Dialogue with Trypho 91.2 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Archambault 2:86–88

Μονοκέρωτος γὰρ κέρατα οὐδενὸς ἄλλου πράγματος ἢ σχήματος ἔχοι ἄν τις εἰπεῖν καὶ ἀποδεῖξαι, εἰ μὴ τοῦ τύπου ὃς τὸν σταυρὸν δείκνυσιν. Ὄρθιον γὰρ τὸ ἕν ἐστι ξύλον, ἀφʼ οὗ ἐστι τὸ ἀνώτατον μέρος εἰς κέρας ὑπερηρμένον, ὅταν τὸ ἄλλο ξύλον προσαρμοσθῇ, καὶ ἑκατέρωθεν ὡς κέρατα τῷ ἑνὶ κέρατι παρεζευγμένα τὰ ἄκρα φαίνηται· καὶ τὸ ἐν τῷ μέσῳ πηγνύμενον ὡς κέρας καὶ αὐτὸ ἐξέχον ἐστίν, ἐφʼ ᾧ ἐποχοῦνται οἱ σταυρούμενοι, καὶ βλέπεται ὡς κέρας καὶ αὐτὸ σὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις κέρασι συνεσχηματισμένον καὶ πεπηγμένον.

English · Claude translation

“For no one could say or prove that the horns of a unicorn are like any other thing or figure except the type which shows the cross. For the one beam stands upright, and its highest part rises into a horn, when the other beam is fitted to it, and the ends on either side appear as horns joined to the one horn; and the part fixed in the middle, on which those who are crucified are supported, also projects like a horn, and it too looks like a horn shaped and fixed together with the other horns.

About this passage

Source

Archambault 2:86–88 · Georges Archambault, ed., Justin: Dialogue avec Tryphon, 2 vols., Textes et documents pour l'étude historique du christianisme 8, 11 (Paris: Picard, 1909) · Greek text: G. Archambault, Justin: Dialogue avec Tryphon (Paris, 1909), 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

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Archambault (1909); made independently of existing English translations.

Topics

Christology

Notes

Translation notes

“Unicorn” (μονόκερως): the LXX rendering of the Hebrew wild ox. Justin's description of the projecting seat (sedile) on the cross is also found in Irenaeus.

Cite this passage

Justin, Dial. 91.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/91/2/).

Plain text

Justin, Dial. 91.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/91/2/).