Theodore of Heraclea, Fragments on the Epistle to the Romans

to live is to act in accordance with his laws; wherefore he also called this one holy, since it was possible for that one not to be such, being judged by the wickedness of those offering it, but also well-pleasing to God; for that one is not entirely such. And the phrase *your spiritual worship* showed the great difference; for it is not the same to worship God with an irrational offering as it is to show a conscience toward God in works with perfection of reasoning. Ro+m 12,3a The things said before concerning virtue in general could be well-stated, but he proceeds then to the particular, forbidding pride above all as the worst thing, no longer with exhortation but rather with authority; for it is not the same to encourage to virtue and to forbid the practice of wicked things; wherefore exhortation might be fittingly joined to the former, but to the latter even vehemence will often be suitable, for indeed with the addition of *the grace given to me* he made the turning away from evil more fearsome 161. Ro+m 12,3b Having called pride foolishness, and moderation sound-mindedness, so that he might not seem to cause some confusion from this, as if ecclesiastical good order ought not to be preserved among them through an excess of moderation, he well adds: *to each as God has assigned a measure of faith*. I wish, he says, for all to be moderate, but for order to be preserved among you in proportion to the spiritual gifts distributed to you by God; for since the spiritual gifts among them were very many, he calls the distribution of the gifts a dividing of faith and a measuring out. Ro+m 12,6 One person rendered the sequence of this passage by reading it without the conjunction *de* and connecting it to what is above. For thus, he says, it must be understood: we are members of one another, having different spiritual gifts according to the grace given to us; for even if these are different, yet they have been supplied by divine grace for the common benefit. Ro+m 12,8The one *who leads* he says instead of the one *who cares for*. Thus also in the epistle to Timothy: *But if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?* clearly speaking of leadership in terms of care; for at that time there were especially different ways of doing good from the more well-off to the poorer of the same faith, concerning which he now speaks, saying both *he who shares*, and *he who leads*, and *he who shows mercy* concerning the same things. Ro+m 12,10 The phrase *in brotherly love be affectionate to one another* is somehow similar to *let love be genuine*, since to love ardently differs in nothing from loving truly, but it has something more by the addition of *to one another*; for he wishes all to have the same earnestness for one another, since it is not otherwise possible for love to be maintained, unless the one loved has been diligent to preserve the same disposition toward the one loving, and if this does not happen, the one who loves, however much friendship he may have, will certainly refrain from loving, not enduring to be slighted while loving 162. Ro+m 12,133 *Contributing*, he says, *to the needs of the saints*. But some of the copies have *to the memories*, the meaning being the same; for he says that it is right for you always to remember the saints, and to consider their needs common and thus to relieve their want. Ro+m 12,16-17 *Do not be*, he says, *wise in your own conceits*, this again being another thing that comes from pride. Do not, he says, simply choose what occurs to your mind, when it seems absurd to the common estimation. And well also the phrase *repaying no one evil for evil*; for he has again gone from things concerning one another to things concerning adversaries. He therefore added *to no one* instead of it being right to show this not even in the case of those outside the faith.

Ro+m 13,5 For both reasons, he says, it is fitting to be subject to such persons, on the one hand so that by doing what is proper we may avoid the punishment from there, and on the other hand so that by our respect for them, the conscience owed to God who ordained these things

