ΒΙΒΛΙΟΝ ΕΒΔΟΜΟΝ
Seventh Book
Seventh Book
Chapter 1
Eusebius transitions from his critique of pagan polytheism to explaining why Christians adopted the philosophy and religion of the Hebrews.
| 1.1 Ἑβραίων πέρι λοιπὸν καὶ τῆς κατ’ αὐτοὺς φιλοσοφίας τε καὶ εὐσεβείας, ἣν τῶν πατρίων ἀπάντων προτετιμήκαμεν, τὸν τοῦ βίου τρόπον ὑπογράψαι καιρός. | 1.1 It is now time, concerning the Hebrews and their philosophy and piety—which we have preferred above all ancestral customs—to set forth an outline of their way of life. |
| 1.2 ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οὐκ ἀλόγῳ, κεκριμένῳ δὲ καὶ σώφρονι λογισμῷ τῆς διεψευσμένης ὁμοῦ πάντων Ἑλλήνων τε καὶ βαρβάρων θεολογίας τὴν ἀπόλειψιν πεποιημένοι συνέστημεν, ὥρα λοιπὸν τὴν δευτέραν ἐπιλύσασθαι, τὴν αἰτίαν ἀποδιδόντας τῆς τῶν Ἑβραϊκῶν λόγων μεταποιήσεως. | 1.2 For since we have established that it was not by unreasoning impulse, but by critical and sound judgment that we abandoned the false theology common to all Greeks and barbarians alike, it is time to address our second point by explaining the reason for our adoption of the Hebrew doctrines. |
| 1.3 Τὸ μὲν οὖν μὴ φέρειν τινὰ μέμψιν ἡμῖν τὴν ἀπὸ βαρβάρων τοῦ συμφέροντος μετάληψιν ἐπὶ τῆς δεούσης σχολῆς παραστήσομεν, πάντα τοῖς Ἕλλησι καὶ αὐτοῖς γε τοῖς βοωμένοις αὐτῶν φιλοσόφοις τὰ φιλόσοφα μαθήματα, καὶ τὰ ἄλλως κοινὰ καὶ ταῖς πολιτικαῖς λυσιτελοῦντα χρείαις, παρὰ βαρβάρων ἐσκενωρῆσθαι ἐπιδείξοντες· τὸ δὲ μηδέν πω μηδ' ὅλως παρά τισιν εὑρῆσθαι τῶν ἐθνῶν, οἷον τὸ παρ' Ἑβραίων ἡμῖν ἀγαθὸν πεπορισμένον, ὧδε ἂν γένοιτο πρόδηλον. | 1.3 That our borrowing what is beneficial from barbarians brings no blame upon us, we shall demonstrate when time permits, by showing that all philosophical learning—and whatever else is generally useful for civic needs—was concocted by barbarians and passed to the Greeks and to their most celebrated philosophers. But that the good procured for us from the Hebrews has never been found anywhere among the nations, will become clear as follows. |
Chapter 2
Eusebius notes that pagan theology—across both Greek and barbarian cultures—was fundamentally driven by a focus on physical sensation and bodily pleasure. Because pagans failed to recognize the immaterial nature of the soul, they elevated pleasure to a divine status. This led to various forms of idolatry (worshiping celestial bodies, personified passions, ruler cults, and demons) and resulted in moral corruption. In contrast, the Hebrew tradition offered a divine good found nowhere else among the nations.
| 2.1 Οἱ μὲν δὴ λοιποὶ πάντες ἄνθρωποι, ἄνωθεν ἐκ πρώτης τοῦ βίου συστάσεως καὶ εἰς δεῦρο τὸν χρόνον μόνῃ τῇ τῶν σωμάτων προσανασχόντες αἰσθήσει, τῷ μηδὲν περὶ τῆς ἐν αὐτοῖς ψυχῆς διειληφέναι, πλέον τε οὐδὲν τῶν ὁρωμένων ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν ὑπάρχειν ἡγησάμενοι, τὸ καλὸν καὶ συμφέρον καὶ μόνον ἀγαθὸν τῇ τῶν σωμάτων ἀνέθηκαν ἡδονῇ· μόνην τε ταύτην, ὡς τὸ μόνον οὖσαν ἀγαθὸν καὶ προσηνὲς καὶ ἡδὺ πρὸς ἀπόλαυσίν τε εὐδαίμονος βίου αὐτάρκη, περισπούδαστον ὑποθέμενοι, θεῶν μεγίστην ἡγήσαντό τε καὶ τεθειάκασιν, οὐδὲ τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῆς, εἰ μὴ μετέχοι τῆς τῶν σωμάτων ἡδονῆς, ἐφιέμενοι, καὶ ζῆν οὐ διὰ τὸ ζῆν, διὰ δὲ τὸ ἡδέως ζῆν ἀσπαζόμενοι, τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς ἰδίοις εὐξάμενοι παισὶν ὡς μόνον ἀγαθὸν παρεῖναι. | 2.1 All the rest of mankind, from the earliest origin of human life down to the present time, relied solely on the physical senses of their bodies. Because they understood nothing concerning the soul within them, and believed that nothing exists among real things beyond what is seen, they assigned goodness, utility, and the sole true good to bodily pleasure. Setting this down as the one object worthy of earnest pursuit—as being the sole good, agreeable, sweet, and self-sufficient for the enjoyment of a happy life—they regarded it as the greatest of gods and divinized it. They did not even desire life itself unless it shared in bodily pleasure, embracing life not for the sake of living, but for the sake of living pleasantly, and praying that this alone might be present for their own children as the sole good. |
| 2.2 ἔνθεν οἱ μὲν τὰ χορηγὰ τῆς ἐνσάρκου ζωῆς ἥλιον εἶναι καὶ σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας ὑποτοπήσαντες, καί πως καὶ πρὸς τὴν ὄψιν τοῦ φωτὸς καταπλαγέντες, πρώτους θεοὺς ἀνηγόρευσαν, μόνους αἰτίους τῶν ὅλων εἶναι ἀποφηνάμενοι· οἱ δὲ τοὺς ἀπὸ γῆς καρποὺς τήν τε ὑγρὰν καὶ ξηρὰν καὶ θερμὴν οὐσίαν τά τε λοιπὰ τοῦ κόσμου μέρη, δι’ ὧν αὐτοῖς τὰ σώματα τρεφόμενά τε καὶ πιαινόμενα τὴν ἔνσαρκον ὁμοῦ ζωήν τε καὶ ἡδονὴν ἐθηρᾶτο, θεῶν πάλιν προσηγορίᾳ τετιμήκασιν· οἱ δὲ πολὺ πρότερον τούτων γυμνῇ καὶ ἀκαλύπτῳ κεφαλῇ τὰ σφέτερα πάθη καὶ τὴν δέσποιναν αὐτῶν ἡδονήν, ἔρωτα καὶ πόθον καὶ ἀφροδίτην, καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν θεῶν κρατεῖν εἰπόντες ἀπεθέωσαν· οἱ δὲ τοὺς τῶν ἡδέων χορηγούς τε καὶ εὑρετὰς αὐτοῖς γενομένους ἄνδρας τυράννους τινὰς καὶ δυνάστας, δι’ ἃς ἔτυχον ἐξ αὐτῶν εὐπαθείας, ζῶντάς τε ἔτι καὶ μετὰ τελευτὴν ἐθεοποίησαν· οἱ δὲ μοχθηρῶν πνευμάτων καὶ δαιμόνων γενόμενοι παραπαίγνια ἔτι μειζόνως τὸ παθητικὸν αὐτῶν μέρος τῆς ψυχῆς συνηύξησαν, τὰ ἡδέα καὶ παρὰ τούτων διὰ τῆς νενομισμένης αὐτῶν θεραπείας ἐκπορίζοντες· οἱ δὲ μηδενὸς τούτων ἀνασχόμενοι τὸ ἄθεον ὡς πολὺ κρεῖττον τῆς τοιᾶσδε θεολογίας εἰσηγήσαντο· οἱ δὲ ἔτι τούτων ἁπάντων ἀναιδέστεροι τὸν φιλόσοφον καὶ τρισευδαίμονα βίον οὐδ’ ἄλλον εἶναι ἢ τὸν ἡδὺν ἀπεφήναντο, τέλος τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὴν ἡδονὴν ὁρισάμενοι. | 2.2 Hence, some, suspecting that the sun, moon, and stars were the providers of bodily life, and being struck with awe at the sight of light, proclaimed them the primary gods, declaring them to be the sole causes of the universe. Others honored with the title of gods the fruits of the earth, along with the moist, dry, and warm elements, and the remaining parts of the world by which their bodies were nourished and fattened to pursue physical life and pleasure. Others long before these, with uncovered head, deified their own passions and their mistress, Pleasure—naming them Love, Longing, and Aphrodite—and declaring that they held sway even over the gods themselves. Others deified men who had been tyrants or rulers, both while they were living and after death, because of the comforts they had received from them as providers of pleasant things. Others, becoming the playthings of evil spirits and demons, further increased the passive part of their soul, procuring pleasures from these beings through customary worship. Others, unable to endure any of these things, introduced atheism as something far better than such a theology. And others, even more shameless than all of these, declared that the philosophical and thrice-blessed life was nothing other than the life of pleasure, defining pleasure as the ultimate goal of all goods. |
| 2.3 ταύτῃ δ’ οὖν τὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων γένος, ὡς ἂν δεσποίνῃ πικρᾷ καὶ χαλεπωτάτῃ, ἡδονῇ θεῷ, μᾶλλον δὲ αἰσχρῷ καὶ ἀκολάστῳ δαίμονι, καταδεδουλωμένον παντοίαις ἐνεφύρετο ταλαιπωρίαις. αἵ τε γὰρ θήλειαι αὐτῶν, κατὰ τὸν ἱερὸν ἀπόστολον, μετήλλαξαν τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν εἰς τὴν παρὰ φύσιν· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄρρενες, ἀφέντες τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν τῆς θηλείας, ἐξεκαύθησαν ἐν τῇ ὀρέξει αὐτῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἄρρενες ἐν ἄρρεσι τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην κατεργαζόμενοι, καὶ τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν, ἣν ἔδει, τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολαμβάνοντες. | 2.3 Thus the entire human race, enslaved to Pleasure as to a bitter and harsh mistress—or rather, as to a god or an impure and licentious demon—was wallowing in every kind of misery. For their women, according to the holy apostle, exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and likewise the men, abandoning natural relations with women, were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameful acts with men, and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. |
| 2.4 ταύτῃ καὶ λληνες καὶ βάρβαροι, σοφοί τε καὶ ἰδιῶται, χαμαί τε καὶ ἐπὶ γαστέρα πεσόντες, ὡς θεῷ τῇ ἡδονῇ προσεκύνησαν, πρηνεῖς τε σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἑρπετῶν δίκην καταβαλόντες, ἄμαχον καὶ ἀπαραίτητον θεὸν ταύτην ἡγήσαντό τε καὶ ἔστερξαν· ἔν τε ᾠδαῖς καὶ ὕμνοις, ἔν τε θεῶν ἑορταῖς, ἔν τε ταῖς πανδήμοις θέαις, μόνης τῆς αἰσχρᾶς καὶ ἀκολάστου ἡδονῆς τὰ ὄργια καὶ τὰς ἀσέμνους τελετὰς μυούμενοί τε καὶ τελοῦντες, ὡς εἰ καί τι ἄλλο, καὶ τόδε καλῶς παρ’ ἡμῖν ἀνῃρῆσθαι. "ἀρχὴ γὰρ πορνείας ἐπίνοια εἰδώλων." | 2.4 Thus Greeks and barbarians alike, wise men and commoners, falling down on the ground upon their bellies, worshipped Pleasure as a god. Throwing themselves prostrate like reptiles, they regarded and cherished her as an invincible and implacable deity. In songs and hymns, in festivals of the gods, and in public spectacles, they were initiated into and performed the rites and unholy mysteries of shameless and licentious pleasure alone—so that this practice, if nothing else, has been rightly abolished among us. For "the invention of idols is the beginning of immorality." |
| 2.5 καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τῆς τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν θεολογίας τοσαύτην εἰλήφει, ὡς ἐν βραχεῖ φάναι, τὴν πολυτροπίαν, μιᾶς μὲν ἀρχῆς τῆς ἀκαθάρτου καὶ μιαρᾶς ἡδονῆς ἀνημμένα, ὕδρας δὲ πολυαυχένου καὶ πολυκεφάλου τρόπον εἰς πολλὰς καὶ ποικίλας διαιρέσεις τε καὶ τομὰς ἐξενηνεγμένα. | 2.5 Such, to speak briefly, was the multi-faceted nature that the theology of the other nations had assumed—bound to a single origin of impure and polluted pleasure, yet branching out like a many-necked and many-headed hydra into numerous and varied divisions. |
| 2.6 ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τοσαύτην ἔτυχον προβεβλημένοι τὴν πλάνην, εἰκότα δὴ αὐτοῖς ἡδονῇ θεῷ καὶ κακῷ δαίμονι χρωμένοις ἐπὶ κακοῖς κακὰ συνηγείρετο, γυναικομανίαις καὶ ἀρρένων φθοραῖς μητρογαμίαις τε καὶ θυγατρομιξίαις τὸν πάντα καταφυρομένους βίον, καὶ τὴν ἄγριον καὶ θηριώδη φύσιν ὑπερβολῇ φαυλότητος νενικηκόσι. τοιοῦτος μὲν οὖν ὁ τρόπος τῶν παλαιῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ τῆς διεψευσμένης αὐτῶν θεολογίας, διὰ τῶν συνηγμένων ἡμῖν Ἑλληνικῶν λογογράφων τε καὶ φιλοσόφων ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἀποδέδειξα. | 2.6 Since, therefore, they happened to be entangled in such great error, it was natural that as they treated Pleasure as a god and an evil demon, evils piled upon evils for them. They defiled their entire lives with madness for women, corruption of males, incest with mothers, and intercourse with daughters, surpassing even wild and savage nature in the excess of their wickedness. Such, then, was the character of the ancient nations and their false theology, as demonstrated in the preceding books through the collections we made from Greek historians and philosophers. |
Chapter 3
Eusebius contrasts the materialist corruption of the ancient pagan world with the intellectual and spiritual posture of the Hebrew patriarchs. Rather than worshipping creation or physical pleasure, the Hebrews applied disciplined reason and spiritual vision to observe the universe. They recognized that physical elements, celestial bodies, and matter are unreasoning, lifeless, and subject to decay, and therefore could not be divine or self-originated. Using teleological reasoning—comparing the ordered cosmos to a house needing a builder, a garment a weaver, or a ship a pilot—they deduced that an uncreated, wise, and living God must be the supreme Creator and Governor of all things.
| 3.1 Εἰ δὴ οὖν συνῶπταί σοι ὁ τῶν παλαιῶν βίος, ἄθρει δὴ λοιπὸν τῇ διανοίᾳ μόνους παῖδας Ἑβραίων ἐν τοσούτοις τὴν ἐναντίαν ἀπιόντας. | 3.1 If, then, you have surveyed the life of the ancients, consider now with your mind how the children of the Hebrews alone among so many walked in the opposite direction. |
| 3.2 οἵδε γὰρ πρῶτοι καὶ μόνοι πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἄνωθεν ἐκ πρώτης τοῦ βίου καταβολῆς λογικῇ θεωρίᾳ τὴν διάνοιαν ἀναθέντες, καὶ τῇ περὶ τοῦ παντὸς φυσιολογίᾳ εὐσεβῶς ἐπιστήσαντες, πρῶτα μὲν τὰ τῶν σωμάτων στοιχεῖα, γῆν, ὕδωρ, ἀέρα, πῦρ, ἐξ ὧν τόδε τὸ πᾶν συνεστὸς κατεμάνθανον, ἥλιόν τε καὶ σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας, οὐ θεούς, ἔργα δὲ εἶναι θεοῦ διελογίσαντο, τὴν φύσιν τῆς σωματικῆς οὐσίας οὐ μόνον ἄλογον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄψυχον εἶναι, καθ’ ὅσον ῥοώδης καὶ φθαρτὴ οὖσα τυγχάνει, συννοήσαντες, κἄπειτα λογισάμενοι ὡς οὐχ οἷόν τε τὴν τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου διάταξιν, εὖ καὶ σοφῶς ἡρμοσμένην, ἔμπλεών τε ζῴων ἐμψύχων λογικῶν τε καὶ ἀλόγων ὑπάρχουσαν, αὐτόματον ἐπιγράφεσθαι τὴν αἰτίαν, οὐδέ γε τῶν ἐμψύχων τὴν ποιητικὴν ἀρχὴν ἄψυχον ὑπολαμβάνειν, οὐδ’ ἄλογον τὴν τῶν λογικῶν δημιουργόν. | 3.2 For these men were the first and only ones among all humanity who, from the very beginning of human life, devoted their intellect to rational contemplation and piously applied themselves to the study of nature. First, concerning the bodily elements—earth, water, air, and fire, out of which this universe is composed—and the sun, moon, and stars, they reasoned that these were not gods, but the works of God. They recognized that the nature of physical substance is not only unreasoning but also inanimate, insofar as it happens to be subject to flux and decay. They further calculated that it is impossible for the order of the entire cosmos—harmonized so well and so wisely, and filled with living beings both rational and irrational—to attribute its cause to chance, nor to suppose that the creative principle of living things is inanimate, nor that the creator of rational beings is unreasoning. |
| 3.3 ἐπεὶ δὲ μηδὲ ξύλων καὶ λίθων αὐτόματός ποτ’ ἂν οἰκοδομία συσταίη, οὐδέ γε ἐσθὴς ὑφάντου δίχα συντελεσθείη, οὐδὲ πόλεις καὶ πολιτεῖαι νόμων ἐκτὸς καὶ ἀρχοντικῆς διατάξεως, οὐδὲ ἐκτὸς κυβερνήτου ναῦς, οὐδὲ τὸ σμικρότατον τέχνης ὄργανον ὑποσταίη ἂν μὴ διὰ τεχνίτου, οὐδ’ εὐόρμου ποτὲ ναῦς λιμένος τύχοι μὴ οὐχὶ σὺν ἀγαθῷ κυβερνήτῃ· οὐδ’ ἡ τῶν καθόλου στοιχείων ἄρα φύσις, ἄψυχος οὖσα καὶ ἄλογος, τῷ καθ’ ἑαυτὴν λόγῳ δίχα τῆς ἀνωτάτω τοῦ θεοῦ σοφίας λόγῳ ποτὲ καὶ ζωῇ ἀνθέξεται. ταῦτα δὴ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα διανοηθέντες οἱ τῆς Ἑβραίων εὐσεβείας πατέρες, ἐκ μεγέθους καὶ καλλονῆς κτισμάτων νῷ κεκαθαρμένῳ καὶ ψυχῆς διαυγέσιν ὄμμασι τὸν πάντων δημιουργὸν θεὸν ἐσεβάσθησαν. | 3.3 For just as a building of wood and stone could never assemble itself by chance, nor could a garment be completed without a weaver, nor cities and civil constitutions exist without laws and rulerly order, nor a ship without a pilot, nor the smallest instrument of art exist apart from an artisan, nor a ship ever reach a safe harbor except with a good captain—so too the nature of the universal elements, being lifeless and unreasoning, could never by its own principles possess reason and life apart from the supreme wisdom of God. Pondering these and similar truths, the forefathers of the Hebrews' piety, perceiving the Creator of all things from the grandeur and beauty of His creations with a purified mind and the clear eyes of the soul, worshipped God the Creator of all. |
Chapter 4
Eusebius shifts the focus from cosmological reasoning to anthropology and ethics. Recognizing that the true human being is defined by the soul rather than the body, the Hebrew ancestors prioritized the inner life over physical pleasure. They understood that humanity rules creation not by brute physical force, but through the divine gift of reason. Recognizing God as the sole provider of all goods, they dedicated body and soul entirely to Him, seeking happiness in His knowledge and friendship. Consequently, they became true priests and worshippers of the Most High—a "chosen race and royal priesthood"—passing this heritage of piety down to posterity. Eusebius concludes by asking whether it was not thoroughly rational to prefer this Hebrew path over the mythologies and idolatries of the Greeks, Phoenicians, and Egyptians.
| 4.1 Κἄπειτα μέρος οὐ μικρὸν τοῦ παντὸς σφᾶς αὐτοὺς εἶναι συναισθόμενοι, τὸ μέν τι αὐτῶν τίμιον εἶναι ἡγήσαντο (τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀληθῆ ἄνθρωπον, τὸν κατὰ ψυχὴν νενοημένον), τὸ δὲ τούτου χώραν περιβολῆς ἐπέχειν· τοῦτο δὲ εἶναι τὸ σῶμα. καὶ δὴ τοῦτον διελόμενοι τὸν τρόπον, τὴν πᾶσαν περὶ τῆς τοῦ ἔνδον ἀνθρώπου ζωῆς φροντίδα καὶ σπουδὴν εἰσηνέγκαντο. | 4.1 And then, realizing that they themselves were no small part of the universe, they considered that a certain part within them was precious—namely the true human being, understood according to the soul—while the rest held the place of a garment, and this was the body. Having divided matters in this manner, they brought all their care and zeal to bear upon the life of the inner man. |
| 4.2 τοῦτο δὲ παρὰ τῷ πάντων δημιουργῷ θεῷ προσφιλὲς εἶναι λογισάμενοι, ὅς που τὴν ἀνθρώπων φύσιν τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἀπάντων κρατεῖν οὐ ῥώμῃ σώματος ὡς ἀρετῇ ψυχῆς ἐδωρήσατο· τὰ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ὄντων εἶναι ἄψυχα, οἷα λίθους καὶ ξύλα, τὰ δὲ ζωτικῆς δυνάμεως μέτοχα, οἷα τὰ ἀπὸ γῆς βλαστήματα, τὰ δὲ αἰσθήσεως ὁρμῆς τε φανταστικῆς μεμοιραμένα, οἷα ζῴων τὰ ἄλογα· πάντα δὲ ταῦτα ἑνὶ τῷ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένει πρὸς ὑπηρεσίαν δουλοῦσθαι, οὐ ῥώμῃ σώματος καὶ ἰσχύϊ κατηναγκασμένα, λογισμῷ δὲ καὶ ψυχῆς ἀρετῇ, ᾗ τὸ κατὰ πάντων τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἀρχικόν τε καὶ βασιλικὸν γέρας ἄνωθεν παρὰ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων αἰτίου συγκεχωρῆσθαι κατειλήφασιν· | 4.2 They calculated that this was pleasing to God, the Creator of all, who granted the nature of humanity dominion over all things on earth not through physical strength, but through the virtue of the soul. For some existing things are inanimate, such as stones and wood; others share in vital power, such as the plants from the earth; and others are endowed with sensation and imaginative impulse, such as the irrational animals. Yet all these are subjected in service to the single race of mankind—forced into submission not by physical strength and bodily power, but by reason and the virtue of the soul, through which they understood that the royal and ruling prerogative over all things on earth had been granted from above by the Cause of all. |
| 4.3 ἔνθεν ὁρμώμενοι, σῶμα μὲν καὶ τὰ σωμάτων ἡδέα οὐδέν τι μᾶλλον τῶν ἄλλων ἐπὶ γῆς θρεμμάτων προτιμᾶν διενοήθησαν, τὸ δ’ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἄρχον, ὡς ἂν τοῦ πάντων ἄρχοντος οἰκεῖον, καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ λογικόν τε καὶ νοερὸν, θεῖόν τε καὶ ἐπιστημονικὸν ὡς ἂν τοῦ ἐπὶ πάντων θεοῦ τὴν ὁμοίωσιν φέρον, μόνον διὰ σπουδῆς ἔσχον. | 4.3 Proceeding from this foundation, they resolved to value the body and bodily pleasures no more than the other animals on earth do. Instead, they held in earnest devotion only that which rules within them—as being akin to the Ruler of all—and that part of the soul which is rational, intellectual, divine, and capable of knowledge, as bearing the likeness of the God over all. |
| 4.4 εἶτα μηδὲν ἄλλο τι ἐνθυμηθέντες ἀγαθὸν εἶναι τοῦ πάντων ἀγαθῶν χορηγοῦ θεοῦ, τέλος ἁπάσης εὐδαιμονίας τὴν αὐτοῦ γνῶσίν τε καὶ φιλίαν εἶναι ἀπεφήναντο, ὅτι καὶ αὐτῆς ζωῆς καὶ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος καὶ τῶν τούτοις ἀναγκαίων μόνος αὐτὸς ἀνῆπται τὴν αἰτίαν. | 4.4 Furthermore, considering no other good to exist than God, the Provider of all goods, they declared the ultimate goal of all happiness to be the knowledge and friendship of Him, because He alone holds the supreme cause of life itself, of soul and body, and of all things necessary for them. |
| 4.5 τούτῳ δὴ οὖν σφᾶς ὅλους αὐτῷ σώματι καὶ ψυχῇ φέροντες ἀνατεθείκασι, τὸν πάντα αὐτῶν βίον ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ἀναρτησάμενοι, καὶ μόνῳ προσέχειν, ἄλλῳ δὲ μηδενὶ τῶν ὁρωμένων ἀξιώσαντες. | 4.5 To Him, therefore, they dedicated themselves completely, body and soul, hanging their entire life upon Him, and deeming it worthy to give heed to Him alone and to no other visible thing. |
| 4.6 οὕτω δὴ φιλόθεοι ὁμοῦ καὶ θεοφιλεῖς ἀναφανέντες, θεραπευταί τινες ὄντως καὶ ἱερεῖς τοῦ ὑψίστου θεοῦ ἀπεφάνθησαν, ἢ καὶ γένος ἐκλεκτὸν καὶ βασιλικὸν ἱεράτευμά τε θεοῦ καὶ ἔθνος ἅγιον προσαγορευθῆναι ἠξιώθησαν, σπέρμα τῆς ἀληθοῦς таύτης εὐσεβείας καὶ τοῖς ὀψιγόνοις αὐτῶν ἀπολελοιπότες. | 4.6 Having thus shown themselves to be both lovers of God and beloved by God, they proved to be true servants and priests of the Most High God, or were even counted worthy to be called a chosen race, a royal priesthood of God, and a holy nation, leaving behind the seed of this true piety to their descendants. |
| 4.7 ἆρ’ οὖν λογισμῷ σοι δοκοῦμεν τούσδε τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν προτετιμηκέναι, καὶ μᾶλλον τῶν Φοινίκων τε καὶ Αἰγυπτίων θεῶν τῶν τε περὶ τοὺς θεοὺς δυσφήμων ἀτοπημάτων τὰς παρ’ Ἑβραίοις περὶ εὐσεβῶν ἀνδρῶν διηγήσεις ἀποδέξασθαι; | 4.7 Does it not seem to you, then, that we have preferred these men to the Greek traditions on sound reasoning, and that we were right to accept the accounts concerning these pious men among the Hebrews rather than the Phoenician and Egyptian gods, and the blasphemous absurdities told about their deities? |
Chapter 5
Eusebius highlights how God rewarded the piety and philosophy of the Hebrew patriarchs by granting them divine revelations, angelic visions, and the gift of prophecy—illuminating their minds with truth rather than mere conjecture.
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5.1
Θέα δ’ οὖν ἔτι εἰς ὅσον θεοφιλοῦς ἀρετῆς προελθεῖν φασι τοὺς δηλουμένους.
ἀποδεξάμενον τὸ θεῖον τῆς τε ἄλλης τοῦ βίου εὐσεβείας καὶ φιλοσοφίας τῆς τε περὶ αὐτὸ θεραπείας τοὺς ἄνδρας, ἤδη καὶ θειοτέρων χρησμῶν θεοφανειῶν τε αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀγγελικῶν ὀπτασιῶν ἠξίου, τὰ ἐνδέοντα τῇ θνητῇ φύσει ταῖς τῶν πρακτέων ὑποθήκαις ἐπιδιορθούμενον, δογμάτων τε καὶ μαθημάτων αὐτοῖς θεοπρεπῶν τὴν γνῶσιν ἀποκαλύπτον, ὡς μηκέτι συλλογισμοῖς, μηδὲ εἰκασίαις, ἐκλάμψει δὲ αὐτῆς ἀληθείας φωτίζεσθαι τὰς διανοίας αὐτῶν, ὥστε ἤδη θεοφορουμένους τὴν τῶν μελλόντων ἔσεσθαι ὡς παρόντων ἐπιθεωρεῖν κατάληψιν, καὶ τὰ καθόλου συμβησόμενα τῷ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένει θεσπίζειν. |
5.1
Consider now to what height of god-loving virtue they say these men attained.
The Divine Being, having accepted these men because of their general piety and philosophy of life and their worship of Himself, deemed them worthy of even more divine oracles, theophanies, and angelic visions—correcting the deficiencies of mortal nature with instructions on what ought to be done, and revealing to them the knowledge of godlike doctrines and teachings. Thus, no longer guided by logical deductions or conjectures, but illuminated by the radiance of truth itself, their minds were so inspired that they possessed a comprehension of future events as if they were present, and prophesied what was to happen to the entire human race. |
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5.2
τοιαῦτα τῆς Ἑβραίων ἀρετῆς τὰ πολυύμνητα καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς θεοφιλῆ περιέχει λόγια, ἃ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν καὶ πατρίων μύθων τε καὶ λήρων προτετιμήκαμεν·
οἱ μέν γε περὶ θεῶν τὰ αἰσχρότατα περιεῖχον, οἱ δὲ περὶ θεοφιλῶν ἀνδρῶν τὰς εὐσεβεῖς διδασκαλίας. | 5.2 Such are the much-praised and truly god-loving oracles contained in the virtue of the Hebrews, which we have preferred over Greek and ancestral myths and nonsense; for the latter contained the most disgraceful tales about gods, whereas the former contained the pious teachings of men beloved by God. |
Chapter 6
Eusebius draws a crucial distinction between Hebrews and Jews:
Hebrews (derived from Eber) represent the ancient patriarchs prior to Moses. They lived a noble, unwritten way of piety guided by natural law and soul purity, without needing the formal mosaic regulations.
Jews (derived from Judah) arose much later under Moses, who instituted formal legislation (the Sabbath, dietary restrictions, annual feasts, and ritual purifications) to discipline a nation that needed structured laws.
Hebrews (derived from Eber) represent the ancient patriarchs prior to Moses. They lived a noble, unwritten way of piety guided by natural law and soul purity, without needing the formal mosaic regulations.
Jews (derived from Judah) arose much later under Moses, who instituted formal legislation (the Sabbath, dietary restrictions, annual feasts, and ritual purifications) to discipline a nation that needed structured laws.
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6.1
Ταῦτα δὲ πάλαι πρότερον πρὶν ἢ καὶ Μωσέα καὶ τὸ Ἰουδαίων γένος ὑποστῆναι ἐξ ἔτι μακροῦ αἰῶνος παρὰ τοῖς Ἰουδαίων προπάτορσιν ἐγνωρίζετο.
καὶ γὰρ οὖν καὶ τοῦτο διαρθρῶσαι καλόν, ὡς ὁ Ἰουδαϊσμὸς οὐκ ἦν πω τότε, ἀλλ’ Ἑβραῖοι μὲν οἱ δηλούμενοι ὁμοῦ τῇ προσηγορίᾳ καὶ τὸν τρόπον ὑπῆρχον, Ἰουδαῖοι δὲ οὔτ’ ἦσάν πω οὔτ’ ἐχρημάτιζον. |
6.1
These principles were known long ago, long before Moses and the nation of the Jews existed, having been recognized from ancient ages among the forefathers of the Jews.
Indeed, it is good to clarify this point: Judaism did not yet exist at that time, but the persons in question were Hebrews both in name and in their way of life, whereas they were not yet Jews, nor were they called such. |
| 6.2 Ἑβραίων δὲ καὶ Ἰουδαίων τὸ διάφορον γνοίης ἂν ὧδε· τὴν μὲν προσηγορίαν οἱ μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰούδα, ἐξ οὗ τῆς φυλῆς τὸ Ἰουδαίων μακροῖς ὕστερον χρόνοις βασίλειον συνέστη, οἱ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἕβερ (προπάτωρ δὲ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ οὗτος ἦν) ἐπεγράφοντο. |
6.2
You may understand the difference between Hebrews and Jews as follows:
The name "Jews" was taken from Judah, from whose tribe the kingdom of the Jews was established long after; whereas "Hebrews" took their name from Eber (who was an ancestor of Abraham). |
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6.3
προτερεῖν τε Ἰουδαίων Ἑβραίους διδάσκουσιν οἱ ἱεροὶ λόγοι.
τὸν δὲ τῆς εὐσεβείας τρόπον Ἰουδαίοις μὲν πρῶτον ἀπάρξασθαι τῆς νομοθεσίας Μωσέα, σαββάτου τινὸς παραδόντα ἡμέραν, καὶ ταύτης πλείστην ὅσην φυλακὴν εἰς ὑπόμνησιν σχολῆς τῶν ἱερῶν λόγων, βρωτέων τε καὶ οὐ βρωτέων ζῴων διαστολήν, ἑορτάς τε ἐτησίους, καί τινας σωμάτων καθαρμούς, ἄλλης τε μακρᾶς περιόδου κατά τινα σύμβολα θειότερον ἐπιτελουμένης. Ἑβραῖοι δὲ πρεσβύτεροι Μωσέως γενόμενοι τοῖς χρόνοις, πάσης τῆς διὰ Μωσέως νομοθεσίας ἀνεπήκοοι ὄντες, ἐλεύθερον καὶ ἀνειμένον εὐσεβείας κατώρθουν τρόπον, βίῳ μὲν τῷ κατὰ φύσιν κεκοσμημένοι, ὡς μηδὲν νόμων δεῖσθαι τῶν ἀρξόντων αὐτῶν δι’ ἄκραν ψυχῆς ἀπάθειαν, γνῶσιν δὲ ἀληθῆ τῶν περὶ θεοῦ δογμάτων ἀνειληφέναι. ἀλλὰ γὰρ τῶνδε τοῦτον εἰρημένων τὸν τρόπον, ὥρα καὶ διὰ τῶν ἐγγράφων ἐλθεῖν. |
6.3
That Hebrews precede Jews is taught by the sacred scriptures.
