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of the divine prophets having said these and countless other things about him. Whence even now, from this man the tribe of Christians has not failed.” 3.5.107 If, then, it is attested even by the historian that he associated not only with the twelve apostles nor the seventy disciples, but that he drew to himself “many from the Jewish people, and many from the Greek,” he would be clearly seen to possess something extraordinary beyond other men. 3.5.108 For how else would he have drawn to himself more of the Jewish and of the Greek people, if he had not used some wonderful and paradoxical works and a strange teaching? The writing of the Acts of the Apostles also testifies that there were many thousands of Jewish men who were convinced that he was the Christ of God, the one proclaimed by the prophets. And history also records that there was a very great church of Christ in Jerusalem, composed of Jews, up to the times of the siege under Hadrian. 3.5.109 At any rate, the first bishops who presided there in succession are said to have been Jews, whose names are still remembered by the locals; so that by these facts every slander against his disciples is refuted, since both with and without their testimony it is confessed that Jesus himself, the Christ of God, by the paradoxical works which he performed, had won over to himself countless multitudes of both Jews and Greeks. 3.5.110 But since we have said so much against the first division of unbelievers, come let us now oppose the second troop. This was that of those who, while agreeing that Jesus had performed paradoxes, alleged that by sorcery for the deception of the beholders, as a wonder-worker or some kind of sorcerer, he amazed those present. 3.6.1 And indeed, these must be asked first of all, what they would say to what has been said before? For is it possible to imagine that a man, a teacher of a venerable and all-virtuous way of life, and of sound and true doctrines, such as we have described, was a sorcerer in his character? But if indeed he was a trickster and a sorcerer, a deceiver and an enchanter, how could he have become the cause of such teaching; for all the nations, such as we see with our own eyes and receive with our ears to this day? And who will choose to bring together things that are incompatible? For a sorcerer is truly an unholy and foul character, engaging in forbidden and unholy practices, and does everything for the sake of shameful and filthy gain. 3.6.2 Was our savior and Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, then, guilty of any such things? Whence, or how, he who said to his own disciples, as is testified by them: “Acquire neither gold nor silver for your belts, nor a bag for your journey, nor sandals”? And how would they have obeyed him when he spoke, and have thought fit to hand these things down in written memoirs, if they had seen their teacher making money and pursuing the opposite of what he taught others? 3.6.3 For long ago they would have laughed at him and, spitting on his words, would have rightly withdrawn from his discipleship, if they had seen him legislating such venerable things for them, but the lawgiver himself in no way following his own words. 3.6.4 Again, the sorcerer and truly deceiver gives himself over to forbidden and unholy things for the sake of hunting after unholy and unlawful pleasures, so as to seduce and drag down some women to his own wickedness through his sorceries; but our savior and Lord conducted himself with regard to self-control in a way that cannot even be described, since again his disciples testify that he advised not even to look with licentious desire, having said: “It was said to the ancients, you shall not commit adultery; but I say to you, that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” 3.6.5 And once, when out of necessity for the benefit and salvation of many they had seen him conversing with a Samaritan woman, “they were amazed that he was speaking with a woman,” thinking they saw something paradoxical in this, as if it had never happened before. But the account of the

