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Tatian
Introductory Note to Taitian the Assyrian
[420] “Paul the aged” was only sixty when he gives himself this title. (Philem. 9). See the additional note, Speaker’s Commentary, vol. iii. 843.
[421] See (vol. ii. p. 331.) Southey’s Life of Wesley; an invaluable work, and one which presents this eminent saint in a most interesting light, even to worldly men. Ed. New York, Harpers, 1853.
Chapter I.—The Greeks Claim, Without Reason, the Invention of the Arts.
[422] ἐπιστολας συντάττειν, i.e., for transmission by letter-carriers.—Otto.
[423] Aristoph., Ranæ, 92, 93.
Chapter III.—Ridicule of the Philosophers.
[424] περὶ φύσεως
[425] He was called δ σκοτεινός for his obscurity.
Chapter IV.—The Christians Worship God Alone.
[426] [Dear Christians of those times; so Justin and all the rest appeal against this odium. Their name an offence, “cast out as evil,” but fragrant with unrequited love.Matt. x. 22-39.]
[427] [1 Pet. ii. 17. This claim for man as man is the inspiration of Christianity. Terence breathes it from his wounded soul in slavery; and his immortal line, “Homo sum: humani nihil a me alienum puto” (Hæuntontimor., act. i. sc. 1, verse 25), looks as if it had been written in the second century of illumination.]
[428] [Kaye’s Justin, pp. 56, 158.]
[430] [Over again Tatian asserts spirits to be material, though not fleshly; and I think with reference to 1 Cor. xv. 44.]
[432] [Over again Tatian asserts spirits to be material, though not fleshly; and I think with reference to 1 Cor. xv. 44.]
Chapter V.—The Doctrine of the Christians as to the Creation of the World.
[433] [See Kaye’s Justin Martyr, p. 161, note; and observe his stricture on Bull and Waterland.]
[434] κατὰ μερισμόν. Some translate, “by division,” but the above is preferable. The sense, according to Otto, is that the Logos, having received a peculiar nature, shares in the rational power of the Father as a lighted torch partakes of the light of the torch from which it is kindled. Comp. Just. Mar., Dial. c. T., chap. lxi.
[435] οἰκονομίας τὴν αἲρεσιν προσλαβόν. The above seems the simplest rendering of this difficult passage, but several others have been proposed. [See note 4, cap. ix., infra, p. 69.]
[436] [Matter not eternal. He seems to have understood Gen. i. 1, of the creation of matter; and verse 2, as beginning the history of our planet and the visible universe.]
[437] [Supposed to be a personal reference to his conversion and baptism. As to “confused matter,” it should be kindred matter, and must be set over “kindred spirit.” See p. 71, cap. xiii., infra.]
Chapter VI.—Christians’ Belief in the Resurrection.
[438] [Comp. cap. xvii., infra, note 5, p. 72. ἐν ἡμέρα συντελείας.]
[439] [A supposed discovery of modern science. See Religion and Chemistry, by Professor Cook of Harvard, pp. 79, 101. Revised Edition, Scribners, 1880.]
Chapter VII.—Concerning the Fall of Man.
[440] [Kaye’s rendering of this passage should be compared. See his Justin, p. 182.]
[441] Gen. iii. 1 [First-born. ἄγγελος πρωτόγονος.]
Chapter VIII.—The Demons Sin Among Mankind.
[442] Il., i. 599; Od., viii. 326.
[443] On fleeing from Apollo, she became a bay-tree.
[444] It is uncertain from whom this line is quoted.
Chapter IX.—They Give Rise to Superstitions.
[445] Comp. ch. viii. init.
[446] The signs of the Zodiac (Gesner).
[447] Literally, “Tell me by God,” or, “in the name of God.”
[448] The Deltotum was a star of the shape of a triangle.—Otto.
[449] [οἰκόνομος. So cap. xii., infra: “the constitution of the body is under one management,” μιᾶς ἐστὶν οἰκονομἱας. Also cap. xxi., p. 74, infra, note 5.]
Chapter X.—Ridicule of the Heathen Divinities.
[450] [He uses the verb θεολογεῖν as = θεοποιεῖν; but Kaye directs attention to Justin’s use of the same as = to discourse on divine things, and again in calling Christ God.]
