Lactantius on the Golden Rule

"When the affairs of men were in this condition, God pitied us, revealed and displayed Himself to us, that in Himself we might learn religion, faith, purity, and mercy; that having laid aside the error of our former life, together with God Himself we might know ourselves, whom impiety had disunited from Him, and we might choose the divine law, which unites human affairs with heavenly, the Lord Himself delivering it to us; by which law all the errors with which we have been ensnared, together with vain and impious superstitions, might be taken away. What we owe to man, therefore, is prescribed by that same divine law which teaches that whatever you render to man is rendered to God. But the root of justice, and the entire foundation of equity, is that you should not do that which you would be unwilling to suffer, but should measure the feelings of another by your own. If it is an unpleasant thing to bear an injury, and he who has done it appears unjust, transfer to the person of another that which you feel respecting yourself, and to your own person that which you judge respecting another, and you will understand that you act as unjustly if you injure another as another would if he should injure you. If we consider these things, we shall maintain innocence, in which the first step of justice is, as it were, contained. For the first thing is, not to injure; the next is, to be of service. And as in uncultivated lands, before you begin to sow, the fields must be cleansed by tearing up the thorns and cutting off all the roots of trunks, so vices must first be thrust out from our souls, and then at length virtues must be implanted, from which the fruits of immortality, being engendered by the word of God, may spring up." (Lactantius, Epitome of the Divine Institutes 60)

Basil of Caesarea on the Golden Rule (negative)

”What language can attain to the marvels of the Creator? What ear could understand them? And what time would be sufficient to relate them? Let us say, then, with the prophet, “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all.” We shall not be able to say in self-justification, that we have learnt useful knowledge in books, since the untaught law of nature makes us choose that which is advantageous to us. Do you know what good you ought to do your neighbour? The good that you expect from him yourself. Do you know what is evil? That which you would not wish another to do to you. Neither botanical researches nor the experience of simples have made animals discover those which are useful to them; but each knows naturally what is salutary and marvellously appropriates what suits its nature.” (In Hex. 9.3)

"Τίς ἐφίκηται λόγος; ποία χωρήσει ἀκοή; τίς ἐξαρκέσει χρόνος πάντα εἰπεῖν καὶ διηγήσασθαι τοῦ τεχνίτου τὰ θαύματα; Εἴπωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς μετὰ τοῦ προφήτου, Ὡς ἐμεγαλύνθη τὰ ἔργα σου, Κύριε· πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας. Οὐ τοίνυν ἡμῖν πρὸς ἀπολογίαν αὔταρκες, τὸ μὴ γράμμασι διδαχθῆναι τὰ συμφέροντα, τῷ ἀδιδάκτῳ τῆς φύσεως νόμῳ τὴν τοῦ λυσιτελοῦντος αἵρεσιν δεξαμένοις. Οἶδας τί ποιήσεις τῷ πλησίον καλόν; Ὃ σεαυτῷ βούλει παρ' ἑτέρου γενέσθαι. Οἶδας ὅ τι ποτέ ἐστι τὸ κακόν; Ὃ οὐκ ἂν αὐτὸς παθεῖν ἕλοιο παρ' ἑτέρου. Οὐδεμία ῥιζοτομικὴ τέχνη, οὐδὲ ἐμπειρία βοτανικὴ τῶν ὠφελίμων τοῖς ἀλόγοις τὴν διδασκαλίαν ἐξεῦρεν, ἀλλὰ φυσικῶς ἕκαστον τῶν ζῴων τῆς οἰκείας ἐστὶ σωτηρίας ποριστικὸν, καὶ ἄρρητόν τινα κέκτηται τὴν πρὸς τὸ κατὰ φύσιν οἰκείωσιν." (PG Migne 29 9,3)

Origen on the Golden Rule

"'Be of one mind toward one another.' These words have become rather obscure in translation, not in essence. What he [Paul] is saying is that we should be as mindful of our brother as we are of our own selves; and thus we should wish for our neighbor as we also wish for own (sic!) selves. As even the Lord said in the Gospel, 'Do unto others the same things you wish men to do unto you.'" (In Rom. 9.16)

