Symposium & Fragments 3-1

Greek original · 3 verses · some words can be tapped for a gloss

3-1:1

Ὅτι τό μὴ βάλητε τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς κυσί, μηδὲ τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων μαργαρίτας μὲν τοῦ Ξένωνος τὰ μυστικώτερα τῆς θεοσδότου θρησκείας ἐκλαμβάνοντος μαθήματα, χοίρους δὲ τοὺς ἔτι ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ ἡδοναῖς παντοίαις δίκην χοίρων ἐν βορβόρῳ καλινδουμένους τούτοις γὰρ εἰρῆσθαι παρὰ Χριστοῦ ἔλεγε μὴ παραβαλεῖν τὰ θεῖα μαθήματα, διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι αὐτὰ φέρειν, ἅτε τῇ ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ ταῖς ἀγρίαις ἡδοναῖς προκατισχημένους) ὁ μέγας Μεθόδιός φησιν, Εἰ μαργαρίτας τὰ σεμνοπρεπῆ καὶ θεῖα μαθήματα δεῖ ἐξακούειν, χοίρους δὲ τοὺς ἀσεβείᾳ καὶ ἡδοναῖς συζῶντας, οἷς καὶ καὶ ἀπόκρυφα τὰ πρὸς εὐσέβειαν καὶ τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν πίστιν ἀποστολικὰ διεγείροντα κηρύγματα δεῖ εἶναι, ὅρα ὡς οὐδένα λέγεις τῶν Χριστιανῶν τοῖς τῶν ἀποστόλων κηρύγμασιν ἐξ ἀσεβείας αὐτῶν τῆς προτέρας ἐπιστρέφει· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν πάντως παρέβαλον τὰ κατὰ τὸν Χριστὸν μυστήρια τοῖς δι' ἀπιστίαν χοίρ·οις ἐοικόσιν

Concerning the saying, 'Do not give what is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine': (whereas a certain Xeno took the 'pearls' to mean the more mystical lessons of the God-given religion, and the 'swine' to mean those who still, in impiety and pleasures of every kind, wallow in the mire like swine—for he said that it was spoken by Christ that the divine lessons should not be cast before these, because they are unable to bear them, being already held fast by impiety and savage pleasures)—the great Methodius says: If we are to understand the 'pearls' as the venerable and divine lessons, and the 'swine' as those who live with impiety and pleasures, from whom the apostolic preachings that stir men toward piety and faith in Christ ought to be kept hidden, observe how you are saying that none of the Christians has been turned to the apostolic preachings out of their former impiety; for they would surely never have cast the mysteries concerning Christ before those who, through unbelief, resemble swine.

論到那話：「不要把聖物給狗，也不要把你們的珍珠丟在豬前。」（有一位克塞諾把這「珍珠」解作那神所賜之宗教中更奧祕的教訓，把「豬」解作那些仍舊活在不敬虔與各樣宴樂中、像豬一樣在泥沼裏打滾的人——他說基督所說的是，不可把那些神聖的教訓丟在這些人面前，因他們既被不敬虔和野蠻的宴樂所轄制，便不能承受）——那偉大的米索丟斯說：我們若要把這「珍珠」解作那莊嚴神聖的教訓，把「豬」解作那些活在不敬虔與宴樂中、當向他們隱藏那激發人歸向敬虔並信基督之使徒宣講的人，你就看，你豈不是說沒有一個基督徒是從先前的不敬虔轉而歸向使徒的宣講麼；因為他們斷不會把那關乎基督的奧祕丟在那因不信而像豬的人面前。

3-1:2

ἢ οὖν πᾶσι τοῖς Ἕλλησι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀπίστοις ταῦτα παρεβλήθη παρὰ τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ μαθητῶν καὶ ἐκηρύχθη, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀσεβείας μετέβαλεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν πίστιν ὥσπερ οὐν καὶ πιστεύοντες ὁμολογοῦμεν, καὶ οὐκέτι δύναται νοεῖσθαι τό μὴ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων, ὡς ἐρρήθη· ἢ τούτου ὡς ἐλέκθη νοουμένου, ἀνάγκη ἡμᾶς λέγειν ὡς οὐδενὶ τῶν ἀπίστων, οὓς ~ ἀπεικάζομεν, ἐκ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν διδαγμάτων, μαργαριτῶν δίκην τὰς ψυχὰς καταυγαζόντων, ἡ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀσεβείας ἐλευθερία γεγένηται. βλάσφημον δὲ τοῦτο

