The apology of saint justin on behalf of the christians

 To remain. it is therefore our task to provide to all the examination both of our life and of our teachings, so that on behalf of those who think to b

 To do no wrong nor to hold these godless opinions, you do not examine the charges, but driven by irrational passion and the scourge of wicked demons,

 Not as a christian but if anyone is found to be unconvicted, let him be acquitted as a christian who has done no wrong. for we will not ask you to pu

 And to think or say that men are guardians of gods. but we have been taught that god has no need of material offerings from men, seeing that he himsel

 For they do not try to escape notice when doing wrong because of the laws and punishments laid down by you, but knowing that it is possible to escape

 Of all resources for health, of the qualities of kinds of things and changes of seasons, and of being again in incorruption through faith in him, send

 To enter into the kingdom of heaven, than with two to be sent into the eternal fire. and: he who marries a woman divorced from another man commits adu

 And evil. do not be anxious about what you shall eat or what you shall wear. are you not more valuable than the birds and the beasts? and god feeds th

 He who does the will of my father who is in heaven. for whoever hears me and does what i say, hears the one who sent me. and many will say to me: lord

 And the men who are seized by the souls of the dead and are thrown about, whom all call possessed by demons and mad, and the oracles spoken of among y

 And sibyl and hystaspes said that there would be a destruction of corruptible things by fire. and the so-called stoic philosophers dogmatically assert

 To have come to ganymede and the many women with whom he committed adultery, and to have accepted his children for doing the same things. but, as we s

 And rivers and mice and cats and crocodiles and most of the irrational animals, and not the same ones being honored by all, but different ones in diff

 Saying. and a certain marcion of pontus, who is even now still teaching those who are persuaded by him to believe in some other god greater than the c

 Christ foretold. for indeed, god's persistence in not yet doing this has been for the sake of the human race for he foreknows some who are going to b

 Sent to herod, who was then ruling the jews, asking that the books of the prophecies be sent to him. and king herod sent them, written in their aforem

 His manifestation occurred, and you ruled the jews and took possession of all their land. and he shall be the expectation of the nations was an indi

 Was prophesied through isaiah, listen. and it was spoken thus: behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they will speak

 Of the registrations made under cyrenius, your first procurator in judaea. and how christ after his birth was to be concealed from other men until he

 A being, but introducing the persons who are speaking. not understanding this, the jews who have the books of the prophets did not recognize christ ev

 I arose, because the lord helped me. and again when he says: they spoke with their lips, they shook their head, saying: let him deliver himself. that

 In addition to these things, we have also considered it well and fitting to recall other words prophesied through this same david, from which you can

 To him with trembling. lay hold of instruction, lest at any time the lord be angry, and you perish from the righteous way, when his wrath is kindled q

 The human race has the power to choose what is good, it is not responsible for what is done in any way. but that by free choice it both does right and

 So that even plato, when he said, 'the fault is of the one who chooses god is blameless,' said this, having taken it from moses the prophet for mose

 Jerusalem a prediction of the mighty word, which his apostles, going forth from jerusalem, preached everywhere, and, although death has been decreed a

 You bore these things and were silent and humbled us exceedingly. and that jerusalem was made desolate, as it was foretold would happen, you are persu

 They gave, being filled with joy and faith, they renounced the idols and dedicated themselves to the unbegotten god through christ. and that it was fo

 Having been given to them to study also the prophecies, in which all these things were foretold as going to happen, having taught them, and when they

 He will clothe the worthy with incorruption, but the unjust he will send into the eternal fire with the evil demons in eternal sensation. and that the

 The jewish and samaritan tribe are called israel and the house of jacob. and as it was prophesied that those from the nations who believe would be mor

 Accurately, but how, being deceived, they have imitated the things concerning our christ, we shall make clear. moses, then, the prophet, as we have sa

 The human form differs from that of the other irrational animals in nothing else than in its being erect and having the hands extended, and in its bea

 And of nothing else new, but of the same things being in this administration of which if even a year's satiety should seize those who have partaken,

