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Theophilus to Autolycus

Theophilus of Antioch

Book 2 · Chapter 12

About this work

Three books addressed to a pagan friend defending the invisible God, creation, resurrection, Christian morality, and the antiquity of the Hebrew Scriptures against Greco-Roman religion and literature.

Author: Theophilus of Antioch
Date: c. AD 180–185
Origin: Antioch
Genre: Apology

Chapter XII.—The Glory of the Six Days’ Work.

Of this six days’ work no man

‹ Book 2 · Chapter 11 Book 2 · Chapter 13 ›

can

give

a

worthy

explanation

and

description

of

all

its

parts

,

not

though

he

had

ten

thousand

tongues

and

ten

thousand

mouths

;

nay

,

though

he

were

to

live

ten

thousand

years

,

sojourning

in

this

life

,

not

even

so

could

he

utter

anything

worthy

of

these

things

,

on

account

of

the

exceeding

greatness

and

riches

of

the

wisdom

of

God

which

there

is

in

the

six

days

’

work

above

narrated

.

Many

writers

indeed

have

imitated

[

the

narration

]

,

and

essayed

to

give

an

explanation

of

these

things

;

yet

,

though

they

thence

derived

some

suggestions

,

both

concerning

the

creation

of

the

world

and

the

nature

of

man

,

they

have

emitted

no

slightest

spark

of

truth

.

And

the

utterances

of

the

philosophers

,

and

writers

,

and

poets

have

an

appearance

of

trustworthiness

,

on

account

of

the

beauty

of

their

diction

;

but

their

discourse

is

proved

to

be

foolish

and

idle

,

because

the

multitude

of

their

nonsensical

frivolities

is

very

great

;

and

not

a

stray

morsel

of

truth

is

found

in

them

.

For

even

if

any

truth

seems

to

have

been

uttered

by

them

,

it

has

a

mixture

of

error

.

And

as

a

deleterious

drug

,

when

mixed

with

honey

or

wine

,

or

some

other

thing

,

makes

the

whole

[

mixture

]

hurtful

and

profitless

;

so

also

eloquence

is

in

their

case

found

to

be

labour

in

vain

;

yea

,

rather

an

injurious

thing

to

those

who

credit

it

.

Moreover

,

[

they

spoke

]

concerning

the

seventh

day

,

which

all

men

acknowledge

;

but

the

most

know

not

that

what

among

the

Hebrews

is

called

the

“

Sabbath

,

”

is

translated

into

Greek

the

“

Seventh

”

(

ἑβδομάς

)

,

a

name

which

is

adopted

by

every

nation

,

although

they

know

not

the

reason

of

the

appellation

.

And

as

for

what

the

poet

Hesiod

says

of

Erebus

being

produced

from

chaos

,

as

well

as

the

earth

and

love

which

lords

it

over

his

[

Hesiod’s

]

gods

and

men

,

his

dictum

is

shown

to

be

idle

and

frigid

,

and

quite

foreign

to

the

truth

.

For

it

is

not

meet

that

God

be

conquered

by

pleasure

;

since

even

men

of

temperance

abstain

from

all

base

pleasure

and

wicked

lust

.