1. Hebrew Bible, 1 Kings, 19.5-19.8 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 19.5. וַיִּשְׁכַּב וַיִּישַׁן תַּחַת רֹתֶם אֶחָד וְהִנֵּה־זֶה מַלְאָךְ נֹגֵעַ בּוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ קוּם אֱכוֹל׃ 19.6. וַיַּבֵּט וְהִנֵּה מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו עֻגַת רְצָפִים וְצַפַּחַת מָיִם וַיֹּאכַל וַיֵּשְׁתְּ וַיָּשָׁב וַיִּשְׁכָּב׃ 19.7. וַיָּשָׁב מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה שֵׁנִית וַיִּגַּע־בּוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר קוּם אֱכֹל כִּי רַב מִמְּךָ הַדָּרֶךְ׃ 19.8. וַיָּקָם וַיֹּאכַל וַיִּשְׁתֶּה וַיֵּלֶךְ בְּכֹחַ הָאֲכִילָה הַהִיא אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לַיְלָה עַד הַר הָאֱלֹהִים חֹרֵב׃ | 19.5. And he lay down and slept under a broom-tree; and, behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him: ‘Arise and eat.’" 19.6. And he looked, and, behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the hot stones, and a cruse of water. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again." 19.7. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said: ‘Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.’" 19.8. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meal forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God." |
|
2. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 50.7-50.9, 53.9 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 50.7. וַאדֹנָי יְהוִה יַעֲזָר־לִי עַל־כֵּן לֹא נִכְלָמְתִּי עַל־כֵּן שַׂמְתִּי פָנַי כַּחַלָּמִישׁ וָאֵדַע כִּי־לֹא אֵבוֹשׁ׃ 50.8. קָרוֹב מַצְדִּיקִי מִי־יָרִיב אִתִּי נַעַמְדָה יָּחַד מִי־בַעַל מִשְׁפָּטִי יִגַּשׁ אֵלָי׃ 50.9. הֵן אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה יַעֲזָר־לִי מִי־הוּא יַרְשִׁיעֵנִי הֵן כֻּלָּם כַּבֶּגֶד יִבְלוּ עָשׁ יֹאכְלֵם׃ 53.9. וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־רְשָׁעִים קִבְרוֹ וְאֶת־עָשִׁיר בְּמֹתָיו עַל לֹא־חָמָס עָשָׂה וְלֹא מִרְמָה בְּפִיו׃ | 50.7. For the Lord GOD will help me; Therefore have I not been confounded; Therefore have I set my face like a flint, And I know that I shall not be ashamed." 50.8. He is near that justifieth me; Who will contend with me? let us stand up together; Who is mine adversary? let him come near to me." 50.9. Behold, the Lord GOD will help me; Who is he that shall condemn me? Behold, they all shall wax old as a garment, The moth shall eat them up." 53.9. And they made his grave with the wicked, And with the rich his tomb; Although he had done no violence, Neither was any deceit in his mouth.’" |
|
3. Hebrew Bible, Ezekiel, 1.3, 43.3 (6th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 1.3. הָיֹה הָיָה דְבַר־יְהוָה אֶל־יְחֶזְקֵאל בֶּן־בּוּזִי הַכֹּהֵן בְּאֶרֶץ כַּשְׂדִּים עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָר וַתְּהִי עָלָיו שָׁם יַד־יְהוָה׃ 43.3. וּכְמַרְאֵה הַמַּרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר רָאִיתִי כַּמַּרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר־רָאִיתִי בְּבֹאִי לְשַׁחֵת אֶת־הָעִיר וּמַרְאוֹת כַּמַּרְאֶה אֲשֶׁר רָאִיתִי אֶל־נְהַר־כְּבָר וָאֶפֹּל אֶל־פָּנָי׃ | 1.3. the word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him." 43.3. And the appearance of the vision which I saw was like the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face." |
|
4. Plato, Phaedrus, None (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
|
5. New Testament, 1 John, 3.8, 4.2-4.3 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.8. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. To this end the Son of God was revealed, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 4.2. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God 4.3. and every spirit who doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already. |
|
6. New Testament, 1 Peter, 5.8 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 5.8. Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. |
|
7. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 1.31, 3.16, 6.15, 10.12-10.13, 15.5, 15.53 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.31. that, according as it iswritten, "He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord. 3.16. Don't you know that you are a temple of God, and that God'sSpirit lives in you? 6.15. Don't you know that your bodies aremembers of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and makethem members of a prostitute? May it never be! 10.12. Thereforelet him who thinks he stands be careful that he doesn't fall. 10.13. No temptation has taken you but such as man can bear. God isfaithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able,but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you maybe able to endure it. 15.5. and that heappeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 15.53. For thiscorruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put onimmortality. |
|
8. New Testament, 1 Timothy, 6.20 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 6.20. Timothy, guard that which is committed to you, turning away from the empty chatter and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called; |
|
9. New Testament, 2 Corinthians, 3.3-3.9, 5.10, 12.9 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
|
10. New Testament, James, 1.13 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.13. Let no man say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God," for God can't be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. |
|
11. New Testament, Ephesians, 6.12 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 6.12. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. |
|
12. New Testament, Galatians, 4.29, 5.1, 5.17, 6.8 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 4.29. But as then, he who was born according to the flesh persecutedhim who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now. 5.1. Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has madeus free, and don't be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 5.17. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and theSpirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one other, that youmay not do the things that you desire. 6.8. For hewho sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption. But hewho sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. |
|
13. New Testament, Hebrews, 2.13-2.14, 4.15 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.13. Again, "I will put my trust in him." Again, "Behold, here am I and the children whom God has given me. 2.14. Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil 4.15. For we don't have a high priest who can't be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. |
|