 And what is physically described in plato's timaeus concerning the son of god, when he says, he placed him crosswise in the universe, he similarly s

 Then they are led by us to where there is water, and are born again in the manner of rebirth by which we ourselves were also born again for in the na

 And the demons, having learned from the things that happened to moses, the aforementioned prophet, that those who worship are commanded the same thing

 He endured to suffer all that the demons worked against him, to be treated so by the foolish jews. who, although it was plainly spoken in the writings

 Not from intercourse, but, since they knew that god, having conceived it, made the world by the word, they said that athena was the first thought whi

 Which the wicked demons have imitated and delivered to be performed in the mysteries of mithras for that bread and a cup of water are set forth in th

 Of caesar adrian, your father, having the right to demand of you as we thought fit to command that the judgments be made, not so much from the fact th

For they do not try to escape notice when doing wrong because of the laws and punishments laid down by you, but knowing that it is possible to escape your notice, since you are men, they do wrong; if they had learned and been persuaded that it is impossible for anything to escape God's notice, not only what is done but also what is planned, they would by all means have been orderly because of the impending punishments, as you yourselves will agree. But you seem to fear lest all should act justly, and you will no longer have anyone to punish; such a business would be that of executioners, but not of good rulers. And we are persuaded that these things are brought about by wicked demons, who, as we said before, demand sacrifices and services from those who live irrationally; but we have not supposed that you, who at least strive after piety and philosophy, would do anything irrational. But if you too, like the foolish, prize customs before truth, do what you can; and rulers who prize opinion before truth have only as much power as robbers in a desert. But that you will not succeed, the Word proves, than whom we know no one to be a more kingly and just ruler, after the God who begot him. For just as all avoid inheriting paternal poverty or sufferings or disgrace, so also the sensible man will not choose whatever the Word dictates ought not to be chosen. That all these things would happen, I say, our Teacher foretold, who is Jesus Christ, Son and Apostle of God the Father and Lord of all, from whom we have also received the name of Christians. For this reason we are also confident in all that has been taught by him, since what he foretold would happen is seen coming to pass in fact; which is the work of God, to declare a thing before it happens, and to show it happening as it was foretold. It was possible, then, to stop at these points and add nothing more, reckoning that we ask for things just and true; but since we know it is not easy for a soul possessed by ignorance to change quickly, we were eager to add a few things to persuade the lovers of truth, knowing that it is not impossible for ignorance to flee when truth is set forth. That we are not atheists, then, is clear from our worshipping the Creator of this universe, who, as we have been taught, we declare is in need of no blood and libations and incense; and we praise him to the best of our ability with the word of prayer and thanksgiving for all things with which we are supplied, having received this as the only honor worthy of him, not to consume by fire the things produced by him for our nourishment, but to offer them to ourselves and to those in need, and being thankful to him, to send up processions and hymns through the Word both for our having been created and

