Letters to the Monks
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Chapter 1
1.1PG 25:692a–692b
Τῇ μὲν ὑμετέρᾳ διαθέσει πεισθεὶς, καὶ πολλάκις παρʼ ὑμῶν προτραπεὶς, ἔγραψανιδί ὀλίγων περὶ ὧν πεπόνθαμεν ἡμεῖς τεγκαῖΙή Ἐκκλησία, λιαὶ ὡς δύναμίς μοι διελέγχων τήν μυσαρὰν αἵρεσινΙτῶν Ἀρειομανιτῶν, καὶ δεικνὺς ὅσον ἐστίν ἀλλοτρία τῆς ἀληθείας αὕτη. Ὃ δὲ πεπονθα γράφων, ἀναγκαῖόν ἡγησάμην δηλῶσαι τῇ εὐσεβείᾳ ὑμᾶίν, ἵνα iul ἐν τούτου μάθητε, πῶς ἀληθῶς εἷʼρηκεν ὁ μακάριος Ἀπόστολος Ὢ βάθος πλούτου καὶ σοφίας καὶἺγνώσεως θεοῦι καὶ συγνᾶντεῼκάμοὶ άνθρώπῴ ἀσθενεῖ τήν φύσιν ὄντι· ὅσον γὰρ ἐβουλόμην Ῠράφειν, καὶ νοεῖνἐβιυιζόμην ἐμαυτόν περὶ τῆς θεότητος τοῦ Λόγου, τοσοῦτον ἦ γνῶσις ἐξανεχώρει μακρὰν ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ· καὶ ἐγίνῷέκον ἐμαυτὸν τοσοῦτον ἀπολιμπανόμενον, ὅσον ἐδόκουν καταλαμβάνειν. Καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐδόκουν νοεῖν, ἠδυνάμην γράφειν· ἀλλὰ διαὶ ὃ ἔγραφον, ἔλαττον ἐγίνετο τῆς ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ γενομένης-μᾶν βραχείας τῆς-ἀληθείας σκιᾶς.
Tę̄ men hymeterą diathesei peistheis, kai pollakis parʼ hymōn protrapeis, egrapsanidi oligōn peri hōn peponthamen hēmeis tenkaiIē Ekklēsia, liai hōs dynamis moi dielenchōn tēn mysaran hairesinItōn Areiomanitōn, kai deiknys hoson estin allotria tēs alētheias hautē. Ho de pepontha graphōn, anankaion hēgēsamēn dēlōsai tę̄ eusebeią hymain, hina iul en toutou mathēte, pōs alēthōs heiʼrēken ho makarios Apostolos Ō bathos ploutou kai sophias kaiIgnōseōs theoui kai sygnanteǬkamoi anthrōpǭ asthenei tēn physin onti; hoson gar eboulomēn Yraphein, kai noeinebiuizomēn emauton peri tēs theotētos tou Logou, tosouton ē gnōsis exanechōrei makran apʼ emou; kai eginǭekon emauton tosouton apolimpanomenon, hoson edokoun katalambanein. Kai gar oude edokoun noein, ēdynamēn graphein; alla diai ho egraphon, elatton egineto tēs en tę̄ dianoią genomenēs-man bracheias tēs-alētheias skias.
Persuaded by your affection, and often urged by you, I have written briefly about what we and the Church have suffered, refuting as far as I was able the abominable heresy of the Ariomaniacs and showing how foreign it is to the truth. And what I experienced in writing I thought it necessary to make known to your piety, so that from this you may learn how truly the blessed Apostle said, “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”, and may pardon me, a man weak by nature. For the more I wished to write, and forced myself to understand about the Godhead of the Word, the further the knowledge withdrew from me; and I recognized that I fell short in proportion as I seemed to grasp it. For I could not even write what I seemed to understand; and what I wrote fell short of even the faint shadow of the truth that was in my mind.
