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OTHER FRAGMENTS And the most wonderful Justin rightly declared that the aforementioned men resemble robbers. But Justin of Neapolis, a man who was neither far from the apostles in time nor in virtue, says that what dies is inherited, but what lives inherits, and that the flesh dies, but the kingdom of heaven lives. When God formed man at the beginning, He made his nature depend on his own will, making the test by one commandment. For if he kept this, He made him to be of the immortal lot, but if he transgressed, of the opposite. Man, having thus come into being, and immediately coming to the transgression, naturally received corruption. And since corruption was added to his nature, it was necessary for the one who wished to save him to destroy the corrupting substance. But this could not happen in any other way, unless life according to nature was joined to the one who had received corruption, destroying the corruption, and preserving immortal for the future the one who had received it. For this reason it was necessary for the Word to become in a body, that he might free us from the death of corruption according to nature. For if, as you say, he had prevented our death by a mere nod, death would not have approached because of his will, but we would have been no less corruptible again, carrying about in ourselves a natural corruption. We will not harm God by being ignorant of him, but we will deprive ourselves of his friendship. Neither will light ever be darkness, as long as it is light, nor will the truth of our affairs be refuted. For it is truth, and nothing is stronger than it. A sound word does not enter into a hard and disobedient heart, but as if striking against something, it returns to itself. And as health is a good of the body, so the knowledge of God is a good of the soul, being a certain health of the soul, by which likeness to God comes about. Just as for all bodies created by God it is inherent to also have a shadow, so also for God, being just, it is fitting to bestow upon each according to his desert, to those who have chosen good things and to those who have preferred evil things. The soul is hard to lead back up to these good things from which it has slipped, and hard to lead out of these evil things to which it has become accustomed. If you had ever been willing to blame yourself, with the medicine of repentance I might perhaps have nourished some good hopes for you; but since you have completely despised fear and have scorned the very faith in Christ, it would have been better for you that you had not been born from the womb. It escapes their notice, as is likely, that from error he has passed over to the truth through true faith, but he himself truly knows

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ALIA FRAGMENTA Καὶ ὁ θαυμασιώτατος Ἰουστῖνος ὀρθῶς ἐξεφώνησεν ἐοι κέναι τοὺς προειρημένους λῃσταῖς. Ἰουστῖνος δὲ ὁ Νεαπολίτης, ἀνὴρ οὔτε τῷ χρόνῳ πόῤῥω ὢν τῶν ἀποστόλων οὔτε τῇ ἀρετῇ, κληρονομεῖσθαι μὲν τὸ ἀποθνῆσκον, κληρονομεῖν δὲ τὸ ζῶν λέγει, καὶ ἀποθνήσκειν μὲν σάρκα, ζῆν δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. Πλάσας ὁ θεὸς κατ' ἀρχὰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον τῆς γνώμης αὐτοῦ τὰ τῆς φύσεως ἀπῃώρησεν, ἐντολῇ μιᾷ ποιησάμενος τὴν διάπειραν. Φυλάξαντα μὲν γὰρ ταύτην τῆς ἀθανάτου λήξεως πεποίηκεν ἔσεσθαι, παραβάντα δὲ τῆς ἐναντίας. Oὕτω γεγονὼς ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ πρὸς τὴν παράβασιν εὐθὺς ἐλθὼν τὴν φθορὰν φυσικῶς εἰσεδέξατο. Φύσει δὲ τῆς φθορᾶς προσ γενομένης ἀναγκαῖον ἦν ὅτι σῶσαι βουλόμενος ἦν τὴν φθορο ποιὸν οὐσίαν ἀφανίσας. Τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἦν ἑτέρως γενέσθαι, εἰ μήπερ ἡ κατὰ φύσιν ζωὴ προσεπλάκη τῷ τὴν φθορὰν δεξα μένῳ, ἀφανίζουσα μὲν τὴν φθοράν, ἀθάνατον δὲ τοῦ λοιποῦ τὸ δεξάμενον διατηροῦσα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τὸν λόγον ἐδέησεν ἐν σώματι γενέσθαι, ἵνα τοῦ θανάτου τῆς κατὰ φύσιν ἡμᾶς φθο ρᾶς ἐλευθερώσῃ. Eἰ γάρ, ὥς φατε, νεύματι μόνον τὸν θά νατον ἡμῶν ἀπεκώλυσεν, οὐ προσῄει μὲν διὰ τὴν βούλησιν ὁ θάνατος, οὐδὲν δὲ ἧττον φθαρτοὶ πάλιν ἦμεν, φυσικὴν ἐν ἑαυ τοῖς τὴν φθορὰν περιφέροντες. Oὐ τὸν θεὸν βλάψομεν ἀγνοοῦντες αὐτόν, ἀλλ' ἑαυτοὺς ἀποστερήσομεν τῆς αὐτοῦ φιλίας. Oὔτε τὸ φῶς ἔσται σκότος ποτέ, ἕως ἂν ᾖ φῶς, οὔτε ἡ τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν πραγμάτων ἀλήθεια διελεγχθήσεται. Ἀλήθεια γάρ ἐστι, καὶ ταύτης ἰσχυρότερον οὐδέν. Πρὸς σκληρὰν καὶ ἀπειθῆ καρδίαν λόγος ὑγιὴς οὐκ εἰσ έρχεται, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἀντιτυπούμενος πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐπανέρ χεται. Ὡς δὲ σώματος ἀγαθὸν ὑγεία, οὕτως ψυχῆς ἀγαθὸν γνῶ σις θεοῦ, ὑγεία τις οὖσα ψυχῆς, καθ' ἣν πρὸς θεὸν ὁμοίωσις γίνεται. Ὥσπερ πᾶσι τοῖς γενομένοις σώμασιν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ συνυπάρχει καὶ τὸ σκιὰν ἔχειν, οὕτως καὶ τῷ θεῷ, δικαίῳ ὄντι, τοῖς τὰ καλὰ ἑλομένοις καὶ τοῖς τὰ κακὰ προτιμήσασιν ἀκόλουθόν ἐστι τὸ κατ' ἀξίαν ἑκάστῳ ἀπονεῖμαι. ∆υσαναβίβαστος ἡ ψυχὴ πρὸς ταῦτα ἀφ' ὧν ὠλίσθησε καλῶν, δυσεκβίβαστός τε τούτων ὧν συνειθίσθη κακῶν. Eἰ μὲν σαυτόν ποτε ἠθέλησας μέμψασθαι, τῷ φαρμάκῳ τῆς μετανοίας τάχα ἂν χρηστάς τινας ἐλπίδας ἐθρεψάμην ἐπὶ σοί, ἐπειδὴ δὲ τελείως κατεφρόνησας τοῦ φόβου καὶ αὐτῆς κατέπτυσας τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν πίστεως, βέλτιόν σοι ὑπῆρχεν ἵνα μὴ ἐγενήθης ἀπὸ γαστρός. Λανθάνει μέν, ὡς εἰκός, αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐκ πλάνης τῇ ἀλη θείᾳ διὰ τῆς ὄντως πίστεως ἐξεστηκώς, αὐτὸς δὲ ἀληθῶς οἶδεν