22. Coalition of sordid Meletians with insane Arians.
For you perceive how, though they were formerly at variance with one another, they have now, like Herod and Pontius, agreed together in order to blaspheme our Lord Jesus Christ. And for this they truly deserve the hatred of every man, because they were at enmity with one another on private grounds, but have now become friends and join hands, in their hostility to the Truth and their impiety towards God. Nay, they are content to do or suffer anything, however contrary to their principles, for the satisfaction of securing their several aims; the Meletians for the sake of pre-eminence and the mad love of money, and the Arian madmen for their own impiety. And thus by this coalition they are able to assist one another in their malicious designs, while the Meletians put on the impiety of the Arians, and the Arians from their own wickedness concur in their baseness, so that by thus mingling together their respective crimes, like the cup of Babylon [1270] , they may carry on their plots against the orthodox worshippers of our Lord Jesus Christ. The wickedness and falsehood of the Meletians were indeed even before this evident unto all men; so too the impiety and godless heresy of the Arians have long been known everywhere and to all; for the period of their existence has not been a short one. The former became schismatics five and fifty years ago, and it is thirty-six years since the latter were pronounced heretics [1271] , and they were rejected from the Church by the judgment of the whole Ecumenic Council. But by their present proceedings they have proved at length, even to those who seem openly to favour them, that they have carried on their designs against me and the rest of the orthodox Bishops from the very first solely for the sake of advancing their own impious heresy. For observe, that which was long ago the great object of Eusebius and his fellows is now brought about. They have caused the Churches to be snatched out of our hands, they have banished as they pleased, the Bishops and Presbyters who refused to communicate with them; and the people who withdrew from them they have excluded from the Churches, which they have given up into the hands of the Arians who were condemned so long ago, so that with the assistance of the hypocrisy of the Meletians they can without fear pour forth in them their impious language, and make ready, as they think, the way of deceit for Antichrist [1272] , who sowed among them the seeds of this heresy.
23. Conclusion.
Let them however thus dream and imagine vain things. We know that when our gracious Emperor shall hear of it, he will put a stop to their wickedness, and they will not continue long, but according to the words of Scripture, the hearts of the impious shall quickly fail them [1273] .' But let us, as it is written, put on the words of holy Scripture [1274] ,' and resist them as apostates who would set up fanaticism in the house of the Lord. And let us not fear the death of the body, nor let us emulate their ways; but let the word of Truth be preferred before all things. We also, as you all know, were formerly required [1275] by Eusebius and his fellows either to put on their impiety, or to expect their hostility; but we would not engage ourselves with them, but chose rather to be persecuted by them, than to imitate the conduct of Judas. And assuredly they have done what they threatened; for after the manner of Jezebel, they engaged the treacherous Meletians to assist them, knowing how the latter resisted the blessed martyr Peter, and after him the great Achillas, and then Alexander, of blessed memory, in order that, as being practised in such matters, the Meletians might pretend against us also whatever might be suggested to them, while Eusebius and his fellows gave them an opening for persecuting and for seeking to kill me. For this is what they thirst after; and they continue to this day to desire to shed my blood. But of these things I have no care; for I know and am persuaded that they who endure shall receive a reward from our Saviour; and that ye also, if ye endure as the Fathers did, and shew yourselves examples to the people, and overthrow these strange and alien devices of impious men, shall be able to glory, and say, We have kept the Faith [1276] ;' and ye shall receive the crown of life,' which God hath promised to them that love Him [1277] .' And God grant that I also together with you may inherit the promises, which, were given, not to Paul only, but also to all them that have loved the appearing [1278] ' of our Lord, and Saviour, and God, and universal King, Jesus Christ; through whom to the Father be glory and dominion in the Holy Spirit, both now and for ever, world without end [1279] . Amen.
[1212] Cf. De Syn. §§15, 18.
[1213] De Syn. 15-19.
[1214] Joel ii. 25. [With this entire section, compare Socr. i. 5, de Decr. 6, de Syn. 15, Orat. i. 5. 6, ad Afros 5, Vit. Ant. 69, and the Depositio Arii.']
