On Free Will 1.1–9.4 · Sophia Scriptura

Chapter 1

1.1Bonwetsch

Ὁ μὲν Ἰθακήσιος γέρων κατὰ τὸν τῶν Ἑλλήνων μῦθον, τῆς Σειρήνων βουλόμενος ἀκοῦσαι ᾠδῆς διὰ τὴν τῆς φωνῆς ἀκόλαστον ἡδονήν, δεσμώτης ἔπλει εἰς τὴν Σικελίαν καὶ τὰς τῶν ἑταίρων ἐνέφραττεν ἀκοάς, οὐκ ἐκείνοις ἕνεκα τῆς ἀκροάσεως φθονῶν, οὐδὲ ἑαυτὸν δεσμῷ περιβάλλειν ἐπιθυμῶν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι τέλος τῆς ἐκείνων ᾠδῆς τοῖς ἀκούουσι θάνατος ἦν· τοιαῦται γάρ παρʼ Ἕλλησιν ᾖδον αἱ Σειρῆνες.

Ho men Ithakēsios gerōn kata ton tōn Hellēnōn mython, tēs Seirēnōn boulomenos akousai ǭdēs dia tēn tēs phōnēs akolaston hēdonēn, desmōtēs eplei eis tēn Sikelian kai tas tōn hetairōn enephratten akoas, ouk ekeinois heneka tēs akroaseōs phthonōn, oude heauton desmǭ periballein epithymōn, allʼ hoti telos tēs ekeinōn ǭdēs tois akouousi thanatos ēn; toiautai gar parʼ Hellēsin ę̄don hai Seirēnes.

The old man of Ithaca, according to the Greeks’ myth, wishing to hear the Sirens’ song for the licentious pleasure of their voice, sailed to Sicily bound as a prisoner and stopped up his companions’ ears, not because he begrudged them the hearing, nor because he desired to put himself in bonds, but because the end of their song for those who heard it was death; for such were the songs the Sirens sang, according to the Greeks.

Notes and citation

Summary: Methodius opens with Odysseus and the Sirens, whose song brought death to its hearers.

Odyssey 12.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray mark): γάρ > παρʼ → γάρ παρʼ.

Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Od. 12.39–54 (Homer, Odyssey; allusion)

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 1.1 (Bonwetsch; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-1-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-1-1) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

1.2Bonwetsch, 146

ἐγὼ δὲ τοιαύτης μὲν ᾠδῆς ἀκροατὴς οὐ γίνομαι, οὐδὲ ἀκούειν ἐπιθυμῶ Σειρήνων ἐπιτάφιον ἀνθρώπων ᾀδουσῶν, ὧν ἡ σιγὴ τῆς φωνῆς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις χρησιμωτέρα γίνεται· θείας δέ τινος ἀπολαύειν φωνῆς εὔχομαι, ἡς κἄν πολλάκις ἀκούσω, πάλιν ἀκούειν ἐπιθυμῶ, οὐκ ἀκολαστῳ <τινὶ> φωνῆς ἡδονῇ ἀλλὰ θεῖα διδασκόμενος μυστήρια καὶ τὸ τέλος οὐ θάνατον, ἀλλʼ αἰώνιον ἀπεκδεχόμενος σωτηρίαν.

egō de toiautēs men ǭdēs akroatēs ou ginomai, oude akouein epithymō Seirēnōn epitaphion anthrōpōn ądousōn, hōn hē sigē tēs phōnēs tois anthrōpois chrēsimōtera ginetai; theias de tinos apolauein phōnēs euchomai, hēs kan pollakis akousō, palin akouein epithymō, ouk akolastǭ <tini> phōnēs hēdonę̄ alla theia didaskomenos mystēria kai to telos ou thanaton, allʼ aiōnion apekdechomenos sōtērian.

But I do not become a hearer of such a song, nor do I wish to hear Sirens singing a funeral dirge for men, whose silence is more useful to men than their voice. I pray rather to enjoy a divine voice which, however often I hear it, I long to hear again, not from some licentious pleasure in the voice, but because I am being taught divine mysteries and expect as the end not death but eternal salvation.

Notes and citation

Summary: Methodius contrasts the Sirens’ deadly song with the divine voice that teaches salvation.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 1.2 (Bonwetsch, 146; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-1-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-1-2) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

1.3Bonwetsch, 146

ᾄδουσι γὰρ τὴν ᾠδὴν οὐχ αἱ θανατηφόροι Σειρῆνες Ἑλλήνων, ἀλλὰ θεῖός τις χορὸς προφητῶν, ἐφʼ ὡν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀποφράττειν τῶν ἑταίρων τὰς ἀκοάς, οὐδὲ ἑαυτόν τινα δεσμῷ περιβάλλειν, δεδοικότα τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἀκροάσεως τιμωρίαν. τῶν μὲν γὰρ μετὰ τῆς φωνῆς ὁ ἀκροατὴς τοῦ ζῆν παύεται, τῶν δὲ ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἀκούων τοῦ κρείττονος ἀπολαύσει βίου, ὑπὸ Μου πνεύματος χειραγωγούμενος.

ądousi gar tēn ǭdēn ouch hai thanatēphoroi Seirēnes Hellēnōn, alla theios tis choros prophētōn, ephʼ hōn ouk estin apophrattein tōn hetairōn tas akoas, oude heauton tina desmǭ periballein, dedoikota tēn ek tēs akroaseōs timōrian. tōn men gar meta tēs phōnēs ho akroatēs tou zēn pauetai, tōn de epi pleion akouōn tou kreittonos apolausei biou, hypo Mou pneumatos cheiragōgoumenos.

For the song is sung not by the death-bringing Sirens of the Greeks but by a divine choir of prophets, with whom there is no need to stop up one’s companions’ ears or to put oneself in bonds for fear of the penalty for hearing. For the hearer of the one ceases to live together with their voice, but one who listens more to the others will enjoy the better life, led by the hand by the divine Spirit.

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Notes and citation

Summary: The prophets’ song, unlike the Sirens’, leads its hearers to a better life.

“Divine”: the digital text has a corrupt word here (Μου); translated by sense.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 1.3 (Bonwetsch, 146; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-1-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-1-3) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

1.4Bonwetsch, 146

ἡκέτω ἡκέτω σύμπας καὶ ἀκουέτω τῆς θείας ᾠδῆς, μηδὲν πεφοβημένος. οὐκ εἰσὶν παρʼ ἡμῖν αἱ παρὰ Σικελίαν Σειρῆνες, οὐδὲ τὰ Ὀδυσσέως δεσμά, οὐ κηρὸς τηκόμενος εἰς ἀνθρώπων ἀκοάς, ἀλλὰ δεσμῶν μὲν ἄνεσις πᾶσα, ἐλευθέρα δʼ ἀκοὴ παρʼ ἑκάστῳ τῶν προσιόντων. τοιαύτης γὰρ ᾠδῆς ἀκούειν ἄξιον, τοιούτους τοὺς ᾄδοντας ἔχειν εὐκτέον εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ.

hēketō hēketō sympas kai akouetō tēs theias ǭdēs, mēden pephobēmenos. ouk eisin parʼ hēmin hai para Sikelian Seirēnes, oude ta Odysseōs desma, ou kēros tēkomenos eis anthrōpōn akoas, alla desmōn men anesis pasa, eleuthera dʼ akoē parʼ hekastǭ tōn prosiontōn. toiautēs gar ǭdēs akouein axion, toioutous tous ądontas echein eukteon einai moi dokei.

Let everyone come, come, and hear the divine song without any fear. We have no Sirens of Sicily among us, nor Odysseus’ bonds, nor wax melted into men’s ears, but complete release from bonds, and free hearing for each of those who come. For such a song is worth hearing, and such singers, it seems to me, are to be prayed for.

Notes and citation

Summary: Methodius invites all to hear the divine song freely.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἀλευθέρα → ἐλευθέρα.

Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Od. 12.173–177 (Homer, Odyssey; allusion)

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 1.4 (Bonwetsch, 146; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-1-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-1-4) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

1.5Bonwetsch, 146–147

εἰ δἐ τις καὶ τοῦ τῶν ἀποστόλων χοροῦ ἀκούειν ἐθέλοι, εὑρήσει τὴν αὐτὴν τῆς ᾠδῆς συμφωνίαν. οἱ μὲν γὰρ προῇδον μυστικῶς τὴν θείαν οἰκονομίαν, οἱ δʼ ᾄδουσιν ἑρμηνεύοντες τὰ ὑπʼ ἐκείνων μυστικῶς ἀπηγγελμένα. ὠ συμφώνου ἁρμονίας ὑπὸ θείου πνεύματος συγκειμένης· ὠ καλοῦ χοροῦ τῶν ᾀδόντων τὰ μυστήρια. τούτοις κἀγὼ συνᾴδειν εὔχομαι.

ei de tis kai tou tōn apostolōn chorou akouein etheloi, heurēsei tēn autēn tēs ǭdēs symphōnian. hoi men gar proę̄don mystikōs tēn theian oikonomian, hoi dʼ ądousin hermēneuontes ta hypʼ ekeinōn mystikōs apēngelmena. ō symphōnou harmonias hypo theiou pneumatos synkeimenēs; ō kalou chorou tōn ądontōn ta mystēria. toutois kagō synądein euchomai.

And if anyone wishes to hear the choir of the apostles too, he will find the same harmony of song. For the prophets sang beforehand, in mysteries, the divine dispensation, and the apostles sing, interpreting what the prophets announced in mysteries. O concordant harmony, composed by the divine Spirit! O fair choir of those who sing the mysteries! With these I too pray to sing.

Notes and citation

Summary: The apostles sing in harmony with the prophets, interpreting what they foretold.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 1.5 (Bonwetsch, 146–147; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-1-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-1-5) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

1.6Bonwetsch, 147

ᾄσωμεν τοιγαροῦν καὶ ἡμεῖς τὴν ὁμοίαν ᾠδήν, καὶ τὸν ὕμνον ἀναπέμψωμεν τῷ ἁγίῳ πατρί, πνεύματι δοξάζοντες Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἐν κόλποις αὐτοῦ‘. μὴ φύγῃς, ἄνθρωπε, ὕμνον πνευματικόν, μηδὲ ἀπεχθῶς πρὸς τὴν ἀκρόασιν διαθῇς. θάνατον οὐκ ἔχει· σωτηρίας ἐστὶν διήγημα ἡ παρʼ ἡμῖν ᾠδή.

ąsōmen toigaroun kai hēmeis tēn homoian ǭdēn, kai ton hymnon anapempsōmen tǭ hagiǭ patri, pneumati doxazontes Iēsoun ton en kolpois autou‘. mē phygę̄s, anthrōpe, hymnon pneumatikon, mēde apechthōs pros tēn akroasin diathę̄s. thanaton ouk echei; sōtērias estin diēgēma hē parʼ hēmin ǭdē.

Let us too, then, sing the like song and send up the hymn to the holy Father, glorifying in the Spirit Jesus who is in his bosom. Do not flee a spiritual hymn, man, nor be hostile to hearing it. It holds no death; the song we have is a story of salvation.

John 1:18 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Methodius calls his hearers to join in a hymn to the Father, glorifying Jesus in the Spirit.

Topics: Trinity

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 1.6 (Bonwetsch, 147; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-1-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-1-6) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

1.7Bonwetsch, 147

ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἤδη καὶ τῶν χρειττόνων ἀπολαύειν δοκῶ περὶ τοιούτων διαλεγόμενος, καὶ μάλιστα ὅτε ὁ τοιοῦτός μοι πάρεστιν ἀνθέων λειμών, τουτέστιν ἡ ὑμετέρα σύνοδος τῶν ἅμα τε καὶ ἀκουόντων καὶ συνᾳδόντων τὰ θεῖα μυστήρια.

egō men oun ēdē kai tōn chreittonōn apolauein dokō peri toioutōn dialegomenos, kai malista hote ho toioutos moi parestin antheōn leimōn, toutestin hē hymetera synodos tōn hama te kai akouontōn kai synądontōn ta theia mystēria.

I for my part already seem to be enjoying better things in discussing such matters, especially when such a meadow of flowers is before me, that is, your assembly of those who both hear and sing together the divine mysteries.

Notes and citation

Summary: Methodius rejoices in his audience, a meadow of flowers.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 1.7 (Bonwetsch, 147; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-1-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-1-7) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

1.8Bonwetsch, 147

ἀφʼ ὧν καὶ τὸ λέγειν θαρρῶ, ὅτι μοι παντὸς φθόνου καθαρὰς παρέχετε τὰς ἀκοάς, οὐ τὸν ζῆλον τὸν τοῦ Κάϊν μιμούμενοι, οὐχ ὁμοίως τῷ Ἠσαῦ διώκοντες τὸν ἀδελφόν, οὐ <τοὺς> τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ἀδελφούς, ὅτι ἐφʼ οἷς ἔλεγεν ἐμίσουν τὸν ἀδελφόν. ἀλλὰ τούτων ἁπάντων μακρὰν ἀφεστῶτες, διόπερ ἕκαστος ὑμῶν τὰ τοῦ πλησίον νομίζει λέγειν. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ζῆλος πονηρὸς οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ὑμῖν, τὰ λείποντα τῷ ἀδελφῷ ἀναπληροῦν δεδιδαγμένοις.

aphʼ hōn kai to legein tharrō, hoti moi pantos phthonou katharas parechete tas akoas, ou ton zēlon ton tou Kaïn mimoumenoi, ouch homoiōs tǭ Ēsau diōkontes ton adelphon, ou <tous> tou Iōsēph adelphous, hoti ephʼ hois elegen emisoun ton adelphon. alla toutōn hapantōn makran aphestōtes, dioper hekastos hymōn ta tou plēsion nomizei legein. kai dia touto zēlos ponēros ouk estin en hymin, ta leiponta tǭ adelphǭ anaplēroun dedidagmenois.

From this I am bold to say that you offer me ears pure of all envy, not imitating the jealousy of Cain, not persecuting your brother like Esau, not like Joseph’s brothers, who hated their brother for what he said. You stand far from all these, so that each of you regards his neighbor’s words as his own. And so there is no evil jealousy among you, since you have been taught to make up what is lacking to your brother.

Gen 4:5–8 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 27:41 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 37:4–8 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Methodius praises his hearers as free of envy, unlike Cain, Esau, and Joseph’s brothers.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 1.8 (Bonwetsch, 147; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-1-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-1-8) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

1.9Bonwetsch, 147

ὦ ἀκροατηρίου καλοῦ καὶ συμποσίου σεμνοῦ καὶ πνευματικῶν ἐδεσμάτων. τοιούτοις ἀεὶ συνεῖναι δικαίως <ἂν> εὐξαίμην.

ō akroatēriou kalou kai symposiou semnou kai pneumatikōn edesmatōn. toioutois aei syneinai dikaiōs <an> euxaimēn.

O fair audience, august banquet, and spiritual food! With such I would rightly pray always to be.

