Titus 1:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Paul now bears witness to the truth of this saying. How does he do this? For if it was said truly, then Zeus is immortal. No, the Apostle did not pay attention to that when he said the testimony was true. He referred to the fact that Epimenides called the Cretans liars and the rest. What profit is there in a pagan testimony? By this he acted upon them most effectively, presenting their own writers as proof of their arrogance. Paul usually does this. In the same way he reasoned with the Athenians on the basis of Aratus. What Aratus ascribed to the falsely named god Zeus, Paul referred to the true God. On the basis of their own testimonies they could be persuaded more readily. In the same way he speaks with the Jews on the basis of the prophets, and not on the basis of the Gospels. God also acts this way, drawing each person to Himself by a way familiar and trustworthy to him. Thus He drew the Magi through a star (Mt 2), and Saul through the sorceress (1 Sam 28), since he believed her. He drew the diviners through the animals, the cows that carried the ark. This does not mean that pagan diviners speak the truth. On the contrary, He rebukes them by their own mouths. God also allows Balaam to bless and prophesy (Num 23 and Num 24). For He always customarily shows condescension for our benefit.

Why, then, did Christ and Paul forbid demons to speak and testify? Because the signs were sufficient for faith. Christ Himself preached concerning Himself, and this was enough. Moreover, worship was not rendered to demons, and the idol did not speak by itself. Therefore the demons were forbidden to speak.

As for what you ask at the end of your letter, namely, why in my writings I sometimes present examples from secular learning and defile the whiteness of the Church with the impurities of pagans, who does not know that both Moses and the writings of the prophets borrowed something from pagan books? Who does not know that Solomon both posed questions and answered the philosophers of Tyre? The Apostle Paul also used a verse from the poet Epimenides in his letter to Titus: "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies," a half-line later used by Callimachus.

What did he say? Listen. "Cretans are always liars, evil accusers, idle bellies." Why did he speak so badly of his own kinsmen? Because the Cretans, his ancestors, had built a funerary monument for Zeus and made this inscription on it: here lies Zeus. Disturbed that they were spreading everywhere the report of Zeus's death, Epimenides took vengeance on them by the saying cited above. He also added the following: for you, master, they even built a tomb. But you did not die, for you exist forever. Thus the poet mentioned says that the Cretans always lied about many other things, and also about Zeus having died. The Cretans are evil accusers, bringing shame upon their homeland. They love to drink and eat, but are not eager to work. In general, they are parasites. And he indicated the reason why he called them liars, as already said: for you, master Zeus, they built a tomb, he says. But you did not die. You live forever.

The Apostle called the poet a prophet not because he truly regarded him as a prophet. Rather, the pagans thought this about poets and believed their word as though revealed from above. In Zigabenus the phrase is "evil accusers." For the Apostle's purpose only the word "liars" was needed. The other words after it were cited only because they belong to the verse known to the Apostle.

"Cretans are always liars, for the Cretans made a tomb for You, O King, but You did not die." And you yourself, Callimachus, since you believe in the birth of Zeus, how do you not believe in his burial? Thus, by obscuring the truth, do you also proclaim his death to those who do not know?

Therefore some think Paul did not call him a prophet here without reason. In this case, however, the Apostle may have adapted himself to the ordinary usage of his contemporaries, who called poets prophets.

In referring to the testimony of a pagan writer, the Apostle certainly did not assign special importance to their opinions concerning religious truths. He took only the cited expression in part, showing that truth can also be found in the works of pagan writers. As for the content of the cited verse, it fully corresponded to the character of the Cretans. They were not only liars, but also evil beasts in their morals and deeds. They gave themselves to gluttony and laziness, and therefore were called idle bellies, or, as some divide it, bellies and lazy men. The Apostle applies this expression to those deceivers and empty talkers who went around the houses of Christians, giving themselves to overeating and idle speech.

To confirm that the Cretans are prone to falsehood, fables, and vain talk, the Apostle could have pointed to actual examples. But he considered it better to cite the testimony of a poet who was himself a Cretan. This was so that no one would say: you spent only a few days on the island and have already learned our character. The Apostle answers such people in advance: I am not alone in thinking this. Your own poet, long ago, noticed this in you. Moreover, by taking such ancient testimony, the Apostle makes it understood that the evil trait of the Cretans he indicates is not fleeting or accidental. It is an old vice. The harder it is to root out, the more obliged are those appointed to correct every evil among them to direct their attention, care, and labor to this side.

The Apostle called the poet a prophet not because he truly regarded him as a prophet. Rather, the pagans thought this about poets and believed their word as though revealed from above. All pagan beliefs rested on the poets. The words cited by the Apostle were spoken by Epimenides, according to Saint Chrysostom and blessed Jerome. The same was later repeated by Callimachus, according to blessed Theodoret. In Callimachus only the first word stands: "liars." But the whole verse, as the Apostle cites it, is found in Epimenides, according to blessed Jerome.

The Cretans were so called because, when someone explained to them that Zeus, or Deus, had died among them and indicated the place, they easily believed it. They built a tomb and kept telling everyone: here among us is the tomb of Zeus. By this they revealed their credulity and susceptibility to falsehood and fables. They afterwards did not cease to hold them, and thus remained always false, that is, never ceasing to repeat a lie. The Apostle especially sets forth this trait of theirs, so that he may then say: rebuke them, so that they do not give heed to fables.

For the Apostle's purpose only the first word was needed: "liars." The other words after it were cited only because they belong to the verse known to the Apostle, according to blessed Jerome. Therefore there is no need to form conjectures about what the Apostle had in mind when citing the words about the Cretans: "evil beasts, idle bellies." The first words signify savagery, unbridledness, and evil disposition. The second signify that they love to eat and drink, but are unwilling to work, being lovers of idleness and lazy. Perhaps, however, such traits truly belonged to the character of the Cretans, and the Apostle intentionally retained these words of the verse. He did not limit himself to the first word, so that he might later give lessons concerning them also. This may be concluded from what the Apostle commands to be taught in the second chapter. But in the present place the Apostle needed only the first word, "liars," as the course of the discourse requires us to suppose.