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| Chapter XXXVIII.—Concluding appeal.
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Chapter XXXVIII.—Concluding appeal.
But since, ye men of Greece, the matters of the true
religion lie not in the metrical numbers of poetry, nor yet in that
culture which is highly esteemed among you, do ye henceforward pay less
devotion to accuracy of metres and of language; and giving heed without
contentiousness to the words of the Sibyl, recognise how great are the
benefits which she will confer upon you by predicting, as she does in a
clear and patent manner, the advent of our Saviour Jesus Christ;2591
| 2591 [The fascinating use made of
this by Virgil must not be overlooked:— “Ultima Cumæi venit jam carminis ætas,”
etc. Ecl., iv. (Pollio) 4.] | who, being the Word of
God, inseparable from Him in power, having assumed man, who had been made
in the image and likeness of God, restored to us the knowledge of the
religion of our ancient forefathers, which the men who lived after them
abandoned through the bewitching counsel of the envious devil, and turned
to the worship of those who were no gods. And if you still hesitate and
are hindered from belief regarding the formation of man, believe those
whom you have hitherto thought it right to give heed to, and know that
your own oracle, when asked by some one to utter a hymn of praise to the
Almighty God, in the middle of the hymn spoke thus, “Who formed the
first of men, and called him Adam.” And this hymn is preserved by
many whom we know, for the conviction of those who are unwilling to
believe the truth which all bear witness to. If therefore, ye men of
Greece, ye do not esteem the false fancy concerning those that are no
gods at a higher rate than your own salvation, believe, as I said, the
most ancient and time-honoured Sibyl, whose books are preserved in all
the world, and who by some kind of potent inspiration both teaches us in
her oracular utterances concerning those that are called gods, that have
no existence; and also clearly and manifestly prophesies concerning the
predicted advent of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and concerning all those
things which were to be done by Him. For the knowledge of these things
will constitute your necessary preparatory training for the study of the
prophecies of the sacred writers. And if any one supposes that he has
learned the doctrine concerning God from the most ancient of those whom
you name philosophers, let him listen to Ammon and Hermes:2592
| 2592 [Hermes Trismegistus. Milton
(Penseroso, line 88,) translates this name.] | to Ammon, who in
his discourse concerning God calls Him wholly hidden; and to Hermes, who
says plainly and distinctly, “that it is difficult to comprehend
God, and that it is impossible even for the man who can comprehend Him to
declare Him to others.” From every point of view, therefore,
it must be seen that in no other way than only from the prophets who
teach us by divine inspiration, is it at all possible to learn anything
concerning God and the true religion.2593
| 2593 [N.B.—
This work is not supposed to be Justin’s by modern critics.]
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