Irenaeus, Saint, Bishop of Lyon, Libros quinque adversus haereses

Ἄλλος δέ τις διδάσκαλος αὐτῶν Μάρκος μαγικῆς ἔμπειρος, ἃμὲν διὰ κυβείας δώρων καὶ ἐπῳδῶν ἃ δὲ καὶ διὰ δαιμόνων ἠπάτα πολλούς. Οὗτος ἔλεγεν ἐν αὐτῷ τὴν μεγίστην ἀπὸ τῶν ἀοράτων καὶ ἀκατονομάστων τόπων εἶναι δύναμιν. Καὶ δὴ πολλάκις λαμβάνων ποτήριον κ.τ.λ. infra not. 3, p. 115. ἔχοντι, ὡς πρόδρομος ὢν ἀληθῶς τοῦ 1Ἀντιχρίστου ἀποδέδεικται. Τὰ γὰρ 2Ἀναξιλάου παίγνια τῇ τῶν λεγομένων μάγων πανουργία, συμμίξας, δἰ αὐτῶν φαντάζων τε καὶ μαγεύων, εἰς ἔκπληξιν τοὺς ὅρωντάς τε καὶ πειθομένους αὐτῷ περιέβαλεν Οἱ δὲ τὰ ἀπὸ περιεργίας ὁρῶντες δοκοῦσι δυνάμεις τινὰς ἐν χερσὶν αὐτοῦ ἐπιτελεῖσθαι Τὸν γὰρ νοῦν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀπολέσαντες οὐχ ὁρῶσι μὴ γινώσκοντες δοκιμάσαι, ὅτι ἀπὸ μαγείας ἡ σύστασις τοῦ παῤ αὐτοῦ παιγνίου, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, ἐπιτελεῖται.

Another of their teachers, Marcus, skilled in magic, deceived many, partly through trickery with gifts and incantations, partly also through demons. He said that the greatest power from the invisible and unnameable places was in him. And indeed often taking a cup, etc. [...] possessing [it]; so that he has been shown to be truly a forerunner of the Antichrist. For mixing the tricks of Anaxilaus with the knavery of the so-called magi, and producing illusions and working magic by means of them, he threw those who watched him and trusted him into amazement. And those who see the works of his curious arts think that certain powers are being worked by his hands. For they too have lost their minds and do not see, not knowing how to test it, that the contrivance of his trick is accomplished, so to speak, by magic.

