A Useful Infidel

Πᾶσαι αἱ θεῖαι Βίβλοι τῆς Παλαιᾶς Διαθήκης τῇ Ἐβραίων γλώττῃ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἧσαν συντεθειμέναι, καὶ τοῦτο πάντες ἄν ἡμῖν συνομολογήσαιεν. Οὐ πρὸ πολλῶν δὲ ἐτῶν τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας βασιλεύς τις Πτολεμαῖος περὶ τὴν τῶν βιβλίων συναγωγὴν πολλήν τινα σπουδὴν ποινσάμενος, καὶ ταύτας τὰς βίβλους συναγαγεῖν. Μεταπεμψάμενος οὖν τινας τῶν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις Ἰουδαίωμ, μεταβαλεῖν εἰς τὴν Ἡλλάδα γλῶτταν προσέταξε· καὶ δὴ τοῦτο εἰς ἔργον αὐτῷ ἐξενήνεχται. Ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκονομίας ἔργον, ὥστε μὴ μόνον τοὺς τὴν Ἑβραίων γλῶτταν ἠσκημένους, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντας τοὺς τὴν οἰκουμένην οἰκοῦντας τὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν ὠφέλειαν καρπώσασθαι. καὶ τὸ δὴ θαυμαστὸν καὶ παράδοξον, ὁτι οὐ τῶν τὰ Ἰουδαῖκὰ φρονούντων τις τὴν σπουδὴν ταύτην ἐποιήσατο, ἀλλ' ἀνὴρ τοῖς εἰδώλοις προστετηκὼ, καὶ ἀπεναντίας τῇ θρησκείᾳ διακείμενος. Τοιαῦτα γάρ ἐστιν ἄπαντα τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ Δεσπότου τοῦ ἡμετέρου οἰκονομούμενα· αἐὶ διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων αὔξει τὰ τῆς ἀληθείας προστὰγματα. Ὁμῖλία Δ'  Εἰς Την Γενεσιν, Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

All the Divine Books of the Old Testament were from the beginning composed in the Hebrew tongue, and to this everyone agrees. Now not many years before advent of Christ a certain King Ptolemy was an eager collector of books, having many diverse volumes and he thought that these books also were worthy collecting. And so he sent to the Jews of Jerusalem that they translate them into the Greek tongue and it was done and completed. And this is a work of the Divine Dispensation, that not only those skilled in the Hebrew tongue but even all the inhabitants of the earth may read these texts. And how wonderful and glorious it is that he who did so was not of the religion of the Jews but a follower of the cult of the idols and opposed to them in thought. But all things have been disposed by our Lord so that even through opposition the teaching of truth grows. From The Fourth Homily on Genesis, Saint John Chrysostom