Hermas, The Shepherd of Hermas, 22.7

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Section

← Previous Next →

[1] I am glad, sir, said I, to hear this explanation.¹ Listen, now, he said. Guard this flesh of yours, pure and undefiled, that the spirit which dwells in it may bear it witness, and your flesh may be justified.

[2] See to it, lest the idea enter your heart that this flesh of yours is mortal, and you abuse it in some defilement. For if you defile your flesh you defile also the Holy Spirit, and if you defile the flesh you shall not live.

[3] But, if, sir, said I, there was any previous ignorance before these words were heard, how can the man who defiled his flesh be saved? For the former ignorances, said he, it is possible for God alone to give healing, for he has all power,

[4] if, for the future, you defile neither the flesh nor the spirit; for both are in communion, and neither can be defiled without the other. Keep, therefore, both pure, and you shall live to God.²

The Shepherd of Hermas. Hermas. . 1913.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by Tufts University.

Current edition Perseus

Hermas (English) (Hermas. The Apostolic Fathers with an English translation by Kirsopp Lake. In Two Volumes. Vol. II. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1913)

Editions (1)

Ποιμὴν First1KGreek (Hermas. The Apostolic Fathers, Vol 2. Lake, Kirsopp, editor. London: William Heinemann; New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1917.) — 22.7 focus

[1] Ηὐφράνθην, φημί, κύριε, ταύτην τὴν ἐπίλυσιν ἀκούσας. Ἄκουε νῦν, φησί: τὴν σάρκα σου ταύτην φύλασσε καθαρὰν καὶ ἀμίαντον, ἵνα τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ κατοικοῦν ἐν αὐτῇ μαρτυρήσῃ αὐτῇ καὶ δικαιωθῇ σου ἡ σάρξ.

[2] βλέπε, μήποτε ἀναβῇ ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν σου τὴν σάρκα σου ταύτην φθαρτὴν εἶναι καὶ παραχρήσῃ αὐτῇ ἐν μιασμῷ τινί. ἐὰν μιάνῃς τὴν σάρκα σου, μιανεῖς καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον: ἐὰν δὲ μιάνῃς τὴν σάρκα, ¹ οὐ ζήσῃ.

[3] Εἰ δέ τις, φημί, κύριε, γέγονεν ἄγνοια προτέρα, πρὶν ἀκουσθῶσι τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα, πῶς σωθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ μιάνας τὴν σάρκα αὐτοῦ; Περὶ τῶν προτέρων, φησίν, ἀγνοημάτων τῷ θεῷ μόνῳ δυνατὸν ἴασιν δοῦναι, αὐτοῦ ² γάρ ἐστι πᾶσα ἐξουσία, ³

[4] ἐὰν τὸ λοιπὸν μὴ μιάνῃς σου τὴν σάρκα μηδὲ τὸ πνεῦμα: ἀμφότερα γὰρ κοινά ἐστι καὶ ἄτερ ἀλλήλων μιανθῆναι οὐ δύναται. ἀμφότερα οὖν καθαρὰ φύλασσε, καὶ ζήσῃ τῷ θεῷ.

Notes on the current edition

The Shepherd of Hermas

1. The practical conclusion

2. This is directed against the Gnostic tendency to divide flesh and spirit, and to regard the acts of the flesh as unimportant. Against this the church insisted on purity of life now, and on the hope of a resurrection of the flesh hereafter.

Hermas The Shepherd of Hermas 22.7

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers