Oration II Against the Arians 11–20

Athanasius of Alexandria · Oration II Against the Arians · ca. 339–346 · Rome · 10 passages

Greek text: Bright (Greek text: William Bright, The Orations of St. Athanasius against the Arians (Oxford: Clarendon, 1884), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 4 (1892).

Chapter 11

11Bright, 79–80

11. Εἰ δὲ δέδεικται, ὅτι, κἂν ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Λόγου τις λέγῃ τὸ ‘ἐποίησεν, ʼ ἀντὶ τοῦ ‘ἐγέννησεʼ λέγει· ποίαν ἄρα παρεξευρεῖν ἐπίνοιαν ἔτι μᾶλλον κακονοίας εἰς τοῦτο δυνήσονται, ὅπου γε πανταχόθεν ὁ λόγος τὸ ῥητὸν διακαθάρας, ἔδειξε μὴ εἶναι ποίημα τὸν Υἱὸν, ἀλλὰ τῇ μὲν οὐσίᾳ γέννημα τοῦ Πατρός· τῇ δὲ οἰκονομίᾳ κατʼ εὐδοκίαν τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἐποιήθη διʼ ἡμᾶς ἄνθρωπος καὶ συνίσταται; καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἄρα λέγεται παρὰ μὲν τῷ ἀποστόλῳ, ‘πιστὸν ὄντα τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτὸν, ʼ ἐν δὲ ταῖς Παροιμίαις καὶ τὸ ‘κτίζεσθαι.’ Ἕως γὰρ ὁμολογεῖται ‘γενόμενος ἄνθρωπος, ’ οὐδὲν διαφέρει λέγειν, καθάπερ προείρηται, εἴτε ‘ἐγένετο, ’ εἴτε ‘πεποίηται, ’ εἴτε ‘ἔκτισται, ’ εἴτε ‘πέπλασται, ʼ εἴτε ‘δοῦλος, ’ εἴτε ‘υἱὸς παιδίσκης, ’ εἴτε ‘υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, ʼ εἴτε ‘κατεστάθη, ’ εἴτε ‘ἀπεδήμησεν.’ εἴτε ‘νυμφίος, ’ εἴτε ‘ἀδελφιδοῦς, ’ εἴτε ‘ἀδελφός.’ Πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα τὰ λεξείδια τῆς ἀνθρώπων συστάσεως ἴδια τυγχάνει ὄντα· καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα οὐ τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Λόγου, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἄνθρωπον αὐτὸν γεγενῆσθαι σημαίνει. Τοιαύτην ἔχει διάνοιαν καὶ τὸ ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι παρʼ αὐτῶν πάλιν προφερόμενον ῥητὸν τοῦ Πέτρου λέγοντος, ‘ὅτι Κύριον καὶ Χριστὸν ἐποίησε τοῦτον τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ὃν ὑμεῖς ἐσταυρώσατε.’ Οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα γέγραπται, ‘ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ Υἱὸν, ’ ἢ, ‘ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ Λόγον, ʼ ἵνα καὶ τοιαῦτα φαντασθῶσιν. Εἰ μὲν οὖν μὴ ἐπελάθοντο ὅτι περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ λαλοῦσιν, ἐρευνάτωσαν εἴ που γέγραπται, ‘ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ Υἱὸν ὁ Θεὸς ἢ ‘ἔκτισεν ἑαυτῷ Λόγον· ἢ πάλιν, εἴ που γέγραπται φανερῶς, ποίημά ἐστιν ἢ κτίσμα ὁ Λόγος· ʼ καὶ τότε προφασιζέσθωσαν, ἵνα καὶ οὕτως ἐλεγχθῶσιν οἱ ἀνόητοι. Εἰ δὲ μηδέν τι τοιοῦτον εὑρίσκουσι, μόνον δὲ εἴ που γέγραπται, ‘ἐποίησε, ’ καὶ ‘πεποίηται, ’ θηρεύουσι· φοβοῦμαι μὴ κατʼ ὀλίγον ἀκούοντες, ‘Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, ʼ καὶ ‘ἐποίησε τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὴν σελήνην, ʼ καὶ, ‘ἐποίησε τὴν θάλασσαν.’ εἴπωσιν αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸ τῇ πρώτῃ ἡμέρᾳ γενόμενον φῶς, καὶ αὐτὸν εἶναι τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἕκαστον τῶν ποιηθέντων, ἵνα λοιπὸν ὁμοιωθῶσι καὶ τοῖς λεγομένοις Στωϊκοῖς. Ὅτι ἐκεῖνοι μὲν αὐτὸν τὸν Θεὸν ἐξαπλοῦσιν εἰς τὰ πάντα· οὗτοι δὲ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγον εἰς ἕκαστον τῶν ποιημάτων συντάττουσιν, εἰ καὶ φθάσαντες εἰρήκασι τὰ ὅμοια, λέγοντες ἕνα τῶν ποιημάτων αὐτὸν εἶναι.

11. Ei de dedeiktai, hoti, kan epʼ autou tou Logou tis legę̄ to ‘epoiēsen, ʼ anti tou ‘egennēseʼ legei; poian ara parexeurein epinoian eti mallon kakonoias eis touto dynēsontai, hopou ge pantachothen ho logos to rhēton diakatharas, edeixe mē einai poiēma ton Huion, alla tę̄ men ousią gennēma tou Patros; tę̄ de oikonomią katʼ eudokian tou Patros, epoiēthē diʼ hēmas anthrōpos kai synistatai? kai dia touto ara legetai para men tǭ apostolǭ, ‘piston onta tǭ poiēsanti auton, ʼ en de tais Paroimiais kai to ‘ktizesthai.’ Heōs gar homologeitai ‘genomenos anthrōpos, ’ ouden diapherei legein, kathaper proeirētai, eite ‘egeneto, ’ eite ‘pepoiētai, ’ eite ‘ektistai, ’ eite ‘peplastai, ʼ eite ‘doulos, ’ eite ‘huios paidiskēs, ’ eite ‘huios anthrōpou, ʼ eite ‘katestathē, ’ eite ‘apedēmēsen.’ eite ‘nymphios, ’ eite ‘adelphidous, ’ eite ‘adelphos.’ Panta gar tauta ta lexeidia tēs anthrōpōn systaseōs idia tynchanei onta; kai ta toiauta ou tēn ousian tou Logou, alla to anthrōpon auton gegenēsthai sēmainei. Toiautēn echei dianoian kai to en tais Praxesi parʼ autōn palin propheromenon rhēton tou Petrou legontos, ‘hoti Kyrion kai Christon epoiēse touton ton Iēsoun, hon hymeis estaurōsate.’ Oude gar oude entautha gegraptai, ‘epoiēsen heautǭ Huion, ’ ē, ‘epoiēsen heautǭ Logon, ʼ hina kai toiauta phantasthōsin. Ei men oun mē epelathonto hoti peri tou Huiou tou Theou lalousin, ereunatōsan ei pou gegraptai, ‘epoiēsen heautǭ Huion ho Theos ē ‘ektisen heautǭ Logon; ē palin, ei pou gegraptai phanerōs, poiēma estin ē ktisma ho Logos; ʼ kai tote prophasizesthōsan, hina kai houtōs elenchthōsin hoi anoētoi. Ei de mēden ti toiouton heuriskousi, monon de ei pou gegraptai, ‘epoiēse, ’ kai ‘pepoiētai, ’ thēreuousi; phoboumai mē katʼ oligon akouontes, ‘En archę̄ epoiēsen ho Theos ton ouranon kai tēn gēn, ʼ kai ‘epoiēse ton hēlion kai tēn selēnēn, ʼ kai, ‘epoiēse tēn thalassan.’ eipōsin auton einai ton ouranon, kai auton einai to tę̄ prōtę̄ hēmerą genomenon phōs, kai auton einai tēn gēn, kai hekaston tōn poiēthentōn, hina loipon homoiōthōsi kai tois legomenois Stōïkois. Hoti ekeinoi men auton ton Theon exaplousin eis ta panta; houtoi de ton tou Theou Logon eis hekaston tōn poiēmatōn syntattousin, ei kai phthasantes eirēkasi ta homoia, legontes hena tōn poiēmatōn auton einai.

If it has been shown that even if someone says “he made” of the Word himself, he says it instead of “he begot,” what further device of ill will can they find for this, when the argument, having cleared the saying from every side, has shown that the Son is not a work, but in substance the offspring of the Father, while in the economy, according to the Father's good pleasure, he was made and constituted man for our sake? And this, then, is why it is said by the apostle, “being faithful to him who made him,” and in the Proverbs, “to be created.” For so long as it is acknowledged that he “became man,” it makes no difference, as was said before, whether one says “he came to be,” or “he has been made,” or “he has been created,” or “he has been formed,” or “servant,” or “son of a handmaid,” or “son of man,” or “he was appointed,” or “he went abroad,” or “bridegroom,” or “kinsman,” or “brother.” For all these little words belong to the makeup of human beings; and such words signify not the substance of the Word but that he has become man. The saying of Peter in the Acts, which they again put forward, has the same sense: “that God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, Lord and Christ.” For here too it is not written, “he made for himself a Son,” or “he made for himself a Word,” that they should imagine such things. If, then, they have not forgotten that they are speaking about the Son of God, let them search whether it is anywhere written, “God made for himself a Son,” or “he created for himself a Word,” or again whether it is anywhere written plainly, “the Word is a work or a creature”; and then let them put it forward, so that even so the fools may be refuted. But if they find nothing of the kind, and only hunt for places where “he made” and “has been made” is written, I fear that before long, hearing “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth,” and “he made the sun and the moon,” and “he made the sea,” they will say that he is the heaven, and that he is the light that came to be on the first day, and that he is the earth and each of the things made, and so end by resembling the so-called Stoics too. For they extend God himself into all things, while these rank the Word of God with each of the works—though they have already said much the same thing, saying that he is one of the works.

Heb 3:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 8:22 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 2:6 (echo, low confidence) · Matt 9:15 (echo, low confidence) · Song 1:13 (echo, low confidence) · Acts 2:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 1:16 (quotation, medium confidence) · Ps 95:5 (94:5 LXX) (quotation, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Words like “made,” “created,” “servant,” or “brother” describe the Word's humanity; Scripture never says God made himself a Son or created a Word.

The list of terms gathers biblical titles of Christ; “bridegroom” and “kinsman” (ἀδελφιδοῦς, the beloved of the Song of Songs) are among them.
The Stoics taught that God pervades all things; Athanasius likens the Arian reading to this.
The text reads Ἰσσοῦν; corrected to Ἰησοῦν.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Doubled letter.): Ἰσσοῦν → Ἰησοῦν.

Topics: Christology, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 11 (Bright, 79–80; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-2/11/#p-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Bright (1884); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with NPNF² 4.

