Ante-Nicene Fathers • VOLUME 1
The Apostolic Fathers, Justin Martyr & Irenaeus
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Chapter III.--Testimonies to a future judgment.
Chapter III.--Testimonies to a future judgment. Then further concerning Him, that He alone is powerful, both to institute judgment on the deeds performed in life, and on the ignorance of the Deity [displayed by men], I can adduce witnesses from your own ranks; and first Sophocles, [2600] who speaks as follows:-- "That time of …
804 wordsSECTION 242Chapter V.--The vain pretensions of false gods.
Chapter V.--The vain pretensions of false gods. But concerning those who think that they shall share the holy and perfect name, which some have received by a vain tradition as if they were gods, Menander in the Auriga says:-- "If there exists a god who walketh out With an old woman, or who enters in By stealth to houses thro…
969 wordsSECTION 243Chapter VI.--We should acknowledge one only God.
Chapter VI.--We should acknowledge one only God. Here, then, is a proof of virtue, and of a mind loving prudence, to recur to the communion of the unity, [2611] and to attach one's self to prudence for salvation, and make choice of the better things according to the free-will placed in man; and not to think that those who are p…
826 wordsSECTION 244Chapter II.--Objections to the resurrection of the flesh.
Chapter II.--Objections to the resurrection of the flesh. They who maintain the wrong opinion say that there is no resurrection of the flesh; giving as their reason that it is impossible that what is corrupted and dissolved should be restored to the same as it had been. And besides the impossibility, they say that the salvation…
886 wordsSECTION 245Chapter IV.--Must the deformed rise deformed?
Chapter IV.--Must the deformed rise deformed? Well, they say, if then the flesh rise, it must rise the same as it falls; so that if it die with one eye, it must rise one-eyed; if lame, lame; if defective in any part of the body, in this part the man must rise deficient. How truly blinded are they in the eyes of their hearts! Fo…
805 wordsSECTION 246Chapter VI.--The resurrection consistent with the opinions of the philosophers.
Chapter VI.--The resurrection consistent with the opinions of the philosophers. Those, then, who are called natural philosophers, say, some of them, as Plato, that the universe is matter and God; others, as Epicurus, that it is atoms and the void; [2625] others, like the Stoics, that it is these four--fire, water, air, earth. F…
1,018 wordsSECTION 247Chapter VIII.--Does the body cause the soul to sin?
Chapter VIII.--Does the body cause the soul to sin? Quite true, say they; yet the flesh is a sinner, so much so, that it forces the soul to sin along with it. And thus they vainly accuse it, and lay to its charge alone the sins of both. But in what instance can the flesh possibly sin by itself, if it have not the soul going bef…
981 wordsSECTION 248Chapter IX.--The resurrection of Christ proves that the body rises.
Chapter IX.--The resurrection of Christ proves that the body rises. If He had no need of the flesh, why did He heal it? And what is most forcible of all, He raised the dead. Why? Was it not to show what the resurrection should be? How then did He raise the dead? Their souls or their bodies? Manifestly both. If the resurrection …
2,227 wordsSECTION 249XVIII.
XV. And the fact that it was not said of the seventh day equally with the other days, "And there was evening, and there was morning," is a distinct indication of the consummation which is to take place in it before it is finished, as the fathers declare, especially St. Clement, and Irenæus, and Justin the martyr and philosopher…
800 wordsSECTION 250Chapter I.--Examination of Justin by the prefect.
Chapter I.--Examination of Justin by the prefect. In the time of the lawless partisans of idolatry, wicked decrees were passed against the godly Christians in town and country, to force them to offer libations to vain idols; and accordingly the holy men, having been apprehended, were brought before the prefect of Rome, Rusticus…
755 wordsSECTION 251Chapter IV.--Rusticus threatens the Christians with death.
