To Autolycus
To Autolycus
continued
Book 2
Occasion of Writing This Book.
1 Some days ago we had a conversation, my excellent Autolycus. You asked who my God is, and for a short while you gave me your attention while I explained my religion to you. Then we said a warm goodbye to each other and each went home, even though at first you had been harsh toward me. You know and remember that you took our teaching to be foolishness. Afterward you urged me to write, and although I am untrained in the art of speaking, I now want to use this treatise to show you more exactly the futile labor and empty religion in which you are held. I also want to make the truth plain to you from a few of the histories of your own people which you read, but perhaps do not yet understand.
The Gods are Despised When They are Made; But Become Valuable When Bought.
2 It seems to me ridiculous that stonecutters, sculptors, painters, and metal-casters should shape, paint, carve, and cast, and so manufacture gods. Once the craftsmen have made these gods, no one thinks anything of them. But when someone buys them and sets them up in a so-called temple or in some house, then not only do the buyers sacrifice to them, but the very men who made and sold them come with great eagerness and a display of sacrifices and drink offerings to worship them. They count them as gods, not realizing that these things are just what they were when they made them: stone, bronze, wood, paint, or some other material. The same thing has happened to you who read the histories and genealogies of the so-called gods. When you read of their births, you understand them to be men. Later you call them gods and worship them. You do not stop to consider or understand that they were exactly the kind of beings you read about at their birth.
What Has Become of the Gods?
3a If those gods were really born, then in their time there was plenty of divine begetting. But where is the birth of a god shown now? If they begot and were begotten then, it is clear that begotten gods ought to keep appearing down to this day. If not, this will be taken as a sign of weakness. Either they have grown old, and so no longer beget, or they have died, and no longer exist. For if gods were born, they ought to be born even now, just as men are. In fact there ought to be more gods than men, as the Sibyl says: “If gods beget, and yet remain immortal, the gods that were born would be more numerous than men, and there would never have been room for mortals to stand.” Children are still born to men, who are mortal and short-lived. People have not stopped being born, and so cities and villages are crowded and the countryside is inhabited. How much more ought the gods, who according to the poets do not die, to beget and be begotten, if, as you say, the birth of the gods really took place?[23]
3b Why was the mountain called Olympus once inhabited by the gods, but now stands empty? Or why did Zeus once live on Ida, and was known to live there according to Homer and the other poets, but is now unknown? And why was he not everywhere, but found in only one part of the earth? Either he neglected the rest, or he was unable to be everywhere and to care for everything. For if he was, say, in an eastern place, he was not in a western one; and if he was in the west, he was not in the east. But it belongs to God, the Most High, the Almighty, the God who truly is God, not only to be everywhere, but also to watch over all things and hear all things. Nor can he be contained in a place. Otherwise the place that contained him would turn out to be greater than he is, for what contains is greater than what is contained. God is not contained; he himself is the place of all things. And why did Zeus leave Ida?
3c Did he die, or did that mountain no longer please him? And where did he go? To the heavens? No. Perhaps you will say, to Crete? Yes, for his tomb is shown there to this day. Or again you will say, to Pisa, where he still brings glory to the hands of Phidias. Let us turn, then, to the writings of the philosophers and poets.[24]
Absurd Opinions of the Philosophers Concerning God.
4a Some of the Stoics deny altogether that there is a God. Or, if there is one, they say that God cares for nothing except himself. The folly of Epicurus and Chrysippus has declared these things outright. Others say that everything happens by chance, that the world was never created, and that nature is eternal. They have dared to say that there is no providence of God at all, and that God is only each person’s conscience. Others again teach that the spirit that pervades everything is God. Plato and his school acknowledge that God is uncreated, the Father and Maker of all things. But then they assume that matter, as well as God, is uncreated, and they say that matter is as old as God. Yet if God is uncreated and matter is uncreated, then by the Platonists’ own account God is no longer the Maker of all things. And as far as their view goes, the sole rule of God is not shown either.[25]
4b Furthermore, just as God, being uncreated, is also unchangeable, so if matter were uncreated it too would be unchangeable and equal to God. For what is created is changeable and alterable, but what is uncreated is unchangeable and unalterable. And what is so great about God making the world out of matter that was already there? A human craftsman, too, when he receives material from someone, makes from it whatever he wishes. But God’s power is shown in this: out of things that do not exist he makes whatever he wishes. In the same way, giving life and movement belongs to no one but God alone. A man makes an image, but he cannot give reason, breath or sensation to what he has made. God has this power beyond man’s: he makes a being that is rational, breathing and able to sense. So just as God is more powerful than man in all these things, so he is in this too: out of things that do not exist he makes, and has made, the things that exist, whatever he wishes and as he wishes.[26]
Opinions of Homer and Hesiod Concerning the Gods.
5a So the philosophers and writers do not agree with one another. While they have made these statements, the poet Homer is found explaining the origin not only of the world but also of the gods on a different basis. For he says somewhere: “Oceanus, the origin of the gods, and mother Tethys, from whom come all rivers and every sea.” In saying this he does not establish God at all. For who does not know that the ocean is water? And if it is water, it is not God. And if God is the maker of all things, as he is, then he is also the creator of the water and the seas. Hesiod also declared the origin not only of the gods but of the world itself. And though he said the world was created, he was too weak to say by whom it was made.[27] 5b Hesiod also called Cronus a god, and Cronus’s son Zeus, and Poseidon and Pluto. Yet we find that these came after the world. He also records that Cronus was warred against by his own child Zeus. He says: “Having conquered his father Cronus by might, he arranged each matter well among the immortals alike, and declared their honors.” Then he goes on to speak of the daughters of Zeus, whom he calls Muses. He appears as their suppliant, wanting to learn from them how all things came to be. He says: “Hail, children of Zeus, and give me lovely song. Celebrate the holy race of the immortals who live forever, who were born of Earth and starry Heaven, and of dusky Night, and whom the salt sea nourished. Tell how in the beginning the gods and the earth came to be, and the rivers, and the boundless sea raging with its swell, and the shining stars, and the wide heaven above. Tell also of the gods who were born from these, the givers of good things, and how they shared out their wealth and divided their honors.”[28]
5c “And how at the first they came to hold many-folded Olympus. Tell me these things, Muses who have your homes on Olympus, from the beginning, and say which of them came first.” But how did the Muses know these things, when they came after the world? Or how could they tell them to Hesiod, when their father had not yet been born?[29]
Hesiod on the Origin of the World.
6a In a certain way Hesiod does assume matter and a making of the world, when he says: “First of all Chaos came to be, and then broad-breasted Earth, the safe seat forever of all the immortals who hold the peak of snowy Olympus, and misty Tartarus in the recess of the wide-wayed earth, and Eros, the fairest among the immortal gods, who loosens the limbs and overpowers the mind and wise counsel in the breasts of all gods and all men. From Chaos came Erebus and black Night. And from Night again came Aether and Day, whom she bore after conceiving, mingling in love with Erebus. Earth first bore starry Heaven, equal to herself, to cover her on every side, so that he might be a safe seat forever for the blessed gods. She bore tall mountains, the pleasant haunts of the goddesses, the Nymphs who live in the wooded mountains. She also bore the barren sea, raging with its swell, Pontus, without any sweet union of love. Then, having lain with Heaven, she bore deep-swirling Ocean.”[30]
6b Even after saying all this, Hesiod still has not shown by whom these things came to be. Suppose Chaos was among the first things, and some unbegotten matter already lay there beforehand. Who, then, was the one who reworked it, rearranged it and reshaped it? Did matter reshape itself and put itself in order? (It could not have been Zeus. He was born a long time afterward, after matter, and also after the world and a multitude of people, and so was his father Cronus.) Or rather, was there some ruling power that made it? I mean God, who also set it in order. Besides, Hesiod is found talking nonsense in every way, and contradicting himself. He names earth, heaven and sea, and wants the gods to have come from them. From these he then announces certain most fearsome men, kin to the gods: the race of the Titans and Cyclopes, and a multitude of giants, and of the demons of Egypt, or vain men. Apollonides, also called Horapius, records these things in the book entitled Semenouthi and in his other histories. These deal with the religion of the Egyptians, their kings, and their futile pursuits.
The Prophet's Inspired by the Holy Ghost.
