to the Gnostic,[1] as respiration to him that lives in this world is to life. And as without the four elements it is not possible to live, so neither can knowledge be attained without faith. It is then the support of truth.
CHAPTER VII.
THE UTILITY OF FEAR.OBJECTIONS ANSWERED.
Those, who denounce fear, assail the law; and if the law, plainly also God, who gave the law. For these three elements are of necessity presented in the subject on hand: the ruler, his administration, and the ruled. If, then, according to hypothesis, they abolish the law; then, by necessary consequence, each one who is led by lust, courting pleasure, must neglect what is right and despise the Deity, and fearlessly indulge in impiety and injustice together, having dashed away from the truth.
Yea, say they, fear is an irrational aberration,[2] and perturbation of mind. What sayest thou? And how can this definition be any longer maintained, seeing the commandment is given me by the Word? But the commandment forbids, hanging fear over the head of those who have incurred[3] admonition for their discipline.
Fear is not then irrational. It is therefore rational. How should it be otherwise, exhorting as it does, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not hear false witness? But if they will quibble about the names, let the philosophers term the fear of the law, cautious fear, (εὐλάβεια,) which is a shunning (ἔκκλισις) agreeable to reason. Such Critolaus of Phasela not inaptly called fighters about names (ὀνοματομάχοι). The commandment, then, has already appeared fair and lovely even in the highest degree, when conceived under a change of name.
- ↑ The man of perfect knowledge.
- ↑ Instead of ἔκκλισις, it has been proposed to read ἔκλυσις, a term applied by the Stoics to fear; but we have ἔκκλισις immediately after.
- ↑ According to the correction and translation of Lowth, who reads τῶν οὕτως ἐπιδεχομένων instead of τὸν οὕτως, etc., of the text.
