Oration III Against the Arians 19–28
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 19
19Bright, 173–174
19. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν θείων πάλιν εἰκόνας τοῖς ἀνθρώποις λαμβάνων, φησὶν ὁ Σωτήρ· ‘Γίνεσθε οἰκτίρμονες, ὡς ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς οἰκτίρμων ἐστὶ, ’ καὶ, ‘Ἔσεσθε ὑμεῖς τέλειοι, ὡς ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τέλειός ἐστιν.’ Ἔλεγε δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, οὐχ ἵνα γινώμεθα πάλιν ὡς ὁ Πατήρ· γενέσθαι γὰρ ἡμᾶς ὡς ὁ Πατὴρ ἀδύνατον, κτίσμα ὄντας, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι γενομένους· ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ οὐχ ἵνα μὴ γενώμεθα κτήνη παρήγγειλε, ‘Μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς ἵππος, ʼ ἵνα δὲ μὴ τὸ ἄλογον ἐκείνων μιμησώμεθα, οὕτως οὐχ ἵνα γενώμεθα ὡς ὁ Θεὸς, ἔλεγε, ‘Γίνεσθε οἰκτίρμονες ὡς ὁ Πατὴρ, ’ ἀλλʼ ἵνα πρὸς τὰς εὐεργεσίας ἐκείνου βλέποντες, ἃ ποιοῦμεν καλὰ, μὴ διʼ ἀνθρώπους, ἀλλὰ διʼ αὐτὸν ποιῶμεν, ὥστε παρʼ αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὴ παρʼ ἀνθρώπων τὸν μισθὸν ἔχειν. Ὡς γὰρ ἑνὸς ὄντος Υἱοῦ φύσει, καὶ ἀληθινοῦ, καὶ μονογενοῦς, γινόμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς ‘υἱοὶ, ʼ οὐχ ὡς ἐκεῖνος φύσει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ, ἀλλὰ κατὰ χάριν τοῦ καλέσαντος· καὶ ἄνθρωποι τυγχάνοντες ἀπὸ γῆς, ‘θεοὶʼ χρηματίζομεν, οὐχ ὡς ὁ ἀληθινὸς Θεὸς, ἢ ὁ τούτου Λόγος, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἠθέλησεν ὁ τοῦτο χαρισάμενος Θεός· οὕτω καὶ ὡς ὁ Θεὸς οἰκτίρμονες γινόμεθα, οὐκ ἐξισούμενοι τῷ Θεῷ, οὐδὲ φύσει καὶ ἀληθινοὶ εὐεργέται γινόμενοι· (οὐ γὰρ ἡμῶν εὕρεμα τὸ εὐεργετεῖν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ) ἵνα δὲ τὰ παρʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ κατὰ χάριν εἰς ἡμᾶς γενόμενα, ταῦτα καὶ ἡμεῖς μεταδιδῶμεν εἰς ἑτέρους, μὴ διακρινόμενοι, ἁπλῶς δὲ εἰς πάντας ἐκτείνοντες τὴν εὐποιίαν· κατὰ τοῦτο γὰρ μόνον δυνάμεθά πως αὐτοῦ μιμηταὶ γενέσθαι, καὶ οὐκ ἄλλως, ὅτι τὰ παρʼ αὐτοῦ διακονοῦμεν ἀλλήλοις. Ὥσπερ δὲ ταῦτα καλῶς καὶ ὀρθῶς διανοούμεθα, οὕτω καὶ τὸ κατὰ Ἰωάννην ἀνάγνωσμα τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχει διάνοιαν. Οὐ γὰρ ὡς ἔστιν ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, οὕτως ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς γενώμεθά φησι· πόθεν, ὅπου γε ὁ μὲν Λόγος καὶ Σοφία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐκ γῆς ἐπλάσθημεν· καὶ ὁ μὲν φύσει καὶ τῇ οὐσίᾳ Λόγος καὶ Θεὸς ἀληθινός ἐστιν, (οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ὁ Ἰωάννης φησίν· ‘οἴδαμεν ὅτι ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἥκει, καὶ ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν διάνοιαν, ἵνα γινώσκωμεν τὸν ἀληθινὸν Θεόν· καί ἐσμεν ἐν τῷ ἀληθινῷ, ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ αὐτοῦ, Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀληθινὸς Θεὸς, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἡ αἰώνιος·’) ἡμεῖς δὲ θέσει καὶ χάριτι υἱοποιούμεθα διʼ αὐτοῦ, μετέχοντες τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ; ‘ὅσοιʼ γὰρ, φησὶν, ‘ἔλαβον αὐτὸν, ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τέκνα Θεοῦ γενέσθαι, τοῖς πιστεύουσιν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, ’ Διὸ καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν ἔστιν ἡ ἀλήθεια, λέγων, ‘Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀλήθεια·’ ὅτε καὶ τῷ Πατρὶ αὐτοῦ προσομιλῶν ἔλεγεν, ‘Ἁγίασον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου· ὁ Λόγος ὁ σὸς ἀλήθειά ἐστιν·’ ἡμεῖς δὲ κατὰ μίμησιν γινόμεθα ἐνάρετοι καὶ υἱοί.
19. Epi de tōn theiōn palin eikonas tois anthrōpois lambanōn, phēsin ho Sōtēr; ‘Ginesthe oiktirmones, hōs ho Patēr hymōn ho en tois ouranois oiktirmōn esti, ’ kai, ‘Esesthe hymeis teleioi, hōs ho Patēr hymōn ho ouranios teleios estin.’ Elege de kai touto, ouch hina ginōmetha palin hōs ho Patēr; genesthai gar hēmas hōs ho Patēr adynaton, ktisma ontas, kai ek tou mē ontos eis to einai genomenous; allʼ hōsper ouch hina mē genōmetha ktēnē parēngeile, ‘Mē ginesthe hōs hippos, ʼ hina de mē to alogon ekeinōn mimēsōmetha, houtōs ouch hina genōmetha hōs ho Theos, elege, ‘Ginesthe oiktirmones hōs ho Patēr, ’ allʼ hina pros tas euergesias ekeinou blepontes, ha poioumen kala, mē diʼ anthrōpous, alla diʼ auton poiōmen, hōste parʼ autou, kai mē parʼ anthrōpōn ton misthon echein. Hōs gar henos ontos Huiou physei, kai alēthinou, kai monogenous, ginometha kai hēmeis ‘huioi, ʼ ouch hōs ekeinos physei kai alētheią, alla kata charin tou kalesantos; kai anthrōpoi tynchanontes apo gēs, ‘theoiʼ chrēmatizomen, ouch hōs ho alēthinos Theos, ē ho toutou Logos, allʼ hōs ēthelēsen ho touto charisamenos Theos; houtō kai hōs ho Theos oiktirmones ginometha, ouk exisoumenoi tǭ Theǭ, oude physei kai alēthinoi euergetai ginomenoi; (ou gar hēmōn heurema to euergetein, alla tou Theou) hina de ta parʼ autou tou Theou kata charin eis hēmas genomena, tauta kai hēmeis metadidōmen eis heterous, mē diakrinomenoi, haplōs de eis pantas ekteinontes tēn eupoiian; kata touto gar monon dynametha pōs autou mimētai genesthai, kai ouk allōs, hoti ta parʼ autou diakonoumen allēlois. Hōsper de tauta kalōs kai orthōs dianooumetha, houtō kai to kata Iōannēn anagnōsma tēn autēn echei dianoian. Ou gar hōs estin ho Huios en tǭ Patri, houtōs hina kai hēmeis genōmetha phēsi; pothen, hopou ge ho men Logos kai Sophia tou Theou estin, hēmeis de ek gēs eplasthēmen; kai ho men physei kai tę̄ ousią Logos kai Theos alēthinos estin, (houtō gar kai ho Iōannēs phēsin; ‘oidamen hoti ho Huios tou Theou hēkei, kai edōken hēmin dianoian, hina ginōskōmen ton alēthinon Theon; kai esmen en tǭ alēthinǭ, en tǭ Huiǭ autou, Iēsou Christǭ; houtos estin ho alēthinos Theos, kai hē zōē hē aiōnios;’) hēmeis de thesei kai chariti huiopoioumetha diʼ autou, metechontes tou Pneumatos autou? ‘hosoiʼ gar, phēsin, ‘elabon auton, edōken autois exousian tekna Theou genesthai, tois pisteuousin eis to onoma autou, ’ Dio kai autos men estin hē alētheia, legōn, ‘Egō eimi hē alētheia;’ hote kai tǭ Patri autou prosomilōn elegen, ‘Hagiason autous en tę̄ alētheią sou; ho Logos ho sos alētheia estin;’ hēmeis de kata mimēsin ginometha enaretoi kai huioi.
And again, taking images for human beings from divine things, the Saviour says, “Be merciful, as your Father in heaven is merciful,” and “You shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” He said this too not so that we should become like the Father; for it is impossible for us to become like the Father, since we are creatures, brought from what is not into being. But just as, when he commanded, “Do not be like the horse,” it was not lest we become beasts but lest we imitate their irrationality, so it was not in order that we might become like God that he said, “Be merciful as the Father,” but so that, looking to his benefits, we might do the good we do not for the sake of men but for his sake, and so have our reward from him and not from men. For as, though there is one Son by nature, true and only-begotten, we too become “sons,” not as he is, by nature and in truth, but by the grace of him who called us; and, being men from the earth, we are called “gods,” not as the true God or his Word is, but as God who granted this has willed; so too we become merciful as God is, not by being made equal to God, nor by becoming benefactors by nature and in truth (for doing good is not our invention but God's), but so that what has come to us from God himself by grace we too may share with others, making no distinctions but simply extending our kindness to all. For only in this way can we somehow become his imitators, and not otherwise: by ministering to one another what comes from him. And as we understand these things well and rightly, so too the reading in John has the same sense. For he does not say that we should become as the Son is in the Father. How could we, when he is the Word and Wisdom of God, while we were fashioned from earth; and he is by nature and substance Word and true God (for so John too says, “We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know the true God; and we are in the true one, in his Son Jesus Christ; this is the true God and eternal life”), while we are made sons by adoption and grace through him, partaking of his Spirit? For “as many as received him,” it says, “to them he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name.” That is why he himself is the truth, saying, “I am the truth”; and speaking to his Father he said, “Sanctify them in your truth; your Word is truth”; but we become virtuous and sons by imitation.
Luke 6:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 5:48 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 32:9 (31:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 82:6 (81:6 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence) · John 17:21 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 John 5:20 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:12 (quotation, high confidence) · John 14:6 (quotation, high confidence) · John 17:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Commands like “Be merciful as your Father” call for imitation, not equality; so too John 17 does not make us one with the Father as the Son is, since we are sons and “gods” by grace.
- “Called gods” alludes to Ps 82:6 and John 10:34–35.
Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 19 (Bright, 173–174; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-3/19/#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, 174–175
20. Οὐκοῦν οὐχ ἵνα ὡς αὐτὸς γινώμεθα, ἔλεγεν, ‘ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν, καθὼς καὶ ἡμεῖς, ’ ἀλλʼ ἵνα ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος, Λόγος ὢν, ἔστιν ἐν τῷ ‘ἰδίῳ Πατρὶ, ’ οὕτως ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς, τύπον τινὰ λαβόντες, καὶ εἰς ἐκεῖνον βλέποντες, ‘γενώμεθα ἓνʼ πρὸς ἀλλήλους τῇ ὁμοψυχίᾳ καὶ τῇ τοῦ πνεύματος ἑνότητι, μὴ διαφωνῶμέν τε, ὡς οἱ Κορίνθιοι, τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ φρονῶμεν, ὡς οἱ ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσι πεντακισχίλιοι, οἵτινες ὡς εἶς ἐτύγχανον ὄντες. Ὡς γὰρ ‘υἱοὶ, ʼ οὐχ ὡς ὁ Υἱός· καὶ θεοὶ, οὐχ ὡς αὐτός· καὶ ‘οἰκτίρμονες ὡς ὁ Πατὴρ οὐχ ‘ὡς ὁ Πατήρ Ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ εἴρηται, οὕτω γινόμενοι ἓν, καθὼς ὁ Πατὴρ καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς, οὐχ οὕτως ἐσόμεθα ὡς ἔστι φύσει ὁ Πατὴρ ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ, καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἔχομεν φύσεως, καὶ δυνατὸν ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἐκεῖθεν τυπωθῆναι, καὶ μαθεῖν πῶς ὀφείλομεν ἓν γενέσθαι, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ οἰκτείρειν ἐμάθομεν. Τὰ γὰρ ὅμοια πρὸς τὰ ὅμοια πέφυκε τὴν ἕνωσιν ἔχειν· ἐπειδὴ καὶ πᾶσα σὰρξ κατὰ γένος συνάγεται. Ἡμῶν μὲν οὖν ἀνόμοιός ἐστιν ὁ Λόγος, τοῦ δὲ Πατρὸς ὅμοιος· διὰ τοῦτο ἐκεῖνος μὲν ἔστι φύσει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ ἓν μετὰ τοῦ ἑαυτοῦ Πατρός· ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀλλήλων ὄντες ὁμογενεῖς (ἐκ γὰρ ἑνὸς οἱ πάντες γεγόναμεν, καὶ μία πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἡ φύσις), ἓν πρὸς ἀλλήλους τῇ διαθέσει γινόμεθα, ἔχοντες ὑπογραμμὸν τὴν τοῦ Υἱοῦ πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα φυσικὴν ἑνότητα· καθάπερ γὰρ τὴν πραότητα ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ ἐδίδασκε, λέγων, ‘μάθετε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πρᾶός εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ·’ οὐχ ἵνα ἐξισωθῶμεν αὐτῷ· (ἀδύνατον γάρ·) ἀλλʼ ἵνα βλέποντες εἰς ἐκεῖνον διαμείνωμεν πρᾶοι διὰ παντός· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα, θέλων ἡμᾶς ἀληθῇ καὶ βεβαίαν καὶ ἀδιάλυτον τὴν διάθεσιν ἔχειν πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ λαμβάνει τὸ παράδειγμα, καί φησιν· ‘ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν, καθὼς καὶ ἡμεῖς· ἀδιαίρετος δέ ἐστιν ἡ ἐν ἡμῖν ἑνότης· οὕτως ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ μαθόντες ἐξ ἡμῶν τὴν ἀδιαίρετον φύσιν, οὕτω καὶ τὴν πρὸς ἀλλήλους συμφωνίαν διαφυλάττωσιν.’ Ἀσφαλεστέρα δὲ ἡ μίμησις ἐκ τῶν κατὰ φύσιν λαμβάνεται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ὥσπερ εἴρηται· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ταῦτα μὲν μένει, καὶ οὔποτε μεταβάλλεται, ὁ δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τρόπος εὐμετάβλητος τυγχάνει· δύναται, πρὸς τὸ ἀμετάβλητον τῇ φύσει βλέπων, τὰ μὲν φαῦλα φεύγειν, ἐν δὲ τοῖς βελτίστοις ἑαυτὸν ἀνατυποῦν, Καὶ γὰρ οὕτω καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον, ‘ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ἓν ὦσιν, ’ ὀρθὴν πάλιν ἔχει τὴν διάνοιαν.