John Chrysostom on the Golden Rule

"Let thine own will be the law. Dost thou wish to receive kindness? Be kind to another. Dost thou wish to receive mercy? Show mercy to thy neighbour. Dost thou wish to be applauded? Applaud another. Dost thou wish to be beloved? Exercise love. Dost thou wish to enjoy the first rank? First concede that place to another. Become thyself the judge, thyself the lawgiver of thine own life. And again; "Do not to another what thou hatest." By the latter precept, he would induce to a departure from iniquity; by the former, to the exercise of virtue. "Do not thou to another," he saith, "what thou hatest." Dost thou hate to be insulted? Do not insult another. Dost thou hate to be envied? Envy not another. Dost thou hate to be deceived? Do not deceive another. And, in a word, in all things, if we hold fast these two precepts, we shall not need any other instruction. For the knowledge of virtue He hath implanted in our nature; but the practice of it and the correction He hath entrusted to our moral choice." (Chrysostom, On the Statutes XIII.7, PG, 49.139-40)

The Epistles of Pope Fabian on the Golden Rule

”[...]as you read in the Acts of the Apostles, “There was at that time among them that believed one heart and one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” For there was no laying of accusations against each other among them, except what was friendly; neither ought there ever to be such among their followers or among believers: for the Lord says, “Do not that to another which thou wouldst not have done to thyself.” And He says also, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;” and,” Love worketh no ill to his neighbour.”” (The Epistles of Pope Fabian, Second epistle §2)

Justin Martyr on the Golden Rule

Chapter XCIII.—The same kind of righteousness is bestowed on all. Christ comprehends it in two precepts.

“For [God] sets before every race of mankind that which is always and universally just, as well as all righteousness; and every race knows that adultery, and fornication, and homicide, and such like, are sinful; and though they all commit such practices, yet they do not escape from the knowledge that they act unrighteously whenever they so do, with the exception of those who are possessed with an unclean spirit, and who have been debased by education, by wicked customs, and by sinful institutions, and who have lost, or rather quenched and put under, their natural ideas. For we may see that such persons are unwilling to submit to the same things which they inflict upon others, and reproach each other with hostile consciences for the acts which they perpetrate. And hence I think that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ spoke well when He summed up all righteousness and piety in two commandments. They are these: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbour as thyself.’ For the man who loves God with all the heart, and with all the strength, being filled with a God-fearing mind, will reverence no other god; and since God wishes it, he would reverence that angel who is beloved by the same Lord and God. And the man who loves his neighbour as himself will wish for him the same good things that he wishes for himself, and no man will wish evil things for himself. Accordingly, he who loves his neighbour would pray and labour that his neighbour may be possessed of the same benefits as himself. Now nothing else is neighbour to man than that similarly-affectioned and reasonable being—man. Therefore, since all righteousness is divided into two branches, namely, in so far as it regards God and men, whoever, says the Scripture, loves the Lord God with all the heart, and all the strength, and his neighbour as himself, would be truly a righteous man. But you were never shown to be possessed of friendship or love either towards God, or towards the prophets, or towards yourselves, but, as is evident, you are ever found to be idolaters and murderers of righteous men, so that you laid hands even on Christ Himself; and to this very day you abide in your wickedness, execrating those who prove that this man who was crucified by you is the Christ. Nay, more than this, you suppose that He was crucified as hostile to and cursed by God, which supposition is the product of your most irrational mind. For though you have the means of understanding that this man is Christ from the signs given by Moses, yet you will not; but, in addition, fancying that we can have no arguments, you put whatever question comes into your minds, while you yourselves are at a loss for arguments whenever you meet with some firmly established Christian. (Dialogue with Trypho §93)

