Philemon
Epistola B. Pauli Apostoli ad PhilemonemIntroductions
Enciclopedia Cattolica
Letter written by St. Paul to the disciple and friend Ph., on behalf of the fugitive slave Onesimus.
This writing, often called a "note," presents all the protocol elements of a true letter: address, wish of grace and peace, praise of the recipient (vv. 1-7), the subject treated at relative length (vv. 8-21), news, final wish (v. 22 ff.). The affectionate and confidential tone brings this letter, which is the shortest of the Pauline letters (longer, however, than II and III John, and than many writings of antiquity that go under the name of letter), particularly close to Philippians: both are proof of Paul's delicacy and nobility, of his ability to cultivate friendships without abdicating his own authority.
Haydock
Philemon was a rich man, of high birth. He had been converted by St. Paul, when he was preaching at Ephesus, or by his disciple Epaphras. His house was become not unlike a church. Onesimus, his slave, far from profiting by the excellent example set before him, became more wicked; he plundered his master, and flew to Rome, where St. Paul was detained in prison for the first time. He received the poor fugitive charitably, and wrote to his master in his behalf. --- The letter seems to have been written in the year sixty-one[A.D. 61], during St. Paul's first imprisonment at Rome. It contains, as St. Chrysostom observes, divers profitable instructions, and marks of St. Paul's charity towards a poor fugitive servant. Erasmus says Cicero never wrote with greater eloquence. (Witham)
Douay 1582/1609
Hearing of Philémons vertue, vvho vvas a Colossian, he vvriteth a familiar letter from Rome (being prisoner there) about his fugitiue seruant Onesimus: not doubting but that he might commaund him, yet rather requesting that he vvil forgiue him, yea and receiue him as he vvould Paul him self, vvho also hopeth to come vnto him.
Cornely
S 12. — De epistola ad Philemonem.
170. — I. Unica epistola, quam a S. Paulo homini privato scriptam in eanone habemus. illa est , quae Philemoni inscribitur. Cuius exarandae occasio haec fuit. Philemon, nobilis civis colossensis, Ephesi, ut videtur, a B. Apostolo Evangclium edoctus et ad fidem conversus una eum Epaphra inter suos cives doctrinam christianam propagaverat interque ecclesiae colossensis presbyteros adscriptus est!. Unus ex eius servis ethnicis, Oncsimus, ne delicti commissi poenas solverct, Colossis aufugiens a divina providentia Romam ad S. Paulum, qui tum temporis in vinculis tenebatur, adductus ab eoque ad meliorem frugem revocatus et baptismo in Ecclesiam receptus, imo inter Apostoli socios admissus est. Utile quidem magistro neophytus praestabat ministerium, at invito domino servum fugitivum secum retincre noluit S. Paulus?. Quamobrem quum ecclesias de suis rebus certiores redditurus Tychicum in Asiam et Phrygiam mitteret, ei Onesimum socium dedit; quemadmodum autem domini, ita servi quoque curam non neglexit, sed nostra epistola ei delicti commissi veniam a domino impetrare studuit. Velut perfectum styli cpistolaris exemplar haud immerito omnium semper admirationem excitavit?, et quamvis privatum habeat characlerem, plena tamen est utilium doetrinarum.
Continue reading 7 paragraphs
111. — Il. Quo rkuPOnE ET QUO LOCO Scripta sit epistola, supra (161; iam diximus; tam brevis autem est, ut eius ANALYsIS accurata tradi non possit, nisi simul integra explicctur; ideo per summa dumtaxat capita eam indicabimus.
1. Exonpiux (4-7) pro more continet inscriptionem (4 -3. Paulus et "Timolheus Philemoni eiusque uxori Appiae et Archippo et ecclesiae domesticae), et gratiarum actionem (4-1) ob Philemonis perseverantiam in fide eiusque amorem in fideles. Ab hac gratiarum actione, quae insignis simul est captatio benevolentiae ,
2. ARGUMENTUM IPSUM. aggressus maxima cuin prudentia et caritate Philemonem precatur, ut servum suum in gratiam recipiat, quam plurimis molivis insinuatis potius quam tractatis (8-17), atque promittit se ipsum damnum ab Oncsimo illatum compensaturum (18-921).