Notes and citation

Summary: Methodius ends his prologue in praise of the gathering.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): cb ἀκροατηρίου → ὦ ἀκροατηρίου.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 1.9 (Bonwetsch, 147; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-1-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-1-9) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

Chapter 2

2.1Bonwetsch, 147–148

<ΟΥΑΛ.> Χθὲς τὸ δειλινὸν περιπατῶν, ὡ φίλε, παρὰ τὸν τῆς θαλάσσης αἰγιαλὸν καὶ ὀξέως πως ἀτενίζων εἰς αὐτήν, ἑώρων ὑπερβολήν τινα θείας δυνάμεως καὶ σοφῆς ἐπιστήμης τέχνην, εἴ γε καὶ τέχνην τὸ τοιοῦτο καλεῖν χρή. ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ Ὁμηρικὸς στίος φθέγγεται ἐκεῖνος, ὠς δʼ ἄνεμοι δύο πόντον ὀρίνετον ἰχθυόεντα, Βορέης καὶ Ζέφυρος, τώ τε Θρᾐκηθεν ἄητον, ἐλθόντʼ ἐξαπίνης· ἄμυδις δέ τε κῦμα κελαινὸν κορθύεται, πολλὸν δὲ παρὲξ ἅλα φῦκος ἔχευαν·

<OUAL.> Chthes to deilinon peripatōn, hō phile, para ton tēs thalassēs aigialon kai oxeōs pōs atenizōn eis autēn, heōrōn hyperbolēn tina theias dynameōs kai sophēs epistēmēs technēn, ei ge kai technēn to toiouto kalein chrē. hōsper gar ho Homērikos stios phthengetai ekeinos, ōs dʼ anemoi dyo ponton orineton ichthyoenta, Boreēs kai Zephyros, tō te Thrę̄kēthen aēton, elthontʼ exapinēs; amydis de te kyma kelainon korthyetai, pollon de parex hala phykos echeuan;

Valentinian: Yesterday evening, my friend, as I was walking along the seashore and gazing at it rather intently, I saw an extraordinary display of divine power and an art of wise knowledge, if indeed such a thing should be called art. For as that Homeric line says, “As two winds stir up the fish-filled sea, Boreas and Zephyrus, that blow from Thrace, coming suddenly; and at once the dark wave rears its crest and pours much seaweed along the shore,”

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian describes watching a storm at sea, quoting Homer.

The speaker is a Valentinian, the opponent in the dialogue; his name is given in the manuscripts only as a label.
Homer, Iliad 9.4–7.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): κοὶ τέχνην → καὶ τέχνην.

Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 9.4–7 (Homer, Iliad; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 2.1 (Bonwetsch, 147–148; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-2-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-2-1) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

2.2Bonwetsch, 148

οὕτω μοι καὶ χθὲς γεγονέναι δοκεῖ. κορυφαῖς γὰρ ὀρέων παραπλήσια ἑώρων κύματα, καὶ ὡς λόγον εἰπεῖν αὐτοῦ ἐφικνούμενα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ. τὸ δʼ ἐντεῦθεν οὐδὲν ἕτερον προσεδόκων ἢ ἅπασαν ἐπικλυσθήσεσθαι τὴν γῆν, καί μοι φυγῆς ἐν τῷ νοὶ ἀνέπλαττον τόπον καὶ τὴν τοῦ Νῶε ἀνέπλαττον κιβωτόν. τὸ δʼ οὐκ ἦν ὅ ἐνόμιζον.

houtō moi kai chthes gegonenai dokei. koryphais gar oreōn paraplēsia heōrōn kymata, kai hōs logon eipein autou ephiknoumena tou ouranou. to dʼ enteuthen ouden heteron prosedokōn ē hapasan epiklysthēsesthai tēn gēn, kai moi phygēs en tǭ noi aneplatton topon kai tēn tou Nōe aneplatton kibōton. to dʼ ouk ēn ho enomizon.

so it seemed to me to happen yesterday. For I saw waves like mountain peaks, reaching, so to speak, to heaven itself. From then on I expected nothing else than that the whole earth would be flooded, and I was picturing in my mind a place of refuge and Noah’s ark. But it was not as I thought.

Gen 6:14 (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian feared the waves would flood the earth.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 2.2 (Bonwetsch, 148; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-2-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-2-2) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

2.3Bonwetsch, 148

ἀλλʼ ὅπου ἀνεκυρτώθη ἡ θάλασσα πάλιν ἀνελύετο εἰς ἑαυτήν, οὐχ ὑπερβαίνουσα τὸν οἰκεῖον τόπον, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν θεῖόν τι πρόσταγμα πεφοβημένη.

allʼ hopou anekyrtōthē hē thalassa palin anelyeto eis heautēn, ouch hyperbainousa ton oikeion topon, hōs epos eipein theion ti prostagma pephobēmenē.

Rather, where the sea had arched itself up, it dissolved back into itself, not overstepping its own place, as though, so to speak, it feared some divine command.

Job 38:11 (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The sea stayed within its bounds as if obeying a divine command.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 2.3 (Bonwetsch, 148; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-2-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-2-3) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

2.4Bonwetsch, 148–149

καὶ καθάπερ πολλάκις τῶν οἰκετῶν τις, ἄκων τι πρὸς τοῦ δεσπότου πράττειν ἀναγκαζόμενος, < μὲν προστάγματι διὰ τὸν φόβον πείθεται, ὅ δὲ πάσχει, πράττειν μὴ θέλων, λέγειν [ὅτι] οὐ τολμᾷ, δὲ ἐν ἑαυτῷ, θυμοῦ τινος πληρούμενος, οὕτω μοί πως ἐφαίνετο καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν, ὡσπερεὶ θυμουμένην καὶ ἐν ἑαυτῇ φράττουσαν τὴν ὀργήν, κρατοῦσάν τε ἑαυτῆς, οὐ βουλομένην τῷ δεσπότῃ φανερὸν ποιῆσαι τὸν θυμόν.

kai kathaper pollakis tōn oiketōn tis, akōn ti pros tou despotou prattein anankazomenos, < men prostagmati dia ton phobon peithetai, ho de paschei, prattein mē thelōn, legein [hoti] ou tolmą, de en heautǭ, thymou tinos plēroumenos, houtō moi pōs ephaineto kai tēn thalassan, hōsperei thymoumenēn kai en heautę̄ phrattousan tēn orgēn, kratousan te heautēs, ou boulomenēn tǭ despotę̄ phaneron poiēsai ton thymon.

And just as one of the servants, compelled by his master to do something against his will, often obeys the command out of fear, yet dares not say what he suffers in doing what he does not want to do, but inwardly is full of anger, so the sea seemed to me somehow to be angry, as it were, shutting its wrath up within itself and mastering itself, unwilling to make its anger plain to its master.

Notes and citation

Summary: The sea seemed like a servant obeying against its will, restraining its anger.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 2.4 (Bonwetsch, 148–149; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-2-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-2-4) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

2.5Bonwetsch, 149

ταῦτα οὕτως γινόμενα σκοπῶν ἀτενίζειν ἠρχόμην, καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὸν κύκλον αὐτοῦ τῷ νοῒ καταμετρεῖν ἤθελον, πόθεν τε ἄρχεται καὶ ποῦ καταπαύει ἀνεζήτουν ἐγώ, ποίαν τε κίνησιν ἔχει, πότερον τὴν μεταβατικήν, τουτέστιν τὴν ἀπὸ τόπου εἰς τόπον, ἤ τὴν κύκλῳ φοράν, πῶς δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐπίμονον βάσιν ἔχει.

tauta houtōs ginomena skopōn atenizein ērchomēn, kai ton ouranon kai ton kyklon autou tǭ noï katametrein ēthelon, pothen te archetai kai pou katapauei anezētoun egō, poian te kinēsin echei, poteron tēn metabatikēn, toutestin tēn apo topou eis topon, ē tēn kyklǭ phoran, pōs de kai tēn epimonon basin echei.

Considering these things as they happened, I began to gaze, and wished to measure in my mind the heaven and its circuit. I inquired where it begins and where it ends, and what motion it has, whether motion of passing, that is, from place to place, or circular movement, and how it has its steady base.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian turned to contemplate the motion of the heavens.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 2.5 (Bonwetsch, 149; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-2-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-2-5) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

2.6Bonwetsch, 149

ἀλλά μοι καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἡλίου ζητεῖν ἐδόκει, τίς τε ὁ τρόπος αὐτοῦ τῆς ἐν οὐρανῷ θέσεως, τίς δὲ καὶ ἡ περίοδος τοῦ δρόμου, ποῦ δὲ καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγον χωρεῖ, καὶ ὅτι μηδὲ οὗτος παρέρχεται τὸν οἰκεῖον δρόμον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτός, ὡς ἔνεστιν εἰπεῖν. ἐντολήν τινα φυλάττει κρείττονος, καὶ φαίνει μὲν τότε παρʼ ἡμῖν ὅτε ἔξεστιν αὑτῷ, ἀπέρχεται δὲ ὡς καλούμενος.

alla moi kai peri tou hēliou zētein edokei, tis te ho tropos autou tēs en ouranǭ theseōs, tis de kai hē periodos tou dromou, pou de kai metʼ oligon chōrei, kai hoti mēde houtos parerchetai ton oikeion dromon, alla kai autos, hōs enestin eipein. entolēn tina phylattei kreittonos, kai phainei men tote parʼ hēmin hote exestin hautǭ, aperchetai de hōs kaloumenos.

It seemed good to me to inquire about the sun too: what the manner of its position in the heaven is, what the period of its course, and where it goes shortly afterwards; and that it too does not overstep its own course, but itself, one may say, keeps the command of a greater one, and shines among us when it is permitted, and departs as though called away.

Ps 19:4–6 (18:5-7 LXX) (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The sun too keeps its course as if under command.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): μετʼ ἀλίγον → μετʼ ὀλίγον; χρείττονος → κρείττονος.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 2.6 (Bonwetsch, 149; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-2-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-2-6) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

2.7Bonwetsch, 149

καὶ τούτων τοίνυν τὴν ἐξέτασιν ποιούμενος ἑώρων παυόμενον μὲν τὸ τοῦ ἡλίου φέγγος, ἐπιλεῖπον δὲ καὶ τῆς ἡμέρας τὸ φῶς, εὐθέως δὲ γινόμενον σκότος, καὶ σελήνην διαδεχομένην τὸν ἥλιον, καὶ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἀνιοῦσαν μείονα, μετέπειτα δέ, προκόπτουσαν τῷ δρόμῳ, φαντασίαν παρέχουσαν μείζονος. οὐκ ἐπαυόμην δὲ καὶ περὶ ταύτης ζητῶν, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ἀφαιρέσεως καὶ τῆς προσθέσεως ἐνηρεύνων, ὅτι τε καὶ αὐτὴ τηρεῖ τὸν κύκλον τῶν ἡμερῶν.

kai toutōn toinyn tēn exetasin poioumenos heōrōn pauomenon men to tou hēliou phengos, epileipon de kai tēs hēmeras to phōs, eutheōs de ginomenon skotos, kai selēnēn diadechomenēn ton hēlion, kai ta men prōta aniousan meiona, metepeita de, prokoptousan tǭ dromǭ, phantasian parechousan meizonos. ouk epauomēn de kai peri tautēs zētōn, kai tēn aitian tēs aphaireseōs kai tēs prostheseōs enēreunōn, hoti te kai autē tērei ton kyklon tōn hēmerōn.

While I was examining these things, I saw the sun’s light ceasing and the daylight failing, and darkness coming at once, and the moon succeeding the sun, at first rising smaller, but afterwards, as it advanced in its course, presenting the appearance of a larger one. I did not stop inquiring about it too, and searched out the cause of its waning and waxing, and how it too keeps the cycle of days.

Notes and citation

Summary: He watched the moon succeed the sun and wondered at its phases.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 2.7 (Bonwetsch, 149; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-2-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-2-7) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

2.8Bonwetsch, 149

καί μοι ἐδόκει τὸ ἐντεῦθεν ὡς θεία τις ὑπάρχει οἰκονομία καὶ δύναμις κρειττόνων ἡ συνέχουσα τὰ ὅλα, ἥν καὶ θεὸν δικαίως ὄν εἴποιμεν. καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν τὸν δημιουργὸν ἐπαινεῖν ἠρχόμην, τήν τε γῆν πεπηγυῖαν ὁρῶν καὶ ζῴων διαφορὰς καὶ ποικίλα φυτῶν τὰ ἐξανθήματα.

kai moi edokei to enteuthen hōs theia tis hyparchei oikonomia kai dynamis kreittonōn hē synechousa ta hola, hēn kai theon dikaiōs on eipoimen. kai to loipon ton dēmiourgon epainein ērchomēn, tēn te gēn pepēguian horōn kai zǭōn diaphoras kai poikila phytōn ta exanthēmata.

And from this it seemed to me that there is a divine order and a power of greater things that holds all things together, which we might rightly call God. And thereafter I began to praise the Creator, seeing the earth firmly fixed, and the variety of living creatures, and the many-colored blossoms of plants.

Notes and citation

Summary: From the order of nature he concluded that a divine power governs all things, and praised the Creator.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 2.8 (Bonwetsch, 149; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-2-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-2-8) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

2.9Bonwetsch, 149–150

οὐχ ἵστατο δέ μοι ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ μόνοις ὁ νοῦς, ἀλλὰ τὸ λοιπὸν ὅθεν ταῦτα τὴν σύστασιν ἔχει ζητεῖν ἠρχόμην, πότερον ἒκ τινος συνόντος ἀεὶ τῷ θεῷ ἢ ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ μόνου, συνυπάρχοντος αὐτῷ οὐδενός. τὸ γὰρ ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων <τι> γεγονέναι οὐδὲ μοι καλῶς ἐδόκει, μὴ τέλεον ἀπιθάνου τοῖς <τοῖς πολλοῖς> ὑπάρχοντος τοῦ λόγου· τὰ γὰρ γινόμενα ἐξ ὄντων πέφυκε τὴν σύστασιν ἔχειν. καὶ ὁμοίως ἀληθῶς ἐδόκει μηδὲν λέγειν ἀεὶ συνεῖναι τῷ θεῷ ἕτερόν τι παρʼ αὐτόν, ἀλλʼ ἐξ αὐτοῦ <μόνου> τὰ ὄντα γεγονέναι· καὶ πως ἔπειθέ με τὸ εὔτακτον τῶν στοιχείων καὶ ἡ περὶ αὐτὰ τῆς φύσεως εὐκοσμία.

ouch histato de moi epi toutois kai monois ho nous, alla to loipon hothen tauta tēn systasin echei zētein ērchomēn, poteron ek tinos synontos aei tǭ theǭ ē ex autou kai monou, synyparchontos autǭ oudenos. to gar ex ouk ontōn <ti> gegonenai oude moi kalōs edokei, mē teleon apithanou tois <tois pollois> hyparchontos tou logou; ta gar ginomena ex ontōn pephyke tēn systasin echein. kai homoiōs alēthōs edokei mēden legein aei syneinai tǭ theǭ heteron ti parʼ auton, allʼ ex autou <monou> ta onta gegonenai; kai pōs epeithe me to eutakton tōn stoicheiōn kai hē peri auta tēs physeōs eukosmia.

But my mind did not stop at these things alone; I began to inquire from what these things have their constitution: whether from something always existing with God, or from him alone, with nothing coexisting with him. For it did not seem right to me that anything should have come into being from things that are not, since that account is entirely unconvincing to most people; for things that come to be naturally have their constitution from things that are. And yet it seemed to me equally true to say that nothing other than himself always exists with God, but that the things that exist came from him alone; and the good order of the elements and the fair arrangement of nature in them somehow persuaded me of this.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian wavers between creation from nothing and from a pre-existing substance.

