6. I.e., the Platonists.

st. justin martyr "Trypho," he said, "is my name.4 I am a Hebrew of the circumcision, a refugee from the recent war,5 and at present a resident of Greece, mostly in Corinth."

"How," I asked, "can you gain as much from philosophy as from your own lawgiver and prophets?"

"Why not," he replied, "for do not the philosophers speak always about God? Do they not constantly propose questions about his unity and providence? Is this not the task of philosophy, to inquire about the Divine?"

4. "Yes, indeed," I said, "we, too, are of the same opinion. But the majority of the philosophers have simply neglected to inquire whether there is one or even several gods, and whether or not a divine providence takes care of us, as if this knowledge were unnecessary to our happiness. Moreover, they try to convince us that God takes care of the universe with its genera and species, but not of me and you and of each individual, for otherwise there would be no need of our praying to him night and day.

5. "It is not difﬁcult to see where such reasoning leads them.

It imparts a certain immunity and freedom of speech to those who hold these opinions, permitting them to do and to say whatever they please, without any fear of punishment or hope of reward from God. How could it be otherwise, when they claim that things will always be as they are now, and that you and I shall live in the next life just as we are now, neither better nor worse. But there are others6 who think that the soul is immortal and incorporeal, and therefore conclude that they will not be punished even if they are guilty of sin; for, if the soul is incorporeal, it cannot suffer; if it is immortal, it needs nothing further from God."

6. Then, with a subdued smile, he said, "Explain to us just what is your opinion of these matters, and what is your idea of God, and what is your philosophy."

4. Some have identiﬁed, probably erroneously, this Trypho with Tarphon, a famous fanatical Rabbi of Palestine. See new Introduction, p. xii.

5. The revolutionary war instigated by Bar Kochba in Palestine. It lasted from C.E. 132 to 135, during which time Hadrian captured Jerusalem and slew thousands of Jews. See L. W. Barnard in Justin Martyr, The First and Second Apologies, ACW 56 (1997), 147 n 214.

6. I.e., the Platonists.

Justin, Martyr, Saint. Dialogue with Trypho (Selections from the Fathers of the Church, Volume 3), edited by Michael Slusser, Catholic University of America Press, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nottingham/de

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H O W J U S T I N F O U N D P H I L O S O P H Y

c h a p t e r 2 "I will tell you," I replied, "my personal views on this subject.

Philosophy is indeed one's greatest possession, and is most precious in the sight of God, to whom it alone leads us and to whom it unites us, and in truth they who have applied themselves to philosophy are holy men. But, many have failed to discover the nature of philosophy, and the reason why it was sent down to men; otherwise, there would not be Platonists, or Stoics, or Peripatetics, or Theoretics,1 or Pythagoreans, since this science is always one and the same.

2. "Now, let me tell you why it has at length become so diversiﬁed. They who ﬁrst turned to philosophy, and, as a result, were deemed illustrious men were succeeded by men who gave no time to the investigation of truth, but, amazed at the courage and self-control of their teachers as well as with the novelty of their teachings, held that to be the truth which each had learned from his own teacher. And they in turn transmitted to their successors such opinions, and others like them, and so they became known by the name of him who was considered the father of the doctrine. When I ﬁrst desired to contact one of these philosophers, [3.] I placed myself under the tutelage of a certain Stoic.2 After spending some time with him and learning nothing new about God (for my instructor had no knowledge of God, nor did he consider such knowledge necessary), I left

1. No satisfactory explanation as yet of the identity of the Theoretic group; see van Winden, 47; Hyldahl (cited in new Introduction, n 7), 113.

2. On Stoicism in the Apologies see P. Montini, "Elementi di ﬁlosoﬁa stoica in S. Giustino," Aquinas (Roma) 28 (1985): 457–76.

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