,,translations ,,of ,,christian         
,,literature                            
,,series ,i                             
,,greek ,,texts                         
,,st4 ,,dionysius ,,of                  
,,alexandria                            
,,translation ,,of ,,christian          
,,literature4 ,,series ,i               
,,greek ,,texts                         
,,st4 ,,dionysius                       
,,of ,,alexandria                       
,,letters ,,and ,,treatises             
,by ,,charles ,,lett ,,feltoe1 ,d4,d4   
,,society ,,for ,,promoting             
,,christian ,,knowledge4 ,london        
,the ,macmillan ,company4 ,new ,york    
,,preface   ,not long after my edition  
of this ,father's writings appeared in  
the ,cambridge ,patristic ,texts        
7#aijd71 ,i was invited to translate the
 ,letters and some of the other more    
certainly genuine fragments that remain 
into ,english for the present series2   
but it is not until now that ,i have    
been able to accomplish the task ,i then

 undertook4 ,since then1 though chiefly 
occupied in other researches1 ,i have   
naturally acquired a more extensive and 
accurate knowledge of ,st4 ,dionysius   
and his times1 some of the results of   
which will be found in this volume4     
,nevertheless1 ,i was bound to          
incorporate a considerable amount of the
 information and conclusions arrived at 
in the former work1 and wish to express 
my acknowledgments to the ,syndics of   
the ,university ,press for leave to do  
so1 as well as to those again whose     
names ,i mentioned as having assisted me
 before4  ,in the present book ,dr4 ,a4 
,j4 ,mason was kind enough to advise me 
over the choice of extracts from the two
 treatises1 ,on ,nature and ,refutation 
and ,defence1 and on one or two minor   
points1 while a friend and neighbour    
7the ,rev4 ,l4 ,patterson7 read through 
the whole of the ,,ms4 before it went to
 the printer and gave me the benefit of 
a fresh mind upon a number of small     
details of style and fact1 for which ,i 

sincerely thank him4                    
,c4 ,l4 ,feltoe4    ,ripple by ,dover   
,march #aiah4                           
,,contents                              
,,page   ,,preface                      
,v   ,,introduction                     
#i   ,,letters                          
#ce   ,,to ,,basilides                  
#gf   ,,on ,,the ,,promises             
#hb   ,,on ,,nature                     
#ia   ,,refutation ,,and ,,defence      
#aja   ,,additional ,,note              
#ajh   ,,index                          
#aji                                    
,,introduction   #a4 ,none of the many  
influential occupants of the see of     
,alexandria and of the many             
distinguished heads of the ,catechetical
 ,school in that city seem to have been 
held in higher respect by the ancients  
than ,dionysius4 ,by common consent he  
is styled the ,great1 while ,athanasius1
 one of his most famous-successors as   
,bishop1 calls him ,teacher of the      
,church universal1 and ,basil 7of       

,csarea7 refers to him as a person of   
canonical authority 7kanonikos74 ,he    
took a prominent and important part in  
all the leading movements and           
controversies of the day1 and his       
opinions always carried great weight1   
especially in ,eastern ,christendom4    
,his writings are freely referred to and
 quoted1 not only by ,eusebius the      
historian1#a but also by ,athanasius1   
,basil and ,john of ,damascus amongst   
others4 ,and what we gather of his      
personal story from his letters and     
various fragments embodied in the works 
of others--and very little1 if anything 
else1 for certain has come down to      
us--undoubtedly leaves the impression   
that the verdict of the ancient world is
 correct4                         ,his  
,family and ,earlier ,life  #b4 ,the    
references to his family and early years
 are extremely scanty and vague4 ,in the
 ,chronicon ,orientale1 p4 #id1 he is   
stated to have been a ,sabaita and      
sprung from the chiefs and nobles of    

that race3 and several writers speak as 
if he had been a rhetorician before his 
conversion 7as ,cyprian of ,carthage had
 been74 ,the exact meaning of the term  
,sabaita above is doubtful4 ,strictly   
used1 it should mean a member of the    
,sabaite convent near ,jerusalem1 and   
the ,chronicon may be claiming          
,dionysius as that1 though1 of course1  
without any ground for the claim4 ,if it
 is equivalent1 however1 to ,saban here1
 it implies an ,arab descent for him1   
which is hardly probable1 as he seems   
always to consider himself connected by 
education and residence1 if not by      
birth1 with the city-folk of            
,alexandria1 whom he distinguishes from 
the ,coptic inhabitants of ,egypt       
7,aigyptioi72 so that it would be rather
 surprising to find that his family came
 from the remoter parts of ,arabia1     
where the ,sabans dwelt4 ,the other     
tradition of his having been a          
rhetorician may be due to some confusion
 between our ,dionysius and a much later

 ,alexandrian writer of the same name1  
who edited the works of the ,areopagite 
with notes and wrote other treatises4   
,on the other hand1 ,dionysius's        
literary style is such that it might    
very well have been formed by the study 
and practice of rhetoric1 while he has  
been thought himself to corroborate the 
statement of the ,chronicon ,orientale1 
as to the high position of his family1  
in his reply to ,germanus 7p4 #di71     
where he refers to the losses of        
dignities which he has suffered for the 
,faith4  #c4 ,he was probably a priest1 
and not less than thirty1 when he became
 head of the ,catechetical ,school in   
#bca1 and in #bfd he excused himself    
from attendance at the ,council of      
,antioch on the ground of age and       
infirmity2 and so it is a safe inference
 that he was born about or before #bjj1 
being thus nearly of an age with        
,cyprian of ,carthage1 and only ten or  
fifteen years younger than ,origen1 his 
master4                                 

,his ,conversion  #d4 ,the ,chronicon   
,orientale assigns the reading of ,st4  
,paul's letters as the cause of his     
conversion to ,christianity1 and        
proceeds to state how1 after their      
perusal1 he presented himself for       
baptism to ,demetrius1 then ,bishop of  
,alexandria1 who admitted him in due    
course4 ,whether this was actually the  
cause of his conversion or not1 we know 
from what he has himself told us in his 
letter to ,philemon 7p4 #ef71 that both 
before and after baptism he was a       
diligent student of all that was written
 for and against ,christianity4         
,was ,he ,married or ,not8  #e4         
,whether1 in accordance with the common 
practice of the ,eastern ,church at that
 time1 ,dionysius was married or not1 is
 a moot point4 ,he addressed his        
treatise peri ,physes to one ,timotheus 
ho pais1 and we read of hoi paides 7of  
whom ,timotheus was one7 as accompanying
 him in his flight 7p4 #dd74 ,one would 
naturally infer from this that he was   

then a widower 7his wife not being      
mentioned71 and that these were his     
sons2 but they may have been his pupils1
 on the supposition that he was still   
,catechete as well as ,bishop1 or1 which
 is less likely1 his servants4#b        
,he becomes ,head of the ,catechetical  
,school  #f4 ,when ,demetrius died in   
#bca1 ,heraclas1 who for some years had 
been associated with ,origen at the     
,catechetical ,school and had just been 
left in charge of it by him on his final
 retirement that year from ,alexandria1 
was elected ,bishop1 while ,dionysius1  
who had himself been a pupil of ,origen 
there1 was appointed to fill the vacancy
 he created4 ,it is possible that the   
treatise peri ,physes1 extracts from    
which are given below 7on pp4 #ia ff471 
was composed while ,dionysius held this 
important post1 and that a commentary on
 ,ecclesiastes1 some genuine fragments  
of which probably remain1 belongs to the
 same period4 ,the former of these is   
much the more valuable work1 for in it  

for the first time a ,christian         
undertook systematically to refute the  
atomistic theories of ,epicurus and his 
followers4                       ,he    
becomes ,bishop of ,alexandria  #g4     
,sixteen years later1 in #bdg1 upon the 
death of ,heraclas1 ,dionysius succeeded
 to the bishopric as the fourteenth     
occupant of the see1 possibly1 as has   
already been suggested1 without at once 
resigning his post at the ,school4      
,philip the ,arabian 7of ,bostra7 had   
then been ,emperor for three years1 a   
position he was destined to retain for  
two years longer4 ,like ,alexander      
,severus before him1 he was known to    
favour the ,christians1 and ,dionysius  
himself bears witness to the comparative
 mildness of his rule 7p4 #cg74 ,for a  
short time1 therefore1 the new ,bishop  
and his flock were left in peace1 though
 even before the death of ,philip signs 
of the coming storm appeared4 ,in the   
last year of his reign ,dionysius tells 
,fabius1 ,bishop of ,antioch 7p4 #ce71  

that the prophet and poet of evil to    
this city1 whoever he was1 stirred up   
the populace against the ,christians in 
,alexandria1 and several persons were   
cruelly martyred4 ,this reign of terror 
lasted some time1 but was interrupted in
 the autumn of #bdi by the revolution   
which caused the deposition and death of
 ,philip1 and which set ,decius on the  
throne in his stead4 ,the respite was   
only too brief1 for by the beginning of 
the new year the edict which ,decius had
 issued was being actively carried into 
effect4 ,the ,bishops were at first     
singled out for attack4 ,origen1 though 
not one of them1 was included among the 
earlier victims--on account1 no doubt1  
of his prominence as a scholar and a    
teacher--being imprisoned at ,tyre and  
cruelly tortured1 though not actually   
martyred4                       ,under  
the ,persecution of ,decius  #h4        
,decius's reversal of his predecessor's 
policy towards the ,christians was      
probably due to reasons of state and    

expediency rather than1 as ,eusebius    
implies1 to mere spite and hatred of    
,philip and all his ways4 ,anyhow1 the  
severity of the ,decian persecution is  
undoubted1 and it fell with great force 
upon the ,church at ,alexandria4 ,the   
,prefect of ,egypt1 ,sabinus1 lost no   
time in attacking ,dionysius and his    
followers4 ,many endured tortures or    
death1 or both4 ,dionysius himself1     
after waiting four days1 fled and was   
sought for by a secret service messenger
 7frumentarius1 see note on p4 #dc7 sent
 by ,sabinus4 ,a brief search was       
sufficient to recover him1 and he was   
carried off with four of his companions 
to ,taposiris4 ,but through a strange   
interposition of ,providence 7related on
 pp4 #dd f47 he was rescued by a wedding
 party of rustic revellers and removed  
to a place of safety in the ,libyan     
,desert1 where he appears to have been  
left unmolested1 with two of his four   
companions 7see pp4 #fd ff471 till the  
persecution ceased and he was able to   

return to the city4 ,in after days      
,dionysius's action in fleeing on this  
occasion was violently attacked by a    
certain ,bishop ,germanus1 who was      
perhaps one of his suffragans4 ,germanus
 boasted of his own much braver conduct 
under persecution4 ,dionysius in his    
reply 7see especially pp4 #dc and #de7  
maintains that it was not of his own    
will nor yet without divine intimation  
that he had fled1 and that he had       
suffered far more than his critic for   
the ,faith4 ,decius's rule was brought  
to a calamitous end in #bea1 but        
,gallus1 who succeeded him1 continued   
his treatment of the ,christians for    
another two years1 when he1 too1        
suffered an untimely fate4  #i4 ,for the
 next four years the ,church of         
,alexandria enjoyed comparative rest and
 peace4 ,in #bec milianus#c the         
,governor of ,pannonia and ,moesia1 who 
had in that spring wrested the imperial 
power from ,gallus1 was in his turn1    
after four months' rule1 defeated by    

,valerian and his son ,gallienus1 and   
slain by the soldiery4 ,the new         
,emperors 7father and son7 left the     
,christians alone during the first four 
years of their reign--a somewhat        
surprising fact1 when it is considered  
that ,valerian had been specially chosen
 to fill the office of ,censor1 which   
,decius had revived4 ,it may in some    
measure have been due to what           
,archbishop ,benson 7,cyprian1 p4 #deg7 
calls his languid temperament as well as
 to his son's connexions with the       
,christians through his wife ,cornelia  
,salonina4                      ,his    
,action about ,heretical ,baptism  #aj4 
,during this interval of peace1 but     
chiefly towards the end of it1          
,dionysius took part in that controversy
 about heretical baptism to which the   
letters on pp4 #ea ff4 belong4 ,up till 
now various parts of ,christendom had   
followed various customs on this matter 
without much disputing4 ,in ,asia ,minor
 and in ,africa baptism by heretics was 

not recognized1 while in the ,west      
baptism with water in the name of the   
,trinity or of ,christ was held valid by
 whomsoever performed4 ,before the      
middle of the third century1 however1   
the difference of practice gradually    
became more and more a matter of        
controversy4 ,in or about ,a4,d4 #bcj   
two synods were held one after the other
 at ,iconium and at ,synnada 7see p4    
#eh1 n471 which confirmed the opinion   
that heretical baptism was invalid3 and 
some twenty-five years later on ,cyprian
 of ,carthage convened several synods in
 ,north ,africa1 which arrived at the   
same conclusion4 ,thereupon a violent   
quarrel arose between ,cyprian and      
,stephen the ,bishop of ,rome2 this     
became1 perhaps1 all the keener1 because
 of the former alliance and co-operation
 between ,cyprian and ,stephen's        
predecessor1 ,cornelius1 in combating   
the ,novatianist schism1#d which had    
eventually led also to heresy over the  
restoration of those who had lapsed     

under persecution4 ,severe language was 
now used on both sides1 and other       
leading ,churchmen of the day were      
naturally drawn into the discussion3    
among them our ,dionysius1 who--after   
the first1 at all events--with          
characteristic sagacity steered a middle
 course and advised that the older      
spirit of toleration should be          
maintained1 the circumstances of        
different churches requiring different  
methods4 ,fragments of five letters on  
this subject have come down to us1 all  
addressed to the ,church of ,rome or    
rather to representative members of that
 ,church1 the first of them probably    
written in #bed when the ,novatianist   
schism was subsiding 7see p4 #eb71 and  
the others belonging to the year #beg   
7see pp4 #ed ff474                      
,under the ,persecution of ,valerian    
#aa4 ,suddenly1 in the summer of that   
year1 the ,church was startled by the   
issue of an edict which revived the     
reign of terror and threw her into a    

state of persecution which lasted for   
more than three years4 ,this unexpected 
change of treatment is attributed by    
,dionysius to the influence of          
,macrianus1 who at one time held the    
office of ,rationalis 7,treasurer or    
,accountant-,general7 to the ,emperor4  
,this man was apparently a cripple in   
body1 but mentally and otherwise a      
person of considerable ability and force
 of character3 but he seems to have     
associated himself in some way with the 
soothsayers of ,egypt1#e and to have    
conceived a violent hatred against the  
,christians4 ,quite early in the        
proceedings which were instituted       
against them at ,alexandria in          
consequence of the edict1 ,dionysius1   
with several of his clergy1 was brought 
before milianus the ,prefect1#f and     
after examination--chiefly as to his    
loyalty to the ,emperors1 which his     
refusal to pay them divine honours      
rendered doubtful--was banished first to
 a place called ,cephro 7probably not   

far from ,taposiris1 where he had been  
sent before71 and then somewhere on the 
high road in the district called        
,colluthion4 ,dionysius's own account of
 the circumstances which led to and     
attended this second exile is given on  
pp4 #df ff41 an account which is        
valuable1 among other reasons1 because  
it is largely drawn from the official   
memoranda of the ,prefect's court1 and  
because it shows how both sides did     
their ineffectual best to understand    
each other's position4                  
,restoration of ,peace  #ab4 ,the       
persecution lasted till the autumn of   
#bfj1 and was then1 on the disappearance
 of ,valerian1 stayed by an edict of    
,peace issued by his son ,gallienus1 who
 was now left alone upon the throne4    
,the ,greek version1 which ,eusebius    
gives us1 is apparently not that of the 
actual edict1 but of the ,emperor's     
letter or rescript which applied it to  
,egypt4 ,it is addressed to ,dionysius  
and other bishops1 and runs as follows3 

,i have ordained that the benefit of my 
concession be enforced throughout the   
world1 to the effect that men should    
withdraw from 7i4 e4 not interfere with7
 your places of worship4 ,and           
accordingly ye1 too1 may use the terms  
of my rescript1 so that none may        
interfere with you4 ,and this1 which may
 with authority be carried out by you1  
has already been granted by me some time
 ago4 ,and accordingly ,aurelius        
,quirinius1 who is in charge of the     
,exchequer1#g shall preserve this form  
now given by me4 ,instructions were also
 issued permitting the ,christians to   
have free access to their cemeteries--a 
privilege which was always much prized4 
,his ,return to ,alexandria  #ac4 ,it is
 practically certain that ,dionysius    
returned to ,alexandria as soon as      
,gallienus's edict came into operation  
there4 ,but almost immediately fresh    
disturbances were felt in the city1     
followed by one of those frequent       
outbreaks of pestilence to which the    

,east was always liable1 and these      
hindered for a time his work of bringing
 the brethren together again4 ,the      
disturbances are with good reason       
thought to have been those connected    
with the attempt of ,macrianus to       
overturn the power of ,gallienus in     
,egypt1 though that country was so often
 the scene of tumults and civil wars for
 the next twelve years and more that it 
is almost impossible to identify any    
particular disturbances with certainty  
during this period4         ,the        
,troubles ,connected with his ,protest  
against ,sabellianism  #ad4 ,for another
 five years ,dionysius was spared to    
administer his charge and to benefit the
 ,church at large with his prudent      
counsels4 ,but1 though attacks upon     
himself never seem to have troubled him 
very much1 he had still to endure one   
such attack which probably grieved him  
more than all the rest1 and the after   
results of which lingered on till the   
days of ,athanasius and ,basil in the   

next century4 ,this was in connexion    
with the ,sabellian controversy1        
especially that phase of it which had   
recently arisen in the ,libyan          
,pentapolis 7on the north-west coast of 
,cyrenaica74 ,sabellius was a native of 
the district1 and his heresy consisted  
in laying too much stress on the unity  
of the ,godhead and in so hopelessly    
confounding the ,three ,persons in the  
,trinity as to imply that the ,person of
 the ,father was incarnate in ,christ4  
,it is in #beg that we first find       
,dionysius1 in a letter to ,xystus ,,ii 
7see p4 #ee71 calling the attention of  
the ,bishop of ,rome to these views1 by 
which time ,sabellius was himself       
probably already dead4 ,from what he    
says there1 it appears as if ,dionysius 
was unaware that these views were not of
 quite recent origin and were already   
rather prevalent in both ,east and      
,west1 whilst his words seem also to    
imply that this later phase of          
,sabellianism endangered the dignity of 

the ,third ,person as well as of the    
,first and ,second4 ,in ,libya the      
heresy gained such a hold upon the      
,church that it even infected certain of
 the ,bishops1 and the ,son of ,god was 
no longer preached4 ,dionysius1         
therefore1 feeling his responsibility   
for the churches under his care1 became 
active in trying to eradicate the evil4 
,among a number of letters which he     
wrote on the subject1 there was one     
7about the year #bfj7 in which he made  
use of certain expressions and          
illustrations with regard to the ,son of
 ,god1 which were seized hold of by some
 members of the ,church either at       
,alexandria or in the ,pentapolis as    
heretical4 ,this letter was apparently  
one of the later letters of the series1 
when his earlier overtures had failed to
 produce the effect he desired4  #ae4   
,dionysius's critics laid a formal      
complaint against him before his        
namesake 7,dionysius71 who had by now   
succeeded the martyred ,xystus ,,ii as  

,bishop of ,rome2 they accused him of   
having fallen into five errors himself1 
while correcting the false views of the 
,sabellians4  ,they were as follows1 as 
we gather them from ,athan41 de sent4   
,dion43--    7#a7 ,separating the       
,father and the ,son4    7#b7 ,denying  
the eternity of the ,son4    7#c7       
,naming the ,father without the ,son and
 the ,son without the ,father4    7#d7  
,virtually rejecting the term homoousios
 7of one substance7 as   descriptive of 
the ,son4    7#e7 ,speaking of the ,son 
as a creature of the ,father and using  
misleading illustrations of their       
relation to ,one ,another4  ,one or two 
of these illustrations which were       
objected to will be found in the extract
 translated on p4 #ajc1 and they are    
sufficient to give some idea of the     
rest4 ,it may1 however1 be acknowledged 
that neither ,dionysius himself in his  
original statements and in his attempts 
to explain them1 nor ,athanasius1 who1  
when ,arius afterwards appealed to      

,dionysius in support of his opinions1  
put forward an elaborate defence of him1
 was altogether happy or successful4    
#af4 ,upon receiving the complaint      
mentioned1 the ,bishop of ,rome appears 
to have convened a synod1 which         
condemned the expressions complained of1
 and a letter was addressed by him on   
the modes of correcting the heresy to   
the ,church of ,alexandria4 ,from       
motives of delicacy he made no actual   
mention of his ,alexandrian             
brother-bishop in this letter1 while    
criticizing his views1 though he wrote  
to him privately asking for an          
explanation4 ,a considerable portion of 
the public letter has been preserved for
 us by ,athanasius1 but it is not       
included in this volume1 nor is it      
necessary to particularize his treatment
 of the question or to say more than    
this1 that1 though the ,roman ,bishop   
wrote quite good ,greek and gives no    
impression that he felt hampered by it  
in expressing his meaning1 yet he does  

naturally exhibit distinct traces of    
,western modes of thought as opposed to 
,eastern1 and is not always quite fair  
in his representation and interpretation
 of what ,dionysius had said4           
,dionysius's answer to his ,roman       
brother was embodied in the treatise    
called ,refutation and ,defence         
7,elenchos kai ,apologia71 some extracts
 from which 7as given by ,athanasius7   
will be found on pp4 #aja ff4  ,the     
following is an indication of           
,dionysius's line of defence against the
 five points raised against him1 other  
matters which arose more particularly   
between him and his namesake of ,rome   
being passed over4  7#a7 ,as to the     
charge of separating the ,three ,persons
 in the ,trinity1 he distinctly denies  
it3 all the language he employs and the 
very names he gives imply the opposite3 
,father must involve ,son and ,son      
,father3 ,holy ,spirit at once suggests 
,his ,source and the ,channel4  7#b7 ,as
 to the eternity of the ,son1 he is     

equally emphatic4 ,god was always the   
,father and therefore ,christ was always
 the ,son1 just as1 if the sun were     
eternal1 the daylight would also be     
eternal4  7#c7 ,the charge of omitting  
the ,son in speaking of the ,father and 
vice versa is refuted by what is said   
under 7#a73 the one name involves the   
other4  7#d7 ,dionysius's rejection or  
non-employment of the term homoousios is
 less easily disposed of4 ,he           
practically acknowledges that1 as it is 
not a ,scriptural word1 he had not used 
it1 but at the same time that the       
figures he employed suggested a similar 
relationship1 e4 g4 the figure of parent
 and child who are of one family        
7homogeneis7 or seed1 root and plant    
which are of one kind 7homophy71 and    
again source and stream1 and in another 
place the word in the heart and the mind
 springing forth by the tongue 7see p4  
#ajf73 but for the unsatisfactoriness of
 this defence the reader should consult 
,bethune-,baker1 ,early ,history of     

