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VOL. XX.
THE WRITINGS OP GREGORY THAUMATURGES, DIONYSIUS
OP ALEXANDRIA, AND ARCHELAUS.
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THE WORKS
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DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA.
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CONTENTS.
WRITINGS OF GREGORY THAUMATUEGCS.
PACK
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE, ... 1
I. ACKNOWLEDGED WHITINGS-
A Declaration of Faith, ...... 5
A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes, ... 7
Canonical Epistle concerning those who, in the Inroad of the
Barbarians, ate Things sacrificed to Idols, or offended in
certain other matters, ..... 30
The Oration and Panegyric addressed to Origen, . . 36
II. DUBIOUS OE SPURIOUS WPJTINGS.
A Sectional Confession of Faith, .... 81
A Fragment of the same Declaration of Faith, accompanied by
Glosses, . . . . . .97
Fragment from the Discourse on the Trinity, ... 99
Twelve Topics on the Faith, . . .. . .103
Topical Discourse on the subject of the Soul, . . . Ill
THE FOUR HOMILIES OF GREGORY THAUMATURGUS,
1. On the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary, . 118
2. On the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary, . 125
3. On the Annunciation to the Holy Virgin Mary, , 137
4. On the Holy Theophany, or on Christ's Baptism, . 142
A Fragment on the Gospel according to Matthew, . . 152
A Discourse on all the Saints, ..... 153
THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA.
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE, . . . . . .157
THE EXTANT FRAGMENTS OF THE WORKS AND THE EPISTLES
OF DIONYSIUS.
I. CONTAINING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE WORKS :
1. From the Two Books on the Promises, in opposition to
Noetus, a Bishop in Egypt, . . . .161
vi CONTENTS.
PAGE
2. From the Books on Nature against the Epicureans, . 171
3. From the Books against Sabellius, . . . 188
4. Fragments of a Second Epistle to Dionysius of Rome, . 189
Epistle to Bishop Basilides, . . . . 196
II. CONTAINING EPISTLES OK FRAGMENTS OF EPISTLES.
1. To Domitius and Didymus, .... 202
2. ToNovatus, ...... 204
3. To Fabius of Antioch, . . . . . . 205
4. To Cornelius the Roman Pontiff, . . .216
5. To the Pontiff Stephen, ..... 217
0. To Pope Sixtus, . . . . . .218
7. To Philemon Presbyter of Sixtus, . . .219
8. To Dionysius, at that time Presbyter of Xystus, and
afterwards his Successor, . . . .221
9. To Pope Sixtus n., ..... 221
10. Against Bishop German us, .... 222
11. To Hermammon, ...... 230
12. To the Alexandrians, ..... 235
13. To Hierax, a Bishop in Egypt, . . . . 238
14. From his Fourth Festival Epistle, . . .240
EXEGETICAL FRAGMENTS,
A Commentary on the Beginning of Ecclesiastes, . . 242
An Interpretation of the Gospel according to Luke, . 251
Another Fragment on Luke xxii. 42, etc., . . . 257
Another Fragment of an Exposition of Luke xxii. 4G, etc., 262
A Fragment on John viii. 12, . . . . 264:
A Fragment, probably by the Alexandrian Dionysius, on
the Reception of the Lapsed to Penitence, . . 265
THE REMAINS OF ARCHELAUS.
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE, ...... 267
Acts of the Disputation with the Heresiarch Manes, . . 272
A Fragment of the Acts of the same Disputation, . . 417
INDEXES,
Index of Texts of Scripture, .... 421
Index of Principal Matters, ..... 424
WKITINGS OF
GREGOKY THAUMATURGUS.
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE.
IE are in possession of a considerable body of testi-
monies from ancient literature bearing on the life
and work of Gregory. From these, though they
are largely mixed up with the marvellous, we gain
a tolerably clear and satisfactory view of the main facts in his
history, and the most patent features of his character. Thus
we have accounts of him, more or less complete, in Eusebius
(Historia Eccles. vi. 30, vii. 14), Basil (De Spiritu Sancto,
xxix. 74 ; Epist. 28, Num. 1 and 2 ; 204, Num. 2 ; 207,
Num. 4 ; 210, Num. 3, 5, Works, vol. iii. pp. 62, 107, 303,
311, etc., edit. Paris. BB. 1730), Jerome (De viris illnstr.
ch. 65; in the Comment, in Ecclesiasten, ch. 4; and Epist.
70, Num. 4, Works, vol. i. pp. 424 and 427, edit. Veron.),
Rufinus (Hist. Eccles. vii. 25), Socrates (Hist. Eccles. iv.
27), Sozomen (Hist. Eccles. vii. 27), Evagrius Scholasticus
(Hist. Eccles. iii. 31), Suidas in his Lexicon, and others
of less moment. From these various witnesses we learn
that he was also known by the name Theodoras, which
may have been his original designation ; that he was a native
of Neo-Caesareia, a considerable place of trade, and one
of the most important towns of Pontus; that he belonged
to a family of some wealth and standing ; that he was born
of heathen parents ; that at the age of fourteen he lost his
father ; that he had a brother named Athenodorus ; and
that along with him he travelled about from city to city in
2 GREG OR Y Til A UMA TURG US.
the prosecution of studies that were to fit him for the pro-
fession of law, to which he had been destined. Among the
various seats of learning which he thus visited we find
Alexandria, Athens, Berytus, and the Palestinian Csesareia
mentioned. At this last place to which, as he tells us, he
was led by a happy accident in the providence of God he
was brought into connection with Origen. Under this great
teacher he received lessons in logic, geometry, physics, ethics,
philosophy, and ancient literature, and in due time also in
biblical science and the verities of the Christian faith.
Thus, having become Origen's pupil, he became also by the
hand of God his convert. After a residence of some five
years with the great Alexandrian, he returned to his native
city. Soon, however, a letter followed him to Neo-Caesareia,
in which Origen urged him to dedicate himself to the
ministry of the church of Christ, and pressed strongly upon
him his obligation to consecrate his gifts to the service of
God, and in especial to devote his acquirements in heathen
science and learning to the elucidation of the Scriptures.
On receipt of this letter, so full of wise and faithful counsel
and strong exhortation, from the teacher whom he venerated
and loved above all others, he withdrew into the wilderness,
seeking opportunity for solemn thought and private prayer
over its contents. At this time the bishop of Amasea, a city
which held apparently a first place in the province, was one
named PhsBdimus, who, discerning the promise of great
things in the convert, sought to make him bishop of Neo-
Csesareia. For a considerable period, however, Gregory,
who shrank from the responsibility of the episcopal office,
kept himself beyond the bishop's reach, until Phsedimus,
unsuccessful in his search, had recourse to the stratagem
of ordaining him in his absence, and declaring him, with all
the solemnities of the usual ceremonial, bishop of his native
city. On receiving the report of this extraordinary step,
Gregory yielded, and, coming forth from the place of his
concealment, was consecrated to the bishopric with all the
customary formalities ; and so well did he discharge the
duties of his office, that while there were said to be only
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 3
seventeen Christians in the whole city when he first entered
it as bishop, there were said to be only seventeen pagans in
it at the time of his death. The date of his studies under
Origen is fixed at about 234 A.D., and that of his ordination
as bishop at about 240. About the year 250 his church was
involved in the sufferings of the Decian persecution, on
which occasion he fled into the wilderness, with the hope of
preserving his life for his people, whom he also counselled
to follow in that matter his example. His flock had much
to endure, again, through the incursion of the northern bar-
barians about 260. He took part in the council that met at
Antioch in 265 for the purpose of trying Paul of Samosata;
and soon after that he died, perhaps about 270, if we can
adopt the conjectural reading which gives the name Aurelian
instead of Julian in the account left us by Suidas.
The surname Thaumaturgus, or Wonder-worker, at once
admonishes us of the marvellous that so largely connected
itself with the historical in the ancient records of this man's
life. He was believed to have been gifted with a power of
working miracles, which he was constantly exercising. He
could move the largest stones by a word ; he could heal the
sick ; the demons were subject to him, and were exorcised by
his fiat ; he could give bounds to overflowing rivers ; he could
dry up mighty lakes ; he could cast his cloak over a man,
and cause his death : once, spending a night in a heathen
temple, he banished its divinities by his simple presence, and
by merely placing on the altar a piece of paper bearing the
words, Gregory to Satan enter, he could bring the presiding
demons back to their shrine. One strange story told of him
by Gregory of Nyssa is to the effect that, as Gregory was
meditating on the great matter of the right way to worship the
true God, suddenly two glorious personages made themselves
manifest in his room, in the one of whom he recognised the
Apostle John, in the other the Virgin. They had come, as
the story goes, to solve the difficulties which were making
him hesitate in accepting the bishopric. At Mary's request,
the evangelist gave him then all the instruction in doctrine
which he was seeking for ; and the sum of these supernatural
4 GREGORY TI1AUMATURGUS.
communications being written down by him after the vision
vanished, formed the creed which is still preserved among
his writings. Such were the wonders believed to signalize
the life of Gregory. But into these it is profitless to enter.
When all the marvellous is dissociated from the historical in
the records of this bishop's career, we have still the figure of
a great, good, and gifted man, deeply versed in the heathen
lore and science of his time, yet more deeply imbued with
the genuine spirit of another wisdom, which, under God, he
learned from the illustrious thinker of Alexandria, honouring
with all love, gratitude, and veneration that teacher to whom
he was indebted for his knowledge of the gospel, and exer-
cising an earnest, enlightened, and faithful ministry of many
years in an office which he had not sought, but for which he
had been sought. Such is, in brief, the picture that rises up
before us from a perusal of his own writings, as well as from
the comparison of ancient accounts of the man and his voca-
tion. Of his well-accredited works we have the following :
A Declaration of Faith, being a creed on the doctrine of the
Trinity ; a Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes ; a Pane-
gyric to Origen, being an oration delivered on leaving the
school of Origen, expressing eloquently, and with great
tenderness of feeling, as well as polish of style, the sense of
his obligations to that master; and a Canonical Epistle, in
which he gives a variety of directions with respect to the
penances and discipline to be exacted by the church from
Christians who had fallen back into heathenism in times of
suffering, and wished to be restored. Other works have
been attributed to him, which are doubtful or spurious.
His writings have been often edited, by Gerard Voss in
1604, by the Paris editors in 1662, by Gallandi in 1788,
and others, who need not be enumerated here.
PART I.
ACKNOWLEDGED WRITINGS.
A DECLAEATION OF FAITH. 1
(Gallandi, Veterum Patrnm Bibliotli., Venice 1766, p. 385.)
|HERE is one God, the Father of the living Word,
(who is His) subsistent Wisdom and Power and
Eternal Image ^apaicrrjpo<; di'oYoi/) : perfect Be-
getter of the perfect (Begotten), Father of the
only-begotten Son. There is one Lord, Only of the Only
(/Ltofo? etc (j,6vov), God of God, Image and Likeness of Deity,
Efficient Word (\6<yo<; tvepyos), Wisdom comprehensive
(TrepteKTiicij) of the constitution of all things, and Power
formative (Troi^ri/o?) of the whole creation, true Son of true
Father, Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incor-
ruptible, and Immortal of Immortal, and Eternal of Eternal
(ai'Sto? at'StW). And there is One Holy Spirit, having His
subsistence (yTrap^iv) from God, and being made manifest
(Trefyrjvos) by the Son, to wit to men : 2 Image (elxcov) of the
Son, Perfect (Image) of the Perfect; 3 Life, the Cause of
1 The title as it stands has this addition : " which he had by revelation
from the blessed John the evangelist, by the mediation of the Virgin
Mary, Parent of God."
2 The words B>jXa<$sj roi? dvSpuTrotg are suspected by some to be a gloss
that has found its way into the text.
3 So John of Damascus uses the phrase, tlx.uv rov Tlctrpo; 6 T/oV, x*l rov
Tlov, TO HviiJpcc, the Son is the Image of the Father, and the Spirit is
that of the Son, lib. 1, De fide orthod. ch. 13, vol. i. p. 151. See also
Athanasius, Epist. 1 ad Serap. ; Basil, lib. v. contra Ennom. ; Cyril, Dial,
7, etc.
5
6 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
the living; Holy Fount; Sanctity, the Supplier (or Leader,
%op?7709) of Sanctification ; in whom is manifested God
the Father, who is above all and in all, and God the Son,
who is through all. There is a perfect Trinity, in glory
and eternity and sovereignty, neither divided nor estranged 1
(aTraXXorpiov/jLevr)). Wherefore there is nothing either
created or in servitude (8ov\ov) in the Trinity ; 2 nor any-
thing superinduced (eVeio-a/croz/), as if at some former period
it was non-existent, and at some later period it was intro-
duced. And thus neither was the Son ever wanting to the
Father, nor the Spirit to the Son ; 3 but without variation
and without change, the same Trinity (abides) ever.
1 See also Gregory Nazianz., Oral. 37, p. 609.
2 Gregory Nazianz., Oral. 40, p. 668, with reference apparently to
our author, says : Oi/feii rijj TjO/aBoj SovAoy, owie X.TIVTOV, ovbs Ivtiaxx-Tov,
yxovaa. TUV <ro$av Ttvof heyoi/Tog In the Trinity there is nothing either in
servitude or created, or superinduced, as 1 heard one of the learned say.
3 In one codex we find the following addition here : ovrt at,v,i-rai ponds
it; Sy3, ovbe Bvj tig rpioibce. Neither again does the unity grow into
duality, nor the duality into trinity ; or = Neither does the condition of the
one grow into the condition of the tico, nor that of the two into the con-
dition of the three.
A METAPHEASE OF THE BOOK OF
ECCLES1ASTES,
(Gallandi, BiUioth. Vet. Patr. iii. 387.)
CHAPTER I.
jjHESE words speaketh Solomon, the son of David
the king and prophet, to the whole church of
God, a prince most honoured, and a prophet most
wise above all men. How vain and fruitless
are the affairs of men, and all pursuits that occupy man !
For there is not one who can tell of any profit attaching to
those things which men who creep on earth strive by body
and. soul to attain to, in servitude all the while to what is
transient, and undesirous of considering aught heavenly with
the noble eye of the soul. And the life of men weareth
away, as day by day, and in the periods of hours and years,
and the determinate courses of the sun, some are ever com-
ing, and others passing away. And the matter is like the
transit of torrents as they fall into the measureless deep of
the sea with a mighty noise. And all things that have
been constituted by God for the sake of men abide the
same : as, for instance, that man is born of earth, and de-
parts to earth again ; that the earth itself continues stable ;
that the sun accomplishes its circuit about it perfectly, and
rolls round to the same mark again ; and that the winds 1
in like manner, and the mighty rivers which flow into the
sea, and the breezes that beat upon it, all act without forcing
1 T wfvftitTcc, for which some propose pevftctrx, streams, as the
are mentioned in their own place immediately.
7
8 GREGORY TIIAUMATURGUS.
it to pass beyond its limits, and without themselves also
violating their appointed laws. And these things, indeed,
as bearing upon the good of this life of ours, are established
thus fittingly. But those things which are of men's de-
vising, whether words or deeds, have no measure. And
there is a plenteous multitude of words, but there is no
profit from random and foolish talking. But the race of
men is naturally insatiate in its thirst both for speaking and
for hearing what is spoken ; and it is man's habit, too, to
desire to look with idle eyes on all that happens. What can
occur afterwards, or what can be wrought by men which has
not been done already ? What new thing is there worthy
of mention, of which there has never yet been experience ?
For I think there is nothing which one may call new, or
which one, on considering it, shall discover to be strange or
unknown to those of old. But as former things are buried
in oblivion, so also things that are now subsistent will in
the course of time vanish utterly from the knowledge of
those who shall come after us. And I speak not these
things unadvisedly, as acting now the preacher (vvv e/c/cX?/-
aidfyov). But all these things were carefully pondered by
me when entrusted with the kingdom of the Hebrews in
Jerusalem. And I examined diligently, and considered
discreetly, the nature of all that is on earth, and I perceived
it to be most various (TrotKtXfordTrjv) ; (and I saw) that to
man it is given to labour upon earth, ever carried about by
all different occasions of toil, and with no result of his work.
And all things here below are full of the spirit of strange-
ness and abomination, so that it is not possible for one to
retrieve them now ; nay, rather it is not possible for one at
all to conceive what utter vanity (aroTria) has taken pos-
session of all human affairs. For once on a time I com-
muned with myself, and thought that then I was wiser in
this than all that were before me, and I was expert in
understanding parables and the natures of things. But I
learned that I gave myself to such pursuits to no purpose,
and that if wisdom follows knowledge, so troubles attend
on wisdom.
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLESIASTES.
CHAPTER II.
Judging, therefore, that it stood thus with this matter, I
decided to turn to another manner of life, and to give myself
to pleasure, and to take experience of various delights. And
now I learned that all such things are vain ; and I put a
check on laughter, when it ran on carelessly ; and restrained
pleasure, according to the rule of moderation, and was
bitterly wroth against it. And when I perceived that the
soul is able to arrest the body in its disposition to intoxication
and wine-bibbing, and that temperance makes lust its subject,
I sought earnestly to observe what object of true worth and
of real excellence is set before men, which they shall attain
to in this present life. For I passed through all those other
objects which are deemed worthiest, such as the erecting of
lofty houses and the planting of vines, and in addition, the
laying out of pleasure-grounds, and the acquisition and
culture of all manner of fruit-bearing trees ; and among
them also large reservoirs for the reception of water were
constructed, and distributed so as to secure the plentiful
irrigation of the trees. And I surrounded myself also with
many domestics, both man-servants and maid-servants ; and
some of them I procured from abroad, and others I pos-
sessed and employed as born in my own house. And herds
of four-footed creatures, as well of cattle as of sheep, more
numerous than any of those of old acquired, were made my
property. And treasures of gold and silver flowed in upon
me ; and I made the kings of all nations my dependants and
tributaries. And very many choirs of male and female
singers were trained to yield me pleasure by the practice of
all-harmonious song. And I had banquetings ; and for the
service of this part of my pleasure, I got me select cup-
bearers of both sexes beyond my reckoning, so far did I
surpass in these things those who reigned before me in
Jerusalem. And thus it happened that the interests of
wisdom declined with me, while the claims of evil appetency
increased. For when I yielded myself to every allurement of
10 GREGORY TEA UMA TURG US.
the eyes, and to the violent passions of the heart, that make
their attack from all quarters, and surrendered myself to the
hopes held out by pleasures, I also made my will the bond-
slave of all miserable delights. For thus my judgment was
brought to such a wretched pass, that I thought these things
good, and that it was proper for me to engage in them. At
length, awaking and recovering my sight, I perceived that the
things I had in hand were altogether sinful and very evil, and
the deeds of a spirit not good. For now none of all the objects
of men's choice seems to me worthy of approval, or greatly
to be desired by a just mind. Wherefore, having pondered
at once the advantages of wisdom and the ills of folly, I
should with reason admire that man greatly, who, being borne
on in a thoughtless course, and afterwards arresting himself,
should return to right and duty. For wisdom and folly are
widely separated, and they are as different from each other
as day is from night. He, therefore, who makes choice of
virtue, is like one who sees all things plainly, and looks
upward, and who holdetli his ways in the time of clearest
light. But he, on the other hand, who has involved himself
in wickedness, is like a man who wanders helplessly about in
a moonless night, as one who is blind, and deprived of the
sight of things by his darkness. 1 And when I considered
the end of each of these modes of life, I found there was no
profit in the latter ; 2 and by setting myself to be the com-
panion of the foolish, I saw that I should receive the wages of
folly. For what advantage is there in those thoughts, or what
profit is there in the multitude of words, where the streams of
foolish speaking are flowing, as it were, from the fountain of
folly ? Moreover, there is nothing common to the wise man
and to the fool, neither as regards the memory of men, nor
as regards the recompense of God. And as to all the affairs
1 The text is, -rv^Ao'f T uu TJJV irpooo-fyiv x.ed i/iro rov ax-orovg run
fidruv dtpyp'uft.ivos, for which it is proposed to read, rvtyhos rs uv x.oc.1 rqii
Trpoacrfyiv V-TTO rov ffx&Vof ?, etc.
2 Or, as the Latin version puts it : And, in fine, when I considered
the difference between these modes of life, I found nothing but that, by
setting myself, etc.
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLES1ASTES. 11
of men, when they are yet apparently but beginning to be,
the end at once surprises them. Yet the wise man is never
partaker of the same end with the foolish. Then also did
I hate all my life, that had been consumed in vanities, and
which I had spent with a mind engrossed in earthly anxieties.
For, to speak in brief, all my affairs have been done by me
with labour and pain, as the efforts of thoughtless impulse ;
and some other person, it may be a wise man or a fool, will
succeed to them, I mean, the chill fruits of my toils. But
when I cut myself off from these things, and cast them
away, then did that real good which is set before man show
itself to me, namely, the knowledge of wisdom and the pos-
session of manly virtue (dvSpeias). And if a man neglects
these things, and is inflamed with the passion for other
things, such a man makes choice of evil instead of good, and
goes after what is bad instead of what is excellent, and after
trouble instead of peace ; for he is distracted by every
manner of disturbance, and is burdened with continual
anxieties night and day, with oppressive labours of body as
well as with ceaseless cares of mind, his heart moving in
constant agitation, by reason of the strange and senseless
affairs that occupy him. For the perfect good does not
consist in eating and drinking, although it is true that it is
from God that their sustenance cometh to men ; for none of
those things which are given for our maintenance subsist
without His providence. But the good man who gets wis-
dom from God, gets also heavenly enjoyment ; while, on the
other hand, the evil man, smitten with ills divinely inflicted,
and afflicted with the disease of lust, toils to amass much,
and is quick to put him to shame who is honoured by God
in presence of the Lord of all, proffering useless gifts, and
making things deceitful and vain the pursuits of his own
miserable soul.
12 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
CHAPTER III.
For this present time is filled with all things that are most
contrary 1 to each other births and deaths, the growth of
plants and their uprooting, cures and killings, the building up
and the pulling down of houses, weeping and laughing, mourn-
ing and dancing. At this moment a man gathers of earth's
products, and at another casts them away ; and at one time he
ardently desireth (the beauty of) woman, and at another he
hateth it. Now he seeketh something, and again he loseth it ;
and now he keepeth, and again he casteth away ; at one time
he slayeth, and at another he is slain ; he speaketh, and again
he is silent ; he loveth, and again he hateth. For the affairs
of men are at one time in a condition of war, and at another in
a condition of peace ; while their fortunes are so inconstant,
that from bearing the semblance of good, they change
quickly into acknowledged ills. Let us have done, therefore,
with vain labours. For all these things, as appears to me,
are set to madden men, as it were, with their poisoned stings.
And the ungodly observer of the times and seasons is agape
for this world (age), exerting himself above measure to
destroy the image (7rXao>ia) of God, as one who has chosen
to contend against it (or Him) from the beginning onward
to the end. 2 I am persuaded, therefore, that the greatest
good for man is cheerfulness and well-doing, and that this
shortlived enjoyment, which alone is possible to us, comes
from God only, if righteousness direct our doings. But
as to those everlasting and incorruptible things which God
hath firmly established, it is not possible either to take aught
from them or to add auht to them. And to men in
1 The text reads fvecvnuT^rtav, for which Codex Anglicus has ev
T&TUV.
2 The Greek text is, xa/pou-xoVoj Ssj TI; vavripf^ rov a.iuva. -TOVTOV ^tpix.k-
WJttii dQctviaott i>7rtpl)iotTtiii6{<.fi>os TO rov got/ wAoto^*, f% clpx,ij tui/ry
/us%pi TtXoff 7roA^<j/ f.pr,^ii>os. It is well to notice how widely this
differs from our version of iii. 11 : "He hath made everything beautiful
in his time," etc.
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLES1ASTES. 13
general, those things, in sooth, are fearful and wonderful ;*
and those things indeed which have been, abide so ; and
those which are to be, have already been, as regards His
foreknowledge. Moreover, the man who is injured has God
as his helper. I saw in the lower parts the pit of punish-
ment which receives the impious, but a different place allotted
for the pious. And I thought with myself, that with God all
things are judged and determined to be equal ; that the
righteous and the unrighteous, and objects with reason and
without reason, are alike in His judgment. For that their
time is measured out equally to all, and death impends over
them, and (in this) the races of beasts and men are alike in
the judgment of God, and differ from each other only in the
matter of articulate speech ; and all things else happen alike
to them, and death receives all equally, not more so in the
case of the other kinds of creatures than in that of men.
For they have all the same breath (of life), and men have
nothing more ; but all are, in one word, vain, deriving their
present condition (a-va-raatv) from the same earth, and des-
tined to perish, and return to the same earth again. For it
is uncertain regarding the souls of men, whether they shall
fly upwards ; and regarding the others which the unreasoning
creatures possess, whether they shall fall downward. And
it seemed to me, that there is no other good save pleasure,
and the enjoyment of things present. For I did not think
it possible for a man, when once he has tasted death, to
return again to the enjoyment of these things.
CHAPTER IV.
And leaving all these reflections, I considered and turned
in aversion from all the forms of oppression (vvKofyavnwv)
which are done among men ; whence some receiving injury
weep and lament, who are struck down by violence in utter
default of those who protect them, or who should by all
1 The text is, &J TIVI wv, tAX' Za-riv, lx.ilva. Qofifpoi rt opov net] 6v
1 4 GREGORY TEA UMA TURG US.
means comfort them in their trouble. 1 And the men who
make might their right (^eipoSUai) are exalted to an emi-
nence, from which, however, they shall also fall. Yea,
of the unrighteous and audacious, those who are dead fare
better than those who are still alive. And better than both
these is he who, being destined to be like them, has not yet
come into being, since he has not yet touched the wicked-
ness which prevails among men. And it became clear to
me also how great is the envy which follows a man from his
neighbours, like the sting of a wicked spirit; and (I saw)
that he who receives it, and takes it as it were into his breast,
has nothing else but to eat his own heart, and tear it, and
consume both soul and body, finding inconsolable vexation
in the good fortune of others. 2 And a wise man would
choose to have one of his hands full, if it were with ease
and quietness, rather than both of them with travail and
with the villany of a treacherous spirit. Moreover, there is
yet another thing which I know to happen contrary to what
is fitting, by reason of the evil will of man. He who is left
entirely alone, having neither brother nor son, but prospered
with large possessions, lives on in the spirit of insatiable
avarice, and refuses to give himself in any way whatever to
goodness. Gladly, therefore, would I ask such an one for
what reason he labours thus, fleeing with headlong speed
(TrporpoTrdB'rjv) from the doing of anything good, and dis-
tracted by the many various passions for making gain
(Xpr]fj,aTlaa<r6ai). Far better than such are those who have
taken up an order of life in common (icowtoviav apa fiiov
eWetXavTo), from which they may reap the best blessings.
For when two men devote themselves in the right spirit to the
same objects, though some mischance befalls the one, he has
1 The text is, /3/ Kotrxftsft^/^suoi TUV lirapwovTav j i'A<y<r
aoftiv&iv O.VTOVS waaqs ifctvcu.^&iv x,oe.Ttx,ov<nris etTrooi'ot,;. The sense is not
clear. It may be : who are struck down in spite of those who protect
them, and who should by all means comfort them when all manner of
trouble presses them on all sides.
2 Following the reading of Cod. Medic., which puts rtSiftwoz for
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLESIASTES. lo
still at least no slight alleviation in having his companion by
him. And the greatest of all calamities to a man in evil
fortune is the want of a friend to help and cheer him
(dvaKTr)(Top,6vov). And those who live together both double
the good fortune that befalls them, and lessen the pressure
of the storm of disagreeable events ; so that in the day they
are distinguished for their frank confidence in each other,
and in the night they appear notable for their cheerfulness. 1
But he who leads a solitary life passes a species of existence
full of terror to himself ; not perceiving that if one should
fall upon men welded closely together, he adopts a rash and
perilous course, and that it is not easy to snap the threefold
cord. 2 Moreover, I put a poor youth, if he be wise, be-
fore an aged prince devoid of wisdom, to whose thoughts
it has never occurred that it is possible that a man may
be raised from the prison to the throne, and that the very
man who has exercised his power unrighteously shall at a
later period be righteously cast out. For it may happen
that those who are subject to a youth, who is at the same
time sensible, shall be free from trouble, those, I mean,
who are his elders. 3 Moreover, they who are born later
cannot praise another, of whom they have had no experience
(8ia TO erepov direipcnws e^etv), and are led by an unrea-
soning judgment, and by the impulse of a contrary spirit.
But in exercising the preacher's office, keep thou this before
thine eyes, that thine own life be rightly directed, and that
thou prayest in behalf of the foolish, that they may get
understanding, and know how to shun the doings of the
wicked.
1 The text is, *< vvx-T-upatpvoT-mi a=pvvvt<jd*i, for which certain codices
read a^^vLr^i Qat^ovvsadcu, and others Qtuipmrrl at[*wvto6u,i.
2 Jerome cites the passage in his Commentary on Ecclesiastes.
3 Iws oaot irpo'/fi/ioTipoi. The seuse is incomplete, and some worJs
seem missing in the text. Jerome, in rendering this passage in his Com-
mentary on Ecclesiastes, turns it thus : ita autem ut sub sejie rege vemati
slnt ; either having lighted on a better manuscript, or adding something
of his own authority to make out the meaning.
1C GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
CHAPTER V.
Moreover, it is a good thing to use the tongue sparingly,
and to keep a calm and rightly balanced (eva-radova-rj) heart
in the exercise of speech (ev rfj irepl \oyovs aTrovBrj). For
it is not right to give utterance in words to things that are
foolish and absurd, or to all that occur to the mind ; but
we ought to know and reflect, that though we are far sepa-
rated from heaven, we speak in the hearing of God, and
that it is good for us to speak without offence. For as
dreams and visions of many kinds attend manifold cares of
mind, so also silly talking is conjoined with folly. Moreover,
see to it, that a promise made with a vow be made good
in fact. This, too, is proper to fools, that they are unre-
liable. But be thou true to thy word, knowing that it is
much better for thee not to vow or promise to do any-
thing, than to vow and then fail of performance. And thou
oughtest by all means to avoid the flood of base words,
seeing that God will hear them. For the man who makes
such things his study gets no more benefit by them than to
see his doings brought to nought by God. For as the mul-
titude of dreams is vain, so also the multitude of words.
But the fear of God is man's salvation, though it is rarely
found. Wherefore thou oughtest not to wonder though
thou seest the poor oppressed, and the judges misinterpreting
the law. But thou oughtest to avoid the appearance of
surpassing those who are in power. For even should this
prove to be the case, yet, from the terrible ills that shall
befall thee, wickedness of itself will not deliver thee. But
even as property acquired by violence is a most hurtful as
well as impious possession, so the man who lusteth after
money never finds satisfaction for his passion, nor good-
will from his neighbours, even though he may have amassed
the greatest possible wealth. For this also is vanity. But
goodness greatly rejoiceth those who hold by it, and makes
them strong (dv&peiows), imparting to them the capacity
of seeing through (xadopav) all things. And it is a great
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLESIASTES. 17
matter also not to be engrossed by such anxieties : for .
the poor man, even should he be a slave, and unable to fill
his belly plentifully, enjoys at least the kind refreshment of
sleep ; but the lust of riches is attended by sleepless nights
and anxieties of mind. And what could there be then more
absurd, than with much anxiety and trouble to amass wealth,
and keep it with jealous care, if all the while one is but
maintaining the occasion of countless evils to himself ? And
this wealth, besides, must needs perish some time or other, and
be lost, whether he who has acquired it has children or not j 1
and the man himself, however unwillingly, is doomed to
die, and return to earth in the selfsame condition in which
it was his lot once to come into being. 2 And the fact that
he is destined thus to leave earth with empty hands, will
make the evil all the sorer to him, as he fails to consider
that an end is appointed for his life similar to its beginning,
and that he toils to no profit, and labours rather for the
wind, as it were, than for the advancement of his own real
interest, wasting his whole life in most unholy lusts and
irrational passions, and withal in troubles and pains. And,
to speak shortly, his days are darkness to such a man, and
his life is sorrow. Yet this is in itself good, and by no
means to be despised. For it is the gift of God, that a man
should be able to reap with gladness of mind the fruits of
his labours, receiving thus possessions bestowed by God, and
not acquired by force. 3 For neither is such a man afflicted
with troubles, nor is he for the most part the slave of evil
thoughts ; but he measures out his life by good deeds, being
of good heart (evOv/Jiovpevos) in all things, and rejoicing in
the gift of God.
CHAPTEE VI.
Moreover, I shall exhibit in discourse the ill-fortune that
most of all prevails among men. While God may supply a
man with all that is according to his mind, and deprive him
1 Job xx. 20. 2 Job i. 21 ; 1 Tim. vi. 7.
3 ae,f7ra,x.rtx. in the text, for which the Cod. Medic, has
B
18 GREGORY THA UMA TURG US.
of no object which may in any manner appeal to his desires,
whether it be wealth, or honour, or any other of those things
for which men distract themselves ; yet the man, while thus
prospered in all things, as though the only ill inflicted on him
from heaven were just the inability to enjoy them, may but
husband them for his fellow, and fall without profit either to
himself or to his neighbours. This I reckon to be a strong
proof and clear sign of surpassing evil. The man who has
borne without blame the name of father of very many
children, and spent a long life, and has not had his soul
filled with good for so long time, and has had no experience
of death meanwhile, 1 this man I should not envy either his
numerous offspring or his length of days ; nay, I should say
that the untimely birth that falls from a woman's womb is
better than he. For as that (birth) came in with vanity,
so it also departeth secretly in oblivion, without having tasted
the ills of life or looked on the sun. And this is a lighter
evil than for the wicked man not to know what is good, even
though he measure his life by thousands of years. 2 And the
end of both is death. The fool is proved above all things
by his finding no satisfaction in any lust. But the discreet
man is not held captive by these passions. Yet, for the most
part, righteousness of life leads a man to poverty. And the
sight of curious eyes deranges (eft'oT^cri) many, inflaming
their mind, and drawing them on to vain pursuits by the
empty desire of show (rov o<j>df)vai). Moreover, the things
which are now are known already ; and it becomes apparent
that man is unable to contend with those that are above
him. And, verily, inanities have their course among men,
which only increase the folly of those who occupy themselves
with them.
ov Xa./3<aj/, for which we must read probably
etc.
2 The text gives, %7rtp T$ woi/>j/s . . . oivxf*STp^aoi:f4.iyy etyetSoTYirot
q, for which we may read either qvtp ry
tTri'/vu, or better, . . . dvatf<>tTpYt<Tfchy
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLESIASTES. 19
CHAPTER VII.
For though a man should be by no means greatly ad-
vantaged by knowing all in this life that is destined to befall
him according to his mind (let us suppose such a case),
nevertheless with the officious activity of men he devises
means for prying into and gaining an apparent acquaintance
with the things that are to happen after a person's death.
Moreover, a good name is more pleasant to the mind 1 than
oil to the body ; and the end of life is better than the birth,
and to mourn is more desirable than to revel, and to be with
the sorrowing is better than to be with the intoxicated. For
this is the fact, that he who comes to the end of life has no
further care about aught around him. And discreet anger
is to be preferred to laughter ; for by the severe disposition
of countenance the soul is kept upright (Karopdovrai). The
souls of the wise, indeed, are sad and downcast, but those of
fools are elated, and given loose to merriment. And yet it is
far more desirable to receive blame from one wise man, than
to become a hearer of a whole choir of worthless and miser-
able men in their songs. For the laughter of fools is like
the crackling of many thorns burning in a fierce fire. This,
too, is misery, yea the greatest of evils, namely oppression
(calumny, avKo^avria) ; for it intrigues against the souls of
the wise, and attempts to ruin the noble way of life (eWracrtz/)
which the good pursue. Moreover, it is right to commend
not the man who begins, but the man who finishes a speech ; 2
and what is moderate ought to approve itself to the mind,
and not what is swollen and inflated. Again, one ought
certainly to keep wrath in check, and not suffer himself to
be carried rashly into anger, the slaves of which are fools.
Moreover, they are in error who assert that a better manner
of life was given to those before us, and they fail to see that
wisdom is widely different from mere abundance of posses-
1 Prov. xxii. 1.
2 Koyuv $i, etc. But Cod. Medic, reads, hoyov S, etc., = it is right to
commend a speech not in its beginning, but in its end.
20 GREGORY THA UMATURG US.
sions, and that it is as much more lustrous 1 than these, as
silver shines more brightly than its shadow. For the life of
man hath its excellence (Trepvylyverat,) not in the acquisition
of perishable riches, but in wisdom. And who shall be able,
tell me, to declare the providence of God, which is so great
and so beneficent ? or who shall be able to recall the things
which seem to have been passed by of God I And in the
former days of my vanity I considered all things, (and saw) a
righteous man continuing in his righteousness, and ceasing
not from it until death, but even suffering injury by reason
thereof, and a wicked man perishing with his wickedness.
Moreover, it is proper that the righteous man should not seem
to be so overmuch, nor exceedingly and above measure wise,
that he may not, as in making some slip, (seem to) sin many
times over. And be not thou audacious and precipitate, lest
an untimely death surprise thee. It is the greatest of all
good to take hold of God, and by abiding in Him to sin in
nothing. For to touch things undefiled with an impure
hand is abomination. But he who in the fear of God sub-
mits himself (yTreiicwv), escapes all that is contrary. Wisdom
availeth more in the way of help than a band of the most
powerful men in a city, and it often also pardons righteously
those who fail in duty. For there is not one that stumbleth
not. 2 Also it becomes thee in no way to attend upon the
words of the impious, that thou mayest not become an ear-
witness (auTT^/coo?) of words spoken against thyself, such as
the foolish talk of a wicked servant, and being thus stung in
heart, have recourse afterwards thyself to cursing in turn in
many actions. And all these things have I known, having
received wisdom from God, which afterwards I lost, and was
no longer able to be the same (o/ioto?). For wisdom fled from
me to an infinite distance, and into a measureless deep, so that
I could no longer get hold of it. Wherefore afterwards I ab-
stained altogether from seeking it ; and I no longer thought
of considering the follies and the vain counsels of the im-
pious, and their weary, distracted life. And being thus dis-
1 <pvfpaTfp, for which (pctvoripet is proposed.
3 1 Kings viil 46 : 2 Chron. vi. 36 ; Prov. xx. 9 ; 1 John i 8.
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLESIASTES. 21
posed, I was borne on to the things themselves ; and being
seized with a fatal passion, I knew woman that she is like a
snare or some such other object. 1 For her heart ensnares
those who pass her ; and if she but join hand to hand, she
holds one as securely as though she dragged him on bound
with chains. 2 And from her you can secure your deliverance
only by finding a propitious and watchful superintendent
in God (eVoTTTT/y) ; for he who is enslaved by sin cannot
(otherwise) escape its grasp. Moreover, among all women
I sought for the chastity (a-ax^poavvrjv) proper to them, and
I found it in none. And verily a person may find one man
chaste among a thousand, but a woman never. And this above
all things I observed, that men being made by God simple
(upright, aTrXot) in mind, contract (eirwiruvTaC) for them-
selves manifold reasonings and infinite questionings, and while
professing to seek wisdom, waste their life in vain words.
CHAPTER VIII.
Moreover, wisdom, when it is found in a man, shows itself
also in its possessor's face, and makes his countenance to
shine; as, on the other hand, effrontery convicts the man
in whom it has taken up its abode, so soon as he is seen, as
one worthy of hatred. And it is on every account right to
give careful heed to the words of the king, and by all manner
of means to avoid an oath, especially one taken in the name
of God. It may be fit at the same time to notice an evil
word, but then it is necessary to guard against any blasphemy
against God. For it will not be possible to find fault with
Him when He inflicts any penalty, nor to gainsay the de-
crees of the Only Lord and King. But it will be better and
1 The text is evidently corrupt : for T)JV -/waiKa,, yqv rt, etc., Cote-
lerius proposes, TJJ yvvxtxoi, attykniv TIV, etc. ; and Bengel, itcny/iv
Tiva, etc.
2 x*Tf%i $ el. This use of q il is characteristic of Gregory Thauma-
turgus. We find it again in his Panegyr. ad Orlg. ch. 6, j el *l vetpei
ireivTct;, etc. It may be added, therefore, to the proofs in support of a
common authorship for these two writings.
22 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
more profitable for a man to abide by the holy command-
ments, and to keep himself apart from the words of the
wicked. For the wise man knows and discerneth before-
hand the judgment, which shall come at the right time,
and sees that it shall be just. For all things in the life
of men await the retribution from above ; but the wicked
man does not seem to know verily (kiav) that as there is
a mighty providence over him, nothing in the future shall
be hid. He knoweth not indeed the things which shall be ;
for no man shall be able to announce any one of them to
him duly: for no one shall be found so strong as to be
able to prevent the angel who spoils him of his life (^v^v) ;
neither shall any means be devised for cancelling in any
way the appointed time of death. But even as the man
who is captured in the midst of the battle can only see
flight cut off on every side, so all the impiety of man
perisheth utterly together. And I am astonished, as often
as I contemplate what and how great things men have
studied to do for the hurt of their neighbours. But this I
know, that the impious are snatched prematurely from this
life, and put out of the way because they have given them-
selves to vanity. For whereas the providential judgment
(vrpovoia) of God does not overtake all speedily, by reason
of His great long-suffering, and the wicked is not punished
immediately on the commission of his offences, for this
reason he thinks that he may sin the more, as though he
were to get off with impunity, not understanding that the
transgressor shall not escape the knowledge of God even
after a long interval. This, moreover, is the chief good, to
reverence God ; for if once the impious man fall away from
Him, he shall not be suffered long to misuse his own folly.
But a most vicious and false opinion often prevails among
men concerning both the righteous and the unrighteous.
For they form a judgment contrary to truth regarding each
of them ; and the man who is really righteous does not get
the credit of being so, while, on the other hand, the impious
man is deemed prudent and upright. And this I judge to
be among the most grievous of errors. Once, indeed, I
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLES1ASTES. 23
thought that the chief good consisted in eating and drinking,
and that he was most highly favoured of God who should
enjoy these things to the utmost in his life ; and I fancied
that this kind of enjoyment was the only comfort in life.
And, accordingly, I gave heed to nothing but to this conceit,
so that neither by night nor by day did I withdraw myself
from all those things which have ever been discovered to
minister luxurious delights to men. And this much I
learned thereby, that the man who mingles in these things
shall by no means be able, however sorely he may labour
with them, to find the real good.
CHAPTER IX.
Now I thought at that time that all men were judged
worthy of the same things. And if any wise man practised
righteousness, and withdrew himself from unrighteousness,
and as being sagacious avoided hatred with all (which,
indeed, is a thing well pleasing to God), this man seemed
to me to labour in vain. For there seemed to be one end
for the righteous and for the impious, for the good and for
the evil, for the pure and for the impure, for him that
worshipped (i\a<TKoiJ,evov) God, and for him that worshipped
not. For as the unrighteous man and the good, the man
who sweareth a false oath, and the man who avoids swearing
altogether, were suspected by me to be driving toward the
same end, a certain sinister opinion stole secretly into my mind,
that all men come to their end in a similar way. But now
I know that these are the reflections of fools, and errors and
deceits. And they assert largely, that he who is dead has
perished utterly, and that the living is to be preferred to the
dead, even though he may lie in darkness, and pass his
life-journey after the fashion of a dog, (which is) better
at least than a dead lion. For the living know this at any
rate, that they are to die ; but the dead know not anything,
and there is no reward proposed to them after they have
completed their necessary course. Also hatred and love
with the dead have their end ; for their envy has perished,
24 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
and their life also is extinguished. And he has a portion in
nothing who has once gone hence. Error harping still on
such a string, gives also such counsel as this : What meanest
thou, O man, that thou dost not enjoy thyself delicately,
and gorge thyself with all manner of pleasant food, and fill
thyself to the full with wine ? Dost thou not perceive that
these things are given us from God for our unrestrained
enjoyment? Put on newly-washed attire, and anoint thy
head with myrrh, and see this woman and that, and pass thy
vain life vainly. 1 For nothing else remaineth for thee but
this, neither here nor after death. But avail thou thyself of
all that chanceth ; for neither shall any one take account of
thee for these things, nor are the things that are done by
men known at all outside the circle of men. And Hades,
whatever that may be, whereunto we are said to depart, has
neither wisdom nor understanding. These are the things
which men of vanity speak. But I know assuredly, that
neither shall they who seem the swiftest accomplish that
great race; nor shall those who are esteemed mighty and
terrible in the judgment of men, overcome in that terrible
battle. Neither, again, is prudence proved by abundance of
bread, nor is understanding wont to consort with riches.
Nor do I congratulate those who think that all shall find
the same things befall them. But certainly those who in-
dulge such thoughts seem to me to be asleep, and to fail
to consider that, caught suddenly like fishes and birds, they
will be consumed with woes, and meet speedily their proper
retribution. Also I estimate wisdom at so high a price, that
I should deem a small and poorly-peopled city, even though
besieged also by a mighty king with his forces, to be indeed
great and powerful, if it had but one wise man, however
poor, among its citizens. For such a man would be able to
deliver his city both from enemies and from entrenchments.
And other men, it may be, do not recognise that wise man,
poor as he is ; but for my part I greatly prefer the power
that resides in wisdom, to this might of the mere multitude
of the people. Here, however, wisdom, as it dwells with
1 The text gives, x,<x.x.tivw It PCCTKIVS, etc.
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLESIASTES. 25
poverty, is held in dishonour. But hereafter it shall be
heard speaking with more authoritative voice than princes
and despots who seek after things evil. For wisdom is also
stronger than iron ; while the folly of one individual works
danger for many, even though he be an object of contempt
to many. 1
CHAPTER X.
Moreover, flies falling into myrrh, and suffocated therein,
make both the appearance of that pleasant ointment and the
anointing therewith an unseemly thing; 2 and to be mindful
of wisdom and of folly together is in no way proper. The
wise man, indeed, is his own leader to right actions ; but
the fool inclines to erring courses, and will never make his
folly available as a guide to what is noble. Yea, his thoughts
also are vain and full of folly. But if ever a hostile spirit
fall upon thee, my friend, withstand it courageously, know-
ing that God is able to propitiate (JXaaavOai) even a mighty
multitude of offences. These also are the deeds of the
prince and father of all wickedness : that the fool is set on
high, while the man richly gifted with wisdom is humbled ;
and that the slaves of sin are seen riding on horseback,
while men dedicated to God walk on foot in dishonour,
the wicked exulting the while. But if any one devises
another's hurt, he forgets that he is preparing a snare for
himself first and alone. And he who wrecks another's
safety, shall fall by the bite of a serpent. But he who
removeth stones, indeed shall undergo no light labour; 3 and
he who cleaveth wood shall bear danger with him in his own
weapon. And if it chance that the axe spring out of the
handle, 4 he who engages in such work shall be put to trouble,
a.Tu,(pp6yyi7os 3j ; so the Cod. Bodleian, and the Codex
Medic, read. But others read wohv = an object of great contempt. For
Kteretipf>4irro{ the Cod. Medic, reads ivxccTcttppovnTo;.
2 The text gives W'HSIV, for which Cod. Medic, reads MWIV, use.
3 Reading XX pyv for AX pq.
* ffTifaov, for which others read
26 GREGOR Y THA UMATURG US.
gathering for no good (OVK eV aya$&> o-iry/co/u'a)i>), and
having to put to more of his iniquitous and shortlived
strength (ZTTCLV^WV avrbs rr)v eairrov a&iicov KCU aucvfjiopov
Svva/jiiv). The bite of a serpent, again, is stealthy ; and the
charmers will not soothe the pain, for they are vain. But
the good man doeth good works for himself and for his
neighbours alike ; while the fool shall sink into destruction
through his folly. And when he has once opened his mouth,
he begins foolishly and soon comes to an end, exhibiting his
senselessness in all. Moreover, it is impossible for man to
know anything, or to learn from man either what has been
from the beginning, or what shall be in the future. For
who shall be the declarer thereof I Besides, the man who
knows not to go to the good city, sustains evil in the eyes
and in the whole countenance. And I prophesy woes to
that city the king of which is a youth, and its rulers gluttons.
But I call the good land blessed, the king of which is the
son of the free : there those who are entrusted with the
power of ruling shall reap what is good in due season. But
the sluggard and the idler become scoffers, and make the
house decay ; and misusing all things for the purposes of
their own gluttony, like the ready slaves of money (dpyvpia
aYayyt^toi), for a small price they are content to do all that
is base and abject. It is also right to obey kings and rulers
or potentates, and not to be bitter against them, nor to utter
any offensive word against them. For there is ever the risk
that what has been spoken in secret may somehow become
public. For swift and winged messengers convey all things
to Him who alone is King both rich and mighty, discharging
therein a service which is at once spiritual and reasonable.
CHAPTER XL
Moreover, it is a righteous thing to give (to the needy) of
thy bread, and of those things which are necessary for the
support of man's life. For though thou seemest forthwith
to waste it upon some persons, as if thou didst, cast thy
bread upon the water, yet in the progress of time thy kind-
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLES1ASTES. 27
ness shall be seen to be not unprofitable for tliee. Also
give liberally, and give a portion of thy means to many ; for
thou knowest not what the coming day doeth. The clouds,
again, do not keep back their plenteous rains, but discharge
their showers upon the earth. Nor does a tree stand for
ever ; but even though men may spare it, it shall be over-
turned by the wind at any rate. But many desire also to
know beforehand what is to come from the heavens ; and
there have been those who, scrutinizing the clouds and
waiting for the wind, have had nought to do with reaping
and winnowing, putting their trust in vanity, and being all
incapable of knowing aught of what may come from God
in the future, just as men cannot tell what the woman with
child shall bring forth. But sow thou in season, and thus
reap thy fruits whenever the time for that comes on. For
it is not manifest what shall be better than those among all
natural things. 1 Would, indeed, that all things turned out
well ! Truly, when a man considers with himself that the
sun is good, and that this life is sweet, and that it is a
pleasant thing to have many years wherein one can delight
himself continually, and that death is a terror and an end-
less evil, and a thing that brings us to nought, he thinks
that he ought to enjoy himself in all the present and ap-
parent pleasures of life. And he gives this counsel also to
the young, that they should use to the uttermost (icaia-
Xpfja-Oai) the season of their youth, by giving up their minds
to all manner of pleasure, and indulge their passions, and
do all that seemeth good in their own eyes, and look upon
that which delighteth, and avert themselves from that which
is not so. But to such a man I shall say this much : Sense-
less art thou, my friend, in that thou dost not look for the
judgment that shall come from God upon all these things.
And profligacy and licentiousness are evil, and the filthy
wantonness of our bodies carries death in it. For folly
attends on youth, and folly leads to destruction.
ctitTav force! otpfivu ruv (pvivruv, perhaps = which of those
natural productions shall be the better.
28 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
CHAPTEE XII.
Moreover, it is right that thou shouldest fear God while
thou art yet young, before thou givest thyself over to evil
things, and before the great and terrible day of God cometh,
when the sun shall no longer shine, neither the moon, nor
the rest of the stars, but when in that storm and commotion
of all things, the powers above shall be moved, that is, the
angels who guard the world ; so that the mighty men shall
cease, and the women shall cease their labours, and shall flee
into the dark places of their dwellings, and shall have all the
doors shut ; and a woman shall be restrained from grinding
by fear, and shall speak with the weakest voice, like the
tiniest bird ; and all impure women shall sink into the earth ;
and cities and their blood-stained governments shall wait for
the vengeance that comes from above, while the most bitter
and bloody of all times hangs over them like a blossoming
almond, and continuous punishments impend like a multi-
tude of flying locusts, and the transgressors are cast out of
the way like a black and despicable caper-plant. And the
good man shall depart with rejoicing to his own everlasting
habitation; but the vile shall fill all their places with wailing,
and neither silver laid up in store, nor proved gold, shall be
of use any more. For a mighty stroke l shall fall upon all
things, even to the pitcher that standeth by the well, and the
wheel of the vessel which may chance to have been left in the
hollow, when the course of time comes to its end 2 and the ablu-
tion-bearing period of a life that is like water has passed away. 3
i%ft 7rXiyj. CEcolampadius renders it, magnus enim fons, evi-
dently reading Tnjyjj.
2 The text is, kv TU xofoa/*Ti irotvaotftsvYis xpcivov re x-fpfipopijf, for
which we may read, t T&> x,oi^uf/t,on^ netwetfiiitvis %po.vuv TI TrtpriipoftqS'
Others apparently propose for irctvactpfviis, li&ptvqs = at the hollow of
the cistern.
3 The text is, xetl rys 5/ t/da-ro? ays vctpolltiiaavTos rov hovrpotpopov
uluvo;. Billius understands the age to be called Kotn-poipopov, because,
as long as we are in life, it is possible to obtain remission for any sin, or
as referring to the rite of baptism.
A METAPHRASE OF ECCLESIASTES. 29
And for men who lie on earth there is but one salvation,
that their souls acknowledge and wing their way to Him by
whom they have been made. I say, then, again what I
have said already, that man's estate is altogether vain, and
that nothing can exceed the utter vanity which attaches to
the objects of man's inventions. And superfluous is my
labour in preaching discreetly, inasmuch as I am attempting
to instruct a people here, so indisposed to receive either teach-
ing or healing. And truly the noble man is needed for the
understanding of the words of wisdom. Moreover, I, though
already aged, and having passed a long life, laboured to find
out those things which are well-pleasing to God, by means
of the mysteries of the truth. And I know that the mind
is no less quickened and stimulated by the precepts of the
wise, than the body is wont to be when the goad is applied,
or a nail is fastened in it. 1 And some will render again
those wise lessons which they have received from one good
pastor and teacher, as if all with one mouth and in mutual
concord set forth in larger detail the truths committed to
them. But in many words there is no profit. Neither do
I counsel thee, my friend, to write down vain things about
what is fitting, 2 from which there is nothing to be gained
but weary labour. But, in fine, I shall require to use some
such conclusion as this : O men, behold, I charge you now
expressly and shortly, that ye fear God, who is at once the
Lord and the Overseer (eTroTrr^) of all, and that ye keep
also His commandments ; and that ye believe that all shall
be judged severally in the future, and that every man shall
receive the just recompense for his deeds, whether they be
good or whether they be evil.
a,. The Septuagint reads, Ao'yo/ ao<f>u ag rat,
>cxl a; sj/.o< KiQvtivp.ivoi, like nails planted, etc. Others read
igniti. The Vulg. has, quasi clavi in altum defixi.
2 iripl TO 7rpoafi>tov, for which some read, irotpa TO irpwUjzoy, beyond or
contrary to what is fitting.
CANONICAL EPISTLE OF THE HOLY GREGORY,
ARCHBISHOP OF NEOOESAREIA,
SURNAMED THAUMATURGUS,
CONCERNING THOSE WHO, IN THE INROAD OF THE BARBARIANS, ATE THINGS
SACRIFICED TO IDOLS, OR OFFENDED IN CERTAIN OTHER MATTERS.
(Gallandi, lii. p. 400.)
CANON I.
HE meats are no burden to us, most holy father,
if the captives ate things which their conque-
rors set before them, especially since there is one
report from all, viz. that the barbarians who
have made inroads into our parts have not sacrificed to idols.
For the apostle says, " Meats for the belly, and the belly for
meats : but God shall destroy both it and them." l But the
Saviour also, who cleanseth all meats, says, " Not that which
goeth into a man defileth the man, but that which cometh
out." 2 And this meets the case of the captive women
defiled by the barbarians, who outraged their bodies. But if
the previous life of any such person convicted him of going,
as it is written, after the eyes of fornicators, the habit of
fornication evidently becomes an object of suspicion also in
the time of captivity. And one ought not readily to have
communion with such women in prayers. If any one, how-
ever, has lived in the utmost chastity, and has shown in time
past a manner of life pure and free from all suspicion, and
now falls into wantonness through force of necessity, we have
an example for our guidance, namely, the instance of the
damsel in Deuteronomy, whom a man finds in the field, and
1 1 Cor. vi. 18. 2 Matt. xv. 11.
80
ON EATING THINGS SACRIFICED TO IDOLS. 31
forces her, and lies with her. " Unto the damsel," he says,
" ye shall do nothing ; there is in the damsel no sin worthy
of death : for as when a man riseth against his neighbour,
and slayeth him, even so is this matter : the damsel cried,
and there was none to help her." 1
CANON II.
Covetousness is a great evil ; and it is not possible in
a single letter to set forth those scriptures in which not
robbery alone is declared to be a thing horrible and to be
abhorred, but in general the grasping mind, and the dis-
position to meddle with what belongs to others, in order
to satisfy the sordid love of gain. And all persons of
that spirit are excommunicated from the church of God.
But that at the time of the irruption, in the midst of such
woful sorrows and bitter lamentations, some should have
been audacious enough to consider the crisis which brought
destruction to all the very period for their own private
aggrandizement, that is a thing which can be averred only
of men who are impious and hated of God, and of unsur-
passable iniquity. Wherefore it seemed good to excom-
municate such persons, lest the wrath (of God) should come
upon the whole people, and upon those first of all who are
set over them in office, and yet fail to make inquiry. For I
am afraid, as the Scripture says, lest the impious work the
destruction of the righteous along with his own. 2 " For for-
nication," it says, 3 " and covetousness (are things) on account
of which the wrath of God cometh upon the children of dis-
obedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For
ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the
Lord : walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light 4
is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth), proving
what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them ; for it is a shame even to speak of those things which
are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved
1 Deut. xxii. 26, 27. 2 Gen. xviii. 23, 25.
3 Eph. v. 5-13. 4 rot/ $UTC,S for the received
32 GREGORY TIIAUMATURGUS.
are made manifest by the light." In this wise speaks the
apostle. But if certain parties who pay the proper penalty
for that former covetousness of theirs, which exhibited itself
in the time of peace, now turn aside again to the indulgence
of covetousness in the very time of trouble (i.e. in the
troubles of the inroads by the barbarians), and make gain
out of the blood and ruin of men who have been utterly
despoiled, or taken captive, (or) put to death, what else
ought to be expected, than that those who struggle so hotly
for covetousness should heap up wrath both for themselves
and for the whole people ?
CANON III.
Behold, did not Achar 1 the son of Zara transgress in the
accursed thing, and trouble then lighted on all the congrega-
tion of Israel ? And this one man was alone in his sin ; but
he was not alone in the death that came by his sin. And by
us, too, everything of a gainful kind at this time, which is
ours not in our own rightful possession, but as property
strictly belonging to others, ought to be reckoned a thing
devoted. For that Achar indeed took of the spoil ; and
those men of the present time take also of the spoil. But
he took what belonged to enemies ; while these now take
what belongs to brethren, and aggrandize themselves with
fatal gains.
CANON IV.
Let no one deceive himself, nor put forward the pretext
of having found such property. For it is not lawful, even
for a man who has found anything, to aggrandize himself
by it. For Deuteronomy says : " Thou shalt not see thy
brother's ox or his sheep go astray in the way, and pay no
heed to them ; but thou shalt in any wise bring them again
unto thy brother. And if thy brother come not nigh thee,
or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring them together,
and they shall be with thee until thy brother seek after them,
and thou shalt restore them to him again. And in like
1 Josh. vii.
ON EATING THINGS SACRIFICED TO IDOLS. 33
manner shalt thou do with his ass, and so shalt thou do with
his raiment, and so shalt thou do with all lost thing of thy
brother's, which he hath lost, and thou mayest find." 1 Thus
much in Deuteronomy. And in the book of Exodus it is
said, with reference not only to the case of finding what is
a friend's, but also of finding what is an enemy's : " Thou
shalt surely bring them back to the house of their master
again." 2 And if it is not lawful to aggrandize oneself at the
expense of another, whether he be brother or enemy, even in
the time of peace, when he is living at his ease and deli-
cately, and without concern as to his property, how much*
more must it be the case when one is met by adversity, and
is fleeing from his enemies, and has had to abandon his pos-
sessions by force of circumstances !
CANON V.
But others deceive themselves by fancying that they can
retain the property of others which they may have found as
an equivalent for their own property which they have lost.
In this way verily, just as the Boradi and Goths brought
the havoc of war on them, they make themselves Boradi
and Goths to others. Accordingly we have sent to you our
brother and comrade in old age, Euphrosynus, with this
view, that he may deal with you in accordance with our
model here, and teach you against whom you ought to
admit accusations (&V Set ra? tcaTijyoplas irpo(riea6ai) : and
whom you ought to exclude from your prayers.
CANON VI.
Concerning those who forcibly detain captives (who have
escaped) from the barbarians. Moreover, it has been reported
to us that a thing has happened in your country which is
surely incredible, and which, if done at all, is altogether the
work of unbelievers, and impious men, and men who know
not the very name of the Lord ; to wit, that some have gone
to such a pitch of cruelty and inhumanity, as to be detaining
by force certain captives who have made their escape. Dis-
1 Deut. xxii. 1-3. 2 Ex. xxiii. 4.
34 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
patch ye commissioners into the country, lest the thunderbolts
of heaven fall all too surely upon those who perpetrate such
deeds.
CANON VII.
Concerning those who have been enrolled among the
barbarians, and who have dared to do certain monstrous
things against those of the same race with themselves.
Now, as regards those who have been enrolled among the
barbarians, and have accompanied them in their irruption
in a state of captivity, and who, forgetting that they were
from Pontus, and Christians, have become such thorough
barbarians, as even to put those of their own race to death
by the gibbet (fuXp) or strangulation, and to show their
roads or houses to the barbarians, who else would have been
ignorant of them, it is necessary for you to debar such per-
sons even from being auditors in the public congregations
(aKpodaea)?}, until some common decision about them is come
to by the saints assembled in council, and by the Holy
Spirit antecedently to them.
CANON VIII.
Concerning those who have been so audacious as to invade
the houses of others in the inroad of the barbarians. Now
those who have been so audacious as to invade the houses of
others, if they have once been put on their trial and convicted,
ought not to be deemed fit even to be hearers in the public
congregation. But if they have declared themselves and
made restitution, they should be placed in the rank of the
repentant (rwv
CANON IX.
Concerning those who have found in the open field or in
private houses property left behind them by the barbarians.
Now, those who have found in the open field or in their own
houses anything left behind them by the barbarians, if they
have once been put on their trial and convicted, ought to fall
under the same class of the repentant. But if they have
EATING THINGS SACRIFICED TO IDOLS. 85
declared themselves and made restitution, they ought to be
deemed fit for the privilege of prayer.
CANON X.
And they who keep the commandment ought to keep it
without any sordid covetousness, demanding neither recom-
pense (/jLijwrpa, the price of information), nor reward
(awcrrpa, the reward for bringing back a runaway slave),
nor fee (evperpa, the reward of discovery), nor anything else
that bears the name of acknowledgment.
CANON XL
Weeping (Trpoo-tcXava-iS) penance) takes place without the
gate of the oratory ; and the offender standing there ought
to implore the faithful as they enter to offer up prayer on
liis behalf. Waiting on the word (anpoa(n<$\ again, takes
place within the gate in the porch (ev ru> vapdrjici), where the
offender ought to stand until the catechumens (come in),
and thereafter he should go forth. For let him hear the
Scriptures and doctrine, it is said, and then be put forth, and
reckoned unfit for the privilege of prayer. Submission, again
(yTTOTTTwcriv), is that one stand within the gate of the temple,
and go forth along with the catechumens. Restoration
((rva-Tacris) is that one be associated with the faithful, and
go not forth with the catechumens ; and last of all comes the
participation in the holy ordinances (ayiaa-fjidTow). 1
1 There are scholia in Latin by Theodoras Balsamon and Joannes
Zonaras on these canons. The note of the former on this last canon
may be cited : The present saint has defined shortly five several posi-
tions for the penitent ; but he has not indicated either the times appointed
for their exercise, or the sing for which penance is determined. Basil
the Great, again, has handed down to us an accurate account of these
things in his canonical epistles. Yet he, too, has referred to episcopal
decision the matter of recovery through penalties.
THE ORATION AND PANEGYRIC ADDRESSED
TO ORIGEN,
DELIVERED BY GREGORY THAUMATURGUS IN THE PALESTINIAN C^ESAREIA,
WHEN ABOUT TO LEAVE FOR HIS OWN COUNTRY, AFTER MANY YEARS'
INSTRUCTION UNDER THAT TEACHER.
(Gallandi, Opera, p. 413.)
INDEX TO THE CHAPTERS OF THE ORATION AND
PANEGYRIC.
1. For eight years Gregory has given up the practice of oratory, being
busied with the study chiefly of Roman law and the Latin
language.
2. He essays to speak of the well-nigh divine endowments of Origen
in his presence, into whose hands he avows himself to have been
led in a way beyond all his expectation.
3. He is stimulated to speak of him by the longing of a grateful mind.
To the utmost of his ability he thinks he ought to thank him.
From God are the beginnings of all blessings ; and to Him ade-
quate thanks cannot be returned.
4. The Son alone knows how to praise the Father worthily. In Christ
and by Christ our thanksgivings ought to be rendered to the
Father. Gregory also gives thanks to his guardian angel, because
he was conducted by him to Origen.
5. Here Gregory interweaves the narrative of his former life. His
birth of heathen parents is stated. In the fourteenth year of his
age he loses his father. He is dedicated to the study of eloquence
and law. By a wonderful leading of Providence, he is brought to
Origen.
6. The arts by which Origen studies to keep Gregory and his brother
Athenodorus with him, although it was almost against their will ;
and the love by which both are taken captive. Of philosophy,
the foundation of piety. With the view of giving himself therefore
wholly to that study, Gregory is willing to give up fatherland,
parents, the pursuit of law, and every other discipline. Of the
soul as the free principle. The nobler part does not desire to be
united with the inferior, but the inferior with the nobler.
36
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 37
7. The wonderful skill with which Origen prepares Gregory and Atheno-
dorus for philosophy. The intellect of each is exercised first ia
logic, and the mere attention to words is contemned.
8. Then in due succession he instructs them in physics, geometry, and
astronomy.
9. But he imbues their minds, above all, with ethical science ; and he
does not confine himself to discoursing on the virtues in word,
but he rather confirms his teaching by his acts.
10. Hence the mere word-sages are confuted, who say and yet act not.
11. Origen is the first and the only one that exhorts Gregory to add to
his acquirements the study of philosophy, and offers him in a
certain manner an example in himself. Of justice, prudence,
temperance, and fortitude. The maxim, Know thyself.
12. Gregory disallows any attainment of the virtues on his part. Piety
is both the beginning and the end, and thus it is the parent of all
the virtues.
13. The method which Origen used in his theological and metaphysical
instructions. He commends the study of all writers, the atheistic
alone excepted. The marvellous power of persuasion in speech.
The facility of the mind in giving its assent.
14. Whence the contentions of philosophers have sprung. Against those
who catch at everything that meets them, and give it credence,
and cling to it. Origen was in the habit of carefully reading
and explaining the books of the heathen to his disciples.
15. The case of divine matters. Only God and His prophets are to be heard
in these. The prophets and their auditors are acted on by the same
afflatus. Origen's excellence in the interpretation of Scriptxire.
16. Gregory laments his departure under a threefold comparison ; liken-
ing it to Adam's departure out of paradise, to the prodigal son's
abandonment of his father's house, and to the deportation of the
Jews into Babylon.
17. Gregory consoles himself.
18. Peroration, and apology for the oration.
19. Apostrophe to Origen, and therewith the leave-taking, and the
urgent utterance of prayer.
excellent 1 thing has silence proved itself in
many another person on many an occasion,
and at present it befits myself, too, most espe-
cially, who with or without purpose may keep
the door of my lips, and feel constrained to be silent. For
I am unpractised and unskilled 2 in those beautiful and
1 xot^oy, for which Hoeschelius has y.dov.
for which Hceschelius has
38 GREGOR Y THA UMA TURG US.
elegant addresses which are spoken or composed 'in a regular
and unbroken 1 train, in select and well-chosen phrases and
words ; and it may be that I am less apt by nature to cul-
tivate successfully this graceful and truly Grecian art. Be-
sides, it is now eight years since I chanced myself to utter or
compose any speech, whether long or short ; neither in that
period have I heard any other compose or utter anything in
private, or deliver in public any laudatory or controversial
orations, with the exception of those admirable men who have
embraced the noble study of philosophy, and who care less for
beauty of language and elegance of expression. For, attach-
ing only a secondary importance to the words, they aim, with
all exactness, at investigating and making known the things
themselves, precisely as they are severally constituted. Not
indeed, in my opinion, that they do not desire, but rather that
they do greatly desire, to clothe the noble and accurate results
of their thinking in noble and comely 2 language. Yet it may
be that they are not able so lightly to put forth this sacred
and godlike power (faculty) in the exercise of its own
proper conceptions, and at the same time to practise a mode
of discourse eloquent in its terms, and thus to comprehend
in one and the same mind and that, too, this little mind of
man two accomplishments, which are the gifts of two dis-
tinct persons, and which are, in truth, most contrary to each
other. For silence is indeed the friend and helpmeet of
thought and invention. But if one aims at readiness of
speech and beauty of discourse, he will get at them by no
other discipline than the study of words, and their constant
practice. Moreover, another branch of learning occupies my
mind completely, and the mouth binds the tongue if I should
desire to make any speech, however brief, with the voice of
the Greeks ; I refer to those admirable laws of our sages by
which the affairs of all the subjects of the Roman Empire
are now directed, and which are neither composed 3 nor
, for which Bengel suggests xoAoi^<>>.
s'i, for which Ger. Vossius gives d-fysv&Ct.
3 ffvyx.n'ftsyoi, which is rendered by some conduntur, by others con-
fectse sunt, and by others still componantur, harmonized, the reference
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 39
learnt without difficulty. And these are wise and exact 1
in themselves, and manifold and admirable, and, in a word,
most thoroughly Grecian ; and they are expressed and com-
mitted to us in the Roman tongue, which is a wonderful
and magnificent sort of language, and one very aptly con-
formable to royal authority, but still difficult to me. Nor
could it be otherwise with me, even though I might say that
it was my desire that it should be. 2 And as our words are
nothing else than a kind of imagery of the dispositions of our
mind, we should allow those who have the gift of speech, like
some good artists alike skilled to the utmost in their art and
liberally furnished in the matter of colours, to possess the liberty
of painting their word-pictures, not simply of a uniform com-
plexion, but also of various descriptions and of richest beauty
in the abundant mixture of flowers, without let or hindrance.
II. But we, like any of the poor, unfurnished with
these varied specifics (tpap/^d/ccov) whether as never having
been possessed of them, or, it may be, as having lost them
are under the necessity of using, as it were, only charcoal
and tiles, that is to say, those rude and common words and
phrases ; and by means of these, to the best of our ability,
we represent the native dispositions of our mind, express-
ing them in such language as is at our service, and endea-
vouring to exhibit the impressions of the figures of our
mind (xapaKrfjpas TWV r?}? "^f%^5 TVTTCOV), if not clearly or
ornately, yet at least with the faithfulness of a charcoal
picture, welcoming gladly any graceful and eloquent ex-
pression which may present itself from any quarter, although
we make little of such. 3 But, furthermore, 4 there is a third
then being to the difficulty experienced in learning the laws, in the way
of harmonizing those which apparently oppose each other.
1 ccxpifaH;, for which Ger. Vossius gives sws/Ss??, pious.
2 el Kcti /3oi/x-/5To', etc., for which Hoeschelius gives ol/rs POV^YITW, etc.
The Latin version gives, non enim aliter sentire out posse aut velle me
unquam dixerim.
3 dtrKKffoipsyoi qltia;, ttti zal KtpiQpoyqvc&yTfs. The passage is con-
sidered by some to be mutilated.
4 The text is, dKhtx. yp Ix, rptrav ctZSu; aAAaj xaAt/s/, etc. For
40 GREG OR Y Til A UMA T URG US.
circumstance which hinders and dissuades me from this at-
tempt, and which holds me back much more even than the
others, and recommends me to keep silence by all means,
I allude to the subject itself, which made me indeed am-
bitious to speak of it, but which now makes me draw back
and delay. For it is my purpose to speak of one who has
indeed the semblance and repute of being a man, but who
seems, to those who are able to contemplate the greatness of
his intellectual calibre (TO Se iro\v TTJS e^ew?). to be endowed
with powers nobler and well-nigh divine. 1 And it is not his
birth or bodily training that I am about to praise, and that
makes me now delay and procrastinate with an excess of cau-
tion. Nor, again, is it his strength or beauty ; for these form
the eulogies of youths, of which it matters little whether the
utterance be worthy or not (wv TJTTCW <j>povrls nar alav re
KOI /AT), \eyopevcov). For, to make an oration on matters
of a temporary and fugitive nature, which perish in many
various ways and quickly, and to discourse of these with
all the grandeur and dignity of great affairs, and with such
timorous delays, would seem a vain and futile procedure. 2
And certainly, if it had been proposed to me to speak of any
of those things which are useless and unsubstantial, and such
as I should never voluntarily have thought of speaking of,
if, I say, it had been proposed to me to speak of anything
of that character, my speech would have had none of this
caution or fear, lest in any statement I might seem to come
beneath the merit of the subject. But now, my subject
dealing with that which is most godlike in the man, and that
in him which has most affinity with God, that which is in-
deed confined within the limits of this visible and mortal
form, but which strains nevertheless most ardently after the
Hoeschelius gives xx ay. Bengel follows him, and renders it, sed
rursum, tertio loco, aliud est quod prohibet. Delarue proposes, d'h'hoi */<x.p
tv rpirov otiidig oiKhus xuhvu.
1 This is the rendering according to the Latin version. The text is,
ei~iax.svetyft.iyov ;dj ftii^ovt voipuaxsvYi f^irxvetarciaeus rsjf Kpos TO deioit.
Vossius reads, pir dyocoTtiasus.
2 The text is, ^ x.*\ $vxpci> % -z-ip-x-ipov , where, according to Bengel,
AVI has the force of ut non dicam.
THE PANEGYRIC ON OPJGEN. 41
likeness of God ; and my object being to make mention of
this, and to put my hand to weightier matters, and therein
also to express my thanksgivings to the Godhead, in that it
has been granted to me to meet with such a man beyond
the expectation of men, the expectation, verily, not only
of others, but also of my own heart, for I neither set such
a privilege before me at any time, nor hoped for it ; it
being, I say, my object, insignificant and altogether with-
out understanding as I am, to put my hand to such subjects,
it is not without reason 1 that I shrink from the task, and
hesitate, and desire to keep silence. And, in truth, to keep
silence seems to me to be also the safe course, lest, with the
show of an expression of thanksgiving, I may chance, in my
rashness, to discourse of noble and sacred subjects in terms
ignoble and paltry and utterly trite, and thus not only miss
attaining the truth, but even, so far as it depends on me,
do it some injury with those who may believe that it stands
in such a category, when a discourse thereon is composed
which is weak, and rather calculated to excite ridicule than
to prove itself commensurate in its vigour with the dignity
of its themes. But all that pertains to thee is beyond the
touch of injury and ridicule, O dear soul ; or, much rather
let me say, that the divine herein remains ever as it is, un-
moved and harmed in nothing by our paltry and unworthy
words. Yet I know not how we shall escape the imputation
of boldness and rashness in thus attempting in our folly, and
with little either of intelligence or of preparation, to handle
matters which are weighty, and probably beyond our capa-
city. And if, indeed, elsewhere and with others, we had
aspired to make such youthful endeavours in matters like
these, we would surely have been bold and daring; never-
theless in such a case our rashness might not have been
ascribed to shamelessness, in so far as we would not have
been making the bold effort with thee. But now we shall be
filling out the whole measure of senselessness, or rather indeed
we have already filled it out, in venturing with unwashed feet
(as the saying goes) to introduce ourselves to ears into which
1 But the text reads, oix,
42 GREG OR Y TEA UMA TURG US.
the Divine Word Himself not indeed with covered feet, as
is the case with the general mass of men, and, as it were,
under the thick coverings of enigmatical and obscure 1 say-
ings, but with unsandalled feet (if one may so speak) has
made His way clearly and perspicuously, and in which He
now sojourns ; while we, who have but refuse and mud to
offer in these human words of ours, have been bold enough
to pour them into ears which are practised in hearing only
words that are divine and pure. It might indeed suffice us,
therefore, to have transgressed thus far ; and now, at least,
it might be but right to restrain ourselves, and to advance no
further with our discourse. And verily I would stop here
most gladly. Nevertheless, as I have once made the rash
venture, it may be allowed me first of all to explain the
reason under the force of which I have been led into this
arduous enterprise, if indeed any pardon can be extended to
me for my forwardness in this matter.
III. Ingratitude appears to me to be a dire evil ; a dire
evil indeed, yea, the direst of evils. For when one has
received some benefit, his failing to attempt to make any
return by at least the oral expression of thanks, where aught
else is beyond his power, marks him out either as an utterly
irrational person, or as one devoid of the sense of obligations
conferred, or as a man without any memory. And, again,
though 2 one is possessed naturally and at once by the sense
and the knowledge of benefits received, yet, unless he also
carries the memory of these obligations to future days, and
offers some evidence of gratitude to the author of the boons,
such a person is a dull, and ungrateful, and impious fellow ;
and he commits an offence which can be excused neither in
the case of the great nor in that of the small : if we sup-
pose the case of a great and high-minded man not bearing
constantly on his lips his great benefits with all gratitude and
honour, or that of a small and contemptible man not prais-
1 daetipuv. But Ger. Voss has aafaxiv, safe.
2 Reading ora, with Hoeschelius, Bengel, and the Paris editor, while
Voss reads ott.
THE PANEGYRIC ON OR1GEN. 43
ing and lauding with all his might one who has been his
benefactor, not simply in great services, but also in smaller.
Upon the great, therefore, and those who excel in powers
of mind, it is incumbent, as out of their greater abundance
and larger wealth, to render greater and worthier praise,
according to their capacity, to their benefactors. But the
humble also, and those in narrow circumstances, it beseems
neither to neglect those who do them service, nor to take their
services carelessly, nor to flag in heart as if they could offer
nothing worthy or perfect ; but as poor indeed, and yet as of
good feeling, and as measuring not the capacity of him whom
they honour, but only their own, they ought to pay him
honour according to the present measure of their power, a
tribute which will probably be grateful and pleasant to him
who is honoured, and in no less consideration with him than
it would have been had it been some great and splendid offer-
ing, if it is only presented with decided earnestness, and with
a sincere mind. Thus is it laid down in the sacred writings, 1
that a certain poor and lowly woman, who was with the rich
and powerful that were contributing largely and richly out of
their wealth, alone and by herself cast in a small, yea, the very
smallest offering, which was, however, all the while her whole
substance, and received the testimony of having presented
the largest oblation. For, as I judge, the sacred word has
not set up the large outward quantity of the substance given,
but rather the mind and disposition of the giver, as the
standard by which the worth and the magnificence of the
offering are to be measured. Wherefore it is not meet even
for us by any means to shrink from this duty, through the
fear that our thanksgivings be not adequate to our obli-
gations ; but, on the contrary, we ought to venture and
attempt everything, so as to offer thanksgivings, if not ade-
quate, at least such as we have it in our power to exhibit, as
in due return. And would that our discourse, even though
it comes short of the perfect measure, might at least reach
the mark in some degree, and be saved from all appearance
of ingratitude ! For a persistent silence, maintained under
1 Luke xxi. 2.
44 GREG OR Y THA UMA TURG US.
the plausible cover of an inability to say anything worthy of
the subject, is a vain and evil thing ; but it is the mark of
a good disposition always to make the attempt at a suitable
return, even although the power of the person who offers
the grateful acknowledgment be inferior to the desert of the
subject. For my part, even although I am unable to speak
as the matter merits, I shall not keep silence ; but when I
have done all that I possibly can, then I may congratulate
myself. Be this, then, the method of my eucharistic dis-
course. To God, indeed, the God of the universe, I shall
not think of speaking in such terms : yet is it from Him
that all the beginnings of our blessings come ; and with Him
consequently is it that the beginning of our thanksgivings,
or praises, or laudations, ought to be made. But, in truth,
not even though I were to devote myself wholly to that
duty, and that, too, not as I now am to wit, profane and
impure, and mixed up with and stained by every unhal-
lowed l and polluting evil but sincere and as pure as pure
may be, and most genuine, and most unsophisticated, and
uncontaminated by anything vile ; not even, I say, though
I were thus to devote myself wholly, and with all the purity
of the newly born, to this task, should I produce of myself
any suitable gift in the way of honour and acknowledgment
to the Ruler and Originator of all things, whom neither men
separately and individually, nor yet all men in concert, acting
with one spirit and one concordant impulse, as though all that
is pure were made to meet in one, and all that is diverse from
that were turned also to that service, could ever celebrate in
a manner worthy of Him. For, in whatsoever measure any
man is able to form right and adequate conceptions of His
works, and (if such a thing were possible) to speak worthily
regarding Him, then, so far as that very capacity is concerned,
a capacity with which he has not been gifted by any other
one, but which he has received rom Him alone, he cannot
possibly find any greater matter of thanksgiving than what
is implied in its possession.
1 /7!/ye7, which in the lexicons is given as bearing only the good
sense, all-hallowed, but which here evidently is taken in the opposite.
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 45
IV. But let us commit the praises and hymns in honour
of the King and Superintendent of all things, the perennial
Fount of all blessings, to the hand of Him who, in this matter
as in all others, is the Healer of our infirmity, and who alone
is able to supply that which is lacking ; to the Champion
and Saviour of our souls, His first-born Word, the Maker
and Ruler of all things, with whom also alone it is possible,
both for Himself and for all, whether privately and indi-
vidually, or publicly and collectively, to send up to the
Father uninterrupted and ceaseless thanksgivings. For as
He is Himself the Truth, and the Wisdom, and the Power
of the Father of the universe, and He is besides in Him,
and is truly and entirely made one with Him, it cannot
be that, either through forgetfulness or unwisdom, or any
manner of infirmity, such as marks one dissociated from
Him, He shall either fail in the power to praise Him, or,
while having the power, shall willingly neglect (a supposi-
tion which it is not lawful, surely, to indulge) to praise the
Father. For He alone is able most perfectly to fulfil the
whole meed of honour which is proper to Him, inasmuch
as the Father of all things has made Him one with Him-
self, and through Him all but completes the circle of His
own being objectively, 1 and honours Him with a power in
all respects equal to His own, even as also He is honoured ;
which position He first and alone of all creatures that exist
has had assigned Him, this Only-begotten of the Father,
who is in Him, and who is God the Word ; while all others
of us are able to express our thanksgiving and our piety
only if, in return for all the blessings which proceed to us
from the Father, we bring our offerings in simple depend-
ence on Him alone, and thus present the meet oblation of
thanksgiving to Him who is the Author of all things, acknow-
ledging also that the only way of piety is in this manner to
offer our memorials through Him. Wherefore, in acknow-
1 szvsptuv in the text, for which Bengel gives i*.ir!.piiuv, a word used
frequently by this author. In Dorner it is explained as = going out of
Himself in order to embrace and encompass Himself. See the Doctrine
of the Person oj Christ, A. II. p. 173 (Clark).
4 6 GREG OR Y TEA UMA TURG US.
ledgment of that ceaseless providence which watches over all
of us, alike in the greatest and in the smallest concerns, and
which has been sustained even thus far, let this Word (\6yos)
be accepted as the worthy and perpetual expression for all
thanksgivings and praises, I mean the altogether perfect
and living and verily animate Word of the First Mind Him-
self. But let this word of ours be taken primarily as an
eucharistic address in honour of this sacred personage, who
stands alone among all men ; and if I may seek to discourse 1
of aught beyond this, and, in particular, of any of those
beings who are not seen, but yet are more godlike, and who
have a special care for men, it shall be addressed to that
being who, by some momentous decision, had me allotted to
him from my boyhood to rule, and rear, and train, I mean
that holy angel of God who fed me from my youth, 2 as says
the saint dear to God, meaning thereby his own peculiar one;
though he, indeed, as being himself illustrious, did in these
terms designate some angel exalted enough to befit his own
dignity (and whether it was some other one, or whether it was
perchance the angel of the Mighty Counsel Himself, the
Common Saviour of all, that he received as his own peculiar
guardian through his perfection, I do not clearly know), he,
I say, did recognise and praise some superior angel as his own,
whosoever that was. But we, in addition to the homage we
offer to the Common Ruler of all men, acknowledge and praise
that being, whosoever he is, who has been the wonderful guide
of our childhood, who in all other matters has been in time
past my beneficent tutor and guardian (for this office of tutor
and guardian is one which evidently can suit 3 neither me
nor any of my friends and kindred ; for we are all blind, and
see nothing of what is before us, so as to be able to judge of
what is right and fitting ; but it can suit only him who sees
beforehand all that is for the good of our soul) ; who still at
this present time sustains, and instructs, and conducts me ;
1 The text gives pshnyoptiv, for which others read ft^/m^yopttv.
2 Gen. xlviii. 15.
3 The text gives I^<H, etc., . . . ovptptpov tUvai Kctrafsu'virtni. Bengal's
idea of the sense is followed in the translation.
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 47
and who, in addition to all these other benefits, has brought
' ' O
me into connection with this man, which, in truth, is the
most important of all the services done me : and this, too, he
lias effected for me, although between myself and that man
of whom I discourse there was no kinship of race or blood,
nor any other tie, nor any relationship in neighbourhood or
country whatsoever (things which are made the ground of
friendship and union among the majority of men). But to
speak in brief, in the exercise of a truly divine and wise
forethought he brought us together, who were unknown to
each other, and strangers, and foreigners, separated as tho-
roughly from each other as intervening nations, and moun-
tains, and rivers can divide man from man, and thus he made
good this meeting which has been full of profit to me, having,
as I judge, provided beforehand this blessing for me from
above from my very birth and earliest upbringing. And in
what manner this has been realized it would take long to
recount fully, not merely if I were to enter minutely into the
whole subject, and were to attempt to omit nothing, but even
if, passing many things by, I should purpose simply to men-
tion in a summary way a few of the most important points.
V. For my earliest upbringing from the time of my
birth onwards was under the hand of my parents ; and the
manner of life in my father's house was one of error (TO,
Trdrpia edrj ra 'jreifKavrj^eva), and of a kind from which
no one, I imagine, expected that we should be delivered;
nor had I myself the hope, boy as I was, and without
understanding, and under a superstitious father. Then
followed the loss of my father, and my orphanhood, which 1
perchance was also the beginning of the knowledge of the
truth to me. For then it was that I was brought over first
to the word of salvation and truth, in what manner I cannot
tell, by constraint rather than by voluntary choice. For
what power of decision had I then, who was but fourteen
years of age ? Yet from this very time this sacred Word
1 Reading $ B"/?. Others give ? ^ ; others, fan ; and the conjecture
3 ?/3n, " or my youth," is also made.
48 GREGORY THA UMATURG US.
began somehow to visit me, just at the period when the reason
common to all men attained its full function in me ; yea,
then for the first time did it visit me. And though I thought
but little of this in that olden time, yet now at least, as I
ponder it, I consider that no small token of the holy and
marvellous providence exercised over me is discernible in this
concurrence, which was so distinctly marked in the matter of
my years, and which provided that all those deeds of error
which preceded that age might be ascribed to youth and
want of understanding, and that the Holy Word might not
be imparted vainly to a soul yet ungifted with the full power
of reason ; and which secured at the same time that when
the soul now became endowed with that power, though not
gifted with the divine and pure reason (\6yov), it might not
be devoid at least of that fear which is accordant with this
reason, but that the human and the divine reason (Word)
might begin to act in me at once and together, the one giving
help with a power to me at least inexplicable, 1 though proper
to itself, and the other receiving help. And when I reflect
on this, I am filled at once with gladness and with terror,
while I rejoice indeed in the leading of providence, and yet
am also awed by the fear lest, after being privileged with
such blessings, I should still in any way fail of the end.
But indeed I know not how my discourse has dwelt so long
on this matter, desirous as I am to give an account of the
wonderful arrangement (of God's providence) in the course
that brought me to this man, and anxious as nevertheless I
formerly was to pass with few words to the matters which
follow in their order, not certainly imagining that I could
render to him who thus dealt with me that tribute of praise,
or gratitude, or piety which is due to him (for, were we to
designate our discourse in such terms, while yet we said
nothing worthy of the theme, we might seem chargeable
with arrogance), but simply with the view of offering what
may be called a plain narrative or confession, or whatever
other humble title may be given it. It seemed good to
the only one of my parents who survived to care for me my
1 The text, however, gives
THE PANEGYRIC ON OR1GEN. 49
mother, namely that, being already under instruction in
those other branches in which boys not ignobly born and
nurtured are usually trained, I should attend also a. teacher
of public speaking, in the hope that I too should become
a public speaker. And accordingly I did attend such a
teacher ; and those who could judge in that department then
declared that I should in a short period be a public speaker. I
for my own part know not how to pronounce on that, neither
should I desire to do so ; for there was no apparent ground for
that gift then, nor was there as yet any foundation for those
forces (am<yz>, causes) which were capable of bringing me to
it. But that divine conductor and true curator, ever so watch-
ful, when my friends were not thinking of such a step, and
when I was not myself desirous of it, came and suggested
(an extension of my studies) to one of my teachers under
whose charge I had been put, with a view to instruction in
the Roman tongue, not in the expectation that I was to reach
the completest mastery of that tongue, but only that I might
not be absolutely ignorant of it ; and this person happened
also to be not altogether unversed in laws. Putting the
idea, therefore, into this teacher's mind, 1 he set me to learu
in a thorough way the laws of the Romans by his help. And
that man took up this charge feealously with me ; and I, on
my side, gave myself to it more, however, to gratify the
man, than as being myself an admirer of the study. And
when he got me as his pupil, he began to teach me with
all enthusiasm. And he said one thing, which has proved
to me the truest of all his sayings, to wit, that my educa-
tion in the laws would be my greatest viaticum (e<oStoi>)
for thus he phrased it whether I aspired to be one of the
public speakers who contend in the courts of justice, or
preferred to belong to a different order. Thus did he ex-
press himself, intending his word to bear simply on things
human ; but to me it seems that he was moved to that
utterance by a diviner impulse than he himself supposed.
For when, willingly or unwillingly, I was being well in-
structed in these laws, at once bonds, as it were, were cast
1 Heading rovry i~l vovv fiahuy.
D
50 GREG OR Y THA VMATURG US.
upon my movements, and cause and occasion for my jour-
neying to these parts arose from the city Berytus, which is
a city not far distant 1 from this territory, somewhat Roman-
ized (^Pa)/jiaiKO)Tpa 7r<w9), and credited with being a school
for these legal studies. And this revered man coming from
Egypt, from the city of Alexandria, where previously he
happened to have his home, was moved by other circum-
stances to change his residence to this place, as if with the
express object of meeting us. And for my part, I cannot
explain the reasons of these incidents, and I shall willingly
pass them by. This however is certain, that as yet no neces-
sary occasion for my coming to this place and meeting with
this man was afforded by my purpose to learn our laws, since
I had it in my power also to repair to the city of Rome itself. 2
How, then, was this effected ? The then governor of Pales-
tine suddenly took possession of a friend of mine, namely
my sister's husband, and separated him from his wife, and
carried him off here against his will, in order to secure his
help, and have him associated with him in the labours of
the government of the country ; for he was a person skilled
in law, and perhaps is so still. After he had gone with him,
however, he had the good fortune in no long time to have
his wife sent for, and to receive her again, from whom,
against his will, and to his grievance, he had been sepa-
rated. And thus he chanced also to draw us along with
her to that same place. For when we were minded to
travel, I know not where, but certainly to any other place
rather than this, a soldier suddenly came upon the scene,
bearing a letter of instructions for us to escort and pro-
tect our sister in her restoration to her husband, and to
offer ourselves also as companion to her on the journey ; in
1 The text is oLvo^iovaet. Hoeschelius gives aw-s^ovo-a.
The text is, ovftiv OVTU; dvu.'yxotiov qv o<rov ITTI TO?J vciftoig ypuv, vvvetTOv
on xetl tiri ryu 'Puftotiuv a^oSi^sjffa; KciKiv. Bengel takes oaov as Kctpth-
KOV. Migne renders, nullam ei fuisse necessitatem hue veniendi, discendi
leges causa, siquidem Romam posset projicisci. Sirmondus makes it,
nulla causa adeo necessaria erat qua possem per leges nostras ad Ro-
manorum civitatem projicisci.
THE PANEGYRIC ON RIG EN. 51
which we had the opportunity of doing a favour to our
relative, and most of all to our sister (so that she might not
have to address herself to the journey either in any unbe-
coming manner, or with any great fear or hesitation), while
at the same time our other friends and connections thought
well of it, and made it out to promise no slight advantage,
as we could thus visit the city of Berytus, and carry out there
with all diligence 1 our studies in the laws. Thus all things
moved me thither, my sense of duty (ev\oyov) to my sister,
my own studies, and over and above these, the soldier (for
it is right also to mention this), who had with him a larger
supply of public vehicles than the case demanded, and more
cheques (o-y/i/SoXa) than could be required for our sister
alone. These were the apparent reasons for our journey ;
but the secret and yet truer reasons were these, our oppor-
tunity of fellowship with this man, our instruction through
that man's means 2 in the truth 3 concerning the Word, and
the profit of our soul for its salvation. These were the real
causes that brought us here, blind and ignorant, as we were,
as to the way of securing our salvation. Wherefore it was
not that soldier, but a certain divine companion and benefi-
cent conductor and guardian, ever leading us in safety through
the whole of this present life, as through a long journey, that
carried us past other places, and Berytus in especial, which
city at that time we seemed most bent on reaching, and
brought us hither and settled us here, disposing and direct-
ing all things, until by any means he might bind us in a
connection with this man who was to be the author of the
greater part of our blessings. And he who came in such
wise, that divine angel, gave over this charge (oiKovoplav)
to him, and did, if I may so speak, perchance take his rest
here, not indeed under the pressure of labour or exhaustion
1 The text gives fnvoy/iaoivn;, Casaubon reads ixTro
2 li UVTOV. Bengel understands this to refer to the soldier.
3 The text is, TVJ ot^rtdyi B/ UVTOV iripi rat. TOV ho*/ov /A a 0q para. Bengel
takes this as an ellipsis, like TYIV iavroiJ, rqv Ipyv pictv, and similar
phrases, yvupw or odiv, or some such word, being supplied. Casaubon
conjectures xeti aA0sj, for which Bengel would prefer ret
52 GREGOR Y THA UMA TURG US.
of any kind (for the generation of those divine ministers
knows no weariness), but as having committed us to the
hand of a man who would fully discharge the whole work
of care and guardianship within his power.
VI. And from the very first day of his receiving us (which
day was, in truth, the first day to me, and the most precious
of all days, if I may so speak, since then for the first time
the true sun began to rise upon me), while we, like some
wild creatures of the fields, or like fish, or some sort of birds
that had fallen into the toils or nets, and were endeavouring
to slip out again and escape, were bent on leaving him, and
making off for Berytus or our native country, he studied by
all means to associate us closely with him, contriving all
kinds of arguments, and putting every rope in motion (as
the proverb goes), and bringing all his powers to bear on
that object. With that intent he lauded the lovers of philo-
sophy with large laudations and many noble utterances,
declaring that those only live a life truly worthy of reason-
able creatures who aim at living an upright life, and who
seek to know first of all themselves, what manner of persons
they are, and then the things that are truly good, which man
ought to strive after, and then the things that are really evil,
from which man ought to flee. And then he reprehended
ignorance and all the ignorant : and there are many such, who,
like brute cattle (dpefji^drwv\ are blind in mind, and have no
understanding even of what they are, and are as far astray
as though they were wholly void of reason, and neither know
themselves what is good and what is evil, nor care at all to learn
it from others, but toil feverishly in quest of wealth, and
glory, and such honours as belong to the crowd, and bodily
comforts, and go distraught about things like these, as if
they were the real good ; and as though such objects were
worth much, yea, worth all else, they prize the things them-
selves, and the arts by which they can acquire them, and the
different lines of life which give scope for their attainment,
the military profession, to wit, and the juridical, and the
study of the laws. And with earnest and sagacious words
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 53
he told us that these are the objects that enervate us, when
we despise that reason which ought to be the true master
within us. 1 I cannot recount at present all the addresses
of this kind which he delivered to us, with the view of
persuading us to take up the pursuit of philosophy. Nor
was it only for a single day that he thus dealt with us, but
for many days, and, in fact, as often as we were in the
habit of going to him at the outset ; and we were pierced
by his argumentation as with an arrow from the very first
occasion of our hearing him 2 (for he was possessed of a rare
combination of a certain sweet grace and persuasiveness,
along with a strange power of constraint), though we still
wavered and debated the matter undecidedly with ourselves,
holding so far by the pursuit of philosophy, without how-
ever being brought thoroughly over to it, while somehow or
other we found ourselves quite unable to withdraw from it
conclusively, and thus were always drawn towards him by
the power of his reasonings, as by the force of some superior
necessity. For he asserted further that there could be no
genuine piety towards the Lord of all in the man who de-
spised this gift of philosophy, a gift which man alone of all
the creatures of the earth has been deemed honourable and
worthy enough to possess, and one which every man whatso-
ever, be he wise or be he ignorant, reasonably embraces, who
has not utterly lost the power of thought by some mad dis-
traction of mind. He asserted, then, as I have said, that it
was not possible (to speak correctly) for any one to be truly
pious who did not philosophize. And thus he continued to do
with us, until, by pouring in upon us many such argumenta-
tions, one after the other, he at last carried us fairly off some-
how or other by a kind of divine power, like people bewitched
with his reasonings, and established us (in the practice of
philosophy), and set us down without the power of move-
1 The text here is, rct.vff amp *!/&; dviatis, p.as.'hKj-ra, "htyuv x,etl fidget
TI^UIX-US, rov xvpiurttTOV, (pYiai, iuv iv qf&iv Ao'yov, dfti'hJiaeiVTec.;,
2 The text gives tx. Trpimn; faixiets, which Bengel takes to be an
error for the absolute Ix. ^pa-ms, to which qpfpcts would be supplied.
Casaubon and Rhodomanus read
54 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
ment, as it were, beside himself by his arts. Moreover, the
stimulus of friendship was also brought to bear upon us, a
stimulus, indeed, not easily withstood, but keen and most
effective, the argument of a kind and affectionate disposi-
tion, which showed itself benignantly in his words when he
spoke to us and associated with us. For he did not aim
merely at getting round us by any kind of reasoning ; but
his desire was, with a benignant, and affectionate, and most
benevolent mind, to save us, and make us partakers in the
blessings that flow from philosophy, and most especially
also in those other gifts which the Deity has bestowed on
him above most men, or, as we may perhaps say, above all
men of our own time, I mean the power that teaches us
piety, the word of salvation, that comes to many, and sub-
dues to itself all whom it visits : for there is nothing that
shall resist it, inasmuch as it is and shall be itself the king
of all ; although as yet it is hidden, and is not recognised,
whether with ease or with difficulty, by the common crowd,
in such wise that, when interrogated respecting it, they should
be able to speak intelligently about it. And thus, like some
spark lighting upon our inmost soul, love was kindled and
burst into flame within us, a love at once to the Holy Word,
the most lovely object of all, who attracts all irresistibly
toward Himself by His unutterable beauty, and to this man,
His friend and advocate. And being most mightily smitten
by this love, I was persuaded to give up all those objects or
pursuits which seem to us befitting, and among others even my
boasted jurisprudence, yea, my very fatherland and friends,
both those who were present with me then, and those from
whom I had parted. And in my estimation there arose but
one object dear and worth desire, to wit, philosophy, and that
master of philosophy, this inspired man. " And the soul of
Jonathan was knit with David." l This word, indeed, I did
not read till afterwards in the sacred Scriptures ; but I felt
it before that time, not less clearly than it is written : for, in
truth, it reached me then by the clearest of all revelations.
For it was not simply Jonathan that was knit with David ; but
1 1 Sam. xviii. 1.
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 55
those things were knit together which are the ruling powers
in man their souls, those objects which, even though all
the things which are apparent and ostensible in man are
severed, cannot by any skill be forced to a severance when
they themselves are unwilling. For the soul is free, and
cannot be coerced by any means, not even though one should
confine it and keep guard over it in some secret prison-house.
For wherever the intelligence is, there it is also of its own
nature and by the first reason. And if it seems to you to
be in a kind of prison-house, it is represented as there to
you by a sort of second reason. But for all that, it is by no
means precluded from subsisting anywhere according to its
own determination ; nay, rather it is both able to be, and is
reasonably believed to be, there alone and altogether, where-
soever and in connection with what things soever those actions
which are proper only to it are in operation. Wherefore,
what I experienced has been most clearly declared in this
very short statement, that " the soul of Jonathan was knit
with the soul of David ; " objects which, as I said, cannot
by any means be forced to a separation against their will,
and which of their own inclination certainly will not readily
choose it. Nor is it, in my opinion, in the inferior subject,
who is changeful and very prone to vary in purpose, and in
whom singly there has been no capacity of union at first, that
the power of loosing the sacred bonds of this affection rests,
but rather in the nobler one, who is constant and not readily
shaken, and through whom it has been possible to tie these
bonds and to fasten this sacred knot. Therefore it is not the
soul of David that was knit by the divine word with the soul
of Jonathan ; but, on the contrary, the soul of the latter, who
was the inferior, is said to be thus affected and knit with the
soul of David. For the nobler object would not choose to
be knit with one inferior, inasmuch as it is sufficient for it-
self ; but the inferior object, as standing in need of the help
which the nobler can give, ought properly to be knit with
the nobler, and fitted dependently to it : so that this latter,
retaining still its sufficiency in itself, might sustain no loss
by its connection with the inferior; and that that which is
56 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
of itself without order (arafcrov) being now united and fitted
harmoniously with the nobler, might, without any detriment
done, be perfectly subdued to the nobler by the constraints
of such bonds. Wherefore, to apply the bonds is the part
of the superior, and not of the inferior ; but to be knit to the
other is the part of the inferior, and this too in such a manner
that it shall possess no power of loosing itself from these
bonds. And by a similar constraint, then, did this David of
ours once gird us to himself ; and he holds us now, and has
held us ever since that time, so that, even though we desired
it, we could not loose ourselves from his bonds. And hence it
follows that, even though we were to depart, he would not
release this soul of mine, which, as the holy Scripture puts
it, he holds knit so closely with himself.
VII. But after he had thus carried us captive at the very
outset, and had shut us in, as it were, on all sides, and when
what was best (TO TrXetov) had been accomplished by him,
and when it seemed good to us to remain with him for a time,
then he took us in hand, as a skilled husbandman may take
in hand some field unvvrought, and altogether unfertile, and
sour, and burnt up, and hard as a rock, and rough, or, it
may be, one not utterly barren or unproductive, but rather,
perchance, by nature very productive, though then waste and
neglected, and stiff and untractable with thorns and wild
shrubs ; or as a gardener may take in hand some plant which
is wild indeed, and which yields no cultivated fruits, though
it may not be absolutely worthless, and on finding it thus,
may, by his skill in gardening, bring some cultivated shoot
and graft it in, by making a fissure in the middle, and then
bringing the two together, and binding the one to the other,
until the sap in each shall flow in one stream, 1 and they shall
both grow with the same nurture : for one may often see a
tree of a mixed and worthless (yodov) species thus rendered
productive in spite of its past barrenness, and made to rear
the fruits of the good olive on wild roots ; or one may see a
1 The text gives wju^SXvwMVK ij, for which Casaubon proposes wft-
tyvactrra, fi$ j, or uf tv. Bengel suggests avftftpvacc'sret us h.
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 57
wild plant saved from being altogether profitless by the skill
of a careful gardener ; or, once more, one may see a plant
which otherwise is one both of culture and of fruitfulness,
but which, through the want of skilled attendance, has been
left unpruned and unwatered and waste, and which is thus
choked by the mass of superfluous shoots suffered to grow
out of it at random, 1 yet brought to discharge its proper func-
tion in germination (reXeiovcrdai Be rfj /3\d<TTij), and made to
bear the fruit whose production was formerly hindered by the
superfluous growth (vir 1 a\\rj\wv). In suchwise, then, and
with such a disposition did he receive us at first ; and survey-
ing us, as it were, with a husbandman's skill, and gauging us
thoroughly, and not confining his notice to those things only
which are patent to the eye of all, and which are looked upon
in open light, but penetrating into us more deeply, and probing
what is most inward in us, he put us to the question, and made
propositions to us, and listened to us in our replies; and when-
ever he thereby detected anything in us not wholly fruitless
and profitless and waste, he set about clearing the soil, and
turning it up and irrigating it, and putting all things in
movement, and brought his whole skill and care to bear
on us, and wrought upon our mind. And thorns and thistles
(rpifioXovs), and every kind of wild herb or plant which our
mind (so unregulated and precipitate in its own action)
yielded and produced in its uncultured luxuriance and native
wildness, he cut out and thoroughly removed by the pro-
cesses of refutation and prohibition ; sometimes assailing us
in the genuine Socratic fashion, and again upsetting us by
his argumentation whenever he saw us getting restive under
him, like so many unbroken steeds, and springing out of the
course and galloping madly about at random, until with a
strange kind of persuasiveness and constraint he reduced us
to a state of quietude under him by his discourse, which
acted like a bridle in our mouth. And that was at first an
unpleasant position for us, and one not without pain, as he
dealt with persons who were unused to it, and still all un-
trained to submit to reason, when he plied us with his argu-
1 The text gives i*, for which Hceschelius and Bengel read tix.%.
58 GREGORY THAUMATURGES.
mentations ; and yet he purged us by them. And when he
had made us adaptable, and had prepared us successfully
for the reception of the words of truth, then, further, as
though we were now a soil well wrought and soft, and
ready to impart growth to the seeds cast into it, he dealt
liberally with us, and sowed the good seed in season, and
attended to all the other cares of the good husbandry, each
in its own proper season; and whenever he perceived any
element of infirmity or baseness in our mind (whether it
was of that character by nature, or had become thus gross
through the excessive nurture of the body), he pricked it
with his discourses, and reduced it by those delicate words
and turns of reasoning which, although at first the very
simplest, are gradually evolved one after the other, and skil-
fully wrought out, until they advance to a sort of com-
plexity which can scarce be mastered or unfolded, and which
cause us to start up, as it were, out of sleep, and teach us
the art of holding always by what is immediately before one,
without ever making any slip by reason either of length
or of subtlety. And if there was in us anything of an in-
judicious and precipitate tendency, whether in the way of
assenting to all that came across us, of whatever character
the objects might be, and even though they proved false, or
in the way of often withstanding other things, even though
they were spoken truthfully, that, too, he brought under
discipline in us by those delicate reasonings already men-
tioned, and by others of like kind (for this branch of phi-
losophy is of varied form), and accustomed us not to throw
in our testimony at one time, and again to refuse it, just at
random, and as chance impelled, but to give it only after
careful examination not only into things manifest, but also
into those that are secret. 1 For many things which are in
high repute of themselves, and honourable in appearance,
have found entrance through fair words into our ears, as
though they were true, while yet they were hollow and false,
and have borne off and taken possession of the suffrage of truth
at our hand, and then, no long time afterwards, they have
1 The words aXAa x.Kpvp,f<,fvx are omitted by Hoeschelius and Bengel.
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 59
been discovered to be corrupt and unworthy of credit, and
deceitful borrowers of the garb of truth ; and have thus too
easily exposed us as men who are ridiculously deluded, and
who bear their witness inconsiderately to things which ought
by no means to have won it.- And, on the contrary, other
things which are really honourable and the reverse of im-
positions, but which have not been expressed in plausible
statements, and thus have the appearance of being para-
doxical and most incredible, and which have been rejected
as false on their own showing, and held up undeservedly to
ridicule, have afterwards, on careful investigation and exa-
mination, been discovered to be the truest of all things, and
wholly incontestable, though for a time spurned and reckoned
false. Not simply, then, by dealing with things patent and
prominent, which are sometimes delusive and sophistical, but
also by teaching us to search into things within us, and to
put them all individually to the test, lest any of them should
give back a hollow sound, and by instructing us to make sure
of these inward things first of all, he trained us to give our
assent to outward things only then and thus, and to express
our opinion on all these severally. In this way, that capacity
of our mind which deals critically with words and reason-
ings, was educated in a rational manner ; not according to
the judgments of illustrious rhetoricians whatever Greek
or foreign honour appertains to that title (el' rt 'EX^viKov
rj ftdpfiapov eVrt rfj (jxovfj') for theirs is a discipline of little
value and no necessity : but in accordance with that which is
most needful for all, whether Greek or barbarian, whether
wise or illiterate, and, in fine, not to make a long statement
by going over every profession and pursuit separately, in ac-
cordance with that which is most indispensable for all men,
whatever manner of life they have chosen, if it is indeed the
care and interest of all who have to converse on any subject
whatever with each other, to be protected against deception.
VIII. Nor did he confine his efforts merely to that form
of the mind which it is the lot of dialectics to regulate j 1 but
1 The text is, x.a.1 ft?) Twff oirfp fflios 8;AXT;xij xctropdovv pony
60 GREGOR Y THA UMA TURG US.
he also took in hand that humble capacity of mind, (which
shows itself) in our amazement at the magnitude, and the won-
drousness, and the magnificent and absolutely wise construc-
tion of the world, and in our marvelling in a reasonless way,
and in our being overpowered with fear, and in our knowing
not, like the irrational creatures, what conclusion to come to.
That, too, he aroused and corrected by other studies in natural
science, illustrating and distinguishing the various divisions of
created objects, and with admirable clearness reducing them
to their pristine elements, taking them all up perspicuously
in his discourse, and going over the nature of the whole, and
of each several section, and discussing the multiform revolu-
tion and mutation of things in the world, until he carried us
fully along with him under his clear teaching ; and by those
reasonings which he had partly learned from others, and
partly found out for himself, he filled our minds with a
rational instead of an irrational wonder at the sacred ceco-
nomy of the universe, and the irreproveable constitution of
all things. This is that sublime and heavenly study which
is taught by natural philosophy a science most attractive to
all. And what need is there now to speak of the sacred
mathematics, viz. geometry, so precious to all and above all
controversy, and astronomy, whose course is on high ? These
different studies he imprinted on our understandings, train-
ing us in them, or calling them into our mind, or doing with
us something else which I know not how to designate rightly.
And the one he presented lucidly as the immutable ground-
work and secure foundation of all, namely geometry ; and by
the other, namely astronomy, he lifted us up to the things
that are highest above us, while he made heaven passable to
us by the help of each of these sciences, as though they were
ladders reaching the skies.
IX. Moreover, as to those things which excel all in im-
portance, and those for the sake of which, above all else, the
whole 1 family of the philosophical labours, gathering them
like good fruits produced by the varied growths of all the
1 vAv TO <p<Ao'ao<poi'. Hoeschelius and Bengel read TU$, etc.
THE PANEGYRIC ON OR1GEN. 61
other studies, and of long practised philosophizing, I mean
the divine virtues that concern the moral nature, by which
the impulses of the mind have their equable and stable sub-
sistence, through these, too, he aimed at making us truly
proof against grief and disquietude under the pressure of
all ills, and at imparting to us a well-disciplined and stedfast
and religious spirit, so that we might be in all things veri-
tably blessed. And this he toiled at effecting by pertinent
discourses, of a wise and soothing tendency, and very often
also by the most cogent addresses touching our moral dispo-
sitions, and our modes of life. Nor was it only by words,
but also by deeds, that he regulated in some measure our
inclinations, to wit, by that very contemplation and observa-
tion of the impulses and affections of the mind, by the issue
of which most especially the mind is wont to be reduced
to a right estate from one of discord, and to be restored
to a condition of judgment and order out of one of confu-
sion ; so that, beholding itself as in a mirror (and I may say
specifically, viewing, on the one hand, the very beginnings
and roots of evil in it, and all that is reasonless within it,
from which spring up all absurd affections and passions ;
and, on the other hand, all that is truly excellent and rea-
sonable within it, under the sway of which it remains proof
against injury and perturbation in itself 1 ), and then scruti-
nizing carefully the things thus discovered to be in it, it might
cast out all those which are the growth of the inferior part,
and which waste our powers (eV^eovra ^/ia?) through intem-
perance, or hinder and choke them through depression, such
things as pleasures and lusts, or pains and fears, and the whole
array of ills that accompany these different species of evil :
that thus, I say, it might cast them out and make away
with them, by coping with them while yet in their beginnings
and only just commencing their growth, and not leaving them
to wax in strength even by a short delay, but destroying and
rooting them out at once ; while, at the same time, it might
foster all those things which are really good, and which spring
from the nobler part, and might preserve them by nursing
1 The text gives up itn%, for which Bengel reads \$ i
62 GREG OK Y Til A UMA TURG VS.
them in their beginnings, and watching carefully over them
until they should reach their maturity. For it is thus (he
used to say) that the heavenly virtues will ripen in the
soul : to wit, prudence, which first of all is able to judge
of those very motions in the mind at once from the things
themselves, and by the knowledge which accrues to it of
things outside of us, whatever such there may be, both good
and evil ; and temperance, the power that makes the right
selection among these things in their beginnings ; and right-
eousness, which assigns what is just to each ; and that virtue
which is the conserver of them all fortitude. And there-
fore he did not accustom us to a mere profession in words,
as that prudence, for instance, is the knowledge (eVtcm^j
science) of good and evil, or of what ought to be done, and
what ought not : for that would be indeed a vain and profit-
less study, if there was simply the doctrine without the deed ;
and worthless would that prudence be, which, without doing
the things that ought to be done, and without turning men
away from those that ought not to be done, should be able
merely to furnish the knowledge of these things to those who
possessed her, though many such persons come under our
observation. Nor, again, did he content himself with the
mere assertion that temperance is simply the knowledge of
what ought to be chosen and what ought not ; though the
other schools of philosophers do not teach even so much as
that, and especially the more recent, who are so forcible and
vigorous in words (so that I have often been astonished at
them, when they sought to demonstrate that there is the same
virtue in God and in men, and that upon earth, in particular,
the wise man is equal 1 to God), and yet are incapable of
delivering the truth as to prudence, so that one shall do the
things which are dictated by prudence, or the truth as to
temperance, so that one shall choose the things he has learned
by it ; and the same holds good also of their treatment of
righteousness and fortitude. Not thus, however, in mere
words only did this teacher go over the truths concerning
1 T TrpuTot Qit? l<rov flvcti TO* <ro(po
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 03
the virtues with us ; but he incited us much more to the prac-
tice of virtue, and stimulated us by the deeds he did more
than by the doctrines he taught.
X. Now I beg of the philosophers of this present time,
both those whom I have known personally myself, and those
of whom I have heard by report from others, and I beg also
of all other men, that they take in good part the statements
I have just made. And let no one suppose that I have ex-
pressed myself thus, either through simple friendship toward
that man, or through hatred toward the rest of the philo-
sophers ; for if there is any one inclined to be an admirer of
them for their discourses, and wishful to speak well of them,
and pleased at hearing the most honourable mention made of
them by others, I myself am the man. Nevertheless, those
facts (to which I have referred) are of such a nature as to
bring upon the very name of philosophy the last degree of
ridicule almost from the great mass of men ; and I might
almost say that I would choose to be altogether unversed
in it, rather than learn any of the things which these men
profess, with whom I thought it good no longer to associate
myself in this life, though in that, it may be, I formed an
incorrect judgment. But I say that no one should suppose
that I make these statements at the mere prompting of a
zealous regard for the praise of this man, or under the
stimulus of any existing animosity 1 towards other philo-
sophers. But let all be assured that I say even less than
his deeds merit, lest I should seem to be indulging in adula-
tion ; and that I do not seek out studied words and phrases,
and cunning means of laudation I who could never of my
own will, even when I was a youth, and learning the popular
style of address under a professor of the art of public speak-
ing, bear to utter a word of praise, or pass any encomium
on any one which was not genuine. Wherefore on the pre-
sent occasion, too, I do not think it right, in proposing to my-
self the task simply of commending him, to magnify him at
for which (pihoviut is read.
64 GREGORY TIIAUMATURGUS.
the cost of the reprobation of others. And, in good sooth, 1
I should speak only to the man's injury, if, with the view of
having something grander to say of him, I should compare
his blessed life with the failings of others. We are not,
however, so senseless. 2 But I shall testify simply to what
has come within my own experience, apart from all ill-judged
comparisons and trickeries in words.
XI. He was also the first and only man that urged me to
study the philosophy of the Greeks, and persuaded me by his
own moral example both to hear and to hold by the doctrine of
morals, while as yet I had by no means been won over to that,
so far as other philosophers were concerned (I again acknow-
ledge it), not rightly so, indeed, but unhappily, as I may say
without exaggeration, for me. I did not, however, associate
with many at first, but only with some few who professed to
be teachers, though, in good sooth, they all established their
philosophy only so far as words went (a\\a yap Traa-t ^XP 1
pq/jidrcov TO (J3i\oa-o(j)eiv crrijcracnv). This man, however, was
the first that induced me to philosophize by his words, as he
pointed the exhortation by deeds before he gave it in words,
and did not merely recite well-studied sentences ; nay, he did
not deem it right to speak on the subject at all, but with a
sincere mind, and one bent on striving ardently after the
practical accomplishment of the things expressed, and he en-
deavoured all the while to show himself in character like the
man whom he describes in his discourses as the person who
shall lead a noble life, and he ever exhibited (in himself), I
would say, the pattern of the wise man. But as our dis-
course at the outset proposed to deal with the truth, and not
with vain-glorious language, 3 I shall not speak of him now
as the exemplar of the wise man. And yet, if I chose to
1 The text is, % xaxav v tfoyov, etc. The Greek % and the Latin out
are found sometimes thus with a force bordering on that of alioqui.
2 <ppa,ti>ofiw. The Paris editor would read d$p*iva ft,e.
8 The text is, A.A' tvtl othqduotv tiftw, ov x.off(}/sta. iwyyefaetTO 6 Ao'yo?
uvudsv. The Latin rendering is, sed quia veritatem nobis, non pompam et
ornatum promisit oratio in exordio.
THE PANEGYRIC ON RIG EN. Co
speak thus of him, I would not be far astray from the truth. 1
Nevertheless, I pass that by at present. I shall not speak
of him as a perfect pattern, but as one who vehemently
desires to imitate the perfect pattern, and strives after it
with zeal and earnestness, even beyond the capacity of
men, if I may so express myself; and who labours, more-
over, also to make us, who are so different, 2 of like character
with himself, not mere masters and apprehenders of the bald
doctrines concerning the impulses of the soul, but masters
and apprehenders of these impulses themselves. For he
pressed 3 us on both to deed and to doctrine, and carried us
along by that same view and method (0ea)pia), not merely
into a small section of each virtue, but rather into the whole,
if mayhap we were able to take it in. And he constrained
us also, if I may so speak, to practise righteousness on the
ground of the personal action of the soul itself, 4 which he
persuaded us to study, drawing us off from the officious
anxieties of life, and from the turbulence of the forum, and
1 The text is, KCIITOI ys ttTrilv Wt'huv tTvai TI A0?. Ben gel takes the
TE as pleonastic, or as an error for the article, r dhydis. The iHva.i in
iS&uv tlvai he takes to be the use of the infinitive which occurs in such
phrases as ryu Trpuryv ilvcti, initio, tx.ua iivxt, libenter, TO 8e vvv fivcti, nunc
vero, etc. ; and, giving lOi'huv the sense of piKhuv, makes the whole = And
yet I shall speak truth.
2 The text is, xai iipx; sripovf. The phrase may be, as it is given above, a
delicate expression of difference, or it may perhaps be an elegant redun-
dancy, like the French a nous autres. Others read, xi iiftoi; xxt srepovs.
& The reading in the text gives, ov "hoyuv tytpxTsj; xa.1 iirtaTtipovcts
TUV yripl opf&uv, TUV opfAuv otvTuv' kir\ TO. fpyot xotl hoyov $ y%av, etc.
Others would arrange the whole passage differently, thus : vspi oopav,
TUV B opftav O.VTUV Itrl TOC, ipyai xoti TWf \6yov; diyxav. K<, etc. Hence
Sirmondus renders it, a motibus ipsis ad opera etiam sermones, reading
also olyuv apparently. Ehodomanus gives, impulsionum ipsarum ad opera
et verba ignavi et negligenles, reading evidently dpyuv. Bengel solves the
difficulty by taking the first clause as equivalent to ov Xc/V<u< t*/x.pa.Tti$
xxl fTTKTrqf&ovx; . . . oiinuv TUV 6p/nuv lyxpaTHS xa.1 iTriaryftovot;. We
have adopted this as the most evident sense. Thus eLy^uv is retained
unchanged, and is taken as a parallel to the following participle fKiQtpuv,
and as bearing, therefore, a meaning something like that of dva.yx.ti > uv.
See Bengel's note in Migue.
4 It* TJIV lliQvpyia.v rijj ^v^s, perhaps just " the private life."
E
G6 GREGORY TI1AUMATURGUS.
raising us to the nobler vocation of looking into ourselves,
and dealing with the things that concern ourselves in truth.
Now, that this is to practise righteousness, and that this is
the true righteousness, some also of our ancient philosophers
have asserted (expressing it as the personal action, I think),
and have affirmed that this is more profitable for blessedness,
both to the men themselves and to those who are with them
(eavrois re ical Tot9 Trpocriova'iv), if indeed it belongs to this
virtue to recompense according to desert, and to assign to
each his own. For what else could be supposed to be so
proper to the soul? Or what could be so worthy of it, as
to exercise a care over itself, not gazing outwards, or busy-
ing itself with alien matters, or, to speak shortly, doing the
worst injustice to itself, but turning its attention inwardly
upon itself, rendering its own due to itself, and acting thereby
righteously? 1 To practise righteousness after this fashion,
therefore, he impressed upon us, if I may so speak, by a sort
of force. And he educated us to prudence none the less,
teaching to be at home with ourselves, and to desire and en-
deavour to know ourselves, which indeed is the most excellent
achievement of philosophy, the thing that is ascribed also to
the most prophetic of spirits (o 8?; teal Saipovcov ru> pavTiKw-
TO'TW avarlOerai) as the highest argument of wisdom the
precept, Know thyself. And that this is the genuine function
of prudence, and that such is the heavenly prudence, is
affirmed well by the ancients; for in this there is one virtue
common to God and to man ; while the soul is exercised in
beholding itself as in a mirror, and reflects the divine mind
in itself, if it is worthy of such a relation, and traces out a
certain inexpressible method for the attaining of a kind of
apotheosis. And in correspondence with this come also the
virtues of temperance and fortitude: temperance, indeed,
in conserving this very prudence which must be in the soul
that knows itself, if that is ever its lot (for this temperance,
again, surely means just a sound prudence) : 2 and fortitude,
1 The text is, ro vrpo; ta.wrw tivxt. Migne proposes either to read
Si Of to supply T^J* v^t/^sjj/.
typwv-jriv, aua.v Tii/ (ppwwiv, an etymological play.
THE PANEGYRIC ON OPJGEN. 67
in keeping steclfastly by all the duties (eTrtrrjBevaea-iv) which
have been spoken of, without falling away from them, either
voluntarily or under any force, and in keeping and holding by
all that has been laid down. For he teaches that this virtue
acts also as a kind of preserver, maintainer, and guardian.
XII. It is true, indeed, that in consequence of our dull
and sluggish nature, he has not yet succeeded in making us
righteous, and prudent, and temperate, or manly, although
he has laboured zealously on us. For we are neither in real
possession of any virtue whatsoever, either human or divine,
nor have we ever made any near approach to it, but we are
still far from it. And these are very great and lofty virtues,
and none of them may be assumed by any common person, 1
but only by one whom God inspires with the power. We are
also by no means so favourably constituted for them by nature,
neither do we yet profess ourselves to be worthy of reaching
them ; for through our listlessness and feebleness we have
nol done all these things which ought to be done by those
who aspire after what is noblest, and aim at what is perfect.
We are not yet therefore either righteous or temperate, or
endowed with any of the other virtues. But this admirable
man, this friend and advocate of the virtues, has long ago
done for us perhaps all that it lay in his power to do for us,
in making us lovers of virtue, who should love it with the
most ardent affection. And by his own virtue he created
in us a love at once for the beauty of righteousness, the
golden face of which in truth was shown to us by him ; and
for prudence, which is worthy of being sought by all ; and
for the true wisdom, which is most delectable ; and for tem-
perance, the heavenly virtue which forms the sound consti-
tution of the soul, and brings peace to all who possess it ;
and for manliness, that most admirable grace ; and for
patience, that virtue peculiarly ours; 2 and, above all, for
1 The text is, ovdi TU tv-^ilv. Migue suggests ovlti ru dipt; Tv-^tiv =
nor is it legitimate for any one to attain them.
2 The text is, inroftovys qpZiv. Vossius and others omit the ypuv.
The Stuttgart editoi- gives this note: "It does not appear that this
G8 GREGORY TI1AUMATURGUS.
piety, which men rightly designate when they call it the
mother of the virtues. For this is the beginning and the
end of all the virtues. And beginning with this one, we
shall find all the other virtues grow upon us most readily :
if, while for ourselves we earnestly aspire after this grace,
which every man, be he only not absolutely impious, or a
mere pleasure-seeker, ought to acquire for himself, in order
to his being a friend of God and a maintainer l of His
truth, and while we diligently pursue this virtue, we also
give heed to the other virtues, in order that we may not ap-
proach our God in unworthiness and impurity, but with all
virtue and wisdom as our best conductors and most sagacious
priests. And the end of all I consider to be nothing but this :
By the pure mind make thyself like 2 to God, that thou
mayest draw near to Him, and abide in Him.
XIII. And besides all his other patient and laborious
efforts, how shall I in words give any account of what he
did for us, in instructing us in theology and the devout
character? and how shall I enter into the real disposition
of the man, and show with what judiciousness and careful
preparation he would have us familiarized with all discourse
about the Divinity, guarding sedulously against our being in
any peril with respect to what is the most needful thing of
all, namely, the knowledge of the Cause of all things ? For
he deemed it right for us to study philosophy in such wise,
that we should read with utmost diligence all that has been
written, both by the philosophers and by the poets of old,
rejecting nothing, 3 and repudiating nothing (for, indeed, we
did not yet possess the power of critical discernment), except
should be connected by apposition with di/lpsixs (manliness). But
Gregory, after the four virtues which philosophers define as cardinal,
adds two which are properly Christian, viz. patience, and that which is
the hinge of all piety."
1 The word is -jrpoqyopw. It may be, as the Latin version puts it,
familiaris, one in fellowship with God.
2 i%e,ficnadyiTt irpoat'b.dilv. Others read t^^iu&kvra. wpw&Oiiv.
3 ftylisv fxTroiovfttvovf. Casaubon marks this as a phrase taken from
law, and equivalent to, nihil alienum a nobis ducentes.
THE PANEGYRIC ON OR1GEN. 69
only the productions of the atheists, who, in their conceits,
lapse from the general intelligence of man, and deny that there
is either a God or a providence. From these he would have
us abstain, because they are not worthy of being read, and
because it might chance that the soul within us that is meant
for piety might be defiled by listening to words that are con-
trary to the worship of God. For even those who frequent
the temples of piety, as they think them to be, are careful
not to touch anything that is profane. 1 He held, therefore,
that the books of such men did not merit to be taken at all
into the consideration of men who have assumed the practice
of piety. He thought, however, that we should obtain and
make ourselves familiar with all other writings, neither pre-
ferring nor repudiating any one kind, whether it be philo-
sophical discourse or not, whether Greek or foreign, but
hearing what all of them have to convey. And it was with
great wisdom and sagacity that he acted on this principle,
lest any single saying given by the one class or the other
should be heard and valued above others as alone true, even
though it might not be true, and lest it might thus enter
our mind and deceive us, and, in being lodged there by
itself alone, might make us its own, so that we should no
more have the power to withdraw from it, or wash ourselves
clear of it, as one washes out a little wool that has got some
colour ingrained in it. For a mighty thing and an energetic
is the discourse of man, and subtle with its sophisms, and
quick to find its way into the ears, and mould the mind,
and impress us with what it conveys ; and when once it has
taken possession of us, it can win us over to love it as truth ;
and it holds its place within us even though it be false and
deceitful, overmastering us like some enchanter, and retain-
ing as its champion the very man it has deluded. And,
on the other hand, the mind of man is withal a thing easily
deceived by speech, and very facile in yielding its assent ;
and, indeed, before it discriminates and inquires into matters
1 The text is, %g oiovrott. "We render with Ben gel. The Latin inter-
preter makes it = Even those who frequent the temples do not dceui
it consistent with religion to touch anything at all profane.
70 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
in any proper way, it is easily won over, either through its
own obtuseness and imbecility, or through the subtlety of
the discourse, to give itself up, at random often, all weary of
accurate examination, to crafty reasonings and judgments,
which are erroneous themselves, and which lead into error
those who receive them. And not only so ; but if another
mode of discourse aims at correcting it, it will neither give it
admittance, nor suffer itself to be altered in opinion, because
it is held fast by any notion which has previously got possession
of it, as though some inexorable tyrant were lording it over it.
XIV. Is it not thus that contradictory and opposing tenets
have been introduced, and all the contentions of philosophers,
while one party withstands the opinions of another, and
some hold by certain positions, and others by others, and one
school attaches itself to one set of dogmas, and another to
another? And all, indeed, aim at philosophizing, and pro-
fess to have been doing so ever since they were first roused
to it, and declare that they desire it not less now when they
are well versed in the discussions than when they began
them : yea, rather they allege that they have even more love
for philosophy now, after they have had, so to speak, a little
taste of it, and have had the liberty of dwelling on its discus-
sions, than when at first, and without any previous experience
of it, they were urged by a sort of impulse to philosophize.
That is what they say ; and henceforth they give no heed to
any words of those who hold opposite opinions. And accord-
ingly, no one of the ancients has ever induced any one of the
moderns, or those of the Peripatetic school, to turn to his way
of thinking, and adopt his method of philosophizing; and, on
the other hand, none of the moderns has imposed his notions
upon those of the ancient school. Nor, in short, has any
one done so with any other. For it is not an easy thing to
induce one to give up his own opinions, and accept those of
others; although these might, perhaps, even be sentiments
which, if he had been led to credit them before he began
to philosophize, the man might at first have admired and
accepted with all readiness : as, while the mind was not yet
THE PANEGYRIC ON OPJGEN. 71
preoccupied, he might have directed his attention to that
set of opinions, and given them his approval, and on their
behalf opposed himself to those which he holds at present.
Such, at least, has been the kind of philosophizing exhi-
bited by our noble and most eloquent and critical Greeks:
for whatever any one of these has lighted on at the outset,
moved by some impulse or other, that alone he declares to
be truth, and holds that all else which is maintained by
other philosophers is simply delusion and folly, though he
himself does not more satisfactorily establish his own posi-
tions by argument, than do all the others severally defend
their peculiar tenets ; the man's object being simply to be
under no obligation to give up and alter his opinions, whether
by constraint or by persuasion, while he has (if one may
speak truth) nothing else but a kind of unreasoning impulse
toward these dogmas on the side of philosophy, and possesses
no, other criterion of what he imagines to be true, than (let
it not seem an incredible assertion) undistinguishing chance. 1
And as each one thus becomes attached to those positions
with which he has first fallen in, and is, as it were, held in
chains by them, he is no longer capable of giving attention
to others, if he happens to have anything of his own to offer
on every subject with the demonstration of truth, and if he
has the aid of argument to show how false the tenets of his
adversaries are ; for, helplessly and thoughtlessly and as if
he looked for some happy contingency, he yields himself to
the reasonings that first take possession of him. 2 And such
reasonings mislead those who accept them, not only in other
1 The text is, OVK. xxi!/ rivd (si %ti T* A>j0ej tlvtit) \x,uv % TIJJ/
T'ij? (pthoffotptx; firl TOS.OS TX, ^oyfAXTCt aihoyov 6p{t'/iv' KMI Kffftf uv
ethySuv (fty Trttpti^o^w t'nrtiv y) ovx. ctKhriv *j TJJ <Z>tptTOv TV-^HV. Vossius
would read, -z-pof -ryu Qi'hoaoQi/*!' xxt M rafts ret, tioyftetTec. Migne makes
it = nulla ei erat alia sententia (si verum est dicendum) nisi csecus il'e
stimulus quo ante philosophise studium in ista actus erat placita : neque
aliud indicium eorum quse vera putaret (lie minim sit dictu) nisi fortunes
temeritas. Bengel would read, -xrpo TJJJ <pAo(7o<p/j.
2 The text is, 'co-it xotl d/Bo^Syiros, soiVTov %piveiftvos xecl ixSt^ooj
fix,vi aairsp foptaiov, TO?? irpox.anot'hetfiovaiv etvrov Xo'yo/f. Bengel proposes
v, as =: lucrum insperatum.
72 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
matters, but above all, in what is of greatest and most essen-
tial consequence in the knowledge of God and in piety.
And yet men become bound by them in such a manner that
no one can very easily release them. For they are like men
caught in a swamp stretching over some wide impassable
plain, which, when they have once fallen into it, allows them
neither to retrace their steps nor to cross it and effect their
safety, but keeps them down in its soil until they meet their
end ; or they may be compared to men in a deep, dense, and
majestic forest, into which the wayfarer enters, with the idea,
perchance, of finding his road out of it again forthwith, and
of taking his course once more on the open plain, 1 but is
baffled in his purpose by the extent and thickness of the
wood ; and turning in a variety of directions, and lighting
on various continuous paths within it, he pursues many a
course, thinking that by some of them he will surely find
his way out : but they only lead him farther in, and in no
way open up an exit for him, inasmuch as they are all only
paths within the forest itself ; until at last the traveller,
utterly worn out and exhausted, seeing that all the ways he
had tried had proved only forest still, and despairing of
finding any more his dwelling-place on earth, makes up his
to abide there, and establish his hearth, and lay out for his
use such free space as he can prepare in the wood itself.
Or again, we might take the similitude of a labyrinth, which
has but one apparent entrance, so that one suspects nothing
artful from the outside, and goes within by the single door
that shows itself ; and then, after advancing to the farthest
interior, and viewing the cunning spectacle, and examining
the construction so skilfully contrived, and full of passages,
and laid out with unending paths leading inwards or out-
wards, he decides to go out again, but finds himself unable,
and sees his exit completely intercepted by that inner con-
struction which appeared such a triumph of cleverness. But,
after all, there is neither any labyrinth so inextricable and
fpxsf. Sirmondus gives puro campo. Rhodomanus, reading
dtpi, gives puro aere. Bengel takes tpzof, septum, as derivatively =
domus, fundus, regio septis munita.
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 73
intricate, nor any forest so dense and devious, nor any plain
or swamp so difficult for those to get out of, who have once
got within it, as is discussion (Xo709), at least as one may
meet with it in the case of certain of these philosophers. 1
Wherefore, to secure us against falling into the unhappy
experience of most, he did not introduce us to any one
exclusive school of philosophy ; nor did he judge it proper
for us to go away with any single class of philosophical
opinions, but he introduced us to all, and determined that
we should be ignorant of no kind of Grecian doctrine.
And he himself went on with us, preparing the way before
us, and leading us by the hand, as on a journey, whenever
anything tortuous and unsound and delusive came in our
way. And he helped us like a skilled expert who has had
long familiarity with such subjects, and is not strange or
inexperienced in anything of the kind, and who therefore
may remain safe in his own altitude, while he stretches forth
his hand to others, and effects their security too, as one
drawing up the submerged. Thus did he deal with us,
selecting and setting before us all that was useful and true
in all the various philosophers, and putting aside all that was
false. And this he did for us, both in other branches of man's
knowledge, and most especially in all that concerns piety.
XV. With respect to these human teachers, indeed, he
counselled us to attach ourselves to none of them, not even
though they were attested as most wise by all men, but to
devote ourselves to God alone, and to the prophets. And he
himself became the interpreter of the prophets (vTrotyrjrevcov)
to us, and explained whatsoever was dark or enigmatical in
them. For there are many things of that kind in the sacred
words ; and whether it be that God is pleased to hold com-
munication with men in such a way as that the divine word
may not enter all naked and uncovered into an unworthy
soul, such as many are, or whether it be, that while every
divine oracle is in its own nature most clear and perspicuous,
1 The text is, * TI; tiq XXT ai/ruii Tui^i nvav Qthoaotpav. Bengel
74 GREGORY TUAUMATURGUS.
it seems obscure and dark to us, who have apostatized from
God, and have lost the faculty of hearing through time and
age, I cannot tell. But however the case may stand, if it be
that there are some words really enigmatical, he explained all
such, and set them in the light, as being himself a skilled and
most discerning hearer of God ; or if it be that none of them
are really obscure in their own nature, they were also not
unintelligible to him, who alone of all men of the present
time with whom I have myself been acquainted, or of whom
I have heard by the report of others, has so deeply studied
the clear and luminous oracles of God, as to be able at once
to receive their meaning into his own mind, and to convey it
to others. For that Leader of all men, who inspires (vTnj^atv}
God's dear prophets, and suggests all their prophecies and
their mystic and heavenly words, has honoured this man as
He would a friend, and has constituted him an expositor of
these same oracles ; and things of which He only gave a
hint by others, He made matters of full instruction by this
man's instrumentality ; and in things which He, who is
worthy of all trust, either enjoined in regal fashion, or
simply enunciated, He imparted to this man the gift of
investigating and unfolding and explaining them : so that,
if there chanced to be any one of obtuse and incredulous
mind, or one again thirsting for instruction, he might learn
from this man, and in some manner be constrained to
understand and to decide for belief, and to follow God.
These things, moreover, as I judge, he gives forth only and
truly by participation in the Divine Spirit : for there is
need of the same power for those who prophesy and for
those who hear the prophets ; and no one can rightly hear
a prophet, unless the same Spirit who prophesies bestows
on him the capacity of apprehending His words. And this
principle is expressed indeed in the Holy Scriptures them-
selves, when it is said that only He who shutteth openeth,
and no other one whatever j 1 and what is shut is opened
when the word of inspiration explains mysteries. Now that
greatest gift this man has received from God, and that
1 Isa. xxii. 22 ; Rev. iii. 7.
THE PANEGYRIC ON RIG EN. 75
noblest of all endowments he has had bestowed upon him
from heaven, that he should be an interpreter of the oracles
of God to men, and that he might understand the words of
God, even as if God spake them to him, and that he might
recount them to men in such wise as that they may hear
them with intelligence. 1 Therefore to us there was no for-
bidden subject of speech (apprjrov) ; for there was no matter
of knowledge hidden or inaccessible to us, but we had it in
our power to learn every kind of discourse, both barbarian
(foreign) and Greek, both spiritual and political, both divine
and human ; and we were permitted with all freedom to go
round the whole circle of knowledge, and investigate it, and
satisfy ourselves with all kinds of doctrines, and enjoy the
sweets of intellect ; and whether it was some ancient system
of truth, or whether it was something one might otherwise
name that was before us, we had in him an apparatus and
a power at once admirable and full of the most beautiful
views. And to speak in brief, he was truly a paradise to us,
after the similitude of the paradise of God, wherein we were
not set indeed to till the soil beneath us, or to make our-
selves gross with bodily nurture (a-coitaTOTpofalv Tra-^yvofie-
vou?), but only to increase the acquisitions of mind with all
gladness and enjoyment, planting, so to speak, some fair
growths ourselves, or having them planted in us by the
Author of all things.