7a Why should I go over the Greek myths? Pluto is said to rule over darkness. Poseidon is said to go down beneath the sea, embrace Melanippe, and father a man-eating son. Then there is everything the writers have dramatized about the children of Zeus. These writers themselves list the family lines of these figures, which shows they were born men and not gods. The comic poet Aristophanes, in the play called *The Birds*, took up the making of the world. He said that at the beginning the world’s structure was an egg, in these words: “First of all, black-winged Night bore a wind-egg.” Satyrus also wrote a history of the districts of Alexandria. He begins with Philopator, who was also called Ptolemy, and shows that Dionysus was the founder of his line. For this reason Ptolemy first set up the Dionysian tribe. Satyrus writes as follows. From Dionysus and Althaea, the daughter of Thestius, was born Deianeira. From her and Heracles, the son of Zeus, came Hyllus, I suppose. From him came Cleodemus, and from him Aristomachus, then Temenus, Ceisus, Maron, Thestius, Acous, Aristomidas, Caranus, Coenus, Tyrimmas, Perdiccas, Philip, Aeropus, Alcetas, Amyntas, Bocrus, and Meleager, and from him Arsinoe. From her and Lagus came Ptolemy Soter. From him and Berenice came Ptolemy Philadelphus. From him and Arsinoe came Ptolemy Euergetes. From him and Berenice, the daughter of Magas who was king in Cyrene, came Ptolemy Philopator.[31]
7b This, then, is how the kings who reigned in Alexandria were related to Dionysus. For this reason the Dionysian tribe also has districts assigned to it. There is Althais, from the woman who became Dionysus’s wife, Althaea, the daughter of Thestius. There is Deianeiris, from the daughter of Dionysus and Althaea, who became the wife of Heracles. The districts under them take their names from the same source. Ariadnis is named for Ariadne, the daughter of Minos and wife of Dionysus, a child devoted to her father, who lay with Dionysus in a certain form. Thestis is named for Thestius, the father of Althaea. Thoantis is named for Thoas, a son of Dionysus. Staphylis is named for Staphylus, a son of Dionysus. Euainis is named for Eunoos, a son of Dionysus. Maronis is named for Maron, a son of Ariadne and Dionysus. All of these were sons of Dionysus. Many other names have also arisen and remain to this day. The Heraclidae are named from Heracles, the Apollonidae and Apollonii from Apollo, and the Poseidonii from Poseidon. From Zeus come the Dii and the Diogenai.[32]
The World Created by God Through the Word.
8a Why should I go on listing the great number of such names and genealogies? In every way, all these writers, poets, and so-called philosophers are made fools of, and so are those who pay attention to them. For what they composed about their own gods was myths and foolishness rather than anything else. They did not show them to be gods at all, but men, some of them drunkards, others fornicators and murderers. They also said contradictory and worthless things about the origin of the world. First, some declared that the world was uncreated, as we showed earlier. Those who said it was uncreated and of eternal nature spoke in ways that do not fit with those who taught that it was created. For they said these things by guesswork and human reasoning, not according to the truth. Others, in turn, said that there is providence, and they overturned the teachings of the first group.
8b Aratus, for example, says: “Let us begin with Zeus, whom we men never leave unspoken. All the streets are full of Zeus, and all the marketplaces of men. The sea is full of him, and the harbors. Everywhere we all have need of Zeus, for we are also his offspring. And he, kindly to men, gives favorable signs. He rouses the people to work, reminding them of their livelihood. He tells when the soil is best for oxen and mattocks. He tells when the seasons are right for digging around the plants and for sowing every kind of seed.” So whom shall we believe? This Aratus, or Sophocles, who says: “Providence is clear to no one; it is best to live at random, as best one can”? Homer, in turn, does not agree with Sophocles, for he says: “Zeus increases and diminishes the excellence of men.” And Simonides says: “No one has gained excellence without the gods, neither city nor mortal. God is all-wise.”[33]
8c Simonides goes on: “Among mortals nothing is free from harm.” Euripides says the same: “Apart from God, men have nothing.” Menander says: “Then no one cares for us, except God alone.” Euripides again: “For when it seems good to God to save, he gives many occasions for rescue.” And Thestius: “If God wills it, you are saved even if you sail on a reed mat.” They said countless things like this, and they contradicted themselves. Sophocles, for one, denies providence in one place, but in another he says: “No mortal can leap over the blow of God.” Besides, they brought in a multitude of gods, or else spoke of a single rule. And when they said there is providence, they said the opposite of those who say there is no providence. So Euripides admits: “We toil hard, driven by hopes, laboring in vain, knowing nothing.” Even against their will they confess that they do not know the truth. They were inspired by demons and puffed up by them, and whatever they said, they said through the demons.[34]
8d For the poets, Homer and Hesiod, who were inspired by the Muses, as they say, spoke from illusion and error, and not by a pure spirit but a deceiving one. This is clearly shown by the fact that even to this day people possessed by demons are sometimes exorcised in the name of the God who truly is. These deceiving spirits themselves confess that they are demons, the same ones who worked in those poets back then. Yet sometimes some of the poets became sober in soul and free of these spirits, and they said things in agreement with the prophets. This was to serve as a witness both to themselves and to all people, about the single rule of God, the judgment, and the other things they spoke of.
The Prophet's Inspired by the Holy Ghost.
9 But the men of God were bearers of the Holy Spirit. They became prophets, inspired and made wise by God himself, and so they became taught by God, holy and righteous. For this reason they were counted worthy to receive this reward: they became instruments of God and received the wisdom that comes from him. Through this wisdom they spoke about the creation of the world and everything else. They also foretold plagues, famines and wars. And there was not just one or two of them, but many, at different times and seasons among the Hebrews. Among the Greeks, too, there was the Sibyl. All of them spoke in friendly agreement with one another about what had happened before their time, what happened in their own time, and what is now being fulfilled in our time. So we are convinced that the things still to come will happen too, just as the earlier things have been completed.[35] [2 Peter 1:21]
The World Created by God Through the Word.
10a First, they taught us in agreement that God made all things out of nothing. For nothing existed alongside God. He is his own place and needs nothing, and he existed before the ages. He willed to make man, so that he might be known by him, and for man he prepared the world. For whatever is created also has needs, but the one who is uncreated needs nothing. So God had his own Word, internal within his own inward being. Before all things he begat him, bringing him forth along with his own wisdom. God used this Word as his servant in what he made, and through him he made all things. He is called “Beginning” because he rules and is lord over everything made through him. So this Word is the Spirit of God, and Beginning, and Wisdom, and Power of the Most High. He came down upon the prophets, and through them he spoke about the making of the world and everything else.[36] [John 1:3; Luke 1:35]
10b For the prophets did not exist when the world came into being. What existed was the wisdom of God that is in him, and his holy Word, who is always present with him. That is why he speaks this way through the prophet Solomon: “When he prepared the heaven, I was present with him, and when he made the foundations of the earth strong, I was beside him, fitting things together.” Moses, who lived many years before Solomon (or rather the Word of God speaking through Moses as through an instrument), says: “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.” First he named the “beginning” and the “making,” and only then did he bring in God. For one should not name God idly or for no reason. The divine wisdom knew in advance that some people would talk nonsense and name a multitude of gods who do not exist.[37] [Proverbs 8:27-30; Genesis 1:1]
10c So that the God who truly is might be understood through his works, and so that people might know that God made heaven and earth and everything in them by his Word, Moses said: “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.” Then, after speaking of their making, he explains to us: “But the earth was invisible and unformed, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God was borne along above the water.” Divine Scripture teaches these things first of all: in some sense there was a created matter, brought into being by God, from which God made and fashioned the world.[38] [Genesis 1:1-2]
The Six Days' Work Described.
11a The beginning of creation is light, because light makes visible the things that are put in order. So Scripture says: “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that the light was good,” plainly meaning that it was made good for man. “And he separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the middle of the water, and let it separate water from water. And it was so. And God made the firmament. And God separated the water that was beneath the firmament from the water that was above the firmament.”[39] [Genesis 1:3-7] 11b “And God called the firmament Heaven. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. And God said, Let the water under heaven be gathered into one gathering, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. And the water under heaven was gathered into its gatherings, and the dry land appeared. And God called the dry land Earth, and the collections of waters he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth sprout vegetation, grass bearing seed according to its kind and likeness, and fruit trees producing fruit, whose seed is in it, according to its kind, on the earth.” [Genesis 1:8-11]
11c “And it was so. And the earth brought forth vegetation, grass bearing seed according to its kind and likeness, and fruit trees producing fruit, whose seed is in it, according to its kind, on the earth. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven, to give light upon the earth, to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. And let them be lights in the firmament of heaven, to shine upon the earth. And it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars.”[40] [Genesis 1:11-16] 11d “And God set them in the firmament of heaven, to shine upon the earth, and to rule the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. And God said, Let the waters bring forth moving creatures with living souls, and birds flying over the earth across the firmament of heaven. And it was so. And God made the great sea creatures, and every living soul of creeping animals which the waters brought forth according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that they were good. And God blessed them, saying, Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea. And let the birds multiply on the earth.” [Genesis 1:17-22]
11e And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth a living creature according to its kind: four-footed animals, creeping things, and wild beasts of the earth according to their kind.” And it was so. God made the wild beasts of the earth according to their kind, the livestock according to their kind, and all the creeping things according to their kind. And God saw that they were good. And God said, “Let us make man in our image and likeness. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and all the creeping things that creep on the earth.” And God made man. In the image of God he made him; male and female he made them. [Genesis 1:23-27] 11f And God blessed them, saying, “Increase and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, all the livestock, all the earth, and all the creeping things that creep on the earth.” And God said, “Look, I have given you every seed-bearing plant that is on the whole earth, and every tree that has in it fruit with seed for sowing. These will be food for you. And to all the wild animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, which has in it the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw all the things that he had made, and look, they were very good.[41] [Genesis 1:28-31]
11g And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day. And heaven and earth were completed, and all their order. On the sixth day God completed his works that he had made, and on the seventh day he rested from all his works that he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all his works that God had begun to make.[42] [Genesis 1:31; Genesis 2:1-3]
The Glory of the Six Days' Work.