As for the form of piety, Moses was the first to initiate legislative rules for the Jews—instituting the observance of a Sabbath day and its diligent keeping as a reminder for devotion to sacred learning, the distinction between edible and non-edible animals, annual festivals, certain bodily purifications, and a long series of other symbolic observances performed in a more divine manner. The Hebrews, however, being older than Moses in time and unacquainted with the entirety of the Mosaic law, successfully lived out a free and unconstrained form of piety. They adorned their lives in accordance with nature so that, through the utter purity and passionlessness of their souls, they had no need of controlling laws, having embraced true knowledge concerning doctrines about God. Having stated these matters in this way, it is time to proceed through the written scriptures. |
Chapter 7
Eusebius explains why Moses recorded the lives of the patriarchs in the Genesis narrative: to provide living exemplars for the Israelites, proving that living in harmony with God is possible and inspiring them to emulate the faith of their ancestors.
| 7.1 Ὁ τοίνυν μέγας θεόλογος Μωσῆς Ἑβραῖος ὢν ἐξ Ἑβραίων, εἰ καί τις ἄλλος, εὖ τε τὰ πάτρια ἐξεπιστάμενος, ὡς ἐν προοιμίοις τῶν ἱερῶν νόμων τοὺς τῶν προπατόρων Ἑβραίων βίους μνήμαις ἀνεξαλείπτοις παραδέδωκεν, ὧν τε ἀγαθῶν οὗτοι παρὰ θεοῦ ἠξιοῦντο, καὶ αὖ πάλιν ἄλλων ἀθέων τε καὶ ἀσεβῶν τρόπους τε καὶ τιμωρίας, ἀναγκαῖον ἡγησάμενος ὑπάρξειν τοῦτο τοῖς μέλλουσι τοὺς αὐτοῦ νόμους παιδεύεσθαι μάθημα εἴς τε ἀποφυγὴν τῆς τῶν φαύλων ὁμοιοτροπίας καὶ εἰς προτροπὴν τοῦ τῶν εὐσεβῶν βίου. | 7.1 Now the great theologian Moses—being a Hebrew of Hebrews if ever there was one, and thoroughly understanding his ancestral traditions—handed down in the preambles of the sacred laws imperishable memories of the lives of the Hebrew forefathers. He recorded both the good things they were deemed worthy to receive from God and, conversely, the lifestyles and punishments of other godless and impious people, deeming it necessary that this serve as a lesson for those who were to be instructed in his laws, both to avoid the ways of the wicked and to be encouraged toward the life of the pious. |
| 7.2 χρῆν δὲ καὶ ἄλλως μὴ ἀγνοεῖν ὅτι δὴ φθάσαντες, καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἐγγράφων αὐτοῦ νόμων, πλείους ἤδη τῶν προπατόρων ὀρθοῖς λογισμοῖς θεοσεβείας ἀρετῇ κατεκοσμήθησαν· οἳ καὶ φίλοι θεοῦ καὶ προφῆται χρηματίσαντες αἰωνίας ἔτυχον παρ’ αὐτῷ μνήμης, ὧν μηδὲ ἀλλοτρίους τὸ γένος εἶναι τούτους, οἷς τοὺς νόμους διετάττετο. | 7.2 Furthermore, it was necessary not to ignore that long before his written laws, many of the ancestors had already adorned themselves with the virtue of godliness through right reasoning. These men, having been called friends of God and prophets, attained eternal remembrance with Him; and those to whom Moses was ordaining the laws were by no means alien to them in race. |
| 7.3 διὸ καὶ μᾶλλον χρῆναι αὐτούς, ἀπογόνους θεοφιλῶν καὶ δικαίων ἀνδρῶν φύντας, τῆς τῶν προπατόρων εὐσεβείας ζηλωτὰς ἀναδειχθῆναι, σπεῦσαί τε τῶν ἴσων τοῖς γεννήσασι παρὰ θεοῦ τυχεῖν, ἀλλὰ μὴ ἀποναρκῆσαι, μηδ’ ἀποκνῆσαι ὡς ἐπ’ ἀδυνάτοις τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐλπίδος ἑαυτοὺς ἀπογνόντας· | 7.3 Therefore, it was all the more necessary that they, being born descendants of god-loving and righteous men, should show themselves zealous imitators of their ancestors' piety and strive to obtain equal blessings from God—rather than growing sluggish or shrinking back in despair of good hopes, as though such things were impossible. |
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7.4
δυνατὰ γὰρ εἶναι καὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις αὐτῶν προπάτορσιν ἐντελῶς κατωρθωμένα·
ὧν καὶ τὰς εἰκόνας τοῖς τὰ θεῖα παιδευομένοις παρεδίδου, τοὺς βίους καταλέγων τῶν παλαιῶν, καὶ τὴν ἰδιάζουσαν ἑνὸς ἑκάστου ἀρετὴν ὥσπερ ἐν εἰκόσι γραφῆς διατυπούμενος. | 7.4 For these things were indeed possible, having been perfectly accomplished by their own ancestors—whose portraits Moses handed down to those receiving divine instruction, enumerating the lives of the ancients and depicting the distinctive virtue of each individual as if in painted portraits. |
Chapter 8
Eusebius surveys the history of Hebrew piety prior to the Mosaic Law to demonstrate that the true, original religion was lived out through rational understanding, natural law, and direct faith in the Creator.
1) Epistemological Principle (8.1): He argues that Hebrew traditions should be learned directly from Hebrew scriptures, just as one learns Egyptian history from Egyptians or philosophy from philosophers.
2) Antediluvian Patriarchs (8.2–8.18):
1) Epistemological Principle (8.1): He argues that Hebrew traditions should be learned directly from Hebrew scriptures, just as one learns Egyptian history from Egyptians or philosophy from philosophers.
2) Antediluvian Patriarchs (8.2–8.18):
Enos (8.2–8.12): Identified as the first "true man" (one who possesses knowledge of God and piety) because he was the first to hope in calling upon the name of the Lord. Eusebius contrasts Enos's spiritual nature with the material "earthborn" nature of Adam (Adam meaning "earthborn").
Enoch (8.13–8.15): Pleased God and was translated because he withdrew from worldly corruption; his name signifies "grace of God."
Noah (8.16–8.18): Preserved as a righteous seed during the flood when humanity was corrupted by wickedness and demonic magic/giants.
3) Post-Deluge Patriarchs (8.19–8.36):Melchizedek (8.19–8.21): A righteous priest/king who lived without bodily circumcision or Jewish ritual laws. Eusebius defines Hebrews as "passers-over" (περατικοί)—those who cross over from material passions to the contemplation of God.
Abraham (8.22–8.24): Declared righteous by faith long before the Law of Moses. Circumcision was added later as a sign, not as the primary source of his righteousness.
Isaac & Jacob/Israel (8.25–8.29): Isaac exemplified self-control in monogamy. Jacob received the name Israel ("one who sees God") after wrestling through trials to achieve contemplation.
Job (8.30): A non-Israelite praised for blameless piety.
Joseph (8.31–8.36): Resisted the lustful advances of Potiphar's wife through the pure, passionless virtue instilled by his Hebrew heritage, resulting in his elevation over Egypt.
4) Transition to Judaism and the Mosaic Law (8.37–8.41):As the descendants multiplied in Egypt, they fell into Egyptian customs and lost their ancestral virtue.
Moses was sent to give them written laws, symbols, and shadows suitable for a spiritually diseased people.
This Mosaic dispensation was designed to last only until the coming of Jesus Christ and the inauguration of the New Covenant promised to all nations.
| 8.1 Καὶ τούτων δὲ οὐδὲν ἐμποδὼν μὴ οὐχὶ διὰ βραχέων ἐπιδραμεῖν τὴν ἱστορίαν. πρὸ μὲν οὖν τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ, ὥσπερ ἡ αὐτοῦ Μώσεως περιέχει γραφή· (δεῖ δέ που, ὡς οἶμαι, μὴ ἄλλοθεν ἢ πάλιν οἴκοθεν τὰ Ἑβραίων πάτρια διασκοπῆσαι, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ Αἰγύπτια παρ’ Αἰγυπτίων καὶ τὰ Φοινίκων παρὰ τῶν οἰκείων ἐμανθάνομεν, ὡς αὖ πάλιν τὰ Ἐλλήνων παρὰ τῶν ἐν τούτοις διαφανῶν, τά τε φιλοσόφων παρὰ τῶν φιλοσόφων, ἀλλ’ οὐ παρὰ τῶν ἀπείρων φιλοσοφίας· πόθεν δὲ ἄλλοθεν προσήκοι ἂν καὶ τὰ ἰατρικῆς ἢ παρὰ τῶν ἐπιστημόνων πυνθάνεσθαι; οὕτω δὴ κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον ἡγοῦμαι δεῖν καὶ τὰ Ἑβραίων ἐκ τῶν παρ’ Ἑβραίοις λογίων, ἀλλὰ μὴ ἄλλοθέν ποθεν ἀποδέχεσθαι) | 8.1 There is nothing to prevent us from briefly running through this history. First then, before the Flood, as the writing of Moses himself contains—(for I suppose it is proper to examine the ancestral traditions of the Hebrews not from foreign sources, but from their own, since we also learned Egyptian matters from Egyptians, Phoenician matters from their own people, and again Greek matters from those distinguished among them, and philosophical matters from philosophers, but not from those ignorant of philosophy; for from where else would it be fitting to learn medicine than from those who are knowledgeable? Thus, in logical sequence, I consider it necessary to accept Hebrew matters from the oracles among the Hebrews, and not from anywhere else)— |
| 8.2 ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ παρὰ τούτοις κατέχει λόγος, ἄνωθεν πρὸ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ ἐκ πρώτης ἀνθρώπων γενέσεως καὶ εἰς τὰς ἑξῆς διαδοχὰς θεοφιλεῖς τινες ἄνδρες γεγόνασι καὶ δίκαιοι πλείους· ὧν ὁ μὲν «ἤλπισεν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ.» | 8.2 As the narrative among them maintains, from the beginning, before the Flood, from the very first generation of men and into the succeeding generations, there were several men beloved of God and righteous; one of whom "hoped to call upon the name of the Lord God." |
| 8.3 τοῦτο δὲ δηλοῖ τὸ μηδένα πλὴν τῶν ἁπάντων τὸν δημιουργὸν δεσπότην ὁμοῦ καὶ θεὸν τῶν ὅλων ἐπιγράψασθαι. πεπεῖσθαι γὰρ αὐτὸν οὐ μόνον ποιητικῇ δυνάμει εὖ καὶ ἐν κόσμῳ τὸ πᾶν διατεθεικέναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ δεσπότου δίκην, ὡς ἂν μεγάλης πόλεως, τοῦ σύμπαντος κυριεύειν, οἰκονομεῖν τε καὶ οἰκοδεσποτεῖν ὁμοῦ καὶ κύριον ὄντα καὶ βασιλέα καὶ θεόν. | 8.3 This signifies that he acknowledged no one except the Creator of all things as both Master and God of the universe. For he was persuaded not only that God, by His creative power, had well and orderly arranged the universe, but also that, after the manner of a master ruling a great city, He governs, manages, and administers the whole as Lord, King, and God simultaneously. |
| 8.4 οὗ τὴν ὡς κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ ἔννοιάν τε καὶ προσηγορίαν πρῶτος ὁ δηλούμενος θεοφιλὴς ἐν νῷ βαλλόμενος, ἀντὶ πάσης ὑπάρξεως καὶ προσηγορίας καὶ περιουσίας, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀντὶ παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ «ἤλπισεν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ,» τοῦτον ἑαυτῷ θησαυρὸν ἀγαθῶν ψυχῆς τε ὁμοῦ καὶ σώματος πεπορισμένος. | 8.4 It was this man, the aforementioned lover of God, who first took into his mind the conception and title of Him as Lord and God, and instead of any other possession, title, or abundance—indeed, instead of every other good—"hoped to call upon the name of the Lord God," having procured this for himself as a treasure of goods for both soul and body. |
| 8.5 παρ’ ὃ πρῶτος ἀληθὴς ἄνθρωπος χρηματίσαι παρ’ Ἑβραίοις ἀναγέγραπται. κέκληται δ’ οὖν Ἐνώς, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀληθὴς ἄνθρωπος, εὐθυβόλῳ προσωνυμίᾳ. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλον φασὶν ἀληθῆ προσήκειν ἡγεῖσθαι καὶ ὀνομάζειν ἄνθρωπον ἢ τὸν θεοῦ γνώσεως καὶ εὐσεβείας ἐπήβολον, τὸν ἀληθῶς γνωστικὸν ὁμοῦ καὶ εὐσεβῆ. | 8.5 On this account he is recorded among the Hebrews as the first to be called a "true man." He was named Enos, which signifies "true man," by an accurate designation. For they say that no other person is fittingly considered or named a man except one who attains knowledge of God and piety—the truly rational and pious man. |
| 8.6 ὅτι δὴ τοὺς μὴ τοιούτους, θρεμμάτων κατ’ οὐδὲν ἀλόγων διαφέροντας, οἷα ἐπὶ γαστέρα καὶ ἡδονὴν πρηνεῖς καταβεβλημένους, θῆρας μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνθρώπους ἡ Ἑβραίων ἀποκαλεῖν διδάσκει γραφή, κυριολεκτεῖν εἰθισμένη τὰς προσηγορίας. | 8.6 For the scripture of the Hebrews, accustomed as it is to using titles in their literal sense, teaches us to call those who are not of this character—differing in no way from irrational beasts, cast down headlong toward the belly and pleasure—beasts rather than men. |
| 8.7 παρ’ ὃ τοὺς τοιούσδε τοτὲ μὲν λύκους καὶ κύνας, τοτὲ δὲ σύας φορυτῷ χρωμένους καὶ χαίροντας, καὶ πάλιν ἑρπετὰ καὶ ὄφεις, τοῖς τῆς κακίας πολυτρόποις ἐμφερῶς εἴδεσι, προσαγορεύειν εἴωθεν. | 8.7 Wherefore it is accustomed to address such people sometimes as wolves and dogs, sometimes as swine that use and delight in filth, and again as reptiles and serpents, corresponding to the manifold forms of vice. |
| 8.8 εἰ δὲ καί ποτε τὸν κοινὸν καὶ πολὺν ἄνθρωπον καὶ τὸ γένος αὐτὸ χρεὼν διασημῆναι, πάλιν οἰκείᾳ καὶ προσφυεῖ χρωμένη προσηγορίᾳ τὸν πάντα ἄνθρωπον τῇ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἐπωνυμίᾳ σημαίνει, ὅτι δὴ τοῦτο τῷ προγόνῳ καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων προπάτορι κύριον εἶναι καὶ προσφυὲς ὄνομα, τὸν γηγενῆ δηλοῦν κατὰ τὴν εἰς Ἑλλάδα φωνὴν μετάληψιν, ὑποφαίνει. | 8.8 But whenever it is necessary to designate ordinary, common humanity or the race itself, using an appropriate and fitting designation, it indicates all mankind by the name of Adam, showing that this is the proper and suitable name for the ancestor and progenitor of all men, denoting "earthborn" according to its translation into the Greek language. |
| 8.9 ὅ γέ τοι Ἐνὼς πρῶτος θεοφιλῶν παρ’ Ἑβραίοις ἱστόρηται, ἐπεὶ πρῶτος «ἤλπισεν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ,» τὸ κατὰ ψυχὴν παριστὰς λογικὸν ὄντως καὶ γνωστικὸν καὶ τῆς περὶ τὸ θεῖον εὐσεβείας ἐπιστημονικόν· ὧν τὸ μὲν πρῶτον θεογνωσίας ἀληθοῦς, τὸ δὲ δεύτερον τῆς εἰς τὸν ἐπιγνωσθέντα θεὸν ἐλπίδος γένοιτ’ ἂν ἀποδεικτικόν. | 8.9 At any rate, Enos is recorded among the Hebrews as the first of those beloved by God, since he was the first who "hoped to call upon the name of the Lord God," thereby demonstrating the truly rational, knowing, and scientifically informed nature of his soul regarding piety toward the Divine—of which the former would be evidence of true divine knowledge, and the latter evidence of hope in the God who had been known. |
| 8.10 τὸ γὰρ μὴ παραμελεῖν μηδ’ ἐν δευτέρῳ τίθεσθαι τὰ τῆς θείας ἐπιγνώσεως, ἀεὶ δὲ καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἐλπίζειν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸ μὲν ὡς οἰκετῶν δεσπότου, τὸ δ’ ὡς ἵλεω καὶ ἀγαθοῦ πατρός, τοῦτ’ ἂν εἴη τὸ πάντων τρισμακάριον τέλος. | 8.10 For not to neglect nor to place second the things of divine knowledge, but always and continuously to hope to call upon the name of the Lord God—partly as servants call upon a master, and partly as children call upon a gracious and good father—this would be the thrice-blessed end of all things. |
| 8.11 τοιόσδε μὲν οὖν ὁ παρ’ Ἑβραίοις εἰσῆκται πρῶτος καὶ ἀληθὴς ἄνθρωπος, οὐχ ὁ γηγενὴς ἐπίκλην Ἀδὰμ δι’ ἐντολῆς θεοῦ παράβασιν τῆς τῶν κρειττόνων ἐκπεσὼν λήξεως, ἀλλ’ ὁ θεοφιλῶν πρώτιστος, ὃς «ἤλπισεν ἐπικαλεῖσθαι τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ.» | 8.11 Such, then, is introduced among the Hebrews as the first and true man—not the one named "earthborn" Adam, who through transgression of God's commandment fell from the better lot, but the first among those beloved of God, who "hoped to call upon the name of the Lord God." |
| 8.12 κρίναντες οὖν καὶ αὐτοὶ λογισμῷ σώφρονι τὸ τοιόνδε ζηλοῦν ἠγαπήσαμεν, καὶ ἀπεδεξάμεθα ὡς λυσιτελῆ καὶ ὠφελιμωτάτην ἡμῖν τὴν τοῦ λόγου διήγησιν, εὐχὴν θέμενοι κατ’ ἴσα τῇ τοῦ δηλωθέντος εἰκόνι τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ τῶν ἁπάντων δημιουργοῦ τε καὶ δεσπότου μετὰ βεβαίας καὶ ἀγαθῆς ἐλπίδος ἐπικαλεῖσθαι. | 8.12 Therefore, having judged with sound reasoning, we ourselves have come to cherish the imitation of such a man, and have welcomed the narration of this account as most advantageous and profitable for us, offering a prayer in accordance with the pattern of the one described, to call upon the name of the Creator and Master of all with firm and good hope. |
| 8.13 ἀλλὰ γὰρ μετὰ τὸν εἰρημένον ἄλλος εὐηρέστησε τῷ κυρίῳ, καὶ «οὐχ εὑρίσκετο,» ὥς φησι Μωσῆς, «διότι μετέθηκεν αὐτὸν ὁ θεός» δι’ ἄκραν ἀρετῆς τελείωσιν. δυσεύρετος γὰρ ὅ γε σοφὸς ἀληθῶς. | 8.13 But after the one mentioned, another pleased the Lord, and "was not found," as Moses says, "because God translated him" on account of his extreme perfection in virtue. For the truly wise man is indeed hard to find. |
| 8.14 οὗτος δ’ ἂν εἴη ὁ ἐν τῷ θεῷ τέλειος, ὁ τῆς τῶν πολλῶν διατριβῆς μετατεθειμένος. ὁ γὰρ μὴ τοιοῦτος ἀγορὰς καὶ δικαστήρια καπηλείας τε καὶ ἐμπορίας καὶ τὸν πολὺν ὄχλον μεταδιώκων, ὠθούμενός τε καὶ ὠθῶν, μέσος ἐν αὐτῷ κακίας βυθῷ καταπίνεται· ὁ δ’ ὑπὸ θεοῦ ληφθεὶς καὶ τῶν τῇδε ἐκεῖσε μετατεθειμένος ἀφανὴς μὲν καὶ ἀνεύρετος ἀνθρώποις, θεῷ δὲ φίλος γεγονώς, ὑπὸ θεοῦ εὕρηται. | 8.14 This would be the man perfect in God, who has been translated from the ordinary life of the multitude. For one who is not such a man, pursuing marketplaces, law courts, retail trades, commerce, and the great crowd—jostling and being jostled—is swallowed up in the middle of the depth of vice. But he who is taken by God and translated from the things here to that place, though unseen and un-findable by men, having become a friend of God, has been found by God. |
| 8.15 τοῦτον Ἐνὼχ Ἑβραίοις ὀνομάζειν φίλον· χάριν δὲ θεοῦ σημαίνοι ἂν τοὔνομα. καὶ ταύτης τοιγαροῦν ὡς ἀγαθῆς εἰκόνος τὸν βίον ζηλοῦν μακάριον εἶναι ἡγησάμεθα. | 8.15 The Hebrews call this man Enoch, which signifies "friend"; and the name would mean "grace of God." And therefore, we have considered it blessed to emulate the life of this good model. |
| 8.16 τρίτος μετὰ τούτους πάλιν ἄλλος ἄνθρωπος δίκαιος πεφηνὼς ὁ Νῶε «ἐν τῇ γενεᾷ αὐτοῦ» μεμαρτύρηται. τεκμήρια δὲ καὶ τῆς τούτου δικαιοσύνης εἴη ἂν τάδε. πολὺς αὐχμὸς καὶ γνόφος ἀλέκτου κακίας τὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων κατειλήφει γένος, οἵ τε πάντων ἀνὰ στόμα θρυλούμενοι γίγαντες τὰς εἰς δεῦρο βοωμένας θεομαχίας ἀθέοις καὶ δυσσεβέσιν ἐγχειρήμασιν ἀπειργάζοντο· ἤδη δὲ καὶ οἱ τῆς τούτων γενέσεως αἴτιοι, εἴτε τινὸς κρείττονος μοίρας ἢ κατὰ θνητῶν φύσιν ὑπάρξαντες, εἴθ’ ὁπωσοῦν κατεσκευασμένοι, τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις περιέργου διδασκαλίας ἀπάρξαντες, γοητείας καὶ τῆς ἄλλης κακοτρόπου μαγγανείας ἐπιτεχνήματα λέγονται παραδοῦναι τῷ βίῳ, ὥστε πᾶν τὸ ἀνθρώπειον γένος μιᾶς ὑπὸ ψῆφον γενέσθαι παρὰ θεῷ δίκης. | 8.16 A third after these, another man who appeared righteous, Noah, is witnessed to have been such "in his generation." The proofs of his righteousness would be as follows: a great drought and darkness of unutterable evil had overtaken the whole human race, and the giants, renowned in the mouths of all, were committing those acts of war against God, famous to this day, with ungodly and impious undertakings; and already those responsible for their birth—whether existing as some higher order than mortal nature, or however else constituted—having initiated a curious teaching among men, are said to have handed down to life the inventions of sorcery and other evil jugglery, so that the entire human race came under the sentence of a single judgment from God. |
| 8.17 καὶ δὴ πάντων ἑνὶ νεύματι διαφθείρεσθαι μελλόντων, μόνος εἷς οὗτος ὁ νῦν ἡμῖν δηλούμενος δίκαιος ἐν τῇ γενεᾷ αὐτοῦ σὺν καὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις εὕρηται. πάντων δῆτα τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς κατακλυσμῷ διολλυμένων καὶ τῆς γῆς αὐτῆς ὑδάτων ἀθρόᾳ πλημμύρᾳ τῶν προτέρων κακῶν ἀποκαθαιρομένης ὁ θεοφιλὴς σὺν παισὶν ἅμα καὶ γυναιξὶ τῷ μετὰ ταῦτα βίῳ ζώπυρον σπέρμα παραδοξότατον πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τετήρηται. | 8.17 And when all were about to be destroyed by a single nod, this man alone, now made known to us as righteous in his generation, was found together with his family. When all things on earth were perishing in the deluge, and the earth itself was being cleansed of its former evils by an abundant flood of waters, this lover of God, together with his sons and wives, was preserved by God as a most marvelous spark of seed for the life to come afterward. |
| 8.18 γένοιτο δ’ ἂν καὶ οὗτος ἀρχέτυπος εἰκών, ζῶσα καὶ ἔμψυχος, τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγενημένοις ὑπόδειγμα τρόπου θεοφιλοῦς παρεσχημένος. | 8.18 And he too might become an archetypal image, living and endowed with a soul, providing an example of a god-loving character to those descended from him. |
| 8.19 Καὶ οἱ μὲν πρὸ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ τοιοίδε· οἱ δὲ μετὰ τοῦτον ἐπ’ εὐσεβείᾳ διαπρεπεῖς ἄλλοι πάλιν, ὧν τὴν μνήμην τὰ ἱερὰ διασώζει λόγια. τούτων τις ἱερεὺς ἀνείρηται τοῦ ὑψίστου θεοῦ, βασιλεὺς δίκαιος τῇ Ἑβραίων προσηγορίᾳ χρηματίσας. | 8.19 Such were those before the Flood; and after it, there were again others distinguished for piety, whose memory the sacred oracles preserve. One of these was proclaimed a priest of the Most High God, a righteous king designated by the Hebrew title [Melchizedek]. |
| 8.20 τούτοις δὴ πᾶσιν οὐδὲ εἷς σώματος περιτομῆς λόγος ἦν, ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ τῶν Μώσεως Ἰουδαϊκῶν παραγγελμάτων· διόπερ αὐτοὺς οὐδὲ Ἰουδαίους φάναι δίκαιον, οὐδέ γε Ἕλληνας, ὅτι μηδὲ πλείους θεοὺς ὁμοίως Ἕλλησιν ἢ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν ἡγοῦντο. Ἑβραῖοι δ’ ἂν κυριώτερον ἐπικληθεῖεν, ἤτοι παρὰ τὸν Ἕβερ, ἢ καὶ μᾶλλον παρὰ τὴν ἑρμηνείαν τῆς προσηγορίας. | 8.20 Among all these men there was no account of bodily circumcision, nor of the Jewish commandments of Moses; wherefore it is not just to call them Jews, nor yet Greeks, because they did not hold to a multiplicity of gods like the Greeks or the rest of the nations. Rather, they may be called "Hebrews" more properly, either after Eber, or even more so from the interpretation of the name. |
| 8.21 περατικοὶ γάρ τινες ἑρμηνεύονται, τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν τῇδε ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ διάβασίν τε καὶ θεωρίαν στειλάμενοι. φυσικοῖς γάρ τοι λογισμοῖς καὶ νόμοις ἀγράφοις τὴν ὀρθὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς διευθύναντες πορείαν, καὶ πέραν τῶν σαρκὸς ἡδονῶν ἐπὶ τὸν πάνσοφον καὶ θεοσεβῆ βίον διαβεβηκότες ἀναγράφονται. | 8.21 For they are interpreted as "passers-over"—those who have set out on a passage and contemplation from the things here below to the God of the universe. For by natural reasoning and unwritten laws they directed their straight course of virtue, and having crossed over beyond the pleasures of the flesh onto the all-wise and god-fearing life, they are recorded as such. |
| 8.22 ἐν δὴ τούτοις ἡμῖν ἅπασι καὶ ὁ βοώμενος τοῦ παντὸς ἔθνους γενάρκῃς Ἀβραὰμ καταριθμείσθω, ᾧ μαρτυρεῖ τὰ λόγια δικαιοσύνην, οὐ τὴν ἐκ νόμου πάλιν Μωσέως, ὅτι μηδὲ ἦν πω τότε, (μετὰ γοῦν τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἑβδόμῃ γενεᾷ Μωσῆς ἀναπέφηνε) πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτος δίκαιος καὶ εὐσεβής, εἰ καί τις ἄλλος, ἀνείρηται, τοῖς ἄνωθεν δεδηλωμένοις παραπλησίως. | 8.22 Among all these, let Abraham also be numbered by us—the celebrated patriarch of the whole nation—to whom the oracles bear witness for righteousness; not that righteousness which comes from the Law of Moses, since that did not yet exist (for Moses appeared in the seventh generation after Abraham), but nonetheless he too was proclaimed righteous and pious, if anyone ever was, in a manner similar to those described above. |
| 8.23 λέγει δ’ οὖν ἡ γραφή· «καὶ ἐπίστευσεν Ἀβραὰμ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην.» πατέρα δὴ πολλῶν ἐθνῶν ὁ θεῖος χρησμὸς τοῦτον ἔσεσθαι προαγορεύει, διαρρήδην τε εὐλογηθήσεσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ φησι πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς καὶ πάσας τὰς φυλάς, ἄντικρυς τὰ νῦν καθ’ ἡμᾶς συντελούμενα θεσπίζων. | 8.23 Now the scripture says: "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." The divine oracle predicts that he would be the father of many nations, and expressly states that in him all the nations of the earth and all tribes would be blessed, plainly prophesying the things now being fulfilled in our own day. |
| 8.24 ἀλλ’ ὅ γε Ἀβραὰμ ἐκεῖνος μετὰ τὴν ἐν δικαιοσύνη τελείωσιν, οὐ διὰ τοῦ Μωσέως νόμου, διὰ δὲ πίστεως κατωρθωμένης αὐτῷ, μετά γε τὰς ἀναγράπτους θεοφανείας, ἐπ’ αὐτῷ γήρᾳ μέλλων γνησίου παιδὸς χρηματίζειν πατήρ, πρῶτος ἀπάντων κατὰ χρησμὸν τὸ σῶμα περιτέμνεται, τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννωμένοις ἐπιτελεῖν παραδούς, εἴτε εἰς ἐμφανῆ σημείωσιν τῆς τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ παίδων πολυπληθίας, εἴτε καὶ ὡς ἔχοιεν οἱ παῖδες πάτριον γνώρισμα, ἤτοι βιοῦντες κατὰ τὸν τῶν προγόνων ζῆλον, ἢ τῆς ἐκείνων ἀρετῆς ἀπολειπόμενοι, εἴτε καθ’ ἑτέρας οἱασδηποτοῦν αἰτίας, ἃς οὐ νῦν σχολὴ πολυπραγμονεῖν. | 8.24 But Abraham himself, after his perfection in righteousness—accomplished not through the Law of Moses, but through faith—after the recorded divine appearances, when in his old age he was about to be called the father of a true-born son, was the first of all to circumcise his body in accordance with an oracle. He handed this down to those born of him to perform, whether as a visible sign of the great multitude of children to come from him, or so that his children might possess an ancestral mark (whether living in emulation of their ancestors' zeal or falling short of their virtue), or for any other reasons whatsoever, which we do not now have leisure to investigate thoroughly. |
| 8.25 τοιόσδε μὲν οὖν καὶ οὗτος εἰς μίμησιν ἐκκείμενος. μετὰ δ’ αὐτὸν Ἰσαὰκ τῆς πατρῴας ὁμοῦ θεογνωσίας τε καὶ θεοφιλίας διάδοχος ἀναδείκνυται, κλήρων ἁπάντων τοῦτον κάλλιστόν τε καὶ τρισμακάριον τοῦ πατρὸς διαδεδεγμένος. μιᾷ τοῦτον γαμετῇ τὰ θεῖά φασι συνελθόντα λόγια μιᾷ χρήσασθαι παιδοποιίᾳ· καθ’ ἥν διδύμου γονῆς ἀποδειχθεὶς πατὴρ εἰς τοῦτο περιγράψασθαι τὴν πρὸς τὴν γαμετὴν ὁμιλίαν ὑπερβολῇ σωφροσύνης λέγεται. | 8.25 Such then was he, set forth for imitation. After him, Isaac is revealed as the successor to his father's knowledge of God and divine favor, having inherited this most beautiful and thrice-blessed of all heritages from his father. The divine oracles say that he united with a single wife and engaged in fatherhood only once; having been shown to be the father of twin offspring in that single instance, he is said through an excess of self-control to have restricted his intercourse with his wife to this. |
| 8.26 ἐνταῦθά σοι καὶ Ἰακώβ, ὁ καὶ Ἰσραήλ, εἰσήχθω, διώνυμός τις γεγονὼς ἀνὴρ παρὰ τὴν τῶν οἰκείων ἀρετῶν διαλλάττουσαν προκοπήν. ὅτε μὲν οὖν ἐγγυμναζόμενος τοῖς πρακτικοῖς ἤθεσί τε καὶ βίοις τῶν ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας πόνων ἀπεπειρᾶτο, Ἰακὼβ αὐτῷ ὄνομα ἦν, ἀσκητὴν δὲ καὶ ἀθλητὴν ἡ προσηγορία δηλοῖ ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα μεταληφθεῖσα φωνήν· | 8.26 Here let Jacob, who is also Israel, be introduced to you—a man with two names on account of his outstanding progress in his own virtues. When he was exercising himself in practical habits and lives, proving himself through labors on behalf of piety, his name was Jacob; and this designation, translated into the Greek tongue, signifies an "exerciser" or "athlete." |
| 8.27 ὅτε δὲ λοιπὸν τὰ νικητήρια κατὰ τῶν ἀντιπάλων ἀπολαβὼν στέφεται, ἤδη τε τῶν κατὰ θεωρίαν ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύει, τηνικαῦτα αὐτῷ καὶ τοὔνομα μεταβάλλει ὁ χρηματίζων θεός, ὁμοῦ καὶ θεοπτίας αὐτὸν ἀξιῶν, καὶ τῶν θειοτέρων γερῶν τε καὶ τιμῶν τὰς ἀμοιβὰς διὰ τῆς προσηγορίας δωρούμενος. | 8.27 But when at last he was crowned after receiving the prizes of victory over his opponents, and was already enjoying the goods of contemplation, then God, who gives the oracle, changed his name, deeming him worthy of the vision of God and bestowing upon him through the designation the rewards of higher gifts and honors. |
| 8.28 λέγει δ’ οὖν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ χρησμός· «οὐκέτι κληθήσεται τὸ ὄνομά σου Ἰακώβ, ἀλλ’ Ἰσραὴλ ἔσται τὸ ὄνομά σου, ὅτι ἐνίσχυσας μετὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ μετὰ ἀνθρώπων δυνατός,» τὸν ὁρατικὸν ἄνδρα καὶ θεωρητικὸν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ὑποφαίνοντος· ἐπεὶ καὶ τοὔνομα μεταβληθὲν σημαίνει ἄνθρωπον ὁρῶντα θεόν. | 8.28 For the oracle says to him: "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name, because you have prevailed with God and are powerful with men"—the name Israel revealing the man who sees and contemplates; since the name, when transformed, signifies "a man seeing God." |
| 8.29 τοιόσδε μὲν οὖν καὶ οὗτος ἐξ οὗ τὸ δωδεκάφυλον τοῦ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους ὑπέστη γένος. μυρία δ’ ἂν λεχθείη περὶ τοῦ βίου τῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ τῆς φιλοσόφου καρτερίας τε αὐτῶν καὶ ἀσκήσεως, τὰ μὲν πρὸς λέξιν θεωρούμενα, τὰ δὲ καὶ δι’ ὑπονοιῶν ἀλληγορούμενα· περὶ ὧν εἴρηται μὲν καὶ ἄλλοις, ἀτὰρ καὶ ἡμῖν ἐν οἷς ἐπραγματευσάμεθα περὶ τῆς τῶν παλαιῶν ἀνδρῶν πολυπαιδίας. τοιοίδε μὲν οὖν καὶ οὗτοι. | 8.29 Such then was he, from whom the twelve-fold nation of the Jewish race arose. Ten thousand things might be said concerning the life of these men, and their philosophical endurance and discipline—some viewed according to the literal text, and others allegorized through deeper meanings; concerning which things others have spoken, as have we also in the work we composed concerning the offspring of the ancients. Such, then, were these men. |