[451] Hercules—a sign in the sky. Leaning on his right knee, he tries to crush with his left foot the right side of the dragon’s head.
[452] A writer of mimes.
Chapter XI.—The Sin of Men Due Not to Fate, But to Free-Will.
[453] Or, reading with Maranus, κἃν … γεν., “even though,” etc.
[454] [Think of a Chaldean heathen, by the power of grace, thus transformed. Sapiens solus liber, but the Christian alone is wise. This chapter compares favourably with the eloquence of Chrysostom in his letter to Cyriac, which, if spurious, is made up of passages to be found elsewhere in his works. Tom. iii. p. 683. Ed. Migne, Paris, 1859.]
[455] [Comp. cap. xv., infra, and the note 6, p. 71.]
Chapter XII.—The Two Kinds of Spirits.
[456] [See cap. xv., infra.]
[457] Literally, “brought forth” or “forward.” The word does not imply that matter was created by God.
[458] Tatian’s words are somewhat obscure. We have given substantially the opinion of Worth, as expressed in his translation. The sense is: The body is evidently a unity in its organization and its activity, and the ultimate end which it serves in creation is that with which it is occupied, yet there are differences in respect of the parts. Otto renders: “For as the constitution of the body is of one plan, and in reference to the body the cause of its origin is occupied.”
[459] [Demons. The Paris editors have a note here, bidding us to read with caution; as our author seems rashly to imagine the demons to be material creatures. p. 151, ed. 1615.]
[460] [“Which, though one and the same, is thus variously modified.” Kaye’s rendering in his Justin, p. 184.]
Chapter XIII.—Theory of the Soul’s Immortality.
[461] [Here Bishop Kaye has a very full note, quoting a beautiful passage textually from Beausobre, with whom, however, he does not entirely coincide. Justin, p. 184.]
[463] [See cap. v., note, supra, p. 67.]
[464] [τοῦ πεπονθότος Θεοῦ. A very noteworthy testimony to the mystery of the Cross, and an early specimen of the Communicatio idiomatum: the ἀντὶδοσις or ἀντιμετάστασις of the Greek theologians. Pearson, On the Creed, p. 314. London, 1824.]
Chapter XIV.—The Demons Shall Be Punished More Severely Than Men.
[465] [The shortening of human life is a gracious limitation of tarnsgression and of the peril of probation. “Let not our years be multiplied to increase our guilt.”]
Chapter XV.—Necessity of a Union with the Holy Spirit.
[466] [δεσμὸς δὲ τοῦ σαρκὸς ψυχὴ.]
[467] Comp. 1 Cor. ii. 14, 15. [The ψυχικοὶ, of whom we are to hear so much in Tertullian. Comp. cap. xii., supra, p. 70.]
[468] [But Kaye would translate, “by dying to the world through faith.”]
Chapter XVI.—Vain Display of Power by the Demons.
[470] [For a learned and valuable comparison of early patristic Demonologies, see Kaye’s Justin Martyr, pp. 201–210.]
[471] Perhaps in his treatise “On Animals.”
[472] Comp. Eph. vi. 13-14, 17.
Chapter XVII.—They Falsely Promise Health to Their Votaries.
[473] Democritus. [The Paris editors add, vide Lærtium. As to Ostanes, see that invaluable thesaurus, Hofmann’s Lex. Universale, vol. ii. p. 6. Leyden, 1698.]
[474] [Comp. cap. vi. note 6, supra. p. 67.]
[475] [Naviget Anticyras. On hellebore, see otherwise useless learning but illustrative of this place, in Burton, Anat. Melanchol., p. 400. Ed. New York, 1847.]
Chapter XVIII.—They Deceive, Instead of Healing.
[476] [ὓλης οἰκονομία. note Comp. cap. ix., supra, note 4; p. 69.]
[477] [The language of an affectionate pupil: ὁ θαυμασιώτατος Ιουστινος.]
Chapter XIX.—Depravity Lies at the Bottom of Demon-Worship.
[478] Comp. Hom. Il., ii. 372.
[479] [The baptismal renunciation.]
Chapter XX.—Thanks are Ever Due to God.
[481] [The flavour of this passage comes out with more sweetness in Kaye’s note (p. 198, Justin M.), thus: “Above the visible heavens exist the better ages, αἰῶνες οἰ κρείττονες, having no change of seasons from which various diseases take their orgin; but, blest with a uniform goodness of temperature, they enjoy perpetual day, and light inaccessible to men who dwell here below.”
