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Theophilus of Antioch, Theophilus to Autolycus
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Book I. Chapter I.—Autolycus an Idolater and Scorner of Christians.
Chapter II.—That the Eyes of the Soul Must Be Purged Ere God Can Be Seen.
Chapter IV.—Attributes of God.
Chapter V.—The Invisible God Perceived Through His Works.
Chapter VI.—God is Known by His Works.
Chapter VII.—We Shall See God When We Put on Immortality.
Chapter VIII.—Faith Required in All Matters.
Chapter IX.—Immoralities of the Gods.
Chapter X.—Absurdities of Idolatry.
Chapter XI.—The King to Be Honoured, God to Be Worshipped.
Chapter XII.—Meaning of the Name Christian.
Chapter XIII.—The Resurrection Proved by Examples.
Chapter XIV.—Theophilus an Example of Conversion.
Book II. Chapter I.—Occasion of Writing This Book.
Chapter II.—The Gods are Despised When They are Made But Become Valuable When Bought.
Chapter III.—What Has Become of the Gods?
Chapter IV.—Absurd Opinions of the Philosophers Concerning God.
Chapter V.—Opinions of Homer and Hesiod Concerning the Gods.
Chapter VI.—Hesiod on the Origin of the World.
Chapter VII.—Fabulous Heathen Genealogies.
Chapter VIII.— Opinions Concerning Providence.
Chapter IX.—The Prophets Inspired by the Holy Ghost.
Chapter X.—The World Created by God Through the Word.
Chapter XI.—The Six Days’ Work Described.
Chapter XII.—The Glory of the Six Days’ Work.
Chapter XIII.—Remarks on the Creation of the World.
Chapter XIV.—The World Compared to the Sea.
Chapter XV.—Of the Fourth Day.
Chapter XVI.—Of the Fifth Day.
Chapter XVII.—Of the Sixth Day.
Chapter XVIII.—The Creation of Man.
Chapter XIX.—Man is Placed in Paradise.
Chapter XX.—The Scriptural Account of Paradise.
Chapter XXI.—Of the Fall of Man.
Chapter XXII.—Why God is Said to Have Walked.
Chapter XXIII.—The Truth of the Account in Genesis.
Chapter XXIV.—The Beauty of Paradise.
Chapter XXV.—God Was Justified in Forbidding Man to Eat of the Tree of Knowledge.
Chapter XXVI.—God’s Goodness in Expelling Man from Paradise.
Chapter XXVII.—The Nature of Man.
Chapter XXVIII.—Why Eve Was Formed of Adam’s Rib.
Chapter XXX.—Cain’s Family and Their Inventions.
Chapter XXXI.—The History After the Flood.
Chapter XXXII.—How the Human Race Was Dispersed.
Chapter XXXIII.—Profane History Gives No Account of These Matters.
Chapter XXXIV.—The Prophets Enjoined Holiness of Life.
Chapter XXXV.—Precepts from the Prophetic Books.
Chapter XXXVI.—Prophecies of the Sibyl.
Chapter XXXVII.—The Testimonies of the Poets.
Theophilus to Autolycus. Chapter I.—Autolycus Not Yet Convinced.
Chapter II.—Profane Authors Had No Means of Knowing the Truth.
Chapter III.—Their Contradictions.
Chapter IV.—How Autolycus Had Been Misled by False Accusations Against the Christians.
Chapter V.—Philosophers Inculcate Cannibalism.
Chapter VI.—Other Opinions of the Philosophers.
Chapter VII.—Varying Doctrine Concerning the Gods.
Chapter VIII.—Wickedness Attributed to the Gods by Heathen Writers.
Chapter IX.—Christian Doctrine of God and His Law.
Chapter X.—Of Humanity to Strangers.
Chapter XII.—Of Righteousness.
Chapter XIV.—Of Loving Our Enemies.
Chapter XV.—The Innocence of the Christians Defended.
Chapter XVI.—Uncertain Conjectures of the Philosophers.
