Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

Banquet of the Ten Virgins

Methodius of Olympus

Chapter 5

About this work

A literary symposium in which ten women offer speeches on virginity, creation, Scripture, virtue, and Christian perfection, consciously adapting the form of a classical philosophical banquet.

Author: Methodius of Olympus
Date: Late 3rd century
Origin: Eastern Mediterranean
Genre: Dialogue

Chapter V.—The Sixty Queens: Why Sixty, and Why Queens; The Excellence of the Saints of the First Age.

In addition to these matters, there is this

‹ Chapter 4 Chapter 6 ›

also

to

be

considered

,

so

that

nothing

may

escape

us

of

things

which

are

necessary

,

why

He

said

that

the

queens

were

sixty

,

and

the

concubines

eighty

,

and

the

virgins

so

numerous

as

not

to

be

counted

from

their

multitude

,

but

the

spouse

one

.

And

first

let

us

speak

of

the

sixty

.

I

imagine

that

He

named

under

the

sixty

queens

,

those

who

had

pleased

God

from

the

first

-

made

man

in

succession

to

Noah

,

for

this

reason

,

since

these

had

no

need

of

precepts

and

laws

for

their

salvation

,

the

creation

of

the

world

in

six

days

being

still

recent

.

For

they

remembered

that

in

six

days

God

formed

the

creation

,

and

those

things

which

were

made

in

paradise

;

and

how

man

,

receiving

a

command

not

to

touch

the

tree

of

knowledge

,

ran

aground

,

the

author

of

evil

having

led

him

astray

.

Thence

he

gave

the

symbolical

name

of

sixty

queens

to

those

souls

who

,

from

the

creation

of

the

world

,

in

succession

chose

God

as

the

object

of

their

love

,

and

were

almost

,

so

to

speak

,

the

offspring

of

the

first

age

,

and

neighbours

of

the

great

six

days

’

work

,

from

their

having

been

born

,

as

I

said

,

immediately

after

the

six

days

.

For

these

had

great

honour

,

being

associated

with

the

angels

,

and

often

seeing

God

manifested

visibly

,

and

not

in

a

dream

.

For

consider

what

confidence

Seth

had

towards

God

,

and

Abel

,

and

Enos

,

and

Enoch

,

and

Methuselah

,

and

Noah

,

the

first

lovers

of

righteousness

,

and

the

first

of

the

first

-

born

children

who

are

written

in

heaven

,

being

thought

worthy

of

the

kingdom

,

as

a

kind

of

first

-

fruits

of

the

plants

for

salvation

,

coming

out

as

early

fruit

to

God

.

And

so

much

may

suffice

concerning

these

.

Notes

1
This was Eve’s testimony to the serpent, not the original command.—Tr. [But I do not see the force of this note. Eve in her innocency is surely a competent witness.]
2
Gen. iii. 3.
3
Heb. xi. 23.