# Ante-Nicene Christian Library/On the Sole Government of God (Justin Martyr)

JUSTIN ON THE SOLE GOVERNMENT OE GOD.
Chap. i.—Object of the author.
LTHOUGH human nature at first received a union of intelligence and safety to discern the truth, and the worship due to the one Lord of all, yet envy, insinuating the excellence of human greatness, turned men away to the making of idols; and this superstitious custom, after continuing for a long period, is handed down to the majority as if it were natural and true. It is the part of a lover of man, or rather of a lover of God, to remind men who have neglected it of that which they ought to know. For the truth is of itself sufficient to show forth, by means of those things which are contained under the pole of heaven, the order [instituted by] Him who has created them. But forgetfulness having taken possession of the minds of men, through the long-suffering of God, has acted recklessly in transferring to mortals the name which is applicable to the only true God; and from the few the infection of sin spread to the many, who were blinded by popular usage to the knowledge of that which was lasting and unchangeable. For the men of former generations, who instituted private and public rites in honour of such as were more powerful, caused forgetfulness of the catholic faith to take possession of their posterity; but I, as I have just stated, along with a God-loving mind, shall employ the speech of ​one who loves man, and set it before those who have intelligence, which all ought to have who are privileged to witness the administration of the universe, so that they should worship unchangeably Him who knows all things. This I shall do, not by mere display of words, but by altogether using demonstration drawn from the old poetry in Greek literature, and from writings very common amongst all. For from these the famous men who have handed down as law idol-worship to the multitudes, shall be taught and convicted by their own poets and literature of great ignorance.
Chap. ii.—Testimonies to the unity of God.
First, then, Æschylus, in expounding the arrangement of his work, expressed himself also as follows respecting the only God:
"Afar from mortals place the holy God, Nor ever think that He, like to thyself, In fleshly robes is clad; for all unknown Is the great God to such a worm as thou. Divers similitudes He bears; at times He seems as a consuming fire that burns Unsated; now like water, then again In sable folds of darkness shrouds Himself. Nay, even the very beasts of earth reflect His sacred image; whilst the wind, clouds, rain, The roll of thunder and the lightning flash, Reveal to men their great and sovereign Lord. Before Him sea and rocks, with every fount, And all the water floods, in reverence bend; And as they gaze upon His awful face, Mountains and earth, with the profoundest depths Of ocean, and the highest peaks of hills, Tremble: for He is Lord Omnipotent; And this the glory is of God Most High."
​But he was not the only man initiated in the knowledge of God; for Sophocles also thus describes the nature of the only Creator of all things, the One God:
"There is one God, in truth there is but one, Who made the heavens and the broad earth beneath, The glancing waves of ocean, and the winds; But many of us mortals err in heart, And set up, for a solace in our woes, Images of the gods in stone and brass, Or figures carved in gold or ivory; And, furnishing for these, our handiworks, Both sacrifice and rite magnificent, We think that thus we do a pious work."
And Philemon also, who published many explanations of ancient customs, shares in the knowledge of the truth; and thus he writes:
"Tell me what thoughts of God we should conceive? One, all things seeing, yet Himself unseen."
Even Orpheus, too, who introduces three hundred and sixty gods, will bear testimony in my favour from the tract called Diathecæ, in which he appears to repent of his error by writing the following:
He speaks indeed as if he had been an eye-witness of God's greatness. And Pythagoras agrees with him when he writes:
"Should one in boldness say, Lo, I am God! Besides the One—Eternal Infinite, Then let him from the throne he has usurped Put forth his power and form another globe, Such as we dwell in, saying, This is mine. Nor only so, but in this new domain For ever let him dwell. If this he can, Then verily he is a god proclaimed."
Chap. iii.—Testimonies to a future judgment.
Then further concerning Him, that He alone is powerful, both to institute judgment on the deeds performed in life, and on the ignorance of the Deity [displayed by men], I can adduce witnesses from your own ranks; and first Sophocles, who speaks as follows:
And Philemon again:
"Think'st thou, Nicostratus, the dead, who here Enjoyed whate'er of good life offers man, Escape the notice of Divinity, As if they might forgotten be of Him? Nay, there's an eye of Justice watching all; For if the good and bad find the same end, Then go thou, rob, steal, plunder, at thy will, Do all the evil that to thee seems good. Yet be not thou deceived; for underneath There is a throne and place of judgment set, Which God the Lord of all shall occupy; Whose name is terrible, nor shall I dare To breathe it forth in feeble human speech."
And Euripides:
Chap. iv.—God desires not sacrifices, but righteousness.
And that God is not appeased by the libations and incense of evil-doers, but awards vengeance in righteousness to each one, Philemon again shall bear testimony to me:
Again, Plato, in Timæus, says: "But if any one on consideration should actually institute a rigid inquiry, he would be ignorant of the distinction between the human and the divine nature; because God mingles many things up into one, [and again is able to dissolve one into many things,] seeing that He is endued with knowledge and power; but no man either is, or ever shall be, able to perform any of these."
Chap. v.—The vain pretensions of false gods.