| 8.30 Ἔχω σοι παρ’ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἄλλον εἰπεῖν, Ἰὼβ ὄνομα τῷ ἀνδρί, ὃν τὰ ἱερὰ μαρτυρεῖ λόγια γεγονέναι ἄνθρωπον ἄμεμπτον, ἀληθινόν, δίκαιον, θεοσεβῆ, ἀπεχόμενον ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματος· οὗτός γέ τοι οὐδὲν προσήκων τῷ Ἰουδαίων γένει ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς τῆς εὐσεβείας κατορθώμασι μεμαρτύρηται. | 8.30 I have yet another man to mention to you alongside them, named Job, whom the sacred oracles testify to have been a man blameless, true, righteous, god-fearing, and abstaining from every evil deed; he indeed, though belonging in no way to the race of the Jews, is witnessed to for all his accomplishments in piety. |
| 8.31 οἵ γε μὴν τοῦ Ἰακὼβ παῖδες, τὴν πάτριον θεογνωσίαν τε καὶ θεοσέβειαν ἠγαπηκότες, τὴν τῶν ἀνέκαθεν Ἑβραίων φήμην ἐπὶ μέγα δόξης προῆγον, ὥστε ἤδη καὶ πάσης Αἰγύπτου τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀνάψασθαι. | 8.31 Furthermore, the sons of Jacob, having cherished their ancestral knowledge of God and piety, advanced the reputation of the ancient Hebrews to a great height of glory, so that they even assumed the rule of all Egypt. |
| 8.32 ὁ γάρ τοι Ἰωσὴφ τοῖς σωφροσύνης προαναστεφθεὶς βραβείοις, κἄπειτα τὴν Αἰγυπτίων ὑποδεξάμενος ἡγεμονίαν, τὸν θεοφιλῆ τῶν Ἑβραίων διέδειξε τρόπον, ὃν καὶ αὐτὸν ζηλοῦν δι’ εὐχῆς πεποιήμεθα, δοῦλος αὐτὸς ἐξ οἰκείων ἐπιβουλῆς γεγενημένος καὶ δοῦλος Αἰγυπτίου ἀνδρός. | 8.32 For Joseph, having first been crowned with the prizes of self-control, and then having received the governorship of the Egyptians, displayed the god-loving manner of the Hebrews—which we ourselves have made it our prayer to emulate—though he had become a slave through the plot of his own family, and a slave to an Egyptian man. |
| 8.33 τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλα ὅσα εἰς ὡραιότητα καὶ ῥώμην σώματος αὐτῷ καὶ εὐμορφίαν ηὐτύχητο παρίημι, εἰ καὶ τὰ λόγια κάλλους αὐτὸν ὥρᾳ πάντων διενεγκεῖν ἀναγράφει· τὰ δὲ περὶ ψυχῆς πῶς ἄν τις ἀναγράψειε, κατ’ ἀξίαν τῆς τἀνδρὸς ἀρετῆς τὸν ἔπαινον διελθεῖν προῃρημένος; | 8.33 I pass over all his other good fortunes regarding physical beauty, strength, and fair form, even though the oracles record that he surpassed all in the bloom of beauty; but as for the qualities of his soul, how could anyone write of them, if he had chosen to recount praise worthy of the man's virtue? |
| 8.34 φύσει μὲν αὐτῷ παρεῖναι λόγος τὸ ἐλευθέριον γνώρισμα, τοῦ τε τρόπου τὸ εὐγενὲς ἐπανθοῦν τῷ προσώπῳ· τοῖς δὲ εὐσεβείας διαπρέπουσι κόσμοις διαφερόντως ἐξήσκητο, ὡς ἐν σωφροσύνῃ καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ φρονήσει τε καὶ ἀνδρείᾳ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκλάμπειν, καὶ πολὺ πρότερον ἐν ἐπιγνώσει καὶ εὐσεβείᾳ τοῦ τῶν ἁπάντων θεοῦ, ἣν οἱ γεννήσαντες ἐκ σπαργάνων λέγονται αὐτοῦ τῇ ψυχῇ καταβεβληκέναι. | 8.34 By nature, account says that the mark of freedom was present in him, with the nobility of his character blooming upon his face; and he was exceptionally equipped with the radiant ornaments of piety, so that his soul shone with self-control, righteousness, prudence, and courage, and far earlier in the knowledge and piety toward the God of all, which his parents are said to have implanted in his soul from infancy. |
| 8.35 ἐπιμανείσῃ δ’ οὖν αὐτῷ τῇ τοῦ δεσπότου γαμετῇ, εἰς ἀκολάστους τε καὶ ἐρωτικὰς ὁμιλίας ἅτε νέον τὸ σῶμα κατασύρειν πειρωμένῃ, καὶ πρῶτα μὲν λόγοις ἀπατᾶν αὐτὸν ἐπιχειρούσῃ, εἶτα δὲ ἱκεσίαις ἀντιβολούσῃ, καὶ τέλος βιαιότερον χεῖρας ἐπάγειν τολμώσῃ, ἀναιδέσι τε ἤδη καὶ ἀναισχύντοις περιπλοκαῖς χρωμένῃ, τῆς τῶν πατέρων εὐσεβοῦς διδασκαλίας ὁ ἥρως τὴν μνήμην ἀναπεμπασάμενος, καὶ τὸν θεοσεβῆ καὶ ἀληθῶς Ἑβραῖον ἔργοις ὁμοῦ καὶ λόγοις ἀποδείξας, τὸ μὲν αἰσχρὸν καὶ ἀκόλαστον γύναιον διασείεται, κραταιοτέρᾳ τῇ χειρὶ παραλλάξας· ὥσπερ δέ τινος δεινοῦ καὶ λελυττηκότος θηρὸς ἀποδρὰς φυγῇ τὴν σωτηρίαν πορίζεται. | 8.35 When his master's wife became madly enamored with him and tried to drag his young body into unbridled and passionate intercourse—first attempting to deceive him with words, then entreating him with supplications, and finally daring to lay hands upon him more violently, resorting to shameless and unblushing entanglements—the hero, calling to mind the pious teaching of his fathers and proving himself a god-fearing and true Hebrew in deeds as well as words, shook off the shameful and licentious woman, casting her off with a stronger hand; and escaping as if from some terrible and rabid beast, he secured his safety by flight. |
| 8.36 κἄπειτα αὐτὸς πρὸς ἑαυτὸν σώφρονι λογισμῷ τοιάδε ἐπιλογίζεται, καί φησιν «εἰ ὁ κύριός μου δι’ ἐμὲ οὐδὲν γινώσκει τῶν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτῷ δέδωκεν εἰς τὰς χεῖράς μου, καὶ πῶς ποιήσω τὸ πονηρὸν ῥῆμα τὸ μέγα τοῦτο, καὶ ἁμαρτήσομαι ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ;» ἐφ’ οἷς οἷα νικηφόρον τοῖς ἀρετῆς βραβείοις ἀναστέψας αὐτὸν ὁ τῶν ὅλων θεὸς τὴν κατὰ τῶν δεσποτῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτῆς Αἰγύπτου βασιλείαν τε καὶ ἡγεμονίαν παραδίδωσι· πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτος Ἑβραῖος ἐξ Ἑβραίων, οὐχὶ δὲ Ἰουδαῖος, ὅτι μηδὲ ἦν πω τὰ Ἰουδαίων, ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα θεοφιλέσι καὶ τρισμακαρίοις ἀνείληπται. | 8.36 And then he reasoned within himself with sound calculation, saying: "If my master knows nothing of what is in his house because of me, and has given everything he has into my hands, how then shall I do this great evil word and sin against God?" On account of these things, the God of the universe, crowning him with the prizes of virtue as a victor, handed over to him the kingdom and leadership over his masters and over Egypt itself. Nevertheless, he too—a Hebrew of Hebrews, but not a Jew, because the things of the Jews did not yet exist—is counted among those who were most beloved of God and thrice-blessed. |
| 8.37 Μετὰ δὲ τοὺς εἰρημένους Ἑβραίους, ἐπειδὴ εἰς πολυανθρωπίαν ἐπεδίδου τὸ τῶν ἀπογόνων γένος, ἤδη τε καὶ τὸ Ἰουδαίων ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔθνος συνεστὼς ἐπλεόναζέν τε ὁσημέραι καὶ ἐπλήθυνεν, τὰ μὲν τῆς εὐσεβοῦς ἀγωγῆς τῶν πρόπαλαι θεοφιλῶν προπατόρων κατὰ σμικρὸν αὐτοῖς ἐξησθένει καὶ ἀπημβλύνετο, τὰ δὲ τῆς παρ’ Αἰγυπτίοις διατριβῆς τοσοῦτον τῆς τῶν δηλουμένων κατίσχυε πληθύος ὡς τῆς μὲν πατρίου ἀρετῆς εἰς λήθην ἐλθεῖν, τῇ δὲ παρ’ Αἰγυπτίοις ὁμοιοτροπίᾳ τοὺς βίους περιενεχθῆναι, ὡς κατὰ μηδὲν Αἰγυπτίων τὸν τρόπον διαφέρειν δοκεῖν. | 8.37 But after the Hebrews mentioned, when the race of their descendants increased into a great populace, and the nation of Jews formed from them began to multiply and increase daily, the pious conduct of the ancient god-loving forefathers gradually grew weak and was dulled among them, while the influence of their stay among the Egyptians prevailed so greatly over the multitude that they forgot their ancestral virtue and were carried away into living like the Egyptians, appearing in no way different from Egyptian manners. |
| 8.38 ἐνταῦθα δῆτα αὐτοῖς τοιοῖσδε ἀποτελεσθεῖσιν ὁ τῶν προπατόρων θεὸς ἡγεμόνα καὶ νομοθέτην ἐκπέμπει Μωσέα, τὰς διὰ χρησμῶν τῶν πρὸς τοὺς προγόνους αὐτῶν πιστούμενος ἐπαγγελίας· κἄπειτα δι’ αὐτοῦ τὰ ἀνάγραπτα θαύματα καὶ τὰς παραδόξους θεοσημίας ἐπιτελέσας τὸν ἁρμόδιον τοῖς τῶν ἀκροωμένων ἤθεσι προβάλλεται νόμον· | 8.38 Thereupon, when they had reached such a state, the God of their forefathers sent forth Moses as leader and lawgiver, confirming the promises made through oracles to their ancestors; and then, having accomplished through him recorded wonders and extraordinary divine signs, he set before them the Law suitable to the character of his hearers— |
| 8.39 οἳ μὴ ζηλώσαντες τὴν πάτριον ἀρετὴν δι’ ἀβελτερίαν, οἷα δὴ τὰς ψυχὰς ἐμπαθεῖς καὶ νενοσηλευμένοι, τὴν κατάλληλον παρελάμβανον πολιτείαν, τὰ μὲν προφανῶς ἐκ τοῦ προδήλου διαταττομένου Μώσεως, τὰ δὲ δι’ ὑπονοιῶν αἰνιττομένου, σύμβολά τε καὶ σκιὰς, ἀλλ’ οὐ γυμνὴν ἀλήθειαν φυλάττειν αὐτοῖς καὶ περιέπειν ὑποθεμένου. | 8.39 Who, failing through folly to emulate their ancestral virtue, inasmuch as their souls were passionate and diseased, received the constitution suitable to them; Moses laying down some things openly and explicitly, and hinting at others through deeper meanings, instructing them to keep and observe symbols and shadows, but not the naked truth. |
| 8.40 καὶ δὴ τὸ Ἰουδαίων πολίτευμα ἐντεῦθέν ποθεν ἀπὸ Μώσεως ἀρξάμενον μέχρι καὶ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας ταῖς τῶν οἰκείων προφητῶν ἀκολούθως φωναῖς διαρκεῖ, ὅτι δὴ καὶ τοῦτο Μωσέως ἦν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν μετέπειτα προφητῶν θέσπισμα, μὴ πρότερον ἐκλιπεῖν τὰ Μωσέως νόμιμά τε καὶ διατάγματα ἢ τὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ φανῆναι, τὰ τῆς καινῆς δηλαδὴ διαθήκης, τῆς διὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι κατηγγελμένης· ἃ καὶ ὧδε τέλους ἔτυχεν, ᾗ καὶ ἀναπεφώνηται. | 8.40 And so the Jewish polity, beginning from Moses, lasted until the presence of our Savior Jesus Christ, in accordance with the voices of its own prophets; for this too was a decree of Moses himself and of the subsequent prophets, that the laws and ordinances of Moses should not fail before the appearance of the things of Christ—namely, the things of the New Covenant, proclaimed through our Savior to all nations; which things have indeed obtained their fulfillment here, just as was foretold. |
| 8.41 Ἀλλ’ ἐπειδὴ τὸν τῶν πρὸ Μώσεως Ἑβραίων βίον ἐν ὀλίγῳ διεληλύθαμεν, καὶ τόν γε τῆς κατ’ αὐτοὺς εὐσεβείας χαρακτῆρα παρεστήσαμεν, ὥρα καὶ τὸν δογματικὸν αὐτῶν τρόπον ἀπό τε τῆς Μώσεως γραφῆς καὶ τῶν μετ’ αὐτὸν προφητῶν ἐπισκέψασθαι. | 8.41 But since we have briefly gone through the life of the Hebrews before Moses and set forth the character of their piety, it is time to examine their doctrinal system both from the writing of Moses and from the prophets after him. |
Chapter 9
Eusebius explains the pedagogical and theological strategy of Moses (the wonderful theologian and lawgiver).
| 9.1 Πρῶτος δ’ οὖν ἁπάντων αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ὁ θαυμάσιος θεόλογος τε καὶ νομοθέτης, πολιτείαν εὐσεβείᾳ προσήκουσαν διὰ τῆς οἰκείας γραφῆς τῷ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνει προκαταβαλλόμενος, οὐ τοῖς κοινοῖς καὶ πεπατημένοις ᾠήθη δεῖν χρήσασθαι προοιμίοις τῶν λόγων, προλαβὼν δὲ πάντα νόμον προστακτικὸν τῶν ποιητέων καὶ τῶν οὐ ποιητέων ἀπαγορευτικόν, τάς τε δημοτελεῖς καὶ πολιτικὰς περὶ τῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους συμβολαίων διατάξεις, ἀπὸ τῆς πατρῴου θεολογίας δεῖν ᾤετο τὴν καταρχὴν ποιήσασθαι τῆς διδασκαλίας, οὐδὲ ἑτέραν μάθησιν οἰκείαν νόμοις εὐσεβείᾳ προσήκουσιν ἡγησάμενος, ἢ τὴν ἄνωθεν ἐκ προπατόρων εἰς αὐτὸν ἥκουσαν θεολογίαν. | 9.1 First of all, then, that admirable theologian and lawgiver himself [Moses], when laying down beforehand through his own writing a constitution fitting for piety for the Jewish nation, did not think it necessary to employ the common and well-worn preambles of speeches. Rather, anticipating every law that commands what ought to be done and forbids what ought not to be done, as well as the public and civil ordinances concerning mutual contracts, he thought it necessary to make the beginning of his instruction from ancestral theology, considering no other learning suited to laws of piety than the theology that had come down to him from above, from his ancestors. |
| 9.2 ἄρχεται τοιγαροῦν ἀπὸ θεοῦ κατὰ τὰ πάτρια τῆς τῶν προγόνων Ἑβραίων θεολογίας, οὐχ ᾗ φίλον Αἰγυπτίοις καὶ Φοίνιξιν ἦν ἢ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσιν εἰς πλῆθος καταβάλλουσι τὴν σεβάσμιον προσηγορίαν, θεούς τε ὁρωμένους μὲν τοὺς κατ’ οὐρανὸν φωστῆρας νομίζουσιν, ἀφανεῖς δὲ καὶ ἀοράτους, ἤτοι τοὺς ἐξ ἀνθρώπων κατοιχομένους, ἢ καὶ τοὺς χθονίους καὶ ἀερίους δαίμονας, κατὰ τὰ πρόσθεν ἡμῖν ἀπεληλεγμένα. | 9.2 He begins, therefore, with God, according to the ancestral theology of the Hebrew forefathers—not as was pleasing to the Egyptians and Phoenicians, or to the rest of the nations who cast down the venerable name into a multiplicity, considering the visible heavenly luminaries to be gods, as well as the unseen and invisible ones, namely departed human beings or earthly and aerial spirits, as was demonstrated by us previously. |
| 9.3 ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ πάντων αἰτίου ἀοράτων τε καὶ ὁρατῶν δημιουργοῦ τὴν καταρχὴν τοῦ παντὸς λόγου πεποιημένος νομοθέτην τοῦτον εἶναι διδάσκει τῆς τοῦ παντὸς συστάσεως, ὥσπερ μιᾶς τινὸς μεγαλοπόλεως τοῦ κόσμου βασιλέα καταστήσας. | 9.3 But rather, having made the beginning of his entire discourse from the Cause of all things, the Creator of things visible and invisible, he teaches that He is the Lawgiver of the constitution of the universe, having established Him, as it were, as King of the cosmos as a single great city. |
| 9.4 παιδεύει τοιγαροῦν ἀρχόμενος τοῦτον ἡγεῖσθαι μὴ μόνον τῶν πρὸς αὐτοῦ σμικρὸν ὕστερον διαταχθησομένων ἀνθρώποις νόμων αὐθέντην εἶναι καὶ κύριον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ φύσει τῶν ὅλων. | 9.4 Beginning, therefore, he instructs us to consider Him not only the Author and Master of the laws that were shortly to be ordained by Him for men, but also of those within the nature of all things. |
Chapter 10
Eusebius says explains that instead of beginning his written code with mundane legal dictates or civic contracts, Moses first establishes the primary doctrine of God as the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He demonstrates that the whole cosmos—including the heavens, elements, seasons, and flora/fauna—obeys God's divine laws and decrees. Consequently, humanity, created in the image of the Divine Word (Logos), is all the more obligated to obey God's laws, guard its noble dignity against the machinations of the envious adversary (the serpent/demon), and strive for restoration to its original, blessed state.
| 10.1 Βασιλέα γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ νομοθέτην τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου παριστᾷ· νεύματι μὲν γὰρ αὐτοῦ καὶ δυνάμει τὴν τῶν ἁπάντων οὐσίωσιν γεγονέναι, νόμοις δὲ καὶ ὅροις πάλιν αὐτοῦ ὁδῷ καὶ τάξει τὸν σύμπαντα διακυβερνᾶσθαι αἰῶνα. | 10.1 For he presents Him as King and Lawgiver of the whole cosmos; declaring that by His nod and power the bringing-into-being of all things occurred, and that by His laws and boundaries the whole age is governed in an orderly path and arrangement. |
| 10.2 λόγῳ μὲν γὰρ καὶ νόμῳ θεοῦ πρῶτον ἁπάντων οὐρανὸν ἐστερεῶσθαι, καὶ γῆς τὸ βαρὺ καὶ στερέμνιον παρὰ τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν τοῖς λεπτομερεστέροις τῶν στοιχείων θαυμασίως ἐπαιωρεῖσθαι· λόγῳ δὲ καὶ νόμῳ θείῳ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας τὸν ἀμοιβαῖον ἀνακυκλεῖσθαι δρόμον, λόγῳ δὲ θεοῦ καὶ νόμῳ καὶ αὐτὸν ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην καὶ τὴν τῶν λοιπῶν ἀστέρων χορείαν ἐν πρέποντι κόσμῳ τὴν προσήκουσαν ἐξανύειν πορείαν, νόμῳ δὲ τοῦ παμβασιλέως τροπῶν ἀλλαγὰς καὶ μεταβολὰς καιρῶν ἐνιαυτοῦ τε κύκλους καὶ τὰς ἐτησίους ὥρας τῇ παναρμονίῳ τοῦ παντὸς ἀποπληροῦσθαι συμφωνίᾳ, νόμῳ θεοῦ χειμῶνα μὲν ὑποχωρεῖν ἔαρι, τοῦτο δὲ ταῖς ἄγχιστα τῶν ὡρῶν τροπαῖς, καὶ θαλάττης δὲ βυθοὺς ταῖς χειμαδίοις πλημμυρίσιν ἐπικυματίζοντας νόμῳ θείῳ τοῖς οἰκείοις ἐναποκεκλεῖσθαι πελάγεσιν, ὡς μηδὲ τοὺς ὅρους τῶν ἱερῶν νόμων ὑπερβαίνειν τολμᾶν, καὶ τὴν ξηρὰν οὐσίαν ὀμβρίοις νάμασι καὶ νιφετοῖς νόμῳ θείῳ πάλιν συμμέτρως ἐπιχορηγουμένοις ἀρδομένην τὴν γῆν μυρία γένη φυτῶν τε καὶ ζῴων ἀναδιδόναι· | 10.2 For by the Word and Law of God, first of all, the heaven was established, and the heavy and solid nature of earth, contrary to its proper nature, is wonderfully suspended upon the lighter elements; and by divine Word and Law the reciprocal course of night and day revolves; and by the Word and Law of God even the sun itself, the moon, and the dance of the other stars accomplish their fitting course in suitable order; and by the law of the All-King the alterations of the solstices, the changes of the seasons, the cycles of the year, and the annual times are fulfilled in the all-harmonious concord of the universe; and by the law of God winter yields to spring, and spring to the nearest turnings of the seasons; and the depths of the sea, swelling with winter floods, are shut up within their proper seas by divine law, so as not even to dare to transcend the boundaries of the sacred laws; and the dry substance [of the earth], watered by rain streams and snows supplied again in due measure by divine law, causes the earth to yield myriads of kinds of plants and animals. |
| 10.3 ἑνί τε λόγῳ, τὴν παμμήτορα τῶν ὅλων φύσιν, προστάγματι θεοῦ δεδουλωμένην, νόμοις θείοις ὑπείκειν καὶ τῇ τοῦ πανηγεμόνος θεοῦ βουλῇ· μὴ γὰρ εἰκῆ, μηδ’ ὡς ἔτυχε, μηδ’ αὐτομάτῳ καὶ ἀλόγῳ φορᾷ συνεστάναι τὸν τηλικοῦτον διάκοσμον, μηδ’ ἀναιτίου φύσεως ἔργον τυγχάνειν τὸ μέγα τοῦτο καὶ περικαλλὲς τεχνούργημα, ἀλλ’ εἶναι μὲν ποίημα τοῦ πανσόφου τῶν ὅλων ἀρχιτέκτονος, τοῦ δὲ αὐτοῦ λόγοις καὶ νόμοις ἱεροῖς διακυβερνᾶσθαι. | 10.3 And in a single word, the all-mother nature of all things, enslaved to the command of God, yields to divine laws and to the counsel of God the All-Ruler. For not at random, nor by chance, nor by an automatic and unreasoning impulse did so great an order come together, nor is this great and all-beautiful masterpiece the work of an uncaused nature, but it is the creation of the all-wise Architect of all things, governed by His sacred words and laws. |
| 10.4 ἔνθεν ἀρξάμενος ὁ προφήτης, καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἀνθρώπων νομοθεσίας τοὺς περὶ τῆς τῶν ὅλων φύσεως προστάξας νόμους, πρώτιστα πάντων προσέχειν τῷ παμβασιλεῖ θεῷ, καὶ μὴ ἀπορρᾳθυμεῖν αὐτοῦ τῶν νόμων παρεκελεύσατο, ὅτι δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ἥλιος οὐρανός τε καὶ κόσμος γῆ τε καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς ἅπαντα, ὅσα τε ἔργα φύσεως εἶναι νενόμισται, ἐντολαῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ διατάξεσιν ἱεροῖς τε νόμοις καὶ λόγοις δουλεύει. | 10.4 Starting from here, the prophet—having enjoined the laws concerning the nature of all things prior to the legislation for men—exhorts us first and foremost to give heed to God the All-King and not to be negligent of His laws; because even the sun itself, the heaven, the cosmos, the earth, and all things upon the earth, as many as are considered to be works of nature, serve His commandments, ordinances, sacred laws, and words. |
| 10.5 διὸ καὶ μᾶλλον χρῆναι τὸ ἀνθρώπειον γένος, οὐ σμικρὸν μέρος τύγχανον τοῦ παντός, κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον τοῖς θείοις προσανέχειν διατάγμασι, μηδ’ ἐλαττοῦσθαι τῶν κατὰ μέρος στοιχείων. γῇ μὲν γὰρ ἐν ἀρχῇ νομοθετῆσαι τὸν φήσαντα· «Βλαστησάτω ἡ γῆ βοτάνην χόρτου, σπεῖρον σπέρμα κατὰ γένος, καὶ ξύλον κάρπιμον ποιοῦν καρπόν·» τὴν δέ, ἅμα λόγῳ τὸ εὐπειθὲς ἐπιδεικνυμένην τῷ νόμῳ, οὔπω καὶ εἰς δεῦρο τῆς θείας παραμελῆσαι διατάξεως. | 10.5 Wherefore it is all the more necessary for the human race—being no small part of the whole—in logical sequence to attend to the divine ordinances, and not to fall short of the individual elements. For in the beginning, He who said, "Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass, yielding seed according to its kind, and the fruit tree bearing fruit," laid down the law for the earth; and the earth, displaying obedience to the law simultaneously with the word, has not even until now neglected the divine ordinance. |
| 10.6 οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὴν ὑγρὰν οὐσίαν, φήσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ· «Ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν, καὶ πετεινὰ πετόμενα κατὰ τὸ στερέωμα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ,» ἅμα λόγῳ τοὔργον ἀποδοῦναι, ὁρᾶσθαί τε εἰσέτι δεῦρο τῷ νόμῳ παρέχουσαν τὸ πειθήνιον. | 10.6 And likewise also with the liquid substance, when God said, "Let the waters bring forth creeping creatures of living souls, and birds flying above the earth across the firmament of heaven," simultaneously with the word it rendered the deed, and is seen even until now yielding obedience to the law. |
| 10.7 εἰ δὲ δὴ καὶ ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη καὶ ἀστέρες, τοῦ θείου νόμου καὶ αὐτοῖς διωρισμένου τοὺς οἰκείους ἀποδιδόναι δρόμους, εἶναί τε καὶ εἰς σημεῖα καὶ εἰς καιροὺς καὶ εἰς ἡμέρας καὶ εἰς ἐνιαυτούς, οὐ παραμελοῦσι τῆς νομοθεσίας, τίς ἂν ἔτι σοι λείποιτο συγγνώμης ἀποφυγή, τῶν θείων κατολιγωροῦντι νόμων; | 10.7 If, then, even the sun, moon, and stars—a divine law having been prescribed for them also to fulfill their proper courses, and to be for signs, seasons, days, and years—do not neglect this legislation, what escape through excuse would still be left for you if you disregard the divine laws? |
| 10.8 Ταῦτα προπαιδεύσας ὁ θαυμάσιος ἡμᾶς τε εἶλε καὶ τῆς οἰκείας θεογνωσίας τε καὶ εὐσεβείας εἰκότως ζηλωτὰς κατεστήσατο, ὅτι μηδὲν τούτοις ὅμοιον παρὰ τοῖς τῶν προδηλωθέντων ἐθνῶν θεολόγοις εὑρεῖν δεδυνήμεθα. | 10.8 Having pre-instructed us in these things, the wonderful man captured us and reasonably established us as zealous pursuers of his own knowledge of God and piety, because we were able to find nothing like these things among the theologians of the aforementioned nations. |
| 10.9 μετὰ δὲ τὴν πρώτην θεολογίαν μέτεισιν ἐπὶ τὸ δεύτερον δόγμα φυσικὸν ὁμοῦ καὶ φιλόσοφον. μετὰ γοῦν τὴν περὶ θεοῦ γνῶσιν, τήν τε περὶ τῶν ὅλων διακόσμησιν, τάξει πρόεισιν ἐπὶ τὸ καὶ τῇ φύσει δεύτερον· τοῦτο δ’ ἦν τὸ περὶ φύσεως ἀνθρώπου, ὅτι δὴ μετὰ θεοῦ γνῶσιν ἀναγκαῖον γνῶναί τινα ἑαυτόν, διόπερ ἐξῆς παιδεύει τί ἄνθρωπος καὶ τί τὸ προάγον αὐτὸν εἰς γνῶσιν καὶ εὐσέβειαν θεοῦ, τίς τε ἡ κατὰ τὸ προηγούμενον ἀνθρώπου ζωή. διελόμενος δῆτα τὸν περὶ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος λόγον ἐν ψυχῇ μὲν ὁρίζεται τὸν ἀληθῆ ἄνθρωπον, νοερᾶς οὐσίας καὶ ἀσωμάτου καὶ λογικῆς μέτοχον, ὡς ἂν κατ’ εἰκόνα θεοῦ δεδημιουργημένον· σῶμα δὲ γεῶδες εἶναι περίβλημα ψυχῆς· τρίτον δὲ τούτοις προστίθησι, πνοὴν ζωῆς, ἑνωτικήν τινα καὶ τοῦ ἀπὸ γῆς ληφθέντος τῷ κατ’ εἰκόνα θεοῦ πεποιημένῳ συναπτικὴν δύναμιν. | 10.9 After this primary theology, he passes on to the second doctrine, which is both natural and philosophical. After the knowledge concerning God and the ordering of the universe, he proceeds in order to that which is second in nature; and this was the doctrine concerning the nature of man. For after the knowledge of God, it is necessary for one to know oneself. Wherefore next he teaches what man is, what leads him to the knowledge and piety of God, and what constitutes the primary life of man. Dividing the discourse concerning soul and body, in the soul he defines the true man, a partaker of an intellectual, incorporeal, and rational essence, created according to the image of God; while the body is an earthly covering of the soul. And to these he adds a third: the breath of life, a unifying power that connects the part taken from the earth to that made in the image of God. |
| 10.10 καὶ τὴν πρώτην γε τοῦ δηλουμένου ἀνδρὸς διατριβὴν ἐν τρισμακαρίῳ θεοῦ παραδείσῳ, ἀθανάτων καὶ αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν ἔμπλεῳ, γεγονέναι ἱστορεῖ· νόμῳ δὲ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦτον ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐν ἀρχαῖς τοῦ παντὸς ὑποβληθέντα δι’ ἀπροσεξίαν καὶ τῆς θείας ἐντολῆς παράβασιν τῆς τριποθήτου στερηθῆναι ζωῆς. | 10.10 And he records that the first residence of the man described was in the thrice-blessed paradise of God, full of immortal and everlasting goods; but that he, having been subjected to God’s law in the beginnings of the universe like the rest, was through carelessness and transgression of the divine commandment deprived of that thrice-desired life. |
| 10.11 Ταῦτά τοι ὁ Μώσης ἐν προοιμίοις τῶν ἱερῶν νόμων φιλοσοφεῖ, μονονουχὶ προκηρύττων μὴ παραμελεῖν τῆς οἰκείας ἀξίας καὶ ἧς ἐτύχομεν πρὸς τὸ θεῖον ἀφομοιώσεως, ἐξ ἧς ἡμῖν καὶ τὸ ἀθάνατον τῆς ψυχῆς προσκεκληρῶσθαι. | 10.11 These things Moses philosophizes in the preambles to the sacred laws, all but proclaiming that we should not neglect our proper dignity and the likeness to the Divine which we obtained, by virtue of which the immortality of the soul has been allotted to us. |
| 10.12 μὴ γὰρ δὴ θεμιτὸν εἶναι βασιλέως ἀφανίζεσθαι εἰκόνα· εἶναι δὲ ἀρχέτυπον καὶ ἀληθῆ τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων εἰκόνα τὸν αὐτοῦ λόγον, αὐτοσοφίαν τυγχάνοντα καὶ αὐτοζωὴν καὶ φῶς καὶ ἀλήθειαν, καὶ εἴ τι καλὸν καὶ ἀγαθόν τις ἐπινοήσειεν· εἰκόνα δὲ εἰκόνος τὸν ἀνθρώπειον νοῦν, παρ’ ὃ καὶ κατ’ εἰκόνα θεοῦ γεγονέναι ἀνωμολόγηται. | 10.12 For it is not lawful for an image of a king to be effaced; and the archetype and true image of the God of all things is His Word (Logos), who is Himself-Wisdom, Himself-Life, Light, and Truth, and whatever good and noble thing one might conceive; while the human mind is an image of an image, wherefore it is agreed that it was made according to the image of God. |
| 10.13 ἀναγκαῖα δὲ ταῦτα εἶναι ᾤετο προπαιδεύεσθαι τοὺς μέλλοντας ἱεροῖς προσανέχειν νόμοις, μνημονεύειν τε τί τὸ ἀπὸ γῆς ληφθὲν αὐτοῖς καὶ εἰς γῆν αὖθις ἀναλυθησόμενον, καὶ τί τὸ ἐν ἡμῖν κρεῖττον καὶ θεῷ ἐμφερές, ὅπως τε χρῆν ἑκατέρῳ τῶν εἰρημένων προσφέρεσθαι, μηδὲ ἐνυβρίζειν καὶ ἀσεβεῖν εἰς τὸν κατ’ εἰκόνα τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπον, μηδέ γε αὐτὸν ῥυπαίνειν αἰσχραῖς καὶ παρανόμοις πράξεσι, φέρειν δὲ διὰ παντὸς τῆς πρώτης καὶ τρισμακαρίας ἐκείνης διατριβῆς τε καὶ ζωῆς τὸν πόθον, καὶ σπεύδειν παλινδρομεῖν, εὐχὴν ποιουμένους τῆς πρώτης καὶ τρισμακαρίου ζωῆς τε καὶ ἀξίας τυχεῖν· ἀλλὰ καὶ παρασκευάζεσθαι ἐνθένδε ἤδη ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκεῖσε ἀποδημίαν, ὅτι μηδὲ ἄλλως δυνατὸν βεβήλοις καὶ μὴ κεκαθαρμένοις τῶν ἱερῶν ἐκείνων ἐπιβαίνειν, ὧν καὶ ὁ πρῶτος δι’ ἀπροσεξίαν, θείας καταφρονήσας ἐντολῆς, ἀποπέπτωκεν. | 10.13 He thought it necessary that those who were going to devote themselves to the sacred laws be pre-instructed in these matters: to remember what in them was taken from the earth and will be dissolved into earth again, and what in us is superior and like unto God; how it is necessary to conduct oneself toward each of the stated parts; neither to outrage nor act impiously toward the man made according to the image of God, nor to defile him with shameful and unlawful deeds; but to carry through all time a longing for that first and thrice-blessed residence and life, and to make haste to run back, making it a prayer to attain that first, thrice-blessed life and dignity; and further, to prepare oneself from now on for the journey thither, since it is not otherwise possible for the profane and unpurified to step upon those sacred places from which the first man, through carelessness, having despised the divine commandment, fell away. |
| 10.14 ἐπὶ τούτοις ὁ ἱεροφάντης προστίθησιν ἄλλο συνεκτικώτατον δόγμα, μὴ ἀμφιγνοεῖν διδάσκων ὅτι δὴ πάρεστί τις ἑκάστῳ πονηρὸς δαίμων ἔφεδρος, βάσκανος καὶ μισόκαλος καὶ τῆς ἀνθρώπων ἀρχῆθεν ἐπίβουλος σωτηρίας. | 10.14 In addition to these things, the hierophant adds another most essential doctrine, teaching us not to be ignorant that a certain evil demon is present as an adversary to each person—envious, hating the good, and plotting against human salvation from the beginning. |
| 10.15 δράκοντα δὲ τοῦτον καὶ ὄφιν ὀνομάζει, μέλανά τε καὶ σκότους οἰκεῖον, ἰοῦ τε καὶ κακίας πλήρη· ὃν καί φησι φθόνῳ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐνθέου ζωῆς ὑποσκελίζειν εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν καὶ ὑποσύρειν ἕκαστον τῶν τῷ θεῷ προσανεχόντων πειρᾶσθαι· τούτου δ’ ἀπάτῃ καὶ τοὺς προπάτορας ἡμῶν τοῦ γένους τῆς θειοτέρας λήξεως ἐκπεσεῖν· διὸ καὶ χρῆναι διὰ παντὸς ἐγρηγορέναι πρὸς τὰς τοῦ δηλωθέντος κακοτέχνους ῥᾳδιουργίας. | 10.15 He names him a dragon and a serpent, dark and belonging to darkness, full of poison and malice. He says that he, out of envy for our godly life, trips us up even now and attempts to drag down everyone who adheres to God; and that by his deceit our forefathers of the race fell from the divine lot. Wherefore it is necessary at all times to be watchful against the crafty knaveries of the one described. |
| 10.16 καὶ τί χρὴ ταῦτα προλαμβάνειν, δέον ἤδη ποτὲ καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐγγράφων ἕκαστα διελθεῖν τῶν διηγορευμένων; ἀρξώμεθα δὴ πρῶτον ἀπὸ θεοῦ, βοηθὸν αὐτὸν ἐν πρώτοις διὰ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπικαλεσάμενοι. | 10.16 But why should I anticipate these things, when it is now necessary to go through each of the declared matters directly from the texts themselves? Let us begin first from God, having called upon Him as our helper in the first place through our Savior. |
Chapter 11
Eusebius demonstrates how Hebrew theology treats God as the absolute Creator and Ruler of the cosmos. Rather than relying on speculative dialectic or persuasive rhetoric, Moses and the Hebrew prophets speak authoritatively through divine inspiration (the Holy Spirit). From Genesis creation accounts through the Patriarchs (Abraham, Melchizedek) and the Prophets (Jeremiah, Isaiah, the Psalmist), God is depicted as the sole Creator who continuously governs the universe through His providence. Eusebius concludes the chapter by contrasting this lofty monotheistic vision with the conflicting, materialist theories of Greek philosophers (e.g., atomism, deism, pantheism, or the idea that stars are merely red-hot metal masses).
