those who do not hold fast that well-compacted faith which they received at first through the Church. 5. Moreover, that this Marcus compounds philters and love-potions, in order to insult the persons of some of these women, if not of all, those of them who have returned to the Church of God— a thing which frequently occurs—have acknowledged, confessing, too, that they have been defiled by him, and that they were filled with a burning passion towards him. A sad example of this occurred in the case of a certain Asiatic, one of our deacons, who had received him (Marcus) into his house. His wife, a woman of remarkable beauty, fell a victim both in mind and body to this magician, and, for a long time, travelled about with him. At last, when, with no small difficulty, the brethren had converted her, she spent her whole time in the exercise of public confession,171 weeping over and lamenting the defilement which she had received from this magician. 6. Some of his disciples, too, addicting themselves172 to the same practices, have deceived many silly women, and defiled them. They proclaim themselves as being “perfect,” so that no one can be compared to them with respect to the immensity of their knowledge, nor even were you to mention Paul or Peter, or any other of the apostles. They assert that they themselves know more than all others, and that they alone have imbibed the greatness of the knowledge of that power which is unspeakable. They also maintain that they have attained to a height above all power, and that therefore they are free in every respect to act as they please, having no one to fear in anything. For they affirm, that because of the “Redemp- tion”173 it has come to pass that they can neither be apprehended, nor even seen by the judge. But even if he should happen to lay hold upon them, then they might simply repeat these words, while standing in his presence along with the “Redemption:” “O thou, who sittest beside God,174 and the mystical, eternal Sige, thou through whom the angels (migh- tiness), who continually behold the face of the Father, having thee as their guide and intro- ducer, do derive their forms175 from above, which she in the greatness of her daring inspiring 171 [Note this manner of primitive “confession;” and see Bingham, Antiquities, book xv. cap. 8] 172 We here follow the rendering of Billius, “in iisdem studiis versantes.” Others adhere to the received text, and translate περιπολίζοντες “going about idly.” 173 Grabe is of opinion that reference is made in this term to an imprecatory formula in use among the Marcosians, analogous to the form of thanksgiving employed night and morning by the Jews for their redemption from Egypt. Harvey refers the word to the second baptism practised among these and other heretics, by which it was supposed they were removed from the cognizance of the Demiurge, who is styled the “judge” in the close of the above sentence. 174 That is, Sophia, of whom Achamoth, afterwards referred to, was the emanation. 175 The angels accompanying Soter were the consorts of spiritual Gnostics, to whom they were restored after death. 886 Chapter XIII.—The deceitful arts and nefarious practices of Marcus.