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Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching
St Irenaeus of Lyons, tr. Robinson, 1920
Chapter 87
And that not by the much-speaking of the1 law, but by the brevity of faith and love, men were to be saved, Isaiah says thus: A word brief and2 short in righteousness: for a short word will God make in the whole world. And therefore the apostle Paul says: Love is the fulfilling of the law:3 for he who loves God has fulfilled the law. Moreover the Lord, when He was asked which is the first commandment, said: Thou shalt love the Lord4 thy God with all thy heart and with all thy strength.5 And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments, He says, all the law hangeth and the prophets. So then by our faith in Him He has made our love to God and our neighbour to grow, making us godly and righteous and good. And therefore a short word has God made on the earth in the world.
Notes
- Cf. Matt. vi. 7.
- Rom. ix. 28 (Isa. x. 22 f.).
- Rom. xiii. 10.
- Matt. xxii. 37 f.; Mark xii. 30 f.
- For the abbreviation of the “First Commandment” cf. Just. M. Dial. 93.