Contra Julianum Of the blessed Cyril, archbishop of Alexandria, an address to

 a fine thing for those who will encounter it, and for those who have a heart easily led astray and most readily carried away to things that are not fi

 1.1 Book One The wise and discerning, and those knowledgeable in the sacred doctrines, marvel at the beauty of the truth, and in every discourse have

 those after them would know the things of the first, and not rather those before them the things of the later Therefore, since the sons of the Hellen

 it was necessary to hide in the city of the Sun in Sippar. And Xisuthros, having accomplished these things, immediately sailed to Armenia, and straigh

 he made human affairs a preliminary exercise for more divine ones. Having brought the times down from Abraham to Moses, let us therefore begin here ag

 Azariah, also called Uzziah, governing the affairs of the Hebrews, and Arbaces of the Medes, and Proca Silvius of the Latins. 1.14 Therefore, from the

 coming together into a harmony of sound, Osirapis, so that in the same name Osiris and Apis might be understood. For both of these a death and a buria

 brought to them from Phoenicia, except that the things of Moses had been written And Solon, the discoverer of the laws in Athens, and indeed Plato hi

 stars and the elements of the world, fire and water, air and earth, from which all individual things are said to be composed but others again, having

 a time for the increase of what he had rightly learned sharpened his mind, then indeed, then he was taught the doctrines concerning the divinity more

 but the divine Abraham running up did not speak as to three: Lords, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant, but named the

 Upon the Sodomites who had sinned unbearably he sent the fire he rained, it says, upon Sodom fire and brimstone, the Lord from the Lord. 1.29 But to

 of nature and preeminence and worth would be reckoned both creator and creation, generated and ungenerated nature, incorruptible and under corruption,

 we are accustomed to grant the proper place, far from it but we also reckon ourselves among the children of Abraham. For we are the sons according to

 full of various counsels, and likewise that Leto suggests forgetfulness, and Hermes both memory and reason. Then he takes up natural philosophy and ex

 to them, and are some torn apart so as to think and say different things? But I would say, O excellent one, that those who were the first and earliest

 is, being a mixture of all the ages, and light of his own powers and works, the beginning of all things, a luminary in heaven, and father of all, mind

 Indeed, the sun which seems all-shining does not even seem to allow one to see himself, but if anyone gazes upon him shamelessly, he takes away his si

 what has been said by them concerning the Holy Spirit. For Porphyry says, setting forth the opinion of Plato, that the divine substance proceeded as f

 that not a few of the wise men among the Greeks, being self-willed, have gone astray, and have held opinions that rise up against each other, but ther

 found saying, setting this forth both in the middle and at the end, he would show that the arguments of his refutation were not, I suppose, produced i

 they set up their plot for the souls of the more simple. For they deceived those throughout all the earth, saying that the heaven and the other elemen

 having contrasted them with the Greeks' as being superior, how does he demand that we be silent, and make no mention at all of the things among them,

 Then do you think you have deliberated well, and not rather that you will suffer the very worst of all evil reputation? But if he should wish to under

 they reject certain foods, but they fear none of the strange things. And in addition to this they delight the supreme Zeus, having chosen to honor his

 belching forth according to what seems right to each, how could they not be thought to be guessers rather than men of knowledge of the truth? For some

 Of Plato. Consider, then, what he says about the creator and what words he puts in his mouth in the cosmogony, so that we may compare the cosmogony of

 distributed to all upon the earth, Moses was a helper and was shown to be an introducer of the most beautiful teachings to all, first by having cried

 it is not easy even for those who have known him to say he is capable in all things. And again, elsewhere: To this common conception of all men there

 the earth, and Apollo the sun and the golden-spindled, resounding one, that is Artemis, the moon? And simply applying to each of the things made by Go

 The supreme nature is understood and exists beyond all, beyond mind, reason, and wonder, having willed to make the living being like itself, as far as

 I will place upon you who are under me this commandment given to you through my Word for this law you have. For as I said just now, the Creator estab

 proclaimed, and thinks it a small thing to have been given by God to human nature to be made by Him in His image and likeness. And yet how would not a

