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Address to the Greeks

Tatian

Chapter 22

About this work

Tatian attacks Greek claims to cultural and philosophical superiority, defends Christian teaching about God, creation, resurrection, and ethics, and argues for the antiquity of biblical wisdom.

Author: Tatian
Date: c. AD 165–175
Origin: Rome or the eastern Mediterranean
Genre: Apology

Ridicule of the Solemnities of the Greeks.

And of what sort are your teachings? Who must

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not

treat

with

contempt

your

solemn

festivals

,

which

,

being

held

in

honour

of

wicked

demons

,

cover

men

with

infamy

?

I

have

often

seen

a

man

—

and

have

been

amazed

to

see

,

and

the

amazement

has

ended

in

contempt

,

to

think

how

he

is

one

thing

internally

,

but

outwardly

counterfeits

what

he

is

not

—

giving

himself

excessive

airs

of

daintiness

and

indulging

in

all

sorts

of

effeminacy

;

sometimes

darting

his

eyes

about

;

sometimes

throwing

his

hands

hither

and

thither

,

and

raving

with

his

face

smeared

with

mud

;

sometimes

personating

Aphrodité

,

sometimes

Apollo

;

a

solitary

accuser

of

all

the

gods

,

an

epitome

of

superstition

,

a

vituperator

of

heroic

deeds

,

an

actor

of

murders

,

a

chronicler

of

adultery

,

a

storehouse

of

madness

,

a

teacher

of

cynædi

,

an

instigator

of

capital

sentences

;

—

and

yet

such

a

man

is

praised

by

all

.

But

I

have

rejected

all

his

falsehoods

,

his

impiety

,

his

practices

,

—

in

short

,

the

man

altogether

.

But

you

are

led

captive

by

such

men

,

while

you

revile

those

who

do

not

take

a

part

in

your

pursuits

.

I

have

no

mind

to

stand

agape

at

a

number

of

singers

,

nor

do

I

desire

to

be

affected

in

sympathy

with

a

man

when

he

is

winking

and

gesticulating

in

an

unnatural

manner

.

What

wonderful

or

extraordinary

thing

is

performed

among

you

?

They

utter

ribaldry

in

affected

tones

,

and

go

through

indecent

movements

;

your

daughters

and

your

sons

behold

them

giving

lessons

in

adultery

on

the

stage

.

Admirable

places

,

forsooth

,

are

your

lecture

-

rooms

,

where

every

base

action

perpetrated

by

night

is

proclaimed

aloud

,

and

the

hearers

are

regaled

with

the

utterance

of

infamous

discourses

!

Admirable

,

too

,

are

your

mendacious

poets

,

who

by

their

fictions

beguile

their

hearers

from

the

truth

!

Notes

65
Tatian here describes an actor. [And in America heathenism has returned upon us in most of the indecencies here exposed. Are we Christians?]