| 11.1 Τὴν μὲν δὴ τῆς θεολογίας ἀρχὴν ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ὅλων ποιητικῆς τε καὶ δημιουργικῆς δυνάμεως ἀρχόμενος ὁ κατ’ αὐτοὺς λόγος παρίστησιν, οὐ συλλογισμοῖς οὐδὲ πιθανολογίαις, δογματικώτερον δὲ καὶ διδασκαλικώτερον ἐπιθειάζων τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι· ὑφ’ οὗ θεοφορούμενος ὧδέ πως ὁ Μωσῆς ἀπήρξατο τῆς θεολογίας· «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.» | 11.1 Starting from the poetic and creative power of all things, their doctrine presents the beginning of theology not by syllogisms or persuasive arguments, but in a more dogmatic and instructive manner, speaking divine truths by the Holy Spirit. Inspired by Him, Moses began his theology roughly thus: "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth." |
| 11.2 εἶτά φησιν· «Εἶπεν ὁ θεός· γενηθήτω φῶς, καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς.» καὶ πάλιν· «Εἶπεν ὁ θεός· γενηθήτω στερέωμα, καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.» καὶ πάλιν· «Εἶπεν ὁ θεός· βλαστησάτω ἡ γῆ βοτάνην χόρτου, σπεῖρον σπέρμα κατὰ γένος καὶ καθ’ ὁμοιότητα, καὶ ξύλον κάρπιμον ποιοῦν καρπόν, οὗ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ, κατὰ γένος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.» καὶ αὖθις· «Εἶπεν ὁ θεός· γενηθήτωσαν φωστῆρες ἐν τῷ στερεώματι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ὥστε φαίνειν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἔστωσαν εἰς σημεῖα, καὶ εἰς καιρούς, καὶ εἰς ἡμέρας, καὶ εἰς ἐνιαυτούς, καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.» καὶ πάλιν· «Εἶπεν ὁ θεός· ἐξαγαγέτω τὰ ὕδατα ἑρπετὰ ψυχῶν ζωσῶν κατὰ γένος, καὶ πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατὰ γένος, καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.» καὶ πάλιν· «Ἐξαγαγέτω ἡ γῆ τετράποδα καὶ ἑρπετὰ καὶ θηρία τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένος, καὶ ἐγένετο οὕτως.» | 11.2 Then he says: "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." And again: "And God said, 'Let there be a firmament,' and it was so." And again: "And God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass, yielding seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit tree bearing fruit whose seed is in itself according to its kind upon the earth,' and it was so." And further: "And God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven so as to give light upon the earth, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years,' and it was so." And again: "And God said, 'Let the waters bring forth creeping creatures of living souls according to their kind, and all the birds of heaven according to their kind,' and it was so." And again: "Let the earth bring forth quadrupeds and creeping things and wild beasts of the earth according to their kind, and it was so." |
| 11.3 ἐν δὴ τούτοις φάσκουσα ἡ γραφὴ «Εἶπεν ὁ θεός» τὸ θεῖον νεῦμα καὶ τὸ ὡδί πως γενέσθαι τὰ ὄντα βουληθῆναι τὸν θεὸν παρίστησιν, οὐ μὴν δὲ φωνῇ καὶ συλλαβαῖς φάναι αὐτὸν ἐπινοεῖν ἀναγκαῖον, ἀλλὰ τὸν πάντα λόγον ἀνακεφαλαιούμενος «Αὕτη» φησίν «ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς.» | 11.3 In these passages, when Scripture says "God said," it presents the divine will and God's purpose that existing things should come into being in this way; yet it is by no means necessary to imagine that He spoke with voice and syllables. Rather, summarizing the whole account, he says: "This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth, in the day when God made the heaven and the earth and all things in them." |
| 11.4 τοιαύτη μὲν ἡ καθ’ Ἑβραίους θεολογία, λόγῳ θεοῦ δημιουργικῷ τὰ πάντα συνεστάναι παιδεύουσα. ἔπειτα δέ, οὐχ ὧδε ἔρημον ὡς ὀρφανὸν ὑπὸ πατρὸς καταλειφθέντα τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον ὑπὸ τοῦ συστησαμένου διδάσκει, ἀλλ’ εἰς τὸ ἀεὶ ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ προνοίας αὐτὸν διοικεῖσθαι, ὡς μὴ μόνον δημιουργὸν εἶναι τῶν ὅλων καὶ ποιητὴν τὸν θεόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ σωτῆρα καὶ διοικητὴν καὶ βασιλέα καὶ ἡγεμόνα, ἡλίῳ αὐτῷ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ ἄστροις καὶ τῷ σύμπαντι οὐρανῷ τε καὶ κόσμῳ δι’ αἰῶνος ἐπιστατοῦντα, μεγάλῳ τε ὀφθαλμῷ καὶ ἐνθέῳ δυνάμει πάντ’ ἐφορῶντα, καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν οὐρανίοις τε καὶ ἐπιγείοις ἐπιπαρόντα, καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν κόσμῳ διατάττοντά τε καὶ διοικοῦντα. | 11.4 Such is the theology according to the Hebrews, teaching that all things consist by the creative Word (Logos) of God. Moreover, it does not teach that the entire cosmos was left behind by its Creator like a deserted orphan without a father, but that it is continually governed by the providence of God—so that God is not only Creator and Maker of all things, but also Savior, Administrator, King, and Leader, presiding through eternity over the sun itself, the moon, the stars, and the whole heaven and cosmos, inspecting all things with a great eye and divine power, present to all things heavenly and earthly, and ordering and governing all things in the universe. |
| 11.5 ὥσπερ οὖν ἀμέλει καὶ οἱ μετὰ ταῦτα προφῆται, ἀκόλουθα καὶ αὐτοὶ θειάζοντες, τοτὲ μὲν ἀνεφώνουν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θείου λέγοντες προσώπου· «Θεὸς ἐγγίζων ἐγώ εἰμι, λέγει Κύριος, καὶ οὐχὶ θεὸς πόρρωθεν. εἰ ποιήσει τι ἄνθρωπος ἐν κρυφαίοις, κἀγὼ οὐ γνώσομαι αὐτό; οὐχὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐγὼ πληρῶ; λέγει Κύριος,» | 11.5 Therefore, indeed, the prophets after these things, also uttering divine truths in sequence, would sometimes proclaim from the person of the Divine Himself, saying: "Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God far off? If a man does something in secret places, shall I not know it? Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord." |
| 11.6 τοτὲ δὲ ὧδέ πῃ θεολογοῦντες· «Τίς ἐμέτρησε τῇ χειρὶ τὸ ὕδωρ, καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν σπιθαμῇ, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν δρακί; τίς ἔστησε τὰ ὄρη σταθμῷ καὶ τὰς νάπας ζυγῷ; τίς ἔγνω νοῦν Κυρίου, καὶ τίς σύμβουλος αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο;» καὶ πάλιν· «Ὁ στήσας ὡς καμάραν τὸν οὐρανόν, καὶ διατείνας ὡς σκηνὴν κατοικεῖν.» καὶ αὖθις· «Ἀναβλέψατε εἰς ὕψος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν, καὶ ἴδετε τίς κατέδειξε ταῦτα πάντα.» καὶ ἑξῆς· «Κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ πήξας αὐτόν, ὁ στερεώσας τὴν γῆν καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ, καὶ διδοὺς πνοὴν τῷ λαῷ τῷ ἐπ’ αὐτῆς, καὶ πνεῦμα τοῖς πατοῦσιν αὐτήν, ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ θεός.» καὶ ἑξῆς· «Ἐξέτεινα τὸν οὐρανὸν μόνος, καὶ ἐστερέωσα τὴν γῆν· ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ θεός, οὐκ ἔστι πλὴν ἐμοῦ.» | 11.6 And at other times they would speak of God thus: "Who has measured the water with his hand, and the heaven with a span, and all the earth with his fist? Who has weighed the mountains in a scale, and the valleys in a balance? Who has known the mind of the Lord, and who has become His counselor?" And again: "He who set up the heaven like a vault, and stretched it out like a tent to dwell in." And further: "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has displayed all these things." And next: "The Lord God, who made the heaven and fixed it, who established the earth and the things in it, and gives breath to the people upon it, and spirit to those who tread upon it—I am the Lord God." And next: "I stretched out the heaven alone, and established the earth; I am the Lord God, and there is none besides Me." |
| 11.7 καὶ πάλιν· «Οὕτως ἐρεῖτε αὐτοῖς· Θεοὶ οἳ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν οὐκ ἐποίησαν ἀπολέσθωσαν ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς γῆς καὶ ὑποκάτωθεν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. Κύριος ὁ ποιήσας τὴν γῆν ἐν τῇ ἰσχύϊ αὐτοῦ, ὁ ἀνορθώσας τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῇ φρονήσει αὐτοῦ ἐξέτεινε τὸν οὐρανόν, καὶ ἀνήγαγε νεφέλας ἐξ ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς, ἀστραπὰς εἰς ὑετὸν ἐποίησε, καὶ ἐξήγαγεν ἀνέμους ἐκ θησαυρῶν αὐτοῦ. Ἐμωράνθη πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἀπὸ γνώσεως.» | 11.7 And again: "Thus shall you say to them: 'The gods who did not make the heaven and the earth, let them perish from the face of the earth and from under this heaven.' The Lord is He who made the earth by His power, who set upright the inhabited world by His wisdom, and by His understanding stretched out the heaven, and brought up clouds from the end of the earth; He made lightnings for rain, and brought forth winds from His treasuries. Every man has become foolish from lack of knowledge." |
| 11.8 καὶ πάλιν· «Ποῦ πορευθῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός σου, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου σου ποῦ κρυβῶ; ἐὰν ἀναβῶ εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, σὺ ἐκεῖ εἶ· ἐὰν καταβῶ εἰς τὸν ᾅδην, πάρει. ἐὰν ἀναλάβοιμι τὰς πτέρυγάς μου κατ’ ὄρθρον καὶ κατασκηνώσαιμι εἰς τὰ ἔσχατα τῆς θαλάσσης, καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ ἡ χείρ σου ὁδηγήσει με.» | 11.8 And again: "Where shall I go from Your Spirit, and from Your face where shall I hide? If I go up into heaven, You are there; if I go down into Hades, You are present. If I should take up my wings at dawn and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall guide me." |
| 11.9 Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὅμοια τῶν μετὰ Μωσέα θεολόγων, τῶν δὴ καὶ Ἑβραίων, τυγχάνει, συνῳδὰ τοῖς παλαιτάτοις προπάτορσι θεολογούντων· τῶν δέ γε πρὸ Μώσεως θεοφιλῶν καὶ τρισμακαρίων ἀνδρῶν, τῶν δὴ καὶ πρώτων Ἑβραίων, αὐτοῦ τε πρώτου πάντων Ἁβραάμ, ὃς καὶ προπάτωρ τοῦ παντὸς Ἰουδαίων ἔθνους ἀνείρηται, ἄκουε· | 11.9 Now these and similar utterances belong to the theologians after Moses—those among the Hebrews—who sang in harmony with the ancient forebears. But hear also those divine and thrice-blessed men before Moses—the first Hebrews—and first of all Abraham himself, who is acclaimed as forefather of the whole Jewish nation: |
| 11.10 «Εἶπε δὲ Ἁβραὰμ πρὸς βασιλέα Σοδόμων· Ἐκτενῶ τὴν χεῖρά μου πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τὸν ὕψιστον, ὃς ἔκτισε τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.» καὶ πρό γε τοῦ Ἁβραὰμ εἰσάγεται ὁ Μελχισεδὲκ ἱερεὺς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου, τὸν Ἁβραὰμ εὐλογῶν τούτοις τοῖς ῥήμασιν· «Εὐλογημένος Ἁβραὰμ τῷ θεῷ τῷ ὑψίστῳ, ὃς ἔκτισε τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν· καὶ εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεός, ὃς παρέδωκε τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποχειρίους σοι.» | 11.10 "And Abraham said to the king of Sodom: 'I will stretch out my hand to God the Most High, who created the heaven and the earth.'" And even before Abraham, Melchizedek, priest of God the Most High, is introduced blessing Abraham with these words: "Blessed be Abraham by God the Most High, who created the heaven and the earth; and blessed be God, who delivered your enemies into your hands.'" |
| 11.11 ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις ὁ λόγος τὸν Ἁβραὰμ εἰσάγει τῷ οἰκέτῃ τοιάδε προσδιαλεγόμενον· «Θὲς τὴν χεῖρά σου ὑπὸ τὸν μηρόν μου, καὶ ἐξορκιῶ σε Κύριον τὸν θεὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τὸν θεὸν τῆς γῆς.» καὶ ἐπιλέγει· «Κύριος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὁ θεὸς τῆς γῆς, ὃς ἔλαβέ με ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου τοῦ πατρός μου καὶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς, ἧς ἐγεννήθην.» | 11.11 Furthermore, the text introduces Abraham speaking thus to his servant: "Put your hand under my thigh, and I will adjure you by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth." And he adds: "The Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, who took me out of my father's house and out of the land in which I was born." |
| 11.12 ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις ἐν τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν Μωσέα θεοφανείᾳ, πυθομένῳ τῷ Μωσεῖ, τίνα χρὴ τὸν θεὸν ἡγεῖσθαι, φησὶν ὁ χρησμός· «Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν· οὕτως ἐρεῖς τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραήλ· Ὁ ὢν ἀπέσταλκέ με πρὸς ὑμᾶς.» | 11.12 Above all these, in the divine manifestation to Moses himself, when Moses asked who one ought to consider God to be, the oracle says: "I AM WHO I AM. Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel: HE WHO IS has sent me to you." |
| 11.13 Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἀπὸ μυρίων ὅσων τῆς Ἑβραίων θεολογίας ἐκκείσθω. ἆρ’ οὖν ἄξιον ἐν συγκρίσει παραβάλλειν αὐτοῖς τὰς τῶν σοφῶν Ἑλλήνων θεολογίας, τῶν μὲν μηδ’ ὅλως εἶναι θεὸν ἀποφηναμένων, τῶν δὲ τοὺς ἀστέρας εἶναι φασκόντων, οὓς καὶ μύδρους τυγχάνειν διαπύρους, ἥλων καὶ πετάλων δίκην ἐμπεπηγότας τῷ οὐρανῷ, τῶν δὲ πῦρ εἶναι τεχνικὸν ὁδῷ βαδίζον, καὶ τῶν μὲν μὴ προνοίᾳ θεοῦ διοικεῖσθαι τὸν κόσμον, φύσει δέ τινι ἀλόγῳ, τῶν δὲ τὰ μὲν οὐράνια μόνα ὑπὸ θεοῦ διοικεῖσθαι, οὐ μὴν καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς, καὶ πάλιν ἀγέννητον εἶναι τὸν κόσμον, καὶ μηδ’ ὅλως ὑπὸ θεοῦ γενέσθαι, αὐτομάτως δὲ καὶ συντυχικῶς ὑφεστάναι, τῶν δὲ ἐξ ἀτόμων καὶ λεπτῶν σωμάτων ἀψύχων τινῶν καὶ ἀλόγων τὴν τοῦ παντὸς σύστασιν γεγονέναι; | 11.13 Let these passages, then, out of countless others, be set forth from the theology of the Hebrews. Is it, then, worth comparing with them the theological views of the wise Greeks? Some of them declared that God does not exist at all; others asserted that the stars are gods, while also claiming they are red-hot masses of metal fixed in the sky like nails and plates; others said He is a design-producing fire advancing in a path; some held that the cosmos is not governed by God's providence, but by an irrational nature; others that only heavenly things are governed by God, but certainly not things on earth; again, that the cosmos is unbegotten and not made by God at all, but exists spontaneously and by chance; while others held that the composition of the universe came about from atoms and unensouled, irrational minute bodies? |
| 11.14 ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἐκ τῶν παρ’ Ἑβραίοις λογίων περὶ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ ὡς ἐν βραχέσι τοιαῦτα· συνιδεῖν δὲ ἕπεται καὶ τὰ μετὰ τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν περὶ τῆς τῶν γενητῶν ἀρχῆς Ἑβραίοις πεφιλοσοφημένα. | 11.14 Such, then, in brief, are the teachings from the Hebrew oracles concerning the God of all things. It follows next to examine also the philosophies among the Hebrews regarding the origin of created things, after the God of all. |
Chapter 12
In this chapter, Eusebius contrasts the material principles (archai) proposed by Greek philosophers (water, air, fire, numbers, atoms, elements) with the Hebrew doctrine of the Divine Word (Logos) and Wisdom (Sophia). He shows that Hebrew Scripture presents a second divine substance/power—begotten of the First Cause—acting as Creator, Prophet, and Redeemer (citing Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon, and John). Eusebius then illustrates the Logos as the Father’s active agent in Creation (e.g., "Let us make man") and judgment, concluding with an appeal to Philo of Alexandria as a Jewish authority confirming this interpretation.
| 12.1 Θαλῆς μὲν ὁ Μιλήσιος ἀρχὴν τῶν ἁπάντων τὸ ὕδωρ εἶναι ἀπεφήνατο, Ἀναξιμένης δὲ τὸν ἀέρα, Ἡράκλειτος τὸ πῦρ, Πυθαγόρας ἀριθμούς, Ἐπίκουρος ἅμα Δημοκρίτῳ σώματα ἄτομα, Ἐμπεδοκλῆς τὰ τέσσαρα στοιχεῖα. ἴδωμεν τοιγαροῦν καὶ τὰ παρ’ Ἑβραίοις λόγια. | 12.1 Thales of Miletus declared that water is the principle of all things, Anaximenes air, Heraclitus fire, Pythagoras numbers, Epicurus alongside Democritus atomic bodies, and Empedocles the four elements. Let us therefore examine the oracles among the Hebrews as well. |
| 12.2 μετὰ τὴν ἄναρχον καὶ ἀγένητον τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων οὐσίαν, ἄμικτον οὖσαν καὶ ἐπέκεινα πάσης καταλήψεως, δευτέραν οὐσίαν καὶ θείαν δύναμιν, ἀρχὴν τῶν γενητῶν ἀπάντων πρώτην τε ὑποστᾶσαν κἀκ τοῦ πρώτου αἰτίου γεγενημένην, εἰσάγουσι, λόγον καὶ σοφίαν καὶ θεοῦ δύναμιν αὐτὴν προσαγορεύοντες. | 12.2 After the unoriginated and unbegotten essence of the God of all things—which is unmixed and beyond all comprehension—they introduce a second essence and divine power, the first subsisting principle of all created things, begotten from the First Cause, addressing it as Logos, Wisdom, and Power of God. |
| 12.3 τοῦτο δὲ πρῶτος διδάσκει λέγων Ἰώβ· «ἡ δὲ σοφία πόθεν εὑρέθη; ποῖος δὲ τόπος ἐστὶ τῆς ἐπιστήμης; οὐκ οἶδε βροτὸς ὁδὸν αὐτῆς, οὐδὲ μὴν εὑρέθη ἐν ἀνθρώποις, ἀκηκόαμεν δὲ αὐτῆς τὸ κλέος. ὁ κύριος συνέστησεν αὐτῆς τὴν ὁδόν, αὐτὸς δὲ οἶδε τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς.» | 12.3 Job is the first to teach this, saying: "But where has wisdom been found? And what is the place of understanding? Mortal man does not know her way, nor indeed has she been found among men. But we have heard her fame. The Lord established her way, and He Himself knows her place." |
| 12.4 καὶ ὁ Δαβὶδ δέ που ἐν ψαλμῳδίαις, ἑτέρῳ προσειπὼν τὴν σοφίαν ὀνόματι, φησί· «τῷ λόγῳ κυρίου οἱ οὐρανοὶ ἐστερεώθησαν,» τὸν τῶν ἁπάντων δημιουργὸν λόγον θεοῦ τοῦτον ἐνευφημήσας τὸν τρόπον· οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ τούτου παῖς Σολομῶν ὧδέ πη ἐξ αὐτῆς προσωποποιεῖ τῆς σοφίας λέγων· «ἐγὼ ἡ σοφία κατεσκήνωσα βουλὴν καὶ γνῶσιν, καὶ ἔννοιαν ἐγὼ ἐπεκαλεσάμην. δι' ἐμοῦ βασιλεῖς βασιλεύουσι, καὶ οἱ δυνάσται γράφουσι δικαιοσύνην.» | 12.4 And David also somewhere in his psalms, addressing Wisdom by another name, says: "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made firm," praising in this manner the creator Word of God. Moreover, his son Solomon personifies Wisdom herself in this way, saying: "I, Wisdom, dwell with counsel and knowledge, and I have called upon understanding. Through me kings reign, and rulers decree justice." |
| 12.5 καὶ πάλιν· «κύριος ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ, πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐθεμελίωσέ με, ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸ τοῦ τὴν γῆν ποιῆσαι, πρὸ τοῦ τὰς ἀβύσσους γενέσθαι, πρὸ τοῦ ὄρη ἑδρασθῆναι, πρὸ δὲ πάντων βουνῶν γεννᾷ με· ἡνίκα ἡτοίμαζε τὸν οὐρανὸν συμπαρήμην αὐτῷ, καὶ ὡς ἀσφαλεῖς ἐτίθει πηγὰς τῆς ὑπ' οὐρανόν, ἤμην σὺν αὐτῷ ἁρμόζουσα. ἐγὼ ἤμην ᾗ προσέχαιρε καθ' ἡμέραν, ηὐφραινόμην δὲ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ, ὅτε ηὐφραίνετο τὴν οἰκουμένην συντελέσας.» | 12.5 And again: "The Lord created me as the beginning of His ways for His works; before the age He established me, in the beginning before He made the earth, before the depths came to be, before the mountains were settled; before all hills He begets me. When He prepared the heaven, I was present with Him; and as He made secure the fountains under heaven, I was with Him as adjuster. I was she in whom He daily delighted, and I rejoiced before Him at all times, when He rejoiced upon completing the inhabited world." |
| 12.6 ταῦτα Σολομῶν ἐν Παροιμίαις. καὶ ταῦτα δέ πη ἐξ αὐτοῦ λέγεται τοῦ προσώπου· «τί δέ ἐστιν σοφία, καὶ πῶς ἐγένετο, ἀπαγγελῶ, καὶ οὐκ ἀποκρύψω ὑμῖν μυστήρια, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἀρχῆς γενέσεως ἐξιχνιάσω.» οἷς ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει· «ἔστι γὰρ αὕτη πνεῦμα νοερόν, ἅγιον, μονογενές, πολυμερές, λεπτόν, εὐκίνητον, τρανόν, ἀμόλυντον, παντοδύναμον, παντεπίσκοπον, καὶ διὰ πάντων χωροῦν πνευμάτων, νοερῶν, καθαρῶν, λεπτοτάτων. | 12.6 These things Solomon says in Proverbs. And the following is also said, as if from her own person: "What wisdom is, and how she came to be, I will declare, and I will not hide mysteries from you, but from the beginning of her origin I will trace her out." To which he adds next: "For in her is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, undefiled, almighty, all-surveying, and penetrating through all spirits—intelligent, pure, and most subtle. |
| 12.7 πάσης γὰρ κινήσεως κινητικώτερον σοφία, διήκει δὲ καὶ χωρεῖ διὰ πάντων διὰ τὴν καθαρότητα. ἀτμὶς γάρ ἐστι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμεως καὶ ἀπόρροια τῆς τοῦ παντοκράτορος δόξης εἰλικρινής· διὸ οὐδὲν μεμολυσμένον εἰς αὐτὴν παρεμπίπτει. ἀπαύγασμα γάρ ἐστι φωτὸς ἀϊδίου, καὶ ἔσοπτρον ἀκηλίδωτον τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ ἐνεργείας, καὶ εἰκὼν τῆς ἀγαθότητος αὐτοῦ. διατείνει δὲ ἀπὸ πέρατος ἐπὶ πέρας εὐρώστως, καὶ διοικεῖ τὰ πάντα χρηστῶς.» | 12.7 For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; she pervades and penetrates through all things because of her purity. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled falls into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of His goodness. She reaches mightily from one end to the other, and orders all things well." |
| 12.8 καὶ δὴ τόνδε τὸν ἔνθεον λόγον διαφόρως ἡ θεία γραφὴ πρὸς τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων σωτηρίᾳ πεπεμμένον εἰσάγει. αὐτὸν δ’ οὖν καὶ τῷ Ἁβραὰμ Μωσεῖ τε καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις θεοφιλέσι προφήταις φῆναι ἑαυτόν, καὶ χρησμοῖς τὰ πολλὰ παιδεῦσαί τε καὶ θεσπίσαι τὰ μέλλοντα ἱστορεῖ, ὁπηνίκα θεὸν καὶ κύριον ὦφθαί τε καὶ εἰς λόγους τῶν προφητῶν ἐλθεῖν μνημονεύει. | 12.8 Indeed, divine Scripture introduces this inspired Word as having been sent in various ways by the Father for the salvation of human beings. It records that He revealed Himself to Abraham, Moses, and the other God-beloved prophets, instructing them through oracles and foretelling the future, whenever it records that God and Lord appeared and came into discourse with the prophets. |
| 12.9 τοῦτον καὶ πᾶσιν εἰς γνῶσιν ἐλθεῖν ἀνθρώποις, οἷα νοσούντων σωτῆρα καὶ ψυχῶν ἰατρὸν πρὸς τοῦ μείζονος ἀπεσταλμένον, ὧδέ πη θεσπίζει· «ἀπέστειλε τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἰάσατο αὐτούς, καὶ ἐρρύσατο αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῶν διαφθορῶν αὐτῶν.» καὶ πάλιν ἄλλοτέ φησιν· «ἕως τάχους δραμεῖται ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ.» ἔνθεν καὶ ἡ εὐαγγελικὴ διδασκαλία τὸ προφητικὸν καὶ πάτριον ἀνανεουμένη δόγμα ταύτῃ πη διασαφεῖ τὴν θεολογίαν· «ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν ὃ γέγονεν. ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων.» | 12.9 That He came into the knowledge of all people—sent from the Greater One as a savior of the sick and a physician of souls—is foretold thus: "He sent His Word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." And again at another time it says: "His Word runs with speed." Hence the evangelical teaching, renewing the prophetic and ancestral doctrine, clarifies the theology in this manner: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." |
| 12.10 εἰκότως δῆτα τῷ αὐτῷ πνεύματι καὶ Μώσης ὁ πάνσοφος, ἀρχόμενος τῆς κατ’ αὐτὸν κοσμογονίας, ἐν τῇ προαποδοθείσῃ ἀρχῇ, πεποιηκέναι τὸν θεὸν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν φησίν· αὐτῷ τε εἰσάγει, ὡς ἂν οἰκείῳ καὶ πρωτογόνῳ αὐτοῦ λόγῳ, κοινολογούμενον ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου δημιουργίας τὸν θεὸν ἐν οἷς γράφει· «καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός· ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ’ εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ’ ὁμοίωσιν.» | 12.10 Appropriately then, by the same Spirit, Moses the all-wise, beginning his creation account, says that "in the previously established beginning" God made heaven and earth. And he introduces God as taking counsel with Him—as His own first-born Word—concerning the creation of man, where he writes: "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image and after our likeness.'" |
| 12.11 τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς ᾐνίττετο, ὁπηνίκα περὶ τοῦ πρώτου αἰτίου διεξιὼν «αὐτός» φησιν «εἶπε, καὶ ἐγεννήθησαν· αὐτὸς ἐνετείλατο, καὶ ἐκτίσθησαν·» ἄντικρυς τὴν τοῦ πρώτου πρὸς τὸ δεύτερον αἴτιον, ὡς ἂν πατρὸς πρὸς υἱόν, διάταξίν τε καὶ παρακέλευσιν ὑφιστάμενος· πάντῃ γὰρ δήπουθεν δῆλον ὡς πᾶς ὁ λέγων τι ἑτέρῳ λέγει, καὶ ὁ ἐντελλόμενος ἑτέρῳ παρ’ ἑαυτὸν ἐντέλλεται. | 12.11 The Psalmist also hinted at this when, discoursing concerning the First Cause, he says: "He spoke, and they were generated; He commanded, and they were created," plainly setting forth the arrangement and command of the First Cause to the Second Cause, as of a Father to a Son. For it is surely clear to all that everyone who speaks, speaks to another, and he who commands, commands another besides himself. |
| 12.12 διαρρήδην δ’ αὖ πάλιν Μώσης ἄμφω δυοῖν μνημονεύων κυρίων, πατρὸς δηλαδὴ καὶ υἱοῦ, ὧδέ πη ἐπὶ τῆς κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν τιμωρίας ἱστορεῖ λέγων· «καὶ ἔβρεξε κύριος παρὰ κυρίου ἐπὶ Σόδομα καὶ Γόμορρα θεῖον καὶ πῦρ.» | 12.12 Furthermore, Moses explicitly mentions two Lords—namely Father and Son—recording it thus concerning the punishment against the ungodly: "And the Lord rained sulfur and fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord." |
| 12.13 οἷς συμφώνως καὶ Δαβὶδ ψάλλων ἔφησεν· «εἶπεν ὁ κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου· κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου.» καὶ προϊόντα τὴν κρύφιον καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀπόρρητον αὐτοῦ γενεσιουργίαν ᾐνίξατο, φάσκων· «ἐκ γαστρὸς πρὸ ἑωσφόρου ἐγέννησά σε.» | 12.13 In agreement with these, David also sang, saying: "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" And proceeding, he hinted at His hidden and ineffable generation beyond all things, saying: "From the womb before the morning star I have begotten you." |
| 12.14 ἵνα δὲ μὴ σοφίζεσθαί με ταῦτα νομίσῃς, ἑρμηνέα σοι τῆς ἐν τῇ γραφῇ διανοίας Ἑβραῖον ἄνδρα παραστήσω, τὰ οἰκεῖα πατρόθεν ἀκριβοῦντα καὶ παρὰ διδασκάλων τὸ δόγμα μεμαθηκότα, εἰ δή σοι τοιοῦτος ὁ Φίλων. ἐπάκουσον οὖν καὶ τοῦδε, ὅπως τὰς θείας ἑρμηνεύει φωνάς· | 12.14 So that you do not think I am inventing these things clever-wise, I will present to you as an interpreter of the meaning in Scripture a Hebrew man who has accurately preserved his ancestral tradition and learned the doctrine from teachers—if Philo indeed seems such a one to you. Listen then to him as well, how he interprets the divine utterances: |
Chapter 13
In this chapter, Eusebius quotes Jewish writers (primarily Philo of Alexandria) to demonstrate that Jewish tradition recognizes a second divine principle—the Eternal Logos (Reason/Word) and Firstborn Son of God. Eusebius provides citations from Philo’s Questions and Answers on Genesis (explaining why Genesis says humans were made in the image of "God" rather than "His own image"), On Agriculture, and another lost or unlocated treatise (on the Logos as the eternal bond sustaining the physical cosmos). Finally, Eusebius introduces Aristobulus, another Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, as additional proof that this doctrine is part of ancestral Hebrew wisdom.
