sense the Angels know, in must what be ignorant of God. 106 In exorcism all things acknowledge God's Might. BOOK 2. His own regions, and creatures of His, and preserved by In what Him? He might indeed be invisible to them, by reason of His excellency, but unknown He could in no wise be, by reason of His Providence. Yea, and however widely they might be separated from Him (as they say) in a downward line; yet, His Dominion being spread over all, they must needs have known Him ruling over them and have been aware of this at least, that He Who created them is Lord of all. For the combination in Him of Invisibility and Power helps all greatly to realize and perceive His most mighty and Almighty excellence. Wherefore, although no man knoweth the Father, save the Son, nor the Son, save the Father, and those to whom the Son hath revealed Him; yet thus much all know, the reason fixed in their minds acting upon them, and instructing them :-that there is One God, the Lord of all. S. Luke x. 22, S. Matt. xi. 27. § 2. Visible proof of their know exorcism. And for this cause all things submit, when appeal is made to the Most High and Almighty One: and by Invocation of Him, even before our Lord's Advent, men used to be saved ledge in both from the worst of spirits, and from all kinds of dæmons, and from the whole apostate Power. Not as though the earthly spirits or dæmons had seen Him, but because they knew of the existence of Him Who is God over all, the Invocation of Whom did and doth cause trembling in every creature, in Principality, and Power, and every inferior Virtue. Or shall we say, that while those who are subject to the Roman Empire, though they have never seen the Emperor, but are widely separated from him by sea and land, recognize, because of his dominion, him who has the chief place in sovereignty over them; the Angels on the other hand who were above us, or he whom they call Artificer of the world, fail to recognise the Almighty, when even dumb animals tremble and give way at that invocation? And they are all subject to the name of our Lord, though of course they have not seen Him: so also are they subject to the appellation of " Him Who made and ordered all," He being no other than the very Creator of the world. e e" Vocabulo." The Translator gave and word which stands for. E. as alternative renderings Appellation of In S. Irenæus' time the very Jews could practise it. 107 S. Luke And accordingly the Jews even to this day expel dæmons cf. by this very form of address, because all things fear, when xi. 19. He is invoked Who made them. § 3. Conse quent ab the notion norance. Except therefore they will have the Angels more irrational than the dumb animals, they will find that although they had not seen Him Who is God over all, yet they must needs surdity of have been aware of His Power and Dominion. For it will of the Angels' igseem ridiculous indeed, if they affirm themselves who are on earth, to know the God above all Whom they never saw; and suffer not Him Who by their account made them and all the world, being as He is in the highest and above the Heavens, to know what is known to themselves, whose place is in the regions below. Unless haply they say that the Deep whom they talk of is under the earth in Tartarus, and that accordingly they first knew him, before the Angels who dwell on high: going on to such great folly, as to pronounce the Artificer of the world beside himself. Yea, they are indeed to be pitied, affirming that he in so extreme madness knew neither his Mother, nor her seed, nor the Pleroma of the Eons, nor the First Father, nor what his own handyworks were but that they are images of the things which are within the Pleroma, the Saviour having secretly wrought upon him that they should be so made in honour of those who are on high. VII. honour Supra And so, whereas the Demiurge was ignorant of all, the CHAP. Saviour, they say, did honour to the Pleroma in the Creation § 1. which He wrought by that mother, emitting similitudes and So-called images of the things above. We however have shewn it real disimpossible that there should be any thing without the Ple- honour, roma, wherein they say the images of the Beings within the p. 15. Pleroma are formed: as also that this world should be framed by any but the First Deity. But if we took delight in overthrowing them on every side, and convicting them of falsehood, we might allege against them, That if things here were made by the Saviour in honour of things above, after their similitude, they ought to continue for ever, that the objects of honour might for ever receive that honour. But if they pass away, what is the use of this very short space of honour: 108 Supposed honour to Pleroma real dishonour. Book 2. of an honour which once was not, and again shall not be? At this rate we make out the Saviour to be rather a seeker of vain glory, than an honourer of the things above. For what honour to the eternal and everlasting things are those which are temporal? to the enduring, those which pass away? to the incorruptible, those which see corruption? Since even among men, who are but for a time, there is nothing delightful in that honour which quickly passes by, but in that which endures as long as possible. Whereas the things which are got rid of as soon as made, might be justly said to be made rather by way of insult to the supposed objects of honour and the eternal to be injuriously treated by the spoiling and scattering of its image. § 2. and very nothing. But what? except their Mother had wept, and laughed, and been at her wits' end, would the Saviour have lacked means of honouring His Fulness, because that utter state of confusion had no substance of its own, whereby to honour the First Father? O