Sophia Scriptura

A Plea for the Christians 37

Athenagoras · A Plea for the Christians · ca. 176–180 · Athens · Read in context

Summary: Athenagoras asks the emperors for their favor: Christians pray for them and their succession, so that they may live quiet and peaceful lives.

Greek text · Otto 7:184

Ὑμεῖς δέ, ὦ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι φύσει καὶ παιδείᾳ χρηστοὶ καὶ μέτριοι καὶ φιλάνθρωποι καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἄξιοι, διαλελυμένῳ μὲν τὰ ἐγκλήματα, ἐπιδεδειχότι δὲ ὅτι καὶ θεοσεβεῖς καὶ ἐπιεικεῖς καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς κεκολασμένοι, τὴν βασιλικὴν κεφαλὴν ἐπινεύσατε. Τίνες γὰρ καὶ δικαιότεροι ὧν δέονται τυχεῖν, ἢ οἵτινες περὶ μὲν τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς ὑμετέρας εὐχόμεθα ἵνα παῖς μὲν παρὰ πατρὸς κατὰ τὸ δικαιότατον διαδέχησθε τὴν βασιλείαν, αὔξην δὲ καὶ ἐπίδοσιν καὶ ἡ ἀρχὴ ὑμῶν, πάντων ὑποχειρίων γινομένων, λαμβάνῃ; Τοῦτο δʼ ἐστὶ καὶ πρὸς ἡμῶν, ὅπως ἤρεμον καὶ ἡσύχιον βίον διάγοιμεν, αὐτοὶ δὲ πάντα τὰ κεκελευσμένα προθύμως ὑπηρετοῖμεν.

English · Claude translation

And you, who are in every way, by nature and by education, good, moderate, humane, and worthy of your rule: now that I have refuted the charges and shown that we are godly, gentle, and disciplined in soul, bow your royal heads in assent. For who are more deserving to obtain what they ask than we, who pray for your rule, that you may, son from father, as is most just, succeed to the kingdom, and that your empire may grow and increase as all things are brought under your hand? This is also to our advantage, that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life, and may ourselves readily do all that is commanded.

About this passage

Source
Otto 7:184 · Johann Carl Theodor Otto, ed., Athenagorae philosophi Atheniensis opera, Corpus apologetarum Christianorum saeculi secundi 7 (Jena: Mauke, 1857) · Greek text: J. C. T. Otto, Athenagorae philosophi Atheniensis opera (Corpus apologetarum Christianorum saeculi secundi 7, 1857), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Otto, CorpApol 7. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Otto (1857); made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)
Scripture
Topics
Prayer, Persecution

Notes

Translation notes

  • The prayer for the emperors echoes 1 Tim 2:1–2.
  • “Son from father”: Commodus succeeding Marcus Aurelius.

Cite this passage

Athenagoras, Leg. 37 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athenagoras-legatio/37/).

Plain text
Athenagoras, Leg. 37 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athenagoras-legatio/37/).

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