3. Iu. rriLoco sibi hospitium parari iubet. et salutationes cum benedictione apostolica addit (22-93.
HW. Aurugvria. huius epistolae, quamvis lot testimoniis, quot reliquae, non fulciatur, imo iam tempore patristico aliquos adversarios invenerit, in dubitatione tamen non versatur. Quoniam enim brevissima est nec ullum dogma evolvit, mirum non est, quod non nisi raro a Patribus sit allegata. Post medium autem saec, 2. Muratorianum fregiientuii eam in. canone ecclesiae romanae recenset, in omnibus antiquis versionibus semper adfuit, Eusebius eam inter $2 óuoAXoyoóuevz enumerat, atque Marcion quoque haereticus eam integram in canone suo habuit; etenim « soli huic epistolae, inquit Tertullianus , brevitas sua profuit, ut falsarias manus Marcionis evaderet » !. Kectissime autem monet S. Hieronymus « nunquam in toto orbe a cunctis ecclesiis eam fuisse receptam, nisi Pauli Apostoli esset credita » ?.
lte vera antiqui illi adversarii, qui Patrum tempore epistolam nostram e canone rciicere voluerunt, non ob historicorum testimoniorum defectum, sed ob internas rationes cam impugnarunt. « Superffuum, esse, inquit S. CArysostomus , nonnulli dicunt. epistolam hauc canoni addere, siquidem pro re parva petat. pro uno viro »?; atque S. Iieronymus (l. c.) : « Qui nolunt inter Pauli epistolas cam recipere, quac ad Philemonem scribitur, aiunt non semper Apostolum nec omnia, Christo in se loquente, dixisse, quia nec humana imbecillitas unum tenorem S. Spiritus ferre potuisset, nec huius corpusculi necessitates sub praesentia Domini semper complerentur » etc. Inspirationem igitur potius, quam authentiam eius negarunt, at hanc quoque S8. Chrysostomus ef Hieronymus optimis argumentis vindicarunt. « Mihi, inquit S. Hieronymus (1. c.), videntur ii, qui epistolam simplicitatis arguunt, suam imperitiam prodere non intellizentes, quid in singulis sermonibus virtutis ac sapientiae lateat »; et S. CArysostomus (1. c.) nonnullis doctrinis, quae in nostra epistola continentur, enumeratis interrogat : « Quum ergo tot sint huius epistolae commoda, quamquam nondum oninia diximus, num quis superfluum putabit eam in numerum sacrorum librorum esse relatam »?
Brevitas, quae epistolam nostram a falsariis Marcionis manibus servavit, illam a sacrilegis huius aetatis manibus pseudocriticorum dcfendere non potuit. Longe plerique quidem eius authentiam agnoverunt*; at. aur illam quoque reiiciendam putavit, quia secus etiam epistolam ad Co/oss., quacum intime cohaeret, agnoscere debuisset; hinc eam poematis alicuius christiani primam delineationem, vel ut eius vocabulum retineamus, « embryonem » esse dixit, in quo auctor ostendere sibi proposuerat, hominem ea, quae hac in terra ad tempus amittit, religione christiana in totam aeternitatem lucrari (cfr. v. 15 : « forsitan enim ideo discessit ad horam a te, ut aeternum illum reciperes »)?. Quae sententia non minus arbitraria quam absurda, ab omnibus fere explosa, nulla prorsus argumenti specie roborata, refutalione nec digna nec capax est.
