Aristides

Aristides
Aristides
A Christian apologist living at Athens in the second century

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Aristides
    Aristides
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Aristides
    A Christian apologist living at Athens in the second century. According to Eusebius, the Emperor Hadrian, during his stay in Greece (123-127), caused himself to be initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries. A persecution of the local Christians followed, due probably, to an outburst of pagan zeal, aroused by the Emperor's act. Two apologies for Christianity were composed on the occasion, that of Quadratus and that of Aristides which the author presented to Hadrian, at Athens, in 126 (Eus., H.E., IV, iii, 3, and Chron. II, 166). St. Jerome, in his work De vir. ill., xx, calls him philosophus eloquentissimus, and, in his letter to Magnus (no. LXX), says of the "Apologeticum" that it was contextum philosophorum sententiis, and was later imitated by St. Justin Martyr. He says, further (De vir ill., loc. cit.), that the "Apology" was extant in his time, and highly thought of. Eusebius (loc. cit.), in the fourth century, states that it had a wide circulation among Christians. It is referred to, in the ninth century, by Ado, Archbishop of Vienne, and Usuard, monk of St. Germain. It was then lost sight of for a thousand years, until in 1878, the Mechitarite monks of San Lazzaro, at Venice, published a Latin translation of an Armenian fragment of the "Apology" and an Armenian homily, under the title: "S. Aristidis philosophi Atheniensis sermones duo." In 1889, Professor J. R. Harris of Cambridge discovered a Syriac version of the whole "Apology" in the Convent of St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai, and translated it into English (Texts and Studies, Cambridge, 1891, I, i). Professor J. A. Robinson found that the "Apology" is contained in the "Life of Barlaam and Josaphat", ascribed to St. John Damascene. Attempts have also been made to restore the actual words of Aristides.
    As to the date and occasion of the "Apology" there are opinion of opinion. While some critics hold, with Eusebius, that it was presented to Hadrian, others maintain that it was written during the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161). The aim of the "Apology" is to show that Christians only have the true conception of God. Having affirmed that God is "the selfsame being who first established and now controls the universe", Aristides points out the errors of the Chaldeans, Greeks, Egyptians, and Jews concerning the Deity, gives a brief summary of Christian belief, and emphasizes the righteousness of Christian life in contrast with the corrupt practices of paganism. The tone throughout is elevated and calm, and the reasonableness of Christianity is shown rather by an appeal to facts than by subtle argumentation. It is interesting to note that during the Middle Ages the "Life of Barlaam and Josaphat" had been translated into some twenty languages, English included, so that what was in reality the story of Buddha became the vehicle of Christian truth in many nations.
    EDWARD A. PACE
    Transcribed by Tomas Hancil

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


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  • Aristides — or Aristeides (Greek Polytonic|Ἀριστείδης, 530–468 BC) was an Athenian soldier and statesman. He was one of the 10 commanders against the Persians in the Battle of Marathon under Miltiades.Aristides was nicknamed the Just because he was popularly …   Wikipedia

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  • Arístides — fue un estadista ateniense del siglo V adC. Era hijo de Lisímaco y primo de Calias. Fue uno de los generales que protagonizó la batalla de Maratón. Al año siguiente fue nombrado arconte. En el 482 adC fue desterrado con el método del ostracismo.… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Aristīdes — Aristīdes, 1) A. der Gerechte, Sohn des Atheners Lysimachos; kämpfte 490 v. Chr. als Feldherr gegen die Perser bei Marathon; war 489 Archon, u. obgleich gerecht u. rechtschaffen, wurde er doch von Themistokles, dessen Plänen er widerstrebte,… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Aristīdes — Aristīdes, s. Aristeides …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Aristides — Aristīdes (Aristeides), der Gerechte, athen. Staatsmann und Feldherr, geb. um 540 v. Chr., war bei Marathon (490) einer der 10 Anführer der Athener, wurde als Gegner des Themistokles 483 durch Ostracismus aus Athen verbannt, aber 480… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Aristides [1] — Aristides, Athener von altem Geschlechte, war Feldherr in der Schlacht von Marathon, wurde aber besonders auf Betreiben des Themistokles verbannt, weil er eine ganz entgegengesetzte Politik für Athen anrieth, als Themistokles verfolgte, der die… …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Aristides [2] — Aristides aus Milet, im 1. oder 2. Jahrh. n. Chr., Verfasser der sog. »milesischen Geschichten«, unseren Novellen ähnlich, lüsternen Inhalts, von der vornehmen Welt sehr gerne gelesen; es ist nichts von ihnen auf uns gekommen …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Aristides [3] — Aristides, Aelius, aus Adriani in Mysien, geb. 117 n. Chr., berühmter Reisender, Gelehrter und der erste Redner seiner Zeit, an geistiger Kraft seinen gelehrten Zeitgenossen jedenfalls überlegen, erwirkte von Kaiser M. Aurelius eine nachhaltige… …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Aristides [4] — Aristides, Philosoph aus Athen, zum Christenthum bekehrt, reichte Kaiser Hadrian eine Vertheidigung des Christenthums ein, die als trefflich galt, aber nicht auf uns gekommen ist …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

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