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but they are not yet obedient,' ii they do not, having becomoentirely fres of reseniment, pray even for their enemies. It is Weli, then, for them to receive right dispositions homrepentanee, Whicli resulis in faith. For is the truth seems toget enemies Who enteriain bad foeling, yet it is not hostilo toany one. For God mahes His sun to shine on tho just andon tho uniust, and sent tho Lord Himself to the just and the unjust. And ho that carnestly strives to bo assimilated in God, in the exercise of great absence of resentinent, foroum sevenu times seven times, as it Wero ali his life through, and
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in ali his courae in this World that being indieated by the
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ealing, and do not eat that they may sive as a consequence,
that is, to conduci contra to the Covenant, becomes another
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junction. Such an one is Wholly a son, an holy man, passisnlms,
Ostio, perieci, formed by the teaching of the Lord; inorder that in deed, in Word, and in spirit iraeis, Ming brought
close to the Lord, he may receive tho mansion that is duo tohim Who has reached manhood thus. Let the specimen sumce to those Who have ears. For it is not required to utilald the mystery, but only to indicate Whatis sussicient for those Who ars partakers in lino ledge tobring it to mind; who also mill comprehend how it Was said
SINCE it comes nexi to reply to tho objections alleged againstus is Greelis and JeWs; and since, in somo of the questions previo ly discussed, the secis also Who adhere to other teach-
λ Μau. u.; sic. τέλειοι τελείως.
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obstacles besore us, and then, prepared thus for tho solutionos the dissiculties, to advance to tho succeeding Miscellany. Firat, then, they mahe this objection to us, saying, thatthey ought not to bellove on account of the discord os tho
told by tho Lord; and what Was predicted to take placecould not but happen. And the cause of this is, that everything that is fair is followed by a fovi biot. Is one, then,
violate his engagemenis, and go aside from the consessionWhich he mahes besore us, are We not to stich to the truthbecauso ho has belled his profession ' But as the good manmust not prove salse or sali to ratisy What he has promised,
although othors violato their engagementa; εο also are Webound in no Way to transgress the canon of the church. Andespecialty do me heep our profession in the most important inis, whilo they traverso it. Those, then, are to bo belleved, who hold fi ly to thotruth. And we may broadly malis use of this reply, and sayto them, that physicians holding opposite opinions accordingis their oWn schools, yet equalty in potnt os faci treat patients. Does one, then, Who is ill in body and needing treaiment,not have recourae to a physician, on accoluat of the different schoois in medicine Τ No more, then, may he who in foui issich and fuit os idols, mahe a pretexi of the herestes, in reia ence to the recovery of health and conversion to God. Further, it is said that it is on account os thoso that areapproved that heresios exist. - ho apostis calis amprovia,' either inose Who in maching faith apply to tho
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toaching os the Lord with some discrimination those are called shilsul in money-changere, Who distinguisti the spurio coin from the genuine by the false simp), or those Who haveaiready become approved both in lite and knowledgo.
For this reason, then, me require greater attention and eo
sideration in order in investigate hoW precisely We ought tolive, and what is the true pie . For it is plain that, irom tho very reason that truth is dissiculi and arduous os attainmon questions ariso from Which spring the heresies, favo ing of seinlove and vani , of those Who have not learned or apprehended truly, but Only caught up a mere conceit os knowledge. With the meater care, therelare, are me to examine the realtruth, which alone has for iis object the true God. And thotoit is follo ed by sweet discovery and reminiscence. on account os the heresies, thereiore, the toti os discovery must M underlahen; but me must not at ali abandon thotruthJ. For, on fruit being set besore us, fome real andripe, and some made os Wax, as like the real as possibi' κε are not to abstain irom both on account os the resemblance. But by the exercus os the apprehension os contemplation, and is reasoning of the most decisive character, me must distinguish the true fram the seeming. d as, whilo there is one royal highWay, there are mavothera, some leading to a precipice, some in a rushing riveror is a deep sea, no one Will shrink srom travelling is reason of the diversi , but Will mahe me os the fase, and royal, and frequented Way; so, though some say this, some that, comcerning the truth, Wo must not abandon it; but must sein
Having then trom nature abundant means for examining the statementa made, Me ought in discover the sequenco os inotruth. Whereiore also me are rightly condemned, is Wo do notassent to What We ought to obey, and do not distinguish whatis hostile, and unseemly, and unnaturat, and false, from Whatis true, consistent, and Memly, and according to natum.
