In the presence of Jovinus, who was count at Alexandria and at Thebes, and Chossoroas was there with him, and their troops with them.

As we began to preach the word and we had said, “See how God has honored you, glorified you, and exalted you. For your part, honor him, glorify him, and abound in exalting him by keeping his ordinances and his laws!” Chossoroas the count said, “The devil hinders us, and trips us up, and does not permit us to do these things. And he restrains us by his deeds.” I answered him:

Why did you say “his deeds” and not “our deeds and his”? For everyone who does evil cooperates with him. Indeed, it is impossible for the devil to make a person sin unless his will has preceded the thought of the devil or has joined with him. For the evils do not belong to our nature, but to the passions. Yet they have snared us because our resolution has turned toward acts contrary to our nature. And those people whose resolution has not changed have not turned away from the acts that belong to their nature. Furthermore, some people have come out from unnatural acts after they have fallen into them. If it's impossible for him (Satan) to restrain whoever wants to remove himself from sin, then how will he make a person sin against his will except out of ignorance? And if there are other people whom the unclean demon abuses, it was Jesus yesterday, it is he today, and it is always he who is helping those who truly cry out to him. Or, in addition, (one might sin) because of an obstacle, for just as we often stumble with our feet, we also stumble in our heart. He says that if a righteous person falls, he is not disturbed because the Lord gives him a hand. But if by the power of the son of lawlessness he (Satan) causes people to do unnatural acts, why then by the power of Christ do we not do the acts that belong to our nature?