The Festal Epistles

The Festal Epistles

Athanasius of Alexandria

c. AD 296–373

The yearly letters in which Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, announced the date of Easter to his churches, with teaching on fasting, the Scriptures and the Arian troubles; they survive in an ancient Syriac version. Letter 39 (AD 367) gives the earliest list of the books of the New Testament exactly as we have it.

Letter 1.

Of Fasting, and Trumpets, and Feasts.

2 COME, my beloved: the season calls us to keep the feast. Again, the Sun of Righteousness, causing His divine beams to rise upon us, proclaims beforehand the time of the feast, in which, obeying Him, we ought to celebrate it; so that when the time has passed away, gladness likewise may not leave us. For discernment of the time is a duty strictly enjoined upon us, and a matter of moral obligation; even as the blessed Paul, when instructing his disciple, teaches him to observe the time, saying, Stand (ready) in season, and out of season—that knowing both the one and the other, he might do things seasonable, and avoid the blame for such as are unseasonable. For thus also the God of all distributes every thing in time and season, after the manner of wise Solomon, to the end that, in due time, the salvation of men should be every where spread abroad. Thus, likewise, for instance, not out of season, but in season, the Wisdom of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, passed upon holy souls, fashioning the friends of God and the prophets; so that, although very many were praying for Him, and saying, O that the salvation of God were come out of Sion! the Spouse also, as it is written in the Canticles, praying and saying, O that Thou wert my sister's son, that sucked the breasts of my mother? that Thou wert like to the children of men, and wouldest take upon Thee human passions for our sake!

3 nevertheless, the God of all, the Framer of times and seasons, and who knows our affairs better than we do, while, as a good physician, He exhorts to obedience in due season—the only one in which we may be healed—so also does He send Him not unseasonably, but seasonably, saying, In an acceptable time have I heard Thee, and in the day of salvation I have helped Thee. And, on this account, the blessed Paul, urging us to note this season, wrote, saying, Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 4 At set seasons also He called the children of Israel to the Levitical feasts by Moses, saying, Three times in a year ye shall keep a feast to Me, (one of which, my beloved, is that now at hand) to the celebration of which priestly trumpets call and summon; as the holy Psalmist commanded, saying, Blow with the trumpet in the new moon, on the [solemn] day of your feast. Since this sentence enjoins upon us to blow both on the new moons, and on the solemn days, He hath made a solemn day of that in which the light of the moon is perfected in the full; which was then a type, as this of the trumpets. Sometimes then, as was before said, they were The Syrine here differs from the commonly received text of the Peshito, which is probably incorrect. It is a literal translation of the LXX, the words of which are also quoted by S. Athan. in his Synopsis. Script. Saer. t. ii. p. 123. The ancient Jewish writers also usually interpreted this passage of the Messiah. The Targum on the verse begins thus: "And at

5 that time the King Messiah shall be revealed to the congregation of Israel." called to feasts; sometimes also to fasting and to war. And this was not done without solemnity, neither were these things like common occurrences; but this sound of the trumpets was solemn, so that every man might come to that which was proclaimed. And this should be learned not merely from me, but from the divine Scriptures, when God was revealed to Moses, and said, as it is written in the book of Numbers: And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Make to thee two trumpets; of silver shalt thou make them, and they shall be for thee to call the congregation—very properly for those who here love Him. So that we may know that these things had reference to the time of Moses— yea, were to be observed so long as the shadow lasted, the whole being appointed as conducive thereto, till the time of reformation. For, (said He) if ye shall go out to battle in your land against your enemies that rise up against you, (for such things as these refer to the land; beyond it, in no wise) then ye shall proclaim with the trumpets, and shall be remembered before the Lord, and be delivered from your enemies.

6 Not only in wars did they blow the trumpet, but under the law, there was also a festal trumpet. Hear him again, saying in continuance, And in the day of your gladness, and in your feasts, and your new moons, ye shall blow with the trumpets. And let no man think it a light and contemptible matter, if he hear the law command respecting trumpets: it is a wonderful and fearful thing. For because Exod. 19, 16. the trumpet, more than any other voice or instrument, is exciting and very terrible, on this account, instruction was conveyed to Israel by such means, for he was then but a child. But in order that the proclamation should not be thought merely human, being beyond this, it was heard as those voices which were uttered when they received a shock from them in the mount; and they were reminded of the law that was then given them, and kept it. For the law was worthy of admiration, and the shadow was excellent; otherwise, it would not have wrought fear, and induced reverence in those who heard: and [if such were the case], much more must it have been so with those who at that time saw such things as these.

7 Be it that these things were then typical, and done as in a shadow. Let us, having recourse to our understanding, and henceforth leaving the figure at a distance, come to the truth, and look upon the priestly trumpets of our Saviour, which cry out, and call us, at one time to war, as the blessed Paul saith: We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities, with powers, with the rulers of this dark world, with wicked spirits in heaven. At another time the call is made to virginity, and lowliness, and conjugal unanimity, saying, To virgins, the things of virgins; and to those bound by a course of abstinence, the things of abstinence; and to those who are married, the things of an honourable marriage; thus assigning to each domestic virtues and an honourable recompense. Sometimes also, the call is made to fasting, and sometimes to a feast. Listen to the same [Apostle] again blowing the trumpet, and proclaiming,

8. Christ our Passover is sacrificed; therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness. If further, thou wouldest listen to a trumpet much greater than all these, hear our Saviour saying; In that last and great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. For it became the Saviour not simply to call us to a feast, but to the great feast; only so that we should be prepared to hear, and should conform to the proclamation of every trumpet. For since, as I before said, there are divers proclamations, listen, as in a figure, to the prophet blowing the trumpet; and further, having turned to the truth, be ready for the announcement of the trumpet, for he saith, Blow ye the trumpet in Sion: sanctify a fast. This is a warning trumpet, and commands with great earnestness, that when we fast, we should hallow the fast. For not all those who call upon God, hallow God, since there are some who defile Him; yet not Him—that is impossible—but their own conscience concerning Him; for He is holy, and has pleasure in the saints. And therefore the blessed Paul assigns the reason for men's dishonouring God: Transgressors of the law dishonour God. So then, to point out those who pollute the fast, he saith here, sanctify a fast. For many, crowding to the fast, pollute themselves in the thoughts of their hearts, sometimes by doing evil against their brethren, sometimes by daring to defraud. And, to mention nothing else, there are many who exalt themselves above their neighbours, bringing about a great offence by these means.

9 For also the boast of fasting did no good to the Pharisee, although he fasted twice in the week, only because he exalted himself against the publican. In the same manner also the Word found fault with the children of Israel on account of such a fast as this; exhorting them by Isaiah the Prophet, and saying, This is not the fast and the day that I have chosen, that a man should humble his soul; not even if thou shouldest bow down thy neck like a hook, and shouldest strew sackcloth and ashes under thee; neither thus shall ye call the fast acceptable. That we may be able to shew what kind of persons we should be when we fast, and of what character the fast should be, listen again to God commanding Moses, and saying, as it is written in Leviticus, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, In the tenth day of this seventh month, there shall be a day of atonement; a convocation, and a holy day shall it be to you; and ye shall humble your souls, and offer whole burnt-offerings unto the Lord. And afterwards, that the law might be determinate Levit. 23, on this point, He further saith, Every soul that shall not humble itself, shall be cut off from the people. Behold, my brethren, what a fast can do, and in what manner the law commands us to fast. It is required that not only should we fast with the body, but also with the soul.

