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the soul is to all the members of the body, and Christians are to the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, but it is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, but they are not of the world. The invisible soul is guarded in the visible body; and Christians are known to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible. The flesh hates the soul and makes war upon it, though in no way wronged, because it is hindered from using its pleasures; the world also hates Christians, though in no way wronged, because they set themselves against its pleasures.

The soul loves the flesh that hates it, and its members; and Christians love those who hate them. The soul is enclosed in the body, yet it holds the body together; and Christians are detained in the world as in a prison, yet they hold the world together. The immortal soul dwells in a mortal tabernacle; and Christians sojourn among corruptible things, while they await the incorruption that is in heaven. The soul, when poorly treated with food and drink, is made better; and Christians, being punished day by day, increase all the more. God has placed them in so great a post, which it is not lawful for them to desert. For, as I said, it was not an earthly discovery that was delivered to them, nor is it a mortal conception that they think worthy to guard so carefully, nor are they entrusted with the stewardship of human mysteries. But truly the almighty and all-creating and invisible God Himself from heaven planted the Truth and the holy and incomprehensible Word among men, and established it in their hearts, not, as one might suppose, by sending some servant to men, or an angel, or a ruler, or one of those who direct earthly things, or one of those entrusted with the administrations in heaven, but the very Artificer and Creator of the universe Himself, by whom He created the heavens, by whom He enclosed the sea within its own bounds, whose mysteries all the elements faithfully keep, from whom the sun has received the measures of its daily courses to keep, whom the moon obeys as he commands it to shine by night, whom the stars obey, following the course of the moon, by whom all things have been ordered and defined and subjected, heavens and the things in the heavens, earth and the things in the earth, sea and the things in the sea, fire, air, abyss, the things in the heights, the things in the depths, the things in between—this one He sent to them. Was it then, as one of men might reckon, for tyranny and fear and terror? Not at all; but in gentleness and meekness. As a king sending a son, he sent him as a king; he sent him as God; he sent him to men; he sent him as saving, as persuading, not compelling; for compulsion is not an attribute of God. He sent him as calling, not pursuing; he sent him as loving, not judging. For He will send him to judge, and who shall endure His coming? *********************************** *****************************

Do you not see them thrown to wild beasts, so that they might deny the Lord, and are not overcome? Do you not see that the more of them are punished, the more others increase? These things do not seem to be the works of man; this is the power of God; these are the proofs of His presence. For who among men at all knew what God is, before He came? Or do you accept the empty and silly teachings of those esteemed philosophers? of whom some said that God was fire—where they themselves are about to go, that they call god—others water, and others some other one of the elements created by God. And yet, if any of these teachings is acceptable, any one of the other created things might just as well be declared God. But these things are the monstrous tales and deceit of impostors. But no man has either seen or known Him, but He has revealed Himself. And He revealed Himself through faith, by which alone it is granted to see God.

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πάντων τῶν τοῦ σώματος μελῶν ἡ ψυχή, καὶ Χριστιανοὶ κατὰ τὰς τοῦ κόσμου πόλεις. Oἰκεῖ μὲν ἐν τῷ σώματι ψυχή, οὐκ ἔστι δὲ ἐκ τοῦ σώματος· καὶ Χριστιανοὶ ἐν κόσμῳ οἰκοῦσιν, οὐκ εἰσὶ δὲ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου. Ἀόρατος ἡ ψυχὴ ἐν ὁρατῷ φρουρεῖται τῷ σώματι· καὶ Χριστιανοὶ γινώσκονται μὲν ὄντες ἐν τῷ κοσμῷ, ἀόρατος δὲ αὐτῶν ἡ θεοσέβεια μένει. Μισεῖ τὴν ψυχὴν ἡ σὰρξ καὶ πολεμεῖ μηδὲν ἀδικουμένη, δίοτι ταῖς ἡδοναῖς κωλύεται χρῆσθαι· μισεῖ καὶ Χριστιανοὺς ὁ κόσμος μηδὲν ἀδικούμενος, ὅτι ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ἀντιτάσσονται.