| 13.1 «Διὰ τί ὡς περὶ ἑτέρου θεοῦ φησι τὸ “ἐν εἰκόνι θεοῦ ἐποίησα τὸν ἄνθρωπον”, ἀλλ’ οὐχὶ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ;» παγκάλως καὶ σοφῶς τουτὶ κεχρησμῴδηται. θνητὸν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἀπεικονισθῆναι πρὸς τὸν ἀνωτάτω καὶ πατέρα τῶν ὅλων ἐδύνατο, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν δεύτερον θεόν, ὅς ἐστιν ἐκείνου λόγος. | 13.1 "Why does [Scripture] say, as if concerning another God, 'In the image of God I made man,' but not 'in His own image'?" This oracle has been uttered most beautifully and wisely. For nothing mortal could be formed in the image of the Supreme God and Father of all, but only in the image of the second God, who is His Logos (Reason/Word). |
| 13.2 ἔδει γὰρ τὸν λογικὸν ἐν ἀνθρώπου ψυχῇ τύπον ὑπὸ θείου λόγου χαραχθῆναι, ἐπειδὴ ὁ πρὸ τοῦ λόγου θεὸς κρείσσων ἐστὶν ἢ πᾶσα λογικὴ φύσις· τῷ δὲ ὑπὲρ τὸν λόγον ἐν τῇ βελτίστῃ καί τινι ἐξαιρέτῳ καθεστῶτι ἰδέᾳ οὐδὲν θέμις ἦν γεννητὸν ἐξομοιοῦσθαι. | 13.2 For it was necessary that the rational imprint in the human soul be stamped by the Divine Logos, since the God who is prior to the Logos is superior to every rational nature; and it was not lawful for any created thing to be made like Him who exists above the Logos in a supreme and transcendent form. |
| 13.3 Ταῦτα ἐκ τοῦ πρώτου μοι κείσθω τῶν Φίλωνος Ζητημάτων καὶ Λύσεων. ὁ δ’ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ Περὶ γεωργίας προτέρῳ καὶ υἱὸν θεοῦ τὸν πρωτόγονον αὐτοῦ λόγον τοῦτον ὀνομάζει τὸν τρόπον· «Ταῦτα δὴ πάντα ὁ ποιμὴν καὶ βασιλεὺς θεὸς ἄγει κατὰ δίκην, νόμον προστησάμενος τὸν ὀρθὸν αὐτοῦ λόγον καὶ πρωτόγονον υἱόν, ὃς τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τῆς ἱερᾶς ταύτης ἀγέλης, οἷά τις μεγάλου βασιλέως ὕπαρχος, διαδέξεται.» | 13.3 Let these points from the first book of Philo’s Questions and Answers be cited by me. And the same author, in his first book On Agriculture, also names His firstborn Logos "Son of God" in this manner: "Now all these things God, as Shepherd and King, drives in accordance with justice, having set over them as law His right Logos and firstborn Son, who, like a lieutenant of a great king, will receive the care of this sacred flock." |
| 13.4 Καὶ ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ δὲ πάλιν ὁ αὐτὸς τάδε γράφει πρὸς λέξιν· «Τὰς δυστροπίας οὖν εἴ τις ἀποδιδράσκειν βούλεται τὰς ἐν τοῖς διαπορηθεῖσι, λεγέτω μετὰ παρρησίας ὅτι οὐδὲν τῶν ἐνύλων κραταιὸν οὕτως ὡς τὸν κόσμον ἀχθοφορεῖν ἰσχῦσαι. λόγος δ’ ὁ ἀΐδιος θεοῦ τοῦ αἰωνίου τὸ ὀχυρώτατον καὶ βεβαιότατον ἔρεισμα τῶν ὅλων ἐστίν. | 13.4 And in his second book again, the same author writes word for word as follows: "If anyone, therefore, wishes to escape the difficulties in the questions raised, let him speak with freedom and say that nothing material is so strong as to be able to bear the weight of the universe. But the eternal Logos of the everlasting God is the strongest and most steadfast support of all things. |
| 13.5 οὗτος ἀπὸ τῶν μέσων ἐπὶ τὰ πέρατα καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄκρων ἐπὶ τὰ μέσα ταθεὶς δολιχεύει τὸν φύσεως ἀήττητον δρόμον, συνάγων τὰ μέρη πάντα καὶ σφίγγων. δεσμὸν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἄρρηκτον τοῦ παντὸς ὁ γεννήσας ἐποίει πατήρ. | 13.5 Extending Himself from the center to the limits and from the extremities to the center, He runs nature's invincible course, drawing all parts together and binding them tight. For the Father who begat Him made Him an unbreakable bond of the universe. |
| 13.6 εἰκότως οὖν οὐδὲ γῆ πᾶσα διαλυθήσεται πρὸς παντὸς ὕδατος, ὅπερ αὐτῆς οἱ κόλποι κεχωρήκασιν, οὐδ' ὑπὸ ἀέρος σβεσθήσεται πῦρ, οὐδ' ἔμπαλιν ὑπὸ πυρὸς ἀὴρ ἀναφλεχθήσεται, τοῦ θείου λόγου μεθόριον τάττοντος αὑτὸν φωνῆεν στοιχείων ἀφώνων, ἵνα τὸ ὅλον ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς ἐγγράμμου μουσικῆς συνηχήσῃ, τὰς τῶν ἐναντίων ἀπειλὰς πειθοῖ τῇ συνόδῳ μεσιτεύοντός τε καὶ διαιτῶντος.» | 13.6 Naturally, then, the whole earth will not be dissolved by all the water which its hollows have contained, nor will fire be extinguished by air, nor conversely will air be inflamed by fire, since the Divine Logos sets Himself as a vocal boundary between mute elements, so that the whole universe—just as in written music—may sound together in harmony, as He mediates and arbitrates the threats of opposing elements through persuasive union." |
| 13.7 Ταῦτα ὁ Φίλων. καὶ Ἀριστόβουλος δὲ ἄλλος Ἑβραίων σοφὸς ἀνήρ, κατὰ τὴν τῶν Πτολεμαίων ἀκμάσας ἡγεμονίαν, κυροῖ τὸ δόγμα ὡς πάτριον, αὐτῷ Πτολεμαίῳ τὴν τῶν ἱερῶν νόμων προσφωνῶν ἑρμηνείαν, ἐν ᾗ τάδε φησί· | 13.7 Thus far Philo. And Aristobulus, another wise man among the Hebrews who flourished during the reign of the Ptolemies, confirms the doctrine as ancestral, addressing to Ptolemy himself the interpretation of the sacred laws, in which he says the following: |
Chapter 14
In this chapter, Eusebius completes his quote of the Hellenistic Jewish philosopher Aristobulus, who explains that Divine Wisdom (Sophia) is the source of all light, comparing it to a beacon (a notion shared by Peripatetic philosophers) and citing Solomon to show that Wisdom existed before heaven and earth. Eusebius then contrasts this noble Hebrew doctrine—which attributes the origin and order of the universe to God's rational power, Wisdom, and Logos—with the materialist theories of Greek philosophers who posited inanimate, irrational elements. Finally, he transitions to examining Hebrew teachings regarding the creation of rational beings.
| 14.1 «Μεταφέροιτο δ' ἂν τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς σοφίας· τὸ γὰρ πᾶν φῶς ἐστιν ἐξ αὐτῆς. διὸ καί τινες εἰρήκασι τῶν ἐκ τῆς αἱρέσεως ὄντες τοῦ Περιπάτου λαμπτῆρος αὐτὴν ἔχειν τάξιν· ἀκολουθοῦντες γὰρ αὐτῇ συνεχῶς, ἀτάραχοι καταστήσονται δι' ὅλου τοῦ βίου. σαφέστερον δὲ καὶ κάλλιον τῶν ἡμετέρων προγόνων τις εἶπε Σολομῶν, πρὸ οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς αὐτὴν ὑπάρχειν· τὸ δὲ σύμφωνόν ἐστι τῷ προειρημένῳ.» | 14.1 "And the same concept may also be transferred to Wisdom, for all light comes from her. Wherefore some belonging to the Peripatetic school have said that she holds the place of a beacon; for by following her continuously, men will remain untroubled throughout their whole life. But Solomon, one of our ancestors, spoke more clearly and beautifully, saying that she existed before heaven and earth—which is in agreement with what has been said before." |
| 14.2 Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα περὶ τοῦδε καὶ παῖδες Ἑβραίων πεφιλοσοφήκασιν· ἆρ' οὖν οὐχ οὗτος ὁ λόγος εἴη ἂν ὁ θεοπρεπέστατος, δυνάμει θεοῦ λογικῇ καὶ πανσόφῳ, μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ αὐτῷ θεοῦ λόγῳ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀνατιθεὶς τῆς τοῦ παντὸς συστάσεως ἢ τοῖς ἀψύχοις καὶ ἀλόγοις στοιχείοις; | 14.2 Such, then, are the philosophical views which even the children of the Hebrews have held concerning this matter. Would not this teaching, then, be the most fitting for God—attributing the principle of the constitution of the universe to the rational and all-wise power of God, or rather to Wisdom herself and the very Logos of God, rather than to lifeless and irrational elements? |
| 14.3 ἀλλὰ γὰρ τοιαῦτα παρ' Ἑβραίοις καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς τῶν ὅλων ἀρχῆς. σκεψώμεθα δὲ καὶ ἃ περὶ τῆς τῶν λογικῶν συστάσεως, τῶν μετὰ τὴν πρώτην ἀρχήν, ἐκδιδάσκουσιν. | 14.3 Such, indeed, are the teachings among the Hebrews concerning the principle of all things. But let us examine also what they teach concerning the constitution of rational beings—those that exist after the first Principle. |
Chapter 15
In this chapter, Eusebius sets out the Hebrew (Christian-Platonic) doctrine of the celestial hierarchy and the divine Trinity:
1) The First Principle: The unbegotten God and Father over all.
2) The Second Principle (The Son/Logos): The begotten, first-born Logos—the Creator, Sun of Righteousness, and mediator between Father and creation.
3) The Third Principle (The Holy Spirit): Placed in the order after the Logos, receiving divine light from the Son to inspire and illuminate rational beings.
4) The Angelic Host & Rational Beings: A vast, incorporeal hierarchy of angels, archangels, powers, and thrones (analogized to stars differing in glory) who serve God.
5) Universal Worship: All created entities (heavenly bodies, angelic hosts, and humanity) owe supreme worship exclusively to the Father through the Son and Spirit, distinguishing the Hebrew faith from Greek polytheism and creature-worship.
| 15.1 Μετὰ τὴν ἄναρχον καὶ ἀγέννητον τοῦ θεοῦ παμβασιλέως οὐσίαν, τὴν οὐκ ἄλλοθεν ἢ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γεγεννημένην ἀρχήν, πρωτότοκόν τε οὖσαν καὶ συνεργὸν τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς βουλῆς, πρὸς αὐτόν τε ἀπεικονισμένην διδάσκουσι. | 15.1 After the unbegotten and unoriginated essence of God, the King of all, they teach a Principle begotten from no other source than the Father, being the First-born and fellow-worker of the Father’s counsel, and formed in His image. |
| 15.2 ταύτην δὲ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα γενητῶν ἀπάντων πρωτεύειν, παρ' ὃ καὶ εἰκόνα θεοῦ αὐτήν, καὶ θεοῦ δύναμιν, καὶ θεοῦ σοφίαν, καὶ θεοῦ λόγον, ναὶ μὴν καὶ ἀρχιστράτηγον δυνάμεως κυρίου, μεγάλης τε βουλῆς ἄγγελον ἀποκαλεῖν εἰώθασι. | 15.2 They teach that this Principle holds preeminence over all created things that follow; wherefore they are accustomed to call Him the Image of God, the Power of God, the Wisdom of God, and the Word of God—yes indeed, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Lord's host, and the Angel of Great Counsel. |
| 15.3 τὰς δὲ μετὰ τήνδε τὴν ἀρχὴν νοερὰς καὶ λογικὰς δυνάμεις οὐ λεκτὰς εἶναι ἀνθρώπου φύσει, τοῦ τε πλήθους ἕνεκα τῆς τε κατ' εἶδος διαφοράς, πλὴν ὅσον ἐπιβάλλειν δυνατὸν τοῖς παραδείγμασιν ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὁρωμένων ἀναλογίας, ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης καὶ ἄστρων καὶ αὐτοῦ δὴ οὐρανοῦ ἔνδον ὑφ' ἑαυτῷ τὰ σύμπαντα περιειληφότος. | 15.3 But as for the intelligent and rational powers after this Principle, they are unutterable to human nature, both on account of their number and their specific differences, except in so far as it is possible to compare them by analogies drawn from visible things—namely the sun, moon, stars, and heaven itself, which encompasses all things within itself. |
| 15.4 «ἄλλη γὰρ δόξα ἡλίου καὶ ἄλλη δόξα σελήνης καὶ ἄλλη δόξα ἀστέρων» φησὶν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος· «ἀστὴρ γὰρ ἀστέρος διαφέρει ἐν δόξῃ.» | 15.4 "For there is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars," says the divine Apostle; "for star differs from star in glory." |
| 15.5 ταύτῃ πη τοιγαροῦν καὶ τὸν ἐν ἀσωμάτοις καὶ νοεραῖς οὐσίαις κόσμον χρὴ νοεῖν, τὰ πάντα μὲν ἀθρόως ἀπολαβούσης τῆς ἀνεκφράστου καὶ ἀπειρομεγέθους δυνάμεως τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων, δευτερευούσης δὲ μετὰ τὸν πατέρα τῆς δημιουργικῆς ὁμοῦ καὶ φωτιστικῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ θείου λόγου. διὸ καὶ φῶς ἀληθινὸν καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἥλιον Ἑβραίοις φίλον αὐτὸν ὀνομάζειν. | 15.5 In this manner, then, one must understand the realm among incorporeal and intelligent essences: the inexpressible and immeasurably great power of the God of all holds total supremacy, while second after the Father stands the creative and illuminating power of the Divine Logos. Wherefore it is dear to the Hebrews to call Him the True Light and the Sun of Righteousness. |
| 15.6 τρίτης δὲ ἤδη μετὰ τὴν δευτέραν οὐσίαν ἐν χώρᾳ σελήνης καθισταμένης τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ καὶ βασιλικῇ τῆς τῶν ὅλων ἀρχῆς ἀξίᾳ καὶ τιμῇ καταλέγουσιν, εἰς ἀρχὴν τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα γενητῶν, λέγω δὲ τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων καὶ τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ χορηγίας ἐπιδεομένων, καὶ αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοῦ τῶν ὅλων ποιητοῦ κατατεταγμένου. | 15.6 Third, after the second essence, in the place of the moon, is established the Holy Spirit, which they also class within the first and royal dignity and honor of the Principle of all things—being placed by the Maker of all as the principle of things created after Him, namely those that are subordinate and stand in need of the bounty that comes from Him. |
| 15.7 ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μέν, τρίτην ἐπέχον τὴν τάξιν, τοῖς ὑποβεβηκόσι τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ κρειττόνων δυνάμεων ἐπιχορηγεῖ, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀντιλαμβάνει παρ' ἑτέρου του ἢ παρὰ θεοῦ λόγου, τοῦ δὴ καὶ ἀνωτέρω καὶ κρείττονος, ὃν δὴ δευτερεύειν ἔφαμεν τῆς ἀνωτάτω καὶ ἀγεννήτου φύσεως θεοῦ τοῦ παμβασιλέως· παρ' οὗ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπιχορηγούμενος ὁ θεὸς λόγος, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀενάου πηγῆς θεότητα ἀναβλυστανούσης ἀρυτόμενος, τοῖς πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ καὶ δὴ καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, μᾶλλον ἁπάντων αὐτῷ προσεχεῖ καὶ ἐγγυτάτω ὄντι, ταῖς τε μετὰ τοῦτο νοεραῖς καὶ θείαις δυνάμεσιν ἀθρόως καὶ ἀνεπιφθόνως τῶν τοῦ οἰκείου φωτὸς μαρμαρυγῶν μεταδίδωσι. | 15.7 Holding third rank, He supplies to those subordinate powers that are inferior to Him, yet He also receives from another—that is, from the God-Logos who is higher and superior, whom we said holds second rank after the supreme and unbegotten nature of God, the King of all. The God-Logos Himself, receiving supply from the Father and drawing as if from an ever-flowing fountain welling up with deity, imparts to all together—and indeed to the Holy Spirit Himself, who is closest and nearest of all to Him, as well as to the intelligent and divine powers after Him—fully and ungrudgingly the flashing rays of His own light. |
| 15.8 τὴν δὲ τῶν ὅλων ἀγένητον ἀρχήν, ἀγαθῶν ἁπάντων οὖσαν πηγήν, θεότητός τε καὶ ζωῆς ὁμοῦ καὶ φωτὸς καὶ πάσης ἀρετῆς αἰτίαν, καὶ πρώτην γε οὖσαν τῶν πρώτων καὶ ἀρχῶν ἀρχήν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἀρχῆς καὶ πρώτου καὶ πάσης ῥητῆς τε καὶ καταληπτῆς ἐπινοίας ἐπέκεινα, τὰ μὲν πάντα ὅσα περ ἐν ἀρρήτοις δυνάμεσι περιείληφε τῷ πρώτῳ γεννήματι κοινωνεῖν μόνῳ, ὡς ἂν μόνως οἵῳ τε χωρεῖν καὶ ἀποδέχεσθαι τὴν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὐκ ἐφικτὴν οὐδὲ χωρητὴν τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀφθονίαν. | 15.8 But as for the unbegotten Principle of all things—being the fountain of all good, the cause of deity, life, light, and every virtue, and being the very First of the first and the Principle of principles, or rather beyond principle, the First, and every spoken or conceivable thought—He shares all things contained in His unutterable powers with His First Begotten alone, as He alone is capable of containing and receiving the abundance of the Father’s good things, which is unreachable and uncontainable for others. |
| 15.9 τὰ δ' ἐν μέρει τοῖς κατὰ μέρος ἀξίοις διὰ τῆς τοῦ δευτέρου διακονίας τε καὶ μεσιτείας κατὰ τὸ ἑκάστῳ ἐφικτὸν ἐμπαρέχειν· ὧν τὰ τέλεια καὶ ἄκρως ἅγια τῷ τρίτῳ μὲν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ, ἄρχοντι δὲ καὶ ἡγουμένῳ τῶν μετέπειτα, διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπικομιζομένῳ, δεδωρῆσθαι. | 15.9 But He imparts these good things in part to those who are individually worthy through the ministry and mediation of the Second Person according to what is reachable for each; of which things the complete and supremely holy gifts are given to the Third Person—who is Himself a ruler and leader of those that come after, receiving from the Father through the Son the gifts brought to Him. |
| 15.10 ἔνθεν οἱ πάντες Ἑβραίων θεόλογοι, μετὰ τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸν καὶ μετὰ τὴν πρωτότοκον αὐτοῦ σοφίαν τὴν τρίτην καὶ ἁγίαν δύναμιν, ἅγιον πνεῦμα προσειπόντες ἀποθειάζουσιν, ὑφ’ οὗ καὶ ἐφωτίζοντο θεοφορούμενοι. | 15.10 Hence all the theologians of the Hebrews, after the God over all and after His First-born Wisdom, glorify as divine the third and holy power, calling it the Holy Spirit, by whom they were enlightened when divinely inspired. |
| 15.11 ἑξῆς δὲ οὐρανῷ καὶ ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ ἀστέρα φασὶν ἀστέρος διαφέρειν ἐν δόξῃ. θνητῇ μὲν οὖν φύσει οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμὸν ἄστρων δυνατὸν εὑρεῖν, πλὴν ἀλλὰ τὸν παμβασιλέα θεὸν τὰ Ἑβραίων φασὶ λόγια καὶ τῆς κατ’ οὐρανὸν στρατιᾶς τὰ πλήθη καὶ τὰς προσηγορίας μὴ ἀγνοεῖν. διὸ παρ’ αὐτοῖς λέγεσθαι· «ὁ ἀριθμῶν πλήθη ἄστρων καὶ πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς ὄνόματα καλῶν.» | 15.11 Next to the heaven, sun, and moon, they say that star differs from star in glory. Now, for mortal nature it is not possible to find the number of the stars, but the Hebrew oracles say that God, the King of all, is not ignorant of the vast numbers and names of the heavenly host. Wherefore it is said among them: "He counts the numbers of the stars and calls them all by their names." |
| 15.12 οὕτω δὴ μετὰ τὰ πρῶτα τῶν ἐν ἀσωμάτοις δυνάμεσιν ἐπινοουμένων ἄστρων, φωτὸς νοεροῦ δυνάμει τε καὶ οὐσίᾳ διαπρεπόντων, πολλή τις καὶ ἡμῖν ἀπερινόητος διαφορὰ τυγχάνει, ἀναρίθμητά τε φῦλα καὶ γένη, ἀλλ’ οὐ καὶ τῷ τῶν ὅλων ποιητῇ. | 15.12 Thus, after the principal stars conceived among the incorporeal powers, which excel in the power and essence of rational light, there is a great and to us incomprehensible difference, with countless tribes and races—though not so to the Creator of all. |
| 15.13 διὸ καὶ τὸ καταληπτὸν αὐτῶν μόνῳ τῷ θεῷ παριστάς τις θεολόγων φησί· «μύριαι μυριάδες ἐλειτούργουν αὐτῷ καὶ χίλιαι χιλιάδες παρειστήκεισαν ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ,» διὰ μὲν τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ δηλῶν τὸ τῷ θεῷ καταληπτὸν αὐτῶν, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ποσοῦ τὸ ἡμῖν ἄπειρον· παρ’ ὃ καὶ εἰώθαμεν ὀνομάζειν καθ’ ὑπερβολῆς ἔμφασιν τὰ πολλὰ καὶ ἄπειρα μυρία. | 15.13 Wherefore, showing that their comprehension belongs to God alone, one of the theologians says: "Ten thousand times ten thousand ministered to Him, and thousands of thousands stood before Him," indicating by the number that they are comprehensible to God, but by the quantity that they are infinite to us; wherefore we are accustomed to call many and infinite things "myriads" by way of hyperbolic emphasis. |
| 15.14 ἄλλος δέ τις προφήτης περὶ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῶν διεξιὼν ὧδέ πως τὸν ποιητὴν τῶν ἀπάντων θεολογεῖ, φάσκων· «Κύριε ὁ θεός μου, ὡς ἐμεγαλύνθης σφόδρα, ἐξομολόγησιν καὶ μεγαλοπρέπειαν ἐνεδύσω, ἀναβαλλόμενος φῶς ὡς ἱμάτιον, ἐκτείνων τὸν οὐρανὸν ὡσεὶ δέρριν· ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα.» | 15.14 And another prophet, expounding on their essence, speaks of the Creator of all in this way, saying: "O Lord my God, You have been magnified exceedingly; You have clothed Yourself with thanksgiving and majesty, wrapping Yourself in light as with a garment, stretching out the heaven like a curtain; who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire." |
| 15.15 μή τοι νομίσῃς τοῦ παρ’ ἡμῖν θνητοῦ καὶ γεώδους πυρὸς οὐσίας μετέχειν τὰ δηλούμενα, μηδέ γε τῶν ἐξ ἀλόγου φύσεως ἀέρος πνευμάτων· ἀλλ’ οἷόν περ καὶ αὐτὸν ὀνομάζουσι τὸν θεόν, ἀσώματον μὲν καὶ ἄϋλον καὶ αὐτόνουν, μᾶλλον δὲ ὑπὲρ νοῦν καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα λόγον ὄντα τὴν φύσιν, τροπικώτερον δὲ καὶ πνεῦμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ φῶς, καὶ ἄλλαις τισὶ προσηγορίαις θνηταῖς ἀκοαῖς καταλλήλοις ὀνομαζόμενον, ἀγγέλους δῆτα καὶ ἀρχαγγέλους, καὶ πνεύματα καὶ θείας δυνάμεις καὶ στρατιὰς οὐρανίους, ἀρχάς τε καὶ ἐξουσίας καὶ θρόνους καὶ κυριότητας, ὡς ἂν μυρίους ἐπὶ μυρίοις ἀστέρας τε καὶ φωστῆρας, τὰς νοερὰς καὶ λογικὰς οὐσίας οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι προσειπόντες, ἄρχειν ἁπάντων καὶ ἐπιστατεῖν τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης φασὶν ἥλιον, καὶ τὸ τούτου σύζυγον ἅγιον πνεῦμα. | 15.15 You must by no means suppose that the entities described share in the essence of our mortal and earthly fire, nor in the winds of irrational nature; but just as they name God Himself—who is in His nature incorporeal, immaterial, and mind itself (or rather above mind and above all reason)—metaphorically as Spirit, Fire, and Light, and by other names suited to mortal ears, so the divine scriptures call the rational and intelligent essences angels, archangels, spirits, divine powers, heavenly hosts, principalities, powers, thrones, and dominions, as it were myriads upon myriads of stars and luminaries, saying that the Sun of Righteousness and His companion, the Holy Spirit, rule and preside over all. |
| 15.16 τὰ δὲ πάντα ἀθρόως αὐτῷ υἱῷ καὶ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, νοερά τε ζῷα καὶ λογικά, σὺν καὶ τοῖς κατ' οὐρανὸν φαινομένοις, οὐρανόν τε αὐτόν, καὶ ὅσα ἔνδον οὗτος ἐν αὐτῷ περιλαβὼν ἔχει, μόνῳ τῷ ἐπὶ πάντων θεῷ, τῷ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσι παμβασιλεῖ καὶ πανηγεμόνι καὶ αἰτίῳ τῶν ὅλων, ὡς ἂν δημιουργῷ πάντων ποιητῇ τε καὶ φροντιστῇ καὶ σωτῆρι, τὸν πρέποντα ὕμνον καὶ τὴν προσήκουσαν θεολογίαν ἡ θεία καὶ προφητικὴ γραφὴ νέμειν παρακελεύεται, φάσκουσα· | 15.16 Divine and prophetic Scripture commands us to attribute the fitting hymn and proper theology for all these rational and intelligent beings together—along with the Son and Holy Spirit, as well as the things visible in heaven, heaven itself, and whatever it contains within it—to the God over all alone, the King of all, Supreme Ruler, Cause of all things, Creator, Maker, Sustainer, and Savior, saying: |
| 15.17 «αἰνεῖτε τὸν θεὸν ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν πᾶσαι αἱ δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν πάντα τὰ ἄστρα καὶ τὸ φῶς, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν οἱ οὐρανοὶ τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ τὰ ὕδατα τὰ ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν αἰνεσάτωσαν τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου, ὅτι αὐτὸς εἶπε, καὶ ἐγεννήθησαν, αὐτὸς ἐνετείλατο, καὶ ἐκτίσθησαν. ἔστησεν αὐτὰ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος, προστάγματα ἔθετο, καὶ οὐ παρελεύσεται.» | 15.17 "Praise God from the heavens; praise Him in the highest. Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His powers. Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all stars and light. Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and let the waters above the heavens praise the name of the Lord! For He spoke, and they were generated; He commanded, and they were created. He established them forever and ever; He laid down a decree, and it shall not pass away." |
| 15.18 Τοιαῦτα καὶ τὰ παρὰ Ἑβραίων δόγματα, ἃ τῆς Ἑλλήνων πολυθέου καὶ δαιμονικῆς πλάνης προτετιμήκαμεν, θείας μὲν δυνάμεις ὑπηρετικὰς τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ καὶ λειτουργικὰς εἰδότες, καὶ κατὰ τὸ προσῆκον τιμῶντες, μόνον δὲ θεὸν ὁμολογοῦντες, καὶ μόνον ἐκεῖνον σέβοντες, ὃν καὶ αὐτὸς οὐρανός, καὶ τὰ κατ' οὐρανὸν ἅπαντα, τά τε ἐπέκεινα οὐρανοῦ σέβειν καὶ ὑμνεῖν καὶ θεολογεῖν ἐδιδάχθη· ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ μονογενὴς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πρωτότοκος τῶν ὅλων ἡ πάντων ἀρχὴ τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα μόνον ἡγεῖσθαι θεὸν ἀληθῆ καὶ μόνον σέβειν ἡμῖν παρακελεύεται. | 15.18 Such are the doctrines of the Hebrews, which we have preferred above the polytheistic and demonic error of the Greeks—knowing the divine powers to be subservient and ministering to God, the King of all, and honoring them appropriately, yet acknowledging God alone, and worshipping Him alone, whom heaven itself, and all things in heaven and beyond heaven, have been taught to worship, hymn, and glorify; because the Only-Begotten of God, the First-born of all things and the Principle of all, commands us to regard His Father alone as the true God and to worship Him alone. |
Chapter 16
Eusebius explains the Hebrew scriptures' teaching on spiritual powers. He contrasts the holy angels—luminous, obedient servants surrounding God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit—with the opposing demoniacal forces. Led by the fallen Lucifer, who plummeted through self-exaltation and madness, these dark powers were cast down to Tartarus (the abyss). A fraction remained in the terrestrial realm to test believers, causing polytheism and idolatry. Eusebius concludes that through Christ’s gospel, the nations have been liberated from demonic bondage to worship the true God.
| 16.1 Ἕπεται καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐναντίας δυνάμεως τίνα ποτὲ τὰ Ἑβραίων λόγια παραδίδωσιν ἐπισκέψασθαι. Τὰς μὲν οὖν θείας δυνάμεις, νεύματι τοῦ πατρὸς τῷ σύμπαντι ἐφεστώσας κόσμῳ, τά τε λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα εἰς διακονίαν ἀποστελλόμενα διὰ τοὺς μέλλοντας κληρονομεῖν βασιλείαν, τούς τε ἱεροὺς ἀγγέλους τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἀρχαγγέλους, πᾶσάν τε τὴν διάκονον τῶν ἀγαθῶν νοερὰν οὐσίαν, φωτεινὴν οὖσαν, καὶ πάντων ὑπηρέτιν τῶν εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἐκ θεοῦ δωρουμένων ἀγαθῶν, τὸν παμβασιλέα πάντων δορυφορεῖν θεόν, κἄπειτα τῶν κατ’ οὐρανὸν δίκην ἄστρων, τὸν ἥλιον τῆς δικαιοσύνης, καὶ τὸ σύζυγον αὐτῷ ἅγιον πνεῦμα περιπολεῖν, τῆς τε τούτων χορηγίας τοῦ φωτὸς ἀπολαύειν· διὸ καὶ φωστῆρσι τοῖς κατ’ οὐρανὸν εἰκότως παραβάλλεσθαι· | 16.1 It follows next that we examine what the Oracles of the Hebrews hand down concerning the opposing power. For while the divine powers—overseeing the whole world by the nod of the Father, and the ministering spirits sent forth for service on account of those who are about to inherit the Kingdom, as well as the holy angels and archangels of God, and all the intelligent, luminous essence that serves goodness and ministers to all the good gifts bestowed by God upon human beings—guard God, the Sovereign King of all, as His bodyguard; and while, like the stars in heaven, the Sun of Righteousness and His companion, the Holy Spirit, circle round and enjoy the rich supply of their light (wherefore they are reasonably compared to the luminaries in heaven); |
| 16.2 τὴν δὲ ἐκ τούτων παρατετραμμένην, καὶ τῆς τῶν κρειττόνων χορείας δι’ οἰκείαν φαυλότητα στερομένην, σκότος τε ἀντὶ φωτὸς ἀλλαξαμένην, ἔμπαλιν ἢ τὰ πρῶτα, ταῖς ἁρμοττούσαις τῇ τοῦ τρόπου μοχθηρίᾳ προσηγορίαις ὀνομάζει. | 16.2 the power that turned away from these, deprived through its own wickedness of the choir of superior beings, and exchanging light for darkness, Scripture names conversely to the first, with titles suited to the malignancy of its character. |
| 16.3 Τὸν γοῦν κατάρξαντα τῆς πτώσεως, αὑτῷ τε καὶ ἑτέροις τῆς τῶν κρειττόνων ἀποστασίας γενόμενον αἴτιον, ὡς ἂν διόλου χαμαὶ τῆς τῶν θειοτέρων εὐσεβείας ἐκπεπτωκότα, καὶ κακίας μὲν ἰοῦ καὶ δυσσεβείας αὐτὸν αὐτῷ δημιουργὸν ὑποστάντα, σκότους δὲ καὶ ἀλογίας ποιητὴν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ φωτὸς αὐθεκουσίου ἀναχωρήσεως γεγονότα, δράκοντα καὶ ὄφιν, μέλανά τε καὶ ἑρπυστικόν, ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου γεννητικόν, θῆρά τε ἄγριον, καὶ ἀνθρωποβόρον λέοντα, καὶ πάλιν τὸν ἐν ἑρπετοῖς βασιλίσκον ἀποκαλεῖν εἴωθεν. | 16.3 Indeed, him who initiated the fall, becoming the cause of apostasy from the superior beings both for himself and for others—inasmuch as he fell entirely down to earth from the piety of the more divine beings, becoming a self-made craftsman of the poison of evil and impiety, and becoming the maker of darkness and unreason through his own voluntary withdrawal from light—it is custom to call "dragon" and "serpent," black and crawling, generating deadly poison, a wild beast, a man-eating lion, and again a "basilisk" among reptiles. |
| 16.4 Ὑπόθεσιν δ’ αὐτῷ φασιν οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι γεγονέναι τῆς ἀποπτώσεως μανίαν φρενῶν καὶ διανοίας ἔκστασιν, ὧδέ πως ὁμοῦ τὴν πτῶσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν φρενοβλάβειαν διηγούμενοι· "Πῶς ἐξέπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὁ ἑωσφόρος, ὁ πρωὶ ἀνατέλλων; συνετρίβη ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ὁ ἀποστέλλων πρὸς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. Σὺ δὲ εἶπας ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ σου· Εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναβήσομαι, ἐπάνω τῶν ἄστρων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ θήσω τὸν θρόνον μου, ἔσομαι ὅμοιος τῷ ὑψίστῳ." | 16.4 And the divine Oracles say that the underlying cause of his fall was madness of mind and distraction of intellect, recounting both his fall and his mental aberration in this way: "How has the Daystar, that rose early, fallen from heaven? He who sent forth to all the nations is crushed to the ground. For you said in your mind: 'I will ascend into heaven; I will set my throne above the stars of heaven; I will be like the Most High.'" |
| 16.5 Καὶ πάλιν· "Τάδε λέγει Κύριος· Ἀνθ’ ὧν ὑψώθη ἡ καρδία σου, καὶ εἶπας· Θεός εἰμι ἐγώ, κατοικίαν θεοῦ κατῴκηκα." Καὶ αὖθις· "Σὺ ἀποσφράγισμα ὁμοιώσεως, καὶ στέφανος κάλλους, ἐν τῇ τρυφῇ τοῦ παραδείσου τοῦ θεοῦ ἐγενήθης· πάντα λίθον χρηστὸν ἐνδέδεσαι," καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. | 16.5 And again: "Thus says the Lord: 'Because your heart was lifted up, and you said, "I am a god, I have inhabited the dwelling-place of God."' And further: "You were the seal of likeness, and a crown of beauty; you were born in the luxury of the paradise of God; you were bound with every precious stone..." and so forth. |
| 16.6 Οἷς ἐπιλέγει· "Ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ θεοῦ ἐγενήθης, ἐν μέσῳ λίθων πυρίνων ἐγενήθης, ἄμωμος σὺ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις σου, ἀφ’ ἧς ἡμέρας σὺ ἐκτίσθης, ἕως εὑρέθη τὰ ἀδικήματα ἐν σοί. Ὑψώθη ἡ καρδία σου ἐπὶ τῷ κάλλει σου, διεφθάρη ἡ ἐπιστήμη σου μετὰ τοῦ κάλλους σου· διὰ πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν σου ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἔρριψά σε." | 16.6 To which He adds: "You were on the holy mountain of God; you were born in the midst of stones of fire. You were blameless in your days from the day you were created until iniquities were found in you. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty, your knowledge was corrupted along with your beauty; because of the abundance of your sins, I threw you to the ground." |
| 16.7 Διὰ δὴ τούτων ἄντικρυς τὴν μετὰ τῶν θειοτέρων δυνάμεων προτέραν τοῦ δηλουμένου διατριβὴν καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν κρειττόνων δι’ οἰκείαν μεγαλαυχίαν καὶ θεομαχίαν ἀπόπτωσιν μεμαθήκαμεν. Μυρίον δέ ἐστιν ἄλλο γένος ὑπὸ τούτῳ τοῖς παραπλησίοις ἔνοχον πλημμελήμασιν, ὃ τῆς δυσσεβείας χάριν τῆς τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἀποπεσὸν λήξεως, ἀντὶ τῆς πάλαι φωτοειδοῦς καὶ θειοτέρας περιβολῆς τῆς τε ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις τιμῆς καὶ τῆς ἐν μακαρίοις καὶ ἀγγελικοῖς χοροῖς διατριβῆς τὸν ἐφαρμόζοντα τοῖς δυσσεβέσι χῶρον, κρίσει δικαίᾳ καὶ ἀποφάσει τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ, Τάρταρον οἰκεῖν, ὃν ἄβυσσον οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι προσαγορεύουσι, καὶ σκότος οὐ τὸ παρ’ ἡμῖν, τὸ δ’ ὑπὸ τῶν θείων λογίων δηλούμενον, ἀντικατηλλάξατο. | 16.7 Through these passages, we clearly learn of his former life among the more divine powers, and his fall from the higher beings due to his own boastfulness and war against God. But beneath him is another countless race guilty of similar offenses, which, having fallen from the lot of the pious on account of impiety, exchanged their former light-like and more divine attire, as well as the honor in royal courts and dwelling among blessed and angelic choirs, to inhabit—by the righteous judgment and sentence of the great God—Tartarus, the place suited to the impious (which the divine Oracles term the "abyss"), and a darkness not like ours, but that which is made manifest by the divine Oracles. |
| 16.8 Ὧν βραχύ τι καὶ μικρὸν ἀπόσπασμα, γυμνασίου χάριν τῶν τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀθλητῶν, ἀμφὶ γῆν καὶ τὸν ὑπὸ σελήνην ἀέρα καταλειφθέν, τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις πολυθέου πλάνης κατ’ οὐδὲν ἀθεότητος διαφερούσης συναίτιον γέγονεν. | 16.8 A very small fraction of these, left behind around the earth and the sublunary air for the sake of exercising the athletes of piety, became the co-cause of the polytheistic error among men, which differs in no respect from atheism. |
| 16.9 Τέθειται δὲ καὶ τούτοις ἡ θεία γραφὴ προσφυεῖς τὰς προσηγορίαις, γυμνότερον μέν, ὅτε πνεύματα πονηρὰ καὶ δαίμονας, ἀρχάς τε καὶ ἐξουσίας, καὶ κοσμοκράτορας, καὶ πνευματικὰ πονηρίας ἐπονομάζει· συμβολικῶς δέ, ὅτε τὸν θεοφιλῆ παρορμᾷ μηδὲν δεδίττεσθαι τὸ τῶν πολεμίων δαιμόνων στῖφος, δι’ ὧν φησιν· "Ἐπ’ ἀσπίδα καὶ βασιλίσκον ἐπιβήσῃ, καὶ καταπατήσεις λέοντα καὶ δράκοντα." | 16.9 And Divine Scripture has applied suitable names to these as well: more plainly when it labels them "evil spirits," "demons," "principalities and powers," "world-rulers," and "spiritual forces of wickedness"; but symbolically when it urges the friend of God to fear nothing from the band of hostile demons, through the words: "You shall tread upon the adder and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon." |
| 16.10 Δεῖγμα δὲ τούτων τῆς θεοεχθρίας τὸ θέλειν σφᾶς αὐτοὺς θεοὺς ἀναγορεύεσθαι, καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ θεῷ τιμὰς εἰς ἑαυτοὺς ὑφαρπάζειν, μαντείαις τε πειρᾶσθαι καὶ χρησμοῖς, ὥσπερ τισὶ θελγήτροις καὶ προβολίοις, τοὺς εὐχερεῖς δελεάζειν, καὶ τῆς μὲν ἐπὶ τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν ἀνανεύσεως ἀποσπᾶν, κατασύρειν δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν πανώλεθρον τῆς δυσσεβοῦς καὶ ἀθέου δεισιδαιμονίας βυθόν· διὸ προτροπάδην φεύγειν αὐτῶν τὰς ἀπάτας μόνοις Ἑβραίοις ἄνωθεν ἐξ αἰῶνος ἐσπουδάζετο, διαρρήδην παιδεύουσιν ὅτι "πάντες οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν δαιμόνια." | 16.10 The proof of their hostility toward God is their desire to proclaim themselves gods, to steal for themselves the honors due to God, and to attempt through divinations and oracles—as though by charms and shields—to entice the gullible, pulling them away from looking up toward the God of all things and dragging them down into the all-destroying depth of impious and godless superstition. Therefore, from the beginning and throughout the ages, the Hebrews alone were earnest in headlong flight from their deceptions, explicitly teaching that "all the gods of the nations are demons." |
| 16.11 Νυνὶ δέ, σὺν θεῷ φάναι, διὰ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εὐαγγελικῆς διδασκαλίας πάντα τὰ πανταχόθεν τῆς οἰκουμένης ἔθνη, δεσμῶν δαιμονικῶν ἀπηλλαγμένα, τὸν θεὸν ἀνυμνεῖ, ὃν δὴ καὶ μόνον ὑπάρχειν σωτῆρα καὶ βασιλέα καὶ θεὸν τῶν ὅλων μεμαθήκαμεν. | 16.11 But now, to speak with God's help, through the evangelical teaching of our Savior, all the nations from every part of the inhabited world, freed from demonic bonds, sing praises to God—whom indeed we have learned to be the sole Savior, King, and God of all. |
Chapter 17
Eusebius contrasts pagan cosmologies with the Hebrew account of human creation. He notes that the Phoenicians and Egyptians viewed humans and animals as mere products of chance and spontaneous generation, treating the human soul as fundamentally no different from brute animals. In contrast, the Hebrew scriptures teach that humans were intentionally created by God in His image with an immortal, incorporeal, and rational soul, designed specifically to acknowledge the Divine and render praise to the Creator.
