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Hortatory Address to the Greeks

Justin Martyr

Chapter 35

About this work

Author: Justin Martyr

Chapter XXXV.—Appeal to the Greeks.

The time, then, ye men of Greece,

‹ Chapter 34 Chapter 36 ›

is

now

come

,

that

ye

,

having

been

persuaded

by

the

secular

histories

that

Moses

and

the

rest

of

the

prophets

were

far

more

ancient

than

any

of

those

who

have

been

esteemed

sages

among

you

,

abandon

the

ancient

delusion

of

your

forefathers

,

and

read

the

divine

histories

of

the

prophets

,

and

ascertain

from

them

the

true

religion

;

for

they

do

not

present

to

you

artful

discourses

,

nor

speak

speciously

and

plausibly

—

for

this

is

the

property

of

those

who

wish

to

rob

you

of

the

truth

—

but

use

with

simplicity

the

words

and

expressions

which

offer

themselves

,

and

declare

to

you

whatever

the

Holy

Ghost

,

who

descended

upon

them

,

chose

to

teach

through

them

to

those

who

are

desirous

to

learn

the

true

religion

.

Having

then

laid

aside

all

false

shame

,

and

the

inveterate

error

of

mankind

,

with

all

its

bombastic

parade

and

empty

noise

,

though

by

means

of

it

you

fancy

you

are

possessed

of

all

advantages

,

do

you

give

yourselves

to

the

things

that

profit

you

.

For

neither

will

you

commit

any

offence

against

your

fathers

,

if

you

now

show

a

desire

to

betake

yourselves

to

that

which

is

quite

opposed

to

their

error

,

since

it

is

likely

enough

that

they

themselves

are

now

lamenting

in

Hades

,

and

repenting

with

a

too

late

repentance

;

and

if

it

were

possible

for

them

to

show

you

thence

what

had

befallen

them

after

the

termination

of

this

life

,

ye

would

know

from

what

fearful

ills

they

desired

to

deliver

you

.

But

now

,

since

it

is

not

possible

in

this

present

life

that

ye

either

learn

from

them

,

or

from

those

who

here

profess

to

teach

that

philosophy

which

is

falsely

so

called

,

it

follows

as

the

one

thing

that

remains

for

you

to

do

,

that

,

renouncing

the

error

of

your

fathers

,

ye

read

the

prophecies

of

the

sacred

writers

,

not

requiring

from

them

unexceptionable

diction

(

for

the

matters

of

our

religion

lie

in

works

,

not

in

words

)

,

and

learn

from

them

what

will

give

you

life

everlasting

.

For

those

who

bootlessly

disgrace

the

name

of

philosophy

are

convicted

of

knowing

nothing

at

all

,

as

they

are

themselves

forced

,

though

unwillingly

,

to

confess

,

since

not

only

do

they

disagree

with

each

other

,

but

also

expressed

their

own

opinions

sometimes

in

one

way

,

sometimes

in

another

.

Notes

79
Literally, “sacred men.”
80
[A noteworthy apology for early Christian writers.]