Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

3 John 1:2

Cf. Law, Ser. Call, chap. vii. “Flavia would be a miracle of piety, if she was but half as careful of her soul as she is of her body. The rising of a pimple on her face, the sting of a gnat, will make her keep her room for two or three days, and she thinks they are very rash people that do not take care of things in time.” Penn, Fruits of Solitude : “He is curious to wash, dress and perfume his Body, but careless of his Soul. The one shall have many Hours, the other not so many Minutes.” περὶ πάντων, de omnibus, with εὐοδοῦσθαι καὶ ὑγιαίνειν, not præ omnibus, “above all things”. The latter use is epic (e.g., Horn. Il. i. 287: περὶ πάντων ἕμμεναι ἄλλων), and prosperity and health were not the summa bona in the Apostle's estimation. εὐοδοῦσθαι, “prosper” in worldly matters. Trouble tests character. “A good knight is best known in battle, and a Christian in the time of trouble and adversity”; and Gaius had stood the test. The hostility of Diotrephes, probably a well-to-do member of the Church, had lessened his maintenance (εὐοδοῦσθαι) and affected his health (ὑγιαίνειν), yet St. John has only admiration for the spirit he has manifested and commendation for the part he has played.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

3 John 1:2

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