Second Apology 7
Summary: The demons have always stirred up hatred against those who lived by reason, and much more against Christians, who know the whole Word, Christ.
Greek text · Rauschen, 124
Καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν Στωϊκῶν δὲ δογμάτων, ἐπειδὴ κἂν τὸν ἠθικὸν λόγον κόσμιοι γεγόνασιν, ὡς καὶ ἔν τισιν οἱ ποιηταί, διὰ τὸ ἔμφυτον παντὶ γένει ἀνθρώπων σπέρμα τοῦ λόγου, μεμισῆσθαι καὶ πεφονεῦσθαι οἴδαμεν· Ἡράκλειτον μέν, ὡς προέφημεν, καὶ Μουσώνιον δὲ ἐν τοῖς καθʼ ἡμᾶς καὶ ἄλλους οἴδαμεν. Ὡς γὰρ ἐσημάναμεν, πάντας τοὺς κἂν ὁπωσδήποτε κατὰ λόγον βιοῦν σπουδάζοντας καὶ κακίαν φεύγειν μισεῖσθαι ἀεὶ ἐνήργησαν οἱ δαίμονες. Οὐδὲν δὲ θαυμαστόν, εἰ τοὺς οὐ κατὰ σπερματικοῦ λόγου μέρος, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ παντὸς λόγου, ὅ ἐστι Χριστοῦ, γνῶσιν καὶ θεωρίαν πολὺ μᾶλλον μισεῖσθαι οἱ δαίμονες ἐλεγχόμενοι ἐνεργοῦσιν· οἳ τὴν ἀξίαν κόλασιν καὶ τιμωρίαν κομίσονται ἐν αἰωνίῳ πυρὶ ἐγκλεισθέντες. Εἰ γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἤδη διὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἡττῶνται, δίδαγμά ἐστι τῆς καὶ μελλούσης αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῖς λατρεύουσιν αὐτοῖς ἐσομένης ἐν πυρὶ αἰωνίῳ κολάσεως. Οὕτως καὶ γὰρ οἱ προφῆται πάντες προεκήρυξαν γενήσεσθαι, καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ ἡμέτερος διδάσκαλος ἐδίδαξε.
English · Claude translation
And we know that those who followed the Stoic teachings, since they were orderly at least in their ethical teaching, as the poets also were in some respects, because of the seed of the Word implanted in every race of men, were hated and put to death: Heraclitus, as we said before, and in our own times Musonius, and others. For, as we indicated, the demons have always brought it about that all who strive in any way at all to live according to reason and to flee vice are hated. And it is nothing wonderful if the demons, when they are exposed, work to make much more hated those who live not according to a part of the seminal Word, but according to the knowledge and contemplation of the whole Word, who is Christ. They will receive their just punishment and penalty when they are shut up in eternal fire. For if they are already defeated by men through the name of Jesus Christ, this is a lesson of the punishment in eternal fire that is to come on them and on those who serve them. For so all the prophets foretold it would be, and so Jesus our teacher taught.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- “The seed of the Word” (σπέρμα τοῦ λόγου) and “the seminal Word” (σπερματικὸς λόγος): Justin's famous teaching that all people have some share in the Word, while Christians know the whole Word in Christ. Compare 1 Apol. 46 and 2 Apol. 10, 13.
- Musonius Rufus, a Stoic philosopher banished by Nero and later by Vespasian.
- This is chapter 8 in older editions and in ANF.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization slip (οἱ garbled)): ἔν τισιν σι῾ ποιηταί → ἔν τισιν οἱ ποιηταί.
Cite this passage
Justin, 2 Apol. 7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-2-apology/7/).
Plain text
Justin, 2 Apol. 7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-2-apology/7/).
Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)
Whole work:BibTeX ·RIS ·Markdown text