lord are manifestly fulfilled. For I remember him saying: 'Many will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and will recline in the bosoms of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' But also, 'Many (he says) are called, but few are chosen.' Now, their coming, having been called, has been fulfilled. But since this is not their own doing, but that of the God who called them and caused them to come, they have no reward for this alone, because it is not their own, but that of the one who effected it. But if, after being called, they do good works, which is their own doing, then they will have a reward for this. For not even the Hebrews who believe in Moses and do not keep the things spoken through him are saved, unless they keep the things spoken to them. For their believing in Moses was not a matter of their own will, but of God, who said to Moses: 'Behold, I myself come to you in a pillar of cloud, so that the people may hear me speaking to you and believe in you forever.' Since, therefore, for both Hebrews and those called from the nations, believing in teachers of truth has come from God, while doing good deeds is left to each one's own judgment, the reward is justly given to those who do well. For neither would there have been need of Moses nor of the coming of Jesus, if they had wished to understand what is reasonable by themselves, nor does salvation come from believing in teachers and calling them lords.

For this reason, while the Hebrews received Moses as teacher, Jesus is hidden from them, and from those who have believed in Jesus, Moses is concealed; for since the teaching through both is one, God accepts whoever has believed in either of them. But believing in a teacher occurs for the sake of doing what is said by God. And that this is so, our Lord himself says: "I confess to you, Father of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from wise elders and revealed them to nursing infants." Thus God himself has hidden the teacher from some, as from those who already know what they must do, and revealed him to others, as to those who are ignorant of what they must do. Therefore, neither are the Hebrews condemned for ignorance of Jesus, because of the one who hid him, provided that, while doing what was taught through Moses, whom they did not know, they do not hate him; nor, on the other hand, are those from the nations condemned for ignorance of Moses, because of the one who concealed him, provided that they too, while doing what was taught through Jesus, do not hate the one they did not know. And some are not benefited by calling the teachers "lord" while not doing what slaves do. For this reason our Jesus said to someone who called him "lord" too frequently but did nothing of what he commanded: "Why do you call me 'Lord, lord,' and not do what I say?" For speaking will not benefit anyone, but doing will. So in every way there is need of good works, except that if someone should be deemed worthy to recognize both as proclaiming one teaching, that man is counted as rich in God, having understood that the ancient things are new in time and the new things are old.

As Peter was saying these things, the crowds, as if summoned by someone, entered where Peter was. Seeing the great crowd flowing gently like the calm stream of a river, he said to Maroones, "Where is there a place here that can accommodate the crowds better?" When Maroones led them to a garden in the open air, the crowds followed. Peter, standing on the base of a statue that was not very high, and having greeted the crowd according to the pious custom, knowing that many of the assembled crowd were troubled for a long time by demons and many afflictions, roaring with lamentation and falling down with supplication, he rebuked them, ordered them to be quiet, and promised healing after the discourse, and began to speak as follows: "Beginning to make a discourse concerning piety for those who are completely ignorant of all things and whose minds are stained by the slanders of our adversary Simon, I considered it necessary first to make a discourse concerning the fact that one must not blame the God who made all things, beginning from no other point than from the pretext itself opportunely supplied by him according to providence, so that it may be known that the many were reasonably restrained by many demons and seized by strange afflictions, so that in this too the justice of God may be manifest. And those who through ignorance blame him, even now learning how they ought to think, through good words and good deeds will recall themselves from their former accusation, setting forth ignorance of the evil deed as a cause for pardon. It is as follows:

The only good God has made all things well and entrusted them to the human being created in his image. The one who came into being, breathing the divinity of his maker, being a true prophet and knowing all things, for the honor of the father who bestowed everything upon him and for the salvation of the sons born from him, as a genuine father preserving goodwill toward the children born from him, wishing them to love God for their own benefit and to be loved by him, revealed the path leading to friendship with him, teaching by what human actions the one and only master God is pleased, and having disclosed what pleases him, he established an eternal law for all, which can neither be destroyed by war nor corrupted by any impious person nor hidden in one place, but can be read by all. So from obedience to the law, they had all things in abundance: the finest fruits, perfect, painless, and healthy years, fearlessly granted with complete mildness of the air. But since they had not first experienced evils, being insensible to the gift of good things, they were turned by abundant food and luxury into ingratitude, so as to think that there is no providence, because they had not previously labored for righteousness and received the good things as a reward, since none of them had fallen into any suffering or disease or other necessity, so that (as is customary for humans when afflicted by evil through sin) they might look around for the God who can heal them.

But immediately after their contempt, born of fearlessness and unbridled luxury, as if from some harmony fittingly arranged, a just punishment met them, thrusting away the good things as harmful and introducing the bad things as beneficial. For among the spirits dwelling in heaven, the angels inhabiting the lowest region, vexed at the ingratitude of humans toward God, asked to come into the life of humans, so that, having truly become humans, they might, by a more excellent way of life, convict those who had been ungrateful toward him and there subject each to the punishment he deserves. So when they asked and received permission, they transformed themselves into every nature, being of a more divine substance and able to change easily into all things. And they became precious stone, conspicuous pearl, the finest purple if it chanced, glorious gold, and every costly material. And they fell into the hands of some, into the bosom of others, and were willingly stolen by them; they also changed into quadrupeds, reptiles, swimming and flying creatures, and into everything they wished. These things the poets among you, due to fearlessness, sing of as they happen, attributing to one being the many and varied deeds of all.

Yet when they became these things, they exposed the plunderers who had seized them as covetous, and transformed themselves into human nature, so that by living piously and demonstrating the capacity for righteous conduct, they might subject the ungrateful to penalties. Since they truly became all things human and acquired human desire, being mastered by this they slipped into intercourse with women. Entangled with them and fixed in defilement, and utterly emptied of their primal power, they were no longer able to reconstitute the members turned from fire into the first unsullied state of their own nature. For by the weight of desire, their fire having terminated into flesh, they traveled the impious path downward; for they themselves, bound by the bonds of flesh, are held fast and strongly fettered, on account of which they could no longer ascend to the heavens. For after intercourse, when they were required to provide what they originally were and could no longer do so, because they were unable to make themselves into something else after defilement, and wishing to please their beloved women, they instead pointed out the marrow of the earth—I mean the blooms from metals: gold, copper, silver, iron, and the like, along with all the most precious stones. Together with these enchanted stones, they also handed over the arts of each craft, revealed sorceries, taught astronomy, the powers of living creatures, and all that it is impossible for human thought ever to discover, and further, the smelting of gold, silver, and the like, as well as the varied dyes of garments.

and everything, in short, that pertains to the adornment and delight of women, are the inventions of demons bound in flesh. And from their spurious union, spurious men were born, far taller than ordinary men at the crown, whom later generations named giants—not being snake-footed and waging war against God, as the blasphemous myths of the Greeks relate, but beastly in character and greater than men in size, since they were born from angels, yet lesser than angels, since they were born from women. Therefore God, knowing that they had become savage in their beastliness and that the world was not sufficient for their own satiety (for it had been created according to the proportion and use of men), so that they might not, from lack of food, turn to the unnatural devouring of animals and seem blameless, as if compelled by necessity to such daring, the all-powerful God rained down manna for them from varied desire, and they enjoyed whatever they wished. But they, by their spurious nature, from the purity of the food

Not being satisfied, they craved only the taste of blood. Therefore they were the first to taste flesh. And the men with them at that time emulated doing the same. Thus we are not born good or evil, but become so, and once habituated, we hold fast with difficulty. When the irrational animals then failed, the spurious men also tasted human flesh; for it was no longer a great step for them to destroy their own flesh, having previously tasted it in other forms. And from the great outpouring of blood, the pure air, polluted by unclean exhalation and becoming diseased, rendered those who breathed it sickly, so that men thereafter died prematurely. The earth, being greatly polluted from these things, then for the first time brought forth venomous and destructive animals. When all things had thus deteriorated because of the beastly demons, God planned to remove them like evil leaven, lest from evil seed, by succession, each generation, being made like the one before it and similarly impious, should empty the future age of saved men. For this reason, having foretold to one righteous man that he, together with his three sons and their wives, along with the rest, would be preserved in an ark, he poured down water for a flood, so that when all were destroyed, the world, purified, might be given back clean to him who was preserved in the ark, for a second beginning of life. And so it came to pass. Since the souls of the dead giants were larger than human souls, because they also surpassed them in bodies, they were called by a new name, as a new race, with a new name.

For those who came later into the world, a law was established by God through an angel as to how they must live. For being of mixed race, from the fire of angels and the blood of women, and therefore destined to desire a race of their own, they were anticipated by a certain just law. For a certain angel was sent to them by God, announcing his will and saying: "These things seem good to the all-seeing God: that you should rule over no human being nor molest anyone, unless someone willingly enslaves himself to you by worshipping you, sacrificing, pouring libations, partaking of your table, or performing some other thing which is not permitted, or shedding blood, or tasting the flesh of corpses, or of a beast's carcass, or of an animal that has been cut or strangled, or gorging himself on any other unclean thing. But of those who flee to my law, you shall not only not touch, but you shall also give them honor and flee from their presence. For whatever they, being just, may decide against you, that you will have to suffer. But if any of those attached to me should sin, either by committing adultery, or practicing magic, or living impurely, or doing any other thing that does not please me, then by my command they will have to suffer something at your hands or at the hands of others. And for those who repent, I will judge whether their repentance is worthy of forgiveness or not, and I will render the decision. Therefore you ought to remember and do these things, knowing well that not even your thoughts will be able to escape him." Having given them such instructions, the angel departed. But you are still ignorant of this law, that when someone worships demons, or sacrifices, or shares their table, having become enslaved to them, as if by evil

of the masters, all who come from them will share in punishment; and because of this ignorance, having been corrupted by their altars and filled with them, you have come under their authority and, being insulted in every way, you are ignorant of your bodies. But you must know that the demons have power over no one unless someone first becomes their companion in life, just as even their ruler can do nothing contrary to the law established by God against them; therefore he has no power over anyone who has not worshipped him; but neither can anyone obtain from them what they desire, nor suffer any harm, as you can learn from the following. For once the temporary king approached the king of our piety, not using force (for that was not permitted), but urging and persuading, because being persuaded lies within each person's power. So approaching, as the king of present things to the king of future things, he said: "All the kingdoms of the present world are subject to me, and gold and silver and all the luxury of this world are under my authority; therefore fall down and worship me, and I will give you all these things." He said this knowing that with the act of worship he would also have power over him and thus deprive him of future glory and kingdom. And knowing all this, he not only did not worship him, but did not even wish to take anything given by him; for he was pledging himself and his own as a guarantee, which means that it was no longer permitted for him to touch or even approach what had been given to him. So answering, he said: "It is written: You shall fear the Lord your God and serve him alone.

