Catharism

The Way of Purity

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 The Book of the Two Principles

(GLWRULDO Notes

The Book of the Two Principles is the largest surviving work of Cathar
literature. It provides an important witness to the sophistication of Cathar
argumentation against orthodox theology -- a debate in which the Good
Christians prevailed, at least in the contemporary judgment of a large
portion of the population of Southern France during the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries. It should be remembered that the Good Christians
dominated the argument and won the heart of Languedoc; it was a
genocidal and generation-long crusade against them by Pope and Kings
that they lost.

The work is composed of seven sections, all probably written in the early
thirteenth century by an Italian Cathar. The most likely author is
identified as John of Lugio, a "True Christian" who lived in the vicinity of
Lake Garda (between Brescia and Verona) around 1240. In the fourteenth
century the manuscript fell into orthodox hands, and remained in
Dominican monastic libraries until being transferred in modern times to
the Biblioteca Nazionale in Florence. It was first published in 1939 -- after
six hundred years of suppression.

Whoever the author, he was very well-read and a skillful debater. It is

obvious he was thoroughly familiar with the Latin Vulgate Bible and with
the arguments used by Catholic polemicists against the Cathars. In
evidence of the erudition of its author, the treatise has been noted to
include citations from Roman law, a pseudo-Aristotelian work, and
phrases from the writings of Solomon ibn Gabirol, the eleventh century
Andalucian Jewish philosopher. The author explains his purpose in his
introduction:

Since many persons are hampered in rightly understand the

truth, to enlighten them, to stimulate those who do have right
understanding, and also for the delight of my soul, I have
made it my purpose to explain our true faith by evidence from
the Holy Scriptures and with eminently suitable arguments,
invoking to my efforts the aid of the Father, of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit.

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This is a long text (about 35,000 words in translation); it is presented here
as one single document. This version is closely based on the translation
appearing in: Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans, Heresies of the High
Middle Ages (2nd ed., New York: Columbia University Press, 1991), p.
511ff. The text presented below includes a few minor corrections and
occasional minor changes in phrasing (and probably a few new typos). We
recommend serious students consult the published edition, which has
extensive notes that are not reflected in this online edition.

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The Book of the Two Principles
Part 1. On Free Will

[1] Here Begins the Book of the Two Principles. ¬¬¬Since many persons
are hampered in rightly understand the truth, to enlighten them, to
stimulate those who do have right understanding, and also for the delight
of my soul, I have made it my purpose to explain our true faith by
evidence from the Holy Scriptures and with eminently suitable
arguments, invoking to my efforts the aid of the Father, of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit.

[2] On the Two Principles.¬ ¬¬¬To the honor of the Most Holy Father, I wish to
begin my discussion concerning the two principles by refuting the belief
in one Principle, however much this may contradict well-nigh all religious
persons. We may commence as follows: Either there is only one First
Principle, or there is more than one. If, indeed, there were one and not
more, as the unenlightened say, then, of necessity, He would be either
good or evil.. But surely not evil, since then only evil would¬ proceed from
Him and not good, as Christ says in the Gospel of the Blessed Matthew:
"And the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit."¬ And the Blessed
James says in his Epistle: "Doth a fountain¬ send forth out of the same hole
sweet and bitter water? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear grapes; or the
vine, figs? So neither can the salt water yield sweet."

[3] On the Goodness of God. ¬¬¬Now, our opponents¬ are clear in their
assertion that God is good, holy, just, wise, and true; that He is also called
pure goodness and is above all praise, as they seek to prove by the
following citations¬ and many others of like nature. For Jesus the son of
Sirach says: "Glorify the Lord as much as ever you can, for He will yet far
exceed, and His magnificence is wonderful. Blessing the Lord, exalt Him
as much as you can, for He is above all praise."¬ And David says "Great is
the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and of His greatness there is no end";¬
and again, "Great is our Lord, and great is his power; and of His wisdom
there is no number."¬ And Paul says to the Romans: "O the¬ depth of the
riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How
incomprehensible are His judgments and how unsearchable His ways,¬
and so on. And in the Liber de causis is written, "The first cause is far
greater than can be described."

[4] That God Knows All Things from Eternity.¬ ¬¬¬Whence they stoutly affirm
that God knows all things from eternity because of the greatness of His

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wisdom; that all the past, the present, and the future are always before
Him and He knows all things before they come to pass, as says Susanna in
the Book of Daniel, "O eternal God, who knowest hidden things, who
knowest all things before they come to pass."¬ And Jesus, son of Sirach,
says, "For all things were known to the Lord God before they were
created; so also after they were perfected He beholdeth all things."¬ And
the Apostle writes to the Hebrews, "Neither is there any creature invisible
in His sight, but all things are naked and open to His eyes.

[5] On the Goodness, Holiness, and Justice of God.¬ ¬¬¬It is clearly

demonstrated, moreover, that our Lord God is good, holy, and just, as is
said above. For David says: "How good is God to Israel, to them that are
of a right heart";¬ and again, "The Lord is faithful in all His words and holy
in all His works";¬ and again, "The Lord is sweet and righteousness;
therefore He will give a law to sinners in the way"; and again, God is a just
judge, strong and patient; is He angry every day?" And in the Book of
Wisdom it is written, "For so much then as thou art just, Thou orderest all
things justly."

[6] On the Omnipotence of God.¬ ¬¬¬For the Lord is called omnipotent, as our
opponents avow, and He can do whatsoever pleases Him; nor can anyone
resist Him," or say, "Why dost Thou so?" As Ecclesiastes says: For He will
do all that pleaseth Him and His word is full of power; neither can any
man say to Him: 'Why dost Thou so?' "¬ And David says, "But our God in
heaven; He hath done all things whatsoever He would," And in the
Apocalypse is written: "Saith the Lord God, who is and who was, and who
is to come, the Almighty." And again, "Great and wonderful are Thy
works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Thy ways, O King of
Ages! Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and magnify¬ Thy name? For Thou
only art holy."

[7] On the First Proposition, against My Opponents.¬ ¬¬¬At this point I take
issue with the thesis (sententiam) of those who assert that there is only one
First Principle. For I say: Assume that God—who is good, just, holy, wise,
righteous, "faithful in all His words, and holy in all His works," who is
almighty and knows all things before they come to pass, as I have shown
above—created and arrayed His angels as He chose from the beginning
through Himself alone and without any apparent extraneous compulsion
from anyone; and assume, further, that that He knew the fate of all His
angels before they came into being, because within His providence existed
all the causes for which those angels must be found wanting in the future
and must remain for all time things of evil and demons in His sight, as
nearly all our opponents say: then, without doubt, it follows ineluctably

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that those angels could never remain good, holy, or humble with their
Lord, in whose power of necessity all things occurred from eternity,
except to the extent to which God himself had knowledge from the
beginning. For one who knows fully all things that shall come to pass is
powerless, in so far as he is self-consistent, to do anything except that
which he himself has known from eternity that he shall do. This I prove.

[8] On Impossibility.¬ ¬¬¬For I say that just as it is impossible for that which is
past not to be in the past, so it is impossible for that which is in the future
not to be in the future. This is especially true in God, who from the
beginning understood and knew that which would come to pass, so that
existence as something still to come was possible for an event before it
occurred. It was without doubt necessary that the future its( II should
exist wholly in Him, because He would know and understand from
eternity all the causes which are required for bringing the future to
fruition. And it is the more true since, if there is only one First Principle,
God himself is the sole cause of all causes; and above all if it is fact, as the
opponents of truth assert, that God does whatever pleases himself and His
might is not affected by anyone.

I say further: If God understood all things from the beginning and knew
that His angels would in the future become demons, because of the
character which He himself gave them from the beginning (because all the
causes which would make those angels become demons in the future
arose entirely within His providence and it did not please God to make
them otherwise than He did), it of necessity follows that the afore- said
angels could never in any way have avoided becoming demons. And this
is particularly true because it is impossible that anything which God
knows to be future may be in any way changed so that it does not come to
pass in the future—above all, in Him who from eternity knows the future
completely, as we have just seen explained.

How, then, can the unlearned say that the aforesaid angels could remain
good, holy, and humble with their Lord for all time, since it was from
eternity utterly impossible in God? They are therefore by the most valid
reasoning forced to confess that, in accordance with their thesis God
knowingly and in full awareness created and made His angels of such
imperfection from the beginning that they could in no way escape evil.
And so God himself, of whom the words good, holy, just, wise, and
righteous were used above, who is above all praise, as was previously¬
declared, was the whole cause and origin of all evil—which is obviously
to be denied. For this reason we are required to acknowledge two

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principles. One is good. The other is evil, the source and cause of the
imperfection of the angels and also of all evil."

[9] A Reply to the Foregoing.¬¬¬¬But perchance someone will say: The wisdom
and providence which God himself had from the beginning, induced in
His own creatures no unavoidable necessity to do good or to do evil. For
this, perhaps, they might offer an illustration thus: If a certain man in a
mansion should see another man walking of his own free will along a
way," one might perchance say that it is not the wisdom nor the foresight
of him in the mansion which makes the other man walk along the way,
even though the former is fully cognizant of and sees the way the other is
going.

So with God. Although He knew fully and foresaw from eternity the fate
of all His angels, His wisdom and providence did not make His angles
become demons, but they became demons and things of evil by their own
will, because they did not wish to remain holy and humble before their
Lord, but wickedly puffed themselves up in pride against Him.

[10] Rejection of the Preceding Illustration.¬ ¬¬¬One must in truth reject this
very misleading illustration. Since God in himself was—in the view of our
opponents—from the beginning wholly the cause of all His angels, they
indubitably derived exclusively and essentially from Him, in a way that
was pleasing to Him, the character, the formation or creation, which God
himself gave them. And, according to these persons, that which the angels
were, they were through Him wholly, in all their causes which made it
inevitable for them to become demons in the characteristics, nor did they
derive anything at all from any other than Him alone, nor did it please
their God to create or make the angels otherwise from the beginning. For
these persons believe that had He so wished, He could most easily have
made them otherwise. And so it seems clear that God did not seek to
make His angels perfect from the beginning, but knowingly and in full
awareness endowed them with all future. This was, of necessity, within
the power of God, in whom all things occur inevitably from eternity.
Whence, the assertion that the wisdom or providence of God did not
cause His angels to become things of evil and demons is not valid in the
same sense as is the statement that the foresight of the man in the mansion
did not cause the other man to walk a long the way. Above all, this is true
because he who walked along the way is not the creature of him who is in
the mansion, nor does he have his being or even his strength from him.
But if one had his strength from the other and all the causes whatsoever
which were necessary for completion of that journey—just as the aforesaid
angels, according to the belief of our opponents, had them from their God

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—it would be untrue to say that the foresight of the man in the mansion
did not make¬ the other man walk along the way, for it is clear that the
latter would walk only because of the former, as is most plainly explained
above with reference to God. And so no man can rationally condemn
those angels when, owing to the character which they had from their
Lord, they could do no other than they did. In the same way that an
Ethiopian cannot change his skin or a leopard his spots, because of the
nature which they have from their maker, so the angels, if we accept the
belief of our opponents, could in no way avoid evil, because of the
character which their God gave to them from the beginning. This is a most
wicked belief.

But now our opponents may, if they can, eagerly try another way of
escape. For they plainly say: Had He wished it, God might well from the
beginning have made His angels of such perfection that they would have
been quite unable to sin or to do evil, and this on three counts, which are
that He is almighty, that He knows all things from eternity, and that His
omnipotence is not qualified by anyone. But God was not willing to make
them of such perfection; and they advance this reason: If God had from
the beginning made His angels of such perfection that they could commit
no sin or evil of any kind but inevitably must obey their

Lord, the Lord himself would have given them no thanks for their
obedience or service. For thus God could say to them: I give you no thanks
for your service, since you cannot act otherwise. Perhaps our opponents
might offer an illustration of this point: If a certain lord had a servant
"who knew the will of his lord" in all things and could do nothing at all
except follow it, this lord they say, would give no thanks at all to his
servant for his service, because the latter would be unable to act
otherwise.

[11] On the Free Will of the Angels. ¬¬¬And thus, they say, God created His
angels of such nature from the beginning that they could at their pleasure
do good or evil; and they call this "free will" (liberum arbitrium) or,
according to some of them, "choice" (arbitrium), to will a certain free
strength or power by which he to whom it is given is equally capable of
good or evil. And so they insist that God in reason and justice could allot
glory or punishment to the angels; that is to say, they might receive
punishment because they were able to do good and did not. Thus God
could reasonably say to them: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess
you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I
was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me to
drink," 1 and so on. This is as if He were to say:You were able to refrain

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from giving but because you gave, there-fore do you in reason and justice
possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Then, on the other hand, the Lord himself could reasonably say to sinners:
"Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for
the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me not to eat, I
was thirsty and you gave me not to drink,” and so on. This is as if He were
to say: You were able to give and did not; therefore, by reason and justice
will you go to the fire eternal. For, they say, if they had no power at all to
give Him to eat or drink, by what reason could the Lord himself have said
to them, "for I was hungry and you gave me not to eat, I was thirsty and
you gave me not to drink," and so on? Therefore, they affirm, God did not
wish to create His angels perfect, that is, of such perfection that they were
quite unable to sin or to do evil, for the Lord himself would have shown
them no favor for their service, as has already been said.

¬They also say that God was not willing to create the angels of such nature
that they could always do only evil and not good, because the aforesaid
angels could reasonably excuse themselves, saying: We were unable to do
anything but evil because of the character which you gave us from the
beginning. So they say that God created His angels of such character from
the beginning that they could do good and evil. As a result the Lord
himself could reasonably judge His angels, in that they were able to sin
and had not sinned, or they could refrain from sin and had sinned. And
thus our opponents unwisely exult at our expense.

[12] Refutation of the Thesis of Our Opponents. ¬¬¬I shall now clarify what has
just been said, namely, their declaration that if God had made His angels
perfect from the beginning, in such perfection that they would have been
unable to sin at all or to do evil, the Lord would have given them no
thanks for their service because they would have been unable to do
otherwise. I am convinced that their statement greatly strengthens my
position. For if God shows favor to anyone for his service, this seems to
me necessarily to follow: namely, that there is ¬something wanting to God
and to His will, that He wishes for and desires something done which
does not yet exist, or that He desires to have what He does not have. And
so, pursuant to this, it seems that we can serve God by fulfilling what is
wanting to His will or by rendering to Him something which He needs
and desires, either for Himself or for others, as the Gospel text quoted
above clearly implies, to wit: "For I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I
was thirsty and you gave me to drink," and so on; and again, "As long as
you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me."¬ And again,
Christ said to Jerusalem, "How often would I have gathered together thy
children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou

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wouldst not?"¬ And the Lord, speaking through Ezechiel to Samaria, says,
"Thy uncleanness is execrable. Because I desired to cleanse thee and thou
art not cleansed from thy filthiness."¬ From this it seems manifest that the
will of God and of His Son, Jesus Christ, was not then wholly fulfilled.
This would be impossible, were there only one First Principle, good, holy,
just, and perfect.

Hence, this is the basis on which we can serve God and Christ, when we
carry out their will with the aid of the true Father, namely, by alleviating
hunger and other hurtful things among the creatures of the good Lord.
Then the Lord himself may thank us for fulfilling that which He wishes
for and desires to exist. And this seems to uphold my thesis, for neither
God nor man can desire or wish anything unless first He have that which
He does not desire and which troubles Him, either on His own account or
on another's behalf. In particular, to declare that this Principle could be
burdened with anything which He does not desire, and that there could
be something which could trouble Him and make Him sorrowful on His
own behalf or for others seems quite in contradiction to the position of
those who say that there is only one First Principle, whole and perfect.

[This could not be]¬ unless He were divided against Himself, harmful to
His very self and His Son, that is to say, by Himself alone without
extraneous compulsion from anyone doing that which would be wholly
contrary to Himself and to His own in the future, that which would make
Him sad, sorrowful, and dolorous. For that Lord who, according to our
opponents, created male and female and all other living things says in
Genesis, "And being touched inwardly with sorrow of heart, he said, 'I
will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth, from
man even to beasts, from the creeping thing even to the fowls of the air,
for it repenteth me that I have made them."¬ This the true God most
certainly would not do in and of himself, were there but one First
Principle, holy and perfect. However, the above text can be interpreted as
though He said: There is another, a principle of evil, which makes my
heart to sorrow by so acting against my creation that it compels me to
destroy the created from the face of the earth because of their sins. This
principle makes me repent that I made them, that is to say, [makes me]
suffer on their account. On the other hand, following the doctrine of one
Principle, the text is best understood thus: It repenteth me that I have
made them; namely, I shall have to undergo suffering and pain in the
future, through myself alone, because I made them. And so it seems
manifest, according to the doctrine of those persons who believe that there
is only one First Principle, that this God and His Son, Jesus Christ, who,
according to them are one and the same, causes Himself sadness, sorrow,

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and suffering, bearing pain in Himself without any extraneous
intervention by anyone. But it is impossible and wicked to believe this of
the true God.

[13] On the Principle of Evil.¬ ¬¬¬Therefore, it behooves us of necessity to

confess that there is another principle, one of evil, who works most
wickedly against the true God and His creation; and this principle seems
to move God against His own creation and the creation against its God,
and causes God himself to wish for and desire that which in and of
himself He could never wish for at all. Thus it is that through the
compulsion of the evil enemy God yearns and is wearied, relents, is
burdened, and is served by His own creatures. Whence God says to His
people through Isaiah: "But thou hast made me to serve with thy sins,
thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities";¬ and again, "I am weary of
bearing them."¬ And Malachi says, "You have wearied the Lord with your
words."¬ And David says, "And [he] repented according to the multitude
of His mercies."¬ And the Apostle says in his first Epistle to the
Corinthians, "For we are God's coadjutors."¬ Of the compulsion of God,
however, the Lord himself says to Satan in the Book of Job, "But thou hast
moved me against him, that I should afflict him without cause."¬ And
through Ezechiel the same Lord says, "And when they caught the souls of
my people, they gave life to their souls. And they violated me among my
people, for a handful of barley and a piece of bread, to kill souls which
should not die and to save souls alive which should not live."¬ And the
Lord, lamenting over His people, says through Isaiah: "Because I called
and you did not answer; I spoke and you did not hear, and you did evil in
my eyes, and you have chosen the things that displease me." "

And so it appears plainly that this concept of how one may serve God
buttresses my argument. For if there were only one First Principle, holy,
just, and good, as has been declared of the true Lord God in the foregoing,
He would not make Himself sorrowful, sad, or dolorous; neither would
He bear pain in himself, nor grow weary or repent, nor be aided by
anyone, nor be burdened with the sins of anyone, nor yearn or wish for
anything to be done which was delayed in coming to pass, since nothing
at all could be done contrary to His will; nor could He be moved by
anyone or injured, nor could there be anything which would trouble God,
but all things would obey Him from overwhelming necessity. And most
especially would this be true because all things would be by Him and in
Him and of Him," in all their dispositions, if there were only one First
Principle, holy and just, as I have shown above in discussing the true God.

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[14] On Service to God.¬¬¬¬From this comes the basis for our service to God,
in that we may fulfill His works, or rather, that God may con- summate
through us that which He proposes and wishes to be done. In this wise He
achieved salvation of His• people through the Lord Jesus, although Christ
did nothing good through himself or even by free will. For He said of
himself: "I cannot of myself do anything";¬ and again, "But the Father, who
abideth in me, he doth the works." " And so, we serve God when we fulfill
His will with His help, not that we are able through free will to do
anything good of which He himself is not the cause and principle. Thus,
the Blessed James says in his Epistle, "Every best gift and every perfect gift
is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights." " And in the
Gospel of John, Christ says, "No man can come to me except the Father,
who hath sent me, draw him."¬ And of himself, He said: "I cannot of
myself do anything. As I hear, so I judge";¬ and again, "But the Father, who
abideth in me, he doth the works."¬ And the Apostle says to the Ephesians:
"For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for
it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man may glory." " And the same
Apostle says to the Romans, "So then it is not of him that willeth nor of
him that runneth but of God that showeth mercy.

"Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work
in you will perfect it unto the day of our Lord Christ Jesus";¬ and again,
"For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to accomplish,
according to His good will."¬ And in his second Epistle to the Corinthians
the same Apostle says: "And such confidence we have through Christ
toward the Lord. Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves
as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God, who also hath made us fit
ministers of the new testament, not in the letter but in the spirit. For the
letter killeth, but the spirit quickeneth."¬ And John the Baptist said, "A
man cannot receive anything unless it be given him from heaven."¬ And
David says: "Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build
it. Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it." "
And Jeremiah says, "I know, O Lord, that the way of a man is not his,
neither is it in a man to walk and to direct his steps."¬ And Paul says to the
Corinthians, "But by the grace of God I am what I am." " And in the
parables of Solomon it is written: "Counsel and equity is mine, prudence is
mine, strength is mine By me kings reign, and lawgivers decree just
things. By me princes rule and the mighty decree justice";¬ and again, "The
steps of a man are guided by the Lord; but who is the man that can
understand his own way." " And in the Gospel of Matthew, Christ says:
"All things are delivered to me by my Father; and no one knoweth the Son
but the Father, neither doth anyone know the Father but the Son and he to
whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him."¬ And in the Gospel of John,

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He says of himself: "I am the way, the truth, and the light. No man cometh
to the Father, but by me";¬ and again, "For without me you can do no-
thing."¬ And in the Gospel of the Blessed Luke, He says, "Strive to enter by
the narrow gate; for many, I say to you, shall seek to enter and shall not be
able."

[15] On Destroying the Concept of Free Will.¬ ¬¬¬From this it is quite evident
that we cannot serve God by doing anything good by free will, as a result
of which He would give thanks to us as if for our own individual strength
and power—that is, a good of which He is not the cause and principle, as
was plainly pointed out above. And most especially is this so because we
have no powers at all of ourselves, as the Blessed Peter says in the Acts of
the Apostles, in regard to the lame man made whole: "Ye men of Israel,
why wonder you at this or why look you upon us, as If by our own
strength or power we had made this man to walk?" This is as if he had
said: Not we but "the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob" did this.

And so it clearly seems that whatever of good is found in the creatures of

God is directly from Him and of Him," and He brings the good into being
and is its cause, as was explained above. If evil, however, is found in the
people of God," it is not truly from God himself, nor of Him, nor does He
bring it into being, nor was He nor is He its cause, as Jesus the son of
Sirach says, "He hath commanded no man to do wickedly, and He hath
given no man license to sin."¬ This is to be understood to mean that He did
not of himself absolutely and directly do so. And also, no evil can come
from a creature of God, itself good, unless there be a cause of evil. For
through Ezechiel the Lord says: "The rod hath blossomed, pride hath
budded. Iniquity is risen up into a rod of impiety; not of them nor of the
people nor of the noise of them--therefore, from some other source! And
Christ says in the Gospel of Matthew: "The kingdom of heaven is likened
to a man that sowed good seed in his field; but while men were asleep, his
enemy came by night and over-sowed cockle among the wheat, and went
his way."¬ And David says: "O God, the heathens are come into thine
inheritance; they have defiled thy holy temple; they have made Jerusalem
as a place to keep fruit."¬ And the Lord through the prophet Joel says: "For
a nation is come up upon my land, strong and without number; his teeth
are like the teeth of a lion, and his cheek teeth as of a lion's whelp. He hath
laid my vineyard waste, and hath pilled off the bark of my fig tree; he
hath stripped it bare and cast it away; the branches thereof are made
white."¬ So one may clearly understand that pride and wickedness and
impiety, the weeds and the pollution of the holy temple of God, and the
wasting of His vineyard, cannot proceed exclusively and essentially from

12
the good God or from a good creature of His which is wholly from Him in
all its characteristics. It now follows, therefore, that there is another
principle, one of evil, who is the source and cause of all pride and
wickedness, of all defilement of the people, and of all other evils.

[16] On the Contention of My Opponents That God Did Not Wish to Create His
Angels Perfect.¬ ¬¬¬I now intend to discuss my opponents' contention that
God did not wish to create His angels perfect, that is, of such perfection
that they should forever be capable only of good actions, never of evil,
nor, on the other hand, that they should be forever capable only of evil,
never of good; but, in their words, that He created them of such nature
that they could do good or do evil according to their pleasure, as may be
seen set forth above.

Now, I say that if it did not please God to create His angels of such nature
that they were capable only of always doing good, never evil, or capable
of always doing evil, never good, but it pleased Him to create them of
such nature that they were capable of doing both good and evil, the
statement must be understood to mean "capable of so acting at different
times." For it is impossible that angels could have been so created by God
that simultaneously, at one and the same time, they were capable of doing
both good and evil. From this, if we accept the doctrine stated, it follows
of necessity that the aforesaid angels did good acts and evil acts, not
merely good alone or evil alone, but in very truth both good and evil. And
so it seems clear that these angels could in no way for all time escape evil,
because of the character which they had from their Lord. And thus,
according to this, God would be the cause and origin of that evil; which is
an impossibility, and it is foolish to suggest it.

And yet perhaps at this point my opponents, speaking calmly at first and
then shouting, would cry out, saying: Indeed these angels were always
capable of doing both good and evil, had they so desired, because they
had free will from God, that is, a free strength or power by which they
were equally capable of good and evil at their pleasure. And thus, they
would declare, God is not the First Cause of that evil, because the angels
sinned by the free will given to them, by their own choice.

[17] Proof That There Is No Free Will.¬ ¬¬¬If anyone should scrutinize
minutely the arguments set forth above, he would see that my position is
not weakened by the concept of free will, meaning a free strength or
power which our opponents say was given by God, by which the angels
were capable of good or evil at their pleasure. Yet, in the opinion of the
wise, it will appear impossible for anyone to have a potency for two
contraries simultaneously, at one and the same time; that is, for one to

13
have a potency for doing good for all time and for doing evil for all time.
And especially is this true in God, who has complete knowledge of the
future, and according to whose wisdom all things are done of necessity
from eternity.

And it is particularly puzzling how the good angels would have been
capable of hating goodness like unto their own, which existed from
eternity as did its cause, and of delighting in wickedness, which did not
yet exist and which is the exact opposite of goodness; and this without
cause if, as the unenlightened say, there was no cause of evil at all. And
especially is this so because it is written in the Book of Jesus the son of
Sirach: "Every beast loveth its like, so also every man him that is nearest to
himself. All flesh shall consort with the like to itself and every man shall
associate himself to his like."¬ And again, "Birds resort unto their like, so
truth will return to them that practice her."¬ And so it seems clear that the
good angels would have sought rather to choose the good like unto
themselves, which existed from eternity, than to spurn good and cleave to
evil, which was not in existence (nor indeed was its cause [Satan], if I
follow the belief of my opponents); yet it does not seem possible that
anything can come into being without a cause. For so it is written: "It is
impossible that whatever has a beginning should have no cause"; and
again, "Everything which changes from potency to effect needs a cause by
which it can be brought into effect." And also, according to my opponents,
that which existed, namely good, had less effect than that which did not
exist, namely evil;¬ and this despite the fact that it is written, "A thing must
have existence before it can have an effect." And also, one should clearly
recognize that if a cause should wholly retain its original character,
nothing would result from it other than that which it first produced. For
every new effect is a result of a new factor of some sort, as is written: "For
if something which was not an agent becomes an agent, this inevitably
takes place because of a new factor of some sort."¬ From this, one must
realize that if the dispositions of the agent were to continue just as they
originally were, and if it were, up to that point, affected by nothing new
either internally or externally, assuredly the agent would have less the
function of causing-to-exist than that of nonexistence, and nonexistence
would persist indefinitely. For just as from diversity something different
may arise, so from uniformity sameness persists.

And if, in fact, none of the angels could have sinned without free will,
God would in no wise have given it, since He would have known that
from this cause alone His kingdom would be corrupted. Moreover, the
corruption of the angels would of necessity have come from the God who
"is above all praise,"¬ which is a wicked thing to suppose. It follows from

14
this that there is another principle, one of evil, who is the source and cause
of the corruption of the angels and of all evil.

[18] On Free Will: That the Angels Had It Not.¬ ¬¬¬Whence, it is obvious to the
wise that the angels discussed above never had any such choice from God,
that is, such power to desire, to know, and to do only good for all time,
and not evil. If they had had, they would from overwhelming necessity
have done and desired good for all time, never evil.

Therefore, by what reasoning, by what audacity, can the unenlightened

say that the aforesaid angels could indeed always do only good if they
chose? For from God, who knows the future completely, they had no
potency, desire, knowledge, will, nor any other attribute (causa)
whatsoever by which they could wholly avoid evil, as was made quite
clear above. It may somehow be said, among men who are completely
ignorant of the future and of all the causes which necessitate doing good
or evil for all time or on different occasions, that the angels had such
strength or power from God that they could do good and evil for all time.
It seems, however, most clearly false in God, who has complete
knowledge of the future, who knows from eternity all causes (the effect of
which is to render it impossible for that which is future not to be in the
future), according to whose wisdom all things are of necessity done from
eternity.

So it happens that conflicting statements are many times heard among

men who are entirely ignorant of the future or of the truth of things; to
wit, when they declare that what never shall be may be, and what most
certainly shall be cannot be. For instance, we sometimes say that Peter
may live until tomorrow and that he may die today. Although it is
impossible for Peter both to live until tomorrow and to die today, yet, be-
cause we are ignorant of the future, as of all the causes which control the
life and death of Peter, we affirm that which is impossible to be possible,
and that which is possible we say to be impossible. If, however, we knew
the future completely and also all the causes which control the life or
death of Peter, then we would not say that Peter may live until tomorrow
and that he may die today. For if we knew that Peter would die today,
then we would say that it is clearly necessary for Peter to die today, or that
it is impossible for him to live until tomorrow. And if we knew that he
would live until tomorrow, then we would say that it is dearly necessary
for him to live until tomorrow, or that it is impossible for Peter to die
today. However, because we do not know the future, we put forward the
possible for the impossible and the impossible for the possible. But this
cannot be true of Him who has complete knowledge of all the future.

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I say further: Suppose a certain man was in a house with Peter and
unquestionably saw him. And another man outside this house inquired of
the one within, "Can it be that Peter is in the house?" If he who knows
unquestionably that Peter is in the house because he sees him before his
very eyes should answer the other, "It may be that Peter is in the house
and it may be that he is not," there is no doubt that he would be speaking
wrongly and contrary to his own knowledge in saying, "It may be that
Peter is not in the house." For he knows without any doubt whatever that
Peter was in the house because he saw him before his very eyes.

So I say of the free will said by my opponent to be given by God: As

pertains to the God who knows wholly all the future, in whom are known
from eternity all the causes which render it impossible for that which is
future not to be in the future, in whose wisdom are all things of necessity
done from eternity, the aforesaid angels never had from Him a free
capacity for freedom to choose, to know or to do good for all time. This is
so especially because God himself without doubt knew and saw the end of
all His angels before they came into being, just as the man who saw Peter
and knew him unquestionably to be in the house would be speaking
wrongly if he had said, "It may be that Peter is not in the house." So I say
in the matter of free will of the angels in God that it was never true to say
that the angels could not sin; this is especially true in respect of a God who
wholly knows the future. And to say that they did not wish to sin signifies
nothing, because good angels do not, without a cause, wish to do evil. For
the wise realize that it is impossible for the good, without a cause, to hate
good and desire evil, since, as was stated above, nothing at all can exist
without a cause. It was, therefore, necessary in God for those angels to
become things of evil and demons in the future, because within His
providence existed without exception all the causes by which they must
be found wanting in the future. Without doubt, it was impossible in Him
that they could remain good and holy for all time.

In the view of men who are ignorant of the future and of the whole truth it
may, perhaps, somehow be said that the aforesaid angels could both do
good and do evil for all time. But in the view of men who know the whole
truth, be it of the future or of all causes which are requisite to doing good
for all time or to so doing on different occasions, it is absolutely
impossible that the angels could have freedom to do good for all time,
together with freedom to do evil for all time; rather, in their view, it would
be wholly necessary for these angels to be found wanting in had from God
—as the statement of the dullards asserts—a free capacity or the freedom
to do good for all time, but from overwhelming necessity [must] act in a

16
completely evil manner in the future, as was clearly explained in the
preceding. To believe that they had [free will] is most evil and foolish.

[19] On the Thesis of Master William.¬ ¬¬¬I have now no intention of

overlooking the thesis of Master William," albeit he may seem to be wise
in many matters. For I have heard him discussing ideas such as the
following: that the angels were not made perfect by God from the
beginning, because their God could not make them perfect. The reason for
this is that God could not and cannot make anyone like Himself or
coequal with Himself in any way; and although God himself may be
called almighty by many, yet this He cannot do at all. And thus, in so
much as they were inferior to God in beauty and greatness—that is to say,
as they were not like Him or coequal with Him—these angels could be
found wanting to the extent that they could covet His beauty and
greatness. So, one reads of Lucifer in Isaiah: "I will exalt my throne above
the stars. I will be like the Most High."¬ And thus, such a one would
perhaps say that on this account we cannot reasonably blame God for not
making His angels so perfect that they could not have coveted His beauty
and greatness at all, because their God could not do so, as is stated above.

I have decided to refute the doctrine just stated with the most cogent
argument. For if we cannot reasonably blame God because He could not
make his angels so perfect that they would not covet His beauty and
greatness, for the reason that He could not make them like Himself or
coequal with Himself, much less therefore can we blame those angels
because they could by no means avoid coveting the beauty and greatness
of God as a result of the character which they had from their maker; in
other words, because He could not make them so perfect that they would
not covet His beauty and greatness.

I say again: If God could not make His angels of such perfection that they
would not so covet His beauty and greatness and thus would not, for this
reason, become demons, neither could those angels avoid that evil in any
way. And so, according to certain persons, it necessarily follows that all
angels and indeed men who now are saved are bound always to covet that
beauty and greatness and always to sin against their God by this
covetousness, and of necessity to become demons because of it, just as
they say befell the other angels. And this is true particularly because God
could not nor cannot nor ever will be able to make anyone like Himself or
coequal with Himself in any way.