10 Now the soul is humbled when it is not found [occupied] with wicked opinions, being nourished with becoming virtues. For virtues and vices are the food of the soul, and it can eat either of these two meats, and incline to either of the two, according to its own will. If, on the one hand, it is bent toward virtue, it will be nourished by virtues; by righteousness, by temperance, by meekness, by fortitude. Even as Paul saith, Being nourished by the word of truth. Such was the case with our Lord, who said, My meat is to do the will of My Father which is in heaven. But if it is not thus with the soul, and it inclines to that which is beneath, it is then nourished by nothing but sin. For thus also the Holy Ghost, describing sinners and their food, alluded to the devil when He said, I have given him to be meat to the (LXX. people of Æthiopia. For this is the food of sinners. And vers.)

11 S. Athan, here speaks of Leviathan as a type of Satan; of the Æthiopians as typical of sinners; of sinners feeding on the devil, as the righteous feed upon Christ. For the first, conf. S. Cyril. Alexandr. Comment. in Esaiam cap. xxvii. lato nomine, dixerat, eundem nunc Leviathan appellet. (Again, tom. vii. p. 277.) 'Draco iste quem formasti ad illudendum ei! Iste est Draco qui de Paradiso ejectus est; qui decepit Evam, et datus est in hoc mundo ad illudendum nobis. Also, on Isaiah xxvii. 1. reference is made to Apoc. xii. 7. and Luke x. 19. St. Augustine on the passage says; Tu confregisti caput draconis. Cujus draconis? Intelligimus dracones omnia dæmonia sub diabolo militantia; quem ergo singularem draconem cujus caput cenfractum est, nisi ipsum diabolum intelligere debemus? as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, being heavenly bread, is the food of the saints, according to this; Except ye eat My flesh, and drink My blood; so is the devil, the food of the impure, and of those who do nothing which is of the light, but work the deeds of darkness. Therefore, in order to withdraw and turn them from vices, He enjoins upon them, as sustenance, the food of virtue. Now this is, humbleness of mind; lowliness to endure humiliations; the acknowledgment of God.

12 For not only does such a fast as this obtain propitiation for souls, but it also, being sanctified, prepares the saints, and raises them above the earth. And indeed that which I am about to say is wonderful, yea it is of those things which are very miraculous; yet not far from the truth, as ye may be able to learn from the sacred writings. That great man Moses, when fasting, conversed with God, and received the law. The great and holy Elias, when fasting, was also thought worthy of divine visions, and at last was taken up like Him who ascended into heaven. And Daniel also, when fasting, and although a very young man, was entrusted with the mystery, and he alone understood the secret things of the king, and was thought worthy of divine visions. But because the length of the fast of these men was wonderful, and the days prolonged, let no man lightly fall into unbelief on that account; but rather let him believe and know, that the looking to God, and the word which [pro-

13 S. Aug. too, ut supra; Quomodo intelligo populos Æthiopes? Quomodo nisi per hos, omnes gentes? et bene per nigros; Æthiopes enim nigri sunt. Ipsi vocantur ad fidem, qui nigri fuerunt etc. Suiter, Thes. v. quotes from Orat, de evitu animae quæ Cyrillo Alex. adscribitur, p. 405.—. Hesychius, Cent. I ad Theodulum, num. 23. duimones vocat, spirituales Æthiopes. Larsow quotes S. Athan. tom. ix. p. 120. where is explained by. The Heb. word which the LXX. translate by is =" The whole of the comment of S. Aug. on the passage affords a remarkable amplification of the words of our Author, though reference is not directly made to the words of St. John (vi. 53.) He alludes to the golden calf, which Moses made the children of Israel to drink of, and adds; Quid est hoc, nisi quia adoratores diaboli corpus ipsius facti erant? Quomodo agnoscentes Christum fiunt corpus Christi, ut eis dicatur; Vos autem es is corpus Christi et membra.

14 "The word in the Syriac is 'priestly.' But in this and in other places, it appears to be for the Greek. Conf. 2 Tim. in. 15. ceeds] from Him, suffice to nourish those who hear, and stand to them in place of all food. For the angels are no otherwise sustained than by beholding at all times the face of the Father, and of the Saviour Who is in heaven. And thus Moses, as long as he talked with God, fasted indeed bodily, but was nourished by divine words. When therefore he descended among men, and God was gone up from him, he suffered hunger like unto men. For it is not said that he fasted longer than forty days—those in which he was conversing with God. And, generally, each one of the saints has been thought worthy of the food of virtues such as this. 15 11. 13. 14. Wherefore, my beloved, having our souls nourished with divine food, with the word, and according to the will of God, and fasting bodily in things external, let us keep this great and saving feast as becomes us. For the foolish Jews, receiving indeed this divine food typically, ate a lamb in the passover. But not understanding the type, even to this day they eat the lamb, being in error; the more so in that they are without a city and the truth. As long as Judæa and the city existed, there were a type, and a lamb, and a shadow, since the law thus commanded: These things shall not be done in another city; but in the land of Judæa—but without [the land of Judæa] in no place whatever. And besides this, the law commanded them to offer whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices, when there was no other altar than that in Jerusalem. For on this account, in that city alone, was there an altar and temple built, and they were commanded to perform these rites in that city only, to the end that when that city should come to an end, then also those things that were figurative might receive their end. Now observe: that city, since the coming of our Saviour, has had an end, and all the land of Judæa been laid waste; so that from the testimony of these things, (and we need no external proof, being assured by our own eyes of the fact) there must, of necessity, be an end of the shadow.

16 And it is meet that these things should not be learned from me: but the priestly voice cried before, Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, and publisheth peace; and what is the message he published, but The Jewish ordinances only till the time of Christ. 11 17 that which he goes on to say to them, Keep thy feasts, O Judah; pay to the Lord thy vows. For they shall no more go to that which is old; it is finished; it is taken away: he is gone up who breathed upon the face, and delivered thee from affliction. Now who is he that went up? a man may say to the Jews, in order that even the boast of the shadow may be done away; neither is it an idle thing to listen to the expression, It is finished; He is gone up who breathed. For nothing also was finished before he went up who breathed. But as soon as he went up, it was finished. Who was he then, O Jews, as I before said? If Moses, the assertion would be false; for the people were not yet come to the land in which alone they were commanded to perform these rites. But if Samuel, or any other of the prophets, even in that case there would be a perversion of the truth; for up to that time these things were done in Judæa, and the city was standing. For it was necessary that while that stood, these things should be performed. So that it was no one of these men, my beloved, who went up. But if thou wouldest hear the true matter, and be kept from Jewish fables, look to our Saviour who went up, and breathed upon the face, and said to His disciples, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. For as soon as these things were done, every thing then came to an end; for the altar was broken, and the veil of the temple was rent; and although the city was not yet laid waste, yet the abomination was ready to sit in the midst of the temple, and the city, and those ancient ordinances, to receive their final consummation.

18 Since then we have passed the time of the shadow, and no longer perform rites under it, but have turned, as it were, unto the Lord: for the Lord is a Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty: as we hear from the priestly trumpet; no longer slaying a material lamb, but that true Lamb that was slain, even our Lord Jesus Christ, Who was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and was dumb, as a lamb before her shearers; being purified by His precious blood, which speaketh better things than that of Abel; having our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel; holding in our hands the rod and staff of the Lord, by which that saint was comforted, who said, Thy rod and Thy staff 4. Phil. 4, 5. 40. Ephes. 4, 22-24. they comfort me; and to speak collectively, being in all respects prepared and careful for nothing, because, as the blessed Paul saith, The Lord is at hand; and as our Saviour saith, In an hour when we think not, the Lord cometh;— Let us keep the Feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Putting off the old man and his deeds, let us put on the new man, which is created in God, in humbleness of mind, and a pure conscience; in meditation of the law by night and by day. And casting away all hypocrisy and fraud, putting far from us all haughtiness and guile, let us take upon us love towards God and towards our neighbour; that being new [creatures], and receiving the new wine, even the Holy Spirit, we may properly keep the feast, even the month of these new [fruits]".