Chapter 12

12Bright, 80–81

12. Ἀλλὰ πάλιν ἀκουέτωσαν τὰ αὐτὰ, καὶ μανθανέτωσαν πρῶτον, ὅτι Υἱός ἐστιν, ὡς καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν εἴρηται, καὶ οὐ ποίημα ὁ Λόγος, καὶ οὐ δεῖ τὰς τοιαύτας λέξεις εἰς τὴν θεότητα αὐτοῦ λαμβάνειν, ἀλλʼ ἐρευνᾶν διὰ τί καὶ πῶς ταῦτα γέγραπται· καὶ πάντως ἀπαντήσει τοῖς ζητοῦσιν ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη οἰκονομία, ἣν διʼ ἡμᾶς ἀνεδέξατο. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ Πέτρος εἰρηκὼς, ‘Κύριον καὶ Χριστὸν αὐτὸν ἐποίησεν, ’ εὐθὺς ἐπήγαγε ‘τοῦτον τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ὃν ὑμεῖς ἐσταυρώσατε. ʼ καὶ πᾶσι γέγονε φανερὸν, (γένοιτο δʼ ἂν καὶ τούτοις, ἐὰν τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τηρήσωσιν, ) ὅτι οὐ τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Λόγου, ἀλλὰ κατά τὸ ἀνθρώπινον αὐτὸν πεποιῆσθαι ἔλεγε. Τί γάρ ἐστι τὸ σταυρούμενον ἢ τὸ σῶμα; τὸ δὲ σωματικὸν τοῦ Λόγου πῶς εἶχε σημᾶναι ἢ διὰ τοῦ εἰπεῖν, ἐποίησεν;’ ἄλλως τε καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον ἐνταῦθα, ‘ἐποίησεν, ʼ ὀρθὴν ἔχει τὴν διάνοιαν. Οὐ γάρ εἴρηκε, καθὰ προεῖπον, ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν Λόγον, ʼ ἀλλά, ‘Κύριον αὐτόν· ʼ καὶ οὐχ ἀπλῶς, ἀλλʼ ‘εἰς ὑμᾶς, ’ καὶ, ‘ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν ἐποίησεν, ʼ ἴσον τῷ εἰπεῖν, ‘ἀπέδειξε.’ Καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ ὁ Πέτρος, ἀρχόμενος τῆς τοιαύτης ἀρχιδιδασκαλίας, μετά παρατηρήσεως ἐσήμανεν, ἡνίκα πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἔλεγεν· ‘Ἄνδρες Ἰσραηλῖται, ἀκούσατε τοὺς λόγους τούτους· Ἰησοῦν τὸν Ναζωραῖον ἄνδρα ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀποδεδειγμένον εἰς ὑμᾶς δυνάμεσι, καὶ τέρασι, καὶ σημείοις, οἷς ἐποίησε διʼ αὐτοῦ ὁ Θεὸς ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν, καθὼς αὐτοὶ οἴδατε.’ Τὸ ὁ ἄρα πρὸς τῷ τέλει λεγόμενον, ‘ἐποίησε, ʼ τοῦτο ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ εἴρηκεν, ‘ἀπέδειξεν· ʼ ἀπὸ γὰρ τῶν σημείων καὶ ὧν ἐποίει θαυμασίων ὁ Κύριος, ἀπεδείχθη οὐχ ἀπλῶς ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλά Θεὸς ὢν ἐν σώματι, καὶ Κύριος αὐτὸς ὢν ὁ Χριστός. Τοιοῦτόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις λεγόμενον παρὰ τοῦ Ἰωάννου· ‘Διὰ τοῦτο οὖν μᾶλλον ἐδίωκον αὐτὸν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἔλυε τὸ σάββατον, ἀλλὰ καὶ Πατέρα ἴδιον ἔλεγε τὸν Θεὸν, ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιῶν τῷ Θεῷ.’ Οὐ γὰρ ἔπλαττεν ἑαυτὸν ὁ Κύριος τότε Θεόν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὅλως ἔνι ποιούμενος Θεός· ἀλλὰ ἀπεδείκνυε διὰ τῶν ἔργων, λέγων· ‘κἂν ἐμοὶ μὴ πιστεύητε, τοῖς ἔργοις μου πιστεύετε, ἵνα γνῶτε, ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί.᾿ Οὕτως τοίνυν Κύριον καὶ βασιλέα αὐτὸν πεποίηκεν ὁ Πατὴρ ἐν μέσῳ ἡμῶν, καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς τοὺς πρότερον ἀπειθοῦντας. Καὶ δῆλόν ἐστιν, ὡς ὁ νῦν Κύριος καὶ βασιλεὺς ἀναδεικνύμενος, οὐκ ἀρχὴν ἔχει τοῦ γενέσθαι τότε βασιλεὺς καὶ Κύριος, ἀλλʼ ἀρχὴν ἔχει τοῦ τὴν κυριότητα ἑαυτοῦ δεικνύειν, καὶ ἐκτείνειν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀπειθήσαντας.

12. Alla palin akouetōsan ta auta, kai manthanetōsan prōton, hoti Huios estin, hōs kai en tois emprosthen eirētai, kai ou poiēma ho Logos, kai ou dei tas toiautas lexeis eis tēn theotēta autou lambanein, allʼ ereunan dia ti kai pōs tauta gegraptai; kai pantōs apantēsei tois zētousin hē anthrōpinē oikonomia, hēn diʼ hēmas anedexato. Kai gar kai ho Petros eirēkōs, ‘Kyrion kai Christon auton epoiēsen, ’ euthys epēgage ‘touton ton Iēsoun, hon hymeis estaurōsate. ʼ kai pasi gegone phaneron, (genoito dʼ an kai toutois, ean tēn akolouthian tērēsōsin, ) hoti ou tēn ousian tou Logou, alla kata to anthrōpinon auton pepoiēsthai elege. Ti gar esti to stauroumenon ē to sōma? to de sōmatikon tou Logou pōs eiche sēmanai ē dia tou eipein, epoiēsen?’ allōs te kai to legomenon entautha, ‘epoiēsen, ʼ orthēn echei tēn dianoian. Ou gar eirēke, katha proeipon, epoiēsen auton Logon, ʼ alla, ‘Kyrion auton; ʼ kai ouch aplōs, allʼ ‘eis hymas, ’ kai, ‘en mesǭ hymōn epoiēsen, ʼ ison tǭ eipein, ‘apedeixe.’ Kai touto auto ho Petros, archomenos tēs toiautēs archididaskalias, meta paratērēseōs esēmanen, hēnika pros autous elegen; ‘Andres Israēlitai, akousate tous logous toutous; Iēsoun ton Nazōraion andra apo tou Theou apodedeigmenon eis hymas dynamesi, kai terasi, kai sēmeiois, hois epoiēse diʼ autou ho Theos en mesǭ hymōn, kathōs autoi oidate.’ To ho ara pros tǭ telei legomenon, ‘epoiēse, ʼ touto en tę̄ archę̄ eirēken, ‘apedeixen; ʼ apo gar tōn sēmeiōn kai hōn epoiei thaumasiōn ho Kyrios, apedeichthē ouch aplōs anthrōpos, alla Theos ōn en sōmati, kai Kyrios autos ōn ho Christos. Toiouton esti kai to en tois euangeliois legomenon para tou Iōannou; ‘Dia touto oun mallon ediōkon auton hoi Ioudaioi, hoti ou monon elye to sabbaton, alla kai Patera idion elege ton Theon, ison heauton poiōn tǭ Theǭ.’ Ou gar eplatten heauton ho Kyrios tote Theon; oude gar holōs eni poioumenos Theos; alla apedeiknye dia tōn ergōn, legōn; ‘kan emoi mē pisteuēte, tois ergois mou pisteuete, hina gnōte, hoti egō en tǭ Patri, kai ho Patēr en emoi.᾿ Houtōs toinyn Kyrion kai basilea auton pepoiēken ho Patēr en mesǭ hēmōn, kai eis hēmas tous proteron apeithountas. Kai dēlon estin, hōs ho nyn Kyrios kai basileus anadeiknymenos, ouk archēn echei tou genesthai tote basileus kai Kyrios, allʼ archēn echei tou tēn kyriotēta heautou deiknyein, kai ekteinein kai pros tous apeithēsantas.

But let them hear the same things again, and learn first that the Word is Son, as has also been said earlier, and not a work, and that one must not take such expressions as referring to his divinity, but search why and how they were written; and the human economy which he undertook for our sake will certainly meet those who search. For Peter, having said, “He made him Lord and Christ,” at once added, “this Jesus whom you crucified”; and it has become plain to all (and would be to these too, if they kept to the sequence) that he said he had been made not with respect to the substance of the Word but with respect to his humanity. For what was crucified, if not the body? And how could he signify what belongs to the Word's body except by saying “he made”? Besides, the “he made” spoken here has a correct sense. For he did not say, as I said before, “he made him Word,” but “made him Lord”; and not simply, but “to you” and “made in your midst,” which is equal to saying “he displayed.” Peter himself, at the start of this first great teaching, marked this very thing carefully when he said to them, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man displayed by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs, which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.” So what he says toward the end as “he made,” he said at the beginning as “he displayed”; for from the signs and the marvels the Lord was doing he was shown to be not simply a man but God in a body, and himself Lord, being the Christ. Of the same kind is what John says in the Gospels: “For this reason, then, the Jews persecuted him all the more, because he was not only breaking the Sabbath but was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God.” For the Lord was not then fashioning himself into God; there is no such thing as a God who is made; but he was displaying himself through his works, saying, “Even if you do not believe me, believe my works, so that you may know that I am in the Father and the Father in me.” In this way, then, the Father has made him Lord and King in our midst and toward us who formerly disobeyed. And it is clear that he who is now displayed as Lord and King does not then begin to become King and Lord, but begins to show his lordship and to extend it even to those who had disobeyed.

Acts 2:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 2:22 (quotation, high confidence) · John 5:18 (quotation, high confidence) · John 10:38 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: In Acts 2:36 “made” refers to the crucified humanity and means “displayed,” as Acts 2:22 shows; so too the Son “made himself equal to God” by displaying it in his works.

The Acts passage is Peter's Pentecost sermon; “displayed” renders ἀποδεδειγμένον (Acts 2:22).
Two slips are corrected: Δαὶ to Διὰ, and a stray period after καὶ.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Letter slip.; Stray period.): Δαὶ τοῦτο → Διὰ τοῦτο; ἐστι καὶ. τὸ → ἐστι καὶ τὸ.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 12 (Bright, 80–81; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-2/11/#p-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Bright (1884); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with NPNF² 4.

Chapter 13

13Bright, 81–82

13. Εἰ μὲν οὖν νομίζουσιν ὅτι, καὶ πρὶν γένηται ἄνθρωπος καὶ σταυρὸν ὑπομείνῃ, οὐκ ἦν Κύριος καὶ Βασιλεὺς ὁ Σωτὴρ, ἀλλὰ τότε ἀρχὴν ἔσχε τοῦ εἶναι Κύριος· γνώτωσαν, ὅτι τὰ τοῦ Σαμοσατέως ἐκ φανεροῦ πάλιν φθέγγονται ῥήματα· εἰ δὲ, ὥσπερ ἀνέγνωμεν καὶ προείπομεν ἐν τοῖς προτέροις, Κύριος καὶ Βασιλεύς ἐστιν ἀΐδιος, τοῦ μὲν Ἀβραὰμ Κύριον αὐτὸν προσκυνοῦντος, τοῦ δὲ Μωσέως λέγοντος, ‘Καὶ Κύριος ἔβρεξεν ἐπὶ Σόδομα καὶ Γόμοῤῥα θεῖον καὶ πῦρ παρὰ Κυρίου ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ·’ καὶ τοῦ Δαβὶδ ψάλλοντος, ‘Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου, Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου·’ καὶ, ‘Ὁ θρόνος σου ὁ Θεὸς, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος· ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος ἡ ῥάβδος τῆς βασιλείας σου·’ καὶ, ‘ἡ βασιλεία σου βασιλεία πάντων τῶν αἰώνων·’ δῆλόν ἐστιν ὡς, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ γενέσθαι ἄνθρωπος, βασιλεὺς καὶ Κύριος ἦν ἀΐδιος, εἰκὼν καὶ Λόγος τοῦ Πατρὸς ὑπάρχων. Ἀϊδίου δὲ ὄντος τοῦ Λόγου Κυρίου καὶ βασιλέως, πρόδηλον πάλιν, ὅτι οὐ τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Υἱοῦ πεποιῆσθαι ἔλεγεν ὁ Πέτρος, ἀλλὰ τὴν εἰς ἡμᾶς αὐτοῦ κυριότητα γενομένην, ὅτε γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τῷ σταυρῷ πάντας λυτρωσάμενος, πάντων γέγονε Κύριος καὶ βασιλεύς. Ἐὰν δὲ διὰ τὸ γεγράφθαι, ‘ἐποίησε, ʼ φιλονεικῶσι, μὴ θέλοντες ἴσον εἰρῆσθαι τὸ ‘ἐποίησε, ʼ τῷ ‘ἀπέδειξεν, ʼ ἢ μὴ νοοῦντες, ἢ διὰ τὴν Χριστομάχον αὐτῶν προαίρεσιν· ἀκουέτωσαν, ὅτι καὶ οὕτως ὀρθὴν ἔχει διάνοιαν τὰ τοῦ Πέτρου ῥήματα. Ὁ γὰρ γινόμενός τινων κύριος τοὺς ἤδη ὄντας κτᾶται ὑφʼ ἑαυτόν· εἰ δὲ ὁ Κύριος δημιουργός ἐστι πάντων καὶ βασιλεὺς ἀΐδιος, ὅτε δὲ γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, τότε καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐκτήσατο δῆλον ἂν εἴη καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο, ὡς τὸ παρὰ τοῦ Πέτρου λεγόμενον οὐδʼ οὕτω ποίημα σημαίνει τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Λόγου, ἀλλὰ τὴν μετὰ ταῦτα τῶν πάντων ὑποταγὴν, καὶ τὴν εἰς πάντας γενομένην τοῦ Σωτῆρος κυριότητα· καὶ ἔστιν ὅμοιον τοῦτο τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖ παρετιθέμεθα τὰ ῥητὰ τὸ ‘γενοῦ μοι εἰς Θεὸν ὑπερασπιστὴν, ʼ καὶ τὸ ‘ἐγένετο Κύριος καταφυγὴ τῷ πένητι·’ καὶ ἐδείκνυεν ὁ λόγος, ὅτι μὴ ταῦτα γενητὸν δείκνυσι τὸν Θεὸν, ἀλλὰ τὴν εἰς ἕκαστον γινομένην εὐεργεσίαν παρʼ αὐτοῦ· οὕτω καὶ τὸ τοῦ Πέτρου ῥητὸν τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχει διάνοιαν.