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θείων προφητῶν ταῦτά τε καὶ ἄλλα μυρία περὶ αὐτοῦ εἰρηκότων. ὅθεν εἰσέτι νῦν ἀπὸ τοῦδε τῶν Χριστιανῶν οὐκ ἐπέλειπεν τὸ φῦλον.» 3.5.107 Εἰ τοίνυν καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἱστορικὸν μαρτυρεῖται οὐ μόνον τοὺς δώδεκα ἀποστόλους οὐδὲ τοὺς ἑβδομήκοντα μαθητὰς ἐξῳκειωμένος, ἀλλὰ «πολλοὺς μὲν τοῦ Ἰουδαϊκοῦ, πολλοὺς δὲ τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ» προσαγόμενος, δῆλος ἂν εἴη περιττόν τι κεκτημένος παρὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀνθρώπους. 3.5.108 πῶς γὰρ ἂν ἄλλως προσήγετο τοῦ Ἰουδαϊκοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ πλείους, εἰ μή τισιν θαυμαστοῖς καὶ παραδόξοις ἔργοις καὶ ξενιζούσῃ κέχρητο διδασκαλίᾳ; μαρτυρεῖ δὲ καὶ ἡ τῶν Πράξεων τῶν ἀποστόλων γραφή, ὅτι πολλαὶ μυριάδες ἦσαν Ἰουδαίων ἀνδρῶν πεπεισμένων αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν Χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸν ὑπὸ τῶν προφητῶν κατηγγελμένον. καὶ ἡ ἱστορία δὲ κατέχει ὡς καὶ μεγίστη τις ἦν ἐκκλησία Χριστοῦ ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις ἀπὸ Ἰουδαίων συγκροτουμένη μέχρι τῶν χρόνων τῆς κατ' Ἀδριανὸν πολιορκίας. 3.5.109 λέγονται γοῦν οἱ πρῶτοι κατὰ διαδοχὴν προστάντες αὐτόθι ἐπίσκοποι Ἰουδαῖοι γεγονέναι, ὧν καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα εἰσέτι νῦν παρὰ τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις μνημονεύεται· ὡς καὶ ἐκ τούτων λελύσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν κατὰ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ διαβολήν, ὅτε καὶ πρὸς αὐτῶν καὶ δίχα τῆς αὐτῶν μαρτυρίας μυρία ὁμολογεῖται πλήθη Ἰουδαίων τε καὶ Ἑλλήνων αὐτὸς Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, δι' ὧν ἐπετέλει παραδόξων ἔργων, ὑφ' ἑαυτὸν πεποιημένος. 3.5.110 Ἀλλὰ τούτων ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον εἰρημένων πρὸς τὸ πρῶτον τῶν ἀπίστων τάγμα, φέρε καὶ πρὸς τὸ δεύτερον στῖφος ἐνστῶμεν. τοῦτο δὲ ἦν τὸ τῶν συνομολογούντων μὲν τὸν Ἰησοῦν τὰ παράδοξα πεποιηκέναι, γοητείᾳ δὲ ἄλλως ἐπὶ πλάνῃ τῶν ὁρώντων οἷα θαυματουργὸν ἢ φαρμακέα τινὰ θαυμασιῶσαι τοὺς παρόντας. 3.6.1 Καὶ δὴ τούσδε πρῶτον ἁπάντων ἐρωτητέον, τίνα φαῖεν πρὸς τὰ προωδευμένα; ἆρα γὰρ ἐπινοῆσαι δυνατόν, ἄνδρα διδάσκαλον σεμνῆς καὶ παναρέτου πολιτείας, ὑγιῶν τε καὶ ἀληθῶν δογμάτων, οἵων προδιήλθομεν, γόητα τὸν τρόπον γεγονέναι; εἰ δὲ δὴ μαγγανευτής τις ἦν καὶ φαρμακεύς, ἀπατεών τε καὶ γόης, πῶς ἂν τοιαύτης διδασκαλίας· πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι κατέστη αἴτιος, οἵας αὐτοῖς ὁρῶμεν ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ ἀκοαῖς εἰς δεῦρο παραλαμβάνομεν; ποῖος δὲ καὶ αἱρήσεται τὰ ἀσύνακτα συνάγειν; γόης μὲν γάρ τις ὡς ἀληθῶς ἀνόσιος καὶ μιαρὸς τὸν τρόπον, ἀπειρημένοις καὶ ἀνοσίοις ἐγχειρῶν, πάντα πράττει αἰσχροῦ καὶ ῥυπαροῦ κέρδους χάριν. 3.6.2 μή τι οὖν καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοιοῖσδέ τισιν ἔνοχος ἦν; πόθεν, ἢ πῶς, ὁ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, ὡς πρὸς αὐτῶν μεμαρτύρηται, εἰρηκώς· «μὴ κτήσησθε χρυσὸν μηδ' ἄργυρον εἰς τὰς ζώνας ὑμῶν, μὴ πήραν εἰς ὁδόν, μηδ' ὑποδήματα»; πῶς δ' ἂν ἐπείθοντο λέγοντι, καὶ ἐν ἀπομνημονεύμασιν ἐγγράφοις ταῦτα παραδιδόναι ἠξίουν, εἰ χρηματιζόμενον τὸν διδάσκαλον ἑώρων καὶ τἀναντία οἷς ἑτέρους ἐδίδασκεν μετιόντα; 3.6.3 πάλαι δ' ἂν καταγελάσαντες αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν λόγων καταπτύσαντες ἀνεχώρησαν τῆς μαθητείας εἰκότως, εἰ αὐτοῖς μὲν τοιαῦτα σεμνῶς νομοθετοῦντα ἑώρων, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν νομοθέτην κατ' οὐδένα τρόπον ἑπόμενον τοῖς οἰκείοις λόγοις. 3.6.4 Πάλιν ὁ μὲν γόης καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς πλάνος τοῖς ἀπειρημένοις καὶ τοῖς ἀνοσίοις ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδίδωσιν ἀνοσίων καὶ ἀθεμίτων ἡδονῶν ἕνεκεν θήρας, ὥστε ἤδη διὰ τὰς μαγγανείας γύναιά τινα καταβάλλειν καὶ ὑποσύρειν τῇ αὐτοῦ κακίᾳ· ὁ δὲ σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος ἡμῶν οὐδ' ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὅπως ἀνέστραπται περὶ σωφροσύνην, ὁπότε πάλιν οἱ μαθηταὶ μαρτυροῦσι παραινεῖν μηδ' ἐμβλέπειν μετ' ἐπιθυμίας ἀκολάστου, φήσαντα· «ἐρρέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις, οὐ μοιχεύσεις· ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ἐμβλέπων γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι αὐτὴν ἤδη ἐμοίχευσεν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ». 3.6.5 καί ποτε ἀναγκαίως ἐπ' ὠφελείᾳ καὶ σωτηρίᾳ πολλῶν Σαμαρείτιδι γυναικὶ διαλεγόμενον αὐτὸν τεθεαμένοι «ἐθαύμαζον, ὅτι μετὰ γυναικὸς ἐλάλει», παράδοξόν τι τοῦτο δόξαντες ὁρᾶν, ὥσπερ οὔπω καὶ ἄλλοτε πρότερον. συνίστη δὲ ἄρα ὁ λόγος τοῦ