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 Occasion of the Epistle.
Since I see thee, most excellent Diognetus, exceedingly desirous to learn the
mode of worshipping God prevalent among the Christians, and inquiring very
carefully and earnestly concerning them, what God they trust in, and what form
of religion they observe,
so as all to look down upon the world itself, and despise death, while they
neither esteem those to be gods that are reckoned such by the Greeks, nor hold
to the superstition of the Jews; and what is the affection which they cherish
among themselves; and why, in fine, this new kind or practice [of piety] has
only now entered into the world,
and not long ago; I cordially welcome this thy desire, and I implore God, who
enables us both to speak and to hear, to grant to me so to speak, that, above
all, I may hear you have been edified,
and to you so to hear, that I who speak may have no cause of regret for having
done so.
The Vanity of Idols.
Come, then, after you have freed
yourself from all prejudices possessing your mind, and laid aside what you have
been accustomed to, as something apt to deceive
you, and being made, as if from the beginning, a new man, inasmuch as, according
to your own confession, you are to be the hearer of a new [system of] doctrine;
come and contemplate, not with your eyes only, but with your understanding, the
substance and the form
of those whom ye declare and deem to be gods. Is not one of them a stone similar
to that on which we tread? Is
not a second brass, in no way superior to those vessels which are constructed
for our ordinary use? Is not a third wood, and that already rotten? Is not a
fourth silver, which needs a man to watch it, lest it be stolen? Is not a fifth
iron, consumed by rust? Is not a sixth earthenware, in no degree more valuable
than that which is formed for the humblest purposes? Are not all these of
corruptible matter? Are they not fabricated by means of iron and fire? Did not
the sculptor fashion one of them, the brazier a second, the silversmith a third,
and the potter a fourth? Was not every one of them, before they were formed by
the arts of these [workmen] into the shape of these [gods], each in its
own way subject to change? Would not those things which are now vessels, formed
of the same materials, become like to such, if they met with the same
artificers? Might not these, which are now worshipped by you, again be made by
men vessels similar to others? Are they not all deaf? Are they not blind? Are
they not without life? Are they not destitute of feeling? Are they not incapable
of motion? Are they not all liable to rot? Are they not all corruptible? These
things ye call gods; these ye serve; these ye worship; and ye become altogether
like to them. For this reason ye hate the Christians, because they do not deem
these to be gods. But do not ye yourselves, who now think and suppose
[such to be gods], much more cast contempt upon them than they [the Christians
do]? Do ye notmuch more mock and insult them, when ye worship those that are
made of stone and earthenware, without appointing any persons to guard them; but
those made of silver and gold ye shut up by night, and appoint watchers to look
after them by day, lest they be stolen? And by those gifts which ye mean to
present to them, do ye not, if they are possessed of sense, rather punish [than
honour] them? But if, on the other hand, they are destitute of sense, ye convict
them of this fact, while ye worship them with blood and the smoke of sacrifices.
Let any one of you suffer such indignities!
Let any one of you endure to have such things done to himself! But not a single
human being will, unless compelled to it, endure such treatment, since he is
endowed with sense and reason. A stone, however, readily bears it, seeing it is
insensible. Certainly you do not show [by your
conduct] that he [your God] is possessed of sense. And as to the fact that
Christians are not accustomed to serve such gods, I might easily find many other
things to say; but if even what has been said does not seem to any one
sufficient, I deem it idle to say anything further.
Superstitions of the Jews.
And next, I imagine that you are most desirous of hearing something on this
point, that the Christians do not observe the same forms of divine worship as do
the Jews. The Jews, then, if they abstain from the kind of service above
described, and deem it proper to worship one God as being Lord of all, [are
right]; but if they offer Him worship in the way which we have described, they
greatly err. For while the Gentiles, by offering such things to those that are
destitute of sense and hearing, furnish an example of madness; they, on the
other hand by thinking to offer these things to God as if He needed them, might
justly reckon it rather an act of folly than of divine worship. For He that made
heaven and earth, and all that is therein, and gives to us all the things of
which we stand in need, certainly requires none of those things which He Himself
bestows on such as think of furnishing them to Him. But those who imagine that,
by means of blood, and the smoke of sacrifices and burnt-offerings, they offer
sacrifices [acceptable] to Him, and that by such honours they show Him
respect,-these, by
supposing that they can give anything to Him who stands in need of nothing,
appear to me in no respect to differ from those who studiously confer the same
honour on things destitute of sense, and which therefore are unable to enjoy
such honours.