19 P We begin the holy fast on the fifth day of Pharmuthi, (March 31) and joining to it according to the number of those six holy and great days, which are the symbol of the creation of this world, let us rest and cease (from fasting) on the tenth day of the same Pharmuthi, (April 5) on the holy sabbath of the week. And when the first day of the holy week dawns and rises upon us, on the eleventh day of the same month, (April 6) numbering from it all the seven weeks, one by one, let us keep feast on the holy day of Pentecost—that which was at one time to the Jews, typically, the feast of weeks, in which they granted forgiveness and settlement of debts; and indeed that day was one of deliverance in every respect. Let us keep the feast on the first day of the great week, as a symbol of the world to come, in which we here receive a pledge that we shall have ever-

20 ° Alluding to Deut. xvi. 1. (scil. ) LXX. Observa mensem novarum frugum. Vulg. i. e. the month of Abib. Heb. In Chaldee, we have fructum protulit, imprimis de fructu primo et præcoce, (Hos. ix. 10. Targ.) Syr. flores produxit. Gesen. Lex. Heb. P We should not have much difficulty in fixing upon many of the phrases and expressions used by St. Athan. towards the close of his Epistles, by referring to the concluding sentences in the Paschal Letters of S. Cyril, who seems herein to have closely imitated his illustrious predecessor in the Patriarchate. The Syriac translator must frequently have had before him the following expressions: — — — — — —. lasting life hereafter. Then having passed from hence, we shall keep a perfect feast with Christ, while we cry out and say, like the saints, I will pass to the place of the wondrous tabernacle; to the house of God; with the voice of gladness and thanksgiving; the shouting of those who rejoice; so that sorrow and affliction and sighing shall flee away, and gladness and joy be upon our heads!

21 May we be adjudged worthy to accomplish these things when we remember the poor, and do not forget kindness to strangers! But above all, when we love God with all our soul, and might, and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves: receiving those things which the eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man; which God hath prepared for those that love Him, through His only Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ; through Whom, to the Father alone, by the Holy Ghost, be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Salute one another with a kiss. All the brethren who are with me salute you. Here endeth the first Festal Letter of holy Athanasius.

Letter 2.

1 Easter-day XXIV. Pharmuthi; XIII. Kal. Mai.; Æra Easter-day Dioclet. 46; Coss. Gallicianus, Valerius Symmachus; on April 19. Præfect. Magninianus; Indict. III. AGAIN, my brethren, is Easter come, and gladness; for again the Lord hath brought us to this season; so that when, according to custom, we have been nourished with His words, we may duly keep the feast. Let us celebrate it then, even heavenly joy, together with those saints who also formerly proclaimed such a feast as this, and were ensamples to us of conversation in Christ. For not only were they entrusted with the charge of preaching the Gospel, but, upon examination, we shall see, as it is written, that its power was also displayed in them. Be ye therefore followers of me, he (St. Paul) wrote to the Corinthians. Now the apostolic expression is instructive to all of us; for those precepts which he forwarded to individuals, he, at the same time, enjoined upon every man in every place, inasmuch as he was a teacher of all nations in faith and truth. And, generally, the precepts of all the saints have an equally extended application by way of exhortation; as Solomon, too, makes use of proverbs, saying, Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding; for I give you a good gift; forsake ye not my word; for I was an obedient son to my father, and beloved in the sight of my mother. For a worthy father employs the right method of instruction, when he exhibits zeal in teaching others those things that had been properly imparted to himself; so that when he meets with opposition, he may not be ashamed on hearing it said, Thou therefore that teachest others, teachest thou not thyself? but rather, like the good servant, may both save himself and gain

2 Conf. Letter iii. others; and thus, when the grace committed to him has been doubled, he may hear, Thou good and faithful servant, Mat. 25, 21. thou hast been faithful in a little, I will set thee over much: enter into the joy of thy Lord. Be it then, on our parts, a becoming duty, if at all times, so especially in the days of the feast, to be, not hearers only, but also doers of the commandments of our Saviour; that also, having imitated the conversation of the saints, we may enter together into the joy of our Lord which is in heaven, which is not transitory, but truly abideth; of which evil doers having deprived themselves, there remaineth to them as the fruit of their ways, sorrow and anguish, and groaning, the result of torments. Let a man look on such as these, how thus they bear not the imageᶜ of the conversation of the saints, nor of that right understanding, by which man at the beginning was rational, and in the form of God. But being barely on a level with the beast without understanding, and like it in unlicensed pleasures, they are described by comparison with lustful horses; also, for their craftiness, and errors, and sin laden with death, they are called a generation of vipers, as Luke saith. Now having thus fallen, and grovelling in the dust like the serpent, they thought of nothing but things which are seen, esteeming them to be good; and rejoicing in these things, but not serving God, they ministered to their own desires. Yet even in this state, the man-lovingᶠ Word, who came for this purpose, that He might seek that which was lost and find it, sought to restrain them from folly like this, crying and saying, Be ye not as the horse and the mule which have

3 We have here the first fragment extant of the original Greek text. It is to be found in Cosmas Indico-pieustes, p. 316, with the title, translated) may serve to give us a correct opinion of the fidelity and accuracy with which the Syriac translator performed his part. The same may be said of the few other remaining lines extant in the Greek. The Ms. reads John incorrectly—for Matthew (iii 7.) or Luke (iii. 7.) Is. 23, 2. (LXX. vers.) 4 28. no understanding, whose checks ye hold in with bit and bridle. Because they were careless and like the wicked, the prophet also prays in spirit and says, Ye are to me like merchant-men of Phœnicia. And the avenging Spirit protests against them in these words, Lord, in Thy city Thou wilt despise their image. Thus then, being changed into the likeness of fools, they so far fell away in their understanding, that, by their excessive reasoningh, they even likened the Divine Wisdom to themselves, thinking it to be like their own worksi. Therefore, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the corruptible image of man, and birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God gave them ever to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. For they did not listen to the prophetic voice that reproved them. (saying.) To what have ye likened the Lord, and with what have ye compared Him? neither to David, who prayed concerning such as these, and sang. All those that make them are like unto them, and all those who put their trust in them. For, being blind to the truth, they looked upon a stone as God; and further, like senseless creatures, they went on in darkness; and, as the prophet cried, They hear indeed, but they do not understand; they see indeed, but they do not perceive; for their heart is waken fat, and with their ears they hear hearily.

5 Now those who do not observe the feasts, continue such persons even to the present day: pretending indeed and devising names of feasts, but rather introducing days of mourning than of gladness: For there is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord. And as Wisdom saith, Gladness and joy are taken from their mouth. Such then are the feasts of the wicked. But the wise servants of the Lord, who have truly put on the man which is created in God, have received gospel words, and account, as of general application, the commandment given to Timothy, which saith, Be thou an example to the believers in word, in conversation, in lore, in faith, in purity. They keep the Feast with such propriety, that even the unbelievers, seeing their order, may say, God is with them of a truth. For as he who receives an apostle receives Him who sent him, so he who is a follower of the saints, makes the Lord in every respect his end and aim; even as Paul, being a follower of Him, says, Is I also of Christ. For there is first the precedent of our Saviour, and herein is the height of His divinity, in that when He conversed with His disciples, He said, Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest to your souls. For also when He put

6 11. water into a basin, and girded himself with a towel, and washed His disciples' feet, He said to them, Know what I have done. Ye call Me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am. If therefore I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet: for I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, ye also should do. Oh! my brethren, how shall we admire the loving-kindness of our Saviour? With what power, and what kind of trumpet should a man cry out, when exalting such helps as these which He gives? That not only should we bear His image, but should also receive from Him an example as a pattern of heavenly conversation; that we should go on as He hath begun; that suffering, we should not threaten; being reviled, we should not revile again: but should bless them that curse; and in every thing commit ourselves to God who judgeth righteously. For those who are thus disposed, and fashion themselves according to the Gospel, will be partakers of Christ, and imitators of apostolic conversation; on account of which they shall be deemed worthy of that praise from him, with which he praised the Co-

