205

the gift is far from indignation. He did not endure it, but was consumed. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews, it says, and with the devout persons. See him again reasoning with Jews. By "devout persons" he means the proselytes. For the Jews were scattered everywhere from the coming of Christ, at the same time as that law was being dissolved, and at the same time teaching piety to men. But they gained nothing, but only had testimonies of their own misfortunes. But certain philosophers, it says, of the Epicureans and of the Stoics, encountered him. The Athenians no longer used their own laws, since they had already fallen under the Romans. And why did these wish to encounter him? Since they also saw others reasoning, 60.270 and the man had a reputation. And see, immediately insolently; For the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit. He seems, it says, to be a setter forth of strange gods; they called their gods "daimonia"; for the cities were full of idols. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying. Why did they drag him to the Areopagus? As if to intimidate him, where they judged murder cases. May we know what this new doctrine is, whereof you speak? for you bring certain strange things to our ears. For all the Athenians and strangers who were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing. Here this is pointed out, that although they were always occupied in this, in speaking and hearing, yet they considered those things to be strange which they had never heard. Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said, You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions. He did not simply say "the demons," but prepares the way for his argument. For this reason he said: I perceive that you are very religious, on account of the altar. God, he says, that made the world, and all things therein. He uttered one statement, by which he overthrew all the teachings of the philosophers. For the Epicureans say that all things are self-caused, and are composed of atoms; and the Stoics, body and conflagration; but he says the world is the work of God, and all things therein. Do you see the conciseness, and in the conciseness, the clarity? And consider what it was that was strange to them: that God made the world. Things which even some of the common people now know, these the Athenians did not know, and the wise men of the Athenians. For if He made it, it is clear that He is also Lord. See what he says is the mark of divinity, the creative power; which the Son also has. For the prophets also everywhere say this, that to create belongs to God; not as they do, who suppose that the maker is one being, but not the lord, positing uncreated matter. Here, therefore, he enigmatically stated his own position and established it, and demolishes theirs. He does not dwell, he says, in temples made with hands. For He dwells in temples, but not in such as these, but in the human soul. See, he did away with bodily worship. What then? did he not dwell in the temple in Jerusalem? Certainly not, but he worked there. How then was he served by the hands of men among the Jews? Not by hands, but by the mind, since he did not seek those things as though needing them. For shall I eat, he says, the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Then, having said, Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing; since this was not sufficient, to need nothing, which he declared; for this too is divine, but there must also be something else besides; he adds this, Seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things. He shows two proofs of divinity, that He himself needs nothing, and that He provides all things to all. Bring forward here whatever Plato philosophized about God, whatever Epicurus, and all of it is nonsense compared to these things. Giving, he says, life and breath. Behold, he makes him creator of the soul, not its begetter. See again how he demolishes the argument concerning matter, by saying, And has made of one blood all nations of 60.271 men for to dwell on all the face of the earth. These things are better than those, and an accusation of both the atoms and of matter. Here he shows that the soul of man is not a part, but what they say, this is not to be a creator. But saying not

