confessed, knowing that he was rid of such evil masters, and was going to the Father and King of the heavens. And another, a third, came forward and was sentenced to be punished. And so I myself expect to be plotted against by some of those who have been named and to be impaled on the stake, or even by Crescens, the lover of noise and of ostentation. For it is not worthy to call the man a philosopher, who publicly witnesses against us about things he does not understand, saying that Christians are atheists and impious, doing these things for the favor and pleasure of the deluded multitude. For if he denounces us without having read the teachings of Christ, he is thoroughly wicked, and much worse than the ignorant, who often guard against discussing and bearing false witness about things they do not understand; or if he has read them, but did not understand their majesty, or, understanding it, does these things so that he might not be suspected of being such a one, he is all the more base and wicked, being a slave to vulgar and irrational opinion and fear. For I want you to know that after I proposed and asked him some questions of this sort, I learned and proved that he truly knows nothing. And that I speak the truth, if our discussions have not been reported to you, I am ready to discuss these questions again in your presence; and this would be a work worthy of an emperor. But if my questions and his answers were made known to you, it is clear to you that he knows nothing of our affairs; or, if he does know, but does not dare to speak because of his hearers, as I said before, like Socrates, he shows himself not a philosopher, but a lover of glory, who does not even honor the admirable Socratic saying: But a man must not be honored before the truth. But it is impossible for a Cynic, who makes indifference his end, to know anything good except indifference. But lest anyone should say, “Then all of you, kill yourselves and go at once to God, and do not give us trouble,” -I will state the reason why we do not do this, and why, when examined, we confess without fear. We have been taught that God did not make the world in vain, but for the sake of the human race; and we have said before that he delights in those who imitate his attributes, and is displeased with those who embrace what is evil, either in word or deed. If, then, we should all kill ourselves, we would be the cause, as far as it is in our power, of no one being born and instructed in the divine teachings, or even of the human race ceasing to exist, ourselves acting contrary to the will of God,

ὡμολόγει, πονηρῶν δεσποτῶν τῶν τοιούτων ἀπηλλάχθαι γι νώσκων καὶ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα καὶ βασιλέα τῶν οὐρανῶν πο ρεύεσθαι. καὶ ἄλλος δὲ τρίτος ἐπελθὼν κολασθῆναι προσ ετιμήθη. Κἀγὼ οὖν προσδοκῶ ὑπό τινος τῶν ὠνομασμένων ἐπιβουλευθῆναι καὶ ξύλῳ ἐμπαγῆναι, ἢ κἂν ὑπὸ Κρίσκεντος τοῦ φιλοψόφου καὶ φιλοκόμπου. οὐ γὰρ φιλόσοφον εἰπεῖν ἄξιον τὸν ἄνδρα, ὅς γε περὶ ἡμῶν ἃ μὴ ἐπίσταται δημοσίᾳ καταμαρτυρεῖ, ὡς ἀθέων καὶ ἀσεβῶν Χριστια νῶν ὄντων, πρὸς χάριν καὶ ἡδονὴν τῶν πολλῶν τῶν πεπλανη μένων ταῦτα πράττων. εἴτε γὰρ μὴ ἐντυχὼν τοῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ διδάγμασι κατατρέχει ἡμῶν, παμπόνηρός ἐστι καὶ ἰδιωτῶν πολὺ χείρων, οἳ φυλάττονται πολλάκις περὶ ὧν οὐκ ἐπίστανται διαλέ γεσθαι καὶ ψευδομαρτυρεῖν· ἢ εἰ ἐντυχών, μὴ συνῆκε τὸ ἐν αὐτοῖς μεγαλεῖον, ἢ συνείς, πρὸς τὸ μὴ ὑποπτευθῆναι τοιοῦτος ταῦτα ποιεῖ, πολὺ μᾶλλον ἀγεννὴς καὶ παμπόνηρος, ἰδιωτικῆς καὶ ἀλόγου δόξης καὶ φόβου ἐλάττων ὤν. καὶ γὰρ προθέντα με καὶ ἐρωτήσαντα αὐτὸν ἐρωτήσεις τινὰς τοιαύτας καὶ μαθεῖν καὶ ἐλέγξαι, ὅτι ἀληθῶς μηδὲν ἐπίσταται, εἰδέναι ὑμᾶς βούλομαι. καὶ ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγω, εἰ μὴ ἀνηνέχθησαν ἡμῖν αἱ κοινωνίαι τῶν λόγων, ἕτοιμος καὶ ἐφ' ὑμῶν κοινωνεῖν τῶν ἐρω τήσεων πάλιν· βασιλικὸν δ' ἂν καὶ τοῦτο ἔργον εἴη. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐγνώσθησαν ὑμῖν αἱ ἐρωτήσεις μου καὶ αἱ ἐκείνου ἀποκρί σεις, φανερὸν ὑμῖν ἐστιν ὅτι οὐδὲν τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐπίσταται· ἢ εἰ καὶ ἐπίσταται, διὰ τοὺς ἀκούοντας δὲ οὐ τολμᾷ λέγειν, ὁμοίως Σωκράτει ὡς προέφην, οὐ φιλόσοφος ἀλλὰ φιλόδοξος ἀνὴρ δείκνυται, ὅς γε μηδὲ τὸ Σωκρατικὸν ἀξιέραστον ὂν τιμᾷ· Ἀλλ' οὔτι γε πρὸ τῆς ἀληθείας τιμητέος ἀνήρ. ἀδύνατον δὲ Κυνικῷ, ἀδιάφορον τὸ τέλος προθεμένῳ, τὸ ἀγαθὸν εἰδέναι πλὴν ἀδιαφορίας. Ὅπως δὲ μή τις εἴπῃ· Πάντες οὖν ἑαυ τοὺς φονεύσαντες πορεύεσθε ἤδη παρὰ τὸν θεὸν καὶ ἡμῖν πράγ ματα μὴ παρέχετε, -ἐρῶ δι' ἣν αἰτίαν τοῦτο οὐ πράττομεν, καὶ δι' ἣν ἐξεταζόμενοι ἀφόβως ὁμολογοῦμεν. οὐκ εἰκῆ τὸν κόσμον πεποιηκέναι τὸν θεὸν δεδιδάγμεθα, ἀλλ' ἢ διὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπειον γένος· χαίρειν τε τοῖς τὰ προσόντα αὐτῷ μι μουμένοις προέφημεν, ἀπαρέσκεσθαι δὲ τοῖς τὰ φαῦλα ἀσπα ζομένοις ἢ λόγῳ ἢ ἔργῳ. εἰ οὖν πάντες ἑαυτοὺς φονεύ σομεν, τοῦ μὴ γεννηθῆναί τινα καὶ μαθητευθῆναι εἰς τὰ θεῖα διδάγματα, ἢ καὶ μὴ εἶναι τὸ ἀνθρώπειον γένος, ὅσον ἐφ' ἡμῖν, αἴτιοι ἐσόμεθα, ἐναντίον τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ βουλῇ καὶ αὐτοὶ ποιοῦντες,