20. Oukoun ouch hina hōs autos ginōmetha, elegen, ‘hina ōsin hen, kathōs kai hēmeis, ’ allʼ hina hōsper ekeinos, Logos ōn, estin en tǭ ‘idiǭ Patri, ’ houtōs hina kai hēmeis, typon tina labontes, kai eis ekeinon blepontes, ‘genōmetha henʼ pros allēlous tę̄ homopsychią kai tę̄ tou pneumatos henotēti, mē diaphōnōmen te, hōs hoi Korinthioi, to auto de phronōmen, hōs hoi en tais Praxesi pentakischilioi, hoitines hōs eis etynchanon ontes. Hōs gar ‘huioi, ʼ ouch hōs ho Huios; kai theoi, ouch hōs autos; kai ‘oiktirmones hōs ho Patēr ouch ‘hōs ho Patēr Allʼ hōsper eirētai, houtō ginomenoi hen, kathōs ho Patēr kai ho Huios, ouch houtōs esometha hōs esti physei ho Patēr en tǭ Huiǭ, kai ho Huios en tǭ Patri, allʼ hōs echomen physeōs, kai dynaton hēmin estin ekeithen typōthēnai, kai mathein pōs opheilomen hen genesthai, hōsper kai to oikteirein emathomen. Ta gar homoia pros ta homoia pephyke tēn henōsin echein; epeidē kai pasa sarx kata genos synagetai. Hēmōn men oun anomoios estin ho Logos, tou de Patros homoios; dia touto ekeinos men esti physei kai alētheią hen meta tou heautou Patros; hēmeis de allēlōn ontes homogeneis (ek gar henos hoi pantes gegonamen, kai mia pantōn anthrōpōn hē physis), hen pros allēlous tę̄ diathesei ginometha, echontes hypogrammon tēn tou Huiou pros ton Patera physikēn henotēta; kathaper gar tēn praotēta ex heautou edidaske, legōn, ‘mathete apʼ emou, hoti praos eimi kai tapeinos tę̄ kardią;’ ouch hina exisōthōmen autǭ; (adynaton gar;) allʼ hina blepontes eis ekeinon diameinōmen praoi dia pantos; houtō kai entautha, thelōn hēmas alēthę̄ kai bebaian kai adialyton tēn diathesin echein pros allēlous, ex heautou lambanei to paradeigma, kai phēsin; ‘hina ōsin hen, kathōs kai hēmeis; adiairetos de estin hē en hēmin henotēs; houtōs hina kai autoi mathontes ex hēmōn tēn adiaireton physin, houtō kai tēn pros allēlous symphōnian diaphylattōsin.’ Asphalestera de hē mimēsis ek tōn kata physin lambanetai tois anthrōpois, hōsper eirētai; epeidē gar tauta men menei, kai oupote metaballetai, ho de tōn anthrōpōn tropos eumetablētos tynchanei; dynatai, pros to ametablēton tę̄ physei blepōn, ta men phaula pheugein, en de tois beltistois heauton anatypoun, Kai gar houtō kai to legomenon, ‘hina kai autoi en hēmin hen ōsin, ’ orthēn palin echei tēn dianoian.
So it was not that we should become as he is that he said, “that they may be one, as we are,” but that, as he, being Word, is in his “own Father,” so we too, taking a certain model and looking to him, might “become one” with one another in unity of soul and oneness of spirit, and not be at variance as the Corinthians were, but be of one mind, like the five thousand in the Acts, who were as one. For we are “sons,” but not as the Son is; and gods, but not as he is; and “merciful as the Father,” but not as the Father is. And, as has been said, in becoming one thus, as the Father and the Son are, we shall not be as the Father is by nature in the Son and the Son in the Father, but as befits our nature, and as far as it is possible for us to be moulded after that example and to learn how we ought to become one, just as we learned to show mercy. For like things naturally have union with like, since all flesh too is gathered according to kind. The Word, then, is unlike us but like the Father; therefore he is by nature and in truth one with his own Father. But we, being of one kind with one another (for we have all come from one, and the nature of all human beings is one), become one with one another in disposition, having as our pattern the natural unity of the Son with the Father. For just as he taught gentleness from his own example, saying, “Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,” not that we should be made equal to him (for that is impossible), but that, looking to him, we might remain gentle always; so here too, wishing us to have a true, firm, and indissoluble disposition toward one another, he takes the example from himself and says, “that they may be one, as we are”: “and our unity is indivisible; so that they too, learning from us the indivisible nature, may thus keep their concord with one another.” And imitation is taken more securely by human beings from things that are so by nature, as has been said; for since these remain and never change, while human conduct is changeable, one can, looking to what is unchangeable by nature, flee what is bad and reshape himself in what is best. And so too what is said, “that they also may be one in us,” again has a correct sense.
John 17:22 (quotation, high confidence) · John 5:18 (allusion, medium confidence) · Eph 4:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 1:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 4:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · Acts 4:32 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 6:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:29 (quotation, high confidence) · John 17:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ offers his natural unity with the Father as a model for believers' unity of mind, as he offered his gentleness for imitation, not for equality.
- The words “and our unity is indivisible…” are Athanasius's paraphrase of Christ's meaning, not Scripture.
- The five thousand are the believers of Acts 4:4 who were “of one heart and soul” (Acts 4:32).
- Slips corrected: a repeated syllable (ὁμοψυχίᾳ Χίᾳ), Υὁὸς to Υἱὸς.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Letter slip.; Repeated syllable and iota subscript dropped.): τῃ ὁμοψυχίᾳ Χίᾳ → τῇ ὁμοψυχίᾳ; Υὁὸς → Υἱὸς.
Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 20 (Bright, 174–175; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-3/19/#p-20). (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 21
21Bright, 175–176
21. Εἰ γοῦν δυνατὸν ἦν γενέσθαι ἡμᾶς ὡς ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, ἔδει λέγειν, ‘ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν σοὶ ἓν ὦσιν, ’ ὥσπερ ἐστὶν ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν τῷ Πατρί· νῦν δὲ τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ εἴρηκε· λέγων δὲ τὸ ‘ἐν ἡμῖν, ’ ἔδειξε τὴν διάστασιν καὶ τὴν διαφοράν· ὅτι αὐτὸς μὲν μόνος ἐν μόνῳ τῷ Πατρί ἐστιν, ὡς μόνος Λόγος καὶ Σοφία, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐν Υἱῷ, καὶ διʼ αὐτοῦ τῷ Πατρί. Τοῦτο δὲ λέγων, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐσήμανεν ἢ ὅτι ‘τῇ ἡμῶν ἑνότητι γένοιντο καὶ αὐτοὶ ἓν πρὸς ἀλλήλους οὕτως, ὡς ἡμεῖς ἕν ἐσμεν φύσει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ· ἄλλως δὲ οὐκ ἂν γένοιντο ἓν, εἰ μὴ ἐν ἡμῖν μάθωσι τὴν ἑνότητα.’ Καὶ ὅτι τὸ ‘ἐν ἡμῖνʼ ταύτην ἔχει τὴν σημασίαν, ἀκοῦσαι Παύλου λέγοντος ἔστι· ‘Ταῦτα δὲ μετεσχημάτισα εἰς ἐμαυτὸν καὶ Ἀπολλὼ, ἵνα ἐν ἡμῖν μάθητε τὸ μὴ ὑπὲρ ἃ γέγραπται φυσιοῦσθαι.’ Τὸ ἄρα ἐν ἡμῖν οὐκ ἔστιν ‘ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, ὡς ἔστιν ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν αὐτῷ, ’ ἀλλὰ παράδειγμα καὶ εἰκὼν, ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰπεῖν ‘ἐξ ἡμῶν μαθέτωσαν.’ Ὡς γὰρ ὁ Παῦλος τοῖς Κορινθίοις, οὕτως ἡ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἑνότης τοῖς πᾶσιν ὑπογραμμὸς καὶ μάθησίς ἐστι, καθʼ ἣν δύνανται μανθάνειν, βλέποντες εἰς τὴν κατὰ φύσιν ἑνότητα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, πῶς καὶ αὐτοὶ ὀφείλουσιν ‘ἕνʼ πρὸς ἀλλήλους γίνεσθαι τῷ φρονήματι. Εἰ δὲ δεῖ καὶ ἑτέρως ἀπολογήσασθαι περὶ τοῦ ῥητοῦ, δύναται πάλιν τὸ ‘ἐν ἡμῖνʼ ἴσον εἶναι τῷ λέγειν, ‘τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ, ’ ἵνα ἓν γένωνται, ‘τὸ αὐτὸ λέγοντες·’ ἄνευ γὰρ Θεοῦ τοῦτο γενέσθαι ἀδύνατον· καὶ τοῦτο πάλιν ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ἐν τοῖς θείοις λόγοις, ὡς τὸ ‘ἐν τῷ Θεῷ ποιήσομεν δύναμιν, ’ καὶ, ‘ἐν σοὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἡμῶν κερατιοῦμεν.’ Οὐκοῦν δῆλον ὅτι ἐν ὀνόματι Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ δυνάμεθα, τὸ ἓν γενόμενοι, βέβαιον ἔχειν τῆς ἀγάπης ‘τὸν σύνδεσμον.’ Πάλιν γὰρ, τὴν αὐτὴν διάνοιαν ἐπεκτείνων, φησὶν ὁ Κύριος· ‘Κἀγὼ τὴν δόξαν, ἣν δέδωκάς μοι, δέδωκα αὐτοῖς, ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν, καθὼς ἡμεῖς ἕν.’ Καλῶς καὶ ἐνταῦθα οὐκ εἶπεν, ‘ἵνα ὦσιν ἐν σοὶ, ὡς κἀγώ εἰμι·’ ἀλλὰ, ‘καθὼς ἡμεῖς, ’ εἶπεν· ὁ δὲ λέγων ‘καθὼςʼ οὐ ταυτότητα δείκνυσιν, ἀλλʼ εἰκόνα καὶ παράδειγμα τοῦ λεγομένου.