And if Master William should say: They who were saved could not covet
any more or sin, because they were enlightened and subtly warned by the
punishment of the other angels, who became demons through their

17
covetousness, this may be answered as follows: God, who above was
called good, holy, and just, would be the sole cause and principle of the
punishment and ruin of all His angels. For He would have inflicted
eternal punishment on His angels without reason or justice, in that He
could not make them of such perfection that they would not covet His
beauty and greatness, nor could those angels in any way avoid that evil,
because they had been created at an earlier time than the other angels,
who were enlightened by their punishment and fall. Indeed, those angels,
who, as many say, became demons, could not be enlightened and warned
by the punishment of other angels, because there were no other angels
created before them. And so the aforesaid angels could with reason bring
most very great complaint against their Lord for afflicting them with those
countless punishments, the more so because He could not make them so
perfect that they would not covet His beauty and greatness; therefore
those angels could not by any means avoid that covetousness. Hence, it is
utterly amazing that it can ever enter the mind of any wise man that God,
who is good, holy, and just, should condemn His angels for all time,
afflicting them with eternal torture, because He could not make them of
such perfection that they would not envy His beauty and greatness, nor
could they ever in any way receive that perfection from Him.

[20] Concerning the Angels.¬ ¬¬¬And if it be objected: Although God cannot

make His angels like Himself or coequal with Himself, yet He could
indeed have perfected them, had He so wished, to such a degree that they
would never have envied His beauty. But He did not choose to do this,
because they had free will from God, that is, the free capacity or the
freedom to envy or not to envy His beauty and greatness, at their
pleasure. Thus, there is no validity in what has been said above to the
effect that God could not make His angels so perfect that they would not
envy His beauty and greatness, because He could not make them like
Himself or coequal with Himself in any way.

And thus it is obvious, if we accept the doctrine discussed above, that God
did not choose to make His angels so perfect that they could not envy His
beauty and greatness; but, knowingly and in full awareness, He made
them of such imperfection that they could not in the least avoid
covetousness, and He bestowed on them all the causes by which He knew
those angels would fall in the future; and particularly [is it evident] in
Him, who wholly knows all the future, in whom all causes by which those
angels were to be covetous in the future were known from the beginning,
by whom all things are done of necessity from eternity, as was made
sufficiently clear above where free will was discussed. And so, to the wise,
it is obvious, according to the above doc trine, that God cannot absolve

18
Himself on rational grounds, because He did not choose to avert that evil
in any way, but knowingly and in full awareness created His angels of
such imperfection that it was from eternity impossible in Him for them
not to covet His beauty and greatness.

From this one may know that those angels did not have from God a free
will by which they could entirely avoid covetousness, and especially not
from a God who knows directly all the future, in whom it is impossible
that that which is future, with all the causes which determine it, can fail to
be in the future. And this is so particularly because, if there is only one
First Principle, He is directly the cause of all causes. It follows therefore of
necessity, according to the said doctrine, that God would be the first cause
of all envy and indeed of all evil, as is written, "He who provides the
occasion for harm should be held to have done the harm."¬ One most
certainly cannot believe this of the true God.

Part II. On Creation

[1] The Contention of Our Opponents That God Is the Creator or Maker of All
Things.¬ ¬¬¬Although our opponents have no argument based on truth, yet
they may perchance still spurn the arguments set forth above and loudly
assert: These words deserve no credence at all, for they represent the
opinions of men and the argumentations of philosophers, of which the
Apostle says to the Colossians, "Beware lest any man cheat you by
philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, according
to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ."¬ And so,
perchance, they might say that one need give absolutely no credence to
two principles, for the reasons advanced above because they were not at
all confirmed by testimony of the Holy Scriptures¬ and, in particular,
because one cannot discover through biblical texts that there is any god
other than the true Lord God, creator or maker of all, omnipotent, eternal
or everlasting, ancient, without beginning or end.

To prove that the true Lord God is the creator or maker of all, they may
perhaps vigorously fortify their argument by the following texts and
others like them. It is written in the Apocalypse: "Thou art worthy, O Lord
our God, to receive glory and honor and power, because Thou hast
created all things, and for Thy will they were and have been created";¬ and
again: "And the angel whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the
earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and he swore by Him that liveth
forever and ever, who created heaven and the things which are therein,
and the earth and the things which are in it, and the sea and the things

19
which are therein, that time shall be no longer."¬ And the Apostle says to
the Hebrews, "For every house is built by some man, but He that created
all things is God."¬ And Jesus the son of Sirach says: "He that liveth forever
created all things together";¬ and [the Book of Wisdom says,] "For He
created all things that they might be."¬ And the apostles in their Acts say,
"Lord, thou art He that didst make heaven and earth, the sea, and all
things that are in them."¬ And Paul, in the same book, says to the
Athenians: "That I preach to you God, who made the world and all things
therein, He, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples
made with hands; neither is He served with men's hands as though He
needed anything, seeing it is He who giveth to all life and breath and all
things."¬ And John in his Gospel says, "All things were made by Him, and
without Him was made nothing that was made."

[2] That God Is Called Father of All.¬ ¬¬¬Not only is the Lord our God called
the creator or the maker of all, but He is called the Father of all, as the
Blessed Paul says to the Ephesians: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one
God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in us all."¬ And
again, "For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named."¬ And in the
first Epistle to the Corinthians, the same Apostle says, "Yet to us there is
but one God, the Father, of whom are all things and we unto Him, and
one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things and we by Him."¬ And he
says to the Romans, "For of Him and by Him and in Him are all things."¬
Also, all things were created in the Lord Jesus Christ, and by Him and in
Him all things were created, as Paul says to the Colossians of Christ, "who
is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature; for in
Him were all things created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers; all things
were created by Him and in Him. And He is before all, and in Him all
things consist."

Thus our opponents appear to confirm their doctrine many times over by
these texts and others like them.

[3] On the Omnipotence, the Eternity, and the Sempiternity of God.¬¬¬Our

opponents may indeed advance certain passages from Holy Scriptures to
show that the aforesaid Lord our God is omnipotent and eternal or
everlasting and ancient, insisting that there is no other power or
domination but His, as David says: "For I have known that the Lord is
great, and our God is above all gods. Whatsoever the Lord pleased he
hath done, in heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in all the deeps."¬ And the
Apostle, in the first Epistle to Timothy, says, "I charge thee before God,

20
who quickeneth all things and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony
under Pontius Pilate, a good confession, that thou keep the commandment
without spot, blameless, unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; which
in His times He shall show, the King who is the Blessed and only Mighty,
the King of kings, and the Lord of lords."¬ And in the Apocalypse is
written, "I give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty."¬ And the Apostle
says to the Romans, "For there is no power but from God, and those
[powers] that are, are ordained of God."

Moreover, that the true Lord God is eternal, or everlasting and ancient, is
shown by the following texts: David says, ". . . that ye may relate it in
another generation. For this is God, our God unto eternity, and forever
and ever. He shall rule us forevermore."¬ And Isaiah says, "For thus saith
the Lord High and Eminent that inhabiteth eternity." And the Apostle
says to the Romans, "According to the revelation of the mystery which
was kept secret from eternity (which now is made manifest by the
scriptures of the prophets, according to the precept of the eternal God).

Of the sempiternity of this true God Isaiah says, "The Lord is the
everlasting God, who hath created the ends of the earth."¬ And Jeremiah
says, "But the Lord is the true God, He is the living God and the
everlasting king."

Of the antiquity of the Lord, Daniel says: "I beheld therefore in the vision
of the night, and lo, one like the son of man came with the clouds of
heaven, and he came even to the Ancient of days";¬ and again, "Till the
Ancient of days came."

Thus indeed they might say that, because of these texts quoted and others
like them, one must firmly believe in one sole God, Lord and omnipotent
Prince, who is eternal or everlasting, and ancient, as seems to be made
manifest above.

[4] A Reply to the Objections Raised Above.¬ ¬¬¬It is my intent, with the aid of
Jesus Christ, to resolve their objections in accordance with my concept.
Now, in the first place, I wish to clarify by scriptural references the precise
meaning of "creating" and "making," in connection with which our Lord
God is called "creator" and "maker" of all; and secondly, I wish to show
what is meant by "all" and other terms of universality in the Holy
Scriptures.

I perceive the words "to create" or "to make" used throughout the
Scriptures in three senses. Now, I say: It is "to create" or "to make" when
the true Lord God adds to the essences of those beings who were already

21
exceedingly good something which ordains them to aid those who are to
be saved. In this sense, our Lord Jesus Christ was ordained bishop by the
true Lord God and "anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power," so
that He could free all those "oppressed by the devil";" and in the same
sense the angels and ministers of God the Father were made so that they
might aid those who receive the inheritance of salvation Sometimes the
words "to create" or "to make" are used when God himself adds
something to the essences of those who had become evil and disposes
them to good works. I also call it "to create" or "to make" when something
is permitted by God himself to him who is wholly evil, or to his minister,
who cannot achieve what he desires unless the good Lord himself endures
his deceit patiently for a time, to His own honor and to the shame of that
most wicked enemy of His.

[5] On the First Meaning of "Creating" or "Making."¬¬¬As for the first

meaning of "creating" or "making," I have sought to provide the clearest
proof as it appears in passages from Holy Scripture: Thus the Blessed
Paul, referring to the creation of our Lord Jesus Christ, says to the
Colossians, "Lie not to one another; stripping [yourselves] of the old man
with his deeds, and putting on the new, him who is renewed unto
knowledge of God according to the image of Him that created him."¬ And
the same Apostle says to the Ephesians, "And be renewed in the spirit of
your mind, and put on the new man, who according to God is created in
justice and holiness of truth."¬ And through Isaiah the Lord says: "Drop
down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just; let the
earth be opened and bud forth a savior, and let justice spring up together;
I the Lord have created him."

Of the "making" of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, moreover, the Blessed
Peter says in the Acts of the Apostles, "Therefore let all the house of Israel
know most certainly that God hath made both Lord and Christ, this same
Jesus whom you have crucified."¬ And Paul says to the Hebrews:
"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly vocation, consider
the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus, who is faithful to Him
that made Him";¬ and again, "For to which of the angels hath He said at
any time, 'Thou art my Son, today have I be gotten Thee'?"

Moreover, in regard to the making of the good spirits and angels," who
were made by the true Lord God, the Blessed Apostle says to the
Hebrews: "And to the angels indeed He saith, 'He that maketh his angels
spirits and His ministers a flame of fire' ";¬ and again, "Are they not all
ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the

22
inheritance of salvation?"¬ And the Lord says through Isaiah, "Go, ye swift
angels,"¬ and so on.

[6] That "to Create" or "to Make" May Mean to Create or Make from Something,
as from Some Pre-existent Matter.¬ ¬¬¬From the foregoing, one must firmly
believe that our Lord Jesus Christ and the other good angels of the true
Father are not said to be "created" or "made" by the true Lord God in the
sense that their essence originated only with this creation or production,
nor [is it said] that their essence was constituted out of nothingness in the
sense apparently asserted by our opponents, who believe that for God "to
create" is to make something exclusively and essentially from nothing.
Their opinion is most clearly refuted by the testimony of Holy Scriptures.
For the angel of the Lord says to Joseph in the Gospel of Matthew,
"Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."¬ He did not say, "is created
from nothing." And in the Book of Wisdom it is written, "For Thy
almighty hand, which made the world of matter without form, was not
unable,"¬ and so on. And in Genesis it is written, "And God formed man of
the slime of the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life; and
man became a living soul."¬ And Jesus the son of Sirach says: "The most
High hath created medicines out of the earth";¬ and again, "God created
man of the earth and made him after his own image."

And so it is clear that in the judgment of the wise, we may with most
excellent reason reject the doctrine of our opponents by the testimony of
the Scriptures.

[7] On Creating and Making.¬ ¬¬¬Therefore my exposition given above is true;

to wit, that "to create" or "to make" means to add something to the
essences of those who already were exceedingly good, as has been
demonstrated with sufficient clarity in the foregoing. This is the way I
construe its meaning. The good are said to be created and made by the
true Lord God, that is, formed by Him for the salvation of sinners. It is in
this sense that the Apostle speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Hebrews:
" 'What is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that Thou
visiteth him?' "¬ and so on; and " 'Thou hast set him over the works of thy
hands.' "¬ And David, in the character of Christ, as we believe, says, "But I
am appointed king by Him over Zion His holy mountain."¬ And so,
according to this concept, this creation or production of the good is a
noble one, of which, for instance, Ecclesiastes says: "He hath made all
things good in their time";¬ and again, "I have learned that all the works
which God hath made continue forever; we cannot add anything nor take
away from those things which God hath made that He may be feared."¬

23
And Jesus the son of Sirach says, "All the works of the Lord are exceeding
good." ° And in Ecclesiasticus is written, "O how desirable are all His
works; all these things live and remain forever, and for every use all
things obey Him."¬ And David says: "How great are Thy works, O Lord?
Thou hast made all things in wisdom";¬ and again, "By Thy ordinance the
day goeth on, for all things serve Thee";¬ and again, "For He spoke and
they were made, He commanded and they were created. He hath
established them forever and for ages of ages."¬

And so it clearly seems that this noble creation and production of the good
is established forever and for ages of ages by the true Lord God. But if one
follows the doctrine of our opponents as I interpret it, this cannot be so,
most particularly if all the heavens which now are, and the earth, and all
the elements are to be completely destroyed by the heat of fire as, in their
opinion as I interpret it, the Blessed Peter testified.

[8] On the Second Meaning of "Creating" and "Making". ¬¬¬1 now intend to
treat of the second meaning of "making" and "creating," of which I said
above that "to create" and "to make" mean to add something to the essence
of those who had been made evil which disposes them unto good works.°
For the Apostle says to the Ephesians, "For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus in good works, which God hath prepared that we
should walk in them."¬ And David says: "All expect of Thee that Thou give
them food in season. What Thou givest to them, they shall gather up;
when Thou openest Thy hand, they shall all be filled with good. But if
Thou tumest away Thy face, they shall be troubled; Thou shalt take away
their breath, and they shall fail and shall return to their dust. Thou shalt
send forth Thy spirit, and they shall be created; and Thou shalt renew the
face of the earth."

[9] Explanation of the Text of Isaiah "I Am the Lord, and There Is None
Else."¬¬¬The Lord says through Isaiah: "I am the Lord and there is none
else. I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil, I
the Lord that do all these things."¬ This text can be interpreted as though
its meaning were: There is no Lord but I who "form the light"—which is
Christ, who is the "true light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh
into this world,"¬ as the Blessed John says in his Gospel. And I who "create
darkness"—which means to ordain the Gentile people to good works, as
was set forth above; they who were become part of darkness, walking in
darkness, as one reads in the Gospel, "The people of the Gentiles that
walked in darkness hath seen great light."¬ And the Apostle says to the
Ephesians: "For you were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord.
Walk then as children of the light." ¬"I make peace"—that is, Christ, who

24
was our peace, as the Apostle says of Him to the Ephesians, "For He is our
peace who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of
partition";¬ or [Christ], who made peace between the people of the
Gentiles and the people of Israel, as is contained in the same Epistle: "
[That He might make the two in himself] into one new man, making
peace, and might reconcile both to God in one body. And coming, He
preached peace to you that were afar off and peace to them that were
nigh; for by Him we have access both in one Spirit to the Father."¬ And I
"create evil"—that is, I appoint the people of Israel, who had become evil,If
unto good works, as Christ says of them in the Gospel of Matthew, " you
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much
more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask
him?"¬ It is in this sense that the Lord is said to create darkness and evil.
But this is not possible, according to the opinion of our opponents, who
believe that "to create" is to make something from nothing. And their
opinion is most clearly disproved. For surely, if the true Lord God
exclusively and essentially created darkness and evil, undoubtedly He
would be the cause and beginning of all evil, which is an utterly vain and
wicked conclusion.

[10] On the Making of Those Who Had Become Evil.¬ ¬¬¬Moreover Paul says to
the Corinthians in his second Epistle, in regard to the making of those
who had become evil, "But our sufficiency is from God, who also hath
made us fit ministers of the new testament, not in the letter but in the
spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit quickeneth."¬ And again, the same
Apostle says to the Colossians, "Giving thanks to God the Father, who
hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in the light of
truth."¬ And he says to the Corinthians, "If, then, any be in Christ a new
creature, the old things are passed away; behold all things are made
new."¬ Also, of this making, as is believed, the Blessed John says in the
Apocalypse, "And He that sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all
things new.' "¬ Now, according to this interpretation, our Lord God is
called "creator" or "maker" for constituting sinners unto good works, as is
clearly enough explained in the foregoing.

[11] On the Third Meaning of "Creating" and "Making." ¬¬¬In regard going to
the third meaning of "creating" and "making"—about which I remarked
above that one says "to create" or "to make" when something is permitted
by the true Lord God to the one who is wholly evil or to his minister, who
cannot accomplish his desires unless the good Lord himself suffers the
deceit patiently for a time, to His own honor and to the shame of His most
wicked enemy—I intend to confirm my interpret tation by biblical proofs.
For the prophet Ezechiel says of the Assyrian king, who represents the

25
devil:¬ "The cedars in the paradise of God were not higher than he, the fir
trees did not equal his top, neither were the plane trees to be compared
with him for branches; no tree in the paradise of God was like him in his
beauty. For He made him beautiful and thick set with many branches, and
all the trees of pleasure that were in the paradise of God envied him."¬
And the Lord says through Isaiah: "I have created the smith that bloweth
the coals in the fire and bringeth forth an instrument for his work. And I
have created the killer to destroy";¬ and again, "I am the Lord, and there is
none else. I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create
evil, I the Lord that do all these things."¬ And David says, "This sea dragon
which thou hast formed to play therein."¬ And in the Book of Job the Lord
says to him, "Behold behemoth, whom I made with thee; he eateth grass
like an ox."¬ Now, if the Assyrian, the smith, the killer, the darkness, the
evil, the dragon, and the behemoth signify him who is the chief principle
of all evil, one must necessarily interpret the words, "to create" darkness
and evil and the killer, and so on, to mean that God endures from one
who is His most wicked enemy deceit and malice against His people for a
time, in order to permit them to be trampled underfoot for their sins. So
our Lord God is said "to make" the evil which, for our sins, He does not
forbid, just as Isaiah says, "But he that is the wise one hath brought evil,
and hath not removed his words."¬ And through Jeremiah, the Lord again
says, "For I bring evil from the north and great destruction." ¬And through
Habakkuk the Lord also says, "For I will raise up the Chaldeans, a bitter
and swift nation, marching upon the breadth of the earth to possess the
dwelling places that are not their own."¬ And the Lord says through
Amos: "Shall the trumpet sound in a city and the people not be afraid?
Shall there be evil in a city which the Lord hath not done?"¬ And the
Blessed Job says, 'The tabernacles of robbers abound, and they provoke
God boldly, whereas it is He that hath given all into their hands."¬ And the
prophet Daniel says of the king of Babylon: "Thou art a king of kings, and
the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, and strength, and power,
and glory, and all places wherein the children of men and the beasts of the
field do dwell; He hath also given the birds of the air into thy hand and
hath put all things under thy power."¬ All this must be understood as
occurring by the sufferance of the Lord, because of the sins of the people,
as Elihu says in the Book of Job: "And upon nations and over all men He
maketh a man that is a hypocrite to reign for the sins of the people"--that
is, endures his reign because of the sins of the people. In this wise the
Apostle says to the Romans, "What if God, willing to show His wrath and
to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath
fitted for destruction, that He might show the riches of His glory on the
vessels of mercy."¬ This does not mean, however, that to do evil may be a
function directly and essentially of the true Lord God, for were that the

26
case—if there were no evil which the true Lord God had not directly and
essentially done—the true Lord God would be fundamentally the cause
and beginning of all evil, which is an utterly vain and foolish belief.

Whence, in accordance with our interpretation, we can most intelligibly

conclude that God "created" darkness, evil, and murder; "made" the
Assyrian; and "formed" the dragon and the many other baneful things
noted in the Holy Scriptures; that is to say, He suffers them to prevail over
His people for their sins, and in consonance with this, evils are said to be
"done" by Him--that is, He gives sufferance for a time to malice directed
against His own. And in this sense we can freely concede that Satan was
'created" or "made" by the true Lord God—that is, after he was given
license to afflict Job—for by permission which he obtained from the true
Lord God he did that which he was unable to achieve by himself. And so
he can be said to be "made" by God—that is, he was acknowledged as
ruler over the people, not absolutely but, so to speak, indirectly and
nonessentially.

And Satan is allowed not only to rule over sinners but also to tempt the
just, as is written in the Gospel of the Blessed Matthew about our Lord
Jesus Christ, "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be
tempted by the devil."¬ And the Blessed Mary says: "And immediately the
Spirit drove Him out into the desert. And He was in the desert forty days
and forty nights and was tempted by Satan."¬ And the faithful Luke says:
"And Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and
was led by the Spirit into the desert for the space of forty days, and was
tempted by the devil";¬ and again, "And the temptation being ended, the
devil departed from Him for a time."¬ And the same thing may be noted in
regard to the Blessed Job, as the Lord himself says to Satan, "Behold, all
that he hath is in thy hand." And in particular reference to Job the Lord
again says, "Behold, he is hath shut me up with the unjust man and hath
delivered me into the hands of the wicked";¬ and again, "Doth it seem
good to Thee that Thou shouldst calumniate me and oppress me, the work
of Thy own hands, and help the counsel of the wicked?"¬ And in the
Gospel of John, Christ says to Pilate, Satan's minister, "Thou shouldst not
have any power against me unless it were given thee from above";¬ which
is to say, conceded to you, and this may be interpreted as meaning from
God. And in this way our Lord God is said "to create" evil when for some
reasonable cause He does not prohibit it. Of this one finds clear
confirmation in the case of the Blessed Job where in the Book of Tobias
one reads of Tobias: "Now this trial the Lord therefore permitted to
happen to him, that an example might be given to posterity of his

27
patience, as also of holy Job."¬ And the Blessed James says, "You have
heard of the patience of Job, and you have seen the end of the Lord."

That the aforesaid texts, moreover, properly should be so interpreted,

even according to the concept of those who believe that "to create" means
to make something from nothing, is proved as follows: The Apostle says
to Timothy, "For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be
rejected."¬ And Ecclesiastes says, "He hath made all things good in their
time."¬ And it is written in the Book of Wisdom, "For so much then as
Thou art just, Thou orderest all things justly."¬ Therefore, if God made and
created and justly ordered all things good, He did not create the darkness
or evil, nor did He form the dragon. Nor are even our opponents wont to
believe that God had formed the devil as a dragon, but rather as a
beautiful angel, nor that He had created angels as demons and things of
darkness, but rather as angels shining and luminous.

[12] That God Did Not Create Darkness or Evil.¬ ¬¬¬Whence, one should give
no credence at all to the belief that the true Lord God absolutely and
directly created darkness or evil, especially from nothing, which our
opponents think is the proper meaning of "to create." And most
particularly this is so because the Blessed John can say in the first Epistle:
"That God is light and in him there is no darkness,"¬ nor, consequently,
[darkness] through Him. Therefore, darkness does not fall within that all-
inclusive term which the Apostle employs in his Epistle to the Romans:
"For of Him and by Him and in Him are all things," 100 nor yet within that
used by the same Apostle with reference to Christ in his Epistle to the
Colossians, "For in Him were all things created, in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or
powers: all things were created by Him and in Him. And He is before all,
and in Him all things consist."¬ Wherefore Christ says of Himself, "I am
the light of the world; he that followeth me walketh not in darkness, but
shall have the light of life."¬ So, darkness is not created absolutely and
directly by our Lord God and His Son Jesus Christ but only in an indirect
and relative sense, which was shown clearly enough above; albeit, in
keeping with our thesis, the aforesaid texts can be otherwise interpreted,
as is seen in some part to have been done in the foregoing. Hence, by
using the three senses [of "creation"] discussed above and the various
meanings which are assigned in Holy Scriptures to "all" and other terms of
universality, the texts quoted above can be given their correct
interpretation in accordance with our belief. That is, the Lord our God
created and made all things, namely, heaven and earth, the sea, and all
things which are therein; He made all things in heaven and earth through

28
our Lord Jesus Christ; and all things were created by Him, in Him, and of
Him, as has already been demonstrated by many texts.

Part III. On the Terms of Universality

[1] A Rebuttal: Good and Evil Are Not Denoted by "All" and Other Terms of
Universality ¬¬¬I have resolved to discuss a subject on which our opponents
have often vaunted themselves over us, in that they frequently seek to
confirm their doctrine by those terms of universality such as "all" (omnia),
"all things whatsoever" (universa), and "all things" (cuncta), and other
terms which in biblical texts denote the total number of things. They make
no distinction at all among substances and insist, moreover, that all
substances whatsoever, the evil as well as the good, the transitory as well
as the permanent, have been made and created without exception by the
just, true, and holy Lord God. With the aid of the true Father I have
determined to rebut their doctrine by the testimony of the Scriptures and
the soundest of arguments.

[2] On the Terms of Universality.¬ ¬¬¬It should, then, be understood that the
terms of universality mentioned above, although they may be so called by
grammarians, cannot be categorically so designated by men of real
wisdom, to wit, that under any term of universality all substances 59. Book
of Two Principles (Part III)¬¬ 545

and actions whatsoever may be neatly comprehended, and indeed even

all accidents. Whence, it is obvious that, among the learned, these terms
are called universals according to the construction placed upon them in
the minds of those using them, but not at all because all things both good
and evil may be absolutely and finally summed up under any given term
of universality. And this is particularly true inasmuch as good and evil do
not harmonize, nor can one come from the other, since they mutually
destroy one another and battle in active and continuous opposition.

Because of this, one should realize that the aforesaid terms of universality
are used in scriptural texts with several meanings. Now, there are some
such terms which refer to those things which are good, clean, made in
wisdom, and highly desirable, which persist forever and which obey our
Lord God in every use, as is clearly revealed in the Holy Scriptures. On
the other hand, there are other terms of universality, which designate
those things that are evil, vain, and transitory, and that ought to be cast
aside, to be counted but as dung by the faithful of Jesus Christ, that they
may gain our Lord Jesus Christ. There are still other terms of universality,

29
which, as one reads, relate to those who, once established under the
power of the king of Babylon, were to have been given into the hands of
robbers, and were rather to have been laid waste by "a king of a shameless
face."¬ These terms also, we believe, were "concluded under [i.e. confined
under the power of] sin, that the promise, by the faith of Jesus Christ,
might be given to them that believe."¬ They were also confined in unbelief
by the true Lord God "that he may have mercy on all"¬ of them. Now,
these terms of universality represent those who are to be reconciled,
restored, renewed, re-established, fulfilled, and quickened by our Lord
God, and by His Son Jesus Christ, as is manifestly dwelt upon by the
Scriptures.

[3] On the Terms of Universality Referring to the Good.¬ ¬¬¬I wish to expound
the soundest interpretation of those terms of universality which I
characterized above as referring to what is good, clean, made in wisdom,
and the like, using the evidence of Holy Scriptures. For the Apostle says in
the first Epistle to Timothy, "For every creature of God is good and
nothing to be rejected."¬ And Ecclesiastes says, "He hath made all things
good in their time";¬ and again, "I have learned that all the works which
God hath made, continue forever; we cannot add anything, nor take away
from those things which God hath made that He may be feared."¬ And it is
written in Ecclesiasticus: "O how desirable are all His works! All these
things live and remain forever, and for every use all things obey Him."¬
And David says: "How great are Thy works, O Lord? Thou hast made all
things in wisdom";¬ and again, "By Thy ordinance the day goeth on, for all
things serve thee."¬ And the Apostle says to the Romans: "All things
indeed are clean";¬ and again, "All things are clean to the clean";¬ and
again, "And we know that to them that love God all things work together
unto good,"¬ and so on.

In this way it is clearly proved by scriptural evidence that the aforesaid

terms of universality designate those things which are most excellent and
clean, and which persist forever. Hence, among wise men, it seems
impossible that the good and the evil, the transitory and the permanent,
can be wholly summed up absolutely and directly under these terms of
universality, as these wise men can very clearly discover.

[4] On the Universal Symbols Which Refer to the Evil.¬ ¬¬¬The discussion now
turns to the question of those terms of universality which I characterized
above as designating those things which are evil, vain, transitory, and
which are to be cast aside, and so on. For Ecclesiastes says: "Vanity of
vanities and all is vanity";¬ and again, "I have seen all things that are done
under the sun and behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit."¬ And again:

30
"All things have their season and in their times all things pass under
heaven. A time to be born and a time to die."¬ And again: "All things are
subject to vanity. And all things go to one place; of earth they were made
and into earth they return together."¬ And again, "And therefore I was
weary of my life, when I saw that all things under the sun are evil; and all
vanity and vexation of spirit."¬ And the Apostle says to the Colossians: "If
then you be dead with Christ from the elements of this world, why do you
yet decree as though living in the world? Touch not, taste not, handle not,
which are all unto destruction by the very use."¬ And to the Philippians
the same Apostle says: "If any other thinketh he may have confidence in
the flesh, I more; being circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel,
of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; according to the Law,
a Pharisee; according to zeal, persecuting the church of God; according to
the justice that is in the Law, conversing without blame. But the things
that were gain to me, the same I have counted loss for Christ. Furthermore
I count all things to be but loss for the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them
but as dung, that I may gain Christ."¬ And in the Gospel of the Blessed
Matthew, Christ says to the scribe, "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what
thou hast";¬ that is, put away all your material possessions in accordance
with the Law. Thence there follows: "Then Peter answering, said to him:
'Behold, we have left all things and have followed Thee; what therefore
shall we have?' "¬ In answer, He said, "You have left all things and
followed me,"¬ and so forth. And the Apostle says to the Colossians, "But
now put you also all away: anger, detraction, indignation, malice,
blasphemy."¬ And the Blessed John says in his first Epistle: "Love not the
world nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world,
the charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world is the
concupiscence of the flesh and the concupiscence of the eyes and the pride
of life, which is not of the Father but is of the world,"¬ and so on.

Thus, it should be clearly realized that these universal symbols which

refer to what is evil, vain, and transitory are not of the same sort as those
other universal symbols already mentioned, which designate the good,
clean, and highly desirable, and which persist forever. And this is
particularly true because they cannot be in harmony nor exist together
under any form of universality, because they mutually destroy and
oppose one another. Nor is it possible that they can derive entirely from
the same cause.

[5] On Those Terms of Universality Designating Those Who for Their Sins Were
Established in the Power of the King of Babylon.¬ ¬¬¬I now propose to clarify the
matter of those terms of universality which were once established under

31
the power of the king of Babylon, which were to have been given into the
hands of robbers, and were rather to have been laid waste by "a king of a
shameless face."¬ These terms, also, we believe, apply to all that are to be
reconciled, re-established, fulfilled, and quickened by the true Lord God
and by His Son Jesus Christ, as is clearly set forth in the Scriptures. For the
prophet Daniel says to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king: "Thou art a
king of kings, and the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, and
strength, and power, and glory, and all places wherein the children of
men and the beasts of the field do dwell; He hath also given the birds of
the air into thy hand and hath put all things under thy power."¬ And
again: "And after their reign, when iniquities shall be grown up, there
shall arise a king of a shameless face and understanding dark sentences.
And his power shall be strengthened but not by his own force, and he
shall lay all things waste and shall prosper and do more than can be
believed. And he shall destroy the mighty, and the people of the saints,
according to his will. And craft shall be successful in his hand, and his
heart shall be puffed up. And in the abundance of all things he shall kill
many; and he shall rise up against the prince of princes."¬ And Job says,
"The tabernacles of robbers abound, and they provoke God boldly,
whereas it is he that hath given all into their hands."¬ All this you must
interpret as caused by the sins of the people, as the already quoted Daniel,
referring to the "little horn,"¬ says, "And strength was given him against
the continual sacrifice, because of sins; and truth shall be cast down on the
ground."¬ And Elihu in the Book of Job says, "And upon nations and over
all men He maketh a man that is a hypocrite to reign for the sins of the
people."¬ And it was in this way that those who are represented by the
aforesaid terms of universality, because of their sins, were once, we
believe, put under the power of sin and also of unbelief, given into the
hands of robbers, and established under the power of the king of Babylon,
so that in the last times God may have mercy on all of those who forsake
their wickedness. For the Apostle says to the Galatians, "But the scripture
hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ
might be given unto them that believe."¬ And the same Apostle says to the
Romans, "For God hath concluded all in unbelief, that He may have mercy
on us all."

[6] On the Mercy of the Lord Our God.¬¬¬¬So the Lord our God "for His
exceeding charity wherewith He loved us"¬ has had mercy upon us, as the
Apostle writes to the Ephesians: "Even when we were dead in sins, [God]
hath quickeneth us together in Christ";¬ and as the same Apostle says to
Titus: "Not by the works which we have done but according to His great
mercy He saved us, by the laver of regeneration and renovation of the
Holy Spirit, whom He hath poured forth upon us abundantly through

32
Jesus Christ our Savior, that, being justified by His grace, we may be heirs
according to hope of life everlasting."¬ Whence it is written in the Book of
Wisdom: "But Thou, our God, art gracious and true, patient, and ordering
all things in mercy."¬ And again: "But Thou hast mercy upon all because
Thou canst do all things and overlookest the sins of men for the sake of
repentance. For Thou lovest all things that are and hatest none of the
things which Thou hast made, for Thou didst not appoint or make
anything hating it. And how could anything endure if Thou wouldst not?
or be preserved if not called by Thee? But Thou sparest all because they
are Thine, O Lord, who lovest souls." And again: "For it was neither herb
nor mollifying plaster that healed them, but Thy word, O Lord, which
healeth all things."¬ And David says: "All expect of Thee that Thou give
them food in season. What Thou givest to them they shall gather up, when
Thou openest Thy hand they shall all be fulfilled with good."¬ And Christ
says in the Gospel of John, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will
draw all things to myself."¬ Thus, it is clearly discovered through
statements of the Scripture that God wishes to have mercy upon all His
creatures.