XVI. Here, truly, is the paradise of comfort ; here are true
gladness and pleasure, as we have enjoyed them during this
period which is now at its end no short space indeed in it-
self, and yet all too short if this is really to be its conclusion,
when we depart and leave this place behind us. For I know
not what has possessed me, or what offence has been com-
mitted by me, that I should now be going away that I
should now be put away. I know not what I should say,
unless it be that I am like a second Adam and have begun
to talk, outside of paradise. How excellent might my life
1 The text gives u; AMWUCIV, with Voss. and Bengel. The Paris
editor gives
76 GREGOR Y Til A UMA TURG US.
be, were I but a listener to the addresses of my teacher, and
silent myself ! Would that even now I could have learned
to be mute and speechless, rather than to present this new
spectacle of making the teacher the hearer ! For what concern
had I with such a harangue as this? and what obligation was
there upon me to make such an address, when it became rne
not to depart, but to cleave fast to the place ? But these things
seem like the transgressions that sprung from the pristine de-
ceit, and the penalties of these primeval offences still await me
here. Do I not appear to myself to be disobedient 1 in daring
thus to overpass the words of God, when I ought to abide in
them, and hold by them ? And in that I withdraw, I flee
from this blessed life, even as the primeval man fled from
the face of God, and I return to the soil from which I was
taken. Therefore shall I have to eat of the soil all the days
of my life there, and I shall have to till the soil the very
soil which produces thorns and thistles for me, that is to say,
pains and reproachful anxieties set loose as I shall be from
cares that are good and noble. And what I left behind me
before, to that I now return to the soil, as it were, from
which I came, and to my common relationships here below,
and to my father's house leaving the good soil, where of old
I knew not that the good fatherland lay ; leaving also the
relations in whom at a later period I began to recognise the
true kinsmen of my soul, and the house, too, of him who is
in truth our father, in which the father abides, and is piously
honoured and revered by the genuine sons, whose desire it
also is to abide therein. But I, destitute alike of all piety and
worthiness, am going forth from the number of these, and
am turning back to what is behind, and am retracing my
steps. It is recorded that a certain son, receiving from his
father the portion of goods that fell to him proportionately
with the other heir, his brother, departed, by his own deter-
mination, into a strange country far distant from his father ;
and, living there in riot, he scattered his ancestral substance,
and utterly wasted it; and at last, under the pressure of
want, he hired himself as a swineherd ; and being driven to
Bengel and Hoeschelius read dTrt^ila^ withdraw.
THE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 77
extremity by hunger, he longed to share the food given to
the swine, but could not touch it. Thus did he pay the
penalty of his dissolute life, when he had to exchange his
father's table, which was a princely one, for something he
had not looked forward to the sustenance of swine and
serfs. And we also seem to have some such fortune before
us, now that we are departing, and that, too, without the
full portion that falls to us. For though we have not re-
ceived all that we ought, we are nevertheless going away,
leaving behind us what is noble and dear with you and be-
side you, and taking in exchange only what is inferior. For
all things melancholy will now meet us in succession, tumult
and confusion instead of peace, and an unregulated life in-
stead of one of tranquillity and harmony, and a hard bondage,
and the slavery of market-places, and lawsuits, and crowds,
instead of this freedom ; and neither pleasure nor any sort
of leisure shall remain to us for the pursuit of nobler objects.
Neither shall we have to speak of the words of inspiration, but
we shall have to speak of the works of men (a thing which
has been deemed simply a bane by the prophet 1 ), and in our
case, indeed, those of wicked men. And truly we shall have
night in place of day, and darkness in place of the clear light,
and grief instead of the festive assembly ; and in place of a
fatherland, a hostile country will receive us, in which I shall
have no liberty to sing my sacred song 2 (for how could I sing
it in a land strange to my soul, in which the sojourners have
no permission to approach God?), but only to weep and
mourn, as I call to mind the different state of things here,
if indeed even that shall be in my power. We read 3 that
enemies once assailed a great and sacred city, in which the
worship of God was observed, and dragged away its inhabit-
ants, both singers and theologians, 4 into their own country,
Migne refers us to
Ps. xvii.
2 Ps. cxxxvii. 8 2 Kings xxiv. xxv.
4 &oAo'yov?, used probably of the prophets here, namely of Ezekiel,
Daniel, and others carried into exile with the people. On this usage, see
Suicer's Thesaurus, under the word 0oX</'yo, where from the pseudo-
78 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
which was Babylon ; and it is narrated that these captives,
when they were detained in the land, refused, even when
asked by their conquerors, to sing the divine song, or to play
in a profane country, and hung their harps on the willow-
trees, and wept by the rivers of Babylon. Like one of these
I verily seem to myself to be, as I am cast forth from this
city, and from this sacred fatherland of mine, where both
by day and by night the holy laws are declared, and hymns
and songs and spiritual words are heard ; where also there is
perpetual sunlight; where by day in waking vision 1 we have
access to the mysteries of God, and by night in dreams we
are still occupied with what the soul has seen and handled
in the day ; and where, in short, the inspiration of divine
things prevails over all continually. From this city, I say,
I am cast forth, and borne captive to a strange land, where
I shall have no power to pipe: 2 for, like these men of old,
I shall have to hang my instrument on the willows, and the
rivers shall be my place of sojourn, and I shall have to work
in mud, and shall have no heart to sing hymns, even though
I remember them ; yea, it may be that, through constant
occupation with other subjects, I shall forget even them,
like one spoiled of memory itself. And would that, in going
Areopagite Dionysius he cites the sentence, ruv faohoyav tig, o
and again, tripos ruv Oiohoyvv 'lsix,tfa.
1 The text is, xa.1 <pu; TO fo.iet.x.ov x.ot.1 TO f>iYivix.ts, qftipeis virtp
irpoooftthovvTUV To7; 6110; ftvaTYipioti; x.etl vvxrog uv tv '/ifitpct tp)i T
firpa%ev q -^/v^ Tttls Qctvretaioti; XCCTI^O/^IUUV. Bengel proposes
for fate, so as to keep the antithesis between qftipot; v^xp and VVX.TO;
(pxvTuaieiis ; and taking ti/nepu.; and VVX.TOS as temporal genitives, he
renders the whole thus : cum interdiu, per visa, divinis aderamus sacra-
mentis: et noctu earum rerum, quas viderat de die atque egerat anima,
imaginibus detinebamur.
2 a.v'htlv. The Jews had the harp, and so the word i^XA/ is used of
them in the preceding. But here, in speaking of himself, Gregory adopts
the term oi/rt Aen/, ne tibia quidem canere. Bengel supposes that the
verb is changed in order to convey the idea, that while the Jews only had
to give up the use of instruments expressive of joyful feeling, Gregory
feared he would himself be unable to play even on those of a mournful
tone, for in ancient times the pipe or flute was chiefly appropriated to
strains of grief and sadness.
I HE PANEGYRIC ON ORIGEN. 79
away, I only went away against my will, as a captive is wont
to do ; but I go away also of my own will, and not by con-
straint of another ; and by my own act I am dispossessed of
this city, when it is in my option to remain in it. Per-
chance, too, in leaving this place, I may be going to prosecute
no safe journey, as it sometimes fares with one who quits
some safe and peaceful city ; and it is indeed but too likely
that, in journeying, I may fall into the hands of robbers, and
be taken prisoner, and be stripped and wounded with many
strokes, and be cast forth to lie half-dead somewhere.
XVII. But why should I utter such lamentations ? There
lives still the Saviour of all men, even of the half-dead and
the despoiled, the Protector and Physician for all, the Word,
that sleepless Keeper of all. We have also seeds of truth
which thou hast made us know as our possession, and all
that we have received from thee, those noble deposits of
instruction, with which we take our course ; and though we
weep, indeed, as those who go forth from home, we yet carry
those seeds with us. It may be, then, that the Keeper who
presides over us will bear us in safety through all that shall
befall us ; and it may be that we shall come yet again to
thee, bringing with us the fruits and handfuls yielded by
these seeds, far from perfect truly (for how could they be
so?), but still such as a life spent in civil business makes
it possible for us to rear, though marred indeed by a kind
of faculty that is either unapt to bear fruit altogether, or
prone to bear bad fruit, but which, I trust, is one not destined
to be further misused by us, if God grants us grace. 1
XVIII. Wherefore let me now have done with this ad-
dress, which I have had the boldness to deliver in a presence
wherein boldness least became me. Yet this address is one
which, I think, has aimed heartily at signifying our thanks
to the best of our ability, for though we have had nothing
1 The text is, t>tt<p6atp[s.tVBt.g fttv rr, ^vvdftet, y ux-otpvu j x.ocx.ox.tip'Try
rifl, /*y xcti x-po<r%iq>dxpY!aoft.fiiy %i n-etp qp av, etc. Bengel reads piv rot
for put Tf, and takes ^/j / as = utinam ne.
80 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.,
to say worthy of the subject, we could not be altogether
silent, and one, too, which has given expression to our re-
grets, as those are wont to do who go abroad in separation
from friends. And whether this speech of mine may not
have contained things puerile (or) bordering on flattery, or
things offending by excess of simplicity on the one hand, or
of elaboration on the other, I know not. Of this, however,
I am clearly conscious, that at least there is in it nothing
unreal, but all that is true and genuine, in sincerity of
opinion, and in purity and integrity of judgment.
XIX. But, O dear soul, arise thou and offer prayer, and
now dismiss us ; and as by thy holy instructions thou hast
been our saviour when we enjoyed thy fellowship, so save
us still by thy prayers in our separation. Commend us and
set us constantly before thee in prayer (TrapaBlBov Kal irapa-
rldea-o). Or rather commend us continually to that God
who brought us to thee, giving thanks for all that has been
granted us in the past, and imploring Him still to lead us by
the hand in the future, and to stand ever by us, filling our
mind with the understanding of His precepts, inspiring us
with the godly fear of Himself, and vouchsafing us hence-
forward His choicest guidance. 1 For when we are gone from
thee, we shall not have the same liberty for obeying Him
as was ours when we were with thee. 2 Pray, therefore, that
some encouragement may be conveyed to us from Him when
we lose thy presence, and that He may send us a good con-
ductor, some angel to be our comrade on the way. And
entreat Him also to turn our course, and bring us back to
thee again ; for that is the one thing which above all else
will effectually comfort us.
qfriv TOV 0tiov (Qofiov ecvrov, Trxi^a.-yu'/oit oLptarov taof
The Latin version makes the saouivov refer to the Qofiov : divinumque nobis
timorem suum, optimum psedagogum immittens, = and inspiring with the
godly fear of Himself as our choicest guide.
2 ov yoip iv TYI fierii oov ihsvdspfif xxi axgA^oWsj inretKovaoftii/ cti/ry.
Bengel paraphrases it thus: hac libertate quse tecum est carebo diyressus ;
quare vereor ut Deo posthac paream, ni timore saltern munilus fuero.
PART II.
DUBIOUS OE SPUEIOUS WKITINGS.
A SECTIONAL CONFESSION OF FAITH. 1
(Edited in Latin by Gerardus Vossius, Opp. Greg. Thaum., Paris 1662,
in fol. ; given in Greek from the Codex Vaticanus by Cardinal Mai,
Script. Vet. vii. p. 170.)
OST hostile and alien to the apostolic confession
are those who speak of the Son as assumed to
Himself by the Father out of nothing, and
from an emanational origin (ol TOV Tiov e ovic
ovra>v fcal oTrocrTeXXo/xez/??? ap^rj^ elvat, eTriKTrjrov Xeyoi/re?
rat HarpL) ; and those who hold the same sentiments with
respect to the Holy Spirit ; those who say that the Son is
constituted divine by gift and grace, and that the Holy
Spirit is made holy ; those who regard the name of the Son
as one common to servants, and assert that thus He is the first-
born of the creature, as becoming, like the creature, existent
out of non-existence, and as being first made, and who refuse to
1 Vossius has the following argument : This is a second Confession of
Faith, and one widely different from the former, which this great Gregory
of ours received by revelation. This seems, however, to be designated
an fx6-<Tis TV$ X,O.T fttpo; w/imw?, either because it records and expounds
the matters of the faith only in part, or because the Creed is explained
in it by parts. The Jesuit theologian Franc. Torrensis (the interpreter
and scholiast of this ix.dtaii) has, however, rendered the phrase v> Kotr
fttpo; vriaris, by the Latin fides non universa serf in parte. And here we
have a fi Ics non universa sed in parte, according to him, a creed not of
all the dogmas of the church,- but only of some, in opposition to the
heretics who deny them.
82 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
admit that He is the only-begotten Son, the only One that
the Father has, and that He has given Himself to be reckoned
in the number of mortals, and is thus reckoned first-born ;
those who circumscribe the generation of the Son by the
Father with a measured interval after the fashion of man,
and refuse to acknowledge that the aaon of the Begetter and
that of the Begotten are without beginning ; those who in-
troduce three separate and diverse systems of divine worship
(aicoivwviJTovs xal |eva? ela-dyovres \arpe ia<i), whereas there
is but one form of legitimate service which we have received
of old from the law and the prophets, and which has been
confirmed by the Lord and preached by the apostles. Nor
less alienated from the true confession are those who hold
not the doctrine of the Trinity according to truth, as a relation
consisting of three persons, but impiously conceive it as im-
plying a triple being in a unity (Monad), formed in the way
of synthesis (ez> novdSi TO Tpnr\ovv acre/3co9 Kara crvvQeaiv),
and think that the Son is the wisdom in God, in the same
manner as the human wisdom subsists in man whereby the man
is wise, and represent the Word as being simply like the word
which we utter or conceive, without any hypostasis whatever.
II. But the church's confession, and the creed that brings
salvation to the world, is that which deals with the incarna-
tion of the Word, and bears that He gave Himself over to
the flesh of man which He acquired of Mary, while yet He
conserved His own identity, and sustained no divine trans-
position or mutation, but was brought into conjunction with
the flesh after the similitude of man ; so that the flesh was
made one with the divinity, the divinity having assumed the
capacity of receiving the flesh in the fulfilling of the mystery.
And after the dissolution of death there remained to the holy
flesh a perpetual impassibility and a changeless immortality,
man's original glory being taken up into it again by the power
of the divinity, and being ministered then to all men by the
appropriation of faith (tV rfj T?}<? triarew^
III. If, then, there are any here, too, who falsify the holy
A SECTIONAL CONFESSION OF FAITH. 83
faith, either by attributing to the divinity as its own what
belongs to the humanity progressions (7rpo/co7ra<?), and
passions, and a glory coming with accession (&6%av rrjv
e-TriyivofjLevrjv) or by separating from the divinity the pro-
gressive and passible body, as if it subsisted of itself apart,
these persons also are outside the confession of the church
and of salvation. No one, therefore, can know God unless
he apprehends the Son ; for the Son is the wisdom by whose
instrumentality all things have been created ; and these
created objects declare this wisdom, and God is recognised
in the wisdom. But the wisdom of God is not anything
similar to the wisdom which man possesses, but it is the per-
fect wisdom which proceeds from the perfect God, and abides
for ever, not like the thought of man, which passes from him
in the word that is spoken and (straightway) ceases to be.
Wherefore it is not wisdom only, but also God; nor is it Word
only, but also Son. And whether, then, one discerns God
through creation, or is taught to know Him by the holy Scrip-
tures, it is impossible either to apprehend Him or to learn
of Him apart from His wisdom. And he who calls upon
God rightly, calls on Him through the Son ; and he who
approaches Him in a true fellowship, comes to Him through
Christ. Moreover, the Son Himself cannot be approached
apart from the Spirit. For the Spirit is both the life and
the holy formation of all things (/iop^xwcrt? TWV o\cav) ; and
God sending forth this Spirit through the Son makes the
creature (rr/i> KTUTIV) like Himself.
IV. One therefore is God the Father, one the Word, one the
Spirit, the life, the sanctification of all. And neither is there
another God as Father (oure @eo<? erepo? &>? FLaTijp), nor is
there another Son as Word of God, nor is there another Spirit
as quickening and sanctifying. Further, although the saints
are called both gods, and sons, and spirits, they are neither
filled with the Spirit, nor are made like the Son and God.
And if, then, any one makes this affirmation, that the Son is
God, simply as being Himself filled with divinity, and not as
being generated of divinity, he has belied the Word, he has
84 GREG OH Y Til A UMA TURG US.
belied the Wisdom, lie has lost the knowledge of God ; he has
fallen away into the worship of the creature, he has taken up
the impiety of the Greeks, to that he has gone back ; and he
has become a follower of the unbelief of the Jews, who, sup-
posing the Word of God to be but a human son, have refused
to accept Him as God, and have declined to acknowledge
Him as the Son of God. But it is impious to think of the
Word of God as merely human, and to think of the works
which are done by Him as abiding, while He abides not
Himself. And if any one says that the Christ works all
things only as commanded by the Word, he will both make
the Word of God idle (dp^6v\ and will change the Lord's
order into servitude. For the slave is one altogether under
command, and the created is not competent to create ; far
to suppose that what is itself created may in like manner
create other things, would imply that it has ceased to be like
the creature. 1
V. Again, when one speaks of the Holy Spirit as an
object made holy (rjjiaa/LLevov Troika), he will no longer be
able to apprehend all things as being sanctified in (the)
Spirit. For he who has sanctified one, sanctifies all things.
That man, consequently, belies the fountain of sanctification,
the Holy Spirit, who denudes Him of the power of sanctifying,
and he will thus be precluded from numbering Him with
the Father and the Son ; he makes nought, too, of the holy
(ordinance of) baptism, and will no more be able to ac-
knowledge the holy and august Trinity (Trias). For either
we must apprehend the perfect Trinity in its natural and
genuine glory, or we shall be under the necessity of speaking
no more of a Trinity, but only of a Unity (Monas) ; or else,
not numbering (<rvvapi0/Aeiv) created objects with the Creator,
nor the creatures with the Lord of all, we must also not num-
ber what is sanctified with what sanctifies ; even as no object
that is made can be numbered with the Trinity, but in the
1 This seems the idea in the sentence, ov '/dp t^taua Swsrott TU cri
O.VTO X.CC.T olivet TpoTroy, 5V u$ iiv txiivov tx-rHrroit, ovra X.KI OLVTO
T oi.ht.ct.
A SECTIONAL CONFESSION OF FAITH. 85
name of the Holy Trinity baptism and invocation and worship
are administered. For if there are three several glories,
there must also be three several forms of cultus with those
who impiously worship the creature ; for if there is a distinc-
tion in the nature of the objects worshipped, there ought
to be also with these men a distinction in the nature of the
worship offered. What is recent (ra irpoa^ara) surely is not
to be worshipped along with what is eternal ; for the recent
comprehends all that has had a beginning, while mighty and
measureless is He who is before the ages. He, therefore,
who supposes some beginning of times in the life of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit, therewith also cuts off any possibility
of numbering the Son and the Spirit with the Father. For
as we acknowledge the glory to be one, so ought we also to
acknowledge the substance in the Godhead to be one, and
one also the eternity of the Trinity.
VI. Moreover, the capital element of our salvation is the
incarnation of the Word. We believe, therefore, that it was
without any change in the Divinity that the incarnation of the
Word took place with a view to the renewal of humanity. For
there took place neither mutation nor transposition, nor any
circumscription in will (7rept/cX,et<ryu,o9 ev vevfian\ as regards
the holy energy (&vvctfu&) of God ; but while that remained
in itself the same, it also effected the work of the incarnation
with a view to the salvation of the world : and the Word of
God, living (-TroTureucrayaeyo?) on earth after man's fashion,
maintained likewise in all the divine presence, fulfilling all
things, and being united (o-iry/ce/tpa/ieVo?) properly and indi-
vidually with flesh ; and while the sensibilities proper to the
flesh were there, the (divine) energy maintained the impas-
sibility proper to itself. Impious, therefore, is the man who
introduces the passibility (TO irdOos) into the energy. For
the Lord of glory appeared in fashion as a man when He
undertook the ceconomy * upon the earth ; and He fulfilled
the law for men by His deeds, and by His sufferings He did
1 Meaning here the whole work and business of the incarnation, and
the redemption through the flesh. MIGNE.
86 GREG OR Y THA UMA TURG US.
away with man's sufferings, and by His death He abolished
death, and by His resurrection He brought life to light ;
and now we look for His appearing from heaven in glory
for the life and judgment of all, when the resurrection of
the dead shall take place, to the end that recompense may be
made to all according to their desert.
VII. But some treat the Holy Trinity (Trias) in an awful
manner, when they confidently assert that there are not three
persons, and introduce (the idea of) a person devoid of sub-
sistence (avviroa-TaTov). Wherefore we clear ourselves of
Sabellius, who says that the Father and the Son are the same.
For he holds that the Father is He who speaks, and that
the Son is the Word that abides in the Father, and becomes
manifest at the time of the creation (STjutovpyias), and there-
after reverts to God on the fulfilling of all tilings. The
same affirmation he makes also of the Spirit. We forswear
this, because we believe that three persons namely, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit are declared to possess the one God-
head : for the one divinity showing itself forth according
to nature in the Trinity (<ycrfc<u5 ev TpidBi, paprvpov^ivrf)
establishes the oneness of the nature ; and thus there is a
(divinity that is the) property of the Father, according to
the word, " There is one God the Father;" 1 and there is a
divinity hereditary (Trarpaiov) in the Son, as it is written,
"The Word was God;" 2 and there is a divinity present
according to nature in the Spirit to wit, what subsists as
the Spirit of God according to Paul's statement, " Ye are
the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you." 3
VIII. Now the person in each declares the independent
being and subsistence (TO elvai ainb KOI vfacrTavai, 877X04).
But divinity is the property of the Father ; and whenever the
divinity of these three is spoken of as one, testimony is borne
that the property 4 of the Father belongs also to the Son and
1 1 Cor. viii. 6. 2 John i. 1. 3 1 Cor. iii. 6.
4 By the RIOTYITX TCI/ Tlar/: o'f is meant here the divinity belonging to
the Father.
A SECTIONAL CONFESSION OF FAITH. 87
the Spirit: wherefore, if the divinity may be spoken of as one
in three persons, the trinity is established, and the unity is not
dissevered ; and the oneness which is naturally the Father's is
also acknowledged to be the Son's and the Spirit's. If one,
however, speaks of one person as he may speak of one divinity,
it cannot be that the two in the one are as one (OVK e&Tiv o>9
ev TO, Bvo ev T&5 evi). For Paul addresses the Father as one
in respect of divinity, and speaks of the Son as one in respect
of lordship : "There is one God the Father, of whom are all
things, and we for Him ; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
are all things, and we by Him." 1 Wherefore if there is one
God, and one Lord, and at the same time one person as one
divinity in one lordship (a$' o $60x779 /ita? KvpLorrjTos), how
can credit be given to (this distinction in) the words of whom
and by whom, as has been said before ? We speak, accord-
ingly, not as if we separated the lordship from the divinity,
nor as estranging the one from the other, but as unifying
them in the way warranted by actual fact and truth ; and
we call the Son God with the property of the Father (TW
IScwparL Toy Uarpo?), as being His image and offspring;
and we call the Father Lord, addressing Him by the name of
the One Lord, as being His Origin and Begetter.
IX. The same position we hold respecting the Spirit, who
has that unity with the Son which the Son has with the
Father. Wherefore let the hypostasis of the Father be
discriminated by the appellation of God ; but let not the
Son be cut off from this appellation, for He is of God.
Again, let the person of the Son also be discriminated by
the appellation of Lord ; only let not God be dissociated
from that, for He is Lord as being the Father of the Lord.
And as it is proper to the Son to exercise lordship, for He
it is that made (all things) by Himself, and now rules the
things that were made, while at the same time the Father
has a prior possession of that property, inasmuch as He is
the Father of Him who is Lord ; so we speak of the Trinity
as One God, and yet not as if we made the one by a synthesis
1 1 Cor. viii. 6.
88 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
of three : for the subsistence that is constituted by synthesis is
something altogether partitive and imperfect (/mepos yap CLTTUV
areXe? TO a-vvOeaew; vfacrTd/Aevov). But just as the designa-
tion Father is the expression of originality and generation,
so the designation Son is the expression of the image and
offspring of the Father. Hence, if one were to ask how there
is but One God, if there is also a God of God, we would
reply that that is a term proper to the idea of original causa-
tion (apxfjs), so far as the Father is the one First Cause
(ap%ij). And if one were also to put the question, how there
is but One Lord, if the Father also is Lord, we might answer
that again by saying that He is so in so far as He is the Father
of the Lord ; and this difficulty shall meet us no longer.
X. And again, if the impious say, How will there not be
three Gods and three Persons, on the supposition that they
have one and the same divinity? we shall reply: Just
because God is the Cause and Father of the Son ; and this
Son is the image and offspring of the Father, and not His
brother ; and the Spirit in like manner is the Spirit of God,
as it is written, "God is a Spirit." 1 And in earlier times
we have this declaration from the prophet David : " By the
word of the Lord were the heavens stablished, and all the
power of them by the breath (spirit) of His mouth." 2
And in the beginning of the book of the creation (Koa/jio-
TToa'iz?) it is written thus : " And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters." 3 And Paul in his Epistle to
the Romans says : " But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you." 4 And
again he says : " But if the Spirit of Him that raised up
Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His
Spirit that dwelleth in you." 5 And again : " As many as are
led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye
have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear ; but
ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry,
1 John iv. 24. 2 Ps. xxxiii. 6. 3 Gen. i. 2.
* Rom. viii. 9. 6 Rom. viii. 11.
A SECTIONAL CONFESSION OF FAITIL 89
Abba, Father." l And again : " I say the trutli in Christ, I
lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy
Ghost." 2 And again: "Now the God of hope fill you with
all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope,
by the power of the Holy Ghost." 3
XI. And again, writing to those same Romans, he says :
" But I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort,
as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to
me of God, that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the
Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up
of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the
Holy Ghost. I have therefore whereof I may glory through
Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. For I
dare not to speak of any of those things which Christ hath
not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word
and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power
of the Holy Spirit." 4 And again: "Now I beseech you,
brethren, for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and by the love
of the Spirit." 5 And these things, indeed, are written in the
Epistle to the Romans.
XII. Again, in the Epistle to the Corinthians he says :
" For my speech and my preaching was not in the enticing
words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit
and of power; that your faith should not stand in the
wisdom of men, but in the power of God." 6 And again he
says : " As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which
God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God
hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit : for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what
man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man
which is in him ? Even so the things of God knoweth no
man, but the Spirit of God." 7 And again he says: "But
1 Horn. viii. 14, 15. 2 Rom. ix. 1. 8 Rom. xv. 13.
4 Rom. xv. 15-19. * Rom. xv. 30. 6 1 Cor. ii. 4, 5.
7 1 Cor. ii. 9-1 1.
90 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
XIII. Seest thou that all through Scripture the Spirit is
preached, and yet nowhere named a creature ? And what
can the impious have to say if the Lord sends forth His dis-
ciples to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit? 2 Without contradiction, that implies
a communion and unity between them, according to which
there are neither three divinities nor (three) lordships ; but,
while there remain truly and certainly the three persons,
the real unity of the three must be acknowledged. And in
this way proper credit will be given to the sending and the
being sent 3 (in the Godhead), according to which the Father
hath sent forth the Son, and the Son in like manner sends
forth the Spirit. For one of the persons surely could not
(be said to) send Himself ; and one could not speak of the
Father as incarnate. For the articles of our faith will not
concur with the vicious tenets of the heresies ; and it is right
that our conceptions should follow the inspired and apostolic
doctrines, and not that our impotent fancies should coerce
the articles of our divine faith.
XIV. But if they say, How can there be three Persons,
and how but one Divinity ? we shall make this reply :
That there are indeed three persons, inasmuch as there is
one person of God the Father, and one of the Lord the
Son, and one of the Holy Spirit ; and yet that there is but
one divinity, inasmuch as the Son is the Image of God the
Father, who is One, that is, He is God of God ; and in
like manner the Spirit is called the Spirit of God, and that,
too, of nature according to the very substance (^ucrt/cw? KOT
avrrjv ryv ovffiav), and not according to simple participation
of God. And there is one substance (oiaia) in the Trinity,
which does not subsist also in the case of objects that are
1 1 Cor. ii. 14. 2 Matt, xxviii. 19.
3 The text is, OVTU yeip (TO 7roffAXov) x,a.l TO oi.'n
a,v TriffTti'OiTO, xff o, etc.
A SECTIONAL CONFESSION OF FAITH. 91
made ; for there is not one substance in God and in the things
that are made, because none of these is in substance God. Nor,
indeed, is the Lord one of these according to substance, but
there is one Lord the Son, and one Holy Spirit; and we speak
also of one Divinity, and one Lordship, and one Sanctity
in the Trinity ; because the Father is the Cause (apxy) of
the Lord, having begotten Him eternally, and the Lord is
the Prototype (irpcoTorvTros) of the Spirit. For thus the
Father is Lord, and the Son also is God ; and of God it is
said that " God is a Spirit." ]
XV. We therefore acknowledge one true God, the one
First Cause, and one Son, very God of very God, possessing
of nature the Father's divinity, that is to say, being the
same in substance with the Father ; 2 and one Holy Spirit,
who by nature and in truth sanctifies all, and makes divine,
as being of the substance of God. 3 Those who speak either
of the Son or of the Holy Spirit as a creature we anathe-
matize. All other things we hold to be objects made, and
in subjection (SouXa), created by God through the Son, (and)
sanctified in the Holy Spirit. Further, we acknowledge that
the Son of God was made a Son of man, having taken to
Himself the flesh from the Virgin Mary, not in name, but
in reality ; and that He is both the perfect Son of God, and
the (perfect) Son of man, that the Person is but one, and
that there is one worship (TrpoGKvvya-iv) for the Word and
the flesh that He assumed. And we anathematize those who
constitute different worships, one for the divine and another
for the human, and who worship the man born of Mary as
though He were another than the God of God. For we
know that " in the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God." 4 And we wor-
ship Him who was made man on account of our salvation,
not indeed as made perfectly like in the like body (laov ev
1 John iv. 24.
2 Note the phrase here, afterwards formulated, oftoovatov ru nrpi.
3 noc.1 QtOTTGi&v kx. T'/is ovatei; TOV Qsciv farti
4 John i. 1.
92 GREG OR Y TEA UMA TURG US.
yevofj.evov ra> croyiart), but as the Lord who has taken
to Himself the form of the servant. We acknowledge the
passion of the Lord in the flesh, the resurrection in the
power of Plis divinity, the ascension to heaven, and His
glorious appearing when He comes for the judgment of the
living and the dead, and for the eternal life of the saints.
XVI. And since some have given us trouble by attempting
to subvert our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and by affirming
of Him that He was not God incarnated, but a man linked
with God ; for this reason we present our confession on the
subject of the afore-mentioned matters of faith, and reject
the faithless dogmas opposed thereto. For God, having been
incarnated in the flesh of man, retains also PL's proper energy
pure, possessing a mind unsubjected by the natural (tyv%iKO)v)
and fleshly affections, and holding the flesh and the fleshly
motions divinely and sinlessly, and not only unmastered by
the power of death, but even destroying death. And it is
the true God unincarnate that has appeared incarnate, the
perfect One with the genuine and divine perfection ; and in
Him there are not two persons. Nor do we affirm that there
are four to worship, viz. God and the Son of God, and man
and the Holy Spirit. Wherefore we also anathematize those
who show their impiety in this, and who thus give the man
a place in the divine doxology. For we hold that the Word
of God was made man on account of our salvation, in order
that we might receive the likeness of the heavenly, and be
made divine (OeoTroirjOwpev) after the likeness of Him who
is the true Son of God by nature, and the Son of man accord-
ing to the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ.
XVII. We believe therefore in one God, that is, in one
First Cause, the God of the law and of the gospel, the just
and good ; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, true God, that is,
Image of the true God, Maker of all things seen and unseen,
Son of God and only-begotten Offspring, and Eternal Word,
living and self-subsistent and active (evepyov), always being
with the Father ; and in one Holy Spirit ; and in the glo-
A SECTIONAL CONFESSION OF FAITH. 93
rious advent of the Son of God, who of the Virgin Mary took
flesh, and endured sufferings and death in our stead, and
came to resurrection on the third day, and was taken up to
heaven ; and in His glorious appearing yet to come ; and in
one holy church, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of
the flesh, and life eternal.
XVIII. We acknowledge that the Son and the Spirit are
consubstantial with the Father, and that the substance of
the Trinity is one, that is, that there is one divinity accord-
ing to nature, the Father remaining unbegotten, and the Son
being begotten of the Father in a true generation, and not in
a formation by will (jroirja-et, e /SouX^o-ew?), and the Spirit
being sent forth eternally from the substance of the Father
through the Son, with power to sanctify the whole creation.
And we further acknowledge that the Word was made
flesh, and was manifested in the flesh-movement (icivtfaei)
received of a virgin, and did not simply energize in a man.
And those who have fellowship with men that reject the
consul stantiality as a doctrine foreign to the Scriptures, and
speak of any of the persons in the Trinity as created, and
separate that person from the one natural divinity, we hold
as aliens, and have fellowship with none such. There is one
God the Father, and there is only one divinity. But the Son
also is God, as being the true image of the one and only
divinity, according to generation and the nature which He
has from the Father. There is one Lord the Son ; but in
like manner there is the Spirit, who bears over (StaTre/iTnoi/)
the Son's lordship to the creature that is sanctified. The
Son sojourned in the world, having of the Virgin received
flesh, which He filled with the Holy Spirit for the sanctifi ca-
tion of us all ; and having given up the flesh to death, He
destroyed death through the resurrection that had in view
the resurrection of us all ; and He ascended to heaven, exalt-
ing and glorifying men in Himself ; and He comes the second
time to brincj us acain eternal life.
e
XIX. One is the Son, both before the incarnation and
94 GREGORY THA UMA TURG US.
after the incarnation. The same (Son) is both man and
God, both these together as though one ; and the God the
Word is not one person, and the man Jesus another person,
but the same who subsisted as Son before was made one with
flesh by Mary, so constituting Himself a perfect, and holy,
and sinless man, and using that oeconomical position for the
renewal of mankind and the salvation of all the world. God
the Father, being Himself the perfect Person, has thus the
perfect Word begotten of Him truly, not as a word that is
spoken, nor yet again as a son by adoption, in the sense in
which angels and men are called sons of God, but as a Son
who is in nature God. And there is also the perfect Holy
Spirit supplied (^opr}<yoi)fjievov) of God through the Son to the
sons of adoption, living and life-giving, holy and imparting
holiness to those who partake of Him, not like an unsub-
stantial breath (irvoijv) breathed into them by man, but as
the living Breath proceeding from God. Wherefore the
Trinity is to be adored, to be glorified, to be honoured, and
to be reverenced ; the Father being apprehended in the Son
even as the Son is of Him, and the Son being glorified in
the Father, inasmuch as He is of the Father, and being
manifested in the Holy Spirit to the sanctified.
XX. And that the holy Trinity is to be worshipped with-
out either separation or alienation, is taught us by Paul, who
says in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians : " The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the com-
munion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." l And again,
in that epistle he makes this explanation : " Now He which
stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is
God, who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the
Spirit in our hearts." 2 And still more clearly he writes thus
in the same epistle : " When Moses is read, the veil is upon
their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the
veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit ; and
where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all
with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
1 2 Cor. xiii. 13. 2 2 Cor. i. 21, 22.
A SECTIONAL CONFESSION OF FAITH. 95
are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even
as by the Spirit of the Lord." l
XXI. And again Paul says : tl That mortality might be
swallowed up of life. Now He that hath wrought us for the
selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the
earnest of the Spirit." 2 And again he says : " Approving
ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflic-
tions, in necessities," 3 and so forth. Then he adds these
words : " By kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
by the word of truth, by the power of God." * Behold here
again the saint has denned the holy Trinity, naming God,
and the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And again he says :
" Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple
of God, him shall God destroy." 5 And again : " But ye are
washed, but ye are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus,
and by the Spirit of our God." 6 And again : " What ! know
ye not that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which ye have of God?" 7 "And I think
also that I have the Spirit of God." 8
XXII. And again, speaking also of the children of Israel
as baptized in the cloud and in the sea, he says : "And they
all drank of the same spiritual drink : for they drank of
that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was
Christ." 9 And again he says: "Wherefore I give you to
understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth
Jesus accursed : and that no man can say that Jesus is the
Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of
gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of ad-
ministrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities
of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in
all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every
man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the
1 2 Cor. iii. 15-18. 2 2 Cor. v. 4, 5. 3 2 Cor. vi. 4.
4 2 Cor. vi. 6, 7. 5 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. 6 1 Cor. vi. 11.
7 1 Cor. vi. 19. 1 Cor. vii. 40. 9 1 Cor. x. 4.
96 GREGORY THA UMATURG US.
word of wisdom ; to another the word of knowledge by
the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to
another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit ; to another
the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another
discerning of spirits ; to another divers kinds of tongues ; to
another the interpretation of tongues : but all these worketh
that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man
severally as He will. For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many,
are one body ; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we
all baptized into one body." 1 And again he says : " For
if he who comes preaches another Christ whom we have not
preached, or ye receive another spirit that ye have received
not, or another gospel which ye have not obtained, ye will
rightly be kept back " 2 (tca\w$ av et^eade).
XXIII. Seest thou that the Spirit is inseparable from
the divinity? And no one with pious apprehensions could
fancy that He is a creature. Moreover, in the Epistle to the
Hebrews he writes again thus : " How shall we escape, if
we neglect so great salvation ; which at the first began to bb
spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that
heard Him ; God also bearing them witness, both with signs
and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy
Ghost?" 3 And again he says in the same epistle : " Where-
fore, as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day, if ye will hear His
voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the
day of temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers
tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said,
They do always err in their heart ; for (Siort) they have not
known my ways : as I sware in my wrath, that they should
not enter into my rest." 4 And there, too, they ought to give
ear to Paul, for he by no means separates the Holy Spirit
from the divinity of the Father and the Son, but clearly sets
forth the discourse of the Holy Ghost as one from the person
1 1 Cor. xii. 3-13. 2 Referring perhaps to Gal. i. 8, 9.
8 Heb. ii. 3, 4. Heb. iii. 7-11.
A SECTIONAL CONFESSION OF FAITH. 97
of the Father, and thus as given expression to (elpqft&rrjv) by
God, just as it has been represented in the before-mentioned
sayings. Wherefore the holy Trinity is believed to be one
God, in accordance with these testimonies of holy Scripture ;
albeit all through the inspired Scriptures numberless an-
nouncements are supplied us, all confirmatory of the apostolic
and ecclesiastical faith.
A FRAGMENT OF THE SAME DECLARATION OF
FAITH, ACCOMPANIED BY GLOSSES.
(From the book against the Monophysites by Leontius of Jerusalem,
in Mai, Script. Vet. vol. vii. p. 147.)
From Gregory Thaumatrirgus, as they say, in his Sectional
Confession of Faith.
To maintain two natures (<j)va-ei<i) in the one Christ, makes
a Tetrad of the Trinity, says he ; for he expressed himself
thus : " And it is the true God, the unincarnate, that was
manifested in the flesh, perfect with the true and divine
perfection, not with two natures ; nor do we speak of wor-
shipping four (persons), viz. God, and the Son of God, and
man, and the Holy Spirit." First, however, this passage is
misapprehended, and is of very doubtful import. Neverthe-
less it bears that we should not speak of two persons in
Christ, lest, by thus acknowledging Him as God, and as in
the perfect divinity, and yet speaking of two persons, we
should make a Tetrad of the divine persons, counting that
of God the Father as one, and that of the Son of God as
one, and that of the man as one, and that of the Holy Spirit
as one. But, again, it bears also against recognising two
divine natures ((/wcret?), and rather for acknowledging Him
to be perfect God in one natural divine perfection, and not
in two ; for his object is to show that He became incarnate
without change, and that He retains the divinity without
G
98 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
duplication (aSi7r\ao-iao-Te09). Accordingly he says shortly:
" And while the affections of the flesh spring, the energy
(SiW/u<?) retains the impassibility proper to it. He, there-
fore, who introduces the (idea of) passion into the energy is
impious ; for it was the Lord of glory that appeared in human
form, having taken to Himself the human oecouomy."
FRAGMENT FEOM THE DISCOURSE OF
GEEGOEY THAUMATUEGUS ON THE TEINITY.
(Mai, SpiciL Rom. vol. iii. p. 696, from the Arabic Codex, 101.)
(EEGOEY THAUMATUEGUS, Bishop of Neo-
csesai'eia in Pontus, 1 near successor of the apostles,
in his discourse on the Trinity, speaks thus :
I see in all three essentials substance, genus,
name. We speak of man, servant, curator (curatorem),
man, by reason of substance ; servant, by reason of genus or
condition ; curator, by reason of denomination. We speak
also of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit : these, however, are
not names which have only supervened at some after period,
but they are subsistences. Again, the denomination of
man is not in actual fact a denomination, but a substance
common to men, and is the denomination proper to all men.
Moreover, names are such as these, Adam, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob : these, I say, are names. But the Divine Persons are
names indeed : and the names are still the persons ; and the
persons then signify that which is and subsists, which is the
essence of God. The name also of the nature signifies sub-
sistence ; 2 as if we should speak of the man. All (the persons)
are one nature, one essence, one will, and are called the Holy
Trinity ; and these also are names subsistent, one nature in
three persons, and one genus. But the person of the Son is
composite in its oneness (anita est), being one made up of
two, that is, of divinity and humanity together, which two
1 The Arabic Codex reads falsely, Csesarese Cappadocise.
2 Or, the name signifies the subsistence of the nature Nomen quoque
natural significat subsistentiam.
1 00 GREG OR Y Til A UMA TURG US.
constitute one. Yet the divinity does not consequently re-
ceive any increment, but the Trinity remains as it was.
Nor does anything new befall the persons even or the names,
but these are eternal and without time. No one, however,
was sufficient to know these until the Son being made flesh
manifested them, saying : " Father, I have manifested Thy
name to men ; glorify Thou me also, that they may know me
as Thy Son." 1 And on the mount the Father spake, and
said, " This is my beloved Son." 2 And the same sent His
Holy Spirit at the Jordan. And thus it was declared to us
that there is an Eternal Trinity in equal honour. Besides,
the generation of the Son by the Father is incomprehensible
and ineffable ; and because it is spiritual, its investigation
becomes impracticable : for a spiritual object can neither be
understood nor traced by a corporeal object, for that is far
removed from human nature. We men know indeed the
generation proper to us, as also that of other objects; but
a spiritual matter is above human condition, neither can it
in any manner be understood by the minds of men. Spiri-
tual substance can neither perish nor be dissolved ; ours,
however, as is easy to understand, perishes and is dissolved.
How, indeed, could it be possible for man, who is limited
on six sides by east, west, south, north, deep, and sky
understand a matter which is above the skies, which is beneath
the deeps, which stretches beyond the north and south, and
which is present in every place, and fills all vacuity ? But
if, indeed, we were able to scrutinize spiritual substance, its
excellence truly would be undone. Let us consider what
is done in our body ; and, furthermore, let us see whether it
is in our power to ascertain in what manner thoughts are
born of the heart, and words of the tongue, and the like.
Now, if we can by no means apprehend things that are done
in ourselves, how could it ever be that we should understand
the mystery of the uncreated Creator, which goes beyond every
mind ? Assuredly, if this mystery were one that could be
penetrated by man, the inspired John would by no means have
affirmed this: "No man hath seen God at any time." 3 He,
1 John xvii. 6. 2 Matt. iii. 17. * John I 18.
ON THE TRINITY. 101
then, whom no man hath seen at any time, whom can we
reckon Him to resemble, so that thereby we should understand
His generation ? And we, indeed, without ambiguity appre-
hend that our soul dwells in us in union with the body ; but
still, who has ever seen his own soul ? who has been able to
discern its conjunction with his body 1 ? This one thing is
all we know certainly, that there is a soul within us con-
joined with the body. Thus, then, we reason and believe
that the Word is begotten by the Father, albeit we neither
possess nor know the clear rationale of the fact. The Word
Himself is before every creature eternal from the Eternal,
like spring from spring, and light from light. The vocable
Word, indeed, belongs to those three genera of words which
are named in Scripture, and which are not substantial,
namely, the word conceived (TO /car evvotav), the word
uttered (Trpotyopi/cov), and the word articulated (apOpi/ccv).
The word conceived, certainly, is not substantial. The word
uttered, again, is that voice which the prophets hear from
God, or the prophetic speech itself; and even this is not
substantial. And, lastly, the word articulated is the speech
of man formed forth in air (aere efformatus\ composed of
terms, which also is not substantial. 1 But the Word of
God is substantial, endowed with an exalted and enduring
nature, and is eternal with Himself, and is inseparable from
Him, and can never fall away, but shall remain in an ever-
lasting union. This Word created heaven and earth, and
in Him were all things made. He is the arm and the power
of God, never to be separated from the Father, in virtue of
an indivisible nature, and, together with the Father, He is
without beginning. This Word took our substance of the
Virgin Mary ; and in so far as He is spiritual indeed, He is
indivisibly equal with the Father; but in so far as He is
corporeal, He is in like manner inseparably equal with us.
And, again, in so far as He is spiritual, He supplies in the
same equality (cequiparat) the Holy Spirit, inseparably and
without limit. Neither were there two natures, but only one
1 On these terms, consult the Greek Fathers in Petavius, de Trin.
book vL
1 02 GREGORY THA UMATURG US.
nature of the Holy Trinity before the incarnation of the Word,
the Son ; and the nature of the Trinity remained one also
after the incarnation of the Son. But if any one, moreover,
believes that any increment has been given to the Trinity
by reason of the assumption of humanity by the Word, he
is an alien from us, and from the ministry of the catholic
and apostolic church. This is the perfect, holy, apostolic
faith of the holy God. Praise to the Holy Trinity for ever
through the ages of the ages ! Amen.
TWELVE TOPICS ON THE FAITH:
WHEREIN IS GIVEN ALSO THE FORMULA OF EXCOMMUNICATION, AND AN
EXPLICATION IS SUBJOINED TO EACH.
(Works of Gretser, vol. xv. p. 434, Ratisbon 1741, in fol., from a
manuscript codex.)
TOPIC I.
IF any one says that the body of Christ is un-
created, and refuses to acknowledge that He,
being the uncreated Word (God) of God, took
the flesh of created humanity and appeared in-
carnate, even as it is written, let him be anathema.
EXPLICATION.
How could the body be said to be uncreated ? For the
uncreated is the passionless, invulnerable, intangible. But
Christ, on rising from the dead, showed His disciples the print
of the nails and the wound made by the spear, and a body
that could be handled, although He also had entered among
them when the doors were shut, with the view of showing
them at once the energy of the divinity and the reality of
the body. (Yet, while being God, He was recognised as man
in a natural manner ; and while subsisting truly as man, He
was also manifested as God by His works. 1 )
TOPIC II.
If any one affirms that the flesh of Christ is consubstantial
with the divinity, and refuses to acknowledge that He, sub-
sisting Himself in the form of God as God before all ages,
1 This sentence is wanting in a very ancient copy.
103
104 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
emptied Himself and took the form of a servant, even as it
is written, let him be anathema.
EXPLICATION.
How could the flesh, which is conditioned by time, be said
to be consubstantial (o/Aooi/<no<?) with the timeless divinity?
For that is designated consubstantial which is the same in
nature and in eternal duration without variableness.
TOPIC III.
If any one affirms that Christ, just like one of the pro-
phets, assumed the perfect man, and refuses to acknowledge
that, being begotten in the flesh of the Virgin, 1 He became
man and was born in Bethlehem, and was brought up in
Nazareth, and advanced in age, and on completing the set
number of years (appeared in public and) was baptized in
the Jordan, and received this testimony from the Father,
" This is my beloved Son," 2 even as it is written, let him be
anathema.
EXPLICATION.
How could it be said that Christ (the Lord) assumed the
perfect man just like one of the prophets, when He, being
the Lord Himself, became man by the incarnation effected
through the Virgin ? Wherefore it is written, that " the first
man was of the earth, earthy." 3 But whereas he that was
formed of the earth returned to the earth, He that became
the second man returned to heaven. And so we read of the
lt first Adam and the last Adam." 4 And as it is admitted
that the second came by the first according to the flesh, for
which reason also Christ is called man and the Son of man ;
so is the witness given that the second is the Saviour of the
first, for whose sake He came down from heaven. And as
the Word came down from heaven, and was made man, and
ascended again to heaven, He is on that account said to be
the second Adam from heaven.
1 Reading IK. Kotpdivw for I* ^octfoWoj. 2 Matt. iii. 17.
8 1 Cor. xv. 47. 4 1 Cor. xv. 45.
TWELVE TOPICS ON THE FAITH. 105
TOPIC IV.
If any one affirms that Christ was born of the seed of
man by the Virgin, in the same manner as all men are born,
and refuses to acknowledge that He was made flesh by the
Holy Spirit and the holy Virgin Mary, and became man of
the seed of David, even as it is written, let him be anathema.
EXPLICATION.
How could one say that Christ was born of the seed of
man by the Virgin, when the holy Gospel and the angel,
in proclaiming the good tidings, testify of Mary the Virgin
that she said, "How shall this be, seeing I know not a
man ? " l Wherefore he says, " The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow
thee : therefore also that holy thing, which shall be born of
thee, shall be called the Son of the Highest." 2 And to
Joseph he says, " Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy
wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy
Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and they shall
call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from
their sins." 3
TOPIC V.
If any one affirms that the Son of God who is before the
ages is one, and He who has appeared in these last times is
another, and refuses to acknowledge that He who is before
the ages is the same with Him who appeared in these last
times, even as it is written, let him be anathema.
EXPLICATION.
How could it be said that the Son of God who is before
the ages, and He who has appeared in these last times, are
different, when the Lord Himself says, " Before Abraham
was, I am ; " 4 and, " I came forth from God, and I come,
and again I go to my Father ? " 5
1 Luke i. 34. 2 Luke i. 35. 8 Matt. i. 20, 21.
4 John viii. 58. * John xiii. and xvi.
106 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
TOPIC VI.
If any one affirms that He who suffered is one, and that
He who suffered not is another, and refuses to acknow-
ledge that the Word, who is Himself the impassible and un-
changeable God, suffered in the flesh which He had assumed
really, yet without mutation, even as it is written, let him be
anathema.
EXPLICATION.
How could it be said that He who suffered is one, and
He who suffered not another, when the Lord Himself says,
" The Son of man must suffer many things, and be killed,
and be raised again the third day from the dead ; iJl and again,
" When ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of
the Father ; " 2 and again, " When the Son of man cometh
in the glory of His Father ?" 3
TOPIC VII.
If any one affirms that Christ is saved, and refuses to
acknowledge that He is the Saviour of the world, and the
Light of the world, even as it is written, 4 let him be ana-
thema.
EXPLICATION.
How could one say that Christ is saved, when the Lord
Himself says, " I am the life ; " 6 and, " I am come that they
might have life ; " 6 and, " He that believeth on me shall not
see death, but he shall behold the life eternal?" 7
TOPIC VIII.
If any one affirms that Christ is perfect man and also
God the Word in the way of separation (Siatperw?), and
refuses to acknowledge the one Lord Jesus Christ, even as it
is written, let him be anathema.
1 Matt. xvi. 21. 2 Matt. xxvi. 64 ; Mark xiv. 62.
3 Matt. xvi. 27. * Isa. ix. ; Matt. iv. ; John i. iii. viii. ix. xii.
John xi. 25, xiv. 6. 6 John x. 10. 7 John viii. 51.
TWELVE TOPICS ON THE FAITH. 107
EXPLICATION.
How could one say that Christ is perfect man and also
God the Word in the way of separation, when the Lord
Himself says, " Why seek ye to kill me, a man that hath told
you the truth, which I have heard of God ? " l For God the
Word did not give a man for us, but He gave Himself for
us, having been made man for our sake. Wherefore He
says : " Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise
it up. But He spake of the temple of His body." 2
TOPIC IX.
If any one says that Christ suffers change or alteration,
and refuses to acknowledge that He is unchangeable in the
Spirit, though corruptible (or, and incorruptible) in the flesh,
let him be anathema.
EXPLICATION".
How could one say that Christ suffers change or altera-
tion, when the Lord Himself says, "I am, and I change
not ; " 3 and again, " His soul shall not be left in Hades,
neither shall His flesh see corruption ? " *
TOPIC X.
If any one affirms that Christ assumed the man only in
part, and refuses to acknowledge that He was made in all
things like us, apart from sin, let him be anathema.
EXPLICATION.
How could one say that Christ assumed the man only
in part, when the Lord Himself says, " I lay down my life,
that I might take it again, for the sheep ; " 5 and, " My flesh
is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed ; " 6 and, " He
that eateth rny flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal
life?" 7
1 John viii. 40. 2 John ii. 20, 21. Mai. iii. 6.
4 Ps. xvi. 10 ; Acts ii. 31. John x. 17.
6 John vi. 55. 7 John vi. 56.
1 03 GREG OR Y Til A UMA TURG US.
TOPIC XL
If any one affirms that the body of Christ is void of soul
and understanding (a-^rv^ov teal avorjrov), and refuses to
acknowledge that He is perfect man, one and the same in
all things (with us), let him be anathema.
EXPLICATION.
How could one say that the body of the Lord (Christ) is
void of soul and understanding ? For perturbation, and
grief, and distress, are not the properties either of a flesh
void of soul, or of a soul void of understanding ; nor are they
the sign of the immutable Divinity, nor the index of a mere
phantasm, nor do they mark the defect of human weakness ;
but the Word exhibited in Himself the exercise of the affec-
tions and susceptibilities proper to us, having endued Him-
self with our passibility, even as it is written, that " He hath
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." * For perturba-
tion, and grief, and distress, are disorders of soul ; and toil,
and sleep, and the body's liability to wounding, are infirmities
of the flesh.
TOPIC XII.
If any one says that Christ was manifested in the world
only in semblance, and refuses to acknowledge that He came
actually in the flesh, let him be anathema.
EXPLICATION.
How could one say that Christ was manifested only in
semblance in the world, born as He was in Bethlehem, and
made to submit to the circumcising of the flesh, and lifted
up by Simeon, and brought up on to His twelfth year (at
home), and made subject to His parents, and baptized in
Jordan, and nailed to the cross, and raised again from the
dead?
Wherefore, when it is said that He was " troubled in
spirit," 2 that " He was sorrowful in soul," 8 that " He was
1 Isa. liii. 4. 2 John xi. 33, xii. 27, xiii. 21. 8 Matt. xxvi. 38.
TWELVE TOPICS ON THE FAITH. 109
wounded in body," l He places before us designations of
susceptibilities proper to our constitution, in order to show
that He was made man in the world, and had His con-
versation with men, 2 yet without sin. For He was born in
Bethlehem according to the flesh, in a manner meet for
Deity, the angels of heaven recognising Him as their Lord,
and hymning as their God Him who was then wrapped in
swaddling-clothes in a manger, and exclaiming, " Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will among
men." 3 He was brought up in Nazareth ; but in divine
fashion He sat among the doctors, and astonished them by
a wisdom beyond His years, in respect of the capacities of
His bodily life, as is recorded in the Gospel narrative. He
was baptized in Jordan, not as receiving any sanctification
for Himself, but as gifting a participation in sanctification
to others. He was tempted in the wilderness, not as giving
way, however, to temptation, but as putting our temptations
before Himself on the challenge of the tempter, in order to
show the powerlessness of the tempter.
Wherefore He says, " Be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world." 4 And this He said, not as holding before us
any contest proper only to a God, but as showing our own
flesh in its capacity to overcome suffering, and death, and
corruption, in order that, as sin entered into the world by
flesh, and death came to reign by sin over all men, the sin
in the flesh might also be condemned through the selfsame
flesh in the likeness thereof; 5 and that that overseer of
sin, the tempter, might be overcome, and death be cast
down from its sovereignty, and the corruption in the bury-
ing of the body be done away, and the first-fruits of the
resurrection be shown, and the principle of righteousness
begin its course in the world through faith, and the king-
dom of heaven be preached to men, and fellowship be
established between God and men.
In behalf of this grace let us glorify the Father, who has
given His only begotten Son for the life of the world. Let us
1 Isa. liii. 5. 2 Baruch iii. 38. * Luke ii. 14.
4 John xvi. 33. Kom. v. 12, viii. 3.
110 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
glorify the Holy Spirit that worketh in us, and quickeneth
us, and furnisheth the gifts meet for the fellowship of God ;
and let us not intermeddle with the word of the gospel by
lifeless disputations, scattering about endless questionings
and logomachies, and making a hard thing of the gentle and
simple word of faith ; but rather let us work the work of
faith, let us love peace, let us exhibit concord, let us preserve
unity, let us cultivate love, with which God is well pleased.
As it is not for us to know the times or the seasons which
the Father hath put in His own power, 1 but only to believe
that there will come an end to time, and that there will be
a manifestation of a future world, and a revelation of judg-
ment, and an advent of the Son of God, and a recompense
of works, and an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, so
it is not for us to know how the Son of God became man ;
for this is a great mystery, as it is written, " Who shall de-
clare His generation? for His life is taken from the earth." 2
But it is for us to believe that the Son of God became man,
according to the Scriptures ; and that He was seen on the
earth, and had His conversation with men, according to the
Scriptures, in their likeness, yet without sin ; and that He
died for us, and rose again from the dead, as it is written ;
and that He was taken up to heaven, and sat down at the
right hand of the Father, whence He shall come to judge
the quick and the dead, as it is written ; lest, while we war
against each other with words, any should be led to blaspheme
the word of faith, and that should come to pass which is
written, " By reason of you is my name (or the name of
God) continually blasphemed among the nations." 3
3 Acts i. 7. a Isa. liii. 8. * Isa. lii. 5.
A TOPICAL DISCOUESE BY OUE HOLY EATHEE
GEEGOEY, SUENAMED THAUMATUEGUS,
BISHOP OF NEO-&ESAKEIA IN PONTUS,
ADDRESSED TO TATIAN,
ON THE SUBJECT OF THE SOUL.
OU have instructed us, most excellent Tatian, to
forward for your use a discourse upon the soul,
laying it out in effective demonstrations. And
this you have asked us to do without making use
of the testimonies of Scripture, a method which is open to
us, and which, to those who seek the pious mind, proves a
manner of setting forth doctrine more convincing than any
reasoning of man. You have said, however, that you desire
this, not with a view to your own full assurance, taught as
you already have been to hold by the holy Scriptures and
traditions, and to avoid being shaken in your convictions by
any subtleties of man's disputations, but with a view to the
confuting of men who have different sentiments, and who do
not admit that such credit is to be given to the Scriptures, and
who endeavour, by a kind of cleverness of speech, to gain over
those who are unversed in such discussions. Wherefore we
were led to comply readily with this commission of yours,
not shrinking from the task on account of inexperience in
this method of disputation, but taking encouragement from
the knowledge of your good-will toward us. For your kind
and friendly disposition towards us will make you under-
stand how to put forward publicly whatever you may approve
ill
112 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
of as rightly expressed by us, and to pass by and conceal
whatever statement of ours you may judge to come short of
what is proper. Knowing this, therefore, I have betaken
myself with all confidence to the exposition. And in my
discourse I shall use a certain order and consecution, such
as those who are very expert in these matters employ towards
those who desire to investigate any subject intelligently.
First of all, then, I shall propose to inquire by what
criterion the soul can, according to its nature, be appre-
hended ; then by what means it can be proved to exist ;
thereafter, whether it is a substance or an accident ; then
consequently on these points, whether it is a body or is in-
corporeal ; then, whether it is simple or compound ; next,
whether it is mortal or immortal ; and finally, whether it is
rational or irrational.
For these are the questions which are wont, above all,
to be discussed, in any inquiry about the soul, as most
important, and as best calculated to mark out its distinctive
nature. And as demonstrations for the establishing of these
matters of investigation, we shall employ those common
modes of consideration (eWouu?) by which the credibility of
matters under hand is naturally attested. But for the pur-
pose of brevity and utility, we shall at present make use
only of those modes of argumentation which are most
cogently demonstrative on the subject of our inquiry, in
order that clear and intelligible (evTrapaBe/cra) notions may
impart to us some readiness for meeting the gainsayers,
With this, therefore, we shall commence our discussion.
1. Wherein is the criterion for the apprehension of the soul.
All things that exist are either known by sense (alaOrjaei)
or apprehended by thought (vorjaei). And what falls under
sense has its adequate demonstration in sense itself ; for at
once, with the application, it creates in us the impression
(fyavraffiav) of what underlies it. But what is apprehended
by thought is known not by itself, but by its operations
(eVe/yyetwi/). The soul, consequently, being unknown by
itself, shall be known properly by its effects.
THE SUBJECT OF THE SOUL. 113
2. Whether the soul exists.
Our body, when it is put in action, is put in action either
from without or from within. And that it is not put in
action from without, is manifest from the circumstance that
it is put in action neither by impulsion (a)dovfj,evov) nor by
traction (e\Ko^evov\ like soulless things. And again, if it
is put in action from within, it is not put in action according
to nature, like fire. For fire never loses its action as long as
there is fire ; whereas the body, when it has become dead, is
a body void of action. Hence, if it is put in action neither
from without, like soulless things, nor according to nature,
after the fashion of fire, it is evident that it is put in action
by the soul, which also furnishes life to it. If, then, the
soul is shown to furnish the life to our body, the soul will
also be known for itself by its operations.
3. Whether the soul is a substance.
That the soul is a substance (ova-la), is proved in the
following manner. In the first place, because the definition
given to the term substance suits it very well. And that defini-
tion is to the effect, that substance is that which, being ever
identical, and ever one in point of numeration with itself, is
yet capable of taking on contraries in succession 1 (TWP evav-
rla>v Trapctfiepos elvai, SGKTIKOV). And that this soul, without
passing the limit of its own proper nature, takes on con-
traries in succession, is, I fancy, clear to everybody. For
righteousness and unrighteousness, courage and cowardice,
temperance and intemperance, are seen in it successively;
and these are contraries. If, then, it is the property of a
substance to be capable of taking on contraries in succession,
and if the soul is shown to sustain the definition in these
terms, it follows that the soul is a substance. And in the
second place, because if the body is a substance, the soul
must also be a substance. For it cannot be, that what only
has life imparted should be a substance, and that what
imparts the life should be no substance : unless one should
f, here apparently = in turn, though usually = out of turn.
II
114 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
assert that the non-existent is the cause of the existent ; or
unless, again, one were insane enough to allege that the de-
pendent object is itself the cause of that very thing in which
it has its being, and without which it could not subsist. 1
4. Whether the soul is incorporeal.
That the soul is in our body, has been shown above. We
ought now, therefore, to ascertain in what manner it is in
the body. Now, if it is in juxtaposition with it, as one pebble
with another, it follows that the soul will be a body, and also
that the whole body will not be animated with soul (e^ijnr^oi/),
inasmuch as with a certain part it will only be in juxtaposi-
tion. But if, again, it is mingled or fused with the body,
the soul will become multiplex (TroXv/ie/j^'?), and not simple,
and will thus be despoiled of the rationale proper to a soul.
For what is multiplex is also divisible and dissoluble ; and
what is dissoluble, on the other hand, is compound (crvvOerov) ;
and what is compound is separable in a threefold manner.
Moreover, body attached to body makes weight (oytcov) ; but
the soul, subsisting in the body, does not make weight, but
rather imparts life. The soul, therefore, cannot be a body,
but is incorporeal.
Again, if the soul is a body, it is put in action either from
without or from within. But it is not put in action from
without ; for it is moved neither by impulsion nor by trac-
tion, like soulless things. Nor is it put in action from
within, like objects animated with soul ; for it is absurd to
talk of a soul of the soul : it cannot, therefore, be a body,
but it is incorporeal.
And besides, if the soul is a body, it has sensible qualities,
and is maintained by nurture. But it is not thus nurtured.
For if it is nurtured, it is not nurtured corporeally, like the
body, but incorporeally ; for it is nurtured by reason. It
has not, therefore, sensible qualities : for neither is righteous-
ness, nor courage, nor any one of these things, something
1 The text has an apparent inversion : TO lv u rqy vx-otp&v ly^v xai ov
vit> elveii [A-ti ^vvotfASvov, eti'nov txtivnv tlvoti TOV lu u tart. There is also a
variety of reading : xctl 6 aivw TOV that py Qvt/f*.ivov.
ON THE SUBJECT OF THE SOUL. 115
that is seen ; yet these are the qualities of the soul. It
cannot, therefore, be a body, but is incorporeal.
Still further, as all corporeal substance is divided into
animate and inanimate, let those who hold that the soul is a
body tell us whether we are to call it animate or inanimate.
Finally, if every body has colour, and quantity, and figure,
and if there is not one of these qualities perceptible in the
soul, it follows that the soul is not a body.
5. Whether the soul is simple or compound.
We prove, then, that the soul is simple, best of all, by
those arguments by which its incorporeality has been demon-
strated. For if it is not a body, while every body is com-
pound, and what is composite is made up of parts, and is
consequently multiplex, the soul, on the other hand, being
incorporeal, is simple ; since thus it is both uncompounded
and indivisible into parts.
6. Whether our soul is immortal.
It follows, in my opinion, as a necessary consequence, that
what is simple is immortal. And as to how that follows,
hear my explanation : Nothing that exists is its own cor-
rupter ($6ap-riicov\ else it could never have had any thorough
consistency, even from the beginning. For things that are
subject to corruption are corrupted by contraries : wherefore
everything that is corrupted is subject to dissolution ; and
what is subject to dissolution is compound ; and what is
compound is of many parts ; and what is made up of parts
manifestly is made up of diverse parts ; and the diverse is
not the identical : consequently the soul, being simple, and
not being made up of diverse parts, but being uncom pound
and indissoluble, must be, in virtue of that, incorruptible and
immortal.
Besides, everything that is put in action by something
else, and does not possess the principle of life in itself, but
gets it from that which puts it in action, endures just so
long as it is held by the power that operates in it ; and
whenever the operative power ceases, that also comes to a
1 1 6 GREGOR Y THA UMA TURG US.
stand which has its capacity of action from it. But the
soul, being self-acting, has no cessation of its being. For it
follows, that what is self-acting is ever-acting ; and what is
ever-acting is unceasing ; and what is unceasing is without
end ; and what is without end is incorruptible ; and what
is incorruptible is immortal. Consequently, if the soul is
self-acting, as has been shown above, it follows that it is
incorruptible and immortal, in accordance with the mode of
reasoning already expressed.
And further, everything that is not corrupted by the evil
proper to itself, is incorruptible ; and the evil is opposed to
the good, and is consequently its corrupter. For the evil
of the body is nothing else than suffering, and disease, and
death ; just as, on the other hand, its excellency is beauty,
life, health, and vigour. If, therefore, the soul is not cor-
rupted by the evil proper to itself, and the evil of the soul
is cowardice, intemperance, envy, and the like, and all these
things do not despoil it of its powers of life and action, it
follows that it is immortal.
7. Whether our soul is rational.
That our soul is rational, one might demonstrate by many
arguments. And first of all from the fact that it has dis-
covered the arts that are for the service of our life. For
no one could say that these arts were introduced casually
and accidentally, as no one could prove them to be idle, and
of no utility for our life. If, then, these arts contribute to
what is profitable for our life, and if the profitable is com-
mendable, and if the commendable is constituted by reason,
and if these things are the discovery of the soul, it follows
that our soul is rational.
Again, that our soul is rational, is also proved by the fact
that our senses are not sufficient for the apprehension of
things. For we are not competent for the knowledge of
things by the simple application of the faculty of sensation.
But as we do not choose to rest in these without inquiry
(eVet fjujSe arrival irepl avra OeXofiev), that proves that
the senses, apart from reason, are felt to be incapable of
ON THE SUBJECT OF THE SOUL. 117
discriminating between things which are identical in form
and similar in colour, though quite distinct in their natures.
If, therefore, the senses, apart from reason, give us a false
conception of things, we have to consider whether things that
are can be apprehended in reality or not. And if they can
be apprehended, then the power which enables us to get at
them is one different from, and superior to, the senses. And
if they are not apprehended, it will not be possible for us at
all to apprehend things which are different in their appear-
ance from the reality. But that objects are apprehensible
by us, is clear from the fact that we employ each in a way
adaptable to utility, and again turn them to what we please.
Consequently, if it has been shown that things which are can
be apprehended by us, and if the senses, apart from reason,
are an erroneous test of objects, it follows that the intellect
(vovs) is what distinguishes all things in reason, and discerns
things as they are in their actuality. But the intellect is
just the rational portion of the soul, and consequently the
soul is rational.
Finally, because we do nothing without having first marked
it out for ourselves; and as that is nothing else than just the
high prerogative (df/w/ia) of the soul, for its knowledge of
things does not come to it from without, but it rather sets
out these things, as it were, with the adornment of its own
thoughts, and thus first pictures forth the object in itself, and
only thereafter carries it out to actual fact, and because the
high prerogative of the soul is nothing else than the doing of
all things with reason, in which respect it also differs from
the senses, the soul has thereby been demonstrated to be
rational.
THE EOUK HOMILIES OE GEEGOEY
THAUMATUEGUS,
(Works of Gregory Thaumaturgus by Ger. Voss, p. 9.)
THE FIKST HOMILY.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE HOLY VIRGIN MARY. 1
JJO-DAY are strains of praise sung joyfully by the
choir of angels, and the light of the advent of
Christ shines brightly upon the faithful. To-
day is the glad spring-time to us, and Christ the
Sun of righteousness has beamed with clear light around
us, and has illumined the minds of the faithful. To-day is
Adam made anew, 2 and moves in the choir of angels, having
winged his way to heaven. To-day is the whole circle of
the earth filled with joy, since the sojourn of the Holy
Spirit has been realized to men. To-day the grace of God
and the hope of the unseen shine through all wonders tran-
scending imagination, and make the mystery that was kept
hid from eternity plainly discernible to us. To-day are
woven the chaplets of never-fading virtue. To-day, God,
willing to crown the sacred heads of those whose pleasure
is to hearken to Him, and who delight in His festivals,
invites the lovers of unswerving faith as His called and His
heirs ; and the heavenly kingdom is urgent to summon those
who mind celestial things to join the divine service of the
1 The secondary title is : The First Discourse of our holy father Gregory,
surnamed Thaumaturgus, bishop of Neocsesareia in Pontus, on the Annun-
ciation to the most holy Virgin Mary, mother of God.
8 iiyxx,SK,tx.iyt<jTt>ti ; others >axxjT/, recovered.
118
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 119
incorporeal choirs. To-day is fulfilled the word of David,
" Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad. The
fields shall be joyful, and all the trees of the wood before
the Lord, because He cometh." l David thus made mention
of the trees (v\a) ; and the Lord's forerunner also spoke
of them as trees (SevSpa) "that should bring forth fruits
meet for repentance," 2 or rather for the coming of the
Lord. But our Lord Jesus Christ promises perpetual glad-
ness to all those who believe on Him. For He says, " I will
see you, and ye shall rejoice ; and your joy no man taketh
from you." 3 To-day is the illustrious and ineffable mystery
of Christians, who have willingly 4 set their hope like a seal
upon Christ, plainly declared to us. To-day did Gabriel,
who stands by God, come to the pure virgin, bearing to her
the glad annunciation, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured! 5
And she cast in her mind what manner of salutation this
might be. And the angel immediately proceeded to say,
The Lord is with thee : fear not, Mary ; for thou hast found
favour with God. Behold, 6 thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and shalt call 7 His name Jesus. He
shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest;
and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His
father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob
for ever : and of His kingdom there shall be no end. Then
said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know
not a man ? '" Shall I still remain a virgin ? is the honour
of virginity not then lost by me ? And while she was yet in
perplexity as to these things, the angel placed shortly before
her the summary of his whole message, and said to the pure
virgin, " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee ; therefore also
that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God." For what it is, that also shall it be called
by all means. Meekly, then, did grace make election of
the pure Mary alone out of all generations. For she proved
1 Ps. xcvi. 11-13. 2 Matt. iii. 8. 8 John xvi. 22.
4 Others oai'a;, piously. fi Luke i. 28. 6 Or, 8, wherefore.
7 Or, xuKtaovai, they shall call 8 Luke i. 29, etc.
1 20 GREG OR Y TEA UMA T URG US.
herself prudent truly in all things ; neither has any woman
been born like her in all generations. She was not like the
primeval virgin Eve, who, keeping holiday (%6pevcra) alone
in paradise, with thoughtless mind, unguardedly hearkened
to the word of the serpent, the author of all evil, and thus
became depraved in the thoughts of her mind; 1 and through
her that deceiver, discharging his poison and infusing death
with it, brought it into the whole world ; and in virtue of
this has arisen all the trouble of the saints. But in the holy
Virgin alone is the fall of that (first mother) repaired. Yet
was not this holy one competent to receive the gift until she
had first learned who it was that sent it, and what the gift
was, and who it was that conveyed it. While the holy one
pondered these things in perplexity with herself, she says to
the angel, " Whence hast thou brought to us the blessing in
such wise ? Out of what treasure-stores is the pearl of the
word despatched to us ? Whence has the gift acquired its
purpose 2 toward us ? From heaven art thou come, yet thou
walkest upon earth ! Thou dost exhibit the form of man,
and (yet) thou art glorious with dazzling light." 3 These
things the holy one considered with herself, and the arch-
angel solved the difficulty expressed in such reasonings by
saying to her : " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and
the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be
called the Son of God. And fear not, Mary ; for I am not
come to overpower thee with fear, but to repel the subject of
fear. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God.
Question not grace by the standard of nature. For grace
does not endure to pass under the laws of nature. Thou
knowest, O Mary, things kept hid from the patriarchs and
prophets. Thou hast learned, O virgin, things which were
kept concealed till now from the angels. Thou hast heard,
O purest one, things of which even the choir of inspired
men (deofyopuv) was never deemed worthy. Moses, and
1 Or, Ty raj? x.plfet$ (ppovtiftart, in the thoughts of her heart.
2 vndiffiv ; others inrw-fcaiv, the promise.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 121
David, and Isaiah, and Daniel, and all the prophets, pro-
phesied of Him ; but the manner they knew not. Yet thou
alone, O purest virgin, art now made the recipient of things
of which all these were kept in ignorance, and thou dost
learn 1 the origin of them. For where the Holy Spirit is,
there are all things readily ordered. Where divine grace is
present, all things are found possible with God. The Holy
Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest
shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which
shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." And
if He is the Son of God, then is He also God, of one form
with the Father, and co-eternal; in Him the Father possesses
all manifestation ($avipwcnv) ; He is His image in the per-
son, and through His reflection the (Father's) glory shines
forth. And as from the ever-flowing fountain the streams
proceed, so also from this ever-flowing and ever-living
fountain does the light of the world proceed, the perennial
and the true, namely Christ our God. For it is of this that
the prophets have preached : " The streams of the river
make glad the city of God." 2 And not one city only, but
all cities ; for even as it makes glad one city, so does it also
the whole world. Appropriately, therefore, did the angel (or
archangel) say to Mary the holy virgin first of all, " Hail,
thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee ; " inas-
much as with her was laid up the full treasure of grace.
For of all generations she alone has risen as a virgin pure
in body and in spirit; and she alone bears Him who bears all
things on His word. Nor is it only the beauty of this holy
one in body that calls forth our admiration, but also the
innate virtue of her soul. Wherefore also the angel (or
archangel) addressed her first with the salutation, "Hail,
thou that art highly favoured (or gifted with grace), the
Lord is with thee, and no spouse of earth ; " He Himself is
with thee who is the Lord of sanctification, the Father of
purity, the Author of incorruption, and the Bestower of
liberty, the Curator of salvation, and the Steward and Pro-
1 Or, inrolixov zal pdi/dctyt, and receive thou and learn.
* Ps. xlvi. 4.
122 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
vider of the true peace, who out of the virgin earth made
man, and out of man's side formed Eve in addition. Even
this Lord is with thee, and on the other hand also is of thee.
Come, therefore, beloved brethren, and let us take up the
angelic strain, and to the utmost of our ability return the
due meed of praise, saying, " Hail (or rejoice), thou that
art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee ! " For it is
thine truly to rejoice, seeing that the grace of God, as he
knows, has chosen to dwell with thee the Lord of glory
dwelling with the handmaiden ; " He that is fairer than the
children of men" 1 with the fair (virgin) ; He who sanctifies
all things with the undefiled. God is with thee, and with
thee also is the perfect man in whom dwells the whole ful-
ness of the Godhead. Hail, thou that art highly favoured,
the fountain of the light that lightens all who believe upon
Him ! Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the rising of the
rational Sun, a and the undefiled flower of life ! Hail, thou
that art highly favoured, the mead (Xet/itov) of sweet savour !
Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the ever-blooming vine,
that makes glad the souls of those who honour thee ! Hail,
thou that art highly favoured ! the soil that, all untilled, bears
bounteous fruit : for thou hast brought forth in accordance
with the law of nature indeed, as it goes with us, and by the
set time of practice, 3 and yet in a way beyond nature, or
rather above nature, by reason that God the Word from
above took His abode in thee, and formed the new Adam in
thy holy womb, and inasmuch as the Holy Ghost gave the
power of conception to the holy virgin ; and the reality of
His body was assumed from her body. And just as the
pearl 4 comes of the two natures, namely lightning and
water, the occult signs of the sea; so also our Lord Jesus
Christ proceeds, without fusion and without mutation, from
1 Ps. xlv. 2.
2 rov VOYITOV jA/ov jj ai/a-roAjf ; others, JjA/ov TSJJ- Jttxccioai/i/Yis, the rising
of the Sun of righteousness.
3 eiffKtjatus ; better w^atus, conception.
4 There is a similar passage iu Ephrsem's discourse, De Margarita
Pretiosa, vol. iii.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 123
the pure, and chaste, and undefiled, and holy Virgin Mary ;
perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, in all things
equal to the Father, and in all things consubstantial with us,
apart from sin.
Most of the holy fathers, and patriarchs, and prophets
desired to see Him, and to be eye-witnesses of Him, but did
not attain thereto. And some of them by visions beheld
Him in type, and darkly ; others, again, were privileged to
hear the divine voice through the medium of the cloud, and
were favoured with sights of holy angels ; but to Mary the
pure virgin alone did the archangel Gabriel manifest himself
luminously, bringing her the glad address, " Hail, thou that
art highly favoured ! " And thus she received the word,
and in the due time of the fulfilment according to the
body's course she brought forth the priceless pearl. Come,
then, ye too, dearly beloved, and let us chant the melody
which has been taught us by the inspired harp of David,
and say, " Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest ; Thou, and the
ark of Thy sanctuary" (dyida-fAaros). 1 For the holy Virgin
is in truth an ark, wrought with gold both within and
without, that has received the whole treasury of the sanc-
tuary. "Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest." Arise, O Lord,
out of the bosom of the Father, in order that Thou mayest
raise up the fallen race of the first-formed man. Setting
these things forth (Trpeafievoov), David in prophecy said to
the rod that was to spring from himself, and to sprout into
the flower of that beauteous fruit, " Hearken, O daughter,
and see, and incline thine ear, and forget thine own people
and thy father's house ; so shall the King greatly desire thy
beauty : for He is the Lord thy God, and thou shalt wor-
ship Him (or, and they shall worship Him)." J Hearken, O
daughter, to the things which were prophesied beforetime of
thee, in order that thou mayest also behold the things them-
selves with the eyes of understanding. Hearken to me while
I announce things beforehand to thee, and hearken to the
archangel who declares expressly to thee the perfect mysteries.
Come then, dearly beloved, and let us fall back on the memory
1 Ps. cxxxil 8. 2 Ps. xlv. 10, 11.
124 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
of what has gone before us ; and let us glorify, and cele-
brate, and laud, and bless that rod that has sprung so mar-
vellously from Jesse. For Luke, in the inspired Gospel
narratives, delivers a testimony not to Joseph only, but also
to Mary the mother of God, and gives this account with
reference to the very family and house of David : " For
Joseph went up," says he, " from Galilee, unto a city of
Judea which is called Bethlehem, to be taxed with Mary his
espoused wife, being great with child, because they were of
the house and family of David. And so it was, that while
they were there, the days were accomplished that she should
be delivered ; and she brought forth her son, the first-born
of the whole creation (irpwTOTOfcov Tracr*}? T% /mo-eta?), and
wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn." 1 She
wrapped in swaddling-clothes Him who is covered with light
as with a garment. 2 She wrapped in swaddling-clothes Him
who made every creature. She laid in a manger Him who
sits above the cherubim, 3 and is praised by myriads of
angels. In the manger set apart for dumb brutes did the
Word of God repose, in order that He might impart to men,
who are really irrational by free choice, the perceptions of
true reason. In the board from which cattle eat was laid
the heavenly Bread (or, the Bread of life), in order that He
might provide participation in spiritual sustenance for men
who live like the beasts of earth. Nor was there even room
for Him in the inn. He found no place, who by His word
established heaven and earth ; " for though He was rich, for
our sakes He became poor," 4 and chose extreme humiliation
on behalf of the salvation of our nature, in His inherent
goodness toward us. He who fulfilled the whole admini-
stration (or righteousness) of unutterable mysteries of the
oeconomy (or the whole administration of the oeconomy in an
unutterable mystery) in heaven in the bosom of the Father,
and in the cave in the arms of the mother, reposed in the
manger. Angelic choirs encircled Him, singing of glory in
heaven and of peace upon earth. In heaven He was seated
1 Luke ii. 4-7. 2 Ps. civ. 2. 8 Ps. Ixxx. 1. 4 2 Cor. viii. 9.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 125
at the right hand of the Father ; and in the manger He
rested, as it were, upon the cherubim. Even there was in
truth His cherubic throne ; there was His royal seat. Holy
of the holy, and alone glorious upon the earth, and holier
than the holy, was that wherein Christ our God rested.
To Him be glory, honour, and power, together with the
Father undefiled, and the altogether holy and quickening
Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
THE SECOND HOMILY.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE HOLY VIRGIN MARY.
The Encomium of the same holy Father Gregory, Bishop of
Neo-Ccesareia in Pontus, surnamed Thaumaturgus, on
the Annunciation to the all-holy Mary^ mother of God,
and ever-virgin.
DISCOURSE SECOND.
It is our duty to present to God, like sacrifices, all the
festivals and hymnal celebrations ; and first of all, the an-
nunciation to the holy mother of God, to wit, the salutation
made to her by the angel, " Hail, thou that art highly
favoured !" For first of all wisdom (or, before all wisdom)
and saving doctrine in the New Testament was this saluta-
tion, " Hail, thou that art highly favoured !" conveyed to us
from the Father of lights. And this address, " highly
favoured" (or, gifted with grace), embraced the whole nature
of men. " Hail, thou that art highly favoured" (or, gifted
with grace) in the holy conception and in the glorious
pregnancy, " I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people." 1 And again the Lord, who came for
the purpose of accomplishing a saving passion, said, " I will
see you, and ye shall rejoice ; and your joy no man taketh
from you." 2 And after His resurrection again, by the hand
of the holy women, He gave us first of all the salutation
1 Luke ii. 10. 2 John xvi. 22.
126 GREGORY THA UMATURG US.
" Hail I" 1 And again, the apostle made the announcement
in similar terms, saying, " Rejoice evermore : pray without
ceasing: in everything give thanks." 2 See, then, dearly
beloved, how the Lord has conferred upon us everywhere,
and indivisibly, the joy that is beyond conception, and
perennial. For since the holy Virgin, in the life of the
flesh, was in possession of the incorruptible citizenship, and
walked as such in all manner of virtues, and lived a life
more excellent than man's common standard ; therefore the
Word that cometh from God the Father thought it meet to
assume the flesh, and endue the perfect man from her, in
order that in the same flesh in which sin entered into the
world, and death by sin, sin might be condemned in the
flesh, and that the tempter of sin might be overcome in the
burying 3 of the holy body, and that therewith also the begin-
ning of the resurrection might be exhibited, and life eternal
instituted in the world, and fellowship established for men
with God the Father. And what shall we state, or what
shall we pass by here *? or who shall explain what is incom-
prehensible in the mystery ? But for the present let us fall
back upon our subject. Gabriel was sent to the holy virgin ;
the incorporeal was despatched to her who in the body pur-
sued the incorruptible conversation, and lived in purity and
in virtues. And when he came to her, he first addressed her
with the salutation, " Hail, thou that art highly favoured !
the Lord is with thee." Hail, thou that art highly favoured !
for thou doest what is worthy of joy indeed, since thou hast
put on the vesture of purity, and art girt with the cincture
of prudence. Hail, thou that art highly favoured ! for to
thy lot it has fallen to be the vehicle of celestial joy. Hail,
thou that art highly favoured ! for through thee joy is decreed
for the whole creation, and the human race receives again
by thee its pristine dignity. Hail, thou that art highly
favoured ! for in thy arms the Creator of all things shall be
carried. And she was perplexed by this word ; for she was
1 Matt, xxviii. 9. 2 1 Thess. v. 16-18.
8 iv TJ Toetp/i ; others, lv ry <pj5 = in the touch or union of the holy
body.
OX THE ANNUNCIATION TO MART. 127
inexperienced in all the addresses of men, and welcomed
quiet, as the mother of prudence and purity ; (yet) being a
pure, and immaculate, and stainless image (aya\fjia) herself,
she shrank not in terror from the angelic apparition, like
most of the prophets, as indeed true virginity has a kind of
affinity and equality with the angels. For the holy Virgin
guarded carefully the torch of virginity, and gave diligent
heed that it should not be extinguished or defiled. And as
one who is clad in a brilliant robe deems it a matter of great
moment that no impurity or filth be suffered to touch it
anywhere, so did the holy Mary consider with herself, and
said : Does this act of attention imply any deep design or
seductive purpose? Shall this word " Hail" prove the cause
of trouble to me, as of old the fair promise of being made
like God, which was given her by the serpent-devil, proved
to our first mother Eve ? Has the devil, who is the author
of all evil, become transformed again into an angel of light ;
and bearing a grudge against my espoused husband for his
admirable temperance, and having assailed him with some
fair-seeming address, and finding himself powerless to over-
come a mind so firm, and to deceive the man, has he turned
his attack upon me, as one endowed with a more susceptible
mind; and is this word " Hail" (Grace be with thee) spoken
as the sign of gracelessness hereafter ? Is this benediction
and salutation uttered in irony ? Is there not some poison
concealed in the honey ? Is it not the address of one who
brings good tidings, while the end of the same is to make
me the designer's prey? And how is it that he can thus
salute one whom he knows not ? These things she pon-
dered in perplexity with herself, and expressed in words.
Then again the archangel addressed her with the announce-
ment of a joy which all may believe in, and which shall not
be taken away, and said to her, " Fear not, Mary, for thou
hast found favour with God." Shortly hast thou the proof
of what has been said. For I not only give you to under-
stand that there is nothing to fear, but I show you the very
key to the absence of all cause for fear. For through me
all the heavenly powers hail thee, the holy virgin : yea
128 GREGOR Y THA UMA TURG US.
rather, He Himself, who is Lord of all the heavenly powers
and of all creation, has selected thee as the holy one and
the wholly fair ; and through thy holy, and chaste, and pure,
and undefiled womb the enlightening Pearl comes forth for
the salvation of all the world : since of all the race of man
thou art by birth the holy one, and the more honourable,
and the purer, and the more pious than any other ; and thou
hast a mind whiter than the snow, and a body made purer
than any gold, however fine, and a womb such as the object
which Ezekiel saw, and which he has described in these
terms : " And the likeness of the living creatures upon the
head was as the firmament, and as the appearance of the
terrible crystal, and the likeness of the throne above them
was as the appearance of a sapphire-stone : and above the
throne it was as the likeness of a man, and as the appear-
ance of amber ; and within it there was, as it were, the like-
ness of fire round about." 1 Clearly, then, did the prophet
behold in type Him who was born of the holy virgin, whom
thou, O holy virgin, wouldest have had no strength to bear,
hadst thou not beamed forth for that time (or, by His throne)
with all that is glorious and virtuous. And with what words
of laudation, then, shall we describe her virgin - dignity 1
With what indications and proclamations of praise shall we
celebrate her stainless figure ? With what spiritual song or
word shall we honour her who is most glorious among the
angels ? She is planted in the house of God like a fruitful
olive that the Holy Spirit overshadowed ; and by her means
are we called sons and heirs of the kingdom of Christ. She
is the ever-blooming paradise of incorruptibility, wherein is
planted the tree that giveth life, and that furnisheth to all the
fruits of immortality. She is the boast and glory of virgins,
and the exultation of mothers. She is the sure support of
the believing, and the succourer (or example, fcaTopOoo/jia)
of the pious. She is the vesture of light, and the domicile
of virtue (or truth). She is the ever-flowing fountain,
wherein the water of life sprang and produced the Lord's
incarnate manifestation. She is the monument of righteous-
1 Ezek. L 22, 26, 27.
THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 129
ness ; and all who become lovers of her, and set their affec-
tions on virgin-like ingenuousness and purity, shall enjoy
the grace of angels. All who keep themselves from wine
and intoxication, and from the wanton enjoyments of strong
drink, shall be made glad with the products of the life-bear-
ing plant. All who have preserved the lamp of virginity un-
extinguished shall be privileged to receive the amaranthine
crown of immortality. All who have possessed themselves
of the stainless robe of temperance shall be received into the
mystical bride-chamber of righteousness. All who have
come nearer the angelic degree than others shall also enter
into the more real enjoyment of their Lord's beatitude. All
who have possessed the illuminating oil of understanding,
and the pure incense of conscience, shall inherit the promise
of spiritual favour and the spiritual adoption. All who
worthily observe the festival of the Annunciation of the
Virgin Mary, the mother of God, acquire as their meet re-
compense the fuller interest in the message, "Hail, thou that
art highly favoured ! " It is our duty, therefore, to keep this
feast, seeing that it has filled the whole world with joy and
gladness. And let us keep it with psalms, and hymns, and
spiritual songs. Of old did Israel also keep their festival,
but then it was with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, of
which the prophet says : " I will turn their feasts into afflic-
tions and lamentation, and their joy into shame." 1 But our
afflictions our Lord has assured us He will turn into joy by
the fruits of penitence. 2 And again, the first covenant main-
tained the righteous requirements (or, justifying observances,
BtKai(i)fj,ara) of a divine service, as in the case of our fore-
father Abraham ; but these stood in the inflictions of pain in
the flesh by circumcision, until the time of the fulfilment.
"The law was given to them through Moses" for their disci-
pline; "but grace and truth" have been given to us by Jesus
Christ. 3 The beginning of all these blessings to us appeared
in the annunciation to Mary, the highly-favoured, in the
oeconomy of the Saviour which is worthy of all praise, and in
His divine and supramundane instruction. Thence rise the
1 Amos viii. 10. 2 Cf. Jer. xxxi. 8 Cf. John i
I
130 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
rays of the light of understanding upon us. Thence spring
for us the fruits of wisdom and immortality, sending forth
the clear pure streams of piety. Thence come to us the
brilliant splendours of the treasures of divine knowledge.
"For this is life eternal, that we may know the true God,
and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent." 1 And again, " Search
the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life "
(or, ye will find eternal life). 2 For on this account the
treasure of the knowledge of God is revealed to them who
search the divine oracles. That treasure of the inspired
Scriptures the Paraclete has unfolded to us this day. And
let the tongue of prophecy and the doctrine of apostles be
the treasure of wisdom to us; for without the law and
the prophets, or the evangelists and the apostles, it is not
possible to have the certain hope of salvation. For by
the tongue of the holy prophets and apostles our Lord
speaks, and God takes pleasure in the words of the saints ;
not that He requires the spoken address, but that He delights
in the good disposition ; not that He receives any profit from
men, but that He finds a restful satisfaction in the rightly-
affected soul of the righteous. Fi-r it is not that Christ is
magnified by what we say ; but as we receive benefits from
Him, we proclaim with grateful mind His beneficence to us ;
not that we can attain to what is worthy therein, but that
we give the meet return to the best of our ability. And
when the Gospels or the Epistles, therefore, are read, let not
your attention centre on the book or on the reader, but on
the God who speaks to you from heaven. For the book is but
that which is seen, while Christ is the divine subject spoken
of. It brings us then the glad tidings of that reconomy of
the Saviour which is worthy of all praise, to wit, that, though
He was God, He became man through kindness toward man,
and did not lay aside, indeed, the dignity which was His from
all eternity, but assumed the oeconomy that should work sal-
vation. It brings us the glad tidings of that ceconomy of the
Saviour worthy of all praise, to w r it, that He sojourned with
us as a physician for the sick, who did not heal them with
1 John xvii. 3. 2 John v. 39.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 131
potions, but restored them by the inclination of His philan-
thropy. It brings us the glad tidings of this oeconomy of the
Saviour altogether to be praised, to wit, that to them who had
wandered astray the way of salvation was shown, and that to
the despairing the grace of salvation was made known, which
blesses all in different modes ; searching after the erring,
enlightening the blinded, giving life to the dead, setting free
the slaves, redeeming the captives, and becoming all things
to all of us in order to be the true way of salvation to us :
and all this He does, not by reason of our good-will toward
Him, but in virtue of a benignity that is proper to our Bene-
factor Himself. For the Saviour did all, not in order that
He might acquire virtue Himself, but that He might put us
in possession of eternal life. He made man, indeed, after
the image of God, and appointed him to live in a paradise
of pleasure. But the man being deceived by the devil, and
having become a transgressor of the divine commandment,
was made subject to the doom of death. Whence, also,
those born of him were involved in their father's liability
in virtue of their succession, and had the reckoning of con-
demnation required of them. " For death reigned from
Adam to Moses." 1 But the Lord, in His benignity toward
man, when He saw the creature He Himself had formed
now held by the power of death, did not turn away finally
from him whom He had made in His own image, but
visited him in each generation, and forsook him not; and
manifesting Himself first of all among the patriarchs, and
then proclaiming Himself in the law, and presenting the
likeness of Himself (onoiovpevos) in the prophets, He pre-
signified the oeconomy of salvation. When, moreover, the
fulness of the times came for His glorious appearing, He
sent beforehand the archangel Gabriel to bear the glad
tidings to the Virgin Mary. And he came down from the
ineffable powers above to the holy Virgin, and addressed her
first of all with the salutation, " Hail, thou that art highly
favoured." And when this word, " Hail, thou that art highly
favoured," reached her, in the very moment of her hearing
1 Rom. v. 14.
1 32 GREG OR Y TEA UMA TURG US.
it, the Holy Spirit entered into the undefiled temple of the
Virgin, and her mind and her members were sanctified to-
gether. And nature stood opposite, and natural intercourse
at a distance, beholding with amazement the Lord of nature,
in a manner contrary to nature, or rather above nature,
doing a miraculous work in the body ; and by the very
weapons by which the devil strove against iis, Christ also
saved us, taking to Himself our passible body in order that
He might impart the greater grace (or joy) to the being who
was deficient in it. And " where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound." And appropriately was grace sent to the
holy Virgin. For this word also is contained in the oracle of
the evangelic history : " And in the sixth month the angel
Gabriel was sent to a virgin espoused to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house and lineage of David ; and the
virgin's name was Mary ; " l and so forth. And this was
the first month to the holy Virgin. Even as Scripture says
in the book of the law : " This month shall be unto you the
beginning of months : it shall be the first month among the
months of the year to you." 2 " Keep ye the feast of the holy
passover to the Lord in all your generations." It was also
the sixth month to Zacharias. And rightly, then, did the
holy Virgin prove to be of the family of David, and she had
her home in Bethlehem, and was betrothed rightfully to
Joseph, in accordance with the laws of relationship. And
her espoused husband was her guardian, and possessor also of
the untarnished incorruption which was hers. And the name
given to the holy Virgin was one that became her exceedingly.
For she was called Mary, and that, by interpretation, means
illumination. And what shines more brightly than the light
of virginity ? For this reason also the virtues are called
virgins by those who strive rightly to get at their true nature.
But if it is so great a blessing to have a virgin heart, how
great a boon will it be to have the flesh that cherishes
virginity along with the soul ! Thus the holy Virgin, while
still in the flesh, maintained the incorruptible life, and re-
ceived in faith the things which were announced by the
1 Luke L 26, 27. 2 Ex. xii. 2.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 133
archangel. And thereafter she journeyed diligently to her
relation Elisabeth in the hill-country. " And she entered
into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth," l in
imitation of the angel. " And it came to pass, that, when
Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leapt with
joy in her womb ; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy
Ghost." 2 Thus the voice of Mary wrought with power,
and filled Elisabeth with the Holy Ghost. And by her
tongue, as from an ever-flowing fountain, she sent forth a
stream of gracious gifts in the way of prophecy to her rela-
tion ; and while the feet of her child were bound in the womb
(or, and with the bound feet of her child in the womb), she
prepared to dance and leap. And that was the sign of a
marvellous jubilation. For wherever she was who was highly
favoured, there she filled all things with joy. " And Elisa-
beth spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou
among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And
whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should
come to me ? Blessed art thou among women." s For thou
hast become to women the beginning of the new creation
(or, resurrection). Thou hast given to us boldness of access
into paradise, and thou hast put to flight our ancient woe.
For after thee the race of woman shall no more be made the
subject of reproach. No more do the successors of Eve fear
the ancient curse, or the pangs of childbirth. For Christ,
the Redeemer of our race, the Saviour of all nature, the
spiritual Adam who has healed the hurt of the creature of
earth, cometh forth from thy holy womb. " Blessed art thou
among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." For
He who bears all blessings for us is manifested as thy fruit.
This we read in the clear words of her who was barren ;
but yet more clearly did the holy Virgin herself express
this again when she presented to God the song replete
with thanksgiving, and acceptance, and divine knowledge ;
announcing ancient things together with what was new ;
proclaiming along with things which were of old, things
also which belong to the consummation of the ages : and
1 Luke i. 41. 2 Luke i. 41. 8 Luke i. 42, 43.
1S4 GREGORY TEA UMATURG US.
summing up in a short discourse the mysteries of Christ.
" And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour," and so forth. " He
hath holpen His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy,
and of the covenant which He established with Abraham and
wit-i his seed for ever." 1 Thou seest how the holy Virgin has
surpassed even the perfection of the patriarchs, and how she
confirms the covenant which was made with Abraham by God,
when He said, " This is the covenant which I shall establish
between me and thee." 2 Wherefore He has come and con-
firmed the covenant with Abraham, having received mysti-
cally in Himself the sign of circumcision, and having proved
Himself the fulfilment of the law and the prophets. This
song of prophecy, therefore, did the holy mother of God
render to God, saying, " My soul doth magnify the Lord,
and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour : for He
that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is His
name." For having made me the mother of God, He has
also preserved me a virgin ; and by my womb the fulness
of all generations is headed up together for sanctification.
For He hath blessed every age, both men and women, both
young men and youths, and old men. " He hath made
strength with His arm," 3 on our behalf, against death and
against the devil, having torn the handwriting of our sins.
" He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their
hearts ;" yea, He hath scattered the devil himself, and all the
demons that serve under him. For he was overweeningly
haughty in his heart, seeing that he dared to say, " I will
set my throne above the clouds, and I will be like the Most
High." 4 And now, how He scattered him the prophet has
indicated in what follows, where he says, " Yet now thou
shalt be brought down to hell," 6 and all thy hosts with thee.
For He has overthrown everywhere his altars and the wor-
ship of vain gods, and He has prepared for Himself a pecu-
liar people out of the heathen nations. "He hath put down
the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree."
1 Luke i. 46, etc. 2 Gen. xvii. 11 ; Rom. iv. 11.
3 Luke i. 51. * Isa. xiv. 14. 5 Ib. 15.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 135
In these terms is intimated in brief the extrusion of the
Jews and the admission of the Gentiles. For the elders
of the Jews and the scribes in the law, and those who were
richly privileged with other prerogatives, because they used
their riches ill and their power lawlessly, were cast down by
Him from every seat, whether of prophecy or of priesthood,
whether of legislature or of doctrine, and were stripped of
all their ancestral wealth, and of their sacrifices and multi-
tudinous festivals, and of all the honourable privileges of
the kingdom. Spoiled of all these boons, as naked fugitives
they were cast out into captivity. And in their stead the
humble were exalted, namely, the Gentile peoples who
hungered after righteousness. For, discovering their own
lowliness, and the hunger that pressed upon them for the
knowledge of God, they pleaded for the divine word, though
it were but for crumbs of the same, like the woman of
Canaan; 1 and for this reason they were filled with the
riches of the divine mysteries. For the Christ who was born
of the Virgin, and who is our God, has given over the whole
inheritance of divine blessings to the Gentiles. " He hath
holpen His servant Israel." 2 Not any Israel in general, indeed,
but His servant, who in very deed maintains the true nobility
of Israel. And on this account also did the mother of God
call Him servant (Son) and heir. For when He had found
the same labouring painfully in the letter and the law, He
called him by grace. It is such an Israel, therefore, that
He called and hath holpen in remembrance of His mercy.
u As He spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for
ever." In these few words is comprehended the whole mystery
of the O3conomy. For, with the purpose of saving the race
of men, and fulfilling the covenant that was made with our
fathers, Christ has once " bowed the heavens and come down." 3
And thus He shows Himself to us as we are capable of re-
ceiving Him, in order that we might have power to see Him,
and handle Him, and hear Him when He speaketh. And
on this account did God the Word deem it meet to take to
Himself the flesh and the perfect humanity by a woman, the
1 Matt. xv. 27. 2 Luke i. 54. 3 Ps. xviil 9.
136 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
holy Virgin ; and He was born a man, in order tliat He
might discharge our debt, and fulfil even in Himself (pe^pis
eavrov) the ordinances of the covenant made with Abraham,
in its rite of circumcision, and all the other legal appoint-
ments connected with it. And after she had spoken these
words the holy Virgin went to Nazareth ; and from that a
decree of Caesar led her to come again to Bethlehem ; and
so, as proceeding herself from the royal house, she was
brought to the royal house of David along with Joseph her
espoused husband. And there ensued there the mystery
which transcends all wonders, the Virgin brought forth and
bore in her hand Him who bears the whole creation by His
word. " And there was no room for them in the inn." 1 He
found no room who founded the whole earth by His word.
She nourished with her milk Him who imparts sustenance
and life to everything that hath breath. She wrapped Him
in swaddling-clothes who binds the whole creation fast with
His word. She laid Him in a manger who. rides seated
upon the cherubim. 2 A light from heaven shone round
about Him who lighteneth the whole creation. The hosts of
heaven attended Him with their doxologies who is glorified
in heaven from before all ages. A star with its torch guided
them who had come from the distant parts of earth toward
Him who is the true Orient. From the East came those
who brought gifts to Him who for our sakes became poor.
And the holy mother of God kept these words, and pondered
them in her heart, like one who was the receptacle of all the
mysteries. Thy praise, O most holy Virgin, surpasses all
laudation, by reason of the God who received the flesh
and was born man of thee. To thee every creature, of
things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the
earth, offers the meet offering of honour. For thou hast
been indeed set forth as the true cherubic throne. Thou
shinest as the very brightness of light in the high places of
the kingdoms of intelligence ; 3 where the Father, who is
1 Luke ii. 7. 2 Ps. Ixxx. 1.
8 ii/ Toiy O.X.D6I; TUV vorrruii /Bxai^nuv. Otliers read vorav = in ths
high places of the kingdoms of the south.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 17
without beginning, and whose power thou hadst overshadow-
ing thee, is glorified ; where also the Son is worshipped, whom
thou didst bear according to the flesh ; and where the Holy
Spirit is praised, who effected in thy womb the generation of
the mighty King. Through thee, O thou that art highly
favoured, is the holy and consubstantial Trinity known in
the world. Together with thyself, deem us also worthy to
be made partakers of thy perfect grace in Jesus Christ our
Lord : with whom, and with the Holy Spirit, be glory to the
Father, now and ever, and unto the ages of the ages. Amen. 1
THE THIED HOMILY.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO THE HOLY VIRGIN MARY.
The Third Discourse by the same sainted Gregory, Bishop of
Neo-Ccesareia, surnamed Thaumaturgus, on the Annun-
ciation to the all-holy Virgin Mary, mother of God.
Again have we the glad tidings of joy, again the an-
nouncements of liberty, again the restoration, again the
return, again the promise of gladness, again the release from
slavery. An angel talks with the Virgin, in order that the
serpent may no more have converse with the woman. In
the sixth month, it is said, the angel Gabriel was sent from
God to a virgin espoused to a man. 2 Gabriel was sent to
declare the world-wide salvation ; Gabriel was sent to bear
to Adam the signature of his restoration ; Gabriel was sent
to a virgin, in order to transform the dishonour of the female
sex into honour ; Gabriel was sent to prepare the worthy
chamber for the pure spouse ; Gabriel was sent to wed the
creature with the Creator ; Gabriel was sent to the animate
palace of the King of the angels; Gabriel was sent to a virgin
espoused to Joseph, but preserved for Jesus the Son of God.
The incorporeal servant was sent to the virgin undefiled.
1 The close is otherwise given thus : To whom be the glory and the
power unto the ages of the ages. Amen.
3 Luke i. 26, 27.
138 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
One free from sin was sent to one that admitted no corrup-
tion. The light was sent that should announce the Sun of
righteousness. The dawn was sent that should precede the
light of the day. Gabriel was sent to proclaim Him who is
in the bosom of the Father, and who yet was to be in the
arms of the mother. Gabriel was sent to declare Him who
is upon the throne, and yet also in the cavern. The subaltern
was sent to utter aloud the mystery of the great King ; the
mystery, I mean, which is discerned by faith, and which
cannot be searched out by officious curiosity ; the mystery
which is to be adored, riot weighed; the mystery which is
to be taken as a thing divine, and not measured. " In the
sixth month Gabriel was sent to a virgin." What is meant
by this sixth month ? What ? It is the sixth month from
the time when Elisabeth received the glad tidings, from the
time that she conceived John. And how is this made plain?
The archangel himself gives us the interpretation, when he
says to the virgin : "Behold, thy relation Elisabeth, she hath
also conceived a son in her old age : and this is now the sixth
month with her, who was called barren." 1 In the sixth
month that is evidently, therefore, the sixth month of the
conception of John. For it was meet that the subaltern should
go before ; it was meet that the attendant should precede ;
it was meet that the herald of* the Lord's coming should
prepare the way for Him. In the sixth month the angel
Gabriel was sent to a virgin espoused to a man ; espoused,
not united ; espoused, yet kept intact. And for what pur-
pose was she espoused ? In order that the spoiler might not
learn the mystery prematurely. For that the King was to
come by a virgin, was a fact known to the wicked one. For
he too heard these words of Isaiah : " Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son." 2 And on every occasion, conse-
quently, he kept watch upon the virgin's words, in order that,
whenever this mystery should be fulfilled, he might prepare
her dishonour. Wherefore the Lord came by an espoused
virgin, in order to elude the notice of the wicked one ; for
one who was espoused was pledged in fine to be her husband's.
1 Luke i. 36. 2 Isa. vii. 14.
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 139
" In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent to a virgin
espoused to a man whose name was Joseph." Hear what
the prophet says about this man and the virgin : " This book
that is sealed shall be delivered to a man that is learned." 1
What is meant by this sealed book, but just the virgin un-
defiled? From whom is this to be given? From the priests
evidently. And to whom 1 ? To the artisan Joseph. As,
then, the priests espoused Mary to Joseph as to a prudent
husband, and committed her to his care in expectation of
the time of marriage, and as it behoved him then on obtain-
ing her to keep the virgin untouched, this was announced by
the prophet long before, when he said : " This book that is
sealed shall be delivered to a man that is learned." And
that man will say, I cannot read it. But why canst thou
not read it, O Joseph ? I cannot read it, he says, because
the book is sealed. For whom, then, is it preserved ? It is
preserved as a place of sojourn for the Maker of the uni-
verse. But let us return to our immediate subject. In the
sixth month Gabriel was sent to a virgin he who received,
indeed, such injunctions as these: "Come hither now, arch-
angel, and become the minister of a dread mystery which
has been kept hid, and be thou the agent in the miracle. I
am moved by my compassions to descend to earth in order to
recover the lost Adam. Sin hath made him decay who was
made in my image, and hath corrupted the work of my
hands, and hath obscured the beauty which I formed. The
wolf devours my nursling, the home of paradise is desolate,
the tree of life is guarded by the flaming sword, the location
of enjoyments is closed. My pity is evoked for the object of
this enmity, and I desire to seize the enemy. Yet I wish to
keep this mystery, which I confide to thee alone, still hid
from all the powers of heaven. Go thou, therefore, to the
Virgin Mary. Pass thou on to that animate city whereof the
prophet spake these words : ' Glorious things were spoken of
thee, O city of God.' 2 Proceed, then, to my rational paradise;
proceed to the gate of the east; proceed to the place of
sojourn that is worthy of my word ; proceed to that second
1 Isa. xxix. 11. 2 Ps. bcxxvii. 3.
140 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
heaven on earth ; proceed to the light cloud, and announce
to it the shower of my coming ; proceed to the sanctuary
prepared for me ; proceed to the hall of the incarnation ;
proceed to the pure chamber of my generation after the
flesh. Speak in the ears of my rational ark, so as to prepare
for me the accesses of hearing. But neither disturb nor vex
the soul of the virgin. Manifest thyself in a manner befitting
that sanctuary, and hail her first with the voice of gladness.
And address Mary with the salutation, l Hail, thou that art
highly favoured,' that I may show compassion for Eve in
her depravation." The archangel heard these things, and
considered them within himself, as was reasonable, and said :
"Strange is this matter; passing comprehension is this
thing that is spoken. He who is the object of dread to the
cherubim, He who cannot be looked upon by the seraphim,
He who is incomprehensible to all the heavenly (or, angelic)
powers, does He give the assurance of His connection with a
maiden ? does He announce His own personal coming ? yea
more, does He hold out an access by hearing? and is He
who condemned Eve, urgent to put such honour upon her
daughter ? For He says : ' So as to prepare for me the
accesses of hearing.' But can the womb contain Him who
cannot be contained in space ? Truly this is a dread
mystery." While the angel is indulging such reflections,
the Lord says to Him : " Why art thou troubled and per-
plexed, O Gabriel? Hast thou not already been sent by me
to Zacharias the priest ? Hast thou not conveyed to him the
glad tidings of the nativity of John ? Didst thou not inflict
upon the incredulous priest the penalty of speechlessness ?
Didst thou not punish the aged man with dumbness? Didst
thou not make thy declaration, and I confirmed it? And
has not the actual fact followed upon thy announcement of
good ? Did not the barren woman conceive ? Did not the
womb obey the word? Did not the malady of sterility de-
part? Did not the inert disposition of nature take to flight?
Is not she now one that shows fruitfulness, who before was
never pregnant? Can anything be impossible with me, the
Creator of all ? Wherefore, then, art thou tossed with doubt?"
ON THE ANNUNCIATION TO MARY. 141
"What is the angel's answer to this? "O Lord," he says,
" to remedy the defects of nature, to do away with the blast
of evils, to recall the dead members to the power of life, to
enjoin on nature the potency of generation, to remove barren-
ness in the case of members that have passed the common
limit (yTrepoplois /ieXeo-^), to change the old and withered
stalk into the appearance of verdant vigour, to set forth the
fruitless soil suddenly as the producer of sheaves of corn,
to do all this is a work which, as it is ever the case,
demands Thy power. And Sarah is a witness thereto, and
along with her (or, and after her) also Kebecca, and again
Anna, who all, though bound by the dread ill of barrenness,
were afterwards gifted by Thee with deliverance from that
malady. But that a virgin should bring forth, without hav-
ing intercourse with a man, is something that goes beyond
all the laws of nature; and dost Thou yet announce Thy
coming to the maiden ? The bounds of heaven and earth do
not contain Thee, and how shall the womb of a virgin con-
tain Thee 1 " And the Lord says : " How did the tent of
Abraham contain me ? ' n And the angel says : " As there
were there the deeps of hospitality, O Lord, Thou didst show
Thyself there to Abraham at the door of the tent, and didst
pass quickly by it, as He who filleth all things. But how
can Mary sustain the fire of the divinity? Thy throne
blazes with the illumination of its splendour, and can the
virgin receive Thee without being consumed?" Then the
Lord says : " Yea surely, if the fire in the wilderness injured
the bush, my coming will indeed also injure Mary ; but if
that fire which served as the adumbration of the advent of
the fire of divinity from heaven fertilized the bush, and did
not burn it, what wilt thou say of the Truth that descends not
in a flame of fire, but in the form of rain ?" 2 Thereupon the
angel set himself to carry out the commission given him, and
repaired to the Virgin, and addressed her with a loud voice,
saying : " Hail, thou that art highly favoured ! the Lord is
with thee. No longer shall the devil be against thee ; for
where of old that adversary inflicted the wound, there now
1 Gen. xviii. 2 Ps. Ixxii. 6.
142 GREGOK Y TEA UMATURG US.
first of all does the Physician apply the salve of deliverance.
Where death came forth, there has life now prepared its
entrance. By a woman came the flood of our ills, and by
a woman also our blessings have their spring. Hail, thou
that art highly favoured ! Be not thou ashamed, as if thou
wert the cause of our condemnation. For Thou art made the
mother of Him who is at once Judge and Redeemer. Hail,
thou stainless mother of the bridegroom 1 of a world bereft !
Hail, thou that hast sunk in thy womb the death (that came)
of the mother (Eve)! Hail, thou animate temple of God!
Hail, thou equal (lo-oppoirov) home of heaven and earth alike!
Hail, thou amplest receptacle of the illimitable nature !"
But as these things are so, through her has come for the
sick the Physician ; for them that sit in darkness, the Sun
of righteousness ; for all that are tossed and tempest-beaten,
the Anchor and the Port undisturbed by storm. For the
servants in irreconcilable enmity has been born the Lord;
and One has sojourned with us to be the bond of peace and
the Redeemer of those led captive, and to be the peace for
those involved in hostility. For He is our peace; 2 and of
that peace may it be granted that all we may receive the
enjoyment, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus
Christ ; to whom be the glory, honour, and power, now and
ever, and unto all the ages of the ages. Amen.
THE FOURTH HOMILY.
ON THE HOLY THEOPHANY, OR ON CHRIST'S BAPTISM.
A Discourse ly our sainted Father Gregory, Bishop of Neo-
Ccesareia, surnamed Thaumaturgus, on the Holy Theo-
phany (or, as the title is also given, on the Holy Liglits).
ye who are the friends of Christ, and the friends of the
stranger, and the friends of the brethren, receive in kindness
1 vp<p<>T6x.t. The Latin version gives it as = sponsa, simul et mater.
2 Eph. ii. 14.
ON THE HOLY THEOPHANY. 143
my speech to-day, and open your ears like the doors of hear-
ing, and admit within them my discourse, and accept from
me this saving proclamation of the baptism (/earaSuc-ew?) of
Christ, which took place in the river Jordan, in order that
your loving desires may be quickened after the Lord, who
lias done so much for us in the way of condescension. For
even though the festival of the Epiphany of the Saviour is
past, the grace of the same yet abides with us through all.
Let us therefore enjoy it with insatiable minds ; for insatiate
desire is a good thing in the case of what pertains to salva-
tion yea, it is a good thing. Come therefore, all of us,
from Galilee to Judea, and let us go forth with Christ ; for
blessed is he who journeys in such company on the way of
life. Come, and with the feet of thought let us make for
the Jordan, and see John the Baptist as he baptizes One
who needs no baptism, and yet submits to the rite in order
that He may bestow freely upon us the grace of baptism.
Come, let us view the image of our regeneration, as it is
emblematically presented in these waters. " Then cometh
Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of
him." l O how vast is the humility of the Lord ! O how
vast His condescension ! The King of the heavens hastened
to John, His own forerunner, without setting in motion the
camps (or armies) of His angels, without despatching before-
hand the incorporeal powers as His precursors ; but present-
ing Himself in utmost simplicity, in soldier-like (subaltern)
form (lv ry a-rpari(oriKfj /zop^), He comes up to His own
subaltern. And He approached him as one of the multitude,
and humbled Himself among the captives though He was
the Redeemer, and ranged Himself with those under judg-
ment though He was the Judge, and joined Himself with
the lost sheep though He was the Good Shepherd who on
account of the straying sheep came down from heaven, and
yet did riot forsake His heavens, and was mingled with the
tares though He was that heavenly grain that springs un-
sown. And when the Baptist John then saw Him, recog-
nising Him whom before in his mother's womb he had
1 Matt. iii. 13.
144 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
recognised and worshipped, and discerning clearly that this
was He on whose account, in a manner surpassing the
natural time, he had leaped in the womb of his mother, in
violation of the limits of nature, he drew his right hand
within his double cloak, and bowing his head like a servant
full of love to his master, addressed Him in these words :
I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to
me 1 l What is this Thou doest, my Lord ? Why dost
Thou reverse the order of things? Why seekest Thou along
with the servants, at the hand of Thy servant, the things
that are proper to servants ? Why dost Thou desire to re-
ceive what Thou requirest not? Why dost Thou burden me,
Thy servitor, with Thy mighty condescension ? I have need
to be baptized of Thee, but Thou hast no need to be baptized
of me. The less is blessed by the greater, and the greater
is not blessed and sanctified by the less. The light is kindled
by the sun, and the sun is not made to shine by the rush-
lamp. The clay is wrought by the potter, and the potter is
not moulded by the clay. The creature is made anew by
the Creator, and the Creator is not restored by the creature.
The infirm is healed by the physician, and the physician is
not cured by the infirm. The poor man receives contribu-
tions from the rich, and the rich borrow not from the poor.
I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to
me? Can I be ignorant who Thou art, and from what
source Thou hast Thy light, and whence Thou art come ?
Or, because Thou hast been born even as I have been (or,
because for my sake Thou hast been born as I have been), am
I, then, to deny the greatness of Thy divinity ? Or, because
Thou hast condescended so far to me as to have approached
my body, and dost bear me wholly in Thyself in order to
effect the salvation of the whole man, am I, on account of
that body of Thine which is seen, to overlook that divinity
of Thine which is only apprehended ? Or, because on be-
half of my salvation Thou hast taken to Thyself the offering
of my first-fruits, am I to ignore the fact that Thou "coverest
Thyself with light as with a garment?" 2 Or, because Thou
1 Matt. iii. 14. 2 Ps. civ. 2.
ON THE HOLY THEOPHANY. 145
wearest the flesh that is related to me, and dost show Thyself
to men as they are able to see Thee, am I to forget the bright-
ness of Thy glorious divinity ? Or, because I see my own
form in Thee, am I to reason against Thy divine substance,
which is invisible and incomprehensible ? I know Thee, O
Lord ; I know Thee clearly. I know Thee, since I have
been taught by Thee ; for no one can recognise Thee, unless
he enjoys Thine illumination. I know Thee, O Lord,
clearly ; for I saw Thee spiritually before I beheld this
light. When Thou wert altogether in the incorporeal bosom
of the heavenly Father, Thou wert also altogether in the
womb of Thy handmaid and mother ; and I, though held in
the womb of Elisabeth by nature as in a prison, and bound
with the indissoluble bonds of the children unborn, leaped
and celebrated Thy birth with anticipative rejoicings. Shall
I then, who gave intimation of Thy sojourn on earth before
Thy birth, fail to apprehend Thy coming after Thy birth ?
Shall I, who in the womb was a teacher of Thy coming, be
now a child in understanding in view of perfect knowledge ?
But I cannot but worship Thee, who art adored by the whole
creation ; I cannot but proclaim Thee, of whom heaven gave
the indication by the star, and for whom earth offered a kind
reception by the wise men, while the choirs of angels also
praised Thee in joy over Thy condescension to us, and the
shepherds who kept watch by night hymned Thee as the
Chief Shepherd of the rational sheep. I cannot keep silence
while Thou art present, for I am a voice ; yea, I am the
voice, as it is said, of one crying in the wilderness, Pre-
pare ye the way of the Lord. 1 I have need to be baptized
of Thee, and comest Thou to me? I was born, and thereby
removed the barrenness of the mother that bore me; and
while still a babe I became the healer of my father's speech-
lessness, having received of Thee from my childhood the
gift of the miraculous. But Thou, being born of the Virgin
Mary, as Thou didst will, and as Thou alone dost know,
didst not do away with her virginity ; but Thou didst keep
it, and didst simply gift her with the name of mother : and
1 Matt. iii. 3 ; Mark i. 3 ; Luke iii. 4 ; John i. 23.
K
146 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
neither did her virginity preclude Thy birth, nor did Thy
birth injure her virginity. But these two things, so utterly
opposite bearing and virginity harmonized with one in-
tent ; for such a thing abides possible with Thee, the Framer
of nature. I am but a man, and am a partaker of the divine
grace ; but Thou art God, and also man to the same effect :
for Thou art by nature man's friend. I have need to be
baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me ? Thou who wast
in the beginning, and wast with God, and wast God ; x Thou
who art the brightness of the Father's glory ; 2 Thou who art
the perfect image of the perfect Father (or, of the perfect
Light; to wit, the Father); Thou who art the true light
that lighteneth every man that cometh into the world ; 3 Thou
who wast in the world, and didst come where Thou wast ;
Thou who wast made flesh, and yet wast not changed into the
flesh ; Thou who didst dwell among us, and didst manifest
Thyself to Thy servants in the form of a servant ; Thou who
didst bridge earth and heaven together by Thy holy name,
comest Thou to me ? One so great to such an one as I am?
The King to the forerunner ? The Lord to the servant ?
But though Thou wast not ashamed to be born in the lowly
measures of humanity, yet I have no ability to pass the
measures of nature. I know how great is the measure of
difference between earth and the Creator. I know how
great is the distinction between the clay and the potter. I
know how vast is the superiority possessed by Thee, who art
the Sun of righteousness, over me who am but the torch of
Thy grace. Even though Thou art compassed with the
pure cloud of the body, I can still recognise Thy lordship.
I acknowledge my own servitude, I proclaim Thy glorious
greatness, I recognise Thy perfect lordship, I recognise my
own perfect insignificance, I am not worthy to unloose the
latchets of Thy shoes : 4 and how shall I dare to touch Thy
stainless head ? How can I stretch out the right hand upon
Thee, who didst stretch out the heavens like a curtain, 5 and
didst set the earth above the waters ? 6 . How shall I spread
1 John i. 1. 2 Heb. i. 3. 3 John i. 9.
4 Luke iii. 16 ; John i. 27. s Fs. civ. 2. 6 Pa. cxxxvi. 6.
ON THE HOLY THEOPHANY. 147
those menial hands of mine upon Thy head? How shall I
wash Thee, who art undefiled and sinless? How shall I
enlighten the light ? What manner of prayer shall I offer
up over Thee, who dost receive the prayers even of those
who are ignorant of Thee ?
When I baptize others, I baptize into Thy name, in order
that they may believe on Thee, who comest with glory ; but
when I baptize Thee, of whom shall I make mention ? and
into whose name shall I baptize Thee ? Into that of the
Father I But Thou hast the Father altogether in Thyself,
and Thou art altogether in the Father. Or into that of the
Son ? But beside Thee there is no other Son of God by
nature. Or into that of the Holy Spirit ? But He is ever
together with Thee, as being of one substance, and of one
will, and of one judgment, and of one power, and of one
honour with Thee ; and He receives, along with Thee, the
same adoration from all. Wherefore, O Lord, baptize
Thou me, if Thou pleasest; baptize me, the Baptist. Re-
generate one whom Thou didst cause to be generated. Ex-
tend Thy dread right hand, which Thou hast prepared for
Thyself, and crown my head by Thy touch, in order that I
may run the course before Thy kingdom, crowned like a
forerunner, and diligently announce the good tidings to the
sinners, addressing them with this earnest call : " Behold the
Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world I" 1 O
river Jordan, accompany me in the joyous choir, and leap
with me, and stir thy waters rhythmically, as in the move-
ments of the dance ; for thy Maker stands by thee in the body.
Once of old didst thou see Israel pass through thee, and
thou didst divide thy floods, and didst wait in expectation of
the passage of the people; but now divide thyself more
decidedly, and flow more easily, and embrace the stainless
limbs of Him who at that ancient time did convey the Jews
(or, the Hebrews) through thee. Ye mountains and hills,
ye valleys and torrents, ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord,
who has come upon the river Jordan ; for through these
streams He transmits sanctification to all streams. And
1 John i. 29.
148 GREGORY TEA UMA TURG US.
Jesus answered and said to him : Suffer it to be so now, for
thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. 1 Suffer it to
be so now; grant the favour of silence, O Baptist, to the
season of my ceconomy. Learn to will whatever is my will.
Learn to minister to me in those things on which I am bent,
and do not pry curiously into all that I wish to do. Suffer
it to be so now : do not yet proclaim my divinity ; do not yet
herald my kingdom with thy lips, in order that the tyrant
may not learn the fact and give up the counsel he has formed
with respect to me. Permit the devil to come upon me, and
enter the conflict with me as though I were but a common
man, and receive thus his mortal wound. Permit me to
fulfil the object for which I have come to earth. It is a
mystery that is being gone through this day in the Jordan.
My mysteries are for myself and my own. There is a
mystery here, not for the fulfilling of my own need, but for
the designing of a remedy for those who have been wounded.
There is a mystery, which gives in these waters the repre-
sentation of the heavenly streams of the regeneration of men.
Suffer it to be so now: when thou seest me doing what
seemeth to me good among the works of my hands, in a
manner befitting divinity, then attune thy praises to the
acts accomplished. When thou seest me cleansing the lepers,
then proclaim me as the framer of nature. When thou seest
me make the lame ready runners, then with quickened pace
do thou also prepare thy tongue to praise me. When thou
seest me cast out demons, then hail my kingdom with adora-
tion. When thou seest me raise the dead from their graves
by my word, then, in concert with those thus raised, glorify
me as the Prince of life. When thou seest me sitting on
the Father's right hand, then acknowledge me to be divine, as
the equal of the Father and the Holy Spirit, on the throne,
and in eternity, and in honour. Suffer it to be so now ; for
thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. I am the Law-
giver, and the Son of the Lawgiver ; and it becometh me first
to pass through all that is established, and then to set forth
everywhere the intimations of my free gift. It becometh me
1 Matt iii. 15.
ON THE HOLY THEOPHANY. 149
to fulfil the law, and then to bestow grace. It becometh me
to adduce the shadow, and then the reality. It becometh me
to finish the old covenant, and then to dictate the new, and
to write it on the hearts of men, and to subscribe it with my
blood (or, with my name), and to seal it with my Spirit. It
becometh me to ascend the cross, and to be pierced with its
nails, and to suffer after the manner of that nature which is
capable of suffering, and to heal sufferings by my suffering,
and by the tree to cure the wound that was inflicted upon
men by the medium of a tree. It becometh me to descend
even into the very depths of the grave, on behalf of the dead
who are detained there. It becometh me, by my three days'
dissolution in the flesh, to destroy the power of the ancient
enemy, death. It becometh me to kindle the torch of my
body for those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death. It becometh me to ascend in the flesh to that place
where I am in my divinity. It becometh me to introduce
to the Father the Adam reigning in me. It becometh me to
accomplish these things, for on account of these things I have
taken my position with the works of my hands. It becometh
me to be baptized with this baptism for the present, and
afterwards to bestow the baptism of the consubstantial
Trinity upon all men. Lend me, therefore, O Baptist, thy
right hand for the present osconomy, even as Mary lent
her womb for my birth. Immerse me in the streams of
Jordan, even as she who bore me wrapped me in children's
swaddling-clothes. Grant me thy baptism, even as the
Virgin granted me her milk. Lay hold of this head of mine,
which the seraphim revere. With thy right hand lay hold
of this head, that is related to thyself in kinship. Lay hold
of this head, which nature has made to be touched. Lay
hold of this head, which for this very purpose has been formed
by myself and my Father. Lay hold of this head of mine,
which, if one does lay hold of it in piety, will save him from
ever suffering shipwreck. Baptize me, who am destined to
baptize those who believe on me with water, and with the
Spirit, and with fire : with water, capable of washing away
the defilement of sins j with the Spirit, capable of making
150 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
the earthy spiritual ; with fire, naturally fitted to consume
the thorns of transgressions. On hearing these words, the
Baptist directed his mind to the object of the salvation (or,
to the Saviour's object), and comprehended the mystery which
he had received, and discharged the divine command ; for he
was at once pious and ready to obey. And stretching forth
slowly his right hand, which seemed both to tremble and to
rejoice, he baptized the Lord. Then the Jews who were
present, with those in the vicinity and those from a distance,
reasoned together, and spake thus with themselves and with
each other : Was it, then, without cause that we imagined
John to be superior to Jesus ? Was it without cause that
we considered the former to be greater than the latter?
Does not this very baptism attest the Baptist's pre-eminence?
Is not he who baptizeth presented as the superior, and he
who is baptized as the inferior ? But while they, in their
ignorance of the mystery of the oeconomy, babbled in such
wise with each other, He who alone is Lord, and by nature
the Father of the Only-begotten, He who alone knoweth
perfectly Him whom He alone in passionless fashion begat,
to correct the erroneous imaginations of the Jews, opened
the gates of the heavens, and sent down the Holy Spirit in
the form of a dove, lighting upon the head of Jesus, point-
ing out thereby the new Noah, yea the maker of Noah,
and the good pilot of the nature which is in shipwreck. And
He Himself calls with clear voice out of heaven, and says :
"This is my beloved Son," 1 the Jesus there, namely, and
not the John ; the one baptized, and not the one baptizing ;
He who was begotten of me before all periods of time, and
not he who was begotten of Zacharias ; He who was born
of Mary after the flesh, and not he who was brought forth
by Elisabeth beyond all expectation ; He who was the fruit
of the virginity yet preserved intact, and not he who was the
shoot from a sterility removed ; He who has had His con-
versation with you, and not he who was brought up in the
wilderness. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased : my Son, of the same substance with myself, and not
1 Matt. iii. 17, xvii. 5 ; Mark i. 11 ; Luke ix. 35.
ON THE HOLY THEOPHANY. 151
of a different ; of one substance with me according to what
is unseen, and of one substance with you according to what
is seen, yet without sin. This is He who along with me
made man. This is my beloved Son, in whom. I am well
pleased. This Son of mine and this son of Mary are not
two distinct persons ; but this is my beloved Son, this one
who is both seen with the eye and apprehended with the
mind. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ;
hear Him. If He shall say, I and my Father are one, 1 hear
Him. If He shall say, He that hath seen me hath seen the
Father, 2 hear Him. If He shall say, He that hath sent me
is greater than I, 3 adapt the voice to the oeconomy. If He
shall say, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 4
answer ye Him thus: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. 5 By these words, as they were sent from the Father out
of heaven in thunder-form, the race of men was enlightened :
they apprehended the difference between the Creator and
the creature, between the King and the soldier (subject),
between the Worker and the work ; and being strengthened
in faith, they drew near through the baptism of John to
Christ, our true God, who baptizeth with the Spirit and with
fire. To Him be glory, and to the Father, and to the most
holy and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages
of the ages. Amen.
1 John x. 30. 2 John xiv. 9. 8 John xiv. 28.
* Matt. xvi. 13. 6 Matt. xvi. 16.
A FRAGMENT
ON THE GOSPEL ACCOKDING TO MATTHEW.
CHAPTER vi. 22, 23.
(Gallandi, Vet. Patr. Biblioth. xiv. p. 119 ; from a Catena on Matthew,
Cod. MS. 168, Mitarelli.)
" The light of the body is the eye : if therefore thine eye be single, thy
whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy
whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is
in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness ! "
J1HE single eye is the love unfeigned ; for when
the body is enlightened by it, it sets forth
through the medium of the outer members only
things which are perfectly correspondent with
the inner thoughts. But the evil eye is the pretended love,
which is also called hypocrisy, by which the whole body of
the man is made darkness. We have to consider that deeds
meet only for darkness may be within the man, while through
the outer members he may produce words that seem to be of
the light: 1 for there are those who are in reality wolves,
though they may be covered with sheep's clothing. Such
are they who wash only the outside of the cup and platter,
and do not understand that, unless the inside of these things
is cleansed, the outside itself cannot be made pure. Where-
fore, in manifest confutation of such persons, the Saviour
says : " If the light that is in thee be darkness, how great
is that darkness ! " That is to say, if the love which seems
to thee to be light is really a work meet for darkness, by
reason of some hypocrisy concealed in thee, what must be
thy patent transgressions !
1 The text is apparently corrupt here : &%tot (jt.lv OKOTOV;
v taudtv' ^iac Be TUV f^u6fy f^touv (furog fivxi ^ox-ovvroe,
Migne suggests twowpsv tw aud -zp
152
A DISCOURSE OF GREGORY THAUMATURGUS
ON ALL THE SAINTS.
(Published by Joannes Aloysius Mingarelli, Bologna 1770.)
[RANT thy blessing, Lord.
It was my desire to be silent, and not to make
a public 1 display of the rustic rudeness of my
tongue. For silence is a matter of great con-
sequence when one's speech is mean. 2 And to refrain from
utterance is indeed an admirable thing, where there is lack
of training; and verily he is the highest philosopher who
knows how to cover his ignorance by abstinence from public
address. Knowing, therefore, the feebleness of tongue proper
to me, I should have preferred such a course. Never-
theless the spectacle of the onlookers impels me to speak.
Since, then, this solemnity is a glorious one among our
festivals, and the spectators form a crowded gathering, and
our assembly is one of elevated fervour in the faith, I shall
face the task of commencing an address with confidence. 3
And this I may attempt all the more boldly, since the
Father 4 requests me, and the church is with me, and the
sainted martyrs with this object strengthen what is weak
in me. For these have inspired aged men to accomplish
with much love a long course, and constrained them to
support their failing steps by the staff of the word (or, the
1 The codex gives "b-fipwitvovaav, for which we read
2 The codex gives TX3jj, for which tvT&fa is read by the editor.
3 Reading Qappovvru; for 6xppovvrof.
4 This is supposed by the Latin annotator to refer to the bishop, and
perhaps to Phsedimus of Amasea, as in those times no one was at liberty
to make an address in the church when the bishop was present, except
by his request or with his permission.
158
154 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
Word) ; and they have stimulated women to finish their course
like the young men, and have brought to this, too, those of
tender years, yea, even creeping children. In this wise have
the martyrs shown their power, leaping with joy in the pre-
sence of death, laughing at the sword, making sport of the
wrath of princes, grasping at death as the producer of death-
lessness, making victory their own by their fall, through the
body taking their leap to heaven, suffering their members
to be scattered abroad in order that they might hold
(o-<j/y&>cri) their souls, and, bursting the bars of life, that
they might open the gates (or keys) of heaven. And if
any one believes not that death is abolished, that Hades is
trodden under foot, that the chains thereof are broken, that
the tyrant is bound, let him look on the martyrs disporting
themselves (Kv/Sia-Tuvres) in the presence of death, and tak-
ing up the jubilant strain of the victory of Christ. O the
marvel ! Since the hour when Christ despoiled Hades, men
have danced in triumph over death. " O death, where is
thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? " l Hades and
the devil have been despoiled, and stripped of their ancient
armour, and cast out of their peculiar power. And even as
Goliath had his head cut off with his own sword, so also is
the devil, who has been the father of death, put to rout
through death ; and he finds that the selfsame thing which
he was wont to use as the ready weapon of his deceit, has
become the mighty instrument of his own destruction. Yea,
if we may so speak, casting his hook at the Godhead, and
seizing the wonted enjoyment of the baited pleasure, he is
himself manifestly caught while he deems himself the captor,
and discovers that in place of the man he has touched the
God. By reason thereof do the martyrs leap upon the head
of the dragon, and despise every species of torment. For
since the second Adam has brought up the first Adam out
of the deeps of Hades, as Jonah was delivered out of the
whale, and has set forth him who was deceived as a citizen
of heaven to the shame of the deceiver, the gates of Hades
have been shut, and the gates of heaven have been opened,
1 1 Cor. xv. 55.
A DISCOURSE ON ALL THE SAINTS. 155
so as to offer an unimpeded entrance to those who rise
thither in faith. In olden time Jacob beheld a ladder
erected reaching to heaven, and the angels of God ascend-
ing and descending upon it. But now, having been made
man for man's sake, He who is the Friend of man has
crushed witli the foot of His divinity him who is the enemy
of man, and has borne up the man with the hand of His
Christhood, 1 and has made the trackless ether to be trodden
by the feet of man. Then the angels were ascending and
descending ; but now the Angel of the great counsel neither
ascendeth nor descendeth : for whence or where shall He
change His position, who is present everywhere, and filleth
all things, and holds in His hand the ends of the world?
Once, indeed, He descended, and once He ascended, -not,
however, through any change (yuera/Sacret) of nature, but
only in the condescension (crj/y/cara/Sacrei) of His philan-
thropic Christhood (or benignity) ; and He is seated as the
Word with the Father, and as the Word He dwells in the
womb, and as the Word He is found everywhere, and is
never separated from the God of the universe. Aforetime
did the devil deride the nature of man with great laughter,
and he has had his joy over the times of our calamity as his
festal-days. But the laughter is only a three days' pleasure,
while the wailing is eternal ; and his great laughter has
prepared for him a greater wailing and ceaseless tears, and
inconsolable weeping, and a sword in his heart. This sword
did our Leader forge against the enemy with fire in the
virgin furnace, in such wise and after such fashion as He
willed, and gave it its point by the energy of His invincible
divinity, and dipped it in the water of an undefiled baptism,
and sharpened it by sufferings without passion in them, and
made it bright by the mystical resurrection ; and herewith
by Himself He put to death the vengeful adversary, together
with his whole host. What manner of word, therefore, will
express our joy or his misery ? For he who was once an
archangel is now a devil ; he who once lived in heaven is
now seen crawling like a serpent upon earth ; he who once
1 XJS;OT</'TTO?, for which, however, %pwrcTYjTQf, benignity, is suggested.
156 GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
was jubilant with the cherubim, is now shut up in pain in
the guard-house of swine; and him, too, in fine, shall we
put to rout if we mind those things which are contrary to
his choice, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus
Christ, to whom be the glory and the power unto the ages
of the ages. Amen.
THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS,
BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA.
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE.
OR our knowledge of the career of this illustrious
disciple of Origen \ve are indebted chiefly to
Eusebius, in the sixth and seventh books of his
Historia Ecclesiastica, and in the fourteenth
book of his Prceparatio Evangelica. There are also passages,
of larger or smaller extent, bearing upon his life and his
literary activity, in Jerome (De viris illustr. ch. 69 ; and
Prcefatio ad Lib. xviii. Comment, in Esaiam), Athanasius
(De Sententia Dionysii, and De Synodl Niccence Decretis),
Basil (De Spiritu Sancto, ch. 29 ; Epist. ad Ampldloch., and
Epist. ad Maximum). Among modern authorities, we may
refer specially to the Dissertation on his life and writings by
S. de Magistris, in the folio edition issued under his care in
Greek and Latin at Eome in 1796 ; to the account given by
Basnage in the Histoire de FEglise, tome i. livre ii. ch. v.
p. 68 ; to the complete collection of his extant works in Gal-
landi's Bibliotlieca Patrum, iii. p. 481, etc. ; as well as to the
accounts in Cave's Hist. Lit. i. p. 95, and elsewhere. He
appears to have been the son of pagan parents ; but after
studying the doctrines of various of the schools of philosophy,
and coming under the influence of Origen, to whom he had
attached himself as a pupil, he was led to embrace the Chris-
tian faith. This step was taken at an early period, and, as he
informs us, only after free examination and careful inquiry
into the great systems of heathen belief. He was made a
presbyter in Alexandria after this decision; and on the eleva-
tion of Heraclas to the bishopric of that city, Dionysius suc-
157
158 INTRODUCTORY NOTICE.
ceeded him in the presidency of the catechetical school there
about A.D. 232. After holding that position for some fifteen
years Heraclas died, and Dionysius was again chosen to be
his successor ; and ascending the episcopal throne of Alex-
andria about A.D. 247 or 248, he retained that see till his
death in the year 265. The period of his activity as bishop
was a time of great suffering and continuous anxiety ; and
between the terrors of persecution on the one hand, and the
cares of controversy on the other, he found little repose in
his office. During the Decian persecution he was arrested
and hurried off by the soldiers to a small town named Tapo-
siris, lying between Alexandria and Canopus. But he was
rescued from the peril of that seizure in a remarkably provi-
dential manner, by a sudden rising of the people of the rural
district through which he was being carried. Again, how-
ever, he was called to suffer, and that more severely, when the
persecution under Valerian broke out in the year 257. On
making open confession of his faith on this occasion he was
banished, at a time when he was seriously ill, to Cephro, a
wild and barren district in Libya; and not until he had spent
two or three years in exile there was he enabled to return to
Alexandria, in virtue of the edict of Gallienus. At various
times he had to cope, too, with the miseries of pestilence and
famine and civil conflicts in the seat of his bishopric. In
the many ecclesiastical difficulties of his age he was also led
to take a prominent part. When the keen contest was waged
on the subject of the rebaptism of recovered heretics about
the year 256, the matter in dispute was referred by both
parties to his judgment, and he composed several valuable
writings on the question. Then he was induced to enter the
lists with the Sabellians, and in the course of a lengthened
controversy did much good service against their tenets. The
uncompromising energy of his opposition to that sect carried
him, however, beyond the bounds of prudence, so that he him-
self gave expression to opinions not easily reconcilable with
the common orthodox doctrine. For these he was called to
account by Dionysius bishop of Rome ; and when a synod had
been summoned to consider the case, he promptly and humbly
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 159
acknowledged the error into which his precipitate zeal had
drawn him. Once more, he was urged to give his help in
the difficulty with Paul of Samosata. But as the burden of
years and infirmities made it impossible for him to attend
the synod convened at Antioch in 265 to deal with that
troublesome heresiarch, he sent his opinion on the subject
of discussion in a letter to the council, and died soon after,
towards the close of the same year. The responsible duties
of his bishopric had been discharged with singular faithful-
ness and patience throughout the seventeen eventful years
during which he occupied the office. Among the ancients
he was held in the highest esteem both for personal worth
and for literary usefulness ; and it is related that there was
a church dedicated to him in Alexandria. One feature
that appears very prominently in his character, is the
spirit of independent investigation which possessed him.
It was only after candid examination of the current philo-
sophies that he was induced to become a Christian ; and
after his adoption of the faith, he kept himself abreast of
all the controversies of the time, and perused with an im-
partial mind the works of the great heretics. He acted on
this principle through his whole course as a teacher, pro-
nouncing against such writings only when he had made him-
self familiar with their contents, and saw how to refute
them. And we are told in Eusebius (vii. 7), that when a
certain presbyter once remonstrated with him on this subject,
and warned him of the injury he might do to his own soul
by habituating himself to the perusal of these heterodox pro-
ductions, Dionysius was confirmed in his purpose by a vision
and a voice which were sent him, as he thought, from
heaven to relieve him of all such fear, and to encourage
him to read and prove all that might come into his hand,
because that method had been from the very first the cause
of faith to him. The moderation of his character, again,
is not less worthy of notice. In the case of the Novatian
schism, while he was from the first decidedly opposed to the
principles of the party, he strove by patient and affectionate
argumentation to persuade the leader to submit. So, too, in
1 60 IN TROD U CTOR 7 NOTICE.
the disputes on baptism we find him urgently entreating the
Roman bishop Stephen not to press matters to extremity with
the Eastern Church, nor destroy the peace she had only lately
begun to enjoy. Again, in the chiliastic difficulties excited
by Nepos, and kept up by Coracion, we see him assembling
all the parochial clergy who held these opinions, and inviting
all the laymen of the diocese also to attend the conference,
and discussing the question for three whole days with all these
ministers, considering their arguments, and meeting all their
objections patiently by Scripture testimony, until he per-
suades Coracion himself to retract, and receives the thanks
of the pastors, and restores unity of faith in his bishopric.
On these occasions his mildness, and benignity, and modera-
tion stand out in bold relief ; and on others we trace similar
evidences of his broad sympathies and his large and liberal
spirit. He was possessed also of a remarkably fertile pen ;
and the number of his theological writings, both formal
treatises and more familiar epistles, was very considerable.
All these, however, have perished, with the exception of
what Eusebius and other early authors already referred to
have preserved. The most important of these compositions
are the following: 1. A Treatise on the Promises^ in two
books, which was written against Nepos, and of which Euse-
bius has introduced two pretty large extracts into the third
and seventh books of his History. 2. A Book on Nature,
addressed to Timotheus, in opposition to the Epicureans, of
which we have some sections in the Prcepar. Evangel, of
Eusebius. 3. A Work against the Sabellians, addressed to
Dionysius bishop of Rome, in four books or letters, in which
he deals with his own unguarded statements in the contro-
versy with Sabellius, and of which certain portions have
come down to us in Athanasius and Basil. In addition to
these, we possess a number of his epistles in whole or part,
and a few exegetical fragments.
THE EXTANT FRAGMENTS OF
THE WORKS AND THE EPISTLES OF DIONYSIUS,
BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA.
PART FIRST.
CONTAINING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE WORKS.
I. FROM THE TWO BOOKS ON THE PROMISES, IN OPPOSITION
TO NOETUS, A BISHOP IN EGYPT. 1
(Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. vii. 24 and 25.)
|UT as they produce a certain composition by
Nepos, 2 on which they insist very strongly, as
if it demonstrated incontestably that there will
be a (temporal) reign of Christ upon the earth,
I have to say, that in many other respects I accept the opinion
of Nepos, and love him at once for his faith, and his labo-
1 Eusebius introduces this extract in the following terms : " There are
also two books of his on the subject of the promises. The occasion of
writing these was furnished him by a certain Nepos, a bishop in Egypt,
who taught that the promises which were given to holy men in the
sacred Scriptures were to be understood according to the Jewish sense
of the same ; and affirmed that there would be some kind of a millen-
nial period, plenished with corporeal delights, upon this earth. And as
he thought that he could establish this opinion of his by the Revelation
of John, he had composed a book on this question, entitled Refutation
of the Allegorists. This, therefore, is sharply attacked by Dionysius in
his books on the Promises. And in the first of these books he states
his own opinion on the subject ; while in the second he gives us a dis-
cussion on the Revelation of John, in the introduction to which he
makes mention of Nepos in these words : ' But as they produce,' " etc.
2 As it is clear from this passage that this work by Dionysus was
written against Nepos, it is strange that, in his preface to the eighteenth
book of his Commentaries on Isaiah, Jerome should affirm it to have been
L
162 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
riousness, and his patient study in the Scriptures, as also for
his great efforts in psalmody, 1 by which even now many of
the brethren are delighted. I hold the man, too, in deep
respect still more, inasmuch as 2 he has gone to his rest before
us. Nevertheless the truth is to be prized and reverenced
above all things else. And while it is indeed proper to praise
and approve ungrudgingly anything that is said aright, it is
no less proper to examine and correct anything which may
appear to have been written unsoundly. If he had been
present then himself, and had been stating his opinions
orally, it would have been sufficient to discuss the question
together without the use of writing, and to endeavour to
convince the opponents, and carry them along by interroga-
tion and reply. But the work is published, and is, as it seems
to some, of a very persuasive character ; and there are un-
questionably some teachers, who hold that the law and the
composed against Irenseus of Lyons. Irenseus was certainly of the
number of those who held millennial views, and who had been per-
suaded to embrace such by Papias, as Jerome himself tells us in the
Catalogus, and as Eusebius explains towards the close of the third book
of his History. But that this book by Dionysius was written not against
Irenaeus, but against Nepos, is evident, not only from this passage in
Eusebius, but also from Jerome himself, in his work On Ecclesiastical
Writers, where he speaks of Dionysius. VALES.
1 TV; woXAijf fyu.'hiAubiu.g. Christophorsonus interprets this of psalms
and hymns composed by Nepos. It was certainly the practice among
the ancient Christians to compose psalms and hymns in honour of
Christ. Eusebius bears witness to this in the end of the fifth book of
his History. Mention is made of these psalms in the Epistle of the
Council of Antioch against Paul of Samosata, and in the penultimate
canon of the Council of Laodicea, where there is a clear prohibition of
the use of i//A^o< i^iarmoi in the church, i.e. of psalms composed by
private individuals. For this custom had obtained great prevalence, so
that many persons composed psalms in honour of Christ, and got them
sung in the church. It is psalms of this kind, consequently, that the
Fathers of the Council of Laodicea forbid to be sung thereafter in the
church, designating them ftiuriitoi, i.e. composed by unskilled men, and
not dictated by the Holy Spirit. Thus is the matter explained by Ago-
bardus in his book De ritu canendi psalmos in Ecclesia. VALES.
2 renvr7i ^aXXoc y 7fpoa.ytTra.vaa.ro : it may mean, perhaps, for the way
in which he lias gone to his rest before us.
ON THE PROMISES. 163
prophets are of no importance, and who decline to follow
the Gospels, and who depreciate the epistles of the apostles,
and who have also made large promises 1 regarding the
doctrine of this composition, as though it were some great
and hidden mystery, and who, at the same time, do not allow
that our simpler brethren have any sublime and elevated
conceptions either of our Lord's appearing in His glory and
His true divinity, or of our own resurrection from the dead,
and of our being gathered together to Him, and assimilated
to Him, but, on the contrary, endeavour to lead them to
hope 2 for things which are trivial and corruptible, and only
such as what we find at present in the kingdom of God.
And since this is the case, it becomes necessary for us to
discuss this subject with our brother Nepos just as if he
were present.
2. After certain other matters, he adds the following state-
ment : Being then in the Arsinoitic 3 prefecture where, as
you are aware, this doctrine was current long ago, and
caused such division, that schisms and apostasies took place
in whole churches I called together the presbyters and the
teachers among the brethren in the villages, and those of the
brethren also who wished to attend were present. I exhorted
them to make an investigation into that dogma in public.
Accordingly, when they had brought this book before us, as
though it were a kind of weapon or impregnable battlement,
I sat with them for three days in succession, from morning
till evening, and attempted to set them right on the subjects
i.e. diu ante promittunt quam tradunt. The
metaphor is taken from the mysteries of the Greeks, who were wont to
promise great and marvellous discoveries to the initiated, and then kept
them on the rack by daily expectation, in order to confirm their judgment
and reverence by such suspense in the conveyance of knowledge, as
Tertullian says in his book Against the Valentinians. VALES.
2 Reading I^KI^IIV u.vot.'^tidoyruv for fhTTi^ofttva, icuQw-ruv, with the
Codex Mazarin.
3 \ ftev wv ri; 'Afwowrf, In the three codices here, as well as in
Nicephorus and Ptolemy, we find this scription, although it is evident
that the word should be written 'ApftMOTjjr, as the district took its name
from Queen Arsinoe. VALES.
164 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
propounded in the composition. Then, too, I was greatly
gratified by observing the constancy of the brethren, and
their love of the truth, and their docility and intelligence, as
we proceeded, in an orderly method, and in a spirit of mode-
ration, to deal with questions, and difficulties, and concessions.
For we took care not to press, in every way and with jea-
lous urgency, opinions which had once been adopted, even
although they might appear to be correct. 1 Neither did we
evade objections alleged by others ; but we endeavoured as
far as possible to keep by the subject in hand, and to estab-
lish the positions pertinent to it. Nor, again, were we
ashamed to change our opinions, if reason convinced us, and
to acknowledge the fact ; but rather with a good conscience,
and in all sincerity, and with open hearts 2 before God, we
accepted all that could be established by the demonstrations
and teachings of the holy Scriptures. And at last the author
and introducer of this doctrine, whose name was Coracion, in
the hearing of all the brethren present, made acknowledg-
ment of his position, and engaged to us that he would no
longer hold by his opinion, nor discuss it, nor mention it,
nor teach it, as he had been completely convinced by the
arguments of those opposed to it. The rest of the brethren,
also, who were present, were delighted with the conference,
and with the conciliatory spirit and the harmony exhibited
by all.
3. Then, a little further on, he speaks of the Revelation of
John as follows : Now some before our time have set aside
this book, and repudiated it entirely, criticising it chapter
by chapter, and endeavouring to show it to be without either
sense or reason. They have alleged also that its title is
false ; for they deny that John is the author. Nay, further,
1 el Kul tpaivoivTo. There is another reading, x,l
although they might not appear to be correct. Christophorsonus renders
it : ne illis quse fuerant ante ab ipsis decreta, si quidquam in eis veri-
tati repugnare videretur, inordicus adhsererent prsecavebant.
2 iiKhupevMif Totis xotplietts. Christophorsonus renders it, puris erga
Deum ac simplicibus animis ; Musculus gives, cordibus ad Deum expansis;
and Rufinus, patefactis cordibus.
ON THE PROMISES. 165
they hold that it can be no sort of revelation, because it is
covered with so gross and dense a veil of ignorance. They
affirm, therefore, that none of the apostles, nor indeed any
of the saints, nor any person belonging to the church, could
be its author; but that Cerinthus, 1 and the heretical sect
founded by him, and named after him the Cerinthian sect,
being desirous of attaching the authority of a great name to
the fiction propounded by him, prefixed that title to the
book. For the doctrine inculcated by Cerinthus is this :
that there will be an earthly reign of Christ ; and as he was
himself a man devoted to the pleasures of the body, and
altogether carnal in his dispositions, he fancied 2 that that
kingdom would consist in those kinds of gratifications on
which his own heart was set, to wit, in the delights of the
belly, and what comes beneath the belly, that is to say, in
eating and drinking, and marrying, and in other things under
the guise of which he thought he could indulge his appetites
with a better grace, 3 such as festivals, and sacrifices, and the
slaying of victims. But I, for my part, could not venture to
set this book aside, for there are many brethren who value
it highly. Yet, having formed an idea of it as a composition
exceeding my capacity of understanding, I regard it as con-
taining a kind of hidden and wonderful intelligence on the
several subjects which come under it. For though I cannot
comprehend it, I still suspect that there is some deeper sense
underlying the words. And I do not measure and judge its
expressions by the standard of my own reason, but, making
more allowance for faith, I have simply regarded them as
too lofty for my comprehension ; and I do not forthwith reject
what I do not understand, but I am only the more filled with
wonder at it, in that I have not been able to discern its import.
1 This passage is given substantially by Eusebius also in b. iii. c. 28.
8 The text gives oveipoTrotelv, for which oveipoKo'hti or ai/sipon-fatt is to
be read.
8 S/ a futpYi/iioTepov Toiiirot a'/ifa TfopttiaSott. The old reading was ivdv-
fnvripoii ; but the present reading is given in the MSS., Cod. Maz., and Med.,
as also in Eusebius, iii. 28, and in Nicephorus, iii. 14. So Rufinus renders
it : et ut aliquid sacratius dicere videretur, krjaks aiebat festivitates rur-
tum cekbrandas.
166 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
4. After this, lie examines the whole book of the Revelation ;
and having proved that it cannot possibly be understood ac-
cording to the bald, literal sense, he proceeds thus : When
the prophet now has completed, so to speak, the whole
prophecy, he pronounces those blessed who should observe
it, and names himself, too, in the number of the same :
" For blessed," says he, " is he that keepeth the words of the
prophecy of this book ; and I John (who) saw and heard
these things." 1 That this person was called John, therefore,
and that this was the writing of a John, I do not deny. And
I admit further, that it was also the work of some holy and
inspired man. But I could not so easily admit that this was
the apostle, the son of Zebedee, the brother of James, and
the same person with him who wrote the Gospel which bears
the title according to John, and the catholic epistle. But
from the character of both, and the forms of expression, and
the whole disposition and execution 2 of the book, I draw the
conclusion that the authorship is not his. For the evangelist
nowhere else subjoins his name, and he never proclaims him-
self either in the Gospel or in the epistle.
And a little further on he adds : John, moreover, nowhere
gives us the name, whether as of himself directly (in the
first person), or as of another (in the third person). But the
writer of the Revelation puts himself forward at once in the
very beginning, for he says : " The Revelation of Jesus
Christ, which He gave to him to show to His servants
quickly ; and He sent and signified it by His angel to His
servant John, who bare record of the Word of God, and of
his testimony, and of all things that he saw." 3 And then he
writes also an epistle, in which he says : " John to the seven
churches which are in Asia, grace be unto you, and peace."
The evangelist, on the other hand, has not prefixed his name
even to the catholic epistle ; but without any circumlocution,
1 Rev. xxii. 7, 8.
2 ln^ctyay^s KiyoftivYi;. Musculus renders it tractatum libri; Christo-
pliorsonus gives discursum ; and Valesius takes it as equivalent to olnotto-
y, as 'onia.yot.'/tlv is the same as
3 Hev. i. 1, 2.
ON THE PROMISES. 1G7
he has commenced at once with the mystery of the divine
revelation itself in these terms : " That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with
O c" 1 ' /
our eyes." l And on the ground of such a revelation as that
the Lord pronounced Peter blessed, when He said : " Blessed
art thou, Simon Bar-jona ; for flesh and blood hath not re-
vealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." 2
And again in the second epistle, which is ascribed to John
(the apostle), and in the third, though they are indeed brief,
John is not set before us by name ; but we find simply the
anonymous writing, The elder. This other author, on the
contrary, did not even deem it sufficient to name himself
once, and then to proceed with his narrative ; but he takes
up his name again, and says : " I John, who also am your
brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom
and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called
Patmos for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus
Christ." 3 And likewise toward the end he speaks thus :
" Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of
this book ; and I John (who) saw these things and heard
them." 4 That it is a John, then, that writes these things
we must believe, for he himself tells us.
5. What John this is, however, is uncertain. For he has
not said, as he often does in the Gospel, that he is the disciple
beloved by the Lord, or the one that leaned on His bosom,
or the brother of James, or one that was privileged to see
and hear the Lord. And surely he would have given us some
of these indications if it had been his purpose to make him-
self clearly known. But of all this he offers us nothing ; and
he only calls himself our brother and companion, and the
witness of Jesus, and one blessed with the seeing and hear-
ing of these revelations. I am also of opinion that there were
many persons of the same name with John the apostle, who by
their love for him, and their admiration and emulation of him,
and their desire to be loved by the Lord as he was loved,
were induced to embrace also the same designation, just as we
find many of the children of the faithful called by the names
1 1 John i. 1. 2 Matt. xvi. 17. 8 Eev. i. 9. * Rev. xxii. 7, 8.
168 THE WORKS OF DIONYS1US.
of Paul and Peter. 1 There is, besides, another John men-
tioned in the Acts of the Apostles, with the surname Mark,
whom Barnabas and Paul attached to themselves as com-
panion, and of whom again it is said : " And they had also
John to their minister." 2 But whether this is the one who
wrote the Revelation, I could not say. For it is not written
that he came with them into Asia. But the writer says :
" Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos,
they came to Perga in Pamphylia : and John, departing from
them, returned to Jerusalem." 3 I think, therefore, that it was
some other one of those who were in Asia. For it is said
that there were two monuments in Ephesus, and that each
of these bears the name of John.
6. And from the ideas, and the expressions, and the
collocation of the same, it may be very reasonably conjec-
tured that this one is distinct from that. 4 For the Gospel
1 It is worth while to notice this passage of Dionysius on the ancient
practice of the Christians, in giving their children the names of Peter
and Paul, which they did both in order to express the honour and affec-
tion in which they held these saints, and to secure that their children,
might be dear and acceptable to God, just as those saints were. Hence
it is that Chrysostom in his first volume, in his oration on St. Meletius,
says that the people of Antioch had such love and esteem for Meletius,
that the parents called their children by his name, in order that they
might have their homes adorned by his presence. And the same Chry-
sostom, in his twenty-first homily on Genesis, exhorts his hearers not to
call their children carelessly by the names of their grandfathers, or great-
grandfathers, or men of fame ; but rather by the names of saintly men,
who have been shining patterns of virtue, in order that the children
might be fired with the desire of virtue by their example. VALES.
2 Acts xiii. 5. 3 Acts xiii. 13.
4 This is the second argument by which Dionysius reasoned that
the Revelation and the Gospel of John are not by one author. For the
first argument which he used in proof of this is drawn from the charac-
ter and usage of the two writers ; and this argument Dionysius has pro-
secuted up to this point. Now, however, he adduces a second argument,
drawn from the words and ideas of the two writers, and from the collo-
cation of the expressions. For, with Cicero, I thus interpret the word
ovvrct^iv. See the very elegant book of Dionysius Hal. entitled Tlspi
ouTii%tuf 6vof^u,Tav On the Collocation of Names; although in this
passage avjiretfys appears to comprehend the disposition of sentences as
well as words. Further, from this passage we can see what experience
0^ THE PROMISES. 160
and the Epistle agree with each other, and both commence in
the same way. For the one opens thus, " In the beginning
was the Word ;" while the other opens thus, " That which
was from the beginning." The one says : " And the Word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us ; and we beheld His
glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father." 1 The
other says the same things, with a slight alteration : " That
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes,
which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of
the Word of life : and the life was manifested." 2 For these
things are introduced by way of prelude, and in opposition,
as he has shown in the subsequent parts, to those who deny
that the Lord is come in the flesh. For which reason he has
also been careful to add these words : " And that which we
have seen we testify, and show unto you that eternal life which
was with the Father, and was manifested unto us : that which
we have seen and heard declare we unto you." 3 Thus he
keeps to himself, and does not diverge inconsistently from his
subjects, but goes through them all under the same heads and
in the same phraseologies, some of which we shall briefly men-
tion. Thus the attentive reader will find the phrases, the life,
the light, occurring often in both ; and also such expressions
as fleeing from darkness, holding the truth, grace, joy, the flesh
and the blood of the Lord, the judgment, the remission of sins,
the love of God toward us, the commandment of love on our
side toward each other ; as also, that we ought to keep all the
commandments, the conviction of the tcorld, of the devil, of
Antichrist, the promise of the Holy Spirit, the adoption of God,
the faith required of us in all things, the Father and the Son,
named as such everywhere. Arid altogether, through their
whole course, it will be evident that the Gospel and the
Epistle are distinguished by one and the same character of
writing. But the Revelation is totally different, and alto-
gether distinct from this ; and I might almost say that it
Dionysius had in criticism ; for it is the critic's part to examine the
writings of the ancients, and distinguish what is genuine and authentic
from what is spurious and counterfeit. VALES.
1 John i. 14. 2 1 John i. 1, 2. 3 1 John i. 2, 3.
170 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
does not even come near it, or border upon it. Neither does
it contain a syllable in common with these other books. Nay
more, the Epistle (for I say nothing of the Gospel) does not
make any mention or evince any notion of the Revelation ;
and the Revelation, in like manner, gives no note of the
Epistle. Whereas Paul gives some indication of his revela-
tions in his epistles ; which revelations, however, he has not
recorded in writing by themselves.
7. And furthermore, on the ground of difference in diction,
it is possible to prove a distinction between the Gospel and the
Epistle on the one hand, and the Revelation on the other.
For the former are written not only without actual error as
regards the Greek language, but also with the greatest ele-
gance, both in their expressions and in their reasonings, and
in the whole structure of their style. They are very far
indeed from betraying any barbarism or solecism, or any
sort of vulgarism, in their diction. For, as might be pre-
sumed, the writer possessed the gift of both kinds of dis-
course, 1 the Lord having bestowed both these capacities upon
him, viz. that of knowledge and that of expression. That
the author of the latter, however, saw a revelation, and
received knowledge and prophecy, I do not deny. Only I
perceive that his dialect and language are not of the exact
Greek type, and that he employs barbarous idioms, and in
some places also solecisms. These, however, we are under
no necessity of seeking out at present. And I would not
have any one suppose that I have said these things in the
spirit of ridicule ; for I have done so only with the purpose
of setting right this matter of the dissimilarity subsisting
between these writings.
1 The old reading was, ro hoyoy, ryv yvaaw. Valesius expunges the
TVI yvaoiy, as disturbing the sense, and as absent in various codices.
Instead also of the reading, ros> rt TJJJ <m<pts, rov rs TJJ? yvuatus, the
same editor adopts TOV Tt TSJJ -yi/uaeu;, TOP re TJJJ (pptiaiuf, which is the
reading of various manuscripts, and is accepted in the translation.
Valesius understands that by the fKrfpov Aoyov Dionysius means the
Xo'yo? tv^tiiSiTOf and the Xo'yo? w^o@o/>/xoV, that is, the subjective dis-
course, or reason in the mind, and the objective discourse, or utterance
of the same.
AGAINST THE EPICUREANS. 171
II. FROM THE BOOKS ON NATURE AGAINST THE
EPICUREANS.
(In Eusebius, Prsepar. Evangel, book xiv. ch. 23-27.)
1. In opposition to those of the school of Epicurus who deny the
existence of a Providence, and refer the constitution of
the universe to atomic bodies. 1
Is the universe one coherent whole, as it seems to be in our
own judgment, as well as in that of the wisest of the Greek
philosophers, such as Plato and Pythagoras, and the Stoics
and Heraclitus ? or is it a duality, as some may possibly have
conjectured? or is it indeed something manifold and infinite,
as has been the opinion of certain others who, with a variety
of mad speculations and fanciful usages of terms, have sought
to divide and resolve the essential matter (pva-iav) of the
universe, and lay down the position that it is infinite and
unoriginated, and without the sway of Providence (airpo-
v6r)Tov)t For there are those who, giving the name of
atoms to certain imperishable and most minute bodies which
are supposed to be infinite in number, and positing also the
existence of a certain vacant space of an unlimited vastness,
allege that these atoms, as they are borne along casually in
the void, and clash all fortuitously against each other in an
unregulated whirl, and become commingled one with another
in a multitude of forms, enter into combination with each
other, and thus gradually form this world and all objects in
it ; yea, more, that they construct infinite worlds. This was
the opinion of Epicurus and Democritus ; only they differed
in one point, in so far as the former supposed these atoms
to be all most minute and consequently imperceptible, while
1 Eusebius introduces this extract in terms to the following effect :
It may be well now to subjoin some few arguments out of the many
which are employed in his disputation against the Epicureans by the
bishop Dionysius, a man who professed a Christian philosophy, as they
are found in the work which he composed on Nature. But peruse thou
the writer's statements in his own terms.
172 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
Democritus held that there were also some among them of
a very large size. But they both hold that such atoms do
exist, and that they are so called on account of their indis-
soluble consistency. There are some, again, who give the
name of atoms to certain bodies which are indivisible into
parts, while they are themselves parts of the universe, out
of which in their undivided state all things are made up,
and into which they are dissolved again. And the allegation
is, that Diodorus was the person who gave them their names
as bodies indivisible into parts (roov ap,epwv). But it is also
said that Heraclides attached another name to them, and called
them weights (07/^01/9) ; and from him the physician Asclepiades
also derived that name. 1
2. A refutation of this dogma on the ground of familiar
human analogies.
How shall we bear with these men who assert that all those
wise, and consequently also noble, constructions (in the uni-
verse) are only the works of common chance ? those objects,
I mean, of which each taken by itself as it is made, and
the whole system collectively, were seen to be good by
Him by whose command they came into existence. For, as
it is said, " God saw everything that He had made, and, be-
hold, it was very good." 2 But truly these men do not reflect
on 3 the analogies even of small familiar things which might
come under their observation at any time, and from which
they might learn that no object of any utility, and fitted to be
serviceable, is made without design or by mere chance, but
is wrought by skill of hand, and is contrived so as to meet
its proper use. And when the object falls out of service
and becomes useless, then it also begins to break up indeter-
minately, and to decompose and dissipate its materials in every
1 ex,^Yipov6ftYiai TO ovofta. Eusebius subjoins this remark : Totvr' ilvuv,
|sjf *swxvW TO ^oyftot, S; KoKhav, uraip Bs S/ TOVTUV, = having said
thus much, he (Dionysius) proceeds to demolish this doctrine by many
arguments, and among others by what follows. GALL.
2 Gen. i. 31.
8 The text is, XX' oi/^s ociro teav fiixpuv TUV avvq&uv xcci Tfctpoi 7re-'3
i/) etc. We adopt Viger's suggestion, and read
AGAINST THE EPICUREANS. 173
casual and unregulated way, just as the wisdom by which it
was skilfully constructed at first no longer controls and main-
tains it. For a cloak, for example, cannot be made without
the weaver, as if the warp could be set aright and the woof
could be entwined with it by their own spontaneous action ;
while, on the other hand, if it is once worn out, its tattered
rags are flung aside. Again, when a house or a city is
built, it does not take on its stones, as if some of them placed
themselves spontaneously upon the foundations, and others
lifted themselves up on the several layers, but the builder
carefully disposes the skilfully prepared stones in their proper
positions ; while if the structure happens once to give way, the
stones are separated and cast down and scattered about. And
so, too, when a ship is built, the keel does not lay itself, neither
does the mast erect itself in the centre, nor do all the other
timbers take up their positions casually and by their own
motion. Nor, again, do the so-called hundred beams in the
wain fit themselves spontaneously to the vacant spaces they
severally light on. But the carpenter in both cases puts the
materials together in the right way and at the right time. 1 And
if the ship goes to sea and is wrecked, or if the wain drives
along on land and is shattered, their timbers are broken up
and cast abroad anywhere, those of the former by the waves,
and those of the latter by the violence of the impetus. In like
manner, then, we might with all propriety say also to these men,
that those atoms of theirs, which remain idle and unmanipu-
lated and useless, are introduced vainly. Let them, accord-
ingly, seek for themselves to see into what is beyond the reach
of sight, and conceive what is beyond the range of conception;' 2
unlike him who in these terms confesses to God that things
1 The text is, ex.etripct; avven.oft.iae xatpioi/, for which Viger proposes elg
TOV iKxripot;, etc.
2 The text gives, opunaaxv yeip rd; ecdidrovt ix.s7voi, x.ee.1 rue.; IIOVITOV$
i/osi'ru(ret!>, WY> opoivs ixstva, etc. The passage seems corrupt. Some
supply Qi/asif as the subject intended in the ee.9toe.Tov; and dvoyrovs ; but
that leaves the connection still obscure. Viger would read, with one MS.,
ddiTovs instead of &XTOVJ, and makes this then the sense : that those
Epicureans are bidden study more closely these unregulated and stolid
v;) atoms, not looking at them, with a merely cursory and careless
174 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
like these had been shown him only by God Himself: "Mine
eyes did see Thy work, being till then imperfect." 1 But when
they assert now that all those things of grace and beauty,
which they declare to be textures finely wrought out of atoms,
are fabricated spontaneously by these bodies without either
wisdom or perception in them, who can endure to hear them
talk in such terms of those unregulated (appvO^ov^) atoms,
than which even the spider, that plies its proper craft of itself,
is gifted with more sagacity ?
3. A refutation on the ground of the constitution of
the universe.
Or who can bear to hear it maintained, that this mighty
habitation, which is constituted of heaven and earth, and
which is called Cosmos on account of the magnitude and
the plenitude of the wisdom which has been brought to bear
upon it, has been established in all its order and beauty
by those atoms which hold their course devoid of order and
beauty, and that that same state of disorder has grown into
this true Cosmos (Order) ? Or who can believe that those
regular movements and courses are the products of a certain
unregulated impetus? Or who can allow that the perfect
concord subsisting among the celestial bodies derives its
harmony from instruments destitute both of concord and
harmony ? Or, again, if there is but one and the same sub-
glance, as David acknowledges was the case with him in the thoughts of
his own imperfect nature, in order that they may the more readily under-
stand how out of such confusion as that in which they are involved
nothing orderly and finished could possibly have originated.
1 Ps. cxxxix. 16. The text gives, TO dxXTipyetffTov <rov i'Outretv ol o'<p0A-
ftoi ftov. This strange reading, instead of the usual TO tinctTepyotarov fiov
fcFSoi/ (or <"&-,<) oi oQdcchftot <TOV, is found also in the Alexandrine exemplar
of the Septuagint, which gives, TO axocripyaiiTov (rot/ sftotjctv oi 6<pdx^u.ot
pov, and in the Psalter of S. Germanus in Calmet, which has, imperfectu.ni
tuum viderunt oculi mei. Viger renders it thus : quod ex tuis operibus
imperfectum adhuc et impolitum videbatur, oculi tandem mei perviderunt ;
i.e. Thy works, which till now seemed imperfect and unfinished, my eyes
have at length discerned clearly ; to wit, because being now penetrated
by greater light from Thee, they have ceased to be dim-sighted. See
Viger's note in Migne.
AGAINST THE EPICUREANS. 175
stance (ovaias) in all things, and if there is the same in-
corruptible nature (<ua-e&>9) in all, the only elements of
difference being, as they aver, size and figure, how comes
it that there are some bodies divine and perfect (a/crfpaTa),
and eternal (alcavia), as they would phrase it, or lasting
(fia/cpaiftiva), as some one may prefer to express it ; and
among these some that are visible and others that are invisible,
the visible including such as sun, and moon, and stars,
and earth, and water; and the invisible including gods, and
demons, and spirits ? For the existence of such they cannot
possibly deny, however desirous to do so. And again, there
are other objects that are long-lived, both animals and plants.
As to animals, there are, for example, among birds, as they
say, the eagle, the raven, and the phoenix ; and among crea-
tures living on land, there are the stag, and the elephant,
and the dragon ; and among aquatic creatures there are the
whales, and such like monsters of the deep. And as to trees,
there are the palm, and the oak, and the persea ;* and among
trees, too, there are some that are evergreens, of which kind
fourteen have been reckoned up by some one ; and there are
others that only bloom for a certain season, and then shed their
leaves. And there are other objects, again which indeed
constitute the vast mass of all which either grow or are be-
gotten that have an early death and a brief life. And
among these is man himself, as a certain holy scripture says
of him: "Man that is born of woman is of few days." 2
Well, but I suppose they will reply that the varying con-
junctions of the atoms account fully for differences 3 so great
in the matter of duration. For it is maintained that there
are some things that are compressed together by them, and
firmly interlaced, so that they become closely compacted
bodies, and consequently exceedingly hard to break up ;
while there are others in which more or less the conjunc-
tion of the atoms is of a looser and weaker nature, so that
1 Kipaia., a sacred tree of Egypt and Persia, the fruit of which grew
from the stem.
2 Job xiv. 1.
8 The text gives tiuVfopx;, for which Yiger suggests
176 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
either quickly or after some time they separate themselves
from their orderly constitution. And, again, there are some
bodies made up of atoms of a definite kind and a certain
common figure, while there are others made up of diverse
atoms diversely disposed. But who, then, is the sagacious
discriminator (<J3i\oKplva)v\ that brings certain atoms into
collocation, and separates others ; and marshals some in such
wise as to form the sun, and others in such a way as to
originate the moon, and adapts all in natural fitness, and in
accordance with the proper constitution of each star ? For
surely neither would those solar atoms, with their peculiar size
and kind, and with their special mode of collocation, ever have
reduced themselves so as to effect the production of a moon ;
nor, on the other hand, would the conjunctions of these lunar
atoms ever have developed into a sun. And as certainly
neither would Arcturus, resplendent as he is, ever boast his
having the atoms possessed by Lucifer, nor would the Pleiades
glory in being constituted of those of Orion. For well has
Paul expressed the distinction when he says : " There is one
glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another
glory of the stars : for one star differeth from another star
in glory." 1 And if the coalition effected among them has
been an unintelligent one, as is the case with soulless
(ai|r^&)i/) objects, then they must needs have had some saga-
cious artificer; and if their union has been one without the
determination of will, and only of necessity, as is the case
with irrational objects, then some skilful leader (aye\dp^rj^)
must have brought them together and taken them under his
charge. And if they have linked themselves together spon-
taneously, for a spontaneous work, then some admirable
architect must have apportioned their work for them, and
assumed the superintendence among them ; or there must
have been one to do with them as the general does who loves
order and discipline, and who does not leave his army in an
irregular condition, or suffer all things to go on confusedly,
but marshals the cavalry in their proper succession, and dis-
poses the heavy-armed infantry in their due array, and the
1 1 Cor. xv. 41.
AGAINST THE EPICUREANS. 177
javelin-men by themselves, and the archers separately, and
the slingers in like manner, and sets each force in its ap-
propriate position, in order that all those equipped in the same
way may engage together. But if these teachers think that
this illustration is but a joke, because I institute a comparison
between very large bodies and very small, we may pass to
the very smallest.
Then we have what follows : But if neither the word, nor
the choice, nor the order of a ruler is laid upon them, and
if by their own act they keep themselves right in the vast
commotion of the stream in which they move, and convey
themselves safely through the mighty uproar of the collisions,
and if like atoms meet and group themselves with like, not
as being brought together by God, according to the poet's
fancy, but rather as naturally recognising the affinities sub-
sisting between each other, then trulv we have here a most
O ' *
marvellous democracy of atoms, wherein friends welcome
and embrace friends, and all are eager to sojourn together
in one domicile ; while some by their own determination
have rounded themselves off into that mighty luminary the
sun, so as to make day ; and others have formed themselves
into many pyramids of blazing stars, it may be, so as to
crown also the whole heavens ; and others have reduced
themselves into the circular figure, so as to impart a certain
solidity to the ether, and arch it over, and constitute it a vast
graduated ascent of luminaries, with this object also, that
the various conventions of the commoner atoms may select
settlements for themselves, and portion out the sky among
them for their habitations and stations.
Then, after certain other matters, the discourse proceeds
thus: But inconsiderate men do not see even things that
are apparent, and certainly they are far from being cog-
nisant of things that are unapparent. For they do not seem
even to have any notion of those regulated risings and set-
tings of the heavenly bodies, those of the sun, with all their
wondrous glory, no less than those of the others ; nor do they
appear to make due application of the aids furnished through
these to men, such as the day that rises clear for man's work,
M
178 THE WORKS OF DIONYSJUS.
and the night that overshadows earth for man's rest. "For
man," it is said, "goeth forth unto' his work, and to his
labour, until the evening." 1 Neither do they consider that
other revolution, by which the sun makes out for us deter-
minate times, and convenient seasons, and regular succes-
sions, directed by those atoms of which it consists. But even
though men like these and miserable men they are, how-
ever they may believe themselves to be righteous may
choose not to admit it, there is a mighty Lord that made
the sun, and gave it the impetus for its course by His words.
O ye blind ones, do these atoms of yours bring you the
winter season and the rains, in order that the earth may
yield food for you, and for all creatures living on it ? Do
they introduce summer-time, too, in order that ye may gather
their fruits from the trees for your enjoyment ? And why,
then, do ye not worship these atoms, and offer sacrifices to
them as the guardians of earth's fruits (rat? 7riKap7rois) ?
Thankless surely are ye, in not setting solemnly apart for
them even the most scanty first-fruits of that abundant bounty
which ye receive from them.
After a short break he proceeds thus: Moreover, those
stars which form a community so multitudinous and various,
which these erratic and ever self-dispersing atoms have con-
stituted, have marked off by a kind of covenant the tracts
for their several possessions, portioning these out like colonies
and governments, but without the presidency of any founder
or house-master ; and with pledged fealty and in peace they
respect the laws of vicinity with their neighbours, and abstain
from passing beyond the boundaries which they received at
the outset, just as if they enjoyed the legislative admini-
stration of true princes in the atoms. Nevertheless these
atoms exercise no rule. For how could these, that are them-
selves nothing, do that ? But listen to the divine oracles :
" The works of the Lord are in judgment ; from the begin-
ning, and from His making of them, He disposed the parts
thereof. He garnished His works for ever, and their prin-
ciples (ap%d<i) unto their generations." 2
1 Ps. civ. 23. 2 Ecclus. xvi. 26, 27.
AGAINST THE EPICUREANS. 179
Again, after a little, he proceeds thus : Or what phalanx
ever traversed the plain in such perfect order, no trooper out-
marching the others, or falling out of rank, or obstructing
the course, or suffering himself to be distanced by his com-
rades in the array, as is the case with that steady advance
in regular file, as it were, and with close-set shields, which
is presented by this serried and unbroken and undisturbed
and unobstructed progress of the hosts of the stars ? Albeit
by side inclinations and flank movements certain of their
revolutions become less clear. Yet, however that may be,
they assuredly always keep their appointed periods, and
again bear onward determinately to the positions from which
they have severally risen, as if they made that their de-
liberate study. Wherefore let these notable anatomizers of
atoms (rwv drofjuwv ro^ei?), these dividers of the indivisible,
these compounders of the uncompoundable, these adepts in
the apprehension of the infinite, tell us whence comes this
circular march and course of the heavenly bodies, in which
it is not any single combination of atoms that merely chances
all unexpectedly to swing itself round in this way (ovrco
afavSovia-devTos) ; but it is one vast circular choir that
moves thus, ever equally and concordantly, and whirls in
these orbits. And whence comes it that this mighty multi-
tude of fellow-travellers, all unmarshalled by any captain,
all ungifted with any determination of will, and all unen-
dowed with any knowledge of each other, have nevertheless
held their course in perfect harmony ? Surely, well has the
prophet ranked this matter among things which are impos-
sible and undemonstrable, namely, that two strangers should
walk together. For he says, " Shall two come to the same
lodging unless they know each other ? " l
4. A refutation of the same on the grounds of the human
constitution.
Further, these men understand neither themselves nor what
is proper to themselves. For if any of the leaders in this
1 This sentence, which is quoted as from the Scriptures, is found
nowhere there, at least verlatlm et literatim.
180 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIVS.
impious doctrine only considered what manner of person he
is himself, and whence he comes, he would surely be led to
a wise decision, like one who has obtained understanding of
himself, and would say, not to these atoms, but to his Father
and Maker, " Thy hands have made me and fashioned
me." 1 And he would take up, too, this wonderful ac-
count of his formation as it has been given by one of old :
" Hast Thou riot poured me out as milk, and curdled me as
cheese ? Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, and
hast fenced me with bones and sinews. Thou hast granted
me life and favour, and Thy visitation hath preserved my
spirit." 2 For of what quantity and of what origin were the
atoms which the father of Epicurus gave forth from himself
when he begat Epicurus ? And how, when they were received
within his mother's womb, did they coalesce, and take form
and figure ? and how were they put in motion and made to
increase ? And how did that little seed of generation draw
together the many atoms that were to constitute Epicurus,
and change some of them into skin and flesh for a covering,
and make bone of others for erectness and strength, and
form sinews of others for compact contexture? And how
did it frame and adapt the many other members and parts
heart and bowels, and organs of sense, some within and
some without by which the body is made a thing of life ?
For of all these things there is not one either idle or use-
less : not even the meanest of them the hair, or the nails,
or such like is so; but all have their service to do, and
all their contribution to make, some of them to the sound-
ness of bodily constitution, and others of them to beauty of
appearance. For Providence cares not only for the useful,
but also for the seasonable and beautiful. Thus the hair is
a kind of protection and covering for the whole head, and
the beard is a seemly ornament for the philosopher. It was
Providence, then, that formed the constitution of the whole
body of man, in all its necessary parts, and imposed on all its
members their due connection with each other, and measured
out for them their liberal supplies from the universal re-
1 Ps. cxix. 73. Job x. 10-12.
AGAINST THE EPICUREANS. 181
sources. And the most prominent of these show clearly,
even to the uninstructed, by the proof of personal experi-
ence, the value and service attaching to them : the head, for
example, in the position of supremacy, and the senses set
like a guard about the brain, as the ruler in the citadel ; and
the advancing eyes, and the reporting ears; and the taste
which, as it were, is the tribute-gatherer (e'SwSr/ wairep (fiopo-
\oyovcra) ; and the smell, which tracks and searches out its
objects ; and the touch, which manipulates all put under it.
(For at present we shall only run over in a summary way
some few of the works of an all-wise Providence ; and after a
little we shall, if God grant it, go over them more minutely,
when we direct our discourse toward one who has the re-
pute of greater learning.) Then we have the ministry of
the hands, by which all kinds of works are wrought, and all
skilful professions practised, and which have all their various
faculties furnished them, with a view to the discharge of
one common function; and we have the shoulders, with
their capacity for bearing burdens; and the fingers, with
their power of grasping ; and the elbows, with their faculty
of bending, by which they can turn inwardly upon the
body, or take an outward inclination, so as to be able either
to draw objects toward the body, or to thrust them away
from it. We have also the service of the feet, by which
the whole terrestrial creation is made to come under our
power, the earth itself is traversed thereby, the sea is made
navigable, the rivers are crossed, and intercourse is estab-
lished for all with all things. The belly, too, is the store-
house of meats, with all its parts arranged in their proper
collocations, so that it apportions for itself the right measure
of aliment, and ejects what is over and above that. And so
is it with all the other things by which manifestly the due
administration of the constitution of man is wisely secured. 1
Of all these, the intelligent and the unintelligent alike enjoy
1 The text is, xai r AXa 8< couv tftQavas ij tonaig rqt;
ftiftYiXtiiiYiToit ^ixvoftiis. Viger proposes d/a^ofijj for Sfafo^sjf, and
renders the whole thus : " ac caetera quorum vi humanae firmitatis et
conservation's ratio continetur."
182 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
the same use ; but they have not the same comprehension
of them. 1 For there are some who refer this whole ceco-
nomy to a power which they conceive to be a true divinity, 2
and which they apprehend as at once the highest intelli-
gence in all things, and the best benefactor to themselves,
believing that this oeconomy is all the work of a wisdom
and a might which are superior to every other, and in
themselves truly divine. And there are others who aim-
lessly attribute this whole structure of most marvellous
beauty to chance and fortuitous coincidence. And in addi-
tion to these, there are also certain physicians, who, having
made a more effective examination into all these things,
and having investigated with utmost accuracy the disposi-
tion of the inward parts in especial, have been struck with
astonishment at the results of their inquiry, and have been
led to deify nature itself. The notions of these men we
shall review afterwards, as far as we may be able, though
we may only touch the surface of the subject. 3 Meantime,
to deal with this matter generally and summarily, let me
ask who constructed this whole tabernacle of ours, so lofty,
erect, graceful, sensitive, mobile, active, and apt for all
things ? Was it, as they say, the irrational multitude of
atoms ? ^ay, these, by their conjunctions, could not mould
even an image of clay, neither could they hew and polish a
1 The text is, u cpioiu; TO?J (ppo<riv t^vrtf ol ootyol TVJV uphill, oi>x
I<TXOV<H TW yvuaiv. We adopt Viger's suggestion, and read xpwiv for
xplatv.
2 We read, with Viger, &drvrr<*> for ddtc>rmoe.. The text gives o! ft,s
yeep fig y & oivduaiv dOsoTYirot, etc., which might possibly mean some-
thing like this : There are some who refer the whole ceconomy to a
power which these (others) may deem to be no divinity, (but which is)
the highest intelligence in all things, and the best benefactor, etc. Or
the sense might be = There are some who refer this most intelligent and
beneficent oeconomy to a power which they deem to be no divinity,
though they believe the same oeconomy to be the work of a wisdom,
etc.
3 The text is, iift,t7; %s va-npoy ug &v oloi rs "/tvafiidot, x.a.v Iw/TroAijj-,
dvctOiupviaoftsv. Viger renders it thus : " Nos earn postea, jejune for-
tassis et exiliter, ut pro facilitate nostra, prosequemur." He proposes,
however, to read ivl TroAXo/f (sc. pqpsuri or Xo'yo'j) for IWVTTOAJJ?.
AGAINST THE EPICUREANS. 183
statue of stone ; nor could they cast and finish an idol of
silver or gold ; but arts and handicrafts calculated for such
operations have been discovered by men who fabricate these
objects. 1 And if, even in these, representations and models
cannot be made without the aid of wisdom, how can the
genuine and original patterns of these copies have come into
existence spontaneously ? And whence have come the soul,
and the intelligence, and the reason, which are born with the
philosopher ? Has he gathered these from those atoms which
are destitute alike of soul, and intelligence, and reason ? and
has each of these atoms inspired him with seme appropriate
conception and notion ? And are we to suppose that the
wisdom of man was made up by these atoms, as the myth
of Hesiod tells us that Pandora was fashioned by the gods ?
Then shall the Greeks have to give up speaking of the
various species of poetry, and music, and astronomy, and
geometry, and all the other arts and sciences, as the inven-
tions and instructions of the gods, and shall have to allow
that these atoms are the only muses with skill and wisdom
for all subjects. For this theogony, constructed of atoms
by Epicurus, is indeed something extraneous to the infinite
worlds of order (/eooyituz'), and finds its refuge in the infinite
disorder
5. That to work is not a matter of pain and weariness
to God.
Now to work, and administer, and do good, and exercise
care, and such like actions, may perhaps be hard tasks for
the idle, and silly, and weak, and wicked ; in whose number
truly Epicurus reckons himself, when he propounds such
notions about the gods. But to the earnest, and powerful,
and intelligent, and prudent, such as philosophers ought to
be (and how much more so, therefore, the gods!), these
things are not only not disagreeable and irksome, but ever
the most delightful, and by far the most welcome of all.
1 The text is, xfipovpyi'xi rwruv vv dv6puTrav f'vpnvTott oufiotrovp'/uv.
Viger proposes <ra[t,/zTovp~/oi, " handicrafts for the construction of such
todies hare been discovered by men."
184 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
To persons of this character, negligence and procrastination
in the doing of what is good are a reproach, as the poet
admonishes them in these words of counsel :
" Delay not aught till the morrow." 1
And then he adds this further sentence of threatening :
"The lazy procrastinator is ever wrestling with miseries." 2
And the prophet teaches us the same lesson in a more
solemn fashion, and declares that deeds done according to
o
the standard of virtue are truly worthy of God (OeotrpeTrrj),
and that the man who gives no heed to these is accursed :
" For cursed be he that doeth the works of the Lord care-
lessly" 3 (a/ieXw?). Moreover, those who are unversed in any
art, and unable to prosecute it perfectly, feel it to be weari-
some when they make their first attempts in it, just by
reason of the novelty 4 of their experience, and their want
of practice in the works. But those, on the other hand,
who have made some advance, and much more those who
are perfectly trained in the art, accomplish easily and suc-
cessfully the objects of their labours, and have great pleasure
in the work, and would choose rather thus, in the discharge
of the pursuits to which they are accustomed, to finish and
carry perfectly out what their efforts aim at, than to be made
masters of all those things which are reckoned advantageous
among men. Yea, Democritus himself, as it is reported,
averred that he would prefer the discovery of one true cause
to being put in possession of the kingdom of Persia. And
that was the declaration of a man who had only a vain and
groundless conception of the causes of things, inasmuch as
he started with an unfounded principle, and an erroneous
hypothesis, and did not discern the real root and the common
(law of) necessity in the constitution of natural things, and
held as the greatest wisdom the apprehension of things that
come about simply in an unintelligent and random way, and
1 Hesiod's Works and Days, v. 408.
2 Hesiod's Works and Days, v. 411. 8 Jer. xlviii. 10.
4 The text gives, S< TO 7% Trftpx; d^dif. "We adopt Viger's emenda-
tion,
AGAINST THE EPICUREANS. 185
set up chance (TV-J^V) as the mistress and queen of things
universal, and even things divine, and endeavoured to de-
monstrate that all things happen by the determination of the
same, although at the same time he kept it outside the sphere
of the life of men, and convicted those of senselessness who
worshipped it. At any rate, at the very beginning of his
Precepts (yiro6i]Kwv) he speaks thus : " Men have made an
image (eiSotXov) of chance, as a cover (Trpocfraaiv) for their
own lack of knowledge. For intellect and chance are in
their very nature antagonistic to each other. 1 And men have
maintained that this greatest adversary to intelligence is its
sovereign. Yea, rather, they completely subvert and do
away with the one, while they establish the other in its
place. For they do not celebrate intelligence as the fortu-
nate (evTvxfj), but they laud chance (fortune, rv-fflv) as the
most intelligent (e^poveffTar^v)" Moreover, those who
attend to things conducing to the good of life, take special
pleasure in what serves the interests of those of the same
race with themselves, and seek the recompense of praise and
glory in return for labours undertaken in behalf of the
general good ; while some exert themselves as purveyors of
ways and means (rpe^oi/re?), others as magistrates, others
as physicians, others as statesmen ; and even philosophers
pride themselves greatly in their efforts after the education
of men. Will, then, Epicurus or Democritus be bold enough
to assert that in the exertion of philosophizing they only
cause distress to themselves? Nay, rather they will reckon
this a pleasure of mind second to none. For even though
they maintain the opinion that the good is pleasure, they will
be ashamed to deny that philosophizing is the greater plea-
sure to them. 2 But as to the gods, of whom the poets among
them sing that they are the " bestowers of good gifts," 3 these
yap yvuftyi rvxy ftx^rxi. Viger refers to the parallel in
Tullius, pro Marcello, sec. 7 : "Nunquam temeritas cum sapientia com-
miscetur, nee ad consilium casus admittitur."
2 The text gives, sjSw Sv oti/Tol; slvxi TO (fi^oao^tlv. Viger suggests
for *j3i) Sv.
3 (tarijpx; luy. See Homer, Odyssey, viii. 325 and 835.
186 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
philosophers scoffingly celebrate them in strains like these :
" The gods are neither the bestowers nor the sharers in any
good thing." And in what manner, forsooth, can they de-
monstrate that there are gods at all, when they neither per-
ceive their presence, nor discern them as the doers of aught,
wherein, indeed, they resemble those who, in their admiration
and wonder at the sun and the moon and the stars, have
held these to have been named gods (Qeovs), from their run-
ning (8ia TO Oeeiv) such courses : when, further, they do not
attribute to them any function or power of operation (8?7/u-
ovp<yiav aurot? f) naraaKev^v), so as to hold them gods (6eo-
iroir](TW(jvv) from their constituting (e/c rov 6elvai\ that is,
from their making objects (Trot^o-at), for thereby in all truth
the one maker and operator of all things must be God :
and when, in fine, they do not set forth any administration,
or judgment, or beneficence of theirs in relation to men,
so that we might be bound either by fear or by reverence
to worship them? Has Epicurus then been able, forsooth,
to see beyond this world, and to overpass the precincts of
heaven ? or has he gone forth by some secret gates known to
himself alone, and thus obtained sight of the gods in the
void? 1 and, deeming them blessed in their full felicity, and
then becoming himself a passionate aspirant after such plea-
sure, and an ardent scholar in that life which they pursue
in the void, does he now call upon all to participate in
this felicity, and urge them thus to make themselves like
the gods, preparing (a-v^Kpor&v) as their true symposium
of blessedness neither heaven nor Olympus, as the poets
feign, but the sheer void, and setting before them the am-
brosia of atoms, 2 and pledging them in (or, giving them to
drink) nectar made of the same ? However, in matters
which have no relation to us, he introduces into his books a
myriad oaths and solemn asseverations, swearing constantly
both negatively and affirmatively by Jove, and making those
whom he meets, and with whom he discusses his doctrines,
1 The text gives, ov$ in T x.sy xotTttit dtwg. Viger proposes TOVS for
2 For ecTtpuv Viger suggests xrpuv, " of vapours."
AGAINST THE EPICUREANS. 187
swear also by the gods, not certainly that he fears them him-
self, or has any dread of perjury, but that he pronounces all
this to be vain, and false, and idle, and unintelligible, and
uses it simply as a kind of accompaniment to his words, just
as he might also clear his throat, or spit, or twist his face, or
move his hand. So completely senseless and empty a pre-
tence was this whole matter of the naming of the gods, in his
estimation. But this is also a very patent fact, that, being
in fear of the Athenians after (the warning of) the death
of Socrates, and being desirous of preventing his being
taken for what he really was an atheist the subtle char-
latan invented for them certain empty shadows of unsub-
stantial gods. But never surely did he look up to heaven
with eyes of true intelligence, so as to hear the clear voice
from above, which another attentive spectator did hear, and
of which he testified when he said, " The heavens declare
the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handi-
work." 1 And never surely did he look down upon the
world's surface with due reflection ; for then would he have
learned that "the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord," 2
and that "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof;" 3
and that, as we also read, " After this the Lord looked upon
the earth, and filled it with His blessings. With all manner
of living things hath He covered the face thereof." * And
if these men are not hopelessly blinded, let them but survey
the vast wealth and variety of living creatures, land animals,
and winged creatures, and aquatic ; and let them understand
then that the declaration made by the Lord on the occasion
of His judgment of all things 5 is true : " And all things, in
accordance with His command, appeared good." 6
1 Ps. xix. 1. Ps. xxxiii. 5.
3 Ps. xxiv. 1. 4 Ecclus. xvi. 29, 30.
5 The text is, lirl TJJ irxvray x.piaii. Viger suggests xTt'ati, "at the
creation of all things."
c The quotation runs thus: x.al votvrei. xarar'/jv KVTOV wpoVraf/v -xtfywi
xaCha.. Eusebius adds the remark here: "These passages have been
culled by me out of a very large number composed against Epicurus
by Dionysius, a bishop of our own time."
188 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
III. FROM THE BOOKS AGAINST SABELLIUS.
(In Eusebius, Pr&par. Evanyel. book vii. ch. 19.)
On the notion that matter is ungenerated. 1
These certainly are not to be deemed pious who hold that
matter is ungenerated, while they allow, indeed, that it is
brought under the hand of God so far as its arrangement
and regulation are concerned ; for they do admit that, being
naturally passive (Tradrjnjv) and pliable, it yields readily to
the alterations impressed upon it by God. It is for them,
however, to show us plainly how it can possibly be that the
like and the unlike should be predicated as subsisting together
in God and matter. For it becomes necessary thus to think
of one as a superior to either, and that is a thought which
cannot legitimately be entertained with regard to God. For
if there is this defect of generation which is said to be the
thing like in both, and if there is this point of difference
which is conceived of besides in the two, whence has this
arisen in them ? If, indeed, God is the ungenerated, and
if this defect of generation is, as we may say, His very
essence, then matter cannot be ungenerated ; for God and
matter are not one and the same. But if each subsists
properly and independently namely, God and matter and
if the defect of generation also belongs to both, then it is
evident that there is something different from each, and older
and higher than both. But the difference of their contrasted
constitutions is completely subversive of the idea that these
can subsist on an equality together, and more, that this one
of the two namely, matter can subsist of itself. For then
they will have to furnish an explanation of the fact that,
though both are supposed to be ungenerated, God is never-
theless impassible, immutable, imperturbable, energetic ;
1 Eusebius introduces this extract thus : " And I shall adduce the
words of those who have most thoroughly examined the dogma before
us, and first of all Dionysius indeed, who, in the first book of his
Exercitations against Sabellius, writes in these terms on the subject in
hand."
EPISTLE TO D10NYSIUS OF ROME. 189
while matter is the opposite, impressible, mutable, variable,
alterable. And now, how can these properties harmoniously
co-exist and unite ? Is it that God has adapted Himself to
the nature of the matter, and thus has skilfully wrought it ?
But it would be absurd to suppose that God works in gold,
as men are wont to do, or hews or polishes stone, or puts His
hand to any of the other arts by which different kinds of
matter are made capable of receiving form and figure. But
if, on the other hand, He has fashioned matter according to
His own will, and after the dictates of His own wisdom,
impressing upon it the rich and manifold forms produced
by His own operation, then is this account of ours one both
good and true, and still further one that establishes the
position that the ungenerated God is the hypostasis (the
life and foundation) of all things in the universe. For with
this fact of the defect of generation it conjoins the proper
mode of His being. Much, indeed, might be said in con-
futation of these teachers, but that is not what is before us
at present. And if they are put alongside the most impious
polytheists (77-^09 row aOewrarov^ jro\vdeov<;) ) these will seem
the more pious in their speech.
IV. FRAGMENTS OF A SECOND EPISTLE OF DIONYSIUS,
BISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA, TO DIONYSIUS OF ROME;
OR OF THE TREATISE WHICH WAS INSCRIBED THE "ELENCHUS ET APOLOGIA."
From the First Boole.
1. There certainly was not a time when God was not the
Father.
And in what follows (says Athanasius) he professes that
Christ is always, as being the Word, and the Wis-
dom, and the Power :
2. Neither, indeed, as though He had not brought forth
these things, did God afterwards beget the Son, but because
the Son has existence not from Himself, but from the Father.
And after a few words he says of the Son Himself :
3. Being the brightness of the eternal Light, He Him-
190 THE WORKS OF D ION Y SI US.
self also is absolutely eternal. For since light is always in
existence, it is manifest that its brightness also exists, because
light is perceived to exist from the fact that it shines, and it
is impossible that light should not shine. And let us once
more come to illustrations. If the sun exists, there is also
day ; if nothing of this be manifest, it is impossible that the
sun should be there. If then the sun were eternal, the day
would never end ; but now (for such is not really the state
of the case) the day begins with the beginning of the sun,
and ends with its ending. But God is the eternal Light,
which has neither had a beginning, nor shall ever fail.
Therefore the eternal brightness shines forth before Him,
and co-exists with Him, in that, existing without a begin-
ning, and always begotten, He always shines before Him ;
and He is that Wisdom which says, " I was that wherein He
delighted, and I was daily His delight before His face at all
times." 1
And a little after he thus pursues his discourse from the
same point :
4. Since, therefore, the Father is eternal, the Son also is
eternal, Light of Light. For where there is the begetter,
there is also the offspring. And if there is no offspring,
how and of what can He be the begetter? But both are,
and always are. Since, then, God is the Light, Christ is
the Brightness. And since He is a Spirit for says He,
" God is a Spirit " 2 fittingly again is Christ called Breath ;
for " He " [scil. Wisdom], saith He, " is the breath of God's
power." 3
And again he says :
5. Moreover, the Son alone, always co-existing with the
Father, and filled with Him who is, Himself also is } since
He is of the Father.
From the same First Book.
6. But when I spoke of things created, and certain works
to be considered, I hastily put forward illustrations of such
things, as it were little appropriate, when I said neither
1 Prov. viii. 30. 2 John iv. 24. 3 Wisd. vii. 25.
EPISTLE TO DIONYS1US OF ROME. 191
is the plant the same as the husbandman, nor the boat the
same as the boatbuilder. 1 But then I lingered rather upon
things suitable and more adapted to the nature of the thing,
and I unfolded in many words, by various carefully con-
sidered arguments, what things were more true ; which
things, moreover, I have set forth to you in another letter.
And in these things I have also proved the falsehood of the
charge which they bring against me to wit, that I do not
maintain that Christ is consubstantial with God. For
although I say that I have never either found or read this
word in the sacred Scriptures, yet other reasonings, which
I immediately subjoined, are in no wise discrepant from this
view, because I brought forward as an illustration human
offspring, which assuredly is of the same kind as the be-
getter ; and I said that parents are absolutely distinguished
from their children by the fact alone that they themselves
are not their children, or that it would assuredly be a matter
of necessity that there would neither be parents nor children.
But, as I said before, I have not the letter in my possession,
on account of the present condition of affairs ; otherwise I
would have sent you the very words that I then wrote, yea,
and a copy of the whole letter, and I will send it if at any
time I shall have the opportunity. I remember, further, that
I added many similitudes from things kindred to one another.
For I said that the plant, whether it grows up from seed
or from a root, is different from that whence it sprouted,
although it is absolutely of the same nature ; and similarly,
that a river flowing from a spring takes another form and
name : for that neither is the spring called the river, nor the
river the spring, but that these are two things, and that the
spring indeed is, as it were, the father, while the river is
the water from the spring. But they feign that they do not
see these things and the like to them which are written, as
if they were blind ; but they endeavour to assail me from a
distance with expressions too carelessly used, as if they were
stones, not observing that on things of which they are igno-
rant, and which require interpretation to be understood,
1 From Atlmn. Ep. de decret. Nic. Syn. 4. 18.
192 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
illustrations that are not only remote, but even contrary, will
often throw light.
From the same First Book.
7. It was said above that God is the spring of all good
things, but the Son was called the river flowing from Him ;
because the word is an emanation of the mind, and (to speak
after human fashion) is emitted from the heart by the mouth.
But the mind which springs forth by the tongue is different
from the word which exists in the heart. For this latter,
after it has emitted the former, remains and is what it was
before ; but the mind sent forth flies away, and is carried
everywhere around, and thus each is in each although one
is from the other, and they are one although they are two.
And it is thus that the Father and the Son are said to be one,
and to be in one another.
From the Second Book.
8. The individual names uttered by me can neither be
separated from one another, nor parted. 1 I spoke of the
Father, and before I made mention of the Son I already
signified Him in the Father. I added the Son ; and the
Father, even although I had not previously named Him,
had already been absolutely comprehended in the Son. I
added the Holy Spirit ; but, at the same time, I conveyed
under the name whence and by whom He proceeded. But
they are ignorant that neither the Father, in that He is
Father } can be separated from the Son, for that name is
the evident ground of coherence and conjunction ; nor can
the Son be separated from the Father, for this word Father
indicates association [between them]. And there is, more-
over, evident a Spirit who can neither be disjoined from
Him who sends, nor from Him who brings Him. How,
then, should I who use such names think that these are
absolutely divided and separated the one from the other I
After a few words he adds :
9. Thus, indeed, we expand the indivisible Unity into a
1 Ex Athau. Ep. de decret. Nic. Syn. 4. 17.
EPISTLE TO DIONYSIUS OF ROME. 193
Trinity ; and again we contract the Trinity, which cannot
be diminished, into a Unity.
From the same Second Book.
10. But if any quibbler, from the fact that I said that
God is the Maker and Creator of all things, thinks that I
said that He is also Creator of Christ, let him observe that I
first called Him Father, in which word the Son also is at
the same time expressed. 1 For after I called the Father the
Creator, I added, Neither is He the Father of those things
whereof He is Creator, if He who begot is properly under-
stood to be a Father (for we will consider the latitude of
this word Father in what follows). Nor is a maker a father,
if it is only a framer who is called a maker. For among
the Greeks, they who are wise are said to be makers of
their books. The apostle also says, "a doer [scil. maker]
of the law." 2 Moreover, of matters of the heart, of which
kind are virtue and vice, men are called doers [scil. makers] ;
after which manner God said, " I expected that it should
make judgment, but it made iniquity." 3
Athanasius adds, 4. 21, that Dionysius gave various
replies to those that blamed him for saying that
God is the Maker of Christ, whereby he cleared
himself, saying,
11. That neither must this saying be thus blamed ; for
he says that he used the name of Maker on account of the
flesh which the Word had assumed, and which certainly was
made. But if any one should suspect that that had been
said of the Word, even this also was to be heard without
contentiousness. For as I do not think that the Word was
a thing made, so I do not say that God was its Maker, but
its Father. Yet still, if at any time, discoursing of the Son,
I may have casually said that God was His Maker, even this
mode of speaking would not be without defence. For the
1 Ex Athan. Ep. de decret. Nic. Syn. 4. 20.
2 Rom. ii. 13 ; Jas. iv. 12. The Greek word TTO/JJT^ meaning either
maker or doer, causes the ambiguity here and below.
8 Jsa. v. 7.
194 THE WORKS OF DIONYS1US.
wise men among the Greeks call themselves the makers of
their books, although the same are fathers of their books.
Moreover, divine Scripture calls us makers of those motions
which proceed from the heart, when it calls us doers of the
law of judgment and of justice.
From the same Second Book.
12. In the beginning was the Word. 1 But that was not
the Word which produced the Word. 2 For " the Word was
with God." 3 The Lord is Wisdom ; it was not therefore
Wisdom that produced Wisdom ; for " I was that," says He,
"wherein He delighted." 4 Christ is truth; but "blessed,"
says He, " is the God of truth."
From the T/iird Book.
13. Life is begotten of life in the same way as the river
has flowed forth from the spring, and the brilliant light is
ignited from the inextinguishable light. 5
From the Fourth Book.
14. Even as our mind emits from itself a word, 6 as says
the prophet, u My heart hath uttered forth a good word," 7
and each of the two is distinct the one from the other, and
maintaining a peculiar place, and one that is distinguished
from the other ; since the former indeed abides and is stirred
in the heart, while the latter has its place in the tongue and
in the mouth. And yet they are not apart from one another,
nor deprived of one another ; neither is the mind without the
word, nor is the word without the mind ; but the mind makes
the word and appears in the word, and the word exhibits the
mind wherein it was made. And the mind indeed is, as it
were, the word immanent, while the word is the mind breaking
forth [emanant]. The mind passes into the word, and the word
transmits the mind to the surrounding hearers ; and thus the
1 John i. 1. 8 Ex Athan. Ep. de decret. Nic. Syn. 4. 25.
3 John i. 1. 4 Prov. viii. 30.
8 Ex Athan. Ep. de decret. Nic. Syn. 4. 18.
6 Ex Athan. ibid. 4. 25. 7 Ps. xlv. 1.
EPISTLE TO D10NYSIUS OF ROME. 195
mind by means of the word takes its place in the souls of the
hearers, entering in at the same time as the word. And in-
deed the mind is, as it were, the father of the word, existing
in itself ; but the word is as the son of the mind, and cannot
be made before it nor without it, but exists with it, whence
it has taken its seed and origin. In the same manner, also,
the Almighty Father and Universal Mind has before all
things the Son, the Word, and the discourse, 1 as the inter-
preter and messenger of Himself.
About the middle of the treatise.
15. If, from the fact that there are three hypostases, they
say that they are divided, there are three whether they like
it or no, or else let them get rid of the divine Trinity alto-
gether. 2
And again :
For on this account after the Unity there is also the most
divine Trinity. 3
The conclusion of the entire treatise.
16. In accordance with all these things, the form, more-
over, and rule being received from the elders who have lived
before us, we also, with a voice in accordance with them, will
both acquit ourselves of thanks to you, and of the letter which
we are now writing. And to God the Father, and His Son
our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Of the work itself Athanasius thus speaks:
17. Finally, (Dionysius) complains that his accusers do not
quote his opinions in their integrity, but mutilated, and that
they do not speak out of a good conscience, but for evil in-
clination ; and he says that they are like those who cavilled
at the epistles of the blessed apostle. Certainly he meets
the individual words of his accusers, and gives a solution to
all their arguments ; and as in those earlier writings of his
1 Sermonem. 2 Ex Basilic, lib. de Spir. Sancto, ch. 29.
3 Hid. cap. penult, p. 61.
196 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
he confuted Sabellius most evidently, so in these later ones
he entirely declares his own pious faith.
THE EPISTLE OF DIONYSIUS, ARCHBISHOP OF ALEXANDRIA,
TO BISHOP BASILIDES.
CONTAINING EXPLANATIONS AVHICH WERE GIVEN AS ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
PROPOSED BY THAT BISHOP ON VARIOUS TOPICS, AND WHICH HAVE
BEEN RECEIVED AS CANONS.
CANON i.
Dionysius to Basilides, my beloved son, and my brother,
a fellow-minister with me in holy things, and an obedient
servant of God, in the Lord greeting. 1
You have sent to me, most faithful and accomplished son,
in order to inquire what is the proper hour for bringing the
fast to a close 2 on the day of Pentecost. 3 For you say that
1 There is a Scholium in the Codex Amerbachianus which may be
given here : It should be known that this sainted Dionysius became a
hearer of Origen in the fourth year of the reign of Philip, who succeeded
Gordian in the empire. On the death of Heraclas, the thirteenth bishop
of the church of Alexandria, he was put in possession of the headship of
that church ; and after a period of seventeen years, embracing the last
three years of the reign of Philip, and the one year of that of Decius,
and the one year of Gallus and Volusianus the son of Decius, and twelve
years of the reigns of Valerian and his son Gallus (Gallienus), he de-
parted to the Lord. And Basilides was bishop of the parishes in the
Pentapolis of Libya, as Eusebius informs us in the sixth and seventh
books of his Ecclesiastical History.
2 a.Trovriarl^ada.t Id. Gentianus Hervetus renders this by jejunandus
sit dies Paschte ; and thus he translates the word by jejunare, " to fast,"
wherever it occurs, whereas it rather means always, jejunium solvere,
" to have done fasting." In this sense the word is used in the Apostolic
Constitutions repeatedly: see Book v. ch. 12, 18, etc. It occurs in the
same sense in the 89th Canon of the Concilium Trullanum. The usage
must evidently be the same here: so that it does not mean, What is
the proper hour for fasting on the day of Pentecost ? but, What is the
hour at which the ante-paschal fast ought to be terminated whether
on the evening preceding the paschal festival itself, or at cockcrowing,
or at another time? GALL. See also the very full article in Suicer, s.v.
8 I give the beginning of this epistle of Dionysius of Alexandria also
EPISTLE TO BISHOP BASILIDES. 197
there are some of the brethren who hold that that should be
done at cockcrow, and others who hold that it should be at
nightfall (a<j) ecnrepas). For the brethren in Rome, as they
say, wait for the cock ; whereas, regarding those here, you
told us that they would have it earlier. And it is your
anxious desire, accordingly, to have the hour presented
accurately, and determined with perfect exactness (TTO.VV
/Lte/ieT/377/iV7?i/), which indeed is a matter of difficulty and
uncertainty. However, it will be acknowledged cordially
by all, that from the date of the resurrection of our Lord,
those who up to that time have been humbling their souls
with fastings, ought at once to begin their festal joy and
gladness. But in what you have written to me you have
made out very clearly, and with an intelligent understanding
of the Holy Scriptures, that no very exact account seems to
be offered in them of the hour at which He rose. For the
evangelists have given different descriptions of the parties
who came to the sepulchre one after another (Kara Kaipov?
evrjXkayfjievov^j and all have declared that they found the
Lord risen already. It was " in the end of the Sabbath," as
Matthew has said ;* it was "early, when it was yet dark," as
John writes ; 2 it was " very early in the morning," as Luke
puts it ; and it was "very early in the morning, at the rising of
the sun," as Mark tells us. Thus no one has shown us clearly
the exact time when He rose. It is admitted, however, that
those who came to the sepulchre in the end of the Sabbath,
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week (rfj
eTrKJxaaKova-r) fiia a/3/3aT(ui/), found Him no longer lying in
it. And let us not suppose that the evangelists disagree or
contradict each other. But even although there may seem
to be some small difficulty as to the subject of our inquiry,
as it is found in not a few manuscripts, viz. Isrt'imAa; pot . . . ri?
-xcivx,*. vfpihvast, the common reading being, -ryu rov ira.a-x.ct yf
And the Tnpfavai; TOV Ka.a-x.at, denotes the close of the paschal fast, as
Eusebius (Hist. Eccles. v. 23) uses the phrase T? TUV uainuv i-xiKvait^
the verbs xspi'h.ittiv, ecTrohvitv, f-Trfavuv, xxTcthiistv, being often used in
this sense. COTELERIUS on the Apostolic Constitutions, v. 15.
1 Matt, xxviii. 1. 2 John xx. 1.
198 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
if they all agree that the light of the world, our Lord, rose
on that one night, while they differ with respect to the
hour, we may well seek with wise and faithful mind to har-
monize their statements. The narrative by Matthew, then,
runs thus : " In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn
toward the first day of the week (rfj eTriffxaa-Kovay 619 plav
Safifidrav), came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, to
see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earth-
quake : for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven,
and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. And
his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as
snow : and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became
as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the
women, Fear not ye : for I know that ye seek Jesus, which
was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He
said." 1 Now this phrase "in the end" will be thought
by some to signify, according to the common use (KOWO-
TIJTO) of the word, the evening of the Sabbath ; while others,
with a better perception of the fact, will say that it does not
indicate that, but a late hour in the night (vvfcra /3a#e/az>),
as the phrase "in the end" (o^e, late) denotes slowness
and length of time. Also because he speaks of night, and
not of evening, he has added the words, "as it began to
dawn toward the first day of the week." And the parties
here did not come yet, as the others say, "bearing spices,"
but "to see the sepulchre;" and they discovered the occur-
rence of the earthquake, and the angel sitting upon the stone,
and heard from him the declaration, "He is not here, He
is risen." And to the same effect is the testimony of John.
"The first day of the week," says he, " came Mary Magdalene
early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth
the stone taken away from the sepulchre." 2 Only, according
to this "when it was yet dark," she had come in advance (frapa
TOVTO . . . irpoeXyXvOei). And Luke says : " They rested the
Sabbath-day, according to the commandment. Now, upon
the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they
came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had
1 Matt, xxviii. 1-6. 2 John xx. 1.
EPISTLE TO BISHOP BASILIDES. 199
prepared ; and they found the stone rolled away from the
sepulchre." 1 This phrase "very early in the morning" (opQpov
(3a6eos) probably indicates the early dawn (jrpovTro^atvofjievrjv
avrrjv evdivrjv efj,<j>aviei) of the first day of the week ; and
thus, when the Sabbath itself was wholly past, and also the
whole night succeeding it, and when another day had begun,
they came, bringing spices and myrrh, and then it became
apparent that He had already risen long before. And Mark
follows this, and says : " They had bought sweet spices, in
order that they might come and anoint Him. And very
early (in the morning), the first day of the week, they come
unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun." 2 For this
evangelist also has used the term " very early," which is just
the same as the " very early in the morning " employed by
the former; and he has added, "at the rising of the sun."
Thus they set out, and took their way first when it was " very
early in the morning," or (as Mark says) when it was " very
early ;" but on the road, and by their stay at the sepulchre,
they spent the time till it was sunrise. And then the young
man clad in white said to them, "He is risen, He is not here.' r
As the case stands thus, we make the following statement
and explanation to those who seek an exact account of the
specific hour, or half-hour, or quarter of an hour, at which
it is proper to begin their rejoicing over our Lord's rising
from the dead. Those who are too hasty, and give up even
before midnight (Trpo VVKTOS eyyvs ijBrj neaovarjfi awei/ra?),
we reprehend as remiss and intemperate, and as almost
breaking off from their course in their precipitation (to?
irap oXiyov TrpofcaTaXvovras rbv Spo/iov), for it is a wise
man's word, " That is not little in life which is within a little."
And those who hold out and continue for a very long time,
and persevere even on to the fourth watch, which is also the
time at which our Saviour manifested Himself walking upon
the sea to those who were then on the deep, we receive as
noble and laborious disciples. On those, again, who pause
and refresh themselves in the course as they are moved or as
they are able, let us not press very hard : for all do not carry
1 Luke xxiii. 5G, xxiv. 1,2. 2 Mark xvi. 1, 2.
200 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
out the six clays of fasting l either equally or alike ; but some
pass even all the days as a fast, remaining without food
through the whole ; while others take but two, and others
three, and others four, and others not even one. And to
those who have laboured painfully through these protracted
fasts, and have thereafter become exhausted and well-nigh
' O
undone, pardon ought to be extended if they are somewhat
precipitate in taking food. But if there are any who not
only decline such protracted fasting, but refuse at the first to
fast at all, and rather indulge themselves luxuriously during
the first four days, and then when they reach the last two
days viz. the preparation and the Sabbath fast with due
rigour during these, and these alone, and think that they do
something grand and brilliant if they hold out till the morn-
ing, I cannot think that they have gone through the time on
equal terms with those who have been practising the same
during several days before. This is the counsel which, in
accordance with my apprehension of the question, I have
offered you in writing on these matters. 2
CANON II.
The question touching women in the time of their separa-
tion, whether it is proper for them when in such a condition
to enter the house of God, I consider a superfluous inquiry.
For I do not think that, if they are believing and pious women,
they will themselves be rash enough in such a condition
either to approach the holy table or to touch the body and
blood of the Lord. Certainly the woman who had the issue
of blood of twelve years' standing did not touch (the Lord)
Himself, but only the hem of His garment, with a view to
her cure. 3 For to pray, however a person may be situated,
and to remember the Lord, in whatever condition a person
may be, and to offer up petitions for the obtaining of help,
1 That is, as Balsamon explains, the six days of the week of our Lord's
passion.
2 To these canons are appended the comments of Balsamon and
Zonaras, which it is not necessary to give here.
3 Matt. ix. 20 ; Luke viii. 43.
EPISTLE TO BISHOP BASILIDES. 201
are exercises altogether blameless. But the individual who
is not perfectly pure both in soul and in body, shall be inter-
dicted from approaching the holy of holies.
CANON III.
Moreover, those who are competent, and who are advanced
in years, ought to be judges of themselves in these matters.
For that it is proper to abstain from each other by consent,
in order that they may be free for a season to give them-
selves to prayer, and then come together again, they have
heard from Paul in his epistle. 1
CANON IV.
As to those who are overtaken by an involuntary flux in
the iiight-time, let such follow the testimony of their own
conscience, and consider themselves as to whether they are
doubtfully minded (Siafcpivovrai) in this matter or not. And
he that doubteth in the matter of meats, the apostle tells
us, " is damned if he eat." 2 In these things, therefore, let
every one who approaches God be of a good conscience, and of
a proper confidence, so far as his own judgment is concerned.
And, indeed, it is in order to show your regard for us (for
you are not ignorant, beloved,) that you have proposed these
questions to us, making us of one mind, as indeed we are,
and of one spirit with yourself. And I, for my part, have
thus set forth my opinions in public, not as a teacher, but
only as it becomes us with all simplicity to confer with each
other. And when you have examined this opinion of mine,
my most intelligent son, you will write back to me your
notion of these matters, and let me know whatever may
seem to you to be just and preferable, and whether you
approve of my judgment in these things. That it may fare
well with you, my beloved son, as you minister to the Lord
in peace, is my prayer.
1 Referring to the relations of marriage, dealt with in 1 Cor. viL 5,
etc.
2 Rom. xiv. 23.
202 THE WORKS OF D10NISIUS.
PART II.
CONTAINING EPISTLES, OR FRAGMENTS OF EPISTLES.
EPISTLE I. TO DOMITIUS AND DIDYMUS.
(Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, vii. 11.)
1. But it would be a superfluous task for me to mention
by name our (martyr) friends, who are numerous and at the
same time unknown to you. Only understand that they
include men and women, both young men and old, botli
maidens and aged matrons, both soldiers and private citizens,
every class and every age, of whom some have suffered by
stripes and fire, and some by the sword, and have won the
victory and received their crowns. In the case of others,
however, even a very long lifetime has not proved sufficient
to secure their appearance as men acceptable to the Lord ; as
indeed in my own case too, that sufficient time has not shown
itself up to the present. Wherefore He has preserved me for
another convenient season, of which He knows Himself, as
He says : " In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and
in a day of salvation have I helped thee." *
2. Since, however, you have been inquiring 2 about what
has befallen us, and wish to be informed as to how we have
fared, you have got a full report of our fortunes ; how when
we that is to say, Gaius, and myself, and Faustus, and
Peter, and Paul were led off as prisoners by the centurion
and the magistrates, 3 and the soldiers and other attendants
1 Isa. xlix. 8.
2 Reading 'fz-ttlv irwdoiytaSf, for which some codices give ivtl KVV-
Otiyiadctt.
3 cTpttTwyuy. Christophorsonus would read <rrpa.rny.v, in the sense
of commander. But the word is used here of the duumviri, or magis-
trates of Alexandria. And that the word arpotTYiyos was used in this
civil acceptation, as well as in the common military application, we see
by many examples in Athanasius, Ammianus Marcellinus, and others.
Thus, as Valesius remarks, the soldiers (arpetrtu-ruv) here will be the
band with the centurion, and the attendants (uv^ptrui) will be the
civil followers of the magistrates.
EPISTLE TO DOMITIUS AND DIDYMUS. 203
accompanying them, there came upon us certain parties
from Mareotis, who dragged us with them against our will,
and though we were disinclined to follow them, and carried
O
us away by force j 1 and how Gaius and Peter and myself have
been separated from our other brethren, and shut up alone in
a desert and sterile place in Libya, at a distance of three
days' journey from Parsetonium.
3. And a little further on, he proceeds thus: And they con-
cealed themselves in the city, and secretly visited the brethren.
I refer to the presbyters Maxim us, Dioscorus, Demetrius,
and Lucius. For Faustinus and Aquila, who are persons
of greater prominence in the world, are wandering about in
Egypt. I specify also the deacons who survived those who
died in the sickness, 2 viz., Faustus, Eusebius, and Chse-
remon. And of Eusebius I speak as one whom the Lord
strengthened from the beginning, and qualified for the task
1 This happened in the first persecution under Decius, when Dionysius
was carried off by the decision of the prefect Sabinus to Taposiris, as
he informs us in his epistle to Germanus. Certainly any one who com-
pares that epistle of Dionysius to Germanus with this one to Domitius,
will have no doubt that he speaks of one and the same event in both.
Hence Eusebius is in error in thinking that in this epistle of Dionysius
to Domitius we have a narrative of the events relating to the perse-
cution of Valerian, a position which may easily be refuted from Dio-
nysius himself. For in the persecution under Valerian, Dionysius was
not carried off into exile under military custody, nor were there any men
from Mareotis, who came and drove off the soldiers, and bore him away
unwillingly, and set him at liberty again ; nor had Dionysius on that
occasion the presbyters Gaius and Faustus, and Peter and Paul, with
him. All these things happened to Dionysius in that persecution
which began a little before Decius obtained the empire, as he testifies
himself in his epistle to Germanus. But in the persecution under
Valerian, Dionysius was accompanied in exile by the presbyter Maximus,
and the deacons Faustus, and Eusebius, and Chaeremon, and a certain
Roman cleric, as he tells us in the epistle to Germanus. VALESIUS.
2 h TYI VWQ. Rufinus reads ir<<rp, and renders it, " But of the
deacons, some died in the island after the pains of confession." But
Dionysius refers to the pestilence which traversed the whole Roman
world in the times of Gallus and Volusianus, as Eusebius in his Chroni-
con and others record. See Aurelius Victor. Diouysius makes mention
of this sickness again in the paschal epistle to the Alexandrians, where
he also speaks of the deacons who were cut off by that plague. VALES.
204 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
of discharging energetically the services due to the con-
fessors who were in prison, and of executing the perilous
office of dressing out and burying 1 the bodies of those per-
fected and blessed martyrs. For even up to the present day
the governor does not cease to put to death, in a cruel
manner, as I have already said, some of those who are
brought before him ; while he wears others out by torture,
and wastes others away with imprisonment and bonds, com-
manding also that no one shall approach them, and making
strict scrutiny lest any one should be seen to do so. And
nevertheless God imparts relief to the oppressed by the
tender kindness and earnestness of the brethren.
EPISTLE II. TO NOVATUS.
(Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. vi. 45.)
Dionysius to Novatus 2 his brother, greeting.
If you were carried on against your will, as you say, you
will show that such has been the case by your voluntary retire-
ment. For it would have been but dutiful to have suffered
any kind of ill, so as to avoid rending the church of God.
And a martyrdom borne for the sake of preventing a divi-
\x-n\tlv. Christophorsonus renders it : "to prepare the
linen cloths in which the bodies of the blessed martyrs who departed
this life might be wrapped." In this Valesius thinks he errs by looking
at the modern method of burial, whereas among the ancient Christians
the custom was somewhat different, the bodies being dressed out in full
attire, and that often at great cost, as Eusebius shows us in the case of
Astyrius, in the Hist. Eccles. vii. 16. Yet Athanasius, in his Life of
Antonius, has this sentence : " The Egyptians are accustomed to attend
piously to the funerals of the bodies of the dead, and especially those
of the holy martyrs, and to wrap them in linen cloths : they are not
wont, however, to consign them to the earth, but to place them on
couches, and keep them in private apartments."
2 Jerome, in his Catalogris, where he adduces the beginning of this
epistle, gives Novatianus for Novatus. So in the Chronicon of Georgius
Syncellus we have Aiovixrios NavetTiavy. Rufinus' account appears to
be that there were two such epistles, one to Novatus, and another to
Novatianus. The confounding of these two forms seems, however, to
have been frequent among the Greeks.
EPISTLE TO FAB1US. 205
sion of the church, would not have been more inglorious
than one endured for refusing to worship idols ; l nay, in my
opinion at least, the former would have been a nobler thing
than the latter. For in the one case a person gives such a
testimony simply for his own individual soul, whereas in the
other case he is a witness for the whole church. And now,
if you can persuade or constrain the brethren to come to be
of one mind again, your uprightness will be (held to be)
superior to your error ; and the latter will not be charged
against you, while the former will be commended in you.
But if you cannot prevail so far with your recusant brethren,
see to it that you save your own soul. My wish is, that in
the Lord you may fare well as you study peace.
EPISTLE III. TO FABIUS 2 BISHOP OF ANTIOCH.
(Eusebius, Hist. Eccks. vi. 41, 42, 44. 3 )
1. The persecution with us did not commence with the
imperial edict, but preceded it by a whole year. And a cer-
tain prophet and poet, an enemy to this city, 4 whatever else
he was, had previously roused and exasperated against us the
masses of the heathen, inflaming them anew with the fires
of their native superstition. Excited by him, and finding
full liberty for the perpetration of wickedness, they reckoned
1 We read, with Gallandi, xi %y ovx. d^o^oripx rijs tv&tsv rot/ /t*j /(
"honpivaati (sz'c) "/ivof*,iYi;, j 'ivix.iv TOIJ py a^lacti ftetprvpia. This is sub-
stantially the reading of three Venetian codices, as also of Sophronius on
Jerome's De vir. illuslr. h. 69, and Georgius Syncellus in the Chronogr.
p. 374, and Nicephorus Callist. Hist. Eccles. vi. 4. Pearson, in the
Annales Cyprian. Num. x. p. 31, proposes 6wu.i for axlaau. Rufinus
renders it : " et erat non inferior gloria sustinere martyrium ne scindatur
ecclesia quam est ilia ne idolis immoletur."
2 Certain codices read Fabiauus, and that form is adopted also by
Rufinus.
3 Eusebius introduces this epistle thus: "The same author, in an
epistle written to Fabius bishop of Antioch, gives the following account
of the conflicts of those who suffered martyrdom at Alexandria."
4 xxl $da.au.! 6 XXKUV, etc. Pearson, Annales Cyprian, ad ann. 249,
1, renders it rather thus : " et picevertens malorum huic urbi vates et
auctor, quisquis ille fuit, commovit," etc.
206 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
this the only piety (and) service to their demons, 1 namely,
our slaughter.
2. First, then, they seized an old man of the name of
Metras, and commanded him to utter words of impiety; and
as he refused, they beat his body with clubs, and lacerated
his face and eyes with sharp reeds, and then dragged him off
to the suburbs and stoned him there. Next they carried
off a woman named Quinta, who was a believer, to an idol
temple, and compelled her to worship the idol; and when
she turned away from it, and showed how she detested it,
they bound her feet and dragged her through the whole city
along the rough stone-paved streets, knocking her at the
same time against the millstones, and scourging her, until
they brought her to the same place, and stoned her also
there. Then with one impulse they all rushed upon the
houses of the God-fearing, and whatever pious persons
any of them knew individually as neighbours, after these
they hurried and bore them with them, and robbed and
plundered them, setting aside the more valuable portions of
their property for themselves, and scattering about the com-
moner articles, and such as were made of wood, and burning
them on the roads, so that they made these parts present the
spectacle of a city taken by the enemy. The brethren, how-
ever, simply gave way and withdrew, and, like those to whom
Paul bears witness, 2 they took the spoiling of their goods
with joy. And I know not that any of them except pos-
sibly some solitary individual who may have chanced to fall
into their hands thus far has denied the Lord.
3. But they also seized that most admirable virgin Apol-
lonia, then in advanced life, and knocked out all her teeth,
and cut her jaws ; and then kindling a fire before the city,
they threatened to burn her alive unless she would repeat
along with them their expressions of impiety. 3 And although
1 svoifinat.v rr,v 6pYi<Tx.;tciv iietiftovuv. Valesius thinks the last three
words in the text (= service to their demons) an interpolation by some
scholiast.
2 Heb. x. 30.
* to. TSJ; dasfaiot; xyptyftxTct. What these precisely were, it is not
EPISTLE TO FABIUS. 207
she seemed to deprecate (or, shrink from) her fate for a little,
on being let go, she leaped eagerly into the fire and was con-
sumed. They also laid hold of a certain Serapiori in his own
house; 1 and after torturing him with severe cruelties, and
breaking all his limbs, they dashed him headlong from an
tipper storey to the ground. And there was no road, no
thoroughfare, no lane even, where we could walk, whether
by night or by day ; for at all times and in every place they
all kept crying out, that if any one should refuse to repeat
their blasphemous expressions, he must be at once dragged off
and burnt. These inflictions were carried rigorously on for a
considerable time (eViTroXu) in this manner. But when the
insurrection and the civil war in due time overtook these
wretched people, 2 that diverted their savage cruelty from us,
and turned it against themselves. And we enjoyed a little
breathing time, as long as leisure failed them for exercising
their fury against us. 3
4. But speedily was the change from that more kindly
reign 4 announced to us ; and great was the terror of threaten-
ing that was now made to reach us. Already, indeed, the
easy to say. Dionysius speaks of them also as St/afp^a py/uetTi* in this
epistle, and as oidtot Quvui in that to Germanus. Gallandi thinks the
reference is to the practice, of which we read also in the Acts of Poly-
carp, ch. 9, where the proconsul addresses the martyr with the order :
hoiiopwon TO* XpiaTov Kevile Christ. And that the test usually put to
reputed Christians by the early persecutors was this cursing of Christ,
we learn from Pliny, book x. epist. 97.
i/, for which Nicephorus reads badly, 'EQeaiov.
But Pearson suggests $AOV?, = "when insurrection and
civil war took the place of these persecutions." This would agree better
Avith the common usage of d/ad^o^a/.
3 oJff^oX/av TOV vrpo; ii/actc 6v t uov hetfioyrcay. The Latin version gives,
"dum illorum cessaret furor." W. Lowth renders, "dum non vacaret
ipsis furorem suum in nos exercere."
4 This refers to the death of the Emperor Philip, who showed a very
righteous and kindly disposition toward the Christians. Accordingly
the matters here recounted by Dionysius took place in the last year of
the Emperor Philip. This is also indicated by Dionysius in the begin-
ning of this epistle, where he says that the persecution began at Alex-
andria a whole year before the edict of the Emperor Decius. But
Christophorsonus, not observing this, interprets the
208 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
edict had arrived ; and it was of such a tenor as almost per-
fectly to correspond with what was intimated to us beforetime
by our Lord, setting before us the most dreadful horrors, so
as, if that were possible, to cause the very elect to stumble. 1
All verily were greatly alarmed, and of the more notable there
were some, and these a large number, who speedily accom-
modated themselves to the decree in fear (OLTT^VTCOV SeSiore?) ;
others, who were engaged in the public service, were drawn
into compliance by the very necessities of their official duties; 2
others were dragged on to it by their friends, and on being
called by name approached the impure and unholy sacrifices ;
others yielded pale and trembling, as if they were not to offer
sacrifice, but to be themselves the sacrifices and victims for
the idols, so that they were jeered by the large multitude
surrounding the scene, and made it plain to all that they
were too cowardly either to face death or to offer the sacri-
fices. But there were others who hurried up to the altars
as signifying a change in the emperor's mind toward the Christians,
in which error he is followed by Baronius, ch. 102. VALES.
1 In this sentence the Codex Kegius reads, TO vpopfadtv J/TO rov Kvpi'ov
qpuv -Tretpctftpx^v TO (pofliparetTov, etc. = " the one intimated beforetime
by our Lord, very nearly the most terrible one." In Georgius Syncellus
it is given as % vetpci ftpet^v. But the reading in the text, dvoQcrivov,
" setting forth," is found in the Codices Maz., Med., Fuk., and Savilii ;
and it seems the best, the idea being that this edict of Decius was so
terrible as in a certain measure to represent the most fearful of all times,
viz. those of Antichrist. VALES.
2 o! B $Yi/Aoo'itivoi'Tfs i>iro ran 7rpd%eu v^/ovro. This is rendered by
Christophorsonus, " alii ex privatis sedibus in publicum raptati ad de-
lubra ducuntur a magistratibus." But Ivftwisvorref is the same as
ret ?>Yifx.oaitit vrpatTrovres, i.e. decurions and magistrates. For when the
edict of Decius was conveyed to them, commanding all to sacrifice to
the immortal gods, these officials had to convene themselves in the court-
house as usual, and stand and listen while the decree was being publicly
recited. Thus they were in a position officially which led them to be
the first to sacrifice. The word irpii%ei$ occurs often in the sense of the
acts and administration of magistrates : thus, in Eusebius, viii. 11 ; in
Aristides, in the funeral oration on Alexander, T B' fig Trpet^et; re x.l
etc. There are similar passages also in Plutarch's lidhirin*
ei, and in Severianus's sixth oration on the Hexameron.
So Chrysostom, in his eighty-third homily on Matthew, calls the decu-
EPISTLE TO FABIUS. 209
with greater alacrity, stoutly asserting 1 that they had never
been Christians at all before; of whom our Lord's prophetic
declaration holds most true, that it will be hard for such
to be saved. Of the rest, some followed one or other of
these parties (already mentioned) ; and some fled, and some
were seized. And of these, some went as far (in keeping
their faith) as bonds and imprisonment ; and certain persons
among them endured imprisonment even for several days,
and then after all abjured the faith before coming into
the court of justice ; while others, after holding out against
the torture for a time, sank before the prospect of further
sufferings. 2
5. But there were also others, stedfast and blessed pillars
of the Lord, who, receiving strength from Himself, and ob-
taining power and vigour worthy of and commensurate with
the force of the faith that was in themselves, have proved
admirable witnesses for His kingdom. And of these the first
was Julianus, a man suffering from gout, and able neither to
stand nor to walk, who was arraigned along with two other
men who carried him. Of these two persons, the one im-
mediately denied (Christ) ; but the other, a person named
Cronion, and surnamed Eunus, and together with him the
aged Julianus himself, confessed the Lord, and were carried
on camels through the whole city, which is, as you know, a
very large one, and were scourged in that elevated position,
and finally were consumed in a tremendous fire, while the
whole populace surrounded them. And a certain soldier who
stood by them when they were led away to execution, and
who opposed the wanton insolence of the people, was pur-
sued by the outcries they raised against him ; and this most
courageous soldier of God, Besas by name, was arraigned ;
rions TOVS T ^-oX/T/xot "a-peirTovretf. The word ?>/ift,ooiei><wT;, however,
may also be explained of those employed in the departments of law or
finance ; so that the clause might be rendered, with Yalesius : " alii,
qui in publico versabantur, rebus ipsis et reliquorum exemplo, ad sacri-
h'candum ducebantur." See the note in Migne.
1 laxvpifyftivu here for ttiwxvptfyp.tvoi. VALES.
2 Kpos TO iqs a.Ki~nroy. It may also mean, " renounced the faith in
the prospect of what was before them."
O
210 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
and after bearing himself most nobly in that mighty conflict
on behalf of piety, he was beheaded. And another individual,
who was by birth a Libyan, and who at once in name and
in real blessedness was also a true Macar (a blessed one 1 ),
although much was tried by the judge to persuade him to
make a denial, did not yield, and was consequently burned
alive. And these were succeeded by Epimachus and Alex-
ander, who, after a long time 2 spent in chains, and after
suffering countless agonies and inflictions of the scraper
(gvarrjpas) and the scourge, were also burnt to ashes in an
immense fire.
6. And along with these there were four women. Among
them was Ammonarium, a pious virgin, who was tortured
for a very long time by the judge in a most relentless man-
ner, because she declared plainly from the first that she
would utter none of the things which he commanded her to
repeat ; and after she had made good her profession she was
led off to execution. The others were the most venerable and
aged Mercuria, and Dionysia, who had been the mother of
many children, and yet did not love her offspring better than
her Lord. 3 These, when the governor was ashamed to sub-
ject them any further to profitless torments, and thus to see
himself beaten by women, died by the sword, without more
experience of tortures. For truly their champion Ammo-
narium had received tortures for them all.
7. Heron also, and Ater, 4 and Isidorus, 5 who were Egyp-
1 Alluding to Matt. v. 10, 12.
2 ptT iro^M. But Codices Med., Maz., Fuk., and Savilii, as well as
Georgius Syncellus, read fttr oi> TTOAW>, " after a short time."
3 Here Valesius adds from Rufinus the words x.at.1 ' Aftpaviiptov trtpx,
" and a second Ammonarium," as there are four women mentioned.
4 In Georgius Syncellus and Nicephorus it is given as Aster. Rufinus
makes the name Arsinus. And in the old Roman martyrology, taken
largely from Rufinus, we find the form Arsenius. VALES.
5 In his Bibliotheca, cod. cxix., Photius states that Isidorus was full
brother to Pierius, the celebrated head of the Alexandrian school, and
his colleague in martyrdom. He also intimates, however, that although
some have reported that Pierius ended his career by martyrdom, others
say that he spent the closing period of his life in Rome after the per-
secution abated. RUINAKT.
EPISTLE TO FAB1US. 211
tians, and along with them Dioscorus, a boy of about fifteen
years of age, were delivered up. And though at first he
(the judge) tried to deceive the youth with fair speeches,
thinking he could easily seduce him, and then attempted also
to compel him by force of tortures, fancying he might be
made to yield without much difficulty in that way, Dioscorus
neither submitted to his persuasions nor gave way to his
terrors. And the rest, after their bodies had been lacerated
in a most savage manner, and their stedfastness had never-
theless been maintained, he consigned also to the flames.
But Dioscorus he dismissed, wondering at the distinguished
appearance he had made in public, and at the extreme wis-
dom of the answers he gave to his interrogations, and de-
claring that, on account of his age, he granted him further
time for repentance. And this most godly Dioscorus is with
us at present, tarrying for a greater conflict and a more
lengthened contest. A certain person of the name of
Nernesion, too, who was also an Egyptian, was falsely ac-
cused of being a companion of robbers ; and after he had
cleared himself of this charge before the centurion, and
proved it to be a most unnatural calumny, he was informed
against as a Christian, and had to come as a prisoner before
the governor. And that most unrighteous magistrate inflicted
on him a punishment twice as severe as that to which the
robbers were subjected, making him suffer both tortures and
scourgings, and then consigning him to the fire between the
robbers. Thus the blessed martyr was honoured after the
pattern of Christ.
8. There was also a body of soldiers, 1 including Ammon,
and Zeno, and Ptolemy, and Ingenuus, and along with them
an old man, Theophilus, who had taken up their position in
a mass in front of the tribunal ; and when a certain person
1 avvTa.yp.it arpixriuT.-xuv. Rufinus and Chiistophorsonus make it
turmam militum. Valesius prefers manipulum or contubernitim. These
may have been the apparitors or officers of the prsefectus Augustalis.
Valesius thinks rather that they were legionaries, from the legion which
had to guard the city of Alexandria, and which was under the authority
of the prsefectus Augustalis. For at that time the prsefectus Augustalis
had charge of military affairs as well as civil.
212 THE WORKS OF DIOXYS1US.
was standing his trial as a Christian, and was already inclin-
ing to make a denial, these stood round about and ground
their teeth, and made signs with their faces, and stretched
out their hands, and made all manner of gestures with
their bodies. And while the attention of all was directed
to them, before any could lay hold of them, they ran
quickly up to the bench of judgment l and declared them-
selves to be Christians, and made such an impression that the
governor and his associates were filled with fear ; and those
who were under trial seemed to be most courageous in the
prospect of what they were to suffer, while the judges them-
selves trembled. These, then, went with a high spirit from
the tribunals, and exulted in their testimony, God Himself
causing them to triumph gloriously. 2
9. Moreover, others in large numbers were torn asunder by
the heathen throughout the cities and villages. Of one of
these I shall give some account, as an example. Ischyrion
served one of the rulers in the capacity of steward for stated
wages. His employer ordered this man to offer sacrifice ; and
on his refusal to do so, he abused him. When he persisted in
his non-compliance, his master treated him with contumely;
and when he still held out, he took a huge stick and thrust
it through his bowels and heart, and slew him. Why should
I mention the multitudes of those who had to wander about
in desert places and upon the mountains, and who were cut
off by hunger, and thirst, and cold, and sickness, and robbers,
and wild beasts 1 The survivors of such are the witnesses of
their election and their victory. One circumstance, how-
ever, I shall subjoin as an illustration of these things. There
was a certain very aged person of the name of Chffiremon,
bishop of the place called the city of the Nile. 3 He fled
1 pdpo. Valesius supposes that what is intended is the seat on which
the accused sat when under interrogation by the judge.
2 Opictfifavovros ccvrovg. Eufinus makes it, "God thus triumphing in
them ; " from which it would seem that he had read 3;' KVTQVC,. But
tipiKftfitvuv is probably put here for 6pta,ft.l$ti/ii -xoiiiv, as /SewAfi/e/v is also
used by Gregory Nazianzenus.
3 That is, Nilopolis or Niloupolis. Eusebius, bishop of the same seat,
subscribed the Council of Ephesus. READING.
EPISTLE TO FABIUS. 213
along with his partner to the Arabian mountain, 1 and never
returned. The brethren, too, were unable to discover any-
thing of them, although they made frequent search ; and they
never could find either the men themselves, or their bodies.
Many were also carried off as slaves by the barbarous
Saracens 2 to that same Arabian mount. Some of these were
ransomed with difficulty, and only by paying a great sum of
money ; others of them have not been ransomed to this day.
And these facts I have related, brother, not without a pur-
pose, but in order that you may know how many and how
terrible are the ills that have befallen us; which troubles
also will be best understood by those who have had most
experience of them.
10. Those sainted martyrs, accordingly, who were once with
us, and who now are seated with Christ, 3 and are sharers in
His kingdom, and partakers with Him in His judgment, 4 and
who act as His judicial assessors, received there certain of
the brethren who had fallen away, and who had become
chargeable with sacrificing to the idols. And as they saw
that the conversion and repentance of such might be accept-
1 TO 'Ap/3to Spof. There is a Mons Arabicus mentioned by Herodotus
(ii. 8), which Ptolemy and others call Mons Troicus. VALES.
2 This passage is notable from the fact that it makes mention of the
Saracens. For of the writers whose works have come down to us there
is none more ancient than Dionysius of Alexandria that has named the
Saracens. Ammianus Marcellinus, however, writes in his fourteenth
book that he has made mention of the Saracens in the Acts of Marcus.
Spartianus also mentions the Saracens in his Niger, and says that the
Roman soldiers were beaten by them. VALES.
3 As to the martyrs' immediate departure to the Lord, and their abode
with Him, see Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh, ch. xliii., and
On the Soul, v. 55.
4 That the martyrs were to be Christ's assessors, judging the world
with Him, was a common opinion among the fathers. So, after Dionysius,
Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria, in his fifth book, Against the Novations.
Photius, in his Bibliotheca, following Chrysostom, objects to this, and
explains Paul's words in 1 Cor. vi. 2 as having the same intention as
Christ's words touching the men of Nineveh and the queen of the south
who should rise up in the judgment and condemn that generation.
5 ov^iKK^ovTi;. See a noble passage in Bossuet, Prefac. sur VApocal.
28.
214 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
able to Him who desires not at all the death of the sinner, 1
but rather his repentance, they proved their sincerity, and
received them, and brought them together again, and as-
sembled with them, and had fellowship with them in their
prayers and at their festivals. 2 What advice then, brethren,
do you give us as regards these ? What should we do ?
Are we to stand forth and act with the decision and judg-
ment which those (martyrs) formed, and to observe the same
graciousness with them, and to deal so kindly with those
toward whom they showed such compassion ? or are we to
treat their decision as an unrighteous one, 3 and to constitute
ourselves judges of their opinion on such subjects, and to
throw clemency into tears, and to overturn the established
order ? *
11. But I shall give a more particular account of one
case here which occurred among us : 5 There was with us
a certain Serapion, an aged believer. He had spent his
long life blamelessly, but had fallen in the time of trial
(the persecution). Often did this man pray (for absolu-
tion), and no one gave heed to him ; 6 for he had sacrificed to
1 Ezek. xxxiii. 11.
2 Dionysius is dealing here not with public communion, such as was
the bishop's prerogative to confer anew on the penitent, but with private
fellowship among Christian people. VALES.
3 atiixov irornoufttQx. is the reading of Codices Maz., Med., Fuk., and
Savil., and also of Georgius Syncellus. Others read ei^xrov Kor/iaopida,
" we shall treat it as inadmissible."
4 The words x.a.1 TOV sw wetpoZvvoftfv, " and provoke God," are some-
times added here ; but they are wanting in Codices Maz., Med., Fuk.,
Savil., and in Georgius Syncellus.
5 Eusebius introduces this in words to the following effect : " Writing
to this same Fabius, who seemed to incline somewhat to this schism,
Dionysius of Alexandria, after setting forth in his letter many other
matters which bore on repentance, and after describing the conflicts of
the martyrs who had recently suffered in Alexandria, relates among
other things one specially wonderful fact, which I have deemed proper
for insertion in this history, and which is as follows."
6 That is, none either of the clergy or of the people were moved by his
prayers to consider him a proper subject for absolution ; for the people's
suffrages were also necessary for the reception into the church of any who
had lapsed, and been on that account cut off from it. And sometimes the
EPISTLE TO FABIUS. 215
the idols. Falling sick, he continued three successive days
dumb and senseless. Recovering a little on the fourth day,
he called to him his grandchild, and said, " My son, how
long do you detain me ? Hasten, I entreat you, and ab-
solve me quickly. Summon one of the presbyters to me."
And when he had said this, he became speechless again.
The boy ran for the presbyter ; but it was night, and the
man was sick, and was consequently unable to come. But
as an injunction had been issued by me, 1 that persons at the
point of death, if they requested it then, and especially if
they had earnestly sought it before, should be absolved, 2 in
order that they might depart this life in cheerful hope, he
gave the boy a small portion of the Eucharist, 3 telling him to
steep it in water, 4 and drop it into the old man's mouth.
bishop himself asked the people to allow absolution to be given to the
suppliant, as we see in Cyprian's Epistle 53, to Cornelius, and in Ter-
tullian, On Chastity, ch. xiii. Oftener, however, the people themselves
made intercession with the bishop for the admission of penitents ; of
which we have a notable instance in the Epistle of Pope Cornelius to
Fabius of Antioch about that bishop who had ordained Novatianus.
See also Cyprian, Epistle 59. VALES.
1 In the African Synod, which met about the time that Dionysius
wrote, it was decreed that absolution should be granted to lapsed persons
who were near their end, provided that they had sought it earnestly
before their illness. See Cyprian in the Epistle to Antonianus.
VALES.
2 eiQieaGeii. There is a longer reading in Codices Fuk. and Savil.,
viz. : ruu dtluy ^upuv ry; fiiTcitioofUS eifciovadstt Kotl ovrog eitpiiaSai, "be
deemed worthy of the imparting of the divine gifts, and thus be ab-
solved."
3 Valesius thinks that this custom prevailed for a long tune, and
cites a synodical letter of Katherius, bishop of Verona (which has also
been ascribed to Udalricus by Gretserus, who has published it along
with his Life of Gregory vn.), in which the practice is expressly for-
bidden in these terms : " And let no one presume to give the com-
munion to a laic or a woman, for the purpose of conveying it to an infirm
person."
4 diroppiZctt. Rufinus renders it by inf under e. References to this
custom are found in Adamannus, in the second book of the Miracles of
St. Columla, ch. 6 ; in Bede, Life of St. Cuthbert, ch. 31, and in the
poem on the life of the same ; in Theodorus Campidunensis, Life of St.
Magnus, ch. 22 ; in Paulus Bernriedensis, Life of Gregory vn. p. 113.
216 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
The boy returned bearing the portion ; and as lie came near,
and before he had yet entered, Serapion again recovered,
and said, "You have come, my child, and the presbyter
was unable to come ; but do quickly what you were in-
structed to do, and so let me depart." The boy steeped
the morsel in water, and at once dropped it into the (old
man's) mouth ; and after he had swallowed a little of it, he
forthwith gave up the ghost. Was he not then manifestly
preserved? and did he not continue in life just until he
could be absolved, and until through the wiping away of
his sins he could be acknowledged l for the many good acts
he had done 1
EPISTLE IT. TO CORNELIUS THE ROMAN PONTIFF.
(Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. vi. 46.)
In addition to all these, he writes likewise to Cornelius
at Rome, after receiving his Epistle against Novatus. And
in that letter he also shows that he had been invited by
Helenus, bishop in Tarsus of Cilicia, and by the others who
were with him namely, Firmilian, bishop in Cappadocia,
and Theoctistus in Palestine to meet them at the Council of
Antioch, where certain persons were attempting to establish
the schism of Novatus. In addition to this, he writes that it
was reported to him that Fabius was dead, and that Deme-
trianus was appointed his successor in the bishopric of the
church at Antioch. He writes also respecting the bishop in
Jerusalem, expressing himself in these very words : " And
the blessed Alexander, having been cast into prison, went to
his rest in blessedness."
Langus, Wolfius, and Musculus render it confiteri,
"confess." Christophorsonus makes it in numerum confessorum referri,
" reckoned in the number of confessors ;" which may be allowed, if it
is understood to be a reckoning by Christ. For Dionysius alludes to
those words of Christ iu the Gospel: "Whosoever shall confess me
before men, him will I confess also before my Father." VALES.
EPISTLE TO THE PONTIFF STEPHEN. 217
EPISTLE V., WHICH IS THE FIRST ON THE SUBJECT OF
BAPTISM, ADDRESSED TO THE PONTIFF STEPHEN. 1
Understand, however, my brother, 2 that all the churches
located in the east, and also in remoter districts, 3 that were
formerly in a state of division, are now made one again ; 4
and all those at the head of the churches everywhere are of
one mind, and rejoice exceedingly at the peace which has
been restored beyond all expectation. I may mention Deme-
trianus in Antioch ; Theoctistus in CaBsareia ; Mazabanes in
^Elia, 5 the successor of the deceased Alexander ; 6 Marinus in
Tyre ; Heliodorus in Laodicea, the successor of the deceased
Thelymidres ; Helenas in Tarsus, and with him all the
churches of Cilicia ; and Firmilian and all Cappadocia. For
I have named only the more illustrious of the bishops, so as
1 In the second chapter of the seventh book of his Ecclesiastical His-
tory, Eusebius says : " To this Stephen Eusebius wrote the first of his
epistles on the matter of baptism." And be calls this the first, because
Dionysius also wrote other four epistles to Xystus and Dionysius, two
of the successors of Stephen, and to Philemon, on the same subject of
the baptizing of heretics. GALLANDI.
2 Eusebius introduces the letter thus : " "When he had addressed
many reasonings on this subject to him (Stephen) by letter, Dionysius
at last showed him that, as the persecution had abated, the churches in
all parts opposed to the innovations of Novatus were at peace among
themselves."
3 KMI tTi KpoauTfpa. These words are omitted in Codices Fulk. and
Savil., as also by Christophorsonus ; but are given in Codices Reg.,
Maz., and Med., and by Syncellus and Nicephorus.
4 Baronius infers from this epistle that at this date, about 259 A.D.,
the Oriental bishops had given up their error, and fallen in with
Stephen's opinion, that heretics did not require to be rebaptized, an
inference, however, which Valesius deems false.
5 The name assigned by the pagans to Jerusalem was jElia. It was
so called even in Constantine's time, as we see in the Tabula Peutin-
gerorum and the Itinerarium Antonini, written after Constantine's reign.
In the seventh canon of the Nicene Council we also find the name ^Elia.
6 The words xotfivdivTo; 'AXs|i/S^of are given in the text in connection
with the clause Mjon/o? l Tvpu. They must be transposed, however, as
in the translation ; for Mazabanes had succeeded Alexander the bishop
of JElia, as Dionysius informs us in his Epistle to Cornelius. So Rufinus
puts it also in his Latin version. VALES.
218 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
neither to make my epistle too long, nor to render my dis-
course too heavy for you. All the districts of Syria, how-
ever, and of Arabia, to the brethren in which you from time
to time have been forwarding supplies l and at present have
sent letters, and Mesopotamia too, and Pontus, and Syria,
and, to speak in brief, all parties, are everywhere rejoicing
at the unanimity and brotherly love now established, and are
glorifying God for the same.
EPISTLE VI. TO POPE SIXTUS.
Dionysius mentions letters that had been written by him as well to the
Presbyters Dionysius and Philemon as to Pope Stephen, on the
baptism of heretics and on the Sabellian heresy.
1. Previously, indeed, (Stephen) had written letters about
Helanus and Firmilianus, and about all who were estab-
lished throughout Cilicia and Cappadocia, and all the neigh-
bouring provinces, giving them to understand that for that
same reason he would depart from their communion, because
they re-baptized heretics. And consider the seriousness of
the matter. For, indeed, in the most considerable councils
of the bishops, as I hear, it has been decreed that they who
come from heresy should first be trained in (catholic) doc-
trine, and then should be cleansed by baptism from the filth
of the old and impure leaven. Asking and calling him to
witness on all these matters, I sent letters.
And a little after Dionysius proceeds :
2. And, moreover, to our beloved co-presbyters Dionysius
1 Alluding to the generous practice of the church at Eome in old tunes
in relieving the wants of the other churches, and in sending money and
clothes to the brethren who were in captivity, and to those who toiled in
the mines. To this effect we have the statement of Dionysius, bishop of
Corinth, in his Epistle to the Pontiff Soter, which Eusebius cites in his
fourth book. In the same passage, Eusebius also remarks that this com-
mendable custom had been continued in the Roman church up to his
own time ; and with that object collections were made there, of which
Pope Leo writes in his Sermones. VALES.
EPISTLE TO PHILEMON. 219
and Philemon, who before agreed with Stephen, and had
written to me about the same matters, I wrote previously
in few words, but now I have written again more at
length.
In the same letter, says Eusebius, 1 he informs Xystus of the
Sabellian heretics, that they were gaining ground at that
time, in these words :
3. For since of the doctrine, which lately has been set
on foot at Ptolemais, a city of Pentapolis, impious and full
of blasphemy against Almighty God and the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ ; full of unbelief and perfidy towards
His only begotten Son and the first-born, of every creature,
the Word made man, and which takes away the perception
of the Holy Spirit, on either side both letters were brought
to me, and brethren had come to discuss it, setting forth
more plainly as much as by God's gift I was able, I wrote
certain letters, copies of which I have sent to thee.
EPISTLE VII. TO PHILEMON PRESBYTER OF SIXTHS.
I indeed gave attention to reading the books and carefully
studying the traditions of heretics, to the extent indeed of
corrupting my soul with their execrable opinions; yet receiving
from them this advantage, that I could refute them in my
own mind, and detested them more heartily than ever. And
when a certain brother of the order of presbyters sought to
deter me, and feared lest I should be involved in the same
wicked filthiness, because he said that my mind would be
contaminated, and indeed with truth, as I myself perceived,
I was strengthened by a vision that was sent me from God.
And a word spoken to me, expressly commanded me, saying,
Read everything which shall come into thy hands, for thou
art fit to do so, who correctest and provest each one ; and
from them to thee first of all has appeared the cause and the
1 Lib. vii. cb. vi.
220 THE WORKS OF DION Y SI US.
occasion of believing. I received this vision as being what
was in accordance with the apostolic word, which thus urges
all who are endowed with greater virtue, " Be ye skilful
money-changers." l
Then, says Eusebius, he subjoins some things parenthetically
about all heresies :
This rule and form I have received from our blessed
Father Heraclus : For thou, who came from heresies, even
if they had fallen away from the church, much rather if
they had not fallen away, but when they were seen to fre-
quent the assemblies of the faithful, were charged with going
to hear the teachers of perverse doctrine, and ejected from
the church, he did not admit after many prayers, before
they had openly and publicly narrated whatever things they
had heard from their adversaries. Then he received them
at length to the assemblies of the faithful, by no means ask-
ing of them to receive baptism anew. Because they had
already previously received the Holy Spirit from that very
baptism.
Once more, this question being thoroughly ventilated, he
adds :
I learned this besides, that this custom is not now first of
all imported among the Africans alone ; but moreover, long
before, in the times of former bishops, among most populous
churches, and that when synods of the brethren of Iconium
and Synades were held, it also pleased as many as possible,
I should be unwilling, by overturning their judgments, to
throw them into strifes and contentions. For it is written,
" Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which thy
fathers have placed." 2
1 1 Thess. v. 21. 8 Deut. xk. 14.
EPISTLE TO POPE SIXTHS II. 221
EPISTLE VIII. TO DIONYSIUS, AT THAT TIME PRESBYTER
OP XYSTUS, AND AFTERWARDS HIS SUCCESSOR.
He teaches that Novatian is deservedly to be opposed on account of his
schism, on account of his impious doctrine, on account of the re-
petition of baptism to those who came to him.
For we rightly repulse Novatian, who has rent the church,
and has drawn away some of the brethren to impiety and
blasphemies; who has brought into the world a most impious
doctrine concerning God, and calumniates our most merciful
Lord Jesus Christ as if He were unmerciful ; and besides
all these things, holds the sacred laver as of no effect, and
rejects it, and overturns faith and confession, which are put
before baptism, and utterly drives away the Holy Spirit from
them, even if any hope subsists either that He would abide
in them, or that He should return to them.
EPISTLE IX. TO POPE SIXTUS II.
Of a man who sought to be introduced to the church by baptism,
although he said that he had received baptism, with other words
and matters among the heretics.
For truly, brother, I have need of advice, and I crave
your judgment, lest perchance I should be mistaken upon
the matters which in such wise happen to me. One of the
brethren who come together to the church, who for some
time has been esteemed as a believer, and who before my
ordination, and, if I am not deceived, before even the epis-
copate of Heraclus himself, had been a partaker of the
assembly of the faithful, when he had been concerned in the
baptism of those who were lately baptized, and had heard
the interrogatories and their answers, came to me in tears,
and bewailing his lot. And throwing himself at my feet, he
began to confess and to protest that this baptism by which
he had been initiated among heretics was not of this kind,
nor had it anything whatever in common with this of ours,
because that it was full of blasphemy and impiety. And he
said that his soul was pierced with a very bitter sense of
sorrow, and that he did not dare even to lift up his eyes to
222 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
God, because he had been initiated by those wicked words
and tilings. Wherefore he besought that, by this purest
laver, he might be endowed with adoption and grace. And
I, indeed, have not dared to do this ; but I have said that the
long course of communion had been sufficient for this. For
I should not dare to renew afresh, after all, one who had
heard the giving of thanks, and who had answered with
others Amen, who had stood at the holy table, and had
stretched forth his hands to receive the blessed food, and had
received it, and for a very long time had been a partaker of
the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Henceforth
I bade him be of good courage, and approach to the sacred
[elements] with a firm faith and a good conscience, and be-
come a partaker of them. But he makes no end of his wail-
ing, and shrinks from approaching to the table ; and scarcely,
when entreated, can he bear to be present at the prayers.
EPISTLE X. AGAINST BISHOP GERMANUS.
(Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. vi. 40, vii. 11.)
1. Now I speak also before God, and He knoweth that I
lie not : it was not by my own choice, 1 neither was it with-
out divine instruction, that I took to flight. But at an earlier
period, 2 indeed, when the (edict for the) persecution under
Decius was determined upon, Sabinus at that very hour sent
a certain Frumentarius 3 to make search for me. And I
In Codex Fuk. and in the
Chronicon of Syncellus it is *' tftuvria. In Codices Maz. and Med. it
is ITT' spxvTov. Herodotus employs the phrase in the genitive form
/SaXXo'^sKoj lip' tavTov -TTiTrpinx,*, i.e. seipsum in consilium adhibens, sua
sponte et proprio motu fecit.
2 AX x.a.1 irpvTtpov. Christophorsonus and others join the x-porepov
with the S;<yy,c4ot/, making it mean, " before the persecution." This is
contrary to pure Greek idiom, and is also inconsistent with what fol-
lows ; for by the atrijj upas is meant the very hour at which the edict
was decreed, S/wy^oV here having much the sense of " edict for the per-
sec ution . " VALES.
3 There was a body of men called frumentarii milites, employed under
the emperors as secret spies, and sent through the provinces to look
after accused persons, and collect floating rumours. They were abo-
EPISTLE AGAINST GERM ANUS. 223
remained in the house for four days, expecting the arrival of
this Frumentarius. But he went about examining all other
places, the roads, the rivers, the fields, where he suspected
that I should either conceal myself or travel. And he was
smitten with a kind of blindness, and never lighted on the
house ; for he never supposed that I should tarry at home
when under pursuit. Then, barely after the lapse of four
diys, God giving me instruction to remove, and opening
the way for me in a manner beyond all expectation, my
domestics 1 and I, and a considerable number of the brethren,
effected an exit together. And that this was brought about
by the providence of God, was made plain by what followed :
in which also we have been perhaps of some service to certain
parties.
2. Then, after a certain break, he narrates the events which
befell him after his flight, subjoining the following statement:
Now about sunset I was seized, along with those who were
with me, by the soldiers, and was carried off to Taposiris.
But by the providence of God, it happened that Timotheus
was not present with me then, nor indeed had he been appre-
hended at all. Reaching the place later, he found the house
deserted, and officials keeping guard over it, and ourselves
borne into slavery.
3. And after some other matters, he proceeds thus : And
what was the method of this marvellous disposition of Provi-
dence in his case ? For the real facts shall be related. When
Timotheus was fleeing in great perturbation, he was met 2 by
a man from, the country. 3 This person asked the reason for
lislied at length by Constantino, as Aurelius Victor writes. They were
subordinate to the judges or governors of the provinces. Thus this
Fruinentarius mentioned here by Dionysius was deputed in obedience to
Sabinus, the prsefectus Auyustalis. VALES.
1 01 Ts-etllif. Musculus and Christophorsonus make it " children."
Valesius prefers "domestics."
2 otTrvvTtTo rig ruv %upirui>. In Codices Maz., Med., Fuk., and Savil.,
dKvivTce. is written ; in Georgius Syncellus it is &Trwr*ro.
3 xapiruv is rendered indigenarum by Christophorsonus, and incolarum,
" inhabitants," by the interpreter of Syncellus ; but it means rather
" rustics." Thus in the Greek Councils the ruv yuouu irpiepiiTtpoi, pres-
224 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
his haste, and he told him the truth plainly. Then the
man (he was on his way at the time to take part in certain
marriage festivities ; for it is their custom to spend the
whole night in such gatherings), on hearing the fact, held on
his course to the scene of the rejoicings, and went in and
narrated the circumstances to those who were seated at the
feast ; and with a single impulse, as if it had been at a given
watchword, they all started up, and came on all in a rush,
and with the utmost speed. Hurrying up to us, they raised
a shout ; and as the soldiers who were guarding us took at
once to flight, they came upon us, stretched as we were upon
the bare couches (da-Tpwrav a-Kifnro^xav). For my part, as
God knows, I took them at first to be robbers who had come
to plunder and pillage us ; and remaining on the bedstead
on which I was lying naked, save only that I had on my
linen underclothing, I offered them the rest of my dress as
it lay beside me. But they bade me get up and take my
departure as quickly as 1 could. Then I understood the
purpose of their coming, and cried, entreated, and implored
them to go away and leave us alone ; and I begged that, if
they wished to do us any good, they might anticipate those
who led me captive, and strike off my head. And while I
was uttering such vociferations, as those who were my com-
rades and partners in all these things know, they began to
lift me up by force. And I threw myself down on my back
upon the ground ; but they seized me by the hands and feet,
and dragged me away, and bore me forth. And those who
were witnesses of all these things followed me, namely,
Caius, Faustus, Peter, and Paul. These men also took me
up, and hurried me off l out of the little town, and set me
on an ass without saddle, and in that fashion carried me
away.
byteri pagorum, are named. Instead of xupnav, Codices Maz., Med.,
and Fuk. read xuptxuv ; for thus the Alexandrians named the country
people, as we see in the tractate of Sophronius against Dioscorus, and
the Chronicon of Theophanes, p. 139.
1 (popB/)f ffcyyuyov. The tpoputiw may mean, as Valesius puts it, in
sella, " on a stool or litter."
EPISTLE AGAINST GERM AN US. 225
4. I fear that I run the risk of being charged ith great
folly and senselessness, placed as I am under the necessity
of giving a narrative of the wonderful dispensation of God's
providence in our case. Since, however, as one says, it is
good to keep close the secret of a king, but it is h nourable
to reveal the works of God, 1 I shall come to close quarters
with the violence of Germanus. I came to ^Emilianus not
alone ; for there accompanied me also my co-presbyter Maxi-
mus, and the deacons Faustus and Eusebius and Chseremon ;
and one of the brethren who had come from Rome went also
with us. uiEmilianus, then, did not lead off by saying to
me, " Hold no assemblies." That was indeed a thing super-
fluous for him to do, and the last thing which one woult.
do who meant to go back to what was first and of prime
importance : 2 for his concern was not about our gathering
others together in assembly, but about our not being Chris-
tians ourselves. From this, therefore, he comman ded me to
desist, thinking, doubtless, that if I myself should recant, the
others would also follow me in that. But I answered him
neither unreasonably nor in many words, u We must obey
God rather than men." 3 Moreover, I testified openly that
I worshipped the only true God and none other, and that
I could neither alter that position nor ever cease to be a
Christian. Thereupon he ordered us to go away to a village
near the desert, called Cephro.
5. Hear also the words which were uttered by both of us
as they have been put on record (vire^vripaTLa-dri), When
Dionysius, and Faustus, and Maxinms, and Marcellus, and
Chffiremon had been placed at the bar, ^Emilianus, as pre-
fect, said : " I have reasoned with you verily in free speech
(tt7/3a<&>9), on the clemency of our sovereigns, as they have
suffered you to experience it ; for they have given you
1 Tobit xii. 7.
2 TO T&ivTwov (vl TO vptoTov dvaTp!%ovT<, i.e. to begin by interdicting
him from holding Christian assemblies, while the great question was
whether he was a Christian at all, would have been to place first what
was last in order and consequence.
a Acts v. 29.
J?
226 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
power to save yourselves, if you are disposed to turn to
what is accordant with nature, and to worship the gods who
also maintain them in their kingdom, and to forget those
things which are repugnant to nature. What say ye then
to these things ? for I by no means expect that you will be
ungrateful to them for their clemency, since indeed what
they aim at is to bring you over to better courses." Diony-
sius made reply thus : " All men do not worship all the gods,
but different men worship different objects that they suppose
to be true gods. Now we worship the one God, who is the
Creator of all things, and the very Deity who has com-
mitted the sovereignty to the hands of their most sacred
majesties Valerian and Gallienus. Him we both reverence
and worship ; and to Him we pray continually on behalf of
the sovereignty of these princes, that it may abide unshaken."
-ZEmilianus, as prefect, said to them : " But who hinders you
from worshipping this god too, if indeed he is a god, along
with those who are gods by nature ? for you have been com-
manded to worship the gods, and those gods whom all know
as such." Dionysius replied : " We worship no other one."
^Emilianus, as prefect, said to them: "I perceive that you
are at once ungrateful to and insensible of the clemency of
our princes. Wherefore you shall not remain in this city ;
but you shall be despatched to the parts of Libya, and
settled in a place called Cephro : for of this place I have
made choice in accordance with the command of our princes.
It shall not in any wise be lawful for you or for any others,
either to hold assemblies or to enter those places which are
called cemeteries. And if any one is seen not to have
betaken himself to this place whither I have ordered him
to repair, or if he be discovered in any assembly, he will
prepare peril for himself ; for the requisite punishment will
not fail. Be off, therefore, to the place whither you have
been commanded to go." So he forced me away, sick as
I was ; nor did he grant me the delay even of a single day.
What opportunity, then, had I to think either of holding
assemblies, or of not holding them ? l
1 Germanus had accused Dionysius of neglecting to hold the assera-
EPISTLE AGAINST GERM AN US. 227
6. Tlien after some other matters he says : Moreover, we
did not withdraw from the visible assembling of ourselves to-
gether, with the Lord's presence (ata&frifl pera rov Kvplov
avvayayfjs). But those in the city I tried to gather together
with all the greater zeal, as if I were present with them ; for
I was absent indeed in the body, as I said, 1 but present in
the spirit. And in Cephro indeed a considerable church
sojourned with us, composed partly of the brethren who fol-
lowed us from the city, and partly of those who joined us
from Egypt. There, too, did God open to us a door for the
word. And at first we were persecuted, we were stoned ; but
after a period some few of the heathen forsook their idols, and
turned to God. For by our means the word was then sown
among them for the first time, and before that they had never
received it. And as if to show that this had been the very
purpose of God in conducting us to them, when we had ful-
filled this ministry, He led us away again. For -ZEmilianus
was minded to remove us to rougher parts, as it seemed, and
to more Libyan-like districts ; and he gave orders to draw all
in every direction into the Mareotic territory, and assigned
villages to each party throughout the country. But he issued
instructions that we should be located specially by the public
way, so that we might also be the first to be apprehended
(r)/u.a<; Se fiaXXov ev 6Sc5 KCLI TrpatTovs /caraA^^O'o/Aei/oi;?
eTagev) ; for he evidently made his arrangements and plans
with a view to an easy seizure of all of us whenever he
should make up his mind to lay hold of us.
7. Now when I received the command to depart to Cephro,
I had no idea of the situation of the place, and had scarcely
even heard its name before ; yet for all that, I went away
blies of the brethren before the persecution broke out, and of rather
providing for his own safety by flight. For when persecution burst on
them, the bishops were wont first to convene the people, in order to
exhort them to hold fast the faith of Christ ; then infants and catechu-
mens were baptized, to provide against their departing this life without
baptism, and the Eucharist was given to the faithful. VALES.
1 us tl-Trov. Codices Maz. and Med. give fineiy, "so to speak;"
Fuk. and Savil. give ug &KIV 6 aTroWoAo?, " as the apostle said." See
on 1 Cor. v. 3.
228 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
courageously and calmly. But when word was brought me
that I had to remove to the parts of Colluthion, 1 those pre-
sent know how I was affected ; for here I shall be my own
accuser. At first, indeed, I was greatly vexed, and took it
very ill ; for though these places happened to be better
known and more familiar to us, yet people declared that the
region was one destitute of brethren, and even of men of
character, and one exposed to the annoyances of travellers
and to the raids of robbers. I found comfort, however, when
the brethren reminded me that it was nearer the city ; and
while Cephro brought us large intercourse with brethren of
all sorts who came from Egypt, so that we were able to hold
our sacred assemblies on a more extensive scale, yet there,
on the other hand, as the city was in the nearer vicinity, we
could enjoy more frequently the sight of those who were the
really beloved, and in closest relationship with us, and dearest
to us : for these would come and take their rest among us,
and, as in the more remote suburbs, there would be distinct
and special meetings. 2 And thus it turned out.
8. Then, after some other matters, he gives again the fol-
lowing account of what befell him: Germanus, indeed, boasts
?, supplying ftspn, as Dionysius has already used the
phrase T fiipv TJJ? Aifivyf. This was a district in the Mareotic prefec-
ture. Thus we have mention made also of T* Bovx6?.ov, a certain tract
in Egypt, deriving its name from the old masters of the soil. Nice-
phorus writes KoAoi^;ov, which is probably more correct ; for KoAAot/0/i>
is a derivative from Colutho, which was a common name in Egypt.
Thus a certain poet of note in the times of Anastasius, belonging to
the Thebaid, was so named, as Suidas informs us. There was also a
Coluthus, a certain schismatic, in Egypt, in the times of Athanasius,
who is mentioned often in the Apologia ; and Gregory of Nyssa names
him Acoluthus in his Contra Eunomium, book ii. VALES.
2 xotrei pipes avv.yuytx.L When the suburbs were somewhat distant
from the city, the brethren resident in them were not compelled to
attend the meetings of the larger church, but had meetings of their own
in a basilica, or some building suitable for the purpose. The Greeks,
too, gave the name ffpoa.aTtiov to places at some considerable distance
from the city, as well as to suburbs immediately connected with it.
Thus Athanasius calls Canopus a irpoowriioy ; and so Daphne is spoken
of as the irpotiaTftov of Antioch, Achyrona as that of Nicomedia, and
EPISTLE AGAINST GERM AN US. 229
himself of many professions (of faith). He, forsooth, is able
to speak of many adverse things which have happened to
him ! Can he then reckon up in his own case as many con-
demnatory sentences (aTro^ao-et?) as we can number in ours,
and confiscations too, and proscriptions, and spoilings of goods,
and losses of dignities, 1 and despisings of worldly honour, and
contemnings of the laudations of governors and councillors,
and patient subjections to the threatenings of the adversaries
(TWV evavTio)v aTreiXwv), and to outcries, and perils, and per-
secutions, and a wandering life, and the pressure of difficul-
ties, and all kinds of trouble, such as befell me in the time of
Decius and Sabinus, 2 and such also as I have been suffering
under the present severities of JEmilianus? But where in
the world did Germanus make his appearance ? and what
mention is made of him ? But I retire from this huge act of
folly into which I am suffering myself to fall on account of
Germanus ; and accordingly I forbear giving to the brethren,
who already have full knowledge of these things, a particular
and detailed narrative of all that happened.
