On Daniel.
I.
Preface by the most holy Hippolytus, (Bishop) of Rome. [1285]
As I wish to give an accurate account of the times of the captivity of
the children of Israel in Babylon, and to discuss the prophecies
contained in the visions of the blessed Daniel, (as well as) his manner
of life from his boyhood in Babylon, I too shall proceed to bear my
testimony to that holy and righteous man, a prophet and witness of
Christ, who not only declared the visions of Nebuchadnezzar the king in
those times, but also trained youths of like mind with himself, and
raised up faithful witnesses in the world. He is born, then, in the
time of the prophetic ministry of the blessed Jeremiah, and in the
reign of Jehoiakim or Eliakim. Along with the other captives, he is
carried off a prisoner to Babylon. Now there are born to the blessed
Josiah these five sons--Jehoahaz, Eliakim, Johanan, Zedekiah, or
Jeconiah, and Sadum. [1286] And on his father's death, Jehoahaz is
anointed as king by the people at the age of twenty-three years.
Against him comes up Pharaoh-Necho, in the third month of his reign;
and he takes him (Jehoahaz) prisoner, and carries him into Egypt, and
imposes tribute on the land to the extent of one hundred talents of
silver and ten talents of gold. And in his stead he sets up his brother
Eliakim as king over the land, whose name also he changed to Jehoiakim,
and who was then eleven years old. Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon, [1287] and carries him off prisoner to Babylon, taking
with him also some of the vessels of the house in Jerusalem. Thrown
into prison as a friend of Pharaoh, and as one set up by him over the
kingdom, [1288] he is released at length in the thirty-seventh year by
Evil-Merodach king of Babylon; and he cut his hair short, and was
counsellor to him, and ate at his table until the day that he died. On
his removal, his son Jehoiakim [1289] reigns three years. [1290] And
against him came up Nebuchadnezzar, and transports him and ten thousand
of the men of his people to Babylon, and sets up in his stead his
father's brother, whose name he changed also to Zedekiah; and after
making agreement with him by oath and treaty, he returns to Babylon.
This (Zedekiah), after a reign of eleven years, revolted from him and
went over to Pharaoh king of Egypt. And in the tenth year
Nebuchadnezzar came against him from the land of the Chaldeans, and
surrounded the city with a stockade, and environed it all round, and
completely shut it up. In this way the larger number of them perished
by famine, and others perished by the sword, and some were taken
prisoners, and the city was burned with fire, and the temple and the
wall were destroyed. And the army of the Chaldeans seized all the
treasure that was found in the house of the Lord, and all the vessels
of gold and silver; and all the brass, Nebuzaradan, chief of the
slaughterers, [1291] stripped off, and carried it to Babylon. And the
army of the Chaldeans pursued Zedekiah himself as he fled by night
along with seven hundred men, and surprised him in Jericho, and brought
him to the king of Babylon at Reblatha. And the king pronounced
judgment upon him in wrath, because he had violated the oath of the
Lord, and the agreement he had made with him; and he slew his sons
before his face, and put out Zedekiah's eyes. And he cast him into
chains of iron, and carried him to Babylon; and there he remained
grinding at the mill until the day of his death. And when he died, they
took his body and cast it behind the wall of Nineveh. In his case is
fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah, saying, "(As) I live, saith the
Lord, though Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah should become the
signet upon my right hand, yet will I pluck thee thence; and I will
give thee into the hands of them that seek thy life, of them whose face
thou fearest, even into the hands of the Chaldeans. And I will cast
thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into a country where thou wast
not born; and there ye shall die. But to the land which they desire in
their souls, I will not send thee back. Dishonoured is Jeconias, like
an unserviceable vessel, of which there is no use, since he is cast out
and expelled into a land which he knew not. O earth, hear the word of
the Lord. Write this man, a man excommunicate; for no man of his seed
shall prosper (grow up), sitting upon the throne of David, ruling any
more in Judah." [1292] Thus the captivity in Babylon befell them after
the exodus from Egypt. When the whole people, then, was transported,
and the city made desolate. and the sanctuary destroyed, that the word
of the Lord might be fulfilled which He spake by the mouth of the
prophet Jeremiah, saying, "The sanctuary shall be desolate seventy
years;" [1293] then we find that the blessed Daniel prophesied in
Babylon, and appeared as the vindicator of Susanna.
__________________________________________________________________
[1285] Simon de Magistris, Daniel secundum Septuaginta, from the Codex
Chisianus, Rome, 1772; and Mai, Script. vet. collectio nova, i. iii.
ed. 1831, pp. 29-56.
[1286] Shallum. See 1 Chron. iii. 15.
[1287] 2 Kings xxiv. 10.
[1288] 2 Kings xxv. 27. Note the confusion between Jehoiakim and
Jehoiachin in what follows.
[1289] i.e., Jehoiachin.
[1290] Others trimenion = three months.
[1291] archimageiros, "chief cook."
[1292] Jer. xxii. 24, etc.
[1293] Jer. xxv. 11.
__________________________________________________________________
II.
The interpretation by Hippolytus, (bishop) of Rome, of the visions of
Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, taken in conjunction. [1294]
1. In speaking of a "lioness from the sea," [1295] he meant the rising
of the kingdom of Babylon, and that this was the "golden head of the
image." And in speaking of its "eagle wings," he meant that king
Nebuchadnezzar was exalted and that his glory was lifted up against
God. Then he says "its wings were plucked off," i.e., that his glory
was destroyed; for he was driven out of his kingdom. And the words, "A
man's heart was given it, and it was made stand upon the feet of a
man," mean that he came to himself again, and recognised that he was
but a man, and gave the glory to God. Then after the lioness he sees a
second beast, "like a bear," which signified the Persians. For after
the Babylonians the Persians obtained the power. And in saying that "it
had three ribs in its mouth," he pointed to the three nations,
Persians, Medes, and Babylonians, which were expressed in the image by
the silver after the gold. Then comes the third beast, "a leopard,"
which means the Greeks; for after the Persians, Alexander of Macedon
had the power, when Darius was overthrown, which was also indicated by
the brass in the image. And in saying that the beast "had four wings of
a fowl, and four heads," he showed most clearly how the kingdom of
Alexander was parted into four divisions. For in speaking of four
heads, he meant the four kings that arose out of it. For Alexander,
when dying, divided his kingdom into four parts. Then he says, "The
fourth beast (was) dreadful and terrible: it had iron teeth, and claws
of brass." Who, then, are meant by this but the Romans, whose kingdom,
the kingdom that still stands, is expressed by the iron? "for," says
he, "its legs are of iron."
2. After this, then, what remains, beloved, but the toes of the feet of
the image, in which "part shall be of iron and part of clay mixed
together?" By the toes of the feet he meant, mystically, the ten kings
that rise out of that kingdom. As Daniel says, "I considered the beast;
and, lo, (there were) ten horns behind, among which shall come up
another little horn springing from them;" by which none other is meant
than the antichrist that is to rise; and he shall set up the kingdom of
Judah. And in saying that "three horns" were "plucked up by the roots"
by this one, he indicates the three kings of Egypt, Libya, and
Ethiopia, whom this one will slay in the array of war. And when he has
conquered all, he will prove himself a terrible and savage tyrant, and
will cause tribulation and persecution to the saints, exalting himself
against them. And after him, it remains that "the stone" shall come
from heaven which "smote the image" and shivered it, and subverted all
the kingdoms, and gave the kingdom to the saints of the Most High. This
"became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."
3. As these things, then, are destined to come to pass, and as the toes
of the image turn out to be democracies, [1296] and the ten horns of
the beast are distributed among ten kings, let us look at what is
before us more carefully, and scan it, as it were, with open eye. The
"golden head of the image" is identical with the "lioness," by which
the Babylonians were represented. "The golden shoulders and the arms of
silver" are the same with the "bear," by which the Persians and Medes
are meant. "The belly and thighs of brass" are the "leopard," by which
the Greeks who ruled from Alexander onwards are intended. The "legs of
iron" are the "dreadful and terrible beast," by which the Romans who
hold the empire now are meant. The "toes of clay and iron" are the "ten
horns" which are to be. The "one other little horn springing up in
their midst" is the "antichrist." The stone that "smites the image and
breaks it in pieces," and that filled the whole earth, is Christ, who
comes from heaven and brings judgment on the world.
4. But that we may not leave our subject at this point undemonstrated,
we are obliged to discuss the matter of the times, of which a man
should not speak hastily, because they are a light to him. For as the
times are noted from the foundation of the world, and reckoned from
Adam, they set clearly before us the matter with which our inquiry
deals. For the first appearance of our Lord in the flesh took place in
Bethlehem, under Augustus, in the year 5500; and He suffered in the
thirty-third year. And 6,000 years must needs be accomplished, in order
that the Sabbath may come, the rest, the holy day "on which God rested
from all His works." [1297] For the Sabbath is the type and emblem of
the future kingdom of the saints, when they "shall reign with Christ,"
when He comes from heaven, as John says in his Apocalypse: for "a day
with the Lord is as a thousand years." [1298] Since, then, in six days
God made all things, it follows that 6,000 years must be fulfilled. And
they are not yet fulfilled, as John says: "five are fallen; one is,"
that is, the sixth; "the other is not yet come." [1299]
5. In mentioning the "other," moreover, he specifies the seventh, in
which there is rest. But some one may be ready to say, How will you
prove to me that the Saviour was born in the year 5500? Learn that
easily, O man; for the things that took place of old in the wilderness,
under Moses, in the case of the tabernacle, were constituted types and
emblems of spiritual mysteries, in order that, when the truth came in
Christ in these last days, you might be able to perceive that these
things were fulfilled. For He says to him, "And thou shalt make the ark
of imperishable wood, and shalt overlay it with pure gold within and
without; and thou shalt make the length of it two cubits and a half,
and the breadth thereof one cubit and a half, and a cubit and a half
the height;" [1300] which measures, when summed up together, make five
cubits and a half, so that the 5500 years might be signified thereby.
6. At that time, then, the Saviour appeared and showed His own body to
the world, (born) of the Virgin, who was the "ark overlaid with pure
gold," with the Word within and the Holy Spirit without; so that the
truth is demonstrated, and the "ark" made manifest. From the birth of
Christ, then, we must reckon the 500 years that remain to make up the
6000, and thus the end shall be. And that the Saviour appeared in the
world, bearing the imperishable ark, His own body, at a time which was
the fifth and half, John declares: "Now it was the sixth hour," [1301]
he says, intimating by that, one-half of the day. But a day with the
Lord is 1000 years; and the half of that, therefore, is 500 years. For
it was not meet that He should appear earlier, for the burden of the
law still endured, nor yet when the sixth day was fulfilled (for the
baptism is changed), but on the fifth and half, in order that in the
remaining half time the gospel might be preached to the whole world,
and that when the sixth day was completed He might end the present
life.
7. Since, then, the Persians held the mastery for 330 years, [1302] and
after them the Greeks, who were yet more glorious, held it for 300
years, of necessity the fourth beast, as being strong and mightier than
all that were before it, will reign 500 years. When the times are
fulfilled, and the ten horns spring from the beast in the last (times),
then Antichrist will appear among them. When he makes war against the
saints, and persecutes them, then may we expect the manifestation of
the Lord from heaven.
8. The prophet having thus instructed us with all exactness as to the
certainty of the things that are to be, broke off from his present
subject, and passed again to the kingdom of the Persians and Greeks,
recounting to us another vision which took place, and was fulfilled in
its proper time; in order that, by establishing our belief in this, he
might be able to present us to God as readier believers in the things
that are to be. Accordingly, what he had narrated in the first vision,
he again recounts in detail for the edification of the faithful. For by
the "ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward," he means
Darius, the king of the Persians, who overcame all the nations; "for,"
says he, "these beasts shall not stand before him." And by the
"he-goat that came from the west," he means Alexander the Macedonian,
the king of the Greeks; and in that he "came against that very ram, and
was moved with choler, and smote him upon the face, and shivered him,
and cast him upon the ground, and stamped upon him," this expresses
just what has happened.
9. For Alexander waged war against Darius, and overcame him, and made
himself master of the whole sovereignty, after routing and destroying
his camp. Then, after the exaltation of the he-goat, his horn--the
great one, namely--was broken; and there arose four horns under it,
toward the four winds of heaven. For, when Alexander had made himself
master of all the land of Persia, and had reduced its people into
subjection, he thereupon died, after dividing his kingdom into four
principalities, as has been shown above. And from that time "one horn
was exalted, and waxed great, even to the power of heaven; and by him
the sacrifice," he says, "was disturbed, and righteousness cast down to
the ground."
10. For Antiochus arose, surnamed Epiphanes, who was of the line of
Alexander. And after he had reigned in Syria, and brought under him all
Egypt, he went up to Jerusalem, and entered the sanctuary, and seized
all the treasures in the house of the Lord, and the golden candlestick,
and the table, and the altar, and made a great slaughter in the land;
even as it is written: "And the sanctuary shall be trodden under foot,
unto evening and unto morning, a thousand and three hundred days." For
it happened that the sanctuary remained desolate during that period,
three years and a half, that the thousand and three hundred days might
be fulfilled; until Judas Maccabaeus arose after the death of his
father Matthias, and withstood him, and destroyed the encampment of
Antiochus, and delivered the city, and recovered the sanctuary, and
restored it in strict accordance with the law.
11. Since, then, the angel Gabriel also recounted these things to the
prophet, as they have been understood by us, as they have also taken
place, and as they have been all clearly described in the books of the
Maccabees, let us see further what he says on the other weeks. For when
he read the book of Jeremiah the prophet, in which it was written that
the sanctuary would be desolate seventy years, he made confession with
fastings and supplications, and prayed that the people might return
sooner from their captivity to the city Jerusalem. Thus, then, he
speaks in his account: "In the first year of Darius the son of
Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was king over the realm of the
Chaldeans, I Daniel understood in the books the number of the years, as
the word of the Lord had come to Jeremiah the prophet, for the
accomplishment of the desolation of Jerusalem in seventy years," etc.
12. After his confession and supplication, the angel says to him, "Thou
art a man [1303] greatly beloved:" for thou desirest to see things of
which thou shalt be informed by me; and in their own time these things
will be fulfilled; and he touched me, saying, "Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people, and upon the holy city, to seal up sins and
to blot out transgressions, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to
anoint the Most Holy; and thou shalt know and understand, that from the
going forth of words for the answer, and for the building of Jerusalem,
unto Christ the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two
weeks."
13. Having mentioned therefore seventy weeks, and having divided them
into two parts, in order that what was spoken by him to the prophet
might be better understood, he proceeds thus, "Unto Christ the Prince
shall be seven weeks," which make forty-nine years. It was in the
twenty-first year that Daniel saw these things in Babylon. Hence, the
forty-nine years added to the twenty-one, make up the seventy years, of
which the blessed Jeremiah spake: "The sanctuary shall be desolate
seventy years from the captivity that befell them under Nebuchadnezzar;
and after these things the people will return, and sacrifice and
offering will be presented, when Christ is their Prince." [1304]
14. Now of what Christ does he speak, but of Jesus the son of Josedech,
who returned at that time along with the people, and offered sacrifice
according to the law, in the seventieth year, when the sanctuary was
built? For all the kings and priests were styled Christs, because they
were anointed with the holy oil, which Moses of old prepared. These,
then, bore the name of the Lord in their own persons, showing aforetime
the type, and presenting the image until the perfect King and Priest
appeared from heaven, who alone did the will of the Father; as also it
is written in Kings: "And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that
shall do all things according to my heart." [1305]
15. In order, then, to show the time when He is to come whom the
blessed Daniel desired to see, he says, "And after seven weeks there
are other threescore and two weeks," which period embraces the space of
434 years. For after the return of the people from Babylon under the
leadership of Jesus the son of Josedech, and Ezra the scribe, and
Zerubbabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of David, there were 434
years unto the coming of Christ, in order that the Priest of priests
might be manifested in the world, and that He who taketh away the sins
of the world might be evidently set forth, as John speaks concerning
Him: "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!"
[1306] And in like manner Gabriel says: "To blot out transgressions,
and make reconciliation for sins." But who has blotted out our
transgressions? Paul the apostle teaches us, saying, "He is our peace
who made both one;" [1307] and then, "Blotting out the handwriting of
sins that was against us." [1308]
16. That transgressions, therefore, are blotted out, and that
reconciliation is made for sins, is shown by this. But who are they
who have reconciliation made for their sins, but they who believe on
His name, and propitiate His countenance by good works? And that after
the return of the people from Babylon there was a space of 434 years,
until the time of the birth of Christ, may be easily understood. For,
since the first covenant was given to the children of Israel after a
period of 434 years, it follows that the second covenant also should be
defined by the same space of time, in order that it might be expected
by the people and easily recognised by the faithful.
17. And for this reason Gabriel says: "And to anoint the Most Holy."
And the Most Holy is none else but the Son of God alone, who, when He
came and manifested Himself, said to them, "The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because He has anointed me;" [1309] and so forth. Whosoever,
therefore, believed on the heavenly Priest, were cleansed by that same
Priest, and their sins were blotted out. And whosoever believed not on
Him, despising Him as a man, had their sins sealed, as those which
could not be taken away; whence the angel, foreseeing that not all
should believe on Him, said, "To finish sins, and to seal up sins."
For as many as continued to disbelieve Him, even to the end, had their
sins not finished, but sealed to be kept for judgment. But as many as
will believe on Him as One able to remit sins, have their sins blotted
out. Wherefore he says: "And to seal up vision and prophet."
18. For when He came who is the fulfilling of the law and of the
prophets (for the law and the prophets were till John), it was
necessary that the things spoken by them should be confirmed (sealed),
in order that at the coming of the Lord all things loosed should be
brought to light, and that things bound of old should now be loosed by
Him, as the Lord said Himself to the rulers of the people, when they
were indignant at the cure on the Sabbath-day: "Ye hypocrites, doth
not each one of you loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead
him away to watering? and ought not this woman, being a daughter of
Abraham, whom Satan hath bound these eighteen years, be loosed on the
Sabbath-day?" [1310] Whomsoever, therefore, Satan bound in chains,
these did the Lord on His coming loose from the bonds of death, having
bound our strong adversary and delivered humanity. As also Isaiah says:
"Then will He say to those in chains, Go forth; and to them that are in
darkness, Show yourselves." [1311]
19. And that the things spoken of old by the law and the prophets were
all sealed, and that they were unknown to men, Isaiah declares when he
says: "And they will deliver the book that is sealed to one that is
learned, and will say to him, Read this; and he will say, I cannot read
it, for it is sealed." [1312] It was meet and necessary that the
things spoken of old by the prophets should be sealed to the
unbelieving Pharisees, who thought that they understood the letter of
the law, and be opened to the believing. The things, therefore, which
of old were sealed, are now by the grace of God the Lord all open to
the saints.
20. For He was Himself the perfect Seal, and the Church is the key: "He
who openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth,"
[1313] as John says. And again, the same says: "And I saw, on the right
hand of Him that sat on the throne, a book written within and without,
sealed with seven seals; and I saw an angel proclaiming with a loud
voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?"
and so forth. "And I beheld in the midst of the throne, and of the
four beasts, a Lamb standing slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes,
which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And
He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon
the throne. And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and
four-and-twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having harps and
golden vials full of incense, which is the prayers of the saints. And
they sing a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to
open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to
God by Thy blood." [1314] He took the book, therefore, and loosed it,
in order that the things spoken concerning Him of old in secret, might
now be proclaimed with boldness upon the house-tops. [1315]
21. For this reason, then, the angel says to Daniel, "Seal the words,
for the vision is until the end of the time." But to Christ it was not
said "seal," but "loose" the things bound of old; in order that, by His
grace, we might know the will of the Father, and believe upon Him whom
He has sent for the salvation of men, Jesus our Lord. He says,
therefore, "They shall return, and the street shall be built, and the
wall;" which in reality took place. For the people returned and built
the city, and the temple, and the wall round about. Then he says:
"After threescore and two weeks the times will be fulfilled, and one
week will make a covenant with many; and in the midst (half) of the
week sacrifice and oblation will be removed, and in the temple will be
the abomination of desolations."
22. For when the threescore and two weeks are fulfilled, and Christ is
come, and the Gospel is preached in every place, the times being then
accomplished, there will remain only one week, the last, in which Elias
will appear, and Enoch, and in the midst of it the abomination of
desolation will be manifested, [1316] viz., Antichrist, announcing
desolation to the world. And when he comes, the sacrifice and oblation
will be removed, which now are offered to God in every place by the
nations. These things being thus recounted, the prophet again describes
another vision to us. For he had no other care save to be accurately
instructed in all things that are to be, and to prove himself an
instructor in such.
23. He says then: "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a word
was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was Belshazzar; and the word was
true, and great power and understanding were given him in the vision.
In those days I Daniel was mourning three weeks of days. I ate no
pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did
I anoint myself at all, till three weeks of days were fulfilled. On the
fourth day of the first month I humbled myself," says he, "one and
twenty days," praying to the living God, and asking of Him the
revelation of the mystery. And the Father in truth heard me, and sent
His own Word, to show what should happen by Him. And that took place,
indeed, by the great river. For it was meet that the Son should be
manifested there, where also He was to remove sins.
24. "And I lifted up mine eyes," he says, "and, behold, a man clothed
in linen." [1317] In the first vision he says, "Behold, the angel
Gabriel (was) sent." Here, however, it is not so; but he sees the Lord,
not yet indeed as perfect man, but with the appearance and form of man,
as he says: "And, behold, a man clothed in linen." For in being clothed
in a various-coloured coat, he indicated mystically [1318] the variety
of the graces of our calling. For the priestly coat was made up of
different colours, as various nations waited for Christ's coming, in
order that we might be made up (as one body) of many colours. "And his
loins were girded with the gold of Ophaz."
25. Now the word "Ophaz," which is a word transferred from Hebrew to
Greek, denotes pure gold. With a pure girdle, therefore, he was girded
round the loins. For the Word was to bear us all, binding us like a
girdle round His body, in His own love. The complete body was His,
[1319] but we are members in His body, united together, and sustained
by the Word Himself. "And his body was like Tharses." [1320] Now
"Tharses," by interpretation, is "Ethiopians." For that it would be
difficult to recognise Him, the prophet had thus already announced
beforehand, intimating that He would be manifested in the flesh in the
world, but that many would find it difficult to recognise Him. "And
his face as lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire;" for it was meet
that the fiery and judicial power of the Word should be signified
aforetime, in the exercise of which He will cause the fire (of His
judgment) to light with justice upon the impious, and consume them.
26. He added also these words: "And his arms and his feet like
polished brass;" to denote the first calling of men, and the second
calling like unto it, viz. of the Gentiles. [1321] "For the last shall
be as the first; for I will set thy rulers as at the beginning, and thy
leaders as before. And His voice was as the voice of a great
multitude." [1322] For all we who believe on Him in these days utter
things oracular, as speaking by His mouth the things appointed by Him.
27. And after a little He says to him: "Knowest thou wherefore I come
unto thee? And now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia.
But I will show thee that which is noted in the Scripture of truth: and
there is none that holdeth with me in these things but Michael your
prince, and I left him there. For from the day that thou didst give thy
countenance to be afflicted before the Lord thy God, thy prayer was
heard, and I was sent to fight with the prince of Persia:" for a
certain counsel was formed not to send the people away: "that
therefore thy prayer might be speedily granted, I withstood him, and
left Michael there."
28. And who was he that spake, but the angel who was given to the
people, as he says in the law of Moses: "I will not go with you,
because the people is stiff-necked; but my angel shall go before along
with you?" [1323] This (angel) withstood Moses at the inn, when he was
bringing the child uncircumcised into Egypt. For it was not allowed
Moses, who was the elder (or legate) and mediator of the law, and who
proclaimed the covenant of the fathers, to introduce a child
uncircumcised, lest he should be deemed a false prophet and deceiver by
the people. "And now," says he, "will I show the truth to thee." Could
the Truth have shown anything else but the truth?
29. He says therefore to him: "Behold, there shall stand up three kings
in Persia: and the fourth shall be far richer than they all; and when
he has got possession of his riches, he shall stand up against all the
realms of Grecia. And a mighty king shall stand up, and shall rule with
great dominion, and do according to his will; and when his kingdom
stands, it shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds
of heaven." These things we have already discussed above, when we
discoursed upon the four beasts. But since Scripture now again sets
them forth explicitly, we must also discourse upon them a second time,
that we may not leave Scripture unused and unexplained.
30. "There shall stand up yet three kings," he says, "in Persia; and
the fourth shall be far richer than they all." This has been fulfilled.
For after Cyrus arose Darius, and then Artaxerxes. These were the three
kings; (and) the Scripture is fulfilled. "And the fourth shall be far
richer than they all." Who is that but Darius, who reigned and made
himself glorious,--who was rich, and assailed all the realms of Greece?
Against him rose Alexander of Macedon, who destroyed his kingdom; and
after he had reduced the Persians, his own kingdom was divided toward
the four winds of heaven. For Alexander at his death divided his
kingdom into four principalities. "And a king shall stand up, and shall
enter into the fortress of the king of Egypt."
31. For Antiochus became king of Syria. He held the sovereignty in the
107th year of the kingdom of the Greeks. And in those same times indeed
he made war against Ptolemy king of Egypt, and conquered him, and won
the power. On returning from Egypt he went up to Jerusalem, in the 103d
year, and carrying off with him all the treasures of the Lord's house,
he marched to Antioch. And after two years of days the king sent his
raiser of taxes [1324] into the cities of Judea, to compel the Jews to
forsake the laws of their fathers, and submit to the decrees of the
king. And he came, and tried to compel them, saying, "Come forth, and
do the commandment of the king, and ye shall live."
32. But they said, "We will not come forth: neither will we do the
king's commandment; we will die in our innocency: and he slew of them a
thousand souls." [1325] The things, therefore, which were spoken to the
blessed Daniel are fulfilled: "And my servants shall be afflicted, and
shall fall by famine, and by sword, and by captivity." [1326] Daniel,
however, adds: "And they shall be holpen with a little help." For at
that time Matthias arose, and Judas Maccabaeus, and helped them, and
delivered them from the hand of the Greeks.
33. That therefore was fulfilled which was spoken in the Scripture. He
proceeds then thus: "And the (king's) daughter of the South shall come
to the king of the North to make an agreement with him; and the arms of
him that bringeth her shall not stand; and she, too, shall be smitten,
and shall fall, and he that bringeth her." For this was a certain
Ptolemais, [1327] queen of Egypt. At that time indeed she went forth
with her two sons, Ptolemy and Philometor, to make an agreement with
Antiochus king of Syria; and when she came to Scythopolis, she was
slain there. For he who brought her betrayed her. At that same time,
the two brothers made war against each other, and Philometor was slain,
and Ptolemy gained the power.
34. War, then, was again made by Ptolemy against Antiochus, (and)
Antiochus met him. For thus saith the Scripture: "And the king of the
South shall stand up against the king of the North, and her seed shall
stand up against him." And what seed but Ptolemy, who made war with
Antiochus? And Antiochus having gone forth against him, and having
failed to overcome him, had to flee, and returned to Antioch, and
collected a larger host. Ptolemy accordingly took his whole equipment,
and carried it into Egypt. And the Scripture is fulfilled, as Daniel
says: And he shall carry off into Egypt their gods, and their
cast-works, and all their precious (vessels of) gold.
35. And after these things Antiochus went forth a second time to make
war against him, and overcome Ptolemy. And after these events Antiochus
commenced hostilities again against the children of Israel, and
despatched one Nicanor with a large army to subdue the Jews, at the
time when Judas, after the death of Matthias, ruled the people; and so
forth, as is written in the Maccabees. These events having taken place,
the Scripture says again: "And there shall stand up another king, and
he shall prevail upon the earth; and the king of the South shall stand
up, and he shall obtain his daughter to wife."
36. For it happened that there arose a certain Alexander, [1328] son of
Philip. He withstood Antiochus [1329] at that time, and made war upon
him, and cut him off, and gained possession of the kingdom. Then he
sent to Ptolemy king of Egypt, saying, Give me thy daughter Cleopatra
to wife. And he gave her to Alexander to wife. And thus the Scripture
is fulfilled, when it says: "And he shall obtain his daughter to
wife." And it says further: "And he shall corrupt her, and she shall
not be his wife." This also has been truly fulfilled. For after Ptolemy
had given him his daughter, he returned, and saw the mighty and
glorious kingdom of Alexander. And coveting its possession, he spoke
falsely to Alexander, as the Scripture says: "And the two kings shall
speak lies at (one) table." And, in sooth, Ptolemy betook himself to
Egypt, and collected a great army, and attacked the city at the time
when Alexander had marched into Cilicia.
37. Ptolemy then invaded the country, and established garrisons
throughout the cities; and on making himself master of Judea, set out
for his daughter, and sent letters to Demetrius in the islands, saying,
Come and meet me here, and I will give thee my daughter Cleopatra to
wife, for Alexander has sought to kill me. Demetrius came accordingly,
and Ptolemy received him, and gave him her who had been destined for
Alexander. Thus is fulfilled that which is written: "And he shall
corrupt her, and she shall not be his wife." Alexander was slain. Then
Ptolemy wore two crowns, that of Syria and that of Egypt, and died the
third day after he had assumed them. Thus is fulfilled that which is
written in Scripture: "And they shall not give him the glory of the
kingdom." For he died, and received not honour from all as king.
38. The prophet then, after thus recounting the things which have taken
place already, and been fulfilled in their times, declares yet another
mystery to us, while he points out the last times. For he says: "And
there shall rise up another shameless king; and he shall exalt himself
above every god, and shall magnify himself, and shall speak marvellous
things, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished;" and so
forth. "And these shall escape out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and
the chief (or principality) of the children of Ammon. And he shall
stretch forth his hand upon the land; and the land of Egypt shall not
escape. And he shall have power over the secret treasures of gold and
silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt and of the Libyans,
and the Ethiopians in their strongholds."
39. Thus, then, does the prophet set forth these things concerning the
Antichrist, who shall be shameless, a war-maker, and despot, who,
exalting himself above all kings and above every god, shall build the
city of Jerusalem, and restore the sanctuary. Him the impious will
worship as God, and will bend to him the knee, thinking him to be the
Christ. He shall cut off the two witnesses and forerunners of Christ,
who proclaim His glorious kingdom from heaven, as it is said: "And I
will give (power) unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a
thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." [1330]
As also it was announced to Daniel: "And one week shall confirm a
covenant with many; and in the midst of the week it shall be that the
sacrifice and oblation shall be removed"--that the one week might be
shown to be divided into two. The two witnesses, then, shall preach
three years and a half; and Antichrist shall make war upon the saints
during the rest of the week, and desolate the world, that what is
written may be fulfilled: "And they shall make the abomination of
desolation for a thousand two hundred and ninety days."
40. Daniel has spoken, therefore, of two abominations; the one of
destruction, and the other of desolation. What is that of destruction,
but that which Antiochus established there at the time? And what is
that of desolation, but that which shall be universal when Antichrist
comes? "And there shall escape out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and
the chief of the children of Ammon." For these are they who ally
themselves with him on account of their kinship, and first address him
as king. Those of Edom are the sons of Esau, who inhabit Mount Seir.
And Moab and Ammon are they who are descended from his two daughters,
as Isaiah also says: "And they shall fly (extend themselves) in the
ships of strangers, and they shall also plunder the sea; and those from
the east, and from the west, and the north, shall give them honour: and
the children of Ammon shall first obey them." [1331] He shall be
proclaimed king by them, and shall be magnified by all, and shall prove
himself an abomination of desolation to the world, and shall reign for
a thousand two hundred and ninety days. "Blessed is he that waiteth,
and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days;" for
when the abomination cometh and makes war upon the saints, whosoever
shall survive his days, and reach the forty-five days, while the other
period of fifty days advances, to him the kingdom of heaven comes.
Antichrist, indeed, enters even into part of the fifty days, but the
saints shall inherit the kingdom along with Christ.
41. These things being thus narrated, Daniel proceeds: "And, behold,
there stood two men, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and
the other on that side; and they made answer to the man that stood upon
the bank of the river, and said to him, How long shall it be to the end
of these wonderful words which thou hast spoken? And I heard the man
clothed in linen, who was upon the water of the river; and he lifted up
his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by Him that
liveth for ever, that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and
they shall know all these things when the dispersion is accomplished."
42. Who, then, were the two men who stood on the bank of the river, but
the law and the prophets? And who was he who stood upon the water, but
He concerning whom they prophesied of old, who in the last times was to
be borne witness to by the Father at the Jordan, and to be declared to
the people boldly by John, "who wore the casty [1332] of the scribe
about his loins, and was clothed with a linen coat of various colours?"
These, therefore, interrogate Him, knowing that to Him were given all
government and power, in order to learn accurately of Him when He will
bring the judgment on the world, and when the things spoken by Him will
be fulfilled. And He, desiring by all means to convince them, lifted
His right hand and His left hand to heaven, and sware by Him that
liveth for ever. Who is He that swore, and by whom sware He? Manifestly
the Son by the Father, saying, The Father liveth for ever, but in a
time, and times, and an half, when the dispersion is accomplished, they
shall know all these things.
43. By the stretching forth of His two hands He signified His passion;
and by mentioning "a time, and times, and an half, when the dispersion
is accomplished," He indicated the three years and a half of
Antichrist. For by "a time" He means a year, and by "times" two years,
and by an "half time" half a year. These are the thousand two hundred
and ninety days of which Daniel prophesied for the finishing of the
passion, and the accomplishment of the dispersion when Antichrist
comes. In those days they shall know all these things. And from the
time of the removal of the continuous sacrifice there are also reckoned
one thousand two hundred and ninety days. (Then) iniquity shall abound,
as the Lord also says: "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of
many shall wax cold." [1333]
44. And that divisions will arise when the falling away takes place, is
without doubt. And when divisions arise, love is chilled. The words,
"Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred
and five and thirty days," have also their value, as the Lord said:
"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
Wherefore let us by no means admit the falling away, lest iniquity
abound, and the abomination of desolation--that is, the
adversary--overtake us. And He said to him, "unto evening"--that is,
unto the consummation--"and morning." What is "morning?" The day of
resurrection. For that is the beginning of another age, as the morning
is the beginning of the day. And the thousand and four hundred days are
the light of the world. For on the appearing of the light in the world
(as He says, "I am the light of the world"), the sanctuary shall be
purged, as he said, [1334] (of) the adversary. For it cannot by any
means be purged but by his destruction.
__________________________________________________________________
[1294] The same method of explaining the two visions is also adopted by
Jacobus Nisibenus, serm. v., and by his illustrious disciple Ephraem
Syrus on Dan. vii. 4. [Let me again refer to Dr. Pusey's work on
Daniel, as invaluable in this connection. The comments of our author on
this book and on "the Antichrist," infra, deserve special attention, as
from a disciple of the disciples of St. John himself.]
[1295] Dan. vii.
[1296] [True in a.d. 1885. A very pregnant testimony to our own times.]
[1297] This is what Photius condemned in Hippolytus. Irenaeus, however,
held the same opinion (book v. c. 28 and 29). The same view is
expressed yet earlier in the Epistle of Barnabas (sec. 15). It was an
opinion adopted from the rabbis.
[1298] Ps. xc. 4.
[1299] Apoc. xvii. 10.
[1300] Ex. xxv. 10.
[1301] John xix. 14.
[1302] Migne thinks we should read diakosia triakonta, i.e., 230, as it
is also in Julius Africanus, who was contemporary with Hippolytus. As
to the duration of the Greek empire, Hippolytus and Africanus make it
both 300 years, if we follow Jerome's version of the latter in his
comment on Dan. ix. 24. Eusebius makes it seventy years longer in his
Demonstr. Evang., viii. 2.
[1303] Literally, "a man of desires." [Our author plays on this word,
as if the desire of knowledge were referred to. Our Authorized Version
is better, and the rendering might be "a man of loves."]
[1304] Jer. xxv. 11.
[1305] 1 Sam. ii. 35.
[1306] John i. 29.
[1307] Eph. ii. 14.
[1308] Col. ii. 14.
[1309] Isa. lxi. 1; Luke iv. 18.
[1310] Luke xiii. 15, 16.
[1311] Isa. xlix. 9.
[1312] Isa. xxix. 11.
[1313] Apoc. iii. 7.
[1314] Apoc. v.
[1315] Cf. Matt. x. 27.
[1316] In the text, the word heos, "until," is introduced, which seems
spurious.
[1317] baddin.
[1318] In the text, musterion (of "mysteries"), for which musteriodos
or mustikos, "mystically," is proposed.
[1319] The Latin translation renders: His body was perfect.
[1320] "Thares" (Tharseis) in Hippolytus. The Septuagint gives Tharsis
as the translation of the Hebrew trsys, rendered in our version as
"beryl" (Dan. x. 6).
[1321] Isa. i. 26.
[1322] Apoc. xix. 6.
[1323] Ex. xxxii. 4; xxxiii. 3.
[1324] phorologon.
[1325] 1 Macc. ii. 33.
[1326] Dan. xi. 33.
[1327] He seems to refer to Cleopatra, wife and niece of Physco. For
Lathyrus was sometimes called Philometor in ridicule (epi chleuasma),
as Pausanias says in the Attica.
[1328] He refers to Alexander I. king of Syria, of whom we read in 1
Macc. x. He pretended to be the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, and even
gained a decree of the senate of Rome in his favour as such. Yet he was
a person of unknown origin, as indeed he acknowledged himself in his
choice of the designation Theopator. Livy calls him "a man unknown, and
of uncertain parentage" (homo ignotus et incertae stirpis). So
Hippolytus calls him here, "a certain Alexander" (tina). He had also
other surnames, e.g., Euergetes, Balas, etc.
[1329] For "Antiochus" in the text, read "Demetrius."
[1330] Apoc. xi. 3.
[1331] Isa. xi. 14.
[1332] Girdle.
[1333] Matt. xxiv. 12.
[1334] The text gives ho antikeimenos , which is corrupt.
__________________________________________________________________
III.
Scholia on Daniel. [1335]
Chap. i. 1 "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim." The Scripture
narrates these things, with the purpose of intimating the second
captivity of the people, when Jehoiakim and the three youths with him,
together with Daniel, were taken captive and carried off.
2. "And the Lord gave," etc. These words, "and the Lord gave," are
written, that no one, in reading the introduction to the book, may
attribute their capture to the strength of the captors and the
slackness of their chief. And it is well said, "with part," for the
deportation was for the correction, not the ruin, of the whole nation,
that there might be no misapplication of the cause.
8. "And Daniel purposed in his heart." Oh, blessed are they who thus
kept the covenant of the fathers, and transgressed not the law given by
Moses, but feared the God proclaimed by him. These, though captives in
a strange land, were not seduced by delicate meats, nor were they
slaves to the pleasures of wine, nor were they caught by the bait of
princely glory. But they kept their mouth holy and pure, that pure
speech might proceed from pure mouths, and praise with such (mouths)
the heavenly Father.
12. "Prove now thy servants." They teach that it is not earthly meats
that give to men their beauty and strength, but the grace of God
bestowed by the Word. "And after a little." Thou hast seen the
incorruptible faith of the youths, and the unalterable fear of God.
They asked an interval of ten days, to prove therein that man cannot
otherwise find grace with God than by believing the word preached by
the Lord.
19. "And among them all, was found none like Daniel." These men, who
were proved faithful witnesses in Babylon, were led by the Word in all
wisdom, that by their means the idols of the Babylonians should be put
to shame, and that Nebuchadnezzar should be overcome by three youths,
and that by their faith the fire in the furnace should be kept at bay,
and the desire of the wicked elders (or chiefs) proved vain.
Chap. ii. 3 "I have dreamed a dream." The dream, then, which was seen
by the king was not an earthly dream, so that it might be interpreted
by the wise of the world; but it was a heavenly dream, fulfilled in its
proper times, according to the counsel and foreknowledge of God. And
for this reason it was kept secret from men who think of earthly
things, that to those who seek after heavenly things heavenly mysteries
might be revealed. And, indeed, there was a similar case in Egypt in
the time of Pharaoh and Joseph.
5. "The thing is gone from me." For this purpose was the vision
concealed from the king, that he who was chosen of God., viz., Daniel,
might be shown to be a prophet. For when things concealed from some
are revealed by another, he who tells them is of necessity shown to be
a prophet.
10. "And they say, There is not a man." Whereas, therefore, they
declared it to be impossible that what was asked by the king should be
told by man; God showed them, that what is impossible with man is
possible with God.
14. "Arioch, the captain of the king's guard" (literally, "the chief
slaughterer or cook"). For as the cook slays all animals and cooks
them, of a similar nature was his occupation. And the rulers of the
world slay men, butchering them like brute beasts.
23. "Because Thou hast given me wisdom and might." We ought therefore
to mark the goodness of God, how He straightway reveals and shows
(Himself) to the worthy, and to those that fear Him, fulfilling their
prayers and supplications, as the prophet says: "Who is wise, and he
shall understand these things? and prudent, and he shall know them?"
[1336]
27. "Cannot the wise men, the magicians." He instructs the king not to
seek an explanation of heavenly mysteries from earthly men, for they
shall be accomplished in their due time by God.
29. "As for thee, O king, thy thoughts." For the king, on making
himself master of the land of Egypt, and getting hold of the country of
Judea, and carrying off the people, thought upon his bed what should be
after these things; and He who knows the secrets of all, and searcheth
the thoughts of the hearts, revealed to him by means of the image the
things that were to be. And He hid from him the vision, in order that
the counsels of God might not be interpreted by the wise men of
Babylon, but that by the blessed Daniel, as a prophet of God, things
kept secret from all might be made manifest.
31. "Behold a great image." How, then, should we not mark the things
prophesied of old in Babylon by Daniel, and now yet in the course of
fulfilment in the world? For the image shown at that time to
Nebuchadnezzar furnished a type of the whole world. In these times the
Babylonians were sovereign over all, and these were the golden head of
the image. And then, after them, the Persians held the supremacy for
245 years, and they were represented by the silver. Then the Greeks had
the supremacy, beginning with Alexander of Macedon, for 300 years, so
that they were the brass. After them came the Romans, who were the iron
legs of the image, for they were strong as iron. Then (we have) the
toes of clay and iron, to signify the democracies that were
subsequently to rise, partitioned among the ten toes of the image, in
which shall be iron mixed with clay.
31. "Thou sawest," etc. Apollinaris on this: He looked, and behold, as
it were, an image. For it did not appear to him as an actual object,
presented to the view of an onlooker, but as an image or semblance. And
while it contains in it many things together, that is in such a way
that it is not really one, but manifold. For it comprised a summary of
all kingdoms; and its exceeding splendour was on account of the glory
of the kings, and its terrible appearance on account of their power.
Eusebius Pamphili, and Hippolytus the most holy bishop of Rome, compare
the dream of Nebuchadnezzar now in question with the vision of the
prophet Daniel. Since these have given a different interpretation of
this vision now before us in their expositions, I deemed it necessary
to transcribe what is said by Eusebius of Caesarea, who bears the
surname Pamphili, in the 15th book of his Gospel Demonstration; [1337]
for he expounds the whole vision in these terms: "I think that this
(i.e., the vision of Nebuchadnezzar) differs in nothing from the vision
of the prophet. For as the prophet saw a great sea, so the king saw a
great image. And again, as the prophet saw four beasts, which he
interpreted as four kingdoms, so the king was given to understand four
kingdoms under the gold, and silver, and brass, and iron. And again, as
the prophet saw the division of the ten horns of the last beast, and
three horns broken by one; so the king, in like manner, saw in the
extremities of the image one part iron and another clay. And besides
this, as the prophet, after the vision of the four kingdoms, saw the
Son of man receive dominion, and power, and a kingdom; so also the king
thought he saw a stone smite the whole image, and become a great
mountain and fill the sea. And rightly so. For it was quite consistent
in the king, whose view of the spectacle of life was so false, and who
admired the beauty of the mere sensible colours, so to speak, in the
picture set up to view, to liken the life of all men to a great image;
but (it became) the prophet to compare the great and mighty tumult of
life to a mighty sea. And it was fitting that the king, who prized the
substances deemed precious among men, gold, and silver, and brass, and
iron, should liken to these substances the kingdoms that held the
sovereignty at different times in the life of men; but that the prophet
should describe these same kingdoms under the likeness of beasts, in
accordance with the manner of their rule. And again, the king--who was
puffed up, as it seems, in his own conceit, and plumed himself on the
power of his ancestors--is shown the vicissitude to which affairs are
subject, and the end destined for all the kingdoms of earth, with the
view of teaching him to lay aside his pride in himself, and understand
that there is nothing stable among men, but only that which is the
appointed end of all things--the kingdom of God. For after the first
kingdom of the Assyrians, which was denoted by the gold, there will be
the second kingdom of the Persians, expressed by the silver; and then
the third kingdom of the Macedonians, signified by the brass; and after
it, the fourth kingdom of the Romans will succeed, more powerful than
those that went before it; for which reason also it was likened to
iron. For of it is said: "And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as
iron; as iron breaketh and subdueth all things, so shall it break and
subdue all things." And after all these kingdoms which have been
mentioned, the kingdom of God is represented by the stone that breaks
the whole image. And the prophet, in conformity with this, does not see
the kingdom which comes at the end of all these things, until he has in
order described the four dominions mentioned under the four beasts. And
I think that the visions shown, both to the king and to the prophet,
were visions of these four kingdoms alone, and of none others, because
by these the nation of the Jews was held in bondage from the times of
the prophet."
33. "His feet," etc. Hippolytus: In the vision of the prophet, the ten
horns are the things that are yet to be.
34. "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut." Thou sawest, as it were, a
stone cut without hands, and smiting the image upon its feet. For the
human kingdom was decisively separated from the divine; with reference
to which it is written, "as it were cut." The stroke, however, smites
the extremities, and in these it broke all dominion that is upon earth.
