Oration to the Greeks 30
Summary: Tatian puts away his pagan past; to the Greeks he offers a full account of Christian teaching and of the origin of languages.
Greek text · Otto 6:114–118
Τούτων οὖν τὴν κατάληψιν μεμυημένος καὶ πεποιημένος βούλομαι καθάπερ τὰ νήπια τῶν βρεφῶν ἀποδύσασθαι. Τὴν γὰρ τῆς πονηρίας σύστασιν ἐοικυῖαν τῇ τῶν βραχυτάτων σπερμάτων ἴσμεν· ἅτε διὰ μικρᾶς ἀφορμῆς τούτου κρατυνθέντος, πάλιν δὲ αὖ λυθησομένου, ἡμῶν πειθομένων λόγοις θεοῦ καὶ μὴ σκορπιζόντων ἑαυτούς. Διά τινος γὰρ ἀποκρύφου θησαυροῦ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐπεκράτησεν, ὃν ὀρύττοντες κονιορτῷ μὲν ἡμεῖς ἐνεπλήθημεν, τούτῳ δὲ τοῦ συνεστάναι τὴν ἀφορμὴν παρέχομεν. Τὸ γὰρ αὐτοῦ πᾶν ἀποδεχόμενος κτῆμα τοῦ πολυτιμοτέρου πλούτου τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἐχειρώσατο. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν πρὸς τοὺς ἡμῶν οἰκείους εἰρήσθω. Πρὸς δὲ ὑμᾶς τοὺς Ἕλληνας τί ἂν ἕτερον, ἢ τὸ μὴ τοῖς κρείττοσι λοιδορεῖσθαι, μηδὲ εἰ βάρβαροι λέγοιντο ταύτην λαμβάνειν τῆς χλεύης τὴν ἀφορμήν; Τοῦ γὰρ πάντας ἀλλήλων ὑπακούειν τῆς διαλέκτου μὴ δύνασθαι τὴν αἰτίαν εὑρεῖν, ἢν ἐθέλητε, δυνήσεσθε· ἐξετάζειν γὰρ βουλομένοις τὰ ἡμέτερα ῥᾳδίαν καὶ ἄφθονον ποιήσομαι τὴν διήγησιν.
English · Claude translation
Having been initiated into these things and having come to understand them, I wish to strip them off, like infants putting off their childish things. For we know that wickedness is constituted like the tiniest of seeds: it grew strong from a small beginning, but it will be dissolved again if we obey the words of God and do not scatter ourselves. For it gained mastery over what is ours by means of a hidden treasure: digging for it, we were filled with dust, and so we give wickedness the occasion to establish itself. For whoever takes up that whole possession has taken hold of the more precious wealth. Let this be said to our own people. To you Greeks, what else should I say than that you should not revile those who are better than you, nor, if they are called barbarians, take this as an occasion for mockery? For if you wish, you will be able to find out the reason why all people cannot understand one another's language; and to those who wish to examine our teachings I will make the account easy and ungrudging.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The middle of this chapter is obscure. The subject of “it gained mastery … by means of a hidden treasure” may be wickedness, which buried the treasure (the truth) so that we dug and found only dust; or it may be God or the Word, who gains possession of us through the hidden treasure of the parable (Matt 13:44), which we dig for and make our own. “Whoever takes up that whole possession” seems to refer to that treasure.
- “The reason why all people cannot understand one another's language” points to the story of Babel (Gen 11:1–9).
Cite this passage
Tatian, Or. Graec. 30 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/tatian-oration/30/).
Plain text
Tatian, Or. Graec. 30 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/tatian-oration/30/).
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