14. New Testament, Romans, 2.25-2.29, 7.6-7.25 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.25. For circumcision indeed profits, if you are a doer of the law, but if you are a transgressor of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 2.26. If therefore the uncircumcised keep the ordices of the law, won't his uncircumcision be accounted as circumcision? 2.27. Won't the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfills the law, judge you, who with the letter and circumcision are a transgressor of the law? 2.28. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; 2.29. but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God. 7.6. But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter. 7.7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be! However, I wouldn't have known sin, except through the law. For I wouldn't have known coveting, unless the law had said, "You shall not covet. 7.8. But sin, finding occasion through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of coveting. For apart from the law, sin is dead. 7.9. I was alive apart from the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 7.10. The commandment, which was for life, this I found to be for death; 7.11. for sin, finding occasion through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. 7.12. Therefore the law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good. 7.13. Did then that which is good become death to me? May it never be! But sin, that it might be shown to be sin, by working death to me through that which is good; that through the commandment sin might become exceeding sinful. 7.14. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin. 7.15. For I don't know what I am doing. For I don't practice what I desire to do; but what I hate, that I do. 7.16. But if what I don't desire, that I do, I consent to the law that it is good. 7.17. So now it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me. 7.18. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwells no good thing. For desire is present with me, but I don't find it doing that which is good. 7.19. For the good which I desire, I don't do; but the evil which I don't desire, that I practice. 7.20. But if what I don't desire, that I do, it is no more I that do it, but sin which dwells in me. 7.21. I find then the law, that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present. 7.22. For I delight in God's law after the inward man 7.23. but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members. 7.24. What a wretched man I am! Who will deliver me out of the body of this death? 7.25. I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! So then with the mind, I myself serve God's law, but with the flesh, the sin's law. |
|
15. New Testament, John, 3.6, 6.5-6.6, 6.63, 12.27, 17.11-17.12, 17.15 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 6.5. Jesus therefore lifting up his eyes, and seeing that a great multitude was coming to him, said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat? 6.6. This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 6.63. It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life. 12.27. Now my soul is troubled. What shall I say? 'Father, save me from this time?' But for this cause I came to this time. 17.11. I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are. 17.12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you have given me I have kept. None of them is lost, except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 17.15. I pray not that you would take them from the world, but that you would keep them from the evil one. |
|
16. New Testament, Luke, 10.25, 10.38-10.42, 11.4, 11.16, 22.40, 22.46, 24.50-24.53 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 10.25. Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 10.38. It happened as they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 10.39. She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 10.40. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, "Lord, don't you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me. 10.41. Jesus answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things 10.42. but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her. 11.4. Forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. Bring us not into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.' 11.16. Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven. 22.40. When he was at the place, he said to them, "Pray that you don't enter into temptation. 22.46. and said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation. 24.50. He led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 24.51. It happened, while he blessed them, that he withdrew from them, and was carried up into heaven. 24.52. They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy 24.53. and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. |
|
17. New Testament, Mark, 1.12-1.13, 8.11, 10.2, 12.15, 14.32, 14.36, 14.38, 15.29-15.32 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.12. Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. 1.13. He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals; and the angels ministered to him. 8.11. The Pharisees came out and began to question him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, and testing him. 10.2. Pharisees came to him testing him, and asked him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife? 12.15. Shall we give, or shall we not give?"But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it. 14.32. They came to a place which was named Gethsemane. He said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I pray. 14.36. He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Please remove this cup from me. However, not what I desire, but what you desire. 14.38. Watch and pray, that you not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 15.29. Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, "Ha! You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days 15.30. save yourself, and come down from the cross! 15.31. Likewise, also the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes said, "He saved others. He can't save himself. 15.32. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him." Those who were crucified with him insulted him. |
|
