§1.17Εὗρόν σου ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ καὶ τοῦτο αὐταῖς λέξεσι τό· « Ἐπὶ δὲ πᾶσι, τοσούτων προωδοιπορηκότων προφητῶν, τῶν τε ἐξῆς οὐδεὶς ἕτερος ἑτέρου κέχρηται ῥητῷ (6) νοήματι· οὐ γὰρ ἐπτώχευσεν ὁ λόγος αὐτῶν ἀληθὴς ὤν·
I found also this in your letter in these very words: 'But above all, although so many prophets went before, none of the subsequent ones used the explicit words of another; for their word, being true, did not become poor.
οὑτοσὶ δὲ, ἐκείνων θατέρῳ ἐπαπειλῶν ὑπομιμνήσκει σε (7) λέγοντος τοῦ Κυρίου· Ἀθῶον καὶ δίκαιον οὐκ ἀποκτενεῖς· » καὶ ἐθαύμασα, πῶς πολλὰς διατριβὰς ἕχων ἐν ταῖς ἐξετάσεσι καὶ μελέταις τῆς Γραφῆς, οὐ τετήρηκας συγχρωμένους προφήτας προφητῶν λόγοις σχεδὸν αὐταῖς λέξεσι.
But this man, threatening one of those, reminds you of the Lord saying: "The innocent and righteous you shall not slay."' And I wondered how, though you spend much time in the examination and study of the Scripture, you have not observed that the prophets use the words of other prophets almost in the same words.
Τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδε καὶ τῶν πολλῶν πιστῶν κείμενον ἐν τῷ Ἡσσΐᾳ τό· « Ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις ἐμφανὲς τὸ ὅρος Κυρίου· καὶ ὁ οἶκος τοῦ Θεοῦ (8) ἐπ᾿ ἄκρων τῶν ὀρέων, καὶ ὑψωθήσεται ὑπεράνω τῶν βουνῶν, καὶ ἥξουσιν ἐπʼ αὐτὸ πάντα τὰ ἕθνη·
For who does not know, even among the many believers, what is written in Isaiah: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be manifest on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall come to it.
καὶ πορεύσονται ἕθνη πολλὰ, καὶ ἐροῦσι· Δεῦτε, ἀνα εἰς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ εἰς τὸν οἷκον βῶμεντοῦ Θεοῦ Ἰακώβ· καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ ἡμῖν τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ πορευσόμσθα ἐν αὐτῇ· ἐκ γὰρ Σιὼν ἐξελεύσεται νόμος, καὶ λόγος Κυρίου ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ (9).
And many nations shall go and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will declare to us His way, and we will walk in it." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Καὶ κρινεῖ ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ἐθνῶν, καὶ κρινεῖ λαὸν πολύν· καὶ συγκόψουσι τὰς μαχαίρας αὐτῶν εἰς ἄροτρα, καὶ τὰς ζιβύνας αὐτῶν εἰς δρέπανα· καὶ οὐ λήψεται ἕθνος ἐπʼ ἕθνος μάχαιραν· καὶ οὐ μὴ μάθωσιν ἕτι πολεμεῖν. » Τὸ δὲ παραπλήσιον τούτοις lὅλοις, καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ λέξει, ἐν τῷ Μιχαίᾳ οὕτως ἐστὶ γεγραμμένον· « Καὶ ἕσται ἐπʼ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐμφανὲς τὸ ὅρος τοῦ Κυρίου, ἕτοιμον ἐπὶ τὰς κορυφὰς τῶν ὀρέων, καὶ μετεωρισθήσεται ὑπεράνω τῶν βουνῶν· καὶ σπεύσουσιν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ λαοὶ, καὶ πορεύσονται ἕθνη πολλὰ, καὶ ἐροῦσι· Δεῦτε, ἀναβῶμεν εἰς τὸ ὅρος (10) τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἰακὼβ, καὶ δείξουσιν ἡμῖν τὴν ὀδὸν αὐτοῦ· καὶ πορευσόμεθα ἐν ταῖς τρίβοις αὐτοῦ· ὅτι ἐκ Σιὼν ἐξελεύσεται νόμος, καὶ λόγος Κυρίου ἐξ Ἱερουσαλήμ. Καὶ κρινεῖ ἀνὰ μέσον λαῶν πολλῶν, καὶ ἐλέγξει ἐπὶ ἕθνη (11) ἰσχυρὰ ἕως εἰς μακρὰν, καὶ κατακόψουσι τὰς μαχαίρας αὐτῶν εἰς ἄροτρα, καὶ τὰς ζιβύνας αὐτῶν εἰς δρέπανα· καὶ οὐκέτι μὴ ἄρῃ ἕθνος ἐπʼ ἕθνος ῥομφαίαν, καὶ οὐκέτι μὴ μάθωσι πολεμεῖν.