But the king of the impious, after attempting in many ways to lead the king of the pious astray according to his own will and failing, desisted, and turned to hunting him through the other aspects of civil life. You, however, being ignorant of the preordained law, came under his authority through your evil deeds; therefore you have been defiled in body and soul, and in the present you are insulted by passions and demons, while in the future you will have your souls punished. This you have not suffered through ignorance alone, but also some of our own nation, who, having been anticipated by the leader of wickedness in evil deeds, then, as if invited to a feast by a father celebrating his son's wedding, did not obey. Instead of those who disobeyed because of this anticipation, the father celebrating the wedding for his son commanded us through the prophet of truth to go to the crossroads of the ways (that is, to you) and to put on a pure wedding garment (which is baptism, which occurs for the remission of the evils you have done) and to bring the good into God's feast from repentance, even if they were initially left out of the banquet. Therefore, if you wish to become a garment of divine spirit, first hasten to strip off your filthy covering (which is an unclean spirit) and foul cloak. This you cannot put off otherwise, unless you are first baptized in good deeds, and thus becoming pure in body and soul, you will enjoy the coming eternal kingdom. So neither believe in idols nor share their foul table, nor

Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not hate those whom it is not right to hate, do not steal, and do not engage in any evil deeds whatsoever. For, being deprived of the hope of the good things to come, in the present you will be driven together by both evil demons and grievous sufferings, and in the coming age you will be punished eternally with fire. What has been said to you today is sufficient; for the rest, those of you who are troubled by sufferings, remain for healing, and of the others, those who wish, depart in peace. When he said this, all remained, some for the sake of being healed, others to observe those who obtained healing. Peter, laying his hands on them and praying only, healed them, so that those healed immediately became overjoyed, and those who observed were filled with wonder and, praising God, believed with firm hope, and together with those healed went to their own homes, having the command to assemble earlier on the next day. After they departed, Peter remained there with his companions, partook of food, and rested himself in sleep.

On the following day, Peter went out with his companions and, coming to the place of the day before and taking his stand, began to speak: God, having destroyed all the ancient men who were impious by water, found one pious man among all and caused him to be saved in an ark with his three sons and their wives. Hence one can perceive his nature, that it does not care about a multitude of the impious, but does not neglect the salvation of a single pious man. Therefore the greatest impiety of all is to abandon the one master of all and to worship many gods that do not exist as if they exist. If, then, while I am instructing and showing you that this is the greatest sin, which can destroy you all, the thought steals into your mind that you are not being destroyed, being many multitudes, you are deceived; for you have the example of the world that was once flooded. And yet the sin of those men was much less than yours; for they were impious toward their equals, either by murdering or by committing adultery, whereas you are impious toward the God of all, worshipping instead of him or along with him lifeless statues and casting his divine name upon every senseless material. First, then, you are unfortunate in not recognizing the difference between monarchy and polyarchy, that monarchy is productive of concord, while polyarchy is productive of wars. For the one does not fight with itself, but the many have a pretext to engage in strife with one another. Indeed, immediately after the flood, Noah, having lived three hundred years, continued in concord with the multitudes that came from him, having existed as a king in the image of the one God.

After his death, many of his descendants aspired to the kingdom and, hastening to rule, each devised how he might be able to do so. One by war, another by deceit, another by persuasion, and another in some other way. Among them was one from the lineage of Ham, who had fathered Mesraim, from whom the tribes of the Egyptians, Babylonians, and Persians multiplied. From this lineage, in succession, there arose a certain man who had received magical arts, named Nebrod, who, like a giant, chose to think contrary to God, whom the Greeks called Zoroaster. After the flood, this man, aspiring to kingship and being a great magician, compelled by magical arts the star that governs the world, which was then ruling evilly, to grant him the kingdom. But the star (since it was a ruler and had authority over the one who was forcing it) in anger poured down the fire of kingship, so that it might both comply with the oath and punish the one who first compelled it. From this lightning that fell from heaven to earth, the magician Nebrod was killed, and from this event he was renamed Zoroaster, because the living stream of the star was directed against him. The foolish men of that time, thinking that his soul had been sent up by a thunderbolt because of his friendship with God, buried the remains of his body, honored his tomb with a temple in Persia, where the descent of fire had occurred.

They worshipped him as a god. Following this example, the others there also honor those struck by lightning as beloved of the gods, burying them in temples and setting up statues in the forms of their own dead. From this, the rulers in various places likewise emulated them, and most of them, for those they loved who did not die by lightning, ordered that their tombs be honored with temples and statues, and that altars be kindled, so that they might be worshipped as gods. Much later, because of the long passage of time, they came to be considered by later generations as truly gods. Nevertheless, although the origin was one, many divisions of kingship occurred in this way. The Persians, first taking coals from the lightning that fell from heaven, preserved them with their own fuel, and, honoring fire as a heavenly god, because they were the first to worship it, were themselves first honored with kingship by that fire. After them, the Babylonians, stealing coals from that fire and preserving them in their own land, and also worshipping them, subsequently ruled. The Egyptians, acting similarly, called the fire in their own dialect Phtha, which is interpreted as Hephaestus, by whose name their first king is also called. In this manner, then, the kings who ruled in various places, having made a foundation and kindled altars in honor of fire, were for the most part extinguished from their kingship, but they did not cease to reverence the statues, because of the evil contrivance of the magi, who found pretexts for them that were able to keep them in their vain worship.

they set them up with magical rites, appointed festivals for them with sacrifices, libations, flutes, and clapping, on the pretext of which the foolish are deceived, and although their kingdom has been taken away, they themselves do not abandon the past religions; to such an extent they preferred error to truth because of pleasure. And after drunkenness they howl around the altar, their soul from its depths, as if through dreams, announcing to them the future punishment for such deeds. Since many religions have passed away in life, we are present, bringing to you (we, the good merchants) a religion handed down and preserved by our ancestors as seeds of plants, showing and placing it under your judgment and authority. Choose what seems good to you. If you choose our teachings, you will be able not only to flee from demons and the passions that come from demons, but you yourselves will put them to flight, and, being entreated by them, you will enjoy the goods that will always be. But on the contrary, in the present life you will be insulted by demons with strange passions, and at the departure from the body you will have your souls punished forever, not because God condemns the truth, but because evil deeds have such a judgment. For the demons, having authority through the food given to them, are insinuated by your hands into your bodies. Having dwelt within for a long time, they mingle with the soul. And because of the negligence of those who could help themselves

not understanding or even not willing, at the dissolution of the body their soul, united with the demon, is compelled to be carried by it into whatever places it wishes. But the most grievous thing of all is that at the consummation of all things, when the demon is first delivered to the purifying fire, the soul mingled with it is compelled to be ineffably punished, while the demon rejoices. For the soul, being from light, unable to bear the alien flame of fire, is tormented, while the demon, being in the substance of its own kind, greatly rejoices, having become an unbreakable bond with the soul it has co-desired. And the reason why demons strive to enter into human bodies is this: being spirits and having desire for food, drink, and intercourse, but unable to partake because they are spirits and need organs suitable for such use, they enter into human bodies, so that, obtaining organs as servants, they may be able to obtain what they wish, whether food through human teeth or intercourse through human genitals. Hence, for the expulsion of demons, want, fasting, and bodily hardship are the most suitable aids. For if they enter a human body for the sake of partaking, it is clear that they are driven away by hardship. But since some more terrible ones, persisting even when punished, remain in the body that is punished, for this reason one must take refuge in God with prayers and supplications, abstaining from every unclean pretext, so that the hand of God may be able to touch him for healing as one who is pure and believing.

It is necessary also in prayers to confess that one has fled to God and to testify that the demon's delay, not its disobedience, is the issue. For everything happens for the believer, but nothing for the unbeliever. Hence the demons themselves, knowing the quantity of faith over which they prevail, proportionally measure out their own persistence. For this reason they persist with the unbelieving, they linger with the distrustful, but with those who have fully believed and act rightly they cannot remain even for an instant. For the soul, by faith in God, as if transformed into the nature of water, extinguishes the demon like a spark of fire. It is therefore a labor for each to comprehend the flight of the demon within him. For, mingling with souls, so that one may neglect his own salvation, they suggest thoughts toward what they wish into each person's mind. Hence many, not knowing from where they are influenced, assent to the evil suggestions of demons, which are instilled, as if to the reasoning of their own soul. Therefore they become more reluctant to go to those who can save them, and, being consumed by the very demons that ambush them, they are unaware. Now, by the demons dwelling within their souls, it is suggested to them that it is not a demon troubling them, but a bodily disease (such as an excess of sharp humor, or bile, or phlegm, or blood, or inflammation of the membrane, or something else). But even if this were so, it would not be free from being a form of demon. For the soul, which is universal and earthy, penetrating through the cause of all foods, by excessive nourishment is more...

