The Epistle of Mathetes
to Diognetus
1 Reason for
the letter
Since I see you, most excellent Diognetus, exceedingly desirous to learn the
mode of worshipping God prevalent among the Christians, and inquiring very
carefully and earnestly concerning them, what God they trust in, and what form
of religion they observe, so as all to look down upon the world itself, and
despise death, while they neither esteem those to be gods that are reckoned such
by the Greeks, nor hold to the superstition of the Jews; and what is the
affection which they cherish among themselves; and why, in fine, this new kind
or practice of piety has only now entered into the world, and not long ago; I
cordially welcome this your desire, and I implore God, who enables us both to
speak and to hear, to grant to me so to speak, that, above all, I may hear you
have been edified, and to you so to hear, that I who speak may have no cause of
regret for having done so.
2 The vanity of idols
Come, then, after you have freed yourself from all prejudices possessing your
mind, and laid aside what you have been accustomed to, as something apt to
deceive you, and being made, as if from the beginning, a new man, inasmuch as,
according to your own confession, you are to be the hearer of a new system of
doctrine; come and contemplate, not with your eyes only, but with your
understanding, the substance and the form of those whom you declare and deem to
be gods. Is not one of them a stone similar to that on which we tread? Is not a
second brass, in no way superior to those vessels which are constructed for our
ordinary use? Is not a third wood, and that already rotten? Is not a fourth
silver, which needs a man to watch it, lest it be stolen? Is not a fifth iron,
consumed by rust? Is not a sixth earthenware, in no degree more valuable than
that which is formed for the humblest purposes? Are not all these of corruptible
matter? Are they not fabricated by means of iron and fire? Did not the sculptor
fashion one of them, the brazier a second, the silversmith a third, and the
potter a fourth? Was not every one of them, before they were formed by the arts
of these workmen into the shape of these gods, each in its own way subject to
change? Would not those things which are now vessels, formed of the same
materials, become like to such, if they met with the same artificers? Might not
these, which are now worshipped by you, again be made by men vessels similar to
others? Are they not all deaf? Are they not blind? Are they not without life?
Are they not destitute of feeling? Are they not incapable of motion? Are they
not all liable to rot? Are they not all corruptible? These things you call gods;
these you serve; these you worship; and you become altogether like to them. For
this reason you hate the Christians, because they do not deem these to be gods.
But do not you yourselves, who now think and suppose such to be gods, much more
cast contempt upon them than they the Christians do? Do you not much more mock
and insult them, when you worship those that are made of stone and earthenware,
without appointing any persons to guard them; but those made of silver and gold
you shut up by night, and appoint watchers to look after them by day, lest they
be stolen? And by those gifts which you mean to present to them, do you not, if
they are possessed of sense, rather punish than honour them? But if, on the
other hand, they are destitute of sense, you convict them of this fact, while
you worship them with blood and the smoke of sacrifices. Let any one of you
suffer such indignities! Let any one of you endure to have such things done to
himself! But not a single human being will, unless compelled to it, endure such
treatment, since he is endowed with sense and reason. A stone, however, readily
bears it, seeing it is insensible. Certainly you do not show by your conduct
that he your God is possessed of sense. And as to the fact that Christians are
not accustomed to serve such gods, I might easily find many other things to say;
but if even what has been said does not seem to any one sufficient, I deem it
idle to say anything further.
3 Superstitions of the Jews
And next, I imagine that you are most desirous of hearing something on this
point, that the Christians do not observe the same forms of divine worship as do
the Jews. The Jews, then, if they abstain from the kind of service above
described, and deem it proper to worship one God as being Lord of all, are
right; but if they offer Him worship in the way which we have described, they
greatly err. For while the Gentiles, by offering such things to those that are
destitute of sense and hearing, furnish an example of madness; they, on the
other hand by thinking to offer these things to God as if He needed them, might
justly reckon it rather an act of folly than of divine worship. For He that made
heaven and earth, and all that is therein, and gives to us all the things of
which we stand in need, certainly requires none of those things which He Himself
bestows on such as think of furnishing them to Him. But those who imagine that,
by means of blood, and the smoke of sacrifices and burnt-offerings, they offer
sacrifices acceptable to Him, and that by such honours they show Him
respect,--these, by supposing that they can give anything to Him who stands in
need of nothing, appear to me in no respect to differ from those who studiously
confer the same honour on things destitute of sense, and which therefore are
unable to enjoy such honours.