18. New Testament, Matthew, 2.13-2.15, 4.1-4.11, 5.5, 6.9-6.13, 13.37, 14.13-14.21, 16.1, 16.18, 16.27, 19.3, 22.18, 22.35, 26.26, 26.28-26.29, 26.36-26.40, 26.42, 26.45, 26.68, 26.75 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.13. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. 2.14. He arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt 2.15. and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called my son. 4.1. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 4.2. When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. 4.3. The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. 4.4. But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.' 4.5. Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple 4.6. and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge concerning you.' and, 'On their hands they will bear you up, So that you don't dash your foot against a stone.' 4.7. Jesus said to him, "Again, it is written, 'You shall not test the Lord, your God.' 4.8. Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. 4.9. He said to him, "I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me. 4.10. Then Jesus said to him, "Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.' 4.11. Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. 5.5. Blessed are the gentle, For they shall inherit the earth. 6.9. Pray like this: 'Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 6.10. Let your kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. 6.11. Give us today our daily bread. 6.12. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. 6.13. Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.' 13.37. He answered them, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man 14.13. Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. 14.14. Jesus went out, and he saw a great multitude. He had compassion on them, and healed their sick. 14.15. When evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying, "This place is deserted, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food. 14.16. But Jesus said to them, "They don't need to go away. You give them something to eat. 14.17. They told him, "We only have here five loaves and two fish. 14.18. He said, "Bring them here to me. 14.19. He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 14.20. They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces. 14.21. Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children. 16.1. The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 16.18. I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 16.27. For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to everyone according to his deeds. 19.3. Pharisees came to him, testing him, and saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason? 22.18. But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test me, you hypocrites? 22.35. One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. 26.26. As they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks for it, and broke it. He gave to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is my body. 26.28. for this is my blood of the new covet, which is poured out for many for the remission of sins. 26.29. But I tell you that I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom. 26.36. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go there and pray. 26.37. He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and severely troubled. 26.38. Then he said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here, and watch with me. 26.39. He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire. 26.40. He came to the disciples, and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What, couldn't you watch with me for one hour? 26.42. Again, a second time he went away, and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cup can't pass away from me unless I drink it, your desire be done. 26.45. Then he came to his disciples, and said to them, "Sleep on now, and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 26.68. saying, "Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who hit you? 26.75. Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said to him, "Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times." He went out and wept bitterly. |
|
19. Polycarp of Smyrna, Letter To The Philippians, 6.3, 7.1-7.2 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
20. Seneca The Younger, On Anger, 2.2.2 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
|
21. Tosefta, Megillah, 3.27 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
|
22. Irenaeus, Refutation of All Heresies, 3.3.4, 5.2.3, 5.3, 5.3.3, 5.6.2, 5.9.1-5.9.4 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 5.3. Adopting these and such like (opinions), these most marvellous Gnostics, inventors of a novel grammatical art, magnify Homer as their prophet- as one, (according to them,) who, after the mode adopted in the mysteries, announces these truths; and they mock those who are not indoctrinated into the holy Scriptures, by betraying them into such notions. They make, however, the following assertion: he who says that all things derive consistence from one, is in error; but he who says that they are of three, is in possession of the truth, and will furnish a solution of the (phonomena of the) universe. For there is, says (the Naassene), one blessed nature of the Blessed Man, of him who is above, (namely) Adam; and there is one mortal nature, that which is below; and there is one kingless generation, which is begotten above, where, he says, is Mariam the sought-for one, and Iothor the mighty sage, and Sephora the gazing one, and Moses whose generation is not in Egypt, for children were born unto him in Madian; and not even this, he says, has escaped the notice of the poets. Threefold was our partition; each obtained His meed of honour due. For, says he, it is necessary that the magnitudes be declared, and that they thus be declared by all everywhere, in order that hearing they may not hear, and seeing they may not see. Matthew 13:13 For if, he says, the magnitudes were not declared, the world could not have obtained consistence. These are the three tumid expressions (of these heretics), Caulacau, Saulasu, Saulasu . Saulasu, i.e., Adam, who is farthest above; Saulasau, that is, the mortal one below; Zeesar, that is, Jordan that flows upwards. This, he says, is the hermaphrodite man (present) in all. But those who are ignorant of him, call him Geryon with the threefold body - Geryon, i.e., as if (in the sense of) flowing from earth - but (whom) the Greeks by common consent (style) celestial horn of the moon, because he mixed and blended all things in all. For all things, he says, were made by him, and not even one thing was made without him, and what was made in him is life. John 1:3-4 This, says he, is the life, the ineffable generation of perfect men, which was not known by preceding generations. But the passage, nothing was made without him, refers to the formal world, for it was created without his instrumentality by the third and fourth (of the quaternion named above). For says he, this is the cup Condy, out of which the king, while he quaffs, draws his omens. Genesis 44:2-5 This, he says, has been discovered hid in the beauteous seeds of Benjamin. And the Greeks likewise, he says, speak of this in the following terms:- Water to the raging mouth bring; you slave, bring wine; Intoxicate and plunge me into stupor. My tankard tells me The sort I must become. This, says he, was alone sufficient for its being understood by men; (I mean) the cup of Anacreon declaring, (albeit) mutely, an ineffable