The digital text repeats τοῖς (“the many”); the editor’s angle brackets are translated.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): εύκοσμέα → εὐκοσμία.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 2.9 (Bonwetsch, 149–150; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-2-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-2-9) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

Chapter 3

3.1Bonwetsch, 150

Οὑτωσὶ δέ πως εὖ διατεθεῖσθαι νομίζων ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν ἀνεχώρουν τὴν ἐμήν. τῇ δʼ ἐπιούσῃ, τουτέστιν σήμερον, ἐλθὼν ἑώρων δύο τινὰς ὁμογενεῖς (ἀνθρώπους δὲ λέγω) καὶ διαλοιδορουμένους ἀλλήλοις, ἕτερον δʼ αὖ πάλιν ἀφιματῶσαι πειρώμενον τὸν πλησίον. ἤδη δέ τινες καὶ δεινότερα τολμᾶν ἤρχοντο.

Houtōsi de pōs eu diatetheisthai nomizōn epi tēn oikian anechōroun tēn emēn. tę̄ dʼ epiousę̄, toutestin sēmeron, elthōn heōrōn dyo tinas homogeneis (anthrōpous de legō) kai dialoidoroumenous allēlois, heteron dʼ au palin aphimatōsai peirōmenon ton plēsion. ēdē de tines kai deinotera tolman ērchonto.

Thinking that I had come to a good view in this way, I went back to my own house. But on the next day, that is, today, as I came, I saw two of my own kind (I mean men) abusing each other, and another again trying to strip his neighbor of his clothes. And some were already beginning to dare even worse things.

Notes and citation

Summary: The next day the Valentinian saw men quarrelling and robbing one another.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 3.1 (Bonwetsch, 150; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-3-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-3-1) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

3.2Bonwetsch, 150–151

ὅς μὲν γὰρ ἐσκύλευσε νεκρόν, καὶ τὸ κρυφθὲν ἤδη σῶμα τῇ γῇ πάλιν ἐδείκνυεν ἡλίῳ, καὶ τὴν ὁμοίαν αὐτῷ ὕβριζεν εἰκόνα, βορὰν κυσὶ καταλείπων τὸν νεκρόν.

hos men gar eskyleuse nekron, kai to kryphthen ēdē sōma tę̄ gę̄ palin edeiknyen hēliǭ, kai tēn homoian autǭ hybrizen eikona, boran kysi kataleipōn ton nekron.

For one robbed a corpse, exposing again to the sun the body already hidden in the earth, and outraged the image like his own, leaving the corpse as food for dogs.

Notes and citation

Summary: One man dug up and robbed a corpse.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 3.2 (Bonwetsch, 150–151; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-3-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-3-2) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

3.3Bonwetsch, 151

ὁ δὲ ξίφος ἐγύμνου καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ὅμοιον ἄνθρωπον ἐχώρει. καὶ ὁ μὲν φυγῇ τὴν σωτηρίαν πορίζειν ἥθελεν, ὁ δὲ διώκειν οὐκ ἐπαύετο, οὐδὲ τοῦ θυμοῦ κρατεῖν ἤθελε. καὶ τί δεῖ πλείονα λέγειν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι χωρήσας ἐπʼ αὐτὸν εὐθέως ἔπαιεν τῷ ξίφει; ὁ δʼ ἱκέτης τῷ πλησίον ἐγίνετο καὶ χεῖρας ἱκεσίας ὤρεγεν, καὶ τὴν μὲν ἐσθῆτα διδόναι ἤθελεν, μόνον δὲ τὸ ζῆν ἔχειν ἠξίου. ὁ δʼ οὐκ ἔθραυεν τὸν θυμόν, οὐδʼ ἠλέει τὸν ὁμογενῆ, οὐδὲ ἑαυτὸν διὰ τῆς εἰκόνος ἐν ἐκείνῳ βλέπειν ἤθελεν, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἄγριος θὴρ τῷ ξίφει τῆς βορᾶς ἤρχετο, ἤδη δὲ καὶ τὸ στόμα τῷ ὁμοίῳ προσέφερε σώματι· τοσοῦτος γὰρ ἠν τῷ θυμῷ. καὶ ἠν ἰδεῖν τὸν μὲν ἤδη κείμενον, τὸν δὲ λοιπὸν σκυλεύοντα καὶ μηδὲ γῇ σκεπάζοντα τὸ σῶμα, ὅ τῆς ἐσθῆτος ἐγύμνωσεν.

ho de xiphos egymnou kai epi ton homoion anthrōpon echōrei. kai ho men phygę̄ tēn sōtērian porizein hēthelen, ho de diōkein ouk epaueto, oude tou thymou kratein ēthele. kai ti dei pleiona legein, allʼ hoti chōrēsas epʼ auton eutheōs epaien tǭ xiphei? ho dʼ hiketēs tǭ plēsion egineto kai cheiras hikesias ōregen, kai tēn men esthēta didonai ēthelen, monon de to zēn echein ēxiou. ho dʼ ouk ethrauen ton thymon, oudʼ ēleei ton homogenē, oude heauton dia tēs eikonos en ekeinǭ blepein ēthelen, allʼ hōs agrios thēr tǭ xiphei tēs boras ērcheto, ēdē de kai to stoma tǭ homoiǭ prosephere sōmati; tosoutos gar ēn tǭ thymǭ. kai ēn idein ton men ēdē keimenon, ton de loipon skyleuonta kai mēde gę̄ skepazonta to sōma, ho tēs esthētos egymnōsen.

Another drew a sword and went at a man like himself. The one wanted to save himself by flight, but the other did not stop pursuing, nor would he master his anger. Why say more? He went at him and at once struck him with the sword. The other became a suppliant to his neighbor and stretched out his hands in supplication, willing to give up his clothes and asking only to keep his life. But the other did not break off his anger, nor pity his kinsman, nor wish to see himself in him through the image, but like a savage beast began to make his meal with the sword, and was already putting his mouth to the body like his own, so great was his rage. And one could see the one already lying there, and the other stripping him and not even covering with earth the body he had stripped of its clothing.

Notes and citation

Summary: Another man murdered a suppliant and stripped his body.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray marks): ἄνθρωπον.. ἐχώρει → ἄνθρωπον ἐχώρει; τὸ οῶμα → τὸ σῶμα.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 3.3 (Bonwetsch, 151; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-3-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-3-3) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

3.4Bonwetsch, 151–152

πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἕτερος προσῆν, ὅς τοῦ πλησίον γυναῖκα παίζειν ἤθελε, λῃστεύων γάμον ἀλλότριον καὶ ἐπὶ παράνομον κοίτην τραπῆναι παρορμῶν, τὸν γεγαμηκότα γνήσιον πατέρα γίνεσθαι μὴ θέλων.

pros de toutois heteros prosēn, hos tou plēsion gynaika paizein ēthele, lę̄steuōn gamon allotrion kai epi paranomon koitēn trapēnai parormōn, ton gegamēkota gnēsion patera ginesthai mē thelōn.

Besides these there was another who wanted to sport with his neighbor’s wife, plundering another man’s marriage and urging her to turn to an unlawful bed, not wishing the husband to become a true father.

Notes and citation

Summary: Another man tried to seduce his neighbor’s wife.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; split word): παράνο- μον → παράνομον; γίωεσθαι → γίνεσθαι.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 3.4 (Bonwetsch, 151–152; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-3-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-3-4) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

3.5Bonwetsch, 152

ἐντεῦθεν καὶ ταῖς τραγῳδίαις πιστεύειν ἠρχόμην, καὶ τὸ Θυέστειον δεῖπνον ἀληθῶς ἐδόκει μοι γεγονέναι, πιστεύω δὲ καὶ τῇ Οἰδιπόδαο παρανόμῳ ἐπιμιξίᾳ, καὶ τῇ τῶν ἀδελφῶν διὰ ξίφους φιλονεικίᾳ οὐκ ἀπιστῶ.

enteuthen kai tais tragǭdiais pisteuein ērchomēn, kai to Thyesteion deipnon alēthōs edokei moi gegonenai, pisteuō de kai tę̄ Oidipodao paranomǭ epimixią, kai tę̄ tōn adelphōn dia xiphous philoneikią ouk apistō.

From this I began to believe the tragedies too: the supper of Thyestes truly seemed to me to have happened; I believe also in the unlawful union of Oedipus, and I do not disbelieve the brothers’ rivalry by the sword.

Notes and citation

Summary: Such crimes made the Greek tragedies seem believable to him.

Thyestes was served his own children; Oedipus married his mother; his sons Eteocles and Polynices killed each other.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips): πραγῳδίαις → τραγῳδίαις; αληθῶς ἐδόδει μοι γεγωνέναι → ἀληθῶς ἐδόκει μοι γεγονέναι; ἐπιμξέᾳ → ἐπιμιξίᾳ.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 3.5 (Bonwetsch, 152; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-3-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-3-5) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

3.6Bonwetsch, 152

τοσούτων τοίνυν καὶ τοιούτων θεατὴς γενόμενος ἐγώ, πόθεν ταῦτα ἀναζητεῖν ἠρχόμην, τίς δὲ καὶ ἡ τῆς κινήσεως αὐτῶν ἀρχὴ καὶ τίς ὁ τοσαῦτα κακὰ ἀνθρώποις μηχανησάμενος, πόθεν τε ἠ εὕρεσις αὐτῶν καὶ τίς ὁ τούτων διδάσκαλος. καὶ τὸν μὲν θεὸν ποιητὴν τούτων λέγειν τολμᾶν οὐχ οἶός τε ἦν, ἀλλὰ μὴν οὐδὲ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὴν ὑπόστασιν ἔχειν, οὐδὲ τὴν τοῦ εἷναι σύστασιν. πῶς γὰρ οἶόν τε ἠν ταῦτα περὶ θεοῦ ἐννοεῖν;

tosoutōn toinyn kai toioutōn theatēs genomenos egō, pothen tauta anazētein ērchomēn, tis de kai hē tēs kinēseōs autōn archē kai tis ho tosauta kaka anthrōpois mēchanēsamenos, pothen te ē heuresis autōn kai tis ho toutōn didaskalos. kai ton men theon poiētēn toutōn legein tolman ouch oios te ēn, alla mēn oude ex autou tēn hypostasin echein, oude tēn tou heinai systasin. pōs gar oion te ēn tauta peri theou ennoein?

Having been a spectator of so many such things, I began to inquire where they come from, what the origin of their motion is, who devised such great evils for men, where their invention came from, and who teaches them. I could not bring myself to dare to say that God is their maker, nor indeed that they have their subsistence, or the constitution of their being, from him. For how could one think such things of God?

Notes and citation

Summary: He asked where evils come from, unwilling to make God their author.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 3.6 (Bonwetsch, 152; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-3-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-3-6) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

3.7Bonwetsch, 152–153

ὅς μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἀγαθὸς καὶ τῶν κρειττόνων ποιητής, τῶν δὲ φαύλων αὐτῷ πρόσεστιν οὐδέν· ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τοῖς τοιούτοις χαίρειν πἐφυκεν, ἀπαγορεύει δὲ καὶ τὴν γένεσιν αὐτῶν, καὶ τοὺς μὲν χαίροντας τούτοις ἀποβάλλεται, τοὺς δὲ φεύγοντας αὐτὰ προσίεται. καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἄτοπον ἠν τὸν θεὸν τούτων λέγειν εἶναι δημιουργόν, τὸν ταῦτα παραιτούμενον; οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν ἐβούλετο μὴ εἶναι αὐτά, εἰ πρῶτος αὐτῶν ποιητὴς ὑπῆρχεν αὐτός· τοὺς γὰρ προσιόντας αὐτῷ μιμητὰς αὐτοῦ γίνεσθαι θέλει.

hos men gar estin agathos kai tōn kreittonōn poiētēs, tōn de phaulōn autǭ prosestin ouden; allʼ oude tois toioutois chairein pephyken, apagoreuei de kai tēn genesin autōn, kai tous men chairontas toutois apoballetai, tous de pheugontas auta prosietai. kai pōs ouk atopon ēn ton theon toutōn legein einai dēmiourgon, ton tauta paraitoumenon? oude gar an ebouleto mē einai auta, ei prōtos autōn poiētēs hypērchen autos; tous gar prosiontas autǭ mimētas autou ginesthai thelei.

For he is good and the maker of better things, and nothing base belongs to him. Indeed, it is not his nature to rejoice in such things; he forbids them to come into being, rejects those who delight in them, and receives those who flee them. How, then, would it not be absurd to call God the creator of these things, when he refuses them? For he would not wish them not to exist if he himself were their first maker; and he wishes those who approach him to become imitators of him.

Notes and citation

Summary: God, being good and forbidding evil, cannot be its maker.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (split word): ἀποβάλ- λεται → ἀποβάλλεται.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 3.7 (Bonwetsch, 152–153; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-3-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-3-7) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

3.8Bonwetsch, 153

ὅθεν ἄλογον ἔδοξεν εἶναί μοι ταῦτα προσάπτειν αὐτῷ, ἢ ὡς ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγονότα ἤ (εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα συγχωρῆσαι δεῖ ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων δυνατὸν εἶναί τι γίνεσθαι) ὅτι καὶ τὰ κακὰ ἐποίησεν αὐτός. ὁ γὰρ »ἐκ τοῦ« οὐκ εἶναι εἰς τὸ εἶναι« αὐτὰ ποιήσας‘ οὐκ ἄν ἐκ τοῦ εἶναι εἰς τὸ μηκέτι εἶναι αὐτὰ ἀνῄρει πάλιν. ἤ τοῦτο λέγειν ὡς ἦν ποτε καιρός, ὅτε τοῖς κακοῖς ἔχαιρεν ὁ θεός, νῦν δὲ οὐκέτι; ὄπερ ἀδύνατον εἷναί μοι δοκεῖ, λέγειν τοῦτο περὶ θεοῦ· ἀνοίκειον γὰρ τῆς φύσεως αὐτοῦ τοῦτο προσαρμόζειν αὐτῷ.

hothen alogon edoxen einai moi tauta prosaptein autǭ, ē hōs ex autou gegonota ē (ei kai ta malista synchōrēsai dei ex ouk ontōn dynaton einai ti ginesthai) hoti kai ta kaka epoiēsen autos. ho gar »ek tou« ouk einai eis to einai« auta poiēsas‘ ouk an ek tou einai eis to mēketi einai auta anę̄rei palin. ē touto legein hōs ēn pote kairos, hote tois kakois echairen ho theos, nyn de ouketi? oper adynaton heinai moi dokei, legein touto peri theou; anoikeion gar tēs physeōs autou touto prosarmozein autǭ.

Therefore it seemed to me unreasonable to attach these things to him, either as having come from him, or (even if one must grant above all that it is possible for something to come into being from what is not) to say that he himself made evil things. For he who made them “from not being into being” would not destroy them again from being into no longer being. Or is one to say that there was once a time when God rejoiced in evils, but now no longer? That seems to me impossible to say of God; for it is foreign to his nature to attach this to him.