Τὰ γὰρ ἀεὶ καὶ δι' ὅλου δίκαια καὶ πᾶσαν δικαιο
σύνην παρέχει ἐν παντὶ γένει ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ἔστι πᾶν γένος
γνωρίζον ὅτι μοιχεία κακὸν καὶ πορνεία καὶ ἀνδροφονία καὶ
ὅσα ἄλλα τοιαῦτα. κἂν πάντες πράττωσιν αὐτά, ἀλλ' οὖν γε
τοῦ ἐπίστασθαι ἀδικοῦντες, ὅταν πράττωσι ταῦτα, οὐκ ἀπηλ
λαγμένοι εἰσί, πλὴν ὅσοι ὑπὸ ἀκαθάρτου πνεύματος ἐμπεφορη
μένοι καὶ ἀνατροφῆς καὶ ἐθῶν φαύλων καὶ νόμων πονηρῶν
διαφθαρέντες τὰς φυσικὰς ἐννοίας ἀπώλεσαν, μᾶλλον δὲ ἔσβεσαν
ἢ ἐπεσχημένας ἔχουσιν.
ἰδεῖν γὰρ ἔστι καὶ τοὺς τοιούτους
μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ παθεῖν βουλομένους ἅπερ αὐτοὶ τοὺς ἄλλους διατι
θέασι, καὶ ἐν συνειδήσεσιν ἐχθραῖς ταῦτα ὀνειδίζοντας ἀλλήλοις
ἅπερ ἐργάζονται. ὅθεν μοι δοκεῖ καλῶς εἰρῆσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ
ἡμετέρου κυρίου καὶ σωτῆρος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐν δυσὶν ἐντολαῖς
πᾶσαν δικαιοσύνην καὶ εὐσέβειαν πληροῦσθαι· εἰσὶ δὲ αὗται·
Ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ
ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου, καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. ὁ
γὰρ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος ἀγαπῶν τὸν
θεόν, πλήρης θεοσεβοῦς γνώμης ὑπάρχων, οὐδένα ἄλλον τιμήσει
θεόν· καὶ ἄγγελον ἐκεῖνον ἂν τιμήσῃ θεοῦ βουλομένου, τὸν
ἀγαπώμενον ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ θεοῦ. καὶ ὁ
τὸν πλησίον ὡς ἑαυτὸν ἀγαπῶν, ἅπερ ἑαυτῷ βούλεται ἀγαθά,
κἀκείνῳ βουλήσεται· οὐδεὶς δὲ ἑαυτῷ κακὰ βουλήσεται.
ταῦτ'
οὖν τῷ πλησίον καὶ εὔξαιτ' ἂν καὶ ἐργάσαιτο γενέσθαι, ἅπερ
καὶ ἑαυτῷ, ὁ τὸν πλησίον ἀγαπῶν· πλησίον δὲ ἀνθρώπου οὐδὲν
ἄλλο ἐστὶν ἢ τὸ ὁμοιοπαθὲς καὶ λογικὸν ζῶον, ὁ ἄνθρωπος.
διχῆ οὖν τῆς πάσης δικαιοσύνης τετμημένης, πρός τε θεὸν καὶ
ἀνθρώπους, ὅστις, φησὶν ὁ λόγος, ἀγαπᾷ κύριον τὸν θεὸν ἐξ
ὅλης τῆς καρδίας καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος, καὶ τὸν πλησίον ὡς
ἑαυτόν, δίκαιος ἀληθῶς ἂν εἴη.
ὑμεῖς δὲ οὔτε πρὸς θεὸν
οὔτε πρὸς τοὺς προφήτας οὔτε πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς φιλίαν ἢ ἀγάπην
ἔχοντες οὐδέποτε ἐδείχθητε, ἀλλ', ὡς δείκνυται, καὶ εἰδωλολάτραι
πάντοτε καὶ φονεῖς τῶν δικαίων εὑρίσκεσθε, ὡς καὶ μέχρις
αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὰς χεῖρας ἐπιβαλεῖν ὑμᾶς καὶ μέχρι νῦν
ἐπιμένειν τῇ κακίᾳ ὑμῶν, καταρωμένους καὶ τῶν τοῦτον τὸν
ἐσταυρωμένον ὑφ' ὑμῶν ἀποδεικνύντων εἶναι τὸν Χριστόν· καὶ
πρὸς τούτοις ἐκεῖνον μὲν ὡς ἐχθρὸν θεοῦ καὶ κατηραμένον
ἀξιοῦτε ἀποδεικνύναι ἐσταυρῶσθαι, ὅπερ τῆς ἀλογίστου ὑμῶν
γνώμης ἔργον ἐστίν.
ἔχοντες γὰρ ἀφορμὰς ἀπὸ τῶν γενο
μένων σημείων διὰ Μωυσέως συνιέναι ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν, οὐ βού
λεσθε, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τούτοις, ἡμᾶς ἀλογεῖν δύνασθαι
ὑπολαμβάνοντες, συζητεῖτε ὅπερ ὑμῖν συμβαίνει, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀπο
ρεῖτε λόγων, ὅταν εὐτόνῳ τινὶ Χριστιανῷ συμβάλητε. (PG Migne VI,??)