[7] On the Reconciliation of Those Represented by Terms of Universality.¬ ¬¬¬It

can be clearly found through evidence of Scripture that those to whom the
aforesaid terms of universality refer are to be reconciled, restored, re-
established, fulfilled, and quickened¬ by the Lord our God and by His Son
Jesus Christ. For the Apostle says of our Lord Jesus Christ in his Epistle to
the Colossians: "Because in Him it hath well pleased the Father that all
fullness of divinity should dwell, and through Him to reconcile all things
unto himself, making peace through the blood of His cross, both as to the
things that are on earth and the things that are in heaven."¬ And in the
Gospel of Matthew, Christ says, "Elijah indeed shall come and restore all
things."¬ And the Apostle says to the Ephesians: "That He might make
known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure
which He hath purposed in Him in the dispensation of the fullness of
times, to reestablish all things in Christ that are in heaven and on earth in
Him."¬ And it is written in the Apocalypse, "And He that sat on the throne,
said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' "¬ And it is of Christ, we believe, that
the Apostle says to the Ephesians, "He that descended is the same also
that ascended above all the heavens, that He might fill all things." 50 And
in his first Epistle to Timothy, the same Apostle says, "I charge thee before
God, who quickeneth all things."¬ It is revealed, moreover, that what is
represented by the term "all" has been subjected under the feet of Jesus
Christ by the true Lord God, as David says and the Apostle points out to
the Hebrews: " 'He has subjected all things under His feet.' For in that He

33
hath subjected all things to Him, He left nothing not subject to Him. But
now we see not as yet all things subject to Him." ¬

And again, the same Apostle says in the first Epistle to the Corinthians: "
'For He hath put all things under His feet.' And whereas he saith, 'All
things are put under Him'; undoubtedly, He is excepted who put all
things under Him. And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then
the Son also himself shall be subject unto Him that put all things under
Him, that God may be all in all."

[8] That All Good and Evil Whatsoever Come Not from One and the Same
Cause.¬ ¬¬¬To wise men, therefore, it is obvious that the good and the evil,
the clean and the polluted, the transitory and the permanent, are not
summed up under these terms of universality, to wit, "all," "all things
whatsoever," and "all things," and others which are found in Holy
Scriptures, most particularly because they are complete opposites and
contraries. Nor could they all arise entirely from one cause alone. For
Jesus son of Sirach says: "Good is set against evil, and life against death, so
also is the sinner against a just man. And so look upon all the works of the
Most High."¬ And Paul says in the second Epistle to the Corinthians: "For
what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath
light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what
part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement hath the
temple of God with idols?"¬ It is as if he were saying: Justice has absolutely
no harmony with injustice, nor light with darkness, nor is there concord
between Christ and Belial; which should be understood to mean that these
opposites and contraries may not arise from one and the same cause. If it
were otherwise—if justice and injustice, light and darkness, Christ and
Belial, the faithful and the unbeliever, came absolutely and directly from
the Highest Cause of all good—they would be in partnership and in
concord, and would not destroy one another in the way that good and evil
obviously do every day. For it was clearly pointed out above that, "Good
is set against evil, and life against death," ¬and so on.

Hence, it follows that there is another principle, one of evil, who is the
source and cause of all wickedness, foulness, and unbelief, as also of all
darkness. For otherwise, the true God himself, who is most faithful, and
the height of justice, the essence of purity, would be entirely the cause and
origin of all evil. All opposites and contraries would emanate entirely
from the Lord himself. To suppose this is a most foolish fancy.

Part IV. A Compendium for the Instruction of Beginners

34
[1] On the Creation of Heaven, the Earth, and the Sea.¬ ¬¬¬I have resolved,
further, to treat in brief form for the instruction of beginners¬ the subject of
the creation of heaven, the earth, and the sea, of which something has
already been said. Now, I say that sometimes in the Holy Scriptures the
terms "heavens" and "earth" refer not to the permutable and unreasoning
elements of this world only, but to intelligent creatures of the true God,
those which have comprehension and understanding. For David says:
"The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth
the work of his hands."¬ And again, "Hear, O ye heavens, the things I
speak; let the earth give ear to the words of my mouth."¬ And Isaiah says,
"Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken."¬
And Jeremiah¬ says: "O earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord." And
David, "Thy way is in the sea and Thy paths in many waters."¬ It is to
these paths, I believe, that David also refers in the passage "All the ways of
the Lord are mercy and truth."

Thus, by the terms "heaven," "earth," and "sea" a spiritual existence is

implied, as the Blessed John says in the Apocalypse: "And every creature
which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are
in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard all saying, 'To Him that sitteth
on the throne and to the Lamb, benediction and honor and glory and
power, forever and ever.' "¬ Thus, David says: "I believe. to see the good
things of the Lord in the land of the living";¬ and again, "Thy good spirit
shall lead me into the right land."¬ And David¬ says, "But the just shall
inherit the land and shall dwell therein forevermore." And Christ
commanded "not to swear by heaven, for it is the throne of God," of
which, indeed, David says, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever"--"nor
by earth, for it is His footstool,"¬ the Lord added. It is of this footstool that
David is believed to have written, "Fear ye the Lord our God, and adore
His footstool, for it is holy." "

I grant that the Lord our God is the creator and maker of this creation, but
not of the "weak and needy elements" of this world, to which the Apostle,
for example, refers in saying to the Galatians, "How turn you again to the
weak and needy elements, which you desire to serve again?"¬ And to the
Colossians the same Apostle says: "If then you be dead with Christ from
the elements of this world, why do you yet decree as though living in the
world? Touch not, taste not, handle not, which are all unto destruction by
the very use."¬ Therefore, it can by no means be conceded that the Lord
our God is creator or maker of death, or of those things which are wholly
in death, as is written in the Book of Wisdom, "For God made not death,
neither hath He pleasure in the destruction of the living."¬ So undoubtedly
there is another creator or maker, who is the source and cause of death

35
and perdition, as of all evil, just as we pointed out with sufficient clarity
above.

[2] On the Omnipotence of the True Lord God.¬ ¬¬¬Now it is my intention to

discuss the omnipotence of the true Lord God, a subject on which our
opponents have often vaunted themselves over us, saying that there is no
power or potency other than His.

Although the true Lord God may be called almighty by the testimony of
Holy Scriptures, it is, however, not to be believed that He ought to be
called omnipotent in the sense that He can and does do all evils, since
there are many evil things which the true God cannot and never will be
able to do. For the Apostle says to the Hebrews, "It is impossible for God
to lie."¬ And in the second Epistle to Timothy, the same Apostle says, "If
we believe not, He continueth faithful, He cannot deny himself."¬ Nor
should one believe that the good God can utterly destroy himself or,
contrary to all reason and justice, do absolutely all evil things, this
especially because He is not the absolute cause of that evil.

But our opponents may rejoin: On the contrary, we can indeed assert that
the true Lord God is almighty, in that He can and does do all good things,
and also in that He can do all evil things; he can even lie and destroy
Himself if He wishes, but He does not choose to do so.

[3] That God Cannot Be the Author of Evil.¬ ¬¬¬The reply is obvious. For if God
does not desire all evil things, nor to lie, nor to destroy Himself, there is no
doubt that He cannot do so, because that which God most certainly does
not desire He cannot do, and what He absolutely cannot do He does not
desire. From this it is clear that in the true Lord God there exists no
potency for sinning or for doing all evil things. The argument for this is as
follows: Since anything predicated of God is indeed God himself,
especially because, in the view of wise men. He is not composite nor are
there in Him any accidents; it thus follows that God himself and His will
are one and the same thing. Therefore the good God cannot lie or be the
author of all evils unless He so desires, because what He himself does not
desire the true God cannot do, for He and His will are one and the same,
as was said above.

[4] That God Cannot Make Another God.¬ ¬¬¬Now, with reason and without
fear I can say further that the true God himself, with all His powers, could
not, cannot, and never will be able in any manner, either intentionally or
unintentionally, to make another god and lord and creator, like and
coequal unto himself in all things. This I prove.

36
I say, indeed, that it is impossible for the good God to make another god
like unto himself in all things, that is to say, eternal and everlasting,
creator and maker of all things that are good, with neither beginning nor
end, one who was never made, created, or born of anyone in the sense that
the good God was not made, created, or born of anyone. Yet in Holy
Scriptures the true Lord God is not called impotent, because of this. Hence
it must firmly be believed that the reason the good God is called
omnipotent is not that He can make, has made, or shall make all the evils
which are, were, and shall be made hereafter, but because He is
omnipotent over all things which were, are, and shall be good; and this
particularly because He is wholly the cause and origin of all good, but is
in no way, of himself exclusively and essentially, the cause of any evil. It
follows, therefore, that among wise men the true God is called omnipotent
in respect of all things that He has done, does, and shall do in the future;
but among those who understand correctly He is not called omnipotent in
the sense that He can do what He has not done, does not do, and never
will do. And if our opponents say that He has no desire to do so, the
argument carries no weight against me, because He and His will are one
and the same, as was demonstrated above.

[5] That God Is Not Mighty in Evil, but That There Is Another and Evil
Potency.¬ ¬¬¬Therefore, it is firmly to be believed that because there exists in
God no potency for evil by which He might bring evil things into
existence, there is another principle, one of evil, who is potent in evil.
From that one flow all evils which were, are, and shall be." It is evidently
of him that David says: "Why doest thou glory in malice, thou that art
mighty in iniquity? All the day long thy tongue hath devised Injustice; as
a sharp razor thou hast wrought deceit. Thou hast loved malice more than
goodness, and iniquity rather than to speak righteousness."¬ And the
Blessed John says in the Apocalypse, "And that great dragon was cast out,
that old serpent who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the
whole world."¬ And Christ says in the Gospel of Luke: "The seed is the
word of God. And they by the wayside are they that hear; then the devil
cometh and taketh the word out of their heart, lest believing they should
be saved."¬ And the prophet Daniel says: "I beheld, and lo, that horn made
war against the saints and prevailed over them, till the Ancient of Days
came and gave judgment to the saints of the Most High,"¬ and so on. And
again: "And another shall rise up after them; and he shall be mightier than
the former, and he shall bring down three kings. And he shall speak
words against the High One, and shall crush the saints of the Most High,
and he shall think himself able to change times and laws."¬ And again:
"And it [the little horn] became great against the south, and against the
east, and against the strength. And it was magnified even unto the

37
strength of heaven; and it threw down of the strength, and of the stars,
and trod upon them. And it was magnified even to the prince of the
strength; and it took away from him the continual sacrifice, and cast down
the place of his sanctuary."¬ And the Blessed John says in the Apocalypse:
"And there was seen another sign in heaven; and behold a great red
dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and on his head seven
diadems, and his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast
them to the earth."¬ And again: "And power was given to him to do two
and forty months; and he opened his mouth unto blasphemies against
God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in
heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to
overcome them."¬ So, in the view of wise men, it is deemed wholly
impossible that from the true Lord God derive absolutely and directly this
mighty one and his potency or power, he who daily works in the most evil
fashion against God and His creation, against whom the Lord our God
seeks mightily to contend. This the true God could not do if that one, in all
his characteristics, were entirely from Him, as most of our opponents
declare.

[6] On the Destruction of the One Mighty in Iniquity.¬ ¬¬¬It is most clearly
found in the Holy Scriptures, moreover, that the true Lord God is about to
destroy, together with all his powers," this mighty one who daily strives
against God and His creation. For David says of him who is mighty in
iniquity: "Therefore will God destroy thee forever; he will pluck thee out
and remove thee from thy dwelling place, and thy root out of the land of
the living."¬ And David, invoking his God against this mighty one, as we
believe, says: "Break thou the arm of the¬ and of the malignant; his sin
shall be sought and shall not be found. The Lord shall reign to eternity,
yea, forever and ever."¬ And again, "For yet a little while, and the wicked
shall not be; and thou shalt seek his place and shalt not find it."¬ And in
the Proverbs of Solomon is written, "The wicked man shall be driven out
in his wickedness."¬ And the Apostle, referring to the destruction of this
mighty one by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, says in the Epistle to
the Hebrews, "That, through death, he might destroy him who had the
empire of death, that is to say, the devil."¬ And so, the Lord our God not
only seeks to destroy this mighty one but also all the powers and
dominations which sometimes seem through this mighty one to rule over
the creatures of the good Lord when they are subjected to this evil
dominion So speaks the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Gospel according to
Luke, "He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the
humble."¬ And the Apostle says in the first Epistle to the Corinthians,
"Afterward the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God
and the Father, when he shall have brought to nought all principality, and

38
power, and virtue, and domination and the enemy of all, death, shall be
destroyed last." " And the same Apostle says to the Colossians: "Giving
thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the
lot of the saints in light of truth, who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love."¬
And again: "And you, when you were dead in your sins and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, He hath quickened together with Him,
forgiving you all offenses, blotting out the handwriting of the decree that
was against us, which was contrary to us. And he hath taken the same out
of the way, fastening it to the Cross; and despoiling the principalities and
powers, he hath exposed them confidently in open show, triumphing over
them in himself."¬

Thus the Blessed Paul was sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to despoil the
power referred to, as is written of him in the Acts of the Apostles: "For to
this end have I appeared to thee, that I may make thee a minister and a
witness of those things which thou hast seen and of those things wherein I
will appear to thee, delivering thee from the people and from the nations,
unto which now I send thee, to open their eyes that they may be converted
from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may
receive forgiveness of sins and a lot among the saints by the faith that is in
me."¬ And Christ, In the Gospel of the Blessed Matthew, says: "You are
come out as it were to a robber, with swords and clubs to apprehend me. I
sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you laid not hands on me.
But this is your hour, and the power of darkness." " Whence one must
firmly believe. that the power of Satan and of darkness cannot be
absolutely and directly from the true Lord God. Otherwise, if, as the
unlearned say, the power of Satan and of darkness in all its manifestations
were absolutely and directly from the true Lord God, along with other
powers, and all virtues and dominations, Paul and the other faithful of
Jesus Christ could in no way have been snatched from the power of
darkness. And also there would have been no way by which anyone could
have been converted from the power of Satan to the true Lord God. This is
particularly true because, if all powers, virtues, and dominations were
derived exclusively and essentially from the good God, anyone who is
extricated from the power of Satan and of darkness would be released
from the exclusive and essential power of the true Lord God himself. Nor
could the Lord himself despoil and bring to nought any power other than
His own, if no other power whatsoever is to be found, as say all the
opponents of those true Christians who are rightly known by the name of
Albanenses."

39
[7] On the Evil Principle.¬ ¬¬¬For this reason, in the opinion of the wise it is
firmly to be believed that there is another principle, one of evil, who is
mighty in iniquity, from whom the power of Satan and of darkness and all
other powers which are inimical to the true Lord God are exclusively and
essentially derived, as was demonstrated above and will appear below,
God willing. Otherwise, it would seem obvious to these same [wise]
persons that this Divine Might struggles, destroys, and wars against itself.
For the Apostle says to the Ephesians: "Finally, brethren, be strengthened
in the Lord and in the might of His power. Put you on the armor of God,
that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our
wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and
powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits
of wickedness in the high places. Therefore take unto you the armor of
God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and to stand in all
things perfect," and so on; "in all things taking the shield of faith,
wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most
wicked one."¬ Thus, the virtues and the powers of the true Lord God by
His will would daily be in opposition to one another, were there no other
might but His. It is utter foolishness to believe this of the true God.
Therefore, it follows indubitably that there is a might or power other than
the true one, which the true Lord God daily seeks to assail, as was most
clearly demonstrated to the wise " in the foregoing.

[8] On the Strange God and Many Gods.¬ ¬¬¬Now, if anyone should be so
foolish as to spurn the most valid arguments set forth above, let him fully
realize that through the evidence of the Holy Scriptures it may clearly be
learned that there is another god, a lord and prince other than the true
Lord God. For the Lord says through Jeremiah," "As you have forsaken
me and served a strange god in your own land, so shall you serve strange
gods in a land that is not your own." And [through Isaiah], "Assemble
yourselves and come, and draw near together, ye that are saved of the
Gentiles! They have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven
work, and pray to a god that cannot save."¬ And again, "O Lord our God,
other lords besides thee have had dominion over us, only in Thee let us
remember Thy name."¬ And David says: "Hear, O my people, and I will
testify to thee! O Israel, if thou wilt hearken to me! there shall be no new
god in thee; neither shalt thou adore a strange god."¬ And again, "If we
have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have spread forth our
hands to a strange god, shall not God search out these things?"¬ And
again: "The princes of the people are gathered together with the God of
Abraham; for the strong gods of the earth are exceedingly exalted."¬ And
again, "For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils."¬ And Zephaniah says,
"The Lord shall be terrible upon them and shall consume all the gods of

40
the earth."¬ And Jeremiah says: "A conspiracy is found among the men of
Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem so these likewise have gone
after strange gods, to serve them and adore them."¬ And again: "Because
your fathers forsook me and went after strange gods and served them and
adored them, and they forsook me and kept not my law; and you also
have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you walketh
after the perverseness of his evil heart, so as not to hearken to me. So I will
cast you forth out of this land into a land which you know not, nor your
fathers; and there you shall serve strange gods day and night, which shall
not give you any rest."¬ And Malachi says: "Judah hath transgressed, and
abomination hath been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah
hath profaned the holiness of the Lord, which He loved, and hath married
the daughter of a strange god."¬ And Micah says: "For all people will walk
away every one in the name of his god, but we will walk in the name of
the Lord our God forever and ever."¬ And the Apostle says in the second
Epistle to the Corinthians: "And if our gospel be also hid, it is hid to them
that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of
unbelievers, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the
image of God, should not shine unto them." 1 And the same Apostle says
in the first Epistle to the Corinthians: "For although there be that are called
gods, either in heaven or on earth (for there be gods many, and lords
many), yet to us there is but one God."¬ And Christ says in the Gospel of
Matthew: "No man can serve two masters. For either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will sustain the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and mammon."¬ And again, in the Gospel of John, Christ
says: "For the prince of this world cometh and in me he hath not
anything";¬ and again, "Now is the judgment of the world, now shall the
prince of this world be cast out";¬ and again, "Because the prince of this
world is already judged."¬ And the apostles say in their Acts: " 'Why did
the Gentiles rage, and the people meditate vain things? The kings of the
earth stood up, and the princes assembled together against the Lord and
his Christ.' For of a truth there assembled together in this city against Thy
holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, Herod, and Pontius Pilate,
with the Gentiles and the people of Israel,"¬ and so on. So it is clearly seen
that through the evidence of the Holy Scriptures many gods, lords, and
princes in enmity to the true Lord God and His son Jesus Christ can
manifestly be discovered, as has just been plainly set forth.

[9] That an Evil Eternity May Also Be Discerned.¬ ¬¬¬That for these gods an
eternity, a sempiternity, and an antiquity may be discerned different and
distinct from that of the true Lord God we can clearly prove through the
Scriptures. Christ says in the Gospel of Matthew, "Then shall the king say
to them that shall be on his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into

41
everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels.' "¬ And
the Blessed Jude [brother of] James: "And the angels who kept not their
principality but forsook their own habitation He hath reserved under
darkness in everlasting chains unto the judgment of the great day";¬ and
again, "As Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighboring cities in like
manner, having given themselves to fornication and going after other
flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire."¬
And the Blessed Job says, "Where¬ the shadow of death, and no order, but
everlasting horror dwelleth."¬ And through Ezechiel, the Lord says of
Mount Seir: "I will make thee everlasting desolations";¬ and again,
"Behold, I come against thee, Mount Seir, and I will stretch forth my hand
upon thee, and I will make thee desolate and waste. I will destroy thy
cities, and thou shalt be desolate; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
Because thou hast been an everlasting enemy, and hast shut up the
children of Israel in the hands of the sword in the time of their affliction,
in the time of their last iniquity."¬ This [Mount Seir] is a symbol for the
devil, who is the enemy of the true God, as Christ pointed out in the
Gospel of Matthew." And the Apostle says in the second Epistle to the
Thessalonians, "Who also shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction."¬
And Christ says in the Gospel of Matthew, "And these shall go into
everlasting punishment."¬ And in the Gospel of the Blessed Mark, He says,
"But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit shall never have
forgiveness, but shall be guilty of an everlasting sin."

Habakkuk the prophet, referring to the eternity of the devil, says: "God
will come from the south, and the holy one from Mount Pharan. His glory
covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise. His brightness shall
be as the light, horns are in his hands; there is his strength hid. Death shall
go before his face, and the devil shall go forth before his feet. He stood
and measured the earth; he beheld and melted the nations; and the ancient
mountains were crushed to pieces. The hills of the world were bowed
down by the journeys of his eternity."

Moreover, regarding the antiquity of the devil it is written in the

Apocalypse, "And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is
called the devil and Satan."¬ Whence, if it be fully understood that the
essences of things have neither beginning nor end by reason of their
eternity, sempiternity, or antiquity (just as, for example, it is evident to
anyone is true in the case of the good God), it has, then, been clearly
demonstrated in the foregoing that sin, penalties, desolations, error, fire,
punishment, chains, and the devil have neither beginning nor end. They
are the names either of the chief principle of evil or of his effects. They are
evidences of one evil cause, eternal or everlasting or ancient, because if the

42
effect has been eternal or everlasting, it necessarily follows that the cause
was the same. There is, then, without doubt, a principle of evil from which
this eternity or sempiternity and antiquity are exclusively and essentially
derived.

[10] That There Is Another Creator or Maker.¬ ¬¬¬That there is, in addition to
the faithful Creator to whom they that suffer "commended their souls in
good deeds,"¬ another god and lord who is a creator and maker, I propose
to prove clearly from the Scriptures, chiefly from the Old Testament, in
accord with the trust which our opponents place in it. For they openly
assert the Lord to be the creator and maker who created and made the
visible things of this world, namely heaven and earth, the sea, men and
beasts, birds and all creeping things, as we read in Genesis: "In the
beginning God created heaven and earth. And the earth was void and
empty."¬ And again: "And God created the great whales, and every living
and moving creature and every winged fowl according to its kind."¬ And
again, "And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds,
and cattle, and everything that creepeth after its kind."¬ And again, "And
God created man to His own image; to the image of God he created him;
male and female he made them."¬ And Christ says in the Gospel of the
Blessed Mark, "But from the beginning of the creation, God made them
male and female."

Now it must be kept in mind that no one can point to the temporal and
visible existence of the evil god in this world, nor, indeed, to that of the
good God. But a cause is known by its effects. From this, it should be
understood that no one can prove him to be an evil god or a creator,
except by the fact of his evil works or his fickle words. But I say that he
who created and made the visible things of this world is not the true
Creator. This I intend to prove by the fact of his evil works and his fickle
words, assuming to be true what our opponents most openly affirm, that
the works and words which are recorded in the Old Testament were
actually produced, visibly and materially, in this world."

For heartily we detest these works, namely adultery, theft of another's

property, murder, blasphemy, concurring in falsehood, giving one's word
either with or without an oath and never keeping it. All these evil things
enumerated were done by the god or creator discussed above, visibly and
materially, in this temporal world, according to that interpretation which
our opponents put on the Old Testament. They believe that these
scriptures speak of the creation and production of this world and of the
works which are openly and actually seen on this earth. This also those
persons who believe there is only one First Principle are of necessity

43
forced to admit. These things I propose clearly to prove by those
scriptures to which our opponents give great credence.

[11] That the Evil God Brought About Fornication.¬ ¬¬¬Now, this lord and
creator commanded in Deuteronomy: "If a man shall lie with another
man's wife, they shall both die, that is to say, the adulterer and the
adulteress, and thou shalt take away the evil out of Israel";¬ and again, "No
man shall take [his] father's wife nor remove his covering."¬ And in
Leviticus, the Lord again says: "Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of
thy father's wife, for it is the nakedness of thy father";¬ and again, "If a man
lie with his stepmother and discover the nakedness of his father, let them
both be put to death."

But contrary to the above-mentioned precept, it is obvious that this lord

and creator caused this adultery to be committed openly and carnally in
this temporal world, according to the belief and the interpretation of our
opponents, as will be found most clearly expressed in the second Book of
Kings, read according to their belief, for there this lord and creator says to
David through the prophet Nathan: "Why therefore has thou despised the
word of the Lord, to do evil in my sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite
with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him
with the sword of the children of Ammon. Therefore the sword shall
never depart from thy house, because thou hast despised me, and hast
taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord,
'Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thy own house, and I will
take thy wives before thy eyes and give them to thy neighbor, and he shall
lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly; but I
will do this thing in the sight of all Israel.' "¬ Thus, according to the belief
of our opponents, either this lord and creator was a liar, or without doubt
he actually brought about this adultery, as he is clearly found to have
done, according to their interpretation, in the second Book of Kings: "And
Ahithophel said to Absalom: 'Go in to the concubines of thy father, whom
he hath left to keep the house; that when all Israel shall hear that thou hast
disgraced thy father their hands may be strengthened with thee.' So they
spread a tent for Absalom on the top of the house; and he went into his
father's concubines before all Israel."¬ So, as he had threatened, this lord
and creator, according to our opponents' interpretation, consummated
that deed of adultery temporally and visibly in this world, and also
contrary to his own commandment as cited above, "If a man shall lie with
another man's wife,"¬ and so on.

No wise man, therefore, assumes that the true Creator was he who ac‑
tually gave a man's wives to his son or to any other man for purposes of

44
fornication, as that creator who, according to the belief of the ignorant
made the visible things of this world is believed to have done, as is clearly
shown in the foregoing. Wherefore it should be realized that the Lord our
God, the true Creator, never decreed that adultery or fornication should
actually be committed in this world. For the Apostle says, in his first
Epistle to the Corinthians, "Do not err; neither fornicators nor adulterers
shall possess the kingdom of God."¬ And the same Apostle says to the
Ephesians, "For know you this and understand, that no fornicator or
unclean person hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."¬
And he says to the Thessalonians, "For this is the will of God, your
sanctification: that you should abstain from fornication."¬ Our true
Creator, therefore, did not in this temporal world take the wives of David,
nor give them to his neighbor to lie with in the sight of all Israel and in the
sight of the sun, as was set forth above. But there is, without doubt, an evil
creator, who is the source and cause of all the fornication and adultery of
this World, as has been proven above and will appear below, God willing.

[12] That the Evil God Caused the Goods of Others to Be Plundered by Force, and
Murder to be Committed.¬ ¬¬¬We can, moreover, clearly prove through the
Old Testament, if we accept the belief of our opponents, that the aforesaid
lord and creator caused the goods of others to be plundered by force and
caused the actual theft—under the guise of a loan—of the wealth of the
Egyptians and even caused most bloody murders. For this very lord says
to Moses in Exodus: "Therefore thou shalt tell all the people that every
man ask of his friend, and every woman of her neighbor, vessels of silver,
and of gold. And the Lord will give favor to his people in the sight of the
Egyptians."¬ And again: "And the children of Israel did as Moses had
commanded; and they asked of the Egyptians vessels of silver and gold,
and very much raiment; and the Lord gave favor to the people in the sight
of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them; and they stripped the
Egyptians." I" And in Deuteronomy, Moses says to the people: "If at any
time thou come to fight against a city, thou shalt first offer it peace. If they
receive it and open the gates to thee, all the people that are therein shall be
saved and shall serve thee paying tribute. But if they will not make peace,
and shall begin war against thee, thou shalt besiege it. And when the Lord
thy God shall deliver it into thy hands, thou shalt slay all that are therein
of the male sex, with the edge of the sword, excepting women and
children, cattle, and other things that are in the city. And thou shalt divide
all the prey to the army; and thou shalt eat the spoils of thy enemies,
which the Lord thy God shall give thee. So shalt thou do to all cities that
are at great distance from thee and are not of these cities which thou shalt
receive in possession. But of those cities that shall be given thee, thou shalt
suffer none at all to live, but shalt kill them with the edge of the sword, to

45
wit, the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, and the
Jebusite, and the Hivite as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee."¬ And
again in the same book: "And Sihon came out to meet us with all his
people to fight at Jahaz. And the Lord our God delivered him to us; and
we slew him with his sons and all his people. And we took all his cities at
that time, killing the inhabitants of them, men and women and children;
we left nothing of them."¬ And again: "So the Lord our God delivered into
our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people; and we utterly
destroyed them, wasting all his cities at one time. There was not a town
that escaped us; sixty cities, all the country of Argob the kingdom of Og in
Bashan," and so on. "And we utterly destroyed them, as we had done to
Sihon the king of Heshbon, destroying every city, men and women and
children. But the cattle and the spoils of the cities we took for our prey.

Regarding the man gathering sticks on the Sabbath it is written in the

Book of Numbers: "And it came to pass, when the children of Israel were
in the wilderness and had found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath
day, that they brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole multitude.
And they put him into prison, not knowing what they should do with
him. And the Lord said to Moses, 'Let that man die; let all the multitude
stone him without the camp.' "¬ And again this lord says in Exodus to the
people of Israel: "I will fill the number of thy days. I will send my fear
before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom ;thou shalt come, and
will turn the backs of all thy enemies."¬ And in Leviticus the same lord
says: "You shall pursue your enemies, and they shall fall before you. Five
of yours shall pursue a hundred others, and a hundred of you ten
thousand; your enemies shall fall before you by the sword."¬ And he says
in the Book of Numbers: "But if you will not kill the inhabitants of the
land, they that remain shall be as nails in your eyes and spears in your
sides, and they shall be your adversaries in the land of your habitation.
And whatsoever I had thought to do to them, I will do to you." ¬

[13] On the Evil Creator.¬ ¬¬¬And so, in the opinion of the wise it is quite
evident that he cannot be a true creator who, in the temporal world,
caused the manifest and merciless destruction of so many men and
women with all their children. For it does seem incredible that in the case
of the children—since they had not the knowledge rightly to distinguish
good from evil, nor the free will, according to the belief of our opponents
—the true Creator could in this temporal world have destroyed them
pitilessly by a most revolting death; especially when the Lord had said
through Ezechiel, "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, but the
soul that sinneth, the same shall die."¬ Nor does Jesus Christ, faithful Son
of our Creator, enjoin his followers to visit utter destruction upon their

46
enemies in this temporal world, but commands rather that they do good
unto them. Thus, He says in the Gospel of the Blessed Matthew: "You
have heard that it hath been said to them of old, 'Thou shalt love thy
neighbor and hate thy enemy.' But I say to you, 'Love your enemies.' "¬ He
did not say: In this temporal world, persecute your enemies as your Father
did of old; but said, "Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you;
and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you, that you may be the
children of your Father who is in heaven."¬ It is as though He were saying:
that you may be in the love of your Father who is in heaven, to whom
belongs this work of mercy. Hence, the Son of God, Jesus Christ himself,
was taught by His Father to do this work of mercy in the present, just as
He says of himself in the Gospel of John, "The Son cannot do anything of
himself, but what he seeth his Father doing; for what things so ever he
doth, these the Son also doth in like manner."¬ Therefore, it is evident that
the Father of Jesus Christ did not cause the manifest destruction of so
many men and women with all their children in this temporal world;
particularly since this very God is the "Father of mercies, and the God of
all comfort,"¬ as the Apostle points out to the Corinthians.

[14] That the Evil God Cursed Christ.¬ ¬¬¬Moreover, not only did the lord and
creator whom we are discussing command that the aforesaid murder be
committed in this temporal world, if we accept the belief of our
opponents, but he cursed our Lord Jesus Christ, as is recorded in
Deuteronomy: "When a man hath committed a crime and is to be
punished with death and, being condemned to die, is hanged on a gibbet,
his body shall not remain upon the tree, but shall be buried the same day,
for he is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree." And the Apostle says to
the Galatians: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being
made a curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree.' "¬ Whence, in the opinion of the wise, it is not at all to be believed
that the Most Benevolent God, entirely of himself and not at all under the
influence of His enemy, cursed His son Jesus Christ—or, rather, cursed
himself, if it is true that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one
and the same, as the uninformed say. But there is indubitably an evil
creator, who is the source and cause of the malediction on Jesus Christ as,
indeed, he is of all evil.

[15] How That [Evil] God Concurred in Falsehood.¬ ¬¬¬Now, according to our
opponents, the same lord and creator is found to have concurred in
falsehood by sending a very evil and lying spirit. Indeed, the spirit of this
god is called an "evil spirit" and a "wicked spirit," as is recorded in the first
Book of Kings: "But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil
spirit from the Lord troubled him";¬ and again, in the same book, "So

47
whensoever the evil spirit of God was upon Saul, David took his harp and
played with his hand, and Saul was refreshed and was better, for the evil
spirit departed from him."¬ And in the Book of Judges it is written: "So
Abimelech reigned over Israel for three years. And the Lord God sent a
very evil spirit between Abimelech and the inhabitants of Shechem."° But
the Lord our God sent the spirit of truth, as Christ declares in the Gospel.

And in the third Book of Kings, Micaiah the prophet says: "I saw the Lord
sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the
right hand and on the left. And the Lord said, 'Who shall deceive Ahab,
king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead?' And one
spoke words of this manner, and another otherwise. And there came forth
a spirit and stood before the Lord and said, 'I will deceive him.' And the
Lord said to him, 'By what means?' And he said, 'I will go forth and be a
lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the Lord said, 'Thou
shalt deceive him, and shalt prevail; go forth and do so.' Now therefore
behold the Lord hath given a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets
that are here; and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee." And so, once
more it is clearly seen, if we follow our opponents, that he, lord and
creator, sent a very evil and a lying spirit. This the true God absolutely
could not do in any fashion.

[15] That the Evil God Did Not Keep His Promise.¬ ¬¬¬This very lord and
creator, moreover, promised to Abraham, and confirmed to his seed, that
he would give to him and to his seed after him all the land which
Abraham saw to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west, as
one reads in Genesis: "And the Lord said to Abraham, after Lot was
separated from him, 'Lift up thy eyes, and look from the place wherein
thou now art, to the north and to the south, to the east and to the west. All
the land which thou seest I will give to thee and to thy seed forever.' " And
again: "Arise, walk through the land in the length, and in the breadth
thereof, for I will give it to thee."¬ And in Deuteronomy it is written: "Go in
and possess the land concerning which the Lord God swore to our fathers
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them and to their seed
after them."

