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Reply to Faustus the Manichaean

11.

She whom the apostle warns against the guile of the serpent by which thou hast been corrupted, that he may present her as a chaste virgin to Christ, her only husband, acknowledges the God of the prophets as the true God, and her own God. So many of His promises have already been fulfilled to her, that she looks confidently for the fulfillment of the rest. Nor can any one say that these prophecies have been forged to suit the present time, for they are found in the books of the Jews. What could be more unlikely than that all nations should be blessed in Abraham's seed, as it was promised? And yet how plainly is this promise now fulfilled! The last promise is made in the following short prophecy: "Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house: they shall ever praise Thee." ¹ When trial is past, and death, the last enemy, is destroyed, there will be rest in the constant occupation of praising God, where there shall be no arrivals and no departures. So the prophet says elsewhere: "Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem; celebrate thy God, O Zion: for He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; He hath blessed thy children within thee." ² The gates are shut, so that none can go in or out. The Bridegroom Himself says in the Gospel, that He will not open to the foolish virgins though they knock. This Jerusalem, the holy Church, the bride of Christ, is described fully in the Revelation of John. And that which commends the promises of future bliss to the belief of this chaste virgin is, that now she is in possession of what was foretold of her by the same prophets. For she is thus described: "Hearken, O daughter, and regard, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house. For the King hath greatly desired thy beauty; and He is thy God. The daughters of Tyre shall worship Him with gifts; the rich among the people shall entreat thy favor. The daughter of the King is all glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold. The virgins following her shall be brought unto the King: her companions shall be brought unto thee; with gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought into the temple of the King. Instead of thy fathers, children shall be born to thee, whom thou shall make princes over all the earth. Thy name shall be remembered to all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever." ³ Unhappy victim of the serpent's guile, the inward beauty of the daughter of the King is not for thee even to think of. For this purity of mind is that which thou hast lost in opening thine eyes to love and worship the sun and moon. And so by the just judgment of God thou art estranged from the tree of life, which is eternal and internal wisdom; and with thee nothing is called or accounted truth or wisdom but that light which enters the eyes opened to evil, and which in thy impure mind expands and shapes itself into fanciful images. These are thy abominable whoredoms. Still the truth calls on thee to reflect and return. Return to me, and thou shall be cleansed and restored, if thy shame leads thee to repentance. Hear these words of the true Truth, who neither with feigned shapes fought against the race of darkness, nor with feigned blood redeemed thee.

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Contra Faustum Manichaeum libri triginta tres

11.

Ista autem, quam doctrina apostolica virginem castam uni viro exhibens Christo, a fallacia serpentis, qua tu corrupta es, monet ut caveat, agnoscit deum prophetarum deum verum, deum suum. 438,4 Huius ultimae pollicitationi secura credit, cuius tanta promissa completa iam tenet, nec quisquam dicit ad praesens tempus ei confictos esse prophetas, quos in Iudaeorum codicibus asserit. Quid enim incredibilius promittebatur quam id, quod Abrahae dictum est: In semine tuo benedicentur omnes gentes? Et quid certius iam tenemus exhibitum? Illa certe est ultima eius promissio, quam propheta breviter ita commemorat: Beati, qui habitant in domo tua; in saecula saeculorum laudabunt te. Finita quippe omni indigentia et novissima inimica morte destructa perpetua dei laus erit otiosorum negotium, quo iam nemo accedet, unde iam nemo discedet. Quod alibi propheta ita commemorat: p. 438,16 Collauda, Hierusalem, dominum; lauda deum tuum, Sion, quoniam confirmavit seras portarum tuarum, benedixit filios tuos in te. Clausis portis nullus intrabit, nullus exibit. Quod et ipse sponsus in evangelio dicit fatuis virginibus etiam pulsantibus se non aperturum. Haec Hierusalem, sancta ecclesia, sponsa Christi, in apocalypsi Iohannis copiosius uberiusque describitur. Non credat huic propheticae promissioni virgo casta, si non iam tenet, quod ei per eandem prophetiam hoc tempore futurum promissum est: Audi filia et vide et inclina aurem tuam et obliviscere populum tuum et domum patris tui, quoniam concupivit rex speciem tuam, quia ipse est deus tuus, et adorabunt eum filiae Tyri in muneribus; vultum tuum deprecabuntur divites plebis. Omnis gloria eius filiae regis intrinsecus, in fimbriis aureis circumamicta varietatibus; afferentur regi virgines post eam, proximae eius afferentur tibi, in laetitia et exultatione adducentur in templum regis. Pro patribus tuis nati sunt tibi filii, constitues eos principes super omnem terram; memores erunt nominis tui in omni progenie et generatione; propterea populi confitebuntur tibi in aeternum et in saeculum saeculi. p. 439,9 Sed tu infelix a serpente corrupta quando uel cogitare conaris, quae sit pulchritudo filiae regis intrinsecus? Ipsa est enim castitas mentis, ubi tu vitiata es, ut aperirentur tibi oculi ad amandum et adorandum solem et lunam, ac si per iustum iudicium dei alienareris a ligno vitae, quod est aeterna et interna sapientia, nihilque aliud vocares putaresque veritatem atque sapientiam nisi lucem istam, quam per male apertos oculos tractam et in immensum auctam multipliciterque variatam per imagines fabulosas impudica mente convolveres. p. 439,18 Hae sunt fornicationes tuae nimis abominandae. Et tamen patienter cogita eas et revertere ad me dicit veritas. Revertere ad me et mundaberis, reparaberis, si confundaris tibi et refundaris mihi. Hoc audi, hoc dicit vera veritas, quae nec fallacibus formis cum tenebrarum gente pugnavit nec fallaci sanguine te redemit.