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And these means must be employed in order to attain to the knowledgo of the reia truth. This pretexi is then, in the case of the Greeks, sutilo; forthose Who aro Willing may find tho truth. But in tho case
tion is unans erable. For Whether do they deny or admitthat thero is such a thing as demonstration ' Ι am os opinionthat ali mill maho tho admission, except those Who take aWay the senses. There boing demonstration, then, it is necessaryto condescend is questions, and to ascertain is Way Oidemonstration by the Scriptures themselves how tho heresi erred, and hoW in the truth alone and in the ancient church
W, of those Who diverge from tho truth, somo attempt todeceive themselves alone, and somo also their neighboura. Those, then, Who are called δοξοσοφοι wise in their own opinions, who thinh that they have sound tho truth, but havono true demonstration, deceive themsolves in thinhing thatthey have reached a resting-place. And of whom there is no inconsiderable multitude, who avoid investigations for fear of refutations, and shun instruction sor fear of condemnation. But thoso Who deceive those Who seeli access to them are Very astute; Who, amare that they know nothing, yet darhentho truth with plausibie arguments. But, in my opinion, the nature of plausibie arguments is ofone character, and that of true arguments os another. AndWe know that it is necessary that the appellation of the herestes should be expressed in contradistinction to the truth; smm Which the Sophista, dra ing certain things for the d struction os men, and burying them in human aris invented
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SCRIPTURE THE CRITERION BY WHICH TRUTH AND HEMSYARE DISTINGUISHED.
BUT those Who are ready to toti in the most excellent purauita, mill uot desist smin the search astor truth, tili they get ilis
demonstration from the Scriptures themselves. There are certain criteria common to men, as the senses;
and others that belong to those Who have employed their Willsand energies in What is true,-ste methods whicli are pursued by the mind and reason, to distinguisti belWeen true and falso propositionS. NoW, it is a very great thing to abandon opinion, by takingone's stand belween accurate knowledge and the rash wisdomos opinion, and to know that ho who hopes for evertastingrest knows also that the entrance to it is totisomo μ and strai t.' And let him who has once received the gospei, eVenin the very hour in Whicli ho has come to the knowledge of salvation, not turn bach, liho Loes Wise,' as is sald; and lethim not go bach sithor to his tormer liso, Whicli adheres to thethings of sense, or to heresies. For they Iom the character,not knowing tho truo God. For he that loveth sather ormother more than me, the Father and Teacher of the truth, Who regenerates and creates aneW, and nourishes the elect foul, is not morthy of me V-He means, to bo a son os God anda disciplo os God, and at the fame time also to be a friend, and of hindred nature. For no man who looks bach, and
pura his hand to the plough, is fit for the hin om os God.
Mary, on account of the blath of her child, as having been in the puerperat state, although she Was not. For some saythat, aster sile brought forth, she Was found, When examined, to be a Virgin. Now such to us are tho Scriptures os tho Lord, whichgivo birili to the truth and continue virgin, in the conceau
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is true and salse, strictly trained in select What is essentiat.
Circe, come a beast; so he, Who has spurned the ecclesia tical tradition, and darted off to the opinions of heretical men, has ceased to be a man os God and to remain salthsul to tho Lord. But ho who has returned hom this deception, Onhearing tho Scriptures, and turned his life to the truth, is, asit Were, Dom being a man miae a God. For e have, as the foures of teaching, the Lord, both by the propheta, the Gospei, and the blessed apostles, in diversmanners and at fundry times, y leading from tho boginningos knowledge to the end. But ii one should suppose thatanother origin Was required, then no longer truly could an origin be preserved. Ηe, thon, who os himseli belleves the Scriptum and voles
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a criterion in tho discovery of things. What is subjected tocriticism is not belloved titi it is so subjected; so that What needs criticism cannot be a first principie. Thereiore, as is reasonabis, grasping by faith the indemonstrabie fidit principie, and receiving in abundance, hom the first principie irael demonstrations in reseretice to the first principio, WH Me by the voico os the Lord trained up to the knowledgo os the truth.
ment by them, Who might equalty state the opposite. Butis it is not enough merely to state the opinion, but ii What is
stated must be confirmed, Wo do not mali sor the testimony of men, but me est listi the matter that is in question by tho voice of the Lord, whicli is the furest os ali demonstrations, or rather is the only demonstration ; in Which knowledgothose who have merely tasted the Scriptures are bellavere ;While thoso who, having advanced further, and become correctexpounders of the truth, are Gnosiim. Since also, in What pertains to lise, crafismen are superior to Ordinary people, and modet what is beyond common notions; so, consequently, ΗΘ also, giving a complete exhibition of the Scripturos frem the Scriptures themselves, imm satili persuade by demonstration. And is thoso also who follow herestes ventum in avail them-selves of the prophetic Scriptures; in tho fidit place they Willnot maho uso os ali the Scriptures, and then they Will not quoto
them entire, nor as the body and textum os prophe prescribe. But, selecting ambiguous expressions, they Wrest them totheir own opinions, gathering a seW expressions here and there; not looking to the sense, but mahing use of the meremords. For in almost ali the quotations they mahe, you Willfind that they attend to the names alone, While they alter tho meanings; neither knowing, as they affirm, nor using the quotations they adduce, according to their true natum.
But tho truth is not iound by changing the meanings Arso peopte subvert ali true inaching), but in the consider tion of What persectly belongs to and becomes the SovereignGod, and in establishing each Ons os the potnis demonstrated in the Scriptures again hom similar Scriptures. Neither, then, do they Want to turn to the truth, being ashamod to