Apology Of Aristides
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The ''Apology of Aristides'' was written by the early
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
writer
Aristides Aristides ( ; grc-gre, Ἀριστείδης, Aristeídēs, ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''dikaios''), he flourished in the early quarter of Athens' Classical period and is remembe ...
(fl. 2nd century). Until 1878, the knowledge about Aristides was confined to some references in works by
Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...
and Saint
Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
. Eusebius said that he was an Athenian philosopher and that Aristides and another apologist,
Quadratus Quadratus is Latin for square. Quadratus was also a cognomen from the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. It may refer to: People * Lucius Ninnius Quadratus, a tribune of the plebs in 58 BC and a warm friend to Roman Senator Marcus Tullius Cicero * G ...
, delivered their Apologies directly to Emperor
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
. Aristides is also credited with a sermon on
Luke 23 Luke 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelist composed this Gospel as ...
:43. He remained a philosopher after his conversion to Christianity, and continued to work as a philosopher in Athens.


Discovery of the ''Apology''

In 1878, the Armenian monks of the
Mechitarite , image = , image_size = , caption = , abbreviation = C.A.M. , nickname = Mechitarists , established = , founder = Abbot Mekhitar of Sebaste, C.A.M. , founding ...
convent in
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published the first two chapters, which they had found in a manuscript in their collection in Armenian translation. This they accompanied with a
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
translation. Opinion as to the authenticity of the fragment was disputed, with
Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote influe ...
particularly vocal in opposition. Later, in 1889, J. Rendel Harris found the whole of it in a
Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
version at the
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monastery of
Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...
in Sinai,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. While his edition was passing through the press, it was observed that the work had been extant in
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
the whole time, though in a slightly abbreviated form, since it had been embedded as a speech in a religious novel written around 1000 AD entitled ''The Life of Barlaam and Ioasaph''. A further Armenian fragment was discovered in the library at
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by
F. C. Conybeare Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare, (14 September 1856 – 9 January 1924) was a British Oriental studies, orientalist, Fellow of University College, Oxford, and Professor of Theology at the University of Oxford. Biography Conybeare was born in Co ...
in a manuscript of the 11th century. But the discovery of the Syriac version reopened the question of the date of the work. "Two very fragmentary third- or fourth-century Greek papyri serve as textual witnesses to the Apology."


Content of the ''Apology''