2. 3Ποτήρια οἴνῳ 4κεκραμένα προσποιούμενος εὐχαριστεῖν, καὶ ἐπὶ πλέον ἐκτείνων τὸν λόγον τῆς ἐπικλήσεως, πορφύρεα μαὶ ἐρυθρὰ ἀναφαίνεσθαι ποιεῖ· ὡς δοκεῖν τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπὲρ τὰ ὅλα 1Χάριν τὸ οἷμα τὸ ἑαυτῆς στάζειν ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ ποτηρίῳ διὰ τῆς ἐπικλήσεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὑπεριμείρεσθαι τοὺς παρόντας ἐξ ἐκείνου γεύσασθαι τοῦ πόματος, ἵνα καὶ εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐπομβρήσῃ ἡ διὰ τοῦ μάγου τούτου κληϊζομένη Χάρις. Πάλιν δὲ γυναιξὶν ἐπιδοὺς ἐκπώματα κεκραμένα, αὐτὰς εὐχαρισιεῖν ἐγκελεύεται παρεστῶτος αὐτοῦ. Καὶ τούτου γενομένου, αὐτὸς ἄλλο ποτήριον πολλῷ μεῖζον ἐκείνου, οὗ ἡ ἐξηπατημένη εὐχαρίστησε, προσενεγκὼν, Int. προενεγκών. Hipp. κρατῶν καὶ μετακενώσας ἀπὸ τοῦ μικροτέρου, τοῦ ὑπὸ τῆς γυναικὸς ηὐχαριστημένου, εἰς τὸ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ κεκοσμημένον Int. κεκομισμένον, ἐπιλέγων ἅμα οὕτως· Ἡ πρὸ τῶν ὅλων, ἡ ἀνεννόητος καὶ ἄῤῥητος Χάρις πληρώσαι σου τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον, καὶ πληθύναι ἐν σοὶ τὴν γνῶσιν αὐτῆς, ἐγκατασπείρουσα τὸν κόκκον τοῦ σινάπεως εἰς τὴν ἀγαθὴν γῆν. Καὶ τοιαῦτά τινα εἰπὼν, καὶ ἐξοιστρήσας ἐκστήσας Hippol. τὴν ταλαίπωρον, θαυματοποιὸς ἀνεφάνη, τοῦ μεγάλου πληρωθέντος ἐκ τοῦ μικροῦ ποτηρίου, ὥστε καὶ ὑπερεκχεῖσθαι ἐξ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἄλλα τινα τούτοις παραπλήσια ποιῶν ἐξηπάτησε πολλοὺς, καὶ ἀπαγήοχεν ὀπίσω αὑτοῦ. Εἰκὸς δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ δαίμονά τινα πάρεδρον ἔχειν, δἰ οὗ αὐτός τε 1προφητεύειν δοκεῖ, καὶ ὅσας ἀξίας ἡγεῖται μετόχοις τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ, προφητεύειν ποιεῖ. Μάλιστα γὰρ περὶ γυναῖκας ἀσχολεῖται, καὶ τούτων τοῦτο τὰς εὐπαρύφους, καὶ περιπορφύρους, καὶ πλουσιωτάτας, ἃς πολλάκις ὑπάγεσθαι πειρώμενος, κολακεύων φησὶν αὐταῖς· Μεταδοῦναί σοι θέλω τῆς ἐμῦς χάριτος, ἐπειδὴ ὁ Πατὴρ τῶν ὅλων τὸν ἄγγελόν σου διαπαντὸς βλέπει πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ τόπος τοῦ 1μεγέθους ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστι δι᾿ ἡμᾶς ἐγκαταστῆσαι l. δεῖ ἡμᾶς ἓν καταστῆσαι. Λάμβανε πρῶτον ἀπʼ ἑμοῦ, καὶ δἰ ἐμοῦ τὴν χάριν. Εὐτρέπισον σεαυτὴν, ὡς νύμφη ἐκδεχομένη τὸν νυμφίον ἑαυτῆς, ἵνα ἔσῃ ὃ ἐγὼ, καὶ ἐγὼ ὃ σύ. Καθίδρυσον ἐν τῷ νυμφῶνί σου τὸ σπέρμα τοῦ φωτός. Λάβε παῤ ἐμοῦ τὸν νυμφίον, καὶ χώρησον αὐτὸν, καὶ χωρήθητι ἐν αὐτῷ. Ἰδοὺ χάρις κατῆλθεν ἐπί σε· ἄνοιξον τὸ στόμα σου, καὶ προφήτευσον. Τῆς δὲ γυναικὸς ἀποκρινομένης, οὐ προεφήτευσα πώποτε, καὶ οὐκ οἶδα προφητεύειν· ἐπικλήσεις τινὰς ποιούμενος ἐκ δευτέρου εἰς κατάπληξιν τῆς ἀπατωμένης, φησὶν αὐτῇ· Ἄνοιξον τὸ στόμα σου, λάλησον ὅ τι δήποτε, καὶ προφητεύσεις. δὲ 2χαυνωθεῖσα, καὶ κεπφωθεῖσα ὑπὸ τῶν προειρημένων, διαθερμανθεῖσα τὴν ψυχὴν ὑπὸ τῆς προσδοκίας τοῦ μέλλειν αὐτὴν προφητεύειν, τῆς καρδίας πλέον τοῦ δέοντος παλλούσης, ἀποτολμᾷ λαλεῖν Int. καὶ λαλεῖ ληρώδη καὶ τὰ τυχόντα πάντα κενῶς καὶ τολμηρῶς, ἅτε ὑπὸ κενοῦ τεθερμαμένη πνείματος· (καθὼς ὁ 1κρείσσων ἡμῶν ἔφη περὶ τῶν τοιούτων, ὅτι τολμηρὸν καὶ ἀναιδὲς ψυχὴ κενῷ ἀέρι θερμαινομένη,) καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου λοιπὸν προφήτιδα ἑαυτὴν μεταλαμβάνει, καὶ εὐχαριστεῖ Μάρκῳ τῷ ἐπιδιδόντι τῆς ἰδίας χάριτος αὐτῇ· καὶ ἀμείβεσθαι αὐτὸν πειρᾶται, οὐ μόνον κατὰ τὴν τῶν ὑπαρχόντων δόσιν, (ὅθεν καὶ χρημάτων πλῆθος πολὺ συνενήνοχεν,) ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος κοινωνίαν, κατὰ πάντα ἑνοῦσθαι αὐτῷ προθυμουμένη, ἵνα σὺν αὐτῷ κατέλθῃ εἰς τὸ ἕν.

