The Book of the Laws of Countries (Dialogue on Fate) 1–21

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

A FEW days ago we went up to visit Shemashgram, our brother. And Bardesan came and found us there; and when he had felt him, and seen that he was well, he asked us, “What were you talking about, for I heard your voice from without as I was coming in?”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

For he was accustomed, whenever he found us talking about any thing before him, to ask us, “What were you saying?” that he might converse with us about it. We therefore said to him, “This Avida was saying to us: ‘ That if God be one, as you say, and He created mankind, and willeth that you should do that which you are commanded, why did He not create men so that they should not be able to go wrong, but always should do what is good; for by this His will would be accomplished.’”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Bardesan saith to him, “Tell me, my son Avida, why dost thou think that the God of all is not one, or that He is one, and doth not will that men should conduct themselves holily and uprightly?”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Avida saith, “I, my Lord, asked these of my own age in order that they might give me a reply.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Bardesan saith to him, “If thou desirest to learn, it would be advantageous for thee, that thou shouldest learn from one who is older than they: but if to teach, it is not requisite that thou shouldest question them, but that thou shouldest persuade them to ask thee what they desire. For teachers are usually asked, and do not themselves ask. And whenever they do put a question, it should be to direct the mind of the questioner so that he may ask properly, and they may know what his desire is. For it is a good thing that a man should know how to put questions.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Avida saith, “I am desirous of learning, but I began first to question these my brethren, because I was ashamed of asking thee.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Bardesan saith, “Thou speakest cleverly. Nevertheless know that he who putteth his inquiries properly, and is willing to be convinced, and draweth near to the way of truth without obstinacy, needeth not be ashamed, because he will certainly give pleasure to him to whom the inquiry is directed, by those things which I have mentioned. If therefore, my son, thou hast any thing in thy mind respecting this about which thou wast inquiring, tell it to us all; and if it please us also, we shall participate with thee; and if it please us not, necessity will compel us to shew thee why it does not please us. And if thou wert only desiring to know this word, without having any thing in thy mind respecting it, as a man who has lately attached himself to the Disciples and is a recent inquirer, I will inform thee, in order that thou mayest not depart from us without profit; and if those things which I tell thee please thee, we have also for thee other things respecting this matter, but if they please thee not, we for our part shall have spoken without any ill feeling.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Avida saith, “I even greatly desire to hear and to be convinced, because it is not from any other I have heard this word; but I have spoken it of my own mind to these my brethren, and they were not willing to convince me, but say, ‘ Believe really, and thou wilt be able to know every thing;’ but I am not able to believe unless I be convinced.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Bardesan saith, “Not Avida alone is unwilling to believe, but also many, because they have in them no faith, are not even able to be convinced, but always are pulling down and building up, and are found destitute of all knowledge of the truth. Nevertheless, because Avida is not willing to believe, lo! I will speak to you who do believe concerning this which he inquireth, and he will hear something more.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

And he began to say to us, “There are many men who have not faith, and have not received knowledge from the wisdom of the truth. And on this account they are not competent to speak and to instruct, and do not easily incline themselves to hear. For they have not the foundation of faith to build upon, and they have no confidence upon which they may hope And because they also doubt respecting God, they likewise have not within them that fear of Him which would liberate them from all fears: for whoso hath not the fear of God within him, he is subject to every fear. For even with respect to that, whatever it may be, which they do not believe, they are not sure that they properly disbelieve; but they are unstable in their minds, and are not able to stand, and the taste of their thoughts is insipid in their mouth, and they are always timid and hasty and rash. But as to what Avida was saying, ‘Why did not God create us so that we should not sin and be guilty?—if man had been created so, he would not have been for himself, but would have been the instrument of him who moved him; and it is known that whoso moveth as he chuseth he moveth him either to good or to evil. And how then would a man differ from a harp, upon which another playeth, or from a ship, which another steereth: but the praise and the blame stand in the hand of the artist, and the harp itself knoweth not what is played upon it, nor the ship whether it be well steered and guided; but they are instruments which are made for the use of him who possesseth in himself the science. But God in his kindness did not will that he should create man so. But he exalted him by Free-will above many things, and made him equal with the angels. For observe the sun and the moon and the sphere, and the rest of those creatures which are greater than we in some things, that there is not given to them Free-will of themselves, but they are all fixed by ordinance that they should do that only which is ordained for them, and nothing else. For the sun never saith, that I will not rise at my time; nor the moon, that I will not change, and not wane, and not increase; nor does any one of the stars say, that I will not rise, and I will not set; nor the sea, that I will not bear the ships, and I will not stand within my bounds; nor the hills, that we will not continue in the places in which we are set; nor do the winds say that we will not blow; nor the earth, that I will not bear and sustain whatsoever is upon me: but all these things serve and are subject to one ordinance, for they are the instruments of the wisdom of God which erreth not. For if every thing ministered, who would be he that is ministered unto; and if every thing were ministered unto, who would be he that ministered? And there would not be one thing differing from another. For that which is single and hath no difference in it, is a Being which up to this hour has not been established. But those things, which are requisite for ministration, have been fixed in the power of man, because in the image of Elohim he was created. On this account there has been given to him these things in kindness, that they might minister to him for a season; and it has been given to him to govern himself by his own will, and that whatever he is able to do, if he will he should do it, and if he will not, he should not do it; and he should justify or condemn himself. For if he had been made so that he would not be able to do evil by which he may be condemned, in the same manner also the good which he should do would not be his, and he would not be able to be justified by it. For whoso should not of his own will do that which is good or evil, his justification and his condemnation would stand in that Fortune for which he is created. On this account, let it be manifest to you, that the goodness of God has been great towards man, and that there has been given to him Free-will more than to all those Elements of which we have been speaking; that by this same Free-will he may justify himself, and govern himself in a godlike manner, and associate with the angels, who also are possessed of Free-will for themselves; for we know, that even the angels, if they had not been possessed of Free-will for themselves, would not have had intercourse with the daughters of men, and would not have sinned nor fallen from their places. And in the same manner therefore those others which did the will of their Lord, by their power over themselves were exalted and sanctified, and received mighty gifts. For every one that exists stands in need of the Lord of all; and there is no end to his gifts. But nevertheless know ye, that even those things of which I have said that they stand by ordinance, are not entirely devoid of all freedom, and on this account at the last day they all shall be subject to judgment.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