The Other Observances of the Jews.
But as to their scrupulosity concerning meats, and their superstition as
respects the Sabbaths, and their boasting about circumcision, and their fancies
about fasting and the new moons, which are utterly ridiculous and unworthy of
notice,-I do not
think that you require to learn anything from me. For, to accept some of those
things which have been formed by God for the use of men as properly formed, and
to reject others as useless and redundant,-how can this be lawful? And to speak
falsely of God, as if He forbade us to do what is good on the Sabbath-days,-how
is not this impious? And to glory in the circumcision
of the flesh as a proof of election, and as if, on account of it, they were
specially beloved by God,-how is it not a subject of ridicule? And as to their
observing months and days,
as if waiting upon
the stars and the moon, and their distributing,
according to their own tendencies, the appointments of God, and the vicissitudes
of the seasons, some for festivities,
and others for mourning,-who would deem this a part of divine worship, and not
much rather a manifestation of folly? I suppose, then, you are sufficiently
convinced that the Christians properly abstain from the vanity and error common
[to both Jews and Gentiles], and from the busy-body spirit and vain boasting of
the Jews; but you must not hope to learn the mystery of their peculiar mode of
worshipping God from any mortal.
The Manners of the Christians.
For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor
language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of
their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked
out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been
devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like
some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But,
inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of
them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to
clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their
wonderful and confessedly striking
method of life. They dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourners. As
citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if
foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every
land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they
beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring.
They have a common table, but not a common bed.
They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh.
They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven.
They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their
lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and
condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life.
They are poor, yet make many rich;
they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and
yet in their very dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are
justified; they are reviled, and bless;
they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour; they do good, yet are
punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if quickened into life;
they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are persecuted by the Greeks;
yet those who hate them are unable to assign any reason for their hatred.
The Relation of Christians to the World.
To sum up all in one word-what the soul is in the body, that are Christians
in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and
Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in
the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not
of the world.
The invisible soul is guarded by the visible body, and Christians are known
indeed to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible. The flesh
hates the soul, and wars against it,
though itself suffering no injury, because it is prevented from enjoying
pleasures; the world also hates the Christians, though in nowise injured,
because they abjure pleasures. The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and
[loves also] the members; Christians likewise love those that hate them. The
soul is imprisoned in the body, yet preserves
that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison, and yet
they are the preservers
of the world. The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians
dwell as sojourners in corruptible [bodies], looking for an incorruptible
dwelling in the heavens. The soul, when but ill-provided with food and drink,
becomes better; in like manner, the Christians, though subjected day by day to
punishment, increase the more in number.
God has assigned them this illustrious position, which it were unlawful for them
to forsake.
The Manifestation of Christ.
For, as I said, this was no mere earthly invention which was delivered to
them, nor is it a mere human system of opinion, which they judge it right to
preserve so carefully, nor has a dispensation of mere human mysteries been
committed to them, but truly God Himself, who is almighty, the Creator of all
things, and invisible, has sent from heaven, and placed among men, [Him who is]
the truth, and the holy and incomprehensible Word, and has firmly established
Him in their hearts. He did not, as one might have imagined, send to men any
servant, or angel, or ruler, or any one of those who bear sway over earthly
things, or one of those to whom the government of things in the heavens has been
entrusted, but the very Creator and Fashioner of all things-by whom He made the
heavens-by whom he enclosed the sea within its proper bounds-whose ordinances
all the stars
faithfully observe-from whom the sun
has received the measure of his daily course to be observed
-whom the moon obeys, being commanded to shine in the night, and whom the stars
also obey, following the moon in her course; by whom all things have been
arranged, and placed within their proper limits, and to whom all are subject-the
heavens and the things that are therein, the earth and the things that are
therein, the sea and the things that are therein-fire, air, and the abyss-the
things which are in the heights, the things which are in the depths, and the
things which lie between. This [messenger] He sent to them. Was it then, as one
might conceive, for the purpose of exercising tyranny, or of inspiring fear and
terror? By no means, but under the influence of clemency and meekness. As a king
sends his son, who is also a king, so sent He Him; as God
He sent Him; as to men He sent Him; as a Saviour He sent Him, and as seeking to
persuade, not to compel us; for violence has no place in the character of God.