Either, then, these things were cast by the disciples of Christ before all the Greeks and the other unbelievers, and were preached, and turned them from their impiety to faith in Christ—as indeed we who believe confess—and then the saying, 'Do not cast your pearls before swine,' can no longer be understood as it was stated; or, if it is understood as it was stated, we are forced to say that to none of the unbelievers, whom we liken to swine, has there come, out of the apostolic teachings (which illumine souls like pearls), faith in Christ and freedom from impiety. But this is blasphemous.

那麼，或者這些事乃是被基督的門徒丟在眾希利尼人和其餘不信者面前，並被傳開了，又使他們從不敬虔轉而信入基督——正如我們這信的人所承認的——這樣，那「不要把你們的珍珠丟在豬前」一語，便不能再照原先所陳述的意思來領會了；或者，這話若照原先所陳述的意思來領會，我們就不得不說：在我們所比作豬的不信之人中，沒有一個是藉著那如珍珠般照亮人魂的使徒教訓，得著了信入基督與脫離不敬虔的自由的。但這話乃是褻瀆的。

3-1:3

οὐκ ἄρα δεῖ μαργαρίτας μὲν τὰ μυστικώτερα τῶν μαθημάτων ἐκλαμβάνειν ἐνταῦθα, χοίρους δὲ τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς, οὐδὲ τό μὴ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν τῶν χοίρων εἰς τό μὴ παραβάλητε τοῖς ἀσεβέσι καὶ ἀπέστοις τὰ μυστικὰ καὶ τελειοποιὰ τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν πίστεως διδάγματα παραλαμβάνειν· ἀλλὰ μαργαρίτας μὲν τὰς ἀρετὰς ἐκδέχεσθαι χρή, αἶς ὥσπερ πολυτίμοις μαργαρίταις ἡ ψυχὴ καθωραΐζεται, μὴ παραβαλεῖν δὲ αὐτοὺς τοῖς χοίροις τουτέστι μὴ παραβαλεῖν αὐτὰς τὰς ἀρετάς, οἷον ἁγνείαν καὶ σωφροσύνην καὶ δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἀλήθειαν, δὴ μὴ παραβαλεῖν ταῖς μαχλώσαις ἡδοναῖς χοίροις γὰρ ἐοίκασιν ἕνα μὴ τὰς ἀρετὰς αὑται καταφαγοῦσαι χοιρώδη βίον καὶ πολυπαθῆ τὴν ψυχὴν βιοτεύειν παρασκευάσωσιν

Therefore one must not here take the 'pearls' to mean the more mystical of the lessons, and the 'swine' to mean the impious, nor take the saying, 'Do not cast your pearls before the swine,' as meaning, 'Do not impart to the impious and unbelieving the mystical and perfecting teachings of faith in Christ.' Rather, one must understand the 'pearls' to be the virtues, with which, as with precious pearls, the soul is adorned; and 'not to cast them before the swine' means not to cast these very virtues—such as chastity and self-control and righteousness and truth—not to cast them before lustful pleasures; for these resemble swine, lest, devouring the virtues, they make the soul live a swinish and passion-ridden life.

因此，在這裏不可把這「珍珠」解作那些更奧祕的教訓，把「豬」解作不敬虔的人，也不可把「不要把你們的珍珠丟在豬前」一語解作「不要把那信入基督之奧祕並使人成全的教訓傳給不敬虔、不信的人」。倒要把這「珍珠」領會為眾美德，魂正是藉這些如同寶貴珍珠的美德而得妝飾；「不要把它們丟在豬前」乃是說，不要把這些美德本身——就如純潔、節制、公義與真理——不要把它們丟給那淫蕩的宴樂；因這些宴樂如同豬，免得它們吞吃了眾美德，使魂去過一種豬一般、滿了情慾的生活。

← ch. 2-22ch. 3-2 →

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