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Fragments on the epistle to the Romans

Ro+m 5,13-14 Having said before that because of the sin of Adam and because of the sentence of death, all the rest also sinned, he confirms that they sinned by adding: for until the law sin was in the world. For do not suppose, he says, that there was no sin until the Mosaic law, nor that sin was not imputed to men; for it both existed and was imputed, since there was also a law. What law, then, does he mean? The natural law, according to which we are moved, distinguishing the better and the worse, about which law he has already said: For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. Thus, the law of nature existed even before the Mosaic law. But since there were sins, he says, and they were prevalent, death reigned from Adam until the giving of the law, even over those who had not sinned, nor transgressed a command of God in the same way as Adam, but had corrupted the law of nature. And the phrase, who is a type of the one to come, this means Adam is a type of Christ, not according to sin or righteousness—for in these respects they were opposites—, but according to being a source; for just as from Adam death spread to all, so from Christ life spread to all. He is also a type in another sense: for just as Adam was the head of Eve as her husband, so also Christ is the head of the church as he has been proclaimed her bridegroom, as the apostle also says: For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. This mystery is great, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. Rom 5,15 This seems to contradict the preceding statement that death spread to all men; for having spoken above about 'all', now he speaks about 'many'. But it is necessary to know that death indeed spread to all, since we all sinned, but it passed through all, searching and testing, yet holding not those who simply sin, but those who persist in their own sins, which he also makes clear in what follows, saying that the many were made sinners, by which he indicates the unchangeable character of their wickedness. So death passed to all, searching, seeing them sinning, but it did not put all to death. Some, therefore, thought that a distinction of death was being indicated through these words, and that by 'all', physical death was meant, but by 'many', death of the soul. But the sequence of the argument now shows none of these things; for there is no distinction in it, but it proceeds as if about one universal matter. Nevertheless, he is eager to show that even if the evil one brought about the transgression of Adam, contriving for himself a beginning of his reign over men, yet the Lord, upon his arrival, bestowed a greater grace. Rom 5,16-17 Instead of the gift being for the one sin of Adam; for it was great and abundant, and in its love for humanity it surpassed the sins of all, which he teaches by adding: For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For he wants to say that the sin of Adam was one, but nevertheless, being one, from one sin it condemned the many because they imitated Adam, but the grace of the Lord was not measured against the one sin, but against the many sins of all. so that, having delivered from many trespasses, it led to justification; for in this consists the abundance of grace, that it not only delivered from trespasses, but also guided to righteousness. Rom 5,18-19 Having examined and laid bare both the loss inflicted upon men through Adam and the benefit bestowed by the Lord, he then adds, teaching more declaratively, that the transgression of Adam condemned and put men to death,

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Fragmenta in epistulam ad Romanos

