Sophia Scriptura

Fragments (not preserved in Eusebius) (complete)

Melito of Sardis · Fragments (not preserved in Eusebius) · ca. 160-180 · Sardis · 3 passages

Greek text: Routh 1 (OCR made for this site).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).

Chapter 1

1Routh 1:132

Οὐδεμία ἀνάγκη τοῖς νοῦν ἔχουσιν, ἐξ ὧν μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα ὁ Χριστὸς ἔπραξε, παριστᾷν τὸ ἀληθες καὶ ἀφανταστὸν τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ σώματος, τῆς καθ ἡμᾶς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως. τὰ γὰρ μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα, μησὶν , ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ πραχθέντα. καὶ μάλιστα τὰ σημεῖα, τὴν αὐτοῦ κεκρυμμένην ἐν σαρκὶ Θεότητα ἐδηkai ἄνθρωπος τέλειος ὃ αὐτός, τὰς δύο αὐτοῦ οὐσίας ἐπιστώσατο ἡμῖν τὴν μὲν Θεότητα αὐτοῦ διὰ τῶν σημείων ἐν τῇ τριετίᾳ τῇ μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα, τὴν δὲ ἀνθρωπότητα αὐτοῦ, ἐν τοῖς τριάκοντα χρόνοις τοῖς πρὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος" ἐν οἷς διὰ τὸ ἀτελὲς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα ἀπεκρύβη τὰ σημεῖα τῆς αὐτοῦ Θεότητος" καί περ Θεὸς ἀληθὴς προαιώνιος ὑπάρχων.

Oudemia anankē tois noun echousin, ex hōn meta to baptisma ho Christos epraxe, paristąn to alēthes kai aphantaston tēs psychēs autou kai tou sōmatos, tēs kath hēmas anthrōpinēs physeōs. ta gar meta to baptisma, mēsin , hypo Christou prachthenta. kai malista ta sēmeia, tēn autou kekrymmenēn en sarki Theotēta edēkai anthrōpos teleios ho autos, tas dyo autou ousias epistōsato hēmin tēn men Theotēta autou dia tōn sēmeiōn en tę̄ trietią tę̄ meta to baptisma, tēn de anthrōpotēta autou, en tois triakonta chronois tois pro tou baptismatos" en hois dia to ateles to kata sarka apekrybē ta sēmeia tēs autou Theotētos" kai per Theos alēthēs proaiōnios hyparchōn.

For people of sense there is no need to establish, from the deeds Christ did after his baptism, the truth and reality (free of mere appearance) of his soul and body, of the human nature like ours. For the deeds done by Christ after his baptism, and especially the signs, showed his Godhead hidden in the flesh … and the same one, perfect man, assured us of his two essences: his Godhead through the signs in the three years after his baptism, and his manhood in the thirty years before his baptism, in which, because of the immaturity of his flesh, the signs of his Godhead were hidden, although he was true God existing before the ages.

Luke 3:23 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 2:9 (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Christ's signs after his baptism showed his hidden Godhead, and his thirty years before it showed his true manhood; he is one person with two essences.

  • Preserved by Anastasius of Sinai, Hodegos 13, from Melito, On the Incarnation of Christ (book 3, against Marcion). The Greek is uncorrected OCR of Routh; clear slips are corrected (logged). Words are lost in the OCR after "hidden in the flesh" ("…"); other printings read there, in sense, "and assured the world of it; for being God and at the same time perfect man" (not checked against Routh's page). The language of "two essences" is translated as printed; its wording has been thought to reflect later Christological vocabulary, and the attribution of this fragment is debated. The thirty years and three years: Luke 3:23.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR garble; OCR junk; OCR slip (Latin letters); OCR slips (Latin letters)): ἀναγκὴ τοις VOUP εχουσιν → ἀνάγκη τοῖς νοῦν ἔχουσιν; μετὰ TO βάπτισμα ὁ Χριστὸς → μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα ὁ Χριστὸς; τὰ το σημεῖα → τὰ σημεῖα; avrOs, τας → αὐτός, τὰς; avrov διὰ → αὐτοῦ διὰ; uera τὸ βαπτισμα → μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα; ἀνθρωTOTQ)TOA αὐτοῦ, εν τοις Τριάκοντα χρονοις ΤΟΙς ΤΡρΟ του βαπτίσματος → ἀνθρωπότητα αὐτοῦ, ἐν τοῖς τριάκοντα χρόνοις τοῖς πρὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος; ἀπεkpvBm → ἀπεκρύβη.