12a No human being could explain the Six Days and set out the whole of God’s ordering of them as they deserve, not even with ten thousand mouths and ten thousand tongues. Nor, if someone lived ten thousand years as a visitor in this life, would he even then be able to say anything worthy of these things. This is because of the surpassing greatness and riches of God’s wisdom, which is found in the six-day work written above. Many writers have imitated it and wanted to give an account of these matters. They took their starting points from here, whether about the creation of the world or the nature of man, yet they did not utter even a chance spark worthy of the truth. What the philosophers, writers, and poets say seems trustworthy, because it is dressed up in fine language.[43] [Romans 11:33] 12b But their discourse is shown to be foolish and empty, because the mass of their nonsense is great and not even a chance bit of truth is found in them. Even if something true seems to have been spoken through them, it is mixed with error. A poisonous drug mixed with honey, wine, or something else makes the whole mixture harmful and useless. In the same way, their long-windedness turns out to be wasted effort, and rather a harm to those who trust it. Then there is the seventh day. All people name it, but most do not know that what the Hebrews call “sabbath” is translated in Greek as “hebdomas” (a group of seven, that is, a week). Every race of mankind uses this name, but they do not know why they call it that.
12c Hesiod the poet says that Erebus came from Chaos, and also Earth and Love, who rules over the gods and men of his poem. This statement is shown to be vain and cold, and foreign to all truth. For God must not be overcome by pleasure. Even self-controlled men keep away from every shameful pleasure and evil desire.[44]
Remarks on the Creation of the World.
13a Hesiod’s idea is also merely human, lowly and very weak when measured against God, because he begins his account of how things were made from the earthly things down below. A man, being down below, starts building from the ground. He cannot properly put on the roof unless he has first laid a foundation. God’s power, however, is shown in this: first he makes the things that come to be out of things that did not exist, and then he makes them as he wishes. For what is impossible with men is possible with God. That is why the prophet said that the heaven was made first, serving as a kind of roof. He says, “In the beginning God made the heaven.” That is, the heaven came to be through the beginning, as we have already shown.[45] [Genesis 1:1; Luke 18:27] 13b By “earth” he means, in effect, the ground and foundation. By “abyss” he means the great mass of waters. “Darkness” is mentioned because the heaven that God made covered the waters and the earth like a lid. The “Spirit borne above the water” is the one God gave to bring the creation to life, as he gave a soul to man. He blended what is fine with what is fine, for spirit is fine and water is fine. He did this so that the spirit might nourish the water, and the water, penetrating everywhere with the spirit, might nourish the creation. The one Spirit, holding the place of light, stood between the water and the heaven. Its purpose was that the darkness should in no way share in the heaven, which is nearer to God, before God said, “Let there be light.”[46] [Genesis 1:2; Genesis 1:3]
13c So the heaven, being like a vaulted roof, enclosed the raw matter, which was like a clod of earth. Another prophet, Isaiah by name, also speaks about the heaven. He says, “This is God who made the heaven like a vault, and stretched it out like a tent to be lived in.” So God’s command, that is, his Word, shone like a lamp in an enclosed room. It lit up the region under heaven, having made the light separate from the world. God called the light Day and the darkness Night. Otherwise man would not have known how to call the light day or the darkness night. Nor would he have known the names of the other things, unless he had received the naming from God, who made them. So at the very beginning of the history and of the creation of the world, the holy Scripture is speaking not about this firmament we see, but about another heaven that is invisible to us. After that heaven, this visible heaven was called “firmament.” Half of the water was taken up onto it, so that it might serve humanity as rains, showers and dews.[47] [Isaiah 40:22; Genesis 1:5]
13d The other half of the water was left on the earth for rivers, springs and seas. The water was still covering the earth, especially its hollow places. So God, through his Word, had the water gathered into one gathering and made the dry land visible, which before had been invisible. But the earth, though now visible, was still unfurnished. So God furnished and adorned it with all kinds of grasses, seeds and plants.[48] [Genesis 1:9; Genesis 1:11]
The World Compared to the Sea.
14a Now consider the variety, the differing beauty and the abundance in these things. Through them the resurrection is shown, as a sample of the resurrection of all people that is to come. For who that thinks about it will not marvel that a fig tree grows from a tiny fig seed, or that the other very small seeds produce enormous trees? We say that the world is like the sea. The sea would have dried up long ago because of its saltiness if rivers and springs did not flow into it and keep supplying it. In the same way, the world would already have failed because of the wickedness and sin that abound in it, if it did not have God’s law and the prophets. These flow and well up with sweetness, compassion and righteousness, and with the teaching of God’s holy commandments. 14b In the sea there are islands. Some are inhabited, well watered and fruitful, with anchorages and harbors where storm-tossed sailors can find refuge. In the same way God has given to the world, which is tossed and battered by sins, the assemblies, which we call holy churches. In these, as in sheltered island harbors, the teachings of the truth are found. Those who want to be saved run to them: lovers of the truth who wish to escape the wrath and judgment of God. But there are other islands, rocky, dry, barren, full of wild beasts and uninhabited. They harm those who sail and are caught in storms, so that ships are broken up on them and those who land there perish. In the same way there are teachings of error. I mean the heresies, which destroy those who come near them. For they are not guided by the word of truth. Pirates, when they have filled ships, drive them onto the places I have mentioned in order to destroy them. In the same way, those who wander from the truth are destroyed by error.[49]
Of the Fourth Day.
15a On the fourth day the lights were made. God knows all things beforehand, and so he knew the empty talk of vain philosophers. They were going to say that the things growing on the earth come from the heavenly bodies, as a way of setting God aside. So that the truth might be shown, the plants and seeds came into being before the heavenly bodies. For what comes later cannot produce what came before it. These things also hold a sign and pattern of a great mystery. The sun is a type of God, and the moon a type of man. As the sun differs greatly from the moon in power and glory, so God differs greatly from humanity. As the sun always remains full and never grows smaller, so God always remains perfect, full of all power, understanding, wisdom, immortality and every good thing.[50] [Genesis 1:14-19] 15b The moon wanes each month and in a sense dies, being a type of man. Then it is born again and grows, as a sign of the resurrection that is to come. In the same way the three days that came before the lights are types of the Trinity: of God, his Word, and his Wisdom. The fourth type is man, who needs light. So there are God, the Word, Wisdom, and man. This is why the lights were made on the fourth day. The placement of the stars also has an order and arrangement that stands for the righteous, the godly, and those who keep the law and commandments of God. The conspicuous, bright stars are in imitation of the prophets. This is why they stay fixed and do not move from place to place. Those that hold a second rank of brightness are types of the people of the righteous. But those that move and flee from place to place, which are also called “wanderers” (planets), are themselves a type of people who fall away from God and abandon his law and commands.[51]
Of the Fifth Day.
16 On the fifth day the living creatures came from the waters. Here too the many-sided wisdom of God is shown. Who could count the multitude of them and their wonderfully varied offspring? Further, the creatures that came from the waters were blessed by God. This too was to be a sign that people would receive repentance and forgiveness of sins through water and the washing of new birth. This is for all who come to the truth, are born again, and receive a blessing from God. But the great sea creatures and the flesh-eating birds are a likeness of the greedy and of lawbreakers. Water creatures and birds are of one nature, yet some stay within their nature. They do not harm those weaker than themselves, but keep God’s law and eat the seeds of the earth. Others of them break God’s law by eating flesh and wronging those weaker than themselves. In the same way the righteous, who keep God’s law, bite and harm no one, living holy and just lives. But robbers, murderers and the godless are like the sea monsters, the wild beasts and the flesh-eating birds. For by force they swallow up those weaker than themselves. The offspring of the water creatures and of the creeping things shared in God’s blessing, but they have nothing very distinctive of their own.[52] [Ephesians 3:10; Titus 3:5; Genesis 1:22]
Of the Sixth Day.
17a On the sixth day God made the four-footed animals, the wild beasts and the reptiles of the land. He says nothing about blessing them, because he was keeping his blessing for the man whom he was about to make on that sixth day. At the same time, the four-footed animals and wild beasts were made as a type of certain people who do not know God and are ungodly, who set their minds on earthly things and do not repent. But those who turn away from their lawless deeds and live righteously fly up in their souls like birds. They set their minds on things above and are pleasing to God’s will. Those who do not know God and are ungodly are like birds that have wings but cannot fly up, and cannot run to the heights of the divine. In the same way such people are called human beings, but they set their minds on low, ground-bound and earthly things, weighed down by their sins.[53] [Genesis 1:24-25; Colossians 3:2; Philippians 3:19]
17b The animals are called “wild beasts” (thēria) from being hunted (thēreuesthai). They were not made evil or venomous from the beginning. Nothing evil was made by God. Everything was good, and very good. It was man’s sin that made them evil. When man transgressed, they transgressed along with him. Think of the master of a house. If he himself does well, his household servants of necessity live in good order. But if the master sins, the servants sin along with him. In the same way, since man, who is lord, sinned, the creatures that were his servants sinned with him. So when man turns back again to what is natural to him and no longer does evil, those creatures too will be restored to their original gentleness.[54] [Genesis 1:31]
The Creation of Man.