Notes and citation

Summary: God cannot have made evil, nor ever have delighted in it.

“From not being into being” echoes a common formula of creation (compare 2 Macc 7:28).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (repeated word): τοῦτο τοῦτο λέγειν → τοῦτο λέγειν.

Extrabiblical texts: 2 Macc 7:28 (2 Maccabees [in RC, EO canons]; echo)

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 3.8 (Bonwetsch, 153; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-3-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-3-8) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

3.9Bonwetsch, 153–154

διόπερ ἔδοξέν μοι συν- υπάρχειν τι αὐτῷ, ᾧ τοὔνομα ὕλη, ἐξ ἠς τὰ ὅντα ἐδημιούργησεν, τέχνῃ σοφῇ διακρίνας καὶ διακοσμήσας καλῶς· ἐξ ἡς καὶ τὰ κακὰ εἶναι δοκεῖ. ἀποίου τε γὰρ καὶ ἀσχηματίστου οὔσης αὐτῆς, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ ἀτάκτως φερομένης, δεομένης τε τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ τέχνης, οὐκ ἐφθόνησεν οὑτος ὥστε διὰ παντὸς καταλιπεῖν αὐτὴν οὕτως φέρεσθαι, ἀλλὰ δημιουργεῖν ἤρχετο καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν χειρίστων αὐτῆς τὰ κάλλιστα διακρίνειν ἤθελεν, καὶ οὕτως γοῦν ἐδημιούργησεν ὅσα ἐξ αὐτῆς ἥρμοζεν θεῷ δημιουργεῖν. τὰ δʼ ὅσα αὐτῆς ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν τρυγώδη ἐτύγχανεν, ταῦτα ἀνάρμοστα ὄντα πρὸς δημιουργίαν ὡς εἶχεν κατέλιπεν, κατʼ οὐδὲν αὐτῷ προσήκοντα· ἐξ ὧν δοκεῖ μοι νῦν παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ἐπιρρεῖν τὰ κακά. οὕτως ἔδοξέν μοι εὖ ἔχειν φρονεῖν.

dioper edoxen moi syn- yparchein ti autǭ, hǭ tounoma hylē, ex ēs ta honta edēmiourgēsen, technę̄ sophę̄ diakrinas kai diakosmēsas kalōs; ex hēs kai ta kaka einai dokei. apoiou te gar kai aschēmatistou ousēs autēs, pros de toutois kai ataktōs pheromenēs, deomenēs te tēs tou theou technēs, ouk ephthonēsen houtos hōste dia pantos katalipein autēn houtōs pheresthai, alla dēmiourgein ērcheto kai apo tōn cheiristōn autēs ta kallista diakrinein ēthelen, kai houtōs goun edēmiourgēsen hosa ex autēs hērmozen theǭ dēmiourgein. ta dʼ hosa autēs hōs epos eipein trygōdē etynchanen, tauta anarmosta onta pros dēmiourgian hōs eichen katelipen, katʼ ouden autǭ prosēkonta; ex hōn dokei moi nyn para anthrōpois epirrein ta kaka. houtōs edoxen moi eu echein phronein.

Therefore it seemed to me that something coexists with him, whose name is matter, out of which he crafted the things that exist, distinguishing and ordering them well with wise art; and from it evils too seem to come. For since it was without quality and without form, and moreover was borne about in disorder and needed God’s art, he did not begrudge it, so as to leave it always to be borne about in this way, but began to craft it and wished to separate its finest parts from its worst; and so he crafted from it whatever it befitted God to craft. But whatever parts of it were, so to say, dregs, these, being unfit for crafting, he left as they were, since they were in no way fitting for him; and from them, it seems to me, evils now flow among men. This is how I thought it right to think.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian concludes that uncreated matter coexists with God and that evil flows from its unformed dregs.

The view stated here is the Valentinian speaker’s; the Orthodox speaker refutes it in what follows.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): πρυγώδη → τρυγώδη; προσήκονα → προσήκοντα.

Topics: Heresy

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 3.9 (Bonwetsch, 153–154; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-3-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-3-9) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

3.10Bonwetsch, 154–155

σὺ δέ, ὦ φίλε, εἴ τινά σοι δοκεῖ μὴ καλῶς εἰρῆσθαι πρὸς ἐμοῦ, ἀναφέρων λέγε· καὶ γὰρ πάνυ περὶ τοιούτων άκούειν ποθῶ.

sy de, ō phile, ei tina soi dokei mē kalōs eirēsthai pros emou, anapherōn lege; kai gar pany peri toioutōn akouein pothō.

But you, my friend, if anything seems to you not well said by me, bring it up and say so; for I very much long to hear about such things.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian invites correction.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slips): ἀναρέρων λέγε· καὶ yag → ἀναφέρων λέγε· καὶ γὰρ.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 3.10 (Bonwetsch, 154–155; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-3-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-3-10) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

Chapter 4

4.1Bonwetsch, 155

ΟΡΘΟΔ. Τὴν μὲν προθυμίαν ἀποδέχομαι τὴν σήν, ὦ φίλε, καί σου τὴν περὶ τὸν λόγον σπουδὴν ἐπαινῶ· ὄτι δὲ περὶ τῶν ὄντων οὕτως διετέθης, ὡς ἄρα ἐξ ὑποκειμένης τινὸς οὐσίας ταῦτα ἐδημιούργησεν ὁ θεός, οὐ πάνυ τι μέμφομαι. ὡς ἀληθῶς γὰρ ἡ τῶν κακῶν γένεσις οὕτω τοὺς πολλοὺς διατεθῆναι ποιεῖ.

ORThOD. Tēn men prothymian apodechomai tēn sēn, ō phile, kai sou tēn peri ton logon spoudēn epainō; oti de peri tōn ontōn houtōs dietethēs, hōs ara ex hypokeimenēs tinos ousias tauta edēmiourgēsen ho theos, ou pany ti memphomai. hōs alēthōs gar hē tōn kakōn genesis houtō tous pollous diatethēnai poiei.

Orthodox: I welcome your readiness, my friend, and praise your zeal for the discussion. That you have come to think about the things that exist in this way, namely that God crafted them out of some underlying substance, I do not much blame you. For truly the origin of evils makes most people think so.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Orthodox speaker sympathizes with the Valentinian’s reasoning about the origin of evil.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 4.1 (Bonwetsch, 155; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-4-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-4-1) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

4.2Bonwetsch, 155

καὶ γὰρ πρὸ σοῦ τε καὶ ἐμοῦ πολλοί τινες ἄνδρες ἱκανοὶ περὶ τούτου τὴν μεγίστην ζήτησιν ἐποιήσαντο. καὶ οἱ μὲν ὁμοίως διετέθησάν σοι, οἱ δʼ αὖ πάλιν τὸν θεὸν τούτων δημιουργὸν ἀπεφήναντο, σύγχρονον αὐτῷ ὑπόστασιν δοῦναι πεφοβημένοι· κάκεῖνοι ἐκ τοῦ φοβηθῆναι τῶν κακῶν ποιητὴν εἰπεῖν τὸν θεὸν σύγχρονον αὐτῷ δοῦναι τὴν ὕλην ἔδοξαν. καὶ συνέβη ἑκατέροις ἐκ τοῦ μὴ κατʼ ἐπιστήμην τοῦ ἀληθοῦς φοβηθῆναι τὸν θεὸν τὸ μὴ καλῶς εἰπεῖν.

kai gar pro sou te kai emou polloi tines andres hikanoi peri toutou tēn megistēn zētēsin epoiēsanto. kai hoi men homoiōs dietethēsan soi, hoi dʼ au palin ton theon toutōn dēmiourgon apephēnanto, synchronon autǭ hypostasin dounai pephobēmenoi; kakeinoi ek tou phobēthēnai tōn kakōn poiētēn eipein ton theon synchronon autǭ dounai tēn hylēn edoxan. kai synebē hekaterois ek tou mē katʼ epistēmēn tou alēthous phobēthēnai ton theon to mē kalōs eipein.

Indeed, before you and me many able men made the greatest inquiry about this. Some thought as you do; others again declared God the creator of these things, fearing to grant a substance coeval with him; and the former, from fear of calling God the maker of evils, thought fit to grant matter coeval with him. And it happened to both, through fearing God not according to knowledge of the truth, that they did not speak rightly.

Rom 10:2 (echo, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Some have made matter eternal to avoid making God the author of evil; others made God its author; both erred.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): δημιοργὸν → δημιουργὸν; σὐγχρονον → σύγχρονον.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 4.2 (Bonwetsch, 155; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-4-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-4-2) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

4.3Bonwetsch, 155–156

ἔτεροι δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ] περὶ τοῦ τοιούτου ζητεῖν παρῃτήσαντο, ὡς οὐκ ἔχοντος τέλος τοῦ τοιούτου ζητήματος. ἐμὲ δὲ τὰ κοινὰ τῆς πρὸς σὲ φιλίας παραιτεῖσθαι τὸ ζητούμενον οὐκ ἐᾷ· καὶ μάλιστα ὅτε τὴν προαίρεσιν ἀπαγγέλλεις τὴν σὴν, ὡς οὐ προλήψει κρατούμενος εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα οὕτω πως ἐξ ὡν ὑπενόησας ἔδοξας ἔχειν τὰ πράγματα), ἀλλʼ ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῆς τοῦ ἀληθοῦς γνώσεως καθεστάναι λέγεις. ὅθεν προθύμως κἀγὼ ἐπὶ τὸν τῆς ζητήσεως τραπήσομαι λόγον.

eteroi de tēn archēn kai] peri tou toioutou zētein parę̄tēsanto, hōs ouk echontos telos tou toioutou zētēmatos. eme de ta koina tēs pros se philias paraiteisthai to zētoumenon ouk eą; kai malista hote tēn proairesin apangelleis tēn sēn, hōs ou prolēpsei kratoumenos ei kai ta malista houtō pōs ex hōn hypenoēsas edoxas echein ta pragmata), allʼ en epithymią tēs tou alēthous gnōseōs kathestanai legeis. hothen prothymōs kagō epi ton tēs zētēseōs trapēsomai logon.

Others refused from the outset even to inquire about such a matter, as a question that has no end. But the bond of our common friendship does not allow me to refuse the inquiry, especially when you declare your intention, saying that you are not held by a prejudice (even though you thought, from what you supposed, that things were somewhat like this) but stand in desire of knowledge of the truth. So I too will gladly turn to the discussion of the inquiry.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Orthodox speaker agrees to take up the inquiry with his friend.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (repeated word): λέγεις. λέγεις. → λέγεις..

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 4.3 (Bonwetsch, 155–156; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-4-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-4-3) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

4.4Bonwetsch, 156

βούλομαι δὲ καὶ τουτονὶ τὸν ἑταῖρον ἀκροατὴν γενέσθαι τῶν ἡμετέρων λόγων· καὶ γὰρ δοκεῖ πως κατά τι περὶ τούτων ὁμοίως σοὶ δοξάζειν καὶ αὐτός. διὸ κοινὸν πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους τὸν λόγον ποιεῖσθαι βούλομαι· ἅ γὰρ ἂν εἴποιμι πρὸς σὲ οὕτως ἔχοντα, ταῦτα καὶ πρὸς τοῦτον ὁμοίως λέξω. εἴ σοι τοίνυν ἀληθῶς περὶ τοῦ κρείττονος λέγειν εὐγνωμόνως δοκεῖ, πρὸς ἔκαστον ἀπόκριναι ὡν ἐρωτῶ· ἐκ γὰρ τούτων γενήσεται καὶ σὲ μὲν τὸ ἀληθὲς μανθάνειν, κἀμὲ δὲ μὴ μάτην τοὺς λόγους ποιεῖσθαι πρὸς σέ.

boulomai de kai toutoni ton hetairon akroatēn genesthai tōn hēmeterōn logōn; kai gar dokei pōs kata ti peri toutōn homoiōs soi doxazein kai autos. dio koinon pros amphoterous ton logon poieisthai boulomai; ha gar an eipoimi pros se houtōs echonta, tauta kai pros touton homoiōs lexō. ei soi toinyn alēthōs peri tou kreittonos legein eugnōmonōs dokei, pros ekaston apokrinai hōn erōtō; ek gar toutōn genēsetai kai se men to alēthes manthanein, kame de mē matēn tous logous poieisthai pros se.

I want this companion here also to be a hearer of our discussion, for he seems in some respect to hold opinions about these things like yours. That is why I want to address the discussion to you both in common; what I say to you, holding this view, I will say likewise to him. If, then, you truly wish to speak about the better course with good feeling, answer each of my questions; for from this it will come about that you learn the truth and that I do not address my words to you in vain.

Notes and citation

Summary: A second companion is invited to hear, and the Valentinian is asked to answer each question.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (repeated word; split word): κοινὸν κοινὸν → κοινὸν; ἀπό- κριναι → ἀπόκριναι.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 4.4 (Bonwetsch, 156; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-4-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-4-4) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

4.5Bonwetsch, 156–157

ΟΥΑΔ. ταῦθʼ ἅπερ εἶπας πράττειν ἑτοίμως ἔχω, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μετὰ πάσης προθυμίας ἐκεῖνα πυνθάνου, ἐξ ωνπερ νομίξεις δύνασθαί με τὴν ἐπιστήμην τοῦ κρείττονος μαθεῖν. οὐ γάρ μοι τὸ νικῆσαι πρόκειται κακῶς ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀληθὲς ἐκμαθεῖν καλῶς· οὕθεν ἔχου τὸ λοιπὸν τοῦ λογου.

OUAD. tauthʼ haper eipas prattein hetoimōs echō, kai dia touto meta pasēs prothymias ekeina pynthanou, ex ōnper nomixeis dynasthai me tēn epistēmēn tou kreittonos mathein. ou gar moi to nikēsai prokeitai kakōs alla to alēthes ekmathein kalōs; houthen echou to loipon tou logou.

Valentinian: I am ready to do what you said, and so ask with all readiness the questions from which you think I can learn knowledge of the better. For my aim is not to win wrongly but to learn the truth rightly; so take up the rest of the discussion.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian agrees to answer, seeking truth rather than victory.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἑτοίμοως → ἑτοίμως.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 4.5 (Bonwetsch, 156–157; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-4-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-4-5) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

Chapter 5

5.1Bonwetsch, 157

ΟΡΘΟΔ. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἀδύνατον ὑπάρχειν ἀγένητα δύο ἄμα, οὐδὲ σὲ ἀγνοεῖν νομίζω, εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα δοκεῖς προλαβὼν τοῦτο προστεθεικέναι τῷ λόγῳ, τὸ πάντως ἐξ ἀνάγκης τὸ ἕτερον δεῖν λέγειν, ἢ ὅτι κεχώρισται τῆς ὕλης ὁ θεός, ἢ οὖ πάλιν ὅτι ἀμέριστος αὐτῆς τυγχάνει.

ORThOD. Hoti men oun adynaton hyparchein agenēta dyo ama, oude se agnoein nomizō, ei kai ta malista dokeis prolabōn touto prostetheikenai tǭ logǭ, to pantōs ex anankēs to heteron dein legein, ē hoti kechōristai tēs hylēs ho theos, ē ou palin hoti ameristos autēs tynchanei.