7 rinthians, when he said, I praise you that in every thing ye are mindful of me. Afterwards, because there were men using indeed his words, but wishing to obey them according to their lusts, and daring to pervert them, as the followers of Hymeneus and Alexander, and before them the Sadducees, who, as he said, haring made shipwreck of faith, were entangled in the mystery of the resurrection; on this account he immediately proceeded to say, And as I have delivered to you traditions, hold them fast. That is, in truth, that we should think no otherwise than the teacher hath delivered. For not only in outward form did those wicked men disguise themselves, who, as the Lord says, put on sheep's clothing, and appeared like unto whited sepulchres; but they took those divine words in their mouth, while having within an evil conscience. And the first, forsooth, who appeared thus, was the serpent, the inventor of wickedness from the beginning,—the devil,—who, under a disguised form, conversed with Eve, and forthwith deceived her. But after him and with him are all inventors of unlawful heresies, who indeed refer to the Scriptures, but do not hold such opinions as the saints have handed down, receiving them as the traditions of men: erring, because they do not rightly know them, nor their power. Therefore Paul deservedly praises the Corinthians, because their opinions were in accordance with his traditions. And the Lord most righteously reproved the Jews, saying, Wherefore do ye also transgress the commandments of God on account of your traditions. For they changed the commandments they received from God to suit their own follies, and adhered rather to the traditions of men. Respecting these, a little after, the blessed Paul again gave directions to the Galatians who were in danger thereof, writing to them, If any man preach to you aught else than that ye have received, let him

8 from them. Orat. ii. §. 18, conf. Epiph. Hier. 69, 15. Or rather they took some words of Scripture, and made their own deductions from them, viz. 'Son,' 'made,' 'exalted,' &c. 'Making their private irreligiousness as if a rule, they misinterpret all the divine oracles by it.' Vid. note to p. 178, of 'Select Treatises of S. Athanasius,' published in this series. Vide also Athan. Epistola ad Episc. Egypti et Libyae, p. 214. Athan. frequently speaks of heresies as having their origin in truth, of which, however, only a partial and imperfect view is taken: one doctrine is often unduly dwelt upon to the suppression of others, or enforced with such subtlety of reasoning as to unfit the mind for the reception of others equally important. 1 (Syr.). The Syriac is apparently a literal translation of these words. 9 be accursed. For there is no fellowship whatever between the words of the saints, and the fancies of human invention; for the saints are the ministers of the truth, preaching the kingdom of heaven; but those who are borne in an opposite direction, have nothing better than to eat, and think their end is that they shall cease to exist, while they say, Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. Therefore also the blessed Luke reproves the inventions of men, and hands down the relations of the saints, saying in the beginning of the Gospel, Since many have taken in hand to write narrations of those events of which we are assured, as those who from the beginning were witnesses and ministers of the Word have delivered to us; it hath seemed good to me also, who have adhered to them all from the first, to write correctly in order to thee, O excellent Theophilus, that thou mayest know the truth concerning the things in which thou hast been instructed. For what the saints respectively received, they give without alteration, for correctness of doctrine concerning mysteries. Of them the (divine) word would have us disciples, and right is it that they should be our teachers, and necessary is it that we should submit to them alone; for of them only is the word faithful and worthy of all acceptation, inasmuch as they did not become disciples because they heard from others; but being eye-witnesses and ministers of the Word, they handed down what they had heard from Him.

10 Some, indeed, related the great miracles performed by our Saviour, and preached His eternal Godhead. Others, again, wrote of His being born in the flesh of the Virgin, and proclaimed the festival of the holy passover, saying, Christ our Passover is sacrificed; so that each one of us, and all of us together in common, and all the churches in the world may remember, as it is written, That Christ rose from the dead, of the seed of David, according to the Gospel. And let not that escape our observation which Paul delivered, declaring it to the Corinthians; that, I mean, concerning His resurrection, whereby he destroyed him that had the power of death; that is, the devil, and raised us up together with Him: having loosed the bands of death, and vouchsafed a blessing instead of a curse: joy instead of grief; a feast in the place of mourning, in this holy joy of Easter; which being continually in our hearts, we always rejoice, as Paul commanded; Praying without ceasing; in very thing giving thanks. We therefore do not neglect to 17. publish its seasons, as we have received from the Fathers.

11 Again we write. Again, holding the apostolic traditions, we put one another in remembrance in our meetings for prayer; and keeping the feast in common, with one month we truly give thanks to the Lord. For thus receiving the grace, and being followers of the saints, we shall make our praise in the Lord all the day, as the Psalmist says. In this way, when we properly keep the feast, we shall be counted worthy of that joy which is in heaven. We begin the fast of forty days on the 13th of the month Phamenoth, (Mar. 9.) After we have given ourselves to fasting in continued succession, let us begin the week of the holy Easter on the 18th of the month Pharmuthi, (April 13.) Then ceasing on the 23d of the same month Pharmuthi, (April 18.) and keeping the feast afterwards on the first of the week, on the 24th, (April 19.) let us add to these the seven weeks of the great Pentecost, altogether rejoicing and exulting in Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom to the Father be glory and dominion by the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.

12 The brethren which are with me salute you. Salute one another with a holy kiss. Here endeth the second Festal Letter of the holy my Lord Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria.

Letter 3.

Easter-day XVI Pharmuthi; III Id. April; Era Dioclet. Easter-day on April 11. 47; Coss. Annius Bassus, Ablabius; Praefect. Florentius; Indict. IV. AGAIN, my beloved brethren, the day of the feast draws near to us, which, above all others, should be devoted to prayer; which the law commands to be observed, and which it would be inconsistent with our episcopal duties to pass over in silence. For although we have been held under restraint by those who afflict us, that, on account of them, we should not announce to you this season; yet thanks be to God, who comforteth the afflicted, that we have not been put to silence, as though overcome by the wickedness of our accusers; but obeying the voice of truth, together with you shout in the day of the feast. For the God of all hath commanded, saying, Speak, and the children of Israel shall keep the Passover. And the Spirit exhorts in the Psalm; Blow the trumpet in the new moonsᶜ, in the solemn day of Nah. 1, 15. your feast. And the prophet cries; Keep thy feasts, O Judah. I do not send this to you as though you were not aware of it; but I publish it to those who know it, that ye may perceive that although men have separated us, yet God

I think the translation here given of the Syriac is the correct one. I have taken in its more restricted ecclesiastical sense 'episcopal.' Vid. Mich. note in Lex. Syr. in v. This seems to suit better with the expression 'pass over in silence,' as well as the following sentence, both The ' ' of the LXX. is found here, though it does not appear in the Peshito version. having joined us again, we approach the same feast, and always worship the same Lord. And we do not keep the festival as observers of days, knowing that the Apostle reproves those who do so, in those words which he spake: Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. But rather do we look upon the day as a solemn one because of the feast; so that all of us, who serve God in every place, may be well-pleasing to God by prayers. For the blessed Paul, when announcing the nearness of gladness like this, did not announce days, but the Lord, on whose account also we keep the feast, saying, Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed; so that all of us, contemplating the eternity of the Word, may have nearness of access to Him. For what else is the feast, but the service of the soul? And what is that service, but prolonged prayer to God, and unceasing thanksgiving? The unthankful having put these far from them, consequently also rightly deprive themselves of the joy springing therefrom: for joy and gladness are taken from their mouth. Therefore, the divine word doth not allow them to have peace; For there is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord, working the work of anguish and sorrow. So, not even to him who owed ten thousand talents did the Gospel grant forgiveness Mat. 18, 24. in the sight of the Lord. For even he, having received forgiveness of great things, was forgetful of kindness in little ones, so that he paid the penalty also of those former things. And very properly so; for it was incumbent on

