Ante-Nicene Christian Library; Translations Of The Writings Of The Fathers Down To A.D. 325, Volume 2: Justin Martyr and Athenagoras

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TO THE GREEM. 299 Philip and Alexander of Macedon, in Whicli time also tho

Athisian oratora flourished, as the Philippics of Demosthenes plainly shoW M. And those ullo have narrated tho deeds of Auxander suffciently prove stat during his reign Aristotio associaled Min him. From ali manner of proois, then, it is easy to see stat the history of mses is by far more ancient than ali profane' histories. d, besides, it is fit that yourecognise this fact also, stat nothing has been accuratelyrecorded by Greelis helare the era of the olympiads, and

that thoro is no ancient Work which mahes known any action of the Greeri or Barbarians. But betore that periodoxisted only the history of the prophet Μοses, Which he wrote in tho Hebrow character by the divine inspiration. For the Grea character Was not yet in use, as the teachers of languagestemselves prove, telling us that Cadmus first breuot tholottera fram moenicia, and communicated them to the Greas.

a recent discovery. For in the Timopius' ho wroto that Solon, the wisest of the wiso men, on his return hom Egyp

Then again he said, μ You are ali youths in foui, for youhesd no ancient opinion derived throuo remoto tradition, n any system os instruction hoary With timo; but ali theso Gings escapo your knowledge, because sor many generations the posterity of these ancient ages died mute, not having theuse of letters.' It is fit, thereiore, that you understand that itis the faet stat svery histo has been Wriuen in these recenti' dimovered Groa letters; and ii any one Would mahe mentionos old poets, or legislator' or historians, or philosophera, Ororators, he will find that in Wroto their own Works in the

Grea character.

CHAP. XIII.-History of the Septuagint. But ii any one says that the westings of mses and of thorest of the propheis mere also Written in the Greeh character,

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300 IUSTIN'S HORTATOR T ID ESStot him read profane historios, and know that Ptolam' hingos Enpi, when he had bulli the libra in Alexandria, and by gathering books hom every quartor had filled it, thente ni that very ancient histories Writton in Hebre happened tο be caretully preserved; and wishing to know thela contenis, he sent for seventy Wise men hom Jerusalem, Whomere acquainted with both tho Greeh and Hebrem language, and appotnted them to translate tho books; and that infroedom fmm ali disturbance they mirat tho more speedilycomplete the translation, ho ordored that thoro fhould bo constructed, not in the city itself, but seven stadia off wherothe Pharos was bulli), as many lituo cois as there meretranslators, so that each by himself might complete his omntranslation; and enjoined upon inose of cers Who Were ap- potnted to this duin to afford them ali attendance, but toprevent communication With one another, in ordor that tho accuracy of the translation might be discerntiae oven by theiragreement. And when he ascertained that the seventy menhad not only given the fame meming, but had emploed the fame mords, and had falled in agreement With one anothernot even to the extent of one mord, but had Written the samethings, and concerning the fame things, he was struch Withamagement, and belleved that the translation had been written

m velled at the books, and concludod them to bo divine, heconsecrated them in that library. Thess things, ye men es Greece, are no fabie, nor do me narrate fictions; but We ou selves having been in Alexandria, saW tho remains of the litile cois at the Pharos stili preservel and liming heard inessinings iram tho inhabitants, who had received them as part of their count 's tradition, we now teli to you What you can alsoleam hom othera, and specialty hom those Wise and esteemedmen who have Written os these inings, Philo and Josephus, and many othera. But is any of those Who ars mont to bolamard in contradiction inould say that theso hooks do notbelong to us, but to the Jems, and should asseri that We in

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D is therelare necessa , ye Greelis, that you contemplatethe things that are to bo, and consider the judgment Whicli is

mere in Egypt, and profited by the godliness of Moses and

his ancesto. For Ι thinh that some of you, When yοu readeven caretessty the history of Diodorus, and of those ostersWho Wrote of these things, cannot fati to sed that both Orpheus, and Homer, and Solon, who wrote the laws of the Athenians, and Pythagoras, and Plato, and some others, When