18 As for the making of man, man cannot put into words how he was created, even though the divine Scripture gives a short statement about it. When God says, “Let us make man in our image and according to our likeness,” he first shows the dignity of man. God made everything else by his word and counted it all as secondary work. He counts the making of man alone as the work of his own hands. Then again, God is found speaking as though he needed help, when he says, “Let us make man in our image and according to our likeness.” But he said “Let us make” to no one else than his own Word and his own Wisdom. When he had made man and blessed him to increase and fill the earth, he put everything under man’s control and in his service. He also directed that from the beginning man should live on the fruits of the earth, on seeds, green plants and the fruit of trees. At the same time he ordered that the animals should share man’s diet, so that they too would eat from all the seeds of the earth.[55] [Genesis 1:26; Genesis 1:28; Genesis 1:29-30]
Man is Placed in Paradise.
19a In this way God finished the heaven, the earth, the sea and everything in them on the sixth day, and on the seventh day he rested from all his works that he had made. Then Holy Scripture sums up, saying, “This is the book of the origin of heaven and earth, when it came about, on the day when God made heaven and earth, and every green plant of the field before it came to be, and every herb of the field before it sprang up. For God had not sent rain on the earth, and there was no man to work the ground.” By this he showed us that at that time the whole earth was watered by a divine spring and did not need man to work it. Instead the earth sent up everything of itself, at God’s command, so that man would not have to toil in working it.[56] [Genesis 2:1-2; Genesis 2:4-5]
19b Now, so that the forming of man might also be shown, and so that it should not seem a problem men could never solve (since God had said, “Let us make man,” and the making of him had not yet been revealed), Scripture teaches us, saying: “A spring was going up out of the earth and watering the whole face of the earth. And God formed man, dust from the earth, and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.” For this reason most people have also called the soul immortal. After forming man, God chose for him a place in the regions of the east. It was outstanding for its light, bright with clearer air, and full of very beautiful plants. In it he placed man.[57] [Genesis 2:6-7]
The Scriptural Account of Paradise.
20a Scripture gives the words of the sacred history this way: “And God planted Paradise in Eden toward the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And God made every tree grow out of the ground, pleasant to look at and good to eat. The tree of life was in the middle of Paradise, and so was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flows out of Eden to water Paradise, and from there it divides into four heads. The name of the first is Pison. This is the one that goes around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good, and there are also the carbuncle and the green stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon.[58] [Genesis 2:8-13] 20b “This is the one that goes around the whole land of Ethiopia. The third river is the Tigris. This is the one that flows opposite the Syrians. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. And the Lord God took the man whom he had formed and put him in Paradise to work it and keep it. And God commanded Adam, ‘You may eat food from every tree in Paradise. But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. On the day you eat from it, you will surely die.’ And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. Let us make him a helper like himself.’ And God also formed from the earth all the wild animals of the field and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to Adam.[59]
20c “And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. And Adam gave names to all the livestock, and to all the birds of the sky, and to all the wild animals of the field. But for Adam no helper like him was found. So God cast a trance over Adam, and he fell asleep. God took one of his ribs and filled up the place with flesh. And the Lord God built the rib he had taken from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam. And Adam said, ‘This now is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh. She will be called Woman, because she was taken from man. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ And the two of them were naked, Adam and his wife, and they were not ashamed.”
Of the Fall of Man.
21a “Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals on the earth that the Lord God had made. And the serpent said to the woman, ‘Why is it that God said, “You shall not eat from any tree of Paradise”?’ And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat from every tree of Paradise. But of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of Paradise, God said, “You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, or you will die.”’ And the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.’ And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes to look at, and beautiful to contemplate.[60] [Genesis 3:1-6] 21b “And she took some of its fruit and ate, and gave some to her husband with her, and they ate. And the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in Paradise toward evening. And Adam and his wife hid from the face of God among the trees of Paradise. And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said to him, ‘I heard your voice in Paradise, and I was afraid, because I am naked, and I hid.’ And he said to him, ‘Who told you that you are naked, unless you have eaten from the one tree I commanded you not to eat from?’[61] [Genesis 3:6-11]
21c Adam said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.” God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all the wild animals on the earth. You will go on your chest and your belly, and you will eat earth all the days of your life. I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will watch for your head, and you will watch for his heel.” And to the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pains and your groaning.”[62] [Genesis 3:12-16] 21d “In pain you will bear children, and your turning will be toward your husband, and he will rule over you.” To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate from the tree, the only one I commanded you not to eat from, cursed is the ground in your labors. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you will eat your bread, until you return to the earth from which you were taken. For you are earth, and to earth you will go back.” [Genesis 3:16-19]
Why God is Said to Have Walked.
22a You will say to me, then, “You claim that God cannot be contained in a place. How can you now say that he walked in Paradise?” Listen to what I say. God, the Father of all, cannot be contained and is not found in any place, for there is no place of his rest. But his Word, through whom he made all things, who is his power and his wisdom, took on the person of the Father and Lord of all. This Word came into Paradise in the person of God and spoke with Adam. For the divine Scripture itself teaches us that Adam said he heard the voice. And what else is this voice but the Word of God, who is also his Son?[63] [Isaiah 66:1; John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 1:24; Genesis 3:10] 22b This is not like the poets and writers of myths, who tell of sons of gods born from sexual union. Rather, as the truth explains, the Word always exists, held within the heart of God. Before anything came into being, God had him as his counselor, since he was God’s own mind and thought. But when God wished to make what he had planned, he begot this Word as an uttered Word, the firstborn of all creation. God himself was not emptied of his Word. Having begotten the Word, he is always in conversation with his Word. This is why the holy Scriptures teach us, and all the Spirit-bearing men, one of whom is John. He says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” He shows that at first God was alone, and the Word was in him. Then he says, “And the Word was God. All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being.” So the Word is God and is by nature born from God. Whenever the Father of all wills, he sends him to some place. Sent by the Father, the Word comes, is heard and seen, and is found in that place.[64] [John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15]
The Truth of the Account in Genesis.
23 God made man, then, on the sixth day, but he made known his forming of him after the seventh day, when he also made Paradise, so that man would be in a better place, a region set apart. The facts themselves show that this is true. For can we fail to see how women suffer the pains of childbirth and afterward forget the labor? This happens so that the word of God may be fulfilled, that the human race should grow and multiply. And can we fail to see the condemnation of the serpent, how loathsome it is, crawling on its belly and eating earth? This too is a proof for us of what was said earlier.[65] [Genesis 1:28; Genesis 3:14; Genesis 3:16; John 16:21]
The Beauty of Paradise,
24a God then made to spring up further from the earth every tree that was beautiful to look at and good to eat. At first there were only the things made on the third day: plants, seeds and grasses. But the things in Paradise were made with a special loveliness and beauty. It is even called a “planting,” planted by God. The world also has plants like the rest of them. But the two trees, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge, exist in no other land, only in Paradise. Scripture says that Paradise is earth and was planted on the earth: “And God planted a paradise in Eden toward the east, and put the man there. And God made to spring up further from the earth every tree beautiful to look at and good to eat.”[66] [Genesis 2:8-9] 24b By the words “further from the earth” and “toward the east,” the divine Scripture clearly teaches us that Paradise is under this heaven, the same heaven under which the east and the earth lie. The Hebrew word Eden means “delight.” Scripture also indicates that a river flows out of Eden to water Paradise, and from there divides into four heads. Two of these, called Pison and Gihon, water the eastern parts. Gihon especially circles the whole land of Ethiopia, and they say it appears again in Egypt as the river called the Nile. The other two rivers are plainly known among us, the Tigris and the Euphrates, for they run close to our own regions. God put the man in Paradise, as we have said, to work it and guard it. He commanded him to eat from all the fruits, evidently including the tree of life. Only from the tree of knowledge did he command him not to taste. God moved him from the earth, out of which he had been made, into Paradise. He gave him an opportunity to advance, so that by growing and becoming perfect, and even being declared a god, he might then ascend into heaven. (For man had been made in a middle state, neither wholly mortal nor wholly immortal, but able to receive either.[67] [Genesis 2:10-14; Genesis 2:15-17]
24c In the same way the place called Paradise was made, in its beauty, midway between the world and heaven. So man was to go up to heaven possessing eternity. When God said “work,” He meant no other work than keeping God’s commandment, so that man would not disobey and destroy himself, as he did destroy himself through sin.[68] [Genesis 2:15]
God Was Justified in Forbidding Man to Eat of the Tree of Knowledge.
25a The tree of knowledge was itself good, and its fruit was good. It was not the tree that held death, as some suppose, but the disobedience. There was nothing in the fruit except knowledge, and knowledge is good when someone uses it properly. But Adam, at his age then, was still an infant, and so he could not yet take in knowledge as it deserves. Even now, when a child is born, it cannot at once eat bread. It is first raised on milk, and then, as it grows older, it comes to solid food. It would have been the same with Adam. So God did not forbid him to eat from the tree of knowledge out of jealousy, as some suppose. [Hebrews 5:12-14] 25b God also wanted to test him, to see whether he would obey His commandment. At the same time He wanted the man to stay simple and innocent a good while longer, while still an infant. This is right not only before God but also among people: to be subject to one’s parents in simplicity and without malice. If children ought to be subject to their parents, how much more to God, the Father of all? Besides, it is unseemly for infant children to think beyond their age. As a person grows in age step by step, so he also grows in understanding. So when a law commands people to keep away from something and someone does not obey, plainly it is not the law that brings the punishment but the refusal to obey and the disobedience.