Cornelius a Lapide
Argument 6 paragraphs
Philemon, not a Jew but a Gentile, was a citizen of Colossae, among his own people noble, conspicuous equally in life and morals as in faith and Christian profession; Theodoretus relates that his house at Colossae remained intact down to his own times: inasmuch as it began to be a church in the time of Paul, so that Paul would hold assemblies of the faithful in it, and therefore Archippus, Bishop of the Colossians, dwelt in it, as Paul sufficiently indicates in verse 2. Hence this house, already dedicated to God as a church, remained for many centuries. Again, the faithful were accustomed to gather in Philemon's house and were sustained by his aid: for he himself was devoted to almsgiving and came to the aid of the necessities of the Saints. For this is what the Apostle says in verse 7: "The bowels of the saints have found rest through thee, brother." Now this Philemon had a servant named Onesimus, who fled from Colossae to Rome not so much by the zeal of St. Paul, as some wish to say, but on account of theft, having namely plundered certain things of his master, as St. Jerome, Theodoretus and Theophylactus gather from verse 18, where he fell in with Paul, who converted him to Christ, instructed him and baptized him, and now having made him faithful both to Christ and to his master, sends him back with this letter of commendation to his master, namely Philemon, in which he asks him to receive him into favor. Paul wrote this Epistle at Rome from his first imprisonment in the year of Christ 60, when he already hoped to be freed from it shortly, as appears from verse 22; he sent it together with the Epistle to the Colossians, by Onesimus himself.
St. Chrysostom and Theophylactus note that this Epistle, in such brevity and simplicity, contains several most useful teachings. Among which the first is that to no man, not even to a fugitive slave, is the approach to grace and eternal life barred, nor should the salvation of anyone, however harsh, fraudulent and lost, be despaired of: for such was Onesimus, being a slave, a thief, a Phrygian. For the Phrygians were of an illiberal and servile nature. Whence among them there was a great supply of slaves, so that it became a proverb, as Cicero testifies in his oration for Flaccus, that a Phrygian is improved by blows.
The second is that even vile men, slaves and fugitives ought to be cared for by Christians.
The third is that slaves ought not to be torn away from their masters under the pretext of piety. Whence here Paul sends back the slave Onesimus to his master Philemon.
The fourth is that slaves excellent in virtue ought not to be despised, but loved and promoted. For this Onesimus, repenting of his deed, was reconciled with his master Philemon, and became an excellent man and teacher, and after Timothy was made the second Bishop of Ephesus: whom St. Ignatius greatly praises in his epistle to the Ephesians. Whence this same Onesimus was later at Rome under Trajan crowned with martyrdom.
Learn here, Christians, learn, Pastors, not to neglect the poor, slaves and handmaids, but to bestow singular care upon them: for they are your own sheep, and they have souls as noble as the rich, and redeemed at the same price of the blood of Christ. Whence God will demand them from you on the day of judgment. For on account of them Christ descended from heaven, of whom this is the saying predicted and celebrated by Isaiah: "The poor have the gospel preached to them." Such God chooses: for they are more humble, docile, tractable, and therefore more capable of grace and salvation than the rich. "Did not God," says St. James, chapter II, verse 5, "choose the poor in this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him?"