 Did the Creator of all things entrust to other gods the necessity of laboring over the creation of the three kinds? From indolence, then, they might s

 it will campaign against His glory to think that others are also able to create and to call into existence the things that once were not for it is no

 of all nature. If, then, two things are acknowledged as existing, that which comes into being and that which makes, they are one by union, the one pre

 weave mortal to it? It is clear, then, that the demiurgic gods, having received creative power from their own father, generated the mortal animals upo

 of the ruling substances, and so he says: For Empedocles, Strife divides, and Friendship unites and this is also incorporeal for him, but the element

 of others, whatever things may have been made, and reaching even to the most insignificant of them. Is this not then a joke, tell me, and babbling hen

 if each one should need it, and showing that such a great and immeasurable creation is not without a superintendent, through which things it is well-o

 of God, and the earth his footstool. Rightly so, o noble one for I will recall God himself saying through one of the holy prophets. Heaven is my thro

coming together into a harmony of sound, Osirapis, so that in the same name Osiris and Apis might be understood. For both of these a death and a burial are recorded; for they were born as men. But long custom, having cast off the OSI, caused the idol to be named Sarapis. This Ptolemy, having been one of the most learned men, sent one of his attendants to Judea, having written to Eleazar, the priest at that time according to the laws, to send him all the books of Moses and of the holy prophets, since he was very eager to learn, and to send along with them men who could translate them into the Greek language; which indeed also came to pass. In the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad, when Augustus Caesar was reigning over the Romans, our Lord Jesus Christ was born according to the flesh. 1.17 Therefore, from the accurate record of the times and indeed of the genealogies, how is it not clear to all that of all the wise men among the Greeks, the divine Moses was the most ancient, while they are new and, as it were, recent in their appearance? For they came into being long times after the recording of the Olympiads began. From this, I think, it is easier both to observe and to say truthfully that not being entirely without a share in the doctrines of Moses, nor indeed having been ignorant of the God-given and genuine wisdom that was in him, they sometimes corrupt the truth, weaving falsehood into it and, as it were, mixing dung with the most fragrant ointment. For what wise and noteworthy teaching is not present in the Mosaic writings? Or how could anyone not admire his works? For those who have accurately studied the curiosities of the Greeks say that philosophy is divided into both theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge, and if anyone should be skilled in both, they say that this person has succeeded in appearing to have mastered philosophy well. Observe then, observe Moses being such a one; for he speaks of God as no other does concerning the highest of all essences and incomparable glory and preeminence over all things, and reveals the one and only God as the creator and lord of all. To those indeed for whom the good and the matter of living well are esteemed, he is seen legislating the best and most excellent things of all, and those things through which they might be most revered. 1.18 But perhaps someone will say: Yes, indeed, the writings of Moses are more ancient than those of the wise men among the Greeks; but it is not yet also true to say that they would be caught having stolen from or, in other words, having completely altered the wisdom inherent in him. Therefore, if our argument does not have much probability, let the eager listeners examine it. Their historians, traveling over almost the whole earth, so to speak, always wished to learn something in order to seem to know many things; for they made it the ornament of their own writing to keep silent about none of the things that had happened. Then how could such men, accustomed to learning useful things, have neglected the need to learn thoroughly such venerable histories, and the precise clarification of most ancient doctrines and laws? And yet Pythagoras of Samos and Thales of Miletus, having spent no little time in Egypt, and having collected things from there and having gathered the collection of learning which they are said to have possessed, returned to their native land. And indeed Plato himself, the son of Ariston, in the Timaeus says that Solon of Athens arrived in the land of the Egyptians, and learned from one of the false prophets there, that is, priests, who said: O Solon, Solon, you Greeks are always children, and there is no old Greek man, but you are all young in your souls. For you have among yourselves no ancient opinion, nor any learning gray with time; but this has escaped you because for many generations you have ended your lives without written records. 1.19 But, I think, through these things also one might perceive the ancient dignity of the Christians' beliefs; for knowledge of letters was not yet among the Greeks, Cadmus with difficulty them

