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like smoke passed away into non-existence, so that the insanities of oracles and divinations ceased, and the annual processions were abolished and the defilements through blood in the hecatombs, and among many of the nations, altars and gateways and precincts and statues, and all other things practiced by the worshipers of demons for the deception of themselves and of those who encountered them, vanished completely, so that in many places it is not even remembered if these things ever existed; but throughout the whole world, in the name of Christ, there were raised up churches and altars, and the holy and bloodless priesthood, and the lofty philosophy, achieved in deed rather than in word, and contempt for the life of the body and disdain for death, which those forced by tyrants to renounce the faith clearly demonstrated, accepting as nothing the tortures of the body, and the sentence of death; clearly they would not have endured these things, if they did not have the clear and indubitable proof of the divine visitation. This same thing is also a sufficient sign to tell the Jews of the presence of him in whom they disbelieve. For until the theophany of Christ, the kingdom in Jerusalem was glorious among them, that renowned temple, the customary annual sacrifices, all that was distinguished by the law through riddles for those who knew how to understand mystically, until then their religious observance, held from the beginning, was unimpeded. But when they saw the awaited one, of whom they had been taught beforehand through the prophets and the law, and they made that henceforth erroneous superstition more esteemed than faith in the one who had appeared, which they, having badly understood, preserved the words of the law, being slaves to custom rather than to reason, they neither received the grace that had appeared, and the venerable things of their religion are left in mere narratives, the temple no longer being recognizable even from its traces, and that splendid city being left in ruins, so that nothing of the ancient customs remained for the Jews, but even that revered place in Jerusalem became inaccessible to them by the decree of those in power.

19 But nevertheless, since it seems neither to the Hellenists nor to the proponents of Jewish doctrines that these things should be taken as proofs of a divine presence, it would be well to discuss in particular the arguments brought against us, for what reason the divine nature is interwoven with our own, saving humanity through itself, not accomplishing its purpose through a command. What beginning, then, could we have to guide our argument consistently towards the proposed goal? What other than to go through the pious conceptions about God under main headings?

20 Therefore it is agreed by all that one must believe the divine to be not only powerful, but also just and good and wise and everything that brings the mind towards what is better. It follows then in the present economy that one of the things befitting God should not appear in what has come to pass, while another is not present; for none of these lofty names, separated from the others, is virtue in itself alone; neither is the good truly good, unless it is ordered with the just and wise and powerful; for what is unjust or unwise or powerless is not good; neither is power, when separated from the just and wise, considered a virtue; for such a form of power is bestial and tyrannical. And likewise the rest, if the wise were to be borne apart from the just, or the just, if it were not considered with the powerful and the good, one would more properly name such things wickedness; for how could one count among goods that which is deficient in what is better? But if all these must converge in our opinions about God, let us examine if the economy concerning man is lacking in any of them

17

καπνοῦ δίκην εἰς τὸ μὴ ὂν μετεχώ ρησεν, ὥστε παύσασθαι μὲν τὰς τῶν χρηστηρίων τε καὶ μαντειῶν μανίας, ἀναιρεθῆναι δὲ τὰς ἐτησίους πομπὰς καὶ τὰ δι' αἱμάτων ἐν ταῖς ἑκατόμβαις μολύσματα, ἐν δὲ τοῖς πολλοῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀφανισθῆναι καθ' ὅλου βωμοὺς καὶ προπύλαια καὶ τεμένη καὶ ἀφιδρύματα καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τοῖς θεραπευταῖς τῶν δαιμόνων ἐπὶ ἀπάτῃ σφῶν αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ἐπετηδεύετο, ὡς ἐν πολλοῖς τῶν τόπων μηδέ, εἰ γέγονε ταῦτά ποτε, μνημονεύεσθαι, ἀντεγερθῆναι δὲ κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐπὶ τῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὀνόματι ναούς τε καὶ θυσιαστήρια καὶ τὴν σεμνήν τε καὶ ἀναίμακτον ἱερωσύνην καὶ τὴν ὑψηλὴν φιλοσοφίαν, ἔργῳ μᾶλλον ἢ λόγῳ κατορθουμένην, καὶ τῆς σωματικῆς ζωῆς τὴν ὑπεροψίαν καὶ τοῦ θανάτου τὴν καταφρόνησιν, ἣν οἱ μεταστῆναι τῆς πίστεως παρὰ τῶν τυράννων ἀναγκαζό μενοι φανερῶς ἐπεδείξαντο, ἀντ' οὐδενὸς δεξάμενοι τὰς τοῦ σώματος αἰκίας, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ ψῆφον, οὐκ ἂν ὑπο στάντες δηλαδὴ ταῦτα, μὴ σαφῆ τε καὶ ἀναμφίβολον τῆς θείας ἐπιδημίας ἔχοντες τὴν ἀπόδειξιν. τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ἱκανόν ἐστι σημεῖον εἰπεῖν τοῦ παρεῖναι τὸν παρ' αὐτῶν ἀπιστούμενον. μέχρι μὲν γὰρ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ θεοφανείας λαμπρὰ παρ' αὐτοῖς ἦν τὰ ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις βασίλεια, ὁ διώνυμος ἐκεῖνος ναός, αἱ νενο μισμέναι δι' ἔτους θυσίαι, πάντα ὅσα παρὰ τοῦ νόμου δι' αἰνιγμάτων τοῖς μυστικῶς ἐπαίειν ἐπισταμένοις διῄρηται, μέχρι τότε κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς νομισθεῖσαν αὐτοῖς τῆς εὐσεβείας θρησκείαν ἀκώλυτα ἦν. ἐπεὶ δὲ εἶδον τὸν προσδοκώμενον, ὃν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν τε καὶ τοῦ νόμου προεδιδάχθησαν, καὶ προτιμοτέραν ἐποιήσαντο τῆς εἰς τὸν φανέντα πίστεως τὴν λοιπὸν ἐσφαλμένην ἐκείνην δεισιδαι μονίαν, ἣν κακῶς ἐκλαβόντες, τὰ τοῦ νόμου ῥήματα διε φύλασσον, συνηθείᾳ μᾶλλον ἢ διανοίᾳ δουλεύοντες, οὔτε τὴν ἐπιφανεῖσαν ἐδέξαντο χάριν, καὶ τὰ σεμνὰ τῆς παρ' αὐτοῖς θρησκείας ἐν διηγήμασι ψιλοῖς ὑπολείπεται, τοῦ ναοῦ μὲν οὐδὲ ἐξ ἰχνῶν ἔτι γινωσκομένου, τῆς δὲ λαμπρᾶς ἐκείνης πόλεως ἐν ἐρειπίοις ὑπολειφθείσης, μεῖναι δὲ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις τῶν κατὰ τὸ ἀρχαῖον νενομισμένων μηδέν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν σεβάσμιον αὐτοῖς ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις τόπον ἄβατον προστάγματι τῶν δυναστευόντων γενέσθαι.

