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

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 bearing on the face the nose projected from the forehead, through which there is respiration for the animal; and this shows nothing else than the form of the cross. and through the prophet it was spoken thus: The breath before our face, Christ the Lord. and your symbols also show the power of this form, so that we may disregard even the trophies, by which your processions everywhere take place, showing in these the signs of your rule and power, even if you do this without understanding. and you set up the images of your deceased emperors on this form, and you name them gods by inscriptions. Therefore, having urged you both by word and by the visible form, as much as we could, we know that we are henceforth blameless, even if you disbelieve; for our part has been done and finished. But the evil demons were not content, before the manifestation of Christ, to say that the aforementioned sons had been born to Jupiter; but when, after His manifestation and being among men, they learned how He had been foretold by the prophets and knew that He was believed in and looked for by every nation, again, as we have shown before, they put forward others, Simon and Menander from Samaria, who, having performed magical powers, deceived many and still hold them deceived. For among you, as we said before, in the imperial city of Rome, during the reign of Claudius Caesar, Simon appeared and so astounded the sacred senate and the Roman people that he was considered a god and was honored with a statue, like the other gods honored by you. Wherefore we ask that the sacred senate and your people be made joint judges of this our claim, so that if anyone is held by his doctrines, having learned the truth, he may be able to flee the error. and the statue, if you wish, take down. For the evil demons are not able to persuade that the conflagration for the punishment of the impious will not happen, just as they were not able to make the coming of Christ to be unnoticed; but this only they can do, to cause those who live irrationally and passionately, and have been brought up in evil habits and are ambitious, to kill us and hate us; whom we not only do not hate, but, as is shown, pitying them we desire to persuade them to change their minds. For we do not fear death, it being admitted that we must certainly die,

τὸ δὲ ἀνθρώπειον σχῆμα οὐδενὶ ἄλλῳ τῶν ἀλόγων ζώων διαφέρει, ἢ τῷ ὀρθόν τε εἶναι καὶ ἔκτασιν χειρῶν ἔχειν καὶ ἐν τῷ προσώπῳ ἀπὸ τοῦ μετωπίου τεταμένον τὸν λεγόμενον μυξωτῆρα φέρειν, δι' οὗ ἥ τε ἀναπνοή ἐστι τῷ ζώῳ, καὶ οὐδὲν ἄλλο δείκνυσιν ἢ τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ σταυροῦ. καὶ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου δὲ ἐλέχθη οὕτως· Πνεῦμα πρὸ προσώπου ἡμῶν χριστὸς κύριος. καὶ τὰ παρ' ὑμῖν δὲ σύμ βολα τὴν τοῦ σχήματος τούτου δύναμιν δηλοῖ, ἵνα ἀμε λῶμεν καὶ τῶν τροπαίων, δι' ὧν αἵ τε πρόοδοι ὑμῶν πανταχοῦ γίνονται, τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ δυνάμεως τὰ σημεῖα ἐν τούτοις δεικνύντες, εἰ καὶ μὴ νοοῦντες τοῦτο πράττετε. καὶ τῶν παρ' ὑμῖν ἀποθνη σκόντων αὐτοκρατόρων τὰς εἰκόνας ἐπὶ τούτῳ τῷ σχήματι ἀνα τίθετε, καὶ θεοὺς διὰ γραμμάτων ἐπονομάζετε. καὶ διὰ λόγου οὖν καὶ σχήματος τοῦ φαινομένου, ὅση δύναμις, προτρεψάμενοι ὑμᾶς ἀνεύθυνοι οἴδαμεν λοιπὸν ὄντες, κἂν ὑμεῖς ἀπιστεῖτε· τὸ γὰρ ἡμέτερον γέγονε καὶ πεπέρανται. Oὐκ ἠρκέσθησαν δὲ οἱ φαῦλοι δαίμονες πρὸ τῆς φανερώσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰπεῖν τοὺς λεχθέντας υἱοὺς τῷ ∆ιῒ γεγονέναι, ἀλλ' ἐπειδή, φανερωθέντος αὐτοῦ καὶ γενομένου ἐν ἀνθρώποις, καὶ ὅπως διὰ τῶν προφητῶν προεκεκήρυκτο ἔμαθον καὶ ἐν παντὶ γένει πιστευόμενον καὶ προσδοκώμενον ἔγνωσαν, πάλιν, ὡς προεδηλώσαμεν, προεβάλλοντο ἄλλους, Σίμωνα μὲν καὶ Μένανδρον ἀπὸ Σαμαρείας, οἳ καὶ μαγικὰς δυνάμεις ποιή σαντες πολλοὺς ἐξηπάτησαν καὶ ἔτι ἀπατωμένους ἔχουσι. καὶ γὰρ παρ' ὑμῖν, ὡς προέφημεν, ἐν τῇ βασιλίδι Ῥώμῃ ἐπὶ Κλαυ δίου Καίσαρος γενόμενος ὁ Σίμων καὶ τὴν ἱερὰν σύγκλητον καὶ τὸν δῆμον Ῥωμαίων εἰς τοσοῦτο κατεπλήξατο, ὡς θεὸς νομισ θῆναι καὶ ἀνδριάντι, ὡς τοὺς ἄλλους παρ' ὑμῖν τιμω μένους θεούς, τιμηθῆναι. ὅθεν τήν τε ἱερὰν σύγκλητον καὶ τὸν δῆμον τὸν ὑμέτερον συνεπιγνώμονας ταύτης ἡμῶν τῆς ἀξιώ σεως παραλαβεῖν αἰτοῦμεν, ἵν', εἴ τις εἴη τοῖς ἀπ' ἐκείνου διδάγμασι κατεχόμενος, τἀληθὲς μαθὼν τὴν πλάνην φυγεῖν δυ νηθῇ. καὶ τὸν ἀνδριάντα, εἰ βούλεσθε, καθαιρήσατε. Oὐ γὰρ μὴ γενέσθαι τὴν ἐκπύρωσιν ἐπὶ κολάσει τῶν ἀσεβῶν οἱ φαῦλοι δαίμονες πεῖσαι δύνανται, ὅνπερ τρό πον οὐδὲ λαθεῖν τὸν Χριστὸν παραγενόμενον ἴσχυσαν πρᾶξαι, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνο μόνον, τοὺς ἀλόγως βιοῦντας καὶ ἐμπαθῶς ἐν ἔθεσι φαύλοις τεθραμμένους καὶ φιλοδοξοῦντας ἀναιρεῖν ἡμᾶς καὶ μισεῖν, δύνανται ποιῆσαι· οὓς οὐ μόνον οὐ μισοῦμεν, ἀλλ', ὡς δείκνυται, ἐλεοῦντες μεταθέσθαι πεῖσαι βουλόμεθα. οὐ γὰρ δεδοίκαμεν θάνατον, τοῦ πάντως ἀποθανεῖν ὁμολογουμένου,