# To Maximus

- Author: [Athanasius of Alexandria](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/athanasius/)
- Latin title: *Epistula ad Maximum*
- Date: ca. 371 (approximate)
- Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 26 (Paris: Migne, 1857), Epistula ad Maximum (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-maximum/
- Passages: 3

## Letter to Maximus 1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-maximum/1/#p-1
- Source: PG 26:1085a–1088a
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-12

Summary: Athanasius tells Maximus that he answers reluctantly, and that those who mock the crucified must learn that he is the Lord of glory.

### Greek text

Ἐντυχὼν τοῖς νῦν γραφεῖσι πα ρὰ σοῦ, τὴν μὲν σὴν εὐλάᾶειαν ἀντεδεξάμην (Ξῖ), τὴν δὲ προπέτειαν τῶν μὴ νοούντων μήτε ἂ λέγουσι, μήτε περὶ τίνωνδιαὸεδαιοῦνται, ἐπὶ πολὺ θαυμάσας, ἐβουλευσάμην άληθῶς σιωπῆσαι. Τὺ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῖς οὕτω φανεροῖς καὶ πλέον φωτὸς λάμπουσιν ἀποκρίνασθαι, οὐδὲν ἔτερόν ἐστιν ἢ προφάσεις ἀναισχυντίας τοῖς οὕτω παρανομοῦσι παρέχειν. Καὶ τοῦτο παρὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος μεμαθήκαμεν. Νιψαμένῳ γὰρ τῷ Πιλάςῳ καὶ καταλαβομένῳ τὴν συκοφαντίαν τῶν τότε Ἰουδαίων, οὐκ ἔτι ἁπεκρίνατο αὐτῷ ὁ Κύριος, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐχρημάτιζε τῇ τούτου γυναικὶ, ἴνα μὴ ὲν λόγῳ, ἀλλὰ ὲν δυνάμει πιστεύηται ὁ κρινόμενος εἶναι Θεός. Τῷ δὲ Καῖάφᾳ μὴ ἀποκρινόμενος πρὸς φλυαρίαν,αὐτὸς τῇ γελὶα τοὺς πάντας εἰς γνῶσιν μετήγαγεν. Ἐπί πολὺ γοῦν ὑπερτιθέμενος καὶ ὁρῶν τὴν τῶν ἀναιδευομένων λογομαχίαν, μόλις ᾐδέσθην τὸν σὺν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας ζῆλον, καὶ ὑπηγόρευσα οὐδὲν πλέον τῶν παρὰ σού γραφέντων, ἵνʼ οἷς ἀντείρηκεν ὁ ἐναντίος, τούτοις λοιπὸν πεισθεὶς, παύσῃ τὴν γλῶσσαν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κακοῦ, καὶ χείλη αὑτοῦ τοῦ μὴ λαλῆσαι δόλον. Καὶ γένοιτο μὲν τοὺς τοιούτους μηκέτι ὀνειδίσαι μετὰ τῶν παροδευόντων τότε Ἰουδαίων τὸν κρεμάμενον ἐπὶ ξύλου, Εἰ Υίὸς ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ, σώσει αὐτόν· ἐὰν δὲ ἄρα μηδὲ οὕτως καταδύωνται, ἀλλὰ σὺ τῆς ἁποστολικῆς μνημονεύων παραγγελίας, αἱρετικὸν ἄνθρωπον μετὰ μίαν καὶ δευτέραν νουθεσίαν παραιτοῦ, εἰδὼς, ὅτι ἐξέστραπται ό τοιοῦτος, καὶ ἁμαρτάνει ὢν αὐτοκατάκριτος. Et μὲν γὰρ Ἕλληνες ἢτῶν Ἰουδαῖζόντων εἰσὶν οί τὰ τοιαῦτα τολμῶντες, ὡς μὲν Ἰουδαῖοι σκάνδαλον, ῶς δὲ Ἕλληνες μωρίαν νομιζέ- :wcav τὸν σταυρὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ - εί δὲ ὑποκρίνονται ὺς Χριστιανοὶ, μαθέτωσαν τὸν σταυρωθέντα Χριστὸν, Κύριον μὲν τῆς δόξης, δύναμιν δὲ Θεοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ σοφίαν αὑτὸν εἶναι.