,christian ,doctrine1 chap4 viii4 pp4   
#aac ff1 who points out that ,dionysius 
had not grasped the ,western tradition  
of one substantia 7ousia7 of ,godhead   
existing in three ,persons4  7#e7 ,but  
the most serious misunderstanding       
naturally arose from ,dionysius speaking
 of the ,son as poima 7creature71 and   
illustrating the word by the gardener   
with his vine and the shipwright with   
his boat4 ,his defence is that though he
 had undoubtedly used such rather       
unsuitable figures somewhat casually1 he
 had immediately adduced several others 
more suitable and apposite 7such as     
those mentioned under 7#d7 above74 ,and 
he complains that not only here1 but    
throughout1 his accusers did not take   
his utterances as a whole1 but slashed  
his writings about and made what sense  
of them they liked1 not sincerely1 but  
with evil intent4 ,he tries further to  
explain that in his context poiein      
7make7 was equivalent to gennan 7beget71
 as of a ,father1 not a ,creator1 which 

he maintains is legitimate1 but the     
defence is not very convincing all the  
same4  ,so far as we can now judge1     
however1 his arguments seem to have     
satisfied his critics at the time1 and  
were certainly held in high repute by   
the ancient ,churches1 for they are     
quoted or referred to not only by       
,athanasius1 as has been stated1 but    
also by ,eusebius1 by ,basil of ,csarea 
7who is1 however1 much more temperate in
 his support71 and by ,jerome and       
,rufinus4                               
,dionysius's ,last ,days  #ag4 ,it is   
evident that1 in spite of this          
controversy1 his great reputation in the
 eyes of the ,church was maintained to  
the end3 for when the ,council of       
,antioch was being summoned to deal with
 the troubles connected with the        
heresies of ,paul of ,samosata1 who held
 views somewhat similar to those of     
,sabellius1 ,dionysius was specially    
invited to attend4 ,as was said above on
 p4 #aj1 he excused himself from        

attendance on the ground of old age and 
infirmity1 but he sent a letter in reply
 to the invitation which contained his  
views on the matter1 and these were     
unfavourable to the heretic4 ,in #bfe1  
before the ,council had finished its    
sessions1 he passed to his well-earned  
rest4                                   
,dionysius as ,author  #ah4 ,from what  
has already been said1 it will be       
gathered that ,dionysius was a person of
 remarkable versatility1 and at the same
 time unusually free from those snares  
of the versatile man1 shallowness and   
inaccuracy4 ,the critical remarks on the
 ,revelation of ,s4 ,john the ,divine   
from his treatise ,on the ,promises     
7peri ,epangelin71 which are given in   
full 7from ,eusebius7 on pp4 #hb ff41   
have received the most respectful       
consideration from such authorities as  
,bishop ,westcott and ,dr4 ,swete and   
are well worth reading1 while some of   
the expositions of ,biblical passages   
attributed to him are probably genuine  

and by no means destitute of merit1     
though none of them are printed in this 
volume4                           ,as   
,christian ,philosopher  #ai4 ,the long 
extracts which remain from his book ,on 
,nature 7peri ,physes71 directed against
 the ,epicureans1 show him to have      
possessed on the whole a clear grasp of 
their tenets1 together with much genuine
 humour and entire absence of bitterness
 of spirit in criticizing them4  ,the   
extracts given by ,eusebius appear to be
 fairly continuous throughout3 they deal
 7#a7 with the atomistic portion of the 
,epicurean philosophy1 and 7#b7 with the
 more strictly theological portion of   
it1 the references to the hedonistic    
doctrine being only slight and passing4 
,dionysius begins by remarking that of  
the various hypotheses which have been  
started as to the origin of the         
universe1 one of the least satisfactory 
is that of ,epicurus1 viz4 that it is   
the result of a chance concourse of an  
infinite number of atoms1 as they rush  

through space4  ,he then proceeds to    
show by a series of illustrations taken 
from human workmanship that mere chance 
could never produce the wonderful       
results that we see all around us4 ,so1 
too1 from the study of the heavens the  
same inference must be drawn4  ,his next
 point appears to be that the difference
 in durability1 which ,epicurus         
postulates for the various bodies       
produced by atoms1 goes to upset his    
theory4 ,if some products 7e4 g4 the    
gods7 are eternal and some are          
short-lived1 what determines the        
difference8 ,some of the senseless atoms
 themselves must be gifted with powers  
of directing1 arranging and ruling4 ,but
 if it is mere chance1 then ,epicurus   
asks us1 who study the order and the    
phenomena of earth and heaven1 to       
believe the impossible4  ,the same      
conclusion is arrived at by the study of
 man1 whose mere body is a machine so   
marvellous that some have emerged from  
the study of it with a belief that      

,physis herself is a deity4 ,the higher 
powers1 too1 of man1 his mind and reason
 and skill1 all point in the opposite   
direction to ,epicurus's solution of the
 problem4 ,it cannot1 surely1 be the    
atoms rather than the ,muses which are  
responsible for the arts and sciences4  
,the half-humorous allusion to these    
heaven-born personages of heathen       
mythology leads ,dionysius to attack the
 ,epicurean theory of the gods4         
,according to ,epicurus1 the gods in no 
way concern themselves with mundane     
matters1 but spend a serene existence   
without labour or exertion of any kind4 
,but such an existence1 says ,dionysius1
 is so repugnant to the very idea and   
instinct of man that it must be         
absolutely false with regard to divine  
beings4  ,at this point occurs a short  
passage in which the inconsistency of   
,democritus1 from whom ,epicurus had    
confessedly borrowed his physics1       
mutatis mutandis1 is criticized1 though 
it has only a general bearing upon the  

line of argument4 ,democritus1 he says1 
who professed that he would have given  
the world in exchange for the discovery 
of one good cause 7aitiologia71 yet in  
putting forward his ideas of ,chance as 
a cause could not have been more absurd3
 he sets up ,tych as the sovereign cause
 of the ,universe1 and yet banishes her 
as a power from the life of men4 ,the   
truth is that1 while practical men and  
even philosophers find their highest    
pleasure in benefiting others1 by this  
theory the gods are to be kept from any 
share in such pleasure4  ,one other     
inconsistency in the ,epicurean writings
 ,dionysius next deals with1 and that is
 ,epicurus's own constant use of oaths  
and adjurations1 in which the names of  
those very beings occur whose influence 
upon men's affairs he so depreciates4   
,this is1 in ,dionysius's opinion1 due  
to his fear of being put to death by the
 state for atheism1 as ,socrates had    
been3 though he is probably doing       
,epicurus a wrong4  ,the extracts end   

with a repetition of the appeal to the  
wonders of the sky and of the earth as a
 conclusive contradiction of ,epicurus's
 views4#h  ,a selection from these      
interesting portions of a not           
unimportant work for its time will be   
found on pp4 #ia ff4                    
,general ,characteristics of his        
,writings  #bj4 ,the letter to          
,basilides on several points of         
ecclesiastical order 7the larger portion
 of which is given on pp4 #gf ff47 is a 
model of what such episcopal utterances 
should be3 it definitely states which is
 the highest and best course1 but leaves
 the decision to the individual         
conscience4 ,but it is to the general   
correspondence 7pp4 #ce ff47 that the   
bulk of ,english readers will probably  
turn1 and that deals with a large       
variety of subjects3 in some cases      
theological matters like ,novatianism   
and the baptism of heretics are         
discussed2 in others there are          
descriptions of the martyrdoms of his   

time at ,alexandria and his own personal
 experiences under persecution1 all told
 with a vividness and a sobriety        
eminently characteristic of the man3    
others are addressed to persons or      
districts in his province1 especially at
 ,eastertide1 treating of matters of    
local and temporary importance1 while   
one or two incidents which he records   
are of much value as illustrating church
 customs and manners of the period 7e4  
g4 the case of ,sarapion on p4 #db1     
prayers for the ,emperors on p4 #dg1    
matters connected with the celebration  
of ,holy ,baptism and ,holy ,communion  
on p4 #ei74  ,in his controversy with   
the ,sabellians1 as we have already     
remarked1 some of the expressions and   
figures employed were insufficiently    
guarded or explained and so laid        
,dionysius open to criticism3 but we    
must remember how much more easy it is  
for us1 who have the benefit of         
subsequent history and experience1 to   
see this and to correct it1 than it was 

for him and for his contemporaries to   
grope their way1 as they slowly but     
surely did1 under the ,divine guidance  
to a fuller knowledge and a more        
accurate statement of the truth4  #ba4  
,it is further to be noticed how very   
seldom1 if ever1 ,dionysius offends     
against the principles of good taste    
either when attacking opponents1 or when
 describing horrors1 or when dealing    
with the mysteries of the ,faith4 ,in   
controversy he always displays an       
admirable moderation and sweetness of   
tone1 which is the more remarkable      
because his convictions were strong and 
definite4 ,this is especially to be     
observed in his treatment of ,novatianus
 the intruder 7see p4 #ej71 in his      
criticism of the deceased ,nepos of     
,arsenoe 7see p4 #hb71 and to a less    
extent in his defence of himself against
 the charges of ,germanus 7see p4 #dc74 
,even when he has to speak of one whom  
he believes to have done him wrong1 like
 the ,prefect milianus 7p4 #dh71 or of  

one whom his soul abhors like ,macrianus
 7p4 #fh71 his language is mild in      
comparison with that of many in similar 
circumstances4 ,so1 too1 when he takes  
upon himself to describe the tortures   
and deaths of the martyrs 7pp4 #ce f471 
or the ravages of pestilence 7p4 #gd71  
he indulges in but few ghastly or       
revolting details1 though his narrative 
is always lively and thrilling4 ,and    
once more when he deals with such a     
subject as the ,eternal ,sonship of our 
,lord1 or1 if the passage 7not here     
given7 be authentic1 ,his ,death and    
,passion1 the same good taste and       
restraint of language is to be observed4
  #bb4 ,dionysius's literary style is   
excellent for the age in which he lived1
 and so far confirms the truth of the   
statement that he had been a master of  
rhetoric before his conversion4 ,he     
gives evidence of having read widely and
 to good purpose both in classical and  
in religious literature4 ,as to the     
former1 he actually quotes from or      

refers to ,homer1 ,hesiod1 ,thucydides1 
,aristotle1 and ,democritus3 but his    
language is really saturated with       
classical uses1 and a large number of   
the words and phrases which he employs  
recall the best writers of antiquity4   
,his compositions exhibit signs of much 
care in production1 notably the treatise
 ,on ,nature 7peri ,physes7 and the two 
,easter letters1 to the ,alexandrians   
and to ,hierax 7pp4 #gj and #gc74 ,here1
 and to a somewhat less degree in the   
letter to ,hermammon 7pp4 #fe ff471 he  
writes in a more rhetorical and         
elaborate manner than in most of the    
other fragments which are extant1 but   
even in these passages he is seldom     
fantastic1 or stilted1 or obscure2      
whilst in pure narrative or simple      
description 7e4 g4 in the letters which 
record his own or others' sufferings and
 in the treatise ,on the ,promises 7peri
 ,epangelin771 his language could hardly
 be more unaffected or better chosen4   
,dionysius as ,interpreter of ,scripture

  #bc4 ,to what extent did ,dionysius   
accept the principles and methods of    
,origen1 especially in the matter of    
,biblical criticism and interpretation8 
,the evidence1 such as it is1 is rather 
doubtful and conflicting4 ,it is        
somewhat ominous that after the death of
 ,bishop ,demetrius1 whose denunciations
 had caused the master's removal from   
,alexandria and his retirement to       
,csarea1 we hear of no effort on the    
part of ,dionysius or of any other pupil
 to obtain his recall4 ,this certainly  
suggests that1 great as their regard and
 respect for him as a man and a scholar 
may have been1 they either felt         
themselves powerless to reinstate him1  
or else considered his views and methods
 of advocating them detrimental to the  
welfare of the ,church at large4 ,on the
 other hand1 it is pleasing to remember 
that ,dionysius wrote an epistle to his 
old teacher on the subject of martyrdom1
 which we may presume was designed to   
comfort him during his imprisonment at  

,tyre4 ,we learn1 too1 on somewhat late 
authority that after ,origen's death    
,dionysius wrote a letter to            
,theotecnus1 ,bishop of ,csarea1        
extolling his master's virtues4 ,the    
chief methodical comments on the ,bible1
 of the authenticity of which we may be 
certain1 are those contained in the     
fragments of the treatise ,on the       
,promises 7peri ,epangelin71 reproduced 
on pp4 #hb ff4 ,this was a direct reply 
to the ,refutation of ,allegorists      
7,elenchos ,allgoristn71 in which ,nepos
 of ,arsenoe had thought to support his 
grossly materialistic views of the      
,millennium by the ,revelation of ,s4   
,john the ,divine4 ,as the title        
suggests1 this work had1 no doubt1      
attacked ,origen's fondness for the     
allegorical interpretation of           
,scripture1 and especially on the       
subject of the ,millennium1 and         
therefore we may with some amount of    
certainty infer that ,dionysius in his  
refutation of ,nepos would accept       

,origen's methods as a commentator4 ,but
 the extracts preserved by ,eusebius    
deal almost wholly with the authorship  
and textual criticism1 and so give no   
proper clue as to his method of         
interpreting the subject-matter of the  
book4  ,in the letter to ,basilides 7pp4
 #gf ff47 the requirements of the case  
do not call for a style of              
interpretation which would bring out    
either a correspondence or a            
disagreement with ,origen's methods1    
except so far as it is marked by the    
frank and free exercise of critical     
judgment4 ,the commentary on the        
,beginning of ,ecclesiastes1 if it is1  
as seems likely1 in part the work of    
,dionysius1 is not inconsistent in style
 of treatment with a general acceptance 
of his master's position4 ,procopius of 
,gaza1 however1 ranks him among the     
opponents of the allegorical school of  
interpreters1 stating that it was in    
this very work that ,dionysius attacked 
his master1 and a short extract which   

has been assigned to it by ,pitra       
7,spic4 ,solesm41 i1 #ag7 is distinctly 
less allegorical in treatment than the  
rest3 it runs as follows--  ,on ,eccles4
 iv4 #i1 #aj3 ',two are better than     
one1' etc4 ,as we understand this       
literally1 we do not admit those who    
accept the interpretation of the        
statements as referring to the soul and 
the body2 for it is by no means         
justified1 seeing that the soul has the 
entire control over the ruling and      
governing both of itself and of the     
body1 whereas the body is the bondman of
 the soul1 subservient and enthralled to
 it in all its decisions4 ,if1 then1 the
 soul be inclined to what is mean and   
evil1 and become careless of better     
thoughts and considerations1 the body is
 unable to restore it and lead it back  
to higher things3 for that is not       
natural to it4  ,there is also another  
short extract 7on ,gen4 ii4 #h1 #ii7    
attributed to our author1 which is      
non-allegorical in its treatment4 ,the  

evidence therefore is inconclusive on   
this point3 for though ,jerome also     
mentions ,dionysius as a commentator on 
the ,bible three times in his letters1  
he throws no further light on the       
question4#aj  ,on the subject of        
,inspiration we have no ground for      
thinking that ,dionysius took up an     
independent position4#aa ,he introduces 
his ,biblical quotation with the phrases
 current amongst early ,christian       
writers4  ,the general impression       
therefore left upon the reader is that  
,dionysius reverted to the more sober   
methods of interpreting ,scripture that 
prevailed throughout the ,church of his 
day as a whole1 though he approached his
 master's theories in his usual         
sympathetic spirit and availed himself  
of much that was valuable in them4      
,his ,place in the ,church ,kalendar    
#bd4 ,we hear of a ,church dedicated to 
,s4 ,denys in ,alexandria at the        
beginning of the fourth century1 which  
was destroyed by fire in a tumult in the

 time of ,athanasius4 ,october #c and   
,november #ag are the two most usual    
dates for his ,commemoration in the     
,kalendar1 the former date more         
especially in the ,east1 where he is    
honoured as a holy martyr4#ab           
,concluding ,remarks  #be4 ,the         
foregoing sketch is sufficient to show  
that1 as a man of action and a ruler of 
the ,church1 ,dionysius's personality is
 no less striking than as a student1 a  
writer and a thinker4 ,he was clearly a 
strong yet conciliatory administrator of
 his province as ,bishop of ,alexandria1
 just as he had been a competent and    
successful teacher and director of      
sacred studies as head of the           
,catechetical ,schools--one who in each 
capacity carried on and maintained the  
great traditions which he inherited from
 ,s4 ,mark and his successors1 from     
,pantnus1 ,clement and ,origen4 ,and not
 only at home and within his own        
jurisdiction1 as we have seen1 did he   
worthily magnify his office and make    

full proof of his ministry2 for he made 
his influence for good felt throughout  
,christendom4 ,bishops and clergy from  
all parts naturally turned to him in    
their difficulties for advice and       
guidance2 and it is impossible not to   
feel that his wonderful breadth of      
judgment and his love of conciliation   
were of the greatest value to the       
,church of the third century1 and will  
remain a model for imitation to each    
succeeding age4 ,men will always be     
tempted1 as they were in that century1  
to speak strongly and to act vehemently 
where their spiritual beliefs are       
involved1 and we may pray that ,god will
 never fail to raise up amongst the     
rulers of ,his ,church men of the type  
of ,s4 ,denys the ,great of ,alexandria4
                                        
,bibliography  #bf4 ,the first attempt  
at making a full collection of our      
author's remains was undertaken by      
,simon de ,magistris1 whose edition was 
published at ,rome in #agif4 ,routh     

7,reliqui ,sacr1 tom4 iii4 and iv42     
,oxford1 #ahdf7 and ,migne 7,patr4 ,grc4
 tom4 x47 published considerable        
portions with ,latin notes1 while       
,gallandius 7,bibliotheca vett4 patrum1 
app4 to vol4 xiv471 ,pitra1 ,mai and    
7more recently7 ,holl in vol4 v4 of     
,texte und ,untersuchungen 7neue ,folge7
 have printed a number of fragments from
 various sources and of very varying    
degrees of probable authenticity4  ,the 
earliest list of ,dionysius's literary  
productions1 except the scattered       
references to be found in the           
,ecclesiastical ,history of ,eusebius1  
is that of ,jerome 7de viris            
illustribus1 #fi71 which more or less   
tallies with what we gather from        
,eusebius4 ,the student will1 however1  
find a complete modern list of them1    
together with other valuable matter1 in 
,harnack1 ,altchrist4 ,lit41 vol4 i4 pp4
 #dji-bg1 and in ,bardenhewer1          
,altkirch4 ,lit41 vol4 ii4 pp4 #afg-ia3 
the account in ,krger1 ,early ,christian

 ,literature 7,eng4 ,trans47 is much    
shorter4 ,several compositions mentioned
 by ,eusebius and ,jerome are only known
 to us by name1 unless some of the short
 extracts attributed to ,dionysius come 
from one or other of them1 and the      
contents of them are almost wholly      
matter for conjecture4 ,the most        
important of these is perhaps the       
epistol diakonik dia ,hippolytou 7,eus41
 ,h4 ,e4 vi4 #de71 because of the       
various theories which have been put    
forward about it4 ,dom ,morin 7,revue   
,bndictine1 xvii41 #aijj71 for instance1
 suggested that ,rufinus's translation  
of the doubtful epithet 7diakonik7 being
 de ministeriis1 it was none other than 
the ,canons of ,hippolytus1 and that the
 ,canons were afterwards attributed to  
the church-writer1 ,hippolytus1 through 
a mistaken identification of the unknown
 bearer of ,dionysius's missive with the
 well-known author2 but the theory has  
not met with much acceptance since1 and 
the discussion has of late died down1   

quite different views being now held    
about the ,canons of ,hippolytus4  ,it  
may also be mentioned that several      
fragments in ,syriac and in ,armenian   
are attributed to ,dionysius1 but only  
three of these1 in the former language1 
appear to be genuine3 one is a          
translation of the letter to ,novatian  
7p4 #ej71 and the two others are1       
whether rightly or wrongly1 thought to  
be part of the ,letter to ,stephanus on 
,baptism1 and will be found as ,s,s #b  
and #c of it on pp4 #ec ff4  ,the       
article on ,dionysius in ,smith's       
,dictionary of ,christian ,biography is 
by ,dr4 ,westcott1 and1 though not very 
full1 is1 it is needless to say1 worthy 
of being consulted4  ,three ,german     
books on our author will also be found  
useful1 though not very recent3 viz4    
,frster1 de doctrin4 et sententiis      
,dionysii1 ,berolini1 #ahfe2 ,dittrich1 
,dionysius der ,grosse1 ,freiburg1      
i4,b41 #ahfg2 and ,roch1 ,dionysius der 
,grosse ber die ,natur1 ,leipzig1 #ahhb4

 ,of these the second is the most       
important for the general student4  ,dr4
 ,salmond produced a serviceable        
translation of the fragments in #ahga   
7,t4  ,t4 ,clark's series1 ,edinburgh71 
and since then we have had ,dr4         
,gifford's 7in his scholarly edition of 
,eus41 ,prpar4 ,evang41 ,oxford1 #aijc71
 of such as there appear4  ,for the     
general history of the period much      
valuable help will be found in          
,archbishop ,benson's ,cyprian1 ,london1
 #ahig2 ,p4 ,allard1 ,histoire des      
,perscutions1 vols4 ii4 and iii41       
,paris1 #ahhf1 and ,aub1 ,l',eglise et  
l',etat dans la #b;de moiti du #cme     
,sicle4  ,a full collection of all the  
genuine and doubtful extracts appeared  
in the series of ,cambridge ,patristic  
,texts1 with introductions and notes by 
the present editor1 in #aijd4           
,,letters                         ,to   
,fabian1 ,bishop of ,antioch            
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vi4 #da1 #db1 and #dd7  
7#a7 ,the persecution did not begin     

amongst us with the ,imperial edict2 for
 it anticipated that by a whole year4   
,and the prophet and poet of evil to    
this city1 whoever he was1#ac was       
beforehand in moving and exciting the   
heathen crowds against us1 rekindling   
their zeal for the national             
superstitions4 ,so they being aroused by
 him and availing themselves of all     
lawful authority for their unholy       
doings1 conceived that the only piety1  
the proper worship of their gods was    
this--to thirst for our blood4 ,first1  
then1 they carried off an old man1      
,metras1 and bade him utter impious     
words1#ad and when he refused they beat 
his body with sticks and stabbed his    
face and eyes with sharp bulrushes as   
they led him into the outskirts of the  
city and there stoned him4 ,then they   
led a believer named ,quinta to the     
idol-house and tried to make her kneel  
down1 and1 when she turned away in      
disgust1 they bound her by the feet and 
hauled her right through the city over  

the rough pavement1 the big stones      
bruising her poor body1 and at the same 
time beat her till they reached the same
 spot1 and there stoned her4 ,thereupon 
they all with one consent made a rush on
 the houses of the believers1 and1      
falling each upon those whom they       
recognized as neighbours1 plundered1    
harried and despoiled them1 setting     
aside the more valuable of their        
possessions and casting out into the    
streets and burning the cheaper things  
and such as were made of wood1 till they
 produced the appearance of a city      
devastated by the enemy4 ,but the       
brethren gave way and submitted and     
accepted the plundering of their        
possessions with joy like unto those of 
whom ,paul also testified4#ae ,and ,i   
know not if any1 save possibly a single 
one who fell into their hands1 up till  
now has denied the ,lord4  ,another     
notable case was that of the aged virgin
 ,apollonia1 whom they seized and       
knocked out all her teeth1 striking her 

on the jaws3 then they made a pyre      
before the city and threatened to burn  
her alive1 if she would not join them in
 uttering blasphemies4 ,but she asked   
for a brief respite1 and being let go1  
suddenly leapt into the fire and was    
devoured by the flames4 ,sarapion1 also1
 they caught in his own house1 and after
 outraging him with cruel tortures and  
crushing all his limbs1 they cast him   
headlong from the upper storey4  ,and we
 could go by no high road1 thoroughfare1
 or byway1 either by day or by night2   
for everywhere and always there was a   
constant cry that any one who did not   
utter words of blasphemy must be dragged
 off and burnt4  ,and this state of     
things prevailed for some time1 till the
 revolution and civil war#af occupied   
the attention of these unhappy men and  
turned on one another their fury against
 us4 ,and so we had a short breathing   
space1 as they found no leisure for     
raging against us3 but very soon the    
overthrow of the ruler who had been not 

unfavourable to us#ag is announced1 and 
our grave fears of being attacked are   
renewed4 ,and1 in fact1 the edict       
arrived1 which was itself almost to be  
compared with that foretold by the      
,lord1 well-nigh the most terrible of   
all1 so as to cause1 if possible1 even  
the elect to stumble4#ah ,nevertheless  
all were panic-stricken1 and numbers at 
once of those who were in higher        
positions1 some came forward in fear1   
and some who held public posts were led 
by their official duties2 others1 again1
 were brought in by those about them1   
and when their names were called1       
approached the impure and unholy        
sacrifices2 pale and trembling in some  
cases as if they were not going to      
sacrifice but themselves become         
sacrifices and victims to the idols1 so 
that they incurred ridicule from the    
large crowd that stood by1 and proved   
themselves to be utter cowards both in  
regard to death and in regard to        
sacrificing1 whilst others ran readily  

up to the altar1 making it plain by     
their forwardness that they had not been
 ,christians even before4 ,about such   
the ,lord's prediction is most true that
 with difficulty shall they be saved4#ai
 ,and of the rest#bj some followed one  
or other of the above1 while others fled
 or were captured3 and of these last1   
again1 some after going as far as chains
 and imprisonment1 and even after being 
immured several days in certain cases1  
still1 before coming into court1        
forswore themselves2 and others1 even   
after enduring some amount of torment1  
failed at the last4 ,but the steadfast  
and blessed pillars of the ,lord1#ba    
being strengthened by ,him and receiving
 due and proportionate power and        
endurance for the mighty ,faith that was
 in them1 proved themselves admirable   
witnesses of ,his ,kingdom4#bb ,foremost
 among them was ,julian1 a sufferer from
 gout1 unable to stand or walk2 he was  
brought up with two others1 who carried 
him1 of whom the one straightway denied 

the ,faith2 the other1 ,cronion by name1
 but surnamed ,eunous 7well-disposed71  
and the old man ,julian himself         
confessed the ,lord and were conveyed on
 camel's back1 and scourged as they rode
 right through the city--big though it  
be1 as ye know--and at last were burnt  
with fire unquenchable1 whilst all the  
people stood round4 ,and a soldier who  
stood by as they were carried along and 
protested against those who insulted    
them was denounced and brought up1 to   
wit ,god's brave warrior ,besas1 and    
after heroic conduct in the great war of
 piety was beheaded4 ,and yet another1 a
 ,libyan by race1 who rightly and       
happily was named ,mauar 7happy71#bc    
though the judge urged him strongly to  
renounce the ,faith1 would not give in1 
and so was burnt alive4 ,after them     
,epimachus and ,alexander1 when they had
 remained a long time in bonds and had  
endured endless tortures from the       
claws#bd and scourges1 were also        
consumed with fire unquenchable4 ,and   

with them four#be women3 ,ammonarion1 a 
holy virgin1 though the judge tortured  
her vigorously for a long time because  
she had declared beforehand that she    
would say nothing that he bade her1 kept
 true to her promise and was led off to 
punishment2 and of the rest there was   
the aged and reverend ,mercuria and     
,dionysia1 who1 though she had many     
children1 did not love them above the   
,lord3 these the ,prefect was ashamed to
 go on torturing in vain and be beaten  
by women1 and so they died by the sword 
without further tortures3 for the brave 
,ammonarion had exhausted all their     
devices4  ,then were delivered up three 
,egyptians3 ,heron1 ,ater and ,isidore1 
and with them ,dioscorus1 a lad of about
 fifteen4 ,and first of all the ,prefect
 tried to cajole the stripling with     
words1 thinking he could easily be won  
over1 and then to force him by torments1
 thinking he would soon give in1 but    
,dioscorus was neither persuaded nor    
forced4 ,so the others he cruelly       

lacerated1 and when they1 too1 stood    
firm1 handed them over to the fire2 but 
,dioscorus1 who had distinguished       
himself in public and had answered his  
private questionings most wisely1 he let
 off1 saying that he granted him a      
reprieve for repenting1 on account of   
his age4 ,and now#bf the godly          
,dioscorus is still with us1 having     
waited for his longer trial and his more
 determined conflict4  ,another         
,egyptian1 ,nemesion1 was falsely       
accused of being an associate of        
brigands1 but being accused of that most
 untrue charge before the centurion1 he 
was then denounced as a ,christian and  
came in chains before the ,prefect4#bg  
,and he having most unjustly maltreated 
him with twice as many tortures and     
stripes as the brigands had received1   
burnt him to death between them1 being  
honoured1 happy man1 by the example of  
,christ4#bh  ,again a whole quaternion  
of soldiers--,ammon1 ,zenon1 ,ptolemy   
and ,ingenuus1 and an old man1          