Here Tatian seems to me to have had in mind a noble passage from Pindar, one of the most exquisite specimens of Greek poetry, which he baptizes and sanctifies.
Ἴσον δὲ νύκτεσσιν αἰεὶ;
Ἴσα δ᾽ἐν ἁμέραις ἄλι-
ον ἔχοντες, ἀπονέστερον
Ἐσθλοὶ νέμονται βίο-
τον οὐ χθόνα ταράσσον-
τες ἀλκᾷ χερῶν,
Οὐδὲ πόντιον ὕδωρ,
Κεινὰν παρὰ δίαιταν · κ.τ.λ. Olymp. ii.
Truly the Gentiles reflect some light from the window in the ark of their father Noah. How sweet what follows: ἄδακρυν νέμονται αἰῶνα. Comp. Rev. vii. 7, xxi. 4, xxii.]
[482] [Kaye thus renders this passage: “the spirit together with the soul will receive immortality, the heavenly covering of mortality.” Justin, p. 288.]
Chapter XXI.—Doctrines of the Christians and Greeks Respecting God Compared.
[483] Il., xxii. 227.
[484] Il., ii. init.
[485] [Χάριν οἰκονμίας. Compare divers uses of this word in Kaye’s Justin, p. 174.]
Chapter XXII.—Ridicule of the Solemnities of the Greeks.
[486] Tatian here describes an actor. [And in America heathenism has returned upon us in most of the indecencies here exposed. Are we Christians?]
Chapter XXIII.—Of the Pugilists and Gladiators.
[487] [Here Christianity began to avenge itself on the brutal spectacles of the Coliseum, which stands a gigantic monument of the religious system of which they were a part. See Athenagoras, Embassy, cap. xxxv.]
Chapter XXIV.—Of the Other Public Amusements.
[488] Antigenides was a flute-player, and Aristoxenus a writer on music and musical instruments.
Chapter XXV.—Boastings and Quarrels of the Philosophers.
[489] The Cynic Peregrinus is meant.
[490] They need the rich to invite them to banquets.
[491] The Cynic.
[492] [The vigor of this passage, and the impact of its truths upon heathen idols, are noble specimens of our author’s power.]
[493] [They ate and drank bread and wine hallowed to be the κοινωνία of the flesh and blood of Christ (1 Cor. x. 16); but they knew nothing of the modern doctrine of the Latin churches, which is precisely what Tatian denies.]
Chapter XXVII.—The Christians are Hated Unjustly.
[494] [Athenagoras, Embassy, cap. ii., infra.]
[495] In Crete.
[496] Comp. Tit. i. 12. Callimachus is probably the author referred to, through others express the same opinion respecting the Cretans.
[497] Accommodating himself to the popular opinions, through fear.
Chapter XXIX.—Account of Tatian’s Conversion.
[498] At Aricia, near Rome.
[499] [A memorable tribute to the light-giving power of the Holy Scriptures. “Barbarian books” (barbaric means something else) they were; but well says Dr. Watts in a paraphrase of Ps. cxix. 96 (and comp. capp. xl., xli., infra),—
“Let all the heathen writers join to form one perfect book,
Great God if once compared with thine, how mean their writings look!”
See his Hymns, p. 238. Ed. Worcester, 1836.]
Chapter XXX.—How He Resolved to Resist the Devil.
[500] Comp. Matt. xiii. 44. [Cogent reasoning with Greeks.]
Chapter XXXI.—The Philosophy of the Christians More Ancient Than that of the Greeks.
[501] Comp. Matt. xiii. 44. [Cogent reasoning with Greeks.]
Chapter XXXII.—The Doctrine of the Christians, is Opposed to Dissensions, and Fitted for All.
[502] [Compare cap. xi. p. 69. And note, thus early, the Christian freeschools, such as Julian closed and then imitated, confessing their power.]
[503] Il., ix.
Chapter XXXIII.—Vindication of Christian Women.
[504] [See note 2, next page.]
[505] [St. Chrysostom speaks of the heathen as ὁι ταῖς σατανικαῖς ῷδαῖς κατασηπόμενοι. In Psalmum, cxvii. tom. v. p. 533. Ed. Migne.]