### English translation (Claude)

Having read what you have now written, I welcomed your piety; but, marveling greatly at the rashness of those who understand neither what they say nor about what they make assertions, I had truly resolved to keep silent. For to answer about things so plain and shining brighter than light is nothing else than to furnish pretexts for shamelessness to those who so transgress. And this we have learned from the Savior. For when Pilate had washed his hands and perceived the false accusation of the Jews of that time, the Lord no longer answered him, but rather gave an oracle to his wife, so that he who was being judged might be believed to be God not in word but in power. And not answering Caiaphas's idle talk, he himself by his promise brought all to knowledge. So, having put it off a long time, and seeing the word-fighting of the shameless, I yielded with difficulty out of respect for your zeal for the truth, and dictated nothing more than what you had written, so that the opponent, being persuaded by what he has contradicted, may henceforth restrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. And would that such men might no longer reproach him who hung on the tree, with the Jews who passed by at that time: “If he is the Son of God, let him save himself”; but if even so they are not put to shame, then do you, remembering the apostolic command, reject a heretical man after one and a second admonition, knowing that such a one is perverted and sins, being self-condemned. For if those who dare such things are Greeks or of the Judaizers, let them think the cross of Christ a stumbling block as Jews, or foolishness as Greeks; but if they pretend to be Christians, let them learn that the crucified Christ is the Lord of glory, and the power of God and the wisdom of God.

### Scripture references

- Matt 27:24: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 27:19: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Cor 4:20: echo, medium confidence
- Matt 26:64: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Pet 3:10: quotation, high confidence
- Ps 34:13 (33:14 LXX): quotation, medium confidence
- Matt 27:40: quotation, high confidence
- Titus 3:10: quotation, high confidence
- Titus 3:11: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 1:23: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Cor 2:8: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Cor 1:24: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Letter 61, to Maximus the philosopher (ca. 371). “By his promise” renders the OCR's garbled τῇ γελὶα, read as ἐπαγγελίᾳ. Pilate's washing and his wife's dream: Matt 27:24, 19. Not in word but in power: 1 Cor 4:20. Caiaphas: Matt 26:63–64. “Restrain his tongue from evil …”: 1 Pet 3:10 (Ps 34:13). “If he is the Son of God …”: Matt 27:39–40. “A heretical man …”: Titus 3:10–11. Stumbling block and foolishness: 1 Cor 1:23. Lord of glory: 1 Cor 2:8. The power and wisdom of God: 1 Cor 1:24.

### Citation (SBL)

Athanasius, Ep. Max. 1 (PG 26:1085a–1088a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-maximum/1/#p-1).

## Letter to Maximus 2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-maximum/1/#p-2
- Source: PG 26:1088a–1088c
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-12

Summary: Athanasius answers those who doubt Christ's Godhead and those who say the Word merely came upon a holy man, by Thomas's confession and the signs at the cross.

### Greek text

Ei δὲ ἀμφιβάλλουσιν, ὃτι καὶ Θεός ἐστιν, αἰδείσθωσαν τὸν Θωμᾶν τὸν ψηλαφήσαντα τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον, καὶ λέγοντα Κύριον αὐτὸν εἶναι καὶ Θεόν. Καὶ φοβείσθωσαν αὐτὸν τὸν Κύριον, τὸν μετά τὸ νίψαι τοὺς πόδας τῶν μαθητῶν λέγοντα ’ Ὑμεῖς φωνεῖτέ με ό Κύριος καὶ ό διδάσκωϊος, καὶ καλῶς λέγετε· εἰμὶ γάρ. Ἑν ᾧ δὲ σώματι τυγχάνων ένιψε τοὺς πόδας, έν τούτῳ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἀνήνεγκεν ἐπὶ τὸ ξύλον. Ἐμαρτυρεϊτό τε δεσπότης τῆς κτίτεως, συστείλαντος μὲν τοῦ ήλίου τὰς ἀκτῖνας, καὶ τῆς γῆς τρεμούσης, καὶ τῶν πετρῶν σχιζομένων, καὶ τῶν δημίων ὲπιγνόντων, ὅτι ἀληθῶς Θεοῦ Υἱός ἐστιν 6 σταυρωθείς. Οὐ γὰρ ἀνθρώπου τινος ἦν τὸ βλεπόμενον σῶμα, ἀλλά Θεοῦ, ὲν ᾧ τυγχάνων καὶ ὅτε ὲσταυροῦτο, ἧγειρε νεκρούς. Διὸ οὐδὲ καλὸν έκεῖνο αὐτῶν τόλμημα τὸ λέγον, ὃτι είς ἀνθρωπόν τινα ἀγιον ἐγένετο 6 τοῦ Θεοῦ Λόγος (τοῦτο γὰρ ὲν ἑκάστῳ ἐγένετο τῶν προφητῶν καὶ τῶν ἀλλων ἁγίων), ἵνα μή καθʼ ἕκαστον γεννώμενος καὶ πάλιν ἀποθνήσκων φαίνηται. Οὐκ ἔστι δὲ οὕτως* μὴ γένοιτοί Ἀλλʼ ἅπαξ ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων είς ἀθέτησιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτὸς 6 Λιόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ὲκ Μαρίας τῆς Παρθένου προῆλθεν ἀνθρωπος καθʼ ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν, ώς καὶ πρὸς Ἰουδαίους εφη ο Τί ζητεῖτέ με ἀποκτεῖναι ἄνθρωπον, ὃς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὑμῖν λελάληκα ; Οὐκ ἀνθρώπου τέ τινος