Having been taken in, it is united with the spirit as a kindred thing (which is the soul of a human), while the material part of the food, having been united with the body, remains in it as a grievous poison. Therefore, in all things, self-sufficiency is good. But some of the evil demons lie in wait in another way, not even showing at the outset that they exist, so that zeal against them may not arise, and at an opportune moment, under the pretext of anger, love, or some other passion, they suddenly outrage the body with a sword, a noose, a precipice, or something else, and they consign the deceived souls of those who have been mingled with them, as we have said, to the purifying fire, to be punished forever. Others, being ambushed in different ways, do not approach us, being deceived by the thoughts of the evil demons, as if they suffer these things from the gods themselves because of their neglect of them, and as if they are able to reconcile them by sacrifices, and that they should not approach us, but on the contrary should flee and hate us. And indeed they hate and flee those who rather pity them and pursue them for their benefit. Hating and fleeing us, then, they are ensnared, not knowing whence it comes to them to think things contrary to their own salvation. For neither can we force them if they are unwilling to incline toward salvation (since we do not now have such authority over them), nor can they by themselves perceive the evil thought of the demon (for they do not know whence the thoughts of evils are suggested to them). And there are those whom the demons, appearing in whatever forms they wish, frighten.

Sometimes, however, they prescribe treatments for the sick, and in this way they gain a reputation as gods among those who have been previously deceived, and the many are unaware that they are demons—but not we, who know their secret, why they do such things, transforming themselves in dreams into the forms of those over whom they have power. And some they frighten, to others they give oracles, demand sacrifices, and command them to feast together, so that they may drink down their souls. For just as clever snakes draw sparrows to themselves by their breath, so also do these draw those who partake of their table (by mixing themselves through foods and drinks with their mind) into their own will, transforming themselves in dreams according to the forms of their statues, in order to increase the deception. For the statue is neither a living being nor does it have a divine spirit, but the demon that appeared made use of the form. How many have similarly appeared to others in dreams, and when they met each other in waking life and compared the dream, they did not agree? So that is no longer a dream apparition, but it is either a demon or the products of a soul giving back forms in response to passing fears and desires; for the soul, struck in the mind by fear, gives birth to forms through dreams. But if you think that statues, as if ensouled, are able to effect such things, set them on a balance, the beam being level, place a counterweight on the other pan, and ask them to become either heavier or lighter; if this happens, they are ensouled—but it does not happen; and if it should happen, such a thing is not yet a god.

For this can happen even by a demon's finger. And worms move, yet they are not called gods. That it is according to the preconceptions of each soul that images of demons are depicted, and that the so-called gods do not appear, is clear from the fact that they do not appear to Jews. But someone will say: How then do they give oracles, foretelling the future? This too is false. But let it be granted that it is true; still, such a thing is not a god. For not everything that prophesies is a god, since even ventriloquists prophesy, yet when exorcised by us as demons they are put to flight. But someone will say: They prescribe treatments for some. This is false. But let it be granted that it is so; still, such a thing is not a god. For physicians heal many and are not gods. But, he says, physicians do not always heal those for whom they provide care, whereas these both give oracles and heal. But demons know the remedies truly suited to each ailment; hence physicians who are knowledgeable can heal, and these are things that can be healed by humans, but being also prophetic and knowing when each ailment is spontaneously cured, they then prescribe the treatments, so as to claim the credit for themselves. For why do they prescribe cures only after a long time? And why, if they can do everything, do they not effect a cure without requiring an offering? And why is it that to some who pray they prescribe treatments, while to others, even those more closely connected, they sometimes give no oracle? Thus, whenever a cure is about to occur spontaneously, they announce it, so as to claim the credit for themselves.

Others, having fallen ill and prayed, and having recovered spontaneously, inscribed the names of those they had invoked and set up votive offerings. Those, however, who died after prayer cannot dedicate their failures. Yet if the relatives of the deceased, or some of them, had investigated the failures, you would find more failures than successes. But no one who is prejudiced in their favor wishes to bring forth the refutation against them, either from shame or fear; on the contrary, they conceal their credible absurdities. How many also falsely claim oracles and healings accomplished by them, and confirm these with oaths? How many have hired themselves out for a fee, undertaking to suffer certain things through various contrivances, and having thus proclaimed, and having been restored from their affliction by a counter-affliction, they say that the cure was delivered by oracle, so that they might ascribe reverence to the insensible? How many of their works were accomplished from the beginning by magical art, so that they might dream and deliver oracles? And yet, after a long time, even these have failed. How many now, wishing to strengthen such things, practice sorcery? Nevertheless, if something is prophetic or healing, that is not God. For God can do all things. For He is good and just, now showing long-suffering to all, so that those who wish, having repented of the evil deeds they have done and having conducted themselves in a civilized manner on the day when all things are judged, may receive their due. Therefore, now begin good knowledge, persuaded by God as the cause, to contradict your evil desires and thoughts, so that you may be able to recall the saving religion first handed down to humanity.

Thus for you the good things will immediately arise, and having experienced the evils, you will abandon them for the future. But give thanks to the giver, enjoying forever the secret goods with the king of peace. In the present, however, having bathed in an ever-flowing river or spring, or even in the sea, with the thrice-blessed appellation, you will be able not only to drive out the spirits lurking within you, but, no longer sinning yourselves and believing in God without doubt, you will drive out the evil spirits and harsh demons of others, along with their terrible passions. Sometimes they will flee merely at your gaze; for they know those who have devoted themselves to God, and therefore, honoring them, they flee in fear, just as yesterday you saw how, when I, after the discourse, undertook to pray for the sufferers, the passions themselves cried out in honor of the worship, unable to endure even a brief hour. Do not think, therefore, that we, being of a different nature, are not afraid of demons in this respect. For we are of the same nature as you, but not of the same worship. Hence, being not a little, but entirely superior to you, we do not begrudge your becoming such, but on the contrary we advise you, knowing that all these things honor and fear those who have become intimate with God, without their knowing it. For just as soldiers subject to a Caesar's tribune know, because of the authority of the giver, to honor the recipient so much that those in command say to him, "Come," and they come, and to another,

Go, and be going. Thus also the one who has given himself to God, being faithful, is heard when he speaks only to demons and passions, and demons, much stronger than those who command them, withdraw. For by an ineffable power God subjects the mind of each to whomever he wishes. For just as many governors with all their armies and cities fear Caesar, who is a man, because the heart of each hastens to honor the image of the whole (for all things enslaved by the will of God do not know the cause of their fear), so also everything that produces passions honors and flees from the one who flees to God and bears the right faith like an image of him in his heart, being afraid by some natural path. But nevertheless, even if all demons with all passions flee from you, it is not in this alone that you should rejoice, but in that through good pleasure your names are inscribed in heaven as of those always living. Thus also the divine holy Spirit rejoices that a man has conquered death; for putting demons to flight is for the healing of another. We say these things not as denying that one should not help others, but that it is not necessary, being puffed up by this, to neglect oneself. Sometimes demons flee from certain lawless men because of a venerable name, and both the one who drives them away and the one who witnesses it are ensnared: the one who drives them away, as having been honored for righteousness, not knowing the malice of the demon (for it has both honored the name and, by the flight, having cast the impious into an opinion of righteousness, deceived him so that he does not repent), and the one who witnesses it, as having associated with the pious one who drove them away, hastening to a similar way of life, is destroyed.

Sometimes they even pretend to flee from oaths that are not sworn to God, in order to deceive them and destroy them when they wish. And we want you to know this, that unless someone willingly gives himself as a slave to demons (as I said earlier), the demon has no power over him. Therefore, having chosen to worship one God, and having abstained from the "table of demons," and having taken up temperance together with philanthropy and justice, and having been baptized with the thrice-blessed name for the remission of sins, you are able, as much as you can, to devote yourselves to the perfection of purity, and after being freed from eternal punishment, to become heirs of eternal goods. Having said this, he commanded those troubled by passions to approach, and thus many, having come together because of the experience of those healed yesterday, approached. And he, laying his hands on them and praying, healed them immediately, and having instructed them and the others to assemble earlier, he himself bathed, partook of food, and slept.

On the third day in Tripolis, then, having risen earlier from sleep, Peter entered the garden, where there was a large water-basin into which an abundant stream of water continuously flowed. Having bathed there, and then having prayed, he sat down; and perceiving us sitting around and gazing at him as if wishing to hear something, he said: There seems to me to be a great difference between the ignorant and those who have gone astray. For the ignorant man seems to me to resemble a man who does not wish to set out for a prosperous city because he is ignorant of the good things there; but the man who has gone astray resembles one who has learned the good things in the city, but while setting out on the road has deviated from the path and is therefore wandering. So then, there seems to me to be a great difference between those who worship idols and those who wander in godliness. For those who worship idols are ignorant of eternal life (on account of which they do not even desire it; for what they do not know, they cannot love); but those who have chosen to worship the one God and have learned that eternal life is given to the good, if they either believe or do anything contrary to what seems good to God, resemble those who, having left the city of punishment to come to the prosperous one, have gone astray on the straight road.

While he was discoursing with us, one of our men, who is appointed to announce such things to him, entered and said, "Great crowds, my lord Peter, are standing before the gates." So, with his permission, a large crowd came in. He rose and, standing on the same base as yesterday, greeted them according to the custom of piety and said: "God, who created the heaven and the earth and made everything in them (as the true prophet has told us), made man in his image and likeness and appointed him to rule and have dominion—I mean over things in the air, on land, and in the waters—as can be seen from the fact itself: by his own intelligence he brings down things in the air, brings up things from the deep, and hunts things on land, even though they are much mightier than he in strength, I mean elephants, lions, and the like. When, however, he was righteous, he was also above all sufferings, being unable to experience pain in his immortal body. But when he sinned (as we showed yesterday and the day before), having become a slave of sin, he fell subject to all passions, being justly deprived of all good things. For it was not reasonable that, when the giver was abandoned, the gifts should remain with the ungrateful. Therefore, out of his exceeding compassion, in order that we might recover, along with the first things, the eternal goods that are to come, he sent his own prophet. And the prophet commanded us to tell you what you must think and do. So choose, for it lies in your power. Now, what you must think is this:

Worship God, who has made all things; if you apprehend him with your mind, you will receive from him, together with the primary goods, the eternal goods that are to come. Therefore, you will be able to persuade yourselves to what is beneficial, if, as though chanting to the terrible serpent lurking in your heart, you say, "You will fear the Lord God and serve him alone." So it is advantageous from every reasoning to fear him alone, not as unjust, but as just. For one fears an unjust person lest he be unjustly killed, and a just person lest he be punished when caught in sin. Therefore, by this one fear of him, you can be freed from many harmful fears. For if you do not fear the one Lord and maker of all, you will be slaves of all evils to your own harm—I mean of demons, passions, and everything capable of harming in any way. Therefore, take courage and approach God, you who were created from the beginning to rule and have dominion over all things, you who have his image in the body and likewise have the likeness of his mind in your disposition. Since, then, by acting like irrational animals you have lost the human soul, becoming like swine, you have become objects of demons' demands. If, therefore, you accept the law of God, you become human. For it is not possible to say to irrational animals, "You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal," and so forth. Therefore, do not begrudge yourselves being called back to enter your original nobility. For it is possible, if you become like God through good deeds; and because of this likeness, being considered sons of that one, you will be able to be restored as masters of all.

