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Hortatory Address to the Greeks

Justin Martyr

Chapter 29

About this work

Author: Justin Martyr

Chapter XXIX.—Origin of Plato’s doctrine of form.

And Plato, too, when he says that form

‹ Chapter 28 Chapter 30 ›

is

the

third

original

principle

next

to

God

and

matter

,

has

manifestly

received

this

suggestion

from

no

other

source

than

from

Moses

,

having

learned

,

indeed

,

from

the

words

of

Moses

the

name

of

form

,

but

not

having

at

the

same

time

been

instructed

by

the

initiated

,

that

without

mystic

insight

it

is

impossible

to

have

any

distinct

knowledge

of

the

writings

of

Moses

.

For

Moses

wrote

that

God

had

spoken

to

him

regarding

the

tabernacle

in

the

following

words

:

“

And

thou

shalt

make

for

me

according

to

all

that

I

show

thee

in

the

mount

,

the

pattern

of

the

tabernacle

.

”

And

again

:

“

And

thou

shalt

erect

the

tabernacle

according

to

the

pattern

of

all

the

instruments

thereof

,

even

so

shalt

thou

make

it

.

”

And

again

,

a

little

afterwards

:

“

Thus

then

thou

shalt

make

it

according

to

the

pattern

which

was

showed

to

thee

in

the

mount

.

”

Plato

,

then

,

reading

these

passages

,

and

not

receiving

what

was

written

with

the

suitable

insight

,

thought

that

form

had

some

kind

of

separate

existence

before

that

which

the

senses

perceive

,

and

he

often

calls

it

the

pattern

of

the

things

which

are

made

,

since

the

writing

of

Moses

spoke

thus

of

the

tabernacle

:

“

According

to

the

form

showed

to

thee

in

the

mount

,

so

shalt

thou

make

it

.

”

Notes

68
Ex. xxv.
69
Ex. xxv. 9.
70
Ex. xxv. 40.