[16] But although this very lord made the promise aforesaid under oath to
Abraham, yet it must be believed that in a temporal sense he never
fulfilled it at all. This is what the Blessed Stephen says in the Acts of the
Apostles: "For he, the Lord, said to Abraham, 'Go forth out of thy country
and from thy kindred and come into the land which I shall show thee.'
Then he went out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charan. And
from thence, after his father was dead, he removed him into this land

48
wherein you now dwell. And he gave him no inheritance in it, no, not the
pace of a foot, but he promised to give it him in possession and to his seed
after him."¬ And so, it is clearly seen that he, the lord and creator, failed to
fulfill a promise made under oath; nor did he ever, even according to the
views of our opponents, fulfill it in the temporal and visible world.
Moreover, it does not appear that Abraham in a temporal sense possessed
this land at any time, whatever the unlearned may stammer about it.

[17] How This God Was Actually Seen in This Temporal World.¬ ¬¬¬It appears,
also, in accordance with the belief of the dullards, that the aforesaid lord
and creator was plainly seen in this world, by several persons face to face.
So we read in Genesis, "And Jacob called the name of the place Penuel,
saying, 'I have seen the Lord face to face.' " And in Exodus it is written:
"Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and seventy of the ancients of
Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel";¬ and again, "And the Lord
spoke to Moses face to face, as a man is wont to speak to his friend." And
in the Book of Numbers this lord says, "But it is not so with my servant
Moses who is most faithful in all my house, for I speak to him mouth to
mouth and plainly and not by riddles and figures."¬ But our true Creator is
never seen by anyone with the corporeal eyes of this world, as the Blessed
John says in the Gospel, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only
begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."¬
And the Apostle says in the first Epistle to Timothy, "To the king of ages,
immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory."¬ And to the
Colossians the same Apostle says, referring to Christ, "Who is the image of
the invisible God."

Therefore, the wise may read [the Scriptures] and believe without doubt
that there is an evil god, lord and creator; he is the source and cause of all
the evils referred to above. Otherwise, one would be led of necessity to
confess that the true God himself, who is shining and good, holy, the
living fountain and source of all sweetness, delight, and justice, was
directly the cause and origin of all evil, wickedness, bitterness, and
injustice. All opposites and contraries would flow forth entirely from the
Lord himself. In the opinion of the wise, such a supposition is a most
foolish fancy.

Part V. Against the Garatenses

[1] Rebuttal of the Garatenses. I ¬¬¬I have decided to write a further rebuttal
of the Garatenses, who often have repeated a boasting challenge to us by
saying: You Albanenses cannot prove by evidence from the Holy

49
Scriptures that an evil god is the creator of heaven and earth and all other
visible things, which repeatedly you proclaim him to be. I am led to reply
briefly to them . . . but it is known, however, that great hostility repeatedly
appears between Saracens, the baptized, Jews, Tatars, and other
religiously minded persons of this world. Although all believe that there
is only one Principle, holy, good, and merciful, they are nonetheless found
in constant contention with each other with their harsh words and the
cruelest of deeds--even though all undoubtedly believe that in creation all
men are brothers. I have already refuted this most foolish belief of theirs
with clarity sufficient for the wise.

[2] Exposure of the Foolish.¬ ¬¬¬Now, however, I wish to expose to those who
do have understanding the folly of the Garatenses; they, like the others,
believe in only one most benevolent Creator, and yet are wont repeatedly
to assert that there is another lord, the evil prince of this world, who was a
creature of the most excellent Creator. He, they say, corrupted the four
elements of the true Lord God. Out of these elements this evil lord in the
beginning formed and made man and woman and all the other visible
bodies of this world, from which have sprung all other bodies whatsoever
which today prevail on earth.

But since this opinion of theirs seems most foolish to the learned, I
demand that they confirm their interpretation by evidence from Holy
Scriptures, by stating where—in what book, in what text, or in what part
of the Bible—one may find that which they believe and openly preach to
men, namely, that an evil god or lord corrupted the four elements of the
good Lord God and that an evil lord in the beginning made man and
woman and all other bodies whatsoever, those of birds, of fishes, of
creeping things, and of cattle of this world, as they preach and attest
before men.

But perchance they may say: We can indeed prove that an evil god in the
beginning made man and woman and all other beings whatsoever from
which all carnal bodies are derived. For as one clearly finds in Genesis, he,
the evil lord, says to man and woman, to the birds, cattle, and all the other
carnal bodies: "Increase and multiply and fill the earth."¬ He says to the
fishes: "Increase and multiply and fill the waters of the sea."¬ In that book
also, one finds that this god, whom we believe to be evil, says: "Let us
make man to our image and likeness"; and again, "And God made the
beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle and everything that
creepeth after its kind"; and again, "And the Lord God built the rib which
he took from Adam into a woman."° And again, He said: "Wherefore a
man shall leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they

50
shall be two in one flesh." " And Christ says in the Gospel of the Blessed
Mark: "But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and
female." And he adds, "For this cause a man shall leave his father and
mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one flesh.
Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh,"¬ and so on. And it is in
such wise, perhaps relying on the foregoing texts and others like them,
that they may allege that an evil god in the beginning made the visible
bodies of this world.

I will accept their allegation, so far as I am able, provided they believe the
foregoing evidence to be completely true. But let them tell me whether or
not they really believe and wish to accept the foregoing evidence and
other words which are recorded in the Book of Genesis. If they say they do
not, because the evil god is the author and no faith at all is to be put in his
words, I answer that denial: Therefore, you have produced no proof from
Scripture to substantiate doctrine such as you daily preach. Therefore,
how, by what boldness, can you utter such words if you can provide no
argument from Holy Scripture to buttress your opinion?

But suppose they say: Although we believe this god to be evil, nonetheless
we accept as true this evidence which we have advanced just as it is
recorded in Genesis, to wit, that he, the evil god, made the visible bodies
of this world, as was pointed out in the foregoing. To them I reply: If you
seek to confirm from the Book of Genesis doctrine such as you preach
daily—namely, that an evil god corrupted the four elements and in the
beginning made man and woman and all fleshly bodies—then why do
you daily contend with us, saying that we cannot prove to you one evil
creator god? Can we not plainly prove to you, through the texts from
Genesis with which you buttress your opinion, that this god, whom you
believe to be evil, is the creator of heaven, earth, and all other things
which are visible, just as he is their maker? For in Genesis, one reads: "In
the beginning God created heaven, and earth. And the earth was void and
empty"; and again, "And God created the great whales, and every living
and moving creature"; and so on, "and every winged fowl according to its
kind."¬ And again: "And God created man to his own image, to the image
of God he created him, male and female he created them";¬ and again,
"And he blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because In it he had
rested from all his work which God created and made."¬ And again, "But
Melchizedek, the king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine, for he was
the priest of the most high God, blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abram
by the most high God, who created heaven and earth. And blessed be the
most high God by whose protection the enemies are in thy hands.' "

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And so by testimony from Genesis, in accordance with the demonstration
which we have presented for the Garatenses, we can plainly prove the
existence of an evil creator, who created heaven, earth, and all other
visible bodies whatsoever, exactly as has already been pointed out with
respect to the evil "maker" by evidence from Genesis.

[3] On All Creation.¬ ¬¬¬But perhaps some imprudent person among them
will say: We do, indeed, believe in only one Creator and Maker of all, who
created and made all visible and invisible things, just as is written in the
Gospel of the Blessed John: "All things were made by him, and without
him was nothing made."¬ And Paul says in the Acts of the Apostles: "That
I preach to you: God, who made the world, and all things therein," and so
on, "and hath made of one all mankind to dwell upon the whole face of
the earth." In the same book the apostles said: "Lord, Thou art He that
didst make heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them."
And in the Apocalypse is written: "Fear the Lord and give Him honor, and
adore ye Him that made heaven and earth, the sea, and the fountain of
waters." And the Apostle says to the Hebrews: "He that created all things
is God." ¬And so, perhaps, by these passages and others like them might
they attest one sole Creator and Maker of all.

Against this I object as follows: If, indeed, the true Lord God in the
beginning made male and female, fowls and cattle, and all the other
visible bodies, why then, do you daily censure the carnal union of man
and woman, calling it the work of the devil? Why do you not produce
sons and daughters for your Lord God? Why do you not eat the meat, the
eggs, and the cheese which are from your Creator, most good? And
wherefore do you utterly condemn eating them, if you believe that there is
only one Creator and Maker of all visible things? It is not surprising that
the Romans" constantly cite against you" the text of the Blessed Paul, who
says to Timothy: "Now the Spirit manifestly saith, that in the last times
some shall depart the faith, giving heed to spirits of error, and doctrines of
devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, and having their conscience seared,
forbidding to marry, [enjoining] to abstain from meats, which God hath
created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful, and by them that
have known the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to
be rejected." Now if it be true that the most benevolent and merciful God
created and made man and woman and the visible bodies of the world,
you repeatedly scorn the creation of the true Lord God when you
condemn His matrimony.

The Garatenses are thus ensnared by their own words.

52
[4] A Declaration to the Faithful.¬ ¬¬¬Let it be spread abroad to all the faithful
in Christ that, because of the slanderous statements of a certain member of
the Garatenses who boasted excessively in the presence of our friends, I
have been moved to write against him—as by Satan the Lord was moved
when He said in the Book of Job: "Thou hast moved me against him,"¬ and
so on—although I have not troubled myself to do this previously. But by
the aid of Jesus Christ, I may say¬ with the prophet: "His sorrow shall be
turned on his own head: and his iniquity shall come down upon his
crown." Now, however, I serve notice upon you Alb . . . and the whole
group of your Garatenses that if using the whole text of the Bible you wish
to uphold and defend your faith, that which you hold and preach every
day before your believers—which is that the devil corrupted the four
elements of the true Lord God, to wit, heaven, earth, water, and fire; that
he in the beginning made man and woman and the other visible bodies of
this world—I intend to uphold and defend my faith, which I hold and
openly preach before Christ's faithful, by testimony of the Law, the
prophets, and the New Testament, which I believe to be true and to
declare the truth, namely, that there is an evil god who created heaven
and earth, the great whales, and every living and moving creature, and
every winged fowl according to its kind, and made man and woman; who
formed man of the slime of the earth, and breathed into him the breath of
life—things which this god has done, as I have clearly read in the Book of
Genesis." If you desire to meet this challenge, choose any place which
seems to you appropriate and convenient, in the full knowledge that I, as I
have already made clear, am prepared with the aid of the true Father to
sustain my position.

[5] A Challenge.¬ ¬¬¬Again, I wish you to know, Al . . ., that I have been

informed by Peter of Ferrara" of your admission to him that you are
unable to establish through the text of the New Testament this belief of
yours to the effect that the devil corrupted the four elements of the good
God and that he made male and female, or words to this effect. Whence I
say this to you and to all your Garatenses: If you wish to confess this in
the presence of our faithful followers and friends, to wit, that you cannot
prove the truth of your faith by texts which you believe to be valid and to
declare the truth; if, as is reported, you wish to confess this, know you that
I elect to uphold my faith and to prove it by the Holy Scriptures and by
texts which I believe to declare the truth. My position is that this god,
whom I believe to be evil, created heaven and earth and the other things
enumerated above. If you are unwilling to admit this, defend, then, your
faith, which you so assiduously preach, by texts which you believe to be
true and to declare the truth, just as I stand ready to defend my faith. If,
indeed, you do not wish to do this, it is truly most astonishing that you

53
ask men to accept your belief, which is that the devil corrupted the four
elements of the true Lord God, out of which in the beginning he made the
visible bodies of this world. It is astonishing, moreover, that you cannot
produce solid proof by texts which you believe to be valid and to declare
the truth, yet you choose to reject my most benevolent faith, which I am
prepared to buttress strongly by evidence from the Law, the prophets, and
from the New Testament.

Now let the adversary of truth keep silent and never again dare to utter
the words referred to above!

[6.] A Further Argument against the Garatenses.] ¬¬¬A further argument

against the Garatenses is this: that every day they preach and assert that in
the beginning the devil corrupted the four elements of the true Lord God,
namely, heaven, earth, water, and fire. If this is true, as they believe and
repeatedly preach and affirm to their believers, let the Garatenses answer
the following objection which I pose against them: Was this corruption of
the holy elements of the true Lord God, which was accomplished by the
devil, a good and holy thing, or was it evil and most vain? If they should
answer that it was good and holy, the reply then would be: If that were
true, they would falsely believe and preach. For they say the devil
corrupted the four elements of the true God, which would be untrue, since
a good and holy act would not corrupt the holy elements which were from
the good Lord God. And, pursuing this argument, it would be necessary
for them to believe that the formation of male and female, from which
visible bodies were produced and which they hold to have been effected
in the beginning by the devil, was good and holy. This is the exact
opposite of their belief, since they preach and absolutely affirm that acts of
union of male and female are wicked and not in accordance with the will
of God. Why, then, do they reject meat, eggs, and cheese, made from the
most holy elements, if that corruption or formation which was
accomplished by the devil in the beginning was good and holy? Hence,
whoever may say this is admirably refuted.

But assume them to reply: That corruption or formation of the most holy
elements of the true Lord God which was accomplished by the devil was
evil and most vain and contrary to God's will, as they indubitably believe
and affirm. The rejoinder then would be: Now let the Garatenses answer
whether the corruption of the most holy elements—which was evil and
vain, which was accomplished by the devil, as was admitted above—was
done by the will of the Most Holy Father or¬ entirely against His will. If
they should say that the corruption of the holy elements was done by the
will of the Lord, for it is incredible that the devil could corrupt the most

54
holy elements contrary to the will of God, the rejoinder would be: Thus it
follows that the Lord had an evil will when He desired evil and most vain
corruption to be accomplished in His most holy elements, as just stated.
And if they should say that the will of God was good and holy when He
wished His holy elements to be corrupted, for by that corruption or
formation was established the kingdom of the most holy Creator, namely,
the kingdom of new souls, who had been created from eternity and are
now daily given form through the union of man and woman, then it
would follow of necessity that the union of man and woman is entirely
good and holy, if thus and in no other way God seeks completely to renew
His kingdom with new souls. Now this union ought not to be utterly
repudiated, as the Garatenses repeatedly do, were it the true means by
which new souls are given form. If, however, they should say: Indeed, we
believe this corruption or formation was effected in the most holy
elements contrary to the will of God, then it follows of necessity that there
is another principle, one of evil, which can corrupt the four elements of
the most holy Creator entirely against the latter's will. This would not be
true if there were only one First Principle. Also, had the devil been a
creature of the true Lord God, he could not have done any violence to the
most holy elements against the latter's will. Therefore, it follows that there
are two principles of things, to wit, one of good, the other of evil; and the
latter is the source of the corruption of the holy elements and also the
source of all evil. Therefore, the Garatenses are entangled in their own
most foolish arguments.

But perhaps they would still protest by saying: The corruption of the holy
elements was not accomplished by the will of the Lord nor against His
will, but was done by His permission and acquiescence. But let the
Garatenses answer whether this acquiescence and permission, by which
the most holy elements were corrupted, was good and holy, or evil and
most vain. If they should say: This acquiescence was good and holy, then
it follows of necessity that the holy elements were not corrupted at all,
since the most holy elements would not be corrupted by a good and holy
acquiescence. And also, that formation of man and woman which, as they
believe, was effected by the devil would be most good and holy; which is
the direct opposite of what the Garatenses believe. If, however, they
should say: It was evil and vain (as is the truth of the matter).¬-- then God
made a most foolish and wicked concession, and thus God was the cause
of this evil, as the Apostle says to the Romans: "Not only they that do
them are worthy of death, but they also that consent to them." It is
absolutely impossible to believe this of the true Lord God. It then follows
of necessity that there is another principle, one of evil, who forced the true
God to permit and suffer the wicked and most vain. corruption in His

55
most holy elements, quite against His will. This in no wise would the true
Lord God do entirely and directly of His own will.

And so, in all the ways recounted above, the Garatenses are ensnared in
their own words.

Part VI. On Will

[1] On the Ignorance of Many Persons.¬ ¬¬¬Since many persons enveloped in

the darkness of ignorance maintain that not only those who will be saved
but those who never will be saved have a potency for salvation and can be
saved, I have decided to demolish this absurd opinion with most valid
argument. Now, let the unlearned answer the question whether a person
can at any moment do that which he has not done, does not do, never will
do. If they reply in the negative, [they admit that] there is no doubt of its
impossibility, for that which cannot be accomplished at any time is never
possible of accomplishment.

At this point I state the issue: Let us presume that there is a certain person
who never did good in order to merit salvation, is not doing so, and never
will do so. Therefore, in accordance with the above reply, it was
impossible for him at any moment to do good in order to merit salvation;
hence, the potency for salvation was never in him. Nor, if the potency for
salvation was never in him, did this individual ever have a free will by
which he might merit salvation. Why, then, will God judge him, as the
dullards opine, if in him there never was the potency for salvation nor for
doing good in order to merit salvation, as was admitted above? Hence, by
this reasoning, vain will be the belief of those who declared that those
persons who are to be saved as well as those who never are to be saved
have a potency for salvation and can be saved, as was said above.

However, they may say: Indeed, this person could do good if he chose--
although he never has done, does not now, and never will do good – but
he does not wish to. This is the opinion of dullards. Now, I raise the
question of will in the same way as above I raised the question of potency.
For instance, there is a certain person who never had a good will by which
to merit salvation; he does not now have and never will have it. Let them
tell me whether this person can ever have the good will which merits
salvation. If they say no, because he never had this desire and never will
have it—as was said above in the matter of potency and as also is the truth
of the matter—then, if he had not the good will which would merit
salvation, he indubitably has not the potency to achieve salvation or to do

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good in order to merit it, since without good will no one can be saved.
Therefore, there was never in him the capacity for desiring to do good or
for doing good in order to be saved.

In the same way I raise the question of knowledge. Suppose there is a

certain person who never was wise enough to tell good from evil or truth
from falsehood in order to merit salvation, one who never was and never
will be wise enough (undoubtedly many such are to be encountered in
this world). If the reply to my question is in the negative, as it was in the
matter of potency and of will, then never can this person have the wisdom
to distinguish good from evil so as to merit salvation. Therefore, he can
not be saved, because without discernment no one can be saved.
Therefore, as was pointed out above, this man never had within himself
the capacity for salvation or to desire or know the good in order to merit
salvation; and by this reasoning will be destroyed the belief of those who
say that God shall judge men on their ability (arbitrium) to distinguish
good from evil and that in those who never will be saved there is the
potency for salvation.

But if they reply rashly, saying that indeed this person was able to do
what he did not, does not now, and never will do; and was able to have
this desire which he had not, has not, and never will have; that he was
able to have this knowledge which he had not, has not, and never will
have, my answer is this: If that were absolutely true, we might say as well
that one can make a goat pope of the Church of the Romans and do all
things which are impossible! That one could wish to burn in eternal fire, to
suffer all evils and the worst of misfortunes, and, indeed, could have
perfect knowledge of the true Lord God, knowledge as whole and perfect
as God has!—This is stupid to say and absurd to believe. In truth, if that
which was not, is not, and never will be can come to pass, and if it wholly
and directly exists in potency, it follows without a doubt that the angels
and all the saints could become demons, demons could become glorious
angels; Christ could become the devil, and the devil the glorious Christ;
and all impossibilities could exist and do exist in potency! This is most
false to say and most absurd to believe.

Now the right of the matter is this: A person is able to do whatever he has
done, does now, and will do in the future; this existed or exists in him
potentially. That which he has not done, does not now do, and never will
do, a person cannot do. It did not and does not exist potentially in him in
any way, for we cannot properly affirm that that which never eventuates
in act in any way exists in potency.

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A second comment:¬ I say that in all things which were, are, and shall be
the following two things were necessary before they came into existence:
the necessity of being and the impossibility of not being. This is
particularly true in respect of Him who has complete knowledge from
eternity of all the past, the present, and the future. For if God knows that
something will be before it exists, it is impossible for it not to come into
existence, because God could not know that it would come to pass were
there the possibility that it would not. For instance, if before Peter dies
someone knows that he is to die today, it is necessary for him to die today,
since it is impossible for him both to die and not to die today. Therefore,
before his death there pre-existed the necessity of dying and the
impossibility of not dying. In respect of him who knew that Peter would
die today, then, it was necessary for Peter to die today and impossible for
him not to die today.

Here is another argument [against free will]: God, as many believe, made
His angels good and perfect. Did He, or did He not, know before they
existed that they would become demons? If He did not know it, then He is
imperfect, not absolutely all-knowing. In the minds of wise men this is
impossible. Therefore, He indubitably knew that they would become
demons before they did so, since the First Cause is intelligence, knowing
perfectly that which shall come to pass in accordance with that which has
the possibility of coming to pass, as Aristotle proves in the third book of
Physics, where he says that to the First Cause all things are in the present.'
Therefore, the necessity of their being demons and the impossibility of
their not being demons preceded the existence of the angels. It was, then,
utterly impossible for them not to be demons, and especially so in respect
of God, in whom all things which were, are, and shall be, are in the
present, as was said previously. How, by what audacity, can the ignorant
say that the aforesaid angels could remain good and holy with their Lord
for all time, since that was forever impossible in God, who knows all
things before they come to pass, as Susanna says in the Book of Daniel, "O
eternal God, who knowest hidden things, who knowest all things before
they come to pass"?¬ And so it naturally follows that all things, of
necessity, were created in the First Cause. Therefore, those things which
are created have being and can exist; and, conversely, those things which
are not created have no being and cannot exist in any way. So vanishes the
opinion of those who said that the angels had the power both to sin and
not to sin.

[2] More on This Concept. The concept presented above cannot, I maintain,
be reconciled with the theories of those who believe that there is only one
First Principle, who believe that new souls or spirits are daily being

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created, and that the Lord must judge the good and the wicked, adults
and children (magnos et parvos), entirely on the basis of their free will or
choice. Let these persons answer this question: According to their belief
are all peoples to be gathered together before God? If this were true, there
would be an untold multitude of children of all races, four years of age or
less, and an astonishing multitude of the dumb, the deaf, and the simple-
minded, none of whom were ever able to do penance, none of whom had
from God in any measure either the ability or the knowledge to do good.
Why or how would the Lord Jesus be able to say to these: "Come, ye
blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me to eat,"¬ and so on? Such a statement
most certainly could not be true, since they never were in any way able to
do so [of their free will], nor have they done so. But if, perchance, anyone
should say that they are to be damned to eternity, I answer that this is
wholly rejected in terms of free will. How would the Lord be able to say to
these: "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire. For I was hungry
and you gave me not to eat," and so on? For they could reasonably excuse
themselves on the very grounds of free will, saying:

We were never able in any way to do this because You never bestowed
upon us the capacity for or the knowledge of how to do good. And so free
will as it is conceived of by our opponents is entirely rejected.

Consider this most evil concept! There are, indeed, some who believe that
children who are born and who die on the same day and whose souls
have been newly created will be tortured in eternal punishment forever
and ever, and that they can never escape therefrom. Indeed, how utterly
astounding is their boldness in preaching that the Lord Jesus must judge
all men in terms of free will, for that concept, as was shown above, is
utterly untrue.

Part VII. On Persecutions

[1] On Striking' the Shepherd.¬¬¬¬"For it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed.'" "The shepherd" means
Christ; "the dispersed sheep of the flock" refers to the disciples. But the
true Lord God did not by His own act absolutely and directly strike His
Son Jesus Christ, for if He had committed this murder by His own act
exclusively and essentially no one could incriminate Pilate or the
Pharisees or Judah in any way, for they would have carried out the will of

59
God fully; on the contrary, it would have been a sin to resist the will of
God. Whence the explanation is this: God "struck" His Son by enduring
His death, for they were powerless to carry out the deed unless the Lord
himself had permitted it. And this is what Christ said to Pilate: "Thou
shouldst not have any power against me unless it were given thee from
above." "Unless [permission] were given," He said—not "unless the power
were given"—as though He were saying: Unless it were allowed you by
God, you would have no power to do me any hurt. For it was the evil
principle through whom Pilate and the Pharisees and Judah and the
others committed this murder. The true Lord God endured this wicked
deed, being unable in a better way to deliver His people from the power
of the enemy. He says through Isaiah: "For the wickedness of my people
have I struck him." For the disciples, too, have been dispersed, that is, put
apart from Christ by the power of evil spirits, for a certain purpose, which
was not a good one, as is subsequently recorded: "Then the disciples all
leaving Him fled."

[In the manuscript, the passage just translated is followed by

miscellaneous items, chiefly excerpts from the Pauline epistles, which
occupy one folio. Thereafter appears the Catharist ritual in Latin --
see The Cathar Ritual -- and then the following passages on
persecution.]

[2] On the Persecution of the Prophets, of Christ, of the Apostles, and of Others
Who Followed Them.¬ ¬¬¬As I pondered when reading and rereading the
Holy Scriptures, it seemed to me that many times in them ¬were attested
the evils which the prophets and Christ and the apostles once bore in all
forgiveness while doing good for the salvation of their souls; and as well,
how in the last days the followers of Christ must bear many scandals,
tribulations, persecutions, afflictions, sorrows, even death through false
Christs and false prophets, and through evil men and seducers; and how
they should forgive them that persecute and calumniate them, pray for
them, do good unto them, likewise seeking not to resist them. In just that
way now the true Christians are seen to act, fulfilling the Holy Scriptures
to their own good and honor, and indeed the ungodly and the sinners are
seen to act to their own hurt, so as to fill up their sins always to the
measure of their fathers.

Whence Paul says in the second Epistle to Timothy: "Know also this, that
in the last days shall come dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of
themselves, covetous, haughty, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, ungrateful, wicked, without affection, without peace, slanderers,
incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness, stubborn, puffed up, and
lovers of pleasures more than of God, having an appearance indeed of

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godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now these avoid." And Christ
says in the Gospel of Matthew: "There shall arise false Christs and false
prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to
deceive, if possible, even the elect." And to the Romans Paul says: "And as
they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to
a reprobate sense to do those things which are not convenient; being filled
with all iniquity, malice, fornication, avarice, wickedness; full of envy,
murder, contention, deceit, malignity; whisperers, detractors, hateful to
God, contumelious, proud, pleasing to themselves, haughty, inventors of
evil things, disobedient to parents, foolish, dissolute, without affection,
without fidelity, without mercy." 10 And the Blessed Peter says in his
second Epistle: "But there were also false prophets among the people,
even as there shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects
of perdition and deny the Lord who bought them, bringing upon
themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their riotousnesses,
through whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you,
whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their perdition
slumbereth not."¬ And Paul says to Timothy in the second Epistle: "But
evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse, erring and driving
into error."¬ And in the Acts of the Apostles Paul says: "Take heed to
yourselves, and to the whole flock, wherein the Holy Spirit hath placed
you bishops, to rule the Church of God which He hath purchased with
His own blood. For I know that after my departure ravening wolves will
enter in among you, not sparing the flock. And of them shall arise men
speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore
watch, keeping in memory."

[3] On the Persecution of the Prophets.¬ ¬¬¬Moreover, one finds many

references to the persecution of the prophets and of Christ and of the
apostles. For Paul says to the Hebrews concerning the persecution of the
prophets: "And what shall I yet say? For the time would fail me to tell of
Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who
by faith conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises,
stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the
edge of the sword, recovered strength from weakness, became valiant in
battle, put to flight the armies of foreigners. Women received their dead
raised to life again. But others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that
they might find a better resurrection. And others had trial of mockeries
and stripes, moreover also of bands and prisons. They were killed, they
were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the
sword; they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want,
distressed, afflicted, of whom the world was not worthy; wandering in

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deserts, in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth. And all
these, being approved by the testimony of faith, received not the promise,
God providing some better thing for us, that they should not be perfected
without us."" And Christ says in the Gospel of the Blessed Matthew: "For
so they persecuted the prophets that were before you."¬ And in the Acts of
the Apostles, the Blessed Stephen says: "You stiffnecked and
noncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As
your fathers did, so do you also. Which of the prophets have not your
fathers persecuted? And they have slain them who foretold of the coming
of this just Christ, of whom you have been now the betrayers and
murderers who have received the Law by the disposition of angels and
have not kept it."¬

And in the Gospel of Matthew, Christ says: "Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! that build the sepulchers of the prophets and adorn
the monuments of the just, and say, 'If we had been in the days of our
fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the
prophets.' Wherefore you are witnesses against yourselves, that you are
the sons of them that killed the prophets. Fill ye up, then, the measure of
your fathers. you serpents, generation of vipers, how will you flee from
the judgment of hell? Therefore behold, I send to you prophets and wise
men and scribes, and some of them you will put to death and crucify, and
some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,
that upon you may come all the just blood that has been shed upon the
earth, from the blood of Abel the just even unto the blood of Zechariah the
son of Berechiah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.
Amen, I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that
are sent unto thee! How often would I have gathered together thy children
as the hen cloth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldst
not! Behold, your house shall be left to you desolate. For I say to you, you
shall not see me further, till you say, 'Blessed is he that cometh in the
name of the Lord.'"¬ And the Blessed James says in the Epistle: "Take, my
brethren, for an example of suffering evil, of labor and patience, of
forbearance, the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we
account them blessed who have endured. You have heard of the patience
of Job, and you have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is merciful
and compassionate."

[4] On the Passion and Persecution of Christ.¬ ¬¬¬Moreover, the tribulation and
persecution and passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, occurring
after the tribulation of the prophets of which we spoke above, is
manifestly displayed in Holy Scriptures. For it is found in the Gospel of

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the Blessed Matthew that when Christ was a child it was announced to
Joseph by an angel: 'Arise, and take the child and His mother, and fly into
Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that
Herod will seek the child to destroy Him.' Who arose, and took the child
and His mother and retired into Egypt, and he was there until the death of
Herod." And in the Gospel of the Blessed Luke it is written of Christ: "And
Joseph and His mother were wondering at those things which were
spoken concerning Him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his
mother, 'Behold, this child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of
many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted, and thy own
soul a sword shall pierce, that out of many hearts thoughts may be
revealed.'" And it is written in the Gospel of the Blessed Matthew: "And
Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples apart and said to
them, 'Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be
betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes, and they shall condemn Him
to death. And shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked, and
scourged, and crucified, and the third day He shall rise again"; and again,
"You know that after two days shall be the pasch, and the Son of man shall
be delivered up to be crucified."¬

And in the Gospel of John, Christ says: "Amen, amen, I say unto you,
before Abraham was made, I am.' They took up stones therefore to cast at
Him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple" ; and again, "The
chief priests, therefore, and the Pharisees gathered a council and said,
'What shall we do, for this man doth many miracles? If we let him alone
so, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our
place and nation.' But one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest
that year, said to them, 'You know nothing; neither do you consider that it
is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the
whole nation perish not.' And this he spoke not of himself, but, being the
high priest of that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation,
and not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of
God that were dispersed. From that day therefore they devised to put
Him to death"; and again, "The world cannot hate you, but me it hateth
because I give testimony of it that the works thereof are evil." And again,
"These things I command you, that you love one another. If the world hate
you, know ye that it hath hated me before you. If you had been of the
world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth
you. Remember my word that I said to you, 'The servant is not greater
than his master.' If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you;
if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also. But all these things
they will do to you for my name's sake, because they know not him that

63
sent me."" And the Blessed John says in the Apocalypse: "And the dragon
stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered, that when she
should be delivered, he might devour her son." And the Blessed James
says: "You have feasted upon earth, and in riotousness you have
nourished your hearts in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and
put to death the Just One and he resisted you not." And in the Acts of the
Apostles, the Blessed Peter says: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words:

Jesus of Nazareth, approved of God among you by miracles and wonders

and signs which God did by Him, in the midst of you, as you also know;
this same being delivered up, by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, you, by the hands of wicked men, have crucified
and slain. Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the sorrows of hell, as
it was impossible that He should be holden by it."¬ And again, "Therefore
let all the house of Israel know most certainly that God hath made both
Lord and Christ, this same Jesus, whom you have crucified."¬ And again:
"Ye men of Israel, why wonder at this, or why look you upon us, as if by
our strength or power we had made this man to walk? The God of
Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the God of our
fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus, whom you indeed delivered up and
denied before the face of Pilate, when he judged He should be released. But
you denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be
granted unto you. But the author of life you killed, whom God hath raised
from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And in the faith of His name,
this man, whom you have seen and known, hath His name strengthened;
and the faith which is by Him, hath given soundness in the sight of you
all. And now, brethren, I know that you did it through ignorance, as did
also your rulers. But those things which God before had showed by the
mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He hath so
fulfilled.

Be penitent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted

out, that when the times of refreshment shall come from the presence of
the Lord, and He shall send Him who hath been preached unto you, Jesus
Christ, whom heaven indeed must receive until the times of the restitution
of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets
from the beginning of the world."¬ And again, the apostles with one
accord said: "Lord, thou that didst make heaven and earth, the sea, and all
things that are in them, who, by the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of our
father David, thy servant, hast said, 'Why did the Gentiles rage, and the
people meditate vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the
princes assembled together against the Lord and his Christ. For of a truth
there assembled together in this city against Thy holy child Jesus, whom

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Thou hast anointed, Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the
people of Israel, to do what thy hand and thy counsel decreed to be
done."¬ And again, "But Peter and the apostles answering, said, 'We ought
to obey God, rather than men. The God of our fathers hath raised up Jesus,
whom you put to death, hanging Him upon a tree. Him hath God exalted
with His right hand, to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel,
and remission of sins. And we are witnesses of these things, and the Holy
Spirit, whom God hath given to all that obey Him.' When they had heard
these things, they were cut to the heart and they thought to put them to
death." And again, "God sent the word to the children of Israel, preaching
peace by Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all). You know the word which hath
been published through all Judea, for it began from Galilee after the
baptism which John preached: Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him
with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and
healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. And
we are witnesses of all things that He did in the land of the Jews and in
Jerusalem, whom the Jews rejected and killed, hanging Him upon a tree.
Him God raised up the third day, and gave Him to be made manifest; not
to all the people but to witnesses preordained by God, even to us, who did
eat and drink with Him after he arose again from the dead. And He
commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who
was appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

¬To Him all the prophets give testimony that by His name all receive
remission of sins who believe in him." ¬And again, "Men, brethren,
children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you fear God, to
you the word of this salvation is sent. For they that inhabit Jerusalem, and
the rulers thereof, not knowing Him nor the voices of the prophets which
are read every Sabbath, judging Him have fulfilled them; and finding no
cause of death in Him, they desired of Pilate that they might kill Him.
And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of Him, taking
Him down from the tree, they laid Him in a sepulcher. But God raised
Him up from the dead the third day."34 And the Blessed Peter says in the
first Epistle: "Christ, therefore, having suffered in the flesh, be you also
armed with the same thought, for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath
ceased from sins, that now he may live the rest of his time in the flesh, not
after the desires of men but according to the will of God." And the Blessed
Mark says in the Gospel: "And He taketh Peter and James and John with
Him, and He began to fear and be sorrowful and be heavy. And He saith
to them, `My soul is sorrowful even unto death; stay you here and
watch."'" And again: "And when the sixth hour was come, there was
darkness over the whole earth until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?’ which

65
is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why halt thou forsaken me?"¬ And
again, "And Jesus, having cried out with a loud voice, gave up the ghost."¬
And the Blessed Matthew says: "Then they crucified with Him two
thieves, one on the right hand and one on the left"; and again, "And Jesus,
again crying with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost." ¬And the Blessed
Luke says: "And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, `Father, into thy
hands I commend my spirit.' And saying this, He gave up the ghost."