συμβεβηκότες εἰς ὁμοφωνίαν, Ὀσίραπιν, ἵν' ἐν ταὐτῷ Ὄσιρίς τε καὶ Ἄπις νοοῖτο. Ἀμφοῖν δὲ τούτοιν καὶ θάνατος φέρεται καὶ ταφή· ἐγενέσθην γὰρ ἀνθρώπω. Τὸ δὲ μακρὸν ἔθος, ἀποβεβληκὸς τὸ ΟΣΙ, Σάραπιν τὸ βρέτας ἐποίησεν ὀνομάζεσθαι. Πτολεμαῖος δὲ οὑτοσί, τῶν ὅτι μάλιστα φιλολογωτάτων γεγονώς, ἕνα τῶν ἐπιτηδείων αὐτῷ πέπομφεν εἰς Ἰουδαίαν, Ἐλεαζάρῳ τῷ τηνικάδε κατὰ νόμους ἱερεῖ γράψας ὥστε πάντα τὰ βιβλία Μωσέως τε καὶ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν ἀποστεῖλαί οἱ μαθητιῶντι λίαν, συνεκπέμψαι δὲ καὶ τοὺς δυναμένους εἰς ἑλλάδα φωνὴν αὐτὰ μεταθεῖναι· ὃ δὴ καὶ γέγονεν. Ἑκατοστῇ ἐνενηκοστῇ τετάρτῃ ὀλυμπιάδι, Ῥωμαίων Αὐγούστου Καίσαρος βασιλεύοντος, γεγέννηται κατὰ σάρκα ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός. 1.17 Ἀπὸ μὲν τοίνυν τῆς τῶν καιρῶν καὶ μέντοι τῆς τῶν γενεαλογιῶν ἀκριβοῦς ἀναγραφῆς, πῶς οὐχ ἅπασιν ἐναργὲς ὡς ἁπάντων μὲν τῶν παρ' Ἕλλησι σοφῶν ὁ θεσπέσιος Μωσῆς πρεσβύτατος ἦν, οἱ δὲ νέοι τε καὶ οἷον ἀρτιφανεῖς; Ἀρξαμένης γὰρ τῆς τῶν ὀλυμπιάδων ἀπογραφῆς χρόνοις ὕστερον γεγόνασι μακροῖς. Ἐντεῦθεν, οἶμαι, καταθρῆσαί τε ῥᾷον καὶ ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν ὅτι τῶν Μωσέως δογμάτων οὐκ ἀμοιρήσαντες παντελῶς, οὔτε μὴν ἀνήκοοι γεγονότες τῆς ἐνούσης αὐτῷ θεοσδότου καὶ ἀκιβδήλου σοφίας, παρατρύζουσιν ἔσθ' ὅτε τὸ ἀληθές, ἐπιπλέκοντες αὐτῷ τὸ ψεῦδος καὶ οἷον εὐοσμοτάτῳ μύρῳ βόρβορον ἀναφύροντες. Ποῖον γὰρ μάθημα σοφόν τε καὶ ἀξιόληπτον τοῖς μωσαϊκοῖς οὐκ ἔνεστι λόγοις; ἢ πῶς ἄν τις οὐκ ἀγάσαιτο τὰ αὐτοῦ; Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τὰς Ἑλλήνων περιεργίας ἠκριβωκότες διῃρῆσθαί φασι τὴν φιλοσοφίαν εἴς τε τὴν θεωρητικὴν ἐπιστήμην καὶ μέντοι τὴν πρακτικήν, κἂν εἰ γένοιτό τις ἐπ' ἄμφω δέξιος, τοῦτον διελάσαι φασὶν εἴς γε τὸ εὖ κατορθῶσαι δοκεῖν τὴν φιλοσοφίαν. Ἄθρει δὴ οὖν, ἄθρει τοιοῦτον ὄντα Μωσέα· θεηγορεῖ γὰρ ὡς οὐχ ἕτερός τις τὰ περὶ τῆς ἀνωτάτω πασῶν οὐσίας καὶ ἀσυγκρίτου δόξης καὶ τῆς κατὰ πάντων ὑπεροχῆς, καὶ τῶν ὅλων γενεσιουργὸν καὶ κύριον τὸν ἕνα καὶ μόνον ἀποφαίνει Θεόν. Οἷς γε μὴν ἐν λόγῳ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸν τῆ εὐζωΐας ἐσπούδασται χρῆμα, τούτοις ὁρᾶται θεσμοθετῶν τὰ πάντων ἄριστα καὶ ἐξαίρετα καὶ τὰ δι' ὧν ἂν εἶεν ὅ τι μάλιστα σεπτοί. 