To Autolycus 1.7
Summary: God, the Creator and Lord of all, can be seen only by a heart healed by him; the believer will see him when raised immortal in body and soul.
Greek text · Otto 8:22–24
Οὗτός μου θεὸς ὁ τῶν ὅλων κύριος, ὁ τανύσας τὸν οὐρανὸν μόνος καὶ θεὶς τὸ εὖρος τῆς ὑπʼ οὐρανόν, ὁ συνταράσσων τὸ κύτος τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ ἠχῶν τὰ κύματα αὐτῆς, ὁ δεσπόζων τοῦ κράτους αὐτῆς καὶ τὸν σάλον τῶν κυμάτων καταπραΰνων, ὁ θεμελιώσας τὴν γῆν ἐπὶ τῶν ὑδάτων καὶ δοὺς πνεῦμα τὸ τρέφον αὐτήν, οὗ ἡ πνοὴ ζωογονεῖ τὸ πᾶν, ὃς ἐὰν συσχῇ τὸ πνεῦμα παρʼ ἑαυτῷ ἐκλείψει τὸ πᾶν. Τοῦτον λαλεῖς, ἄνθρωπε, τούτου τὸ πνεῦμα ἀναπνεῖς, τοῦτον ἀγνοεῖς. Τοῦτο δέ σοι συμβέβηκεν διὰ τὴν τύφλωσιν τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ πώρωσιν τῆς καρδίας σου. Ἀλλὰ εἰ βούλει, δύνασαι θεραπευθῆναι· ἐπίδος σεαυτὸν τῷ ἰατρῷ, καὶ παρακεντήσει σου τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τῆς καρδίας. Τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἰατρός; Ὁ θεός, ὁ θεραπεύων καὶ ζωοποιῶν διὰ τοῦ λόγου καὶ τῆς σοφίας. Ὁ θεὸς διὰ τοῦ λόγου αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς σοφίας ἐποίησε τὰ πάντα· τῷ γὰρ λόγῳ αὐτοῦ ἐστερεώθησαν οἱ οὐρανοὶ καὶ τῷ πνεύματι αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις αὐτῶν. Κρατίστη ἐστὶν ἡ σοφία αὐτοῦ· ὁ θεὸς τῇ σοφίᾳ ἐθεμελίωσε τὴν γῆν, ἡτοίμασε δὲ οὐρανοὺς φρονήσει, ἐν αἰσθήσει ἄβυσσοι ἐῤῥάγησαν, νέφη δὲ ἐῤῥύησαν δρόσους. Εἰ ταῦτα νοεῖς, ἄνθρωπε, ἁγνῶς καὶ ὁσίως καὶ δικαίως ζῶν, δύνασαι ὁρᾶν τὸν θεόν. Πρὸ παντὸς δὲ προηγείσθω σου ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ πίστις καὶ φόβος ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ τότε συνήσεις ταῦτα. Ὅταν ἀπόθῃ τὸ θνητὸν καὶ ἐνδύσῃ τὴν ἀφθαρσίαν, τότε ὄψῃ κατὰ ἀξίαν τὸν θεόν. Ἀνεγείρει γάρ σου τὴν σάρκα ἀθάνατον σὺν τῇ ψυχῇ ὁ θεός· καὶ τότε ὄψῃ γενόμενος ἀθάνατος τὸν ἀθάνατον, ἐὰν νῦν πιστεύσῃς αὐτῷ, καὶ τότε ἐπιγνώσῃ ὅτι ἀδίκως κατελάλησας αὐτοῦ.
English · Claude translation
This is my God, the Lord of all, who alone stretched out the heaven and set in place the breadth of the earth under heaven; who stirs up the depths of the sea and makes its waves roar; who rules its might and calms the tossing of its waves; who founded the earth upon the waters and gave a spirit to nourish it, whose breath gives life to all things, and who, if he held back his breath, would make all things fail. Him you speak of, O man; his breath you breathe; him you do not know. This has happened to you because of the blindness of your soul and the hardness of your heart. But if you wish, you can be healed. Entrust yourself to the physician, and he will operate on the eyes of your soul and of your heart. Who is the physician? God, who heals and gives life through his Word and his Wisdom. God made all things through his Word and his Wisdom; for “by his Word the heavens were made firm, and all their host by his Spirit.” His Wisdom is supreme: “God by Wisdom founded the earth, and by understanding he prepared the heavens; by his knowledge the depths broke open, and the clouds poured down dew.” If you understand these things, O man, living purely, holily, and justly, you can see God. But before everything else let faith and the fear of God lead the way in your heart, and then you will understand these things. When you have put off mortality and put on incorruption, then you will see God as you deserve. For God raises your flesh immortal together with your soul; and then, having become immortal, you will see the Immortal, if you believe him now; and then you will know that you spoke against him unjustly.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- “Operate on” renders παρακεντήσει, the couching of a cataract.
- “His Word and his Wisdom”: Theophilus distinguishes God's Word and his Wisdom, and (2.15) calls God, his Word, and his Wisdom a “triad.”
- Ps 33:6 and Prov 3:19–20 are quoted in forms close to the Septuagint.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misprint: πύριος for κύριος (“Lord”); misprint: ὑκʼ for ὑπʼ): τῶν ὅλων πύριος → τῶν ὅλων κύριος; τῆς ὑκʼ οὐρανόν → τῆς ὑπʼ οὐρανόν.
Cite this passage
Theophilus, Autol. 1.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/1/7/).
Plain text
Theophilus, Autol. 1.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/theophilus-autolycus/1/7/).
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