Topics: Christology, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Melito, Frag. 1 (Routh 1:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/melito-fragmenta/1/#p-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek (Routh, Reliquiae Sacrae 1); compared afterwards with ANF 8.

Chapter 2

2Routh 1:133

'O Θεὸς πέπονθεν ὑπὸ δεξίας ᾿Ισραηλίτιδος. Καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦς Χριστὸς ὡς κριὸς ἐδέθη, καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἐκάρη, καὶ ὡς πρόβατον εἰς σφαγὴν ἤχθη, καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς, ἐσταυρώθη" καὶ ἐβάστασε τὸ ξύλον ἐπὶ τοῖς ὠμοῖς αὐτοῦ, ἀναγόμενος σφαγῆναι ὡς ᾿Ισαὰκ ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ. ἀλλὰ Χριστὸς ἔπαθεν" ᾿Ισαὰκ δὲ οὐκ ἔπαθε: τύπος yàp ἢν τοῦ μέλλοντος πάσχειν Χριστοῦ: ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ τύπος τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενόμενος ἔκπληξιν καὶ φόβον παρεῖχεν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. ἦν γὰρ θεάσασθαι μυστήριον καινὸν, υἱὸν ἀγόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπ᾽ ὄρος εἰς σφαγὴν, "ὃν συμποδίσας ἔθηκεν ἐπὶ τὰ ξύλα ς τῆς καρπώσεως, ἑτοιμάζων μετὰ σπουδῆς τὰ πρὸς τὴν σφαγὴν αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ Ἰσαὰκ σιγᾷ πεπεδημένος ὡς Κριος, οὐκ ἀνοίγων TO στόμα, οὐδὲ φθεγγόμενος φωνῇ. τὸ yap ξίφος οὐ φοβηθεὶς, οὐδὲ τὸ πῦρ πτοηθεὶς, οὐδὲ τὸ παθεῖν λυπηθεὶς, ἐβάστασεν καρτερῶν τὸν τύπον τοῦ Κυρίου. Ἦν οὖν ἐν μέσῳ προκείμενος Ἴσαακ πεποδισμένος ὡς κριὸς, καὶ Ἀβραὰμ παρεστὼς καὶ κρατῶν γυμνὸν TO ξίφος, οὐκ αἰδούμενος φονεῦσαι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ. Ὑπὲρ ᾿Ισαὰκ ToU δικαίου ἐφάνη κριὸς εἰς σφαγὴν, ἵνα δεσμῶν ᾿Ισαὰκ λύθη. ἐκεῖνος σφαγεὶς ἐλυτρώσατο τὸν Ἰσαάκ· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Κύριος σφαγεὶς ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ δεθεὶς ἔλυσε, καὶ τυθεὶς ἐλυτρώσατο.

'O Theos peponthen hypo dexias ᾿Israēlitidos. Kai ho Kyrios hēmōn ᾿Iēsous Christos hōs krios edethē, kai hōs amnos ekarē, kai hōs probaton eis sphagēn ēchthē, kai hōs amnos, estaurōthē" kai ebastase to xylon epi tois ōmois autou, anagomenos sphagēnai hōs ᾿Isaak hypo tou patros autou. alla Christos epathen" ᾿Isaak de ouk epathe: typos yap ēn tou mellontos paschein Christou: alla kai ho typos tou Christou genomenos ekplēxin kai phobon pareichen tois anthrōpois. ēn gar theasasthai mystērion kainon, huion agomenon hypo tou patros ep᾽ oros eis sphagēn, "hon sympodisas ethēken epi ta xyla s tēs karpōseōs, hetoimazōn meta spoudēs ta pros tēn sphagēn autou. ho de Isaak sigą pepedēmenos hōs Krios, ouk anoigōn TO stoma, oude phthengomenos phōnę̄. to yap xiphos ou phobētheis, oude to pyr ptoētheis, oude to pathein lypētheis, ebastasen karterōn ton typon tou Kyriou. Ēn oun en mesǭ prokeimenos Isaak pepodismenos hōs krios, kai Abraam parestōs kai kratōn gymnon TO xiphos, ouk aidoumenos phoneusai ton huion autou. Hyper ᾿Isaak ToU dikaiou ephanē krios eis sphagēn, hina desmōn ᾿Isaak lythē. ekeinos sphageis elytrōsato ton Isaak; houtō kai ho Kyrios sphageis esōsen hēmas, kai detheis elyse, kai tytheis elytrōsato.

