Praise for Adelphius and diagnosis of the Arians' new blasphemy

We read what your piety wrote, and we truly welcomed your reverence for Christ. Above all we glorified God, who gave you such grace that you both hold sound understanding and are not ignorant, as far as possible, of the devil's schemes. But we marveled at the heretics' malice, seeing how far they have fallen into the pit of impiety, so that they no longer even keep their senses but have their minds corrupted on every side. This attempt of theirs is a prompting of the devil and an imitation of the lawless Jews. For just as those men, refuted on every side, kept inventing pretexts against themselves, only so that they might deny the Lord and bring upon themselves what had been prophesied against them, in the same way these men, seeing themselves publicly denounced on every side and seeing their heresy become abominable to all, become inventors of evils, so that they may not stop fighting against the truth but may truly remain fighters against Christ. For where did this evil of theirs spring from? How have they dared at all to utter this new blasphemy against the Savior? But, as it seems, the impious man is wicked and truly worthless in matters of faith. For earlier, while denying the divinity of the only-begotten Son of God, they pretended at least to acknowledge his incarnate presence. But now, descending little by little, they have fallen away even from this opinion of theirs and have become godless on every side, so that they neither acknowledge him as God nor believe that he became a human being. For if they believed, they would not have uttered the sorts of things your piety wrote against them. You then, beloved and truly longed-for one, have done what befits the Church's tradition and reverence for the Lord, by refuting, admonishing, and rebuking such men. But since, provoked by their father the devil, they did not know or understand, as it is written, but walk in darkness, let them learn from your reverence that this malice of theirs belongs to Valentinus, Marcion, and Mani. Of these, some introduced mere appearance in place of truth, while others, dividing the things that cannot be divided, denied that "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Why then, since they think the thoughts of those men, do they not also inherit their names? For it is reasonable that those who hold their evil doctrine should also bear their names, so that from now on they may be called Valentinians, Marcionites, and Manichaeans. Perhaps then, ashamed by the stench of the names, they may be able to understand into what depth of impiety they have fallen. It would have been right to answer them no longer, according to the apostolic counsel: "Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning, knowing that such a person is twisted and sins, being self-condemned" (Titus 3:10-11); especially since the prophet also says about such people: "The fool will speak folly, and his heart will devise vain things" (Isaiah 32:6). But since, like their leader, they too go around like lions seeking someone to devour among the innocent, for this reason it has become necessary for us to write back to your reverence, so that the brothers, learning again through your admonition, may condemn their empty talk even more.