13. Ei men oun nomizousin hoti, kai prin genētai anthrōpos kai stauron hypomeinę̄, ouk ēn Kyrios kai Basileus ho Sōtēr, alla tote archēn esche tou einai Kyrios; gnōtōsan, hoti ta tou Samosateōs ek phanerou palin phthengontai rhēmata; ei de, hōsper anegnōmen kai proeipomen en tois proterois, Kyrios kai Basileus estin aïdios, tou men Abraam Kyrion auton proskynountos, tou de Mōseōs legontos, ‘Kai Kyrios ebrexen epi Sodoma kai Gomorrha theion kai pyr para Kyriou ek tou ouranou;’ kai tou Dabid psallontos, ‘Eipen ho Kyrios tǭ Kyriǭ mou, Kathou ek dexiōn mou;’ kai, ‘Ho thronos sou ho Theos, eis ton aiōna tou aiōnos; rhabdos euthytētos hē rhabdos tēs basileias sou;’ kai, ‘hē basileia sou basileia pantōn tōn aiōnōn;’ dēlon estin hōs, kai pro tou genesthai anthrōpos, basileus kai Kyrios ēn aïdios, eikōn kai Logos tou Patros hyparchōn. Aïdiou de ontos tou Logou Kyriou kai basileōs, prodēlon palin, hoti ou tēn ousian tou Huiou pepoiēsthai elegen ho Petros, alla tēn eis hēmas autou kyriotēta genomenēn, hote gegonen anthrōpos, kai tǭ staurǭ pantas lytrōsamenos, pantōn gegone Kyrios kai basileus. Ean de dia to gegraphthai, ‘epoiēse, ʼ philoneikōsi, mē thelontes ison eirēsthai to ‘epoiēse, ʼ tǭ ‘apedeixen, ʼ ē mē noountes, ē dia tēn Christomachon autōn proairesin; akouetōsan, hoti kai houtōs orthēn echei dianoian ta tou Petrou rhēmata. Ho gar ginomenos tinōn kyrios tous ēdē ontas ktatai hyphʼ heauton; ei de ho Kyrios dēmiourgos esti pantōn kai basileus aïdios, hote de gegonen anthrōpos, tote kai hēmas ektēsato dēlon an eiē kai kata touto, hōs to para tou Petrou legomenon oudʼ houtō poiēma sēmainei tēn ousian tou Logou, alla tēn meta tauta tōn pantōn hypotagēn, kai tēn eis pantas genomenēn tou Sōtēros kyriotēta; kai estin homoion touto tois emprosthen. Hōsper gar ekei paretithemetha ta rhēta to ‘genou moi eis Theon hyperaspistēn, ʼ kai to ‘egeneto Kyrios kataphygē tǭ penēti;’ kai edeiknyen ho logos, hoti mē tauta genēton deiknysi ton Theon, alla tēn eis hekaston ginomenēn euergesian parʼ autou; houtō kai to tou Petrou rhēton tēn autēn echei dianoian.

If, then, they think that the Saviour was not Lord and King before he became man and endured the cross, but only then began to be Lord, let them know that they are openly uttering again the words of the Samosatene. But if, as we read and said before in the earlier discourse, he is eternal Lord and King (Abraham worshipping him as Lord, Moses saying, “And the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven,” and David singing, “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,” and “Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom,” and “Your kingdom is a kingdom of all the ages”), it is clear that even before he became man he was eternal King and Lord, being the Father's image and Word. And since the Word is eternal Lord and King, it is again evident that Peter did not say that the Son's substance had been made, but his lordship toward us, which came about when he became man and, having redeemed all by the cross, became Lord and King of all. And if they quarrel because it is written “he made,” not wanting “he made” to be taken as equal to “he displayed,” whether because they do not understand or because of their Christ-fighting purpose, let them hear that even so Peter's words have a correct sense. For one who becomes lord of certain people acquires under himself those who already exist; and if the Lord is creator of all and eternal King, and when he became man he then acquired us, it would be clear on this count too that what Peter said does not signify, even so, that the substance of the Word is a work, but the subjection of all things that came afterwards and the Saviour's lordship that came about over all. And this is like what went before. For as there we cited the sayings, “Become for me a God who protects,” and “The Lord became a refuge for the poor,” and the argument showed that these do not show God as having come into being, but the benefit that comes from him to each, so too Peter's saying has the same sense.

Gen 18:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gen 19:24 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 110:1 (109:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 45:6 (44:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 145:13 (144:13 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 2:36 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 31:2 (30:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 9:9 (9:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The Word was eternally Lord and King, as the Old Testament shows; Acts 2:36 speaks of the lordship over us that he acquired when he became man and redeemed all by the cross.

“The Samosatene” is Paul of Samosata, bishop of Antioch, condemned ca. 268, who was held to teach that Christ began to exist at his human birth.
“The earlier discourse” is the first Oration against the Arians, where the two Psalm sayings were discussed.
Two slips are corrected: κοὶ του to καὶ τοῦ, and Κριστομάχον to Χριστομάχον.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Letter and accent slips.; Letter slip: Κ for Χ.): κοὶ του Δαβὶδ → καὶ τοῦ Δαβὶδ; Κριστομάχον → Χριστομάχον.

Topics: Christology, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 13 (Bright, 81–82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-2/11/#p-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Bright (1884); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with NPNF² 4.

Chapter 14

14Bright, 82–83

14. Λόγος μὲν γὰρ ὢν αὐτὸς ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱὸς, Κύριός ἐστι τοῦ παντός· ἡμεῖς δὲ τὸ πρὶν ἦμεν ὑπεύθυνοι ἐξ ἀρχῆς μὲν ‘τῇ δουλείᾳ τῆς φθορᾶςʼ καὶ ‘τῇ κατάρᾳ τοῦ νόμου, ’ ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ κατʼ ὀλίγον ἑαυτοῖς ἀναπλάσαντες τὰ μὴ ὄντα, ‘ἐδουλεύομεν, ’ ὡς εἶπεν ὁ μακάριος ἀπόστολος, ‘τοῖς φύσει μὴ οὖσι θεοῖς·’ καὶ τὸν μὲν ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν ἠγνοοῦμεν, τὰ δὲ μὴ ὄντα προετιμῶμεν τῆς ἀληθείας. Ἀλλʼ ὕστερον ὥσπερ ὁ πάλαι λαὸς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ βαρούμενος ‘ἐστέναξεν, ’ οὕτω καὶ ἡμῶν ἐχόντων τὸν ἔμφυτον νόμον καὶ κατὰ τοὺς ‘ἀλαλήτους στεναγμοὺς τοῦ Πνεύματοςʼ ἐντυγχανόντων καὶ λεγόντων· ‘Κύριε, ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, κτῆσαι ἡμᾶς· γέγονεν ὥσπερ εἰς οἶκον καταφυγῆς καὶ εἰς Θεὸν ὑπερασπιστὴν, οὕτω καὶ Κύριος ἡμῶν γέγονε. Καὶ οὐκ ἀρχὴν τοῦ εἶναι αὐτὸς ἔσχε τότε· ἀλλʼ ἡμεῖς ἀρχὴν ἔσχομεν τοῦ εἶναι αὐτὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν. Λοιπὸν γὰρ ἀγαθὸς ὢν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ Πατὴρ ὢν τοῦ Κυρίου, ἐλεήσας καὶ θέλων πᾶσι γνωσθῆναι, ποιεῖ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ Υἱὸν ἐνδύσασθαι σῶμα ἀνθρώπινον, καὶ γενέσθαι ἄνθρωπον, κληθῆναί τε αὐτὸν Ἰησοῦν, ἵνʼ, ἐν τούτῳ ἑαυτὸν προσενέγκας ὑπὲρ πάντων, τοὺς πάντας ἐλευθερώσῃ ἀπὸ τῆς θεοπλανησίας καὶ τῆς φθορᾶς, καὶ πάντων γένηται Κύριος καὶ βασιλεὺς αὐτός. Τὸ δὴ οὖν γενέσθαι αὐτὸν οὕτω Κύριον καὶ βασιλέα, τοῦτʼ ἔστιν ὃ ἔλεγεν ὁ Πέτρος, ‘ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν Κύριον, καὶ Χριστὸν ἀπέστειλεν·’ ἴσον τῷ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι καὶ ἄνθρωπον αὐτὸν ποίησας ὁ Πατήρ· ἴδιον γὰρ ἀνθρώπων τὸ ποιεῖσθαι. Οὐχ ἀπλῶς δὲ ἐποίησεν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλʼ εἰς τὸ κυριεῦσαι πάντων αὐτὸν, καὶ ἁγιάζειν πάντας διὰ τοῦ χρίσματος πεποίηκεν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ‘δούλου μορφὴν ἔλαβεν ὁ ἐν μορφῇ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχωνʼ λόγος, ἀλλʼ ἡ πρόσληψις τῆς σαρκὸς οὐκ ἐδούλου τὸν Λόγον φύσει Κύριον ὄντα· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐλευθέρωσις μὲν ἦν ἡ γινομένη παρὰ τοῦ Λόγου πάσης τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος· αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ φύσει Κύριος Λόγος, καὶ ἄνθρωπος ποιηθεὶς, διὰ τῆς τοῦ δούλου μορφῆς Κύριος πάντων καὶ Χριστὸς, τουτέστιν, εἰς τὸ ἁγιάζειν τῷ Πνεύματι πάντας, πεποίηται. Καὶ ὥσπερ ὁ Θεὸς γινόμενος εἰς Θεὸν ὑπερασπιστὴν, καὶ λέγων, ‘ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς Θεός·’ οὐ μᾶλλον τότε γίνεται Θεὸς, οὐδὲ τότε ἀρχὴν ἔχει τοῦ γίνεσθαι Θεός· ἀλλʼ ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀεὶ, τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς δεομένοις γίνεται, ὅταν αὐτῷ, δοκῇ· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς φύσει Κύριος καὶ βασιλεὺς ἀίδιος ὢν, οὐχ ὅτε ἀποστέλλεται, μᾶλλον γίνεται Κύριος, οὐδὲ τότε ἀρχὴν λαμβάνει τοῦ εἶναι Κύριος καὶ βασιλεύς· ἀλλʼ ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀεὶ, τοῦτο καὶ τότε κατὰ σάρκα πεποίηται, καὶ λυτρωσάμενος πάντας γίνεται καὶ οὕτω ζώντων καὶ νεκρῶν Κύριος· αὐτῷ γὰρ λοιπὸν τὰ πάντα δουλεύει· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅπερ ψάλλει καὶ ὁ Δαβίδ· ‘Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου· Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου. Οὐ γὰρ ἔπρεπε διʼ ἑτέρου τὴν λύτρωσιν γενέσθαι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ φύσει Κυρίου, ἵνα μὴ διὰ Υἱοῦ μὲν κτιζώμεθα, ἄλλον δὲ Κύριον ὀνομάζωμεν, καὶ πέσωμεν εἰς τὴν Ἀρειανὴν καὶ τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν ἀφροσύνην, κτίσει δουλεύοντες παρὰ τὸν κτίσαντα τὰ πάντα Θεόν.

14. Logos men gar ōn autos ho tou Theou Huios, Kyrios esti tou pantos; hēmeis de to prin ēmen hypeuthynoi ex archēs men ‘tę̄ douleią tēs phthorasʼ kai ‘tę̄ katarą tou nomou, ’ epeita de kai katʼ oligon heautois anaplasantes ta mē onta, ‘edouleuomen, ’ hōs eipen ho makarios apostolos, ‘tois physei mē ousi theois;’ kai ton men alēthinon Theon ēgnooumen, ta de mē onta proetimōmen tēs alētheias. Allʼ hysteron hōsper ho palai laos en Aigyptǭ baroumenos ‘estenaxen, ’ houtō kai hēmōn echontōn ton emphyton nomon kai kata tous ‘alalētous stenagmous tou Pneumatosʼ entynchanontōn kai legontōn; ‘Kyrie, ho Theos hēmōn, ktēsai hēmas; gegonen hōsper eis oikon kataphygēs kai eis Theon hyperaspistēn, houtō kai Kyrios hēmōn gegone. Kai ouk archēn tou einai autos esche tote; allʼ hēmeis archēn eschomen tou einai auton Kyrion hēmōn. Loipon gar agathos ōn ho Theos, kai Patēr ōn tou Kyriou, eleēsas kai thelōn pasi gnōsthēnai, poiei ton heautou Huion endysasthai sōma anthrōpinon, kai genesthai anthrōpon, klēthēnai te auton Iēsoun, hinʼ, en toutǭ heauton prosenenkas hyper pantōn, tous pantas eleutherōsę̄ apo tēs theoplanēsias kai tēs phthoras, kai pantōn genētai Kyrios kai basileus autos. To dē oun genesthai auton houtō Kyrion kai basilea, toutʼ estin ho elegen ho Petros, ‘epoiēsen auton Kyrion, kai Christon apesteilen;’ ison tǭ eipein, hoti kai anthrōpon auton poiēsas ho Patēr; idion gar anthrōpōn to poieisthai. Ouch aplōs de epoiēsen anthrōpon, allʼ eis to kyrieusai pantōn auton, kai hagiazein pantas dia tou chrismatos pepoiēken. Ei gar kai ‘doulou morphēn elaben ho en morphę̄ Theou hyparchōnʼ logos, allʼ hē proslēpsis tēs sarkos ouk edoulou ton Logon physei Kyrion onta; alla mallon eleutherōsis men ēn hē ginomenē para tou Logou pasēs tēs anthrōpotētos; autos de ho physei Kyrios Logos, kai anthrōpos poiētheis, dia tēs tou doulou morphēs Kyrios pantōn kai Christos, toutestin, eis to hagiazein tǭ Pneumati pantas, pepoiētai. Kai hōsper ho Theos ginomenos eis Theon hyperaspistēn, kai legōn, ‘esomai autois Theos;’ ou mallon tote ginetai Theos, oude tote archēn echei tou ginesthai Theos; allʼ hoper estin aei, touto kai tois deomenois ginetai, hotan autǭ, dokę̄; houtō kai ho Christos physei Kyrios kai basileus aidios ōn, ouch hote apostelletai, mallon ginetai Kyrios, oude tote archēn lambanei tou einai Kyrios kai basileus; allʼ hoper estin aei, touto kai tote kata sarka pepoiētai, kai lytrōsamenos pantas ginetai kai houtō zōntōn kai nekrōn Kyrios; autǭ gar loipon ta panta douleuei; kai touto estin, hoper psallei kai ho Dabid; ‘Eipen ho Kyrios tǭ Kyriǭ mou; Kathou ek dexiōn mou, heōs an thō tous echthrous sou hypopodion tōn podōn sou. Ou gar eprepe diʼ heterou tēn lytrōsin genesthai, alla dia tou physei Kyriou, hina mē dia Huiou men ktizōmetha, allon de Kyrion onomazōmen, kai pesōmen eis tēn Areianēn kai tēn Hellēnikēn aphrosynēn, ktisei douleuontes para ton ktisanta ta panta Theon.