Chapter IV.--Rusticus threatens the Christians with death. The prefect says to Justin, "Hearken, you who are called learned, and think that you know true doctrines; if you are scourged and beheaded, do you believe you will ascend into heaven?" Justin said, "I hope that, if I endure these things, I shall have His gifts. [2646] F…
2,318 wordsSECTION 252The great work of Irenæus, now for the first time translated into English, is unfortunately no longer extant in the original. It has come do
The great work of Irenæus, now for the first time translated into English, is unfortunately no longer extant in the original. It has come down to us only in an ancient Latin version, with the exception of the greater part of the first book, which has been preserved in the original Greek, through means of copious quotations made …
1,476 wordsSECTION 253Preface.
Preface. 1. Inasmuch [2655] as certain men have set the truth aside, and bring in lying words and vain genealogies, which, as the apostle says, [2656] "minister questions rather than godly edifying which is in faith," and by means of their craftily-constructed plausibilities draw away the minds of the inexperienced and take the…
2,203 wordsSECTION 254Chapter II.--The Propator was known to Monogenes alone. Ambition, disturbance, and danger into which Sophia fell; her shapeless offspring: s
Chapter II.--The Propator was known to Monogenes alone. Ambition, disturbance, and danger into which Sophia fell; her shapeless offspring: she is restored by Horos. The production of Christ and of the Holy Spirit, in order to the completion of the Æons. Manner of the production of Jesus. 1. They proceed to tell us that the Prop…
1,706 wordsSECTION 255Chapter III.--Texts of Holy Scripture used by these heretics to support their opinions.
Chapter III.--Texts of Holy Scripture used by these heretics to support their opinions. 1. Such, then, is the account they give of what took place within the Pleroma; such the calamities that flowed from the passion which seized upon the Æon who has been named, and who was within a little of perishing by being absorbed in the u…
1,792 wordsSECTION 256Chapter IV.--Account given by the heretics of the formation of Achamoth; origin of the visible world from her disturbances.
Chapter IV.--Account given by the heretics of the formation of Achamoth; origin of the visible world from her disturbances. 1. The following are the transactions which they narrate as having occurred outside of the Pleroma: The enthymesis of that Sophia who dwells above, which they also term Achamoth, [2711] being removed from …
1,672 wordsSECTION 257Chapter V.--Formation of the Demiurge; description of him. He is the creator of everything outside of the Pleroma.
Chapter V.--Formation of the Demiurge; description of him. He is the creator of everything outside of the Pleroma. 1. These three kinds of existence, then, having, according to them, been now formed,--one from the passion, which was matter; a second from the conversion, which was animal; and the third, that which she (Achamoth)…
1,651 wordsSECTION 258Chapter VI.--The threefold kind of man feigned by these heretics: good works needless for them, though necessary to others: their abandoned morals.
Chapter VI.--The threefold kind of man feigned by these heretics: good works needless for them, though necessary to others: their abandoned morals. 1. There being thus three kinds of substances, they declare of all that is material (which they also describe as being "on the left hand") that it must of necessity perish, inasmuch…
2,384 wordsSECTION 259Chapter VIII.--How the Valentinians pervert the Scriptures to support their own pious opinions.
[2741] Their spiritual substance was received from Achamoth; their animal souls were created by the Demiurge. These are now separated; the spirit enters the Pleroma, while the soul remains in heaven. [2742] Viz., Achamoth. [2743] A Syriac fragment here reads, "He spake by the prophets through him." [2744] "Thus," says Harvey,…
2,499 wordsSECTION 260Chapter IX.--Refutation of the impious interpretations of these heretics.
[2750] Literally, "reading from things unwritten." [2751] Luke viii. 41. [2752] 1 Cor. xv. 8. [2753] 1 Cor. xi. 10. Irenæus here reads kalumma, veil, instead of exousian, power, as in the received text. [An interesting fact, as it betokens an old gloss, which may have slipped into the text of some ancient mss.] [2754] Matt. …
1,843 wordsSECTION 261Chapter X.--Unity of the faith of the Church throughout the whole world.