God has suffered by an Israelite right hand. And our Lord Jesus Christ was bound like a ram, and shorn like a lamb, and led like a sheep to the slaughter, and crucified like a lamb; and he carried the wood on his shoulders, being led up to be slain like Isaac by his father. But Christ suffered, while Isaac did not suffer; for he was a type of the Christ who was to suffer. Yet even the type of Christ, when it took place, caused astonishment and fear among men. For it was a new mystery to behold: a son led by his father up a mountain to be slain, whom, binding his feet, he laid on the wood of the offering, preparing with haste what was needed for his slaughter. But Isaac is silent, bound like a ram, not opening his mouth nor uttering a sound. For not fearing the sword, nor terrified by the fire, nor grieved at suffering, he bore with endurance the type of the Lord. So Isaac lay in the middle, his feet bound like a ram, and Abraham stood by holding the sword bare, not ashamed to slay his son. For Isaac the righteous a ram appeared for slaughter, so that Isaac might be released from his bonds. That ram, slain, ransomed Isaac; so too the Lord, slain, saved us, and bound, released us, and sacrificed, ransomed us.

Isa 53:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 22:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 22:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 22:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 22:13 (allusion, high confidence) · John 19:17 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Pet 1:18 (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Isaac, bound and silent on the wood, was a type of the suffering Christ; the ram slain in his place ransomed him, as the Lord slain ransomed us.

  • The first sentence is a separate short fragment (from Melito's oration on the Passion, quoted by Anastasius of Sinai) printed by Routh before the catena fragment; it is translated as written. The rest is preserved in a Greek catena on Genesis 22, from Melito's work on the Pascha or on the Passion. The Greek is uncorrected OCR of Routh; clear slips and Latin words from Routh's notes that leaked into the line ("Hoc", "In as") are removed by logged corrections. Isa 53:7; Gen 22:6, 9–13; John 19:17.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR joined words; OCR lost letter; OCR slip; OCR slip (Latin letters); OCR slips; OCR slips (Latin letters); leaked Latin from Routh's notes): ^ Hoc → ; ekapn, καὶ * ὡς → ἐκάρη, καὶ ὡς; ἀμνὺς → ἀμνὸς; ἀλλὰκαὶ → ἀλλὰ καὶ; Χριστοῦγενόμενος → Χριστοῦ γενόμενος; rois ἀνθρώποις → τοῖς ἀνθρώποις; o 0e Ἰσαὰκ → ὁ δὲ Ἰσαὰκ; υπηθεὶς → λυπηθεὶς; Hv οὖν → Ἦν οὖν; kai ᾿Αβρααμ vapegTos → καὶ Ἀβραὰμ παρεστὼς; TOv viov → τὸν υἱὸν; In as → ; eis σφαγὴν → εἰς σφαγὴν; leaak' → Ἰσαάκ·; Kvpuws → Κύριος; θυθεὶς → τυθεὶς.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Melito, Frag. 2 (Routh 1:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/melito-fragmenta/1/#p-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek (Routh, Reliquiae Sacrae 1); compared afterwards with ANF 8.