As calling us He sent Him, not as vengefully pursuing us; as loving us He sent
Him, not as judging us. For He will yet send Him to judge us, and who shall
endure His appearing?
... Do you not see them exposed to wild beasts, that they may be persuaded to
deny the Lord, and yet not overcome? Do you not see that the more of them are
punished, the greater becomes the number of the rest? This does not seem to be
the work of man: this is the power of God; these are the evidences of His
manifestation.
The Miserable State of Men Before the Coming of the Word.
For, who of men at all understood before His coming what God is? Do you
accept of the vain and silly doctrines of those who are deemed trustworthy
philosophers? of whom some said that fire was God, calling that God to which
they themselves were by and by to come; and some water; and others some other of
the elements formed by God. But if any one of these theories be worthy of
approbation, every one of the rest of created things might also be declared to
be God. But such declarations are simply the startling and erroneous utterances
of deceivers;
and no man has either seen Him, or made Him known,
but He has revealed Himself. And He has manifested Himself through faith, to
which alone it is given to behold God. For God, the Lord and Fashioner of all
things, who made all things, and assigned them their several positions, proved
Himself not merely a friend of mankind, but also long-suffering [in His dealings
with them.] Yea, He was always of such a character, and still is, and will ever
be, kind and good, and free from wrath, and true, and the only one who is
[absolutely] good;
and He formed in His mind a great and unspeakable conception, which He
communicated to His Son alone. As long, then, as He held and preserved His own
wise counsel in concealment,
He appeared to neglect us, and to have no care over us. But after He revealed
and laid open, through His beloved Son, the things which had been prepared from
the beginning, He conferred every blessing
all at once upon us, so that we should both share in His benefits, and see and
be active
[in His service]. Who of us would ever have expected these things? He was aware,
then, of all things in His own mind, along with His Son, according to the
relation
subsisting between them.
Why the Son Was Sent So Late.
As long then as the former time
endured, He permitted us to be borne along by unruly impulses, being drawn away
by the desire of pleasure and various lusts. This was not that He at all
delighted in our sins, but that He simply endured them; nor that He approved the
time of working iniquity which then was, but that He sought to form a mind
conscious of righteousness,
so that being convinced in that time of our unworthiness of attaining life
through our own works, it should now, through the kindness of God, be vouchsafed
to us; and having made it manifest that in ourselves we were unable to enter
into the kingdom of God, we might through the power of God be made able. But
when our wickedness had reached its height, and it had been clearly shown that
its reward,
punishment and death, was impending over us; and when the time had come which
God had before appointed for manifesting His own kindness and power, how
the one love of God, through exceeding regard for men, did not regard us with
hatred, nor thrust us away, nor remember our iniquity against us, but showed
great long-suffering, and bore with us,
He Himself took on Him the burden of our iniquities, He gave His own Son as a
ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the wicked,
the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the
corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal. For what other thing was
capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it
possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only
Son of God? O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing
all expectation! that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous
One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors!
Having therefore convinced us in the former time
that our nature was unable to attain to life, and having now revealed the
Saviour who is able to save even those things which it was [formerly] impossible
to save, by both these facts He desired to lead us to trust in His kindness, to
esteem Him our Nourisher, Father, Teacher, Counsellor, Healer, our Wisdom,
Light, Honour, Glory, Power, and Life, so that we should not be anxious
concerning clothing and food.
The Blessings that Will Flow from Faith.
If you also desire [to possess] this faith, you likewise shall receive first
of all the knowledge of the Father.