### English translation (Claude)

And if they doubt that he is also God, let them respect Thomas, who handled the crucified and said that he is Lord and God. And let them fear the Lord himself, who after washing the disciples' feet said, “You call me Lord and Teacher, and you say well, for so I am.” And in the very body in which he was when he washed their feet, he bore our sins up to the tree. And he was attested as master of creation, when the sun drew in its rays, and the earth trembled, and the rocks were split, and the executioners recognized that the one crucified is truly the Son of God. For the body that was seen was not some man's, but God's; being in it, even when he was being crucified, he raised the dead. Therefore that daring statement of theirs is not right either, which says that the Word of God came to some holy man (for this happened in each of the prophets and the other saints), lest he should appear to be born and to die again in each case. But it is not so; God forbid! But once for all, at the consummation of the ages, for the putting away of sin, the Word himself became flesh, and from Mary the Virgin came forth man after our likeness, as he also said to the Jews, “Why do you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth?” Not of some man …

### Scripture references

- John 20:28: allusion, high confidence
- John 13:13: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Pet 2:24: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 27:45: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 27:51: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 27:54: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 27:52: allusion, medium confidence
- Heb 9:26: allusion, high confidence
- John 1:14: allusion, high confidence
- John 8:40: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Thomas: John 20:28. “You call me Lord …”: John 13:13. “He bore our sins …”: 1 Pet 2:24. The signs at the crucifixion and the centurion's confession: Matt 27:45, 51–54. “At the consummation of the ages, for the putting away of sin”: Heb 9:26. “The Word became flesh”: John 1:14. “Why do you seek to kill me …”: John 8:40. The section breaks off in the middle of its last sentence (on our being deified by receiving the Word's own body); the rest of the sentence is lost in the scan.

### Citation (SBL)

Athanasius, Ep. Max. 2 (PG 26:1088a–1088c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-maximum/1/#p-2).

## Letter to Maximus 3

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-maximum/1/#p-3
- Source: PG 26:1088c–1089d
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-12

Summary: Athanasius explains that the Word became man by the Father's good pleasure, not by the course of nature, and showed both what belongs to the body and what belongs to the Godhead.