For the Son of God himself, being Word, is Lord of all; but we were formerly subject, from the beginning, to “the slavery of corruption” and “the curse of the law,” and then, little by little fashioning for ourselves things that are not, “we served,” as the blessed apostle said, “beings that by nature are not gods”; we did not know the true God, but preferred things that are not to the truth. But later, as the people of old groaned when oppressed in Egypt, so we too, having the implanted law, and interceding with “the unutterable groanings of the Spirit,” and saying, “O Lord our God, acquire us,” he became our Lord, just as he became “a house of refuge” and “a God who protects.” And it was not he who then began to be; rather, we then began to have him as our Lord. For thereafter God, being good, and being Father of the Lord, having had mercy and wishing to be known by all, makes his own Son put on a human body and become man, and be called Jesus, so that, offering himself in this body for all, he might free all from error about God and from corruption, and himself become Lord and King of all. His becoming Lord and King in this way, then, is what Peter meant: “he made him Lord, and sent him as Christ”; which is equal to saying that the Father made him man as well; for to be made is proper to human beings. And he did not simply make him man, but made him so that he might be Lord of all and sanctify all through the anointing. For although the Word, who “was in the form of God, took the form of a servant,” the taking of the flesh did not make a servant of the Word, who is by nature Lord; rather, it was the liberation of all humanity, accomplished by the Word; and the Word himself, Lord by nature, having also been made man, has been made Lord of all and Christ through the form of the servant, that is, so as to sanctify all by the Spirit. And just as God, when he becomes “a God who protects” and says, “I will be their God,” does not then become God any more than before, nor then begin to become God, but what he always is he also becomes to those who need him, when he pleases; so too Christ, being by nature Lord and eternal King, does not become more Lord when he is sent, nor then begin to be Lord and King; but what he always is, this he has then also been made according to the flesh, and having redeemed all, he thus becomes Lord of the living and the dead; for thereafter all things serve him. And this is what David sings: “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” For it was not fitting that the redemption should come about through another, but through him who is by nature Lord, so that we should not be created through the Son and yet name another as Lord, and fall into the folly of the Arians and the Greeks, serving the creature rather than God who created all things.

Rom 8:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Gal 3:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Gal 4:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 2:23 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 8:26 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 26:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 31:2 (30:3 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 2:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 2:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 2:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 31:33 (38:33 LXX) (quotation, medium confidence) · Rom 14:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 110:1 (109:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:25 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The eternal Lord became our Lord when he took flesh and redeemed us; as God “becomes” a protector without beginning to be God, so the Son was “made Lord” without beginning to be Lord.

“O Lord our God, acquire us” is Isa 26:13 (Septuagint).
Athanasius here gives Acts 2:36 in the form “he made him Lord, and sent him as Christ,” probably a paraphrase; translated as written.
Several slips are corrected: ἐστέναθεν to ἐστέναξεν, a repeated syllable (ἄνθρωπος πος), Εἷπεν to Εἶπεν.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Accent slip.; Letter slip.; Repeated syllable.): ἐστέναθεν → ἐστέναξεν; ἄνθρωπος πος → ἄνθρωπος; Εἷπεν → Εἶπεν.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 14 (Bright, 82–83; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-2/11/#p-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-athanasius-oratio-2-14) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Bright (1884); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with NPNF² 4.

Chapter 15

15Bright, 83

15. Αὕτη τοῦ ῥητοῦ κατά γε τὴν ἐμὴν οὐθένειαν ἡ διάνοια. Καὶ γὰρ ἀληθῆ καὶ χρηστὴν ἔχει τὴν αἰτίαν τὰ πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους τοιαῦτα ῥήματα τοῦ Πέτρου. Ἰουδαῖοι γὰρ πλανηθέντες ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας, προσδοκῶσι μὲν ἐρχόμενον τὸν Χριστόν· οὐχ ἡγοῦνται δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ πάθος ἀναδέχεσθαι, λέγοντες ὅπερ οὐ νοοῦσιν· ‘Ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι, ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ Χριστὸς, μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· καὶ πῶς σὺ λέγεις, ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸν ὑψωθῆναι; ʼ ἔπειτα οὐ Λόγον γινόμενον ἐν σαρκὶ, ἀλλὰ ψιλὸν αὐτὸν ἄνθρωπον γίνεσθαι, ὡς πάντες γεγόνασιν οἱ βασιλεῖς ὑπολαμβάνουσιν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Κύριος, τοὺς περὶ Κλεόπαν ἐντρέπων, ἐδίδασκεν, ὅτι τὸν Χριστὸν δεῖ πρῶτον παθεῖν· καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους δὲ Ἰουδαίους, ὅτι Θεὸν ἐπιδημῆσαι, λέγων· ‘Εἰ ἐκείνους εἶπε θεοὺς, πρὸς οὓς ὁ Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ οὐ δύναται λυθῆναι ἡ γραφή· ὃν ὁ Πατὴρ ἡγίασε, καὶ ἀπέστειλεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι “βλασφημεῖς·” ὅτι εἶπὸν, Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰμι;’

15. Hautē tou rhētou kata ge tēn emēn outheneian hē dianoia. Kai gar alēthē kai chrēstēn echei tēn aitian ta pros tous Ioudaious toiauta rhēmata tou Petrou. Ioudaioi gar planēthentes apo tēs alētheias, prosdokōsi men erchomenon ton Christon; ouch hēgountai de auton kai pathos anadechesthai, legontes hoper ou noousin; ‘Hēmeis oidamen hoti, hotan elthę̄ ho Christos, menei eis ton aiōna; kai pōs sy legeis, hoti dei auton hypsōthēnai? ʼ epeita ou Logon ginomenon en sarki, alla psilon auton anthrōpon ginesthai, hōs pantes gegonasin hoi basileis hypolambanousin. Ho men oun Kyrios, tous peri Kleopan entrepōn, edidasken, hoti ton Christon dei prōton pathein; kai tous allous de Ioudaious, hoti Theon epidēmēsai, legōn; ‘Ei ekeinous eipe theous, pros hous ho Logos tou Theou egeneto, kai ou dynatai lythēnai hē graphē; hon ho Patēr hēgiase, kai apesteilen eis ton kosmon, hymeis legete hoti “blasphēmeis;” hoti eipon, Huios tou Theou eimi?’

This, at least in my poor judgment, is the sense of the saying. For such words of Peter to the Jews have a true and good reason. The Jews, having strayed from the truth, expect the Christ to come, but do not think that he will also undergo suffering, saying what they do not understand: “We know that when the Christ comes, he remains for ever; and how do you say that he must be lifted up?” And then they suppose that he comes not as the Word in flesh, but as a mere man, as all the kings have been. So the Lord, putting Cleopas and his companion to shame, taught that the Christ must first suffer; and he taught the other Jews that God had come to dwell among them, saying, “If he called them gods to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken, do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”

John 12:34 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 24:26 (allusion, high confidence) · John 10:35 (quotation, high confidence) · John 10:36 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Peter's words answer the Jewish expectation of a merely human Christ who would not suffer; Christ himself had taught both his suffering and his divinity.

“Cleopas and his companion” are the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24).

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 15 (Bright, 83; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-2/11/#p-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Bright (1884); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with NPNF² 4.

Chapter 16

16Bright, 84–85

16. Ὁ τοίνυν Πέτρος, μαθὼν ταῦτα παρὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος, κατʼ ἀμφότερα διορθούμενος τοὺς Ἰουδαίους φησίν—Ὦ Ἰουδαῖοι, τὸν Χριστὸν καταγγέλλουσιν ἔρχεσθαι αἱ θεῖαι γραφαὶ, καὶ ὑμεῖς μὲν ψιλὸν ἄνθρωπον αὐτὸν, ὡς ἕνα τῶν ἐκ τοῦ Δαβὶδ, νομίζετε. τὰ δὲ γεγραμμένα περὶ αὐτοῦ οὐ τοιοῦτον αὐτὸν, οἷον ὑμεῖς λέγετε, σημαίνουσιν· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον Κύριον καὶ Θεὸν, καὶ ἀθάνατον, καὶ χορηγὸν ζωῆς καταγγέλλουσιν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Μωσῆς εἴρηκεν, ‘Ὄψεσθε τὴν ζωὴν ὑμῶν κρεμαμένην ἀπέναντι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ὑμῶν·᾿ ὁ δὲ Δαβὶδ ἐν μὲν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ ἐννάτῳ ψαλμῷ· ‘Εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος τῷ Κυρίῳ μου· Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου· ʼ ἐν δὲ τῷ πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ· ‘Οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις τὴν ψυχήν μου εἰς ᾅδην, οὐδὲ δώσεις τὸν ὅσιόν σου ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν.᾿ Ὅτι μὲν οὖν οὐκ εἰς τὸν Δαβὶδ φθάνει τὰ τοιαῦτα ῥητὰ, αὐτὸς μὲν μαρτυρεῖ, ‘Κύριον ἑαυτοῦʼ φάσκων εἶναι τὸν ἐρχόμενον· συνορᾶτε δὲ καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὅτι ἀπέθανε, καὶ τὰ λείψανα αὐτοῦ παρʼ ὑμῖν ἐστιν. Ὅτι δὲ τὸν Χριστὸν τοιοῦτον εἶναι δεῖ, οἷον αὐτὸν λέγουσιν εἶναι αἱ γραφαὶ, πάντως καὶ ὑμεῖς συνομολογήσετε· παρὰ Θεοῦ γὰρ εἴρηνται οἱ λόγοι, καὶ οὐ δύναται ψεῦδος ἐν αὐτοῖς εἶναι. Εἰ μὲν οὖν δύνασθε εἰπεῖν, ὡς ἐλθόντος πρότερον τοιούτου, καὶ δύνασθε δεῖξαι Θεὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι, ἀφʼ ὧν ἐποίησε σημείων καὶ τεράτων, εἰκότως ἡμῖν διαμάχεσθε· εἰ δὲ δεῖξαι μὲν οὐ δύνασθε ὡς ἐλθόντα, προσδοκᾶτε δὲ ἀκμὴν τοιοῦτον, ἐπίγνωτε τὸν καιρὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ Δανιήλ· εἰς τὸν παρόντα γὰρ χρόνον τὰ λεχθέντα παρʼ αὐτοῦ φθάνει. Εἰ δὲ ὁ παρὼν καιρὸς οὗτός ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος ὁ πάλαι προκαταγγελλόμενος, καὶ τὰ γενόμενα δὲ νῦν ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ἑωράκατε, γνῶτε ὅτι οὗτος ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ὃν ὑμεῖς ἐσταυρώσατε, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ προσδοκώμενος· ὁ μὲν γὰρ Δαβὶδ καὶ πάντες οἱ προφῆται ἀπέθανον, καὶ τὰ μνήματα πάντων παρʼ ὑμῖν ἐστιν· ἡ δὲ γενομένη νῦν ἀνάστασις ἔδειξεν εἰς τοῦτον φθάνειν τὰ γεγραμμένα. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ σταυρωθῆναι, δείκνυσι τὸ ‘ὄψεσθε τὴν ζωὴν ὑμῶν κρεμαμένην·’ καὶ τὸ τῇ λόγχῃ δὲ τρωθῆναι τὴν πλευρὰν, πληροῖ τὸ ‘Ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη·’ τὸ δὲ μὴ μόνον ἐξαναστῆναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ παλαιοὺς νεκροὺς ἐκ τῶν μνημείων ἐγεῖραι (τούτους γὰρ ἑωράκασιν ὑμῶν οἱ πλεῖστοι), τουτέστι τὸ ‘ Οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις τὴν ψυχήν μου εἰς ᾅδην·’ καὶ τὸ ‘Κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας· καὶ πάλιν, ‘Ἀφεῖλεν ὁ Θεός.’ Τὸ δὲ καὶ τοιαῦτα σημεῖα ποιῆσαι αὐτὸν, οἷα γέγονε, δείκνυσι Θεὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐν σώματι, καὶ αὐτὸν εἶναι τὴν ζωὴν καὶ Κύριον τοῦ θανάτου. Ἔπρεπε γὰρ τὸν Χριστὸν, τὸν ἄλλοις ζωὴν διδόντα, αὐτὸν μὴ κρατεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ θανάτου· τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἂν ἐγεγόνει εἰ, ὡς ὑμεῖς νομίζετε, ψιλὸς ἄνθρωπος ἦν ὁ Χριστός. Ἀλλὰ μὴν αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἄνθρωποι γὰρ πάντες ὑπεύθυνοι θανάτου εἰσί, Μηκέτι τοιγαροῦν ἀμφιβαλλέτω τις, ἀλλʼ ἀσφαλῶς γινωσκέτω πᾶς οἶκος Ἰσραὴλ, ὅτι οὗτος ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ὃν ἐθεωρήσατε σχήματι ἄνθρωπον, ποιοῦντα σημεῖα καὶ τοιαῦτα ἔργα, ἃ μηδεὶς πώποτε πεποίηκεν, αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ Κύριος πάντων. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἄνθρωπος γενόμενος, καὶ κληθεὶς Ἰησοῦς, ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς προτέροις εἴπομεν, οὐκ ἠλαττώθη τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ πάθει, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ ἐν τῷ ποιηθῆναι ἄνθρωπος, ζώντων καὶ νεκρῶν ἀποδείκνυται Κύριος. ‘Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ, ʼ ὡς εἶπεν ὁ ἀπόστολος, ‘ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐκ ἔγνω ὁ κόσμος διὰ τῆς σοφίας τὸν Θεὸν, ηὐδόκησεν ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τῆς μωρίας τοῦ κηρύγματος σῶσαι τοὺς πιστεύοντας· οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἠθελήσαμεν διὰ τοῦ Λόγου αὐτοῦ ἐπιγνῶναι τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ δουλεῦσαι τῷ φύσει δεσπότῃ ἡμῶν τῷ Λόγῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ηὐδόκησεν ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ δεῖξαι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ κυριότητα, καὶ πάντας ἑλκῦσαι πρὸς ἑαυτόν. Διʼ ἀνθρώπου δὲ ψιλοῦ τοῦτο ποιῆσαι ἀπρεπὲς ἦν, ἵνα μὴ, ἄνθρωπον Κύριον ἔχοντες, ἀνθρωπολάτραι γενώμεθα· διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸς ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐκάλεσε τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν, καὶ οὕτως ἐποίησεν αὐτὸν Κύριον καὶ Χριστὸν ὁ Πατὴρ, ἴσον τῷ εἰπεῖν, ‘εἰς τὸ κυριεύειν αὐτὸν καὶ βασιλεύειν ἐποίησεν· ἵνʼ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ, ὃν ὑμεῖς ἐσταυρώσατε, ὥσπερ πᾶν γόνυ κάμπτει, οὕτω καὶ Κύριον καὶ βασιλέα αὐτόν τε τὸν Υἱὸν ἐπιγινώσκωμεν, καὶ διʼ αὐτοῦ τὸν Πατέρα.’