Begin therefore to strip away the harmful fears of empty idols, so that you may flee unjust slavery; for those have become your masters who are useless even as slaves to you. I speak of the material of lifeless statues, which are of no use even for serving you. For they neither hear nor see nor perceive, nor can they even be moved. Or does any of you wish to see as they see, hear as they hear, perceive and move as they do? Far be it from us to insult any human being with such a reproach, for he bears the image of God, even if he has lost the likeness. At any rate, restore your golden and silver gods, or those made of any other material, to their original nature—I mean into bowls and basins and all the rest that can be useful to you for service—and the goods given to you from the beginning will be able to be restored. But perhaps you will say: "The laws of those in authority do not permit us to do this." Rightly said: laws, and not the nonexistent power of the vain objects of worship themselves. How then have you considered them gods, when they are avenged by human laws, guarded by dogs, protected by bolts? And this if they are of gold or silver or bronze; for those of stone or earthenware are guarded by their worthlessness, since no human being desires to steal a stone or earthenware god. So your gods made of more costly material are subject to great danger. How indeed are they gods, when they are stolen, melted down, weighed, guarded? O the minds of wretched humans, who fear things more dead than the dead!

Nor can I call them dead, for they have never lived, unless they are tombs of ancient men. For sometimes someone, coming upon unknown places, does not know whether the temples he sees are monuments of dead men or of so-called gods; but when he inquires and hears that they are of gods, he worships them, not ashamed that, if he had not investigated and learned, he would have passed them by as a tomb of a dead man, because of the equality of their appearance. However, I need not provide extensive proof against the error of such superstition. For it is easy for anyone who wishes to understand that it is nothing, unless someone does not see... does not see. But even now, hear that it does not hear, and understand that it does not think. For the hands of a dead man made it. And if the maker died, how will what was made by him not be dissolved? Why then do you worship the work of a mortal, which is utterly insensible? Since even those who have reason do not worship animals, nor do they flatter the elements that have been created by God—I mean the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them—judging rightly that one should not worship the things made by Him, but should revere the God who is the creator and provider of these things. For even these things rejoice that no one has attributed to them the honor due to their maker. For the honorable glory belongs to Him alone, the only unbegotten one, because all other things are begotten. Therefore, just as it is proper for the unbegotten to be God, so everything that has come into being is not truly God.

Above all, then, you must consider the malicious cunning of the serpent that deceives you within, who craftily beguiles you with the promise of a better reasoning, creeping from your brain into your spinal marrow and counting your deception as great gain. For he knows the law from the beginning that, if he leads you into suspicion of any so-called gods whatsoever, only so that you may err from the good of monarchy, your destruction becomes his gain, and this by the following reasoning: that, condemned to eat earth, he has the power to devour that which through sin has been dissolved into earth [become earth], while your souls pass into the belly of his fire. So that you may suffer these things, he suggests to you every conceit against yourselves. For by him all deceptive notions against monarchy are sown into your mind to your harm. First, so that you may not, having heard the words of piety, drive away ignorance, the cause of evils, he lays an ambush under the pretext of knowledge, employing at first the one prejudice common to all, which is the belief that you have deliberated well that, if one does not hear the word of piety, he is not "liable to judgment." Hence some, being thus deceived, do not wish to hear, so that they may be ignorant, not knowing that ignorance itself is in itself a sufficient deadly poison. For if someone unknowingly takes a deadly poison, he does not fail to die. So naturally sins destroy the sinner, even if he does what he ought not in ignorance. And if judgment occurs for disobedience to words, much more will God destroy those who have not wished to undertake worship of him.

For the one who is unwilling to learn, so that he may not be liable, is already judged as one who knows. For he knows what he does not wish to hear; so that no contrivance can serve as a defense before a "heart-knowing" God. Therefore flee the serpent's crafty thought insinuated into your mind. And even if someone should truly end this present life in ignorance, he will be held culpable, because having lived a span of time he did not know who was the benefactor to him and of the sustenance provided to him, and as an insensible and ungrateful slave he is rejected from the kingdom of God. Again, the terrible serpent suggests to you a supposition to think and say this very thing, which nearly most of you say: "We too know that there is one lord of all, but these also are gods. For just as there is one Caesar, and he has under him the administrators (consulars, prefects, tribunes, centurions, decurions), in the same way, the one great God being like Caesar, they also, according to the principle of subordinate authorities, are gods, subject to him but governing us." Listen, then, you who have been anointed with this suspicion as with a terrible poison by him (I mean the evil suspicion of the example), so that you may know what is good and what is evil; for you have not yet perceived that you do not even see the things you set forth. For if you say that, according to the analogy of Caesar, God has subordinate authorities (the so-called gods), not even then do you adhere to your own example.

For if you were properly instructed, you ought to know that just as it is not permitted to give the name of Caesar to another (I mean to a consul or a prefect or a tribune or any other), because the giver will not live and the receiver will be put to death, so from your own example it is not permitted to give the name of God to another; for whoever attempts either to receive or to give it perishes. And if insult from a human being provides grounds for punishment, much more will those who call others gods, as having insulted God, be subject to eternal punishment. And rightly so, because the name entrusted to you to honor, for his monarchy, you have subjected to every possible insult; for God is not his actual name, but you, having received it for the time being, have insulted what was given to you, so that whatever use you make of it is reckoned against his actual name; and you have subjected it to every insult. For instance, the leaders of you Egyptians, who boast about meteorology and claim to distinguish the natures of the stars, under the influence of an evil suspicion lurking within them, subjected it to every dishonor as far as they could. For some of them handed down the worship of the ox called Apis, others of a goat, others of a cat, others of a serpent, and also of a fish and of onions and of the winds of the belly and of drains and of the limbs of irrational animals, along with countless other utterly shameful absurdities. When Peter said this, the crowd that was standing by laughed. And Peter said to the laughter: You laugh at those things of theirs, not knowing that you are much more laughed at by them. But you laugh at each other's things; for your own, led by evil habit into deception, you do not see.

I agree that you rightly mock the Egyptians, since being rational you worship irrational animals, which are altogether mortal. But hear how they in turn mock you: "We," they say, "even if we worship mortal things, yet at least they once lived, whereas you worship things that have never lived." In addition they say: "Wishing to honor the form of the one God and not finding what it is, we chose to honor every form." And so, saying such things, they think they think more correctly than you. Therefore you also answer them: "You lie; for you do not worship these things out of honor toward the true God; for you would all worship every form, not as you do. For some of you, supposing the divine to be an onion, and those who worship the spirits of the belly, fight; and thus likewise all of you, having preferred one thing, blame the things of others. And with different opinion, of the same animal's parts, one worships one thing, another another. But those of them who still breathe the thoughts of right reason, being ashamed at the manifest shamefulness, try to lead these things into allegories, wishing to strengthen the deadly things of their deception through other conceptions. Nevertheless, we would have refuted the allegories as well, if we had been there, whose so great a foolish passion prevailed as to produce a very great disease in the conception. For one must not apply the plaster to the healthy part of the body, but to the part that is suffering.

Since you, by laughing at the Egyptians, have shown that you do not suffer from their affliction, it was reasonable for me, being present with you, to provide the healing for the affliction that is in you. He who chooses to worship God must first of all know what is the unique property of the divine nature, which it is impossible for another to possess, so that, looking to this property and not finding it in another, he may never be deceived into giving to another the attribute of being God. Now the property of God is this: that He alone is, as the maker of all things, so also the superior. The maker is superior in power to that which is made; in magnitude, the infinite to the finite; in form, the most beautiful; in blessedness, the most blessed; in intellect, the most perfect. And similarly in all other respects He has the preeminence without comparison. Since, therefore (as I said), it is the property of God that He is superior to all things, and since the world, which contains everything, was made by Him, it is absolutely necessary to say that none of the things made by Him can have an equal comparison with Him. But that which does not possess the incomparable, the unsurpassable, and the wholly and entirely self-sufficient cannot be God. And if the whole world cannot be this, because it was created, how much more would its parts not reasonably be called God. By parts I mean those whom you call gods, made of gold and silver, bronze and stone, or of any other material whatsoever, and these wrought by a mortal hand. Nevertheless, let us see with what deceptions the cunning serpent, through the mouth of man, drugs those who are deceived by his mockeries. For many say:

We do not worship the gold or the silver or the wood or the stone of our objects of veneration (for we too know that these are nothing but lifeless matter and the craft of a mortal man), but the spirit dwelling in them, this we call god. Observe the malice of those who say this. For since the visible is easily refuted as being nothing, they have taken refuge in the invisible, as in something obscure, so that they cannot be refuted. Nevertheless, such persons agree with us in part that half of the statues among them are not god, but insensible matter. It remains then to show them how they believe that it possesses a divine spirit. But they cannot demonstrate to us that it exists, since it does not exist, and we do not believe that they have seen it. We will provide them with proofs that it does not possess a divine spirit, so that those who love the truth, having heard the refutation, may turn away from the mad notion that these things are inspired. First then, if you worship them as being inspired, why do you also bow down before the tombs of ancient men, who admittedly had no divine spirit? Thus even in this you do not speak the truth. Yet if your objects of veneration were truly inspired, they would move of themselves, they would have a voice, they would shake off the cobwebs upon them, they would repel those who wish to plot against them and steal, they would easily seize those who plunder their votive offerings. But now they do none of these things; rather, like prisoners (and especially the more precious of them) they are guarded, as we have said from the beginning. What then?

