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The Discourse to the Greeks

Justin Martyr

Chapter 4

About this work

Author: Justin Martyr

Chapter IV.—Shameless practices of the Greeks.

And your public assemblies I have come to hate.

‹ Chapter 3 Chapter 5 ›

For

there

are

excessive

banquetings

,

and

subtle

flutes

which

provoke

to

lustful

movements

,

and

useless

and

luxurious

anointings

,

and

crowning

with

garlands

.

With

such

a

mass

of

evils

do

you

banish

shame

;

and

ye

fill

your

minds

with

them

,

and

are

carried

away

by

intemperance

,

and

indulge

as

a

common

practice

in

wicked

and

insane

fornication

.

And

this

further

I

would

say

to

you

,

why

are

you

,

being

a

Greek

,

indignant

at

your

son

when

he

imitates

Jupiter

,

and

rises

against

you

and

defrauds

you

of

your

own

wife

?

Why

do

you

count

him

your

enemy

,

and

yet

worship

one

that

is

like

him

?

And

why

do

you

blame

your

wife

for

living

in

unchastity

,

and

yet

honour

Venus

with

shrines

?

If

indeed

these

things

had

been

related

by

others

,

they

would

have

seemed

to

be

mere

slanderous

accusations

,

and

not

truth

.

But

now

your

own

poets

sing

these

things

,

and

your

histories

noisily

publish

them

.