Chapter X.--Unity of the faith of the Church throughout the whole world. 1. The Church, though dispersed through our the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: [She believes] in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all thin…
1,242 wordsSECTION 262Chapter XI.--The opinions of Valentinus, with those of his disciples and others.
Chapter XI.--The opinions of Valentinus, with those of his disciples and others. 1. Let us now look at the inconsistent opinions of those heretics (for there are some two or three of them), how they do not agree in treating the same points, but alike, in things and names, set forth opinions mutually discordant. The first [2799]…
1,304 wordsSECTION 263Chapter XII.--The doctrines of the followers of Ptolemy and Colorbasus.
Chapter XII.--The doctrines of the followers of Ptolemy and Colorbasus. 1. But the followers of Ptolemy say [2805] that he [Bythus] has two consorts, which they also name Diatheses (affections), viz., Ennoea and Thelesis. For, as they affirm, he first conceived the thought of producing something, and then willed to that effect.…
865 wordsSECTION 264Chapter XIII.--The deceitful arts and nefarious practices of Marcus.
Chapter XIII.--The deceitful arts and nefarious practices of Marcus. 1. But [2813] there is another among these heretics, Marcus by name, who boasts himself as having improved upon his master. He is a perfect adept in magical impostures, and by this means drawing away a great number of men, and not a few women, he has induced t…
1,939 wordsSECTION 265Chapter XIV.--The various hypotheses of Marcus and others. Theories respecting letters and syllables.
Chapter XIV.--The various hypotheses of Marcus and others. Theories respecting letters and syllables. 1. This Marcus [2827] then, declaring that he alone was the matrix and receptacle of the Sige of Colorbasus, inasmuch as he was only-begotten, has brought to the birth in some such way as follows that which was committed to him…
2,266 wordsSECTION 2669. Thus it is, that in regard to the whole name, [2853] which consists of thirty letters, and Bythus, who receives his increase from the let
9. Thus it is, that in regard to the whole name, [2853] which consists of thirty letters, and Bythus, who receives his increase from the letters of this [name], and, moreover, the body of Aletheia, which is composed of twelve members, each of which consists of two letters, and the voice which she uttered without having spoken at…
714 wordsSECTION 267Chapter XV.--Sige relates to Marcus the generation of the twenty-four elements and of Jesus. Exposure of these absurdities.
Chapter XV.--Sige relates to Marcus the generation of the twenty-four elements and of Jesus. Exposure of these absurdities. 1. The all-wise Sige then announced the production of the four-and-twenty elements to him as follows:--Along with Monotes there coexisted Henotes, from which sprang two productions, as we have remarked abo…
1,927 wordsSECTION 268Chapter XVI.--Absurd interpretations of the Marcosians.
Chapter XVI.--Absurd interpretations of the Marcosians. 1. Blending in one the production of their own Æons, and the straying and recovery of the sheep [spoken of in the Gospel [2864] ], these persons endeavour to set forth things in a more mystical style, while they refer everything to numbers, maintaining that the universe ha…
1,367 wordsSECTION 269Chapter XVII.--The theory of the Marcosians, that created things were made after the image of things invisible.
Chapter XVII.--The theory of the Marcosians, that created things were made after the image of things invisible. 1. I wish also to explain to thee their theory as to the way in which the creation itself was formed through the mother by the Demiurge (as it were without his knowledge), after the image of things invisible. They mai…
1,947 wordsSECTION 270Chapter XIX.--Passages of Scripture by which they attempt to prove that the Supreme Father was unknown before the coming of Christ.
Chapter XIX.--Passages of Scripture by which they attempt to prove that the Supreme Father was unknown before the coming of Christ. 1. I judge it necessary to add to these details also what, by garbling passages of Scripture, they try to persuade us concerning their Propator, who was unknown to all before the coming of Christ. …
1,135 wordsSECTION 271Chapter XXI.--The views of redemption entertained by these heretics.
