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Dialogue with Trypho

Justin Martyr

Chapter 6

About this work

A literary dialogue in which Justin recounts his conversion to Christianity and debates Scripture, covenant, messianic prophecy, law, and the identity of God’s people with a Jewish interlocutor.

Author: Justin Martyr
Date: Mid-2nd century
Origin: Rome
Genre: Dialogue

Chapter VI.—These things were unknown to Plato and other philosophers.

“ ‘It makes no matter to me,’

‹ Chapter 5 Chapter 7 ›

said

he

,

‘

whether

Plato

or

Pythagoras

,

or

,

in

short

,

any

other

man

held

such

opinions

.

For

the

truth

is

so

;

and

you

would

perceive

it

from

this

.

The

soul

assuredly

is

or

has

life

.

If

,

then

,

it

is

life

,

it

would

cause

something

else

,

and

not

itself

,

to

live

,

even

as

motion

would

move

something

else

than

itself

.

Now

,

that

the

soul

lives

,

no

one

would

deny

.

But

if

it

lives

,

it

lives

not

as

being

life

,

but

as

the

partaker

of

life

;

but

that

which

partakes

of

anything

,

is

different

from

that

of

which

it

does

partake

.

Now

the

soul

partakes

of

life

,

since

God

wills

it

to

live

.

Thus

,

then

,

it

will

not

even

partake

[

of

life

]

when

God

does

not

will

it

to

live

.

For

to

live

is

not

its

attribute

,

as

it

is

God’s

;

but

as

a

man

does

not

live

always

,

and

the

soul

is

not

for

ever

conjoined

with

the

body

,

since

,

whenever

this

harmony

must

be

broken

up

,

the

soul

leaves

the

body

,

and

the

man

exists

no

longer

;

even

so

,

whenever

the

soul

must

cease

to

exist

,

the

spirit

of

life

is

removed

from

it

,

and

there

is

no

more

soul

,

but

it

goes

back

to

the

place

from

whence

it

was

taken

.

’