,theophilus1 with them1 were standing   
before the judgment seat1 whilst some   
one was being tried for being a         
,christian1 and when he showed signs of 
denying the ,faith they were so provoked
 as they stood by1 nodding their heads1 
and stretching out their hands and      
making gestures with their bodies1 that 
they drew the general attention to      
themselves1 and then1 before any could  
seize them1 they leapt upon the stand#bi
 of their own accord1 saying they were  
,christians1 so that the ,prefect and   
his assessors were frightened1 and those
 who were being judged seemed to take   
courage over what awaited them1 and     
their judges lost heart4 ,so these      
soldiers walked in brave procession from
 the court and rejoiced in their witness
 7martyrdom71 ,god giving them a        
glorious triumph4#cj  7#b7 ,and many    
others in the cities and villages were  
torn asunder by the heathen 7,gentiles71
 one of which ,i will mention as an     
example4 ,ischyrion acted as steward to 

one of the authorities at a wage4 ,his  
employer bade him sacrifice1 ill-treated
 him when he refused1 and on his        
persistence drove him forth with        
insults3 when he still stood his ground1
 he took a big stick and killed him by  
driving it through his vital parts4     
,what need to mention the multitude of  
those who wandered in deserts and       
mountains#ca consumed by hunger and     
thirst and cold and diseases and        
brigands and wild beasts8 the survivors 
of whom bear witness to their election  
and victory4#cb ,of these1 also1 ,i will
 bring forward one instance by way of   
illustration4 ,chremon was the aged     
,bishop of what is called ,nilopolis4   
,he fled to the ,arabian hills#cc with  
his wife#cd and never returned1 nor were
 they ever seen again by the brethren1  
who made long search1 but found neither 
them nor their bodies4 ,and there were  
many who on those very ,arabian hills   
were sold into slavery by the barbarian 
,saracens1#ce of whom some were with    

difficulty ransomed at high sums1 and   
others even yet have not been ransomed4 
,and these things ,i have described at  
length1 brother1 not without purpose1   
but in order that thou mightest know how
 many terrible things have taken place  
amongst us1 of which those who have had 
more experience will know of more cases 
than ,i do4  ,then shortly after he     
proceeds--  7#c7 ,accordingly1 the holy 
martyrs themselves1 when still amongst  
us1 who are now the assessors of ,christ
 and partners of ,his ,kingdom1 sharing 
,his judgments and decisions1#cf        
espoused the cause of certain of the    
fallen brethren who had incurred the    
charge of having done sacrifice1 and    
seeing their conversion and repentance  
and approving it as fit to be accepted  
by ,him who desireth not at all the     
death of the sinner so much as his      
repentance1#cg received them1 summoned  
them to assemblies1 introduced them and 
admitted them to the prayers and        
feasts4#ch ,what1 then1 do ye counsel us

 in these matters1 brethren8 ,what ought
 we to do8 ,shall we acquiesce and      
assent to them and maintain their       
decision and concession and treat kindly
 those to whom they have extended mercy8
 or shall we hold their judgment wrong  
and set ourselves up as critics of their
 decision and vex their kind hearts and 
reverse their arrangement8  ,a further  
extract on the subject of the lapsed  ,i
 will set out the following single      
example that happened amongst us4 ,there
 was a certain aged believer amongst us1
 ,sarapion1 who had lived blamelessly   
for a long time but yielded to          
temptation4 ,this man often begged to be
 restored1 but no one heeded him2 for he
 had sacrificed4 ,but he fell ill1 and  
for three days in succession he remained
 speechless and unconscious4 ,then      
recovering a little on the fourth day1  
he called to him his nephew and said3   
,how long1 my child1 do ye keep me back8
 hasten ye1 ,i pray1 and let me go      
speedily4 ,call thou one of the elders  

7presbyters74 ,after this he became     
speechless again4 ,the boy ran for the  
elder1 but it was night and he was ill  
and could not come4 ,now ,i had given   
instructions that if those who were     
departing life asked and especially when
 they chanced to have made supplication 
even before1 they should be absolved in 
order that they might depart in good    
hope2 he gave the boy1 therefore1 a     
morsel of the ,eucharist1 bidding him   
moisten it and drop it into the old     
man's mouth4 ,the lad went back with it4
 ,when he drew near1 before he entered1 
,sarapion revived again and said3 ,hast 
come1 child8 ,the presbyter could not   
come1 but do thou quickly what he bade  
thee1 and let me go4 ,so the boy        
moistened it and dropped it into his    
mouth3 and the other shortly after      
swallowing it straightway gave up the   
ghost4 ,was he not clearly sustained and
 kept alive until he was absolved that1 
with his sin wiped out1 he might be     
acknowledged 7by the ,lord7 for the many

 good things he had done8               
,to ,germanus a ,bishop                 
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vi4 #dj and vii4 #aa7   
7#a7 ,now before ,god ,i speak and ,he  
knoweth if ,i lie2#ci not at all on my  
own judgment nor yet without ,divine    
guidance did ,i take flight1 but on a   
former occasion also as soon as ever the
 persecution under ,decius was set      
up1#dj ,sabinus#da sent a               
frumentarius#db to seek me2 and ,i      
awaited his arrival at my house for four
 days1 while he went round searching    
everywhere1 the streams1 the roads and  
the fields1 where he suspected me to    
hide or go1 but he never lighted on my  
house1 being held by blindness3 for he  
did not believe ,i should stay at home  
under pursuit4 ,and hardly after the    
four days when ,god bade me remove and  
unexpectedly made a way for me1 ,i and  
the boys#dc and many of the brethren    
went out together4 ,and this was ordered
 by the ,providence of ,god1 as after   
events have shown1 in which perchance we

 have been useful to some4  ,further on 
he proceeds--  7#b7 ,for about sunset ,i
 with my companions having fallen into  
the hands of the soldiers1 was taken to 
,taposiris1 but ,timotheus#dd by the    
,providence of ,god happened not to be  
present nor to be caught elsewhere4 ,but
 arriving afterwards1 he found the house
 empty and servants guarding it1 and us 
carried off prisoners4  ,and further    
on--  7#c7 ,and what is the manner of   
,his wonderful dispensation8 for only   
the truth shall be spoken4 ,one of the  
rustics met ,timotheus as he was fleeing
 and troubled1#de and inquired the      
reason of his haste4 ,and he told the   
truth1 and when the other heard it 7now 
he was going to a marriage revel3 for it
 is their custom to pass the whole night
 at such gatherings71 he entered and    
informed those who were reclining at    
table4 ,and they with one consent as if 
at a signal all arose and came running  
at great speed and fell upon us with    
loud cries1 and when the soldiers who   

were guarding us straightway took to    
flight1 they came upon us just as we    
were reclining on the bare bedsteads4   
,and ,i indeed1 ,god wot1 taking them at
 first to be bandits who had come for   
plunder and ravage1 remained on the     
couch where ,i was1 undressed save for  
my linen under-garment1#df and began to 
offer them the rest of my raiment which 
was at my side4 ,but they bade me rise  
and go out as quickly as ,i could4 ,and 
then ,i1 understanding why they had     
come1 cried out begging and praying them
 to depart and leave us1 and if they    
would do us a good turn1 ,i besought    
them to forestall those who had carried 
me off and cut off my head themselves4  
,and while ,i thus cried1 as they know  
who shared and took part in everything1 
they raised me by force1 and when ,i let
 myself down on my back to the ground1  
they took and led me out1 dragging me by
 the arms and legs4 ,and there followed 
me those who had been witnesses of all  
this1 ,gaius1 ,faustus1 ,peter and      

,paul1 and they also helped to carry me 
out of the township in their arms1 and  
then putting me on a barebacked ass1 led
 me away4  ,another extract from the    
same letter given by ,eusebius in       
another part of his ,history1 and       
referring to a somewhat later period in 
,dionysius's life  7#d7 ,i am really in 
danger of falling into much             
foolishness#dg and want of right feeling
 through being compelled of necessity to
 narrate ,god's wondrous dispensation   
concerning us4 ,but since it is good1 it
 says1#dh to keep close the secret of a 
king but glorious to reveal the works of
 ,god1 ,i will come to close quarters   
with our violent accuser1 ,germanus4 ,i 
came before milian#di not alone2 for    
there followed with me my               
fellow-presbyter#ej ,maximus1 and       
deacons ,faustus1 ,eusebius and         
,chremon4 ,and one of the brethren who  
was present from ,rome came in with us4 
,now milian did not say to me at the    
start1 ,do not summon 7the brethren for 

public worship73 for that was           
superfluous and the last thing 7to      
insist on71 since he was going back to  
the very beginning of the matter4 ,for  
the question was not about summoning    
others but about not being ,christians  
ourselves1 and it was from this that he 
bade us desist1 thinking that if ,i     
should change my mind1 the others would 
follow me4 ,and ,i answered not         
unsuitably nor yet very differently from
 the words3 ,we ought to obey ,god      
rather than men1#ea but ,i testified    
outright that ,i worship the only ,god  
and none other1 nor will ,i ever alter  
nor desist from being a ,christian4     
,upon this he bade us go away to a      
village on the borders of the desert    
named ,cephro4 ,listen then to what was 
said on both sides as it was            
7officially7 recorded3 ,dionysius1      
,faustus1 ,maximus1 ,marcellus#eb and   
,chremon being brought in1 milian the   
,prefect said3 ,in the course of        
conversation also#ec ,i described to you

 the clemency which our ,sovereigns#ed  
have displayed towards you4 ,for they   
gave you opportunity of being liberated 
if you would adopt a natural line of    
conduct and worship the gods who protect
 the ,empire and give up those who are  
contrary to nature4 ,what say ye then to
 this8 for ,i do not expect you will be 
ungrateful for their clemency when they 
invite you to a better course4          
,dionysius answered3 ,it is not a fact  
that all men worship all gods1 for each 
worships certain whom he believes in4   
,so with us1 we worship and adore the   
,one ,god1 the ,creator of all things1  
who has entrusted the ,empire also to   
the most religious ,emperors1 ,valerian 
and ,gallienus2 and to ,him we pray#ee  
without ceasing for their ,empire that  
it may abide unshaken4 milian the       
,prefect said1 ,but who prevents you    
from worshipping him also1 if he be god1
 with the natural gods8 for you were    
ordered to worship gods and those which 
all know4 ,dionysius answered3 ,we      

worship none other but ,him4 milian the 
,prefect said to them3 ,i observe that  
you together are both ungrateful and    
insensible of the leniency of our       
,emperors4 ,wherefore ye shall not be in
 this city but shall be dismissed to the
 parts of ,libya and stay in a place    
called ,cephro1 which ,i have chosen at 
the bidding of our ,emperors4 ,and both 
you and others will be absolutely       
forbidden either to hold meetings or to 
enter the cemeteries so-called4#ef ,and 
if any one were to appear not to have   
arrived at the place ,i have ordered or 
were found at any assembly1 he will do  
so at his own risk4 ,for the necessary  
penalty will not be wanting4 ,be off    
therefore where ye were bidden4 ,so he  
hurried me away even though ,i was sick1
 granting me not a day's respite4 ,what 
leisure1 then1 had ,i to call assemblies
 or not8#eg  ,further on he says--  7#e7
 ,but we did not abstain even from the  
visible assembling of ourselves together
 in the ,lord's presence1 but those who 

were in the city 7,alexandria7 ,i the   
more earnestly urged to assemble1 as if 
,i were still with them1 being absent in
 the body1 as it says1 but present in   
the spirit4#eh ,and at ,cephro also a   
large number of the ,church were        
sojourning with us1 consisting of the   
brethren who had followed us from the   
city or were present from other parts of
 ,egypt4 ,there1 too1 the ,lord opened  
us a door for the word4#ei ,and at first
 we were pursued and stoned1 but later  
not a few of the ,gentiles left their   
idols and turned to ,god4 ,thus the word
 was first sown through us in their     
hearts who had not previously received  
it4 ,and as it were for this cause ,god 
having led us to them1 led us away again
 when we had fulfilled this ministry4#fj
 ,for milian wished1 as it seemed1 to   
transfer us to rougher and more         
,libyan-like parts1 and bade those who  
were scattered in every direction to    
draw together to the ,mareotis1         
assigning to each party one of the      

villages of the district1 but us he put 
more on the road so that we should be   
the first to be arrested4 ,for he       
evidently managed and arranged so that  
he might have us easy of capture        
whenever he wished to seize us4 ,and as 
for me1 when ,i was ordered to depart to
 ,cephro1 ,i did not even know in what  
direction the place lay1 hardly having  
heard so much as the name before2 and   
yet ,i went off willingly and without   
trouble4 ,but when it was told me that  
they would remove me to the parts of    
,colluthion1 all who were present know  
how ,i was affected4 ,for here ,i will  
accuse myself4 ,at first ,i was vexed   
and took it very ill4 ,for though the   
place happened to be better known and   
more familiar to us1 yet people said it 
was devoid of brethren and respectable  
folk1 being exposed to the annoyances of
 wayfarers and the attacks of robbers4  
,but ,i found consolation when the      
brethren reminded me that it is nearer  
to the city1 and that1 while ,cephro    

gave much opportunity of intercourse    
with brethren from ,egypt in general1 so
 that one could draw congregations from 
a wider area1 yet at ,colluthion we     
should more constantly enjoy the sight  
of those who were really loved and most 
intimate and dear4 ,for they would be   
able to come and stay the night and     
there would be district-meetings as is  
the case with outlying suburbs4#fa ,and 
so it turned out4  ,and lower down again
 he writes this about what had happened 
to him--  7#f7 ,many indeed are the     
confessions of faith over which         
,germanus prides himself3 many are the  
things which he has to mention as having
 happened to him4 ,can he reckon up as  
many in his own case as ,i can in       
mine--condemnations1 confiscations1     
sales by public auction1 spoiling of    
one's possessions1 loss of dignities1   
despisings of worldly honour1 contempt  
of commendations by ,prefects and       
,councils and of opponents' threats1    
endurance of clamourings and dangers and

 persecutions and wanderings and        
tribulations and much affliction1 such  
as are the things which have happened   
unto me under ,decius and ,sabinus and  
up to the present time under milian8    
,but where did ,germanus appear8 ,what  
talk was there of him8 ,however1 ,i     
withdraw from the much foolishness into 
which ,i am falling through ,germanus2  
wherefore ,i refrain from giving a      
detailed account of events to the       
brethren who know all4                  
7,to ,novatian7                         
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vi4 #de7  ,if it was    
against thy will1 as thou sayest1 that  
thou wast promoted1#fb thou wilt prove  
this by retiring of thine own accord4   
,it were good to suffer anything and    
everything so to escape dividing the    
,church of ,god4 ,and martyrdom#fc to   
avoid schism is no less glorious than   
martyrdom to avoid idolatry4 ,nay1 it is
 to my mind greater4 ,in one case a man 
is a martyr for his own single soul's   
sake4 ,but this is for the whole        

,church4 ,even now wast thou to persuade
 or constrain the brethren to come to   
one mind1 thy true deed#fd were greater 
than thy fall4 ,this will not be        
reckoned to thee1 the other will be     
lauded4 ,and if thou shouldest be       
powerless to sway disobedient spirits1  
save1 save thine own soul4#fe ,i pray   
for thy health and thy steadfast        
cleaving to peace in the ,lord4  ,i have
 to thank the editors and publishers for
 leave to reprint the above translation 
by ,archbishop ,benson from his         
,cyprian1 p4 #adb4      ,to ,cornelius1 
,bishop of ,rome1 in ,reply to a ,letter
 from him about                         
,novatian 7circ4 #bec7  ,eusebius 7,h4  
,e4 vi4 #df7 quotes only one short      
sentence from ,dionysius's letter1 which
 refers to the death of ,alexander1     
,bishop of ,jerusalem1 one of ,origen's 
distinguished pupils and supporters4    
,alexander twice boldly confessed       
,christ in the ,governor's ,court at    
,csarea and died at last in prison4 ,the

 sentence is as follows--  ,the         
admirable#ff ,alexander entered into a  
blessed rest whilst in custody4         
,according to ,eusebius1 the letter also
 mentioned the invitation which         
,dionysius had received from the        
,bishops of ,asia ,minor to attend a    
synod at ,antioch at which they tried to
 suppress the schism of ,novatian4      
,to ,stephanus1 ,bishop of ,rome        
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #d and #e7         
7,the ,first of the ,epistles about     
,baptism7  7#a7 ,know now1 brother1 that
 all the ,churches in the ,east and even
 further afield#fg which were divided1  
have been united3 and all their rulers  
everywhere are of one mind1 rejoicing   
exceedingly at the unexpected peace#fh  
which has come about1 ,demetrian in     
,antioch1 ,theoctistus in ,csarea1      
,mazabbanes in lia1#fi ,marinus in      
,tyre1 ,alexander having fallen asleep1 
,heliodorus in ,laodicea1 ,thelymidrus  
being at rest1 ,helenus in ,tarsus and  
all the ,churches of ,cilicia1          

,firmilianus#gj and all ,cappadocia4    
,for ,i have mentioned only the more    
prominent of the ,bishops1 in order that
 ,i may not make my letter too long nor 
my narrative wearisome4 ,nevertheless1  
the whole of ,syria and ,arabia1        
districts whose needs ye from time to   
time supply#ga and to whom ye now have  
sent an epistle1 ,mesopotamia also and  
,pontus and ,bithynia1 and1 in one word1
 all men everywhere exult in the harmony
 and brotherly love displayed and praise
 ,god for it4#gb  ,the two following    
extracts are translated from ,syriac    
versions1 and ,i am indebted for them to
 ,mr4 ,n4 ,mac,lean of ,christ's        
,college1 ,cambridge4 ,the first has    
been put together out of two ,,mss4 in  
the ,british ,museum1 neither of which  
contains the whole1 and was printed by  
,pitra1 ,analecta ,sacra1 ,vol4 ,,iv4   
,the ,greek original of most of the     
first sentence is preserved in a catena 
on ,deuteronomy1 ,cod4 ,vat4 #aeba1 fol4
 #eia1 and was first printed by ,simon  

de ,magistris in his edition of our     
author1 p4 #bjj4 ,there is much         
probability that this extract formed    
part of the same letter to ,stephanus as
 the extract from ,eusebius which       
precedes it here4 ,the second extract is
 found in three other ,syriac ,,mss4 in 
the ,british ,museum1 but is less       
certainly part of this letter1 or indeed
 authentic at all4  7#b7 ,if so be that 
any man speak a wicked thing of ,god    
like those who call ,him unpitying#gc or
 any man living in the fear of other    
gods1 the ,law has commanded that such a
 one be stoned3#gd but we would stone   
these men with sound words of faith4 ,or
 if a man receive not at all the        
mystery#ge of ,christ or alter and      
distort it--7saying7 that ,he is not    
,god1 or that he did not become a man1  
or that ,he did not die1 or that ,he did
 not rise1 or that ,he will not come to 
judge the quick and the dead--or preach 
anything else apart from what we        
preached1 let him be a curse1 says      

,paul4#gf ,or if so be he have wronged  
the word concerning the resurrection of 
the flesh1 let him be already reckoned  
with the dead4 ,for we speak in         
carefulness concerning these things--in 
order that we may be in agreement one   
with another1 churches with churches1   
bishops with bishops1 priests with      
priests4 ,and in regard to causes and   
affairs about matters which concern     
individual men--how it is right to      
receive him who approaches from without 
and how him who comes from within#gg--we
 counsel to obey those who stand at the 
head of every place who by ,divine      
election#gh are put into this           
ministration--leaving to our ,lord the  
judgment of all things which they do4   
7#c7 ,those who were baptized in the    
name of the three ,persons--the ,father1
 the ,son1 and the ,holy ,spirit--though
 they were baptized by heretics who     
confess the three ,persons1 shall not be
 re-baptized4 ,but those who are        
converted from other heresies shall be  

perfected by the baptism of the ,holy   
,church4#gi                         ,to 
,xystus 7or ,sixtus7 ,,ii#hj            
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #e1 #c-f7          
7,the second on the same subject7  7#a7 
7,stephen7 therefore had sent word      
concerning ,helenus and concerning      
,firmilianus1 and all the bishops of    
,cilicia and ,cappadocia and 7be it     
noted7 of ,galatia and all the          
neighbouring churches likewise--to the  
effect that he would not hold communion 
with them for this same reason1 since1  
he says1 they re-baptize the            
heretics4#ha ,and observe the importance
 of the matter4 ,for decrees had really 
been passed about it in the largest     
synods of the bishops1#hb as ,i am      
informed1 so that those who come over   
from heretical bodies1 after a course of
 instruction1 are washed and cleansed   
from the defilement of the old and      
unclean leaven4#hc ,about all this also 
,i have written asking him for          
information4  7#b7 ,to our beloved      

fellow-presbyters also1 ,dionysius and  
,philemon1 who had formerly sided with  
,stephanus and were correspondents of   
mine on the same matter1 ,i have written
 briefly the first time and more fully  
now4#hd  7#c7 ,the teaching which is now
 at work in ,ptolemais of               
,pentapolis1#he is impious1 full of     
blasphemy about the ,almighty ,god and  
,father#hf of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ  
and full of unbelief about ,his only    
begotten ,son1#hg the ,first-born of all
 creation1#hh the ,incarnate ,word1 and 
displays want of perception concerning  
the ,holy ,spirit4 ,and therefore1 when 
both official communications from both  
parties arrived and some of the brethren
 sought personal interviews with me1 ,i 
wrote what ,i could#hi by the ,divine   
assistance and gave a somewhat          
methodical explanation of the matter1 a 
copy of which ,i have sent you4         
,to ,philemon                           
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #g7                
7,the third on the same subject7  7#a7  