1.18 Ἀλλ' ἴσως ἐρεῖ τις· Ναὶ μὲν δὴ πρεσβύτερα τὰ Μωσέως καὶ τῶν παρ' Ἕλλησι σοφῶν· οὐ μὴν ἔτι καὶ ἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν ὡς τῆς ἐνούσης αὐτῷ σοφίας παρακλέψαντες ἤγουν μεταποιηθέντες ὅλως ἁλοῖεν ἄν. Οὐκοῦν εἰ μὴ πολὺ τὸ εἰκὸς ὁ πρὸς ἡμῶν ἔχει λόγος δοκιμαζέτωσαν οἱ φιλακροάμονες. Οἱ μὲν παρ' ἐκείνοις ἱστοριογράφοι, πᾶσαν ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν περινοστοῦντες τὴν γῆν, ἀεί τι μανθάνειν ἤθελον ἵνα δοκοῖεν εἰδέναι τὰ πολλά· τὸ γάρ τοι τῶν γεγονότων ἀποσιγῆσαι μηδὲν κόσμημα τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἐποιοῦντο συγγραφῆς. Εἶτα πῶς οἵ γε τοιοῦτοι καὶ χρηστομαθεῖν εἰωθότες κατημέλησαν ἂν τοῦ χρῆναι διαμαθεῖν ἱστορίας οὕτω σεμνάς, δογμάτων τε καὶ νόμων ἀρχαιοπρεπεστάτων ἀκριβῆ διασάφησιν; Καίτοι Πυθαγόρας ὁ ἐκ Σάμου καὶ Θαλῆς ὁ Μιλήσιος οὐκ εὐαρίθμητον ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ διατετριφότες καιρόν, συλλεξάμενοί τε τὰ ἐκεῖθεν καὶ μαθημάτων ἄθροισιν ἣν ἐσχηκέναι λέγονται συναγηγερκότες, εἰς τὴν ἐνεγκοῦσαν ἀνεκομίζοντο. Καὶ μὴν καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Ἀρίστωνος Πλάτων ἐν τῷ Τιμαίῳ φησὶ Σόλωνα τὸν Ἀθήνηθεν ἀφικέσθαι μὲν εἰς τὴν Αἰγυπτίων, πυθέσθαι δέ τινος τῶν αὐτόθι ψευδοπροφητῶν, ἤγουν ἱερέων, λέγοντος· Ὦ Σόλων, Σόλων, Ἕλληνές ἐστε παῖδες ἀεί, γέρων δὲ Ἕλλην οὐκ ἔστι, νέοι τε τὰς ψυχὰς πάντες. Οὐδεμίαν γὰρ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἔχετε παλαιὰν δόξαν, οὐδὲ μάθημα χρόνῳ πολιὸν οὐδέν· ἀλλ' ὑμᾶς λέληθε διὰ τὸ ἐπὶ πολλὰς γενεὰς γράμμασι τελευτᾶν ἀφώνους. 1.19 Ἀλλ', οἶμαι, καὶ διὰ τούτων κατίδοι τις ἂν ἀρχαιοπρεπῆ τὰ Χριστιανῶν· οὔπω μὲν γὰρ γραμμάτων ἐπιστήμη παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἦν, Κάδμου μόλις αὐτὰ