I say to him, “And how can those things which are fixed be judged?”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

He saith to me, “Not in so far as they are fixed, oh, Philip, will the Elements be judged, but in so far as they have power; for Beings when they are set in order are not deprived of their natural property, but of their force of energy, being diminished by the mingling of one with another, and they are subdued by the power of their Creator; and in so far as they are subject, they will not be judged, but in that which is their own.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Avida saith to him, “Those things which thou hast said are very good. But lo! the commandments which have been given to men are severe, and they are not able to perform them.” Bardesan saith, “This is the answer of such an one as doth not desire to do that which is good; and more especially of him who has obeyed and submitted to his enemy. For men are not commanded to do any thing but what they are able to do. For there are two commandments set before us such as are suitable and just for Free-will: one that we separate ourselves from every thing which is evil and which we should dislike to be done to ourselves; and the other that we should do that which is good and which we love, and desire that it should also be done to us likewise. What man, therefore, is there who is unable to avoid stealing, or to avoid lying or committing adultery and ‘fornication, or that he should be guilty of hatred and falsehood? For lo! all these things are subject to the mind of man, and it is not in the power of the body they are, but in the will of the soul. For even if a man be poor and sick and old, or impotent in his limbs, he is able to avoid doing all these things; and as he is able to avoid doing these things, so is he able to love, and to bless, and to speak the truth, and to pray for that which is good for every one whom he knoweth: and if he be in health and have the use of his hands, he is able too to give something of that which he hath; also to support by the strength of body him who is sick and broken down, this too he is able to do. Who, therefore, it is that is not able to do what those devoid of faith murmur about, I know not. For I think, that it is in these commandments more than in any thing man has power. For they are easy, and there is nothing that is able to hinder them. For we are not commanded to carry heavy burthens of ‘stones, or of timber, or of any thing else, which those only who are powerful in body are able to do; nor that we should build fortresses and found cities, which kings only are able to do; nor that we should steer ships, which mariners only are skilled in steering; nor that we should measure and divide the earth, which geometricians only know how to do; nor any one of those arts which some men possess, and the rest are devoid of them; but there has been given to us according to the goodness of God commandments without grudging, such as every man who possesses a soul within him can do rejoicing; for there is no man who rejoiceth not when he doeth that which is good; nor is there any one who doth not delight within himself when he refraineth from wicked things, with the exception of those who were not made for this grace, and are called Tares: for would not that judge be unjust who should blame a man for such a thing as he is not able to do?”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Avida saith to him, “Respecting these deeds, oh Bardesan, sayest thou that they are easy to perform?”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Bardesan saith, “'To him who desireth, I have said, and do say, that they are easy; for this is the good conduct of a free mind, and of that soul which hath not rebelled against its Governors. For there are many things which impede the action of the body, and more especially old age, and sickness, and poverty.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Avida saith, “Perchance a man may be able to avoid wicked things, but to do good things who among men is able?”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Bardesan saith, “It is more easy to do good than to abstain from evil. For the good is the man’s own, and on this account he rejoiceth whenever he doeth good; but the evil is the operation of the enemy, and on this account, when a man is troubled and not sound in his nature, he doeth wicked things. For know, my son, that it is an easy thing for a man to praise and bless his friend; but that a man should not blame and revile him that he hates is not easy. But nevertheless, this is possible to be; and whenever a man doeth that which is good, his mind is cheerful and his conscience tranquil, and he is pleased that every one should see what he does; but whenever a man acts wrongly, and committeth an injury, he is agitated and troubled, and full of rage and anger, and is tormented in his soul and in his body: and when he standeth in this mind, he is not pleased to be seen by every one; and those things in which he rejoiceth, which even praise and blessing follow, are rejected by him; but upon those things by which he is agitated and troubled followeth the curse of blame. But perhaps a man may say, that even fools are pleased when they do vile things:—but not in the doing of them, and not in being commended, and not for good hope; and this pleasure doth not continue with them. For the enjoyment which is in a sound state for good hope is one; and the enjoyment in an unhealthy state for bad hope is another. For lust is one thing and love is another; and friendship is one thing and sodality another; and we ought plainly to understand that the unrestrained ardour of love is called lust, which although there may be in it enjoyment for a moment, nevertheless is far removed from that true love, whose enjoyment is for ever uncorruptible and indissoluble.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