4 Other Observances of the Jews
But as to their scrupulosity concerning meats, and their superstition as
respects the Sabbaths, and their boasting about circumcision, and their fancies
about fasting and the new moons, which are utterly ridiculous and unworthy of
notice,--I do not think that you require to learn anything from me. For, to
accept some of those things which have been formed by God for the use of men as
properly formed, and to reject others as useless and redundant,--how can this be
lawful? And to speak falsely of God, as if He forbade us to do what is good on
the Sabbath-days,--how is not this impious? And to glory in the circumcision of
the flesh as a proof of election, and as if, on account of it, they were
specially beloved by God,--how is it not a subject of ridicule? And as to their
observing months and days, as if waiting upon the stars and the moon, and their
distributing, according to their own tendencies, the appointments of God, and
the vicissitudes of the seasons, some for festivities, and others for
mourning,--who would deem this a part of divine worship, and not much rather a
manifestation of folly? I suppose, then, you are sufficiently convinced that the
Christians properly abstain from the vanity and error common to both Jews and
Gentiles, and from the busy-body spirit and vain boasting of the Jews; but you
must not hope to learn the mystery of their peculiar mode of worshipping God
from any mortal.
5 The Lives of the Christians
For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by country, nor
language, nor the customs which they observe. For they neither inhabit cities of
their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech, nor lead a life which is marked
out by any singularity. The course of conduct which they follow has not been
devised by any speculation or deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like
some, proclaim themselves the advocates of any merely human doctrines. But,
inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot of each of
them has determined, and following the customs of the natives in respect to
clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary conduct, they display to us their
wonderful and confessedly striking method of life. They dwell in their own
countries, but simply as sojourners. As citizens, they share in all things with
others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to
them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of
strangers. They marry, as do all others; they beget children; but they do not
destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They
are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on
earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at
the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are
persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and
restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all
things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very
dishonour are glorified. They are evil spoken of, and yet are justified; they
are reviled, and bless; they are insulted, and repay the insult with honour;
they do good, yet are punished as evil-doers. When punished, they rejoice as if
quickened into life; they are assailed by the Jews as foreigners, and are
persecuted by the Greeks; yet those who hate them are unable to assign any
reason for their hatred.
6 The Relation of Christians to the World
To sum up all in one word--what the soul is in the body, that are Christians in
the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and
Christians are scattered through all the cities of the world. The soul dwells in
the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not
of the world. The invisible soul is guarded by the visible body, and Christians
are known indeed to be in the world, but their godliness remains invisible. The
flesh hates the soul, and wars against it, though itself suffering no injury,
because it is prevented from enjoying pleasures; the world also hates the
Christians, though in nowise injured, because they abjure pleasures. The soul
loves the flesh that hates it, and loves also the members; Christians likewise
love those that hate them. The soul is imprisoned in the body, yet preserves
that very body; and Christians are confined in the world as in a prison, and yet
they are the preservers of the world. The immortal soul dwells in a mortal
tabernacle; and Christians dwell as sojourners in corruptible bodies, looking
for an incorruptible dwelling in the heavens. The soul, when but ill-provided
with food and drink, becomes better; in like manner, the Christians, though
subjected day by day to punishment, increase the more in number. God has
assigned them this illustrious position, which it were unlawful for them to
forsake.
7 The Manifestation of Christ
For, as I said, this was no mere earthly invention which was delivered to them,
nor is it a mere human system of opinion, which they judge it right to preserve
so carefully, nor has a dispensation of mere human mysteries been committed to
them, but truly God Himself, who is almighty, the Creator of all things, and
invisible, has sent from heaven, and placed among men, Him who is the truth, and
the holy and incomprehensible Word, and has firmly established Him in their
hearts. He did not, as one might have imagined, send to men any servant, or
angel, or ruler, or any one of those who bear sway over earthly things, or one
of those to whom the government of things in the heavens has been entrusted, but
the very Creator and Fashioner of all things--by whom He made the heavens--by
whom he enclosed the sea within its proper bounds--whose ordinances all the
stars faithfully observe--from whom the sun has received the measure of his
daily course to be observed--whom the moon obeys, being commanded to shine in
the night, and whom the stars also obey, following the moon in her course; by
whom all things have been arranged, and placed within their proper limits, and
to whom all are subject--the heavens and the things that are therein, the earth
and the things that are therein, the sea and the things that are therein--fire,
air, and the abyss--the things which are in the heights, the things which are in
the depths, and the things which lie between. This messenger He sent to them.