45. "And the dream is certain." That no one, therefore, may have any
doubt whether the things announced shall turn out so or not, the
prophet has confirmed them with the words, "And the dream is certain,
and the interpretation thereof sure;" I have not erred in the
interpretation of the vision.
46. "Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face." Nebuchadnezzar
hearing these things, and being put in remembrance of his vision, knew
that what was spoken by Daniel was true. How great is the power of the
grace of God, beloved, that one who a little before was doomed to death
with the other wise men of Babylon, should now be worshipped by the
king, not as man, but as God! "He commanded that they should offer
manaa" [1338] (i.e., in Chaldee, "oblation") "and sweet odours unto
him." Of old, too, the Lord made a similar announcement to Moses,
saying, "See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh;" [1339] in order that,
on account of the signs wrought by him in the land of Egypt, Moses
might no longer be reckoned a man, but be worshipped as a god by the
Egyptians.
48. "Then the king made Daniel a great man." For as he had humbled
himself, and presented himself as the least among all men, God made him
great, and the king established him as ruler over the whole land of
Babylon. Just as also Pharaoh did to Joseph, appointing him then to be
ruler over the whole land of Egypt.
49. "And Daniel requested," etc. For as they had united with Daniel in
prayer to God that the vision might be revealed to him, so Daniel, when
he obtained great honour from the king, made mention of them,
explaining to the king what had been done by them, in order that they
also should be deemed worthy of some honour as fellow-seers and
worshippers of God. For when they asked heavenly things from the Lord,
they received also earthly things from the king.
Chap. iii. 1 "In the eighteenth year," etc. (These words are wanting in
the Vulgate, etc.) A considerable space of time having elapsed,
therefore, and the eighteenth year being now in its course, the king,
calling to mind his vision, "made an image of gold, whose height was
threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits." For as the
blessed Daniel, in interpreting the vision, had answered the king,
saying, "Thou art this head of gold in the image," the king, being
puffed up with this address, and elated in heart, made a copy of this
image, in order that he might be worshipped by all as God.
7. "All the people fell." Some (did so) because they feared the king
himself; but all (or "most"), because they were idolaters, obeyed the
word commanded by the king.
16. "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered," etc. These three youths
are become an example to all faithful men, inasmuch as they did not
fear the crowd of satraps, neither did they tremble when they heard the
king's words, nor did they shrink when they saw the flame of the
blazing furnace, but deemed all men and the whole world as nought, and
kept the fear of God alone before their eyes. Daniel, though he stood
at a distance and kept silence, encouraged them to be of good cheer as
he smiled to them. And he rejoiced also himself at the witness they
bore, understanding, as he did, that the three youths would receive a
crown in triumph over the devil.
19. "And commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times
more." He bids the vast furnace be heated one seven times more, as if
he were already overcome by them. In earthly things, then, the king was
superior; but in faith toward God the three youths were superior. Tell
me, Nebuchadnezzar, with what purpose you order them to be cast into
the fire bound? Is it lest they might escape, if they should have their
feet unbound, and thus be able to extinguish the fire? But thou doest
not these things of thyself, but there is another who worketh these
things by thy means.
47. [1340] "And the flame streamed forth." The fire, he means, was
driven from within by the angel, and burst forth outwardly. See how
even the fire appears intelligent, as if it recognised and punished the
guilty. For it did not touch the servants of God, but it consumed the
unbelieving and impious Chaldeans. Those who were within were
besprinkled with a (cooling) dew by the angel, while those who thought
they stood in safety outside the furnace were destroyed by the fire.
The men who cast in the youths were burned by the flame, which caught
them on all sides, as I suppose, when they went to bind the youths.
92 (i.e., 25). "And the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
Tell me, Nebuchadnezzar, when didst thou see the Son of God, that thou
shouldst confess that this is the Son of God? And who pricked thy
heart, that thou shouldst utter such a word? And with what eyes wert
thou able to look into this light? And why was this manifested to thee
alone, and to none of the satraps about thee? But, as it is written,
"The heart of a king is in the hand of God:" the hand of God is here,
whereby the Word pricked his heart, so that he might recognise Him in
the furnace, and glorify Him. And this idea of ours is not without good
ground. For as the children of Israel were destined to see God in the
world, and yet not to believe on Him, the Scripture showed beforehand
that the Gentiles would recognise Him incarnate, whom, while not
incarnate, Nebuchadnezzar saw and recognised of old in the furnace, and
acknowledged to be the Son of God.
93 (i.e., 26). "And he said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego." The
three youths he thus called by name. But he found no name by which to
call the fourth. For He was not yet that Jesus born of the Virgin.
97 (i.e., 30). "Then the king promoted," etc. For as they honoured God
by giving themselves up to death, so, too, they were themselves
honoured not only by God, but also by the king. And they taught strange
and foreign nations also to worship God.
Chap. vii. 1 "And he wrote the dream." The things, therefore, which
were revealed to the blessed prophet by the Spirit in visions, these he
also recounted fully for others, that he might not appear to prophesy
of the future to himself alone, but might be proved a prophet to others
also, who wish to search the divine Scriptures.
2. "And behold the four winds." He means created existence in its
fourfold division.
3. "And four great beasts." As various beasts then were shown to the
blessed Daniel, and these different from each other, we should
understand that the truth of the narrative deals not with certain
beasts, but, under the type and image of different beasts, exhibits the
kingdoms that have risen in this world in power over the race of man.
For by the great sea he means the whole world.
4. "Till the wings thereof were plucked." For this happened in reality
in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, as has been shown in the preceding book.
And he bears witness directly that this very thing was fulfilled in
himself; for he was driven out of the kingdom, and stripped of his
glory, and of the greatness which he formerly possessed. "And after a
little:" the words, "It was made stand upon the feet as a man, and a
man's heart was given to it," signify that Nebuchadnezzar, when he
humbled himself, and acknowledged that he was but a man, in subjection
under the power of God, and made supplication to the Lord, found mercy
with Him, and was restored to his own kingdom and honour.
5. "A second beast like to a bear." To represent the kingdom of the
Persians. "And it had three ribs." The three nations he calls three
ribs. The meaning, therefore, is this: that beast had the dominion, and
these others under it were the Medes, Assyrians, and Babylonians. "And
they said thus to it, Arise, devour." For the Persians arising in these
times, devastated every land, and made many men subject to them, and
slew them. For as this beast, the bear, is a foul animal, and
carnivorous, tearing with claws and teeth, such also was the kingdom of
the Persians, who held the supremacy for two hundred and thirty years.
6. "And, lo, another beast like a leopard." In mentioning a leopard, he
means the kingdom of the Greeks, over whom Alexander of Macedon was
king. And he likened them to a leopard, because they were quick and
inventive in thought, and bitter in heart, just as that animal is
many-coloured in appearance, and quick in wounding and in drinking
man's blood.
"The beast had also four heads." When the kingdom of Alexander was
exalted, and grew, and acquired a name over the whole world, his
kingdom was divided into four principalities. For Alexander, when near
his end, partitioned his kingdom among his four comrades of the same
race, viz., "Seleucus, Demetrius, Ptolemy, and Philip;" and all these
assumed crowns, as Daniel prophesies, and as it is written in the first
book of Maccabees.
7. "And behold a fourth beast." Now, that there has arisen no other
kingdom after that of the Greeks except that which stands sovereign at
present, is manifest to all. This one has iron teeth, because it
subdues and reduces all by its strength, just as iron does. And the
rest it did tread with its feet, for there is no other kingdom
remaining after this one, but from it will spring ten horns.
"And it had ten horns." For as the prophet said already of the leopard,
that the beast had four heads, and that was fulfilled, and Alexander's
kingdom was divided into four principalities, so also now we ought to
look for the ten horns which are to spring from it, when the time of
the beast shall be fulfilled, and the little horn, which is Antichrist,
shall appear suddenly in their midst, and righteousness shall be
banished from the earth, and the whole world shall reach its
consummation. So that we ought not to anticipate the counsel of God,
but exercise patience and prayer, that we fall not on such times. We
should not, however, refuse to believe that these things will come to
pass. For if the things which the prophets predicted in former times
have not been realized, then we need not look for these things. But if
those former things did happen in their proper seasons, as was
foretold, these things also shall certainly be fulfilled.
8. "I considered the horns." That is to say, I looked intently at the
beast, and was astonished at everything about it, but especially at the
number of the horns. For the appearance of this beast differed from
that of the other beasts in kind.
13. "And came to the Ancient of days." By the Ancient of days he means
none other than the Lord and God and Ruler of all, and even of Christ
Himself, who maketh the days old, and yet becometh not old Himself by
times and days.
14. "His dominion is an everlasting dominion." The Father, having put
all things in subjection to His own Son, both things in heaven and
things on earth, showed Him forth by all as the first-begotten of God,
in order that, along with the Father, He might be approved the Son of
God before angels, and be manifested as the Lord also of angels: (He
showed Him forth also as) the first-begotten of a virgin, that He might
be seen to be in Himself the Creator anew of the first-formed Adam,
(and) as the first-begotten from the dead, that He might become Himself
the first-fruits of our resurrection.
"Which shall not pass away." He exhibited all the dominion given by the
Father to His own Son, who is manifested as King of all in heaven and
on earth, and under the earth, and as Judge of all: of all in heaven,
because He was born the Word, of the heart of the Father before all;
and of all in earth, because He was made man, and created Adam anew of
Himself; and of all under the earth, because He was also numbered among
the dead, and preached to the souls of the saints, (and) by death
overcame death.
17. "Which shall arise." For when the three beasts have finished their
course, and been removed, and the one still stands in vigour,--if this
one, too, is removed, then finally earthly things (shall) end, and
heavenly things begin; that the indissoluble and everlasting kingdom of
the saints may be brought to view, and the heavenly King manifested to
all, no longer in figure, like one seen in vision, or revealed in a
pillar of cloud upon the top of a mountain, but amid the powers and
armies of angels, as God incarnate and man, Son of God and Son of
man--coming from heaven as the world's Judge.
19. "And I inquired about the fourth beast." It is to the fourth
kingdom, of which we have already spoken, that he here refers: that
kingdom, than which no greater kingdom of like nature has arisen upon
the earth; from which also ten horns are to spring, and to be
apportioned among ten crowns. And amid these another little horn shall
rise, which is that of Antichrist. And it shall pluck by the roots the
three others before it; that is to say, he shall subvert the three
kings of Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia, with the view of acquiring for
himself universal dominion. And after conquering the remaining seven
horns, he will at last begin, inflated by a strange and wicked spirit,
to stir up war against the saints, and to persecute all everywhere,
with the aim of being glorified by all, and being worshipped as God.
22. "Until the Ancient of days come." That is, when at length the Judge
of judges and the King of kings comes from heaven, who shall subvert
the whole dominion and power of the adversary, and shall consume all
with the eternal fire of punishment. But to His servants, and prophets,
and martyrs, and to all who fear Him, He will give an everlasting
kingdom; that is, they shall possess the endless enjoyment of good.
25. "Until a time, and times, and the dividing of time." This denotes
three years and a half.
Chap. ix. 21 "And, behold, the man Gabriel...flying." You see how the
prophet likens the speed of the angels to a winged bird, on account of
the light and rapid motion with which these spirits fly so quickly in
discharge of orders.
Chap. x. 6 "And the voice of His words." For all we who now believe
on Him declare the words of Christ, as if we spake by His mouth the
things enjoined by Him.
7. "And I saw," etc. For it is to His saints that fear Him, and to them
alone, that He reveals Himself. For if any one seems to be living now
in the Church, and yet has not the fear of God, his companionship with
the saints will avail him nothing.
12. "Thy words were heard." Behold how much the piety of a righteous
man availeth, that to him alone, as to one worthy, things not yet to be
manifested in the world should be revealed.
13. "And lo, Michael." Who is Michael but the angel assigned to the
people? As (God) says to Moses, "I will not go with you in the way,
because the people are stiff-necked; but my angel shall go with you."
16. "My inwards are turned" (A.V., "my sorrows are turned upon me").
For it was meet that, at the appearing of the Lord, what was above
should be turned beneath, in order that also what was beneath might
come above.--I require time, he says, to recover myself, and to be able
to endure the words and to make reply to what is said.--But while I was
in this position, he continues, I was strengthened beyond my hope. For
one unseen touched me, and straightway my weakness was removed, and I
was restored to my former strength. For whenever all the strength of
our life and its glory pass from us, then are we strengthened by
Christ, who stretches forth His hand and raises the living from among
the dead, and as it were from Hades itself, to the resurrection of
life.
18. "And he strengthened me." For whenever the Word has made us of
good hope with regard to the future, we are able also readily to hear
His voice.
20. "To fight with the prince of Persia." For from the day that thou
didst humble thyself before the Lord thy God thy prayer was heard, and
I was sent "to fight with the prince of Persia." For there was a design
not to let the people go. Therefore, that thy prayer might be speedily
answered, "I stood up against him."
Chap. xii. 1 "There shall be a time of trouble." For at that time
there shall be great trouble, such as has not been from the foundation
of the world, when some in one way, and others in another, shall be
sent through every city and country to destroy the faithful; and the
saints shall travel from the west to the east, and shall be driven in
persecution from the east to the south, while others shall conceal
themselves in the mountains and caves; and the abomination shall war
against them everywhere, and shall cut them off by sea and by land by
his decree, and shall endeavour by every means to destroy them out of
the world; and they shall not be able any longer to sell their own
property, nor to buy from strangers, unless one keeps and carries with
him the name of the beast, or bears its mark upon his forehead. For
then they shall all be driven out from every place, and dragged from
their own homes and haled into prison, and punished with all manner of
punishment, and cast out from the whole world.
2. "These shall awake to everlasting life." That is, those who have
believed in the true life, and who have their names written in the book
of life. "And these to shame." That is, those who are attached to
Antichrist, and who are cast with him into everlasting punishment.
3. "And they that be wise shall shine." And the Lord has said the same
thing in the Gospel: "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun."
[1341]
7. "For a time, times, and an half." By this he indicated the three and
a half years of Anti-christ. For by a time he means a year; and by
times, two years; and by an half time, half a year. These are the "one
thousand two hundred and ninety days" of which Daniel prophesied.
9. "The words are closed up and sealed." For as a man cannot tell what
God has prepared for the saints; for neither has eye seen nor ear
heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man (to conceive) these
things, into which even the saints, too, shall then eagerly desire to
look; so He said to him, "For the words are sealed until the time of
the end; until many shall be chosen and tried with fire." And who are
they who are chosen, but those who believe the word of truth, so as to
be made white thereby, and to cast off the filth of sin, and put on the
heavenly, pure, and glorious Holy Spirit, in order that, when the
Bridegroom comes, they may go in straightway with Him?
11. "The abomination of desolation shall be given (set up)." Daniel
speaks, therefore, of two abominations: the one of destruction, which
Antiochus set up in its appointed time, and which bears a relation to
that of desolation, and the other universal, when Antichrist shall
come. For, as Daniel says, he too shall be set up for the destruction
of many. [1342]
__________________________________________________________________
[1335] Mai, Script. vet. collectio nova, i. p. iii. pp. 29-56.
[1336] Hos. xiv. 9.
[1337] This book is not now extant, the first ten alone having reached
our time.
[1338] [The minchah, that is.]
[1339] Ex. vii. 1.
[1340] The verses are numbered according to the Greek translation,
which incorporates the apocryphal "song of the three holy children."
[1341] Matt. xiii. 43.
[1342] "By the most holy Hippolytus, (bishop) of Rome: The Exact
Account of the Times," etc. From Gallandi. This fragment seems to have
belonged to the beginning or introduction to the commentary of
Hippolytus on Daniel.
__________________________________________________________________
IV.
Other Fragments on Daniel. [1343]
For when the iron legs that now hold the sovereignty have given place
to the feet and the toes, in accordance with the representation of the
terrible beast, as has also been signified in the former times, then
from heaven will come the stone that smites the image, and breaks it;
and it will subvert all the kingdoms, and give the kingdom to the
saints of the Most High. This is the stone which becomes a great
mountain, and fills the earth, and of which it is written: "I saw in
the night-visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the
clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days. And there was given
Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and
languages shall serve Him: His power is an everlasting power, which
shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed." [1344]
__________________________________________________________________
[1343] In Anastasius Sinaita, quaest. xlviii. p. 327.
[1344] Dan. vii. 13.
__________________________________________________________________
V.
On the Song of the Three Children. [1345]
"O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord; O ye apostles,
prophets, and martyrs of the Lord, bless ye the Lord: praise Him, and
exalt Him above all, for ever."
We may well marvel at the words of the three youths in the furnace, how
they enumerated all created things, so that not one of them might be
reckoned free and independent in itself; but, summing up and naming
them all together, both things in heaven, and things in earth, and
things under the earth, they showed them to be all the servants of God,
who created all things by the Word, that no one should boast that any
of the creatures was without birth and beginning.
__________________________________________________________________
[1345] From the Catena Patrum in Psalmos et Cantica, vol. iii. ed.
Corderianae, pp. 951, ad v. 87.
__________________________________________________________________
VI.
On Susannah. [1346]
What is narrated here, happened at a later time, although it is placed
before the first book (at the beginning of the book). For it was a
custom with the writers to narrate many things in an inverted order in
their writings. For we find also in the prophets some visions recorded
among the first and fulfilled among the last; and again, on the other
hand, some recorded among the last and fulfilled first. And this was
done by the disposition of the Spirit, that the devil might not
understand the things spoken in parables by the prophets, and might not
a second time lay his snares and ruin man.
Ver. 1. "Called Joacim." This Joacim, being a stranger in Babylon,
obtains Susannah in marriage. And she was the daughter of Chelcias the
priest, [1347] who found the book of the law in the house of the Lord,
when Josiah the king commanded him to purify the holy of holies. His
brother was Jeremiah the prophet, who was carried, with the remnant
that was left after the deportation of the people to Babylon, into
Egypt, and dwelt in Taphnae; [1348] and, while prophesying there, he
was stoned to death by the people.
"A very fair woman, and one that feared the Lord," etc. For by the
fruit produced, the tree also is easily known. For men who are pious
and zealous for the law, bring into the world children worthy of God;
such as he was who became a prophet and witness of Christ, and she who
was found chaste and faithful in Babylon, whose honour and chastity
were the occasion of the manifestation of the blessed Daniel as a
prophet.
4. "Now Joacim was a great rich man," etc. We must therefore seek the
explanation of this. For how could those who were captives, and had
been made subject to the Babylonians, meet together in the same place,
as if they were their own masters? In this matter, therefore, we should
observe that Nebuchadnezzar, after their deportation, treated them
kindly, and permitted them to meet together, and do all things
according to the law.
7. "And at noon Susannah went into (her husband's garden)." Susannah
prefigured the Church; and Joacim, her husband, Christ; and the garden,
the calling of the saints, who are planted like fruitful trees in the
Church. And Babylon is the world; and the two elders are set forth as a
figure of the two peoples that plot against the Church--the one,
namely, of the circumcision, and the other of the Gentiles. For the
words, "were appointed rulers of the people and judges," (mean) that in
this world they exercise authority and rule, judging the righteous
unrighteously.
8. "And the two elders saw her." These things the rulers of the Jews
wish now to expunge from the book, and assert that these things did not
happen in Babylon, because they are ashamed of what was done then by
the elders.
9. "And they perverted their own mind." For how, indeed, can those who
have been the enemies and corruptors of the Church judge righteously,
or look up to heaven with pure heart, when they have become the slaves
of the prince of this world?
10. "And they were both wounded with her (love)." This word is to be
taken in truth; for always the two peoples, being wounded (instigated)
by Satan working in them, strive to raise persecutions and afflictions
against the Church, and seek how they may corrupt her, though they do
not agree with each other.
12. "And they watched diligently." And this, too, is to be noted. For
up to the present time both the Gentiles and the Jews of the
circumcision watch and busy themselves with the dealings of the Church,
desiring to suborn false witnesses against us, as the apostle says:
"And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in
privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus." [1349]
It is a kind of sin to be anxious to give the mind to women.
14. "And when they were gone out, they parted the one from the other."
As to their parting the one from the other at the hour of dinner
(luncheon), this signifies that in the matter of earthly meats the Jews
and the Gentiles are not at one; but in their views, and in all worldly
matters, they are of one mind, and can meet each other.
14. "And asking one another, they acknowledged their lust." Thus, in
revealing themselves to each other, they foreshadow the time when they
shall be proved by their thoughts, and shall have to give account to
God for all the sin which they have done, as Solomon says: "And
scrutiny shall destroy the ungodly." [1350] For these are convicted by
the scrutiny.
15. "As they watched a fit time." What fit time but that of the
passover, at which the laver is prepared in the garden for those who
burn, and Susannah washes herself, and is presented as a pure bride to
God?
"With two maids only." For when the Church desires to take the laver
according to use, she must of necessity have two handmaids to accompany
her. For it is by faith on Christ and love to God that the Church
confesses and receives the laver.
18. "And she said to her maids, Bring me oil." For faith and love
prepare oil and unguents to those who are washed. But what were these
unguents, but the commandments of the holy Word? And what was the oil,
but the power of the Holy Spirit, with which believers are anointed as
with ointment after the laver of washing? All these things were
figuratively represented in the blessed Susannah, for our sakes, that
we who now believe on God might not regard the things that are done now
in the Church as strange, but believe them all to have been set forth
in figure by the patriarchs of old, as the apostle also says: "Now
these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they were written
for our instruction, on whom the ends of the world are come." [1351]
18. "And they went out at privy doors;" showing thus by anticipation,
that he who desires to partake of the water in the garden must renounce
the broad gate, and enter by the strait and narrow. [1352]
"And they saw not the elders." For as of old the devil was concealed in
the serpent in the garden, so now too, concealed in the elders, he
fired them with his own lust, that he might again a second time corrupt
Eve.
20. "Behold, the garden doors are shut." O wicked rulers, and filled
with the workings of the devil, did Moses deliver these things to you?
And while ye read the law yourselves, do ye teach others thus? Thou
that sayest, "Thou shalt not kill," dost thou kill? Thou that sayest,
"Thou shalt not covet," dost thou desire to corrupt the wife of thy
neighbour?
"And we are in love with thee." Why, ye lawless, do ye strive to gain
over a chaste and guileless soul by deceitful words, in order to
satisfy your own lust?
21. "If thou wilt not, we will bear witness against thee." This wicked
audacity with which you begin, comes of the deceitfulness that lurks in
you from the beginning. And there was in reality a young man with her,
that one [1353] of yours; one from heaven, not to have intercourse with
her, but to bear witness to her truth.
22. "And Susannah sighed." The blessed Susannah, then, when she heard
these words, was troubled in her heart, and set a watch upon her mouth,
not wishing to be defiled by the wicked elders. Now it is in our power
also to apprehend the real meaning of all that befell Susannah. For you
may find this also fulfilled in the present condition of the Church.
For when the two peoples conspire to destroy any of the saints, they
watch for a fit time, and enter the house of God while all there are
praying and praising God, and seize some of them, and carry them off,
and keep hold of them, saying, Come, consent with us, and worship our
Gods; and if not, we will bear witness against you. And when they
refuse, they drag them before the court and accuse them of acting
contrary to the decrees of Caesar, and condemn them to death.
"I am straitened on every side." Behold the words of a chaste woman,
and one dear to God: "I am straitened on every side." For the Church is
afflicted and straitened, not only by the Jews, but also by the
Gentiles, and by those who are called Christians, but are not such in
reality. For they, observing her chaste and happy life, strive to ruin
her.
"For if I do this thing, it is death to me." For to be disobedient to
God, and obedient to men, works eternal death and punishment.
"And if I do it not, I cannot escape your hands." And this indeed is
said with truth. For they who are brought into judgment for the sake of
God's name, if they do what is commanded them by men, die to God, and
shall live in the world. But if they refuse to do what is commanded
them by men, they escape not the hands of their judges, but are
condemned by them.
23. "It is better for me not to do it." For it is better to die by the
hand of wicked men and live with God, than, by consenting to them, to
be delivered from them and fall into the hands of God.
24. "And Susannah cried with a loud voice." And to whom did Susannah
cry but to God? as Isaiah says: "Then shalt thou call, and the Lord
shall answer thee; whilst thou art yet speaking, He shall say, Lo, here
I am." [1354]
"And the two elders cried out against her." For the wicked never cease
to cry out against us, and to say: Away with such from off the earth,
for it is not fit that they should live. In an evangelical sense,
Susannah despised them who kill the body, in order that she might save
her soul from death. Now sin is the death of the soul, and especially
(the sin of) adultery. For when the soul that is united with Christ
forsakes its faith, it is given over to perpetual death, viz., eternal
punishment. And in confirmation of this, in the case of the
transgression and violation of marriage unions in the flesh, the law
has decreed the penalty of death.
25. "Then ran the one and opened the gates;" pointing to the broad and
spacious way on which they who follow such persons perish.
31. "Now Susannah was a very delicate woman." Not that she had
meretricious adornments about her person, as Jezebel had, or eyes
painted with divers colours; but that she had the adornment of faith,
and chastity, and sanctity.
34. "And laid their hands upon her head;" that at least by touching her
they might satisfy their lust.
35. "And she was weeping." For by her tears she attracted the (regard
of) the Word from heaven, who was with tears to raise the dead Lazarus.
41. "Then the assembly believed them." It becomes us, then, to be
stedfast in every duty, and to give no heed to lies, and to yield no
obsequious obedience to the persons of rulers, knowing that we have to
give account to God; but if we follow the truth, and aim at the exact
rule of faith, we shall be well-pleasing to God.
44. "And the Lord heard her voice." For those who call upon Him from a
pure heart, God heareth. But from those who (call upon Him) in deceit
and hypocrisy, God turneth away His face.
52. "O thou that art waxen old in wickedness." Now, since at the
outset, in the introduction, we explained that the two elders are to be
taken as a type of the two peoples, that of the circumcision and that
of the Gentiles, which are always enemies of the Church; let us mark
the words of Daniel, and learn that the Scripture deals falsely with us
in nothing. For, addressing the first elder, he censures him as one
instructed in the law; while he addresses the other as a Gentile,
calling him "the seed of Chanaan," although he was then among the
circumcision.
55. "For even now the angel of God." He shows also, that when Susannah
prayed to God, and was heard, the angel was sent then to help her, just
as was the case in the instance of Tobias [1355] and Sara. For when
they prayed, the supplication of both of them was heard in the same day
and the same hour, and the angel Raphael was sent to heal them both.
61. "And they arose against the two elders;" that the saying might be
fulfilled, "Whoso diggeth a pit for his neighbour, shall fall therein."
[1356]
To all these things, therefore, we ought to give heed, beloved, fearing
lest any one be overtaken in any transgression, and risk the loss of
his soul, knowing as we do that God is the Judge of all; and the Word
[1357] Himself is the Eye which nothing that is done in the world
escapes. Therefore, always watchful in heart and pure in life, let us
imitate Susannah.
__________________________________________________________________
[1346] This apocryphal story of Susannah is found in the Greek texts of
the LXX. and Theodotion, in the old Latin and Vulgate, and in the
Syriac and Arabic versions. But there is no evidence that it ever
formed part of the Hebrew, or of the original Syriac text. It is
generally placed at the beginning of the book, as in the Greek mss. and
the old Latin, but is also sometimes set at the end, as in the Vulgate,
ed. Compl.
[1347] 2 Kings xxii. 8.
[1348] Jer. xliii. 8.
[1349] Gal. ii. 4.
[1350] Prov. i. 32; in our version given as, "The prosperity of fools
shall destroy them."
[1351] 1 Cor. x. 11.
[1352] Matt. vii. 13, 14.
[1353] That is, Daniel, present in the spirit of prophecy.--Combef.
[1354] Isa. lviii. 9.
[1355] Tobit iii. 17.
[1356] Prov. xxvi. 27.
[1357] Cotelerius reads holos instead of ho logos, and so = and He is
Himself the whole or universal eye.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
On Matthew. [1358]
Matt. vi. 11. [1359]
For this reason we are enjoined to ask what is sufficient for the
preservation of the substance of the body: not luxury, but food, which
restores what the body loses, and prevents death by hunger; not tables
to inflame and drive on to pleasures, nor such things as make the body
wax wanton against the soul; but bread, and that, too, not for a great
number of years, but what is sufficient for us to-day.
__________________________________________________________________
[1358] De Magistris, Acta Martyrum Ostiens., p. 405.
[1359] He is giving his opinion on the epiousion, i.e., the "daily
bread."
__________________________________________________________________
On Luke. [1360]
Chap. ii. 7 And if you please, we say that the Word was the first-born
of God, who came down from heaven to the blessed Mary, and was made a
first-born man in her womb, in order that the first-born of God might
be manifested in union with a first-born man.
22. When they brought Him to the temple to present Him to the Lord,
they offered the oblations of purification. For if the gifts of
purification according to the law were offered for Him, in this indeed
He was made under the law. But the Word was not subject to the law in
such wise as the sycophants [1361] fancy, since He is the law Himself;
neither did God need sacrifices of purification, for He purifieth and
sanctifieth all things at once in a moment. But though He took to
Himself the frame of man as He received it from the Virgin, and was
made under the law, and was thus purified after the manner of the
first-born, it was not because He needed this ceremonial that He
underwent its services, but only for the purpose of redeeming from the
bondage of the law those who were sold under the judgment of the curse.
Chap. xxiii For this reason the warders of Hades trembled when they saw
Him; and the gates of brass and the bolts of iron were broken. For, lo,
the Only-begotten entered, a soul among souls, God the Word with a
(human) soul. For His body lay in the tomb, not emptied of divinity;
but as, while in Hades, He was in essential being with His Father, so
was He also in the body and in Hades. [1362] For the Son is not
contained in space, just as the Father; and He comprehends all things
in Himself. But of His own will he dwelt in a body animated by a soul,
in order that with His soul He might enter Hades, and not with His pure
divinity.
__________________________________________________________________
[1360] Mai, Script. vet. collectio nova, vol. ix. p. 645, Rome, 1837.
[1361] hoi sukophantai.
[1362] Pearson On the Creed, art. iv. p. 355.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Doubtful Fragments on the Pentateuch. [1363]
Preface.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God.
This is a transcript of the excellent law. But before beginning to
give the transcript of the book of the law, it will be worth while to
instruct you, O brother, as to its excellence, and the dignity of its
disposition. Its first excellence is, that God delivered it by the hand
of our most blessed ruler, the chief of the prophets, and first of the
apostles, or those who were sent to the children of Israel, viz., Moses
the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, of the sons of Levi. Now he was
adorned with all manner of wisdom, and endowed with the best genius.
Illustrious in dignity, remarkable for the integrity of his
disposition, distinguished for power of reason, he talked with God. And
He chose him as an instrument of value. By His leader and prophet, God
Most High sent it down to us, and committed it to us (blessed be His
name) in the Syriac tongue of the Targum, which the Seventy translated
into the Hebrew tongue, to wit, into the tongue of the nation, and the
idiom of the common people. Moses. therefore, received it from the
eternal Lord, and was the first to whom it was entrusted, and who
obeyed its rules and ordinances. Then he taught it to the children of
Israel, who also embraced it. And he explained to them its profound
mysteries and dark places. And he expounded to them those things which
were less easy, as God permitted him, and concealed from them those
secrets of the law, as God forbade him (to reveal them). Nor did there
rise among them one who was better practised in His judgments and
decrees, and who communicated more clearly the mysteries of His
doctrine, until God translated him to Himself, after He had made him
perfect by forty whole years in the wilderness.
And these following are the names of the teachers who handed down the
law in continuous succession after Moses the prophet, until the advent
of Messiah:--
Know, then, my brother, whom may God bless, that God delivered the most
excellent law into the hands of Moses the prophet, the son of Amram.
And Moses delivered it to Joshua the son of Nun.
And Joshua the son of Nun delivered it Anathal.
And Anathal delivered it to Jehud.
And Jehud delivered it to Samgar.
And Samgar delivered it to Baruk.
And Baruk delivered it to Gideon.
And Gideon delivered it to Abimelech.
And Abimelech delivered it to Taleg.
And Taleg delivered it to Babin the Gileadite.
And Babin delivered it to Jiphtach.
And Jiphtach delivered it to Ephran.
And Ephran delivered it to Elul of the tribe Zebulon.
And Elul delivered it to Abdan.
And Abdan delivered it to Shimshon the brave.
And Shimshon delivered it to Helkanah, the son of Jerachmu, the son of
Jehud. Moreover, he was the father of Samuel the prophet. Of this
Helkanah mention is made in the beginning of the first book of Kings
(Samuel).
And Helkanah delivered it to Eli the priest. And Eli delivered it to
Samuel the prophet.
And Samuel delivered it to Nathan the prophet.
And Nathan delivered it to Gad the prophet.
And Gad the prophet delivered it to Shemaiah the teacher. And Shemaiah
delivered it to Iddo the teacher. And Iddo delivered it to Achia.
And Achia delivered it to Abihu.
And Abihu delivered it to Elias the prophet.
And Elias delivered it to his disciple Elisaeus.
And Elisaeus delivered it to Malachia the prophet.
And Malachia delivered it to Abdiahu.
And Abdiahu delivered it to Jehuda.
And Jehuda delivered it to Zacharias the teacher. In those days came
Bachthansar king of Babel, and laid waste the house of the sanctuary,
and carried the children of Israel into captivity to Babel.
And after the captivity of Babel, Zacharia the teacher delivered it to
Esaia the prophet, the son of Amos.
And Esaia delivered it to Jeremia the prophet.
And Jeremia the prophet delivered it to Chizkiel.
And Chizkiel the prophet delivered it to Hosea the prophet, the son of
Bazi.
And Hosea delivered it to Joiel the prophet.
And Joiel delivered it to Amos the prophet.
And Amos delivered it to Obadia.
And Obadia delivered it to Jonan the prophet, the son of Mathi, the son
of Armelah, who was the brother of Elias the prophet.
And Jonan delivered it to Micha the Morasthite, who delivered it to
Nachum the Alcusite. And Nachum delivered it to Chabakuk the prophet.
And Chabakuk delivered it to Sophonia the prophet.
And Sophonia delivered it to Chaggaeus the prophet.
And Chaggaeus delivered it to Zecharia the prophet, the son of Bershia.
And Zecharia, when in captivity, delivered it to Malachia. And Malachia
delivered it to Ezra the teacher.
[1364] And Ezra delivered it to Shamai the chief priest, and Jadua to
Samean, (and) Samean delivered it to Antigonus.
And Antigonus delivered it to Joseph the son of Johezer, (and) Joseph
the son of Gjuchanan.
And Joseph delivered it to Jehosua, the son of Barachia.
And Jehosua delivered it to Nathan the Arbelite.
And Nathan delivered it to Shimeon, the elder son of Shebach. This is
he who carried the Messias in his arms.
Simeon delivered it to Jehuda.
Jehuda delivered it to Zecharia the priest.
And Zecharia the priest, the father of John the Baptist, delivered it
to Joseph, a teacher of his own tribe.
And Joseph delivered it to Hanan and Caiaphas. Moreover, from them
were taken away the priestly, and kingly, and prophetic offices.
These were teachers at the advent of Messias; and they were both
priests of the children of Israel. Therefore the whole number of
venerable and honourable priests put in trust of this most excellent
law was fifty-six, Hanan (i.e., Annas) and Caiaphas being excepted.
And those are they who delivered it in the last days to the state of
the children of Israel; nor did there arise any priests after them.
This is the account of what took place with regard to the most
excellent law.
Armius, author of the book of Times, has said: In the nineteenth year
of the reign of King Ptolemy, He ordered the elders of the children of
Israel to be assembled, in order that they might put into his hands a
copy of the law, and that they might each be at hand to explain its
meaning.
The elders accordingly came, bringing with them the most excellent law.
Then he commanded that every one of them should interpret the book of
the law to him.
But he dissented from the interpretation which the elders had given.
And he ordered the elders to be thrust into prison and chains. And
seizing the book of the law, he threw it into a deep ditch, and cast
fire and hot ashes upon it for seven days. Then afterwards he ordered
them to throw the filth of the city into that ditch in which was the
book of the law. And the ditch was filled to the very top.
The law remained seventy years under the filth in that ditch, yet did
not perish, nor was there even a single leaf of it spoilt.
In the twenty-first year of the reign of King Apianutus they took the
book of the law out of the ditch, and not one leaf thereof was spoilt.
And after the ascension of Christ into heaven, came King Titus, son of
Aspasianus king of Rome, to Jerusalem, and besieged and took it. And he
destroyed the edifice of the second house, which the children of Israel
had built. Titus the king destroyed the house of the sanctuary, and
slew all the Jews who were in it, and built Tsion (sic) in their blood.
And after that deportation the Jews were scattered abroad in slavery.
Nor did they assemble any more in the city of Jerusalem, nor is there
hope anywhere of their returning.
After Jerusalem was laid waste, therefore, Shemaia and Antalia
(Abtalion) delivered the law,--kings of Baalbach, [1365] a city which
Soliman, son of King David, had built of old, and which was restored
anew in the days of King Menasse, who sawed Esaia the prophet asunder.
King Adrian, of the children of Edom, besieged Baalbach, and took it,
and slew all the Jews who were in it, (and) as many as were of the
family of David he reduced to slavery. And the Jews were dispersed over
the whole earth, as God Most High had foretold: "And I will scatter you
among the Gentiles, and disperse you among the nations."
And these are the things which have reached us as to the history of
that most excellent book. The Preface is ended.
__________________________________________________________________
[1363] These are edited in Arabic and Latin by Fabricius, Opp. Hippol.,
ii. 33. That these are spurious is now generally agreed. The
translation is from the Latin version, which alone is given by Migne.
[1364] See Tsemach David, and Maimon. Praefat. ad Seder Zeraim, in
Pocockii Porta Moses, p. 36.
[1365] Heliopolis of Syria.
__________________________________________________________________
The Law.
In the name of God eternal, everlasting, most mighty, merciful,
compassionate.
By the help of God we begin to describe the book of the law, and its
interpretation, as the holy, learned, and most excellent fathers have
interpreted it.
The following, therefore, is the interpretation of the first book,
which indeed is the book of the creation (and) of created beings.
__________________________________________________________________
Section I.
Of the Creation of Heaven and Earth. "In the Beginning God Created,"
Etc.
An exposition of that which God said.
And the blessed prophet, indeed, the great Moses, wrote this book, and
designated and marked it with the title, The Book of Being, i.e., "of
created beings," etc.
__________________________________________________________________
Sections II., III.
And the Lord Said: "And I Will Bring the Waters of the Flood Upon the
Earth to Destroy All Flesh," Etc.
Hippolytus, the Targumist expositor, said: The names of the wives of
the sons of Noah are these: the name of the wife of Sem, Nahalath
Mahnuk; and the name of the wife of Cham, Zedkat Nabu; and the name of
the wife of Japheth, Arathka. These, moreover, are their names in the
Syriac Targum. [1366] The name of the wife of Sem was Nahalath Mahnuk;
the name of the wife of Cham, Zedkat Nabu; the name of the wife of
Japheth, Arathka.
Therefore God gave intimation to Noah, and informed him of the coming
of the flood, and of the destruction of the ruined (wicked).
And God Most High ordered him to descend from the holy mount, him and
his sons, and the wives of his sons, and to build a ship of three
storeys. The lower storey was for fierce, wild, and dangerous beasts.
Between them there were stakes or wooden beams, to separate them from
each other, and prevent them from having intercourse with each other.
The middle storey was for birds, and their different genera. Then the
upper storey was for Noah himself and his sons--for his own wife and
his sons' wives.
Noah also made a door in the ship, on the east side. He also
constructed tanks of water, and store-rooms of provisions.
When he had made an end, accordingly, of building the ship, Noah, with
his sons, Sem, Cham, and Japheth, entered the cave of deposits. [1367]
And on their first approach, indeed, they happily found the bodies of
the fathers, Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kainan, Mahaliel, Jared, Mathusalach,
and Lamech. Those eight bodies were in the place of deposits, viz.,
those of Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kainan, Mahaliel, Jared, Mathusalach, and
Lamech.
Noah, moreover, took the body of Adam. And his sons took with them
offerings. Sem carried gold, Cham myrrh, and Japheth frankincense.
Then, leaving the cave of deposits, they transferred the offerings and
the body of Adam to the holy mount. [1368]
And when they sat down by the body of Adam, over against paradise, they
began to lament and weep for the loss of paradise.
Then, descending from the holy mount, and lifting up their eyes towards
paradise, they renewed their weeping and wailing, (and) uttered an
eternal farewell in these terms: Farewell! peace to thee, O paradise of
God! Farewell, O habitation of religion and purity! Farewell, O seat of
pleasure and delight!
Then they embraced the stones and trees of the holy mount, and wept,
and said: Farewell, O habitation of the good! Farewell, O abode of
holy bodies!
Then, after three days, Noah, with his sons and his sons' wives, came
down from the holy mount to the base of the holy mount, to the ship's
place. For the (ark) was under the projecting edge of the holy mount.
And Noah entered the ship, and deposited the body of Adam, and the
offerings, in the middle of the ship, upon a bier of wood, which he had
prepared for the reception of the body.
And God charged Noah, saying: Make for thyself rattles [1369] of
boxwood (or cypress). Now sms'r is the wood called Sagh, i.e., Indian
plane.
Make also the hammer (bell) thereof of the same wood. And the length of
the rattle shall be three whole cubits, and its breadth one and a half
cubit.
And God enjoined him to strike the rattles three times every day, to
wit, for the first time at early dawn, for the second time at mid-day,
and for the third time at sunset.
And it happened that, as soon as Noah had struck the rattles, the sons
of Cain and the sons of Vahim ran up straightway to him, and he warned
and alarmed them by telling of the immediate approach of the flood, and
of the destruction already hasting on and impending.
Thus, moreover, was the pity of God toward them displayed, that they
might be converted and come to themselves again. But the sons of Cain
did not comply with what Noah proclaimed to them. And Noah brought
together pairs, male and female, of all birds of every kind; and thus
also of all beasts, tame and wild alike, pair and pair.
__________________________________________________________________
[1366] What follows was thus expressed probably in Syriac in some
Syriac version.
[1367] Cavernam thesaurorum. [Cant. iv. 6, i.e., Paradise.]
[1368] Cavernam thesaurorum. [Cant. iv. 6, i.e., Paradise.]
[1369] Crepitacula.
__________________________________________________________________
Section IV.
On Gen. vii. 6
Hippolytus, the Syrian expositor of the Targum, has said: We find in an
ancient Hebrew copy that God commanded Noah to range the wild beasts in
order in the lower floor or storey, and to separate the males from the
females by putting wooden stakes between them.
And thus, too, he did with all the cattle, and also with the birds in
the middle storey. And God ordered the males thus to be separated from
the females for the sake of decency and purity, lest they should
perchance get intermingled with each other.
Moreover, God said to Moses: Provide victuals for yourself and your
children. And let them be of wheat, ground, pounded, kneaded with
water, and dried. And Noah there and then bade his wife, and his sons'
wives, diligently attend to kneading dough and laying it in the oven.
They kneaded dough accordingly, and prepared just about as much as
might be sufficient for them, so that nothing should remain over but
the very least.
And God charged Noah, saying to him: Whosoever shall first announce to
you the approach of the deluge, him you shall destroy that very moment.
In the meantime, moreover, the wife of Cham was standing by, about to
put a large piece of bread into the oven. And suddenly, according to
the word of the Lord, water rushed forth from the oven, and the flow of
water penetrated and destroyed the bread. Therefore the wife of Cham
exclaimed, addressing herself to Noah: Oh, sir, the word of God is come
good: "that which God foretold is come to pass;" execute, therefore,
that which the Lord commanded. And when Noah heard the words of the
wife of Chain, he said to her: Is then the flood already come? The wife
of Cham said to him: Thou hast said it. God, however, suddenly charged
Noah, saying: Destroy not the wife of Cham; for from thy mouth is the
beginning of destruction--"thou didst first say, The flood is come." At
the voice of Noah the flood came, and suddenly the water destroyed that
bread. And the floodgates of heaven were opened, and the rains broke
upon the earth. And that same voice, in sooth, which had said of old,
"Let the waters be gathered together into one place, and let the dry
land appear," [1370] gave permission to the fountain of waters and the
floods of the seas to break forth of their own accord, and brought out
the waters.
Consider what God said about the world: Let all its high places be
brought low, and they were brought low; and let its low places be
raised from its depths.
And the earth was made bare and empty of all existence, as it was at
the beginning.
And the rain descended from above, and the earth burst open beneath.
And the frame of the earth was destroyed, and its primitive order was
broken. And the world became such as it was when desolated at the
beginning by the waters which flowed over it. Nor was any one of the
existences upon it left in its integrity.
Its former structure went to wreck, and the earth was disfigured by the
flood of waters that burst upon it, and by the magnitude of its
inundations, and the multitude of showers, and the eruption from its
depths, as the waters continually broke forth. In fine, it was left
such as it was formerly [1371] .
__________________________________________________________________
[1370] Gen. i. 9.
[1371] Gen. i. 9.
__________________________________________________________________
Section V.
On Gen. viii. I
Hippolytus, the expositor of the Targum, and my master, Jacobus
Rohaviensis, have said: On the twenty-seventh day of the month Jiar,
which is the second Hebrew month, the ark rose from the base of the
holy mount; and already the waters bore it, and it was carried upon
them round about towards the four cardinal points of the world. The ark
accordingly held off from the holy mount towards the east, then
returned towards the west, then turned to the south, and finally,
bearing off eastwards, neared Mount Kardu on the first day of the tenth
month. And that is the second month Kanun.