They do not demand from you taxes and tributes for them, the rulers, as though you were reaping much profit from those things there? What then? Have they not often been plundered by enemies and, broken, been distributed? Do not even the priests of those who worship outside, having condemned their own useless worship, secretly take away many of the votive offerings? Yes, he says, but they were discovered by their providence. That is false. For how many of them were not discovered? And if they say that because some have been caught they have power, they are mistaken. For among tomb-robbers, some are found, some escape notice, and surely those who were caught were not discovered by the power of the dead. Something similar we may understand concerning the gods who are stolen and plundered. But, he says, the gods dwelling in them have not taken care of their statues. Why then do you tend them, wiping and washing and cleansing them, crowning them, offering sacrifices? Therefore from this understand that you do not act even with right reason. For as you lament over the dead, so you offer sacrifices and libations to your gods. Yet this no longer agrees even with the example of Caesar and the authorities under him, to call them administrators, when you yourselves take all care for them, as I said before, tending your images in every respect. For they themselves, being able to do nothing, do nothing. For tell us: What do they administer? What do they do such as local governors do? What do they effect such as the stars of God do? Or do they not shine like the sun, for whom you kindle lamps?

Can they, like clouds that bring rain, themselves produce showers, they who cannot even move themselves unless men take hold of them? Or do they provide fruits in the same way as the earth, to whom you offer sacrifices? Thus they can do nothing. And if they were able to do something, you would not rightly call them gods, since it is not even permissible to name the elements gods, through which good things are provided. But we name only the one who ordered them to fulfill everything for our use and commanded them to serve man, by right reason, God. You, not perceiving his beneficence, have proclaimed the elements, which were allotted to you as slaves, to be masters over yourselves. And why need I speak of elements? Since you have made lifeless statues, you not only worship them, but you deem it right to be subject to them in every way as slaves. Because of this, through the things by which you have been deranged, you have become subject to demons. Nevertheless, through the recognition of God himself, by means of good deeds, you can become masters again and command demons as slaves, and as sons of God, of an eternal kingdom.

He commanded that those possessed by demons and afflicted with diseases be brought to him, and when they were brought, he laid his hands on them and, after praying, dismissed them healed, reminding them and the remaining crowds to attend here for as many days as he might be staying and discoursing. When the others had withdrawn, Peter bathed in the public bath there with those who wished, and having ordered bedding to be spread under a dense canopy of trees for the shade, he made each recline according to his rank; and thus we partook of food. Then, having blessed and given thanks to God for the joy according to the customary faith of the Hebrews, while there was still much of the day left, he permitted us to inquire about whatever we wished. And although we were twenty, he resolved each question in turn. When evening overtook us, we all entered the very spacious house of the lodging together with him and slept there. On the fourth day in Tripoli, then, Peter arose and, finding us awake, greeted us and went out to the bathhouse to bathe and pray, and we likewise did accordingly. When we had prayed together and sat down, he began a discourse on the necessity of purity. And when day had come, he permitted the crowds to enter. When a large crowd had entered, he greeted them as usual and began to speak: "Since through much neglect on your part your mind has produced many and harmful suspicions about religions, and you have become like land gone fallow for lack of a farmer,

You need much time for purification, so that the mind, having received the true word given to you like good seed, may not, by stifling it with evil cares, render it fruitless for works capable of bringing salvation. Therefore, those who are concerned for their own salvation must listen more frequently, so that the transgressions multiplied over long periods may, in the brief remaining time, be able to correspond to purification through continuous zeal. Since each person’s end of life is uncertain, hasten to remove the many thorns from your hearts, not little by little; for you will not be able to be cleansed, since you have lain fallow for a long time. You will not endure to undertake the great extent of zeal for your purification in any other way, unless, becoming angry with yourselves, you rebuke yourselves for having been ensnared like worthless slaves, conspiring with your evil desires, so that you may be able to apply your just anger, like fire, to the fallow field. If, then, you do not have this just fire (I mean the anger against evil desires), learn from what good things you have been ensnared, to what punishment you have been consigned, and by whom you have been deceived; and thus your mind, having become sober and, like fire kindled by the teaching of the one who sent us, into anger, may be able to consume the thorns of desire. Believe me, that if you wish, you will be able to accomplish everything.

You are an image of the invisible God. Therefore, those who wish to be pious should not say that idols are an image of God and that for this reason they must be worshipped. For the image of God is the human being. He who wishes to be pious toward God benefits the human being, because the body of the human being bears the image of God, but not all possess the likeness, but rather the pure mind of a good soul. Nevertheless, as we know that the human being has come into being "according to the image and likeness" of God, we say that you should be pious toward this one, so that the grace may be accounted to God, whose image he is. Therefore, honor must be offered to the image of God (which is the human being) in this way: food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, care to the sick, shelter to the stranger, and to the one in prison, one must appear and help as far as possible. And not to speak in detail, let him provide to another in need all the good things he wishes for himself, and then a good reward can be reckoned to him for having been pious toward the image of God; by the same reasoning, if he does not undertake to do these things, he will be punished as one who has neglected the image. For what is it, then, to say that on account of piety toward God we worship every form, while we insult the human being, who is the true image of God, in every way, killing them,

adulterers, thieves, and those who dishonor in many other ways; you ought to do nothing evil on account of which a human being is grieved; but now you do all things on account of which a human being is disheartened; for injustice and despondency arise from murder and the taking away of one's possessions and all other things which you know you do not wish to suffer. But you, deceived by some malicious serpent into evil by a suspicion of polytheistic knowledge, commit impiety against the true image (which is the human being), while you think you are pious toward senseless things. Some say: "If he did not want them to exist, they would not exist, but would be destroyed." I also say: This will certainly happen, when all show their disposition toward him, and thus a change of the present world will occur. But even if you wanted him to make it so that none of the things worshipped existed, tell us which of the existing things you have not worshipped. Do not some of you worship the sun, others the moon, others water, others the earth, others the mountains, others plants, others seeds, and others even a human being (as in Egypt)? Therefore, God ought to have left nothing, not even us, so that there would be nothing worshipped and nothing worshipping. Truly, the terrible serpent lurking within you wishes this to happen, and it does not spare you. But it will not be so. For the thing worshipped commits no sin; it suffers violence from the one who wishes to worship it. For if an unjust judgment is made by all human beings, it is not made by God. For it is not just that the one who suffers and the one who arranges should undergo the same punishment, unless he willingly accepts the honor of the only most honorable one.

But," someone says, "those who worship should have been destroyed by the true God, so that no one else would do this." But you are not wiser than God, to give him advice as if you were more prudent. He knows what he does. For he is patient with all who are in impiety, as a merciful and philanthropic father, knowing that even from the impious, pious ones arise. And many of those who worship shameful and insensible things, having come to their senses, have ceased both to worship them and to sin, and having fled to the true God with prayers... even Greeks have been saved. "But from the beginning, he should have made us not even think about such things at all." In saying this, you are ignorant of what free will is and how it is possible to be truly good. For he who is good by his own choice is truly good, while he who becomes good by another's compulsion is not truly good, because he is not what he is by his own choice. Since, then, each one's freedom produces what is truly good and reveals what is truly evil, God contrived that enmity or friendship should arise in each through the circumstances. "No," he says, "but everything we think, he himself makes us conceive." Stop. What more blasphemy do you utter, who say this? For if everything we think is energized by him, you are saying that he is the cause of fornications, debaucheries, covetousness, and every blasphemy. Stop slandering, you who ought to speak well and render every honor to him. And do not say, "God does not claim honor." For even if he himself claims nothing, yet we, looking to what is just, ought to repay with a grateful voice the one who has benefited us in all things. "But," someone says, "it is better

we do together with him and give thanks to all. But in saying these things you do not know the plot against you. For just as, when many physicians promise to treat a single patient who is ill, being able to do nothing, but one who is truly able to heal does not offer his own antidote, reasoning that if he heals, others claim the credit, so also God, being invoked along with many who can do nothing, does not bestow benefit. What then? (he says) Is God angry at this, if when he heals another claims the credit? I say, even if he is not angry, yet he does not wish to become an accomplice to deception. For if he bestows benefit and the idol that does nothing is believed to have power, that is confirmed. But I also say that if the one who is crazed for insensate things were not naturally harmed, perhaps he would have endured this as well; therefore be sober for the sake of salvation to understand what is reasonable. For God, being without need, himself requires nothing nor is harmed. It is we who are benefited or harmed. For just as Caesar is neither harmed when blasphemed nor benefited when thanked, but for the one who gives thanks there is safety, and for the one who blasphemes destruction, so those who praise God do not benefit him at all, but save themselves, and likewise those who blaspheme him do not wrong him, but are themselves destroyed. But (he says) it is not the same in the case of man and God. I agree with you that it is not the same. For the punishment is greater for the one who commits impiety against a greater being, and lesser for the one who sins against a lesser.