,i read both the critical researches and
 the traditional treatises#ij of the    
heretics1 defiling my soul a little with
 their abominable opinions and yet      
gaining this advantage from them1 that  
,i could refute them for myself and     
abhor them much more thoroughly4 ,and   
indeed when a certain brother among the 
presbyters tried to restrain me and     
frighten me from contaminating myself   
with the mire of their iniquity 7he said
 ,i should ruin my soul1 and1 as ,i     
perceived1 there was truth in what he   
said71 a heaven-sent vision#ia came and 
strengthened me1 and words came to me   
which expressly ordered me thus3 ,read  
all that may come to thy hands3 for thou
 art competent to sift and test         
everything1 and that was the original   
reason#ib of thy accepting the ,faith4  
,i acknowledged the vision as in        
agreement with the apostolic voice which
 says to the more able3 ,approve        
yourselves bankers of repute4#ic  7#b7  
,this cause and rule ,i received from   

our blessed ,father#id ,heraclas4 ,for  
those that came over from the heretics1 
although they had apostatized from the  
,church--or rather had not even done    
that but were informed against as       
resorting to some heretical teacher1    
though still reputed members of our     
congregations--these he repelled from   
the ,church1 and did not restore them at
 their request until they had publicly  
and fully stated all that they had heard
 among those who set themselves against 
us2 and then he admitted them without   
requiring them to be re-baptized3 for   
they had received that holy gift        
already4  7#c7 ,i have learnt this also1
 that the brethren in ,africa#ie did not
 introduce this practice 7of re-baptism7
 now for the first time1 but it was also
 adopted some time ago among our        
predecessors as ,bishops1 in the most   
populous churches and well-attended     
synods of the brethren1 viz4 in ,iconium
 and ,synnada1#if and ,i cannot bring   
myself to reverse their decisions and   

involve them in strife and controversy4 
,for thou shalt not remove1 it says1 thy
 neighbour's boundaries1 which thy      
fathers set4#ig                         
,to ,dionysius of ,rome                 
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #g1 #f and #h7     
7,the fourth letter on ,baptism7  ,for  
with ,novatian we are reasonably        
indignant1 seeing that he has cut the   
,church in two and dragged certain of   
the brethren into impieties and         
blasphemies and introduced the most     
unholy teaching about ,god and accuses  
the most gracious ,jesus ,christ our    
,lord of being without pity1#ih and     
besides all this sets at nought the holy
 laws and overthrows the confession of  
faith before baptism1#ii and altogether 
banishes the ,holy ,spirit from them1   
even though there were some hope of ,his
 remaining or even of ,his returning to 
them4#ajj                    ,to ,xystus
 7,sixtus7 ,,ii1 ,bishop of ,rome       
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #i7                
7,the fifth about ,baptism7  ,i truly   

desire counsel1 brother1 and ask an     
opinion from you1 being afraid lest     
after all ,i am wrong in my treatment of
 a case that has come before me as      
follows--  ,one who is reckoned faithful
 among the brethren who meet together1  
of old standing1 having been a member   
even before my ordination 7as ,bishop71 
and ,i fancy even before the appointment
 of the blessed ,heraclas1 had been     
present at a recent baptism and heard   
the questions and answers 7in that      
service74 ,he came to me weeping and    
bemoaning himself and falling at my     
feet1 confessing and protesting that the
 baptism he had received among the      
heretics was not this1 nor had anything 
in common with it3 for that was full of 
impiety and blasphemies3#aja and he said
 that he was now sore pricked in the    
soul and had no courage even to lift up 
his eyes to ,god1 because he had started
 with such unholy words and rites1 and  
so he begged to obtain this thorough    
means of purification and acceptance and

 grace4 ,but this ,i did not venture to 
do1 saying that his so long being in    
communion with us was sufficient for the
 purpose4 ,for as he had heard the      
,giving of ,thanks 7,eucharist7 and     
joined in saying the ,amen1#ajb and     
stood#ajc at the ,table#ajd and         
stretched forth his hands to receive the
 holy ,food and had taken it and        
partaken of the ,body and ,blood of our 
,lord ,jesus ,christ for a considerable 
period1 ,i should not venture to put him
 back to the beginning once more4 ,so ,i
 bade him take courage and approach for 
the receiving of the ,holy ,things with 
sure faith and good hope4 ,but he ceases
 not to grieve1 and shrinks from        
approaching the ,table and can with     
difficulty be persuaded to stand with   
7the ,consistentes7#aje for the         
,prayers4                               
,to ,conon#ajf         7,pitra1 ,spic4  
,sol4 i4 #ae1 from a ,bodl4 ,,ms4 dated 
#ajfb7  ,as to those who are nearing the
 end of life1 if they desire and beg to 

obtain absolution1 having before their  
eyes the judgment to which they are     
departing1 considering what is in store 
for them1 if they are handed over       
thereto bound and condemned1 and        
believing that they will gain relief and
 lightening of punishment there1 if they
 be loosed here--for these the approval 
of the ,lord is true and assured--these1
 too1 it is part of the ,divine mercy to
 send on their way free4 ,if1 however1  
they afterwards continue to live1 it    
does not appear to me consistent to bind
 them again and load them with their    
sins4 ,for when once absolved and       
reconciled to ,god1 and pronounced again
 to be partakers of ,divine grace and   
dispatched as free to appear before the 
,lord1#ajg so long as nothing wrong has 
been done by them in the meantime to    
bring them back into bondage for their  
sins were most unreasonable4 ,shall we  
after that#ajh impose on ,god the limits
 of our judgment1 to be kept by ,him    
while we observe them not ourselves1    

making parade of the goodness of the    
,lord#aji but withholding our own8      
,nevertheless if any one1 after         
recovery1 should show himself in need of
 further treatment1 we counsel him1 of  
his own accord1 to humble and abase and 
lower himself1 with a view to his own   
improvement and also to what is seemly  
in the eyes of the brethren and         
irreproachable before those without4#aaj
 ,if he consent to this1 he will be the 
gainer3 but1 if he should object and    
refuse1 then no doubt that will be a    
sufficient ground for a second          
exclusion4                      ,from   
the ,writings about ,repentance         
7,mai1 ,class4 ,auct4 x4 #dhd1 from a   
,vat4 ,,ms47  ,but now we do the        
contrary4 ,for him whom ,christ in ,his 
goodness seeks when wandering upon the  
mountains1 and calls to ,himself when   
fleeing1 and lays upon ,his shoulders   
when found at last1#aaa him we          
resolutely repel when he approaches4    
,nay1 let us not adopt so evil a counsel

 for our own sake1 nor drive the sword  
into our own heart4 ,for they that      
endeavour to injure or1 on the other    
hand1 to benefit others1 may not        
altogether have the effect they desired 
upon them1 but they do bring about good 
or evil for themselves and replenish    
their store either of heavenly virtues  
or of undisciplined affections4 ,and    
these taking good angels as their       
companions and fellow-travellers1#aab   
both here and hereafter1 in all peace   
and freedom from every evil1 will be    
allotted the most blessed inheritances  
for eternity and will ever be with ,god1
 the greatest good of all2 and those    
will forfeit at once the peace of ,god  
and their own peace1 and both here and  
after death will be handed over to      
tormenting demons4 ,let us then not     
repel those who return1 but gladly      
welcome them and number them with those 
who have not strayed1 and thus supply   
that which is wanting#aac in them4      
,to ,domitius and ,didymus              

7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #aa7               
7,part of an ,easter ,letter7  7#a7 ,it 
is superfluous to mention by name the   
many members of our body1 who are       
unknown to you3 but you should know that
 men and women1 young and old1          
soldiers#aad and civilians1 every class 
and age1 some by the scourge and fire   
and some by the sword have conquered in 
the fight and carried off their crowns1 
while with some even a very long period 
did not prove sufficient to show them   
acceptable to the ,lord 7as martyrs71 as
 in fact seems to be the case even now  
with me4#aae ,wherefore ,i have been put
 off until a time which ,he ,himself    
knows to be the right one by ,him who   
saith3 ,in a time acceptable ,i heard   
thee1 and in the day of salvation ,i    
succoured thee4#aaf ,for since you      
inquire and wish to be informed how we  
fare1 by all means hear our experiences3
 how that when we were being led away   
prisoners by a centurion and            
duumviri#aag with their soldiers and    

servants1 viz4 myself and ,gaius1       
,faustus1 ,peter and ,paul1 certain of  
the inhabitants of the ,mareotis came   
upon us1 and with violence dragged us   
off against our will and in spite of our
 protests4#aah ,and now ,i with ,gaius  
and ,peter only1 deprived of the company
 of the other brethren1#aai am shut in a
 desolate and dreary part of ,libya1    
three days' journey from ,partonium4#abj
  ,and further on he says--  7#b7 ,in   
the city there have concealed           
themselves1 secretly looking after the  
brethren1 from among the presbyters     
,maximus1#aba ,dioscorus1 ,demetrius and
 ,lucius 7for ,faustinus and ,aquila1   
who were better known in the world1 are 
wandering in other parts of ,egypt71 and
 of the deacons ,faustus1 ,eusebius and 
,chremon1 who survived those who        
perished in the pestilence4#abb         
,eusebius was he whom from the beginning
 ,god strengthened and inspired to      
perform many services for the confessors
 in prison with all energy1 and to carry

 out at no small risk the last offices  
for the perfect#abc and blessed martyrs 
in decking out their bodies 7for        
burial74 ,for up till now the ,prefect  
does not cease from cruelly slaying some
 of those who are brought before him1 as
 ,i have already said1 and from tearing 
others in pieces with instruments of    
torture1 while he crushes the spirits of
 others again with chains and           
imprisonment1 forbidding any to visit   
them and making search lest any should  
be found doing so4 ,nevertheless1 ,god  
gives them some respite from their      
miseries through the zeal and steadfast 
efforts of the brethren4                
,to ,hermammon                          
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #a1 #aj1 #bc7      
7,part of another ,easter ,letter7  7#a7
 ,even ,gallus#abd did not know the flaw
 in ,decius's policy1 nor did he foresee
 what it was that upset him1 but        
stumbled over the same stone that was   
right before his eyes4 ,for1 though his 
reign was prospering and things were    

going according to his mind1 he drove   
into exile the holy men who were        
interceding with ,god for his peace and 
health1 with the effect that with them  
he drove out also their prayers on his  
behalf4  ,so far on that point1 and then
 again he discourses about ,valerian in 
the same letter--  7#b7 ,to ,john also  
it is revealed in like manner1 when he  
says3 ,there was given him a mouth      
speaking great things and blasphemy1 and
 there was given him authority and      
forty-two months4#abe ,and both these   
things are to be wondered at in the case
 of ,valerian1#abf and of them it is    
especially to be observed how his       
prosperity lasted so long as he was     
gentle and well-disposed towards the men
 of ,god4#abg ,for none of the ,emperors
 before him were so kindly and          
favourably affected towards them1 not   
even those who were said to have been   
openly ,christians1#abh as he manifestly
 was1 receiving them at the beginning in
 a most familiar and friendly spirit3   

indeed1 his whole house was filled with 
devout persons and was a veritable      
,church of ,god4#abi ,but he was        
persuaded to abandon this treatment by  
that tutor and chief ruler of ,egyptian 
magicians1#acj who instructed him to    
slay or persecute1 as adversaries and   
hinderers of his vile and detestable    
sorcerers1 the pure and holy persons1   
who are and were able to confound the   
devices of accursed demons by being     
present and seen and merely breathing on
 them and uttering words1#aca while he  
also incited him to perform unholy rites
 and detestable juggleries and          
abominable sacrifices such as the       
killing of wretched boys and the slaying
 of unhappy fathers' children and the   
dividing of new-born entrails asunder   
and the cutting up and mutilating of    
bodies which are ,god's creation1#acb in
 the hope that such doings would bring  
them ,divine favour4  ,and to this he   
adds as follows--  7#c7 ,fine offerings 
at all events did ,macrianus make to    

them 7sc4 the demons7 to propitiate them
 for the ,empire which he hoped for1    
when1 in his former position as         
so-called officer in charge of the      
,emperor's general 7katholou7 accounts  
he entertained no reasonable 7eulogon7  
nor catholic 7katholikon7               
sentiments1#acc but fell under the      
prophet's curse1 who says3 ,woe to those
 who prophesy out of their own heart and
 see not the general 7to katholou7      
view4#acd ,for he did not understand the
 workings of ,universal 7katholou7      
,providence1#ace nor suspect the        
approach of ,judgment on the part of    
,him who is before all things and       
through all things and over all         
things4#acf ,wherefore he has become    
also the enemy of ,his universal        
7katholiks7 ,church and has alienated   
and estranged himself from ,god's mercy 
and banished himself as far as possible 
from his own salvation1 verifying in    
this his personal name4#acg  ,and again 
further on he says--  7#d7 ,for         

,valerian1 through being persuaded to   
this policy by him1 exposed himself to  
insults and injuries according to that  
which was said to ,isaiah3 ,and these   
men chose their ways and their          
abominations which their soul desired1  
and ,i will choose their mockings and   
will recompense them their sins4#ach    
,but this man 7,macrianus7 in his mad   
lust after imperial power for which he  
had no qualifications1 being unable to  
deck his own crippled body with the     
imperial robes1 put forward his two     
sons1 who thus became liable for their  
father's sins4#aci ,for the prophecy    
clearly applies to them which ,god      
spake3 visiting the sins of the fathers 
upon the children unto the third and    
fourth generation of them that hate     
me4#adj ,for he brought upon his sons'  
heads his own evil desires in which he  
had succeeded and involved them in the  
consequences of his own wickedness and  
hatred of ,god4#ada  ,then there is a   
section in which he refers to the       

peaceful times under ,gallienus--  7#e7 
,so after thus inciting one of the      
,emperors before him and attacking the  
other1 he speedily vanished with all his
 family1 root and branch1#adb whilst    
,gallienus was proclaimed and           
acknowledged by all1 being at once the  
old and the new ,emperor1 having        
preceded the usurpers and remaining     
after them4 ,for1 in accordance with    
that which was spoken to the prophet    
,isaiah1 behold the things predicted    
from the beginning have come to pass1   
and new things which will now arise4#adc
 ,for as a cloud having overcast the    
sun's rays and screened them for a while
 shades it and shows itself in its      
stead1 and then when the cloud has      
passed off or been dissipated the sun   
which was shining before emerges and    
shines forth again1 so it is with       
,macrianus2 after coming forward and    
gaining access for himself to the       
imperial power which belonged to        
,gallienus1 he ceases to be1 since he   

was of no account1 and the other resumes
 the position he had before4 ,and the   
,empire1 having cast off1 as it were1   
its old age and purged itself of its    
former badness1 now bursts into greater 
splendour1 is seen and heard from afar  
and pervades the whole world4  ,then in 
due order he indicates the date of this 
letter in these words--  7#f7 ,and once 
more it occurs to me to consider the    
days and years of this period of the    
,empire4 ,for ,i observe that the       
ungodly persons 7,i have mentioned7     
after a short period of honourable      
mention have lost their good name1 but  
7,gallienus7 who was more righteous and 
loved ,god better1#add having completed 
the seven years' period1 is now passing 
through his ninth year3#ade therefore   
let us keep the ,feast4#adf             
,to the ,brethren in ,alexandria        
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #bb7               
7,part of another ,easter ,letter7  7#a7
 ,other men would not think the present 
a time for keeping festival3 nor1       

indeed1 is this nor any other such a    
time to them2 ,i speak not of times     
obviously sorrowful1 but even of such as
 they might consider most joyful4 ,in   
these days there are lamentations       
everywhere1 and all are mourning3       
wailings resound through the city by    
reason of the number of the dead and the
 dying day by day4 ,for1 as it is       
written about the firstborn of the      
,egyptians1 so now also a great cry     
arose3 for there is not a house in which
 there is not one dead4#adg ,i would1   
indeed1 there were but one2 for the     
things that have before now befallen us 
were truly many and grievous4#adh ,first
 of all they drove us into exile and we 
kept the feast then too by ourselves1   
persecuted and harried to death by all1 
and every place where each particular   
affliction befel us became the scene of 
our festal assembly1 open country1      
desert1 ship1 inn or prison1 and our    
perfect#adi martyrs spent the brightest 
of all feasts1 being entertained in     

heaven above4 ,but after this war and   
famine seized us1 which we endured in   
common with the ,gentiles1 having       
undergone alone all the injuries they   
had inflicted on us and then having to  
share in the evils they wrought on one  
another and suffered3 and once more we  
rejoiced in the peace of ,christ1 which 
,he has given to us alone4 ,but now     
after we and they had obtained a very   
brief respite1 this pestilence has      
overtaken us1 which is to them a more   
fearful thing than all former fears and 
more terrible than any calamity         
whatever1 and to quote an expression of 
an historian of their own1#aej a thing  
which alone has exceeded all men's      
expectation1 while to us it was not so  
much that as a discipline and a testing 
no less severe than any of the rest3 for
 it did not spare us1 though it attacked
 the ,gentiles in great force4  ,to this
 he adds as follows--  7#b7 ,at all     
events most of the brethren through     
their love and brotherly affection for  

us spared not themselves nor abandoned  
one another1 but without regard to their
 own peril visited those who fell sick1 
diligently looking after and ministering
 to them and cheerfully shared their    
fate with them1 being infected with the 
disease from them and willingly         
involving themselves in their troubles4 
,not a few also1 after nursing others   
back to recovery1 died themselves1      
taking death over from them and thus    
fulfilling in very deed the common      
saying1 which is taken always as a note 
of mere good feeling2 for in their      
departure they became their expiatory   
substitutes4#aea ,at all events1 the    
very pick of our brethren lost their    
lives in this way1 both priests and     
deacons and some highly praised ones    
from among the laity1 so that this      
manner of dying does not seem far       
removed from martyrdom1 being the       
outcome of much piety and stalwart      
faith4 ,so1 too1 taking up the bodies of
 the saints on their arms and breasts1  

closing their eyes and shutting their   
mouths1 bearing them on their shoulders 
and laying them out for burial1 clinging
 to them1 embracing them1 washing them1 
decking them out1 they not long after   
had the same services rendered to them2 
for many of the survivors followed in   
their train4 ,but the ,gentiles behaved 
quite differently3 those who were       
beginning to fall sick they thrust away1
 and their dearest they fled from1 or   
cast them half dead into the roads3     
unburied bodies they treated as vile    
refuse2#aeb for they tried to avoid the 
spreading and communication of the fatal
 disease1 difficult as it was to escape 
for all their scheming4                 
,to ,hierax an ,egyptian ,bishop        
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #ba7               
7,part of another ,easter ,letter7  ,but
 what is there surprising in its being  
difficult for me to correspond even by  
letter with those who are sojourning at 
a distance1 seeing that it has proved   
impossible to talk even with myself and 

to take counsel with my own soul8 ,at   
all events1 with my own kith and kin1   
with the brethren of my own house and   
life1 citizens of the same ,church1 ,i  
have to communicate by letters and to   
get them through seems impracticable4   
,for it were easier for one to pass1 ,i 
say not across the frontier1 but even   
from ,east to ,west1 than to visit one  
part of ,alexandria from another4 ,for  
that vast1 pathless desert which it took
 ,israel two generations to traverse is 
not so impassable and hard to cross as  
the central street of the city1 nor is  
the sea1 which they had for a           
carriage-road when the waters were      
parted asunder to make a passage        
through4 ,and our still and waveless    
harbours#aec have become an image of    
those in the passing of which the       
,egyptians were overwhelmed2 for they   
have often appeared like the ,red ,sea  
from the blood which was in them4 ,and  
the river which flows past the city at  
one time appeared drier than the        

waterless desert and more parched than  
that which ,israel crossed over when    
they were so thirsty that ,moses cried  
out and drink flowed out of the steep   
rock from ,him that worketh wonders3#aed
 and at another time it was so full as  
to overflow the whole neighbourhood1    
both roads and fields1 and to threaten a
 return of the flood which occurred in  
the days of ,noah4 ,but in either case  
it runs polluted with blood and         
slaughter and drowned corpses1 as under 
,moses it happened to ,pharaoh1 when the
 river turned to blood and stank4#aee   
,and what other water could cleanse all 
this but the water which itself         
cleanseth all things8#aef ,how could the
 mighty ocean which man cannot cross1   
overspread and sweep away this horrid   
flood8 or how could the great river that
 goeth out of ,eden wash off the stain1 
though it were to divert the four heads 
into which it is divided into the single
 head of the ,gihon8#aeg or when would  
the air1 reeking everywhere with the    

evil exhalation1 become pure8 ,for such 
mist from the ground and breezes from   
the sea1 airs from the rivers and       
vapours from the harbours are given off 
that for dew we have the impure fluids  
of corpses rotting in all their         
component elements4 ,after all this do  
men wonder1 are they at a loss1 whence  
come the continual pestilences1 whence  
the dire diseases1 whence the divers    
ravages1 whence the wholesale           
destruction of life1 why the largest    
city no longer contains in it its former
 multitude of inhabitants1 from infant  
children to the most advanced in years1 
whom it used to nourish in other days to
 a green old age1#aeh as the saying     
went1 whereas these from forty up to    
seventy years of age were so much more  
numerous then that their number is not  
now reached even when all from fourteen 
to eighty are enrolled and put together 
for the public distribution of food1#aei
 and thus those whose looks show them to
 be quite young have become as it were  

of equal age with those who have long   
been advanced in years4 ,and though they
 see the race of man on earth thus      
dwindling ever and being exhausted1 they
 do not tremble1#afj as its total       
extinction proceeds and draws near4     
7,from another ,easter ,letter7  ,this  
fragment is given in the ,sacra         
,parallela ,rupefucald41 fol4 #gj and   
#ga1 where it is ascribed to            
,dionysius's ,fourth ,easter ,letter4   
,it is by no means clear which ,letter  
is meant1 but the main thought 7of the  
cunning devices by which ,love wins its 
way7 is quaintly beautiful and well     
worthy of our author  ,love leaps out in
 utmost eagerness to confer some benefit
 even on an unwilling object3 yea1 often
 on one who shrinks in shame and tries  
to shun kind treatment from dislike of  
being burdensome to another1 and would  
fain put up with his annoyances alone1  
in order not to cause trouble and       
inconvenience to any4 ,he that is full  
of ,love craves leave to suffer and     

endure3 to be in evil case1 he thinks1  
gives opportunity for being helped1 and 
he will do the greatest favour to       
another1 not himself1 if through that   
other the evil1 which is his own1 is    
made to cease4#afa      ,to ,basilides1 
,bishop of the ,churches in the         
,pentapolis 7,cyrenaica7  ,this         
canonical ,letter was accepted at the   
third ,council of ,constantinople in    
,trullo 7,a4,d4 #fhj7  ,dionysius to    
,basilides my beloved son and brother   
and godly fellow-worker1 greeting in the
 ,lord4  7#a7 ,you sent to me1 my most  
faithful and learned son1 to inquire at 
what hour one ought to end the fast     
before ,easter4#afb ,for you say that   
some of the brethren maintain one should
 do so at cockcrow3#afc and some at     
evening4#afd ,for the brethren in ,rome1
 so they say1 await the cockcrow3 but   
concerning those in the ,pentapolis you 
said they broke the fast sooner4 ,and   
you ask me to set an exact limit and a  
definite hour1 which is both difficult  

and risky4 ,for it will be acknowledged 
by all alike that one ought to start the
 feast and the gladness after the time  
of our ,lord's resurrection1 up till    
then humbling our souls with fastings4  
,but by what you have written to me1 you
 have quite soundly and with a good     
insight into the ,divine ,gospels       
established the fact that nothing       
definite appears in them about the hour 
at which ,he rose4 ,for the ,evangelists
 described those that came to the tomb  
diversely--that is1 at different times1 
and all#afe said that they have found   
the ,lord already risen3 it was late on 
the ,sabbath day1 as ,s4 ,matthew puts  
it3#aff and early while it was yet dark1
 as ,s4 ,john writes2 and at early dawn1
 as ,s4 ,luke2 and very early 444 when  
the sun was risen1 as ,s4 ,mark4 ,and   
when ,he rose1 no one has clearly       
stated2 but that late on the ,sabbath   
day1 as it began to dawn towards the    
first day of the week1 about sunrise on 
that day those who arrived at the tomb  

found ,him no longer lying in it1 that  
is agreed to4 ,and we must not imagine  
that the evangelists are at variance and
 contradict one another3 but even if    
there seem to be some small dispute upon
 the matter of your inquiry--that is1 if
 though all agree that the ,light of the
 world#afg our ,lord arose on that      
night1 they differ about the hour1 yet  
let us be anxious fairly and faithfully 
to harmonize what is said4  ,what is    
said1 then1 by ,matthew runs thus3 ,late
 on the ,sabbath day1 as it began to    
dawn towards the first day of the week1 
came ,mary ,magdalene and the other     
,mary to see the sepulchre4 ,and1       
behold1 there was a great earthquake3   
for an angel of the ,lord descended from
 heaven and came and rolled away the    
stone and sat upon it4 ,and his         
appearance was as lightning1 and his    
raiment white as snow3 and for fear of  
him the watchers did quake and became as
 dead men4 ,and the angel answered and  
said unto the women1 ,fear not ye2 for  