205

ἀγανακτήσεως πόῤῥω τὸ χάρισμα. Οὐκ ἔφερεν, ἀλλ' ἐτήκετο. ∆ιελέγετο μὲν οὖν ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, φησὶ, καὶ τοῖς σεβομένοις. Ὅρα πάλιν αὐτὸν πρὸς Ἰουδαίους διαλεγόμενον. Σεβομένους δὲ τοὺς προσηλύτους λέγει. ∆ιεσπάρησαν γὰρ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι πανταχοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας, ἅμα μὲν ἐξ ἐκείνου τοῦ νόμου λυομένου, ἅμα δὲ διδάσκοντες εὐσέβειαν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ἐκέρδαναν ἐκεῖνοι, ἀλλ' ἢ μόνον μαρτυρίας ἔσχον τῶν οἰκείων συμφορῶν. Τινὲς δὲ, φησὶ, τῶν Ἐπικουρείων καὶ τῶν Στωϊκῶν φιλοσόφων συνέβαλον αὐτῷ. Οὐκέτι Ἀθηναῖοι τοῖς οἰκείοις νόμοις ἐχρῶντο, ἅτε ὑποπεσόντες ἤδη τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις. Καὶ πόθεν ἠθέλησαν οὗτοι συμβαλεῖν; Ἐπεὶ καὶ ἄλλους ἑώρων διαλεγομένους, 60.270 καὶ δόξαν ἔχοντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Καὶ ὅρα, εὐθέως ὑβριστικῶς· Ψυχικὸς γὰρ ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται τὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος. Ξένων δαιμονίων, φησὶ, δοκεῖ καταγγελεὺς εἶναι· δαιμόνια τοὺς θεοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάλουν· ἦσαν γὰρ αἱ πόλεις εἰδώλων πλήρεις. Ἐπιλαβόμενοί τε αὐτοῦ, ἐπὶ τὸν Ἄρειον πάγον ἤγαγον, λέγοντες. ∆ιὰ τί εἰς Ἄρειον πάγον αὐτὸν εἷλκον; Ὡς καταπλήξοντες, ἔνθα τὰς φονικὰς δίκας ἐδίκαζον. ∆υνάμεθα γνῶναι τίς ἡ καινὴ αὕτη ἡ ὑπὸ σοῦ λαλουμένη διδαχή; ξενίζοντα γάρ τινα εἰσφέρεις εἰς τὰς ἀκοὰς ἡμῶν. Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ πάντες καὶ οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες ξένοι, εἰς οὐδὲν ἕτερον εὐκαίρουν, ἢ λέγειν τι καὶ ἀκούειν καινότερον. Ἐνταῦθα ἐκεῖνο ἐπισημαίνεται, ὅτι καίτοι ἀεὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἀσχολούμενοι, τῷ λαλεῖν καὶ ἀκούειν, ὅμως ξενίζοντα ἐνόμιζον εἶναι ἐκεῖνα, ἅπερ οὐδέποτε ἤκουσαν. Σταθεὶς δὲ ὁ Παῦλος ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Ἀρείου πάγου ἔφη· Ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, κατὰ πάντα ὡς δεισιδαιμονεστέρους ὑμᾶς θεωρῶ. ∆ιερχόμενος γὰρ καὶ ἀναθεωρῶν τὰ σεβάσματα ὑμῶν. Οὐκ εἶπε τοὺς δαίμονας ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ προοδοποιεῖ τῷ λόγῳ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο εἶπε· ∆εισιδαιμονεστέρους ὑμᾶς θεωρῶ, διὰ τὸν βωμόν. Ὁ Θεὸς, φησὶν, ὁ ποιήσας τὸν κόσμον, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ. Ἐφθέγξατο φωνὴν μίαν, δι' ἧς πάντα κατέστρεψε τὰ τῶν φιλοσόφων. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ Ἐπικούρειοι αὐτόματά φασιν εἶναι τὰ πάντα, καὶ ἀπὸ ἀτόμων συνεστάναι· οἱ δὲ Στωϊκοὶ, σῶμα καὶ ἐκπύρωσιν· ὁ δὲ ἔργον Θεοῦ λέγει τὸν κόσμον, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ. Ὁρᾷς συντομίαν, καὶ ἐν συντομίᾳ σαφήνειαν; Καὶ σκόπει τίνα ἦν ξενίζοντα αὐτούς· ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον ἐποίησεν. Ἃ καὶ τῶν τυχόντων ἴσασί τινες νῦν, ταῦτα οὐκ ᾔδεσαν Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ Ἀθηναίων οἱ σοφοί. Εἰ γὰρ ἐποίησε, δῆλον ὅτι καὶ Κύριος. Ὅρα τί φησι θεότητος εἶναι γνώρισμα, τὸ δημιουργικόν· ὅπερ ἔχει καὶ ὁ Υἱός. Καὶ γὰρ οἱ προφῆται πανταχοῦ τοῦτο λέγουσι, Θεοῦ εἶναι τὸ δημιουργεῖν· οὐχ ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνοι, ἄλλον μὲν εἶναι τὸν ποιητὴν, οὐ κύριον δὲ, τὴν δὲ ἀγένητον ὕλην ὑποτιθέντες. Ἐνταῦθα λοιπὸν αἰνιγματωδῶς εἶπε τὸ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔστησε, καὶ καθαιρεῖ τὸ ἐκείνων. Οὐκ ἐν χειροποιήτοις, φησὶ, κατοικεῖ. Οἰκεῖ μὲν γὰρ ἐν ναοῖς, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν τοιούτοις, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀνθρωπίνῃ ψυχῇ. Ὅρα, τὴν σωματικὴν ἀνεῖλε λατρείαν. Τί οὖν; οὐ κατῴκει ἐν τῷ ναῷ τῷ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις; Οὐ δῆτα, ἀλλ' ἐνήργει. Πῶς οὖν ἐθεραπεύετο ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀνθρώπων παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις; Οὐχ ὑπὸ χειρῶν, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ διανοίας, ἐπεὶ ἐκεῖνά γε οὐκ ἐζήτει οὕτως, ὡς προσδεόμενος. Μὴ φάγομαι, γὰρ, φησὶ, κρέα ταύρων, ἢ αἷμα τράγων πίομαι; Εἶτα εἰπὼν, Οὐδὲ ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀνθρώπων θεραπεύεται, προσδεόμενός τινος· ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἤρκει, τὸ μηδενὸς δεῖσθαι, ὅπερ ἀπεφήνατο· θεῖον μὲν γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ δεῖ καὶ ἕτερον προσεῖναι· ἐπάγει τὸ, Αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσι ζωὴν καὶ πνοὴν, καὶ τὰ πάντα. ∆ύο τεκμήρια θεότητος δείκνυσι, τὸ αὐτόν τε μηδενὸς δεῖσθαι, καὶ πᾶσι πάντα παρέχειν. Πάραγε ἐνταῦθα ὅσα περὶ Θεοῦ Πλάτων ἐφιλοσόφησεν, ὅσα Ἐπίκουρος, καὶ τὰ πάντα λῆρος πρὸς ταῦτα. ∆ιδοὺς, φησὶ, ζωὴν καὶ πνοήν. Ἰδοὺ καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς δημιουργὸν αὐτὸν ποιεῖ, οὐ γεννήτορα. Ὅρα πάλιν πῶς καθαιρεῖ τὸν περὶ τῆς ὕλης λόγον, Ἐποίησέ τε, εἰπὼν, ἐξ ἑνὸς αἵματος πᾶν ἔθνος ἀν 60.271 θρώπων κατοικεῖν ἐπὶ πᾶν τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς. Ταῦτα βελτίω ἐκείνων, καὶ κατηγορία τῶν τε ἀτόμων καὶ τῆς ὕλης. Ἐνταῦθα δείκνυσιν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι μερικὴ, οὐδὲ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Ὅπερ δὲ ἐκεῖνοί φασιν, οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο δημιουργὸν εἶναι. Λέγων δὲ μὴ