Therefore, just as God is greater than all, so too will the one who has committed impiety against him undergo greater punishment, having sinned against a greater being—not because God himself exacts vengeance by his own hand, but because all creation is indignant at this and naturally rises up against it. For the sun will not give its light to the blasphemer, nor the earth its fruits, nor the spring its water, nor will the ruler established there in Hades grant rest to his soul, since even now, while the world's term still stands, all creation is aggrieved. Hence the sky does not fully provide rains, nor the earth its fruits, and for this reason the majority are corrupted. Moreover, the air itself, kindled with wrath, changes into a pestilential mixture. Yet whatever good things we enjoy, by his own mercy he compels creation toward our benevolence. Thus, to you who dishonor the creator of all things, all creation is hostile. For even if you escape punishment through the dissolution of the body, how will you be able to flee with your soul, which is incorruptible, through corruption? For the soul is immortal even in the impious, for whom it would have been better not to possess it as incorruptible. For it is punished by the unquenchable fire with endless torment and, not dying, has no end to its own evil. But perhaps one of you will say: "You frighten us, Peter. So teach us how, by being silent, we will speak of things as they are; for we cannot signify them to you otherwise. If we are silent, you are ensnared by evils through ignorance; if we speak, we are suspected of frightening you on a false premise. How then shall we sing to the evil serpent lurking in your heart and cunningly sowing in you the suspicions that are hostile to God?

hand, but because the sinner’s own soul is corrupted by the magnitude of the offense. For the sake of your friendship with God, be reconciled with one another; for your salvation depends on taking refuge in him with beneficence. Enmity toward God in you is an irrational desire; for under the pretense of wisdom it strengthens ignorance. Others say, “God has not cared for us.” This too is false. For if he truly did not care, he would not cause his sun to rise upon both good and evil, nor bring his rain upon the just and unjust. Yet others say, “We are more pious, worshipping both him and the statues.” I do not think that if someone says this, he will say to a king, “I assign you the same honor as I do to corpses and to discarded dung.” I do not think he will get off well. But someone will say, “Do you call our objects of worship dung?” Yes, I say. For you have made them useless by counting them as objects of worship, whereas their substance perhaps served some other purpose, such as the use of dung. But now they are not even useful for that, since you have transformed them and worship them. How can you claim to be more pious, you who are the most impious of all, owing the destruction of your soul to this one incomparable sin, if you persist in the truth? For just as a son who, though receiving many benefits from his father, gives to someone else, not his father, the honor owed to his father, is certainly disinherited; but when he lives according to his father’s will and gives thanks for the benefits, he rightly becomes heir. Others say, “We will be impious if we abandon the objects of worship handed down to us from our fathers; for it is like guarding a deposit.

Therefore, by this reasoning, even if someone is the son of a robber or a man of shameful life, ought not the son, once he has come to his senses, choose the better course, so that he may not be impious and sin by doing the same things as his parents? How foolish, then, are those who say, "We worship these things so that we may not trouble him," as if God is troubled when he is praised, but not troubled when he is ungratefully blasphemed. Why, then, whenever there is a drought, do you all look to the sky and offer prayers and supplications? And when you obtain what you seek, do you quickly forget? For after reaping or gathering the vintage, you immediately offer the firstfruits to idols, which are nothing, quickly forgetting the God who benefited you. And thus, when you go into groves and temples, you perform sacrifices and feast. For this reason, some of you say, "These things have been well devised for the sake of comfort and feasting." O foolish ones, become just judges of what is said. For if it were necessary to give oneself over to bodily enjoyment here, what feast is better: that in rivers and woods and groves, where there are banquets and drinking parties and shady places, or that where there is the madness of demons, cuttings of hands, mutilations of genitals, frenzies, manias, flowing hair, boasts, enthusiasms, and ululations, and all those things done with hypocrisy to astound the foolish, so that you may offer your due prayers and thanksgivings and the dead to those even more dead? And why do you do these things with joy? Because the serpent lurking within does not wish to tell you, the serpent that sowed in you the fruitless desire, saying, "I will remind you." And it goes like this:

in the worship of God, it is proclaimed to be sober, to be temperate, to restrain anger, not to misappropriate the property of others, to live justly, equitably, steadily, gently, to chastise oneself rather in times of need than to be sated by unjustly taking from another. But among those called gods, the opposite occurs. And some things are commanded for the intimidation of justice, which, even if you do all the commandments, one ignorance of God is sufficient for the punishment against you. Moreover, gathering in the places given to them by you, you gladly get drunk and kindle altars, whose savor of burnt fat leads the blind and deaf spirits through the sense of smell to the place of their authority. And thus, of those there, some are filled with enthusiasms, others with strange foods, others turn to licentiousness, others to thefts and murders. For the exhalation of blood there and the libation of wines also stupefies the unclean spirits, which, dwelling within you, cause you to take pleasure in those things there and surround you with false visions through dreams and punish you with countless sufferings. For under the pretext of so-called sacred offerings, you are filled with grievous demons, who, escaping your notice, destroy you cunningly, so that you do not perceive their plot against you. For under the pretext of some injury or necessity or love or anger or grief, they remove you from life by hanging or drowning in water or throwing from a cliff or by suicide or apoplexy or some other passion. But none of us can suffer anything of the sort, but rather they are punished by us, whenever, entering into someone, they slowly beg us to depart.

But someone will perhaps say: "Some who are pious also fall into such passions." I say that this is impossible. For the pious person is the one I mean, the truly pious, not merely the one who is called so, but the one who truly is, who fulfills the commands of the law given to him. If someone acts impiously, he is not pious. In the same way, if a foreigner observes the law, he is a Jew; if he does not, he is a Greek. For the Jew, believing in God, performs the law, and through that faith he also removes the other passions that are like mountains and weigh heavily. But the one who does not perform the law clearly deserts from not believing in God, and thus, as a non-Jew, he is a sinner, and because of the sin he is overpowered by the passions established to punish those who sin, justly, according to the will of God determined from the beginning. Thus also for those who worship him, punishment follows on account of transgressions, which happens so that, having exacted the sin through torment as a debt, it may present those who have repented as pure at the judgment of all things. For just as for the wicked, pleasure here becomes a loss of eternal goods, so punishments are sent to Jews who transgress for the purpose of exacting payment, so that, having received the penalty for the transgression here, they may be freed from eternal punishment there. But you cannot say these things, for you do not believe that the things there exist as we say—I mean, where the recompense for all takes place. For this reason, being ignorant of what is beneficial, you are ensnared by temporary pleasures so as not to receive the eternal.

Therefore we attempt to provide you with proofs of what is beneficial, so that, being fully assured concerning the promises of piety through good deeds, you may be able together with us to inherit the sorrowless age. So, as long as you recognize that we speak the truth, do not be angry with us as though we were lying about the good things we wish for you. For we have not begrudged bringing to you what we have considered true and good, but on the contrary we have hastened to make you co-heirs of the good things we have deemed such. For thus one must speak to the unbelievers. But that we truly speak the truth concerning what we say, you will not be able to know otherwise unless you first listen with a love of truth. Therefore, for the present, even if the serpent lurking within you, having cast evil thoughts and distractions, wishes to ambush you a thousand times, nevertheless you ought, by contending rather with it, to listen to us continuously. For you who are greatly deceived must, when assembled together, know how to chant against it. Otherwise it is impossible. And by "chant" I mean to oppose its evil counsels with reason, remembering that from the beginning, by a promise of knowledge, it wrought death in the world. Hence the prophet of truth, seeing the world greatly deceived and united with evil, did not love peace with it as arising from error, because it finally brings wrath upon all who are of one mind with evil. But, setting knowledge in place of error, and casting into those who are sober, as it were, fire—the wrath against the one who ambushed—and holding forth a word like a sword, he destroys ignorance by knowledge, as if cutting and separating the living from the dead.

Now when vice was conquered by lawful knowledge, war held everything together. For the sake of salvation, a son yielded and separated from a disobedient father, or a father from a child, or a mother from a daughter, or a daughter from a mother, and in a word, relatives from relatives and friends from companions. And let no one say: How is this just, that parents be separated from children and children from parents? It is just, and entirely so. For if by remaining together they neither benefited them at all and perished along with them, how is it not just that one who wishes to be saved be separated from one who does not wish it, while one who wishes to perish and to cause perishing remains? Moreover, those who had understood the better did not themselves wish to be separated, but to remain together and to benefit them by instruction in better things; but the disobedient, not wishing to listen to them, themselves made war on them, separating, persecuting, hating. And those who suffered these things, pitying them as ensnared by ignorance, prayed with teaching of prudence for those who treated them badly, having learned that ignorance of the sin is the cause. For the Teacher himself, when nailed up, prayed to the Father that the sin be forgiven those who were killing him, saying: "Father, forgive them their sins, for they do not know what they do." Therefore, becoming imitators of the Teacher, they too, in what they suffered at the hands of those who treated them thus, prayed as they were taught. Thus they were not separated because they hated their parents, since they also made prayers for those who were not parents but had become enemies, and they try to love them as they were commanded. But tell me, you, how do you love your parents? If always with an eye to what is just, I join in prayer; but if as it happens, no longer.

For you can become enemies even over a small pretext. But if you love because you know, tell us what "parents" are. You will say: Founders of the race. Why then did you not love the race of all things, if you took it upon yourselves to do this with a just mind? But still you will say: We have not seen him. Why then do you flatter senseless things without seeking? What then? Even if it was difficult for you to know what God is, you could at least not fail to know what God is not, so that you might reason that God is not wood, not stone, not bronze, nor anything else made from perishable matter. For were they not carved by iron—and the iron that carved them was softened by fire—and is not the fire itself extinguished by water? And does not water have its motion from air—and does not the air have the beginning of its extension from God who made all things? For thus the prophet Moses said: "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. And the earth was invisible and unformed, and darkness was upon the abyss, and the spirit of God was borne upon the water." Which spirit, as God speaks, like his hand creates all things, separating light from darkness and after the invisible heaven spreading out the visible one, so that the upper regions might be inhabited by the angels of light, and the lower regions might be administered by man together with all things that came to be for his sake. For on your account, O man, God commanded the water upon the face of the earth to recede, so that the earth might be able to bring forth fruits for you—and he made springs, so that they might provide you with fountains and the beds of rivers might appear and animals might be cast forth—to speak concisely, so that all things might be able to serve you.

