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Contra gentes

Of our father among the saints Athanasius, archbishop of Alexandria, against the Greeks

1 The knowledge of godliness and of the truth of all things does not so much need teaching from men, as it has its notoriety from itself; for it almost cries out daily by its works, and shows itself more brightly than the sun through the teaching of Christ. But since you nevertheless desire to hear about it, come, O blessed one, let us, as we are able, set forth a few things of the faith according to Christ, though you are able to find it also from the divine oracles, yet you lovingly hear it from others as well. For the holy and divinely-inspired scriptures are sufficient in themselves for the proclamation of the truth; and there are also many treatises composed on these subjects by our blessed teachers; if anyone should encounter these, he will in some way know the interpretation of the scriptures, and will be able to obtain the knowledge which he desires. But since we do not now have the compositions of the teachers in our hands, it is necessary to report and write to you those things which we learned from them; I mean, the faith in Christ the Savior; so that no one may consider the teaching of our doctrine to be cheap, nor suppose faith in Christ to be irrational; such things as the Greeks, slandering, mock, and laugh broadly at us, bringing up nothing other than the cross of Christ; at which one might especially pity their insensibility, that, while slandering the cross, they do not see its power which has filled the whole world, and that through it the works of the knowledge of God have been made manifest to all. For if they had genuinely fixed their mind on His divinity, they would not have mocked so great a thing; but rather they themselves would have recognized him as Savior of all, and that the cross was not a harm but a healing of creation. For if, with the cross having come to be, all idolatry was taken down, and every fantasy of demons is driven away by this sign, and Christ alone is worshipped, and through him the Father is known, and those who contradict are put to shame, and he daily invisibly persuades the souls of those who contradict; how (for one might reasonably say to them) is it still possible to think the matter is human, and not rather confess that the one who went up on the cross is the Word of God and Savior of all? And these seem to me to suffer something similar, as if someone were to slander the sun when it is covered by clouds, but admire its light, seeing that all of creation is illuminated by it. For as the light is beautiful, and the sun, the author of the light, is more beautiful; so, since it is a divine matter that the whole world has been filled with the knowledge of him, it is necessary that the author and leader of such an achievement be God and the Word of God. Therefore we speak, as far as we are able, first refuting the ignorance of the unbelievers; so that, with the falsehoods refuted, the truth may henceforth shine forth of itself, and you yourself, O man, may be confident that you have believed in truth, and in knowing Christ you have not been deceived. And I think it is fitting for you, being a lover of Christ, to discuss the things concerning Christ, since I am convinced that you also consider the knowledge and faith concerning him more precious than all things.

2 From the beginning evil was not; for not even now is it among the saints, nor does it exist among them at all; but men later began to devise it, and to model it upon themselves; from which indeed they also fashioned for themselves the invention of idols, reckoning things that are not as if they are. For the creator of all

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Contra gentes

Τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἀθανασίου ἀρχιεπισκόπου Ἀλεξανδρείας κατὰ Ἑλλήνων