mystery. For dumb, says he, is Anacreon's cup; and (yet) Anacreon affirms that it speaks to himself, in language mute, as to what sort he must become - that is spiritual, not carnal - if he shall listen in silence to the concealed mystery. And this is the water in those fair nuptials which Jesus changing made into wine. This, he says, is the mighty and true beginning of miracles which Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee, and (thus) manifested the kingdom of heaven. This, says he, is the kingdom of heaven that reposes within us as a treasure, as leaven hid in the three measures of meal. This is, he says, the great and ineffable mystery of the Samothracians, which it is allowable, he says, for us only who are initiated to know. For the Samothracians expressly hand down, in the mysteries that are celebrated among them, that (same) Adam as the primal man. And habitually there stand in the temple of the Samothracians two images of naked men, having both hands stretched aloft towards heaven, and their pudenda erecta, as with the statue of Mercury on Mount Cyllene. And the aforesaid images are figures of the primal man, and of that spiritual one that is born again, in every respect of the same substance with that man. This, he says, is what is spoken by the Saviour: If you do not drink my blood, and eat my flesh, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven; but even though, He says, you drink of the cup which I drink of, whither I go, you cannot enter there. For He says He was aware of what sort of nature each of His disciples was, and that there was a necessity that each of them should attain unto His own peculiar nature. For He says He chose twelve disciples from the twelve tribes, and spoke by them to each tribe. On this account, He says, the preachings of the twelve disciples neither did all hear, nor, if they heard, could they receive. For the things that are not according to nature, are with them contrary to nature. This, he says, the Thracians who dwell around Haemus, and the Phrygians similarly with the Thracians, denominate Corybas, because, (though) deriving the beginning of his descent from the head above and from the unportrayed brain, and (though) permeating all the principles of the existing state of things, (yet) we do not perceive how and in what manner he comes down. This, says he, is what is spoken: We have heard his voice, no doubt, but we have not seen his shape. John 5:37 For the voice of him that is set apart and portrayed is heard; but (his) shape, which descends from above from the unportrayed one - what sort it is, nobody knows. It resides, however, in an earthly mould, yet no one recognises it. This, he says, is the god that inhabites the flood, according to the Psalter, and who speaks and cries from many waters. The many waters, he says, are the diversified generation of mortal men, from which (generation) he cries and vociferates to the unportrayed man, saying, Preserve my only-begotten from the lions. In reply to him, it has, says he, been declared, Israel, you are my child: fear not; even though you pass through rivers, they shall not drown you; even though you pass through fire, it shall not scorch you. Isaiah 49:15 By rivers he means, says he, the moist substance of generation, and by fire the impulsive principle and desire for generation. You are mine; fear not. And again, he says, If a mother forget her children, so as not to have pity on them and give them food, I also will forget you. Adam, he says, speaks to his own men: But even though a woman forget these things, yet I will not forget you. I have painted you on my hands. In regard, however, of his ascension, that is his regeneration, that he may become spiritual, not carnal, the Scripture, he says, speaks (thus): Open the gates, you who are your rulers; and be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in, that is a wonder of wonders. For who, he says, is this King of glory? A worm, and not a man; a reproach of man, and an outcast of the people; himself is the King of glory, and powerful in war. And by war he means the war that is in the body, because its frame has been made out of hostile elements; as it has been written, he says, Remember the conflict that exists in the body. Jacob, he says, saw this entrance and this gate in his journey into Mesopotamia, that is, when from a child he was now becoming a youth and a man; that is, (the entrance and gate) were made known unto him as he journeyed into Mesopotamia. But Mesopotamia, he says, is the current of the great ocean flowing from the midst of the Perfect Man; and he was astonished at the celestial gate, exclaiming, How terrible is this place! It is nought else than the house of God, and this (is) the gate of heaven. On account of this, he says, Jesus uses the words, I am the true gate. John 10:9; Matthew 7:13 Now he who makes these statements is, he says, the Perfect Man that is imaged from the unportrayable one from above. The Perfect Man therefore cannot, he says, be saved, unless, entering in through this gate, he be born again. But this very one the Phrygians, he says, call also Papa, because he tranquillized all things which, prior to his manifestation, were confusedly and dissotly moved. For the name, he says, of Papa belongs simultaneously to all creatures -celestial, and terrestrial, and infernal - who exclaim, Cause to cease, cause to cease the discord of the world, and make peace for those that are afar off, that is, for material and earthly beings; and peace for those that are near, Ephesians 2:17 that is, for perfect men that are spiritual and endued with reason. But the Phrygians denominate this same also corpse- buried in the body, as it were, in a mausoleum and tomb. This, he says, is what has been declared, You are whited sepulchres, full, he says, of dead men's bones within, Matthew 23:27 because there is not in you the living man. And again he exclaims, The dead shall start forth from the graves, Matthew 27:52-53 that is, from the earthly bodies, being born again spiritual, not carnal. For this, he says, is the Resurrection that takes place through the gate of heaven, through which, he says, all those that do not enter remain dead. These same Phrygians, however, he says, affirm again that this very (man), as a consequence of the change, (becomes) a god. For, he says, he becomes a god when, having risen from the dead, he will enter into heaven through a gate of this kind. Paul the apostle, he says, knew of this gate, partially opening it in a mystery, and stating that he was caught up by an angel, and ascended as far as the second and third heaven into paradise itself; and that he beheld sights and heard unspeakable words which it would not be possible for man to declare. 2 Corinthians 12:2 These are, he says, what are by all called the secret mysteries, which (also we speak), not in words taught of human wisdom, but in those taught of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. 1 Corinthians 2:13-14 And these are, he says, the ineffable mysteries of the Spirit, which we alone are acquainted with. Concerning these, he says, the Saviour has declared, No one can come unto me, except my heavenly Father draw some one unto me. John 6:44 For it is very difficult, he says, to accept and receive this great and ineffable mystery. And again, it is said, the Saviour has declared, Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 7:21 And it is necessary that they who perform this (will), not hear it merely, should enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again, he says, the Saviour has declared, The publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of heaven before you. Matthew 21:31 For the publicans, he says, are those who receive the revenues of all things; but we, he says, are the publicans, unto whom the ends of the ages have come. For the ends, he says, are the seeds scattered from the unportrayable one upon the world, through which the whole cosmical system is completed; for through these also it began to exist. And this, he says, is what has been declared: The sower went forth to sow. And some fell by the wayside, and was trodden down; and some on the rocky places, and sprang up, he says, and on account of its having no depth (of soil), it withered and died; and some, he says, fell on fair and good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty fold. Who has ears, he says, to hear, let him hear. The meaning of this, he says, is as follows, that none becomes a hearer of these mysteries, unless only the perfect Gnostics. This, he says, is the fair and good land which Moses speaks of: I will bring you into a fair and good land, into a land flowing with milk and honey. This, he says, is the honey and the milk, by tasting which those that are perfect become kingless, and share in the Pleroma. This, he says, is the Pleroma, through which all existent things that are produced have from the ingenerable one been both produced and completed. And this same (one) is styled also by the Phrygians unfruitful. For he is unfruitful when he is carnal, and causes the desire of the flesh. This, he says, is what is spoken: Every tree not producing good fruit, is cut down and cast into the fire. For these fruits, he says, are only rational living men, who enter in through the third gate. They say, forsooth, You devour the dead, and make the living; (but) if you eat the living, what will you do? They assert, however, that the living are rational faculties and minds, and men - pearls of that unportrayable one cast before the creature below. This, he says, is what (Jesus) asserts: Throw not that which is holy unto the dogs, nor pearls unto the swine. Now they allege that the work of swine and dogs is the intercourse of the woman with a man. And the Phrygians, he says, call this very one goat-herd (Aipolis), not because, he says, he is accustomed to feed the goats female and male, as the natural (men) use the name, but because, he says, he is Aipolis- that is, always ranging over - who both revolves and carries around the entire cosmical system by his revolutionary motion. For the word Polein signifies to turn and change things; whence, he says, they all call the twos centre of the heaven poles (Poloi). And the poet says:- What sea-born sinless sage comes hither, Undying Egyptian Proteus? He is not undone, he says, but revolves as it were, and goes round himself. Moreover, also, cities in which we dwell, because we turn and go round in them, are denominated Poleis. In this manner, he says, the Phrygians call this one Aipolis, inasmuch as he everywhere ceaselessly turns all things, and changes them into their own peculiar (functions). And the Phrygians style him, he says, very fruitful likewise, because, says he, more numerous are the children of the desolate one, than those of her which has an husband; that is, things by being born again become immortal and abide for ever in great numbers, even though the things that are produced may be few; whereas things carnal, he says, are all corruptible, even though very many things (of this type) are produced. For this reason, he says, Rachel wept for her children, and would not, says (the prophet), be comforted; sorrowing for them, for she knew, says he, that they are not. But Jeremiah likewise utters lamentation for Jerusalem below, not the city in Phoenicia, but the corruptible generation below. For Jeremiah likewise, he says, was aware of the Perfect Man, of him that is born again - of water and the Spirit not carnal. At least Jeremiah himself remarked: He is a man, and who shall know him? In this manner, (the Naassene) says, the knowledge of the Perfect Man is exceedingly profound, and difficult of comprehension. For, he says, the beginning of perfection is a knowledge of man, whereas knowledge of God is absolute perfection. The Phrygians, however, assert, he says, that he is likewise a green ear of grain reaped. And after the Phrygians, the Athenians, while initiating people into the Eleusinian rites, likewise display to those who are being admitted to the highest grade at these mysteries, the mighty, and marvellous, and most perfect secret suitable for one initiated into the highest mystic truths: (I allude to) an ear of grain in silence reaped. But this ear of grain is also (considered) among the Athenians to constitute the perfect enormous illumination (that has descended) from the unportrayable one, just as the Hierophant himself (declares); not, indeed, emasculated like Attis, but made a eunuch by means of hemlock, and despising all carnal generation. (Now) by night in Eleusis, beneath a huge fire, (the Celebrant) enacting the great and secret mysteries, vociferates and cries aloud, saying, August Brimo has brought forth a consecrated son, Brimus; that is, a potent (mother has been delivered of) a potent child. But revered, he says, is the generation that is spiritual, heavenly, from above, and potent is he that is so born. For the mystery is called Eleusin and Anactorium. Eleusin, because, he says, we who are spiritual come flowing down from Adam above; for the word eleusesthai is, he says, of the same import with the expression to come. But Anactorium is of the same import with the expression to ascend upwards. This, he says, is what they affirm who have been initiated in the mysteries of the Eleusinians. It is, however, a regulation of law, that those who have been admitted into the lesser should again be initiated into the Great Mysteries. For greater destinies obtain greater portions. But the inferior mysteries, he says, are those of Proserpine below; in regard of which mysteries, and the path which leads there, which is wide and spacious, and conducts those that are perishing to Proserpine, the poet likewise says:- But under her a fearful path extends, Hollow miry, yet best guide to Highly-honoured Aphrodite's lovely grove. These, he says, are the inferior mysteries, those appertaining to carnal generation. Now, those men who are initiated into these inferior (mysteries) ought to pause, and (then) be admitted into the great (and) heavenly (ones). For they, he says, who obtain their shares (in this mystery), receive greater portions. For this, he says, is the gate of heaven; and this a house of God, where the Good Deity dwells alone. And into this (gate), he says, no unclean person shall enter, nor one that is natural or carnal; but it is reserved for the spiritual only. And those who come hither ought to cast off their garments, and become all of them bridegrooms, emasculated through the virginal spirit. For this is the virgin who carries in her womb and conceives and brings forth a son, not animal, not corporeal, but blessed for evermore. Concerning these, it is said, the Saviour has expressly declared that straight and narrow is the way that leads unto life, and few there are that enter upon it; whereas broad and spacious is the way that leads unto destruction, and many there are that pass through it. |
|
23. Origen, Commentary On Matthew, 10.2, 10.8, 12.12 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 10.2. After these things He answered and said to them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man. Matthew 13:37 Though we have already, in previous sections, according to our ability discussed these matters, none the less shall we now say what is in harmony with them, even if there is reasonable ground for another explanation. And consider now, if in addition to what we have already recounted, you can otherwise take the good seed to be the children of the kingdom, because whatsoever good things are sown in the human soul, these are the offspring of the kingdom of God and have been sown by God the Word who was in the beginning with God, John 1:2 so that wholesome words about anything are children of the kingdom. But while men are asleep who do not act according to the command of Jesus, Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation, Matthew 26:41 the devil on the watch sows what are called tares - that is, evil opinions - over and among what are called by some natural conceptions, even the good seeds which are from the Word. And according to this the whole world might be called a field, and not the Church of God only, for in the whole world the Son of man sowed the good seed, but the wicked one tares - that is, evil words - which, springing from wickedness, are children of the evil one. And at the end of things, which is called the consummation of the age, there will of necessity be a harvest, in order that the angels of God who have been appointed for this work may gather up the bad opinions that have grown upon the soul, and overturning them may give them over to fire which is said to burn, that they may be consumed. And so the angels and servants of the Word will gather from all the kingdom of Christ all things that cause a stumbling-block to souls and reasonings that create iniquity, which they will scatter and cast into the burning furnace of fire. Then those who become conscious that they have received the seeds of the evil one in themselves, because of their having been asleep, shall wail and, as it were, be angry against themselves; for this is the gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:42 Wherefore, also, in the Psalms it is said, They gnashed upon me with their teeth. Then above all shall the righteous shine, no longer differently as at the first, but all as one sun in the kingdom of their Father. Matthew 13:43 Then, as if to indicate that there was indeed a hidden meaning, perhaps, in all that is concerned with the explanation of the parable, perhaps most of all in the saying, Then shall the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, the Saviour adds, He that has ears to hear, let him hear, Matthew 13:43 thereby teaching those who think that in the exposition, the parable has been set forth with such perfect clearness that it can be understood by the vulgar, that even the things connected with the interpretation of the parable stand in need of explanation. 10.8. Now, having collected these things out of dissertations about stones, I say that the Saviour with a knowledge of the difference of pearls, of which some are in kind goodly and others worthless, said, The kingdom of heaven is like a man that is a merchant seeking goodly pearls; Matthew 13:45 for, if some of the pearls had not been worthless, it would not have been said, to a man seeking goodly pearls. Now among the words of all kinds which profess to announce truth, and among those who report them, he seeks pearls. And let the prophets be, so to speak, the mussels which conceive the dew of heaven, and become pregt with the word of truth from heaven, the goodly pearls which, according to the phrase here set forth, the merchantman seeks. And the leader of the pearls, on the finding of which the rest are found with it, is the very costly pearl, the Christ of God, the Word which is superior to the precious letters and thoughts in the law and the prophets, on the finding of which also all the rest are easily taken. And the Saviour holds converse with all the disciples, as merchant-men who are not only seeking the goodly pearls but who have found them and possess them, when He says, Cast not your pearls before swine. Matthew 7:6 Now it is manifest that these things were said to the disciples from that which is prefixed to His words, And seeing the multitudes He went up into the mountain, and when He had sat down His disciples came unto Him; Matthew 5:1 for, in the course of those words, He said, Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine. Matthew 7:6 Perhaps, then, he is not a disciple of Christ, who does not possess pearls or the very costly pearl, the pearls, I mean, which are goodly; not the cloudy, nor the darkened, such as the words of the heterodox, which are brought forth not at the sunrise, but at the sunset or in the north, if it is necessary to take also into the comparison those things on account of which we found a difference in the pearls which are produced in different places. And perhaps the muddy words and the heresies which are bound up with works of the flesh, are the darkened pearls, and those which are produced in the marshes, not goodly pearls. 