2. Pretending to give thanks over cups mixed with wine, and drawing out the words of the invocation at greater length, he makes them appear purple and red, so that it seems that Grace, from the regions above all things, is dripping her own blood into that cup through his invocation, and those present long exceedingly to taste of that drink, so that the Grace called down by this magician may rain on them too. Again, handing mixed cups to women, he bids them give thanks over them while he stands by. And when this has been done, he himself brings forward another cup much larger than the one over which the deluded woman gave thanks, and pours from the smaller one, over which the woman gave thanks, into the one adorned by him, saying at the same time these words: "May the Grace that is before all things, unthinkable and ineffable, fill your inner man and multiply her knowledge in you, sowing the grain of mustard seed in the good earth." And saying some such things, and driving the wretched woman into a frenzy, he appeared a wonder-worker, when the large cup was filled from the small one, so that it even overflowed. And by doing certain other things like these he has deceived many and drawn them away after him. It is likely that he also has some demon as his paredros [attendant spirit], through whom he himself seems to prophesy, and through whom he makes to prophesy as many women as he thinks worthy to share in his grace. For he busies himself above all with women, and of these with those who wear fine-bordered and purple-edged robes and are richest; and often, trying to lead them on, he says to them, flattering: "I want to give you a share of my Grace, since the Father of all sees your angel continually before his face. The place of the Greatness is in us; we must become established as one. Receive grace first from me and through me. Prepare yourself as a bride awaiting her bridegroom, so that you may be what I am, and I what you are. Establish the seed of light in your bridal chamber. Receive the bridegroom from me, and make room for him, and be held in him. Behold, grace has come down upon you; open your mouth and prophesy." When the woman answers, "I have never prophesied, and I do not know how to prophesy," he makes certain invocations a second time, to astound the woman he is deceiving, and says to her: "Open your mouth, say anything at all, and you will prophesy." And she, puffed up and made a fool of by what has been said, her soul heated by the expectation that she is about to prophesy, her heart beating more than it should, ventures to speak, and speaks nonsense and whatever comes, all of it emptily and boldly, as one heated by an empty spirit (as one better than us said of such people, that a soul heated by empty air is a bold and shameless thing); and from then on she takes herself for a prophetess, and thanks Marcus for giving her a share of his own grace; and she tries to repay him, not only by the gift of her possessions (which is how he has amassed a great quantity of money) but also by the sharing of her body, eager to be united with him in everything, so that she may go down with him into the One.

4. Ὅτι δὲ 1φίλτρα καὶ ἀγώγιμα, πρὸς τὸ καὶ τοῖς σώμασιν αὐτῶν ἐνυβρίζειν, ἐμποιεῖ οὗτος ὁ Μάρκος ἐνίαις τῶν γυναικῶν, εἰ καὶ μὴ πάσαις, αὗται πολλάκις ἐπιστρέψασαι εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐξωμολογήσαντο, καὶ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα ἠχρειῶσθαι ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐρωτικῶς πάνυ αὐτὸν πεφιληκέναι· ὥστε καὶ διάκονόν τινα τῶν ἐν 2τῇ Ἀσίᾳ τῶν ἡμετέρων ὑποδεξάμενον αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, περιπεσεῖν ταύτῃ τῇ συμφορᾷ, 3τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ εὐειδοῦς ὑπαρχούσης, καὶ τὴν γνώμην, καὶ τὸ σῶμα διαφθαρείσης ὑπὸ τοῦ μάγου τούτου, καὶ ἐξακολουθησάσης αὐτῷ πολλῷ τῷ χρόνῳ, ἔπειτα μετὰ πολλοῦ κόπου τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπιστρεψάντων, αὐτὴ l. ἐ. αὐτὴν, τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον 1ἐξομολογουμένη διετέλεσε, πενθοῦσα καὶ θρηνοῦσα ἐφʼ ᾗ ἔπαθεν ὑπὸ τοῦ μάγου διαφθορᾷ.

4. That this Marcus also instils love-potions and agōgima [spells to draw a lover] in some of the women, though not in all, so as to outrage their very bodies, these women, often after returning to the church of God, have confessed: both that they had been defiled in body by him and that they had loved him with great passion. So that a certain deacon too, one of our people in Asia, who had received him into his house, fell into this calamity: his wife, who was beautiful, was corrupted in both mind and body by this magician and followed him for a long time; afterwards, when the brethren had with much toil converted her, she spent all her time in confession, mourning and lamenting over the corruption she had suffered from the magician.