16. Ho toinyn Petros, mathōn tauta para tou Sōtēros, katʼ amphotera diorthoumenos tous Ioudaious phēsin—Ō Ioudaioi, ton Christon katangellousin erchesthai hai theiai graphai, kai hymeis men psilon anthrōpon auton, hōs hena tōn ek tou Dabid, nomizete. ta de gegrammena peri autou ou toiouton auton, hoion hymeis legete, sēmainousin; alla mallon Kyrion kai Theon, kai athanaton, kai chorēgon zōēs katangellousin. Ho men gar Mōsēs eirēken, ‘Opsesthe tēn zōēn hymōn kremamenēn apenanti tōn ophthalmōn hymōn;᾿ ho de Dabid en men tǭ hekatostǭ ennatǭ psalmǭ; ‘Eipen ho Kyrios tǭ Kyriǭ mou; Kathou ek dexiōn mou, heōs an thō tous echthrous sou hypopodion tōn podōn sou; ʼ en de tǭ pentekaidekatǭ; ‘Ouk enkataleipseis tēn psychēn mou eis hądēn, oude dōseis ton hosion sou idein diaphthoran.᾿ Hoti men oun ouk eis ton Dabid phthanei ta toiauta rhēta, autos men martyrei, ‘Kyrion heautouʼ phaskōn einai ton erchomenon; synorate de kai hymeis, hoti apethane, kai ta leipsana autou parʼ hymin estin. Hoti de ton Christon toiouton einai dei, hoion auton legousin einai hai graphai, pantōs kai hymeis synomologēsete; para Theou gar eirēntai hoi logoi, kai ou dynatai pseudos en autois einai. Ei men oun dynasthe eipein, hōs elthontos proteron toioutou, kai dynasthe deixai Theon auton einai, aphʼ hōn epoiēse sēmeiōn kai teratōn, eikotōs hēmin diamachesthe; ei de deixai men ou dynasthe hōs elthonta, prosdokate de akmēn toiouton, epignōte ton kairon apo tou Daniēl; eis ton paronta gar chronon ta lechthenta parʼ autou phthanei. Ei de ho parōn kairos houtos estin ekeinos ho palai prokatangellomenos, kai ta genomena de nyn ephʼ hēmin heōrakate, gnōte hoti houtos ho Iēsous, hon hymeis estaurōsate, houtos estin ho Christos ho prosdokōmenos; ho men gar Dabid kai pantes hoi prophētai apethanon, kai ta mnēmata pantōn parʼ hymin estin; hē de genomenē nyn anastasis edeixen eis touton phthanein ta gegrammena. To men gar staurōthēnai, deiknysi to ‘opsesthe tēn zōēn hymōn kremamenēn;’ kai to tę̄ lonchę̄ de trōthēnai tēn pleuran, plēroi to ‘Hōs probaton epi sphagēn ēchthē;’ to de mē monon exanastēnai, alla kai palaious nekrous ek tōn mnēmeiōn egeirai (toutous gar heōrakasin hymōn hoi pleistoi), toutesti to ‘ Ouk enkataleipseis tēn psychēn mou eis hądēn;’ kai to ‘Katepien ho thanatos ischysas; kai palin, ‘Apheilen ho Theos.’ To de kai toiauta sēmeia poiēsai auton, hoia gegone, deiknysi Theon einai ton en sōmati, kai auton einai tēn zōēn kai Kyrion tou thanatou. Eprepe gar ton Christon, ton allois zōēn didonta, auton mē krateisthai hypo tou thanatou; touto de ouk an egegonei ei, hōs hymeis nomizete, psilos anthrōpos ēn ho Christos. Alla mēn autos estin ho Huios tou Theou; anthrōpoi gar pantes hypeuthynoi thanatou eisi, Mēketi toigaroun amphiballetō tis, allʼ asphalōs ginōsketō pas oikos Israēl, hoti houtos ho Iēsous, hon etheōrēsate schēmati anthrōpon, poiounta sēmeia kai toiauta erga, ha mēdeis pōpote pepoiēken, autos estin ho Christos kai Kyrios pantōn. Kai gar kai anthrōpos genomenos, kai klētheis Iēsous, hōsper en tois proterois eipomen, ouk ēlattōthē tǭ anthrōpinǭ pathei, alla mallon kai en tǭ poiēthēnai anthrōpos, zōntōn kai nekrōn apodeiknytai Kyrios. ‘Epeidē gar, ʼ hōs eipen ho apostolos, ‘en tę̄ sophią tou Theou ouk egnō ho kosmos dia tēs sophias ton Theon, ēudokēsen ho Theos dia tēs mōrias tou kērygmatos sōsai tous pisteuontas; houtō kai hēmeis hoi anthrōpoi, epeidē ouk ēthelēsamen dia tou Logou autou epignōnai ton Theon, kai douleusai tǭ physei despotę̄ hēmōn tǭ Logǭ tou Theou, ēudokēsen ho Theos en anthrōpǭ deixai tēn heautou kyriotēta, kai pantas helkysai pros heauton. Diʼ anthrōpou de psilou touto poiēsai aprepes ēn, hina mē, anthrōpon Kyrion echontes, anthrōpolatrai genōmetha; dia touto autos ho Logos sarx egeneto, kai ekalese to onoma autou Iēsoun, kai houtōs epoiēsen auton Kyrion kai Christon ho Patēr, ison tǭ eipein, ‘eis to kyrieuein auton kai basileuein epoiēsen; hinʼ en tǭ onomati Iēsou, hon hymeis estaurōsate, hōsper pan gony kamptei, houtō kai Kyrion kai basilea auton te ton Huion epiginōskōmen, kai diʼ autou ton Patera.’

Peter, then, having learned these things from the Saviour, corrects the Jews on both counts and says: “O Jews, the divine Scriptures announce that the Christ is coming, and you think him a mere man, one of David's descendants. But what is written about him does not signify him to be such as you say; rather it announces him as Lord and God, immortal, and giver of life. For Moses said, ‘You will see your life hanging before your eyes’; and David in the hundred and ninth psalm, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’; and in the fifteenth, ‘You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your holy one see corruption.’ That such sayings do not refer to David he himself bears witness, saying that the one who is coming is ‘his own Lord’; and you yourselves see that he died, and his remains are among you. That the Christ must be such as the Scriptures say he is, you too will surely agree; for the words were spoken by God, and there can be no falsehood in them. If, then, you can say that such a one has come before, and can show that he is God from the signs and wonders he did, you have good reason to fight us; but if you cannot show that he has come, and are still expecting such a one, recognize the time from Daniel; for what he said reaches to the present time. And if the present time is the one foretold long ago, and you have seen what has now taken place among us, know that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is the Christ who is expected. For David and all the prophets died, and the tombs of all of them are among you; but the resurrection that has now taken place has shown that what is written refers to him. His being crucified shows the ‘you will see your life hanging’; the wounding of his side with the spear fulfills ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter’; and his not only rising again himself but also raising the dead of old from their tombs (for most of you have seen them) is the ‘You will not abandon my soul to Hades,’ and ‘Death in its strength swallowed up,’ and again, ‘God has taken away.’ And his doing such signs as have been done shows that the one in the body is God, and that he himself is the life and Lord of death. For it was fitting that the Christ, who gives life to others, should not himself be held by death; and this could not have happened if, as you think, the Christ were a mere man. But in fact he is the Son of God; for all human beings are subject to death. So let no one doubt any longer, but let all the house of Israel know assuredly that this Jesus, whom you saw in form a man doing such signs and such works as no one has ever done, is himself the Christ and Lord of all. For even having become man and been called Jesus, as we said earlier, he was not diminished by the human passion, but rather, even in being made man, he is displayed as Lord of the living and the dead.” For as the apostle said, “since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe”; so too, since we human beings were not willing to recognize God through his Word and to serve the Word of God, our Master by nature, God was pleased to show his own lordship in a man and to draw all to himself. But to do this through a mere man was unfitting, lest, having a man as Lord, we should become worshippers of a man; therefore the Word himself became flesh, and the Father called his name Jesus, and so made him Lord and Christ, which is equal to saying, “he made him so as to be Lord and to reign, so that in the name of Jesus, whom you crucified, as every knee bows, so we may acknowledge the Son himself as Lord and King, and through him the Father.”

Deut 28:66 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 110:1 (109:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 16:10 (15:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 2:29 (allusion, high confidence) · Dan 9:24 (allusion, medium confidence) · Acts 2:36 (allusion, high confidence) · John 19:34 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 53:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 27:52 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 25:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 14:9 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 1:21 (quotation, high confidence) · John 12:32 (echo, medium confidence) · John 1:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 2:10 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Athanasius paraphrases Peter's argument to the Jews: the Scriptures announce a divine, life-giving Christ, fulfilled in the crucified and risen Jesus, and God made the Word become man so that we would not worship a mere man.

The long speech of Peter is Athanasius's paraphrase of Acts 2, not a quotation.
Psalm numbers are those of the Septuagint (109 = Ps 110, 15 = Ps 16).
“You will see your life hanging” is Deut 28:66, read as a prophecy of the cross.
“Death in its strength swallowed up … God has taken away” is Isa 25:8 (Septuagint).
The raising of “the dead of old” refers to Matt 27:52–53.
The address to the Jews is the author's polemic, translated as written.
Two slips are corrected: a repeated syllable (πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ· κάτῳ·) and τοιοῦντα for ποιοῦντα.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Letter slip: τ for π.; Repeated syllable.): πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ· κάτῳ· → πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ·; τοιοῦντα → ποιοῦντα.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 16 (Bright, 84–85; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-2/11/#p-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-athanasius-oratio-2-16) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Bright (1884); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with NPNF² 4.

