[ Orthos ]

 WHAT is strange to ears accustomed to Protestant modes of arguing, S. Athanasius does not simply expound Scripture, rather he vindicates it from the imputation of its teaching any but true doctrine. It is ever [ orthos ], he says, that is, orthodox; I mean, he takes it for granted that there is an existing doctrinal tradition, as a standard, with which Scripture must, and with which it doubtless does agree, and of which it is the written confirmation and record. Vid. Oxf. Trans. note, p. 431.

 In Orat. ii. § 44, he says, "We have gone through thus much before coming to the passage in the Proverbs, that they may rightly read what admits in truth of a sound ([ orthen ]) interpretation," as if the authoritative interpretation required to be applied to Scripture, before we could assume that the doctrine conveyed by it was orthodox. And so [ met' eusebeias ] just below. Such phrases are frequent in Athan., e.g. [ ten dianoian eusebe kai lian orthen ], de Decr. 13. [ kalos kai orthos ], Orat. iv. 31. [ gegraptai mala anankaios ], de Decr. 14. [ eikotos ], Orat. ii. 44, iii. 53. [ ten dianoian ekklesiastiken ], Orat. i. 44 init. [ ton skopon ton ekklesiastikon ], Orat. iii. 58. [ he dianoia echei ten aitian eulogon ], iii. 7 fin. vid. also Orat. i. 37 init. 46; ii. 1, 9 init. 12, 53; iii. 1, 18, 19, 35, 37; iv. 30.

 Vid. art. Rule of Faith . This illustrates what he means when he says that certain texts have a "good," "pious," "orthodox" sense, i.e. they can be interpreted (in spite, if so be, of appearances) in harmony with the Regula Fidei. And so, [ to en tais paroimiais rheton, orthen echon kai auto ten dianoian ]. Orat. ii. § 44. [ erkei tauta pros apodeixin orthen einai ten tou rhetou dianoian ]. ibid. § 77. [ to toinun legomenon hypo tou makariou Petrou orthon ]. iv. § 35. vid. also iii. 7, etc. etc.