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Written in the second century

The author of the Epistle to Diognetus

No name survives for this. The years given are when the writing was done, not a life.

Worth knowing

  • Unsigned, and addressed to a "Diognetus" nobody has identified. Even the date is an estimate from the style.
  • It survived in one manuscript, which was destroyed by fire in Strasbourg in 1870. What we have descends from copies made before then.
  • It contains one of the finest images in early Christian writing: what the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world.

In Scholar’s Dream, the author of the Epistle to Diognetus has one book

Passages you can read in the game

Longer excerpts the Scriptorium holds on screen for a player to sit and read, word for word.

“They dwell in their own countries, but only as sojourners… Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every fatherland is foreign. They marry like all other men and they beget children; but they do not cast away their offspring… Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They love all men, and they are persecuted by all.”

Epistle to Diognetus 5.5–11 (trans. Lightfoot, public domain, lightly modernized).
from To Diognetus

“In a word, what the soul is in a body, this the Christians are in the world. The soul is spread through all the members of the body, and Christians through the divers cities of the world. The soul has its abode in the body, and yet it is not of the body; so Christians have their abode in the world, and yet they are not of the world.”

Epistle to Diognetus 6.1–3 (trans. Lightfoot, public domain, lightly modernized).
from To Diognetus

“The soul is enclosed in the body, and yet itself holds the body together; so Christians are kept in the world as in a prison-house, and yet they themselves hold the world together.”

Epistle to Diognetus 6.7 (trans. Lightfoot, public domain, lightly modernized).
from To Diognetus

“He sent him, as sending God; he sent him, as a man unto men; he sent him, as Saviour, as using persuasion, not force: for force is no attribute of God. He sent him, as summoning, not as persecuting; he sent him, as loving, not as judging.”

Epistle to Diognetus 7.4–5 (trans. Lightfoot, public domain, lightly modernized).
from To Diognetus

“He himself parted with his own Son as a ransom for us, the holy for the lawless, the guileless for the evil, the just for the unjust, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. For what else but his righteousness would have covered our sins?”

Epistle to Diognetus 9.2–3 (trans. Lightfoot, public domain, lightly modernized).
from To Diognetus

“O the sweet exchange, O the inscrutable creation, O the unexpected benefits: that the iniquity of many should be concealed in One Righteous Man, and the righteousness of One should justify many that are iniquitous!”

Epistle to Diognetus 9.5 (trans. Lightfoot, public domain, lightly modernized).
from To Diognetus

Words The author of the Epistle to Diognetus’s books borrow from others

Moves these books can learn whose quotation comes from somebody else. The citation on each one names who actually said it.

“What the soul is in the body, that Christians are in the world. The soul dwells in the body, yet is not of the body; and Christians dwell in the world, yet are not of the world.”

Epistle to Diognetus 6 (public domain trans.).public domain
How it works in the game: the move Soul of the World
EthicsArgument · power 50 · 100% accurate

In the game"What the soul is in the body, Christians are in the world."

Learned byTo Diognetus (Lv 1)

Strong against
×2"Haters of Mankind"an argument · why?

The Epistle to Diognetus says Christians hold the world together the way a soul holds a body together. The world hates them, and they love it anyway.

×2"We Are All Religious"an argument · why?

The Epistle to Diognetus says Christians are to the world what the soul is to the body: in it, but not from it. They can be good neighbours without joining every altar.

×2"What Good Are You?"an argument · why?

The Epistle to Diognetus says Christians are to the world what the soul is to the body. A city is held together by people like that, even when they skip its festivals.

“Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”

James 1:19 (WEB).
How it works in the game: the move Steelman
RationalityType shift

In the gameRestate the foe’s position in its strongest form — exposing its true weak point. Lowers the foe’s Defend. Always fair; never a bad move to use.

Learned byTo Diognetus (Lv 6)

“Do you not see them thrown to wild beasts that so they may deny the Lord, and yet not overcome? Do you not see that the more of them are punished, just so many others abound?”

Epistle to Diognetus 7.7–9 (trans. Lightfoot, public domain, lightly modernized).public domain

“These look not like the works of a man; they are the power of God; they are proofs of His presence.”

Epistle to Diognetus 7.9 (trans. Lightfoot, public domain, lightly modernized).public domain

“There was Peter, who by reason of unrighteous jealousy endured not one but many labours, and thus having borne his testimony went to his appointed place of glory.”

1 Clement 5.3–4 (trans. Lightfoot, public domain, lightly modernized).public domain
How it works in the game: the move Martyr’s Witness
HistoryArgument · power 65 · 100% accurate

In the gameThe record of those who died rather than recant. Nobody dies for what they know they made up. No rhetorical fog can blur it.

Learned byTo Diognetus (Lv 12)

Strong against
×2A View of the Evidences of Christianitya book · why?

Paley’s first proposition is that the apostles suffered for what they reported. He cites Clement, Ignatius and Polycarp as witnesses.

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being. As some of your own poets have said.”

Acts 17:28 (WEB) — Paul at the Areopagus, quoting the Athenians’ own poets back to them.
How it works in the game: the move Affirm
Status

In the gamePick the part of the opponent’s case that is true and affirm it. That point can no longer be used against you, and the opponent’s Defend falls sharply. It deals no damage. Affirm something false and you have only agreed with an error.

Learned byTo Diognetus (Lv 13)

More from the research (3)

Real, sourced quotations found while researching The author of the Epistle to Diognetus’s books for the game. They are not shown anywhere in the game itself.

"They dwell in their own countries, but only as sojourners; they bear their share in all things as citizens, and they endure all hardships as strangers. Every foreign country is a fatherland to them, and every fatherland is foreign. They marry like all other men and they beget children; but they do not cast away their offspring. They have their meals in common, but not their wives. They find themselves in the flesh, and yet they live not after the flesh. Their existence is on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, and they surpass the laws in their own lives. They love all men, and they are persecuted by all."

Epistle to Diognetus 5.5–11 (Lightfoot).
verified in primary source

"In a word, what the soul is in a body, this the Christians are in the world. The soul is spread through all the members of the body, and Christians through the divers cities of the world. The soul hath its abode in the body, and yet it is not of the body. So Christians have their abode in the world, and yet they are not of the world. … The soul is enclosed in the body, and yet itself holdeth the body together; so Christians are kept in the world as in a prison-house, and yet they themselves hold the world together."

Epistle to Diognetus 6.1–3, 6.7 (Lightfoot).
verified in primary source

"Dost thou not see them thrown to wild beasts that so they may deny the Lord, and yet not overcome? Dost thou not see that the more of them are punished, just so many others abound? These look not like the works of a man; they are the power of God; they are proofs of His presence."

Epistle to Diognetus 7.7–9 (Lightfoot).
verified in primary source

Who else was alive

The author of the Epistle to Diognetus against everyone else in the game.

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