# To Amun

- Author: [Athanasius of Alexandria](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/athanasius/)
- Latin title: *Epistula ad Amun*
- Date: before 356 (approximate)
- Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 26 (Paris: Migne, 1857), Epistula ad Amun (reprinting the Benedictine edition of B. de Montfaucon, Paris, 1698)

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Editions and translations: Hans-Georg Opitz et al., eds., Athanasius Werke, vol. 2 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1935–)
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-amun/
- Passages: 1

## Letter to Amun 1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-amun/1/#p-1
- Source: PG 26:1169d–1175a
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-12

Summary: Athanasius tells the monk Amun that involuntary bodily emissions are no sin, since God made the body good, and distinguishes lawful marriage from immorality, and marriage from the higher way of virginity.

### Greek text

Πάντα μὲν καλὰ καὶ καθαρὰ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ποιήματα · οὐδὲν γὰρ ἄχρηστον ἢ ἀκάθαρτον 6 τοῦ Θεοῦ πεποίηκε Λόγος Χριστοῦ γὰρ εὐωδία ἐσμὲν ἐν τοῖς σωζομένοις, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπὸστολον ' ἐπειδὴ δὲ ποικίλα καὶ πολύτροπα τὰ τοῦ διαβόλου βέλη, καὶ τοὺς ἁκεραιοτέρους τῇ γνώμῃ παρασκευάζει ταράττεσθαι, κωλύει τε τῆς συνήθους γυμνασίας τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς, ὐποσπείρων αὐτοῖς λογισμοὺς ἀκαθαρσίας καὶ μολυσμοῦ· φέρε, διὰ βραχέων καὶ τὴν τοῦ πονηροῦ πλάνην ἀπελάσωμεν τῇ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν χάριτι, καὶ τὴν τῶν ἁπλουστέρων γνώμην στηρῐξωμεν. Πάντα μὲν γὰρ καθαρὰ τοῖς καθαροῖς· τῶν δὲ ἀκαθάρτων καὶ ή συνείδησις κα). τά πάντα μεμόλυνται. ’Δγαμαι δὲ τοῦ διαβόλου τὸ σόφισμα, ὅτιπερ, φθορὰ καὶ λύμη ὑπάρχων, λογισμοὺς ὑποβάλλει τῷ δοκεῖν μὲν καθαρότητος ἔστιδὲ τὸ γιγνόμενον ἐνέδρα μᾶλλον ἦ δοκιμασία. Ἵνα γὰρ, ὡς προεῖπον, ἀπασχολήσῃ τοὺς ἁσκητὰς τῆς ὲΟίμου κα). σωτηριώδους μελέτης, καὶ δόξῃ κρατεῖν · κατὰ τοῦτο τοιαῦτά τινα κινεῖ βομὸύκια, ἆτινα φέρει μὲν οὐδὲν τῷ βίῳ χρήσιμον, κενὰς δὲ ζητήσεις καὶ φλυαρίας, ἃς δεῖ παραιτεῖσθαι. Τί γὰρ, είπέ μοι, ὦ ἀγαπητὲ καὶ εὐλαβέστατε, ἔχει ἁμάρτημα ἢ ἀκάθαρτον φυσική τις ἕκκρισιςς ὡς εἴ τις ἑθέλοι ποιεῖσθαι ἔγκλημα καὶ τὰς διὰ ῥινῶν ἐκπεμπον μένας μύξεις