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Hortatory Address to the Greeks

Justin Martyr

Chapter 12

About this work

Author: Justin Martyr

Chapter XII.—Antiquity of Moses proved.

And I think it necessary also to consider the times

‹ Chapter 11 Chapter 13 ›

in

which

your

philosophers

lived

,

that

you

may

see

that

the

time

which

produced

them

for

you

is

very

recent

,

and

also

short

.

For

thus

you

will

be

able

easily

to

recognise

also

the

antiquity

of

Moses

.

But

lest

,

by

a

complete

survey

of

the

periods

,

and

by

the

use

of

a

greater

number

of

proofs

,

I

should

seem

to

be

prolix

,

I

thing

it

may

be

sufficiently

demonstrated

from

the

following

.

For

Socrates

was

the

teacher

of

Plato

,

and

Plato

of

Aristotle

.

Now

these

men

flourished

in

the

time

of

Philip

and

Alexander

of

Macedon

,

in

which

time

also

the

Athenian

orators

flourished

,

as

the

Philippics

of

Demosthenes

plainly

show

us

.

And

those

who

have

narrated

the

deeds

of

Alexander

sufficiently

prove

that

during

his

reign

Aristotle

associated

with

him

.

From

all

manner

of

proofs

,

then

,

it

is

easy

to

see

that

the

history

of

Moses

is

by

far

more

ancient

than

all

profane

histories

.

And

,

besides

,

it

is

fit

that

you

recognise

this

fact

also

,

that

nothing

has

been

accurately

recorded

by

Greeks

before

the

era

of

the

Olympiads

,

and

that

there

is

no

ancient

work

which

makes

known

any

action

of

the

Greeks

or

Barbarians

.

But

before

that

period

existed

only

the

history

of

the

prophet

Moses

,

which

he

wrote

in

the

Hebrew

character

by

the

divine

inspiration

.

For

the

Greek

character

was

not

yet

in

use

,

as

the

teachers

of

language

themselves

prove

,

telling

us

that

Cadmus

first

brought

the

letters

from

Phœnicia

,

and

communicated

them

to

the

Greeks

.

And

your

first

of

philosophers

,

Plato

,

testifies

that

they

were

a

recent

discovery

.

For

in

the

Timæus

he

wrote

that

Solon

,

the

wisest

of

the

wise

men

,

on

his

return

from

Egypt

,

said

to

Critias

that

he

had

heard

this

from

a

very

aged

Egyptian

priest

,

who

said

to

him

,

“

O

Solon

,

Solon

,

you

Greeks

are

ever

children

,

and

aged

Greek

there

is

none

.

”

Then

again

he

said

,

“

You

are

all

youths

in

soul

,

for

you

hold

no

ancient

opinion

derived

through

remote

tradition

,

nor

any

system

of

instruction

hoary

with

time

;

but

all

these

things

escape

your

knowledge

,

because

for

many

generations

the

posterity

of

these

ancient

ages

died

mute

,

not

having

the

use

of

letters

.

”

It

is

fit

,

therefore

,

that

you

understand

that

it

is

the

fact

that

every

history

has

been

written

in

these

recently

-

discovered

Greek

letters

;

and

if

any

one

would

make

mention

of

old

poets

,

or

legislators

,

or

historians

,

or

philosophers

,

or

orators

,

he

will

find

that

they

wrote

their

own

works

in

the

Greek

character

.

Notes

34
Literally, “without,” not belonging to the true faith.
35
C. 3.