4 The time of the Jewish types and shadows having passed away, the observance of the particular days relabrated among them is likewise abungated. They think principally of the scasons; we are to direct our attention chiefly to the substance of the festival— Christ. When directions for keeping the Jewish feasts were given in the O. T. especial stress was laid on the particular day. In the N. T. on the contrary, our Saviour is the one great subject introduced to our notice— Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed. 2 'unceasing thanksgiving'—a similar expression to 'prolonged prayer' in the preceding line—not 'trewifteen,' 'voluntary,' as Larsow renders it. Vid. Cast. Lex. Syr. in v. V. 1/10. 1/10. 'abstinuit.' In this sense, the word is requate with V. (?) Conf. Clemens Alex. Strom. 7. I. Also I Thess. v. 16, 17, both in the Greek and in the Syriac vers. and Letter xi. 6 This is apparently a quotation from Scripture, though I cannot find the event words. Perhaps it is from Jer. vi, the phraseology of v. 28, being transferred to the sentiment of v. 31. The expression has already occurred, p. 17. 7 As, in the parable, the servant was held accountable for the debt, (which had otherwise been forgiven him, having himself experienced kindness, to be merciful to his fellow servant. Also, he that received the one talent, and bound it up in a napkin, and hid it in the earth, was consequently cast out as an unthankful person, hearing the

Mat.25,26. words, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gathered where I have not strawed; thou oughtest therefore to have put my money into the bank, and on my return, I should have received mine own. Take therefore the talent from him, and giveh it to him that hath ten talents. For, as a matter of course, when he was required to deliver up to his lord that which belonged to him, he should have acknowledged the kindness of him who gave it, and the value of that which was given. For he who gave was not a hard man; had he been so, he would not have given even in the first instance: neither was that which was given unprofitable and vain; for then he had not found fault. But both he who gave was good, and that which was given was capable of bearing fruit.

26. As therefore he who withholdeth corn in seed-time is cursed, according to the divine proverb; so he who is careless about grace, and hides it without culture, is properly cast out as a wicked and unthankful person. On this account, he praises those who increased [their talents], say- Mat.25,23. ing, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful in a little, I will place thee over much; enter into the joy of thy Lord. This was fit and reasonable; for, as the Scripture declares, they had gained as much as they had received. Now it is right, my beloved, that our will should keep pace with the grace of God, and not fall short; lest when our will remains idle, the grace given us1 should begin to depart, and the enemy finding us empty and naked, should enter [into us], as was the case with him spoken of

Mat.12,24. in the Gospel, from whom the devil went out; for having gone through dry places, he took seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and returning and finding the house empty, he dwelt there, and the last state of that man was him) on account of his cruelty to his fellow-servant; so sinners, who ungratefully withhold praise and thanksgiving from God, are deprived of the blessings they before enjoyed. 1 For 2000 leg. 2000 2 For 2001 leg. 2001 worse than the first. For the withdrawal from virtue gives place for the entrance of the unclean spirit. There is, moreover, the apostolic injunction, that the grace given us should not be unprofitable; for those things which he (Paul) wrote to his disciple as of private application, he enforces on us through him, saying, Neglect not the gift that is in thee. For he who tillet his land shall be satisfied with bread; but the paths of the slothful are strewn with thorns; so that the Spirit forewarns a man not to fall into them, saying, Break up your fallow ground, sow not among thorns. For when a man despises the grace given him, and forthwith falls into the cares of the world, he delivers himself over to his lusts; and thus in the time of persecution he is offended, and becomes altogether unfruitful.

Now the prophet points out the end of negligence like this, saying, Cursed is he who doeth the work of the Lord carelessly. For he who is enlisted in the service of the Lord should be zealous and careful, yea, moreover, burning like a flame; so that when, by an ardent spirit, he has destroyed all earthly sin, he may be able to draw near to God, Who, according to the expression of the saints, is called a consuming fire. Therefore, the God of all, Who maketh His angels [spirits], is a spirit, and His ministers a flame of fire. Wherefore, in the departure from Egypt, He forbade the multitude to touch the mountain, where God was appointing them the law, because they were not of this character. But He called blessed Moses to it, as being fervent in spirit, and possessing unquenchable grace, saying, Let Moses alone draw near. On this account he also entered into the cloud, and when the mountain was smoking, he was not injured; but rather, through the words of the Lord, which are choice silver tried in the earth, he descended more pure.

Therefore the blessed Paul, when desirous that the grace of the Spirit given to us should not grow cold, exhorts. Vul. also S. Athan. Epist. i. ad Serap. t. i. p. 520. 3a. Syr. 'material,' 'earthly,' an adjective formed from the Gr. 1 19. saying, "Quench not the Spirit. For thus shall we also remain partakers of Christ", that is, if we hold fast unto the end the Spirit given at the beginning. For he said, Quench not; not because the Spirit is placed in the power of men, and is able to suffer any thing from them; but because bad and unthankful men are such as manifestly wish to quench it; since they, like the impure, persecute the Spirit with unholy deeds. For the holy Spirit of admonition flees from guile, and dwells not in a body under the influence of sin; but even removes for from imaginations void of understanding. But they being void of understanding, and guileful, and lovers of sin, walk still as in darkness, not having that Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Now a fire such as this laid hold of Jeremiah the prophet, when the word was in him as a fire, and he said, "I pass away from every place, and am not able to endure it. And our Lord Jesus Christ, in that He was good and man-loving, came that He might cast this upon earth, and said, And what? would that it were already kindled?" For He desired, as He testified in

23. 32. Ezekiel, the repentance of a man rather than his death; so that evil should be consumed in all men, to the end that the soul, being purified, might be able to bring forth fruit; For 1150 11 leg. 1150 11. The 11 after 1150 should probably be omitted, the error having arisen from the word occurring just before. Conf. S. Athan. Epist. ad Dracont. tom. i. p. 209. for the word which is sown by Him will be productive, some thirty, some sixty, some an hundred. Thus, for instance, those who were with Cleopas, although infirm at first from lack of knowledge, yet afterwards were inflamed with the words of our Saviour, and brought forth the fruits of the knowledge of Him. The blessed Paul also, when seized by this fire, revealed it not to flesh and blood; but having experienced the grace, he became a preacher of the Word. But not such were those nine lepers who were cleansed from their leprosy, and yet were unthankful to the Lord Who healed them; nor Judas, who obtained the lot of an apostle, and was named a disciple of the Lord, but at last, while eating bread with our Saviour, lifted up his heel against Him, and became a traitor. But such men have the due reward of their folly, since their hope will be vain through their ingratitude: for there is no hope whatever to the ungrateful; the last fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, awaiting those who disregard divine light. Such then is the end of the unthankful.