Septimum as that of Constantinople, though these places were distant
some miles from the cities. From this place it is also inferred that in
the days of Dionysius there was still but one church in Alexandria,
where all the brethren met for devotions. But in the time of Athana-
sius, when several churches had been built by the various bishops, the
Alexandrians met in different places, X.U.TIX, pipo; x.l S/jj/s^eva?, as
Athanasius says in his first Apology to Constantius ; only that on the
great festivals, as at the paschal season and at Pentecost, the brethren
did not meet separately, but all in the larger church, as Athanasius also
shows us. VALES.
1 Maximus, in the scholia to the book of Dionysius the Areopagite, De
ccelesti hierarchia, ch. 5, states that Dionysius was by profession a rhetor
before his conversion : 6 yovv fit-yet; &.IWVUIQS o ' Ahsj-xufipsav tiriffitOTro;,
o <*7ro pyropav, etc. VALES.
2 This Sabinus had been prefect of Egypt in the time of Decius ; it is of
him that Dionysius writes in his Epistle to Fabius, which is given above.
The ^Emilianus, prefect of Egypt, who is mentioned here, afterwards
seized the imperial power, as Pollio writes in his Thirty Tyrants, who,
however, calls him general (rlucem), and not prefect of Egypt. VALES.
230 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
EPISTLE XI. TO HEEMAMMOX.
(Eusebius, Hist. Eccks. vii. 1, 10, 23.)
1. But Gallus 1 did not understand the wickedness of
Decius, nor did he note beforehand what it was that wrought
his ruin. But he stumbled at the very stone which was
lying before his eyes ; for when his sovereignty was in a pros-
perous position, and when affairs were turning out according
to his wish, 2 he oppressed those holy men who interceded
with God on behalf of his peace and his welfare. And con-
sequently, persecuting them, he persecuted also the prayers
offered in his own behalf.
2. And to John a revelation is made in like manner : 3
" And there was given unto him," he says, " a mouth
speaking great things, and blasphemy ; and power was
given unto him, and forty and two months" (e^ovvia Kctl
fAijves Tearo-aparcovraSvo).* And one finds both things to
wonder at in Valerian's case ; and most especially has one
to consider how different it was with him before these
events, 5 how mild and well-disposed he was towards the
1 Eusebius introduces this extract thus : " In an epistle to Her-
mammon, Dionysius makes the following remarks upon Gallus" (the
emperor).
2 xa,T vwv is the reading in the Codices Maz., Med., Fuk., and
SaviL, and adopted by Kufinus and others. But Robertas Stephanus,
from the Codex Regius, gives x-ma, poiJ, " according to the stream," i.e.
favourably.
3 Eusebius prefaces this extract thus : " Gallus had not held the go-
vernment two full years when he was removed, and Valerian, together
with his son Gallienus, succeeded him. And what Dionysius has said
of him may be learned from his Epistle to Hermammon, in which he
makes the following statement."
4 Rev. xiii. 5. Baronius expounds the numbers as referring to the
period during which the persecution under Valerian continued : see him,
under the year 257 A.D., ch. 7.
5 The text is, xetl TOVTUV p.a.'Mvrv. T vpt etvrov a$ oSru; toff avv-
vouv to; tjvios, etc. Gallandi emends the sentence thus : x.eil UVTOU r
pctKta-ra, vpo rovrav, ag oi>x ovrug fffxs, ovvyotw, tag fjTMft etc. Codex
Regius gives a$ p.lv qvio;. But Codices Maz. and Med. give tag
while Fuk. and Savil. give ta$ -/p q
EPISTLE TO HERMAMMON. 231
men of God. For among the emperors who preceded him,
there was not one who exhibited so kindly and favourable a
disposition toward them as he did ; yea, even those who
were said to have become Christians openly 1 did not re-
ceive them with that extreme friendliness and graciousness
with which he received them at the beginning of his reign ;
and his whole house was filled then with the pious, and it was
itself a very church of God. But the master and president
(dpXiavvd'ywyosJ of the Magi of Egypt 2 prevailed on him
to abandon that course, urging him to slay and persecute
those pure and holy men as adversaries and obstacles to
their accursed and abominable incantations. For there are,
indeed, and there were men who, by their simple presence,
and by merely showing themselves, and by simply breathing
and uttering some words, have been able to dissipate the
artifices of wicked demons. But he put it into his mind to
practise the impure rites of initiation, and detestable jug-
gleries, and execrable sacrifices, and to slay miserable chil-
dren, and to make oblations of the offspring of unhappy
fathers, and to divide the bowels of the newly-born, and to
mutilate and cut up the creatures made by God, as if by
such means they 3 would attain to blessedness.
1 He means the Emperor Philip, who, as many of the ancients have
recorded, was the first of the Koman emperors to profess the Christian
religion. But as Dionysius speaks in the plural number, to Philip may
be added Alexander Severus, who had an image of Christ in the chapel
of his Lares, as Lampridius testifies, and who favoured and sustained
the Christians during the whole period of his empire. It is to be noted
further, that Dionysius says of these emperors only that they were said
and thought to be Christians, not that they were so in reality.
GALLANDI.
2 Baronius thinks that this was that Magus who, a little while before
the empire of Decius, had incited the Alexandrians to persecute the
Christians, and of whom Dionysius speaks in his Epistle to Fabius.
What follows here, however, shows that Macrianus is probably the
person alluded to.
3 futictiftov/iaoiiTots. So Codices Maz., Med., Fuk., and Savil. read
others give iiia.ipQvwet,vri*s. It would seem to require tHaipoyqaovTct.
"as if he would attain ;" for the reference is evidently to Valerian
himself.
232 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
3. Afterwards he subjoins the following : Splendid surely
were the thank-offerings, then, which Macrianus brought
them 1 for that empire which was the object of his hopes ;
who, while formerly reputed as the sovereign's faithful public
treasurer, 2 had yet no mind for anything which was either
reasonable in itself or conducive to the public good, 3 but
subjected himself to that curse of prophecy which says,
" Woe unto those who prophesy from their own heart, and
see not the public good!" 4 For he did not discern that
providence which regulates all things ; nor did he think of
the judgment of Him who is before all, and through all,
and over all. Wherefore he also became an enemy to His
catholic church ; and besides that, he alienated and estranged
himself from the mercy of God, and fled to the utmost pos-
sible distance from His salvation. 5 And in this indeed he
demonstrated the reality of the peculiar significance of his
name. 6
4. And again, after some other matters, he proceeds thus:
For Valerian was instigated to these acts by this man, and
was thereby exposed to contumely and reproach, according
1 By the TO<? some understand ro7; Pxaifowt ; others better, TO<V
laifioai. According to Valesius, the sense is this : that Macrianus having,
by the help and presages of the demons, attained his hope of empire,
made a due return to them, by setting Valerian in arms against the
Christians.
2 tvi -run xaOfaov Koyav. The Greeks gave this name to those officials
whom the Latins called rationales, or procurators summx rei. Under
what emperor Macrianus was procurator, is left uncertain here.
3 ovfev tfaoyov ovSg xetdohinov ttHpovYiaty. There is a play here on the
two senses of the word x0oX/xoV, as seen in the official title \ic\ TU
x.a.dfaov "hdyuv, and in the note of character in ovls xadohixov. But it
can scarcely be reproduced in the English.
4 ovsti rots Trpotpyrfvovatv diro Kpbtg etitrav x.a.1 TO xet&faov fty /3Ae-
wovaiv. The quotation is probably from Ezek. xiii. 3, of which Jerome
gives this interpretation : Vae his qui prophetant ex corde suo et omnino
non vident.
5 Robertus Stephanus edits -7% tavrov ix,x.'hYia<;, " from his church,"
following the Codex Medicseus. But the best manuscripts give au-
6 A play upon the name Macrianus, as connected with pxtpciv, " at
a distance."
EPISTLE TO HEKMAMMON. 233
to the word spoken (by the Lord) to Isaiah : " Yea, they
have chosen their own ways, and their own abominations in
which their soul delighted ; I also will choose their mockeries
(e/jLTraiyfj-ara), and will recompense their sin." 1 But this
man 2 (Macrianus), being maddened with his passion for the
empire, all unworthy of it as he was, and at the same time
having no capacity for assuming the insignia of imperial go-
vernment (TOV ftacri\iov vTroBvvat tc6(r/j.ov), by reason of his
crippled (avaTrijpa)) body, 3 put forward his two sons as the
bearers, so to speak, of their father's offences. For unmis-
takeably apparent in their case was the truth of that declara-
tion made by God, when He said, " Visiting the iniquities
of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate me." For he heaped his own
wicked passions, for which he had failed in securing satis-
faction, 4 upon the heads of his sons, and thus wiped off
(e'o>/iopaTo) upon them his own wickedness, and trans-
ferred to them, too, the hatred he himself had shown toward
God.
5. 5 That man, 6 then, after he had betrayed the one and
made war upon the other of the emperors preceding him,
speedily perished, with his whole family, root and branch.
And Gallienus was proclaimed, and acknowledged by all.
1 Isa. Ixvi. 3, 4.
2 Christophorsonus refers this to Valerian. But evidently the ovro; 81
introduces a different subject in Macrianus ; and besides, Valerian
could not be said to have been originally unworthy of the power which
he aspired to.
8 Joannes Zonaras, in his Annals, states that Macrianus was lame.
4 av fai/xti. So Codex Regius reads. But Codices Maz., Med., and
Fuk. give WTI>X 'I " in which he succeeded."
5 Eusebius introduces the extract thus : He (Dionysius) addressed
also an epistle to Hermammon and the brethren in Egypt ; and after
giving an account of the wickedness of Decius and his successors, he
states many other circumstances, and also mentions the peace of Gal-
lienus. And it is best to hear his own relation as follows.
6 This is rightly understood of Macrianus, by whose treachery Vale-
rian came under the power of the Persians. Aurelius Victor, Syn-
cellus, and others, testify that Valerian was overtaken by that calamity
through the treachery of his generals.
234 THE WORKS OF DIOXYSIUS.
And he was at once an old emperor and a new ; for he was
prior to those, and he also survived them. To this effect
indeed is the word spoken (by the Lord) to Isaiah : " Be-
hold, the things which were from the beginning have come
to pass; and there are new things which shall now arise." 1
For as a cloud which intercepts the sun's rays, and over-
shadows it for a little, obscures it, and appears itself in its
place, but again, when the cloud has passed by or melted
away, the sun, which had risen before, comes forth again and
shows itself : so did this Macrianus put himself forward, 2 and
achieve access 8 for himself even to the very empire of Gallie-
nus now established ; but now he is (that) no more, because
indeed he never was it, while this other (Gallienus) is just as
he was. And his empire, as if it had cast off old age, and
had purged itself of the wickedness formerly attaching to it,
is at present in a more vigorous and flourishing condition,
and is now seen and heard of at greater distances, and
stretches abroad in every direction. Then he further indi-
cates the exact time at ivhich he wrote this account, as follows :
And it occurs to me again to review the days of the imperial
years. For I see that those most impious men, whose names
may have been once so famous, have in a short space become
nameless. But our more pious and godly prince has passed
his septennium, and is now in his ninth year, in which we
are to celebrate the festival. 4
1 Isa. xlii. 9.
2 icpwiag. But Yalesius would read vpwaTa.;, adstans.
3 TrpoffTfreiaots is the reading of three of the codices and of Nice-
phorus ; others give cr/sosreAaaoe?.
4 AVho ever expressed himself thus, that one after his seven years
was passing his ninth year? This septennium (eTrrocfTYipi's) must de-
signate something peculiar, and different from the time following it.
It is therefore the septennium of imperial power which he had held
along with his father. In the eighth year of that empire, Macrianus
possessed himself of the imperial honour specially in Egypt. After his
assumption of the purple, however, Gallienus had still much authority
in Egypt. At length, in the ninth year of Gallienus, that is, in 261,
Macrianus the father and the two sons being slain, the sovereignty of
Gallienus was recognised also among the Egyptians. And then Gal-
lieiius gave a rescript to Dionysius, Pinna, and Demetrius, bishops of
EPISTLE TO THE ALEXANDRIANS. 235
EPISTLE XII. TO THE ALEXANDRIANS. 1
(Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. vii. 22.)
1. To other men, indeed, the present state of matters would
not appear to offer a fit season for a festival : and this cer-
tainly is no festal time to them ; nor, in sooth, is any other
that to them. And I say this, not only of occasions mani-
festly sorrowful, 2 but even of all occasions whatsoever which
people might consider to be most joyous. 3 And now cer-
tainly all things are turned to mourning, and all men are in
grief, and lamentations resound through the city, by reason
of the multitude of the dead and of those who are dying
day by day. For as it is written in the case of the first-
born of the Egyptians, so now too a great cry has arisen.
Egypt, to re-establish the sacred places, a boon which he had granted
in the former year. The ninth year of Gallienus, moreover, began about
the midsummer of this year ; and the time at which this letter was
written by Dionysius, as Eusebius observes, may be gathered from
that, and falls consequently before the paschal season of 202 A.D.
PEARSON, p. 72. GALL.
1 Eusebius prefaces the 21st chapter of his seventh book thus :
"When peace had scarcely yet been established, he (Dionysius) returned
to Alexandria. But when sedition and war again broke out, and made
it impossible for him to have access to all the brethren in that city,
divided as they then were into different parties, he addressed them
again by an epistle at the passover, as if he were still an exile from
Alexandria." Then he inserts the epistle to Hierax ; and thereafter, in
ch. xxii., introduces the present excerpt thus : After these events, the
pestilence succeeding the war, and the festival being now at hand, he
again addressed the brethren by letters, in which he gave the following
description of the great troubles connected with that calamity.
2 oi/x ova; tuv tTft^v-Trav is the reading of Codices Maz., Med., and
Savil.; others give, less correctly, JwAoiVyj<.
3 The text gives, aXA' ov"S si' TU; z-spixctpvi; ov oiYidiliv |M7u<n-a, which
is put probably for the more regular construction, Sv OI'OIVTO v ^.cthimac.
Kipixctpi/i. Nicephorus reads, 11 ? xtpixotnvi; uv olydsim. The idea is,
that the heathen could have no real festal time. All seasons, those
apparently most joyous, no less than those evidently sorrowful, must
be times void of all real rejoicing to them, until they learn the grace
of God.
236 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
" For there is not a house in \vhich there is not one dead." l
And would that even this were all !
2. Many terrible calamities, it is true, have also befallen
us before this. For first they drove us away ; and though
we were quite alone, and pursued by all, and in the way of
being slain, we kept our festival, even at such a time. And
every place that had been the scene of some of the succes-
sive sufferings which befell any of us, became a seat for our
solemn assemblies, the field, the desert, the ship, the inn,
the prison, all alike. The most gladsome festival of all,
however, has been celebrated by those perfect martyrs who
have sat down at the feast in heaven. And after these
things war and famine surprised us. These were calamities
which we shared, indeed, with the heathen. But we had also
to bear by ourselves alone those ills with which they out-
raged us, and we had at the same time to sustain our part
in those things which they either did to each other or
suffered at each other's hands ; while again we rejoiced
deeply in that peace of Christ which He imparted to us
alone.
3. And after we and they together had enjoyed a very
brief season of rest, this pestilence next assailed us, a
calamity truly more dreadful to them than all other objects
of dread, and more intolerable than any other kind of
trouble whatsoever ; 2 and a misfortune which, as a certain
writer of their own declares, alone prevails over all hope.
To us, however, it was not so ; but in no less measure than
other ills it proved an instrument for our training and pro-
bation. For it by no means kept aloof from us, although it
spread with greatest violence among the heathen. To these
1 Ex. xii. 30.
2 Dionysius is giving a sort of summary of all the calamities which
befell the Alexandrian church from the commencement of his episcopal
rule : namely, first, persecution, referring to that which began in the
last year of the reign of Philip ; then war, meaning the civil war of
which he speaks in his Epistle to Fabius ; then pestilence, alluding to
the sickness which began in the time of Decius, and traversed the land
under Callus and Volusianus. VALES.
EPISTLE TO THE ALEXANDRIANS. 237
statements he in due succession makes this addition : Cer-
tainly very many of our brethren, while, in their exceeding
love and brotherly-kindness, they did not spare themselves,
but kept by each other, and visited the sick without thought
of their own peril, and ministered to them assiduously, and
treated them for their healing in Christ, died from time to
time most joyfully along with them, lading themselves with
pains derived from others, and drawing upon themselves their
neighbours' diseases, and willingly taking over to their own
persons the burden of the sufferings of those around them
(avafjiao-cro/jievoi ra<? a\yrjB6va<; 1 ). And many who had
thus cured others of their sicknesses, and restored them to
strength, died themselves, having transferred to their own
bodies the death that lay upon these. And that common
saying, which else seemed always to be only a polite form of
address, 2 they expressed in actual fact then, as they departed
this life, like the offscourings (irepi-^fjia) of all. Yea, the
very best of our brethren have departed this life in this
manner, including some presbyters and some deacons, and
among the people those who were in highest reputation : so
that this very form of death, in virtue of the distinguished
piety and the stedfast faith which were exhibited in it, ap-
peared to come in nothing beneath martyrdom itself.
4. And they took the bodies of the saints on their up-
turned hands (uTm'ai? ^epo-t), and on their bosoms, and
closed (fcadaipovvT<i) their eyes, and shut their mouths.
And carrying them in company (opofopovvres}, and laying
them out decently, they clung to them, and embraced them,
and prepared them duly with washing and with attire. And
then in a little while after they had the same services done
1 Some make this equivalent to miligantes. It means properly to
*' wipe off," and so to become " responsible" for. Here it is used ap-
parently to express much the same idea as the two preceding clauses.
2 {&MYI; QihotppoyiiiiYif s%tadat. The phrase Tripi'^/Yif^ec vxvruu refers to
1 Cor. iv. 13. Valesius supposes that among the Alexandrians it may
have been a humble and complimentary form of salutation, iyu tlpi
z-tptyyifiti cov ; or that the expression -rfoiTj/yftx vmuv had come to be
habitually applied to the Christians by the heathen.
238 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
for themselves, as those who survived were ever following
those who departed before them. But among the heathen
all was the very reverse. For they thrust aside any who
began to be sick, and kept aloof even from their dearest
friends, and cast the sufferers out upon the public roads
half dead, and left them unburied, and treated them with
utter contempt when they died, steadily avoiding any kind
of communication and intercourse with death ; which, how-
ever, it was not easy for them altogether to escape, in spite
of the many precautions they employed.
EPISTLE XIII. TO HIERAX, A BISHOP IN EGYPT. 1
(Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. vii. 21.)
1. But what wonder should there be if I find it difficult
to communicate by letter with those who are settled in remote
districts, when it seems beyond my power even to reason
with myself, and to take counsel with (or, for) my own soul?
For surely epistolary communications are very requisite for
me with those who are, as it were, my own bowels, my
closest associates, and my brethren one in soul with myself,
and members, too, of the same church. And yet no way
opens up by which I can transmit such addresses. Easier,
indeed, would it be for one, I do not say merely to pass be-
yond the limits of the province, but to cross from east to west,
than to travel from this same Alexandria to Alexandria.
For the most central pathway in this city 2 is vaster 3 and
more impassable even than that extensive and untrodden
desert which Israel only traversed in two generations ; and
our smooth and waveless harbours have become an image of
1 The preface to this extract in Eusebius is as follows: " After this he
(Dionysius) wrote also another paschal epistle to Hierax, a bishop in
Egypt, in which he makes the following statement about the sedition
then prevailing at Alexandria."
2 ptau.rra.T-n TJjj irofoa;. Codex Regius gives -ruv -xfasuv. The sedi-
tion referred to as thus dividing Alexandria is probably that which
broke out when -<Emilianus seized the sovereignty in Alexandria. See
Pollio's Thirty Tyrants.
8 tZviipos. But Codices Fuk. and Savil. give ax-opo;, " impracticable."
EPISTLE TO HIERAX, 239
that sea through which the people drove, at the time when
it divided itself and stood up like walls on either side, and in
whose thoroughfare the Egyptians were drowned. For often
they have appeared like the Red Sea, in consequence of the
slaughter perpetrated in them. The river, too, which flows
by the city, has sometimes appeared drier than the waterless
desert, and more parched than that wilderness in which
Israel was so overcome with thirst on their journey, that
they kept crying out against Moses, and the water was made
to stream for them from the precipitous 1 rock by the power
of Him who alone doeth wondrous things. And sometimes,
again, it has risen in such flood-tide, that it has overflowed
all the country round about, and the roads, and the fields, as
if it threatened to bring upon us once more that deluge of
waters which occurred in the days of Noah.
2. But now it always flows onward, polluted with blood
and slaughters and the drowning struggles of men, just as
it did of old, when on Pharaoh's account it was changed
by Moses into blood, and made putrid. And what other
liquid could cleanse water, which itself cleanses all things ?
How could that ocean, so vast and impassable for men,
though poured out on it, ever purge this bitter sea? Or
how could even that great river which streams forth from
Eden ('ESe/i), though it were to discharge the four heads
into which it is divided into the one channel of the Gihon, 2
wash away these pollutions ? Or when will this air, befouled
as it is by noxious exhalations which rise in every direction,
become pure again ? For there are such vapours sent forth
from the earth, and such blasts from the sea, and breezes
from the rivers, and reeking mists from the harbours, that
for dew we might suppose ourselves to have the impure
fluids (t^copa?) of the corpses which are rotting in all the
underlying elements. And yet, after all this, men are
amazed, and are at a loss to understand whence come these
constant pestilences, whence these terrible diseases, whence
these many kinds of fatal inflictions, whence all that large
1 dx.poT6ft.ov. It may perhaps mean " smitten" here.
2 Written Y-nuv in Codex Alexandrinus, but Ttuv in Codex Vaticanus.
240 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
and multiform destruction of human life, and what reason
there is why this mighty city no longer contains within
it as great a number of inhabitants, taking all parties
into account, from tender children up to those far ad-
vanced in old age, as once it maintained of those alone
whom it called hale old men (wpoyepovra^). But those
from forty years of age up to seventy were so much more
numerous then, that their number cannot be made up now
even when those from fourteen to eighty years of age have
been added to the roll and register of persons who are re-
cipients of the public allowances of grain. And those who
are youngest in appearance have now become, as it were,
equals in age with those who of old were the most aged.
And yet, although they thus see the human race constantly
diminishing and wasting away upon the earth, they have no
trepidation in the midst of this increasing and advancing
consumption and annihilation of their own number.
EPISTLE XIV.
(From the Sacred Paralkls of John of Damascus, Works ii. p. 753 C,
edit. Paris. 1712.)
BY DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA, FROM HIS FOURTH FESTIVAL EPISTLE. 1
Love is altogether and for ever on the alert, and casts
about to do some good even to one who is unwilling to
receive it. And many a time the man who shrinks from
it under a feeling of shame, and who declines to accept
services of kindness on the ground of unwillingness to
become troublesome to others, and who chooses rather to
bear the burden of his own grievances than cause annoy-
1 ix, TSJ? 3' fopTcurrtxys Iviaro^c:. In his Ecclesiastical History, book
vii. ch. 20, Eusebius says : " In addition to these epistles, the same
Dionysius also composed others about this time, designated his Festival
Epistles, and in these he says much in commendation of the paschal
feast. One of these he addressed to Flavius, and another to Domitius
and Didymus, in which he gives the canon for eight years, and shows
that the paschal feast ought not to be kept until the passing of the
vernal equinox. And besides these, he wrote another epistle to his co-
presbyters at Alexandria."
FO UR TH FESTI VA L EPISTLE. 24 1
ance and anxiety to any one, is importuned by the man who
is full of love to bear with his aids, and to suffer himself
to be helped by another, though it might be as one sustain-
ing a wrong, and thus to do a very great service, not to
himself, but to another, in permitting that other to be the
agent in putting an end to the ill in which he has been
involved.
Q
EXEGETICAL FRAGMENTS
BY DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA.
(See, in the Bibliotheca Vcterum Putrum of Gallandi, the Appendix to
vol. xiv., added from the manuscripts, after the editor's death, by
an anonymous scholar.)
A COMMENTAEY ON THE BEGINNING OF
ECCLESIASTES.
CHAPTER i.
JER. 1. " (The words) of the son of David, king
of Israel in Jerusalem."
In like manner also Matthew calls the Lord
the son of David. 1
3. " What profit hath a man of all his labour which he
taketh under the sun ? "
For what man is there who, although he may have be-
come rich by toiling after the objects of this earth, has been
able to make himself three cubits in stature, if he is natu-
rally only of two cubits in stature ? Or who, if blind, has
by these means recovered his sight? Therefore we ought
to direct our toils to a goal beyond the sun : for thither,
too, do the exertions of the virtues reach.
4. " One generation passeth away, and another genera-
tion cometh : but the earth abideth for ever " (unto
the age).
Yes, unto the age (et<? rov auura), but not unto the ages
(64? Tou? at'eom?).
16. "I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I
am come to great estate, and have gotten more wis-
1 Matt. i. 1.
242
COMMENTARY ON ECCLESTASTES. 243
dom than all they that have been before me in Jeru-
salem ; yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom
and knowledge.
17. I knew parables and science: that this indeed is also
the spirit's choice (Trpoaipecn^.
18. For in multitude of wisdom is multitude of know-
ledge : and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth
grief."
I was vainly puffed up, and increased wisdom ; not the
wisdom which God has given, but that wisdom of which
Paul says, " The wisdom of this world is foolishness with
God." 1 For in this Solomon had also an experience sur-
passing prudence, and above the measure of all the ancients.
Consequently he shows the vanity of it, as what follows in
like manner demonstrates : " And my heart uttered 2 many
things : I knew wisdom, and knowledge, and parables, and
sciences." But this was not the genuine wisdom or know-
ledge, but that which, as Paul says, puffeth up. He spake,
moreover, as it is written, 3 three thousand parables. But
these were not parables of a spiritual kind, but only such as
fit the common polity of men ; as, for instance, utterances
about animals or medicines. For which reason he has added
in a tone of raillery, " I knew that this also is the spirit's
choice." He speaks also of the multitude of knowledge, not
the knowledge of the Holy Spirit, but that which the prince
of this world works, and which he conveys to men in order
to overreach their souls, with officious questions as to the
measures of heaven, the position of earth, the bounds of
the sea. But he says also, " He that increaseth knowledge
increaseth sorrow." For they search even into things deeper
than these, inquiring, for example, what necessity there is
for fire to go upward, and for water to go downward ; and
when they have learned that it is because the one is light
and the other heavy, they do but increase sorrow : for the
question still remains, Why might it not be the very reverse ?
1 1 Cor. iii. 19.
2 slm, for which sIBs, " discerned," is suggested.
3 1 Kings iv. 32.
244 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
CHAPTER IT.
Ver. 1. "I said in mine heart, Go to now, make trial as in
mirth, and behold in good. And this, too, is vanity."
For it was for the sake of trial, and in accordance with
what comes by the loftier and the severe life, that he entered
into pleasure. And he makes mention of the mirth, which
men call so. And he says, "in good," referring to what
men call good things, which are not capable of giving life
to their possessor, and which make the man who engages
in them vain like themselves.
2. " I said of laughter, It is mad (irepL^opdv) ; and of
mirth, What doest thout"
Laughter has a twofold madness ; because madness begets
laughter, and does not allow the sorrowing for sins ; and also
because a man of that sort is possessed with madness (Trepi-
(freperai), in the confusing of seasons, and places, and per-
sons. For he flees from those who sorrow. " And to mirth,
What doest thou?" Why dost thou repair to those who are
not at liberty to be merry? Why to the drunken, and the
avaricious, and the rapacious ? And why this phrase, " as
wine " (to? olvov) 1 Because wine makes the heart merry ;
and it acts upon the poor in spirit. The flesh, however,
also makes the heart merry, when it acts in a regular and
moderate fashion.
3. " And my heart directed me in wisdom, and to over-
come in mirth, until I should know what is that
good thing to the sons of men which they shall do
under the sun for the number of the days of their
life."
Being directed, he says, by wisdom, I overcame pleasures
in mirth. Moreover, for me the aim of knowledge was to
occupy myself with nothing vain, but to find the good ; for
if a person finds that, he does not miss the discernment also
of the profitable. The sufficient is also the opportune (or,
temporary), and is commensurate with the length of life.
4. " I made me great works ; I builded me houses ; I
planted me vineyards.
COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 245
5. I made me gardens and orchards.
6. I made me pools of water, that by these I might rear
woods producing trees.
7. I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born
in my house ; also I had large possessions of great
arid small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem
before me.
8. I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar
treasure of kings and of the provinces. I gat me
men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of
the sons of men, as cups and the cupbearer.
9. And I was great, and increased more than all that
were before me in Jerusalem : also my wisdom re-
mained with me.
10. And whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from
them ; I withheld not my heart from any pleasure."
You see how he reckons up a multitude of houses and
fields, and the other things which he mentions, and then finds
nothing profitable in them. For neither was he any better
in soul by reason of these things, nor by their means did he
gain friendship with God. Necessarily he is led to speak
also of the true riches and the abiding property. Being
minded, therefore, to show what kinds of possessions remain
with the possessor, and continue steadily and maintain them-
selves for him, he adds : " Also my wisdom remained with
me." For this alone remains, and all these other things, which
he has already reckoned up, flee away and depart. Wisdom,
therefore, remained with me, and I remained in virtue of it.
For those other things fall, and also cause the fall of the very
persons who run after them. But, with the intention of insti-
tuting a comparison between wisdom and those things which
are held to be good among men, he adds these words, " And
whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them," and
so forth ; whereby he describes as evil, not only those toils
which they endure who toil in gratifying themselves with
pleasures, but those, too, which by necessity and constraint
men have to sustain for their maintenance day by day, labour-
ing at their different occupations in the sweat of their faces.
246 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
For the labour, he says, is great; but the art (re^vrj) by the
labour is temporary, adding 1 nothing serviceable among
things that please. Wherefore there is no profit. For where
there is no excellence there is no profit. With reason, there-
fore, are the objects of such solicitude but vanity, and the
spirit's choice. Now this name of " spirit " he gives to the
" soul." For choice is a quality, not a motion (TTOIOV ov
Kiwr)<ri<;). And David says : " Into Thy hands I commit my
spirit." 2 And in good truth " did my wisdom remain with
me," for it made me know and understand, so as to enable
me to speak of all that is not advantageous (Trepiacreia)
under the sun. \ If, therefore, we desire the righteously
profitable, if we seek the truly advantageous, if it is our aim
to be incorruptible, let us engage in those labours which
reach beyond the sun. For in these there is no vanity,
and there is not the choice of a spirit at once inane and
hurried hither and thither to no purpose.
12. " And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and mad-
ness, and folly : for what man is there that shall
come after counsel in all those things which it has
done?" (09 eXeva-erat OTT/O-GJ T?}? (3ov\rj$ <TV/jt,7ravTa
oaa cTTOirjcrev avrrj ;)
He means the wisdom which comes from God, and which
also remained with him. And by madness and folly he de-
signates all the labours of men, and the vain and silly plea-
sure they have in them. Distinguishing these, therefore, and
their measure, and blessing the true wisdom, he has added:
"For what man is there that shall come after counsel?"
For this counsel instructs us in the wisdom that is such in-
deed, and gifts us with deliverance from madness and folly.
13. " Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as much as
light excelleth darkness."
He does not say this in the way of comparison. For
things which are contrary to each other, and mutually de-
structive, cannot be compared. But his decision was, that
the one is to be chosen, and the other avoided. To like
effect is the saying, " Men loved darkness rather than
1 Beading vpooTtSilaa, for xptTtSiiaa. 2 Ps. xxxi. 5.
COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 247
light." l For the term rather in that passage expresses the
choice of the person loving, and not the comparison of the
objects themselves.
14. " The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool
walketh in darkness."
That man always inclines earthward, he means, and has
the ruling faculty (TO j^ye/io^/cov) darkened. It is true,
indeed, that we men have all of us our eyes in our head, if
we speak of the mere disposition of the body. But he speaks
here of the eyes of the mind. For as the eyes of the swine
do not turn naturally up towards heaven, just because it is
made by nature to have an inclination toward the belly ; so
the mind of the man who has once been enervated by plea-
sures is not easily diverted from the tendency thus assumed,
because he has not " respect unto all the commandments of
the Lord." 2 Again : " Christ is the head of the church." 8
And they, therefore, are the wise who walk in His way ; for
He Himself has said, " I am the way." 4 On this account,
then, it becomes the wise man always to keep the eyes of his
mind directed toward Christ Himself, in order that he may
do nothing out of measure, neither being lifted up in heart
in the time of prosperity, nor becoming negligent in the
day of adversity : " for His judgments are a great deep," 5
as you will learn more exactly from what is to follow.
14. " And I perceived myself also that one event happeneth
to them all.
15. Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the
fool, so it happeneth even to me ; and why was I
then more wise ? "
The run of the discourse in what follows deals with those
who are of a mean spirit as regards this present life, and
in whose judgment the article of death and all the anomalous
pains of the body are a kind of dreaded evil, and who on
this account hold that there is no profit in a life of virtue,
because there is no difference made in ills like these between
the wise man and the fool. He speaks consequently of these
1 John iii. 19. * Ps. cxix. 6. Eph. v. 23.
4 John xiv. 6. c Ps. xxxvi. 6.
248 THE WORKS OF JDfONYSIUS.
as the words of a madness inclining to utter senselessness ;
whence he also adds this sentence, " For the fool talks over-
much " (e/c 7repia(revjjiaTo$) ; and by the " fool " here lie
means himself, and every one who reasons in that way.
Accordingly he condemns this absurd way of thinking. And
for the same reason he has given utterance to such senti-
ments in the fears of his heart ; and dreading the righteous
condemnation of those who are to be heard, he solves the
difficulty in its pressure by his own reflections. For this
word, " Why was I then wise ? " was the word of a man in
doubt and difficulty whether what is expended on wisdom
is done well or to no purpose ; and whether there is no
difference between the wise man and the fool in point of
advantage, seeing that the former is involved equally with
the latter in the same sufferings which happen in this
present world. And for this reason he says, " I spake over
largely (Trepicrtrov) in my heart," in thinking that there is
no difference between the wise man and the fool.
16. "For there is no remembrance of the wise equally
with the fool for ever."
For the events that happen in this life are all transitory,
be they even the painful incidents, of which he says, "As all
things now are consigned to oblivion" (KaOort, 77877 ra iravra
eVeXTJcr^). For after a short space has passed by, all the
things that befall men in this life perish in forgetfulness.
Yea, the very persons to whom these things have happened
are not remembered all in like manner, even although they
may have gone through like chances in life. For they are
not remembered for these, but only for what they may have
evinced of wisdom or folly, virtue or vice. The memories of
such are not extinguished (equally) among men in consequence
of the changes of lot befalling them. Wherefore he has added
this : " And how shall the wise man die along with the fool?
The death of sinners, indeed, is evil : yet the memory of the
just is blessed, but the name of the wicked is extinguished." 1
22. " For that falls to man in all his labour."
In truth, to those who occupy their minds with the dis-
1 Prov. x. 7.
COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES. 249
tractions of life, life becomes a painful thing, which, as it
were, wounds the heart with its goads, that is, with the
lustful desires of increase. And sorrowful also is the soli-
citude connected with covetousness : it does not so much
gratify those who are successful in it, as it pains those who
are unsuccessful ; while the day is spent in laborious anxie-
ties, and the night puts sleep to flight from the eyes, with
the cares of making gain. Vain, therefore, is the zeal of
the man who looks to these things.
24. u And there is nothing good for a man, but what he
eats and drinks, and what will show to his soul good
in his labour. This also I saw, that it is from the
hand of God.
25. For who eats and drinks from his own resources'?"
(Trap aurotJ.)
That the discourse does not deal now with material meats,
he will show by what follows ; namely, " It is better to go to
the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting." 1
And so in the present passage he proceeds to add : " And
(what) will show to his soul good in its labour." And surely
mere material meats and drinks are not the soul's good. For
the flesh, when luxuriously nurtured, wars against the soul,
and rises in revolt against the spirit. And how should not
intemperate eatings and drinkings also be contrary to God? a
He speaks, therefore, of things mystical. For no one shall
partake of the spiritual table, but one who is called by Him,
and who has listened to the wisdom which says, " Take
and eat." 3
CHAPTER in.
Ver. 3. " There is a time to kill, and a time to heal."
To u kill," in the case of him who perpetrates unpardon-
able transgression ; and to " heal," in the case of him who
can show a wound that will bear remedy.
4. " A time to weep, and a time to laugh."
1 Eccles. vii. 2.
2 The text gives, irus "hi icccl oi/x, yrxpsx. Qsov daarait fipaftdrn. y nxl (tidy.
8 Prov. ix. 5.
250 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
A time to .weep, when it is the time of suffering; as when
the Lord also says, " Verily I say unto you, that ye shall
weep and lament." 1 But to laugh, as concerns the resur-
rection : " For your sorrow," He says, " shall be turned
* 91 3
into joy.
4. " A time to mourn, and a time to dance."
When one thinks of the death which the transgression of
Adam brought on us, it is a time to mourn ; but it is time to
hold festal gatherings when we call to mind the resurrection
from the dead which we expect through the new Adam.
6. " A time to keep, and a time to cast away."
A time to keep the Scripture against the unworthy, and
a time to put it forth for the worthy. Or, again : Before the
incarnation it was a time to keep the letter of the law ; but it
was a time to cast it away when the truth came in its flower.
7. " A time to keep silence, and a time to speak."
A time to speak, when there are hearers who receive the
word ; but a time to keep silence, when the hearers pervert
the word ; as Paul says : " A man that is an heretic, after
the first and second admonition, reject." 3
10. " I have seen, then, the travail which God hath given
to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
11. Everything that He hath made is beautiful in its
time : and He hath set the whole world in their
heart ; so that no man can find out the work that
God maketh from the beginning and to the end."
And this is true. For no one is able to comprehend the
works of God altogether. Moreover, the world is the work of
God. No one, then, can find out as to this world what is its
space from the beginning and unto the end, that is to say, the
period appointed for it, and the limits before determined
unto it; forasmuch as God has set the whole world as
(a realm of) ignorance in our hearts. And thus one says :
" Declare to me the shortness of my days." 4 In this manner,
aad for our profit, the end of this world (age) that is to say,
this present life is a thing of which we are ignorant.
1 Luke vi. 25 ; John xvi. 20. 2 John xvi. 20. 3 Tit. iii. 10.
4 Ps. cii. 24, TSJJ* 6X;y6T*jTc ruv ti^.puy ftov
AN INTERPRETATION OF LUKE'S GOSPEL. 201
AN INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPEL
ACCORDING TO LUKE.
CHAP. xxii. 42-48.
Ver. 42. " Father, if Thou be willing to remove (Trapevey-
tcelv) this cup from me : nevertheless not my will,
but Thine, be done."
But let these things be enough to say on the subject of the
will. This word, however, " Let the cup pass," does not
mean, Let it not come near me, or approach me. 1 For what
can " pass from Him," certainly must first come nigh Him ;
and what does pass thus from Him, must be by Him. For if
it does not reach Him, it cannot pass from Him. For He
takes to Himself the person of man, as having been made man.
Wherefore also on this occasion He deprecates the doing of the
inferior, which is His own, and begs that the superior should
be done, which is His Father's, to wit, the divine will ; which
again, however, in respect of the divinity, is one and the same
will in Himself and in the Father. For it was the Father's
will that He should pass through every trial (temptation) ;
and the Father Himself in a marvellous manner brought
Him on this course, not indeed with the trial itself as His
goal, nor in order simply that He might enter into that, but
in order that He might prove Himself to be above the trial,
and also beyond it. 2 And surely it is the fact, that the
Saviour asks neither what is impossible, nor what is imprac-
ticable, nor what is contrary to the will of the Father. It is
something possible ; for Mark makes mention of His saying,
"Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee." 3 And
they are possible if He wills them; for Luke tells us that He
said, " Father, if Thou be willing, remove (frapeveyfce) this
cup from me." The Holy Spirit, therefore, apportioned
among the evangelists, makes up the full account of our
Saviour's whole disposition by the expressions of these several
narrators together. He does not, then, ask of the Father
1 oiix, lot i. Migne suggests OVKSTI : " Let it no more come near me."
2 /AST O.VTW. May it be, " and next to Himself" (the Father) ?
3 Mark xiv. 36.
252 THE WORKS OF DIONYSWS.
what the Father wills not. For the words, " If Thou be
willing," were demonstrative of subjection and docility (eVtei-
fcei'as^ not of ignorance or hesitancy. For this reason, the
other scripture says, " All things are possible unto Thee."
And Matthew again admirably describes the submission
and the humility 1 when he says, "If it be possible." For
unless I adapt the sense in this way, 2 some will perhaps
assign an impious signification to this expression, " If it be
possible ;" as if there were anything impossible for God to
do, except that only which He does not will to do. But . . .
being straightway strengthened in His humanity by His
ancestral (7rarpiKrj<;) divinity, he urges the safer petition, and
desires no longer that that should be the case, but that it
might be accomplished in accordance with the Father's good
pleasure, in glory, in constancy, and in fulness. For John,
who has given us the record of the sublimest and divinest
of the Saviour's words and deeds, heard Him speak thus :
" And the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not
drink it ? " 3 Now, to drink the cup was to discharge the
ministry and the whole ceconomy of trial with fortitude, to
follow and fulfil the Father's determination, and to sur-
mount all apprehensions. And the exclamation, " Why
hast Thou forsaken me ? " was in due accordance with the
requests He had previously made : Why is it that death
has been in conjunction with me all along up till now, and
that I bear not yet the cup ? This I judge to have been
the Saviour's meaning in this concise utterance.
And He certainly spake truth then. Nevertheless He was
not forsaken. But He drank out the cup at once, as His plea
had implied, and then passed away (7rape\^\v6e). And the
vinegar which was handed to Him seems to me to have been
a symbolical thing. For the turned wine (e/er/joTna? otz/o?)
indicated very well the quick turning (rpoir^v) and change
which He sustained, when He passed from His passion to
1 The text gives x,a. TOVTO -?rx/{/ TO e!x.rnt6v, etc. Migne proposes, x..
TOVTU -Tfet^tv TO tvx.Tix.6v = and Matthew again describes the suppli-
catory and docile in Him.
2 Reading OVTU; for o. 3 John xviii. 11.
AN INTERPRETATION OF LUKE'S GOSPEL. 253
impassibility, and from death to deathlessness, and from the
position of one judged to that of one judging, and from
subjection under the despot's power to the exercise of kingly
dominion. And the sponge, as I think, signified the complete
transfusion (avafcpacnv) of the Holy Spirit that was realized
in Him. And the reed symbolized the royal sceptre and the
divine law. And the hyssop expressed that quickening and
saving resurrection of His, by which He has also brought
health to us. 1
43. " And there appeared an angel unto Him from heaven,
strengthening Him.
44. And being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly ;
and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood
falling down to the ground."
The phrase, " a sweat of blood," is a current parabolic
expression used of persons in intense pain and distress ; as
also of one in bitter grief people say that the man " weeps
tears of blood." For in using the expression, " as it were
great drops of blood," he does not declare the drops of sweat
to have been actually drops of blood. For he would not then
have said that these drops of sweat were like blood. For
such is the force of the expression, " as it were great drops."
But rather with the object of making it plain that the Lord's
body was not bedewed with any kind of subtle moisture which
had only the show and appearance of actuality, but that it
was really suffused all over with sweat in the shape of large
thick drops, he has taken the great drops of blood as an
illustration of what was the case with Him. And accord-
ingly, as by the intensity of the supplication and the severe
agony, so also by the dense and excessive sweat, he made
the facts patent, that the Saviour was man by nature and
in reality, and not in mere semblance and appearance, and
that He was subject to all the innocent sensibilities natural
to men. Nevertheless the words, " I have power to lay
down my life, and I have power to take it again," 2 show
that His passion was a voluntary thing ; and besides that, they
1 The text is, vn*&; vyiet fQu^iv. Migne proposes
2 John x. 18.
254 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
indicate that the life which is laid down and taken again
is one thing, and the divinity which lays that down and takes
it again is another. (He says, " one thing and another," not
as making a partition into two persons, but as showing the dis-
tinction between the two natures. 1 ) And as, by voluntarily
enduring the death in the flesh, He implanted incorruptibility
in it ; so also, by taking to Himself of His own free-will the
passion of our servitude, 2 He set in it the seeds of constancy
and courage, whereby He has nerved those who believe on
Him for the mighty conflicts belonging to their witness-bear-
ing. Thus, also, those drops of sweat flowed from Him in a
marvellous way like great drops of blood, in order that He
might, as it were, drain off (ava^pavrf) and empty the fountain
of the fear which is proper to our nature. For unless this had
been done with a mystical import, He certainly would not,
even had He been 3 the most timorous and ignoble of men,
have been bedewed in this unnatural way with drops of sweat
like drops of blood under the mere force of His agony.
Of like import is also the sentence in the narrative which
tells us that an angel stood by the Saviour and strengthened
Him. For this, too, bore also on the oaconomy entered into
on our behalf. For those who are appointed to engage in
the sacred exertions of conflicts on account of piety, have the
angels from heaven to assist them. And the prayer, " Father,
remove the cup," He uttered probably not as if He feared the
death itself, but with the view of challenging the devil by
these words to erect the cross for Him. With words of deceit
that personality deluded Adam ; with the words of divinity,
then, let the deceiver himself now be deluded. Howbeit
assuredly the will of the Son is not one thing, and the will of
the Father another. For He who wills what the Father wills,
is found to have the Father's will. It is in a figure, therefore,
1 This sentence is supposed to be an interpolation by the constructor
of the Catena.
8 The text is, TJJ? lovhtia.;. Migne suggests, rsj? $tt*iet; = " the feeling
of our fear."
3 The text is, ovfe jj aQolpu. os/A&YaTO?, etc. "We read, with Migne, el
instead of aj
AN INTERPRETATION OF LUKE'S GOSPEL. 255
that He says, " not my will, but Thine." For it is not that
He wishes the cup to be removed, but that He refers to the
Father's will the right issue of His passion, and honours
thereby the Father as the First (ap^v). For if the Fathers
style one's disposition yvcofirj (gnome), and if such disposition
relates also to what is in consideration hidden as if by settled
purpose, how say some that the Lord, who is above all these
things, bears a gnomic will (OeXtjua ryvwpucov) ? Manifestly
that can be only by defect of reason.
45. tl And when He rose from prayer, and was come to
His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow ;
46. And said unto them, Why sleep ye ? Rise and pray,
lest ye enter into temptation."
For in the most general sense it holds good that it is
apparently not possible for any man (/iaXtcrra to-eo? Travrl
avdp<i)7r<p) to remain altogether without experience of ill.
For, as one says, " the whole world lieth in wickedness ; " *
and again, " The most of the days of man are labour and
trouble." 2 But you will perhaps say, What difference is
there between being tempted, and falling or entering into
temptation 1 Well, if one is overcome of evil and he will
be overcome unless he struggles against it himself, and unless
God protects him with His shield that man has entered
into temptation, and is in it, and is brought under it like one
that is led captive. But if one withstands and endures, that
man is indeed tempted; but he has not entered into tempta-
tion, or fallen into it. Thus Jesus was led up of the Spirit,
not indeed to enter into temptation, but to be tempted of the
devil. 3 And Abraham, again, did not enter into temptation,
neither did God lead him into temptation, but He tempted
(tried) him ; yet He did not drive him into temptation. The
Lord Himself, moreover, tempted (tried) the disciples. Thus
the wicked one, when he tempts us, draws us into the tempta-
tions, as dealing himself with the temptations of evil. But
God, when He tempts (tries), adduces the temptations (trials)
as one untempted of evil. For God, it is said, " cannot be
tempted of evil." 4 The devil, therefore, drives us on by
1 1 John v. 19. 2 Ps. xc. 10. 8 Matt. iv. 1. 4 Jas. i. 13.
256 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
violence, drawing us to destruction ; but God leads us by the
hand, training us for our salvation.
47. " And while He yet spake, behold a multitude, and he
that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before
them, and drew near unto Jesus, and kissed Him.
48. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the
Son of man with a kiss? "
How wonderful this endurance of evil by the Lord, who
even kissed the traitor, and spake words softer even than the
kiss ! For He did not say, O thou abominable, yea, utterly
abominable traitor, is this the return you make to us for so
great kindness? But, somehow, He says simply "Judas,"
using the proper name, which was the address that would be
used by one who commiserated a person, or who wished to
call him back, rather than of one in anger. And He did not
say, " thy Master, the Lord, thy benefactor ; " but He said
simply, " the Son of man," that is, the tender and meek one :
as if He meant to say, Even supposing that I was not your
Master, or Lord, or benefactor, dost thou still betray one so
guilelessly and so tenderly affected towards thee, as even to
kiss thee in the hour of thy treachery, and that, too, when
the kiss was the signal for thy treachery ? Blessed art Thou,
O Lord ! How great is this example of the endurance of
evil that Thou hast shown us in Thine own person ! how
great, too, the pattern of lowliness ! Howbeit, the Lord has
given us this example, to show us that we ought not to give
up offering our good counsel to our brethren, even should
nothing remarkable be effected by our words.
For as incurable wounds are wounds which cannot be
remedied either by severe applications, or by those which
may act more pleasantly upon them ; l so 2 the soul, when it
is once carried captive, and gives itself up to any kind of 3
wickedness, and refuses to consider what is really profitable
for it, although a myriad counsels should echo in it, takes
no good to itself. But just as if the sense of hearing were
dead within it, it receives no benefit from exhortations
1 Some such clause as \a.6^vu.i IVVOCTUI requires to be supplied here.
2 Beading ovru for ovre. z Reading ^iivtwv for
AN INTERPRETATION OF LUKE'S GOSPEL. 257
addressed to it ; not because it cannot, but only because it
will not. This was what happened hi the case of Judas.
And yet Christ, although He knew all these things before-
hand, did not at any time, from the beginning on to the
end, omit to do all in the way of counsel that depended on
Him. And inasmuch as we know that such was His prac-
tice, we oujiht also unceasingly to endeavour to set those
7 O O v
right (pv6fji%etv) who prove careless, even although no actual
good may seem to be effected by that counsel.
That the Son is not different from the Father in nature, but
connatural and consul stantial with Sim. 1
The plant that springs from the root is something distinct
from that whence it grows up ; and yet it is of one nature
with it. And the river which flows from the fountain is
something distinct from the fountain. For we cannot call
either the river a fountain, or the fountain a river. Never-
theless we allow that they are both one according to nature,
and also one in substance ; and we admit that the fountain
may be conceived of as father, and that the river is what is
begotten of the fountain.
-ANOTHEK FEAGMENT ON LUKE xxn. 42, ETC. 2
(From the Vatican Codex, 1611, fol. 291. See also Mai, Biblioiheca
Nova, vi. 1. 165.)
But let these things be enough to say on the subject of
the will. This word, however, "Let the cup pass," does not
mean, Let it not come near me, or approach me. For what
1 From the Panoplia of Euthymius Zigabenus in the Cod. xix.
Nanianie Biblioth.
2 This is given here in a longer and fuller form than in the Greek
of Gallandi in his Billiotheca xiv., Appendix, p. 115, as we have had it
presented above, and than in the Latin of Corderius in his Ca'ena on
Luke xxii. 42, etc. This text is taken from a complete codex.
R
258 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
can pass from Him must certainly first come nigh Him, and
what does thus pass from Him must be by Him. For if it
does not reach Him, it cannot pass from Him. Accordingly,
as if He now felt it to be present, He began to be in pain, and
to be troubled, and to be sore amazed, and to be in an agony.
And as if it was at hand and placed before Him, He does
not merely say " the cup," but He indicates it by the word
"this." Therefore, as what passes from one is something
which neither has no approach nor is permanently settled
with one, so the Saviour's first request is that the temptation
which has come softly and plainly upon Him, and associated
itself lightly with Him, may be turned aside. And this is
the first form of that freedom from falling into temptation,
which He also counsels the weaker disciples to make the
subject of their prayers ; that, namely, which concerns the ap-
proach of temptation : for it must needs be that offences come,
but yet those to whom they come ought not to fall into the
temptation. But the most perfect mode in which this free-
dom from entering into temptation is exhibited, is what He
expresses in His second request, when He says not merely,
" Not as I will," but also, " but as Thou wilt." For with God
there is no temptation in evil ; but He wills to give us good
exceeding abundantly above what we ask or think. That
His will, therefore, is the perfect will, the Beloved Himself
knew ; and often does He say that He has come to do that
will, and not His own will, that is to say, the will of men.
For He takes to Himself the person of men, as having been
made man. Wherefore also on this occasion He deprecates
the doing of the inferior, which is His own, and begs that
the superior should be done, which is His Father's, to wit, the
divine will, which again, however, in respect of the divinity,
is one and the same will in Himself and in His Father. For
it was the Father's will that He should pass through every trial
(temptation), and the Father Himself in a marvellous manner,
brought Him on this course ; not, indeed, with the trial itself
as His goal, nor in order simply that He might enter into
that, but in order that He might prove Himself to be above
the trial, and also beyond it. And surely it is the fact that
AN INTERPRETATION OF LUKE'S GOSPEL. 259
the Saviour asks neither what is impossible, nor what is
impracticable, nor what is contrary to the will of the Father.
It is something possible, for Mark makes mention of His
saying, " Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee ; "
and they are possible if He wills them, for Luke tells us
that He said, " Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup
from me." The Holy Spirit therefore, apportioned among
the evangelists, makes up the full account of our Saviour's
whole disposition by the expressions of these several narra-
tors together. He does not then ask of the Father what the
Father wills not. For the words, " if Thou be willing," were
demonstrative of subjection and docility, not of ignorance or
hesitancy. And just as when we make any request that may
be accordant with his judgment, at the hand of father or
ruler or any one of those whom we respect, we are accus-
tomed to use the address, though not certainly as if we were
in doubt about it, " if you please ; " so the Saviour also said,
"if Thou be willing:" not that He thought that He
willed something different, and thereafter learned the fact,
but that He understood exactly God's willingness to remove
the cup from Him, and as doing so also apprehended justly
that what He wills is also possible unto Him. For this
reason the other scripture says, " All things are possible
unto Thee." And Matthew again admirably describes the
submission and the humility, when he says, " if it be
possible." For unless we adapt the sense in this way, some
will perhaps assign an impious signification to this expres-
sion " if it be possible," as if there were anything impossible
for God to do, except that only which He does not will to
do. Therefore the request which He made was nothing in-
dependent, nor one which pleased Himself only, or opposed
His Father's will, but one also in conformity with the mind
of God. And yet some one may say that He is overborne
and changes His mind, and asks presently something different
from what He asked before, and holds no longer by His own
will, but introduces His Father's will. Well, such truly is
the case. Nevertheless He does not by any means make any
change from one side to another ; but He embraces another
260 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
way, and a different method of carrying out one and tlie
same transaction, which is also a thing agreeable to both ;
choosing, to wit, in place of the mode which is the inferior,
and which appears unsatisfying also to Himself, the superior
and more admirable mode marked out by the Father. For
no doubt He did pray that the cup might pass from Him ; but
He says also, " Nevertheless, not as 1 will, but as Thou wilt."
He longs painfully, on the one hand, for its passing from Him,
but (He knows that) it is better as the Father wills. For He
does not utter a petition for its not passing away now, instead
of one for its removal ; but when its withdrawal is now be-
fore His view, He chooses rather that this should be ordered
as the Father wills. For there is a twofold kind (Suva/it?)
of withdrawal : there is one in the instance of an object that
has shown itself and reached another, and is gone at once on
being followed by it or on outrunning it, as is the case with
racers when they graze each other in passing ; and there is
another in the instance of an object that has sojourned and
tarried with another, and sat down by it, as in the case of
a marauding band or a camp, and that after a time with-
draws on being conquered, and on gaining the opposite of a
success. For if they prevail they do not retire, but carry off
with them those whom they have reduced ; but if they prove
unable to win the mastery, they withdraw themselves in
disgrace. Now it was after the former similitude that He
wished that the cup might come into His hands, and promptly
pass from Him again very readily and quickly ; but as soon
as He spake thus, being at once strengthened in His humanity
by the Father's divinity, He urges the safer petition, and
desires no longer that that should be the case, but that it
might be accomplished in accordance with the Father's good
pleasure, in glory, in constancy, and in fulness. For John,
who has given us the record of the sublimest and diviriest of
the Saviour's words and deeds, heard Him speak thus : " And
the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink
it 1 " Now, to drink the cup was to discharge the ministry and
the whole oeconomy of trial with fortitude, to follow and fulfil
the Father's determination, and to surmount all apprehen-
AN INTERPRETATION OF LUKE'S GOSPEL. 2G1
sions ; and, indeed, in the very prayer which He uttered He
showed that He was leaving these (apprehensions) behind
Him. For of two objects, either may be said to be removed
from the other : the object that remains may be said to be
removed from the one that goes away, and the one that goes
away may be said to be removed from the one that remains.
Besides, Matthew has indicated most clearly that He did
indeed pray that the cup might pass from Him, but yet that
His request was that this should take place not as He willed,
but as the Father willed it. The words given by Mark and
Luke, again, ought to be introduced in their proper connection.
For Mark says, " Nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou
wilt ;" and Luke says, " Nevertheless not my will, but Thine
be done." He did then express Himself to that effect, and
He did desire that His passion might abate and reach its end
speedily. But it was the Father's will at the same time
that He should carry out His conflict in a manner demand-
ing sustained effort (AiTrapw?), and in sufficient measure.
Accordingly He (the Father) adduced all that assailed Him.
But of the missiles that were hurled against Him, some were
shivered in pieces, and others were dashed back as with invul-
nerable arms of steel, or rather as from the stern and immove-
able rock. Blows, spittings, scourgings, death, and the lifting
up in that death (rov Oavdrov TO in/reo/ia), all came upon
Him ; and when all these were gone through, He became
silent and endured in patience unto the end, as if He suffered
nothing, or was already dead. But when His death was being
prolonged, and when it was now overmastering Him, if we
may so speak, beyond His utmost strength, He cried out to
His Father, "Why hast Thou forsaken me?" And this
exclamation was in due accordance with the requests Pie had
previously made : Why is it that death has been in such close
conjunction with me all along up till now, and Thou dost not
yet bear the cup past me (Trapa^epeif) 1 Have I not drunk it
already, and drained it ? But if not, my dread is that I may
be utterly consumed by its continuous pressure (el Be ovtc
CTTIOV avro 77877 Kal avY\^wcfa' aXXa Seo? fj,r) vir 1 avrov TrXrp^s
KaraTTodeir^v) ; and that is what would befall
262 THE WORKS OF D10NYSIUS.
me, wert Thou to forsake me: then would the fulfilment
abide, but I would pass away, and be made of none effect
(/ce/eeixw/zo/o?). Now, then, I entreat Thee, let my baptism
be finished, for indeed I have been straitened greatly until
it should be accomplished. This I judge to have been the
Saviour's meaning in this concise utterance. And He cer-
tainly spake truth then. Nevertheless He was not forsaken.
Albeit He drank out the cup at once, as His plea had
implied, and then passed away. And the vinegar which
was handed to Him seems to me to have been a symbolical
thing. For the turned wine indicated very well the quick
turning and change which He sustained when He passed
from His passion to impassibility, and from death to death-
lessness, and from the position of one judged to that of one
judging, and from subjection under the despot's power to
the exercise of kingly dominion. And the sponge, as I
think, signified the complete transfusion of the Holy Spirit
that was realized in Him. And the reed symbolized the
royal sceptre and the divine law. And the hyssop expressed
that quickening and saving resurrection of His by which He
has also brought health to us. But we have gone through
these matters in sufficient detail on Matthew and John.
With the permission of God, we shall speak also of the account
given by Mark. But at present we shall keep to what
follows in our passage.
ANOTHEK FRAGMENT OF AN EXPOSITION OF
LUKE xxn. 46, ETC.,
CONNECTED WITH THE PRECEDING ON CHRIST'S PRAYER
IN GETHSEMANE.
(Edited in a mutilated form, as given by Gallandi, in his Bibliotlieca,
xiv. p. 117, and here presented in its completeness, as found in the
Vatican Codex 1611, f. 292, 6.)
This prayer He also offered up Himself, falling repeatedly
on His face ; and on both occasions He urged His request for
not entering into temptation : both when He prayed, lt If it
-AN INTERPRETATION OF LUKE'S GOSPEL. 2G3
be possible, let this cup pass from me;" and when He said,
" Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt." For He
spoke of not entering into temptation, and He made that
His prayer ; but He did not ask that He should have no
trial whatsoever in these circumstances, or l that no manner
of hardship should ever befall Him. For in the most general
application it holds good, that it does not appear to be possible
for any man to remain altogether without experience of ill :
for, as one says, " The whole world lieth in wickedness ; " 2
and again, " The most of the days of man are labour and
trouble," 3 as men themselves also admit. Short is our life,
and full of sorrow. Howbeit it was not meet that He should
bid them pray directly that that curse might not be fulfilled,
which is expressed thus : " Cursed is the ground in thy
works : in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy
life;" 4 or thus, " Earth thou art, and unto earth shalt thou
return." 5 For which reason the holy Scriptures, that indi-
cate in many various ways the dire distressfulness of life,
designate it as a valley of weeping. And most of all indeed is
this world a scene of pain to the saints, to whom He addresses
this word, and He cannot lie in uttering it : " In the world
ye shall have tribulation." 6 And to the same effect also He
says by the prophet, " Many are the afflictions of the right-
eous." 7 But I suppose that He refers to this entering not
into temptation, when He speaks in the prophet's words of
being delivered out of the afflictions. For he adds, " The
Lord will deliver him out of them all. " And this is just in
accordance with the Saviour's word, whereby He promises
that they will overcome their afflictions, and that they will
participate in that victory which He has won for them. For
after saying, "In the world ye shall have tribulation," He
added, " But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
And again, He taught them to pray that they might not fall
into temptation, when He said, " And lead us not into
temptation ; " which means, " Suffer us not to fall into temp-
1 Beading % for % 2 1 John v. 19. 8 Ps. xc. 10.
4 Gen. iii. 17. Gen. iii. 19. John xvi. 33.
i Ps. xxxiv. 19
264 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
tation." And to show that this did not imply that they should
not be tempted, but really that they should be delivered
from the evil, He added, " But deliver us from evil." But
perhaps you will say, What difference is there between being
tempted, and falling or entering into temptation ? Well, if
one is overcome of evil and he will be overcome unless he
struggles against it himself, and unless God protects him
with His shield that man has entered into temptation, and
is in it, and is brought under it like one that is led captive.
But if one withstands and endures, that man is indeed
tempted ; but he has not entered into temptation, or fallen
under it. Thus Jesus was led up of the Spirit, not indeed
to enter into temptation, but " to be tempted of the devil." l
And Abraham, again, did not enter into temptation, neither
did God lead him into temptation, but He tempted (tried)
him ; yet He did not drive him into temptation. The Lord
Himself, moreover, tempted (tried) the disciples. And thus
the wicked one, when he tempts us, draws us into the temp-
tations, as dealing himself with the temptations of evil ; but
God, when He tempts (tries), adduces the temptations as one
untempted of evil. For God, it is said, " cannot be tempted
of evil." 2 The devil, therefore, drives us on by violence,
drawing us to destruction ; but God leads us by the hand,
training us for our salvation.
A FEAGMENT ON JOHN vm. 12.
(Edited from the Vatican Codex 1996, f. 78, belonging to a date
somewhere about the tenth century.)
Now this word " I am " expresses His eternal subsistence.
For if He is the reflection of the eternal light, He must also
be eternal Himself. For if the light subsists for ever, it is
evident that the reflection also subsists for ever. And that
this light subsists, is known only by its shining ; neither can
there be a light that does not give light. We come back,
1 Matt. iv. 1. 2 Jas. i. 13.
0-V THE RECEPTION OF THE LAPSED. 2G5
therefore, to our illustrations. If there is day, there is light ;
and if there is no such thing, the sun certainly cannot be
present. 1 If, therefore, the sun had been eternal, there would
also have been endless day. Now, however, as it is not so, the
day begins when the sun rises, and it ends when the sun sets.
But God is eternal light, having neither beginning nor end.
And along with Him there is the reflection, also without
beginning, and everlasting. The Father, then, being eter-
nal, the Son is also eternal, being light of light ; and if God
is the light, Christ is the reflection ; and if God is also a
Spirit, as it is written, " God is a Spirit," Christ, again, is
called analogously Spirit
A FRAGMENT, PEOBABLY BY THE ALEXANDRIAN
DIONYSIUS, ON THE RECEPTION OF THE
LAPSED TO PENITENCE.
(This seems to be an excerpt from his works On Penitence, three of
which are mentioned by Jerome in his De Script. Eccl. ch. 69.
See Mai, Classici Auctores, x. 484. It is edited here from tho
Vatican Codex.)
But now we are doing the opposite. For whereas Christ,
who is the good (Shepherd), goes in quest of one who wan-
ders, lost among the mountains, and calls him back when
he flees from Him, and is at pains to take him up on His
shoulders when He has found him, we, on the contrary, harshly
spurn such an one even when He approaches us. Yet let us
not consult so miserably for ourselves, and let us not in this
way be driving the sword against ourselves. For when people
set themselves either to do evil or to do good to others, what
1 Reading ^roXXoD ye B<. The text gives Wxy yt 1st.
2 If this strange reading a-r^/j is correct, there is apparently a play
intended on the two words "Kvivpa, and drptis, =. if God is a -Trvti/fix,
which word literally signifies Wind or Air, Christ, on that analogy,
may be called drftts, that is to say, the Vapour or Breath of that
Wind.
2G6 THE WORKS OF DIONYSIUS.
they do is certainly not confined to the carrying out of their
will on those others ; but just as they attach themselves to
iniquity or to goodness, they will themselves become possessed
either by divine virtues or by unbridled passions. And the
former will become the followers and comrades of the good
angels; and both in this world and in the other, with the en-
joyment of perfect peace and immunity from all ills, they will
fulfil the most blessed destinies unto all eternity, and in God's
fellowship they will be for ever (in possession of) the supremest
good. But these latter will fall away at once from the
peace of God and from peace with themselves, and both in
this world and after death they will abide with the spirits of
bloodguiltiness (roi<t 7ra\a/jivaiot<} Sat/iotri). 1 Wherefore let
us not thrust from us those who seek a penitent return ; but
let us receive them gladly, and number them once more with
the stedfast, and make up again what is defective in them.
1 Or, with the demons of vengeance.
THE REMAINS OF ARCHELAUS,
BISHOP OF CASCAR, IN MESOPOTAMIA.
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE.
CERTAIN memorable Disputation, which was
conducted by a bishop of the name of Archelaus
with the heretic Manes, is mentioned by various
writers of an early date. Thus Cyril of Jeru-
salem, in the sixth book of his Catecheses, 27 and 30,
tells us how Manes fled into Mesopotamia, and was met
there by that shield of righteousness (oVXoi/ SiKaiocrvvr)?)
Bishop Archelaus, and was refuted by him in the presence
of a number of Greek philosophers, who had been brought
together as judges of the discussion. Epiphanius, in his
Heresies, Ixvi., and again in his work De Mensuris et Po-
deribusj 20, makes large reference to the same occasion,
and gives some excerpts from the Acts of the Disputation.
And there are also passages of greater or less importance in
Jerome (De vir. illustr. ch. 72), Socrates (Hist. Eccles. i.
22), Heraclianus bishop of Chalcedon (as found in Photius,
JBibliotheca,Cod. xcv.),Petrus Siculus (HistoriaManichceorum,
pp. 25, 35, 37), Photius (Adversus Manichceos, book i., edited
in the Biblioth. Coislin^ Montfaucon, pp. 356, 358), and
the anonymous authors of the Libellus Synodicus, ch. 27, and
the Historia Hcereseos Manichceorum in the Codex Regius of
Turin. What professes to be an account of that Disputation
has come down to us in a form mainly Latin, but with parts
in Greek. A considerable portion of this Latin version was
published by Valesius in his edition of Socrates and Sozomen,
and subsequently by others in greater completeness, and with
5>67
268 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELA US.
the addition of the Greek fragments : as by Zacagnius at
Rome, in 1698, in his Collectanea Monumentorum Veterum
Ecclesice Grcecce ac Latince ; by Fabricius, in the Spicilegium
Sanctorum Patrum Sceculi, iii., in his edition of Hippolytus,
etc. There seems to be a difference among the ancient
authorities cited above as to the person who committed these
Acts to writing. Epiphanius and Jerome take it to have
been Archelaus himself, while Heraclianus, bishop of Chal-
cedon, represents it to have been a certain person named
Hegemonius. In Photius (Biblioth. Cod. Ixxxv.) there is
a statement to the effect that this Heraclianus, in confut-
ing the errors of the Manichseans, made use of certain
Acts of the Disputation of Bishop Archelaus with Manes
which were written by Hegemonius. And there are various
passages in the Acts themselves which appear to confirm the
opinion of Heraclianus. See especially ch. 39 and 55.
Zacagnius, however, thinks that this is but an apparent dis-
crepancy, which is easily reconciled on the supposition that
the book was first composed by Archelaus himself in Syriac,
and afterwards edited, with certain amendments and addi-
tions, by Hegemonius. That the work was written originally
in Syriac is clear, not only from the express testimony of
Jerome (De vir. illustr. ch. 72), but also from internal
evidence, and specially from the explanations offered now
and again of the use of Greek equivalents. It is uncertain
\vho was the author of the Greek version ; and we can only
conjecture that Hegemonius, in publishing a new edition, may
also have undertaken a translation into the tongue which would
secure a much larger audience than the original Syriac. But
that this Greek version, by whomsoever accomplished, dates
from the very earliest period, is proved by the excerpts given
in Epiphanius. As to the Latin interpretation itself, all
that we can allege is, that it must in all probability have
been published after Jerome's time, who might reasonably
be expected to have made some allusion tc it if it was extant
in his day ; and before the seventh century, because, in quot-
ing the Scriptures, it does not follow the Vulgate edition,
which was received generally throughout the West by that
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 2G9
period. That the Latin translator must have had before him,
not the Syriac, but the Greek copy, is also manifest, not only
from the general idiomatic character of the rendering, but also
from many nicer indications, such as the apparent confusion
between dtjp and dvrjp in ch. 8, and again between Xoi/zo?
and A/,/A09 in the same chapter, and between Tr^o-o-et and
TrX^Wet in ch. 9, and the retention of certain Greek words,
sometimes absolutely, and at other times with an explana-
tion, as cybi, apocrusis, etc.
The precise designation of the seat of the bishopric of
Archelaus has been the subject of considerable diversity of
opinion. Socrates (Hist. Eccles. i. 22) and Epiphanius
(Hteres. Ixvi. ch. 5 and 7, and De Mens. et Pond. ch. 20)
record that Archelaus was bishop Kaa-^dpmv, of Caschar, or
Caschara. Epiphanius, however, does not keep consistently
by that scription ; for elsewhere (Hceres. Ixvi. 11) he writes
Kao-^dprjV) or, according to another reading, which is held
by Zacagnius to be corrupt, Ka\%dpa)v. In the opening
sentence of the Acts themselves it appears as Carchar, and
that form is followed by Petrus Siculus (Hist. Manich.
p. 37) and Photius (lib. i. Adv. Manich.), who, in epitomiz-
ing the statements of Epiphanius, write neither Kaa-^dpwv
nor KaX^dpfav, but Kap%dpa>v. Now we know that there
were at least two towns of the name of Carcha : for the
anonymous Ravenna geographer (Geogr. book ii. ch. 7)
tells us that there was a place of that name in Arabia
Felix; and Ammianus Marcellinus (book xviii. 23, and xxv.
20, 21) mentions another beyond the Tigris, within the Per-
sian dominion. The clear statements, however, to the effect
that the locality of the bishopric of Archelaus was in Meso-
potamia, make it impossible that either of these two towns
could have been the seat of his rule. Besides this, in the
third chapter of the Acts themselves we find the name Charra
occurring ; and hence Zacagnius and others have concluded
that the place actually intended is the scriptural Charran,
or Haran, in Mesopotamia, which is also written Chaira in
Paulus Diaconus (Hist. Misc. xxii. 20), and that the form Car-
char or Carchara was either a mere error of the transcribers.
270 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
or the vulgar provincial designation. It must be added, how-
ever, that Neander (Church History, ii. p. 165, Bohn) allows
this to be only a very uncertain conjecture, while others hold
that Caschar is the most probable scription, and that the
town is one altogether different from the ancient Haran.
The date of the Disputation itself admits of tolerably
exact settlement. Epiphanius, indeed (De Mensur. et Pond.
ch. 20), says that Manes fled into Mesopotamia in the ninth
year of the reign of Valerianus and Gallienus, and that the
discussion with Archelaus took place about the same time.
This would carry the date back to about 262 A.D. But this
statement, although he is followed in it by Petrus Siculus
and Photius, is inconsistent with the specification of times
which he makes in dealing with the error of the Mani-
clieans in his book On the Heresies. From the 37th chapter
of the Acts, however, we find that the Disputation took place,
not when Gallienus, but when Probus held the empire, and
that is confirmed by Cyril of Jerusalem (Cateches. vi. -p.
140). The exact year becomes also clearer from Eusebius,
who (Chronicon, lib. post. p. 177) seems to indicate the
second year of the reign of Probus as the time when the
Manichean heresy attained general publicity (Secundo anno
Probi . . . insana Manichceorum hceresis in commune humani
generis malum exorta) ; and from Leo Magnus, who in his
second Discourse on Pentecost also avers that Manichaeus
became notorious in the consulship of Probus and Paulinus.
And as this consulship embraced part of the first and part
of the second years of the empire of Probus, the Disputa-
tion itself would thus be fixed as occurring in the end of
277 A.D. or the beginning of 278, or, according to the pre-
cise calculation of Zacagnius, between July and December
of the year 277.
That the Acts of this Disputation constitute an authentic
relic of antiquity, seems well established by a variety of con-
siderations. Epiphanius, for instance, writing about the year
376 A.D., makes certain excerpts from them which correspond
satisfactorily with the extant Latin version. Socrates, again,
whose Ecclesiastical History dates about 439, mentions these
IN TROD UCTOE Y NOTICE. 2 7 1
Acts, and acknowledges that he drew the materials for his
account of the Manichean heresy from them. The book
itself, too, offers not a few evidences of its own antiquity and
authenticity. The enumeration given of the various heretics
who had appeared up to the time of Archelaus, the mention
of his presence at the siege of the city in ch. 24, and the
allusions to various customs, have all been pressed into that
service, as may be seen in detail in the elaborate dissertation
prefixed by Zacagnius in his Collectanea Monumentorum
Ecclesice Grcecce. At the same time, it is very evident that
the work has come down to us in a decidedly imperfect form.
There are, for example, arguments by Manes and answers
by Archelaus recorded in Cyril (Catech. vi. p. m. 147) which
are not contained in our Latin version at all. And there
are not a few notes of discrepancy and broken connections
in the composition itself, as in the 12th, 25th, and 28th
chapters, which show that the manuscripts must have been
defective, or that the Latin translator took great liberties
with the Greek text, or that the Greek version itself did
not faithfully reproduce the original Syriac. On the histo-
rical character of the work Neander expresses himself thus
(Church History, ii. pp. 165, 166, Bohn) : "These Acts
manifestly contain an ill-connected narrative, savouring in
no small degree of the romantic. Although there is some
truth at the bottom of it as, for instance, in the statement
of doctrine there is much that wears the appearance of
truth, and is confirmed also by its agreement with other
representations still the Greek author seems, from ignor-
ance of Eastern languages and customs, to have introduced
a good deal that is untrue, by bringing in and confounding
together discordant stories through an uncritical judgment
and exaggeration."
THE
ACTS OF THE DISPUTATION OF AECHELAUS.
WITH THE HERESIAKCH MANES.
JHE true THESAURUS (Treasury) \ to wit, the
Disputation conducted in Carchar, a city of
Mesopotamia, before Manippus 1 and .ZEgia-
leus and Claudius and Cleobolus, who acted as
judges. In this city of Mesopotamia there was a certain
man, Marcellus by name, who was esteemed as a person
worthy of the highest honour for his manner of life, his pur-
suits, and his lineage, and not less so for his discretion and his
nobility of character: he was possessed also of abundant
means ; and, what is most important of all, he feared God
with the deepest piety, and gave ear always with due rever-
ence to the things which were spoken of Christ. In short,
there was no good quality lacking in that man, and hence
it came to pass that he was held in the greatest regard by
the whole city ; while, on the other hand, he also made an
ample return for the good-will of his city by his munificent
and oft-repeated acts of liberality in bestowing on the poor,
relieving the afflicted, and giving help to the distressed. But
let it suffice us to have said thus much, lest by the weakness
of our words we rather take from the man's virtues than
adduce what is worthy of their splendour. I shall come,
therefore, to the task which forms my subject. On a
certain occasion, when a large body of captives were offered
to the bishop Archelaus by the soldiers who held the camp
in that place, their numbers being some seven thousand
1 In Epiphanius, Hxres. Ixvi. 10, it is Marsipus.
272
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 273
seven hundred, he was harassed with the keenest anxiety on
account of the large sum of money which was demanded by
the soldiers as the price of the prisoners' deliverance. And
as he could not conceal his solicitude, all aflame for the
religion and the fear of God, he at length hastened to Mar-
cellus, and explained to him the importance and difficulty of
the case. And when that pattern of piety, Marcellus, heard
his narration, without the least delay he went into his house,
and provided the price demanded for the prisoners, according
to the value set upon them by those who had led them cap-
tive ; and unlocking the treasures of his goods, he at once
distributed the gifts of piety (pietatis pretici) among the
soldiers, without any severe consideration of number or
distinction, 1 so that they seemed to be presents rather than
purchase-moneys. And those soldiers were filled with won-
der and admiration at the grandeur of the man's piety and
munificence, and were struck with amazement, and felt the
force 2 of this example of pity ; so that very many of them
were added to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and threw
off the belt of military service, 3 while others withdrew to
their camp, taking scarcely a fourth part of the ransom, and
the rest made their departure without receiving even so much
as would defray the expenses of the way.
2. Marcellus, as might well be expected, was exceedingly
gratified by these incidents ; and summoning one of the
prisoners, by name Cortynius, he inquired of him the cause
of the war, and by what chance it was that they were over-
come and bound with the chains of captivity. And the person
addressed, on obtaining liberty to speak, began to express him-
self in these terms : " My lord Marcellus, we believe in the
living God alone. And we have a custom of such a nature
1 Nee numero aliquo nee discretione ulla distinguit. For distinguit,
some propose distribuit.
2 Beading commonentur, as in the text. Commoventur is also sug-
gested, = " were deeply moved."
3 On the attitude of the Christians of the primitive church towards
warfare, see Tertullian's De Corona Militis, ch. 11, and the twelfth canon
of the Nicene Council.
8
274 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
as I shall now describe, which has descended to us by the tradi-
tion of our brethren (in the faith), and has been regularly
observed by us up to the present day. The practice is, that
every year we go out beyond the bounds of the city, in com-
pany with our wives and children, and offer up supplications
to the only and invisible God, praying Him to send us rains
for our fields and crops. Now, when we were celebrating
this observance at the usual time and in the wonted manner,
evening surprised us as we lingered there, and were still
fasting. Thus we were feeling the pressure of two of the
most trying things men have to endure, namely, fasting
and want of sleep. But about midnight sleep enviously and
inopportunely crept upon us, and with necks drooping and
unstrung, and heads hanging down, it made our faces strike
against our knees. 1 Now this took place because the time was
at hand when by the judgment of God we were to pay the
penalty proper to our deserts, whether it might be that we were
offenders in ignorance, or whether it might be that with the
consciousness of wrong we nevertheless had not given up our
sin. Accordingly at that hour a multitude of soldiers sud-
denly surrounded us, supposing us, as I judge, to have lodged
ourselves in ambush there, and to be persons with full expe-
rience and skill in fighting battles ; and without making any
exact inquiry into the cause of our gathering there, they
threatened us with war, not in word, but at once by the
sword. And though we were men who had never learned
to do injury to any one, they wounded us pitilessly with
their missiles, and thrust us through with their spears, and
cut our throats with their swords. Thus they slew, indeed,
about one thousand and three hundred men of our number,
and wounded other five hundred. And when the day broke
clearly, they carried off the survivors amongst us as prisoners
here, and that, too, in a way showing their utter want of
pity for us. For they drove us before their horses, spurring
us on by blows from their spears, and impelling us forward
by making the horses' heads press upon us. And those who
1 Reading cervicibus degravatis et laxis, demisso capite, frontem genibus
elidit. The text gives demerso.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 275
had sufficient powers of endurance did indeed hold out ; but
very many fell down before the face of their cruel masters,
and breathed out their life there ; and mothers, with arms
wearied, and utterly powerless with their burdens, and dis-
tracted by the threats of those behind them, suffered the
little ones that were hanging on their breasts to fall to the
ground ; while all those on whom old age had come were
sinking, one after the other, to the earth, overcome with
their toils, and exhausted by want of food. The proud
soldiers nevertheless enjoyed this bloody spectacle of men
continually perishing, as if it had been a kind of entertain-
ment, while they saw some stretched on the soil in hopeless
prostration, and beheld others, worn out by the fierce fires of
thirst and with the bands of their tongues utterly parched,
lose the power of speech, and witnessed others with eyes
ever glancing backwards, groaning over the fate of their
dying little ones, while these, again, were constantly appeal-
ing to their most unhappy mothers with their cries, and the
mothers themselves, driven frantic by the severities of the
robbers, responded with their lamentations, which indeed was
the only thing they could do freely. And those of them
whose hearts were most tenderly bound up with their off-
spring chose voluntarily to meet the same premature fate of
death with their children ; while those, on the other hand, who
had some capacity of endurance were carried off prisoners here
with us. Thus, after the lapse of three days, during which time
we had never been allowed to take any rest, even in the night,
we were conveyed to this place, in which what has now taken
place after these occurrences is better known to yourself."
3. When Marcellus, that man of consummate piety, had
heard this recital, he burst into a flood of tears, touched with
pity for misfortunes so great and so various. But making
no delay, he at once prepared victuals for the sufferers, and
did service with his own hand for the wearied ; in this imi-
tating our father Abraham the patriarch, who, when he enter-
tained the angels hospitably on a certain occasion, did not
content himself with merely giving the order to his slaves to
bring a calf from the herd, but did himself, though advanced
276 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
in years, go and place it on his shoulders and fetch it in,
and did with his own hand prepare food, and set it before
the angels. So Marcellus, in discharge of a similar office,
directed them to be seated as his guests in companies of ten ;
and when the seven hundred tables were all provided, he re-
freshed the whole body of the captives with great delight, so
that those who had had strength to survive what they had been
called to endure, forgot their toils, and became oblivious of all
their ills. When, however, they had reached the fifteenth
day, and while Marcellus was still liberally supplying all things
needful for the prisoners, it seemed good to him that they
should all be put in possession of the means of returning to
their own parts, with the exception of those who were de-
tained by the attention which their wounds demanded ; and
providing the proper remedies for these, he instructed the
rest to depart to their own country and friends. And even
to all these charities Marcellus added yet larger deeds of
piety. For with a numerous band of his own dependants he
went to look after the burying of the bodies of those who had
perished on the march ; and for as many of these as he could
discover, of whatsoever condition, he secured the sepulture
which was meet for them. And when this service was com-
pleted he returned to Charra, and gave permission to the
wounded to return thence to their native country when their
health was sufficiently restored, providing also most liberal sup-
plies for their use on their journey. And truly the estimate
of this deed made a magnificent addition to (the repute of)
the other noble actions of Marcellus ; for through that whole
territory the fame of the piety of Marcellus spread so grandly,
that large numbers of men belonging to various cities were in-
flamed with the intensest desire to see and become acquainted
with the man, and most especially those persons who had not
had occasion to bear penury before, to all of whom this
remarkable man, following the example of a Marcellus of
old, furnished aid most indulgently, so that they all declared
that there was no one of more illustrious piety than this man.
Yea, all the widows, too, who were believers in the Lord
had recourse to him, while the imbecile also could reckon
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 277
on obtaining at his hand most certain help to meet their cir-
cumstances; and the orphaned, in like manner, were all sup-
ported by him, so that his house was declared to be the hospice
for the stranger and the indigent. And above all this, he
retained in a remarkable and singular measure his devotion
to the faith, building up his own heart upon the rock that
shall not be moved.
4. Accordingly, 1 as this man's fame was being always the
more extensively diffused throughout different localities, and
when it had now penetrated even beyond the river Stranga,
the honourable report of his name was carried into the terri-
tory of Persia. In this country dwelt a person called Manes,
who, when this man's repute had reached him, deliberated
largely with himself as to how he might entangle him in
the snares of his doctrine, hoping that Marcellus might be
made an upholder of his dogma. For he reckoned that
he might make himself master of the whole province, if he
could only first attach such a man to himself. In this pro-
ject, however, his mind was agitated with the doubt whether
he should at once repair in person to the man, or first at-
tempt to get at him by letter; for he was afraid lest, by
any sudden and unexpected introduction of himself upon
the scene, some mischance might possibly befall him. At
last, in obedience to a subtler policy, he resolved to write ;
and calling to him one of his disciples, by name Turbo, 2 who
had been instructed by Addas, he handed to him an epistle,
and bade him depart and convey it to Marcellus. This
adherent accordingly received the letter, and carried it to
the person to whom he had been commissioned by Manes to
deliver it, overtaking the whole journey within five days.
The above-mentioned Turbo, indeed, used great expedition
1 At this point begins the portion of the work edited by Valesius
rrom the Codex Bobiensis, which is preserved now in the Arnbrosiau
Library.
2 The Codex Bobiensis reads, Adda Turbonem. This Adda, or Addas,
as the Greek gives it below in ch. xi., was one of those disciples of
Manes whom he charged with the dissemination of his heretical opinions
in the East, as we see from ch. xi.
278 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
on this journey, in the course of which he also underwent very
considerable exertion and trouble. For whenever he arrived, 1
as 2 a traveller in foreign parts, at a hospice, and these were
inns which Marcellus himself had supplied in his large hos-
pitality, 3 on his being asked by the keepers of these hotels
whence he came, and who he was, or by whom he had been
sent, he used to reply : tl I belong to the district of Mesopo-
tamia, but I come at present from Persis, having been sent
by Manichaeus, a master among the Christians." But they
were by no means ready to welcome a name unknown 4 to
them, and were wont sometimes to thrust Turbo put of their
inns, refusing him even the means of getting water for drink-
ing purposes. And as he had to bear daily things like these,
and things even worse than these, at the hands of those
persons in the several localities who had charge of the
mansions and hospices, unless he had at last shown that
he was conveying letters to Marcellus, Turbo would have
met the doom of death in his travels.
5. On receiving the epistle, then, Marcellus opened it, and
read it in the presence of Archelaus, the bishop of the place.
And the following is a copy of what it contained : 5
Manichgeus, an apostle of Jesus Christ, and all the saints
who are with me, and the virgins, to Marcellus, my beloved
son : Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God the
Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ ; and may the right
hand of light preserve you safe from this present evil world,
and from its calamities, and from the snares of the wicked
one. Amen.
I was exceedingly delighted to observe the love cherished by
1 Codex Bobiensis adds, ad vesperam, towards evening.
2 The text gives veluti peregrinans. The Codex Bobiensis has quippe
peregrinans.
3 On the attention paid by the primitive church to the duties of hos-
pitality, see Tertullian, De prsescriptionibus, ch. 20 ; Gregory Nazian-
zenus, in his First Invective against Julian; also Priorius, De literis
canonicis, ch. 5, etc. ; and Thomassin, De Tesseris hospitalitatis, ch. 26.
4 In the text, ignotum ; in the Codex Bobiensis, ignoratum.
5 This letter, along with the reply of Marcellus, is given by Epiphauius
in his Heresies, n. 6, from which the Greek text is taken.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 279
you, which truly is of the largest measure. But I was dis-
tressed at your faith, which is not in accordance with the
right standard. Wherefore, deputed as I am to seek the
elevation of the race of men, and sparing, 1 as I do, those who
have given themselves over to deceit and error, I have con-
sidered it needful to despatch this letter to you, with a view,
in the first place, to the salvation of your own soul, and in
the second place also to that of the souls of those who are
with you, so as to secure you against 2 dubious opinions, and
specially against notions like those in which the guides of
the simpler class of minds indoctrinate their subjects, when
they allege that good and evil have the same original sub-
sistence (a?ro TOV avrov (frepeadat), and when they posit
the same beginning for them, without making any dis-
tinction or discrimination between light and darkness, and
between the good and the evil or worthless, and between the
inner man and the outer, as we have stated before, and with-
out ceasing to mix up and confound together the one with
the other. But, O my son, refuse thou thus thoughtlessly to
identify these two things in the irrational and foolish fashion
common to the mass of men, and ascribe no such confusion
to the God of goodness. For these men refer the beginning
and the end and the paternity of these ills to God Him-
self, " whose end is near a curse." 3 For they do not believe
the word spoken by our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ
Himself in the Gospels, 4 namely, that " a good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth
good fruit." 6 And how they can be bold enough to call God
the maker and contriver of Satan and his wicked deeds, is a
matter of great amazement to me. Yea, would that even
this had been all the length to which they had gone with
1 <p/SoV*j/o$. The Latin gives siibveniens, relieving.
2 The Greek text of Epiphanius gave vrpos TO <x,li<ix.piToy. Petavius
substituted vpo; TO py a.lt,x.pnov ; and that reading is confirmed by
the Latin, uti ne indiscretos animos (/eras.
3 ay TO TXoj x.ctTa,pa; fy/vg. Cf. Heb. vi. 8.
4 The text gives \v TO?? ttpuptime fvcf/'/ihiotg, for which TO?? fipvpfoois
lv TO?? vyyX/o/? may be proposed.
5 Matt. vii. 18.
280 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
their silly efforts, and that they had not declared that the
only-begotten Christ, who has descended from the bosom of
the Father, 1 is the son of a certain woman, Mary, and born
of blood and flesh and the varied impurities proper to women
(TTJ? aX\775 Svcra)$La<; rwv 'yvvatKoi)v)l Howbeit, neither to
write too much in this epistle, nor to trespass at too great
length upon your good nature, and all the more so that I
have no natural gift of eloquence, I shall content myself
with what I have said. But you will have full knowledge of
the whole subject when I am present with you, if indeed you
still continue to care for (falSrj) your own salvation. For I
do not " cast a snare upon any one," 2 as is done by the less
thoughtful among the mass of men. Think of what I say,
most honourable son.
6. On reading this epistle, Marcellus, with the kindest
consideration, attended hospitably to the needs of the bearer
of the letter. Archelaus, on the other hand, did not receive
very pleasantly the matters which were read, but gnashed 3 with
his teeth like a chained lion, impatient to have the author of
the epistle given over to him. Marcellus, however, counselled
him to be at peace ; promising that he would himself take
care to secure the man's presence. And accordingly Mar-
cellus resolved to send an answer to what had been written
to him, and indited an epistle containing the following state-
ments :
Marcellus, a man of distinction, to Manichseus, who has
made himself known to me by his epistle, greeting.
An epistle written by you has come to my hand, and I
have received Turbo with my wonted kindness ; but the
meaning of your letter I have by no means apprehended,
and may not do so unless you give us your presence, and
explain its contents in detail in the way of conversation, as
you have offered to do in the epistle itself. Farewell.
This letter he sealed and handed to Turbo, with instruc-
tions to deliver it to the person from whom he had already
conveyed a similar document. The messenger, however,
1 John i. 18. a 1 Cor. vii. 35.
* The text gives infrendebat ; the Codex Bobiensis has infringebat.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 281
was extremely reluctant to return to his master, being mind-
ful of what he had had to endure on the journey, and begged
that another person should be despatched in his stead, refusing
to go back to Manes, or to have any intercourse whatever
with him again. But Marcellas summoned one of his young
men (ex pueris suis} 7 Callistus by name, and directed him to
proceed to the place. Without any loss of time this young
man set out promptly on his journey thither; and after the lapse
of three days he came to Manes, whom he found in a certain
fort, that of Arabion 1 to wit, and to whom he presented
the epistle. On perusing it, he was glad to see that he had
been invited by Marcellus ; and without delay he undertook
the journey ; yet he had a presentiment that Turbo's failure
to return boded no good, and proceeded on his way to Mar-
cellus, not, as it were, without serious reflections. Turbo,
for his part, was not at all thinking of leaving the house of
Marcellus ; neither did he omit any opportunity of convers-
ing with Archelaus the bishop. For both these parties were
very diligently engaged in investigating the practices of
Manichseus, being desirous of knowing who he was and
whence he came, and what was his manner of discourse.
And he (Turbo) accordingly gave a lucid account of the
whole position, narrating and expounding the terms of his
faith in the following manner : 2
If you are desirous of being instructed in the faith of
Manes by me, attend to me for a short space. That man wor-
ships two deities, unoriginated, self-existent, eternal, opposed
the one to the other. Of these he represents the one as good,
and the other as evil, and assigns the name of Light to the
former, and that of Darkness to the latter. He alleges also
that the soul in men is a portion of the light, but that the
body and the formation of matter are parts of the darkness.
He maintains, further, that a certain commingling or blend-
1 Epiphanius, under this Heresy, num. 7, says that this was a fort
situated on the other side of the river Stranga, between Persia and
Mesopotamia.
2 The section extending from this point on to ch. xii. is found word
for word in the Greek of Epiphanius, num. 25.
282 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP AUCHELAUS.
ing (fu^iv Be J]TOI (rvytcpaa-iv) has been effected between the
two in the manner about to be stated, the following analogy
being used as an illustration of the same ; to wit, that their
relations may be likened to those of two kings in conflict with
each other, who are antagonists from the beginning, and have
their own positions, each in his due order. And so he holds
that the darkness passed without its own boundaries, and
engaged in a similar contention with the light ; but that the
good Father then, perceiving that the darkness had come to
sojourn on His earth, put forth from Himself a power 1 which
is called the Mother of Life ; and that this power thereupon
put forth from itself the first man, (and) the five elements. 2
And these five elements are wind, 3 light, water, fire, and
matter. Now this primitive man, being endued with these,
and thereby equipped, as it were, for war, descended to these
lower parts, and made war against the darkness. But the
princes of the darkness, waging war in turn against him, con-
sumed that portion of his panoply which is the soul. Then
was that first man grievously injured there underneath by
the darkness ; and had it not been that the Father heard his
prayers, and sent a second power, which was also put forth
1%, avrov Ivvctptv. But the Codex Bobiensis gives pro-
dnxit ex virtute, put forth from His power one, etc. The Codex Casi-
nensis has produxerit et esse virtutem, etc.
2 The text is simply xetl otvrqv wpoptfi'hYixeiieii TOI> vparoy eiv6ou7fo, fd
KtvTt <rTotxsla. The Latin, with emendations from the Codex Bobiensis
and Epiphanius, gives qua virtute circumdedit primum hominem, quse
sunt quinque elementa, etc. = with which power He begirt the first man,
which is the same as the five elements, etc. With slight differences the
Codex Bobiensis reads qua circumdedit, and the Codex Casinensis, qua
virtute. Petavius pointed out that there is probably an omission in the
text here. And from a passage in Epiphanius, Hxr. Ixvi. n. 45, it has
been proposed to fill out the sentence thus : T^o/3XA?/i> !fj ectvrov jtvvctfiiy
ftYiripee, TJJJ ^Jj?, *i ctvryv irpofisfthYiKSvat rav KpuTW olvdpuTrov, a.l^r t v os
TVSV ftYITtpCt TJJ? &>}? TOV Ti -TTpUTM atlldpUTTOV T "TTlVTt OTOI^llet. The SCHSe
might then be, that the good Father put forth from Himself a power
called the Mother of Life, that this Mother of Life put forth theirs* man,
and that the said Mother of Life and the first man put forth (or consti-
tuted) the five elements. See the note in Routh's Reliquiae Sacrae, v. p. 49.
3 The Codex Bobiensis omits the ventus, wind.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 283
from Himself and was called the living Spirit, and came down
and gave him the right hand, and brought him up again out
of the grasp of the darkness, that first man would, in those
ancient times, have been in peril of absolute overthrow. From
that time, consequently, he left the soul beneath. And for
this reason the Manicheans, if they meet each other, give the
right hand, in token of their having been saved from darkness;
for he holds that the heresies have their seat all in the dark-
ness. Then the living Spirit created the world ; and bearing
in himself three other powers, he came down and brought
off the princes, and settled 1 them in the firmament, which
is their body, (though it is called) the sphere. Then, again,
the living Spirit created the luminaries, which are fragments
of the soul, and he made them thus to move round and round
the firmament; and again he created the earth in its eight
species 2 (el<s ei&i] OKTOO). And the Omophorus 3 sustains the
burden thereof beneath ; and when he is wearied with bear-
ins it he trembles, and in that manner becomes the cause of
/
a quaking of the earth in contravention of its determinate
times. On account of this the good Father sent His Son
forth from His own bosom 4 into the heart of the earth,
and into these lowest parts of it, in order to secure for
him the correction befitting him. 5 And whenever an earth-
quake occurs, he is either trembling under his weariness, or
is shifting his burden from one shoulder to the other. There-
after, again, the matter also of itself produced growths (ra
1 The Greek gives iartptuow \v ru arepiufturt. The Latin version has,
"crucifixit eos in firmamento." And Routh apparently favours the
reading hnxi/paaty = crucified them, etc. Valesius and the Codex
Bobiensis have, " descendens eduxit principes Jesu, exiens in firma-
mentum quod est," etc.
2 The Latin, however, gives et sunt octo, " and they are eight ;" thus
apparently having read V2 fa ox,ra, instead of tig <"B>? oxra.
3 i.e. one who bears on his shoulders, the upholder.
4 Reading ix. ruv x.o'hvuy^ de sinibus suis. But the Codex Bobiensis
gives de finibus, from His own territories.
5 The Greek text is, ovag U,VTU rysi Kpoatixovaxy IT in piety Sw. The
Latin gives, " quo ilium, ut par erat, coerceret." The Codex Bobiensis
reads, " quod ilium, ut pareret, coerceret." It is clear also that Petavius
read correctly iv triplet* for iiri6vftiv in Epiphanius.
234 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
<f>vra) ; and when these were carried off as spoil on the part
of some of the princes, he summoned together all the fore-
most of the princes, and took from all of them individually
power after power, and made up the man who is after the
image of that first man, and united 1 the soul (with these
powers) in him. This is the account of the manner in which
his constitution was planned.
8. But when the living Father perceived that the soul was
in tribulation in the body, being full of mercy and compas-
sion, He sent His own beloved Son for the salvation of the
soul. For this, together with the matter of Omophorus, was
the reason of His sending Him. And the Son came and
transformed Himself into the likeness of man, and mani-
fested 2 Himself to men as a man, while yet He was not a
man, and men supposed that He was begotten. Thus He
came and prepared the work which was to effect the salvation
of the souls, and with that object constructed an instrument
with twelve urns (/eaSou?), which is made to revolve by the
sphere, and draws up with it the souls of the dying. And
the greater luminary receives these souls, and purifies them
with its rays, and then passes them over to the moon ; and
in this manner the moon's disc, as it is designated by us, is
filled up. For he says that these two luminaries are ships
or passage-boats (iropd^eia). Then, if the moon becomes
full, it ferries its passengers across toward the east wind, and
thereby effects its own waning 3 in getting itself delivered of
its freight. And in this manner it goes on making the pas-
sage across, and again discharging its freight of souls drawn
up by the urns, until it saves its own proper portion of
the souls. 4 Moreover, he maintains that every soul, yea,
every living creature that moves, partakes of the substance
1 &>wtv. The Codex Bobiensis gives, " vexit animam in eo."
2 But certain codices read et parebat, " and was obedient," instead of
apparebat.
3 otTroxpovatv. The Codex Casinensis has apocrisin; but the Codex
Bobiensis gives apocrusin.
4 The text gives rij? -fyvxns. But from the old Latin version, which
has animarum, we may conjecture that ruv -^v-^uv was read.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 285
of the good Father. And accordingly, when the moon de-
livers over its freight of souls to the asons of the Father,
they abide there in that pillar of glory, which is called the
perfect air. 1 And this air is a pillar of light, for it is filled
with the souls that are being purified. Such, moreover, is
the agency by which the souls are saved. But the following,
again, is the cause of men's dying : A certain virgin, fair in
person, and beautiful in attire, and of most persuasive address,
aims at making spoil of the princes that have been borne up
and crucified on the firmament by the living Spirit ; and she
appears as a comely female to the princes, but as a hand-
some and attractive young man to the princesses. And the
princes, when they look on her in her splendid figure, are
smitten with love's sting ; and as they are unable to get
possession of her, they burn fiercely with the flame of amo-
rous desire, and lose all power of reason. While they thus
pursue the virgin, she disappears from view. Then the
great prince sends forth from himself the clouds, with the
purpose of bringing darkness on the whole world, in his
anger. And then, if he feels grievously oppressed, his ex-
haustion expresses itself in perspiration, just as a man sweats
under toil ; and this sweat of his forms the rain. At the same
time also the harvest-prince, 2 if he too chances to be captivated
by the virgin, scatters pestilence 3 on the whole earth, with the
view of putting men to death. Now this body (of man) is
also called a cosmos (a microcosm), in relation to the great
cosmos (the macrocosm of the universe) ; and all men have
roots which are linked beneath with those above. Accord-
ingly, when this prince is captivated by the virgin's charms,
he then begins to cut the roots of men ; and when their
roots are cut, then pestilence commences to break forth, and
1 The Latin version has "vir perfectus," a reading which is due
apparently to the fact that the author had mistaken the drip of the Greek
for oivvip.
2 o dspiapos oLpxav. The version of Petavius has, " Sic et princeps
alter, messor appellatus." Perhaps the reading should be o dspiapw
CtCftUV.
Other codices give/amem, as reading A/^&'v, famine.
286 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
in that manner they die. And if he shakes the upper parts
of the root mightily, 1 an earthquake bursts, and follows as
the consequence of the commotion to which the Omophorus
is subjected. This is the explanation of (the phenomenon
of) death.
9. I shall explain to you also how it is that the soul is
transfused into five bodies. 2 First of all, in this process
some small portion of it is purified ; and then it is trans-
fused into the body of a dog, or a camel, or some other
animal. But if the soul has been guilty of homicide, it is
translated into the body of the celephi ; 3 and if it has been
found to have engaged in cutting (depiaaa-a, reaping), it is
made to pass into the (body of the) dumb. Now these are
the designations of the soul, namely, intelligence, reflection,
prudence, consideration, reasoning. 4 Moreover, the reapers
who reap are likened to the princes who have been in dark-
ness from the beginning, 5 since they consumed somewhat of
the panoply of the first man. On this account there is a
necessity for these to be translated into hay, or beans, or
barley, or corn, or vegetables, in order that in these forms
they, in like manner, may be reaped and cut. And again, if
any one eats bread, he must needs also become bread and be
1 ta.v 0* ret B.VU rijf /$/>)? irovu aa.'tevav). It may be also = And if the
upper parts of the root shake under the exertion.
2 TTUS pttTyy(mtt y -^v^vi <V KIV-TS auftarct. But the Codex Bobi-
ensis reads transferuntur ; and the Latin version gives, " quomodo et
animse in alia quoque corpora transfunduntur " = how the souls are
also transfused into other bodies.
8 The text gives xtte(pui>, which is spoken of in Migne as an unknown
animal, though xfostpos (thus accentuated) occurs in ecclesiastical writers
in the sense of a leper. It is proposed to read faeQctvTtuv, " of ele-
phants ;" and so the Codex Bobiensis gives " elephantorum corpora,"
and Codex Casinensis has " in elefantia eorum corpora," which is pro-
bably an error for " in elephantiacorum corpora." Routh suggests
* vov$, tvvottt, tppovwis, IvdvfiYiaif, "hoyiaftos. The Latin version renders,
niens, sensus, prudentia, intellectus, cogitatio. Petavius gives, mens, notio,
intdligentia, cogitatio, ratiocinatio.
5 TO?? &KP-XM$ oven* fl( ffKoros- But the Latin version gives "qui ex
materia ovti," etc. who, having sprung from matter, are in darkness.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 287
eaten. If one kills a chicken (opviQiov), he will be a chicken
himself. If one kills a mouse, he will also become a mouse
himself. If, again, one is wealthy in this world, it is neces-
sary that, on quitting the tabernacle of his body, he should
be made to pass into the body of a beggar, so as to go about
asking alms, and thereafter he shall depart into everlasting
punishment. Moreover, as this body pertains to the princes
and to matter, it is necessary that he who plants a persea l
should pass through many bodies until that persea is pros-
trated. And if one builds a house for himself, he will be
divided and scattered among all the bodies (ei<? ra o\a
a-(t)fj,ara). If one bathes in water, he freezes 2 his soul ; and
if one refuses to give pious regard 3 to his elect, he will be
punished through the generations, 4 and will be translated into
the bodies of catechumens, until he render many tributes of
piety ; and for this reason they offer to the elect whatever
is best in their meats. And when they are about to eat
bread, they offer up prayer first of all, addressing themselves
in these terms to the bread : " I have neither reaped thee, nor
ground thee, nor pressed thee, nor cast thee into the baking-
vessel ; but another has done these things, and brought thee
to me, and I have eaten thee without fault." And when he
has uttered these things to himself, he says to the catechumen, 5
"I have prayed for thee;" and in this manner that person
then takes his departure. For, as I remarked to you a little
before, if any one reaps, he will be reaped ; and so, too, if
one casts grain into the mill, he will be cast in himself in like
manner, or if he kneads he will be kneaded, or if he bakes he
will be baked ; and for this reason they are interdicted from
1 Explained as a species of Egyptian tree, in -which the fruit grows
from the stem. The Codex Casinensis has the strange reading, per se
ad illam, for perseam, etc. See also Epiphanius, num. 9.
2 vtiaau. But the Latin version gives vulnerat, " wounds," from the
reading irKwiret.
3 fvoifaietv. But the Latin version gives alimenta.
4 flf reef ytv&a.g. But the Latin version has " poenis subdetur gehen-
nae " = will suffer the pains of hell.
5 But the Latin version gives, "respondet ad eum qui ei detulit" =
he makes answer to the person who brought it to him.
288 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
doing any such work. Moreover, there are certain other
worlds on which the luminaries rise when they have set on
our world. 1 And if a person walks upon the ground here, he
injures the earth ; and if he moves his hand, he injures the
air ; for the air is the soul (life) of men and living creatures,
both fowl, and fish, and creeping thing. And as to every one 2
existing in this world, I have told you that this body of his
does not pertain to God, but to matter, and is itself darkness,
and consequently it must needs be cast in darkness.
10. Now, with respect to paradise, it is not called a cosmos. 8
The trees that are in it are lust and other seductions, which
corrupt the rational powers of those men. And that tree in
paradise, by which men know the good, is Jesus Himself,
(or) 4 the knowledge of Him in the world. He who partakes
thereof discerns the good and the evil. The world itself,
however, is not God's (work) ; but it was the structure of a
portion of matter, and consequently all things perish in it.
And what the princes took as spoil from the first man, that
is what makes the moon full, and what is being purged day
by day of the world. And if the soul makes its exit without
having gained the knowledge of the truth, it is given over
to the demons, in order that they may subdue it in the
Gehennas of fire ; and after that discipline it is made to pass
into bodies with the purpose of being brought into subjection,
and in this manner it is cast into the mighty fire until the
consummation. Again, regarding the prophets amongst you, 5
he speaks thus : Their spirit is one of impiety, or of the law-
lessness of the darkness which arose at the beginning. And
being deceived by this spirit, they have not spoken (truth) ;
1 The text is, xetl vu.'Kiv tlolv iTipoi xoeftoi Tint?, TUV (puarqpuv
KTTO TClVTOV roil X,6fff*OV, t% UV 06* 'OLTiKhWO I. RoUth SUggCStS
deleting ! uv.
2 Reading <irts, as in the text. Routh suggests e"n, = As to everything
existing in this world, I have told you that the body thereof does, etc.
3 But the Latin has " qui vocatur," etc. = which is called, etc. And
Routh therefore proposes o? xetfahat for ov x.^theti.
4 The text gives simply jj yvuotg. The Codex Bobiensis has et scientia.
Hence Routh would read xul j yuat;, and the knowledge.
* Retaining the reading vpl v, though Petavius would substitute qfilf, us.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 289
for the prince blinded their mind. And if any one follows
their words, he dies for ever, bound to the clods of earth,
because he has not learned the knowledge of the Paraclete.
O
He also gave injunctions to his elect alone, who are not more
than seven in number. And the charge was this: "When
ye cease eating, pray, and put upon your head an olive, sworn
with the invocation of many names for the confirmation of
this faith." The names, however, were not made known to
me; for only these seven make use of them. And again, the
name Sabaoth, which is honourable and mighty with you, he
declares to be the nature of man, and the parent of desire ;
for which reason the simple 1 worship desire, and hold it to be
a deity. Furthermore, as regards the manner of the creation
of Adam, he tells us that he who said, " Come and let us
make man in our image, after our likeness," or " after the
form which we have seen," is the prince who addressed the
other princes in terms which may be thus interpreted :
" Come, give me of the light which we have received, and
let us make man after the form of us princes, even after
that, form which we have seen, that is to say, 2 the first man."
And in that manner he (or they) created the man. They
created Eve also after the like fashion, imparting to her of
their own lust, with a view to the deceiving of Adam. And
by these means the construction of the world proceeded from
the operations of the prince.
11. He holds also that God has no part with the world
itself, and finds no pleasure in it, by reason of its having been
made a spoil of from the first by the princes, and on account
of the ill that rose on it. Wherefore He sends and takes away
from them day by day the soul belonging to Him, through the
medium of these luminaries, the sun and the moon, by which
the whole world and all creation are dominated. Him,
again, who spake with Moses, and the Jews, and the priests,
he declares to be the prince of the darkness ; so that the
;, in the Latin version Simpliciores, a name apparently given
to the Catholics by the Manicheans. See Ducangii Glossarium media
el injimse Grascitatis.
2 The text gives 6 tarl fpuTo; eLvfyuiro;. Routh proposes o IOTI, etc.
T
290 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELAUS.
Christians, and the Jews, and the Gentiles are one and the
same body, worshipping the same God : for He seduces them
in His own passions, being no God of truth. For this reason
all those who hope in that God who spake with Moses and
the prophets have to be bound together with the said deity
(per avrov cloven Sedfjvai), because they have not hoped in
the God of truth ; for that deity spake with them in accord-
ance with their own passions. Moreover, after all these
things, he speaks in the following terms with regard to the
end (eVi reXet), as he has also written : When the elder has
displayed his image, 1 the Omophorus then lets the earth go
from him, and so the mighty fire gets free, and consumes the
whole world. Then, again, he lets the soil go with the new
seon, 2 in order that all the souls of sinners may be bound for
ever. These things will take place at the time when the man's
image (dv&pids) has come. 3 And all these powers put forth
by God (al Se -jrpo^o\al vrdcrai), namely, Jesus, who is in
the smaller ship (TrXo/w), and the Mother of Life, and the
twelve helmsmen (tcv/3epvf)Tai), and the virgin of the light,
and the third elder, who is in the greater ship, and the living
spirit, and the wall (rei^o?) of the mighty fire, and the wall
of the wind, and the air, and the water, and the interior living
fire, have their seat in the lesser luminary, until the fire shall
have consumed the whole world: and that is to happen within
so many years, the exact number of which, however, I have
not ascertained. And after these things there will be a
restitution of the two natures ; 4 and the princes will occupy
1 The text is x.6ug uvro; typx-fytv 'O wpsa/St/rwf, etc. The Codex
Bobiensis gives, "Sicut ipse senior scripsit : Cum maiiifestam feceris,"
etc., = As the elder himself wrote : When thou hast, etc. The elder
here is probably the same as the third elder farther on.
2 The Greek is, dtpiqat rov ftahov ^iu. rov viov ctlavos ; but the Latin
version has the strangely diverse rendering, " dimittunt aniinam quse
objicitur inter medium novi saeculi "=they let go the soul that is placed
in the midst of the new age.
8 But the Latin gives, " cum statuta venerit dies" = when the appointed
day has come.
4 ruv 3t/o tpi/asav. But the Latin version gives duorum luminarium,
and the Codex Casinensis has luminariorum, the two luminaries.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 291
the lowei parts proper to them, and the Father the higher
parts, receiving again what is His own due possession. All
this doctrine he delivered to his three disciples, and charged
each to journey to a separate clime. 1 The Eastern parts fell
thus to the lot of Addas; Thomas 2 obtained the Syrian
territories as his heritage ; and another, to wit Hermeias,
directed his course toward Egypt. And to this day they
sojourn there, with the purpose of establishing the proposi-
tions contained in this doctrine. 3
12. When Turbo had made this statement, Archelaus was
intensely excited ; but Marcellus remained unmoved, for he ex-
pected that God would come to the help of His truth. Arche-
laus, however, had additional cares in his anxiety about the
people, like the shepherd who becomes concerned for his sheep
when secret perils threaten them from the wolves. Accord-
ingly Marcellus loaded Turbo with the most liberal gifts, and
instructed him to remain in the house of Archelaus the
bishop. 4 But on that selfsame day Manes arrived, bringing
along with him certain chosen youths and virgins to the
number of twenty-two. 5 And first of all he sought for
Turbo at the door of the house of Marcellus ; and on failing
to find him there, he went in to salute Marcellus. On
seeing him, Marcellus at first was struck with astonishment
at the costume in which he presented himself. For he wore
a kind of shoe which is usually called in common speech the
quadrisole; 6 he had also a party-coloured cloak, of a some-
what airy (aerina, sky-like) appearance ; in his hand he
grasped a very sturdy staff of ebony- wood; 7 he carried a
Babylonian book under his left arm ; his legs were swathed
1 Reading x^i^xret, with Petavius, for xhqftetrct.
2 The Codex Casinensis makes no mention of Thomas.
3 Here ends the Greek of Epiphanius.
4 The words, the bishop, are omitted in the Codex Bobiensis.
5 But Codex Bobiensis gives duodecim, twelve.
6 But the Codex Bobiensis gives trisolium, the trisole. Strabo, book
xv., tells us that the Persians wore high shoes.
7 Ducange in his Glossary, under the word E/3XA/j/o?, shows from
Callisthenes that the prophets or interpreters of sacred things carried an
ebony staff.
292 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARC HE LA US.
in trousers of different colours, the one being red, and ths
other green as a leek; and his whole mien was like that
of some old Persian master and commandant. 1 Thereupon
Marcellus sent forthwith for Archelaus, who arrived so
quickly as almost to outstrip the word, and on entering was
greatly tempted at once to break out against him, being
provoked to that instantly by the very sight of his costume
and his appearance, though more especially also by the fact
that he had himself been turning over in his mind in his re-
tirement 2 the various matters which he had learned from the
recital of Turbo, and had thus come carefully prepared.
But Marcellus, in his great thoughtful ness, repressed all zeal
for mere wrangling, and decided to hear both parties. With
that view he invited the leading men of the city ; and from
among them he selected as judges (of the discussion) certain
adherents of the Gentile religion, four in number. The names
of these umpires were as follows : Manippus, a person deeply
versed in the art of grammar and the practice of rhetoric ;
.ZEgialeus, 3 a very eminent physician, and a man of the
highest reputation for learning ; and Claudius and Cleobolus, 4
two brothers famed as rhetoricians. 5 A splendid assemblage
was thus convened ; so large, indeed, that the house of Mar-
cellus, which was of immense size, was filled with those who had
been called to be hearers. And when the parties who proposed
to speak in opposition to each other had taken their places in
1 The text is, " vultus vero ut senis Persae artificis et bellorum ducis
videbatur." Philippus Buonarruotius, in the Osservazioni sopra alcnni
frammenti di vasi antichi di Vetro, Florence 1716, p. 69, thinks that this
rendering has arisen from the Latin translator's having erroneously read
a$ JtYifAiovpyov x,etl arpotrifiyw instead of a; ^Yifteip^ov x.u.1 ffTpctTy/oiJ. Taking
crpatTy/ov, therefore, in the civil sense which it bears in various passages,
he would interpret the sentence thus : " His whole mien was like that of
an old Persian tribune and magistrate." See Gallandi's note.
2 The text is secretius factum, etc. Kouth suggests secretius factus,
etc.
8 The Codex Bobiensis reads "JSgidius."
4 Epiphanius gives KhtoflovKo;.
5 Codex Casinensis reads rectores, governors. And Epiphanius, num.
10, makes the first a professor of Gentile philosophy, the second a phy-
sician, the third a grammarian, and the fourth a rhetorician.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 283
view of all, then those who had been elected as judges took
their seats in a position elevated above all others : and the
task of commencing the disputation was assigned to Manes.
Accordingly, when silence was secured, he began l the dis-
cussion in the following terms: 2
13. My brethren, I indeed am a disciple of Christ, and,
moreover, an apostle of Jesus ; and it is owing to the exceed-
ing kindness of Marcellus that I have hastened hither, with
the view of showing him clearly in what manner he ought to
keep the system of divine religion, so that the said Marcellus
verily, who at present has put himself, like one who has sur-
rendered himself prisoner, under the doctrine of Archelaus,
may not, like the dumb animals, which are destitute of intel-
lect and understand not what they do, be fatally smitten to
the ruin of his soul, in consequence of any failure in the pos-
session of further facilities for setting about the right observ-
ance of divine worship. I know, furthermore, and am certain,
that if Marcellus is once set right, 3 it will be quite possible
that all of you may also have your salvation effected ; for your
city hangs suspended upon his judgment. If vain presump-
tion is rejected by every one of you, and if those things which
are to be declared by me be heard with a real love for the
truth, ye will receive the inheritance of the age to come, and
the kingdom of heaven. I, in sooth, am the Paraclete, whose
mission was announced of old time by Jesus, and who was
to come to tl convince the world of sin and unrighteousness" *
(injustitia). And even as Paul, who was sent before me, said
of himself, that " he knew in part, and prophesied in part," 5
so I reserve the perfect for myself, in order that I may do
away with that which is in part. Therefore receive ye this
1 For primum the Codex Casinensis reads plurima, = he began a
lengthy statement, etc.
2 Thus far Valesius edited the piece from the Codex Bobiensis.
3 Reading emendato. Codex Casinensis gives enim dato.
4 John xvi. 8. This reading, de injustitia, may be due to an error on
the part of the scribe, but is more probably to be referred to the practice
pursued by Manes in altering and corrupting the sacred text to suit his
own tenets. See ch. 53, and also Epiphauius on this heresy, num. 56.
5 1 Cor. xiii. 9.
29-1 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
third testimony, that I am an elect apostle of Christ ; and if
ye choose to accept my words, ye will find salvation ; but if ye
refuse them, eternal fire will have you to consume you. For
as Hymenaeus and Alexander were " delivered unto Satan,
that they might learn not to blaspheme," l so will all ye also
be delivered unto the prince of punishments, because ye
have done injury to the Father of Christ, in so far as ye de-
clare Him to be the cause of all evils, and the founder of
unrighteousness, and the creator of all iniquity. By such
doctrine ye do, indeed, bring forth from the same fountain
both sweet water and bitter, a thing which can in no possible
way be either done or apprehended. For who ought to be
believed ? Should it be those masters of yours whose enjoy-
ment is in the flesh, and who pamper themselves with the
richest delights ; or our Saviour Jesus Christ, who says, as
it is written in the book of the Gospels, "A good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth
good fruit," 2 and who in another place assures us that the
il father of the devil (patrem diaboli) is a liar and a murderer
from the beginning," 3 and tells us again that men's desire
was for the darkness, 4 so that they would not follow that
Word that had been sent forth in the beginning from the
light, 5 and (once more shows us) the man who is the enemy
of the same, the sower of tares, 6 and the god and prince of
the age of this world, who blinds the minds of men that they
may not be obedient to the truth in the gospel of Christ? 7
Is that God good who has no wish that the men who are his
own should be saved ? And, not to go over a multitude of
other matters, and waste much time, I may defer 8 till another
opportunity the exposition of the true doctrine ; and taking
it for granted that I have said enough on this subject for the
1 1 Tim. i. 20- 2 Matt. vii. 18.
3 John viii. 44. 4 Referring, perhaps, to John i. 5.
5 The text gives, "utinsequerentur. . . Verbum, etinimicum,"etc. The
sense seems to be as above, supposing either that the verb insequerentur
is used with the meaning of assailing, persecuting, or that the ut is put
for ut ne, as is the case with the exc&cat ut at the close of the sentence.
6 Matt. xiii. 25. 7 Eph. vi. 12 ; 2 Cor. iv. 4.
8 Reading differens. But Codex Casinensis gives disserens.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 295
present, I may revert to the matter immediately before me, and
endeavour satisfactorily to demonstrate the absurdity of these
men's teaching, and show that none of these things can be
attributed to the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour,
but that we must take Satan to be the cause of all our ills.
To him, certainly, these must be carried back, for all ills of
this kind are generated by him. But those things also which
are written in the prophets and the law are none the less to
be ascribed to him ; for he it is who spake then in the pro-
phets, introducing into their minds very many ignorant notions
of God, as well as temptations and passions. They, too, set
forth that devourer of blood and flesh ; and to that Satan
and to his prophets all these things properly pertain which he
wished to transfer (trans for mare) to the Father of Christ, pre-
pared as he was to write a few things in the way of truth, that
by means of these he might also gain credence for those other
statements of his which are false. Hence it is well for us to
receive nothing at all of all those things which have been
written of old even down to John, and indeed to embrace only
the kingdom of heaven, which has been preached in the gospel
since his days; for they verily but made a mockery of them-
selves, introducing as they did things ridiculous and ludicrous,
keeping some small words given in obscure outline in the law,
but not understanding that, if good things are mixed up with
evil, the result is, that by the corruption of these evil things,
even those others which are good are destroyed. And if,
indeed, there is any one who may prove himself able to demon-
strate that the law upholds the right, that law ought to be
kept ; but if we can show it to be evil, then it ought to be
done away with and rejected, inasmuch as it contains the
ministration of death, which was graven (information), which
also covered and destroyed the glory on the countenance of
Moses. 1 It is a thing not without peril, therefore, for any one
of you to teach the New Testament along with the law and
the prophets, as if they were of one and the same origin ; for
the knowledge of our Saviour renews (the one) from day to
day, while the other grows old and infirm, and passes almost
1 1 Cor. iii. 7.
296 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
into utter destruction. 1 And this is a fact manifest to those
who are capable of exercising discernment. For just as,
when the branches of a tree become aged, or when the trunk
ceases to bear fruit any more, they are cut down ; and just
as, when the members of the body suffer mortification, they
are amputated, for the poison of the mortification diffuses
itself from these members through the whole body, and unless
some remedy be found for the disease by the skill of the
physician, the whole body will be vitiated; so, too, if ye receive
the law without understanding its origin, ye will ruin your
souls, and lose your salvation. For "the law and the pro-
phets were until John;" 2 but since John the law of truth, the
law of the promises, the law of heaven, the new law, is made
known to the race of man. And, in sooth, as long as there
was no one to exhibit to you this most true knowledge of our
Lord Jesus, ye had not sin. Now, however, ye both see and
hear, and yet ye desire to walk in ignorance, 3 in order that ye
may keep 4 that law which has been destroyed and abandoned.
And Paul, too, who is held to be the most approved (apostle)
with us, expresses himself to the same effect in one of his
epistles, when he says : " For if I build again the things
which I destroyed, I make myself a prevaricator (prcevari-
catorern)." 5 And in saying this he pronounces on them as
Gentiles, because they were under the elements of the world, 6
before the fulness of faith came, believing then as they did
in the law and the prophets.
14. The judges said : If you have any clearer statement yet
to make, give us some explanation of the nature (or, standard)
of your doctrine and the designation (titulo) of your faith.
Manes replied : I hold that there are two natures, one good
and another evil ; and that the one which is good dwells
indeed in certain parts proper to it, but that the evil one
1 Cf. Heb. viii. 13. 2 Luke xvi. 16.
3 In inscitias ire vultis. It is proposed to read injicias = and yet ye
desire to deny the truth. Routh suggests, et odistis et in inscitiam ire
vultis = and ye hate it, and choose to take your way into ignorance.
4 Supplying observetis in the clause ut legtm, etc.
5 Gal. ii. 18. e Gal. iv. 3.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 297
is this world, as well as all things in it, which are placed
there like objects imprisoned (ergastula) in the portion of
the wicked one, as John says, that " the whole world lieth
in wickedness" (or, in the wicked one), 1 and not in God.
Wherefore we have maintained that there are two locali-
ties, one good, and another which lies outside of this, 2 so
that, having space therein (in his), it might be capable of
receiving into itself the creature (creation) of the world.
For if we say that there is but a monarchy of one nature,
and that God fills all things, and that there is no location
outside of Him, what will be the sustainer of the creature
(creation)? where will be the Gehenna of fire? where
the outer darkness ? where the weeping ? Shall I say in
Himself? God forbid; else He Himself will also be made
to suffer in and with these. Entertain no such fancies, whoso-
ever of you have any care for your salvation ; for I shall give
you an example, in order that you may have fuller under-
standing of the truth. The world is one vessel (uas) ; and
if 3 the substance of God has already filled this entire vessel,
how is it possible now that anything more can be placed in
this same vessel ? If it is full, how shall it receive what is
placed in it, unless a certain portion of the vessel is emptied ?
Or whither shall that which is to be emptied out make its
way, seeing that there is no locality for it? Where then is
the earth ? where the heavens ? where the abyss ? where the
stars? where the settlements? 4 where the powers? where the
princes? where the outer darkness? Who is he that has laid
the foundations of these, and where ? No one is able to tell
us that without stumbling on blasphemy. And in what way,
again, has He been able to make the creatures, if there is no
subsistent matter? For if He has made them out of the non-
existent, it will follow that these visible creatures should be
superior, and full of all virtues. But if in these there are
1 1 John v. 19.
2 The text gives "extra e?/m." Routh suggests Deum, outside of God.
3 The text gives simply " quod Dei substantia," etc. We may per-
haps adopt, with Routh, "quod si Dei," etc.
4 Sedes. Routh suggests sidera, luminaries.
298 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELAUS.
wickedness, and death, and corruption, and whatever is
opposed to the good, how say we that they owe their forma-
tion to a nature different from themselves ? Howbeit if you
consider the way in which the sons of men are begotten, you
will find that the creator of man is not the Lord, but another
being, who is also himself of an unbegotten (ingenitce) nature,
who has neither founder, nor creator, nor maker, but who,
such as he is, has been produced by his own malice alone.
In accordance with this, you men have a commerce with your
wives, which comes to you by an occasion of the following
nature. When any one of you has satiated himself with
carnal meats, and meats of other kinds, then the impulse of
concupiscence rises in him, and in this way the enjoyment
(fructus) of begetting a son is increased ; and this happens
not as if that had its spring in any virtue, or in philosophy,
or in any other gift of mind, but in fulness of meats only,
and in lust and fornication. And how shall any one tell me
that our father Adam was made after the image of God,
and in His likeness, and that he is like Him who made him ?
How can it be said that all of us who have been begotten of
him are like him ? Yea, rather, on the contrary, have we
not a great variety of forms, and do we not bear the impress
of different countenances ? And how true this is, I shall
exhibit to you in parables. Look, for instance, at a person
who wishes to seal up a treasure, or some other object, and
you will observe how, when he has got a little wax or clay,
he seeks to stamp it with an impression of his own counte-
nance from the ring which he wears ; x but if another coun-
tenance also stamps the figure of itself on the object in a
similar manner, will the impression seem like? By no means,
1 The reference is to the ancient custom of using wax and certain
earths and clays for the purpose of affixiug, by means of the ring, a seal
with an impression on any object which it was desired to secure. Thus
Herodotus, ii. 38, tells us how the Egyptians marked the pure victim by
wrapping it round the horns with papyrus, and then smearing some
sealing earth (yyv avp.a.vrpfttt) on it, and stamping it with a ring. See
also Cicero, Pro Flacco, where he speaks of the laudatio obsignata cretd
ilia Asiatica ; and Plautus, Pseudolus, Scene i., where he mentions the
expressam in cera ex annulo suam imayincm, etc.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 299
although you may be reluctant to acknowledge what is true.
But if we are not like in the (common) impression, and if,
instead of that, there are differences in us, how can it fail to
be proved thereby that we are the workmanship of the princes,
and of matter? For in due accordance with their form, and
likeness, and image, we also exist as diverse forms. But if
you wish to be fully instructed as to that commerce which
took place at the beginning, and as to the manner in which
it occurred, I shall explain the matter to you.
15. The judges said: We need not inquire as to the manner
in which that primitive commerce took place until we have
first seen it proved that there are two natural principles.
For when once it is made clear that there are two unbegotten
natures, then others of your averments may also gain our
assent, even although something in them may not seem to fit
in very readily with what is credible. For as the power of
pronouncing judgment has been committed to us, we shall de-
clare what may make itself clear to our mind. We may, how-
ever, also grant to Archelaus the liberty of speaking to these
statements of yours, so that, by comparing what is said by
each of you, we may be able to give our decision in accordance
with the truth. Archelaus said: Notwithstanding, the adver-
sary's intent is replete with gross audacity and blasphemy.
Manes said: Hear, O judges, what he has said of the adver-
sary. 1 He admits, then, that there are two objects. Archelaus
said : It seems to me that this man is full of madness rather
than of prudence, who would stir up a controversy with me
to-day because I chance to speak of the adversary. But this
objection of yours may be removed with few words, notwith-
standing that you have supposed from this expression of mine
that I shall allow that there are these two natures. 2 You have
come forward with a most extravagant 3 doctrine ; for neither
1 The text is "quid dixerit adversarii ;" some propose "quod" or
" quia dixerit," etc.
2 The manuscript reading is, " tarn si quidem ex hoc arbitratus est se
affirmaturum." For this it is proposed to read, as in the translation,
' tametsi quidem ex hoc arbitratus es me affirmaturum."
3 The text gives inyentem. Routh suggests inscientem, stupid.
300 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
of the assertions made by you holds good. For it is quite
possible that one who is an adversary, not by nature, but by
determination, may be made a friend, and cease to be an ad-
versary ; and thus, when the one of us has come to acquiesce
with the other, we twain shall appear to be, as it were, one
and the same object. This account also indicates that
rational creatures have been entrusted with free-will, in
virtue of which they also admit of conversions. And conse-
quently there cannot be (two) unbegotten natures. 1 What
do you say, then? Are these two natures inconvertible? or
are they convertible ? or is one of them converted ? Manes,
however, held back, because he did not find a suitable reply ;
for he was pondering the conclusion which might be drawn
from either of two answers which lie might make, turning
the matter over thus in his thoughts : If I say that they are
converted, he will meet me with that statement which is
recorded in the Gospel about the trees ; but if I say that they
are not convertible, he will necessarily ask me to explain the
condition and cause of their intermingling. In the mean-
time, after a little delay, Manes replied: They are indeed
both inconvertible in so far as contraries are concerned ; but
they are convertible as far as properties (propria) are con-
cerned. Archelaus then said: You seem to me to be out of
your mind, and oblivious of your own propositions ; yea,
you do not appear even to recognise the powers or qualities
of the very words which you have been learning. 2 For you
do not understand either what conversion is, or what is meant
by unbegotten, or what duality implies, or what is past, or
what is present, or what is future, as I have gathered from the
opinions to which you have just now given expression. For
you have affirmed, indeed, that each of these two natures is
1 Adopting the proposed reading, " et ideo dv.se ingenitse naturae esse
non possunt." The text omits the duie, however ; and in that case the
sense would be simply, And consequently there cannot be unbegotten
natures ; or perhaps, And so they (the creatures) cannot be of an uu-
begotten nature.
2 Didicisti. But perhaps we ought to read dixisti, which you have
been uttering.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 301
inconvertible so far as regards contraries, but convertible so
far as regards properties. But I maintain that one who
moves in properties does not pass out of himself, but
subsists in these same properties, in which he is ever in-
convertible ; while in the case of one who is susceptible of
conversion, the effect is that he is placed outside the pale of
properties, and passes within the sphere of accidents (aliena,
of what is alien).
16. The judges said: Convertibility translates the person
whom it befalls into another ; as, for example, we might say
that if a Jew were to make up his mind to become a Christian,
or, on the other hand, if a Christian were to decide to be a
Gentile, this would be a species of convertibility, and a cause
of the same. 1 But, again, if we suppose a Gentile to keep by
all his own (heathen) properties, and to offer sacrifices to his
gods, and to do service to the temples as usual, surely you
would not be of opinion that he could be said to be converted,
while he yet holds by his properties, and goes on in them ?
What, then, do you say ? Do they sustain convertibility or
not ? And as Manes hesitated, Archelaus proceeded thus : If,
indeed, he says that both natures are convertible, 2 what is there
to prevent our thinking them to be one and the same object?
For if they are inconvertible, then surely in natures which are
similarly inconvertible and similarly unbegotten there is no
distinction, neither can the one of them be recognised as good
or as evil. But if they are both convertible, then, forsooth,
the possible result may be both that the good is made evil,
and that the evil is made good. If, however, this is the
possible result, why should we not speak of one only as unbe-
gotten, 3 which would be a conception in worthier accordance
with the reckoning of truth ? For we have to consider how
1 The text runs thus : " ut si dicamus, Judseus, si velit fieri Christiamis,
aut si Christianas velit esse gentilis, hsec species est convertibilitatis et
causa."
2 The text gives convertibilcs. Routh suggests inconvertibiles, incon-
vertible.
3 The text is unum dicamus inrjenilum. Routh suggests unum bonum,
etc. = Why should we not speak of only one unbegotten good ?
302 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELA US.
that evil one became so at first, or against what objects he
exercised his wickedness before the formation of the world.
When the heavens had not yet appeared, when the earth did
not yet subsist, and when there was neither man nor animal,
against whom did he put his wickedness in operation ? whom
did he oppress unjustly ? whom did he rob and kill ? But if
you say that he first appeared in his evil nature to his own
kin, 1 then without doubt you give the proof that he comes
of a good nature. And if, again, all these are also evil, how
can Satan then cast out Satan ? 2 But while thus reduced to a
dilemma on this point, you may change your position in the
discussion, and say that the good suffered violence from the evil.
But none the more is it without peril for you to make such a
statement, to the effect of affirming the vanquishing of the
light ; for what is vanquished has destruction near it (or, kin
to it, vicinum habet interitum). For what says the divine word?
"Who can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his
goods, except he be stronger than he ? " 3 But if you allege
that he first appeared in his evil nature to men, and only
from that time showed openly the marks of his wickedness,
then it follows that before this time he was good, and that
he took on this quality of conversion because the creation
of man 4 was found to have emerged as the cause of his
wickedness. But, in fine, let him tell us what he under-
stands by evil, lest perchance he may be defending or setting
up a mere name. And if it is not the name but the sub-
stance of evil that he speaks of, then let him set before us
the fruits of this wickedness and iniquity, since the nature of
a tree can never be known but by its fruit.
17. Manes said: Let it first be allowed on your side that
there is an alien root of wickedness, which God has not planted,
1 The text is, "quod si suis eum dicas extitisse malum, sine dubio
ergo ostenditur ilium bonse esse naturae." Routh suggests, " quia istis
suis adversatur qui inali sunt," etc. = The fact that he is adverse to
those who are of his own kin, and who are evil, would be a proof that
he comes of a good nature.
2 Mark iii. 23. 8 Mark iii. 27.
4 The text is, " creati hominis causa invenitur exstitisse malitise," for
which we read " creatio hoimuis," etc.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 303
and then I shall tell you its fruits. Archelaus said: Truth's
reckoning does not make any such requirement; and I shall
not admit to you that there is a root of any such evil tree, of
/ /
the fruit whereof no one has ever tasted. But just as, when
a man desires to make any purchase, he does not produce the
money unless he first ascertains by tasting the object whether
it is of a dry or a moist species, so I shall not admit to you
that the tree is evil and utterly corrupt, unless the quality of
its fruit is first exhibited; for it is written, that "the tree
is known by its fruits." 1 Tell us, therefore, O Manes, what
fruit is yielded by that tree which is called evil, or of what
nature it is, and what virtue it is, that we may also believe
with you that the root of that same tree is of that character
which you ascribe to it. Manes said: The root indeed is
evil, and the tree is most corrupt, but the increase is not
from God. Moreover, fornications, adulteries, murders,
avarice, and all evil deeds, are the fruits of that evil root.
Archelaus said: That we may credit you when you say
that these are the fruits of that evil root, give us a taste
of these things ; for you have pronounced the substance of
this tree to be ungenerate (ingenitam\ the fruits of which
are produced after its own likeness. Manes said: The very
unrighteousness which subsists in men offers the proof itself,
and in avarice too you may taste that evil root. Archelaus
said : Well, then, as you have stated the question, those iniqui-
ties which prevail among men are fruits of this tree. Manes
said : Quite so. Archelaus proceeded: If these, then, are the
fruits, that is to say, the wicked deeds of men, it will follow
that the men themselves will hold the place of the root and
of the tree ; for you have declared that they produce fruits
of this nature. Manes said : That is my statement. A rchelaus
answered : Not well say you, That is my statement : for surely
that cannot be your statement; otherwise, when men cease
from sinning, this tree of wickedness will appear to be un-
fruitful. Manes said: What you say is an impossibility ; for
even though one or another, or several, were to cease sinning,
there would yet be others doing evil still. Archelaus said:
1 Matt. vii. 16.
304 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELA US.
If it is at all possible for one or another, or several, as you
admit, not to sin, it is also possible for all to do the same ;
for they are all of one parent, and are all men of one lump.
And, not to follow at my ease those affirmations which you
have so confusedly made through all their absurdities, I shall
conclude their refutation by certain unmistakeable counter-
arguments. Do you allege that the fruits of the evil root
and the evil tree are the deeds of men, that is to say, for-
nications, adulteries, perjuries, murders, and other similar
things? Manes said: I do. Arclielaus said: Well, then,
if it happened that the race of men was to die off the face
of the earth, so that they should not be able to sin any more,
the substance of that tree would then perish, and it would
bear fruit no more. Manes said : And when will that take
place of which you speak"? Arclielaus said: What 1 is in
the future I know not, for I am but a man ; nevertheless I
shall not leave these words of yours unexamined. What say
you of the race of men? Is it unbegotten, or is it a produc-
tion? Manes said: It is a production. Arclielaus said:
If man is a production, who is the parent of adultery and
fornication, and such other things? Whose fruit is this?
