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| Ambrose.
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Ancient
Syriac Documents.
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Ambrose.3495
| 3495 This piece
has much in common with the Discourse to the Greeks
(Λόγος
πρὸς
῞Ελληνας), ascribed by
many to Justin, which is contained in vol. i. pp. 271–272 of this
series. Two things seem to be evident: (1) That neither of
the two pieces is the original composition: for each contains
something not found in the other; (2) That the original was in
Greek: for the Syriac has in some instances evidently
mistranslated the Greek. |
A memorial3496
| 3496 The Greek
ὑπομνήματα. | a which Ambrose, a chief man of
Greece, wrote: who became a Christian, and all his
fellow-senators raised an outcry against him; and he fled from them,
and wrote and pointed out to them all their foolishness.
Beginning his discourse,3497
| 3497 Lit., “and
in the beginning of his words.” | he answered and
said:—
Think not, men of Greece, that my separation from
your customs has been made without a just and proper reason. For
I acquainted myself with all your wisdom, consisting of poetry,
of oratory, of philosophy; and when I found not there anything
agreeable to what is right, or that is worthy of the divine
nature, I resolved to make myself acquainted with the wisdom of the
Christians also, and to learn and see who they are, and when
they took their rise, and what is the nature of this new
and strange wisdom of theirs,3498
| 3498 Lit.
“what is the newness and strangeness of it.” | or on
what good hopes those who are imbued with it rely, that they
speak only that which is true.
Men of Greece, when I came to examine the
Christian writings, I found not any folly3499
| 3499 The word also
means “sin;” and this notion is the more prominent of the
two in what follows. | in them, as I had found in the
celebrated Homer, who has said concerning the wars of the two
trials:3500
| 3500 It is difficult
to assign any satisfactory meaning to the word ***, which appears,
however, to be the reading of the ms., since
Cureton endeavours to justify the rendering given.
“Calamities,” a sense the word will also bear, seems no
easier of explanation. If we could assume the meaning to be
“nations” (nationes), a word similar in sound to
that found in the text, explaining it of heathen peoples,
Gentiles (comp. Tertullian, De Idol., 22, “per deos
nationum”), this might seem to meet the difficulty. But
there is no trace in this composition of a Latin
influence: if a foreign word must be used, we should
rather have expected the Greek ἔθνη. |
“Because of Helen, many of the Greeks perished at Troy, away from
their beloved home.”3501
For, first
of all, we are told3502
concerning
Agamemnon their king, that by reason of the foolishness of his brother
Menelaus, and the violence of his madness, and the uncontrollable
nature of his passion, he resolved to go and rescue Helen from the
hands of a certain leprous3503
| 3503 It has been
proposed to substitute in the Greek copy λιπαροῦ,
“dainty,” for λεπροῦ. But
the Syriac confirms the ms. reading. The
term is thought to be expressive of the contempt in which shepherds
were held. See vol. i. p. 271, note 1. | shepherd; and
afterwards, when the Greeks had become victorious in the war,
and burnt cities, and taken women and children captive, and the land
was filled with blood, and the rivers with corpses, Agamemnon himself
also was found to be taken captive by his passion for
Briseis. Patroclus, again, we are told, was slain, and Achilles,
the son of the goddess Thetis, mourned over him; Hector was dragged
along the ground, and Priam and Hecuba together were weeping
over the loss of their children; Astyanax, the son of Hector, was
thrown down from the walls of Ilion, and his mother Andromache the
mighty Ajax bore away into captivity; and that which was taken
as booty was after a little while, all squandered in sensual
indulgence.
Of the wiles of Odysseus the son of Laertes, and
of his murders, who shall tell the tale? For of a hundred and ten
suitors did his house in one day become the grave, and it was filled
with corpses and blood. He, too, it was that by his
wickedness gained the praises of men, because through his
pre-eminence in craft he escaped detection; he, too, it was who,
you say, sailed upon the sea, and heard not the voice of the
Sirens only because he stopped his ears with wax.3504
| 3504 In the Greek
this is adduced as an evidence of his weakness: “because he
was unable to stop his ears by his self-control
(φρονήσει).” |
The famous Achilles, again, the son of Peleus, who
bounded across the river, and routed3505
| 3505 ***, the reading of
the text, which can only mean “fled,” is manifestly
incorrect. The Aphel of this verb, ***, “caused to
flee,” is suggested by Dr. Payne Smith, who also proposes ***,
“exstirpavit.” | the Trojans,
and slew Hector,—this said hero of yours became the slave of
Philoxena, and was overcome by an Amazon as she lay dead and
stretched upon her bier; and he put off his armour, and arrayed
himself in nuptial garments, and finally fell a sacrifice to
love.