[5] On the Tribulation of the Saints.¬ ¬¬¬The subject of our Lord Jesus Christ's
tribulation and passion has been quite clearly attested, as was shown most
abundantly in the foregoing. Now we must speak of the tribulation and
persecution and death which the apostles and their heirs had to suffer in
time to come, doing good and forgiving, and how they must also endure
in their own time. In just that way true Christians now are seen to act,
those called heretics now, as they were in the time of Paul, as he himself
says in the Acts of the Apostles: "But this I confess to thee, that according
to the way which they call a heresy, so do I serve God my father"; and
again, "For as concerning this sect, you know that it is everywhere
contradicted."¬ Whence our Lord Jesus Christ when describing the
forthcoming persecution to His disciples says in the Gospel of the Blessed
Matthew: "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice's sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you
and persecute you and speak all that is evil against you untruly for my
sake; be glad in that day and rejoice, for your reward is very great in
heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets that were before you."¬ And
again: "Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye,
therefore, wise as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men; for
they will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their
synagogues, and you shall be brought before governors and before kings
for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they
shall deliver you up, take no thought how or what to speak, for it shall be
given you in that hour what to speak. For it is not you that speak, but the
Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. The brother also shall deliver
up the brother to death, and the father the son, and the children shall rise
up against their parents and shall put them to death; and you shall be
hated by all men for my name's sake. But he that shall persevere unto the
end, he shall be saved. And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee
into another. Amen, I say to you, you shall not finish all the cities of Israel
till the Son of man come. The disciple is not above his master, nor the
servant above his lord; it is enough for the disciple that he be as his
master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the goodman of the
house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household?"

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And in the Gospel, Christ says: "Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall
lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made
sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she
is in labor, hath sorrow, because her hour is come; but when she hath
brought forth the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that
a man is born into the world. So also you now indeed have sorrow, but I
will see you again and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall
take from you."¬ And in the Gospel of the Blessed Matthew Christ says:
"Take heed that no man seduce you. For many will come in my name
saying, 'I am Christ,' and they will seduce many. And you shall hear of
wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled; for these things
must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be pestilences and
famines and earthquakes in places; now all these are the beginnings of
sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and you shall be
hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be
scandalized, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And
many false prophets shall rise and shall seduce many. And because
iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold. But he that
shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved."¬ And in the Apocalypse it is
said: "Behold, the devil will cast you into prison, that you may be tried,
and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful until death, and I
will give thee the crown of life?" 48 And in the Gospel of John, Christ says
to His disciples: "These things I command you, that you love one another.
If the world hate you, know ye that it hath hated me before you. If you
had been of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are
not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you. Remember my word that I said to you, 'The servant is
not greater than his master.' If they have persecuted me, they will also
persecute you; if they have kept my word, they will keep yours also. But
all these things they will do to you for my name's sake, because they know
not Him that sent me." ¬

[6] How the Saints Have Suffered.¬ ¬¬¬It is made quite clear in Holy Scriptures,
as we pointed out in the preceding, how our Lord Jesus Christ showed
through His words that in His name His disciples would bear tribulations
and persecutions and even death in days to come. But now we must
describe how they in their time bore many evils and tribulations and
persecutions and even death in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as
He himself foretold to them in the Holy Scriptures. For He says in the
Gospel of John: "And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the
world, that they may have my joy filled in themselves. I have given them
Thy word; and the world hath hated them because they are not of the

67
world, as I also am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldst take
them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from evil. They
are not of the world, as I also am not of the world."¬ And the Blessed John
in the first Epistle says: "Wonder not, brethren, if the world hate you. We
know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the
brethren." And the Blessed Peter in the first Epistle says: "Dearly beloved,
think not strange the burning heat which is to try you, as if some new
thing happened to you. But if you partake of the sufferings of Christ,
rejoice that when His glory shall be revealed you may also be glad with
exceeding joy. If you be reproached for the name of Christ, you shall be
blessed, for that which is of the honor, glory, and power of God, and that
which is his Spirit shall rest upon you. But let none of you suffer as a
murderer, or a thief, or a railer, or a coveter of other men's things; but if as
a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
For the time is that judgment should begin at the house of God. And if
first at us, what shall be the end of them that did not believe the gospel of
God? And if the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the un godly
and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them also that suffer ac cording to
the will of God commend their souls in good deeds to the faithful
Creator."¬

And Paul in the Acts of the Apostles says of himself, "And I, indeed, did
formerly think that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of
Jesus of Nazareth. Which also I did at Jerusalem, and many of the saints
did I shut up in prison, having receive' authority of the chief priests, and
when they were put to death, I brought the sentence. And oftentimes
punishing them, in every synagogue, compelled them to blaspheme, and
being yet more mad against them, persecuted them even unto foreign
cities." And the Blessed Peter I the first Epistle says: "For this is
thankworthy, if for conscience toward God, a man endure sorrow,
suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it if committing sin and being
buffeted for it, you endure? But if doing well you suffer patiently, this is
thankworthy before God, for unto this are you called because Christ also
suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow His steps.
Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth; who, when He was
reviled, did not revile; when He suffered, He threatened not, but delivered
himself to him that judged him unjustly. Who His own self bore our sins
in His body upon the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live to
justice; by whose stripes you were healed. For you were as sheep going
sometimes astray, but you are now converted to the shepherd and bishop
of your souls."¬ And in the Acts of the Apostles it is written: "And at that
time there was raised a great persecution against the church which was at
Jerusalem, and they were all dispersed through the countries of Judaea

68
and Samaria, except the apostles."¬ And Paul says to the Romans: "Who
then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or persecution, or the sword? As it is
written, 'For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter.'

But in all these things we overcome because of Him that hath loved us.
For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor virtues, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."¬ And the Blessed Peter
in the first Epistle says: "If now you must be for a little time made
sorrowful in divers temptations, that the trial of your faith, much more
precious than gold which is tried by the fire, may be found unto praise
and glory and honor at the appearing of Jesus Christ."¬ And Paul in the
Acts of the Apostles says: "Men, brethren, I have conversed with all good
knowledge before God until this present day.' And the high priest
Ananias commanded them that stood by him to strike him on the mouth."¬
And again Paul himself says to the Corinthians in the first Epistle: "Even
unto this hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted
and have no fixed abode; and we labor, working with our own hands. We
are reviled and we bless; we are persecuted and we suffer it. We are
blasphemed and we entreat; we are made as the refuse of this world, the
offscouring of all even until now. I write not these things to confound you,
but I admonish you as my dearest children." And Blessed Peter in the first
Epistle says: "And who is he that can hurt you, if you be zealous of good?
But if also you suffer anything for justice' sake, blessed are ye. And be not
afraid of their fear, so that you be not troubled."¬ And Paul in the first
Epistle to the Corinthians says of himself: "For I am the least of the
apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted
the Church of God."¬ And Paul in the second Epistle to the Corinthians: "In
all things we suffer tribulation, but are not distressed; we are straitened,
but are not destitute; we suffer persecution, but are not forsaken; we are
cast down, but we perish not. Always bearing about in our body the
mortification of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in
our bodies. For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus'
sake; that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh.""
And to the Ephesians, the same Apostle says: "Finally, brethren, be
strengthened in the Lord and in the might of His power. Put you on the
armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the
devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the
principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness,
against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.

69
Therefore take unto you the armor of God, that you may be able to resist
in the evil day, and to stand in all things perfect. Stand, therefore, having
your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice,
and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in all
things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish
all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. By all
prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit, and in the same
watching."¬ And in the second Epistle to the Corinthians, the same Apostle
says: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercies and the God of all comfort. Who comforteth us in all our
tribulation, that we also may be able to comfort them who are in all
distress, by the exhortation wherewith we also are exhorted by God. For
as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so also by Christ doth our
comfort abound.

Now whether we be in tribulation, it is for your exhortation and salvation;

or whether we be exhorted, it is for your exhortation and salvation, which
worketh in us in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer.
That our hope for you may be steadfast, knowing that as you are
partakers of the sufferings, so shall you be also of the consolation. For we
would not have you ignorant, brethren, of one tribulation, which came to
us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure above our strength, so
that we were weary even of life. But we had in ourselves the answer of
death, that we should not be confident in ourselves but in God who
raiseth the dead. Who hath delivered and doth deliver us out of so great
dangers; in whom we trust that He will yet also deliver us. You helping
withal in prayer for us." 84 And to the Galatians Paul said: "For you have
heard of my conversation in times past in the Jews' religion: how that,
beyond measure, I persecuted the Church of God and wasted it. And I
made progress in the Jews' religion above many of my equals in my own
nation, being more abundantly zealous for the traditions of my fathers."¬
And again, to the Corinthians in the second Epistle: "I speak according to
dishonor, as if we had been weak in this part. Wherein if any man dare (I,
speak foolishly), I dare also. They are Hebrews? So am I. They are the seed
of Abraham? So am I. [They are ministers of Christ?]¬ I speak as one less
wise. I am more, in many more labors, in prisons more frequently, in
stripes above measure, in deaths often. Of the Jews five times did I receive
forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods; once I was stoned.
Thrice I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day I was in peril of the sea; in
journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils from my
own nation, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the
wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from false brethren; in labor and

70
painfulness, in much watchings, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in
cold and nakedness. Besides those things, which are without, my daily
instance, the solicitude for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not
weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?"¬

And in the second Epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul says: "So that we
ourselves also glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and
faith, and in all your persecutions and retributions which you endure, for
an example of the just judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy
of the kingdom of God, for which also you suffer. Seeing it is a just thing
with God to repay tribulation to them that trouble you, and to you who
are troubled, rest with us when our Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven." And in the first Epistle to Timothy, Paul says of himself. "I give
Him thanks who hath strengthened me, even to Christ Jesus our Lord, for
that He hath counted me faithful, putting me in the ministry who before
was a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and contumelious. But I obtained the
mercy of God, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief."¬ And to the
Thessalonians, in the first Epistle, the Apostle himself says: "You,
however, are become followers of the brethren of the churches of God
which are in Judaea, in Christ Jesus. For you also have suffered the same
things from your own countrymen, even as they have from the Jews, who
both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and have persecuted us, and
please not God, and are adversaries to all men, prohibiting us to speak to
the Gentiles that they may be saved, to fill up their sins always, for the
wrath of God is come upon them to the end."¬

And again: "And we sent Timothy, our brother and the minister of God in
the gospel of Christ, to confirm you and exhort you concerning your faith,
that no man should be moved in these tribulations, for yourselves know,
that we are appointed thereunto. For even when we were with you, we
foretold you that we should suffer tribulations, as also it is come to pass
and you know. For this cause also, I, forbearing no longer, sent to know
your faith, lest perhaps he that tempteth should have tempted you, and
our labor should be made vain." And to the Corinthians, in the first
Epistle, Paul says: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all
men most miserable." And to the Philippians, Paul says: "And in nothing
be ye terrified by the adversaries, which to them is a cause of perdition but
to you of salvation, and this from God. For unto you it is given for Christ
not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, having the same
conflict as that which you have seen in me and now have heard of me."¬
Whence, the same Paul in that second Epistle to Timothy says: "But thou
hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-
suffering, love, patience, persecutions, afflictions, such as came upon me

71
at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra, what persecutions I endured, and
out of them all the Lord delivered me. And all that will live godly in
Christ Jesus, suffer persecution."

And now the book is finished; let us give thanks to Christ.

72
 Interrogatio Johannis

(The Secret Supper - The Book of John the Evangelist)

(GLWRULDO Notes

The Interrogatio Iohannis (The Questions of John) is one of the most

important extant Cathar Scriptures and a major addition to the known
Johannine literature. It is titled from the first words (incipit) of its text --
the complete Latin title is: "Interrogatio Iohannis apostoli et evangelistae in
cena secreta regni coelorum de ordinatione mundi istius et de principe et de
Adam." It has been variably titled in translations as "The Book of John the
Evangelist" and "The Secret Supper" (Cena Secreta).

This scripture preserves a work from the Johannine tradition (the tradition
of John the Beloved), a work with possible first source in an early period
of Classical Gnosticism -- though the surviving versions certainly suggest
an evolution during the centuries of transmission. It should not be
dismissed as simply a "Cathar or Bogomil production" of medieval times
(as M. R. James suggested in introduction to his 1924 translation, below).
There are many core elements in the text that witness relationship with
other surviving writings from the classical Christian Gnostic tradtion -- for
example, compare it with the Acts of John.

Two versions of the text have survived: one was discovered in the
archives of the Inquisition kept at the French town of Carcassonne in
Languedoc, the other is found in the National Library of Vienna. The
considerable differences between the two manuscripts indicate a long and
independent manuscript history, probably reaching back centuries to an
original edition.

According to an annotation in the Carcassone text, this is a Latin

translation of an earlier manuscript brought to Italy (probably around
1190) from Bulgaria by Nazario, bishop of the Cathar community of
Concorezzo (now the province of Monza and Brianza). From there it
passed into Languedoc, arriving before 1209, the beginning year of the
persecution of the Cathars of France by Pope Innocent III. The the original
language of the Interrogatio Johannis was probably Slavonic or Greek.

73
It was first published in the seventeenth century by I. Benoist in his 1691
book, "Histoire et des Vaudois ou des Albigeois Barbets". It was analyzed
in 1832 by J. K. Thilo in his "Codex apocryphus Novi Testaments," and
again in 1929 by R. Reitzenstein in his "Die Vorgeschichte der christlichen
Taufe". In 1924 it was translated by M. R. James in his classic work, The
Apocryphal New Testament.

We present the text in two different translations:

First, a translation based on the text in Walter L. Wakefield and

Austin P. Evans, Heresies of the High Middle Ages (2nd ed., New York:
Columbia University Press, 1991), p. 458ff. (and based on the
translation of Reitzenstein in "Die Vorgeschichte der christlichen
Taufe.") The version we give here contains minor corrections and
some minor rephrasing of versification.

Second, an older and less adequate translation from M. R. James,

found in his classic work, The Apocryphal New Testament.

Interrogatio Iohannis
(Titled in translation: The Secret Supper)

Based on: Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans

Heresies of the High Middle Ages (Columbia Univ. Press, 1991)
p. 458ff.

In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The questions of John, the apostle and evangelist, at a secret supper in the
kingdom of heaven, about the governance of this world, about its ruler,
and about Adam:

I, John, partner in tribulation so that I might be a partner in the kingdom

of God, leaning on the breast of Jesus Christ our Lord at the supper, said
to Him; "Lord, who shall betray Thee?" And the Lord said unto me: "He
that shall have dipped his hand in the dish, into him shall Satan enter. He
shall betray me."

I said, "Lord, before Satan fell, in what splendor did he attend the Father?"
He said: "Among the virtues of heaven and at the throne of the Father

74
invisible; he was regulator of all things and sat with my Father.' He
[Satan] it was who presided over the virtues of the heavens and those who
attended on the Father. His power descended from the heavens even unto
hell, and arose even unto the throne of the Father invisible. He had
wardship of those splendors which were above all the heavens. And he
pondered, wishing to place his throne upon the clouds and to 'be like the
Most High.'" When he had come down to lower air, he descried an angel
seated upon the air, to whom he said, 'Open to me the portals of the air';
these the angels opened for him. And passing down, he descried an angel
who guarded the waters, to whom he said, `Open to me the portals of the
waters'; the angel opened them to him. And descending further, he found
the whole earth covered with water; walking beneath this, he came upon
two fish, lying upon the waters. These, indeed, were yoked together, and
they bore up the whole earth at the bidding of the Father invisible. And
passing down further still, he found great clouds holding the massed
waters of the sea. And descending lower, he found his hell, which is the
Gehenna of fire; but thereafter he was unable to go further down, because
of the flame of the fire which was raging.

"Then Satan retraced his path, filling himself with evil plots. He ascended
to the angel who was over the air and to the angel who was over the
waters, and unto them said: 'All things are mine. If you hearken to me, I
will place my throne over the clouds and I will be like the Most High." I
will bear the waters up above this firmament and I will gather the other
waters into wide seas." After that there shall not be water upon the face of
the whole earth, and I shall reign with you forever and ever.' Thus he
spoke to the angels. He ascended to the very heavens, even unto the third
heaven, subverting the angels of the Father invisible, and saying to each of
them, 'How much dost thou owe thy lord?' The first answered, 'A
hundred barrels of oil.' He said to him, 'Take the bill and sit down and
write fifty.' And he said to another, Now you, how much dost thou owe
thy lord?' Who said, 'A hundred quarters of wheat.' To him he said, 'Take
thy bill and sit down quickly and write eighty.' To the other heavens he
ascended with like speech; he ascended even unto the fifth heaven,
seducing the angels of the Father invisible.

"And a voice came from the throne of the Father, saying: 'What dost thou,
O thou devoid of hope, subverting the angels of the Father? Contriver of
sin, do quickly what thou hast planned.' Then the Father bade his angels,
'Take from all the angels who hearkened to him the garments, the thrones,
and the crowns';" and these angels took the vestments, the thrones, and
the crowns from all the angels who hearkened to him."

75
And once again I, John, questioned the Lord, saying, "When Satan fell, in
what place did he dwell?" In answer He said to me: "Because of his self-
exaltation, my Father decreed his transformation," withdrawing from him
the light of His glory. The face of Satan was like an iron glowing from the
fire, and the whole aspect of his countenance was like that of a man. . . .
And he had seven tails with which he drew away the third part of the
angels of God." He was cast out from before the throne of God and from
the stewardship of heaven. Falling down from heaven, Satan could find
no peace in this firmament, nor could those who were with him. And he
besought the Father, saying: 'I have sinned. Have patience with me, and I
will pay thee all.' The Lord was moved with pity for him and gave him
peace to do what he would until the seventh day."

"Then Satan took his seat above the firmament and gave command to the
angel who was over the air and the angel who was over the waters, so that
they raised two thirds of the waters high into the air. Of the remaining
third they formed wide seas. The division of the waters was by command
of the Father invisible. Again Satan bade the angel who was over the
waters, 'Take a stand upon the two fish.' And the angel raised the earth
upward with his head, and dry land appeared and was. . . . When he took
a crown from the angel who was over the air, from half of it he made
himself a throne; and when he took a crown from the angel who was over
the waters, from half he made the light of the moon and from half the light
of day. From precious stones he made fire, and from fire he made all the
host of heaven and the stars, and from them he made angels, his
ministering spirits, according to the plan of the Governor Most High. He
also made thunder, rain, hail, and snow, and over these he set his
ministering angels.

"He commanded the earth to bring forth all living things —animals, trees,
and herbs. The sea he commanded to bring forth fish; and the air, birds of
the heavens. And he pondered on making man to serve him; he took clay
of the earth and made man like unto himself. And he then bade an angel
of the second heaven to enter the body of clay. Of this body he took a part
and made another body in the form of a woman" and bade an angel of the
first heaven to enter into it. And the angels grieved deeply that they thus
had a mortal form imposed upon them and that they now existed in
different forms. And Satan bade them to perform the works of the flesh in
their bodies of clay, but they did not know how to commit sin. The
originator of sin accomplished his purpose by his seduction, in this way:
He planted a paradise and set men therein and bade them not to eat of its
fruits. The devil entered Paradise and planted a bed of reeds in the midst
of Paradise; of his spittle he made a serpent and bade him remain in the

76
reeds. Thus the devil concealed the knowledge of his deceit so that they
would not perceive his treachery. He went in to them saying, 'Eat of all the
fruit in Paradise, but of the fruit of good and evi1 eat not.' Thereafter the
wicked devil, entering into the evil serpent, deceived the angel who was
in the form of a woman and poured out upon her head a longing for sin,"
and Eve's desire was like a glowing oven. Forthwith, the devil in the form
of the serpent came out of the reeds and sated his lust on her with the
serpent's tail. That is why [the offspring] are called not sons of God but
sons of the devil and sons of the serpent, fulfilling the diabolic desires of
their father even unto the end of the world. After this, the devil poured
out his longing upon the head of the angel who was in Adam; and [both
angels] were affected by a lust for debauchery, together begetting children
of the devil and of the serpent, until the consummation of the world."

[4] After that I, John, questioned the Lord, saying, "Why do men say that
Adam and Eve were made by God and placed in Paradise to keep His
commandments, and that for transgression of the Father's commandment
they were delivered up unto death?" The Lord said unto me: "Hear, John,
most beloved. Men are foolish who speak thus, for my Father did not, in
transgression (in praevaricatione) of His own law, shape bodies of clay, but
by the Holy Spirit made [only] all the virtues of heaven. These, however,
for their sins and by their fall are found possessing bodies of clay and are
delivered up to death."

[5] And still I, John, questioned the Lord, saying, "Lord, how did man
have spiritual origin in a carnal body?" And the Lord said to me: "By their
fall spirits of heaven entered the female body of clay and took on flesh
from the lusts of the flesh and took on [spirit at the same time]. . . . Spirit is
born of spirit and flesh of flesh; and thus the reign of Satan ceases not in
this world."

[6 ] And I questioned the Lord, saying, "For how long will Satan have
dominion in this world over the essences of men?" And the Lord replied,
"My Father will permit him to reign seven days, that is, seven ages."

[7] Again I, John, questioned the Lord in this wise, "What will be the
nature of this period [of seven ages]?" And He said to me: "From the time
when the devil fell from the glory of the Father and desired his own glory,
he took his seat among the clouds and sent forth his ministers, a searing
fire, and ... in the land from Adam to Enoch. And he sent his minister to
Enoch and translated him above the firmament and displayed to him his
divine nature. He then commanded that he be given quill and ink. Seating
himself, Enoch wrote seventy-six" books; these the devil bade him to take
to earth. Enoch took the books and turned them over to his sons, and he

77
taught them how to observe the form and place of sacrificial rites. This
they did in such wise as to 'shut the kingdom of heaven against men.' °
And he [the devil] said to them, 'See you that I am god and there is no
other god beside me.' Wherefore my Father sent me to this world to make
manifest His name to men, that they might recognize the devil and his
wickedness. But when Satan learned that I had come down to this world,
he. sent his . gel to take Three pieces of wood These he gave to the prophet
Moses for my crucifixion. This wood they have kept for me until the
present. And he revealed to Moses his divinity and bade him give laws to
the children of Israel and lead them, on dry ground through the midst of
the sea.

"When my Father thought to send me to this earth, He sent before me His

angel, she who is called Mary, my mother, that she might receive me
through the Holy Spirit. And when I descended, I entered and came forth
through her ear. Now Satan, the prince of this world, knew that I was
come to seek and 'to save that which was lost'; and he sent his angel, the
prophet Elijah, who baptized in water and was called John the Baptist."
Now, Elijah asked the prince of this world how he might recognize me.
And the devil said to him, 'Upon Whom thou shalt see the Holy Spirit
descending as a dove, and remaining upon Him, He it is that baptizeth in
the Holy Spirit and with fire.' John asked this because he did not know
me, but the one who sent him to baptize in water, he revealed me. John
himself gave testimony: 'I baptize in water unto penance, but He baptizes
you with the Holy Spirit unto the remission of sins. He it is who is able to
destroy and to save.' "

[8] And again I, John, questioned the Lord, "Can man be saved through
the baptism [of John?" He replied:] "Without my baptism, with which I
baptize unto the remission of sins, I affirm that no one can receive
salvation in God. For I am the bread of life that came down from the
seventh heaven, wherefore whoso eats my flesh and drinks my blood,
these shall be called the children of God."

[9] I inquired of the Lord, "What is the meaning of your 'flesh' and your
'blood'?" To me the Lord answered: "Before the devil had fallen with all
the angelic host of the Father, the angels in their prayers glorified my
Father by repeating this prayer, 'Our Father who art in heaven.' This chant
ascended to the throne of the Father; but the angels from the time of their
fall could no longer glorify God in this prayer."

[10] And again I asked the Lord, "How is it that the whole world received
the baptism of John, but Thine is not accepted by all?" The Lord replied to
me: "That is because their works are evil and they come not to the light.

78
The followers of John marry and are given in marriage, whereas my
disciples marry not at all but remain as the angels of God in the heavenly
kingdom."

[11] Then I said to Him, "If it is a sin to have knowledge of women, is it

then unwise to marry?" And the Lord replied: "All men take not this
word, but they to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who were born
so from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made so
by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for
the kingdom of heaven."

[12] Afterward, I questioned the Lord about the Day of Judgment, "What
shall be the sign of Thy coming?" In reply He said: "When the number of
the just shall equal the number of those crowned [angels] who fell. Then
shall Satan, raging mightily, be 'loosed out of his prison.' He shall war
upon. the just, who shall cry out to the Lord their God; forthwith the Lord
God shall command the archangel to sound his trumpet, and the voice of
the archangel shall go forth from the heavens and be heard even unto the
nether regions. Then 'the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from' heaven.' And there shall be
loosed from their foundations the four great winds; the earth, the sea, the
mountains, and the hills shall tremble together. Then shall be revealed the
sign of the Son, and all tribes of earth shall mourn. Immediately the
heaven shall tremble and be darkened, the sun shall shine until the ninth
hour. Then shall the Son of man be shown forth in his glory, and all the
saints and angels with Him; they shall place their seats above the clouds.
And He shall sit upon the seat of His glory, with the twelve apostles upon
their twelve seats of glory. The books shall be opened, and all the peoples
of the earth shall be judged." 'Then shall the faith be proclaimed. Then
shall the Son of man send forth His angels. They shall gather His elect
from the heights even to the uttermost limits of the heavens and shall
bring them, gathered into their fold, to me above the clouds, into the air."
Then shall the Son of God send forth the evil demons and expel them in
His wrath, together with all peoples (linguas) who believed in him [Satan]
. . . who said, 'Let us eat, drink, and lay hold on the things of this world';
and let us see what manner of aid they shall have from those things.
Forthwith all peoples shall stand in fear before the judgment [throne]. The
two books shall be opened and they shall lay bare all peoples with their
teaching; they shall glorify the just for their sufferings joined with good
works. Glory and boundless honor shall be the reward of those who have
cherished the angelic life; while the portion of the servants of iniquity
shall be wrath, fury, distress, and displeasure. And the Son of man shall
separate His just from the company of sinners and shall say to them,

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'Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world'; while to the sinful He shall say,
'Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for
the devil and his angels.' Others shall witness the final division and 'the
wicked shall be turned into hell.' By the indulgence of my Father the
unbelieving spirits shall at length withdraw from prison; 'they shall hear
my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.'

"Then, by permission of my Father, gloomy darkness shall spread over the

lower regions of the earth and a hell of fire shall burn all the land from its
lowest depths even unto the air of the firmament." And the Lord shall be
[supreme] in the firmament even unto the nether regions of the earth.
Should a man of thirty years pick up a stone and let it drop, it would
scarcely strike the bottom within the space of three years, so great is the
depth of the pool of fire wherein dwell the sinners. Then Satan shall be
bound and all his host, and he shall be cast into the pool of fire. The Son of
God, with his elect, shall walk above the firmament; and He shall shut up
the devil, binding him with unbreakable bonds, with sinners weeping,
wailing, and crying out 'Swallow us up, land, hide us within thyself.' Then
shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. And Jesus
shall lead them before the throne of the Father invisible and shall say to
the Father, 'Behold, I and my children, whom God hath given me. Just
Father, the world hath not known Thee, but I have known Thee in truth
because Thou hast sent me.' And then the Father will reply to His Son,
saying, 'My beloved Son, sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies
thy footstool -- thy enemies, who have denied me and said, "We are gods,
and there is no other god beside us"; who killed your prophets and
persecuted your just. You shall persecute them in the exterior darkness;
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

"And then the Son of God shall sit on the right hand of his Father, and the
Father shall command His angels that they minister unto them [the just];
and He shall place them in the choir of angels and clothe them in
imperishable raiment; and He shall give them crowns never fading and
seats unmoving. And God shall be in their midst. 'They shall no more
hunger nor thirst; neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. And
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.' And [the Son] shall reign
with his Holy Father, and his reign shall endure forevermore."

[Endnote added to manuscript:]

This is the Secret of the heretics of Concorrezzo, brought from Bulgaria by

Nazarials, their bishop. It is full of errors.

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Interrogatio Iohannis
(Titled in translation: The Book of John the Evangelist)

From: "The Apocryphal New Testament"

M. R. James -- Translation and Notes
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924

[Interrogatio Iohannis apostoli et evangelistae in cena secreta regni coelorum de

ordinatione mundi istius et de principe et de Adam.]

I, John, your brother and partaker in tribulation, and that shall be also a
partaker in the kingdom of heaven, when I lay upon breast of our Lord
Jesus Christ and said unto him:

Lord, who is he that shall betray thee [and] he answered and said: He that
dippeth his hand with me in the dish: then Satan entered unto him and he
sought how he might betray me.

And I said: Lord, before Satan fell, in what glory abode he with thy Father.

And he said unto me: In such glory was he that he commanded the
powers of the heavens: but I sat with my Father, and he did order all the
followers of the Father, and went down from heaven unto the deep and
ascended up out of the deep unto the throne of the invisible Father. And
he saw the glory of him that moveth the heavens, and he thought to set his
seat above the clouds of heaven and desired to be like unto the Most High.

And when he had descended into the air, he said unto the angel of the air:
Open unto me the gates of the air. And he opened them unto him. And he
sought to go further downward and found the angel which held the
waters, and said unto him: Open unto me the gates of the waters. And he
opened to him. And he passed through and found all the face of the earth
covered with waters. And he passed through beneath the earth and found
two fishes lying upon the waters, and they were as oxen yoked for
ploughing, holding the whole earth by the commandment of the invisible
Father, from the west even unto the sunrising. And when he had gone
down he found clouds hanging which held the waters of the sea. And he
went down yet further and found hell, that is the gehenna of fire and
thereafter he could go down no further because of the flame of the
burning fire. And Satan returned back and filled up (passed over again)

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the paths and entered in unto the angel of the air and to him that was over
the waters, and said unto them: All these things are mine: if ye will
hearken unto me, I will set my seat in the clouds and be like the Most
High, and I will take the waters from this upper firmament and gather
together the other parts (places) of the sea, and thereafter there shall be no
water upon the face of all the earth, and I will reign with you world
without end.

And when he had said thus unto the angels, he went up unto the other
angels, even unto the fifth heaven, and thus spake he unto each of them:
How much owest thou unto thy lord He said: An hundred measures
(cors) of wheat. And he said unto him: Take pen and ink and write sixty.
And unto others he said: And thou, how much owest thou unto thy lord
and he answered: An hundred jars of oil. And he said: Sit down and write
fifty. And as he went up through all the heavens he said thus, even unto
the fifth heaven, seducing the angels of the invisible Father. And there
came forth a voice out of the throne of the Father, saying: What doest
thou, O denier of the Father, seducing the angels doer of iniquity, that
thou hast devised do quickly.

Then the Father commanded his angels, saying: Take away their
garments. And the angels took away their garments and their thrones and
their crowns from all the angels that hearkened unto him.

And I asked of the Lord: When Satan fell, in what place dwelt he? And he
answered me: My Father changed his appearance because of his pride,
and the light was taken from him, and his face became like unto heated
iron, and his face became wholly like that of a man: and he drew with his
tail the third part of the angels of God, and was cast out from the seat of
God and from the stewardship of the heavens. And Satan came down into
this firmament, and he could find (make) no rest for himself nor for them
that were with him. And he asked the Father saying: Have patience with
me and I will pay thee all. And the Father had mercy on him and gave
him rest and them that were with him, as much as they would even unto
seven days.

And so sat he in the firmament and commanded the angel that was over
the air and him that was over the waters, and they raised the earth up and
it appeared dry: and he took the crown of the angel that was over the
waters, and of the half thereof he made the light of the moon and of the
half the light of the stars: and of the precious stones he made all the hosts
of the stars.

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And thereafter he made the angels his ministers according to the order of
the form of the Most High, and by the commandment of the invisible
Father he made thunder, rain, hail, and snow.

And he sent forth angels to be ministers over them. And he commanded

the earth to bring forth every beast for food (fatling), and every creeping
thing, and trees and herbs: and he commanded the sea to bring forth
fishes, and the fowls of the heaven.

And he devised furthermore and made man in his likeness, and

commanded the (or an) angel of the third heaven to enter into the body of
clay. And he took thereof and made another body in the form of a woman,
and commanded the (or an) angel of the second heaven to enter into the
body of the woman. But the angel lamented when they beheld a mortal
shape upon them and that they were unlike in shape. And he commanded
them to do the deed of the flesh in the bodies of clay, and they knew not
how to commit sin.

Then did the contriver of evil devise in his mind to make paradise, and he
brought the man and woman into it. And he Commanded to bring a reed,
and the devil planted it in the midst of paradise, and so did the wicked
devil hide his device that they knew not his deceit. And he came in and
spake unto them, saying: Of every fruit which is in paradise eat ye, but of
the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil eat not. Notwithstanding, the
devil entered into a wicked serpent and seduced the angel that was in the
form of the woman, and he wrought his lust with Eve in the Song of the
serpent. And therefore are they called sons of the devil and sons of the
serpent that do the lust of the devil their father, even unto the end of this
world. And again the devil poured out upon the angel that was in Adam
the poison of his lust, and it begetteth the sons of the serpent and the sons
of the devil even unto the end of this world.