But the faithful and true servants of the Lord, knowing that the Lord loves the thankful, never cease to praise Him, ever giving thanks unto the Lord. And whether the time is one of ease or of affliction, they offer up praise to God with thanksgiving, regarding not these things of time, but worshipping the Lord, the God of times. Thus of old time, Job, who possessed fortitude above all men, thought of these things when in prosperity; and when in adversity, he patiently endured, and when he suffered, gave thanks. As also the humble David, in the very time of affliction sang praises and said, I will bless the Lord at all times. And the blessed Paul, in all his Epistles, so to say, ceased not to thank God. In times of ease, he failed not; but in affliction he gloried, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and that hope maketh not ashamed. Let us, being followers of such men,

18. 111. pass no season without thanksgiving; but especially now, when the time is one of tribulation, which the heretics excite against us, will we praise the Lord; uttering the words of the saints; All these things have come upon us, yet have we not forgotten Thee. For as the Jews at that time, although suffering an assault from the tabernacles of the Edomites, and oppressed by the enemies of Jerusalem, did not give themselves up, but all the more sang praises to God; so we, my beloved brethren, though hindered that we should not speak the word of the Lord, will the more proclaim it; and being afflicted, we will sing Psalmsᶜ, that we are accounted worthy to be despised, and to labour anxiously for the truth. Yea, moreover, being grievously vexed, we will give thanks. For also the blessed Apostle, who gave thanks at all times, urges us in the same manner to draw near to God, saying Let your requests, with thanksgiving, be made known unto God. And being desirous that we should never desist from such a purpose as this, he says, At all times give thanks;

17. pray without ceasing. For he knew that believers are strong while employed in thanksgiving; and that rejoicing they pass over the walls of the enemy, like those saints who said, Through Thee will we pierce through our enemies, and by my God I will leap over a wall. At all times let us stand firm, but especially now, although many afflictions overtake us, and many heretics are furious against us. Let us then, my beloved brethren, celebrate with thanksgiving the holy feast which now draws near to us, girding up the loins of our minds, like our Saviour Jesus Christ, of Whom it is written, Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the girdles of His reins. Each one of us having in his hand the staff which came out of the root of Jesse, and our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel, let us keep the feast as Paul saith, Not with the old leaven, but with the unlearned bread of sincerity and truth; assured that we thus reverently think of Christ, and depart not from faith

The Syr. must be an error of the copyist for. Compare Ps. lxxxiii. 6. ᶜ Conf. James v. 13. in Him, nor defile ourselves together with heretics, and strangers to the truth, whose conversation and whose will bring them down. But rejoicing in afflictions, we break through the furnace of iron and darkness, and pass, unharmed, over that terrible Red Sea. Thus also, when we look upon the confusion of heretics, we shall, with Moses, sing that great song of praise, and say, We will sing unto the Lord, for He is to be gloriously praised. Thus, singing praises, and looking upon sinners against us, who have been submerged, we pass over to the wilderness. And being first purified by the fast of forty days, by prayers, and fastings, and discipline, and good works, we shall be able also to eat the holy Passover in Jerusalem. The beginning of the fast of forty days is on the fifth of Phanenoth (Mar. 1.); and when, as I have said, we have first been purified and prepared by those days, we also begin the holy week of the great Easter on the tenth of Pharmuthi (Apr. 5.), in which, my beloved brethren, we should observe more prolonged prayers, and fastings, and watchings, that we may be enabled to anoint our lintels with precious blood, and to escape the destroyer. We cease (fasting) then, on the fifteenth of the month Pharmuthi (Apr. 10.), when we hear from the angels in the evening of the seventh day of the week, Why seek ye the living among the dead? for He hath risen. Immediately afterwards the first day of the great week receives us, I mean on the sixteenth of the same month Pharmuthi (April 11.), on which our Lord having risen, vouchsafed to us peace towards our neighbours. When then we have thus kept the feast according to His will, let us add from that first day in the holy week, also the seven weeks of Pentecost, in which we, receiving the grace of the Spirit, shall be giving thanks to the Lord at all times; through Whom to the Father be

7. 23. dead upon the sea-shore. Larson renders it 'and die Sunde in uns untergehen sehn'—a translation the Syribe will hardly admit. * Syr. glory and dominion, by the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen. Salute one another with a holy kiss. The brethren who are with me salute you. I pray, brethren beloved and longed for, that ye may have health, and that ye may be mindful of us in the Lord. Here endeth the third Festal Letter of holy Athanasius.

Letter 4.

1 Easter-day VII Pharmuthia; IV Non. Apr.; Æra Dioclet. 48: Coss. Fabius Pavatianus, Mavilius Hilarianus; Prae-Easter-day fect. Hyginus; Indict. V. on April 2. He sent this Letter from the Comitatus by a soldier. I SEND unto you, my beloved, late and beyond the accustomed time; yet I trust you will forgive the delay, on account of my far travelling, and because I have been tried with protracted illness. Being then hindered by these two causes, and unusually severe storms having occurred, I have deferred writing to you. But notwithstanding my far travelling, and my grievous sickness, I have not forgotten to give you the festal notification, and, in discharge of my duty, I now announce to you the feast. For although the letter has been delayed beyond the accustomed period of the proclamation, yet it should not be considered ill-timed, inasmuch as, since the enemies have been put to shame and reproved by the Church, because they persecuted us without a cause, we may now sing a festal song of praise, uttering

2 the triumphant hymn against Pharaoh; We will sing unto the Lord, for He is to be gloriously praised; the horse and his rider He hath cast into the sea. For we proceed duly, my beloved, from feast to feast; again festal meetings, again holy watchings stir up our minds, and keep our consciences on the guard to spiritual contemplation of good things. 3 Judith 13, 8. We do not celebrate these days in the character of mourners; but, as refreshing ourselves with spiritual food, we impose silence on our fleshly lusts. For by these means we shall have strength to overcome our adversaries, like blessed Judith, when, first having occupied herself with fastings and prayers, she overcame the enemies, and killed Olophernes. And blessed Esther, when destruction was about to come on all her race, and the nation of Israel was ready to perish, defeated the fury of the tyrant by no other means than by fasting and prayer to God, and changed the ruin of her people into safety. Now as those days are considered feasts for Israel, so also in old time they were called feasts when an enemy was slain, or a conspiracy against the people broken up, and Israel delivered. On this account it was that blessed Moses of old time ordained the great feast of the Passover, and our celebration of it, because, namely, Pharaoh was killed, and the people were delivered from bondage. But then, when those who tyrannized over the people were slain, feasts and holidays were observed partially—in Judaea—with reference to time. Now, however, that the devil is slain, that tyrant against the whole world, we do not approach the feast, my beloved, as a temporal one, but as being eternal and heavenly. For we proclaim it not as it were in shadows, but we come to it in the truth.

4 They indeed, when filled with the flesh of an irrational lamb, accomplished the feast, and having anointed their door-posts with the blood, deprecated the destroyer. But now we, eating of the Word of the Father, and having the lintels of our hearts sealed with the blood of the New Testament, acknowledge the grace given us from the Saviour, who said, Behold, I have given unto you to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. For no more does death reign; but instead of death henceforth there is life, since our Lord said, I am the life; so that every thing is filled with gladness and rejoicing; as it is written, The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice. For when death reigned, sitting down by the rivers of Babylon, we wept, and mourned, because we had experienced the bitterness of captivity; but now that death and the kingdom of the devil is abolished, every thing is entirely filled with joy and gladness. And God is no longer known in Judaea only, but in all the earth, their voice hath gone forth, and the knowledge of Him hath filled all the earth. What remains, my beloved, is obvious; that, as the result, we approach such a feast, not with filthy raiment, but with our consciences covered with pure garments. For we need in this to put on our Lord Jesus, that we may be able to celebrate the feast with Him. Now we are clothed with Him when we love virtue;

5 when we are enemies to wickedness; when we exercise ourselves with temperance; when we mortify lasciviousness; when we love righteousness, in preference to iniquity; when we esteem sufficiency; when we have fortitude of mind; when we forget not the poor, but open our door to all men; when we assist humble-mindedness, but hate pride. By these things Israel of old, after having first fought the battle, as in a figure, came to the feast. Such things were then set forth, as in the shadow. But we, my beloved, the shadow having received its fulfilment, and the types being accomplished, should no longer consider the feast a figurative one; neither should we go up to Jerusalem which is beneath, to sacrifice the Passover, according to the unseasonable observance of the Jews, lest, while the season passes away, we should be regarded as acting unseasonably; but, in accordance with the injunction of the Apostles, let us go beyond the types, and sing the new song of praise. For this they also observed; and as being assembled together with the Truth,