21. Ei goun dynaton ēn genesthai hēmas hōs ho Huios en tǭ Patri, edei legein, ‘hina kai autoi en soi hen ōsin, ’ hōsper estin ho Huios en tǭ Patri; nyn de touto men ouk eirēke; legōn de to ‘en hēmin, ’ edeixe tēn diastasin kai tēn diaphoran; hoti autos men monos en monǭ tǭ Patri estin, hōs monos Logos kai Sophia, hēmeis de en Huiǭ, kai diʼ autou tǭ Patri. Touto de legōn, ouden heteron esēmanen ē hoti ‘tę̄ hēmōn henotēti genointo kai autoi hen pros allēlous houtōs, hōs hēmeis hen esmen physei kai alētheią; allōs de ouk an genointo hen, ei mē en hēmin mathōsi tēn henotēta.’ Kai hoti to ‘en hēminʼ tautēn echei tēn sēmasian, akousai Paulou legontos esti; ‘Tauta de meteschēmatisa eis emauton kai Apollō, hina en hēmin mathēte to mē hyper ha gegraptai physiousthai.’ To ara en hēmin ouk estin ‘en tǭ Patri, hōs estin ho Huios en autǭ, ’ alla paradeigma kai eikōn, anti tou eipein ‘ex hēmōn mathetōsan.’ Hōs gar ho Paulos tois Korinthiois, houtōs hē tou Huiou kai tou Patros henotēs tois pasin hypogrammos kai mathēsis esti, kathʼ hēn dynantai manthanein, blepontes eis tēn kata physin henotēta tou Patros kai tou Huiou, pōs kai autoi opheilousin ‘henʼ pros allēlous ginesthai tǭ phronēmati. Ei de dei kai heterōs apologēsasthai peri tou rhētou, dynatai palin to ‘en hēminʼ ison einai tǭ legein, ‘tę̄ dynamei tou Patros kai tou Huiou, ’ hina hen genōntai, ‘to auto legontes;’ aneu gar Theou touto genesthai adynaton; kai touto palin estin heurein en tois theiois logois, hōs to ‘en tǭ Theǭ poiēsomen dynamin, ’ kai, ‘en soi tous echthrous hēmōn keratioumen.’ Oukoun dēlon hoti en onomati Patros kai Huiou dynametha, to hen genomenoi, bebaion echein tēs agapēs ‘ton syndesmon.’ Palin gar, tēn autēn dianoian epekteinōn, phēsin ho Kyrios; ‘Kagō tēn doxan, hēn dedōkas moi, dedōka autois, hina ōsin hen, kathōs hēmeis hen.’ Kalōs kai entautha ouk eipen, ‘hina ōsin en soi, hōs kagō eimi;’ alla, ‘kathōs hēmeis, ’ eipen; ho de legōn ‘kathōsʼ ou tautotēta deiknysin, allʼ eikona kai paradeigma tou legomenou.
If, at any rate, it were possible for us to become as the Son is in the Father, he ought to have said, “that they also may be one in you,” as the Son is in the Father; but as it is, he did not say this, but by saying “in us” he showed the distance and the difference: that he alone is in the Father alone, as the only Word and Wisdom, while we are in the Son, and through him in the Father. And in saying this he meant nothing other than: “By our unity may they too become one with one another in the way that we are one by nature and in truth; otherwise they could not become one, unless they learn unity in us.” And that “in us” has this meaning one can hear from Paul, who says, “I have applied these things to myself and Apollos, so that you may learn in us not to be puffed up beyond what is written.” So “in us” is not “in the Father, as the Son is in him,” but an example and image, in place of saying, “let them learn from us.” For as Paul was to the Corinthians, so the unity of the Son and the Father is a pattern and lesson for all, by which they can learn, looking to the natural unity of the Father and the Son, how they too ought to become “one” with one another in mind. And if one must give another account of the saying as well, “in us” may again be equal to saying “by the power of the Father and the Son,” that they may become one, “saying the same thing”; for without God this cannot happen. This too can be found in the divine words, as “In God we shall do valiantly,” and “In you we shall push down our enemies.” It is clear, then, that in the name of the Father and the Son, having become one, we can hold firm “the bond” of love. For again, extending the same thought, the Lord says, “And the glory which you have given me I have given them, that they may be one, as we are one.” Here too he rightly did not say, “that they may be in you as I am,” but said, “as we are”; and one who says “as” shows not identity, but an image and example of what is said.
John 17:21 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 4:6 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 60:12 (59:14 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 44:5 (43:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Col 3:14 (allusion, high confidence) · John 17:22 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: “In us” (John 17:21) means that believers learn unity from the Father and Son, or are made one by their power; “as” signifies a pattern, not identity.
- The text reads a stray period after ἐπεκτείνων; corrected to a comma.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Stray period.): ἐπεκτείνων. φησὶν → ἐπεκτείνων, φησὶν.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 21 (Bright, 175–176; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-3/19/#p-21). (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 22
22Bright, 176–177
22. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Λόγος τὴν ὄντως καὶ ἀληθῶς ταυτότητα τῆς φύσεως τῷ Πατρὶ ἔχει· ἡμῖν δὲ ἄρα τὸ μιμεῖσθαι πρόσεστιν, ὥσπερ εἴρηται· καὶ γὰρ εὐθὺς ἐπήγαγε, λέγων, ‘ἐγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ σὺ ἐν ἐμοὶ, ἵνα ὦσι τετελειωμένοι εἰς ἕν.’ Ἐνταῦθα λοιπὸν μεῖζόν τι καὶ τελειότερον περὶ ἡμῶν ὁ Κύριος αἰτεῖ· δῆλον γὰρ ὡς ἐν ἡμῖν γέγονεν ὁ Λόγος· τὸ γὰρ ἡμέτερον ἐνεδύσατο σῶμα. ‘Καὶ σὺ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ, Πάτερ· σοῦ γάρ εἰμι Λόγος, καὶ ἐπειδὴ σὺ μὲν ἐν ἐμοὶ, ὅτι σοῦ Λόγος εἰμὶ, ἐγὼ δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς διὰ τὸ σῶμα, καὶ διὰ σὲ τετελείωται ἐν ἐμοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ σωτηρία, ἐρωτῶ ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ γένωνται ἓν, κατὰ τὸ ἐν ἐμοὶ σῶμα, καὶ κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ τελείωσιν· ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ γένωνται τέλειοι, ἔχοντες πρὸς τοῦτο τὴν ἑνότητα, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ ἓν γενόμενοι· ἵνα, ὡς ἂν πάντες φορεσθέντες παρʼ ἐμοῦ, πάντες ὦσιν “ἓν σῶμα καὶ ἓν πνεῦμα, ” καὶ “εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον καταντήσωσιν.”’ Οἱ γὰρ πάντες, ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μεταλαμβάνοντες, ‘ἓνʼ γινόμεθα ‘σῶμα, ’ τὸν ἕνα Κύριον ἔχοντες ἐν ἑαυτοῖς. Ταύτην ἔχοντος τοῦ ῥητοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν, μᾶλλον ἐλέγχεται ἡ ἀλλοδοξία τῶν Χριστομάχων· πάλιν γὰρ ἐπαναλαμβάνων φημί. Εἰ μὲν ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀπολελυμένως εἴρηκεν, ‘ἵνα ὦσιν ἐν σοὶ ἓν, ’ ἢ, ‘ἵνα αὐτοὶ κἀγὼ ἐν σοὶ ἓν ὦμεν, ’ εἶχον κἂν ἀναίσχυντον πρόφασιν οἱ θεομάχοι· νῦν δὲ οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν, ἀλλὰ, ‘καθὼς σὺ, Πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοὶ, κἀγὼ ἐν σοὶ, ἵνα πάντες ἓν ὦσι.’ Λέγων δὲ πάλιν ‘καθὼς, ’ πόῤῥωθεν δείκνυσι τοὺς γινομένους, ὡς αὐτός ἐστιν ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, ‘πόῤῥωθενʼ δέ ἐστιν, οὐ τόπῳ, ἀλλὰ τῇ φύσει· οὐδὲν γὰρ τόπῳ μακρὰν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ μόνῃ τῇ φύσει πάντα μακράν ἐστιν αὐτοῦ· καὶ, καθὰ προεῖπον, οὐ ταυτότητα, οὐδὲ ἰσότητα δείκνυσιν ὁ λέγων τὸ ‘καθὼςʼ ἐπίῤῥημα, ἀλλὰ παράδειγμα τοῦ λεγομένου κατά τι θεωρούμενον.
22. Ho men oun Logos tēn ontōs kai alēthōs tautotēta tēs physeōs tǭ Patri echei; hēmin de ara to mimeisthai prosestin, hōsper eirētai; kai gar euthys epēgage, legōn, ‘egō en autois, kai sy en emoi, hina ōsi teteleiōmenoi eis hen.’ Entautha loipon meizon ti kai teleioteron peri hēmōn ho Kyrios aitei; dēlon gar hōs en hēmin gegonen ho Logos; to gar hēmeteron enedysato sōma. ‘Kai sy de en emoi, Pater; sou gar eimi Logos, kai epeidē sy men en emoi, hoti sou Logos eimi, egō de en autois dia to sōma, kai dia se teteleiōtai en emoi tōn anthrōpōn hē sōtēria, erōtō hina kai autoi genōntai hen, kata to en emoi sōma, kai kata tēn autou teleiōsin; hina kai autoi genōntai teleioi, echontes pros touto tēn henotēta, kai eis auto hen genomenoi; hina, hōs an pantes phoresthentes parʼ emou, pantes ōsin “hen sōma kai hen pneuma, ” kai “eis andra teleion katantēsōsin.”’ Hoi gar pantes, ek tou autou metalambanontes, ‘henʼ ginometha ‘sōma, ’ ton hena Kyrion echontes en heautois. Tautēn echontos tou rhētou tēn dianoian, mallon elenchetai hē allodoxia tōn Christomachōn; palin gar epanalambanōn phēmi. Ei men haplōs kai apolelymenōs eirēken, ‘hina ōsin en soi hen, ’ ē, ‘hina autoi kagō en soi hen ōmen, ’ eichon kan anaischynton prophasin hoi theomachoi; nyn de ouch haplōs eipen, alla, ‘kathōs sy, Pater, en emoi, kagō en soi, hina pantes hen ōsi.’ Legōn de palin ‘kathōs, ’ porrhōthen deiknysi tous ginomenous, hōs autos estin en tǭ Patri, ‘porrhōthenʼ de estin, ou topǭ, alla tę̄ physei; ouden gar topǭ makran tou Theou, alla monę̄ tę̄ physei panta makran estin autou; kai, katha proeipon, ou tautotēta, oude isotēta deiknysin ho legōn to ‘kathōsʼ epirrhēma, alla paradeigma tou legomenou kata ti theōroumenon.
The Word, then, has the real and true identity of nature with the Father; but to us, as has been said, belongs imitation; for he at once added, saying, “I in them and you in me, that they may be perfected into one.” Here the Lord asks something greater and more perfect for us; for it is clear that the Word has come to be in us, since he put on our body. “And you in me, Father; for I am your Word; and since you are in me, because I am your Word, and I am in them because of the body, and because of you the salvation of human beings has been perfected in me, I ask that they too may become one, according to the body that is in me and according to its perfection; that they too may become perfect, having unity with it and having become one in it; so that, as though all were borne by me, all may be ‘one body and one spirit,’ and may ‘attain to a perfect man.’” For all of us, partaking of the same, become “one body,” having the one Lord in ourselves. The saying having this sense, the false belief of the Christ-fighters is refuted all the more; for I say it again. If he had said simply and without qualification, “that they may be one in you,” or “that they and I may be one in you,” the fighters against God would have had at least a shameless pretext; but as it is, he did not speak simply, but said, “as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they all may be one.” And saying “as” again, he shows that those who become so are far from being as he is in the Father—“far” not in place but in nature; for nothing is far from God in place, but all things are far from him in nature only; and, as I said before, one who uses the adverb “as” shows not identity nor equality, but an example of what is said, in some particular respect.
John 17:23 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 4:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 4:13 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 10:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 17:21 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: In John 17:23 Christ asks that believers be perfected into one through his body, “one body and one spirit”; the word “as” still marks the distance in nature between them and him.
- The words in quotation marks after “And you in me, Father” are Athanasius's paraphrase of Christ's prayer.
- “Partaking of the same” echoes 1 Cor 10:17; the sense may include the Eucharist, but the passage does not say so explicitly.
- The text reads ἕχοντες; corrected to ἔχοντες.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Breathing slip.): ἕχοντες → ἔχοντες.