12.12. But when we have understood how each of the sins through which there is a way to Hades is a gate of Hades, we shall apprehend that the soul, which has spot or wrinkle or any such thing, Ephesians 5:27 and because of wickedness is neither holy nor blameless, is neither a rock upon which Christ builds, nor a church, nor part of a church which Christ builds upon the rock. But if any one wishes to put us to shame in regard to these things because of the great majority of those of the church who are thought to believe, it must be said to him not only Many are called, but few chosen; Matthew 22:14 but also that which was said by the Saviour to those who come to Him, as it is recorded in Luke in these words, Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in through the narrow door and shall not be able; Luke 13:24 and also that which is written in the Gospel of Matthew thus, For narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads unto life, and few be they that find it. Matthew 7:14 Now, if you attend to the saying, Many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in and shall not be able, Luke 13:24 you will understand that this refers to those who boast that they are of the church, but live weakly and contrary to the word. of those, then, who seek to enter in, those who are not able to enter will not be able to do so, because the gates of Hades prevail against them; but in the case of those against whom the gates of Hades will not prevail, those seeking to enter in will be strong, being able to do all things, in Christ Jesus, who strengthens them. Philippians 4:13 And in like manner each one of those who are the authors of any evil opinion has become the architect of a certain gate of Hades; but those who co-operate with the teaching of the architect of such things are servants and stewards, who are the bond-servants of the evil doctrine which goes to build up impiety. And though the gates of Hades are many and almost innumerable, no gate of Hades will prevail against the rock or against the church which Christ builds upon it. Notwithstanding, these gates have a certain power by which they gain the mastery over some who do not resist and strive against them; but they are overcome by others who, because they do not turn aside from Him who said, I am the door, John 10:9 have rased from their soul all the gates of Hades. And this also we must know that as the gates of cities have each their own names, in the same way the gates of Hades might be named after the species of sins; so that one gate of Hades is called fornication, through which fornicators go, and another denial, through which the deniers of God go down into Hades. And likewise already each of the heterodox and of those who have begotten any knowledge which is falsely so called, 1 Timothy 6:20 has built a gate of Hades - Marcion one gate, and Basilides another, and Valentinus another. |
|
24. Origen, On Prayer, 29.9, 29.11 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
|
25. Origen, On First Principles, 4.4.4 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
|
26. Plotinus, Enneads, 2.3, 2.3.1, 3.1.5-3.1.6 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
|
27. Augustine, The City of God, 14.9 (4th cent. CE - 5th cent. CE)
| 14.9. But so far as regards this question of mental perturbations, we have answered these philosophers in the ninth book of this work, showing that it is rather a verbal than a real dispute, and that they seek contention rather than truth. Among ourselves, according to the sacred Scriptures and sound doctrine, the citizens of the holy city of God, who live according to God in the pilgrimage of this life, both fear and desire, and grieve and rejoice. And because their love is rightly placed, all these affections of theirs are right. They fear eternal punishment, they desire eternal life; they grieve because they themselves groan within themselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of their body; Romans 8:23 they rejoice in hope, because there shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 1 Corinthians 15:54 In like manner they fear to sin, they desire to persevere; they grieve in sin, they rejoice in good works. They fear to sin, because they hear that because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Matthew 24:12 They desire to persevere, because they hear that it is written, He that endures to the end shall be saved. Matthew 10:22 They grieve for sin, hearing that If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8 They rejoice in good works, because they hear that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 In like manner, according as they are strong or weak, they fear or desire to be tempted, grieve or rejoice in temptation. They fear to be tempted, because they hear the injunction, If a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Galatians 6:l They desire to be tempted, because they hear one of the heroes of the city of God saying, Examine me, O Lord, and tempt me: try my reins and my heart. They grieve in temptations, because they see Peter weeping; Matthew 26:75 they rejoice in temptations, because they hear James saying, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various temptations. James 1:2 And not only on their own account do they experience these emotions, but also on account of those whose deliverance they desire and whose perdition they fear, and whose loss or salvation affects them with grief or with joy. For if we who have come into the Church from among the Gentiles may suitably instance that noble and mighty hero who glories in his infirmities, the teacher (doctor) of the nations in faith and truth, who also labored more than all his fellow apostles, and instructed the tribes of God's people by his epistles, which edified not only those of his own time, but all those who were to be gathered in - that hero, I say, and athlete of Christ, instructed by Him, anointed of His Spirit, crucified with Him, glorious in Him, lawfully maintaining a great conflict on the theatre of this world, and being made a spectacle to angels and men, 1 Corinthians 4:9 and pressing onwards for the prize of his high calling, Philippians 3:14 - very joyfully do we with the eyes of faith behold him rejoicing with them that rejoice, and weeping with them that weep; Romans 12:15 though hampered by fightings without and fears within; 2 Corinthians 7:5 desiring to depart and to be with Christ; Philippians 1:23 longing to see the Romans, that he might have some fruit among them as among other Gentiles; Romans 1:11-13 being jealous over the Corinthians, and fearing in that jealousy lest their minds should be corrupted from the chastity that is in Christ; 2 Corinthians 11:1-3 having great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart for the Israelites, Romans 9:2 because they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God; Romans 10:3 and expressing not only his sorrow, but bitter lamentation over some who had formally sinned and had not repented of their uncleanness and fornications. 