Orthodox: That two unbegotten things cannot exist together, I think you yourself are not unaware, even though you seem to have anticipated this and added to your account that one of two things must necessarily be said: either that God is separate from matter, or again that he is indivisible from it.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Orthodox speaker argues that two unbegotten beings cannot coexist: God must be either separate from matter or united with it.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 5.1 (Bonwetsch, 157; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-5-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-5-1) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

5.2Bonwetsch, 157–158

εἰ μὲν οὖν ἡνῶσθαι τις αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν θέλοι, ἓν τὸ ἀγένητον λέξει. ἔκαστον γὰρ τούτων μέρος ἔσται τοῦ πλησίον· ἀλλήλων δὲ μέρη τυγχάνοντα οὐκ ἔσται ἀγένητα δύο, ἀλλʼ ἕν ἐκ διαφόρων συνεστός. οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἔχοντα διάφορα μέλη κατακερματίζομεν εἰς πολλὰ γενητά. ἀλλʼ εἰ, ὡς ὁ λόγος ἀπαιτεῖ, ἕν τι γενητὸν τὸν ἄνθρωπον πολυμερὲς πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ γεγονέναι φαμέν, οὕτως ἀνάγκη, εἰ [μὲν] μὴ κεχώρισται τῆς ὕλης ὁ θεός, ἐν τὸ εἶναι λέγειν.

ei men oun hēnōsthai tis auton eipein theloi, hen to agenēton lexei. ekaston gar toutōn meros estai tou plēsion; allēlōn de merē tynchanonta ouk estai agenēta dyo, allʼ hen ek diaphorōn synestos. oude gar ton anthrōpon echonta diaphora melē katakermatizomen eis polla genēta. allʼ ei, hōs ho logos apaitei, hen ti genēton ton anthrōpon polymeres pros tou theou gegonenai phamen, houtōs anankē, ei [men] mē kechōristai tēs hylēs ho theos, en to einai legein.

If, then, someone wishes to say that he is united with it, he will be saying that the unbegotten is one. For each of these will be part of the other; and being parts of each other, they will not be two unbegottens, but one thing composed of different parts. For neither do we cut a man, who has different limbs, up into many begotten things. But if, as reason requires, we say that man has been made by God as one begotten thing with many parts, so it is necessary, if God is not separate from matter, to say that what exists is one.

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Notes and citation

Summary: If God and matter are united, they form one unbegotten being, not two.

The editor deletes μέν in the last sentence; it makes no difference to the translation.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slips): Μέλοι, ὲν → θέλοι, ἓν.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 5.2 (Bonwetsch, 157–158; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-5-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-5-2) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

5.3Bonwetsch, 158

εἰ δὲ κεχωρίσθαι φήσει τις, ἀνάγκη εἶναί τι τὸ ἀνὰ μέσον άμφοτέρων, ὅπερ καὶ τὸν χωρισμὸν αὐτῶν δείκνυσιν. ἀδύνατον γὰρ ἐν διαστάσει ἐξετάζεσθαί τι ἀπό τινος, οὐκ ὄντος ἑτέρου καθʼ ὃ ἡ διάστασις ἑκατέρου γίνεται.

ei de kechōristhai phēsei tis, anankē einai ti to ana meson amphoterōn, hoper kai ton chōrismon autōn deiknysin. adynaton gar en diastasei exetazesthai ti apo tinos, ouk ontos heterou kathʼ ho hē diastasis hekaterou ginetai.

But if someone says that they are separated, there must be something between the two, which also shows their separation. For it is impossible for one thing to be examined as standing apart from another unless there is something else in respect of which the separation of each comes about.

Notes and citation

Summary: If they are separate, something must lie between them.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray mark and OCR slip): χ· ωρισμὸν αὐτῶν δείκνθσιν → χωρισμὸν αὐτῶν δείκνυσιν.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 5.3 (Bonwetsch, 158; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-5-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-5-3) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

5.4Bonwetsch, 158–159

ὅπερ οὐ μέχρι τούτου ἵσταται καὶ μόνου, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλείστων ὅσων. ὃν γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν δύο ἀγενήτων εἴπαμεν λόγον, τοῦτον ἐξ ἀνάγκης ὁμοίως προχωρεῖν, εἰ τὰ ἀγένητα δοθείη τρία. καὶ γὰρ περὶ τούτων ἐροίμην ἄν, εἰ κεχώρισται ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων ἢ αὖ πάλιν ἕκαστον ἥνωται τῷ πλησίον.

hoper ou mechri toutou histatai kai monou, alla kai pleistōn hosōn. hon gar epi tōn dyo agenētōn eipamen logon, touton ex anankēs homoiōs prochōrein, ei ta agenēta dotheiē tria. kai gar peri toutōn eroimēn an, ei kechōristai apʼ allēlōn ē au palin hekaston hēnōtai tǭ plēsion.

And this does not stop at this point alone, but goes on to ever so many. For the argument we stated about two unbegottens must necessarily proceed likewise if three unbegottens are granted. For about these too I would ask whether they are separated from one another, or again each is united with its neighbor.

Notes and citation

Summary: The same reasoning applies to any number of unbegotten beings.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (split word): ἀλλή- λων → ἀλλήλων.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 5.4 (Bonwetsch, 158–159; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-5-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-5-4) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

5.5Bonwetsch, 159

εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἡνῶσθαί τις εἰπεῖν ἐθέλοι, τὸν αὐτὸν ἀκούσει τῷ πρώτῳ λογον. εἰ δʼ αὖ πάλιν κεχωρίσθαι, οὐ φεύξεται τὴν ἐξ ἀνάγκης τοῦ χωρίξοντος ὑπόστασιν.

ei men gar hēnōsthai tis eipein etheloi, ton auton akousei tǭ prōtǭ logon. ei dʼ au palin kechōristhai, ou pheuxetai tēn ex anankēs tou chōrixontos hypostasin.

If someone wishes to say that they are united, he will hear the same argument as the first; if again that they are separated, he will not escape the necessary existence of what separates them.

Notes and citation

Summary: Either way the argument holds.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slips): δʼ αὐ πόλιν → δʼ αὖ πάλιν.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 5.5 (Bonwetsch, 159; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-5-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-5-5) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

Chapter 6

6.1Bonwetsch, 159

Ἂν δʼ ἄρα τις καὶ τρίτον εἶναι λέξῃ λόγον ὡς ἁρμόζοντα περὶ τῶν ἀγενήτων λέγεσθαι, τουτέστιν τὸ μήτε κεχωρίσθαι τὸν θεὸν τῆς ὕλης μήτʼ αὖ πόλιν ὡς μέρη ἡνῶσθαι, εἶναι δὲ καθάπερ ἐν τόπῳ <ἐν> τῇ ὕλῃ τὸν θεὸν ἢ καὶ τὴν ὕλην ἐν τῷ θεῷ, τὸ ἀκουέτω, ὅτι ἐὰν τόπον τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ὕλην εἴπωμεν, ἐξ ἀνάγκης αὐτὸν καὶ χωρητὸν λέγειν δεῖ καὶ πρὸς τῆς ὕλης περιγραφόμενον.

An dʼ ara tis kai triton einai lexę̄ logon hōs harmozonta peri tōn agenētōn legesthai, toutestin to mēte kechōristhai ton theon tēs hylēs mētʼ au polin hōs merē hēnōsthai, einai de kathaper en topǭ <en> tę̄ hylę̄ ton theon ē kai tēn hylēn en tǭ theǭ, to akouetō, hoti ean topon tou theou tēn hylēn eipōmen, ex anankēs auton kai chōrēton legein dei kai pros tēs hylēs perigraphomenon.

And if someone says that there is a third account fitting to be given about the unbegottens, namely that God is neither separated from matter nor again united to it as parts, but that God is in matter as in a place, or matter in God, let him hear that if we call matter God’s place, we must necessarily say that he is contained and circumscribed by matter.

Notes and citation

Summary: If God is in matter as in a place, he is contained and bounded by it.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): κωρητὸν → χωρητὸν.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 6.1 (Bonwetsch, 159; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-6-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-6-1) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

6.2Bonwetsch, 159–160

ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ ὁμοίως αὐτὸν τῇ ὕλῃ ἀτάκτως φέρεσθαι δεῖ, μὴ ἵστασθαι δέ, μηδὲ μένειν αὐτὸν ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῦ ἀνάγκη, τοῦ ἐν ᾦ ἐστιν ἄλλοτε ἄλλως φερομένου. πρὸς δὲ τούτοις καὶ ἐν χείροσι γεγονέναι τὸν θεὸν εἰπεῖν ἀναγκη. εἰ γάρ ποτε ἄκοσμος ἦν ἡ ὕλη, ἐκόσμησεν δὲ αὐτήν, εἰς τὸ κρεῖττον τρέψαι προαιρούμενος, ἧν ποτε ὄτʼ ἐν ἀκοσμήτοις ἡν ὁ θεός.

alla mēn kai homoiōs auton tę̄ hylę̄ ataktōs pheresthai dei, mē histasthai de, mēde menein auton ephʼ heautou anankē, tou en ǭ estin allote allōs pheromenou. pros de toutois kai en cheirosi gegonenai ton theon eipein anankē. ei gar pote akosmos ēn hē hylē, ekosmēsen de autēn, eis to kreitton trepsai proairoumenos, hēn pote otʼ en akosmētois hēn ho theos.

Moreover, he must likewise be borne about in disorder together with matter, and necessarily neither stand still nor remain by himself, since that in which he is is borne about now one way and now another. Besides this, one must say that God was once among worse things. For if matter was once unordered, and he ordered it, choosing to turn it to the better, there was a time when God was among unordered things.

Notes and citation

Summary: God would then share matter’s disorder and once have been among unordered things.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (split word): ἀκοσμή- τοις → ἀκοσμήτοις.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 6.2 (Bonwetsch, 159–160; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-6-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-6-2) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

6.3Bonwetsch, 160

δικαίως δʼ ἂν καὶ τοῦτο ἐροίμην, πότερον ἐπλήρου τὴν ὕλην ὁ θεὸς ἢ ἐν μέρει τινὶ ὑπῆρχεν αὐτῆς. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐν μέρει τινὶ τῆς ὕλης εἰπεῖν τις ἐθέλοι τὸν θεόν, πλεῖστον ὅσον μικρότερον αὐτὸν τῆς ὕλης λέγει, εἴ γε δὴ μέρος αὐτῆς ὅλον ἐχώρησεν τὸν θεόν. εἰ δὲ ἐν πάσῃ εἶναι λέγοι καὶ διʼ ὅλης κεχωρηκέναι τῆς ὕλης, πῶς ταύτην ἐδημιούργησεν φρασάτω. ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἢ συστολήν τινα τοῦ θεοῦ λέγειν, ἧς γενομένης ἐδημιούργει ἐκεῖνο ἀφʼ οὗ ὑπεχώρησεν, ἢ καὶ ἑαυτὸν τῇ συνδημιουργεῖν, οὑκ ἔχοντα ὑποχωρήσεως τόπον.

dikaiōs dʼ an kai touto eroimēn, poteron eplērou tēn hylēn ho theos ē en merei tini hypērchen autēs. ei men gar en merei tini tēs hylēs eipein tis etheloi ton theon, pleiston hoson mikroteron auton tēs hylēs legei, ei ge dē meros autēs holon echōrēsen ton theon. ei de en pasę̄ einai legoi kai diʼ holēs kechōrēkenai tēs hylēs, pōs tautēn edēmiourgēsen phrasatō. anankē gar ē systolēn tina tou theou legein, hēs genomenēs edēmiourgei ekeino aphʼ hou hypechōrēsen, ē kai heauton tę̄ syndēmiourgein, houk echonta hypochōrēseōs topon.

I might rightly ask this too: whether God filled matter or was in some part of it. If someone wishes to say that God was in some part of matter, he makes him far smaller than matter, if indeed a part of it contained the whole of God. If he says that he was in all of it and pervaded the whole of matter, let him explain how he crafted it. For one must say either that there was some contraction of God, after which he crafted that from which he had withdrawn, or that he crafted himself together with matter, having no place to withdraw to.

Notes and citation

Summary: If God filled matter, he could only shape it by withdrawing or by shaping himself along with it.

The word for “matter” is missing in the digital text after τῇ; supplied by sense.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 6.3 (Bonwetsch, 160; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-6-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-6-3) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

6.4Bonwetsch, 160–161

εἰ δὲ τὴν ὕλην ἐν τῷ θεῷ εἶναί τις λέξει, ὁμοίως ἐξετάζειν δεῖ, πότερον ὡς διισταμένου αὐτοῦ ἀφʼ ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ὤσπερ ἐν ἀέρι ζῴων ὑπάρχει γένη, διαιρουμένου καὶ μεριζομένου αὐτοῦ εἰς ὑποδοχὴν τῶν γινομένων ἐν αὐτῷ, ἢ ὡς ἐν τόπῳ, τουτέστιν ὥσπερ ἐν γῇ ὕδωρ.

ei de tēn hylēn en tǭ theǭ einai tis lexei, homoiōs exetazein dei, poteron hōs diistamenou autou aphʼ heautou, kai ōsper en aeri zǭōn hyparchei genē, diairoumenou kai merizomenou autou eis hypodochēn tōn ginomenōn en autǭ, ē hōs en topǭ, toutestin hōsper en gę̄ hydōr.

If someone says that matter is in God, we must likewise examine whether it is as though he were separated from himself and divided and parted to receive the things that come to be in him, as kinds of living creatures exist in the air, or as in a place, that is, as water in earth.

Notes and citation

Summary: If matter is in God, either God is divided to receive it or it is in him as in a place.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): μεριξομένου → μεριζομένου.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 6.4 (Bonwetsch, 160–161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-6-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-6-4) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

6.5Bonwetsch, 161

εἰ μὲν γὰρ εἴποιμεν ὡς ἐν ἀέρι, μεριστὸν ἀνάγκη τὸν θεὸν εἰπεῖν· εἰ δʼ ὥσπερ έν γῇ ὕδωρ, ἦν δὲ ἄτακτος ἡ ὕλη καὶ ἀκόσμητος, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἔχουσα καὶ κακά, τὸν θεὸν λέγειν ἀνάγκη τόπον εἶναι τῶν ἀκοσμήτων καὶ τῶν κακῶν. ὅπερ οὐκ εὔφημον εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ, ἐπισφαλὲς δὲ μᾶλλον. ὕλην γὰρ εἶναι θέλεις, ἵνα μὴ τῶν κακῶν ποιητὴν εἴπῃς τὸν θεόν, καὶ τοῦτο φεύγειν προαιρούμενος δοχεῖον αὐτὸν τῶν κακῶν εἶναι λέγεις.

ei men gar eipoimen hōs en aeri, meriston anankē ton theon eipein; ei dʼ hōsper en gę̄ hydōr, ēn de ataktos hē hylē kai akosmētos, pros de toutois echousa kai kaka, ton theon legein anankē topon einai tōn akosmētōn kai tōn kakōn. hoper ouk euphēmon einai moi dokei, episphales de mallon. hylēn gar einai theleis, hina mē tōn kakōn poiētēn eipę̄s ton theon, kai touto pheugein proairoumenos docheion auton tōn kakōn einai legeis.

