To Autolycus 1.3
Summary: God's form cannot be described; every name we give him names only one of his attributes or works.
Greek text · Otto 8:8–12
Ἐρεῖς οὖν μοι· Σὺ ὁ βλέπων διήγησαί μοι τὸ εἶδος τοῦ θεοῦ. Ἄκουε, ὦ ἄνθρωπε· Τὸ μὲν εἶδος τοῦ θεοῦ ἄῤῥητον καὶ ἀνέκφραστόν ἐστιν, μὴ δυνάμενον ὀφθαλμοῖς σαρκίνοις ὁραθῆναι. Δόξῃ γάρ ἐστιν ἀχώρητος, μεγέθει ἀκατάληπτος, ὕψει ἀπερινόητος, ἰσχύϊ ἀσύγκριτος, σοφίᾳ ἀσυμβίβαστος, ἀγαθοσύνῃ ἀμίμητος, καλοποιΐᾳ ἀνεκδιήγητος. Εἰ γὰρ φῶς αὐτὸν εἴπω, ποίημα αὐτοῦ λέγω· εἰ λόγον εἴπω, ἀρχὴν αὐτοῦ λέγω· νοῦν ἐὰν εἴπω, φρόνησιν αὐτοῦ λέγω· πνεῦμα ἐὰν εἴπω, ἀναπνοὴν αὐτοῦ λέγω· σοφίαν ἐὰν εἴπω, γέννημα αὐτοῦ λέγω· ἰσχὺν ἐὰν εἴπω, κράτος αὐτοῦ λέγω· δύναμιν ἐὰν εἴπω, ἐνέργειαν αὐτοῦ λέγω· πρόνοιαν ἐὰν εἴπω, ἀγαθοσύνην αὐτοῦ λέγω· βασιλείαν ἐὰν εἴπω, δόξαν αὐτοῦ λέγω· κύριον ἐὰν εἴπω, κριτὴν αὐτὸν λέγω· κριτὴν ἐὰν εἴπω, δίκαιον αὐτὸν λέγω· πατέρα ἐὰν εἴπω, τὰ πάντα αὐτὸν λέγω· πῦρ ἐὰν εἴπω, τὴν ὀργὴν αὐτοῦ λέγω. Ἐρεῖς οὖν μοι· Ὀργίζεται θεός; Μάλιστα· ὀργίζεται τοῖς τὰ φαῦλα πράσσουσιν, ἀγαθὸς δὲ καὶ χρηστὸς καὶ οἰκτίρμων ἐστὶν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας καὶ φοβουμένους αὐτόν· παιδευτὴς γάρ ἐστιν τῶν θεοσεβῶν καὶ πατὴρ τῶν δικαίων, κριτὴς δὲ καὶ κολαστὴς τῶν ἀσεβῶν.
English · Claude translation
You will say to me, then, “You who see, describe to me the form of God.” Listen, O man. The form of God is unspeakable and inexpressible, and cannot be seen with eyes of flesh. In glory he is beyond containing, in greatness beyond grasping, in height beyond conceiving, in strength beyond comparing, in wisdom beyond rivaling, in goodness beyond imitating, in beneficence beyond describing. If I call him Light, I am speaking of his handiwork; if I call him Word, I am speaking of his sovereignty; if I call him Mind, I am speaking of his wisdom; if I call him Spirit, I am speaking of his breath; if I call him Wisdom, I am speaking of his offspring; if I call him Strength, I am speaking of his might; if I call him Power, I am speaking of his activity; if I call him Providence, I am speaking of his goodness; if I call him Kingdom, I am speaking of his glory; if I call him Lord, I am speaking of him as Judge; if I call him Judge, I am speaking of him as just; if I call him Father, I am speaking of all things as coming from him; if I call him Fire, I am speaking of his wrath. You will say to me, then, “Is God angry?” Indeed he is: he is angry with those who do evil; but to those who love and fear him he is good and kind and merciful. For he is the teacher of the godly and the father of the righteous, but the judge and punisher of the ungodly.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- “Sovereignty” renders ἀρχή, which also means “beginning”; Theophilus later calls the Word the “beginning” of creation (2.10).
- “I am speaking of all things as coming from him” renders a compressed phrase (literally, “I speak of him as all things”); 1.4 explains that he is called Father “because he is before all things.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misprint: εἴκω for εἴπω (“I say”), as in the parallel clauses): Εἰ γὰρ φῶς αὐτὸν εἴκω → Εἰ γὰρ φῶς αὐτὸν εἴπω.
Cite this passage
Theophilus, Autol. 1.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/1/3/).
Plain text
Theophilus, Autol. 1.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/1/3/).
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