And after that I, John, asked of the Lord, saying: How say men that Adam
and Eve were created by God and set in paradise to keep the
commandments of the Father, and were delivered unto death And the
Lord said to me: Hearken, John, beloved of my Father; foolish men say
thus in their deceitfulness that my Father made bodies of clay: but by the
Holy Ghost made he all the powers of the heavens, and holy ones were
found having bodies of clay because of their transgression, and therefore
were delivered unto death.

And again I, John, asked the Lord: How beginneth a man to be in the
Spirit (to have a spirit) in a body of flesh And the Lord said unto me:
Certain of the angels which fell do enter unto the bodies of women, and

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receive flesh from the lust of the flesh, and so is a spirit born of spirit, and
flesh of flesh, and so is the kingdom of Satan accomplished in this world
and among all nations.

And he said to me: My Father hath suffered him to reign seven days,
which are seven ages.

And I asked the Lord and said: What shall be in that time And he said to
me: From the time when the devil fell from the glory of the Father and
(lost) his own glory, he sat upon the clouds, and sent his ministers, even
angels flaming with fire, unto men from Adam even unto Henoch his
servant. And he raised up Henoch upon the firmament and showed him
his godhead and commanded pen and ink to be given him: and he sat
down and wrote threescore and seven books. And he commanded that he
should take them to the earth and deliver them unto his sons. And
Henoch let his books down upon the earth and delivered them unto his
sons, and began to teach them to perform the custom of sacrifice, and
unrighteous mysteries, and so did he hide the kingdom of heaven from
men. And he said unto them: Behold that I am your god and beside me is
none other god. And therefore did my Father send me into the world that
I might make it known unto men, that they might know the evil device of
the devil.

And then when he perceived that I had come down out of heaven into the
world, he sent an angel and took of three sorts of wood and gave them
unto Moses that I might be crucified, and now are they reserved for me.
But then (now) did the devil proclaim unto him (Moses) his godhead, and
unto his people, and commanded a law to be given unto the children of
Israel, and brought them out through the midst of the sea which was dried
up.

When my Father thought to send me into the world, he sent his angel
before me, by name Mary, to receive me. And I when I came down
entered in by the ear and came forth by the ear.

And Satan the prince of this world perceived that I was come to seek and
save them that were lost, and sent his angel, even Helias the prophet,
baptizing with water: who is called John the Baptist. And Helias asked the
prince of this world: How can I know him Then his lord said: On whom
soever thou shalt see the spirit descending like a dove and resting upon
him, he it is that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost unto forgiveness of sins:
thou wilt be able to destroy him and to save. And again I, John, asked the
Lord: Can a man be saved by the baptism of John without thy baptism
And the Lord answered: Unless I have baptized him unto forgiveness of

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sins, by the baptism of water can no man see the kingdom of heaven: for I
am the bread of life that came down from the seventh heaven and they
that eat my flesh and drink my blood, they shall be called the sons of God.

And I asked the Lord and said: What meaneth it, to eat my flesh and drink
my blood (An answer and question seem to have fallen out.) And the Lord
said unto me: Before the falling of the devil with all his host from the glory
of the Father [in prayer], they did glorify the Father in their prayers thus,
saying: Our Father, which art in heaven; and so did all their songs come
up before the throne of the Father. But when they had fallen, after that
they are not able to glorify God with that prayer.

And I asked the Lord: How do all men receive the baptism of John, but
thine not at all And the Lord answered: Because their deeds are evil and
they come not unto the light.

The disciples of John marry and are given in marriage; but my disciples
neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in
heaven. But I said: If, then, it be sin to have to do with a woman, it is not
good to marry. And the Lord said unto me: Not every one can receive this
saying (&c., Matt. xix.11, 12).

I asked the Lord concerning the day of judgement: What shall be the sign
of thy coming And he answered and said unto me: When the numbers of
the righteous shall be accomplished that is, the number of the righteous
that are crowned, that have fallen, then shall Satan be loosed out of his
prison, having great wrath, and shall make war with the righteous, and
they shall cry unto the Lord with a loud voice. And immediately the Lord
shall command an angel to blow with the trumpet, and the voice of the
archangel shall be heard in the trumpet from heaven even unto hell.

And then shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light,
and the stars shall fall, and the four winds shall be loosed from their
foundations, and shall cause the earth and the sea and the mountains to
quake together. And the heaven shall immediately shake and the sun shall
be darkened, and it shall shine even to the fourth hour. Then shall appear
the sign of the Son of man, and all the holy angels with him, and he shall
set his seat upon the clouds, and sit on the throne of his majesty with the
twelve apostles on the twelve seats of their glory. And the books shall be
opened and he shall judge the whole world and the faith which he
proclaimed. And then shall the Son of man send his angels, and they shall
gather his elect from the four winds from the heights of the heavens unto
the boundaries of them, and shall bring them to seek.

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Then shall the Son of God send the evil spirits, to bring all nations before
him, and shall say unto them: Come, ye that did say: We have eaten and
drunk and received the gain of this world. And after that they shall again
be brought, and shall all stand before the judgement seat, even all nations,
in fear. And the books of life shall be opened and all nations shall show
forth their ungodliness. And he shall glorify the righteous for their
patience: and glory and honour and incorruption shall be the reward of
their good works: but as for them that kept the commandments of the
angels and obeyed unrighteously, indignation and trouble and anguish
shall take hold on then.

And the Son of God shall bring forth the elect out of the midst of the
sinners and say unto them: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then shall
he say unto the sinners: Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
which was prepared for the devil and his angels. And the rest, beholding
the last cutting off, shall cast the sinners into hell by the commandment of
the invisible Father. Then shall the spirits of them that believe not go forth
out of the prisons, and then shall my voice be heard, and there shall be
one fold and one shepherd: and the darkness and obscurity shall come
forth out of the lower parts of the earth -that is to say, the darkness of the
gehenna of fire- and shall burn all things from below even to the air of the
firmament. And the Lord shall be in the firmament and even to the lower
parts of the earth. (read And the distance from the firmament unto the
lower parts of the earth shall be) as if a man of thirty years old should take
up a stone and cast it down, hardly in three years would it reach the
bottom: so great is the depth of the pit and of the fire wherein the sinners
shall dwell. And then shall Satan and all his host be bound and cast into
the lake of fire. And the Son of God shall walk with his elect above the
firmament and shall shut up the devil, binding him with strong chains
that cannot be loosed. At that time the sinners, weeping and mourning,
shall say: O earth, swallow us up and cover us in death. And then shall
the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. And he shall
bring them before the throne of the invisible Father, saying: Behold, I and
my children whom God hath given me. O righteous one, the world hath
not known thee, but I have known thee in truth, because thou hast sent
me. And then shall the Father answer his Son and say: My beloved Son, sit
thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet,
which have denied me and said: We are gods, and beside us there is none
other god: which have slain thy prophets and persecuted thy righteous
ones, and thou hast persecuted them even unto the outer darkness: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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And then shall the Son of God sit on the right hand of his Father, and the
Father shall command his angels, and they shall minister unto them (i.e.
the righteous) and set them among the choirs of the angels, to clothe them
with incorruptible garments, and shall give them crowns that fade not and
seats that cannot be moved. And God shall be in the midst of them; and
they shall not hunger nor thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on
them nor any heat. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.
And he shall reign with his holy Father, and of his kingdom there shall be
no end for ever and ever.

87
 The Vision of Isaiah

(GLWRULDONotes

This is an apocalyptic ("visionary") work of great antiquity and

unquestioned authenticity, probably dating to before the second century;
it manifests early Gnostic Christian influence. It was apparently known to
some early Christian writers; Jerome and Epiphanius both quote sections
of the text. The Vision of Isaiah was possessed by the Bogomils in the
twelfth century and had reached the Languedoc in a Latin translation by
the early thirteenth century. Cathar possession and use of the Vision of
Isaiah is very well attested and witnesses both their access to transmissions
of early Christian writings from the East, and their identification with
traditions of Christianity that had preserved and honored these writings.
Cathars probably valued this text not only because it seemingly supported
their theology, but also because it gives testament to a primary and
Gnostic visionary experience.

The Vision of Isaiah is known to be part of a larger compilation of texts

collectively called the Ascension of Isaiah. The Vision is an "ascension text" --
recounting Isaiah's visionary journey through the seven heavens to the
Throne of God. It bears comparison to the Enoch and Merkabah literature
of the first century (for example, compare the Merkabah vision text found
among the Dead Sea Scrolls). The section in Chapter 4 speaking of the
"Robe of Glory" recalls the vision of the "Robe of Glory" found in the Acts
of Thomas.

Six manuscripts of The Vision of Isaiah survive in various European

languages, the earliest from the twelfth century. This version of the text is
based on the translation in Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans,
Heresies of the High Middle Ages (2 ed., New York: Columbia University
Press, 1991), p. 449ff. The text given here contains minor corrections,
rephrasing and general reformatting of the versification.

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The Vision of Isaiah

Chapter 1

The vision which Isaiah, the son of Amos, saw in the twentieth year of the
reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah:

Isaiah the prophet, son of Amos, came to Hezekiah in Jerusalem; and after
he had come in, he sat down upon the king's couch. And all the princes of
Israel and the counselors of the king and the eunuchs stood before him.
And the prophets and the sons of prophets came from the villages and the
fields and the mountains to salute him, when they learned that Isaiah had
come from Gilgal, and to announce to him those things that were to come.
Then as he was speaking words of truth; the Holy Spirit came upon him
and all saw and heard the words of the Holy Spirit.

The king summoned the prophets, and all entered together, as many as
were found there. Now there were the aged Micah and Ananiah, Joel, and
as many of them as were found there, on his right hand and on the left.
However, when they heard the voice of the Holy Spirit they fell to their
knees and sang to the Highest God, who rests among the holy ones. Who
bestowed such power of words in the world.

Now, as he was speaking in the Holy Spirit in the hearing of all, he fell
silent, and thereupon they saw one standing before him. His [Isaiah's]
eyes were open, yet his mouth was closed, but the inspiration of the Spirit
was with him. And they did not think that Isaiah had been exalted, but the
prophets recognized that it was a revelation. The vision which he saw was
not of this world but of what is hidden from all flesh. And when he ceased
to behold the vision, he returned to himself and recounted the vision to
Hezekiah and his son Nason ... (continuing in next chapter)

Chapter II

... And to Micah and the other prophets, saying, "When I prophesied what
you heard, which you witnessed, I saw an angel, glorious not with the
glory of the angels whom I have always seen, but having a particularly
great glory and a light which I cannot describe.

Taking me by the hand he led me on high, and I said, 'Who are you, and
what is your name, and why are you lifting me up like a bird?' -- for the
ability to speak to him was given me. Then in answer he said to me,

89
'When I shall bear you on high I will show you the vision which is the
purpose for which I have been sent; then you will know who I am, but my
name you do not know, because you wish to return again to your body.
And when I raise you on high hereafter you will see.'

And I rejoiced because he answered me softly. And he said to me, 'You

have rejoiced because I replied gently to you, and you will see one greater
than I am wishing to speak to thee; one gentler and wiser, better and
sweeter; for to this end was I sent, to explain all things to thee.'

And we ascended, he and I, upon the firmament, and there I saw the great
battle of Satan and his might opposing the loyal followers (honorantiae) of
God, and one surpassed the other in envy. For just as it is on earth, so also
is it in the firmament, because replicas of what are in the firmament are on
earth.

And I said to the angel, `What is this war and envy and struggle?' And in
reply he said to me, 'This is the devil's war and he will not rest until He
whom you wish to see comes to slay him with the spirit of His virtue.'

Thereafter, he raised me into that which is above the firmament, which is

the first heaven. And I saw in the midst thereof a throne on which an
angel was seated in great glory, and angels sat at his right and his left.
Those on the right had a special glory, and they sang with one voice; and
those who were on the left sang after them but their song was not like that
of the ones on the right. And I questioned the angel who conducted me:
'To whom is this song raised?' And in reply he said to me, 'To the great
glory of God, who is above the seventh heaven, and to His beloved Son,
from whom I was sent to thee.'

And again he raised me up, into the second heaven; its height was the
same as that of the first heaven above earth. And I saw there, just as in the
first heaven, angels on the right and on the left. And the glory of these
angels and their song were superior to those of the first heaven. And I fell
on my face to adore him," and the angel, who guided me said to me,
'Adore not the angel nor the throne of this heaven. This is the reason why
I was sent to guide you; adore Him only of whom I will tell you, and in
like fashion adore Him who is above all angels, above thrones, and above
the garments and crowns which you shall see hereafter.' And I rejoiced
with exceeding great joy, for such is the consummation for those who
know the Most High and Eternal and His beloved Son, because they
ascend to Them as by the angel of the Holy Spirit.

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And he raised me above the third heaven and in like manner I saw a small
throne and angels on the right and the left. The memory of this world,
however, was given no name there. But the glory of my spirit was
undergoing a transformation as I ascended into heaven and I said,
'Nothing of that world is given a name here.' And in reply the angel said
to me, 'Nothing is given a name on account of its weakness and nothing is
hidden of the things which are done there.' And they sang a song and
glorified him who was enthroned, and this angel was greater than the
second angel.

And again he raised me, unto the fourth heaven. The height from the third
to the fourth heaven was greater. And I saw a throne and angels on the
right hand and on the left. But the glory of him who was enthroned was
greater than that of the angels on the right hand and their glory likewise
surpassed the glory of those who were below.

And I ascended into the fifth heaven, and there I saw innumerable angels
and their glory, and their song was more glorious than that of the fourth
heaven. And I marveled, beholding such a multitude of angels arrayed in
the ranks of their diverse goodnesses; each, having his own glory,
glorified Him who is on high (Whose name is not revealed to all flesh),
because He gave so much glory to the angels who are above each heaven.

But in reply the angel said to me, `Why are are you astonished that they
are not all of one appearance? You have not yet seen the insuperable
virtues and the thousands and thousands of angels.'

Chapter III

And thereafter he raised me into the air of the sixth heaven and I saw
there a great glory which I had not seen in the fifth heaven. And I beheld
angels in great glory. And the deeds of the virtues were honorable and
pre-eminent; their song was holy and wonderful. And I said to the angel
who guided me, 'What is it that I see, my lord?' And he said to me, 'I am
not your lord but your counselor.'

And he spoke to me about the sixth heaven. Herein are neither throne nor
angels on the left, but they receive their direction from the virtue of the
seventh heaven, where dwells the mighty Son of God. And all the heavens
and His angels hearken to Him, and I have been sent to bring you hither,
so that you may see this glory and the Lord of all the heavens and His
angels and virtues. Therefore, I say to you, Isaiah, no one who desires to

91
return to the flesh of that world has seen what you see nor is able to see
what you have seen; because it is your lot in the Lord to come here.' And I
magnified the Lord in song because thus I go into His lot.

And he [the angel] said to me, 'When you shall have returned here
through the will of the Father, then you will receive your garment, and
then you will be equal to the angels who are in the seventh heaven.' And
he led me into the sixth heaven, and neither thrones nor angels on the
right and the left were there, but all had one appearance and identical
song. And it was given me to sing with them; and the angel who was with
me and I, myself, were even as their glory, and their glory was one. And
they glorified the Father of all and His beloved Son and the Holy Spirit; all
with one voice they sang, but not with a voice such as that of the fifth
heaven, but with a different voice.

And there was a great light there. And when I was in the sixth heaven I
thought the light of the fifth heaven to be as darkness. I rejoiced greatly
and sang to Him who gave such joy to those who received His mercy.
And I begged the angel who guided me never more to return into that
carnal world. Moreover, I say unto you that here is much darkness.

But the angel who guided me said to me, 'Since you rejoice in this light,
how much more will you rejoice and exult when you see the light of the
seventh heaven, in which sits the Heavenly Father with His only begotten
Son; where lie the vestments and the thrones and the crowns of the
righteous. And as to your plea not to return into your flesh, the time is not
yet fulfilled for your coming here.' And I sorrowed greatly at hearing
these words.

Chapter IV

And he raised me up into the air of the seventh heaven and I heard a voice
saying to me, 'Why do you who desire to live in the flesh come here?' And
I was very much afraid and trembled. Again, I heard another voice saying,
'Forbid him not to, come in, since he is worthy of the glory of God, for
here is his robe. And I questioned the angel who was with me, 'Who is he
who forbids me, and who is he who bids me come up?'

And he said to me, 'The one who forbids is he, the angel who is above the
angels singing in the sixth heaven; and He who commands is the Son of
God, and His name you may not hear until you have departed from the
flesh.'

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When we ascended into the seventh heaven I saw' there an astounding
and indescribable light and innumerable angels. And I saw certain of the
righteous who, stripped of fleshly robes, were in heavenly robes and
standing in great glory. But they sat not on their thrones; moreover, their
crowns of glory were not upon them.

And I questioned the angel, saying, 'Why have they received robes, and
why have they not received thrones and crowns of glory?' And he said to
me, Now they receive them not, until the Son first brings here those
thrones and crowns, when He shall be in your likeness.' And the prince of
that world will stretch forth his hand upon the Son of God and will kill
Him and hang Him on a tree, and he will kill Him not knowing who He
is. And He will descend into hell and will lay it waste, with all the
phantoms of hell. And He will seize the prince of death and despoil him,
and crush all his powers, and will rise again on the third day; having with
him certain of the righteous. And He will send His preachers into the
whole world, and will ascend into heaven. Then these will receive their
thrones and crowns.'

And after [he said] these words, I said to him, 'In regard to that which I
asked you in the first heaven, show me, for this you promised.' And as I
was addressing him, there was among those standing about us one angel,
more glorious than he who conducted me and than all the angels. And he
showed me a book, and opening it, gave it to me; and I saw writing which
was not like that of this world. And I read it, and lo, there were the deeds
of Jerusalem recorded there, and the works of all men were there, among
whom also was I. I saw in truth that nothing which was done in the world
was hidden in the seventh heaven.

And I questioned the angel, 'Who is this who is pre-eminent over all the
angels in his glory?' And in reply to me he said, 'He is the great angel,
Michael, who prays constantly for humanity and humility.' I saw many
robes and thrones and crowns lying there. And I said to the angel, `For
whom are these robes and crowns and thrones reserved?' And he said to
me, 'Many of that world lost these crowns, who are believers in the world
of Him of whom I have spoken to you.'

And, turning about, I saw the Lord in great glory and I was most sorely
afraid. And all the righteous approached Him and adored Him singing
with one voice and [my] voice was like unto theirs. And Michael,
approaching Him, adored and together with him all the angels adored
and sang. And I was again transfigured and was like the angels.

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Then the angel who conducted me said to me, 'Adore Him and sing.' And
I adored Him and sang. And the angel who conducted me said to me, 'He
is the Lord of all the glories which you have seen.' And I saw another most
glorious one, like unto Him in all things, and the righteous approached
Him and adored Him and sang, and I sang with them and I was not
transfigured into their aspect. And the angels came with them and adored
Him, and I adored Him and sang.

And again, I saw the other in great glory. And while walking, I questioned
the angel, 'Who is He?' And he said to me, 'Adore Him, for he is the angel
of the Holy Spirit, who speaks in you , and in all the righteous.'

And after that, another indescribable and ineffable glory was revealed
which I could not behold with the opened eyes of my spirit, nor could the
angel who conducted me nor all the angels whom I saw adoring the Lord.
But I saw the righteous only in great glory beholding [His] glory. And my
Lord approached first and then the angel of the Holy Spirit (angelus
spiritualis). And they adored Him and the two sang together. Then all the
righteous adored Him, and with them Michael and all the angels adored
and sang.

Chapter V

Thereafter I heard a voice there and the song which I heard in the six
heavens rose up and was heard in the seventh heaven. And all glorified
Him whose glory I could not behold. And the song of all six heavens was
not only heard but seen. And the angel said to me, 'He is the One Living
Eternal, living in the highest eternity and resting among the holy ones; we
cannot endure to name or see Him who is praised by the Holy Spirit in the
mouths of the holy [and] righteous.

And after that, I heard the voice of the Eternal saying to the Lord [His]
Son: 'Go forth and descend from all the heavens and be in the world, and
go even to the angel who is in hell; transfiguring thyself into their form.
And neither the angels nor the princes of that world shall know thee. And
thou shalt judge the prince of that world and his angels, and the rulers of
the world, because they have denied me and said, "We are and without us
there is no one." Thereafter, thou shalt not transfigure thyself as thou
ascendest through the heavens in great glory, and thou wilt sit at my right
hand. Then the princes and the virtues and all the angels and all the
principalities of the heavens and of earth and of the lower regions will
adore thee.'

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And I heard the Great Glory commanding my Lord. And then the Lord
went out from the seventh heaven and descended into the sixth heaven.
And the angel who guided me said to me, 'Understand and see the
manner of His transfiguration and descent.'

When the angels saw Him, they praised and glorified Him, for He was not
transfigured into their image, and I sang with them. When He had
descended into the fifth heaven, there at once He was transfigured into the
form of those angels and they did not sing to Him or adore Him, for He
was of a form like theirs.

And He descended into the fourth heaven and appeared to them in their
form. And they did not sing to Him for He was of a form like theirs.

Moreover, He came into the third heaven," and into the second and the
first, transfiguring Himself in each of them. Consequently, they did not
sing to Him or adore Him, for He appeared to them in [a form] like theirs.
And He showed them a sign (characterem).

Moreover, He descended into the firmament and there gave the signs
(signa), and His form was like unto theirs, and they did not glorify Him
and they did not sing to Him. And He descended to the angels who were
in this air as though He were one of them. And He gave them no sign, nor
did they sing to Him.

Chapter VI

And after these things, the angel said to me, 'Know, Isaiah, son of Amos,
this is why I was sent by God to show you all things. For no one before
you has seen nor can anyone after you see what you have seen and heard.'

And I saw one like the Son of Man dwelling with men and in the world.
And they did not recognize Him. And I saw Him ascending into the
firmament and He was not transfigured into [their] form. And all the
angels who were above the firmament were struck with fear at the sight
and, adoring, they said, 'How didst Thou descend into our midst, Lord,
and we did not recognize the King of Glory?'

And He ascended into the first heaven more gloriously and did not
transfigure Himself. Then all the angels adored and sang, saying, 'How
didst Thou pass through our midst, Lord, and we did not see or adore
Thee?'

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Thus He ascended into the second heaven and into the third and into the
fourth and into the fifth and into the sixth, even to all the heavens, and His
glories increased. When He ascended into the seventh heaven, all the
righteous sang to him, and all the angels and virtues whom I could not
see.

I saw a wonderful angel sit at His left hand, who said to me: 'This suffices
you, Isaiah, for you have seen what no other son of the flesh has seen,
which eyes cannot see nor ears hear, nor can it rise in the heart of man,
how much God has prepared for all who love Him.'

And he said to me, 'Return in your robe until the time of your days shall
be fulfilled and then you shall come here.'"

Having seen these things, Isaiah spoke to those standing about him; and,
hearing these wonders, all sang and glorified the Lord, who gave such
grace to men.

And he said to Hezekiah the king, "The consummation of this world and
works will be fulfilled in the last generations." And he forbade them to
proclaim these words to the children of Israel or to give them to any man
to be recorded. But how many things will be understood by the king and
by the utterances in the prophets! And thus be you also in the Holy Spirit,
so that you may receive your robes and thrones and crowns of glory
placed in the heavens.

He ceased then to speak and went out from King Hezekiah.

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 Cathar Ritual (Lyon Ritual)
(Manuscript: Lyon, Bibliothèque municipale, PA 36)

(GLWRULDONotes

The complete edition of the Cathar Ritual (Lyon Ritual) with text and
notes is now available in a very fine online presentation at Rialto. We
have archived this very important edition here, and express our
gratitude and respect to the original editors. The version presented
here has some minor changes in text formatting from the original
online version at Rialto. Extensive notes to the text and translation are
available in the original online edition at Rialto. (Note that a another
separate manuscript of the Ritual in Latin is also extant.)

Cathar Ritual (Lyon Ritual)

Manuscript: Lyon, Bibliothèque municipale, PA 36

Foreword to the Cathar Ritual

This Occitan Cathar ritual is appended to the New Testament in ms.

Palais des Arts 36, Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon (ff. 325v-241v).
The dialect of both texts is Languedocian though the language of the
ritual diverges somewhat from that of the N.T., especially as regards a
sprinkling of Italianisms, most notably in the Servissi. The manuscript
was probably copied in northern Italy around the middle of the first
half of 14th century; see Harris 1987, 2004. E. Cunitz’s 1852 edition of
the Ritual, difficult to find today, is of little value. His many erroneous
readings are excluded from the apparatus here, but Léon Clédat gives
a number of them in the notes to his 1887 edition, reprinted in 1968.
Thouzellier transcribed in 1977, using Clédat’s photolithographic
reproduction, the Latin texts of the Pater noster and verses 1.1-17 of the
Prologue to the Gospel of John that Clédat had not included in his
edition. Jean Duvernoy’s 1977 somewhat rough edition of the entire
Ritual remained unpublished until 2001 when it was posted online as a
PDF file. Regrettably, the digital text suffers from an abundance of
data entry errors, as yet uncorrected in May 2005. Due to its present
condition, Duvernoy’s readings are only selectively chosen for the
apparatus. Thouzellier sometimes repeats errors picked up from

97
Dondaine and both tend to perpetuate
Clédat’s incorrect or questionable
readings.

Editorial procedures:

The present edition for Rialto has

profited from the use of good quality
digitized color images of the ritual. For
example, high magnification permits
the reconstruction of the missing
words in the long blank space in
Clédat’s reproduction (p. 481b26, ms.
241b); see note 6.34. A searchable
preliminary digital transcription of the
complete New Testament has also
been of great value for the study of
linguistic peculiarities in the Ritual.
Paragraph indentation corresponds to the scribe’s large decorated
initials, those for the Prologue to John and for the Servissi being
distinctly large. Roman numerals plus titles for the six sections as well
as folio numbers with column lettering (a, b recto; c, d verso) and verse
numbering for John’s Prologue have been added. Sentence numbering
in brackets has also been added to facilitate referencing; italicized
numbers point the reader to the apparatus. Latin text is italicized.
Biblical citations, a list of which follows the apparatus, are in boldface
type. A major innovation separates this edition from earlier ones,
namely, the rigorous resolution of the scribe’s two distinct styles of
abbreviated nasals, one as a wavy titulus (~) for m and the other as a
straight titulus (-) for n. Ms. clusters ‑mt‑ and ‑md‑ replacing ancestral
‑nt‑ and ‑nd‑ are therefore kept; cf. gramde for grande in a 14th-
century Italian praise hymn (l. 15), La dona del pareyso, by a
Piedmontese brother, Columba da Vinchio. Though the glide ‑p‑ in ms.
imptemtationem (1.11) offers proof for the pronunciation [m] < [n]
before [t] in sentence phonetics, it is suppressed here for lexical
neatness; cf. in word phonetics memta (432) in which [m] is noted as a
wavy titulus. Another striking feature preserved here, because of its
frequency in ms. PA 36, is the missing n expected in the traditional
clusters ‑nt‑, ‑nd‑ and ‑nc‑, ‑ng‑; cf. pregan for prengan (6.26).
Emendation is kept to a minimum, though the reconstruction of an
extended piece of text assumed to have been lost in sentence 5.10
constitutes a major exception to that conservative stance; see the details

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in Harris 1984. Subjective differences in capitalization do not appear in
the apparatus. Only significant divergences in sentence division and
the resulting required punctuation appear in the apparatus; cf. 3.36.
The scribe’s Roman numerals are retained whereas Clédat rewrites
most of them as words. The single case of fully written oracio (2.14)
has determined the resolution of the abbreviated forms despite the
prevalence of orazo over oracio in the N.T. in the rare cases where they
are written in full. As regards other resolutions of abbreviations, Occ.
Crist is preferred over Christ because of cr‑ in crestia. Lat. Iesus,
Christus and Iohannes are resolved according to the Stuttgart Vulgate.
Resolved Occ. Lat. and Occ. gracia instead of gratia is supported by
Lat. grasiam (6.41). The root sant‑ written in full in Lat. santus (1.3) and
six other cases of sant‑ accounts for the spelling without ‑c‑ in the four
abbreviations scm (twice), scs, sce + superscript line despite its
presence in fully written sanctificetur (1.6) and sanctum (1.14). Occitan
derivatives of Lat. SANCT‑ are most often abbreviated as .S. +
superscript line in ms. PA 36. That abbreviation is resolved here as sg.
sant before vowels and as in sante for sant e and sant avangeli (2.16)
despite N.T. hom sanh e just (p. 72b21) with sanh written in full. It is
likewise resolved as sg. sanh before consonants as in 1Th 5.26 el sanh
baizar (p. 423a21) where it is written in full. The abbreviated masculine
predicate adjective is likewise developed thus in es sanh (3.28); cf. 1Co
3.18 es sanhs (p. 356b13). The prevocalic plural objective case in sanhs
Av/angelis (2.2) follows Lu 9. 26 san/hs angels (p. 122a18/19); the
subjective case in li sanh a|postol (2.6) is conjectural for the lack of a
parallel. Occ. fem. sg. santa for all ten cases of abbreviated sca +
superscript line is supported by Jude 20 santa (p. 330a11). Cl’s ‑i‑ in
aia/‑tz, deiatz, merceneiar, and autreiar (but batejat/‑z, batejara; cf.
bategi, bategec) is written here as ‑j‑. Lat. iusticia is preferred to
Clédat’s justicia. Tironian 7 is developed as Lat. and Occ. et. The
hyphen in mas‑emposetio denotes a noun + noun compound calqued
on manus impositio; see Harris 2004, 234-235. The suppression for
typographic neatness of the second running title servisi (236c) causes
no loss of linguistic data inasmuch as ms. seruisi (236a23) and seruisj
(236c25) also register the form with ‑s‑ versus ‑ss‑ in servissi (T.2).

Translations:

Clédat’s French translation (pp. [IX]-XXVI) essentially supplied, with

very few modifications, is the source for Nelli and Lavaud’s text (also
without the opening Latin text) and Nelli’s slightly reworked Servisi.

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The complete Occitan text has been translated into English by
Wakefield and Evans who acknowledge Clédat’s French text as their
source and into Italian by Zambon whose text shows signs of reliance
on Clédat’s interpretations. Those two versions perpetuate some of
Clédat’s mistranslations.

Cathar Ritual (ms. Lyon, Bibl. mun., PA 36)

[I. Liturgical Latin Phrases]

[1.1] /235c/ Benedicite, parcite nobis, amen.

[1.2] Fiat nobis secumdum verbum tuum.

[1.3] Pater et Filius et Espiritus Santus parcat vobis omnia peccata vestra.

[1.4] Adhoremus Patrem et Filium et Espiritum Santum.

[1.5] III vegadas.

[1.6] Pater noster qui es in celis, sanctificetur nomen tuum.

[1.7] Adveniat regnum tuum.

[1.8] Fiat volumtas tua sicut in celo et in terra.

[1.9] Panem nostrum supersubstancialem da nobis hodie.

[1.10] Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimit[ti]mus debitoribus

nostris.

[1.11] E ne nos inducas im temtationem, sed libera nos a

[1.12] Quoniam tuum est regnum et virtus et gloria in secula.

[1.13] Amen.

[1.14] Adhoremus Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum.

[1.15] III vegadas.

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[1.16] Gracia domini nostri Iesu Christi sit cum omnibus nobis.

[1.17] Benedicite, parcite nobis, amen.

[1.18] Fiat nobis secundum verbum tuum.

[1.19] Pater et Filius et Spiritus Santus parcat vobis omnia peccata vestra.
/235d/

[T.1] Iohannes

[1.20] 1In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat
Verbum.

[1.21] 2Hoc erat in princi[pi]o apud Deum.

[1.22] 3Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nichil.

[1.23] Quod factum est 4in ip[s]o, vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum.

[1.24] 5Et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebre eam non conprenderumt.

[1.25] 6Fuit homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Iohannes.

[1.26] 7Hic venit in testimonium, ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, ut

omnes crederet per illum.

[1.27] 8Non erat ille lux, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine.

[1.28] 9Erat lux vera, que illuminat ho[m]nem hominem venientem in hunc
mumdum.

[1.29] 10In mundo erat, et mundus per ip

sum factus est, et mundus eum non cognovit.

[1.30] 11In propria venit, et sui eum non receperut.

[1.31] 12Quotquot autem receperumt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri,
his qui credumt in nomine eius, 13qui non ex sanguinibus, neque ex volontate
carnis, /236a/ neque ex volontate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt.

[1.32] 14Et Verbum caro factum est, et abitavit in nobis, et vidimus gloriam
eius, gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre plenum gracie et veritatis.

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[1.33] 15Iohannes testimonium peribet de ipso, et clamabat dicens: Hic est,
quem dixi: Qui pos me venturus est, ante me factus est, qui[a] prior me erat.

[1.34] 16Et de plenitudine eius nos omnes accepimus graciam pro gracia.

[1.35] 17Quia lex per Moysen data est, gracia e veritas per Iesum Christum
facta est.

[II. Service]

[T.2] Servissi

[2.1] Nos em vengut denant Deu, e denant vos, e denant

l’azordenament de santa Gleisa per recebre servisi, e perdo, e
penedensia de tuit li nostri pecat li qual avem fait, ni dig, ni pessatz, ni
obratz del nostre naissement entro fin a-/236b/ora; e quirem
misericordia a Deu et a vos, que vos preguetz per nos lo Paire sanh de
misericordia que nos perdo.

[2.2] Adorem Deu e manifestem tuit li nostre pecat e las nostras

moutas greus ofensios az esgardament del Paire e del Fil e de l’onorat
Sant Esperit, e dels onoratz sanhs Avangelis, e dels onoratz sanhs
Apostols per la Oracio, e per la fe, e per la salvatio de tuit li dreiturers
gloriosses crestias, e dels bonauratz durmentz ancesors, e dels fraires
enaviro estant, e denant vos, sanh Senhor, que nos perdonetz tot ço en
que nos pequem.