Ro+m 5,13-14 Προειπὼν ὅτι ἐπὶ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ καὶ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀποφάσει τοῦ θανάτου καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ πάντες ἥμαρτον, πιστοῦται ὅτι ἥμαρτον ἐκ τοῦ ἐπάγειν· ἄχρι γὰρ νόμου ἁμαρτία ἦν ἐν κόσμῳ. μὴ γὰρ νομίσητε, φησίν, ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ἁμαρτία ἕως τοῦ νόμου τοῦ Μωϋσαϊκοῦ, οὐδὲ ἐνελογεῖτο ἁμαρτία ἀνθρώποις· ἦν γὰρ καὶ ἐνελογεῖτο, ἐπεὶ καὶ νόμος ἦν. ποῖον οὖν νόμον ἐμφαίνει; τὸν φυσικὸν καθ' ὃν κινούμεθα διακρίνοντες τὰ βελτίονα καὶ τὰ χείρονα, περὶ οὗ νόμου ἤδη ἔφησεν· ὅταν γὰρ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ νόμον ἔχοντα φύσει τὰ τοῦ νόμου ποιῇ, οὗτοι νόμον μὴ ἔχοντες ἑαυτοῖς εἰσι νόμος. οὕτως ἦν ἄρα καὶ πρὸ τοῦ Μωϋσαϊκοῦ νόμου ὁ τῆς φύσεως νόμος. ἀλλ' ὡς ὄντων, φησίν, ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ ἐμπολιτευομένων, ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ θάνατος ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι τῆς θέσεως τοῦ νόμου καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς μὴ ἁμαρτήσαντας, μηδὲ παραβεβηκότας ἐντολὴν θεοῦ κατὰ τὸν Ἀδάμ, ἀλλὰ νόμον φύσεως παραχαράξαντας. τὸ δὲ ὅς ἐστι τύπος τοῦ μέλλοντος, τοῦτ' ἔστι τύπος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὁ Ἀδάμ, οὐ κατὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἢ τὴν δικαιοσύνην-κατὰ γὰρ ταῦτα ἐναντίως ἔσχον-, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ προῆρχθαι· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ διεδόθη εἰς πάντας ὁ θάνατος, οὕτως ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διεδόθη εἰς πάντας ἡ ζωή. ἔστι δὲ τύπος καὶ καθ' ἕτερον λόγον· ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ Ἀδὰμ κεφαλὴ ἦν τῆς Εὔας καθ' ὃ ἀνήρ, οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς κεφαλὴ τῆς ἐκκλησίας καθ' ὃ νυμφίος αὐτῆς ἀνηγόρευται, ὡς καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολός φησιν· ἀντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ. τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν, ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. Rom 5,15 Τοῦτο δοκεῖ ἐναντίως ἔχειν τῷ προκειμένῳ τῷ εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν· εἰπὼν γὰρ ἀνωτέρω περὶ πάντων, νῦν περὶ πολλῶν λέγει. ἀλλὰ χρὴ εἰδέναι ὅτι διῆλθε μὲν 84 εἰς πάντας ὁ θάνατος, ἐπειδὴ καὶ πάντες ἡμάρτομεν, ἀλλὰ διῆλθε πάντας μὲν διερευνῶν καὶ πειράζων, κατέχων δὲ οὐ τοὺς ἁπλῶς ἁμαρτάνοντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐμπαραμένοντας ταῖς ἑαυτῶν ἁμαρτίαις, ὅπερ καὶ διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς δηλοῖ λέγων ὅτι ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατεστάθησαν οἱ πολλοί, δι' ὧν ἐμφαίνει τὸ ἀμετάθετον τῆς κακίας αὐτῶν. ὥστε διῆλθε μὲν εἰς πάντας ὁ θάνατος διερευνῶν, ὁρῶν αὐτοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας, ἐθανάτωσε δὲ οὐ πάντας. ἔνιοι μὲν οὖν διαφορὰν θανάτου ᾠήθησαν διὰ τούτων δηλοῦσθαι, καὶ διὰ μὲν τοῦ πάντες σωματικὸν ἐμφαίνεσθαι τὸν θάνατον, διὰ δὲ τοῦ πολλοὶ τυχικόν. ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων νῦν ἡ ἀκολουθία τοῦ λόγου δείκνυσιν· οὐδὲ γὰρ διαστολή τις ἐν αὐτῷ ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ὡς περὶ ἑνὸς οἰκουμενικοῦ πράγματος διέξεισιν. φιλοτιμεῖται μέντοι δεῖξαι, ὅτι εἰ καὶ τὸ παράπτωμα τοῦ Ἀδὰμ κατεσκεύασεν ὁ πονηρός, ἀρχὴν ἑαυτῷ τῆς κατ' ἀνθρώπων βασιλείας πραγματευόμενος, ἀλλὰ μεῖζον χάρισμα ἐπιδημήσας ὁ κύριος ἐχαρίσατο. Rom 5,16-17 Ἀντὶ τοῦ πρὸς ἓν ἁμάρτημα τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἡ δωρεά· μεγάλη γὰρ ἦν καὶ πολλὴ καὶ τὰ πάντων ἁμαρτήματα τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ ὑπερβαίνουσα, ὅπερ διδάσκων ἐπάγει· τὸ μὲν γὰρ κρίμα ἐξ ἑνὸς εἰς κατάκριμα, τὸ δὲ χάρισμα ἐκ πολλῶν παραπτωμάτων εἰς δικαίωμα. βούλεται γὰρ εἰπεῖν ὅτι τὸ μὲν Ἀδὰμ ἁμάρτημα ἓν ἦν, ἀλλ' ὅμως ἓν ὂν ἐξ ἑνὸς ἁμαρτήματος κατέκρινε τοὺς πολλοὺς διὰ τὸ μιμήσασθαι τὸν Ἀδάμ, τὸ δὲ χάρισμα τοῦ κυρίου οὐ πρὸς τὸ ἓν ἁμάρτημα ἐμετρήθη, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰ πάντων πολλὰ ὄντα. ὥστε ἐκ πολλῶν παραπτωμάτων ἀπαλλάξαν ἤγαγεν εἰς δικαίωμα· ἐν γὰρ τούτῳ ἐστὶ τῆς χάριτος τὸ περίσσευμα, ὅτι οὐ μόνον τῶν παραπτωμάτων ἀπήλλαξεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς δικαιοσύνην ἐχειραγώγησεν. Rom 5,18-19 Ἐξετάσας καὶ διαγυμνάσας τήν τε διὰ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ προστριβεῖσαν ἀνθρώποις ζημίαν καὶ τὴν παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου δωρηθεῖσαν εὐεργεσίαν, ἐπάγει λοιπὸν ἀποφατικώτερον διδάσκων, ὡς τοῦ μὲν Ἀδὰμ κατέκρινε καὶ ἐθανάτωσεν ἀνθρώπους τὸ παράπτωμα,