Or do not the winds blow for your sake to produce fruits, and rains come, and seasons change? Indeed, the sun and moon together with the other stars perform their risings and settings for your sake, and rivers and lakes together with the seas serve you. Hence, to you, the senseless one, just as the greater honor was given, so for your ingratitude the greater punishment by fire has been prepared, because you were unwilling to know whom you ought to have known before all else. But even now, from the lesser things, recognize the cause of all things, reasoning that water produces everything, and water receives its generation from the motion of the spirit, and the spirit has its origin from the God of all things. And thus you ought to have reasoned, so that you might be able to arrive at God by reason, that having recognized your origin and being reborn in the firstborn water, you might become an heir of the parents who gave birth to you for incorruption. Therefore, approach readily as a son to a father, so that God may attribute your ignorance as the cause of your sins. But if, even after being called, you are unwilling or delay, you will perish by the just judgment of God, being unwilled because you were unwilling. And do not think that, even if you become more pious than all the pious who ever lived, yet if you are unbaptized, you can ever obtain hope. For you will rather undergo greater punishment, because you did not do good works well. For good beneficence is when it is done as God commanded. But if you are unwilling to be baptized as seemed good to him, serving your own will, you are hostile to his will. But perhaps someone will say: What does being baptized with water contribute to piety? First, that you do what seems good to God.

Secondly, having been reborn from water to God, you reconcile the first birth that came to you from desire by means of fear, and thus you are able to obtain salvation; otherwise it is impossible. For thus the prophet swore to us, saying: "Truly I say to you, unless you are reborn in living water, in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." Therefore approach. For there is something there from the beginning, merciful, borne upon the water, and it recognizes those being baptized under the thrice-blessed appellation and rescues them from the coming punishment, as if offering gifts to God from the baptism of those baptized, their good deeds. Therefore flee to the water; for this alone is able to quench the onset of fire. He who does not yet wish to approach still bears the spirit of madness, on account of which he does not wish to approach "living water" for his own salvation. Approach then, whether you are just or unjust. For if you are just, only being baptized for salvation was lacking; if unjust, besides being baptized for the remission of deeds done in ignorance, there remains, according to the measure of impiety, the good deed toward baptism. Therefore, whether you are just or unjust, hasten to be born to God (since delay brings danger because the term of death is uncertain) by the father who gives you birth from water, having shown likeness through good deed, as a truth-lover honoring the true God as father. Honor to him is your living as he himself, being just, wills; the will of a just man is not to do injustice. Injustice is murder, adultery, hatred, greed, and things like these; and there are many forms of these.

But in addition to these things, one must contribute something which has no commonality with human beings but is particular to the worship of God. I mean being pure, not having intercourse with one's own wife when she is in a state of menstruation, because this the law of God commands. What then? If being pure were not reserved for the worship of God, would you not, like beetles, gladly wallow? Therefore, as human beings having something more than irrational animals (namely, being rational), cleanse your heart of evils with heavenly reasoning, and wash your body with a bath. For it is good to be pure in truth, not because bodily purity precedes the cleansing of the heart, but because purity follows upon the good. For our teacher also rebuked some of the Pharisees and scribes among us, who are set apart and know the legal ordinances more than others as scribes, yet he exposed them as hypocrites, because they purified only what is visible to men, neglecting the pure things of the heart, which are seen by God alone. He used this true utterance against their hypocrites, not against all. For he said that he also heeds some, because they were entrusted with the seat of Moses. But to the hypocrites he said: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of filth. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, so that their outside may also become clean." And truly: when the mind is illuminated by knowledge, the learner can become good, and purity follows upon this.

For from the inner mind comes the good care of the external body, just as from the body's insensibility the mind's care cannot arise. Thus the one who is pure can purify both the inner and the outer, but the one who cleanses the outer, looking to praise from people, does this and has nothing before God from the praise of those who observe. To whom does it not appear that it is better not to have intercourse with a woman when she is in her menstrual period, but after she has been purified and bathed? But also after communion one must be baptized. If you hesitate to do this, recall how you pursued the parts of chastity when you worshipped senseless idols. Be ashamed that here, where you ought to have taken on not the greater part, I say, but only and wholly the whole of chastity, you become more hesitant. Understand, then, the one who made you there, and you will realize who it is that here casts hesitation toward chastity into you. But one of you will say: Must we, then, do all that we did among the idols? I say to you: Not all, but all that you did well, and here more. For whatever is done well in error depends on the truth, just as if something were done badly in truth, it is from error. Take back, then, your own things from everywhere, not the things of others, and do not say: Whatever good the erring do, we ought not to do. For by this reasoning, if someone worshipping idols does not commit murder, we ought to commit murder, because the one in error does not commit murder.

No, but rather more: that if those in error do not murder, we should not even become angry—if the one in error does not commit adultery, we should not even entertain the thought—if the one in error loves the one who loves him, we should love even those who hate us—if the one in error lends to those who have, we should lend even to those who have not. In short, we who hope to inherit the infinite age must do better than the good works of those who know only the present age, knowing that if their works, when compared with our works on the day of judgment, are found equal in beneficence, we shall be put to shame, while they, through error, having done what is against themselves, will be destroyed. I have said "be put to shame" in this sense: that we did not do more than they, of whom we have greater knowledge. But if it is a shame to show beneficence equal to theirs and not greater, how much more so if we show less than their beneficence? And that indeed on the day of judgment the deeds of those who have known the truth are weighed equally with the beneficences of those who have erred, the truthful prophet himself taught us, saying to those who were negligent in coming and listening to him: "The queen of the south will rise up with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, there is more than Solomon here, and you do not believe." And to those among the people who did not wish to repent at his proclamation he said: "The men of Nineveh will rise up with this generation and condemn it, because when they heard, they repented at the proclamation of Jonah; and behold, there is more than Jonah here, and no one believes.

and thus, setting their every impiety against the deeds of those from the nations who had acted so as to condemn those in piety who had not done even an equal good to those in error, he admonished those who had reason not only to do good equally with the nations, but rather more. And my discourse flowed, taking its pretext from the necessity of preserving the menstrual seclusion and being baptized apart from communion, not to deny such chastity, even if those in error practice it, because those in error who do good without being saved are for the condemnation of those in piety; for the honor of their chastity is due to their error and not to the worship of the true father and god of all. Having said this, he dismissed the crowds and, as usual, partaking of salt with his closest friends, he rested. Thus, then, doing and discoursing each time, he made additions to the law of God according to its certainty, refuting those who held to supposed generation and that there is no automatism, but that the world is administered by providence. Then, when three months were completed, having ordered me to fast for days, he led me to the springs near the sea, and baptized me in ever-flowing water. Thus, then, our brothers having feasted at my god-given rebirth, after not many days, turning to the presbyters before the whole church, he commanded, saying: "Our Lord who sent us and our Prophet instructed us that the evil one, having debated with him for forty days and being unable to prevail against him, promised from among his own hearers to send apostles for deception.

Therefore, above all, remember to accept no apostle or teacher or prophet who has not first compared his proclamation with James, called the brother of my Lord, entrusted in Jerusalem with governing the church of the Hebrews, and who has not come to you with witnesses, so that the evil which disputed with the Lord for forty days and could accomplish nothing, later falling like lightning from heaven to earth against you, might not send forth a herald, as now it has thrust Simon upon us under a pretext of truth, proclaiming in the name of our Lord but sowing error. For this reason, the one who sent us said: "Many will come to me in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves; you will recognize them by their fruits." And having said this, he sent the forerunners to Antioch of Syria, saying that he would remain there next. Then, of those who traveled, Peter, having driven away diseases, sufferings, and demons from many convinced crowds, and having baptized them in the springs near the sea and broken the Eucharist, appointed Maroones, who had received him and was already perfect, as bishop, designated twelve presbyters, appointed deacons, established widows' funds, discoursed on the common benefit of the church, and advised obedience to Bishop Maroones. Now, three months having been completed, having taken leave of those in Tripolis of Phoenicia, he traveled the road to Antioch of Syria.

So then, having left Tripolis of Phoenicia, as if to go to Antioch of Syria, we stayed that same day in Orthosia, having arrived there. And because it was near the city we had left, and almost all had already heard the proclamation, we remained there one day and then set out for Antarados. Since many were traveling with us, Peter spoke to Nicetas and Aquila, saying: "Since a large crowd of fellow travelers draws no small envy upon us when we enter a city, I have necessarily considered how to ensure that these are not grieved by being prevented from being with us, nor that we, becoming conspicuous, fall prey to the envy of malice. For this reason, I wish you, Nicetas and Aquila, to go ahead of me in groups of two, scattered, learning how to enter the cities of the nations. I know that you are disheartened to do this, having heard that you will be separated from me by a distance of no less than two whole days. I want you to know, therefore, that we who have persuaded you love you who have been persuaded many times more than you love us who have persuaded. So, loving one another, let us, as far as it depends on us, take thought for the benefit, not acting unreasonably in what we wish. Moreover, you are not absent from any day of my discourse. For in the more notable cities of the provinces, I have resolved (as you also know) to stay and discourse for several days. And now, go ahead to Laodicea, which is nearest to us, and after two or three days (as far as my intention goes) I will overtake you. Wait for me at the gates, you alone, on account of the crowd, so that thus, entering together without noise, we may be with you.

And from there likewise, after staying some days, others in your place will go ahead to the regions beyond, preparing lodgings in turn. When Peter said this, they were compelled to agree, saying: "It does not greatly distress us, lord, to do this because it is commanded by you. First, because you, being worthy to think and advise well in all things, were chosen by the providence of God. In addition to this, we are left behind from you for the necessity of going ahead for at most two days. And these are many, not to see you, our lord Peter, but we reckon that those who are sent far ahead will be more grieved, as they are commanded to wait for you in each city for a longer time, distressed at being deprived for a longer period of seeing your beloved face. And we, no less despondent than they, as you command, do what is beneficial and do not object." Having said this, they went ahead, having an instruction to speak at the first inn to the crowd traveling with them, so that, being scattered from one another, they might enter the cities.

