Justin Martyr, Hortatory Address to the Greeks

Chapter XV.—Testimony of Orpheus to monotheism.

At all events, we must remind you what Orpheus, who was, as one might say, your first teacher of polytheism, latterly addressed to his son Musæus, and to the other legitimate auditors, concerning the one and only God. And he spoke thus:—

“I speak to those who lawfully may hear:

All others, ye profane, now close the doors,

And, O Musæus! hearken thou to me,

Who offspring art of the light-bringing moon:

The words I utter now are true indeed;

And if thou former thoughts of mine hast seen,

Let them not rob thee of the blessed life,

But rather turn the depths of thine own heart

Unto the place where light and knowledge dwell.

Take thou the word divine to guide thy steps,

And walking well in the straight certain path,

Look to the one and universal King—

One, self-begotten, and the only One,

Of whom all things and we ourselves are sprung.

All things are open to His piercing gaze,

While He Himself is still invisible.

Present in all His works, though still unseen,

He gives to mortals evil out of good,

Sending both chilling wars and tearful griefs;

And other than the great King there is none.

The clouds for ever settle round His throne,

And mortal eyeballs in mere mortal eyes

Are weak, to see Jove reigning over all.

He sits established in the brazen heavens

Upon His golden throne; under His feet

He treads the earth, and stretches His right hand

To all the ends of ocean, and around

Tremble the mountain ranges and the streams,

The depths, too, of the blue and hoary sea.”

And again, in some other place he says:—

“There is one Zeus alone, one sun, one hell,

One Bacchus; and in all things but one God;

Nor of all these as diverse let me speak.”

And when he swears he says:—

“Now I adjure thee by the highest heaven,

The work of the great God, the only wise;

And I adjure thee by the Father’s voice.

Which first He uttered when He stablished

The whole world by His counsel.”

What does he mean by “I adjure thee by the Father’s voice, which first He uttered?” It is the Word of God which he here names “the voice,” by whom heaven and earth and the whole creation were made, as the divine prophecies of the holy men teach us; and these he himself also paid some attention to in Egypt, and understood that all creation was made by the Word of God; and therefore, after he says, “I adjure thee by the Father’s voice, which first He uttered,” he adds this besides, “when by His counsel He established the whole world.” Here he calls the Word “voice,” for the sake of the poetical metre. And that this is so, is manifest from the fact, that a little further on, where the metre permits him, he names it “Word.” For he said:—

“Take thou the Word divine to guide thy steps.”

Ὀρφεὺς γοῦν, ὁ τῆς πολυθεότητος ὑμῶν, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, πρῶτος διδάσκαλος γεγονώς, οἷα πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Μουσαῖον καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς γνησίους ἀκροατὰς ὕστερον περὶ ἑνὸς καὶ μόνου θεοῦ κηρύττει λέγων, ἀναγκαῖον ὑπομνῆσαι ὑμᾶς. Ἔφη δὲ οὕτως: Φθέγξομαι οἷς θέμις ἐστί: θύρας δ' ἐπίθεσθε βέβηλοι Πάντες ὁμῶς. Σὺ δ' ἄκουε, φαεσφόρου ἔκγονε Μήνης, Μουσαῖ'! Ἐξερέω γὰρ ἀληθέα: μηδέ σε τὰ πρὶν Ἐν στήθεσσι φανέντα φίλης αἰῶνος ἀμέρσῃ. Εἰς δὲ λόγον θεῖον βλέψας τούτῳ προσέδρευε, Ἰθύνων κραδίης νοερὸν κύτος, εὖ τ' ἐπίβαινε Ἀτραπιτοῦ, μοῦνον δ' ἐσόρα κόσμοιο ἄνακτα. Εἷς ἔστ', αὐτογενής, ἑνὸς ἔκγονα πάντα τέτυκται: Ἐν δ' αὐτοῖς αὐτὸς περιγίνεται, οὐδέ τις αὐτὸν Εἰσοράᾳ θνητῶν, αὐτὸς δέ γε πάντας ὁρᾶται. Οὗτος δ' ἐξ ἀγαθοῖο κακὸν θνητοῖσι δίδωσι Καὶ πόλεμον κρυόεντα καὶ ἄλγεα δακρυόεντα. Οὐδέ τις ἔσθ' ἕτερος χωρὶς μεγάλου βασιλῆος. Αὐτὸν δ' οὐχ ὁρόω: περὶ γὰρ νέφος ἐστήρικται. Πᾶσιν γὰρ θνητοῖς θνηταὶ κόραι εἰσὶν ἐν ὄσσοις, Ἀσθενέες δ' ἰδέειν Δία τὸν πάντων μεδέοντα. Οὗτος γὰρ χάλκειον ἐς οὐρανὸν ἐστήρικται Χρυσέῳ ἐνὶ θρόνῳ, γαίης δ' ἐπὶ ποσσὶ βέβηκε Χεῖρά τε δεξιτερὴν ἐπὶ τέρματος ὠκεανοῖο Πάντοθεν ἐκτέτακεν: περὶ γὰρ τρέμει οὔρεα μακρὰ Καὶ ποταμοὶ πολιῆς τε βάθος χαροποῖο θαλάσσης. Καὶ αὖθις ἀλλαχοῦ που οὕτως λέγει: Εἷς Ζεύς, εἷς Ἀΐδης, εἷς Ἥλιος, εἷς Διόνυσος, Εἷς θεὸς ἐν πάντεσσι. Τί σοι δίχα ταῦτ' ἀγορεύω; Καὶ ἐν τοῖς Ὅρκοις δὲ οὕτως: Οὐρανὸν ὁρκίζω σε, θεοῦ μεγάλου σοφὸν ἔργον, Αὐδὴν ὁρκίζω σε πατρός, τὴν φθέγξατο πρῶτον, Ἡνίκα κόσμον ἅπαντα ἑαῖς στηρίξατο βουλαῖς. Τί βούλεται τὸ λέγειν αὐτὸν Αὐδὴν ὁρκίζω σε πατρός, τὴν φθέγξατο πρῶτον; Αὐδὴν ἐνταῦθα τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ ὀνομάζει λόγον, δι' οὗ οὐρανὸς καὶ γῆ καὶ ἡ πᾶσα ἐγένετο κτίσις, ὡς διδάσκουσιν ἡμᾶς αἱ θεῖαι τῶν ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν προφητεῖαι, αἷς ἐν μέρει καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ προσχὼν ἔγνω ὅτι τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ θεοῦ πᾶσα ἐγένετο κτίσις. Διὸ καὶ μετὰ τὸ φῆσαι: Αὐδὴν ὁρκίζω σε πατρός, ἣν φθέγξατο πρῶτον, παραυτὰ συνάπτει λέγων: Ἡνίκα κόσμον ἅπαντα ἑαῖς στηρίξατο βουλαῖς. Ἐνταῦθα τὸν λόγον αὐδὴν διὰ τὸ ποιητικὸν ὀνομάζει μέτρον. Ὅτι δὲ τοῦθ' οὕτως ἔχει, δῆλον ἀπὸ τοῦ μικρῷ πρόσθεν τοῦ μέτρου συγχωροῦντος αὐτῷ λόγον αὐτὸν ὀνομάζειν. Ἔφη γάρ: Εἰς δὲ λόγον θεῖον βλέψας τούτῳ προσέδρευε.