2 Corinthians 12:21 If these emotions and affections, arising as they do from the love of what is good and from a holy charity, are to be called vices, then let us allow these emotions which are truly vices to pass under the name of virtues. But since these affections, when they are exercised in a becoming way, follow the guidance of right reason, who will dare to say that they are diseases or vicious passions? Wherefore even the Lord Himself, when He condescended to lead a human life in the form of a slave, had no sin whatever, and yet exercised these emotions where He judged they should be exercised. For as there was in Him a true human body and a true human soul, so was there also a true human emotion. When, therefore, we read in the Gospel that the hard-heartedness of the Jews moved Him to sorrowful indignation, Mark 3:5 that He said, I am glad for your sakes, to the intent you may believe, John 11:15 that when about to raise Lazarus He even shed tears, John 11:35 that He earnestly desired to eat the passover with His disciples, Luke 22:15 that as His passion drew near His soul was sorrowful, Matthew 26:38 these emotions are certainly not falsely ascribed to Him. But as He became man when it pleased Him, so, in the grace of His definite purpose, when it pleased Him He experienced those emotions in His human soul. But we must further make the admission, that even when these affections are well regulated, and according to God's will, they are peculiar to this life, not to that future life we look for, and that often we yield to them against our will. And thus sometimes we weep in spite of ourselves, being carried beyond ourselves, not indeed by culpable desire; but by praiseworthy charity. In us, therefore, these affections arise from human infirmity; but it was not so with the Lord Jesus, for even His infirmity was the consequence of His power. But so long as we wear the infirmity of this life, we are rather worse men than better if we have none of these emotions at all. For the apostle vituperated and abominated some who, as he said, were without natural affection. Romans 1:31 The sacred Psalmist also found fault with those of whom he said, I looked for some to lament with me, and there was none. For to be quite free from pain while we are in this place of misery is only purchased, as one of this world's literati perceived and remarked, at the price of blunted sensibilities both of mind and body. And therefore that which the Greeks call ἀπαθεια, and what the Latins would call, if their language would allow them, impassibilitas, if it be taken to mean an impassibility of spirit and not of body, or, in other words, a freedom from those emotions which are contrary to reason and disturb the mind, then it is obviously a good and most desirable quality, but it is not one which is attainable in this life. For the words of the apostle are the confession, not of the common herd, but of the eminently pious, just, and holy men: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8 When there shall be no sin in a man, then there shall be this απάθεια . At present it is enough if we live without crime; and he who thinks he lives without sin puts aside not sin, but pardon. And if that is to be called apathy, where the mind is the subject of no emotion, then who would not consider this insensibility to be worse than all vices? It may, indeed, reasonably be maintained that the perfect blessedness we hope for shall be free from all sting of fear or sadness; but who that is not quite lost to truth would say that neither love nor joy shall be experienced there? But if by apathy a condition be meant in which no fear terrifies nor any pain annoys, we must in this life renounce such a state if we would live according to God's will, but may hope to enjoy it in that blessedness which is promised as our eternal condition. For that fear of which the Apostle John says, There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love, 1 John 4:18 - that fear is not of the same kind as the Apostle Paul felt lest the Corinthians should be seduced by the subtlety of the serpent; for love is susceptible of this fear, yea, love alone is capable of it. But the fear which is not in love is of that kind of which Paul himself says, For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. Romans 8:15 But as for that clean fear which endures for ever, if it is to exist in the world to come (and how else can it be said to endure for ever?), it is not a fear deterring us from evil which may happen, but preserving us in the good which cannot be lost. For where the love of acquired good is unchangeable, there certainly the fear that avoids evil is, if I may say so, free from anxiety. For under the name of clean fear David signifies that will by which we shall necessarily shrink from sin, and guard against it, not with the anxiety of weakness, which fears that we may strongly sin, but with the tranquillity of perfect love. Or if no kind of fear at all shall exist in that most imperturbable security of perpetual and blissful delights, then the expression, The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever, must be taken in the same sense as that other, The patience of the poor shall not perish forever. For patience, which is necessary only where ills are to be borne, shall not be eternal, but that which patience leads us to will be eternal. So perhaps this clean fear is said to endure for ever, because that to which fear leads shall endure. And since this is so - since we must live a good life in order to attain to a blessed life, a good life has all these affections right, a bad life has them wrong. But in the blessed life eternal there will be love and joy, not only right, but also assured; but fear and grief there will be none. Whence it already appears in some sort what manner of persons the citizens of the city of God must be in this their pilgrimage, who live after the spirit, not after the flesh - that is to say, according to God, not according to man - and what manner of persons they shall be also in that immortality whither they are journeying. And the city or society of the wicked, who live not according to God, but according to man, and who accept the doctrines of men or devils in the worship of a false and contempt of the true divinity, is shaken with those wicked emotions as by diseases and disturbances. And if there be some of its citizens who seem to restrain and, as it were, temper those passions, they are so elated with ungodly pride, that their disease is as much greater as their pain is less. And if some, with a vanity monstrous in proportion to its rarity, have become enamored of themselves because they can be stimulated and excited by no emotion, moved or bent by no affection, such persons rather lose all humanity than obtain true tranquillity. For a thing is not necessarily right because it is inflexible, nor healthy because it is insensible. |
|
28. Basil of Caesarea, Letters, 261 (4th cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
|
29. Basil of Caesarea, Letters, 261 (4th cent. CE - 4th cent. CE)
|
30. Nemesius, On The Nature of Man, 36-37, 35
|