The Apology has a clear conceptual and ideological dependence on Aristotelianism, Middle Platonism and Stoicism, which he does not criticize at any time, something that must have pleased Hadrian, who was a student of philosophy and had been a listener of
Epictetus Epictetus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκτητος, ''Epíktētos''; 50 135 AD) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born into slavery at Hierapolis, Phrygia (present-day Pamukkale, in western Turkey) and lived in Rome until his banishment, when ...
. Lazzati, G. (1938). Ellenismo e cristianesimo. Il primo capitolo dell’Apologia de Aristide. La Scuola Cattolica, 66, pp. 35-51. Although its title corresponds to that given by the Armenian fragment and by Eusebius, it begins with a formal inscription to the emperor Titus Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius; and Dr. Rendel Harris is followed by
Adolf von Harnack Carl Gustav Adolf von Harnack (born Harnack; 7 May 1851 – 10 June 1930) was a Baltic German Lutheran theologian and prominent Church historian. He produced many religious publications from 1873 to 1912 (in which he is sometimes credited ...
and others in supposing that it was only through a careless reading of this inscription that the work was supposed to have been addressed to Hadrian. If this be the case, it must be placed elsewhere in the long reign of
Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatoria ...
(138-161 AD). There are, however, no internal grounds for rejecting the thrice-bested dedication to Hadrian, his predecessor, and the picture of things in it, that it is moved by compulsion: : I understood that he who moves them is God, who is hidden in them, and veiled by them. And it is manifest that that which causes motion is more powerful than that which is moved. Having briefly spoken of the divine nature in the terms of
Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC, marking the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Greek philosophy continued throughout the Hellenistic period and the period in which Greece and most Greek-inhabited lands were part of the Roman Empi ...
, Aristides proceeds to ask which of all the races of men have at all partaken of the truth about
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
. Here we have the first attempt at a systematic comparison of ancient religions. For the purpose of his inquiry, he adopts an obvious threefold common division into idolaters, Jews and Christians. Idolaters, or, as he here gently terms them in addressing the emperor, "those who worship what among you are said to be gods," he subdivides into the three great world-civilizations: Chaldeans, Greeks and Egyptians. He chooses this order so as to work up to a climax of error and absurdity in heathen worship. The direct nature-worship of the Chaldeans is shown to be false because its objects are works of the Creator, fashioned for the use of men. They obey false laws and have no power over themselves. The Greeks had erred worse than the Chaldeans, "calling those gods who are no gods, according to their evil lusts, in order that having these as advocates of their wickedness they may commit adultery, rape, plunder and kill, and do the worst of deeds". The gods of Olympus are challenged one by one, and shown to be either vile or helpless, or both at once. A heaven of quarrelling divinities cannot inspire a reasonable worship. These gods are not even respectable; how can they be adorable? The Egyptians have to be worse than all the nations; for they were not content with the worships of the Chaldeans and Greeks, but introduced, moreover, as gods even brute beasts of the dry land and of the waters, and plants and herbs: : Though they see their gods eaten by others and by men, and burned, and slain, and rotting, say they do not understand concerning them that they are no gods. Throughout the whole of the argument there is strong common-sense criticism of the non-Christian religions and a stern severity unrelieved by conscious humour. Aristides is engaged in a real contest; he strikes hard blows, and gives no quarter. He cannot see, as Justin and Clement see, in striving after truth, a feeling after God, in the older religions, or even in the philosophies of Greece. He has no patience with attempts to find a deeper meaning in the stories of the gods. "Do they say that one nature underlies these diverse forms? Then why does god hate god, or god kill god? Do they say that the histories are mythical? Then the gods themselves are myths, and nothing more." The Jews are briefly treated. After a reference to their descent from Abraham and their sojourn in Egypt, Aristides praises them for their worship of the one God, the Almighty creator; but blames them as worshipping angels, and observing "sabbaths and new moons, and the unleavened bread, and the great fast, and
circumcision Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...
, and cleanness of meats". He then proceeds to the description of the Christians. He begins with a fragment which, when purged of glosses by a comparison of all three forms in which it survives, reads thus: : The Christians, then, trace the beginning of their religion from Jesus the Messiah; and he is named the Son of God Most High. And it is said that God came down from heaven, and from a Hebrew virgin assumed and clothed himself with flesh; and the Son of God lived in a daughter of man...This Jesus, then, was born of the race of the Hebrews; and he had twelve disciples in order that the purpose of his incarnation might in time be accomplished. But he himself was pierced by the Jews, and he died and was buried; and they say that after three days he rose and ascended to heaven. Thereupon these twelve disciples went forth throughout the known parts of the world, and kept showing his greatness with all modesty and uprightness. And hence also those of the present day who believe that preaching are called Christians, and they are become famous. This passage contains striking correspondences with the second section of the
Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century ...
