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

발행: 1867년

분량: 487페이지

출처: archive.org

분류: 미분류

81쪽

paring Weapons, nor arms, nor bugies; sor such preparation is halesul to them, on account of the God thoy bear about in their consulence. Theresore it is probabie stat those Whomwe suppose to be atheisis, have God as illela ruling pomerontrenched in their conscience. For having cast themselves

of his being a Christian. But ii any one bo found laying tosta charge of a Christian that ho is a Christian, I destro thatit bo mado manifest that he who is accused as a Christian, and acknowledges that he is one, is accused os nothing elsethan Only this, that be is a Christian ; but that he who arraigns him bo burnod alius. And I furinor destre, that he who is entrusted Mith the goverument of the province shali not compei the Christian, Who confesses and certi fies such a matte to retract; neither shali ho commit him. And I destro that theso things be confirmed is a decree of the sonate. AndI command this my edici to be publislied in tho Forum os Trajan, in order that it may bo read. The presect Vitrasius Pollio will seo that it be transmitted to ali the provinces

84쪽

CHAP. II.- bisus condemna the Christians to death.

ine be permitted to arrange her assairs, and afterWards tomahe her defenco against the accusation, When her affairs

85쪽

mere set in order. And this you granted. And her quondam husband, since he Was noW no longer able to prosecute her, directed his assaviis against a man, Ptolemaeus, Whom Urbicus punished, and who had been her teacher in tho Christian doctrines. Αnd this ho did in the sollowing Way. Ηe persuadeda centurion ho had cast Ptolemaeus into prison, and whowas friendly to himself to talio Ptolemaeus and interrogate him on this sole potnt: whether he wero a Christian ' AndPtolemaeus, being a lover of truth, and not oi a deceitsul orsalse disposition, When ho confessed himself to bo a Christian, Was bound by the centurion, and for a long time punished in the prison. And, at last, When tho man in came to Urbicus, he was astad this one question onb: Whether he was a

Christian ' And again, being conscious of his duin and thenobiliw of it through tho teaching of Christ, he consessed his discipieship in tho divine virtuo. For he who dentes

mything, either dentes it becauso he condemns the thingilself, or he stirinlis from confession because he is conscious of his oWn unWorthinosa or alienation from it; neither of whicli cases is stat of tho truo Christian. And when Urbicus ordored him to bo ted away to punishment, ons Lucius, Whowas also himself a Christian, seeing the unreasonable judyment that had thus been givon, said to Urbicus : What is

man, not as an adulterer, nor fornicator, nor murderer, nor

86쪽

punished. CHAP. III. uatia Meusea crescens os ignorinns prejudicea inae the Christians. I too, thereforo, expect to be plotted against and fixod toste stae, by somo of thom I have nameri or perhaps by Crescens, that lover of bravado and bo ting ; for the man is not Worthy of the name of philosopher Who publicly Mars Witnem against us in matters Which he does not underetan' saying that the Christians are atheisis and impious, and doingso in Win favour With tho deluded mob, and to please them. For is he assails us Without having read tho teachings os Christ, he is thoroughly depraved, and far morae than the illiterate, Who osten refrain from discussing or bearing false Witness about mattere they do not understand. or, it he has read them and does not understand tho majesty that is in them, or, underitanding it, acts thus that he may not besuspected of being such fa ChristianJ, ho is far more bassand thoroughly depraved, being conquered by illiberal andu eason te opinion and sear. For I Would havs you toknow that I proposed to him certain questions on this su jeci, and interrogated him, and found most convincingly thathe, in truth, knoWs nothing. And to prove that I speah thstruth, I am ready, ii these disputations have not been r ported to Fou, to conduci them again in Four presence. Andinis Would bo an aci morthy of a prince. But ii my questions and his answers have been made known to Fou, Τοu arealready aware that he is acquainted with none of our mattera; r, is he is acquainted with stem, but, through fear of those who might hear him, does not daro to speah oui, lihe Socrates,lis proves himself, as I said before, no philosopher, but an opinionativo man; at least ho does not regard that Socraticand most admirabie saying: But a man must in no Wiso be

Worda resembling philosopher ' in mund, viz. φιλοψόφου καὶ

φιλοκόμον.

87쪽

distorenceo

be oppressed and persecuted by the wiched; this, i , I Willsolve. God, Whon He had mado the -ole Worid, and subjected things earthly to man, and arranged the heavenlyelements for the increase of fruits and rotation of the seasons, and appotnted this divino law or theso things also Heevidently made for man-committed the caro of men and of ali inings under heaven to angela whom Ηe appotnted overinem. But the angela transgressed this appotniment, and were captivared by love of Women, and begat child n Whoare thoso that are called demons; and besides, they alterWatas

88쪽

His name as man and Saviour, has also significance. For HeWas made man also, as me besore said, having been conceived

according to tho mill of God tho Father, for the salie os belleving men, and sor the destruction of the demons. And

89쪽

Worid, and in yοur city, many of our Christian men exorci ing them in the nante of Jesus Christ, Who mas crucifiedundor Pontius Pilate, have healed and do heat, rendering helpless and driving the possessing deviis out of the men, though they could not be cured by ali the other exorcisis, and

those Who used incantations and Mugs. CHAP. VII.-The worta preserved for the sake of Christians. Man's responsibili . Whorosore God delays causing the confusion and destruction of the whole Worid, by whicli the wiched angeis and demons and men stiali cease to exist, because of the foed of the Christians, who know that they are the cause of preservation in nature. Since, is it were not so, it Would not havo

say that there Will be tho conflagration, but not as the Stoics, according to thoir doctrine of ali things being changed into One another, Which seems most degrading. But notthor dowo amrm that it is by sate that men do What they do, orsuffer What they suffer, but that Each man by Deo choico acis rightly or sins; and that it is by tho influenco of the wichod demons that earnest men, such as Socrates and the like, suffer persecution and are in bonds, while Sardanapalus, Epicurus, and the lilio, suem to bo blessed in abundance and glo . The Stolos, not observing this, maintained that ali things take place according to the necessi os fato. But since God in the beginning mado the race of anguis and men with Dee-Wili, they Will justly suffer in eternat firo the punishment of Whatever sins they have committed. And this is the naturoos ali that is made, to be capable os vico and virtve. Forneither mould any of them be pruise orthy unless there Were

90쪽

philosophiged according to right Nason, by their proscribingto do some things and rofrain hom others. Even tho Stoicphilosophers, in their doctrine os morais, steadily honour inssamo things, so that it is evident that they are not very feliciatous in What they say about principies and incorporeat things. For is they say that human actions come to pass by sate, theywill maintain et thor that God is nothing else than the thingsWhich are ever turning, and altering, and dissolving into thosamo things, and Will appem to have had a comprehensiononly of things that are destructible, and to havo looked onGod Himself as emerging both in pari and in Whole in eve

knowledge and contemplation of the wholo Word, whicli is Christ. And they, having been shut up in eternat fire, shali suffer their just punishment and penalty. For is they are

Christ, this is an intimation of the punishment in eternat fimwhieli is to bo inflicted on thsimselves and those who servethem. For thus did both Hl the propheis foreteli, and o

SEARCH

MENU NAVIGATION