Chapter XXI.--The views of redemption entertained by these heretics. 1. It happens that their tradition respecting redemption [2921] is invisible and incomprehensible, as being the mother of things which are incomprehensible and invisible; and on this account, since it is fluctuating, it is impossible simply and all at once to …
1,477 wordsSECTION 272Chapter XXII.--Deviations of heretics from the truth.
Chapter XXII.--Deviations of heretics from the truth. 1. The rule [2929] of truth which we hold, is, that there is one God Almighty, who made all things by His Word, and fashioned and formed, out of that which had no existence, all things which exist. Thus saith the Scripture, to that effect: "By the Word of the Lord were the h…
1,804 wordsSECTION 273Chapter XXIV.--Doctrines of Saturninus and Basilides.
Chapter XXIV.--Doctrines of Saturninus and Basilides. 1. Arising among these men, Saturninus (who was of that Antioch which is near Daphne) and Basilides laid hold of some favourable opportunities, and promulgated different systems of doctrine--the one in Syria, the other at Alexandria. Saturninus, like Menander, set forth one …
1,541 wordsSECTION 274Chapter XXV.--Doctrines of Carpocrates.
Chapter XXV.--Doctrines of Carpocrates. 1. Carpocrates, again, and his followers maintain that the world and the things which are therein were created by angels greatly inferior to the unbegotten Father. They also hold that Jesus was the son of Joseph, and was just like other men, with the exception that he differed from them i…
1,411 wordsSECTION 275Chapter XXVI.--Doctrines of Cerinthus, the Ebionites, and Nicolaitanes.
Chapter XXVI.--Doctrines of Cerinthus, the Ebionites, and Nicolaitanes. 1. Cerinthus, again, a man who was educated [2955] in the wisdom of the Egyptians, taught that the world was not made by the primary God, but by a certain Power far separated from him, and at a distance from that Principality who is supreme over the univers…
1,197 wordsSECTION 276Chapter XXVIII.--Doctrines of Tatian, the Encratites, and others.
Chapter XXVIII.--Doctrines of Tatian, the Encratites, and others. 1. Many offshoots of numerous heresies have already been formed from those heretics we have described. This arises from the fact that numbers of them--indeed, we may say all--desire themselves to be teachers, and to break off from the particular heresy in which t…
1,317 wordsSECTION 277Chapter XXX.--Doctrines of the Ophites and Sethians.
Chapter XXX.--Doctrines of the Ophites and Sethians. 1. Others, again, portentously declare that there exists, in the power of Bythus, a certain primary light, blessed, incorruptible, and infinite: this is the Father of all, and is styled the first man. They also maintain that his Ennoea, going forth from him, produced a son, a…
2,367 wordsSECTION 27812. And since she herself had no rest either in heaven or on earth, she invoked her mother to assist her in her distress. Upon this, her mot
12. And since she herself had no rest either in heaven or on earth, she invoked her mother to assist her in her distress. Upon this, her mother, the first woman, was moved with compassion towards her daughter, on her repentance, and begged from the first man that Christ should be sent to her assistance, who, being sent forth, de…
1,066 wordsSECTION 279Chapter XXXI.--Doctrines of the Cainites.
Chapter XXXI.--Doctrines of the Cainites. 1. Others again declare that Cain derived his being from the Power above, and acknowledge that Esau, Korah, the Sodomites, and all such persons, are related to themselves. On this account, they add, they have been assailed by the Creator, yet no one of them has suffered injury. For Soph…
849 wordsSECTION 280Preface.
Preface. 1. In the first book, which immediately precedes this, exposing "knowledge falsely so called," [2986] I showed thee, my very dear friend, that the whole system devised, in many and opposite ways, by those who are of the school of Valentinus, was false and baseless. I also set forth the tenets of their predecessors, pro…
1,652 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.