[2.3] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.4] Quar moutz so les nostres pecatz els quals nos ofendem a minca
dia, per nuit e per dia, en paraula, et en obra, e segon cossirer, ab
volontat e senes volontat, e plus per la nostra volotat, la qual denant
nos aportan les malignes esperitz en las carns que vestem.

[2.5] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.6] Mais aissi cum la santa Paraula de Deu nos essenha, e li sanh
a-/236c/postol e li nostri frairi esperital nos o anoncian, que nos
degitem tot desirer de la carn, e tota lagesa, e fazam la volontat de Deu
el perfeit Ben cumplit.

[2.7] Mais noi serve[n] [n]ualhos no fazem solament la volontat de Deu

enaissi cum se covengra, mais sovendeirament azomplem li desirer de
la carn en las curas seglars, si c’als nostres esperitz nozem.

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[2.8] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.9] Cum la gent mondana andam, cum lor essems estam, e parlam, e
majam, e de moutas causas ofendem, si qu’als nostres fraires et als
nostres esperitz nozem.

[2.10] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.11] De las nostras lengas cazem em paraulas ossiossas, en vas

parlamentz, en ris, en esquers, e malesas, en retrazement de fraires e
de serors dels quals nos no em digne de jujar ni de cumdampnar li
ofendement dels fraires e de las seros.

[2.12] Entre·ls crestias estam pecadors.

[2.13] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.14] Lo servisi que receubem, no·l ga[r]dem aissi cum se covengra, lo

/236d/ dejuni ni la Oracio; nostres dias traspassem, nostras oras
pervericam; nos estant en la santa Oracio, nostre sen se desvia els
desirers carnals, en las curas seglars, si que en aquela ora a penas
sabem qual causa ufrem al Paire dels justz.

[2.15] Benedicite, parcit[e] nobis.

[2.16] O tu, sant e bo Senhor, totas aquelas causas que a nos

endevengro al nostre sen et al nostre cosirer, a tu las manifestam, sanh
Senhor, e tota la moutesa dels pecatz pausam en la misericordia de
Deu, et en la santa Oracio, et en lo sant Avangeli.

[2.17] Quar moutz so los nostres pecatz.

[2.18] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.19] O Senhor, juja e cumdapna los vises de la carn.

[2.20] No ajas merce de la carn nada de corumptio, mais ajas merce de

l’esperit pausat en carcer.

[2.21] E aministra a nos dias, e oras, e venias, e dejunis, e Oracios, e

presicatios enaissi cum es costuma de bos crestias, que nos no siam
jujat ni cumdampnat al dia /237a/ del judici cum li felo.

[2.22] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

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 [III. Rite for the Transmission of the Prayer]

[3.1] Si crezent esta en l’astenencia, e li crestia so acordant que li liuro

la Oracio, lavo se las mas.

[3.2] E crezent, si n’i a, eissament.

[3.3] E puis la i dels bos homes, aquel que es apres l’ancia, fa‹s›za iii
revenencias a l’ancia.

[3.4] E puis aparele i desc; e puis autras iii.

[3.5] E meta touala sobre·l desc; e puis autras iii.

[3.6] E meta le Libre sobre la touala.

[3.7] E puis diga: Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[3.8] E puis le crezent fasza so meloier, e prenga le Libre de la ma de

l’ancia.

[3.9] E l’ancia deu lo amonestar e prezicar ab testimonis covinentz.

[3.10] E si·l crezent a nom Peire, diga enaissi: En Peire, vos devetz
entendre que can esz denant la Gleisa de Deu, que vos esz denant le
Paire e·l Fil e·l Sant Esperit.

[3.11] Quar la Gleisa es dita ajustament; et aqui on so li ver crestia, aqui

es le Paire e·l Fil e·l Sant Esperit aissi co las devinas Escriupturas o
demostran.

[3.12] Quar Crist dix en /237b/ l’Avangeli de sanh Matheu: En qual

que loc seran ii o iii ajustat el meu nom, eu so aqui e meg de lor.

[3.13] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Joan dix: Si alcus amara mi, la mia

paraula gardara, e·l meu Paire amara lui, e venrem a lui et estaja farem
ab lui.

[3.14] E sanh Paul dix en la segonda Pistola als Corintias: Vos esz
temples de Deu lo viu aissi co Deus dix per Ysaias: Quar eu estarei en
els, et irei e serei Deu de lor, et eli seran pobles de mi.

[3.15] Per la qual causa: Issetz de meg de lor e siatz departit, so ditz lo
Senhor.

[3.16] E la laja causa no tocaretz et eu recebrei vos.

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[3.17] E serei a vos em paire.

[3.18] E vos seretz a mi en fils et e filhas, so ditz lo Senhor Deus totz

poderos.

[3.19] Et en l’autre loc dix: O quiretz l’esproament de Crist que parla e

mi.

[3.20] Et en la primeire Apistola a Timoteu dix: Aquestas causa[s]

escrivi a tu esperantz mi venir a tu viasament, mais si eu me tarzarei,
que sapias en qual maneira te covenga coversar en la maiso de Deu, la
quals es /237c/ Gleisa del viu Deu, coronda e fermament de veritat.

[3.21] Et el meteis dix als Ebreus: Mais Crist es enaissi coma Fils en la
sua maiso, la qual maiso em nos.

[3.22] Quar l’Esperit de Deu sia com li fizel de Jesu Crist, enaissi o
demostra Crist en l’Avangeli de sanh Joan: Si mi amatz, li mei
comandament gardatz.

[3.23] Et eu pregarei lo Paire, et autre Cofortador donara a vos, que

estia ab vos en durabletat, Esperit de veritat, lo qual lo mon no pot
recebre quar no·l vi ni·l sab; mais vos le conoisseretz, quar ab vos
estara et ab vos sera.

[3.24] No vos laissarei orfes; venrei a vos.

[3.25] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Mateu dix: Vec vos qu’eu so ab vos per
totz dias entro a l’acabament del segle.

[3.26] E sanh Paul dix en la primeira Pistola als Corintias: No sabetz

que vos esz temple de Deu lo viu e l’Esperit de Deu esta e vos?

[3.27] Mais si alcus corumpra lo temple de Deu, Deus destrozira lui.

[3.28] Quar lo temple de Deu es sanh, lo qual esz vos.

[3.29] Enaissi o demostra Crist en l’Avangeli de sanh Mateu: Quar

/237d/ no esz vos que parlatz mais l’Esperit del vostre Paire que parla
e vos.

[3.30] E sanh Joan dix en la Pistola: En aisso sabem quar en lui estam et
el e nos quar del seu Esperit dec a nos.

[3.31] E sanh Paul dix als Galatas: Quar esz fil de Deu, Deus trames
l’esperit del seu Fil el vostre cor, cridant: Paire, Paire.

[3.32] Per que es a entendre quar lo vostre presetament, lo qual fes

105
 q q p q
denant les fils de Jesu Crist, coferma la fe e la presicatio de la Gleisa de
Deu segon que las devinas Escripturas o donan az entendre.

[3.33] Quar lo poble de Deu se departic ancianament del seu Senhor

Deu.

[3.34] E departic se del co‹s›selh e de la volontat del seu sanh Paire per
lo decebement e per lo sotzmetement dels malignes esperitz.

[3.35] E per aquestas razos, e per moutas d’autras, es donat az entendre

quar lo sanh Paire vol mercenejar del seu poble e recebre lui a patz e a
la sua concordia per l’aveniment del seu Fil, Jesu Crist.

[3.36] Don es aquesta l’ocaizo quar esz aici denant los decipols /238a/
de Jesu Crist, el qual loc abita esperitalment lo Paire e·l Fil e·l Sant
Esperit, aissi co desus es demostrat, que vos dejatz recebre aicela santa
Oracio, la qual donec lo Senhor Jesu Crist a sos decipols, enaissi que las
vostras Oracios e las vostras pregueiras sian eissauzidas del nostre
sanh Paire.

[3.37] Per la qual causa devetz entendre, si aquesta santa Oracio voletz
recebre, quar cove vos pentir de totz les vostres pecatz e perdonar a
totz homes.

[3.38] Quar lo nostre Senhor Jesu Crist dix: Si no perdonaretz als

homes li pecat de lor, ni·l vostre Paire celestial no perdonara a vos los
vostre pecatz.

[3.39] De rescaps se cove que perpausetz e vostre cor de gardar aquesta

santa Oracio totz les temps de la vostra vida, si Deus donara a vos
gracia de recebre ela, segon la costuma de la Gleisa de Deu, ab castetat,
et ab veritat, et ab totas bonas autras vertutz las quals Deus volra
donar a vos.

[3.40] Per la qual causa pregam le bo Senhor, lo qual donec vertut de

recebre aquesta santa Oracio als decipols de Jesu Crist ab fer- /238b/
metat, que el mezeis done a vos gracia de recebre ela ab fermetat, et a
onor de lui e de la vostra salvatio.

[3.41] Parcite nobis.

[3.42] E puis l’ancia diga la Oracio e·l crezentz que la seguia.

[3.43] E puis diga l’ancia: Aquesta santa Oracio vos liuram que la
recepiatz de Deu, e de nos, e de la Gleisa, e que ajatz pozestat de dir ela
totz les temps de la vostra vida, de dias e de nuitz, sols et ab
cumpanha, e que jamais no mangetz ni bevatz que aquesta Oracio no
digatz primeirament.

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 g p

[3.44] E si o faziatz en falha, auria vos obs qu’en portessetz penedensa.

[3.45] Et el deu dir: Eu la recebi de Deu, e de vos, e de la Gleisa.

[3.46] E puis fassa so miloirer e reda gracias. ·l crezent detras els.

[IV. Rite for the Ministration of the Consolamentum]

[4.1] E si deu esser cossolatz ades, fasa so milhoirer e prega le Libre de

la ma de l’ancia.

[4.2] E l’ancia deu le amonestar e prezicar ab testimonis covinentz et ab

aitals paraulas co·s coveno a cossolament.

[4.3] E diga enaissi: En Peire, voletz recebre lo bab-/238c/tisme

esperital per lo qual es datz Sant Esperit en la Gleisa de Deu, ab la
santa Oracio, ab l’empausament de las mas dels bos homes?

[4.4] Del qual babtisme dix lo nostre Senhor Jesu Crist en l’Avangeli de
sanh Mateu a sos decipols: Anatz et essenhatz totas las gentz, e
batejatz les el nom del Paire e del Filh e del Sant Esperit, et
essenhatz lor a gardar totas las causas que eu comandei a vos.

[4.5] E vec vos que eu so com vos per totz dias entro a l’acabament
del segle.

[4.6] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Marc dix: Anatz en tot lo mon, prezicatz

l’avangeli a tota creatura.

[4.7] E qui creira e sera batejatz sera sals, mas qui no creira sera
cumdampnatz.

[4.8] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Joan, dix a Nicodemus: Verament,

verament, dic a tu que ja negus no intrara el regne de Deu si no sera
renatz d’aiga e de Sant Esperit.

[4.9] E Joan Babtista parlec d’aquest babtisme can dix: Acertas eu

bategi en aiga, mais aicel que es a venir seguentre mi es plus fortz de
mi, del qual eu no so dignes deliar lo /238d/ correg de la
causamemta de lui.

[4.10] El vos batejara en Sant Esperit et en foc.

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[4.11] E Jesu Crist dix es Fait dels Apostols: Quar acertas Joan bategec
en aiga, mais vos seretz batejat en Sant Esperit.

[4.12] Aquest sanh babtisme de mas‑emposetio fe Jesu Crist segon que

retra sanh Luc; e dix que li sei amic le farian, enaissi co retra sanh
Marc: Sobre·ls malautes pausaran las mas et auran be.

[4.13] E Ananias fe aquest babtisme a sanh Paul can fo covertitz.

[4.14] Et enapres Paul e Barnabas fero lo e moutz lox.

[4.15] E sanh Peire e sanh Joan fero lo sobre·ls Samaritas, quar aissi o
dix sanh Luc el Fait dels Apostols: Cum ague‹s›so auzit li apostols
que eran en Yerusalem que Samaria receub la paraula de Deu,
trameiro ad els Peire e Joan li qual, co fosso vengut, orero per els que
receubesso Sant Esperit.

[4.16] Quar encara en alcu de lor no era vengutz.

[4.17] Adoncas pausavan las mas sobr’els, e recebio Sant Esperit.

[4.18] Aquest sanh /239a/ babtisme, per lo qual Sant Esperit es datz, a
tengut la Gleisa de Deu dels apostols en sa, et es vengutz de bos homes
en bos homes entro aici, e o fara entro la fi del segle.

[4.19] E devetz entendre que pozestat es dada a la Gleisa de Deu de liar

e de desliar, e de perdonar pecatz e de retenir, enaissi co Crist dix en
l’Avangeli de sanh Joan: Enaissi cum lo Paire me trames et eu trameti
vos.

[4.20] Cum agues dithas aquestas causas, espirec e dix ad els:

Recebetz Sant Esperit.

[4.21] Dels quals perdo[na]retz los pecatz, so perdonatz ad els; e dels

quals los retenretz, so re[te]ngut.

[4.22] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Mateu, dix a Simon Peire: Eu dic a tu

que tu est Peire, e sobre aquest[a] peira eu endeficarei la mia gleisa, e
las portas d’ifern no auran forsa encontra lei.

[4.23] E a tu donarei las claus del regne dels cels, e qual que causa tu
liara[s] sobre terra sera liada els cels; e qual que causa tu desliaras
sobre terra sera desliada els cels.

[4.24] Et en autre loc /239b/ dix a sos decipols: Verament dic a vos
que qual que causa liaretz sobre terra sera liada els cels; e qual que
causa solveretz sobre terra sera souta els cels.

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[4.25] E de rescaps verament dic a vos: Si doi de vos se cosentiran
sobre terra de tota causa, qual que causa queran sera faita ad els del
meu Paire qui es el cel.

[4.26] Quar aqui on so doi o trei ajustat el meu nom, eu so aqui e meg
de lor.

[4.27] Et en autre loc dix: Los malautes sanatz, los mortz resuscitatz,
los lebrosses mondatz, los demonis gitatz.

[4.28] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Joan dix: Qui cre e mi, las obras que eu
fas, fara.

[4.29] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Marc dix: Mais aquels que creiran,

aquestas signas los segran: El meu nom gitaran demonis; et ab lengas
novas parlaran; e serpentz ostaran; e si beuran alcuna causa mortal,
no nozera ad els; sobre·ls malautes pausaran las mas, et auran be.

[4.30] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Luc dix: Vec vos que eu dei a vos
poder caucigar sobre·ls serpetz, et /239c/ els escorpios, e sobre tot le
poder de l’enemic; e re a vos no nozera.

[4.31] E si aquest poder ni aquesta pozestat voletz recebre, cove vos

tenir totz los comandamentz de Crist e del Novel Testament a vostre
poder.

[4.32] E sapiatz que el a comandat que hom no avoutre, ni ausisa, ni

memta, ni jure negu sagrament, ni pane, ni raube, ni faza az autre so
que no vol que sia fait a ssi, e que hom perdone qui li fa mal, e que
hom ame sei enemic, e que hom ore e benezisca als encausadors et als
acusadors de si.

[4.33] E qui·l ferra e la una gauta, que li pare l’autra, e qui li tolra la
gonela, que li laisse lo mantel; e que hom no juge ni cumdampne; e
moutz d’autres comandamentz que so comandat del Senhor a la sua
Gleisa.

[4.34] Et eissament, vos cove que aziretz aquest mon e las suas obras, e
las causas que de lui so.

[4.35] Quar sanh Joan dix en la Pistola: O mout cari, no volhatz amar
lo mon ni aicelas causas que so el mon.

[4.36] Si alcus ama lo mon, la caritat del Paire no es en lui.

[4.37] Quar tot aco que /239d/ es el mon es cobezesa de carn, e

cobezesa d’uls, et ergulh de vida, la qual no es del Paire, mais del
mon es.

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[4.38] E·l mons traspassara, e la cobezesa de lui, mais qui fa la
volontat de Deu esta en durabletat.

[4.39] E Crist dix a las gentz: Lo mon no pot azira vos, mais mi azira
quar eu porti testimoni de lui que las obras de lui so malas.

[4.40] Et el libre de Salamo es escriut: Eu vi totas aquelas causas que

so faitas jos le solelh; e vec vos que totas so vanetatz e turmentz
d’esperit.

[4.41] E Judas Jacme dix, essenhatz nos en la Pistola: Aziratz aicela

gonela solada la quals es carnals.

[4.42] E per aquestz testimonis e per moutz d’autres vos cove a tenir li
comandament de Deu et azira aquest mon.

[4.43] E si be o faitz entro a la fi, avem esperansa que la vostra arma aja
vida durabla.

[4.44] Et el diga: Enaissi ei volontat.

[4.45] Pregatz Deu per mi que m’en do la sua forsa.

[4.46] E puis la I dels bos homes fasa so miloirer ab le crezentz /240a/ a

l’ancia, e diga: Parcite nobis.

[4.47] Bo crestia, nos vos pregam per amor de Deu que donetz d’aquel
Be que Deus vos a dat ad aquest nostre amic.

[4.48] E puis le crezent fasa so miloirer, e diga: Parcite nobis.

[4.49] De totz les pecatz qu’eu anc fi, ni parlei, ni cossirei, ni obrei, venc
a perdo a Deu, et a la Gleisa, et a totz vos.

[4.50] E li crestia digan: De Deu, e de nos, e de la Gleisa vos sian

perdonat; e nos preguem Deu que l‹e›s vos perdo.

[4.51] E puis devo lo cossolar.

[4.52] E l’ancia prenga lo Libre e meta le·i sus lo cap, e li autri boni
homi, cascu la ma destra.

[4.53] E digan las parcias e III adoremus, e puis: Pater sante, suciper
servum tuum in tua iusticia et mite graciam tuam e Spiritum Santum tuum
super eum.

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[4.54] E pregon Deu ab la Oracio, et aquel que guisa lo menester deu
ecelar a la VI, e can la VI sera dita, deu dire III adoremus e la Oracio una
vetz en auzida, e puis l’Avangeli.

[4.55] E can l’Avangeli es ditz, devo dire III adoremus, e la gracia,

/240b/ e las parcias.

[4.56] E puis devo far patz entre lor et ab lo Libre.

[4.57] E si crezentz i a, fasan patz atressi.

[4.58] E crezentas si n’i a, fasan patz ab lo Libre et entre lor.

[4.59] E puis pregon Deu ab dobla et ab venias.

[4.60] Et auran liurat.

[V. Rules for the Use of the Prayer and Conduct Associated with its
Recitation]

[5.1] Mesagaria de tenir dobla ni de dire la Oracio no deu esser portada

per home seglal.

[5.2] Si crestiani van en loc de regart, p[re]gon Deu ab gracia.

[5.3] E si degus cavalga, tenga dobla.

[5.4] E deu dire la Oracio az intrant de nau o de villa, o a passant de

planca o de pont regardos.

[5.5] E si atroba[n] home ab cui les covenga parlar mentre pregan Deu,
e si an VIII Oracio[s], pod n’esser pres per sembla.

[5.6] E si n’an XVI Oracios, pod n’esser pres per dobla.

[5.7] E si troban aver en cami, no lo toco si no sabian que·l poguesso

redre.

[5.8] E si ades vezo que homes ne fosso passat denant a qui poguess
esser redut, prezesso le e redesso le si podian.

[5.9] E si no podian, t[or]nesso le en aquel loc.

[5.10] E si trobavan bestia o auzel presa o pres no [...] /240c/ s’en

111
metan en als.

[5.11] E si crestias vol beure dementre es dias, aja pregat Deu doas
vegadas, o mas apres manjar.

[5.12] E si apres la dobla de la nuit bevian, fasan autra dobla.

[5.13] E s’i a crezentz, estian de pes quan diran la Oracio per beure.

[5.14] E si crestias prega Deu ab crestianas, guize la Oracio tota ora.

[5.15] E si cresentz a qui fos lilrada la Oracio era ab crestianas, an s’en

az autra part e fassa per si meteiss.

[VI. Rite for the Ministration of the Consolamentum for the Sick]

[6.1] Si crestias als quals le menester de la Gleisa es comandatz an

message de crezentz malaute, anar i devo, e devo li demandar en
cosselh co s’es menatz vais la Gleisa depuis que receup la fe, ni si es de
re endeutatz vas la Gleisa ni encolpatz.

[6.2] E si deu lunha re e o pod pagar, far o deu.

[6.3] E si far no o vol, no deu esser receubutz.

[6.4] Quar qui prega Deu per home torturer ni per deslial, no pod
profeitar aquela pregeira.

[6.5] Empero /240d/ si pagar no o pod, no deu esser sofanatz.

[6.6] E li crestiani devo li mostrar l’astenenza e las costumas de la

Gleisa.

[6.7] E puis devo li demandar si era receubutz si a cor que o tenges.

[6.8] E no o deu autrejar si be no s’o sentia fermament.

[6.9] Quar sanh Joan dix que la partida dels messorguers sera en
estanh de foc e de solfer.

[6.10] E si ditz que be·s sent ferms que tot o pusca sofrir, e si li crestiani
so acordantz que·l recepian, l’astenesa li devo cargar en aital guisa
que·l demando si a cor que·s garde de mentir, e de jurar, e dels autres
devetz de Deu, e de tenir las costumas de la Gleisa e·ls mandamentz
de Deu, e de tenir so cor e so aver aital co ara l’a ni per azenant l’aura

112
en azaut de Deu et de la Gleisa e a servizi de crestias e de crestianas tot
temps mais a so poder.

[6.11] E si ditz que o, eli devo respondrer: Aquesta abestenesia vos

cargam que la recepiatz de Deu, e de nos, e de la Gleisa, e que la
gardetz /241a/ aitant cant viuretz, que si be la gardatz ab las autras
que avetz a far, avem esperraza que la vostra arma n’aja vida
[durabla].

[6.12] E el deu dire: Eu la recebi de Deu, e de vos, e de la Gleisa.

[6.13] E puis devo li demandar si vol recebre la Oracio, e si ditz que o,

vescan le de camisa e de bragas si far se pod.

[6.14] E fassan le estar e sezentz si pod lavar las mas.

[6.15] E metan touala o autre drap denant lui sus le leit.

[6.16] E sus aquel drap metan le Libre, e digan una vetz Benadisite, e III
vetz Adoremus Patrem et Filium e Spiritum Santum.

[6.17] E deu pendre le Libre de la ma de l’ansia.

[6.18] E puis si esperar o pod, aquel que guiza·l menester le deu

amonestar e prezicar ab testimonis covinentz.

[6.19] E puis deu li demandar de la covenesa si l’a en cor a gardar ni a

tenir aissi co a covengut.

[6.20] E si ditz que o, fasan la li refermar.

[6.21] E puis devo li passar la Oracio, et el que la sega.

[6.22] E puis, que l’ancia li diga: Aisso es la /241b/ Oracio que Jesu
Crist aportec en aquest mon; e la ensenec als bos homes.

[6.23] E que jamais no manjetz ni no bevatz luna causa que aquesta

Oracio no digatz primerament.

[6.24] E si o faziatz a menespec, auria vos obs qu’en portesetz

penedensa.

[6.25] El deu dire: Eu la recebi de Deu, e de vos, e de la Gleisa.

[6.26] E puis pregan comiatz aissi coma femna.

[6.27] E puis devo pregar Deu ab dobla et ab venias.

113
[6.28] E puis devo tornar le Libre denant lui.

[6.29] E puis deu dire III vetz Adoremus Patrem es Filium e Spiritum
Santum.

[6.30] E puis prenga le Libre de la ma de l’Ansia, e l’ancias deu le

amonestar ab testimonis et ab aitals paraulas co·s coveno a cosolament.

[6.31] E puis deu li demandar si a en cor a tenir e a gardar la covenessa

aissi co o covenc.

[6.32] E que la li fassa refermar.

[6.33] E puis l’ancias deu pendre le Libre, e·l malaute deu se clinar e
dire: Parcite nobis.

[6.34] De totz les pecatz [que anc fi] ni parlei ni cosirei, venc /241c/ a
perdo a Deu, e a la Gleisa, et a totz vos.

[6.35] E li crestiani devo dire: De Deu, e de nos, e de la Gleisa vos sian

perdonatz; e nos preguem Deu que les vos perdo.

[6.36] E puis devo le cosolar enaissi que las mas e·l Libre li devo pausar
sus le cap e dire: Benedicite, parcite nobis, amen.

[6.37] Fiat nobis secodum verbum tuum.

[6.38] Pater et Filius e Spiritus Santus parcat vobis omnia peccata vestra.

[6.39] Adoremus Paterem es Filium e Spiritum Santum: III vetz.

[6.40] E puis: Pater santer, suciper servum tuum in tua iusticia, es mite
graciam tuam e Spiritum Santum tuum super eum.

[6.41] E si es femna devo dire: Pater sante, suciper ancillam tuam in tua
iusticia, e mitte grasiam tuam e Spiritum Santum tuum super eam.

[6.42] E puis, que pregon Deu ab la Oracio; e devo ecelar a la VI.

[6.43] E quan la sezena sera dita, devo dire III vetz Adoremus Paterem es
Filium e Spiritum Santum, e la Oracio una vetz en auzida, e puis
l’Avangeli.

[6.44] E quan /241d/ es ditz, devo dire III vetz Adoremus Patrem es
Filium e Spiritum Santum, e la Oracio una vetz en auzida.

[6.45] E puis pregan comiatz coma home.

114
[6.46] E puis devo far patz entre lor e ab le Libre.

[6.47] E si crezentz ni crezentas i a, fassan patz.

[6.48] E puis li crestiani devo demandar las salutz e redre.

[6.49] E si·l malaute fenis ni lor laissa ni lor dona alcuna causa, no o
devo tenir per lor ni amparar, mais que o devo pausar e la volumtat de
l’Orde.

[6.50] Empero si·l malaute viu, li crestiani lo devo presentar a l’Orde e

pregar que·s recosole al pus tot que puscan.

[6.51] E el fassa ne sa volumtat.

Ed. Marvyn Roy Harris. – Rialto 31.5.2005.

Ms.: Lyon, Bibliothèque municipale, PA 36 (formerly A.I.54) (235v-241v).

Critical Editions: E. Cunitz, «Ein Katharisches Ritual», Beiträge zu den theologischen

Wissenschaften, vol. IV, Jena 1852; L. Clédat, Le Nouveau Testament, traduit au XIIIe siècle
en langue provençale, suivi d’un rituel cathare, Geneva 1968; reprint of the Paris 1887
edition, with an incomplete Latin text (section I), pp. VI-VII, and the Occitan text with
facing translation, pp. [IX]-XXVI, and a photolithographic reproduction of the Ritual,
pp. 470-482: René Nelli and René Lavaud, Les Troubadours, vol. II, Le Trésor poétique de
l’Occitanie, Rituel cathare (section II), pp. 1028-1033, [Paris-Bruges] 1966; Jean
Duvernoy, http://jean.duvernoy.free.fr/text/pdf/cledat_rituel.pdf. Occitan text 1977;
PDF file dated May 2001.

Translations: in English, Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans, Heresies of the High
Middle Ages, 2nd ed., New York-Oxford 1991, pp. 483-494, 780-782; in French, L. Clédat,
q.v. above; René Nelli and René Lavaud, q.v. above, (section II), p. 1031, 1033; René
Nelli, Écritures cathares: Nouvelle édition actualisée et augmentée (referring to the 1959
Denoël edition, Paris), Le Rituel cathare (Le Rituel occitan), Paris 1968, pp. 207-225;
¬Christine Thouzellier. Rituel cathare; introduction, texte critique, traduction et notes,
Paris 1977, Appendice 20 (a full translation of section I); René Nelli, Écritures cathares:
Nouvelle édition actualisée et augmentée par Anne Brenon, Monaco 1995, pp. 225-238
(Nelli's translation reprinted);¬ in Italian, Francesco Zambon, La cena segreta; trattati e
rituali catari, Milano 1997, pp. 301-314, 434-437.

115
 Consolamentum (Consolament)

(GLWRULDONotes

The consolamentum was a spiritual baptism, as described in the New

Testament, where the ritual practice of baptism by water was abrogated
and baptism by fire implemented. Only a Parfait ("Perfect one") could
administer the consolamentum, which meant that every new Parfait stood
at the end of a chain of predecessor Parfaits linking him or her to the
apostles and to Jesus himself.

It was the most significant ceremony in Cathar theology, marking the

transition from ordinary believer (auditore or credente) to a Parfait, one of
the elect. During the ceremony the Holy Spirit was believed to descend
from heaven, and inhabit the Parfait's corporal body. It was largely
because of this indwelling of the Holy Spirit that Parfaits were expected
and willing to lead such ascetic lives, and why ordinary believers were
prepared to "adore" them.

The ceremony was striking in its simplicity. It required no material

elements such as water or anointing oil, and seems to have preserved a
ceremony of the very earliest Christian Church. Cathars claimed that the
the rite had been appointed by Christ, and had been handed down from
generation to generation by the boni homines. For Catholics of the time, the
rite was rather a mystery and their best explanation was that the Cathar
rite was a distorted imitation of various Catholic rituals.

The consolamentum was also given to sick or injured believers (see Cathar
Ritual, section 6), in the expectation of death. As long as they died soon
thereafter this presented no great problem, since they would have little
opportunity to fall back into sin. But if they recovered, they were now
Parfaits and presumably expected to behave as such. Some authorities
(notably Jean Duvernoy) differentiate between the baptism of the Parfaits,
from the 'Solace' baptism granted to the dying for the remission of their
sins. In this case, those who received the 'Solace' baptism and survived
seem to have been obliged to then undertake the normal training and
receive the Consolamentum again to become a fully functioning member
of the Elect.

116
As Wakefield and Evans put it (in Heresies of the High Middle Ages, p. 465):
"Like a catechumen of the early Church - Catharist practices reflect the
ancient usage - a believer had to undergo a period of probation, normally
at least a year, during which he was instructed in the faith and disciplined
in a life of rigorous asceticism"

Summary of the Consolamentum (Consolament)

First, the postulant would need receive the Melhoramentum, a ritual title
derived from an Occitan word meaning "improving."

The Melhoramentum was the acknowledgment by a believer of the Holy

Spirit dwelling with the Parfait. The believer would kneel and, with both
hands folded, bow three times to the ground; on each genuflections the
believer would say: "Bless me, Lord; pray for me". Then, the Cathar
prayed,"Lead us to our rightful end". The Parfait, man or woman, then
answered, "God bless you... In our prayers, we ask from God to make a
good Christian out of you and lead you to your rightful end".

After an extended period of training and fasting, and after the applicant
had gone through the Melhoramentum, the rite of the Consolamentum
proceeded as follows:

The Parfait held the Bible above the kneeling postulant's head and
recited the "Benedicite" .
The postulant received from a Parfait a copy of the "The Pater"
(Lord's Prayer).
The Parfait addressed the postulant and explained to him from
Scripture the indwelling of the spirit in the Parfait, and his adoption
as a son by God.
The Lord's Prayer was then repeated by the postulant, the Parfait
explaining it clause by clause.
There followed the Renunciation, primitive in form, except that it
was adapted so that the postulant solemnly renounced the harlot
church of the persecutors and their replicas of the cross, their sham
baptisms and their other magical rites.
Next followed the spiritual baptism itself, consisting of the
imposition of hands, and the touching of the Gospel on the
postulant's head.
The Parfait's vocation was then defined, he or she was reminded of
all the things that are forbidden, and of what was required of them:
pardoning wrongdoers, loving enemies, praying for those who

117
 calumniate and accuse, offering the other cheek to the smiter, giving
up one's mantle to him that takes one's tunic, neither judging nor
condemning. Asked if he will fulfil each of these requirements, the
postulant answered: "I have this will and determination. Pray God
for me that he give me his strength".
The next part of the rite exactly reproduced the confiteor as it existed
in the 2nd century, asking pardon for previous sins.
Then followed the act of consoling. The Parfait took the Gospel and
placed it on the postulant's head. Other Parfaits present placed their
right hands on the postulant's head.
They then three times adored the Father and Son and Holy Spirit
and said a prayer asking God to welcome his servant and to send
down the Holy Spirit.
They then said the parcias, and repeated three times the "Let us
adore the Father and Son and Holy Spirit", and then pray: "Holy
Father, welcome thy servant in thy justice and send upon him thy
grace and thy holy spirit."
Then they repeated the adoration and the The Lord's Prayer, then
read the John Gospel (1:1-17). This was the most solemn part of the
rite, for the postulant was now a Parfait.
The new Parfait was girt with a sacred thread round the torso.
The Parfait would then be clad in a black gown.
All Parfaits present would give the kiss of peace and the rite was
over.

In the inquisitorial deposition of Guillaume Tardieu de la Galiole

(translated by Jean Duvernoy, Le Dossier de Montségur : interrogatoires
d'lnquisition 1242-1247), the following ceremony is recounted:

... Then, on this Parfait's request, I devoted myself to God and

the Gospel and promised to no longer eat meat, eggs, cheese
and fat apart from oil and fish. I also promised not to swear in
all my life, and to forsake the sect out of fear of fire, water and
other kinds of death. After this oath, I recited the Pater Noster
in the Parfaits' manner, then the Perfait held the book above
my head and read the Gospel of Saint John. After this, they
gave me peace first with the book and then with the mouth,
kissing me twice across the mouth and prayed God, amidst
much kneeling and "venias."

118
Ritual Text of the Consolamentum (in Occitan, from the
Cathar Ritual)

The following original Occitan text is found in the critical edition of the Lyon
Ritual at Rialto:

IV. Rite for the Ministration of the Consolamentum

[4.1] E si deu esser cossolatz ades, fasa so milhoirer e prega le Libre de la

ma de l’ancia.

[4.2] E l’ancia deu le amonestar e prezicar ab testimonis covinentz et ab

aitals paraulas co·s coveno a cossolament.

[4.3] E diga enaissi: En Peire, voletz recebre lo bab- /238c/ tisme esperital
per lo qual es datz Sant Esperit en la Gleisa de Deu, ab la santa Oracio, ab
l’empausament de las mas dels bos homes?

