Texts in Conversation
4 Maccabees opens by claiming that piety and reason control the passions, listing the same Hellenistic virtues of self-restraint, justice, and piety that Titus echoes when teaching about living a disciplined Christian life.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
4 Maccabees 1:6
Pseudepigrapha
1 The subject that I am about to discuss is most philosophical, that is, whether devout reason is sovereign over the emotions. So it is right for me to advise you to pay earnest attention to philosophy. 2 For the subject is essential to everyone who is seeking knowledge, and in addition it includes the praise of the highest virtue—I mean, of course, rational judgment. 3 If, then, it is evident that reason rules over those emotions that hinder self-control, namely, gluttony and lust, 4 it is also clear that it masters the emotions that hinder one from justice, such as malice, and those that stand in the way of courage, namely anger, fear, and pain. 5 Some might perhaps ask, "If reason rules the emotions, why is it not sovereign over forgetfulness and ignorance?" Their attempt at argument is ridiculous! a 6 For reason does not rule its own emotions, but those that are opposed to justice, courage, and self-control; b and it is not for the purpose of destroying them, but so that one may not give way to them. 7 I could prove to you from many and various examples that reason c is dominant over the emotions,
Titus 2:12
New Testament
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 12 It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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Notes and References
... The term eusebeia (along with its verb and adverb) is a crucial one in these letters. In popular parlance it meant roughly what religious means in popular English. For many it is difficult to imagine Paul’s using such a word, which belongs to Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism (see especially Ecclesiasticus and 4 Maccabees), to describe either the Christian faith or Christian behavior. But the answer to this, as with many such terms in the Pastoral Epistles (see the Introduction), lies with the false teachers. Most likely this is their word, being used by Paul to counteract them (compare the use of wisdom in 1 Corinthians 1–3). ... The positive side in this passage picks up language regularly used in these letters, which is also that of Hellenistic moralism. Many in fact see the three words self-controlled, upright, and godly as expressing three of the four cardinal virtues of Platonism-Stoicism. ...
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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