And Noah came out of the ark on the twenty-seventh day of the month
Jiar, in the second year: for the ark continued sailing five whole
months, and moved to and fro upon the waters, and in a period of
fifty-one days neared the land. Nor thereafter did it float about any
longer. But it only moved successively toward the four cardinal points
of the earth, and again finally stood toward the east. We say,
moreover, that that was a sign of the cross. And the ark was a symbol
of the Christ who was expected. For that ark was the means of the
salvation of Noah and his sons, and also of the cattle, the wild
beasts, and the birds. And Christ, too, when He suffered on the cross,
delivered us from accusations and sins, and washed us in His own blood
most pure.
And just as the ark returned to the east, and neared Mount Kardu, so
also Christ, when the work was accomplished and finished which He had
proposed to Himself, returned to heaven to the bosom of His Father, and
sat down upon the throne of His glory at the Father's right hand.
As to Mount Kardu, it is in the east, in the land of the sons of Raban,
and the Orientals call it Mount Godash; [1372] the Arabians and
Persians call it Ararat. [1373]
And there is a town of the name Kardu, and that hill is called after
it, which is indeed very lofty and inaccessible, whose summit no one
has ever been able to reach, on account of the violence of the winds
and the storms which always prevail there. And if any one attempts to
ascend it, there are demons that rush upon him, and cast him down
headlong from the ridge of the mountain into the plain, so that he
dies. No one, moreover, knows what there is on the top of the mountain,
except that certain relics of the wood of the ark still lie there on
the surface of the top of the mountain. [1374]
__________________________________________________________________
[1372] Gordyaeum.
[1373] See Fuller, Misc. Sacr., i. 4; and Bochart, Phaleg., p. 22.
[1374] [See p. 149, note 10, supra.]
__________________________________________________________________
Section X.
On Deut. xxxiii. II
Hippolytus, the expositor of the Targum, has said that Moses, when he
had finished this prophecy, also pronounced a blessing upon all the
children of Israel, by their several tribes, and prayed for them. Then
God charged Moses, saying to him, Go up to Mount Nebo, which indeed is
known by the name of the mount of the Hebrews, which is in the land of
Moab over against Jericho.
And He said to him: View the land of Chanaan, which I am to give to the
children of Israel for an inheritance. Thou, however, shalt never
enter it; wherefore view it well from afar off. When Moses therefore
viewed it, he saw that land,--a land green, and abounding with all
plenty and fertility, planted thickly with trees; and Moses was greatly
moved, and wept.
And when Moses descended from Mount Nebo, he called for Joshua the son
of Nun, and said to him before the children of Israel: Prevail, and be
strong; for thou art to bring the children of Israel into the land
which God promised to fathers that He would give their them for an
inheritance. Fear not, therefore, the people, neither be afraid of the
nations: for God will be with thee.
And Moses wrote that Senna [1375] (Hebr. mnsh ="secondary law," or
"Deuteronomy"), and gave it to the priests the sons of Levi, and
commanded them, saying: For seven years keep this Senna hid, and show
it not within the entire course of seven years. ("And then") in the
feast of tabernacles, the priests the sons of Levi will read this law
before the children of Israel, that the whole people, men and women
alike, may observe the words of God: Command them to keep the word of
God, which is in that law. And whosoever shall violate one of its
precepts, let him be accursed.
Accordingly, when Moses had finished the writing of the law, he gave it
to Joshua the son of Nun, and enjoined him to give it to the sons of
Levi, the priests. Moses also enjoined and charged them to place the
book of the law again within the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that
it might remain there for a testimony for ever.
And when Moses had made an end of his injunctions, God bade him go up
Mount Nebo, which is over against Jericho. The Lord showed him the
whole land of promise in its four quarters, from the wilderness to the
sea, and from sea to sea. And the Lord said to him, Thou hast seen it
indeed with thine eyes, but thou shalt never enter it. There
accordingly Moses died, the servant of God, by the command of God. And
the angels buried him on Mount Nebo, which is over against Beth-Phegor.
And no one knows of his sepulchre, even to this day. For God concealed
his grave.
And Moses lived 120 years; nor was his eye dim, nor was the skin of his
face wrinkled.
Moses died on a certain day, at the third hour of the day, on the
seventh day of the second month, which is the month Jiar.
And the children of Israel wept for him in the plains of Moab three
days.
And Joshua the sun of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom; for
Moses had laid his hand upon him. And all the children of Israel obeyed
him. And God charged Joshua the son of Nun on a certain day,--namely,
the seventh day of the month Nisan.
And Joshua the son of Nun lived 110 years, and died on the fourth day,
which was the first day of the month Elul. And they buried him in the
city Thamnatserach, on Mount Ephraim.
Praise be to God for the completion of the work.
__________________________________________________________________
[1375] That is the name the Mohammedans give to their Traditions.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
On the Psalms. [1376]
I.
The Argument of the Exposition of the Psalms by Hippolytus, (Bishop) of
Rome.
1. The book of Psalms contains new doctrine after the law which was
given by Moses; and thus it is the second book of doctrine after the
Scripture of Moses. After the death, then of Moses and Joshua, and
after the judges, David arose, one deemed worthy to be called the
father of the Saviour, and he was the first to give the Hebrews a new
style of psalmody, by which he did away with the ordinances established
by Moses with respect to sacrifice, and introduced a new mode of the
worship of God by hymns and acclamations; and many other things also
beyond the law of Moses he taught through his whole ministry. And this
is the sacredness of the book, and its utility. And the account to be
given of its inscription is this: (for) as most of the brethren who
believe in Christ think that this book is David's, and inscribe it
"Psalms of David," we must state what has reached us with respect to
it. The Hebrews give the book the title "Sephra Thelim," [1377] and in
the "Acts of the Apostles" it is called the "Book of Psalms" (the words
are these, "as it is written in the Book of Psalms"), but the name (of
the author) in the inscription of the book is not found there. And the
reason of that is, that the words written there are not the words of
one man, but those of several together; Esdra, as tradition says,
having collected in one volume, after the captivity, the psalms of
several, or rather their words, as they are not all psalms. Thus the
name of David is prefixed in the case of some, and that of Solomon in
others, and that of Asaph in others. There are some also that belong to
Idithum (Jeduthun); and besides these there are others that belong to
the sons of Core (Korah), and even to Moses. As they are therefore the
words of so many thus collected together, they could not be said by any
one who understands the matter to be by David alone.
2. As regards those which have no inscription, we must also inquire to
whom we ought to ascribe them. For why is it that even the simplest
inscription is wanting in them--such as the one which runs thus, "A
psalm of David," or "Of David," without any addition? Now, my idea is,
that wherever this inscription occurs alone, what is written is neither
a psalm nor a song, but some sort of utterance under guidance of the
Holy Spirit, recorded for the behoof of him who is able to understand
it. But the opinion of a certain Hebrew on these last matters has
reached me, who held that, when there were many without any
inscription, but preceded by one with the inscription "Of David," all
these should be reckoned also to be by David. And if this be the case,
it follows that those without any inscription are by those (writers)
who are rightly reckoned, according to the titles, to be the authors of
the psalms preceding these. This book of Psalms before us has also been
called by the prophet the "Psalter," because, as they say, the psaltery
alone among musical instruments gives back the sound from above when
the brass is struck, and not from beneath, after the manner of others.
In order, therefore, that those who understand it may be zealous to
carry out the analogy of such an appellation, and may also look above,
from which direction its melody comes--for this reason he has styled it
the Psalter. For it is entirely the voice and utterance of the most
Holy Spirit.
3. Let us inquire, further, why there are one hundred and fifty psalms.
That the number fifty is sacred, is manifest from the days of the
celebrated festival of Pentecost, which indicates release from labours,
and (the possession of) joy. For which reason neither fasting nor
bending the knee is decreed for those days. [1378] For this is a symbol
of the great assembly that is reserved for future times. Of which times
there was a shadow in the land of Israel in the year called among the
Hebrews "Jobel" (Jubilee), which is the fiftieth year in number, and
brings with it liberty for the slave, and release from debt, and the
like. And the holy Gospel knows also the remission of the number fifty,
and of that number which is cognate with it, and stands by it, viz.,
five hundred; [1379] for it is not without a purpose that we have given
us there the remission of fifty pence and of five hundred. Thus, then,
it was also meet that the hymns to God on account of the destruction of
enemies, and in thanksgiving for the goodness of God, should contain
not simply one set of fifty, but three such, for the name of Father,
and Son, and Holy Spirit.
4. The number fifty, moreover, contains seven sevens, or a Sabbath of
Sabbaths; and also over and above these full Sabbaths, a new beginning,
in the eight, of a really new rest that remains above the Sabbaths. And
let any one who is able, observe this (as it is carried out) in the
Psalms with more, indeed, than human accuracy, so as to find out the
reasons in each case, as we shall set them forth. Thus, for instance,
it is not without a purpose that the eighth psalm has the inscription,
"On the wine-presses," as it comprehends the perfection of fruits in
the eight; for the time for the enjoyment of the fruits of the true
vine could not be before the eight. And again, the second psalm
inscribed "On the wine-presses," is the eightieth, containing another
eighth number, viz., in the tenth multiple. The eighty-third, again,
is made up by the union of two holy numbers, viz., the eight in the
tenth multiple, and the three in the first multiple. And the fiftieth
psalm is a prayer for the remission of sins, and a confession. For as,
according to the Gospel, the fiftieth obtained remission, confirming
thereby that understanding of the jubilee, so he who offers up such
petitions in full confession hopes to gain remission in no other number
than the fiftieth. And again, there are also certain others which are
called "Songs of degrees," in number fifteen, as was also the number of
the steps of the temple, and which show thereby, perhaps, that the
"steps" (or "degrees") are comprehended within the number seven and the
number eight. And these songs of degrees begin after the one hundred
and twentieth psalm, which is called simply "a psalm," as the more
accurate copies give it. And this is the number [1380] of the
perfection of the life of man. And the hundredth [1381] psalm, which
begins thus, "I will sing of mercy and judgment, O Lord," embraces the
life of the saint in fellowship with God. And the one hundred and
fiftieth ends with these words, "Let every thing that hath breath
praise the Lord."
5. But since, as we have already said, to do this in the case of each,
and to find out the reasons, is very difficult, and too much for human
nature to accomplish, we shall content ourselves with these things by
way of an outline. Only let us add this, that the psalms which deal
with historical matter are not found in regular historical order. And
the only reason for this is to be found in the numbers according to
which the psalms are arranged. For instance, the history in the
fifty-first is antecedent to the history in the fiftieth. For everybody
acknowledges that the matter of Doeg the Idumean calumniating David to
Saul is antecedent to the sin with the wife of Urias; yet it is not
without good reason that the history which should be second is placed
first, since, as we have before said, the place regarding remission has
an affinity with the number fifty. He, therefore, who is not worthy of
remission, passes the number fifty, as Doeg the Idumean. For the
fifty-first is the psalm that treats of him. And, moreover, the third
is in the same position, since it was written when David fled from the
face of Absalom his son; and thus, as all know who read the books of
Kings, it should come properly after the fifty-first and the fiftieth.
And if any one desires to give further attention to these and such like
matters, he will find more exact explanations of the history for
himself, as well as of the inscriptions and the order of the psalms.
6. It is likely, also, that a similar account is to be given of the
fact, that David alone of the prophets prophesied with an instrument,
called by the Greeks the "psaltery," [1382] and by the Hebrews the
"nabla," which is the only musical instrument that is quite straight,
and has no curve. And the sound does not come from the lower parts, as
is the case with the lute and certain other instruments, but from the
upper. For in the lute and the lyre the brass when struck gives back
the sound from beneath. But this psaltery has the source of its musical
numbers above, in order that we, too, may practise seeking things
above, and not suffer ourselves to be borne down by the pleasure of
melody to the passions of the flesh. And I think that this truth, too,
was signified deeply and clearly to us in a prophetic way in the
construction of the instrument, viz., that those who have souls well
ordered and trained, have the way ready to things above. And again, an
instrument having the source of its melodious sound in its upper parts,
may be taken as like the body of Christ and His saints--the only
instrument that maintains rectitude; "for He did no sin, neither was
guile found in his mouth." [1383] This is indeed an instrument,
harmonious, melodious, well-ordered, that took in no human discord, and
did nothing out of measure, but maintained in all things, as it were,
harmony towards the Father; for, as He says: "He that is of the earth
is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: He that cometh from heaven,
testifies of what He has seen and heard." [1384]
7. As there are "psalms," and "songs," and "psalms of song," and "songs
of psalmody," [1385] it remains that we discuss the difference between
these. We think, then, that the "psalms" are those which are simply
played to an instrument, without the accompaniment of the voice, and
(which are composed) for the musical melody of the instrument; and that
those are called "songs" which are rendered by the voice in concert
with the music; and that they are called "psalms of song" when the
voice takes the lead, while the appropriate sound is also made to
accompany it, rendered harmoniously by the instruments; and "songs of
psalmody," when the instrument takes the lead, while the voice has the
second place, and accompanies the music of the strings. And thus much
as to the letter of what is signified by these terms. But as to the
mystical interpretation, it would be a "psalm" when, by smiting the
instrument, viz., the body, with good deeds we succeed in good action
though not wholly proficient in speculation; and a "song," when, by
revolving the mysteries of the truth, apart from the practical, and
assenting fully to them, we have the noblest thoughts of God and His
oracles, while knowledge enlightens us, and wisdom shines brightly in
our souls; and a "song of psalmody," when, while good action takes the
lead, according to the word, "If thou desire wisdom, keep the
commandments, and the Lord shall give her unto thee," [1386] we
understand wisdom at the same time, and are deemed worthy by God to
know the truth of things, till now kept hid from us; and a "psalm of
song," when, by revolving with the light of wisdom some of the more
abstruse questions pertaining to morals, we first become prudent in
action, and then also able to tell what, and when, and how action is to
be taken. And perhaps this is the reason why the first inscriptions
nowhere contain the word "songs," but only "psalm" or "psalms;" for the
saint does not begin with speculation; but when he has become in a
simple way a believer, according to orthodoxy, he devotes himself to
the actions that are to be done. For this reason, also, are there many
"songs" at the end; and wherever there is the word "degrees," there we
do not find the word "psalm," whether by itself alone or with any
addition, but only "songs." For in the "degrees" (or "ascents"), the
saints will be engaged in nothing but in speculation alone. And let the
account which we have offered, following the indications given in the
interpretation of the Seventy, suffice for this subject in general.
8. But again, as we found in the Seventy, and in Theodotion, and in
Symmachus, in some psalms, and these not a few, the word diapsalma
inserted, [1387] we endeavoured to make out whether those who placed it
there meant to mark a change at those places in rhythm or melody, or
any alteration in the mode of instruction, or in thought, or in force
of language. It is found, however, neither in Aquila nor in the Hebrew;
but there, instead of diapsalma (= an intervening musical symphony), we
find the word aei (= ever). And further, let not this fact escape thee,
O man of learning, that the Hebrews also divided the Psalter into five
books, so that it might be another Pentateuch. For from Ps. i. to xl.
they reckoned one book; and from xli. to lxxi. they reckoned a second;
and from lxxii. to lxxxviii. they counted a third book; and from
lxxxix. to cv. a fourth; and from cvi. to cl. they made up the fifth.
For they judged that each psalm closing with the words, "Blessed be the
Lord, Amen, amen," formed the conclusion of a book. And in them we have
"prayer," viz., supplication offered to God for anything requisite; and
the "vow," i.e., engagement; and the "hymn," which is the song of
blessing to God for benefits enjoyed; and "praise" or "extolling,"
which is the laudation of the wonders of God. For laudation is nothing
else but just the superlative of praise.
9. However it may be with the "time when and the manner" in which this
idea of the Psalms has hit upon by the inspired David, he at least
seems to have been the first, and indeed the only one, concerned in it,
and that, too, at the earliest period, when he taught his fingers to
tune the psaltery. For if any other before him showed the use of the
psaltery and lute, it was at any rate in a very different way that such
an one did it, only putting together some rude and clumsy contrivance,
or simply employing the instrument, without singing either to melody or
to words, but only amusing himself with a rude sort of pleasure. But
after such he was the first to reduce the affair to rhythm, and order,
and art, and also to wed the singing of the song with the melody. And,
what is of greater importance, this most inspired of men sang to God,
or of God, beginning in this wise even at the period when he was among
the shepherds and youths in a simpler and humbler style, and afterwards
when he became a man and a king, attempting something loftier and of
more public interest. And he is said to have made this advance,
especially after he had brought back the ark into the city. At that
time he often danced before the ark, and often sang songs of
thanksgiving and songs to celebrate its recovery. And then by and by,
allocating the whole tribe of the Levites to the duty, he appointed
four leaders of the choirs, viz., Asaph, Aman (Heman), Ethan, and
Idithum (Jeduthun), inasmuch as there are also in all things visible
four primal principles. And he then formed choirs of men, selected from
the rest. And he fixed their number at seventy-two, having respect, I
think, to the number of the tongues that were confused, or rather
divided, at the time of the building of the tower. And what was
typified by this, but that hereafter all tongues shall again unite in
one common confession, when the Word takes possession of the whole
world?
__________________________________________________________________
[1376] Simon de Magistris, Acta Martyrum Ostiensium, Append., p. 439.
[1377] That is an attempt to express in Greek letters the Hebrew title,
viz., sphr thls = Book of Praises
[1378] [See vol. iii. pp. 94, 103.]
[1379] Luke vii. 41. [Dan. viii. 13, (Margin.) "Palmoni," etc.]
[1380] Gen. vi. 3.
[1381] i.e., in our version the 101st.
[1382] [See learned remarks of Pusey, p. 27 of his Lectures on Daniel.]
[1383] Isa. liii. 9. [Vol. i. cap. iv. p. 50.]
[1384] John iii. 31.
[1385] The Greek is: onton psalmon, kai ouson odon, kai psalmon odes,
kai odon psalmou.
[1386] Ecclus. i. 26.
[1387] [Our author throws no great light on this vexed word, but the
article Selah in Smith's Dict. of the Bible is truly valuable.]
__________________________________________________________________
Other Fragments on the Psalms. [1388]
II.
On Psalm xxxi. 22. Of the Triumph of the Christian Faith.
The mercy of God is not so "marvellous" when it is shown in humbler
cities as when it is shown in "a strong city," [1389] and for this
reason "God is to be blessed."
__________________________________________________________________
[1388] De Magistris, Acta Martyrum Ostien., p. 256.
[1389] The allusion probably is to the seat of imperial power itself.
__________________________________________________________________
III.
On Psalm lv. 15
One of old used to say that those only descend alive into Hades who are
instructed in the knowledge of things divine; for he who has not tasted
of the words of life is dead.
__________________________________________________________________
IV.
On Psalm lviii. 11
But since there is a time when the righteous shall rejoice, and sinners
shall meet the end foretold for them, we must with all reason fully
acknowledge and declare that God is inspector and overseer of all that
is done among men, and judges all who dwell upon earth. It is proper
further to inquire whether the prophecy in hand, which quite
corresponds and fits in with those preceding it, may describe the end.
When Hippolytus dictated these words, [1390] the grammarian asked him
why he hesitated about that prophecy, as if he mistrusted the divine
power in that calamity of exile.
The learned man calls attention to the question why the word diagraphe
(= may describe) was used by me in the subjunctive mood, as if silently
indicating doubt.
Hippolytus accordingly replied:--
You know indeed quite well, that words of that form are used as
conveying by implication a rebuke to those who study the prophecies
about Christ, and talk righteousness with the mouth, while they do not
admit His coming, nor listen to His voice when He calls to them, and
says, "He that hath ears to hear let him hear;" who have made
themselves like the serpent and have made their ears like those of a
deaf viper, and so forth. God then does, in truth, take care of the
righteous, and judges their cause when injured on the earth; and He
punishes those who dare to injure them.
__________________________________________________________________
[1390] He is addressing his amanuensis, a man not without learning, as
it seems. Hippolytus dictates these words.
__________________________________________________________________
V.
On Psalm lix. 11. Concerning the Jews.
For this reason, even up to our day, though they see the boundaries (of
their country), and go round about them, they stand afar off. And
therefore have they no longer king or high priest or prophet, nor even
scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees among them. He does not, however,
say that they are to be cut off; wherefore their race still subsists,
and the succession of their children is continued. For they have not
been cut off nor consumed from among men--but they are and exist
still--yet only as those who have been rejected and cast down from the
honour of which of old they were deemed worthy by God. But again,
"Scatter them," he says, "by Thy power;" which word has also come to
pass. For they are scattered throughout the whole earth, in servitude
everywhere, and engaging in the lowest and most servile occupations,
and doing any unseemly work for hunger's sake.
For if they were destroyed from among men, and remained nowhere among
the living, they could not see my people, he means, nor know my Church
in its prosperity. Therefore "scatter" them everywhere on earth, where
my Church is to be established, in order that when they see the Church
founded by me, they may be roused to emulate it in piety. And these
things did the Saviour also ask on their behalf.
__________________________________________________________________
VI.
On Psalm lxii. 6
Aliens (metanastai) properly so called are those who have been
despoiled by some enemies or adversaries, and have then become
wanderers; a thing which we indeed also endured formerly at the hand of
the demons. But from the time that Christ took us up by faith in Him,
we are no longer aliens from the true country--the Jerusalem which is
above--nor have we to bear alienation in error from the truth.
__________________________________________________________________
VII.
On Psalm lxviii. 18. Of the Enlargement of the Church.
And the unbelieving, too, He sometimes draws by means of sickness and
outward circumstances; yea, many also by means of visions have come to
make their abode with Jesus.
__________________________________________________________________
VIII.
On Psalm lxxxix. 4. Of the Gentiles.
And around us are the wise men of the Greeks mocking and jeering us, as
those who believe without inquiry, and foolishly.
__________________________________________________________________
IX.
On the Words in Psalm xcvi. 11: "Let the Sea Roar (Be Moved), and the
Fulness Thereof."
By these words it is signified that the preaching of the Gospel will be
spread abroad over the seas and the islands in the ocean, and among the
people dwelling therein, who are here called "the fulness thereof." And
that word has been made good. For churches of Christ fill all the
islands, and are being multiplied every day, and the teaching of the
Word of salvation is gaining accessions.
__________________________________________________________________
X.
On Psalm cxix. 30-32
He who loves truth, and never utters a false word with his mouth, may
say, "I have chosen the way of truth." Moreover, he who always sets
the judgments of God before his eyes, and remembers them in every
action, will say, "Thy judgments have I not forgotten." And how is our
heart enlarged by trials and afflictions! For these pluck out the
thorns of anxious thoughts within us, and enlarge the heart for the
reception of the divine laws. For, says he, "in affliction Thou hast
enlarged me." Then do we walk in the way of God's commandments, well
prepared for it by the endurance of trials.
__________________________________________________________________
XI.
On the Words in Psalm cxxvii. 7: "On the Wrath of Mine Enemies." Etc.
Hast thou [1391] seen that the power (of God) is most mighty on every
side? For (says he) Thou wilt be able to save me when in the midst of
troubles, and to keep them in check when they rage, and rave, and
breathe fire.
__________________________________________________________________
[1391] To his amanuensis.
__________________________________________________________________
XII.
On the Words in Psalm cxxxix. 15: "My Substance or (Bones) Was Not Hid
from Thee, Which Thou Madest in Secret."
It is said also by those who treat of the nature and generation of
animals, that the change of the blood into bone is something invisible
and intangible, although in the case of other parts, I mean the flesh
and nerves, the mode of their formation may be seen. And the Scripture
also, in Ecclesiastes, adduces this, saying, "As thou knowest not the
bones in the womb of her that is with child, so thou shalt not know the
works of God." [1392] But from Thee was not hid even my substance, as
it was originally in the lowest parts of the earth.
__________________________________________________________________
[1392] Eccles. xi. 5.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Part II.--Dogmatical and Historical.
Treatise on Christ and Antichrist. [1393]
1. As it was your desire, my beloved brother Theophilus, [1394] to be
thoroughly informed on those topics which I put summarily before you, I
have thought it right to set these matters of inquiry clearly forth to
your view, drawing largely from the Holy Scriptures themselves as from
a holy fountain, in order that you may not only have the pleasure of
hearing them on the testimony of men, [1395] but may also be able, by
surveying them in the light of (divine) authority, to glorify God in
all. For this will be as a sure supply furnished you by us for your
journey in this present life, so that by ready argument applying things
ill understood and apprehended by most, you may sow them in the ground
of your heart, as in a rich and clean soil. [1396] By these, too, you
will be able to silence those who oppose and gainsay the word of
salvation. Only see that you do not give these things over to
unbelieving and blasphemous tongues, for that is no common danger. But
impart them to pious and faithful men, who desire to live holily and
righteously with fear. For it is not to no purpose that the blessed
apostle exhorts Timothy, and says, "O Timothy, keep that which is
committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and
oppositions of science falsely so called; which some professing have
erred concerning the faith." [1397] And again, "Thou therefore, my son,
be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that
thou hast heard of me in many exhortations, the same commit thou to
faithful men, [1398] who shall be able to teach others also." [1399]
If, then, the blessed (apostle) delivered these things with a pious
caution, which could be easily known by all, as he perceived in the
spirit that "all men have not faith," [1400] how much greater will be
our danger, if, rashly and without thought, we commit the revelations
of God to profane and unworthy men?
2. For as the blessed prophets were made, so to speak, eyes for us,
they foresaw through faith the mysteries of the word, and became
ministers of these [1401] things also to succeeding generations, not
only reporting the past, but also announcing the present and the
future, so that the prophet might not appear to be one only for the
time being, but might also predict the future for all generations, and
so be reckoned a (true) prophet. For these fathers were furnished with
the Spirit, and largely honoured by the Word Himself; and just as it is
with instruments of music, so had they the Word always, like the
plectrum, [1402] in union with them, and when moved by Him the prophets
announced what God willed. For they spake not of their own power [1403]
(let there be no mistake as to that [1404] ), neither did they declare
what pleased themselves. But first of all they were endowed with wisdom
by the Word, and then again were rightly instructed in the future by
means of visions. And then, when thus themselves fully convinced, they
spake those things which [1405] were revealed by God to them alone, and
concealed from all others. For with what reason should the prophet be
called a prophet, unless he in spirit foresaw the future? For if the
prophet spake of any chance event, he would not be a prophet then in
speaking of things which were under the eye of all. But one who sets
forth in detail things yet to be, was rightly judged a prophet.
Wherefore prophets were with good reason called from the very first
"seers." [1406] And hence we, too, who are rightly instructed in what
was declared aforetime by them, speak not of our own capacity. For we
do not attempt to make any change one way or another among ourselves in
the words that were spoken of old by them, but we make the Scriptures
in which these are written public, and read them to those who can
believe rightly; for that is a common benefit for both parties: for him
who speaks, in holding in memory and setting forth correctly things
uttered of old; [1407] and for him who hears, in giving attention to
the things spoken. Since, then, in this there is a work assigned to
both parties together, viz., to him who speaks, that he speak forth
faithfully without regard to risk, [1408] and to him who hears, that he
hear and receive in faith that which is spoken, I beseech you to strive
together with me in prayer to God.
3. Do you wish then to know in what manner the Word of God, who was
again the Son of God, [1409] as He was of old the Word, communicated
His revelations to the blessed prophets in former times? Well, as the
Word shows His compassion and His denial of all respect of persons by
all the saints, He enlightens them [1410] and adapts them to that which
is advantageous for us, like a skilful physician, understanding the
weakness of men. And the ignorant He loves to teach, and the erring He
turns again to His own true way. And by those who live by faith He is
easily found; and to those of pure eye and holy heart, who desire to
knock at the door, He opens immediately. For He casts away none of His
servants as unworthy of the divine mysteries. He does not esteem the
rich man more highly than the poor, nor does He despise the poor man
for his poverty. He does not disdain the barbarian, nor does He set the
eunuch aside as no man. [1411] He does not hate the female on account
of the woman's act of disobedience in the beginning, nor does He reject
the male on account of the man's transgression. But He seeks all, and
desires to save all, wishing to make all the children of God, and
calling all the saints unto one perfect man. For there is also one Son
(or Servant) of God, by whom we too, receiving the regeneration through
the Holy Spirit, desire to come all unto one perfect and heavenly man.
[1412]
4. For whereas the Word of God was without flesh, [1413] He took upon
Himself the holy flesh by the holy Virgin, and prepared a robe which He
wove for Himself, like a bridegroom, in the sufferings of the cross, in
order that by uniting His own power with our mortal body, and by mixing
[1414] the incorruptible with the corruptible, and the strong with the
weak, He might save perishing man. The web-beam, therefore, is the
passion of the Lord upon the cross, and the warp on it is the power of
the Holy Spirit, and the woof is the holy flesh wrought (woven) by the
Spirit, and the thread is the grace which by the love of Christ binds
and unites the two in one, and the combs or (rods) are the Word; and
the workers are the patriarchs and prophets who weave the fair, long,
perfect tunic for Christ; and the Word passing through these, like the
combs or (rods), completes through them that which His Father willeth.
[1415]
5. But as time now presses for the consideration of the question
immediately in hand, and as what has been already said in the
introduction with regard to the glory of God, may suffice, it is proper
that we take the Holy Scriptures themselves in hand, and find out from
them what, and of what manner, the coming of Antichrist is; on what
occasion and at what time that impious one shall be revealed; and
whence and from what tribe (he shall come); and what his name is, which
is indicated by the number in the Scripture; and how he shall work
error among the people, gathering them from the ends of the earth; and
(how) he shall stir up tribulation and persecution against the saints;
and how he shall glorify himself as God; and what his end shall be; and
how the sudden appearing of the Lord shall be revealed from heaven; and
what the conflagration of the whole world shall be; and what the
glorious and heavenly kingdom of the saints is to be, when they reign
together with Christ; and what the punishment of the wicked by fire.
6. Now, as our Lord Jesus Christ, who is also God, was prophesied of
under the figure of a lion, [1416] on account of His royalty and glory,
in the same way have the Scriptures also aforetime spoken of Antichrist
as a lion, on account of his tyranny and violence. For the deceiver
seeks to liken himself in all things to the Son of God. Christ is a
lion, so Antichrist is also a lion; Christ is a king, [1417] so
Antichrist is also a king. The Saviour was manifested as a lamb; [1418]
so he too, in like manner, will appear as a lamb, though within he is a
wolf. The Saviour came into the world in the circumcision, and he will
come in the same manner. The Lord sent apostles among all the nations,
and he in like manner will send false apostles. The Saviour gathered
together the sheep that were scattered abroad, [1419] and he in like
manner will bring together a people that is scattered abroad. The Lord
gave a seal to those who believed on Him, and he will give one in like
manner. The Saviour appeared in the form of man, and he too will come
in the form of a man. The Saviour raised up and showed His holy flesh
like a temple, [1420] and he will raise a temple of stone in Jerusalem.
And his seductive arts we shall exhibit in what follows. But for the
present let us turn to the question in hand.
7. Now the blessed Jacob speaks to the following effect in his
benedictions, testifying prophetically of our Lord and Saviour: "Judah,
let thy brethren praise thee: thy hand shall be on the neck of thine
enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a
lion's whelp: from the shoot, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped
down, he couched as a lion, and as a lion's whelp; who shall rouse him
up? A ruler shall not depart from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs,
until he come for whom it is reserved; and he shall be the expectation
of the nations. Binding his ass to a vine, and his ass's colt to the
vine tendril; he shall wash his garment in wine, and his clothes in the
blood of the grapes. His eyes shall be gladsome as with wine, and his
teeth shall be whiter than milk." [1421]
8. Knowing, then, as I do, how to explain these things in detail, I
deem it right at present to quote the words themselves. But since the
expressions themselves urge us to speak of them. I shall not omit to do
so. For these are truly divine and glorious things, and things well
calculated to benefit the soul. The prophet, in using the expression, a
lion's whelp, means him who sprang from Judah and David according to
the flesh, who was not made indeed of the seed of David, but was
conceived by the (power of the) Holy Ghost, and came forth [1422] from
the holy shoot of earth. For Isaiah says, "There shall come forth a rod
out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall grow up out of it." [1423]
That which is called by Isaiah a flower, Jacob calls a shoot. For first
he shot forth, and then he flourished in the world. And the expression,
"he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lion's whelp," refers
to the three days' sleep (death, couching) of Christ; as also Isaiah
says, "How is faithful Sion become an harlot! it was full of judgment;
in which righteousness lodged (couched); but now murderers." [1424] And
David says to the same effect, "I laid me down (couched) and slept; I
awaked: for the Lord will sustain me;" [1425] in which words he points
to the fact of his sleep and rising again. And Jacob says, "Who shall
rouse him up?" And that is just what David and Paul both refer to, as
when Paul says, "and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead."
[1426]
9. And in saying, "A ruler shall not depart from Judah, nor a leader
from his thighs, until he come for whom it is reserved; and he shall be
the expectation of the nations," he referred the fulfilment (of that
prophecy) to Christ. For He is our expectation. For we expect Him,
(and) by faith we behold Him as He comes from heaven with power.
10. "Binding his ass to a vine:" that means that He unites His people
of the circumcision with His own calling (vocation). For He was the
vine. [1427] "And his ass's colt to the vine-tendril:" that denotes
the people of the Gentiles, as He calls the circumcision and the
uncircumcision unto one faith.
11. "He shall wash his garment in wine," that is, according to that
voice of His Father which came down by the Holy Ghost at the Jordan.
[1428] "And his clothes in the blood of the grape." In the blood of
what grape, then, but just His own flesh, which hung upon the tree like
a cluster of grapes?--from whose side also flowed two streams, of blood
and water, in which the nations are washed and purified, which
(nations) He may be supposed to have as a robe about Him. [1429]
12. "His eyes gladsome with wine." And what are the eyes of Christ but
the blessed prophets, who foresaw in the Spirit, and announced
beforehand, the sufferings that were to befall Him, and rejoiced in
seeing Him in power with spiritual eyes, being furnished (for their
vocation) by the word Himself and His grace?
13. And in saying, "And his teeth (shall be) whiter than milk," he
referred to the commandments that proceed from the holy mouth of
Christ, and which are pure (purify) as milk.
14. Thus did the Scriptures preach before-time of this lion and lion's
whelp. And in like manner also we find it written regarding Antichrist.
For Moses speaks thus: "Dan is a lion's whelp, and he shall leap from
Bashan." [1430] But that no one may err by supposing that this is said
of the Saviour, let him attend carefully to the matter. "Dan," he says,
"is a lion's whelp;" and in naming the tribe of Dan, he declared
clearly the tribe from which Antichrist is destined to spring. For as
Christ springs from the tribe of Judah, so Antichrist is to spring from
the tribe of Dan. [1431] And that the case stands thus, we see also
from the words of Jacob: "Let Dan be a serpent, lying upon the ground,
biting the horse's heel." [1432] What, then, is meant by the serpent
but Antichrist, that deceiver who is mentioned in Genesis, [1433] who
deceived Eve and supplanted Adam (pternisas, bruised Adam's heel)? But
since it is necessary to prove this assertion by sufficient testimony,
we shall not shrink from the task.
15. That it is in reality out of the tribe of Dan, then, that that
tyrant and king, that dread judge, that son of the devil, is destined
to spring and arise, the prophet testifies when he says, "Dan shall
judge his people, as (he is) also one tribe in Israel." [1434] But some
one may say that this refers to Samson, who sprang from the tribe of
Dan, and judged the people twenty years. Well, the prophecy had its
partial fulfilment in Samson, but its complete fulfilment is reserved
for Antichrist. For Jeremiah also speaks to this effect: "From Dan we
are to hear the sound of the swiftness of his horses: the whole land
trembled at the sound of the neighing, of the driving of his horses."
[1435] And another prophet says: "He shall gather together all his
strength, from the east even to the west. They whom he calls, and they
whom he calls not, shall go with him. He shall make the sea white with
the sails of his ships, and the plain black with the shields of his
armaments. And whosoever shall oppose him in war shall fall by the
sword." [1436] That these things, then, are said of no one else but
that tyrant, and shameless one, and adversary of God, we shall show in
what follows.
16. But Isaiah also speaks thus: "And it shall come to pass, that when
the Lord hath performed His whole work upon Mount Zion and on
Jerusalem, He will punish (visit) the stout mind, the king of Assyria,
and the greatness (height) of the glory of his eyes. For he said, By my
strength will I do it, and by the wisdom of my understanding I will
remove the bounds of the peoples, and will rob them of their strength:
and I will make the inhabited cities tremble, and will gather the whole
world in my hand like a nest, and I will lift it up like eggs that are
left. And there is no one that shall escape or gainsay me, and open the
mouth and chatter. Shall the axe boast itself without him that heweth
therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself without him that shaketh
(draweth) it? As if one should raise a rod or a staff, and the staff
should lift itself up: and not thus. But the Lord shall send dishonour
unto thy honour; and into thy glory a burning fire shall burn. And the
light of Israel shall be a fire, and shall sanctify him in flame, and
shall consume the forest like grass." [1437]
17. And again he says in another place: "How hath the exactor ceased,
and how hath the oppressor ceased! [1438] God hath broken the yoke of
the rulers of sinners, He who smote the people in wrath, and with an
incurable stroke: He that strikes the people with an incurable stroke,
which He did not spare. He ceased (rested) confidently: the whole earth
shouts with rejoicing. The trees of Lebanon rejoiced at thee, and the
cedar of Lebanon, (saying), Since thou art laid down, no feller is come
up against us. Hell from beneath is moved at meeting thee: all the
mighty ones, the rulers of the earth, are gathered together--the lords
from their thrones. All the kings of the nations, all they shall answer
together, and shall say, And thou, too, art taken as we; and thou art
reckoned among us. Thy pomp is brought down to earth, thy great
rejoicing: they will spread decay under thee; and the worm shall be thy
covering. [1439] How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the
morning! [1440] He is cast down to the ground who sends off to all the
nations. And thou didst say in thy mind, I will ascend into heaven, I
will set my throne above the stars of heaven: I will sit down upon the
lofty mountains towards the north: I will ascend above the clouds: I
will be like the Most High. Yet now thou shalt be brought down to hell,
and to the foundations of the earth! They that see thee shall wonder at
thee, and shall say, This is the man that excited the earth, that did
shake kings, that made the whole world a wilderness, and destroyed the
cities, that released not those in prison. [1441] All the kings of the
earth did lie in honour, every one in his own house; but thou shalt be
cast out on the mountains like a loathsome carcase, with many who fall,
pierced through with the sword, and going down to hell. As a garment
stained with blood is not pure, so neither shalt thou be comely (or
clean); because thou hast destroyed my land, and slain my people. Thou
shalt not abide, enduring for ever, a wicked seed. Prepare thy children
for slaughter, for the sins of thy father, that they rise not, neither
possess my land." [1442]
18. Ezekiel also speaks of him to the same effect, thus: "Thus saith
the Lord God, Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I
am God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the sea; yet art thou
a man, and not God, (though) thou hast set thine heart as the heart of
God. Art thou wiser than Daniel? Have the wise not instructed thee in
their wisdom? With thy wisdom or with thine understanding hast thou
gotten thee power, and gold and silver in thy treasures? By thy great
wisdom and by thy traffic [1443] hast thou increased thy power? Thy
heart is lifted up in thy power. Therefore thus saith the Lord God:
Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God: behold,
therefore I will bring strangers [1444] upon thee, plagues from the
nations: and they shall draw their swords against thee, and against the
beauty of thy wisdom; and they shall level thy beauty to destruction;
and they shall bring thee down; and thou shalt die by the death of the
wounded in the midst of the sea. Wilt thou yet say before them that
slay thee, I am God? But thou art a man, and no God, in the hand of
them that wound thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by
the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord." [1445]
19. These words then being thus presented, let us observe somewhat in
detail what Daniel says in his visions. For in distinguishing the
kingdoms that are to rise after these things, he showed also the coming
of Antichrist in the last times, and the consummation of the whole
world. In expounding the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, then, he speaks
thus: "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image standing before
thy face: the head of which was of fine gold, its arms and shoulders
of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, and its legs of iron,
(and) its feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest, then, till
that a stone was cut out without hands, and smote the image upon the
feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to an end. Then were
the clay, the iron, the brass, the silver, (and) the gold broken, and
became like the chaff from the summer threshing-floor; and the strength
(fulness) of the wind carried them away, and there was no place found
for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain,
and filled the whole earth." [1446]
20. Now if we set Daniel's own visions also side by side with this, we
shall have one exposition to give of the two together, and shall (be
able to) show how concordant with each other they are, and how true.
For he speaks thus: "I Daniel saw, and behold the four winds of the
heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from
the sea, diverse one from another. The first (was) like a lioness, and
had wings as of an eagle. I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked,
and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a
man, and a man's heart was given to it. And behold a second beast like
to a bear, and it was made stand on one part, and it had three ribs in
the mouth of it. [1447] I beheld, and lo a beast like a leopard, and it
had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl, and the beast had four
heads. After this I saw, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and
terrible, and strong exceedingly; it had iron teeth and claws of brass,
[1448] which devoured and brake in pieces, and it stamped the residue
with the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts that were
before it, and it had ten horns. I considered its horns, and behold
there came up among them another little horn, and before it there were
three of the first horns plucked up by the roots; and behold in this
horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great
things." [1449]
21. "I beheld till the thrones were set, and the Ancient of days did
sit: and His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like
pure wool: His throne was a flame of fire, His wheels were a burning
fire. A stream of fire flowed before Him. Thousand thousands ministered
unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood around Him: the
judgment was set, and the books were opened. I beheld then, because of
the voice of the great words which the horn spake, till the beast was
slain and perished, and his body given to the burning of fire. And the
dominion of the other beasts was taken away." [1450]
22. "I saw in the night vision, and, behold, one like the Son of man
was coming with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days,
and was brought near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and
honour, and the kingdom; and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall
serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not
pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed." [1451]
23. Now since these things, spoken as they are with a mystical meaning,
may seem to some hard to understand, we shall keep back nothing fitted
to impart an intelligent apprehension of them to those who are
possessed of a sound mind. He said, then, that a "lioness came up from
the sea," and by that he meant the kingdom of the Babylonians in the
world, which also was the head of gold on the image. In saying that "it
had wings as of an eagle," he meant that Nebuchadnezzar the king was
lifted up and was exalted against God. Then he says, "the wings thereof
were plucked," that is to say, his glory was destroyed; for he was
driven out of his kingdom. And the words, "a man's heart was given to
it, and it was made stand upon the feet as a man," refer to the fact
that he repented and recognised himself to be only a man, and gave the
glory to God.
24. Then, after the lioness, he sees a "second beast like a bear," and
that denoted the Persians. For after the Babylonians, the Persians held
the sovereign power. And in saying that there were "three ribs in the
mouth of it," he pointed to three nations, viz., the Persians, and the
Medes, and the Babylonians; which were also represented on the image by
the silver after the gold. Then (there was) "the third beast, a
leopard," which meant the Greeks. For after the Persians, Alexander of
Macedon obtained the sovereign power on subverting Darius, as is also
shown by the brass on the image. And in saying that it had "four wings
of a fowl," he taught us most clearly how the kingdom of Alexander was
partitioned. For in speaking of "four heads," he made mention of four
kings, viz., those who arose out of that (kingdom). [1452] For
Alexander, when dying, partitioned out his kingdom into four divisions.
25. Then he says: "A fourth beast, dreadful and terrible; it had iron
teeth and claws of brass." And who are these but the Romans? which
(kingdom) is meant by the iron--the kingdom which is now established;
for the legs of that (image) were of iron. And after this, what
remains, beloved, but the toes of the feet of the image, in which part
is iron and part clay, mixed together? And mystically by the toes of
the feet he meant the kings who are to arise from among them; as Daniel
also says (in the words), "I considered the beast, and lo there were
ten horns behind it, among which shall rise another (horn), an
offshoot, and shall pluck up by the roots the three (that were) before
it." And under this was signified none other than Antichrist, who is
also himself to raise the kingdom of the Jews. He says that three
horns are plucked up by the root by him, viz., the three kings of
Egypt, and Libya, and Ethiopia, whom he cuts off in the array of
battle. And he, after gaining terrible power over all, being
nevertheless a tyrant, [1453] shall stir up tribulation and persecution
against men, exalting himself against them. For Daniel says: "I
considered the horn, and behold that horn made war with the saints, and
prevailed against them, till the beast was slain and perished, and its
body was given to the burning of fire." [1454]
26. After a little space the stone [1455] will come from heaven which
smites the image and breaks it in pieces, and subverts all the
kingdoms, and gives the kingdom to the saints of the Most High. This is
the stone which becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth, of
which Daniel says: "I saw in the night visions, and behold one like the
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of
days, and was brought near before Him. And there was given Him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; and all peoples, tribes, and
languages shall serve Him: and His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away, and His kingdom shall not be destroyed."
[1456] He showed all power given by the Father to the Son, [1457] who
is ordained Lord of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things
under the earth, and Judge of all: [1458] of things in heaven, because
He was born, the Word of God, before all (ages); and of things on
earth, because He became man in the midst of men, to re-create our Adam
through Himself; and of things under the earth, because He was also
reckoned among the dead, preaching the Gospel to the souls of the
saints, [1459] (and) by death overcoming death.
27. As these things, then, are in the future, and as the ten toes of
the image are equivalent to (so many) democracies, [1460] and the ten
horns of the fourth beast are distributed over ten kingdoms, let us
look at the subject a little more closely, and consider these matters
as in the clear light of a personal survey. [1461]
28. The golden head of the image and the lioness denoted the
Babylonians; the shoulders and arms of silver, and the bear,
represented the Persians and Medes; the belly and thighs of brass, and
the leopard, meant the Greeks, who held the sovereignty from
Alexander's time; the legs of iron, and the beast dreadful and
terrible, expressed the Romans, who hold the sovereignty at present;
the toes of the feet which were part clay and part iron, and the ten
horns, were emblems of the kingdoms that are yet to rise; the other
little horn that grows up among them meant the Antichrist in their
midst; the stone that smites the earth and brings judgment upon the
world was Christ.