| 17.1 Κἀνταῦθα πάλιν ἡ μὲν τῶν Φοινίκων καὶ Αἰγυπτίων ζωογονία αὐτόματον εἰσῆγε τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἁπάντων ζῴων τε καὶ ἀνθρώπων τὴν γένεσιν, μίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ὁμοίως φύσιν συντυχικῶς ἀπὸ γῆς προελθεῖν διαγράφουσα, κατ’ οὐδέν τε τὴν ἄλογον διαφέρειν τῆς λογικῆς ψυχῆς τε καὶ οὐσίας ὑποτιθεμένη. | 17.1 Here again, the account of the origin of life among the Phoenicians and Egyptians introduced a spontaneous generation of all living creatures and human beings upon the earth, describing one and the same nature as having emerged by chance from the earth, and supposing that the irrational soul and nature differs in no respect from the rational. |
| 17.2 Ταῦτα γοῦν ἐδήλουν αἱ προπαρατεθεῖσαι τῶν παρ’ αὐτοῖς συγγραφέων λέξεις. Παῖδες δὲ πάλιν Ἑβραίων εἰκότως ἡμῖν προτετίμηνται, τὰ περὶ τῆς πρώτης ἀνθρώπων συστάσεως παγκάλως καὶ σοφῶς καὶ ἀληθῶς διειληφότες, | 17.2 At any rate, these things were made clear by the previously quoted passages of their writers. On the other hand, the children of the Hebrews are rightly preferred by us, having set forth the facts concerning the first constitution of human beings most excellently, wisely, and truly; |
| 17.3 ὅτι δὴ τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν τὸ μέν τι φασὶ θεῖον εἶναι καὶ ἀθάνατον, ἄσαρκόν τε τὴν φύσιν καὶ ἀσώματον, τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀληθῆ τυγχάνειν ἄνθρωπον κατ’ εἰκόνα θεοῦ καὶ ὁμοίωσιν γεγενημένον, εἶναι δὲ αὐτὸν ἔργον θεοῦ, ἀλλ’ οὐ τύχης οὐδ’ αὐτομάτου φύσεως, αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων αἰτίου, κρίσει θείᾳ βεβουλημένου μηδὲ τὰ κατὰ γῆν νοερᾶς καὶ λογικῆς οὐσίας ἀμοιρεῖν, ὅπως διὰ πάντων αὐτῷ οὐρανίων τε καὶ αἰθερίων τῶν τε ἐπὶ γῆς λογικῶν καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ θειότητος ἀντιληπτικῶν ὁ προσήκων ὕμνος ἀναπέμποιτο. | 17.3 namely, that they say that one part of what is within us is divine and immortal, incorporeal in its nature and unembodied—and that this constitutes the true human being made according to the image and likeness of God. They teach that man is the work of God, and not of chance or spontaneous nature, but of the very Cause of all things, who by divine counsel willed that even earthly creatures should not lack an intelligent and rational nature, so that from all creatures—heavenly, ethereal, and those rational beings upon the earth capable of perceiving His divinity—the fitting hymn of praise might be sent up to Him. |
| 17.4 Οὕτω δ’ οὖν περιέχει τὰ Ἑβραίων λόγια· "Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός· Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ’ εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθ’ ὁμοίωσιν· καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατ’ εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν." Καὶ πάλιν· "Καὶ ἔλαβεν ὁ θεὸς χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἔπλασε τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν." Καὶ ταῦτα δὲ πάλιν ὁ Ἑβραῖος ἑρμηνεύει Φίλων, ταῖς ἐκτεθείσαις αὐτοῦ φωναῖς ἔτι καὶ τάδε ἐπιλέγων· | 17.4 At any rate, the Oracles of the Hebrews contain the following: "And God said, 'Let us make man according to our image and according to likeness'; and God made man, according to the image of God He made him." And again: "And God took dust from the earth, and formed man, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul." And Philo the Hebrew again interprets these passages, adding the following words to those of his already set forth: |
Chapter 18
In this chapter, Eusebius highlights the Hebrew view of human nature (quoting Philo of Alexandria in 18.1–18.2 before offering his own commentary). Unlike pagan philosophers who claimed the human mind is merely a piece of physical ether, Moses teaches that the rational soul is the uncreated stamp and image of God, endowed with intellect, rule over animals, and the capacity for virtue, mathematics, and astronomy. Although humanity fell from paradise through neglect of God's commandment and received a mortal body, the purpose of human life is to recover this divine image through virtue and piety. Eusebius concludes by noting that Greek thinkers later stole these concepts from the Hebrews, and introduces a discussion on the origin of matter (hyle), contrasting the Hebrew belief in creatio ex nihilo with pagan views.
| 18.1 "Ἀλλ’ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι, τῆς αἰθερίου φύσεως τὸν ἡμέτερον νοῦν μοῖραν εἰπόντες εἶναι, συγγένειαν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πρὸς αἰθέρα συνῆψαν· ὁ δὲ μέγας Μωϋσῆς οὐδενὶ τῶν γεγονότων τῆς λογικῆς ψυχῆς τὸ εἶδος ὡμοίωσεν, ἀλλ’ εἶπεν αὐτὴν τοῦ θείου καὶ ἀοράτου πνεύματος ἐκείνου δόκιμον εἶναι νόμισμα, σημειωθὲν καὶ τυπωθὲν σφραγῖδι θεοῦ, ἧς ὁ χαρακτήρ ἐστιν ὁ ἀίδιος· 'ἐνέπνευσε γάρ,' φησὶν 'ὁ θεὸς εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν,' ὥστε ἀνάγκη πρὸς τὸν ἐκπέμποντα τὸν δεχόμενον ἀπεικονίζεσθαι. | 18.1 "While others, claiming that our mind is a portion of the ethereal nature, linked man’s kinship to the ether, the great Moses did not liken the form of the rational soul to any created thing. Instead, he said that it is a genuine coin of that divine and invisible Spirit, stamped and imprinted by the seal of God, whose character is eternal. For he says: 'God breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul,' so that it is necessary for the receiver to be modeled after the Giver. |
| 18.2 Διὸ καὶ λέγεται κατ’ εἰκόνα θεοῦ τὸν ἄνθρωπον γενέσθαι, οὐ μὴν κατ’ εἰκόνα τινὸς τῶν γεγονότων. Ἀκόλουθον οὖν ἦν τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχῆς κατὰ τὸν ἀρχέτυπον τοῦ αἰτίου λόγον ἀπεικονισθείσης, καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀνεγερθὲν πρὸς τὴν καθαρωτάτην τοῦ παντὸς μοῖραν, οὐρανόν, τὰς ὄψεις ἀνατεῖναι." | 18.2 Wherefore man is also said to have been made 'according to the image of God,' and certainly not according to the image of any created thing. It was fitting, therefore, that when the soul of man was fashioned after the archetypal Logos of the Cause, the body also should be raised up toward the purest part of the universe—heaven—and lift up its eyes." |
| 18.3 Ταῦτα μὲν οὗτος. Εἰκότως δῆτα καὶ ἡ θεία γραφὴ οὐχ ὡς τὰ λοιπὰ ζῷα γεγονέναι τὸν ἄνθρωπόν φησι· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ γῆς προελθεῖν ἑνὶ κελεύσματι τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ, τὰ δ’ ἐκ τῆς ὑγρᾶς οὐσίας ἀναπτῆναι πάλιν αὐτοῦ νεύματι· μόνον δὲ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ζῴων τὸ θεοφιλέστατον, ἡμᾶς αὐτούς, κατ’ εἰκόνα θεοῦ καὶ καθ’ ὁμοίωσιν τὴν ψυχὴν γεγονέναι· πρὸς ὃ καὶ ὁρᾶσθαι ἀρχικὸν καὶ βασιλικὸν τὴν φύσιν, μόνον τε τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς εἶναι λογικὸν καὶ δημιουργικὸν καὶ κριτικὸν καὶ νομοθετικόν, τεχνῶν τε καὶ ἐπιστημῶν καταληπτικόν· εἶναι γὰρ μόνην τὴν ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ ψυχὴν νοερὰν καὶ λογικὴν οὐσίαν, ἧς μὴ μετεῖναι τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπὶ γῆς ζῴοις. | 18.3 Thus far Philo. Naturally, then, Divine Scripture also says that man was not created like the rest of the animals. For the others came forth from the earth at a single command of God, the King of all, while birds flew forth from the fluid substance by His nod. But humanity alone—the most beloved of earthly creatures—was made according to the image and likeness of God as to the soul. Correspondingly, man’s nature is seen to be ruler-like and royal, being the only creature on earth that is rational, creative, discerning, law-giving, and capable of acquiring arts and sciences. For the soul in man is the only intellectual and rational essence, which is not shared by the other animals on earth. |
| 18.4 Διὸ τὰ μὲν θητεύειν καὶ χώραν οἰκετῶν παρέχειν ἀνθρώπῳ, τὸν δέ, οἷα δεσπότην καὶ ἡγεμόνα, δουλοῦσθαι καὶ ὑποτάττειν τὰ ῥώμῃ μὲν σώματος πολὺ κρείττονα, μείονα δὲ τῇ κατὰ τὴν νοερὰν οὐσίαν στερήσει. | 18.4 Wherefore the other animals serve and provide the place of domestic servants to man, while he, as master and ruler, enslaves and subjects creatures that are far superior in bodily strength, but inferior due to their deprivation of intellectual essence. |
| 18.5 Τοῦτον μὲν οὖν κατ’ εἰκόνα φασὶ θεοῦ καὶ καθ’ ὁμοίωσιν πρὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ μετά τινος διαφερούσης ὑπεροχῆς ὑποστῆναι. Διὸ καὶ θεοῦ ἐννοίας εἰς φαντασίαν ἰέναι, σοφίας τε καὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ πάσης ἀρετῆς ἀντιλήψεις ποιεῖσθαι, δρόμους τε ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης καὶ ἄστρων ἡμερῶν τε καὶ ὡρῶν κύκλους ἀπαριθμεῖσθαι δυνατῶς ἔχειν, τῆς πρὸς τὰ ἄνω συγγενείας χάριν, ἣν θνητῶν μόνος ἄνθρωπος ἐπιδείκνυται. | 18.5 They say, therefore, that man was brought into existence according to the image and likeness of God by God Himself with a certain distinguished superiority. Hence, he is able to form conceptions of God, to grasp wisdom, justice, and every virtue, and to compute the courses of the sun, moon, and stars, as well as the cycles of days and seasons, on account of his kinship with things above, which man alone among mortals demonstrates. |
| 18.6 Τὸ δὲ τούτῳ περιπεπλασμένον ἔξωθεν ἑτερογενὲς μὲν ὑπάρχειν τὴν οὐσίαν καὶ γηγενές, εἶναι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ θεοῦ ἔργον ἀπὸ γῆς ληφθὲν καὶ εἰς αὐτὴν ὑποστρέφον. Διὸ καὶ χρῆναι τούτου μὲν ὅσα καὶ ἀλόγου θρέμματος τὸν δεσπότην ἠχθισμένου φροντίζειν, ἄγειν τε πράως αὐτό, καὶ τρέφειν οἷα δοῦλον, πρὸς ἀνθρωπείου βίου διακονίαν εὖ προσηνωμένον, τὸν δ’ εἴσω δεσπότην, ὡς ἂν εὐγενῆ καὶ θεοῦ συγγενῆ τὴν φύσιν, ἐλευθερίοις τρόποις τιμᾶν, ἅτε καὶ πρὸς τοῦ πάντων αἰτίου τετιμημένον. | 18.6 But the body molded around him from the outside is of a different kind and earthly in its essence, though it too is God's work, taken from the earth and returning to it. Therefore, one must care for it as a master cares for an irrational beast of burden carrying a load, guiding it gently and feeding it like a servant well suited to ministering to human life; but the ruler within, as one whose nature is noble and akin to God, should be honored in liberal ways, seeing that he has been honored by the Cause of all things. |
| 18.7 Λέγει δ’ οὖν τὰ λόγια ὡς ἄρα τὴν πρώτην ἀνθρώπου φύσιν δυνάμεσι θείαις καὶ ὁμοιώσει θεοῦ κοσμήσας ὁ παμβασιλεὺς ἁρμόδιον οἷς ἐδωρήσατο τὴν πρώτην ἀπεκλήρωσε διατριβὴν τοῦ βίου ἐν ἀγαθῶν παραδείσῳ, χορείαις συγκαταλέξας θείαις. | 18.7 At any rate, the Oracles say that the King of all, having adorned the original nature of man with divine powers and the likeness of God, assigned to him a first dwelling place suited to the gifts granted him in a paradise of good things, numbering him among divine choirs. |
| 18.8 Καὶ τὸν μὲν τάδε ἐν ἀρχαῖς οἷα πανάγαθον αὐτῷ δεδωρῆσθαι πατέρα, τὸν δ’ αὐθεκουσίῳ αἱρέσει τῶν κρειττόνων ἀποπεσεῖν, καὶ τὸν θνητὸν χῶρον ἀντικαταλλάξασθαι θείας ἐντολῆς ὀλιγωρίᾳ. | 18.8 And while God granted him these things in the beginning as an all-good Father, man fell away from higher things by his own voluntary choice, exchanging his state for a mortal abode through neglect of the divine commandment. |
| 18.9 Διὸ καὶ μάλιστα προσήκειν εὐσεβείας ἐν πρώτοις ἀντιποιεῖσθαι, καὶ τὸ πρώτως πλημμεληθὲν δευτέροις αἰσίοις ἐπιδιορθοῦσθαι, σπεύδειν τε ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν οἰκείων ἀναδρομήν τε καὶ ἀποκατάστασιν. Εἶναι γὰρ τέλος ἀνθρώπου φύσεως οὐχ ὧδε ἐπὶ γῆς εἰς φθορὰν καταστρέφον καὶ ἀπώλειαν, ἀλλ’ ἐκεῖθεν ὅθεν καὶ ὁ πρῶτος ἀπέσφηλε. | 18.9 Wherefore it is above all fitting to lay claim to piety first of all, and to remedy the initial offense by favorable second steps, hastening toward the recovery and restoration of what is proper to us. For the end of human nature does not sink down here on earth into corruption and destruction, but returns to that place from which the first man fell. |
| 18.10 Διὸ χρῆναι τὸ καθαρὸν αὖθις καὶ τὸ θεοείκελον ἀνακτήσασθαι τῆς ἐν ἡμῖν νοερᾶς οὐσίας, ἐφ’ ἣν προθυμητέον ἀνιέναι παντὶ σθένει πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις εὐσεβείας καὶ ἀρετῆς ἐπιμελομένοις. | 18.10 It is necessary, therefore, to recover once more the pure and godlike quality of the intellectual essence within us, toward which all human beings who care for piety and virtue must strive with all their strength to ascend. |
| 18.11 Τοιαῦτα καὶ τὰ περὶ ἀνθρώπου φύσεως Ἑβραίοις πεφιλοσοφημένα ἄνωθεν, πρὶν ἢ καὶ εἰς ἀνθρώπους παρελθεῖν Ἕλληνας· οἱ χθιζοί τινες καὶ κομιδῇ νέοι ἀπὸ γῆς ἀνακύψαντες, τά τε βαρβάρων ὑποσυλᾶν διανοηθέντες, καὶ τῶν παρ’ Ἑβραίοις οὐκ ἀπέσχοντο, ὡς προϊόν ὁ λόγος αὐτίκα μάλα ἐπιδείξει. | 18.11 Such were the philosophical teachings concerning human nature handed down among the Hebrews from of old, long before they reached the Greeks—those latecomers who emerged from the earth only yesterday, and who, intending to plunder the possessions of barbarians, did not abstain even from those of the Hebrews, as the coming discourse will demonstrate directly. |
| 18.12 Ἀλλ’ ἐπεὶ τῶν Ἑβραϊκῶν δογμάτων ἴδιον ἦν τὸ ἕνα τῶν ἁπάντων ποιητὴν νομίζεσθαι τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων θεόν, αὐτῆς τε τῆς ὑποκειμένης τοῖς σώμασιν οὐσίας, ἣν ὕλην προσαγορεύουσιν Ἕλληνες· τούτῳ δὲ μυρίοι βαρβάρων ὁμοῦ καὶ Ἑλλήνων ἐξ ἐναντίας ἔστησαν, οἱ μὲν κακίας πηγὴν τὴν ὕλην εἶναι ἀποφηνάμενοι ἀγέννητόν τε ὑπάρχειν, οἱ δὲ τῇ μὲν οἰκείᾳ φύσει ἄποιον καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον, τῇ δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμει τὸν κόσμον αὐταῖς ποιότησι προσειληφέναι, δεικτέον ὡς πολὺ κρεῖττον ἡ Ἑβραίων ἐπέχει δόξα, μετ’ ἀποδείξεως λογικῆς παρισταμένη τῷ προβλήματι, καὶ τὸν ἐναντίον λογισμοῖς ὀρθοῖς ἀποσκευαζομένη λόγον. | 18.12 But since it was peculiar to Hebrew doctrines to consider the God over all to be the one Creator of all things—including the very underlying essence of physical bodies, which the Greeks call matter (hyle)—and since myriads of both barbarians and Greeks stood in opposition to this (some declaring matter to be the unbegotten source of evil, others holding it to be qualityless and shapeless in its own nature, but receiving quality through God's power to form the world), it must be shown how much superior the Hebrew opinion is, standing above the problem with logical proof and dismantling the opposing argument through sound reasoning. |
| 18.13 Θήσω δὲ φωνὰς τῶν πρὸ ἡμῶν τὸ δόγμα διηκριβωκότων, καὶ πρώτου γε Διονυσίου, ὃς ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τῶν Πρὸς Σαβέλλιον αὐτῷ γεγυμνασμένων τάδε περὶ τοῦ προκειμένου γράφει· | 18.13 I shall set forth the words of those before us who have accurately defined this doctrine, and first of all Dionysius, who writes the following concerning the subject at hand in the first book of his work Against Sabellius: |
Chapter 19
In this chapter, Eusebius quotes Dionysius of Alexandria, who refutes the Greek philosophical idea that matter is unbegotten and eternal alongside God. Dionysius argues that if matter were unbegotten like God, both would require a higher principle above them to explain their shared property, which is absurd. Furthermore, their drastically opposite natures—God being impassible, unchangeable, and active; matter being passible, mutable, and unstable—rule out co-eternal existence. Dionysius concludes that God did not merely work like a human craftsman on pre-existing material, but gave substance and form to all created reality.
| 19.1 "Οὐδ’ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ ὅσιοι οἱ τὴν ὕλην ὡς ἀγέννητον ὑποχείριον εἰς διακόσμησιν διδόντες τῷ θεῷ· παθητὴν γὰρ αὐτὴν καὶ τρεπτὴν ὑπάρχουσαν εἴκειν ταῖς θεοποιήτοις ἀλλοιώσεσι. | 19.1 "For nor are those pious who grant matter as unbegotten into the hands of God for ornamentation, holding that because it is passible and mutable, it yields to divine alterations. |
| 19.2 Καὶ πόθεν γὰρ ὑπάρχει καὶ τῷ θεῷ καὶ τῇ ὕλῃ τό τε ὅμοιοv καὶ τὸ ἀνόμοιον διασαφείτωσαν. Ἑκατέρου γὰρ δεῖ τινα ἐπινοῆσαι κρείττονα, ὃ μηδὲ θεμιτὸν ἐννοῇς αἱ περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ. Τό τε γὰρ ἀγέννητον, ὅμοιον ἐν ἀμφοτέροις λεγόμενον, καὶ ἕτερον νοούμενον παρ’ ἑκάτερον, πόθεν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐγένετο; | 19.2 Indeed, let them explain from where both similarity and dissimilarity belong to both God and matter. For one would have to conceive something superior to each—which is not even lawful to contemplate in thoughts concerning God. For as for being 'unbegotten,' which is said to be similar in both and yet conceived as distinct from each, whence did it arise in them? |
| 19.3 Εἰ μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸ ἀγέννητόν ἐστιν ὁ θεός, καὶ οὐσία ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, ἡ ἀγεννησία, οὐκ ἂν ἀγέννητον εἴη ἡ ὕλη· οὐ γὰρ ταὐτόν ἐστιν ἡ ὕλη καὶ ὁ θεός· εἰ δὲ ἑκάτερον μέν ἐστιν ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἡ ὕλη καὶ ὁ θεός, πρόσεστι δὲ ἀμφοτέροις τὸ ἀγέννητον, δῆλον ὡς ἕτερόν ἐστιν ἑκατέρου, καὶ ἀμφοτέρων πρεσβύτερόν τε καὶ ἀνωτέρω. | 19.3 For if God Himself is unbegotten, and unbegottenness is, so to speak, His essence, then matter cannot be unbegotten; for matter and God are not the same thing. But if each is what it is—matter being matter and God being God—and 'unbegottenness' belongs to both, it is clear that it is distinct from each, and older and higher than both. |
| 19.4 Ἀνατρεπτικὴ δὲ παντελῶς καὶ τοῦ ταῦτα συνυπάρχειν, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦ ἕτερον αὐτῶν τὴν ὕλην ἐφ’ ἑαυτῆς ὑπάρχειν, καὶ ἡ τῆς ἐναντίας ἕξεως διαφορά. | 19.4 Furthermore, the absolute difference in their opposing dispositions completely overturns the idea that these co-existed, or rather that matter existed as a second principle by itself. |
| 19.5 Εἰπάτωσαν γὰρ τὴν αἰτίαν, δι’ ἣν, ἀμφοτέρων ὄντων ἀγεννήτων, ὁ μὲν θεὸς ἀπαθής, ἄτρεπτος, ἀκίνητος, ἐργαστικός, ἡ δὲ τὰ ἐναντία παθητή, τρεπτή, ἄστατος, μεταποιουμένη. | 19.5 For let them state the reason why, when both are unbegotten, God is impassible, unchangeable, immovable, and active, while matter is the opposite—passible, mutable, unstable, and transformed. |
| 19.6 Καὶ πῶς ἥρμοσαν καὶ συνέδραμον; Πότερον κατὰ τὴν τῆς ὕλη φύσιν ἐξοικειώσας ἑαυτὸν ἐτεχνίτευσεν αὐτὴν ὁ θεός; Ἀλλὰ τοῦτό γε ἄτοπον, ὁμοίως ἀνθρώποις χρυσοχοεῖν καὶ λιθουργεῖν καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἄλλας τέχνας, ὅσαις αἱ ὗλαι μορφοῦσθαι καὶ τυποῦσθαι δύνανται, χειροκμητεῖν τὸν θεόν. | 19.6 And how did they fit together and concur? Did God accommodate Himself to the nature of matter to craft it? But this at least is absurd: that God should work with His hands like human beings goldsmithing, stonecutting, and working according to other arts by which materials are able to be shaped and molded. |
| 19.7 Εἰ δὲ οἵαν αὐτὸς ἐβούλετο κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σοφίαν ἐποίωσε τὴν ὕλην, τὸ πολύμορφον καὶ παμποίκιλον τῆς δημιουργίας ἑαυτοῦ σχῆμα καὶ τύπον ἐνσφραγιζόμενος αὐτῇ, καὶ εὔφημος καὶ ἀληθὴς οὗτος ὁ λόγος, καὶ προσέτι καὶ τὴν ὑπόστασιν τῶν ὅλων τὸν θεὸν ἀγέννητον εἶναι κρατύνει. | 19.7 But if He gave matter quality according to His own wisdom, as He Himself willed, stamping upon it the multiform and richly varied shape and pattern of His own creation, then this account is both pious and true, and moreover it establishes that God alone is the unbegotten substance of all things. |
| 19.8 Τῷ γὰρ εἶναι ἀγέννητον ἅμα καὶ τὸ πώς εἶναι προσῆψε. Πολὺς μὲν οὖν καὶ πρὸς τούτους ὁ λόγος, ἀλλ’ οὐ νῦν ἡμῖν πρόκειται· συγκρίσει δὲ τῇ πρὸς τοὺς ἀθεωτάτους πολυθέους εὐφημότεροι οὗτοι." Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν Διονυσίου· καὶ τῶν Ὠριγένους δὲ ἄκουε· | 19.8 For together with its existence, He also bestowed its manner of existence. Now, there is much to be said against these thinkers, but that is not our present purpose; yet in comparison with the most godless polytheists, these speak more reverently." These, then, are the statements from Dionysius; now hear also those of Origen. |
Chapter 20
In this chapter, Eusebius quotes Origen, who refutes the analogy that God requires pre-existing matter to create just as human craftsmen (like sculptors, carpenters, or builders) need bronze, wood, or stone. Origen argues that God’s infinite will and wisdom are sufficient to bring substance itself into existence (creatio ex nihilo). If matter were unbegotten and self-existent, its existence in the exact quantity and receptive quality needed for the universe would either be a matter of pure luck or imply a "higher providence" above God that provided it. Furthermore, human artists only work with materials provided to them by a prior art or by God's providence; therefore, comparing human limitations to God's divine creative power is an invalid analogy.