[506] [Such as the Magnificat of the Virgin, the Twenty-third Psalm, or the Christian Hymn for Eventide, which they learned in the Christian schools (cap. xxxii. p. 78). Cold is the heart of any mother’s son that does not warm over such a chapter as this on the enfranchisement of womanhood by Christ. Observe our author’s scorn for the heathen “affinity with unreason” (this chapter, supra), and then enjoy this glimpse of the contrast afforded by the Gospel in its influence upon women. Intensely should we delight in the pictures of early Christian society, of which the Fathers give us these suggestive outlines. Rejecting the profane and wanton songs they heard around them,— “Satanic minstrelsies,” as St. Chryosostom names them,—they beguiled their toils and soothed their sorrows with “Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” As St. Jerome relates, “You could not go into the field, but you might hear the ploughman’s hallelujahs, the mower’s hymns, and the vine-dresser’s chant of the Psalms of David.” See Cave’s Primitive Christianity, p. 132.]
[507] [Such as the Magnificat of the Virgin, the Twenty-third Psalm, or the Christian Hymn for Eventide, which they learned in the Christian schools (cap. xxxii. p. 78). Cold is the heart of any mother’s son that does not warm over such a chapter as this on the enfranchisement of womanhood by Christ. Observe our author’s scorn for the heathen “affinity with unreason” (this chapter, supra), and then enjoy this glimpse of the contrast afforded by the Gospel in its influence upon women. Intensely should we delight in the pictures of early Christian society, of which the Fathers give us these suggestive outlines. Rejecting the profane and wanton songs they heard around them,—“Satanic minstrelsies,” as St. Chryosostom names them,—they beguiled their toils and soothed their sorrows with “Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” As St. Jerome relates, “You could not go into the field, but you might hear the ploughman’s hallelujahs, the mower’s hymns, and the vine-dresser’s chant of the Psalms of David.” See Cave’s Primitive Christianity, p. 132.]
[508] [St. Paul’s spirit was stirred within him, beholding the abominable idolatries of the Athenians; and who can wonder at the loathing of Christians, whose wives and children could not escape from these shameful spectacles. The growing asceticism and fanatical views of sexual relations, which were now rising in the Church, were a morbid but virtuous revolt of faith against these impurities.]
Chapter XXXV.—Tatian Speaks as an Eye-Witness.
[509] Chap. xxxi. [With what calm superiority he professes himself a barbarian! I honour the eye-witness who tells not only what he had seen, but what he felt amid such evidences of man’s degradation and impiety.]
[510] Solon. Bergh., Poetæ Græc. Lyr., fr. 18. [The interest and biographical importance of this chapter must be apparent.]
Chapter XXXVII.—Testimony of the Phœnicians.
[511] Called Hiram in our authorized translation.
Chapter XXXIX.—Catalogue of the Argive Kings.
[512] The words within brackets, though they occur in the mss. and in Eusebius, are supposed by some scholars to be a very old interpolation.
Chapter XL.—Moses More Ancient and Credible Than the Heathen Heroes.
[513] This expression admits of several meanings: “Without properly understanding them,”—Worth; “not with a proper sense of gratitude.”—Maranus.
[514] [There is increasing evidence of the obligations of the Greek sages to that “light shining in a dark place,” i.e., amid an idolatrous world.]
[515] [Let it be noted as the moral of our author’s review, that there is no self-degradation of which man is not capable when he rejects the true God. Rom. i. 28.]
Chapter XLII.—Concluding Statement as to the Author.
[516] [Comp. cap. xxix. p. 77, supra.]
[517] [Compare the boastful Rousseau: “Que la trompette du jugement sonne quand elle voudra, je viendrai ce livra a la main, me presenter devant le souverain Juge.” Confessions, livre i. p. 2.]
[518] [“Adhere immoveably.” Alas! “let him that thinketh he standeth”, etc. But I cannot part with Tatian nor think of Tertullian without recalling David’s threnode: “There the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away … . I am distressed for thee, my brother: … very pleasant hast thou been unto me … How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!” Our own sad times have taught us similar lamentations for some who seemed for a time to be “burning and shining lights.” God be merciful to poor frail men.]
[519] From the lost works of Tatian. Ed. Otto.
[520] i.e., Justin Martyr.
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