καὶ τὰ διά στόματος πτύσματκα· ἔτιδὲ καὶ τούτων ἔχομεν λέγειν πλείονα, τὰς διὰ γαστέρων ἐκκρίσεις, ἆπερ τῷ ζὼῳ πρὸς τὸ ζῇν ἀναγκαῖα. καθέστηκεν. Ἔτι τε, εἰ τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ χειρῶν ἔργον εἶναι πιστεύομεν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατὰ τὰς θείας Γραφὰς, πῶς ἠδύνατο ὲκ καθαρᾶς δυνάμεως ἔργον τι γίνεσθαι μεμολυσμένον; Καὶ εἰ γένος τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχομεν κατὰ τὰς θείας τῶν ἀποστόλων Πράξεις, οὐδὲν ἔχομεν ὲν ἑαυτοῖς ἀκάθαρτον. Τότε γὰρ μόνον μεμολύσμεθα, ὅτε τὴν δυσωδεστάτην ἁμαρτίαν ἐργαζόμε- 01. Ὅτε δὲ φυσική τις ἔκκρισις ἀβουλήτως γίνεται, τότε τῇ τῆς φύσεως ἀνάγκῃ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων, ὡς προείπομεν, καὶ τοῦτο ὑπομένομεν. Ἀλλʼ ἐπειδήπερ οἱ θέλοντες μόνον ἀντιλέγειν τοῖς ὀρθῶς λεγομένοις, μᾶλλον δὲ παρὰ Θεοῦ πεποιημένοις, παραφέρουσι καὶ ῥητὸν εὐαγγελικόν · ὡς ὅτι Οὐ τὰ εἰσερχόμενα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐξερχόμενατ ἀναγκαίως αὐτῶν καὶ ταύτην τὴν ἀλογίαν· οὺ γὰρ ἂν εἴποιμεν ζήτησιν, ὲλέγξομεν. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ τὰς Γραψὰς κατὰ τὰς ιδίας ἀμαθίας ἀστήρικτοι ὅντες βιάζονται. Ἔχει δὲ τὸ Θεῖον οὕτω λόγιον · Τινῶν γὰρ πάλιν τούτοις ὁμοίιος ὲνδυαστῶς ἐχόντων περὶ βρωμάτων, αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος λύων αὐτῶν τὴν ἄγνοιαν, ἡ γʼ οὖν τὴν ἀπάτην δημοσιεύων, φησὶ, Μὴ τὰ εἰσερχόμενα κοινοῦν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὲξερχόμενα· Εἶτα ἐπάγει, καὶ πόθεν ὲξερχόμενα· τὰ ἀπὸ καρδίας- Ἐκεῖ γὰρ εἶναι τοὺς πονηροὺς Θησαυροὺςτῶν βεὸή· λων λογισμῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁμαρτημάτων γινώσκει. Συντομώτερον δὲ ὀ ’Ᾱπόστολος αὐτὸ δεδιδαγμένῑξς φησί ί Βρῶμα δὲ ἡμᾶς οὐ παραστήσει τῷ Θεῶ- Φαίη δʼ ἄν τις καὶ νῦν εὐλόγωςʼ Φυσική τις ἔκκρισις ἡμᾶς οὑ παραστήσει πρὸς τιμωρίαν. Τάχα δὲκαὶ παῖδες ἰατρῶν, ἱνα κᾶν ὲκ τῶν ἔξωθεν δυσωηθῶσιν, ὑπὲρ τούτου ἀπολογήσονται· ὅτι τῷ ζὼῳ δέδονταί τινες ἀναγκαῖαι διέξοδοι κατὰ τῶν ὲν ἡμῖν ἑκάστῳ μελῶν τρεφομένων τὸ περιττὸν ἀποπέμπειν · οἷον κιφαλῆς περιττώματα, τρίχες, καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς ὑδατώδη πεμπόμενα, καὶ γαστρὸς διαχωρήματα, καὶ τοίνυν τῶν σπερματικῶν πόρων ἐκεῖνο περίττωμα. Ποία τοίνυν ἐστὶ πρὸς Θεοῦ, ὦ πρεσβῦτα θεοφιλέστατε, ἁμαρτία, αὐτοῦ τοῦ πλάσαντος τὸ ζῶν δεσπότου θελήσαντος καὶ ποιήσαντος