For if we said “as in the air,” we must say that God is divisible; but if “as water in earth,” then, since matter was disordered and unarranged and moreover contained evils, we must say that God is the place of unordered things and of evils. That seems to me not reverent, but rather dangerous. For you want matter to exist so that you may not call God the maker of evils; and choosing to avoid this, you say that he is the receptacle of evils.

Notes and citation

Summary: If matter is in God, God becomes divisible or the receptacle of evil.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slips): ὡς ὲν ἀέρι. → ὡς ἐν ἀέρι,.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 6.5 (Bonwetsch, 161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-6-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-6-5) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

6.6Bonwetsch, 161–162

Εἰ μὲν οὖν τὴν ὕλην ἐκ τῶν ὑποστάντων γενητῶν ὑπονοεῖν ἀγένητον ὑπάρχειν ἔλεγες, πολὺν ἂν περὶ αὐτῆς ἐποιησάμην λόγον εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ ὅτι ἀδύνατον ὑπάρχειν αὐτὴν ἀγένητον. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὴν τῶν κακῶν γένεσιν αἰτίαν φᾐς εἶναι τῆς τοιαύτης ὑπονοίας, διὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τὴν ἐξέτασιν τούτων ἔρχεσθαί μοι δοκῶ. φανεροῦ γὰρ γινομένου τῷ λόγῳ καθʼ ὃν τρόπον ἐστὶ τὰ κακά, καὶ ὅτι οὐχ οἷόν τέ ἐστιν ἀναίτιον τῶν κακῶν εἰπεῖν τὸν θεὸν ἐκ τοῦ ὕλην αὐτῷ ὑποτιθέναι, τὴν τοιαύτην ὑπόνοιαν ἀναιρεῖσθαί μοι δοκεῖ.

Ei men oun tēn hylēn ek tōn hypostantōn genētōn hyponoein agenēton hyparchein eleges, polyn an peri autēs epoiēsamēn logon eis apodeixin tou hoti adynaton hyparchein autēn agenēton. epei de tēn tōn kakōn genesin aitian phę̄s einai tēs toiautēs hyponoias, dia touto epi tēn exetasin toutōn erchesthai moi dokō. phanerou gar ginomenou tǭ logǭ kathʼ hon tropon esti ta kaka, kai hoti ouch hoion te estin anaition tōn kakōn eipein ton theon ek tou hylēn autǭ hypotithenai, tēn toiautēn hyponoian anaireisthai moi dokei.

If, then, you had said that you suppose matter to be unbegotten on the basis of the begotten things that have come into existence, I would have spoken at length about it to prove that it cannot be unbegotten. But since you say that the origin of evils is the reason for such a supposition, I think I should come to the examination of these. For when the argument makes clear in what way evils exist, and that it is not possible to call God guiltless of evils by supposing matter alongside him, such a supposition seems to me to be done away with.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Orthodox speaker turns to the origin of evil, which is the real reason for positing eternal matter.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR omission): οὐχ τέ ἐστιν → οὐχ οἷόν τέ ἐστιν.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 6.6 (Bonwetsch, 161–162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-6-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-6-6) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

Chapter 7

7.1Bonwetsch, 162

Φῂς τοίνυν ἄποιον ὕλην συνυπάρχειν τῷ θεῷ, ἐξ ἡς τὴν τοῦ κόσμου γένεσιν ἐδημιούργησεν; ΟΥΑΔ. οὕτω μοι δοκεῖ.

Phę̄s toinyn apoion hylēn synyparchein tǭ theǭ, ex hēs tēn tou kosmou genesin edēmiourgēsen? OUAD. houtō moi dokei.

Do you say, then, that matter without qualities coexists with God, out of which he crafted the coming into being of the world? Valentinian: So I think.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian affirms that qualityless matter coexists with God.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 7.1 (Bonwetsch, 162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-7-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-7-1) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

7.2Bonwetsch, 162

ΟΡΘΟΔ. Οὐκοῦν εἰ ἄποιος ἐτύγχανεν ἡ ὕλη, γέγονεν δὲ ὁ κόσμος πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ἐν δὲ τῷ κόσμῳ αἱ ποιότητες, τῶν ποιοτήτων γέγονεν ποιητὴς ὁ θεος; ΟΥΑΔ. Οὕτως ἔχει.

ORThOD. Oukoun ei apoios etynchanen hē hylē, gegonen de ho kosmos pros tou theou, en de tǭ kosmǭ hai poiotētes, tōn poiotētōn gegonen poiētēs ho theos? OUAD. Houtōs echei.

Orthodox: Then if matter was without qualities, and the world came into being from God, and the qualities are in the world, God has become the maker of the qualities? Valentinian: That is so.

Notes and citation

Summary: God, then, is the maker of qualities.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips): γἐγονεν Τε κόσμος → γέγονεν δὲ ὁ κόσμος; γἐγπμεμ → γέγονεν.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 7.2 (Bonwetsch, 162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-7-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-7-2) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

7.3Bonwetsch, 162–163

ΟΡΘΟΔ. Ἐπεὶ δέ σου καὶ λέγοντος πρόσθεν ἤκουον ὡς ἀδύνατον ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων γίνεσθαί τι, πρὸς τὴν ἐρώτησιν ἀπόκριναι τὴν ἐμήν· δοκεῖ σοι τὰς τοῦ κόσμου ποιότητας μὴ ἐξ ὑποκειμένων Ποιοτήτων γεγονεναι; ΟΓΑΛ. Δοκεῖ. ΟΡΘΟΔ. Ἕτερον δέ τι παρὰ τὰς οὐσίας ὑπάρχειν αὐτάς; ΟΓΑΛ. Οὕτως ἔχει.

ORThOD. Epei de sou kai legontos prosthen ēkouon hōs adynaton ex ouk ontōn ginesthai ti, pros tēn erōtēsin apokrinai tēn emēn; dokei soi tas tou kosmou poiotētas mē ex hypokeimenōn Poiotētōn gegonenai? OGAL. Dokei. ORThOD. Heteron de ti para tas ousias hyparchein autas? OGAL. Houtōs echei.

Orthodox: Since I heard you say earlier that it is impossible for anything to come into being from things that are not, answer my question. Do you think that the qualities of the world did not come from underlying qualities? Valentinian: I do. Orthodox: And that they are something other than substances? Valentinian: That is so.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian grants that qualities did not come from pre-existing qualities and are not substances.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 7.3 (Bonwetsch, 162–163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-7-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-7-3) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

7.4Bonwetsch, 163

ΟΡΘΟΔ. οὐκοῦν εἰ μήτε ἐξ ὑποκειμένων ποιοτήτων τὰς ποιότητας ἐδημιούργησεν ὁ θεὸς, μήτε ἐκ τῶν οὐσιῶν ὑπάρχουσιν, τῷ μηδὲ οὐσίας αὐτὰς εἶναι, ἐκ μὴ ὄντων αὐτὰς ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγονέναι ἀνάγκη εἰπεῖν. ὅθεν περιττῶς ἐδόκεις μοι λέγειν ἀδύνατον εἶναι δοξάζειν ἐξ οὐκ ὅντων γεγονέναι τι πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ.

ORThOD. oukoun ei mēte ex hypokeimenōn poiotētōn tas poiotētas edēmiourgēsen ho theos, mēte ek tōn ousiōn hyparchousin, tǭ mēde ousias autas einai, ek mē ontōn autas hypo tou theou gegonenai anankē eipein. hothen perittōs edokeis moi legein adynaton einai doxazein ex ouk hontōn gegonenai ti pros tou theou.

Orthodox: Then if God neither crafted the qualities from underlying qualities, nor do they exist from the substances, since they are not substances, we must say that they came into being from God out of things that are not. So it seemed to me that you spoke needlessly in saying that it is impossible to hold that anything came into being from God out of things that are not.

Notes and citation

Summary: Qualities must therefore have come from nothing, so creation from nothing is not impossible.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): υὐκοῦν → οὐκοῦν; ἐδημιοόργησεν → ἐδημιούργησεν.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 7.4 (Bonwetsch, 163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-7-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-7-4) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

7.5Bonwetsch, 163

ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν περὶ τούτου λόγος ὧδε ἐχέτω. καὶ γὰρ παρʼ ἡμῖν ὁρῶμεν ἀνθρώπους ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων ποιοῦντάς τινα, εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα δοκοῦσιν οὑτοι ποιεῖν ἴν τινι. οἶον ἐπὶ τῶν ἀρχιτεκτόνων τὸ παράδειγμα λάβωμεν· καὶ γὰρ καὶ] οὗτοι ποιοῦσιν πόλεις οὐκ ἐκ πόλεων καὶ ναοὺς ὁμοίως οὐκ ἐκ ναῶν.

allʼ ho men peri toutou logos hōde echetō. kai gar parʼ hēmin horōmen anthrōpous ex ouk ontōn poiountas tina, ei kai ta malista dokousin houtoi poiein in tini. oion epi tōn architektonōn to paradeigma labōmen; kai gar kai] houtoi poiousin poleis ouk ek poleōn kai naous homoiōs ouk ek naōn.

But let the argument on this point stand thus. For among ourselves too we see men making some things out of things that are not, even though they seem above all to be making them in something. Let us take the example of builders: they make cities not out of cities, and likewise temples not out of temples.

Notes and citation

Summary: Even human builders make cities and temples not out of cities and temples.

The bracket after καί marks the editor’s deletion of a repeated καί; it does not affect the translation.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 7.5 (Bonwetsch, 163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-7-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-7-5) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

7.6Bonwetsch, 163–164

εἰ δʼ, ὅτι τούτοις οὐσίαι ὑπόκεινται, οἴει ἐξ ὄντων αὐτοὺς ταῦτα ποιεῖν, σφάλλῃ τῷ λόγῳ. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ οὐσία ἐστὶν ἡ ποιοῦσα τὴν πόλιν ἢ αὖ πάλιν τοὺς ναούς, ἀλλʼ ἡ περὶ τὴν οὐσίαν τέχνη· ἡ δὲ τέχνη οὐκ ἐξ ὑποκειμένης τινὸς ἐν ταῖς οὐσίαις τέχνης γίνεται, ἀλλʼ ἐξ οὐκ οὔσης ἐν αὐταῖς γίνεται.

ei dʼ, hoti toutois ousiai hypokeintai, oiei ex ontōn autous tauta poiein, sphallę̄ tǭ logǭ. oude gar hē ousia estin hē poiousa tēn polin ē au palin tous naous, allʼ hē peri tēn ousian technē; hē de technē ouk ex hypokeimenēs tinos en tais ousiais technēs ginetai, allʼ ex ouk ousēs en autais ginetai.

But if you think that because substances underlie these things they make them out of things that are, you are mistaken in your reasoning. For it is not the substance that makes the city, or again the temples, but the art applied to the substance; and the art does not come from some art underlying in the substances, but comes from what is not in them.

Notes and citation

Summary: What makes a building is art, which does not pre-exist in the materials.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): οὐσάις → οὐσίαις; οὐκ οῦσης → οὐκ οὔσης.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 7.6 (Bonwetsch, 163–164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-7-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-7-6) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

7.7Bonwetsch, 164

ἀπαντήσειν δέ μοι δοκεῖς οὕτω τῷ λόγῳ, ὅτι ὁ τεχνίτης ἐξ ἡς ἔχει τέχνης τὴν ἐν τῇ οὐσίᾳ τέχνην ποιεῖ. πρὸς δὲ τοῦτο λέγεσθαι τοῦτʼ εὐ ἔχειν μοι δοκεῖ, ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἕκ τινος ὑποκειμένης τέχνης προσγίνεται. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔνεστιν αὐτὴν ἐφʼ ἐαυτῆς οὖσαν δοῦναι τὴν τὴν τῶν γὰρ συμβεβηκότων ἐστὶ καὶ τῶν τότε τὸ εῖναι λαγχανόντων, ὁπόταν ἐν ούσίᾳ τινὶ γένηται.

apantēsein de moi dokeis houtō tǭ logǭ, hoti ho technitēs ex hēs echei technēs tēn en tę̄ ousią technēn poiei. pros de touto legesthai toutʼ eu echein moi dokei, hoti oude en tǭ anthrōpǭ hek tinos hypokeimenēs technēs prosginetai. oude gar enestin autēn ephʼ eautēs ousan dounai tēn tēn tōn gar symbebēkotōn esti kai tōn tote to einai lanchanontōn, hopotan en ousią tini genētai.

You seem likely to meet the argument this way: that the craftsman makes the art in the substance from the art he has. To this it seems to me well to say that in man too it does not come from some underlying art. For it is not possible for art to be given as existing by itself; for it belongs to the accidents and to things that receive being only when they come to be in some substance.

Notes and citation

Summary: Art in the craftsman is itself an accident, not a pre-existing thing.

The digital text is garbled at τὴν τὴν; translated by sense.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): συμβεβκότων → συμβεβηκότων.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 7.7 (Bonwetsch, 164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-7-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-7-7) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

7.8Bonwetsch, 164

ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἄνθρωπος καὶ χωρὶς τῆς άρχιτεκτονικῆς ἔσται. ἡ δʼ οὐκ ἔσται, ἐὰν μὴ πρότερον ἄνθρωπος ᾖ. ὅθεν τὰς τέχνας ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων εἰς ἀνθρώπους πεφυκέναι γίνεσθαι λέγειν ἀναγκαῖον.

ho men gar anthrōpos kai chōris tēs architektonikēs estai. hē dʼ ouk estai, ean mē proteron anthrōpos ę̄. hothen tas technas ex ouk ontōn eis anthrōpous pephykenai ginesthai legein anankaion.

For a man will exist even without the art of building, but it will not exist unless there is first a man. Hence one must say that the arts naturally come to be in men out of things that are not.

Notes and citation

Summary: Arts come to be in people out of nothing.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): κοὶ χωρὶς → καὶ χωρὶς.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 7.8 (Bonwetsch, 164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-7-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-7-8) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

7.9Bonwetsch, 164

εἰ τοίνυν τοῦτο οὕτως ἔχον ἐπʼ ἀνθρώπων ἐδείξαμεν, πῶς ούχὶ προσῆκε τὸν θεὸν μὴ μόνον ποιότητας ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων φάναι δύνασθαι ποιεῖν άλλὰ καὶ οὐσίας; τῷ γὰρ δυνατὸν φανῆναι γίνεσθαί τι ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων τὸ καὶ τὰς οὐσίας οὕτως ἔχειν δείκνυται.

ei toinyn touto houtōs echon epʼ anthrōpōn edeixamen, pōs ouchi prosēke ton theon mē monon poiotētas ex ouk ontōn phanai dynasthai poiein alla kai ousias? tǭ gar dynaton phanēnai ginesthai ti ex ouk ontōn to kai tas ousias houtōs echein deiknytai.

If, then, we have shown this to be so in the case of men, why was it not fitting to say that God can make not only qualities but also substances out of things that are not? For by its appearing possible for something to come into being out of things that are not, it is shown that the same holds for substances.