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
St Thomas Aquinas
Servus si est tibi fidelis, sit tibi quasi anima tua, et cetera. Eccli. XXXIII, 31. Ostendit sapiens tria circa dominum et servum, scilicet quid requiratur ex parte servi; item qualis debet esse affectus domini ad servum; item qualis usus servi. Ex parte servi requiritur fidelitas, in qua est bonum servi, quia et quod est et omnia sua debet dare domino. Matth. XXIV, 45: fidelis servus et prudens, et cetera. Et dicit si est fidelis, quia fidelitas apud paucos est. Prov. c. XX, 6: virum fidelem quis inveniet? Talis ergo servus debet haberi a domino, sicut amicus in affectu. Unde dicit sit tibi sicut anima tua. Hoc enim est proprium amicorum, ut eorum anima una sit in nolendo et volendo. Act. IV, 32: multitudinis credentium erat cor unum et anima una. In quo datur intelligi, quod est quidam consensus inter dominum et servum, quia servus fidelis transit in amicum. Usus eius est, ut tractetur ut frater; nam frater est, et quantum ad generationem naturae, quia eodem auctore. Iob XXXI, 13: si contempsi subire iudicium cum servo meo. Mal. II, 10: numquid non unus pater omnium nostrum? Numquid non Deus unus? Et quantum ad generationem gratiae, quae est eadem. Gal. III, 27 s.: quicumque enim in Christo baptizati estis, Christum induistis; non est Iudaeus, neque Graecus, non est servus, neque liber, non est masculus, neque foemina, omnes enim vos unum estis in Christo Iesu. Matth. XXIII, 8: omnes vos fratres estis. Haec autem verba conveniunt materiae huius epistolae. Sicut enim supra ostendit qualiter spirituales praelati habeant se ad subditos: sic hic qualiter temporales domini ad temporales servos, et quomodo servus fidelis quoad dominum eius.
Estius
Philemon, ad quem haec scribitur Epistola, Pauli discipulus, vir clarus erat apud Colossenses; cujus domum Colossis ad sua tempora permansisse testatur Theodoretus. Hospitalem fuisse et fovendis auxilio fratribus expositum, satis haec ipsa Epistola loquitur. Cujas quidem scribendae causa fuit ejusmodi: Erat Philemoni servus Onesimus, qui furto facto fugam iniit. Mox utriusque criminis, fugae et furti poenitentia ductus Romam se contulit ad Paulum captivum, quem hero suo noverat esse amicum. Ab eo susceptus et Christi fidem edoctus, atque baptizatus, aliquamdiu ministravit ei iu carcere; donec satis in pietate confirmatum remittere eum Philemoni visum fuit. Remittit autem cum his literis commendatitiis, in quibus miro studio id agit, ut servum Domino reconciliet. Nec vero dubium, quin Pauli precibus Philemon annuerit, ac plus etiam praestiterit, quam rogatus esset. Nam lnanumissum fuisse Onesimum ex eo constat, quod postea Timotheo in episcopatu Ephesiorum successerit; uti liquido probat B. Ignatii ad Ephesios epist., in qua Onesimi, ut illorum Episcopi, valde honorificam facit mentionem.
Referunt Hieronymus, Chrysostomus et Theophylactus, fuisse quosdam, qui negarent huic Epistolae locum inter Scripturas sacras, propter humilitatem argumenti, eo quod ad hominem privatum ac de re privata scripta sit. Sed bene ab iisdem respondetur, utcumque argumentum humile et abjectum videatur, haudquaquam indignum esse spiritu Dei; quo auctore Paulus hanc Epistolam scribens, in commendando et reconciliando extremae sortis homine, tam egregium charitatis exemplum universae Ecclesiae reliquerit, etiamsi nullum hic doctrinae Christianae caput ex professo tractetur. Sane Chrysostomus quatuor utilitates insignes ex hac Epistola colligit; quas apud eum in argumento videre est. Easdem breviter recenset Theophylactus.
Scripta est Romae e vinculis, quorum quinquies meminit. Missa per Onesimum; unacumEpistola ad Colossenses, Tychico ad perferendum tradita. Simul enim missas fuisse has duas Epistolas, manifeste apparet. Nam utraque Timotheum Paulo conjungit in principio, utraque Archippinn compellat; denique utraque eosdem habet salutatores in fine, Epaphram, Marcum, Aristarchum, Demam et Lucam. Eodem tempore scriptas fuisse Epistolas ad Ephesios et ad Philippenses, affirmat Hietonymus et docere conatur. Cujus sententiam aliis in locis expendimus.
Epistolae hujus quam admirandum sit artificium, Graeci expositores passim inter commentandum annotant: Cajetanus quoque sub finem sui commentarii, et Erasmus annot. in hanc Epistolamultima.