25c Take a father, for example. He sometimes orders his own child to keep away from certain things. If the child does not obey the father’s command, he is beaten and punished for his disobedience. It is not the things themselves that bring the blows. It is the disobedience that brings disgrace on the one who refuses to listen. In the same way, disobedience brought about the expulsion of the first-formed man from Paradise. It was not that the tree of knowledge had anything bad in it. But through disobedience man had to drain to the dregs toil, pain and grief, and in the end he fell under death.[69] [Genesis 3:23-24]
God's Goodness in Expelling Man from Paradise.
26 In this too God gave man a great kindness: He did not let him stay in sin forever. In a way, He cast him out of Paradise as a kind of banishment. This was so that man would pay for his sin by this punishment over a set time, be disciplined, and afterward be called back. This is why, when man was formed in this world, Genesis says in a mystery that he was put into Paradise twice. The first was fulfilled when he was put there. The second will be fulfilled after the resurrection and the judgment. Think of a vessel that is flawed after it has been shaped. It is melted down or reshaped so that it becomes new and whole. The same happens to man through death. He is broken, in a sense, so that in the resurrection he may be found sound. I mean spotless, righteous and immortal. When God called out and said, “Where are you, Adam?”, He did not do it because He did not know. He is patient, and He was giving Adam an opportunity for repentance and confession.[70] [Genesis 2:8; Genesis 2:15; Genesis 3:9]
The Nature of Man.
27a Someone will say to us, “Was man made mortal by nature?” Not at all. “Then was he immortal?” We do not say that either. “Then was he nothing?” Not that either. In my view, man was made neither mortal nor immortal by nature. If God had made him immortal from the beginning, He would have made him a god. If He had made him mortal, God would seem to be the cause of his death. So He made him neither immortal nor mortal. As we said above, He made him able to receive either. If he leaned toward the things of immortality by keeping God’s commandment, he would receive immortality from God as his reward and become a god. If instead he turned to the things of death by disobeying God, he would be the cause of his own death.[71] 27b For God made man free and in control of himself. What man brought on himself through neglect and disobedience, God now gives him as a gift, out of His own love for mankind and His mercy, when man obeys Him. By disobeying, man drew death on himself. In the same way, anyone who wishes can obey the will of God and gain eternal life for himself. For God has given us a law and holy commandments. Everyone who does them can be saved, and by attaining the resurrection can inherit incorruption.[72]
Why Eve Was Formed of Adam's Rib.
28a After Adam was cast out of Paradise, he knew Eve his wife, whom God had made for him as a wife from his rib. God did this not because He was unable to form Adam’s wife separately. He knew beforehand that people would name a multitude of gods. He foresaw that error would use the serpent to name a multitude of gods that do not exist. There is only one God, yet even then error was working to sow a multitude of gods, saying, “You will be like gods.” So that no one would suspect that one god made the man and another the woman, God Himself made them both. This was not only so that the mystery of God’s sole rule would be shown through it. God made Adam’s wife in this way also so that there would be greater goodwill between them.[73] [Genesis 4:1; Genesis 2:22; Genesis 3:5] 28b So Adam said to Eve, “This now is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh.” He also prophesied, saying, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” We see this fulfilled in our own lives. For who that marries lawfully does not think less of mother, father, all his relatives and his whole household, and join himself to his wife and become one with her, devoted to her more than to them? That is why some people often face even death because of their wives. The wicked demon, who is also called Satan, spoke to Eve through the serpent at that time. He is still at work to this day in people who are inspired by him into frenzy. Because Eve was deceived by the serpent in the beginning and became the originator of sin, he calls out “Eve” through them. He is called “demon” and “dragon” because he ran away from God, for at first he was an angel. There is much to say about him, so for now I will pass over the story. I have already spoken about him elsewhere.[74] [Genesis 2:23; Genesis 2:24]
Cain's Crime.
29a When Adam knew his wife Eve, she conceived and bore a son named Cain. She said, “I have acquired a man through God.” She went on to bear a second son named Abel, who became a shepherd of sheep, while Cain worked the ground. Their story is told in fuller detail, and it also calls for careful explanation. Those who love learning can be taught the history more exactly by the book itself, which is titled “Genesis of the World.” Now Satan saw that Adam and his wife were not only alive but had also had children, and that he had not been able to put them to death. He was swept along by envy. When he saw that Abel pleased God, he worked on Abel’s brother, called Cain, and caused him to kill his brother Abel. [Genesis 4:1-2; Genesis 4:8] 29b In this way death began in this world, and it has gone on its way to this day through the whole human race. But God is merciful, and he wanted to give Cain, as he had given Adam, a chance for repentance and confession. So he said, “Where is Abel your brother?” Cain answered God defiantly: “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” Then God was angry with him and said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the earth, which opened wide to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. You will be groaning and trembling on the earth.” From that time the earth has been afraid and no longer takes in human blood, or the blood of any living creature. It is clear, then, that the earth is not to blame, but the man who transgressed.[75] [Genesis 4:9-12]
Cain's Family and Their Inventions.
30a Cain also had a son, whose name was Enoch. He built a city and named it Enoch after his son. From then on cities began to be built, and this was before the flood. Homer is therefore wrong when he says, “For not yet was a city of mortal men built.” To Enoch a son was born named Gaidad, who fathered the man called Meel. Meel fathered Mathusala, and Mathusala fathered Lamech. Lamech took two wives for himself, named Ada and Sela. From that time polygamy began, and music as well. Lamech had three sons: Obel, Jubal and Thobel. Obel became a man who kept livestock in tents. Jubal is the one who introduced the psaltery and the lyre.[76] [Genesis 4:17-21] 30b Tubal became a hammerer, a smith working in bronze and iron. The descendants of Cain are listed up to this point. After this, his line of descent passed into oblivion, because he murdered his brother. In Abel’s place God allowed Eve to conceive and bear a son, who was named Seth. From him the rest of the human race has descended down to the present day. For those who love learning and want to know, it is easy to show all the generations from the holy Scriptures. In fact, as I said above, I have already given part of this account in another work: the order of the genealogy is set out in the first book of my work on histories. The Holy Spirit, who spoke through Moses and the other prophets, teaches us all these things. So the writings that belong to us who worship God turn out to be older, and are also shown to be truer, than all the writers and poets.[77] [Genesis 4:22; Genesis 4:25]
30c Yet some have also talked nonsense about music, saying that Apollo invented it. Others say that Orpheus discovered music from the sweet singing of birds. Their story is shown to be empty and vain, for these men lived many years after the flood. The account of Noah, whom some call Deucalion, I have given in the book mentioned above. If you wish, you can read it there yourself.
The History After the Flood.
31a After the flood there was again a beginning of cities and kings, in this way. The first city was Babylon, along with Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Their king was named Nimrod. From these came a man named Asshur, from whom the Assyrians get their name. Nimrod built the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth, Calah, and Resen, which lies between Nineveh and Calah. Nineveh became one of the first great cities. Another son of Shem, the son of Noah, named Mizraim, fathered the Ludim, the people called Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, and the Casluhim, from whom came the Philistines. As for the three sons of Noah, their end and their genealogy, I gave a brief listing in the book I mentioned.[78] [Genesis 10:10-12; Genesis 10:13-14] 31b Now I will also mention what I left out about cities and kings, and about what happened when there was one speech and one language. The cities written about above existed before the languages were divided. But when the people were about to be scattered, they made a plan by their own judgment, and not through God, to build a city and a tower whose top would reach heaven, so that they might make a glorious name for themselves. They dared to attempt a massive work against God’s purpose. So God threw down their city and leveled the tower. From then on he changed the languages of men, giving each a different dialect. In the same way the Sibyl pointed to this, announcing that wrath was going to come on the world. This is what she said: “But when the threats of the great God are fulfilled, which he once threatened against mortals, when they built a tower in the land of Assyria.”[79] [Genesis 11:1; Genesis 11:4; Genesis 11:7-9]
31c “They all spoke the same language and wanted to go up to starry heaven. At once the Immortal laid a great compulsion on the winds. Then the winds threw down the great tower from on high and stirred up strife among mortals against one another. And when the tower fell, and the languages of men were divided into many dialects of mortals, the earth was filled with mortals under divided kings.” And so on. These things, then, happened in the land of the Chaldeans. In the land of Canaan there was a city named Haran. In those times the first king of Egypt was Pharaoh, who was also called Nechaoth by the Egyptians, and the kings after him followed in order. In the land of Shinar, among the people called Chaldeans, the first king was Arioch. After him came another, Ellasar. After him came Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, and after him Tidal, king of the nations called Assyrians.[80] [Genesis 14:1]
31d There were also five other cities in the territory of Ham, the son of Noah. The first was called Sodom. Then came Gomorrah, Adama, Seboim, and the one called Segor. These are the names of their kings: Ballas, king of Sodom; Barsas, king of Gomorrah; Senaar, king of Adama; Hymor, king of Seboim; and Balach, king of Segor, which was also called Kephalak. These kings served Chodollagomor, king of the Assyrians, for twelve years. In the thirteenth year they revolted from Chodollagomor. So it came about that the four kings of the Assyrians went to war against the five kings. This was the very first beginning of wars on the earth. They cut down the giants of Karanaein, and the strong nations with them in the city. They also cut down the Chorraeans in the mountains called Seir, as far as the place called the terebinth of Pharan, which is in the wilderness.[81] [Genesis 14:2; Genesis 14:4; Genesis 14:5-6]
31e At the same time there was a righteous king named Melchisedek in the city of Salem, which is now Jerusalem. He was the first priest of all the priests of God Most High. From him the city mentioned above, Hierosolyma, was named Jerusalem. From him also priests came to be found over all the earth. After him Abimelech reigned in Gerara, and after him another Abimelech. Then Ephron reigned, who was also called the Hittite. These, then, are the names the records give for these earlier kings. As for the Assyrians, the other kings of the many years in between have been passed over without record, since all the writers record only the latest times, those near our own. The kings of the Assyrians were Theglaphasar, then Selamanasar, then Sennacherim. Adramelech the Ethiopian, who also reigned over Egypt, became his “triarch.” Yet all these events are very recent compared with our writings.[82] [Genesis 14:18]
How the Human Race Was Dispersed.
