and human affairs it is not so. Is there a knowledge (episteme) which
affords understanding (gnosis) of human and divine things, and then a
thorough acquaintance (epignosis) with the divinity and the righteous-
ness of them?Other early Christian authors say that ordinarygnosisis different
from religiousepignosisor that theepignosis (theou)is more proper in
religion thangnosis.^12 Clement of Alexandria and Origen employ
‘knowledge of the truth’and related phrases fairly often, connecting
their usage with the Pastoral Epistles.^13
Given this Greek background, we can investigate the Latin termin-
ology ofagnitio/agnoscoin somewhat more detail, bearing in mind
that the chronological sequence need not always be from Greek to
Latin. It may also be the case that the Latin legal terminology has
influenced Greek patristic authors. In the Vulgate, the verbagnoscois
rarely used (Matt. 12:33, Luke 24:16, John 10:15, Acts 27:39, Phil.
3:10); among these occurrences, only John 10:15, discussed above, is
relevant for the present study.
Agnitio veritatisappears, as already mentioned, in 1 Tim. 2:4 and
Titus 1:1. The Vulgate speaks ofagnitio Deiin Eph. 1:17 and Col. 2:2,
for instance. Jerome thinks thatagnitioconcerns processes of remem-
bering in which knowledge has once been learned and then forgotten.
Inagnitio, this knowledge is rediscovered. Jerome speaks of the
‘knowledge of the Son of God’(agnitiofilii dei) in this sense of
restitution since, when the Son of God is recognized, he takes his
place and starts again to be what he once already was.^14 This
re-learning may concern both virtues and vices, since in the Vulgate
‘knowledge of sin’(Romans 3:20) is translated asagnitio peccati. Such
agnitiocan be understood as a reminder or rediscovery rather than
thefirst insight concerning sin. Moreover,agnitio peccatirefers to
acknowledgement of facts rather than an interpersonal encounter.
In both religious and non-religious contexts, the verbagnoscooften
adds the idea of approval or attachment to the act of knowing. For
this reason, the verb appears in legal contexts when, for instance, a
son or an inheritance is legally adopted and approved (filium, hered-
itatem agnoscere). While the idea of acknowledging this person as my
(^12) Lampe, 519.
(^13) See the evidence of the digitalTLG; I am indebted to Ulla Tervahauta for
carrying out this and many other relevant searches for me.
(^14) Comm. ad Eph.1, 489.
46 Recognition and Religion