19 Ἀλλ' ὅμως, ἐπειδὴ μήτε τοῖς ἑλληνίζουσι μήτε τοῖς τῶν Ἰουδαικῶν προεστῶσι δογμάτων δοκεῖ ταῦτα θείας παρουσίας ποιεῖσθαι τεκμήρια, καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι περὶ τῶν ἀνθυπενεχθέντων ἡμῖν ἰδίᾳ τὸν λόγον διαλαβεῖν, ὅτου χάριν ἡ θεία φύσις πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν συμπλέκεται, δι' ἑαυτῆς σώζουσα τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, οὐ διὰ προστάγματος κατεργαζο μένη τὸ κατὰ πρόθεσιν. τίς οὖν ἂν γένοιτο ἡμῖν ἀρχὴ πρὸς τὸν προκείμενον σκοπὸν ἀκολούθως χειραγωγοῦσα τὸν λόγον; τίς ἄλλη ἢ τὸ τὰς εὐσεβεῖς περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑπολήψεις ἐπὶ κεφαλαίων διεξελθεῖν;

20 Οὐκοῦν ὁμολογεῖται παρὰ πᾶσι μὴ μόνον δυνατὸν εἶναι δεῖν πιστεύειν τὸ θεῖον, ἀλλὰ καὶ δίκαιον καὶ ἀγαθὸν καὶ σοφὸν καὶ πᾶν ὅ τι πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον τὴν διάνοιαν φέρει. ἀκόλουθον τοίνυν ἐπὶ τῆς παρούσης οἰκονομίας μὴ τὸ μέν τι βούλεσθαι τῶν τῷ θεῷ πρεπόντων ἐπιφαίνεσθαι τοῖς γεγενημένοις, τὸ δὲ μὴ παρεῖναι· καθ' ὅλου γὰρ οὐδὲν ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ τῶν ὑψηλῶν τούτων ὀνομάτων διεζευγμένον τῶν ἄλλων ἀρετὴ κατὰ μόνας ἐστίν· οὔτε τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἀληθῶς ἐστὶν ἀγαθόν, μὴ μετὰ τοῦ δικαίου τε καὶ σοφοῦ καὶ τοῦ δυνατοῦ τεταγμένον· τὸ γὰρ ἄδικον ἢ ἄσοφον ἢ ἀδύνατον ἀγαθὸν οὐκ ἔστιν· οὔτε ἡ δύναμις τοῦ δικαίου τε καὶ σοφοῦ κεχωρισμένη ἐν ἀρετῇ θεωρεῖται· θηριῶδες γάρ ἐστι τὸ τοιοῦτον καὶ τυραννικὸν τῆς δυνάμεως εἶδος. ὡσ αύτως δὲ καὶ τὰ λοιπά, εἰ ἔξω τοῦ δικαίου τὸ σοφὸν φέροιτο, ἢ τὸ δίκαιον, εἰ μὴ μετὰ τοῦ δυνατοῦ τε καὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θεωροῖτο, κακίαν ἄν τις μᾶλλον κυρίως τὰ τοιαῦτα κατονομάσειεν· τὸ γὰρ ἐλλιπὲς τοῦ κρείττονος πῶς ἄν τις ἐν ἀγαθοῖς ἀριθμήσειεν; εἰ δὲ πάντα προσήκει συνδραμεῖν ἐν ταῖς περὶ θεοῦ δόξαις, σκοπήσωμεν εἴ τινος ἡ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον οἰκονομία λείπεται