41. This is the meaning of the lies and ravings of thy Porphyry (of which ye all boast as divinely-inspired words), and of thy "Misopogon," or rather "Antichrist," ³³ for thou gavest both names to the book----than which nothing is more contemptible in the eyes of Christians; though at the time thy imperial rank made it important, aided by the parasites that extolled all thy actions; but now it is a Beard tossed about and plucked at, and the object of ridicule together with those that helped make it; in which book thou art mighty proud about the frugality of thy way of living, and of never suffering from indigestion in consequence of over-eating; whilst thou dost purposely omit how bitterly thou didst persecute the Christians, and eat up so great and holy a people. And yet what damage is it to the public if an individual has indigestion, or emits natural eructations? But when so great a persecution as this is stirred up, and such great disturbance occasioned by the change, it is unavoidable that the Roman empire should be in a bad way, as now it proves to have been.

ΜΑʹ. Οὗτος ὁ λόγος σοι τῶν Πορφυρίου ψευσμάτων καὶ ληρημάτων, οἷς ὑμεῖς ὡς θείαις φωναῖς ἀγάλλεσθε, ἢ τοῦ σοῦ Μισοπώγωνος, εἴτ' οὖν Ἀντιοχικοῦ (ἀμφότερα γὰρ ἐπιγράφεις τῷ λόγῳ), οὗ τι Χριστιανοῖς ἀτιμότερον: ὃν τότε μὲν ἡ πορφυρὶς μέγαν ἐποίει, καὶ οἱ πάντα τὰ σὰ θαυμάζοντες κόλακες: νῦν δὲ πώγων ἐστὶ περιφερόμενος καὶ περισυρόμενος, καὶ τοῖς συμπεπονηκόσιν ὁμοῦ γελώμενος, ἐν ᾧ σὺ μὲν ἀπερίττῳ τοῦ σώματος, καὶ τῷ μηδεπώποτε τυχεῖν ἀπεπτήσας ἐξ ἀπληστίας, μέγα φυσᾷς, ὡς δή τι θαυμάσιον λέγων: ὅτι δὲ Χριστιανοὺς ἤλασας οὕτω πικρῶς, καὶ τοσοῦτον ἔθνος καὶ οὕτως ἱερὸν παρανάλωσας, ἑκὼν παρατρέχεις. Καίτοι γε ἑνὸς μὲν ἀνδρὸς ἀπεπτήσαντος, ἢ ἐρυγὰς φυσικὰς ἀφέντος, τί παρὰ τοῦτο τῷ κοινῷ βλάβος; τοσούτου δὲ διωγμοῦ κινηθέντος, καὶ τοσαύτης καινοτομηθείσης συγχύσεως, πῶς οὐκ ἀνάγκη πᾶσα τὰ Ῥωμαίων ἔχειν κακῶς, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἐσχηκότα φαίνεται;