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may he journey with us, receive the proofs also from written history. 3.6.15 The first disciples of Jesus in the book of their own Acts are recorded to have influenced those from the gentiles who approached their teaching... so that many of those formerly notorious for sorcery changed their own way of life to such an extent, as to dare to bring forth into the midst the forbidden books and to hand these over to the fire in the presence of all. 3.6.16 But listen to how the scripture has it: ‘And many of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they calculated the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand.’ 3.6.17 Such, then, were some of the disciples of our Savior, putting forth such power of words in their addresses to their hearers, as to reach the depth of their souls, and to lay hold of and wound the conscience of each, so that they could no longer bear to hide them, but brought their secrets to light, making themselves the accusers of themselves and of their former wickedness. 3.6.18 And such also were those discipled by them, pure and genuine in their dispositions, so that nothing deceitful was hidden in them, but they were both dignified and bold in their change from worse things to better. 3.6.19 Therefore, those who handed over the magical books to the fire and voted for their complete destruction, how would they not be manifest to all, that they had no more zeal for sorcery, but were from that time on pure from all suspicion concerning this? When, therefore, the disciples of our Savior have been shown to be such, how much more so their teacher? 3.6.20 But if you wish to judge the master at all from his disciples, and what sort of man he was, you have myriads of disciples of the words of Jesus even to this day, of whom the greatest multitudes are men, who have arrayed themselves against the natural pleasures of the body, and have kept their mind unwounded by any shameful passion, who also, having grown old through a whole life in continence, have furnished brilliant proofs of the nourishment from his words. 3.6.21 And not only men philosophize in this way with him, but it is impossible to say how many myriads of women throughout the whole inhabited world, like certain priestesses of the God of all, having embraced the highest wisdom, and being seized with a love for heavenly wisdom, have disregarded offspring of the flesh, and having made every care for the soul, have dedicated themselves wholly, body and soul, to the all-king and God of all, having practiced complete chastity and virginity. 3.6.22 The children of the Greeks, therefore, carrying tales here and there, sing of one man who left his sheep-pasturing country on the pretext of philosophy; this man was Democritus to them. And one Crates is admired among them, because he left his property to his fellow citizens, boasting that he himself, Crates, freed Crates. 3.6.23 But the zealots of the words of Jesus, myriads in number, not just one or two, having sold their possessions have distributed them to the poor and needy, of whom we ourselves happen to be witnesses, having been with such people, and having seen for ourselves the achievements of the discipleship of Jesus by their deeds and not by words alone. 3.6.24 What must one say of the myriads even of barbarians, and not only of Greeks, who from the words of Jesus have testified that they have escaped all polytheistic error, and know only ‘the Father and Maker of this universe’ as God? Whom long ago only one of the philosophers, Plato, knowing, confessed that he did not dare to declare to all, stating explicitly: ‘To find the Father and Maker of this universe is a task, and having found him it is impossible to declare him to all.’ 3.6.25 But to that one it seemed a task to find the thing, and it was truly very great, but it was impossible for him to declare it to all, because there was not present in him such a power of piety as there was in the disciples of Jesus, to whom through the cooperation of their teacher it was easy to find and to know the Father and Maker of all