6 17. they drew near, and said unto our Saviour, Where wilt Thou that we should make ready for Thee the Passover? For no longer were these things done at Jerusalem which is beneath; neither was it considered that the feast should be celebrated there alone; but wherever God willed it to be. Now He willed it to be in every place, so that in every place incense and a sacrifice might be offered to Him. For although, as in the historical account, they were commanded not to introduce the feast of the Passover any where, but only in Jerusalem; yet when the things pertaining to that time were fulfilled, and those which belonged to shadows had passed away, and the preaching of the Gospel was to be extended every where; when, indeed, the disciples were spreading the feast in all places, they asked our Saviour, 17. Where wilt Thou that we shall make ready? Our Saviour also, since He was changing the typical for the spiritual, promised them that they should no longer eat the flesh of a lamb, but His own, saying, Take, eat and drink; this is My body, and My blood. When we are then nourished

7 26-28. 1 Conf. Letter i. p. 3. 2 Tâsis Syr. 3 Such a song as is in accordance with the superior blessings of the Christian dispensation. Ps. xviii. 1. Rev. xiv. 3. 4 1:10 505. I understand this as referring to Christ. Vid. John xiv. 6. by these things, we shall also, my beloved, properly keep the feast of the Passover. We commence on the first of Pharmuthi (Mar. 27.); and having ceased on the sixth of the same month (Apr. 1.), on the evening of the seventh day, and the holy first day of the week having risen upon us on the seventh of the same Pharmuthi (Apr. 2.), celebrate we too the days of the holy Pentecost following thereon, by them introducing a symbol of the world to come. But that henceforth we may be with Christ for ever, let us give praise to God over all in Christ Jesus, and through Him, with all saints, say unto the Lord, Amen.

8 Salute one another with a holy kiss. All the brethren who are with me salute you. We have sent this letter from the Comitatus, by the hand of an attendant officer, to whom it was given by Ablabius, the Praefect of the Praetorium, who fears God in truth. The whole interval of fifty days between Easter-day and Whitsunday (all which time was sometimes denominated Pentecost) was looked upon by the early Church as a time of rejoicing. During the continuance of it, the ordinary fasts, as on Wednesdays and Fridays, were generally suspended, though not alike by all the Churches of Christendom. Cassian Collat. xxi. c. xi. (Lips. 1733. p. 461.) speaks of the monasteries of Syria paying little regard to the rule which forhade kneeling at prayers, or fasting in Pentecost, while the Egyptians carefully observed it. Crepinus diligentius perennetari, cur apud. Egyptius tanta observantia caveretur, ne quis penitus totis Quinquagesima diebus vel gema in oratione curvatet, vel asque ad horam nonam jejunare praesmerit; eoque ad diligentius scrut-bamur, quod requaqnam hoc tanta cautione servari in Syriae monasteriis videramus. Bingham's Christian Ant. book xx. ch. 6.

9 It was due to this custom of regarding the whole season of Pentecost as one of rejoicing, during which fasts were suspended, that it is mentioned as a symbol of the world to come. S. Cyril uses the same comparison towards the end of his 26th Paschal discourse, Vide note to the title of this Letter. I am inclined to think that the person here mentioned belonged to the classtermed palatini. These were employed about the palace of the emperor, and though not actually of the number of the army, or accustomed to bear arms, were nevertheless included in the term 'military,' whatever service might be assigned them. This may account for the word used with reference to him in the title of the Letter. Among the number of these palatini, was one who was specially engaged as the bearer of the ordinary communications to and from the Emperor and the Patriarch. There was an officer to whom the general superintendence of the palace and the command of the palatini was committed. Ablabius probably now filled that post. Vid. Suicer. Thes. in v.

10 7 Ablavius (hic, Ablabius) Praefect of the city, the minister and favourite of Constantine the Great, was murdered after the death of the latter. He was consul in the preceding year. Zosimus ii. 40. (Smith's Diet. of Gr. and Rom. Biography.) D 2 For I am at the Comitatus, having been summoned by the emperor Constantine to see him. But the Meletians, who were present there, being envious, sought our ruin before the Emperor. But they were put to shame and driven away thence as calumniators, being confuted by many things. Those who were thus driven away were Callinicus, Ision, Eudaemon, and Gelous Hieracammon, who, on account of the shame of his name, calls himself Eulogius. Here endeth the fourth Festal Letter of holy Athanasius.

Letter 5.

1 Easter-day, Coss. Dalmatius and Zenophilus; Prefect. Paterius; VI. Indict. XVII. Kal. Maii; XX. Pharmuthi; Easter-day XI. Moon; VII. Gods; Era Dioclet. 19. on April 15. WE duly proceed, my brethren, from feasts to feasts, duly from prayers to prayers; we advance from fastsᶜ to fasts, and join holy-days to holy-days. Again the time has arrived which brings to us a new beginning, even the announcement of the blessed Passover, in which our Lord was sacrificed. We eat, as it were, the food of life; and, thirsting continually, are at all times delighted, as it were, from a fountain, by His precious blood. For we, on the one hand, are always eagerly desirous; He, on the other, stands ready for those who thirst; and for those who thirst, there is the word of our Saviour, which, according to His lovingkindness, He vouchsafed in the day of the feast; If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink. Nor was it then alone

2 The Syriac must be for 'Paterius' not 'Paterius,' as Larsow writes it. The Nun and the Yod are often confounded in the Ms. Moreover, the letter Oisph would not be written in Syriac as part of the final syllable 'tus,' though it does frequently appear in the Ms. in the termination 'ius:' e. g. Patricius, Anicius, Septimius, Florentius. We know that the pretect in the year 319 bore the name of Paterius. Vid. Baron. Ann. Eccles. tom. 4. p. 8. §. xxi. ᶜ Read 1100, with the Rebu. The allusion here is to the time of the year at which Easter is celebrated, viz. the Spring, and in particular to the passage in Deut. chap. xxvi. 1, which is more than once quoted in these letters:. Vid. note o to Letter i. p. 12.; also note to Letter xix, sub init. In the expression 'new beginning' reference is also made to our Saviour, (. Apocal. iii. 14.) to whom we are brought near in the feast, according to what follows. Conf. Athan. contra Apollinarium, hb. i. §. 20. p. 748 9.

3 when any one drew near to Him, that He cured his thirst; but, moreover, whenever it is sought, is there access freely for any man to the Saviour. For the grace of the feast is not limited to one time, nor does its splendid brilliancy suffer an eclipse; but it is always near, enlightening the conscience of those who earnestly desire itf. For there is constant virtue in this, to those who are illuminated in their minds, and meditate on the divine Scriptures day and night, like the man to whom a blessing is given, as it is written in the sacred Psalms; Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of corrupters. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night. For it is not the sung, or the moon, or the host of those other stars which illumines him; but he glitters with the high effulgence of God over all. For it is God, my beloved, even the God Who at first established the feast for us, Who vouchsafes the celebration of it year by year. He also brought about the slaying of His Son for salvation, and gave us this reason for the holy feast; to which every year is a witness, the feast being proclaimed annually at a season corresponding with the present.

