The Literary Genre of Justin's First Apology

Abstract

When Wehofer published his monograph on Justin's Apologies,1 he could rightly claim that this work was the first attempt at treating these Apologies from the point of view of literary criticism. There have been books and articles written on Justin's Apologies before and after Wehofer's publication. Some writers steered clear of all literary criticism and confined themselves strictly to the theological, philosophical, and other contents,2 while others, without making a real effort to appreciate Justin by applying the rules of ancient classical rhetoric to his Apologies, declared that the Apologies are disorderly collections of theological and apologetic ideas, written without any plan, not to mention a plan a la Greek Rhetoric.3 Admittedly, it is difficult to outline exact plans in the Apologies. This, however, should not be a reason for despair or disparagement, but rather for a more careful study of them as literary products. On the other hand, it is very easy to exploit the Apologies for their theological and philosophical contents, as e.g. for the doctrines and the life of the early Christian Church. But even this type of interest should be helped very much by a literary appreciation. About fifteen years after Wehofer's publication, there was another attempt made at a literary criticism of the Apologies, this time by Karl Hubik.4 Like his predecessor in

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