I say to him, “After this manner again was this Avida saying, ‘ That it is from his Nature man acteth wrongly; for if he had not been formed naturally to do wrong, he would not do wrong.’”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Bardesan saith, “If all men did one deed and acted with the one mind, it would then be known that it was their Nature governed them, and they would not have the Free-will of which I spake to you. Nevertheless, in order that ye may understand what is Nature and what is Free-will, I will proceed to inform you.

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

The Nature of man is this: that he should be born, and grow up, and rise in stature, and beget children, and grow old, by eating and by drinking, and sleeping, and waking; and that he. should die. These because they are of Nature, belong to all men, and not to all men only, but also to all animals which have a soul in them; and some of them also to trees. For this is a physical operation which performeth and produceth and establisheth every thing as it has been ordained. But Nature also is found to be maintained by animals too in their actions. For the lion eateth flesh, by his Nature; and on this account all lions are eaters of flesh. And the sheep eateth grass; and for this reason all sheep are eaters of grass, And the bee maketh honey by which it sustains itself; for this reason all bees are honey-makers. And the ant layeth up for itself a store in summer, that it may sustain itself from it in the winter; and for this reason all ants do likewise. And the scorpion striketh with its sting him who hath not hurt it; and so likewise all scorpions strike. And all animals maintain their Nature; and those which feed upon grass do not eat flesh; nor do those that feed upon flesh eat grass. But men are not governed in this manner; but in the things belonging to their bodies they maintain their Nature like animals, and in the things which belong to their minds they do that which they wish, as being free and with power, and as the likeness of God: for there are some of them that eat flesh, and do not touch bread; and there are some of them that make a distinction in the eating of flesh; and there are some of them that do not eat the flesh of any animal in which there is a soul; and there are some of them that have connexion with their mothers, and with their sisters, and with their daughters; and there are some that never approach women at all; and there are some that avenge themselves like lions and like leopards; and there are some that injure him who has not done them any harm, like scorpions; and there are some that are led like sheep, and do not hurt those who govern them; and there are some who conduct themselves with virtue, and some with righteousness, and some with vice. And if any one should say, they have each individually a Nature to do so, let him see that it is not so. For there are some who were fornicators and drunkards, and when the admonition of good counsels reached them, they became chaste and temperate, and abandoned the lust of their bodies. And there are some who conducted themselves with chastity and temperance; and when they became negligent of right admonition, and despised the commands of the Deity, and of their instructors, fell from the way of truth, and became fornicators and prodigals; and there are some who repented again after their fall; and fear came upon them, and they returned to the truth in which they stood. What, then, is man’s Nature? for lo! all men differ one from another in their conduct, and in their desires; and those who stood in one will and in one counsel resemble one another: but those men whose lust is enticing them up to the present moment, and whose passion governs them, desire to attribute whatsoever they do wrong to their Creator; so that they themselves may be found without fault, and He who created them may be condemned by a vain plea; and they do not see that Nature has no law, for a man is not blamed because he is tall in his stature or little, or white or black; or because his eyes be large or small; or for any one of the defects of the body: but he is blamed if he steal, or lie, or practise deceit, or poisoneth, or curseth, or doeth such things as are like these; for lo! from hence it is evident, that as to those things which are not done by our hands, but which we have from Nature, we are not indeed condemned by these; neither by these are we justified; but those things which we do by our own Free-will, if they be good, by them we are justified and praised, and if they be wicked, by them we are condemned and blamed.”

English translation by William Cureton (1855); the original is not shown

Again we asked him, and said to him, “There are others who say, that by the decree of Fortune men are governed, at one time wickedly, and at another time well.”