But concerning those who think that they shall share the holy and perfect name, which some have received by a vain tradition as if they were gods, Menander in the Auriga says:
"If there exists a god who walketh out With an old woman, or who enters in By stealth to houses through the folding-doors, He ne'er can please me; nay, but only he Who stays at home, a just and righteous God, To give salvation to His worshippers."
The same Menander, in the Sacerdos, says:
Again, the same Menander, stating his opinion about those who are received as gods, proving rather that they are not so, says:
"Yea, if I this beheld, I then should wish That back to me again my soul returned. For tell me where, O Getas, in the world 'Tis possible to find out righteous gods?"
And in the Depositum:
"There's an unrighteous judgment, as it seems, Even with the gods."
And Euripides the tragedian, in Orestes, says:
"Apollo having caused by his command The murder of the mother, knoweth not What honesty and justice signify. We serve the gods, whoever they may be; But from the central regions of the earth You see Apollo plainly gives response To mortals, and whate'er he says we do. I him obeyed, when she that bore me fell Slain by my hand: he is the wicked man. Then slay him, for twas he that sinned, not I. What could I do? Think you not that the god Should free me from the blame which I do bear?"
The same also in Hippolytus:
"But on these points the gods do not judge right."
And in Ion:
And in Archelaus:
"Full oft, my son, do gods mankind perplex."
And in Bellerophon:
"They are no gods, who do not what is right."
And again in the same:
And Menander in Diphilus:
"Therefore ascribe we praise and honour great To Him who Father is, and Lord of all; Sole maker and preserver of mankind, And who with all good things our earth has stored."
The same also in the Piscatores:
"For I deem that which nourishes my life Is God; but he whose custom 'tis to meet The wants of men,—He needs not at our hands Renewed supplies, Himself being all in all."
The same in the Fratres:
"God ever is intelligence to those Who righteous are: so wisest men have thought."
And in the Tibicinæ:
"Good reason finds a temple in all things Wherein to worship; for what is the mind, But just the voice of God within us placed?"
And the tragedian in Phrixus:
"But if the pious and the impious Share the same lot, how could we think it just, If Jove, the best, judges not uprightly?"
​In Philoctetes:
"You see how honourable gain is deemed Even to the gods; and how he is admired Whose shrine is laden most with yellow gold. What, then, doth hinder thee, since it is good To be like gods, from thus accepting gain?"
In Hecuba:
"O Jupiter! whoever thou mayest be, Of whom except in word all knowledge fails;"
And, "Jupiter, whether thou art indeed A great necessity, or the mind of man, I worship thee!"
Chap. vi.—We should acknowledge one only God.
Here, then, is a proof of virtue, and of a mind loving prudence, to recur to the communion of the unity, and to attach one's self to prudence for salvation, and make choice of the better things according to the free-will placed in man; and not to think that those who are possessed of human passions are lords of all, when they shall not appear to have even equal power with men. For in Homer, Demodocus says he is self-taught—
"God inspired me with strains"—
though he is a mortal. Æsculapius and Apollo are taught to heal by Chiron the Centaur,—a very novel thing indeed, for gods to be taught by a man. What need I speak of Bacchus, who the poet says is mad? or of Hercules, who he says is unhappy? What need to speak of Mars and Venus, the leaders of adultery; and by means of all these to establish the proof which has been undertaken? For if some one, in ignorance, should imitate the deeds which are said to be divine, he would be reckoned among impure men, and a stranger to life and humanity; and if any one does so ​knowingly, he will have a plausible excuse for escaping vengeance, by showing that imitation of godlike deeds of audacity is no sin. But if any one should blame these deeds, he will take away their well-known names, and not cover them up with specious and plausible words. It is necessary, then, to accept the true and invariable Name, not proclaimed by my words only, but by the words of those who have introduced us to the elements of learning, in order that we may not, by living idly in this present state of existence, not only as those who are ignorant of the heavenly glory, but also as having proved ourselves ungrateful, render our account to the Judge.
* ↑ Θεοῦ is omitted in mss., but μοναρχία of itself implies it.
* ↑ i.e. the doctrine that God only is to be worshipped.
* ↑ Literally, "history."
* ↑ Grotius supposes this to be Æschylus the younger in some prologue.
* ↑ This may also be translated: "expounding the set of opinions prevalent in his day."
* ↑ "Pythagorei cujusdam fetus."—Otto, after Goezius.
* ↑ Some propose to insert these three lines in the centre of the next quotation from Philemon, after the line, "Nay, there s an eye," etc.
* ↑ Some say Diplilus.
* ↑ Grotius joins these lines to the preceding. Clement of Alexandria assigns them, and the others, which are under the name of Euripides, to Diphilus.
* ↑ Some attribute these lines to Menander, others regard them as spurious.
* ↑ P. 68, D.
* ↑ The mss. are corrupt here. They seem to read, and one actually does read, "all" for "many." "Many" is in Plato, and the clause in brackets is taken from Plato to fill up the sense.
* ↑ κακά in Euripides, καλά in text.
* ↑ These lines are assigned to Diphilus.
* ↑ The words from "but" to "all" are assigned by Otto to Justin, not to Menander.
* ↑ See chap. i., the opening sentence.
* ↑ Odyss. xv. 347.
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.