29. These things, beloved, we impart to you with fear, and yet readily,
on account of the love of Christ, which surpasseth all. For if the
blessed prophets who preceded us did not choose to proclaim these
things, though they knew them, openly and boldly, lest they should
disquiet the souls of men, but recounted them mystically in parables
and dark sayings, speaking thus, "Here is the mind which hath wisdom,"
[1462] how much greater risk shall we run in venturing to declare
openly things spoken by them in obscure terms! Let us look, therefore,
at the things which are to befall this unclean harlot in the last days;
and (let us consider) what and what manner of tribulation is destined
to visit her in the wrath of God before the judgment as an earnest of
her doom.
30. Come, then, O blessed Isaiah; arise, tell us clearly what thou
didst prophesy with respect to the mighty Babylon. For thou didst speak
also of Jerusalem, and thy word is accomplished. For thou didst speak
boldly and openly: "Your country is desolate, your cities are burned
with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is
desolate as overthrown by many strangers. [1463] The daughter of Sion
shall be left as a cottage in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of
cucumbers, as a besieged city." [1464] What then? Are not these things
come to pass? Are not the things announced by thee fulfilled? Is not
their country, Judea, desolate? Is not the holy place burned with fire?
Are not their walls cast down? Are not their cities destroyed? Their
land, do not strangers devour it? Do not the Romans rule the country?
And indeed these impious people hated thee, and did saw thee asunder,
and they crucified Christ. Thou art dead in the world, but thou livest
in Christ.
31. Which of you, then, shall I esteem more than thee? Yet Jeremiah,
too, is stoned. But if I should esteem Jeremiah most, yet Daniel too
has his testimony. Daniel, I commend thee above all; yet John too gives
no false witness. With how many mouths and tongues would I praise you;
or rather the Word who spake in you! Ye died with Christ; and ye will
live with Christ. Hear ye, and rejoice; behold the things announced by
you have been fulfilled in their time. For ye saw these things
yourselves first, and then ye proclaimed them to all generations. Ye
ministered the oracles of God to all generations. Ye prophets were
called, that ye might be able to save all. For then is one a prophet
indeed, when, having announced beforetime things about to be, he can
afterwards show that they have actually happened. Ye were the disciples
of a good Master. These words I address to you as if alive, and with
propriety. For ye hold already the crown of life and immortality which
is laid up for you in heaven. [1465]
32. Speak with me, O blessed Daniel. Give me full assurance, I beseech
thee. Thou dost prophesy concerning the lioness in Babylon; [1466] for
thou wast a captive there. Thou hast unfolded the future regarding the
bear; for thou wast still in the world, and didst see the things come
to pass. Then thou speakest to me of the leopard; and whence canst thou
know this, for thou art already gone to thy rest? Who instructed thee
to announce these things, but He who formed [1467] thee in (from) thy
mother's womb? [1468] That is God, thou sayest. Thou hast spoken
indeed, and that not falsely. The leopard has arisen; the he-goat is
come; he hath smitten the ram; he hath broken his horns in pieces; he
hath stamped upon him with his feet. He has been exalted by his fall;
(the) four horns have come up from under that one. [1469] Rejoice,
blessed Daniel! thou hast not been in error: all these things have come
to pass.
33. After this again thou hast told me of the beast dreadful and
terrible. "It had iron teeth and claws of brass: it devoured and brake
in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it." [1470] Already
the iron rules; already it subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it
brings all the unwilling into subjection; already we see these things
ourselves. Now we glorify God, being instructed by thee.
34. But as the task before us was to speak of the harlot, be thou with
us, O blessed Isaiah. Let us mark what thou sayest about Babylon. "Come
down, sit upon the ground, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit, O
daughter of the Chaldeans; thou shalt no longer be called tender and
delicate. Take the millstone, grind meal, draw aside thy veil, [1471]
shave the grey hairs, make bare the legs, pass over the rivers. Thy
shame shall be uncovered, thy reproach shall be seen: I will take
justice of thee, I will no more give thee over to men. As for thy
Redeemer, (He is) the Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel is his
name. Sit thou in compunction, get thee into darkness, O daughter of
the Chaldeans: thou shalt no longer be called the strength of the
kingdom.
35. "I was wroth with my people; I have polluted mine inheritance, I
have given them into thine hand: and thou didst show them no mercy; but
upon the ancient (the elders) thou hast very heavily laid thy yoke. And
thou saidst, I shall be a princess for ever: thou didst not lay these
things to thy heart, neither didst remember thy latter end. Therefore
hear now this, thou that art delicate; that sittest, that art
confident, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and there is none else; I
shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children.
But now these two things shall come upon thee in one day, widowhood and
the loss of children: they shall come upon thee suddenly in thy
sorcery, in the strength of thine enchantments mightily, in the hope of
thy fornication. For thou hast said, I am, and there is none else. And
thy fornication shall be thy shame, because thou hast said in thy
heart, I am. And destruction shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not
know it. (And there shall be) a pit, and thou shalt fall into it; and
misery shall fall upon thee, and thou shalt not be able to be made
clean; and destruction shall come upon thee, and thou shalt not know
it. Stand now with thy enchantments, and with the multitude of thy
sorceries, which thou hast learned from thy youth; if so be thou shalt
be able to be profited. Thou art wearied in thy counsels. Let the
astrologers of the heavens stand and save thee; let the star-gazers
announce to thee what shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall all be
as sticks for the fire; so shall they be burned, and they shall not
deliver their soul from the flame. Because thou hast coals of fire, sit
upon them; so shall it be for thy help. Thou art wearied with change
from thy youth. Man has gone astray (each one) by himself; and there
shall be no salvation for thee." [1472] These things does Isaiah
prophesy for thee. Let us see now whether John has spoken to the same
effect.
36. For he sees, when in the isle Patmos, a revelation of awful
mysteries, which he recounts freely, and makes known to others. Tell
me, blessed John, apostle and disciple of the Lord, what didst thou see
and hear concerning Babylon? Arise, and speak; for it sent thee also
into banishment. [1473] "And there came one of the seven angels which
had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I
will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon
many waters; with whom the kings of the earth have committed
fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with
the wine of her fornication. And he carried me away in the spirit into
the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast,
full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the
woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold,
and precious stone, [1474] and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand,
full of abominations and filthiness [1475] of the fornication of the
earth. Upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the
Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.
37. "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with
great admiration. And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou
marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast
that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and the ten horns. The
beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the
bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth
shall wonder (whose name was not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world) when they behold the beast that was, and is
not, and yet shall be. [1476]
38. "And here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five
are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he
cometh, he must continue a short space. And the beast that was and is
not, (even he is the eighth,) and is of the seven, and goeth into
perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which
have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour
with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and
strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings;
and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
39. "And he saith to me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore
sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the
ten horns which thou sawest, and [1477] the beast, these shall hate the
whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh,
and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil His
will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the
words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is
that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
40. "After these things I saw another angel come down from heaven,
having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he
cried mightily [1478] with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is
fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold
of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For
all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and
the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the
merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her
delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues: for her sins did cleave even unto heaven,
[1479] and God hath remembered her iniquities.
41. "Reward her even as she rewarded (you), and double unto her double,
according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her
double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so
much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a
queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her
plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall
be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth
her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication, and
lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when
they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear
of her torment, saying, Alas, alas! that great city Babylon, that
mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of
the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man shall buy their
merchandise [1480] any more. The merchandise of gold, and silver, and
precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk,
and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and
all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and
marble, and cinnamon, and spices, [1481] and odours, and ointments, and
frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts,
and sheep, and goats, [1482] and horses, and chariots, and slaves
(bodies), and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after
are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly
have perished [1483] from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at
all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich [1484] by her,
shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
and saying, Alas, alas! that great city, that was clothed in fine
linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious
stones, and pearls! for in one hour so great riches is come to nought.
And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as
many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and cried, when they saw the
smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city?
And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing,
saying, Alas, alas! that great city, wherein were made rich all that
had ships in the sea by reason of her fatness! [1485] for in one hour
is she made desolate.
42. "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye angels, [1486] and apostles,
and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. And a mighty angel took
up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying,
Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and
shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers and musicians,
and of pipers and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee;
and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in
thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in
thee; and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and
the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at
all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by
thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the
blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the
earth." [1487]
43. With respect, then, to the particular judgment in the torments that
are to come upon it in the last times by the hand of the tyrants who
shall arise then, the clearest statement has been given in these
passages. But it becomes us further diligently to examine and set forth
the period at which these things shall come to pass, and how the little
horn shall spring up in their midst. For when the legs of iron have
issued in the feet and toes, according to the similitude of the image
and that of the terrible beast, as has been shown in the above, (then
shall be the time) when the iron and the clay shall be mingled
together. Now Daniel will set forth this subject to us. For he says,
"And one week will make [1488] a covenant with many, and it shall be
that in the midst (half) of the week my sacrifice and oblation shall
cease." [1489] By one week, therefore, he meant the last week which is
to be at the end of the whole world of which week the two prophets
Enoch and Elias will take up the half. For they will preach 1, 260 days
clothed in sackcloth, proclaiming repentance to the people and to all
the nations.
44. For as two advents of our Lord and Saviour are indicated in the
Scriptures, the one being His first advent in the flesh, which took
place without honour by reason of His being set at nought, as Isaiah
spake of Him aforetime, saying, "We saw Him, and He had no form nor
comeliness, but His form was despised (and) rejected (lit. = deficient)
above all men; a man smitten and familiar with bearing infirmity, (for
His face was turned away); He was despised, and esteemed not." [1490]
But His second advent is announced as glorious, when He shall come from
heaven with the host of angels, and the glory of His Father, as the
prophet saith, "Ye shall see the King in glory;" [1491] and, "I saw one
like the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven; and he came to
the Ancient of days, and he was brought to Him. And there were given
Him dominion, and honour, and glory, and the kingdom; all tribes and
languages shall serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away." [1492] Thus also two forerunners were
indicated. The first was John the son of Zacharias, who appeared in all
things a forerunner and herald of our Saviour, preaching of the
heavenly light that had appeared in the world. He first fulfilled the
course of forerunner, and that from his mother's womb, being conceived
by Elisabeth, in order that to those, too, who are children from their
mother's womb he might declare the new birth that was to take place for
their sakes by the Holy Ghost and the Virgin.
45. He, on hearing the salutation addressed to Elisabeth, leaped with
joy in his mother's womb, recognising God the Word conceived in the
womb of the Virgin. Thereafter he came forward preaching in the
wilderness, proclaiming the baptism of repentance to the people, (and
thus) announcing prophetically salvation to the nations living in the
wilderness of the world. After this, at the Jordan, seeing the Saviour
with his own eye, he points Him out, and says, "Behold the Lamb of God,
that taketh away the sin of the world!" [1493] He also first preached
to those in Hades, [1494] becoming a forerunner there when he was put
to death by Herod, that there too he might intimate that the Saviour
would descend to ransom the souls of the saints from the hand of death.
46. But since the Saviour was the beginning of the resurrection of all
men, it was meet that the Lord alone should rise from the dead, by whom
too the judgment is to enter for the whole world, that they who have
wrestled worthily may be also crowned worthily by Him, by the
illustrious Arbiter, to wit, who Himself first accomplished the course,
and was received into the heavens, and was set down on the right hand
of God the Father, and is to be manifested again at the end of the
world as Judge. It is a matter of course that His forerunners must
appear first, as He says by Malachi and the angel, [1495] "I will send
to you Elias the Tishbite before the day of the Lord, the great and
notable day, comes; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, lest I come
and smite the earth utterly." [1496] These, then, shall come and
proclaim the manifestation of Christ that is to be from heaven; and
they shall also perform signs and wonders, in order that men may be put
to shame and turned to repentance for their surpassing wickedness and
impiety.
47. For John says, "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and
they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed
in sackcloth." [1497] That is the half of the week whereof Daniel
spake. "These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing
before the Lord of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire will
proceed out of their mouth, and devour their enemies; and if any man
will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to
shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy; and have
power over waters, to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with
all plagues as often as they will. And when they shall have finished
their course and their testimony," what saith the prophet? "the beast
that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them,
and shall overcome them, and kill them," [1498] because they will not
give glory to Antichrist. For this is meant by the little horn that
grows up. He, being now elated in heart, begins to exalt himself, and
to glorify himself as God, persecuting the saints and blaspheming
Christ, even as Daniel says, "I considered the horn, and, behold, in
the horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great
things; and he opened his mouth to blaspheme God. And that born made
war against the saints, and prevailed against them until the beast was
slain, and perished, and his body was given to be burned." [1499]
48. But as it is incumbent on us to discuss this matter of the beast
more exactly, and in particular the question how the Holy Spirit has
also mystically indicated his name by means of a number, we shall
proceed to state more clearly what bears upon him. John then speaks
thus: "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he
had two horns, like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exercised
all the power of the first beast before him; and he made the earth and
them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound
was healed. And he did great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down
from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that
dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do
in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that
they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword
and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the
beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as
many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And
he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead; and that no
man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, the name of the
beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast; for if is the number of a
man, and his number is six hundred threescore and six." [1500]
49. By the beast, then, coming up out of the earth, he means the
kingdom of Antichrist; and by the two horns he means him and the false
prophet after him. [1501] And in speaking of "the horns being like a
lamb," he means that he will make himself like the Son of God, and set
himself forward as king. And the terms, "he spake like a dragon," mean
that he is a deceiver, and not truthful. And the words, "he exercised
all the power of the first beast before him, and caused the earth and
them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound
was healed," signify that, after the manner of the law of Augustus, by
whom the empire of Rome was established, he too will rule and govern,
sanctioning everything by it, and taking greater glory to himself. For
this is the fourth beast, whose head was wounded and healed again, in
its being broken up or even dishonoured, and partitioned into four
crowns; and he then (Antichrist) shall with knavish skill heal it, as
it were, and restore it. For this is what is meant by the prophet when
he says, "He will give life unto the image, and the image of the beast
will speak." For he will act with vigour again, and prove strong by
reason of the laws established by him; and he will cause all those who
will not worship the image of the beast to be put to death. Here the
faith and the patience of the saints will appear, for he says: "And he
will cause all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to
receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead; that no man
might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, the name of the beast, or
the number of his name." For, being full of guile, and exalting himself
against the servants of God, with the wish to afflict them and
persecute them out of the world, because they give not glory to him, he
will order incense-pans [1502] to be set up by all everywhere, that no
man among the saints may be able to buy or sell without first
sacrificing; for this is what is meant by the mark received upon the
right hand. And the word--"in their forehead"--indicates that all are
crowned, and put on a crown of fire, and not of life, but of death. For
in this wise, too, did Antiochus Epiphanes the king of Syria, the
descendant of Alexander of Macedon, devise measures against the Jews.
He, too, in the exaltation of his heart, issued a decree in those
times, that "all should set up shrines before their doors, and
sacrifice, and that they should march in procession to the honour of
Dionysus, waving chaplets of ivy;" and that those who refused obedience
should be put to death by strangulation and torture. But he also met
his due recompense at the hand of the Lord, the righteous Judge and
all-searching God; for he died eaten up of worms. And if one desires to
inquire into that more accurately, he will find it recorded in the
books of the Maccabees. [1503]
50. But now we shall speak of what is before us. For such measures will
he, too, devise, seeking to afflict the saints in every way. For the
prophet and apostle says: "Here is wisdom, Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a
man, and his number is six hundred threescore and six." With respect to
his name, it is not in our power to explain it exactly, as the blessed
John understood it and was instructed about it, but only to give a
conjectural account of it; [1504] for when he appears, the blessed one
will show us what we seek to know. Yet as far as our doubtful
apprehension of the matter goes, we may speak. Many names indeed we
find, [1505] the letters of which are the equivalent of this number:
such as, for instance, the word Titan, [1506] an ancient and notable
name; or Evanthas, [1507] for it too makes up the same number; and many
others which might be found. But, as we have already said, [1508] the
wound of the first beast was healed, and he (the second beast) was to
make the image speak, [1509] that is to say, he should be powerful; and
it is manifest to all that those who at present still hold the power
are Latins. If, then, we take the name as the name of a single man, it
becomes Latinus. Wherefore we ought neither to give it out as if this
were certainly his name, nor again ignore the fact that he may not be
otherwise designated. But having the mystery of God in our heart, we
ought in fear to keep faithfully what has been told us by the blessed
prophets, in order that when those things come to pass, we may be
prepared for them, and not deceived. For when the times advance, he
too, of whom these thing are said, will be manifested. [1510]
51. But not to confine ourselves to these words and arguments alone,
for the purpose of convincing those who love to study the oracles of
God, we shall demonstrate the matter by many other proofs. For Daniel
says, "And these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and
the chief of the children of Ammon." [1511] Ammon and Moab [1512] are
the children born to Lot by his daughters, and their race survives even
now. And Isaiah says: "And they shall fly in the boats of strangers,
plundering the sea together, and (they shall spoil) them of the east:
and they shall lay hands upon Moab first; and the children of Ammon
shall first obey them." [1513]
52. In those times, then, he shall arise and meet them. And when he has
overmastered three horns out of the ten in the array of war, and has
rooted these out, viz., Egypt, and Libya, and Ethiopia, and has got
their spoils and trappings, and has brought the remaining horns which
suffer into subjection, he will begin to be lifted up in heart, and to
exalt himself against God as master of the whole world. And his first
expedition will be against Tyre and Berytus, and the circumjacent
territory. For by storming these cities first he will strike terror
into the others, as Isaiah says, "Be thou ashamed, O Sidon; the sea
hath spoken, even the strength of the sea hath spoken, saying, I
travailed not, nor brought forth children; neither did I nurse up young
men, nor bring up virgins. But when the report comes to Egypt, pain
shall seize them for Tyre." [1514]
53. These things, then, shall be in the future, beloved; and when the
three horns are cut off, he will begin to show himself as God, as
Ezekiel has said aforetime: "Because thy heart has been lifted up, and
thou hast said, I am God." [1515] And to the like effect Isaiah says:
"For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of heaven: I will be like the Most
High. Yet now thou shalt be brought down to hell (Hades), to the
foundations of the earth." [1516] In like manner also Ezekiel: "Wilt
thou yet say to those who slay thee, I am God? But thou (shalt be) a
man, and no God." [1517]
54. As his tribe, then, and his manifestation, and his destruction,
have been set forth in these words, and as his name has also been
indicated mystically, let us look also at his action. For he will call
together all the people to himself, out of every country of the
dispersion, making them his own, as though they were his own children,
and promising to restore their country, and establish again their
kingdom and nation, in order that he may be worshipped by them as God,
as the prophet says: "He will collect his whole kingdom, from the
rising of the sun even to its setting: they whom he summons and they
whom he does not summon shall march with him." [1518] And Jeremiah
speaks of him thus in a parable: "The partridge cried, (and) gathered
what he did not hatch, making himself riches without judgment: in the
midst of his days they shall leave him, and at his end he shall be a
fool." [1519]
55. It will not be detrimental, therefore, to the course of our present
argument, if we explain the art of that creature, and show that the
prophet has not spoken [1520] without a purpose in using the parable
(or similitude) of the creature. For as the partridge is a vainglorious
creature, when it sees near at hand the nest of another partridge with
young in it, and with the parent-bird away on the wing in quest of
food, it imitates the cry of the other bird, and calls the young to
itself; and they, taking it to be their own parent, run to it. And it
delights itself proudly in the alien pullets as in its own. But when
the real parent-bird returns, and calls them with its own familiar cry,
the young recognise it, and forsake the deceiver, and betake themselves
to the real parent. This thing, then, the prophet has adopted as a
simile, applying it in a similar manner to Antichrist. For he will
allure mankind to himself, wishing to gain possession of those who are
not his own, and promising deliverance to all, while he is unable to
save himself.
56. He then, having gathered to himself the unbelieving everywhere
throughout the world, comes at their call to persecute the saints,
their enemies and antagonists, as the apostle and evangelist says:
"There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded
man: and there was a widow in that city, who came unto him, saying,
Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but
afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard
man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her." [1521]
57. By the unrighteous judge, who fears not God, neither regards man,
he means without doubt Antichrist, as he is a son of the devil and a
vessel of Satan. For when he has the power, he will begin to exalt
himself against God, neither in truth fearing God, nor regarding the
Son of God, who is the Judge of all. And in saying that there was a
widow in the city, he refers to Jerusalem itself, which is a widow
indeed, forsaken of her perfect, heavenly spouse, God. She calls Him
her adversary, and not her Saviour; for she does not understand that
which was said by the prophet Jeremiah: "Because they obeyed not the
truth, a spirit of error shall speak then to this people and to
Jerusalem." [1522] And Isaiah also to the like effect: "Forasmuch as
the people refuseth to drink the water of Siloam that goeth softly, but
chooseth to have Rasin and Romeliah's son as king over you: therefore,
lo, the Lord bringeth up upon you the water of the river, strong and
full, even the king of Assyria." [1523] By the king he means
metaphorically Antichrist, as also another prophet saith: "And this man
shall be the peace from me, when the Assyrian shall come up into your
land, and when he shall tread in your mountains." [1524]
58. And in like manner Moses, knowing beforehand that the people would
reject and disown the true Saviour of the world, and take part with
error, and choose an earthly king, and set the heavenly King at nought,
says: "Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my
treasures? In the day of vengeance I will recompense (them), and in the
time when their foot shall slide." [1525] They did slide, therefore, in
all things, as they were found to be in harmony with the truth in
nothing: neither as concerns the law, because they became
transgressors; nor as concerns the prophets, because they cut off even
the prophets themselves; nor as concerns the voice of the Gospels,
because they crucified the Saviour Himself; nor in believing the
apostles, because they persecuted them. At all times they showed
themselves enemies and betrayers of the truth, and were found to be
haters of God, and not lovers of Him; and such they shall be then when
they find opportunity: for, rousing themselves against the servants of
God, they will seek to obtain vengeance by the hand of a mortal man.
And he, being puffed up with pride by their subserviency, will begin to
despatch missives against the saints, commanding to cut them all off
everywhere, on the ground of their refusal to reverence and worship him
as God, according to the word of Esaias: "Woe to the wings of the
vessels of the land, [1526] beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: (woe to him)
who sendeth sureties by the sea, and letters of papyrus (upon the
water; for nimble messengers will go) to a nation [1527] anxious and
expectant, and a people strange and bitter against them; a nation
hopeless and trodden down." [1528]
59. But we who hope for the Son of God are persecuted and trodden down
by those unbelievers. For the wings of the vessels are the churches;
and the sea is the world, in which the Church is set, like a ship
tossed in the deep, but not destroyed; for she has with her the skilled
Pilot, Christ. And she bears in her midst also the trophy (which is
erected) over death; for she carries with her the cross of the Lord.
[1529] For her prow is the east, and her stern is the west, and her
hold [1530] is the south, and her tillers are the two Testaments; and
the ropes that stretch around her are the love of Christ, which binds
the Church; and the net [1531] which she bears with her is the laver of
the regeneration which renews the believing, whence too are these
glories. As the wind the Spirit from heaven is present, by whom those
who believe are sealed: she has also anchors of iron accompanying her,
viz., the holy commandments of Christ Himself, which are strong as
iron. She has also mariners on the right and on the left, assessors
like the holy angels, by whom the Church is always governed and
defended. The ladder in her leading up to the sailyard is an emblem of
the passion of Christ, which brings the faithful to the ascent of
heaven. And the top-sails [1532] aloft [1533] upon the yard are the
company of prophets, martyrs, and apostles, who have entered into their
rest in the kingdom of Christ.
60. Now, concerning the tribulation of the persecution which is to fall
upon the Church from the adversary, John also speaks thus: "And I saw a
great and wondrous sign in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and
the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And
she, being with child, cries, travailing in birth, and pained to be
delivered. And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be
delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she
brought forth a man-child, who is to rule all the nations: and the
child was caught up unto God and to His throne. And the woman fled into
the wilderness, where she hath the place prepared of God, that they
should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And
then when the dragon saw it, he persecuted the woman which brought
forth the man-child. And to the woman were given two wings of the great
eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, where she is nourished
for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
And the serpent cast (out of his mouth water as a flood after the
woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the
earth helped the woman, and opened her mouth, and swallowed up the
flood which the dragon cast) out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth
with the woman, and went to make war with the saints of her seed, which
keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus." [1534]
61. By the woman then clothed with the sun," he meant most manifestly
the Church, endued with the Father's word, [1535] whose brightness is
above the sun. And by the "moon under her feet" he referred to her
being adorned, like the moon, with heavenly glory. And the words, "upon
her head a crown of twelve stars," refer to the twelve apostles by whom
the Church was founded. And those, "she, being with child, cries,
travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered," mean that the Church
will not cease to bear from her heart [1536] the Word that is
persecuted by the unbelieving in the world. "And she brought forth," he
says, "a man-child, who is to rule all the nations;" by which is meant
that the Church, always bringing forth Christ, the perfect man-child of
God, who is declared to be God and man, becomes the instructor of all
the nations. And the words, "her child was caught up unto God and to
His throne," signify that he who is always born of her is a heavenly
king, and not an earthly; even as David also declared of old when he
said, "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at my right hand, until I
make Thine enemies Thy footstool." [1537] "And the dragon," he says,
"saw and persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child. And to
the woman were given two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly
into the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and
half a time, from the face of the serpent." [1538] That refers to the
one thousand two hundred and threescore days (the half of the week)
during which the tyrant is to reign and persecute the Church, [1539]
which flees from city to city, and seeks concealment in the wilderness
among the mountains, possessed of no other defence than the two wings
of the great eagle, that is to say, the faith of Jesus Christ, who, in
stretching forth His holy hands on the holy tree, unfolded two wings,
the right and the left, and called to Him all who believed upon Him,
and covered them as a hen her chickens. For by the mouth of Malachi
also He speaks thus: "And unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of
righteousness arise with healing in His wings." [1540]
62. The Lord also says, "When ye shall see the abomination of
desolation stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand),
then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains, and let him
which is on the housetop not come down to take his clothes; neither let
him which is in the field return back to take anything out of his
house. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give
suck, in those days! for then shall be great tribulation, such as was
not since the beginning of the world. And except those days should be
shortened, there should no flesh be saved." [1541] And Daniel says,
"And they shall place the abomination of desolation a thousand two
hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the
thousand two hundred and ninety-five days." [1542]
63. And the blessed Apostle Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, says:
"Now we beseech you, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and our gathering together at it, [1543] that ye be not soon
shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by
letters as from us, as that the day of the Lord is at hand. Let no man
deceive you by any means; for (that day shall not come) except there
come the falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son
of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshipped: so that he sitteth in the temple of
God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that when I was
yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what
withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of
iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth (will let), until
he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and
shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: (even him) whose
coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and
lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them
that perish; because they received not the love of the truth. And for
this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." [1544] And Esaias says,
"Let the wicked be cut off, that he behold not the glory of the Lord."
[1545]
64. These things, then, being to come to pass, beloved, and the one
week being divided into two parts, and the abomination of desolation
being manifested then, and the two prophets and forerunners of the Lord
having finished their course, and the whole world finally approaching
the consummation, what remains but the coming of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ from heaven, for whom we have looked in hope? who shall
bring the conflagration and just judgment upon all who have refused to
believe on Him. For the Lord says, "And when these things begin to come
to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption
draweth nigh." [1546] "And there shall not a hair of your head perish."
[1547] "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even
unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For
wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
together." [1548] Now the fall [1549] took place in paradise; for Adam
fell there. And He says again, "Then shall the Son of man send His
angels, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds of
heaven." [1550] And David also, in announcing prophetically the
judgment and coming of the Lord, says, "His going forth is from the end
of the heaven, and His circuit unto the end of the heaven: and there is
no one hid from the heat thereof." [1551] By the heat he means the
conflagration. And Esaias speaks thus: "Come, my people, enter thou
into thy chamber, (and) shut thy door: hide thyself as it were for a
little moment, until the indignation of the Lord be overpast." [1552]
And Paul in like manner: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth
of God in unrighteousness." [1553]
65. Moreover, concerning the resurrection and the kingdom of the
saints, Daniel says, "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the
earth shall arise, some to everlasting life, (and some to shame and
everlasting contempt)." [1554] Esaias says, "The dead men shall arise,
and they that are in their tombs shall awake; for the dew from thee is
healing to them." [1555] The Lord says, "Many in that day shall hear
the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." [1556] And
the prophet says, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light." [1557] And John says, "Blessed and
holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second
death hath no power." [1558] For the second death is the lake of fire
that burneth. And again the Lord says, "Then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun shineth in his glory." [1559] And to the saints He
will say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world." [1560] But what saith He to
the wicked? "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared
for the devil and his angels, which my Father hath prepared." And John
says, "Without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and
murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever maketh and loveth a lie; for
your part is in the hell of fire." [1561] And in like manner also
Esaias: "And they shall go forth and look upon the carcases of the men
that have transgressed against me. And their worm shall not die,
neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be for a spectacle
to all flesh." [1562]
66. Concerning the resurrection of the righteous, Paul also speaks thus
in writing to the Thessalonians: "We would not have you to be ignorant
concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others
which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive
(and) remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which
are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice and trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall
rise first. Then we which are alive (and) remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so
shall we ever be with the Lord." [1563]
67. These things, then, I have set shortly before thee, O Theophilus,
drawing them from Scripture itself, [1564] in order that, maintaining
in faith what is written, and anticipating the things that are to be,
thou mayest keep thyself void of offence both toward God and toward
men, "looking for that blessed hope and appearing of our God and
Saviour," [1565] when, having raised the saints among us, He will
rejoice with them, glorifying the Father. To Him be the glory unto the
endless ages of the ages. Amen.
------------------------
__________________________________________________________________
[1393] Gallandi, Bibl. vet. Patr., ii. p. 417, Venice, 1765.
[1394] Perhaps the same Theophilus whom Methodius, a contemporary of
Hippolytus, addresses as Epiphanius. [See vol. vi., this series.] From
this introduction, too, it is clear that they are in error who take
this book to be a homily. (Fabricius.)
[1395] In the text the reading is ton onton, for which ton oton = of
the ears, is proposed by some, and anthropon = of men, by others. In
the manuscripts the abbreviation anon is often found for anthropon.
[1396] In the text we find hos pion kathara ge, for which grammar
requires hos pioni kathara ge. Combefisius proposes hosper oun kathara
ge = as in clean ground. Others would read hos puron, etc., = like a
grain in clean ground.
[1397] 1 Tim. vi. 20, 21.
[1398] This reading, parakleseon for marturon (= witnesses), which is
peculiar to Hippolytus alone, is all the more remarkable as so
thoroughly suiting Paul's meaning in the passage.
[1399] 2 Tim. ii. 1, 2.
[1400] 2 Thess. iii. 2.
[1401] The text reads hatina = which. Gudius proposes tina = some.
[1402] The plectrum was the instrument with which the lyre was struck.
The text is in confusion here. Combefisius corrects it, as we render
it, organon diken henomenon echontes en heautois.
[1403] 2 Pet. i. 21.
[1404] The text reads me plano (= that I may not deceive). Some propose
hos planoi = as deceivers.
[1405] This is according to the emendation of Combefisius. [And note
this primitive theory of inspiration as illustrating the words, "who
spake by the prophets," in the Nicene Symbol.]
[1406] 1 Sam. ix. 9.
[1407] In the text it is prokeimena (= things before us or proposed to
us), for which Combefisius proposes, as in our rendering, proeiremena.
[1408] The original is akindunon.
[1409] Isa. xlii. 1; Matt. xii. 18. The text is autos palin ho tou
theou pais. See Macarius, Divinitas D. N. S. C., book iv. ch. xiii. p.
460, and Grabe on Bull's Defens. Fid. Nic., p. 101.
[1410] Reading autous for auton.
[1411] [Isa. lvi. 3, 4.]
[1412] Eph. iv. 13.
[1413] The text has on = being, for which read en = was.
[1414] mixas. Thomassin, De Incarnatione Verbi, iii. 5, cites the most
distinguished of the Greek and Latin Fathers, who taught that a
mingling (commistio), without confusion indeed, but yet most thorough,
of the two natures, is the bond and nexus of the personal unity.
[1415] [This analogy of weaving is powerfully employed by Gray ("Weave
the warp, and weave the woof," etc.). See his Pindaric ode, The Bard.]
[1416] Rev. v. 5; [also Gen. xlix. 8. See below, 7, 8].
[1417] John xviii. 37.
[1418] John i. 29.
[1419] John xi. 52.
[1420] John ii. 19.
[1421] Gen. xlix. 8-12.
[1422] The text has toutou--proerchomenou, for which we read, with
Combefisius, proerchomenon.
[1423] Isa. xi. 1.
[1424] Isa. i. 21.
[1425] Ps. iii. 5.
[1426] Gal. i. 1.
[1427] John xv. 1.
[1428] The text gives simply, ten tou hagiou, etc., = the paternal
voice of the Holy Ghost, etc. As this would seem to represent the Holy
Ghost as the Father of Christ, Combefisius proposes, as in our
rendering, kata ten dia tou hagiou, etc. The wine, therefore, is taken
as a figure of His deity, and the garment as a figure of His humanity;
and the sense would be, that He has the latter imbued with the former
in a way peculiar to Himself--even as the voice at the Jordan declared
Him to be the Father's Son, not His Son by adoption, but His own Son,
anointed as man with divinity itself.
[1429] The nations are compared to a robe about Christ, as something
foreign to Himself, and deriving all their gifts from Him.
[1430] Deut. xxxiii. 22.
[1431] [See Irenaeus, vol. i. p. 559. Dan's name is excepted in Rev.
vii., and this was always assigned as the reason. The learned Calmet
(sub voce Dan) makes a prudent reflection on this idea. The history
given in Judg. xviii. is more to the purpose.]
[1432] Gen. xlix. 17.
[1433] Gen. iii. 1.
[1434] Gen. xlix. 16.
[1435] Jer. viii. 16.
[1436] Perhaps from an apocryphal book, as also below in ch. liv.
[1437] Isa. x. 12-17.
[1438] epispoudastes.
[1439] katakalumma; other reading, kataleimma = remains.
[1440] Lit., that risest early.
[1441] The text gives epagoge. Combefisius prefers apagoge = trial.
[1442] Isa. xiv. 4-21.
[1443] i.e., according to the reading, emporia. The text is empeiria =
experience.
[1444] There is another reading, limous (= famines) ton ethnon.
[1445] Ezek. xxviii. 2-10.
[1446] Dan. ii. 31-35.
[1447] Combefisius adds, "between the teeth of it; and they said thus
to it, Arise, devour much flesh."
[1448] Combefisius inserted these words, because he thought that they
must have been in the vision, as they occur subsequently in the
explanation of the vision (v. 19).
[1449] Dan. vii. 2-8.
[1450] Dan. vii. 9-12.
[1451] Dan. vii. 13, 14.
[1452] See Curtius, x. 10. That Alexander himself divided his kingdom
is asserted by Josephus Gorionides (iii.) and Cyril of Jerusalem
(Catech., 4, De Sacra Scriptura) and others.
[1453] For homos = nevertheless, Gudius suggests omos = savage.
[1454] Dan. vii. 21, 11.
[1455] Dan. ii. 34, 45.
[1456] Dan. vii. 13, 14.
[1457] Matt. xxviii. 18.
[1458] Phil. ii. 10.
[1459] 1 Pet. iii. 19.
[1460] [Deserving of especial note. Who could have foreseen the
universal spirit of democracy in this century save by the light of this
prophecy? Comp. 2 Tim. iii. 1-3.]
[1461] ophthalmophanos.
[1462] Rev. xvii. 9.
[1463] For hupo pollon Combefisius has hupo laon = by peoples.
[1464] Isa. i. 7, 8.
[1465] 2 Tim. iv. 8.
[1466] Dan. vii. 4.
[1467] For plasas Gudius proposes hagiasas (sanctified) or kalesas
(called).
[1468] Jer. i. 5.
[1469] Dan. viii. 2-8.
[1470] Dan. vii. 6.
[1471] For anaxurison others read anakalupsai = uncover.
[1472] Isa. xlvii. 1-15.
[1473] [Note this token, that, with all his prudence, he identifies
"Babylon" with Rome.]
[1474] "Stones," rather.
[1475] ta akatharta, for the received akathartotetos.
[1476] kai parestai, for the received kaiper esti.
[1477] kai, for the received epi.
[1478] ischura for en ischui.
[1479] ekollethesan, for the received ekolouthesan.
[1480] agorasei, for the received agorazei.
[1481] amomon, omitted in the received text.
[1482] kai tragous, omitted in the received text.
[1483] apoleto, for the received apelthen.
[1484] ploutisantes, for the received ploutesantes.
[1485] piotetos, for the received timiotetos.
[1486] kai hoi angeloi, which the received omits.
[1487] Rev. xvii.; xviii.
[1488] diathesei = will make; others, dunamosei = will confirm.
[1489] Dan. ix. 27.
[1490] Isa. liii. 2-5.
[1491] Isa. xxxiii. 17.
[1492] Dan. vii. 13, 14.
[1493] John i. 29.
[1494] It was a common opinion among the Greeks, that the Baptist was
Christ's forerunner also among the dead. See Leo Allatius, De libris
Eccles. Graecorum, p. 303.
[1495] Or it may be, "Malachi, even the messenger." 'Angelou is the
reading restored by Combefisius instead of 'Angaiou. The words of the
angel in Luke i. 17 ("and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just")
are thus inserted in the citation from Malachi; and to that Hippolytus
may refer in the addition "and the angel." Or perhaps, as Combefisius
rather thinks, the addition simply refers to the meaning of the name
Malachi, viz., messenger.
[1496] Mal. iv. 5, 6.
[1497] Rev. xi. 3.
[1498] Rev. xi. 4-6.
[1499] Dan. vii. 8, 9.
[1500] Rev. xiii. 11-18.
[1501] The text is simply kai ton met' auton = the false prophet after
him. Gudius and Combefisius propose as above, kai auton te kai ton met'
auton, or met' autou = him and the false prophet with him.
[1502] pureia = censers, incense-pans, or sacrificial tripods. This
offering of incense was a test very commonly proposed by the pagans to
those whose religion they suspected.
[1503] [Not referred to as Scripture, but as authentic history.]
[1504] hoson monon huponoesai.
[1505] isopsepha.
[1506] Teitan. Hippolytus here follows his master Irenaeus, who in his
Contra Haeres., v. 30, S: 3, has the words," Titan...et antiquum et
fide dignum et regale...nomen" = Titan...both an ancient and good and
royal...name. [See this series, vol. i. p. 559.]
[1507] Euanthas, mentioned also by Irenaeus in the passage already
referred to.
[1508] proephthemen, the reading proposed by Fabricius instead of
proephemen.
[1509] poiesei, Combef. epoiese.
[1510] [Let us imitate the wisdom of our author, whose modest
commentary upon his master Irenaeus cannot be too much applauded. The
mystery, however, does seem to turn upon something in the Latin race
and its destiny.]
[1511] Dan. xi. 41.
[1512] Gen. xix. 37, 38.
[1513] Isa. xi. 14.
[1514] Isa. xxiii. 4, 5.
[1515] Ezek. xxviii. 2.
[1516] Isa. xiv. 13-15.
[1517] Ezek. xxviii. 9.
[1518] Quoted already in chap. xv. as from one of the prophets.
[1519] Jer. xvii. 11.
[1520] Reading apephenato for apekrinato.
[1521] Luke xviii. 2-5.
[1522] Jer. iv. 11.
[1523] Isa. viii. 6, 7.
[1524] Mic. v. 5. The Septuagint reads aute = And (he) shall be the
peace to it. Hippolytus follows the Hebrew, but makes the pronoun
feminine, haute referring to the peace. Again Hippolytus reads ore =
mountains, where the Septuagint has choran = land, and where the Hebrew
word = fortresses or palaces. [He must mean that "the Assyrian" =
Antichrist. "The peace" is attributable only to the "Prince of peace."
So the Fathers generally.]
[1525] Deut. xxxii. 34, 35.
[1526] ouai ges ploion pteruges.
[1527] meteoron.
[1528] Isa. xviii. 1, 2.
[1529] Wordsworth, reading hos histon for hos ton, would add, like a
mast. See his Commentary on Acts xxvii. 40.
[1530] kutos, a conjecture of Combefisius for kuklon.
[1531] linon, proposed by the same for ploion, boat.
[1532] psepharoi, a term of doubtful meaning. May it refer to the
karchesia?
[1533] The text reads here ainoumenoi, for which hairoumenoi is
proposed, or better, eoroumenoi.
[1534] Rev. xii. 1-6, etc.
[1535] ton Logon ton Patroon.
[1536] gennosa ek kardias.
[1537] Ps. cx. 1.
[1538] Rev. xi. 3.
[1539] [Concerning Antichrist, two advents, etc., see vol. iv. p. 219,
this series.]
[1540] Mal. iv. 2.
[1541] Matt. xxiv. 15-22; Mark xiii. 14-20; Luke xxi. 20-23.
[1542] Dan. xi. 31; xii. 11, 12. The Hebrew has 1,335 as the number in
the second verse.
[1543] Hippolytus reads here ep' autes instead of ep' auton, and makes
the pronoun therefore refer to the coming.
[1544] 2 Thess. ii. 1-11.
[1545] Isa. xxvi. 10.
[1546] Luke xxi. 28.
[1547] Luke xxi. 18.
[1548] Matt. xxiv. 27, 28.
[1549] The word ptoma, used in the Greek as = carcase, is thus
interpreted by Hippolytus as = fall, which is its literal sense.
[1550] Matt. xxiv. 31.
[1551] Ps. xix. 6.
[1552] Isa. xxvi. 20.
[1553] Rom. i. 17.
[1554] Dan. xii. 2.
[1555] Isa. xxvi. 19.
[1556] John v. 25.
[1557] Eph. v. 14. Epiphanius and others suppose that the words thus
cited by Paul are taken from the apocryphal writings of Jeremiah:
others that they are a free version of Isa. lx. 1. [But their metrical
form justifies the criticism that they are a quotation from a hymn of
the Church, based, very likely, on the passage from Isaiah.]
[1558] Rev. xx. 6.
[1559] Matt. xiii. 43.
[1560] Matt. xxv. 34.
[1561] Rev. xxii. 15.
[1562] Isa. lxvi. 24.
[1563] 1 Thess. iv. 12.
[1564] [The immense value of these quotations, authenticating the
Revelations and other Scriptures, must be apparent. Is not this
treatise a voice to our own times of vast significance?]
[1565] Tit. ii. 13.
__________________________________________________________________
Expository Treatise Against the Jews.
1. Now, then, incline thine ear to me, and hear my words, and give
heed, thou Jew. Many a time dost thou boast thyself, in that thou didst
condemn Jesus of Nazareth to death, and didst give Him vinegar and gall
to drink; and thou dost vaunt thyself because of this. Come therefore,
and let us consider together whether perchance thou dost not boast
unrighteously, O Israel, (and) whether that small portion of vinegar
and gall has not brought down this fearful threatening upon thee, (and)
whether this is not the cause of thy present condition involved in
these myriad troubles.
2. Let him then be introduced before us who speaketh by the Holy
Spirit, and saith truth--David the son of Jesse. He, singing a certain
strain with prophetic reference to the true Christ, celebrated our God
by the Holy Spirit, (and) declared clearly all that befell Him by the
hands of the Jews in His passion; in which (strain) the Christ who
humbled Himself and took unto Himself the form of the servant Adam,
calls upon God the Father in heaven as it were in our person, and
speaks thus in the sixty-ninth Psalm: "Save me, O God; for the waters
are come in unto my soul. I am sunk in the mire of the abyss," that is
to say, in the corruption of Hades, on account of the transgression in
paradise; and "there is no substance," that is, help. "My eyes failed
while I hoped (or, from my hoping) upon my God; when will He come and
save me?" [1566]
3. Then, in what next follows, Christ speaks, as it were, in His own
person: "Then I restored that," says He, "which I took not away;" that
is, on account of the sin of Adam I endured the death which was not
mine by sinning. "For, O God, Thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins
are not hid from Thee," that is, "for I did not sin," as He means it;
and for this reason (it is added), "Let not them be ashamed who want to
see" my resurrection on the third day, to wit, the apostles. "Because
for Thy sake," that is, for the sake of obeying Thee, "I have borne
reproach," namely the cross, when "they covered my face with shame,"
that is to say, the Jews; when "I became a stranger unto my brethren
after the flesh, and an alien unto my mother's children," meaning (by
the mother) the synagogue. "For the zeal of Thine house, Father, hath
eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen
on me," and of them that sacrificed to idols. Wherefore "they that sit
in the gate spoke against me," for they crucified me without the gate.
"And they that drink sang against me," that is, (they who drink wine)
at the feast of the passover. "But as for me, in my prayer unto Thee, O
Lord, I said, Father, forgive them," namely the Gentiles, because it is
the time for favour with Gentiles. "Let not then the hurricane (of
temptations) overwhelm me, neither let the deep (that is, Hades)
swallow me up: for Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (Hades); neither
let the pit shut her mouth upon me," [1567] that is, the sepulchre. "By
reason of mine enemies, deliver me," that the Jews may not boast,
saying, Let us consume him.
4. Now Christ prayed all this economically [1568] as man; being,
however, true God. But, as I have already said, it was the "form of the
servant" [1569] that spake and suffered these things. Wherefore He
added, "My soul looked for reproach and trouble," that is, I suffered
of my own will, (and) not by any compulsion. Yet "I waited for one to
mourn with me, and there was none," for all my disciples forsook me and
fled; and for a "comforter, and I found none."
5. Listen with understanding, O Jew, to what the Christ says: "They
gave me gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to
drink." And these things He did indeed endure from you. Hear the Holy
Ghost tell you also what return He made to you for that little portion
of vinegar. For the prophet says, as in the person of God, "Let their
table become a snare and retribution." Of what retribution does He
speak? Manifestly, of the misery which has now got hold of thee.