Before man was made, who was there to be a fornicator, or
an adulterer, or a murderer? Manes said: But if the man
is fashioned of the evil nature, it is manifest that he is such
a fruit, 2 albeit he may sin, albeit he may not sin ; whence also
the name and race of men are once for all and absolutely
of this character, whether they may do what is righteous or
what is unrighteous. Arclielaus said: Well, we may also take
notice of that matter. If, as you aver, the wicked one himself
made man, why is it that he practises his malignity on him ?
18. The judges said: We desire to have information from
you on this point, Manichasus, to wit, to what effect you
have affirmed him to be evil. Do you mean that he has
1 The text gives " quoniam quod futurum est nescio, homo enim sum,
non tamen," etc. Routh suggests " quonam ? quod futurum," etc. =
What has that to do with the matter? The future I know not, etc.
2 The text is, " sed homo a mala natura plasmatus manif estum est
quia ipse sit f ructus," etc.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 305
been so from the time when men were made, or before
that period ? For it is necessary that you should give some
proof of his wickedness from the very time from which
you declare him to have been evil. Be assured l that the
quality of a wine cannot be ascertained unless one first
tastes it; and understand that, in like manner, every tree
is known by its fruit. What say you, then? From what
time has this personality been evil? For an explanation
of this problem seems to us to be necessary. Manes said:
He has always been so. Archelaus said : Well, then, I shall
also show from this, most excellent friends, and most judicious
auditors, that his statement is by no means correct. For
iron, to take an example, has not been an evil thing always,
but only from the period of man's existence, and since his
art turned it to evil by applying it to false uses ; and every
sin has come into existence since the period of man's being.
Even that great serpent himself was not evil previous to
man, but only after man, in whom he displayed the fruit of
his wickedness, because he willed it himself. If, then, the
father of wickedness makes his appearance to us after man
(has come into being), according to the Scriptures, how can he
be unbegotten who has thus been constituted evil subsequently
to man, who is himself a production ? But, again, why should
he exhibit himself as evil just from the period when, on your
supposition, he did himself create man ? 2 What did lie
desire in him? If man's whole body was his own work-
manship, what did he ardently affect in him ? For one who
ardently affects or desires, desires something which is dif-
ferent and better. If, indeed, man takes his origin from
him in respect of the evil nature, we see how man was
his own, as I have frequently shown. 3 For if man was
1 Eouth, however, points differently, so that the sense is : Be assured
that it is necessary to give some proof, etc. . . . For the quality of a
wine, etc.
2 The text is, " ex hominis tempore a se creati cur malus optendatur,"
which is taken to be equivalent to, "ex tempore quo hominem ipse
creavit," etc.
3 The reading adopted by Migne is, " si ergo ex eo homo est, mala
U
306 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
his own, he was also evil himself, just as it holds with our illus-
tration of the like tree and the like fruit ; for an evil tree, as
you say, produces evil fruit. Arid seeing that all were evil,
what did he desiderate, or in what could he show the be-
ginning of his wickedness, if from the time of man's forma-
tion man was the cause of his wickedness ? Moreover, the
law and precept having been given to the man himself, the
man had not by any means the power to yield obedience to
the serpent, and to the statements which were made by him ;
and had the man then yielded no obedience to him, what
occasion would there have been for him to be evil ? But,
again, if evil is unbegotten, how does it happen that man is
sometimes found to be stronger than it ? For, by obeying
the law of God, he will often overcome every root of wicked-
ness ; and it would be a ridiculous thing if he, who is but
the production, should be found to be stronger than the un-
begotten. Moreover, whose is that law with its command-
ment that commandment, I mean, which has been given
to man? Without doubt it will be acknowledged to be
God's. And how, then, can the law be given to an alien? or
who can give his commandment to an enemy? Or, to
speak of him who receives the commandment, how can he
contend against the devil ? that is to say, on this supposi-
tion, how can he contend against his own creator, as if
the son, while he is a debtor to him for deeds of kindness,
were to choose to inflict injuries on the father ? Thus
you but mark out the profitlesshess 1 of man on this side,
if you suppose him to be contradicting by the law and
commandment him who has made him, and to be making
the effort to get the better of him. Yea, we shall have to
fancy the devil himself to have gone to such an excess of
natura, demonstratur quomodo suus fuit, ut frequenter ostendi." Others
put the sentence interrogatively = If man takes his origin from him,
(and) the evil nature is thus demonstrated, in what sense was man his
own, etc. ? Routh suggests ex quo for ex eo If the evil nature is de-
monstrated just from the time of man's existence, how was man, etc.?
1 The reading is inutilitatem. But Routh points out that this is pro-
bably the translation of ^v^v surfatioiv, vilitatem, meanness.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 307
folly, as not to have perceived that in making man he made
an adversary for himself, and neither to have considered
what might be his future, nor to have foreseen the actual
O I
consequence of his act ; whereas even in ourselves, who are
but productions, there are at least some small gifts of know-
ledge, and a measure of prudence, and a moderate degree
of consideration, which is sometimes of a very trustworthy
nature. And how, then, can we believe that in the unbe-
gotten there is not some little portion of prudence, or con-
sideration, or intelligence? Or how can we make the con-
trary supposition, according to your assertion, namely, that
he is discovered to be of the most senseless apprehension,
and the dullest heart, and, in short, rather like the brutes
in his natural constitution ? But if the case stands thus,
again, how is it that man, who is possessed of no insigni-
ficant power in mental capacity and knowledge, could have
received his substance from one who thus is, of all beings,
the most ignorant and the bluntest in apprehension ? How
shall any one be rash enough to profess that man is the
workmanship of an author of this character? But, again,
if man consists both of soul and of body, and not merely
of body without soul, and if the one cannot subsist apart
from the other, why will you assert that these two are
antagonistic and contrary to each other? For our Lord
Jesus Christ, indeed, seems to me to have spoken of these in
His parables, when He said : " No man can put new wine
into old bottles, else the bottles will break, and the wine run
out." 1 But new wine is to be put into new bottles, as there
is indeed one and the same Lord for the bottle and for the
wine. For although the substance may be different, yet by
these two substances, in their due powers, and in the main-
tenance of their proper mutual relations (dominatione et obser~
vantice ws), the one person of man subsists. We do not
say, indeed, that the soul is of one substance with the body,
but we aver that they have each their own characteristic
qualities ; and as the bottle and the wine are applied in the
similitude to one race and one species of men, so truth's
1 Matt. is. 17.
308 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
reckoning requires us to grant that man was produced
complete by the one God : for the soul rejoices in the body,
and loves and cherishes it ; and none the less does the body
rejoice that it is quickened by the soul. But if, on the other
hand, a person maintains that the body is the work of the
wicked one, inasmuch as it is so corruptible, and antiquated,
and worthless, it would follow then that it is incapable of sus-
taining the virtue of the spirit or the movement of the soul,
and the most splendid creation of the same. For just as,
when a person puts a piece of new cloth into an old garment,
the rent is made worse ; x so also the body would perish if
it were to be associated, under such conditions, with that
most brilliant production the soul. Or, to use another illus-
tration : just as, when a man carries the light of a lamp into
a dark place, the darkness is forthwith put to flight and
makes no appearance; so we ought to understand that, on the
soul's introduction into the body, the darkness is straightway
banished, and one nature at once effected, and one man
constituted in one species. And thus, agreeably therewith,
it will be allowed that the new wine is put into new bottles,
and that the piece of new cloth is not put into the old gar-
ment. But from this we are able to show that there is a
unison of powers in these two substances, that is to say,
in that of the body and in that of the soul ; of which unison
that greatest teacher in the Scriptures, Paul, speaks, when
lie tells us, that a God hath set the members every one of
them in the body as it hath pleased Him." 2
19. But if it seems difficult for you to understand this,
and if you do not acquiesce in these statements, I may at all
events try to make them good by adducing illustrations.
Contemplate man as a kind of temple, according to the
similitude of Scripture: 3 the spirit that is in man may thus
be likened to the image that dwells in the temple. Well,
then, a temple cannot be constituted unless first an occupant
is acknowledged for the temple ; and, on the other hand, an
occupant cannot be settled in the temple unless the structure
1 Matt. be. 16. 2 1 Cor. xii. 18.
1 Cor. iii. 17 ; 2 Cor. vi. 16.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 309
has been erected. Now, since these two objects, the occupant
and the structure, are both consecrated together, how can
any antagonism or contrariety be found between them, and
how should it not rather appear that they have both been
the products of subjects that are in amity and of one mind ?
And that you may know that this is the case, and that these
subjects are truly at one both in fellowship and in lineage, He
who knows and hears 1 (all) has made this response, " Let us
make man," and so forth. For he who constructs 2 the temple
interrogates him who fashions the image, and inquires carefully
about the measurements of magnitude, and breadth, and bulk,
in order that he may mark off the space for the foundations
in accordance with these dimensions ; and no one sets about
the vain task of building a temple without first making
himself acquainted with the measurements needed for the
placing of the image. In like manner, therefore, the mode
and the measure of the body are made the subject of inquiry,
in order that the soul may be appropriately lodged in it by
God, the Artificer of all things. But if any one say that
he who has moulded the body is an enemy to the God who
is the creator of my soul, 3 then how is it that, while regarding
each other with a hostile eye, these two parties have not
brought disrepute upon the work, by bringing it about either
that he who constructs the temple should make it of such
narrow dimensions as to render it incapable of accommo-
dating what is placed within it, or that he who fashions the
image should come with something so massive and ponderous,
that, on its introduction into the temple, the edifice would at
once collapse? If such is not the case, then, with these things,
let us contemplate them in the light of what we know to be
1 The reading is scit et audit. Routh somewhat needlessly suggests
scite audit = he who hears intelligently.
2 The codex gives " hie enim qui exstruis." It is proposed to read
" sic enim qui exstruit " = For in this very way he who constructs.
3 The text gives "quod si dicat quis inimicum esse eum qui plasma-
verit corpus ; Deus qui creator," etc. The Codex Casinensis reads
Deum. We adopt the emendation Deo and the altered punctuation,
thus : " quod si dicat quis inimicum esse eum qui plasmaverit corpus
Deo qui creator est animae," etc.
310 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCH EL A US.
the objects and intents of antagonists. But if it is right for
all to be disposed with the same measures and the same
equity, and to be displayed with like glory, what doubt
should we still entertain on this subject ? We add, if
it please yon, this one illustration more. Man appears to
resemble a ship which has been constructed by the builder
and launched into the deep, which, however, it is impossible
to navigate without the rudder, by which it can be kept under
command, and turned in whatsoever direction its steersman
may wish to sail. Also, that the rudder and the whole body
of the ship require the same artificer, is a matter admitting
no doubt; for without the rudder the whole structure of
the ship, that huge body, will be an inert mass. And thus,
then, we say that the soul is the rudder of the body ; that
both these, moreover, are ruled by that liberty of judgment
and sentiment which we possess, and which corresponds to the
steersman ; and that when these two are made one by union, 1
and thus possess a unison of function applicable to all kinds
of work, whatever may be the products of their own opera-
tion, they bear a testimony to the fact that they have both
one and the same author and maker.
20. On hearing these argumentations, the multitudes who
were present were exceedingly delighted, so much so, in-
deed, that they were almost laying hands on Manes ; and it
was with difficulty that Archelaus restrained them, and kept
them back, and made them quiet again. The judges said :
Archelaus has given us proof sufficient of the fact that the
body and the soul of man are the works of one hand ; because
an object cannot subsist in any proper consonance and unison
as the work of one hand, if there is any want of harmony
in the design and plan. But if it is alleged that one could
not possibly have sufficed to develope both these objects
(namely, body and soul), this is simply to exhibit the incapa-
city of the artificer. For thus, even though one should grant
that the soul is the creation of a good deity, it will be found
to be but an idle work so far as the man is concerned, unless it
also takes to itself the body. And if, again, the body is held to
1 Beading "per conjunctionem " for the simple conjunctionem.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 311
be the formation of an evil deity, the work will also none the
less be idle unless it receives the soul ; and, in truth, unless
the soul be in unison with the body by commixture and due
introduction, so that the two are in mutual connections, the
man will not exist, neither can we speak of him. Hence (we
are of opinion that) Archelaus has proved by a variety of
illustrations that there is but one and the same maker for the
whole man. Archelaus said: I doubt not, Manes, that you
understand this, namely, that one who is born and created 1
is called the son of him who begets or creates. But if the
wicked one made man, then he ought to be his father, ac-
cording to nature. And to whom, then, did the Lord Jesus
address Himself, when in these terms He taught men to
/ O
pray: "When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in
heaven;" 2 and again, "Pray to your Father which is in
secret ?"' But it was of Satan that He spake when He said,
that He "beheld him as lightning fall from heaven;" 4 so
that no one dare say that He taught us to pray to him.
And surely Jesus did not come down from heaven with the
purpose of bringing men together, and reconciling them to
Satan ; but, on the contrary, He gave him aver to be bruised
beneath the feet of His faithful ones. However, for my
part, I would say that those Gentiles are the more blessed
who do indeed bring in a multitude of deities, but at least
hold them all to be of one mind, and in amity with each
other ; whereas this man, though he brings in but two gods,
does not blush to posit enmities and discordant sentiments
between them. And, in sooth, if these (Gentiles) were to
bring in 5 their counterfeit deities under conditions of that
kind, we would verily have it in our power to witness some-
thing like a gladiatorial contest proceeding between them,
with their innumerable natures and diverse sentiments.
21. But now, what it is necessary for me to say on the
1 Reading " natus est et creatus." The Codex Casinensis has " natus
est creatus."
2 Matt. vi. 9 ; Luke xi. 2. 8 Matt. vi. 6. * Luke x. 18.
5 Codex Casinensis gives introduceret ; but, retaining the reference
to the Gentiles, we read introducerent.
312 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
subject of the inner and the outer man, may be expressed in
the words of the Saviour to those who swallow a camel, and
wear the outward garb of the hypocrite, begirt with blan-
dishments and flatteries. It is to them that Jesus addresses
Himself when He says: "Woe unto you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye make clean the outside of the
cup and of the platter, but within they are full of unclean-
ness. Or know you not, that He that made that which is
without, made that which is within also?" 1 Now why did
He speak of the cup and of the platter? Was He who
uttered these words a glassworker, or a potter who made
vessels of clay? Did He not speak most manifestly of the
body and the soul ? For the Pharisees truly looked to the
" tithing of anise and cummin, and left undone the weightier
matters of the law ;" 2 and while devoting great care to the
things which were external, they overlooked those which
bore upon the salvation of the soul. For they also had
respect to "greetings in the market-place," 3 and "to the upper-
most seats at feasts :" 4 and to them the Lord Jesus, knowing
their perdition, made this declaration, that they attended to
those things only which were without, and despised as strange
things those which were within, and understood not that He
who made the body made also the soul. And who is so un-
impressible and stolid in intellect, as not to see that those
sayings (of our Lord) may suffice him for all cases ? More-
over, it is in perfect harmony with these sayings that Paul
speaks, when he interprets to the following intent certain
things written in the law : " Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth
of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for
oxen ? Or saith He it altogether for our sakes ?" 6 But why
should we waste further time upon this subject? Nevertheless
I shall add a few things out of many that might be offered.
1 Matt, xxiii. 25 ; Luke xi. 39. 2 Luke xi. 42.
3 Matt, xxiii. 6 ; Mark xii. 38 ; Luke xx. 46.
4 The Codex Casinensis gives a strangely corrupt reading here :
" primos discipulos subitos in ccenis, quod scientes Dominus." It is
restored thus : " primos discubitus in coanis, quos scieus Domiuus," etc.
5 1 Cor. ix. 9.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 313
Suppose now that there are two unbegotten (principles), and
that we determine fixed localities for these : it follows then
that God is separated (dividitur), if He is (supposed to be)
within a certain location, and not diffused everywhere ; and
He will consequently (be represented as) much inferior to the
locality in which He is understood to be (for the object which
contains is always greater 1 than the object which is contained
in it) : and thus God is made to be of that magnitude which
corresponds with the magnitude of the locality in which He
is contained, just as is the case with a man in a house. 2
Then, further, reason asks who it is that has divided between
them, or who has appointed for them their determinate
limits ; and thus both would be made out to be the decided
inferiors of man's own power. 3 For Lysimachus and Alex-
ander held the empire of the whole world, and were able to
subdue all foreign nations, and the whole race of men ; so
that throughout that period there was no other in possession
of empire besides themselves under heaven. And how will
any one be rash enough to say that God, who is the true
light that never suffers eclipse, and whose is also the kingdom
that is holy and everlasting, is not everywhere present, as 4 is
the way with this most depraved man, who, in his impiety,
refuses to ascribe to the Omnipotent God even equal power
with men? 5
22. The judges said : We know that a light shines through
the whole house, and not in some single part of it ; as Jesus
also intimates when He says, that " no man lighting a candle
puts it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that it may give
light unto all that are in the house." 6 If, then, God is a
light, it must needs be that that light (if Jesus is to be
1 Reading majus for the inept maltts of the Codex Casinensis.
2 Routh refers us here to Maximus, De Natura, 2. See Reliquite
Sacrie, ii. 89-91.
3 The text is " multo inferior virtutis humanse," which is probably a
Grsecism.
4 Reading ceu for the eu of the Codex Casinensis.
5 The Codex Casinensis gives "nee quse vellem quidem," for which
" nee sequalem quidem," etc., is suggested, as in the translation.
Matt. v. 16.
314 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP AKCHELAUS.
credited) shall shine on the whole world, and not on any por-
tions of it merely. And if, 1 then, that light holds possession
of the whole world, where now can there be any ungenerated
darkness ? or how can darkness be understood to exist at all,
unless it is something simply accidental ? Archelaus said :
Forasmuch, indeed, as the word of the gospel is understood
much better by you than by this person who puts him-
self forward as the Paraclete, although I would call him
rather parasite than paraclete, I shall tell you how it has
happened that there is darkness. When the light had been
diffused everywhere, God began to constitute the universe,
and commenced with the heaven and the earth ; in which
process this issue appeared, to wit, that the midst (medietas),
which is the locality of earth covered with shadow, as a con-
sequence of the interposition 2 of the creatures which were
called into being, was found to be obscure, in such wise that
circumstances required light to be introduced into that place,
which was thus situated in the midst. Hence in Genesis,
where Moses gives an account of the construction of the
world, he makes no mention of the darkness either as made
or as not made. But he keeps silence on that subject, and
leaves the explanation of it to be discovered by those who
may be able to give proper attention to it. Neither, indeed,
is that a very arduous and difficult task. For to whom may
it not be made plain that this sun of ours is visible, when it
has risen in the east, and taken its course toward the west,
but that when it has gone beneath the earth, and been
carried farther within that formation which among the
Greeks is called the sphere, it then ceases to appear, being
overshadowed in darkness in consequence of the interposition
of the bodies ? 3 When it is thus covered, and when the
1 The text gives a quo si, etc. Eouth suggests atqui si, etc.
2 Reading objectu . . . creaturarum, instead of obtectu, etc., in Codex
Casinensis.
3 The text of this sentence stands thus in Migne and Routh: " cui
cnim non fiat manifestum, solem istum visibilem, cum ab oriente fuerit
exortus, et tetenderit iter suum ad occidentem, cum sub terrain ierit,
et interior effectus fuerit ea quse apud Grsecos sphsera vocatur, quod
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 315
body of the earth stands opposite it, a shadow is superin-
duced, which produces from itself the darkness ; and it con-
tinues so until again, after the course of the inferior space
has been traversed in the night, it rolls towards the east, and
is seen to rise once more in its wonted seats. Thus, then,
the cause of the shadow and the night is discovered in the
solidity of the body of the earth, a thing, indeed, which a
man may understand from the fact of the shadow cast by
his own body. 1 For before the heaven and the earth and all
those corporeal creatures appeared, the light remained always
constant, without waning or eclipse, as there existed no body
which might produce shadow by its opposition or inter-
vention ; and consequently one must say that nowhere was
there darkness then, and nowhere night. For if, to take an
illustration, it should please Him who has the power of all
things to do away with the quarter (plagani) which lies to
the west, then, as the sun would not direct its course toward
that region, there would nowhere emerge either evening or
darkness, but the sun would be on its course always, and
would never set, but would almost always hold the centre
tract of heaven, and would never cease to appear ; and by
this the whole world would be illumined with the clearest
light, in virtue of which no part of it would suffer obscura-
tion, but the equal power of one light would remain every-
where. But on the other hand, while the western quarter
keeps its position, and the sun executes (ministrante) its
course in three parts of the world, then those who are under
the sun will be seen to be illuminated more brightly ; so that
I might almost say, that while the people who belong to the
diverse tract are still asleep, those former are in possession
of the day's beginning. But just 2 as those Orientals have
tune objectu corporum obumbratus non appareat?" The Codex Casi-
nensis reads quod nunc oblectu, etc. We should add that it was held by
Anaximander and others that there was a species of globe or sphere
(ajsatipet) which surrounded the universe.
1 Reading ex suimet ipsius umbra for exuet ipsius umbra, which is given
in the Codex Casinensis.
2 The text is ' ' Sicut autem ante," etc. Routh suggests, Sole adeunte, etc.
316 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP AECHELAUS.
the light rising on them earlier than the people who live in
the west, so they have it also more quickly obscured, and
they only who are settled in the middle of the globe see
always an equality of light. For when the sun occupies the
middle of the heavens, there is no place that can appear to
be either brighter or darker (than another), but all parts of
the world are illuminated equally and impartially by the sun's
effulgence. 1 If, then, as we have said above, that portion of
the western tract were done away with, the part which is
adjacent to it would now no more suffer obscuration. And
these things I could indeed set forth somewhat more simply,
as I might also describe the zodiacal circle ; but I have not
thought of looking into these matters at present. 2 I shall
therefore say nothing of these, but shall revert to that capital
objection urged by my adversary, in his affirming so strenu-
ously 3 that the darkness is ungenerated ; which position,
however, has also been confuted already, as far as that could
have been done by us.
23. The judges said : If we consider that the light existed
before the estate of the creatures was introduced, and that
there was no object in an opposite position which might
generate shadow, it must follow that the light was then
diffused everywhere, and that all places were illuminated
with its effulgence, as has been shown by what you have
stated just now ; and as we perceive that the true explana-
tion is given in that, we assign the palm to the affirmations
of Archelaus. For if the universe is clearly divided, as
if some wall had been drawn through the centre of it, and
if on the one side the light dwells, and on the other side the
darkness, it is yet to be understood that this darkness has been
brought accidentally about through the shadow generated in
consequence of the objects which have been set up in the
world ; and hence again we must ask who it is that has built
1 Reading " ex sequo et justo, soils fulgore," etc. The Codex Casi-
nensis has " ex ea quo solis fulgure."
2 The text is altogether corrupt sed non inlui hunc fieri ratus sum ; so
that the sense can only be guessed at. Routh suggests istud for intui.
* Codex Casinensis gives "omui nisi," for which we adopt "omni nisu,"
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 317
tltis wall between the two divisions, provided you indeed admit
the existence of such a construction, O Manichaeus. But if we
have to take account of this matter on the supposition that
no such wall has been built, then again it comes to be under-
stood that the universe forms but one locality, without any
exception, and is placed under one power ; and if so, then
the darkness can in no way have an ungenerated nature.
Archelaus said : Let him also explain the following subject
with a view to what has been propounded. If God is seated
in His kingdom, and if the wicked one in like manner is seated
O '
in his kingdom, who can have constructed the wall between
them? For no object can divide two substances except one
that is greater than either, 1 even as it is said 2 in the book
of Genesis, that " God divided the light from the darkness." a
Consequently the constructor of this wall must also be some
one of a capacity like that : for the wall marks the boundaries
of these two parties, just as among people who dwell in the
rural parts a stone is usually taken to mark off the portion of
each several party ; which custom, however, would afford a
better apprehension of the case were we to take the division
to refer specially to the marking out of an inheritance falling
to brothers. But for the present I have not to speak of
matters like these, however essential they may appear. For
what we are in quest of is an answer to the question, Who
can have constructed the wall required for the designation of
the limits of the kingdom of each of these twain "? No answer
has been given. Let not this perfidious fellow hesitate, but
let him now acknowledge that the substance of his duality
has been reduced again to a unity. Let him mention any one
who can have constructed that middle wall. What could the
one of these two parties have been engaged in when the other
was building ? Was he asleep ? or was he ignorant of the
fact ? or was he unable to withstand the attempt ? or was he
bought over with a price ? Tell us what he was about, or
tell us who in all the universe was the person that raised the
1 Reading utriusque majus. The Codex Casinensis has utrunque majus.
2 The text is dicit, for which dicilur may be adopted.
8 Gen. i. 4.
318 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCI1ELAUS.
construction. I address my appeal to you, O judges, whom
God has sent to us with the fullest plenitude of intelligence ;
judge ye which of these two could have erected the structure,
or what the one could have been doing all the while that
the other was engaged in the building.
24. Tlie jnJges said: Tell us, O Manes, who designated
the boundaries for the kingdom of each, and who made the
middle wall? For Archelaus begs that due importance be
attached to the practice of interrogation in this discussion.
Manes said: The God who is good, and who has nothing in
common with evil, placed the firmament in the midst, in
order to make it plain l that the wicked one is an alien to
Him. Archelaus said: How fearfully you belie the dignity
of that name ! You do indeed call Him God, but you do
so in name only, and you make His deity resemble man's
infirmities. At one time out of the non-existent, and at
another time out of underlying matter, which indeed thus
existed before Himself, you assert that He did build the
structure, as builders among men are wont to do. Some-
times also you speak of Him as apprehensive, and sometimes
as variable. It is, however, the part of God to do what is
proper to God, and it is the part of man to do what is proper
to man. If, then, God, as you say, has constructed a wall,
this is a God who marks Himself out as apprehensive, and as
possessed of no fortitude. For we know that it is always
the case that those who are suspicious of the preparation of
secret perils against them by strangers, and who are afraid of
the plots of enemies, are accustomed to surround their cities
with walls, by which procedure they at once secure themselves
in their ignorance, and display their feeble capacity. But
here, too, we have something which ought not to be passed
over by us in silence, but rather brought prominently forward ;
so that even by the great abundance of our declarations
on the subject our adversary's manifold craftiness may be
brought to nought, with the help of the truth on our side.
AVe may grant, then, that the structure of the wall has been
1 Reading " patefaceret " for the " partum faceret " of Codex Casi-
nensis.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 319
made with the purpose of serving to distinguish between tLe
two kingdoms ; for without this one division * it is impossible
for either of them to have his own proper kingdom. But
granting this, then it follows further that in the same manner
it will also be impossible for the wicked one to pass without
his own proper limits and invade the territories of the good
(King), inasmuch as the wall stands there as an obstacle,
unless it should chance first to be cast down, for we have
heard that such things have been done by enemies, and indeed
with our own eyes we have quite recently seen an achieve-
ment of that nature successfully carried out. 2 And when
a king attacks a citadel surrounded by a strong wall, he
uses first of all the ballista 3 and projectiles; then he endea-
vours to cut through the gates with axes, and to demolish the
walls by the battering-rams ; and when he at last obtains an
entrance, and gains possession of the place, he does whatever
he listeth, whether it be his pleasure to carry off the citizens
into captivity, or to make a complete destruction of the for-
tress and its contents, or whether, on the other hand, it may
be his will to grant indulgence to the captured stronghold on
the humble suit of the conquered. What, then, does my
opponent here say to this analogy ? Did no adversary sub-
stantially which is as much as to say, designedly over-
throw the muniment cast up between the two ? 4 For in his
former statements he has avouched that the darkness passed
1 The text gives sine hoc uno. But perhaps Routh is right in suggest-
ing inuro for uno = without this wall.
2 Some suppose that Archelaus refers here to the taking of Charrse
by the Persians in the time of Valerianus Augustus, or to its recapture
and restoration to the Roman power by the Eastern king Odenathus
during the empire of Gallienus.
3 The ballista was a large engine fitted with cords somewhat like a
bow, by which large masses of stone and other missiles were hurled to a
great distance.
4 The sense is obscure here. The text gives, " non substantia id est
proposito adversarius quis dejecit," etc. Migne edits the sentence with-
out an interrogation. We adopt the interrogative form with Routh.
The idea perhaps is, Did no adversary with materials such as the kings
of earth use, and that is as much as to say also with a determinate plan,
overthrow, etc. ?
320 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
without its own limits, and supervened upon the kingdom of
the good God. Who, then, overthrew that munition before
the one could thus have crossed over to the other ? For it
was impossible for the evil one to find any entrance while the
munition stood fast. Why are you silent ? Why do you hesi-
tate, Manichseus ? Yet, although you may hold back, I shall
proceed with the task of my own accord. For if we suppose
you to say that God destroyed it, then I have to ask what
moved Him in this way to demolish the very thing which
He had Himself previously constructed on account of the
importunity of the wicked one, and for the purpose of pre-
serving the separation between them ? In what fit of passion,
or under what sense of injury, did He thus set about contend-
ing against Himself ? Or was it that He lusted after some
of the possessions of the wicked one ? But if none of these
things formed the real cause that led God to destroy those
very things which He had constructed a long time before with
the view of estranging and separating the wicked one from
Him, then it must needs be considered no matter of surprise if
God should also have become delighted with his society ; l for,
on your supposition, the munition which had been set up with
the purpose of securing God against trouble from him, will
appear to have been removed just because now he is to be
regarded no more as an enemy, but as a friend. And, on
the other hand, if you aver that the wall was destroyed by
the wicked one, tell us then how it can be possible for the
works of the good God to be mastered by the wicked one.
For if that is possible, then the evil nature will be proved
to be stronger than God. Furthermore, how can that being,
seeing that he is pure and total darkness, surprise the light
and apprehend it, while the evangelist gives us the testi-
mony that " the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness
comprehended it not?" 2 How is this blind one armed?
How does the darkness fight against the kingdom of light ?
1 The Codex Casinensis has " nee mirum putandum est consortio," etc.
"We read with Routh and others, si ejus consortio, or quod ejus consortio,
etc.
2 John i. 5.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 321
For even as the creatures of God 1 here cannot take in the
rays of the sun with uninjured eye, 2 so neither can that
being bear the clear vision of the kingdom of light, but he
remains for ever a stranger to it, and an alien.
25. Manes said: Not all receive the word of God, but
only those to whom it is given to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven. 3 And even now 4 I know who are ours ;
for " my sheep," He says, " hear my voice." 5 For the sake
of those who belong to us, and to whom is given the under-
standing of the truth, I shall speak in similitudes. The
wicked one is like a lion that sought to steal upon the flock of
the good shepherd ; and when the shepherd saw this, he dug
a huge pit, and took one kid out of the flock and cast it into
the pit. Then the lion, hungering to get at it, and bursting
with passion to devour it, ran up to the pit and fell in, and
discovered no strength sufficient to bring him out again.
And thereupon the shepherd seized him and shut him up
carefully in a den, and at the same time secured the safety
of the kid which had been with him in the pit. And it is
in this way that the wicked one has been enfeebled, the
lion, so to speak, possessing no more capacity for doing
aught injurious ; and so all the race of souls will be saved,
and what once perished will yet be restored to its proper
flock. Archelaus said : If you compare the wicked one to
the lion, and God to the true shepherd, tell us, whereunto
shall we liken the sheep and the kid ? Manes said : The
sheep and the kid seem to me to be of one nature : and they
are taken as figures of souls. Archelaus said : Well, then,
God gave a soul over to perdition when He set it before the
lion in the pit. Manes said : By no means ; far from it.
But He was moved by a particular disposition (apprehensus
est hoc ingenio), 6 and in the future He will save that other"
1 The text gives simply, sicut enim hasc. Routh suggests Jiie.
2 Reading illzesis ocidis for the illius oculis of Codex Casineiisis.
3 Matt. xix. 11.
4 The text gives et jam quidemioi the etiam quidem of the Cod. Casin.
John x. 27.
6 For hue here, Routh suggests hie io reference to the ko ; so that the
X
322 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCI1ELAUS.
(the soul). A rclielaus said : Now, surely it would be an
absurd procedure, my hearers, if a shepherd who dreaded the
inroad of a lion were to expose to the beast's devouring fury a
lamb that he was wont to carry in his bosom, and if it were
then to be said that he meant to save the creature hereafter.
Is not this something supremely ridiculous ? Yea, there is no
kind of sense in this. For (on the supposition implied in your
similitude) God thus handed over to Satan a soul that he
might seize and ruin. But when did the shepherd ever do any-
thing like that 1 l Did not David deliver a sheep out of the
mouth of a lion or of a bear? And we mention this on account
of the expression, out of the mouth of the lion ; for, on your
theory, this would imply that the shepherd can bring forth
out of the mouth of the lion, or out of the belly of the same,
the very object which it has devoured. 2 But you will per-
haps make this answer, that it is of God we speak, and that
He is able to do all things. Hear, however, what I have to say
to that : Why then do you not rather assert His real capacity,
and affirm simply His ability to overcome the lion in His own
might, or with the pure power of God, and without the help
of any sort of cunning devices, or by consigning a kid or a
lamb to a pit ? 3 Tell me this, too, if the lion were to be sup-
posed to come upon the shepherd at a time when he has no
sheep, what would the consequence be ? For he who is here
called the shepherd is supposed to be unbegotten, and he who
is here the lion is also unbegotten. Wherefore, when man did
not yet exist in other words, before the shepherd had a flock
if the lion had then come upon the shepherd, what would
sense might be = But by this plan the lion was caught, and hereafter He
will save the soul.
1 The text is, " Quando enim pastor, nonne David de ore leonis," etc.
We adopt the amended reading, " Quando enim pastor hoc fecit ? Nonne
David," etc.
2 Routh would put this interrogatively = Can he bring out of the
mouth or the belly of the lion what it has once devoured ?
3 This seems to be the sense intended. The text in the Codex Casi-
nensis runs thus : " Cur igitur quod possit non illud potius asseris quod
poterit propria virtute vincere leonern, si et pura Dei potentia," etc.
For si et pura we nuty read sice pura, or si est pura, etc.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 323
have followed, seeing that there could have been nothing for
the lion to eat before the kid was in existence ? Manes said :
The liou certainly had nothing to devour, but yet he exer-
cised his wickedness on whatever he was able to light upon
as he coursed over the peaks of the mountains ; and if at
any time food was a matter of necessity with him, he seized
some of the beasts which were under his own kingdom.
Arclielaus said: Are these two objects, then, of one substance
the beasts which are under the kingdom of the wicked one,
and the kids which are in the kingdom of the good God ? l
Manes said : Far from it ; not at all : they have nothing in
common either between themselves or between the properties
which pertain to them severally. Archelaus said : There is
but one and the same use made of the food in the lion's
eatin^. And though he sometimes cot that food from the
O o o
beasts belonging to himself, and sometimes from those be-
longing to the good God, there is still no difference between
them as far as regards the meats furnished ; and from this
it is apparent that those are of but one substance. On
the other hand, if we say that there is a great difference be-
tween the two, we do but ascribe ignorance to the shepherd, 2
in so far as he did not present or set before the lion food
adapted to his use, but rather alien meats. Or perchance
again, in your desire to dissemble your real position, you will
say to me that that lion ate nothing. Well, supposing that to
be the case, did God then in this way challenge that being to
devour a soul while he knew not how to devour aught? and
was the pit not the only thing which God sought to employ with
the view of cheating him ? if indeed it is at all worthy of God
to do that sort of thing, or to contrive deceitful schemes.
And that would be to act like a king who, when war is made
upon him, puts no kind of confidence in his own strength,
but gets paralyzed with the fears of his own feebleness, and
1 Routh takes it as a direct assertion = It follows, then, that these two
objects are of one substance, etc.
2 The text runs, " sed aliud alio longe differre ignorantiam pastori
ascribimus;" for which we adopt the emendation, "sed alium ab alio
longe differre si dicainus, ignorantiam pastori ascribimus."
324 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELAUS.
shuts himself up within the walls of his city, and erects
around him a rampart and other fortifications, and gets
them all equipped, and trusts nothing to his own hand and
prowess ; whereas, if he is a brave man, the king so placed
will march a great distance from his own territories to meet
the enemy there, and will put forth every possible exertion
until he conquers and brings his adversary into his power.
26. The judges said: If you allege that the shepherd
exposed the kid or the lamb to the lion, when the said lion
was meditating an assault 1 on the unbegotten, the case is
closed. For seeing that the shepherd of the kids and lambs
is himself proved to be in fault to them, on what creature can
he pronounce judgment, if it happens that the lamb which has
been given up 2 through the shepherd's weakness has proved
unable to withstand the lion, and if the consequence is that
the lamb has had to do whatever has been the lion's plea-
sure? Or, to take another instance, that would be just as if a
master were to drive out of his house, or deliver over in terror
to his adversary, one of his slaves, whom he is unable after-
wards to recover by his own strength. Or supposing that by
any chance it were to come about that the slave was recovered,
on what reasonable ground could the master inflict the torture
on him, if it should turn out that the man yielded obedience
to all that the enemy laid upon him, seeing that it was the
master himself 3 who gave him up to the enemy, just as the
kid was given up to the lion? You affirm, too, that the shep-
herd understood the whole case beforehand. Surely, then, the
lamb, when under the lash, and interrogated by the shep-
herd as to the reason why it had submitted to the lion in
these matters, would make some such answer as this : " Thou
didst thyself deliver me over to the lion, and thou didst
1 Migne reads irrueret. Routh gives irruerat, had made an assault.
2 The text gives si causa traditus, etc. Routh suggests sive causa.
Traditus, etc. ; so that the sense would be, For on what creature can the
shepherd of the kids and lambs pronounce judgment, seeing that he is
himself proved to be in fault to them, or to be the cause of their posi-
tion ? For the lamb, having been given up, etc.
3 Reading eum ipse for enm ipsum.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 325
offer no resistance to him, although thou didst know and
foresee what would be my lot, when it was necessary for
me to yield myself to his commandments." And, not to
dilate on this at greater length, we may say that (by such an
illustration) neither is God exhibited as a perfect shepherd,
nor is the lion shown to have tasted alien meats ; and con-
sequently, under the instruction of the truth itself, it has
been made clear that we ought to give the palm to the reason-
ings adduced by Archelaus. Arclielaus said: Considering
that, on all the points which we have hitherto discussed, the
thoughtfulness of the judges has assigned us the amplest
scope, it will be well for us to pass over other subjects in
silence, and reserve them for another period. For just as, if *
a person once crushes the head of a serpent, he will not need
to lop off any of the other members of its body; so, if we once
dispose 2 of this question of the duality, as we have endeavoured
to do to the best of our ability, other matters which have been
maintained in connection with it may be held to be exploded
along with it. Nevertheless I shall yet address myself, at least
in a few sentences, to the assertor of these opinions himself,
who is now in our presence ; so that it may be thoroughly
understood by all who he is, and whence he comes, and what
manner of person he proves himself to be. For he has given
out that he is that Paraclete whom Jesus on His departure
promised to send to the race of man for the salvation of the
souls of the faithful ; and this profession he makes as if he
were somewhat superior even to Paul, 3 who was an elect
vessel and a called apostle, and who on that ground, while
1 Reading si quis for the simple quis of Codex Casinensis.
8 Reading " quaestione rejecta " for the relecta of Codex Casinensis.
3 This seems to be the general sense of the corrupt text here, et non
longe possit ei Paulus, etc., in which we must either suppose something
to have been lost, or correct it in some such way as this : " ut non
longe post sit ei Paulus." Compare what Manes says also of Paul
and himself in ch. xiii. above. It should be added, however, that
another idea of the passage is thrown out in Routh. According to this,
the ei refers to Jesus, and the text being emended thus, etsi non longe
post sit ei, the sense would be : although not long after His departure He
had Paul as an. elect vessel, etc. The allusion thus would be to the
326 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELA US.
preaching the true doctrine, said : l " Or seek ye a proof of
that Christ who speaks in me?" 2 What I have to say,
however, may become clearer by such an illustration as the
following : 3 A certain man gathered into his store a very
large quantity of corn, so that the place was perfectly full.
This place he shut and sealed in a thoroughly satisfactory
fashion, and gave directions to keep careful watch over it.
And the master himself then departed. However, after a
lengthened lapse of time another person came to the store,
and affirmed that he had been despatched by the individual
who had locked up and sealed the place with a commission
also to collect and lay up a quantity of wheat in the same.
And when the keepers of the store saw him, they demanded
of him his credentials, in the production of the signet, in
order that they might assure themselves of their liberty to open
the store to him, and to render their obedience to him as to
one sent by the person who had sealed the place. And when
he could 4 neither exhibit the keys nor produce the credentials
of the signet (for indeed he had no right), he was thrust out
by the keepers, and compelled to flee. For, instead of being
what he professed to be, he was detected to be a thief and a
robber by them, and was convicted and found out 5 through
the circumstance that, although, as it seemed, he had taken
it into his head to make his appearance a long time after the
period that had been determined on beforehand, he yet could
neither produce keys, or signet, or any token whatsoever to
the keepers, nor display any knowledge of the quantity of
corn that was in store : all which things were so many un-
mistakeable proofs that he had not been sent across by the
circumstance that Manes made such a claim as he did, in spite of the
fact that so soon after Christ's departure Paul was gifted with the Spirit
in so eminent a measure for the building up of the faithfuL
1 Reading aiebat for the ayebat of Codex Casinensis.
2 2 Cor. xiii. 3. The reading here is, " Aut documentum quseritis,"
etc. The Vulgate also gives An erperimentum, for the Greek e?m, etc.
3 The text is, " et quidem quod dico tali exemplo sed clarius." For
sed it is proposed to read Jit, or siV, or est.
4 Codex Casinensis has quicunque. We adopt the correction, qui cum nee.
6 Reading confutatus for confitgatus.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 327
proper owner; and accordingly, as was matter of course, 1 he
was forbidden admittance by the keepers.
27. We may give yet another illustration, if it seems
good to you. A certain man, the head of a household, and
possessed of great riches, was minded to journey abroad for
a time, and promised to his sons that he would send them
some one who would take his place, and divide among them
equally the substance falling to them. And, in truth, not
long after that, he did despatch to them a certain trust-
worthy and righteous and true man. And on his arrival,
this man took charge of the whole substance, and first of all
exerted himself to arrange it and administer it, giving him-
self great labour in journeying, and even 2 working diligently
with his own hands, and toiling like a servant for the good
of the estate. Afterwards feeling that his end was at hand, 3
the man wrote out a will, demitting the inheritance to the
relations and all the next of kin ; and he gave them his seals,
and called them together one by one by name, and charged
them to preserve the inheritance, and to take care of the sub-
stance, and to administer it rightly, even as they had received
it, and to take their use of its goods and fruits, as they were
themselves left its owners and heirs. If, moreover, any person
were to ask to be allowed to benefit by the fruits of this field,
they were to show themselves indulgent to such. But if, on
the other hand, any one were to declare himself partner
in the heirship with them, and were to make his demands
on that ground, 4 they were to keep aloof from him, and pro-
nounce him an alien ; and further, (they were to hold) that
1 The text gives "et ideo ut consequenter erat," etc. Codex Casi-
nensis omits the ut. Routh proposes, " et ideo consequenter thesaurus,"
etc. = and thus, of course, the treasure was preserved, etc. Comp.
ch. xxvii. and xxxiv.
2 The text has, " sedens ipse per se," etc.; for which we adopt, " sed
et ipse," etc.
3 The Codex Casinensis gives, "deinde die moriturus," which may be
either a mistake for " deinde moriturus," or a contraction for "deinde
die qua moriturus " then on the day that he was about to die, etc.
4 The codex has, " Sin autem conderem se dicens, exposceret, devita-
reiit persequi," etc.; which is corrected to, "Sin autem cohaeredem se
328 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
the individual who desired to be received among them ought
all the more on that account to do work (opus autern magis
facere debere). Well, then, granting that all these things have
been well and rightly disposed of and settled, and that they
have continued in that condition for a very long time, how
shall we deal with one who presents himself well-nigh three
hundred years after, and sets up his claim to the heirship ?
Shall we not cast him off from us? Shall we not justly pro-
nounce such an one an alien one who cannot prove himself
to have belonged to those related (to our Master), who never
was with our departed Lord in the hour of His sickness, who
never walked in the funeral procession of the Crucified, who
never stood by the sepulchre, who has no knowledge whatso-
ever of the manner or the character of His departure, and
who, in fine, is now desirous of getting access to the storehouse
of corn without presenting any token from him who placed it
under lock and seal? Shall we not cast him off from us like
a robber and a thief, and thrust him out of our number by
all possible means ? Yet this man is now in our presence,
and fails to produce any of the credentials which we have
summarized in what we have already said, and declares that
he is the Paraclete whose mission was presignified by Jesus.
And by this assertion, in his ignorance perchance, he will
make out Jesus Himself to be a liar j 1 for thus He who once
said that He would send the Paraclete no long time after, will
be proved only to have sent this person, if we accept the testi-
mony which he bears to himself, after an interval of three
hundred years and more. 8 In the day of judgment, then,
what will those say to Jesus who have departed this life
from that time on to the present period? Will they not
meet Him with words like these : " Do not punish us rigor-
dicens exposceret, devitarent atque," etc., which emendation is followed
in the translation.
1 The same sort of argument is employed against the Montanists by
Theodoras of Heracleia on John's Gospel, ch. xiv. 17.
2 It is remarked in Migne, that it is only in the heat of his contention
that this statement is made by Archelaus as to the date of the appear-
ance of Manes ; for from the death of Christ on to the time of this dis-
cussion there are only some 249 years.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 329
ously if we have failed to do Thy works. For why, when
Thou didst promise to send the Paraclete under Tiberius
Csesar, to convince us of sin and of righteousness, 1 didst
Thou send Him only under Probus the Roman emperor, and
didst leave us orphaned, notwithstanding that Thou didst
say, 'I will not leave you comfortless (orphaned),' 2 and after
Thou hadst also assured us that Thou wouldest send the Para-
clete presently after Thy departure? What could we orphans
do, having no guardian ? We have committed no fault ; it is
Thou that hast deceived us." But away with such a supposi-
tion in the case of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of every
soul. 3 For He did not confine Himself to mere promises ; 4
but when He had once said, " I go to my Father, and I send
the Paraclete to you," 5 straightway He sent (that gift of the
Paraclete), dividing and imparting the same to His disciples,
bestowing it, however, in greater fulness upon Paul. 6
28. Manes said: 1 You are caught in the charge you
yourself bring forward. For you have been speaking now
against yourself, and have not perceived that, in trying to
cast reproaches in my teeth, you lay yourself under the
greater fault. Tell me this now, I pray you: if, as you
allege, those who have died from the time of Tiberius on to
1 John xvi. 8. 2 John xiv. 18.
3 Eeading " sed absit hoc a Domino nostro Jesu Christo Salvatore
omnis animae," instead of the codex's " sed absit hanc a Domino Jesu
Christo Salvatore omne animse."
4 If the reference, however, is to 2 Pet. iii. 9, as Routh suggests, it
may rather be = He was not slack concerning His promises. The text
is, "non enim moratus est in promissionibus suis."
5 John xiv. 12, xvi. 28.
6 Reading " abundantius vero conferens Paulo," instead of the corrupt
text in the Codex Casinensis, " abundantibus vero confitens Paulo."
7 The opening sentences of this chapter are given in a very corrupt
form in our Codex Casinensis. Its text stands thus : " Tuum et ipsius
indicio comprehensus es ; haec enim versum te locutus, ignorans, qui
dum, me vis probra conjicere majori culpse se succumbit. Die age mihi
studias qua Tiberio usque ad Probum defuncti sunt, dicent ad Jesum
nolite nos judicare," etc. We have adopted these emendations : tuimet
for tuum et; adversum for versum ; ignoras for ignorans; in me for me ; suc-
cumbis for se succumbit; s, ut cm, qui a, for studias qua; and noli for nolite.
330 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
the days of Probus are to say to Jesus, " Do not judge us if
we have failed to do Thy works, for Thou didst not send the
Paraclete to us, although Thou didst promise to send Him ; " l
will not those much more use such an address who have
departed this life from the time of Moses on to the advent of
Christ Himself ? And will not those with still greater right
express themselves in terms like these : " Do not deliver us
over to torments, 2 seeing that we had no knowledge of Thee
imparted to us?" And will it only be those that have died
thus far previously to His advent who may be seen making
such a charge with right ? Will not those also do the same
who have passed away from Adam's time on to Christ's advent?
For none of these either obtained any knowledge of the Para-
clete, or received instruction in the doctrine of Jesus. But
only this latest generation of men, which has run its course
from Tiberius onward, as you make it out, 3 is to be saved : for
it is Christ Himself that "has redeemed them from the curse
of the law ; " 4 as Paul, too, has given these further testimonies,
that " the letter killeth, and quickeneth no man (nee quem-
quam vivificat)" 5 and that " the law is the ministration of
death," 6 and " the strength of sin." 7 Arckelaus said: You
err, not knowing the Scriptures, neither the power of God. 8
For many have also perished after the period of Christ's
advent on to this present period, and many are still perish-
ing, those, to wit, who have not chosen to devote themselves
to works of righteousness; whereas only those who have
received Him, and yet receive Him, " have obtained power
to become the sons of God." 9 For the evangelist has not
said all (have obtained that power) ; neither, on the other
hand, however, has he put any limit on the time. But this
is his expression: "As many as received Him." More-
over, from, the creation of the world He has ever been
1 Supplying missurum, which is not in the codex.
2 Reading " noli nos tradere tormentis," instead of the meaningless
" noli nostra de tormentis" of the codex.
3 Reading ut ais instead of ut eas. * Gal. iii. 13.
5 2 Cor. iii. 6. 6 2 Cor. iii. 7 7 1 Cor. xv. 50.
8 Matt. xxii. 29. 9 John i. 12.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 331
with righteous men, and has never ceased to require their
blood (at the hands of the wicked), from the blood of
righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias. 1 And whence,
O *
then, did righteous Abel and all those succeeding worthies, 2
who are enrolled among the righteous, derive their righteous-
ness, when as yet there was no law of Moses, and when as
yet the prophets had not arisen and discharged the functions
of prophecy ? Were they not constituted righteous in virtue
of their fulfilling the law, " every one of them showing the
work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also
bearing them witness ? " 3 For when a man " who has not the
law does naturally the things contained in the law, he, not
having the law, is a law unto himself." 4 And consider now
the multitude of laws thus existing among the several right-
eous men who lived a life of uprightness, at one time discover-
ing for themselves the law of God implanted in their hearts,
at another learning of it from their parents, and yet again
being instructed in it further by the ancients and the elders.
But inasmuch as only few were able to rise by this medium 5
to the height of righteousness, that is to say, by means of the
traditions of parents, when as yet there was no law embodied
in writing, God had compassion on the race of man, and was
pleased to give through Moses a written law to men, since
verily the equity of the natural law failed to be retained in all
its perfection in their hearts. In consonance, therefore, with
man's first creation, a written legislation was prepared which
was given through Moses in behoof of the salvation of very
many. For if we reckon that man is justified without the
works of the law, and if Abraham was counted righteous,
how much more shall those obtain righteousness who have
fulfilled the law which contains the things that are expe-
dient for men ? And seeing that you have made mention
only of three several Scriptures, in terms of which the
1 Matt. xiii. 35.
2 Reading reliqui per ordinem for the quiper ordinem of the codex.
3 Kom. ii. 15. * Rom. ii. 14.
5 Reading " per hunc modum." But the Codex Casinensis give*
" per hunc mundum " through this world.
332 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
apostle has declared that "the law is a ministration of death," l
and that "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the
law," 2 and that "the law is the strength of sin," 3 you may
now advance others of like tenor, and bring forward any
passages which may seem to you to be written against the
law, to any extent you please.
29. Manes said: Is not that word also to the same effect
which Jesus spake to the disciples, when He was demonstrat-
ing those men to be unbelieving : " Ye are of your father the
devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do ? " By this
He means, in sooth, that whatever the wicked prince of this
world desired, and whatever he lusted after, he committed
to writing through Moses, and by that medium gave it to
men for their doing. For "he was a murderer from the
beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is
no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." 5 Arche-
laus said: Are you satisfied 6 with what you have already
adduced, or have you other statements still to make ? Manes
said: I have, indeed, many things to say, and things of
greater weight even than these. But with these I shall
content myself. Arclielaus said: By all means. Now let us
select some instance from among those statements which you
allege to be on your side ; so that if these be once found
to have been properly dealt with, other questions may also be
held to rank with them; and if the case goes otherwise, I shall
come under the condemnation of the judges, that is to say,
I shall have to bear the shame of defeat. 7 You say, then, that
the law is a ministration of death, and you admit that " death,
the prince of this world, reigned from Adam even to Moses ;" 8
for the word of Scripture is this : " even over them that did
1 2 Cor. iii. 7. 2 Gal. iii. 13. 3 1 Cor. xv. 56.
4 John viii. 44. 5 John viii. 44.
6 The text is " sufficit tibi hsec sunt an habes et alia." Routh pro-
poses " sufficientia tibi hsec sunt," etc.
7 Routh would make it = You will come under the condemnation . . .
you will have to bear: he suggests eris eryo for ero ego, andferas for
feram.
8 Rom. v. 14.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 333
not sin." 1 Manes said: Without doubt death did reign thus,
for there is a duality, and these two antagonistic powers
were nothing else than both unbegotten (nee aliter nisi
essent ingenita). 2 Archelam said: Tell me this then, how
can an unbegotten death take a beginning at a certain time?
For " from Adam" is the word of Scripture, and not " before
Adam." Manes said: But tell me, I ask you in turn, how
it obtained its kingdom over both the righteous and the
O O
sinful. Archelaus said : When you have first admitted that it
has had that kingdom from a determinate time and not from
eternity, I shall tell you that. Manes said: It is written,
that "death reigned from Adam to Moses." Archelaus
said: And consequently it has an end, because it has had
a beginning in time. 3 And this saying is also true, that
" death is swallowed up in victory." 4 It is apparent, then,
that death cannot be unbegotten, seeing that it is shown to
have both a beginning and an end. Manes said : But in that
way it would also follow that God was its maker. Archelaus
said: By no means ; away with such a supposition! "For God
made not death ; neither hath He pleasure in the destruc-
tion of the living." 5 Manes said: God made it not ; never-
theless it was made, as you admit. Tell us, therefore, from
whom it received its empire, or by whom it was created.
Archelaus said: If I give the most ample proof of the fact
that death cannot have the substance of an unbegotten
nature, will you not confess that there is but one God, and
that an unbegotten God? Manes said: Continue your dis-
course, for your aim is to speak 6 with subtlety. Archelaus
said: Nay, but you have put forward those allegations in
such a manner, as if they were to serve you for a demon-
stration of an unbegotten root. Nevertheless the positions
which we have discussed above may suffice us, for by these
1 Rom. v. 14.
2 Routh, however, would read esset for essent, makiug it = and that
death could be nothing else than unbegotten.
3 Reading ex tempore for the corrupt exemplo re of the codex.
4 1 Cor. xv. 54. 5 Wisd. i. 13.
6 The text gives discere, to learn ; but dicere seems the probable reading,
334 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP AIlCHELA US.
we have shown most fully that it is impossible for the sub-
stances of two unbegotten natures to exist together.
30. The judges said: Speak to those points, Archelaus,
which he has just now propounded. Archelaus said: By
the prince of the world, and the wicked one, and darkness,
and death, he means one and the same thing, and alleges
that the law has been given by that being, on the ground
of the scriptural statement that it is "the ministration of
death," as well as on the ground of other things which he has
urged against it. Well, then, I say * that since, as we have
explained above, the law which was written naturally on men's
hearts did not keep carefully by the memory of evil things,
and since there was not a sufficiently established tradition
among the elders, inasmuch as hostile oblivion always attached
itself to the memory, 2 and one man was instructed (in the know-
ledge of that law) by a master, and another by himself, it easily
came about that transgressions of the law engraved by nature
did take place, and that through the violation of the com-
mandments death obtained its kingship among men. For
the race of men is of such a nature, that it needs to be ruled
by God with a rod of iron. And so death triumphed and
reigned with all its power on to Moses, even over those who
had not sinned, in the way which we have explained : over
sinners indeed, as these were its proper objects, and under
subjection to it, men after the type of Cain and Judas ; 3
but also over the righteous, because they refused to consent
to it, and rather withstood it, by putting away from them-
selves the vices and concupiscence of lusts, men like those
who have arisen at times from Abel on to Zacharias; 4
death thus always passing, up to the time (of Moses), upon
those after that similitude. 5
1 Reading inquam for the iniquam of the Codex Casinensis. But
Routh suggests iniquse, in reference to what has been said towards the
close of ch. xxviii.
2 The codex gives, "cum eas inimica semper memorise ineresis sed
oblivio;" which is corrected thus, "cum eis inimica semper memoriae
inhsesisset oblivio."
3 The text writes it Juda. 4 Matt, xxiii. 35.
6 This would appear to be the meaning of these words, " transferee
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 335
But after Moses had made his appearance, and had given
the law to the children of Israel, and had brought into their
memory all the requirements of the law, and all that it
behoved men to observe and do under it, and when he deli-
vered over to death only those who should transgress the law,
then death was cut off from reigning over all men ; for it
reigned then over sinners alone, as the law said to it, " Touch
not those that keep my precepts." l Moses therefore served
the ministration of this word upon death, while he delivered
up to destruction 2 all others who were transgressors of the
law; for it was not with the intent that death might not reign
in any territory at all that Moses came, inasmuch as multi-
tudes were assuredly held under the power of death even after
Moses. And the law was called a " ministration of death"
from the fact that then only transgressors of the law were
punished, and not those who kept it, and who obeyed and ob-
served the things which are in the law, as Abel did, whom
Cain, who was made a vessel of the wicked one, slew. How-
ever, even after these things death wished to break the
covenant which had been made by the instrumentality of
Moses, and to reign again over the righteous ; and with this
object it did indeed assail the prophets, killing and stoning
those who had been sent by God, on to Zacharias. But my
Lord Jesus, as maintaining the righteousness of the law of
Moses, was wroth with death for its transgression of the
covenant 3 and of that whole ministration, and condescended
to appear in the body of man, with the view of avenging
not Himself, but Moses, and those who in a continuous succes-
sion after him had been oppressed by the violence of death.
That wicked one, however, in ignorance (of the meaning) of a
dispensation of this kind, entered into Judas, thinking to slay
Him by that man's means, as before he had put righteous
Abel to death. But when he had entered into Judas, he was
semper usque ad tempus in similes illius," if we suppose the speaker still
to be keeping Rom. v. 12-14 in view. Routh suggests transiens.
1 Referring perhaps to Ps. cv. 15.
y Reading interitui tradens for the intent ut tradens of the codex.
8 Reading pacti for the acti of the codex.
336 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCI1ELAVS.
overcome with penitence, and hanged himself; for which
reason also the divine word says : " O death, where is thy
victory ? O death (mors), where is thy sting ?" And again :
"Death is swallowed up of victory." 1 It is for this reason,
therefore, that the law is called a " ministration of death,"
because it delivered sinners and transgressors over to death ;
but those who observed it, it defended from death ; and
these it also established in glory, by the help and aid of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
31. Listen also to what I have to say on this other ex-
pression which has been adduced, viz., " Christ, who redeemed
us from the curse of the law." 2 My view of this passage is
that Moses, that illustrious servant of God, committed to those
who wished to have the right vision, 3 an emblematic 4 law,
and also a real law. Thus, to take an example, after God
had made the world, and all things that are in it, in the space
of six days, He rested on the seventh day from all His
works ; by which statement I do not mean to affirm that He
rested because He was fatigued, but that He did so as having
brought to its perfection every creature which He had resolved
to introduce. And yet in the sequel it (the new law) says :
"My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." 5 Does that
1 1 Cor. xv. 54, 55. 2 Gal. iii. 13.
3 Recte videre. But perhaps we should read "recte vivere," to' lead
a righteous life.
4 The phrase is imaginariam legem. On this expression there is a note
in Migne, which is worth quoting, to this effect : Archelaus calls the Old
Testament an emblematic or imaginary law, because it was the type or
image of a future new law. So, too, Petrus de Vineis, more than once
in his Epistles, calls a messenger or legate a homo imaginarius, as Du
Cange observes in his Glossary, because he represents the person by
whom he is sent, and, as it were, reflects his image. This word is also
used in a similar manner by the old interpreter of Evagrius the monk, in
the Disputation between Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, and Simon the
Jew, ch. 13, where the Sabbath is called the requies imaginaria of that
seventh day on which God rested. Hence Archelaus, in his answer to
the presbyter Diodorus, ch. xli. beneath, devotes himself to proving
that the Old Testament is not to be rejected, because, like a mirror, it
gives us a true image of the new law.
8 John T. 17.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 337
mean, then, that He is still making heaven, or sun, or man,
or animals, or trees, or any such thing? Nay; but the
meaning is, that when these visible objects were perfectly
finished, He rested from that kind of work ; while, however,
He still continues to work at objects invisible with an inward
mode of action, 1 and saves men. In like manner, then, the
legislator desires also that every individual amongst us should
be devoted unceasingly to this kind of work, even as God
Himself is ; and he enjoins us consequently to rest con-
tinuously from secular things, and to engage in no worldly
sort of work whatsoever ; and this is called our Sabbath.
This also he added in the law, that nothing senseless 2 should
be done, but that we should be careful and direct our life
in accordance with what is just and righteous. Now this
law was suspended over men, discharging most sharply its
curse against those who might transgress it. But because
its subjects, too, were but men, and because, as happens also
frequently with us, controversies arose and injuries were in-
flicted, the law likewise at once, and with the severest equity,
made any wrong that was done return upon the head of the
wrong-doer ; 3 so that, for instance, if a poor man was minded
to gather a bundle of wood upon the Sabbath, he was placed
under the curse of the law, and exposed to the penalty of
instant death. 4 The men, therefore, who had been brought
up with the Egyptians were thus severely pressed by the
restrictive power of the law, and they were unable to bear
the penalties and the curses of the law. But, again, He
who is ever the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, came and
delivered those men from these pains and curses of the law,
forgiving them their offences. And He indeed did not deal
with them as Moses did, putting the severities of the law
1 Reading " invisibilia autem et intrinsecus." The Codex Casinensis
has " invisibili autem et trinsecus."
2 Absurdum, standing probably for TO-O!/, which may also be =
flagitious.
3 The codex reads, " ultionem fecerat retorquebat." "We adopt either
" ultionem quam fecerat retorquebat," or " ultionem fecit retorqueri."
4 Num. xv. 32.
y
338 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
in force, and granting indulgence to no man for any offence;
but He declared that if any man suffered an injury at
the hands of his neighbour, he was to forgive him not once
only, nor even twice or thrice, nor only seven times, but even
unto seventy times seven; 1 but that, on the other hand, if
after all this the offender still continued to do such wrong,
he ought then, as the last resource, to be brought under the
law of Moses, and that no further pardon should be granted
to the man who would thus persist in wrong-doing, even
after having been forgiven unto seventy times seven. And
He bestowed His forgiveness not only on a transgressor of
such a character as that, but even on one who did offence to
the Son of man. But if a man dealt thus with the Holy
Spirit, He made him subject to two curses, namely, to that
of the law of Moses, and to that of His own law ; to the law
of Moses in truth in this present life, but to His own law at
the time of the judgment : for His word is this : "It shall not
be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to
come." 2 There is the law of Moses, thus, that in this world
gives pardon to no (such) person ; and there is the law of Christ
that punishes in the future world. From this, therefore, mark
how He confirms the law, not only not destroying it, but fulfil-
ling it. Thus, then, He redeemed them from that curse of the
law which belongs to the present life ; and from this fact has
come the appellation " the curse of the law." This is the whole
account (which needs be given) of that mode of speech. But,
again, why the law is called the " strength of sin," we shall at
once explain in brief to the best of our ability. Now it is
written that " the law is not made for a righteous man, but for
the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners." 3
In these times, then, before Moses, there was no written law for
transgressors ; whence also Pharaoh, not knowing the strength
of sin, transgressed in the way of afflicting the children of
Israel with unrighteous burdens, and despised the Godhead,
not only himself, but also all who were with him. But, not
to make any roundabout statement, I shall explain the
matter briefly as follows. There were certain persons of
1 Matt, xviii. 21. 2 Matt. xii. 32. 3 1 Tim. i. 9.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 339
the Egyptian race mingling with the people of Moses, when
that people was under his rule in the desert; and when
Moses had taken his position on the mount, with the purpose
of receiving the law, the impatient people, I do not mean
those who were the true Israel, but those who had been
intermixed with the Egyptians, 1 set up a calf as their god,
in accordance with their ancient custom of worshipping
idols, with the notion that by such means they might secure
themselves against ever having to pay the proper penalties for
their iniquities. 2 Thus were they altogether ignorant of the
strength of their sin. But when Moses returned (from the
mount) and found that out, he issued orders that those men
should be put to death with the sword. From that occa-
sion a beginning was made in the correct perception of the
strength of sin on the part of these persons through the
instrumentality of the law of Moses, and for that reason the
law has been called the strength of sin.
32. Moreover, as to this word which is written in the
Gospel, " Ye are of your father the devil," 3 and so forth,
we say in brief that there is a devil working in us, whose
aim it has been, in the strength of his own will, to make us
like himself. For all the creatures that God made, He made
very good; and He gave to every individual the sense of free-
will, in accordance with which standard He also instituted
the law of judgment. To sin is ours, and that we sin not is
God's gift, as our will is constituted to choose either to sin or
not to sin. And this you doubtless understand well enough
yourself, Manes ; for you know that, although you were to
bring together all your disciples and admonish 4 them not to
1 This is one of those passages in which we detect the tendency of
many of the early fathers to adopt the peculiar opinions of the Jewish
rabbis on difficult points of Scripture. See also the Disputation between
Theophilus of Alexandria and the Jew Simon, ch. 13. In accordance with
the opinion propounded here by Archelaus, we find, for instance, in the
Scemotli Rabba, p. 157, col. 1, that the making of the golden calf is
ascribed to the Egyptian proselytes. See the note in Migne.
2 The text is in quo nee scelerum poenas aliquando rependeret.
" John viii. 44.
4 Reading commcnens for communis ne. Communiens is also suggested.
340 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
commit any transgression or do any unrighteousness, every
one of them might still pass by the law of judgment. And
certainly whosoever will, may keep the commandments ; and
whosoever shall despise them, and turn aside to what is con-
trary to them, shall yet without doubt have to face this law
of judgment. Hence also certain of the angels, refusing to
submit themselves to the commandment of God, resisted
His will ; and one of them indeed fell like a flash of light-
ning 1 upon the earth, while others, 2 harassed by the dragon,
sought their felicity in intercourse with the daughters of
men, 3 and thus brought on themselves the merited award of
the punishment of eternal fire. And that angel who was
cast down to earth, finding no further admittance into any
of the regions of heaven, now flaunts about among men,
deceiving them, and luring them to become transgressors
like himself, and even to this day he is an adversary to the
commandments of God. The example of his fall and ruin,
however, will not be followed by all, inasmuch as to each is
given liberty of will. For this reason also has he obtained
the name of devil, because he has passed over from the
heavenly places, and appeared on earth as the disparager of
God's commandment. 4 But because it was God who first
gave the commandment, the Lord Jesus Himself said to the
1 Luke x. 18.
2 We have another instance here of a characteristic opinion of the
Jewish rabbis adopted by a Christian father. This notion as to the
intercourse of the angels with the daughters of men was a current inter-
pretation among the Jews from the times of Philo and Josephus, and
was followed in whole or in part by Tertullian, Justin, Irenseus, Clemens
Alexandrinus, Athenagoras, Methodius, Cyprian, Lactautius, etc. Con-
sult the note in Migne.
3 We give the above as a possible rendering. Routh, however, under-
stands the matter otherwise. The text is, " alii vero in felicitate horni-
num filiabus admisti a dracone afflicti," etc. Routh takes the phrase in
felicitate as = " adhuc in statu felici existentes : " so that the sense
would be, " others, while they still abode in the blessed estate, had inter-
course," etc.
4 Archelaus seems here to assign a twofold etymology for the name
devil, deriving the Greek S;/3oAoj, accuser, from B/^/SscXAa, in its two
senses of trajicere and traducere, to cross over and to slander.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 341
devil, " Get thee behind me, Satan ;'' l and, without doubt, to
go behind God is the sign of being His servant. And again
He says, " Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him
only shalt thou serve." 2 Wherefore, as certain men were in-
clined to yield obedience to his wishes, they were addressed
in these terms by the Saviour : " Ye are of your father the
devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." 3 And, in fine,
when they are found to be actually doing his will, they are
thus addressed : " O generation of vipers, who hath warned
you to flee from the wrath to come ? Bring forth therefore
fruits meet for repentance." 4 From all this, then, you ought
to see how weighty a matter it is for man to have freedom
of will. However, let my antagonist here say whether there
is a judgment for the godly and the ungodly, or not. Manes
said : There is a judgment. Archelaus said : I think that
what we 5 have said concerning the devil contains no small
measure of reason as well as of piety. For every creature,
moreover, has its own order ; and there is one order for the
human race, and another for animals, and another for angels.
Furthermore, there is but one only inconvertible substance,
the divine substance, eternal and invisible, as is known to all,
and as is also borne out by this Scripture : " No man hath
seen God at any time, save the only begotten Son, which is in
the bosom of the Father." 6 All the other creatures, conse-
quently, are of necessity visible, such as heaven, earth, sea,
men, angels, archangels. But if God has not been seen by
any man at any time, what consubstantiality can there be
between Him and those creatures ? Hence we hold that all
things whatsoever have, in their several positions, their own
proper substances, according to their proper order. You, on
the other hand, allege that every living thing which moves
is made of one (ex uno\ and you say that every object has
received like substance from God, and that this substance is
capable of sinning and of being brought under the judgment ;
and you are unwilling to accept the word which declares that
1 Matt. iv. 10. 2 Matt. iv. 10. 3 John viii. 44.
4 Matt. iii. 7, 8. 5 Reading a nobis for tbe a vobis of the codex.
6 John i. 18.
342 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
the devil was an angel, and that he fell in transgression, and
that he is not of the same substance with God. Logically,
you ought to do away with any allowance of the doctrine of
a judgment, and that would make it clear which of us is in
error. 1 If, indeed, the angel that has been created by God
is incapable of falling in transgression, how can the soul, as
a part of God, be capable of sinning ? But, again, if you
say that there is a judgment for sinning souls, and if you
hold also that these are of one substance with God ; and if
still, even although you maintain that they are of the divine
nature, you affirm that, notwithstanding that fact, they do
not keep 2 the commandments of God, then, even on such
grounds, my argument will pass very well, 3 which avers that
the devil fell first, on account of his failure to keep the
commandments of God. He was not indeed of the sub-
stance of God. And he fell, not so much to do hurt to the
race of man, as rather to be set at nought 4 by the same.
For He " gave unto us power to tread on serpents and
scorpions, and over all the strength of the enemy." 5
33. The judges said : He has given demonstration enough
of the origin of the devil. And as both sides admit that
1 The sense is obscure here. The text runs, " Interimere debes judi-
cii ratione ut quis nostrum fallat appareat." Migne proposes to read
rationem, as if the idea intended was this : That, consistently with his
reasonings, Manes ought not to admit the fact of a judgment, because
the notions he has propounded on the subject of men and angels are not
reconcilable with such a belief. If this can be accepted as the probable
meaning, then it would seem that the use of the verb interimere may
be due to the fact that the Greek text gave dvxipiti/, between the two
senses of which viz. to kill and to remove the translator did not cor-
rectly distinguish. Routh, however, proposes to read interimi, taking it
as equivalent to condemnari, so that the idea might be = on all prin-
ciples of sound judgment you ought to be condemned, etc.
2 The codex reads simply, Dei servare mandata. We may adopt
either Dei non servare mandata, as above, or, Dei servare vel non servare
mandata, in reference to the freedom of will, and so = they may or may
not keep the commandments.
3 The codex has preecedil, for which procedit is proposed.
4 Reading u laederet illuderetur." But might it not rather be " Ise-
deret iUideretur," not to bruise, but rather to be bruised, etc. ?
* Luke x. 19.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 343
there will be a judgment, it is necessarily involved in that
admission that every individual is shown to have free-will ;
and since this is brought clearly out, there can be no doubt
that every individual, in the exercise of his own proper
power of will, may shape his course in whatever direction he
pleases. 1 Manes said : If (only) the good is from (your)
God, as you allege, then you make Jesus Himself a liar. 2
Archelaus said : In the first place, admit that the account
of what we have adduced is true, and then I will give you
proof about the " father of him." 3 Manes said : If you
prove to me that his father is a liar, and yet show me
that for all that you ascribe no such (evil) notion to God,
then credit will be given you on all points. Archelaus said :
Surely when a full account of the devil has once been
presented, and the dispensation set forth, any one now, with
an ordinarily vigorous understanding, might simply, by turn-
ing the matter carefully over in his own mind, get an idea of
who this is that is here called the father of the devil. But
though you give yourself out to be the Paraclete, you come
very far short of the ordinary sagacity of men. Wherefore,
as you have betrayed your ignorance, I shall tell you what
1 This appears to be the general sense of the very corrupt passage,
" Quo videntur ostenso nulli dubium est unusquisque in quamcunque
elegerit partem propria usus arbitrii potestate." In Migne it is amended
thus : " Quo evidenter ostenso, nulli dubium est, quod unusquisque in
quamcunque elegerit partem, propria usus fuerit arbitrii potestate."
2 Adopting the emendation, " si a Deo bonus, ut asseris, mendacem
esse dixisti Jesum." In the Codex Casinensis it stands thus : " sic a
Deo bonus ut as mendacem esse dixisti Jesus." But Routh would sub-
stitute " si a Deo diabolus " = if the devil is from God.
3 The argumentation throughout this passage seems to rest on the
fact that, in support of the dogma of the evil deity, Manes perverted,
among other passages, our Lord's words in John viii. 44, as if they
were not only " Ye are of your father the devil," but possibly also,
"Ye are of the father of the devil;" and again, "He is a liar, and
the father of him (is the same)." Thus what Manes urges against
Archelaus is this : If only what is good proceeds from the Deity, and if
He is the Supreme Good Himself, you make out Jesus to have spoken
falsely, when in John's Gospel He uses expressions which imply that the
devil's father is a 'iar, and also the Creator of the lying devil.
344 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
is meant by this expression, the " father of the devil."
Manes said: I say so 1 . . . ; and he added : Every one who
is the founder or maker of anything may be called the father
(parent) of that which he has made. Archelaus said: Well,
I am verily astonished that you have made so correct an
admission in reply to what I have said, and have not con-
cealed either your intelligent apprehension of the affirmation,
or the real nature of the same. Now, from this learn who is
this father of the devil. When he fell from the kingdom of
heaven, he came to dwell upon earth, and there he remained,
ever watching and seeking out some one to whom he might
attach himself, and whom, through an alliance with himself,
he might also make a partner in his own wickedness. Now
as long, indeed, as man was not yet existent, the devil was
never called either a murderer or a liar together with his
father. But subsequently, when man had once been made,
and when further he had been deceived by the devil's lies
and craftiness, and when the devil had also introduced him-
self into the body of the serpent, which was the most saga-
cious of all the beasts, then from that time the devil was
called a liar together with his father, and then 2 also the
curse was made to rest not only on himself, but also on his
father. Accordingly, when the serpent had received him,
and had indeed admitted him wholly into its own being, it
was, as it were, rendered pregnant, for it bore the burden of
the devil's vast wickedness ; and it was like one with child,
and under the strain of parturition, as it sought to eject the
agitations 3 of his malignant suggestions. For the serpent,
grudging the glory of the first man, made its way into
paradise ; and harbouring these pains of parturition in itself
(conceptis in se doloribus), it began to produce mendacious
addresses, and to generate death for the men who had been
1 There are some words deficient in this sentence. The text reads,
" Manes dixit : dico : et adjecit, Omnis qui conditor est vel
Creator aliquorum pater eorum condiderit appellatur." It 13
proposed to supply jam before dico, and quie before condiderit.
2 Reading ct effectum for the ut effectum of the codex.
8 Or it may be " cogitations," reading coyitata for agitato.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 345
fashioned by God, and who had received the gift of life.
The devil, however, was not able to manifest himself com-
pletely through the serpent ; but he reserved his perfection
for a time, in order that he might demonstrate it through
Cain, by whom he was generated completely. And thus
through the serpent, on the one hand, he displayed his
hypocrisies and deceits to Eve ; while through Cain, on the
other hand, he effected the beginning of murder, introduc-
ing himself into the firstlings of the " fruits," which that
man administered so badly. From this the devil has been
called a murderer from the beginning, and also a liar, because
he deceived the parties to whom he said, '' Ye shall be as
gods j" 1 for those very persons whom he falsely declared
destined to be gods were afterwards cast out of paradise.
Wherefore the serpent which conceived him in its womb,
and bore him, and brought him forth to the light of day, is
constituted the devil's first father; and Cain is made his
second father, who through the conception of iniquities
produced pains and parricide : for truly the taking of life was
the perpetrating of iniquity, unrighteousness, and impiety all
together. Furthermore, all who receive him, and do his
lusts, are constituted his brothers. Pharaoh is his father in
perfection. Every impious man is made his father. Judas
became his father, since he conceived him indeed, though he
miscarried : for he did not present a perfect parturition there,
since it was really a greater person who was assailed through
Judas ; and consequently, as I say, it proved an abortion.
For just as the woman receives the man's seed, and thereby
also becomes sensible of a daily growth within her, so also
did Judas make daily advances in evil, the occasions for that
being furnished him like seed by the wicked one. And the
first seed of evil in him, indeed, was the lust of money ; and
its increment was theft, for he purloined the moneys which
were deposited in the bag. Its offspring, moreover, con-
sisted of vexations, and compacts with the Pharisees, and
the scandalous bargain for a price ; yet it was the abortion,
and not the birth, that was witnessed in the horrid noose by
1 Gen. iii. 5.
346 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCH EL A US.
which he met his death. And exactly in the same way shall
it stand also with you : if you bring the wicked one to light in
your own deeds, and do his lusts, you have conceived him,
and will be called his father ; but, on the other hand, if you
cherish penitence, and deliver yourself of your burden, you
will be like one that brings to the birth. 1 For, as in school
exercises, if one gets the subject-matter from the master,
and then creates and produces the whole body of an oration
by himself, he is said to be the author of the compositions to
which he has thus given birth ; so he who has taken in any
little leaven of evil from the prime evil, is of necessity called
the father and procreator of that wicked one, who from the
beginning has resisted the truth. The case may be the same,
indeed, with those who devote themselves to virtue ; for I have
heard the most valiant men say to God, " For Thy fear, O
Lord, 2 we have conceived in the womb, and we have been
in pain, and have brought forth the spirit of salvation." 3
And so those, too, who conceive in respect of the fear of the
wicked one, and bring forth the spirit of iniquity, must needs
be called the fathers of the same. Thus, on the one hand,
they are called sons of that wicked one, so long as they are
still yielding obedience to his service ; but, on the other hand,
they are called fathers if they have attained to the perfection
of iniquity. For it is with this view that our Lord says to
the Pharisees, "Ye are of your father the devil," 4 thereby
making them his sons, as long as they appeared still to be
perturbed (conturbari) by him, and meditated in their hearts
evil for good toward the righteous. Accordingly, while they
deliberated in such a spirit with their own hearts, and while
their wicked devices were made chargeable upon (translatis
in se) themselves, Judas, as the head of all the evil, and
as the person who carried out their iniquitous counsels to
1 The text gives parturies. Routh suggests parturiens. Tbe sense
then might be, But if you repent, you will also deliver yourself of your
burden like one who brings to the birth.
2 Reading Domine for Dominum, which is given in the text.
3 The quotation may refer to Isa. xxvi. 18.
4 John viii. 44.
THE DISPUTATION WITH .VANES. 347
their consummation, was constituted the father of the crime,
having received at their hands the recompense of thirty
pieces of silver for his impious cruelty. For " after the sop
Satan entered into him" 1 completely. But, as we have said,
when his womb was enlarged, and the time of his travail
came on, he delivered himself only of an abortive burden
in the conception of unrighteousness, and consequently lie
could not be called the father in perfection, except only at
that very time when the conception was still in the womb ;
and afterwards, when he betook himself to the hangman's
rope, he showed that he had not brought it to a complete
birth, because remorse (pcenitentia) followed.
34. I think that you cannot fail to understand this too,
that the word father is but a single term indeed, and yet one
admitting of being understood in various ways. For one is
called father, as being the parent of those children whom he
has begotten in a natural way ; another is called father, as
being the guardian of children whom he has but brought
up; and some, again, are called fathers in respect of the
privileged standing accruing through time or age. Hence
our Lord Jesus Christ Himself is said to have a variety of
fathers : for David was called His father, and Joseph was
reckoned to be His father, while neither of these two was
His father in respect of the actuality of nature. For David
is called His father as touching the prerogative of time and
age (cetatis ac temporis privilegio), and Joseph is designated
His father as concerning the law of upbringing ; but God
Himself is His only Father by nature, who was pleased to
make all things manifest in short space (velociter) to us by
His word. And our Lord Jesus Christ, making no tarrying
(nee in aliquo remoratus), in the space of one year 2 restored
multitudes of the sick to health, and gave back the dead to
the light of life ; and He did indeed embrace all things in
1 John xiii. 27.
2 The text gives, "inter unius anni spatium," for -which intra, etc., is
proposed. With certain others of the fathers, Archelaus seems to assign
but one year to the preaching of Christ and to His working of miracles.
See ch. xlix.
3 18 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
the power of His own word. 1 And wherein, forsooth, did
He make any tarrying, so that we should have to believe
Him to have waited so long (even to these days) before He
actually sent the Paraclete ? 2 Nay, rather, as has been
already said above, He gave proof of His presence with us
forthwith, and did most abundantly impart Himself to Paul,
whose testimony we also believe when he says, " Unto me
only is this grace given" 3 (mihi autem soli, etc.). For this
is he who formerly was a persecutor of the church of God,
but who afterwards appeared openly before all men as a
faithful minister of the Paraclete ; by whose instrumentality
His singular clemency was made known to all men, in such
wise that even to us who some time were without hope the
largess of His gifts has come. For which of us could have
hoped that Paul, the persecutor and enemy of the church,
would prove its defender and guardian ? Yea, and not that
alone, but that he would become also its ruler, the founder
and architect of the churches? Wherefore after him, and
after those who were with Himself that is, the disciples we
are not to look for the advent of any other (such), according
to the Scriptures ; for our Lord Jesus Christ says of this
Paraclete, " He shall receive of mine." 4 Him therefore He
selected as an acceptable vessel ; and He sent this Paul to us
in the Spirit. Into him the Spirit was poured; 5 and as that
Spirit could not abide upon all men, but only on Him who
was born of Mary the mother of God, so that Spirit, the Para-
clete, could not come into any other, but could only come upon
the apostles and the sainted Paul. "For he is a chosen vessel,"
He says, " unto me, to bear my name before kings and the
1 Referring probably to Heb. i. 3.
2 Migne gives this sentence as a direct statement. We adopt the
interrogative form with Routh.
8 Eph. iii. 8.
4 John xvi. 14.
5 The text reads, "quern misit ad nos Paulum in Spiritus influxit
Spiritus," etc. We adopt the emendation, " quern misit ad nos Paulum
in Spiritu. Influxit Spiritus," etc. Routh suggests, " Paulum cujus in
spiritum influxit Sp'ritus" = this Paul, into whose spirit the Spirit was
poured.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 349
Gentiles" (in conspectu regumet gentium}. 1 The apostle him-
self, too, states the same thing in his first epistle, where he
says : " According to the grace that is given to me of God,
that I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gen-
tiles, ministering (consecrans) the gospel of God." 2 "I say
the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing
me witness in the Holy Ghost." 3 And again : " For I will
not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath
not wrought by me by word and deed." 4 " I am the last of
all the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle.
But by the grace of God I am what I am." s And it is
his wish to have to deal with (vult habere) those who sought
the proof of that Christ who spake in him, for this reason,
that the Paraclete was in him : and as having obtained His
gift of grace, and as being enriched with magnificent honour,
Le says : "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it
might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace
is sufficient for thee ; for strength is made perfect in
weakness." 7 Again, that it was the Paraclete Himself who
was in Paul, is indicated by our Lord Jesus Christ in the
Gospel, when He says : " If ye love me, keep my command-
ments. And I will pray my Father, and He shall give you
another Comforter." In these words He points to the
Paraclete Himself, for He speaks of another Comforter.
And hence we have given credit to Paul, and have hearkened
to him when he says, a Or (aui) seek ye a proof of Christ
speaking in me?" 9 and when he expresses himself in similar
terms, of which we have already spoken above. Thus, too,
he seals his testament for us as for his faithful heirs, and
like a father he addresses us in these words in his Epistle
1 Acts ix. 15. 2 Rom. xv. 15, 16.
3 Rom. ix. 1. * Rom. xv. 18.
5 1 Cor. xv. 9, 10. Archelaus here gives " novissimns omnium apos-
tolorum " for the i^d^iaros of the Greek, and the "minimus" of the
Vulgate.
6 Reading " magnifico Aonore" for the " magnifico hoc ore" of the
codex.
7 2 Cor. xii. 8, 9. John xiv. 15, 16.
8 2 Cor. xiii. 3.
350 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
to the Corinthians : " I delivered unto you first of all that
which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins ac-
cording to the Scriptures ; and that He was buried, and that
He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures ; and
that He was seen of Cephas, then of the eleven apostles (un-
decimapostolis): after that He was seen of above five hundred
brethren at once ; of whom the greater part remain unto this
present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen
of James ; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was
seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am
the last of the apostles." ] " Therefore, whether it were I or
they, so we preach, and so ye believed." 2 And again, in
delivering over to his heirs that inheritance which he gained
first himself, he says : "But I fear, lest by any means, as
the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds
should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
For if he that cometh preacheth another Christ (Christum),
whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another Spirit,
which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have
not accepted, ye might well bear with him. For I suppose
that I did nothing less for you than the other apostles "
(nihil minus fed vobis a cceteris apostolis). 3
35. These things, moreover, he has said with the view of
showing us that all others who may come after him will be
false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into
the apostles of Christ. And no marvel ; for Satan himself is
transformed, like an angel of light. What great thing there-
fore is it, if his ministers also be transformed into the ministers
of righteousness? whose end shall be according to their
works. 4 He indicates, further, what manner of men these
were, and points out by whom they were being circumvented.
And when the Galatians are minded to turn away from
the gospel, he says to them : " I marvel that ye are so soon
removed from him that called you unto another gospel :
1 1 Cor. xv. 3-9. 2 1 Cor. xv. 11. 3 2 Cor. xi. 3-5.
4 2 Cor. ix. 14, 15. The text gives " velut angelum lucis," as if the
Greek had read u;. So also Cyprian, in the beginning of his book on
The Unity of the Church.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 351
which is not another; but there be some that trouble you,
and would turn you away (avertere vos) from the gospel of
Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach
any other gospel unto you than that which has been delivered
to you, let him be accursed." : And again he says : " To
me, who am the least of all the apostles (infimo omnium
apostolorum}, is this grace given;" 2 and, "I fill up that
which was behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh." 3
And once more, in another place, he declares of himself that
he was a minister of Christ more than all others, 4 as though
after him none other was to be looked for at all ; for he en-
joins that not even an angel from heaven is thus to be received.
And how, then, shall we credit the professions of this Manes,
who comes from Persis, 5 and declares himself to be the
Paraclete ? By this very thing, indeed, I rather recognise
in him one of those men who transform themselves, and of
whom the Apostle Paul, that elect vessel, has given us very
clear indication when he says : " Now in the last times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines of devils ; speaking lies in hypocrisy ; having
their conscience seared with a hot iron ; forbidding to marry,
and (commanding) to abstain from meats, which God hath
created to be received 6 with thanksgiving of them which
believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is
good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with
thanksgiving. " 7 The Spirit in the evangelist Matthew is also
careful to give note of these words of our Lord Jesus Christ :
" Take heed that no man deceive you : for many shall come
in my name, saying, I am Christ ; and shall deceive many.
But if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or
there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs,
1 Gal. i. 6-8. 2 Eph. iii. 8.
3 Col. i. 24. * 2 Cor. xi. 23.
5 The Codex Casinensis gives, "de Persida venientem monet;" for
which corrupt reading it is proposed to substitute "de Perside veni-
entem Manem," etc.
6 Reading percipiendum with the Vulgate. But the Codex Casinensis
has perficiendum.
T 1 Tim. iv. 1-4.
352 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
and false apostles, 1 and false prophets, and shall show great
signs and wonders ; insomuch that, if it were possible, they
shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.
If they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go
not forth : if they shall say, Behold, he is in the secret
chambers ; believe it not." 2 And yet, after all these direc-
tions, this man, who has neither sign nor portent of any kind
to show, who has no affinity to exhibit, who never even had
a place among the number of the disciples, who never was a
follower of our departed Lord, in whose inheritance we
rejoice, this man, I say, although he never stood by our
Lord in His weakness, and although he never came forward
as a witness of His testament, yea rather, although he never
came even within the acquaintance of those who ministered
to Him in His sickness, and, in fine, although he obtains
the testimony of no person whatsoever, desires us to believe
this profession which he makes of being the Paraclete ;
whereas, even were you to do signs and wonders, we would
still have to reckon you a false Christ, and a false prophet,
according to the Scriptures. And therefore it is well for
us to act with the greater caution, in accordance with the
warning which the sainted apostle gives us, when, in the
epistle which he wrote to the Colossians, he speaks in the
following terms : " Continue in the faith grounded and
rooted (radicati), and not to be moved away (immoliles)
from the hope of the gospel, which we have heard (audi-
vimus) y and which was preached to every creature which
is under heaven." 3 And again : " As ye have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him ; rooted
and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye
have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
Beware lest any one spoil you through philosophy and vain
deceit, after the rudiments of the world, and not after
Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the God-
head." 4 And after all these matters have been thus care-
1 These words falsi apostoli seem to be added by \vay of explanation,
as they are not found either in the Greek or the Vulgate.
3 Matt. xxiv. 4, 5, 23-26. 8 Col. i. 23. * Col. ii. 6-9.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 353
fully set forth, the blessed apostle, like a father speaking to
his children, adds the following words, which serve as a sort
of seal to his testament : " I have fought a good fight, I
have finished my course, 1 I have kept the faith : henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day ; and
not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appear-
ing." 2
36. None of your party, 3 O Manes, will you make a Gala-
tian ; neither will you in this fashion divert us 4 from the
faith of Christ. Yea, even although you were to work signs
and wonders, although you were to raise the dead, although
you were to present to us the very image of Paul himself, you
would remain accursed still, O Satan. 5 For we have been
instructed beforehand with regard to you: we have been both
warned and armed against you by the holy Scriptures. You
are a vessel of Antichrist ; and no vessel of honour, in sooth,
but a mean and base one, used by him as any barbarian or
tyrant may do, who, in attempting to make an inroad
on a people living under the righteousness of the laws, 6
sends some select vessel on beforehand, as it were destined
to death, with the view of finding out the exact magnitude
and character of the strength possessed by the legitimate
king and his nation : for the man is too much afraid to make
the inroad himself wholly at unawares, and he also lacks
the daring to despatch any person belonging to his own
immediate circle on such a task, through fear that he may
sustain some harm. And so it is that your king, Antichrist,
1 The text gives " circum cucurri," perhaps for " cursum cucurri."
The Vulgate has " cursum consummavi."
2 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.
3 The text gives "ex vobis." But perhaps we should read "ex nobis "
= none of us.
* The Codex Casinensis has " Galatam facies vicit, o nostras feras,"
for which we adopt the correction, " Galatam facies, nee ita nos."
5 The Codex Casinensis gives " anathema esse ana," which may be
an error, either for '' anathema es, Satana," or for " anathema es et
inaranatha."
6 The text is legum ; for wh'ch reynm, kings, is also suggested.
z \
354 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
has despatched you in a similar character, and as it were
destined to death, to us who are a people placed under the
administration of the good and holy King. And this I do
not say inconsiderately or without due inquiry ; but from
the fact that I see you perform no miracle, I hold myself
entitled to entertain such sentiments concerning you. For
we are given to understand beforehand that the devil him-
self is to be transformed into an angel of light, and that his
servants are to make their appearance in similar guise, and
that they are to work signs and wonders, insomuch that,
if it were possible, the very elect should be deceived. 1
But who, pray, are you then, to whose lot no such posi-
tion of kinship has been assigned by your father Satan? 3
For whom have you raised from the dead ? What issue
of blood do you ever staunch ? What 3 eyes of the blind
do you ever anoint with clay, and thus cause them to have
vision ? When do you ever refresh a hungering multitude
with a few loaves? Where do you ever walk upon the
water, or who of those who dwell in Jerusalem has ever
seen you? O Persian barbarian, you have never been able
to have a knowledge of the language of the Greeks, or of
the Egyptians, or of the Romans, or of any other nation ;
but the Chaldean tongue alone has been known to you,
which verily is not a language prevalent among any great
number of people, 4 and you are not capable of understand-
ing any one of another nationality when he speaks. Not
thus is it with the Holy Spirit : God forbid ; but He divides
to all, and knows all kinds of tongues, and has understand-
ing of all things, and is made all things to all men, so that
the very thoughts of the heart cannot escape His cognizance.
For what says the Scripture ? " That every man heard the
apostles speak in his own language through the Spirit, the
1 Matt. xxiv. 24.
2 The text gives, " qui neque necessarium aliquem locum sortitus es,"
etc. Routh proposes " necessarii." The sense seems to be that Manes
had nothing to prove any connection between him and Christ.
3 Reading " quos luto," etc., for the " quod luto " of the codex.
4 The text is, " quae ne in numerum quidem aliqnem ducitur."
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 355
Paraclete." l But why should I say more on this subject ? 2
Barbarian 3 priest and crafty coadjutor of Mithras, you will
only be a worshipper of the sun-god Mithras, who is the
illuminator of places of mystic import, as you opine, and the
self-conscious deity (conscium) ; that is, you will sport as his
worshippers do, and you will celebrate, though with less ele-
gance as it were, his mysteries. 4 But why should I take all
this so indignantly ? Is it not accordant with all that is
fitting, that you should multiply yourself like the tares, until
that same mighty father of yours comes, raising the dead (as
he will profess to do), and persecuting almost to hell itself all
those who refuse to yield to his bidding, keeping multitudes in
check by that terror of arrogance in which he entrenches him-
/ O
self, and employing threatenings against others, and making
sport of them by the changing of his countenance and his
deceitful dealing "? 5 And yet beyond that he shall proceed
no further ; for his folly shall be made manifest to all men,
as was the case with Jamnes and Mambres. 6 The judges
said : As we have heard now from you, as Paul himself also
seems to tell us, and, further, as we have learned likewise
from the earlier account given in the Gospel, an introduc-
1 Acts ii. 6.
2 The text gives " Quid dicabo," which may stand for " quid
dicam ;" or perhaps the translator intends to use " dicare " in the sense
of urge.
3 Beading barbare, for which the text offers barba.
* In this sentence the sense is somewhat obscure, in consequence of
the corruptions of the text in the codex. We adopt the emendations
" locorum mysticorum" for mysteriorum, and " apud eos hides" for India.
In the end of the clause Migne gives, as in the translation, "et tanquam
minus elegans," etc. But Routh reads mimus = and like an elegant
pantomimist, etc.
5 The Codex Casinensis gives the sentence thus : " . . . adveniat? sus-
citans mortuos ? pene usque ad gehennam ornnes persequens, qui si ut
obtemperare noluerit, plurimos deterrens arrogantise metu, Quod est
ipse circumdatus, aliis adhibet minas vultus sui conversione circumdatio
ludificat." The emendations adopted by Migne and Routh consist in
removing these two interrogative marks, and in reading qui sibi for qui
si ut, noluerint for noluerit, quo est for Quod est, adhibens for adhibet, and
et circumductione ludificans for the last two words,
6 2 Tim. iii. 8, 9.
356 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCI1ELAUS.
tion to preaching, or teaching, or evangelizing, or prophesy-
ing, is not, in this life at least, held out on the same terms
to any person in times subsequent (to the apostle's) : 1 and if
the opposite appears ever to be the case, the person can only
be held to be a false prophet or a false Christ. Now, since
you have alleged that the Paraclete was in Paul, and that
He attested all things in him, how is it that Paul himself
said, " We know in part, and we prophesy in part ; but
when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in
part shall be done away ? " 2 What other one did he look
for, when he uttered these words ? For if he professes him-
self to be looking for some perfect one, and if some one
must needs come, show us who it is of whom he speaks ; lest
that word of his perchance appear to carry us back to this man
(Manes), or to him who has sent him, that is to say, Satan,
according to your affirmation. But if you admit that that
which is perfect is yet to come, then this excludes Satan ;
and if you look for the coming of Satan, then that excludes
the perfect.
37. Archelaus said: Those sayings which are put forth
by the blessed Paul were not uttered without the direction
of God, and therefore it is certain that what he has declared
to us is that we are to look for our Lord Jesus Christ as
the perfect one, who 3 is the only one that knows the Father,
with the sole exception of him to whom He has chosen
also to reveal Him, 4 as I am able to demonstrate from His
own words. But let it be observed, that it is said that
when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in
part shall be done away. Now this man (Manes) asserts
that he is the perfect one. Let him show us, then, what he
has done away with ; for what is to be done away with is the
1 The sense is again obscure throughout this sentence, owing to the
state of the text. The codex gives us this clause, " nulli alio atque pos-
terum," etc., for which " nulli alii seque in posterum" is proposed.
2 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 10.
3 Reading " qui solus," for the sed, etc., of the codex. See also Luke
x. 22.
* Matt. xi. 27.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 357
ignorance which is in us. Let him therefore tell us what he
has done away with, and what he has brought into (the sphere
of our) knowledge. If he is able to do anything of this
nature, let him do it no\v, in order that he may be believed.
These very words of Paul's, if one can but understand them in
the full power of their meaning, will only secure entire credit
to the statements made by me. For in that first Epistle
to the Corinthians, Paul speaks in the following terms of the
perfection that is to come : " Whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail ; whether there be tongues, they shall cease ;
whether there be knowledge, it shall be destroyed : for we
know in part, and we prophesy in part ; but when that which
is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done
away." l Observe now what virtue that which is perfect
possesses in itself, and of what order that perfection is. And
let this man, then, tell us what prophecy of the Jews or
Hebrews he has done away with ; or what tongues he has
caused to cease, whether of the Greeks or of others who wor-
ship idols ; or what alien dogmas he has destroyed, whether
of a Valentinian, or a Marcion, or a Tatian, or a Sabellius,
or any others of those who have constructed for themselves
their peculiar systems of knowledge. Let him tell us which
of all these he has already done away with, or when he is
yet to do away with any one of them, in this character of
the perfect one. Perchance he seeks some sort of truce
does he (inducias fortassis aliquas qucerit) ? But not thus
inconsiderable, not thus obscure 2 and ignoble, will be the
manner of the advent of Him who is the truly perfect one,
that is to say, our Lord Jesus Christ. Nay, but as a king,
when he draws near to his city, does first of all send on
before him his life-guardsmen, 3 his ensigns and standards
and banners (signet, dracones, labaros}, his generals and chiefs
and prefects, and then forthwith all objects are roused and
excited in different fashions, while some become inspired
1 1 Cor. xiii. 8-10.
2 Reading " non plane, non tarn obscure," etc., instead of the " non
plane nota," etc., of the Codex Casinensis.
8 "Protectores," on which term consult Ducangius in his Glossary.
353 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
with terror and others with exultation at the prospect of the
king's advent; so also my Lord Jesus Christ, who is the
truly perfect one, at His coming will first send on before
Him His glory, (and) the consecrated heralds of an un-
stained and untainted kingdom : and then the universal
creation will be moved and perturbed, uttering prayers and
supplications, until He delivers it from its bondage. 1 And it
must needs be that the race of man shall then be in fear and
in vehement agitation on account of the many offences it has
committed. Then the righteous alone will rejoice, as they
look for the things which have been promised them ; and
the subsistence of the affairs of this world will no longer
be maintained, but all things shall be destroyed : and
whether they be prophecies or the books of prophets, (they
shall fail) ; whether they be the tongues of the whole race,
they shall cease ; for men will no longer need to feel
anxiety or to think solicitously about those things which
are necessary for life ; whether it be knowledge, by what
teachers soever it be possessed, it shall also be destroyed :
for none of all these things will be able to endure the ad-
vent of that mighty King. For just as a little spark, if 2
taken and put up against the splendour of the sun, at once
perishes from the view, so the whole creation, all prophecy,
all knowledge, all tongues, as we have said above, shall be de-
stroyed. But since the capacities of common human nature
are all insufficient to set forth in a few words, and these so
weak and so extremely poor, the coming of this heavenly
King, so much so, indeed, that perchance it should be the
privilege only of the saintly and the highly worthy to attempt
any statement on such a subject, it may yet be enough for
me to (be able to say that I) have advanced what I have
now advanced on that theme on the ground of simple ne-
cessity, compelled, as I have been, to do thus much by
this person's importunity, and simply with the view of show-
ing you what kind of character he is.
1 Rom. viii. 21, 22.
2 The text gives simply, sicut enim parva. We may adopt, with Routh,
" sicut enim cum parva," etc.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 359
38. And, in good truth, I hold Marcion, and Valentinian,
and Basilides, and other heretics, to be sainted men when
compared l with this person. For they did display a certain
kind of intellect, and they did, indeed, think themselves
capable of understanding all Scripture, and did thus con-
stitute themselves leaders 2 for those who were willing to
listen to them. But notwithstanding this, not one of these
dared to proclaim himself to be either God, or Christ, or the
Paraclete, as this fellow has done, who is ever disputing, on
some occasions about the ages (seculis), and on others about
the sun, and how these objects were made, as though he were
superior to them himself; for every person who offers an
exposition of the method in which any object has been made,
puts himself forward as superior to and older than the sub-
ject of his discussion. But who may venture to speak of the
substance of God, unless, it may be, our Lord Jesus Christ
alone? And, indeed, I do not make this statement on the
bare authority of my own words, but I confirm it by the
authority of that Scripture which has been our instructor.
For the apostle addresses the following words to us : " That
ye may be lights in this world, holding (continentes) the word
of life for my glory against the day of Christ, seeing that I
have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." 3 We ought
to understand what is the force and meaning of this saying ;
for the word may suit the leader, but the effectual work suits
the king. 4 And accordingly, as one who looks for the arrival
of his king, strives to be able to present all who are under his
charge as obedient, and ready, and estimable, and lovely, and
faithful, and not less also as blameless, and abounding in all
1 Reading "sicutistius comparatione," for the "sicut istiusparatione"
of the codex.
2 Reading se ductores, for the seductores, etc., of the codex.
3 Phil. ii. 13.
4 The precise meaning and connection are somewhat obscure here.
The text gives, " verbum enim ducis obtinet locum, opera vero regis."
And the idea is taken to be, that the actual work of thoroughly doing
away with the ignorance of men was something that suited only the
perfect King who was expected, and that had not been accomplished by
Maues.
3 GO THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
that is good, so that he may himself get commendation from
the king, and be deemed by him to be worthy of greater
honours, as having rightly governed the province which was
entrusted to his administration ; so also does the blessed Paul
give us to understand our position when he uses these words :
" That ye may be as lights in this world, holding the word of
life for my glory against the day of Christ." For the mean-
ing of this saying is, that our Lord Jesus Christ, when He
comes, will see that his doctrine has proved profitable in us,
and that, finding that he (the apostle) has not run in vain,
neither laboured in vain, He will bestow on him the crown of
recompense. And again, in the same epistle, he also warns
us not to mind earthly things, and tells us that we ought to
have our conversation in heaven ; from which also we look
for the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 And as the know-
ledge of the date of the last day is no secure position for us,
he has given us, to that effect, a declaration on the subject in
the epistle which he wrote to the Thessalonians, thus: " But of
the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I
write unto you ; for yourselves know perfectly that the day
of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." 2 How, then,
does this man stand up and try to persuade us to embrace
his opinions, importuning every individual whom he meets
to become a Manicliean, and going about and creeping into
houses, and endeavouring to deceive minds laden with sins? 3
But we do not hold such sentiments. Nay, rather, we should
be disposed to present the things themselves before you all,
and bring them into comparison, if it please you, with (what
we know of) the perfect Paraclete. For you observe that 4
sometimes he uses the interrogative style, and sometimes the
deprecatory. But in the Gospel of our Saviour it is written
that those who stand on the left hand of the King will say :
" Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or naked,
or a stranger, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee ? '"
1 Phil. iii. 19. 2 1 Thess. v. 1, 2. 8 Alluding to 2 Tim. iii. 6.
4 Routh inserts interdum pcenilet = sometimes he uses the penitential
style, which Migne omits.
" 5 Matt. xxv. 44.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 361
Thus they will implore Him to be indulgent with them.
But what reply is that righteous Judge and King repre-
sented as making to them ? " Depart from me into ever-
lasting fire, ye workers of iniquity." 1 He casts them into
everlasting fire, although they cease not to direct their en-
treaties to Him. Do you see, then (O Manes), what manner
of event that advent of the perfect King is destined to be ?
Do you not perceive that it will not be such a perfection
(consummation) as you allege? But if the great day of
judgment is to be looked for after that King, surely this
man is greatly inferior to Him. But if he is inferior, he
cannot be perfect. And if he is not to be perfect, it is not
of him that the apostle speaks. But if it is not of him that
the apostle speaks, while he still makes the mendacious state-
ment that it is of himself that the said word (of the apostle)
was spoken, then surely he is to be judged a false prophet.
Much more, too, might be said to the same effect. But if we
were to think of going over in detail all that might thus be
adduced, time would fail us for the accomplishment of so
large a task. Hence I have deemed it abundantly sufficient
thus to have brought under your notice only a few things
out of many, leaving the yet remaining portions of such a
discussion to those who have the inclination to go through
with them.
39. On hearing these matters, those who were present gave
great glory to God, and ascribed to Him such praise as it is
meet for Him to receive. And on Archelaus himself they
bestowed many tokens of honour. Then Marcellus rose up ;
and casting off his cloak, 2 he threw his arms round Archelaus,
and kissed him, and embraced him, and clung to him. Then,
too, the children who had chanced to gather about the place
began and set the example of pelting Manes and driving him
off ; 3 and the rest of the crowd followed them, and moved
excitedly about, with the intention of compelling Manes to
take to flight. But when Archelaus observed this, he raised
1 Matt. xxv. 46 ; Luke xiii. 27.
2 The text gives the plural form stolas, perhaps for stolam.
8 The text gives fmjere, apparently in the sense oijugare.
3G2 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP AKCHELAUS.
his voice like a trumpet above the din, in his anxiety to re-
strain the multitude, and addressed them thus : Stop, my
beloved brethren, lest mayhap we be found to have the guilt
of blood on us at the day of judgment ; for it is written of
men like this, that " there must be also heresies among you,
that they which are approved may be made manifest among
you." 1 And when he had uttered these words, the crowds of
people were quieted again. Now, because it was the pleasure
of Marcellus that this disputation should have a place given
it (excipi), and that it should also be described, I could not
gainsay his wish, but trusted to the kind consideration of
the readers, believing that they would pardon me if my dis-
course should sound somewhat inartistic or boorish : for the
great thing which we have had in view has been, that the
means of knowing what took place on this occasion should
not fail to be brought within the reach of all who desired to
understand the subject. Thereafter, it must be added, when
Manes had once taken to flight, he made his appearance no-
where (there again). His attendant Turbo, however, was
handed over by Marcellus to Archelaus ; and on Archelaus
ordaining him as a deacon, he remained in the suite of Mar-
cellus. But Manes in his flight came to a certain village
which was at a considerable distance from the city, and bore
the name of Diodorus. Now in that place there was also a
presbyter whose name likewise was Diodorus, 2 a man of quiet
and gentle disposition, and well reputed both for his faith
and for the excellence of his general character. Now when,
on a certain day, Manes had gathered a crowd of auditors
around him, and was haranguing 3 them, and putting before
the people who were present certain outlandish assertions
altogether foreign to the tradition of the fathers, and in no
way apprehending any opposition that might be made to him
on the part of any of these, Diodorus perceived that he was
producing some effect by his wickedness, and resolved then
1 1 Cor. xi. 19.
2 This Diodorus appears to be called Tryplio by Epiphaniua, on this
Manichean heresy, n. 11.
3 Reading concionaretur for contlnuarelur.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 3C3
to send to Archelaus a letter couched in the following
o
terms :
Diodorus sends greeting to Bishop Arehelaus. 1
40. I wish you to know, most pious father, that in these
days there has arrived in our parts a certain person named
Manes, who gives out that he is to complete the doctrine of
the New Testament. And in the statements which he has
made there have been some things, indeed, which may har-
monize with our faith ; but there have been also certain
affirmations of his which seem very far removed from what
has come down to us by the tradition of our fathers. For
he has interpreted some doctrines in a strange fashion,
imposing on them certain notions of his own, which have
appeared to me to be altogether foreign and opposed to
the faith. On the ground of these facts I have now been
induced to write this letter to you, knowing the complete-
ness and fulness of your intelligence in doctrine, and being
assured that none of these things can escape your cogniz-
ance. Accordingly, I have also indulged the confident
hope that you cannot be kept back by any grudge (in-
vidia) from explaining these matters to us. As to myself,
indeed, it is not possible that I shall be drawn away into
any novel doctrine ; nevertheless, in behalf of all the less
instructed, I have been led to ask a word with your autho-
rity. For, in truth, the man shows himself to be a person
of extraordinary force of character, both in speech and in
action ; and indeed his very aspect and attire also bear that
out. But I shall here write down for your information some
few points which I have been able to retain in my memory
out of all the topics which have been expounded by him : for
I know that even by these few you will have an idea of the
rest. You well understand, no doubt, that those who seek to
set up any new dogma have the habit of very readily pervert-
ing into a conformity with their own notions any proofs they
desire to take from the Scriptures. In anticipation, however,
of this, the apostolic word marks out the case thus : " If any
1 This epistle is also mentioned, and its argument noticed, by Epipha-
nius, Heeres, 11.
364 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
one preacli any other gospel unto you than that which you
have received, let him be accursed." l And consequently, in
addition to what has been once committed to us by the apostles,
a disciple of Christ ought to receive nothing new as doctrine.
But not to make what I have got to say too lengthy, I return
to the subject directly in view. This man then maintained
that the law of Moses, to speak shortly, does not proceed from
the good God, but from the prince of evil ; and that it has no
kinship with the new law of Christ, but is contrary and hostile
to it, the one being the direct antagonist of the other. When
I heard such a sentiment propounded, I repeated to the
people that sentence of the Gospel in which our Lord Jesus
Christ said of Himself: " I am not come to destroy the law,
but to fulfil it." 2 The man, however, averred that He did
not utter this saying at all ; for he held that when we find
that He did abrogate (resolvisse) that same law, we are
bound to give heed, above all other considerations, to the
thing which He actually did. Then he began to cite a great
variety of passages from the law, and also many from the
Gospel and from the Apostle Paul, which have the appear-
ance of contradicting each other. All this he gave forth at
the same time with perfect confidence, and without any hesi-
tation or fear; so that I verily believe he has that serpent as
his helper, who is ever our adversary. Well, he declared
that there (in the law) God said, " I make the rich man and
the poor man ; " 3 while here (in the Gospel) Jesus called the
poor blessed, 4 and added, that no man could be His disciple
unless he gave up all that he had. 5 Again, he maintained
that there Moses took silver and gold from the Egyptians
when the people 6 fled out of Egypt; 7 whereas Jesus delivered
the precept that we should lust after nothing belonging to our
neighbour. Then he affirmed that Moses had provided in the
law, that an eye should be given in penalty for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth ; 8 but that our Lord bade us offer the other
1 Gal. i. 8. 2 Matt. v. 17. Prov. xxii. 2.
4 Matt. v. 3. 5 Luke xiv. 33.
6 Reading cum populus for the cum populo of the text.
J Ex. xii. 35. 8 Ex. xxi. 24.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 365
cheek also to him who smote the one. 1 He told us, too, that
there Moses commanded the man to be punished and stoned
who did any work on the Sabbath, and who failed to continue
in all things that were written in the law, 2 as in fact was
done to that person who, yet being ignorant, had gathered a
bundle of sticks on the Sabbath-day ; whereas Jesus cured
a cripple on the Sabbath, and ordered him then also to take
up his bed. 3 And further, He did not restrain His disciples
from plucking the ears of corn and rubbing them with their
hands on the Sabbath-day, 4 which yet was a thing which it
was unlawful to do on the Sabbaths. And why should I
mention other instances? For with many different assertions
of a similar nature these dogmas of his were propounded with
the utmost energy and the most fervid zeal. Thus, too, on
the authority of an apostle, he endeavoured to establish the
position that the law of Moses is the law of death, and that
the law of Jesus, on the contrary, is the law of life. For
he based that assertion on the passage which runs thus : " In
which also may God make us (faciat Dens) able ministers
of the New Testament ; not of the letter, bnt of the spirit :
for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the
ministration of death, engraven in letters on the stones (in
titterig formation in lapidibus), was made in glory, so that the
children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of
Moses for the glory of his countenance ; which glory was to
be done away ; how shall not the ministration of the Spirit
be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation
be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness
exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had
no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that ex-
celleth. For if that which shall be done away is glorious,
much more that which remaineth is glorious." 6 And this
passage, as you are also well aware, occurs in the second
Epistle to the Corinthians. Besides, he added to this
another passage out of the first epistle, on which he based
his affirmation that the disciples of the Old Testament were
1 Luke vi. 29. 2 Num. xv. 32. Murk ii. 11.
* Luke vi. 1. 2 Cor. iii. 6-11.
8G6 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
earthly and natural ; and in accordance with this, that flesh
and blood could not possess the kingdom of God. 1 He
also maintained that Paul himself spake in his own proper
person when he said: "If I build again the things which
I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor." 2 Further, he
averred that the same apostle made this statement most
obviously on the subject of the resurrection of the flesh,
when he also said that " he is not a Jew who is one out-
wardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the
flesh," 3 and that according to the letter the law has in it
no advantage. 4 And again he adduced the statement, that
" Abraham has glory, but not before God ; " 5 and that " by
the law there comes only the knowledge of sin." 6 And
many other things did he introduce, with the view of de-
tracting from the honour of the law, on the ground that
the law itself is sin ; by which statements the simpler people
were somewhat influenced, as he continued to bring them
forward ; and in accordance with all this, he also made use
of the affirmation, that te the law and the prophets were until
John." 7 He declared, however, that John preached the
(true) kingdom of heaven ; for verily he held, that by the
cutting off of his head it was signified that all who went
before him, and who had precedence over him, were to be cut
off, and that what was to come after him was alone to be
maintained. With reference to all these things, therefore, O
most pious Archelaus, send us back a short reply in writing :
for I have heard that you have studied such matters in no
ordinary degree ; and that (capacity which you possess) is
God's gift, inasmuch as God bestows these gifts upon those
who are worthy of them, and who are His friends, and who
show themselves allied to Him in community of purpose and
life. For it is our part to prepare ourselves, and to approach
the gracious and liberal mind, 8 and forthwith we receive from
1 1 Cor. xv. 46-50. 2 Gal. ii. 13. 3 Rom. ii. 28.
4 Rom. iv. 1. 6 Eom. iv. 2. 6 ROID. iii. 20.
7 Luke xvi. 16.
8 Reading " prseparare et proximos fieri benignse ac diviti menti " for
" prseparet proximus fieri benignae hac," etc., as it stands in the Codex
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 3G7
it the most bountiful gifts. Accordingly, since the learning
which I possess for the discussion of themes like these does
not meet the requirements of my desire and purpose (for I
confess myself to be an unlearned man), I have sent to you,
as I have already said more than once, in the hope of obtain-
ing from your hand the amplest solution to this question.
May it be well with you, incomparable and honourable
father !
41. On receiving this epistle, Archelaus was astonished
at the man's boldness. But in the meantime, as the case
called for the transmission of a speedy reply, he immediately
sent off a letter with reference to the statements made by
Diodorus. That epistle ran in the following terms : l
Archelaus sends greeting to the presbyter Diodorus, his
honourable son.
The receipt of your letter has rejoiced me exceedingly, my
dearly beloved friend. I have been given to understand,
moreover, that this man, who made his way to me before
these days, and sought to introduce a novel kind of know-
ledge here, different from what is apostolic and ecclesias-
tical, has also come to you. To that person, indeed, I
gave no place : for presently, when we held a disputation
together, he was confuted. And I could wish now to tran-
scribe for your behoof all the arguments of which I made
use on that occasion, so that by means of these you might
get an idea of what that man's faith is. But as that could
be done only with leisure at my disposal, I have deemed
it requisite, in view of the immediate exigency, to write
a short reply to you with reference to what you have written
me on the subject of the statements advanced by him. I
understand, then, that his chief 2 effort was directed to
Casinensis. Routh suggests " prseparare proximos fieri benignse ac diviti
menti et continue . . . consequemur " = to take care to draw near to
the gracious and liberal uiiud, and then we shall forthwith receive
steadily from it, etc.
1 This epistle is edited not only from the Codex Casinensis, but also
by Valesius from the Codex Bobiensis. The most important varieties
of reading shall therefore be noted.
2 Sumnium studium. But the Codex Bobiensis reads suum studium.
3G8 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
prove that the law of Moses is not consonant with the law
of Christ ; and this position he attempted to found on the
authority of our Scriptures. Well, on the other hand, not
only did we establish the law of Moses, and all things
which are written in it, by the same Scripture ; but we also
proved that the whole Old Testament agrees with the New
Testament, and is in perfect harmony with the same, and
that they form really one texture, just as a person may
see one and the same robe made up of weft and warp
together. 1 For the truth is simply this, that just as we trace
the purple in a robe, so, if we may thus express it, we
can discern the New Testament in the texture of the Old
Testament ; for we see the glory of the Lord mirrored in
the same. 2 We are not therefore to cast aside the mirror, 3
seeing that it shows us the genuine image of the things
themselves, faithfully and truly ; but, on the contrary, we
ought to honour it all the more. Think you, indeed, that
the boy who is brought by his psedagogue to the teachers of
learning 4 when he is yet a very little fellow, ought to hold
that psedagogue in no honour 6 after he has grown up to
manhood, simply because he needs his services 6 no longer,
but can make his course without any assistance from that
attendant to the schools, and quickly find his way to the
lecture-rooms? Or, to take another instance, would it be
right for the child who has been nourished on milk at first,
after he has grown to be capable of receiving stronger meats,
1 Beading "ex subtegmine atque stamine," etc., -with the Codex
Bobiensis, instead of " subtemine et, quse stamine," etc., as it is given
in the Codex Casinensis.
2 We read here, " gloriam enim Domini in eodem speculamur." The
Codex Bobiensis is vitiated here, giving gloriam um Domini, which was
changed by Valesius into gloriam Jesu, etc.
3 Reading, with the Codex Bobiensis, "speculum, cum nobis ipsam
irnaginem," etc., instead of " speculum nobis per ipsam imaginem," etc.
4 Adopting " qui ad doctores a psedagogo," instead of " qui a
doctore iis a psedagogo."
5 " Dehonorare," or, as in the Codex Bobiensis, " dehonestare."
G Reading " opera ejus uon indiget." But the Codex Casinensis gives
" ore ejus," etc.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 3G9
then injuriously to spurn the breasts of his nurse, and con-
ceive a horror of them ? Nay, rather he should honour and
cherish them, and confess himself a debtor to their good ser-
vices. We may also make use, if it please you, of another
(kind of) illustration. A certain man on one occasion having
noticed an infant exposed on the ground and already suffer-
ing excessively, picked it up, and undertook to rear it in
his own house until it should reach the age of youth, and
sustained all the toils and anxieties which are wont to fall
to the lot of those who have to bring up children. After a
time, however, it happened that he who was the child's natu-
ral father came seeking the boy, and found him with this
person who had brought him up. 1 What ought this boy to
do on learning that this is his real father? For I speak, of
course, of a boy of the right type. Would he not see to it,
that he who had brought him up should be recompensed
with liberal gifts ; and would he not then follow his natural
father, having his proper inheritance in view? 2 Even so,
then, I think we must suppose that that distinguished ser-
vant of God, Moses, in a manner something like this,
found 3 a people afflicted by the Egyptians ; and he took
this people to himself, and nurtured them in the desert
like a father, and instructed them like a teacher, and ruled
them as a magistrate. This people he also preserved against
the coming of him whose people they were. And after
a considerable period the father 4 did come, and did re-
ceive his sheep. Now will not that guardian be honoured
in all things by him to whom he delivered that flock ; and
will he not be glorified by those who have been preserved
by him? Who, then, can be so senseless, my dearly be-
loved Diodorus, as to say that those are aliens to each other
1 The Codex Bobiensis reads here, "accidit vero post tempus ut is
qui . . . requireret," etc. The other codex has, "accedit vero post
tempus is qui . . . requirere."
2 Reading pro respectu with Codex Bobiensis. The other codex gives
prospectu.
3 Reading invenisse. The Codex Casinensis gives venisse.
4 Routh suggests pastor, the shepherd, for pater.
2 A
370 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP AECHELAUS.
who have been allied with each other, who have prophesied in
turn for each other, and who have shown signs and wonders
which are equal and similar, the one to the other, and of like
nature with each other; 1 or rather, to speak in truth, which
belong wholly to the same stock the one with the other?
For, indeed, Moses first said to the people : tl A Prophet
will the Lord our God raise up unto you, like unto me." 2
And Jesus afterwards said : " For Moses spake of me." 5
You see 4 how these twain give the right hand to each other,
although 5 the one was the prophet and the other was the
beloved Son, 6 and although in the one we are to recognise
the faithful servant, but in the other the Lord Himself.
Now, on the other hand, I might refer to the fact, that one
who of old was minded to make his way to the schools
without the pedagogue was not taken in by the master.
For the master said : "I will not receive him unless he accepts
the psedagogue." And who the person is, who is spoken of
under that figure, I shall briefly explain. There was a cer-
tain rich man, 7 who lived after the manner of the Gentiles,
and passed his time in great luxury every day; and there
was also another man, a poor man, who was his neighbour,
and who was unable to procure even his daily bread. It
happened that both these men departed this life, that they
both descended into the grave (infernurn), and that the poor
man was conveyed into the place of rest, and so forth, as is
known to you. But, furthermore, that rich man had also
five brothers, living as he too had lived, and disturbed by no
doubt as to lessons which they had learned at home from
such a master. The rich man then entreated that these
should be instructed in the superior doctrine together and at
once. 8 But Abraham, knowing that they still stood in need
1 Heading cognata, with Codex Bobiensis, instead of cognita.
2 Deut. xviii. 18. 3 John v. 46.
* We adopt the reading vides, instead of the faulty unde of the Codex
Casinensis.
5 Reading quamvis for quum. 6 See Heb. iii. 5, 6.
7 Luke xvi. 19, etc.
8 The reading of the Codex Casinensis is, "rogavit dives simul uno
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 371
of the pedagogue, said to him : " They have Moses and the
prophets." For if they received not these, so as to have
their course directed by him (Moses) as by a psedagogne,
they would not be capable of accepting the doctrine of the
superior master.
42. But I shall also offer, to the best of my ability, some
expositions of the other words referred to ; that is to say, I
shall show that Jesus neither said nor did aught that was
contrary to Moses. And first, as to the word, " An eye for
an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," 1 that is (the expression of)
justice. And as to His injunction, that a man, when struck
on the one cheek, should offer the other also, that is (the ex-
pression of) goodness. Well, then, are justice and goodness
opposed to each other ? Far from it ! There has only been
an advance from simple justice to positive goodness. And
again, we have the saying, " The workman is worthy of his
hire." 2 But if a person seeks to practise any fraud therein,
it is surely most just 3 that what he has got possession of by
fraud should be required of him, most especially when the hire
is large. Now this I say, that when the Egyptians afflicted the
children of Israel by the taskmasters who were set over them
in the process of making bricks, Moses required and exacted
the whole at once, with penalties, within one moment of time.
But is this, then, to be called iniquity? Far from it ! Surely
it is the abstinence 4 of goodness, indeed, when one makes
but a moderate use of what is really necessary, and gives up
all that goes beyond that. Let us look, again, at the fact that
in the Old Testament we find the word, "I make the rich man
tempore ut edisceret majorem doctrinam." But the other codex gives,
" uno tempore discere inajorem doctrinam ab Abraham" = entreated
that he might learn the superior doctrine of Abraham. For edisceret
we may read with Routh ediscerent.
1 Matt. v. 32. 2 Matt. x. 10.
3 The Codex Casinensis gives, " exige ab eo ilia quae fraudem inter-
ceperat ; " the other Codex gives, " et exigi ab eo ilia quse fraude inter-
ceperat." The correct reading probably would be, "exigi ab eo ilia
quse per fraudem interceperat."
4 We adopt the conjecture of Yalesius, viz. dbstinentia. The Codex
Bobiensis gives absentia.
372 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
and the poor man," * whereas Jesus calls the poor blessed. 2
Well, in that saying Jesus did not refer to those who are
poor simply in worldly substance, but to those who are poor
in spirit, that is to say, who are not inflamed 3 with pride,
but have the gentle and lowly dispositions of humility,
not thinking of themselves more than they ought to think. 4
This question, however, is one which our adversary has not
propounded correctly. For here I perceive that Jesus also
looks on willingly at the gifts of the rich men, when they
are being put into the treasury. 5 All too little, at the same
time, is it 6 if gifts are cast into 7 the treasury by the rich
alone ; and so there are the two mites of the poor widow
which are also received with gladness ; and in that offering
verily something is exhibited that goes beyond what Moses
prescribed on the subject of the receipt of moneys. For he
received gifts from those who had ; but Jesus receives them
even from those who have not. But this man says, further,
that it is written, that " except a man shall forsake all that
he hath, he cannot be my disciple." 8 Well, I observe again,
that the centurion, a man exceedingly wealthy and well
dowered with worldly influence, possessed a faith surpassing
that of all Israel ; 9 so that, even if there was any one who
had forsaken all, that man was surpassed in faith by this cen-
turion. But some one may now reason with us thus : It is
not a good thing, consequently, to give up riches. Well, I
reply that it is a good thing for those who are capable of it ;
but, at the same time, to employ 10 riches for the work of
1 Prov. xxii. 2. 2 Matt. v. 3.
3 Reading inflammantur. It may perhaps be inflantur= puffed up.
* Rom. xii. 3. 5 Mark xii. 41.
6 Reading et parum hoc est, with Codex Bobiensis, instead of the et
pauperum hoc est of Codex Casinensis. We may also render it as = " but
it is far from being the case that gifts are cast," etc.
7 The Codex Bobieusis reads inferuntur; the other codex gives offerun-
/>, offered.
8 Luke xiv. 33. Matt. viii. 10.
10 The text gives sed abuti, and the Codex Bobiensis has sed et abuti.
But the reading ought probably to be sed et uti, or sed etiam uti. Routh,
however, notices that abutor is found with the sense of utor.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 373
righteousness and mercy, is a thing as acceptable as though
one were to give up the whole at once. Again, as to the
assertion that the Sabbath has been abolished, we deny that
He has abolished it plainly (plane) ; for He was Himself also
Lord of the Sabbath. 1 And this (the law's relation to the
Sabbath) was like the servant who has charge of the bride-
groom's couch, and who prepares the same with all careful-
ness, and does not suffer it to be disturbed or touched by any
stranger, but keeps it intact against the time of the bride-
groom's arrival ; so that when he is come, the bed may be
used as it pleases himself, or as it is granted to those to
use it whom he has bidden enter along with him. And
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave His testimony to what
we affirm, when He said with His heavenly voice, " Can ye
make the children of the bride-chamber fast so long as the
bridegroom is with them f" 2 And again, He did not actually
reject circumcision ; but we should rather say that He
received in Himself and in our stead the cause of circum-
cision (in semetipsum causam circumcisionis excepit), reliev-
ing us by what He Himself endured, and not permitting
us to have to suffer any pain to no purpose. For what,
indeed, can it profit a man to circumcise himself, if never-
theless he cherishes the worst of thoughts against his neigh-
bour? He desired, accordingly, rather to open up to us
the ways of the fullest life by a brief path, 3 lest perchance,
after we had traversed lengthened courses of our own, we
should find our day prematurely closing upon us in night,
and lest, while outwardly indeed we might appear splendid
to men's view, we should inwardly be comparable only to
ravening wolves, 4 or be likened to whited sepulchres. 5 For
far above any person of that type of character is to be placed
the man who, although clad only in squalid and threadbare
attire, keeps no evil hidden in his heart against his neigh-
1 Matt. xii. 8. 2 Mark ii. 19.
3 The Codex Bobiensis gives, " vise compendiosum nobis tramitem
demonstrare." We adopt the reading, "vi* spatia corapendioso nobis
tramite demonstrare."
4 Matt, vil 15. 6 Matt, xxiii. 7.
374 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELAUS.
hour. For it is only the circumcision of the heart that brings
salvation ; and that merely carnal circumcision can be of no
advantage to men, unless they happen also to be fortified with
the spiritual circumcision. Listen also to what Scripture
has to say on this subject : " Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God." l What need, therefore, is there for
me to labour (and suffer), seeing that 1 have been made
acquainted with the compendious way of life (compendia
mce\ and know that it shall be mine if only I can be pure
in heart? And that is quite in accordance with the truth
which we have learned now, to wit, that if one prevails in the
keeping of the two commandments, he fulfils the whole law
and the prophets. 2 Moreover Paul, the chief of the apostles,
after all these sayings, gives us yet clearer instruction on the
subject, when he says, " Or seek ye a proof of that Christ who
speaketh in me ? " 3 What have I then to do with circum-
cision, seeing that I maybe justified in uncircumcision ? For
it is written : " Is any man circumcised ? let him not become
uncircumcised. Or is any in uncircumcision ? let him not be
circumcised. For neither of these is anything, but only the
keeping of the commandments of God." 4 Consequently, as
circumcision is incompetent to save any, it is not greatly to be
required, especially when we see that if a man has been called
in uncircumcision, and wishes then to be circumcised, he is
made forthwith a transgressor 5 of the law. For if I am cir-
cumcised, I also fulfil the commandments of the law with the
view of being in a position to be saved ; but if I am uncir-
cumcised, and remain in uncircumcision, much more in
keeping the commandments shall I have life. For I have
received the circumcision of the heart, in the spirit, and not
that of the letter in the mere ink (atr amentum), in which
former there is praise, not of men, but of God. 6 Where-
fore let no charge of this kind be brought against me. For
O CJ C?
1 Matt. v. 8. - Matt. vii. 12.
3 2 Cor. xiii. 3. 4 1 Cor. vii. 18, 19.
5 Reading " prsevaricator " instead of " prsedicator." The sense would
seem strictly to require, a deltor to the law.
6 Rom. ii. 29.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 375
just as the man of wealth, who possesses great treasures of
gold and silver, so that he gets everything which is necessary
for the uses of his house made of these precious metals, has
no need to display any vessel of earthenware in anything
belonging to his family, and yet it does not follow from
this circumstance that the productions of the potter, or the
art of making vessels of pottery, 1 are to be held in abhor-
rence by him ; so also I, who have been made rich by the
grace of God, and who have obtained the circumcision of the
heart, cannot by any means 2 stand in need of that most
profitless (fleshly) circumcision, and yet, for all that, it does
not .follow that I should call it evil. Far be it from me
to do so ! If, however, any one desires to receive still
more exact instruction on these matters, he will find them
discussed with the greatest fulness in the apostle's first
epistle. 3
43. I shall speak now with the utmost brevity of the
veil of Moses and the ministration of death. For I do not
think that these things at least can introduce very much to
the disparagement of the law. The text in question, 4 then,
proceeds thus : " But if the ministration of death, engraven 5
in letters on the stones, was made in glory, so that the children
of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for
the glory of his countenance ; which glory was to be done
away; " 6 and so on. Well, this passage at any rate acknow-
ledges the existence of a glory on the countenance of Moses,
and that surely is a fact favourable to our position. And even
1 The Codex Bobiensis gives, " figuli opus aufers aut fictilium." The
Codex Casinensis has, "figuli opus et ars aut fictilium." "We adopt
" figuli opus aut ars fictilium."
- Adopting " nequaquam " for " nee quemquam."
3 By this he means the Epistle to the Romans, to which the first place
among the epistles of Paul was assigned from the most ancient times.
In Epiphanius, under heresy 42, it is alleged as an offence against Mar-
cion, that he put the Epistle to the Romans in the fourth place among
Paul's epistles. See a note in Migne.
4 Reading " propositus " for " propheticus."
6 The Codex Casinensis has formatum ; the other codex gi\esjirmatum.
2 Cor. iii. 7.
S76 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
although it is to be done away, and although there is a veil in
the reading of the same, that does not annoy me or disturb
me, provided there be glory in it still. Neither is it the case,
that whatever is to be done away is reduced thereby under
all manner of circumstances to a condition of dishonour. 1
For when the Scripture speaks of glory, it shows us also that
it had cognizance 2 of differences in glory. Thus it says:
" There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the
moon, and another glory of the stars : for one star differeth
from another star in glory." 3 Although, then, the sun has a
greater glory than the moon, it does not follow that the moon
is thereby reduced to a condition of dishonour. And even
thus, too, although my Lord Jesus Christ excelleth Moses in
glory, as the lord excelleth the servant, it does not follow
from this that the glory of Moses is to be scorned. For in
this way, too, we are able to satisfy our hearers, as the nature
of the word itself carries the conviction 4 (sicut et verbi
ipsius natura persuadef) with it, in that we affirm what we
allege on the authority of the Scriptures themselves, or
verily make the proof of our statements all the clearer
also by illustrations taken from them. Thus, although a
person kindles a lamp in the night-time, after the sun has
once risen he has no further need of the paltry light of
his lamp, on account of that effulgence of the sun which
sends forth its rays all the world over; and yet, for all
that, the man does not throw his lamp contemptuously away,
as if it were something absolutely antagonistic to the sun ;
but rather, when he has once found out its use, he will keep
it with all the greater carefulness. Precisely in this way,
then, the law of Moses served as a sort of guardian to
the people, like the lamp, until the true Sun, who is our
1 The text gives, " neque vero omnigene in ignobilitatem redigitur,"
etc. The Codex Bobiensis has, " neque vero omni genere in nobilitate."
2 Reading "scisse se differentias glorise," etc. Codex Bobiensis gives
scis esse, etc. = you know that there are differences.
3 1 Cor. xv. 21.
4 Reading " natura persuadet." But the Codex Bobiensis gives demon-
strut, demonstrates.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 377
Saviour, should arise, even as the apostle also says to us:
" And Christ shall give thee light." 1 We must look, however,
to what is said further on : " Their minds were blinded : for
until this day remaineth the same veil in the reading of the
Old Testament ; it is untaken away, because it is done away
in Christ (non revelatur quia in C/iristo destruitur). For
even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their
heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil
shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that Spirit." 2 What,
then, is meant by this? Is Moses present with us even unto
this day? Is it the case that he has never slept, that he has
never gone to his rest, that he has never departed this life ?
How is it that this phrase "unto this day" is used here ? Well,
only mark the veil, which is placed, where he says it is placed,
on their hearts in their reading. This, therefore, is the word of
censure upon the children of Israel, because they read Moses
and yet do not understand him, and refuse to turn to the Lord;
for it is He that was prophesied of by Moses as about to come.
This, then, is the veil which was placed upon the face of
Moses, 3 and this also is his testament; 4 for he says in the law : 5
" A prince shall not be wanting from Judah, nor a leader
from his thighs, 6 until He come whose he is ; 7 and He will
be the expectation of the nations : who shall bind 8 His foal
1 Eph. v. 14. 2 2 Cor. iii. 14-17.
3 Ex. xxxiv. 33 ; 2 Cor. iii. 13.
4 The text is, " hoc est velamen, quod erat positum super faciem
Moysi, quod est testamentum ejus," etc.
5 Gen. xlix. 10-12.
6 The reading iii the text is, "non deficiet princeps ex Juda, neque
dux de femoribus ejus usquequo veniat," etc. Codex Bobiensis coin-
cides, only giving " de femore ejus." On the whole quotation, which is
given in forms so diverse among the old versions and fathers, see Ter-
tullian, De Trin. ch. 9, and Cyprian, Adv. Judseos, i. 21.
7 The text gives, " veniat, cujus est," etc. Prudentius Maranus on
Justin's Apology, i. 32, thinks this was originally an error of transcrip-
tion for cui jus est, which reading would correspond very much with the
l> dKOHStTai of some of the most ancient authorities. See Cotelerius on
the Con$&lut. Apostol. i. 1, and the note in Migne.
8 Qui alligabit. But Corlex Casinensis has " quia alligabit," and Codex
Bobiensis " qui alligavit"
378 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELA US.
unto the vine, and His ass's colt unto the choice vine ; He
shall wash His garments in wine, and His clothes in the
blood of grapes ; His eyes shall be suffused l with wine, and
His teeth white with milk ; " and so on. Moreover, he indi-
cated who He was, and whence He was to come. For he
said : " The Lord God will raise up unto you a Prophet from
among your brethren, like unto me : unto Him hearken ye." 2
Now it is plain that this cannot be understood to have been said
of Jesus the son of Nun. 3 For there is nothing of this cir-
cumcision* found in him. After him, too, there have still been
kings from Judah ; and consequently this prophecy is far from
being applicable to him. And this is the veil which is on
Moses ; for it was not, as some among the unlearned perhaps
fancy, any piece of linen cloth, or any skin that covered his
face. But the apostle also takes care to make this plain to us,
when he tells us that the veil is put on in the reading of the
Old Testament, inasmuch as they who are called Israel from
olden time still look for the coming of Christ, and perceive
not that the princes have been wanting from Judah, and the
leaders from his thighs ; as even at present we see them in
subjection to kings and princes, and paying tribute to these,
without having any power left to them either of judgment
or of punishment, such as Judah certainly had, for after
he had condemned Thamar, he was able also to justify her. 5
But you will also see your life hang (in doubt) before your
eyes. 6
44. Now this word also has the veil. For up to the time
1 Suffusi oculi. Codex Bobiensis gives " effusi oculi." See, on the
whole, Grabe's Dissert. De variis vitiis LXX. interpret. 19, p. 36.
