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

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 all these things were done by the Jews to Christ, you can learn. For when he was crucified, they distorted their lips and shook their heads, saying: He who raised the dead, let him save himself. And when the prophetic spirit speaks, prophesying the things that will happen, it says thus: For out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. And that this has happened, you can be persuaded. For from Jerusalem twelve men in number went out into the world, and these were unlettered, unable to speak, but by the power of God they announced to every race of men that they were sent by Christ to teach all the word of God; and we who formerly killed one another not only do not wage war against our enemies, but, so that we may not lie nor deceive our examiners, we gladly die confessing Christ. For it was possible for us to do in this matter what is said: The tongue has sworn, but the mind is unsworn. It is indeed a ridiculous thing that, while the soldiers who enlist and are enrolled by you embrace your confession before their own life and parents and country and all their kin, when you can provide them with nothing imperishable, we, who long for incorruption, should not endure all things in order to receive what we desire from him who is able to give it. But hear how it was also foretold concerning those who preached his teaching and announced his appearance, the aforementioned prophet and king having spoken thus through the prophetic spirit: Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. There are no speeches nor words, whose voices are not heard. Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the sun he has set his tabernacle, and he, as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, will rejoice as a giant to run his course.

ἀνέστην, ὅτι κύριος ἀντελάβετό μου. καὶ πάλιν ὅταν λέγῃ· Ἐλάλησαν ἐν χείλεσιν, ἐκίνησαν κεφαλὴν λέγοντες· Ῥυσάσθω ἑαυτόν. ἅτινα πάντα ὅτι γέγονεν ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων τῷ Χριστῷ, μαθεῖν δύνασθε. σταυρωθέντος γὰρ αὐτοῦ ἐξέστρε φον τὰ χείλη καὶ ἐκίνουν τὰς κεφαλὰς λέγοντες· Ὁ νεκροὺς ἀνεγείρας ·υσάσθω ἑαυτόν. Ὅταν δὲ ὡς προφητεῦον τὰ μέλλοντα γίνεσθαι λαλῇ τὸ προφητικὸν πνεῦμα, οὕτως λέγει· Ἐκ γὰρ Σιὼν ἐξελεύσεται νόμος καὶ λόγος κυρίου ἐξ Ἰερουσαλήμ, καὶ κρινεῖ ἀνὰ μέσον ἐθνῶν καὶ ἐλέγξει λαὸν πολύν· καὶ συγκό ψουσι τὰς μαχαίρας αὐτῶν εἰς ἄροτρα καὶ τὰς ζιβύνας αὐτῶν εἰς δρέπανα, καὶ οὐ μὴ λήψονται ἔθνος ἐπὶ ἔθνος μάχαιραν καὶ οὐ μὴ μάθωσιν ἔτι πολεμεῖν. καὶ ὅτι οὕτως γέγονε, πεισθῆναι δύνασθε. ἀπὸ γὰρ Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἄνδρες δεκαδύο τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἐξῆλθον εἰς τὸν κόσμον, καὶ οὗτοι ἰδιῶται, λαλεῖν μὴ δυνάμενοι, διὰ δὲ θεοῦ δυνάμεως ἐμήνυσαν παντὶ γένει ἀνθρώπων ὡς ἀπεστάλησαν ὑπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διδάξαι πάντας τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον· καὶ οἱ πάλαι ἀλληλοφόνται οὐ μόνον οὐ πολεμοῦμεν τοὺς ἐχθρούς, ἀλλ', ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδὲ ψεύδεσθαι μηδ' ἐξαπατῆσαι τοὺς ἐξετάζοντας, ἡδέως ὁμολογοῦντες τὸν Χριστὸν ἀποθνήσκομεν. δυνατὸν γὰρ ἦν τὸ λεγόμενον Ἡ γλῶσσ' ὀμώμοκεν, ἡ δὲ φρὴν ἀνώμοτος ποιεῖν ἡμᾶς εἰς τοῦτο. γελοῖον ἤδη πρᾶγμα, ὑμῖν μὲν τοὺς συντιθεμένους καὶ καταλεγομένους στρατιώτας καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἑαυτῶν ζωῆς καὶ γονέων καὶ πατρίδος καὶ πάντων τῶν οἰκείων τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀσπάζεσθαι ὁμολογίαν, μηδὲν ἄφθαρτον δυνα μένων ὑμῶν αὐτοῖς παρασχεῖν, ἡμᾶς δέ, ἀφθαρσίας ἐρῶντας, μὴ πάνθ' ὑπομεῖναι ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὰ ποθούμενα παρὰ τοῦ δυναμένου δοῦναι λαβεῖν. Ἀκούσατε δὲ πῶς καὶ περὶ τῶν κηρυξάντων τὴν διδαχὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ μηνυσάντων τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν προερρέθη, τοῦ προειρημένου προφήτου καὶ βασιλέως οὕτως εἰ πόντος διὰ τοῦ προφητικοῦ πνεύματος· Ἡμέρα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐρεύ γεται ῥῆμα, καὶ νὺξ τῇ νυκτὶ ἀναγγέλλει γνῶσιν, οὐκ εἰσὶ λα λιαὶ οὐδὲ λόγοι, ὧν οὐχὶ ἀκούονται αἱ φωναὶ αὐτῶν. εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος αὐτῶν καὶ εἰς τὰ πέρατα τῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ ·ήματα αὐτῶν. ἐν τῷ ἡλίῳ ἔθετο τὸ σκή νωμα αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτός, ὡς νυμφίος ἐκπορευόμενος ἐκ παστοῦ αὐτοῦ, ἀγαλλιάσεται ὡς γίγας δραμεῖν ὁδόν.