6. And then hear what follows: "Let their eyes be darkened, that they
see not." And surely ye have been darkened in the eyes of your soul
with a darkness utter and everlasting. For now that the true light has
arisen, ye wander as in the night, and stumble on places with no roads,
and fall headlong, as having forsaken the way that saith, "I am the
way." [1570] Furthermore, hear this yet more serious word: "And their
back do thou bend always;" that means, in order that they may be slaves
to the nations, not four hundred and thirty years as in Egypt, nor
seventy as in Babylon, but bend them to servitude, he says, "always."
In fine, then, how dost thou indulge vain hopes, expecting to be
delivered from the misery which holdeth thee? For that is somewhat
strange. And not unjustly has he imprecated this blindness of eyes upon
thee. But because thou didst cover the eyes of Christ, (and [1571] )
thus thou didst beat Him, for this reason, too, bend thou thy back for
servitude always. And whereas thou didst pour out His blood in
indignation, hear what thy recompense shall be: "Pour out Thine
indignation upon them, and let Thy wrathful anger take hold of them;"
and, "Let their habitation be desolate," to wit, their celebrated
temple.
7. But why, O prophet, tell us, and for what reason, was the temple
made desolate? Was it on account of that ancient fabrication of the
calf? Was it on account of the idolatry of the people? Was it for the
blood of the prophets? Was it for the adultery and fornication of
Israel? By no means, he says; for in all these transgressions they
always found pardon open to them, and benignity; but it was because
they killed the Son of their Benefactor, for He is coeternal with the
Father. Whence He saith, "Father, let their temple be made desolate;
[1572] for they have persecuted Him whom Thou didst of Thine own will
smite for the salvation of the world;" that is, they have persecuted me
with a violent and unjust death, "and they have added to the pain of my
wounds." In former time, as the Lover of man, I had pain on account of
the straying of the Gentiles; but to this pain they have added another,
by going also themselves astray. Wherefore "add iniquity to their
iniquity, and tribulation to tribulation, and let them not enter into
Thy righteousness," that is, into Thy kingdom; but "let them be blotted
out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous,"
that is, with their holy fathers and patriarchs.
8. What sayest thou to this, O Jew? It is neither Matthew nor Paul that
saith these things, but David, thine anointed, who awards and declares
these terrible sentences on account of Christ. And like the great Job,
addressing you who speak against the righteous and true, he says, "Thou
didst barter the Christ like a slave, thou didst go to Him like a
robber in the garden."
9. I produce now the prophecy of Solomon, which speaketh of Christ, and
announces clearly and perspicuously things concerning the Jews; and
those which not only are befalling them at the present time, but those,
too, which shall befall them in the future age, on account of the
contumacy and audacity which they exhibited toward the Prince of Life;
for the prophet says, "The ungodly said, reasoning with themselves, but
not aright," that is, about Christ, "Let us lie in wait for the
righteous, because he is not for our turn, and he is clean contrary to
our doings and words, and upbraideth us with our offending the law, and
professeth to have knowledge of God; and he calleth himself the Child
of God." [1573] And then he says, "He is grievous to us even to behold;
for his life is not like other men's, and his ways are of another
fashion. We are esteemed of him as counterfeits, and he abstaineth
from our ways as from filthiness, and pronounceth the end of the just
to be blessed." [1574] And again, listen to this, O Jew! None of the
righteous or prophets called himself the Son of God. And therefore, as
in the person of the Jews, Solomon speaks again of this righteous one,
who is Christ, thus: "He was made to reprove our thoughts, and he
maketh his boast that God is his Father. Let us see, then, if his words
be true, and let us prove what shall happen in the end of him; for if
the just man be the Son of God, He will help him, and deliver him from
the hand of his enemies. Let us condemn him with a shameful death, for
by his own saying he shall be respected." [1575]
10. And again David, in the Psalms, says with respect to the future
age, "Then shall He" (namely Christ) "speak unto them in His wrath, and
vex them in His sore displeasure." [1576] And again Solomon says
concerning Christ and the Jews, that "when the righteous shall stand in
great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted Him, and made
no account of His words, when they see it they shall be troubled with
terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of His salvation;
and they, repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit, shall say
within themselves, This is He whom we had sometimes in derision and a
proverb of reproach; we fools accounted His life madness, and His end
to be without honour. How is He numbered among the children of God, and
His lot is among the saints? Therefore have we erred from the way of
truth, and the light of righteousness hath not shined unto us, and the
sun of righteousness rose not on us. We wearied ourselves in the way of
wickedness and destruction; we have gone through deserts where there
lay no way: but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it. What
hath our pride profited us? all those things are passed away like a
shadow." [1577]
The conclusion is wanting. [1578]
------------------------
__________________________________________________________________
[1566] Ps. lxix. 1 ff.
[1567] Ps. xvi. 10.
[1568] oikonomikos. [The Fathers find Christ everywhere in Scripture,
and often understand the expressions of David to be those of our Lord's
humanity, by economy.]
[1569] Phil. ii. 7.
[1570] John xiv. 6.
[1571] The text is houtos, for which read perhaps hote = when.
[1572] Cf. Matt. xxiii. 38.
[1573] Wisd. ii. 1, 12, 13.
[1574] Wisd. ii. 15, 16.
[1575] Wisd. ii. 14, 16, 17, 20. [The argument is ad hominem. The Jews
valued this book, but did not account it to be Scripture; yet this
quotation is a very remarkable comment on what ancient Jews understood
concerning the Just One. Comp. Acts iii. 14; vii. 52; and xxii. 14.]
[1576] Ps. ii. 5.
[1577] Wisd. v. 1-9.
[1578] (Compare Justin, vol. i. p. 194; Clement, vol. ii. pp 334-343;
Tertullian, vol. iii. p. 151; Origen, vol. iv. p. 402, etc.; and
Cyprian, vol. v., this series.]
__________________________________________________________________
Against Plato, on the Cause of the Universe. [1579]
1. And this is the passage regarding demons. [1580] But now we must
speak of Hades, in which the souls both of the righteous and the
unrighteous are detained. Hades is a place in the created system, rude,
[1581] a locality beneath the earth, in which the light of the world
does not shine; and as the sun does not shine in this locality, there
must necessarily be perpetual darkness there. This locality has been
destined to be as it were a guard-house for souls, at which the angels
are stationed as guards, distributing according to each one's deeds the
temporary [1582] punishments for (different) characters. And in this
locality there is a certain place [1583] set apart by itself, a lake of
unquenchable fire, into which we suppose no one has ever yet been cast;
for it is prepared against the day determined by God, in which one
sentence of righteous judgment shall be justly applied to all. And the
unrighteous, and those who believed not God, who have honoured as God
the vain works of the hands of men, idols fashioned (by themselves),
shall be sentenced to this endless punishment. But the righteous shall
obtain the incorruptible and unfading kingdom, who indeed are at
present detained in Hades, [1584] but not in the same place with the
unrighteous. For to this locality there is one descent, at the gate
whereof we believe an archangel is stationed with a host. And when
those who are conducted by the angels [1585] appointed unto the souls
have passed through this gate, they do not proceed on one and the same
way; but the righteous, being conducted in the light toward the right,
and being hymned by the angels stationed at the place, are brought to a
locality full of light. And there the righteous from the beginning
[1586] dwell, not ruled by necessity, but enjoying always the
contemplation of the blessings which are in their view, and delighting
themselves with the expectation of others ever new, and deeming those
ever better than these. And that place brings no toils to them. There,
there is neither fierce heat, nor cold, nor thorn; [1587] but the face
of the fathers and the righteous is seen to be always smiling, as they
wait for the rest and eternal revival in heaven which succeed this
location. And we call it by the name Abraham's bosom. But the
unrighteous are dragged toward the left by angels who are ministers of
punishment, and they go of their own accord no longer, but are dragged
by force as prisoners. And the angels appointed over them send them
along, [1588] reproaching them and threatening them with an eye of
terror, forcing them down into the lower parts. And when they are
brought there, those appointed to that service drag them on to the
confines or hell. [1589] And those who are so near hear incessantly the
agitation, and feel the hot smoke. And when that vision is so near, as
they see the terrible and excessively glowing [1590] spectacle of the
fire, they shudder in horror at the expectation of the future judgment,
(as if they were) already feeling the power of their punishment. And
again, where they see the place of the fathers and the righteous,
[1591] they are also punished there. For a deep and vast abyss is set
there in the midst, so that neither can any of the righteous in
sympathy think to pass it, nor any of the unrighteous dare to cross it.
2. Thus far, then, on the subject of Hades, in which the souls of all
are detained until the time which God has determined; and then [1592]
He will accomplish a resurrection of all, not by transferring souls
into other bodies, [1593] but by raising the bodies themselves. And if,
O Greeks, ye refuse credit to this because ye see these (bodies) in
their dissolution, learn not to be incredulous. For if ye believe that
the soul is originated and is made immortal by God, according to the
opinion of Plato, [1594] in time, ye ought not to refuse to believe
that God is able also to raise the body, which is composed of the same
elements, and make it immortal. [1595] To be able in one thing, and to
be unable in another, is a word which cannot be said of God. We
therefore believe that the body also is raised. For if it become
corrupt, it is not at least destroyed. For the earth receiving its
remains preserves them, and they, becoming as it were seed, and being
wrapped up with the richer part of earth, spring up and bloom. And that
which is sown is sown indeed bare grain; but at the command of God the
Artificer it buds, and is raised arrayed and glorious, but not until it
has first died, and been dissolved, and mingled with earth. Not,
therefore, without good reason do we believe in the resurrection of the
body. Moreover, if it is dissolved in its season on account of the
primeval transgression, and is committed to the earth as to a furnace,
to be moulded again anew, it is not raised the same thing as it is now,
but pure and no longer corruptible. And to every body its own proper
soul will be given again; and the soul, being endued again with it,
shall not be grieved, but shall rejoice together with it, abiding
itself pure with it also pure. And as it now sojourns with it in the
world righteously, and finds it in nothing now a traitor, it will
receive it again (the body) with great joy. But the unrighteous will
receive their bodies unchanged, and unransomed from suffering and
disease, and unglorified, and still with all the ills in which they
died. And whatever manner of persons they (were when they) lived
without faith, as such they shall be faithfully judged. [1596]
3. [1597] For all, the righteous and the unrighteous alike, shall be
brought before God the Word. For the Father hath committed all judgment
to Him; and in fulfilment of the Father's counsel, He cometh as Judge
whom we call Christ. For it is not Minos and Rhadamanthys that are to
judge (the world), as ye fancy, O Greeks, but He whom God the Father
hath glorified, of whom we have spoken elsewhere more in particular,
for the profit of those who seek the truth. He, in administering the
righteous judgment of the Father to all, assigns to each what is
righteous according to his works. And being present at His judicial
decision, all, both men and angels and demons, shall utter one voice,
saying, "Righteous is Thy judgment." [1598] Of which voice the
justification will be seen in the awarding to each that which is just;
since to those who have done well shall be assigned righteously eternal
bliss, and to the lovers of iniquity shall be given eternal punishment.
And the fire which is unquenchable and without end awaits these latter,
and a certain fiery worm which dieth not, and which does not waste the
body, but continues bursting forth from the body with unending pain. No
sleep will give them rest; no night will soothe them; no death will
deliver them from punishment; no voice of interceding friends will
profit them. [1599] For neither are the righteous seen by them any
longer, nor are they worthy of remembrance. But the righteous will
remember only the righteous deeds by which they reached the heavenly
kingdom, in which there is neither sleep, nor pain, nor corruption, nor
care, [1600] nor night, nor day measured by time; nor sun traversing in
necessary course the circle of heaven, which marks the limits of
seasons, or the points measured out for the life of man so easily read;
nor moon waning or waxing, or inducing the changes of seasons, or
moistening the earth; no burning sun, no changeful Bear, no Orion
coming forth, no numerous wandering of stars, no painfully-trodden
earth, no abode of paradise hard to find; no furious roaring of the
sea, forbidding one to touch or traverse it; but this too will be
readily passable for the righteous, although it lacks no water. There
will be no heaven inaccessible to men, nor will the way of its ascent
be one impossible to find; and there will be no earth unwrought, or
toilsome for men, but one producing fruit spontaneously in beauty and
order; nor will there be generation of wild beasts again, nor the
bursting [1601] substance of other creatures. Neither with man will
there be generation again, but the number of the righteous remains
indefectible with the righteous angels and spirits. Ye who believe
these words, O men, will be partakers with the righteous, and will have
part in these future blessings, which "eye hath not seen nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath
prepared for them that love Him." [1602] To Him be the glory and the
power, for ever and ever. Amen.
------------------------
__________________________________________________________________
[1579] Gallandi, Vet. Patr., ii. 451. Two fragments of this discourse
are extant also in the Parallela Damascenica Rupefucaldina, pp. 755,
789. [Compare Justin, vol. i. p. 273; Tatian, ii. 65; Athenagoras, 130,
and Clement passim; vol. iii. Tertullian, 129; Origen, iv. p. 412. This
is a fragment from Hippol. Against the Greeks.
[1580] The reading in the text is hoperi daimonon topos; others read
logos for topos = thus far the discussion on demons.
[1581] akataskeuastos.
[1582] Or it may be "seasonable," proskaroius.
[1583] tropon. There is another reading, topon = of the places.
[1584] Hades, in the view of the ancients, was the general receptacle
of souls after their separation from the body, where the good abode
happily in a place of light (photeino), and the evil all in a place of
darkness (skotiotero). See Colomesii Keimelia litteraria, 28, and
Suicer on hades. Hence Abraham's bosom and paradise were placed in
Hades. See Olympiodorus on Eccles., iii. p. 264. The Macedonians, on
the authority of Hugo Broughton, praying in the Lord's words, "Our
Father who art in Hades" (Pater hemon ho en ade) (Fabricius).
[Hippolytus is singular in assigning the ultimate receptacle of lost
spirits to this Hades. But compare vol. iii. p. 428, and vol. iv. pp.
293, 495, 541, etc.]
[1585] Cf. Constitut. Apostol., viii. 41.
[1586] [They do not pass into an intermediate purgatory, nor require
prayers for "the repose of their souls."]
[1587] tribolos. [Also the Pindaric citation in my note, vol. i. 74.]
[1588] In the Parallela is inserted here the word epigelontes, deriding
them.
[1589] geenna.
[1590] According to the reading in Parallela, which inserts xanthen =
red.
[1591] The text reads kai hou, and where. But in Parallela it is kai
houtoi = and these see, etc. In the same we find hos mete for kai tous
dikaious.
[1592] [It would be hard to frame a system of belief concerning the
state of the dead more entirely exclusive of purgatory, i e., a place
where the souls of the faithful are detained till (by Masses and the
like) they are relieved and admitted to glory, before the resurrection.
See vol. iii. p. 706.]
[1593] metensomaton, in opposition to the dogma of metempsychosis.
[1594] In the Timaeus.
[1595] The first of the two fragments in the Parallela ends here.
[1596] [The text Eccles. xi. 3 may be accommodated to this truth, but
seems to have no force as proof.]
[1597] The second fragment extant in the Parallela begins here.
[1598] Ps. cxix. 137.
[1599] [It is not the unrighteous, be it remembered, who go to
"purgatory," according to the Trent theology, but only true Christians,
dying in full communion with the Church. Hippolytus is here speaking of
the ultimate doom of the wicked, but bears in mind the imagery of Luke
xvi. 24 and the appeal to Abraham.]
[1600] The second fragment in the Parallela ends here.
[1601] ekbrassomene.
[1602] 1 Cor. ii. 9.
__________________________________________________________________
Against the Heresy of One Noetus. [1603]
1. Some others are secretly introducing another doctrine, who have
become disciples of one Noetus, who was a native of Smyrna, [1604]
(and) lived not very long ago. [1605] This person was greatly puffed up
and inflated with pride, being inspired by the conceit of a strange
spirit. He alleged that Christ was the Father Himself, and that the
Father Himself was born, and suffered, and died. Ye see what pride of
heart and what a strange inflated spirit had insinuated themselves into
him. From his other actions, then, the proof is already given us that
he spoke not with a pure spirit; for he who blasphemes against the Holy
Ghost is cast out from the holy inheritance. He alleged that he was
himself Moses, and that Aaron was his brother. [1606] When the blessed
presbyters heard this, they summoned him before the Church, and
examined him. But he denied at first that he held such opinions.
Afterwards, however, taking shelter among some, and having gathered
round him some others [1607] who had embraced the same error, he wished
thereafter to uphold his dogma openly as correct. And the blessed
presbyters called him again before them, and examined him. But he stood
out against them, saying, "What evil, then, am I doing in glorifying
Christ?" And the presbyters replied to him, "We too know in truth one
God; [1608] we know Christ; we know that the Son suffered even as He
suffered, and died even as He died, and rose again on the third day,
and is at the right hand of the Father, and cometh to judge the living
and the dead. And these things which we have learned we allege." Then,
after examining him, they expelled him from the Church. And he was
carried to such a pitch of pride, that he established a school.
2. Now they seek to exhibit the foundation for their dogma by citing
the word in the law, "I am the God of your fathers: ye shall have no
other gods beside me;" [1609] and again in another passage, "I am the
first," He saith, "and the last; and beside me there is none other."
[1610] Thus they say they prove that God is one. And then they answer
in this manner: "If therefore I acknowledge Christ to be God, He is the
Father Himself, if He is indeed God; and Christ suffered, being Himself
God; and consequently the Father suffered, for He was the Father
Himself." But the case stands not thus; for the Scriptures do not set
forth the matter in this manner. But they make use also of other
testimonies, and say, Thus it is written: "This is our God, and there
shall none other be accounted of in comparison of Him. He hath found
out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it unto Jacob His servant
(son), and to Israel His beloved. Afterward did He show Himself upon
earth, and conversed with men." [1611] You see, then, he says, that
this is God, who is the only One, and who afterwards did show Himself,
and conversed with men." And in another place he says, "Egypt hath
laboured; and the merchandise of Ethiopia and the Sabeans, men of
stature, shall come over unto thee, (and they shall be slaves to thee);
and they shall come after thee bound with manacles, and they shall fall
down unto thee, because God is in thee; and they shall make
supplication unto thee: and there is no God beside thee. For Thou art
God, and we knew not; God of Israel, the Saviour." [1612] Do you see,
he says, how the Scriptures proclaim one God? And as this is clearly
exhibited, and these passages are testimonies to it, I am under
necessity, he says, since one is acknowledged, to make this One the
subject of suffering. For Christ was God, and suffered on account of
us, being Himself the Father, that He might be able also to save us.
And we cannot express ourselves otherwise, he says; for the apostle
also acknowledges one God, when he says, "Whose are the fathers, (and)
of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God
blessed for ever." [1613]
3. In this way, then, they choose to set forth these things, and they
make use only of one class of passages; [1614] just in the same
one-sided manner that Theodotus employed when he sought to prove that
Christ was a mere man. But neither has the one party nor the other
understood the matter rightly, as the Scriptures themselves confute
their senselessness, and attest the truth. See, brethren, what a rash
and audacious dogma they have introduced, when they say without shame,
the Father is Himself Christ, Himself the Son, Himself was born,
Himself suffered, Himself raised Himself. But it is not so. The
Scriptures speak what is right; but Noetus is of a different mind from
them. Yet, though Noetus does not understand the truth, the Scriptures
are not at once to be repudiated. For who will not say that there is
one God? Yet he will not on that account deny the economy (i.e., the
number and disposition of persons in the Trinity). The proper way,
therefore, to deal with the question is first of all to refute the
interpretation put upon these passages by these men, and then to
explain their real meaning. For it is right, in the first place, to
expound the truth that the Father is one God, "of whom is every
family," [1615] "by whom are all things, of whom are all things, and we
in Him." [1616]
4. Let us, as I said, see how he is confuted, and then let us set forth
the truth. Now he quotes the words, "Egypt has laboured, and the
merchandise of Ethiopia and the Sabeans," and so forth on to the words,
"For Thou art the God of Israel, the Saviour." And these words he cites
without understanding what precedes them. For whenever they wish to
attempt anything underhand, they mutilate the Scriptures. But let him
quote the passage as a whole, and he will discover the reason kept in
view in writing it. For we have the beginning of the section a little
above; and we ought, of course, to commence there in showing to whom
and about whom the passage speaks. For above, the beginning of the
section stands thus: "Ask me concerning my sons and my daughters, and
concerning the work of my hands command ye me. I have made the earth,
and man upon it: I with my hand have stablished the heaven; I have
commanded all the stars. I have raised him up, and all his ways are
straight. He shall build my city, and he shall turn back the captivity;
not for price nor reward, said the Lord of hosts. Thus said the Lord of
hosts, Egypt hath laboured, and the merchandise of Ethiopia and the
Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be
slaves to thee: and they shall come after thee bound with manacles, and
they shall fall down unto thee; and they shall make supplication unto
thee, because God is in thee; and there is no God beside thee. For
Thou art God, and we knew not; the God of Israel, the Saviour." [1617]
"In thee, therefore," says he, "God is." But in whom is God except
in Christ Jesus, the Father's Word, and the mystery of the economy?
[1618] And again, exhibiting the truth regarding Him, he points to the
fact of His being in the flesh when He says, "I have raised Him up in
righteousness, and all His ways are straight." For what is this? Of
whom does the Father thus testify? It is of the Son that the Father
says, "I have raised Him up in righteousness." And that the Father did
raise up His Son in righteousness, the Apostle Paul bears witness,
saying, "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Christ Jesus from the
dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall
also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you."
[1619] Behold, the word spoken by the prophet is thus made good, "I
have raised Him up in righteousness." And in saying, "God is in thee,"
he referred to the mystery of the economy, because when the Word was
made incarnate and became man, the Father was in the Son, and the Son
in the Father, while the Son was living among men. This, therefore,
was signified, brethren, that in reality the mystery of the economy by
the Holy Ghost and the Virgin was this Word, constituting yet one Son
to God. [1620] And it is not simply that I say this, but He Himself
attests it who came down from heaven; for He speaketh thus: "No man
hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the
Son of man which is in heaven." [1621] What then can he seek beside
what is thus written? Will he say, forsooth, that flesh was in heaven?
Yet there is the flesh which was presented by the Father's Word as an
offering,--the flesh that came by the Spirit and the Virgin, (and was)
demonstrated to be the perfect Son of God. It is evident, therefore,
that He offered Himself to the Father. And before this there was no
flesh in heaven. Who, then, was in heaven [1622] but the Word
unincarnate, who was despatched to show that He was upon earth and was
also in heaven? For He was Word, He was Spirit, He was Power. The same
took to Himself the name common and current among men, and was called
from the beginning the Son of man on account of what He was to be,
although He was not yet man, as Daniel testifies when he says, "I saw,
and behold one like the Son of man came on the clouds of heaven."
[1623] Rightly, then, did he say that He who was in heaven was called
from the beginning by this name, the Word of God, as being that from
the beginning.
5. But what is meant, says he, in the other passage: "This is God, and
there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of Him?" [1624]
That said he rightly. For in comparison of the Father who shall be
accounted of? But he says: "This is our God; there shall none other be
accounted of in comparison of Him. He hath found out all the way of
knowledge, and hath given it unto Jacob His servant, and to Israel His
beloved." He saith well. For who is Jacob His servant, Israel His
beloved, but He of whom He crieth, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased: hear ye Him?" [1625] Having received, then, all
knowledge from the Father, the perfect Israel, the true Jacob,
afterward did show Himself upon earth, and conversed with men. And who,
again, is meant by Israel [1626] but a man who sees God? and there is
no one who sees God except the Son alone, the perfect man who alone
declares the will of the Father. For John also says, "No man hath seen
God at any time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the
Father, He hath declared [1627] Him." [1628] And again: "He who came
down from heaven testifieth what He hath heard and seen." [1629] This,
then, is He to whom the Father hath given all knowledge, who did show
Himself upon earth, and conversed with men.
6. Let us look next at the apostle's word: "Whose are the fathers, of
whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed
for ever." [1630] This word declares the mystery of the truth rightly
and clearly. He who is over all is God; for thus He speaks boldly, "All
things are delivered unto me of my Father." [1631] He who is over all,
God blessed, has been born; and having been made man, He is (yet) God
for ever. For to this effect John also has said, "Which is, and which
was, and which is to come, the Almighty." [1632] And well has he named
Christ the Almighty. For in this he has said only what Christ testifies
of Himself. For Christ gave this testimony, and said, "All things are
delivered unto me of my Father;" [1633] and Christ rules all things,
and has been appointed [1634] Almighty by the Father. And in like
manner Paul also, in setting forth the truth that all things are
delivered unto Him, said, "Christ the first-fruits; afterwards they
that are Christ's at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall
have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall
have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For He must
reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that
shall be destroyed is death. For all things are put under Him. But when
He saith, All things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is
excepted which did put all things under Him. Then shall He also Himself
be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in
all." [1635] If, therefore, all things are put under Him with the
exception of Him who put them under Him, He is Lord of all, and the
Father is Lord of Him, that in all there might be manifested one God,
to whom all things are made subject together with Christ, to whom the
Father hath made all things subject, with the exception of Himself. And
this, indeed, is said by Christ Himself, as when in the Gospel He
confessed Him to be His Father and His God. For He speaks thus: "I go
to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God." [1636] If
then, Noetus ventures to say that He is the Father Himself, to what
father will he say Christ goes away according to the word of the
Gospel? But if he will have us abandon the Gospel and give credence to
his senselessness, he expends his labour in vain; for "we ought to obey
God rather than men." [1637]
7. If, again, he allege His own word when He said, "I and the Father
are one," [1638] let him attend to the fact, and understand that He did
not say, "I and the Father am one, but are one." [1639] For the word
are [1640] is not said of one person, but it refers to two persons, and
one power. [1641] He has Himself made this clear, when He spake to His
Father concerning the disciples, "The glory which Thou gavest me I have
given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and
Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; that the world may
know that Thou hast sent me." [1642] What have the Noetians to say to
these things? Are all one body in respect of substance, or is it that
we become one in the power and disposition of unity of mind? [1643] In
the same manner the Son, who was sent and was not known of those who
are in the world, confessed that He was in the Father in power and
disposition. For the Son is the one mind of the Father. We who have the
Father's mind believe so (in Him); but they who have it not have denied
the Son. And if, again, they choose to allege the fact that Philip
inquired about the Father, saying, "Show us the Father, and it
sufficeth us," to whom the Lord made answer in these terms: "Have I
been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He
that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Believest thou not that I am in
the Father, and the Father in me?" [1644] and if they choose to
maintain that their dogma is ratified by this passage, as if He owned
Himself to be the Father, let them know that it is decidedly against
them, and that they are confuted by this very word. For though Christ
had spoken of Himself, and showed Himself among all as the Son, they
had not yet recognised Him to be such, neither had they been able to
apprehend or contemplate His real power. And Philip, not having been
able to receive this, as far as it was possible to see it, requested to
behold the Father. To whom then the Lord said, "Philip, have I been so
long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me? He that hath seen
me hath seen the Father." By which He means, If thou hast seen me, thou
mayest know the Father through me. For through the image, which is like
(the original), the Father is made readily known. But if thou hast not
known the image, which is the Son, how dost thou seek to see the
Father? And that this is the case is made clear by the rest of the
chapter, which signifies that the Son who "has been set forth [1645]
was sent from the Father, [1646] and goeth to the Father." [1647]
8. Many other passages, or rather all of them, attest the truth. A man,
therefore, even though he will it not, is compelled to acknowledge God
the Father Almighty, and Christ Jesus the Son of God, who, being God,
became man, to whom also the Father made all things subject, Himself
excepted, and the Holy Spirit; and that these, therefore, are three.
But if he desires to learn how it is shown still that there is one God,
let him know that His power [1648] is one. As far as regards the
power, therefore, God is one. But as far as regards the economy there
is a threefold manifestation, as shall be proved afterwards when we
give account of the true doctrine. In these things, however, which are
thus set forth by us, we are at one. For there is one God in whom we
must believe, but unoriginated, impassible, immortal, doing all things
as He wills, in the way He wills, and when He wills. What, then, will
this Noetus, who knows [1649] nothing of the truth, dare to say to
these things? And now, as Noetus has been confuted, let us turn to the
exhibition of the truth itself, that we may establish the truth,
against which all these mighty heresies [1650] have arisen without
being able to state anything to the purpose.
9. There is, brethren, one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the
Holy Scriptures, and from no other source. For just as a man, if he
wishes to be skilled in the wisdom of this world, will find himself
unable to get at it in any other way than by mastering the dogmas of
philosophers, so all of us who wish to practise piety will be unable to
learn its practice from any other quarter than the oracles of God.
[1651] Whatever things, then, the Holy Scriptures declare, at these let
us look; and whatsoever things they teach, these let us learn; and as
the Father wills our belief to be, let us believe; and as He wills the
Son to be glorified, let us glorify Him; and as He wills the Holy
Spirit to be bestowed, let us receive Him. Not according to our own
will, nor according to our own mind, nor yet as using violently those
things which are given by God, but even as He has chosen to teach them
by the Holy Scriptures, so let us discern them.
10. God, subsisting alone, and having nothing contemporaneous with
Himself, determined to create the world. And conceiving the world in
mind, and willing and uttering the word, He made it; and straightway it
appeared, formed as it had pleased Him. For us, then, it is sufficient
simply to know that there was nothing contemporaneous with God. Beside
Him there was nothing; but [1652] He, while existing alone, yet existed
in plurality. [1653] For He was neither without reason, nor wisdom, nor
power, nor counsel. [1654] And all things were in Him, and He was the
All. When He willed, and as He willed, [1655] He manifested His word in
the times determined by Him, and by Him He made all things. When He
wills, He does; and when He thinks, He executes; and when He speaks, He
manifests; when He fashions, He contrives in wisdom. For all things
that are made He forms by reason and wisdom--creating them in reason,
and arranging them in wisdom. He made them, then, as He pleased, for He
was God. And as the Author, and fellow-Counsellor, and Framer [1656] of
the things that are in formation, He begat [1657] the Word; and as He
bears this Word in Himself, and that, too, as (yet) invisible to the
world which is created, He makes Him visible; (and) uttering the voice
first, and begetting Him as Light of Light, [1658] He set Him forth to
the world as its Lord, (and) His own mind; [1659] and whereas He was
visible formerly to Himself alone, and invisible to the world which is
made, He makes Him visible in order that the world might see Him in His
manifestation, and be capable of being saved.
11. And thus there appeared another beside Himself. But when I say
another, [1660] I do not mean that there are two Gods, but that it is
only as light of light, or as water from a fountain, or as a ray from
the sun. For there is but one power, which is from the All; [1661] and
the Father is the All, from whom cometh this Power, the Word. And this
is the mind [1662] which came forth into the world, and was manifested
as the Son [1663] of God. All things, then, are by Him, and He alone is
of the Father. Who then adduces a multitude of gods brought in, time
after time? For all are shut up, however unwillingly, to admit this
fact, that the All runs up into one. If, then, all things run up into
one, even according to Valentinus, and Marcion, and Cerinthus, and all
their fooleries, they are also reduced, however unwillingly, to this
position, that they must acknowledge that the One is the cause of all
things. Thus, then, these too, though they wish it not, fall in with
the truth, and admit that one God made all things according to His good
pleasure. And He gave the law and the prophets; and in giving them, He
made them speak by the Holy Ghost, in order that, being gifted with the
inspiration of the Father's power, they might declare the Father's
counsel and will.
12. Acting then in these (prophets), the Word spoke of Himself. For
already He became His own herald, and showed that the Word would be
manifested among men. And for this reason He cried thus: "I am made
manifest to them that sought me not; I am found of them that asked not
for me." [1664] And who is He that is made manifest but the Word of the
Father?--whom the Father sent, and in whom He showed to men the power
proceeding from Him. Thus, then, was the Word made manifest, even as
the blessed John says. For he sums up the things that were said by the
prophets, and shows that this is the Word, by whom all things were
made. For he speaks to this effect: "In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by
Him, and without Him was not anything made." [1665] And beneath He
says, "The world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not; He came
unto His own, and His own received Him not." [1666] If, then, said he,
the world was made by Him, according to the word of the prophet, "By
the Word of the Lord were the heavens made," [1667] then this is the
Word that was also made manifest. We accordingly see the Word
incarnate, and we know the Father by Him, and we believe in the Son,
(and) we worship the Holy Spirit. Let us then look at the testimony of
Scripture, with respect to the announcement of the future manifestation
of the Word.
13. Now Jeremiah says, "Who hath stood in the counsel [1668] of the
Lord, and hath perceived His Word?" [1669] But the Word of God alone is
visible, while the word of man is audible. When he speaks of seeing the
Word, I must believe that this visible (Word) has been sent. And there
was none other (sent) but the Word. And that He was sent Peter
testifies, when he says to the centurion Cornelius: "God sent His Word
unto the children of Israel by the preaching of Jesus Christ. This is
the God who is Lord of all." [1670] If, then, the Word is sent by Jesus
Christ, the will [1671] of the Father is Jesus Christ.
14. These things then, brethren, are declared by the Scriptures. And
the blessed John, in the testimony of his Gospel, gives us an account
of this economy (disposition) and acknowledges this Word as God, when
he says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God." If, then, the Word was with God, and was also God,
what follows? Would one say that he speaks of two Gods? [1672] I shall
not indeed speak of two Gods, but of one; of two Persons however, and
of a third economy (disposition), viz., the grace of the Holy Ghost.
For the Father indeed is One, but there are two Persons, because there
is also the Son; and then there is the third, the Holy Spirit. The
Father decrees, the Word executes, and the Son is manifested, through
whom the Father is believed on. The economy [1673] of harmony is led
back to one God; for God is One. It is the Father who commands, [1674]
and the Son who obeys, and the Holy Spirit who gives understanding:
[1675] the Father who is above all, [1676] and the Son who is through
all, and the Holy Spirit who is in all. And we cannot otherwise think
of one God, [1677] but by believing in truth in Father and Son and Holy
Spirit. For the Jews glorified (or gloried in) the Father, but gave Him
not thanks, for they did not recognise the Son. The disciples
recognised the Son, but not in the Holy Ghost; wherefore they also
denied Him. [1678] The Father's Word, therefore, knowing the economy
(disposition) and the will of the Father, to wit, that the Father seeks
to be worshipped in none other way than this, gave this charge to the
disciples after He rose from the dead: "Go ye and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost." [1679] And by this He showed, that whosoever omitted any
one of these, failed in glorifying God perfectly. For it is through
this Trinity [1680] that the Father is glorified. For the Father
willed, the Son did, the Spirit manifested. The whole Scriptures, then,
proclaim this truth.
15. But some one will say to me, You adduce a thing strange to me, when
you call the Son the Word. For John indeed speaks of the Word, but it
is by a figure of speech. Nay, it is by no figure of speech. [1681] For
while thus presenting this Word that was from the beginning, and has
now been sent forth, he said below in the Apocalypse, "And I saw heaven
opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him (was)
Faithful and True; and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.
And His eyes (were) as flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns;
and He had a name written that no man knew but He Himself. And He (was)
clothed in a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called the Word
of God." [1682] See then, brethren, how the vesture sprinkled with
blood denoted in symbol the flesh, through which the impassible Word of
God came under suffering, as also the prophets testify to me. For thus
speaks the blessed Micah: "The house of Jacob provoked the Spirit of
the Lord to anger. These are their pursuits. Are not His words good
with them, and do they walk rightly? And they have risen up in enmity
against His countenance of peace, and they have stripped off His
glory." [1683] That means His suffering in the flesh. And in like
manner also the blessed Paul says, "For what the law could not do, in
that it was weak, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law
might be shown in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit." [1684] What Son of His own, then, did God send through the
flesh but the Word, [1685] whom He addressed as Son because He was to
become such (or be begotten) in the future? And He takes the common
name for tender affection among men in being called the Son. For
neither was the Word, prior to incarnation and when by Himself, [1686]
yet perfect Son, although He was perfect Word, only-begotten. Nor could
the flesh subsist by itself apart from the Word, because it has its
subsistence [1687] in the Word. [1688] Thus, then, one perfect Son of
God was manifested.
16. And these indeed are testimonies bearing on the incarnation of the
Word; and there are also very many others. But let us also look at the
subject in hand,--namely, the question, brethren, that in reality the
Father's power, which is the Word, came down from heaven, and not the
Father Himself. For thus He speaks: "I came forth from the Father, and
am come." [1689] Now what subject is meant in this sentence, "I came
forth from the Father," [1690] but just the Word? And what is it that
is begotten of Him, but just the Spirit, [1691] that is to say, the
Word? But you will say to me, How is He begotten? In your own case you
can give no explanation of the way in which you were begotten, although
you see every day the cause according to man; neither can you tell with
accuracy the economy in His case. [1692] For you have it not in your
power to acquaint yourself with the practised and indescribable art
[1693] (method) of the Maker, but only to see, and understand, and
believe that man is God's work. Moreover, you are asking an account of
the generation of the Word, whom God the Father in His good pleasure
begat as He willed. Is it not enough for you to learn that God made the
world, but do you also venture to ask whence He made it? Is it not
enough for you to learn that the Son of God has been manifested to you
for salvation if you believe, but do you also inquire curiously how He
was begotten after the Spirit? No more than two, [1694] in sooth, have
been put in trust to give the account of His generation after the
flesh; and are you then so bold as to seek the account (of His
generation) after the Spirit, which the Father keeps with Himself,
intending to reveal it then to the holy ones and those worthy of seeing
His face? Rest satisfied with the word spoken by Christ, viz., "That
which is born of the Spirit is spirit," [1695] just as, speaking by the
prophet of the generation of the Word, He shows the fact that He is
begotten, but reserves the question of the manner and means, to reveal
it only in the time determined by Himself. For He speaks thus: "From
the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten Thee." [1696]
17. These testimonies are sufficient for the believing who study
truth, and the unbelieving credit no testimony. [1697] For the Holy
Spirit, indeed, in the person of the apostles, has testified to this,
saying, "And who has believed our report?" [1698] Therefore let us not
prove ourselves unbelieving, lest the word spoken be fulfilled in us.
Let us believe then, dear [1699] brethren, according to the tradition
of the apostles, that God the Word came down from heaven, (and entered)
into the holy Virgin Mary, in order that, taking the flesh from her,
and assuming also a human, by which I mean a rational soul, and
becoming thus all that man is with the exception of sin, He might save
fallen man, and confer immortality on men who believe on His name. In
all, therefore, the word of truth is demonstrated to us, to wit, that
the Father is One, whose word is present (with Him), by whom He made
all things; whom also, as we have said above, the Father sent forth in
later times for the salvation of men. This (Word) was preached by the
law and the prophets as destined to come into the world. And even as He
was preached then, in the same manner also did He come and manifest
Himself, being by the Virgin and the Holy Spirit made a new man; for in
that He had the heavenly (nature) of the Father, as the Word and the
earthly (nature), as taking to Himself the flesh from the old Adam by
the medium of the Virgin, He now, coming forth into the world, was
manifested as God in a body, coming forth too as a perfect man. For it
was not in mere appearance or by conversion, [1700] but in truth, that
He became man.
18. [1701] Thus then, too, though demonstrated as God, He does not
refuse the conditions proper to Him as man, [1702] since He hungers and
toils and thirsts in weariness, and flees in fear, and prays in
trouble. And He who as God has a sleepless nature, slumbers on a
pillow. And He who for this end came into the world, begs off from the
cup of suffering. And in an agony He sweats blood, and is strengthened
by an angel, who Himself strengthens those who believe on Him, and
taught men to despise death by His work. [1703] And He who knew what
manner of man Judas was, is betrayed by Judas. And He, who formerly was
honoured by him as God, is contemned by Caiaphas. [1704] And He is set
at nought by Herod, who is Himself to judge the whole earth. And He is
scourged by Pilate, who took upon Himself our infirmities. And by the
soldiers He is mocked, at whose behest stand thousands of thousands and
myriads of myriads of angels and archangels. And He who fixed the
heavens like a vault is fastened to the cross by the Jews. And He who
is inseparable from the Father cries to the Father, and commends to Him
His spirit; and bowing His head, He gives up the ghost, who said, "I
have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again;"
[1705] and because He was not overmastered by death, as being Himself
Life, He said this: "I lay it down of myself." [1706] And He who gives
life bountifully to all, has His side pierced with a spear. And He who
raises the dead is wrapped in linen and laid in a sepulchre, and on the
third day He is raised again by the Father, though Himself the
Resurrection and the Life. For all these things has He finished for us,
who for our sakes was made as we are. For "Himself hath borne our
infirmities, and carried our diseases; and for our sakes He was
afflicted," [1707] as Isaiah the prophet has said. This is He who was
hymned by the angels, and seen by the shepherds, and waited for by
Simeon, and witnessed to by Anna. This is He who was inquired after by
the wise men, and indicated by the star; He who was engaged in His
Father's house, and pointed to by John, and witnessed to by the Father
from above in the voice, "This is my beloved Son; hear ye Him." [1708]
He is crowned victor against the devil. [1709] This is Jesus of
Nazareth, who was invited to the marriage-feast in Cana, and turned the
water into wine, and rebuked the sea when agitated by the violence of
the winds, and walked on the deep as on dry land, and caused the blind
man from birth to see, and raised Lazarus to life after he had been
dead four days, and did many mighty works, and forgave sins, and
conferred power on the disciples, and had blood and water flowing from
His sacred side when pierced with the spear. For His sake the sun is
darkened, the day has no light, the rocks are shattered, the veil is
rent, the foundations of the earth are shaken, the graves are opened,
and the dead are raised, and the rulers are ashamed when they see the
Director of the universe upon the cross closing His eye and giving up
the ghost. Creation saw, and was troubled; and, unable to bear the
sight of His exceeding glory, shrouded itself in darkness. [1710] This
(is He who) breathes upon the disciples, and gives them the Spirit, and
comes in among them when the doors are shut, and is taken up by a cloud
into the heavens while the disciples gaze at Him, and is set down on
the right hand of the Father, and comes again as the Judge of the
living and the dead. This is the God who for our sakes became man, to
whom also the Father hath put all things in subjection. To Him be the
glory and the power, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, in the holy
Church both now and ever, and even for evermore. Amen.
------------------------
__________________________________________________________________
[1603] Gallandi, p. 454.
[1604] That Noetus was a native of Smyrna is mentioned also by
Theodoret, book iii. Haeret Fab., c. iii., and Damascenus, sec. lvii.
(who is accustomed to follow Epiphanius); and yet in Epiphanius,
Haeres., 57, we read that Noetus was an Asian of the city of Ephesus
('Asianon tes 'Ephesou poleos). (Fabricius.)
[1605] Epiphanius says that Noetus made his heresy public about 130
years before his time (ou pro eton pleionon all' hos pro chronou ton
touton hekaton triakonta, pleio e elasso); and as Epiphanius wrote in
the year 375, that would make the date of Noetus about 245. He says
also that Noetus died soon after (enanchos), along with his brother.
(Fabricius.)
[1606] So also Epiphanius and Damascenus. But Philastrius, Heresy, 53,
puts Elijah for Aaron: hic etiam dicebat se Moysem esse, et fratrem
suum Eliam prophetam.
[1607] Epiphanius remarks that they were but ten in number.
[1608] The following words are the words of the Symbolum, as it is
extant in Irenaeus, i. 10, etc., and iii. 4; and in Tertullian, Contra
Praxeam, ch. ii., and De Praescript., ch. xiii., and De virginibus
velandis, ch. i. [See vol. iii., this series.]
[1609] Ex. iii. 6 and xx. 3.
[1610] Isa. xliv. 6.
[1611] Baruch iii. 35-38. [Based on Prov. viii., but so remarkable that
Grotius presumptuously declared it an interpolation. It reflects
canonical Scripture, but has no canonical value otherwise.]
[1612] Isa. xlv. 14.
[1613] Rom. ix. 5.
[1614] kai autois monokola chromenoi, etc. The word monokola appears
to be used adverbially, instead of monokolos and monotupos, which are
the terms employed by Epiphanius (p. 481). The meaning is, that the
Noetians, in explaining the words of Scripture concerning Christ,
looked only to one side of the question--namely, to the divine nature;
just as Theodotus, on his part going to the opposite extreme, kept by
the human nature exclusively, and held that Christ was a mere man.
Besides others, the presbyter Timotheus, in Cotelerii Monument., vol.
iii. p. 389, mentions Theodotus in these terms: "They say that this
Theodotus was the leader and father of the heresy of the Samosatan,
having first alleged that Christ was a mere man." [See vol. iii, p.
654, this series.]
[1615] Eph. iii. 15.
[1616] 1 Cor. viii. 6.
[1617] Isa. xlv. 11-15.
[1618] [Bull, Opp., v. pp. 367, 734, 740-743, 753-756.]
[1619] Rom. viii. 11.
[1620] Turrian has the following note: "The Word of God constituted
(operatum est) one Son to God; i.e., the Word of God effected, that He
who was the one Son of God was also one Son of man, because as His
hypostasis He assumed the flesh. For thus was the Word made flesh."
[1621] John iii. 13.
[1622] [John iii. 13.]
[1623] Dan. vii. 13.
[1624] Baruch iii. 36, etc.
[1625] Matt. xvii. 5.
[1626] The word Israel is explained by Philo, De praemiis et poenis, p.
710, and elsewhere, as = a man seeing God, horon Theon, i.e., 'ys v'h
'l. So also in the Constitutiones Apostol., vii. 37, viii. 15;
Eusebius, Praeparat., xi. 6, p. 519, and in many others. To the same
class may be referred those who make Israel = horatikos aner kai
theoretikos, a man apt to see and speculate, as Eusebius, Praeparat.,
p. 310, or = nous horon Theon, as Optatus in the end of the second
book; Didymus in Jerome, and Jerome himself in various passages;
Maximus, i. p. 284; Olympiodorus on Ecclesiastes, ch. i.; Leontius, De
Sectis, p. 392; Theophanes, Ceram. homil., iv. p. 22, etc. Justin
Martyr, Dialog. cum Tryph. [see vol. i. pp. 226, 262], adduces another
etymology, anthropos nikon dunamin.