,i know that ye seek ,jesus which hath  
been crucified4 ,he is not here2 for he 
is risen1 even as he said4 ,as to this  
word which he uses for late1 some will  
think1 in accordance with its common    
acceptation1 that the evening of the    
,sabbath is signified2 but others1      
understanding it more scientifically1   
will say it is not that1 but the dead of
 night1 the word used signifying an     
advanced stage of lateness4#afh ,and    
because he means night and not evening1 
he adds as it began to dawn towards the 
first day of the week and 7the women7   
had not yet come1 as the rest say1      
bringing spices but to see the          
sepulchre4#afi ,and they found the      
earthquake had occurred and the angel   
seated on the stone1 and heard from him 
the words3 ,he is not here3 he is risen4
 ,similarly1 ,john says3 ,on the first  
day of the week came ,mary ,magdalene   
early1 when it was yet dark1 unto the   
tomb1 and seeth the stone taken away    
from the tomb4 ,however1 by this        

account1 when it was still dark although
 towards dawn1 ,he had gone forth from  
the tomb4 ,but ,luke says3 ,on the      
,sabbath they rested according to the   
commandment4 ,but on the first day of   
the week at early dawn 7the women7 came 
unto the tomb bringing the spices which 
they had prepared4 ,and they found the  
stone rolled away from the tomb4 ,early 
dawn indicates1 perchance1 the morning  
light appearing before 7the sun itself7 
on the first day of the week4 ,in       
consequence1 it was when the ,sabbath   
had now completely passed1 with the     
night that followed1 and when a new day 
was beginning that they came bringing   
the spices and ointments1 by which time 
it is clear that ,he had risen long     
before4 ,to this1 also1 corresponds what
 ,mark says3 7,the women7 brought spices
 that they might come and anoint him4   
,and very early on the first day of the 
week they come to the tomb1 when the sun
 was risen4 ,for he1 too1 says very     
early1 which is the same thing as at    

early dawn3 and he has added1 when the  
sun was risen4 ,for their start and     
their journey began1 it is clear1 at    
early dawn and very early3 but they had 
gone on spending time both on the road  
and around the tomb until sunrise4 ,and 
on this occasion also#agj the white     
robed young man says to these women3 ,he
 is risen3 he is not here4  ,as things  
stand thus1 we pronounce this decision  
for those who inquire to a nicety at    
what hour or what half-hour1 or quarter 
of an hour1 they should begin their     
rejoicing at the ,resurrection of our   
,lord from the dead3 those who are      
premature and relax before midnight1    
though near it1 we censure as remiss and
 wanting in self-restraint2 for they    
drop out of the race just before the    
end1 as the wise man says3 that which is
 within a little in life is not         
little4#aga ,and those who put off and  
endure to the furthest and persevere    
till the fourth watch1 when our ,saviour
 appeared to those who were sailing     

also1 walking on the sea1#agb we shall  
approve as generous and painstaking4    
,and those midway who stop as they were 
moved or as they were able1 let us not  
treat altogether severely4 ,for all do  
not continue during the six days of the 
fast either equally or similarly3#agc   
but some remain without food till       
cockcrow#agd on all the days1 some on   
two1 or three1 or four1 and some on none
 of them4 ,and for those who strictly   
persist in these prolonged fasts and    
then are distressed and almost faint1   
there is pardon if they take something  
sooner4 ,but if some1 so far from       
prolonging their fast do not fast at    
all1 but feed luxuriously during the    
earlier days of the week1 and then1 when
 they come to the last two and prolong  
their fast on them alone1 viz4 on       
,friday and ,saturday1 think they are   
performing some great feat by continuing
 till dawn1 ,i do not hold that they    
have exercised an equal discipline with 
those who have practised it for longer  

periods4 ,i give you this counsel in    
accordance with my judgment in writing  
on these points4  ,three rulings follow 
on points which it is not necessary to  
set out here  7#b7 ,these answers ,i    
give you from respect for you1 beloved1 
not because you were ignorant of the    
subjects of your inquiry but to render  
us of one mind and soul#age with        
yourself1 as indeed we are4 ,and ,i have
 set forth my opinion for you to share  
not as a teacher but as it becomes us to
 discuss one with another in all        
simplicity3 and when you have considered
 it again1 my most sagacious son1 you   
should write again and tell me whatever 
seems to you better or what you judge to
 be as ,i have said4  ,i pray that you  
may prosper1 my beloved son1 as you     
minister to the ,lord#agf in peace4     
,,treatises                             
,on the ,promises                       
7,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #bd and #be7  7#a7 
,seeing that they bring forward a       
composition of ,nepos1#agg on which they

 rely too much as showing irrefutably   
that the ,kingdom of ,christ will be on 
earth1 though ,i accept and love ,nepos 
for many other things1 his faith1 his   
laboriousness1 his study of the         
,scriptures1 and the many psalms he has 
written1#agh by which already many of   
the brethren are encouraged1 and though 
,i hold him in all the greater respect  
because he has gone to his rest before  
us1 yet the truth is so dear to me and  
to be preferred that ,i can indeed      
applaud and give my full assent to right
 propositions1 but must examine and     
correct whatever appears to be unsoundly
 stated4 ,and if he were still with us  
and propounding his views merely by word
 of mouth1 a discussion without writing 
would have sufficed to persuade and     
convince our opponents by way of        
question and answer4 ,but now that this 
writing of his is published1 which many 
think most convincing1 and certain      
teachers hold the law and the prophets  
of no account and have relinquished the 

following of the ,gospels and           
depreciated the ,epistles of the        
,apostles1 while they parade the        
teaching of this book as if it were some
 great and hidden mystery and will not  
allow our simpler brethren to hold any  
high and noble opinion either about the 
glorious and truly ,divine appearing of 
our ,lord#agi or about our rising from  
the dead and our gathering together and 
being made like unto ,him1#ahj but      
persuade them to hope for mean and      
passing enjoyments like the present in  
the ,kingdom of ,god1 it is necessary   
that we also should discuss the matter  
with our brother ,nepos as if he were   
still alive4  ,further on he adds--     
7#b7 ,so being in the district of       
,arsenoe1 where1 as you know1#aha this  
teaching prevailed long before1 so that 
both schisms and the defection of whole 
churches have occurred1 ,i called       
together the presbyters and teachers#ahb
 among the brethren in the villages1    
such of the brethren as wished being    

also present1 and invited them publicly 
to make an examination of the matter4   
,and when some brought forward against  
me this book as an impregnable weapon   
and bulwark1 ,i sat with them three days
 in succession from dawn till evening   
and tried to correct the statements     
made4 ,during which time ,i was much    
struck with the steadiness1 the desire  
for truth1 the aptness in following an  
argument and the intelligence displayed 
by the brethren1 whilst we put our      
questions and difficulties and points of
 agreement in an orderly and reasonable 
manner1 avoiding the mistake of holding 
jealously at any cost to what we had    
once thought1 even though it should now 
be shown to be wrong1 and yet not       
suppressing what we had to say on the   
other side1 but1 as far as possible1    
attempting to grapple with and master   
the propositions in hand without being  
ashamed to change one's opinion and     
yield assent if the argument convinced  
us2 conscientiously and unfeignedly1    

with hearts spread open before ,god1    
accepting what was established by the   
exposition and teaching of the holy     
,scriptures4  ,at last the champion and 
mouthpiece of this doctrine1 the man    
called ,coracion1#ahc in the hearing of 
all the brethren that were present      
agreed and testified to us that he would
 no longer adhere to it nor discourse   
upon it nor yet mention nor teach it1 on
 the ground that he had been convinced  
by what had been said against it4 ,and  
of the rest of the brethren some        
rejoiced at the conference and the      
reconciliation and harmonious           
arrangement which was brought about by  
it between all parties4  ,further on he 
says this about the ,revelation of      
,john--  7#c7 ,certain people#ahd       
therefore before now discredited and    
altogether repudiated the book1 both    
examining it chapter by chapter and     
declaring it unintelligible and         
inconclusive and that it makes a false  
statement in its title4#ahe ,for they   

say it is not ,john's1 no nor yet a     
,revelation1 because of the heavy1 thick
 veil of obscurity which covers it3#ahf 
and not only is the author of this book 
not one of the ,apostles but he is not  
even one of the saints nor a churchman  
at all2#ahg it is ,cerinthus1#ahh the   
founder of the heresy that was called   
,cerinthian from him1 and he desired to 
attribute his own composition to a name 
that would carry weight4 ,for the       
substance of his teaching was this1 that
 ,christ's ,kingdom will be on earth1   
and he dreams that it will be concerned 
with things after which he himself1     
being fond of bodily pleasures and very 
sensual1 hankered1 such as the          
satisfying of his belly and lower lusts1
 that is eating and drinking and        
marrying and such means as he thought   
would provide him more decorously with  
these pleasures1 feasts and sacrifices  
and the slaying of victims4 ,i should   
not myself venture to reject the book1  
seeing that many brethren hold it in    

high esteem1 but1 reckoning the decision
 about it to be beyond my powers of     
mind1 ,i consider the interpreting of   
its various contents to be recondite and
 matter for much wonder4 ,for without   
fully understanding1 ,i yet surmise that
 some deeper meaning underlies the      
words1 not measuring and judging them by
 calculations of my own2 but giving the 
preference to faith1#ahi ,i have come to
 the conclusion that they are too high  
for me to comprehend1 and so ,i do not  
reject what ,i have not taken in1 but   
can only wonder at these visions which  
,i have not even seen 7much less        
understood74  ,besides this1 after      
examining the book as a whole and       
showing that it is impossible to        
understand it in its literal sense1 he  
proceeds--  7#d7 ,so having completed   
practically the whole prophecy1 the     
prophet#aij pronounces a blessing on    
those who keep it and indeed on himself 
also3 for blessed1 saith he1 is he that 
observeth the words of the prophecy of  

this book and ,i ,john who saw and heard
 these things4#aia ,that he was called  
,john1 therefore1 and that the writing  
is ,john's ,i will not dispute4 ,for ,i 
agree that it is the work of some holy  
and inspired person but ,i should not   
readily assent to his being the         
,apostle1 the son of ,zebedee1 the      
brother of ,james1 whose is the ,gospel 
entitled ,according to ,john and the    
,general ,epistle4#aib ,for ,i conclude 
that he is not the same 7#a7 from the   
character of each1 7#b7 from the style  
of the language and 7#c7 from what may  
be called the arrangement of the book4  
,for the ,evangelist nowhere inserts his
 name nor yet proclaims himself either  
in the ,gospel or in the ,epistle4444   
7#e7 ,but ,john nowhere speaks either in
 the first or in the third person about 
himself1 whereas he that wrote the      
,revelation straightway at the beginning
 puts himself forward3 ,the ,revelation 
of ,jesus ,christ1 which he gave him to 
show to his servants speedily1 and he   

sent and signified 7it7 by his angel to 
his servant ,john who bare witness of   
the word of ,god and of his testimony1  
even of all things that he saw4#aic     
,then he also writes an ,epistle3 ,john 
to the seven churches that are in ,asia1
 grace to you and peace4#aid ,whereas   
the ,evangelist did not put his name    
even at the head of the ,catholic       
,epistle but began with the mystery of  
the ,divine revelation#aie without any  
superfluous words3 ,that which was from 
the beginning1 which we have heard1     
which we have seen with our eyes4#aif   
,for it is over this revelation that the
 ,lord also pronounced ,peter blessed1  
saying3 ,blessed art thou ,simon bar    
,jona1 because flesh and blood did not  
reveal it to thee1 but my heavenly      
,father4#aig ,nay1 even in the second   
and third extant ,epistles of ,john1    
short though they are1 ,john does not   
appear by name but he writes himself the
 elder anonymously4 ,whereas our author 
did not even consider it sufficient to  

mention himself by name once and then   
proceed with his subject1 but he repeats
 the name again1 ,i ,john1 your brother 
and partaker with you in the tribulation
 and kingdom and in the patience of     
,jesus1 was in the isle that is called  
,patmos for the word of ,god and the    
testimony of ,jesus4#aih ,in fact1 at   
the end also he says this3 ,blessed is  
he that observeth the words of the      
prophecy of this book and ,i ,john who  
saw and heard these things4#aii ,that he
 which wrote these things1 therefore1 is
 ,john1 we must believe as he says so3  
but which ,john is not clear4 ,for he   
does not say1 as in many places in the  
,gospel1 that he is the disciple beloved
 of the ,lord1 nor the one that reclined
 on ,his breast1 nor yet the brother of 
,james1 nor yet the one that was the    
eyewitness and hearer of the ,lord4     
,surely he would have used one of the   
aforesaid descriptions1 when desirous of
 clearly identifying himself4 ,and yet  
he does nothing of the kind1 but calls  

himself our brother and partaker with   
us1 and witness of ,jesus and blessed   
for the seeing and hearing of the       
revelations4 ,i suppose that many bore  
the same name as ,john the ,apostle1 who
 by reason of their love towards him and
 from their admiration and emulation of 
him and desire to be loved by the ,lord 
like him1 were glad to bear the same    
name with him1 even as many a one among 
the children of the faithful is called  
,paul or ,peter4#bjj ,there is then     
another ,john also in the ,acts of the  
,apostles1 the one called ,mark whom    
,barnabas and ,paul took with them and  
of whom it says again3 ,and they had    
,john as their attendant4#bja ,but as to
 whether he is the writer1 ,i should say
 no4 ,for it is not written that he     
arrived in ,asia with them1 but ,paul   
and his company1 it says1 set sail from 
,paphos and came to ,perga in           
,pamphylia2 and ,john departed from them
 and returned to ,jerusalem4#bjb ,and ,i
 think there was yet another among those

 who were in ,asia1 since they say there
 were two tombs in ,ephesus and each of 
them are said to be the tomb of         
,john4#bjc  ,again1 from the thoughts   
and from the actual words and their     
arrangement this ,john may be reasonably
 reckoned different from the other4#bjd 
,for the ,gospel and the ,epistle agree 
with each other and begin in a similar  
way4 ,the one says ,in the beginning was
 the ,word3 and the other ,that which   
was from the beginning4 ,the one says   
,and the ,word became flesh and         
tabernacled in us1 and we beheld his    
glory1 glory as of the ,only-begotten   
from the ,father3 the other uses the    
same or almost equivalent expressions1  
,that which we have heard1 that which we
 have seen with our eyes1 that which we 
beheld and our hands handled concerning 
the ,word of ,life1 and the ,life was   
manifested4#bje ,for he starts in this  
way because he is dealing1 as he shows  
in what follows1 with those who say that
 the ,lord has not come in the          

flesh4#bjf ,for which reason he is      
careful to add also3 ,and we have seen  
and bear witness and announce unto you  
the eternal ,life which was with the    
,father and was manifested unto us4     
,that which we have seen and heard we   
announce also unto you4#bjg ,he is      
consistent with himself and does not    
diverge from his own propositions1 but  
treats them throughout under the same   
heads and in the same terms1 of which we
 will briefly recall2 for instance1 the 
attentive reader will find in each book 
frequent mention of the ,life1 the      
,light1 the turning from darkness1#bjh  
constant reference to the ,truth1       
,grace1 ,joy1 the ,flesh and the ,blood 
of the ,lord1 the ,judgment1 the        
,forgiveness of sins1 the ,love of ,god 
towards us1 the command to us to love   
one another and that we must keep all   
the commandments3 again there is the    
conviction of the world1 of the devil1  
of the antichrist1 ,god's adoption of us
 as ,sons1 the ,faith1 which is         

everywhere required of us1 the ,father  
and the ,son everywhere3 and generally  
throughout in describing the character  
of the ,gospel and the ,epistle one and 
the same complexion is to be observed in
 both4 ,but the ,revelation is quite    
different from them1 foreign1 out of    
touch and affinity with them1 not       
having1 one might almost say1 one       
syllable in common4 ,the ,epistle       
contains no reminiscence nor subject    
dealt with in the ,revelation nor the   
,revelation in the ,epistle 7to say     
nothing of the ,gospel71 whereas ,paul  
in his ,epistles did give some          
indication even about those revelations 
which he has not actually described4#bji
  ,and yet once more one can estimate   
the difference between the ,gospel and  
,epistle and the ,revelation#baj from   
the literary style4 ,for the first two  
books are not only written in           
irreproachable ,greek1 but are also most
 elegant in their phrases1 reasonings   
and arrangements of expression4 ,no     

trace can be found in them of barbarous 
words1 faulty construction or           
peculiarities in general4 ,for ,st4     
,john seems to have possessed both      
words1 the ,lord having graciously      
vouchsafed them to him2 viz4 both the   
word and knowledge of the word of       
speech4#baa ,that this ,john had seen a 
,revelation and received knowledge and  
the gift of prophecy1#bab ,i do not     
deny1 but ,i observe his dialect and    
inaccurate ,greek style1 which employs  
barbaric idioms and sometimes even      
faulty constructions1 which it is not   
now necessary to expose4 ,for ,i have   
not mentioned this in order to scoff1   
let no one think so1 but simply to point
 out the dissimilarity of the writings4 
,on ,nature                     7,eus41 
,prp4 ,evang4 xiv4 #bc-g7  7#a7 ,how    
shall we bear with them when they say   
that the wise and1 for that reason1 the 
good productions of ,creation are the   
results of chance coincidences8#bac     
,each of which as it came into being by 

itself appeared to ,him that ordered it 
to be good and all of them together     
equally so4  ,for ,god saw1 it says1 all
 things that he had made1 and behold    
they were very good4#bad ,and yet they  
take no warning from the small1 ordinary
 instances at their feet1 from which    
they may learn#bae that no necessary and
 profitable work is produced without    
design or haphazard1 but is adapted to  
its proper purpose by handiwork1 whereas
 when it falls into a useless and       
unprofitable state1 it then breaks up   
and comes to pieces indefinite1 and1 as 
it chances1 because the wisdom which was
 concerned in its construction no longer
 superintends and directs it4 ,for a    
garment is not woven by the woof        
standing up without a weaver1 nor yet by
 the warp weaving itself of its own     
accord3 but when it is becoming worn    
out1 the torn rags fall asunder4 ,and a 
house or a city is built not by         
receiving certain stones which volunteer
 for the foundations and others which   

jump into the courses of the walls1 but 
because the builder brings the stones   
that fit in the proper order3 but when  
the building is thrown down1 each stone 
falls to the ground just as it may4 ,so1
 too1 when a ship is being built1 the   
keel does not set itself below1 while   
the mast raises itself in the middle and
 each of the other timbers takes the    
place which it chances to of itself4    
,nor1 again1 do the planks of a         
wagon--said to be #ajjbaf in            
number--become fixed in the position    
which each found empty2 but the builder 
in each case puts the timber together   
suitably4 ,but if the ship1 when it went
 upon the sea1 or the wagon1 when it was
 driven along on land1 comes to pieces1 
the timbers are scattered wherever it   
may happen--in the one case by the      
waves1 in the other by the violent rush4
  ,in the same way it would befit them  
to say that the atoms also which are    
inoperative when they are at rest and   
not worked by hands1 are also useless   

when they move at random4#bag ,for let  
these opponents of ours look to these   
viewless atoms of theirs and apply their
 minds to these mindless ones1 not like 
the ,psalmist who confesses that this   
was revealed to him by ,god alone3 ,mine
 eyes beheld thy unfinished work4#bah   
,so1 too1 when they say that those fine 
webs which they speak of as being       
produced from atoms1 are self-wrought by
 them without skill or sensation1 who   
can bear to hear of these weaver atoms  
whom even the spider excels in skill    
when he spins his web out of            
himself4#bai  7#b7 ,who1 then1 is it    
that discriminates between the atoms1   
gathering or scattering them1 and       
arranging some in this way to make the  
sun and others in that way for the moon1
 and putting each of them together      
according to the light-giving power of  
each star8 ,for the particular number   
and kind that made the sun by being     
united in a particular way would never  
have condescended to produce the moon1  

nor would the intertwinings of the moon 
atoms have ever become the sun4         
,moreover1 even ,arcturus1 bright as he 
is1 would never plume himself on having 
the atoms of ,lucifer1 nor the ,pleiads 
those of ,orion4 ,for ,paul has well    
distinguished when he says3 ,there is   
one glory of the sun1 and another glory 
of the moon1 and another glory of the   
stars3 for star differeth from star in  
glory4#bbj ,and if the combination of   
the atoms1 as being soulless1 was       
unintelligent1 they needed an           
intelligent artist to put them together3
 and if their junction was without      
purpose and the result of necessity1    
they being void of reason1 some wise    
herdsman drove them together and        
presided over them3 and if they have    
been linked together voluntarily to do  
willing service1 some wonderful         
master-craftsman assigned them their    
parts and took the lead2 or1 like an    
expert general1 he did not leave his    
army disordered and all in a muddle1 but

 disposed the cavalry in one part and   
the heavy armed troops apart1 and the   
javelin men by themselves and the       
slingers where they ought to be1 in     
order that those who carried the same   
weapon might help one another4 ,and if  
they think this illustration ridiculous 
because in it ,i make a comparison of   
great bodies with small1 we will come   
down to the very smallest4  ,eusebius's 
extract breaks off here4  7#c7 ,if the  
atoms have no ruler over them1 to speak 
to them or to choose or to arrange them1
 but they move1 settling themselves of  
their own accord out of the big rushing 
tumult and producing a big uproar as    
they clash together1 like coming to like
 without the ,divine intervention of    
which the poet speaks1#bba and if they  
run and herd together1 recognizing their
 kinsfolk1 truly the republic of the    
atoms is a marvellous one1 friends      
greeting and embracing one another and  
hasting to take up their abode in one   
habitation3 some have rounded themselves

 off spontaneously into the sun1 that   
mighty orb1 that they may produce the   
day1 and some perchance have flared up  
into the many pyramids#bbb of stars that
 they may encircle the whole expanse of 
sky1 while others are ranged around it1 
in order that they may--albeit          
undesignedly--form the firmament#bbc and
 arch the atmosphere over for the       
graduated ascent of the stars1 and that 
the confederation of these              
helter-skelter atoms may choose their   
abodes and apportion the sky as homes   
and stations for themselves4   7#d7 ,so 
far are these deniers of ,divine        
,providence from comprehending the      
invisible parts of the universe that    
they do not even see what is visible4   
,for they appear not even to consider   
the ordered risings and settings of the 
sun1 conspicuous though they be1 let    
alone those of the other heavenly       
bodies2 nor yet to appreciate the       
assistance thus given to mankind through
 them1 the day being lighted up for work

 and the night being darkened for rest4 
,for man shall go forth1 it says1 to his
 work and his labour until the          
evening4#bbd ,but they do not even take 
note of its other#bbe revolution1 by    
which it brings about the fixed times   
and fair seasons and the regular winter 
and summer solstices1 under guidance of 
its component atoms4 ,yet however much  
these poor creatures dislike it1 it is  
as the righteous#bbf believe3 ,great is 
the ,lord that made him3 and at ,his    
word he hasteneth his course4#bbg ,do   
atoms1 ye blind1 bring you winter and   
rains1 in order that the earth may      
produce food for you and all the animals
 upon it8 do they introduce summer that 
ye may receive for your enjoyment the   
fruits of the trees also8 then why do   
you not bow down and sacrifice to the   
atoms that are the guardians of earth's 
fruits8 ungrateful truly ye are1 never  
offering them the smallest firstfruits  
of the many gifts ye have from them4    
7#e7 ,the many-tribed and much-mixed    

