Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

Hortatory Address to the Greeks

Justin Martyr

Chapter 3

About this work

Author: Justin Martyr

Chapter III.—Opinions of the school of Thales.

And if you decline citing the poets, because you

‹ Chapter 2 Chapter 4 ›

say

it

is

allowable

for

them

to

frame

myths

,

and

to

relate

in

a

mythical

way

many

things

about

the

gods

which

are

far

from

true

,

do

you

suppose

you

have

some

others

for

your

religious

teachers

,

or

how

do

you

say

that

they

themselves

have

learned

this

religion

of

yours

?

For

it

is

impossible

that

any

should

know

matters

so

great

and

divine

,

who

have

not

themselves

learned

them

first

from

the

initiated

.

You

will

no

doubt

say

,

“

The

sages

and

philosophers

.

”

For

to

them

,

as

to

a

fortified

wall

,

you

are

wont

to

flee

,

when

any

one

quotes

the

opinions

of

your

poets

about

the

gods

.

Therefore

,

since

it

is

fit

that

we

commence

with

the

ancients

and

the

earliest

,

beginning

thence

I

will

produce

the

opinion

of

each

,

much

more

ridiculous

as

it

is

than

the

theology

of

the

poets

.

For

Thales

of

Miletus

,

who

took

the

lead

in

the

study

of

natural

philosophy

,

declared

that

water

was

the

first

principle

of

all

things

;

for

from

water

he

says

that

all

things

are

,

and

that

into

water

all

are

resolved

.

And

after

him

Anaximander

,

who

came

from

the

same

Miletus

,

said

that

the

infinite

was

the

first

principle

of

all

things

;

for

that

from

this

indeed

all

things

are

produced

,

and

into

this

do

all

decay

.

Thirdly

,

Anaximenes

—

and

he

too

was

from

Miletus

—

says

that

air

is

the

first

principle

of

all

things

;

for

he

says

that

from

this

all

things

are

produced

,

and

into

this

all

are

resolved

.

Heraclitus

and

Hippasus

,

from

Metapontus

,

say

that

fire

is

the

first

principle

of

all

things

;

for

from

fire

all

things

proceed

,

and

in

fire

do

all

things

terminate

.

Anaxagoras

of

Clazomenæ

said

that

the

homogeneous

parts

are

the

first

principles

of

all

things

.

Archelaus

,

the

son

of

Apollodorus

,

an

Athenian

,

says

that

the

infinite

air

and

its

density

and

rarity

are

the

first

principle

of

all

things

.

All

these

,

forming

a

succession

from

Thales

,

followed

the

philosophy

called

by

themselves

physical

.

Notes

11
i.e., these teachers.
12
Literally, “those who knew.”