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ἡμῖν ὁδεύοι, δέχου τὰς ἀποδείξεις καὶ ἀπὸ ἱστορίας ἐγγράφου. 3.6.15 Οἱ δὴ πρῶτοι τοῦ Ἰησοῦ μαθηταὶ ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τῶν ἰδίων Πράξεων ἱστοροῦνται τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ αὐτῶν προσιόντας ... ὥστε πολλοὺς τῶν πρότερον περὶ γοητείαν διαβεβλημένων εἰς τοσοῦτον μεταβάλλειν τὸν ἑαυτῶν τρόπον, ὡς εἰς μέσον ἀγαγεῖν τολμῆσαι τὰς ἀπηγορευμένας βίβλους καὶ ταύτας ἐνώπιον πάντων πυρὶ παραδοῦναι. 3.6.16 ἐπάκουσον δὲ ὅπως ἡ γραφὴ περιέχει· «ἱκανοὶ δὲ τῶν τὰ περίεργα πραξάντων συνεισενέγκαντες τὰς βίβλους κατέκαιον ἐνώπιον πάντων, καὶ συνεψήφισαν τὰς τιμὰς αὐτῶν, καὶ εὗρον μυριάδας πέντε». 3.6.17 τοιοῦτοι δή τινες οἱ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν μαθηταί, τοσαύτην δύναμιν προφέροντες λόγων ἐν ταῖς πρὸς τοὺς ἀκροωμένους ὁμιλίαις, ὡς καθικνεῖσθαι τοῦ βάθους τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῶν, καθάπτεσθαί τε καὶ τιτρώσκειν τὸ ἑκάστου συνειδός, ὡς μηκέτι στέγειν ἀποκρύπτοντας, εἰς φανερὸν δὲ ἄγειν τὰ ἀπόρρητα, ἐλέγχους τε αὐτοὺς ἑαυτῶν καὶ τῆς προτέρας αὐτῶν μοχθηρίας ἀπεργάζεσθαι. 3.6.18 τοιοῦτοι δὲ καὶ οἱ πρὸς αὐτῶν μαθητευόμενοι, καθαροὶ καὶ γνήσιοι τὰς διαθέσεις, ὡς μηδὲν ὕπουλον ἐν αὐτοῖς λανθάνειν, ἐνσεμνύνεσθαι δὲ καὶ παρρησιάζεσθαι ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν κρειττόνων ἀπὸ τῶν χειρόνων μεταβολῇ. 3.6.19 οἱ δὴ οὖν πυρὶ παραδόντες τὰς μαγικὰς βίβλους καὶ παντελῆ φθορὰν αὐτῶν ψηφισάμενοι πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἶεν πρόδηλοι τοῖς πᾶσιν, ὅτι μηδεμίαν ἔχοιεν τοῦ λοιποῦ περὶ γοητείαν σπουδήν, καθαροὶ δὲ ἐξ ἐκείνου πάσης τῆς περὶ τούτου ὑπονοίας ἐτύγχανον; ὅτε τοίνυν οἱ μαθηταὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν πεφήνασιν γεγονότες τοιοῦτοι, πῶς οὐ πολὺ πρότερον ὁ διδάσκαλος; 3.6.20 Εἰ δ' ὅλως ἀπὸ τῶν γνωρίμων τὸν προστάτην, ὁποῖός τις ἦν, βούλει διαγιγνώσκειν, ἔχεις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τῶν λόγων μαθητὰς εἰσέτι νῦν μυρίους, ὧν πλεῖστα μὲν ἀνδρῶν τυγχάνει πλήθη, παραταξαμένων μὲν πρὸς τὰς φυσικὰς τοῦ σώματος ἡδονάς, ἄτρωτον δὲ καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν παντὸς αἰσχροῦ πάθους φυλαξάντων, οἳ καὶ τὸν πάντα βίον ἐν ἐγκρατείᾳ καταγηράσαντες τῆς ἐκ τῶν λόγων αὐτοῦ τροφῆς λαμπρὰ τεκμήρια παρεστήσαντο. 3.6.21 οὐ μόνον δὲ ἄνδρες παρ' αὐτῷ τοῦτον φιλοσοφοῦσι τὸν τρόπον, ἀλλὰ καὶ γυναικῶν οὐδ' ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὅσαι μυριάδες καθ' ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης, οἷά τινες ἱέρειαι τοῦ τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ, τὴν ἀνωτάτω σοφίαν ἀσπασάμεναι, οὐρανίου τε σοφίας ἔρωτι ληφθεῖσαι, τῶν μὲν σαρκὸς ἐγγόνων ἠλόγησαν, ψυχῆς δὲ πᾶσαν ἐπιμέλειαν πεποιηκυῖαι ὅλας αὐτὰς αὐτῷ σώματι καὶ ψυχῇ τῷ παμβασιλεῖ καὶ θεῷ τῶν ὅλων ἀνατεθείκασιν, ἁγνείαν παντελῆ καὶ παρθενίαν ἀσκήσασαι. 3.6.22 Ἕνα μὲν οὖν μηλόβοτον καταλιπόντα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ χώραν προφάσει φιλοσοφίας ᾄδουσιν ὧδε κἀκεῖσε περιφέροντες Ἑλλήνων παῖδες· ∆ημόκριτος αὐτοῖς οὗτος ἦν. καὶ Κράτης εἷς παρ' αὐτοῖς θαυμάζεται, ὅτι δὴ τὴν οὐσίαν καταλιπὼν τοῖς πολίταις, αὐτὸς ἑαυτόν, Κράτης Κράτητα, ἠλευθέρου κομπάζων. 3.6.23 οἱ δὲ τῶν Ἰησοῦ λόγων ζηλωταὶ μυρίοι τὸν ἀριθμόν, ἀλλ' οὐχ εἷς οὐδὲ δύο, τὰς κτήσεις ἀπεμπολήσαντες πένησι καὶ ἐνδεέσιν μεταδεδώκασιν, ὧν καὶ αὐτοὶ τυγχάνομεν μάρτυρες συγγενόμενοι τοιούτοις, καὶ αὐτοῖς ἔργοις ἀλλ' οὐ λόγοις μόνοις τῆς τοῦ Ἰησοῦ μαθητείας συνιδόντες τὰ κατορθώματα. 3.6.24 Τί χρὴ λέγειν ὁπόσαι μυριάδες καὶ αὐτῶν βαρβάρων, οὐχὶ δὲ μόνον Ἑλλήνων, ἐκ τῶν Ἰησοῦ λόγων πᾶσαν μὲν ὑπερεκκῦψαι πολύ θεον πλάνην «τὸν δὲ πατέρα καὶ δημιουργὸν τοῦδε τοῦ παντὸς» μόνον εἰδέναι θεὸν ἐμαρτύρησαν; ὃν πάλαι φιλοσόφων εἷς μόνος ὁ Πλάτων εἰδώς, εἰς πάντας ἐκφέρειν ὡμολόγει μὴ τολμᾶν, διαρρήδην φάσκων· «τὸν μὲν οὖν πατέρα καὶ δημιουργὸν τοῦδε τοῦ παντὸς εὑρεῖν τε ἔργον καὶ εὑρόντα εἰς πάντας ἀδύνατον λέγειν». 3.6.25 ἀλλ' ἐκείνῳ μὲν καὶ ἔργον εὑρεῖν ἐδόκει τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ ἦν ὡς ἀληθῶς μέγιστον, ἀδύνατον δ' ἦν αὐτῷ λέγειν εἰς πάντας, ὅτι μὴ παρῆν αὐτῷ τοσαύτη τις εὐσεβείας δύναμις ὅση τοῖς Ἰησοῦ μαθηταῖς, οἷς διὰ τῆς τοῦ διδασκάλου συνεργίας τὸν πατέρα καὶ δημιουργὸν τῶν ὅλων εὑρεῖν τε καὶ γνῶναι ῥᾴδιον