1 Ἡ μὲν περὶ τῆς θεοσεβείας καὶ τῆς τῶν ὅλων ἀληθείας γνῶσις οὐ τοσοῦτον

τῆς παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων διδασκαλίας δεῖται, ὅσον ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς ἔχει τὸ γνώριμον· μόνον γὰρ οὐχὶ καθ' ἡμέραν τοῖς ἔργοις κέκραγε, καὶ ἡλίου λαμπρότερον ἑαυτὴν διὰ τῆς Χριστοῦ διδα σκαλίας ἐπιδείκνυται· ποθοῦντι δέ σοι ὅμως τὰ περὶ ταύτης ἀκοῦσαι, φέρε, ὦ μακάριε, ὡς ἂν οἷοί τε ὦμεν, ὀλίγα τῆς κατὰ Χριστὸν πίστεως ἐκθώμεθα, δυναμένῳ μέν σοι καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν θείων λογίων ταύτην εὑρεῖν, φιλοκάλως δὲ ὅμως καὶ παρ' ἑτέρων ἀκούοντι. αὐτάρκεις μὲν γάρ εἰσιν αἱ ἅγιαι καὶ θεόπνευστοι γραφαὶ πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας ἀπαγγελίαν· εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν μακαρίων ἡμῶν διδασκάλων εἰς ταῦτα συνταχθέντες λόγοι· οἷς ἐάν τις ἐντύχοι, εἴσεται μέν πως τὴν τῶν γραφῶν ἑρμηνείαν, ἧς δὲ ὀρέγεται γνώσεως τυχεῖν δυνήσεται. ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τὰς τῶν διδασκάλων συντάξεις ἐν χερσὶ νῦν οὐκ ἔχομεν, ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστιν ἃ παρ' ἐκείνων ἐμάθομεν, ταῦτα καὶ ἀπαγγέλλειν καὶ γράφειν σοι· λέγω δὴ τὴν κατὰ τὸν Σωτῆρα Χριστὸν πίστιν· ἵνα μήτε εὐτελῆ τις τὴν τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς λόγου διδασκαλίαν ἡγήσηται, μήτε ἄλογον τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν πίστιν ὑπολάβῃ· ὁποῖα διαβάλλοντες Ἕλληνες χλευάζουσι, καὶ πλατὺ γελῶσι καθ' ἡμῶν, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ τὸν σταυρὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ προφέροντες· ἐφ' ᾧ μάλιστα καὶ τὴν ἀναισθησίαν αὐτῶν οἰκτειρήσειεν ἄν τις, ὅτι, τὸν σταυρὸν διαβάλλοντες, οὐχ ὁρῶσι τὴν τούτου δύναμιν πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην πεπληρωκυῖαν, καὶ ὅτι δι' αὐτοῦ τὰ τῆς θεογνωσίας ἔργα πᾶσι πεφανέρωται. οὐκ ἂν γάρ, εἴπερ ἦσαν καὶ αὐτοὶ γνησίως ἐπιστήσαντες αὐτοῦ τῇ θεότητι τὸν νοῦν, ἐχλεύαζον τὸ τηλικοῦτον· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ αὐτοὶ τοῦτον ἐπεγίνωσκον Σωτῆρα τοῦ παντός, καὶ τὸν σταυρὸν μὴ βλάβην ἀλλὰ θεραπείαν τῆς κτίσεως γεγονέναι. εἰ γὰρ τοῦ σταυροῦ γενομένου, πᾶσα μὲν εἰδωλολατρεία καθῃρέθη, πᾶσα δὲ δαιμόνων φαντασία τῷ σημείῳ τούτῳ ἀπελαύνεται, καὶ μόνος ὁ Χριστὸς προσκυνεῖται, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ γινώσκεται ὁ Πατήρ, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἀντιλέγοντες καταισχύνονται, ὁ δὲ τῶν ἀντιλεγόντων ὁσημέραι τὰς ψυχὰς ἀφανῶς μεταπείθει· πῶς (εἰκότως γὰρ ἄν τις εἴποι πρὸς αὐτούς) ἔτι ἀνθρώπινον ἔστιν ἐπινοεῖν τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ οὐ μᾶλλον ὁμολογεῖν Θεοῦ Λόγον καὶ Σωτῆρα εἶναι τοῦ παντὸς τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ ἀναβάντα; πάσχειν δὲ καὶ οὗτοί μοι δοκοῦσιν ὅμοιον, ὡς εἴ τις τὸν μὲν ἥλιον ὑπὸ νεφῶν σκεπόμενον διαβάλλοι, τὸ δὲ τούτου φῶς θαυμάζοι, βλέπων ὅτι πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις ὑπὸ τούτου καταλάμπεται. ὡς γὰρ καλὸν τὸ φῶς, καὶ καλλίων ὁ τοῦ φωτὸς ἀρχηγὸς ἥλιος· οὕτω θείου πράγματος ὄντος τοῦ τὴν οἰκουμένην πᾶσαν τὴν αὐτοῦ γνώσεως πεπληρῶσθαι, ἀνάγκη τὸν ἀρχηγὸν καὶ ἡγεμόνα τοῦ τοιούτου κατορθώματος εἶναι Θεὸν καὶ Θεοῦ Λόγον. Λέγομεν οὖν ὡς ἐφικτὸν ἡμῖν, πρότερον διελέγξαντες τὴν τῶν ἀπίστων ἀμαθίαν· ἵνα, τῶν ψευδῶν διελεγχθέντων, λοιπὸν ἡ ἀλήθεια δι' ἑαυτῆς ἐπιλάμψῃ, καὶ θαρρῇς καὶ αὐτός, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, ὅτι ἀληθείᾳ πεπίστευκας, καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν γινώσκων οὐκ ἠπατήθης. πρέπειν δέ σοι ἡγοῦμαι φιλοχρίστῳ ὄντι τὰ περὶ Χριστοῦ διαλέγεσθαι, ἐπεὶ καὶ πάντων τιμιωτέραν τὴν περὶ τούτου γνῶσιν καὶ πίστιν ἡγεῖσθαί σε πεπίστευκα.

2 Ἐξ ἀρχῆς μὲν οὐκ ἦν κακία· οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ νῦν ἐν τοῖς ἁγίοις ἐστίν, οὐδ' ὅλως κατ' αὐτοὺς ὑπάρχει αὕτη· ἄνθρωποι δὲ ταύτην ὕστερον ἐπινοεῖν ἤρξαντο, καὶ καθ' ἑαυτῶν ἀνατυποῦσθαι· ὅθεν δὴ καὶ τὴν τῶν εἰδώλων ἐπίνοιαν ἑαυτοῖς ἀνεπλάσαντο, τὰ οὐκ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα λογιζόμενοι. ὁ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ παντὸς δημιουργὸς