|
HOME | GREEK LANGUAGE |
LIBRARIES |
BLOG | HELP | SEARCH | BOOKSTORE | FREEWARE |
|
|
Translated by Cardinal Newman.
St Athanasius the Great Resources Online and in Print
|
This Part: 128 Pages
Page 76
Discourse II.
Chapter XIV.--Texts explained; Fourthly, Hebrews iii. 2 Introduction; the Regula Fidei counter to an Arian sense of the text; which is not supported by the word 'servant,' nor by 'made' which occurs in it; (how can the Judge be among the 'works' which 'God will bring into judgment?') nor by 'faithful;' and is confuted by the immediate context, which is about Priesthood; and by the foregoing passage, which explains the word 'faithful' as meaning trustworthy, as do 1 Pet. iv. fin. and other texts. On the whole made may safely be understood either of the divine generation or the human creation.
1. I did indeed think that enough had been said already against the hollow professors of Arius's madness, whether for their refutation or in the truth's behalf, to insure a cessation and repentance of their evil thoughts and words about the Saviour. They, however, for whatever reason, still do not succumb; but, as swine and dogs wallow [2210] in their own vomit and their own mire, rather invent new expedients for their irreligion. Thus they misunderstand the passage in the Proverbs, 'The Lord hath created me a beginning of His ways for His works [2211] ,' and the words of the Apostle, 'Who was faithful to Him that made Him [2212] ,' and straightway argue, that the Son of God is a work and a creature. But although they might have learned from what is said above, had they not utterly lost their power of apprehension, that the Son is not from nothing nor in the number of things originate at all, the Truth witnessing [2213] it (for, being God, He cannot be a work, and it is impious to call Him a creature, and it is of creatures and works that we say, 'out of nothing,' and 'it was not before its generation'), yet since, as if dreading to desert their own fiction, they are accustomed to allege the aforesaid passages of divine Scripture, which have a good meaning, but are by them practised on, let us proceed afresh to take up the question of the sense of these, to remind the faithful, and to shew from each of these passages that they have no knowledge at all of Christianity. Were it otherwise, they would not have shut themselves up in the unbelief [2214] of the present Jews [2215] , but would have inquired and learned [2216] that, whereas 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,' in consequence, it was when at the good pleasure of the Father the Word became man, that it was said of Him, as by John, 'The Word became flesh [2217] ;' so by Peter, 'He hath made Him Lord and Christ [2218] ';--as by means of Solomon in the Person of the Lord Himself, 'The Lord created me a beginning of His ways for His works [2219] ;' so by Paul, 'Become so much better than the Angels [2220] ;' and again, 'He emptied Himself, and took upon Him the form of a servant [2221] ;' and again, 'Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Jesus, who was faithful to Him that made Him [2222] .' For all these texts have the same force and meaning, a religious one, declarative of the divinity of the Word, even those of them which speak humanly concerning Him, as having become the Son of man. But, though this distinction is sufficient for their refutation, still, since from a misconception of the Apostle's words (to mention them first), they consider the Word of God to be one of the works, because of its being written, 'Who was faithful to Him that made Him,' I have thought it needful to silence this further argument of theirs, taking in hand [2223] , as before, their statement.
[2210] kuliomenoi, Orat. iii. 16.
[2211] Prov. viii. 22. Cf. i. 53 and infr. 19-72.
[2212] Heb. iii. 2.
[2213] Vid. infr. note on 35.
[2214] Cf. Rom. xi. 32
[2215] ton nun 'Ioudaion, means literally 'the Jews of this day,' as here and Orat. i. 8. 10. 38. Orat. ii. 1. b. iii. 28. c. But elsewhere this and similar phrases as distinctly mean the Arians, being used in contrast to the Jews. Their likeness to the Jews is drawn out, Orat. iii. 27. de Decr. i.
[2216] erotontes emanthanon; and so mathon edidasken, Orat. iii. 9. de Decr. 7. supr. p. 13, note a.
[2217] John i. 14.
[2218] Acts ii. 36.
[2219] Prov. viii. 22.
[2220] Heb. i. 4.
[2221] Phil. ii. 7.
[2222] Heb. iii. 1, 2; Sent. D. 11.
[2223] By laubanontes par' auton to lemma, 'accepting the proposition they offer,' he means that he is engaged in going through certain texts brought against the Catholic view, instead of bringing his own proofs, vid. Orat. i. 37. Yet after all it is commonly his way, as here, to start with some general exposition of the Catholic doctrine which the Arian sense of the text in question opposes, and thus to create a prejudice or proof against the latter. vid. Orat. i. 10. 38. 40. init. 53. d. ii. 5. 12. init. 32-34. 35. 44. init. which refers to the whole discussion, 18-43. 73. 77. iii. 18. init. 36. init. 42. 54. 51. init. &c. On the other hand he makes the ecclesiastical sense the rule of interpretation, touto [to skopo, the general drift of Scripture doctrine] hosper kanoni chresamenoi prosechomen te anagnosei tes theopneustou graphes, iii. 28. fin. This illustrates what he means when he says that certain texts have a 'good,' 'pious,' 'orthodox' sense, i.e. they can be interpreted (in spite, if so be, of appearances) in harmony with the Regula Fidei. vid. infr. S:43, note; also notes on 35. and iii. 58.
Reference address : https://www.elpenor.org/athanasius/discourses-against-arians.asp?pg=76