2 Deut. xviii. 15.
3 We adopt the reading " Jesu Nave." But the Codex Bobieusis gives
"Jesu Mane." See a discussion on this name by Cotelerius on the
Epistle of Barnabas, ch. 12.
4 For circumcisionis Routh suggests circumstationis, which might per-
haps be taken as = these surroundings do not suit him.
5 Gen. xxxviii. 26. We read " justificare." But the Codex Casinensis
gives " justificari" = he (or she) could be justified.
6 The text is, " sed et videbitis vitam vestram pendentem ante oculos
vestros." The reference is apparently to Deut. xxviii. 66.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 379
of Herod they did appear to retain a kingdom in some sort ;
and it was by Augustus that the first enrolment took place
among them, and that they began to pay tribute, and to be
rated (censum dare). Now it was also from the time when
our Lord Jesus Christ began to be prophesied of and looked
for that there began to be princes from Judah and leaders
of the people ; and these, again, failed just at the approach of
His advent. If, then, the veil is taken away which is put on
in that reading of theirs, they will understand the true virtue
of the circumcision ; and they will also discover that the
generation of Him whom we preach, and His cross, and all
the things that have happened in the history of our Lord, are
those very matters which had been predicted of that Pro-
phet. And I could wish, indeed, to examine every such pas-
sage of Scripture by itself, and to point out its import, as it
is meet that it should be understood. 1 But as it is another
subject that is now urgent, these passages shall be dis-
cussed by us at some season of leisure. For at present,
what I have already said may be sufficient for the pur-
pose of showing, that it is not without reason that the veil is
(said to be) put upon the heart of certain persons in the read-
ing of the Old Testament. But those who turn to the Lord
shall have the veil taken away from them. What precise
force all these things, however, may possess, I leave to the
apprehension of those who have sound intelligence. Let us
come now again to that word of Moses, in which he says :
" The Lord your God shall raise up a Prophet unto you, of
your brethren, like unto me." In this saying I perceive a
great prophecy delivered by the servant Moses, as by one
cognizant 2 that He who is to come is indeed to be possessed
of greater authority than himself, and nevertheless is to
suffer like things with him, and to show like signs and won-
ders. For there, Moses after his birth was placed by his
1 Reading " sermonem, et ostendere ut intelligi dignum est." The
Codex Bobiensis gives a mutilated version : " sermonem, ut intelligi,
dignum est."
2 Reading " Moysi scientis," which is the emendation of Valesius. But
Codex Casiiiensis gives "scientibus," and Codex Bobieusis has " scientes."
380 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
mother in an ark, and exposed beside the banks of the river j 1
here, our Lord Jesus Christ, after His birth by Mary His
mother, was sent off in flight into Egypt through the instru-
mentality of an angel. 2 There, Moses led forth his people
from the midst of the Egyptians, and saved them ; 3 and
here, Jesus, leading forth His people from the midst of the
Pharisees, transferred them to an eternal salvation. 4 There,
Moses sought bread by prayer, and received it from heaven,
in order that he might feed the people with it in the wilder-
ness; 5 here, my Lord Jesus by His own power satisfied 6
with five loaves five thousand men in the wilderness. 7 There,
Moses when he was tried was set upon the mountain and
fasted forty days; 8 and here, my Lord Jesus was led by the
Spirit into the wilderness when He was tempted of the devil,
and fasted in like manner forty days. 9 There, before the sight
of Moses, all the first-born of the Egyptians perished on ac-
count of the treachery of Pharaoh; 10 and here, at the time of the
birth of Jesus, every male among the Jews suddenly perished
by reason of the treachery of Herod. 11 There, Moses prayed
that Pharaoh and his people might be spared the plagues; 12
and here, our Lord Jesus prayed that the 'Pharisees might be
pardoned, when He said, " Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do." 13 There, the countenance of Moses
shone with the glory of the Lord, so that the children of
Israel could not stedfastly look upon his face, on account
of the glory of his countenance ; 14 and here, the Lord Jesus
Christ shone like the sun, 15 and His disciples were not able
to look upon His face by reason of the glory of His counte-
nance and the intense splendour of the light. There,
Moses smote down with the sword those who had set up
the calf; 16 and here, the Lord Jesus said, "I came to send
1 Ex. ii. 2 Matt. ii. 13. 3 Ex. xiv.
4 Mark viii. 15. 5 Ex. xvi.
6 Adopting " satiavit.' The Codex Bobiensis gives " saturavit."
7 Matt. xiv. 8 Ex. xxxiv. 9 Matt. iv. 2.
10 Ex. xii. " Matt. ii. 16. 12 Ex. viii.
18 Luke xxiii. 34. H Ex. xxxiv. 35. 15 Matt. xvii. 2.
16 Ex. xxxii.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 381
a sword upon the earth, and to set a man at variance with
his neighbour," l and so on. There, Moses went without fear
into the darkness of the clouds that cany water ; 2 and here,
the Lord Jesus walked with all power upon the waters. 3
There, Moses gave his commands to the sea ; 4 and here, the
Lord Jesus, when He was on the sea, 5 rose and gave His
commands to the winds and the sea. 6 There, Moses, when
he was assailed, stretched forth his hands and fought against
Amalek; 7 and here, the Lord Jesus, when we were assailed and
were perishing by the violence of that erring spirit who works
now in the just, 8 stretched forth His hands upon the cross, and
gave us salvation. But there are indeed many other matters
of this kind which I must pass by, my dearly beloved Dio-
dorus, as I am in haste to send you this little book with all
convenient speed ; and these omissions of mine you will be
able yourself to supply very easily by your own intelligence.
Write me, however, an account of all that this servant of the
adversary's cause may do hereafter. May the Omnipotent 9
God preserve you whole in soul and in spirit !
45. On receipt of this letter, Diodorus made himself
master of its contents, and then entered the lists against
Manes. This he did too with such spirit, that he was com-
mended greatly by all for the careful and satisfactory demon-
stration which he gave of the fact that there is a mutual rela-
tionship between the two Testaments, and also between the
two laws. Discovering also more arguments for himself, he
was able to bring forward many points of great pertinency
and power against the man, and in defence of the truth. He
also reasoned in a conclusive manner against his opponent
on verbal grounds. 10 For example, he argued with him in
1 Matt. x. 34. 2 Ex. xxiv. 18. 3 Matt. xiv. 25. 4 Ex. xiv.
5 Reading "in mari." But the Codex Bobieusis has in navi=on a ship.
6 Matt. viii. 26. 7 Ex. xvii.
s The text gives in juslis. But the Codex Bobiensis has in istis = in
those men. The true reading may be in injustis = in the unrighteous.
See Eph. ii. 2.
9 But the Codex Casinensis gives " Deus omnium " = the God of all.
10 Ex nominibus. The Codex Bobiensis offers the extraordinary read-
ing, ex navibus.
382 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP AECHELA US.
the following manner : Did you say that the testaments
are two I "Well, then, say either that there are two old testa-
ments, or that there are two new testaments. For you assert
that there are two unbegottens (ingenila) belonging to the
same time, or rather eternity; and if there are in this way
two, there should be either two old testaments or two new
testaments. If, however, you do not allow this, but affirm, on
the contrary, that there is one old testament and that there
is also another new testament, that will only prove again that
there is but one author for both; and the very sequence
will show that the old testament belongs to Him to whom
also the new testament pertains. We may illustrate this by
the case of a man who says to some other individual, 1 Lease
me your old house. For by such a mode of address does he
not pronounce the man to be also the owner of a new house ?
Or, on the other hand, if he says to him, Show me (prcesta)
your new house ; does he not by that very word designate
him also as the possessor of an old house? Then, again,
this also is to be considered, that since there are two beings,
having an unbegotten nature, it is also necessary from that
to suppose each of them to have (what must be called) an
old testament, and thus there will appear to be two old
testaments ; if indeed you affirm that both these beings are
ancient, and both indeed without a beginning. 2 But I
have not learned doctrine like that; neither do the Scrip-
tures contain it. You, however, who allege that the law of
Moses comes from the prince of evil, and not from the good
God, tell me who those were who withstood Moses to the
face I mean Jamnes and Mambres (Jamnem dico et Mam-
brem) ? For every object that withstands, withstands not
1 "We read, with the Codex Bobiensis, " dicat homini, Loca mihi," etc.
The Codex Casinensis has the meaningless reading, " homini diviti,"
etc.
2 The text of this obscure passage runs thus : " Quia ex quo duo sunt,
ingenitain habentes naturam, ex eo necesse est etiam habereunumquem-
que ipsorum vetus Testamentum, et fient duo vetera Testameuta ; si
tamen ambos antiques et sine initio esse dicis." The Codex Bobiensis
gives a briefer but evidently corrupt reading : " ex quo duo sunt ingenita
luibeutes naturam ipsorum Testamentum, et fient," etc.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 333
itself, but some other one, either better or worse ; as Paul
also gives us to understand when he writes in the follow-
ing terms in his second Epistle to Timothy : " As Jamnes
and Mambres withstood Moses, so have these also resisted
the truth: men of corrupt mind, reprobate concerning the
faith. But they shall proceed no further : for their folly
is manifest unto all men, as theirs also was." l Do you
observe how he compares Jamnes and Mambres to men of
corrupt mind, and reprobate concerning the faith ; while
he likens Moses, on the other hand, to the truth ? But the
holy John, the greatest of the evangelists, also tells us of
the giving and diffusing of grace for grace 2 (gratiam gratia
prcestare et differre) ; for he indicates, indeed, that we have
received the law of Moses out of the fulness of Christ, and
he means that for that one grace this other grace has been
made perfect in us through Jesus Christ. It was also to
show this to be the case that our Lord Jesus Christ Him-
self spake in these terms : tl Do not think that I will accuse
you to the Father : there is one that accuseth you, even
Moses, in whom ye hope. For had ye believed Moses, ye
would indeed have believed me : for he wrote of me. But if
ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?"'
And besides all these words, there are still many other pas-
sages that might be adduced both from the Apostle Paul
and from the Gospels, by which we are able to prove that
the old law belongs to no other one than that Lord to whom
also the new testament appertains, and which it would suit
us very well to set forth, and to make use of in a satisfactory
manner. 4 Now, however, the evening prevents us from
doing so ; for the day is drawing to its close, and it is right
that we should now bring our disputation to an end. But
an opportunity will be given you to-morrow to put questions
1 2 Tim. iii. 8, 9. 2 John i. 16.
3 John v. 45-47.
4 The Codex Bobiensis gives, " exponere et a Patre ut convemt." For
these meaningless words Valesius proposed to read, " exponere et aperire
ut convenit." The Codex Casinensis, however, offers the satisfactory
reading, " exponere et aptare convenit."
384 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
to us on any points you are pleased to take up. And after
these words they went their way. 1
46. Next morning, however, Archelaus suddenly made his
appearance at this residence (castellum) in which Diodorus
was staying, before any one was yet stirring abroad. Manes
accordingly, all unconscious of the fact that Archelaus was
now on the spot again, challenged Diodorus publicly to
engage in a disputation with him ; his intention being to
crush him with a verbal display, because he perceived that
he was a man of a simple nature, and not very deeply learned
in questions concerning the Scriptures. For he had now had
a taste of the doctrine of Archelaus. When, therefore, the
multitudes had again collected in the place usually set apart
for the disputation, and when Manes had just begun to reason,
all on a sudden Archelaus appeared among them, and em-
braced Diodorus, and saluted him with an holy kiss. Then
truly were Diodorus, and all those who were present, filled
with wonder at the dispensation of divine providence which
thus provided that Archelaus should arrive among them at
the very time when the question was being raised ; for in
reality, as must be confessed, Diodorus, with all his religious-
ness, had been somewhat afraid of the conflict. But when
Manes caught sight of Archelaus, he at once drew back from
his insulting attitude; and with his pride cast down not a
little, he made it quite plain that he would gladly flee from
the contest. The multitude of hearers, however, looked
upon the arrival of Archelaus as something like the advent
of an apostle, because he had shown himself so thoroughly
furnished, and so prompt and ready for a defence (of the
truth) by speech. Accordingly, after demanding silence from
the people by a wave of his right hand (for no inconsider-
able tumult had arisen), Archelaus began an address in the
following terms: Although some amongst us have gained
the honour of wisdom and the meed of glory, yet this I beg
of you, that you retain (in your minds) the testimony of
those things which have been said before my arrival. 2 For
1 Here ends the section edited by Yalesius.
* The text runs: "taraetsi prudentiam, gloriara etiam, nostrorum
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 385
I know and am certain, brethren, that I now take the place
of Diodorus, not on account of any impossibilities attaching
to him (pro ipsius impossililitate)* but because I came to
know this person here at a previous time, when he made
his way with his wicked designs into the parts where I re-
side, by the favour of Marcellus, 2 that man of illustrious
name, whom he endeavoured to turn aside from our doctrine
and faith, with the object, to wit, of making him an effective
supporter of this impious teaching. Nevertheless, in spite
of all his plausible addresses, he failed to move him or turn
him aside from the faith in any one particular. For this
most devout Marcellus was only found to be like the rock on
which the house was built with the most solid foundations ;
and when the rain descended, and the floods and the winds
burst in and beat upon that house, it stood firm : for it had
been built on the most solid and immoveable foundations. 3
And the attempt thus made by this person who is now before
you, brought dishonour rather than glory upon himself.
Moreover, it does not seem to me that he can be very excus-
able if he proves to be ignorant of what is in the future ; for
surely he ought to know beforehand those who are on his own
side : certainly he should have this measure of knowledge,
if it be true indeed that the Spirit of the Paraclete dwells
in him. But inasmuch as he is really a person blinded with
the darkness of ignorance, he ran in vain when he journeyed
to Marcellus, and he did but show himself to be like the star-
gazer, 4 who busies himself with describing things celestial,
while all the time he is ignorant of what is passing in his own
nonnulli assecuti sunt, tamen hoc vos deprecor ut eorum quse ante me
dicta sunt, testimouium reservetis." Routh suggests prudentia Although
by their prudence some have gained glory, etc.
1 But Routh suggests that the impossibilitate is just an inexact transla-
tion of the etiv vet-riot = impotentia, incapacity, which may have stood in
the Greek text.
2 Reading " Marcelli viri illustris gratia." The Codex Casinensis has,
"viri in legis gratia."
3 Matt. vii. 524.
4 The text gives " similis facere astrologo," for which Routh proposes
" uimilis factus est," etc.
2 B
386 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELAUS.
home. But lest it should appear as if I were setting aside
the question in hand by speaking in this strain, I shall now
refrain from such discourse. And I shall also give this man
the privilege of taking up any point which may suit him best
as a commencement to any treatment of the subject and the
question. And to you, as I have said already, I only address
the request that ye be impartial judges, so as to give to him
who speaks the truth the proper honour and the palm.
47. Then Manes, after silence had been secured among
' O
all, thus began his address : Like others, Archelaus, you too
smite me with the most injurious words, notwithstanding that
my sentiments on the subject of God are correct, and that I
hold also a proper conception of Christ ; and yet the family
of the apostles is rather of the character that bears all things
and endures all things, even although a man may assail
them with revilings and curses. If it is your intention to per-
secute me, I am prepared for it ; and if you wish to involve
me in punishment, I shall not shrink from it ; yea, if you
mean even to put me to death, I am not afraid : " For we
ought to fear Him only who is able to destroy both soul and
body in hell." 1 Archelaus said: Far be that from me!
Not such is my intention. For what have you ever had to
suffer at my hands, or at the hands of those who think with
us, even when you were disparaging us and doing us injury,
and when you were speaking in detraction of the traditions
of our fathers, and when it was your aim to work the death of
the souls of men. that were well established in the truth, and
that were kept with the most conscientious carefulness ; for
which, in truth, the whole wealth of the world would not
serve as a sufficient compensation ? 2 Nevertheless, what
ground have you for assuming this position ? What have you
to show I Tell us this, what signs of salvation have you to
bring before us ? For the bare bravado of words will not
avail to satisfy the multitude here present, neither will it be
enough to qualify them for recognising which of us holds the
1 Matt. x. 28.
2 The text is, " quibus utique repensari lion possunt," etc. Routh pro-
poses repensare.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 387
knowledge of the truth the more correctly. Wherefore, as
you have got the opportunity of speaking first, tell us first to
what particular head of the subject you wish us to direct the
disputation. Manes said: If you do not offer a second time
an unfair resistance to the positions which shall be stated
with all due propriety by us, I shall speak with you ; but if
you mean to show yourself still in the character which on a
former occasion I perceived you to take up, I shall address
myself to Diodorus, and shall keep clear of your turbulence.
Archelaus said : I have already expressed my opinion that
we shall be simply abusing the occasion by the mere bandy-
ing of empty words. If anyone on our side is found to
offer an unfair resistance, leave that to the decision of the
judges. But now, tell us what you have got to advance.
Manes said: If you do not mean a second time merely to
gainsay the positions which are stated with all due correct-
ness by me, I shall begin. Archelaus said: If not this, and
if not that, are ways of speaking which mark out an ignorant
man. You are ignorant, therefore, of what is in the future.
But as to this particular thing which you do declare to be
still future, to gainsay or not to gainsay is a matter in my
own power. How, then, will that argument about the two
trees stand, in which you place your trust as in a buckler
of the most approved strength ? For if I am of the contrary
side, how do you require my obedience ? And if, on the
other hand, there is in me the disposition of obedience, how
are you so greatly alarmed lest I should gainsay you ? For
you maintain that evil remains evil always, and that good
remains good always, in utter ignorance of the force of your
words. Manes said : Have I employed you as the advocate
of my words, so that you may determine also the intelligence
that may suit my knowledge ? And how will you be able to
explain what belongs to another person, when you cannot
make what pertains to yourself clear? But if Diodorus
now admits himself to be vanquished, my reasonings will
then be addressed to you. If, however, he still stands out,
and is prepared to speak, I beg you to give over and cease
from interfering with the substantiating of the truth. For
388 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
you are a strange sheep ; nevertheless hereafter you will be
introduced into the number of the same flock, as the voice of
Jesus 1 also intimates, that Jesus, namely, who appeared in
the form of man indeed, and yet was not a man. ArcJielaus
said: Are you not, then, of opinion that He was born of the
Virgin Mary? Manes said: God forbid that I should admit
that our Lord Jesus Christ came down to us through the
natural womb of a woman ! For He gives us His own testi-
mony that He came down from the Father's bosom ; 2 and
again He says, " He that receiveth me, receiveth Him that
sent me;" 3 and, "I came not to do mine own will, but the
will of Him that sent me ; " 4 and once more, " I am not
sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." J And
there are also innumerable other passages of a similar import,
which point Him out as one that came, and not as one that
was born. But if you are greater than He, and if you know
better than He what is true, how do we yet believe Him ?
ArcJielaus said: Neither am I greater than He, for I am His
servant ; nor can I be even the equal of my Lord, for I am
His unprofitable servant ; I am a disciple of His words, and
I believe those things which have been spoken by Him, and
I affirm that they are unchangeable. Manes said : A cer-
tain person somewhat like you once said to Him, " Mary
Thy mother, and Thy brethren, stand without ;" 6 and He
took not the word kindly, but rebuked the person who had
uttered it, saying, " Who is my mother, and who are my
brethren ? " And He showed that those who did His will
were both His mothers and His brethren. If you, however,
mean to say that Mary was actually His mother, you place
yourself in a position of considerable peril. For, without
any doubt, it would be proved on the same principles that
He had brethren also by her. Now tell me whether these
brethren were begotten by Joseph or by the same Holy
Spirit. For if you say that they were begotten by the
1 Reading " sicut vox Jesu." The Codex Casinensis gives, " sicut vos
Jesu." Routh suggests servator.
2 John i. 18, iii. 13. 8 Matt. x. 40. * John vi. 38.
5 Matt. xv. 24. Matt, xii. 47.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 389
same Holy Spirit, it will follow that we have had many
Christs. And if you say that these were not begotten by
the same Holy Spirit, and yet aver that He had brethren,
then without doubt we shall be under the necessity of under-
standing that, in succession to the Spirit and after Gabriel,
the most pure and spotless virgin l formed an actual mar-
riage connection with Joseph. But if this is also a thing
altogether absurd I mean the supposition that she had any
manner of intercourse with Joseph tell me whether then He
had brethren. Are you thus to fix the crime of adultery also
on her, most sagacious Marcellus ? 2 But if none of these
suppositions suits the position of the Virgin undefiled, how
will you make it out that He had brothers ? And if you are
unable to prove clearly to us that He had brethren, will it be
any the easier for you to prove Mary to be His mother, in
accordance with the saying of him who ventured to write, 3
" Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without ? "
Yet, although that man was bold enough to address Him
thus, no one can be mightier or greater than this same
person Himself who shows us His mother or His brethren.
Nay, He does not deign even to hear it said that Pie is
David's son. 4 The Apostle Peter, however, the most emi-
nent of all the disciples, was able to acknowledge Him on
that occasion, when all were putting forth the several
opinions which they entertained respecting Him : for he
said, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God ;" 5
and immediately He names him blessed, addressing him
thus : " For my heavenly Father hath revealed it unto
thee." Observe what a difference there is between these
1 The text gives, " Virgo castissima et immaculata ecclesia," = the
most pure virgin and spotless church. But the word " ecclesia " is pro-
bably an erroneous addition by the hand of the scribe. Or, as Routh
hints, there may be an allusion, in the word ecclesia, to the beginning
of the twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse.
2 From this it may perhaps be gathered that Marcellus had come along
with Archelaus now to the residence of Diodorus.
3 Scribere ausus est. Compare the end of the chapter.
4 Matt. xxii. 42. We read Davidls esse for David Jesse,
6 Matt. xvi. 16.
390 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
two words which were spoken by Jesus. For to him who
had said, " Behold, Thy mother stands without," He replied,
" Who is my mother, or who are my brethren ? " But to
him who said, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God," He makes the return of a beatitude and benediction.
Consequently, if you will have it that He was born of Mary,
then it follows that no less than Peter, He is Himself thus
proved to have spoken falsely. But if, on the other hand,
Peter states what is true, then without doubt that former
person was in error. And if the former was in error, the
matter is to be referred back to the writer. 1 We know,
therefore, that there is one Christ, according to the Apostle
Paul, whose words, as in consonance at least (consonantibus
duntaxaf) with His advent, we believe.
48. On hearing these statements, the multitudes assembled
were greatly moved, as if they felt that these reasonings gave
the correct account of the truth, and that Archelaus could
have nothing to urge against them ; for this was indicated
by the commotion which arose among them. But when the
crowd of auditors became quiet again, Archelaus made answer
in the following manner : No one, truly, shall ever be able
to prove himself mightier than the voice of our Lord Jesus
Christ, neither is there found any name equal to His, as it
is written : " Wherefore God hath exalted Him, and given
Him a name which is above every name." 2 Nor, again, in
the matter of testimony can any one ever be equal to Him ;
and accordingly I shall simply adduce the testimonies of His
own voice in answer to you, first of all, indeed, with the
view of solving those difficulties which have been enunciated
by you, so that you may not say, as is your wont to do, that
these are matters which are not in harmony with the Person
Himself (sibi ipsi). Now, you maintain that the man who
brought the word to Jesus about His mother and His
brethren was rebuked by Him as if he was in error, as
the writer was in error (secundum id quod scriptorem fefellit).
1 The text gives, " Quod si prior fefellit, causa ad scriptorem reji-
cienda est."
8 Phil. ii. 9.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 391
Well, I affirm that neither was this person rebuked who
brought Him the message about His mother and His brethren,
O O 7
nor was Peter only named blessed above him ; but each
of these two parties received from Him the answer that
was properly called forth by their several utterances, as
the discourse will demonstrate in what follows. When one
is a child, he thinks as a child, he speaks as a child ; but
when he becomes a mature man, those things are to be done
away which are proper for a child: 1 in other words, when
one reaches forth unto those things which are before, he
will forget those which are behind. 2 Hence, when our
Lord Jesus Christ was engaged in teaching and healing
the race of men, so that all pertaining to it might not
utterly perish together, and when the minds of all those who
were listening to Him were intently occupied with these
interests, it made an interruption altogether inopportune
when this messenger came in and put Him in mind of His
mother and His brethren. What then ? Ought He, now, 8
yourself being judge, 4 to have left those whom He was
healing and instructing, and gone to speak with His mother
and His brethren ? Would you not by such a supposition at
once lower the character of the Person Himself? When,
again, He chose certain men who were laden and burdened
with sins for the honour of disoipleship, 5 to the number of
twelve, whom He also named His apostles, He gave them
this injunction, Leave father and mother, that you may be
made worthy of me; 6 intending by this that thenceforward
the memory of father or mother should no more impair the
stedfastness of their heart. And on another occasion, when a
1 1 Cor. xiii. 11. 2 p ni i. ft. 13 .
3 Reading " debuitne etiam " for the bad version of the Codex Casi-
nensis, " debuit et etiam."
4 The text gives, " se ipso judicante," for which " te ipso," etc., may
be substituted.
5 In the Codex Casinensis the sentence stands in this evidently corrupt
form : " cum enim peccatis bonus et gravatus ad discipulatum diligit."
We adopt the emendation given in Migne : " cum enim peccatis onustos
et gravatos ad discipulatum delegit."
Matt. x. 37.
302 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCH EL A US.
different individual chose to say to Him, " I will go arid bury
my father," He answered, " Let the dead bury their dead." l
Behold, then, how my Lord Jesus Christ edifies His disciples
unto all things necessary, and delivers His sacred words to
every one, in due accordance with what is meet for him.
And just in the same way, too, on this other occasion, when
a certain person came in with the inconsiderate message
about His mother, He did not embrace the occurrence as
an opportunity for leaving His Father's commission un r
attended to even for the sake of having His mother with
Him. But in order to show you still more clearly that
this is the real account of the matter, let me remind you that
Peter, on a certain season, subsequent to the time of his re-
ceiving that declaration of blessedness from Him, said to
Jesus, " Be it far from Thee, Lord (propitius esto, Domine) :
this shall not be unto Thee." 2 This he said after Jesus had
announced to him that the Son of man must go up to Jeru-
salem, and be killed, and rise again the third day. 3 And in
answer then to Peter He said : " Get thee behind me, Satan ;
for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those
that be of men." 4 Now, since it is your opinion that the
man who brought the message about His mother and His
brethren was rebuked by Jesus, and that he who said a
little before, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God," obtained the word of blessing, mark you that Jesus
(may be said to have) rather preferred that person to whom
He condescended to give the more gracious and indulgent
answer ; whereas Peter, even after that benediction, now got
no appellation expressive of indulgence addressed to him, by
reason of his having failed carefully to observe the nature of
the announcement that was made to him. For the error of
that messenger was at once corrected by the tenor of the
reply ; but the dulness of this apostle's apprehension was con-
demned with a severer rebuke. And from this you may per-
ceive that the Lord Jesus, observing what was proper and
opportune with regard to the interrogations thus addressed
1 Luke ix. 59, 60. a Matt. xvi. 22.
8 Matt. xvi. 21. * Matt. xvi. 23.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 303
to Him, gave to each the reply that was worthy of it, and
suited to it. But supposing that, as you say, Peter was
pronounced blessed on the ground of his having said what
was true, and that that messenger was reproved on account
of the error he committed, tell me then why it is, that
when the devils confessed Him, and said, " We know Thee,
who Thou art, the Holy God," * He rebuked them, and
commanded them to be silent 1 ? 2 Why was it not the case, if
He does indeed take pleasure in the testimonies borne to Him
by those who confess Him, that He recompensed them also
with benedictions, as He did to Peter when he gave utterance
to the truth ? But if that would be an absurd supposition,
it only remains that we must understand the words spoken by
Him always in accordance with the place, the time, the per-
sons, the subjects, and the due consideration of the circum-
stances (pro accidentium salute). For only this method will
save us from falling into the error of pronouncing rashly on
His sayings, and thus making ourselves liable to merited
chastisement : and this will also help me to make it more
and more intelligible to you, that the man who brought the
tidings of His mother was much rather the person honoured. 3
However, in forgetfulness of the subject which was proposed
to us for discussion, you have turned off to a different theme.
Nevertheless listen to me for a brief space. For if you choose,
indeed, to consider those words somewhat more carefully, we
shall find that the Lord Jesus displayed great clemency in
the case of the former of these two parties ; and this I shall
prove to you by illustrations suited to your capacity. A
certain king who had taken up arms, and gone forth to meet
an enemy, was earnestly considering and planning how he
might subdue those hostile and foreign forces. And when
1 Luke iv. 34, reading sanctus Deus.
2 Reading silere. The Codex Casinensis gives sinire, which may be
meant for sinere = give over.
3 We have adopted Migne's arrangement of these clauses. Routh,
however, puts them thus : And that it may be made more intelligible to
yon, etc., . . . (for in forgetfulness, etc., you have turned off, etc.), listen
to me now for a brief space.
394 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
his mind was occupied with many cares and anxieties, after
he had forced his way among his adversaries, and when, fur-
ther, as he began afterwards to make captives of them, the
anxious thought was now also pressing upon him as to how
he might secure the safety and interests of those who had
toiled with him, and borne the burden of the war, 1 a cer-
tain messenger broke inopportunely in upon him, and began
to remind him of domestic matters. But he was astonished
at the man's boldness, and at his unseasonable suggestions,
and thought of delivering such a fellow over to death. And
had that messenger not been one who was able to appeal to his
tenderest affections in bringing the news that it was well with
those at home, and that all went on prosperously and success-
fully there, that punishment might have been his instant and
well-merited doom. For what else should be a king's care,
so long as the time of war endures, than to provide for the
safety of the people of his province, and to look after mili-
tary matters ? And even thus it also was that that messenger
came inopportunely in upon my Lord Jesus Christ, and
brought the report about His mother and His brethren un-
seasonably, just when He was fighting against ills which had
assailed the very citadel of the heart, and when He was healing
those who for a long time had been under the power of diverse
infirmities, and when He had now put forth His utmost effort
to secure the salvation of all. And truly that man might
have met with a sentence like that pronounced on Peter, or
even one severer still. But the hearing of the name of His
mother and His brethren drew forth His clemency.
49. But in addition to all that has been said already, I wish
to adduce still further proof, so that all may understand what
impiety is contained in this assertion of yours. For if your
allegation is true, that Pie was not born, then it will follow
undoubtedly that He did not suffer ; for it is not possible for
one to suffer who was not also born. But if He did not suffer,
then the name of the cross is done away with. And if the
cross was not endured, then Jesus did not rise from the dead.
1 Reading "pondus belli toleraverant," instead of the "pondus bel-
lico tolerarant " of the Codex Casinensis.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 395
And if Jesus rose not from the dead, then no other person will
rise again. And if no one shall rise again, then there will be
no judgment. For it is certain that, if I am not to rise again,
I cannot be judged. But if there is to be no judgment, then
the keeping of God's commandments will be to no purpose,
and there will be no occasion for abstinence : nay, we may
say, " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die." l
For all these consequences follow when you deny that He
was born of Mary. But if you acknowledge that He was
born of Mary, then His passion will necessarily follow, and
His resurrection will be consequent on His passion, and the
judgment on His resurrection : and thus the injunctions of
Scripture will have their proper value (salvo) for us. This
is not therefore an idle question, but there are the mightiest
issues involved in this word. For just as all the law and the
prophets are summed up in two words, so also all our hope is
made to depend on the birth by the blessed Mary. Give me
therefore an answer to these several questions which I shall
address to you. How shall we get rid of these many words
of the apostle, so important and so precise, which are ex-
pressed in terms like the following: "But when the good
pleasure of God was with us, He sent His Son, made of a
woman ; " 2 and again, " Christ our passover is sacrificed for
us ; " 3 and once more, " God hath both raised up the Lord,
and will raise up us together with Him by His own power?" '
And there are many other passages of a similar import ;
as, for example, this which follows : " How say some among
you, 5 that there is no resurrection of the dead ? For if
1 1 Cor. xv. 32.
2 Gal. iv. 4. The reading is, " cum autem fuit Dei voluntas in nobis."
The Vulgate, following the ordinary Greek text, gives, " at ubi venit
plenitudo temporis." And so Irenaeus, Tertullian, Cyprian, etc.
3 1 Cor. v. 7.
4 1 Cor. vi. 14. The text here inserts the words cum illo, which are
found neither in the Greek, nor in the Vulgate, nor in Irenaeus, Adv.
Hxres. v. 6, 7, nor in Tertullian, Adv. Marc. v. 7, etc. According to
Sabatier, however, they are found in Jerome, Ep. ad Amand.
5 Reading in vobis. But the Codex Casinensis seems to give in
amongst us.
396 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
there be no resurrection of the dead, then is not Christ risen :
and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain.
Yea, and we shall be found false witnesses of God ; who
have testified against God that He raised up Christ : whom
He raised not up. For if the dead rise not, then is not
Christ risen: and if Christ be not raised, your 1 faith is
vain ; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are
fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we
have hope in Christ, we are more miserable than all men.
But now is Christ risen from the dead, the beginning (initium)
of them that sleep ; " 2 and so on. Who, then, I ask, can be
found so rash and audacious as not to make his faith fit in
with these sacred words, in which there is no qualification
(distinctio) nor any dubiety? Who, I ask you, O foolish
Galatian, has bewitched you, as those were bewitched "be-
fore whose eyes Jesus Christ was evidently set forth, cruci-
fied ? " From all this I think that these testimonies should
suffice in proof of the judgment, and the resurrection, and
the passion ; and the birth by Mary is also shown to be in-
volved naturally and at once in these facts. And what
matters it though you refuse to acquiesce in this, when the
Scripture proclaims the fact most unmistakeably ? Never-
theless I shall again put a question to you, and let it please
you to give me an answer. When Jesus gave His testimony
concerning John, and said, " Among them that are born of
women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist :
notwithstanding, he that is less (minor) in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than he," 4 tell me what is meant by there
being a greater than he in the kingdom of heaven. Was
Jesus less in the kingdom of heaven than John? I say, God
forbid ! Tell me, then, how this is to be explained, and you
will certainly surpass yourself. Without doubt (the meaning
is, that) Jesus was less than John among those that are born
1 But the Codex Casinensis seems to make itjides nostra, our faith.
2 1 Cor. xv. 12-20.
8 Gal. iii. 1. The word in the text is rescriptus est. The Vulgate
gives prsescriptus est. The Vetus Itala gives proscriptus est.
* Matt. xi. 11.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 397
of woman ; but in the kingdom of heaven He is grcntei than
he. 1 Wherefore tell me this too, O Manichseus : If you say
that Christ was not born of Mary, but that He only appeared
like a man, while yet He was not really a man, the appearance
being effected and produced by the power that is in Him,
tell me, I repeat, on whom then was it that the Spirit de-
scended like a dove ? Who is this that was baptized by John?
If He was perfect, if He was the Son, if He was the Power,
the Spirit could not have entered into Him ; 2 just as a king-
dom cannot enter within a kingdom. And whose, too, was
that voice which was sent forth out of heaven, and which
gave Him this testimony, " This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased ? " 3 Come, tell me ; make no delay ; who
is this that acquires (jparat) all these things, that does all
these things ? Answer me : Will you thus audaciously
adduce blasphemy for reason, and will you attempt to find a
place for it (inferre coneris) 1
50. Manes said: No one, certainly, who may be able to
give a reply to what has just been alleged by you need fear
incurring the guilt of blasphemy, but should rather be deemed
thoroughly worthy of all commendation. For a true master
of his art (artifez), when any matters are brought under his
notice, ought to prepare his reply with due care, and make all
1 It would seem that Archelaus read the passage in Matthew as mean-
ing, notwithstanding, he that is less, is, in the kingdom of heaven, greater
than he. Thus, he that is less is understood to be Jesus in His natural
relations.
2 Routh appends a note here which may be given. It is to this effect :
I am afraid that Archelaus has not expressed with sufficient correctness
the mystery of the Divine Incarnation, in this passage as well as in what
follows ; although elsewhere he has taught that the Lord Jesus was con-
ceived by divine power, and in ch. xxxiv. has called the Virgin Mary
Dei genetrix, Q-OTOX.O;. For at the time of the Saviour's baptism the
Holy Spirit was not given in His first communication with the Word
of God (which Word, indeed, had been united with the human nature
from the time of the conception itself), but was only received by
the Christ tivdpuTrlyas and OIKOI/O/^IKU;, and for the sake of men. See
Cyril of Alexandria, De Redd Fide, xxxiv. vol. v. 2, p. 153, cditio
A uberti.
3 Matt. iii. 17.
398 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
clearly to understand the points that are in question or under
doubt ; and most especially ought he to do so to uninstructed
persons. Now since the account of our doctrine does not
satisfy you, be pleased, like a thorough master of your art,
to solve this question also for me in a reasonable manner.
For to rne it seems but pious to say that the Son of God
stood in need of nothing whatsoever in the way of making
good His advent upon earth; and that He in no sense required
either the dove, or baptism, or mother, or brethren, or even
mayhap a father, which father, however, according to your
view, was Joseph ; but that He descended altogether by Him-
self alone, and transformed Himself, according to His own
good pleasure, into (the semblance of) a man, in accordance
with that word of Paul which tells us that " He was
found in fashion as a man." 1 Show me, therefore, what
thing He could possibly need who was able to transform
Himself into all manner of appearances. For when He
chose to do so, He again transformed this human fashion
(hominem) and mien into the likeness of the sun. But if you
gainsay me once more, and decline to acknowledge that I
state the faith correctly, listen to my definition of the posi-
tion in which you stand. For if you say that He was only
man (as born) of Mary (hominem eum tantummodo ex Maria),
and that He received the Spirit at His baptism, it will follow
that He will be made out to be Son by increase (or, effect, per
profectum) and not by nature. If, however, I grant you to say
that He is Son according to increase (effect), and that He
was made as a man, your opinion is that He is really a man,
that is to say, one who is flesh and blood. 2 But then it will
necessarily follow that the Spirit also who appeared like a
dove was nothing else than a natural dove. For the two
expressions are the same, namely, as a man and like (or
as) a dove ; and consequently whatever may be the view you
take of the one passage which uses the phrase as a man,
1 Phil. ii. 7.
2 Routh puts this interrogatively = Is it then your position that He
really is a man, that is to say, one who is flesh and blood ? Well, but
if so, then it will follow, etc.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 309
you ought to hold that same view 1 also of this other pas-
sage in which the expression like a dove is used. It is a
clear matter of necessity to take these things in the same
way, for only thus can we find out the real sense of what
is written concerning Him in the Scriptures. Archelans
said: As you cannot do so much for yourself, like a thorough
master of your art, so neither should I care to put this question
right and with all patience to make it clear, and to give the
evident solution of the difficulty, 2 were it not for the sake of
those who are present with us, and who listen to us. For this
reason, therefore, I shall also explain the answer that ought
to be given to this question as it may be done most appro-
priately. It does not seem to you, then, to be a pious thing to
say that Jesus had a mother in Mary ; and you hold a similar
view on certain other positions which you have now been
discussing in terms which I, for my part, altogether shrink
from repeating. Now, sometimes a master of any art
happens to be compelled by the ignorance of an opponent
both to say and to do things which time would (make him)
decline ; 3 and accordingly, because the necessity is laid upon
me, by consideration for the multitude present, I may give a
brief answer to those statements which have been made so
erroneously by you. Let us suppose, now, your allegation to
be, that if we understand Jesus to be a man made of Mary
after the course of nature, and regard him consequently as
having flesh and blood, it will be necessary also to hold that
the Holy Spirit was a real dove, and not a spirit. Well,
then, how can a real dove enter into a real man, and abide
in him? For flesh cannot enter into flesh. Nay rather,
it is only when we acknowledge Jesus to be a true man, and
also hold him who is there said to be like a dove to be the
1 Reading " sicut homo, hac opinione," for the " sicut homo ac
opinions " of the Codex Casinensis.
2 The Codex Casinensis reads, " hanc qusestionem diffigenter aptare
tarn manifestarem atque manifeste dissolverem." We follow the emen-
dation, " hanc qusestionem diligenter aptatam manifestarem," etc.
3 The text gives tempus recusat. Routh proposes tempus requirit =
which the occasion requires.
400 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP AECHELA US.
Holy Spirit, that we shall give the correct account according
to reason on both sides. For, according to right reason, (it
may be said that) the Spirit dwells in a man, and descends
upon him, and abides in him ; and these, indeed, are things
which have happened already in all due competence, and
the occurrence of which is always possible still, as even
you yourself (admit, inasmuch as you) did aforetime pro-
fess to be the Paraclete of God, you flint, 1 as I may call
you, and no man, so often forgetful of the very things
which you assert. For you declared that the Spirit whom
Jesus promised to send has come upon you ; and whence can
He come but by descending from heaven ? And if the Spirit
descends thus on the man worthy of Him, then verily must
we fancy that real doves descended upon you ? Then truly
should we rather discover in you the thieving dove-mer-
chant (columbarium furerri), who lays snares and lines for the
birds. For surely you well deserve to be made a jest of with
words of ridicule. However, I spare you, lest perchance I
appear to offend the auditors by such expressions, and also
most especially because it is beside my purpose to throw
out against you all that you deserve to hear said about you.
But let me return to the proper subject. For I am mindful
of that transformation of thine, 2 in virtue of which you say
that God has transformed Himself into (the fashion of) a
man or (into that of) the sun, by which position you think
to prove that our Jesus was made man only in fashion
and in appearance; which assertion may God save any of
the faithful from making. Now, for the rest, that opinion
of yours would reduce the whole matter to a dream, so far
as we are concerned, and to mere figures ; and not that
only, 3 but the very name of an advent would be done away :
1 This is a purely conjectural reading, " ut dicam silex," etc. The
Codex Casinensis gives, " ut dicam dilere non homo." But Routh, in
reference to ch. xv., throws out the idea that we should read delire =
thou dotard, or, lunatic.
3 The text gives *#. Routh suggests tux.
3 The text is, " non solum autem, sed adventus nomen delebitur." It
may perhaps be = and not the foundation, but the name, of an advent
would be done away
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 401
for He might have done what He desired to do, though
still seated in heaven, if He is, as you say, a spirit, and
not a true man. But it is not thus that il He humbled
Himself, and took the form of a servant;" 1 and I say
this of Him who was made man of Mary. For what?
Might not we, too, have set forth things like those with
which you have been dealing, and that, too, all the more easily
and the more broadly? But far be it from us to swerve one
jot or one tittle from the truth. For He who was born of
Mary is the Son, who chose of His own accord to sustain
tliis 2 mighty conflict, namely, Jesus. This is the Christ
of God, who descended upon him who is of Mary. If, how-
ever, you refuse to believe even the voice that was heard from
heaven, all that you can bring forward in place of the same
is but some rashness of your own ; and though you were to
declare yourself on that, no one would believe you. For
forthwith Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to
be tempted by the devil ; and as the devil had no correct know-
ledge of Him, he said to Him, " If thou be the Son of God." 3
Besides, he did not understand the reason of this bearing of
the Son of God (by Mary), who preached the kingdom of
heaven, whose was also (or perhaps, = which was also, quod
erat tabernaculum, etc.) indeed a great tabernacle, and one that
could not have been prepared by any other : 4 whence, too,
He who was nailed to the cross, on rising again from the
dead, was taken up thither where Christ the Son of God
reigned; so that when He begins to conduct His judg-
ment, those who have been ignorant of Him shall look on
Him whom they pierced. 5 But in order to secure your
1 Phil. ii. 7.
2 The text gives " quo magnum," etc., for which we adopt " quod
magnum," etc.
3 Matt. iv. 3.
4 The Codex Casinensis gives, " Ignorabat autem propter qui genuisset
Filium Dei prsedicabat regnum coalorum, qui erat," etc. We follow gene-
rally the emendations adopted in Migne : " Ignorabat autem propter quid
genuisset Filium Dei, qui prsedicabat regnum ccelorum, quod erat habita-
culum magnum," etc. Routh would read " genitus esset Filius Dei," etc.
6 John xix. 37.
2 C
402 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
credence, I propose this question to you : Why was it, that
although His disciples sojourned a whole year with Him, not
one of them fell prostrate on his face before Him, as you
were saying a little ago, save only in that one hour when His
countenance shone like the sun ? Was it not by reason of
that tabernacle which had been made (for Him) of Mary ?
For just as no other had the capacity sufficient for sus-
taining the burden of the Paraclete except only the dis-
ciples and the blessed Paul, so also no other was able to
bear the Spirit who descended from heaven, and through
whom that voice of the Father gave its testimony in these
terms, " This is my beloved Son," l save only He who was
born of Mary, and who is above all the saints, namely,
Jesus. But now give us your answer to those matters
which I bring forward against you. If you hold that He is
man only in mien and form, how could He have been
laid hold of and dragged off to judgment by those who
were born of man and woman to wit, the Pharisees seeing
that a spiritual body cannot be grasped by bodies of grosser
capacities ? But if you, who as yet have made no reply to
the arguments brought before you, have now any kind of
answer to offer to the word and proposition 1 have adduced,
proceed, I pray you, and fetch me at least a handful or some
fair modicum of your sunlight (pugillum plenum solis mild
offer aut medium plenum). But that very sun, indeed, inas-
much as it is possessed of a more subtle body, is capable of
covering and enveloping you; while you, on the other hand, can
do it no in jury, even although you were to trample it under foot.
My Lord Jesus, however, if He was laid hold of, was laid
hold of as a man by men. If He is not a man, neither was
He laid hold of. If He was not laid hold of, neither did He
suffer, nor was He baptized. If He was not baptized, neither
is any of us baptized. But if there is no baptism, neither
will there be any remission of sins, but every man will die
in his own sins. Manes said : Is baptism, then, given on
account of the remission of sins? Archelaus said: Cer-
tainly. Manes said: Does it not follow, then, that Christ
1 Matt. iii. 17.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 403
has sinned, seeing that He has been baptized? ArcJielaus
said : God forbid ! Nay, rather, He was made sin for us,
taking on Him our sins. 1 For this reason He was born of
a woman, and for this reason also He approached the rite
of baptism, in order that He might receive the purification
of this part (partis), and that thus the body which He had
taken to Himself might be capable of bearing the Spirit, who
had descended in the form of a dove.
51. When Archelaus had finished this speech, the crowds of
people marvelled at the truth of his doctrine, and expressed
their vehement commendations of the man with loud out-
cries, so that they exerted themselves most energetically, and
would have kept him from his return. 2 Thereafter, how-
ever, they withdrew. After some time, again, when they
were gathered together, Archelaus persuaded them to accede
to his desire, and listen quietly to the word. And among
his auditors were not only those who were with Diodorus,
but also all who were present from his province and from
the neighbouring districts. When silence, then, was secured,
Archelaus proceeded to speak to them of Manes in the follow-
ing manner : You have heard, indeed, what is the character
of the doctrine which we teach, and you have got some
proof of our faith ; for I have expounded the Scriptures
before you all, precisely in accordance with the views
which I myself have been able to reach in studying them.
But I entreat you now to listen to me in all silence, while
I speak with the utmost possible brevity, with the view of
giving you to understand who this person is who has made
his appearance among us, and whence he comes, and what
character he has, exactly as a certain man of the name of
Sisinius, one 3 of his comrades, has indicated the facts to me ;
which individual 4 I am also prepared, if it please you, to sum-
mon in evidence of the statements I am about to make. And,
1 2 Cor. v. 21.
2 The text is, " et ultra ei non sinerent ad propria reineare." Kouth
suggests ultro for ultra.
a Reading ?<//.v, instead of "ros, comitibus," etc,
4 Heading " quern etiam " instead of " qua; etiam."
40* THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELA US.
in truth, this person did not decline to affirm the very same
facts which we now adduce, 1 even when Manes was present ;
for the above-mentioned individual became a believer of our
doctrine, as did also another person who was with me, named
Turbo. Accordingly, all that these parties have conveyed in
their testimony to me, and also all that we ourselves have dis-
covered in the man, I shall not suffer to be kept back from
your cognizance. Then, indeed, the multitudes became all
the more excited, and crowded together to listen to Arche-
laus ; for, in good sooth, the statements which were made by
him offered them the greatest enjoyment. Accordingly, they
earnestly urged him to tell them all that he pleased, and all
that he had on his mind ; and they declared themselves ready
to listen to him there and then, and engaged to stay on even
to the evening, and until the lights should be lit. Stimulated
therefore by their heartiness, Archelaus began his address
with all confidence in the following terms : My brethren,
you have heard, indeed, the primary causes (superiores
quidem causas Domini, etc.) relating to my Lord Jesus,
I mean those which are decided out of the law and the
prophets; and of the subsidiary causes also relating to my
Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour, you are not ignorant. And
why should I say more? From the loving desire for the
Saviour we have been called Christians, as the whole world
itself attests, and as the apostles also plainly declare. Yea,
further, that best master-builder of His, Paul himself, 2
has laid our foundation, 3 that is, the foundation of the
church, and has put us in trust of the law, ordaining
ministers, and presbyters, 4 and bishops in the same, and
describing in the places severally assigned to that purpose,
in what manner and with what character the ministers of
1 The Codex Casinensis gives, " ipse quidem me dicere recusavit," etc.
We adopt the correction in Migne, " sed ne ipse quidem dicere recu-
savit,'' etc.
2 Eeading " sed et optimus architectus ejus, fundamentum," etc.
The Codex Casinensis has the corrupt lection, "sed et optimos archi-
tectos ei fundamentum," etc.
3 Cf. 1 Cor. iii. 10. 4 Cf. Acts xiv. 23.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 405
God ought to conduct themselves, of what repute the pres-
byters ought to be possessed, and how they should be con-
stituted, and what manner of persons those also ought to be
who desire the office of bishop. 1 And all these institutions,
which were once settled well and rightly for us, preserve
their proper standing and order with us to this day, and the
regular administration of these rules abides amongst us still.
But as to this fellow, Manes by name, who has at present
burst boastfully forth upon us from the province of Persia,
and between whom and me a disputation has now for the
second time been stirred, I shall tell you about his lineage,
and that, too, in all fulness ; and I shall also show you most
lucidly the source from which his doctrine has descended.
This man is neither the first nor the only originator of
this type of doctrine. But a certain person belonging to
Scythia, bearing the name Scythianus, 2 and living in the
time of the apostles, was the founder and leader of this sect,
just as many other apostates have constituted themselves
founders and leaders, who from time to time, through the
ambitious desire of arrogating positions of superior import-
ance to themselves, have given out falsehoods for the truth,
and have perverted the simpler class of people to their own
lustful appetencies, on whose names and treacheries, how-
ever, time does not permit us at present to descant. This
Scythianus, then, was the person who introduced this self-
contradictory dualism ; and for that, too, he was himself in-
debted to Pythagoras, as also all the other followers of this
dogma have been, who all uphold the notion of a dualism,
and turn aside from the direct course of Scripture : but they
shall not gain any further success therein.
52. No one, however, has ever made such an unblushing
advance in the promulgation of these tenets as this Scythianus.
For he introduced the notion of a feud between the two un-
be^ottens, and all those other fancies which are the conse-
*
1 Cf. 1 Tim. iii. 1.
? Various other forms are found for this name Scythianus. Thus we
lind Scutianus and Excutiaiius, forms which may hare arisen through
mere clerical errors. The Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. gives Stutianua.
4 DC THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
quences of a position of that kind. This Scythian us himself
belonged to the stock of the Saracens, and took as his wife a
certain captive from the Upper Thebaid, who persuaded him
to dwell in Egypt rather than in the deserts. And would
that he had never been received by that province, in which,
as he dwelt in it for a period, he found the opportunity for
learning the wisdom of the Egyptians! 1 for, to speak truth,
he was a person of very decided talent, and also of very
liberal means, as those who knew him have likewise testified
in accounts transmitted to us. Moreover, he had a certain
disciple named Terebinthus, 2 who wrote four books for him.
To the first of these books he gave the title of the Mysteries,
to the second that of the Heads (Capituloruin), to the third
that of the Gospel, and to the last of all that of the Treasury
(Thesaurus). He had these four books, and this one dis-
ciple whose name was Terebinthus. As, then, these two
persons had determined to reside alone by themselves for
a considerable period, Scythianus thought of making an
excursion into Judea, with the purpose of meeting with
all those who had a reputation there as teachers ; but it
came to pass that he suddenly departed this life soon after
1 This seems the general idea meant to be conveyed. The text,
which is evidently corrupt, runs thus : " in qua cum eum habitaret,
cum ^Egyptiorum sapientiam didicisset." The Codex Eeg. Alex. Vat.
reads, " in qua cum habitaret et ./Egyptiorum," etc. In Migne it is
proposed to fill up the lacunae thus : "in qua cum diu habitaret, depra-
vatus est, cum JSgyptiorum sapientiam didicisset." Eouth suggests, "in
qua cum ea habitaret," etc.
2 The Codex Casinensis reads Terbonem for Terebinthum. But in
Cyril of Jerusalem, in his Catechesis 6, as well as in others, we regularly
find Tepfttvdoi/, Terbinthum, or Terebinthum, given as the name of the
disciple of Scythianus. The form Tereventus is also given ; and the
Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. has Terybeneus. The statement made here as
to these books being written by Terebinthus is not in accordance with
statements made by Cyril and others, who seem to recognise Scythianus
alone as the author. As to the name Terebinthus itself, C. Ritter, in
his Die Stupa's, etc., p. 29, thinks that it is a Grecized form of a predi-
cate of Buddha, viz. Tere-hintu, Lord of the Hindoos. Others take it
simply to be a translation of the Hebrew r6tf, the terebinth. See a note
on this subject in Neander's Church History, ii. p. 166 (Bohn).
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 407
tli at, without having been able to accomplish anything.
That disciple, moreover, who had sojourned with him had
to flee, 1 and made his way toward Babylonia, a province which
at present is held 2 by the Persians, and which is distant
now a journey of about six days and nights from our parts.
On arriving there, Terebinthus succeeded in giving cur-
rency to a wonderful account of himself, declaring that he
was replete with all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and that
he was really named now, not Terebinthus, but another
Buddas, 3 and that this designation had been put upon him.
He asserted further that he was the son of a certain virgin,
and that he had been brought up by an angel 4 on the moun-
tains. A certain prophet, however, of the name of Parcus,
and Labdacus the son of Mithras, 5 charged 6 him with false-
hood, and day after day unceasingly they had keen and
elevated contentions (animosa exaggeratio) on this subject.
But why should I speak of that at length ? Although he
was often reproved, he continued, nevertheless, to make de-
clarations to them on matters which were antecedent to the
world (ante seculuni), and on the sphere, and the two lumi-
naries ; and also on the question whither and in what manner
the souls depart, and in what mode they return again into the
bodies ; and he made many other assertions of this nature,
and others even worse than these, as, for instance, that war
was raised with God among the elements (or, in the origins
of things, in principiis), that the prophet himself might be
believed. However, as he was hard pressed for assertions
1 The Codex Reg. Alex. Yat. inserts here, " omnibus qusecunque ejus
fuerant congregatis" = gathering together all that was his.
2 Reading " habetur." But Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. gives habitatur,
is inhabited.
3 The Codex Casinensis gives, " sed aliud cujusdam homine." "We
adopt " sed alium Buddam nomine," with which the narratives of Cyril,
Epiphanius, and others agree. Routh proposes " alio Buddam nomine "
= by another name, Buddas.
4 The text gives "natum esse, simul et ab angelo." The Codex Reg.
Alex. Vat. reads, " natum se esse simulabat et ab angelo."
s On these Persian priests, see Epiphanius on this heresy, num. 3.
6 Reading arguebant, with Routh, for argitebat.
408 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCIIELA US.
like these, he betook himself to a certain widow, along with
his four books : for he had attached to himself no disciple in
that same locality, with the single exception of an old woman
who became an intimate of his (particeps ejus). Then, 1 on
a subsequent occasion, at the earliest dawn one morning, he
went up to the top (solarium quoddam excelsun\) of a cer-
tain house, and there began to invoke certain names, which
Turbo has told us only the seven elect have learned. He
ascended to the housetop, then, with the purpose of engaging
in some religious ceremony, or some art of his own ; and he
went up alone, so as not to be detected by any one : 2 for he
considered that, if he was convicted of playing false with, or
holding of little account, the religious beliefs of the people,
he would be liable to be punished by the real princes of the
country. And as he was revolving these things then in
his mind, God in His perfect justice decreed that he should
be thrust beneath earth by a spirit (suit terras eum detrudi
per spiritum) ; and forthwith he was cast down from the
roof of the house ; and his body, being precipitated lifeless
to the ground, was taken up in pity by the old woman
mentioned above, and was buried in the wonted place of
sepulture.
53. After this event all the effects which he had brought
with him from Egypt remained in her possession. And she
rejoiced greatly over his death, and that for two reasons :
first, because she did not regard his arts with satisfaction ;
and secondly, because she had obtained such an inheritance,
for it was one of great value. 3 But as she was all alone, she
bethought herself of having some one to attend her; and she
1 Reading tune for nunc.
2 The Codex Casinensis gives, " ut inde ab aliquo convinci possit."
But the Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. reads, " ut ne ab aliquo," etc. We
adopt, therefore, " ne ab aliquo," etc., taking the idea to be, as is
suggested in Migne, that Manes went up alone, because he feared that,
if observed by Parcus and Labdacus, the priests of Mithras, he might
expose himself to punishment at the hands of the Persian rulers for an
offence against their religion.
3 But the Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. reads, " erat enim multuin pecunia
arida " for she had a great greed for money.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 409
got for that purpose a boy of about seven years of age, named
Corbicius, 1 to whom she at once gave his freedom, and whom
she also instructed in letters. When this boy had reached
his twelfth year the old woman died, and left to him all her
possessions, and among other things those four books which
Scythianus had written, each of them consisting of a moderate
number of lines (versuum). When his mistress was once
buried, Corbicius began to make his own use of all the pro-
perty that had been left him. Abandoning the old locality,
he took up his abode in the middle of the city, where the
king of Persia had his residence ; and there altering his
name, he called himself Manes instead of Corbicius, or, to
speak more correctly, not Manes, but Mani : 2 for that is the
kind of inflection employed in the Persian language. Now,
when this boy had grown to be a man of well-nigh sixty
years of age, 3 he had acquired great erudition in all the
branches of learning taught in those parts, and I might
almost say that in these he surpassed all others. Nevertheless
he had been a still more diligent student of the doctrines
contained in these four books ; and he had also gained three
disciples, whose names were Thomas, Addas, and Hernias.
Then, too, he took these books, and transcribed 4 them in such
wise that he introduced into them much new matter which
was simply his own, and which can be likened only to old
wives' fables. Those three disciples, then, he thus had at-
tached to him as conscious participants in his evil counsels ;
and he gave, moreover, his own name to the books, and
deleted the name of their former owner, as if he had com-
posed them all by himself. Then it seemed good to him
to send his disciples, with the doctrines which he had com-
mitted to writing in the books, into the upper districts of that
1 But Cyril, Epiphanius, and others, make the name Cubricus (Koi/-
fipizoi).
2 This may express with sufficient nearness the original, " nee Manem
sed Manes."
3 The Codex Casinensis gives sexaginta regularly. The Codex Reg.
Alex. Vat. reads septitayinta, seventy.
4 Tranafcrt eos. It may be also " translated them."
410 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP AECHELAUS.
province, and through various cities and villages, with the
view of securing followers. Thomas accordingly determined
to take possession of the regions of Egypt, and Addas those of
Scythia, while Hermas alone chose to remain with the man
himself. When these, then, had set out on their course, the
king's son was seized with a certain sickness ; and as the
king was very anxious to see him cured, he published a decree
offering a large reward, and engaging to bestow it upon any
one who should prove himself capable of restoring the prince. 1
On the report of this, (all at haphazard,) like the men who are
accustomed to play the game of cubes, which is another name
for the dice, 2 Manes presented himself before the king, declar-
ing that he would cure the boy. And when the king heard
that, he received him courteously, and welcomed him heartily.
But not utterly to weary my hearers with the recital of the
many things which he did, let me simply say that the boy died,
or rather was bereft of life, in his hands. Then the king
ordered Manes to be thrust into prison, and to be loaded with
chains of iron weighing half a hundredweight (ferri talento)t
Moreover, those two disciples of his who had been sent to
inculcate his doctrine among the different cities were also
sought for with a view to punishment. But they took to
flight, without ever ceasing, 8 however, to introduce into the
various localities which they visited that teaching of theirs
which is so alien to the faith, and which has been inspired
only by Antichrist.
54. But after these events they returned to their master,
and reported what had befallen them ; and at the same time
they got an account of the numerous ills which had over-
taken him. When, therefore, they got access to him, as I
1 The text gives, " edictum proposuit in vita," etc. For in vita it is
proposed to read invitans ; and that is confirmed by the Codex Keg.
Alex. Vat.
2 We adopt the reading, " qui cubum, quod nomen est tali, ludere
solent." The text gives, " qui cibum quod nomen est tale eludere solent."
The Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. seems to read, " qui cubum quod nomen
est alese ludere solent."
3 The text gives, " quique fugientes licet nunquam cessarunt," etc.
Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. has, " licet nunquam cessarent," etc.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 411
was saying, 1 they called his attention to all the sufferings
they had had to endure in each several region ; and as for
the rest, they urged it upon him that regard ought now to be
had to the question of safety ; 2 for they had been in great
terror lest any of the miseries which were inflicted on him
should fall to their own lot. But he counselled them to
fear nothing, and rose to harangue them. And then, while
C' O /
he lay in prison, he ordered them to procure copies of the
books of the law of the Christians ; for these disciples
who had been despatched by him through the different
communities were held in execration by all men, and most
of all by those with whom the name of Christians was
an object of honour. Accordingly, on receiving a small
supply of money, they took their departure for those dis-
tricts in which the books of the Christians were published
(conscribebantur) ; and pretending that they were Christian
messengers, 3 they requested that the books might be shown
them, with a view to their acquiring copies. And, not to
make a lengthy narrative of this, they thus got possession of
all the books of our Scriptures, and brought them back with
them to their master, who was still in prison. On receiving
these copies, that astute personage set himself to seek out all
the statements in our books that seemed to favour his notion
of a dualism ; which, however, was not really his notion,
but rather that of Scythianus, who had promulgated it a
long time before him. And just as he did in disputing with
me, so then too, by rejecting some things and altering others
in our Scriptures, he tried to make out that they advanced
his own doctrines, only that the name of Christ was attached
to them there. That name, therefore, he pretended on
this account to assume to himself, in order that the people
in the various communities, hearing the holy and divine
name of Christ, might have no temptation to execrate and
1 Reading " dicebam." But the Codex Casinensis gives " dicebant,"
and the Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. has " decebat" as became them.
2 Reading " convert! ad salutem," for u conventi," etc., as it is given
in the Codex Casinensis.
3 Nuntios. But Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. gives " novitios," novices,
412 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
harass 1 those disciples of his. Moreover, when they 2 came upon
the word which is given us in our Scriptures touching the Para-
clete, lie took it into his head that he himself might be that
Paraclete ; for he. had not read with sufficient care to observe
that the Paraclete had come already, namely, at the time
when the apostles were still upon earth. Accordingly, when
he had made up these impious inventions, he sent his disciples
also to proclaim these fictions and errors with all boldness, and
to make these false and novel words known in every quarter.
But when the king of Persia learned this fact, he prepared
to inflict condign punishment upon him. Manes, however,
received information of the king's intention, having been
warned of it in sleep, and made his escape out of prison, and
succeeding in taking to flight, for he had bribed his keepers
with a very large sum of money. Afterwards he took up his
residence in the castle of Arabion ; and from that place he
sent by the hand of Turbo the letter which he wrote to our
Marcellus, in which letter he intimated his intention of visit-
ing him. On his arrival there, a contest took place between
him and me, resembling the disputation which you have
witnessed and listened to here ; in which discussion we
sought to show, as far as it was in our power, that he was
a false prophet. I may add, that the keeper of the prison
who had let him escape was punished, and that the king gave
orders that the man should be sought for and apprehended
wherever he might be found. And as these things have
come under my own cognizance, it was needful that I should
also make the fact known to you, that search is being made
for this fellow even to the present day by the king of Persia.
55. On hearing this, the multitude wished to seize Manes
and hand him over to the power of those foreigners who were
their neighbours, and who dwelt beyond the river Stranga, 3
especially as also some time before this certain parties had
1 The text gives " fatigarent." But Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. gives
" fugarent" expel.
2 The text gives " invenientes." The Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. more
correctly has " inveniens" when he came upon.
3 But Codex Keg. Alex. Vat. reads "Stracum fluviuin."
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 413
come to seek him out ; who, however, had to take their leave
again without finding any trace of him, for at that time lie was
in flight. However, when Archelaus made this declaration,
Manes at once took to flight, and succeeded in making his
escape good before any one followed in pursuit of him. For
the people were detained by the narrative which was being
given by Archelaus, whom they heard with great pleasure ; x
nevertheless some of them did follow in close pursuit after
him. But he made again for the roads by which he had
come, and crossed the river, and effected his return to the
castle of Arabion. 2 There, however, he was afterwards ap-
prehended and brought before the king, who, being inflamed
with the strongest indignation against him, and fired with the
desire of avenging two deaths upon him, namely, the death
of his own son, and the death of the keeper of the prison,
gave orders that he should be flayed and hung before the
gate of the city, and that his skin should be dipped in cer-
tain medicaments and inflated ; his flesh, too, he commanded
to Jbe given as a prey to the birds. 3 When these things
came under the knowedge of Archelaus at a later period,
he added (an account of) them to the former discussion,
so that all the facts might be made known to all, even
as I, who have written the narrative of (inscripsi) these
matters, have explained the circumstances in what precedes.
And all the Christians, therefore, having assembled, resolved
that the decision should be given against him, transmitting
that as a sort of epilogue to his death which would be in
proper consonance with the other circumstances of his life.
Besides that, Archelaus added words to the following effect :
My brethren, let none of you be incredulous in regard to
the statements made by me : I refer to the assertion that
1 The text gives, " evadere potuit dum nemo eum insequeretur. Sed
populus, cum Archelai quern libenter audiebant relatione teneretur," etc.
The Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. reads, "evadere potuit dum ne eum in-
sequeretur is populus, et Archelai quern libenter audiebant relatione
tenerentur." Routh suggests, " dum eum nemo insequeretur, sed populus
Archelai," etc.
2 The same Codex Vat. reads Adrabion here.
3 The Codex Reg. Alex. Vat. ends with these words.
414 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
Manes was not himself the first author of this impious dogma,
but that it was only made public by him in certain regions
of the earth. For assuredly that, man is not at once to be
reckoned the author of anything who has simply been the
bearer of it to some quarter or other, but only he has a right
to that credit who has been the discoverer of it. For as the
helmsman who receives the ship which another has built,
may convey it to any countries he pleases, and yet he remains
one who has had nothing to do with the construction of the
vessel, so also is this man's position to be understood. For
he did not impart its origin to this matter really from the
beginning ; but he was only the means of transmitting to
men what had been discovered by another, as we know on
the evidence of trustworthy testimonies, on the ground of
which it has been our purpose to prove to you that the inven-
tion of this wickedness did not come from Manes, 1 but that it
originated with another, and that other indeed a foreigner,
who appeared a long time before him ; and further, that
the dogma remained unpublished for a time, until at length
the doctrines which had thus been lying in obscurity for a
certain period were brought forward publicly by him as if
they were his own, the title of the writer having been deleted,
as I have shown above. Among the Persians there was also
a certain promulgator of similar tenets, one Basilides, 2 of more
1 Codex Casinensis reads, " non ex Manen originem mali hujus
Manes esse." We adopt the conjecture, " non ex Mane originem mali
hujus manasse."
2 The following note on this Basilides may be given from Migne :
"Although Eusebius (Hist. Eccles. iv. 7) tells us that the Basilides who
taught heresy shortly after the times of the apostles was an Alexandrian,
and opened schools of error in Egypt, the Basilides mentioned here by
Archelaus may still be one and the same person with that Alexandrian,
notwithstanding that it is said that he taught his heresy among the
Persians. For it may very well be the case that Basilides left Alexan-
dria, and made an attempt to infect the Persians also with his heretical
dogmas. At the same time, there is no mention among ancient authori-
ties, so far as I know, of a Persian Basilides. The Alexandrian Basi-
lides also wrote twenty-four books on the Gospel, as the same Eusebius
testifies ; and these do not appear to be different from those books of
Tractates which Archelaus cites, and from the Excrjclics, from the twenty-
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 415
ancient date, who lived no long time after the period of our
apostles. This man was of a shrewd disposition himself, and
as he observed that at that time all other subjects were pre-
occupied, he determined to affirm that same dualism which
was maintained also by Scythianus. And as, in fine, he had
nothing to advance which was properly his own, he brought
the sayings of others before his adversaries. 1 And all his
books contain some matters at once difficult arid extremely
harsh. The thirteenth book of his Tractates, however, is still
extant, which begins in the following manner : " 111 writing
the thirteenth book of our Tractates, the wholesome word fur-
nished us with the necessary and fruitful word." 2 Then
he illustrates how it (the antagonism between good and evil)
is produced under the figures of a rich principle and a poor
principle, of which the latter is by nature without root and
without place, and only supervenes upon things. 3 This is
third book of which certain passages are given by Clement of Alexandria
in the fourth book of his Stromateis. It is not clear, however, whether
that Gospel on which Basilides wrote was the Gospel of the Apostles,
or another which he made up for himself, and of which mention is
made in Origen's first Homily on Luke, in Jerome's prologue to his
Commentary on Matthew, and in Ambrose's prologue to the Gospel of
Luke." We may add that Gieseler (Studien und Kritiken, i. 1830, p.
397) denies that the person meant here is Basilides the Gnostic, specially
on account of the peculiar designation, Basilides quidam antiquior. But
his objections are combated by Baur and Neauder. See the Church
History of the latter, ii. p. 50 (Bohn).
1 The text is, " aliis dictis proposuit adversariis." Perhaps we may
read, "aliorum dicta," etc.
2 The text is, " uecessarium sermonem uberemque salutaris sermo
prsestavit." May it be = the word of salvation furnished the word
which was requisite, etc. ?
3 The text is, " per parvulam divitis et pauperis naturam sine radice
et sine loco rebus supervenientem unde pullulaverit indicat." The
reading seems defective. But the general intention of this very obscure
and fragmentary sentence appears to be as given above. So Neander
understands it as conveying a figurative description of the two principles
of light and darkness, expressed in the Zoroastrian doctrine immediately
cited, the rich being the good principle, and the poor the evil. He
also supposes the phrase " without root and without place " to indi-
cate the "absoluteness of the principle, that springs up all at once,
416 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARC ff EL A US.
the only topic (capnt) which the book contains. Does it not
then contain a strange (alium) word ; l and, as certain parties
have been thus minded, will ye not also all be offended with
the book itself, which has such a beginning as this? But
Basilides, returning to the subject after an introduction of
some five hundred lines (versibus), more or less, proceeds
thus : " Give up this vain and curious variation (varietate),
and let us rather find out what inquiries the foreigners
(larbari 2 ) have instituted on the subject of good and evil,
and what opinions they have been led to adopt on all these
subjects. For certain among them have maintained that
there are for all things two beginnings (principles), to which
they have referred good and evil, holding that these begin-
nings (principles) are without beginning and ungenerate ;
that is to say, that in the origins of things there were light
and darkness, which existed of themselves, and which were
not merely declared to exist. 8 While these subsisted by
themselves, they led each its own proper mode of life, such
as it was its will to lead, and such as was competent to it ;
for in the case of all things, what is proper to any one is
also in amity with the same, and nothing seems evil to itself.
But after they came to know each other, and after the dark-
ness began to contemplate the light, then, as if fired with a
passion for something superior to itself, the darkness pressed
on to have intercourse with the light."
and mixes itself up with the development of existence." See Church
History, ii. 51 (Bohn). Eouth confesses his inability to understand
what can be meant by the term parculam, and suggests parabolam.
1 Routh adopts the interrogative form here, so as to make the con-
nection stand thus : But is this the only topic which the book contains ?
Does it not also contain another discussion, etc. ?
2 By the barbari here are evidently meant the Persians.
3 The text is, " non quae esse dicebantur." Routh proposes, "non
quse factse, or genitse, esse dicebantur," = which were not declared to
have been made.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 417
A FRAGMENT OF THE ACTS OF THE SAME
DISPUTATION.
(From Cyril of Jerusalem, Catecheses, vi. 27-29.)
The fragment is introduced by Cyril in the following
terms: He (Manes) fled from prison and came into Meso-
potamia; but there he was met by that buckler of right-
eousness, 1 Bishop Archelaus. And in order to bring him to
the test in the presence of philosophical judges, this person
convened an assembly of Grecian auditors, so as to preclude
the possibility of its being alleged that the judges were
partial, as might have been the case had they been Chris-
tians. Then the matter proceeded as we shall now indicate:
1. Archelaus said to Manes : Give us a .statement now of
the doctrines you promulgate. Thereupon the man, whose
mouth was like an open sepulchre, 2 began at once with a
word of blasphemy against the Maker of all things, saying :
The God of the Old Testament is the inventor of evil, who
speaks thus of Himself : " I am a consuming fire." 3 But
the sagacious Archelaus completely undid this blasphemy.
For he said : If the God of the Old Testament, according to
your allegation, calls Himself a fire, whose son is He who
says, "I am come to send fire upon the earth ?' H If you
find fault with one who says, " The Lord killeth and maketh
alive," 5 why do you honour Peter, who raised Tabitha to life, 6
but also put Sapphira to death? 7 And if, again, you find
fault with the one because He has prepared a fire, 8 why do
you not find fault with the other, who says, " Depart from
me into everlasting fire?" 9 If you find fault with Him who
says, " I, God, make peace, and create evil," 10 explain to us
how Jesus says, "I came not to send peace, but a sword." 1
1 Beading OTT^OU "bix.x.twvvng. Others read oVxa = Archelaus met him
with the buckler of righteousness.
2 Ps. v. 9. 8 Deut. iv. 24. 4 Luke xii. 49.
5 1 Sam. ii. 6. * Acts ix. 40. 7 Acts v. 10.
8 Deut. xxxii. 22. 9 Matt. xxv. 41. ao Isa. xlv. 7.
11 Matt. x. 3i. Various of the MSS. add, Jid rr,v yw-> upon the -earth.
2 D
418 THE REMAINS OF BISHOP ARCHELAUS.
Since both persons speak in the same terms, one or other of
these two things must follow : namely, either they are both
good 1 because they use the same language; or, if Jesus
passes without censure though He speaks in such terms, you
must tell us why you reprehend Him who employs a similar
mode of address in the Old Testament.
2. Then Manes made the following reply to him : And
what manner of God now is it that blinds one ? For it is
Paul who uses these words : " In whom the God of this
world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the gospel should shine in them." 2 But
Archelaus broke in and refuted this very well, saying : Read,
however, a word or two of what precedes that sentence,
namely, " But if our gospel be hid, it is hid in them that are
lost." You see that it is hid in them that are lost. " For it
is not meet to give the holy things to dogs." 3 And further-
more, is it only the God of the Old Testament that has
blinded the minds of them who believe not ? Nay, has not
Jesus Himself also said : " Therefore speak I to them in
parables : that seeing, they may not see?" 4 Is it then because
He hated them that He desired them not to see ? Or is it
(not) on account of their unworthiness, since they closed their
own eyes ? For wherever wickedness is a matter self-chosen,
there too there is the absence of grace. " For unto him that
hath shall be given, but from him that hath not shall be
taken away even that which he seemeth to have." 6
3. But even although 6 we should be under the necessity
of accepting the exegesis advocated by some (for the subject
is not altogether unworthy of notice), and of saying thus, that
He hath actually blinded the minds (vorj^ara, thoughts) of
them that believe not, we should still have to affirm that He
hath blinded them for good, in order that they may recover
their sight to behold things that are holy. For it is not said
1 The text gives xX6/. Routh seems to prefer xxxot, evil.
2 2 Cor. iv. 4. 8 Matt. vii. 6.
4 Matt. xiii. 13. The text is, "tva. /SAfVomj f**l phexooi.
fi Matt. xxv. 29.
c For < Si oil x.a.1 a;, etc., various codices read J os t>tx.ui'u, etc.
THE DISPUTATION WITH MANES. 419
that He hath blinded their soul (^y^'y), but only that
He hath blinded the minds of them that believe not.
And that mode of expression means something like this:
Blind the whorish mind of the whoremonger, and the
man is saved ; blind the rapacious and thievish mind of
the thief, and the man is saved. But do you decline to
understand the sentence thus? Well, there is still another
interpretation. For the sun blinds those who have bad
sight ; and those who have watery eyes are also blinded
when they are smitten by the light : not, however, because
it is of the nature of the sun to blind, but because the
eye's own constitution (uTrocrrao-t?) is not one of correct
vision. And in like manner, those whose hearts are afflicted
with the ailment of unbelief are not capable of looking upon
the rays (of the glory) of the Godhead. And again, it is not
said, " He hath blinded their minds lest they should hear the
gospel," but rather " lest the light of the glory of the gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ should shine unto them." For to
hear the gospel is a thing committed (e^/erat) to all ; but the
glory of the gospel of Christ is imparted only to the sincere
and genuine. For this reason the Lord spake in parables to
those who were incapable of hearing, but to His disciples
He explained these parables in private. For the illumina-
tion of the glory is for those who have been enlightened,
while the blinding is for them who believe not. These mys-
teries, which the church now declares to you who are trans-
ferred from the lists of the catechumens, it is not its custom
to declare to the Gentiles. For we do not declare the mys-
teries touching the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit
to a Gentile ; neither do we speak of the mysteries plainly in
presence of the catechumens; but many a time we express
ourselves in an occult manner, so that the faithful who have
intelligence may apprehend the truths referred to, while
those who have not that intelligence may receive no hurt.
INDEXES.
I. INDEX OF TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE.
GENESIS.
JOSHUA.
P. 4GB
PAGE
PAGK
civ. 2, 124, 144, 146
i. 2, . . .88
vii., ... 32
civ. 23, . . 178
i. 4, . . . 317
cv. 15, . . . 335
i. 31, . . . 172
1 SAMUEL.
cxix. 6, . . 247
iii. 5, ... 345
ii. 6, ... 417
cxix. 73, . .180
iii. 17, . . . 263
xviii. 1, . .54
cxxxii. 8, . . 123
iii. 19, . . . 263
cxxxvi. 6, . 146, 247
xvii. 11, . . 134
1 KINGS.
cxxxvii., . . 77
xviii., . . . 141
iv. 32, . . . 243
cxxxix. 16, . . 174
xviii. 23-25, . 31
viii. 46, . . 20
xxxviii. 26, . . 378
PROVERBS.
xlviii. 15, . . 46
xlix. 10-12, . . 377
2 KINGS.
xxiv. and xxv., . 77
viii. 30, . 190, 194
ix. 5, . . . 249
EXODUS.
2 CHRONICLES.
x. 7, . . . 248
ii., . . .380
vi. 36, . . . 20
xx. 9, . . .20
Triii ^QO
xxii. 1, 19
Vlll.j OOU
xii., . . .380
JOB.
xxii. 2, . 364, 372
xii. 2, . . . 132
xii. 30, . . 236
i. 21, . . . 17
x. 10-12, . . 180
ECCLESIASTES.
xii. 35, . . 364
xiv. 1, . . . 175
i.-xii., 7-29, 242-250
xiv., . . 380, 381
xx. 20, . . 17
vii. 2, . . . 249
xvi 380
xvii 381
PSALMS.
ISAIAH.
xxiv. 18, . . 381
xxxii 380
xxxiv., , . 380
xxxiv. 4, .33
xxxiv. 33, . . 377
v. 9, . . . 417
xvi. 10, . . 107
xviii. 9, . .135
xix. 1, . . . 187
xxiv. 1, . . 187
vii. 14, . . 138
xiv. 14, . . 134
xxii. 22, . . 74
xxvi. 18, . . 346
xxxiv. 35, . . 380
NUMBERS.
xv. 32, . 337, 365
DEUTERONOMY.
iv. 24, . . . 417
xviii. 15, . . 378
xviii. 18, . . 370
xxxi. 5, . 246
xxxiii. 5, . .187
xxxiii. 6, .88
xxxiv. 19, . . 263
xiv. 1, . . . 194
xiv. 2, . . . 122
xiv. 10, 11, . . 123
Ixxii. 6, . . 141
Ixxx., . . 124, 136
xxix. 1], . . 139
xlii. 9, . . 234
xiv. 7, . . . 417
xlix. 8, . . 202
Iii. 5, . . 110
liii. 4, . . . 108
liii. 5, . . . 109
liii. 8, . . .110
Ixvi. 34, . . 233
xix. 14, . . 220
xxii. 1-3, . 33
Ixxxvii. 3, . .139
xc. 10, . 255, 263
JEREMIAH.
xxii. 26, 27, . 378
xcvi. 11-13, . .119
xxxi., . . .139
xxii. 32, , . 417
cii. 24, . . 250
xlviii. 10, . . 184
421
422
INDEX OF TEXTS.
EZEKIEL.
PAGE
PAOB
PAGE
x. 10, .
. 371
xiv. 62, . .iOli
i. 22, 26, 27, . 128
x. 28, .
. 386
xvi. 1, 2, . . 199
xxxiii. 11, . . 214
x. 34, .
381, 384
x. 37, .
. 391
LtTKE.
AMOS.
x. 40, .
. 388
i. 26, 27, . 132, 137
viii. 10, . . 129
xi. 11, .
. 396
i. 28, . . . 119
xi. 27, .
. 356
i. 29, etc., . . 119
MALACHI.
xii. 8, .
. 373
i. 34, . . . 105
iii. 6, . . ' . 107
xii. 32,
. 338
i. 35, . . . 105
xii. 47,
. 388
i. 36, . . . 138
BARUCH.
xiii. 13,
. 418
i. 41, . . 133 bis
iii. 38, . . . 109
xiv., .
. 380
i. 42, 43, . . 133
xiv. 25,
. 381
i. 46, . . . 134
WISDOM.
XV. 11,
. 30
i. 51, . . . 134
i. 13, . . . 333
xv. 17,
. 364
i. 54, . . . 135
vii. 25, . . 190
xv. 24,
. 388
ii. 4-7, . .124
xvi. 26, 27, . . 178
xv. 27,
. 135
ii. 7, . . . 135
xvi. 29, 30, . . 187
xvi. 13,
. 151
ii. 10, . . . 125
xvi. 16,
151, 389
ii. 14, . . . 109
TOBIT.
xvi. 17,
. 167
iii. 4, . . . 145
xii. 7, . . .225
xvi. 21,
106, 392
iii. 16, . . . 146
xvi. 22,
. 392
iv. 31, . . . 393
MATTHEW.
xvi. 23,
. 392
vi. 1, . . . 365
i. 1, . . . 242
xvi. 27,
. 106
vi. 25, . . . 250
i. 20, 21, . . 105
xvii. 2,
. 380
vi. 29, . . 365
ii. 13, . . . 380
xvii. 5,
. 150
viii. 43, . . 200
ii. 16, . . . 380
xviii. 21, .
. 338
ix. 35, . . 150
iii. 3, . . .145
xix. 11,
. 321
ix. 59, 60, . . 392
iii. 7, 8, . . 341
xxii. 29,
. 330
x. 18, . . 311, 340
iii. 8, . . . 119
xxii. 42,
. 389
x. 19, . . . 342
iii. 13, . . .143
xxiii. 6, .
. 312
x. 22, . . . 356
iii. 14, . . . 144
xxiii. 7, .
. 373
xi. 2, . . . 311
iii. 15, . . . 148
xxiii. 25,
312, 334
xi. 39, . . 312
iii. 17, 100, 104, 150,
xxiv. 4, 5, 23-26, 352
xi. 32, . 312
397, 402
xxiv. 24,
. 354
xii. 49, . . 417
iv., . . .106
xxv. 27,
. 135
xiii. 27, . . 361
iv. 1, . . 255, 264
xxv. 29,
. 418
xiv. 33, . 364, 372
iv. 2, ... 380
xxv. 41,
. 417
xvi. 16, . 296, 366
iv. 3, . . . 401
xxv. 44, .
. 360
xvi. 19, . . 370
iv. 10, . . 341 bi8
xxv. 46,
. 361
xx. 46, . . 312
v. 3, . . 364, 372
xxvi. 38,
. 108
xxi. 2, . . 136
v. 8, . . . 374
xxvi. 64, .
. 106
xxii. 42, . . 257
v. 10, 12, . . 210
xxviii. 1,
. 197
xxii. 42-48, 251, 257
v. 16, . . . 313
xxviii. 1-6, .
. 198
xxii. 46, . . 262
v. 32, . . . 371
xxviii. 9,
. 126
xxiii. 34, . . 380
vi. 6, . . . 311
xxviii. 19, .
. 90
xxiii. 56, . . 199
vi. 9, . . . 311
xxiv. 1, 2, . . 199
vi. 22, 23, . . 152
MARK.
vii. 6, . . . 418
i. 3, .
. 145
JOHN.
vii. 12, . . 374
i. and ii.,
. 150
i. 1, 86, 90, 146,
vii. 13, . . 373
ii. 11, .
. 365
167, 194
vii. 16, . . 303
ii. 19, .
. 373
. 1, 2, . . 169
vii. 18, . . 279
iii. 23,
. 302
. 2, 3, . . 169
viii. 10, . . 372
viii. 15, .
. 380
. 5, . . .320
viii. 26, . . 381
xii. 30,
. 252
. 9, . . .146
ix. 16, . . . 308
xii. 38,
. 312
. 12, . . . 330
ix. 17, . . . 307
xii. 41, .
. 312
. 14, . . . 169
ix. 20, . . . 200
xiv. 36,
. 251
i. 16, . . . 383
IXDEX OF TEXTS.
423
PACK
PAGE
PACK
i. 17, . . . 129
xiii. 5, . . 168
xiii. 11, . . 391
i. 18, 100, 230, 341, 3S8
xiii. 13, . . 168
xv. 9, 10, . . 349
i. 23, . . .145
xiv. 23, . . 4U4
xv. 11, . . 350
i. 27, . . . 146
xv. 12-20, . . 396
i. 29, . . .147
ROMANS.
xv. 32, . . 395
ii. 20, 21, . . 107
ii. 13, . . . 193
xv. 39, . . 355
iii. 13, . . 388
ii. 14, . . . 331
xv. 41, . .176
iii. 19, . . 247
ii. 15, . . . 331
xv. 45, . . 104
iv. 24, . 88, 90, 190
ii. 28, . . . 366
xv. 46-50, . . 366
v. 17, . . . 336
iii. 20, . . 366
xv. 47, . . 104
v. 39, . . . 130
iv. 1, . . . 366
xv. 50, . . 154
v. 45-47, . . 383
iv. 2, . . . 366
xv. 54, . . 333
v. 46, . . . 370
v. 12, 14, . . 335
xv. 54, 55, . . 386
vi. 38, . . 388
v. 14, . 131, 332, 333
xv. 50, . 330, 332
vi. 55, . . . 107
viii. 9, 88
vi. 56, . . 107
viii. 11, . . 88
2 CORINTHIANS.
viii. 12, . 106, 264
viii. 14, 15, . . 89
i. 21, 22, . . 94
viii. 40, . . 107
viii. 21, 22, . . 358
iii. 6, . . .330
viii. 44, 332, 339, 341,
ix. 1, . . 89, 349
iii. 7, . 330, 332, 375
343, 346
xii. 3, . . . 372
iii. 13, . . 377
viii. 51, . . 106
xiv. 23, . . 201
iii. 14-17, . . 377
viii. 58, . .105
xv. 13, . . 89
iii. 15-18, . . 95
x. 10, . . . 106
xv. 15, 16, . . 349
iv. 4, . . . 418
x. 17, . . . 107
xv. 15, 19, . . 89
v. 4, 5, . . 95
x. IS, . . . 253
xv. 18, .. . 349
vi. 4, . . .95
x. 27, . . . 321
xv. 30, . . 89
vi. 6, 7, . .95
x. 30, . . . 151
vi. 16, . . . 308
xi. 25, . . . 106
1 CORINTHIANS.
viii. 9, . . 124
xi. 33, . . . 108
ii. 4, 5, . . 89
ix. 14, 15, . . 350
xii. 27, . . 108
ii. 9-11, . . 89
xi. 3-5, . . 350
xiii. and xvi., . 105
ii. 14, . . . 90
xi. 23, . . . 351
xiii. 21, . . 108
iii. 6, . . .86
xii. 8, 9, . 349
xiii. 27, . . 347
iii. 6-11, . . 365
xiii. 3, . 326-349, 374
xiv. 6, . 106, 247
iii. 9, 10, . . 356
xiii. 13, . .94
xiv. 9, . . 151
iii. 10, . . 404
xiv. 12, . . 329
iii. 16, 17, . . 95
GALATIANS.
xvi. 15, 16, . . 349
iii 17, . . 308
i. 6-8, . . 350
xiv. 28, . .151
iii. 19, . . 243
i. 8, . . .364
xvi. 8, . 293, 329
v. 3, . . . 227
i. 8, 9, . 96
xvi. 14, . . 348
v. 7, . . . 395
ii. 18, . . 296, 3G6
xvi. 20, . 250 bis
v. 12, . . . 109
iii. 1, . . . 396
xvi. 22, . 119, 125
v. 21, . . . 403
iii. 13, 330, 332, 336
xvi. 28, . . 329
vi. 11, . . 95
iv. 3, . . .296
xvi. 33, . 109, 263
vi. 13, . . 30
iv. 4, . . . 395
xvii. 3, . .130
vi. 14, . . 395
xvii. 6, . .100
vi. 19, . . 95
EPHESIANS.
xviii. 11, . . 252
vii. 18, 19, . . 374
ii. 2, . . . 381
xix. 37, . . 401
vii. 35, . . 280
ii. 14, . . . 142
xx. 1, . . 197, 198
vii. 40, . . 95
iii. 8, . . 348, 351
viii. 3, . . 109
v. 14, . . . 377
ACTS.
viii. 6, . 83, 87
v. 23, . . . 247
i. 7, . . . 110
ix. 9, . . . 312
ii. 6, ... 335
x. 4, . . .95
PHILIPPIANS.
ii. 31, . . . 107
xi. 19, . . . 362
ii. 7, . . 398, 401
v. 10, . . . 417
xii. 3-13, . . 96
ii. 9, ... 390
v. 29, . . . 225
xii. IS, . . 308
ii. 13, . . . 359
ix. 15, . . 349
xiii. 8-10, . . 357
iii. 13, . . 390
ix. 40, . . 417
xiii. 9, . . 293
iii. 19, . . 360
424
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL MATTERS.
COLOSSIANS.
2 TIMOTHY. JAMES.
PAGB
PAGE
PA OB
i. 23, .
352
iii. 6, . . . 360
i. 13, . . 255, 264
i. 24, .
351
iii. 8, 9, . 355, 383
iv. 12, . . . 193
ii. 6-9,
352
iv. 7, 8, . . 353
1 THESSALONIANS.
v. 1, 2, . . 360
TITUS.
iii. 10, . . . 250
1 JOHN.
i. 8, . . .20
v. 19, . 255, 263, 297
v. 16-18, .
126
HEBREWS.
v. 21, . .
220
i. 3, . . . 146
REVELATION.
ii. 3, 4, . . 96
i. 1,2, . . 106
1 TIMOTHY.
iii. 5, 6, . . 370
i. 9, . . . 167
i. 9, .
338
iii. 7-11, . . 96
iii. 7, . . .74
iii. 1, .
405
vi. 8, . . . 279
xiii. 5, . . 230
iv. 1-4,
351
viii. 13, . . 296
xxii. 7, 8, . 166, 167
vL 7, .
17
x. 30, . . . 206
II. INDEX OF PRINCIPAL MATTERS.
ADAM, the fall of, and its conse-
quences, 131.
Advent, the glorious second, of
Christ, 357, 358.
.^Einilianus, the prefect of Alexandria,
Dionysius brought before, 225, 226.
Agony, the, and bloody sweat, of
Jesus, 253, 254.
Alexandria, persecution of the Chris-
tians in, 205-216 ; the effects of
sedition in, described, 235,238-240;
pestilence in, 236, 237 ; conduct
of the Christians and heathen in,
during the pestilence, contrasted,
237, 238.
Ammonarium, a virgin confessor, at
Alexandria, 210.
Anathemas, twelve, pronounced
against twelve different sorts of
errorists, 103, etc.
Angel, the guardian, of Gregory
Thaumaturgus, 46.
Angels, the fall of, 340.
Annunciation, the, of the angel to
the Virgin Mary, 119, etc., 125,
etc., 131, etc.
Apollonia, a Christian virgin of Alex-
andria, the barbarous treatment
of, 206, 207.
Apostasy, the, of Christians in per-
secution, 208, 209.
Archelaus, bishop of Cascar, a sketch
of the life and writings of, 267,
etc. ; the disputation of, with the
heresiarch Manes, 272, etc., 292,
etc. (see Manes) ; having vanquished
Manes, he restrains the multitudes
from doing violence to him, 361,
362 ; letter of Diodorus to, asking
help to enable him to encounter
Manes, 363 ; letter of, in reply to
Diodorus, 367, etc. ; suddenlymakes
his appearance in the assembly
where Diodorus and Manes are met
for disputation, 384 ; engages a
second time in dispute with Manes,
384, 385, etc. ; gives an account
of the origin and adventures of
Manes, 401-412 ; fragments of the
disputation of, with Manes, 417,
etc.
Atheists, the writings ol, alone, pro-
hibited by Origen, 69.
Atomic theory, the, of the Epicu-
reans, as to the formation of the
universe, 171 ; a refutation of, on
the ground of familiar human ana-
logies, 172 ; refutation of, on the
ground of the constitution of the
universe, 174 ; refutation of, on
the ground of the human constitu-
tion, 179, 180, etc.
Atoms, what are they ?
BALLISTA, the, 319.
Baptism, the, of Christ by John,
142-144.
Basilides, Bishop, epistle of Diony-
sius to, 196 ; the heresiarch, 414
and note, 416.
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL MATTERS.
425
Blinding the minds of those who be-
lieve not, 418, 419.
Body and soul, their adaptation to
each other, illustrated by a temple
and its image, 308, 309 ; illustrated
by a ship and its rudder, 310 ; this
mutual adaptation proves that they
are from the hand of the same
God, 312.
Book, the sealed, of the prophet
Isaiah, the Virgin Mary explained
to be, when betrothed to Joseph,
139.
CAIN, a father of the devil, 345.
Callistus, the messenger of Marcellus
to Manes, 281.
Captives, a canon respecting the
forcible detention of those who had
escaped from the barbarians, 33.
Cascar, Caschar, or Caschara, the
bishopric of Archelaus, where situ-
ated, 269.
Oephro, the banishment of Bishop
Dionysius to, 226, 227.
Cerinthus, the Apocalypse attributed
to, by some, 164, 165 ; the doc-
trines taught by, 165.
Chseremon, 212.
Christ, the two natures of, 97 ; those
who assert His body to be uncre-
ated, anathematized, 103 ; those
who assert that His body is con-
substantial with His divinity, ana-
thematized, 103 ; those who assert
that He is like one of the prophets,
anathematized, 104 ; various other
errors respecting, anathematized,
105, etc. ; really and actually, not
in semblance only, manifested,
108-110; birth of laid in a manger,
124 ; redemption through, 131 ;
baptism of, by John, 142, etc. ; the
voice from heaven respecting, 150,
151 ; the victory of, over Hades
and the devil, 154, 155 ; His prayer
respecting the " cup," 251, 252,
257-262, 262-264; His mild rebuke
of Judas, 256; the "I am" and
the Light, 264 ; the length of the
ministry of, 347 ; the glorious se-
cond advent of, 357, 358 ; Manes
denies that He came in the flesh,
388 ; and Moses, points of resem-
blance between, 379, 380.
Circumcision, spiritual, the real, 373,
374.
Colluthion, Bishop Dionysius banished
to, 228.
Constitution, the human, urged in
refutation of the atomic theory of
the formation of the universe, 179-
183.
Constitution of the universe, an argu-
ment against the Epicurean theory
of the formation of the universe,
174-179.
Consubstantiality, the, of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, 93, 257,
264.
Coracion, induced by Dionysius to
give up his chiliastic views, 160.
Corbicius, the original name of Manes,
409.
Cornelius, the Roman Pontiff, an
epistle of Dionysius to, 216.
Covetousness and rapine, canons re-
specting, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35.
Cup, the prayer of Jesus respecting
the passing away of, 251, 257, etc.,
262, etc.
DEAD, the state of the, 23, 24.
Death, the law the ministration of,
375 ; the reign of, from Adam to
Moses, 332, 333, 334.
Deities, the two, of Manes, and their
mutual opposition, 281, etc.
Democritus, his estimate of the worth
of the knowledge of a true cause,
138.
Devil, the, nonplussed and vanquished
by Christ, 154, 155 ; the fall of,
155, 340 ; origin of the name,
340 ; origin of the being himself,
342 ; the father of the, 294, 332,
343.
Diodorus, presbyter, a letter of, to
Archelaus respecting Manes, 362,
etc. ; Archelaus' reply to, 367, etc. ;
enters the lists of controversy with
Manes, 381, etc. ; Archelaus cornea
to the help of, against Manes, 384,
etc.
Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, a
sketch of the life and writings of,
157-160 ; his care, moderation, and
diligence in investigating the truth,
163, 164 ; relates how he and others
were taken and led off as prisoners,
202, 203 ; apologizes for reading
heretical books, 219 ; asks advice
respecting a lapsed Christian man
who wished to be introduced to
the church by baptism, 221 ; de-
fends himself against Germanus
giving an account of his appre-
hension, his conduct before the
426
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL MATTERS.
prefect, and his banishment, 223-
229.
Dioscorus, a youthful martyr at Alex-
andria, 211.
Discipline for offenders, 35.
Divinity, belongs equally to the Fa-
ther, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
86, 87.
Domitius and Didymus, epistles of
Dionysius to, 202, etc.
EARTH, the stability of the, 7.
Earthquakes, how caused, according
to the system of Manes, 383, 386.
Ecclesiastes, a metaphrase on, 7-29 ;
a commentary on the beginning of,
242-250.
Egyptians, among the Israelites, set
up the golden calf, 339 ; the, com-
pelled to refund their unjust exac-
tions on Israel, 371.
Elisabeth, her salutation of Mary, 133.,
Epicureans, an argument against the
views of the, in relation to the
formation of the universe, 171, etc.
Eye, an evil and a single, 152.
FABIUS, bishop of Antioch, an epistle
of Dionysius to, respecting the per-
secution in Alexandria, 205-214.
Faith, a confession of, 5, etc.
Fast of Pentecost, the, the hour for
bringing to a close, 196-200.
Father, various applications of, and
modes of understanding the term,
347.
Father, God, the, 5, 83 ; co-eternal
with the Son, 189, 190 ; the Spring
or Fountain, the Son, the Stream,
192 ; and the Son essentially one,
192.
Father of the devil, 294, 332.
Friendship, the advantages of, 14,
15 ; of Origen for Gregory Thau-
maturgus, 55.
GABRIEL, the salutation of the Virgin
Mary by, 131 ; the message given
by, to Mary, 139 ; the hesitation
and doubt of, respecting the in-
carnation of the Son of God over-
come, 140, 141.
Gallienus, the emperor, 233, 234.
Germanus, an epistle of Dionysius
against, refuting the calumnies of,
222, etc.
Glad tidings, 131.
God, no finding fault with the pro-
vidence or judgments of, 22 ; work-
ing, not a matter of pain or weari-
ness to, 183 ; the eternal Father
with the eternal Son, 189 ; how
He blinds the minds of some, 418,
419 ; of this world, the, 418.
Gregory Thaumaturgus, a sketch of
the life and writings of, 1-3 ; refers
to his boyhood, and relates how he
was brought under the instruction
of Origen, 47, etc.; the influence
of Origen over, 52, etc. ; the friend-
ship of Origen fr, 54, etc.
Guardian angel, the, 46.
HADES, vanquished by Christ, 154.
Happiness, not to be found in earthly
good things, 154.
Hermammon, an epistle of Dionysiua
to, 230.
Hierax, an epistle of Dionysius to,
respecting a sedition in Alexandria,
238, 239.
Holy Spirit, the, 5; not made holy,
but the source of sanctitication, 84,
85 ; the doctrine of, as declared in
Scripture, 88-90; given through
the Son, 94.
Human constitution, the, a refuta-
tion of Epicurus' atomic theory of
the foundation of the universe, on
the ground of, 179-183.
"I AM, "264, 265.
Incarnation, the, of the Son of God.
82, 85.
Ingratitude, 42.
Ischy rion, a martyr at Alexand ria, 212.
JAMNES and Mambres, 382.
Jews and Gentiles, the extrusion of
the one, and the admission of the
other, 135.
John the Baptist, Jesus comes to, to
be baptized, 141-144; the hesita-
tion of John to baptize Jesus, and
his speech on the occasion, 144-148;
reply of Jesus to, and the hesita-
tion of, overcome, 148-150.
John the Evangelist, not the author
of the Book of Revelation, 166-170.
John Mark, 168.
Joseph, the husband of Mary, the
" learned " man, to whom the
" sealed book " (Mary) is delivered,
139.
Judas, betrays Jesus mildly rebuked
by Jesus, 256 ; a father of tha
devil, 345, 346, 347.
Judgment, a, 341.
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL MATTERS.
427
LABDACTTS and Manes, 407.
Lapsed Christians, 208, 209; the re-
storation of, 213; peculiar case of
Serapion, oneof the, 214-210; prayer
on the reception of, 265.
Laughter, 240.
Law, the, the consonance of, with the
New Testament, 368 ; the, the mi-
nistration of death, how, or in what
respect, 332, 333, 334-375 ; the, the
strength of sin, 338.
Liar, the devil a, and the father of
it, 332.
Light, Christ the eternal, 264.
Light of the body, the, 152.
Light and darkness, in the system of
Manes, 281, 282.
Love, 240, 241.
MACRTANUS, his course, and miserable
end, 232-234.
Magi of Egypt, the, the evil influ-
ence of the president of, over the
mind of the Emperor Valerian, 231.
Man and beast, how alike and how
unlike, 13.
Manes (or Manichaeus), the heresi-
arch, designs to inveigle the wealthy
and good Marcellus, 277; sends a
messenger to Marcellus, 277, 278;
an epistle of, to Marcellus, 278-280;
reply of Marcellus to, 280 ; the mes-
senger of, gives Marcellus and Ar-
chelaus an account of the system
of, 281-291 ; arrival of, at Carchar,
291; a description of, 291, 292; a
disputationbetween Archelausand,
arranged, 292 ; first speech of
claims to be the Paraclete, 293 ;
attributes the law and the prophets
to the evil one, 295, 296; asserts
two independent natures, a good
and an evil the evil, in the world
which he created, 296, 297 ; reply
of Archelaus to, in refutation of the
two independent natures, 299, 300-
325 ; Archelaus exposes the claims
of, to be the Paraclete, 325, etc., 348,
351; severely castigated by Arche-
laus, 353, etc. ; is driven away, 361;
proceeds to Diodorus to publish his
opinions, 361; Diodorus, the pres-
byter, writes to Archelaus for in-
struction so as to be able to meet,
363 ; Diodorus disputes with, in
public, 381 ; Archelaus suddenly
appears at the residence of Dio-
dorns, again disputes with, and
routs, 384 ; Archelaus gives in
public a history of, 405, etc. ; was
preceded by Scythianus and Tere-
binthus in his heresy, 405 ; the
adopted son of an old woman, the ad-
herent of Terebinthus, and changed
his name, 409; disciples of, 409,
410; is thrown into prison by the
king of Persia, because he pretends
to be able, but fails, to care his son,
410 ; perverts the Christian Scrip-
tures, 411; corrupts the jailors, and
escapes from prison, 412, etc. ; is
afterwards apprehended and put to
death by the king of Persia, 413 ;
fragment of the dispute of Arche-
laus with, 417, etc.
Manes, the system of, expounded by
Turbo, 281-290.
Marcellus of Carchar, or Chascar, in
Mesopotamia, his character, 272 ;
ransoms certain captives, 272, 273;
influence of his benevolent charac-
ter upon the rough soldiers who had
the captives, 273 ; Cortynius relates
to, how the captives were taken,
and their sufferings, 273, 274; mu-
nificently entertains the captives,
and sends them back to their own
country, 275-277 ; Manes designs
to inveigle, writes an epistle, and
sends a messenger to, 278-281 ; con-
gratulates Archelaus on his victory
over Manes, 361.
Martyrs, the triumph of the, 154; of
all classes, 202; at Alexandria, 209-
213.
Mary, the Virgin, the angelic annun-
ciation to, 119, 125, 131; compared
with Eve, 120; eulogized, 122-128,
136, 143 ; privileged above patri-
archs and prophets, 123 ; the ark
of sanctity, 123 ; meaning of the
name, 232; ever virgin, 132, 133;
visit of, to Elisabeth, 133; her song
of praise, 134 ; her visit to Beth-
lehem, 136 ; invocation of, 137.
Meats, offered to idols, a canon re-
specting the eating of, 30.
Metras, a confessor of Alexandria, 206.
Mighty, the, put down from their
seats, 135.
Ministration of death, the law a, 332,
334.
Miser, the, 14.
Moses, no written law before, 338 ;
idolatry in the camp while he is
in the mount, 339 ; his care of the
people, 369 ; and Christ, points of
resemblance between, 379, 380.
428
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL MATTERS.
Mother and brethren, the, of Jesus,
288, 289.
Mother of God, 134, 135, 136, 348.
Mystery of the Trinity, the, 100, 101.
NAMING of children, the custom of
Christians in regard to, 168, and
note.
Natures, the two, in Christ, 97 ;
the two independent, asserted by
Manes, 296-298.
Nepos, an Egyptian bishop, 161, 162.
New, nothing, under the sun, 8.
Novatian, 222.
Novatus, an epistle of Dionysius to,
204.
OMOPHORTTS, in the system of Manes,
283, 284, 290.
One event to all, 23.
Origen, a panegyric on, 37, etc. ; the
almost divine endowments of, 40 ;
how Gregory Thaumaturgus was
brought into connection with, 47-
52; the influence of, on Gregory,
52, etc. ; the friendship of, for
Gregory, 54 ; prepares Gregory for
philosophy, and instructs him in
many branches of science, 56, etc. ;
as an expositor, 73, 74 ; invocation
of, 80.
PANEGYRIC, a, on Origen, 37, etc.
Paraclete, Manes' claim to be the, re-
futed, 325, etc. ; sent by Christ with-
out delay was in Paul, 348, 349.
Parcus and Labdacus, 407.
Pearl, the, how produced, 122.
Pedagogue, 368.
Pentecost, the time for bringing the
feast of, to a close, 196-200.
Perfect, the, which is to come, 356,
357.
Persecution, the, in Alexandria, the
account of, given by Dionysius, 205-
214; cases of barbarity in, 205-207;
cases of apostasy in, 208; instances
of heroic stedfastness in suffering
martyrdom in, 209-212; soldiers in
the midst of, profess themselves
Christians, 211, 212; of the recep-
tion of some who had lapsed in, 213,
214; the peculiar case of Serapion,
who had lapsed, 214-216.
Pestilence, a, in Alexandria, 236, 237;
the conduct of Christians and hea-
thens during the, contrasted, 137,
138.
Pharaoh, a father of the devil, 345.
Philemon, a presbyter, an epistle of
Dionysius to, 219.
Philosophers, the contentions of,
70.
Poor, the sort called by our Lord,
blessed, 372.
Prejudices and preconceived opinions,
the slavish influences of, set forth,
and illustrated, 71, 72.
Prophet, the, like Moses, 379, 380.
Prudence and temperance, as incul-
cated by Origen, 62, 66.
QUINTA, a Christian woman in Alex-
andria, the barbarous treatment she
suffered, 206.
REDEMPTION through Christ, 131.
Resting, how understood as predi-
cated of God, 336.
Revelation, the book of, rejected by
some, and attributed to Cerinthus,
164, 165; Dionysius will not reject,
but does not understand, 165; writ-
ten by some John, but not by John
the son of Zebedee, 166 ; argu
ments alleged againstthe Johannine
authorship of, 166-169; the bar-
barisms of, 170.
Riches, the lust of, 16, 17; the vanity
of, 17, 18.
Righteous, many, before Christ,
330.
Righteousness, as inculcated by Ori-
gen, 65, 66.
SABBATH, the, 373.
Sabellianism, exploded, 86; an epistle
of Dionysius respecting, 219.
Saints, prayer to, and the interces-
sion of Origen invoked, 80.
Scythianus, a forerunner of Manes,
405; and Terebinthus, 406.
Sealing, 298 and note.
Serapion, a lapsed but penitent
Christian, the peculiar case of, 214-
216.
Serpent, the, the father of the devil,
344.
Siege, an ancient, described, 319.
Sixtus, Pope, epistles of Dionysius to,
218, 221.
Soldiers at the tribunals in Alexan-
driaduringpersecution, avowthem-
selves Christians, 211, 212.
Son, the, of God, 5 ; not assumed out
of nothing, nor constituted by di-
vine gift, 81, 82 ; the incarnation
of, 82 ; the wisdom of God, 83 ;
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL MATTERS.
429
the incarnation of, implies no
change in His divinity, 85, 92 ;
one Person, 94 ; eternal with the
Father, 189, 190; the Stream from
God, the Fountain, 192 ; essen-
tially united with the Father, 192;
not different from the Father in
nature, 257.
Soul, the, 55 ; the criterion for the
apprehension of, 112 ; whether it
exists, 113; is it a substance?
113 ; is it incorporeal? 114; is it
simple or compound? 115; is it
immortal ? 115, 116; is it rational ?
116, 117.
Stephen, Pope, an epistle of Dio-
nysius to, 217.
Study of universal literature, the,
encouraged by Origen, 68, 69.
TEMPERANCE and prudence, as in-
culcated by Origen, 62.
Temptation, 255.
Terebinthus, a forerunner of Manes,
406, 407; the death of, 408; an
old woman, an adherent of, inherits
the effects of, and adopts a boy
called Corbicius, who afterwards
calls himself Manes, 408, 409.
Thomas, Addas, and Hermes, dis-
ciples of Manes, their mission, 409,
410.
Time, a, for everything, 12, 249, ?50.
Tongue, the proper regulation of, 16.
Trinity, the, 5, 6, 81, 82, 83, 84;
Sabellian misrepresentation of, 86 ;
the Persons of, discriminated by
distinct appellations, yet one, 87,
88; does not imply three Gods, 88;
how, if there are three persons, is
there but one divinity? 90, etc.;
further statement of the doctrine,
91, 92 ; the Son and the Spirit in,
consubstantial with the Father,
93 ; to be worshipped without
either separation or alienation, 94;
three names and three Persons, 99;
the truth respecting, not known
till the incarnation of Christ, 100 ;
incomprehensible, 100.
Turbo, the messenger of Manes to
Marcellus, 277, 278 ; gives Mar-
cellus and Archelaus a lucid ac-
count of the opinions of Manes,
281-291 ; ordained a deacon, 362.
UNCLEANNESS, various sorts of,
canons respecting, 200, 201.
Universe, the, constitution of, urged,
against the Epicurean theory of
the formation of, 174.
VEIL, the, on Moses' face, 377, 378,
379.
Valerian, the emperor, first favours,
but afterwards persecutes, the
Christians, 230, 231.
Vanity, the, of human affairs, 8, 9.
Virgin Mary, the (see Mary).
Virginity, 132.
Voice from heaven, the, which came
to Jesus at His baptism, 150, 151 .
WEALTH, the vanity of, 16, 17, 18.
Wine, new, to be put into new
bottles, 307.
Wisdom, 20, 21, 24 ; and folly, 25.
Wisdom of God, Christ the, 85.
Woman, the bad, 21.
Women, in their separation, may
not enter the house of God, 200 ;
captive, canons respecting the
forcible defilement of, 36.
Word, the, the First-born, 45 ; eter-
nal one with the Father, 101, 194,
195.
Words, to be restrained, 16.
Work, not a matter of pain or weari-
ness to God, 183, 184.
XYSTUS, an epistle of Dionysius to,
on Sabellianism, 219.
SYRIAC DOCUMENTS.
ANCIENT SYRIAG DOCUMENTS,
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE BY THE
TRANSLATOR.
iiHESE Documents were selected by the late Dr.
Cureton, from manuscripts acquired by the
British Museum from the Nitrian Monastery in
Lower Egypt, of which the first portion arrived
in 1841, the second in 1843, and a third in 1847. The pre-
paration of them for publication occupied the closing days
of his life. It is to be regretted that his death occurred
before he was able to write a preface : the more so because,
to use the words of Dr. W. Wright, the editor of the
posthumous work, " he had studied the questions connected
with this volume for years and from every point of view."
In a note occurring in the preface to his Festal Letters of
Athanasius, p. xxiii, he says : "I have found among the Syriac
MSS. in the British Museum a considerable portion of the
original Aramaic document which Eusebius cites as preserved
in the archives of Edessa, and various passages from it quoted
by several authors, with other testimonies which seem to be
sufficient to establish the fact of the early conversion of the
inhabitants of that city, and among them of the king him-
self, although his successors afterwards relapsed into paganism.
These, together with accounts of the martyrdom of some of
the first bishops of that city, forming a most interesting
accession to our knowledge of the early propagation of Chris-
tianity in the East down to about A.D. 300, I have already
transcribed, and hope to publish." " He was himself firmly
persuaded," adds Dr. Wright, " of the genuineness of the
A
2 STR1AC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Epistles attributed to Abgar, king of Edessa, and our Lord :
an opinion which he shared with such illustrious scholars as
Baronius, Tillemont, Cave, R. Mountague (Bishop of Nor-
wich), and Grabe."
Without attempting here to decide what degree of historical
value belongs to these Documents, it may be proper to observe
that the several matters contained in them are so far dis-
tinct from one another that they do not necessarily stand or
fall together. Such matters are : the celebrated Epistles, the
conversion of King Abgar Uchomo, the visit of Thaddasus,
and the early prevalence of Christianity at Edessa. With
regard to the letters said to have passed between Abgar and
our Lord, it seems sufficient, without referring to the internal
evidence, to remark, with Lardner and Neander, that it is
inconceivable how anything written by Christ should have
remained down to the time of Eusebius unknown to the rest
of the world. 1 The conversion of Abgar is a distinct matter
of inquiry. But on this again, doubt, to say the least, is
cast by the statement that Abgar Bar Manu, who reigned
between the years 160 and 170 A.D., is the first king of Edessa
on whose coins the usual symbols of the Baal-worship of
the country are wanting, these being replaced in his case by
the sign of the Cross. 2 If this refers to a complete series of
the coins of Edessa, the evidence afforded must be considered
very strong. For although, to take a parallel instance, " we
seek in vain for Christian emblems on the coinage of Con-
stantine, the first Christian emperor," 3 this may readily
be accounted for by his preference of military distinction to
the humbler honours conferred by his new faith, whilst it
does not appear that anft'-Christian emblems are found, and
on the coins of his son and successor Christian emblems do
make their appearance. The other two subjects referred to
do not lie under the same suspicion. There is nothing in
the nature of the case to disprove the visit of ThaddaBus (or
Addseus) nothing improbable in the fact itself, whatever
1 Hist, of the Church, vol. i. p. 109 (For. Theol. Lib.).
2 Bayer, Historia Edessena e nummis illustrata, 1. iii. p. 173.
3 Humphreys' Coin- Collector's Manual, p. 36i.
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 3
judgment may be formed of the details of it presented to us
here. If, however, the visit of Thaddaeus also should have
to be ranked among apocryphal stories, this would not affect
the remaining point that with which we are chiefly con-
cerned in these Documents. "It is certain," says Neander,
" that Christianity was early diffused in this country." How
early, is not so certain. But the evidence furnished by the
later portions of these Documents, which there is nothing to
contradict and much to confirm, proves that early in the
second century Christianity had already made many con-
verts there. The martyrdoms of Sharbil and Barsamya are
said to have occurred A.D. 113 (it should have been 115),
the year in which Trajan conquered the Parthian kingdom,
of which Edessa was a part ; and, whilst the pagan element
was plainly predominant, we find the Christians sufficiently
numerous to have a bishop and presbyters and deacons.
This sufficiently falls in with the proof already adduced of
the conversion of even a king of Edessa about fifty years
later.
To the Documents which are presumably of the ante-
Kicene age, Dr. Cureton added two Metrical Homilies by
Jacob of Serug, who lived in the next century. But, as
they are so closely connected with the most interesting por-
tions of the rest, the martyrdoms, and are besides of con-
siderable merit as compositions, the decision of the editors to
insert them will, it is presumed, be approved by most readers.
The two supplemental portions, one from the Latin of
Simeon Metaphrastes, and the other from Le Vaillant de
Florival's French translation of Moses of Chorene, have
also been inserted.
The translation of the Syriac portions, although made with
Dr. Cureton's version constantly in sight, may fairly be con-
sidered as independent. The only matter in which his autho-
rity has been relied on is the supply of the necessary vowels,
for the text is vowelless, in the case of proper names ; and
even to this one exception occurs, in the Martyrdom of Bar-
samya, where " Evaristus " has been adopted instead of his
" Erastus." In regard to the sense, it has been frequently
4 SYR1AC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
found necessary to differ from him, while a style somewhat
freer, though, it is hoped, not less faithful, has been employed.
The Metrical Homilies also have been arranged so as to pre-
sent the appearance of poetry. The results of Dr. Wright's
collation of the text with the MSS. have also contributed to
the greater correctness of the work.
The translator desires very thankfully to acknowledge his
obligations to Dr. R. Payne Smith, Regius Professor of
Divinity in the University of Oxford, 1 the progress of whose
Thesaurus Syriacus is regarded with so much satisfaction and
hope, for his kindness in furnishing much valuable informa-
tion respecting matters on which the lexicons are silent.
The notes in square brackets are by the translator. The
others, where the contrary is not indicated, are, at least in
substance, Dr. Cureton's: though their citation does not
always imply approval.
[The translator takes the opportunity of correcting the
error by which the preparation of Tatian's work in vol. iii. of
this Series was ascribed to him. The credit of it is due in
the first instance to his lamented friend Mr. J. E. Ryland,
at whose request, and subsequently by that of the editors, he
undertook to correct the manuscript, but was soon obliged
by other engagements to relinquish the task.]
1 Now Dean of Canterbury.
ANCIENT SYRIAC DOCUMENTS
RELATING TO
THE EARLIEST ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRISTIANITY IN
EDESSA AND THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES.
FROM THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH.
[BY EUSEBIUS OF C^ESAREA.]
[BOOK I. CHAPTER] THE THIRTEENTH. 1
STOEY CONCEENING THE KING OF EDESSA. 2
|OW the story relating to Thaddaeus was on this
wise :
When the Godhead of our Saviour and Lord
Jesus Christ was being proclaimed among all
men by reason of the astonishing mighty-works which He
wrought, and myriads, even from countries remote from the
land of Judaea, who were afflicted with sicknesses and diseases
of every kind, were coming to Him in the hope of being
healed, King Abgar 3 also, who was renowned among the
1 The MS. from which this extract from Eusebius is taken is numbered
14,639, fol. 15 b. It is described in Cureton's Corpus Ignatianum, p. 350.
2 [Properly Urrhoi, or Orrhoi (_C7l5o |). It seems probable that the
word is connected with Osrhoene, the name of the province in which
Edessa held an important place, the correct form of which is supposed
to be Orrhoene. The name Edessa (tCDjj) occurs only once in these
Documents, viz. in the " Acts of Sharbil," sub initJ]
3 " By this title all the toparchs of Edessa were called, just as the
Roman emperors were called Caesars, the kings of Egypt Pharaohs or
Ptolemies, the kings of Syria Antiochi." Assem. B'M. Or. vol. i. p.
261. Assemani adds : " Abgar in Syriac means lame.''' 1 Moses of
Chorene, however, with more probability, derives it from the Armenian
Avag-a'ir, " grand homme, a cause de sa grande mansuetude et de sa
sagesse, et, de plus, a cause de sa taille." See below the extract from
his History of Armenia, Book ii. ch. 26.
5
6 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
nations on the east of the Euphrates for his valour, had his
body wasting away with a grievous disease, such as there is
no cure for among men. And when he heard and was
informed of the name of Jesus, and about the mighty works
which He did (for every one alike bore witness concerning
Him), he sent a letter of request by a man belonging to
him, 1 and besought Him to come and heal him of his disease.
But our Saviour at the time that he asked Him did not
comply with his request. Yet He deigned to give him 2 a
letter [in reply] : for He promised him that He would send
one of His disciples, and heal his sicknesses, and give salva-
tion 3 to him and to all who were connected with him. 4 Nor
did He delay to fulfil His promise to him : but after He was
risen from the place of the dead, and was received into
heaven, Thomas 8 the apostle, one of the twelve, as by an
impulse from God, sent Thaddseus, who was himself also
numbered among the seventy 7 disciples of Christ, to Edessa,
to be a preacher and proclaimer of the teaching of Christ ;
and the promise of Christ was through him fulfilled.
Thou hast in writing the evidence of these things, which
is taken from the Book of Records 8 which was at Edessa :
for at that time the kingdom was still standing. 9 In the
1 Eusebius has 8/ T/<7ToA>!p<>pot>. [See note on rxv8fc'feev, on next
page.]
2 [Lit. " deemed him worthy of."]
3 [Gr. auTYipiav : and so the Syriac word, meaning " life," is generally
to be translated in this collection.]
4 Syr. "near to him ; " Gr. TUV Trpovyxovrav.
5 His real name was Judas Thomas : see p. 8.
The name is taken from Eusebius, but in the original Syriac treatises,
which follow, he is called Addseus.
7 In The Teaching of the Apostles he is said to have been one of the
" seventy-two apostles." His name, like that of Thomas, seems to have
been the very common one, Judas.
8 These were kept in the archives of the kingdom, which were trans-
ferred by Abgar from Nisibis to Edessa when he made it the capital of
his dominions. See Moses Chor. B. ii. ch. 27, infra. The archives
appear to have been still kept at Edessa in A.D. 550.
9 The kingdom of Edessa was brought to an end and entirely sub-
jected to the Romans in A.D. 217 or 218.
STORY CONCERNING THE KING OF EDESSA. 1
documents, then, which were [kept] there, in which was
contained whatever was done by those of old down to the
time of Abgar, these things also are found preserved down
to the present hour. There is, however, nothing to prevent
our hearing the very letters themselves, which have been
taken by us * from the archives, and are in words to this
effect, translated from Aramaic into Greek.
Copy of the letter which was written by King 2 Abgar to
Jesus, and sent to Him by the hand of Hananias, 3 the
Tabularius, 4 to Jerusalem :
" Abgar the Black, 5 sovereign 6 of the country, to Jesus,
the good Saviour, who has appeared in the country of
Jerusalem : Peace. I have heard about Thee, 7 and about
the healing which is wrought by Thy hands without drugs
and roots. For, as it is reported, Thou makest the blind
to see, and the lame to walk ; and Thou cleansest the lepers,
and Thou castest out unclean spirits and demons, and Thou
healest those who are tormented with lingering diseases,
and Thou raisest the dead. And when I heard all these
things about Thee, I settled in my mind one of two things :
either that Thou art God, who hast come down from
1 The extract from the archives was probably made by Sextus Julius
Alncanus, and copied by Eusebius from his Chronographia.
2 Gr. Ti/Vj5^of.
3 Called Hanan in the original Syriac document ; and so in Moses
Chor. : Eusebius has ' Avetvi'x;, which is copied here.
4 Gr. rx%vt)p6f<,oi*. But the post held by Hananias must have been
one of more dignity than that of a courier. He was probably a Secre-
tary of State. In The Acts of Addseus, p. 35, he is called, in connec-
tion with the name Tabularius, a sharir, or confidential servant. [It
would seem that Tabularius has been confounded with Tabellarius (a
letter-carrier).]
5 Or " Abgar Uchomo." The epithet was peculiar to this King
Abgar. He was the fourteenth king : the eleventh was called Abgar
Sumoco, or " the Red." [The occasion of the name " Black " is doubt-
ful : it can hardly have arisen from the fact that Abgar was suffering,
as Cedrenus asserts, from the black leprosy.]
6 ["Head," or "chief."]
7 Comp. Matt. iv. 24 : " And His fame went throughout all Syria,"
etc. See also Moses Chor. B. ii. c. 30.
8 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
heaven, and [therefore] doest these things ; or that Thou art
the Son of God, and [therefore] doest these things. On
this account, therefore, I have written to beg of Thee that
Thou wouldest weary Thyself to come to me, and heal this
disease which I have. [And not only so :] for I have also
heard that the Jews murmur against Thee, and wish to do
Thee harm. But I have a city, small and beautiful, which
is sufficient for two."
Copy of those things which were written 1 by Jesus by the
hand of Hananias, the Tabularius, to Abgar, sovereign of
the country :
" Blessed is he that hath believed in me, not having seen me.
For it is written concerning me, that those who see me will
not believe in me, and that those will believe who have not
seen me, and will be saved. But touching that which thou
hast written to me, that I should come to thee it is meet
that I should finish here all that for the sake of which I
have been sent ; and, after I have finished it, then I shall
be taken up to Him that sent me ; and, when I have been
taken up, I will send to thee one of my disciples, that he
may heal thy disease, and give salvation to thee and to those
who are with thee."
To these letters, moreover, is appended the following also
in the Aramaic tongue :
After Jesus was ascended, Judas Thomas sent to him
Thaddaeus the apostle, one of the Seventy. And, when he
was come, he lodged with Tobias, son of Tobias. And,
when the news about him was heard, they made it known
to Abgar : " The apostle of Jesus is come hither, as He sent
thee word." Thaddaeus, moreover, began to heal every dis-
ease and sickness by the power of God, so that all men were
amazed. And, when Abgar heard the great and marvellous
cures which he wrought, he bethought himself that he was
the person about whom Jesus had sent him word and said to
him : When I have been taken up, I will send to thee one of
my disciples, that he may heal thy disease. So he sent and
called Tobias, with whom he was lodging, and said to him :
1 Gr. dyrr/pctgivrx, "written in reply."
STORY CONCERNING THE KING OF EDESSA. 9
I have heard that a mighty man has come, and has entered
in and taken up his lodging in thy house : bring him up,
therefore, to me. And when Tobias came to Tbaddseus he
said to him : Abgar the king has sent and called me, and
commanded me to bring thee up to him, that thou mayest
heal him. And Thaddseus said : I will go up, because to
him have I been sent with power. Tobias therefore rose up
early the next day, and took Thadcleeus, and came to Abgar.
Now, when they were come up, his princes happened to
be standing l there. And immediately, as he was entering
in, a great vision appeared to Abgar on the countenance of
Thaddasus the apostle. And, when Abgar saw Thaddaeus,
he prostrated himself before him. 2 And astonishment seized
upon all who were standing there : for they had not them-
selves seen that vision, which appeared to Abgar alone. And
he proceeded to ask Thaddaeus : Art thou in truth the dis-
ciple of Jesus the Son of God, who said to me, I will send
to thee one of my disciples, that he may heal thee and give
thee salvation ? And Thaddseus answered and said : Be-
cause thou hast mightily 3 believed on Him that sent me,
therefore have I been sent to thee ; and again, if thou shalt
believe on Him, thou shalt have the requests of thy heart.
And Abgar said to him : In such wise have I believed
on Him, that I have even desired to take an army and
extirpate those Jews who crucified Him; [and had done
so], were it not that I was restrained by reason of the
dominion of the Romans. 4 And Thaddaeus said : Our Lord
lias fulfilled the will of His Father ; and, having fulfilled it,
has been taken up to His Father. Abgar said to him : I too
1 [Cureton, "were assembled and standing ;" nearly as Euseb.: vet-pov-
TUV x.*l WTUTUV. But in 2 Sam. xx. 1, the only reference given by Castel
for the word, _i5oAV| is used for the Heb. K"lp3, " he chanced."]
2 [,_ML_CD, like the 7rpoffzx.i>vws of Eusebius, may be rendered " wor-
shipped."]
3 [Aj|)5o5; Gr. ftf/d^as, lit. "greatly;" C. "nobly." But
nothing more than intensity is necessarily denoted by either word. Com-
pare, for the Syriac, Ps. cxix. 107, 167 ; Dan. ii. 12.]
4 Compare the letters of Abgar and Tiberius, p. 26
10 SYPJAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
have believed in Him and in His Father. And l Thaddasus
said : Therefore do I lay my hand upon thee in His name.
And when he had done this, immediately he was healed of
his sickness and of the disease which he had. And Abgar
marvelled, because, like as he had heard concerning Jesus,
so he saw in deeds [wrought] by the hand of Thaddasus His
disciple : since without drugs and roots he healed him ; and
not him only, but also Abdu, 2 son of Abdu, who had the
gout : for he too went in, and fell at his feet, 3 and when he
prayed over him he was healed. And many other people of
their city did he heal, and he did great works, and preached
the word of God.
After these things Abgar said to him : Thou, Thaddseus,
doest these things by the power of God ; we also marvel at
them. But in addition to all these things I beg of thee to
relate to me the story about the coming of Christ, and in
what manner it was ; and about His power, and by what
power He wrought those things of which I have heard.
And Thaddseus said : For the present I will be silent ; 4
but, because I have been sent to preach the word of God,
assemble me to-morrow all the people of thy city, and I will
preach before them, and sow amongst them the word of life ;
and [will tell them] about the coming of Christ, how it took
place ; and about His mission, 5 for what purpose He was
sent by His Father ; and about His power and His deeds,
1 In the next piece, The Teaching of Addwts, i.e. Thaddseus, we have
a portion of the original Syriac from which Eusebius' translation was
made. The only portions that correspond are : in the present piece,
from this place to u accept that of others," near the end ; and, in
the following one, from the beginning to " that which is not ours."
Some of the variations are worthy of notice.
2 See note 1, p. 14.
3 This answers sufficiently well to the Greek : 6; x.a.1 etinos Kpw&du-j
info rovs wo'Saj UVTOV tTTiotv ; but, as the original Syriac, p. 12, reads
" he too brought [presented] his feet to him, and he laid his hands
upon them and healed him," the Greek translation must have been at
fault.
4 The original Syriac has " I will not hold my peace from declaring
this."
6 So Euseb. The orig. Syr. has " His sender."
STORY CONCERNING THE KING OF EDESSA. 11
and about the mysteries which He spake in the world, and
by what power He wrought these things, and about His new
preaching, 1 and about His abasement and His humiliation,
and how He humbled and emptied and abased Himself, and
was crucified, and descended to Hades, 2 and broke through
the enclosure 3 which had never been broken through [be-
fore], and raised up the dead, and descended alone, and
ascended with a great multitude to His Father. 4
Abgar, therefore, commanded that in the morning all the
people of his city should assemble, and hear the preaching
of Thaddaeus. And afterwards he commanded gold and
silver to be given to him ; but he received it not, and said :
If we have forsaken that which was our own, how shall we
accept that of others ?
These things were done in the year 340. 5
In order, moreover, that these things may not have been
translated to no purpose word for word from the Aramaic
into Greek, they are placed in their order of time here.
[Here] endeth the first book.
1 The orig. Syr. has "the certitude [or, unerring truth] of His preach-
ing." The error seems to have arisen from the Greek translator con-
founding |Z.oA_A^ with l^r-*^- [More probably with fZoZ,^, " new-
ness (of his preaching)," which was freely translated by him (vtpl) rij;
xotivTif U.VTOV X,YIOV%SUS ; and this, again, was by the Syrian re-translator
rendered literally, as in the text.]
2 Or " Sheol," as in Hebrew. The orig. Syr. gives " the place of the
dead."
3 Eph. ii. 14. 4 Comp. Matt, xxvii. 52.
5 Valesius says that the Edessenes commenced their era with the [be-
ginning of] the 117th Olympiad, the first year of the reign of Seleucus.
The year 340 corresponds, therefore, with the fifteenth year of Tiberius.
12 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
THE TEACHING OF ADD^US THE APOSTLE. 1
Addseus 2 [said] to him : Because thou hast thus believed,
I lay my hand upon thee in the name of Him in whom thou
hast thus believed. And at the very moment that he laid
his hand upon him he was healed of the plague of the
disease which he had for a long time. 3 And Abgar was
astonished and marvelled, because, like as he had heard about
Jesus, how He wrought and healed, so Addaeus also, without
any medicine whatever, was healing in the name of Jesus.
And Abdu also, son of Abdu, had the gout in his feet;
and he also presented his feet to him, and he laid his hand
upon them, and healed him, and he had the gout no more.
And in all the city also he wrought great cures, and showed
forth wonderful mighty-works in it.
Abgar said to him : Now that every man knoweth that by
the power of Jesus Christ thou doest these miracles, and lo !
we are astonished at thy deeds, I therefore entreat of thee
to relate to us the story about the coming of Christ, in what
manner it was, and about His glorious power, and about the
miracles which we have heard that He did, which thou hast
thyself seen, together with thy fellow-disciples.
Addseus said : I will not hold my peace from declaring this ;
since for this very purpose was I sent hither, that I might speak
to and teach every one who is willing to believe, even as thou.
Assemble me to-morrow all the city, and I will sow in it the
word of life by the preaching which I will address to you
about the coming of Christ, in what manner it was; and
about Him that sent Him, why and how He sent Him ; and
1 This fragment, extending to the lacuna on p. 14, is contained in
the MS. No. 14,654, at fol. 33. It consists of one leaf only, and is
part of a volume of fragments, of which the age is certainly not later
than the beginning of the fifth century.
2 [See note 1 on p. 10.]
3 Moses Chor. says that he had been suffering seven years from a
disease caught in Persia.
THE TEACHING OF ADDJEUS THE APOSTLE. 13
about His power and His wonderful works ; and about the
glorious mysteries of His coming, which He spake of in the
world ; and about the unerring truth l of His preaching ; and
how and for what cause He abased Himself, and humbled
His exalted Godhead by the manhood which He took, and
was crucified, and descended to the place of the dead, and
broke through the enclosure 2 which had never been broken
through [before], and gave life to the dead by being slain
Himself, and descended alone, and ascended with many to
His glorious Father, with whom He had been from eternity
in one exalted Godhead.
And Abgar commanded them to give to Addseus silver
and gold. Addaeus said to him : How can we receive that
which is not ours ? For, lo ! that which was ours have we for-
saken, as we were commanded by our Lord [to do] ; because
without purses and without scrips, bearing the cross upon
our shoulders, were we commanded to preach His gospel in
the whole creation, of whose crucifixion, which was for our
sakes, for the redemption of all men, the whole creation was
sensible and suffered pain.
And he related before Abgar the king, and before his
princes and his nobles, and before Augustin, Abgar's mother,
and before Shalmath, 3 the daughter of Meherdath, 4 Abgar's
wife, 5 the signs of our Lord, and His wonders, and the
glorious mighty-works which He did, and His divine exploits,
and His ascension to His Father ; and how they had received
power and authority at the same time that He was received
up by which same power it was that he had healed Abgar,
1 " The certitude." C.
2 Eph. ii. 14.
3 The vowels supplied in this word are conjectural, as is the case with
most of the proper names in these Documents. Perhaps the name of
this person is to be read Shalamtho, as there is a Sa^a^^a, the wife of
Phasaelus, mentioned in Jos. Antiq. b. xviii. c. v.
4 Who this was, does not appear. He may have been some connection
of Meherdates king of the Parthians, of whom Tacitus, Ann. xii. 12,
speaks as having been entertained at Edessa by Abgar.
5 According to Moses Chor. b. ii. ch. xxxv., the first, or chief, wife
of Abgar was Helena.
14 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
and Abclu son of Abclu, the second person l of his kingdom ;
and how He informed them that He would reveal Himself at
the end of the ages 2 and at the consummation of all created
things ; [he told them] also [of] the resuscitation and resur-
rection which is to come for all men, and the separation
which will be made between the sheep and the goats, and
between the faithful and those who believe not.
And he said to them : Because the gate of life is strait and
the way of truth narrow, therefore are the believers of the
truth few, and through unbelief is Satan's gratification.
Therefore are the liars many who lead astray those that see.
[Liars they are :] for, were it not that there is a good end
awaiting believing men, our Lord would not have descended
from heaven, and come to be born, and to [endure] the suffer-
ing of death. Yet He did come, and us did He send 3
of the faith which we preach, that God was crucified for 4
all men.
And, if there be those who are not willing 4 to agree with
these our words, let them draw near to us and disclose to us
what is in their mind, that, like as in the case of a disease, we
may apply to their thoughts healing medicine for the cure of
their ailments. For, though ye were not present at the time
of Christ's suffering, yet from the sun which was darkened,
and which ye saw, learn ye and understand concerning the
great convulsion 5 which took place at that time, when He
1 Probably one of tbe second rank. Tacitus, Ann. vi. 31, 32, men-
tions a man named Abdus, perhaps the same as this one. as possessing
great authority in the Parthian kingdom.
2 [Or " times."]
3 The remainder of " The Teaching of Addieus" is taken from another
MS. of the Nitrian collection in the Brit. Mus., Cod. Add. 14,644. It is
one of those which were procured in the year of the Greeks 1243
(A.D. 931) by the abbot Moses during his visit to Bagdad. It appears
to be of the sixth century.
4 Both " for" and "willing" are conjectural, the MS. being damaged.
"WRIGHT.
5 [Possibly " earthquake," for which sense see Mich., p. 161 ; and so
on p. 17.]
THE TEACHING OF ADD^EUS THE APOSTLE. 15
was crucified whose gospel has winged its way through all
the earth by the signs which His disciples [my] fellows do in
all the earth : yea, those who were Hebrews, and knew only
the language of the Hebrews, in which they were born, lo !
at this day are speaking in all languages, in order that those
who are afar off may hear and believe, even as those who are
near. For He it is that confounded the tongues of the
presumptuous in this region who were before us ; and He
it is that teaches at this day the faith of truth and verity
by us, humble and despicable l men from Galilee of Pales-
tine. For I also whom ye see am from Paneas, 2 from the
place where the river Jordan issues forth, and I was chosen,
together with my fellows, to be a preacher.
