DI'OGNE'TUS (hat.. from Gk. Arbycl,Tos), EPISTLE TO. A Greek Christian work, of un known authorship, commonly ineluded among the Apostolic Fathers (q.v.), but properly be longing to the apologetic literature of the early Chureh. In the Strassburg manuscript, our sole authority for the text, which was destroyed by fire in 1870. the work was attrib uted to Justin, but it is improbable that he was its author. Time lack of external testimony to the Epistle render, the question of its date a diflieult one. If we conk' be sure that the to who II1 it is addressed. the teacher of AI:trolls .\11r4I:tis, the problem would be ca,it r. (tut of this we are by no means certain. Some extreme critics hare conjeetured that the work is a tifteenth-century forgery. Others, with nmelt greater probabilitt , assign it to the second, or the early part of the third century. In view of internal resemblances, some have inclined to the opinion that it proceeds from the same author as the re• cent ly recovered Apology of Aristides, which was written before A.o. 150. Date and authorship, however, remain matters of conjecture. The last two chapters are evidently a later addition, and from a different hand.
The Epistle is an excellent product of Christian thought and writing. evangelical in character, in tone, and clothed in language which is at times almost of poetic beauty. Its contents
are determined by the questions Diognetus has asked, e.g. what god the Christians worship, why they despise death, what is the explanation of their mutual love, and why their now life-motive did not sooner enter the world. In replying to these inquiries. the author shows special famil iarity with Pauline and .Tollannine teaching. forth Christianity on its praetieal side, placing emphasis upon godly living rather than upon correct dogmatic belief. Yet he combats with vigor the errors of the Jews and Greeks, very much after the fashion of the .\polol.zy of Aristides, arguing for the superior rationality of the Christian faith.
For the Greek text, consult: li. Otto, Corpus .Ipotow t ruin christ noru »I, ii. (3(1 rd., Jena, 1879) for the text with Eng. trans., Lightfoot, T h .1 /10X, ()lie Ca t hers (London, ititta t : for Eng. trans., A. C. Coxe, ..t nte-N ieene fathers, i. Consult also, in general: G. Kriiger, History of Early Christ in n Li I era t u re (trans. New York, 18971: the article in Smith and \\*ace, Diet lona ry of Christ ion Biography; liar !tack, rift-ono/of/it tier al tell rist lichen Litt era r, i. (Leipzig. 1897).