Irenæus on the Golden Rule (and more)

"the working of liberty is greater and more glorious than that obedience which is rendered in [a state of] slavery. 3. And for this reason did the Lord, instead of that [commandment], “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” forbid even concupiscence; and instead of that which runs thus, “Thou shalt not kill,” He prohibited anger; and instead of the law enjoining the giving of tithes, [He told us] to share 3953 all our possessions with the poor; and not to love our neighbours only, but even our enemies; and not merely to be liberal givers and bestowers, but even that we should present a gratuitous gift to those who take away our goods. For “to him that taketh away thy coat,” He says, “give to him thy cloak also; and from him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again; and as ye would that men should do unto you, do ye unto them:” 3954 so that we may not grieve as those who are unwilling to be defrauded, but may rejoice as those who have given willingly, and as rather conferring a favour upon our neighbours than yielding to necessity. “And if any one,” He says, “shall compel thee [to go] a mile, go with him twain;” 3955 so that thou mayest not follow him as a slave, but may as a free man go before him, showing thyself in all things kindly disposed and useful to thy neighbour, not regarding their evil intentions, but performing thy kind offices, assimilating thyself to the Father, “who maketh His sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and sendeth rain upon the just and unjust.” 3956 Now all these [precepts], as I have already observed, were not [the injunctions] of one doing away with the law, but of one fulfilling, extending, and widening it among us; just as if one should say, that the more extensive operation of liberty implies that a more complete subjection and affection towards our Liberator had been implanted within us. For He did not set us free for this purpose, that we should depart from Him (no one, indeed, while placed out of reach of the Lord’s benefits, has power to procure for himself the means of salvation), but that the more we receive His grace, the more we should love Him. Now the more we have loved Him, the more glory shall we receive from Him, when we are continually in the presence of the Father." (Against Heresies, 4.13.3-4)

Tertullian on the Golden Rule (Matt 7:12, Luk 6:31)

"“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” In this command is no doubt implied its counterpart: “And as ye would not that men should do to you, so should ye also not do to them likewise.” Now, if this were the teaching of the new and previously unknown and not yet fully proclaimed deity, who had favoured me with no instruction beforehand, whereby I might first learn what I ought to choose or to refuse for myself, and to do to others what I would wish done to myself, not doing to them what I should be unwilling to have done to myself, it would certainly be nothing else than the chance-medley of my own sentiments which he would have left to me, binding me to no proper rule of wish or action, in order that I might do to others what I would like for myself, or refrain from doing to others what I should dislike to have done to myself. For he has not, in fact, defined what I ought to wish or not to wish for myself as well as for others, so that I shape my conduct according to the law of my own will, and have it in my power not to render to another what I would like to have rendered to myself—love, obedience, consolation, protection, and such like blessings; and in like manner to do to another what I should be unwilling to have done to myself—violence, wrong, insult, deceit, and evils of like sort.  Indeed, the heathen who have not been instructed by God act on this incongruous liberty of the will and the conduct. For although good and evil are severally known by nature, yet life is not thereby spent under the discipline of God, which alone at last teaches men the proper liberty of their will and action in faith, as in the fear of God. The god of Marcion, therefore, although specially revealed, was, in spite of his revelation, unable to publish any summary of the precept in question, which had hitherto been so confined, and obscure, and dark, and admitting of no ready interpretation, except according to my own arbitrary thought, because he had provided no previous discrimination in the matter of such a precept. This, however, was not the case with my God, for He always and everywhere enjoined that the poor, and the orphan, and the widow should be protected, assisted, refreshed; thus by Isaiah He says: “Deal thy bread to the hungry, and them that are houseless bring into thine house; when thou seest the naked, cover him.” By Ezekiel also He thus describes the just man: “His bread will he give to the hungry, and the naked will he cover with a garment.” That teaching was even then a sufficient inducement to me to do to others what I would that they should do unto me. Accordingly, when He uttered such denunciations as, “Thou shalt do no murder; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not bear false witness,” —He taught me to refrain from doing to others what I should be unwilling to have done to myself; and therefore the precept developed in the Gospel will belong to Him alone, who anciently drew it up, and gave it distinctive point, and arranged it after the decision of His own teaching, and has now reduced it, suitably to its importance, to a compendious formula, because (as it was predicted in another passage) the Lord—that is, Christ—“was to make (or utter) a concise word on earth.” (Against Marcion, §16)