ταῦτα τὰ μέλη τοιαύτας ἔχειν διεξόδουςς Ἐπειδὴ δὲ δεῖ προσλαμβάνειν τὰ τῶν πονηρῶν ἐναντιώματα, εἴποιεν γὰρ ἄν ° Οὐκ οὖν οὐκ ἐστιν ἁμαρτία οὐδὲ ἠ ἀληθὴς χρῆσις, είτά ὄργανα παρά τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ διαπέπλασται. Πρὸς τοῦτο ἐρωτηματικῶς αὐτοὺς παύσωμεν φάσκοντες· Ποίαν λέγεις χρῆσιν,τὴν ἔννομον, ἢν καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐπέτρεψεν, Δὺξάνεσθε, λέγων, καὶ πληθύνεσθε, καὶ πληρὼσατε τὴν τῆνʼ ἣν ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἀπεδέξατο εἰπώνʼ Τίμιος ὁ γάμος καὶ ἡ κοίτη ἀμίαντος · ἢ τὴν δημώδη μὲν, λαθραίως δὲ καὶ μοιχικῶς ἐπιτελουμένην; Ἐπεὶ καὶτῶν ἄλλων, τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ γινομένων, εὑρήσομεν τὰς διαφορὰς κατά τι γινομένας · οἷον φονεύειν οὐκ ἔξεστιν. ἀλλʼ ἐν πολέμοις ἀναιρεῖν τοὺς ἀντιπάλους καὶ ἔννομον καὶ ἐπαίνου ἀξιον. Οῦτω γοῦν καὶ) τιμῶν μεγάλων οἱ κατά πόλεμον ἀριστεύσαντες ἀξιοῦνται, καὶ στῆλαι τούτων ἐγείρονται κηρύττουσαι τά κατορθώματα. Ὥστε τὸ αὐτὸ κατά τι μὲν καὶ κατά καιρὸν οὐκ ἔξεστι, κατά τι δὲ καὶ εὐκαίρως-ἀφίεται καὶ συγκεχώρηται. '0 αὐτὸς τοίνυν λόγος καὶ περὶ τῆς μίξεως· Μακάριος ὃς ἐν νεότητι, ζυγὸν έχων ἐλεύθερον, τῇ φύσει πρὸς παιδοποιίαν κέχρηται· εἰ δὲ πρὸς ἀσέλγειαν, πόρνους καὶ μοιχοὺς ἡ παρά τῷ ’Δποστόλῳ γραφεῖσα τιμωρία ἐκδέξεται. Δύο γὰρ οὐσῶν ὁδῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ περὶ τούτων, μιᾶς μὲν μετριωτέρας καὶ βιωτικῆς, τοῦ γάμου λέγω · τῆς δὲ ἐτέρας ἀγγελικῆς καὶ ἀνυπερβλήτου, τῆς παρθενίας · εἰ μέν τις τὴν κοσμικὴν, τοῦτʼ ἐστι τὸν γάμον, ἐλοιτο, μέμψιν μὲν οὐκ ἔχει· τοσαῦτα δὲ χαρίσματα ού λήψεται. Δήψεται γὰρ, ἐπείπερ φέρει καὶ αὐτὸς καρπὸν τῶν τριάκοντα. El δὲ τὴν ἁγνήν τις καὶ ύπερκόσμιον ἀσπάσαιτο, εί καὶ τραχεῖα ποιρά τὴν πρώτην καὶ δυσκατόρθωτος ἡ ὁδὸς, ὅμως ἔχει χαρίσματα θαυμασιώ· τερα· τὸν γὰρ τέλειον καρπὸν τὴν ἐκατοντάδα ἐβλάστησεν. Ὥστε τὰ ἀκάθαρτα αὐτῶν καὶ πονηρά ζητήματα λύσεις ἰδίας ἔσχε καὶ παρά τῶν θείων Γραφῶν πάλαι προλυθείσας. ’Υποστὴριζε τοίνυν, ὦ Πάτερ, τὰς ὑπὸ σαυτὸν ἀγέλας, ἐκ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν παρακαλῶν, ἐκ τῶν εύαγγελικῶν ψυχαγαγῶν, ἐκ τῶν ψαλμῶν συμβουλεύων· Ζῆσόν με, λέγων, κατὰ τὸ λόγιόν σου· λόγιον δὲ αὑτοῦ τὺ ἐκ καθαρᾶς καρδίας λατρεύειν αὐτῷ. Τοῦτο γὰρ εἰδὼς ὁ αὐτὸς Προφήτης, ὥσπερ ἐαυτὸν μεταφράζων, λέγειʼ Καρδίαν καθα- Ράν κτίσον ἐν ἐμοὶ, ὁ Θεός ἵνα μὴ ῥυπώδεις λογι

