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himself rather in want than, not having, to be sated by unjustly taking from another. But among the so-called gods, the opposite happens. And some things are commanded for the astonishment of justice, and even if you do all the commandments, one thing, ignorance of God, is sufficient for your punishment. Nevertheless, when you gather in the places given to them by you, you gladly get drunk and light altars, whose savory smoke, being inhaled, brings the blind and deaf spirits through the sense of smell to the place of their power. And thus, of those there, some are filled with inspiration, others with strange foods, others turn to licentiousness, and others to thefts and murders. For the vapor of blood there and the libation of wine make even the unclean spirits drowsy, which, dwelling within you, make you enjoy the things there, and through dreams they surround you with false visions and punish you with countless sufferings. For on the pretext of the so-called sacred sacrifices, you are filled with evil demons, who also cunningly destroy you unawares, so that you do not perceive the plot against you. For on the pretext of some insolence or necessity or love or anger or grief, they remove you from life by hanging or by drowning in water or by throwing you from a cliff or by their own hand or by apoplexy or by some other suffering. But none of us can suffer any such thing, but they themselves are punished by us, whenever, having entered into someone, they beseech us to depart slowly. But someone will perhaps say: Some of the god-fearing also fall under such sufferings. I say that this is impossible. For he is god-fearing, whom I mean, the one who is truly god-fearing, not one who is only so called, but the one who truly is executes the commands of the law given to him. If someone acts impiously, he is not pious. In the same way, if a foreigner practices the law, he is a Jew, but not practicing it, he is a Greek; for the Jew, believing in God, does the law, through which faith he also moves the other passions which are like mountains and are heavy. But he who does not do the law, it is clear that from not believing in God he deserts, and thus, as not a Jew, a sinner, he is overcome through sin by the passions which are appointed to punish sinners, by the will of God justly decreed from the beginning. <Thus also> for the sake of transgressions, punishment follows those who worship him, which happens so that, having demanded sin as a debt through torment, it may present those who have turned back pure at the judgment of all. For as luxury here becomes a loss of eternal goods for the evil, so punishments are sent to transgressing Jews for exaction, so that having received their transgression here, they may be delivered from the eternal punishment there. But you cannot say these things; for you do not believe that the things there are as we say, I mean, where recompense is made to all. Wherefore, being ignorant of what is profitable, you are ensnared by temporary pleasures so as not to receive the eternal things. Therefore we try to make proofs of what is profitable for you, so that, being fully assured concerning the promises of godliness, you may be able through good actions to inherit with us the age without grief. Therefore, until you know us <to be speaking the truth>, do not be angry with us as liars concerning the things which to you