Chapter XVII.—Accurate Information of the Christians.
Chapter XVIII.—Errors of the Greeks About the Deluge.
Chapter XIX.—Accurate Account of the Deluge.
Chapter XX.—Antiquity of Moses.
Chapter XXI.—Of Manetho’s Inaccuracy.
Chapter XXII.—Antiquity of the Temple.
Chapter XXIII.—Prophets More Ancient Than Greek Writers.
Chapter XXIV.—Chronology from Adam.
Chapter XXV.—From Saul to the Captivity.
Chapter XXVI.—Contrast Between Hebrew and Greek Writings.
Chapter XXVII.—Roman Chronology to the Death of M. Aurelius.
Chapter XXVIII.—Leading Chronological Epochs.
It behoved, therefore, that he should the rather become a scholar of God in this matter of legislation, as he himself confessed that in no other way could he gain accurate information than by God’s teaching him through the law. And did not the poets Homer and Hesiod and Orpheus profess that they themselves had been instructed by Divine Providence? Moreover, it is said that among your writers there were prophets and prognosticators, and that those wrote accurately who were informed by them. How much more, then, shall we know the truth who are instructed by the holy prophets, who were possessed by149 Literally, “contained.” the Holy Spirit of God! On this account all the prophets spoke harmoniously and in agreement with one another, and foretold the things that would come to pass in all the world. For the very accomplishment of predicted and already consummated events should demonstrate to those who are fond of information, yea rather, who are lovers of truth, that those things are really true which they declared concerning the epochs and eras before the deluge:150 [See supra, book i. cap. 14, p. 93, the author’s account of his own conversion.] to wit, how the years have run on since the world was created until now, so as to manifest the ridiculous mendacity of your authors, and show that their statements are not true.
∆εῖ οὖν μᾶλλον μαθητὴν γενέσθαι τῆς νομοθεσίας τοῦ θεοῦ, καθὼς καὶ αὐτὸς ὡμολόγηκεν ἄλλως μὴ δύνασθαι τὸ ἀκριβὲς μαθεῖν, ἐὰν μὴ ὁ θεὸς διδάξῃ διὰ τοῦ νόμου. τί δέ; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ ποιηταὶ Ὅμηρος καὶ Ἡσίοδος καὶ Ὀρφεὺς ἔφασαν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ θείας προνοίας μεμαθηκέναι; ἔτι μὴν μάντεις καὶ προγνώστας γεγενῆσθαι κατὰ τοὺς συγγραφεῖς, καὶ τοὺς παρ' αὐτῶν μαθόντας ἀκριβῶς συγγεγραφέναι φασίν. πόσῳ οὖν μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς τὰ ἀληθῆ εἰσόμεθα οἱ μανθάνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν, τῶν χωρησάντων τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ; διὸ σύμφωνα καὶ φίλα ἀλλήλοις οἱ πάντες προφῆται εἶπον, καὶ προεκήρυξαν τὰ μέλλοντα ἔσεσθαι παντὶ τῷ κόσμῳ. τοὺς γὰρ φιλομαθεῖς μᾶλλον δὲ φιλαληθεῖς δύναται αὐτὴ ἡ ἔκβασις τῶν προαναπεφωνημένων πραγμάτων καὶ ἤδη ἀπηρτισμένων ἐκδιδάσκειν ὄντως ἀληθῆ εἶναι τὰ δι' αὐτῶν κεκηρυγμένα περί τε χρόνων καὶ καιρῶν τῶν πρὸ κατακλυσμοῦ, ἀφ' οὗ ἔκτισται ὁ κόσμος ἕως τοῦ δεῦρο, ὡς συνέστηκε τὰ ἔτη, εἰς τὸ ἐπιδεῖξαι τὴν φλυαρίαν τοῦ ψεύδους τῶν συγγραφέων, ὅτι οὐκ ἀληθῆ ἐστιν τὰ δι' αὐτῶν ηθέντα.