32a Heading: How the Human Race Was Dispersed. From this, then, lovers of learning and lovers of antiquity can examine the histories and see whether what we say through the holy prophets is in any way recent. At first the people of that time were few, living in the land of Arabia and Chaldea. After their languages were divided, they gradually began to become many and to multiply over the whole earth. Some turned to settle in the east. Others went to the regions of the great mainland, and to the north, so that they reached as far as the Britons in the Arctic regions. Others settled in the land of Canaan, Judea, and the country called Phoenicia, and in the regions of Ethiopia, Egypt, and Libya, and the country called the Scorched Zone, and stretched out to the lands of the west. The rest settled the coastlands, Pamphylia, Asia, Greece, Macedonia, and then Italy, and the lands called Gaul, Spain, and Germany. So now the whole earth is filled with those who live in it.
32b So at the beginning the settlement of the earth by human beings was in three parts: east, south, and west. Then the remaining parts of the earth were settled as the population grew large. The writers do not know these things, and so they want to say that the world is a sphere, and they compare it to a cube. But how can they claim to speak the truth about this, when they know neither how the world was made nor how it came to be inhabited? As people gradually grew in number and multiplied on the earth, as we have said, so the islands of the sea and the other regions were settled.[83]
Profane History Gives No Account of These Matters.
33 Heading: Profane History Gives No Account of These Matters. Which of the so-called wise men, poets, or historians was able to tell the truth about these things? They were born much later. And they brought in a multitude of gods who were themselves born so many years after the cities, and came later even than the kings, nations, and wars. They ought to have remembered everything, even what happened before the flood: the creation of the world, the making of man, and the events that followed. The prophets of the Egyptians or the Chaldeans, and the other writers, ought to have told these things accurately, if they really spoke by a divine and pure spirit and what was spoken through them was true. And they ought to have foretold not only what had already happened or was now happening, but also what was coming upon the world. This shows that all the rest have gone astray, and that Christians alone have grasped the truth. We are taught by the Holy Spirit, who spoke in the holy prophets and foretold all things.
The Prophets Enjoined Holiness of Life.
34 From now on, be willing to search out the things of God with a friendly mind. I mean the things spoken through the prophets. Compare what we say with what the others say, and you will be able to find the truth. We have already shown, from the very histories they wrote, that the names of the so-called gods are found among them as names of men, as we explained above. Their images are made day after day, even to this present time. They are idols, the works of human hands. The crowd of empty-minded people serve these, and they reject the maker and creator of all things, the one who nourishes everything that breathes. They put their trust in worthless teachings, led astray by the error of a senseless opinion handed down from their fathers. Yet God, the Father and Creator of all things, did not abandon humanity. He gave a law and sent holy prophets to proclaim and teach the human race, so that each one of us might come to our senses and recognize that there is one God. These prophets also taught us to keep away from forbidden idolatry, adultery, murder, sexual immorality, theft, love of money, false oaths, anger, and every kind of indecency and impurity. They also taught that whatever a person would not want done to himself, he must not do to another. In this way, the one who does what is right will escape the eternal punishments and be counted worthy of eternal life from God.[84]
Precepts from the Prophetic Books.
35a The divine law forbids not only bowing down to idols, but also to the elements: the sun, the moon, or the other stars. We must not offer worship to heaven, earth, sea, springs or rivers. We must serve only the one who truly is God, the maker of all things, in holiness of heart and sincerity of mind. So the holy law says: “You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” The prophets say the same. Solomon teaches us not to sin even by a nod of the eye, saying: “Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids nod toward what is right.” Moses, who was also a prophet, speaks about the single rule of God: “This is your God, who makes firm the heaven and creates the earth. His hands displayed all the host of heaven, and he did not show them to you so that you would go after them.”[85] [Exodus 20:13-17; Proverbs 4:25; Deuteronomy 4:19]
35b Isaiah also says: “Thus says the Lord God, who made the heaven firm and laid the foundations of the earth and everything in it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk on it: this is the Lord your God.” And again through him he says: “I made the earth, and man upon it. I made the heaven firm with my hand.” And in another passage: “This is your God, who fashioned the ends of the earth. He will not hunger or grow weary, and there is no finding out his understanding.” Jeremiah likewise says: “He made the earth by his strength, set the inhabited world upright by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heaven, and a multitude of water in the heaven. He brought up clouds from the end of the earth, made lightnings for the rain, and brought out winds from his treasuries.”[86] [Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 45:12; Isaiah 40:28; Jeremiah 10:12-13]
35c You can see how all the prophets spoke in friendly harmony, speaking out by one and the same Spirit about the single rule of God, the origin of the world, and the making of man. They also were in anguish, like a woman in labor, mourning over the godless race of men. And they put to shame those who seemed to be wise, because of the error in them and the hardness of their hearts. Jeremiah said: “Every man has become foolish and fallen away from his knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved images. The silversmith works silver in vain. There is no breath in them. In the day of their visitation they will perish.” David says the same: “They were corrupted and became abominable in their pursuits. There is no one who does good, not even one. All have turned aside, together they have become useless.”[87] [Jeremiah 10:14-15]
35d Habakkuk says the same: “What good does a carved image do a man, that he carved it into a false appearance? Woe to him who says to the stone, ‘Wake up,’ and to the wood, ‘Rise.’” The other prophets of the truth spoke in the same way. Why should I list all the prophets? There are many of them, and they said countless things in friendly agreement. Anyone who wishes can read what they said and know the truth accurately, and not be led astray by mere opinion and futile labor. These prophets whom we have mentioned were, among the Hebrews, unlettered men, shepherds, and ordinary people.[88] [Habakkuk 2:18-19]
Prophecies of the Sibyl.
36a The Sibyl, who was a prophetess among the Greeks and the other nations, reproaches the human race at the beginning of her prophecy. She says: “Mortal men of flesh, who are nothing, why are you so quickly puffed up, never looking to the end of life? Do you not tremble or fear God, your overseer, the Most High, who knows and sees everything, the witness of all, the nourisher of all, the Creator, who placed a sweet breath in all things and made it the guide of all mortal men? There is one God, who alone rules, exceedingly great, unbegotten, almighty, invisible. He alone sees everything, yet he himself is not seen by any mortal flesh. For what flesh can see with its eyes the heavenly and true God, the immortal, who dwells in the heavens? Men cannot even stand facing the rays of the sun, since they are born mortal, mere men of veins and flesh on bones. Worship him who alone truly is, the ruler of the world, who alone was born for ever and from everlasting, self-begotten, unbegotten, ruling all things always, and who has placed the power of judgment in all mortals, in a light common to all.”[89]
36b “You will receive the reward your bad counsel deserves, because you stopped glorifying the true and everlasting God and offering him holy sacrifices. Instead you made your sacrifices to the demons in Hades. You walk in pride and madness. You left the straight, upright path and went off along one through thorns and sharp stakes. Why do you wander? Stop, foolish mortals! Leave the darkness of night and take hold of the light. See, he is plain to all and never goes astray. Come, and do not keep chasing darkness and gloom. Look, the sweet-shining light of the sun shines out brilliantly. Learn this and store this wisdom in your hearts: there is one God, who sends rains, winds, earthquakes, lightning, famines, plagues and miserable sorrows, and snow and ice. Why do I list them one by one? He rules heaven and holds the earth; he himself is.” Then, against those who are called “born” gods, she said: “If what is born also perishes, then God cannot have been shaped from a man’s loins and a womb.”[90]
36c “But there is one God alone, supreme over all, who made heaven, the sun, the stars and the moon, the fruit-bearing earth, the swelling waves of the sea, the lofty mountains and the ever-flowing springs. He also brings forth the countless multitude of water creatures. He nourishes the creeping things that move on the earth, and the many kinds of birds, shrill-voiced and chattering, tawny and clear-voiced, that beat the air with their wings. In the glens of the mountains he set the wild race of beasts. He made all the cattle subject to us mortals, and he appointed man, made by God, as ruler of all, and put under man all the varied things we cannot grasp. For what mortal flesh can know all this? He alone knows, who made these things from the beginning: the incorruptible, the Creator, the eternal, who lives in the upper air. To the good he gives good, a far greater reward. But against the wicked and unjust he stirs up anger and wrath, and war, and plague, and tearful pains.”[91]
36d “Why, men, are you puffed up in vain and torn up by the roots? Be ashamed, you who make gods of weasels and beasts. Is it not madness and raving of the mind, and empty folly, if gods steal dishes and rob cooking pots? Instead of living in a rich golden heaven, your gods look moth-eaten and are covered with thick cobwebs. You foolish people bow down to snakes, dogs and cats. You worship birds, the creeping beasts of the earth, stone images, hand-made statues, and heaps of stones along the roads. You worship these and many other empty things, which it is shameful even to name. These gods are deceivers of senseless men, and deadly poison pours from their mouths. But bow your neck to him alone, in whom is life and undying, everlasting light, and from whom flows a joy for men sweeter than sweet honey. And turn your path toward ages of godliness.”
