From the Homilies on Hebrews
Ex homiliis in epistulam ad Hebraeos
Hebrews' diction is more Greek than Paul's plain speech§1
1From the Homilies on the Letter to the Hebrews.
The stamp of the letter headed To the Hebrews does not match the Apostle's plain way of speaking. He himself admitted that he was unskilled in speech—meaning in style. By the build of its wording this letter is more polished Greek; anyone who can tell one style from another would grant the point. Its thoughts, for their part, are wonderful, and they stand no lower than the writings everyone already accepts as apostolic. Anyone who reads the apostolic letters carefully would say the same.
After other remarks he goes on: If I may state my own judgment, I would say the thoughts are the Apostle's, but the style—
Greek · §1
Ex homiliis in epistulam ad Hebraeos 14.1308 Ὁ χαρακτὴρ τῆς λέξεως τῆς πρὸς Ἑβραίους ἐπιγεγραμμένης Ἐπιστολῆς οὐκ ἔχει τὸ ἐν λόγῳ ἰδιωτι 14.1309 κὸν τοῦ Ἀποστόλου, ὁμολογήσαντος ἑαυτὸν ἰδιώτην εἶναι τῷ λόγῳ, τουτέστι, τῇ φράσει. Ἀλλὰ ἐστὶν ἡ Ἐπιστολὴ συνθέσει τῆς λέξεως ἑλληνικωτέρα, πᾶς ὁ ἐπιστάμενος κρίνειν φράσεων διαφορὰς, ὁμολογήσαι ἄν· πάλιν τε αὖ ὅτι τὰ νοήματα τῆς ἐπιστολῆς θαυμάσιά ἐστι, καὶ οὐ δεύτερα τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ὁμολογουμένων γραμμάτων, καὶ τοῦτο ἂν συμφήσαι εἶναι ἀληθὲς πᾶς ὁ προσέχων τῇ ἀναγνώσει τῇ ἀποστολικῇ. Τούτοις μεθ' ἕτερα ἐπιφέρει λέγων· Ἐγὼ δὲ ἀποφαινόμενος εἴποιμ' ἂν, ὅτι τὰ μὲν νοήματα τοῦ Ἀποστόλου ἐστὶν, ἡ δὲ φράσις,
Paul's thoughts, another's phrasing and composition§2
2—and the composition come from someone who remembered the apostolic teaching and drafted it almost like lecture notes on what the master said. So if any church holds this letter as Paul's, let it be honored for that as well. The old witnesses did not pass it down as his for nothing—the
Greek · §2
καὶ ἡ σύνθεσις, ἀπομνημονεύσαντός τινος τὰ ἀποστολικὰ, καὶ ὡσπερεὶ σχολιογραφήσαντος τὰ εἰρημένα ὑπὸ τοῦ διδασκάλου. Εἴ τις οὖν Ἐκκλησία ἔχει ταύτην τὴν Ἐπιστολὴν ὡς Παύλου, αὕτη εὐδοκιμείτω καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ, οὐ γὰρ εἰκῆ οἱ
The ancients handed Hebrews down as Paul's§3
3ancients handed it on as Paul's. Who wrote the letter? God alone knows the truth. The story that has come down to us runs two ways: some say that
Greek · §3
ἀρχαῖοι ἄνδρες ὡς Παύλου αὐτὴν παραδεδώκασι. Τίς δὲ ὁ γράψας τὴν Ἐπιστολὴν, τὸ μὲν ἀληθὲς Θεὸς οἶδεν. Ἡ δὲ εἰς ἡμᾶς φθάσασα ἱστορία, ὑπό τινων μὲν λεγόντων, ὅτι
Clement of Rome or Luke as the penman§4
4Clement, who became bishop of Rome, wrote the letter; others say it was Luke, the writer of the Gospel and of Acts.
Greek · §4
Κλήμης ὁ γενόμενος ἐπίσκοπος Ῥωμαίων ἔγραψε Ἐπιστολήν· ὑπό τινων δὲ, ὅτι Λουκᾶς ὁ γράψας τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, καὶ τὰς Πράξεις.