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THE illustrious emperor thus took heed of the apostolic decrees, but
Audaeus, a Syrian alike in race and in speech, appeared at that time
as an inventor of new decrees. He had long ago begun to incubate
iniquities and now appeared in his true character. At first he
understood in an absurd sense the passage "Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness." From want of apprehension of the meaning
of the divine Scripture he understood the Divine Being to have a
human form, and conjectured it to be enveloped in bodily parts; for
Holy Scripture frequently describes the divine operations under the
names of human parts, since by these means the providence of God is
made more easily intelligible to minds incapable of perceiving any
immaterial ideas. To this impiety Audaeus added others of a similar
kind. By an eclectic process he adopted some of the doctrines of
Manes and denied that the God of the universe is creator of either
fire or darkness. But these and all similar errors are concealed by
the adherents of his faction.
They allege that they are separated from the assemblies of the
Church. But since some of them exact a cursed usury, and some live
unlawfully with women without the bond of wedlock, while those who are
innocent of these practices live in free fellowship with the guilty,
they hide the blasphemy of their doctrines by accounting as they do for
their living by themselves. The plea is however an impudent one, and
the natural result of Pharisaic teaching, for the Pharisees accused
the Physician of souls and bodies in their question to the holy
Apostles "How is it that your Master eateth with publicans and
sinners?" and through the prophet, God of such men says "Which
say, 'come not near me for I am pure' this is smoke of my wrath."
But this is not a tithe to refute their unreasonable error. I
therefore pass on to the remainder of my narrative.
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