{"author":null,"backreferences":[{"context_html":"<p class=\"c005\">If you also desire [to possess] this faith, you likewise shall\r\nreceive first of all the knowledge of the Father.<a id=\"r1514\"></a><a class=\"c009 pginternal\" href=\"#f1514\"><sup>[1514]</sup></a> For God\r\nhas loved mankind, on whose account He made the world, to\r\nwhom He rendered subject all the things that are in it,<a id=\"r1515\"></a><a class=\"c009 pginternal\" href=\"#f1515\"><sup>[1515]</sup></a> to\r\nwhom He gave reason and understanding, to whom alone He\r\nimparted the privilege of looking upwards to Himself, whom\r\nHe formed after His own image, to whom He sent His only-begotten\r\nSon, to whom He has promised a kingdom in\r\nheaven, and will give it to those who have loved Him. And\r\nwhen you have attained this knowledge, with what joy do\r\nyou think you will be filled? Or, how will you love Him\r\nwho has first so loved you? And if you love Him, you will\r\nbe an imitator of His kindness. And do not wonder that a\r\nman may become an imitator of God. He can, if he is willing.\r\nFor it is not by ruling over his neighbours, or by seeking to\r\nhold the supremacy over those that are weaker, or by being\r\nrich, and showing violence towards those that are inferior, that\r\nhappiness is found; nor can any one by these things become\r\nan imitator of God. But these things do not at all constitute\r\n<span class=\"pageno\" id=\"Page_314\">314</span>His majesty. On the contrary he who takes upon himself the\r\nburden of his neighbour; he who, in whatsoever respect he\r\nmay be superior, is ready to benefit another who is deficient;\r\nhe who, whatsoever things he has received from God, by\r\ndistributing these to the needy, becomes a god to those who\r\nreceive [his benefits]: he is an imitator of God. Then thou\r\nshalt see, while still on earth, that God in the heavens rules\r\nover [the universe]; then thou shalt begin to speak the\r\nmysteries of God; then shalt thou both love and admire\r\nthose that suffer punishment because they will not deny God;\r\nthen shalt thou condemn the deceit and error of the world\r\nwhen thou shalt know what it is to live truly in heaven,\r\nwhen thou shalt despise that which is here esteemed to be\r\ndeath, when thou shalt fear what is truly death, which is\r\nreserved for those who shall be condemned to the eternal fire,\r\nwhich shall afflict those even to the end that are committed\r\nto it. Then shalt thou admire those who for righteousness’\r\nsake endure the fire that is but for a moment, and shalt count\r\nthem happy when thou shalt know [the nature of] that fire.</p>","headings":["The Writings of the Apostolic Fathers","THE EPISTLE TO DIOGNETUS.","THE EPISTLE TO DIOGNETUS.","Chap. x.—The blessings that will flow from faith."],"marker_anchor":null,"paragraph_id":"pg77576-paragraph-643"}],"canonical_references":[],"date_end":null,"date_start":null,"deduplication_fingerprint":"3496878a9b2314d2845c3d4fc0ae193fdbec25edb0da75f6f57235570a028031","edition_title":"The writings of the Apostolic Fathers","edition_translators":["Alexander Roberts","James Donaldson","Frederick Crombie"],"edition_year":1870,"explicit_reference_candidates":[],"headings":[],"id":"pg77576-f1514","license_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html","public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"original-editor-translator-note","review_required":["work and recension attribution","original-work chronology","Bible reference numbering and citation kind","English edition rights and attribution"],"review_status":"needs_review","rights_evidence":"Project Gutenberg metadata: Public domain in the USA. Historical 1870 English edition; electronic transcription subject to Project Gutenberg reuse terms.","source_anchor":"f1514","source_ebook":77576,"source_html":"<div class=\"footnote\" id=\"f1514\">\n<p class=\"c006\"><span class=\"label\"><a class=\"pginternal\" href=\"#r1514\">1514</a>. </span>Thus Otto supplies the <i>lacuna</i>; others conjecture somewhat different\r\nsupplements.</p>\n</div>","source_sha256":"5cef11d737d7f5d65aa99f44ca2d8e967d725f3bed872960330e88c0905597a9","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/77576/pg77576-images.html#f1514","text_sha256":"1c46beaaf1b9f5a41cf25cd78759d39f3274d22637be35a58a72f792827ff2f8","verified":false,"work_id":null}