Chapter 17

17Bright, 85–86

17. Ἰουδαίων μὲν οὖν οἱ πλεῖστοι, ταῦτα ἀκούοντες, ἐνετράπησαν, καὶ λοιπὸν ἐπέγνωσαν τὸν Χριστὸν, ὡς ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι γέγραπται· ἐπειδὴ δὲ οἱ Ἀρειομανῖται αἱροῦνται ἀπομένειν Ἰουδαῖοι καὶ μάχεσθαι τῷ Πέτρῳ, φέρε, τὰς ὁμοίας λέξεις αὐτοῖς παραθώμεθα· ἴσως κἂν οὕτως ἐντραπῶσι, μαθόντες τὴν συνήθειαν τῆς θείας γραφῆς. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἀΐδιος Κύριός ἐστι καὶ βασιλεὺς ὁ Χριστὸς, δῆλον γέγονεν ἐκ τῶν προειρημένων, καὶ οὐδείς ἐστιν, ὃς ἀμφιβάλλει περὶ τούτου. Υἱὸς γὰρ ὢν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅμοιος αὐτοῦ ἂν εἴη· ὅμοιος δὲ ὢν, πάντως ἐστὶ καὶ Κύριος καὶ βασιλεύς· αὐτὸς γάρ φησιν, ‘Ὁ ἐμὲ ἑωρακὼς ἑώρακε τὸν Πατέρα.’ Ὅτι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ μόνον τὸ λεγόμενον παρὰ τοῦ Πέτρου, ‘Κύριον αὐτὸν ἐποίησε καὶ Χριστὸν, ʼ οὐ ποίημα εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν σημαίνει, ἔξεστιν ἰδεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς εὐλογίας τοῦ Ἰσαάκ; κἂν ἀμυδρά πως ἡ εἰκὼν αὕτη πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ᾖ. Ἔφη τοίνυν τῷ μὲν Ἰακὼβ, ‘γίνου κύριος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σοῦ·’ τῷ δὲ Ἠσαῦ, ‘Ἰδοὺ κύριον αὐτὸν ἐποίησά σου Εἰ μὲν οὖν τὸ ‘ἐποίησεʼ τὴν οὐσίαν καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς γενέσεως τοῦ Ἰακὼβ ἐσήμαινεν, οὐδʼ οὕτω μὲν ἐχρῆν αὐτοὺς τοιαῦτα περὶ τοῦ Λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ κἂν ἐνθυμεῖσθαι· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ποίημα, ὡς ὁ Ἰακώβ· πλὴν ἐδύναντό πως πυθόμενοι, μηκέτι παραφρονεῖν· εἰ δὲ ταῦτα οὐκ ἐπὶ τῆς οὐσίας, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς τῆς γενέσεως λαμβάνουσι, καίτοι κατὰ φύσιν ὄντος τοῦ Ἰακὼβ κτίσματος καὶ ποιήματος, πῶς οὐ πλέον τοῦ διαβόλου μαίνονται, εἰ ἄρα ἃ μηδὲ τοῖς φύσει γεννητοῖς τολμῶσιν ἐκ τῶν ὁμοίων λέξεων συνάπτειν, ταῦτα τῷ Υἱῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ προσπλέκουσι, λέγοντες αὐτὸν ποίημα εἶναι; Ἔλεγε γὰρ ὁ Ἰσαὰκ, ‘γίνου, ’ καὶ, ‘ἐποίησα, ʼ οὔτε τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς γενέσεως τοῦ Ἰακὼβ, οὔτε τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ σημαίνων· μετὰ γὰρ τριάκοντα καὶ πλεῖον ἔτη τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ ταῦτα ἔλεγεν· ἀλλὰ τὴν εἰς τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἐξουσίαν αὐτοῦ, τὴν μετὰ ταῦτα γενομένην.

17. Ioudaiōn men oun hoi pleistoi, tauta akouontes, enetrapēsan, kai loipon epegnōsan ton Christon, hōs en tais Praxesi gegraptai; epeidē de hoi Areiomanitai hairountai apomenein Ioudaioi kai machesthai tǭ Petrǭ, phere, tas homoias lexeis autois parathōmetha; isōs kan houtōs entrapōsi, mathontes tēn synētheian tēs theias graphēs. Hoti men oun aïdios Kyrios esti kai basileus ho Christos, dēlon gegonen ek tōn proeirēmenōn, kai oudeis estin, hos amphiballei peri toutou. Huios gar ōn tou Theou, homoios autou an eiē; homoios de ōn, pantōs esti kai Kyrios kai basileus; autos gar phēsin, ‘Ho eme heōrakōs heōrake ton Patera.’ Hoti de kai auto monon to legomenon para tou Petrou, ‘Kyrion auton epoiēse kai Christon, ʼ ou poiēma einai ton Huion sēmainei, exestin idein apo tēs eulogias tou Isaak? kan amydra pōs hē eikōn hautē pros to prokeimenon ę̄. Ephē toinyn tǭ men Iakōb, ‘ginou kyrios tou adelphou sou;’ tǭ de Ēsau, ‘Idou kyrion auton epoiēsa sou Ei men oun to ‘epoiēseʼ tēn ousian kai tēn archēn tēs geneseōs tou Iakōb esēmainen, oudʼ houtō men echrēn autous toiauta peri tou Logou tou Theou kan enthymeisthai; ou gar estin ho Huios tou Theou poiēma, hōs ho Iakōb; plēn edynanto pōs pythomenoi, mēketi paraphronein; ei de tauta ouk epi tēs ousias, oude epi tēs archēs tēs geneseōs lambanousi, kaitoi kata physin ontos tou Iakōb ktismatos kai poiēmatos, pōs ou pleon tou diabolou mainontai, ei ara ha mēde tois physei gennētois tolmōsin ek tōn homoiōn lexeōn synaptein, tauta tǭ Huiǭ tou Theou prosplekousi, legontes auton poiēma einai? Elege gar ho Isaak, ‘ginou, ’ kai, ‘epoiēsa, ʼ oute tēn archēn tēs geneseōs tou Iakōb, oute tēn ousian autou sēmainōn; meta gar triakonta kai pleion etē tēs geneseōs autou tauta elegen; alla tēn eis ton adelphon exousian autou, tēn meta tauta genomenēn.

Most of the Jews, then, hearing these things, were put to shame and thereafter acknowledged the Christ, as is written in the Acts; but since the Ariomaniacs choose to remain Jews and to fight with Peter, come, let us set before them similar expressions; perhaps even so they may be put to shame, once they learn the usage of divine Scripture. That Christ is eternal Lord and King has become clear from what has been said, and there is no one who doubts it. For being Son of God he would be like him; and being like him, he is surely both Lord and King; for he himself says, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” And that the saying of Peter taken by itself, “He made him Lord and Christ,” does not signify that the Son is a work, can be seen from the blessing of Isaac, even if this illustration is somewhat faint in relation to the matter at hand. He said to Jacob, “Be lord of your brother,” and to Esau, “See, I have made him your lord.” If, then, “I made” signified the substance of Jacob and the beginning of his coming into being, not even so ought they to entertain such thoughts about the Word of God, for the Son of God is not a work, as Jacob is; yet on inquiring they might somehow stop raving. But if they do not take these words of his substance, or of the beginning of his coming into being, although Jacob is by nature a creature and a work, how are they not madder than the devil, if what they do not dare to attach, on the strength of similar expressions, even to those who are begotten by nature, they fasten on the Son of God, saying that he is a work? For Isaac said “be” and “I have made” signifying neither the beginning of Jacob's coming into being nor his substance, since he said these things thirty and more years after his birth, but his authority over his brother, which came about afterwards.

Acts 2:41 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 14:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 2:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 27:29 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 27:37 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Isaac's words “I have made him your lord” show that “made” can denote a later authority rather than a creature's origin, as in Acts 2:36.

“Ariomaniacs” (Ἀρειομανῖται) is Athanasius's polemical pun on “Arians” and “mania.”
The text reads Κριστὸν; corrected to Χριστὸν.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Letter slip: Κ for Χ.): Κριστὸν → Χριστὸν.

Topics: Christology, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 17 (Bright, 85–86; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-2/11/#p-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Bright (1884); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with NPNF² 4.

Chapter 18

18Bright, 86–87

18. Οὐκοῦν πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὁ Πέτρος οὐ ποίημα τὴν οὐσίαν τοῦ Λόγου σημαίνων ταῦτʼ ἔλεγεν· ᾔδει γὰρ αὐτὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁμολογήσας, ‘Σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς, ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ζῶντος· ἀλλὰ τὴν κατὰ χάριν ποιηθεῖσαν καὶ γενομένην καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς αὐτοῦ βασιλείαν καὶ κυριότητα. Καὶ γὰρ ταῦτα λέγων, οὐκ ἐσιώπησε περὶ τῆς ἀϊδίου καὶ πατρικῆς θεότητος τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἀλλὰ καὶ προειρηκὼς ἦν ὅτι καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐξέχεεν ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς. Τὸ δὲ μετʼ ἐξουσίας διδόναι τὸ Πνεῦμα οὐ κτίσματος οὐδὲ ποιήματός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ Θεοῦ δῶρον. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ κτίσματα ἁγιάζεται παρὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος· ὁ δὲ Υἱὸς οὐχ ἁγιαζόμενος παρὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον αὐτὸς διδοὺς αὐτὸ τοῖς πᾶσι, δείκνυται μὴ κτίσμα, ἀλλὰ Υἱὸς ἀληθινὸς τοῦ Πατρὸς ὤν. Πλὴν ὅτι ὁ διδοὺς τὸ Πνεῦμα, ὁ αὐτὸς λέγεται καὶ πεποιῆσθαι· πεποιῆσθαι μὲν ἐν ἡμῖν Κύριος διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, διδοὺς δὲ, ὅτι τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος ἐστίν. Ἦν γὰρ ἀεὶ καὶ ἔστιν, ὥσπερ Υἱὸς, οὕτω καὶ Κύριος καὶ παμβασιλεὺς τῶν πάντων, ὅμοιος ὢν κατὰ πάντα τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ πάντα τὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἔχων, ὡς εἴρηκεν αὐτός. Φέρε λοιπὸν καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ἐν ταῖς Παροιμίαις λεγόμενον· ‘Κύριος ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ, εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ, θεωρήσωμεν·’ εἰ καὶ μάλιστα, δειχθέντος τοῦ Λόγου, ὅτι μὴ ποίημά ἐστι, δέδεικται ὅτι μηδὲ κτίσμα ἐστί. Ταὐτὸν γάρ ἐστιν εἰπεῖν ποίημα καὶ κτίσμα· ὥστε καὶ τὴν ἀπόδειξιν τὴν περὶ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ποίημα τὴν αὐτὴν εἶναι καὶ περὶ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι κτίσμα. Διὸ καὶ θαυμάσειεν ἄν τις αὐτοὺς ἐπινοοῦντας ἑαυτοῖς προφάσεις εἰς ἀσέβειαν, καὶ μὴ αἰσχυνομένους ἐπὶ τοῖς γενομένοις καθʼ ἕκαστον ἐλέγχοις. Πρότερον μὲν γὰρ ἐπενόουν ἀπατᾷν πυνθανόμενοι τῶν ἀκεραίων· ‘Ὁ ὢν τὸν μὴ ὄντα ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος ἐποίησεν, ἢ τὸν ὄντα;’ καὶ ‘Εἰ εἶχες υἱὸν, πρὶν γεννήσῃς;’ ὡς δὲ δέδεικται τοῦτο σαθρὸν, ἐφεῦρον λέγειν· ‘Ἓν τὸ ἀγένητον, ἢ δύο;’ εἶτʼ ἐν τούτῳ διελεγχθέντες συνῆψαν εὐθύς· ‘Αὐτεξούσιός ἐστι, καὶ τρεπτῆς ἐστι φύσεως;’ Ἀλλὰ ἐκβληθέντος καὶ τούτου, πάλιν ἐφεῦρον λέγειν· ‘Τοσούτῳ κρείττων γενόμενος τῶν ἀγγέλων.’ Ὡς δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἡ ἀλήθεια διήλεγξε, νῦν λοιπὸν ἐκεῖνα πάντα συνάγοντες, διὰ τοῦ ‘ποιήματος καὶ κτίσματος, ʼ τὴν αἵρεσιν αὐτῶν συνιστᾷν νομίζουσι. Πάλιν γὰρ ἐκεῖνα σημαίνουσι, καὶ οὐκ ἀφίστανται τῶν ἰδίων κακονοιῶν, τὰ αὐτὰ ποικίλως ἀντιμεταβάλλοντες καὶ μεταστρέφοντες, ὅπως ἴσως τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τινὰς ἀπατῆσαι δυνηθῶσιν. Εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα τοίνυν καὶ τὰ προειρημένα δείκνυσιν αὐτῶν καὶ ταύτην τὴν ἐπίνοιαν ματαίαν· ὅμως, ἐπειδὴ τῷ ἐκ τῶν Παροιμιῶν ῥητῷ τεθρυλλήκασι τὰ πανταχοῦ, καὶ παρὰ πολλοῖς τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι τὴν Χριστιανῶν πίστιν δοκοῦσι τι λέγειν, ἀναγκαῖον καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ῥητὸν, ὥσπερ τὸ πιστὸν ὄντα τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτὸν, ʼ οὕτω καὶ τὸ ‘ἔκτισε, ’ καθʼ ἑαυτὸ ἐξετάσαι· ἵνʼ, ὡς ἐν πᾶσι, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ δειχθῶσι μηδὲν πλέον ἔχοντες ἢ φαντασίαν.