populace of the stars which the         
much-roving and ever-scattered atoms    
composed have 7they say7 apportioned    
among themselves their places according 
to agreement1 setting up1 as it were1 a 
colony or a community1#bbh without any  
founder or controller taking the lead   
over them3 and they observe the duties  
of neighbourliness to one another by    
compact and peacably1 not transgressing 
the original bounds which they accepted1
 as if they were under the jurisdiction 
of such atoms as had regal power4 ,but  
the atoms do not rule2 how could they1  
being of no account8 ,nay1 listen to the
 ,divine announcement 7logia73 ,in the  
judgment of the ,lord are his works from
 the beginning2 and from the making of  
them he disposed the parts thereof4 ,he 
garnished his works for ever and the    
beginnings of them unto their           
generation4#bbi   7#f7 ,what            
well-ordered phalanx ever traversed an  
earthly plain1 no one stepping in front 
of others1 nor falling out of the ranks1

 nor obstructing his comrades1 nor      
falling behind them1 in the way that the
 stars advance ever in regular order1   
shield locked in shield--that           
continuous1 unwavering1 unencumbered and
 unembarrassed host8 ,yet certain       
obscure deviations 7we are told7 arise  
among them through clashings and        
sideward motions3#bcj and that they who 
devote themselves to their study can    
always tell the seasons and foresee the 
positions at which they will rise4 ,let1
 then1 these cutters#bca of the         
uncuttable and dividers of the          
indivisible and combiners of the        
uncombined and discerners of the        
infinite tell us by what means occurs   
the encompassing journey round the      
heavens in company8 it cannot be because
 a single combination of atoms has been 
without purpose hurled as from a sling  
in this way1 seeing that the whole      
encircling band goes on its regular     
rhythmic way and whirls around together2
 by what means those multitudinous      

fellow-voyagers proceed in company      
albeit they are without arrangement or  
purpose and unknown to one another8     
,well did the prophet include amongst   
things impossible and undemonstrable    
that two strangers should run in        
company3 ,shall two walk at all         
together1 he says1 unless they are      
acquainted8#bcb   7#g7 7,that to work is
 not toilsome to ,god47  ,to work and to
 administer and to benefit and to       
provide and the like are perchance      
vexatious to the idle and thoughtless   
and feeble and iniquitous1 amongst whom 
,epicurus enrolled himself1 when he     
conceived such ideas about the gods4    
,but to the earnest and capable and     
intelligent and sober-minded1 such as   
those who love wisdom 7or philosophers7 
ought to be 7and how much more the      
gods871 they are not only not unpleasing
 and irksome but rather most delightful 
and of all things most agreeable2 for   
negligence and delay in doing something 
useful is a reproach to them1 as the    

poet#bcc warns them1#bcd when he        
counsels3 ,put not off till the morrow1 
and further threatens them3 ,he that    
procrastinates hath ever to struggle    
against disasters1 while the prophet#bce
 instructs us still more solemnly when  
he says that virtuous deeds are truly   
godlike1 but he that despises them is   
detestable3 for1 saith he1 cursed be he 
that doeth the works of the ,lord       
negligently4 ,consequently1 while those 
who are untaught in any craft and are   
imperfect from want of practice and     
familiarity with the processes do find  
toil involved in their endeavours1 those
 who make progress in it1 and still more
 those who have reached perfection1 are 
cheered by their easy success in what   
they aim at1 and would rather accomplish
 and bring to completion the tasks they 
are accustomed to than have all the good
 things of mankind4 ,at all events1     
,democritus himself1 so they say1 used  
to maintain that he would rather        
discover a single reason for a fact than

 gain the ,persian kingdom2#bcf and that
 though he seeks his reasons so vainly  
and unreasonably1 starting as it were   
from a void beginning and a roving      
hypothesis and not observing that       
fundamental ,necessity#bcg which is     
common to the nature of things existent1
 but considering his conception of      
senseless and mindless contingencies to 
be the highest wisdom of setting up     
,chance as the mistress and queen of    
things universal and even of things     
divine1 and maintaining that all things 
occur through her1 and yet warning her  
off from matters of human life and      
conduct and accusing those who give her 
precedence there to be devoid of        
judgment4 ,at all events1 at the        
beginning of the ,precepts1#bch he says3
 ,men have fashioned the figure of      
,chance1 as a cloke for their own folly3
 for by nature chance fights against    
judgement4 ,thus they 7the ,epicureans7 
have said that this very ,chance1 the   
great enemy of intelligence1 yet has the

 mastery over it2 or1 rather1 by utterly
 uprooting and abolishing the one1 they 
set up the other in its place3 for they 
sing not of intelligence as happy1 but  
of chance as the equivalent of          
intelligence4#bci ,so1 then1 those who  
superintend works of beneficence pride  
themselves in measures which advance the
 interests of their kind1 some as       
rearers of families1 some as directors  
of institutions1 some as healers of     
men's bodies1 some as ministers of      
state1 yes1 and those who love wisdom   
7philosophers7 and try hard to instruct 
their fellows1 likewise give themselves 
great airs--unless ,epicurus or         
,democritus will venture to maintain    
that philosophizing is mere vexation of 
spirit3 but surely there is no pleasure 
they would prefer to it4 ,for even      
though they reckon pleasure to be the   
absolute good1 yet they will be ashamed 
to say that to philosophize 7seek       
wisdom7 is not one of the higher forms  
of pleasure4#bdj ,and as to the gods1   

about whom the poets among them sing as 
givers of good gifts#bda and these      
philosophers combine respect with       
banter1--the gods neither give nor      
partake of any good things4 ,and in what
 manner do they find evidence that gods 
exist8 for they do not see them before  
their eyes doing anything 7even as those
 who admired the sun and the moon and   
the stars said they were called gods    
7theoi7 because they run 7theein7 their 
course72 nor do they attribute to them  
any creative or constructive powers1 in 
order that they make them gods from the 
word theinai 7set1 i4 e4 make73#bdb and 
on that ground the ,maker and ,creator  
of all things is truly the only ,god2   
nor do they put forward their management
 or jurisdiction or favours towards men1
 in order that we may be induced to     
worship them from motives of fear or    
reverence4                              
,refutation and ,defence                
7,eus41 ,prp4 ,evang4 vii4 #ai7  7#a7   
,they are not pious1 who hand over      

matter to ,god as a thing without       
beginning for ,his orderly              
disposition1#bdc maintaining that1 being
 subject to treatment and change1 it    
yields to the modifications imposed by  
,god4 ,for they should explain how both 
the like and the unlike belong both to  
,god and to matter4 ,for some one must  
be imagined superior to either1#bdd and 
that may not be entertained about ,god4 
,for whence came it that there is in    
them both the being without beginning1  
which is what is said to be like in both
 and which is also conceived of as      
different from both8#bde ,for if ,god is
 of ,himself without beginning and the  
being without beginning is1 as some     
would say1 ,his very essence1 matter    
will not be without beginning1 too3 for 
matter and ,god are not identical4 ,but1
 if each is what it is independently1   
and to both belongs in addition the     
property of being without beginning1 it 
is clear that the being without         
beginning is different from either and  

older and higher than both4 ,and thus   
the difference between their opposing   
states is entirely subversive of their  
co-existence1 or rather of the one1 viz4
 matter existing of itself4 ,otherwise  
let them state the reason why1 both     
being without beginning1 ,god is not    
subject to treatment1 unchangeable1     
immovable1 productive1 and matter is the
 opposite1 subject to treatment1        
changeable1 mobile1 varying4  ,again1   
how is it that ,god and matter came in  
contact and combined8 ,was it that ,god 
adapted ,himself to match the nature of 
matter and exercised ,his craft upon it8
 ,nay1 that is absurd that ,god1 like   
men1 should work in gold and stone and  
busy ,himself in the other handicrafts  
which the various materials can give    
shape and form to4#bdf  ,but if ,god    
endowed matter with the qualities which 
,he in ,his own wisdom determined1      
impressing on it as with a seal the     
multiform and diverse shape and fashion 
of ,his own workmanship1 this account of

 it is both proper and true1 and yet    
further proves that ,god1 who is the    
fundamental principle on which the      
universe exists1 is without beginning4  
,for to its being 7according to them7   
without beginning ,god add its bearing  
certain qualities4 ,so1 then1 there is  
still much to be said in answer to these
 views1 but we do not propose to say it 
now4 ,nevertheless they are expressed   
with more propriety than those who are  
absolutely atheistical polytheists4#bdg 
7#b7 7,athan41 de sent4 ,dion41 #ah74   
,however1 when ,i spoke of certain      
things that had an origin 7genta7 and   
certain things that were made 7poita71  
,i did indeed casually mention examples 
of such things1 recognizing that they   
were not altogether useful for my       
purpose3 for instance1 ,i said that     
neither was the plant the same as the   
husbandman1 nor the boat as the         
shipwright4 ,but afterwards ,i dwelt at 
length on those which were more to the  
point and cognate to the subject1 and   

went more into detail about these truer 
examples1 seeking out various additional
 evidences which ,i set out for you#bdh 
also in another letter3 and in them ,i  
refuted as false the accusation also    
which they bring against me1 as not     
stating that ,christ is of one substance
 7homoousios7#bdi with the ,father4 ,for
 even if ,i say#bej that this word is   
not found nor read anywhere in ,holy    
,writ1 yet these later attempts of mine 
to explain which they have ignored are  
not inconsistent with this conception4  
,for ,i compared human generation1 which
 is clearly a transmission of the       
parents' own nature 7homogens71 saying  
that the parents were different from    
their children in this single point1    
that they were not themselves the       
children3 or else it must needs be that 
neither parents nor children should     
exist4 ,the letter itself ,i cannot1 as 
,i have said before1 owing to           
circumstances1#bea lay my hand on3      
otherwise ,i would have sent you my     

exact words1 or rather a copy of the    
whole letter3 and ,i will do so1 if ,i  
have the opportunity4 ,but ,i know from 
memory that ,i added several            
illustrations from things kindred to one
 another3 for instance1 ,i said that a  
plant coming up from a seed or a root   
was different from that whence it sprang
 and yet was absolutely of one nature   
7homophyes7 with it3 and a river flowing
 from a source partakes of a different  
shape and name2 for neither is the      
source called river nor the river       
source1 and both these things exist1#beb
 and the source is1 in a sense1 the     
father and the river is the water from  
the source4 ,but these and similar      
remarks they pretend never to have seen 
written1 but act as if they were blind4 
,they only try to pelt me from afar#bec 
with those poor ill-fitting phrases of  
mine#bed as with stones1 failing to     
recognize that where a subject is       
obscure and requires to be brought      
within our understanding1 not only do   

diverse but even quite contradictory    
illustrations convey the meaning sought 
for4  7#c7 7,ibid41 #ag47 ,it has been  
already said that ,god is the ,fountain 
of all good things3 and the ,son is     
described#bee as the stream flowing     
forth from ,him4 ,for the ,word is the  
effluence of mind1 and1 to use human    
phraseology1 is conveyed from the heart 
through the mouth1 i4 e4 the mind that  
finds expression by means of the tongue1
 being differentiated from the word in  
the heart4 ,for the one having sent it  
forth remains and is still what it was2 
but the other being sent forth issues   
and is carried in all directions3 and   
thus each is in each1 being different   
one from the other3 and they are one1   
being two4 ,and it was in this way that 
the ,father and the ,son also were said 
to be one and in one another4#bef  ,each
 of the titles employed by me is        
indivisible and inseparable from its    
neighbour4 ,i spoke of the ,father1 and 
before introducing the ,son ,i implied  

,him1 too1 in the ,father4 ,i introduced
 the ,son3 even if ,i had not already   
mentioned the ,father ,he would1 of     
course1 have been presupposed in the    
,son4 ,i added the ,holy ,spirit3 but at
 the same time ,i intimated both from   
,whom and through ,whom#beg ,he came4   
,but they are not aware that the ,father
 is not separated from the ,son qua     
,father--for the title 7,father7 is     
suggestive of such connexion 7as ,son   
with ,father7--nor is the ,son cut off  
from the ,father2 for the appellation   
,father denotes their common bond4 ,and 
the ,spirit is the object of their      
dealings1#beh being incapable of        
desertion by either ,him that sends1 or 
,him that conveys4 ,how then can ,i1 who
 use these titles1 hold that ,they are  
wholly divided and separated8#bei   7#d7
 7,ibid41 #bc74 ,for1 as our mind       
overflows with speech#bfj of itself1 as 
says the prophet3 ,my heart overfloweth 
with good speech1#bfa and each is       
diverse from the other1 each occupying  

its proper place distinct from the      
other1 the one dwelling and moving in   
the heart and the other on the tongue   
and in the mouth1 and yet they are not  
entirely unconnected nor deprived of one
 another2 the mind is not speechless1   
nor the speech mindless1 but the mind   
produces the speech1 revealing itself   
thereby2 and the speech shows the mind1 
having been gendered therein2 the mind  
is1 as it were1 the inlying speech and  
the speech is the issuing mind2 the mind
 is transferred into the speech and the 
speech displays#bfb the mind to the     
hearers2 and thus the mind through the  
speech gains a lodgment in the souls of 
those that hear1 entering together with 
the speech1 and the mind is1 as it were1
 the father of the speech1 having an    
independent existence withal2 and the   
speech is1 as it were1 the son of the   
mind1 being an impossibility prior to   
the mind1 yet brought into association  
with it from any outside source1 but    
springing from the mind2 even so the    

,father1 who is the ,almighty and       
,universal ,mind1 has the ,son1 the     
,word as the ,interpreter and ,messenger
 of ,himself4                           
,additional ,note to p4 #ab4   ,jerome  
7in his letter ad ,evangelum7 is        
responsible for the assertion that      
,dionysius was the last who1 in         
accordance with the original custom of  
the ,church of ,alexandria1 was         
nominated as ,bishop by his             
fellow-presbyters there4 ,subsequently  
the ,bishop was chosen 7at least in     
theory7 by the whole body of the        
faithful in the diocese1 as in other    
parts of ,christendom4 ,jerome's words  
do not seem to include consecration also
 by a fresh laying of hands by the      
presbytery1 though ,bishop ,lightfoot   
7,philippians1 p4 #bca7 inferred from   
certain other evidence of a not very    
decisive kind that this was the case and
 that it was rendered necessary at first
 by the ,bishop of ,alexandria having   
had no other ,bishops with him in ,egypt

 until #aij4 ,others hold that no fresh 
laying on of hands at all had been      
considered necessary1 which is hardly   
probable4 ,mr4 ,c4 ,h4 ,turner          
7,cambridge ,medieval ,history1 vol4 i47
 has suggested that ,jerome was misled  
by ,arians who had their own interests  
to serve in making the assertion1 while 
he himself was too ready to credit it in
 his zeal to uphold the presbyterate    
against the arrogant claims of the      
,roman deacons at that time4 ,the       
present writer ventures to think that   
,jerome's statement1 if correct1 refers 
only to nomination and that an episcopal
 consecrator had been found elsewhere   
7e4 g4 in ,africa or ,palestine or      
,syria7 for the laying on of hands as   
usual4                                  
,,footnotes   #a;,in one of ,eusebius's 
works 7the ,prparatio ,evangelica7 he is
 quoted    side by side with great      
authors like ,plato and ,aristotle4     
#b,most of those who read this will be  
aware that pais 7,lat4 puer7    can be  

used in various senses1 like our boy and
 ,french garon4  #c,not the ,prefect of 
,egypt of that name mentioned by        
,dionysius on p4 #df1    though he did  
afterwards try to usurp the throne 7see 
p4 #af74  #d;,for ,dionysius's share in 
this dispute see his letter on p4 #ej4  
#e;,dionysius's phrase about him on p4  
#ff is tutor and chief ruler of         
,egyptian magicians2 see note #c in     
loco4  #f,this milianus was one of      
several who afterwards attempted to     
seize    the throne2 see above1 p4 #ad4 
,macrianus was another of them in ,egypt
    7p4 #fh1 n474  #g,the office        
indicated seems to be the same as that  
of ,rationalis    mentioned above on p4 
#af4  #h;,i was much assisted in drawing
 up this summary of peri ,physes and    
also in writing the notes upon the      
extracts from the text by ,professor    
,h4 ,jackson1 of ,cambridge fame4       
#i,the particular passage1 however1     
adduced by ,procopius above is ,gen4    
iii4 #ba4  #aj,on this point ,c4 ,h4    

,turner's article in ,hastings's        
,dictionary of the    ,bible1 ,vol4 ,v1 
pp4 #dif f4 7on ,patristic              
,commentaries71 may be    consulted4    
#aa,the passage on ,luke xxii1 quoted by
 ,dr4 ,sanday 7,inspiration1 p4    #cf71
 is of very doubtful authenticity4      
#ab,martyr in this case need not        
necessarily be taken strictly as        
meaning one put to death for the ,faith1
 though no doubt the medival            
tradition was in favour of his martyrdom
 in that sense4  #ac;,it looks as if    
,dionysius was afraid to mention his    
name4 ,perhaps it    was ,sabinus the   
,prefect4 ,the word poet in ,greek means
 properly    maker1 and there is        
evidently a double entendre in its use  
here4  #ad;i4 e4 against ,christ 7#a    
,cor4 xii4 #c74  #ae,the reference is to
 ,heb4 x4 #cd4 ,it will be noticed that 
,dionysius    attributes this ,epistle  
to ,s4 ,paul1 either inadvertently or in
    accordance with the ,alexandrine    
tradition1 which ,origen also accepts   

7,eus41 ,h4 ,e41 vi4 #be74  #af,viz4 the
 revolt of ,decius in ,oct4 #bdi4       
#ag;i4 e4 ,philip the ,arabian1 who was 
popularly supposed to be half a         
,christian4  #ah,the reference is       
obviously to ,matt4 xxiv4 #bd 7,mark    
xiii4 #bb7 though    ,dionysius has     
substituted cause to stumble            
7skandalisai7 for    cause to go astray 
7plansai or apoplanan74  #ai,the        
reference is very loosely to ,matt4 xix4
 #bc and #be4  #bj,viz4 those who held  
no prominent position2 the ordinary     
folk4  #ba;,cp4 ,gal4 ii4 #i4  #bb;,cp4 
,acts xxviii4 #bc and ,rev4 i4 #i4      
#bc,there is evidently an allusion here 
to ,matt4 v4 #aa and ,luke vi4 #bb4     
#bd,viz4 the ungul1 with which the flesh
 was torn from the bones4  #be,only     
three are mentioned in the text4  #bf;i4
 e4 some time between #bea1 when        
persecution ended with the death    of  
,decius1 and #beg1 when ,valerian       
revived it4  #bg,the first was a martial
 offence1 the second a civil4  #bh;i4 e4

 by being allowed to follow ,christ's   
example4  #bi,this was the catasta1 or  
platform1 which corresponded to our     
prisoner's dock4  #cj;,dionysius's      
language recalls #b ,cor4 ii4 #ad2 ,col4
 ii4 #ae is different4  #ca;,cf4 ,heb4  
xi4 #ch4  #cb;i4 e4 they showed         
themselves worthy of being among the    
elect4  #cc;,a range of hills to the    
east of the ,nile seems to have been so 
called4  #cd,on the marriage of the     
clergy at this time1 see ,bingham1      
,antiq41    ,,iv1 v4 ,s #e4  #ce,this is
 probably the earliest extant mention of
 the ,saracens--at    least by that     
name4  #cf,the opinion that the martyrs 
passed at once to heaven and shared ,his
    throne was general among the early  
,fathers 7see ,matt4 xix4 #bh and #a    
,cor4 vi4 #b1 #c74  #cg;,cp4 ,ezek4     
xviii4 #bc1 xxxiii4 #aa1 #b ,pet4 iii4  
#i4  #ch,these expressions are not to be
 pressed as if they assumed episcopal   
authority4  #ci;,cp4 ,gal4 i4 #bj4      
#dj;i4 e4 in ,october #bdi4  #da,the    

,prefect of ,egypt4  #db,this was a kind
 of soldier employed on secret service  
by the emperors    and their provincial 
governors4  #dc,probably his sons1      
though they might be his pupils or his  
servants4  #dd,one of the boys4         
#de,whether ,timotheus was making off to
 join ,dionysius or was fleeing in      
another direction is not clear4         
#df;,cp4 ,mark xiv4 #eb4                
#dg;,dionysius's language here recalls  
#b ,cor4 xi4 #a1 #ag1 #ba and xii4 #f1  
#aa4  #dh,viz4 ,tobit xii4 #g1 where the
 best attested reading is to reveal     
gloriously1 instead of 7it is7 glorious 
to reveal4  #di,the ,prefect of ,egypt  
at that time4  #ej,though ,dionysius was
 ,bishop1 it is noticeable that he still
    associates himself with the         
presbyterate here and elsewhere2 cp4 #a 
,pet4 v4 #a1 etc4  #ea;,acts v4 #bi4    
#eb,marcellus seems to be the brother   
from ,rome mentioned above1 and         
,eusebius is not now mentioned4  #ec,the
 word also either refers to the imperial

 edict or suggests that    some written 
communication had been sent4  #ed,viz4  
,valerian and his son ,gallienus4       
#ee;,cp4 #a ,tim4 ii4 #b2 this laudable 
custom is often referred to in early    
,christian writings4  #ef,this          
restriction was constantly enforced by  
persecuting emperors1    because the    
graves of martyrs were a favourite      
resort for prayer and    worship4 ,the  
word cemetery 7sleeping-place7 was      
introduced by    ,christians for        
graveyards4  #eg,this is an indignant   
protest against ,germanus's charges4    
#eha ,cor4 xv4 #c4  #ei;,col4 iv4 #c4   
#fj;,cp4 ,acts xii4 #be4  #fa,the       
brethren who lived on the outskirts of a
 city like ,alexandria    were not bound
 to attend the mother church1 but had as
 it were chapels    of ease in their own
 vicinities4  #fb,or perhaps carried on 
7to act as thou didst74  #fc,strictly   
speaking1 ,novatian's withdrawal was not
 very likely to    involve actual       
martyrdom4  #fd,the word is katorthma   

7success72 perhaps recovery would bring 
out the antithesis to fall 7sphalma7    
better4  #fe;,gen4 xix4 #ag 7,,lxx74    
#ff;,another reading gives blessed      
7makarios71 which1 though less well     
supported by the ,,mss41 makes the      
phrase makaris anepausato more          
pointed4  #fg,this expression probably  
means to include the ,churches of       
,mesopotamia    and ,osroene1 besides   
those which he proceeds to mention      
below4  #fh;,eusebius is mistaken in    
identifying this peace with the         
cessation of    persecution3 the        
reference is to the subsiding of the    
,novatianist    schism in #bed which    
restored peace to ,christendom4 ,the    
surprise and    joy were due to the     
violence of the language and other      
measures which    the chief combatants  
7,stephen and ,cyprian7 had employed4   
#fi;,hadrian's colony in ,mount ,sion   
was so named 7,a4,d4 #acb74 ,later on   
the    older and more glorious name of  
,jerusalem was restored to the see4     

#gj;,bishop of ,csarea in ,cappadocia 7 
,a4,d4 #bfj71 and one of ,origen's      
distinguished pupils4 ,on the baptismal 
controversy he sided with    ,cyprian of
 ,carthage4  #ga,the adroit reference to
 the wonted liberality of the ,roman    
,church is    to be noted3 other        
instances are given by ,salmon1         
,infallibility1 p4    #cge4  #gb;,here  
again ,dionysius shows his adroitness1  
if ,benson 7,cyprian1 p4    #ceg7 is    
right in thinking that the list of      
churches he gives suggests    a         
repetition of the ,pentecostal          
outpouring of the ,holy ,ghost 7,acts   
ii4    #i f474  #gc;,cp4 the letter to  
,dionysius1 p4 #eh4  #gd,lev4 xxiv4     
#ac-af4  #ge,the word here used         
represents mystrion1 denoting the       
,christian    revelation as mystrion    
often does4  #gf;,cf4 #a ,cor4 xvi4 #bb 
and ,gal4 i4 #h1 #i4  #gg,the former are
 converts from heathenism1 or perhaps   
from heresy2 the    latter ,christians  
who have lapsed4  #gh,the word here is  

the ,greek cheirotonia in ,syriac       
letters1 and so    might also be        
rendered ordination4  #gi,the ,,mss4    
from which this extract comes state that
 it is from a letter    to ,dionysius   
and ,stephanus of ,rome4 ,no such letter
 is otherwise known1    and it is not   
likely that ,stephen's name would come  
second1 as he was    then bishop and    
,dionysius only a presbyter1 though     
later on he became    bishop4 ,possibly 
it is from the letter which our         
,dionysius tells us he    wrote to his  
,roman namesake and ,philemon when they 
were of the same    opinion as ,stephen3
 see p4 #ee4 ,as far as the contents of 
the extract    go1 it is not at all     
incredible that ,dionysius was willing  
to admit    the validity of such        
baptisms as are specified3 it was only  
heresies    of a very fundamental kind  
which he considered to invalidate       
baptism4  #hj,the successor to          
,stephanus in #beg as ,bishop of ,rome3 
he was martyred    after one year's     

reign4  #ha,this was1 according to      
,benson 7,cyprian1 p4 #ced71 a threat   
which he    did not actually carry into 
effect1 and was only meant to restrain  
them from adopting ,cyprian's attitude  
on the matter4  #hb;i4 e4 those of      
,iconium and ,synnada 7circ4 #bcj73     
,dionysius may    also be referring to  
the three much more recent councils     
which ,cyprian    had held at ,carthage 
between #bed and #bef 7i4 e4 since his  
letter to    ,stephen above74 ,by this  
time he had by patient inquiry found out
 much    more than he had known at first
 of what was necessary to be known      
before coming to a decision4  #hc;,cf4  
#a ,cor4 vi4 #aa and v4 #g1 #h4  #hd,see
 note on p4 #ed4 ,dionysius became      
afterwards ,bishop of ,rome in #bei3    
a fragment of a letter from our         
,dionysius to him is printed on p4 #eh4 
,his famous letter to our ,dionysius on 
the ,sabellian controversy is not       
included in this volume4 ,part of a     
letter to ,philemon is given on p4      

