1Envy turned humanity from the one Lord to idols; the author will refute idolatry from the Greek poets themselves.
2Aeschylus, Sophocles, Philemon, Orpheus, and Pythagoras are quoted as witnesses to the one invisible God.
3Sophocles and Philemon are quoted on the coming fiery judgment and the eye of justice that sees all.
4God is not won by costly sacrifices but by righteousness; Philemon and Plato are quoted.
5Menander and Euripides are quoted mocking gods who are carried about, unjust, adulterous, or greedy, and pointing to the one God.
6Gods with human passions, taught by men and given to adultery, cannot be lords of all; one must embrace the one true name before the Judge.
About this work
Author
Anonymous
Attribution
spurious · Transmitted under Justin's name (in the manuscripts and in Migne's Justin volume), but not his: its style, vocabulary and arguments differ from the First Apology and the Dialogue with Trypho, and Eusebius does not list it among his works. Migne prints it as Justin's On the Sole Government of God (Περὶ θεοῦ μοναρχίας): a short argument that the pagan poets themselves testify to one God. Eusebius lists a work of Justin with a similar title, but the surviving text is generally thought to be a later compilation.
Standing
Not honoured as a saint or in a church calendar by the Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant traditions. Anonymous or pseudonymous work read and used in the church of its time.
Older English translation
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885) (public domain, at CCEL; for comparison: our translation is made from the original first and checked against it afterwards) · ANF 1 prints it as "On the Sole Government of God" in 6 chapters; the numbering is the same as Migne's.
Date
2nd–3rd century (disputed) (disputed)
Written at
Unknown (disputed)
Language
Greek
Genre
treatise
Reference system
chapter (1–6, as in Migne's PG 6 and ANF)
SBL abbreviation
Mon.Not yet checked
Clavis
CPG number not yet checked
Text from
J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 6 (Paris: Migne, 1857), cols. 311–328 (Printed edition in the public domain; OCR transcription of public-domain page images)
Critical editions
Miroslav Marcovich, ed., Pseudo-Iustinus: Cohortatio ad Graecos; De monarchia; Oratio ad Graecos, PTS 32 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1990) (cited, not reproduced)