18. Oukoun pollǭ mallon ho Petros ou poiēma tēn ousian tou Logou sēmainōn tautʼ elegen; ę̄dei gar auton Huion tou Theou, homologēsas, ‘Sy ei ho Christos, ho Huios tou Theou zōntos; alla tēn kata charin poiētheisan kai genomenēn kai eis hēmas autou basileian kai kyriotēta. Kai gar tauta legōn, ouk esiōpēse peri tēs aïdiou kai patrikēs theotētos tou Huiou tou Theou; alla kai proeirēkōs ēn hoti kai to Pneuma execheen ephʼ hēmas. To de metʼ exousias didonai to Pneuma ou ktismatos oude poiēmatos estin, alla Theou dōron. Ta men gar ktismata hagiazetai para tou hagiou Pneumatos; ho de Huios ouch hagiazomenos para tou Pneumatos, alla mallon autos didous auto tois pasi, deiknytai mē ktisma, alla Huios alēthinos tou Patros ōn. Plēn hoti ho didous to Pneuma, ho autos legetai kai pepoiēsthai; pepoiēsthai men en hēmin Kyrios dia to anthrōpinon, didous de, hoti tou Theou Logos estin. Ēn gar aei kai estin, hōsper Huios, houtō kai Kyrios kai pambasileus tōn pantōn, homoios ōn kata panta tou Patros, kai panta ta tou Patros echōn, hōs eirēken autos. Phere loipon kai auto to en tais Paroimiais legomenon; ‘Kyrios ektise me archēn hodōn autou, eis erga autou, theōrēsōmen;’ ei kai malista, deichthentos tou Logou, hoti mē poiēma esti, dedeiktai hoti mēde ktisma esti. Tauton gar estin eipein poiēma kai ktisma; hōste kai tēn apodeixin tēn peri tou mē einai poiēma tēn autēn einai kai peri tou mē einai ktisma. Dio kai thaumaseien an tis autous epinoountas heautois prophaseis eis asebeian, kai mē aischynomenous epi tois genomenois kathʼ hekaston elenchois. Proteron men gar epenooun apatąn pynthanomenoi tōn akeraiōn; ‘Ho ōn ton mē onta ek tou mē ontos epoiēsen, ē ton onta?’ kai ‘Ei eiches huion, prin gennēsę̄s?’ hōs de dedeiktai touto sathron, epheuron legein; ‘Hen to agenēton, ē dyo?’ eitʼ en toutǭ dielenchthentes synēpsan euthys; ‘Autexousios esti, kai treptēs esti physeōs?’ Alla ekblēthentos kai toutou, palin epheuron legein; ‘Tosoutǭ kreittōn genomenos tōn angelōn.’ Hōs de kai touto hē alētheia diēlenxe, nyn loipon ekeina panta synagontes, dia tou ‘poiēmatos kai ktismatos, ʼ tēn hairesin autōn synistąn nomizousi. Palin gar ekeina sēmainousi, kai ouk aphistantai tōn idiōn kakonoiōn, ta auta poikilōs antimetaballontes kai metastrephontes, hopōs isōs tę̄ poikilią tinas apatēsai dynēthōsin. Ei kai ta malista toinyn kai ta proeirēmena deiknysin autōn kai tautēn tēn epinoian mataian; homōs, epeidē tǭ ek tōn Paroimiōn rhētǭ tethryllēkasi ta pantachou, kai para pollois tois agnoousi tēn Christianōn pistin dokousi ti legein, anankaion kai auto to rhēton, hōsper to piston onta tǭ poiēsanti auton, ʼ houtō kai to ‘ektise, ’ kathʼ heauto exetasai; hinʼ, hōs en pasi, kai en toutǭ deichthōsi mēden pleon echontes ē phantasian.

Much more, then, did Peter say these things without signifying that the substance of the Word is a work, for he knew him to be Son of God, having confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”; he signified rather his kingship and lordship toward us, which was made and came about by grace. For in saying these things he did not keep silent about the eternal divinity of the Son of God, which is the Father's; he had said before that he poured out the Spirit on us. To give the Spirit with authority belongs not to a creature or a work; it is a gift of God. For creatures are sanctified by the Holy Spirit; but the Son, not being sanctified by the Spirit but rather himself giving it to all, is shown to be not a creature but the Father's true Son. Yet the one who gives the Spirit is the same who is said to have been made: made Lord among us because of his humanity, but giving the Spirit because he is the Word of God. For he always was and is, as Son, so also Lord and universal King of all things, being like the Father in all things and having all that is the Father's, as he himself said. Come now, let us consider the saying in the Proverbs itself, “The Lord created me a beginning of his ways, for his works”; although, once it was shown that the Word is not a work, it has in fact been shown that he is not a creature either. For to say “work” and “creature” is the same thing; so that the proof that he is not a work is the same as the proof that he is not a creature. One may well wonder, then, at their devising pretexts for impiety for themselves and not being ashamed at the refutations that have met them on each point. First they thought to deceive by asking simple people, “Did he who is make out of what was not him who was not, or him who was?” and, “Did you have a son before you begot?” When this was shown to be rotten, they invented the question, “Is the unoriginate one, or two?” Then, refuted on this, they at once added, “Has he free will, and is he of a changeable nature?” When this too was thrown out, they invented again, “Having become so much better than the angels.” And when the truth refuted this too, now at last, collecting all those together, they think to establish their heresy by means of “work and creature.” For they mean those same things again, and do not depart from their own ill will, changing and twisting the same things in various ways, so that perhaps by the variety they may deceive some. Although, then, what has already been said shows this device of theirs too to be vain, nevertheless, since they have trumpeted the saying from the Proverbs everywhere, and seem to many who do not know the Christians' faith to be saying something, it is necessary to examine this saying, “he created,” by itself too, as we did “being faithful to him who made him,” so that, as in all the rest, in this too they may be shown to have nothing more than a fancy.

Matt 16:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 2:33 (allusion, high confidence) · John 16:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 8:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 1:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 3:2 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Peter who calls Christ “made Lord” also says that he pours out the Spirit, which no creature can give; Athanasius reviews the Arian questions already refuted and turns to Prov 8:22.

The Arian questions (“Did he who is make him who was not…?”, “Is the unoriginate one, or two?”, “Has he free will…?”) and Heb 1:4 were answered in the first Oration.
A stray period after καὶ is removed.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Stray period.): καὶ. ‘Εἰ → καὶ ‘Εἰ.

Topics: Christology, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 18 (Bright, 86–87; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-2/11/#p-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-athanasius-oratio-2-18) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Bright (1884); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with NPNF² 4.

Chapter 19

19Bright, 87–88

19. Καὶ πρῶτά γε ἴδωμεν ἅπερ ἐπιδεδώκασι κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν, ἡνίκα ἡ αἵρεσις ἐπλάττετο παρʼ αὐτῶν, τῷ μακαρίτῃ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ. Ἔγραψαν τοίνυν λέγοντες· ‘Κτίσμα ἐστὶν, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν κτισμάτων· ποίημά ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν ποιημάτων· γέννημά ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν γεννημάτων. ʼ Θεασάσθω δὴ ἕκαστος τὸ πανοῦργον καὶ δόλιον τῆς αἱρέσεως ταύτης· εἰδυῖα γὰρ τὸ πικρὸν τῆς ἰδίας κακοφροσύνης, καλλωπίζειν ἑαυτὴν βιάζεται πιθανότητι ῥημάτων· καὶ λέγει μὲν, ὅπερ φρονεῖ, ὅτι ‘κτίσμα ἐστὶ, νομίζει δὲ δύνασθαι κρύπτειν ἑαυτὴν ἐν τῷ λέγειν, ‘ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν κτισμάτων·’ Μᾶλλον δὲ οὕτω γράψαντες, διὰ τούτων πλέον ἤλεγξαν ἑαυτῶν τὴν ἀσέβειαν. Εἰ γὰρ ὅλως καθʼ ὑμᾶς κτίσμα ἐστὶ, πῶς ὑποκρίνεσθε λέγοντες, ‘ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν κτισμάτων; καὶ εἰ ὅλως ποίημά ἐστι, πῶς ‘οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν ποιημάτων;’ ἐν οἷς καὶ τὸν ἰὸν τῆς αἱρέσεως θεωρεῖν ἔξεστι. Λέγοντες γὰρ ‘γέννημα, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν γεννημάτων, ’ πολλοὺς υἱοὺς συντάττουσι, καὶ τούτων ἕνα εἶναι τὸν Κύριον δογματίζουσιν· ὡς μηκέτι κατʼ αὐτοὺς μονογενῆ εἶναι, ἀλλʼ ἐκ πολλῶν ἀδελφῶν ἕνα καὶ αὐτὸν γέννημα καὶ Υἱὸν χρηματίζειν. Τίς οὖν χρεία τῆς ὑποκρίσεως, ὥστε λέγειν μὲν αὐτὸν κτίσμα, λέγειν δὲ αὐτὸν μὴ κτίσμα; καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐὰν λέγητε, οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν κτισμάτων, ʼ ἀνόητον ὑμῶν τὸ τοιοῦτον σόφισμα δειχθήσεται· ἓν γὰρ πάλιν τῶν κτισμάτων αὐτὸν εἶναι λέγετε· καὶ οἷα ἄν τις εἴποι καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων κτισμάτων, τοιαῦτα καὶ περὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ φρονεῖτε, ὡς ἀληθῶς μωροὶ καὶ τυφλοί. ʼ Ποῖον γὰρ καὶ ἕτερον τῶν κτισμάτων τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, οἷον γέγονε καὶ τὸ ἕτερον, ἵνα τοῦτο περὶ Υἱοῦ ὡς ἐξαίρετόν τι λέγητε; Καὶ πᾶσα ἡ φαινομένη κτίσις ἐν ἓξ ἡμέραις γέγονε· καὶ τῇ μὲν πρώτῃ τὸ φῶς, ὅπερ ἐκάλεσεν ἡμέραν· τῇ δὲ δευτέρᾳ τὸ στερέωμα· καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ, συναγαγὼν τὰ ὕδατα, ἔδειξε τὴν ξηρὰν, καὶ τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ ποικίλους προήγαγε καρπούς· καὶ τῇ μὲν τετάρτῃ πεποίηκε τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὴν σελήνην, καὶ πάντα τὸν τῶν ἀστέρων χορόν· τῇ δὲ πέμπτῃ τῶν ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ ζώων, καὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ ἀέρι πετεινῶν τὴν γένεσιν ἔκτισε· τῇ δὲ ἕκτῃ τὰ τετράποδα τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς πεποίηκε, καὶ λοιπὸν τὸν ἄνθρωπον. ‘Τά τε ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου, τοῖς ποιήμασι νοούμενα, καθορᾶται· καὶ οὔτε τὸ φῶς ὡς ἡ νὺξ, οὔτε ὁ ἥλιος ὡς ἡ σελήνη, οὔτε τὰ ἄλογα ὡς ὁ λογικὸς ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν· οὔτε οἱ ἄγγελοι ὡς οἱ θρόνοι, οὔτε οἱ θρόνοι ὡς αἱ ἐξουσίαι· ἀλλὰ πάντα μέν ἐστι κτίσματα, ἕκαστον δὲ τῶν γενομένων ‘κατὰ γένοςʼ τῇ ἰδίᾳ οὐσίᾳ, ὡς γέγονεν, ἐστί τε καὶ μένει.