ζῆν τὰ τοῖς αὐτοῦ νόμοις πράττειν ἀκόλουθα· ὅθεν καὶ ἁγίαν προσεῖπεν ταύτην, ἐπειδὴ ἐκείνην ἐνεχώρει μὴ τοιαύτην εἶναι τῇ τῶν προσκομιζόν των κρινομένην κακίᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐάρεστον τῷ θεῷ· ἐκείνη γὰρ οὐ πάντως τοιαύτη. καὶ τὸ τὴν λογικὴν λατρείαν ὑμῶν πολὺ τὸ διάφορον ἔδειξεν· οὐ γὰρ ὅμοιον ἀλόγῳ προσκομιδῇ λατρεύειν θεῷ καὶ λογισμῶν τελειότητι τὴν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν συνείδησιν ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων δεικνύναι. Ro+m 12,3a Τὰ μὲν οὖν προλαβόντα περὶ τῆς καθόλου λεγόμενα ἀρετῆς καλῶς ἔχειν ἠδύνατο, ἐξέρχεται δὲ λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὸ κατὰ μέρος, πρὸ πάντων τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν ὡς ἂν χείριστον ἀπαγορεύων οὐκέτι παρακλήσει ἀλλ' αὐθεντίᾳ μᾶλλον· οὐ γὰρ ὅμοιον ἐπ' ἀρετὴν προτρέπειν καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀτόπων ἀπαγορεύειν πρᾶξιν· ὅθεν ἐκείνῃ μὲν παράκλησιν συνῆφθαι πρέποι ἄν, ταύτῃ δὲ καὶ σφοδρότης ἁρμόσει πολλάκις, καὶ γὰρ τῇ προσθήκῃ τῆς χάριτος τῆς δοθείσης μοι φοβερωτέραν εἰργάσατο τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν ἀποτροπήν 161. Ro+m 12,3b Παραφροσύνην τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν εἰπών, ὑγιῆ δὲ φρόνησιν τὴν μετριότητα, ἵνα μὴ ἐντεῦθεν σύγχυσίν τινα ἐργάζεσθαι δόξῃ, ὡς ἂν οὐδὲ τῆς ἐκκλησιαστικῆς εὐταξίας δι' ὑπερβολὴν μετριότητος φυλάττεσθαι ἐν αὐτοῖς ὀφειλούσης, καλῶς ἐπάγει· ἑκάστῳ ὡς ὁ θεὸς ἐμέρισε μέτρον πίστεως. βούλομαι, φησί, μετριάζειν μὲν ἅπαντας, φυλάτ τεσθαι δὲ ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ τὴν τάξιν ἀναλόγως τοῖς νενεμημένοις ὑμῖν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ χαρίσμασιν· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πλεῖστα ἧν ἐν αὐτοῖς τὰ χαρίσματα, μερισμὸν πίστεως καὶ ἐπιμέτρησιν λέγει τῶν χαρισμάτων τὴν διανομήν. Ro+m 12,6 Τὴν δὲ τοῦ χωρίου τούτου ἀκολουθίαν ὁ μέν τις ἀπέδωκε χωρὶς τοῦ δὲ συνδέσμου ἀναγινώσκων καὶ τοῖς ἀνωτέρω ἐπισυνάπτων. οὕτω γάρ, φησί, νοητέον· μέλη ἀλλήλων ἐσμὲν ἔχοντες χαρίσματα κατὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν διάφορα· εἰ γὰρ καὶ διάφορα ταῦτα, ἀλλ' οὖν εἰς κοινὴν ὠφέλειαν ὑπὸ τῆς θείας κεχορήγηται χάριτος. Ro+m 12,8Τὸ ὁ προϊστάμενος ἀντὶ τοῦ ὁ ἐπιμελούμενος λέγει. οὕτως καὶ ἐν τῇ πρὸς Τιμόθεον ἐπιστολῇ· εἰ δέ τις τοῦ ἰδίου οἴκου προστῆναι οὐκ οἶδεν, πῶς ἐκκλησίας θεοῦ ἐπιμε λήσεται; σαφῶς τὴν προστασίαν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐπιμελείας λέγων· διάφοροι γὰρ τρόποι τότε μάλιστα εὐποιΐας παρὰ τῶν εὐπορωτέρων εἰς τοὺς πενεστέρους τῶν ὁμοπίστων ἐγίνετο, περὶ ὧν νῦν λέγει καὶ τὸ ὁ μετα διδούς, καὶ τὸ ὁ προϊστάμενος, καὶ τὸ ὁ ἐλεῶν περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν λέγων. Ro+m 12,10 Τὸ τῇ φιλαδελφίᾳ εἰς ἀλλήλους φιλόστοργοί ἐστι μὲν ὅμοιόν πως τῷ ἡ ἀγάπη ἀνυπόκριτος, ἐπείπερ οὐδὲν διαλλάττει τοῦ ἀληθινῶς ἀγαπᾶν τὸ σφόδρα στέργειν, ἔχει δέ τι πλέον τῇ τοῦ εἰς ἀλλήλους προσθήκῃ· τὴν γὰρ αὐτὴν σπουδὴν πάντας περὶ ἀλλήλους ἔχειν βούλεται, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ οἶόν τε ἄλλως κρατεῖσθαι τὴν ἀγάπην, ἀλλ' ἢ τοῦ ἀγαπωμένου τὴν αὐτὴν σώζειν περὶ τὸν ἀγαπῶντα γνώμην ἐσπουδακότος, ὅπερ εἰ μὴ γίγνοιτο, ἀφέξεται τοῦ ἀγαπᾶν πάντως ὁ ἀγαπῶν ὅσην ἂν ἔχῃ τὴν φιλίαν, οὐκ ἀνεχόμενος φιλῶν περιορᾶσθαι 162. Ro+m 12,133 Ταῖς χρείαις, φησί, τῶν ἁγίων κοινωνοῦντες. ἔνια δὲ τῶν ἀντιγράφων ταῖς μνείαις ἔχει, τῆς αὐτῆς οὔσης διανοίας· λέγει γὰρ ὅτι δίκαιον ὑμᾶς μνημονεύειν πάντοτε τῶν ἁγίων, κοινάς τε αὐτῶν τὰς χρείας νομίζειν καὶ οὕτως αὐτοῖς ἐπικουφίζειν τὴν ἔνδειαν. Ro+m 12,16-17 Μὴ γίνεσθε, φησί, φρόνιμοι παρ' ἑαυτοῖς, τοῦτο πάλιν ἕτερον γινόμενον ἀπὸ ὑπερηφανίας. μὴ τὸ τῆ διανοίᾳ σου , φησί, παραστὰν ἁπλῶς αἱροῦ, ὅταν τῇ κοινῇ ὑπολήψει φαίνηται ἄτοπον. καλῶς δὲ καὶ τὸ μηδενὶ κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ ἀποδιδόντες· πάλιν γὰρ ἐπὶ τὰ πρὸς τοὺς ἐναντίους ἀπὸ τῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐξελήλυθεν. προσέθηκεν οὖν τὸ μηδενὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τῆς πίστεως τοῦτο ἐπιδείκνυσθαι δίκαιον.

Ro+m 13,5 Κατ' ἀμφότερα, φησί, τὸ ὑποτετάχθαι τοῖς τοιούτοις πρέπει, τοῦτο μὲν ἵνα τὸ πρέπον διαπραττόμενοι τὴν ἐκεῖθεν τιμωρίαν ἐκκλίνωμεν, τοῦτο δὲ ἵνα τῇ πρὸς τούτους αἰδοῖ τὴν ὀφειλομένην συνείδησιν τῷ ταῦτα τάξαντι θεῷ