#ef4 ,he was a ,roman ,presbyter4       
#he,on the north-west coast of          
,cyrenaica1 one of the five chief cities
    which gave its name to the ,libyan  
,pentapolis4 ,sabellius denied the      
three ,persons in the ,trinity1 and held
 that the ,person of the ,father    who 
is ,one with the ,son was incarnate in  
,christ3 see further p4 #ai4  #hf,there 
seems no doubt that this is the right   
reading here1 though most    of the     
,,mss4 read ,god the ,father and our    
,lord ,jesus ,christ2 but    clearly    
,dionysius is only speaking of ,god the 
,father in this clause    and of ,jesus 
,christ in the next4 ,see #b ,cor4 i4   
#b1 ,eph4 i4 #c1 etc4  #hg;,it was      
,dionysius's treatment of this subject  
which afterwards gave    ,arius the     
heresiarch of ,alexandria an opening for
 claiming his    teaching in support of 
his own tenets1 though there is no      
,arian    suggestion1 of course1 in this
 phrase3 see p4 #bj4  #hh;,col4 i4 #ae4 
#hi;,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 vii4 #bf1 mentions   

letters to ,ammonius1 ,bishop of        
,bernice1 ,telesphorus ,euphranor and   
,euporus in this connexion4             
,athanasius appears only to have known  
one joint letter to ,ammonius and       
,euphranor4  #ij;,dionysius seems to    
distinguish here two kinds of writings3 
7#a7 those    that were based on        
systematic research and criticism1 and  
7#b7 those    that handed on the more   
traditional and less critical views and 
statements of the past4  #ia;,divine    
interposition is more vaguely suggested 
above on p4 #dd4 ,s4    ,augustine's    
statement should also be compared1 that 
at a critical    moment of his          
conversion he heard a voice saying1     
,take and read    7,conf4 vii4 #ab1 ,s  
#bi72 ,s4 ,polycarp likewise heard a    
voice from    heaven saying1 ,be strong 
and play the man1 as he was led into the
    arena4  #ib,see ,introduction1 p4   
#aa4  #ic,this is one of the more common
 apocryphal sayings usually attributed  
to our ,lord3 hence the epithet         

apostolic is somewhat strange4  #id,the 
word for ,father here is papas 7pope71 a
 colloquial form of    patr applied to  
any bishop 7or even to one of the       
inferior clergy    sometimes7 in the    
first ages4 ,for ,heraclas see p4 #aa4  
,it is to be    noticed1 however1 that  
this canon of his dealt not with        
heretical    baptism 7such as ,dionysius
 is dealing with71 but with actual or   
reputed perverts1 and stated the terms  
on which they were to be    restored to 
the ,church of their baptism4  #ie;i4 e4
 the ,church in ,africa ,proconsularis1 
of which ,carthage was the    metropolis
 and ,cyprian the metropolitan4         
#if;,iconium was the chief city of      
,lycaonia 7see ,acts xiii4 and xiv471   
and    ,synnada was an important town in
 ,phrygia ,salutaris4 ,these synods had 
been held some twenty-five years before 
7in ,a4,d4 #bcj74  #ig;,deut4 xix4 #ad4 
#ih,see above1 p4 #ec4  #ii;,a          
confession of faith has always been     
required before baptism3 this           

,novatian virtually ignored by his      
action4  #ajj;,here as elsewhere        
,dionysius shows his breadth of view    
about ,god in    recognizing that the   
,holy ,spirit might in some measure     
remain even    with the lapsed4         
#aja;,it is strange that so old a       
believer should never have noticed the  
difference before1 but baptism was      
almost entirely confined at that    time
 to ,easter and ,whitsuntide1 and he may
 have always been absent4  #ajb;,cp4 #a 
,cor4 xiv4 #af4 ,the ,amen is either    
that after the ,consecration    of the  
,elements or at the ,reception of them4 
#ajc,standing was1 and is still1 the    
posture in the ,east3 ,scudamore1       
,not4 ,euch41 p4 #fcg4  #ajd;,a somewhat
 rare word for ,altar without some      
descriptive epithet    like holy or     
mystic4  #aje,the ,consistentes were the
 last order of penitents1 who were      
allowed to remain after the dismissal of
 the catechumens and other    penitents1
 but did not join in the oblation or    

communion itself3 cf4    ,canons of     
,nica1 ,no4 xi4  #ajf,the letter from   
which this is supposed to be an extract 
is said by    ,eusebius 7,h4 ,e4 vi4    
#df1 #b7 to have been on the subject of 
,repentance1 and may possibly be the    
instruction which ,dionysius says    he 
had given on p4 #db above4  #ajg,viz4   
under the impression that they were     
going to die4  #ajh;i4 e4 after thus    
pledging ourselves to them4  #aji;,cf4  
#a ,pet4 ii4 #c1 where ,ps4 xxxiii4     
7xxxiv47 #i is quoted4  #aaj;,cf4 #a    
,tim4 iii4 #g1 etc4  #aaa,the reference 
is to ,luke xv4 #d ff4 and ,ezek4 xxxiv4
 #f1 etc4  #aab;,dionysius is thinking  
perhaps of the story in ,tobit v4 #f1   
where    ,raphael becomes the companion 
of ,tobit's son ,tobias on his journey4 
#aac,on the principle that charity      
thinketh no evil 444 but hopeth all     
things 7#a ,cor4 xiii473 similar but not
 identical phrases 7in words or         
sense7 are found #a ,cor4 xvi4 #ag1 #b  
,cor4 ix4 #ab1 xi4 #i1 ,phil4 ii4 #cj1  

and ,col4 i4 #bd4  #aad,the difficulties
 of soldiers becoming and remaining     
,christians were    peculiarly great    
under the early ,emperors4  #aae,that   
is1 some had not yet been called upon to
 be actual martyrs1    ,dionysius among 
them who was still in exile4  #aaf;,is4 
xlix4 #h4  #aag,these were the same     
civil officials as those mentioned in   
,acts vi4    #bj at ,philippi1 with     
their servants1 there called lictors    
7rhabdouchoi73 the soldiers belonged to 
the centurion1 of course4  #aah,this has
 already been described on p4 #dd4      
#aai;,including ,timotheus who had been 
the means of his escape4  #abj;,a town  
on the coast #aej miles west of         
,alexandria4  #aba;,he and the three    
deacons have already been mentioned on  
p4 #df4 ,they    must have left         
,dionysius when he went into exile and  
returned to    ,alexandria4  #abb;,in   
the island1 according to ,rufinus's     
version1 but it is not clear    what    
island he means3 the pestilence is      

probably one of those frequent          
epidemics which devastated ,north       
,africa and other districts of the      
empire4  #abc,the epithet perfect1      
though applied to believers generally in
 the    ,new ,testament 7,matt4 v4 #bh1 
etc471 was later specially used of      
martyrs4  #abd;,gallus succeeded to the 
empire on the death of ,decius and his  
sons    in #bea1 and reigned till #bec1 
when it was wrested from him by milian1 
who was in turn ousted by ,valerian     
after four months' rule4 ,dionysius     
makes no mention of this episode1 though
 he does of ,macrian's attempt    later4
  #abe,the quotation is from ,rev4 xiii4
 #e1 but the last words follow a        
reading which has no support in the     
,,mss4 ,it should also be noticed       
that ,dionysius does not think it at all
 certain that the author of the         
,revelation is the ,evangelist3 see p4  
#hf4  #abf,valerian reigned from #bec   
till his disappearance in #bfj4 ,the    
duration of the persecution was         

forty-two months1 from before           
midsummer #beg till late in #bfj4       
#abg;,here the expression means         
,christians generally1 not prophets or  
clergy as often4  #abh;,alexander       
,severus and ,philip the ,arabian are no
 doubt meant4  #abi;,compare such       
expressions in ,s4 ,paul's letters as   
,rom4 xvi4 #e1 #a ,cor4    xvi4 #aa1    
etc4  #acj,no doubt ,macrianus is meant1
 who is mentioned further on1 but it is 
difficult to account for the exact      
epithets which ,dionysius here          
applies to him4 ,apparently he had been 
,valerian's tutor in some kind    of    
magic1 and had allied himself somehow   
with the ,jewish colony in              
,alexandria 7hence archisynaggos71 who  
would1 of course1 be hostile    to the  
,christians4  #aca;,christian exorcists 
must be meant1 though the claim to      
supernatural    powers which ,dionysius 
makes for them is sufficiently          
remarkable4  #acb,this was a frequent   
charge against the ,christians          

themselves4 ,here    ,dionysius turns it
 against their persecutors in ,egypt4   
#acc;,it is very difficult1 without a   
knowledge of ,latin and ,greek1 to      
understand ,dionysius's play on words   
throughout this section4 ,the    office 
which ,macrianus held was that of1 in   
,latin1 ,rationalis or    ,procurator   
summ rei1 in ,greek ho epi tn katholou  
logn 7something    like our ,chancellor 
of the ,exchequer73 hence ,dionysius    
says he was not    rational 7or         
reasonable7 in his treatment of the     
,christians and    showed no catholic   
spirit towards them4  #acd;,ezek4 xiii4 
#c4 ,dionysius takes the last phrase 7to
 katholou71 as    if it was the object  
of the verb1 not an adverb1 in order to 
suit his    argument4  #ace,this may    
perhaps mean that besides his other     
faults ,macrianus was    tainted with   
the atheistic views of the ,epicureans1 
while ,dionysius    also alludes in this
 sentence to the accounts which         
,macrianus would    have to present to  

the ,emperor of his own administration4 
#acf;,cf4 ,eph4 iv4 #f and ,col4 i4 #ag4
  #acg;,another play on words1 as if    
,macrianus was derived from the ,greek  
makros 7far off71 which is somewhat     
doubtful4  #ach;,is4 lxvi4 #c1 #d       
7,,lxx74 ,here the reference is to      
,valerian falling into    the hands of  
,sapor1 the ,persian ,king1 who         
inflicted grievous insults    upon him1 
and kept him in captivity till his      
death4  #aci,macrianus was lame of one  
leg4 ,after ,valerian's defeat and      
disappearance 7in #bfj71 for which he   
was himself largely responsible1        
,macrianus and his two sons1 ,macrianus 
junior and ,quietus1 made an    abortive
 attempt to seize the throne1 which was 
soon defeated4  #adj;,ex4 xx4 #e4       
#ada,the two ,macriani were defeated and
 slain by ,aureolus1 another    usurper1
 in ,illyricum1 and ,quietus was put to 
death in the ,east4  #adb;,dionysius is 
still speaking of ,macrianus1 who had   
incited ,valerian    to attack the      

,persians1 and then had himself attacked
 ,gallienus and    tried to usurp the   
throne4  #adc;,is4 xlii4 #i1 but        
,dionysius has substituted1 for the last
 phrase1 a    phrase from xliii4 #ai4   
,the original prophecy applies to the   
triumph of    ,cyrus and the conversion 
of the world to the worship of ,jehovah4
 ,its    application in the text strikes
 us to-day as too fanciful4             
#add,whether ,gallienus himself was     
really a ,christian is very doubtful1   
but his wife1 ,cornelia ,salonina1 seems
 to have been4  #ade,this is a very     
obscure calculation1 but the upshot of  
it may be as    follows3 ,gallienus was 
associated with his father ,valerian as 
,emperor    seven years 7#bec-fj71 then 
,macrianus usurped the power 7in ,egypt7
 for    one year1 or rather more2 thus  
,gallienus regained the power in his    
ninth year 7i4 e4 after midsummer #bfa74
 ,gallienus's original ,edict    of     
,peace was issued in ,oct4 #bfj1 but the
 ,rescript applying it to ,egypt    was 

delayed for some time4 ,the ,easter     
festival for which this letter    was   
written1 therefore1 must have been that 
of #bfb4  #adf;,cf4 #a ,cor4 v4 #h4     
#adg;,exod4 xii4 #cj4  #adh;,i have     
translated the ,berlin editor's reading 
here1 as being the    least             
unsatisfactory of those proposed4       
,others give a text which may    be     
rendered3 ,i would this were all3 for   
the things that befell us    before     
drove us into many grievous troubles4   
,but the exact meaning is    doubtful1  
however we take it4  #adi,this epithet  
for martyrs has already occurred on p4  
#fd4  #aej,this is none other than a    
quotation from ,pericles's speech about 
the    plague at ,athens in ,thucyd4 ii4
 #fd1 though in ,dionysius's original   
phrase it sounds as if he meant some    
local minor historian4  #aea,the word   
,dionysius uses here is the same as ,s4 
,paul1 uses 7#a ,cor4    iv4 #ac3       
peripsma1 offscouring74 ,it is said to  
have been used at    ,athens of the     

human scapegoats thrown into the river  
in time of    famine3 ,be thou my       
expiation 7peripsma74 ,elsewhere it     
seems to    have degenerated into a sort
 of extravagant compliment3 ,i am your  
humble servant 7peripsma74 ,dionysius   
suggests it might regain its    more    
serious meaning in the present case4    
#aeb;,here again ,dionysius uses an     
expression suggested by ,s4 ,paul in    
,phil4 iii4 #h4  #aec;,it is not clear  
whether ,dionysius actually alludes here
 to the    well-protected harbours of   
,alexandria or 7more loosely7 to the    
,lake    ,mareotis3 probably to the     
former1 because the canal he refers to  
in    the next sentence 7though he calls
 it a river7 was cut from the ,nile     
into one of the harbours and passed at  
the back of the city between it    and  
the ,lake ,mareotis4  #aed;,cf4 ,ps4    
lxxvii4 #ac1 cxxxvi4 #d1 and ,wisd4 xi4 
#d4 ,the whole passage1    of course1   
refers to ,exod4 xiv4 and xvii4         
#aee;,cf4 ,exod4 vii4 #bj1 #ba4  #aef;i4

 e4 if the biggest river and the ocean  
itself1 as he proceeds    exaggeratedly 
to claim1 cannot do so1 what other      
cleansing can there    be8  #aeg;,cf4   
,gen4 ii4 #aj ff4 ,dionysius evidently  
adopts the later ,jewish view    that   
the ,gihon was the ,nile1 thiopia 7or   
,cush7 being identified with    ,egypt4 
#aeh,the meaning of the phrase employed 
by ,dionysius here 7hale old    men7    
comes from ,homer1 ,il4 xxiii4 #gia 7cf4
 ,virg41 n4 vi4 #cjd72    but elsewhere 
a very similar phrase seems to suggest a
 cruel1    untimely old age4            
#aei;,evidently at ,alexandria 7the     
capital of that country which was the   
chief granary of ,rome7 either the      
necessitous citizens or perhaps all     
between forty and seventy were entitled 
to receive doles of corn2 but    now the
 relief was extended to all ages between
 fourteen and eighty4  #afj;,either the 
heathen are meant1 who ought to tremble 
and be convinced1    or the ,christians1
 who were too courageous through trust  

in ,god to    tremble4  #afa,the last   
sentence is involved and obscure4 ,i am 
not sure that my    paraphrase rightly  
expresses the thought4  #afb;,i have    
adopted our modern mode of expression1  
but in the early    ,church ,pascha was 
often used for the fast which receded   
,easter as well    as for the feast     
itself1 and that is how ,dionysius uses 
it here4  #afc;i4 e4 at #c a4m4 on      
,easter ,day1 the traditional hour of   
our ,lord's    ,resurrection1 especially
 in the ,west4  #afd;i4 e4 at #f p4m4 on
 ,easter ,eve4  #afe;,all1 i4 e4 who    
came1 or perhaps all the four           
evangelists4    ,the difference is not  
really confined to the time1 but to the 
parties which came1 the other devout    
women coming later than the two         
,marys4  #aff,the four references are to
 ,matt4 xxviii4 #a1 ,john xx4 #a1 ,luke 
xxiv4    #a1 and ,mark xvi4 #b4         
#afg;,cf4 ,john ix4 #e1 etc4  #afh,the  
,council in ,trullo 7,a4,d4 #fhj7       
accepted this second meaning and        

consented to ,dionysius's ruling on the 
point raised without reserve4           
#afi;,dionysius thinks that ,s4         
,matthew's account1 with which ,s4      
,john's    tallies1 speaks of the two   
,marys coming to look at the tomb about 
midnight on ,easter eve or morning1     
while ,s4 ,luke and ,s4 ,mark mentioned 
certain women who arrived at the tomb   
somewhat later1 when the sun had    just
 risen1 but one at least of the ,marys  
mentioned by ,s4 ,matthew is            
identical with one of those mentioned by
 ,s4 ,mark and apparently by ,s4        
,luke4 ,possibly1 however1 ,dionysius   
means that the two ,marys took part     
in both visits to the tomb4 ,dr4 ,swete 
on ,s4 ,mark and ,dr4 ,westcott on      
,s4 ,john should be consulted by any one
 who wishes to pursue the    question   
further4  #agj;i4 e4 as on the former   
occasion mentioned by ,s4 ,matthew and  
,s4    ,mark4  #aga,the author of this  
saying 7which is equivalent to our      
proverb1 ,a    miss is as good as a     

mile7 is not known4 ,basil 7de ,baptism4
 ii4 i7    quotes something like it1 but
 with a different turn1 and he1 too1    
attributes it to one of our wise men1   
but perhaps he is only    referring to  
,dionysius in this passage4  #agb;,cf4  
,matt4 xiv4 #bf4  #agc;,he means the six
 days of what we call ,holy ,week1 but  
he gives no    indication whether the   
,lenten fast was then confined to those 
days in    ,alexandria and the          
,pentapolis or lasted longer4 ,by       
equally he    proceeds to explain is    
meant the length of the fasting 7six    
days or    two1 and so on71 and by      
similarly the manner or degree of it    
7till    cockcrow or till evening74     
#agd,the verb used 7hypertithenai1 ,lat4
 superponere1 to exceed7 is    the      
technical one for this prolonged fast3  
the ordinary fast ended at    #f p4m4   
and that of the station days 7,wednesday
 and ,friday7 at #c p4m4  #age;,cf4 #a  
,pet4 iii4 #h and ,phil4 ii4 #bj4       
#agf,the expression comes from ,acts    

xiii4 #b1 where1 however1 it describes  
a special act of worship rather than    
ministering in general4  #agg,nepos had 
apparently been ,bishop of ,arsenoe in  
,egypt1 and was the    author of a work 
7,elenchos ,allgoristn7 putting forward 
grossly    material views of the        
,millennium4 ,dionysius refuted it in a 
carefully    prepared treatise in two   
books4 ,this extract is from the second 
book1    and deals chiefly with the     
authorship of the ,revelation of ,st4   
,john    the ,divine in a way very      
characteristic of his large-hearted and 
broad-minded spirit4  #agh,or ,dionysius
 may mean that he had encouraged the    
singing of the    ,psalms in service4   
#agi;,cf4 ,tit4 ii4 #ac1 #b ,thess4 ii4 
#h1 etc4  #ahj,the reference is to #b   
,thess4 ii4 #a and #a ,john iii4 #b4    
#aha;,it does not appear to whom        
,dionysius addressed this treatise1 but 
he    usually did address what he wrote 
to some particular person4  #ahb;,here  
the two offices are conjoined as in #a  

,tim4 v4 #ag4 ,the teacher    as an     
officer of the ,church is mentioned in  
several of the early    ,church ,orders4
  #ahc,nothing more is known of him3    
either he had succeeded to the          
leadership since the death of ,nepos1 or
 on this particular occasion    took the
 lead4  #ahd,the allusion is probably to
 ,gaius of ,rome and his school rather  
than    to the ,alogi1 as they were     
called1 of the ,east2 but both these    
bodies    were strongly opposed to      
,millenarian views4  #ahe;,if this      
refers to a formal division into        
chapters1 it disappeared    afterwards1 
for a new division was devised in the   
sixth century1 on    which our present  
system is partly based4  #ahf;,dionysius
 plays here on the meaning of the ,greek
 word for    ,revelation1 apokalypsis1  
unveiling4 ,he is fond of such a device4
  #ahg;,if that is the meaning of the   
words employed1 then saints    7hagioi7 
is not used in its ,new ,testament sense
 for the faithful    generally1 but a   

distinction is made more like the later 
use of the    word for those who        
attained higher saintliness than the    
rest2 but    perhaps the phrase for     
churchmen implies clerical or           
ecclesiastical    persons1 and saints   
has its earlier sense4  #ahh;,cerinthus 
was the earliest exponent of ,gnostic   
views1 and as such    much abhorred by  
,st4 ,john the ,apostle4  #ahi;i4 e4    
reckoning that it is a matter where     
faith rather than reason    should act2 
or perhaps the translation should be    
giving more weight    to 7the author's7 
trustworthiness4  #aij,this title is to 
be noticed1 as the author himself never 
actually    describes himself by it4    
,dionysius is much more cautious as to  
the    authorship than ,origen1 his     
former master1 who attributed the book  
to    ,st4 ,john the ,evangelist without
 hesitation1 according to ,eusebius1 ,h4
    ,e4 vi4 #be1 #i4  #aia,rev4 xxii4   
#g1 #h3 but ,dionysius has no authority 
for joining the    latter clause on to  

the former1 its construction being it is
 ,i ,john    who saw and heard4  #aib;i4
 e4 the ,first ,epistle of ,st4 ,john2  
the second and third were not    so     
described at first and rightly so4      
#aic,rev4 i4 #a1 #b4 ,one might almost  
think ,dionysius was quoting from       
memory1 for he follows no extant text in
 omitting ,god before gave    7thus     
making ,jesus ,christ the subject and   
him  to ,john7 and the    things which  
must come to pass before speedily3 also 
he substitutes    his testimony for the 
testimony of ,jesus ,christ1 though his 
still  ,jesus ,christ4  #aid,rev4 i4 #d4
  #aie;,dionysius seems to contrast the 
,divine revelation of the ,epistle      
which we can trust with that of the     
,book so-called about which he felt     
less sure4  #aifa ,john i4 #a4          
#aig,matt4 xvi4 #ag4 ,dionysius         
substitutes the adjective heavenly for  
which is in heaven4  #aih,rev4 i4 #i4   
,here again the text is somewhat        
inaccurate in the    patience of ,jesus 

having no support elsewhere4  #aii,rev4 
xxii4 #g4 ,see note on p4 #hf1 above4   
#bjj;,it would seem likely1 but by no   
means certain1 that ,dionysius is       
speaking of strictly baptismal names    
here4 ,we have very slight grounds      
for being sure that the custom of       
connecting the giving of a name at      
baptism was universal as early as this4 
#bja,see ,acts xii4 #be and xiii4 #e4   
#bjb;,ibid41 xiii4 #ac4  #bjc,this      
assertion is taken almost verbatim from 
,eus41 ,h4 ,e4 iii4 #ci1    where a     
passage is also quoted from ,papias in  
which ,john the ,elder is    mentioned  
as well as ,john the ,apostle among the 
,lord's disciples4  #bjd,this is the    
second argument which ,dionysius        
adduces1 but he seems as    if he now   
includes the third with it4 ,see above4 
#bje;,john i4 #a1 and #a ,john i4 #a1   
#b4  #bjf;,cf4 #a ,john iv4 #b4         
#bjg;,ibid41 i4 #b1 #c4  #bjh;,it looks 
as if this phrase may be a marginal     
gloss on the ,light1    which has crept 

into the text1 as it occurs nowhere in  
the writings of    ,st4 ,john nor       
elsewhere in the ,new ,testament2 but   
the same might be    said of the        
adoption below1 and one or two others of
 the other    phrases are quite rare in 
,st4 ,john's writings1 so that they may 
be all    instances of the thoughts1 not
 the words being identical in the two   
books4  #bji,the reference is to such   
passages as #b ,cor4 xii4 #a ff41 ,gal4 
i4 #ab1    ii4 #b1 etc4  #baj,this is   
the third argument4  #baa;,a rather     
forced and fanciful statement4          
,dionysius appears loosely to    refer  
to #a ,cor4 xii4 #h1 somewhat boldly    
substituting of speech 7ts    phrases7  
for ,st4 ,paul's of wisdom4  #bab;,cf4  
#a ,cor4 xiv4 #f and #h4  #bac;i4 e4 the
 results not of design but of the       
fortuitous intersection    of lines of  
causation4  #bad;,gen4 i4 #ca4  #bae,the
 argument appears to be that1 as on a   
small scale design is    evident in the 
construction or repairing of a thing but

 is absent in    its decay1 so the      
orderly creation and maintenance of the 
,universe on    the large scale implies 
intelligent direction4  #baf;,hesiod    
7,works and ,days1 #eed7 is meant1 but  
of course #ajj stands    here1 as       
elsewhere1 for an indefinitely large    
number4  #bag,the point is that movement
 which is useful suggests design3 but as
    the movement of the atoms is without
 design1 it cannot be useful4  #bah,ps4 
cxxxviii4 7cxxxix47 #af4 ,dionysius     
quotes the best text here of    ,,lxx1  
but his application is rather obscure4  
,apparently he means that    the        
,epicureans claimed to know without     
either revelation or research    what   
the ,psalmist knew only by revelation   
from ,god4  #bai;,dionysius says that   
even the spider has more notion of      
design than    the atoms1 but the       
sarcasm is not quite to the point4      
#bbja ,cor4 xv4 #da4  #bba;,god ever    
brings like to like4--,homer1 ,od4 xvii4
 #bah1 a proverb    quoted both by      