[4.4] Del qual babtisme dix lo nostre Senhor Jesu Crist en l’Avangeli de
sanh Mateu a sos decipols: Anatz et essenhatz totas las gentz, e batejatz
les el nom del Paire e del Filh e del Sant Esperit, et essenhatz lor a
gardar totas las causas que eu comandei a vos.

[4.5] E vec vos que eu so com vos per totz dias entro a l’acabament del
segle.

[4.6] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Marc dix: Anatz en tot lo mon, prezicatz

l’avangeli a tota creatura.

[4.7] E qui creira e sera batejatz sera sals, mas qui no creira sera
cumdampnatz.

[4.8] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Joan, dix a Nicodemus: Verament,

verament, dic a tu que ja negus no intrara el regne de Deu si no sera
renatz d’aiga e de Sant Esperit.

[4.9] E Joan Babtista parlec d’aquest babtisme can dix: Acertas eu bategi
en aiga, mais aicel que es a venir seguentre mi es plus fortz de mi, del
qual eu no so dignes deliar lo /238d/ correg de la causamemta de lui.

[4.10] El vos batejara en Sant Esperit et en foc.

[4.11] E Jesu Crist dix es Fait dels Apostols: Quar acertas Joan bategec en
aiga, mais vos seretz batejat en Sant Esperit.

119
[4.12] Aquest sanh babtisme de mas‑emposetio fe Jesu Crist segon que
retra sanh Luc; e dix que li sei amic le farian, enaissi co retra sanh Marc:
Sobre·ls malautes pausaran las mas et auran be.

[4.13] E Ananias fe aquest babtisme a sanh Paul can fo covertitz.

[4.14] Et enapres Paul e Barnabas fero lo e moutz lox.

[4.15] E sanh Peire e sanh Joan fero lo sobre·ls Samaritas, quar aissi o dix
sanh Luc el Fait dels Apostols: Cum ague‹s›so auzit li apostols que eran
en Yerusalem que Samaria receub la paraula de Deu, trameiro ad els
Peire e Joan li qual, co fosso vengut, orero per els que receubesso Sant
Esperit.

[4.16] Quar encara en alcu de lor no era vengutz.

[4.17] Adoncas pausavan las mas sobr’els, e recebio Sant Esperit.

[4.18] Aquest sanh /239a/ babtisme, per lo qual Sant Esperit es datz, a
tengut la Gleisa de Deu dels apostols en sa, et es vengutz de bos homes en
bos homes entro aici, e o fara entro la fi del segle.

[4.19] E devetz entendre que pozestat es dada a la Gleisa de Deu de liar e

de desliar, e de perdonar pecatz e de retenir, enaissi co Crist dix en
l’Avangeli de sanh Joan: Enaissi cum lo Paire me trames et eu trameti
vos.

[4.20] Cum agues dithas aquestas causas, espirec e dix ad els: Recebetz
Sant Esperit.

[4.21] Dels quals perdo[na]retz los pecatz, so perdonatz ad els; e dels

quals los retenretz, so re[te]ngut.

[4.22] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Mateu, dix a Simon Peire: Eu dic a tu que

tu est Peire, e sobre aquest[a] peira eu endeficarei la mia gleisa, e las
portas d’ifern no auran forsa encontra lei.

[4.23] E a tu donarei las claus del regne dels cels, e qual que causa tu
liara[s] sobre terra sera liada els cels; e qual que causa tu desliaras sobre
terra sera desliada els cels.

[4.24] Et en autre loc /239b/ dix a sos decipols: Verament dic a vos que
qual que causa liaretz sobre terra sera liada els cels; e qual que causa
solveretz sobre terra sera souta els cels.

[4.25] E de rescaps verament dic a vos: Si doi de vos se cosentiran sobre

terra de tota causa, qual que causa queran sera faita ad els del meu Paire

120
qui es el cel.

[4.26] Quar aqui on so doi o trei ajustat el meu nom, eu so aqui e meg de
lor.

[4.27] Et en autre loc dix: Los malautes sanatz, los mortz resuscitatz, los
lebrosses mondatz, los demonis gitatz.

[4.28] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Joan dix: Qui cre e mi, las obras que eu
fas, fara.

[4.29] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Marc dix: Mais aquels que creiran,

aquestas signas los segran: El meu nom gitaran demonis; et ab lengas
novas parlaran; e serpentz ostaran; e si beuran alcuna causa mortal, no
nozera ad els; sobre·ls malautes pausaran las mas, et auran be.

[4.30] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Luc dix: Vec vos que eu dei a vos poder
caucigar sobre·ls serpetz, et /239c/ els escorpios, e sobre tot le poder de
l’enemic; e re a vos no nozera.

[4.31] E si aquest poder ni aquesta pozestat voletz recebre, cove vos tenir
totz los comandamentz de Crist e del Novel Testament a vostre poder.

[4.32] E sapiatz que el a comandat que hom no avoutre, ni ausisa, ni

memta, ni jure negu sagrament, ni pane, ni raube, ni faza az autre so que
no vol que sia fait a ssi, e que hom perdone qui li fa mal, e que hom ame
sei enemic, e que hom ore e benezisca als encausadors et als acusadors de
si.

[4.33] E qui·l ferra e la una gauta, que li pare l’autra, e qui li tolra la
gonela, que li laisse lo mantel; e que hom no juge ni cumdampne; e moutz
d’autres comandamentz que so comandat del Senhor a la sua Gleisa.

[4.34] Et eissament, vos cove que aziretz aquest mon e las suas obras, e las
causas que de lui so.

[4.35] Quar sanh Joan dix en la Pistola: O mout cari, no volhatz amar lo
mon ni aicelas causas que so el mon.

[4.36] Si alcus ama lo mon, la caritat del Paire no es en lui.

[4.37] Quar tot aco que /239d/ es el mon es cobezesa de carn, e cobezesa
d’uls, et ergulh de vida, la qual no es del Paire, mais del mon es.

[4.38] E·l mons traspassara, e la cobezesa de lui, mais qui fa la volontat

de Deu esta en durabletat.

[4.39] E Crist dix a las gentz: Lo mon no pot azira vos, mais mi azira quar

121
 g
eu porti testimoni de lui que las obras de lui so malas.

[4.40] Et el libre de Salamo es escriut: Eu vi totas aquelas causas que so

faitas jos le solelh; e vec vos que totas so vanetatz e turmentz d’esperit.

[4.41] E Judas Jacme dix, essenhatz nos en la Pistola: Aziratz aicela gonela
solada la quals es carnals.

[4.42] E per aquestz testimonis e per moutz d’autres vos cove a tenir li
comandament de Deu et azira aquest mon.

[4.43] E si be o faitz entro a la fi, avem esperansa que la vostra arma aja
vida durabla.

[4.44] Et el diga: Enaissi ei volontat.

[4.45] Pregatz Deu per mi que m’en do la sua forsa.

[4.46] E puis la I dels bos homes fasa so miloirer ab le crezentz /240a/ a

l’ancia, e diga: Parcite nobis.

[4.47] Bo crestia, nos vos pregam per amor de Deu que donetz d’aquel Be
que Deus vos a dat ad aquest nostre amic.

[4.48] E puis le crezent fasa so miloirer, e diga: Parcite nobis.

[4.49] De totz les pecatz qu’eu anc fi, ni parlei, ni cossirei, ni obrei, venc a
perdo a Deu, et a la Gleisa, et a totz vos.

[4.50] E li crestia digan: De Deu, e de nos, e de la Gleisa vos sian perdonat;

e nos preguem Deu que l‹e›s vos perdo.

[4.51] E puis devo lo cossolar.

[4.52] E l’ancia prenga lo Libre e meta le·i sus lo cap, e li autri boni homi,
cascu la ma destra.

[4.53] E digan las parcias e III adoremus, e puis: Pater sante, suciper servum
tuum in tua iusticia et mite graciam tuam e Spiritum Santum tuum super eum.

[4.54] E pregon Deu ab la Oracio, et aquel que guisa lo menester deu

ecelar a la VI, e can la VI sera dita, deu dire III adoremus e la Oracio una vetz
en auzida, e puis l’Avangeli.

[4.55] E can l’Avangeli es ditz, devo dire III adoremus, e la gracia, /240b/ e
las parcias.

[4.56] E puis devo far patz entre lor et ab lo Libre.

122
[4.57] E si crezentz i a, fasan patz atressi.

[4.58] E crezentas si n’i a, fasan patz ab lo Libre et entre lor.

[4.59] E puis pregon Deu ab dobla et ab venias.

[4.60] Et auran liurat.

123
 Apareilementum (Servissi):
General Confession Lithurgy from the Lyon Ritual

(GLWRULDONotes

The Apareilementum (also given as Apparellamentum) or Servissi

(Service) is believed to have been a monthly Cathar rite
involving a public and a solemn confession, identical to the
earliest form of confession known in the Christian Church. It is
found only in the Occitan Cathar Ritual (Lyon Ritual), the most
important extant manuscript of Cathar ritual.

There is some uncertainty whether the ceremony was

retstricted to the Elect or required of all Credentes. According
to the opinion of Jean Duvernoy, the rite was restricted to the
Elect.

A reasonable version of the text is given below, followed by

the original text from the Cathar Ritual (Lyon Ritual) in Occitan.
This translation (of unidentified first source) more closely
follows the Occitan than does the version in Walter L.
Wakefield and Austin P. Evans, Heresies of the High Middle Ages
(2nd ed., New York: Columbia University Press, 1991), p. 484-
5.

This version of the text is one of the mysteries of the Gnosis

Archive. We transcribed it around 1995 while first putting
together this collection, and we never identified a published
source. It has now been reproduced widely around the internet
without a citation, and so we preserve it here with some
further corrections based on the Occitan text. Whatever the
source of this version, it is interesting to carefully read the
English text and then try to read the Occitan. If you have some
familiarity with Romance languages, you will be able to hear
the Occitan voice. This was the poetic tongue of the time, it
reached across France and Spain to Galicia; it was the language
of many Troubadours. Give it a try -- read the two texts, see
where the translation differs. Listen to the first voice of the
text....

124
The Apareilementum: Servissi
General Confession Liturgy

We have come before God and before you and before the
ordinances of the Holy Church that we may receive pardon
and penance for all our sins in thought, word and deed from
our birth until now and we ask of God mercy and of you that
you pray for us to the Holy Father of Mercy that He forgive us.

Let us worship God and declare all our sins and numerous
offences in the sight of the Father, the Son and the honoured
Holy Spirit, of the honoured Holy Gospels and the honoured
Holy Apostles, by prayer and faith and by the salvation of all
the upright and glorious Christians and blessed ancestors
asleep and here present, for their sake we ask you, holy lord, to
pardon all our sins.

Benedicte, Parcite Nobis. (Bless and have mercy upon us)

- Amen.

For numerous are the sins by which we daily offend God,

night and day, in thought, in word and deed, wittingly and
unwittingly, and especially by the desires the evil spirits bring
to us in the flesh which clothes us.

Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.

- Amen.

Whereas we are taught by God`s Holy Word as well as by the

Holy Apostles and the preaching of our spiritual brothers to
reject all fleshly desire and all uncleanness and to do the will of
God by doing good we, unworthy servants that we are, not
only do not do the will of God as we should, but more often
give way to desires of the flesh and the cares of the world, to
such an extent that we wound our spirits.

Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.

-Amen.

125
We go with those who are of the world, mixing with them,
talking and eating with them, and sinning in many things so
that we wound our brothers and our sisters.

Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.

- Amen.

By our tongues we fall into idle words, vain talk, mockery and
malice, detraction of our brothers and sisters whom we are not
worthy to judge nor to condemn their faults. Among
Christians we are sinners.

Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.

- Amen.

The penance which we received we have not observed as we

ought to have done, neither the fasting nor the prayer. We
have wasted our days and hours. While we are saying the
Holy Prayer our senses are diverted to carnal desires and
worldly cares, so that at this moment we hardly know what we
can offer to the Father of the Just.

Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.

- Amen.

O Thou Holy and Good Lord, all those things that have
befallen us in our senses and in our thought we confess, Holy
Lord, and all our many sins we place on the mercy of God and
on the Holy Prayer and on the Holy Gospel.

Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.

- Amen.

O Lord, judge and condemn the imperfections of the flesh.

Have no pity on the flesh, born of corruption, but show mercy
to the spirit which is imprisoned therein. Direct for us the
days, hours, and obeisances, as is the custom of good
Christians, that we be not judged or condemned with the
unjust at the Day of Judgment.

126
 Benedicte, Parcite Nobis.
- Amen.

The Occitan text is found in the critical edition of the Lyon Ritual at Rialto:

Servissi

[2.1] Nos em vengut denant Deu, e denant vos, e denant

l’azordenament de santa Gleisa per recebre servisi, e perdo, e
penedensia de tuit li nostri pecat li qual avem fait, ni dig, ni
pessatz, ni obratz del nostre naissement entro fin a-/236b/ora;
e quirem misericordia a Deu et a vos, que vos preguetz per nos
lo Paire sanh de misericordia que nos perdo.

[2.2] Adorem Deu e manifestem tuit li nostre pecat e las nostras

moutas greus ofensios az esgardament del Paire e del Fil e de
l’onorat Sant Esperit, e dels onoratz sanhs Avangelis, e dels
onoratz sanhs Apostols per la Oracio, e per la fe, e per la
salvatio de tuit li dreiturers gloriosses crestias, e dels
bonauratz durmentz ancesors, e dels fraires enaviro estant, e
denant vos, sanh Senhor, que nos perdonetz tot ço en que nos
pequem. [2.3] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.4] Quar moutz so les nostres pecatz els quals nos ofendem a
minca dia, per nuit e per dia, en paraula, et en obra, e segon
cossirer, ab volontat e senes volontat, e plus per la nostra
volotat, la qual denant nos aportan les malignes esperitz en las
carns que vestem.

[2.5] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.6] Mais aissi cum la santa Paraula de Deu nos essenha, e li

sanh a-/236c/postol e li nostri frairi esperital nos o anoncian,
que nos degitem tot desirer de la carn, e tota lagesa, e fazam la
volontat de Deu el perfeit Ben cumplit.

[2.7] Mais noi serve[n] [n]ualhos no fazem solament la volontat

de Deu enaissi cum se covengra, mais sovendeirament
azomplem li desirer de la carn en las curas seglars, si c’als
nostres esperitz nozem.

[2.8] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.9] Cum la gent mondana andam, cum lor essems estam, e

parlam, e majam, e de moutas causas ofendem, si qu’als

127
nostres fraires et als nostres esperitz nozem.

[2.10] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.11] De las nostras lengas cazem em paraulas ossiossas, en

vas parlamentz, en ris, en esquers, e malesas, en retrazement
de fraires e de serors dels quals nos no em digne de jujar ni de
cumdampnar li ofendement dels fraires e de las seros.

[2.12] Entre·ls crestias estam pecadors.

[2.13] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.14] Lo servisi que receubem, no·l ga[r]dem aissi cum se

covengra, lo /236d/ dejuni ni la Oracio; nostres dias
traspassem, nostras oras pervericam; nos estant en la santa
Oracio, nostre sen se desvia els desirers carnals, en las curas
seglars, si que en aquela ora a penas sabem qual causa ufrem al
Paire dels justz.

[2.15] Benedicite, parcit[e] nobis.

[2.16] O tu, sant e bo Senhor, totas aquelas causas que a nos

endevengro al nostre sen et al nostre cosirer, a tu las
manifestam, sanh Senhor, e tota la moutesa dels pecatz
pausam en la misericordia de Deu, et en la santa Oracio, et en
lo sant Avangeli.

[2.17] Quar moutz so los nostres pecatz.

[2.18] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[2.19] O Senhor, juja e cumdapna los vises de la carn.

[2.20] No ajas merce de la carn nada de corumptio, mais ajas

merce de l’esperit pausat en carcer.

[2.21] E aministra a nos dias, e oras, e venias, e dejunis, e

Oracios, e presicatios enaissi cum es costuma de bos crestias,
que nos no siam jujat ni cumdampnat al dia /237a/ del judici
cum li felo.

[2.22] Benedicite, parcite nobis.

128
 Traditio: Rite for the Transmission of the Prayer
(from the Cathar Ritual)

(GLWRULDONotes

This is the ritual for reception of the Pater noster prayer by a

Cathar credente. The Occitan text included is from the Cathar
Ritual, also known as the Lyon Ritual, (ms. Lyon, Bibliothèque
municipale, PA 36, 235v-241). Two separate versions of the
Cathar Ritual survive (one in Occitan and one in Latin); it is the
most important extant record of Cathar liturgical forms.

We recommend reading this text as a meditation, placing

yourself into the twelfth century and taking the role of the
credente with your own responsive voice. In this action of
meditation, by consciously entering the ritual, you will learn
more about the Cathar tradition than any book can teach.

The reconstructed version below reflects the Occitan and Latin

rituals, but is not identical with either or with the English
versions in W. Wakefield & A. Evans, Heresies of the High
Middle Ages (2nd ed., New York: Columbia University Press,
1991). In the later parts it extends beyond the Occitan text, and
includes litugical formula associated with first sections of the
Consolamentum ritual. We are not able to presently identify
the first source of this version, which we obtained before 1995,
but it is a beautiful and fairly accurate rendition of the original
texts.

The Occitan text of the ritual, appended at the end, is from the
Occitan manuscript edition of the Cathar Ritual (or Lyon
Ritual).

This version of the text is one of the mysteries of the Gnosis

Archive. We obtained it in the very first years of putting
together this collection, edited it for our presentation, and then
never identified a published source. (If you know the source,
please send us a note.) It has now been reproduced widely
around the internet without a citation, and so we preserve it
here in a new corrected edition. Whatever the source of this

129
 version, it is interesting to carefully read the English text and
then try to read the Occitan. If you have some familiarity with
Romance languages, you will be able to hear the Occitan voice.
This was the poetic tongue of the time, it reached across France
and Spain to Galicia; it was the language of many
Troubadours. Give it a try -- read the two texts, see where the
translation differs. Listen to the first voice of the text....

Traditio: Rite for the Transmission of the Prayer (from the

Lyon Ritual)

[Beginning at line 3.10]

...You must realize that when you are before the Church of
God you are before the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, as
the Scriptures teach. For Christ said in the Gospel according to
Saint Matthew: "Wheresoever two or three are gathered together in
my name there I am in the midst of them."

And in the Holy Gospel according to Saint John he said, "If a

man love me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him,
and we will come unto him and make our abode with him."

And Saint Paul says in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians,

"Ye are the Temple of the Living God, as God hath said by Isaiah, his
prophet; I dwell in them and walk in them; and I will be their God
and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them
and be ye separate, saith the Lord; and touch not the unclean thing;
and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be
My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."

And in another place he says, "Seek ye the proof of Christ Who

speaketh in me."

And in the First Epistle to Timothy he says, "These things write I

unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly; but if I tarry long, that
thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the House
of God, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and ground
of the truth."

And he said also to the Hebrews, "But Christ is a Son over His
own house, Whose house we are."

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That the Spirit of God is with the followers of Jesus Christ,
Christ has shown thus in the Gospel according to Saint John,
"If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father,
and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with
you forever; even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive,
because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him, for
He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you
comfortless, I will come to you."

And in the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew He said,

"Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

And Saint Paul said in the First Epistle to the Corinthians,

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you? If any man man defile the temple of God, him
shall God destroy; for the Temple of God is holy, which temple ye
are."

Christ shows it thus in the Holy Gospel according to Saint

Matthew, "For it is not ye that speak but the Spirit of your Father
that speaketh in you."

And Saint John says in his epistle, "By this we know that we abide
in Him and He in us, for He has given us His Spirit."

And Saint Paul said to the Galatians, "Because ye are sons God
hath sent forth the spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying "Father!
Father!"

Wherefore be it understood that your presentation made

before the sons of Jesus Christ confirms the faith and teaching
of the Church of God as the Holy Scriptures tell us. For in
former times the people of God separated themselves from the
Lord their God. And they abandoned the will and guidance of
their Heavenly Father through the deceptions of the wicked
spirits and by submission to their will.

And for these reasons, and many others, we are certain that the
Heavenly Father would have pity on His people and receive
them again in peace and concord by the coming of His Son,
Jesus Christ, and now is the time.

For you are here before the disciples of Jesus Christ in the place
where Father, Son and Holy Ghost have their spiritual abode
as is shown above, to receive that Holy Prayer which the Lord

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Jesus gave to His disciples, so that your prayers might be
granted by our Heavenly Father.

Therefore must you learn that if you would receive this Holy
Prayer you must repent your sins and forgive all men. For Our
Lord Jesus Christ says, "If ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Heavenly Father, forgive your trespasses."

Hence it is meet and right that you be resolved in your heart to

keep this Holy Prayer all your life according to the custom of
the Church of God, in purity and truth, and in all other virtues
which God would bestow upon you.

Wherefore we pray the good Lord who bestowed upon the

disciples of Jesus Christ the virtue to receive this Holy Prayer
steadfastly that He may grant to you also the grace to receive it
steadfastly, in His honour and for your salvation.

[The Elder then says the Lord's Prayer and the postulant follow
him phrase by phrase:]

Our father, which art in Heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our supplementary bread,
And remit our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And keep us from temptation and free us from evil.

Thine is the kingdom, the power and glory for ever and ever.
Amen.

Pater noster qui es in celis,

sanctificetur nomen tuum;
adveniat regnum tuum.
Fiat voluntas tua sicut in celo et in terra.
Panem nostrum supersubstancialem da nobis hodie.
Et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus
debitoribus nostris.
Et ne nos inducas in temptationem sed libera nos a malo.
Quoniam tuum est regnum et virtus et gloria in secula.
Amen.

[After which the Elder will say:]

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"We deliver you this Holy Prayer that you may receive it of us and of
God and of the Church, that you may have the power to say it all
your life, day and night, alone or in company, and that you must
never eat or drink without first saying it. If you omit to do so you
must do penance."

The Postulant replies: "I receive it of you and of the Church."

Then he turns and give thanks and make his melioramentum

(bowing at the feet of the Elder).

Then the Elder asks the postulant, "My brother, do you desire to
give yourself to our faith?"

The postulant being asked three times, and answering "Yes" on

all, makes a bow and advances one step between each, saying
"Bless me," to which the Elder replies, "God bless and keep you."

At the third time bowing thus the postulant adds, "Lord, pray to
God for me, a sinner, that He will lead me to the good end," and the
Elder replies,"God bless you and make you a good Christian and
bring you to the good end."

Elder: "Do you give yourself to God and the Gospel?

Postulant: "Yes"

Elder: "Do you promise that henceforth you will eat neither meat nor
eggs, nor cheese, nor fat, and that you live only from water and wood
(i.e. vegetables and fish), that you will not lie, that you will not
swear, that you will not kill, that you will not abandon your body to
any form of luxury, that you will never go alone when it is possible to
have a companion, that you will never sleep without breeches and
shirt and that you will never abandon your faith for fear of water, fire
or any other manner of death?"

Postulant: "Yes"

[...] You wish to receive the spiritual baptism whereby the

Holy Spirit is given in the Church of God with the Holy Prayer
by the laying on of hands of the Good Men. Of this Baptism
Our Lord Jesus Christ said in the Holy Gospel according to
Saint Matthew:

"Go ye and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to

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observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even unto the end of the world." And in the
Gospel of Saint Mark he said,"Go ye into all the world and preach
the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned".

And in the Gospel of Saint John He said to Nicodemus, "Verily,

verily I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and the spirit he
cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."

And John the Baptist spoke of this baptism when he said, "I
indeed baptize you with water, but one mightier than I cometh, the
latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to loosen; he shall baptize you
with the Holy Ghost and with fire."

This gift of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands has been
instituted by Jesus Christ as Saint Luke tells, and he said that
his friends would confer it as Saint Mark says, "They shall lay
hands on the sick and they shall recover."

And Ananias conferred this Baptism on Saint Paul when he

was converted. For Saint Luke says thus in the Acts of the
Apostles, "Now when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard
that Samaria had received the word of God they sent unto them Peter
and John, who when they were come down, prayed for them that they
might receive of the Holy Spirit, for as yet He was fallen upon none of
them."

Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy
Spirit. This Holy Baptism by which the Holy Spirit is given the
Church of God has kept from the Apostles until now, and it
has come from the Good Men to the Good Men until now and
shall do till the end of the world.

And you must understand that power is given to the Church

of God to bind and to loose, to forgive sins and to retain them,
as Christ said in the Gospel of Saint John, "As my Father hath
sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this he breathed
on them and saith unto them "Receive Ye the Holy Ghost";
whatsoever sins ye remit they are remitted unto them, and
whatsoever sins ye regain, they are regained."

And in the Gospel of Saint Matthew he said to Simon Peter, "I

say unto thee that thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my
Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will

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give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

And again, "If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything
that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in
Heaven. For wheresoever two or three are gathered in my name there
am I in the midst of them"

And in another place he said, "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers,
raise the dead, cast out devils"

And in the Gospel of Saint John he said, "He that believeth on

me, the works that I do he shall do also."

And in the Gospel of Saint Mark he said, "These signs shall

follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils,they
shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they
drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them, they shall lay hands on
the sick and they shall recover."

And in the Gospel of Saint Luke he said, "Behold I give unto you
power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the
enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

And if you wish to receive this power you must keep all the
commandments of Christ and the New Testament according to
your ability. And know that He has commanded that man
shall not commit adultery or murder or lie, that he must not
swear any oath, that he shall not seize or rob, nor do to others
what he would not have done to himself, that man must
forgive whoever wrongs him and love his enemies, pray for his
detractors and accusers and bless them; and if anyone strike
him on one cheek, turn to him the other also, and if anyone
takes away his cloak, to leave him his coat also; and that he
should neither judge nor condemn, and many other
commandments which the Lord made for His Church. Also
you must hate this world and its works and the things of the
world, for Saint John says in his epistle:

"O my beloved, love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world. If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes
and the pride of life , is not of the Father but is of the world. And the

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world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of
God abideth for ever."

And Christ said unto the Gentiles, "The world cannot hate you,
but me it hates because I bear witness of it that its works are evil."

And in the Book of Solomon, it is written, "I have seen all the
works that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and
vexation of Spirit."

And Jude the brother of James said for our instruction in his
Epistle, "Hate the solid garment of flesh."

And by these witnesses and any others you must keep the
commandments of God and hate the world. And if you
continue well to the end, we have the hope that your soul shall
have life eternal.

And the Credent shall say, "I have this will, pray to God for me
that He will give me His power"

Witness (says):

"Parcite Nobis. Good Christians we pray you by the love of God

that you grant this blessing, which God had given you, to our friend
here present."

Credent, after making his melioramentum (says):

"Parcite Nobis. For all the sins I have ever done in thought, word
and deed. I ask pardon of God, of the Church, and of you all."

Assembly of Cathars and Witnesses (say):

"By God and by us and by the Church, may your sins be forgiven
and we pray God to forgive you them."

Adoremus, Patrem, et Filium et Spiritum Sanctam.

Adoremus, Patrem, et Filium et Spiritum Sanctam.

Adoremus, Patrem, et Filium et Spiritum Sanctam.

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The following original Occitan text is found in the critical edition of the Lyon
Ritual at Rialto.

III. Rite for the Transmission of the Prayer

[3.1] Si crezent esta en l’astenencia, e li crestia so acordant que

li liuro la Oracio, lavo se las mas.

[3.2] E crezent, si n’i a, eissament.

[3.3] E puis la i dels bos homes, aquel que es apres l’ancia,

fa‹s›za iii revenencias a l’ancia.

[3.4] E puis aparele i desc; e puis autras iii.

[3.5] E meta touala sobre·l desc; e puis autras iii.

[3.6] E meta le Libre sobre la touala.

[3.7] E puis diga: Benedicite, parcite nobis.

[3.8] E puis le crezent fasza so meloier, e prenga le Libre de la

ma de l’ancia.

[3.9] E l’ancia deu lo amonestar e prezicar ab testimonis

covinentz.

[3.10] E si·l crezent a nom Peire, diga enaissi: En Peire, vos

devetz entendre que can esz denant la Gleisa de Deu, que vos
esz denant le Paire e·l Fil e·l Sant Esperit.

[3.11] Quar la Gleisa es dita ajustament; et aqui on so li ver

crestia, aqui es le Paire e·l Fil e·l Sant Esperit aissi co las
devinas Escriupturas o demostran.

[3.12] Quar Crist dix en /237b/ l’Avangeli de sanh Matheu: En

qual que loc seran ii o iii ajustat el meu nom, eu so aqui e meg
de lor.

[3.13] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Joan dix: Si alcus amara mi, la

mia paraula gardara, e·l meu Paire amara lui, e venrem a lui et
estaja farem ab lui.

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[3.14] E sanh Paul dix en la segonda Pistola als Corintias: Vos
esz temples de Deu lo viu aissi co Deus dix per Ysaias: Quar eu
estarei en els, et irei e serei Deu de lor, et eli seran pobles de
mi.

[3.15] Per la qual causa: Issetz de meg de lor e siatz departit, so

ditz lo Senhor.

[3.16] E la laja causa no tocaretz et eu recebrei vos.

[3.17] E serei a vos em paire.

[3.18] E vos seretz a mi en fils et e filhas, so ditz lo Senhor Deus

totz poderos.

[3.19] Et en l’autre loc dix: O quiretz l’esproament de Crist que

parla e mi.

[3.20] Et en la primeire Apistola a Timoteu dix: Aquestas

causa[s] escrivi a tu esperantz mi venir a tu viasament, mais si
eu me tarzarei, que sapias en qual maneira te covenga coversar
en la maiso de Deu, la quals es /237c/ Gleisa del viu Deu,
coronda e fermament de veritat.

[3.21] Et el meteis dix als Ebreus: Mais Crist es enaissi coma

Fils en la sua maiso, la qual maiso em nos.

[3.22] Quar l’Esperit de Deu sia com li fizel de Jesu Crist,

enaissi o demostra Crist en l’Avangeli de sanh Joan: Si mi
amatz, li mei comandament gardatz.

[3.23] Et eu pregarei lo Paire, et autre Cofortador donara a vos,

que estia ab vos en durabletat, Esperit de veritat, lo qual lo
mon no pot recebre quar no·l vi ni·l sab; mais vos le
conoisseretz, quar ab vos estara et ab vos sera.

[3.24] No vos laissarei orfes; venrei a vos.

[3.25] Et en l’Avangeli de sanh Mateu dix: Vec vos qu’eu so ab

vos per totz dias entro a l’acabament del segle.

[3.26] E sanh Paul dix en la primeira Pistola als Corintias: No

sabetz que vos esz temple de Deu lo viu e l’Esperit de Deu esta

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e vos?

[3.27] Mais si alcus corumpra lo temple de Deu, Deus

destrozira lui.

[3.28] Quar lo temple de Deu es sanh, lo qual esz vos.

[3.29] Enaissi o demostra Crist en l’Avangeli de sanh Mateu:

Quar /237d/ no esz vos que parlatz mais l’Esperit del vostre
Paire que parla e vos.

[3.30] E sanh Joan dix en la Pistola: En aisso sabem quar en lui

estam et el e nos quar del seu Esperit dec a nos.

[3.31] E sanh Paul dix als Galatas: Quar esz fil de Deu, Deus
trames l’esperit del seu Fil el vostre cor, cridant: Paire, Paire.

[3.32] Per que es a entendre quar lo vostre presetament, lo qual

fes denant les fils de Jesu Crist, coferma la fe e la presicatio de
la Gleisa de Deu segon que las devinas Escripturas o donan az
entendre.

[3.33] Quar lo poble de Deu se departic ancianament del seu

Senhor Deu.

[3.34] E departic se del co‹s›selh e de la volontat del seu sanh

Paire per lo decebement e per lo sotzmetement dels malignes
esperitz.

[3.35] E per aquestas razos, e per moutas d’autras, es donat az

entendre quar lo sanh Paire vol mercenejar del seu poble e
recebre lui a patz e a la sua concordia per l’aveniment del seu
Fil, Jesu Crist.

[3.36] Don es aquesta l’ocaizo quar esz aici denant los decipols
/238a/ de Jesu Crist, el qual loc abita esperitalment lo Paire e·l
Fil e·l Sant Esperit, aissi co desus es demostrat, que vos dejatz
recebre aicela santa Oracio, la qual donec lo Senhor Jesu Crist a
sos decipols, enaissi que las vostras Oracios e las vostras
pregueiras sian eissauzidas del nostre sanh Paire.

[3.37] Per la qual causa devetz entendre, si aquesta santa

Oracio voletz recebre, quar cove vos pentir de totz les vostres

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pecatz e perdonar a totz homes.

[3.38] Quar lo nostre Senhor Jesu Crist dix: Si no perdonaretz

als homes li pecat de lor, ni·l vostre Paire celestial no
perdonara a vos los vostre pecatz.

[3.39] De rescaps se cove que perpausetz e vostre cor de gardar

aquesta santa Oracio totz les temps de la vostra vida, si Deus
donara a vos gracia de recebre ela, segon la costuma de la
Gleisa de Deu, ab castetat, et ab veritat, et ab totas bonas autras
vertutz las quals Deus volra donar a vos.

[3.40] Per la qual causa pregam le bo Senhor, lo qual donec

vertut de recebre aquesta santa Oracio als decipols de Jesu
Crist ab fer- /238b/ metat, que el mezeis done a vos gracia de
recebre ela ab fermetat, et a onor de lui e de la vostra salvatio.

[3.41] Parcite nobis.

[3.42] E puis l’ancia diga la Oracio e·l crezentz que la seguia.

[3.43] E puis diga l’ancia: Aquesta santa Oracio vos liuram que
la recepiatz de Deu, e de nos, e de la Gleisa, e que ajatz
pozestat de dir ela totz les temps de la vostra vida, de dias e de
nuitz, sols et ab cumpanha, e que jamais no mangetz ni bevatz
que aquesta Oracio no digatz primeirament.

[3.44] E si o faziatz en falha, auria vos obs qu’en portessetz

penedensa.

[3.45] Et el deu dir: Eu la recebi de Deu, e de vos, e de la Gleisa.

[3.46] E puis fassa so miloirer e reda gracias.

[3.47] E puis li crestia fasan dobla ab venias, e·l crezent detras

els.

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