Jerusalem a prediction of the mighty Word, which His apostles, going forth from Jerusalem, preached everywhere, and, although death has been decreed against those who teach or at all confess the name of Christ, we everywhere both embrace and teach it. But if you also, as enemies, should encounter these words, you can do no more than kill us, as we have said before; which brings no harm to us, but for you and all who unjustly are hostile and do not repent, it works eternal punishment through fire. But lest some, reasoning illogically to turn men away from what we have taught, should say that we claim Christ was born one hundred and fifty years ago under Cyrenius, and taught what we say He taught later in the time of Pontius Pilate, and should accuse us as if all men who lived before Him were irresponsible, we will anticipate and solve the difficulty. We have been taught that Christ is the first-born of God, and we have declared before that He is the Word of whom every race of men were partakers. And those who lived reasonably are Christians, even if they have been thought atheists; as, among the Greeks, Socrates and Heraclitus, and men like them; and among the barbarians, Abraham, and Ananias, and Azarias, and Misael, and Elias, and many others whose actions and names we now decline to recount, knowing it would be tedious. So that even those who were before, who lived without reason, were wicked and enemies to Christ, and murderers of those who live with reason; but they who have lived and are living with reason are Christians, and are fearless and untroubled. And for what reason He, by the power of the Word, according to the will of God, the Father and Lord of all, was born of a virgin as a man, and was named Jesus, and was crucified and died and rose again, and ascended into heaven, the intelligent man will be able to understand from what has been said at such length. But we, since it is not now necessary to give the proof of this, will for the present proceed to the more pressing proofs. That, therefore, the land of the Jews was to be laid waste, hear what was said by the prophetic Spirit; and the words were spoken as from the person of the people wondering at what had happened. And they are these: Zion has become a desert, Jerusalem has become a desert, a curse our house, our holy place and the glory which our fathers blessed, has been burned with fire, and all its glorious things have fallen. and upon

Ἰερουσαλὴμ προαγγελτικὸν τοῦ λόγου τοῦ ἰσχυροῦ, ὃν ἀπὸ Ἰε ρουσαλὴμ οἱ ἀπόστολοι αὐτοῦ ἐξελθόντες πανταχοῦ ἐκήρυξαν, καί, καίπερ θανάτου ὁρισθέντος κατὰ τῶν διδασκόντων ἢ ὅλως ὁμολογούντων τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἡμεῖς πανταχοῦ καὶ ἀσπα ζόμεθα καὶ διδάσκομεν. εἰ δὲ καὶ ὑμεῖς ὡς ἐχθροὶ ἐντεύ ξεσθε τοῖσδε τοῖς λόγοις, οὐ πλέον τι δύνασθε, ὡς προέφημεν, τοῦ φονεύειν· ὅπερ ἡμῖν μὲν οὐδεμίαν βλάβην φέρει, ὑμῖν δὲ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ἀδίκως ἐχθραίνουσι καὶ μὴ μετατιθεμένοις κό λασιν διὰ πυρὸς αἰωνίαν ἐργάζεται. Ἵνα δὲ μή τινες ἀλογισταίνοντες εἰς ἀποτροπὴν τῶν δεδιδαγμένων ὑφ' ἡμῶν εἴπωσι πρὸ ἐτῶν ἑκατὸν πεντή κοντα γεγεννῆσθαι τὸν Χριστὸν λέγειν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ Κυρηνίου, δεδιδαχέναι δὲ ἅ φαμεν διδάξαι αὐτὸν ὕστερον χρόνοις ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, καὶ ἐπικαλῶσιν ὡς ἀνευθύνων ὄντων τῶν προγεγενημένων πάντων ἀνθρώπων, φθάσαντες τὴν ἀπορίαν λυσόμεθα. τὸν Χριστὸν πρωτότοκον τοῦ θεοῦ εἶναι ἐδι δάχθημεν καὶ προεμηνύσαμεν λόγον ὄντα, οὗ πᾶν γένος ἀν θρώπων μετέσχε. καὶ οἱ μετὰ λόγου βιώσαντες Χριστιανοί εἰσι, κἂν ἄθεοι ἐνομίσθησαν, οἷον ἐν Ἕλλησι μὲν Σωκράτης καὶ Ἡράκλειτος καὶ οἱ ὅμοιοι αὐτοῖς, ἐν βαρβάροις δὲ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἀνανίας καὶ Ἀζαρίας καὶ Μισαὴλ καὶ Ἠλίας καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοί, ὧν τὰς πράξεις ἢ τὰ ὀνόματα καταλέγειν μακρὸν εἶναι ἐπιστάμενοι τανῦν παραιτούμεθα. ὥστε καὶ οἱ προγενόμενοι ἄνευ λόγου βιώσαντες, ἄχρηστοι καὶ ἐχθροὶ τῷ Χριστῷ ἦσαν καὶ φονεῖς τῶν μετὰ λόγου βιούντων· οἱ δὲ μετὰ λόγου βιώ σαντες καὶ βιοῦντες Χριστιανοὶ καὶ ἄφοβοι καὶ ἀτάραχοι ὑπάρ χουσι. δι' ἣν δ' αἰτίαν διὰ δυνάμεως τοῦ λόγου κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς πάντων καὶ δεσπότου θεοῦ βουλὴν διὰ παρθένου ἄνθρωπος ἀπεκυήθη καὶ Ἰησοῦς ἐπωνομάσθη, καὶ σταυρωθεὶς ἀποθανὼν ἀνέστη καὶ ἀνελήλυθεν εἰς οὐρανόν, ἐκ τῶν διὰ τοσούτων εἰρημένων ὁ νουνεχὴς καταλαβεῖν δυνήσεται. ἡμεῖς δέ, οὐκ ἀναγκαίου ὄντος τανῦν τοῦ περὶ τῆς ἀποδείξεως τού του λόγου, ἐπὶ τὰς ἐπειγούσας ἀποδείξεις πρὸς τὸ παρὸν χωρή σωμεν. Ὅτι οὖν καὶ ἐκπορθηθήσεσθαι ἡ γῆ Ἰουδαίων ἔμελλεν, ἀκούσατε τῶν εἰρημένων ὑπὸ τοῦ προφητικοῦ πνεύ ματος· εἴρηνται δὲ οἱ λόγοι ὡς ἀπὸ προσώπου λαῶν θαυμαζόντων τὰ γεγενημένα. εἰσὶ δὲ οἵδε· Ἐγενήθη ἔρημος Σιών, ὡς ἔρημος ἐγενήθη Ἰερουσαλήμ, εἰς κατάραν ὁ οἶκος, τὸ ἅγιον ἡμῶν καὶ ἡ δόξα, ἣν εὐλόγησαν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν, ἐγενήθη πυρίκαυστος, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔνδοξα αὐτῆς συνέπεσε. καὶ ἐπὶ