Η συνείδηση κατά τον Ιωάννη τον Χρυσόστομο /The conscience according to John Chrysostom

Ἐξ ἀρχῆς πλάττων ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, νόμον αὐτῷ φυσικὸν ἐγκατέθηκε. Καὶ τί ποτέ ἐστιν νόμος φυσικός; Τὸ συνειδὸς ἡμῖν διήρθρωσε, καὶ αὐτοδίδακτον ἐποίησε τὴν γνῶσιν τῶν καλῶν καὶ τῶν οὐ τοιούτων· οὐ γὰρ δεόμεθα μαθεῖν ὅτι κακὸν ἡ πορνεία, καὶ καλὸν ἡ σωφροσύνη, ἀλλ' ἴσμεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοῦτο.

It is, that when God formed man, he implanted within him from the beginning a natural law. And what then was this natural law? He gave utterance to conscience within us; and made the knowledge of good things, and of those which are the contrary, to be self-taught. For we have no need to learn that fornication is an evil thing, and that chastity is a good thing, but we know this from the first.


* Ιωάννης ο Χρυσόστομος / John Chrysostom,
Εις τους ανδριάντας / Ad populum Antiochenum 12:3 [9]
[MPG 49:131, Engl. transl. E. Budge]