Notes and citation

Summary: So God can make substances, not only qualities, from nothing.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 7.9 (Bonwetsch, 164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-7-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-7-9) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

Chapter 8

8.1Bonwetsch, 164–165

Ἐπειδὴ δὲ πόθος ἐστί σοι περὶ τῆς τῶν κακῶν γενέσεως ζητεῖν, ἐπὶ τὸν τούτων ἐλεύσομαι λόγον. καί σου βραχέα πυθέσθαι βούλομαι. — τὰ κακὰ πότερον οὐσίαι σοι δοκοῦσιν εἶναι ἢ ποιότητες ουσιων; ΟΥΑΔ. Ποιότητες οὐσιῶν εὐ ἔχειν λέγειν μοι δοκεῖ. ΟΡΘΟΔ. Ἠ δὲ ὕλη ἀποιος ἦν καὶ ἀσχημάτιστος; ΟΥΑΔ. Οὕτως προλαβὼν ἐξεῖπον τῷ λόγῳ.

Epeidē de pothos esti soi peri tēs tōn kakōn geneseōs zētein, epi ton toutōn eleusomai logon. kai sou brachea pythesthai boulomai. — ta kaka poteron ousiai soi dokousin einai ē poiotētes ousiōn? OUAD. Poiotētes ousiōn eu echein legein moi dokei. ORThOD. Ē de hylē apoios ēn kai aschēmatistos? OUAD. Houtōs prolabōn exeipon tǭ logǭ.

But since you long to inquire about the origin of evils, I will come to the discussion of these, and I want to ask you a few questions. Do evils seem to you to be substances, or qualities of substances? Valentinian: It seems to me right to say qualities of substances. Orthodox: And matter was without qualities and without form? Valentinian: So I stated earlier in the discussion.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian holds that evils are qualities and that matter was without qualities.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.1 (Bonwetsch, 164–165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-1) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.2Bonwetsch, 165

ΟΡΘΟΔ. Οὑκοῦν εἰ τὰ κακὰ ποιότητες ὑπάρχουσιν οὐσιῶν, ἡ δὲ ὕλη ἄποιος ἦν, τῶν δὲ ποιοτήτων ποιητὴν εἶπας τὸν θεὸν εἶναι, ἔσται καὶ τῶν κακῶν δημιουργὸς ὁ θεός. ὅτε τοίνυν οὑδʼ οὕτως ἀναίτιον τῶν κακῶν δυνατὸν εἰπεῖν τὸν θεόν, ὕλην αὐτῷ προσάπτειν περιττὸν εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ. εἰ δέ τι πρὸς ταῦτα λέγειν ἔχεις, ἄρχου τοῦ λόγου. — εἰ μὲν ἐκ φιλονεικίας ἡμῖν ἡ ζήτησις ἐγίνετο, οὐκ ἂν δεύτερον περὶ τῶν κακῶν ἠξίουν ὁρίζεσθαι· ἐπεὶ δὲ φιλίας ἕνεκα μᾶλλον καὶ τῆς πρὸς τὸν πλησίον ὠφελείας τὴν ἐξέτασιν ποιούμεθα τῶν λόγων, ἄνωθεν περὶ τούτων ὁρίζεσθαι ἀξιῶ συγχωρεῖν.

ORThOD. Houkoun ei ta kaka poiotētes hyparchousin ousiōn, hē de hylē apoios ēn, tōn de poiotētōn poiētēn eipas ton theon einai, estai kai tōn kakōn dēmiourgos ho theos. hote toinyn houdʼ houtōs anaition tōn kakōn dynaton eipein ton theon, hylēn autǭ prosaptein peritton einai moi dokei. ei de ti pros tauta legein echeis, archou tou logou. — ei men ek philoneikias hēmin hē zētēsis egineto, ouk an deuteron peri tōn kakōn ēxioun horizesthai; epei de philias heneka mallon kai tēs pros ton plēsion ōpheleias tēn exetasin poioumetha tōn logōn, anōthen peri toutōn horizesthai axiō synchōrein.

Orthodox: Then if evils are qualities of substances, and matter was without qualities, and you said that God is the maker of the qualities, God will be the creator of evils too. Since, then, it is not possible even in this way to call God guiltless of evils, it seems to me superfluous to attach matter to him. But if you have something to say to this, begin. — If our inquiry were being conducted out of love of victory, I would not ask to define the matter of evils a second time; but since we are examining the arguments rather for friendship’s sake and for the benefit of our neighbor, I ask you to allow us to define these things from the beginning.

Notes and citation

Summary: If God made the qualities and evils are qualities, God would make evil; the speakers agree to begin again.

The last part of the section (from “If our inquiry”) appears to be the Valentinian’s reply; the digital text gives no speaker label.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.2 (Bonwetsch, 165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-2) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.3Bonwetsch, 165–166

ΟΥΑΔ. Τὴν μὲν προαίρεσιν τὴν ἐμὴν ἐκ πολλοῦ σοι φανερὰν εἶναι δοκῶ καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σπουδήν, ὅτι οὐ πιθανῶς εἰπὼν ψεῦδος νικῆσαι θέλω, ἀλλὰ δειχθῆναι τὴν ἀλήθειαν μετὰ ἀκριβοῦς ἐξετάσεως, καὶ σὲ δὲ οὔτω διακεῖσθαι σαφῶς ἐπίσταμαι· ὅθεν οἵῳ τρόπῳ χρώμενος νομίζεις δύνασθαι τὸ ἀληθὲς εὑρεῖν, τούτῳ χρῆσαι μηδὲν δυσωπούμενος. οὐ γὰρ σεαυτὸν ὠφελήσεις μόνον χρησάμενος τῷ κρείττονι, ἀλλὰ πάντως κἀμὲ περὶ ὧν ἀγνοῶ σαφῶς.

OUAD. Tēn men proairesin tēn emēn ek pollou soi phaneran einai dokō kai tēn en tois logois spoudēn, hoti ou pithanōs eipōn pseudos nikēsai thelō, alla deichthēnai tēn alētheian meta akribous exetaseōs, kai se de outō diakeisthai saphōs epistamai; hothen hoiǭ tropǭ chrōmenos nomizeis dynasthai to alēthes heurein, toutǭ chrēsai mēden dysōpoumenos. ou gar seauton ōphelēseis monon chrēsamenos tǭ kreittoni, alla pantōs kame peri hōn agnoō saphōs.

Valentinian: I think my intention and my zeal in the discussion have long been plain to you: I do not wish to win by speaking falsehood persuasively, but for the truth to be shown with careful examination; and I know clearly that you are of the same mind. So use whatever method you think can find the truth, without any hesitation. For in using the better course you will benefit not only yourself but surely me too about what I do not know.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Valentinian invites the Orthodox speaker to proceed freely in search of the truth.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (split word): ἀκρι- βοῦς → ἀκριβοῦς.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.3 (Bonwetsch, 165–166; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-3) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.4Bonwetsch, 166

ΟΡΘΟΔ. Παραστῆσαί μοι δοκεῖς καὶ τὰ κακὰ οὐσίας ὑπάρχειν τινάς· οὐ γὰρ ἐκτὸς οὐσιῶν αὐτὰ ὅντα βλέπω. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν, ὠ οὑτος, καὶ τὰ κακὰ οὐσίας εἶναι λέγεις, ἀνάγκη τὸν τῆς οὐσίας ἐξετάζειν λόγον. δοκεῖ σοι τὴν οὐσίαν σωματικήν τινα σύστασιν εἶναι; ΟΥΑΔ. Δοκεῖ.

ORThOD. Parastēsai moi dokeis kai ta kaka ousias hyparchein tinas; ou gar ektos ousiōn auta honta blepō. epei toinyn, ō houtos, kai ta kaka ousias einai legeis, anankē ton tēs ousias exetazein logon. dokei soi tēn ousian sōmatikēn tina systasin einai? OUAD. Dokei.

Orthodox: You seem to me to be maintaining that evils too are certain substances; for I do not see them existing apart from substances. Since, then, my good man, you say that evils too are substances, we must examine the definition of substance. Does substance seem to you to be some bodily constitution? Valentinian: It does.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Orthodox speaker examines whether evils are substances, starting from what a substance is.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): Παρστῆσαί → Παραστῆσαί.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.4 (Bonwetsch, 166; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-4) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.5Bonwetsch, 166

ΟΡΘΟΔ. Ἡ δὲ σωματικὴ σύστασις αὐτὴ ἐφʼ ἑαυτῆς ὑπάρχει οὐ δεομένη τινὸς οὗ γενομένου τὸ εἶναι λήψεται; ΟΥΑΔ. Οὕτως ἔχει.

ORThOD. Hē de sōmatikē systasis autē ephʼ heautēs hyparchei ou deomenē tinos hou genomenou to einai lēpsetai? OUAD. Houtōs echei.

Orthodox: And does the bodily constitution exist by itself, not needing anything in which it comes to be in order to receive its being? Valentinian: That is so.

Notes and citation

Summary: A bodily substance exists by itself.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.5 (Bonwetsch, 166; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-5) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.6Bonwetsch, 166

ΟΡΘΟΔ. δοκεῖ δέ σοι τὰ κακὰ ἐνεργείας εἶναί τινος; ΟΥΑΛ. Οὕτω μοι φαίνεται.

ORThOD. dokei de soi ta kaka energeias einai tinos? OUAL. Houtō moi phainetai.

Orthodox: And do evils seem to you to be activities of someone? Valentinian: So it appears to me.

Notes and citation

Summary: Evils are activities of someone.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.6 (Bonwetsch, 166; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-6) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.7Bonwetsch, 166

ΟΡΘΟΔ. Αἱ δὲ ἐνέργειαι τότε τὸ εἶναι λαμβάνουσιν, ὁπότʼ ἂν ὸ ἐνεργῶν παρῇ; ΟΥΔΔ. Οὕτως ἔχει.

ORThOD. Hai de energeiai tote to einai lambanousin, hopotʼ an o energōn parę̄? OUDD. Houtōs echei.

Orthodox: And do activities receive their being only when the one acting is present? Valentinian: That is so.

Notes and citation

Summary: Activities exist only when an agent is present.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.7 (Bonwetsch, 166; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-7) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.8Bonwetsch, 166

ΟΡΘΟΔ. Οὐκ ὄντος δὲ τοῦ ἐνεργοῦντος, οὐδʼ ὅπερ ἐνεργεῖ ἐσται ποτέ; ΟΥΑΛ. Οὐκ ἔσται.

ORThOD. Ouk ontos de tou energountos, oudʼ hoper energei estai pote? OUAL. Ouk estai.

Orthodox: And if the one acting does not exist, neither will what he does ever exist? Valentinian: It will not.

Notes and citation

Summary: Without an agent there is no activity.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.8 (Bonwetsch, 166; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-8) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.9Bonwetsch, 166

ΟΡΘΟΔ. Οὑκοῦν εἰ ἠ οὐσία σωματική τίς ἐστι σύστασις, ἡ δὲ σωματικὴ σύστασις οὐ δεῖταί τινος ἐν ᾠ γενομένη τὸ εἶναι λήψεται, τὰ δὲ κακὰ ἐνέργειαι ὑπάρχουσί τινος, οἱ δὲ ἐνέργειαι δέονταί τινος ἐν ᾠ γενόμεναι τὸ εἶναι λαμβάνουσιν, οὐκ ἔσονται <αὐταὶ αἱ> οὐσίαι τὰ κακά.

ORThOD. Houkoun ei ē ousia sōmatikē tis esti systasis, hē de sōmatikē systasis ou deitai tinos en ǭ genomenē to einai lēpsetai, ta de kaka energeiai hyparchousi tinos, hoi de energeiai deontai tinos en ǭ genomenai to einai lambanousin, ouk esontai <autai hai> ousiai ta kaka.

Orthodox: Then if substance is some bodily constitution, and the bodily constitution does not need anything in which it comes to be in order to receive its being, while evils are activities of someone, and activities need something in which they come to be in order to receive their being, evils will not themselves be substances.

Notes and citation

Summary: Therefore evils, being activities, are not substances.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.9 (Bonwetsch, 166; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-9) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.10Bonwetsch, 166–167

εἰ δὲ οὐσίαι τὰ κακά, κακὸν δὲ ὁ φόνος, ούσία ὁ φόνος· ἀλλὰ μὴν ὁ φόνος ἐνέργεια ὑπάρχει τινός, οὐκ ἔστιν ἄρα οὐσία ὁ φόνος. εἰ δὲ τὸν ἐνεργοῦντα οὐσίαν εἶναι θέλεις, σύμφημι κἀγώ. οἶον ἄνθρωπος ὁ φονεύς, καθʼ ὃν μὲν λόγον ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν, ὑπάρχει οὐσία· ὁ δὲ φόνος ὃν ποιεῖ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐσία, ἀλλʼ ἔργον τι τῆς οὐσίας.

ei de ousiai ta kaka, kakon de ho phonos, ousia ho phonos; alla mēn ho phonos energeia hyparchei tinos, ouk estin ara ousia ho phonos. ei de ton energounta ousian einai theleis, symphēmi kagō. oion anthrōpos ho phoneus, kathʼ hon men logon anthrōpos estin, hyparchei ousia; ho de phonos hon poiei ouk estin ousia, allʼ ergon ti tēs ousias.

And if evils are substances, and murder is an evil, murder is a substance; but murder is an activity of someone; murder, then, is not a substance. If you want the one acting to be a substance, I agree too. For example, the murderer is a man: in so far as he is a man, he is a substance; but the murder he commits is not a substance, but a work of the substance.

Notes and citation

Summary: Murder is an act of a substance, not itself a substance.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (repeated word): κακὸν δὲ ὁ φόνος, φόνος, → κακὸν δὲ ὁ φόνος,.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.10 (Bonwetsch, 166–167; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-10) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.11Bonwetsch, 167

λέγομεν γε τὸν ἄνθρωπον ποτὲ μὲν κακὸν διὰ τὸ φονεύειν, ποτὲ δʼ αὖ πάλιν διὰ τὸ εὐεργετεῖν ἀγαθόν. καὶ πέπλεκται ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα τῇ οὐσίᾳ ἐκ τῶν συμβεβηκότων αὐτῇ, ἅτινα οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτή. οὔτε γὰρ ἐστὶν φόνος ἡ οὐσία οὔτʼ αὖ πάλιν ἡ] μοιχεία οὔτε τι τῶν ὁμοίων κακῶν. ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἀπὸ τῆς γραμματικῆς ὁ γραμματικὸς λέγεται καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ῥητορικῆς ὁ ῥήτωρ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἰατρικῆς ὁ ἰατρός, τῆς οὐσίας οὔτε ἰατρικῆς οὔσης οὔτε μὴν ῥητορικῆς οὔτε γραμματικῆς. ἀλλʼ ἀπὸ τῶν συμβεβηκότων αὐτῇ τὴν προσηγορίαν λαμβανούσης, ἀφ ὧν οὔτως, ὀνομάζεσθαι δοκεῖ, οὐδʼ ὁπότερον αὐτῶν οὐσα, ὁμοίως φαίνεται καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν δοκούντων εἶναι κακῶν τὴν οὐσίαν ὄνομα προσλαμβάνειν, οὐδʼ ὁπότερον οὖσαν αὐτῶν.

legomen ge ton anthrōpon pote men kakon dia to phoneuein, pote dʼ au palin dia to euergetein agathon. kai peplektai tauta ta onomata tę̄ ousią ek tōn symbebēkotōn autę̄, hatina ouk estin autē. oute gar estin phonos hē ousia outʼ au palin hē] moicheia oute ti tōn homoiōn kakōn. allʼ hōsper apo tēs grammatikēs ho grammatikos legetai kai apo tēs rhētorikēs ho rhētōr kai apo tēs iatrikēs ho iatros, tēs ousias oute iatrikēs ousēs oute mēn rhētorikēs oute grammatikēs. allʼ apo tōn symbebēkotōn autę̄ tēn prosēgorian lambanousēs, aph hōn outōs, onomazesthai dokei, oudʼ hopoteron autōn ousa, homoiōs phainetai kai apo tōn dokountōn einai kakōn tēn ousian onoma proslambanein, oudʼ hopoteron ousan autōn.