36e “You have left all this behind. In foolish, raving frenzy you have all drained a cup full of judgment, very strong, heavy and wholly undiluted. You refuse to sober up, to come to a sound mind, and to know God the King, who watches over everything. So the blaze of burning fire is coming upon you. You will be burned by flames for ever, all day long, put to shame for your lies and your useless idols. But those who honor the true and ever-living God inherit life for all eternity. They dwell in the flourishing garden of paradise and feast on sweet bread from the starry heaven.” It is clear, then, that these things are true, beneficial, just, and dear to all people. It is also clear that those who have done evil must necessarily be punished according to what their deeds deserve.[92]
The Testimonies of the Poets.
37a Some of the poets have already spoken as if giving oracles, both against themselves and as a witness against those who do unjust things, saying that they will be punished. Aeschylus said: “For the one who has done a deed, suffering in turn is owed.” Pindar likewise said: “Since it is fitting that one who does something should also suffer.” In the same way Euripides said: “Endure your suffering, for you took pleasure in doing. It is the rule to do harm to an enemy wherever you catch him.” And again the same poet said: “To do harm to an enemy I count part of a man’s duty.” Archilochus likewise said: “One great thing I know: how to repay with terrible evils the one who does harm.” Dionysius also spoke about the fact that God sees everything and nothing escapes him, and that in his patience he holds back until the time he is to judge: “The eye of Justice, looking on as if with a calm face, always sees all things alike.”[93]
37b Aeschylus also showed that God’s judgment is coming, and that evils will suddenly overtake the wicked. He said: “Evil comes swift-footed upon mortals, and so does his offense upon the one who oversteps Right. You see Justice, silent and unseen, whether a man is asleep, walking, or sitting. She presses on after him, now from the side, now later. Night does not hide a man who has done wrong. Whatever terrible thing you do, think that someone sees you.” And what of Simonides? “No evil is unlooked for among men, and in a short time God overturns everything.” Euripides again: “The good fortune of a wicked man, and a proud prosperity, we must never suppose to be secure, nor the offspring of the unjust. For time, which was born of no one, shows up the wickedness of men.” Euripides once more: “For the divine is not without understanding, but is able to take note of oaths that were wrongly made and forced out of people.”[94]
37c And Sophocles said: “If you have done terrible things, you must also suffer terrible things.” So whether it concerns a false oath or some other offense, the poets themselves have more or less foretold that God will call people to account. And about the burning up of the world they said things that agree with the prophets, whether they meant to or not. They lived much later than the prophets, and they stole these things from the law and the prophets.[95]
The Teachings of the Greek Poets and Philosophers Confirmatory of Those of the Hebrew Prophets.
38a But what does it matter whether they came last or first? At any rate, they too said things that agree with the prophets. About the burning up of the world, the prophet Malachi had already spoken: “Look, a day of the Lord is coming, like a burning oven, and it will set all the ungodly on fire.” And Isaiah said: “For the wrath of God will come like hail driven down with force, and like water sweeping along in a ravine.” So the Sibyl and the other prophets, and indeed the poets and philosophers too, have spoken plainly about righteousness, judgment, and punishment. They have also spoken about providence: God cares not only for us while we live, but also for the dead. They said this against their will, for they were being convicted by the truth. Among the prophets, Solomon said this about the dead: “There will be healing for the flesh, and care for the bones.”[96] [Malachi 4:1; Isaiah 30:28-30; Proverbs 3:8]
38b David said the same: “The humbled bones will rejoice.” Timocles spoke in agreement with these words when he said: “A kindly god has mercy on the dead.” So the writers who spoke of a multitude of gods came around in the end to the rule of one God. Those who spoke against providence spoke of providence after all. Those who said there is no judgment admitted that there will be one. And those who denied that there is any awareness after death admitted that there is. Homer, for example, says in one place: “The soul flew off like a dream and fluttered away.” But in another he says: “The soul flew from his limbs and went down to Hades.” And again: “Bury me as quickly as possible, so that I may pass through the gates of Hades.”[97] 38c For one of the prophets I mentioned earlier, named Hosea, said: “Who is wise, and will understand these things? Who is discerning, and will know them? For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the righteous will enter into them, but the ungodly will falter in them.” So the person who loves learning must keep on learning. Try, then, to meet with me more often, so that by hearing a living voice you may learn the truth accurately.[98] [Hosea 14:9]
Notes
[23] The Sibyl was a legendary pagan prophetess. Verses under her name, the Sibylline Oracles, were widely used by Jews and Christians. These particular lines are known mainly because Theophilus preserved them.
[24] Pisa was the district around Olympia, where Phidias made the famous statue of Zeus. The jab is that Zeus now survives only as a statue that brings fame to its sculptor. The Cretans were known in antiquity for claiming to show the tomb of Zeus.
[25] Theophilus groups these views loosely. Epicurus was not a Stoic; he taught that gods exist but take no interest in the world. Chrysippus, a leading Stoic, actually defended divine providence. So the views here should not be read as an exact report of what each man taught.
[26] Theophilus is one of the earliest Christian writers to argue plainly that God created out of nothing. Compare Romans 4:17, where God “calls into being things that do not exist,” and 2 Maccabees 7:28.
[27] The quotation joins two separate lines of Homer: Iliad 14.201 (“Oceanus, the origin of the gods, and mother Tethys”) and Iliad 21.196 (“from whom come all rivers and every sea”).
[28] The quotations come from Hesiod’s Theogony: the lines about Zeus and Cronus are 73–74, and the hymn to the Muses is 104–115 (continued in the next section).
[29] The Muses’ father is Zeus.
[30] The quotation is from Hesiod’s Theogony, lines 116–133.
[31] The Aristophanes line is from The Birds, line 695. A “wind-egg” is an egg produced without mating.
[32] The Greek word describing the form in which Ariadne lay with Dionysus (πρύμνιδι) is obscure and probably corrupt, so its meaning is uncertain.
[33] The Sophocles line is from Oedipus the King (lines 977–979, spoken by Jocasta), the Homer line is Iliad 20.242, and both Homer and Simonides use the same Greek word (aretē), here translated “excellence,” which in Homer means mainly prowess or valor.
[34] “Reed mat” renders ῥιπός, a mat or raft of woven reeds or wicker.
[35] The Sibyl was a legendary Greek prophetess. Theophilus treats her as a genuine prophet in agreement with the Hebrew prophets, and he quotes at length from the Sibylline Oracles (2.3, 2.36). These were verses circulating under her name, much of them composed by Jews.
[36] Here Theophilus calls the Word “Spirit of God” and “Wisdom,” yet just before he says the Word was brought forth “with” God’s wisdom. In 2.15 he speaks of God, his Word, and his Wisdom as a “triad,” the earliest surviving Christian use of that word for God. His terms are not yet as fixed as in later creeds.
[37] The quotation from Solomon is Proverbs 8:27-30, abridged, following the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), which has “fitting together” (ἁρμόζουσα). The Hebrew word in verse 30 is uncertain and is rendered variously, e.g. “master workman” or “one brought up with him.”
[38] Theophilus insists that the matter the world was made from was itself created by God. Earlier in Book 2 he criticizes Plato and his followers for treating matter as uncreated.
[39] Both the Greek and the Hebrew of Genesis 1:5 say “one day,” not “the first day.”
[40] The Greek phrase eis archas uses archē, which can mean “beginning” or “rule”; here it means rule, as the Hebrew of Genesis 1:16 and the verb “to rule” in Genesis 1:18 show.
[41] The Greek has “they were very good” (plural, kala lian), referring to all the things God had made.
[42] “On the sixth day God completed his works” follows the Septuagint. The Hebrew text of Genesis 2:2 says “seventh day.”
[43] “Six Days” translates the Greek Hexaemeron (“six days”), a name for the six days of creation.
[44] Theophilus is summarizing Hesiod’s account of the first beings in the Theogony. “Love” here is Eros, the personified power of desire.
[45] The Greek has “In the beginning” and the singular “heaven”; earlier (2.10) Theophilus explained that the Word is called “Beginning” (archē) because he rules over all things made through him, so “through the beginning” means through the Word.
[46] “Spirit” (pneuma) can also mean breath or wind. The quoted phrases come from Genesis 1:2–3.
[47] In the Greek, half the water is taken up “upon” the firmament, that is, the visible heaven, echoing the waters “above the firmament” in Genesis 1:7.