So when they had departed, I, Clement, rejoiced greatly that he had ordered me to be with him. And I answered and said: I thank God that you have not sent me away like the companions, since I would have been in pain and would have been undone. But he said: What then? If there should be some need for you to be sent somewhere for the sake of learning, would you, because you are separated from me for a short time, die for that reason? Would you not, by conversing with yourself, bear the things commanded you by necessity with equanimity? Or do you not know that friends are always together in memory, even if they are separated in body? Just as some, though together in body, are absent in soul from their friends because of forgetfulness. And I answered: Do not think, Lord, that I would suffer grief foolishly, but rather with a very correct reasoning. For since I have you, my Lord, in place of all—father and mother and brothers and relatives—you having become for me, through God, the cause of the saving truth, I have you in place of all and obtain the greatest comfort. Besides this, fearing also the natural desire of my youth, I was anxious lest, being separated from you, being a younger man, I might, however steadfast I am now, if by some wrath of God it were impossible to depart from you, become inferior to desire. But since it is much better and safer for me to be with you, to whom my mind has reasonably learned to pay reverence, therefore I pray always to be with you. In addition, I remember you saying in Caesarea: If anyone wishes to travel with me, let him travel piously.

You spoke piously in saying that one should not grieve anyone according to God, such as by leaving behind parents, a like-minded wife, or others devoted to piety. Hence I am in every way suitable to be your fellow traveler, to whom, even if you grant the greatest favors, you allow me to perform the services of slaves. And Peter, hearing this, said jokingly: What then do you think, Clement? That you have been placed by necessity itself in the position of a slave to me? For who will guard the fine and many linen garments along with the rings and sandals that accompany me? And who will prepare the pleasant and costly dishes, which, being varied, require many skilled cooks, and all those things that are prepared for the desire of effeminate men as for a great beast, procured from every kind of greed? However, such a purpose has perhaps entered you because you do not understand and are ignorant of my life—that I use only bread and olives, and rarely vegetables—and that my only garment and cloak is this very one I wear, and I have no need of another or of anything else; for in these I have more than enough. For my mind, seeing all those eternal goods there, looks at nothing here. Nevertheless, I accept your good intention and, admiring it, praise how you, a man coming from luxurious habits, have readily exchanged your own life for necessities. For we, from childhood (I and Andrew, who is my blood brother and brother according to God), having been brought up not only in orphanhood but also accustomed by poverty and hardship to labor, now easily bear the hardships of the roads.

Therefore, if you had obeyed me, you would have yielded to me, a working man, to fulfill the roles of servants for you. But when I heard this, I became trembling and tearful at what a man had said, a man whom all the people of the present generation are inferior to in the matter of knowledge and piety. And seeing me sharing his tears, he asked the cause. And I said, "What such wrong have I committed, that you should say such a thing to me?" And Peter answered, "If I have spoken wrongly in saying I would serve you, you were the first to err, by deeming it fitting for me to do this." And I said, "It is not the same; for it is entirely proper for me to do this, but for you, the herald of God who saves our souls, it is difficult to do this for me." And Peter answered, "I would have agreed with you, since our Lord, who came for the salvation of the whole world, being alone nobler than all, endured servitude, in order to persuade us not to be ashamed to perform the services of slaves for our brothers, even if we are very noble." And I said, "If I think I have defeated you in argument, I am foolish; but I am grateful to the providence of God that I have been deemed worthy to have you in the place of parents." And Peter inquired, "Is there truly no one of your lineage?" And I answered, "There are many and great men, being related to Caesar. Hence, for my father, as also for his foster-brother, Caesar himself joined a kinswoman as wife, from whom we three sons were born, two before me, who, being twins, were very similar to each other, as my father himself told me. For I know neither them nor the mother at all, but I recall their appearance dimly, as through dreams.

Now my mother was called Mattidia, and my father Faustus; and of the brothers, one was called Faustinus, and the other was called Faustinianus. When I was born to them as a third child, my mother had seen a dream (as my father related) that, unless she took her twin sons and left the city of Rome for a journey abroad for ten years, she would die together with them by a destructive fate. So my father, being fond of his children, after providing them sufficiently with male and female servants and putting them on a ship, sent them to Athens to be educated, and kept me alone as his only son for comfort with himself. And for this I am very grateful, because the dream had not commanded that I too leave the city of Rome with my mother. When a year had passed, my father sent money to Athens to his own people, and also to learn how they were faring. But those who went did not return. In the third year, my father, being disheartened, sent others similarly with provisions, who in the fourth year came back reporting that they had seen neither my mother nor my brothers, nor had they themselves sojourned in Athens, nor had they found even a trace of any of those who had gone with them. So my father, hearing these things and being stunned by great grief, and not knowing where to turn for a search for them, took me and went down to Portus, and inquired of many people more frequently where each of them had seen or heard of a shipwreck that had occurred in the last four years. And different people said different things. And he inquired further whether they had seen the body of a woman cast up with infants.

Now, while many were saying that they had seen corpses in many places, my father, hearing this, groaned. Yet, troubled in his heart, he asked irrationally, as if he were trying to search such a vast expanse of sea. Still, he was pardonable, because, through his affection for those he sought, he was fed with empty hopes. And once, after making me a ward and leaving me in Rome at twelve years old, he himself, weeping, went down to Portus, embarked on a ship, and set out on the search. And from then until this very day, I have received no letter from him, nor do I clearly know whether he is alive or dead. Rather, I suspect that he too has died somewhere, either overcome by grief or caught in a shipwreck. A proof of this is that it is now the twentieth year since then, from which time I have heard no certain truth about him. And Peter, hearing these things, wept out of compassion and immediately said to those truly present: "If someone had suffered these things in piety, as this man's father has suffered, he would at once attribute the cause to the doctrine of piety, ascribing it to the evil one. So it happens also to the wretched nations, that they suffer, and we who are pious are ignorant. And I have rightly called them wretched, because they wander here and do not attain the hope there. For those who suffer grievous things in piety suffer them as payment for transgressions.

When Peter said this, one of our company, taking courage on behalf of all, urged him to sail early the next morning to Aradus, the island opposite, which is, I think, not quite thirty stades away, for the sake of seeing the two vine-wood columns there of very great thickness. The compliant Peter agreed, saying, "When you disembark from the ship, do not all go together to see what you desire; for I do not want you to cause a disturbance among the citizens." And so, sailing, we reached the island in a moment. Disembarking from the boat, we went in where the vine-wood columns were; but at the same time, each of us was looking at something else of Phidias's works. Peter alone did not consider it necessary to go to see what was there, but, noticing a woman sitting outside before the doors begging for food, he said, "Woman, what limb are you lacking, that you have submitted to such disgrace (I mean begging), and why do you not rather, with the hands given you by God, work to provide your daily food?" She, groaning, answered, "Indeed, I once had hands able to serve; but now they preserve only the form of hands, being dead, tormented by my own bites." And Peter asked, "What is the cause of your suffering this hardship?" She answered, "Weakness of soul and nothing more; for if I had a courageous spirit, there was a cliff or the deep, from which I could have thrown myself and ceased the evils that pain me." And Peter said, "What then do you think, woman?

that those who kill themselves are either freed from punishment or punished with a worse punishment in Hades, and whether the souls of those who die in this way are punished for their suicide. And she said, "I was convinced that souls truly exist alive in Hades, and I loved the thought of dying, despising punishment, so that I might see my beloved ones, even for a single hour." And Peter said, "What is it that grieves you, woman? I wish to learn. For if you teach me, in return for this favor I will assure you that souls live in Hades, and instead of a cliff or the deep, I will give you a remedy so that you may be able to exchange life without torment." And the woman, not understanding what was said ambiguously, persuaded by the promise, began to speak thus: "I do not think I could ever persuade anyone to tell my lineage and homeland. But what difference does it make to you to learn this, or only the reason for which, in pain, I have mutilated my hands with bites? Nevertheless, I will relate my story as best I can for you to hear. I was of very noble birth, and by the command of some ruler, I became the wife of a man related to him by blood. And after having twin children, I had another son. But my husband's brother, no less mad, fell in love with me, wretched as I am, who greatly loved to be chaste.

And wishing neither to consent to the lover nor to disclose to my husband his brother’s passion for me, I reasoned that I might neither defile myself by committing adultery, nor insult my husband’s bed, nor make the brother an enemy to the brother, nor expose a great family to reproach before all—as I said, I resolved to leave the city with my twin children for a time, until the abominable love of the one who flattered me to my shame should cease. The other son, however, I left behind with his father for consolation. But to bring this about, I devised a dream to fabricate, as if someone had come to me by night and said: “Woman, at once with your twin children leave the city for a time, until I indicate that you should return here, lest together with your husband and all your children you suddenly come to a bad end.” So I did accordingly. For when I had falsely related the dream to my husband, he, becoming greatly alarmed, sent me by sea to Athens with the two sons, slaves, maidservants, and ample money to educate the sons, until (he said) it should seem good to the one who had given the oracle for you to return to me. So, sailing with my children, the wretched woman, cast by the disorder of the winds into these regions, when the ship broke up at night, I met with shipwreck. All having died, I, the unfortunate one, alone, cast by a violent wave upon rocks, sitting there, the miserable woman, in hope of finding my children alive, did not throw myself into the deep at that time when, having my soul intoxicated by the waves, I could easily have done so.

But when dawn came, crying out loudly and wailing piteously, I looked around, seeking the dead bodies of my wretched infants. So the local people took pity on me, and seeing me naked, first clothed me, then searched the depths, seeking my children. And when I found none of what I sought, for the sake of comfort some of the hospitable women came and each recounted her own misfortunes, so that I might receive consolation from similar calamity—which only grieved me more. For I said I was not so wicked as to be consoled by the misfortunes of others. And when many were urging me to go to their hospitality, one particular woman, very poor, by much insistence compelled me to come to her own dwelling, saying to me: "Take courage, woman; for my husband, being a sailor, died at sea while in the prime of his youth; and since then, though many have sought me in marriage, I have chosen to remain a widow, longing for my husband. We will share whatever we both can earn by our hands." And not to prolong the unnecessary words for you, I lived with her because of her love for her husband. And not long after, my wretched hands were paralyzed from the bites, and the woman who had received me, entirely bound by some affliction, lay prostrate in the house. Since the former pity of the women had waned, I