### English translation (Claude)

All the things God has made are good and pure; for the Word of God made nothing useless or impure. For “we are a fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved,” according to the Apostle. But since the darts of the devil are various and manifold, and he contrives that those of simpler mind be troubled, and hinders the brothers from their customary exercise, sowing in them thoughts of impurity and defilement, come, let us briefly drive away the deceit of the evil one by the grace of our Savior, and strengthen the mind of the simpler. For “to the pure all things are pure; but to the impure both the conscience and all things are defiled.” And I wonder at the sophistry of the devil, that, being himself corruption and ruin, he suggests thoughts that seem to be of purity, though what happens is rather a snare than a testing. For, as I said before, so as to distract the ascetics from their customary and saving meditation, and to seem to prevail, he stirs up such buzzings as bring nothing useful to life, but only empty questions and idle talk, which one must avoid. For tell me, beloved and most reverent, what sin or impurity does a natural emission have? It is as if someone wished to make a charge also of the mucus discharged from the nostrils and the spittle from the mouth; and we can mention more than these, the excretions of the belly, which are necessary to the living creature for life. Further, if we believe that man is the work of God's hands, according to the divine Scriptures, how could a defiled work come from a pure power? And if we are God's offspring, according to the divine Acts of the Apostles, we have nothing impure in ourselves. For we are defiled only when we commit the foulest sin. But when some natural emission happens involuntarily, then we endure this too, as we said before, along with the other things, by the necessity of nature. But since those who wish only to contradict what is rightly said, or rather what has been made by God, bring forward a saying of the Gospel as well, “It is not what goes in that defiles a man, but what comes out,” we must necessarily refute this unreason of theirs too; for we would not call it an inquiry. First, being unstable, they wrest the Scriptures to suit their own ignorance. But the divine oracle runs thus: when some, like these men, were again in doubt about foods, the Lord himself, dispelling their ignorance, or rather exposing their deceit, says, “Not what goes in defiles a man, but what comes out”; then he adds from where it comes out: from the heart. For he knows that there are the evil treasures of profane thoughts and of the other sins. And the Apostle, having been taught it, says more briefly, “Food will not commend us to God.” And one might well say now, “A natural emission will not bring us before God for punishment.” Perhaps the physicians' disciples too (so that these men may be put to shame even by those outside) will speak in defense of this, that certain necessary passages have been given to the living creature for sending out the surplus of each of our members as it is nourished: such as the superfluities of the head, the hair and the watery discharges from the head, and the evacuations of the belly, and so too that superfluity of the seminal ducts. What sin is there, then, before God, most God-loving elder, if the Master who formed the living creature himself willed and made these members to have such passages? But since we must anticipate the objections of the wicked (for they might say, “Then the actual use is not a sin either, if the organs were fashioned by the Creator”), let us stop them with a question, saying: What use do you mean? The lawful one, which God also permitted when he said, “Increase and multiply and fill the earth,” and which the Apostle approved when he said, “Marriage is honorable and the bed undefiled”? Or the common one, carried out secretly and adulterously? For in the other things that happen in life too we shall find that differences arise according to circumstance. For example, it is not lawful to kill; but in war to destroy the enemy is both lawful and worthy of praise. So those who excel in war are deemed worthy of great honors, and monuments are set up to them proclaiming their exploits. So the same thing in one respect and at one time is not lawful, but in another respect and at the right time is allowed and permitted. The same reasoning applies to intercourse: blessed is he who, in youth, having a free yoke, uses nature for the begetting of children; but if for licentiousness, the punishment written in the Apostle awaits the sexually immoral and adulterers. For there are two ways in life concerning these things, the one more moderate and ordinary, I mean marriage, and the other angelic and unsurpassable, virginity. If someone chooses the worldly way, that is, marriage, he has no blame, but he will not receive such great gifts; yet he will receive, since he too bears fruit, the thirtyfold. But if someone embraces the pure and supramundane way, though the road is rough at first and hard to accomplish, yet it has more wonderful gifts; for it has brought forth the perfect fruit, the hundredfold. So their impure and wicked questions have had their own solutions, settled long ago by the divine Scriptures. Strengthen, then, father, the flocks under you, exhorting them from the apostolic writings, encouraging them from the Gospels, counseling them from the Psalms, saying, “Give me life according to your word”; and his word is to serve him from a pure heart. For the same prophet, knowing this, as if interpreting himself, says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God,” lest filthy thoughts …

### Scripture references

- Gen 1:31: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Tim 4:4: allusion, medium confidence
- 2 Cor 2:15: quotation, high confidence
- Eph 6:16: allusion, medium confidence
- Titus 1:15: quotation, high confidence
- 2 Tim 2:23: echo, low confidence
- Ps 119:73 (118:73 LXX): allusion, medium confidence
- Acts 17:29: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 15:11: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 15:19: allusion, high confidence
- 2 Pet 3:16: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 12:35: echo, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 8:8: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 1:28: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 13:4: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 6:9: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 13:8: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 13:23: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 119:25 (118:25 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 51:10 (50:12 LXX): quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Letter 48, to Amun (Ammoun), a monk (before 354). The letter is also received among the canonical letters of the Greek Church. The scan breaks off in the middle of a word (λογι-, “thoughts”) after a logged trim of OCR junk; the rest of the letter is lost (marked …). The OCR also has a stray “(Gl)” after “Further”. “Good and pure”: Gen 1:31; 1 Tim 4:4. “A fragrance of Christ …”: 2 Cor 2:15. The darts of the devil: Eph 6:16. “To the pure all things are pure …”: Titus 1:15. The work of God's hands: Ps 119:73. God's offspring: Acts 17:28–29. “It is not what goes in …”: Matt 15:11, 18–19 (Mark 7:15). Wresting the Scriptures: 2 Pet 3:16. “Food will not commend us to God”: 1 Cor 8:8. “Increase and multiply”: Gen 1:28. “Marriage is honorable …”: Heb 13:4. “Having a free yoke” is literal; the sense of ζυγὸν ἔχων ἐλεύθερον is uncertain (perhaps “freely yoked”, i.e. married). The punishment of the sexually immoral and adulterers: 1 Cor 6:9 (Heb 13:4). Thirtyfold and hundredfold: Matt 13:8, 23. “Give me life according to your word”: Ps 119:25 (LXX 118:25). “Create in me a pure heart”: Ps 51:10 (LXX 50:12). πόρνοι “the sexually immoral”; μοιχοί “adulterers”.

### Citation (SBL)

Athanasius, Ep. Amun 1 (PG 26:1169d–1175a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-amun/1/#p-1).