,plato and ,aristotle4  #bbb;,dionysius 
is probably thinking of ,plato's ,timus 
#ef;,b1 where the    pyramid is said to 
be the geometrical shape of fire which  
is the    principal constituent of the  
bodies of the stars 7,professor ,h4     
,jackson74  #bbc;,dionysius is here     
referring to such a passage as ,gen4 i4 
#f ff4 ,no    doubt the ancients thought
 the vault of heaven was solid1         
enclosing    the atmosphere which covers
 the earth1 and that the stars were     
either    fixed upon it or moved in     
their courses on its surface4  #bbd,ps4 
civ4 #bc4  #bbe;i4 e4 the sun's yearly  
7as opposed to its daily7 course4       
#bbf,the righteous here is a very       
unusual equivalent for the              
,christians3 it is possible1 however1   
that the translation is3    however much
 these men disagree1 being but poor     
creatures1 though    righteous enough in
 their own estimate4  #bbg;,ecclus4     
xliii4 #e4  #bbh,the idea is of some    
stars being solitary1 like a ,greek or  

,roman    colony 7apoikia7 with a       
constitution of its own1 and of others  
grouping themselves into constellations 
or communities 7synoikia74    ,the      
colony had a founder 7oikists71 the     
community or household    would have    
some sort of controller 7oikodespots74  
#bbi;,ecclus4 xvi4 #bf f4  #bcj,the     
natural motion of atoms was downwards1  
but there was also a    slight sideward 
motion1 and when they impinged a motion 
upwards by    blows and tossings1 and   
this produced the shape of things4 ,but 
,dionysius here says1 how is that theory
 consistent with the orderly    march of
 the stars8  #bca;,dionysius here plays 
on the derivation of atomoi1 from       
temnein    7 to cut74  #bcb;,amos iii4  
#c 7,,lxx74 ,the ,a4,v4 and ,r4,v4 give 
the more exact meaning    agreed to the 
last word4  #bcc;,hesiod1 ,works and    
,days1 iv4 #djh and #daa4  #bcd,viz4 the
 heathen1 to whom the poets were to some
 extent what the    prophets are to us  
,christians4  #bce;,jer4 xlviii4 #aj4   

#bcf,the happiness of the ,king of      
,persia was proverbial3 see ,hor41 ,od4 
ii4 #ab1 #ba1 iii4 #i1 #d4  #bcg;,by    
,necessity here ,dionysius means not    
,fate in the fatalist's    sense1 but   
that supreme ,will and ,purpose of ,god1
 which is opposed to    the ,epicurean  
doctrine of chance4  #bch,the title here
 given 7hypothkai7 is not given in the  
list of    ,democritus's works1 but the 
hypomnmata thika may be meant4  #bci;,it
 is impossible to reproduce the play    
upon words here1 eutych tn    phronsin1 
emphronestatn tn tychn4 ,the reference  
seems to be to    such poetical passages
 as ,soph41 ,o4 ,t4 #igg ff41 and ,eur41
 ,alc4 #ghe    ff41 where the practical 
wisdom of leaving the future to take    
care of    itself is extolled4          
#bdj;,epicurus himself contended that by
 hdon 7pleasure7 he meant not    sensual
 enjoyments so much as freedom from pain
 of body and from    disturbance of soul
 7ataraxia71 the source of which was    
largely in    the exercise of the mind  

and will3 see ,zeller1 ,stoics1         
,epicureans and    ,sceptics1 pp4 #dgc  
ff4  #bda,the words quoted 7dtras ean7  
are a ,homeric phrase1 e4 g4 ,od4       
viii4 #cbe and #cce4  #bdb,the          
derivation from theein is proposed by   
,plato1 ,cratyl4 #cig ,c3    that from  
theinai by ,herod1 ii4 #eb1 and of the  
two the latter is the    more likely    
7rootthe7 though ,curtius suggests a    
root thes  to    pray3 see ,peile1      
,introd4 to ,philology1 p4 #cg 7#crd    
ed41 #ahge74  #bdc,these are probably   
some sort of ,gnostics who took over    
,manichean    views of ,god and ,matter1
 but not of the worst kind1 for they    
recognized that ,god had the control and
 disposition of matter4  #bdd,some one1 
i4 e4 who could give them the property  
of being without    beginning4          
#bde;,different from both1 because the  
being without beginning is not of    the
 very essence of both4 ,see further on4 
#bdf;,a curious expression1 for which   
one would have expected the opposite    

statement1 viz4 that the handicrafts can
 shape and form the materials    they   
deal with rather than that the materials
 give the necessary    methods and      
designs to the handicrafts which deal   
with them4 ,up to    this point         
,dionysius has been combating the view  
with which the    extract begins4 ,the  
rest of the extract proceeds to show    
what amount    of truth there is in it4 
#bdg,the reference here is to ,manichean
 views of the worst kind1 i4 e4    that 
matter is not only without beginning1   
but the source of evil and    altogether
 independent of ,god4  #bdh;i4 e4       
,dionysius of ,rome1 to whom this       
treatise was addressed4 ,this           
particular other letter does not seem to
 have been known to    ,eusebius1 and   
when ,athanasius quotes this extract in 
another of his    treatises he omits the
 words to thee4  #bdi;,athanasius       
himself was sparing in his use of the   
term1 and the ,synod    of ,antioch     
7,a4,d4 #bfd7 refused to accept it1 as  

liable to    misconstruction4  #bej;i4  
e4 in the letter to ,euphranor 7about   
,sabellianism in ,libya7    which had   
given rise to the ,bishop of ,rome's    
intervention4  #bea;,it looks as if     
,dionysius was in exile when he wrote   
this4 ,see above1    p4 #ai4  #beb;i4 e4
 each of the two is itself and not the  
other1 as was said    above in the case 
of parents and children4  #bec;i4 e4    
they had gone or sent to ,rome1 in order
 to attack him4  #bed,viz4 about the    
plant and the ship1 which he has already
 apologized    for as not quite         
appropriate4  #bee;i4 e4 in ,scripture1 
e4 g4 in such passage as ,wisd4 vii4    
#be1 to    which he refers in the next  
sentence4  #bef,sc4 in ,dionysius's     
letter to ,euphranor3 cf4 ,john x4 #cj1 
xvii4 #aa1    #ba1 #bb4 ,the extract on 
p4 #ajf below deals with the same       
thought more    fully4 ,in both places  
,dionysius's language is based on       
,philo's    discussion of the logos     
endiathetos and the logos prophorikos   

7the    conceived and the expressed     
word71 de vita ,mosis1 p4 #bcj1 ,cohn4  
#beg;i4 e4 from the ,father and through 
the ,son3 ,dionysius seems to    have   
derived this view of the ,holy ,spirit's
 ,procession from his    master1        
,origen1 though he is thinking here     
rather of the ,mission of    the ,spirit
 into the ,church and its members than  
of the eternal and    necessary         
relations of the three ,persons in the  
,holy ,trinity to one    another1 as the
 sentences that follow indicate4        
#beh,lit4 in their hands3 a striking    
expression which ,athanasius    borrows 
from ,dionysius in his ,exposition of   
the ,faith4  #bei,this is what          
,dionysius of ,rome had imputed to our  
,dionysius1 though    without the word  
wholly he would not have altogether     
discarded the    position4  #bfj,logos  
is translated throughout this passage by
 speech 7i4 e4    uttered words71 except
 in the last clause1 where it refers to 
the ,son    ,himself and where it must  

be rendered by ,word as usual3 but      
obviously speech is only part of the    
full meaning of logos4 ,the    whole    
passage should be compared with the     
preceding extract4  #bfa,ps4 xliv4      
7xlv47 #a3 here ,r4,v4 translates logon 
agathon1 a goodly    matter1 in         
accordance with ,a4,v4  #bfb,the word   
used 7enkyklein7 suggests the scenic    
device of the    enkyklma1 by which some
 kind of change of scene was brought on 
to    the stage in the ,greek theatre3  
see ,classical ,dict41 s4v4             
,,index     ,absolution1 #dc1 #fj f4    
lia 7,jerusalem71 #eb   milianus1       
,governor of ,pannonia1 #ad1 #fe        
,prefect of ,egypt1 #af1 #bg1 #df f4    
,alexander1 ,bishop of ,jerusalem1 #ea  
,bishop of ,tyre1 #eb       a martyr1   
#ch   ,alexander ,severus1 ,emperor1    
#ab1 #ff   ,alexandrians1 letter to1    
#bh1 #gj ff4   ,alogi referred to1 #hd  
,ammon1 a martyr1 #dj   ,ammonarion1 a  
martyr1 #ci   ,antioch1 ,council of1    
#aj1 #ea1 #ajc   ,apollonia1 a martyr1  

#cf   ,arabia1 #aj1 #da1 #eb            
,aristotle referred to1 #bh1 #ie        
,arius1 heresy of1 #bj1 #ef1 #ajh       
,ater1 a martyr1 #ci   ,athanasius1 #i1 
#ai ff41 #ajc ff4    ,baptism of        
heretics1 #ae1 #bf1 #ea ff41 #ei        
,basil1 ,bishop of ,csarea1 #i1 #bb1 #hj
   ,basilides1 letter to1 #bf1 #bi1 #gf 
ff4   ,benson1 ,archbishop1 #ad1 #cd1   
#ea1 #eb1 #ee   ,besas1 a martyr1 #ch   
,bethune-,baker1 ,dr41 #bb   ,bithynia1 
,churches of1 #eb    ,cappadocia1       
,churches of1 #eb1 #ed   ,catechetical  
,school of ,alexandria1 #i1 #aj1 #aa1   
#ab1 #cb   ,cemeteries1 ,christian1 #ag1
 #dg   ,cephro1 #ag1 #df1 #dh f4        
,cerinthus1 heresy of1 #he   ,chremon1  
,bishop of ,nilopolis1 #da       a      
deacon1 #df1 #fd   ,chronicon           
,orientale1 #i ff4   ,cilicia1 ,churches
 of1 #eb1 #ed   ,colluthion1 #ag1 #di   
,communion1 ritual of1 #bf1 #fj         
reservation of species1 #db f4   ,conon1
 letter to1 #fj f4   ,consistentes1 #fj 
,copts 7,egyptians71 #aj1 #ci1 #ff1 #gj1

 #gc   ,coracion1 converted from heresy1
 #hd   ,cornelia ,salonina1 #ad1 #fi    
,cornelius1 ,bishop of ,rome1 #ae1 #ea  
,cronion ,eunous1 a martyr1 #ch         
,cyprian1 ,bishop of ,carthage1 #i1 #aa1
 #ae1 #ee1 #eh    ,damascus1 ,john of1  
#i1 #ge   ,decius1 ,persecution of1 #ac 
f41 #ci1 #dc1 #fe   ,demetrianus1       
,bishop of ,antioch1 #eb   ,demetrius1  
,bishop of ,alexandria1 #aa             
,democritus quoted1 #be1 #bh1 #ii       
,dionysia1 a martyr1 #ci   ,dionysius1  
,bishop of ,rome1 #ai f41 #eh f41 #ajc  
,dionysius1 church dedicated to ,st41   
#ca   ,dioscorus1 a presbyter1 #fd      
a boy confessor1 #ci   ,domitius and    
,didymus1 letter to1 #fc f4   ,duumviri1
 #fc    ,easter ,letters1 #bh1 #fc ff4  
,ecclesiastes1 ,beginning of1 #cj       
,ephesus and the two ,johns1 #hi        
,epicurus1 #ab1 #bc ff41 #ia ff4        
,epimachus1 a martyr1 #ch   ,euphranor1 
letter to1 #ef1 #ajd1 #aje   ,euripides 
referred to1 #ajj   ,eusebius1 ,eccl4   
,hist4 of1 #i1 #bb1 #ce ff41 #hb ff4    

,prpar4 ,evangelica of1 #i1 #cd1 #ia    
ff41 #aja f4   ,exorcists1 #ff          
,fabius1 ,bishop of ,antioch1 #ab1 #ce  
,fast before ,easter1 #gf ff4           
,firmilianus1 ,bishop of ,csarea1 #eb1  
#ed   ,frumentarius1 #ac1 #dc    ,gaius 
of ,rome referred to1 #hd   ,galatia1   
,churches of1 #ee   ,gallienus1         
,emperor1 #ad1 #ag1 #df1 #fh   ,gallus1 
,emperor1 #ad1 #fe   ,germanus1 letter  
to1 #aj1 #ad1 #bg1 #dc ff4    ,helenus1 
,bishop of ,tarsus1 #eb   ,heliodorus1  
,bishop of ,laodicea1 #eb   ,heracles1  
,bishop of ,alexandria1 #aa1 #ab1 #eg1  
#ei   ,hermammon1 letter to1 #bh1 #fe   
ff4   ,herodotus referred to1 #aja      
,heron1 a martyr1 #ci   ,hesiod quoted1 
#bh1 #ic1 #ih   ,hierax1 letter to1 #gc 
ff4   ,hippolytus1 ,canons of1 #cc      
,homer quoted1 #bh1 #ge1 #ie1 #ajj      
,iconium1 ,synod of1 #ae1 #ee1 #eh      
,ingenuus1 a martyr1 #dj   ,ischyrion1 a
 martyr1 #dj f4   ,isidore1 a martyr1   
#ci    ,jerome1 #bb1 #cj1 #cc1 #ajh     
,julian1 a martyr1 #ch    ,libya1 #ac1  

#ai1 #ch1 #df1 #fd    ,macar1 a martyr1 
#ch   ,macrianus1 #af1 #ah1 #bg1 #fj1   
#fd1 #fg1 #fh   ,mareotis1 ,lake1 #dh1  
#fc1 #gc   ,marinus1 ,bishop of ,tyre1  
#eb   ,marriage of clergy1 #aa1 #da1 #dd
   ,mazabbanes1 ,bishop of lia1 #eb     
,mercuria1 a martyr1 #ci   ,mesopotamia1
 ,churches of1 #eb   ,metras1 a martyr1 
#ce   ,millenarian views1 #hb ff4       
,nature1 treatise on1 #ab1 #bc ff41 #ia 
ff4   ,nemesion1 a martyr1 #ci   ,nepos 
of ,arsenoe1 #bg1 #bi1 #hb ff4          
,nilopolis1 #da   ,novatian1 schism of1 
#ae f41 #bf1 #bg1 #cd1 #ej1 #ei         
,origen and his pupils1 #aa1 #ab1 #ac1  
#bh ff41 #cf1 #ea1 #eb1 #hf             
,partonium1 #fd   ,paul of ,samosata1   
heresy of1 #bc   ,pentapolis1 #ah1 #ee1 
#gf   ,perfect1 applied to ,christians1 
#fd1 #ga   ,philemon1 letter to1 #aa1   
#ee1 #ef ff4   ,philip the ,arabian1    
,emperor1 #ab1 #ac1 #cg1 #ff   ,philo   
,judus1 #aje   ,plato referred to1 #ie1 
#aja   ,pontus1 ,churches of1 #eb       
,pope1 title of1 #eg   ,prayers for     

,emperor1 #dg   ,procopius of ,gaza1 #cj
   ,promises1 treatise on the1 #bc1 #bh1
 #bi1 #hb ff4   ,ptolemais1 #ee         
,ptolemy1 a martyr1 #dj    ,quinta1 a   
martyr1 #ce    ,rationalis1 office of1  
#af1 #ag1 #fg   ,refutation and         
,defence1 #ba f41 #aja ff4   ,refutation
 of ,allegorists1 #bi1 #hb              
,repentance1 #ei1 #fb   ,rufinus1 #bb1  
#fd    ,sabaita1 #aj   ,sabellius1      
heresy of1 #ah ff41 #bg1 #ee1 #aja ff4  
,sabinus1 ,prefect of ,egypt1 #ac1 #ce1 
#dc1 #ej   ,saracens1 #da   ,sarapion1  
case of1 #bf1 #db f4   ,soldiers as     
,christians1 #dj1 #fc   ,sophocles      
referred to1 #ajj   ,stephen1 ,bishop of
 ,rome1 #ae1 #cd1 #ec1 #ed   ,swete1    
,dr41 #bc1 #gh   ,synnada1 ,synod of1   
#ae1 #ee1 #eh   ,syria1 ,churches of1   
#eb    ,taposiris1 #ac1 #af1 #dd        
,thelymidrus1 ,bishop of ,laodicea1 #eb 
,theoctistus1 ,bishop of ,csarea1 #eb   
,theophilus1 a martyr1 #dj              
,theotecnus1 ,bishop of ,csarea1 #bi    
,thucydides quoted1 #bh1 #ga            

,timotheus1 a boy1 #aa1 #dd1 #fd        
,trullo1 ,council in1 #gf1 #gh          
,valerian1 ,emperor1 #ad1 #af1 #ag1 #dg1
 #fe    ,westcott1 ,bishop1 #bc1 #bd1   
#gh    ,xystus ,,ii1 ,bishop of ,rome1  
#ai1 #ed ff41 #ei ff4    ,zenon1 a      
martyr1 #dj          ,printed in ,great 
,britain by ,richard ,clay  ,sons1      
,limited1        ,,brunswick ,,st41     
,,stamford ,,st41 ,s4,e4 #a1 ,,and      
,,bungay1 ,,suffolk4                    
,,translations ,,of                     
,,christian ,,literature   ,a number of 
translations from the ,fathers have     
already been published by the           
,s4,p4,c4,k4 under the title ,early     
,church ,classics4 ,it is now proposed  
to enlarge this series to include texts 
which are neither early nor necessarily 
classics4 ,the divisions at present     
proposed are given below4 ,volumes      
belonging to the original series are    
marked with an asterisk4                
,,series ,i4--,,greek ,,texts4  99,the  
,epistle of ,st4 ,clement1 ,bishop of   

,rome4 ,by the ,rt4 ,rev4 ,j4 ,a4 ,f4   
,gregg1 ,d4,d4 #as4 #c;d4  99,clement of
 ,alexandria3 ,who is the ,rich ,man    
that is being saved8 ,by ,p4 ,m4        
,barnard1 ,b4,d4 #as4 #c;d4  99,st4     
,chrysostom3 ,on the ,priesthood4 ,by   
,t4 ,a4 ,moxon4 #bs4  99,the ,doctrine  
of the ,twelve ,apostles4 ,by ,c4 ,bigg1
 ,d4,d4 #as4 #c;d4  99,the ,epistle to  
,diognetus4 ,by the ,rt4 ,rev4 ,l4 ,b4  
,radford1 ,d4,d4 #as4         #f;d4     
,st4 ,dionysius of ,alexandria4 ,by ,c4 
,l4 ,feltoe1 ,d4,d4  99,the ,epistle of 
the ,gallican ,churches3 ,lugdunum and  
,vienna4 ,with an         ,appendix     
containing ,tertullian's ,address to    
,martyrs and the         ,passion of    
,st4 ,perpetua4 ,by ,t4 ,h4 ,bindley1   
,d4,d4 #as4 #c;d4  99,st4 ,gregory of   
,nyssa3 ,the ,catechetical ,oration4 ,by
 the ,ven4 ,j4 ,h4         ,srawley1    
,d4,d4 #bs4  99,st4 ,gregory of ,nyssa3 
,the ,life of ,st4 ,macrina4 ,by ,w4 ,k4
 ,lowther ,clarke1         ,b4,d4 #as4  
#c;d4  99,gregory ,thaumaturgus 7,origen

 the ,teacher73 the ,address of ,gregory
 to         ,origen1 with ,origen's     
,letter to ,gregory4 ,by ,w4 ,metcalfe1 
,b4,d4         #as4 #f;d4  99,the       
,shepherd of ,hermas4 ,by ,c4 ,taylor1  
,d4,d4 #b vols4 #bs4 each4  99,the      
,epistles of ,st4 ,ignatius4 ,by the    
,ven4 ,j4 ,h4 ,srawley1 ,d4,d4 #b vols4 
#as4 #c;d4 each4  99,st4 ,irenaeus3     
,against the ,heresies4 ,by ,f4 ,r4 ,m4 
,hitchcock1 ,d4,d4 #b vols4         #bs4
 each4  ,palladius3 ,the ,lausiac       
,history4 ,by ,w4 ,k4 ,lowther ,clarke1 
,b4,d4  99,st4 ,polycarp4 ,by ,b4       
,jackson4 #as4 #c;d4                    
,,series ,,ii4--,,latin ,,texts4  99,st4
 ,augustine3 ,the ,city of ,god4 ,by ,f4
 ,r4 ,m4 ,hitchcock1 ,d4,d4 #as4 #f;d4  
99,st4 ,cyprian3 ,the ,lord's ,prayer4  
,by ,t4 ,h4 ,bindley1 ,d4,d4 #as4 #f;d4 
,minucius ,felix3 ,the ,octavius4 ,by   
,j4 ,h4 ,freese4  99,tertullian3 ,on the
 ,testimony of the ,soul and ,on the    
,prescription of         ,heretics4 ,by 
,t4 ,h4 ,bindley1 ,d4,d4 #bs4  99,st4   

,vincent of ,lerins3 ,the ,commonitory4 
,by ,t4 ,h4 ,bindley1 ,d4,d4 #bs4       
,,series ,,iii4--,,liturgical ,,texts4  
,edited by ,c4 ,l4 ,,feltoe1 ,d4,d4     
,st4 ,ambrose3 ,on the ,mysteries and on
 the ,sacraments4 ,by ,t4 ,thompson1    
,b4,d4  99,the ,apostolic ,constitution 
and ,cognate ,documents1 with special   
reference         to their ,liturgical  
elements4 ,by ,de ,lacy ,o',leary1      
,d4,d4 #as4         #c;d4  99,the       
,liturgy of the ,eighth ,book of the    
,apostolic ,constitution1 commonly      
called the ,clementine ,liturgy4 ,by ,r4
 ,h4 ,cresswell4 #as4 #f;d4  ,the       
,pilgrimage of ,etheria4 ,by ,m4 ,l4    
,mc,clure4  99,bishop ,sarapion's       
,prayer-,book4 ,by the ,rt4 ,rev4 ,j4   
,wordsworth1 ,d4,d4 #as4         #f;d4  
7,other series in contemplation7        
,transcriber's ,notes   --,moved        
footnotes from page footers to end of   
text  --,page #aje3 corrected reference 
to ,athanasius based on errata published
   elsewhere3 par4 #ag was par4 #bc4    

--,latin-#a text transliterates ,greek  
words in curly brackets 7,,html         
displays full ,,utf2 full ,,utf text    
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