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Apologie de Saint Athanase sur sa fuite

1.

J’entends dire que Léontius, l’évêque actuel d’Antioche, Narcisse de Néroniade, Georges de Laodicée et les ariens de leur secte, répandent mille bruits injurieux sur moi et m’accusent de lâcheté, parce que, lorsqu’ils me cherchaient pour me faire périr, je ne me suis pas offert à leurs coups. A leurs injures et à leurs calomnies, je pourrais répondre par des faits qu’ils ne sauraient nier et que condamnent tous ceux qui les ont entendu articuler contre eux; mais je ne me laisserai pas entraîner à leur dire autre chose que cette parole du Seigneur: Le mensonge vient du diable, et ce mot de l’Apôtre: Les insulteurs n’hériteront point du royaume de Dieu. Il suffit de montrer par là qu’ils ne règlent sur l’Evangile ni leurs pensées ni leurs actes, et n’estiment beau que ce qu’ils veulent, au gré de leurs passions.

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Defence of his flight

1. Athanasius charged with cowardice for escaping.

P. 255 I hear that Leontius ¹, now at Antioch, and Narcissus ² of the city of Nero, and George ³, now at Laodicea, and the Arians who are with them, are spreading abroad many slanderous reports concerning me, charging me with cowardice, because forsooth, when I myself was sought by them, I did not surrender myself into their hands. Now as to their imputations and calumnies, although there are many things that I could write, which even they are unable to deny, and which all who have heard of their proceedings know to be true, yet I shall not be prevailed upon to make any reply to them, except only to remind them of the words of our Lord, and of the declaration of the Apostle, that ‘a lie is of the Devil,’ and that, ‘revilers shall not inherit the kingdom of God ⁴.’ For it is sufficient thereby to prove, that neither their thoughts nor their words are according to the Gospel, but that after their own pleasure, whatsoever themselves desire, that they think to be good.