For, according as my Lord commanded me, lo! I preach
and publish the gospel, and lo ! His money do I cast upon
the table before you, and the seed of His word do I sow in
the ears of all men ; and such as are willing to receive it,
theirs is the good recompense of the confession [of Christ] ;
but those who are not persuaded [to accept it], the dust of
my feet do I shake off against them, as He commanded me.
llepent therefore, my beloved, of evil ways and of abomi-
nable deeds, and turn yourselves towards Him with a good
and honest will, as He hath turned Himself towards you
with the favour of His rich mercies ; and be ye not as the
generations of former times that have passed away, which,
because they hardened their heart against the fear of God,
received punishment openly, that they themselves might be
chastised, and that those who come after them may tremble
and be afraid. For the purpose of our Lord's coming into the
world assuredly was, 3 that He might teach us and show us that
at the consummation of the creation there will be a resus-
citation of all men, and that at that time their course of con-
duct will be portrayed in their persons, and their bodies will
1 [Properly " miserable." Compare Rom. vii. 24 ; 1 Cor. xv. 19.]
8 [Otherwise Csesarea Paneas, or C. Philippi : now Banias.]
G [Cureton : "the whole object of our Lord's coming into the world
was/' But OT-^D is= omnino.]
1C SYPJAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
be [so many] volumes for the writings of justice ; nor will any
one be there who is unacquainted with books, because every
one will read that which is written in His own book. 1
Ye that have eyes, forasmuch as ye do not perceive, are
yourselves also become like those who see not and hear not ;
and in vain do your ineffectual voices strain themselves to
deaf 2 ears. Whilst they are not to be blamed for not hearing,
because they are by 3 nature deaf and dumb, yet the blame
which is justly incurred falls upon you, 4 because ye are not
willing to perceive not even that which ye see. For the
dark cloud of error which overspreads your minds suffers
you not to obtain the heavenly light, which is the under-
standing of knowledge. 5
Flee, then, from things made and created, as I said to
you, which are only called gods in name, whilst they are
not gods in their nature ; and draw near to this [Being], who
in His nature is God from everlasting and from eternity,
and is not something made, like your idols, nor is He a
creature and a work of art, like those images in which ye
glory. Because, although this 6 [Being] put on a body,
[yet] is He God with His Father. For the works of
creation, which trembled when He was slain and were dis-
mayed at His suffering of death, these bear witness that
He is Himself God the Creator. For it was not on account
of a man that the earth trembled, 7 but on account of Him
who established the earth upon the waters ; nor was it on
account of a man that the sun grew dark in the heavens,
1 A few lines are wanting here in the MS.
2 The greater part of the word rendered "deaf" is conjectural.
WRIGHT. [The "your" looks as if it were impersonal: " it is useless
for any one to talk to the deaf."]
3 ["By " (2) is not in the printed text.]
4 [Lit. "the blame in which justice is involved (prop., buried) is
yours."]
5 [Comp. Prov. xix. 25.] 6 " This " is doubtful. WRIGHT.
7 I have very little doubt that we should substitute \^\ Ai1 [the
earth trembled] for ]$] <_k)5 [who is from the earth]. WRIGHT.
THE TEACHING OF ADD^EUS THE APOSTLE. 17
but on account of Him who made the great lights ; nor was
it for a man that the just and righteous were restored to life
again, but for Him who had granted power over death from
the beginning ; nor was it for a man that the veil of the
temple of the Jews was rent from the top to the bottom,
but for Him who said to them, " Lo, your house is left deso-
late." For, lo ! unless those who crucified Him had known
that He was the Son of God, they would not have had to
proclaim 1 the desolation 2 of their city, nor would they have
brought down Woe ! upon themselves. 3 For, even if they
had wished to make light of this confession, 4 the fearful con-
vulsions which took place at that time would not have suffered
them to do so. For lo ! some even of the children of the
crucifiers are become at this day preachers and evangelists,
along with my fellow-apostles, in all the land of Palestine,
and among the Samaritans, and in all the country of the
Philistines. The idols also of paganism are despised, and
the cross of Christ is honoured, and [all] nations and creatures
confess God who became man.
If, therefore, while Jesus our Lord was on earth ye
would have believed in Him that He is the Son of God, and
before ye had heard the word of His preaching would have
confessed Him that He is God; now that He is ascended
to His Father, and ye have seen the signs and the wonders
which are done in His name, and have heard with your own
ears the word of His gospel, let no one of you doubt in
1 [Lit. " have proclaimed."]
2 [Cureton renders : " They would not have proclaimed the desolation
of their city, nor would they have divulged the affliction of their soul
in crying Woe ! " Dr. Wright pronounces the two words whose equiva-
lents are given in italics to be very doubtful. Dr. Payne Smith, instead
of the latter of the two (^^1), conjectures (yCXTl ^J)^ *>}. This
conjecture has been adopted. " Brought down " (. A.^.felO) is lit.
" caused to drop."]
3 The ancient Syriac Gospel, Luke xxiii. 48, gives : " And all those
who were assembled there, and saw that which was done, were smiting
on their breast, and saying, Woe to us ! what is this ? Woe to us for
our sins ! "
4 [i.e. Christianity.]
B
18 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
his mind so that the promise of His blessing which He sent
to you may be fulfilled l towards you : Blessed are ye that
have believed in me, not having seen me ; and, because ye
have so believed in me, the town 2 in which ye dwell shall be
blessed, and the enemy shall not prevail against it for ever. 3
Turn not away, therefore, from His faith : for, lo ! ye have
heard and seen what things bear witness to His faith
[showing] that He is the adorable Son, and is the glorious
God, and is the victorious King, and is the mighty Power ;
and through faith in Him a man is able to acquire the eyes
of a true mind, 4 and to understand that, whosoever worship-
peth creatures, the wrath of justice will overtake him.
1 [Or " confirmed."]
2 [Perhaps " town " will not seem too insignificant a word if it be
taken in its original sense of a fortified place, which the Syriac term also
denotes. It seemed desirable to distinguish, if possible, the two words
which have been rendered respectively "city" and "town" in these
pages. The only exception made is in a single passage where Rome is
spoken of.]
3 These words are not in the letter of Christ to Abgar. They must
therefore be, either a message brought by Addseus himself, or, much more
probably, a later interpolation : earlier, however, than Ephraem Syrus,
who alludes to them in his Testament. This notion of the immunity of
the city of Edessa is referred to by several Syriac writers. Nor was it
confined to the East : it obtained in very early times in our own country,
where the letter of our Lord to Abgar was regarded as a charm. In a
very ancient service-book of the Saxon times, preserved in the British
Museum, the letter follows the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed ;
and an appended description of the virtues of the epistle closes with these
Avords, according to the Latin version of Eufinus : " Si quis hanc epistolam
secum Tiabuerit, securus ambulet [ambulabit ?] in pace." Jeremiah Jones,
writing of the last century, says: "The common people in England
have had it [the letter] in their houses in many places in a frame
with a picture before it; and they generally, with much honesty
and devotion, regard it as the word of God and the genuine epistle
of Christ." Even now a similar practice is believed to linger in some
districts. The story of Abgar is told in an Anglo-Saxon poem, pub-
lished in Abgarus-Legenden paa Old-Engelsk by G. Stephens, Copen-
hagen, 1853. [It consists of 204 lines, is a tolerably close rendering of
Eusebius, and is ascribed by Stephens to Aelfric, archbishop of York
from 1023 to 1052.]
* See Eph. i. 18.
THE TEACHING OF ADD^EUS THE APOSTLE. 19
For [in] everything which we speak before you, according
as we have received of the gift of our Lord, [so] speak we
and teach and declare [it], that ye may secure 1 your salva-
tion and not destroy 2 your spirits through the error of
paganism : because the heavenly light has arisen on the
creation, and He it is who chose the fathers of former times,
and the righteous men, and the prophets, and spake with
them in the revelation of the Holy Spirit. 3 For He is Him-
self the God of the Jews who crucified Him ; and to Him
it is that the erring pagans offer worship, even while they
know it not : because there is no other God in heaven and
on earth ; and lo ! confession ascendeth up to Him from the
four quarters of the creation. Lo ! therefore, your ears
have heard that which was not heard by you [before] ; and
lo ! further, your eyes have seen that which was never seen
by you [before].
Be not, therefore, gainsayers of that which ye have seen
and heard. Put away from you the rebellious mind of your
fathers, and free yourselves from the yoke of sin, which hath
dominion over you in libations and in sacrifices [offered]
before carved images ; and be ye concerned for your en-
dangered 4 salvation, and for the unavailing support on which
ye lean ; 5 and get you a new mind, that worships the Maker
and not the things which are made [a mind] in which is
portrayed the image of verity and of truth, of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit ; believing and being
baptized in the triple and glorious names. For this is our
teaching and our preaching. For the belief of the truth of
1 [Lit. " obtain."] 2 [Or " lose."] s [Lit. " Spirit of holiness. 1 ']
4 [Prop, "lost," or "being lost," " perishing."]
5 [Lit. " support of your head."] The word rendered " support" is
not in the dictionaries, but its derivation and form are known. Mar
Jacob, infra, has a similar expression : " A resting-place for the head,
etc." [where, however, his word is derived from a root meaning to
" prop up" (,iV)Cfl), whereas the root of our word denotes to " bend
itself," " bow down" (^-2'), and is often used of the declining day (as
Luke xxiv. 29). It is used of the bending of the head in John xix. 30.
The actual leaning of the head for support is not expressed in the verb,
but would naturally be inferred from it].
20 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Christ does not consist of many things. 1 And those of you
as are willing to be obedient to Christ are aware that I have
many times repeated my words before you, in order that ye
might learn and understand what ye hear.
And we ourselves shall rejoice in this, like the husbandman
who rejoices in the field which is blessed ; God also will be
glorified by your repentance towards Him. While ye are
saved hereby, we also, who give you this counsel, shall not be
despoiled of the blessed reward of this [work]. And, because
I am assured that ye are a land blessed according to the will
of the Lord Christ, therefore, instead of the dust of our feet
which we were commanded to shake off against the town
o
that would not receive our words, lo ! I have shaken off
to-day at the door of your ears the sayings of my lips, in
which are portrayed the coming of Christ which has [already]
been, and also that which is [yet] to be ; and the resurrection,
and the resuscitation of all men, and the separation which is
to be made between the faithful and the unbelieving ; and
the sore punishment which is reserved for those who know
not God, and the blessed promise of future joy which they
shall receive who have believed in Christ and worshipped
Him and His exalted Father, and have confessed Him and
His divine Spirit. 2
And now it is meet for us that I conclude my present
discourse ; and let those who have accepted the word of
Christ remain with us, and those also who are willing to
join with us in prayer ; and afterwards let them go to their
homes.
And Addaeus the apostle was rejoiced to see that a great
number of the population of the city stayed with him ; and
they were [but] few who did not remain at that time, while
even those few not many days after accepted his words
and believed in the gospel set forth in 3 the preaching of
Christ.
1 [Lit. " the truth of Christ is not believed in many things."]
2 [Lit. "the Spirit of His Godhead " = His Sp : rit of Godhead = His
divine Spirit.]
3 [Lit. " the gospel of. 1 ']
THE TEACHING OF ADD^EUS THE APOSTLE. 21
And when Addseus the apostle had spoken these things
before all the town of Edessa, and King Abgar saw that
all the city rejoiced in his teaching, men and women alike,
and [heard them] saying to him, " True and faithful is Christ
who sent thee to us " he himself also rejoiced greatly at this,
giving praise to God ; because, like as he had heard from
Hanan, 1 his Tabularius, about Christ, so had he seen the
wonderful mighty-works which Addaeus the apostle did in
the name of Christ.
And Abgar the king also said to him : According as I
sent [word] to Christ in my letter to Him, and according as
He also sent [word] to me, [so] have I also received from
thine own self this day ; [and] so will I believe all the days
of my life, and in the selfsame things will I continue and make
my boast, because I know also that there is no other power in
whose name these signs and wonders are done but the power
of Christ whom thou preachest in verity and in truth. And
henceforth Him will I worship I and my son Maanu, 2 and
Augustin, 3 and Shalmath the queen. And now, wherever
thou desirest, build a church, a place of meeting for those
who have believed and shall believe in thy words ; and, ac-
cording to the command given thee by thy Lord, minister
thou at the [proper] seasons with confidence ; to those also
who shall be [associated] with thee as teachers of this gospel
I am prepared to give large donations, in order that they
may not have any other work beside the ministry ; and what-
soever is required by thee for the expenses of the building
I myself will give thee without any restriction, 4 whilst thy
word shall be authoritative and sovereign in this town;
moreover, without [the intervention of] any other person do
thou come into my presence as one in authority, into the
palace of my royal majesty.
1 See p. 7.
2 Abgar had two sons of this name. This is probably the elder, who
succeeded his father at Edessa, and reigned seven years. Bayer makes
him the fifteenth king of Edessa
3 Abgar's mother : see p. 13.
4 [Lit. " reckoning."]
22 SYRIA C DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
And when Abgar was gone down to his royal palace he
rejoiced, he and his princes with him, Abdu son of Abdu,
and Garmai, and Shemashgram, 1 and Abubai, and Meher-
dath, 2 together with the others their companions, at all that
their eyes had seen and their ears also had heard ; and in
the gladness of their heart they too began to praise God
for having turned their mind towards Him, renouncing the
paganism in which they had lived, 3 and confessing the gospel
of Christ. And when Addseus had built a church they pro-
ceeded to offer in it vows arid oblations, they and the people
of the city ; and there they continued to present their praises
all the days of their life.
And Avida and Barcalba, 4 who were chief men and rulers,
and wore the royal headband, 5 drew near to Addceus, and
asked him about the matter of Christ, [requesting] that he
would tell them how He, though He was God, appeared to
1 The vowels in this name are supplied from the treatise of Bardesan.
Whiston, from the Armenian form, writes the name Samsagram. He
was sent, together with Hanan and Maryhab, as envoy to Marinus. See
Mos. Chor. B. ii. c. 30.
2 See Tac. Ann. xii. 12.
3 [Lit. "stood."]
4 The son of Zati (see p. 29).
6 [Or u the headbands of the kings." Nothing appears to be known
of the derivation of the word ()Q_*j, which does not occur in the ordi-
nary lexicons. Dr. Payne Smith has favoured the translator with the
following note : |jQ_*- is evidently some kind of ornament. In Ephs.
ii. 379 (in the form |jQ_K) it is an ornament worn by young people.
B.A. [Bar Alii Lex. Syro-Arab.'] and K. [Georgii Karmsedinoyo Lex.]
- ~ *. -I.,.,
render it (in the form |JQ_K) Xj^Jj^* , which may mean ' acirclet of
jewels.'" Cureton says: "These headbands of the king, or diadems,
seem to have been made of silk or muslin scarves, like the turbans of
orientals at the present day, interwoven with gold, and with figures and
devices upon them, as was the case with that worn by Sharbil. See
Acts of Sharbil, sub inti." The art. Diadema in Dr. W. Smith's Antiqq.
seems to furnish a good idea of what is intended. The ornament was
probably white; and this has caused our expression to be sometimes con'
founded with the similar |>Q>j , > *"1\. See Teaching of Simon
Cephas, init.J
THE TEACHING OF ADDSEUS THE APOSTLE. 23
them as a man : And how, said they, were ye able to look
upon Him? And he proceeded to satisfy them all about this,
about all that their eyes had seen and about whatsoever their
ears had heard from him. Moreover, everything that the
prophets had spoken concerning Him he repeated before
them, and they received his words gladly and with faith, and
there was not a man that withstood him ; for the glorious
deeds which he did suffered not any man to withstand him.
Shavida, moreover, and Ebednebu, chiefs of the priests of
this town, together with Piroz * and Dilsu their companions,
when they had seen the signs which he did, ran and threw
down the altars on which they were accustomed to sacrifice
before Nebu and Bel, 2 their gods, except the great altar which
was in the middle of the town ; and they cried out and said :
Verily this is the disciple of that eminent and glorious Master,
concerning whom we have heard all that He did in the country
of Palestine. And all those who believed in Christ did
Addseus receive, and baptized them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And those
who used to worship stones and stocks sat at his feet, re-
covered from the madness 3 of paganism wherewith they
had been afflicted. Jews also, traders in fine raiment, 4 who
were familiar with the law and the prophets they too were
persuaded, and became disciples, and confessed Christ that
He is the Son of the living God.
But neither did King Abgar nor yet the Apostle Addseus
compel any man by force to believe in Christ, because with-
out the force of man the force of the signs compelled many
to believe in Him. And with affection did they receive His
doctrine [even] all this country of Mesopotamia, and all the
regions round about it.
1 The same name as Berosus, who is so called in the modern Persian.
4 These were the chief gods of Edessa, the former representing the
sun, and the latter the moon.
3 [The reference seems to be to Mark v. 15.]
4 The " soft [clothing] " of Matt. xi. 8, where [the Peshito and] the
" Ancient Recension " have the same word as appears here. Cureton
renders it "silk," but remarks: "It would appear to be cotton or
muslin, lana xylina, not lomlycina."
24 SYR1AC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Aggseus, moreover, who 1 made the silks 2 and headbands
of the king, and Palut, and Barshelama, and Barsamya,
together with the others their companions, clave to Addseus
the apostle ; and he received them, and associated them with
him in the ministry, their business being to read in the Old
Testament and the New, 3 and in the prophets, and in the
Acts of the Apostles, [and] to meditate upon them daily ;
strictly charging them to let their bodies be pure and their
persons holy, as is becoming in men who stand before the
altar of God. " And be ye," said he, " far removed from false
swearing and from wicked homicide, and from dishonest
testimony, which is connected with adultery ; and from magic
arts, for which there is no mercy, and from soothsaying, and
divination, and fortune-tellers ; and from fate and nativities,
of which the deluded Chaldeans make their boast ; and from
the stars, and the signs of the Zodiac, in which the foolish
put their trust. And put far from you unjust partiality, and
bribes, and presents, through which the innocent are pro-
nounced guilty. And along with this ministry, to which ye
have been called, see that ye have no other work besides :
for the Lord is the work of your ministry all the days of
your life. And be ye diligent to give the seal of baptism.
1 [The text has not J, but it is best to supply it.]
2 [Cureton gives "chains," which in his notes he changes to "silks,"
or "muslins," adopting, with C., the reading {-;' > instead of the
(->?[- of the printed text. Mos. Chor. calls Aggseus "un fabricant
de coiffures de sole" according to the translation of Florival; or
" quendam serici opificem," according to Whiston. It may be added
that the word ]->; i is doubtless the same as our "silk," which is
only a form of Sericum, an adjective from Seres, the people whose
country was the native home of the silk-worm.]
3 These terms could only have been used here in the sense of the Law
of Moses and the Gospel. If by the Acts of the Apostles is meant the
work of Luke, this passage seems to show that the compiler of this
account of Addseus wrote some years subsequently to the events which
he relates, or that it has been added by a later interpolator. For at the
earlier period of Addseus' ministry no other part of the New Testament
was written than the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, which is probably the
Gospel here meant.
THE TEACHING OF ADD^EUS THE APOSTLE. 25
And be not fond of the gains of this world. And hear ye
a cause with justice and with truth. And be ye not a
stumbling-block to the blind, lest through you should be
blasphemed the name of Him who opened [the eyes of] the
blind, according as we have seen. Let all, therefore, who
see you perceive that ye yourselves are in harmony with
whatsoever ye preach and teach."
And they ministered with him in the church which Addasus
had built at the word and command of Abgar the king, being
furnished with supplies by the king and by his nobles, partly
for the house of God, and partly for the supply of the poor.
Moreover, much people day by day assembled and came to
the prayers of the service, and to [the reading of] the Old
Testament, and the New of the Diatessaron. 1 They also be-
lieved in the restoration of the dead, and buried their de-
parted in the hope of resuscitation [to life]. The festivals
of the church they also observed in their seasons, and were
assiduous every day in the vigils of the church. And they
made visits of almsgiving, to the sick and to those that were
whole, according to the instruction of Addaeus to them. In
the environs, too, of the city churches were built, and many
received from him ordination to the priesthood. 2 So that
even people of the East, in the guise of merchants, passed
over into the territory of the Romans, that they might see
the signs which Addseus did. And such as became disciples
received from him ordination to the priesthood, and in their
own country of the Assyrians they instructed the people of
their nation, and erected houses of prayer there in secret, by
reason of the danger [which beset them] from those who
worshipped fire and paid reverence to water. 3
1 Or " Ditornon." The reading of the MS. is not clear. It seems that
it ought to be Diatessaron [the two words would differ but slightly
in the mode of writing], which Tatian the Syrian [Assyrian] compiled
from the four Gospels about the middle of the second century. This
was in general use at Edessa up to the fourth cen.ury, and Ephraein
Syrus wrote a commentary on it. If this be so, we have here a later
interpolation.
2 [Lit. " the hand of priesthood :" and so passim.']
* iStrabOjCfe Persis,\). xv. [ch. iii.] : "They sacrifice to fire and to water "
26 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Moreover, Narses, the king of the Assyrians, when he
heard of those same things which Addseus the apostle had
done, sent [a message] to Abgar the king : Either despatch
to me the man who doeth these signs before thee, that I may
see him and hear his word, or send me [an account of] all
that thou hast seen him do in thy own town. And Abgar
wrote to Narses, 1 and related to him the whole story of the
deeds of Addseus from the beginning to the end ; and he
left nothing which he did not write to him. And, when
Narses heard those things which were written to him, he
was astonished and amazed.
Abgar the king, moreover, because he was not able to pass
over into the territory of the Romans, 2 and go to Palestine
and slay the Jews for having crucified Christ, wrote a letter
and sent it to Tiberius Cassar, 8 writing in it thus :
King Abgar to our Lord Tiberius Cassar : Although I
know that nothing is hidden from thy Majesty, I write to
inform thy dread and mighty Sovereignty that the Jews
who are under thy dominion and dwell in the country of
Palestine have assembled themselves together and crucified
Christ, without any fault [worthy] of death [in Him], after
He had done before them signs and wonders, and had shown
them powerful mighty-works, so that He even raised the
dead to life for them ; and at the time that they crucified
Him the sun became darkened and the earth also quaked,
and all created things trembled and quaked, and, as if of
themselves, at this deed the whole creation and the inha-
bitants of the creation shrank away. And now thy Majesty
knoweth what it is meet for thee to command concerning the
people of the Jews who have done these things.
And Tiberius Caesar wrote and sent to King Abgar ; and
thus did he write to him :
The letter of thy Fidelity towards me I have received, and
it hath been read before me. Concerning what the Jews
1 See his letter in Mos. Chor., infra.
2 Dio Cassius, liv. 8: "Augustus fixed as the boundaries of the
empire of the Romans the Tigris and Euphrates."
8 See it also, with some variations, in Mos. Chor., infra.
THE TEACHING OF ADD^US THE APOSTLE. 27
have dared to do in the matter of the cross, Pilate 1 the o-over-
' O
nor also has written and informed Aulbinus 2 my proconsul
concerning these selfsame things of which thou hast written
to me. Bat, because a war with the people of Spain, 3 who
have rebelled against me, is on foot at this time, on this
account I have not been able to avenge this matter ; but I
am prepared, when I shall have leisure, to issue a command
according to law against the Jews, who act not according to
law. And on this account, as regards Pilate also, who was
appointed by me governor there I have sent another in
his stead, and dismissed him in disgrace, because he departed
from the law, 4 and did the will of the Jews, and for the
gratification of the Jews crucified Christ, who, according to
what I hear concerning Him, instead of [suffering] the cross
of death, deserved to be honoured and worshipped 5 by them :
1 It was Pilate's duty, as governor of Judea, to send an account tc
the Roman Government of what had occurred in respect to Jesus ; and
his having done so is mentioned by Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and several
other writers.
2 The word is evidently misspelt. The name intended may have been
confounded with that of the Albinus who was made governor of Judea
at a later period by Nero, A.D. 62. The same person is referred to, in
the Exit of Mary, infra : " Sabinus, the governor who had been ap-
pointed by the Emperor Tiberius ; and even as far as the river Euphrates
the governor Sabinus had authority." The person meant can only be
Vitellius, who was then governor of Syria, who removed Pilate from the
administration of Judea, sending Marcellus in his stead, and ordered
him to appear before Tiberius at Rome. The emperor died before he
reached Rome.
3 No mention is made by historians of any war with Spain. But
about this tune Vitellius, mentioned in the preceding note, was mixed up
with the wars of the Parthians and Hiberians ; and, as Hiberi is a name
common to Spaniards as well as Hiberians, the apparent error may have
arisen in translating the letter out of Latin into Syriac.
4 Baronius says Pilate violated the law by crucifying our Lord so soon
after sentence had been passed, whereas a delay of ten days was re-
quired by a law passed in the reign of Tiberius.
5 Tiberius is said by Tertullian (Apol. 5) to have referred to the senate
the question of admitting Christ among the gods. This has been in-
terpolated into the epistle of Tiberius to Abgar as given in Moses
Chor., B. ii. c. 33. He also adds another letter from Abgar in reply to
this.
28 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
and more especially because with their own eyes they saw
everything that He did. Yet thou, in accordance with thy
fidelity towards me, and the faithful covenant [entered into
by] thyself and by thy fathers, hast done well in writing to
me thus.
And Abgar the king received Aristides, who had been sent
by Tiberius Caesar to him ; and in reply he sent him [back]
with presents of honour suitable for him who had sent him
to him. And from Edessa he went to Thicuntha, 1 where
Claudius, the second from the emperor, was ; and from
thence, again, he went to Artica, 2 where Tiberius Ca?sar was :
Caius, moreover, was guarding the regions round about
Caesar. And Aristides himself also related before Tiberius
concerning the mighty- works which Addseus had done before
Abgar the king. And when he had leisure from the war
he sent and put to death some of the chief men of the Jews
who were in Palestine. And, when Abgar the king heard of
this, he rejoiced greatly that the Jews had received punish-
ment, as it was right.
And some years after Addseus the apostle had built the
church in Edessa, and had furnished it with everything that
was suitable for it, and had made disciples of a great number
of the population of the city, he further built churches in
the villages 3 also [both] those which were at a distance and
those which were near, and finished and adorned them, and
appointed in them deacons and elders, and instructed in
1 This word has been so much distorted and disfigured by the tran-
scribers, that I am unable to recognise what is the place intended.
CURETON.
2 This word may be read Orlyka, and may be intended for Ortygia
near Syracuse, which was not far from the island of Caprese, where
Tiberius then resided, seldom leaving it to go farther than to the
neighbouring coast of Campania.
3 [Lit. " the other villages." So, in several passages of these Docu-
ments, " the rest of the other ." The habit of including two or
more distinguished notions under a class to which only one of them
belongs was not unknown among classical writers also : as when, e.g.,
Thucydides speaks of the Peloponnesian war as the most remarkable of
all the wars that preceded it. Milton's imitation, " Fairest of all her
daughters, Eve," is well known.]
THE TEACHING OF ADDsEUS THE APOSTLE. 29
them those who should read the Scriptures, and taught the
ordinances and 1 the ministry without and within.
After all these things he fell ill of the sickness of which
he departed from this world. And he called for Aggseus
before the whole assembly of the church, and bade him draw
near, and made him Guide and Ruler 2 in his stead. And
Palut, 3 who was a deacon, he made elder ; and Abshelama,
who was a scribe, he made deacon. And, the nobles and
chief men being assembled, and standing near him Bar-
calba son of Zati, 4 and Maryhab 5 son of Barshemash, and
Senac 6 son of Avida, and Piroz son of Patric, 7 together
with the rest of their companions Addseus the apostle said
to them :
" Ye know and are witness, all of you who hear me, that,
[according to] all that I have preached to you and taught
you and ye have heard from me, even so have I behaved
myself in the midst of you, and ye have seen [it] in deeds
also : because our Lord thus charged us, that, whatsoever we
preach in words before the people, we should practise it in
deeds before all men. And, according to the ordinances and
1 The O (and) seems to have been altered into J (of). "WRIGHT.
[Perhaps " of" is the better reading.]
2 It is plain from the context here, as well as wherever it occurs in
these early Syriac Documents, that this title [or that of Guide alone] is
precisely the same as that of Bishop, although the Greek word Int'cxo'Tro;
had not yet obtained in the East. The first mention we find of the title
Bishop [in these pages] is in the Acts of Sharbil about A.D. 105-112,
where Barsarnya is called " the Bishop of the Christians," although he is
more generally designated as here. It is also found in the Teaching of
Simon Cephas, nub Jin., which seems to have been written early in the
second century or at the end of the first. The passage in the Teaching of
Addseus, p. 35, where it occurs, was interpolated at a much later period.
3 Perhaps <bfo6n;.
4 Perhaps the same as Izates: see Jos. Antiq. xx. ii. 1, 4 ; Tac. Ann.
xii. 14.
5 This seems to be the person spoken of by Moses Chor., B. ii. c. 30,
under the name " Mar-Ihap, prince d'Aghtznik," as one of the envoys
Bent by Abgar to Marinus.
fi Tacitus writes this name Sinnaces : see Ann. vi. 31, 32.
7 Patricius.
30 SYR1AC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
laws which were appointed by the disciples in Jerusalem, 1
and by which my fellow-apostles also guided their conduct, so
also [do] ye turn not aside from them, nor diminish aught
from them : even as I also am. guided by them amongst you,
and have not turned aside from them to the right hand or
to the left, lest I should become estranged from the promised
salvation which is reserved for such as are guided by them.
" Give 2 heed, therefore, to this ministry which ye hold,
and with fear and trembling continue in it, and minister
every day. Minister not in it with neglectful habits, but
with the discreetness of faith ; and let not the praises of
Christ cease out of your mouth, nor let weariness of prayer
at the [stated] times come upon you. Give heed to the
verity which ye hold, and to the teaching of the truth which
ye have received, and to the inheritance of salvation which
I commit to you : because before the tribunal of Christ will
ye have to give an account of it, when He maketh reckoning
with the shepherds and overseers, and when He taketh His
money from the traders with the addition of the gains. For
He is the Son of a King, and goeth to receive a kingdom
and return ; and He will come and make a resuscitation [to
life] for all men, and then will He sit upon the throne of
His righteousness, and judge the dead and the living, as He
said to us.
" Let not the secret eye of your minds be closed by pride,
lest your stumbling-blocks be many in the way in which
there are no stumbling-blocks, but a hateful 3 wandering in
its paths. Seek ye those that are lost, and direct those that
go astray, and rejoice in those that are found ; bind up the
bruised, and watch over the failings : because at your hands
will the sheep of Christ be required. Look ye not for the
honour that passeth away : for the shepherd that looketh
to receive honour from his flock sadly, sadly stands his
1 These are given at pp. 38 sqq.
2 Quoted in the Epistle of Addxus, infra.
3 [Probably " wicked," the meaning being that all such wandering
is wilful. Cureton makes "hateful "the predicate: "error is abomi-
nable in its paths."]
THE TEACHING OF ADDJEUS THE APOSTLE. 31
flock with respect to him. Let your concern be great for
the young lambs, whose angels behold the face of the Father
who is unseen. And be ye not stones of stumbling before
the blind, but clearers of the way and the paths in a rugged
country, among the Jews the crucifiers, and the deluded
pagans : for with these two parties have ye to fight, in order
that ye may show the truth of the faith which ye hold ; and,
though ye be silent, your modest and decorous appearance
will fight for you against those who hate truth and love
falsehood.
" Buffet not the poor in the presence of the rich : for
scourge grievous enough for them is their poverty.
"Be not beguiled by the hateful devices of Satan, lest ye
be stripped naked of the faith which ye have put on." 1 . .
" And with the Jews, the crucifiers, we will have no fellow-
ship. And this inheritance which we have received from
thee we will not let go, but in that will we depart out of this
world ; and on the day of our Lord, before the judgment-
seat of His righteousness, there will He restore to us this
inheritance, even as thou hast told us."
And, when these things had been spoken, Abgar the king
rose up, he and his chief men and his nobles, and he went to
his palace, all of them being distressed for him because he
was dying. And he sent to him noble and excellent apparel,
that he might be buried in it. And, when Addseus saw it,
he sent [word] to him, [saying] : In my lifetime I have not
taken anything from thee, nor will I now at my death take
anything from thee, nor will I frustrate the word of Christ
which He spake to us : Accept not anything from any man,
and possess not anything in this world. 2
And three days more after these things had been spoken by
Adda3us the apostle, and he had heard and received the testi-
mony concerning the teaching set forth in their preaching
1 One leaf apparently is lost from the MS. in this place. [What fol-
lows appears to be part of the reply of those addressed their " testi-
mony concerning the teaching set forth in their preaching."]
2 The reference seems to be to Matt. x. 7-10.
32 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
from those engnged with him in the ministry, in the presence
of all the nobles he departed out of this world. And that
day was the fifth of the week, and the fourteenth of the
month lyar. 1 And the whole city was in great mourning
and bitter anguish for him. Nor was it the Christians only
that were distressed for him, but the Jews also, and the
pagans, who were in this same town. But Abgar the king
was distressed for him more than any one, he and the princes
of his kingdom. And in the sadness of his soul he despised
and laid aside the magnificence of his kingly state on that
day, and with tears mingled with moans he bewailed him
with all men. And all the people of the city that saw him
were amazed [to witness] how greatly he suffered on his
account. And with great and surpassing pomp he bore
[him to his grave], and buried him like one of the princes
when he dies ; and he laid him in a grand sepulchre adorned
with sculpture wrought by the fingers that in which were
laid those of the house of Ariu, the ancestors of Abgar the
king : there he laid him sorrowfully, with sadness and great
distress. And all the people of the church went there from
time to time and prayed fervently; and they kept up the
remembrance of his departure from year to year, according
to the command and direction which had been received by
them from Addaeus the apostle, 2 and according to the word
of Aggaeus, who himself became Guide and Ruler, and the
successor of his seat after him, by the ordination to the
priesthood which he had received from him in the presence
of all men.
He too, with the same ordination which he had received
from him, made Priests and Guides in the whole of this
country of Mesopotamia. For they also, in like manner as
Addseus the apostle, held fast his word, and listened to and
received [it], as good and faithful successors of the apostle
of the adorable Christ. But silver and gold he took not
1 [Nearly answering to] May. The death of Addseus occurred before
that of Abgar, which took place A.D. 45. It would appear, therefore,
that his ministry at Edessa lasted about ten or eleven years.
2 Compare the Teaching of the Apostles, Ordinance xviii. p. 41.
THE TEACHING OF ADD^EUS THE APOSTLE. 33
from any man, nor did the gifts of the princes come near
him : for, instead of [receiving] gold and silver, he [himself]
enriched the church of Christ with the souls of believers.
Moreover, [as regards] the entire state * of the men and the
women, they were chaste and circumspect, and holy and
pure : for they lived like anchorites 2 and chastely, without
spot in [their] circumspect watchfulness touching the mini-
stry, in their sympathy 3 toward the poor, in their visitations
to the sick : for their footsteps were fraught with praise
from those who saw [them], and their conduct was arrayed
in commendation from strangers so that even the priests
of the house of 4 Nebu and Bel divided the honour with
them at all times, by reason of their dignified aspect, their
truthful words, their frankness of speech arising from their
noble nature, which was neither subservient through cove-
tousness nor in bondage under [the fear of] blame. For
there was no one who saw them that did not run to meet
them, that he might salute them respectfully, because the
very sight of them shed peace upon the beholders : for
just like a net 5 were their words of gentleness spread over
the contumacious, and they entered within the fold of truth
and verity. For there was no man who saw them that
was ashamed of them, because they did nothing that was
not accordant with rectitude and propriety. And in conse-
quence of these things their bearing was fearless as they pub-
lished their teaching to all men. For, whatsoever they said
to others and enjoined on them, they themselves exhibited in
practice in their own persons ; and the hearers, who saw
that their actions went along with their words, without much
persuasion became their disciples, and confessed the King
Christ, praising God for having turned them towards Him.
1 This seems to apply to those who especially belonged to the ministry
of the church. [This is the only passage in the Documents in which
women are spoken of as connected with the ministry.]
2 [The reference is only to their purity of life. It is not implied that
they lived in seclusion.]
3 [Lit. " their burden -bearing."] * [Or " belonging to."]
6 An allusion to Matt. iv. 19 : "I will make you fishers of men."
c
34 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA
And some years after the death of Abgar the king, there
arose one of his contumacious l sons, who was not favourable
to peace ; and he sent [word] to Aggseus, as he was sitting
in the church : Make me a headband of gold, such as thou
usedst to make for my fathers in former times. Aggseus
sent [word] to him : I will not give up the ministry of Christ,
which was committed to me by the disciple of Christ, and
make a headband of wickedness. And, when he saw that
he did not comply, he sent and brake his legs 2 as he was
sitting in the church expounding. And as he was dying he
adjured Palut and Abshelama: In this house, for whose
truth's sake, lo ! I am dying, lay me and bury me. And,
even as he had adjured them], so did they lay him inside
the middle door of the church, between the men and the
women. And there was great and bitter mourning in all
the church, and in all the city o.ver and above the anguish
and the mourning which there had been within [the church],
such as had been the mourning when Addseus the apostle
himself died.
[And, 3 in consequence of his dying suddenly and quickly
at the breaking of his legs, he was not able to lay [his] hand
upon Palut. [So] Palut went to Antioch, and received
ordination to the priesthood from .Serapion bishop of An-
1 [i.e. refusing to accept Christianity : as & few lines before.] The
person referred to would seem to be the second of the two sons of
Abgar called Maanu, who succeeded his brother Maanu, and reigned
fourteen years from A.D. 52 to A.D. 65, according to Dionysius as cited
by Assemani.
2 This ignominious mode of execution, which was employed in the
case of the two thieves at Calvary, seems to have been of Roman origin.
The object of the king in putting Aggseus to this kind of death was,
probably, to degrade and disgrace him.
3 This paragraph is a barefaced interpolation made by some ignorant
person much later (who is also responsible for the additions to the
Martyrdom of Sharbil, and to that of Barsamya). For this Palut was
made Elder by Addaeus himself, at the time that Aggaeus was appointed
Bishop, or Guide and Ruler. This took place even before the death of
Abgar, who died A.D. 45 ; whereas Serapion did not become bishop of
Antioch till the beginning of the third century, if, as is here stated, he
was consecrated by Zephyrinus, who did not become Pope till A.D. 201.
THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. 35
tioch ; by which Serapion himself also ordination had been
received from Zephyrinus bishop of the city of Rome, in
the succession of the ordination to the priesthood from Simon
Cephas, who had received [it] from our Lord, and was bishop
there in Rome twenty-five years in the days of the Caesar
who reigned there thirteen years.]
And, according to the custom which exists in the kingdom
of Abgar the king, and in all kingdoms, that whatsoever the
king commands and whatsoever is spoken in his presence is
committed to writing and deposited among the records, so
also did Labubna, 1 son of Senac, son of Ebedshaddai, the
king's scribe, write these things also relating to Addseus the
apostle from the beginning to the end, whilst Hanan also
the Tabularius, a sharir of the kings, set-to his hand in
witness, and deposited [the writing] among the records of
the kings, where the ordinances and laws are deposited, and
where [the contracts of] the buyers and sellers are kept with
care, without any negligence whatever.
[Here] endeth the teaching of Addaeus the apostle, which
he proclaimed in Edessa, the faithful city of Abgar, the
faithful king.
THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. 2
At what time Christ was taken up to His Father ; and
how the apostles received the gift of the Spirit; and the
1 Moses Chor., ii. 36, calls him, in the translation of Le Yaillant de
Florival, " Gheroupna, fils de 1'ecrivain Apchatar ;" in that of Whiston,
"Lerubnas, Apsadari scribse filius." Apchatar of the first, and Apsadar
of the second, translator are evidently corruptions in the Armenian from
the Adbshaddai (= Ebedshaddai) of the Syriac. Dr. Alishan, in a letter
to Dr. Cureton from the Armenian Convent of St. Lazarus, Venice, says
he has found an Armenian MS., of probably the twelfth century, which
he believes to be a translation of the present Syriac original. It is a
history of Abgar and Thaddseus, written by Gherubnia with the assist-
ance of Ananias (= Hanan), confidant (= shark 1 ) of King Abgar.
2 This work is taken, and printed verbatim, from the same MS. as
36 SYPJAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Ordinances and Laws of the church ; and whither each one
of the apostles went ; and from whence the countries in the
territory of the Romans received the ordination to the priest-
hood.
In the year three hundred and 1 thirty-nine of the kingdom
of the Greeks, in the month Heziran, 2 on the fourth 3 day of
the same, which is the first day of the week, and the end of
Pentecost 4 on the selfsame day came the disciples from
Nazareth of Galilee, where the conception of our Lord was
announced, to the mount which is called that of the Place of
Olives, 6 our Lord being with them, but not being visible to
them. And at the time of early dawn our Lord lifted up
His hands, and laid them upon the heads of the eleven dis-
ciples, and gave to them the gift of the priesthood. And
suddenly a bright cloud received Him. And they saw Him
as He was going up to heaven. And He sat down on the
right hand of His Father. And they praised God because
they saw His ascension according as He had told them ; and
they rejoiced because they had received the Right Hand con-
ferring on them the priesthood of the house of Moses and
Aaron.
And from thence they went up [to the city], and 6
the preceding, Cod. Add. 14,644, fol. 10. That MS., however, has been
carefully compared with another in the Brit. Mus. in which it is found,
Cod. Add. 14,531, fol. 109 ; and with a third, in which the piece is
quoted as Canons of the Apostles, Cod. Add. 14,173, fol. 37. In using
the second, a comparison has also been made of De Lagarde's edition of
it (Vienna, 1856). This treatise had also been published before in
Ebediesu Metropolitse Sobse et Armenige collectio canonum Synodicorum
by Cardinal Mai. It is also cited by Bar Hebrseus in his Nomocanon,
printed by Mai in the same volume. These three texts are referred to
in the notes, as A. B. C. respectively.
1 A. omits " three hundred and." They are supplied from B. The
reading of C. is 342.
2 [This month answers to Sivan, which began with the new moon of
June.]
3 C. reads " fourteenth."
4 The day of Pentecost seems to be put for that of the Ascension.
5 Syr. " Baith Zaithe." Comp. Luke xxiv. 50 sqq.
6 Comp. Acts i. 12 sqq.
THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. 37
proceeded to an upper room that in which our Lord had
observed the passover with them, and the place where the
inquiries had been made: Who it was that should betray
our Lord to the crucifiers ? There also were the inquiries
[made] : How they should preach His gospel in the world ?
And, as within the upper room the mystery of the body and
of the blood of our Lord began to prevail in the world, so
also from thence did the teaching of His preaching begin to
have authority in the world.
And, when the disciples were cast into this perplexity,
how they should preach His gospel to [men of] strange
tongues which were unknown to them, and were speaking
thus to one another : Although we are confident that Christ
will perform by our hands mighty works and miracles
in the presence of strange peoples whose tongues we know
not, and who themselves also are unversed in our tongue,
[yet] who shall teach them and make them understand that
it is by the name of Christ who was crucified that these
mighty works and miracles are done? while, I say, the
disciples were occupied with these thoughts, Simon Cephas
rose up, and said to them : My brethren, this matter, how
we shall preach His gospel, pertaineth not to us, but to our
Lord ; for He knoweth how it is possible for us to preach His
gospel in the world ; and we rely on His care for us, which
He promised us, saying : " When I am ascended to my
Father I will send you the Spirit, the Paraclete, that He
may teach you everything which it is meet for you to know,
and to make known."
And, whilst Simon Cephas was saying these things to his
fellow-apostles, and putting them in remembrance, a mys-
terious voice was heard by them, and a sweet odour, which
was strange to the world, breathed upon them; 1 and tongues
of fire, between the voice and the odour, came down from
heaven 2 towards them, and alighted on every one of them
and sat [upon him] ; and, according to the tongue which
every one of them had severally received, so did he prepare
1 The reading of B. and C. : A. reads " answered them."
8 B. reads " suddenly."
38 STRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
himself to go to the country in which that tongue was
spoken and heard.
And, by the same gift of the Spirit which was given to
them on that day, they appointed Ordinances and Laws
such as were in accordance with the gospel of their preaching,
and with the true and faithful doctrine of their teaching :
1. The apostles therefore appointed : Pray ye towards
the east z 1 because, " as the lightning which lighteneth from
the east and is seen even to the west, so shall the coming
of the Son of man be" 2 [which was said] that by this we
might know and understand that He will appear from the
east suddenly. 3
2. The apostles further appointed : On the first [day] of
the week let there be service, and the reading of the Holy
Scriptures, and the oblation : 4 because on the first day of
the week our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on
the first day of the week He arose upon the world, and on
the first day of the week He ascended up to heaven, and on
the first day of the week He will appear at last with the
angels of heaven. 5
3. The apostles further appointed : On the fourth 6 day of
the week let there be service : because on that [day] our
Lord made the disclosure to them about His trial 7 and His
suffering, and His crucifixion, and His death, and His resur-
rection ; and the disciples were on account of this in sorrow. 8
4. The apostles further appointed : On the eve [of the
Sabbath], 9 at the ninth hour, let there be service : because
1 On praying towards the east, comp. Apost. Constitutions, ii. 57, vii.
44 ; and Tertullian, Apol. 16. [A. C. ii. 57, contains an interesting
accpunt of the conduct of public worship. It may be consulted in con-
nection with Ordinances 2, 8, and 10, also.]
2 Matt. xxiv. 27.
3 B. and C. read " at the last." Ebediesu has " from heaven."
* [i.e. the Eucharist] 5 C. reads " His holy angels."
G For Ords. 3 and 4, see Ap. Const, v. 13-15.
7 B. reads " His manifestation."
8 The reading of C., [which is preferable to that of A. : " were in
this sorrow."]
9 [Lit. " the evening," but used in particular of the evening of the
THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. 39
that which had been spoken on the fourth day of the week
about the suffering of the Saviour was brought to pass on
the eve [of the Sabbath], the worlds and [all] creatures
trembling, and the luminaries in the heavens being darkened.
5. The apostles further appointed : Let there be elders
and deacons, like the Levites ; l and subdeacons, 2 like those
who carried the vessels of the court of the sanctuary of the
Lord ; and an overseer, 3 who shall likewise be the Guide of
all the people, 4 like Aaron, the head and chief of all the
priests and Levites of the whole city. 5
6. The apostles further appointed : Celebrate the day of
the epiphany 6 of our Saviour, which is the chief of the
festivals of the church, on the sixth day of the latter Canun, 7
in the long number of the Greeks. 8
7. The apostles further appointed: Forty 9 days before the
day of the passion of our Saviour fast ye, and then cele-
brate the day of the passion, and the day of the resurrection :
because our Lord Himself also, the Lord of the festival,
sixth day of the week, the eve of the seventh: the evening being
regarded, as in Gen. i. 5, as the first part of the day. Similarly,
^xpffx.tv9], which the Peshito translates by our word, is used in the
Gospels for the sixth day, with a prospective reference to the seventh.]
1 See Ap. Const, ii. 25.
2 [Comp. Eccl. Canons, No. 43. The Gr. virol)itix,oi/oi is here used,
though for " deacon " the usual Syriac word is employed, meaning
" minister " or " servant." From Riddle, Christian Antiqq., p. 301, with
whom Neander agrees, it would seem that subdeacons were first ap-
pointed at the end of the third century or the beginning of the fourth.]
3 j-QO>, equivalent, not to IKIOXOTTOS, but to ax.oiros = icatchman, as
in Ezek. xxxiii. 7.
4 For this B. reads " world." 5 B. has " camp."
6 See Ap. Const, v. 13, [where Christmas, of which no mention is
made in these Ordinances, is called "the first of all," the Epiphany
being ranked next to it.]
7 [January : the Jewish Tebeth. " The former Canun " is December,
i.e. Chisleu.]
8 [The era of the Seleucidae, 311 A.C., appears to be referred to. In
this new names were given to certain months, and Canun was one of
them. See note on the Calendar at the end.]
9 See Ap. Const, v. 13-15 ; [also Eccl. Can. No. 69.]
40 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
fasted forty days ; and Moses and Elijah, who were endued
with this mystery, likewise each fasted forty days, and theii
were glorified.
8. The apostles further appointed : At the conclusion of
all the Scriptures [that are read] let the Gospel be read, as
being the seal 1 of all the Scriptures ; and let the people
listen to it standing up on their feet : because it is the Gospel
of the redemption of all men.
9. The apostles further appointed : At the completion of
fifty 2 days after His resurrection make ye a commemoration
of His ascension to His glorious Father.
10. The apostles [further] appointed: That, beside the
Old Testament, and the Prophets, and the Gospel, and the
Acts [descriptive] of their exploits, nothing should be read on
the pulpit in the church. 3
11. The apostles further appointed : Whosoever is unac-
quainted with the faith of the church and the ordinances
and laws which are appointed in it, let him not be a guide
and ruler ; and whosoever is acquainted with them and de-
parts from them, let him not minister again : because, not
being true in his ministry, he has lied.
12. The apostles further appointed ; Whosoever sweareth,
or 4 lieth, or beareth false witness, or hath recourse to
magicians and soothsayers and Chaldeans, and putteth con-
fidence in fates and nativities, which they hold fast who know
not God, let him also, as a man that knoweth not God, be
dismissed from the ministry, and not minister [again].
13. The apostles further appointed : If there be any man
that is divided [in mind] touching the ministry, and who fol-
lows it not with a stedfast will, 5 let not this man minister
1 [Properly "the sealer :" for, although the word is not found in the
lexicons, its formation shows that it denotes an agent. The meaning
seems to be, that the Gospel gives completeness and validity to the
Scriptures.]
2 C. reads " forty."
3 [See Ap. Const, ii. 57 ; Teaching of Simon Cephas, ad Jin. ; Eccl.
Can. Nos. 60, 85.]
4 B. and C., as well as Ebediesu, read " and."
5 [Lit., " it is not certain (or firm) to him."]
THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. 41
again : because the Lord of the ministry is not served by
him with a stedfast will ; and he deceiveth man [only], and
not God, " before whom crafty devices avail not." 1
14. The apostles further appointed : Whosoever lendeth
and receiveth usury, 2 and is occupied in merchandise and
covetousness, let not this man minister again, nor continue in
the ministry.
15. The apostles further appointed : That whosoever
loveth the Jews, 3 like Iscariot, who was their friend, or the
pagans, who worship creatures instead of the Creator, should
not enter in amongst them and minister ; and moreover, that
if he be [already] amongst them, they should not suffer him
[to remain], but that he should be separated from amongst
them, and not minister with them again.
16. The apostles further appointed : That, if any one
from the Jews or from the pagans come and join himself
with them, and if after he has joined himself with them he
turn and go back again to the side on which he stood
[before], and if he again return and come to them a second
time, he should not be received again ; but that, according
to the side on which he was before, so those who know him
should look upon him.
17. The apostles further appointed : That it should not
be permitted to the Guide to transact the matters which
pertain to the church apart from those who minister with
him ; but that he should issue commands with the counsel of
them all, and that that [only] should be done which all of
them should concur in and not disapprove. 4
18. The apostles further appointed : Whenever any shall
depart out of this world with a good testimony to the faith
1 The exact words of the Peshito of 1 Sam. ii. 3. The E. V., follow-
ing the K'ri 1^, instead of the s^ of the text, renders " and by Him
actions are weighed." [The Peshito translator may have confounded the
Heb. verb pn, which appears not to exist in Aramaean, wkh his own
verb jpn ( ^), through the similarity in sound of the gutturals 3
and p.]
2 [See Eccl. Canons, No. 44.]
3 [Comp. Eccl. Canons, Nos. 65, 70, 71.]
* [See Eccl. Canons, No. 35.]
42 SYPJAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
of Christ, and with affliction [borne] for His name's sake,
make ye a commemoration of them on the day on which
they were put to death. 1
19. The apostles further appointed : In the service of the
church repeat ye the praises of David day by day : because
of this [text] : " I will bless the Lord at all times, and at
all times His praises [shall be] in my mouth ; " 2 and [this] :
" By day and by night will I meditate and speak, and cause
my voice to be heard before Thee."
20. The apostles further appointed : If any divest them-
selves of mammon and run not after the gain of money, let
these men be chosen and admitted to the ministry of the altar.
21. The apostles further appointed : Let any priest who
accidentally puts [another] in bonds 3 contrary to justice
receive the punishment that is right ; and let him that has
been bound receive the bonds as if he had been equitably
bound.
22. The apostles further appointed : If it be seen that
those who are accustomed to hear causes show partiality, and
pronounce the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent, let
them never again hear another cause : [thus] receiving the
rebuke of their partiality, as it is fit. 4
23. The apostles further ordained : Let not those that are
high-minded and lifted up with the arrogance of boasting
be admitted to the ministry : because of this [text] : " That
which is exalted among men is abominable before God ; "
and because concerning them it is said : " I will return a
recompense upon those that vaunt themselves."
24. The apostles further appointed : Let there be a Ruler
over the elders who are in the villages, and let him be recog-
1 See the letter of the Church of Smyrna on the martyrdom of Poly-
carp, and Euseb. Hist. Eccl. iv. 15.
2 Ps. xxxiv. 1.
3 [The particip. ; mj, though usually pass., may, like some other
participles Peil, be taken actively, as appears from a passage quoted by
Dr. R. Payne Smith, Tlies. Syr. s.v. This would seem to be the only
possible way of taking it here.]
4 Comp. Ap. Const, ii. 45 sqq.
THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. 43
nised as head of them all, at whose hand all of them shall be
required : for Samuel also thus made visits [of inspection]
from place to place and ruled.
25. The apostles further appointed : That those kings
who shall hereafter believe in Christ should be permitted
to go up and stand before the altar along with the Guides
of the church : because David also, and those who were like
him, went up and stood before the altar.
26. The apostles further appointed : Let no man dare to
do anything by the authority of the priesthood which is not
in accordance with justice and equity, but [let everything
be done] in accordance with justice, and free from the blame
of partiality.
27. The apostles further appointed: Let the bread of
the oblation be placed upon the altar on the day on which
it is baked, and not some days after a thing which is not
permitted.
All these things did the apostles appoint, not for them-
selves, but for those who should come after them for they
were apprehensive that in time to come wolves would put
on sheep's clothing : since for themselves the Spirit, the
Paraclete, which was in them, was sufficient [to secure] that,
even as He had appointed these laws by their hands, [so] He
would guide them [to act] lawfully. For they, who had
received from our Lord power and authority, had no need
that laws should be appointed for them by others. For Paul
also, and Timothy, 1 while they were going from place to place
in the country of Syria and Cilicia, committed these same
Commands and Laws of the apostles and elders to those who
were under the hand of the apostles, for the churches of
the countries in which they were preaching and publishing
the gospel.
The disciples, moreover, after they had appointed these
Ordinances and Laws, ceased not from the preaching of
the gospel, or from the wonderful mighty- works which our
Lord did by their hands. For much people was gathered
about them every day, who believed in Christ; and they
1 Acts xvi. 4 ; comp. ch. XT.
44 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
came to them from other cities, and heard their words and
received them. Nicodemus also, and Gamaliel, chiefs of the
synagogue of the Jews, used to come to the apostles in
secret, agreeing with their teaching. Judas, moreover, and
Levi, and Peri, and Joseph, and Justus, sons of Hananias,
and Ca'iaphas l and Alexander the priests they too used to
come to the apostles by night, confessing Christ that He is
the Son of God ; but they were afraid of the people of their
own nation, so that they did not disclose their mind toward
the disciples.
And the apostles received them affectionately, saying to
them : Do not, by reason of the shame and fear of men,
forfeit your salvation before God, nor have the blood of
Christ required of you ; even as your fathers, who took it
upon them : for it is not acceptable before God, that, while
ye are [of one mind] with His worshippers, ye should go and
associate with the murderers of His adorable Son. How do
ye expect that your faith should be accepted with those that
are true, whilst ye are [found] with those that are false?
But it becomes you, as men who believe in Christ, to con-
fess openly this faith which we preach.
And, when they heard these things from the Disciples,
those sons of the priests, all of them alike,. cried out before
the whole company of the apostles : We confess and believe
in Christ who was crucified, and we confess that He is from
everlasting the Son of God ; and those who dared to crucify
Him do we renounce. For even the priests of the people in
secret confess Christ; but, for the sake of the headship among
the people which they love, they are not willing to confess
[Him] openly ; and they have forgotten that which is written :
" Of knowledge is He the Lord, and before Him avail not
crafty devices."
And, when their fathers heard these things from their
sons, they became exceedingly hostile to them : not indeed
1 The belief was common among the Jacobites that Caiaphas, whose
full name was Joseph Caiaphas, was the same person as the historian
Josephus, and that he was converted to Christianity. See Assern.
Bibl Orient, vol. ii. p. 165.
THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. 45
because they had believed in Christ, but because they had
declared and spoken openly of the mind of their fathers
before the sons of their people.
But those who believed clave to the disciples, and departed
not from them, because they saw that, whatsoever they taught
the multitude, they themselves carried into practice before
all men ; and, when affliction and persecution arose against
the disciples, they rejoiced to be afflicted with them, and re-
ceived with gladness stripes and imprisonment for the con-
fession of their faith in Christ ; and all the days of their life
they preached Christ before the Jews and the Samaritans.
And after the death of the apostles there were Guides and
Rulers 1 in the churches ; and, whatsoever the apostles had
committed to them and they had received from them, they
continued to teach to the multitude through the whole space
of their lives. They too, again, at their deaths committed
and delivered to their disciples after them whatsoever they
had received from the apostles ; also what James had written
from Jerusalem, and Simon from the city of Rome, and John
from Ephesus, and Mark from Alexandria the Great, and
Andrew from Phrygia, and Luke from Macedonia, and
Judas Thomas from India: 2 that the epistles of an apostle 3
might be received and read in the churches that were in every
place, just as the achievements of their Acts, which Luke
wrote, are read ; that hereby the apostles might be known,
and the prophets, and the Old Testament and the New;*
1 This would seem to have been written anterior to the time when the
title of Bishop, as specially appropriated to those who succeeded to the
apostolic office, had generally obtained in the East.
2 [For writings ascribed to Andrew and Thomas, see vol. xvi. of the
Ante-Nicene Christian Library."] There is no mention here of the
epistles of Paul. They may not at this early period have been collected
and become generally known in the East. The Epistle of Jude is also
omitted here, but it was never received into the Syriac canon : see De
Wette, Einl. 6th ed. p. 342. [Comp. Eccl. Canons, No. 85.]
3 [So the printed text. But " the apostles" seems to be meant.]
4 It is plain from this that the epistles were not at that time considered
part of what was called the New Testament, nor the prophets of the Old.
[See note on p. 24.]
thai [it might be seen that] one truth was proclaimed in
them afl : that one Spirit spake in them all, from one God
whom they had all worshipped and had all preached. And
the [various] countries received their teaching. Everything,
therefore, which had been spoken by our Lord by means of
the apostles, and which the apostles had delivered to their
disciples, was believed and received in every country, by the
operation 1 of our Lord, who said to them: to l am with you,
even until the world shall end ;" the Guides disputing with
the Jews from the books of the prophets, and contending also
mgpmA the deluded pagans with the terrible mighty-works
which they did in the name of Christ. For afl the peoples,
even those that dwell in other countries, quietly and silently
received 2 the gospel of Christ; and those ho became con-
fessors cried out under their persecution: This our perse-
cution to-day shall plead* on our behalf, [that we be not
punished] for having been formerly persecutors [ourselves].
For there were some of them against whom death by the
sword was ordered ; and there were some of them from whom
they took away whatsoever they possessed, and let them go.
And the more affliction arose against them, the richer and
larger did their congregations become; and with gladness in
their hearts did they receive death of every kind. And by
ordination to the priesthood, which the apostles thernsehes
had received from our Lord, did their gospel wing its way
rapidly into the four quarters of the world. And by mutual
visitation they ministered to one another.
Jerusalem received the ordination to the priesthood, as did
all the country of Palestine, and the parts occupied by the
Samaritans, and the parts occupied by the Philistines, and
the country of the Arabians, and of Phoenicia, and the people
of Casarea, from James, who was ruler and guide in the
church of the apostles which was built in Zion.
Alexandria the Great, and Thebais, and the whole of Inner
1 [Lit "nod, or "bidding, or
* [tit were quiet and flo?i at***]
* [Lit* "be an advocate^"]
THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. 47
Egypt, and all the country of Pelusium, 1 and [the country
extending] as far as the borders of the Indians, received the
apostles' ordination to the priesthood from Mark the evan-
gelist, who was ruler and guide there in the church which he
had built, [in which] he also ministered.
India, 2 and all the countries belonging to it and round
about it, even to the farthest sea, received the apostles' ordi-
nation to the priesthood from Judas Thomas, who was guide
and ruler in the church which he had built there, [in which]
he also ministered there.
Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia, and Galatia, even to
Pontus, received the apostles' ordination to the priesthood
from Simon Cephas, who himself laid the foundation of the
church there, 3 and was priest and ministered there up to the
time when he went up from thence to Rome on account of
Simon the sorcerer, who was deluding the people of Rome
with his sorceries.
The city of Rome, and all Italy, and Spain, and Britain,
and Gaul, together with all the rest of the countries round
about them, received the apostles' ordination to the priest-
hood from Simon Cephas, who went up from Antioch ; and
he was ruler and guide there, in the church which he had
built there, and in the places round about it.
Ephesus, and Thessalonica, and all Asia, and all the
country of the Corinthians, and of all Achaia and the parts
round about it, received the apostles' ordination to the priest-
hood from John the evangelist, who had leaned upon the
bosom of our Lord ; who himself built a church there, and
ministered in his office of guide which [he held] there.
Nicsea, and Nicomedia, and all the country of Bithynia,
and of Inner Galatia, 4 and of the regions round about it,
1 C. reads " Pentapolis."
2 A. has " the Indiana ; " C. " the Ethiopians."
3 C. adds, "and built a church at Antioch."
4 [The reading of C. The MS. A. gives what Cureton transcribes as
Gothia, which is almost the same as the word rendered " Inner." Pos-
sibly this explains the origin of the reading of A. " Galatia " was per-
haps accidentally omitted.]
48 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
received the apostles' ordination to the priesthood from
Andrew, the brother of Simon Cephas, who was himself
guide and ruler in the church which he had built there, and
was priest and ministered there.
Byzantium, and all the country of Thrace, and of the
parts about it as far as the great river, 1 the boundary which
separates from the barbarians, received the apostles' ordina-
tion to the priesthood from Luke the apostle, who himself
built a church there, and ministered there in his office of
ruler and guide which [he held] there.
Edessa, and all the countries round about it which were
on all sides of it, and Zoba, 2 and Arabia, and all the north,
and the regions round about it, and the south, and all the
region on the borders of Mesopotamia, received the apostles'
ordination to the priesthood from Addaeus the apostle, one of
the seventy-two apostles, 3 who himself made disciples there,
and built a church there, and was priest and ministered there
in his office of guide which [he held] there.
The whole of Persia, of the Assyrians, and of the
Armenians, and of the Medians, and of the countries round
about Babylon, the Huzites and the Gelae, as far as the
borders of the Indians, and as far as the land 4 of Gog and
Magog, and moreover all the countries on all sides, received
the apostles' ordination to the priesthood from Aggaeus, a
maker of silks, 6 the disciple of Addasus the apostle.
The other remaining companions of the apostles, moreover,
went to the distant countries of the barbarians ; and they
made disciples from place to place and passed on ; and there
they ministered by their preaching ; and there occurred their
departure out of this world, their disciples after them going
on [with the work] down to the present day, nor was any
change or addition made by them in their preaching.
1 C. has "the Danube." 2 Or " Soba," the same as Nisibis.
3 The number seventy-two may have arisen from the supposition,
mentioned in the Recognitions and in the Apostolical Constitutions, that
our Lord chose them in imitation of the seventy-two elders appointed
by Moses.
4 [Or " place."] 5 See note on p. 24.
THE TEACHING OF SIMON CEPHAS. 49
Luke, moreover, the evangelist had such diligence that he
wrote the exploits of the Acts of the Apostles, and the ordi-
nances and laws of the ministry of their priesthood, and
whither each one of them went. By his diligence, I say, did
Luke write these things, and more than these ; and he placed
them in the hand of Priscus l and Aquilus, his disciples ;
and they accompanied him up to the day of his death, just
as Timothy and Erastus of Lystra, and Menaus, 2 the first
disciples of the apostles, accompanied Paul until he was
taken up to the city of Rome because he had withstood
Tertullus the orator.
And Nero Csesar despatched with the sword Simon Cephas
in the city of Rome. 3
4 THE TEACHING OF SIMON CEPHAS 6 IN THE
CITY OF ROME.
In the third 6 year of Claudius Caesar, Simon Cephas
departed from Antioch to go to Rome. And as he passed
on he preached in the [various] countries the word of our
Lord. And, when he had nearly arrived there, 7 many had
heard [of it] and went out to meet him, and the whole
church received him with great joy. And some of the
princes of the city, wearers of the imperial headbands, 8
1 B. reads "Priscilla," C. " Priscillas." Prisca and Priscilla are the
forms in which the name occurs in the New Testament.
2 Probably the same as Manaen, mentioned in Acts xiii. 1, as asso-
ciated with Paul at Antioch.
3 C. adds, " crucifying him on a cross." C. also adds, " Here endeth
the treatise of Addseus the apostle."
4 This is found in the same MS. as the preceding, quoted as A. There
is also another copy of it in Cod. Add. 14,609, referred to here as B.
fi B. reads "the Apostle Peter."
6 The reading of the MS. is " thirtieth."
7 From this place to " the light," p. 51, line 22, A. is lost, and the
text has been supplied from B.
8 The MS. gives, "clad in the white."
D
50 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
came to him, that they might see him and hear his word.
And, when the whole city was gathered together about him,
he stood up to speak to them, and to show them the preach-
ing of his doctrine, of what sort it was. And he began to
speak to them thus :
Men, people of Rome, saints of all Italy, hear ye that
which I say to you. This day I preach and proclaim Jesus
the Son of God, who came down from heaven, and became
man, and was with us as [one of] ourselves, and wrought
marvellous mighty-works and signs and wonders before us,
and before all the Jews that are in the land of Palestine.
And you yourselves also heard of those things which He
did : because they came to Him from other countries also,
on account of the fame of His healing and the report of the
marvellous help He gave ; x and whosoever drew near to
Him was healed by His word. And, inasmuch as He was
God, at the same time that He healed He also forgave sins :
for His healing, which was open to view, bore witness of His
hidden forgiveness, that it was real and trustworthy. For
this Jesus did the prophets announce in their mysterious
sayings, as they were looking forward to see Him and to
hear His word, [as] Him who was with His Father from
eternity and from everlasting; God, who was hidden in the
height, and appeared in the depth ; the glorious Son, who
was from His Progenitor, and is to be glorified, together
with His Father, and His divine Spirit, and the terrible power
of His dominion. And He was crucified of His own will
by the hands of sinners, and was taken up to His Father,
even as I and my companions saw. And He is about to
come again, in His own glory and that of His holy angels,
even as we heard Him say to us. For we cannot say any-
thing which was not heard by us from Him, neither do
we write in the book of His Gospel anything which He
Himself did not say to us : because this word is spoken in
order that the mouth of liars may be shut, in the day when
men shall give an account of idle words at the place of
judgment.
1 [Lit. " His marvellous helps."]
C.
THE TEACHING OF SIMON CEPHAS. 51
Moreover, because we were catchers of fish, and not
skilled in books, therefore did He also say to us : "I will
send you the Spirit, the Paraclete, that He may teach you
that which ye know not ;" for it is by His gift that we
speak those things which ye hear. And, further, by it we
bring aid to the sick, and healing to the diseased : that by
the hearing of His word and by the aid of His power ye
may believe in Christ, that He is God, the Son of God ; and
may be delivered from the service of bondage, and may
worship Him and His Father, and glorify His divine Spirit.
For when we glorify the Father, we glorify the Son also
with Him ; and when we worship the Son, we worship the
Father also with Him ; and when we confess the Spirit, we
confess the Father also and the Son : because in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Spirit, were we
commanded to baptize those who believe, that they may live
for ever.
Flee therefore from the words of the wisdom of this
world, in which there is no profit, and draw near to those
which are true and faithful, and acceptable before God;
whose reward also is laid up in store, and whose recompense
standeth [sure]. Now, too, 1 the light has arisen on the
creation, and the world has obtained the eyes of the mind,
that every man may see and understand that it is not fit
that creatures should be worshipped instead of the Creator,
nor together with the Creator : because everything which
is a creature is [formed to be] a worshipper of its Maker,
and is not to be worshipped like its Creator. But this
[Being] who came to us is God, the Son of God, in His own
nature, notwithstanding that He mingled 2 His Godhead
with our manhood, in order that He might renew our man-
1 [The text A. is resumed after this word. The reading " and now
that the light," etc., seems faulty. The > (that) might easily have been
occasioned by the J of the word which it precedes.]
2 The word so rendered is much effaced in B., but it seems to be
- n<>r> 7 " humbled." [This, however, might require a further change of
the text, such as Cureton suggests, so as to give the sense, " He humbled
His Godhead on account of our manhood," unless we translate " in our
52 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
hood by the aid of His Godhead. And on this account it is
right that we should worship Him, because He is to be wor-
shipped together with His Father, and that we should not
worship creatures, who were created for the worship of the
Creator. For He is Himself the God of truth and verity ;
He is Himself from before [all] worlds and creatures ; He
is Himself the veritable Son, and the glorious fruit 1 which
is from the exalted Father.
But ye see the wonderful works which accompany and
follow these words. One would not credit it: the time lo ! is
short since He ascended to His Father, and see how His
gospel has winged its flight through the whole creation that
thereby it may be known and believed that He Himself is
the Creator of creatures, and that by His bidding creatures
subsist. And, whereas ye saw the sun become darkened at
His death, ye yourselves also are witnesses. The earth,
moreover, quaked when He was slain, and the veil was rent
at His death. And concerning these things the governor
Pilate also was witness : for he himself sent and made them
known to Caesar, and these things, and more than these,
were read before him, and before the princes of your city.
And on this account Caesar was angry against Pilate, because
he had unjustly listened to the persuasion of the Jews ; and
for this reason he sent and took away from him the autho-
rity which he had given to him. And this same thing was
published and known in all the dominion of the Romans.
That, therefore, which Pilate saw and made known to Ceesar
and to your honourable senate, the same do I preach and
declare, as do also my fellow-apostles. And ye know that
Pilate could not have written to the imperial government of
that which did not take place and which he had not seen
with his own eyes ; but that which did take place and was
actually done this it was that he wrote and made known.
manhood " neither of which renderings seems to give so good a sense
as that in the text of A.] Respecting the word " mingled " (& ^-*-),
which was supposed to countenance the Eutychian heresy, see Assemani,
Bill. Orient, vol. i. p. 81.
1 [Or " offspring."]
THE TEACHING OF SIMON CEPHAS. 53
Moreover, the watchers of the sepulchre also were witnesses
of those things which took place there : they became as dead
men ; and, when those watchers were questioned before
Pilate, they confessed before him how large a bribe the
chief-priests of the Jews had given them, so that they might
say that we His disciples had stolen the corpse of Christ.
Lo ! then, ye have heard many things ; and moreover, if ye
be not willing to be persuaded by those things which ye have
heard, be at least persuaded by the mighty-works which ye
see, which are done by His name.
Let not Simon the sorcerer delude you by semblances
which are not realities, which he exhibits to you, as to men
who have no understanding, who know not how to discern that
which they see and hear. Send, therefore, and fetch him to
where all your city is assembled together, and choose you
some sign for us to do before you ; and, whichever ye see do
that same sign, it will be your part to believe in it.
And immediately they sent and fetched Simon the sor-
cerer ; and the men who were adherents of his opinion
said to him : As a man concerning whom we have confi-
dence that there is power in thee to do anything whatso-
ever, 1 do thou some sign before us all, and let this Simon the
Galilsean, who preaches Christ, see [it]. And, whilst they
were thus speaking to him, there happened to be passing
along a dead person, a son of one of those who were chiefs
and men of note and renown among them. And all of
them, as they were assembled together, said to him : Which-
ever of you shall restore to life this dead person, he is true,
and to be believed in and received, and we will all follow
him in whatsoever he saith to us. And they said to Simon
the sorcerer : Because thou wast here before Simon the
Galilaean, and we knew thee before him, exhibit thou first
the power which accompanieth thee.
Then Simon reluctantly drew near to the dead person ; and
they set down the bier before him ; and he looked to the
right hand and to the left, and gazed up into heaven, saying
1 From this place to "a gathering-place," p. 55, line 15, the text of
A. is lost.
54 SYEIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
many words : some of them he uttered aloud, and some of
them secretly and not aloud. And he delayed a long while,
and nothing took place, and nothing was done, and the dead
person was [still] lying upon his bier.
And forthwith Simon Cephas drew near boldly towards
the dead man, and cried aloud before all the assembly which
was standing there : In the name of Jesus Christ, whom the
Jews crucified at Jerusalem, and whom we preach, rise up
thence. And as soon as the word of Simon was spoken the
dead man came to life and rose up from the bier.
And all the people saw [it] and marvelled ; and they said
to Simon-: Christ, whom thou preachest, is true. And
many cried out, and said : Let Simon the sorcerer and the
deceiver of us all be stoned. But Simon, by reason that
every one was running to see the dead man that was come
to life, escaped from them from one street to another and
from house to house, and fell not into their hands on that
day.
But the whole city took hold of Simon Cephas, and they
received him gladly and affectionately ; and he ceased not
from doing signs and wonders in the name of Christ ; and
many believed in him. Cuprinus, 1 moreover, the father of
him that was restored to life, took Simon with him to his
house, and entertained him in a suitable manner, while he
and all his household believed in Christ, that He is the Son
of the living God. And many of the Jews and of the
pagans became disciples there. And, when there was great
rejoicing at his teaching, he built churches there, in Rome
and in the cities round about, and in all the villages of the
people of Italy ; and he served there [in] the rank of the
Superintendence of Rulers twenty-five years. 2
And after these years Nero Cassar seized him and shut
him up in prison. And he knew that he would crucify him ;
1 Perhaps Cypriatras, which is found written in Syriac in the same
manner as the word here.
2 This is the time usually allotted to Peter's episcopate at Rome,
although it is certain that he did not constantly reside there during that
period : we find him the year after at Jerusalem.
THE TEACHING OF SIMON CEPHAS. 55
so he called Ansus, 1 the deacon, and made him bishop in his
stead in Rome. And these things did Simon himself speak ;
and moreover also the rest, the other things which he had
[in charge], he commanded Ansus to teach before the people,
saying to him : Beside the New Testament and the Old
let there not be read before the people 2 anything else, 3 [a
thing] which is not right.
And, when Caesar had commanded that Simon should be
crucified with his head downwards, as he himself had re-
quested of Csesar, and that Paul's head should be taken off,
there was great commotion among the people, and bitter dis-
tress in all the church, seeing that they were deprived of
the sight of the apostles. And Isus the guide arose and
took up their bodies by night, and buried them with great
honour, and there came to be a gathering-place there for
many.
And at that very time, as if by a righteous judgment, Nero
abandoned his empire and fled, and there was a cessation for
a little while from the persecution which Nero Csesar had
raised against them. And many years after the great coro-
nation 4 of the apostles, who had departed out of the world,
while ordination to the priesthood was proceeding both in all
Rome and in all Italy, it happened then that there was a
great famine in the city of Rome. 5
Here endeth the teaching of Simon Cephas.
1 B. has Lainus = Linus, the person undoubtedly meant. The error
arose chiefly from the ^ (L) being taken as the sign of the accusative
case, [which may be omitted]. Below, the name appears as Isus, and
in the Acts of Barsamya, p. 90, we have Anus.
2 In canon x. (see next note) it is said " in the pulpit of the church ; "
and in the Teaching of Addceus it is said that "a large multitude of the
people assembled for the reading of the Old Testament and the New."
The inhibition seems, therefore, to refer only to public reading.
3 This agrees with the tenth canon in the Teaching of the Apostles.
4 That is, their martyrdom. But B. reads " labour."
5 This abrupt termination seems to indicate that there was something
more which followed. The famine referred to seems to be the same as
that mentioned in the interpolated passage at the end of the Acts of
Sharbil.
56 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
ACTS OF SHARBIL, 1 WHO WAS A PEIEST OF IDOLS,
AND WAS CONVERTED TO THE CONFESSION
OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHRIST.
In the fifteenth year of the Sovereign Ruler 2 Trajan
Csesar, 3 and in the third year of King Abgar the Seventh, 4
which is the year 416 of the kingdom of Alexander king of
the Greeks, and in the priesthood of Sharbil and Barsamya, 5
Trajan Csesar commanded the governors of the countries
under his dominion that sacrifices and libations should be
increased in all the cities of their administration, and that
those who did not sacrifice should be seized and delivered
over to stripes, and to [the tearing of] combs, and to bitter
inflictions of all [kinds of] tortures, and should afterwards
receive the punishment of the sword.
Now, when the command arrived at the town of Edessa of
1 There are two MSS. from -which this pieee is taken. The first is Cod.
Add. 14,644, fol. 72 vers. This, which is referred to as A., has been
copied exactly, except that a few manifest errors have been corrected
and some deficiencies supplied from the other. This latter, quoted as
B., is Cod. Add. 14,645. It is some three or four centuries later than
the first. [The Latin Acta, to which the Greek viro/avtip.^* here em-
ployed corresponds, was used to denote the authorized records of judicial
proceedings.] They were first taken down by shorthand- writers, called
notarii (notaries), [actuarii,~\ or [at a later period] ezceptores, by which
name they are mentioned towards the end of this extract ; the Greeks
called them rx^v/pa.ffot. They were then arranged in proper order by
persons called by the Greeks j/Tro^j/jj^a-roypacpo/, and by the Romans Ab
Actis. The use of if7rof4vvip.tie.Ta, and other Greek words seems to show
that these Acts were originally written in that language.
3 That is, A.D. 112. But the Greek era commences 311 or 312 B.C.,
and therefore A.G. 416 would answer to A.D. 105. There appears to be
some error in the date.
4 The king reigning in the fifteenth year of Trajan was Maanu Bar
Ajazath, the seventh king of Edessa after Abgar the Black.
5 It would thus appear that Paganism and Christianity were tole-
rated together in Edessa at this time, equal honour being attributed to
the head of each religious party. Comp. Teaching of Addieus, p. 23 :
" Neither did King Abgar compel any man by force to believe in Christ."
ACTS OF SHARBIL. 57
the Partisans, there was a great festival, on the eighth of
Nisan, on the third [clay] of the week : the whole city was
gathered together by the great altar l which was in the middle
of the town, opposite the Record office, 2 all the gods having
been brought together, and decorated, and sitting in honour,
both Nebu and Bel together with their fellows. And all the
priests were offering incense of spices and libations, 3 and an
odour of sweetness was diffusing itself around, and sheep
and oxen were being slaughtered, and the sound of the harp
and the drum was heard in the whole town. And Sharbil
was chief and ruler of all the priests ; and he was honoured
above all his fellows, and was clad in splendid and magni-
ficent vestments ; and a headband embossed with figures of
gold was set upon his head ; and at the bidding of his word
everything that he ordered was done. And Abgar the king,
son of the gods, was standing at the head of the people.
And they obeyed Sharbil, because he drew nearer to all the
gods than any of his fellows, and as being the one who [ac-
cording to] that which he had heard from the gods returned
an answer to every man.
And, while these things were being done by the com-
mand of the king, Barsamya, the bishop of the Christians,
went up to Sharbil, he and Tiridath the elder and Shalula
the deacon ; and he said to Sharbil, the high-priest : The
King Christ, to whom belong heaven and earth, will de-
mand an account at thy hands of all these souls against
whom thou art sinning, and whom thou art misleading,
arid turning away from the God of verity and of truth
to idols [that are] made and deceitful, which are not able
to do anything with their hands moreover also thou hast
no pity on thine own soul, which is destitute of the true
life of God ; and thou declarest to this people that the
dumb idols talk with thee ; and, as if thou wert listening to
1 A little before the passage quoted in the last note it is said that
this altar was left standing when the altars to Bel and Nebu were thrown
down.
2 Perhaps this is the same as the " Archives " mentioned p. 7.
8 B. adds, " before the god Zeus."
58 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
something from them, thou puttest thine ear near to one and
another of them, and sayest to this people : The god Nebu
bade me say to you, " On account of your sacrifices and
oblations I cause peace in this your country;" and: Bel
saith, "I cause great plenty in your land;" and those who
hear [this] from thee do not discern that thou art greatly
deceiving them because " they have a mouth and speak not,
and they have eyes and see not with them ;" it is ye who
bear up them, and not they who bear up 1 you, as ye suppose ;
and it is ye who set tables before them, and not they who
feed you. And now be persuaded by me touching that
which I say to thee and advise thee. If thou be willing to
hearken to me, abandon idols made [with hands], and worship
God the Maker [of all things], and His Son Jesus Christ.
Do not, because He put on a body and became man and was
stretched out on the cross of death, be ashamed of Him and
refuse to worship Him : for, all these things which He en-
dured it was for the salvation of men and for their deliver-
ance [that He endured them]. For this [Being] who put on
a body is God, the Son of God, Son of the essence of His
Father, and Son of the nature of Him who begat Him : for
He is the adorable brightness of His Godhead, and is the
glorious manifestation of His majesty, and together with His
Father He existed from eternity and from everlasting, His
arm, and His right hand, and His power, and His wisdom,
and His strength, and the living Spirit which is from Him,
the Expiator and Sanctifier of all His worshippers. These
[are the] things which Palut taught us, with whom thy vener-
able self 2 was acquainted ; and thou knowest that Palut was
the disciple of AddaBus the apostle. Abgar the king also,
who was older than this Abgar, who himself worshippeth
idols as well as thou, he too believed in the King Christ, the
1 B. adds here : " And in all these things thou hast forgotten God, the
Maker of all men, and because of His long- suffering hast exalted thyself
against His mercy, and hast not been willing to turn to Him, so that
He might turn to thee and deliver thee from this error, in which thou
standest."
2 [Lit. "thy old age."]
ACTS OF SHAEBIL. 59
Son of Him whom thou callest Lord of all the gods. 1 For
it is forbidden to Christians to worship anything that is made,
and is a creature, and in its nature is not God : even as ye
worship idols made by men, 2 who themselves also are made
and created. Be persuaded, therefore, by these things which
I have said to thee, which things are the belief of the church :
for I know that all this population are looking to thee, and
I am well assured that, if thou be persuaded, many also will
be persuaded with thee. 3
Sharbil said to him : Very acceptable to me are these thy
words which thou hast spoken before me ; yea, exceedingly
acceptable are they to me. But, as for me, I know that I
am outcast from 4 all these things, and there is no longer any
remedy for me. And, now that hope is cut off from me,
why weariest thou thyself about a man dead and buried, 5 for
whose death there is no hope of resuscitation ? For I am
slain by paganism, and am become a dead man, [the pro-
perty] of the Evil One : in sacrifices and libations of impos-
ture have I consumed all the days of my life.
And, when Barsamya the bishop heard these things, 6 he
fell down before his feet, and said to him : There is hope
for those who turn, and healing for those that are wounded.
I myself will be surety to thee for the abundant mercies of
the Son Christ : that He will pardon thee all the sins which
thou hast committed against Him, in that thou hast worshipped
and honoured His creatures instead of Himself. For that
Gracious One, who extended Himself on the cross of death,
will not withhold His grace from the souls that comply [with
1 The Peshito, for Zevg in Acts xiv. 12, has " Lord of the gods."
2 B. has " the work of men's hands."
3 [B. makes a considerable addition here, which it is hardly necessary
to quote, the words being in all probability only an interpolation.
Cureton elsewhere remarks : " I have almost invariably found in these
Syriac siss. that the older are the shorter, and that subsequent editors
or transcribers felt themselves at liberty to add [to] occasionally or
paraphrase the earlier copies which they used " a remark unhappily of
very wide applic ation in regard to early Christian literature.]
4 [Or " destitute of."] 5 [Lit. " a hidden dead man."]
8 B. adds, "from Sharbil, his tears flowed and he wept."
60 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
His demands] and take refuge in His kindness which has
been [displayed] towards us : like as He did towards the
robber, [so] is He able to do to thee, and also to those who
are like thee.
Sharbil said to him : Thou, like a skilful physician, who
[himself] suffers pain from the pain of the afflicted, hast
done well in that thou hast been concerned about me. But
at present, because it is the festival to-day of this people, of
every one [of them], I cannot go down with thee to-day to
the church. Depart thou, and go down with honour ; and
to-morrow at night I will come down to thee : I too have
henceforth renounced for myself the gods made [with hands],
and I will confess the Lord Christ, the maker of all men.
And the next day Sharbil arose and went down to Bar-
samya by night, he and Babai his sister ; and he was received
by the whole church. And he said to them : Offer for me
prayer and supplication, that Christ may forgive me all the
sins that I have committed against Him in all this long course
of years. And, because they were in dread of the perse-
cutors, they arose and gave him the seal of salvation, 1 whilst
he confessed the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
And, when all the city had heard that he was gone down
to the church, there began to be a consternation among the
multitude ; and they arose and went down to him, and saw
him clad in the fashion of the Christians. 2 And he said to
them : May the Son Christ forgive me all the sins that I
have committed against you, and all [the instances in] which
I made you think that the gods talked with me, whereas they
did not talk ; and, forasmuch as I have been to you a cause
of abomination, may I now be to you a cause of good : in-
1 B. adds, " of baptism, baptizing him." [The " seal " (<7<p/>ay/V) is pro-
bably explained by such passages as Eph. iv. 30, that which bore the
seal being regarded as the property of him whose seal it was. Thus
Gregory Naz. (Orat. 40) speaks of baptism. See Riddle's Christian
Antiqq. p. 484.]
2 B. adds, " and he sat and listened to the Scriptures of the church,
and the testimonies which are spoken in them, touching the birth and
the passion and the resurrection and the ascension of Christ ; and, when
he saw those that came down to him "
ACTS OF SHARBIL. 61
stead of worshipping, as formerly, idols made [with hands],
may ye henceforth worship God the Maker [of all things].
And, when they had heard these things, there remained with
him a great congregation of men and of women ; and Labu
also, and Hafsai, and Barcalba, and Avida, chief persons of
the city. [And] they all said to Sharbil : Henceforth we
also renounce that which thou hast renounced, and we con-
fess the King Christ, whom thou hast confessed.
But Lysanias, 1 the judge of the country, when he heard 2
that Sharbil had done this, 3 sent by night 4 and carried him
off from the church. And there went up with him many
[of the] Christians. And he sat down, to hear him and to
judge him, before the altar which is in the middle of the
town, where he used to sacrifice to the gods. And he said
to him : Wherefore hast thou renounced the gods, whom
thou didst worship, and to whom thou didst sacrifice, and to
whom thou wast made chief of the priests, and lo ! dost to-
day confess Christ, whom thou didst formerly deny ? For
see how those Christians, to whom thou art gone [over],
renounce not that which they have held, 5 like as thou
hast renounced that in which thou wast born. If thou art
assured of [the existence of] the gods, how is it that thou
hast renounced them this day ? But, if on the contrary thou
art not assured, as thou declarest concerning them, how is it
that thou didst [once] sacrifice to them and worship them ?
Sharbil said : When I was blinded in my mind, I wor-
shipped that which I knew not; but to-day, inasmuch as I have
obtained the clear eyes of the mind, it is henceforth impos-
sible that I should stumble at carved stones, or that I should
1 In B., in a passage added further on, he is styled " Lysinas," and in
the Martyrdom of Barsamya, p. 81, "Lysinus" or "Lucinus." In the
Martyrologium Romanum he is called " Lysias prseses." Tillemont sup-
poses him to be Lusius Quietus. But the time does not agree. The
capture of Edessa under this man was in the nineteenth year of Trajan,
four years later than the martyrdom.
2 B. adds, "from the Sharirs of the city."
3 B. has added several lines here.
4 B. adds, "the Sharirs of the city."
5 [Lit. "in which they stand."]
62 SYBIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
any longer be the cause of stumbling to others. For it is a
great disgrace to him whose eyes are open, if he goes and
falls into the pit of destruction.
The judge said : Because thou hast been priest of the
venerable gods, and hast been partaker of the mystery of
those whom the mighty emperors l worship, I will have
patience with thee, in order that thou mayest be persuaded
by me, and not turn away from the service of the gods ; but,
if on the contrary thou shalt not be persuaded by me, by
those same gods whom thou hast renounced I swear that,
even as on a man that is a murderer, so will I inflict tortures
on thee, and will avenge on thee the wrong done to the gods,
whom thou hast rebelled against and renounced, and also the
insult which thou hast poured upon them ; nor will I leave
[untried] any kind of tortures which I will not inflict on
thee ; and, like as thine honour formerly was great, so will I
make thine ignominy great this day.
Sharbil said : I too, on my part, am not content that thou
shouldest look upon me as formerly, when I worshipped
gods made [with hands] ; but look thou upon me to-day and
question me as a Christian man renouncing idols and con-
fessing the King Christ.
The judge said : How is it that thou art not afraid of the
emperors, nor moved to shame by those who are listening to
thy trial, that thou sayest, "I am a Christian?" But pro-
mise that thou wilt sacrifice to the gods, according to thy
former custom, so that thy honour may be great, as formerly
lest I make to tremble at thee all those who have believed
like thyself.
Sharbil said : Of the King of kings I am afraid, but at
[any] king of earth I tremble not, nor yet at thy threats
towards me, which lo ! thou utterest against the worshippers
of Christ : whom I confessed yesterday, and lo ! I am brought
to trial for His sake to-day, like as He Himself was brought
to trial for the sake of sinners like me.
The judge said : Although thou have no pity on thyself,
still I will have pity on thee, and refrain from cutting off
1 [Lit. " kings : " and so throughout.]
ACTS OF SHARBIL. 63
those hands of thine with which thou hast placed incense
before the gods, and from stopping with thy blood those ears
of thine which have heard their mysteries, and thy tongue
which has interpreted and explained to us their secret things.
Of those [gods] lo ! I am afraid, and I have pity on thee.
But, if thou continue thus, those gods be my witnesses that
I will have no pity on thee !
Sharbil said : As a man who art afraid of the emperors and
tremblest at idols, have thou no pity on me. . For, as for me,
I know not what thou sayest : therefore also is my mind not
shaken or terrified by those things which thou sayest. For
by thy judgments shall all they escape from the judgment to
come who do not worship that which is not God in its own
nature.
The judge said : Let him be scourged with thongs, 1 be-
cause he has dared to answer me thus, and has resisted the
command of the emperors, and has not appreciated the honour
which the gods conferred on him : inasmuch as, lo ! he has
renounced them. And he was scourged by ten [men], who
laid hold on him, according to the command of the judge.
Sharbil said : Thou art not aware of the scourging of
justice in that world which is to come. For thou wilt cease,
and thy judgments also will pass away; but justice will not
pass away, nor will its retributions come to an end.
The judge 2 said : Thou art so intoxicated with this same
Christianity, that thou dost not even know 3 before whom
thou art being judged, and by whom it is that thou art being
scourged [even] by those who formerly held thee in honour,
and paid adoration to thy priesthood in the gods. Why dost
thou hate honour, and love this ignominy ? For, although
1 The Syriac is . ffl 3O-^ (torn), and is a foreign word, probably the
Latin loris, which the Syriac translator, not understanding it or not
having an equivalent, may have written loris, and a subsequent tran-
scriber have written toris. It is plain that the later copyist to whom
the text B. is due did not know what is meant : for he has omitted the
word, and substituted " Sharbil."
2 B. reads "governor" (qygftav), and so generally in the correspond-
ing places below.
s 3. reaad " discern. "
64 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
thou speakest contrary to the law, yet I myself cannot turn
aside from the laws of the emperors.
Sharbil said : As thou takest heed not to depart from the
laws of the emperors, and if moreover thou depart [from
them] thou knowest what command they will give concern-
ing thee, so do I also take heed not to decline from the law
of Him who said, " Thou shalt not worship any image, nor
any likeness;" and therefore will I not sacrifice to idols
made [with hands] : for long enough was the time in which
I sacrificed to them, when I was in ignorance.
The judge said : Bring not upon thee punishment * in
addition to the punishment which thou hast [already] brought
upon thee. Enough is it for thee to have said, " I will not
sacrifice : " do not [further] dare to insult the gods, by call-
ing them idols made [with hands] [gods] whom even the
emperors honour.
Sharbil said : But, if on behalf of the emperors, who are
far away and not near at hand and not conscious of those
who treat their commands with contempt, thou biddest me
sacrifice, how is it that on behalf of idols, who lo ! are pre-
sent and are seen, but see not, thou biddest me sacrifice?
Why, hereby thou hast declared before all thy attendants 2
that, because they have a mouth and speak not, lo ! thou art
become a pleader for them : [gods] " to whom their makers
shall be like," and " every one that trusteth upon them " [shall
be] like thee.
The judge said : It was not for this that thou wast called
before me that, instead of [paying] the honour which is
due, thou shouldst despise the emperors. But draw near to
the gods and sacrifice, and have pity on thyself, thou self-
despiser !
Sharbil said : Why should it be requisite for thee to ask
me many questions, after that which I have said to thee :
" I will not sacrifice ?" Thou hast called me a self-despiser ?
1 [Or " judgment."]
2 The word used is the Latin " officium " [ = officiates, or corpus officia-
lium], which denoted the officers that attended upon presidents and
chief magistrates. The equivalent Gk. TK%I; is used below, p. 93.
ACTS OF SHARBIL. 65
But would that from my childhood I had had this mind, and
had thus despised myself, 1 which was perishing !
The judge said : Hang him up, and tear him with combs
on his sides. And while he was being torn he cried aloud
and said : [It is] for the sake of Christ, who has secretly
caused His light to arise upon the darkness of my mind.
And, when he had thus spoken, the judge commanded again
that he should be torn with combs on his face.
Sharbil said : It is better that thou shouldest inflict tortures
upon me for not sacrificing, than that I should be judged
there for having sacrificed to the work of men's hands.
The judge said : Let his body be bent backwards, and
[for this purpose] let straps be tied to his hands and his feet ;
and, when he has been bent backwards, let him be scourged
on his belly. And they scourged him in this manner, ac-
cording to the command of the judge. Then he commanded
that he should go up to the prison, and that he should [there]
be cast into a dark dungeon. And the executioners, 2 and
the Christians who had come up with him from the church,
carried him, because he was not able to walk upon his feet
in consequence of his having been bent backwards. And he
was in the gaol many days.
But on the second of Ilul, 3 on the third day of the week,
the judge arose and went down to his judgment-hall by
night ; and the whole body of his attendants was with him ;
and he commanded the keeper of the prison, and they
brought him before him. And the judge said to him : [All]
this long while hast thou been in prison : what has been thy
determination concerning those tilings on which thou wast
questioned before me ? Dost thou consent to minister to
the gods according to thy former custom, agreeably to the
command of the emperors ?
Sharbil said : This has been my determination in the
prison, that that with which I began before thee, I will [go on
1 [Or " soul."]
2 The Latin " qusestionarii," [those who officiated at a "qusestio," or
examination by torture].
3 i.e. Heb. ^x, from the new moon of September to that of October.
E
66 SYIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
with and] finish even to the last; nor will I play false with
my word. For I will not again confess idols, which I have
renounced ; nor will I renounce the King Christ, whom I
have confessed.
The judge said : Hang him up by his right hand, because
he has withdrawn it from the gods that he may not again
offer incense with it, until his hand with which he ministered
to the gods be dislocated, because he persists in this saying
of his. And, while he was suspended by his hand, they
asked him and said to him : Dost thou consent to sacrifice to
the gods 1 But he was not able to return them an answer,
on account of the dislocation of his arm. And the judge
commanded, and they loosed him and took him down. But
he was not able to bring his arm up to his side, until the
executioners pressed it and brought it up to his side.
The judge said : Put on incense, and go whithersoever
thou wilt, and no one shall compel thee to be a priest again.
But, if thou wilt not [do so], I will show thee [tortures]
bitterer than these.
Sharbil said : [As for] gods that made not the heavens and
the earth, may they perish from under these heavens ! But
thou, menace me not with words of threatening ; but, instead
of words, show upon me the deeds of threatening, that I hear
thee not again making mention of the detestable name of gods!
The judge said : Let him be branded with the brand of
bitter fire between his eyes and upon his cheeks. And the
executioners did so, until the smell of the branding reeked
forth in the midst of the judgment-hall : but he refused
to sacrifice.
Sharbil said : Thou hast heard for thyself from me, when
I said to thee " Thou art not aware of the smoke of the
roasting of the fire which is prepared for those who, like
thee, confess idols made [by hands], and deny the living
God, after thy fashion."
The judge said : Who taught thee all these things, that
thou shouldest speak before me thus a man who wast
[once] a friend of the gods and an enemy of Christ, whereas
lo ! thou art become his advocate ?
ACTS OF SHARBIL. 67
Sliarbil said : Christ whom I have confessed, He it is that
hath taught me to speak thus. But there needeth not that I
should be His advocate, for His own mercies are eloquent
advocates for guilty ones like me, and these will avail to
plead l on my behalf in the day when the eternal sentences
shall be [passed].
The judge said: Let him be hanged up, and let him be
torn with combs upon his former wounds ; also let salt and
vinegar be rubbed into the wounds upon his sides. Then
he said to him : Renounce not the gods whom thou didst
[formerly] confess.
Sharbil said : Have pity on me [and spare me] again from
saying that there be gods, and powers, and fates, and nati-
vities. On the contrary, I confess one God, who made the
heavens, and the earth, and the seas, and all that is therein ;
and the Son who is from Him, the King Christ.
The judge said : It is not about this that thou art ques-
tioned before me [viz, :] what is the belief of the Chris-
tians which thou hast confessed ; but this [is what] I said to
tliee, " Renounce not those gods to whom thou wast made
priest."
Sharbil said : Where is that [vaunted] wisdom of thine
and of the emperors of whom thou makest thy boast, that ye
worship the work of the hands of the artificers and confess
them, whilst the artificers themselves, who made the idols,
ye insult by the burdens and imposts which ye lay upon
them? The artificer staudeth up at thy presence, to do
honour to thee ; and thou standest up in the presence of the
work of the artificer, and dost honour it and worship it.
The judge said : Thou art not the man to call [others] to
account for 2 these things ; but from thyself a strict account
is demanded, as to the cause for which thou hast renounced
the gods, and ref usest to offer them incense like thy fellow-
priests.
Sharbil said : Death on account of this is true life : those
who confess the King Christ, He also will confess before
His glorious Father.
1 [Lit. " to be a plea."] * [Or " thou art not the avenger of."]
68 SYEIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
The judge said : Let lighted candles l be brought, and let
them be passed round about his face and about the sides of
his wounds. And they did so a long while.
Sharbil said : It is well that thou burnest me with this
fire, that [so] I may be delivered from " that fire which is
not quenched, and the worm that dieth not," which is
threatened to those 2 who worship things made instead of the
Maker: for it is forbidden to the Christians to honour or
worship anything except the nature of Him who is God
Most High. For that which is made and is created is
[designed to be] a worshipper of its Maker, and is not [itself]
to be worshipped along with its Creator, as thou supposest.
The governor said : It is not this for which the emperors
have ordered me to demand an account at thy hands, whether
there be judgment and the rendering of an account after the
death of men; nor yet about this do I care, whether that
which is made is to be honoured or not to be honoured.
What the emperors have commanded me is this : that, whoso-
ever will not sacrifice to the gods and offer incense to them,
I should employ against him stripes, and combs, and sharp
swords.
Sharbil said : The kings of this world are conscious of this
world only ; but the King of all kings, He hath revealed and
shown to us that there is another world, and a judgment in
reserve, in which a recompense will be made, on the one
hand to those who have served God, and on the other to
those who have not served Him nor confessed Him. There-
fore do I cry aloud, that I will not again sacrifice to idols,
nor will I offer oblations to devils, nor will I do honour to
demons !
The judge said : Let nails of iron be driven in between
the eyes of the insolent [fellow], and let him go to that
world which he is looking forward to, like a fanatic 3 [as he
1 [Lit. " candles of fire."]
2 The passage from this place to " in the eyes," below, is lost in A.,
and supplied from B.
3 Or " dealer in fables," if the word employed here, which is a foreign
one, be the Latin " fabularius," which is not certain.
ACTS OF SHARB1L. 69
is]. And the executioners did so, the sound of the driving
in of the nails being heard as they were being driven in
sharply.
Sharbil said : Thou hast driven in nails between my eyes,
even as nails were driven into the hands of the glorious
Architect of the creation, and by reason of this did all orders
of the creation tremble and quake at that season. For these
tortures which lo ! thou art inflicting on me are [as] nothing
in view of that judgment which is to come. For [as for]
those " whose ways are always firm," because " they have
not the judgment of God before their eyes," l and [who] on
this account do not even confess that God exists neither
will He confess them.
The judge said: Thou sayest in words that there is a
judgment ; but I will show thee in deeds : so that, instead
of [fearing] that judgment which is to come, thou mayest
tremble and be afraid of this one which is before thine eyes,
in which lo ! thou art involved, and not multiply thy speech
before me.
Sharbil said : Whosoever is resolved to set God before his
eyes in secret, God will also be at his right hand ; and
[therefore] I too am not afraid of thy threats of tortures,
with which thou dost menace rne and seek to make me afraid.
The judge said : Let Christ, whom thou hast confessed,
deliver thee from all the tortures which I have inflicted on
thee, and am about further to inflict on thee ; and let Him
show His deliverance towards thee openly, and save thee out
of my hands.
Sharbil said : This is the true deliverance of Christ [im-
parted] to me this secret power which He has given me to
endure all the tortures thou art inflicting on me, and what-
soever it is settled in thy mind still further to inflict upon
me ; and, although thou hast plainly seen [it to be] so, thou
hast refused to credit my word.
The judge said : Take him away from before me, and let
him be hanged upon a beam the contrary way, head down-
wards ; and let him be beaten with whips while he is hang-
1 [Ps. x. 5.]
70 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
ing. And the executioners did so to him, at the door of the
judgment-hall.
Then the governor commanded, and they brought him in
before him. And he said to him : Sacrifice to the gods, and
do the will of the emperors, thou priest that hatest honour
and lovest ignominy instead !
Sharbil said : Why dost thou again repeat thy words, and
command me to sacrifice, after the many [times] that thou
hast heard from me that I will not sacrifice again ? For it
is not any compulsion on the part of the Christians that has
kept me back from sacrifices, but the truth they hold : this it
is that has delivered me from the error of paganism.
The judge said { Let him be put into a chest 1 of iron like
a murderer, and let him be scourged with thongs like a
malefactor. And the executioners did so, until there re-
mained not a sound place on him.
Sharbil said : [As for] these tortures, which thou sup-
posest to be bitter, out of the midst of their bitterness will
spring up for me fountains of deliverance and mercy in the
day of the eternal sentences.
The governor said : Let small round pieces of wood be
placed between the fingers of his hands, 2 and let these be
squeezed upon them vehemently. 8 And they did so to him,
until the blood came out from under the nails of his fingers.
Sharbil said : If thine eye be not [yet] satisfied with the
tortures of the body, add still further to its tortures whatso-
ever thou wilt.
The judge said : Let the fingers of his hands be loosed,
and make him sit upon the ground ; and bind his hands upon
1 [So Cureton. Dr. Payne Smith remarks: "Cureton's 'chest' is a
guess from (ZoOJJD. The only sense of ]*"iO with which I am ac-
quainted is cadus, a cask." The word occurs again in the Martyrdom
of Habib. In both places it seems to refer to some contrivance for
holding fast the person to be scourged. The root appears to be | *">(")>
custodivit, retinuit (Castel).]
2 The martyr Minias, about A.D. 240, had the same [?] torture inflicted
on him: "ligneis verubus prseacutis sub ungues ejus infixis, omnes
digitos ejus prsecepit pertundi." See Surius, Sanctt. Vit.
3 [Or " bitterly."]
ACTS OF SEA RBI L. 71
his knees, and thrust a piece of wood under his knees, and
let it pass over the bands of his hands, and hang him up
by his feet, [thus] bent, head downwards ; and let him be
scourged with thongs. And they did so to him.
Sharbil said : They cannot conquer who fight against God,
nor may they be overcome whose confidence is God ; and
therefore do I say, that " neither fire nor sword, nor death
nor life, nor height nor depth, can separate my heart from
the love of God, which is in our Lord Jesus Christ."
The judge said: Make hot a ball of lead and of brass,
and place it under his armpits* And they did so, until his
ribs began to be seen.
Sharbil said : The tortures thou dost inflict upon me are
too little for thy rage against me-^unless thy rage were little
and thy tortures were great.
The judge said : Thou wilt not hurry me on by these
things which thou sayest ; for I have room in my mind * to
bear long [with thee], and to behold every evil and shocking
and bitter thing which 2 I shall exhibit in the torment of thy
body, because thou wilt not consent to sacrifice to the gods
whom thou didst [formerly] worship.
Sharbil said : [Even] those things which I have said and
repeated before thee, thou in thine unbelief knowest not how
to hear : now, [then], supposest thou that thou knowest those
things which are in my mind ?
The judge said : The answers which thou givest will not
help thee, but will [rather] multiply upon thee inflictioas
manifold.
Sharbil said : If the several stories of thy several gods are
by thee accepted as true, [yet] is it matter of shame to us to
tell of what sort they are. For one had intercourse with
boys, which is not right ; and another fell in love with a
maiden, who fled for refuge into a tree, as your shameful
stories tell.
The judge said : This [fellow], who was formerly a re-
specter of the gods, but has now turned to insult them and
1 Here a few lines have been torn out of A., and are supplied from B.
8 [" Which" is not in the printed text]
72 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
has not been afraid, and has also despised the command of
the emperors and has not trembled set him to stand upon a
gridiron 1 heated with fire. And the executioners did so,
until the under part of his feet was burnt off.
Sharbil said : If thy rage is excited at [the mention of]
the abominable and obscene tales of thy gods, how much
more does it become thee to be ashamed of their acts ! For
lo ! if a person were to do what one of thy gods did, and
they were to bring him before thee, thou wouldest pass sen-
tence of death upon him.
The judge said : This day will I bring thee to account for
thy blasphemy against the gods, and thine audacity in insult-
ing also the emperors ; nor will I leave thee alone until thou
offer incense to them, according to thy former custom.
Sharbil said : Stand by thy threats, then, and speak not
falsely ; and show towards me in deeds the authority of the
emperors which they have given thee ; and do not thyself
bring reproach on the emperors with thy falsehood, and be
thyself also despised in the eyes of thine attendants !
The judge said : Thy blasphemy against the gods and
thine audacity towards the emperors have brought upon thee
these tortures which thou art undergoing ; and, if thou add
further to thine audacity, there shall be further added to thee
inflictions bitterer than these.
Sharbil said : Thou hast authority, as judge : do whatso-
ever thou wilt, and show no pity.
The judge said : How can he that hath had no pity on
his own body, so as to avoid suffering in it these tortures,
be afraid or ashamed of not obeying the command of the
emperors ?
Sharbil said : Thou hast well said that I am not ashamed :
because near at hand is He that justifieth me, and my soul
is caught up in rapture towards Him. For, whereas I
1 The word used looks like a corruption of the Latin craticula.
Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. v. 1, uses the Gk. word for this (Tsjyaco*) in
describing the martyrdom of Attains, who " was set in the Tqyavov, and
scorched all over, till the savour of his burnt flesh ascended from his
body."
ACTS OF SHARB1L. 73
[aforetime] provoked Him to anger by the sacrifices of idols,
I am this day pacifying Him by the inflictions [I endure] in
my person : for my soul is a captive to God who became man.
The judge said : It is a captive, then, that I am question-
ing, and a madman without sense ; and with a dead man who
is burnt, lo ! am I talking.
Sharbil said : If thou art assured that I am mad, question
me no further : for it is a madman that is being questioned ;
nay, rather, I am a dead man who is burnt, as thou hast said.
The judge said : How shall I count thee a dead man, when
lo ! thou hast cried aloud, " I will not sacrifice ? "
Sharbil said : I myself, too, know not how to return thee
an answer, since thou hast called me a dead man and [yet]
turnest to question me again as if [I were] alive.
The judge said : Well have I called thee a dead man,
because thy feet are burnt and thou carest not, and thy
face is scorched and thou boldest thy peace, and nails are
driven in between thine eyes and thou takest no account of it,
and thy ribs are seen between the [wounds inflicted by the]
combs and thou insultest the emperors, and thy whole body
is mangled and maimed with stripes and thou blasphemest
against the gods ; and, because thou hatest thy body, lo !
thou sayest whatsoever pleaseth thee.
Sharbil said : If thou callest me audacious because I have
endured these things, it is fit that thou, who hast inflicted
them upon me, shouldest be called a murderer in thy acts
and a blasphemer in thy words.
The judge said : Lo ! thou hast insulted the emperors,
and likewise the gods ; and lo ! thou [now] insultest me also,
in order that I may pronounce sentence of death upon thee
quickly. But instead of this, which thou lookest for, I am
prepared yet further to inflict upon thee bitter and severe
tortures.
Sharbil said : Thou knowest what I have said to thee
many times : instead of denunciations of threatening, pro-
ceed to show upon me the performance of the threat, that
thou mayest be known to do the will of the emperors.
The judge said : Let him be torn with combs upon his
74 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
legs and upon the sides of his thighs. And the executioners
did so, until his blood flowed and ran down upon the ground.
Sharbil said : Thou hast well done in treating me thus :
because I have heard that one of the teachers of the church
hath said, " Scars [are] on my body, that I may come to the
resurrection from the place of the dead." Me too, who
was a dead man out of sight, lo ! thine inflictions bring to
life again.
The judge said : Let him be torn with combs on his face,
since he is not ashamed of the nails which are driven in
between his eyes. And they tore him with combs upon his
cheeks, and between the nails which were driven into them.
Sharbil said : I will not obey the emperors, who command
that to be worshipped and honoured which is not of the
nature of God, and is not God in its nature, but is the work
of him that made it.
The judge said : Like as the emperors worship, so also
worship thou ; and that honour which the judges render,
do thou render also.
Sharbil said : Even though I insult that which is the work
of men and has no perception and no feeling of anything,
[yet] do not thou insult God, the Maker of all, nor worship
along with Him that which is not of Plim, and is foreign to
His nature.
The judge said: Does this your doctrine so teach yon,
that you should insult the very luminaries which give light
to all the regions of the earth ?
Sharbil said : Although it is not enjoined upon us to in-
sult them, yet it is enjoined upon us not to worship them nor
honour them, seeing that they are things made: for this
were an insufferable l wrong, that a thing made should be
worshipped along with its Maker ; and it is an insult to the
Maker that His creatures should be honoured along with
Himself.
The judge said : Christ whom thou confessest was hanged
on a tree ; and on a tree will I hang thee, like thy Master.
And they hanged him on a tree 2 a long while.
1 [Or " bitter."] 2 [Or "beam."]
ACTS OF SHARBIL. 75
Sharbil said : [As for] Christ, whom lo ! thou mockest
see how thy many gods were unable to stand before Him : for
lo ! they are despised and rejected, and are made a laughing-
stock and a jest by those who used formerly to worship them.
The judge said : How is it that thou renouncest the gods,
and confessest Christ, who was hanged on a tree ?
Sharbil said : This cross of Christ is the great boast of the
Christians, since it is by this that the deliverance of salva-
tion has come to all His worshippers, and by this that they
have had their eyes enlightened, so as not to worship crea-
tures along with the Creator.
The governor said : Let thy boasting of the cross be kept
within thy own mind, and let incense be offered by thy hands
to the gods.
Sharbil said : Those who have been delivered by the cross
cannot any longer worship and serve the idols of error made
[with hands] : for creature cannot worship creature, because
it is itself also [designed to be] a worshipper of Him who
made it ; and that it should be worshipped along with its
Maker is an insult to its Maker, as I have said before.
The governor said : Leave alone thy books which have
taught thee [to speak] thus, and perform the command of
the emperors, that thou die not by the emperors' law.
But Sharbil said : Is this, then, the justice of the empe-
rors, in whom thou takest such pride, that we should leave
alone the law of God and keep their laws ?
The governor said : The citation of the books in which
thou believest, and from which thou hast quoted it is this
which has brought upon thee these afflictions : for, if thou
hadst offered incense to the gods, great would have been
thine honour, like as it was formerly, as priest of the gods.
Sharbil said : To thine unbelieving heart these things
seem as if they were afflictions ; but to the true heart "afflic-
tion imparts patience, and from it [comes] also experience,
and from experience likewise the hope " l of the confessor. 2
The governor said : Hang him up and tear him with
combs upon his former wounds. And, from the fury with
1 [Rom. v. 4.] 2 [Lit. " of confessorslrip."]
76 SYEIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
which the judge urged on the executioners, his very bowels
were almost seen. And, lest he should die under the combs
and escape from still further tortures, he gave orders and
they took him down.
And, when the judge saw that he was become silent and
was not able to return him any further answer, he refrained
from him a little while, until he began to revive.
Sharbil said : Why hast thou had pity upon me for even
this little time, and kept me back from the gain of a con-
fessor's death ? l
The governor said : I have not had pity on thee at all in
refraining for a little while : thy silence it was that made
me pause a little ; and, if I had power [to go] beyond the
law of the emperors, I should like to lay [other] tortures
upon thee, so as to be more fully avenged on thee for thine
insult toward the gods : for in despising me thou hast de-
spised the gods ; and I, on my part, have borne with thee
and tortured thee thus, as a man who so deserves [at my
hands].
And the judge gave orders, and suddenly the curtain 2 fell
before him for a short time ; and he settled and drew up the
sentence 3 which he should pronounce against him publicly.
And suddenly the curtain was drawn back again ; and
the judge cried aloud and said : As regards this Sharbil,
who was formerly priest of the gods, but has turned this
day and renounced the gods, and has cried aloud " I am a
Christian," and has not trembled at the gods, but has in-
sulted them ; and, further, has not been afraid of the empe-
rors [and] their command ; and, though I have bidden him
sacrifice to the gods according to his former custom, has not
sacrificed, but has treated them with the greatest insult : I
have looked [into the matter] and decided, that towards a
man who doeth these things, even though he were [now]
to sacrifice, it is not fit that any mercy should be shown ;
and that it is not fit that he should [any longer] behold
1 [Lit. " of confessorship."]
2 The Latin " velum," or rather its plan " vela."
8 The Gk. d
ACTS OF SHARBIL. 77
the sun of his lords, because he has scorned their laws. I
give sentence that, according to the law of the emperors, a
strap l be thrust into the mouth of the insulter, as into the
mouth of a murderer, and that he depart outside of the city
of the emperors with haste, as one who has insulted the lords
of the city and the gods who hold authority over it. I give
sentence that he be sawn with a saw of wood, and that,
when he is near to die, then his head be taken off with the
sword of the headsmen.
And forthwith a strap was thrust into his mouth with all
speed, and the executioners hurried him off, and made him
run quickly upon his burnt feet, and took him away outside
of the city, a crowd of people running after him. For they
had been standing looking on at his trial all day, and won-
dering that he did not suffer under his afflictions : for his
countenance, which was cheerful, testified to the joy of his
heart. And, when the executioners arrived at the place where
he was to receive the punishment of death, the people of
the city were with them, that they might see whether they
did according as the judge had commanded, and hear what
Sharbil might say at that season, so that they might inform
the judge of the country.
And they offered him some wine to drink, according to
the custom of murderers to drink. But he said to them : I
will not drink, because I wish to feel the saw with which ye
saw me, and the sword which ye pass over my neck ; but
instead of this wine, which will not be of any use to me,
give me a little time to pray, while ye stand. And he stood
up, and looked toward the east, 2 and lifted up his voice and
said : Forgive me, Christ, all the sins I have committed
against Thee, and all [the instances in] which I have pro-
voked Thee to anger by the polluted sacrifices of dead idols ;
and have pity on me and save me, 3 and deliver me from the
judgment to come; and be merciful to me, as Thou wast
1 The expression XKIVW tpfiu.'hiiv is used similarly in the life of
Euthymus in Eccl. Grace. Monumenta, vol. ii. p. 240.
2 [See Teaching q/ the Apostles, Ordinance 1, p. 38.]
8 [Lit. " have pity on my salvation."]
78 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
merciful to the robber ; and receive me like the penitents
who have been converted and have turned to Thee, as Thou
also hast turned to them ; and, whereas I have entered into
Thy vineyard, [though] at the eleventh hour, instead of judg-
ment, deliver me from justice : let Thy death, which was
for the sake of sinners, restore to life again my slain body
in the day of Thy coming. And, when the Sharirs of the
city heard these things, they were very angry with the
executioners for having given him leave to pray.
And, while the nails were [still] remaining which had
been driven in between his eyes, and his ribs were seen be-
tween the [wounds of the] combs, and while from the burning
on his sides and the soles of his feet, which were scorched
and burnt, and from the [wounds of the] combs on his face,
and on his sides, and on his thighs, and on his legs, the blood
was flowing and running down, they brought carpenters' in-
struments, and thrust him into a wooden vice, and tightened
it upon him until the bones of his joints creaked with the
pressure ; then they put upon him a saw of iron, and began
sawing him asunder ; and, when he was just about to die,
because the saw had reached to his mouth, they smote him
with the sword and took off his head, while he was still
squeezed down in the vice.
And Babai his sister drew near and spread out her skirt
and caught his blood ; and she said to him : May my spirit
be united with thy spirit in the presence of Christ, whom
thou hast known and believed.
And the Sharirs of the city ran and came and informed
the judge of the things which Sharbil had uttered in his
prayer, and how his sister had caught his blood. And the
judge commanded them to return and give orders to the
executioners that, on the spot where she had caught the
blood of her brother, she also should receive the punish-
ment of death. And the executioners laid hold on her, and
each one of them severally put her to torture; and, with
her brother's blood upon her, her soul took its flight from
her, and they mingled her blood with his. And, when the
executioners were entered into the city, the brethren and
ACTS OF SHARBIL. 79
young men l ran and stole away their two corpses ; and
they laid them in the burial-place of the father of Abshe-
lama the bishop, on the fifth of Ilul, the eve [of the
Sabbath].
I wrote these Acts on paper I, Marinus, and Anatolus,
the notaries ; and we placed them in the archives of the
city, where the papers of the kings are placed. 2
[This Barsamya, 3 the bishop, made a disciple of Sharbil the
priest. And he lived in the days of Binus, 4 bishop of Rome ;
in whose days the whole population of Rome assembled to-
gether, and cried out to the praetor 5 of their city, and said
to him : There are too many strangers in this our city, and
these cause famine and dearness of everything : but we
beseech thee to command them to depart out of the city.
And, when he had commanded them to depart out of the
city, these strangers assembled themselves together, and said
to the praetor: We beseech thee, my lord, command also
that the bones of our dead may depart with us. And he
commanded them to take the bones of their dead, and to
depart. And all the strangers assembled themselves to-
gether to take the bones of Simon Cephas and of Paul, the
apostles ; but the people of Rome said to them : We will
not give you the bones of the apostles. And the strangers
said to them : Learn ye and understand that Simon, who is
called Cephas, is of Bethsaida of Galilee, and Paul the
apostle is of Tarsus, a city of Cilicia. And, when the people
of Rome knew that this matter was so, then they let them
1 By a transposition of letters, B. reads " laics."
8 B. has several lines here in addition.
3 The passage hence to the end is evidently a later addition by a
person unacquainted with chronology : for it is stated at the beginning
of these Acts that the transactions took place in the fifteenth year of
Trajan, A.D. 112 ; but Fabianus (see next note) was not made bishop
of Rome till the reign of Maximinus Thrax, about the year 236.
4 B. reads " Fabianus : " in A. the first syllable, or rather letter, has
been dropped. The mention of Fabianus probably arose from the fact
of his having instituted notaries for the express purpose of searching for
and collecting the Acts of Martyrs.
5 [The Greek '^
80 SYPJAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
alone. And, when they had taken them up and were re-
moving them from their places, immediately there was a
great earthquake, and the buildings of the city were on the
point of falling down, and [the city] was near being over-
thrown. And, when the people of Rome saw it, they turned
and besought the strangers to remain in their city, and that
the bones might be laid in their places [again]. And, when
the bones of the apostles were returned to their places, there
was quietness, and the earthquakes ceased, and the winds
became still, and the air became bright, and the whole city
became cheerful. And, when the Jews and pagans saw it,
they also ran and fell at the feet of Fabianus, the bishop of
their city, the Jews crying out : We confess Christ, whom
we crucified : He is the Son of the living God, of whom
the prophets spoke in their mysteries. And the pagans also
cried out and said to him : We renounce idols and carved
images, which are of no use, and we believe in Jesus the
King, the Son of God, who has come and is to come again.
And, whatever other doctrines there were in Rome and in
all Italy, [the followers of] these also renounced their doc-
trines, like as the pagans had renounced theirs, and con-
fessed the gospel of the apostles, which was preached in the
church.]
[Here] end the Acts of Sharbil the confessor.
FURTHER, THE MARTYRDOM OF BARSAMYA, 1 THE
BISHOP OF THE BLESSED CITY EDESSA.
In the year four hundred and sixteen of the kingdom of the
Greeks, that is the fifteenth year of the reign of the sovereign
ruler, our lord, Trajan Cassar, in the consulship of Commodus
and Cyrillus, 2 in the month Ilul, on the fifth day of the month,
1 This is taken from the MS. cited as B. in the Acts of Sliarbil. There
is an Armenian version or extract of this still in existence: see Dr.
Alishan's letter referred to on p. 35.
2 This is a mistake for Cerealis, and the consulate meant must be that
MARTYRDOM OF BARS AMY A. 81
the day after Lysinus, 1 the judge of the country, had heard
[the case of] Sharbil the priest ; as the judge was sitting in
his judgment-hall, the Sharirs of the city came before him
and said to him : We give information before thine Excel-
lency concerning Barsamya, the leader of the Christians,
that he went up to Sharbil, the priest, as he was standing
and ministering before the venerable gods, and sent and
called him to him secretly, and spoke to him, [quoting] from
the books in which he reads in the church where their congre-
gation meets, and recited to him the belief of the Christians,
and said to him, " It is not right for thee to worship many
gods, but [only] one God, and His Son Jesus Christ " until
he made him a disciple, and induced him to renounce the
gods whom he had formerly worshipped ; and by means of
Sharbil himself also many have become disciples, and are
gone down to the church, and lo ! this day they confess
Christ ; and even Avida, and Nebo, 2 and Barcalba, and
Hafsai, honourable and chief persons of the city, have
yielded to Sharbil in this. We, accordingly, as Sharirs of
the city, make [this] known before thine Excellency, in
order that we may not receive punishment as offenders for
not having declared before thine Excellency the things
which were spoken in secret to Sharbil by Barsamya the
guide of the church. Thine Excellency now knoweth what
it is right to command in respect of this said matter.
And, immediately that the judge heard these things, he
sent the Sharirs of the city, and some of his attendants with
them, to go down to the church and bring up Barsamya
from the church. And they led him and brought him up
to the judgment-hall of the judge ; and there went up many
Christians with him, saying : We also will die with Bar-r
samya, because we too are of one mind with him in respect
to the doctrine of which he made Sharbil a disciple, and in
of Commodus Verus and Tutilius Cerealis, which was in the ninth (not
fifteenth) year of Trajan, which agrees with the 416th year of the Greeks,
or A.D. 105.
1 See note on p. 61.
2 Called Labu at p. 6L
F
82 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
all that he spoke to him, and in all [the instruction] that
Sharbil received from him, so that he was persuaded by him,
and died for the sake of that which he heard from him.
And the Sharirs of the city came, and said to the judge :
Barsamya, as thine Excellency commanded, lo ! is standing
at the door of the judgment-hall of thy Lordship ; 1 and
honourable chief-persons of the city, who became disciples
along with Sharbil, lo! are standing by Barsamya, and
crying out, "We will all die with Barsamya, who is our
teacher and guide."
And, when the judge heard those things which the Sharirs
of the city had told him, he commanded them to go out and
write down the names of the persons who were crying out,
" We will die with Barsamya." And, when they went out
to write down [the names of] these persons, those who so
cried out were too many for them, and they were not able to
write down their names, because they were so many : for the
cry kept coming to them from all sides, that they " would
die for Christ's sake along with Barsamya."
And, when the tumult of the crowd became great, the
Sharirs of the city turned back, and came in to the judge,
and said to him : We are not able to write down the names
of the persons who are crying aloud outside, because they
are too many to be numbered. And the judge commanded
that Barsamya should be taken up to the prison, so that the
crowd might be dispersed which was collected together about
him, lest through the tumult of the multitude there should
be some mischief in the city. And, when he went up to
the gaol, those who had become disciples along with Sharbil
continued with him.
And after many days were passed the judge rose up in the
morning and went down to his judgment-hall, in order that
he might hear [the case of] Barsamya. And the judge
commanded, and they brought him from the prison ; and he
came in and stood before him. The officers said : Lo, he
standeth before thine Excellency.
The judge said : Art thou Barsamya, who hast been made
1 [Lit. "authority."]
MARTYRDOM OF BARSAMYA. 83
ruler and guide of the people of the Christians, and didst
make a disciple of Sharbil, who was chief-priest of the gods,
and used to worship them ?
Barsamya said : It is I who have done this, and I do not
deny it ; and I am prepared to die for the truth of this.
The judge said : How is it that thou wast not afraid of
the command of the emperors, [so] that, when the emperors
commanded that every one should sacrifice, thou didst induce
Sharbil, when he was standing and sacrificing to the gods
and offering incense to them, to deny that which he had
confessed, and confess Christ whom he had denied ?
Barsamya said : I was assuredly l made a shepherd of
men, not for the sake of those only who are found, but also
for the sake of those who have strayed from the fold of
truth, and become food for the wolves of paganism ; and,
had I not sought to make Sharbil a disciple, at my hands
would his blood have been required; and, if he had not
listened to me, I should have been innocent of his blood.
The judge said : Now, therefore, since thou hast confessed
that it was thou that madest Sharbil a disciple, at thy hands
will I require his death; and on this account it is right
that thou rather than he shouldest be condemned before me,
because by thy hands he has died the horrible deaths of
grievous tortures for having abandoned the command of the
emperors and obeyed thy words.
Barsamya said : Not to my words did Sharbil become a
disciple, but to the word of God which He spoke : " Thou
shalt not worship images and the likenesses of men." And
it is not I alone that am content to die the death of Sharbil
for his confession of Christ, but also all the Christians, mem-
bers of the church, are likewise eager for this, because they
know that they will secure their salvation before God thereby.
The judge said : Answer me not in this manner, like
Sharbil thy disciple, lest thine own torments be worse than
his ; but promise that thou wilt sacrifice before the gods on
his behalf.
Barsamya said : Sharbil, who knew not God, I taught to
1 [See note 3 on p. 15.]
84 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
know [Him] : and dost thou bid me, who have known God
from my youth, to renounce God ? God forbid that I should
do this thing !
The judge said : Ye have made the whole creation dis-
ciples of the teaching of Christ ; and lo ! they renounce the
many gods whom the many worshipped. Give up this way
of thinking, 1 lest I make those who are near tremble at thee
as they behold thee to-day, and those also that are afar off as
they hear of the torments to which thou art condemned.
Barsamya said : If God is the help of those who pray to
Him, who is he that can resist them ? Or what is the power
that can prevail against them? Or thine own threats
what can they do to them : to men who, before thou give
commandment concerning them that they shall die, have
their death [already] set before their eyes, and are expecting
it every day ?
The judge said : Bring not the subject of Christ before
my judgment-seat ; but, instead of this, obey the command
of the emperors, who command to sacrifice to the gods.
Barsamya said : Even though we should not lay the sub-
ject of Christ before thee, [yet] the sufferings of Christ are
portrayed indelibly 2 in the worshippers of Christ; and, even
more than thou hearkenest to the commands of the emperors,
do we Christians hearken to the commands of Christ the
King of kings.
The judge said : Lo ! thou hast obeyed Christ and wor-
shipped him up to this day : henceforth obey the emperors,
and worship the gods whom the emperors worship.
Barsamya said : How canst thou bid me renounce that in
which I was born ? when lo ! thou didst exact [punishment]
for this at the hand of Sharbil, and saidst to him : Why
hast thou renounced the paganism in which thou wast born,
and confessed Christianity to which thou wast a stranger "?
Lo ! even before I came into thy presence thou didst thyself
give testimony [on the matter] beforehand, and saidst to
Sharbil : The Christians, to whom thou art gone [over], do
not renounce that in which they were born, but continue
1 [Lit. " this mind."] 2 [Lit. " portrayed and fixed."]
MARTYRDOM OF BARSAMJA. 85
in it. Abide, therefore, by the word, which thou hast
spoken.
The judge said : Let Barsamya be scourged, because he
has rebelled against the command of the emperors, and has
caused those also who were obedient to the emperors to rebel
with him.
And, when he had been scourged by five [men], he said
to him : Reject not the command of the emperors, nor insult
the emperors' gods.
Barsamya said: Thy mind is greatly blinded, O judge,
and so also is that of the emperors who gave thee authority ;
nor are the things that are manifest seen by you ; nor do ye
perceive that lo ! the whole creation worships Christ ; and
thou sayest to me, Do not worship Him, as if I alone wor-
shipped Him Him whom the watchers l above worship on
high.
The judge said : But if ye have taught men to worship
Christ, who is it that has persuaded those above to worship
Christ?
Barsamya said : Those above have themselves preached,
and have taught those below concerning the living worship
of the King Christ, seeing that they worship Him, and
His Father, together with His divine Spirit. 2
The judge said: Give up these things which your writings
teach you, and which ye teach also to others, and obey those
things which the emperors have commanded, and spurn not
their laws lest ye be spurned by means of the sword from
the light of this venerable sun.
Barsamya said : The light which passeth away and abideth
not is not the true light, but is [only] the similitude of that
true light, to whose beams darkness cometh not near, which
is reserved and standeth fast for the true worshippers of
Christ.
The judge said : Speak not before me of anything [else]
1 [Comp. Dan. iv. 13. This designation was given to angels after the
captivity, in which the Jews had become familiar with the doctrine of
tutelary deities.]
2 [Lit. " the Spirit of His Godhead."]
86 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
instead of that about which I have asked thee, lest I dismiss
thee from life to death, for denying this light which is seen
and confessing that which is not seen.
Barsamya said : I cannot leave alone that about which
thou askest me, and speak of that about which thou dost not
ask me. It was thou that spakest to me about the light of
the sun, and I said before thee that there is a light on high
which surpasses in its brightness that of the sun which thou
dost worship and honour. For an account will be required
of thee for worshipping thy fellow[-creature] instead of God
thy Creator.
The judge said : Do not insult the very sun, the light of
creatures, nor set thou at nought the command of the em-
perors, nor contentiously resist the lords of the country,
who have authority in it.
Barsamya said : Of what avail is the light of the sun to a
blind man that cannot see it ? For without the eyes of the
body, [we know], it is not possible for its beams to be seen.
[So] that by this thou mayest know that it is the work of
God, forasmuch as it has no power [of its own] to show its
light to the sightless.
The judge said : When I have tortured thee as thou de-
servest, then will I write word about thee to the Imperial
government, [reporting] what insult thou hast offered to the
gods, in that thou madest a disciple of Sharbil the priest,
one who honoured the gods, and that ye despise the laws of
the emperors, and that ye make no account of the judges of
the countries, and live like barbarians, [though] under the
authority of the Romans.
Barsamya said : Thou dost not terrify me by these things
which thou sayest. It is true, I am not in the presence of
the emperors to-day ; yet lo ! before the authority which
the emperors have given thee I am now standing, and I am
brought to trial, because I said, I will not renounce God, to
whom the heavens and the earth belong, nor His Son Jesus
Christ, the King of all the earth.
The judge said : If thou art indeed assured of this, that
thou art standing and being tried before the authority of
MARTYRDOM OF BARS AM? A. 87
the emperors, obey their commands, and rebel not against
their laws, lest like a rebel thou receive the punishment of
death.
Barsamya said: But if those who rebel against the emperors,
[even] when they justly rebel, are deserving of death, as thou
sayest ; for those who rebel against God, the King of kings,
even the punishment of death by the sword is too little.
The judge said : It was not that thou shouldest expound
in my judgment-hall that thou wast brought in before me,
because the trial on which thou standest has but little con-
cern with expounding, but much concern with the punish-
ment of death, for those who insult the emperors and comply
not with their laws.
Barsamya said : Because God is not before your eyes, and
ye refuse to hear the word of God ; and graven images that
are of no use, " which have a mouth and speak not," are
accounted by you as though they spake, because your under-
standing is blinded by the darkness of paganism in which ye
stand
The judge [interrupting]] said : Leave off those things thou
art saying, for they will not help thee at all, and worship
the gods, before the bitter [tearings of] combs and harsh
tortures come upon thee.
Barsamya said : Do thou [too] leave off the many ques-
tions which lo ! thou askest me, and [at once] give command
for the stripes and the combs with which thou dost menace
me : for thy words will not help thee so much as thy inflic-
tions will help me.
The judge said : Let Barsamya be hanged up and torn
with combs.
And at that very moment there came to him letters from
Alusis 1 the chief proconsul, father of emperors. 2 And he
commanded, and they took down Barsamya, and he was not
torn with combs ; and they took him outside of the hall of
judgment.
1 This seems to be Lusius Quietus, Trajan's general in the East at
this time.
2 [Or " kings."]
88 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
And the judge commanded that the nobles, and the chief
persons, and the princes, and the honourable persons of the
city, should come before him, that they might hear what
was the order that was issued by the emperors, by the hand
of the proconsuls, the rulers of the countries under the
authority of the Romans. And it was found that the em-
perors had written by the hand of the proconsuls to the
judges of the countries: 1 "Since our Majesty commanded
that there should be a persecution against the people of the
Christians, we have heard and learned, from the Sharirs
whom we have in the countries under the dominion of our
Majesty, that the people of the Christians are persons who
eschew murder, and sorcery, and adulter^, and theft, and
bribery and fraud, and those things for which the laws of
our Majesty also exact punishment from those who commit
them. We, therefore, in our impartial justice, have com-
manded that on account of these things the persecution of
the sword shall cease from them, and that there shall be rest
and quietness in all our dominions, they continuing to minister
according to their custom and no man hindering them. It
is not, however, towards them that we show clemency, but
towards their laws, agreeing as they do with the laws of our
Majesty. And, if any man hinder them after this our com-
mand, that sword which is ordered by us to descend upon
those who despise our command, the same do we command
h> descend upon those who despise this decree of our
clemency."
And, when this command of the emperor's clemency was
read, the whole city rejoiced that there was quietness and
rest for every man. And the judge commanded, and they
released Barsamya, that he might go down to his church.
And the Christians went up in great numbers to the judg-
ment-hall, together with a great multitude of the population
of the city, and they received Barsamya with great and ex-
ceeding honour, repeating psalms before him, according to
1 "We have here probably the most authentic copy of the edict of
Trajan commanding the stopping of the persecution of the Christians,
as it was taken down at the time by the reporters who heard it read.
MARTYRDOM OF BARSAMYA. 89
their custom ; [there went] also the wives of the chief of the
wise men. And they thronged [about him], and saluted him,
and called him " the persecuted confessor," " the companion
of Sharbil the martyr." And he said to them : Persecuted I
am, like yourselves ; but from the tortures and combs of
Sharbil and his companions I am clean escaped. 1 And they
said to him : We have heard from thee that a teacher of the
church has said, " The will, according to what it is, so is it
accepted." 2 And, when he was entered into the church, he
and all the people that were with him, he stood up and
prayed, and blessed them and sent them away to their homes
rejoicing and praising God for the deliverance which He had
wrought for them and for the church.
And the day after Lysinas 3 the judge of the country
had set his hand to these Acts, he was dismissed from his
authority.
I Zenophilus and Patrophilus are the notaries who wrote
these Acts, Diodorus and Euterpes, 4 Sharirs of the city,
bearing witness with us by setting-to their hand, as the
ancient laws of the ancient kings command.
[This 5 Barsamya, bishop of Edessa, who made a disciple
of Sharbil, the priest of the same city, lived in the days of
Fabianus, bishop of the city of Rome. And ordination
to the priesthood was received by Barsamya from Abshe-
lama, who was bishop in Edessa ; and by Abshelama ordi-
nation was received from Palut the First ; and by Palut
ordination was received from Serapion, bishop of Antioch ;
and by Serapion ordination was received from Zephyrinus,
bishop of Rome ; and Zephyrinus of Rome received ordina-
tion from Victor of the same place, [viz.] Rome ; and
Victor received ordination from Eleutherius ; and Eleu-
therius received it from Soter ; and Soter received it from
1 [Lit. "am far removed."]
2 [2 Cor. viii. 12. Both the Peshito and the Greek (if TI; be rejected)
have " what it hath:" not "what it is."]
3 [See note on p. 61.] 4 Perhaps " Eutropius."
5 What follows, down to the end, is a much later addition, evidently
made by the same ignorant person as that at p. 79 above : see note there.
90 STRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Anicetus ; and Anicetus received it from Dapius; 1 and
Dapius received it from Telesphorus ; and Telesp horus
received it from Xystus ; 2 and Xystus received it from
Alexander; and Alexander received it from Evartis; 3 and
Evartis received it from Cletus ; and Cletus received it from
Anus ; 4 and Anus received it from Simon Cephas ; and
Simon Cephas received it from our Lord, together with his
fellow-apostles, on the first day of the week, [the day] of the
ascension of our Lord to His glorious Father, which was the
fourth day of Heziran, 5 which was [in] the nineteenth 6 year
of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, in the consulship of Rufus
and Rubelinus, which year was the year 341 ; for in the
year 309 occurred the advent 7 of our Saviour in the world,
according to the testimony which we ourselves have found in
a correct register 8 among the archives, which errs not at all
in whatever it sets forth.]
[Here] endeth the martyrdom of Barsamya, bishop of
Edessa.
1 That is " Pius." The blunder arose from taking the prefix D (?)
as a part of the name.
2 [Le. " Sixtus."]
3 [Or " Eortis." The person referred to is " Evaristus." Cureton
reads " Erastus : " it does not appear why.]
4 [i.e. " Linus :" see note on p. 55.]
5 [See note on p. 36.]
6 Put by mistake for " sixteenth," which agrees with the statement
of Julius Africanus as to the date of our Lord's death ; also with the
year of the consulate of Rubellius Geminus and Fufius Geminus (the
persons intended below), and with the year of the Greeks 341, which
was A.D. 29 or 30.
7 [Prop. " rising," as of the sun.]