4 This also leads us on from the cross by means of this world to that which is before us, and God produces even now from it the joy of glorioush salvation, bringing us to the same assembly, and in every place uniting all of us in spirit; appointing us common prayers, and a common grace proceeding from the feast. For this is the marvel of his lovingkindness, that He should gather together in the same place those who are at a distance; and make those who appear to be far off in the body, to be near together in unity of spirit. Wherefore then, my beloved, do we not acknowledge the grace as becometh the feast? Wherefore do we not make a return to our Benefactor? It is indeed impossible to make an adequate return to God; still, it is a 5 f. Vide note c to Letter i. p. 3. g. In the Ms. 1500 is written by mistake for 1500. h. Syr. 1500. This root is unknown in Syriac, and I believe in all the Shemite languages. There is, I doubt not, an error in the text, and that the word should be some form of the root 1501 which, in Heb. Chald. Syr. Æthiop. and Arabic, conveys the idea of splendor. wicked thing for us who receive the gracious gift, not to acknowledge it. Nature itself manifests our inability; but our own will reproves our unthankfulness. Therefore the blessed Paul, when admiring the greatness of the gift of God, said, And who is sufficient for these things? For He made the world free by the blood of our Saviour; then, again, He caused the grave to be trodden down by the death of our Saviour, and opened the gates of heaven, granting through our Saviour an uninterrupted way to those who ascend (thereto). On this account, one of the saints, while he acknowledged the grace, but was insufficient to repay it, said, What shall I render unto the Lord for all He has done unto me? For instead of death he had received life; freedom instead of bondage; and the kingdom of heaven instead of the grave. For of old time, death reigned from Adam to Moses; but now the divine voice hath said, To-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise. And the saints, being sensible of this, said, Except the 43. Lord had helped me, my soul had almost dwelt in hell. Besides all this, being compelled to make a return, while he acknowledged the gift, he wrote finally, saying, I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord; precious in His sight is the death of His saints.

6 With regard to the cup, our Lord also said, Are ye able Mat. 20, 22. to drink of that cup which I am about to drink of? And when the disciples assented, the Lord said, Ye shall indeed drink of My cup; but that ye should sit on My right hand, and on My left, is not Mine to give; but to those for whom it is prepared. Therefore, my beloved, let us be sensible of the gift, though we are found incompetent to repay it. As we have ability, let us meet the occasion. For although nature is not able, with things unworthy of the Word, to return a recompense for such benefits, yet let us render Him thanks while we persevere in piety. And how can we be more regardful of piety, than when we acknowledge God, Who, in His love to mankind, has bestowed on us such things? (For thus we shall obediently keep the law, and observe the commandments thereof. Further, we shall not, as unthankful persons, be accounted transgressors of the law, or do those things which ought to be hated; for the Lord loveth the thankful;) when too we offer ourselves to the Lord, like the saints; when, finally, we subscribe ourselves, living not to ourselves, but to the Lord, Who

7 died for us, as also the blessed Paul did, when he said, I am crucified with Christ, yet I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. Now our life, my brethren, truly consists in our denying all bodily things, and continuing stedfast in those only of our Saviour. Therefore the season now requires this of us, that we should not only utter such words, but also imitate the deeds of the saints. But we imitate them, when we acknowledge Him Who died; and no longer live unto ourselves, but Christ henceforth lives in us; when we render a recompense to the Lord to the utmost of our power; when, I say, we make a return, not by giving any thing of our own, but those things which we have before received from Him; this being especially of His grace, that He should require, as from us, His own gifts. He bears witness of this when He says, My offerings are My gifts. That is, those things which ye give Me are yours, as having received them from Me; but they are the gifts of God. And let us offer to the Lord every virtue, and the true holiness He requires; and in piety let us keep the feast to Him with those things which He has hallowed for us.

8 Let us thus engage in the holy fasts, as having been Perhaps S. Athanasius had in mind here the words of David, (1 Chron. xxix. 14.) All things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given Thee." prescribed by Him, and by means of which we attain the way to God. But let us not be like the heathen, or the ignorant Jews, or as the heretics and schismatics of the present time. For the heathen think the accomplishment of the feast is in the abundance of food; the Jews, erring in the type and shadow, think it still such; the schismatics keep it in separate places, and with vain imaginations. But let us, my brethren, be superior to the heathen, in keeping the feast with sincerity of soul, and purity of body; to the Jews, in no longer receiving the type and the shadow, but as having been gloriously illumined with the light of truth, and as looking upon the Sun of Righteousness; to the schismatics, in not rending the coat of Christ, but in one house, even in the Catholic Church, eating the Passover of the Lord, Who, in giving us His holy laws, instructed us to virtue, and for the exercise thereof, promised the feast. For the Passover is in truth a turning from vice to virtue, and a conversion from death unto life. This may be gathered even from the type of old time. For then they were solicitous to pass from Egypt to Jerusalem; but now we remove from death to life. They also at that time passed from Pharaoh to Moses, but now we go up from the devil to the Saviour. And as, at that time, an emblem of their deliverance was every year established as a witness;

9 46. A S. Cyril, towards the end of his homilies de Festis Paschalibus, frequently speaks of the quadragesimal fast, as of Apostolic or Evangelical origin: are the terms he employs in his seventh, fifteenth, and twentieth homilies, when declaring the periods at which Lent was to begin and end. The words — — are similar terms found in other of his paschal discourses. A The figure of the - sutilis, (John xix. 23.) as applied to the indivisible Church, owes its origin and frequent use to the Arian dispute. It is mischievously to tear the body of the Church, to sever and to rend its whole garment Vide Germani I. Patriarchæ Constantin. de hæresibus et synod. apud A. Mai Spicil. t. vii. p. 44. So also, §. 15. "Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, who was against receiving Aries back again into communion with the Church, relates that the Lord appeared to him clad in torn garments. On his asking, O Lord! who has rent Thee? the answer was, Aries has rent Me; receive him not, for he is condemned now and for ever. L.

10 so now, introducing the memorial of our salvation, we fast, meditating on death, that we may be able to live. And we watch, not as mourning, but as waiting for the Lord, when He shall have returned from the wedding; so that we may vie with each other in the triumph, hastening to announce the result of victory over death. Would therefore, O my beloved, (for the word requires this) that we here so governed ourselves at all times and entirely, and so lived, as never to forget the noble acts of God, nor to depart from the practice of virtue! As also the Apostolic voice exhorts; Remember Jesus Christ, that He rose from the dead. Not that there was a limited season of remembrance appointed; but that at all times He should be in our thoughts. Yet, on account of general supineness, we delay from day to day. Let us then begin in these days. To this end a time of remembrance was appointed, which should set before the saints the recompense of the reward of their calling, while to the careless it should be a reproving monitor.

11 Therefore in all the remaining days, let us persevere in virtuous conversation, repenting, as is our duty, of our neglect in various things, of whatever kind it may be; for there is no one free from defilement, though his course may have been but one hour on the earth, as that man of surpassing fortitude, Job, testifies. But, stretching forth to those things that are to come, let us pray that we eat not the Passover unworthily, lest we be exposed to dangers. For to those who keep the feast in purity, the Passover is heavenly food; but to those who observe it profanely and contemptuously, it is harm and loss. For it is written, Whosoever shall eat and drink unworthily, is guilty of the death of our Lord. Wherefore, let us not proceed, as merely regarding the performance of the act of the feast, but as being about to approach the divine Lamb, and to touch heavenly food. Let us cleanse our hands; let us purify the body. Let us keep our whole spirit from guile; not giving up ourselves to excess, and to lusts, but occupying ourselves entirely with our Lord, and with divine doctrines; so that, being altogether pure, we may be able to partake of the Word.

12 We begin the holy fast on the fourteenth of Pharmuthi (Apr. 9.), on the evening of the Sabbath; and having ceased on the nineteenth of the same month Pharmuthi (Apr. 14.), the first day of the holy week dawns upon us on the twentieth of the same month Pharmuthi (Apr. 15.), to which we join the seven weeks of Pentecost; with prayers, and distribution towards our neighbour, and love towards one another, and, which is above all, a conciliatory disposition. For in this manner also shall we be heirs of the kingdom of heaven, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom to the Father be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. All the brethren who are with me salute you. Salute one another with a holy kiss. Here endeth the fifth Festal Letter of holy Athanasius.