1.2PG 25:692b–697a
Ὁρῶν τοίνυν, ὡς ἐν τῷ Ἐκκλησιαπῇ γεγραπται, ὅτι Εἴπα· Σοφισθήσομαι, καὶ κρύνθη ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ μακρὰν ὑπερ ὃ ἧν · καὶ βαθὺ βάθος, τίς εὐρήσει αὐτό ; καὶ τὸ ἐν τοῖς Ψαλμοῖς· Ἐθαυμαστώθη ἡ.. γνῶσίς σου ἐξ ἐμοῦ, ἐκραταιώθη, οὐ μή δύναμαι πρὸς αὐτήν· οιαὶ ὁ Σολομών φηςʼ-Δόξα Θεοῦ, κρύπτειν λόγον. Πολλάκις ἐβουλευσάμην ἐπισχεῖν καὶ … τοῦ γράφειν · ναὶ πιστεύσατε. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ δόξω μηδὲ ὑμᾶς λυπεῖν, μήτε ἐκείνους τοὺς παρʼ ὑμῖν ζητήσαντας καὶ φιλονεικήσαντας έπιτρίβειν εἷς τὴν ἀσέβειαν ἐκ τοῦ σιωπᾷν, ἐβιασάμην ἐμαυτὸν ὀλίγα γράψαι καὶ ταῦτα ἀπέστειλα τῇ ὑμετέρᾳθεοσεβείᾳ. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ, ὥς ἐστιν τῆς ἀληθείας κατάληψις, μακράν ἐστι νῦν ἀφʼ ἡμῶν διὰ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς ἀσθένειαν, ἀλλά δυνατὸν, ὡς εἶπεν αὐτὸς 6 Ἐκκλησιαστής, γνῶναι τῶν ἀσεβῶν τὴν ἀφροσύνην, καὶ εὑρόντα ταύτην, εἰπεῖν πικροτέραν ὑπὲρ θάνατον εἶναι. Τούτου γοῦν χάριν, ὡς τοῦτο γινώσκων καὶ δυνάμενος εὑρεῖν, ἔγραψα · εἰδὼς, ὡς τοῖς πιστοῖς ἡ τῆς ἀσεβείας κατάγνωσις, αὐτάρκης πρὸς εὐσέβειάν ἐστι γνῶσις. Καὶ γὰρ εἶ μὴ δυνατὸν καταλαβέσθαι τί ἐστι Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ δυνατὸν εἰπεῖν, τί οὐκ ἔστιν· οἷʼδαμεν δὲ, ὅτι οὐχ ὡς ἅνθρωπός ἐστι, καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲν τῶν γενητῶν θέμις ἐπινοεῖν έν αὐτῷ. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ περὶτοῦ Υἳοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἶ καὶ πολὺ τοῦ καταλαβεῖν μακράν ἐσμεν τῇ φύσει, ἀλλά δυνατὸν καὶ εὔκολον καταγνῶναι τῶν προσφερομένων παρά τῶν αἱρετικῶν, καὶ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα Υἱὸς 6 τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐδὲ θέμις περὶ τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ τοιαῦτα κᾶν έννοεῖν, οἷα λέγουσιν ἐκεῖνοι, μήτιγε καὶ φθέγγεσθαι διὰ χειλέων. Οὕτω τοίνυν, ὅσον ἠδυνήθην ἐγὼ μὲν ἔγραψα· ὑμεῖς δὲ, ἀγαπητοὶ, δέξασθε ταῦτα μὴ ὡς τελείαν ἔχοντα τὴν ἑρμηνείαν περί τῆς τοῦ Λόγου θεότητος, ἀλλʼ ὡς μόνον ἐλέγχοντα μὲν τήν ἀσέβειαν τῶν Χριστομάχων, ἔχοντα δὲ καὶ διδόντα τοῖς βουλομένοις ἀφορμὴν εἰς εὐσέβειαν τῆς ὑγιαινούσης ἐν Χριστῷ πίστεως. Et δέ τι παραλέλειπται (πάντα δὲ νομίζω παραλελεῖφθαι), συγγινώσκετε μετά συνειδήσεως καθαρᾶς, καὶ μόνον ἀποδέξασθε τὸ τολμηρὸν τῆς πρὸς εὐσέβειαν προθέσεως. Εἰς γὰρ τελείαν κατάγνωσιν τῆς αἱρέσεως τῶν Ἀρειανῶν, αὐτάρκης ἡ περὶ τοῦ θανάτου ’Δρείου γενομένη παρά τοῦ Κυρίου κρίσιςʼ ἢν ἤδη φθάσαντες καὶ παρʼ ἑτέρων ἔγνωτε. ‘A γὰρ 6 Θεὸς 6 ἅγιος βεβούλευται, τίς διασκεδάσεις καὶ ’ὃν ὁ Κύριος κατέκρινε, τίς 6 δικαιῶν; Τίς γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου γενομένου σημείου οὐ γινώσκει λοιπὸν, ὅτι θεομίσητός ἐστιν ἡ αʼίρεσις, κᾶν ἀνθρώπους ἔχῃ προστάταςς Ἐντυχόννες μέντοι, εὔχεσθε μὲν, καὶ ἀλλήλους εἰς τοῦτο προτρέπεσθε ποιεῖν, ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν · εὐθὺς δὲ ἀντιπέμψατε ταῦτα πρὸς ἡμᾶς · καὶ μηδενὶ τὸ σύνολον ἀντίγραφον ἔκδοτε, μηδὲ ἑαυτοῖς μεταγράψατε, ἀλλʼ ἀρκέσθητε ὡς δόκιμοι τραπεζῖται τῇ ἐντεύξει, κᾶν πολλάκις ἐντυχεῖν θελήσητε. Οὐ γὰρ ἀσφαλὲς τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα τὰ παρʼ ἡμῶν τῶν ψελλιζόντων καὶ ἰδιωτῶν ἐστι γράμματα. Ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους ἐν ἀγάπῃ, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐρχομένους πρὸς ὑμᾶς έν εὐσεβείᾳ καὶ πίστει. Εἰ γάρ τις, ὡς εἶπεν 6 Ἀπόστολος, οὐ φιλεῖ τὸν Κύριον, ἤτω ἀνάθεμα. Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μεθʼ ὑμῶν. ’Δμήν. πτον, τοῦτον ἀφαιρεῖται καὶ ἐξορίζει βασιλεύςʼ ὃν δὲ μήτε βούλονται, μήτε γινώσκουσι, τοῦτον μακρόθεν μετά στρατιωτῶν ἀποστέλλει καὶ γραμμάτων ἑαυτοῦ· καὶ λοιπὸν ἀνάγκη πολλή μισεῖν μὲν ’ὀν ἀγαπῶσι τὸν κατηχήσαντα, καὶ πατὲρα γενόμενον ἐν θεοσεβείᾳ· ἀγαπᾷν δὲ ὃν οὐ βούλονται, καὶ πιστεύειν ἑαυτῶν τὰ τὲκνα, οὗ τὸν βίον, καὶ τὴν ἀναστροφὴν, καὶ τίς ἐστιν οὐ γινώσκουσινο ἢ δηλονότι τιμωρίαν ὑπομένειν, ἢν μὴ πείθωνται βασιλεῖ.