8 The Greek ti*.mpioy : sec Du Fresne, Glossarium.
MARTYRDOM OF HABIB THE DEACON. 91
MAETYEDOM OF HABIB THE DEACON. 1
In the month Ab, 2 of the year six hundred and twenty
of the kingdom of Alexander the Macedonian, in the con-
sulate of Licinius and Constantine, 3 which is the year in
which he 4 was born, in the magistracy 5 of Julius and Barak,
in the days of Cona 6 bishop of Edessa, Licinius made a per-
secution against the church and all the people of the Chris-
tians, after that first persecution which Diocletian the emperor
had made. And Licinius the emperor commanded that there
should be sacrifices and libations, and that the altars in every
place should be restored, that they might burn sweet spices
and frankincense before Zeus.
And, when many were persecuted, they cried out of their
own accord : We are Christians ; and they were not afraid
of the persecution, because these who were persecuted were
more numerous than those who persecuted [them].
Now Habib, who was of the village of Telzeha 7 and had
been made a deacon, went secretly into the churches which
were in the villages, and ministered and read the Scriptures,
and encouraged and strengthened many by his words, and
admonished them to stand fast in the truth of their belief,
and not to be afraid of the persecutors ; and gave them
directions [for their conduct].
And, when many were strengthened by his words, and
received his addresses affectionately, being careful not to
renounce the covenant they had made, and when the Sharirs
of the city, the men who had been appointed with reference
to this particular matter, heard of it, they went in and in-
1 This is found in the same MS. as the preceding : Cod. Add. 14,645,
fol. 238, vers.
2 [August.] 8 They were consuls together in A.D. 312, 313, 315.
4 [It does not appear who is meant.]
6 The Greek aTpary/iot, with a Syriac termination, ^rpetrrr/oi was
used for the Latin Magistrates or Duumviri.
6 He laid the foundation of the church at Edessa A.D. 313 : see Assem,
Bibl. Orient, vol. i. p. 394.
7 Called " Thelsaea" by Metaphrastes, infra.
92 SYR1AC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
formed Lysanias, the governor who was in the town of Edessa,
and said to him : Habib, who is a deacon in the village of
Telzeha, goes about and ministers secretly in every place, and
resists the command of the emperors, and is not afraid.
And, when the governor heard these things, he was filled
with rage against Habib ; and he made a report, and sent
and informed Licinius the emperor of all those things which
Habib was doing; [he wished] also to ascertain 1 what command
would be issued respecting him and [the rest of] those who
would not sacrifice. [For] although a command had been
issued that every one should sacrifice, yet it had not been
commanded what should be done to those who did not sacri-
fice: because they had heard that Constantine, the commander 2
in Gaul and Spain, was become a Christian and did not sacri-
fice. And Licinius the emperor [thus] commanded Lysanias
the governor : Whoever it is that has been so daring as to
transgress our command, our Majesty has commanded that
he shall be burned 3 with fire ; and that all others who do not
consent to sacrifice shall be put to death by the sword.
Now, when this command came to the town of Edessa,
Habib, in reference to whom the report had been made, was
gone across [the river] to the country of the people of Zeugma, 4
to minister there also secretly. And, when the governor sent
and inquired for him in his village, and in all the country
round about, and he was not to be found, he commanded that
all his family should be arrested, and also the inhabitants of
his village ; and they arrested them and put them in irons,
his mother and the rest of his family, and also some of the
people of his village ; and they brought them to the city, and
shut them up in prison.
And, when Habib heard what had taken place, he considered
1 [Lit. " learn and see."]
2 [The word used is probably ivrohixos pr&fectus : see Dr. Payne
Smith, Thes. Syr.]
3 [Dr. "Wright's reading, by the change of a letter, for " shall perish."]
4 [This place was on the right bank of the Euphrates, and derived its
name from a bridge of boats laid across the river there. It was about
forty miles from Edessa.]
MARTYRDOM OF HA BIS THE DEACON. 93
in his mind and pondered anxiously in his thoughts : It is
expedient for me, [said he], that I should go and appear before
the judge of the country, rather than that I should remain
in secret and others should be brought in [to him] and be
crowned [with martyrdom] because of me, and that I should
find myself in great shame. For in what respect will the
name of Christianity help him who flees from the con-
fession of Christianity ? Lo ! if he flee from this, the death
of nature is before him whithersoever he goes, and escape
from it he cannot, because this is decreed against all the
children of Adam.
And Habib arose and went to Edessa secretly, having pre-
pared his back for the stripes and his sides for the combs,
and his person for the burning of fire. And he went imme-
diately l to Theotecna, 2 a veteran 3 who was chief of the band
of attendants 4 on the governor ; and he said to him : I am
Habib of Telzeha, whom ye are inquiring for. And Theo-
tecna said to him : If so be that no one saw thee coming to
me, hearken to me in what I say to thee, and depart and go
away to the place where thou hast been, and remain there in
this time [of persecution] ; and of this, that thou earnest to me
and spakest with me and that I advised thee thus, let no one
know or be aware. And about thy family and the inhabit-
ants of thy village, be not at all anxious : for no one will at
all hurt them ; but they will be in prison a few days only,
and [then] the governor will let them go : because against
them the emperors have not commanded anything serious or
alarming. But, if on the contrary thou wilt not be persuaded
by me in regard to these things which I have said to thee, I
am clear of thy blood : because, if so be that thou appear
before the judge of the country, thou wilt not escape from
death by fire, according to the command of the emperors
which they have issued concerning thee.
1 [Cureton has A_i;ZI2, which he renders "alone." Dr. Payne Smith
considers this a mistake for |Aik* ;JD.]
2 In Latin, " Theotecnus." 8 [Or " an old man."]
4 The Gk. r<x%i; here used corresponds to the Latin ojficium. See note
ion p. 64.
94 SYHIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Habib said to Theotecna : It is not about my family and
the inhabitants of my village that I am concerned, but for
my own salvation, lest it should be forfeited. About this
too I am much distressed, that I did not happen to be in my
village on the day that the governor inquired for me, and
that on my account lo ! many are put in irons, and I have
been looked upon by him as a fugitive. Therefore, if so be
that thou wilt not consent to my request and take me in
before the governor, I will go alone and appear before him.
And, when Theotecna heard him speak thus to him, he
laid hold of him firmly, and handed him over to his assist-
ants, 1 and they went together to conduct him to the judg-
ment-hall of the governor. And Theotecna went in and
informed the governor, and said to him : Habib of Telzeha,
whom thine Excellency was inquiring for, is come. And
the governor said : Who is it that has brought him ? and
where did they find him? and what did he do where he
was ? Theotecna said to him : He came hither himself, of
his own accord, and without the compulsion of any one,
since no one knew anything about him.
And when the governor heard [this], he was greatly ex-
asperated against him ; and thus he spake : This [fellow],
who has so acted, has shown great contempt towards me
and has despised me, and has accounted me as no judge ;
and, because he has so acted, it is not meet that any mercy
should be shown towards him ; nor yet either that I should
hasten to pass sentence of death against him, according to
the command of the emperors concerning him; but it is
meet for me to have patience with him, so that the bitter
torments and punishments [inflicted on him] may be the
more abundant, and that through him I may terrify many
[others] from daring again to flee.
And, many persons being collected together and standing
by him at the door of the judgment-hall, some of whom
were members of the body of attendants, and some people
of the city, there were some of them that said to him :
Thou hast done badly in coming and showing thyself to
1 [Or " domestics."]
MARTYRDOM OF HABIB THE DEACON. 95
those who were inquiring for thee, without the compulsion
of the judge ; and there were [others], again, who said to
him : Thou hast done well in coming and showing thyself
of thine own accord, rather than that the compulsion of the
judge should bring thee : for now is thy confession of Christ
known to be of thine own will, and not from the compulsion
cf men.
And those things which the Sharirs of the city had heard
from those who were speaking to him as they stood at the
door of the judgment-hall and this circumstance also in par-
ticular, that he had gone secretly to Theotecna and that he
had not been willing to denounce him, had been heard by the
Sharirs of the city everything that they had heard they
made known to the judge.
And the judge was enraged against those who had been
saying to Habib : Wherefore didst thou come and show
thyself to the judge, without the compulsion of the judge
himself ? And to Theotecna he said : It is not seemly for
a man who has been made chief over his fellows to act de-
ceitfully in this manner towards his superior, and to set at
nought the command of the emperors, which they issued
against Habib the rebel, that he should be burned with fire.
Theotecna said : I have not acted deceitfully against my
fellows, neither was it my purpose to set at naught the com-
mand which the emperors have issued : for what am I before
thine Excellency, that I should have dared to do this ? But
I strictly questioned him as to that for which thine Excel-
lency also has demanded an account at my hands, that I
might know and see whether it was of his own free will that
lie came hither, or whether the compulsion of thine Excel-
lency brought him by the hand of others ; and, when I
heard from him that he came of his own accord, I carefully
brought him to the honourable door of the judgment-hall of
thy Worship. 1
And the governor hastily commanded, and they brought
in Habib before him. The officers said : Lo ! he standeth
before thine Excellency.
1 [Lit. rectitude."]
96 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
And he began to question him thus, and said to him :
What is thy name? And whence art thou? And what
art thou ?
He said to him : My name is Habib, and I am from the
village of Telzeha, and I have been made a deacon.
The governor said : Wherefore hast thou transgressed the
command of the emperors, and dost minister in thine office
of deacon, which thou art forbidden by the emperors to
do, and refusest to sacrifice to Zeus, whom the emperors
worship ?
Habib said : We are Christians : we do not worship the
works of men, who are nothing, whose works also are
nothing ; but we worship God, who made the men.
The governor said : Persist not in that daring mind with
which thou art come into my presence, and insult not Zeus,
the great boast of the emperors.
Habib said : But this Zeus is an idol, the work of men.
It is very well for thee to say that I insult him. But, if the
carving of him out of wood and the fixing of him with nails
proclaim aloud concerning him that he is made, .how sayest
thou to me that I insult him ? since lo ! his insult is from
himself, and against himself.
The governor said : By this very thing, that thou refusest
to worship him, thou insultest him.
Habib said : But, if because I do not worship him I in-
sult him, how great an insult, then, did the carpenter inflict
on him, who carved him with an axe of iron ; and the smith,
who smote him and fixed him with nails !
And, when the governor heard him speak thus, he com-
manded him to be scourged without pity. And, when he
had been scourged by five [men], he said to him : Wilt
thou now obey the emperors? For, if thou wilt not obey
[them], I will tear thee severely with combs, and I will
torture thee with all [kinds of] tortures, and then at last I
will give command concerning thee that thou be burned
with fire.
Habib said : These threats with which lo ! thou art seek-
ing to terrify me, are much meaner and paltrier than those
MARTYRDOM OF HA BIB THE DEACON. 97
which I had already settled it in my mind to endure : there-
fore l came I and made my appearance before thee.
The governor said : Put him into the iron cask 2 for mur-
derers, and let him be scourged as he deserves. And, when
he had been scourged, they said to him : Sacrifice to the gods.
But he cried aloud, and said : Accursed are your idols, and
so are they who join with you in worshipping them like you.
And the governor commanded, and they took him up to
the prison ; but they refused him permission to speak with
his family, or with the inhabitants of his village, according
to the command of the judge. On that day was the festival
of the emperors.
And on the second of Ilul the governor commanded, and
they brought him from the prison. And he said to him :
Wilt thou renounce the profession thou hast made 3 and
obey the command which the emperors issue ? For, if thou
wilt not obey, with the bitter tearings of combs will I make
thee obey them.
Habib said : I have not obeyed them, and moreover it is
settled in my mind that I will not obey them no, not even
if thou lay upon me punishments still worse than those which
the emperors have commanded.
The governor said : By the gods I swear, that, if thou do
not sacrifice, I will leave no harsh and bitter [sufferings un-
tried] with which I will not torture thee : and we shall see
whether Christ, whom thou worshippest, will deliver thee.
Habib said : All those who worship Christ are delivered
through Christ, because they worship not creatures along
with the Creator of creatures.
The governor said : Let him be stretched out and be
scourged with whips, until. there remain not a place in his
body on which he has not been scourged.
Habib said : [As for] these inflictins, which thou sup-
posest to be [so] bitter with their lacerations, 4 out of them
are plaited crowns of victory for those who endure them.
1 [Lit. " then."] ' 2 [See note on p. 70.]
3 [Lit. " Wilt thou renounce that in which thou standest?"]
4 [Lit. " scourgiugd."]
98 SYR1AC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
The governor said : How call ye afflictions ease, and
account the torments of your bodies a crown of victory ?
Habib said : It is not for thee to ask me concerning these
things, because thine unbelief is not worthy to hear the
reasons of them. That I will not sacrifice I have said
[already], and I say [so still].
The governor said : Thou art subjected to these punish-
ments because thou deservest them : I will put out thine
eyes, which look upon this Zeus and are not afraid of him ;
and I will stop thine ears, which hear the laws of the em-
perors and tremble not.
Habib said : To the God whom thou deniest here belongs
that other world ; and there wilt thou [be made to] confess
Him with scourgings, though thou hast again denied Him.
The governor said : Leave alone that world of which thou
hast spoken, and consider anxiously now, that from this
punishment to which lo ! thou art being subjected there is
no one that can deliver thee ; unless indeed the gods deliver
thee, on thy sacrificing to them.
Habib said : Those who die for the sake of the name of
Christ, and worship not those objects that are made and
created, will "find" their life in the presence of God; but
those who love the life of time more than that their torment
will be for ever.
And the governor commanded, and they hanged him up
and tore him with combs ; and, while they were tearing him
with the combs, they knocked him about. And he was hang-
ing a long while, until the shoulderblades of his arms creaked.
The governor said to him : Wilt thou comply even now,
and put on incense before Zeus there? 1
Habib said : Previously to these sufferings I did not comply
with thy demands : [and] now that lo ! I have undergone
them, how thinkest thou that I shall comply, and thereby
lose that which I have gained by them ?
The governor said : By punishments fiercer and bitterer
than these I am prepared to make thee obey, according to
the command of the emperors, until thou do their will.
1 [Pointing to the image.]
MARTYRDOM OF HABIB THE DEACON. 99
Habib said : Thou art punishing me for not obeying the
command of the emperors, when lo ! thou thyself also, whom
the emperors have raised to greatness and made a judge,
hast transgressed their command, in that thou hast not done
to me that which the emperors have commanded thee.
The governor said : Because I have had patience with
thee, [therefore] hast thou spoken thus, like a man that
brings an accusation.
Habib said : Hadst thou not scourged me, and bound me,
and torn me with combs, and put my feet in fetters, 1 there
u-ould have been room to think that thou hadst had patience
with me. But, if these things take place in the meanwhile,
where is the patience towards me of which thou hast spoken ?
The governor said : These things which thou hast said
will not help thee, because they all go against thee, and they
will bring upon thee inflictions bitterer even than those
which the emperors have commanded.
Habib said : Had I not been sensible that they would
help me, I should not have spoken a single word about them
before thee.
The governor said : / will silence thy speeches, and at the
same time as regards thee pacify the gods, whom thou hast
not worshipped ; and I will satisfy the emperors in respect
to thee, as regards thy rebellion against their commands.
Habib said : I am not afraid of the death with which thou
seekest to terrify me ; for, had I been afraid of it, I should
not have gone about from house to house and ministered : on
which account [it was that] I did so minister. 2
The governor said : How is it that thou worshippest and
honourest a man, but refusest to worship and honour Zeus
there ?
Habib said : I worship not a man, because the Scripture
teaches me, 3 " Cursed is every one that putteth his trust in
1 [Or "the stocks." The word is of the most indefinite kind, answer-
ing to |vXoi/ and lignum.']
8 [For this sense, which appears to be the one intended, it is neces-
sary to change ^&iO into
3 [Lit. " it is written for me."]
100 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
man ;" but God, who took upon Him a body and became a
man, [Him] do I worship, and glorify.
The governor said : Do thou that which the emperors
have commanded ; and, as for that which is in thy own mind,
if thou art willing to give it up, [well] ; but, if thou art not
willing, [then] do not abandon it.
Habib said : To do both these things [together] is impos-
sible ; because falsehood is contrary to truth, and it is impos-
sible that that should be banished from my thoughts which
is firmly fixed in my mind.
The governor said : By inflictions bitter and severe will I
make thee dismiss from thy thoughts that of which thou hast
said, It is firmly fixed in my mind.
Habib said : [As for] these inflictions by which thou
thinkest that it will be rooted out of my thoughts, by means
of these it is that it grows within my thoughts, like a tree
which bears fruit.
The governor said : What help will stripes and combs give
to that tree of thine? and more especially at the time when
I shall command fire against it, to burn it up without pity.
Habib said : It is not on those things at which thou lookest
that I look, because I contemplate the things which are out
of sight ; and therefore I do the will of God, the Maker [of
all things], and not that of an idol made [with hands], which
is not sensible of anything whatever.
The governor said: Because he thus denies the gods
whom the emperors worship, let him be torn with combs in
addition to his former tearings : for, amidst the many ques-
tions which I have had the patience to ask him, he has for-
gotten his former tearings.
And, while they were tearing him, he cried aloud and
said : " The sufferings of this time are not equal to that
glory which shall be revealed in " l those who love Christ.
And, when the governor saw that even under these in-
flictions he refused to sacrifice, he said to him : Does your
doctrine so teach you, that you should hate your own bodies t
Habib said : Nay, we do not hate our bodies : the Scrip-
1 [Rom. viii. 18.]
MARTYRDOM OF HABIB THE DEACON. 101
ture distinctly teaches us, " Whosoever shall lose his life shall
find it." l But another thing too it teaches us : that we
should tl not cast that which is holy to dogs, nor cast pearls
before swine." 2
The governor said : I know that in speaking thus thy sole
object is that my rage and the wrath of my mind may be
excited, and that I may pronounce sentence of death against
thee speedily. I am not going, then, to be hurried on to
that which thou desirest ; but I will have patience : not, in-
deed, for thy relief, but so that the tortures inflicted on thee
may be increased, and that thou mayest see thy flesh falling
off before thy face by means of the combs that are passing
over thy sides.
Habib said : I myself also am looking for this, that thou
shouldst multiply thy tortures upon me, even as thou hast
said.
The governor said : Submit to the emperors, who have
power to do whatsoever they choose.
Habib said : It is not of men to do whatsoever they choose,
but of God, whose power is in the heavens, and over all the
dwellers upon earth ; " nor is there any that may rebuke His
hands 3 and say to Him, < What doest Thou ? ' "
The governor said : For this insolence of thine, death by
the sword is too small [a punishment]. I, however, am pre-
pared to command [the infliction] upon thee of a death more
bitter than that of the sword.
Habib said : And I, too, am looking for a death which is
more lingering than that of the sword, which thou mayest
pronounce upon me at any time thou choosest.
And thereupon the governor proceeded to pass sentence of
death upon him. And he called out aloud before his attend-
ants, and said, whilst they were listening to him, as were
also the nobles of the city : This Habib, who has denied the
gods, as ye have also heard from him, and furthermore has
reviled the emperors, deserves that his life should be blotted
out from beneath this glorious Sun, and that he should not
1 [Matt, x. 39.] 2 [Matt. vii. 6.]
8 [Chaldee, "restrain [lit. smite] His hand." See Dan. iv. 35.]
102 SYE1AC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
[any longer] behold this luminary, associate of gods ; and,
had it not been commanded by former emperors that the
corpses of murderers should be buried, it would not be right
that the corpse of this [fellow] either should be buried, be-
cause he has been so insolent. I command, that a strap be
put into his mouth, as into the mouth of a murderer, and
that he be burned by a slow lingering fire, so that the tor-
ment of his death may be increased.
And he went out from the presence of the governor, with
the strap thrust into his mouth; and a multitude of the
people of the city ran after him. And the Christians were
rejoicing, forasmuch as he had not turned aside nor quitted
his post; 1 but the pagans were threatening him, for refusing
to sacrifice. And they led him forth by the western archway,
over against the cemetery, 2 which was built by 3 Abshelama, 4
the son of Abgar. And his mother was clad in white, and
she went out with him.
And, when he was arrived at the place where they were
going to burn him, he stood up and prayed, as did all those
who came out with him ; and he said : " O King Christ,
since Thine is this world, and Thine the world to come, behold
and see, that, while I might have fled from these afflictions,
I did not flee, in order that I might not fall into the hands
of Thy justice : may this fire, in which I am to be burned,
serve me for a recompense before Thee, so that I may be
delivered from that fire which is not quenched ; and receive
Thou my spirit into Thy presence, through Thy Divine Spirit,
O glorious Son of the adorable Father!" And, when he
had prayed, he turned and blessed them ; and they gave him
the salutation, weeping [as they did so], both men and
women ; and they said to him : Pray for us in the presence
of thy Lord, that He would cause peace among His people,
and restoration to His churches which are overthrown.
And, while Habib was standing, they dug a place, and
1 [Or " departed from his covenant."] 2 [The Gk. XO/
3 [Cureton's "for" seems not so good, the reference not being to a
single tomb.]
4 Probably that in which Sharbil and Babai were buried : see p. 79 above.
MARTYRDOM OF HABIB THE DEACON. 103
brought him and set him within it ; and they fixed up by
him a stake. And they came to bind him to the stake ; but
he said to them : I will not stir from this place in which ye
are going to burn me. And they brought fagots, and set
them in order, and placed them on all sides of him. And,
when the fire blazed up and the flame of it rose fiercely,
they called out to him. : Open thy mouth. And the moment
he opened his mouth his soul mounted up. And they cried
aloud, both men and women, with the voice of weeping.
And they pulled and drew him out of the fire, throwing
over him fine linen cloths and choice ointments and spices.
And they snatched away some of the pieces of wood [which
had been put] for his burning, and the brethren and some
persons of the laity 1 bore him away. And they prepared
him for interment, and buried him by Guria and Shamuna
the martyrs, in the same grave in which they were laid, on
the hill which is called Baith Allah Cucla, 2 repeating over
him psalms and hymns, and conveying his burnt body affec-
tionately and honourably [to the grave]. And even some of
the Jews and pagans took part with the Christian brethren
in winding up and burying his body. At the time, too,
when he was burned, and also at the time when he was
buried, there was one spectacle of grief overspreading those
within and those without; tears, too, were running down
from all eyes : while every one gave glory to God, because
for His name's sake he had given his body to the burning of
fire.
The day on which he was burned was the eve [of the
Sabbath], 3 the second of the month Ilul the day on which
the news came that Constantine the Great had set out from
the interior of Spain, to proceed to Rome, the city of Italy,
that he might carry on war with Licinius, that [emperor]
who at this day rules over the eastern portion of the terri-
1 [Lit. " secular persons," or " men of the world."]
2 In Simeon Metaphrastes, whose copy would seem to have had a
slightly different reading, it is written JBethelabicla, and is said to lie on
the north side of the city.
8 [i.e. the sixth day of the week. See note on p. 38.]
104 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
tories of the Romans ; and lo ! the countries on all sides are
in commotion, because no man knows which of them will
conquer and continue in [the possession of] his imperial
power. And through this report the persecution slackened
for a little while from the church.
And the notaries wrote down everything which they had
heard from the judge ; and the Sharirs of the city wrote
down all the other things which were spoken outside the door
of the judgment-hall, and, according to the custom that
existed, they reported to the judge all that they had seen and
all that they had heard, and the decisions of the judge were
written down in their Acts.
I, Theophilus, who have renounced the evil inheritance of
my fathers, and confessed Christ, carefully wrote out a copy
of these Acts of Habib, even as I had formerly written out
[those] of Guria and Shamuna, 1 his fellow-martyrs. And,
whereas he had felicitated them upon their death by the
sword, he himself also was made like them by the fire in
which he was burnt, and received his crown. And, whereas
I have written down the year, and the month, and the day,
of the coronation of these martyrs, it is not for the sake of
those who, like me, were spectators of the deed, but with the
view that those who come after us may learn at what time
these martyrs suffered, and what manner of men they were ;
[even as they may learn] also from the Acts of the former
martyrs, who [lived] in the days of Domitianus and of all
the other emperors who likewise also raised a persecution
against the church, and put a great many to death, by stripes
and by [tearing with] combs, and by bitter inflictions, and
by sharp swords, and by burning fire, and by the terrible
sea, and by the merciless mines. And all these things, and
things like them, [they suffered] for the hope of the recom-
pense to come.
Moreover, the afflictions of these martyrs, and of those of
1 As Simeon Metaphrastes, infra, evidently made use of these Acts of
Habib in his account of that martyr, it is probable that his narrative
of the martyrdom of Guria and Sbamuna also was founded on the copy
of their " Acts " to which Theophilus here refers.
HOMILY ON HAB1B THE MARTYR. 105
whom I had heard, opened the eyes of me, Theophilus, and
enlightened my mind, and I confessed Christ, that He is
the Son of God, and is God. And may the dust of the feet
of these martyrs, which I received as I was running after
them at the time when they were departing to be crowned,
procure me pardon for having denied Him, and may He
confess me before His worshippers, seeing that I have con-
fessed Him now !
And at the twenty-seventh question which the judge put
to Habib, he gave sentence against him of death by the
burning of fire.
[Here] endeth the martyrdom of Habib the deacon.
HOMILY ON HABIB THE MARTYR, COMPOSED
BY MAR JACOB. 1
Habib the martyr, clad in flame, hath called to me out of the fire,
That for him likewise I should fashion an image of beauty among
the glorious.
Comrade of conquerors, lo ! he beckoneth to me out of the burning,
That, as for the glory of his Lord, I should sing concerning him.
In the midst of live coals stands the [heroic] man, and lo ! he
calleth to me,
That I should fashion his image : but the blazing fire permits
me not.
His love is fervid, glowing is his faith ;
His fire also burneth, and who is adequate to recount his love ?
Nay, by reason of that love which led the martyr into the fire,
No man is able to recount his beauties divine.
1 The MS. from which this is taken is Cod. Add. 17,158, fol. 30 vers.
Mar Jacob, bishop of Sarug, or Batnse, was one of the most learned and
celebrated among all the Syriac writers. He was born A.D. 452, made
bishop of Sarug A.D. 519, and died A.D. 521. He was the author of
several liturgical works, epistles, and sermons, and, amongst these, of
numerous metrical homilies, of which two are given here. Assemani
enumerates no less than 231. Ephraem Syrus also wrote a similar
homily on Habib, Shamuna, and Guria. [The metre of the original in
this and the following homily consists of twelve syllables, or six dis-
syllabic feet ; but whether they were read as iambs or trochees, or as
106 SYRIA C DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
For who shall dare enter and see in the blazing fire
To whom he is like, and after what pattern he is to be fashioned
among the glorious ?
Shall I fashion his image by the side of the youths, the children of
the furnace ?
With Hananiah shall I reckon Habib ? I know not.
Lo ! these were not burned there : how, then, is he like ?
He, [I say], like them, when he was burned, and the youths not?
Which, I ask, [the more] beautiful Habib the martyr, or Azariah ?
Difficult for me is the image : how I am to look upon it, I know
not.
Lo ! Michael was not burned by the flame ;
But Habib was burned : which, then, [the more] beautiful to
him that looketh upon him ?
Who shall dare say that this is repulsive, or that ;
Or not so comely this as that, to him that beholdeth him ?
Three [there are] in the fire, and the flame cometh not near them ;
But one was burned : and how shall I suffice to tell
That the Fourth [form] is that of Him who went down into the
midst of the furnace,
That He might fashion an image for Habib there along with
[those of] the three ?
He giveth a place in the fire to him who was burned,
That he may be, instead of Him the Fourth, by the side of the
conquerors.
And, if of the three the beauties be glorious, though they were not
burned,
How shall not this one, who was burned, be mingled with the
glorious ?
If a man have the power either to be burned or not to be burned,
Of this man, who was burned, more exalted was the beauty than
that of the three.
But, inasmuch as of the Lord is the control [of all things],
He is to be praised, [both] where He rescues and where He de-
livers up.
both, appears to depend on the nature of the Syriac accentuation, which
is still an unsettled question. Hoffmann, in his slight notice of the
subject (Gram. Syr. 13), merely says : " Scimus, poesin Syriacam non
quantitatis sed accentus tantum rationem habere, versusque suos sylla-
larum numero metiri. Qua tamen poeseos Syriacse conditione varielas
morarum in pronuntiandis vocalibus observandarum non tollitur."]
HOMILY ON HABIB THE MARTYR. 107
Moreover, too, the will of the three who were not burned,
And of him who was burned, is one and the same, in this case
and in that ; 1
And, had its Lord commanded the fire to burn them,
[Even] those three on their part, burned they would have been ;
And, if he had signified to it that it should not burn that one man
also,
He would not have been burned ; nor had it been of himself
that he was rescued.
To go into the fire was of their own will, when they went in ;
But that they were not burned [because] the Lord of the fire
willed and commanded it.
Therefore one equal beauty is that of him who was burned,
And that of him who was not burned, because the will also was
equal.
Beloved martyr ! exalted is thy beauty ; exalted is thy rank :
Graceful too thy crown, and mingled thy story with [that of] the
glorious.
Choice gold art thou, and the fire hath tried thee, and resplendent
is thy beauty.
And lo ! into the King's crown art thou wrought, along with the
victorious.
Good workman ! who, in the doctrine of the Son of God,
Pursueth his course like a valiant 2 man, because of the beauty
of his faith.
Habib the martyr was a teacher of that which is true ;
A preacher also, whose mouth was full of i'aith.
Watchful was he, and prompt [for service] ; and he encouraged
with his teaching
The household of the house of God, through his faith.
Of light was he full, and he wrestled with the darkness
Which overspread the country from the paganism which had
darkened it.
With the gospel of the Son was his mouth filled in the congregations;
And as it were a leader of the way did he become to the villages
when he arrived in them.
1 [Lit. "here and there."]
2 [Cureton has "prosperous," which Dr. Payne Smith condemns, re-
marking: " l-Or- I find generally used for the Gk. dipurro;, and once
or twice for xpctTiaro;. It answers more frequently to strenuus =
courageous, heroic."]
108 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Zealous he was, because he was concerned for the doctrine
Divine, that he might establish the adherents 1 of the faith.
At the time when the winds of the pagans blew, a lamp was he,
And flamed forth whilst they blew upon him, and went not out.
All on fire was he, and filled with the love of his Lord, and was
concerned
For this that he might speak of him without hindrance. 2
The thorns of error sprang up in the land from paganism ;
And, as much as in him lay, he rooted them out by his diligence.
He taught, admonished, and confirmed in the faith,
The friends of Christ, 3 who were harassed by persecutors.
Against sword and against fire did he wrestle,
With love hot as the flame, and was not afraid.
Like a two-edged brand, 4 keen was
His faith, and against error did he contend.
Leaven did he prove to be in this land which had become
exhausted 5
Through fondness for the idols of vanity which error had
brought in.
He was like salt by reason of his savoury doctrine
To this region, which had become insipid through unbelief.
1 [Lit. " the party" or " side."]
2 [As in Gal. v. 7, answering to the Gk. lyxoVra. The verb JOJ
(Pa.) properly means to disquiet (as in John xiv. 1), then to hinder."]
3 [The ordinary word for "Christians" in these documents is the
borrowed XpioTfetvoi : here a native word is used, formed from the one
which we read as " Messiah."]
4 [A corruption of the word aot^^poe, is used here. It is said by
Josephus, Antiq. xx. 2. 3, to have been the name given by the Assyrians
to some kind of sword. Suidas mentions it as a barbarian word for
aKctSy, a broadsword. Cureton's "scimetar" would be preferable, as
being somewhat more distinctive, if it appeared that a scimetar could
have two edges.]
6 [The temptation was strong to render ;-4^ "became unleavened"
(or " tasteless "), a sense apparently required by the decided figure em-
ployed and by the language of the next couplet, where " insipid " cor-
responds to "salt." The word |;__^S (=^y^oi/), moreover, if not
the Arabic i-i (to which Schaaf, though it does not appear on what
authority, assigns the meaning " sine fermento massam subegit"), seems
to point in the same direction. Dr. Payne Smith, however, is not
aware of any instance of the proposed meaning : he says, " My examples
make r4^ = 'm^eivu, to fail."]
HOMILY ON HA LIB THE MARTYR. 109
A deacon was he, and filled the place of a high-priest
By the preaching and teaching of that which is true.
He was to the flock a good shepherd whilst he was [its] overseer ;
And his life laid he down for the flock while he tended it.
He chased away the wolf, and drove off from it the beast of prey.
And he repaired the breaches, and gathered the lambs into their
folds.
He went out secretly [and] encouraged the congregations :
He strengthened them, and exhorted them, and held them up.
And he forged armour of faith, and put it on them,
That they might not be ignominiously overthrown 1 by the
paganism which abounded.
The flocks of the fold of the Son of God were being laid waste
By persecutors : and he encouraged the lambs and the ewes.
And he was an advocate to the household of faith ;
And he taught them not to be daunted by persecutors.
He taught them to run to meet death,
Without being afraid either of sword or of fire.
In the teaching of the Son of God he prospered,
So that his faith pursued its course without dread.
Then error grew envious, became furious, and was maddened,
because of him ;
And she pursued after him, that she might shed upon the earth
innocent blood.
The Defamer, who hates the race of men,
Laid snares for him, that he might rid the place of his presence. 2
He who hateth the truth pursued after him to put him to death,
That he might make his voice to cease 3 from the teaching of the
house of God.
And error raised an outcry [demanding] that Habib should die,
because she hated him ;
Vexation goaded her on, and she sought to take away his life.
His story was talked about * before the pagan judge of the country,
And the dear fame of him reached the king : who in great rage,
And because the diadem was interwoven with paganism, decreed 5
death
Against Habib, because he was full of faith.
1 [Or " brought to contempt."] 2 [Lit. " society."]
3 [Or " that his voice might cease."] 4 [Lit. " mooted."]
6 Lit. " reached the king in great rage (i.e. so as to cause great rage,
-*Z2 being often = tig denoting result), and, because . . ., he decreed."
9r. PAYNE SMITH.
110 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING ED ESS A.
And, when the command reached the judge, he armed himself
With rage and fury ; and, with a mind thirsting for blood,
And like hunters who lay nets for the young stag,
After Habib did they go out to catch [him].
But this man was a preacher of the faith,
Who in the highway of the crucifixion Avas prospering ;
And, that he might benefit by his teaching the children of his
people,
His work embraced the countries round about him.
So, when error went out after him, she found him not :
Not that he was fled, but that he had gone out to preach the
gospel.
Then, because of the fury of the pagans, which was great beyond
all that was meet,
His kindred and his mother did they seize for his sake.
Blessed art thou, O woman ! mother since thou art of the martyr.
For wherefore was it that they seized thee [and] bound thee,
iniquitously ?
What do they require of thee, O thou full of beauty ? What, [I
ask], have they required of thee ?
Lo ! they require of thee that thou bring the martyr, that he may
be a sacrifice.
Bring, oh bring thy sweet fruit to the place of the oblation
[The fruit] whose smell is fragrant, that it may be incense to the
Godhead.
Fair shoot, thy cluster bring from where it is,
That its wine may be for a libation whose taste is sweet.
The lamb heard that they were seeking him, that he might be a
sacrifice ;
And he set out and came to the sacrificers rejoicing.
He heard that others also were being afflicted for his sake,
And he came that he might bear the suffering which was his, in
the stead of many.
The lot fell on him, to be himself alone a sacrifice ;
And the fire that was to offer him up was looking out [for him]
until he came.
Of the many who were bound for his sake
Not one single person was seized to die, but only he.
He it was that was worthy, and for him was martyrdom reserved ;
And to snatch the martyr's place no man was able.
And therefore of his own will did he present himself
To the judge, that he might be seized, and die for Jesus' sake.
HOMILY ON HA BIB THE MARTYR. Ill
He heard that they sought him, and he came that he might he
seized, even as they sought him :
And he went in of himself before the judge, and dauntless was
his look.
He hid not himself, nor did he wish to flee from the judge :
For with light was he imbued, and from the darkness he would
not flee.
No robber [was he], no murderer, no thief,
No child of night : but all his course was run in open day.
Wherefore from his flock should the good shepherd flee,
And leave his fold to be devoured by robbers ?
Wherefore should the physician flee, who goeth forth to heal
diseases,
And to cure souls by the blood of the Son of God ?
A fearless countenance 1 did the [brave] man carry with him, and
a great heart
And to meet death he ran, rejoicing, for Jesus' sake.
He went in, he stood before the judge, saying to him :
I am Habib, whom ye sought : lo ! [here] I stand.
And the pagan trembled, and amazement seized him, and he mar-
velled at him
At the man who was not afraid, either of sword or of fire.
While he thought that he was fleeing apace, he entered in and
mocked him ;
And the judge shook, for he saw him courageous in the [very]
face of death.
A disciple he of that Son of God who said :
" Rise, come, let us go : for he that betrayeth me lo ! is here."
And to the crucifiers, again, He said : " Whom seek ye ? "
They say : " Jesus." And He said to them : " I am He."
The Son of God of His own will came to the cross ;
And on Him the martyr looked, and presented himself [uncom-
pelled] before the judge.
And the pagan beheld him, and was smitten with fear, and was
exasperated [against him].
His rage was excited, and he began in his fury to put to him
questions. 2
1 [Lit. " openness of countenance."]
2 [Prop. " agitate questions."]
112 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
And, as if he had been one who had shed on the ground the blood
of the slain,
He proceeded to question the saintly man, but he was not
ashamed :
Menacing him, and trying to terrify him, and to frighten him,
And recounting the sufferings which were being prepared by
him on his account.
But Habib, when questioned, was not afraid,
Was not ashamed, and was not frightened by the menaces [he
heard].
Lifting up his voice, he confessed Jesus, the Son of God
That he was His servant, and was His priest, and His minister. 1
At the fury of the pagans, roaring at him like lions,
He trembled not, nor ceased 2 from the confession of the Son of God.
He was scourged, and the scourgings were very dear to him,
Seeing that he bore a little of the stripes of the Son of God.
He was put into bonds, 8 and he looked on his Lord, whom also they
had bound ;
And his heart rejoiced that in the path of His sufferings he had
begun to walk.
He ascended the block, 4 and they tore him with combs, but his soul
was radiant with light,
Because he was [deemed] worthy that on him should come the
agony of the sufferings of crucifixion.
In the pathway of death had he set his face to walk,
And what could he desire to find in it but sufferings ?
The fire of sacrifice 5 was betrothed to him, and for her did he look;
And she [on her part] sent him combs, and stripes, and pains,
to taste.
All the while that she was coming, she sent him sufferings, that by
means of them
He might be prepared, so that when she met him she might
not dismay him.
Sufferings purged him, so that, when the blazing fire should put
him to the proof,
There might not be any dross [found] in his choice gold.
And he endured the whole of the pains that came upon him,
That he might have experience [of suffering], and in the burn-
ing stand like a brave man.
i [Or " deacon."] 2 [Or " so as to cease."]
3 [Lit. " he entered into bondage."] * [The equuleus is meant.]
6 [Or " of the sacrifices."]
HOMILY ON HABIB THE MARTYR. 113
And he accepted rejoicing the sufferings which he had to bear :
For he knew that at their termination he should find death.
And he was not afraid, either of death or of sufferings :
For with that wine of the crucifixion his heart was drunk.
He despised his body, while it was being dragged along by the
persecutors ;
And his limbs, while they were being torn asunder in bitter
agony. 1
Scourges on his back, combs on his sides, stocks on his feet,
And fire in front of him : still was he brave and full of faith.
They taunted him : Lo ! thou worshippest a man ;
But he said : A man I worship not,
But God, who took a body and became man :
Him do I worship, because He is God with Him that begat Him.
The faith of Habib, the martyr, was full of light ;
And by it was enlightened Edessa, the faithful [city].
The daughter of Abgar, whom Addseus betrothed to the crucifixion
Through it is her light, through it her truth and her faith.
Her king is from it, her martyrs from it, her truth from it ;
The teachers also of [her] faith are from it.
Abgar believed that Thou art God, the Son of God ;
And he received a blessing because of the beauty of his faith.
Sharbil the martyr, son of the Edessaeans, moreover said :
My heart is led captive by God, who became man.
And Habib the martyr, who also was crowned at Edessa,
Confessed these things : that he took a body and became man ;
That He is the Son of God, and also is God, and became man.
Edessa learned from teachers the things that are true :
Her king taught her, her martyrs taught her, the faith ;
But to others, who were fraudulent teachers, she would not
hearken.
Habib the martyr, in the ear of Edessa, thus cried aloud
Out of the midst of the fire : A man I worship not,
But God, who took a body and became man
Him do I worship. [Thus] confessed the martyr with uplifted
voice.
From confessors torn with combs, burnt, raised up [on the block],
slain,
And [from] a righteous king, did Edessa learn the faith,
And she knows our Lord that He is even God, the Son of God ;
She also learned and firmly believed that He took a body and
became man.
1 [Lit. " bitterly."]
H
114 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Not from common scribes did she learn the faith :
Her king taught her, her martyrs taught her ; and she firmly
believed them :
And, if she be calumniated as having ever worshipped a man,
She points to her martyrs, who died for Him as being God.
A man I worship not, said Habib,
Because it is written : " Cursed is he that putteth his trust in a
man." 1
Forasmuch as He is God, I worship Him, yea submit to be burned
For His sake, nor will I renounce His faith.
This truth has Edessa held fast from her youth,
And in her old age she will not barter it away as a daughter
of the poor.
Her righteous king became to her a scribe, and from him she
learned
Concerning our Lord that He is the Son of God, yea God.
Addseus, who brought the bridegroom's ring and put it on her hand,
Betrothed her thus to the Son of God, who is the Only[-begotten].
Sharbil the priest, who made trial and proof of all gods,
Died, even as he said, " for God who became man."
Shamuna and Guria, for the sake of the Only [-begotten],
Stretched out their necks [to receive the stroke], and for Him
died, forasmuch as He is God.
And Habib the martyr, who was teacher of congregations,
Preached of Him, that He took a body and became man.
For a man the martyr would not have [submitted to be] burned
in the fire ;
But he was burned " for the sake of God who became man."
And Edessa is witness that thus he confessed while he was being
burned :
And from the confession of a martyr that has been burned who
is he that can escape?
All minds does faith reduce to silence and despise
[She] that is full of light and stoopeth not to shadows.
She despiseth him that maligns the Son by denying that He is God ;
Him too that saith " He took not a body and became man."
In faith which was full of truth he stood upon the fire ;
And he became incense, and propitiated with his fragrance the
Son of God.
In all [his] afilictions, and in all [his] tortures, and in all [his]
sufferings,
Thus did he confess, and thus did he teach the blessed [city].
1 [Jer. xvii. 5.]
HOMILY ON HABIB THE MARTYR. 115
And this truth did Edessa hold fast touching our Lord
Even that He is God, and of Mary became a man.
And the bride hates him that denies His Godhead,
And despises and contemns him that maligns His corporeal nature.
And she recognises Him [as] One in Godhead and in manhood
The Only [-begotten], whose body is inseparable from Him.
And thus did the daughter of the Parthians learn to believe,
And thus did she firmly hold, and thus does she teach him that
listens to her.
The judge, therefore, full of [zeal for] paganism, commanded
That the martyr should be led forth and burned in the fire which
was reserved for him.
And forthwith a strap was thrust into his mouth, as [though he
had been] a murderer,
His confession being kept within his heart towards God.
And they hurried him away, and he went out from the judgment -
hall, rejoicing
That the hour was come when the crown should be given to his
faith.
And there went out with him crowds of people, that they might
bear him company,
Looking upon him, not as a dead man accompanied [to his burial],
But as a man who was going away that by means of fire he might
become a bridegroom,
And that there might be bestowed the crown which was by
righteousness reserved for him.
They looked upon him as upon a man entering into battle,
And around him were spears, and lances, and swords, but he
vanquished them.
They beheld him going up like a champion from the contest,
And in his triumph chaplets were brought to him by those who
beheld.
They looked upon him as he vanquished principalities and powers,
Which all made war with him, and he put them to shame.
The whole congregation of the followers of Christ exulted over him,
Because he raised up the friends l of the faith by the sufferings
which he bore.
There went forth with him the church, a bride full of light ;
And her face was beaming on the beloved martyr who was
united to her.
Then did his mother, because it was the marriage-feast for her son,
Deck herself in garments nobler than her wont.
1 [Lit, " side," or " party."]
116 SYPJAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Since sordid raiment suited not the banquet-hall,
In magnificent [attire] all white she clad herself right tastefully.
Hither to the battle came down love to fight
In the mother's soul [the love] of nature, and [the love] of
God.
She looked upon her son as he went forth to be put into the flame ;
And, forasmuch as there was in her the love of the Lord, she
suffered not.
The yearnings of her mother's womb cried out on behalf of its fruit ;
But faith silenced them, so that their tumult ceased.
Nature shrieked over the limb which was severed from her ;
But the love of the Lord intoxicated the soul, that she should
not perceive it.
Nature loved, but the love of the Lord did conquer in the strife
Within the soul of the mother, that she should not grieve for
her beloved.
And, instead of suffering, her heart was filled with all emotions of joy ;
And, instead of mourning, she went forth in splendid apparel.
And she accompanied him as he went out to be burned, and
was elate,
Because the love of the Lord vanquished that of nature.
And [clad] in white, as for a bridegroom, she made a marriage-
feast
[She] the mother of the martyr, and was blithe because of him.
" Shamuna the Second " may we call this blessed [one] :
Since, had seven been burned instead of one, she had been well
content.
One she had, and she gave him to be food for the fire ;
And, even as that one, if she had had seven, she had given
[them all].
He was cast into the fire, and the blaze kindled around him ;
And his mother looked on, and grieved not at his burning.
Another eye, which gazeth upon the things unseen,
Was in her soul, and by reason of this she exulted when he
was being burned.
On the gems of light which are in martyrs' crowns she looked,
And on the glory which is laid up for them after their sufferings ;
And [on] the promised blessings which they inherit yonder
through their afflictions,
And [on] the Son of God who clothes their limbs with light ;
And [on] the manifold beauties of that kingdom which shall not
be dissolved,
And [on] the ample door which is opened for them to enter in
to God.
HOMILY ON GURIA AND SHAM UN A. 117
On these did the martyr's mother look when he was being burned,
And she rejoiced, she exulted, and in white did she go forth
with him.
She looked upon him while the fire consumed his frame,
And, forasmuch as his crown was very noble, she grieved not.
The sweet root was thrown into the fire, upon the coals ;
And it turned to incense, and cleansed the air from pollution.
With the fumes of sacrifice had the air been polluted,
And by the burning of this martyr was it cleansed.
The firmament was fetid with the exhalations from 1 the altars ;
And there rose up the sweet perfume of the martyr, and it grew
sweet thereby.
And the sacrifices ceased, and there was peace in the assemblies ;
And the sword was blunted, that it should no more lay waste
the friends of Christ.
With Sharbil it began, with Habib it ended, in our land ;
And from that time 2 even until now not one has it slain, since
he was burned.
Constantine, chief of conquerors, took the empire,
And the cross has trampled on the diadem of the emperor, and
is set upon his head.
Broken is the lofty horn of idolatry,
And from the burning of the martyr even until now not one has
it pierced.
His smoke arose, and it became incense to the Godhead ;
And by it was the air purged which was tainted by paganism,
And by his burning was the whole land cleansed :
Blessed be he that gave him a crown, and glory, and a good name !
[Here] encleth the Homily on Habib the martyr, composed
by Mar Jacob.
A HOMILY ON GUPJA AND SHAMUNA, COMPOSED
BY MAE JACOB.
Shamuna and Guria, martyrs who made themselves illustrious in
their afflictions,
Have in love required of me to tell of their illustrious deeds.
To champions of the faith the doctrine calleth me,
That I should go and behold their contests and their crowns.
1 [Lit. " the sacrifices of."] 2 [Lit. " from him."]
118 S YRIA C DOC UMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA .
Children of the right hand, who have done battle against the left,
Have called me this day to recite the marvellous tale of their
conflicts :
Simple old men, who entered into the fight like heroes,
And nobly distinguished themselves in the strife of blood :
Those who were the salt of our land, and it was sweetened thereby,
And its savour was restored, which had become insipid through
unbelief:
Candlesticks of gold, which were full of the oil of the crucifixion,
By which was lighted up all our region, which had turned to
darkness :
Two lamps, of which, when all the winds were blowing
Of every [kind of] error, the lights were not put out :
Good labourers, who from the spring of day laboured
In the blessed vineyard of the house of God right duteously :
Bulwarks of our land, who became to us as it were a defence
Against all spoilers in all the wars that surrounded us :
Havens of peace, a place also of retreat for all that were distressed,
And a resting-place for the head of every one that was in need
of succour :
Two precious pearls, which were
An ornament for the bride of my lord Abgar, the Aramaean's
son.
Teachers they were who practised their teaching in blood,
And whose faith was known by their sufferings.
On their bodies they wrote the story of the Son of God
With [the marks of] combs and scourges which thickly covered
them.
They showed their love, not by words of the mouth alone,
But by tortures and by the rending of their limbs asunder.
For the love of the Son of God they gave up their bodies :
Since it beseemeth the lover that for his love he should give up
himself.
Fire and sword proved their love, how true [it was] ;
And more beautiful than silver tried in [a furnace of] earth
were their necks.
They looked on God, and, because they saw His exalted beauties,
Therefore did they look with contempt upon their sufferings for
His sake.
The Sun of righteousness had arisen in their hearts ;
And they were enlightened by it, and with [His] light chased
they away the darkness.
HOMILY ON GUEIA AND SHAM UNA. 119
At the idols of vanity, which error had brought in, they laughed,
Instinct with the faith of the Son of God which is full of light.
The love of the Lord was as a fire in their hearts ;
Nor could all the brambles of idolatry stand before it.
Fixed was their love on God unchangeably : 1
And therefore did they look with scorn upon the sword, 2 all
athirst as it was for blood.
With guilelessness and [yet with] wisdom stood they in the judg-
ment-hall,
As they had been commanded by the Teacher of that which is
true.
Despising as they did kindred and family, guileless were they ;
Forasmuch, also, as possessions and wealth were held in no
account by them.
[Nor guileless only] : for in the judgment-hall with the wisdom of
serpents [too]
They were heedful of the faith of the house of God.
When a serpent is seized and struck, he guards his head,
But gives up and leaves exposed all his body to his captors :
And, so long as his head is kept [from harm], his life abideth in
him;
But, if the head be struck, his life is left [a prey] to destruction.
The head of the soul is men's faith ;
And, if this be preserved [unharmed], by it is also preserved
their life : 3
Even though the whole body be lacerated with blows,
[Yet], so long as faith is preserved, the soul is alive ;
But, if faith is struck [down] by unbelief,
Lost is the soul, and life has perished from the man.
Shamuna and Guria of the faith as men 4
Were heedful, that it should not be struck [down] by perse-
cutors:
For they knew that, if faith is preserved,
Both soul and body are preserved from destruction.
And, because of this, touching their faith were they solicitous,
That that should not be struck [down] in which their very life
was hidden.
1 [Or " who changes not."] 2 [2a^0.]
3 [Or " salvation : " a different word from that used in speaking of
the serpent.]
4 [Lit. " as a man."]
120 SYBIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA,
They gave up their bodies both to blows and to dislocation, 1
Yea to every [kind of] torture, that their faith should not be
stricken [down] ;
And, even as the serpent also hides his head from blows,
So hid they their faith within their hearts ;
And the body was smitten, and endured stripes, and bore sufferings :
But overthrown was not their faith which was within their hearts.
The mouth betrayeth the soul to death when it speaks,
And with the tongue, as with a sword, worketh slaughter.
And from it spring up both life and death to men :
Denying [a man] dies, confessing he lives, and [the mouth] hath
power over it.
Denial is death, and in confession is the soul's life ;
And power hath the mouth over them both, like a judge.
The word of the mouth openeth the door for death to enter in ;
This, too, calleth for life, and it beameth forth upon the man.
Even the robber by one word of faith
Won him the kingdom, and became heir of paradise, 2 all fraught
with blessings.
The wicked judges too, from the martyrs, the sons of the right
hand,
Demanded that by word of mouth only they should blaspheme ;
But, like true men holding fast the faith,
They uttered not a word by which unbelief might be served.
Shamuna, beauty of our faith, who is adequate to [tell of] thee ?
All too narrow is my mouth for thy praise, too mean for thee
to be spoken of by it.
Thy truth is thy beauty, thy crown thy suffering, thy wealth thy
stripes,
And by reason of thy blows magnificent is the beauty of thy
championship.
Proud of thee is our country, as of a treasury which is full of gold:
Since wealth art thou to us, and a coveted store which cannot
be stolen [from us].
Guria, martyr, staunch hero of our faith,
Who shall suffice thee, to recount thy beauties divine ?
Lo ! tortures on thy body are set like gems of beryl,
And the sword on thy neck like a chain of choice gold.
Thy blood upon thy form is a robe of glory full of beauty,
And the scourging of thy back a vesture with which the sun
may not compare.
1 [Or " rending asunder."] 2 [Lit. " the garden.]
HOMILY ON GURIA AND SHAM UN A. 121
Radiant thou art and comely by virtue of these thy sufferings, so
abounding ;
And resplendent are thy beauties, because of the pains which
are [so] severe upon thee.
Shamuna, our riches, richer art thou than the rich :
For lo ! the rich stand at thy door, that thou mayest relieve them.
Small thy village, poor thy country : who, then, gave thee
That lords of villages and cities should court thy favour ?
Lo ! judges in their robes and vestments
Take dust from thy threshold, as [though it were] the medicine
of life.
The cross is rich, and to its worshippers increaseth riches ;
And its poverty despiseth all the riches of the world.
Shamuna and Guria, sons of the poor, lo ! at your doors
Bow down the rich, that they may receive from you [supplies
for] their wants.
The Son of God in poverty and want
Showed to the world that all its riches are as nothing.
[His disciples], all fishermen, all poor, all weak,
All men of little note, became illustrious through His faith.
One fisherman, whose village too was a home of fishermen, 1
He made chief over the twelve, yea head of the house. 2
One a tentmaker, who aforetime was a persecutor,
He seized upon, and made him a chosen vessel for the faith.
Shamuna and Guria came from villages that were not wealthy,
And lo ! iu a great city became they lords ;
And its chief men, its judges also, stand before their doors,
And they solicit their charity to satisfy their wants.
From their confession of the faith of the Son of God
These blessed men acquired riches beyond compute.
Poor did He Himself become, and the poor made He rich ;
And lo ! enriched is the whole creation through His poverty.
The chosen martyrs did battle against error,
And in the confession of the Son of God stood they firm like
valiant men.
They went in and confessed Him before the judge with look un-
daunted, 3
That He too might confess them, even as they confessed Him,
before His Father.
1 [i.e. " Bethsaida."] 2 [Or " steward."]
8 [Lit. " with openness of countenance."]
122 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
There arose against them the war of pagans like a tempest ;
But the cross was their helmsman, and steered them on.
They were required to sacrifice to lifeless images,
But they departed not from their confession of the Son of God.
The wind of idolatry blew in their faces,
But they themselves were as rocks piled up against the hurricane.
Like a swift whirlwind, error snatched at them ;
But, forasmuch as they were sheltered by the crucifixion, it hurt
them not.
The Evil One set on all his dogs to bark, that they might bite them ;
But, forasmuch as they had the cross for a staff, they put them
all to flight.
But who is sufficient to tell of their contests,
Or their sufferings, or the rending asunder of their limbs ?
Or who can paint the picture of their coronation, 1
How they went up from the contest covered with glory ?
To judgment they went in, but of the judge they took no account ;
Nor were they anxious what they should say when questioned.
The judge menaced [them], and multiplied his words of threatening;
And recounted tortures and all [kinds of] inflictions, that he
might terrify them.
He spake great words, 2 that by fright and intimidation,
By menaces too, he might incline them to sacrifice.
Yet the combatants despised the menaces, and the intimidations,
And the sentence of judgment, and all bodily deaths ;
And they prepared themselves for insult and stripes, and for blows,
And for provocation, and to be dragged along, and to be burnt ;
For imprisonment also, and for bonds, and for all evil things,
And for all tortures, and for all sufferings, rejoicing all the while.
They were not alarmed nor affrighted, nor dismayed,
Nor did the sharpness of the tortures bend them to sacrifice.
Their body they despised, and as dung upon the ground accounted
they it :
For they knew that, the more it was beaten, the more would its
beauty increase ;
And, the more the judge increased his menaces to alarm them,
The more did they show their contempt of him, having no fear
of his threats.
He kept telling them what tortures he had prepared for them ;
And they continued telling him about Gehenna, which was re-
served for him.
1 [Lit. " portray the image of their crowns/']
2 [Lit. " magnified his words."]
HOMILY ON GURIA AND SHAM UN A. 123
By those things which he told [them] he tried to frighten them to
sacrifice ;
And they spoke to him abotit the fearful judgment yonder.
Truth is wiser than wise words,
And very hateful, however much it may be adorned, is falsehood.
Shamuna and Guria went on speaking truth,
While the judge continued to utter falsehood.
And therefore were they not afraid of his threatening,
Because all his menaces against the truth were accounted [by
them] as empty sound. 1
The intercourse of the world they despised, they contemned and
scorned, [yea] they abandoned ;
And to return to it they had no wish, or to enter it [again].
From the place of judgment they set their faces to depart
To that meeting-place for them all, the life of the new world.
They cared neither for possessions nor for houses,
Nor for the advantages of this world, so full of evil.
In the world of light was their heart bound captive with God,
And to that country did they set their face to depart ;
And they looked to the sword, to come and be a bridge
To let them pass over to God, for whom they were longing.
This world they accounted as a little tent,
But that yonder as a city full of beauties ;
And they were in haste by the sword to depart hence
To the land of light, which is full of blessing for those who are
worthy of it.
The judge commanded to hang them up by their arms,
And without mercy did they stretch them out in bitter agony.
A demon's fury breathed rage into the heart of the judge,
And embittered him against the stedfast ones, [inciting him]
to crush them ;
And between the height and the depth he stretched them out to
afflict them :
And they were a marvel to both sides, [when they saw] how
much they endured.
At the old men's frame heaven and earth marvelled,
[To see] how much suffering it bore nor cried out for help
under [their] affliction.
Hung up and dragged along are their feeble bodies by their arms,
Yet is there deep silence, nor is there one that cries out for help
or that murmurs.
1 [Lit. " as breath."]
124 SYR1AC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Amazed were all who beheld their contests,
[To see] how [calmly] the outstretched forms bore the inflictions
[laid upon them]. 1
Amazed too was Satan at their spotless frames,
[To see] what weight of affliction they sustained without a groan.
Yea, and gladdened too were the angels by that fortitude [of
theirs],
[To see] how patiently it bore that contest [so] terrible that was.
But, as combatants who were awaiting their crowns,
There entered no sense of weariness into their minds.
Nay, it was the judge that grew weary ; yea, he was astonished :
But the noble men [before him] felt no weariness in their
afflictions. ^
He asked them whether they would consent to sacrifice ;
But the mouth was unable to speak from pain.
Thus did the persecutors increase their inflictions,
Until they gave no place for the word to be spoken.
Silent was the mouth from the inflictions laid on their limbs ;
But the will, like that of a hero, was nerved with fortitude from
itself.
Alas for the persecutors! how destitute were they of righteousness!
But the children of light how were they clad in faith !
They demand speech, when there is no place for speaking,
Since the word of the mouth was forbidden them by pain.
Fast bound was the body, and silent the mouth, and it was unable
To utter the word when unrighteously questioned.
And what should the martyr do, who had no power to say,
When he was questioned, that he would not sacrifice ?
All silent were the old men full of faith,
And from pain they were incapable of speaking.
Yet questioned they were : and in what way, if a man is silent
When he is questioned, shall he assent to that which is said ?
But the old men, that they might not be thought to assent,
Expressed clearly by signs the word which it behoved them to
speak.
Their heads they shook, and, instead of speech, by a dumb sign
they showed
The resolve of the new man that was within.
Their heads hung down, signifying amidst their pains
That they were not going to sacrifice, and every one understood
their meaning.
1 [Lit. " how much the outstretched forms bore in consequence of the
inflictions."]
HOMILY ON GURIA AND SHAMUNA. 125
As long as there was in them place for speech, with speech did
they confess ;
But, when it was forbidden them by pain, they spake with a
dumb sign.
Of faith they spoke both with the voice and without the voice :
So that, when speaking and also when silent, they were [alike]
stedfast.
Who but must be amazed at the path of life, how narrow it is,
And how straight to him that desires to walk in it ?
Who but must marvel [to see] that, when the will is watchful and
ready,
It is very broad and full of light to him that goeth therein ?
About the path are ditches ; full also is it of pitfalls ;
And, if one turn but a little aside from it, a ditch receives him.
That dumb sign only is there between the right and the left,
And on Yea and Nay stand 1 sin and righteousness.
By a dumb sign only did the blessed men plainly signify that they
would not sacrifice,
And in virtue of a single dumb sign did the path lead them to Eden ;
And, if this same dumb sign had inclined and turned down but n
little
Toward the depth, the path of the old men would have been to
Gehenna.
Upwards they made a sign, [to signify] that upwards were they
prepared to ascend ;
And in consequence of that sign they ascended and mingled
with the heavenly ones.
Between sign and sign were Paradise and Gehenna :
They made a sign that they would not sacrifice, and they in-
herited the place of the kingdom.
Even while they were silent they were advocates for the Son of God :
For not in multitude of words doth faith consist.
That fortitude of theirs was a full-voiced confession,
And as though with open mouth declared they [their] faith by
signs ;
And every one knew what they were saying, though silent,
And enriched and increased was the faith of the house of God ;
And error was put to shame by reason of two old men, who,
though they spake not,
Vanquished it ; and they kept silence, and their faith stood fast.
And, though tempestuous accents were heard from the judge,
And the commands of the emperor were dreadful, yea violent,
1 [Or "depend."]
126 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
And paganism had a bold face and an open mouth,
And its voice was raised, and silent were the old men with pain,
[Yet] null and void became the command and drowned was the
voice of the judge,
And without speech the mute sign of the martyrs bore off the palm.
Talking and clamour, and the sound of stripes, on the left ;
And deep silence and suffering standing on the right ;
And, by one mute sign with which the old men pointed above
their heads,
The head of faith was lifted up, and error was put to shame.
Worsted in the encounter were they who spoke, and the victory
was to the silent :
For, voiceless they uttered by signs the discourse of faith.
They took them down, because they had vanquished while silent ;
And they put them in bonds, threatening [yet] to vanquish them.
Bonds and a dungeon void of light were by the martyrs
Held of no account yea [rather] as the light which has no end.
[To be] without bread, and without water, and without light,
Pleased them well, because of the love of the Son of God.
The judge commanded by their feet to hang them up
With their heads downwards, by a sentence all unrighteous :
Hanged up was Shamunawith his head downwards; and he prayed
[In] prayer pure and strained clear by pain.
Sweet fruit was hanging on the tree in that judgment-hall,
And its taste and smell made the very denizens of heaven to marvel.
Afflicted was his body, but sound was his faith ;
Bound fast was his person, but unfettered was his prayer over
his deed.
For, prayer nothing whatsoever turneth aside,
And [nothing] hindereth it not even sword, not even fire.
His form was turned upside down, but [his] prayer was unrestrained,
And straight was its path on high to the abode of the angels.
The more the affliction of the chosen martyr was increased,
The more from his lips was all confession heard.
The martyrs longed for the whetted sword affectionately,
And sought it as a treasure full of riches.
A new work has the Son of God wrought in the world
That dreadful death should be yearned for * by many.
That men should run to meet the sword is a thing unheard of,
Except they were those whom Jesus has enlisted in His service
by His crucifixion.
1 [Or " beloved."]
HOMILY ON GURIA AND SHAMUNA. 127
That death is bitter, every one knoweth lo ! from earliest time :
To martyrs alone is it not bitter to be slain.
They laughed at the whetted sword when they saw it,
And greeted it with smiles : for it was that which was the occa-
sion of their crowns.
As though it had beensomething hated, they left thebodytobebeaten:
Even though loving it, they held it not back from pains.
For the sword they waited, and the sword went forth and crowned
them :
Because for it they looked ; and it came to meet them, even as
they desired.
The Son of God slew death by His crucifixion ;
And, inasmuch as death is slain, it caused no suffering to the
martyrs.
With a wounded serpent one playeth without fear ;
A slain lion even a coward will drag along :
The great serpent our Lord crushed by His crucifixion ;
The dread lion did the Son of God slay by His sufferings.
Death bound He fast, and laid him prostrate and trampled on him
at the gate of Hades ;
And [now] whosoever will draweth near and mocketh at him,
because he is slain.
These old men, Shamuna and Guria, mocked at death,
As at that lion which by the Son of God was slain.
The great serpent, which slew Adam among the trees,
Who could seize, so long as he drank not of the blood of the
cross ?
The Son of God crushed the dragon by His crucifixion,
And lo ! boys and old men mock at the wounded serpent.
Pierced is the lion with the spear which [pierced] the side of the
Son of God ;
And whosoever will trampleth on him, and despiseth him, yea
mocketh at him.
The Son of God He is the cause of all good things,
And Him doth it behove every mouth to celebrate.
He did Himself espouse l the bride with the blood which flowed
from His wounds,
And of His wedding-friends He demanded as a nuptial gift 2
the blood of their necks.
1 [Lit. " purchase."]
2 ]i .^noi though not in the lexicons, is the same word that appears
in Castel as ]jQ_i-SD05.
128 SYRIA C DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
The Lord of the wedding-feast hung on the cross in nakedness,
And whosoever came to be a guest, He let fall His blood upon
him.
Shamuna and Guria gave up their bodies for His sake
To sufferings and tortures and to all the various forms of woe. 1
At Him they looked as He was mocked by wicked men,
And thus did they themselves endure mockery without a groan.
Edessa was enriched by your slaughter, O blessed ones :
For ye adorned her with your crowns and with your sufferings.
Her beauty are ye, her bulwark ye, her salt ye,
Her riches and her store, yea her boast and all her treasure.
Faithful stewards are ye : 2
Since by your sufferings ye did array the bride in beauty.
The daughter of the Parthians, who was espoused to the cross, 3
Of you maketh her boast : since by your teaching lo ! she was
enlightened.
Her advocates are ye ; scribes who, though silent, vanquished
All error, whilst its voice was uplifted high in unbelief.
Those old men 4 of the daughter of the Hebrews were sons of Belial, 8
False witnesses, who killed Naboth, feigning themselves [to be
true].
Her did Edessa outdo by her two old men full of beauty,
Who were witnesses to the Son of God, and died like Naboth.
Two were there, and two here, old men ;
And these were called witnesses, and witnesses those.
Let us now see which of them were witnesses chosen of God,
And which city is beloved by reason of her old men and of her
honourable ones.
Lo ! the sons of Belial who slew Naboth are witnesses ;
And here Shamuna and Guria, again, are witnesses.
Let us now see which witnesses, and which old men,
And which city can stand with confidence 6 before God.
1 [Lit. " to the forms (a^jj^ara) of all afflictions."]
2 [This seems preferable to Cureton's "Ye are the stewards of (her)
faith." The expression exactly corresponds in form to that in Luke
xvi. 8 (Peshito) : " the steward of injustice " = " the unjust steward."]
3 [Lit. " crucifixion."] * [Or " elders."]
5 [By this name the men referred to (not, however, the elders, but
the two false witnesses suborned by them) are called in 1 Kings xxi.
10, 13. The expression in the text is literally "sons of iniquity," and
is that used by the Peshito.]
6 [Or " have an open countenance."]
CANTICLE OF MAR JACOB ON EDESSA. 129
Sons of Belial Avere those witnesses of that adulterous woman,
And lo ! their shame is all portrayed in their names.
Edessa's just and righteous old men, her witnesses,
Were like Naboth, who himself also was slain for righteousness'
sake.
They were not like the two lying sons of Belial,
Nor is Edessa like Zion, which also crucified [the Lord].
Like herself her old men were false, yea dared
To shed on the ground innocent blood wickedly.
[But] by these witnesses here lo ! the truth is spoken.
Blessed be He who gave us the treasure- store of their crowns !
[Here] endeth the Homily on Guria and Shamuna.
A CANTICLE OF MAE 1 JACOB THE TEACHER ON
EDESSA, WHEN SHE SENT TO [REQUEST]
OUR LORD TO COME TO HER. 2
Edessa sent to Christ by an epistle to come to her and
enlighten her. On behalf of all the peoples did she make
intercession to Him that He would leave Zion, which hated
Him, arid come to the [other] peoples, who loved Him.
She despatched a messenger to Him, and begged of Him
to enter into friendship with her. By the righteous king she
made intercession to Him, that He would depart from the
[one] people, and towards the [other] peoples direct His
burden.
From among all kings one wise king did the daughter of
the peoples find. Ambassador she made him. To her Lord
she sent by him : Come Thou unto me ; I will forget in
Thee all idols and carved images.
The harlot heard the report of Him from afar, as she was
standing in the street, going astray with idols, playing the
wench with carved images. She loved, she much desired
Him, when He was far away, and begged Him to admit
her into His chamber.
1 [Or " My Lord," or " Mr."]
2 This is taken from Cod. Add. 17,158, fol. 56.
130 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
Let the much-desired Bridegroom kiss me : with the kisses
of His mouth let me be blessed. I have heard of Him from
afar : may I see Him near ; and may I place my lips upon
His, and be delighted by seeing Him with mine eyes.
Thy breasts are better to me than wine : for the fragrance
of Thy sweetness is life for evermore. With Thy milk shall
I be nourished ; with Thy fragrance shall I grow sweet from
the smoke of idols, which with its rank odour did make me
fetid.
Draw me after Thee into Thy fold : for I am a sheep gone
astray in the world. After Thee do I run, and Thy con-
verse do I seek : that in me may be completed that number
of a hundred, by means of a lost one which is found.
Let Gabriel rejoice and be exceeding glad, with the com-
pany of all the angels, in Thee, the Good Shepherd, who
on Thy shoulders didst carry the maimed sheep, that that
number of a hundred might be preserved.
Thy love is better than wine ; than the face of the upright
Thy affection. By wine let us be reminded of Thee, how
by the cup of Thy blood Thou didst grant us to obtain new
life, and the upright did celebrate Thy love.
A church am I from among the peoples, and I have loved
the Only-begotten who was sent [by God] : whereas His be-
trothed hated Him, I have loved Him ; and by the hands of
Abgar the Black l do I beseech Him to come to me and visit
me;
Black am I, yet comely. Ye daughters of Zion, blameless
is your envy, seeing that the Son of the Glorious One hath
espoused me, to bring me into His chamber. Even when I
was hateful [to see], He loved me, for He is able to make me
fairer than water.
Black was I in sins, but I am comely : for I have repented
and turned me. I have put away in baptism that hateful
hue, for He hath washed me in His innocent blood who is
the Saviour of all creatures.
[Here] end the Extracts from the Canticle on Edessa.
1 See note on p. 7.
CONCERNING ABGAR AND ADDsEUS. 131
EXTRACTS FROM VAEIOUS BOOKS CONCERNING
ABGAE THE KING AND ADD^EUS THE APOSTLE.
i. 1
Of the blessed Addceus the apostle. From his Teaching which
he gave in Edessa before Abgar the king and the assembly
of the city.
And, when he had entered the sepulchre, he was raised to
life again, and came forth from the sepulchre with many
[others]. And those who were guarding the sepulchre saw
not how He came forth from the sepulchre ; but the watchers
from on high they were the proclaimers and announcers of
His resurrection. For, had He not [so] willed, He had not
died, because He is Lord of death, the exit [from the world] ;
nor, had it not pleased Him, would He have put on a body,
inasmuch as He is Himself the framer of the body. For
that will which led Him to stoop to be born of the Virgin,
likewise caused Him further to descend to the suffering of
death. And a little after [we read] : For, although His
appearance was that of men, yet His power, and His know-
ledge, and His authority, were those of God.
ii. 2
from the Teaching of Addceus the apostle, which was spoken
in the city of Edessa.
Ye know that I said unto you, that none of the souls
which go forth out of the bodies of men are under [the
power of] death, but that they all live and continue to exist,
and that there are for them mansions and an abode of rest.
For the reasoning [power] of the soul does not cease, nor the
knowledge, because it is the image of the immortal God.
For it is not without perceptions, after the manner of the
Lodily frame, which has no perception of that corruption
which has acquired dominion over it. Recompense, however,
and reward it will not receive apart from its bodily form,
1 Taken from Cod. Add. 14,535, fol. L
2 Fuom Cod. Add. 12,155, fol. 53 vtrs.
132 SYR1AC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
because what it experiences belongs not to itself alone, but
to the bodily form also in which it dwelt for a time. But
the disobedient, who have not known God, will then repent
without avail.
in. 1
From the Epistle of Addaius the apostle, which he spake in the
city of Edessa.
Give heed to this ministry which ye hold, and with fear
and trembling continue ye in it, and minister every day.
Minister ye not in it with neglectful habits, but with the dis-
creetness of faith. And let not the praises of Christ cease
out of your mouth, and let not any sense of weariness come
over you at the season of prayers. Give heed to the verity
which ye hold, and to the teaching of the truth which ye
have received, and to the teaching of salvation which I com-
mit to you. Because before the tribunal of Christ will it be
required of you, when He maketh reckoning with the pas-
tors and overseers, and when He shall take His money from
the traders with the usury of what they have taught. 2 For
He is the Son of a King, and goeth to receive a kingdom,
and He will return and come and make a resuscitation to life
of all men.
IV. 3
Addaeus preached at Edessa and in Mesopotamia (he was
from Paneus *) in the days of Abgar the king. And, when
he was among the Zophenians, Severus the son of Abgar sent
and slew him at Agel Hasna, as also a young man his disciple.
v. 3
71. and Narcissus. For they did not suffer that selection
of the Seventy-two to be wanting, as likewise neither that
of the Twelve. This [man] was [one] of the Seventy-two :
perhaps he was a disciple of Addseus the apostle.
1 From Cod. Add. 17,193, fol. 36. [See p. 30.]
2 [Or " of the doctrines."]
3 Extracts iv. and v. are from Cod. Add. 14,601, fol. 164, written
apparently in the eighth century.
4 [i.e. Paneas.]
CONCERNING ABGAE AND ADD^EUS. 133
VI. 1
From the Departure of Marath 2 Mary from the World, and
the Birth and Childhood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Book
the Second.
In the year three hundred and forty-five, in the month of
the latter Tishrin, 3 Marath Mary went out from her house,
and went to the sepulchre of Christ : because every day she
used to go and weep there. But the Jews immediately after
the death of Christ seized the sepulchre, and heaped great
stones at the door of it. And over the sepulchre and Gol-
gotha they set guards, and commanded them that, if any one
should go and pray at the sepulchre or at Golgotha, he should
immediately be put to death. And the Jews took away the
cross of our Lord, and those two other crosses, and that spear
with which our Saviour was struck, and those nails which
they drove into His hands and into His feet, and those robes
of mockery in which He had been clad ; and they hid them :
lest, as they said, any one of the kings or of the chief per-
sons should come and inquire concerning the putting to
death of Christ.
And the guards went in and said to the priests : Mary
cometh in the evening and in the morning, and prayeth
there. And there was a commotion in Jerusalem on account
of Marath Mary. And the priests went to the judge, and
said to him : My lord, send and command Mary that she go
not to pray at the sepulchre and at Golgotha. And while
they were deliberating, lo ! letters came from Abgar, the
king of the city of Edessa, to Sabina the procurator 4 who
had been appointed by Tiberius the emperor, and as far as the
river Euphrates the procurator Sabina had authority. And,
1 From Cod. Add. 16,484, fol. 19. It consists of an apocryphal work
on the Virgin, of the fifth or sixth century.
2 [i.e. " My Lady " or " Madam " (= mea domina) : it is the feminine
form of " Mar."]
3 [Beginning with the new moon of October. The former Tishrin was
the month immediately preceding.]
4 [The Greek iKirpoTro; is used.]
134 SYRIAC DOCUMENTS CONCERNING EDESSA.
because Addasus the apostle, one of the seventy-two apostles,
had gone down and built a church at Edessa, and had cured
the disease with which Abgar the king was afflicted for
Abgar the king loved Jesus Christ, and was constantly in-
quiring about Him ; and, when Christ was put to death and
Aborar the king heard that the Jews had slain Him on the
o o
cross, he was much displeased ; and Abgar arose and rode
and came as far as the river Euphrates, because he wished
to go up against Jerusalem and lay it waste ; and, when
Abgar came and was arrived at the river Euphrates, he de-
liberated in his mind : If I pass over, there will be enmity
between me and Tiberius the emperor. And Abgar wrote
letters and sent them to Sabina the procurator, and Sabina
sent them to Tiberius the emperor. In this manner did
Abgar write to Tiberius the emperor :
From Abgar, the king of the city of Edessa. Much peace
to thy Majesty, our lord Tiberius ! In order that thy Majesty
may not be offended with me, I have not passed over the
river Euphrates : for I have been wishing to go up against
Jerusalem and lay her waste, forasmuch as she has slain
Christ, a skilful healer. But do thou, as a great sovereign
who hast authority over all the earth and over us, send and
do me judgment on the people of Jerusalem. For be it
known to thy Majesty that I desire that thou wilt do me
judgment on the crucifiers.
And Sabina received the letters, and sent them to Tibe-
rius the emperor. And, when he had read them, Tiberius
the emperor was greatly incensed, and he desired to destroy
and slay all the Jews. And the people of Jerusalem heard
it and were alarmed. And the priests went to the governor,
and said to him : My lord, send and command Mary that
she go not to pray at the sepulchre and Golgotha. The
judge said to the priests: Go ye yourselves, and give her
what command and what caution ye please.
CONCERNING ABGAR AND ADDSEUS. 135
VII. 1
From the Homily composed by the holy Mar Jacob, the teacher,
on the Fall of Idols.
To Edessa he made his journey, and found in it a great work
[going on]:
For the king was become a labourer for the church, and was
building it.
The apostle Addseus stood in it like a builder,
And King Abgar laid aside his diadem and builded with
him.
When apostle and king concurred the one with the other,
What idol must not fall before them ?
Satan fled to the land of Babylon from the disciples,
And the tale of the crucifixion had got before him to the
country of the Chaldeans.
He said, when they were making sport of the signs of the
Zodiac, that he was nothing.
VIII. 2
From the Homily about the town of Antioch.
To Simon was allotted Rome, and to John Ephesus ; to
Thomas India, and to Addseus the country of the Assyrians. 3
And, when they were sent each one of them to the district
which had been allotted to him, they devoted themselves 4 to
bring the [several] countries to discipleship.
1 From Cod. Add. 14,624, apparently written in the ninth century.
2 From Cod. Add. 14,590, of the eighth or ninth century.
3 [This is probably the correct reading : the printed text means " among
the Assyrians."]
4 [Lit. " set their faces."]
APPENDIX.
MARTYRDOM 1 OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS SHAMUNA,
GURIA, AND HABIB, FROM SIMEON
METAPHRASTES. 2
IN the six hundredth year from the empire of Alexander
the Macedonian, when Diocletian had been nine years sove-
reign of the Romans, and Maximian was consul for the sixth
time, and Augar son of Zoaras was praetor, and Cognatus
was bishop of the Edessenes, a great persecution was raised
against the churches in all the countries which were under
the sway of the Romans. The name of Christian was looked
upon as execrable, and was assailed and harassed with abuse;
while the priests and the monks, on account of their staunch
and unconquerable stedfastness, were subjected to shocking
punishments, and the pious were at their wits' end with sad-
ness and fear. For, desiring as they did to proclaim the
truth because of their yearning affection for Christ, they yet
shrunk back from doing so for fear of punishment. For
those who took up arms against true religion were bent on
making the Christians renounce Christianity and embrace
the cause of Saturn and Rhea, whilst the faithful on their
part laboured to prove that the objects of heathen worship
had no real existence.
1 This piece, [which Cureton gives in Latin], is taken from the well-
known work of Surius, De prolatis Sanctorum vitis. It does not appear
who made this Latin translation.
2 [A celebrated Byzantine writer, who lived in the ninth and tenth
centuries. He derives his name from having written paraphrases, or
metaphrases, of the lives of the saints. Fabricius gives a list of 539
lives commonly attributed to him. Dr. W. PLATE, in Smith's Diet. Biog,
and Myth.]
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS. 137
At this period it was that an accusation was preferred
before the judge against Guria and Shamuna. The former
was a native of Sarcigitua, and the latter of the village of
Ganas ; they were, however, both brought up at Edessa
which they call Mesopotamia, because it is situated between
the Euphrates and the Tigris : a city previously to this but
little known to fame, but which after the struggles of its
martyrs obtained universal notoriety. These holy men would
not by any means spend their lives in the city, but removing
to a distance from it, as those who wished to be at a distance
from its turmoils, they made it their aim to be manifest to
God only. Guria's purity and lovingness were to him a pre-
cious and honourable possession, and from his cultivation of
the former the surname of the pure was given him : so that
from his name you would not have known who he was,
but only when you called him by his surname. Shamuna
devoted his body and his youthful and active mind to the
service of God, and rivalled Guria in excellence of character.
Against these men an indictment was laid before the judge,
to the effect that they not only pervaded all the country
round about Edessa with their teaching and encouraged the
people to hold fast their faith, but also led them to look with
contempt on their persecutors, and, in order to induce them
to set wholly at nought their impiety, taught them agreeably
to that which is written : " Trust not in princes in the sons
of men, in whom is no safety." 1 By these representations
the judge was wrought up to a high pitch of madness, and
gave orders that all those who held the Christian religion
in honour and followed the teaching of Shamuna and Guria,
together with those who persuaded them to this, should be
apprehended, and shut up in safe keeping. The order was
carried into effect; and, seizing the opportunity, he had some
of them flogged, and others tortured in various ways, and
induced them to obey the emperor's command, and then, as
if he were behaving kindly and mercifully, he allowed others
to go to their homes; but [our two] saints, as being the
ringleaders and those who had communicated their piety to
1 [Ps. cxlvi. 3.]
138 APPENDIX TO SYPJAC DOCUMENTS.
others, he ordered to be still further maltreated in prison.
They, however, rejoiced in the fellowship of martyrdom.
For they heard of many in other provinces who had had
to pass through the same conflict as themselves : among them
Epiphanius and Petrus and the most holy Pamphilus, with
many others, at Csesarea in Palestine ; Timotheus at Gaza ;
at Alexandria the Great [another] Timotheus ; Agapetus at
Thessalonica; Hesychius at Nicomedia; Philippus at Adrian-
opolis; at Melitina Petrus; Hermes and his companions in the
confines of Martyropolis: all of whom were also encircled with
the crown of martyrdom by Dux Heraclianus, along with
other confessors too numerous for us to become acquainted
with. But we must return to the matters of which we were
before speaking.
Antonius, then, the governor of Edessa, having permitted
others to return to their homes, had a lofty judgment-seat
erected, and ordered the martyrs to be brought before him.
The attendants having done as they were bidden, the gover-
nor said to the saints : Our most divine emperor commands
you to renounce Christianity, of which you are followers,
and to pay divine honour to Jupiter by offering incense on
the altar. To this Shamuna replied : Far be it from us to
abandon the true faith, whereby we hope to obtain immor-
tality, and worship the work of men's hands and a [lifeless]
image ! The governor said : The emperor's orders must
by all means be obeyed. Guria answered : Our pure and
divine faith will we never disown, by following the will of
men, who are subject to dissolution. For we have a Father
in heaven whose will we follow, and He says : " He that
shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess before
My Father who is in heaven ; but he that shall deny Me
before men, him will I also deny before My Father and His
angels." x The judge said : You refuse, then, to obey the
will of the emperor? But can you for a moment think,
that the purposes of ordinary men and such as have no more
power than yourselves are to be really carried into execu-
tion, while the commands of those who possess supreme power
1 [Matt. x. 33.]
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS. 139
fall to the ground ? They, said the saints, who do the will
of the King of kings spurn and reject the will of the flesh.
Then, on the governor's threatening them with death unless
they obeyed, Shamuna said : We shall not die, O tyrant, if
we follow the will of the Creator : nay rather, on the con-
trary, we shall live; but, if we follow the commands of
your emperor, know thou that, even though thou shouldest
[not] put us to death, we shall perish miserably all the
same.
On hearing this, the governor gave orders to Anovitus the
jailor to put them in very safe keeping. For the mind which
is naturally inclined to evil cannot bear the truth, any more
than diseased eyes the bright beams of the sun. And, when
he had done as he was commanded, and the martyrs were in
prison, where many other saints also had been previously shut
by the soldiers, the Emperor Diocletian sent for Musonius
the governor of Antioch and ordered him to go to Edessa and
see the Christians who were confined there, whether they were
of the common or of the sacred class, and question them about
their religion, and deal with them as he should see fit. So
he came to Edessa ; and he had Shamuna and Guria first of
all placed before the tribunal of judgment, and said to them :
This, and no less, is the command of the lord of the world,
that you make a libation of wine and place incense on the altar
of Jupiter. If you refuse to do so, I will destroy you with
manifold punishments : for I will tear your bodies to pieces
with whips, till I get to your very entrails ; and I will not cease
pouring boiling lead into your armpits until it reaches even
to your bowels ; after that, I will hang you up, now by your
hands, now by your feet, and I will loosen the fastenings of
your joints ; and I will invent new and unheard of punish-
ments which you will be utterly unable to endure.
Shamuna answered : We dread " the worm," the threat
of which is denounced against those who deny the Lord, and
" the fire which is not quenched," more than those tortures
which thou hast set before us. For [God] Himself, to whom
we offer rational worship, will, first of all, strengthen us
to bear these manifold tortures, and will deliver us out of thy
140 APPENDIX TO SYRIAC DOCUMENTS.
hands ; and, after that, will also give us to rest in a place of
safety, where is the abode of all those who rejoice. Besides,
it is against nothing whatever but the body that thou takest
up arms : for what possible harm couldst thou do to the soul?
since, as long as it resides in the body, it pi'oves superior to
torture ; and, when it takes its departure, the body has no
feeling whatever left. For, u the more our outward man is
destroyed, the more is our inward man renewed day by
day;" 1 for by means of patience we go through with this
contest which is set before us. The governor, however,
again, with a kind of protestation, in order that, in case they
did not obey, he might with the more justice punish them,
said : Give up your error, I beg you, and yield to the com-
mand of the emperor : ye will not be able to endure the
tortures. The holy Guria answered : We are neither the
slaves of error, as thou sayest, nor will we ever obey the
command of the emperor : God forbid that we should be so
weak-minded and so senseless ! For we are His disciples who
laid down His life for us, so manifesting the riches of His
goodness and His love towards us. We will, therefore, resist
sin even to death, nor, come what may, will we be foiled by
the stratagems of the adversary, by which the first man was
ensnared and plucked death from the tree through his dis-
obedience ; 2 and Cain was persuaded, and, after staining his
hands with his brother's blood, found the rewards of sin to
be wailing and fear. But we, listening to the words of
Christ, will " not be afraid of those that kill the body but
are not able to kill the soul :" Him rather will we fear " who
is able to destroy our soul and body." 3 The tyrant said :
It is not to give you an opportunity of disproving my alle-
gations by snatches of your own writings that I refrain from
anger and show myself forbearing ; but that you may per-
1 [2 Cor. iv. 16.]
2 [Or " through his disobedience in the matter of the tree," if per
ligni inobedientiam are the real words of the translator, who is not, gene-
rally speaking, to be complimented for elegance or even correctness,
but seems to have made a servile copy of the mere words of the Greek.]
[Matt. x. 28.]
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS. 141
form t?*e command of the emperor and return in peace to
your homes.
These words did not at all shake the resolution of the
martyrs ; but, approaching nearer : What, said they, does it
matter to us, if thou art angry, and nursest thine anger, and
rainest tortures upon us like snow-flakes ? For then wouldst
thou be favouring us all the more, by rendering the proof of
our fortitude more conspicuous, and winning for us a greater
recompense. For this is the crowning point of our hope,
that we shall leave behind our present dwelling, whch is but
for a time, and depart to one that will last for ever. For
we have " a tabernacle not made with hands " l in heaven,
which the Scripture is accustomed also to call " Abraham's
bosom," because of the familiar intercourse with God with
which he was blessed. The governor, seeing that their firm-
ness underwent no change, forthwith left off speaking and
proceeded with the threatened punishments, giving orders to
the jailor Anuinus that they should be severally hung up
by one hand, and that, when their hands were dislocated
by having to bear the entire weight of the body, he should
further suspend a heavy stone to their feet, that the sense of
pain might be the sharper. This was done, and from the
third hour to the eighth they bore this severe torture with
fortitude, uttering not a word, nor a groan, nor giving any
other indication of a weak or abject mind. You would have
said that they were suffering in a body which was not
theirs, or that others were suffering and they themselves
were nothing more than spectators of what was going on.
In the meantime, whilst they were hanging by their hands,
the governor was engaged in trying other cases. Having
done with these, he ordered the jailor to inquire of the saints
whether or not they would obey the emperor and be released
from their torture ; and on his putting the question to them,
when it was found that they either could not or would not
return an answer, he ordered that they should be confined
in the inner part of the prison, in a dark dungeon, dark both
in name and in reality, and that their feet should be made
* [ J 2 Cor. v. 1.]
142 APPENDIX TO SYRIAC DOCUMENTS.
fast in the stocks. At dawn of day, their feet were loosened
from the confinement of the stocks ; but their prison was
close shut up, so that not a single ray even of sunlight could
make its way in ; and the jailors were ordered not to give
them a bit of bread or a single drop of water for three whole
days. So that, in addition to all the rest, the martyrs were
condemned to a dark prison and a long privation of food.
When the third day arrived, about the beginning of the
month of August, the prison was opened to admit light, but
they were detained in it still up to the 10th of November.
Then the judge had them brought up before his tribunal :
Has not all this time, said he, sufficed to induce you to change
your minds and come to some [more] wholesome decision ?
They answered : We have already several times told thee
our mind : do, therefore, what thou hast been commanded.
The governor forthwith ordered that Shamuna should be
made to kneel down on one side l and that an iron chain
should be fastened on his knee. This having been done, he
hung him up head downwards by the foot with which he
had made him kneel ; the other he pulled downwards with a
heavy piece of iron, which cannot be described in words :
thus endeavouring to rend the champion in twain. By this
means the socket of the hip-bone was wrenched out of its
place and Shamuna became lame. Guria, however, because
he was weak and somewhat pale, he left unpunished : not
that he regarded him with friendly eyes not that he had
any compassion on his weakness ; but rather by way of
sparing for another opportunity one whom he was anxious
to punish : lest perchance, as he said, through inadvertence
on my part he should be worn out before he has undergone
the torments in reserve for him.
By this time two hours of the day had passed since Sha-
muna had been hung up ; and the fifth hour had now arrived,
and he was still suspended on high when the soldiers who
stood around, taking pity upon him, urged him to obey the
emperor's command. But the compassion of sinners had no
effect upon the saint. For, although he suffered bitterly
1 [Lit. " with one foot."]
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS. 143
from the torture, he vouchsafed them no answer whatever,
leaving them to lament at their leisure, and to deem them-
selves rather, and not him, deserving of pity. But, lifting
his eyes to heaven, he prayed to God from the depth of his
heart, reminding Him of the wonders done in old time :
Lord God, he said, without whom not even a poor little spar-
row falls into the snare; who didst cheer the heart of David
amid his afflictions ; who gavest power to Daniel even against
the lions; who madest the children of Abraham victorious
over the tyrant and the flame : do Thou now also, O Lord,
look on the war which is being waged against us, acquainted
as Thou art with the weakness of our nature. For the
enemy is trying to turn away the workmanship of Thy right
hand from the glory which is with Thee. But regard Thou
us with looks of compassion, and maintain within us, against
all attempts to extinguish it, the lamp of Thy commandments ;
and by Thy light guide our paths, and vouchsafe us the
enjoyment of that happiness which is in Thee : for Thou art
blessed for ever, world without end. Thus did he utter the
praise of the Umpire of the strife ; and a scribe who was
present took down in writing what was said
At length the governor ordered the jailor to release him
from his punishment. He did so, and carried him away all
faint and exhausted with the pain he suffered, and they bore
him back to his former prison and laid him down by the side
of the holy Guria. On the 15th of November, however, in
the night, about the time of cock-crowing, the judge got tip.
He was preceded by torches and attendants ; and, on arriving
at the Basilica, as it is called, where the court was held, he
took his seat with great ceremony on the tribunal, and sent
to fetch the champions Guria and Shamuna. The latter
came in walking between two [of the jailors] and supported
by the hands of both : for he was worn out with hunger and
weighed down with age : nothing but his good hope sus-
tained him. Guria, too, had also to be carried in : for he
could not walk at all, because his foot had been severely
galled by the chain on it. Addressing them both, the advo-
cate of impiety said : In pursuance of the permission which
144 APPENDIX TO SYRIAC DOCUMENTS.
was granted, you have, [I presume], consulted together about
what it is expedient for you to do. Tell me, then, whether
any fresh resolution has been come to by you, and whether
you have in any respect changed your mind in regard to
your former purpose ; and obey the command of the most
divine [emperor]. For thus will you be restored to the enjoy-
ment of your property and possessions, yea of this most cheer-
ing light also. To this the martyrs reply : No one who is
wise would make any great account of continuing for a little
while in the enjoyment of things which are but transient.
Sufficient for us is the time already past for the use and the
sight of them ; nor do we feel the want of any of them.
That death, on the contrary, with which thou art threatening
us will convey us to imperishable habitations and give us a
participation in the happiness which is yonder.
The governor replied : What you have said has filled my
ears with great sadness. However, I will explain to you
what is determined on : if you place incense on the altar and
sacrifice to the image of Jupiter, all will be well, and each of
you will go away to his home; but, if you still persist in
disobeying the command of the emperor, you will most cer-
tainly lose your heads : for this is what the great emperor
wills and determines. To this the most noble-minded Sha-
muna replied : If thou shalt confer upon us so great a favour
as to grant us deliverance from the miseries of this life and
dismissal to the happiness of the life yonder, so far as in us
lies thou shalt be rewarded by Him who lays out our posses-
sions on what is for our good. The governor replied to this
somewhat kindly, as it seemed, saying : I have patiently
endured hitherto, putting up with those long speeches of
yours, in order that by delay you may change your purpose
and betake yourselves to what is for your good, and not have
to undergo the punishment of death. Those who submit, said
he, to death which is only for a time, for the sake of Christ,
will manifestly be delivered from eternal death. For those
who die to the world live in Christ. For Peter also, who
shines so brightly among the band of apostles, was condemned
to the cross and to death ; and James, the son of thunder,
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS. 145
was slain by Herod Agrippa with the sword. Moreover,
Stephen also was stoned, who was the first to run the course
of martyrdom. What, too, wilt thou say of John [the Bap-
tist] ? Thou wilt surely acknowledge his distinguished for-
titude and boldness of speech, when he preferred death rather
than keep silence about conjugal infidelity, and the adulteress
received his head as a reward for her dancing ?
Again the governor said : It is not that you may reckon
up your saints, as you call them, that I bear so patiently
with you, but that, by changing your resolution and yielding
to the emperor's commands, you may be rescued from a
very bitter death. For, if you behave with such excessive
daring and arrogance, what can you expect but that severer
punishments are in store for you, under the pressure of
which you will be ready even against your will to do what I
demand of you : by which time, however, it will be altogether
too late to take refuge in compassion ? For the cry which
is wrung from you by force has no power to challenge
pity ; whilst, on the other hand, that which is made of
your own accord is deserving of compassion. The con-
fessors and martyrs of Christ said : There needs not many
words. For lo ! we are ready to undergo all the punish-
ments thou mayest lay upon us. What, therefore, has been
commanded thee, delay not to perform. For we are the
worshippers of Christ the true God, and (again we say it) of
Him of whose kingdom there shall be no end ; who also is
alone able to glorify those in return who glorify His name.
In the meantime, whilst these things were being said by the
saints, the governor pronounced sentence against them that
they should suffer death by the sword. But they, filled with
a joy beyond the power of words to express, exclaimed : To
Thee of right belongeth glory and praise, who art God of
all, because it hath pleased Thee that we should carry on to
its close the conflict we have entered upon, and that we
should also receive at Thy hands the brightness that shall
never fade away.
When, therefore, the governor saw their unyielding firm-
ness, and how they had heard the final sentence with exulta-
K
146 APPENDIX TO SYRIAC DOCUMENTS.
tion of soul, he said to the saints : May God search into
what is being done, [and be witness] that so far as I was con-
cerned it was no wish of mine that you should lose your lives ;
but the inflexible command of the emperor to me compels
me to this. He then ordered a halberdier to take charge of
the martyrs, and, putting them in a carriage, to convey them
to a distance from the city with some soldiers, and there to
end them with the sword. So he, taking the saints out at
night by the Roman gate, when the citizens were buried in
profound slumber, conveyed them to Mount Bethelabicla on
the north of the city. On their arrival at that place, having
alighted from the carriage with joy of heart and great firm-
ness of mind, they requested the halberdier and those who
were under his orders to give them time to pray ; and it was
granted. For, just as if their tortures and their blood were
not enough to plead for them, they still by reason of their
humility deemed it necessary to pray. So they raised their
eyes to heaven and prayed earnestly, concluding with the
words : God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, receive
in peace our spirits to Thyself. Then Shamuna, turning
to the halberdier, said : Perform that which thou hast been
commanded. So he kneeled down along with Guria, and
they were beheaded, on the 15th of November. This is the
account of what happened to the martyrs.
But forasmuch as the number sought for a third in order
that in them the Trinity might be glorified, it found, oh
admirable providence! Habib at a subsequent time indeed:
but he also, along with those who had preceded him, had
determined to enter on the journey, and on the very day l of
their martyrdom reached his consummation. Habib, then,
great among martyrs, was a native of the same place as they,
namely of the village of Thelsaea; 2 and he had the honour
of being invested with the sacred office of the diaconate.
But, when Licinius swayed the sceptre of the Roman empire
and Lysanias had been appointed governor of Edessa, a per-
secution was again raised against the Christians, and the
1 [i.e. the anniversary.]
8 [In the Syriac account " Telzeha : " see p. 91.]
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS. 147
general danger threatened Habib. For he would go about
the city, teaching the divine Scriptures to all he met with,
and courageously seeking to strengthen them in [the practice
of] piety. When this came to the ears of Lysanias, he gave
information of it to the Emperor Licinius. For he was
anxious to be himself entrusted with the business of brineino-
O <~3
the Christians to trial, and especially Habib : for he had
never been entrusted with it before. The emperor, then,
sent him a letter and commanded him to put Habib to death.
So, when Lysanias had received the letter, search was made
everywhere for Habib, who on account of his office in the
church lived in some part of the city, his mother and some
of his relations residing with him. When he got intelligence
of the matter, fearing lest he should incur punishment for
quitting the ranks of martyrdom, he went of his own accord
and presented himself to a man who was among the chief of
the body-guard, named Theotecnus, and presently he said :
I am Habib for whom ye are seeking. But he, looking
kindly at him, said : No one, my good man, is as yet aware
of thy coming to me : so go away, and look to thy safety ;
and be not concerned about thy mother, nor about thy rela-
tions : for they cannot possibly get into any trouble. Thus
far Theotecnus.
But Habib, because the occasion was one that called for
martyrdom, refused to yield to a weak and cowardly spirit
and secure his safety in any underhand way. He replied,
therefore : It is not for the sake of my dear mother, nor for
the sake of my kinsfolk, that I denounce myself ; but I have
come for the sake of the confession of Christ. For lo !
whether thou consent or no, I will make my appearance be-
fore the governor, and I will proclaim my [Lord] Christ
before princes and kings. Theotecnus, accordingly, appre-
hensive that he might go of his own accord to the governor,
and that in this way he might himself be in jeopardy for
not having denounced him, took Habib and conducted him to
the governor : Here, said he, is Habib, for whom search has
been made. When Lysanias learned that Habib had come
of his own accord to the contest, he concluded that this was
148 APPENDIX TO SYRIAC DOCUMENTS.
a mark of contempt and overweening boldness, as if he set
light by the solemn dignity of the judicial seat ; and he had
him at once put on his trial. He inquired of him his con-
dition of life, his name, and his country. On his answering
that he was a native of the village of Thelsasa, and intimating
that he was a minister of Christ, the governor immediately
charged the martyr with not obeying the emperor's com-
mands. He insisted that a plain proof of this was his refusal
to offer incense to Jupiter. To this Habib kept replying
that he was a Christian, and could not forsake the true God,
or sacrifice to the lifeless works of [men's] hands which had
no sensation. The governor hereupon ordered, that his arms
should be bound with ropes, and that he should be raised up
high on a beam and torn with iron claws. 1 The hanging up
was far more difficult to bear than the tearing : for he was
in danger of being pulled asunder, through the forcible
strain with which his arms were stretched out.
In the meantime, as he was hanging up in the air, the
governor had recourse to smooth words, and assumed the
guise of patience. He, however, continued to threaten him
with severer punishments unless he should change his reso-
lution. But he said : No man shall induce me to forsake
the faith, nor persuade me to worship demons, even though
he should inflict tortures more and greater. On the gover-
nor's asking him what advantage he expected to gain from
tortures which destroyed his whole 2 body, Habib, Christ's
martyr, replied : The objects of our regard do not last merely
for the present, nor do we pursue the things that are seen ;
and, if thou too art minded to turn thy look towards our
hope and promised recompense, possibly thou wilt even say
with Paul : " The sufferings of this time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which is to be revealed in us." a
The governor pronounced his words to be the language of
imbecility ; and, when he saw that, notwithstanding all the
efforts he made, by turns using smooth words and assuming
1 [Compare the " combs " of the Syriac, supra.]
2 [Reading " totum " for " solurn."]
8 [Rom. viii. 18.]
MARTYRDOM OF THE HOLY CONFESSORS. 149
the part of patience, and then again threatening him and
menacing him with a shocking 1 death, he could not in either
way prevail with him, he said, as he pronounced sentence
upon him : I will not inflict on thee a sudden and speedy
death ; I will bring on thy dissolution gradually by means of
a slow fire, and in this way make thee lay aside thy fierce
and intractable spirit. Thereupon, some wood was collected
together at a place outside the city on the northward, and
he was led to the pile, followed by his mother, and also by
those who were otherwise by blood related to him. He then
prayed, and pronounced a blessing on all, and gave them the
kiss in the Lord ; and after that the wood was kindled by
them, and he was cast into the fire ; and, when he had opened
his mouth to receive the flame, he yielded up his spirit to
Him who had given it. Then, when the fire had subsided,
his relatives wrapped him in a costly piece of linen and
anointed him with unguents ; and, having suitably sung
psalms and hymns, they laid him by the side of Shamuna
and Guria, to the glory of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Spirit, who constitute a Divine Trinity, which
cannot be divided : to whom is due honour and worship now
and always, and for evermore, Amen. Such was the close
of the life of the martyr Habib in the time of Licinius, and
thus did he obtain the privilege of being laid with the saints,
and thus did he bring to the pious rest from their persecu-
tions. For shortly afterwards the power of Licinius waned,
and the rule of Constantine prospered, and the sovereignty of
the Komans became his ; and he was the first of the empe-
rors who openly professed piety, and allowed the Christians
to live as Christians.
1 [Lit. " bitter."]
150 APPENDIX TO SYPJAC DOCUMENTS.
HISTORY OF ARMENIA.
BOOK II. CHAPTER XXVI.
Reign of Abgar Armenia becomes completely tributary to the Romans
War with Herod's troops His brother's son, Joseph, is killed.
Abgar, son of Archam, ascends the throne in the twentieth
year of Archavir, king of the Persians. This Abgar was
called Avak-air (great man), on account of his great gentle-
ness and wisdom, and also on account of his size. Not being
able to pronounce well, the Greeks and the Syrians called
him Abgar. In the second year of his reign, all the districts
of Armenia become tributary to the Romans. A command
is given by the Emperor Augustus, as we are told in the
Gospel of St. Luke, to number all the people in every part.
Roman commissioners, sent for that purpose into Armenia,
carried thither the statue of the Emperor Augustus, and set
it up in all the temples. At this very time, our Saviour
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world.
At the same period there was trouble between Abgar and
Herod : for Herod wished that his statue should be erected
near to that of Cassar in the temples of Armenia. Abgar
withstood this claim. Moreover, Herod was but seeking a
/ O
pretext to attack Abgar : he sent an army of Thracians and
Germans to make an incursion into the country of the Per-
sians, with orders to pass through the territories of Abgar.
But Abgar, far from submitting to this, resisted, saying that
the emperor's command was to march the troops into Persia
through the desert. Herod, indignant, and unable to act by
himself, overwhelmed with troubles, as a punishment for his
wicked conduct towards Christ, as Josephus relates, sent his
nephew to whom he had given his daughter, who had been
1 This extract is taken from the edition, in two volumes, printed at
Paris, of which the following is the title : MOl'SE DE KHORENE,
auteur du Ve Siecle : HISTOIRE D'ARMENIE, TEXTE ARMENIEN ET
TRADUCTION FRAJCCAISE, avec notes explicatives et precis histor/ques sur
VArmenie, par P. E. LE VAILLANT DE FLORIVAL.
MOSES OF CHOSE XE. 151
married in the first instance to Pheror, his brother. Herod's
lieutenant, at the head of a considerable army, hastened to
reach Mesopotamia, met Abgar at the camp in the province
of Pouknan, fell in the combat, and his troops were put to
flight. Soon afterwards, Herod died : Archelaus, his son,
was appointed by Augustus ethnarch of Judaa.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Founding of the town of Edessa Brief account of the race of our
Illuminator.
A little while afterwards, Augustus dies, and Tiberius be-
comes emperor of the Romans in his stead. Germanicus,
having become Caesar, dragging in his train the princes of
the kingdom of Archavir and of Abgar, celebrates a triumph
in respect of the war waged with them, in which these
princes had killed Herod's nephew. Abgar, indignant, forms
plans of revolt and prepares himself for combat. He builds
a town on the ground occupied by the Armenian army of
observation, where previously the Euphrates had been de-
fended against the attempts of Cassius : this new town is
called Edessa. Abgar removed to it his court, which was at
Medzpine, all his gods, Naboc, Bel, Patnicagh, and Tarata,
the books of the schools attached to the temples, and even
the royal archives.
After this, Archavir being dead, Ardaches, his son, reigns
over the Persians. Though it is not in the order of the his-
tory with respect to time, nor even the order according to
which we have begun these annals, yet, as we are treating of
the descendants of the king Archavir, even of the blood of
Ardaches his son, we will, to do honour to these princes, place
them, by anticipating the time, near to Ardaches, in order
that the reader may know that they are of the same race, of
the race of the brave Archag ; then we will indicate the time
of the arrival of their fathers in Armenia, the Garenians and
the Sourenians, from whom St. Gregory and the Gamsarians
are descended, when, following the order of events, we come
to the reign of the king under whom they appeared.
152 APPENDIX TO SYRIAC DOCUMENTS.
Abgar did not succeed in his plans of revolt ; for, troubles
having arisen amongst his relatives in the Persian kingdom,
lie set out at the head of an army to allay and bring to an
end the dissension.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Abgar comes into the East, maintains Ardaches upon the throne of
Persia Reconciles his brothers from whom our Illuminator and his
relations are descended.
Abgar, having gone to the E ist, finds on the throne of
Persia Ardaches, son of Archavir, and the brothers of Ar-
daches contending against him : for this prince thought to
reign over them in his posterity, and they would not consent
to it. Ardaches therefore hems them in on all sides, hangs
the sword of death over their heads ; distractions and dissen-
sion were between their troops and their other relations and
allies : for king Archavir had three sons and one daughter ;
the first of these sons was King Ardaches himself, the second
Garene, the third Sourene; their sister, named Gochm, was
wife of the general of all the Ariks, a general chosen by
their father Archavir.
Abgar prevails on the sons of Archavir to make peace ;
he arranges between them the conditions and stipulations :
Ardaches is to reign with his posterity as he proposed, and
his brothers are to be called Bahlav, from the name of their
town and their vast and fertile country, so that their satra-
pies shall be the first, higher in rank than all the satrapies of
Persia, as being truly a race of kings. Treaties and oaths
stipulated that in case of the extinction of male children of
Ardaches, his brothers should come to the throne ; after the
reigning race of Ardaches, his brothers are divided into three
races named thus : the race of Garene Bahlav, the race of
Sourene Bahlav, and the race of their sister, the race of
Asbahabied Bahlav, a race thus called from the name of the
domain of her husband.
St. Gregory is said to have sprung from the race Sourene
Bahlav, and the Gamsarians from the race Garene Bahlav.
MOSES OF CHORENE. 153
We will relate in the sequel the circumstances of the coming
of these personages, only mentioning their names here in
connection with Ardaches, in order that you may know that
these great races are indeed the blood of Vagharchag, that
is to say, the posterity of the great Archag, brother of Vag-
harchag.
Everything being thus arranged, Abgar takes with him
the letter of the treaties, and returns to his dominions, not in
perfect health, but a prey to severe suffering.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Abgar returns from the East He gives help to Aretas in a war against
Herod the tetrarch.
When Abgar had returned from the East, he learnt that
the Romans suspected him of having gone there to raise
troops. He therefore made the Roman commissioners ac-
quainted with the reasons of his journey to Persia, as well as
the treaty concluded between Ardaches and his brothers; but
no credence was given to his statement : for he was accused
by his enemies Pilate, Herod the tetrarch, Lysanias and
Philip. Abgar having returned to his city Edessa leagued
himself with Aretas, king of Petra, and gave him some auxi-
liary troops under the command of Khosran Ardzrouni, to
make war upon Herod. Herod had in the first instance
married the daughter of Aretas, then had repudiated her,
and thereupon taken Herodias, even in her husband's life-
time, a circumstance in connection with which he had had
John the Baptist put to death. Consequently there was war
between Herod and Aretas on account of the wrong done to
the daughter of Aretas. Being sharply attacked, Herod's
troops were defeated, thanks to the help of the brave Arme-
nians ; as if, by divine providence, vengeance was taken for
the death of John the Baptist.
154 APPENDIX TO SYBIAC DOCUMENTS.
CHAPTER XXX.
Abgar sends princes to Marinus These deputies see our Saviour Christ
Beginning of the conversion of Abgar.
At this period Marinus, son of Storoge, was raised by the
emperor to the government of Phoenicia, Palestine, Syria,
and Mesopotamia. Abgar sent to him two of his principal
officers, Mar-Ihap prince of Aghtznik, and Chamchacram
chief of the house of the Abahouni, as well as Anan his con-
fidant. The envoys proceed to the town of Petkoupine to
make known to Marinus the reasons of Abgar's journey to
the East, showing him the treaty concluded between Ardaches
and his brothers, and at the same time to call upon Marinus
for his support. The deputies found the Roman governor
at Eleutheropolis ; he received them with friendship and dis-
tinction, and gave this answer to Abgar : " Fear nothing
from the emperor on that account, provided you take good
care to pay the tribute regularly."
On their return, the Armenian deputies went to Jerusalem
to see our Saviour the Christ, being attracted by the report
of His miracles. Having themselves become eye-witnesses
of these wonders, they related them to Abgar. This prince,
seized with admiration, believed truly that Jesus was indeed
the Son of God, and said : " These wonders are not those of
a man, but of a God. No, there is no one amongst men
who can raise the dead : God alone has this power." Abgar
felt in his whole body certain acute pains which he had got
in Persia, more than seven years before ; from men he had
received no remedy for his sufferings ; Abgar sent a letter
of entreaty to Jesus : he prayed Him to come and cure him
of his pains. Here is this letter :
CHAPTER XXXI.
Abgar's letter to the Saviour Jesus Christ.
"Abgar, son of Archam, prince of the land, to Jesus,
Saviour and Benefactor of men, who has appeared in the
country of Jerusalem, greeting :
MOSES OF CHORENE. 155
" I have heard of Thee, and of the cures wrought by Thy
hands, without remedies, without herbs : for, as it is said,
Thou makest the blind to see, the lame to walk, the lepers
to be healed ; Thou drivest out unclean spirits, Thou curest
unhappy beings afflicted with prolonged and inveterate
diseases ; Thou dost even raise the dead. As I have heard
of all these wonders wrought by Thee, I have concluded
from them either that Thou art God, come down from
heaven to do such great things, or that Thou art the Son of
God, working as Thou dost these miracles. Therefore have
I written to Thee, praying Thee to condescend to come to
me and cure me of the complaints with which I am afflicted.
I have heard also that the Jews murmur against Thee and
wish to deliver Thee up to torments : I have a city small
but pleasant, it would be sufficient for us both."
The messengers, the bearers of this letter, met Jesus at
Jerusalem, a fact confirmed by these words of the Gospel :
" Some from amongst the heathen came to find Jesus, but
those who heard them, not daring to tell Jesus what they
had heard, told it to Philip and Andrew, who repeated it all
to their Master."
The Saviour did not then accept the invitation given to
Him, but He thought fit to honour Abgar with an answer
in these words :
CHAPTER XXXII.
Answer to Abgar's letter, which the Apostle Thomas wrote to this
prince by command of the Saviour.
" Blessed is he who believes in me without having seen me !
For it is written of me : * Those who see me will not believe
in me, and those who do not see me will believe and live.'
As to what thou hast written asking me to come to thee,
I must accomplish here all that for which I have been sent ;
and, when I shall have accomplished it all, I shall ascend to
Him who sent me ; and when I shall go away I will send
one of my disciples, who will cure thy diseases, and give life
to thee and to all those who are with thee." Anan, Abgar's
courier, brought him this letter, as well as the portrait of the
156 APPENDIX TO SYRIAC DOCUMENTS.
Saviour, a picture which is still to be found at this day in
the city of Edessa.
CHAPTER XXXIIT.
Preaching of the Apostle Thaddeus at Edessa Copy of five letters.
After the ascension of our Saviour, the Apostle Thomas,
one of the twelve, sent one of the seventy-six disciples,
Thaddeus, to the city of Edessa to heal Abgar and to preach
the gospel, according to the word of the Lord. Thaddeus
came to the house of Tobias, a Jewish prince, who is said
to have been of the race of the Pacradouni. Tobias, having
left Archam, did not abjure Judaism with the rest of his
relatives, but followed its laws up to the moment when he
believed in Christ. Soon the name of Thaddeus spreads
through the whole town. Abgar, on learning of his arrival,
said : " This is indeed he concerning whom Jesus wrote to
me ; " and immediately Abgar sent for the apostle. When
Thaddeus entered, a marvellous appearance presented itself
to the eyes of Abgar in the countenance of the apostle ; the
king having risen from his throne, fell on his face to the
earth, and prostrated himself before Thaddeus. This
spectacle greatly surprised all the princes who were present,
for they were ignorant of the fact of the vision. " Art thou
really," said Abgar to Thaddeus, " art thou the disciple of
the ever-blessed Jesus ? Art thou he whom He promised to
send to me, and canst thou heal my maladies ? " " Yes,"
answered Thaddeus ; " if thou believest in Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, the desires of thy heart shall be granted." " I
have believed in Jesus," said Abgar, " I have believed in His
Father ; therefore I wished to go at the head of my troops
to destroy the Jews who have crucified Jesus, had I not
been prevented by reason of the power of the Romans."
Thenceforth Thaddeus began to preach the gospel to the
king and his town ; laying his hands upon Abgar, he cured
him ; he cured also a man with gout, Abdu, a prince of the
town, much honoured in all the king's house. He also
healed all the sick and infirm people in the town, and all
MOSES OF CHOEENE. 157
believed in Jesus Christ. Abgar was baptized, and all the
town with him, and the temples of the false gods were closed,
and all the statues of idols that were placed on the altars
and columns were hidden by being covered with reeds.
Abgar did not compel any one to embrace the faith, yet
from day to day the number of the believers was multiplied.
The Apostle Thaddeus baptizes a manufacturer of silk
head-dresses, called Attaeus, consecrates him, appoints him
[to minister] at Edessa, and leaves him with the king in-
stead of himself. Thaddeus, after having received letters
patent from Abgar, who wished that all should listen to the
gospel of Christ, went to find Sanadroug, son of Abgar's
sister, whom this prince had appointed over the country
and over the army. Abgar was pleased to write to the
Emperor Tiberius a letter in these words :
Abgar s letter to Tiberius.
" Abgar, king of Armenia, to my lord Tiberius, emperor
of the Romans, greeting :
"I know that nothing is unknown to your Majesty, but,
as your friend, I would make you better acquainted with
the facts by writing. The Jews who dwell in the cantons
of Palestine have crucified Jesus : Jesus without sin, Jesus
after so many acts of kindness, so many wonders and
miracles wrought for their good, even to the raising of the
dead. Be assured that these are not the effects of the power
of a simple mortal, but of God. During the time that they
were crucifying Him, the sun was darkened, the earth was
moved, shaken ; Jesus Himself, three days afterwards, rose
from the dead and appeared to many. Now, everywhere,
His name alone, invoked by His disciples, produces the
greatest miracles : what has happened to myself is the most
evident proof of it. Your august Majesty knows henceforth
what ought to be done in future with respect to the Jewish
nation, which has committed this crime; your Majesty
knows whether a command should not be published through
the whole universe to worship Christ as the true God.
Safety and health."
158 APPENDIX TO SYRIAC DOCUMENTS.
Answer from Tiberius to Abgar s letter.
" Tiberius, emperor of the Romans, to Abgar, king of
the Armenians, greeting:
" Your kind letter has been read to me, and I wish that
thanks should be given to you from me. Though we had
already heard several persons relate these facts, Pilate has
officially informed us of the miracles of Jesus. He has
certified to us that after his resurrection from the dead
he was acknowledged by many to be God. Therefore I
myself also wished to do what you propose ; but, as it is the
custom of the Romans not to admit a god merely by the
command of the sovereign, but only when the admission has
been discussed and examined in full senate, I proposed the
affair to the senate, and they rejected it with contempt,
doubtless because it had not been considered by them first.
But we have commanded all those whom Jesus suits, to
receive him amongst the gods. We have threatened with
death any one who shall speak evil of the Christians. As
to the Jewish nation which has dared to crucify Jesus, who,
as I hear, far from deserving the cross and death, was
worthy of honour, worthy of the adoration of men when
I am free from the war with rebellious Spain, I will ex-
amine into the matter, and will treat the Jews as they
deserve."
Abgar writes another letter to Tiberius.
"Abgar, king of the Armenians, to my lord Tiberius,
emperor of the Romans, greeting :
" I have received the letter written from your august
Majesty, and I have applauded the commands which have
emanated from your wisdom. If you will not be angry
with me, I will say that the conduct of the senate is ex-
tremely ridiculous and absurd : for, according to the senators,
it is after the examination and by the suffrages of men that
divinity may be ascribed. Thus, then, if God does not suit
man, He cannot be God, since God is to be judged and
justified by man. It will no doubt seem just to my lord
21 OSES OF CHORENE. 159
and master to send another governor to Jerusalem in the
place of Pilate, who ought to be ignominously driven from
the powerful post in which you placed him ; for he has done
the will of the Jews : he has crucified Christ unjustly, with-
out your order. That you may enjoy health is my desire."
Abgar, having written this letter, placed a copy of it,
with copies of the other letters, in his archives. He wrote
also to the young Nerseh, king of Assyria, at Babylon :
Abgar^s letter to Nerseh.
" Abgar, king of the Armenians, to my son Nerseh,
greeting :
" I have received your letter and acknowledgments. I
have released Beroze from his chains, and have pardoned
his offences : if this pleases you, give him the government
of Nineveh. But as to what you write to me about sending
you the physician who works miracles and preaches another
God superior to fire and water, that you may see and hear
him, I say to you : he was not a physician according to the
art of men ; he was a disciple of the Son of God, Creator of
fire and water : he has been appointed and sent to the
countries of Armenia. But one of his principal companions,
named Simon, is sent into the countries of Persia. Seek
for him, and you will hear him, you as well as your father
Ardaches. He will heal all your diseases and will show you
the way of life."
Abgar wrote also to Ardaches, king of the Persians, the
following letter :
Abgar s letter to Ardaches.
" Abgar, king of the Armenians, to Ardaches my brother,
king of the Persians, greeting :
" I know that you have heard of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, whom the Jews have crucified, Jesus who was raised
from the dead, and has sent His disciples through all the
world to instruct men. One of His chief disciples, named
Simon, is in your Majesty's territories. Seek for him, and
you will find him, and he will cure you of all your maladies,
160 APPENDIX TO SYE2AC DOCUMENTS.
and will show you the way of life, and you will believe in
his words, you, and your brothers, and all those who will-
ingly obey you. It is very pleasant to me to think that my
relations in the flesh will be also my relations, my friends,
in the spirit."
Abgar had not yet received answers to these letters when
he died, having reigned thirty-eight years.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Martyrdom of our Apostles.
After the death of Abgar, the kingdom of Armenia was
divided between two : Ananoun, Abgar's son, reigned at
Edessa, and his sister's son, Sanadroug, in Armenia. What
took place in their time has been previously told by others :
the apostle's arrival in Armenia, the conversion of Sana-
droug and his apostasy for fear of the Armenian satraps,
and the martyrdom of the apostle and his companions in
the canton of Chavarchan, now called Ardaz, and the stone
opening to receive the body of the apostle, and the removal
of this body by his disciples, his burial in the plain, and
the martyrdom of the king's daughter, Santoukhd, near the
road, and the apparition of the remains of the two saints,
and their removal to the rocks all circumstances related by
others, as we have said, a long time before us : we have not
thought it important to repeat them here. In the same way
also what is related of the martyrdom at Edessa of Attaeus,
a disciple of the apostle, a martyrdom ordered by Abgar's
son, has been told by others before us.
The prince who reigned after the death of his father, did
not inherit his father's virtues : he opened the temples of the
idols, and embraced the religion of the heathen. He sent
word to Attaeus: "Make me a head-dress of cloth inter-
woven with gold, like those you formerly used to make for
my father." He received this answer from Attseus : " My
hands shall not make a head-dress for an unworthy prince,
who does not worship Christ the living God."
Immediately the king ordered one of his armed men to
MOSES OF CHORENE. 161
cut off Attseus' feet. The soldier went, and, seeing the holy
man seated in the chair of the teacher, cut off his legs with
his sword, and immediately the saint gave up the ghost.
We mention this cursorily, as a fact related by others a
long while ago. There came then into Armenia the Apostle
Bartholomew, who suffered martyrdom among us in the town
of Arepan. As to Simon, who was sent into Persia, I can-
not relate with certainty what he did, nor where he suffered
martyrdom. It is said that one Simon, an apostle, was mar-
tyred at Veriospore. Is this true, or why did the saint come
to this place 1 I do not know ; I have only mentioned this
circumstance that you may know I spare no pains to tell you
all that is necessary.
CHAPTER XXXV.
Reign of Sanadroug Murder of Abgar's children The Princess Helena.
Sanadroug, being on the throne, raises troops with the help
of the brave Pacradouni and Ardzrouni, who had exalted
him, and goes to wage war upon the children of Abgar, to
make himself master of the whole kingdom. Whilst Sana-
droug was occupied with these affairs, as if by an effect of
divine providence vengeance was taken for the death of
Attseus ; for a marble column which the son of Abgar was
having erected at Edessa, on the summit of his palace, while
he was underneath to direct the work, escaped from the
hands of the workmen, fell upon him and crushed his feet.
Immediately there came a message from the inhabitants
of the town, asking Sanadroug for a treaty by which he
should engage not to disturb them in the exercise of the
Christian religion, in consideration of which, they would
give up the town and the king's treasures. Sanadroug pro-
mised, but in the end violated his oath. Sanadroug put all
the children of the house of Abgar to the edge of the sword,
with the exception of the daughters, whom he withdrew from
the town to place them in the canton of Hachdiank. As to
the first of Abgar's wives, named Helena, he sent her to his
town at Kharan, and left to her the sovereignty of the whole
L
162 APPENDIX TO SYRIAC DOCUMENTS.
of Mesopotamia, in remembrance of the benefits he had re-
ceived from Abgar by Helena's means.
Helena, pious like her husband Abgai', did not wish to
live in the midst of idolaters ; she went away to Jerusalem
in the time of Claudius, during the famine which Agabus
had predicted ; with all her treasures she bought in Egypt
an immense quantity of corn, which she distributed amongst
the poor, a fact to which Josephus testifies. Helena's tomb,
a truly remarkable one, is still to be seen before the gate of
Jerusalem.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Restoration of the town of Medzpine Name of Sanadroug His death.
Of all Sanadroug's doings and actions, we judge none
worthy of remembrance except the building of the town of
Medzpine ; for, this town having been shaken by an earth-
quake, Sanadroug pulled it down, rebuilt it more magni-
ficently, and surrounded it with double walls and ramparts.
Sanadroug caused to be erected in the middle of the town
his statue holding in his hand a single piece of money, which
signifies : " All my treasures have been used in building the
town, and no more than this single piece of money is left to
me."
But why was this prince called Sanadroug? We will
tell you : Because Abgar's sister, Otsea, while travelling in
Armenia in the winter, was assailed by a whirlwind of snow
in the Gortouk mountains ; the tempest separated them all,
so that none of them knew where his companion had been
driven. The prince's nurse, Sanod, sister of Piourad Pacra-
douni, wife of Khosran Ardzrouni, having taken the royal
infant, for Sanadroug was still in the cradle, laid him upon
her bosom, and remained with him under the snow three
days and three nights. Legend has taken possession of this
circumstance : it relates that an animal, a new species, won-
derful, of great whiteness, sent by the gods, guarded the
child. But so far as we have been informed, this is the fact :
a white dog, which was amongst the men sent in search,
found the child and his nurse ; the prince was therefore
NOTE.
ttt
called Sanadroug, a name taken from his nurse's name (and
from the Armenian name, dourk, a gift), as if to signify the
gift of Sanod.
Sanadrong, having ascended the throne in the twelfth
rear of Ardaches, king of the Persians, and having lived
thirty years, died as he was hunting, from an arrow which
pierced his bowels, as if in punishment of the torments which
he had made his holy daughter suffer. Gheroupna, son of
the scribe Apchatar, collected all these facts, happening in
the time of Abgar and Sanadrong and placed them in the
archives of Edessa.
PSOTE referred to on p. 39. The following list of the Syrian i
of* months, in use in the empire and during the era of the Seleneidae,
several of which hare been mentioned in these Documents, is taken from
Ctummii Cakxdarium Syriacvm, edited in Arabic and Latin by Yokk,
1859. The later Hebrew names also are here added for comparison. It
most, however, be noticed that " the years employed fin the Syrian
Calendar) were, at least after the incarnation, Julian years, composed
of Roman months." (See L'Art de verifier let date*: Paris, 1818, torn. L
p. 45.) The correspondence with the Hebrew months, therefore, is not
so close as the names would indicate, since these commenced with the
new moons, and an intercalary month, Veadar, following their twelfth
month Adar, was added.
October, .
November, .
December, .
January,
February, .
March, . .
April, . .
May, . . .
June, . .
July,. . .
August, . .
September, .
STRIAE.
Tishri prior.
Tishri poster'or.
Canon prior.
Canun posterior.
Shabat.
Adar.
XLsan.
Ajar.
Chaaran.
Tamux.
Ab.
ElaL
HEBBEW.
Tishri (or Ethantm).
BuD(orMarcheshvan).
Chisleu.
Tebeth.
Shebat.
Adar.
Ktsan.
Zif (or I yar).
Sivan.
TammuL
Ab.
KtaL]
I. INDEX OF TEXTS.
1 SAMUEL.
MATTHEW.
PACK
ii. 3,
. 40
iv. 19, -
iv. 24, .
PSALMS.
vii. 6, .
x. 5, .
. 69
x. 28, .
xxxiv. 1,
. 42
x. 33, .
cxlvi. 3,
. 137
x. 39, .
xi. 8, .
PROVERBS.
xxiv. 27,
xix. 25,
. 16
xxvii. 52,
MARK.
JEREMIAH.
v. 15, .
xvii. 5, .
. 114
LUKE.
DANIEL.
xxiii. 48,
iv. 13, .
. 85
ACTS.
iv. 35, .
. 101
i. 12, etc., .
PAGE
xiv. 12,
PA OB
. 59
33
xvi. 4, .
, 43
7
101
140
ROMANS.
v. 4, . . .75
138
101
vii. 24, .
viii. 18,
. 15
. 100, 148
23
38
1 CORINTHIANS.
11
xv. 19, .
. 15
2 CORINTHIANS.
23
iv. 16, .
. 140
v.l, .
. 141
viii. 12, .
. 89
17
EPHESIANS.
i. 18, .
. 18
36
ii. 14, .
. 11, 13
IT. INDEX OF PRINCIPAL SUBJECTS.
ABGAR, king of Edessa, meaning of
the name, 5 ; the reign of, 150 ;
trouble between, and Herod, 150 ;
founds Edessa, 150 ; maintains
Ardaches on the throne of Persia,
and reconciles his brothers, 152 ;
helps Aretas against Herod the
tetrarch, 153 ; certain envoys of,
visit Jerusalem and witness tne
miracles of Jesus, and relate them
to Abgar, who believes, 154 ; re-
quest of, to Jesus, 5, 6 ; letter of,
to Jesus, and the reply, 7, 8, 154,
155, 156 ; the mission of Thad-
dseus or Addseus to, 8, 156 ; the
meeting of, and Thaddteus, 9 ;
healed of his disease by Thaddseus,
10, 12 ; commands money to be
given to Thaddseus, who refuses it
13 ; Thaddseus preaches before
13-20 ; expresses his readiness t
favour and aid Thaddseus, 21 ; th
joy of, 22 ; compels none to profest
Christ, 23 ; message of Narses,
or Nerseh, king of the Assyrians,
to, 26 ; letter of, to Tiberius, 26,
157; reply of Tiberius to, 26, 27,
158 ; receives Aristides the mes-
senger of Tiberius, 28 ; sorrow for
the death of Thaddasus, 31, 32 ;
his contumacious son, 34 ; a second
letter of, to Tiberius, 158; letter
of, to Nerseh, king of Assyria, 159 ;
letter of, to Ardaches, 159, 160;
165
166
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL SUBJECTS.
division of the kingdom of, after
his death, 160; murder of the chil-
dren of, 161.
Abshelma, made deacon by Addseus,
29.
Addseus. [See Thaddceus.]
Aggaeus and others cleave to Addseus,
24 ; appointed guardian and ruler
by Addaeus, 29 ; makes priests
and guides in the whole country of
Mesopotamia, 32 ; barbarously put
to death by a son of Abgar, 34 ;
another statement about, 157.
Ananoun, son of Abgar, 160.
Anovitus, the jailor, 139.
Ansus, appointed by Peter bishop of
Rome, 55.
Antonius, governor of Edessa, 138.
Apostate, an, not to be re-admitted
to the church, 41.
Apostles, the, the preaching of,
35, etc. ; in perplexity as to how
they should preach, 37 ; Simon
Cephas' counsels to, 37; the myste-
rious voice, odour, and tongues
which come to, 37 ; the constitu-
tions or appointments of, 38-43 ;
guides and rulers in the church
after the death of, and the writ-
ings of, 45 ; the teaching of, gene-
rally believed, 46.
Archavoir, king of Persia, 151.
Ardaches, king of Persia, 151 ;
maintained on the throne by
Abgar, 152 ; letter of Abgar to,
159, 160.
Arebas, aided in a war against Herod
the tetrarch, 153.
Aristides, sent by Tiberius to Abgar,
28.
Ascension of Christ, 36.
Avida and Barcalba, ask Addseus
questions respecting Christ, 22.
BABAI, sister of Sharbil, put to death
along with her brother, 78.
Barsamya, bishop of Edessa, converts
Sharbil the pagan high priest, 57-
60 ; accused before the judge Ly-
sinus, 80, 81 ; the Christians de-
mand to die with him, 81, 82 ;
examined by Lysinus, 82-87 ; sen-
tenced to be tortured, but the
judge receiving letters forbidding
the persecution of Christians, he
is set free, 87-89.
CANTICLE, the, of Mar Jacob on
Edessa, when she sent the request
to Christ Jesus to come to her,
129, etc.
Chorepiscopoi, 42, 43.
Christians, the, when about to be
banished from Rome, claim the
bones of their dead, the removal
of which causes earthquakes, etc.,
79, 80.
Clergy, orders of, appointed by the
apostles, 39 ; who not to be ad-
mitted to, or to be excluded from,
40, 41, 42.
Constantine, 117.
Constitutions of the apostles, 38^3.
DATS and times of sacred observ-
ance, appointed by the apostles,
38, 39.
Dead, the commemoration of the, 41,
42.
Death, contempt of, shown by Chris-
tians, 126, 127.
Diocletian, persecution of the Chris-
tians under, 136.
Disciples, secret, constrained to con-
fess Christ, 43, 44.
EAST, praying towards the, 38.
Edessa, 5 note, 6 note ; succession
of the bishops of 89, 90; the
founding of, 151 ; martyrs of, 114.
Epiphany, appointed by the apostles,
39.
FABIANUS, bishop of Rome, 80.
First day of the week, the, appointed
by the apostles, 38.
GREGORY, St., his illustrious descent,
152, 153.
Guides and rulers of the church,
32, 39, 45.
Guria and Shamuna, martyrs, indict-
ment brought against, 137 ; bold-
ness of, before the governor, 138;
examination of, by Musonius, go-
vernor of Antioch, 139, etc. ; tor-
tured, immured in a dungeon, and
'made fast in the stocks, 141, 142 ;
brought before Musonius again, and
examined, 143, 144 ; their unyield-
ing firmness, 145 ; beheaded, 146.
HABIB, a deacon, accused to the
governor the family of, arrested,
92 ; delivers himself up, 93, 94 ;
is examined, scourged, and tor-
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL SUBJECTS.
1G7
tared, 96-101 ; sentence of death
passed on, 101 ; behaviour of, at
the place of execution, 102 ; is
burned to death, 102, 103 ; the
burial of, 103 ; a homily on, by
Mar Jacob, 105, etc. ; account of
the martyrdom of, by Simon Me-
taphrastes, 146-149.
Hananiah, Michael, and Azariab, in
the fiery furnace, compared with
Habib, 106, 107.
Headbands, royal, 22, 24.
Herod the Great, the trouble be-
tween Abgar and, 150.
Herod the tetrarch, his quarrel with
Aretas, its cause, 153.
KINGS allowed to stand before the
altar with the guides of the church,
43.
LENT, appointed by the apostles, 39.
Licinus the emperor, persecution
under, 91, 92.
Luke, wrote the Acts, 49.
Lysanias seizes Sharbil, and carries
him away to trial, 61 ; examines,
tortures, and puts to death Sharbil,
62, etc. ; Barsamya accused before,
and examined, 81, etc. ; Habib
accused to, 91, 92 ; arrests Habib's
family and others, 92 ; examines
Habib, tortures, and condemns
him to death, 96-101.
MAN, the Christians taunted for
worshipping a, which they deny,
113, 114.
Marath Mary, goes daily to worship
at Golgotha and the sepulchre,
the Jews strive to hinder, 133,
134.
Marinus, Abgar sends envoys to, 154.
Mar Jacob, a homily of, on Habib
the martyr, 105, etc. ; a canticle
of, on Edessa, 129, 130; extracts
from homilies of, 135.
Martyrs of Edessa, 114.
Medzpine, rebuilt by Sanadroug, 162.
Ministry, the Christian, in Edessa,
the purity of, 33.
Months, the Syrian, 163.
Musonius, governor of Antioch,
Guria and Shamuna tried, tor-
tured, and put to death by, 139, etc.
NARSES, or Nerseh, king of Assyria,
sends to Abgar to inquire about
Addseus Abgar's reply, 26 ; letter
of Abgar to, 159.
Nero, the emperor, commands Simon
Cephas to be apprehended, and
crucified with his head down-
wards, 54, 55 ; abandoned his
empire, 55.
ORDINATION, in various countries,
whence received, 46-48 ; the de-
scent of that of the bishops of
Edessa traced, 89, 90.
PALTJT, made elder by Addaeus, 29 ;
ordained to the priesthood by
Serapion, bishop of Antioch, 34,
35.
Persecution, the effect of, on the
primitive church, 46.
Prayer, the power of, 126.
ROME, the population of, demand
that all strangers shall be ex-
pelled from the extraordinary
result, 79, 80.
SANADROUG, son of Abgar, his apos-
tasy and cruelty, 160 ; murder of
Abgar's children by, and reign of,
161 ; rebuilds the city of Medz-
pine, 162 ; origin of his name,
162, 163.
Scriptures, apostolic arrangements
respecting the reading of, in the
assemblies, 40.
Serpent, the, crushed by the Son of
God, 127.
Shamuna. [See Guria and Shamuna. ]
Sharbil, the chief of the idol priests
in Edessa, interesting account of
his conversion, 57-60 ; converts
multitudes, 60, 61 ; seized and
carried away by Lysanias to be
tried, 61 ; trial of, 61-65 ; scourged
and imprisoned, 65 ; again brought
before the judge, 65 ; caused to
be suspended by his right hand,
66 ; tortured his heroic endur-
ance, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74 ; sen-
tence pronounced on, and executed,
76-78 ; the sister of, catches his
blood, and is forthwith put to
death, 78.
Simeon Metaphrastes, 136.
Simon Cephas, the teaching of, in
Rome, 49-53 ; contest with and
triumph over Simon the sorcerer
raises to life a dead man, 53,
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL SUBJECTS.
54 ; the glad reception given, 54 ;
seized by Nero, and ordered to be
crucified, 54, 55.
Son of God, the, Christ owned as,
113; crushes the serpent, 127;
espoused the church to Himself
with His blood, 127.
THABD^EUS, or Addseus, sent by
the Apostle Thomas to Abgar,
king of Edessa, 6, 8 ; introduced
to Abgar their first interview, 9,
10 ; heals Abgar and Abdu, 12 ;
refuses the gifts of Abgar, 13 ;
relates the wonderful works of
Christ to Abgar and his court, 13 ;
preaches to Abgar, etc. , 14 ; Abgar
offers him help in his work, 21 ;
replies to questions of the chief
men, about Christ, 22, 23 ; builds
a church in Edessa, 22 ; builds
churches in the villages, 28 ; falls
sick, and appoints Aggseus guide
and ruler in his stead, 29 ; address
of, to the nobles who had embraced
Christianity, 29-31 ; his death,
and mourning for, 31, 32 ; various
extracts from the teaching of,
131 ; further statements respect-
ing the mission and work of, 15G,
etc.
Theotecna, Habib the deacon de-
livers himself up to, who tries to
persuade him to flee, 93, 94 ; ac-
cused of this to the governor, he
denies the charge, 95.
Tiberius, Abgar's letter to, respect-
ing the Jews who crucified Jesus,
and the reply of, 26-28, 157, 158 ;
another letter of Abgar to, 158,
159.
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