Topics: Christology, Trinity
Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 22 (Bright, 176–177; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-3/19/#p-22). (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 23
23Bright, 177–178
23. Καὶ τοῦτο πάλιν παρʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Σωτῆρός ἐστι μαθεῖν λέγοντος· ‘Καθὼς γὰρ ἦν Ἰωνᾶς ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ τοῦ κήτους τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας, οὕτως ἔσται καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς γῆς. Οὔτε δὲ Ἰωνᾶς ἦν ὥσπερ ὁ Σωτὴρ, οὔτε Ἰωνᾶς εἰς τὸν ᾅδην κατῆλθεν· οὔτε τὸ κῆτος ἦν ὁ ᾅδης· ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ καταποθεὶς ὁ Ἰωνᾶς, ἀνήγαγε τοὺς προκαταποθέντας ὑπὸ τοῦ κήτους, ἀλλὰ μόνος προσταχθέντος τοῦ κήτους ἐξῆλθεν. Οὐκοῦν οὐδεμία ταυτότης οὐδὲ ἰσότης ἐν τῇ ‘καθὼςʼ λέξει σημαίνεται, ἀλλὰ ἄλλο μὲν καὶ ἄλλο· ὁμοιότητα δέ πως δείκνυσι τοῦ Ἰωνᾶ διὰ τὸ τριήμερον. Οὕτως ἄρα καὶ ἡμεῖς, λέγοντος τοῦ Κυρίου, ‘καθὼς, ’ οὔτε ὡς ὁ Υἱὸς γινόμεθα ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, οὔτε ὡς ὁ Πατήρ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ, οὕτω γινόμεθα. Ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ, καθὼς ὁ Πατὴρ καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς, οὕτω γινόμεθα ἓν τῷ φρονήματι καὶ τῇ τοῦ πνεύματος συμφωνίᾳ· ὁ δὲ Σωτὴρ, καθὼς Ἰωνᾶς, ἔσται ἐν τῇ γῇ· ὥσπερ δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν Ἰωνᾶς ὁ Σωτὴρ, οὐδὲ ὡς ἐκεῖνος κατεπόθη, οὕτω καὶ ὁ Κύριος κατῆλθεν εἰς τὸν ᾅδην· ἀλλὰ ἄλλο καὶ ἄλλο ἐστίν. Οὕτως ἐὰν καὶ ἡμεῖς γενώμεθα ἓν, καθὼς ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, οὐκ ἐσόμεθα ὥσπερ ὁ Υἱὸς, οὐδὲ ἴσοι αὐτῷ· ἄλλο γὰρ καὶ ἄλλο ἐσμέν· διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν τὸ ‘καθὼς πρόκειται, ἐπεὶ τὰ μὴ κατὰ φύσιν ὄντα πρὸς ἄλλο τι βλέποντα γίνεται ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνα. Ὅθεν αὐτὸς μὲν ὁ Υἱὸς, ἁπλῶς καὶ χωρὶς συμπλοκῆς τινός ἐστιν ἐν τῷ Πατρί· φύσει γὰρ ὑπάρχει τοῦτʼ αὐτῷ· ἡμεῖς δὲ, οὐκ ἔχοντες τὸ κατὰ φύσιν, δεόμεθα εἰκόνος καὶ παραδείγματος, ἵνα περὶ ἡμῶν εἴπῃ· καθὼς σὺ ἐν ἐμοὶ, κἀγὼ ἐν σοί, Ὅταν δέ, ᾿ φησιν, οὗτοι τελειωθῶσιν οὕτως, τότε γινώσκει ὁ κόσμος, ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας· εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἤμην ἐλθὼν καὶ φορέσας τὸ τούτων σῶμα, οὐδεὶς ἂν αὐτῶν ἐτελειώθη, ἀλλʼ ἔμενον οἱ πάντες φθαρτοί. Ἐνέργησον τοίνυν ἐν αὐτοῖς, Πάτερ· καὶ ὥσπερ δέδωκάς μοι τοῦτο φορέσαι, δὸς αὐτοῖς τὸ Πνεῦμά σου, ἵνα καὶ οὗτοι ἐν τούτῳ ἓν γένωνται, καὶ τελειωθῶσιν ἐν ἐμοί. Ἡ γὰρ τούτων τελείωσις δείκνυσιν ἐπιδημίαν γεγενῆσθαι τοῦ σοῦ Λόγου· καὶ ὁ κόσμος δὲ, βλέπων τούτους τελείους καὶ θεοφορουμένους, πιστεύσει πάντως, ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας, καὶ ἐπεδήμησα. Πόθεν γὰρ τούτοις ἡ τελείωσις, εἰ μὴ ἐγὼ ὁ σὸς Λόγος, τὸ σῶμα τούτων λαβὼν, ἐγενόμην ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ἐτελείωσα τὸ ἔργον ὃ δέδωκάς μοι, Πάτερ; τετελείωται δὲ τὸ ἔργον, ὅτι, λυτρωθέντες ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας οἱ ἄνθρωποι, οὐκέτι μένουσι νεκροί· ἀλλὰ καὶ θεοποιηθέντες ἔχουσιν, ἐν ἡμῖν βλέποντες, ἐν ἀλλήλοις τὸν σύνδεσμον τῆς ἀγάπης.’
23. Kai touto palin parʼ autou tou Sōtēros esti mathein legontos; ‘Kathōs gar ēn Iōnas en tę̄ koilią tou kētous treis hēmeras kai treis nyktas, houtōs estai kai ho Huios tou anthrōpou en tę̄ kardią tēs gēs. Oute de Iōnas ēn hōsper ho Sōtēr, oute Iōnas eis ton hądēn katēlthen; oute to kētos ēn ho hądēs; allʼ oude katapotheis ho Iōnas, anēgage tous prokatapothentas hypo tou kētous, alla monos prostachthentos tou kētous exēlthen. Oukoun oudemia tautotēs oude isotēs en tę̄ ‘kathōsʼ lexei sēmainetai, alla allo men kai allo; homoiotēta de pōs deiknysi tou Iōna dia to triēmeron. Houtōs ara kai hēmeis, legontos tou Kyriou, ‘kathōs, ’ oute hōs ho Huios ginometha en tǭ Patri, oute hōs ho Patēr estin en tǭ Huiǭ, houtō ginometha. Hēmeis men gar, kathōs ho Patēr kai ho Huios, houtō ginometha hen tǭ phronēmati kai tę̄ tou pneumatos symphōnią; ho de Sōtēr, kathōs Iōnas, estai en tę̄ gę̄; hōsper de ouk estin Iōnas ho Sōtēr, oude hōs ekeinos katepothē, houtō kai ho Kyrios katēlthen eis ton hądēn; alla allo kai allo estin. Houtōs ean kai hēmeis genōmetha hen, kathōs ho Huios en tǭ Patri, ouk esometha hōsper ho Huios, oude isoi autǭ; allo gar kai allo esmen; dia touto gar ephʼ hēmōn to ‘kathōs prokeitai, epei ta mē kata physin onta pros allo ti bleponta ginetai hōsper ekeina. Hothen autos men ho Huios, haplōs kai chōris symplokēs tinos estin en tǭ Patri; physei gar hyparchei toutʼ autǭ; hēmeis de, ouk echontes to kata physin, deometha eikonos kai paradeigmatos, hina peri hēmōn eipę̄; kathōs sy en emoi, kagō en soi, Hotan de, ᾿ phēsin, houtoi teleiōthōsin houtōs, tote ginōskei ho kosmos, hoti sy me apesteilas; ei gar mē ēmēn elthōn kai phoresas to toutōn sōma, oudeis an autōn eteleiōthē, allʼ emenon hoi pantes phthartoi. Energēson toinyn en autois, Pater; kai hōsper dedōkas moi touto phoresai, dos autois to Pneuma sou, hina kai houtoi en toutǭ hen genōntai, kai teleiōthōsin en emoi. Hē gar toutōn teleiōsis deiknysin epidēmian gegenēsthai tou sou Logou; kai ho kosmos de, blepōn toutous teleious kai theophoroumenous, pisteusei pantōs, hoti sy me apesteilas, kai epedēmēsa. Pothen gar toutois hē teleiōsis, ei mē egō ho sos Logos, to sōma toutōn labōn, egenomēn anthrōpos, kai eteleiōsa to ergon ho dedōkas moi, Pater? teteleiōtai de to ergon, hoti, lytrōthentes apo tēs hamartias hoi anthrōpoi, ouketi menousi nekroi; alla kai theopoiēthentes echousin, en hēmin blepontes, en allēlois ton syndesmon tēs agapēs.’
And this again can be learned from the Saviour himself, who says, “For as Jonah was in the belly of the sea-monster three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth.” But neither was Jonah as the Saviour, nor did Jonah go down into Hades; nor was the sea-monster Hades; nor did Jonah, when swallowed, bring up those whom the sea-monster had swallowed before him, but he alone came out when the sea-monster was commanded. So no identity or equality is signified by the word “as,” but one thing and another; but it shows a certain likeness to Jonah because of the three days. So too we, when the Lord says “as,” neither become as the Son is in the Father, nor as the Father is in the Son. For we become one, as the Father and the Son are, in mind and in harmony of spirit; and the Saviour will be in the earth as Jonah was; but as the Saviour is not Jonah, nor was he swallowed as Jonah was, but the Lord went down into Hades, it is one thing and another. So if we too become one as the Son is in the Father, we shall not be as the Son, nor equal to him; for we are one thing and he another. That is why “as” is used of us, since things that are not so by nature become like those things by looking to something else. Hence the Son himself is in the Father simply and without any qualification, for this belongs to him by nature; but we, not having it by nature, need an image and example, so that he may say of us, “as you are in me and I in you.” “And when these are thus perfected,” he says, “then the world knows that you sent me; for if I had not come and borne their body, none of them would have been perfected, but all would have remained corruptible. Work in them, then, Father; and as you have given me to bear this body, give them your Spirit, so that they too may become one in it and be perfected in me. For their perfection shows that your Word has come to dwell among them; and the world, seeing them perfect and bearing God, will surely believe that you sent me and that I have come. For from where would they have their perfection, unless I, your Word, taking their body, became man and completed the work which you gave me, Father? And the work has been completed, because human beings, redeemed from sin, no longer remain dead; but, being deified, they have in one another, looking to us, the bond of love.”
Matt 12:40 (quotation, high confidence) · John 17:21 (quotation, high confidence) · John 17:23 (quotation, high confidence) · John 17:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 3:14 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: As Christ was in the earth “as” Jonah was in the fish without being Jonah, so believers are one “as” the Father and Son without being equal to them; their perfection comes from the Word made flesh and the gift of the Spirit.
- The long speech attributed to Christ is Athanasius's paraphrase of John 17:21–23.
- “Bearing God” renders θεοφορουμένους; “deified” renders θεοποιηθέντες.
- Slips corrected: a repeated syllable (ἡμέρας ρας), οὖτοι to οὗτοι.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Breathing slip.; Repeated syllable.): ἡμέρας ρας → ἡμέρας; οὖτοι τελειωθῶσιν → οὗτοι τελειωθῶσιν.
Topics: Christology, Trinity
Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 23 (Bright, 177–178; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-3/19/#p-23). (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 24
24Bright, 178–179
24. Ἡμεῖς μὲν οὖν, ὅσον αὐτὰς τὰς λέξεις τοῦ ῥητοῦ δυνατὸν ἦν ἁπλούστερον θεωρῆσαι, ταῦτα διὰ πολλῶν εἰρήκαμεν· ὁ δὲ μακάριος Ἰωάννης ἐκ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς ἐν ὀλίγοις καὶ τελειώτερον μᾶλλον ἡμῶν δείξει τῶν γεγραμμένων τὸν νοῦν, καὶ διελέγξει μὲν τὴν τῶν ἀσεβῶν διάνοιαν, διδάξει δὲ πῶς τε ἡμεῖς ἐν τῷ Θεῷ γινόμεθα, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν· καὶ πῶς πάλιν ἡμεῖς μὲν ἐν αὐτῷ γινόμεθα ἓν, πόσον δὲ διέστηκε τὴν φύσιν ὁ Υἱὸς ἀφʼ ἡμῶν· καὶ παύσει λοιπὸν τοὺς Ἀρειανοὺς μηκέτι νομίζειν ἑαυτοὺς ἔσεσθαι ὡς τὸν Υἱὸν, ἵνα μὴ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀκούσωσι, ‘σὺ δὲ εἶ ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐ Θεός·’ καὶ, ‘Μὴ συμπαρεκτείνου πένης ὢν πλουσίῳ.’ Γράφει τοίνυν ὁ Ἰωάννης οὕτω λέγων· ‘ἐν τούτῳ γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ μένομεν, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ δέδωκεν ἡμῖν.’ Οὐκοῦν διὰ τὴν δεδομένην ἡμῖν τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριν ἡμεῖς τε ἐν αὐτῷ γινόμεθα, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν· καὶ ἐπειδὴ τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστι, διὰ τούτου γινομένου ἐν ἡμῖν εἰκότως καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἔχοντες τὸ Πνεῦμα, νομιζόμεθα ἐν τῷ Θεῷ γενέσθαι· καὶ οὕτως ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἡμῖν. Οὐκ ἄρα ὡς ἔστιν ὁ Υἱὸς ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς γινόμεθα ἐν τῷ Πατρί· οὐ γὰρ καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς μετέχων ἐστὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἵνα διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ γένηται· οὐδὲ λαμβάνων ἐστὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον αὐτὸς τοῖς πᾶσι τοῦτο χορηγεῖ· καὶ οὐ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸν Λόγον συνάπτει τῷ Πατρὶ, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον τὸ Πνεῦμα παρὰ τοῦ Λόγου λαμβάνει. Καὶ ὁ μὲν Υἱὸς ἐν τῷ Πατρί ἐστιν, ὡς Λόγος ἴδιος καὶ ἀπαύγασμα αὐτοῦ· ἡμεῖς δὲ χωρὶς μὲν τοῦ Πνεύματος ξένοι καὶ μακράν ἐσμεν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῇ δὲ τοῦ Πνεύματος μετοχῇ συναπτόμεθα τῇ θεότητι· ὥστε τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ μὴ ἡμέτερον εἶναι, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν ὄντος καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν μένοντος, ἕως αὐτὸ τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ φυλάττομεν ἐν ἡμῖν, λέγοντος πάλιν τοῦ Ἰωάννου· ‘ὃς ἂν ὁμολογήσῃ ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ἐστιν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὁ Θεὸς ἐν αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ Θεῷ.’ Ποία τοίνυν ὁμοιότης καὶ ποία ἰσότης ἡμῶν πρὸς τὸν Υἱόν; ἢ πῶς οὐκ ἐλέγχονται πανταχόθεν οἱ Ἀρειανοὶ, καὶ μάλιστα παρὰ τοῦ Ἰωάννου, ὅτι ἄλλως μὲν ὁ Υἱός ἐστιν ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, ἄλλως δὲ ἡμεῖς ἐν αὐτῷ γινόμεθα· καὶ οὔτε ἡμεῖς ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἐσόμεθά ποτε, οὔτε ὁ Λόγος ὡς ἡμεῖς τυγχάνει ὢν, εἰ μὴ ἄρα τολμήσουσιν, ὡς ἐν πᾶσι, καὶ νῦν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς μετοχῇ τοῦ Πνεύματος καὶ βελτιώσει πράξεως γέγονε καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ Πατρί. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο πάλιν ὑπερλίαν ἐστὶν ἀσεβὲς κἂν ὅλως εἰς ἐνθύμησιν λαβεῖν. Αὐτὸς γὰρ, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, τῷ Πνεύματι δίδωσι· καὶ ὅσα ἔχει τὸ Πνεῦμα, παρὰ τοῦ Λόγου ἔχει.