Thus much
concerning your great “men;”3506
and thou, Homer, hadst deserved forgiveness, if thy silly story-telling
had gone so far only as to prate about men, and not about the
gods. As for what he says about the gods, I am ashamed
even to speak of it: for the stories that have been invented
about them are very wicked and shocking; passing strange,3507
| 3507 This is not
intended as a translation of ***, which is literally
“conquered.” Dr. Payne Smith thinks it just possible
that there was in the Greek some derivative of ὑπερβάλλω ="to
surpass belief,” which the Syrian translator misunderstood. | too, and not to be believed; and, if the
truth must be told,3508
| 3508 This is
conjectured to be the meaning of what would be literally rendered,
“et id quod coactum est.” | fit only to be
laughed at. For a person will be compelled to laugh when
he meets with them, and will not believe them when he hears them.
For think of gods who did not one of them observe the laws of
rectitude, or of purity, or of modesty, but were adulterers, and
spent their time in debauchery, and yet were not condemned to
death, as they ought to have been!
Why, the sovereign of the gods, the very
“father of gods and men,” not only, as ye say, was an
adulterer (this was but a light thing), but even slew his own father,
and was a pæderast. I will first of all speak of his
adultery, though I blush to do so: for he appeared to
Antiope as a satyr, and descended upon Danaë as a shower of gold,
and became a bull for Europa, and a swan for Leda; whilst the love of
Semele, the mother of Dionysus, exposed both his own ardency of
passion and the jealousy of the chaste Hera. Ganymede the
Phrygian, too, he carried off disguised as an eagle, that the
fair and comely boy, forsooth, might serve as cup-bearer to him.
This said sovereign of the gods, moreover killed his father
Kronos, that he might seize upon his kingdom.
Oh! to how many charges is the sovereign of the
gods amenable,3509
| 3509 Lit., “of how
many censures is…full.” | and how many
deaths does he deserve to die, as an adulterer, and as a
sorcerer,3510
| 3510 Since he could change
his form to suit his purpose. | and as a
pæderast! Read to the sovereign of the gods, O men of
Greece, the law concerning parricide, and the condemnation pronounced
on adultery, and about the shame that attaches to the vile sin
of pæderasty. How many adulterers has the sovereign of the
gods indoctrinated in sin! Nay, how many pæderasts,
and sorcerers, and murderers! So that, if a man be found
indulging his passions, he must not be put to death: because he
has done this that he may become like the sovereign of the gods; and,
if he be found a murderer, he has an excuse in the sovereign of
the gods; and, if a man be a sorcerer, he has learned it from the
sovereign of the gods; and, if he be a pæderast, the sovereign of
the gods is his apologist. Then, again, if one should speak of
courage, Achilles was more valiant that this said sovereign of the
gods: for he slew the man that slew his friend; but the sovereign
of the gods wept over Sarpedon his son when he was dying, being
distressed for him.
Pluto, again, who is a god, carried off
Kora,3511
| 3511 That is, “the
Daughter” (namely, of Demeter), the name under which Proserpine
was worshipped in Attica. | and the mother of Kora was hurrying hither
and thither searching for her daughter in all desert places; and,
although Alexander Paris, when he had carried off Helen, paid
the penalty of vengeance, as having made himself her lover by
force, yet Pluto, who is a god, when he carried off Kora, remained
without rebuke; and, although Menelaus, who is a man, knew how
to search for Helen his wife, yet Demeter, who is a goddess, knew not
where to search for Kora her daughter.
Let Hephæstus put away jealousy from him, and
not indulge resentment.3512
| 3512 Because the
behaviour of which he had to complain was sanctioned by the highest of
the gods. | For he was
hated,3513
| 3513 For ***,
“was tried,” read ***. The Greek has μεμίσητο.
Cureton: “forgotten.” | because he was
old and lame; while Ares was loved, because he was a youth and
beautiful in form. There was, however, a reproof administered
in respect of the adultery. Hephæstus was not, indeed,
at first aware of the love existing between Venus3514
| 3514 The word is
“Balthi.” | his wife and Ares; but, when he did
become acquainted with it, Hephæstus said: “Come, see
a ridiculous and senseless piece of behaviour—how to me, who am
her own, Venus, the daughter of the sovereign of the gods, is offering
insult—to me, I say, who am her own, and is paying honour
to Ares, who is a stranger to her.” But to the sovereign of
the gods it was not displeasing: for he loved such as were like
these. Penelope, moreover, remained a widow twenty years, because
she was expecting the return of her husband Odysseus, and busied
herself with cunning tasks,3515
| 3515 Dr. Payne Smith
reads *** instead of ***, word which, as Cureton says, is not in the
lexicons. | and persevered in
works of skill, while all those suitors kept pressing her to marry
them; but Venus, who is a goddess, when Hephæstus her husband
was close to her, deserted him, because she was overcome by love for
Ares. Hearken, men of Greece: which of you would have dared
to do this, or would even have endured to see it? And, if any one
“should” dare to act so, what torture would be in
store for him, or what scourgings!
Kronos, again, who is a god, who devoured all
those children of his, was not even brought before a court of
justice. They further tell us that the sovereign of the
gods, his son, was the only one that escaped from him; and that the
madness of Kronos his father was cheated of its purpose because
Rhea his wife, the mother of the sovereign of the gods, offered him a
stone in the place of the said sovereign of the gods, his son, to
prevent him from devouring him. Hearken, men of Greece, and
reflect upon this madness! Why, even the dumb animal that
grazes in the field knows its proper food, and does not touch
strange food; the wild beast, too, and the reptile, and the bird, know
their food. As for men, I need not say anything about them:
ye yourselves are acquainted with their food, and understand it
well. But Kronos, who is a god, not knowing his
proper food, ate up a stone!