οὐ γὰρ διὰ τοὺς ὑφ' ὑμῶν κειμένους νόμους καὶ κολάσεις πειρῶνται λανθάνειν ἀδικοῦντες, ἀνθρώ πους δ' ὄντας λανθάνειν ὑμᾶς δυνατὸν ἐπιστάμενοι ἀδικοῦσιν· εἰ ἔμαθον καὶ ἐπείσθησαν θεὸν ἀδύνατον εἶναι λαθεῖν τι, οὐ μόνον πραττόμενον ἀλλὰ καὶ βουλευόμενον, κἂν διὰ τὰ ἐπικεί μενα ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου κόσμιοι ἦσαν, ὡς καὶ ὑμεῖς συμφήσετε. Ἀλλ' ἐοίκατε δεδιέναι μὴ πάντες δικαιοπραγήσωσι, καὶ ὑμεῖς οὓς κολάζητε ἔτι οὐχ ἕξετε· δημίων δ' ἂν εἴη τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔργον, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀρχόντων ἀγαθῶν. πεπείσμεθα δ' ἐκ δαι μόνων φαύλων, οἳ καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἀλόγως βιούντων αἰτοῦσι θύ ματα καὶ θεραπείας, καὶ ταῦτα, ὡς προέφημεν, ἐνεργεῖσθαι· ἀλλ' οὐχ ὑμᾶς, οἵ γε εὐσεβείας καὶ φιλοσοφίας ὀρέγεσθε, ἄλογόν τι πρᾶξαι ὑπειλήφαμεν. εἰ δὲ καὶ ὑμεῖς ὁμοίως τοῖς ἀνοήτοις τὰ ἔθη πρὸ τῆς ἀληθείας τιμᾶτε, πράττετε ὃ δύνασθε· τοσοῦ τον δὲ δύνανται καὶ ἄρχοντες πρὸ τῆς ἀληθείας δόξαν τι μῶντες, ὅσον καὶ λῃσταὶ ἐν ἐρημίᾳ. ὅτι δ' οὐ καλλιερήσετε, ὁ λόγος ἀποδείκνυσιν, οὗ βασιλικώτατον καὶ δικαιότατον ἄρ χοντα μετὰ τὸν γεννήσαντα θεὸν οὐδένα οἴδαμεν ὄντα. ὃν γὰρ τρόπον διαδέχεσθαι πενίας ἢ πάθη ἢ ἀδοξίας πατρικὰς ὑφαιροῦνται πάντες, οὕτως καὶ ὅσα ἂν ὑπαγορεύσῃ ὁ λόγος μὴ δεῖν αἱρεῖσθαι ὁ νουνεχὴς οὐχ αἱρήσεται. γενήσεσθαι ταῦτα πάντα προεῖπε, φημί, ὁ ἡμέτερος διδάσκαλος καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς πάντων καὶ δεσπότου θεοῦ υἱὸς καὶ ἀπόστολος ὢν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, ἀφ' οὗ καὶ τὸ Χριστιανοὶ ἐπονομάζεσθαι ἐσχή καμεν. ὅθεν καὶ βέβαιοι γινόμεθα πρὸς τὰ δεδιδαγμένα ὑπ' αὐτοῦ πάντα, ἐπειδὴ ἔργῳ φαίνεται γινόμενα ὅσα φθά σας γενέσθαι προεῖπεν· ὅπερ θεοῦ ἔργον ἐστί, πρὶν ἢ γενέ σθαι εἰπεῖν καὶ οὕτως δειχθῆναι γινόμενον ὡς προείρηται. ἦν μὲν οὖν καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις παυσαμένους μηδὲν προστι θέναι, λογισαμένους ὅτι δίκαιά τε καὶ ἀληθῆ ἀξιοῦμεν· ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ γνωρίζομεν οὐ ·ᾷον ἀγνοίᾳ κατεχομένην ψυχὴν συντόμως μεταβάλλειν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ πεῖσαι τοὺς φιλαλήθεις μικρὰ προσθεῖναι προεθυμήθημεν, εἰδότες ὅτι οὐκ ἀδύνατον ἀληθείας παρατε θείσης ἄγνοιαν φυγεῖν. Ἄθεοι μὲν οὖν ὡς οὔκ ἐσμεν, τὸν δημιουργὸν τοῦδε τοῦ παντὸς σεβόμενοι, ἀνενδεῆ αἱμάτων καὶ σπονδῶν καὶ θυ μιαμάτων, ὡς ἐδιδάχθημεν, λέγοντες, λόγῳ εὐχῆς καὶ εὐχαριστίας ἐφ' οἷς προσφερόμεθα πᾶσιν, ὅση δύναμις, αἰνοῦντες, μόνην ἀξίαν αὐτοῦ τιμὴν ταύτην παραλαβόντες, τὸ τὰ ὑπ' ἐκείνου εἰς διατροφὴν γενόμενα οὐ πυρὶ δαπανᾶν, ἀλλ' ἑαυτοῖς καὶ τοῖς δεομένοις προσφέρειν, ἐκείνῳ δὲ εὐχαρίστους ὄντας διὰ λό γου πομπὰς καὶ ὕμνους πέμπειν ὑπέρ τε τοῦ γεγονέναι καὶ