Was it then, as one might conceive, for the purpose of exercising tyranny, or of
inspiring fear and terror? By no means, but under the influence of clemency and
meekness. As a king sends his son, who is also a king, so sent He Him; as God He
sent Him; as to men He sent Him; as a Saviour He sent Him, and as seeking to
persuade, not to compel us; for violence has no place in the character of God.
As calling us He sent Him, not as vengefully pursuing us; as loving us He sent
Him, not as judging us. For He will yet send Him to judge us, and who shall
endure His appearing? ... Do you not see them exposed to wild beasts, that they
may be persuaded to deny the Lord, and yet not overcome? Do you not see that the
more of them are punished, the greater becomes the number of the rest? This does
not seem to be the work of man: this is the power of God; these are the
evidences of His manifestation.
8 The Miserable State of Men Before the
Coming of the Word
For, who of men at all understood before His coming what God is? Do you accept
of the vain and silly doctrines of those who are deemed trustworthy
philosophers? of whom some said that fire was God, calling that God to which
they themselves were by and by to come; and some water; and others some other of
the elements formed by God. But if any one of these theories be worthy of
approbation, every one of the rest of created things might also be declared to
be God. But such declarations are simply the startling and erroneous utterances
of deceivers; and no man has either seen Him, or made Him known, but He has
revealed Himself. And He has manifested Himself through faith, to which alone it
is given to behold God. For God, the Lord and Fashioner of all things, who made
all things, and assigned them their several positions, proved Himself not merely
a friend of mankind, but also long-suffering in His dealings with them. Yea, He
was always of such a character, and still is, and will ever be, kind and good,
and free from wrath, and true, and the only one who is absolutely good; and He
formed in His mind a great and unspeakable conception, which He communicated to
His Son alone. As long, then, as He held and preserved His own wise counsel in
concealment, He appeared to neglect us, and to have no care over us. But after
He revealed and laid open, through His beloved Son, the things which had been
prepared from the beginning, He conferred every blessing all at once upon us, so
that we should both share in His benefits, and see and be active in His service.
Who of us would ever have expected these things? He was aware, then, of all
things in His own mind, along with His Son, according to the relation subsisting
between them.
9 Why the Son Was Sent So Late
As long then as the former time endured, He permitted us to be borne along by
unruly impulses, being drawn away by the desire of pleasure and various lusts.
This was not that He at all delighted in our sins, but that He simply endured
them; nor that He approved the time of working iniquity which then was, but that
He sought to form a mind conscious of righteousness, so that being convinced in
that time of our unworthiness of attaining life through our own works, it should
now, through the kindness of God, be vouchsafed to us; and having made it
manifest that in ourselves we were unable to enter into the kingdom of God, we
might through the power of God be made able. But when our wickedness had reached
its height, and it had been clearly shown that its reward, punishment and death,
was impending over us; and when the time had come which God had before appointed
for manifesting His own kindness and power, how the one love of God, through
exceeding regard for men, did not regard us with hatred, nor thrust us away, nor
remember our iniquity against us, but showed great long-suffering, and bore with
us, He Himself took on Him the burden of our iniquities, He gave His own Son as
a ransom for us, the holy One for transgressors, the blameless One for the
wicked, the righteous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One for the
corruptible, the immortal One for them that are mortal. For what other thing was
capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it
possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, than by the only
Son of God? O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing
all expectation! that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single righteous
One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors! Having
therefore convinced us in the former time that our nature was unable to attain
to life, and having now revealed the Saviour who is able to save even those
things which it was formerly impossible to save, by both these facts He desired
to lead us to trust in His kindness, to esteem Him our Nourisher, Father,
Teacher, Counsellor, Healer, our Wisdom, Light, Honour, Glory, Power, and Life,
so that we should not be anxious concerning clothing and food.