Horōn toinyn, hōs en tǭ Ekklēsiapę̄ gegraptai, hoti Eipa; Sophisthēsomai, kai krynthē apʼ emou makran hyper ho hēn ; kai bathy bathos, tis eurēsei auto ? kai to en tois Psalmois; Ethaumastōthē hē.. gnōsis sou ex emou, ekrataiōthē, ou mē dynamai pros autēn; oiai ho Solomōn phēsʼ-Doxa Theou, kryptein logon. Pollakis ebouleusamēn epischein kai … tou graphein ; nai pisteusate. Hina de mē doxō mēde hymas lypein, mēte ekeinous tous parʼ hymin zētēsantas kai philoneikēsantas epitribein heis tēn asebeian ek tou siōpąn, ebiasamēn emauton oliga grapsai kai tauta apesteila tę̄ hymeterątheosebeią. Ei gar kai, hōs estin tēs alētheias katalēpsis, makran esti nyn aphʼ hēmōn dia tēn tēs sarkos astheneian, alla dynaton, hōs eipen autos 6 Ekklēsiastēs, gnōnai tōn asebōn tēn aphrosynēn, kai heuronta tautēn, eipein pikroteran hyper thanaton einai. Toutou goun charin, hōs touto ginōskōn kai dynamenos heurein, egrapsa ; eidōs, hōs tois pistois hē tēs asebeias katagnōsis, autarkēs pros eusebeian esti gnōsis. Kai gar ei mē dynaton katalabesthai ti esti Theos, alla dynaton eipein, ti ouk estin; hoiʼdamen de, hoti ouch hōs hanthrōpos esti, kai hoti ouden tōn genētōn themis epinoein en autǭ. Houtō dē kai peritou Huiou tou Theou, ei kai poly tou katalabein makran esmen tę̄ physei, alla dynaton kai eukolon katagnōnai tōn prospheromenōn para tōn hairetikōn, kai eipein, hoti ouk esti tauta Huios 6 tou Theou, oude themis peri tēs theotētos autou toiauta kan ennoein, hoia legousin ekeinoi, mētige kai phthengesthai dia cheileōn. Houtō toinyn, hoson ēdynēthēn egō men egrapsa; hymeis de, agapētoi, dexasthe tauta mē hōs teleian echonta tēn hermēneian peri tēs tou Logou theotētos, allʼ hōs monon elenchonta men tēn asebeian tōn Christomachōn, echonta de kai didonta tois boulomenois aphormēn eis eusebeian tēs hygiainousēs en Christǭ pisteōs. Et de ti paraleleiptai (panta de nomizō paraleleiphthai), synginōskete meta syneidēseōs katharas, kai monon apodexasthe to tolmēron tēs pros eusebeian protheseōs. Eis gar teleian katagnōsin tēs haireseōs tōn Areianōn, autarkēs hē peri tou thanatou ’Dreiou genomenē para tou Kyriou krisisʼ ēn ēdē phthasantes kai parʼ heterōn egnōte. ‘A gar 6 Theos 6 hagios bebouleutai, tis diaskedaseis kai ’hon ho Kyrios katekrine, tis 6 dikaiōn? Tis gar ek tou toioutou genomenou sēmeiou ou ginōskei loipon, hoti theomisētos estin hē aʼiresis, kan anthrōpous echę̄ prostatass Entychonnes mentoi, euchesthe men, kai allēlous eis touto protrepesthe poiein, hyper hēmōn ; euthys de antipempsate tauta pros hēmas ; kai mēdeni to synolon antigraphon ekdote, mēde heautois metagrapsate, allʼ arkesthēte hōs dokimoi trapezitai tę̄ enteuxei, kan pollakis entychein thelēsēte. Ou gar asphales tois meta tauta ta parʼ hēmōn tōn psellizontōn kai idiōtōn esti grammata. Aspasasthe allēlous en agapę̄, kai pantas tous erchomenous pros hymas en eusebeią kai pistei. Ei gar tis, hōs eipen 6 Apostolos, ou philei ton Kyrion, ētō anathema. Hē charis tou Kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou methʼ hymōn. ’Dmēn. pton, touton aphaireitai kai exorizei basileusʼ hon de mēte boulontai, mēte ginōskousi, touton makrothen meta stratiōtōn apostellei kai grammatōn heautou; kai loipon anankē pollē misein men ’on agapōsi ton katēchēsanta, kai patera genomenon en theosebeią; agapąn de hon ou boulontai, kai pisteuein heautōn ta tekna, hou ton bion, kai tēn anastrophēn, kai tis estin ou ginōskousino ē dēlonoti timōrian hypomenein, ēn mē peithōntai basilei.