| 20.1 "Εἰ δέ τινι προσκόπτει διὰ τοὺς ἀνθρωπίνους τεχνίτας μὴ δύνασθαι παραδέξασθαι τὸν θεὸν χωρὶς ὕλης ἀγεννήτου ὑποκειμένης κατασκευάζειν τὰ ὄντα, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ ἀνδριαντοποιὸς χωρὶς χαλκοῦ τὸ ἴδιον ἔργον ποιῆσαι δύναται, μηδὲ τέκτων χωρὶς ξύλων, μηδὲ οἰκοδόμος χωρὶς λίθων, ζητητέον πρὸς αὐτοῦ περὶ δυνάμεως θεοῦ, εἰ θελήσας ὑποστῆσαι ὅ τι βούλεται ὁ θεός, τῆς θελήσεως αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπορουμένης οὐδὲ ἀτονούσης, οὐ δύναται ὑποστῆσαι ὃ βούλεται. | 20.1 "If anyone stumbles because of the example of human craftsmen and cannot accept that God constructs existing things without pre-existing unbegotten matter—since neither a sculptor can produce his own work without bronze, nor a carpenter without wood, nor a builder without stones—one must ask him concerning the power of God: if God willed to bring into existence whatever He wishes, His will lacking neither resources nor power, is He unable to bring into existence what He wills? |
| 20.2 Ἧι γὰρ λόγῳ τὰς ποιότητας, κατὰ πάντας πρόνοιαν εἰσάγοντας, τῷ ἰδίῳ λόγῳ οὐκ οὔσας ὡς βούλεται εἰς διακόσμησιν τοῦ παντὸς ὑφίστησι τῇ ἀφάτῳ αὐτοῦ δυνάμει καὶ σοφίᾳ, τούτῳ τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν ὅσης χρῄζει ἱκανή ἐστιν αὐτοῦ ἡ βούλησις ποιῆσαι γενέσθαι. | 20.2 For by the same reason that He brings into existence by His own word the qualities—which did not previously exist as He willed for the ornamentation of the universe, according to all who introduce providence—by His unutterable power and wisdom, by that same reason His will is sufficient to cause the very substance itself, as much as He needs, to come into being. |
| 20.3 Ἀπορήσομεν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς οὐ βουλομένους ταῦθ’ οὕτως ἔχειν, εἰ μὴ ἀκολουθεῖ αὐτοῖς εὐτυχηκέναι τὸν θεόν, ἀγέννητον εὑρόντα τὴν οὐσίαν, ἣν εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀγέννητον αὐτῷ ὑποβεβληκὸς ἦν, οὐδὲν ἔργον δυνατὸς ἦν ποιῆσαι, ἀλλ’ ἔμενεν οὐ δημιουργός, οὐ πατήρ, οὐκ εὐεργέτης, οὐκ ἀγαθός, οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν εὐλόγως λεγομένων περὶ θεοῦ. | 20.3 For we shall ask those who do not wish things to be so: does it not follow for them that God was simply fortunate in finding unbegotten substance? For if unbegotten matter had not been supplied to Him, He would have been unable to produce any work, but would have remained not a Creator, not a Father, not a Benefactor, not good, nor any other of those things reasonably said concerning God. |
| 20.4 Πόθεν δὲ καὶ τὸ μετρεῖν τῆς ὑποκειμένης οὐσίας τὸ τοσόνδε, ὡς διαρκέσαι τῇ τηλικούτου κόσμου ὑποστάσει; Οἱονεὶ γὰρ πρόνοιά τις πρεσβυτέρα θεοῦ ἀναγκαίως τὴν ὕλην ἔσται ὑποβεβληκυῖα τῷ θεῷ, προνοουμένη τοῦ τὴν τέχνην τὴν ἐνυπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ μὴ κενοπαθῆσαι, οὐκ οὔσης οὐσίας, ᾗ ὁμιλῆσαι δυνάμενος κατεκόσμησε τὸ τηλικοῦτον κόσμου κάλλος. | 20.4 And whence came the measuring out of just so much underlying substance as to be sufficient for the existence of so great a world? For, as it were, some providence older than God must necessarily have supplied matter to God, foreseeing that the art inherent in Him should not suffer in vain for lack of substance, by which He was able to converse and adorn the beauty of so great a world. |
| 20.5 Πόθεν δὲ καὶ δεκτικὴ γεγένηται πάσης ἧς βούλεται ὁ θεὸς ποιότητος, μὴ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ἑαυτῷ τοσαύτην καὶ τοιαύτην ποιήσαντος ὁποίαν ἔχειν ἐβούλετο; | 20.5 And whence did it become receptive to every quality that God wills, unless God Himself made it for Himself in such quantity and quality as He wished it to have? |
| 20.6 Καθ’ ὑπόθεσιν γοῦν ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸ ἀγέννητον εἶναι τὴν ὕλην ταῦτα ἐροῦμεν πρὸς τοὺς τοῦτο βουλομένους, ὅτι εἰ προνοίας οὐχ ὑποβαλλούσης τὴν οὐσίαν τῷ θεῷ τοιαύτη γεγένηται, εἰ πρόνοια ἦν ὑφεστῶσα, τί ἂν πλέον πεποιήκει τοῦ αὐτομάτου; | 20.6 Accepting for the sake of argument the hypothesis that matter is unbegotten, we shall say this to those who hold this view: if without providence supplying substance to God it came to be of such a nature, if providence had existed, what more could it have accomplished than chance? |
| 20.7 Καὶ εἰ αὐτός, μὴ οὔσης ὕλης, ἐβούλετο κατασκευάσαι αὐτήν, τί ἂν πλέον ἡ σοφία καὶ ἡ θειότης αὐτοῦ πεποιήκει τοῦ ἐξ ἀγεννήτου ὑποστάντος; Εἰ γὰρ εὑρίσκεται ταὐτὸν γενόμενον ἂν ὑπὸ τῆς προνοίας, ὅπερ καὶ χωρὶς προνοίας ὑπέστη, διὰ τί οὐχὶ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ κόσμου ἀθετήσομεν τὸν δημιουργὸν καὶ τὸν τεχνίτην; | 20.7 And if He Himself, when matter did not exist, wished to fabricate it, what more would His wisdom and divinity have accomplished than what exists from an unbegotten source? For if what would have been brought about by providence turns out to be identical to what existed without providence, why shall we not also reject the Creator and Craftsman in the case of the world itself? |
| 20.8 Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἄτοπον ἐπὶ τοῦ κόσμου εἰπεῖν οὕτω τεχνικῶς κατεσκευασμένου τὸ χωρὶς τεχνίτου σοφοῦ αὐτὸν τοιοῦτον γεγονέναι, οὕτω καὶ τὸ τὴν ὕλην τοσαύτην καὶ τοιαύτην καὶ οὕτως εἰκτικὴν τῷ τεχνίτῃ λόγῳ θεοῦ ὑφεστηκέναι ἀγεννήτως ἐπ’ ἴσης ἐστὶν ἄλογον. | 20.8 For just as it is absurd to say regarding the world, crafted with such skill, that it became such without a wise craftsman, so also it is equally irrational for matter—being of such extent, of such quality, and so yielding to the artistic Logos of God—to exist unbegottenly. |
| 20.9 Πρὸς μέντοι γε τοὺς παραβάλλοντας ὅτι οὐδεὶς δημιουργὸς χωρὶς ὕλης ποιεῖ λεκτέον ὅτι ἀνομοίως παραβάλλουσι. Πρόνοια γὰρ παντὶ τεχνίτῃ ὑποβάλλει τὴν ὕλην ἀπὸ προτέρας τέχνης, ἢ θείας ἢ ἀνθρωπίνης, ἐρχομένην. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἀρκέσει πρὸς τοὺς διὰ τὸ λέγεσθαι "ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος" οἰομένους ἀγέννητον εἶναι τὴν σωματικὴν φύσιν." Τοσαῦτα καὶ οὗτος. Καὶ ὁ Ἑβραῖος δὲ Φίλων ἐν τῷ Περὶ τῆς προνοίας ταῦτα περὶ τῆς ὕλης διέξεισι· | 20.9 However, to those who argue by comparison that no craftsman creates without matter, it must be said that they compare unlike things. For providence supplies every human craftsman with material that comes from a prior art, whether divine or human. These remarks, then, will suffice for the present against those who, because of the statement 'and the earth was invisible and unformed,' imagine that physical nature is unbegotten." Thus far Origen also. And Philo the Hebrew, in his work On Providence, discusses these matters concerning matter as follows: |
Chapter 21
In this chapter, Eusebius quotes Philo of Alexandria from his treatise On Providence regarding the quantity of matter used in creation. Philo argues that God, being the source of all knowledge, measure, and proportion, calculated the exact amount of matter needed for the universe—neither too little nor too much—so that creation would be perfect and complete. Human craftsmen might miscalculate materials and need to add or remove substance, but God used perfectly precise measurements. Eusebius concludes the chapter by introducing Maximus, a notable Christian writer, whose work On Matter will be cited next to further examine the problem.
| 21.1 "Περὶ δὲ τοῦ ποσοῦ τῆς οὐσίας, εἰ δὴ γέγονεν ὄντως, ἐκεῖνο λεκτέον· ἐστοχάσατο πρὸς τὴν τοῦ κόσμου γένεσιν ὁ θεὸς αὐταρκεστάτης ὕλης, ὡς μήτ’ ἐνδέοι μήθ’ ὑπερβάλλοι. Καὶ γὰρ ἄτοπον ἦν ποτε μὲν κατὰ μέρος τεχνίταις, ὁπότε τι δημιουργοῖεν, καὶ μάλιστα τῶν πολυτελῶν, τὸ ἐν ὕλαις αὔταρκες σταθμήσασθαι, τὸν δ’ ἀριθμοὺς καὶ μέτρα καὶ τὰς ἐν τούτοις ἰσότητας ἀνευρηκότα μὴ φροντίσαι τοῦ ἱκανοῦ. | 21.1 "Concerning the quantity of substance—if indeed it really came into being—this must be said: God aimed for the most self-sufficient matter for the creation of the world, so that it should neither fall short nor exceed. For it would be absurd if individual human artisans, whenever they craft something (especially among costly items), were able to weigh out what is sufficient in materials, but He who invented numbers, measures, and the equalities within them took no thought for what is adequate. |
| 21.2 Λέξω δὴ μετὰ παρρησίας ὅτι οὔτ’ ἐλάττονος οὔτε πλείονος οὐσίας ἔδει τῷ κόσμῳ πρὸς κατασκευήν, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἂν ἐγένετο τέλειος, οὐδ’ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς μέρεσιν ὁλόκληρος, εὖ δὲ δεδημιουργημένος ἐκ τελείας οὐσίας ἀπετελέσθη. Πανσόφου γὰρ τὴν τέχνην ἴδιον, πρὶν ἄρξασθαί τινος κατασκευῆς, τὴν ἱκανὴν ἰδεῖν ὕλην. | 21.2 Indeed, I shall say with all frankness that the world needed neither less nor more substance for its construction; for otherwise it would not have become perfect, nor complete in all its parts, but being beautifully crafted, it was brought to completion out of a perfect substance. For it belongs to one who is all-wise in his art to perceive the sufficient material before beginning any construction. |
| 21.3 Ἄνθρωπος μὲν οὖν, κἂν εἰ τῶν ἄλλων τὴν ἐπιστήμην διαφέροι, μὴ δυνάμενος κατὰ τὸ παντελὲς ἐκφυγεῖν τὴν συγγενῆ τῶν θνητῶν πλάνην, ἀπατῷτο ἂν ἴσως περὶ τὴν ποσότητα τῆς ὕλης, ὁπότε τεχνιτεύοι, τοτὲ μὲν ὡς ἐλάττονι προστιθεὶς, τοτὲ δὲ ὡς περιττῆς ἀφαιρῶν· ὁ δὲ πηγή τις ὢν ἐπιστημῶν ἐνδέον ἢ περιττεῦον οὐδὲν ἔμελλεν ὑποβάλλεσθαι, μέτροις ἅτε χρώμενος εἰς ἀκρίβειαν ὑπερφυῶς πεπονημένοις ἅπασιν ἐπαινετοῖς. | 21.3 Now a human being—even if he excels others in knowledge—being unable completely to escape the error inherent in mortals, might perhaps be deceived regarding the quantity of matter whenever he works as a craftsman, adding to it at one time as if it were deficient, and taking away at another as if it were redundant. But He who is the fountain of all knowledge was not going to supply anything deficient or redundant, since He uses measures worked out to supernatural accuracy, all of them praiseworthy. |
| 21.4 Ὁ δὲ βουλόμενος ἄλλως ὑθλεῖν οὐκ ἂν φθάνοι καὶ τὰ πάντων ἔργα τῶν τεχνιτῶν αἴτια τιθέμενος, ὡς ἄμεινον τῆς κατασκευῆς ἐπιλαχόντα προσθέσει τινὸς ἢ μειώσει τῶν ἐν ὕλαις. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ σοφιστείας μὲν ἔργον εὑρεσιλογεῖν, σοφίας δὲ ἕκαστα διερευνᾶν τῶν ἐν τῇ φύσει." | 21.4 But he who wishes to babble otherwise would not stop short of making even the works of all artisans responsible, as though they achieved better construction by the addition or subtraction of something in the materials. But indeed, it is the work of sophistry to invent clever arguments, but the work of wisdom to investigate each thing in nature." |
| 21.5 Καὶ τὰ μὲν τοῦ Φίλωνος τοῦτον ἐχέτω τὸν τρόπον. Μαξίμῳ δὲ τῆς Χριστοῦ διατριβῆς οὐκ ἀσήμῳ ἀνδρὶ καὶ λόγος οἰκεῖος συγγέγραπται, ὁ Περὶ τῆς ὕλης, ἐξ οὗ μοι δοκῶ μέτρια χρησίμως παραθήσεσθαι εἰς ἀκριβῆ τοῦ προβλήματος ἔλεγχον. | 21.5 Let the words of Philo stand in this manner. Moreover, by Maximus—a distinguished man of the Christian school—a treatise of his own has been written, titled On Matter, from which I think it useful to quote moderate excerpts for a precise refutation of the problem. |
Chapter 22
This chapter preserves a philosophical dialogue attributed to Methodius of Olympus (from his dialogue On Free Will / De Libero Arbitrio). The speaker presents a rigorous philosophical critique aimed at refuting dualism—specifically the view that matter is uncreated and co-eternal with God. Through a series of logical dilemmas, the speaker demonstrates:
1) Two uncreated principles cannot exist without requiring a third mediating space or boundary, leading to an infinite regress or absurdities.
2) God cannot reside in uncreated matter or be enveloped by it, nor can matter be in God without rendering Him divisible or a container of evil.
3) Matter cannot be qualityless while God creates qualities from nothing; if God creates qualities out of non-being, He can create substance/matter out of non-being as well.
4) Evil is not an independent uncreated substance or inherent quality of matter, but an activity/accidental property arising from free agents.
5) Matter cannot be a single uncreated substance because it consists of mutually destructive, contrary elements (fire, water, light, darkness), which cannot share a single, unified, uncreated nature.
| 22.1 «Ὅτι μὲν ἀδύνατον ὑπάρχειν ἀγέννητα δύο ἅμα οὐδὲ σὲ ἀγνοεῖν νομίζω, εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα δοκεῖς προλαβὼν τοῦτο προστεθεικέναι τῷ λόγῳ, τὸ πάντως ἐξ ἀνάγκης τὸ ἕτερον δεῖν λέγειν, ἢ ὅτι κεχώρισται τῆς ὕλης ὁ θεὸς, ἢ αὖ πάλιν ὅτι ἀμέριστος αὐτῆς τυγχάνει. | 22.1 "I assume that even you are not unaware that it is impossible for two uncreated principles to exist simultaneously, even if you seem especially to have assumed this beforehand and added it to the argument: namely, that one must by all means state either that God is separated from matter, or on the other hand that He happens to be undivided from it. |
| 22.2 Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἡνῶσθαί τις αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν ἐθέλοι, ἓν τὸ ἀγέννητον λέξει· ἑκάτερον γὰρ τούτων μέρος ἔσται τοῦ πλησίον· ἀλλήλων δὲ μέρη τυγχάνοντα οὐκ ἔσται ἀγέννητα δύο, ὡς οὐδὲ διάφορα μέρη κατακερματιζόμενα εἰς πολλὰ γεννητὰ, ἀλλ’ ἢ ὡς ὁ λόγος ἀπαιτεῖ, ἕν τι γεννητὸν τὸν ἄνθρωπον πολυμερὲς ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγονέναι φαμέν. Οὕτως ἀνάγκη, εἰ μὴ κεχώρισται τῆς ὕλης ὁ θεὸς, ἓν τὸ ἀγέννητον εἶναι λέγειν. | 22.2 If, on the one hand, someone should wish to say that He is united with it, he will speak of one uncreated thing; for each of these will be a part of the other. But being parts of one another, they will not be two uncreated things, just as distinct parts broken up into many created things do not make many uncreated ones—rather, as reason demands, we say that man, as a single created thing consisting of many parts, was made by God. Thus it is necessary, if God is not separated from matter, to say that the uncreated is one. |
| 22.3 Εἰ δὲ κεχωρίσθαι φήσει τις, ἀνάγκη εἶναί τι τὸ ἀνὰ μέσον ἀμφοτέρων, ὅπερ καὶ τὸν χωρισμὸν αὐτῶν δείκνυσιν. Ἀδύνατον γὰρ ἐν διαστάσει ἐξετάζεσθαί τι ἀπό τινος, οὐκ ὄντος ἑτέρου καθ’ ὃ ἡ διάστασις ἑκατέρου γίνεται· ὅπερ οὐ μέχρι τούτου ἵσταται καὶ μόνου, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλείστων ὅσων. | 22.3 If, on the other hand, someone shall say that He is separated, there must of necessity be something intermediate between them both, which indeed demonstrates their separation. For it is impossible for one thing to be examined at an interval from another unless there is a different thing in virtue of which the interval between each occurs. And this does not stop at this alone, but goes on to very many. |
| 22.4 Ὃν γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν δύο ἀγεννήτων εἴπομεν λόγον, τοῦτον ἐξ ἀνάγκης ὁμοίως προχωρεῖν, εἰ τὰ ἀγέννητα δοθείη τρία. Καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τούτων ἐροίμην ἂν εἰ κεχώρισται ἀλλήλων, ἢ αὖ πάλιν ἕκαστον ἥνωται τῷ πλησίον. | 22.4 For the argument that we stated in the case of two uncreated things must of necessity proceed similarly if three uncreated things were posited. For in their case also I would ask whether they are separated from one another, or whether each in turn is united to its neighbor. |
| 22.5 Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἡνῶσθαί τις εἰπεῖν ἐθέλοι, τὸν αὐτὸν ἀκούσει τῷ πρώτῳ λόγον· εἰ δ’ αὖ πάλιν κεχωρίσθαι, οὐ φεύξεται τὴν ἐξ ἀνάγκης τοῦ χωρίζοντος ὑπόστασιν.» | 22.5 For if someone should wish to say that they are united, he will hear the same argument as the first; but if, on the other hand, he says they are separated, he will not escape the necessary existence of that which separates them." |
| 22.6 «Ἐὰν δὲ ἄρα τις καὶ τρίτον εἶναι λέξῃ λόγον ὡς ἁρμόζοντα περὶ τῶν ἀγεννήτων λέγεσθαι, τουτέστι τὸ μήτε κεχωρίσθαι τῆς ὕλης τὸν θεὸν μήτ’ αὖ πάλιν ὡς ἐν μέρει ἡνῶσθαι, εἶναι δὲ καθάπερ ἐν τόπῳ τῇ ὕλῃ τὸν θεὸν, ἢ καὶ τὴν ὕλην ἐν τῷ θεῷ, τὸ συνέχον ἀκουέτω, ὅτι ἐὰν τόπον τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ὕλην εἴπωμεν, ἐξ ἀνάγκης αὐτὸν καὶ χωρητὸν λέγειν δεῖ καὶ πρὸς τῆς ὕλης περιγραφόμενον. | 22.6 "And if someone should say that there is even a third argument appropriate to be spoken concerning the uncreated—that is, that God is neither separated from matter nor united with it as a part, but that God is in matter as in a place, or matter in God—let him hear the logical consequence: that if we say matter is the place of God, we must of necessity say that He is both contained and circumscribed by matter. |
| 22.7 Ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ ὁμοίως αὐτὸν τῇ ὕλῃ ἀτάκτως φέρεσθαι, μὴ ἵστασθαί τε μηδὲ μένειν αὐτὸν ἐφ’ ἑαυτοῦ ἀνάγκη, τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἐστὶν ἄλλοτ’ ἄλλως φερομένου. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ ἐν χείροσι γεγονέναι τὸν θεὸν εἰπεῖν ἀνάγκη. Εἰ γὰρ ἦν ποτὲ ἄκοσμος ἡ ὕλη, ἐκόσμησε δὲ αὐτὴν εἰς τὸ κρεῖττον τρέψαι προαιρούμενος, ἦν ποτὲ ὅτε ἐν ἀκοσμήτοις ἦν ὁ θεός. | 22.7 Furthermore, it is necessary that He also be carried about in a disorderly manner just like matter, neither standing firm nor remaining by Himself, since that in which He exists is carried about now in one way, now in another. In addition to these things, it is also necessary to say that God has come to be in worse conditions. For if matter was once unformatted, and He adorned it desiring to turn it toward the better, there was a time when God was in unformatted surroundings. |
| 22.8 Δικαίως δ’ ἂν καὶ τοῦτον ἐροίμην τὸν λόγον, πότερον ἐπλήρου τὴν ὕλην ὁ θεὸς, ἢ ἐν μέρει τινὶ τῆς ὕλης ἦν. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐν μέρει τινὶ τῆς ὕλης εἰπεῖν τις ἐθέλοι τὸν θεὸν, πλεῖστον ὅσον μικρότερον τῆς ὕλης λέγει, εἰ δὴ μέρος αὐτῆς ὅλον ἐχώρησεν αὐτόν· εἰ δ’ ἐν πάσῃ εἶναι λέγοι τῇ ὕλῃ, πῶς ταύτην ἐδημιούργει φραστέον. Ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἢ συστολήν τινα τοῦ θεοῦ λέγειν, ἧς γενομένης ἐδημιούργει ἐκεῖνο ἀφ’ οὗ ὑπεχώρησεν, ἢ καὶ ἑαυτὸν τῇ ὕλῃ συνδημιουργεῖν, οὐκ ἔχοντα ὑποχωρήσεως τόπον. | 22.8 And I might justly ask this question also: whether God filled matter, or was in some part of matter? If, then, someone should wish to say that God was in some part of matter, he says that He is very much smaller than matter, if indeed a part of it contained Him whole; but if he should say that He is in all matter, it must be explained how He fashioned it. For it is necessary either to speak of a contraction of God—upon which occurring He fashioned that from which He withdrew—or that He fashioned Himself together with matter, having no place of withdrawal. |
| 22.9 Εἰ δὲ τὴν ὕλην ἐν τῷ θεῷ εἶναί τις λέξει, ὁμοίως ἐξετάζειν δεῖ πότερον ὡς διισταμένου αὐτοῦ ἀφ’ ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν ἀέρι ζῴων ὑπάρχει γένη, διαιρουμένου καὶ μεριζομένου αὐτοῦ εἰς ὑποδοχὴν τῶν γινομένων ἐν αὐτῷ, ἢ ὡς ἐν τόπῳ, τουτέστιν ὥσπερ ἐν γῇ ὕδωρ. | 22.9 If someone shall say that matter is in God, one must similarly examine whether it is as though He were divided from Himself—and just as species of living creatures exist in the air, He being divided and partitioned for the reception of those things coming to be in Him—or whether it is as in a place, that is to say, as water in the earth. |
| 22.10 Εἰ μὲν γὰρ εἴποιμεν ὡς ἐν ἀέρι, μεριστὸν ἀνάγκη τὸν θεὸν εἰπεῖν· εἰ δ’ ὥσπερ ἐν γῇ τὸ ὕδωρ, ἦν δὲ ἄτακτος ἡ ὕλη καὶ ἀκόσμητος, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἔχουσα καὶ κακὰ, τὸν θεὸν λέγειν ἀνάγκη τόπον εἶναι τῶν ἀκοσμήτων καὶ τῶν κακῶν. Ὅπερ οὐκ εὔφημον εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ, ἐπισφαλὲς δὲ μᾶλλον. Ὕλην γὰρ εἶναι θέλεις, ἵνα μὴ τῶν κακῶν ποιητὴν εἴπῃς τὸν θεὸν, καὶ τοῦτο φεύγειν προαιρούμενος δοχεῖον αὐτὸν τῶν κακῶν εἶναι λέγεις.» | 22.10 For if we should say 'as in the air', it is necessary to call God divisible; but if 'as water in the earth', and matter was disorderly and unadorned, and in addition to these things contained evils, it is necessary to say that God is the container of unadorned things and of evils. Which does not seem to me to be reverent, but rather dangerous. For you wish matter to exist so that you may not call God the author of evils, and in seeking to escape this, you say that He is the receptacle of evils." |
| 22.11 «Εἰ μὲν οὖν τὴν ὕλην ἐκ τῶν ὑποστάντων γενητῶν ὑπονοεῖν ἀγέννητον ὑπάρχειν ἔλεγες, πολὺν ἂν περὶ αὐτῆς ἐποιησάμην λόγον εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ ὅτι ἀδύνατον ὑπάρχειν αὐτὴν ἀγέννητον· ἐπεὶ δὲ τὴν τῶν κακῶν γένεσιν αἰτίαν ἔφησθα εἶναι τῆς τοιαύτης ὑπονοίας, διὰ τοῦτ’ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐξέτασιν τούτων ἔρχεσθαί μοι δοκῶ. Φανεροῦ γὰρ γενομένου τοῦ λόγου καθ’ ὃν τρόπον ἐστὶ τὰ κακὰ καὶ ὅτι οὐχ οἶόν τέ ἐστιν ἀναίτιον τῶν κακῶν εἰπεῖν τὸν θεὸν ἐκ τοῦ ὕλην αὐτῷ ὑποτιθέναι, τὴν τοιαύτην ὑπόνοιαν ἀναιρεῖσθαί μοι δοκεῖ. | 22.11 "If, then, you were saying that you suspected matter to be uncreated on the basis of created entities that have come to be, I would have made a long argument about it to demonstrate that it is impossible for it to be uncreated; but since you said that the origin of evil was the cause of such a suspicion, on this account I think I should come to the examination of these matters. For when the argument becomes clear as to the manner in which evil exists, and that it is not possible to say God is blameless of evil merely by positing matter for Him, such a suspicion seems to me to be destroyed. |
| 22.12 — Φῂς τοίνυν ἄποιον ὕλην συνυπάρχειν τῷ θεῷ, ἐξ ἧς τὴν τοῦδε τοῦ κόσμου γένεσιν ἐδημιούργησεν. — Οὕτω μοι δοκεῖ. | 22.12 — You say, then, that qualityless matter coexists with God, out of which He fashioned the origin of this cosmos? — So it seems to me. |
| 22.13 — Οὐκοῦν εἰ ἄποιος ἐτύγχανεν ἡ ὕλη, γέγονε δὲ κόσμος πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐν δὲ τῷ κόσμῳ αἱ ποιότητες, τῶν ποιοτήτων ποιητὴς γέγονεν ὁ θεός. — Οὕτως ἔχει. | 22.13 — Therefore, if matter happened to be qualityless, and the cosmos came to be by God, and qualities are in the cosmos, God has become the maker of qualities. — So it is. |
| 22.14 — Ἐπεὶ δέ σου καὶ λέγοντος ἔμπροσθεν ἤκουον ὡς ἀδύνατον ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων γίνεσθαί τι, πρὸς τὴν ἐρώτησιν ἀπόκριναι τὴν ἐμήν· δοκεῖ σοι τὰς τοῦ κόσμου ποιότητας μὴ ἐξ ὑποκειμένων ποιοτήτων γεγονέναι; — Δοκεῖ. — Ἕτερον δέ τι παρὰ τὰς οὐσίας ὑπάρχειν αὐτάς; — Οὕτως ἔχει. | 22.14 — But since I also heard you say earlier that it is impossible for anything to come from non-being, answer my question: does it seem to you that the qualities of the cosmos have not come from underlying qualities? — It seems so. — And that they are something distinct alongside the substances themselves? — So it is. |
| 22.15 — Εἰ μὲν οὖν μήτε ἐξ ὑποκειμένων ποιοτήτων τὰς ποιότητας ἐδημιούργησεν ὁ θεὸς μήτε ἐκ τῶν οὐσιῶν, τῷ μηδὲ οὐσίας αὐτὰς εἶναι, ἐκ μὴ ὄντων αὐτὰς ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγονέναι εἰπεῖν ἀναγκαῖον. Ὅθεν περιττῶς ἐδόκεις μοι λέγειν ἀδύνατον εἶναι δοξάζειν ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων γεγονέναι τι πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. | 22.15 — If, then, God fashioned the qualities neither out of underlying qualities nor out of the substances—in virtue of their not being substances at all—it is necessary to say that they came to be by God out of non-being. Whence you seemed to me to speak superfluously in saying it is impossible to believe that anything has come to be by God out of non-being. |
| 22.16 Ἀλλ’ ὁ μὲν περὶ τούτου λόγος ὧδε ἐχέτω. Καὶ γὰρ παρ’ ἡμῖν θεωροῦμεν ἀνθρώπους ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων ποιοῦντάς τινα, εἰ καὶ ὅτι μάλιστα δοκοῦσι ποιεῖν ἔν τινι, οἷον ἐπὶ τῶν ἀρχιτεκτόνων τὸ παράδειγμα λάβωμεν. Καὶ γὰρ οὗτοι ποιοῦσι πόλεις οὐκ ἐκ πόλεων καὶ ναοὺς ὁμοίως οὐκ ἐκ ναῶν. | 22.16 But let the argument concerning this stand thus. For among ourselves we observe men making certain things out of non-being, even if they seem especially to make them in something; for example, let us take the example of architects. For these also make cities not out of cities, and temples likewise not out of temples. |
| 22.17 Εἰ δ’, ὅτι τούτοις οὐσίαι ὑπόκεινται, οἴει ἐξ ὄντων αὐτοὺς ταῦτα ποιεῖν, σφάλλῃ τῷ λόγῳ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ οὐσία ἐστὶν ἡ ποιοῦσα τὴν πόλιν, ἢ αὖ πάλιν τοὺς ναοὺς, ἀλλ’ ἡ περὶ τὴν οὐσίαν τέχνη· ἡ δὲ τέχνη οὐκ ἐξ ὑποκειμένης τινὸς ἐν ταῖς οὐσίαις τέχνης γίνεται, ἀλλ’ ἐξ οὐκ οὔσης ἐν αὐταῖς γίνεται. | 22.17 And if, because substances lie beneath these, you think that they make these things out of existing things, you err in your reasoning. For it is not the substance that makes the city, or again the temples, but the art applied to the substance; and the art does not come from any underlying art in the substances, but comes from that which is not present in them. |
| 22.18 Ἀπαντήσειν δέ μοι δοκεῖς οὕτω τῷ λόγῳ, ὅτι ὁ τεχνίτης ἐξ ἧς ἔχει τέχνης τὴν ἐν τῇ οὐσίᾳ τέχνην ποιεῖ. Πρὸς δὲ τοῦτο λέγεσθαι τοῦτ’ εὖ ἔχειν μοι δοκεῖ, ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἔκ τινος ὑποκειμένης τέχνης γίνεται. Οὐ γὰρ ἔνεστιν αὐτὴν ἐφ’ ἑαυτῆς οὖσαν δοῦναι τὴν τέχνην· τῶν γὰρ συμβεβηκότων ἐστὶ καὶ τῶν τότε τὸ εἶναι λαμβανόντων, ὁπόταν ἐν οὐσίᾳ γίνωνται. | 22.18 But you seem to me about to meet the argument thus: that the craftsman makes the art in the substance out of the art which he possesses. To this, it seems to me good to say that not even in man does it come from an underlying art. For it is not possible to give art as existing by itself; for it is among the accidents, and among those things that receive existence at the time when they come to be in a substance. |
| 22.19 Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἄνθρωπος καὶ χωρὶς τῆς ἀρχιτεκτονικῆς ἔσται· ἡ δ’ οὐκ ἔσται, ἐὰν μὴ πρότερον ἄνθρωπος [ᾖ]. Ὅθεν τὰς τέχνας ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων εἰς ἀνθρώπους πεφυκέναι γίνεσθαι λέγειν ἀναγκαῖον. Εἰ τοίνυν τοῦτο οὕτως ἔχον ἐπ’ ἀνθρώπων ἐδείξαμεν, πῶς οὐχὶ προσῆκε τὸν θεὸν μὴ μόνον ποιότητας ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων φάναι δύνασθαι ποιεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὐσίας; Τῷ γὰρ δυνατὸν φανῆναι γίνεσθαί τι ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων τὸ καὶ τὰς οὐσίας οὕτως ἔχειν δείκνυται. | 22.19 For man will exist even apart from architecture, but architecture will not exist unless there is first a man. Whence it is necessary to say that arts naturally come into men out of non-being. If, therefore, we have shown this to be so in the case of men, how is it not fitting to say that God is able to make not only qualities out of non-being, but also substances? For by showing that it is possible for something to come to be out of non-being, it is demonstrated that substances also are in this condition. |
| 22.20 Ἐπεὶ δὲ πόθος ἐστί σοι περὶ τῆς τῶν κακῶν γενέσεως ζητεῖν, ἐπὶ τὸν τούτων ἐλεύσομαι λόγον, καί σου βραχέα πυθέσθαι βούλομαι. Τὰ κακὰ πότερον οὐσίαι σοι δοκοῦσιν εἶναι, ἢ ποιότητες οὐσιῶν; — Ποιότητας οὐσιῶν εὖ ἔχειν λέγειν μοι δοκεῖ. | 22.20 But since you have a desire to inquire concerning the origin of evil, I shall come to the argument about these things, and I wish to ask you a few questions. Do evils seem to you to be substances, or qualities of substances? — It seems to me good to say they are qualities of substances. |
| 22.21 — Ἡ δὲ ὕλη ἄποιος ἦν καὶ ἀσχημάτιστος, [καὶ οὐδὲ ποιότητά τινα εἶχεν]. — Οὕτω προλαβὼν ἐξεῖπον τῷ λόγῳ. — Οὐκοῦν εἰ τὰ κακὰ ποιότητες ὑπάρχουσιν οὐσιῶν, ἡ δὲ ὕλη ἄποιος ἦν, τῶν δὲ ποιοτήτων ποιητὴν εἶπας τὸν θεὸν εἶναι, ἔσται καὶ τῶν κακῶν δημιουργὸς ὁ θεός. Ὅτε τοίνυν οὐδ’ οὕτως ἀναίτιον τῶν κακῶν δυνατὸν εἰπεῖν τὸν θεὸν, ὕλην αὐτῷ προσάπτειν περιττὸν εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ. Εἰ δέ τι πρὸς ταῦτα λέγειν ἔχεις, ἄρχου τοῦ λόγου. | 22.21 — And matter was qualityless and unshaped, [and had no quality whatsoever]? — So I assumed and stated in the argument. — Therefore, if evils are qualities of substances, and matter was qualityless, and you said God was the maker of qualities, God will also be the creator of evils. When, therefore, it is impossible even thus to say that God is blameless of evils, to attach matter to Him seems to me to be superfluous. But if you have anything to say to these things, begin your argument. |