[1627] Hippolytus reads diegesato for exegesato.
[1628] John i. 18.
[1629] John iii. 11, 13.
[1630] Rom. ix. 5.
[1631] Matt. xi. 27.
[1632] Apoc. i. 8.
[1633] Matt. xi. 27. [Compare John v. 22.]
[1634] [Strictly scriptural as to the humanity of Messiah, Heb. i. 9.]
[1635] 1 Cor. xv. 23-28.
[1636] John xx. 17.
[1637] Acts v. 29; iv. 19.
[1638] John x. 30.
[1639] ego kai ho pater--hen esmen, not hen eimi.
[1640] esmen.
[1641] dunamin.
[1642] John xvii. 22, 23.
[1643] ete dunamei kai te diathesei tes homophronias hen ginometha.
[1644] John xiv. 8, 9.
[1645] Rom. iii. 25.
[1646] John v. 30; vi. 29; viii. 16, 18, etc.
[1647] John xiii. 1; xiv. 12.
[1648] dunamis.
[1649] There is perhaps a play on the words here--Noetos me noon.
[1650] i.e., the other thirty-one heresies, which Hippolytus had
already attacked. From these words it is apparent also that this
treatise was the closing portion of a book against the heresies
(Fabricius).
[1651] [This emphatic testimony of our author to the sufficiency of the
Scriptures is entirely in keeping with the entire system of the
Ante-Nicene Fathers. Note our teeming indexes of Scripture texts.]
[1652] See, on this passage, Bull's Defens. Fid. Nic., sec. iii. cap.
viii. S: 2, p. 219.
[1653] polus en.
[1654] alogos, asophos, adunatos, abouleutos.
[1655] On these words see Bossuet's explanation and defence, Avertiss.,
vi. S: 68, sur les lettres de M. Jurieu.
[1656] archegon, kai sumboulon, kai ergaten.
[1657] The "begetting" of which Hippolytus speaks here is not the
generation, properly so called, but that manifestation and bringing
forth of the Word co-existing from eternity with the Father, which
referred to the creation of the world. So at least Bull and Bossuet, as
cited above; also Maranus, De Divinit. J. C., lib. iv. cap. xiii. S: 3,
p. 458.
[1658] phos ek photos. This phrase, adopted by the Nicene Fathers,
occurs before their time not only here, but also in Justin Martyr,
Tatian, and Athenagoras, as is noticed by Grabe, ad Irenaeum, lib. ii.
c. xxiii. Methodius also, in his Homily on Simeon and Anna, p. 152, has
the expression, su ei phos alethinon ek photos alethinou Theos
alethinos ek Theou alethinou. Athanasius himself also uses the phrase
luchnon ek luchnou, vol. i. p. 881, ed. Lips. [Illustrating my remarks
(p. v. of this volume), in the preface, as to the study of Nicene
theology in Ante-Nicene authors.]
[1659] noun.
[1660] Justin Martyr also says that the Son is heteron ti, something
other, from the Father; and Tertullian affirms, Filium et Patrem esse
aluid ab alio, with the same intent as Hippolytus here, viz., to
express the distinction of persons. [See vol. i. pp. 170, 216, 263,
and vol. iii. p. 604.]
[1661] ek tou pantos.
[1662] Or reason.
[1663] pais.
[1664] Isa. lxv. 1.
[1665] John i. 1-3. Hippolytus evidently puts the full stop at the oude
en, attaching the o gegonen to the following. So also Irenaeus, Clemens
Alex., Origen, Theophilus of Antioch, and Eusebius, in several places;
so, too, of the Latin Fathers--Tertullian, Lactantius, Victorinus,
Augustine; and long after these, Honorius Augustodunensis, in his De
imagine Mundi. This punctuation was also adopted by the heretics
Valentinus, Heracleon, Theodotus, and the Macedonians and Eunomians;
and hence it is rejected by Epiphanius, ii. p. 80, and Chrysostom.
(Fabricius.)
[1666] John i. 10, 11.
[1667] Ps. xxxiii. 6.
[1668] hupostemati, foundation. Victor reads en te hupostasei, in the
substance, nature; Symmachus has en te homilia, in the fellowship.
[1669] Jer. xxiii. 18.
[1670] Acts x. 36.
[1671] to thelema. Many of the patristic theologians called the Son the
Father's boulesis or thelema. See the passages in Petavius, De S. S.
Trinitate, lib. vi. c. 8, S: 21, and vii. 12, S: 12. [Dubious.]
[1672] From this passage it is clear that Hippolytus taught the
doctrine of one God alone and three Persons. A little before, in the
eighth chapter, he said that there is one God, according to substance
or divine essence, which one substance is in three Persons; and that,
according to disposition or economy, there are three Persons
manifested. By the term economy, therefore, he understands, with
Tertullian, adversus Praxeam. ch. iii., the number and disposition of
the Trinity (numerum et dispositionem Trinitatis). Here he also calls
the grace of the Holy Spirit the third economy, but in the same way as
Tertullian, who calls the Holy Spirit the third grade (tertium gradum).
For the terms gradus, forma, species, dispositio, andoeconimia mean the
same in Tertullian. (Maranus.) [Another proof that the Nicene Creed was
a compilation from Ante-Nicene theologians.]
[1673] oikonomia sumphonias sunagetai eis hena Theon, perhaps = "the"
economy as being one of harmony, leads to one God.
[1674] This mode of speaking of the Father's commanding, and the Son's
obeying, was used without any offence, not only by Irenaeus,
Hippolytus, Origen, and others before the Council of Nicaea, but also
after that council by the keenest opponents of the Arian
heresy--Athanasius, Basil, Marius Victorinus, Hilary, Prosper, and
others. See Petavius, De Trin., i. 7, S: 7; and Bull, Defens Fid. Nic.,
pp. 138, 164, 167, 170. (Fabricius.)
[1675] sunetizon.
[1676] Referring probably to Eph. iv. 6.
[1677] The Christian doctrine, Maranus remarks, could not be set forth
more accurately; for he contends not only that the number of Persons in
no manner detracts from the unity of God, but that the unity of God
itself can neither consist nor be adored without this number of
Persons.
[1678] This is said probably with reference to Peter's denial.
[1679] Matt. xxviii. 19.
[1680] Triados. [See Theophilus, vol. ii. p. 101, note.]
[1681] all' allos allegorei. The words in Italics are given only in
the Latin. They may have dropped from the Greek text. At any rate, some
such addition seems necessary for the sense.
[1682] Apoc. xix. 11-13.
[1683] Mic. ii. 7, 8. doxan: In the present text of the Septuagint it
is doran, skin.
[1684] Hippolytus omits the words dia tes sarkos and kai peri
hamartias, and reads phanerothe for plerothe.
[1685] hon Huion prosegoreue dia to mellein auton genesthai.
[1686] Hippolytus thus gives more definite expression to this
temporality of the Sonship, as Dorner remarks, than even Tertullian.
See Dorner's Doctrine of the Person of Christ (T. & T. Clark), div. i.
vol. ii. p. 88, etc. [Pearson On the Creed, art. ii. p. 199 et seqq.
The patristic citations are sufficient, and Hippolytus may be
harmonized with them.]
[1687] ten sustasin.
[1688] "Sustasis," says Dorner, "be it observed, is not yet equivalent
to personality. The sense is, it had its subsistence in the Logos; He
was the connective and vehicular force. This is thoroughly
unobjectionable. He does not thus necessarily pronounce the humanity of
Christ impersonal; although in view of what has preceded, and what
remains to be adduced, there can be no doubt [?] that Hippolytus would
have defended the impersonality, had the question been agitated at the
period at which he lived." See Dorner, as above, i. 95. [But compare
Burton, Testimonies of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, etc., pp. 60-87, where
Tertullian and Hippolytus speak for themselves. Note also what he says
of the latter, and his variations of expression, p. 87.]
[1689] John xvi. 28.
[1690] Reading exelthon. The Latin interpreter seems to read exelthon =
what is this that came forth.
[1691] pneuma. The divine in Christ is thus designated in the
Ante-Nicene Fathers generally. See Grotius on Mark ii. 8; and for a
full history of the term in this use, Dorner's Person of Christ, i. p.
390, etc. (Clark).
[1692] ten peri touton oikonomian.
[1693] ten tou demiourgesantos empeiron kai anekdiegetou technen.
[1694] i.e., Matthew and Luke in their Gospels.
[1695] John iii. 6.
[1696] Ps. cx. 3.
[1697] [A noble aphorism. See Shedd, Hist. of Theol., i. pp. 300, 301,
and tribute to Pearson, p. 319, note. The loving spirit of Auberlen, on
the defeat of rationalism, may be noted with profit in his Divine
Revelations, translation, Clark's ed., 1867.]
[1698] Isa. liii. 1.
[1699] makarioi.
[1700] kata phantasian e tropen.
[1701] [The sublimity of this concluding chapter marks our author's
place among the most eloquent of Ante-Nicene Fathers.]
[1702] The following passage agrees almost word for word with what is
cited as from the Memoria haeresium of Hippolytus by Gelasius, in the
De duabus naturis Christi, vol. viii. Bibl. Patr., edit. Lugd. p. 704.
[Compare St. Ignatius, vol. i. cap. vii. p. 52, this series; and for
the crucial point (gennetos kai agennetos) see Jacobson, ii. p. 278.]
[1703] Or, by deed, ergo.
[1704] hierateuomenos, referring to John xi. 51, 52.
[1705] John x. 18.
[1706] John x. 18.
[1707] Isa. liii. 4.
[1708] Matt. xvii. 5. [It may be convenient for some to turn to the
Oxford translation of Bishop Bull's Defensio, part i. pp. 193-216,
where Tertullian and Hippolytus are nobly vindicated on Nicene grounds.
The notes are also valuable.]
[1709] Matt. xxvii. 29. stephanoutai kata diabolou, [i.e., with
thorns].
[1710] [Hippolytus confirms Tertullian's testimony. Compare vol. iii.
pp. 35 and 58.]
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Against Beron and Helix.
Fragments of a discourse, alphabetically divided, [1711] on the Divine
Nature [1712] and the Incarnation, against the heretics Beron and
Helix, [1713] the beginning of which was in these words, "Holy, holy,
holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, with voice never silent the seraphim exclaim
and glorify God."
Fragment I.
By the omnipotent will of God all things are made, and the things that
are made are also preserved, being maintained according to their
several principles in perfect harmony by Him who is in His nature the
omnipotent God and maker of all things, [1714] His divine will
remaining unalterable by which He has made and moves all things,
sustained as they severally are by their own natural laws. [1715] For
the infinite cannot in any manner or by any account be susceptible of
movement, inasmuch as it has nothing towards which and nothing around
which it shall be moved. For in the case of that which is in its nature
infinite, and so incapable of being moved, movement would be
conversion. [1716] Wherefore also the Word of God being made truly man
in our manner, yet without sin, and acting and enduring in man's way
such sinless things as are proper to our nature, and assuming the
circumscription of the flesh of our nature on our behalf, sustained no
conversion in that aspect in which He is one with the Father, being
made in no respect one with the flesh through the exinanition. [1717]
But as He was without flesh, [1718] He remained without any
circumscription. And through the flesh He wrought divinely [1719] those
things which are proper to divinity, showing Himself to have both those
natures in both of which He wrought, I mean the divine and the human,
according to that veritable and real and natural subsistence, [1720]
(showing Himself thus) as both being in reality and as being understood
to be at one and the same time infinite God and finite man, having the
nature [1721] of each in perfection, with the same activity, [1722]
that is to say, the same natural properties; [1723] whence we know that
their distinction abides always according to the nature of each, and
without conversion. But it is not (i.e., the distinction between deity
and humanity), as some say, a merely comparative (or relative) matter,
[1724] that we may not speak in an unwarrantable manner of a greater
and a less in one who is ever the same in Himself. [1725] For
comparisons can be instituted only between objects of like nature, and
not between objects of unlike nature. But between God the Maker of all
things and that which is made, between the infinite and the finite,
between infinitude and finitude, there can be no kind of comparison,
since these differ from each other not in mere comparison (or
relatively), but absolutely in essence. And yet at the same time there
has been effected a certain inexpressible and irrefragable union of the
two into one substance, [1726] which entirely passes the understanding
of anything that is made. For the divine is just the same after the
incarnation that it was before the incarnation; in its essence
infinite, illimitable, impassible, incomparable, unchangeable,
inconvertable, self-potent, [1727] and, in short, subsisting in essence
alone the infinitely worthy good.
__________________________________________________________________
[1711] kata stoicheion. The Latin title in the version of Anastasius
renders it "ex sermone qui est per elementum."
[1712] peri theologias.
[1713] For Elikosthe Codex Regius et Colbertinus of Nicephorus prefers
"Elikionos. Fabricius conjectures that we should read elikioto
hairetikon, so that the title would be, Against Beron and his
fellow-heretics. [N.B. Beron = "Vero".]
[1714] auto to...Theo.
[1715] tois hekasta phusikois diexagomena nomois. Anastasius makes it
naturalibus producta legibus; Capperonnier, suis quaeque legibus
temperata vel ordinata.
[1716] trope gar tou kata phusin apeirou, kineisthai me pephukotos , he
kinesis; or may the sense be, "for a change in that which is in its
nature infinite would just be the moving of that which is incapable of
movement?"
[1717] med' heni pantelos ho tauton esti to Patri genomenos tauton te
sarki dia ten kenosin. Thus in effect Combefisius, correcting the Latin
version of Anastasius. Baunius adopts the reading in the Greek Codex
Nicephori, viz., henosin for kenosin, and renders it, "In nothing was
the Word, who is the same with the Father, made the same with the flesh
through the union:" nulla re Verbum quod idem est cum Patre factum est
idem cum carne propter unionem.
[1718] dicha sarkos, i.e., what He was before assuming the flesh, that
He continued to be in Himself, viz., independent of limitation.
[1719] theikos.
[1720] Or existence, huparxin. Anastasius makes it substantia.
[1721] ousian.
[1722] energeias.
[1723] phusikes idiotetos.
[1724] kata sunkrisin. Migne follows Capperonnier in taking sunkrisis
in this passage to mean not "comparison" or "relation," but
"commixture," the "concretion and commixture" of the divine and human,
which was the error of Apollinaris and Eutyches in their doctrine of
the incarnation, and which had been already refuted by Tertullian,
Contra Praxeam, c. xxvii.
[1725] Or, "for that would be to speak of the same being as greater and
less than Himself."
[1726] upostasin.
[1727] autosthenes.
__________________________________________________________________
Fragment II.
The God of all things therefore became truly, according to the
Scriptures, without conversion, sinless man, and that in a manner known
to Himself alone, as He is the natural Artificer of things which are
above our comprehension. And by that same saving act of the incarnation
[1728] He introduced into the flesh the activity of His proper
divinity, yet without having it (that activity) either circumscribed by
the flesh through the exinanition, or growing naturally out of the
flesh as it grew out of His divinity, [1729] but manifested through it
in the things which He wrought in a divine manner in His incarnate
state. For the flesh did not become divinity in nature by a
transmutation of nature, as though it became essentially flesh of
divinity. But what it was before, that also it continued to be in
nature and activity when united with divinity, even as the Saviour
said, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." [1730] And
working and enduring in the flesh things which were proper to sinless
flesh, He proved the evacuation of divinity (to be) for our sakes,
confirmed as it was by wonders and by sufferings of the flesh
naturally. For with this purpose did the God of all things become man,
viz., in order that by suffering in the flesh, which is susceptible of
suffering, He might redeem our whole race, which was sold to death; and
that by working wondrous things by His divinity, which is unsusceptible
of suffering, through the medium of the flesh He might restore it to
that incorruptible and blessed life from which it fell away by yielding
to the devil; and that He might establish the holy orders of
intelligent existences in the heavens in immutability by the mystery of
His incarnation, [1731] the doing of which is the recapitulation of all
things in himself. [1732] He remained therefore, also, after His
incarnation, according to nature, God infinite, and more, [1733] having
the activity proper and suitable to Himself,--an activity growing out
of His divinity essentially, and manifested through His perfectly holy
flesh by wondrous acts economically, to the intent that He might be
believed in as God, while working out of Himself [1734] by the flesh,
which by nature is weak, the salvation of the universe.
__________________________________________________________________
[1728] soterion sarkosin.
[1729] oud' hosper tes autou theotetos houto kai autes phusikos
ekphuomenen.
[1730] Matt. xxvi. 41.
[1731] somatoseos.
[1732] Referring probably to Eph. i. 10.
[1733] huperapeiros.
[1734] autourgon.
__________________________________________________________________
Fragment III.
Now, with the view of explaining, by means of an illustration, what has
been said concerning the Saviour, (I may say that) the power of thought
[1735] which I have by nature is proper and suitable to me, as being
possessed of a rational and intelligent soul; and to this soul there
pertains, according to nature, a self-moved energy and first power,
ever-moving, to wit, the thought that streams from it naturally. This
thought I utter, when there is occasion, by fitting it to words, and
expressing it rightly in signs, using the tongue as an organ, or
artificial characters, showing that it is heard, though it comes into
actuality by means of objects foreign to itself, and yet is not changed
itself by those foreign objects. [1736] For my natural thought does not
belong to the tongue or the letters, although I effect its utterance by
means of these; but it belongs to me, who speak according to my nature,
and by means of both these express it as my own, streaming as it does
always from my intelligent soul according to its nature, and uttered by
means of my bodily tongue organically, as I have said, when there is
occasion. Now, to institute a comparison with that which is utterly
beyond comparison, just as in us the power of thought that belongs by
nature to the soul is brought to utterance by means of our bodily
tongue without any change in itself, so, too, in the wondrous
incarnation [1737] of God is the omnipotent and all-creating energy of
the entire deity [1738] manifested without mutation in itself, by means
of His perfectly holy flesh, and in the works which He wrought after a
divine manner, (that energy of the deity) remaining in its essence free
from all circumscription, although it shone through the flesh, which is
itself essentially limited. For that which is in its nature
unoriginated cannot be circumscribed by an originated nature, although
this latter may have grown into one with it [1739] by a conception
which circumscribes all understanding: [1740] nor can this be ever
brought into the same nature and natural activity with that, so long as
they remain each within its own proper and inconvertible nature. [1741]
For it is only in objects of the same nature that there is the motion
that works the same works, showing that the being [1742] whose power is
natural is incapable in any manner of being or becoming the possession
of a being of a different nature without mutation. [1743]
__________________________________________________________________
[1735] logos.
[1736] The text is, dia ton anomoion men uparchonta. Anastasius reads
me for men.
[1737] somatoseos.
[1738] tes holes theotetos.
[1739] sunephu.
[1740] Kata sullepsin panta perigraphousan noun.
[1741] oute men eis t' auton auto pheresthai phuseos pote kai phusikes
energeias , heos an hekateron tes idias entos menei phusikes atrepsias.
To pheresthai we supply again pephuke.
[1742] ousian.
[1743] The sense is extremely doubtful here. The text runs thus:
homophuon gar monon he tautourgos esti kinesis semainousa ten ousian,
hes phusike kathesteke dunamis, heterophuous idiotetos ousias einai
kat' oudena logon, e genesthai dicha tropes dunamenen. Anastasius
renders it: Connaturalium enim tantum per se operans est motus,
manifestans substantiam, cujus naturalem constat esse virtutem:
diversae naturae proprietatis substantia nulla naturae esse vel fieri
sine convertibilitate valente.
__________________________________________________________________
Fragment IV.
For, in the view of apostles and prophets and teachers, the mystery of
the divine incarnation has been distinguished as having two points of
contemplation natural to it, [1744] distinct in all things, inasmuch as
on the one hand it is the subsistence of perfect deity, and on the
other is demonstrative of full humanity. As long, therefore, [1745] as
the Word is acknowledged to be in substance one, of one energy, there
shall never in any way be known a movement [1746] in the two. For while
God, who is essentially ever-existent, became by His infinite power,
according to His will, sinless man, He is what He was, in all wherein
God is known; and what He became, He is in all wherein man is known and
can be recognised. In both aspects of Himself He never falls out of
Himself, [1747] in His divine activities and in His human alike,
preserving in both relations His own essentially unchangeable
perfection.
__________________________________________________________________
[1744] ditten kai diaphoran echon diegnostai ten en pasi phusiken
theorian.
[1745] The text goes, heos an ouch, which is adopted by Combefisius.
But Capperonnier and Migne read oun for ouch, as we have rendered it.
[1746] Change, kinesis.
[1747] menei anekptotos.
__________________________________________________________________
Fragment V.
For lately a certain person, Beron, along with some others, forsook the
delusion of Valentinus, only to involve themselves in deeper error,
affirming that the flesh assumed to Himself by the Word became capable
of working like works with the deity [1748] by virtue of its
assumption, and that the deity became susceptible of suffering in the
same way with the flesh [1749] by virtue of the exinanition; [1750] and
thus they assert the doctrine that there was at the same time a
conversion and a mixing and a fusing [1751] of the two aspects one with
the other. For if the flesh that was assumed became capable of working
like works with the deity, it is evident that it also became God in
essence in all wherein God is essentially known. And if the deity by
the exinanition became susceptible of the same sufferings with the
flesh, it is evident that it also became in essence flesh in all
wherein flesh essentially can be known. For objects that act in like
manner, [1752] and work like works, and are altogether of like kind,
and are susceptible of like suffering with each other, admit of no
difference of nature; and if the natures are fused together, [1753]
Christ will be a duality; [1754] and if the persons [1755] are
separated, there will be a quaternity, [1756] --a thing which is
altogether to be avoided. And how will they conceive of the one and the
same Christ, who is at once God and man by nature? And what manner of
existence will He have according to them, if He has become man by a
conversion of the deity, and if he has become God by a change of the
flesh? For the mutation [1757] of these, the one into the other, is a
complete subversion of both. Let the discussion, then, be considered by
us again in a different way.
__________________________________________________________________
[1748] genesthai tautourgon te theoteti.
[1749] tautopathe te sarki.
[1750] kenosin.
[1751] sunchusin.
[1752] homoerge.
[1753] sunkechumenon. [Vol. iii. p. 623].
[1754] duas.
[1755] prosopon.
[1756] tetras, i.e., instead of Trinity [the Trias].
[1757] metaptosis. [Compare the Athanasian Confession].
__________________________________________________________________
Fragment VI.
Among Christians it is settled as the doctrine of piety, that,
according to nature itself, and to the activity and to whatever else
pertains thereunto, God is equal and the same with Himself, [1758]
having nothing that is His unequal to Himself at all and heterogeneous.
[1759] If, then, according to Beron, the flesh that He assumed to
Himself became possessed of the like natural energy with them, it is
evident that it also became possessed of the like nature with Him in
all wherein that nature consists,--to wit, non-origination,
non-generation, infinitude, eternity, incomprehensibility, and whatever
else in the way of the transcendent the theological mind discerns in
deity; and thus they both underwent conversion, neither the one nor the
other preserving any more the substantial relation of its own proper
nature. [1760] For he who recognises an identical operation [1761] in
things of unlike nature, introduces at the same time a fusion of
natures and a separation of persons, [1762] their natural existence
[1763] being made entirely undistinguishable by the transference of
properties. [1764]
__________________________________________________________________
[1758] hison heauto kai tauton.
[1759] akatallelon.
[1760] tes idias phuseos ousiode logon.
[1761] tautourgian.
[1762] diairesin prosopiken.
[1763] huparxeos.
[1764] hidiomaton.
__________________________________________________________________
Fragment VII.
But if it (the flesh) did not become of like nature with that (the
deity), neither shall it ever become of like natural energy with that;
that He may not be shown to have His energy unequal with His nature,
and heterogeneous, and, through all that pertains to Himself, to have
entered on an existence outside of His natural equality and identity,
[1765] which is an impious supposition.
__________________________________________________________________
[1765] phusikes exo gegonos isotetos kai tautoetos.
__________________________________________________________________
Fragment VIII.
Into this error, then, have they been carried, by believing, unhappily,
that that divine energy was made the property of the flesh which was
only manifested through the flesh in His miraculous actions; by which
energy Christ, in so far as He is apprehended as God, gave existence to
the universe, and now maintains and governs it. For they did not
perceive that it is impossible for the energy of the divine nature to
become the property [1766] of a being of a different nature [1767]
apart from conversion; nor did they understand that that is not by any
means the property of the flesh which is only manifested through it,
and does not spring out of it according to nature; and yet the proof
thereof was clear and evident to them. For I, by speaking with the
tongue and writing with the hand, reveal through both these one and the
same thought of my intelligent soul, its energy (or operation) being
natural; in no way showing it as springing naturally out of tongue or
hand; nor yet (showing) even the spoken thought as made to belong to
them in virtue of its revelation by their means. For no intelligent
person ever recognised tongue or hand as capable of thought, just as
also no one ever recognised the perfectly holy flesh of God, in virtue
of its assumption, and in virtue of the revelation of the divine energy
through its medium, as becoming in nature creative. [1768] But the
pious confession of the believer is that, with a view to our salvation,
and in order to connect the universe with unchangeableness, the Creator
of all things incorporated with Himself [1769] a rational soul and a
sensible [1770] body from the all-holy Mary, ever-virgin, by an
undefiled conception, without conversion, and was made man in nature,
but separate from wickedness: the same was perfect God, and the same
was perfect man; the same was in nature at once perfect God and man. In
His deity He wrought divine things through His all-holy flesh,--such
things, namely, as did not pertain to the flesh by nature; and in His
humanity He suffered human things,--such things, namely, as did not
pertain to deity by nature, by the upbearing of the deity. [1771] He
wrought nothing divine without the body; [1772] nor did the same do
anything human without the participation of deity. [1773] Thus He
preserved for Himself a new and fitting method [1774] by which He
wrought (according to the manner of) both, while that which was natural
to both remained unchanged; [1775] to the accrediting [1776] of His
perfect incarnation, [1777] which is really genuine, and has nothing
lacking in it. [1778] Beron, therefore, since the case stands with him
as I have already stated, confounding together in nature the deity and
the humanity of Christ in a single energy, [1779] and again separating
them in person, subverts the life, not knowing that identical operation
[1780] is indicative of the connatural identity only of connatural
persons. [1781]
------------------------
__________________________________________________________________
[1766] idioma.
[1767] heterophanous ousias.
[1768] demiourgon.
[1769] enousiosas.
[1770] Or sensitive, aisthetikou.
[1771] anoche paschon theotetos.
[1772] gumnon somatos.
[1773] amoiron drasas theotetos.
[1774] kainoprepe tropon.
[1775] to kat' ampho phusikos analloioton.
[1776] eis pistosin.
[1777] enanthropeseos. [See Athanasian Creed, in Dutch Hymnal.]
[1778] meden echouses phaulotetos.
[1779] energeias monadi.
[1780] tautourgian.
[1781] mones tes ton homophuon prosopon homophuous tautotetos.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
The Discourse on the Holy Theophany.
1. Good, yea, very good, are all the works of our God and Saviour--all
of them that eye seeth and mind perceiveth, all that reason interprets
and hand handles, all that intellect comprehends and human nature
understands. For what richer beauty can there be than that of the
circle [1782] of heaven? And what form of more blooming fairness than
that of earth's surface? And what is there swifter in the course than
the chariot of the sun? And what more graceful car than the lunar orb?
[1783] And what work more wonderful than the compact mosaic of the
stars? [1784] And what more productive of supplies than the seasonable
winds? And what more spotless mirror than the light of day? And what
creature more excellent than man? Very good, then, are all the works of
our God and Saviour. And what more requisite gift, again, is there than
the element [1785] of water? For with water all things are washed and
nourished, and cleansed and bedewed. Water bears the earth, water
produces the dew, water exhilarates the vine; water matures the corn in
the ear, water ripens the grapecluster, water softens the olive, water
sweetens the palm-date, water reddens the rose and decks the violet,
water makes the lily bloom with its brilliant cups. And why should I
speak at length? Without the element of water, none of the present
order of things can subsist. So necessary is the element of water; for
the other elements [1786] took their places beneath the highest vault
of the heavens, but the nature of water obtained a seat also above the
heavens. And to this the prophet himself is a witness, when he
exclaims, "Praise the Lord, ye heavens of heavens, and the water that
is above the heavens." [1787]
2. Nor is this the only thing that proves the dignity [1788] of the
water. But there is also that which is more honourable than all--the
fact that Christ, the Maker of all, came down as the rain, [1789] and
was known as a spring, [1790] and diffused Himself as a river, [1791]
and was baptized in the Jordan. [1792] For you have just heard how
Jesus came to John, and was baptized by him in the Jordan. Oh things
strange beyond compare! How should the boundless River [1793] that
makes glad the city of God have been dipped in a little water! The
illimitable Spring that bears life to all men, and has no end, was
covered by poor and temporary waters! He who is present everywhere, and
absent nowhere--who is incomprehensible to angels and invisible to
men--comes to the baptism according to His own good pleasure. When you
hear these things, beloved, take them not as if spoken literally, but
accept them as presented in a figure. [1794] Whence also the Lord was
not unnoticed by the watery element in what He did in secret, in the
kindness of His condescension to man. "For the waters saw Him, and were
afraid." [1795] They well-nigh broke from their place, and burst away
from their boundary. Hence the prophet, having this in his view many
generations ago, puts the question, "What aileth thee, O sea, that thou
fleddest; and thou, Jordan, that thou wast driven back?" [1796] And
they in reply said, We have seen the Creator of all things in the "form
of a servant," [1797] and being ignorant of the mystery of the economy,
we were lashed with fear.
3. But we, who know the economy, adore His mercy, because He hath come
to save and not to judge the world. Wherefore John, the forerunner of
the Lord, who before knew not this mystery, on learning that He is Lord
in truth, cried out, and spake to those who came to be baptized of him,
"O generation of vipers," [1798] why look ye so earnestly at me? "I am
not the Christ;" [1799] I am the servant, and not the lord; I am the
subject, and not the king; I am the sheep, and not the shepherd; I am a
man, and not God. By my birth I loosed the barrenness of my mother; I
did not make virginity barren. [1800] I was brought up from beneath; I
did not come down from above. I bound the tongue of my father; [1801] I
did not unfold divine grace. I was known by my mother, and I was not
announced by a star. [1802] I am worthless, and the least; but "after
me there comes One who is before me" [1803] --after me, indeed, in
time, but before me by reason of the inaccessible and unutterable light
of divinity. "There comes One mightier than I, whose shoes I am not
worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with
fire." [1804] I am subject to authority, but He has authority in
Himself. I am bound by sins, but He is the Remover of sins. I apply
[1805] the law, but He bringeth grace to light. I teach as a slave, but
He judgeth as the Master. I have the earth as my couch, but He
possesses heaven. I baptize with the baptism of repentance, but He
confers the gift of adoption: "He shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost, and with fire." Why give ye attention to me? I am not the
Christ.
4. As John says these things to the multitude, and as the people watch
in eager expectation of seeing some strange spectacle with their bodily
eyes, and the devil [1806] is struck with amazement at such a testimony
from John, lo, the Lord appears, plain, solitary, uncovered, [1807]
without escort, [1808] having on Him the body of man like a garment,
and hiding the dignity of the Divinity, that He may elude the snares of
the dragon. And not only did He approach John as Lord without royal
retinue; but even like a mere man, and one involved in sin, He bent His
head to be baptized by John. Wherefore John, on seeing so great a
humbling of Himself, was struck with astonishment at the affair, and
began to prevent Him, saying, as ye have just heard, "I have need to be
baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?" [1809] What doest Thou, O
Lord? Thou teachest things not according to rule. [1810] I have
preached one thing (regarding Thee), and Thou performest another; the
devil has heard one thing, and perceives another. Baptize me with the
fire of Divinity; why waitest Thou for water? Enlighten me with the
Spirit; why dost Thou attend upon a creature? Baptize me, the Baptist,
that Thy pre-eminence may be known. I, O Lord, baptize with the baptism
of repentance, and I cannot baptize those who come to me unless they
first confess fully their sins. Be it so then that I baptize Thee, what
hast Thou to confess? Thou art the Remover of sins, and wilt Thou be
baptized with the baptism of repentance? Though I should venture to
baptize Thee, the Jordan dares not to come near Thee. "I have need to
be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?"
5. And what saith the Lord to him? "Suffer it to be so now, for thus
it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." [1811] "Suffer it to be so
now," John; thou art not wiser than I. Thou seest as man; I foreknow as
God. It becomes me to do this first, and thus to teach. I engage in
nothing unbecoming, for I am invested with honour. Dost thou marvel, O
John, that I am not come in my dignity? The purple robe of kings suits
not one in private station, but military splendour suits a king: am I
come to a prince, and not to a friend? "Suffer it to be so now for thus
it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness:" I am the Fulfiller of the
law; I seek to leave nothing wanting to its whole fulfilment, that so
after me Paul may exclaim, "Christ is the fulfilling of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth." [1812] "Suffer it to be
so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Baptize
me, John, in order that no one may despise baptism. I am baptized by
thee, the servant, that no one among kings or dignitaries may scorn to
be baptized by the hand of a poor priest. Suffer me to go down into the
Jordan, in order that they may hear my Father's testimony, and
recognise the power of the Son. "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it
becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Then at length John suffers
Him. "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the
water: and the heavens were opened unto Him; and, lo, the Spirit of God
descended like a dove, and rested upon Him. And a voice (came) from
heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
[1813]
6. Do you see, beloved, how many and how great blessings we would have
lost, if the Lord had yielded to the exhortation of John, and declined
baptism? For the heavens were shut before this; the region above was
inaccessible. We would in that case descend to the lower parts, but we
would not ascend to the upper. But was it only that the Lord was
baptized? He also renewed the old man, and committed to him again the
sceptre of adoption. For straightway "the heavens were opened to Him."
A reconciliation took place of the visible with the invisible; the
celestial orders were filled with joy; the diseases of earth were
healed; secret things were made known; those at enmity were restored to
amity. For you have heard the word of the evangelist, saying, "The
heavens were opened to Him," on account of three wonders. For when
Christ the Bridegroom was baptized, it was meet that the bridal-chamber
of heaven should open its brilliant gates. And in like manner also,
when the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and the Father's
voice spread everywhere, it was meet that "the gates of heaven should
be lifted up." [1814] "And, lo, the heavens were opened to Him; and a
voice was heard, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased."
7. The beloved generates love, and the light immaterial the light
inaccessible. [1815] "This is my beloved Son," He who, being manifested
on earth and yet unseparated from the Father's bosom, was manifested,
and yet did not appear. [1816] For the appearing is a different thing,
since in appearance the baptizer here is superior to the baptized. For
this reason did the Father send down the Holy Spirit from heaven upon
Him who was baptized. For as in the ark of Noah the love of God toward
man is signified by the dove, so also now the Spirit, descending in the
form of a dove, bearing as it were the fruit of the olive, rested on
Him to whom the witness was borne. For what reason? That the
faithfulness of the Father's voice might be made known, and that the
prophetic utterance of a long time past might be ratified. And what
utterance is this? "The voice of the Lord (is) on the waters, the God
of glory thundered; the Lord (is) upon many waters." [1817] And what
voice? "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." This is He
who is named the son of Joseph, and (who is) according to the divine
essence my Only-begotten. "This is my beloved Son"--He who is hungry,
and yet maintains myriads; who is weary, and yet gives rest to the
weary; who has not where to lay His head, [1818] and yet bears up all
things in His hand; who suffers, and yet heals sufferings; who is
smitten, [1819] and yet confers liberty on the world; [1820] who is
pierced in the side, [1821] and yet repairs the side of Adam. [1822]
8. But give me now your best attention, I pray you, for I wish to go
back to the fountain of life, and to view the fountain that gushes with
healing. The Father of immortality sent the immortal Son and Word into
the world, who came to man in order to wash him with water and the
Spirit; and He, begetting us again to incorruption of soul and body,
breathed into us the breath (spirit) of life, and endued us with an
incorruptible panoply. If, therefore, man has become immortal, he will
also be God. [1823] And if he is made God by water and the Holy Spirit
after the regeneration of the laver [1824] he is found to be also
joint-heir with Christ [1825] after the resurrection from the dead.
Wherefore I preach to this effect: Come, all ye kindreds of the
nations, to the immortality of the baptism. I bring good tidings of
life to you who tarry in the darkness of ignorance. Come into liberty
from slavery, into a kingdom from tyranny, into incorruption from
corruption. And how, saith one, shall we come? How? By water and the
Holy Ghost. This is the water in conjunction with the Spirit, by which
paradise is watered, by which the earth is enriched, by which plants
grow, by which animals multiply, and (to sum up the whole in a single
word) by which man is begotten again and endued with life, in which
also Christ was baptized, and in which the Spirit descended in the form
of a dove.
9. This is the Spirit that at the beginning "moved upon the face of the
waters;" [1826] by whom the world moves; by whom creation consists, and
all things have life; who also wrought mightily in the prophets, [1827]
and descended in flight upon Christ. [1828] This is the Spirit that was
given to the apostles in the form of fiery tongues. [1829] This is the
Spirit that David sought when he said, "Create in me a clean heart, O
God, and renew a right spirit within me." [1830] Of this Spirit Gabriel
also spoke to the Virgin, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee." [1831] By this Spirit
Peter spake that blessed word, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God." [1832] By this Spirit the rock of the Church was
stablished. [1833] This is the Spirit, the Comforter, that is sent
because of thee, [1834] that He may show thee to be the Son [1835] of
God.
10. Come then, be begotten again, O man, into the adoption of God. And
how? says one. If thou practisest adultery no more, and committest not
murder, and servest not idols; if thou art not overmastered by
pleasure; if thou dost not suffer the feeling of pride to rule thee; if
thou cleanest off the filthiness of impurity, and puttest off the
burden of sin; if thou castest off the armour of the devil, and puttest
on the breastplate of faith, even as Isaiah saith, "Wash you, and seek
judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and plead for
the widow. And come and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though
your sins be as scarlet, I shall make them white as snow; and though
they be like crimson, I shall make them white as wool. And if ye be
willing, and hear my voice, ye shall eat the good of the land." [1836]
Do you see, beloved, how the prophet spake beforetime of the purifying
power of baptism? For he who comes down in faith to the laver of
regeneration, and renounces the devil, and joins himself to Christ; who
denies the enemy, and makes the confession that Christ is God; who puts
off the bondage, and puts on the adoption,--he comes up from the
baptism brilliant as the sun, [1837] flashing forth the beams of
righteousness, and, which is indeed the chief thing, he returns a son
of God and joint-heir with Christ. To Him be the glory and the power,
together with His most holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and
ever, and to all the ages of the ages. Amen.
------------------------
__________________________________________________________________
[1782] diskou.
[1783] seleniakou stoicheiou.
[1784] polupegetou ton astron mousiou.
[1785] phuseos.
[1786] stoicheia.
[1787] Ps. cxlviii. 4. [Pindar (Ariston men hudor, Olymp., i. 1), is
expounded and then transcended.]
[1788] axiopistian.
[1789] Hos. vi. 3.
[1790] John iv. 14.
[1791] John vii. 38.
[1792] Matt. iii. 13.
[1793] Ps. xlvi. 4.
[1794] Economically.
[1795] Ps. lxxvii. 16.
[1796] Ps. cxiv. 5.
[1797] Phil. ii. 7.
[1798] Matt. iii. 7.
[1799] John i. 20.
[1800] ou parthenian esteirosa. So Gregory Thaumaturgus, Sancta
Theophania, p. 106, edit. Vossii: "Thou, when born of the Virgin
Mary,...didst not loose her virginity; but didst preserve it, and
gifted her with the name of mother."
[1801] Luke i. 20.
[1802] Matt. ii. 9.
[1803] John i. 27.
[1804] Matt. iii. 11.
[1805] parapto.
[1806] It was a common opinion among the ancient theologians that the
devil was ignorant of the mystery of the economy, founding on such
passages as Matt. iv. 3, 1 Cor. ii. 8. (Fabricius.) [See Ignatius,
vol. i. p. 57, this series.]
[1807] gumnos.
[1808] aprostateutos.
[1809] Matt. iii. 14.
[1810] akanonista dogmatizeis.
[1811] Matt. iii. 15.
[1812] Rom. x. 4.
[1813] Matt. iii. 16, 17.
[1814] Ps. xxiv. 7.
[1815] phos aulon genna phos aprositon. The Son is called "Light of
Light" in the Discourse against Noetus, ch. x. [See p. 227 supra.] In
phos aprositon the reference is to 1 Tim. vi. 16.
[1816] epephane ouk ephane. See Dorner's Doctrine of the Person of
Christ, div. i. vol. ii. p. 97 (Clark).
[1817] Ps. xxix. 3.
[1818] Luke ix. 5. [Compare the Paradoxes, attributed to Bacon, in his
Works, vol. xiv. p. 143; also the Appendix, pp. 139-142.]
[1819] rhapizomenos, referring to the slap in the process of
manumitting slaves.
[1820] Heb. i. 3.
[1821] Matt. xxvi. 67. [From which proceeds His Church.]
[1822] That is, the sin introduced by Eve, who was formed by God out of
Adam's side. (Fabricius.)
[1823] estai kai Theos, referring probably to 2 Pet. i. 4, hina dia
touton genesthe theias koinonoi phuseos, "that by these ye might be
partakers of the divine nature." [See vol. iii. p. 317, note 11.
Tertullian anticipates the language of the "Athanasian
Confession,"--"taking the manhood into God;" applicable, through
Christ, to our redeemed humanity. Eph. ii. 6; Rev. iii. 21.]
[1824] kolumbethras.
[1825] Rom. viii. 17.
[1826] Gen. i. 2.
[1827] Acts xxviii. 25.
[1828] Matt. iii. 16.
[1829] Acts ii. 3.
[1830] Ps. li. 10.
[1831] Luke i. 35.
[1832] Matt. xvi. 16.
[1833] Matt. xvi. 18.
[1834] John xvi. 26.
[1835] teknon.
[1836] Isa. i. 16-19.
[1837] This seems to refer to what the poets sing as to the sun rising
out of the waves of ocean. (Fabricius.) [Note, this is not said of such
as Simon Magus, but of one who puts off the bondage, i.e., of
corruption. Our author's perorations are habitually sublime.]
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Fragments of Discourses or Homilies.
I. [1838]
From the Discourse of Hippolytus, Bishop of Rome, on the Resurrection
and Incorruption.
Men, he says, "in the resurrection will be like the angels of God,"
[1839] to wit, in incorruption, and immortality, and incapacity of
loss. [1840] For the incorruptible nature is not the subject of
generation; [1841] it grows not, sleeps not, hungers not, thirsts not,
is not wearied, suffers not, dies not, is not pierced by nails and
spear, sweats not, drops not with blood. Of such kind are the natures
of the angels and of souls released from the body. For both these are
of another kind, and different from these creatures of our world, which
are visible and perishing.
__________________________________________________________________
[1838] From a Discourse on the Resurrection, in Anastasius Sinaita,
Hodegus, p. 350. This treatise is mentioned in the list of his works
given on the statue, and also by Jerome, Sophronius, Nicephorus,
Honorius, etc.
[1839] Matt. xxii. 30.
[1840] areusia.
[1841] gennatai.
__________________________________________________________________
II. [1842]
From the Discourse of St. Hippolytus, Bishop and Martyr, on the Divine
Nature. [1843]
God is capable of willing, but not of not willing [1844] for that
pertains only to one that changes and makes choice; [1845] for things
that are being made follow the eternal will of God, by which also
things that are made abide sustained.
__________________________________________________________________
[1842] From the Discourse on the Theology or the Doctrine of Christ's
Divine Nature, extant in the Acts of the Lateran Council, under
Martinus 1., ann. 649, secret. v. p. 287, vol. vii. edit. Veneto-Labb.
[1843] peri theologias.
[1844] ou to me thelein.
[1845] treptou kai proairetou.
__________________________________________________________________
III. [1846]
St. Hippolytus, Bishop and Martyr, in his Homily on the Paschal Supper.
He was altogether [1847] in all, and everywhere; and though He filleth
the universe up to all the principalities of the air, He stripped
Himself again. And for a brief space He cries that the cup might pass
from Him, with a view to show truly that He was also man. [1848] But
remembering, too, the purpose for which He was sent, He fulfils the
dispensation (economy) for which He was sent, and exclaims, "Father,
not my will," [1849] and, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is
weak." [1850]
__________________________________________________________________
[1846] From a Homily on the Lord's Paschal Supper, ibid., p. 293.
[1847] holos.
[1848] kai anthropos, also man. See Grabe, Bull's Defens. Fid. Nic., p.
103.
[1849] Luke xxii. 42.
[1850] Matt. xxvi. 41.
__________________________________________________________________
IV. [1851]
1. Take me, O Samuel, the heifer brought to Bethlehem, in order to show
the king begotten of David, and him who is anointed to be king and
priest by the Father.
2. Tell me, O blessed Mary, what that was that was conceived by thee in
the womb, and what that was that was born by thee in thy virgin matrix.
For it was the first-born Word of God that descended to thee from
heaven, and was formed as a first-born man in the womb, in order that
the first-born Word of God might be shown to be united with a
first-born man.
3. And in the second (form),--to wit, by the prophets, as by Samuel,
calling back and delivering the people from the slavery of the aliens.
And in the third (form), that in which He was incarnate, taking to
Himself humanity from the Virgin, in which character also He saw the
city, and wept over it.
__________________________________________________________________
[1851] From a Discourse on Elkanah and Hannah. In Theodoret, Dial. I.,
bearing the title "Unchangeable" (atreptos); Works, vol. iv. p. 36.
