§ 1.
And besides all this, they privily bring in an unspeakable multitude of apocryphal and spurious scriptures, which themselves have devised to astound the foolish, and those who know not the writings of the truth. And they add to this the following forgery also: that the Lord being a child, and learning letters, and His master having bidden Him, as the custom is, say Alpha, He said Alpha. And again the Teacher having bidden Him say Beta, the Lord answered, Tell thou Me first what is Alpha, and then I will tell thee what is Beta. And this they relate, as though He only knew that unknown thing which He made manifest under the Type of Alpha.
§ 2.
And some also of the things set down in the Gospel they adapt to this stamp: as His answer to His mother at the age of twelve years:1 Wist ye not that I must be about the things that are My Father’s? And, say they, they knew not that He was telling them of the Father. And that He therefore sent out His disciples to the twelve tribes, proclaiming to them the unknown God. And that to him that called Him Good Master, He confessed that God who is truly good, saying, Why callest thou Me good?2 one is good,3 My Father in the Heavens: and by Heavens, here, the Æons they say are meant. And whereas He made no answer to those who said to Him, By what power doest Thou this?4 but they were confounded by His counter-question, they declare that by His not speaking He shewed the ineffable nature of the Father. Yea and His saying “I have often desired to hear one of these words, and had none to tell Me,” they say is an indication, by the word one, of Him Who is truly one God, Whom they had not known. Moreover in His weeping over Jerusalem when He drew near it, and saying,5 Hadst thou known, even thou, to-day, the things which belong to thy peace, but they are hidden from thee: by the word Hidden, they say, He set forth the hidden Nature of the Deep. And again that in saying, Come unto Me,6 all that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you; and learn of Me; He proclaimed the Father of the Truth. For what they knew not, saith He, that He promised to teach them.
§ 3.
But for the highest demonstration, and keystone (so to call it) of their argument, they produce these words:7 I will thank Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes. Yea, Father, for it seemed good in Thy sight. All things were delivered unto Me of My Father: and no man knoweth the Father but the Son; nor the Son, but the Father, and to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. In these they say He hath expressly made declaration, as though before His coming no one had ever known the Father of Truth whom they have devised for themselves. And they want to make it out as though the Creator and Maker had always been known by all: and that our Lord said this about the Father, who is unknown to all, whom they declare.