### Greek text

Ἀμέλει κάκεῖνο τεθαύμακα, πῶς ὅλως κᾶν ἐννοῆσαι τετολμήκασιν, ὅτι φύσεως ἀκολουθίᾳ γεγένηται ἄνθρωπος. Ei γὰρ οὕτως ἦν, περιττὴ τῆς Μαρίας ή μνήμη. Οὐδὲ γὰρ οἶδεν ἡ φύσις παρθένον χωρὶς ἀνδρὸς τίκτουσαν. Ὅθεν εὐδοκία οτοῦ Πατρὸς Θεὸς ὣν ἀληθινὸς, καὶ φύσει Λόγος, καὶ σοφία τοῦ Πατρός, γέγονε σωματικῶς ἄνθρωπος, διά τὴν ἡμεο τέραν σωτηρίαν, ἶνʼ, ἔχων ὃ προσενέγκῃ ὑπὲρ ἠ μῶν, σώσῃ πάντας ἡμᾶς, ὅσοι φόβῳ θανάτου διά παντὸς τοῦ ζῇν ἔνοχοι ἦσαν δουλείας. Οὐ γάρ ἄνθρωπός τις ὑπὲρ ήμῶν ἑαυτὸν δέδωκενο ἐπεὶ πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ὑπεύθυνός ἐστι θανάτῳ, κατὰ τὸ, Γῆ εἷ καὶ εἷς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ. ὲν τῷ Ἀδάμ εἰρημένον πρὸς πάνταςʼ ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ἕτερόν τι τῶν κτισμάτων ο ἐπεὶ πάσα κτίσις ὕποπτός ἐστι τροπῆς. Ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς 6 Λόγος τὸ ἴδιον σῶμα προσήνεγκεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ἵνα μὴ εἰς ἄν· θρωπον ή πίστις καὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς, ἀλλʼ εἰς αὑτὸν τὸν Θεὸν Λόγον τὴν πίστιν ἔχωμεν. ’Λμέλει καὶ ἀνθρώπου γενομένου αὐτοῦ, θεωροῦμεν τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, ddξαν ὡς Μονοιιενοῦς παρὰ Πατρός, πλήρης χάριτος καὶ ἀληθείας. Ἃ γὰρ διὰ τοῦ σώματος ὑπο) έμεινε, ταῦτα ὡς Θεὸς έμεγάλυνε· καὶ έπείνα μὲν σαρκὶ, θεϊκῶς δὲ τοὺς πεινῶντας έχόρταζε. Καὶ εἰ σκανδαλίζεταί τις ἐπὶ τοῖς σωματικοῖς, πιστευέτω φʼ οἷς ὁ Θεὸς ἐργάζεται. Ιῐυνθάνεται γὰρ ἀνθρωπίνως, ποῦ Λάζαρος κεῖται, ἐγείρει δὲ τοῦτον θεῖκῶς. ’Όθεν μηδὲ γελάτω τις λέγων παιδίον καὶ ἡλικίαν ὀνομάζων, καὶ αὔξησιν, καὶ φαγεῖν, καὶ γπιεῖν, καὶ παθεῖν, ’ίνα μή, τὰ ἴδια τοῦ σώματος ἀρνούμενος, ἆρνήσηται τέλεον καὶ τήν διʼ ἡμᾶς ἐπιδημίαν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὥσπερ οὐκ ἀκολουθίᾳ φύσεως ἅνθρωπος γεγένηται, οὕτως ἀκόλουθον ἧν σῶμα λαβόντα αὐτὸν δεικνύναι τὰ ἷδια τούτου, ’ίνα μή ἠ φαντασία τοῦ Μανιχαίου κρατήσῃ. Ἀκὸλουθον δὲ πάλιν ήν σωματικῶς αὑτὸν χρηματίζοντα μή κρύψαι τὰ τῆς θεότητος, ’ίνα μὴ ὁ Σαμοσατεὺς πρόφασιν,εὕρῃ, ἄνθρωπον αὐτὸν λέγων, ὡς ἄλλον ὅντα παρά τὸν Θεὸν Λόγον.

### English translation (Claude)

Indeed I have wondered at this too, how they have dared even to imagine that he became man by the ordinary course of nature. For if that were so, the mention of Mary would be superfluous; for nature does not know a virgin bearing without a man. Therefore, by the good pleasure of the Father, being true God, and by nature the Word and Wisdom of the Father, he became man bodily for our salvation, so that, having something to offer for us, he might save all of us who through fear of death were all our lifetime subject to bondage. For it was not some man who gave himself for us, since every man is liable to death, according to what was said to all in Adam, “Earth you are, and to earth you shall return”; nor was it any other of the creatures, since all creation is liable to change. But the Word himself offered his own body for us, so that our faith and hope might not be in a man, but that we might have our faith in God the Word himself. Indeed, even when he had become man, we behold his glory, glory as of the Only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. For what he endured through the body, these things as God he magnified; and he hungered in the flesh, but divinely fed the hungry. And if anyone is offended at the bodily things, let him believe on account of what God works. For he asks humanly where Lazarus lies, but raises him divinely. So let no one laugh, saying “child,” and naming age and growth, eating and drinking and suffering, lest, by denying what is proper to the body, he deny entirely his coming for our sake. And just as he did not become man by the course of nature, so it was fitting that, having taken a body, he should show what is proper to it, lest the fantasy of Manichaeus prevail; and again it was fitting that, while he dealt with men bodily, he should not hide what belongs to the Godhead, lest the Samosatene find a pretext for calling him a man, as being other than God the Word.

### Scripture references

- Heb 2:15: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 3:19: quotation, high confidence
- John 1:14: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 14:20: echo, low confidence
- John 11:34: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 2:52: echo, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- The staged numbering follows the scan: this section is chapter 3 in the usual division (NPNF² 4). The end of the letter (chapters 4–5 there: the Magi, Egypt, the closing appeal to Nicaea and greetings) is lost in the scan. “Through fear of death …”: Heb 2:15. “Earth you are …”: Gen 3:19. “We beheld his glory …”: John 1:14. Lazarus: John 11:34. The Samosatene: Paul of Samosata.

### Citation (SBL)

Athanasius, Ep. Max. 3 (PG 26:1088c–1089d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/athanasius-epistula-maximum/1/#p-3).