| 22.22 — Εἰ μὲν ἐκ φιλονεικίας ἡμῖν ἡ ζήτησις ἐγίνετο, οὐκ ἂν δεύτερον περὶ τῶν κακῶν ἠξίουν ὁρίζεσθαι· ἐπεὶ δὲ φιλίας ἕνεκα μᾶλλον καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὸν πλησίον ὠφελείας τὴν ἐξέτασιν ποιούμεθα τῶν λόγων, ἄνωθεν περὶ τούτων ὁρίζεσθαι ἀξιῶ συγχωρεῖν. — Τὴν μὲν προαίρεσιν τὴν ἐμὴν ἐκ πολλοῦ σοι φανερὰν εἶναι δοκῶ καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σπουδὴν, ὅτι οὐ πιθανῶς εἰπὼν ψεῦδος νικῆσαι θέλω, ἀλλὰ δειχθῆναι τὴν ἀλήθειαν μετὰ ἀκριβοῦς ἐξετάσεως, καὶ σὲ δὲ οὕτω διακεῖσθαι σαφῶς ἐπίσταμαι· ὅθεν οἴῳ τρόπῳ χρώμενος νομίζεις δύνασθαι τὸ ἀληθὲς εὑρεῖν, τούτῳ χρῆσαι μηδὲν δυσωπούμενος. Οὐ γὰρ σεαυτὸν ὠφελήσεις μόνον χρησάμενος τῷ κρείττονι, ἀλλὰ πάντως κἀμὲ περὶ ὧν ἀγνοῶ. | 22.22 — If our inquiry were taking place out of contentiousness, I would not claim to define things concerning evil a second time; but since we make the examination of arguments rather for the sake of friendship and the benefit of our neighbor, I claim your permission to define concerning these things from the beginning. — I think my intention and my zeal in discussions have long been clear to you—that I do not wish to win by persuasively speaking a falsehood, but that the truth be demonstrated through accurate examination; and I know clearly that you are also so disposed. Wherefore, by whatever method you think you can find the truth, use it without holding back. For you will not only benefit yourself by using the better way, but certainly me too concerning things of which I am ignorant. |
| 22.23 — Σαφῶς παραστῆσαί μοι δοκεῖς καὶ τὰ κακὰ οὐσίας ὑπάρχειν τινάς· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκτὸς οὐσιῶν αὐτὰ ὄντα βλέπω. — Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν, ὦ οὗτος, καὶ τὰ κακὰ οὐσίας εἶναι λέγεις, ἀνάγκη τὸν τῆς οὐσίας ἐξετάζειν λόγον. Δοκεῖ σοι τὴν οὐσίαν σωματικήν τινα σύστασιν εἶναι; — Δοκεῖ. | 22.23 — You seem to me to have clearly demonstrated that evils are certain substances; for I do not see them existing outside of substances. — Since then, my good friend, you say that evils are also substances, it is necessary to examine the definition of substance. Does substance seem to you to be a bodily constitution? — It seems so. |
| 22.24 — Ἡ δὲ σωματικὴ σύστασις αὐτὴ ἐφ’ ἑαυτῆς ὑπάρχει οὐ δεομένη τινὸς, οὗ γενομένη τὸ εἶναι λήψεται; — Οὕτως ἔχει. | 22.24 — And does the bodily constitution exist by itself, not needing anything upon whose occurrence it will receive existence? — So it is. |
| 22.25 — Δοκεῖ δέ σοι τὰ κακὰ ἐνεργείας εἶναί τινος; — Οὕτω μοι φαίνεται. | 22.25 — And do evils seem to you to be the activities of someone? — So it appears to me. |
| 22.26 — Αἱ δὲ ἐνέργειαι τότε τὸ εἶναι λαμβάνουσιν, ὁπόταν ὁ ἐνεργῶν παρῇ; — Οὕτως ἔχει. | 22.26 — And do activities receive existence at that time when the active agent is present? — So it is. |
| 22.27 — Οὐκ ὄντος δὲ τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος, οὐδ’ ὅπερ ἐνεργεῖ ἔσται ποτέ; — Οὐκ ἔσται. | 22.27 — And if the active agent does not exist, neither will that which he does ever exist? — It will not. |
| 22.28 — Οὐκοῦν εἰ ἡ οὐσία σωματική τίς ἐστι σύστασις, αὕτη δὲ οὐ δεῖταί τινος, ἐν ᾧ γενομένη τὸ εἶναι λήψεται, τὰ δὲ κακὰ ἐνέργειαι ὑπάρχουσί τινος, αἱ δὲ ἐνέργειαι δέονταί τινος, ἐν ᾧ γενόμεναι τὸ εἶναι λαμβάνουσιν, οὐκ ἔσονται οὐσίαι τὰ κακά. | 22.28 — Therefore, if substance is a bodily constitution, and this does not need anything in which coming to be it will receive existence, whereas evils are activities of someone, and activities need someone in whom coming to be they receive existence, evils will not be substances. |
| 22.29 Εἰ δὲ οὐσίαι τὰ κακὰ, κακὸν δὲ ὁ φόνος, οὐσία ἔσται ὁ φόνος· ἀλλὰ μὴν ὁ φόνος ἐνέργεια ὑπάρχει τινὸς, οὐκ ἔστιν ἄρα οὐσία ὁ φόνος. Εἰ δὲ τὰ ἐνεργοῦντα οὐσίαν εἶναι θέλεις, σύμφημι κἀγώ. Οἷον ἄνθρωπος ὁ φονεὺς, καθ’ ὃν μὲν λόγον ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν ὑπάρχει οὐσία· ὃν δὲ ποιεῖ φόνον οὐκ ἔστιν οὐσία, ἀλλ’ ἔργον τῆς οὐσίας. | 22.29 If evils were substances, and murder is an evil, murder will be a substance; but murder is an activity of someone, therefore murder is not a substance. But if you wish the acting agents to be substance, I also agree. For instance, the murderer as a man: according to the definition that he is a man, he is a substance; but the murder which he commits is not a substance, but a work of the substance. |
| 22.30 Λέγομεν δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ποτὲ μὲν κακὸν διὰ τὸ φονεύειν, ποτὲ δ’ αὖ πάλιν διὰ τὸ εὐεργετεῖν ἀγαθόν. Καὶ προσπλέκεται ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα τῇ οὐσίᾳ ἐκ τῶν συμβεβηκότων αὐτῇ, ἅτινα οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτή· οὔτε γὰρ ὁ φόνος ἐστὶν ἡ οὐσία οὔτ’ αὖ πάλιν ἡ μοιχεία οὔτε τι τῶν ὁμοίων κακῶν· ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ ἀπὸ τῆς γραμματικῆς ὁ γραμματικὸς λέγεται καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ῥητορικῆς ὁ ῥήτωρ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἰατρικῆς ὁ ἰατρὸς, τῆς οὐσίας οὔτ’ ἰατρικῆς οὔσης οὔτε μὴν ῥητορικῆς οὔτε γραμματικῆς, ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ τῶν συμβεβηκότων αὐτῇ τὴν προσηγορίαν λαμβανούσης, ἀφ’ ὧν οὕτως ὀνομάζεσθαι δοκεῖ, οὐδ’ ὁπότερον αὐτῶν οὖσα, ὁμοίως μοι φαίνεται καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δοκούντων εἶναι κακῶν τὴν οὐσίαν ὄνομα προσλαμβάνειν, οὐδ’ ὁπότερον οὖσαν αὐτῶν. | 22.30 We call a man at one time evil on account of committing murder, and at another time again good on account of doing good deeds. And these names are interwoven with the substance from its accidental properties, which are not the substance itself. For neither is murder the substance, nor again adultery, nor any similar evils; but just as from grammar a man is called a grammarian, and from rhetoric a rhetorician, and from medicine a physician—the substance being neither medicine nor rhetoric nor grammar, but receiving the appellation from its accidents, from which it seems to be named in this way, being neither of them—in the same way it appears to me that the substance receives a name from those things that seem to be evil, being neither of them. |
| 22.31 Καί μοι ὁμοίως ἐπινόησον, εἴ τινα ἕτερον ἀναπλάττεις ἐν τῷ νῷ τῶν κακῶν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις αἴτιον, ὡς κἀκεῖνος, καθὸ ἐν τούτοις ἐνεργεῖ καὶ ὑποβάλλει ποιεῖν τὰ κακὰ, ἔστι καὶ αὐτὸς κακὸς ἐξ ὧν ποιεῖ. Διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ κἀκεῖνος κακὸς εἶναι λέγεται, ὅτι τῶν κακῶν ἐστι ποιητής. Ἃ δέ τις ποιεῖ, οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτὸς, ἀλλ’ αἱ ἐνέργειαι αὐτοῦ, ἀφ’ ὧν τὴν προσηγορίαν τοῦ κακὸς λέγεσθαι λαμβάνει. | 22.31 And consider similarly for me, if you fashion in your mind any other cause of evils for men, that he too, in so far as he works in these things and prompts men to do evil, is himself evil from the things he does. For on this account he too is said to be evil, because he is a maker of evils. But the things which anyone does, he is not himself, but they are his activities, from which he receives the designation to be called 'evil'. |
| 22.32 Εἰ γὰρ αὐτὸν ὑπάρχειν εἴποιμεν ἃ ποιεῖ, ποιεῖ δὲ φόνους καὶ μοιχείας καὶ κλοπὰς καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ὅμοια, αὐτὸς ἔσται ταῦτα· εἰ δὲ ταῦτ’ ἐστὶν αὐτὸς, ταῦτα δ’ ὅτε γίνεται τὴν σύστασιν ἔχει, οὐ γινόμενα δὲ καὶ τοῦ εἶναι παύεται, γίνεται δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς ἀνθρώπων, ἔσονται τούτων οἱ ἄνθρωποι ποιηταὶ, καὶ τοῦ εἶναι καὶ τοῦ μηκέτ’ εἶναι αἴτιοι. | 22.32 For if we should say that he himself is the things he does, and he does murders and adulteries and thefts and as many things as are like these, he himself will be these things; but if he is these things, and these things have their constitution when they come to be, and cease from being when they are not coming to be, and these things come to be by men, men will be the makers of these things, and causes both of their being and of their no longer being. |
| 22.33 Εἰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐνεργείας αὐτοῦ φῂς, ἐξ ὧν ποιεῖ τὸ κακὸς εἶναι ἔχει, οὐκ ἐξ ὧν ἐστιν ἡ οὐσία. Κακὸν δὲ εἴπομεν λέγεσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν συμβεβηκότων τῇ οὐσίᾳ, ἅτινα οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ οὐσία, ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς ἰατρικῆς ὁ ἰατρός. | 22.33 But if you say these things are his activities, from the things he does he has his being evil, not from the things that make up his substance. And we said that one is called evil from the accidents to the substance, which are not the substance, just as a physician from medicine. |
| 22.34 Εἰ δὲ ἐξ ὧν ἐνεργεῖ ἕκαστος ὑπάρχει κακὸς, ἃ δὲ ἐνεργεῖ ἀρχὴν τοῦ εἶναι λαμβάνει, ἤρξατο κἀκεῖνος εἶναι κακὸς, ἤρξατο δὲ καὶ ταυτὶ τὰ κακά. Εἰ δὲ οὕτως ἔχει, οὐκ ἔσται ἀνάρχως κακὸς, οὐδὲ ἀγέννητα τὰ κακὰ τῷ γεννητὰ πρὸς αὐτοῦ εἶναι φάναι. | 22.34 If, then, from the things he works each person is evil, and the things he works receive a beginning of existence, he too began to be evil, and these evils also began. If this is so, he will not be unoriginatedly evil, nor are evils uncreated, since they are said to be created by him." |
| 22.35 — Τὸν μὲν πρὸς τὸν ἕτερον, ὦ φίλε, λόγον ἱκανῶς μοι πεποιηκέναι δοκεῖς· ἐξ ὧν γὰρ προύλαβες τῷ λόγῳ, ἐκ τούτων συνάγειν ἔδοξας καλῶς. Ὡς ἀληθῶς γὰρ, εἰ ἄποιος ἐτύγχανεν ἡ ὕλη, τῶν δὲ ποιοτήτων δημιουργὸς ὑπάρχει ὁ θεὸς, ποιότητες δὲ τὰ κακὰ, τῶν κακῶν ἔσται ποιητὴς ὁ θεός. | 22.35 "— You seem to me, my friend, to have made a sufficient argument against the other person; for from the premises you assumed in the argument, you seemed to conclude well. For truly, if matter happened to be qualityless, and God is the creator of qualities, and evils are qualities, God will be the maker of evils. |
| 22.36 Οὗτος μὲν οὖν ὁ λόγος πρὸς ἐκεῖνον εἰρήσθω καλῶς, ἐμοὶ δὲ ψεῦδος δοκεῖ τὴν ὕλην ἄποιον εἶναι λέγειν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔνεστιν εἰπεῖν περὶ ἧστινοσοῦν οὐσίας ὡς ἔστιν ἄποιος. Καὶ γὰρ ἐν ᾧ ἄποιον εἶναι λέγει, τὴν ποιότητα αὐτῆς μηνύει, ὁποία ἐστὶν ἡ ὕλη διαγραφόμενος, ὅπερ ἐστὶ ποιότητος εἶδος. | 22.36 Let this argument, then, be well said against him; but to me it seems false to say that matter is qualityless. For it is not possible to speak concerning any substance whatsoever as being qualityless. For in saying that it is qualityless, one indicates its quality, describing what kind of thing matter is, which is a species of quality. |
| 22.37 Ὅθεν, εἴ σοι φίλον ἐστὶν, ἄνωθεν ἔχου πρὸς ἐμὲ τοῦ λόγου. Ἐμοὶ γὰρ ἡ ὕλη ἀνάρχως ποιότητας ἔχειν δοκεῖ. Οὕτως γὰρ καὶ τὰ κακὰ ἐκ τῆς ἀπορροίας αὐτῆς εἶναι λέγω, ἵνα τῶν κακῶν ὁ μὲν θεὸς ἀναίτιος ᾖ, τούτων δὲ ἀπάντων ἡ ὕλη αἰτία. | 22.37 Whence, if it is pleasing to you, take up the argument with me from the beginning. For to me matter seems to have qualities without beginning. For in this way I say that evils are also from its efflux, so that God may be blameless of evils, and matter the cause of all these things. |
| 22.38 — Τὴν μὲν προθυμίαν τὴν σὴν ἀποδέχομαι, ὦ φίλε, καί σου τὴν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σπουδὴν ἐπαινῶ. Προσῆκε γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἕκαστον τῶν φιλομαθῶν μὴ ἁπλῶς καὶ ὡς ἔτυχε συγκατατίθεσθαι τοῖς λεγομένοις, ἀλλ’ ἀκριβῆ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἐξέτασιν τῶν λόγων. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰ ὁ προσζητῶν παρὰ λόγον ὁρισάμενος ἀφορμὴν παρέσχε τῷ προσδιαλεγομένῳ συνάγειν ὡς ἐθέλει, τοῦτο καὶ τὸν ἀκροατὴν πείσει, ἀλλ’ εἴ τι δοκεῖ δυνατὸν εἶναι λέγεσθαι καλῶς, τοῦτο λέξει· παρ’ ὧν δυοῖν θάτερον ἔσται· ἢ γὰρ καὶ πρὸς ὃ κινεῖσθαι δοκεῖ ἀκούσας τέλεον ὠφεληθήσεται, ἢ τὸν προσδιαλεγόμενον ἐλέγξει οὐ τἀληθῆ λέγοντα. | 22.38 — I accept your readiness, my friend, and I praise your zeal in arguments. For it was fitting truly that each lover of learning should not simply and at random assent to what is said, but make an accurate examination of the arguments. For not even if the co-inquirer, defining contrary to reason, provided an opportunity to the conversant to conclude as he wishes, will this also persuade the hearer; but if anything seems possible to be said well, he will say this. From which one of two things will happen: for either, having heard, he will be completely benefited toward that to which he seems to be moved, or he will refute the conversant as not speaking the truth. |
| 22.39 Οὐ δοκεῖς δέ μοι δεόντως εἰρηκέναι τὴν ὕλην ἄνωθεν ποιότητας ἔχειν. Εἰ γὰρ τοῦθ’ οὕτως ἔχει, τίνος ἔσται ποιητὴς ὁ θεός; Εἴτε γὰρ οὐσίας ἐροῦμεν, προεῖναι ταύτας φαμέν· εἴτ’ αὖ πάλιν ποιότητας, καὶ ταύτας ὑπάρχειν. | 22.39 But you do not seem to me to have spoken as is necessary in saying that matter has qualities from the beginning. For if this is so, of what will God be the maker? For whether we speak of substances, we say these pre-existed; or whether again of qualities, these too exist. |
| 22.40 Οὐκοῦν οὐσίας τε οὔσης καὶ ποιοτήτων περιττὸν εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ δημιουργὸν λέγειν τὸν θεόν. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ ἐμαυτῷ κατασκευάζειν τινὰ δόξω λόγον, ἀπόκριναι νῦν ἐρωτώμενος, τίνι τρόπῳ δημιουργὸν εἶναι φῄς τὸν θεόν; Πότερον ὅτι τὰς οὐσίας ἔτρεψεν εἰς τὸ μηκέθ’ ὑπάρχειν ἐκείνας αἵπερ ἦσάν ποτε, ἀλλ’ ἑτέρας παρ’ αὐτὰς γενέσθαι, ἢ ὅτι τὰς μὲν οὐσίας ἐφύλαξεν ἐκείνας αἵπερ ἦσαν πρὸ τούτου, τὰς δὲ ποιότητας ἔτρεψεν αὐτῶν; | 22.40 Therefore, substance existing and qualities existing, it seems to me superfluous to call God a creator. But lest I seem to construct an argument for myself, answer now when asked: in what manner do you say God is a creator? Is it because He turned the substances into no longer being those which they once were, but becoming others alongside them, or because He preserved those substances which were before this, but turned their qualities? |
| 22.41 — Οὔ τι μοι δοκεῖ ἀλλαγήν τινα οὐσιῶν γεγονέναι· καὶ γὰρ ἄτοπον τοῦτο λέγειν μοι φαίνεται· τροπὴν δέ τινα τῶν ποιοτήτων γεγονέναι φημὶ, καθ’ ἃς δημιουργὸν εἶναι λέγω τὸν θεὸν, καὶ ὥσπερ εἰ τύχοι λέγειν ἐκ λίθων οἰκίαν γεγονέναι, ἐφ’ ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὡς οὐκέτι λίθοι μένουσι τῇ οὐσίᾳ, οἰκία γενόμενοι οἱ λίθοι· | 22.41 — It does not seem to me that any exchange of substances has occurred; for to say this appears to me absurd; but I say that a certain turning of qualities has occurred, according to which I say God is a creator—just as, if it should so happen, one were to say a house was made from stones, in whose case it is not possible to say that they are no longer stones in substance, the stones having become a house; |
| 22.42 τῇ γὰρ ποιότητι τῆς συνθέσεως τὴν οἰκίαν γεγονέναι φημὶ, τραπείσης δηλονότι τῆς προτέρας τῶν λίθων ποιότητος, οὕτω μοι δοκεῖ καὶ τὸν θεὸν, ὑπομενούσης τῆς οὐσίας, τροπήν τινα τῶν ποιοτήτων αὐτῆς πεποιηκέναι, καθ’ ἣν τὴν τοῦδε τοῦ κόσμου γένεσιν πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ γεγονέναι λέγω. | 22.42 for I say that the house came to be by the quality of composition, the former quality of the stones clearly having been turned—so it seems to me that God also, while the substance remained, made a certain turning of its qualities, according to which I say the origin of this cosmos came to be by God. |
| 22.43 — Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν τροπήν τινα τῶν ποιοτήτων πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ γεγονέναι φῄς, ἀπόκριναί μοι βραχέα πυθέσθαι προαιρουμένῳ. Λέγε δὴ εἰ ὁμοίως καὶ σοὶ δοκεῖ τὰ κακὰ ποιότητας εἶναι τῶν οὐσιῶν; — Δοκεῖ. | 22.43 — Since, then, you say that a certain turning of qualities came to be by God, answer me, who choose to ask a few things. Say then if it likewise seems to you also that evils are qualities of substances? — It seems so. |
| 22.44 — Ἄνωθεν δὲ ἦσαν αἱ ποιότητες αὗται ἐν τῇ ὕλῃ, ἢ ἀρχὴν ἔσχον τοῦ εἶναι; — Συνεῖναί φημι ἀγεννήτως τῇ ὕλῃ ταυτασὶ τὰς ποιότητας. | 22.44 — And were these qualities in matter from the beginning, or did they have a beginning of being? — I say that these qualities coexist uncreatedly with matter. |
| 22.45 — Οὐχὶ δὲ τὸν θεὸν φῂς τροπήν τινα τῶν ποιοτήτων πεποιηκέναι; — Τοῦτό φημι. | 22.45 — And do you not say that God made a turning of the qualities? — This I say. |
| 22.46 — Πότερον οὖν εἰς τὸ κρεῖττον, ἢ εἰς τὸ χεῖρον; — Εἰς τὸ κρεῖττον λέγειν μοι δοκεῖ. | 22.46 — Whether, then, toward the better, or toward the worse? — It seems to me right to say toward the better. |
| 22.47 — Οὐκοῦν εἰ ποιότητες τῆς ὕλης τὰ κακὰ, τὰς δὲ ποιότητας αὐτῆς εἰς τὸ κρεῖττον ἔτρεψεν ὁ θεὸς, πόθεν τὰ κακὰ ζητεῖν ἀνάγκη; Οὐ γὰρ ἔμειναν αἱ ποιότητες ὁποῖαί ποτ’ ἦσαν τῇ φύσει. Ἢ, εἰ μὲν πρότερον οὐκ ἦσαν ποιότητες κακαὶ, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ τραπῆναι πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τὰς πρώτας τοιαύτας περὶ τὴν ὕλην γεγονέναι ποιότητας φῄς, αἴτιος ἔσται τῶν κακῶν ὁ θεὸς, τρέψας τὰς οὐκ οὔσας ποιότητας κακὰς εἰς τὸ εἶναι κακάς· | 22.47 — Therefore, if evils are qualities of matter, and God turned its qualities toward the better, whence is it necessary to seek evils? For the qualities did not remain such as they once were by nature. Or, if previously there were not evil qualities, but from their being turned by God you say that the first such qualities came to be concerning matter, God will be the cause of evils, having turned qualities that were not evil into being evil; |
| 22.48 ἢ τὰς μὲν κακὰς ποιότητας εἰς τὸ κρεῖττον οὐ δοκεῖ σοι τρέψαι τὸν θεὸν, τὰς δὲ λοιπὰς καὶ μόνας, ὅσαι ἀδιάφοροι ἐτύγχανον τῆς διακοσμήσεως ἕνεκα, πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τετράφθαι λέγεις; — Οὕτως ἄνωθεν ἔσχον ἐγώ. | 22.48 or does it not seem to you that God turned the evil qualities toward the better, but that you say the remaining ones only, as many as were indifferent, were turned by God for the sake of adornment? — Thus I held from the beginning. |
| 22.49 — Πῶς τοίνυν αὐτὸν τὰς τῶν φαύλων ποιότητας ὡς εἶχον καταλελοιπέναι λέγεις; Πότερον δυνάμενον μὲν κἀκείνας ἀνελεῖν, οὐ βουληθέντα δὲ, ἢ τὸ δύνασθαι μὴ ἔχοντα; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ δυνάμενον λέξεις, οὐ βουληθέντα δὲ, αὐτὸν αἴτιον τούτων εἰπεῖν ἀνάγκη, ὅτι δυνάμενος ποιῆσαι μὴ εἶναι κακὰ, συνεχώρησεν αὐτὰ μένειν ὡς ἦν, καὶ μάλιστα ὅτε δημιουργεῖν τὴν ὕλην ἤρξατο. | 22.49 — How, then, do you say that He left the qualities of worthless things as they were? Was it because He was able to destroy those too, but was not willing, or because He did not have the power? For if you shall say He was able, but not willing, it is necessary to call Him the cause of these things, because being able to make them not to be evil, He permitted them to remain as they were, and especially when He began to fashion matter. |
| 22.50 Εἰ γὰρ μηδ’ ὅλως ἔμελεν αὐτῷ τῆς ὕλης, οὐκ ἂν αἴτιος ἦν ὧν συνεχώρει μένειν· ἐπεὶ δὲ μέρος μέν τι αὐτῆς ἐδημιούργει, μέρος δέ τι οὕτως εἴα, δυνάμενος κἀκεῖνα τρέπειν εἰς τὸ κρεῖττον, αἰτίαν ὀφλισκάνειν ἄξιος εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ, καταλιπὼν μέρος ὕλης εἶναι πονηρὸν ἐπ’ ὀλέθρῳ οὗ ἐδημιούργησε μέρους. | 22.50 For if He did not care for matter at all, He would not be the cause of the things He permitted to remain; but since He was fashioning a certain part of it, and a certain part He thus allowed to be, though able to turn those things also toward the better, He seems to me worthy to incur blame, having left a part of matter to be evil for the destruction of that part which He fashioned. |
| 22.51 Ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τὰ μέγιστα κατὰ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος ἠδικῆσθαί μοι δοκεῖ, τοῦθ’ ὅπερ κατεσκεύασε τῆς ὕλης μέρος ἀντιλαμβανόμενον τανῦν τῶν κακῶν. Εἰ γάρ τις ἐξετάζοι ἐπ’ ἀκριβὲς τὰ πράγματα, χαλεπώτερον νῦν εὑρήσει τὴν ὕλην πεπονθυῖαν τῆς προτέρας ἀκοσμίας. Πρὶν γὰρ αὐτὴν διακριθῆναι τὸ μηδὲ αἰσθέσθαι τῶν κακῶν παρῆν αὐτῇ· νυνὶ δὲ ἕκαστον τῶν μερῶν αὐτῆς αἴσθησιν λαμβάνει τῶν κακῶν. | 22.51 Furthermore, it seems to me that the greatest wrong has been done in respect of this part—that part of matter which He constructed now receiving perception of evils. For if anyone should examine matters with accuracy, he will find matter suffering more harshly now than in its former state of disorder. For before it was separated, the absence of perception of evils was present to it; but now each of its parts receives perception of evils. |
| 22.52 Καί μοι ἐπ’ ἀνθρώπου τὸ παράδειγμα λάβε. Πρὶν γὰρ εἰκονισθῇ καὶ ζῷον γένηται τῇ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ τέχνῃ, τὸ μηδενὸς ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν κακῶν παρὰ τῆς φύσεως εἶχεν· ἀφ’ οὗ δὲ πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος γίνεται, καὶ τὴν αἴσθησιν τοῦ προσπελάζοντος κακοῦ προσλαμβάνει, καὶ τοῦθ’, ὅπερ ἐπ’ εὐεργεσίᾳ τῆς ὕλης πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ γεγονέναι λέγεις, εὑρίσκεται μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τῷ χείρονι προσγενόμενον αὐτῇ. | 22.52 And take the example for me in the case of a man. For before he was formed into an image and became a living creature by the craft of the Creator, he had from nature the state of not perceiving any evils; but from the time when he becomes a man by God, he also receives perception of the approaching evil; and that which you say came to be by God for the benefit of matter is found rather to have been added to it for the worse. |
| 22.53 Εἰ δ’ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ δύνασθαι τὸν θεὸν ἀνελεῖν τὰ κακὰ τὸ μὴ πεπαῦσθαι λέγεις, ἀδύνατον τὸν θεὸν φήσεις ὑπάρχειν. Τὸ δὲ ἀδύνατον ἤτοι τῷ φύσει ἀσθενῆ ὑπάρχειν αὐτὸν ἔσται, ἢ τῷ νικᾶσθαι τῷ φόβῳ δεδουλωμένον πρός τινος κρείττονος. | 22.53 But if you say that from God's inability to destroy evils they have not ceased, you will say that God is powerless. And His being powerless will be either through His being naturally weak, or through His being overcome and enslaved by fear of someone greater. |
| 22.54 Εἰ μὲν οὖν τὸν θεὸν φύσει ἀσθενῆ ὄντα τολμήσεις εἰπεῖν, περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῆς κινδυνεύειν μοι δοκεῖς· εἰ δὲ τῷ νικᾶσθαι φόβῳ πρός του μείζονος, μείζονα ἔσται τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ κακὰ, νικῶντα τῆς προαιρέσεως αὐτοῦ τὴν ὁρμήν· ὅπερ ἄτοπον εἶναί μοι λέγειν περὶ θεοῦ δοκεῖ. | 22.54 If, on the one hand, you dare to say that God is naturally weak, you seem to me to run a risk concerning His very salvation; but if through being overcome by fear of someone greater, evils will be greater than God, overcoming the impulse of His choice—which seems to me absurd to say concerning God. |
| 22.55 Διὰ τί γὰρ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ταῦτ’ ἔσονται θεοὶ, νικᾶν κατὰ τὸν λόγον τὸν σὸν δυνάμενα τὸν θεὸν, εἴπερ θεὸν ἐκεῖνό φαμεν ὃ τὴν ἁπάντων ἐξουσίαν ἔχει; | 22.55 For why will these things not rather be gods, being able according to your argument to overcome God, if indeed we say that God is that which has authority over all things? |
| 22.56 Βραχέα δέ σου καὶ περὶ τῆς ὕλης αὐτῆς πυθέσθαι βούλομαι· καί μοι φέρων λέγε, πότερον ἁπλῆ τις ἦν ἡ ὕλη, ἢ σύνθετος; Ἡ γὰρ διαφορὰ τῶν γεγονότων εἰς τοιαύτην με περιίστησιν ἐξέτασιν τοῦδε τοῦ λόγου. Εἰ γὰρ ἁπλῆ τις ἐτύγχανεν ἡ ὕλη καὶ μονοειδὴς, σύνθετος δὲ ὁ κόσμος, καὶ ἐκ διαφόρων οὐσιῶν τε καὶ κράσεων τὴν σύστασιν ἔχει [... ] τὸ γὰρ σύνθετον ἁπλῶν τινων μίξιν μηνύει. | 22.56 But I wish to inquire of you briefly concerning matter itself; tell me, was matter something simple, or compound? For the difference of created things brings me around to such an examination of this argument. For if matter happened to be something simple and uniform, but the cosmos is compound, and has its constitution from different substances and mixtures [... ], for the compound indicates a mixture of certain simple things. |
| 22.57 Εἰ δ’ αὖ πάλιν τὴν ὕλην σύνθετον λέγειν ἐθέλοις, πάντως ἐξ ἁπλῶν τινων συντεθεῖσθαι φήσεις. Εἰ δὲ ἐξ ἁπλῶν συνετέθη, ἦν ποτε καθ’ ἑαυτὰ τὰ ἁπλᾶ, ὧν συντεθέντων γέγονεν ἡ ὕλη, ἐξ οὗπερ καὶ γεννητὴ οὖσα δείκνυται. | 22.57 But if on the other hand you should wish to say matter is compound, you will certainly say it was composed of certain simple things. And if it was composed of simple things, the simple things were once by themselves, upon whose composition matter came to be—from which it is demonstrated as being created. |
| 22.58 Εἰ γὰρ σύνθετος ἡ ὕλη, τὰ δὲ σύνθετα ἐξ ἁπλῶν τὴν σύστασιν ἔχει, ἦν ποτε καιρὸς ὅτε ἡ ὕλη οὐκ ἦν, τουτέστι πρὶν τὰ ἁπλᾶ συνελθεῖν· εἰ δὲ ἦν ποτε καιρὸς ὅτε ἡ ὕλη οὐκ ἦν, οὐκ ἦν δέ ποτε καιρὸς ὅτε τὸ ἀγέννητον οὐκ ἦν, οὐκ ἔσται ἀγέννητος ἡ ὕλη. | 22.58 For if matter is compound, and compound things have their constitution from simple things, there was once a time when matter was not—that is, before the simple things came together. But if there was once a time when matter was not, and there was never a time when the uncreated was not, matter will not be uncreated. |
| 22.59 Τὸ δ’ ἐντεῦθεν ἄρα ἔσται πολλὰ τὰ ἀγέννητα. Εἰ γὰρ ἦν ἀγέννητος ὁ θεὸς καὶ τὰ ἁπλᾶ ἐξ ὧν ἡ ὕλη συνετέθη, οὐκ ἔσται δύο μόνα τὰ ἀγέννητα. Δοκεῖ δέ σοι μηδὲν τῶν ὄντων αὐτὸ ἑαυτῷ ἀντικεῖσθαι; — Δοκεῖ. | 22.59 And what follows from this, then, will be that the uncreated things are many. For if God was uncreated and the simple things out of which matter was composed, the uncreated things will not be two only. Does it seem to you that none of the things that exist is opposed to itself? — It seems so. |
| 22.60 — Ἀντίκειται δὲ τῷ πυρὶ τὸ ὕδωρ; — Ἀντικεῖσθαί μοι φαίνεται. — Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῷ φωτὶ τὸ σκότος καὶ τῷ ψυχρῷ τὸ θερμὸν, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ τῷ ξηρῷ τὸ ὑγρόν; — Οὕτως ἔχειν μοι δοκεῖ. | 22.60 — And is water opposed to fire? — It appears to me to be opposed. — And likewise darkness to light, and cold to heat, and in addition to these dry to moist? — So it seems to me to be. |
| 22.61 — Οὐκοῦν εἰ μηδὲν τῶν ὄντων αὐτὸ ἑαυτῷ ἀντίκειται, οὐκ ἔσονται ὕλη μία, οὐδὲ μὴν ἐξ ὕλης μιᾶς. Ὅμοιον δέ τινα τούτῳ λόγον πάλιν πυθέσθαι σου βούλομαι. Δοκεῖ σοι τὰ μέρη μὴ ἀναιρετικὰ τυγχάνειν ἀλλήλων; — Δοκεῖ. | 22.61 — Therefore, if none of existing things is opposed to itself, they will not be one matter, nor indeed from one matter. And I wish to ask you again a certain argument similar to this. Do parts seem to you not to be destructive of one another? — It seems so. |
| 22.62 — Εἶναι δὲ τῆς ὕλης μέρη τό τε πῦρ καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ τὰ λοιπά; — Οὕτως ἔχει. — Τί δέ; Οὐ δοκεῖ σοι ἀνατρεπτικὸν μὲν εἶναι τοῦ πυρὸς τὸ ὕδωρ, τοῦ δὲ σκότους τὸ φῶς, καὶ τἄλλα ὅσα τούτοις παραπλήσια; — Δοκεῖ. | 22.62 — And are fire and water parts of matter, and likewise the rest? — So it is. — What then? Does it not seem to you that water is destructive of fire, and light of darkness, and all other things as many as are similar to these? — It seems so. |
| 22.63 — Οὐκοῦν εἰ τὰ μέρη οὐκ ἔστιν ἀλλήλων ἀναιρετικὰ, οὐκ ἔσται ἀλλήλων μέρη· εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀλλήλων μέρη, οὐκ ἔσονται ὕλης μιᾶς. Ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδ’ αὐτὰ ἔσονται ὕλη τῷ μηδέν τι τῶν ὄντων αὐτὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἀναιρετικὸν ὑπάρχειν κατὰ τὸν τοῦ ἀντικειμένου λόγον. | 22.63 — Therefore, if parts are not destructive of one another, they will not be parts of one another; and if they are not parts of one another, they will not be of one matter. Nay, nor will they themselves be matter, by virtue of nothing that exists being destructive of itself according to the definition of the contrary. |
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22.64
Οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστί τι αὑτῷ ἀντικείμενον· τὰ γὰρ ἀντικείμενα ἑτέροις ἀντικεῖσθαι πέφυκεν. Οἷον τὸ λευκὸν αὐτὸ ἑαυτῷ οὐκ ἀντίκειται, πρὸς δὲ τὸ μέλαν ἀντικείμενον λέγεται· καὶ τὸ φῶς ὁμοίως ἑαυτῷ μὴ ἀντικεῖσθαι δείκνυται, πρὸς δὲ τὸ σκότος οὕτως ἔχον φαίνεται, καὶ ἄλλα γοῦν ὁμοίως πλεῖστα ὅσα. Εἰ τοίνυν καὶ ὕλη μία τις ἦν, οὐκ ἂν αὐτὴ αὑτῇ ἀντέκειτο. Οὕτω δὲ τῶν ἀντικειμένων ἐχόντων τὸ μὴ εἶναι τὴν ὕλην δείκνυται.»
Τοσαῦτα καὶ ὁ προδηλωθεὶς συγγραφεύς. Αὐτάρκη δὲ περιγραφὴν εἰληφότος τοῦ λόγου, ἐπὶ τὸν ὄγδοον τῆς Εὐαγγελικῆς Προπαρασκευῆς μεταβάντες, τὰ λείποντα τῷ προκειμένῳ σκέμματι, σύμμαχον ἐπικαλεσάμενοι τὸν θεὸν, ἀναπληρώσομεν. |
22.64
For nothing is opposed to itself; for contraries are fitted by nature to be opposed to others. For example, white is not opposed to itself, but is said to be opposed to black; and light likewise is shown not to be opposed to itself, but appears to be so disposed toward darkness, and very many other things similarly. If, therefore, matter were also some single thing, it would not be opposed to itself. But since contraries are thus disposed, it is demonstrated that matter does not exist."
So far the aforementioned writer. And the argument having received a sufficient conclusion, let us pass over to the eighth book of the Evangelical Preparation, and calling upon God as our ally, complete what is lacking to the present inquiry. |