We call a man sometimes evil because he murders, and again sometimes good because he does good. And these names are attached to the substance from its accidents, which it is not itself. For the substance is neither murder nor again adultery, nor any of the like evils. But just as the grammarian is named from grammar, the orator from oratory, and the physician from medicine, though the substance is neither medicine nor oratory nor grammar but receives its title from its accidents, from which it seems to be named while being neither of them, so too the substance appears to take a name from what seem to be evils, while being neither of them.

Notes and citation

Summary: A person is called evil from evil acts, as a physician from medicine, without the acts being his substance.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): λαγβανούσης → λαμβανούσης.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.11 (Bonwetsch, 167; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-11) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.12Bonwetsch, 167–168

καί μοι ὁμοίως ἐπινόησον, εἴ τινα ἕτερον ἀναπλάττεις ἐν τῷ νῷ τῶν κακῶν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις αἴτιον, ὡς κἀκεῖνος, καθὸ ἐν τούτοις ἐνεργεῖ καὶ ὑποβάλλει ποιεῖν τὰ κακά, ἔστι καὶ αὐτὸς κακὸς ἐξ ὡν ποιεῖ. διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ κἀκεῖνος κακὸς εἶναι λέγεται, ὄτι τῶν κακῶν ἐστι ποιητής. ἅ δέ τις ποιεῖ, οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτός, ἀλλʼ ἐνέργειαι αὐτοῦ, ἀφʼ ὦν τὴν προσηγορίαν τοῦ κακὸς λέγεσθαι λαμβάνεὶ.

kai moi homoiōs epinoēson, ei tina heteron anaplatteis en tǭ nǭ tōn kakōn tois anthrōpois aition, hōs kakeinos, katho en toutois energei kai hypoballei poiein ta kaka, esti kai autos kakos ex hōn poiei. dia touto gar kakeinos kakos einai legetai, oti tōn kakōn esti poiētēs. ha de tis poiei, ouk estin autos, allʼ energeiai autou, aphʼ ōn tēn prosēgorian tou kakos legesthai lambanei.

And consider likewise, if you picture in your mind some other being as the cause of evils to men, that he too, in so far as he acts in them and suggests that they do evil, is himself evil from what he does. For that one too is called evil for this reason, that he is the maker of evils. But what someone does is not himself, but his activities, from which he receives the title of being called evil.

Notes and citation

Summary: Even the devil is called evil from what he does, not from his substance.

“Some other being” is the devil, though he is not named here.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (split word): ἀν- θρώποις → ἀνθρώποις; ὑποβάλ- λει → ὑποβάλλει.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.12 (Bonwetsch, 167–168; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-12) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.13Bonwetsch, 168

εἰ γὰρ αὐτὸν ὐπάρχειν εἴποιμεν ἂν ποιεῖ, ποιεῖ δὲ φόνους καὶ μοιχείας καὶ κλοπὰς καὶ ὄσα τούτοις ὅμοια, αὑτὸς ἔσται ταῦτα. εἰ δὲ ταῦτʼ ἐστιν αὐτός, ταῦτα δʼ ὅτε γίνεται τὴν σύστασιν ἔχει, οὐ γινόμενα δὲ καὶ τοῦ εἶναι παύεται, γίνεται δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς ἀνθρώπων, ἔσονται τούτων οἱ ἄνθρωποι ποιηταὶ καὶ τοῦ εἶναι καὶ τοῦ μηκέτι εἶναι αἴτιοι.

ei gar auton yparchein eipoimen an poiei, poiei de phonous kai moicheias kai klopas kai osa toutois homoia, hautos estai tauta. ei de tautʼ estin autos, tauta dʼ hote ginetai tēn systasin echei, ou ginomena de kai tou einai pauetai, ginetai de tauta pros anthrōpōn, esontai toutōn hoi anthrōpoi poiētai kai tou einai kai tou mēketi einai aitioi.

For if we were to say that he is what he does, and he does murders and adulteries and thefts and whatever is like them, he himself will be these things. But if he is these things, and these things have their constitution when they happen, and when they do not happen cease to be, and these things are done by men, then men will be their makers and the causes of his being and no longer being.

Notes and citation

Summary: If an evil agent were identical with his acts, humans who do those acts would cause his existence.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): κλοπὰς κοὶ → κλοπὰς καὶ.

Topics: Ethics

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.13 (Bonwetsch, 168; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-13) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.14Bonwetsch, 168

εἰ δὲ ταῦτα αὐτοῦ ἐνεργείας εἶναι φῄς, ἐξ ὡν ποιεῖ τὸ κακὸς εἶναι ἔχει, οὐκ ἐξ ὦν έστιν οὐσία. κακὸν δὲ εἴπομεν λέγεσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν συμβεβηκότων τῇ

ei de tauta autou energeias einai phę̄s, ex hōn poiei to kakos einai echei, ouk ex ōn estin ousia. kakon de eipomen legesthai apo tōn symbebēkotōn tę̄

But if you say that these are his activities, he has his being evil from what he does, not from what he is as a substance. And we said that evil is so called from the accidents of the

Notes and citation

Summary: The evil agent is evil by his acts, not his substance.

The sentence continues in 8.15.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.14 (Bonwetsch, 168; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-14) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

8.15Bonwetsch, 168–169

οὐσίᾳ, ἅτινα οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ οὐσία, ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς ἰατρικῆς ὁ ἰατρός. εἰ δὲ ἐξ ὡν ἐνεργεῖ κακὸς ὑπάρχει κακός, ἃ δὲ ἐνεργεῖ ἀρχὴν τοῦ εἶναι λαμβάνει, ἤρξατο κἀκεῖνος εἶναι κακός, ἤρξατο δὲ καὶ ταυτὶ τὰ κακά. εἱ δὲ οὕτως ἔχει, οὐκ ἔσται ἀνάρχως κακός, οὐδʼ ἀγένητα τὰ κακά, τῷ γενητὰ πρὸς αὐτοῦ εἶναι φάναι.

ousią, hatina ouk estin hē ousia, hōs apo tēs iatrikēs ho iatros. ei de ex hōn energei kakos hyparchei kakos, ha de energei archēn tou einai lambanei, ērxato kakeinos einai kakos, ērxato de kai tauti ta kaka. hei de houtōs echei, ouk estai anarchōs kakos, oudʼ agenēta ta kaka, tǭ genēta pros autou einai phanai.

substance, which the substance is not, as the physician is named from medicine. But if he is evil from what he does, and what he does receives a beginning of being, then he too began to be evil, and these evils also began. And if this is so, he will not be evil without beginning, nor will evils be unbegotten, since they are said to come into being from him.

Notes and citation

Summary: Evil acts have a beginning, so evil is neither eternal nor unbegotten.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 8.15 (Bonwetsch, 168–169; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-8-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-8-15) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

Chapter 9

9.1Bonwetsch, 169

Σ. Ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πρὸς τὸν ἑταῖρον, ὡ φίλε, λόγον ἱκανῶς μοι πεποιηκέναι δοκεῖς. ἐξ ὧν γὰρ προλαβὼν ἔδωκε τῷ λόγῳ, ἐκ τούτων συνάγειν ἔδοξας καλῶς. ὡς ἀληθῶς γάρ, εἰ ἄποιος ἐτύγχανεν ἡ ὕλη, τῶν δὲ ποιοτήτων δημιουργὸς ὑπάρχει ὁ θεός, ποιότητες δὲ τὰ κακά, τῶν κακῶν ἔσται ποιητὴς ὁ θεός.

S. Alla to men pros ton hetairon, hō phile, logon hikanōs moi pepoiēkenai dokeis. ex hōn gar prolabōn edōke tǭ logǭ, ek toutōn synagein edoxas kalōs. hōs alēthōs gar, ei apoios etynchanen hē hylē, tōn de poiotētōn dēmiourgos hyparchei ho theos, poiotētes de ta kaka, tōn kakōn estai poiētēs ho theos.

Companion: You seem to me, my friend, to have answered our companion sufficiently. You appeared to draw your conclusions well from what he had granted beforehand in the discussion. For truly, if matter was without qualities, and God is the creator of the qualities, and evils are qualities, God will be the maker of evils.

Notes and citation

Summary: A second interlocutor concedes the argument against qualityless matter.

The second interlocutor, introduced in 4.4, is labelled “Companion” (ἑταῖρος) in the Greek; the English of ANF 6 attributes these words to the Valentinian.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (repeated syllable; repeated word; split word): ἐτύγ- χανεν → ἐτύγχανεν; ποιότητες τες δὲ → ποιότητες δὲ; ὁ θεός. θεός. → ὁ θεός..

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 9.1 (Bonwetsch, 169; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-9-1) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

9.2Bonwetsch, 169

ὁ μὲν λόγος πρὸς ἐκεῖνον εἰρήσθω καλῶς, ἐμοὶ δὲ ψεῦδος δοκεῖ τὴν ὕλην ἄποιον εἶναι λέγειν. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔνεστιν εἰπεῖν περὶ ἡστινοσοῦν οὐσίας ὡς ἔστιν ἄποιος. ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ ἐν ᾠ ἄποιον εἶναι λέγει τὴν ποιότητα αὐτῆς μηνύει, ὁποία ἐστὶν ἡ ὕλη διαγραφόμενος, ὅπερ ἐστὶ ποιότητος εἶδος. ὅθεν, εἴ σοι φίλον ἐστίν, ἄνωθεν ἔχου πρὸς ἐμὲ τοῦ λόγου.

ho men logos pros ekeinon eirēsthō kalōs, emoi de pseudos dokei tēn hylēn apoion einai legein. oude gar enestin eipein peri hēstinosoun ousias hōs estin apoios. alla mēn kai en ǭ apoion einai legei tēn poiotēta autēs mēnyei, hopoia estin hē hylē diagraphomenos, hoper esti poiotētos eidos. hothen, ei soi philon estin, anōthen echou pros eme tou logou.

Let the argument against him stand as well said; but to me it seems false to say that matter is without qualities. For it is not possible to say of any substance whatever that it is without qualities. Indeed, in the very act of saying that it is without qualities, one indicates its quality, describing what kind of thing matter is, which is a form of quality. So, if you please, take up the discussion with me from the beginning.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Companion objects that no substance, including matter, can be without qualities.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (repeated syllable; repeated word): μὲν μὲν ὁ λόγος → ὁ μὲν λόγος; ποιότητος τος εἶδος → ποιότητος εἶδος.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 9.2 (Bonwetsch, 169; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-9-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-9-2) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

9.3Bonwetsch, 169–170

ἐμοὶ γὰρ ἡ ὕλη ποιότητας ἀνάρχως ἔχειν δοκεῖ. οὕτως γὰρ καὶ τὰ κακὰ ἐκ τῆς ἀπορροίας αὐτῆς εἶναι λέγω, ἵνα τῶν κακῶν ὁ μὲν θεὸς ἀναίτιος ᾖ, τούτων δὲ ἀπάντων ἡ ὕλη αἰτία.

emoi gar hē hylē poiotētas anarchōs echein dokei. houtōs gar kai ta kaka ek tēs aporroias autēs einai legō, hina tōn kakōn ho men theos anaitios ę̄, toutōn de apantōn hē hylē aitia.

For to me matter seems to have had qualities without beginning. That is how I say that evils too come from its outflow, so that God may be guiltless of evils, and matter the cause of them all.

Notes and citation

Summary: He holds that matter always had qualities and that evil flows from it.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἀναίτιος ij, → ἀναίτιος ᾖ,.

Topics: Heresy

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 9.3 (Bonwetsch, 169–170; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-9-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-9-3) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).

9.4Bonwetsch, 170

ΟΡΘΟΛ. Τὴν μὶν προθυμίαν τὴν σὴν ἀποδέχομαι, ὧ φίλε, καί σου τὴν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις σπουδὴν ἐπαινῶ. προσῆκε γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἔκαστον τῶν φιλομαθῶν μὴ ἀπλῶς καἳ ὡς ἔτυχε συγκατατίθεσθαι τοῖς λεγομένοις ἀλλʼ άκριβῆ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἐξέτασιν τῶν λόγων. οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰ ὁ προσξητῶν παρὰ λόγον ὁρισάμενος ἀφορμὴν παρέσχε τῷ προσδιαλεγομένῳ συνάγειν ὡς θέλει, τοῦτο καὶ τὸν ἀκροατὴν πείσει τὸ λοιπόν, ἀλλʼ εἰ ὅ τι δοκεῖ δυνατὸν εἶναι λέγεσθαι καλῶς, οὗτος λέξει παρών· γὰρ θάτερον ἔσται. ἢ γàρ καὶ πρὸς ὅ κινεῖσθαι δοκεῖ ἀκούσας τέλεον ὠφεληθήσεται, ἣ τὸν προσδιαλεγομενον ἐλέγξει οὐ τἀλθῆ λέγοντα.

ORThOL. Tēn min prothymian tēn sēn apodechomai, hō phile, kai sou tēn en tois logois spoudēn epainō. prosēke gar hōs alēthōs ekaston tōn philomathōn mē aplōs kai hōs etyche synkatatithesthai tois legomenois allʼ akribē poieisthai tēn exetasin tōn logōn. oude gar ei ho prosxētōn para logon horisamenos aphormēn paresche tǭ prosdialegomenǭ synagein hōs thelei, touto kai ton akroatēn peisei to loipon, allʼ ei ho ti dokei dynaton einai legesthai kalōs, houtos lexei parōn; gar thateron estai. ē gar kai pros ho kineisthai dokei akousas teleon ōphelēthēsetai, hē ton prosdialegomenon elenxei ou talthē legonta.

Orthodox: I welcome your readiness, my friend, and praise your zeal in the discussion. For truly it is fitting for every lover of learning not to assent simply and at random to what is said, but to make a careful examination of the arguments. For if the questioner, by an unreasonable definition, gave his partner in discussion an opening to draw what conclusions he liked, that will not thereafter persuade the hearer too; but if he thinks something can be said well, he will say it, being present. For one of two things will happen: either, hearing an answer to what seems to move him, he will be fully helped, or he will refute his partner as not speaking the truth.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Orthodox speaker welcomes the new objection.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (repeated word): παρών. παρών· → παρών·.

Cite (SBL): Methodius, Autex. 9.4 (Bonwetsch, 170; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/methodius-autexusio/1-1/#p-9-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-methodius-autexusio-9-4) · Report an error

Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek of Bonwetsch (GCS 27, 1917; only the parts surviving in Greek); each batch compared afterwards with the public-domain translation in ANF 6 (1886).