24. Hēmeis men oun, hoson autas tas lexeis tou rhētou dynaton ēn haplousteron theōrēsai, tauta dia pollōn eirēkamen; ho de makarios Iōannēs ek tēs epistolēs en oligois kai teleiōteron mallon hēmōn deixei tōn gegrammenōn ton noun, kai dielenxei men tēn tōn asebōn dianoian, didaxei de pōs te hēmeis en tǭ Theǭ ginometha, kai ho Theos en hēmin; kai pōs palin hēmeis men en autǭ ginometha hen, poson de diestēke tēn physin ho Huios aphʼ hēmōn; kai pausei loipon tous Areianous mēketi nomizein heautous esesthai hōs ton Huion, hina mē kai autoi akousōsi, ‘sy de ei anthrōpos kai ou Theos;’ kai, ‘Mē symparekteinou penēs ōn plousiǭ.’ Graphei toinyn ho Iōannēs houtō legōn; ‘en toutǭ ginōskomen hoti en autǭ menomen, kai autos en hēmin, hoti ek tou Pneumatos autou dedōken hēmin.’ Oukoun dia tēn dedomenēn hēmin tou Pneumatos charin hēmeis te en autǭ ginometha, kai autos en hēmin; kai epeidē to Pneuma tou Theou esti, dia toutou ginomenou en hēmin eikotōs kai hēmeis, echontes to Pneuma, nomizometha en tǭ Theǭ genesthai; kai houtōs estin ho Theos en hēmin. Ouk ara hōs estin ho Huios en tǭ Patri, houtō kai hēmeis ginometha en tǭ Patri; ou gar kai ho Huios metechōn esti tou Pneumatos, hina dia touto kai en tǭ Patri genētai; oude lambanōn esti to Pneuma, alla mallon autos tois pasi touto chorēgei; kai ou to Pneuma ton Logon synaptei tǭ Patri, alla mallon to Pneuma para tou Logou lambanei. Kai ho men Huios en tǭ Patri estin, hōs Logos idios kai apaugasma autou; hēmeis de chōris men tou Pneumatos xenoi kai makran esmen tou Theou, tę̄ de tou Pneumatos metochę̄ synaptometha tę̄ theotēti; hōste to einai hēmas en tǭ Patri mē hēmeteron einai, alla tou Pneumatos tou en hēmin ontos kai en hēmin menontos, heōs auto tę̄ homologią phylattomen en hēmin, legontos palin tou Iōannou; ‘hos an homologēsę̄ hoti Iēsous estin ho Huios tou Theou, ho Theos en autǭ menei, kai autos en tǭ Theǭ.’ Poia toinyn homoiotēs kai poia isotēs hēmōn pros ton Huion? ē pōs ouk elenchontai pantachothen hoi Areianoi, kai malista para tou Iōannou, hoti allōs men ho Huios estin en tǭ Patri, allōs de hēmeis en autǭ ginometha; kai oute hēmeis hōs ekeinos esometha pote, oute ho Logos hōs hēmeis tynchanei ōn, ei mē ara tolmēsousin, hōs en pasi, kai nyn eipein, hoti kai ho Huios metochę̄ tou Pneumatos kai beltiōsei praxeōs gegone kai autos en tǭ Patri. Alla kai touto palin hyperlian estin asebes kan holōs eis enthymēsin labein. Autos gar, hōsper eirētai, tǭ Pneumati didōsi; kai hosa echei to Pneuma, para tou Logou echei.
We, then, have said these things at length, as far as it was possible to consider the very words of the saying more simply; but blessed John, in his letter, will show the sense of what is written in few words and more perfectly than we, and will refute the thinking of the impious, and teach how we come to be in God and God in us, and again how we become one in him, and how far the Son stands apart from us in nature; and he will stop the Arians from thinking any longer that they will be as the Son is, lest they too hear, “But you are a man and not God,” and “Do not stretch yourself beside a rich man, being poor.” John, then, writes thus: “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” So it is because of the grace of the Spirit given to us that we come to be in him and he in us; and since the Spirit is God's, when it comes to be in us, we too, having the Spirit, are fittingly considered to be in God; and so God is in us. So it is not as the Son is in the Father that we too come to be in the Father; for the Son is not a partaker of the Spirit, so as to come to be in the Father through it; nor does he receive the Spirit, but rather he himself supplies it to all; and the Spirit does not join the Word to the Father, but rather the Spirit receives from the Word. The Son is in the Father as his own Word and radiance; but we, apart from the Spirit, are strangers and far from God, and by participation in the Spirit we are joined to the Godhead; so that our being in the Father is not ours, but the Spirit's, who is in us and abides in us as long as we keep it in us by our confession, as John says again, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” What likeness, then, and what equality have we with the Son? Or how are the Arians not refuted from every side, and especially by John, since the Son is in the Father in one way, and we come to be in him in another; and neither shall we ever be as he is, nor is the Word as we are? Unless indeed they dare, as in everything, to say now too that the Son also came to be in the Father by participation in the Spirit and by improvement of conduct. But this again is exceedingly impious even to entertain in thought at all. For he himself, as has been said, gives to the Spirit; and whatever the Spirit has, it has from the Word.
Ezek 28:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 23:4 (quotation, medium confidence) · 1 John 4:13 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 John 4:15 (quotation, high confidence) · John 16:14 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: According to 1 John 4:13, 15, we are in God by participating in the Spirit, whom the Son gives; the Son is in the Father by nature and does not receive the Spirit to be joined to him.
- “But you are a man and not God” is Ezek 28:2; “Do not stretch yourself beside a rich man, being poor” is Prov 23:4 in the Septuagint.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 24 (Bright, 178–179; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-3/19/#p-24). (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 25
25Bright, 179–180
25. Οὐκοῦν ὁ Σωτὴρ λέγων περὶ ἡμῶν τὸ ‘καθὼς σὺ, Πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοὶ, κἀγὼ ἐν σοὶ, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ἓν ὦσιν, ’ οὐ τὴν ταυτότητα ἡμᾶς αὐτῷ μέλλοντας ἔχειν σημαίνει· ἐδείχθη γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ κατὰ τὸν Ἰωνᾶν παραδείγματος καὶ τοῦτο ἀλλὰ ἀξίωσίς ἐστι πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, ὡς ὁ Ἰωάννης ἔγραψεν, ἵνα τὸ Πνεῦμα χαρίσηται διʼ αὐτοῦ τοῖς πιστεύουσι, διʼ οὗ καὶ δοκοῦμεν ἐν τῷ Θεῷ γίνεσθαι, καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο συνάπτεσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ Λόγος ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, τὸ δὲ Πνεῦμα ἐκ τοῦ Λόγου δίδοται, θέλει λαβεῖν ἡμᾶς τὸ Πνεῦμα, ἵνα, ὅταν ἐκεῖνο λάβωμεν, τότε ἔχοντες τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Λόγου τοῦ ὄντος ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, δόξωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς διὰ τὸ Πνεῦμα ἓν γίνεσθαι ἐν τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ διʼ αὐτοῦ τῷ Πατρί. Τὸ δὲ ‘ὡς ἡμεῖςʼ ἐὰν λέγῃ, οὐδὲν ἕτερον πάλιν ἐστὶν, ἢ ἵνα ἡ γινομένη τοιαύτη τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις εἰς τοὺς μαθητὰς ἀδιάπτωτος καὶ ἀμεταμέλητος γένηται. Τὸ γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν, ὡς προεῖπον, ὑπάρχον τῷ Λόγῳ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, τοῦτο ἡμῖν ἀμεταμελήτως διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος δοθῆναι βούλεται· ὅπερ ὁ ἀπόστολος γινώσκων, ἔλεγε, ‘Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ;’ ‘ἀμεταμέλητα γὰρ τὰ χαρίσματα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἡ χάρις τῆς κλήσεως.’ Τὸ ἄρα Πνεῦμά ἐστι τὸ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ τυγχάνον, καὶ οὐχ ἡμεῖς καθʼ ἑαυτούς· καὶ ὥσπερ υἱοὶ καὶ θεοὶ διὰ τὸν ἐν ἡμῖν Λόγον, οὕτως ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ καὶ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ ἐσόμεθα, καὶ νομισθησόμεθα ἐν Υἱῷ καὶ ἐν Πατρὶ ἓν γεγενῆσθαι διὰ τὸ ἐν ἡμῖν εἶναι Πνεῦμα, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ὄντι ἐν τῷ Πατρί. Ὅτε γοῦν ἐκπίπτει τις ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος διά τινα κακίαν, ἡ μὲν χάρις ἀμεταμέλητος διαμένει τοῖς βουλομένοις, κἄν τις ἐκπεσὼν μετανοῇ· οὐκέτι δὲ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος ὁ πεσὼν, διὰ τὸ ἀποστῆναι ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ ἅγιον καὶ παράκλητον Πνεῦμα, ἀλλʼ ἐν ἐκείνῳ ἔσται ᾧ ἑαυτὸν ὑπέταξεν ὁ ἁμαρτάνων, ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ Σαοὺλ γέγονεν· ‘ἀπέστη γὰρ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ τὸ Πνεῦμαʼ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἔθλιβεν ‘αὐτὸν πνεῦμα πονηρόν.’ Ταῦτα ἀκούοντας τοὺς θεομάχους ἔδει λοιπὸν ἐντρέπεσθαι, καὶ μηκέτι ἑαυτοὺς ἀναπλάττειν ἴσα Θεῷ. Οὔτε δὲ νοοῦσιν· ‘ὁ γὰρ ἀσεβής, ’ φησιν, ‘οὐ νοεῖ γνῶσιν·’ οὔτε λόγων εὐσεβῶν ἀνέχονται· βαρεῖς γὰρ αὐτοῖς εἰσι καὶ λεγόμενοι.
25. Oukoun ho Sōtēr legōn peri hēmōn to ‘kathōs sy, Pater, en emoi, kagō en soi, hina kai autoi en hēmin hen ōsin, ’ ou tēn tautotēta hēmas autǭ mellontas echein sēmainei; edeichthē gar ek tou kata ton Iōnan paradeigmatos kai touto alla axiōsis esti pros ton Patera, hōs ho Iōannēs egrapsen, hina to Pneuma charisētai diʼ autou tois pisteuousi, diʼ hou kai dokoumen en tǭ Theǭ ginesthai, kai kata touto synaptesthai en autǭ. Epeidē gar ho Logos estin en tǭ Patri, to de Pneuma ek tou Logou didotai, thelei labein hēmas to Pneuma, hina, hotan ekeino labōmen, tote echontes to Pneuma tou Logou tou ontos en tǭ Patri, doxōmen kai hēmeis dia to Pneuma hen ginesthai en tǭ logǭ, kai diʼ autou tǭ Patri. To de ‘hōs hēmeisʼ ean legę̄, ouden heteron palin estin, ē hina hē ginomenē toiautē tou Pneumatos charis eis tous mathētas adiaptōtos kai ametamelētos genētai. To gar kata physin, hōs proeipon, hyparchon tǭ Logǭ en tǭ Patri, touto hēmin ametamelētōs dia tou Pneumatos dothēnai bouletai; hoper ho apostolos ginōskōn, elege, ‘Tis hēmas chōrisei apo tēs agapēs tou Christou?’ ‘ametamelēta gar ta charismata tou Theou kai hē charis tēs klēseōs.’ To ara Pneuma esti to en tǭ Theǭ tynchanon, kai ouch hēmeis kathʼ heautous; kai hōsper huioi kai theoi dia ton en hēmin Logon, houtōs en tǭ Huiǭ kai en tǭ Patri esometha, kai nomisthēsometha en Huiǭ kai en Patri hen gegenēsthai dia to en hēmin einai Pneuma, hoper estin en tǭ logǭ tǭ onti en tǭ Patri. Hote goun ekpiptei tis apo tou Pneumatos dia tina kakian, hē men charis ametamelētos diamenei tois boulomenois, kan tis ekpesōn metanoę̄; ouketi de en tǭ Theǭ estin ekeinos ho pesōn, dia to apostēnai apʼ autou to en tǭ Theǭ hagion kai paraklēton Pneuma, allʼ en ekeinǭ estai hǭ heauton hypetaxen ho hamartanōn, hōs epi tou Saoul gegonen; ‘apestē gar apʼ autou to Pneumaʼ tou Theou, kai ethliben ‘auton pneuma ponēron.’ Tauta akouontas tous theomachous edei loipon entrepesthai, kai mēketi heautous anaplattein isa Theǭ. Oute de noousin; ‘ho gar asebēs, ’ phēsin, ‘ou noei gnōsin;’ oute logōn eusebōn anechontai; bareis gar autois eisi kai legomenoi.
