Commentary on Titus (complete)
Latin text: Swete 2 (Latin text: Swete (1882), from the archive.org scan and OCR).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 1
1.6Swete 2:237–238
Si quis autem sine crimine. qui non ex crimine peccatorum, sed ex uitae suae cognoscitur integritate; ita ut ipsa uera ratione sine crimine esse cognoscatur, omnes calumniatorum insidias superans. unius uxoris uir. dictum est enim nobis hoc idem latius in illa epistola quam ad Timotheum inprimis dudum scripseramus quare dixerit unius uxoris uirum, et superfluum existimo ad praesens illa ipsa iterare. nec autem euidenter de illis quae haesitantur compendiose quis poterit explicare; et omnia illa quae ibi sunt scripta hoc in loco ponere non esse censeo necessarium, cum possit illam ipsam partem epistolae quam ad Timotheum scripsimus decurrens uirtutem ipsius negotii ad plenum cognoscere. filios habens fideles, non in accusatione luxuriae aut insubiectos. non reprobat patrum uirtutem ex filiorum prauitate, nam nec Samuelem indignum sacerdotii faciebat filiorum prauitas; sed ex filiorum instituto patris studium probabile ostendere cupiens ista edicit. ideo dixit aut insubiectos; hoc est, 'si non filios suos ad idolorum culturam aut lasciuiam aut in deterius proruentes despexit, nec ullam uitae eorum uoluit facere correctionem; sed nec curam expendit ut subiceret eos sibi, aut prout conuenit uitam institueret.' hoc etiam ad Timotheum scribens posuit, et hoc in loco similiter cupiens mores eius examinare qui aliorum proponendus est utilitati, si erga suos diligens fuit, erudiens eos de his quae discere eos conueniebant; eo quod si talis habeatur, manifestus est quod diligentiam adhibebit etiam eorum qui ecclesiastico sunt iuncti corpore qui erga suos diligens fuit; si uero suos despexit, nec istis poterit diligentiam adhibere.
"If anyone is without accusation." That is, one who is known not by the accusation of sins but by the integrity of his life, so that by the true account itself he is known to be without accusation, rising above all the snares of slanderers.
"The husband of one wife." We have already said this same thing at greater length in the letter we wrote some time ago, to Timothy first, explaining why he said "the husband of one wife," and I think it superfluous to repeat those same things at present. Nor can anyone explain matters that are in doubt clearly and briefly; and I do not think it necessary to put here everything written there, since anyone can come to know the force of the matter fully by going through that part of the commentary on the letter to Timothy which we wrote.
"Having faithful children, not under accusation of dissipation or insubordinate." He does not reject the virtue of fathers because of the wickedness of their sons; for neither did the wickedness of his sons make Samuel unworthy of the priesthood. But he says this wishing to show the father's commendable zeal from the upbringing of his children. That is why he said "or insubordinate"; that is, "if he has not neglected his sons when they rushed into the worship of idols, or into lewdness, or into anything worse, and has not been willing to make any correction of their life; nor has he taken care to bring them under his authority, or to order their life as is fitting." He set this down also when writing to Timothy; and here likewise he wishes to examine the character of the man who is to be appointed for the benefit of others, whether he was diligent toward his own, instructing them in what they ought to learn; because if he is found to be such a man, it is clear that he who was diligent toward his own will also apply diligence to those who are joined in the body of the church; but if he neglected his own, he will not be able to apply diligence to these either.
Titus 1:6 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 3:2 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Tim 3:4 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Tim 3:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Sam 8:3 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Theodore refers his readers to his fuller treatment of "husband of one wife" in the commentary on 1 Timothy, and explains that a presbyter's care for his children shows his fitness to care for the church.
- Theodore refers to his comment on 1 Tim 3:2, where he argued that the phrase excludes men who had two wives at once or were unfaithful, not men who married again after a wife's death. "Without accusation" renders sine crimine. "The commentary on the letter to Timothy": the Latin says only "that part of the letter to Timothy which we wrote", meaning his commentary on it. "Unius uxoris uir" in the lemma is a probable reading of an OCR-damaged line. Samuel's sons: 1 Sam 8:1-5.
Topics: Church office, Divorce and remarriage, Parents and children
Cite (SBL): Theodore of Mopsuestia, Comm. Tit. 1.6 (Swete 2:237–238; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodore-mopsuestia-titum/1-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/theodore-mopsuestia-titum/1-6
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the ancient Latin version (Swete, 1882; the Greek is lost except for catena fragments, not shown); no public-domain English exists, so the translation was re-read against the Latin.