Letter to Diognetus
The Christian is to the world
what the soul is to the body.
As the soul is present in every part of the body, while remaining distinct from it, so Christians are found in all the cities of the world, but cannot be identified with the world.
As the visible body contains the invisible soul, so Christians are seen living in the world, but their religious life remains unseen.
The body hates the soul and wars against it, not because of any injury the soul has done it, but because of the restriction the soul places on its pleasures.
Similarly, the world hates the Christians, not because they have done it any wrong, but because they are opposed to its enjoyments.
Christians love those who hate them just as the soul loves the body and all its members despite the body’s hatred.
It is by the soul, enclosed within the body, that the body is held together, and similarly, it is by the Christians, detained in the world as in a prison, that the world is held together.
The soul, though immortal, has a mortal dwelling place; and Christians also live for a time amidst perishable things, while awaiting the freedom from change and decay that will be theirs in heaven.
As the soul benefits from the deprivation of food and drink, so Christians flourish under persecution.
Such is the Christian’s lofty and divinely appointed function, from which he is not permitted to excuse himself.
No comments:
Post a Comment