10 The Blessings That Will Flow From Faith
If you also desire to possess this faith, you likewise shall receive first of
all the knowledge of the Father. For God has loved mankind, on whose account He
made the world, to whom He rendered subject all the things that are in it, to
whom He gave reason and understanding, to whom alone He imparted the privilege
of looking upwards to Himself, whom He formed after His own image, to whom He
sent His only-begotten Son, to whom He has promised a kingdom in heaven, and
will give it to those who have loved Him. And when you have attained this
knowledge, with what joy do you think you will be filled? Or, how will you love
Him who has first so loved you? And if you love Him, you will be an imitator of
His kindness. And do not wonder that a man may become an imitator of God. He
can, if he is willing. For it is not by ruling over his neighbours, or by
seeking to hold the supremacy over those that are weaker, or by being rich, and
showing violence towards those that are inferior, that happiness is found; nor
can any one by these things become an imitator of God. But these things do not
at all constitute His majesty. On the contrary he who takes upon himself the
burden of his neighbour; he who, in whatsoever respect he may be superior, is
ready to benefit another who is deficient; he who, whatsoever things he has
received from God, by distributing these to the needy, becomes a god to those
who receive his benefits: he is an imitator of God. Then you shall see, while
still on earth, that God in the heavens rules over the universe; then you shall
begin to speak the mysteries of God; then shall you both love and admire those
that suffer punishment because they will not deny God; then shall you condemn
the deceit and error of the world when you shall know what it is to live truly
in heaven, when you shall despise that which is here esteemed to be death, when
you shall fear what is truly death, which is reserved for those who shall be
condemned to the eternal fire, which shall afflict those even to the end that
are committed to it. Then shalt you admire those who for righteousness' sake
endure the fire that is but for a moment, and shall count them happy when you
shall know the nature of that fire.
11 These Things Are Worthy to be Known and
Believed
I do not speak of things strange to me, nor do I aim at anything inconsistent
with right reason; but having been a disciple of the Apostles, I am become a
teacher of the Gentiles. I minister the things delivered to me to those that are
disciples worthy of the truth. For who that is rightly taught and begotten by
the loving Word, would not seek to learn accurately the things which have been
clearly shown by the Word to His disciples, to whom the Word being manifested
has revealed them, speaking plainly to them, not understood indeed by the
unbelieving, but conversing with the disciples, who, being esteemed faithful by
Him, acquired a knowledge of the mysteries of the Father? For which s reason He
sent the Word, that He might be manifested to the world; and He, being despised
by the people of the Jews, was, when preached by the Apostles, believed on by
the Gentiles. This is He who was from the beginning, who appeared as if new, and
was found old, and yet who is ever born afresh in the hearts of the saints. This
is He who, being from everlasting, is to-day called the Son; through whom the
Church is enriched, and grace, widely spread, increases in the saints.
furnishing understanding, revealing mysteries, announcing times, rejoicing over
the faithful. giving to those that seek, by whom the limits of faith are not
broken through, nor the boundaries set by the fathers passed over. Then the fear
of the law is chanted, and the grace of the prophets is known, and the faith of
the gospels is established, and the tradition of the Apostles is preserved, and
the grace of the Church exults; which grace if you grieve not, you shall know
those things which the Word teaches, by whom He wills, and when He pleases. For
whatever things we are moved to utter by the will of the Word commanding us, we
communicate to you with pains, and from a love of the things that have been
revealed to us.
12 The Importance of Knowledge to True
Spiritual Life
When you have read and carefully listened to these things, you shall know what
God bestows on such as rightly love Him, being made as you are a paradise of
delight, presenting in yourselves a tree bearing all kinds of produce and
flourishing well, being adorned with various fruits. For in this place the tree
of knowledge and the tree of life have been planted; but it is not the tree of
knowledge that destroys--it is disobedience that proves destructive. Nor truly
are those words without significance which are written, how God from the
beginning planted the tree of life in the midst of paradise, revealing through
knowledge the way to life, and when those who were first formed did not use this
knowledge properly, they were, through the fraud of the Serpent, stripped naked.
For neither can life exist without knowledge, nor is knowledge secure without
life. Wherefore both were planted close together. The Apostle, perceiving the
force of this conjunction, and blaming that knowledge which, without true
doctrine, is admitted to influence life, declares, "Knowledge puffeth up,
but love edifieth." For he who thinks he knows anything without true
knowledge, and such as is witnessed to by life, knows nothing, but is deceived
by the Serpent, as not loving life. But he who combines knowledge with fear, and
seeks after life, plants in hope, looking for fruit. Let your heart be your
wisdom; and let your life be true knowledge inwardly received. Bearing this tree
and displaying its fruit, you shall always gather in those things which are
desired by God, which the Serpent cannot reach, and to which deception does not
approach; nor is Eve then corrupted, but is trusted as a virgin; and salvation
is manifested, and the Apostles are filled with understanding, and the Passover
of the Lord advances, and the choirs are gathered together, and are arranged in
proper order, and the Word rejoices in teaching the saints,--by whom the Father
is glorified: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
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