__________________________________________________________________
V. [1852]
And for this reason three seasons of the year prefigured the Saviour
Himself, so that He should fulfil the mysteries prophesied of Him. In
the Passover season, so as to exhibit Himself as one destined to be
sacrificed like a sheep, and to prove Himself the true Paschal-lamb,
even as the apostle says, "Even Christ," who is God, "our passover was
sacrificed for us." [1853] And at Pentecost so as to presignify the
kingdom of heaven as He Himself first ascended to heaven and brought
man as a gift to God. [1854]
__________________________________________________________________
[1852] From the same Discourse. From Theodoret's Second Dialogue,
bearing the title "Unmixed," asunchutos; Works, vol. iv. p. 88.
[1853] 1 Cor. v. 7.
[1854] [Man's nature was never before in heaven. John iii. 13; Acts ii.
34.]
__________________________________________________________________
VI. [1855]
And an ark of imperishable wood was the Saviour Himself. For by this
was signified the imperishable and incorruptible tabernacle (of His
body), which engendered no corruption of sin. For the man who has
sinned also has this confession to make: "My wounds stank, and were
corrupt, because of my foolishness." [1856] But the Lord was without
sin, being of imperishable wood in respect of His humanity,--that is to
say, being of the Virgin and the Holy Spirit, covered, as it were,
within and without with the purest gold of the Word of God.
__________________________________________________________________
[1855] From an Oration on "The Lord is my Shepherd." In Theodoret,
Dial. I. p. 36.
[1856] Ps. xxxviii. 5.
__________________________________________________________________
VII. [1857]
1. He who rescued from the lowest hell the first-formed man of earth
when he was lost and bound with the chains of death; He who came down
from above, and raised the earthy on high; [1858] He who became the
evangelist of the dead, and the redeemer of the souls, and the
resurrection of the buried,--He was constituted the helper of
vanquished man, being made like him Himself, (so that) the first-born
Word acquainted Himself with the first-formed Adam in the Virgin; He
who is spiritual sought out the earthy in the womb; He who is the
ever-living One sought out him who, through disobedience, is subject to
death; He who is heavenly called the terrene to the things that are
above; He who is the nobly-born sought, by means of His own subjection,
to declare the slave free; He transformed the man into adamant who was
dissolved into dust and made the food of the serpent, and declared Him
who hung on the tree to be Lord over the conqueror, and thus through
the tree He is found victor.
2. For they who know not now the Son of God incarnate, shall know in
Him who comes as Judge in glory, Him who is now despised in the body of
His humiliation.
3. And the apostles, when they came to the sepulchre on the third day,
did not find the body of Jesus; just as the children of Israel went up
the mount and sought for the tomb of Moses, but did not find it.
__________________________________________________________________
[1857] From a Discourse on the "Great Song" [i.e., Ps. xc. See Bunsen,
i. p. 285. Some suppose it Ps. cxix.] In Theodoret, Dial. II. pp. 88,
89.
[1858] ton kato eis ta ano. [See p. 238, note 17, supra.]
__________________________________________________________________
VIII. [1859]
Under the figure of Egypt he described the world; and under things made
with hands, idolatry; and under the earthquake, the subversion, and
dissolution of the earth itself. And he represented the Lord the Word
as a light cloud, the purest tabernacle, enthroned on which our Lord
Jesus Christ entered into this life in order to subvert error.
__________________________________________________________________
[1859] From a Discourse on the beginning of Isaiah. In Theodoret, Dial.
I. p. 36.
__________________________________________________________________
IX. [1860]
Now Hippolytus, the martyr and bishop of [the Province of] Rome, in his
second discourse on Daniel, speaks thus:--
Then indeed Azarias, standing along with the others, made their
acknowledgments to God with song and prayer in the midst of the
furnace. Beginning thus with His holy and glorious and honourable name,
they came to the works of the Lord themselves, and named first of all
those of heaven, and glorified Him, saying, "Bless the Lord, all ye
works of the Lord." Then they passed to the sons of men, and taking up
their hymn in order, they then named the spirits [that people Tartarus
[1861] beneath the earth,] and the souls of the righteous, in order
that they might praise God together with them.
__________________________________________________________________
[1860] From a second Oration on Daniel. In the tractate of Eustratius,
a presbyter of the Church of Constantinople, "Against those who allege
that souls, as soon as they are released from the body, cease to act,"
ch. xix., as edited by Allatius in his work on the Continuous Harmony
of the Western and the Eastern Church on the Dogma of Purgatory, p.
492. [Conf. Macaire, Theol. Orthod., ii. p. 725.]
[1861] [Nothing of this in the hymn: hence my brackets.]
__________________________________________________________________
X. [1862]
Now a person might say that these men, and those who hold a different
opinion, are yet near neighbours, being involved in like error. For
those men, indeed, either profess that Christ came into our life a mere
man, and deny the talent of His divinity, or else, acknowledging Him to
be God, they deny, on the other hand, His humanity, and teach that His
appearances to those who saw Him as man were illusory, inasmuch as He
did not bear with Him true manhood, but was rather a kind of phantom
manifestation. Of this class are, for example, Marcion and Valentinus,
and the Gnostics, who sunder the Word from the flesh, and thus set
aside the one talent, viz., the incarnation.
__________________________________________________________________
[1862] From an Oration on the Distribution of Talents. In Theodoret,
Dial. II. p. 88.
__________________________________________________________________
XI. [1863]
1. The body of the Lord presented both these to the world, the sacred
blood and the holy water.
2. And His body, though dead after the manner of man, possesses in it
great power of life. For streams which flow not from dead bodies flowed
forth from Him, viz., blood and water; in order that we might know what
power for life is held by the virtue that dwelt in His body, so as that
it appears not to be dead like others, and is able to shed forth for us
the springs of life.
3. And not a bone of the Holy Lamb is broken, this figure showing us
that suffering toucheth not His strength. For the bones are the
strength of the body.
__________________________________________________________________
[1863] From a Discourse on "The two Robbers." In Theodoret's Third
Dialogue, bearing the title "Impassible" (apathes), p. 156.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Fragments from Other Writings of Hippolytus. [1864]
I.
Now Hippolytus, a martyr for piety, who was bishop of the place called
Portus, near Rome, in his book Against all Heresies, wrote in these
terms:--
I perceive, then, that the matter is one of contention. For he [1865]
speaks thus: Christ kept the supper, then, on that day, and then
suffered; whence it is needful that I, too, should keep it in the same
manner as the Lord did. But he has fallen into error by not perceiving
that at the time when Christ suffered He did not eat the passover of
the law. [1866] For He was the passover that had been of old
proclaimed, and that was fulfilled on that determinate day.
__________________________________________________________________
[1864] Preserved by the author of the Chronicon Paschale, ex ed.
Cangii, p. 6.
[1865] i.e., the opponent of Hippolytus, one of the forerunners of the
Quartodecimans.
[1866] [For pro & con see Speaker's Com., note to Matt. xxvi.]
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II.
From the same.
And again the same (authority), in the first book of his treatise on
the Holy Supper, speaks thus:--
Now that neither in the first nor in the last there was anything false
is evident; for he who said of old, "I will not any more eat the
passover," [1867] probably partook of supper before the passover. But
the passover He did not eat, but He suffered; for it was not the time
for Him to eat.
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[1867] Luke xxii. 16.
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III. [1868]
Hippolytus, Bishop and Martyr, in a letter to a certain queen. [1869]
1. He calls Him, then, "the first-fruits of them that sleep," [1870] as
the "first-begotten of the dead." [1871] For He, having risen, and
being desirous to show that that same (body) had been raised which had
also died, when His disciples were in doubt, called Thomas to Him, and
said, "Reach hither; handle me, and see: for a spirit hath not bone
and flesh, as ye see me have." [1872]
2. In calling Him the first-fruits, he testified to that which we have
said, viz., that the Saviour, taking to Himself the flesh out of the
same lump, raised this same flesh, and made it the first-fruits of the
flesh of the righteous, in order that all we who have believed in the
hope of the Risen One may have the resurrection in expectation.
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[1868] From a Letter of Hippolytus to a certain queen. In Theodoret's
Dial. II., bearing the title "Unmixed" (asunchutos), and Dial. III.,
entitled "Impassible" (apathes) [pp. 238-239 supra].
[1869] On the question as to who this queen was, see Stephen le Moyne,
in notes to the Varia Sacra, pp. 1103, 1112. In the marble monument
mention is made of a letter of Hippolytus to Severina. [Bunsen decides
that she was only a princess, a daughter of Alexander Severus. See his
Hippolytus, i. p. 276.]
[1870] 1 Cor. xv. 20.
[1871] Col. i. 18.
[1872] John xx. 27; Luke xxiv. 39.
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The story of a maiden of Corinth, and a certain Magistrianus.
The account given by Hippolytus, the friend of the apostles. [1873]
In another little book bearing the name of Hippolytus, the friend of
the apostles, I found a story of the following nature:--
There lived a certain most noble and beautiful maiden [1874] in the
city of Corinth, in the careful exercise of a virtuous life. At that
time some persons falsely charged her before the judge there, who was a
Greek, with cursing the times, and the princes, and the images. Now
those who trafficked in such things, brought her beauty under the
notice of the impious judge, who lusted after women. And he gladly
received the accusation with his equine ears and lascivious thoughts.
And when she was brought before the bloodstained (judge), he was driven
still more frantic with profligate passion. But when, after bringing
every device to bear upon her, the profane than could not gain over
this woman of God, he subjected the noble maiden to various outrages.
And when he failed in these too, and was unable to seduce her from her
confession of Christ, the cruel judge became furious against her, and
gave her over to a punishment of the following nature: Placing the
chaste maiden in a brothel, he charged the manager, saying, Take this
woman, and bring me three nummi by her every day. And the man, exacting
the money from her by her dishonour, gave her up to any who sought her
in the brothel. And when the women-hunters knew that, they came to the
brothel, and, paying the price put upon their iniquity, sought to
seduce her. But this most honourable maiden, taking counsel with
herself to deceive them, called them to her, and earnestly besought
them, saying: I have a certain ulceration of the pudenda, which has an
extremely hateful stench; and I am afraid that ye might come to hate me
on account of the abominable sore. Grant me therefore a few days, and
then ye may have me even for nothing. With these words the blessed
maiden gained over the profligates, and dismissed them for a time.
[1875] And with most fitting prayers she importuned God, and with
contrite supplications she sought to turn Him to compassion. God,
therefore, who knew her thoughts, and understood how the chaste maiden
was distressed in heart for her purity, gave ear to her; and the
Guardian of the safety of all men in those days interposed with His
arrangements in the following manner:--
Of a certain person Magistrianus. [1876]
There was a certain young man, Magistrianus, [1877] comely in his
personal appearance, and of a pious mind, whom God had inspired with
such a burning spiritual zeal, that he despised even death itself. He,
coming under the guise of profligacy, goes in, when the evening was far
gone, to the fellow who kept the women, and pays him five nummi, and
says to him, Permit me to spend this night with this damsel. Entering
then with her into the private apartment, he says to her, Rise, save
thyself. And taking off her garments, and dressing her in his own
attire, his night-gown, his cloak, and all the habiliments of a man, he
says to her, Wrap yourself up with the top of your cloak, and go out;
and doing so, and signing herself entirely with the mystery of the
cross, she went forth uncorrupted from that place, and was preserved
perfectly stainless by the grace of Christ, and by the instrumentality
of the young man, who by his own blood delivered her from dishonour.
And on the following day the matter became known, and Magistrianus was
brought before the infuriated judge. And when the cruel tyrant had
examined the noble champion of Christ, and had learned all, he ordered
him to be thrown to the wild beasts,--that in this, too, the
honour-hating demon might be put to shame. For, whereas he thought to
involve the noble youth in an unhallowed punishment, he exhibited him
as a double martyr for Christ, inasmuch as he had both striven nobly
for his own immortal soul, and persevered manfully in labours also in
behalf of that noble and blessed maiden. Wherefore also he was deemed
worthy of double honour with Christ, and of the illustrious and blessed
crowns by His goodness.
__________________________________________________________________
[1873] Extract in Palladius, Historia Lausiaca, chap. cxlviii.;
Gallandi, Biblioth., ii. 513.
[1874] Nicephorus also mentions her in his Hist. Eccl., vii. 13.
[1875] [On the morality of this, see vol. ii. pp. 538, 556.]
[1876] From the same, chap. cxlix.
[1877] Nicephorus gives this story also, Hist. Eccl., vii. 13.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Elucidation.
------------------------
The conduct of Father Abraham, although not approved of by Inspiration,
but simply recorded (Gen. xxvi. 7), gave early Christians an opinion
that the wicked may be justly foiled, by equivocation and deception,
for the preservation of innocence or the life of the innocent. In such
case the person deceived, they might argue, is not injured, but
benefited (Gen. xxvi. 10), being saved from committing violence and
murder. The Corinthian maiden was accustomed to be veiled (as
Tertullian intimates), and was taught alike to cherish her own purity
and to have no share in affording occasion of sin to others. See vol.
iv. pp. 32, 33. Let us call this narrative "The Story of Corinthia and
Magistrianus."
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Appendix to the Works of Hippolytus.
Containing Dubious and Spurious Pieces.
------------------------
A discourse [1878] by the most blessed Hippolytus, bishop and martyr,
on the end of the world, and on Antichrist, and on the second coming of
our lord Jesus Christ.
I.
Since, then, the blessed prophets have been eyes to us, setting forth
for our behoof the clear declaration of things secret, both through
life, and through declaration, and through inspiration [1879] of the
Holy Spirit, and discoursing, too, of things not yet come to pass,
[1880] in this way also [1881] to all generations they have pictured
forth the grandest subjects for contemplation and for action. Thus,
too, they preached of the advent of God [1882] in the flesh to the
world, His advent by the spotless and God-bearing [1883] Mary in the
way of birth and growth, and the manner of His life and conversation
with men, and His manifestation by baptism, and the new birth that was
to be to all men, and the regeneration by the laver; and the multitude
of His miracles, and His blessed passion on the cross, and the insults
which He bore at the hands of the Jews, and His burial, and His descent
to Hades, and His ascent again, and redemption of the spirits that were
of old, [1884] and the destruction of death, and His life-giving
awaking from the dead, and His re-creation of the whole world, and His
assumption and return to heaven, and His reception of the Spirit, of
which the apostles were deemed worthy, and again the second coming,
that is destined to declare all things. For as being designated seers,
[1885] they of necessity signified and spake of these things
beforetime.
__________________________________________________________________
[1878] This discourse seems to have been a homily addressed to the
people. Fabricius, Works of Hippolytus, vol. ii.
[1879] epiphoiteseos.
[1880] gegonota. Codex Baroccianus gives heurekota.
[1881] hothen kai, etc.
[1882] Others, tou uiou tou Theou, of the Son of God.
[1883] theotokou. [The epithet applied to the Blessed Virgin by the
"Council of Ephesus," against Nestorius, a.d. 431. Elucidation, p.
259.] This is one of those terms which some allege not to have been yet
in use in the time of Hippolytus. But, as Migne observes, if there were
no other argument than this against the genuineness of this discourse,
this would not avail much, as the term is certainly used by Origen,
Methodius, and Dionysius Alex., who were nearly coeval with Hippolytus.
[1884] ap' aionon.
[1885] blepontes.
__________________________________________________________________
II.
Hence, too, they indicated the day of the consummation to us, and
signified beforehand the day of the apostate that is to appear and
deceive men at the last times, and the beginning and end of his
kingdom, and the advent of the Judge, and the life of the righteous,
and the punishment of the sinners, in order that we all, bearing these
things in mind day by day and hour by hour, as children of the Church,
might know that "not one jot nor one tittle of these things shall
fail," [1886] as the Saviour's own word announced. Let all of you,
then, of necessity, open the eyes of your hearts and the ears of your
soul, and receive the word which we are about to speak. For I shall
unfold to you to-day a narration full of horror and fear, to wit, the
account of the consummation, and in particular, of the seduction of the
whole world by the enemy and devil; and after these things, the second
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
__________________________________________________________________
[1886] Matt. v. 18.
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III.
Where, then, ye friends of Christ, shall I begin? and with what shall I
make my commencement, or what shall I expound? and what witness shall I
adduce for the things spoken? But let us take those (viz., the
prophets) with whom we began this discourse, and adduce them as
credible witnesses, to confirm our exposition of the matters discussed;
and after them the teaching, or rather the prophecy, of the apostles,
(so as to see) how throughout the whole world they herald the day of
the consummation. Since these, then, have also shown beforetime things
not yet come to pass, and have declared the devices and deceits of
wicked men, who are destined to be made manifest, come and let us bring
forward Isaiah as our first witness, inasmuch as he instructs us in the
times of the consummation. What, then, does he say? "Your country is
desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour
it in your presence: the daughter of Zion shall be left as a cottage in
a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged
city." [1887] You see, beloved, the prophet's illumination, whereby he
announced that time so many generations before. For it is not of the
Jews that he spake this word of old, nor of the city of Zion, but of
the Church. For all the prophets have declared Sion to be the bride
brought from the nations.
__________________________________________________________________
[1887] Isa. i. 7.
__________________________________________________________________
IV.
Wherefore let us direct our discourse to a second witness. And of what
sort is this one? Listen to Osea, as he speaks thus grandly: "In those
days the Lord shall bring on a burning wind from the desert against
them, and shall make their veins dry, and shall make their springs
desolate; and all their goodly vessels shall be spoiled. Because they
rose up against God, they shall fall by the sword, and their women with
child shall be ripped up." [1888] And what else is this burning wind
from the east, than the Antichrist that is to destroy and dry up the
veins of the waters and the fruits of the trees in his times, because
men set their hearts on his works? For which reason he shall indeed
destroy them, and they shall serve him in his pollution.
__________________________________________________________________
[1888] Hos. xiii. 15.
__________________________________________________________________
V.
Mark the agreement of prophet with prophet. Acquaint yourself also
with another prophet who expresses himself in like manner. For Amos
prophesied of the same things in a manner quite in accordance: "Thus
saith the Lord, Forasmuch therefore as ye have beaten the poor with the
fist, [1889] and taken choice gifts from him: ye have built houses, but
ye shall not dwell in them: ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye
shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions,
in trampling justice beneath your foot, and taking a bribe, and turning
aside the poor in the gate from their right. Therefore the prudent
shall keep silence in that time, for it is an evil time." [1890] Learn,
beloved, the wickedness of the men of that time, how they spoil houses
and fields, and take even justice from the just; for when these things
come to pass, ye may know that it is the end. For this reason art thou
instructed in the wisdom of the prophet, and the revelation that is to
be in those days. And all the prophets, as we have already said, have
clearly signified the things that are to come to pass in the last
times, just as they also have declared things of old.
__________________________________________________________________
[1889] katenkondulisete in the text, for which read katekondulisate.
[1890] Amos v. 11, 12, 13.
__________________________________________________________________
VI.
But not to expend our argument entirely in going over the words of all
the prophets, [1891] after citing one other, let us revert to the
matter in hand. What is it, then, that Micah says in his prophecy?
"Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err,
that bite with their teeth, and cry to him, Peace; and if it was not
put into their mouth, [1892] they prepared [1893] war against him.
Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision;
[1894] and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the
sun shall not go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over
them. And the seers shall be ashamed, and the diviners confounded."
[1895] These things we have recounted beforehand, in order that ye may
know the pain that is to be in the last times, and the perturbation,
and the manner of life on the part of all men toward each other, [1896]
and their envy, and hate, and strife, and the negligence of the
shepherds toward the sheep, and the unruly disposition of the people
toward the priests. [1897]
__________________________________________________________________
[1891] Manuscript E gives the better reading, logon hapanta tois ton
propheton rhemasi, "our whole argument on the words of the prophets."
[1892] ei ouk edothe. Manuscript B omits ei = and it was not put into
their mouth.
[1893] The text reads hegiasan. Manuscript B reads engisan. Migne
suggests egeiran.
[1894] ex horaseos.
[1895] Mic. iii. 5-7.
[1896] For ten pros allelous anastrophen, Codex B reads diastrophen kai
phthoran.
[1897] For anupotakton diathesin, Codex B reads ataxian = unruliness,
and adds, kai goneis ta tekna misesousi , kai tekna tois goneusin
epiballontai cheiras, "and parents shall hate their children and
children lay hands on their parents."
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VII.
Wherefore all shall walk after their own will. And the children will
lay hands on their parents. The wife will give up her own husband to
death, and the husband will bring his own wife to judgment like a
criminal. Masters will lord it over their servants savagely, [1898] and
servants will assume an unruly demeanour toward their masters. None
will reverence the grey hairs of the elderly, and none will have pity
upon the comeliness of the youthful. The temples of God will be like
houses, and there will be overturnings of the churches everywhere. The
Scriptures will be despised, and everywhere they will sing the songs of
the adversary. [1899] Fornications, and adulteries, and perjuries
will fill the land; sorceries, and incantations, and divinations will
follow after these with all force and zeal. And, on the whole, from
among those who profess to be Christians will rise up then false
prophets, false apostles, impostors, mischief-makers, evil-doers, liars
against each other, adulterers, fornicators, robbers, grasping,
perjured, mendacious, hating each other. The shepherds will be like
wolves; the priests will embrace falsehood; the monks [1900] will lust
after the things of the world; the rich will assume hardness of heart;
the rulers will not help the poor; the powerful will cast off all pity;
the judges will remove justice from the just, and, blinded with bribes,
they will call in unrighteousness.
__________________________________________________________________
[1898] For eis tous doulous apanthropoi authentesontai, Codex B reads,
pros tous doulous apanthropian ktesontai.
[1899] For echthrou, Codex B reads, diabolou, the devil.
[1900] This does not agree with the age of Hippolytus.
__________________________________________________________________
VIII.
And what am I to say with respect to men, [1901] when the very elements
themselves will disown their order? There will be earthquakes in every
city, and plagues in every country; and monstrous [1902] thunderings
and frightful lightnings will burn up both houses and fields. Storms of
winds will disturb both sea and land excessively; and there will be
unfruitfulness on the earth, and a roaring in the sea, and an
intolerable agitation on account of souls and the destruction of men.
[1903] There will be signs in the sun, and signs in the moon,
deflections in the stars, distresses of nations, intemperateness in the
atmosphere, discharges of hail upon the face of the earth, winters of
excessive severity, different [1904] frosts, inexorable scorching
winds, unexpected thunderings, unlooked-for conflagrations; and in
general, lamentation and mourning in the whole earth, without
consolation. For, "because iniquity shall abound, the love of many
shall wax cold." [1905] By reason of the agitation and confusion of all
these, the Lord of the universe cries in the Gospel, saying, "Take heed
that ye be not deceived; for many shall come in my name, saying, I am
Christ, and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them. But
when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these
things must first come to pass; but the end is not yet by and by."
[1906] Let us observe the word of the Saviour, how He always admonished
us with a view to our security: "Take heed that ye be not deceived:
for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ."
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[1901] peri anthropon, which is the reading of Codex B, instead of apo
anthropon.
[1902] ametroi, the reading of Codex B instead of anemoi.
[1903] The text is, apo psuchon kai apoleias anthropon. We may suggest
some such correction as apopsuchonton kat' apoleias anthropon ="men's
hearts failing them concerning the destruction."
[1904] diaphoroi. Better with B, adiaphoroi = promiscuous, without
distinction, and so perhaps continuous or unseasonable.
[1905] Matt. xxiv. 12.
[1906] Luke xxi. 8, 9.
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IX.
Now after He was taken up again to the Father, there arose some,
saying, "I am Christ," like Simon Magus and the rest, whose names we
have not time at present to mention. Wherefore also in the last day of
the consummation, it must needs be that false Christs will arise again,
saying, "I am Christ," and they will deceive many. And multitudes of
men will run from the east even to the west, and from the north even to
the sea, saying, Where is Christ here? where is Christ there? But being
possessed of a vain conceit, and failing to read the Scriptures
carefully, and not being of an upright mind, they will seek for a name
which they shall be unable to find. For these things must first be; and
thus the son of perdition--that is to say, the devil--must be seen.
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X.
And the apostles, who speak of God, [1907] in establishing the truth of
the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, have each of them indicated the
appearing of these abominable and ruin-working men, and have openly
announced their lawless deeds. First of all Peter, the rock of the
faith, whom Christ our God called blessed, the teacher of the Church,
the first disciple, he who has the keys of the kingdom, has instructed
us to this effect: "Know this first, children, that there shall come in
the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts. [1908] And there
shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable
heresies." [1909] After him, John the theologian, [1910] and the
beloved of Christ, in harmony with him, cries, "The children of the
devil are manifest; [1911] and even now are there many antichrists;
[1912] but go not after them. [1913] Believe not every spirit, because
many false prophets are gone out into the world." [1914] And then Jude,
the brother of James, speaks in like manner: "In the last times there
shall be mockers, walking after their own ungodly lusts. There be they
who, without fear, feed [1915] themselves." [1916] You have observed
the concord of the theologians and apostles, and the harmony of their
doctrine.
__________________________________________________________________
[1907] theegoroi. Codex B gives theologoi.
[1908] 2 Pet. iii. 3.
[1909] 2 Pet. ii. 1.
[1910] theologos.
[1911] 1 John iii. 10.
[1912] 1 John ii. 18.
[1913] Luke xxi. 8.
[1914] 1 John iv. 1.
[1915] hoi aphobos heautous poimainontes, instead of the received hoi
apodiorizontes heautous.
[1916] Jude 18, 19.
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XI.
Finally, hear Paul as he speaks boldly, and mark how clearly he
discovers these: "Beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
[1917] Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain
deceit. [1918] See that ye walk circumspectly, because the days are
evil." [1919] In fine then, what man shall have any excuse who hears
these things in the Church from prophets and apostles, and from the
Lord Himself, and yet will give no heed to the care of his soul, and to
the time of the consummation, and to that approaching hour when we
shall have to stand at the judgment-seat of Christ?>
__________________________________________________________________
[1917] Phil. iii. 2.
[1918] Col. ii. 8.
[1919] Eph. v. 15, 16.
__________________________________________________________________
XII.
But having now done with this account of the consummation, we shall
turn our exposition to those matters which fall to be stated by us next
in order. I adduce, therefore, a witness altogether worthy of
credit,--namely, the prophet Daniel, who interpreted the vision of
Nabuchodonosor, and from the beginning of the kings down to their end
indicated the right [1920] way to those who seek to walk therein--to
wit, the manifestation of the truth. For what saith the prophet? He
presignified the matter clearly to Nabuchodonosor in the following
terms: "Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image standing before
thee, whose head was of gold, its arms and shoulders of silver, its
belly and thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and
part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hand;
and it smote the image upon its feet, which were part of iron and part
of clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the clay, and the iron, and
the brass, and the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and
became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor; and the stone that
smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."
[1921]
__________________________________________________________________
[1920] Unchangeable, aparatropon.
[1921] Dan. ii. 31-35.
__________________________________________________________________
XIII.
Wherefore, bringing the visions of Daniel into conjunction with these,
we shall make one narrative of the two, and show how true and
consistent were the things seen in vision by the prophet with those
which Nabuchodonosor saw beforehand. For the prophet speaks thus: "I
Daniel saw, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the
great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from
another. The first was like a lioness, and had eagle's wings: I beheld
till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the
earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was
given it. And behold a second beast, like to a bear, and it raised up
itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between
the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
After this I beheld, and lo a third beast, like a leopard, which had
upon the back of it four wings of a fowl: the beast had also four
heads. After this I saw, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and
terrible, and strong exceedingly; its great iron teeth and its claws of
brass [1922] devoured and brake in pieces, and it stamped the residue
with the feet of it: and it was diverse exceedingly from all the beasts
that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered its horns, and,
behold, there came up among them a little horn, and before it there
were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in
this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great
things." [1923]
__________________________________________________________________
[1922] These words, kai hoi onuches autou chalkoi, are strange both to
the Greek and the Hebrew text of Daniel.
[1923] Dan. vii. 2-8.
__________________________________________________________________
XIV.
Now, since these things which are thus spoken mystically by the prophet
seem to all to be hard to understand, we shall conceal none of them
from those who are possessed of sound mind. By mentioning the first
beast, namely the lioness that comes up out of the sea, Daniel means
the kingdom of the Babylonians which was set up in the world; and that
same is also the "golden head" of this image. And by speaking of its
"wings like an eagle," he shows that king Nabuchodonosor was elevated
and exalted himself against God. Then he says that its "wings were
plucked out," and means by this that his glory was subverted: for he
was driven from his kingdom. And in stating that a "man's heart was
given it, and it was made stand upon the feet like a man," he means
that he repented, and acknowledged that he was himself but a man, and
gave the glory to God. Lo, I have thus unfolded the similitude of the
first beast.
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XV.
Then after the lioness, the prophet sees a second beast like a bear,
which denoted the Persians; for after the Babylonians the Persians had
the sovereignty. And in saying, "I saw three ribs in the mouth of it,"
he referred to three nations, the Persians, Medes, and Babylonians,
which were also expressed by the silver that came after the gold in the
image. Behold, we have explained the second beast too. Then the third
was the leopard, by which were meant the Greeks. For after the
Persians, Alexander king of the Macedonians held the sovereignty, when
he had destroyed Darius; and this is expressed by the brass in the
image. And in speaking of "four wings of a fowl, and four heads in the
beast," he showed most clearly how the kingdom of Alexander was divided
into four parts. For it had four heads,--namely, the four kings that
rose out of it. For on his death-bed [1924] Alexander divided his
kingdom into four parts. Behold, we have discussed the third also.
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[1924] See Hippolytus on Antichrist, ch. xxiv. p. 209, supra.
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XVI.
Next he tells us of the "fourth beast, dreadful and terrible; its teeth
were of iron, and its claws of brass." And what is meant by these but
the kingdom of the Romans, which also is meant by the iron, by which it
will crush all the seats of empire that were before it, and will lord
it over the whole earth? After this, then, what is left for us to
interpret of all that the prophet saw, but the "toes of the image, in
which part was of iron and part of clay, mingled together in one?" For
by the ten toes of the image he meant figuratively the ten kings who
sprang out of it, as Daniel also interpreted the matter. For he says,
"I considered the beast, namely the fourth; and behold ten horns after
it, among which another horn arose like an offshoot; and it will pluck
up by the root three of those before it." And by this offshoot horn
none other is signified than the Antichrist that is to restore the
kingdom of the Jews. And the three horns which are to be rooted out by
it signify three kings, namely those of Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia,
whom he will destroy in the array of war; and when he has vanquished
them all, being a savage tyrant, he will raise tribulation and
persecution against the saints, exalting himself against them.
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XVII.
You see how Daniel interpreted to Nabuchodonosor the dominion of the
kingdoms; you see how he explained the form of the image in all its
parts [1925] you have observed how he indicated prophetically the
meaning of the coming up of the four beasts out of the sea. It remains
that we open up to you the things done by the Antichrist in particular;
and, as far as in our power, declare to you by means of the Scriptures
and the prophets, his wandering over the whole earth, and his lawless
advent.
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[1925] pasi tois perasin.
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XVIII.
As the Lord Jesus Christ made His sojourn with us in the flesh (which
He received) from the holy, immaculate Virgin, and took to Himself the
tribe of Judah, and came forth from it, the Scripture declared His
royal lineage in the word of Jacob, when in his benediction he
addressed himself to his son in these terms: "Judah, thou art he whom
thy brethren shall praise: thy hands shall be on the neck of thine
enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a
lion's whelp; from a sprout, [1926] my son, thou art gone up: he
stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lion's whelp: [1927] who
shall rouse him up? A ruler [1928] shall not depart from Judah, nor a
leader [1929] from his thighs, [1930] until what is in store for him
[1931] shall come, and he is the expectation [1932] of the nations."
[1933] Mark these words of Jacob which were spoken to Judah, and are
fulfilled in the Lord. To the same effect, moreover, does the patriarch
express himself regarding Antichrist. Wherefore, as he prophesied with
respect to Judah, so did he also with respect to his son Dan. For Judah
was his fourth son; and Dan, again, was his seventh son. And what,
then, did he say of him? "Let Dan be a serpent sitting by the way, that
biteth the horse's heel?" [1934] And what serpent was there but the
deceiver from the beginning, he who is named in Genesis, he who
deceived Eve, and bruised Adam in the heel? [1935]
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[1926] blastou
[1927] skumnos.
[1928] archon.
[1929] hegoumenos.
[1930] ek ton meron.
[1931] ta apokeimena.
[1932] kai autos prosdokia.
[1933] Gen. xlix. 8-10.
[1934] Gen. xlix. 17.
[1935] pternisas.
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XIX.
But seeing now that we must make proof of what is alleged at greater
length, we shall not shrink from the task. For it is certain that he is
destined to spring from the tribe of Dan, [1936] and to range himself
in opposition like a princely tyrant, a terrible judge and accuser,
[1937] as the prophet testifies when he says, "Dan shall judge his
people, as one tribe in Israel." [1938] But some one may say that this
was meant of Samson, who sprang from the tribe of Dan, and judged his
people for twenty years. That, however, was only partially made good in
the case of Samson; but this shall be fulfilled completely in the case
of Antichrist. For Jeremiah, too, speaks in this manner: "From Dan we
shall hear the sound of the sharpness [1939] of his horses; at the
sound of the neighing [1940] of his horses the whole land trembled."
[1941] And again, Moses says: "Dan is a lion's whelp, and he shall
leap from Bashan." [1942] And that no one may fall into the mistake of
thinking that this is spoken of the Saviour, let him attend to this.
"Dan," says he, "is a lion's whelp;" and by thus naming the tribe of
Dan as the one whence the accuser is destined to spring, he made the
matter in hand quite clear. For as Christ is born of the tribe of
Judah, so Antichrist shall be born of the tribe of Dan. And as our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was spoken of in prophecy as
a lion on account or His royalty and glory, in the same manner also has
the Scripture prophetically described the accuser as a lion, on account
of his tyranny and violence.
__________________________________________________________________
[1936] After Irenaeus, book v. ch. xxx. [vol. i. p. 559, this series],
many of the ancients express this opinion. See too Bellarmine, De
Pontifice Rom., iii. 12.
[1937] diabolos.
[1938] Gen. xlix. 16.
[1939] phonen oxutetos. There is another reading, spouden = haste.
[1940] chremetismou. [Conf. p. 207, supra.]
[1941] Jer. viii. 16.
[1942] Deut. xxxiii. 22.
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XX.
For in every respect that deceiver seeks to make himself appear like
the Son of God. Christ is a lion, and Antichrist is a lion. Christ is
King of things celestial and things terrestrial, and Antichrist will be
king upon earth. The Saviour was manifested as a lamb; and he, too,
will appear as a lamb, while he is a wolf within. The Saviour was
circumcised, and he in like manner will appear in circumcision. The
Saviour sent the apostles unto all the nations, and he in like manner
will send false apostles. Christ gathered together the dispersed
sheep, and he in like manner will gather together the dispersed people
of the Hebrews. Christ gave to those who believed on Him the honourable
and life-giving cross, and he in like manner will give his own sign.
Christ appeared in the form of man, and he in like manner will come
forth in the form of man. Christ arose from among the Hebrews, and he
will spring from among the Jews. Christ displayed His flesh like a
temple, and raised it up on the third day; and he too will raise up
again the temple of stone in Jerusalem. And these deceits fabricated by
him will become quite intelligible to those who listen to us
attentively, from what shall be set forth next in order.
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XXI.
For through the Scriptures we are instructed in two advents of the
Christ and Saviour. And the first after the flesh was in humiliation,
because He was manifested in lowly estate. So then His second advent is
declared to be in glory; for He comes from heaven with power, and
angels, and the glory of His Father. His first advent had John the
Baptist as its forerunner; and His second, in which He is to come in
glory, will exhibit Enoch, and Elias, and John the Divine. [1943]
Behold, too, the Lord's kindness to man; how even in the last times He
shows His care for mortals, and pities them. For He will not leave us
even then without prophets, but will send them to us for our
instruction and assurance, and to make us give heed to the advent of
the adversary, as He intimated also of old in this Daniel. For he says,
"I shall make a covenant of one week, and in the midst of the week my
sacrifice and libation will be removed." For by one week he indicates
the showing forth of the seven years which shall be in the last times.
[1944] And the half of the week the two prophets, along with John, will
take for the purpose of proclaiming to all the world the advent of
Antichrist, that is to say, for a "thousand two hundred and sixty days
clothed in sackcloth;" [1945] and they will work signs and wonders with
the object of making men ashamed and repentant, even by these means, on
account of their surpassing lawlessness and impiety. "And if any man
will hurt them, fire will proceed out of their mouth, and devour their
enemies. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days
of the advent of Antichrist, and to turn waters into blood, and to
smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will." [1946] And
when they have proclaimed all these things they will fall on the sword,
cut off by the accuser [1947] . And they will fulfil their testimony,
as Daniel also says; for he foresaw that the beast that came up out of
the abyss would make war with them, namely with Enoch, Elias, and John,
and would overcome them, and kill them, because of their refusal to
give glory to the accuser, that is the little horn that sprang up.
[1948] And he, being lifted up in heart, begins in the end to exalt
himself and glorify himself as God, persecuting the saints and
blaspheming Christ.
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[1943] Or, the theologian. The Apocalypse (xi. 3) mentions only two
witnesses, who are understood by the ancients in general as Enoch and
Elias. The author of the Chronicon Paschale, p. 21, on Enoch, says:
"This is he who, along with Elias, is to withstand Antichrist in the
last days, and to confute his deceit, according to the tradition of the
Church." This addition as to the return of John the Evangelist is
somewhat more uncommon. And yet Ephraem of Antioch, in Photius, cod.
ccxxix., states that this too is supported by ancient, ecclesiastical
tradition, Christ's saying in John xxi. 22 being understood to that
effect. See also Hippolytus, De Antichristo, ch. l. p. 213,
supra.--Migne. [Enoch and Elias are not dead. But see Heb. ix. 27.]
[1944] Dan. ix. 27. ( Note our author's adoption of the plan of a year
for a day, Ezek. iv. 6. See Pusey, Daniel, p. 165.]
[1945] Rev. xi. 3.
[1946] Rev. xi. 6; [1 Kings xvii. 1; Ecclus. xlviii. 3].
[1947] para tou diabolou. [That is, by the devil.]
[1948] anaphanen. But Cod. B reads anaphuen.
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XXII.
But as, in accordance with the train of our discussion, we have been
constrained to come to the matter of the days of the dominion of the
adversary, it is necessary to state in the first place what concerns
his nativity and growth; and then we must turn our discourse, as we
have said before, to the expounding of this matter, viz., that in all
respects the accuser and son of lawlessness [1949] is to make himself
like our Saviour. Thus also the demonstration makes the matter clear to
us. Since the Saviour of the world, with the purpose of saving the race
of men, was born of the immaculate and virgin Mary, [1950] and in the
form of the flesh trod the enemy under foot, in the exercise of the
power of His own proper divinity; in the same manner also will the
accuser come forth from an impure woman upon the earth, but shall be
born of a virgin spuriously. [1951] For our God sojourned with us in
the flesh, after that very flesh of ours which He made for Adam and all
Adam's posterity, yet without sin. But the accuser, though he take up
the flesh, will do it only in appearance; for how should we wear that
flesh which he did not make himself, but against which he warreth
daily? And it is my opinion, beloved, that he will assume this
phenomenal kind of flesh [1952] as an instrument. [1953] For this
reason also is he to be born of a virgin, as if a spirit, and then to
the rest he will be manifested as flesh. For as to a virgin bearing,
this we have known only in the case of the all-holy Virgin, who bore
the Saviour verily clothed in flesh. [1954] For Moses says, "Every male
that openeth the womb shall be called holy unto the Lord." [1955] This
is by no means the case with him; [1956] but as the adversary will not
open the womb, so neither will he take to himself real flesh, and be
circumcised as Christ was circumcised. And even as Christ chose His
apostles, so will he too assume a whole people of disciples like
himself in wickedness.
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[1949] anomias. Cod. B gives apoleias, perdition; and for mellei = is
to, it reads thelei = wishes. [2 Thess. ii. 3, 4-8.]
[1950] Cod. B gives aeiparthenou, ever-virgin.
[1951] en plane. Cod. B reads akribos, exactly. Many of the ancients
hold that Antichrist will be a demon in human figure. See Augustine,
Sulpicius Severus, in Dialogue II., and Philippus Dioptra, iii. 11,
etc.
[1952] phantastiken tes sarkos autou ousian.
[1953] Organ, organon.
[1954] Cod. B reads ten theotokon egnomen sarkikos kai aplanos, instead
of the text, sarkophoron aplanos, etc. [Conf. vol. iii. p. 523.]
[1955] Ex. xxxiv. 19; Num. viii. 16; Luke ii. 23.
[1956] ou men oudamos.
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XXIII.
Above all, moreover, he will love the nation of the Jews. And with all
these he will work signs and terrible wonders, false wonders and not
true, in order to deceive his impious equals. For if it were possible,
he would seduce even the elect [1957] from the love of Christ. But in
his first steps he will be gentle, loveable, quiet, pious, pacific,
hating injustice, detesting gifts, not allowing idolatry; loving, says
he, the Scriptures, reverencing priests, honouring his elders,
repudiating fornication, detesting adultery, giving no heed to
slanders, not admitting oaths, kind to strangers, kind to the poor,
compassionate. And then he will work wonders, cleansing lepers, raising
paralytics, expelling demons, proclaiming things remote just as things
present, raising the dead, helping widows, defending orphans, loving
all, reconciling in love men who contend, and saying to such, "Let not
the sun go down upon your wrath;" [1958] and he will not acquire gold,
nor love silver, nor seek riches.
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[1957] Matt. xxiv. 24.
[1958] Eph. iv. 26.
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XXIV.
And all this he will do corruptly and deceitfully, and with the purpose
of deluding all to make him king. For when the peoples and tribes see
so great virtues and so great powers in him, they will all with one
mind meet together to make him king. And above all others shall the
nation of the Hebrews be dear to the tyrant himself, while they say one
to another, Is there found indeed in our generation such a man, so good
and just? That shall be the way with the race of the Jews
pre-eminently, as I said before, who, thinking, as they do, that they
shall behold the king himself in such power, will approach him to say,
We all confide in thee, and acknowledge thee to be just upon the whole
earth; we all hope to be saved by thee; and by thy mouth we have
received just and incorruptible judgment.
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XXV.
And at first, indeed, that deceitful and lawless one, with crafty
deceitfulness, will refuse such glory; but the men persisting, and
holding by him, will declare him king. And thereafter he will be lifted
up in heart, and he who was formerly gentle will become violent, and he
who pursued love will become pitiless, and the humble in heart will
become haughty and inhuman, and the hater of unrighteousness will
persecute the righteous. Then, when he is elevated to his kingdom, he
will marshal war; and in his wrath he will smite three mighty
kings,--those, namely, of Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia. And after that he
will build the temple in Jerusalem, and will restore it again speedily,
and give it over to the Jews. And then he will be lifted up in heart
against every man; yea, he will speak blasphemy also against God,
thinking in his deceit that he shall be king upon the earth hereafter
for ever; not knowing, miserable wretch, that his kingdom is to be
quickly brought to nought, and that he will quickly have to meet the
fire which is prepared for him, along with all who trust him and serve
him. For when Daniel said, "I shall make my covenant for one week,"
[1959] he indicated seven years; and the one half of the week is for
the preaching of the prophets, and for the other half of the week--that
is to say, for three years and a half--Antichrist will reign upon the
earth. And after this his kingdom and his glory shall be taken away.
Behold, ye who love God, what manner of tribulation there shall rise in
those days, such as has not been from the foundation of the world, no,
nor ever shall be, except in those days alone. Then the lawless one,
being lifted up in heart, will gather together his demons in man's
form, and will abominate those who call him to the kingdom, and will
pollute many souls.
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[1959] Dan. ix. 27. [The anomia which more and more prevails in our age
in all nations, makes all this very significant to us, of "the last
days."]
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XXVI.
For he will appoint princes over them from among the demons. And he
will no longer seem to be pious, but altogether and in all things he
will be harsh, severe, passionate, wrathful, terrible, inconstant,
dread, morose, hateful, abominable, savage, vengeful, iniquitous. And,
bent on casting the whole race of men into the pit of perdition, he
will multiply false signs. For when all the people greet him with their
acclamations at his displays, he will shout with a strong voice, so
that the place shall be shaken in which the multitudes stand by him:
"Ye peoples, and tribes, and nations, acquaint yourselves with my
mighty authority and power, and the strength of my kingdom. What prince
is there so great as I am? What great God is there but I? Who will
stand up against my authority?" Under the eye of the spectators he will
remove mountains from their places, he will walk on the sea with dry
feet, he will bring down fire from heaven, he will turn the day into
darkness and the night into day, he will turn the sun about wheresoever
he pleases; and, in short, in presence of those who behold him, he will
show all the elements of earth and sea to be subject to him in the
power of his specious manifestation. For if, while as yet he does not
exhibit himself as the son of perdition, he raises and excites against
us open war even to battles and slaughters, at that time when he shall
come in his own proper person, and men shall see him as he is in
reality, what machinations and deceits and delusions will he not bring
into play, with the purpose of seducing all men, and leading them off
from the way of truth, and from the gate of the kingdom?
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XXVII.
Then, after all these things, the heavens will not give their dew, the
clouds will not give their rain, the earth will refuse to yield its
fruits, the sea shall be filled with stench, the rivers shall be dried
up, the fish of the sea shall die, men shall perish of hunger and
thirst; and father embracing son, and mother embracing daughter, will
die together, and there will be none to bury them. But the whole earth
will be filled with the stench arising from the dead bodies cast forth.
And the sea, not receiving the floods of the rivers, will become like
mire, and will be filled with an unlimited smell and stench. Then there
will be a mighty pestilence upon the whole earth, and then, too,
inconsolable lamentation, and measureless weeping, and unceasing
mourning. Then men will deem those happy who are dead before them, and
will say to them, "Open your sepulchres, and take us miserable beings
in; open your receptacles for the reception of your wretched kinsmen
and acquaintances. Happy are ye, in that ye have not seen our days.