Seeing, then, as it is written in Ecclesiastes, “I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me, farther than it was; and a deep depth—who shall find it?”; and what is in the Psalms, “Your knowledge has been made wonderful beyond me; it is too strong, I cannot attain it”; and as Solomon says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a word”—I often resolved to stop and to cease from writing; believe me. But lest I seem to grieve you, or by my silence to drive into impiety those among you who have inquired and disputed, I forced myself to write a little, and I have sent it to your godliness. For although the comprehension of the truth, as it is, is now far from us because of the weakness of the flesh, yet it is possible, as the Preacher himself said, to know the folly of the impious, and having found it, to say that it is “more bitter than death.” For this reason, then, as one who knows this and is able to find it, I have written, knowing that for the faithful the condemnation of impiety is sufficient knowledge for piety. For even if it is not possible to comprehend what God is, it is possible to say what he is not. We know that he is not as a man, and that it is not lawful to conceive of anything originate in him. So too concerning the Son of God: though by nature we are very far from comprehending him, yet it is possible and easy to condemn what the heretics put forward, and to say that the Son of God is not such things, and that it is not lawful even to think such things about his Godhead as they say, let alone to utter them with the lips. [3] So I have written as well as I could; and you, beloved, receive it not as containing a complete exposition of the Godhead of the Word, but only as a refutation of the impiety of the Christ-fighters, and as offering to those who wish an occasion for the piety of sound faith in Christ. And if anything has been omitted (and I think everything has been omitted), forgive it with a pure conscience, and only accept the boldness of my purpose for piety. For the complete condemnation of the Arian heresy, the judgment given by the Lord in the death of Arius is sufficient, which you have already learned from others. “For what the holy God has purposed, who shall scatter?” and “Whom the Lord has condemned, who shall justify?” For who, after such a sign has happened, does not know from now on that the heresy is hateful to God, even if it has men as its patrons? When you have read this, pray for us and exhort one another to do so; and send these things back to us at once, and give a copy to no one at all, nor transcribe them for yourselves, but be content, like approved money-changers, with reading them, even if you wish to read them many times. For it is not safe for those who come after to have the writings of us who stammer and are unskilled. Greet one another in love, and all who come to you in piety and faith. “For if anyone,” as the Apostle said, “does not love the Lord, let him be anathema.” The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. … him the emperor removes and banishes; and him whom they neither want nor know he sends from afar with soldiers and with his own letters; and then there is great compulsion to hate the one they love, who catechized them and became their father in godliness, and to love the one they do not want, and to entrust their children to a man whose life and conduct and very identity they do not know—or else to suffer punishment, if they do not obey the emperor.