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302J SNNE HORTATORI AD ESS

CHAP. XV.- Teatimony of Orpheus to Monotheiam. M ali evenis, me must remita Du What Orpheus, Whomas, as one might say, γοπι firat inacher of polythelam, latterly addressed in his son Musaeus, and to the oster legutimate auditora, concerning the one and -ου GOd. And hospori thus:

ri ali the enda os ocean, and amund Trembis tho mountain ranges and the strema,

Thero is one Zeua alone, one inn, one hell, Ono Bacchus; and in ali inings but ono God; Noe of sal these as diverso let me spe .V

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here names the voice,' by whom heaven and earin and tho Whole creation Were made, as the divine prophecies of the

CHAP. XVI.-Testimony of the Sibyl. must also mention What the ancient and ex edinglyromoto Sibyl, Whom Plato and Aristophanes, and othera besides, mention as a prophetes' taught you in her oracular Verses concerning one oesy God. d sho speas thus:

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304JUSTIN'S HORTATORY AD ESS

And the poet Homer, using the licence of poetry, and rivalling the original opinion of Orpheus regarding the pluraliu of the gods, mentions, indeed, severat gods in amythical style, test he should seem to sing in a different strain hom the poem os Orpheus, Which he so distinetly proposedio rivia, that even in tho firsi lino of his poem ho indicated the relation ho hold to him. For as Orpheus in the begin- ning of his poem had sald, o goddess, sing the wrath of Demeter, Who brings the goodly fruit,' Homer began thus, o goddess, sing the wrath of Achilles, son os Peleus,' preferring, as it seems to me, even to violate the poeticat metrein his fini line, than that he inould seem not to have remem-

place on account of the multitude of resera, and the fictis and factions, and their mutuat counterplora. For monarchyis free hom contention. So far the poet Homer. Iliad, ix. 445. Iliad, ii. 204.

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TO THE GREE . 305

Who made the heavens and the Moad earin beneat Tho glancing Wavea es ocean and the Winda. But many of mortala ere in heari, And set up for a solace in o. SΙmages of tho goda in stone and Wood, or figures carved in bram or Nory, d, furnishing tor theae our handiWoris, Both sacrifico and rite magnificent,m iniis that thus me do a pious Worh.

Thus, then, Sophocles.

CHAP. XIX.-Testimony of Pythagora3. d Pythagoras, son of Mnesarchus, Who expounded the

suppose, exist ouisido the worid, but in it, ΗΟ being whollypresent in the whola circle, and belloiding ali generations; being the regulating ingredient of est the ages, and the administrator of His own pomers and wotas, the firat principieos ali inings, tho light of heaven, and Father of ali, the intelligonco and animating soes of the universe, the movementos ad Orbita. Thus, then, Pythagoras.

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306. JUSTIN'S HORTATORI A RE

But Plato, though he accepted, as is lihely, the doctrine ofΜoses and the oster propheis regarding one Onb God, Whicli ho learned while in Egypt, yet fearing, on account of Whathad bosallon Socrates, test he also fhould rai se up Some Anytus or Meletus against himself, who fhould accuso himboforo the Athenians, and say, Plato is doing harm, and mining himseli mischievousty busy, not achnowledging thegods recognised by the state; in fear of the hemioch uice,

contrives an elaborate and ambiguous disco se concerning

For God cannot be called by any proper name, for namesare given to mata out anil distinguisti their subject-matters, because thoso are many and diverse; but neither did any ono

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bom of themselves. This fidit false lancri the fore, comcerning gοd' had iis Origin With the iather of sies. God, thereiore, knowing that the falso opinion about the plurali of gods Was burdening the foui Oi man lita some disease, and wishing to remove and eradicate it, appeared first to Moses,

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308JUSTINE HORTATORI A RE

consider it ungase to mention the name of Moses, on account

of his toaching the doctrine of one onb God, for he dreaded the Areopagus; but What is very meli expressed by him in

ye men os Greece, seem to those Who are ille to underatand

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