"[...]even if the life was tainted, so that condemned to contempt it might be likened to objects held in contempt, the nature was not forthwith taken away, so that there might be supposed to be another under its name.  Rather is the nature preserved, though the life blushes; nor does Christ know other men than those with reference to whom He says, “Whom do men say that I am?” And, “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye likewise so to, them.” Consider whether He may not have preserved a race such that He is looking for a testimony to Himself from them, as well as consisting of those on whom He enjoins the interchange of righteous dealing." (Apology, §17)

Ernest Evans' translation:

" ”And so also any further teaching he gave, this also he had received to add to his inheritance of the heathen. And as ye would that men should do to you, even so do ye to them. In this precept of course the other side of it is to be understood: And as ye would that men should not do to you, neither do ye to them. If this precept was given by a new god, one formerly unknown, and even now not fully revealed, one who had previously given me no formative instruction by which I could know beforehand what I ought to wish for or not to wish for for myself, and so do for others what I wished to be done to me, and abstain from doing what I did not wish to be done to me,—in that case he has left to my own judgement wide possibilities, in no way tying me down to any agreement of acts and wishes, so as to do to others what I would they should do to me, and not do to others what I would not they should do to me. For as he has given no definition of what it is my duty to wish or not to wish, either for myself or for others, so as to equate my action with the law of my will, it follows that I am able not to grant to another that which I should wish another to grant to me, love, respect, consolation, protection, and benefits of that nature, and likewise to do also to another what I should wish another not to do to me, violence, insult, despite, deceit, and evils of that kind. Indeed with such-like disagreement of their acts and their wishes do the heathen conduct themselves who are as yet with- out instruction from God. For although the fact of good and evil is known by nature, yet God's rule of conduct is not: but when this is known, then at length agreement between will and action comes into operation as a result of faith, as under the fear of God. And so Marcion's god, now that he has recently been revealed, if indeed revealed, has not been in a position, in respect of this precept which we are considering, to publish a summary so con- cise and obscure and even yet of hidden meaning, or more easy of interpretation in accordance with my own preferential choice: for he had worked out no previous distinction in the matter. My Creator however has both of old time and in every place pre- scribed that the needy, poor and orphans and widows, must receive protection, help, and refreshment: as by Isaiah, Break thy bread for the indigent, and them that are without shelter bring thou into thy house, and if thou seest the naked, cover him:j also by Ezekiel, con- cerning the just man, He will give his bread to the hungry, and will cover the naked.k As early as that then he taught me well enough to do to others what I would they should do to me. And likewise by such pronouncements as Thou shall not kill, thou shall not com- mit adultery, thou shall not steal, thou shall not bear false witness,l he taught me not to do to others the things I would not they should do to me. Consequently the precept in the gospel will have come from him who of old time both prepared for it, and gave it distinct expression, and set it under the arbitrement of his own rule of conduct, and has now, as was his right, given it summary precision: because also in another context it was foretold that the Lord, which is Christ, would make concise speech upon the earth.” (Marc. IV.16)