This is how the Preface to Irenaeus' Against Heresies ran in Greek original (well, as it is quoted verbatim in Epiphanius' Panarion), the ancient Latin translation, and in English translation:
ANF Irenaeus Against Heresies Book 1. 1:1 (ANF vol. 1) |
Greek text of Irenaeus' Ελεγχου και Ανατροπης της Ψευδωνυμου Γνωσεως, book 1.ch 1, from Epiphanius' Panarion |
Text in W Wigan Harvey's edition of Irenaeus' Against Heresies, bk 1, preface (expect numerous scanning errors) |
PREFACE: Inasmuch as certain men have set the truth aside, and bring in lying words and vain genealogies, |
Ἐπί l. Ἐπεὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν παραπεμπόμενοί τινες, ἐπεισάγουσι λόγους ψευδεῖς καὶ γενεαλογίας ματαίας, |
Quatenus veritatem refutantes quidam inducunt verba falsa, et genealogias infinitas, quae qucestiones magis proestant, |
which, as the apostle says, "minister questions rather than godly edifying which is in faith," |
αἵτινες ζητήσεις μᾶλλον παρέχουσι, καθὼς ὁ Ἀπόστολός φησιν, ἢ οἰκοδομὴν Θεοῦ τὴν ἐν πίστει· |
[2] quemadmodum Apostolus ait, quam oedificationem Dei, quae est in fide; |
and by means of their craftily-constructed plausibilities draw away the minds of the inexperienced and take them captive, |
καὶ διὰ τῆς πανούργως συγκεκροτημένης πιθανότητος παράγουσι τὸν νοῦν τῶν ἀπειροτέρων, καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζουσιν αὐτοὺς, |
et per eam, quae est subdole exercitata verisimilitudo, transducunt sensum eorum, qui sunt inexpertiores, et in captivitatem ducunt eos, |
[I have felt constrained, my dear friend, to compose the following treatise in order to expose and counteract their machinations.] Footnote to ANF "We have also supplied a clause, in order to avoid the extreme length of the sentence in the original, which runs on without any apodosis to the words ἀναγκαῖον ἡγησάμην, “I have judged it necessary.” |
Not in the Greek or Latin. |
Not in the Greek or Latin. |
These men falsify the oracles of God, |
ῥᾳδιουργοῦντες τὰ λόγια Κυρίου, |
falsantes verba Domini, |
and prove themselves evil interpreters of the good word of revelation. |
ἐξηγηταὶ κακοὶ τῶν καλῶς εἰρημένων γινόμενοι· |
interpretatores mali eorum, quae bene dicta sunt, effecti: |
They also overthrow the faith of many, |
καὶ πολλοὺς ἀνατρέπουσιν, |
et multos evertunt, attrahentes eos sub occasione agnitionis ab eo, |
by drawing them away, under a pretence of [superior] knowledge, from Him who rounded and adorned the universe; |
ἀπάγοντες αὐτοὺς προφάσει γνώσεως ἀπὸ τοῦ τόδε τὸ πᾶν συστησαμένου καὶ κεκοσμηκότος, |
qui hanc universitatem constituit et ordinavit [l. ornavit]; |
as if, forsooth, they had something more excellent and sublime to reveal, than that God who created the heaven and the earth, and all things that are therein. |
ὡς ὑψηλότερόν τι καὶ μεῖζον ἔχοντες ἐπιδεῖξαι τοῦ τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς πεποιηκότος Θεοῦ· |
quasi altius aliquid et majus habentes ostendere, quam eum, qui coelum et terram, et omnia quae in eis sunt, fecit; |
By means of specious and plausible words, they cunningly allure the simple-minded to inquire into their system; |
πιθανῶς μὲν ἐπαγόμενοι διὰ λόγων τέχνης τοὺς ἀκεραίους εἰς τὸν τοῦ ζητεῖν τρόπον, |
suadenter quidem illi illiciunt per verborum artem simpliciores ad requirendi modum, male autem perdunt eos, |
but they nevertheless clumsily destroy them, while they initiate them into their blasphemous and impious opinions respecting the Demiurge; |
ἀπιθάνως δὲ ἀπολλύντες αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ βλάσφημον καὶ ἀσεβῆ τὴν γνώμην αὐτῶν κατασκευάζειν εἰς τὸν Δημιουργὸν, |
in eo quod blasphemam et impiam ipeorum sententiam faciant in Fabricatorem, |
and these simple ones are unable, even in such a matter, to distinguish falsehood from truth. |
μηδὲ ἐν τῷ διακρίνειν δυναμένων τὸ ψεῦδος ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀληθοῦς· |
non diecernere valentium faleum a vero. |
Error, indeed, is never set forth in its naked deformity, lest, being thus exposed, it should at once be detected. |
ἡ γὰρ πλάνη καθ' αὑτὴν μὲν οὐκ ἐπιδείκνυται, ἵνα μὴ γυμνωθεῖσα γένηται κατάφωρος· |
[3] 2. Error enim secundum semetipeum non ostenditur, ne denudatus fiat comprehensibilis, |
