First Apology 28
Summary: Satan and his followers will be punished eternally; God delays judgment so that more may repent; humans are free and responsible.
Greek text · Rauschen, 54–56
Παρʼ ἡμῖν μὲν γὰρ ὁ ἀρχηγέτης τῶν κακῶν δαιμόνων ὄφις καλεῖται καὶ σατανᾶς καὶ διάβολος, ὡς καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἡμετέρων συγγραμμάτων ἐρευνήσαντες μαθεῖν δύνασθε· ὃν εἰς τὸ πῦρ πεμφθήσεσθαι μετὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ στρατιᾶς καὶ τῶν ἑπομένων ἀνθρώπων κολασθησομένους τὸν ἀπέραντον αἰῶνα, προεμήνυσεν ὁ Χριστός. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ ἐπιμονὴ τοῦ μηδέπω τοῦτο πρᾶξαι τὸν θεὸν διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον γένος γεγένηται· προγινώσκει γάρ τινας ἐκ μετανοίας σωθήσεσθαι μέλλοντας καί τινας μηδέπω ἴσως γεννηθέντας. Καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν νοερὸν καὶ δυνάμενον αἱρεῖσθαι τἀληθῆ καὶ εὖ πράττειν τὸ γένος τὸ ἀνθρώπινον πεποίηκεν, ὥστʼ ἀναπολόγητον εἶναι τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις παρὰ τῷ θεῷ· λογικοὶ γὰρ καὶ θεωρητικοὶ γεγένηνται. Εἰ δέ τις ἀπιστεῖ μέλειν τούτων τῷ θεῷ, ἢ μὴ εἶναι αὐτὸν διὰ τέχνης ὁμολογήσει, ἢ ὄντα χαίρειν κακίᾳ φήσει ἢ λίθῳ ἐοικότα μένειν, καὶ μηδὲν εἶναι ἀρετὴν μηδὲ κακίαν, δόξῃ δὲ μόνον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἢ ἀγαθὰ ἢ κακὰ ταῦτα ἡγεῖσθαι, ἥπερ μεγίστη ἀσέβεια καὶ ἀδικία ἐστί.
English · Claude translation
For among us the leader of the evil demons is called the serpent and Satan and the devil, as you can learn by searching our writings; and Christ foretold that he will be sent into the fire with his army and the people who follow him, to be punished for endless ages. For the delay in God's not yet doing this has come about for the sake of the human race; for he foreknows that some are going to be saved by repentance, and some perhaps not yet born. And in the beginning he made the human race rational and able to choose the truth and do well, so that all people are without excuse before God; for they have been made rational and able to contemplate. And if anyone does not believe that God cares for these things, he will either confess by some device that he does not exist, or will say that he exists but delights in evil, or remains like a stone, and that there is no virtue or vice, but that people consider these things good or evil only by opinion; which is the greatest impiety and injustice.
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Notes
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digitization slip against Rauschen's printed text (wrong accent)): εὗ πράττειν → εὖ πράττειν.
Cite this passage
Justin, 1 Apol. 28 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-1-apology/28/).
Plain text
Justin, 1 Apol. 28 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-1-apology/28/).
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