[48] “Invisible” and “unfurnished” (akataskeuastos) echo the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) of Genesis 1:2, where the earth is “invisible and unfurnished.” “Gathered into one gathering” follows the Septuagint of Genesis 1:9.
[49] The printed Greek is accented as peiratai, “he tries” (πειρᾶται), which makes no sense here; translators read it as peiratai, “pirates” (πειραταί), as the older English translation also does.
[50] “Heavenly bodies” translates the Greek stoicheia, usually “elements.” In later Greek the word could mean the heavenly bodies, and the context here shows that is what Theophilus means.
[51] “Trinity” (Greek trias, “triad”) is generally regarded as the earliest surviving Christian use of the word for God. Here the three are God, his Word, and his Wisdom. Elsewhere Theophilus seems to connect Wisdom with the Holy Spirit.
[52] “Creeping things” here are creatures of the water. The Greek Old Testament of Genesis 1:20 speaks of the waters bringing forth “creeping things.”
[53] Genesis 1:24–25 indeed records no blessing on the land animals. “Set their minds on things above” echoes Colossians 3:2, and “set their minds on earthly things” echoes Philippians 3:19.
[54] “Very good” echoes Genesis 1:31. For the hope of peace among the animals, compare Isaiah 11:6–9 and Romans 8:19–21.
[55] Earlier in Book 2 (2.15), Theophilus names “God, his Word, and his Wisdom” as a triad. In his usage “Wisdom” often seems to refer to the Holy Spirit, though in some places he uses Word and Wisdom almost interchangeably.
[56] Theophilus is paraphrasing Genesis 2:1-2 and quoting Genesis 2:4-5. His text has “God made” where the older translation (following the English Bible) has “the Lord made.” The usual Greek Old Testament reads “the Lord God.” I have translated the wording as Theophilus gives it.
[57] The quotation is Genesis 2:6-7. Theophilus reports that “most people” call the soul immortal, but he does not say here that Scripture teaches it. Later (2.27) he says man was made neither mortal nor immortal by nature, but capable of either.
[58] The older translation gives “bdellium and the onyx stone,” following the English Bible. The Greek has “the carbuncle (a red stone) and the green stone,” as in the Greek Old Testament.
[59] Theophilus follows the Greek Old Testament’s “Let us make him a helper” (Genesis 2:18). The Hebrew has “I will make.”
[60] The older translation ends this section at “knowing good and evil” and puts the woman’s seeing at the start of the next section. There it reads “a tree to be desired to make one wise,” which follows the familiar English Bible. The Greek here, as in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), reads “beautiful to contemplate.”
[61] The Greek literally says they hid “in the middle of the tree of Paradise,” with “tree” in the singular. The Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) has the same wording, and the singular is almost certainly collective, so “among the trees” gives the sense.
[62] The older translation has “it shall bruise thy head... thou shalt bruise his heel,” following the familiar English Bible. The Greek here, like the Septuagint, has “watch (or guard, lie in wait for)” (tērēsei, tērēseis). The older translation also adds the words about childbirth and the husband’s rule, which in this Greek belong to the next section.
[63] The objection refers to God walking in the garden (Genesis 3:8), and Adam’s words “I heard your voice” (Genesis 3:10). “No place of his rest” echoes Isaiah 66:1. “His power and his wisdom” echoes 1 Corinthians 1:24.
[64] “Firstborn of all creation” is from Colossians 1:15. The quotation is John 1:1-3.
[65] Theophilus means that man’s creation is reported on the sixth day (Genesis 1:26-31), but the account of his forming from the dust comes after the seventh day (Genesis 2:7-8). The allusions are to Genesis 1:28 (“increase and multiply”), Genesis 3:16 (pain in childbirth) and Genesis 3:14 (the serpent on its belly, eating earth). On forgetting the pain of labor, compare John 16:21.
[66] The quotation is Genesis 2:8-9.
[67] “Declared a god” means sharing in God’s immortality, not becoming a second God; Theophilus explains this in 2.27.
[68] Genesis 2:15 says man was put in the garden “to work it and keep it.” Theophilus reads the “work” as keeping God’s commandment.
[69] The verb (ἐξαντλέω), literally to draw or bail out completely, here means to endure something to the end; the older English “draw, as from a fountain” keeps the literal image.
[70] “Where are you, Adam?” is from Genesis 3:9.
[71] “A god” renders θεός, which the older English gives as “God.” In this passage Theophilus ties being a god to having immortality. He means that man would share in God’s immortality as a reward. He does not mean that man would become the one God.
[72] “Love for mankind” renders φιλανθρωπία, which the older English leaves as “philanthropy.”
[73] The Greek says “the mystery of the monarchy (μοναρχία) of God,” meaning that God alone rules. The older English has “sole government.”
[74] The Greek phrase translated “at first” (ἐν πρώτοις) could also mean “among the foremost.”
[75] “Groaning and trembling” follows the Greek Septuagint of Genesis 4:12. Translations from the Hebrew read “a fugitive and a wanderer.”
[76] The names largely follow the Greek Septuagint of Genesis 4. In modern Bibles translated from the Hebrew they appear as Irad, Mehujael, Methushael (not Methuselah), Adah, Zillah, Jabal, Jubal and Tubal-cain.
[77] The earlier work on histories that Theophilus mentions has not survived.
[78] The Greek calls Mizraim “another son of Shem,” but in Genesis 10:6 he is a son of Ham. This may be a slip by Theophilus or by an early copyist.
[79] “The Sibyl” refers to the Sibylline Oracles. These are Greek verses written in the name of an ancient prophetess, and much of them was composed by Jews and Christians. Theophilus treats them as a pagan witness. A similar tower passage appears in Book 3 of the surviving Oracles.
[80] The kings come from Genesis 14:1, where Arioch is “king of Ellasar” and Tidal is “king of nations.” Theophilus treats Ellasar as a separate king and adds that Tidal’s nations were the Assyrians. Genesis does not say this.
[81] The “Chorraeans” are the Horites of Genesis 14:6. “Giants” follows the Septuagint, which uses this word for the Hebrew “Rephaim,” and “terebinth (a tree) of Pharan” is also the Septuagint wording, where Hebrew has “El-paran.”
[82] “Triarch” (Greek triarchos) is a title for a person, perhaps “one of three chief officers.” Its exact sense here is uncertain. In the Bible, Adrammelech is a son of Sennacherib who murdered him (2 Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38), not an Ethiopian ruler of Egypt. Theophilus’s account may be confused with Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia (2 Kings 19:9).
[83] The Greek literally says they compare the world “as if to a cube.” What Theophilus means by this is unclear, and the passage may not have come down to us exactly as he wrote it.
[84] The “golden rule” is given here in its negative form, as in Tobit 4:15 (“What you hate, do not do to anyone”) and the Didache (1.2). Compare the positive form in Matthew 7:12.
[85] The Solomon quotation is Proverbs 4:25 in its Greek form. The words credited to Moses are not found in this form in the books of Moses. They appear to combine the warning of Deuteronomy 4:19 against worshiping the host of heaven with language like Isaiah 45:12 and Amos 4:13.
[86] The quotations are from Isaiah 42:5; 45:12; 40:28; and Jeremiah 10:12-13 (repeated in Jeremiah 51:15-16), in the Greek form Theophilus knew.
[87] The quotations are from Jeremiah 10:14-15 (the silversmith line resembles the Greek of Jeremiah 6:29) and Psalm 14:1-3 (Psalm 13 in the Greek numbering; compare Psalm 53 and Romans 3:12).
[88] “Ordinary people” translates ἰδιῶται, meaning private, unlearned people without office. Compare Amos, who calls himself a herdsman (Amos 7:14; see also 1:1).
[89] These verses, of which Theophilus is a main source, are known today as fragments of the “Sibylline Oracles.” Scholars generally think they were written by Jews or Christians imitating the pagan Sibyl, not by an ancient pagan prophetess.
[90] “He is plain to all” translates the masculine οὗτος, which cannot agree with the neuter φῶς (“light”) and so most naturally refers to God.
[91] Man’s rule over the animals echoes Genesis 1:26–28 and Psalm 8:6–8.
[92] The undiluted cup of judgment echoes the biblical cup of God’s wrath (Psalm 75:8; Jeremiah 25:15; Revelation 14:10).
[93] The older translation begins with a clause not found in this Greek (“that evil-doers must necessarily be punished in proportion to their deeds”) and renders the verse quotations loosely. This version follows the Greek.
[94] The older translation renders the Aeschylus lines as a loose rhymed poem and the other quotations as freer verse. This version follows the Greek wording. The Aeschylus text is difficult in places.
[95] The older translation adds a closing sentence, “The poets corroborate the testimony of the prophets.” It is not in the Greek of this section.
[96] Theophilus counts the Sibyl among the prophets. The saying he attributes to Solomon resembles Proverbs 3:8, which speaks of the living; he applies it to the dead.
[97] The Timocles line is compressed in Greek. It can also be read “For the dead, pity is a kindly god.” Theophilus takes it as saying that God cares for the dead.
[98] The older translation has “the transgressors shall fall therein.” The Greek says the ungodly “will grow weak” or “falter” in the Lord’s ways. The quotation closely matches the last verse of Hosea (14:9; 14:10 in the Hebrew and Greek Bibles).