But it is craftily decked out in an attractive dress, so as, by its outward form, to make it appear to the inexperienced (ridiculous as the expression may seem) more true than the truth itself. |
πιθανῷ δὲ περιβλήματι πανούργως κοσμουμένη, καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας ἀληθεστέραν ἑαυτὴν παρέχειν l. παρέχει φαίνεσθαι διὰ τῆς ἔξωθεν φαντασίας τοῖς ἀπειροτέροις· |
suasorio autem cooperimento subdole adornatus, et ipsa veritate (4 ridiculum est et dicere) veriorem semetipsum praestat, ut decipiat exteriori phantasmate rudiores: |
One far superior to me has well said, in reference to this point, |
καθὼς ὑπὸ τοῦ κρείττονος ἡμῶν εἴρηται ἐπὶ τῶν τοιούτων, |
quemadmodum a meliore nobis dictum est de hujusmodi: |
"A clever imitation in glass casts contempt, as it were, on that precious jewel the emerald (which is most highly esteemed by some), unless it come under the eye of one able to test and expose the counterfeit. |
ὅτι λίθον τὸν τίμιον σμάραγδον ὄντα, καὶ πολυτίμητόν τισιν, ὕαλος ἐνυβρίζει διὰ τέχνης παρομοιουμένη, ὁπόταν μὴ παρῇ ὁ σθένων δοκιμάσαι, καὶ τέχνῃ Int. τέχνην διελέγξαι τὴν πανούργως γενομένην· |
Quoniam lapidem pretiosum smaragdum magni pretii apud quosdam, vitreum in ejus contumeliam per artem assimilatum, quoadusque non adest, qui potest probare, et artificium arguere, quod subdole sit factum. |
Or, again, what inexperienced person can with ease detect the presence of brass when it has been mixed up with silver?" |
ὅταν δὲ ἐπιμιγῇ ὁ χαλκὸς εἰς τὸν ἄργυρον, τίς εὐκόλως δυνήσεται τοῦτον ἀκεραίως Int. ἀκέραιος ὤν δοκιμάσαι; |
Quum enim commixtum fuerit [4] aeramentum argento, quis facile poterit, rudis cum sit, hoc probare? |
Lest, therefore, through my neglect, some should be carried off, even as sheep are by wolves, while they perceive not the true character of these men,- |
ἵνα οὖν μὴ παρὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν αἰτίαν συναρπάζωνταί τινες, ὡς πρόβατα ὑπὸ λύκων, ἀγνοοῦντες αὐτοὺς |
Igitur ne forte et cum nostro delicto abripiantur quidam quasi oves a lupis, ignorantes eos propter exterius ovilis pellis superindumentum, |
because they outwardly are covered with sheep's clothing (against whom the Lord has enjoined us to be on our guard), and because their language resembles ours, while their sentiments are very different,-- |
διὰ τὴν ἔξωθεν τῆς προβατείου δορᾶς ἐπιβουλὴν, οὓς φυλάσσειν παρήγγελκεν ἡμῖν Κύριος, ὅμοια μὲν λαλοῦντας, ἀνόμοια δὲ φρονοῦντας, |
a quibus cavere denunciavit nobis Dominus, similia quidem nobis loquentes, dissimilia vero sentientes: |
I have deemed it my duty |
ἀναγκαῖον ἡγησάμην, |
necessarium duxi, |
(after reading some of the Commentaries, as they call them, of the disciples of Valentinus, and after making myself acquainted with their tenets through personal intercourse with some of them) |
ἐντυχὼν τοῖς ὑπομνήμασι τῶν, ὡς αὐτοὶ λέγουσιν, Οὐαλεντίνου μαθητῶν, ἐνίοις δ' αὐτῶν καὶ συμβαλὼν, καὶ καταλαβόμενος τὴν γνώμην αὐτῶν, |
cum legerim Commentarios ipeorum, quemadmodum ipsi dicunt, Valentini discipulorum, quibusdam autem ipeorum et congressus, et apprehendens sententiam ipsorum, |
to unfold to thee, my friend, these portentous and profound mysteries, which do not fall within the range of every intellect, because all have not sufficiently purged their brains. |
μηνύσαι σοι, ἀγαπητὲ, τὰ τερατώδη καὶ βαθέα μυστήρια, ἃ οὐ πάντες χωροῦσιν, ἐπεὶ μὴ πάντες τὸν ἐγκέφαλον ἐξεπτύκασιν, ὅπως καὶ σὺ μαθὼν αὐτὰ, |
manifestare tibi, Dilectissime, portentuosissima et altiseima mysteria, quae non omnes capiunt, quia non omnes cerebrum habent, |
I do this, in order that thou, obtaining an acquaintance with these things, mayest in turn explain them to all those with whom thou art connected, and exhort them to avoid such an abyss of madness and of blasphemy against Christ. |
πᾶσι τοῖς μετά σου φανερὰ ποιήσῃς, καὶ παραινέσῃς αὐτοῖς φυλάξασθαι τὸν βυθὸν τῆς ἀνοίας, καὶ τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν Int. Θεὸν βλασφημίας. |
ut et tu [5] cognoscens ea, omnibus his, qui sunt tecum, manifesta facias, et praecipias eis observare se a profundo insensationis, et ejus, quae est in Deum, blasphemationis. |
Excuse me if I some of the source text is out of order when compared against each other. I is igorrant.