Happy are ye, in that ye have not had to witness this painful life of
ours, nor this irremediable pestilence, nor these straits that possess
our souls."
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XXVIII.
Then that abominable one will send his commands throughout every
government by the hand at once of demons and of visible men, who shall
say, "A mighty king has arisen upon the earth; come ye all to worship
him; come ye all to see the strength of his kingdom: for, behold, he
will give you corn; and he will bestow upon you wine, and great riches,
and lofty honours. For the whole earth and sea obeys his command. Come
ye all to him." And by reason of the scarcity of food, all will go to
him and worship him; and he will put his mark on their right hand and
on their forehead, that no one may put the sign of the honourable cross
upon his forehead with his right hand; but his hand is bound. And from
that time he shall not have power to seal any one of his members, but
he shall be attached to the deceiver, and shall serve him; and in him
there is no repentance. But such an one is lost at once to God and to
men, and the deceiver will give them scanty food by reason of his
abominable seal. And his seal upon the forehead and upon the right hand
is the number, "Six hundred threescore and six." [1960] And I have an
opinion as to this number, though I do not know the matter for certain;
for many names have been found in this number when it is expressed in
writing. [1961] Still we say that perhaps the scription of this same
seal will give us the word I deny. [1962] For even in recent days, by
means of his ministers--that is to say, the idolaters--that bitter
adversary took up the word deny, when the lawless pressed upon the
witnesses of Christ, with the adjuration, "Deny thy God, the crucified
One." [1963]
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[1960] Rev. xiii. 18.
[1961] en te graphe.
[1962] arnoumai. But the letters of the word arnoumai in their
numerical value will not give the number 666 unless it is written
arnoume. See Haymo on the Apocalypse, book iv.
[1963] The text is in confusion: epeide kai proen dia ton hupereton
autou ho antidikos echthros, e goun ton eidololatron, tois martusi tou
Christou proetrepon hoi anomoi, etc.
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XXIX.
Of such kind, in the time of that hater of all good, will be the seal,
the tenor of which will be this: I deny the Maker of heaven and earth,
I deny the baptism, I deny my (former) service, and attach myself to
thee, and I believe in thee. For this is what the prophets Enoch and
Elias will preach: Believe not the enemy who is to come and be seen;
for he is an adversary [1964] and corrupter and son of perdition, and
deceives you; [1965] and for this reason he will kill you, and smite
them with the sword. Behold the deceit of the enemy, know the
machinations of the beguiler, how he seeks to darken the mind of men
utterly. For he will show forth his demons brilliant like angels, and
he will bring in hosts of the incorporeal without number. And in the
presence of all he exhibits himself as taken up into heaven with
trumpets and sounds, and the mighty shouting of those who hail him with
indescribable hymns; the heir of darkness himself shining like light,
and at one time soaring to the heavens, and at another descending to
the earth with great glory, and again charging the demons, like angels,
to execute his behests with much fear and trembling. Then will he send
the cohorts of the demons among mountains and caves and dens of the
earth, to track out those who have been concealed from his eyes, and to
bring them forward to worship him. And those who yield to him he will
seal with his seal; but those who refuse to submit to him he will
consume with incomparable pains and bitterest torments and
machinations, such as never have been, nor have reached the ear of man,
nor have been seen by the eye of mortals.
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[1964] antidikos. In B, planos = deceiver.
[1965] B reads ton kosmon, the world.
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XXX.
Blessed shall they be who overcome the tyrant then. For they shall be
set forth as more illustrious and loftier than the first witnesses; for
the former witnesses overcame his minions only, but these overthrow and
conquer the accuser himself, the son of perdition. With what eulogies
and crowns, therefore, will they not be adorned by our King, Jesus
Christ!
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XXXI.
But let us revert to the matter in hand. When men have received the
seal, then, and find neither food nor water, they will approach him
with a voice of anguish, saying, Give us to eat and drink, for we all
faint with hunger and all manner of straits; [1966] and bid the heavens
yield us water, and drive off from us the beasts that devour men. Then
will that crafty one make answer, mocking them with absolute
inhumanity, and saying, The heavens refuse to give rain, the earth
yields not again its fruits; whence then can I give you food? Then, on
hearing the words of this deceiver, these miserable men will perceive
that this is the wicked accuser, and will mourn in anguish, and weep
vehemently, and beat their face with their hands, and tear their hair,
and lacerate their cheeks with their nails, while they say to each
other: Woe for the calamity! woe for the bitter contract! woe for the
deceitful covenant! woe for the mighty mischance! How have we been
beguiled by the deceiver! how have we been joined to him! how have we
been caught in his toils! how have we been taken in his abominable net!
how have we heard the Scriptures, and understood them not! For truly
those who are engrossed with the affairs of life, and with the lust of
this world, will be easily brought over to the accuser then, and sealed
by him.
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[1966] B reads odunes, pain.
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XXXII.
But many who are hearers of the divine Scriptures, [1967] and have them
in their hand, and keep them in mind with understanding, will escape
his imposture. For they will see clearly through his insidious
appearance and his deceitful imposture, and will flee from his hands,
and betake themselves to the mountains, and hide themselves in the
caves of the earth; and they will seek after the Friend of man with
tears and a contrite heart; and He will deliver them out of his toils,
and with His right hand He will save those from his snares who in a
worthy and righteous manner make their supplication to Him.
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[1967] [Note this. The faithful are to have the Holy Scriptures in
their hand. But this has been condemned by repeated bulls and anathemas
of Roman pontiffs; e.g., by Clement XI., a.d. 1713; and no Bible in the
vulgar tongue ever appeared in Rome till a.d. 1870, on the overthrow of
the papal kingdom.]
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XXXIII.
You see in what manner of fasting and prayer the saints will exercise
themselves at that time. Observe, also, how hard the season and the
times will be that are to come upon those in city and country alike. At
that time they will be brought from the east even unto the west; and
they will come up from the west even unto the east, and will weep
greatly and wail vehemently. And when the day begins to dawn they will
long for the night, in order that they may find rest from their
labours; and when the night descends upon them, by reason of the
continuous earthquakes and the tempests in the air, they will desire
even to behold the light of the day, and will seek how they may
hereafter meet a bitter death. [1968] At that time the whole earth will
bewail the life of anguish, and the sea and air in like manner will
bewail it; and the sun, too, will wail; and the wild beasts, together
with the fowls, will wail; mountains and hills, and the trees of the
plain, will wail on account of the race of man, because all have turned
aside from the holy God, and obeyed the deceiver, and received the mark
of that abominable one, the enemy of God, instead of the quickening
cross of the Saviour.
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[1968] [Deut. xxviii. 66, 67.]
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XXXIV.
And the churches, too, will wail with a mighty lamentation, because
neither "oblation nor incense" is attended to, nor a service acceptable
to God; [1969] but the sanctuaries of the churches will become like a
garden-watcher's hut, [1970] and the holy body and blood of Christ will
not be shown in those days. The public service of God shall be
extinguished, psalmody shall cease, the reading of the Scriptures shall
not be heard; [1971] but for men there shall be darkness, and
lamentation on lamentation, and woe on woe. At that time silver and
gold shall be cast out in the streets, and none shall gather them; but
all things shall be held an offence. For all shall be eager to escape
and to hide themselves, and they shall not be able anywhere to find
concealment from the woes [1972] of the adversary; but as they carry
his mark about them, they shall be readily recognised and declared to
be his. Without there shall be fear, and within trembling, both by
night and by day. In the street and in the houses there shall be the
dead; in the streets and in the houses there shall be hunger and
thirst; in the streets there shall be tumults, and in the houses
lamentations. And beauty of countenance shall be withered, for their
forms shall be like those of the dead; and the beauty of women shall
fade, and the desire of all men shall vanish.
__________________________________________________________________
[1969] [The reference is to Mal. i. 11, and incense is expounded
spiritually by the Ante-Nicene Fathers generally. See Irenaeus, vol.
i. p. 574, Tertullian, iii. p. 346 and passim.]
[1970] [Isa. i. 8.]
[1971] [The public reading of Scripture-lessons is implied, Acts xv.
21. See Hooker, Eccl. Pol., book v. cap. xix.]
[1972] pathon. B reads pagidon, snares.
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XXXV.
Notwithstanding, not even then will the merciful and benignant God
leave the race of men without all comfort; but He will shorten even
those days and the period of three years and a half, and He will
curtail those times on account of the remnant of those who hide
themselves in the mountains and caves, that the phalanx of all those
saints fail not utterly. But these days shall run their course rapidly;
and the kingdom of the deceiver and Antichrist shall be speedily
removed. And then, in fine, in the glance of an eye shall the fashion
of this world pass away, and the power of men [1973] shall be brought
to nought, and all these visible things shall be destroyed.
__________________________________________________________________
[1973] R reads daimonon, demons.
__________________________________________________________________
XXXVI.
As these things, therefore, of which we have spoken before are in the
future, beloved, when the one week is divided into parts, and the
abomination of desolation has arisen then, and the forerunners of the
Lord have finished their proper course, and the whole world, in fine,
comes to the consummation, what remains but the manifestation [1974] of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God, from heaven, for
whom we have hoped; who shall bring forth fire and all just judgment
against those who have refused to believe in Him? For the Lord says,
"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be; for wheresoever
the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together." [1975] For
the sign of the cross [1976] shall arise from the east even unto the
west, in brightness exceeding that of the sun, and shall announce the
advent and manifestation of the Judge, to give to every one according
to his works. For concerning the general resurrection and the kingdom
of the saints, Daniel says: "And many of them that sleep in the dust
of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame
and everlasting contempt." [1977] And Isaiah says: "The dead shall
rise, and those in the tombs shall awake, and those in the earth shall
rejoice." [1978] And our Lord says: "Many [1979] in that day shall hear
the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." [1980]
__________________________________________________________________
[1974] epiphaneia.
[1975] Matt. xxiv. 27, 28.
[1976] See Jo. Voss, Theses Theolog., p. 228. [And compare, concerning
Constantine's vision, Robertson and his notes, Hist., vol. i. p. 186,
and Newman's characteristic argument in his Essay on Miracles, prefixed
to the third volume of his Fleury, pp. 133-143.]
[1977] Dan. xii. 2.
[1978] Isa. xxvi. 19.
[1979] polloi, for the received hoi nekroi.
[1980] John v. 25.
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XXXVII.
For at that time the trumpet shall sound, [1981] and awake those that
sleep from the lowest parts of the earth, righteous and sinners alike.
And every kindred, and tongue, and nation, and tribe shall be raised in
the twinkling of an eye; [1982] and they shall stand upon the face of
the earth, waiting for the coming of the righteous and terrible Judge,
in fear and trembling unutterable. For the river of fire shall come
forth in fury like an angry sea, and shall burn up mountains and hills,
and shall make the sea vanish, and shall dissolve the atmosphere with
its heat like wax. [1983] The stars of heaven shall fall, [1984] the
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood. [1985] The
heaven shall be rolled together like a scroll: [1986] the whole earth
shall be burnt up by reason of the deeds done in it, which men did
corruptly, [1987] in fornications, in adulteries, and in lies and
uncleanness, and in idolatries, and in murders, and in battles. For
there shall be the new heaven and the new earth. [1988]
__________________________________________________________________
[1981] 1 Thess. iv. 16.
[1982] 1 Cor. xv. 52.
[1983] 2 Pet. iii. 12.
[1984] Matt. xxiv. 29.
[1985] Acts ii. 20.
[1986] Rev. vi. 14.
[1987] diephtheiran. B reads ekraxan.
[1988] Rev. xxi. 1.
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XXXVIII.
Then shall the holy angels run on their commission to gather together
all the nations, whom that terrible voice of the trumpet shall awake
out of sleep. And before the judgment-seat of Christ shall stand those
who once were kings and rulers, chief priests and priests; and they
shall give an account of their administration, and of the fold, whoever
of them through their negligence have lost one sheep out of the flock.
And then shall be brought forward soldiers who were not content with
their provision, [1989] but oppressed widows and orphans and beggars.
Then shall be arraigned the collectors of tribute, who despoil the poor
man of more than is ordered, and who make real gold like adulterate, in
order to mulct the needy, in fields and in houses and in the churches.
Then shall rise up the lewd with shame, who have not kept their bed
undefiled, but have been ensnared by all manner of fleshly beauty, and
have gone in the way of their own lusts. Then shall rise up those who
have not kept the love of the Lord, mute and gloomy, because they
contemned the light commandment of the Saviour, which says, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself. Then they, too, shall weep who have
possessed the unjust balance, and unjust weights and measures, and dry
measures, as they wait for the righteous Judge.
__________________________________________________________________
[1989] Luke iii. 14.
__________________________________________________________________
XXXIX.
And why should we add many words concerning those who are sisted before
the bar? Then the righteous shall shine forth like the sun, while the
wicked shall be shown to be mute and gloomy. For both the righteous and
the wicked shall be raised incorruptible: the righteous, to be honoured
eternally, and to taste immortal joys; and the wicked, to be punished
in judgment eternally. Each ponders [1990] the question as to what
answer he shall give to the righteous Judge for his deeds, whether good
or bad. With all men each one's actions shall environ him, whether he
be good or evil. For the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, [1991]
and fear and trembling shall consume all things, both heaven and earth
and things under the earth. And every tongue shall confess Him openly,
[1992] and shall confess Him who comes to judge righteous judgment, the
mighty God and Maker of all things. Then with fear and astonishment
shall come angels, thrones, powers, principalities, dominions, [1993]
and the cherubim and seraphim with their many eyes and six wings, all
crying aloud with a mighty voice, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of
hosts, omnipotent; the heaven and the earth are full of Thy glory."
[1994] And the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Judge who accepts
no man's person, and the Jurist who distributes justice to every man,
shall be revealed upon His dread and lofty throne; and all the flesh of
mortals shall see His face with great fear and trembling, both the
righteous and the sinner.
__________________________________________________________________
[1990] The text gives enthumethei te, for which B reads enthumeitai.
[1991] Matt. xxiv. 29.
[1992] Phil. ii. 11.
[1993] Col. i. 16.
[1994] Isa. vi. 3.
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XL.
Then shall the son of perdition be brought forward, to wit, the
accuser, with his demons and with his servants, by angels stern and
inexorable. And they shall be given over to the fire that is never
quenched, and to the worm that never sleepeth, and to the outer
darkness. For the people of the Hebrews shall see Him in human form, as
He appeared to them when He came by the holy Virgin in the flesh, and
as they crucified Him. And He will show them the prints of the nails in
His hands and feet, and His side pierced with the spear, and His head
crowned with thorns, and His honourable cross. And once for all shall
the people of the Hebrews see all these things, and they shall mourn
and weep, as the prophet exclaims, "They shall look on Him whom they
have pierced;" [1995] and there shall be none to help them or to pity
them, because they repented not, neither turned aside from the wicked
way. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment with the
demons and the accuser.
__________________________________________________________________
[1995] Zech. xii. 10; John xix. 37.
__________________________________________________________________
XLI.
Then He shall gather together all nations, as the holy Gospel so
strikingly declares. For what says Matthew the evangelist, or rather
the Lord Himself, in the Gospel? "When the Son of man shall come in
His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the
throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and
He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his
sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but
the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world." [1996] Come, ye prophets, who
were cast out for my name's sake. Come, ye patriarchs, who before my
advent were obedient to me, and longed for my kingdom. Come, ye
apostles, who were my fellows in my sufferings in my incarnation, and
suffered with me in the Gospel. Come, ye martyrs, who confessed me
before despots, and endured many torments and pains. Come, ye
hierarchs, who did me sacred service blamelessly day and night, and
made the oblation of my honourable body and blood daily. [1997]
__________________________________________________________________
[1996] Matt. xxv. 31-34.
[1997] [All this is in the manner of Hippolytus; and here is a striking
testimony to a daily Eucharist, if this be genuine.]
__________________________________________________________________
XLII.
Come, ye saints, who disciplined yourselves in mountains and caves and
dens of the earth, who honoured my name by continence and prayer and
virginity. Come, ye maidens, who desired my bride-chamber, and loved no
other bridegroom than me, who by your testimony and habit of life were
wedded to me, the immortal and incorruptible Bridegroom. Come, ye
friends of the poor and the stranger. Come, ye who kept my love, as I
am love. Come, ye who possess peace, for I own that peace. Come, ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, ye who
esteemed not riches, ye who had compassion on the poor, who aided the
orphans, who helped the widows, who gave drink to the thirsty, who fed
the hungry, who received strangers, who clothed the naked, who visited
the sick, who comforted those in prison, who helped the blind, who kept
the seal of the faith inviolate, who assembled yourselves together in
the churches, who listened to my Scriptures, who longed for my words,
who observed my law day and night, who endured hardness with me like
good soldiers, seeking to please me, your heavenly King. Come, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Behold,
my kingdom is made ready; behold, paradise is opened; behold, my
immortality is shown in its beauty. [1998] Come all, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
__________________________________________________________________
[1998] kekallopistai. [Isa. xxxiii. 17.]
__________________________________________________________________
XLIII.
Then shall the righteous answer, astonished at the mighty and wondrous
fact that He, whom the hosts of angels cannot look upon openly,
addresses them as friends, and shall cry out to Him, Lord, when saw we
Thee an hungered, and fed Thee? Master, [1999] when saw we Thee
thirsty, and gave Thee drink? Thou Terrible One, [2000] when saw we
Thee naked, and clothed Thee? Immortal, [2001] when saw we Thee a
stranger, and took Thee in? Thou Friend of man, [2002] when saw we Thee
sick or in prison, and came unto Thee? [2003] Thou art the ever-living
One. Thou art without beginning, like the Father, [2004] and co-eternal
with the Spirit. Thou art He who made all things out of nothing. Thou
art the prince of the angels. Thou art He at whom the depths tremble.
[2005] Thou art He who is covered with light as with a garment. [2006]
Thou art He who made us, and fashioned us of earth. Thou art He who
formed [2007] things invisible. [2008] From Thy presence the whole
earth fleeth away, [2009] and how have we received hospitably Thy
kingly power and lordship?
__________________________________________________________________
[1999] despota.
[2000] phobere.
[2001] athanate.
[2002] philanthrope.
[2003] Matt. xxv. 37, etc.
[2004] sunanarchos.
[2005] 4 Esdr. iii. 8.
[2006] Ps. civ. 2.
[2007] demiourgesas.
[2008] Col. i. 16.
[2009] Rev. xx. 11.
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XLIV.
Then shall the King of kings make answer again, and say to them,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me. Inasmuch as ye have received those of whom I
have already spoken to you, and clothed them, and fed them, and gave
them to drink, I mean the poor who are my members, ye have done it unto
me. But come ye into the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world; enjoy for ever and ever that which is given you by my
Father in heaven, and the holy and quickening Spirit. And what mouth
then will be able to tell out those blessings which eye hath not seen,
nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love Him? [2010]
__________________________________________________________________
[2010] Isa. lxiv. 4; 1 Cor. ii. 9.
__________________________________________________________________
XLV.
Ye have heard of the ceaseless joy, ye have heard of the immoveable
kingdom, ye have heard of the feast of blessings without end. Learn
now, then, also the address of anguish with which the just Judge and
the benignant God shall speak to those on the left hand in unmeasured
anger and wrath, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels. Ye have prepared these things
for yourselves; take to yourselves also the enjoyment of them. Depart
from me, ye cursed, into the outer darkness, and into the unquenchable
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. I made you, and ye gave
yourselves to another. I am He who brought you forth from your
mother's womb, and ye rejected me. I am He who fashioned you of earth
by my word of command, and ye gave yourselves to another. I am He who
nurtured you, and ye served another. I ordained the earth and the sea
for your maintenance and the bound [2011] of your life, and ye listened
not to my commandments. I made the light for you, that ye might enjoy
the day, and the night also, that ye might have rest; and ye vexed me,
and set me at nought with your wicked words, and opened the door to the
passions. Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. I know you not, I
recognise you not: ye made yourselves the workmen of another
lord--namely, the devil. With him inherit ye the darkness, and the fire
that is not quenched, and the worm that sleepeth not, and the gnashing
of teeth.
__________________________________________________________________
[2011] sumperasma.
__________________________________________________________________
XLVI.
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye
gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and
ye clothed me not; sick, and ye visited me not: I was in prison, and ye
came not unto me. I made your ears that ye might hear the Scriptures;
and ye prepared them for the songs of demons, and lyres, and jesting. I
made your eyes that you might see the light of my commandments, and
keep them; and ye called in fornication and wantonness, and opened them
to all other manner of uncleanness. I prepared your mouth for the
utterance of adoration, and praise, and psalms, and spiritual odes, and
for the exercise of continuous reading; and ye fitted it to railing,
and swearing, and blasphemies, while ye sat and spoke evil of your
neighbours. I made your hands that ye might stretch them forth in
prayers and supplications, and ye put them forth to robberies, and
murders, and the killing of each other. I ordained your feet to walk in
the preparation of the Gospel of peace, both in the churches and the
houses of my saints; and ye taught them to run to adulteries, and
fornications, and theatres, and dancings, and elevations. [2012]
__________________________________________________________________
[2012] Tossings, meteorismous. ["Tossings," etc. Does it refer to the
somersaults of harlequins?]
__________________________________________________________________
XLVII.
At last the assembly is dissolved, the spectacle of this life ceaseth:
its deceit and its semblance are passed away. Cleave to me, to whom
every knee boweth, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things
under the earth. For all who have been negligent, and have not shown
pity in well-doing there, have nothing else due them than the
unquenchable fire. For I am the friend of man, but yet also a righteous
Judge to all. For I shall award the recompense according to desert; I
shall give the reward to all, according to each man's labour; I shall
make return to all, according to each man's conflict. I wish to have
pity, but I see no oil in your vessels. I desire to have mercy, but ye
have passed through life entirely without mercy. I long to have
compassion, but your lamps are dark by reason of your hardness of
heart. Depart from me. For judgment is without mercy to him that hath
showed no mercy. [2013]
__________________________________________________________________
[2013] Jas. ii. 13.
__________________________________________________________________
XLVIII.
Then shall they also make answer to the dread Judge, who accepteth no
man's person: Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and ministered not unto
Thee? Lord, dost Thou know us not? Thou didst form us, Thou didst
fashion us, Thou didst make us of four elements, Thou didst give us
spirit and soul. On Thee we believed; Thy seal we received, Thy baptism
we obtained; we acknowledged Thee to be God, we knew Thee to be
Creator; in Thee we wrought sights, through Thee we cast out demons,
for Thee we mortified the flesh, for Thee we preserved virginity, for
Thee we practised chastity, for Thee we became strangers on the earth;
and Thou sayest, I know you not, depart from me! Then shall He make
answer to them, and say, Ye acknowledged me as Lord, but ye kept not my
words. Ye were marked with the seal of my cross, but ye deleted it by
your hardness of heart. Ye obtained my baptism, but ye observed not my
commandments. Ye subdued your body to virginity, but ye kept not mercy,
but ye did not cast the hatred of your brother out of your souls. For
not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall be saved, but he that
doeth my will. [2014] And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. [2015]
__________________________________________________________________
[2014] Matt. vii. 23.
[2015] Matt. xxv. 46.
__________________________________________________________________
XLIX.
"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life."
Ye have heard, beloved, the answer of the Lord; ye have learned the
sentence of the Judge; ye have been given to understand what kind of
awful scrutiny awaits us, and what day and what hour are before us. Let
us therefore ponder this every day; let us meditate on this both day
and night, both in the house, and by the way, and in the churches, that
we may not stand forth at that dread and impartial judgment condemned,
abased, and sad, but with purity of action, life, conversation, and
confession; so that to us also the merciful and benignant God may say,
"Thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace;" [2016] and again, "Well done,
good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I
will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord." [2017] Which joy may it be ours to reach, by the grace and
kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom pertain glory, honour, and
adoration, with His Father, who is without beginning, and His holy, and
good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of the ages.
Amen. [2018]
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[2016] Luke vii. 50.
[2017] Matt. xxv. 23.
[2018] [Here follows the text, Apoc. ii. 10, transposed above.]
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Hippolytus on the Twelve Apostles:
Where each of them preached, and where he met his end
1. Peter preached the Gospel in Pontus, and Galatia, and Cappadocia,
and Betania, and Italy, and Asia, and was afterwards crucified by Nero
in Rome with his head downward, as he had himself desired to suffer in
that manner.
2. Andrew preached to the Scythians and Thracians, and was crucified,
suspended on an olive tree, at Patrae, a town of Achaia; and there too
he was buried.
3. John, again, in Asia, was banished by Domitian the king to the isle
of Patmos, in which also he wrote his Gospel and saw the apocalyptic
vision; and in Trajan's time he fell asleep at Ephesus, where his
remains were sought for, but could not be found.
4. James, his brother, when preaching in Judea, was cut off with the
sword by Herod the tetrarch, and was buried there.
5. Philip preached in Phrygia, and was crucified in Hierapolis with his
head downward in the time of Domitian, and was buried there.
6. Bartholomew, again, preached to the Indians, to whom he also gave
the Gospel according to Matthew, and was crucified with his head
downward, and was buried in Allanum, [2019] a town of the great
Armenia. [2020]
7. And Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, [2021] and
published it at Jerusalem, and fell asleep at Hierees, a town of
Parthia.
8. And Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians,
Bactrians, and Margians, [2022] and was thrust through in the four
members of his body with a pine spear [2023] at Calamene, [2024] the
city of India, and was buried there.
9. And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem, was
stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried there beside the temple.
10. Jude, who is also called Lebbaeus, preached to the people of
Edessa, [2025] and to all Mesopotamia, and fell asleep at Berytus, and
was buried there.
11. Simon the Zealot, [2026] the son of Clopas, who is also called
Jude, became bishop of Jerusalem after James the Just, and fell asleep
and was buried there at the age of 120 years.
12. And Matthias, who was one of the seventy, was numbered along with
the eleven apostles, and preached in Jerusalem, and fell asleep and was
buried there.
13. And Paul entered into the apostleship a year after the assumption
of Christ; and beginning at Jerusalem, he advanced as far as Illyricum,
and Italy, and Spain, preaching the Gospel for five-and-thirty years.
And in the time of Nero he was beheaded at Rome, and was buried there.
__________________________________________________________________
[2019] Or Albanum.
[2020] [The general tradition is, that he was flayed alive, and then
crucified.]
[2021] [See Scrivener, Introduction, p. 282, note 1, and Lardner,
Credib., ii. 494, etc.]
[2022] Margois. Combefisius proposes Mardois. Jerome has "Magis."
[2023] The text is elakede elonchiasthe, elakede being probably for
elate.
[2024] Kalamene. Steph. le Moyne reads Karamene.
[2025] Aidesinois.
[2026] ho Kananites.
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The same Hippolytus on the Seventy Apostles. [2027]
1. James the Lord's brother, [2028] bishop of Jerusalem.
2. Cleopas, bishop of Jerusalem.
3. Matthias, who supplied the vacant place in the number of the twelve
apostles.
4. Thaddeus, who conveyed the epistle to Augarus.
5. Ananias, who baptized Paul, and was bishop of Damascus.
6. Stephen, the first martyr.
7. Philip, who baptized the eunuch.
8. Prochorus, bishop of Nicomedia, who also was the first that
departed, [2029] believing together with his daughters.
9. Nicanor died when Stephen was martyred.
10. Timon, bishop of Bostra.
11. Parmenas, bishop of Soli.
12. Nicolaus, bishop of Samaria.
13. Barnabas, bishop of Milan.
14. Mark the evangelist, bishop of Alexandria.
15. Luke the evangelist.
These two belonged to the seventy disciples who were scattered [2030]
by the offence of the word which Christ spoke, "Except a man eat my
flesh, and drink my blood, he is not worthy of me." [2031] But the one
being induced to return to the Lord by Peter's instrumentality, and the
other by Paul's, they were honoured to preach that Gospel [2032] on
account of which they also suffered martyrdom, the one being burned,
and the other being crucified on an olive tree.
16. Silas, bishop of Corinth.
17. Silvanus, bishop of Thessalonica.
18. Crisces (Crescens), bishop of Carchedon in Gaul.
19. Epaenetus, bishop of Carthage.
20. Andronicus, bishop of Pannonia.
21. Amplias, bishop of Odyssus.
22. Urban, bishop of Macedonia.
23. Stachys, bishop of Byzantium.
24. Barnabas, bishop of Heraclea.
25. Phygellus, bishop of Ephesus. He was of the party also of Simon.
[2033]
26. Hermogenes. He, too, was of the same mind with the former.
27. Demas, who also became a priest of idols.
28. Apelles, bishop of Smyrna.
29. Aristobulus, bishop of Britain.
30. Narcissus, bishop of Athens.
31. Herodion, bishop of Tarsus.
32. Agabus the prophet.
33. Rufus, bishop of Thebes.
34. Asyncritus, bishop of Hyrcania.
35. Phlegon, bishop of Marathon.
36. Hermes, bishop of Dalmatia.
37. Patrobulus, [2034] bishop of Puteoli.
38. Hermas, bishop of Philippi.
39. Linus, bishop of Rome.
40. Caius, bishop of Ephesus.
41. Philologus, bishop of Sinope.
42, 43. Olympus and Rhodion were martyred in Rome.
44. Lucius, bishop of Laodicea in Syria.
45. Jason, bishop of Tarsus.
46. Sosipater, bishop of Iconium.
47. Tertius, bishop of Iconium.
48. Erastus, bishop of Panellas.
49. Quartus, bishop of Berytus.
50. Apollo, bishop of Caesarea.
51. Cephas. [2035]
52. Sosthenes, bishop of Colophonia.
53. Tychicus, bishop of Colophonia.
54. Epaphroditus, bishop of Andriace.
55. Caesar, bishop of Dyrrachium.
56. Mark, cousin to Barnabas, bishop of Apollonia.
57. Justus, bishop of Eleutheropolis.
58. Artemas, bishop of Lystra.
59. Clement, bishop of Sardinia.
60. Onesiphorus, bishop of Corone.
61. Tychicus, bishop of Chalcedon.
62. Carpus, bishop of Berytus in Thrace.
63. Evodus, bishop of Antioch.
64. Aristarchus, bishop of Apamea.
65. Mark, who is also John, bishop of Bibloupolis.
66. Zenas, bishop of Diospolis.
67. Philemon, bishop of Gaza.
68, 69. Aristarchus and Pudes.
70. Trophimus, who was martyred along with Paul.
__________________________________________________________________
[2027] In the Codex Baroccian. 206. This is found also, along with the
former piece, On the Twelve Apostles, in two codices of the Coislinian
or Seguierian Library, as Montfaucon states in his recension of the
Greek manuscripts of that library. He mentions also a third codex of
Hippolytus, On the Twelve Apostles. [Probably spurious, but yet
antique.]
[2028] adelphotheos.
[2029] exelthon.
[2030] The text is, outoi hoi B' ton o tunchanonton diaskorpisthenton.
It may be meant for, "these two of the seventy were scattered," etc.
[2031] John vi. 53, 66.
[2032] euangelizesthai, perhaps = write of that Gospel, as the Latin
version puts it. [But St. Mark's body is said to be in Venice.]
[2033] Magus.
[2034] Rom. xvi. 14, Patrobas.
[2035] In the manuscript there is a lacuna here.
__________________________________________________________________
Heads of the Canons of Abulide or Hippolytus,
Which are used by the AEthiopian Christians. [2036]
1. Of the holy faith of Jesus Christ. [2037]
2. Of bishops. [2038]
3. Of prayers spoken on the ordination of bishops, and of the order of
the Missa. [2039]
4. Of the ordination of presbyters.
5. Of the ordination of deacons.
6. Of those who suffer persecution for the faith. [2040]
7. Of the election of reader and sub-deacon. [2041]
8. Of the gift of healing. [2042]
9. Of the presbyter who abides in a place inconvenient for his office.
[2043]
10. Of those who are converted to the Christian religion.
11. Of him who makes idols. [2044]
12. Various pursuits [2045] are enumerated, the followers of which are
not to be admitted to the Christian religion until repentance is
exhibited. [2046]
13. Of the place which the highest kings or princes shall occupy in the
temple. [2047]
14. That it is not meet for Christians to bear arms. [2048]
15. Of works which are unlawful to Christians. [2049]
16. Of the Christian who marries a slave-woman. [2050]
17. Of the free woman. [2051]
18. Of the midwife; and that the women ought to be separate from the
men in prayer. [2052]
19. Of the catechumen who suffers martyrdom before baptism. [2053]
20. Of the fast of the fourth and sixth holiday; and of Lent. [2054]
21. That presbyters should assemble daily with the people in church.
[2055]
22. Of the week of the Jews' passover; and of him who knows not
passover (Easter). [2056]
23. That every one be held to learn doctrine. [2057]
24. Of the care of the bishop over the sick. [2058]
25. Of him on whom the care of the sick is enjoined; and of the time at
which prayers are to be made. [2059]
26. Of the time at which exhortations are to be heard. [2060]
27. Of him who frequents the temple every day. [2061]
28. That the faithful ought to eat nothing before the holy communion.
[2062]
29. That care is to be well taken that nothing fall from the chalice to
the ground. [2063]
30. Of catechumens. [2064]
31. That a deacon may dispense the Eucharist to the people with
permission of a bishop or presbyter. [2065]
32. That widows and virgins ought to pray constantly. [2066]
33. That commemoration should be made of the faithful dead every day,
with the exception of the Lord's day. [2067]
34. Of the sober behaviour of the secular [2068] in church. [2069]
35. That deacons may pronounce the benediction and thanksgiving at the
love-feasts when a bishop is not present. [2070]
36. Of the first-fruits of the earth, and of vows. [2071]
37. When a bishop celebrates the holy communion (Synaxis), [2072] the
presbyters who stand by him should be clothed in white. [2073]
38. That no one ought to sleep on the night of the resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ. [2074]
__________________________________________________________________
[2036] These were first published in French by Jo. Michael Wanslebius
in his book De Ecclesia Alexandrina, Paris, 1677, p. 12; then in Latin,
by Job Ludolfus, in his Commentar. ad historiam AEthiopicam, Frankfort,
1691, p. 333; and by William Whiston, in vol. iii. of his Primitive
Christianity Revived, published in English at London, 1711, p. 543. He
has also noted the passages in the Constitutions Apostolicae, treating
the same matters.
[2037] Constit. Apostol., lib. vi. ch. 11, etc.
[2038] Lib. vii. ch. 41.
[2039] Lib. vii. ch. 4, 5, 10. [The service of the faithful, Missa
Fidelium, not the modern Mass. See Bingham, book xv. The Missa was an
innocent word for the dismission of those not about to receive the
Communion. See Guettee, Exposition, etc., p. 433.]
[2040] Lib. viii. ch. 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 45.
[2041] Lib. viii. ch. 21, 22.
[2042] Lib. viii. ch. 1, 2.
[2043] Lib. viii. ch. 46, 32.
[2044] Lib. viii. ch. 46, 32.
[2045] Studia.
[2046] Lib. viii. ch. 46, 32.
[2047] Wanting.
[2048] Lib. viii. ch. 32.
[2049] Lib. viii. ch. 32.
[2050] Lib. viii. ch. 32.
[2051] Lib. viii. ch. 32.
[2052] Lib. ii. ch. 57.
[2053] Lib. v. ch. 6.
[2054] Lib. v. ch. 13, 15.
[2055] Lib. ii. ch. 36.
[2056] Lib. v. ch. 15, etc.
[2057] Lib. vii. ch. 39, 40, 41.
[2058] Lib. iv. ch. 2.
[2059] Lib. iii. ch. 19, viii. ch. 34.
[2060] Lib. viii. ch. 32.
[2061] Lib. ii. ch. 59.
[2062] Wanting.
[2063] Wanting,
[2064] Lib. vii. ch. 39, etc.
[2065] Lib. viii. ch. 28.
[2066] Lib. iii. ch. 6, 7, 13.
[2067] Lib iv. ch. 14, viii. ch. 41-44.
[2068] i.e., laymen.
[2069] Lib. ii. ch. 57.
[2070] Wanting.
[2071] Or offerings. Lib. ii. ch. 25.
[2072] [Synaxis. Elucidation II.]
[2073] Lib. vii. ch. 29, viii. 30, 31. (See the whole history of
ecclesiastical antiquity, on this point, in the learned work of Wharton
B. Marriott, Vestiarium Christianum, London, Rivingtons, 1868.]
[2074] Lib. viii. ch. 12, v. ch. 19.
__________________________________________________________________
Canons of the Church of Alexandria.
Wrongly ascribed to Hippolytus. [2075]
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Those are the canons of the Church, ordinances which Hippolytus wrote,
by whom the Church speaketh; and the number of them is thirty-eight
canons. Greeting from the Lord.
Canon First. Of the Catholic faith. Before all things should we speak
of the faith, holy and right, regarding our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of the living God; and we have consequently placed that canon in the
faith (the symbol); and we agree in this with all reasonable certitude,
that the Trinity is equal perfectly in honour, and equal in glory, and
has neither beginning nor end. The Word is the Son of God, and is
Himself the Creator of every creature, of things visible and invisible.
This we lay down with one accord, in opposition to those who have said
boldly, that it is not right to speak of the Word of God as our Lord
Jesus Christ spake. We come together chiefly to bring out the holy
truth [2076] regarding God; and we have separated them, because they do
not agree with the Church in theology, nor with us the sons of the
Scriptures. On this account we have sundered them from the Church, and
have left what concerns them to God, who will judge His creatures with
justice. [2077] To those, moreover, who are not cognisant of them, we
make this known without ill-will, in order that they may not rush into
an evil death, like heretics, but may gain eternal life, and teach
their sons and their posterity this one true faith.
Canon Second. Of bishops. A bishop should be elected by all the people,
and he should be unimpeachable, as it is written of him in the apostle;
in the week in which he is ordained, the whole people should also say,
We desire him; and there should be silence in the whole hall, and they
should all pray in his behalf, and say, O God, stablish him whom Thou
hast prepared for us, etc.
Canon Third. Prayer in behalf of him who is made bishop, and the
ordinance of the Missa. [2078] O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation, etc.
Canon Fourth. Of the ordination of a presbyter.
Canon Fifth. Of the constituting a deacon.
Canon Sixth. Of those who have suffered for the faith.
Canon Seventh. Of him who is elected reader and sub-deacon.
Canon Eighth. Of the gift of healings.
Canon Ninth. That a presbyter should not dwell in unbefitting places;
and of the honour of widows.
Canon Tenth. Of those who wish to become Nazarenes (Christians).
Canon Eleventh. Of him who makes idols and images, or the artificer.
Canon Twelfth. Of the prohibition of those works, the authors of which
are not to be received but on the exhibition of repentance.
Canon Thirteenth. Of a prince or a soldier, that they be not received
indiscriminately.
Canon Fourteenth. That a Nazarene may not become a soldier unless by
order.
Canon Fifteenth. Enumeration of works which are unlawful.
Canon Sixteenth. Of him who has a lawful wife, and takes another beside
her.
Canon Seventeenth. Of a free-born woman, and her duties. Of midwives,
and of the separation of men from women. Of virgins, that they should
cover their faces and their heads.
Canon Eighteenth. Of women in childbed, and of midwives again.
Canon Nineteenth. Of catechumens, and the ordinance of Baptism and the
Missa.
Canon Twentieth. Of the fast the six days, and of that of Lent.
Canon Twenty-first. Of the daily assembling of priests and people in
the church.
Canon Twenty-second. Of the week of the Jews' passover, wherein joy
shall be put away, and of what is eaten therein; and of him who, being
brought up abroad, is ignorant of the Calendar. [2079]
Canon Twenty-third. Of doctrine, that it should be continuous, greater
than the sea, and that its words ought to be fulfilled by deeds.
Canon Twenty-fourth. Of the bishop's visitation of the sick; and that
if an infirm man has prayed in the church, and has a house, he should
go to him.
Canon Twenty-fifth. Of the procurator appointed for the sick, and of
the bishop, and the times of prayer.
Canon Twenty-sixth. Of the hearing of the word in church, and of
praying in it.
Canon Twenty-seventh. Of him who does not come to church daily,--let
him read books; and of prayer at midnight and cock-crowing, and of the
washing of hands at the time of any prayer.
Canon Twenty-eighth. That none of the believers should taste anything,
but after he has taken the sacred mysteries, especially in the days of
fasting.
Canon Twenty-ninth. Of the keeping of oblations which are laid upon the
altar,--that nothing fall into the sacred chalice, and that nothing
fall from the priests, nor from the boys when they take communion; that
an evil spirit rule them not, and that no one speak in the protection,
[2080] except in prayer; and when the oblations of the people cease,
let psalms be read with all attention, even to the signal of the bell;
and of the sign of the cross, and the casting of the dust of the altar
into the pool. [2081]
Canon Thirtieth. Of catechumens and the like.
Canon Thirty-first. Of the bishop and presbyter bidding the deacons
present the communion.
Canon Thirty-second. Of virgins and widows, that they should pray and
fast in the church. Let those who are given to the clerical order pray
according to their judgment. Let not a bishop be bound to fasting but
with the clergy. And on account of a feast or supper, let him prepare
for the poor. [2082]
Canon Thirty-third. Of the Atalmsas (the oblation), which they shall
present for those who are dead, that it be not done on the Lord's day.
Canon Thirty-fourth. That no one speak much, nor make a clamour; and of
the entrance of the saints into the mansions of the faithful.
Canon Thirty-fifth. Of a deacon present at a feast at which there is a
presbyter present,--let him do his part in prayer and the breaking of
bread for a blessing, and not for the body; and of the discharge of
widows.
Canon Thirty-sixth. Of the first-fruits of the earth, and the first
dedication of them; and of presses, oil, honey, milk, wool, and the
like, which may be offered to the bishop for his blessing.
Canon Thirty-seventh. As often as a bishop takes of the sacred
mysteries, let the deacons and presbyters be gathered together, clothed
in white robes, brilliant in the view of all the people; and in like
manner with a reader.
Canon Thirty-eighth. Of the night on which our Lord Jesus Christ rose.
That no one shall sleep on that night, and wash himself with water; and
a declaration concerning such a one; and a declaration concerning him
who sins after baptism, and of things lawful and unlawful.
The sacred canons of the holy patriarch Hippolytus, the first patriarch
of the great city of Rome, [2083] which he composed, are ended; and the
number of them is thirty-eight canons. May the Lord help us to keep
them. And to God be glory for ever, and on us be His mercy for ever.
Amen.
__________________________________________________________________
[2075] De Magistris, Acta Martyrum ad Ostia Tiberina, Rome, 1795, fol.
Append., p. 478. [Bunsen, vol. ii. p. 302.]
[2076] [Ad proferendum sancte. A very primitive token.]
[2077] [Note this mild excommunication of primitive ages.]
[2078] Ordinatio missae. [Missa. See note 6, p, 256, supra.]
[2079] Connection, textum.
[2080] Sanctuary [Guettee, p. 424. Within the chancel-rails.]
[2081] [Bells first used in the fourth century by Paulinus in
Campania.]
[2082] And of the preparing a table for the poor.
[2083] [A very strange title in many respects. But see p. 239, supra.]
__________________________________________________________________
Elucidations.
------------------------
I.
(The God-bearing Mary, p. 242.)
"This name" (theotokos), says Pearson, "was first in use in the Greek
Church, which, delighting in the happy compositions of that language,
so called the Blessed Virgin; from which the Latins, in imitation,
styled her Virginem Deiparam," etc....Yet those ancient Greeks which
call the Virgin theotokos, did not call her metera tou Theou, "Mother
of God." This was very different to a pious ear, and rests on no
synodical authority. The very learned notes of Pearson, On the Creed,
pp. 297, 299, should by all means be consulted. Leo of Rome, called
"the Great," seems to have coined the less orthodox expression, relying
on Holy Scripture, indeed, in the salutation of Elisabeth (Luke i. 43).
This term has been sadly abused for Mariolatry.
II.
(Synaxis, p. 257.)
It seems to me worth while to quote a few words from the new and
critical edition of Leighton's Works, which should be consulted for
fuller information. [2084] The editor says: "Leighton uses a word for
the Holy Communion which is worth noting, because it is rarely used by
Western theologians." The word Synaxis is but a Christianized form of
the word Synagogue; but, like the word koinonia, it points to Christ's
mystical body,--"gathering together in one the children of God."
Synaxis = sunagei eis hen. It sums up the idea, "We, being many, are
one Bread and one Body, for we are all partakers of that one Bread."
Compare John xi. 52 and 1 Cor. x. 15.
St. Chrysostom calls the Synaxis phrikodestate, which is a very
different thing from maxime tremenda, as applied to the modern "Mass,"
in behalf of which it is quoted. For Chrysostom applies it to the
participation of the "Synaxis," and not to the "oblation," much less to
the "Host" as an object of adoration, of which he never heard or
dreamed. He calls "the Synaxis" Shudderful (to borrow a word from the
Germans), because the unworthy recipient, in the Synaxis, eats and
drinks his own condemnation. [2085] One must ever be on his guard
against the subtlety which reads into the Fathers modern ideas under
ancient phrases. [2086] Precisely so Holy Scripture itself is
paraphrased into Trent doctrine, as in Acts xiii. 2 the Louvain
versionists rendered the text, "And while they offered the sacrifice of
the Mass and fasted."
__________________________________________________________________
[2084] Leighton, Works, edited by West, of Nairn, vol. vi. p. 243,
note. London, Longmans, 1870.
[2085] 1 Cor. xi. 29-34. Chrysostom evidently has in view the
apostle's argument, based on the Communion as a Synaxis, and not on its
hierurgic aspects.
[2086] Mendham's Literary Policy of the Church of Rome (passim), and
also the old work of James, On the Corruption of Scripture, Councils,
and Fathers, a new edition. London: Parker, 1843.
Saint Hippolytus - part 3
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