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Hortatory Address to the Greeks

Justin Martyr

Chapter 20

About this work

Author: Justin Martyr

Chapter XX.—Testimony of Plato.

But Plato, though he accepted, as is likely

‹ Chapter 19 Chapter 21 ›

,

the

doctrine

of

Moses

and

the

other

prophets

regarding

one

only

God

,

which

he

learned

while

in

Egypt

,

yet

fearing

,

on

account

of

what

had

befallen

Socrates

,

lest

he

also

should

raise

up

some

Anytus

or

Meletus

against

himself

,

who

should

accuse

him

before

the

Athenians

,

and

say

,

“

Plato

is

doing

harm

,

and

making

himself

mischievously

busy

,

not

acknowledging

the

gods

recognised

by

the

state

;

”

in

fear

of

the

hemlock

-

juice

,

contrives

an

elaborate

and

ambiguous

discourse

concerning

the

gods

,

furnishing

by

his

treatise

gods

to

those

who

wish

them

,

and

none

for

those

who

are

differently

disposed

,

as

may

readily

be

seen

from

his

own

statements

.

For

when

he

has

laid

down

that

everything

that

is

made

is

mortal

,

he

afterwards

says

that

the

gods

were

made

.

If

,

then

,

he

would

have

God

and

matter

to

be

the

origin

of

all

things

,

manifestly

it

is

inevitably

necessary

to

say

that

the

gods

were

made

of

matter

;

but

if

of

matter

,

out

of

which

he

said

that

evil

also

had

its

origin

,

he

leaves

right

-

thinking

persons

to

consider

what

kind

of

beings

the

gods

should

be

thought

who

are

produced

out

of

matter

.

For

,

for

this

very

reason

did

he

say

that

matter

was

eternal

,

that

he

might

not

seem

to

say

that

God

is

the

creator

of

evil

.

And

regarding

the

gods

who

were

made

by

God

,

there

is

no

doubt

he

said

this

:

“

Gods

of

gods

,

of

whom

I

am

the

creator

.

”

And

he

manifestly

held

the

correct

opinion

concerning

the

really

existing

God

.

For

having

heard

in

Egypt

that

God

had

said

to

Moses

,

when

He

was

about

to

send

him

to

the

Hebrews

,

“

I

am

that

I

am

,

”

he

understood

that

God

had

not

mentioned

to

him

His

own

proper

name

.

Notes

40
Or, “uncreated.”
41
ὁ ὢν, “He who is; the Being.”