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Theophilus of Antioch, Theophilus to Autolycus
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Book I. Chapter I.—Autolycus an Idolater and Scorner of Christians.
Chapter II.—That the Eyes of the Soul Must Be Purged Ere God Can Be Seen.
Chapter IV.—Attributes of God.
Chapter V.—The Invisible God Perceived Through His Works.
Chapter VI.—God is Known by His Works.
Chapter VII.—We Shall See God When We Put on Immortality.
Chapter VIII.—Faith Required in All Matters.
Chapter IX.—Immoralities of the Gods.
Chapter X.—Absurdities of Idolatry.
Chapter XI.—The King to Be Honoured, God to Be Worshipped.
Chapter XII.—Meaning of the Name Christian.
Chapter XIII.—The Resurrection Proved by Examples.
Chapter XIV.—Theophilus an Example of Conversion.
Book II. Chapter I.—Occasion of Writing This Book.
Chapter II.—The Gods are Despised When They are Made But Become Valuable When Bought.
Chapter III.—What Has Become of the Gods?
Chapter IV.—Absurd Opinions of the Philosophers Concerning God.
Chapter V.—Opinions of Homer and Hesiod Concerning the Gods.
Chapter VI.—Hesiod on the Origin of the World.
Chapter VII.—Fabulous Heathen Genealogies.
Chapter VIII.— Opinions Concerning Providence.
Chapter IX.—The Prophets Inspired by the Holy Ghost.
Chapter X.—The World Created by God Through the Word.
Chapter XI.—The Six Days’ Work Described.
Chapter XII.—The Glory of the Six Days’ Work.
Chapter XIII.—Remarks on the Creation of the World.
Chapter XIV.—The World Compared to the Sea.
Chapter XV.—Of the Fourth Day.
Chapter XVI.—Of the Fifth Day.
Chapter XVII.—Of the Sixth Day.
Chapter XVIII.—The Creation of Man.
Chapter XIX.—Man is Placed in Paradise.
Chapter XX.—The Scriptural Account of Paradise.
Chapter XXI.—Of the Fall of Man.
Chapter XXII.—Why God is Said to Have Walked.
Chapter XXIII.—The Truth of the Account in Genesis.
Chapter XXIV.—The Beauty of Paradise.
Chapter XXV.—God Was Justified in Forbidding Man to Eat of the Tree of Knowledge.
Chapter XXVI.—God’s Goodness in Expelling Man from Paradise.
Chapter XXVII.—The Nature of Man.
Chapter XXVIII.—Why Eve Was Formed of Adam’s Rib.
Chapter XXX.—Cain’s Family and Their Inventions.
Chapter XXXI.—The History After the Flood.
Chapter XXXII.—How the Human Race Was Dispersed.
Chapter XXXIII.—Profane History Gives No Account of These Matters.
Chapter XXXIV.—The Prophets Enjoined Holiness of Life.
Chapter XXXV.—Precepts from the Prophetic Books.
Chapter XXXVI.—Prophecies of the Sibyl.
Chapter XXXVII.—The Testimonies of the Poets.
Theophilus to Autolycus. Chapter I.—Autolycus Not Yet Convinced.
Chapter II.—Profane Authors Had No Means of Knowing the Truth.
Chapter III.—Their Contradictions.
Chapter IV.—How Autolycus Had Been Misled by False Accusations Against the Christians.
Chapter V.—Philosophers Inculcate Cannibalism.
Chapter VI.—Other Opinions of the Philosophers.
Chapter VII.—Varying Doctrine Concerning the Gods.
Chapter VIII.—Wickedness Attributed to the Gods by Heathen Writers.
Chapter IX.—Christian Doctrine of God and His Law.
Chapter X.—Of Humanity to Strangers.
Chapter XII.—Of Righteousness.
Chapter XIV.—Of Loving Our Enemies.
Chapter XV.—The Innocence of the Christians Defended.
Chapter XVI.—Uncertain Conjectures of the Philosophers.
Chapter XVII.—Accurate Information of the Christians.
Chapter XVIII.—Errors of the Greeks About the Deluge.
Chapter XIX.—Accurate Account of the Deluge.
Chapter XX.—Antiquity of Moses.
Chapter XXI.—Of Manetho’s Inaccuracy.
Chapter XXII.—Antiquity of the Temple.
Chapter XXIII.—Prophets More Ancient Than Greek Writers.
Chapter XXIV.—Chronology from Adam.
Chapter XXV.—From Saul to the Captivity.
Chapter XXVI.—Contrast Between Hebrew and Greek Writings.
Chapter XXVII.—Roman Chronology to the Death of M. Aurelius.
Chapter XXVIII.—Leading Chronological Epochs.
Nor indeed was there any necessity for my refuting these, except that I see you still in doubt about the word of the truth. For though yourself prudent, you endure fools gladly. Otherwise you would not have been moved by senseless men to yield yourself to empty words, and to give credit to the prevalent rumor wherewith godless lips falsely accuse us, who are worshippers of God, and are called Christians, alleging that the wives of us all are held in common and made promiscuous use of; and that we even commit incest with our own sisters, and, what is most impious and barbarous of all, that we eat human flesh. But further, they say that our doctrine has but recently come to light, and that we have nothing to allege in proof of what we receive as truth, nor of our teaching, but that our doctrine is foolishness. I wonder, then, chiefly that you, who in other matters are studious, and a scrutinizer of all things, give but a careless hearing to us. For, if it were possible for you, you would not grudge to spend the night in the libraries.
Oὐδὲ γὰρ ἐχρῆν ἡμᾶς ταῦτα ἀνασκευάζειν, εἰ μὴ ὅτι σε θεωρῶ νυνὶ διστάζοντα περὶ τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀληθείας. φρόνιμος γὰρ ὢν ἡδέως μωρῶν ἀνέχῃ· ἐπεί τοι οὐκ ἂν ἐκινήθης ὑπὸ ἀνοήτων ἀνθρώπων κενοῖς λόγοις ἀπάγεσθαι καὶ φήμῃ πείθεσθαι προκατεσχηκυίῃ, στομάτων ἀθέων ψευδῶς συκοφαντούντων ἡμᾶς, τοὺς θεοσεβεῖς καὶ χριστιανοὺς καλουμένους, φασκόντων ὡς κοινὰς ἁπάντων οὔσας τὰς γυναῖκας ἡμῶν καὶ ἀδιαφόρῳ μίξει ζῶντας, ἔτι μὴν καὶ ταῖς ἰδίαις ἀδελφαῖς συμμίγνυσθαι, καί, τὸ ἀθεώτατον καὶ ὠμότατον πάντων, σαρκῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἐφάπτεσθαι ἡμᾶς. ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς προσφάτου ὁδεύοντος τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς λόγου, καὶ μηδὲν ἔχειν ἡμᾶς λέγειν εἰς ἀπόδειξιν ἀληθείας τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς καὶ διδασκαλίας, μωρίαν δὲ εἶναι τὸν λόγον ἡμῶν φασιν. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν θαυμάζω μάλιστα ἐπὶ σοί, ὃς ἐν μὲν τοῖς λοιποῖς γενόμενος σπουδαῖος καὶ ἐκζητητὴς ἁπάντων πραγμάτων, ἀμελέστερον ἡμῶν ἀκούεις. εἰ γάρ σοι δυνατόν, καὶ νύκτωρ οὐκ ὤκνεις διατρίβειν ἐν βιβλιοθήκαις.