Therefore, O men of Greece, if ye will have such
gods as these, do not find fault with one another when ye do such-like
things. Be not angry with thy son when he forms the design to
kill thee: because he thus resembles the sovereign of the
gods. And, if a man commit adultery with thy wife, why dost thou
think of him as an enemy, and yet to the sovereign of the gods, who is
like him, doest worship and service? Why, too, dost thou find
fault with thy wife when she has committed adultery and leads a
dissolute life,3516
| 3516 The reading of the
Greek copy, ἀκολάστως
ζῶσαν, is here given. The Syrian
adapter, misunderstanding ἀκολάστως,
renders: “and is without punishment.” | and yet
payest honour to Venus, and placest her images in shrines?
Persuade your Solon to repeal his laws; Lycurgus, also, to make
no laws; let the Areopagus repeal3517
theirs,
and judge no more; and let the Athenians have councils no longer.
Let the Athenians discharge Socrates from his office: for
no one like Kronos has ever come before him. Let them not
put to death Orestes, who killed his mother: for, lo! the
sovereign of the gods did worse things than these to his father.
Œdipus also too hastily inflicted mischief on himself, in
depriving his eyes of sight, because he had killed his mother
unwittingly: for he did not think about3518
the sovereign of the gods, who killed
his father and yet remained without punishment. Medea,
again, who killed her children, the Corinthians banish from their
country; and yet they do service and honour to Kronos, who
devoured his children. Then, too, as regards Alexander
Paris—he was right in carrying off Helen: for he did
it that he might become like Pluto, who carried off Kora. Let
your men be set free from law, and let your cities be
the abode of wanton women, and a dwelling-place for
sorcerers.
Wherefore, O men of Greece, seeing that your gods
are grovelling like yourselves, and your heroes destitute of
courage,3519
| 3519 So in the Greek
copy. The Syriac, which has “valiant,” appears to
have mistaken ἄνανδροι
for ἀνδρεῖοι. | as your dramas
tell and your stories declare—then, again, what shall be
said of the tribulations of Orestes; and the couch of Thyestes; and
the foul taint in the family of Pelops; and concerning Danaus,
who through jealousy killed his sons-in-law, and deprived them
of offspring; the banquet of Thyestes, too, feeding upon the
corpse set before him by way of vengeance for her whom he had
wronged; about Procne also, to this hour screaming as she flies;
her sister too, warbling, with her tongue cut out?3520
| 3520 The tradition seems
to be followed which makes Procne to have been changed into a swallow,
and her sister (Philomela) into a nightingale. | What, moreover, is it fitting to say
about the murder committed by Œdipus, who took his own mother
to wife, and whose brothers killed one another, they being at
the same time his sons?
Your festivals, too, I hate; for there is no
moderation where they are; the sweet flutes also, dispellers of care,
which play as an incitement to dancing;3521
| 3521 Cureton:
“play with a tremulous motion.” But the Syriac very
well answers to the Greek ἐκκαλούμενοι
πρὸς
οῖστρώδεις
κινήσεις, if we
take *** to denote result: q.d., “so as to
produce movement.” |
and the preparation of ointments, wherewith ye anoint yourselves; and
the chaplets which ye put on. In the abundance of your
wickedness, too, ye have forgotten shame, and your understandings have
become blinded, and ye have been infuriated3522
| 3522 Greek, ἐκβακχευόμενοι. | by the heat of passion, and have
loved the adulterous bed.3523
| 3523 Lit. “bed
of falsity.” [Compare notes on vol. i. pp. 271, 272.] |
Had these things been said by another, perhaps
our adversaries would have brought an accusation against him,
on the plea that they were untrue. But your own poets say
them, and your own hymns and dramas declare them.
Come, therefore, and be instructed in the word of
God, and in the wisdom which is fraught with comfort. Rejoice,
and become partakers of it. Acquaint yourselves with the King
Immortal, and acknowledge His servants. For not in arms do they
make their boast, nor do they commit murders: because our
Commander has no delight in abundance of strength, nor yet in horsemen
and their gallant array, nor yet in illustrious descent; but He
delights in the pure soul, fenced round by a rampart of
righteousness. The word of God, moreover, and the promises of our
good King, and the works of God, are ever teaching us. Oh the
blessedness of the soul that is redeemed by the power of the
word! Oh the blessedness of the trumpet of peace without
war! Oh the blessedness of the teaching which quenches the
fire of appetite! which, though it makes not poets, nor fits
men to be philosophers, nor has among its votaries the
orators of the crowd; yet instructs men, and makes the dead not
to die, and lifts men from the earth as gods up to the region
which is above the firmament. Come, be instructed, and be like
me: for I too was once as ye are.
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