Ἡ ψυχὴ τὴν μισοῦσαν ἀγαπᾷ σάρκα καὶ τὰ μέλη· καὶ Χριστιανοὶ τοὺς μισοῦντας ἀγαπῶσιν. Ἐγκέκλεισται μὲν ἡ ψυχὴ τῷ σώματι, συνέχει δὲ αὐτὴ τὸ σῶμα· καὶ Χριστιανοὶ κατέχονται μὲν ὡς ἐν φρουρᾷ τῷ κόσμῳ, αὐτοὶ δὲ συνέχουσι τὸν κόσμον. Ἀθάνατος ἡ ψυχὴ ἐν θνητῷ σκηνώματι κατοικεῖ· καὶ Χριστιανοὶ παροικοῦσιν ἐν φθαρτοῖς, τὴν ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀφθαρσίαν προσδεχόμενοι. Κακουργουμένη σιτίοις καὶ ποτοῖς ἡ ψυχὴ βελτιοῦται· καὶ Χριστιανοὶ κολαζόμενοι καθ' ἡμέραν πλεονάζουσι μᾶλλον. Eἰς τοσαύτην αὐτοὺς τάξιν ἔθετο ὁ Θεός, ἣν οὐ θεμιτὸν αὐτοῖς παραιτήσασθαι. Oὐ γὰρ ἐπίγειον, ὡς ἔφην, εὕρημα τοῦτ' αὐτοῖς παρεδόθη, οὐδὲ θνητὴν ἐπίνοιαν φυλάσσειν οὕτως ἀξιοῦσιν ἐπιμελῶς, οὐδὲ ἀνθρωπίνων οἰκονομίαν μυστηρίων πεπίστευνται. Ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ἀληθῶς ὁ παντοκράτωρ καὶ παντοκτίστης καὶ ἀόρατος Θεός, αὐτὸς ἀπ' οὐρανῶν τὴν Ἀλήθειαν καὶ τὸν Λόγον τὸν ἅγιον καὶ ἀπερινόητον ἀνθρώποις ἐνίδρυσε καὶ ἐγκατεστήριξε ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν, οὐ καθάπερ ἄν τις εἰκάσειεν ἀνθρώποις ὑπηρέτην τινὰ πέμψας ἢ ἄγγελον ἢ ἄρχοντα ἤ τινα τῶν διεπόντων τὰ ἐπίγεια ἤ τινα τῶν πεπιστευμένων τὰς ἐν οὐρανοῖς διοικήσεις, ἀλλ' αὐτὸν τὸν τεχνίτην καὶ δημιουργὸν τῶν ὅλων, ᾧ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἔκτισεν, ᾧ τὴν θάλασσαν ἰδίοις ὅροις ἐνέκλεισεν, οὗ τὰ μυστήρια πιστῶς πάντα φυλάσσει τὰ στοιχεῖα, παρ' οὗ τὰ μέτρα τῶν τῆς ἡμέρας δρόμων ἥλιος εἴληφε φυλάσσειν, ᾧ πειθαρχεῖ σελήνη νυκτὶ φαίνειν κελεύοντι, ᾧ πειθαρχεῖ τὰ ἄστρα τῷ τῆς σελήνης ἀκολουθοῦντα δρόμῳ, ᾧ πάντα διατέτακται καὶ διώρισται καὶ ὑποτέτακται, οὐρανοὶ καὶ τὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς, γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ γῇ, θάλασσα καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, πῦρ, ἀ»ρ, ἄβυσσος, τὰ ἐν ὕψεσι, τὰ ἐν βάθεσι, τὰ ἐν τῷ μεταξύ· τοῦτον πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀπέστειλεν. Ἀρά γε, ὡς ἀνθρώπων ἄν τις λογίσαιτο, ἐπὶ τυραννίδι καὶ φόβῳ καὶ καταπλήξει; οὐ μὲν οὖν· ἀλλ' ἐν ἐπιεικείᾳ καὶ πραΰτητι ὡς βασιλεὺς πέμπων υἱὸν βασιλέα ἔπεμψεν, ὡς θεὸν ἔπεμψεν, ὡς πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἔπεμψεν, ὡς σóζων ἔπεμψεν, ὡς πείθων, οὐ βιαζόμενος· βία γὰρ οὐ πρόσεστι τῷ Θεῷ. Ἔπεμψεν ὡς καλῶν, οὐ διώκων· ἔπεμψεν ὡς ἀγαπῶν, οὐ κρίνων. Πέμψει γὰρ αὐτὸν κρίνοντα, καὶ τίς αὐτοῦ τὴν παρουσίαν ὑποστήσεται; *********************************** *****************************

Oὐχ ὁρᾷς παραβαλλομένους θηρίοις, ἵνα ἀρνήσωνται τὸν Κύριον, καὶ μὴ νικωμένους; οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅσῳ πλείονες κολάζονται, τοσούτῳ πλεονάζοντας ἄλλους; ταῦτα ἀνθρώπου οὐ δοκεῖ τὰ ἔργα, ταῦτα δύναμίς ἐστι Θεοῦ· ταῦτα τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ δείγματα. Τίς γὰρ ὅλως ἀνθρώπων ἠπίστατο τί ποτ' ἐστὶ Θεός, πρὶν αὐτὸν ἐλθεῖν; ἢ τοὺς κενοὺς καὶ ληρώδεις ἐκείνων λόγους ἀποδέχῃ τῶν ἀξιοπίστων φιλοσόφων; ὧν οἱ μέν τινες πῦρ ἔφασαν εἶναι τὸν θεόν-οὗ μέλλουσι χωρήσειν αὐτοί, τοῦτο καλοῦσι θεόν-οἱ δὲ ὕδωρ, οἱ δ' ἄλλο τι τῶν στοιχείων τῶν ἐκτισμένων ὑπὸ Θεοῦ. Καίτοι γε, εἴ τις τούτων τῶν λόγων ἀπόδεκτός ἐστι, δύναιτ' ἂν καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν κτισμάτων ἓν ἕκαστον ὁμοίως ἀποφαίνεσθαι Θεόν. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν τερατεία καὶ πλάνη τῶν γοήτων ἐστίν. Ἀνθρώπων δὲ οὐδεὶς οὔτε εἶδεν οὔτε ἐγνώρισεν αὐτὸς δὲ ἑαυτὸν ἐπέδειξεν. Ἐπέδειξε δὲ διὰ πίστεως, ᾗ μόνῃ Θεὸν ἰδεῖν συγκεχώρηται.