So the Saviour, saying of us, “as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us,” does not signify that we shall have identity with him—this too was shown from the example of Jonah—but it is a request to the Father, as John wrote, that he grant the Spirit through him to those who believe, through whom we are considered to come to be in God and in this way to be joined in him. For since the Word is in the Father, and the Spirit is given from the Word, he wills us to receive the Spirit, so that, when we receive it, having then the Spirit of the Word who is in the Father, we too may be considered, because of the Spirit, to become one in the Word, and through him in the Father. And if he says “as we are,” this again means nothing other than that such grace of the Spirit, given to the disciples, may be unfailing and irrevocable. For what belongs by nature, as I said, to the Word in the Father, he wills to be given to us irrevocably through the Spirit; knowing this, the apostle said, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” “for the gifts of God and the grace of the calling are irrevocable.” So it is the Spirit who is in God, and not we by ourselves; and as we are sons and gods because of the Word in us, so we shall be in the Son and in the Father, and shall be considered to have become one in the Son and in the Father, because the Spirit is in us, who is in the Word who is in the Father. When, at any rate, someone falls away from the Spirit through some wickedness, the grace remains irrevocable for those who are willing, if the one who has fallen repents; but the one who fell is no longer in God, because the holy Paraclete Spirit who is in God has departed from him; the sinner will be in him to whom he subjected himself, as happened with Saul: “for the Spirit of God departed from him,” and “an evil spirit troubled him.” Hearing these things, the fighters against God ought to be ashamed at last, and no longer fancy themselves equal to God. But they neither understand—“for the impious,” it says, “does not understand knowledge”—nor bear pious words; for these are burdensome to them even when spoken.
John 17:21 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 John 4:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 8:35 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:29 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Sam 16:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 29:7 (quotation, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ's prayer that believers be one “in us” asks the Father to give them the Spirit through the Son; our being in God is the Spirit's gift, which the sinner can lose, as Saul did.
- “The impious does not understand knowledge” is close to Prov 29:7 (Septuagint); “burdensome even when spoken” echoes Wis 2:14.
- Slips corrected: ᾦ to ᾧ, ἀναπλάπτειν to ἀναπλάττειν.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Accent slip.; Letter slip.): ᾦ ἑαυτὸν → ᾧ ἑαυτὸν; ἀναπλάπτειν → ἀναπλάττειν.
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 2:14 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; echo)
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 25 (Bright, 179–180; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-3/19/#p-25). (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 26
26Bright, 180–181
26. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ, ὥσπερ οὐκ ἀποκάμνοντες ἐν ταῖς δυσσεβείαις, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸν Φαραὼ σκληρυνόμενοι, τὰ ἀνθρώπινα πάλιν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἀκούοντες καὶ βλέποντες ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις, ἐπελάθοντο τέλεον, κατὰ τὸν Σαμοσατέα, τῆς πατρικῆς θεότητος τοῦ Υἱοῦ, καὶ τολμηρᾷ τῇ γλώσσῃ θρασυνόμενοι, λέγουσι· ‘Πῶς δύναται ὁ Υἱὸς ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς εἶναι φύσει καὶ ὅμοιος αὐτῷ κατʼ οὐσίαν, ὁ λέγων, “Ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία·” καὶ, “ὁ Πατὴρ οὐδένα κρίνει, ἀλλὰ τὴν κρίσιν πᾶσαν δέδωκε τῷ Υἱῷ·” καὶ, “ὁ Πατὴρ ἀγαπᾷ τὸν Υἱὸν, καὶ πάντα δέδωκεν ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ· ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν, ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον·” καὶ πάλιν· “Πάντα μοι παρεδόθη ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρός μου· καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐπιγινώσκει τὸν Πατέρα εἰ μὴ ὁ Υἱὸς, καὶ ᾧ ἐὰν θέλῃ ὁ Υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψαι·” καὶ πάλιν· “Πᾶν ὃ δέδωκέ μοι ὁ Πατὴρ, πρὸς ἐμὲ ἥξει;”’ Εἶτα ἐπιλέγουσιν· ‘Εἰ ἦν, ὡς λέγετε, Υἱὸς κατὰ φύσιν, οὐ χρείαν εἶχε λαβεῖν, ἀλλʼ εἶχε κατὰ φύσιν ὡς υἱός. Ἢ πῶς δύναται δύναμις εἶναι φύσει καὶ ἀληθινὴ τοῦ Πατρὸς, ὁ παρὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦ πάθους λέγων, “Νῦν ἡ ψυχή μου τετάρακται· καὶ τί εἴπω; Πάτερ, σῶσόν με ἐκ τῆς ὥρας ταύτης. ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθον εἰς τὴν ὥραν ταύτην. Πάτερ, δόξασόν σου τὸ ὄνομα. Ἦλθεν οὖν φωνὴ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· Καὶ ἐδόξασα, καὶ πάλιν δοξάσω.” Πάλιν τε τὸ ὅμοιον ἔλεγε· “Πάτερ, εἰ δυνατὸν, παρελθέτω τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο·” καὶ, “Ταῦτα εἰπὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐταράχθη τῷ πνεύματι, καὶ ἐμαρτύρησε, καὶ εἶπεν· Ἀμὴν, ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, εἶς ἐξ ὑμῶν παραδώσει με.”’ Καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις δέ φασιν οἱ κακόφρονες· ‘Εἰ δύναμις ἦν, οὐκ ἂν ἐδειλίασεν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ ἑτέροις τὸ δύνασθαι παρεῖχεν.’ Εἶτά φασιν· ‘Εἰ σοφία ἦν φύσει ἡ ἀληθινὴ καὶ ἰδία τοῦ Πατρὸς, πῶς γέγραπται· “Καὶ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτε σοφίᾳ, καὶ ἡλικίᾳ, καὶ χάριτι παρὰ Θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις·” καὶ “ἐλθὼν εἰς μὲν τὰ μέρη Καισαρείας τῆς Φιλίππου, ἐπυνθάνετο τῶν μαθητῶν, τίνα λέγουσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι αὐτὸν εἶναι·’ εἰς δὲ τὴν Βηθανίαν παραγενόμενος ἠρώτα ποῦ Λάζαρος κεῖται· ἔλεγε δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα τοῖς μαθηταῖς· “Πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε;” Πῶς οὖν, ’ φασὶν, οὗτος Σοφία, ὁ ἐν σοφίᾳ προκόπτων, καὶ ἀγνοῶν ἃ παρʼ ἑτέρων μανθάνειν ἠξίου;’ Ἔστι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο παρʼ αὐτῶν λεγόμενον· ‘Πῶς δύναται ὁ Λόγος ἴδιος εἶναι τοῦ Πατρὸς, οὗ ἄνευ οὐκ ἦν ὁ Πατήρ ποτε, διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα ποιεῖ, ὡς ὑμεῖς φρονεῖτε, ὁ ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ σταυροῦ λέγων· “Θεέ μου, Θεέ μου, ἵνα τί με ἐγκατέλιπες;” πρὸ δὲ τούτων εὐχόμενος, “δόξασόν σου τὸ ὄνομα·” καὶ, “δόξασόν με σὺ, Πάτερ, τῇ δόξῃ, ᾗ εἶχον πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι παρὰ σοί.” Ηὔχετο δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἐρήμοις, καὶ παρήγγελλε τοῖς μαθηταῖς προσεύχεσθαι μὴ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς πειρασμόν· καὶ, “τὸ πνεῦμα πρόθυμον” ἔλεγεν, “ἡ δὲ σὰρξ ἀσθενής·” καὶ, Περὶ τῆς ἡμέρας ἢ τῆς ὥρας ἐκείνης οὐδεὶς οἶδεν, οὐδὲ οἱ ἄγγελοι, οὐδὲ ὁ Υἱός.”’ Εἶτα πάλιν φασὶν ἐπὶ τούτοις οἱ δείλαιοι· ‘Εἰ ἦν κατὰ τὴν ὑμετέραν διάνοιαν ἀϊδίως ὑπάρχων ὁ Υἱὸς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, οὔτʼ ἂν ἠγνόησε περὶ τῆς ἡμέρας, ἀλλʼ ἐγίνωσκεν ὡς Λόγος· οὔτʼ ἂν ἐγκατελείπετο ὁ συνυπάρχων· οὔτε δόξαν ᾔτει λαβεῖν, ἔχων αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, οὔτε ὅλως ηὔχετο· οὐδενὸς γὰρ, Λόγος ὢν, ἐδέετο· ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ κτίσμα ἐστὶ καὶ εἶς τῶν γενητῶν, διὰ τοῦτο τοιαῦτα ἔλεγε, καὶ ἐδέετο ὧν οὐκ εἶχε· κτισμάτων γὰρ ἴδιον τὸ χρήζειν καὶ δέεσθαι ὧν οὐκ ἔχουσι.’
26. Idou gar, hōsper ouk apokamnontes en tais dyssebeiais, alla kata ton Pharaō sklērynomenoi, ta anthrōpina palin tou Sōtēros akouontes kai blepontes en tois euangeliois, epelathonto teleon, kata ton Samosatea, tēs patrikēs theotētos tou Huiou, kai tolmērą tę̄ glōssę̄ thrasynomenoi, legousi; ‘Pōs dynatai ho Huios ek tou Patros einai physei kai homoios autǭ katʼ ousian, ho legōn, “Edothē moi pasa exousia;” kai, “ho Patēr oudena krinei, alla tēn krisin pasan dedōke tǭ Huiǭ;” kai, “ho Patēr agapą ton Huion, kai panta dedōken en tę̄ cheiri autou; ho pisteuōn eis ton Huion, echei zōēn aiōnion;” kai palin; “Panta moi paredothē hypo tou Patros mou; kai oudeis epiginōskei ton Patera ei mē ho Huios, kai hǭ ean thelę̄ ho Huios apokalypsai;” kai palin; “Pan ho dedōke moi ho Patēr, pros eme hēxei?”’ Eita epilegousin; ‘Ei ēn, hōs legete, Huios kata physin, ou chreian eiche labein, allʼ eiche kata physin hōs huios. Ē pōs dynatai dynamis einai physei kai alēthinē tou Patros, ho para ton kairon tou pathous legōn, “Nyn hē psychē mou tetaraktai; kai ti eipō? Pater, sōson me ek tēs hōras tautēs. alla dia touto ēlthon eis tēn hōran tautēn. Pater, doxason sou to onoma. Ēlthen oun phōnē ek tou ouranou; Kai edoxasa, kai palin doxasō.” Palin te to homoion elege; “Pater, ei dynaton, parelthetō to potērion touto;” kai, “Tauta eipōn ho Iēsous etarachthē tǭ pneumati, kai emartyrēse, kai eipen; Amēn, amēn legō hymin, eis ex hymōn paradōsei me.”’ Kai epi toutois de phasin hoi kakophrones; ‘Ei dynamis ēn, ouk an edeiliasen, alla mallon kai heterois to dynasthai pareichen.’ Eita phasin; ‘Ei sophia ēn physei hē alēthinē kai idia tou Patros, pōs gegraptai; “Kai Iēsous proekopte sophią, kai hēlikią, kai chariti para Theǭ kai anthrōpois;” kai “elthōn eis men ta merē Kaisareias tēs Philippou, epynthaneto tōn mathētōn, tina legousin hoi anthrōpoi auton einai;’ eis de tēn Bēthanian paragenomenos ērōta pou Lazaros keitai; elege de meta tauta tois mathētais; “Posous artous echete?” Pōs oun, ’ phasin, houtos Sophia, ho en sophią prokoptōn, kai agnoōn ha parʼ heterōn manthanein ēxiou?’ Esti de kai touto parʼ autōn legomenon; ‘Pōs dynatai ho Logos idios einai tou Patros, hou aneu ouk ēn ho Patēr pote, diʼ hou ta panta poiei, hōs hymeis phroneite, ho epi men tou staurou legōn; “Thee mou, Thee mou, hina ti me enkatelipes?” pro de toutōn euchomenos, “doxason sou to onoma;” kai, “doxason me sy, Pater, tę̄ doxę̄, hę̄ eichon pro tou ton kosmon einai para soi.” Ēucheto de en tais erēmois, kai parēngelle tois mathētais proseuchesthai mē eiselthein eis peirasmon; kai, “to pneuma prothymon” elegen, “hē de sarx asthenēs;” kai, Peri tēs hēmeras ē tēs hōras ekeinēs oudeis oiden, oude hoi angeloi, oude ho Huios.”’ Eita palin phasin epi toutois hoi deilaioi; ‘Ei ēn kata tēn hymeteran dianoian aïdiōs hyparchōn ho Huios pros ton Theon, outʼ an ēgnoēse peri tēs hēmeras, allʼ eginōsken hōs Logos; outʼ an enkateleipeto ho synyparchōn; oute doxan ę̄tei labein, echōn autēn en tǭ Patri, oute holōs ēucheto; oudenos gar, Logos ōn, edeeto; allʼ epeidē ktisma esti kai eis tōn genētōn, dia touto toiauta elege, kai edeeto hōn ouk eiche; ktismatōn gar idion to chrēzein kai deesthai hōn ouk echousi.’