Chapter 3

3Routh 1:134

Ἦν γὰρ ὁ Κύριος ὁ ἀμνὸς ὡς κριὸς, “ὃν εἶδεν ᾿Αβραὰμ κατεχόμενον ἐν φυτῷ Σαβεκ, ἀλλὰ τὸ φυτὸν ἀπέφαινε τὸν σταυρὸν, καὶ ὁ τόπος ἐκεῖνος τὴν ᾿Ιερουσαλὴμ, καὶ ὁ ἀμνὸς τὸν Κύριον ἐμπεποδισμένον εἰς σφαγήν. Τὸ “κατεχόμενος τῶν κεράτων ὁ Σύρος καὶ ὁ Ἑβραῖος κρεμάμενος φησίν" ὡς σαφέστερον τυποῦν τὸν σταυρόν" ἀλλὰ καὶ τό, κριὸς, τοῦτο ἀκριβοῖ' οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, ἀμνὸς, νεὸς ὡς ὁ ᾿Ισαὰκ, ἀλλὰ κριὸς, ὡς ὁ Κύριος τέλειος. ὧσπερ δὲ φυτὸν Σαβεκ, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν ἀφέσεως, ἐκάλεσε τὸν ἅγιον σταυρὸν, οὕτω καὶ ᾿Ιεζεκιὴλ ἐν τῷ τέλει “ὕδωρ ἀφέσεως ἐκάλεσε τὸ ἐκτυποῦν τὸ ἅγιον βάπτισμα. Δύο γὰρ συνέστη τὰ ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτημάτων παρεχόμενα, πάθος διὰ Χριστὸν, καὶ βάπτισμα.

Ēn gar ho Kyrios ho amnos hōs krios, “hon eiden ᾿Abraam katechomenon en phytǭ Sabek, alla to phyton apephaine ton stauron, kai ho topos ekeinos tēn ᾿Ierousalēm, kai ho amnos ton Kyrion empepodismenon eis sphagēn. To “katechomenos tōn keratōn ho Syros kai ho Hebraios kremamenos phēsin" hōs saphesteron typoun ton stauron" alla kai to, krios, touto akriboi' ou gar eipen, amnos, neos hōs ho ᾿Isaak, alla krios, hōs ho Kyrios teleios. hōsper de phyton Sabek, tout᾽ estin apheseōs, ekalese ton hagion stauron, houtō kai ᾿Iezekiēl en tǭ telei “hydōr apheseōs ekalese to ektypoun to hagion baptisma. Dyo gar synestē ta aphesin hamartēmatōn parechomena, pathos dia Christon, kai baptisma.

For the Lord was the lamb, like the ram which Abraham saw caught in a Sabek tree; but the tree represented the cross, and that place Jerusalem, and the lamb the Lord bound for slaughter. For "caught by the horns" the Syrian and the Hebrew say "hanging," as prefiguring the cross more clearly. And the word "ram" also makes this exact: for it did not say "lamb," young like Isaac, but "ram," full-grown like the Lord. And as he called the holy cross the Sabek tree, that is, the tree of remission, so Ezekiel too, at the end, called "water of remission" what prefigures holy baptism. For two things have been established that provide remission of sins: suffering for Christ's sake, and baptism.

Gen 22:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Ezek 47:3 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The ram caught in the Sabek tree prefigures the Lord on the cross at Jerusalem; as Sabek means remission, so Ezekiel's water of remission prefigures baptism, and martyrdom and baptism both bring remission of sins.

  • Preserved in Greek catenae on Genesis, from Melito; the closing lines (from "And as he called") may be the catenist's comment rather than Melito's. "Sabek" is the Greek Bible's transliteration in Gen 22:13 (Hebrew "thicket"), here explained as "remission". "The Syrian and the Hebrew" are the translators cited in the catenae. "Water of remission": Ezek 47:3 (Greek). "Suffering for Christ's sake" is martyrdom. The Greek is uncorrected OCR of Routh; clear slips are corrected (logged).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR slip (Latin letters); OCR slips (Latin letters)): "H» yap → Ἦν γὰρ; O ἄμνος rov Kvpuov → ὁ ἀμνὸς τὸν Κύριον; TO, κριὸς → τό, κριὸς.

Topics: Baptism, Martyrdom, Christology

Cite (SBL): Melito, Frag. 3 (Routh 1:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/melito-fragmenta/1/#p-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek (Routh, Reliquiae Sacrae 1); compared afterwards with ANF 8.