. The attribution of the
Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
to the Jews appears in several 2nd-century documents; Justin actually uses the words "He was pierced by you" in his ''
Dialogue with Trypho The ''Dialogue with Trypho,'' along with the First and Second Apologies, is a second-century Christian apologetic text, usually agreed to be dated in between AD 155-160. It is seen as documenting the attempts by theologian Justin Martyr to show t ...
'', a Jew. : But the Christians, O King, while they went about and made search, have found the truth; and as we learned from their writings, they have come nearer to truth and genuine knowledge than the rest of the nations. For they know and trust in God, the Creator of heaven and of earth, in whom and from whom are all things, to whom there is no other god as companion, from whom they received commandments which they engraved upon their minds and observe in hope and expectation of the world which is to come. . . . And if there is among them any that is poor and needy, and if they have no spare food, they fast two or three days in order to supply to the needy their lack of food. They observe the precepts of their Messiah with much care, living justly and soberly as the Lord their God commanded them. Every morning and every hour they give thanks and praise to God for His loving-kindnesses toward them... This simple description is there in the Syriac, but the additional details must be accepted with caution: for while it is likely that the monk who appropriated the Greek may have cut it down to meet the exigencies of his romance, it is the habit of certain Syriac translators to elaborate their originals. After asserting that "this is the way of truth", and again referring for further information to the writings of the Christians, he says: "And truly this is a new way, and there is something divine mingled with it". At the close we have a passage which is found only in the Syriac, but which is shown by internal evidence to contain original elements: "Now the Greeks, O King, as they follow base practices in intercourse with males, and a mother and a sister and a daughter, impute their monstrous impurity in turn to the Christians." This is an allusion the charges of Thyestean banquets and other immoralities, which the early apologists constantly rebut. : But the Christians are just and good, and the truth is set before their eyes, and their spirit is long-suffering; and, therefore, though they know the error of these (the Greeks), and are persecuted by them, they bear and endure it; and for the most part they have compassion on them, as men who are destitute of knowledge. And on their side, they offer prayer that these may repent of their error; and when it happens that one of them has repented, he is ashamed before the Christians of the works which were done by him; and he makes confession to God, saying, I did these things in ignorance. And he purifies his heart, and his sins are forgiven him, because he committed them in ignorance in the former time, when he used to blaspheme and speak evil of the true knowledge of the Christians. And assuredly the race of the Christians is more blessed than all the men who are upon the face of the earth. These last words point to the use in the composition of this apology of a lost apocryphal work of very early date, ''The Preachings of Peter''. This book is known to us chiefly by quotations in
Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...
: it was widely circulated, and at one time claimed a place within the Canon. It was used by the Gnostic
Heracleon Heracleon was a Gnostic who flourished about AD 175, probably in the south of Italy. He is described by Clement of Alexandria ('' Strom.'' iv. 9) as the most esteemed (δοκιμώτατος) of the school of Valentinus; and, according to Orige ...
and probably by the unknown writer of the '' Epistle to Diognetus''. From the fragments which survive we know that it contained: #a description of the nature of God, which closely corresponds with Aristides' first chapter, followed by #a warning not to worship according to the Greeks, with an exposure of various forms of idolatry; #a warning not to worship according to the Jews – although they alone think they know the true God – for they worship angels and are superstitious about moons and sabbaths, and feasts (compare Arist. ch. 14); #a description the Christians as being "a third race", and worshipping God "in a new way" through Christ; #a proof of Christianity by Jewish prophecy; #a promise of forgiveness to Jews and Gentiles who should turn to Christ, because they had sinned in ignorance in the former time. Now all these points, except the proof from Jewish prophecy, are taken up and worked out by Aristides with a frequent use of the actual language of the ''Preaching of Peter''. A criterion is thus given us for the construction of the ''Apology'' based on the abbreviated Greek and we are enabled to claim with certainty the passages of the Syriac which might otherwise be suspected interpolations. The style of the ''Apology'' is exceedingly simple. It is curiously misdescribed by
Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, th ...
, who never can have seen it, as ''Apologeticum pro Christianis contextum philosophorum sententiis''. Its merits are its recognition of the helplessness of the old Athenism to satisfy human aspiration after the divine, and the impressive simplicity with which it presents the unfailing argument of the lives of Christians.


See also

*
Early centers of Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...


References


The ''Apology of Aristides''
English translation of the Greek, two translations of the Syriac, and of one of the Armenian fragments, with a detailed preface. * {{EB1911, wstitle=Aristides, Apology of, volume=2, pages=495–497, first=Joseph Armitage, last=Robinson, authorlink=Armitage Robinson 2nd-century Christian texts 1878 archaeological discoveries Christianity in Roman Athens Greek literature (post-classical) Ancient Roman philosophical literature Chaldea Hadrian