For God has loved mankind, on whose account He made the world, to whom He
rendered subject all the things that are in it,
to whom He gave reason and understanding, to whom alone He imparted the
privilege of looking upwards to Himself, whom He formed after His own image, to
whom He sent His only-begotten Son, to whom He has promised a kingdom in heaven,
and will give it to those who have loved Him. And when you have attained this
knowledge, with what joy do you think you will be filled? Or, how will you love
Him who has first so loved you? And if you love Him, you will be an imitator of
His kindness. And do not wonder that a man may become an imitator of God. He
can, if he is willing. For it is not by ruling over his neighbours, or by
seeking to hold the supremacy over those that are weaker, or by being rich, and
showing violence towards those that are inferior, that happiness is found; nor
can any one by these things become an imitator of God. But these things do not
at all constitute His majesty. On the contrary he who takes upon himself the
burden of his neighbour; he who, in whatsoever respect he may be superior, is
ready to benefit another who is deficient; he who, whatsoever things he has
received from God, by distributing these to the needy, becomes a god to those
who receive [his benefits]: he is an imitator of God. Then thou shalt see, while
still on earth, that God in the heavens rules over [the universe]; then thou
shall begin to speak the mysteries of God; then shalt thou both love and admire
those that suffer punishment because they will not deny God; then shall thou
condemn the deceit and error of the world when thou shall know what it is to
live truly in heaven, when thou shalt despise that which is here esteemed to be
death, when thou shalt fear what is truly death, which is reserved for those who
shall be condemned to the eternal fire, which shall afflict those even to the
end that are committed to it. Then shalt thou admire those who for
righteousness' sake endure the fire that is but for a moment, and shalt count
them happy when thou shalt know [the nature of] that fire.
These Things are Worthy to Be Known and Believed.
I do not speak of things strange to me, nor do I aim at anything inconsistent
with right reason;
but having been a disciple of the Apostles, I am become a teacher of the
Gentiles. I minister the things delivered to me to those that are disciples
worthy of the truth. For who that is rightly taught and begotten by the loving
Word, would not seek to learn accurately the things which have been clearly
shown by the Word to His disciples, to whom the Word being manifested has
revealed them, speaking plainly [to them], not understood indeed by the
unbelieving, but conversing with the disciples, who, being esteemed faithful by
Him, acquired a knowledge of the mysteries of the Father? For which
reason He sent the Word, that He might be manifested to the world; and He, being
despised by the people [of the Jews], was, when preached by the Apostles,
believed on by the Gentiles.
This is He who was from the beginning, who appeared as if new, and was found
old, and yet who is ever born afresh in the hearts of the saints. This is He
who, being from everlasting, is to-day called
the Son; through whom the Church is enriched, and grace, widely spread,
increases in the saints. furnishing understanding, revealing mysteries,
announcing times, rejoicing over the faithful. giving
to those that seek, by whom the limits of faith are not broken through, nor the
boundaries set by the fathers passed over. Then the fear of the law is chanted,
and the grace of the prophets is known, and the faith of the gospels is
established, and the tradition of the Apostles is preserved, and the grace of
the Church exults; which grace if you grieve not, you shall know those things
which the Word teaches, by whom He wills, and when He pleases. For whatever
things we are moved to utter by the will of the Word commanding us, we
communicate to you with pains, and from a love of the things that have been
revealed to us.
The Importance of Knowledge to True Spiritual Life.
When you have read and carefully listened to these things, you shall know
what God bestows on such as rightly love Him, being made [as ye are] a paradise
of delight, presenting
in yourselves a tree bearing all kinds of produce and flourishing well, being
adorned with various fruits. For in this place
the tree of knowledge and the tree of life have been planted; but it is not the
tree of knowledge that destroys-it is disobedience that proves destructive. Nor
truly are those words without significance which are written, how God from the
beginning planted the tree of life in the midst of paradise, revealing through
knowledge the way to life,
and when those who were first formed did not use this [knowledge] properly, they
were, through the fraud of the Serpent, stripped naked.
For neither can life exist without knowledge, nor is knowledge secure without
life. Wherefore both were planted close together. The Apostle, perceiving the
force [of this conjunction], and blaming that knowledge which, without true
doctrine, is admitted to influence life,
declares, "Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth." For he who thinks he knows
anything without true knowledge, and such as is witnessed to by life, knows
nothing, but is deceived by the Serpent, as not
loving life. But he who combines knowledge with fear, and seeks after life,
plants in hope, looking for fruit. Let your heart be your wisdom; and let your
life be true knowledge
inwardly received. Bearing this tree and displaying its fruit, thou shalt always
gather
in those things which are desired by God, which the Serpent cannot reach, and to
which deception does not approach; nor is Eve then corrupted,
but is trusted as a virgin; and salvation is manifested, and the Apostles are
filled with understanding, and the Passover
of the Lord advances, and the choirs
are gathered together, and are arranged in proper order, and the Word rejoices
in teaching the saints,-by whom the Father is glorified: to whom be glory for
ever. Amen.
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