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ἑαυτὸν μᾶλλον ἐν ταῖς ἐνδείαις ἢ μὴ ἔχοντα ἑτέρου ἀδίκως ἀφελόμενον κορεσθῆναι. παρὰ δὲ τοῖς λεγομένοις θεοῖς τὰ ἐναντία γίνεται. καὶ ἔνια εἰς κατάπληξιν δικαιοσύνης παραγγέλλεται, ἅπερ εἰ καὶ πάντα ποιεῖτε τὰ παραγγέλματα, μία ἡ πρὸς θεὸν ἄγνοια ἱκανὴ τυγχάνει πρὸς τὴν καθ' ὑμῶν τιμωρίαν. πλὴν συνερχόμενοι εἰς τοὺς ὑφ' ὑμῶν αὐτοῖς δοθέντας τόπους ἡδέως μεθύσκεσθε καὶ βωμοὺς ἀνάπτετε, ὧν ἡ κνίσα ·εμβομένη καὶ τὰ τυφλὰ καὶ κωφὰ πνεύματα διὰ τῆς ὀσφρήσεως ἄγει εἰς τὸν τῆς ἐξουσίας αὐτῶν τόπον. καὶ οὕτως τῶν ἐκεῖ οἱ μὲν ἐνθουσιασμῶν, οἱ δὲ βρωτῶν ἀλλοκότων ἐμπίμπλανται, οἱ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ ἀσελγαίνειν τρέπονται, οἱ δὲ ἐπὶ κλοπὰς καὶ φόνους. ἡ γὰρ τοῦ ἐκεῖ αἵματος ἀναθυμίασις καὶ ἡ τῶν οἴνων σπονδὴ καὶ αὐτὰ καροῖ τὰ ἀκάθαρτα πνεύματα, ἅτινα ἐνδομυχοῦντα εἰς ὑμᾶς φιληδόνως ἔχειν τὰ ἐκεῖ ποιοῦσιν καὶ δι' ὀνείρων ὑμᾶς φαντασίαις ψευδέσιν περιβάλλουσιν καὶ μυρίοις παθήμασιν τιμωροῦσιν. προφάσει γὰρ τῶν λεγομένων ἱεροθύτων χαλεπῶν δαιμόνων ἐμπίπλασθε, οἳ καὶ φρονί- μως ὑμᾶς λανθάνοντες ἀναιροῦσιν, ἵνα μὴ συνῆτε ὑμῶν τὴν ἐπιβουλήν. προ- φάσει γάρ τινος ἐπηρείας ἢ ἀνάγκης ἢ ἔρωτος ἢ ὀργῆς ἢ λύπης ἢ ἀγχόνῃ ἢ ὕδατι πνίξαντες ἢ ἀπὸ κρημνοῦ ·ίψαντες ἢ αὐτοχειρίᾳ ἢ ἀποπληξίᾳ ἢ ἑτέρῳ τινὶ πάθει τοῦ ζῆν μεθιστᾶσιν. ἡμῶν δὲ οὐδεὶς τοιοῦτόν τι παθεῖν δύναται, ἀλλ' αὐτοὶ ὑφ' ἡμῶν κολάζονται, ὁπόταν εἴς τινα εἰσιόντες βρα- δέως ἐξιέναι ἡμᾶς παρακαλῶσιν. ἀλλ' ἐρεῖ τις ἴσως· Τοιούτοις πάθεσιν καὶ θεοσεβῶν τινες ὑποπίπτουσιν. φημὶ ὅτι τοῦτο ἀδύνατον. θεοσεβὴς γὰρ οὗτός ἐστιν, ὃν ἐγώ φημι, ὁ ὄντως θεοσεβής, οὐχ ὃς ἂν μόνον λέγηται, ὁ δὲ ὄντως ὢν τοῦ δοθέντος αὐτῷ νόμου ἐκτελεῖ τὰς πρ<οστ>άξεις. ἐάν τις ἀσεβήσῃ, εὐσεβὴς οὐκ ἔστιν. ὅνπερ τρόπον ἐὰν ὁ ἀλλόφυλος τὸν νό- μον πράξῃ, Ἰουδαῖός ἐστιν, μὴ πράξας δὲ Ἕλλην· ὁ γὰρ Ἰουδαῖος πιστεύων θεῷ ποιεῖ τὸν νόμον, δι' ἧς πίστεως καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ ὄρεσιν ἐοικότα καὶ βαροῦντα μεθίστησιν πάθη. ὁ δὲ μὴ ποιῶν τὸν νόμον δῆ- λον ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ μὴ πιστεύειν θεῷ λειποτακτεῖ καὶ οὕτως ὡς οὐκ Ἰου- δαῖος ἁμαρτωλὸς διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐπικρατεῖται ὑπὸ τῶν εἰς τὸ τιμω- ρεῖν τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας καθεστώτων παθῶν, βουλῇ θεοῦ τῇ ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ὁρισθείσῃ δικαίως. <οὕτως καὶ> τοῖς σέβουσιν αὐτὸν παραπτωμάτων χάριν ἡ τιμωρία ἕπεται, ὃ γίνεται, ἵνα ὡς ὀφείλημα διὰ τῆς βασάνου ἀπαιτήσασα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοὺς ἐπιστρέψαντας καθαροὺς ἐν τῇ τῶν ὅλων παραστήσῃ κρίσει. ὡς γὰρ τοῖς κακοῖς ἡ ἐνταῦθα τρυφὴ εἰς ζημίαν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν γίνεται, οὕτως αἱ τιμωρίαι τοῖς παραπίπτουσιν Ἰουδαίοις πέμπονται εἰς ἔκπραξιν, ἵνα ἐνταῦθα ἀπολαβόντες τὸ παράπτωμα τῆς ἐκεῖ ἀπαλλα- γῶσιν αἰωνίας κολάσεως. ὑμεῖς δὲ ταῦτα εἰπεῖν οὐ δύνασθε· οὐ γὰρ πιστεύετε τὰ ἐκεῖ εἶναι ὡς ἡμεῖς λέγομεν, λέγω δή, ὅπου πᾶσιν ἡ ἀνταπόδοσις γίνεται. οὗ ἕνεκεν ἀγνοοῦντες τὸ συμφέρον ὑπὸ τῶν προσ- καίρων ἡδονῶν μὴ λαβεῖν τὰ αἰώνια ἐνεδρεύεσθε. διὸ ἡμεῖς τοῦ συμ- φέροντος ὑμῖν τὰς ἀποδείξεις ποιεῖν πειρώμεθα, ἵνα πληροφορηθέντες περὶ τῶν τῆς θεοσεβείας ἐπαγγελμάτων διὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων δυνηθῆτε σὺν ἡμῖν τὸν ἄλυπον αἰῶνα κληρονομῆσαι. μέχρι μὲν οὖν γνωρίζετε ἡμᾶς <ἀληθεύοντας>, μὴ χαλεπαίνετε ἡμῖν ὡς ψευδομένοις περὶ ὧν ὑμῖν