For see, as though they did not tire of their impieties but were hardened like Pharaoh, on hearing and seeing again the human things of the Saviour in the Gospels, they have completely forgotten, like the Samosatene, the Son's paternal Godhead, and, emboldened with daring tongue, they say: “How can the Son be from the Father by nature and like him in substance, who says, ‘All authority has been given to me,’ and ‘The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,’ and ‘The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand; he who believes in the Son has eternal life,’ and again, ‘All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal him,’ and again, ‘All that the Father has given me will come to me’?” Then they add: “If he were, as you say, Son by nature, he would have no need to receive, but would have it by nature as a son. Or how can he be the natural and true power of the Father who at the time of the passion says, ‘Now my soul is troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven: I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again’? And again he said something similar: ‘Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass’; and, ‘When Jesus had said this, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.’” And on this the evil-minded say: “If he were power, he would not have been afraid, but would rather have supplied power to others.” Then they say: “If he were by nature the true and proper Wisdom of the Father, how is it written, ‘And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature and grace with God and men’; and, when he came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked the disciples who men said he was; and when he arrived at Bethany he asked where Lazarus lay; and afterwards he said to the disciples, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ How then,” they say, “is he Wisdom, who advances in wisdom and was ignorant of what he asked to learn from others?” This too is said by them: “How can the Word be proper to the Father, without whom the Father never was, through whom he makes all things, as you think, when on the cross he says, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ and before that he prayed, ‘Glorify your name,’ and ‘Glorify me, Father, with the glory which I had with you before the world was’? And he prayed in desert places, and charged the disciples to pray that they might not enter into temptation; and he said, ‘The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak’; and ‘Concerning that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels, nor the Son.’” Then again the wretches add: “If, according to your view, the Son existed eternally with God, he would not have been ignorant of the day, but would have known it as Word; nor would the one who coexists have been forsaken; nor would he have asked to receive glory, having it in the Father; nor would he have prayed at all; for being Word he would need nothing. But since he is a creature and one of the originated things, therefore he said such things and needed what he did not have; for it is proper to creatures to want and need what they do not have.”
Exod 7:13 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 28:18 (quotation, high confidence) · John 5:22 (quotation, high confidence) · John 3:35 (quotation, high confidence) · John 3:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:27 (quotation, high confidence) · John 6:37 (quotation, high confidence) · John 12:27 (quotation, high confidence) · John 12:28 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 26:39 (quotation, high confidence) · John 13:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 2:52 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 16:13 (allusion, high confidence) · John 11:34 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 6:38 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 27:46 (quotation, high confidence) · John 17:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 5:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 26:41 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 13:32 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Arians cite the Gospels' human sayings of Christ—receiving authority, being troubled, praying, advancing in wisdom, not knowing the day, being forsaken—as proof that he is a needy creature.
- This chapter gives the Arians' arguments; Athanasius answers them from 3.29 onward.
- The texts on Christ's growth in wisdom (Luke 2:52), his ignorance of the day (Mark 13:32), and his distress (John 12:27; Matt 26:39) are cited here as Arian objections, exactly as the author reports them.
- Slips corrected: a repeated syllable (ἐπελάθοντο θοντο), οὖτος to οὗτος, οἷδεν to οἶδεν, ὦν to ὧν.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Accent slip.; Breathing slip.; Repeated syllable.): ἐπελάθοντο θοντο → ἐπελάθοντο; οὖτος Σοφία → οὗτος Σοφία; οἷδεν → οἶδεν; ὦν οὐκ ἔχουσι → ὧν οὐκ ἔχουσι.
Topics: Christology, Heresy
Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 26 (Bright, 180–181; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-3/19/#p-26). (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 27
27Bright, 181–182
27. Τοιαῦτα μὲν οὖν οἱ ἀσεβεῖς ἐξάγονται λαλοῦντες· ἔδει δὲ ταῦτα διαλογιζομένους εἰπεῖν καὶ τολμηρότερον· ‘Διὰ τί ὅλως ὁ Λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο;’ καὶ πάλιν ἐπειπεῖν, ‘Πῶς γὰρ ἠδύνατο, Θεὸς ὢν, γενέσθαι ἄνθρωπος; ἢ πῶς ἠδύνατο ὁ ἀσώματος σῶμα φορέσαι;’ ἢ καὶ Ἰουδαϊκώτερον κατὰ τὸν Καϊάφαν εἰπεῖν· ‘Διὰ τί ὅλως, ἄνθρωπος ὢν ὁ Χριστὸς, Θεὸν ἑαυτὸν ἐποίει;’ ταῦτα γὰρ καὶ τὰ τούτοις παραπλήσια τότε μὲν Ἰουδαῖοι βλέποντες ἐγόγγυζον, νῦν δὲ ἀναγινώσκοντες οἱ Ἀρειομανῖται ἀπιστοῦσι, καὶ εἰς βλασφημίας ἐκπεπτώκασιν. Εἴ τις οὖν ἐκ παραλλήλου τὰ τούτων κἀκείνων ἐξετάζοι ῥήματα, εὑρήσει πάντως εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν αὐτοὺς συναντῶντας ἀπιστίαν, καὶ ἴσην αὐτῶν τὴν τῆς ἀσεβείας τόλμαν, καὶ κοινὴν αὐτῶν οὖσαν τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς μάχην. Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν γὰρ ἔλεγον, ‘Πῶς, ἄνθρωπος ὢν, δύναται Θεὸς εἶναι;’ Ἀρειανοὶ δὲ, ‘Εἰ Θεὸς ἦν ἀληθινὸς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, πῶς ἠδύνατο ἄνθρωπος γενέσθαι; Καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν ἐσκανδαλίζοντο, καὶ ἐχλεύαζον λέγοντες, ‘Οὐκ ἂν οὗτος, εἰ ἦν Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὑπέμεινε σταυρόν·’ Ἀρειανοὶ δὲ εἰς τὸ κατʼ ἀντικρὺ στήκοντες αὐτῶν, φάσκουσιν ἡμῖν, ‘Πῶς τολμᾶτε λέγειν Λόγον ἴδιον εἶναι τῆς τοῦ Πατρὸς οὐσίας τὸν ἔχοντα σῶμα, ὥστε τοῦτο ὑπομεῖναι;’ Εἶτα τῶν Ἰουδαίων ζητούντων ἀποκτεῖναι τὸν Κύριον, ὅτι ‘Πατέρα ἴδιον ἔλεγε τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ἐποίει, ’ ἐργαζόμενος ἃ ἐργάζεται ὁ Πατὴρ, ἔμαθον οἱ Ἀρειανοὶ λέγειν καὶ αὐτοὶ, ὅτι οὔτε ἴσος τῷ Θεῷ ἐστιν, οὔτε Πατὴρ ἴδιός ἐστι καὶ φύσει τοῦ Λόγου ὁ Θεός· ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ταῦτα φρονοῦντας ζητοῦσιν ἀποκτεῖναι. Πάλιν τε τῶν Ἰουδαίων λεγόντων· ‘Οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ, οὗ ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα; πῶς οὖν λέγει, “πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι, ἐγώ εἰμι, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβέβηκα;’ οἱ Ἀρειανοὶ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπακούουσιν ἐξ ἴσου λέγοντες· ‘Πῶς δύναται Λόγος εἶναι ἢ Θεὸς ὁ κοιμώμενος ὡς ἄνθρωπος, καὶ κλαίων, καὶ πυνθανόμενος; Ἀμφότεροι γὰρ ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων, ὧν ὑπέμεινεν ὁ Σωτὴρ διʼ ἣν εἶχε σάρκα, ἀρνοῦνται τὴν ἀϊδιότητα καὶ θεότητα τοῦ Λόγου.
27. Toiauta men oun hoi asebeis exagontai lalountes; edei de tauta dialogizomenous eipein kai tolmēroteron; ‘Dia ti holōs ho Logos sarx egeneto?’ kai palin epeipein, ‘Pōs gar ēdynato, Theos ōn, genesthai anthrōpos? ē pōs ēdynato ho asōmatos sōma phoresai?’ ē kai Ioudaïkōteron kata ton Kaïaphan eipein; ‘Dia ti holōs, anthrōpos ōn ho Christos, Theon heauton epoiei?’ tauta gar kai ta toutois paraplēsia tote men Ioudaioi blepontes egongyzon, nyn de anaginōskontes hoi Areiomanitai apistousi, kai eis blasphēmias ekpeptōkasin. Ei tis oun ek parallēlou ta toutōn kakeinōn exetazoi rhēmata, heurēsei pantōs eis tēn autēn autous synantōntas apistian, kai isēn autōn tēn tēs asebeias tolman, kai koinēn autōn ousan tēn pros hēmas machēn. Ioudaioi men gar elegon, ‘Pōs, anthrōpos ōn, dynatai Theos einai?’ Areianoi de, ‘Ei Theos ēn alēthinos ek tou Theou, pōs ēdynato anthrōpos genesthai? Kai Ioudaioi men eskandalizonto, kai echleuazon legontes, ‘Ouk an houtos, ei ēn Huios tou Theou, hypemeine stauron;’ Areianoi de eis to katʼ antikry stēkontes autōn, phaskousin hēmin, ‘Pōs tolmate legein Logon idion einai tēs tou Patros ousias ton echonta sōma, hōste touto hypomeinai?’ Eita tōn Ioudaiōn zētountōn apokteinai ton Kyrion, hoti ‘Patera idion elege ton Theon, kai ison heauton epoiei, ’ ergazomenos ha ergazetai ho Patēr, emathon hoi Areianoi legein kai autoi, hoti oute isos tǭ Theǭ estin, oute Patēr idios esti kai physei tou Logou ho Theos; alla kai tous tauta phronountas zētousin apokteinai. Palin te tōn Ioudaiōn legontōn; ‘Ouch houtos estin ho huios tou Iōsēph, hou hēmeis oidamen ton patera kai tēn mētera? pōs oun legei, “prin Abraam genesthai, egō eimi, kai ek tou ouranou katabebēka?’ hoi Areianoi kai autoi epakouousin ex isou legontes; ‘Pōs dynatai Logos einai ē Theos ho koimōmenos hōs anthrōpos, kai klaiōn, kai pynthanomenos? Amphoteroi gar ek tōn anthrōpinōn, hōn hypemeinen ho Sōtēr diʼ hēn eiche sarka, arnountai tēn aïdiotēta kai theotēta tou Logou.
Such things, then, the impious are carried away into saying; but if they reason so, they ought to have said even more daringly, “Why at all did the Word become flesh?” and to add, “For how could he, being God, become man? Or how could the incorporeal bear a body?” Or they ought to have said, more in the Jewish manner, with Caiaphas, “Why at all did Christ, being a man, make himself God?” For at these things and things like them the Jews grumbled then, when they saw them, and now the Ariomaniacs, reading them, disbelieve and have fallen into blasphemies. If, then, one were to examine side by side the words of the one group and the other, he would certainly find them meeting in the same unbelief, equal in their daring impiety, and sharing a common fight against us. For the Jews said, “How, being a man, can he be God?” and the Arians, “If he were true God from God, how could he become man?” And the Jews were scandalized and mocked, saying, “If this man were the Son of God, he would not have endured the cross”; while the Arians, standing directly opposite them, say to us, “How dare you say that one who has a body, so as to endure this, is the Word proper to the Father's substance?” Then, since the Jews sought to kill the Lord because “he called God his own Father and made himself equal” to God, doing the works the Father does, the Arians too have learned to say that he is neither equal to God, nor is God the proper and natural Father of the Word; and they even seek to kill those who think so. And again, when the Jews said, “Is not this the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘Before Abraham came to be, I am,’ and ‘I have come down from heaven’?”, the Arians too answer in the same way, saying, “How can he be Word or God who sleeps as a man, and weeps, and inquires?” For both deny the eternity and Godhead of the Word on account of the human things which the Saviour endured because of the flesh he bore.
John 1:14 (allusion, high confidence) · John 10:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 27:40 (allusion, high confidence) · John 5:18 (quotation, high confidence) · John 6:42 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:58 (quotation, high confidence) · John 6:38 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 8:24 (allusion, high confidence) · John 11:35 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Arians, stumbling at Christ's human experiences, repeat the objections of those who rejected him in the Gospels, and both deny the Word's Godhead because of his flesh.
- The parallel between the Arians and the Jews who opposed Jesus is the author's polemic, translated as written.
- “They even seek to kill those who think so” refers to the violence the Nicene party suffered in Athanasius's time.
- Slips corrected: ἡδύνατο to ἠδύνατο (twice), a stray mark (καὶʼ), οὖτος to οὗτος, ὦν to ὧν.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Breathing slip.; Stray elision mark.): Πῶς γὰρ ἡδύνατο → Πῶς γὰρ ἠδύνατο; πῶς ἡδύνατο ἄνθρωπος → πῶς ἠδύνατο ἄνθρωπος; ἢ καὶʼ Ἰουδαϊκώτερον → ἢ καὶ Ἰουδαϊκώτερον; Οὐκ ἂν οὖτος → Οὐκ ἂν οὗτος; ὦν ὑπέμεινεν → ὧν ὑπέμεινεν.