And He shall judge between the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; and nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn to war anymore.' And what is very similar to all these things, and in the same words, is written in Micah thus: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, prepared on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall hasten to it, and many nations shall go and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and they shall show us His way, and we will walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
» Ἔτι δὲ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν Παραλειπομένων ὁ τεταγμένος ἐν χειρὶ Ἀσὰφ, καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ ψαλμὸς, τοῦ αἰνεῖν τὸν Κύριον, οὗ ἡ ἀρχή· « Ἐξομολογεῖσθε καὶ ἐπικαλεῖσθε αὐτὸν ἐν ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ, » ἐν μὲν τοῖς πλείστοις κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἰσοδυναμεῖ τῷ ρδ΄ ψαλμῷ, ἕως τοῦ· « Καὶ ἐν τοῖς προφήταις μου μὴ πονηρεύεσθε· » μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο τῷ Ϟε΄ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτοῦ ἐγγύς πως ἐχούσης τό· « Ἄσατε τῷ Κυρίῳ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ » ἕως τοῦ· « Ὅτι ἕρχεται κρῖναι τὴν γῆν. » Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἦν τὸ παραθέσθαι αὐτὰς τὰς λέξεις πολὺ, διὰ βραχέων πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ταῦτα εἰρήκαμεν.
And He shall judge between many peoples, and shall rebuke strong nations even far off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; and nation shall no longer lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn to war anymore.' And further, in the First Book of Chronicles, the psalm appointed in the hand of Asaph and his brethren to praise the Lord, whose beginning is: 'Give thanks and call upon Him in His name,' is for the most part equivalent in its beginning to the hundred and fourth Psalm, up to: 'And do no evil to my prophets'; and after this, it is close to the ninety-fifth from its beginning, which has: 'Sing to the Lord, all the earth,' up to: 'For He comes to judge the earth.' But since it would be too much to set down the very words, we have spoken of these things briefly in relation to the subject before us.
Εὑρήσεις δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ μὴ αἵρειν βάσταγμα ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν Σαββάτων οὐ μόνον παρὰ Μωϋσεῖ γεγραμμένον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν Ἱερεμίᾳ.
And you will find also concerning the not carrying of a burden on the Sabbath day, written not only in Moses, but also in Jeremiah.
Καὶ περὶ τοῦ Πάσχα καὶ νόμων ἱερατικῶν εὑρήσεις παρά τε Μωῦσεῖ καὶ ἐν τοῖς τελευταίοις τοῦ Ἰεζεκιήλ.
And concerning the Passover and the priestly laws, you will find both in Moses and in the last parts of Ezekiel.
Καὶ αὐτὰς δʼ ἂν παρεθέμην τὰς λέξεις, καὶ ἅλλας πλείονας, εἰ μὴ ἑώρων ὑπὸ τῆς ὀλιγότητος τῶν ἐν Νικομηδείᾳ ἡμερῶν ἡμῶν ἀποκλειόμενον τὸνχρόνον τῆς πρὸς σὲ γραφῆς.
And I would have set down these very words, and many others, if I had not seen that our time for writing to you was cut short by the smallness of our days in Nicomedia.
§1.18Πρὸς τούτοις ἕφασκες καὶ τὸν τῆς φράσεως χαρακτῆρα διαλλάσσειν· ὅπερ ἐμοὶ οὐ πάνυ τι ἐφάνη.
In addition to these things, you asserted also that the character of the style is different; which did not appear to me to be the case at all.
Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἀπελογησάμην· ἦν δʼ ἃν προηγουμένως μετὰ τὰ ἐγκλήματα ἐγκώμιον εἰπεῖν τῆς περὶ Σωσάνναν Γραφῆς ἐπιβαίνοντα ἑκάστῃ λέξει, καὶ δεικνύντα τὸ ἐξαίρετον τῶν νενοημένων· ὅπερ ἰδίᾳ τις τῶν φιλομαθῶς καὶ ἱκανῶς μεμελετηκότων τὰ θεῖα συντάξαι δυνήσεται.
And these things indeed I have said in my defense; but it would have been possible, primarily after the accusations, to speak a panegyric of the Scripture concerning Susanna, dwelling upon every word and showing the excellence of what is understood; which someone who is fond of learning and has sufficiently studied divine matters will be able to compose privately.
Ταῦτα πρὸς τὰ, ὡς φὴς, κρούματα ἀπεκρινάμην, καὶ ἀντιγράφω·
To these, as you say, assaults, I have answered, and write in return; would that I were able also to instruct!
εἵθε καὶ παιδεύειν δυναίμην! νυνὶ δὲ οὐ τηλικαῦτα ἐμαυτῷ δίδωμι.
But at present I do not attribute to myself such great ability.
Προσαγορεύει σε ὁ συναγωνισάμενος τῇ ὑπαγορεύσει τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, καὶ παρατυχὼν πάσῃ αὐτῇ, ἐν οἷς βεβούληται διορθωσάμενος, κύριός μου καὶ ἀδελφὸς ἱερὸς Ἀμβρόσιος (12).
My lord and holy brother Ambrose, who assisted in the dictation of the letter and was present at all of it, making corrections where he wished, greets you.
Ἀσπάζεται δέ σε καὶ ἡ πιστοτάτη σύμβιος αὐτοῦ Μαρκέλλα ἅμα τοῖς τέκνοις, καὶ Ἀνίκητος (13).
And his most faithful wife Marcella greets you together with their children, and Anicetus.
Σὺ τὸν καλὸν ἡμῶν πάπαν Ἀπολλινάριον (14) ἅσπασαι, καὶ τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ἠμᾶς.
Do you greet our good father Apollinarius, and those who love us.