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Click here to read at earlychurchtexts.com in the original Greek (with dictionary lookup links). The English translation is by the Revd Andrew Maguire, the Early Church Texts webmaster. Further extracts are given through the link above.

earlychurchtexts.com

• Is like an electronic encyclopedia of the first five centuries of Church History, with extensive links (subscription version only) to information on around 800 people and themes, and around 230 Church Councils;

• Is a Reader in Early Christian History and Theology with 250+, with over 2,200 printable pages, carefully prepared on-site texts (Greek and/or Latin with English translation alongside) from the first five centuries of the life of the Church. These cover a range of significant themes and represent several authors (a sample text is here and a complete list of on-site texts here). All have dictionary lookup links. There is also an introduction to each text (to help in understanding its context and significance) together with background notes linked with the text, carefully prepared printable versions, a site search engine and many other helpful features;

• Gives easy access to complete Greek and Latin texts which are in the public domain and translations (where found available) from the first five centuries. There are carefully indexed links to authors and their works, including an index of commentaries, homilies etc. by biblical book. Nearly all of the Greek and Latin texts from this period contained in the Migne Patrologia series are covered. Some other sources are also used. The texts used are the scanned versions available at Google Books and elsewhere. A distinctive feature of the Early Church Texts website is that where English translations have been found available online they can easily be read immediately alongside the original Greek and Latin. (A complete list of authors represented is here. A sample text is here.)

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.... You to whom this is addressed, whoever you are, as a human being, show contempt for roguish ways. Love people, not riches. Keep on resisting this sin. Say to usury, once so dear to you, the utterance of John the Baptist, "Get away from me, 'you brood of vipers'" (Mt 3.7). You are the ruin of those who take and hold you. You bring a brief moment of pleasure, but as time goes by your poison is noxious to the soul. You block the way that leads to life and close the gates of the kingdom. Having briefly delighted the eye and been a topic of conversation you are the cause of endless woe. When you have uttered these words say farewell to profit and usury and commit yourself to love of the poor: "Do not turn your back on the one who wants to borrow from you" (Mt 5.42). Because of poverty somebody is sitting at your door, pleading with you; at a loss he flees for refuge to your wealth, hoping that you might bring relief to his need. But you do just the opposite: you should be an ally, but you become an enemy, for you do not help him so that he can be freed both from the distress which is pressing on him and his indebtedness to you. Rather, you sow evils for this man who has come on hard times, strip the naked, injure the wounded, and pile care upon care and woe upon woe. Whoever receives money through usury takes a pledge of poverty and under the pretence of a good deed brings ruin on someone's home. You might perforce give wine out of charity to someone who is sick with a raging fever, if he is overcome with thirst and asks you for a drink. It brings him relief for a while when he takes the cup, but after a little while it makes his fever strong and ten times worse. In the same way if you give money laden with poverty to a poor man you are not relieving his distress but adding to his misfortune.