Topics: Christology, Heresy
Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 27 (Bright, 181–182; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-3/19/#p-27). (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 28
28Bright, 182–184
28. Ἰουδαϊκῆς τοίνυν οὔσης, καὶ Ἰουδαϊκῆς τῆς ἐκ τοῦ προδότου Ἰούδα τῆς τοιαύτης παρανοίας, ἢ ἐκ φανεροῦ πάλιν ὁμολογείτωσαν ἑαυτοὺς τοῦ Καϊάφα καὶ Ἡρώδου μαθητὰς εἶναι, μὴ σκέποντες τὸν Ἰουδαϊσμὸν τῷ τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ ὀνόματι, καὶ ἀρνείσθωσαν τέλεον, καθὰ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν εἰρήκαμεν, τὴν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἔνσαρκον παρουσίαν· τοῦτο γὰρ τῆς αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν οἰκεῖον τὸ φρόνημα· ἢ εἰ δεδοίκασιν Ἰουδαΐζειν ἐκ φανεροῦ, καὶ περιτέμνεσθαι, διὰ τὴν πρὸς Κωνστάντιον ἀρέσκειαν καὶ τοὺς ἀπατηθέντας παρʼ αὐτῶν, μηδὲ λεγέτωσαν τὰ τῶν Ἰουδαίων· δίκαιον γὰρ ὧν τὰ ὀνόματα παραιτοῦνται, τούτων ἀποστρέφεσθαι καὶ τὸ φρόνημα. Χριστιανοὶ γάρ ἐσμεν, ὦ Ἀρειανοὶ, Χριστιανοί ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς· ἡμῶν τε ἴδιον καλῶς τὰ εὐαγγέλια νοεῖν περὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος, καὶ μήτε μετὰ Ἰουδαίων λιθάζειν αὐτὸν, ἐὰν περὶ τῆς θεότητος καὶ τῆς ἀϊδιότητος ἀκούωμεν αὐτοῦ, μήτε μεθʼ ὑμῶν σκανδαλίζεσθαι, ἐφʼ οἷς ἂν, ὡς ἄνθρωπος, ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ταπεινοῖς φθέγγοιτο ῥήμασιν. Εἰ θέλετε γοῦν καὶ ὑμεῖς γενέσθαι Χριστιανοὶ, ἀπόθεσθε τὴν Ἀρείου μανίαν, τήν τε ἀκοὴν ὑμῶν τὴν ῥυπωθεῖσαν ἀπὸ τῶν βλασφήμων ῥημάτων ἀπονίψασθε τοῖς τῆς εὐσεβείας λόγοις, γινώσκοντες ὡς παυόμενοι τοῦ εἶναι Ἀρειανοὶ, παύσεσθε καὶ τῆς τῶν νῦν Ἰουδαίων κακοφροσύνης, εὐθύς τε ὡς ἀπὸ σκότους ἡ ἀλήθεια ὑμῖν λάμψει· καὶ οὐκέτι μὲν ἡμῖν ὀνειδίσετε, ὡς ‘δύο ἀΐδιαʼ λέγουσιν, ἐπιγνώσεσθε δὲ καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὅτι τε ἀληθινὸς καὶ φύσει Υἱός ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ Κύριος, καὶ οὐχ ἀπλῶς ἀΐδιος, ἀλλὰ τῇ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἀϊδιότητι συνὼν γινώσκεται. Ἔστι γὰρ λεγόμενα ‘ἀΐδια, ’ ὧν αὐτὸς δημιουργός ἐστιν· ἐν γὰρ τῷ εἰκοστῷ τρίτῳ ψαλμῷ γέγραπται· ‘Ἄρατε πύλας, οἱ ἄρχοντες, ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐπάρθητε, πύλαι αἰώνιοι.’ Δῆλον δέ ἐστιν ὅτι διʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ ταῦτα γέγονεν· εἰ δὲ καὶ τῶν αἰωνίων αὐτός ἐστι δημιουργὸς, τίς ἡμῶν ἔτι λοιπὸν ἀμφιβάλλειν δυνήσεται, ὅτι καὶ τούτων τῶν ἀϊδίων ἀνώτερός ἐστι, καὶ οὐ τοσοῦτον ἐκ τοῦ ἀϊδίου γνωρίζεται Κύριος, ὅσον ὅτι Υἱός ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ; Υἱὸς γὰρ ὢν, ἀχώριστός ἐστι τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ οὐκ ‘ἦν ὅτε οὐκ ἦν, ’ ἀλλʼ ἀεὶ ἦν· καὶ εἰκὼν καὶ ἀπαύγασμα ὢν τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἔχει καὶ τὴν ἀϊδιότητα τοῦ Πατρός. Ὅπως μὲν οὖν ἠλέγχθησαν κακῶς νοοῦντες ἃ προεφασίζοντο ῥητὰ, δυνατόν πως ἐκ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν διʼ ὀλίγων εἰρημένων καταμαθεῖν· ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἐν οἷς πάλιν προφασίζονται νῦν ἐκ τῶν εὐαγγελίων, γνωρίζονται σαθρὰν ἔχοντες τὴν διάνοιαν, ῥᾴδιόν ἐστι συνιδεῖν, ἐὰν μάλιστα καὶ νῦν τὸν σκοπὸν τῆς καθʼ ἡμᾶς τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς πίστεως λάβωμεν, καὶ τούτῳ ὥσπερ κανόνι χρησάμενοι, ‘προσέχωμεν, ’ ὡς εἶπεν ὁ ἀπόστολος, ‘τῇ ἀναγνώσει τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς.’ Οἱ γὰρ Χριστομάχοι, τοῦτον ἀγνοήσαντες, ‘ἐπλανήθησαν ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας, ’ καὶ ‘προσέκοψαν τῷ λίθῳ τοῦ προσκόμματος, ʼ φρονοῦντες ‘παρʼ ὃ δεῖ φρονεῖν.’
28. Ioudaïkēs toinyn ousēs, kai Ioudaïkēs tēs ek tou prodotou Iouda tēs toiautēs paranoias, ē ek phanerou palin homologeitōsan heautous tou Kaïapha kai Hērōdou mathētas einai, mē skepontes ton Ioudaïsmon tǭ tou Christianismou onomati, kai arneisthōsan teleon, katha kai en tois emprosthen eirēkamen, tēn tou Sōtēros ensarkon parousian; touto gar tēs haireseōs autōn oikeion to phronēma; ē ei dedoikasin Ioudaïzein ek phanerou, kai peritemnesthai, dia tēn pros Kōnstantion areskeian kai tous apatēthentas parʼ autōn, mēde legetōsan ta tōn Ioudaiōn; dikaion gar hōn ta onomata paraitountai, toutōn apostrephesthai kai to phronēma. Christianoi gar esmen, ō Areianoi, Christianoi esmen hēmeis; hēmōn te idion kalōs ta euangelia noein peri tou Sōtēros, kai mēte meta Ioudaiōn lithazein auton, ean peri tēs theotētos kai tēs aïdiotētos akouōmen autou, mēte methʼ hymōn skandalizesthai, ephʼ hois an, hōs anthrōpos, hyper hēmōn tapeinois phthengoito rhēmasin. Ei thelete goun kai hymeis genesthai Christianoi, apothesthe tēn Areiou manian, tēn te akoēn hymōn tēn rhypōtheisan apo tōn blasphēmōn rhēmatōn aponipsasthe tois tēs eusebeias logois, ginōskontes hōs pauomenoi tou einai Areianoi, pausesthe kai tēs tōn nyn Ioudaiōn kakophrosynēs, euthys te hōs apo skotous hē alētheia hymin lampsei; kai ouketi men hēmin oneidisete, hōs ‘dyo aïdiaʼ legousin, epignōsesthe de kai hymeis, hoti te alēthinos kai physei Huios esti tou Theou ho Kyrios, kai ouch aplōs aïdios, alla tę̄ tou Patros aïdiotēti synōn ginōsketai. Esti gar legomena ‘aïdia, ’ hōn autos dēmiourgos estin; en gar tǭ eikostǭ tritǭ psalmǭ gegraptai; ‘Arate pylas, hoi archontes, hymōn, kai eparthēte, pylai aiōnioi.’ Dēlon de estin hoti diʼ autou kai tauta gegonen; ei de kai tōn aiōniōn autos esti dēmiourgos, tis hēmōn eti loipon amphiballein dynēsetai, hoti kai toutōn tōn aïdiōn anōteros esti, kai ou tosouton ek tou aïdiou gnōrizetai Kyrios, hoson hoti Huios esti tou Theou? Huios gar ōn, achōristos esti tou Patros, kai ouk ‘ēn hote ouk ēn, ’ allʼ aei ēn; kai eikōn kai apaugasma ōn tou Patros, echei kai tēn aïdiotēta tou Patros. Hopōs men oun ēlenchthēsan kakōs noountes ha proephasizonto rhēta, dynaton pōs ek tōn emprosthen diʼ oligōn eirēmenōn katamathein; hoti de kai en hois palin prophasizontai nyn ek tōn euangeliōn, gnōrizontai sathran echontes tēn dianoian, rhądion esti synidein, ean malista kai nyn ton skopon tēs kathʼ hēmas tous Christianous pisteōs labōmen, kai toutǭ hōsper kanoni chrēsamenoi, ‘prosechōmen, ’ hōs eipen ho apostolos, ‘tę̄ anagnōsei tēs theopneustou graphēs.’ Hoi gar Christomachoi, touton agnoēsantes, ‘eplanēthēsan apo tēs hodou tēs alētheias, ’ kai ‘prosekopsan tǭ lithǭ tou proskommatos, ʼ phronountes ‘parʼ ho dei phronein.’
Since, then, such madness is Jewish, and Jewish after the manner of Judas the traitor, let them either openly confess themselves disciples of Caiaphas and Herod, and not cover Judaism with the name of Christianity, and deny outright, as we said before, the Saviour's presence in the flesh (for this is the proper thought of their heresy); or, if they are afraid to Judaize openly and be circumcised, out of their wish to please Constantius and those they have deceived, let them not say the things of the Jews either; for it is right to turn away from the thought of those whose names one refuses. For we are Christians, Arians—we are Christians; and it is ours to understand the Gospels rightly concerning the Saviour, and neither to stone him with the Jews when we hear of his Godhead and eternity, nor to be scandalized with you at the lowly words he may utter for our sake as man. If, then, you too wish to become Christians, put off the madness of Arius, and wash with the words of piety your hearing that has been defiled by blasphemous words, knowing that by ceasing to be Arians you will also cease from the evil-mindedness of the Jews of today, and at once the truth will shine on you as out of darkness; and you will no longer reproach us for saying “two eternals,” but you too will recognize that the Lord is the true and natural Son of God, and is known not simply as eternal, but as coexisting in the eternity of the Father. For there are things called “eternal” of which he is the creator; for in the twenty-third psalm it is written, “Lift up your gates, O rulers, and be lifted up, O eternal gates.” And it is clear that these too came into being through him; and if he is the creator even of the eternal things, who among us will be able any longer to doubt that he is higher even than these eternal things, and that the Lord is known not so much from being eternal as from being the Son of God? For, being Son, he is inseparable from the Father, and “there was not when he was not,” but he always was; and being the image and radiance of the Father, he also has the Father's eternity. How, then, they were refuted as understanding wrongly the sayings they used as pretexts can be learned in some measure from what was said briefly above; and that in what they now allege from the Gospels too they are shown to have a rotten understanding is easy to see, especially if we now take the scope of the faith that we Christians hold, and, using this as a rule, “attend,” as the apostle said, “to the reading” of the inspired Scripture. For the Christ-fighters, ignorant of this, “have strayed from the way of truth,” and “stumbled over the stone of stumbling,” thinking “beyond what one ought to think.”
John 10:31 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 24:7 (23:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 4:13 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Tim 3:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rom 9:32 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 12:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Athanasius urges the Arians to stop echoing Christ's opponents and to read the Gospels by the rule of the church's faith: the Son is eternal as the Father's own offspring.
- Constantius II, emperor 337–361, favored the anti-Nicene party.
- “Scope” (σκοπός) is Athanasius's term for the overall aim and rule of faith by which Scripture is read.
- “Strayed from the way of truth” echoes Wis 5:6.
- The address to the Arians as Judaizers is the author's polemic, translated as written.
- Slips corrected: αἱοέσεως to αἱρέσεως, κακοφροκύνης to κακοφροσύνης, ὦν to ὧν, εἷπεν to εἶπεν.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Accent slip.; Breathing slip.; Letter slip.): αἱοέσεως → αἱρέσεως; κακοφροκύνης → κακοφροσύνης; ὦν αὐτὸς δημιουργός → ὧν αὐτὸς δημιουργός; ὡς εἷπεν ὁ ἀπόστολος → ὡς εἶπεν ὁ ἀπόστολος.
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 5:6 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Topics: Christology, Heresy, Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Athanasius, C. Ar. 28 (Bright, 182–184; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-oratio-3/19/#p-28). (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.