[1215] Cf. Ep. ad Jov. (Letter 56, below), §2. Theod. H. E. v. 9. p. 205, l. 17. vid. Keble on Primitive Trad. p. 122. 10. Let each boldly set down his faith in writing, having the fear of God before his eyes.' Conc. Chalced. Sess. 1. Hard. t. 2. 273. Give diligence without fear, favour, or dislike, to set out the faith in its purity.' ibid. p. 285.
[1216] John i. 1.
[1217] 1 John v. 20.
[1218] Rom. i. 25. supr. §4, and note on Or. i. 8, also Vit. Ant. 69.
[1219] John x. 30; xiv. 9, and Or. i. 34, note.
[1220] Heb. i. 3.
[1221] Matt. xvii. 5.
[1222] Ps. xxxiii. 6.
[1223] John i. 3.
[1224] Cf. de. Decr. 6, note 5.
[1225] Mark i. 24; Matt. viii. 29.
[1226] [Matt. iv. 3; Luke iv. 3. No existing text appears to bear out Athanasius in his insertion of the definite article.]
[1227] John xiv. 10.
[1228] John i. 3.
[1229] Heb. ii. 10.
[1230] Joh. i. 3.
[1231] Matt. xvii. 5.
[1232] Vid. passage in Orat. ii. 39 fin.
[1233] de Decr. 16, note 4.
[1234] Cf. Col. ii. 3, 9.
[1235] de Decr. 22 note 9.
[1236] 1 Cor. i. 24.
[1237] Matt. xi. 27.
[1238] John vi. 46.
[1239] John x. 15.
[1240] John i. 1.
[1241] Orat. ii. 18-72; Prov. viii. 22.
[1242] Ps. cxvi. 16, &c.
[1243] de Decr. 14.
[1244] John i. 14.
[1245] De Syn. 26, and note.
[1246] eidos, ibid. §52, note.
[1247] Orat. i. 20, note.
[1248] John v. 17.
[1249] Isa. i. 22, cf. Orat. iii. §35, also de Decr. 10 end.
[1250] Ps. liii. 1.
[1251] Matt. v. 15.
[1252] Infr. §21, note.
[1253] Job xviii. 5.
[1254] Luke xvi. 8.
[1255] Vid. Letter 54.
[1256] Acts i. 18.
[1257] Is. xiv. 27.
[1258] Is. lii. 11.
[1259] Cf. De Syn. 6, 9.
[1260] 1 Tim. iv. 1; Tit. i. 14; 2 Tim. iii. 12
[1261] Rom. viii. 35.
[1262] Orat. i. 2, 10.
[1263] Rom. viii. 15.
[1264] Gal. v. 13.
[1265] i.e. from Egypt.
[1266] Vid. Suicer Thes. in voc. mart. iii. [D.C.A. 1118 sqq.]
[1267] 1 Tim. i. 19.
[1268] Heb. xi. 32, &c.
[1269] 1 Tim. iv. 1.
[1270] Rev. xviii. 6.
[1271] This apodeixis or declaration is ascribed to S. Alexander (as Montfaucon would explain it, supr. introd. p. 222). Cf. Ap. Ar. 23, above, §§18, 19. It should be observed that an additional reason for assigning this Letter to the year 356, is its resemblance in parts to the Orations which were written not long after. [This is not a strong reason, there being no proof that the Orations were written early in the exile.]
[1272] De Syn. 5, note 10.
[1273] Prov. x. 20, LXX.
[1274] 2 Kings xvii. 9, LXX.
[1275] Apol. Ar. §59.
[1276] 2 Tim. iv. 7.
[1277] James i. 12.
[1278] 2 Tim. iv. 8.
[1279] [Cf. the doxology at the end of Apol. pro Fuga, and (with a difference) that of Hist. Ar. 80, contrasting that in de Decr. 32. Dr. Bright observes that Athan. felt himself free to use both forms, although at Antioch they became symbols respectively of the Arianisers and the Orthodox.']