vain-glorious honour, presently passing away, and appearing no more! Suppose some on, in whose case no such honour is said to have been; then the things above will be unhonoured; or another Mother again must be sent forth, in tears and perplexity, for the honour of the Pleroma! O incongruous yea also blasphemous Image! Ye talk to me of an Image of the Only Begotten, emanating from the Maker of the world, and you will have it to be the Mind of the Father of all, yet that this Image knows not either itself or the creation; neither indeed doth it know the Mother, nor any whatsoever among existing things, and those which were made by Him. And do ye not blush against yourselves, making Ignorance extend even to the Only Begotten? if things here were made by the Saviour after the likeness of the things above; there being so much ignorance in him who is made after a certain pattern, the aforesaid ignorance must needs exist in and concerning Him also, in f" Extremæ confusionis non habentis propriam substantiam." Massuet says this is an Hellenism, the genitive case for the ablative absolute. For g "indissimilis:" which seems from the sequel of the section to be a false reading instead of dissimilis. 30 Eons too little to be images of all creation. 109 em simili.. whose likeness the ignorant one is made. It not being possible, when both are spiritual emanations, not framed, nor put together, that he should have preserved in some respects, but in others have marred the resembling image3, which was sent forth for this very end, to be like 3imaginthat emanation which is on high. Yea, and any want tudinis. of resemblance therein will be a charge brought against the Saviour, for producing an image without likeness, like an artist whose works will not stand the test. For they may not speak as though the Saviour, whom they affirm to be All, had not power over His own production. If then the Image be unlike, the artist is a bad one, and it is, by their account, the Saviour's fault. If on the other hand it be like, there will be the same ignorance found in the mind of their First Father, i. e., the Only Begotten: and the Father's Mind knew not either itself or the Father, nor yet the things made by Him. But if He knows, then the person whom the Saviour made in His likeness must also know the things which bear His likeness: and we do away with the greatest blasphemy they have in their rule. great to Eons for And moreover, how is it possible for all creatures that § 3. Variety of are, so various and many and past numbering, to be images things of those thirty ons which are within the Pleroma, the seen too same whose names (according to their statement) we have have 30 set down in the preceding book? And I say not the whole their oricreation in its variety, but even any single part, either gin, in the Heaven or the Earth or the Waters, will be found beyond their power to measure by the scanty reach of their Pleroma. For that their Pleroma consists of thirty ons, themselves bear witness: and that in any single portion of the aforesaid there are1, not thirty but many thousand kinds, should men enumerate them, every one whatever will affirm without qualification. How then may things of such manifold formation, existing in contrary natures, and mutually opposed, and one destroying another, be images b quoniam multa millia specierum esse, annumerantes eos, ostendere omnis quicunque confitebitur," The esse is rendered as if it were sunt, ac- 110 Things so various no image of One. BOOK 2. and similitudes of the thirty ons of the Pleroma, since these by their statement are of one nature, of equal and like origin, and have no difference? Whereas if one are images of the other, it must follow that as some men, they say, are naturally bad, others naturally good, so we might point out like differences in the very Æons, and say that some of them are naturally good emanations, others naturally bad, to make their contrivance of an image suitable to their ons. Once more, because there are in the world some things tame and others wild, some harmless, others mischievous and apt to spoil the rest: and again some earthly some watery, some in the air some in the heaven: in like manner they ought to maintain that their ons are affected in the same way, if at least the one are images of S. Matth. the other. Yea, and the "eternal fire which the Father XXV. 41. § 4. nor can things so the image prepared for the Devil and his Angels," they ought to to make out which it represents of the Eons that are above for it too is counted as part of the Creation. : But if they say, "Things here are images of the Thought of that on who suffered:" first they will be unlike be treating their mother with irreverence, ascribing to her of One: the beginning of evil and corruptible images. And next, how should things so many and unlike and contrary in nature be images of one and the same Being? Should they further say, that there are many Angels in the Pleroma, and that those many things are images of them; neither so will their scheme hold together. For first they must point out distinctions, mutual contrarieties, in the Angels subja of the Pleroma, even as the images depending on them are of a nature contrary to each other. Next, there being around the Creator many, yea innumerable Angels, as all Dan. vii. the Prophets set forth-ten thousand times ten thousand stand before Him, and many thousand thousands minister unto Him:-by their account again the Creator's Angels will be Images of the Angels of the Pleroma, and the entire Creation remains to be the image of the Pleroma, those thirty ons no longer proving adequate to the manifold variety of Creation. 4 centes 10. $5. Yet again if this set of things was made after the like |