19. Kai prōta ge idōmen haper epidedōkasi kata tēn archēn, hēnika hē hairesis eplatteto parʼ autōn, tǭ makaritę̄ Alexandrǭ. Egrapsan toinyn legontes; ‘Ktisma estin, allʼ ouch hōs hen tōn ktismatōn; poiēma estin, allʼ ouch hōs hen tōn poiēmatōn; gennēma estin, allʼ ouch hōs hen tōn gennēmatōn. ʼ Theasasthō dē hekastos to panourgon kai dolion tēs haireseōs tautēs; eiduia gar to pikron tēs idias kakophrosynēs, kallōpizein heautēn biazetai pithanotēti rhēmatōn; kai legei men, hoper phronei, hoti ‘ktisma esti, nomizei de dynasthai kryptein heautēn en tǭ legein, ‘allʼ ouch hōs hen tōn ktismatōn;’ Mallon de houtō grapsantes, dia toutōn pleon ēlenxan heautōn tēn asebeian. Ei gar holōs kathʼ hymas ktisma esti, pōs hypokrinesthe legontes, ‘allʼ ouch hōs hen tōn ktismatōn? kai ei holōs poiēma esti, pōs ‘ouch hōs hen tōn poiēmatōn?’ en hois kai ton ion tēs haireseōs theōrein exesti. Legontes gar ‘gennēma, allʼ ouch hōs hen tōn gennēmatōn, ’ pollous huious syntattousi, kai toutōn hena einai ton Kyrion dogmatizousin; hōs mēketi katʼ autous monogenē einai, allʼ ek pollōn adelphōn hena kai auton gennēma kai Huion chrēmatizein. Tis oun chreia tēs hypokriseōs, hōste legein men auton ktisma, legein de auton mē ktisma? kai gar kai ean legēte, ouch hōs hen tōn ktismatōn, ʼ anoēton hymōn to toiouton sophisma deichthēsetai; hen gar palin tōn ktismatōn auton einai legete; kai hoia an tis eipoi kai peri tōn allōn ktismatōn, toiauta kai peri tou Huiou phroneite, hōs alēthōs mōroi kai typhloi. ʼ Poion gar kai heteron tōn ktismatōn toiouton estin, hoion gegone kai to heteron, hina touto peri Huiou hōs exaireton ti legēte? Kai pasa hē phainomenē ktisis en hex hēmerais gegone; kai tę̄ men prōtę̄ to phōs, hoper ekalesen hēmeran; tę̄ de deuterą to stereōma; kai tę̄ tritę̄, synagagōn ta hydata, edeixe tēn xēran, kai tous en autę̄ poikilous proēgage karpous; kai tę̄ men tetartę̄ pepoiēke ton hēlion kai tēn selēnēn, kai panta ton tōn asterōn choron; tę̄ de pemptę̄ tōn en tę̄ thalassę̄ zōōn, kai tōn en tǭ aeri peteinōn tēn genesin ektise; tę̄ de hektę̄ ta tetrapoda ta epi tēs gēs pepoiēke, kai loipon ton anthrōpon. ‘Ta te aorata autou apo ktiseōs kosmou, tois poiēmasi nooumena, kathoratai; kai oute to phōs hōs hē nyx, oute ho hēlios hōs hē selēnē, oute ta aloga hōs ho logikos anthrōpos estin; oute hoi angeloi hōs hoi thronoi, oute hoi thronoi hōs hai exousiai; alla panta men esti ktismata, hekaston de tōn genomenōn ‘kata genosʼ tę̄ idią ousią, hōs gegonen, esti te kai menei.

First, let us see what they submitted at the beginning, when the heresy was being fashioned by them, to Alexander of blessed memory. They wrote as follows: “He is a creature, but not as one of the creatures; a work, but not as one of the works; an offspring, but not as one of the offsprings.” Let everyone observe the craft and deceit of this heresy: knowing the bitterness of its own evil-mindedness, it strains to adorn itself with plausible words. It says what it thinks, that “he is a creature,” but supposes it can hide itself by saying, “but not as one of the creatures.” Rather, by writing thus they have exposed their impiety all the more. For if on your view he is a creature at all, how do you play the hypocrite by saying, “but not as one of the creatures”? And if he is a work at all, how is he “not as one of the works”? In these words one can see the poison of the heresy too. For by saying “an offspring, but not as one of the offsprings,” they rank many sons together and lay down that the Lord is one of them; so that on their view he is no longer only-begotten, but one out of many brothers, and he too is called offspring and Son. What need, then, of pretense, to call him a creature and yet say he is not a creature? For even if you say “not as one of the creatures,” this sophism of yours will be shown to be senseless; for again you say he is one of the creatures; and such things as one might say about the other creatures, you think about the Son too, truly “fools and blind.” For what creature is such as another has come to be, that you should say this of the Son as something exceptional? The whole visible creation came to be in six days: on the first the light, which he called day; on the second the firmament; on the third, gathering the waters, he showed the dry land and brought forth the various fruits in it; on the fourth he made the sun and the moon and the whole chorus of stars; on the fifth he created the living things in the sea and the birds in the air; on the sixth he made the four-footed animals on the earth, and finally man. “His invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made”; and neither is the light as the night, nor the sun as the moon, nor the irrational animals as rational man; nor are the angels as the thrones, nor the thrones as the powers; but all are creatures, and each of the things that came to be is and remains, “according to its kind,” in its own substance, as it was made.

Matt 23:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 1:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 1:31 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 1:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Col 1:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gen 1:11 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The Arian formula “a creature, but not as one of the creatures” is a pretense: every creature differs from every other, so the phrase leaves the Son one creature among many.

The quoted formula comes from the Arians' early letter to Bishop Alexander of Alexandria (ca. 320).
“Thrones” and “powers” are ranks of angels (Col 1:16).

Topics: Christology, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 19 (Bright, 87–88; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-2/11/#p-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Bright (1884); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with NPNF² 4.

Chapter 20

20Bright, 89

20. Ἢ τοίνυν ὁ Λόγος ἐξαιρείσθω τῶν ποιημάτων, καὶ ὡς κτίστης ἀποδιδόσθω τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ ὁμολογείσθω φύσει Υἱός· ἢ εἰ ὅλως κτίσμα ἐστὶ, τὴν αὐτὴν ὁμολογείσθω τάξιν ἔχειν, οἵαν ἔχει καὶ τὰ ἕτερα πρὸς ἄλληλα· λεγέσθω δὲ κἀκείνων ἕκαστον ‘κτίσμα, ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἓν τῶν κτισμάτων, γέννημα ἢ ποίημα, οὐδʼ ὡς ἓν τῶν ποιημάτων ἢ γεννημάτων. ʼ Ταὐτὸν γὰρ εἰρήκατε τὸ γέννημα καὶ τὸ ποίημα, γράψαντες, ‘γεννηθέντα ἢ ποιηθέντα·’ κἂν γὰρ ὑπερέχῃ τῶν ἄλλων τῇ συγκρίσει ὁ Υἱὸς, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲν ἧττόν ἐστι κτίσμα, ὥσπερ κἀκεῖνα· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς φύσει κτίσμασιν εὑρεῖν ἔστιν ἕτερα ἑτέρων ὑπερέχοντα. ‘Ἀστὴρ γοῦν ἀστέρος διαφέρει ἐν δόξῃ·’ τά τε ἄλλα ἕκαστα πρὸς ἄλληλα κατὰ σύγκρισιν ἔχει τὴν διαφοράν· καὶ οὐ διὰ τοῦτο τὰ μὲν κύρια, τὰ δὲ τοῖς βελτίοσι δουλεύει· οὐδὲ τὰ μὲν ποιητικὰ αἴτιά ἐστι, τὰ δὲ παρʼ αὐτῶν γίνεται· ἀλλὰ πάντα τοῦ γίνεσθαι καὶ κτίζεσθαι τὴν φύσιν ἔχει, ὁμολογοῦντα διʼ ἑαυτῶν τὸν δημιουργὸν ἑαυτῶν, ὡς ψάλλει Δαβὶδ, Οἱ οὐρανοὶ διηγοῦνται δόξαν Θεοῦ, ποίησιν δὲ χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ἀναγγέλλει τὸ στερέωμα.’ καθάπερ καὶ Ζοροβάβελ ὁ σοφὸς λέγει, ‘Πᾶσα ἡ γῆ τὴν ἀλήθειαν καλεῖ, καὶ ὁ οὐρανὸς αὐτὴν εὐλογεῖ, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔργα σείεται καὶ τρέμει.’ Εἰ δὲ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ τὸν δημιουργὸν καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὑμνεῖ, καὶ εὐλογεῖ, καὶ τρέμει· δημιουργὸς δὲ ταύτης ὁ Λόγος ἐστὶ, καὶ αὐτὸς λέγει, ‘Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια· οὐκ ἄρα κτίσμα ἐστὶν ὁ Λόγος, ἀλλὰ μόνος ἴδιος τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἐν ᾧ τὰ πάντα ἥρμοσται, καὶ αὐτὸς ὑμνεῖται παρὰ πάντων, ὡς δημιουργός· ‘Ἤμην γὰρ, ’ ὡς αὐτός φησι, παρʼ αὐτῷ ἁρμόζουσα·’ καὶ, ‘Ὁ Πατήρ μου ἕως ἄρτι ἐργάζεται, κἀγὼ ἐργάζομαι. Τὸ δὲ ἕως ἄρτιʼ δείκνυσι τὸ ἀϊδίως, ὡς Λόγον, ὑπάρχειν αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ Πατρί· Λόγου γὰρ ἴδιον ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἔργα, καὶ μὴ εἶναι ἐκτὸς αὐτοῦ.

20. Ē toinyn ho Logos exaireisthō tōn poiēmatōn, kai hōs ktistēs apodidosthō tǭ Patri, kai homologeisthō physei Huios; ē ei holōs ktisma esti, tēn autēn homologeisthō taxin echein, hoian echei kai ta hetera pros allēla; legesthō de kakeinōn hekaston ‘ktisma, allʼ ouch hōs hen tōn ktismatōn, gennēma ē poiēma, oudʼ hōs hen tōn poiēmatōn ē gennēmatōn. ʼ Tauton gar eirēkate to gennēma kai to poiēma, grapsantes, ‘gennēthenta ē poiēthenta;’ kan gar hyperechę̄ tōn allōn tę̄ synkrisei ho Huios, allʼ ouden hētton esti ktisma, hōsper kakeina; kai gar kai en autois tois physei ktismasin heurein estin hetera heterōn hyperechonta. ‘Astēr goun asteros diapherei en doxę̄;’ ta te alla hekasta pros allēla kata synkrisin echei tēn diaphoran; kai ou dia touto ta men kyria, ta de tois beltiosi douleuei; oude ta men poiētika aitia esti, ta de parʼ autōn ginetai; alla panta tou ginesthai kai ktizesthai tēn physin echei, homologounta diʼ heautōn ton dēmiourgon heautōn, hōs psallei Dabid, Hoi ouranoi diēgountai doxan Theou, poiēsin de cheirōn autou anangellei to stereōma.’ kathaper kai Zorobabel ho sophos legei, ‘Pasa hē gē tēn alētheian kalei, kai ho ouranos autēn eulogei, kai panta ta erga seietai kai tremei.’ Ei de pasa hē gē ton dēmiourgon kai tēn alētheian hymnei, kai eulogei, kai tremei; dēmiourgos de tautēs ho Logos esti, kai autos legei, ‘Egō eimi hē alētheia; ouk ara ktisma estin ho Logos, alla monos idios tou Patros, en hǭ ta panta hērmostai, kai autos hymneitai para pantōn, hōs dēmiourgos; ‘Ēmēn gar, ’ hōs autos phēsi, parʼ autǭ harmozousa;’ kai, ‘Ho Patēr mou heōs arti ergazetai, kagō ergazomai. To de heōs artiʼ deiknysi to aïdiōs, hōs Logon, hyparchein auton en tǭ Patri; Logou gar idion ergazesthai ta tou Patros erga, kai mē einai ektos autou.

Either, then, let the Word be excepted from the works, and be assigned to the Father as creator, and be acknowledged Son by nature; or, if he is a creature at all, let it be acknowledged that he has the same rank as the others have toward one another, and let each of them too be called “a creature, but not as one of the creatures; an offspring or a work, but not as one of the works or offsprings.” For you have said that offspring and work are the same, writing “begotten or made”; for even if the Son surpasses the others by comparison, he is none the less a creature, as they are; for even among things that are by nature creatures one can find some surpassing others. “Star differs from star in glory,” at any rate, and all the rest differ from one another by comparison; yet not for that reason are some lords while others serve the better ones, nor are some productive causes while others come to be from them; but all have the nature of coming to be and being created, confessing through themselves their own creator, as David sings, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands”; as Zerubbabel the wise also says, “All the earth calls upon truth, and the heaven blesses her, and all the works shake and tremble.” If, then, all the earth hymns and blesses its creator and the truth, and trembles, and the Word is its creator, and he himself says, “I am the truth,” then the Word is not a creature, but alone proper to the Father, in whom all things have been harmonized, and he himself is hymned by all as creator; for, as he himself says, “I was beside him, harmonizing”; and “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” The “until now” shows that he exists eternally, as Word, in the Father; for it is proper to the Word to work the works of the Father and not to be outside him.

1 Cor 15:41 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 19:1 (18:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · John 14:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 8:30 (quotation, high confidence) · John 5:17 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Creatures differ in glory but share the nature of creatures and praise their creator; the Word is that creator, the truth whom all creation hymns, and works eternally with the Father.

“Begotten or made” quotes an Arian formula (compare Arius's letter to Alexander).
“Zerubbabel the wise” is quoted from 1 Esd 4:36, the contest of the three youths.
“I was beside him, harmonizing” is Prov 8:30 in the Septuagint.
The text reads Ὁἱ; corrected to Οἱ.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (Breathing slip.): Ὁἱ οὐρανοὶ → Οἱ οὐρανοὶ.

Extrabiblical texts: 1 Esd 4:36 (1 Esdras [in EO, ETH canons]; quotation)

Topics: Christology, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 20 (Bright, 89; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-2/11/#p-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-athanasius-oratio-2-20) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Bright (1884); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with NPNF² 4.