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having borrowed the sphere and astronomy and astrology. 12.12 For having appeared late in life, they taught that the world is eternal; having been taught by others to suppose the heaven is a sphere, as if they themselves were the first to believe this, they set forth the canon of astronomy as their own; having been taught letters by others, they put themselves forward as ancient and first authors; having been taught by others to make laws, they depicted themselves as ancient lawgivers and judges; having received breadth of tongue and beauty of speech from God the Giver, being ungrateful to God the Giver, they disobey his words; having received all things from God and from those before them, they reject them all and arrogantly appropriate them as their own. 12.13 For fighting against the divine words which say, “who stretches out the heavens as a vault,” these excellent men cry out in opposition, saying: It is not so, for it is spherical, and this is manifest from the eclipses predicted by us; moreover, hearing the resurrection of the dead preached among them, they say it is impossible for this to happen; for one who has been consumed in succession by countless bodies, how is it possible for him to be resurrected? And to put it simply, they try to outwit the Giver of their tongue, attempting to overthrow the doctrines of His Church. 12.14 And yet he did not leave himself without witness to them, doing good and providing, and before the coming of Christ, four hundred years and moreover in the time of Alexander the Macedonian, after the Trojan war, when the Greeks also excelled, he revealed to them some signs of his goodness, for instance I say Alexander the Macedonian, passing through Jerusalem, going off to make war on Darius, when he met the high priest of the Jews in the vestments which he wore, I mean the high-priestly ones, he himself dismounted from his horse and gladly greeted him; and when his own men blamed him and said: Why have you done this? He, defending himself, said: From the beginning in Macedonia as I was setting out, someone wearing such a garb appeared to me in a dream, who said: Go forth and you will conquer; wherefore then he himself also offered sacrifices to God and brought many gifts to the temple and bestowed many favors on the country of the Jews. 12.15 Afterwards Ptolemy, surnamed Philadelphus, having investigated and learned from Tryphon of Phalerum about the Jewish books, having earnestly requested them from the high priest Eleazar, and having sent many gifts both to the temple and to the high priest, he received these along with seventy elders, who also translated them from the Hebrew language into the Greek language and placed them in his own library. And this also was a work of divine providence, so that before the coming of Christ it might be prepared, and not, coming later in the time of the apostles, become suspect to the many, as if they had interpreted the things spoken of old by the prophets concerning both Christ and the calling of the Gentiles to their own liking. 12.16 Again, Ptolemy Physcon, having conquered the Jews and wishing to destroy them here in Alexandria by means of elephants, and when God miraculously turned the wrath of the beasts back upon his own army, was taught to worship the God among them, henceforth honoring with distinctions and sacrifices and votive offerings him who is the truly existing God and his people, that is, the Jews. And other kings who came from the Macedonian rule summoned them as allies to their own; but others, having chosen also to make war on them and having enslaved them for a considerable time, afterwards saw the impulse of God working among them and being stirred up to their aid, and themselves being conquered by them, by the very few and small in number of men. 12.17 And to put it simply, through wars and paradoxes and dreams and books they were being prepared in advance, being taught about the truly existing God, this one whom the Jews worship, so that they too might become more ready for the reception of Christianity, so that also in the times

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σφαίρας καὶ τὴν ἀστρονομίαν καὶ ἀστρολογίαν ἐρανισάμενοι. 12.12 Ὀψὲ γάρ ποτε φανέντες ἐν βίῳ τὸν κόσμον ἀΐδιον ἐδόξασαν· παρ' ἑτέρων τὸν οὐρανὸν σφαῖραν ὑπονοεῖν διδαχθέντες, ὡς αὐτοὶ πρῶτοι τοῦτο δοξάσαντες τὸν κανόνα τῆς ἀστρονομίας ὡς ἴδιον ἐξέθεντο· παρ' ἑτέρων τὰ γράμματα διδαχθέντες, συγγραφεῖς ἀρχαίους καὶ πρώτους ἑαυτοὺς ὑποτίθενται· παρ' ἑτέρων διδαχθέντες νομοθετεῖν, νομοθέτας ἀρχαίους καὶ δικαιάρχους ἑαυτοὺς ἀνεζωγράφησαν· πλατύτητα γλώττης καὶ κάλλος λόγου παρὰ τοῦ δοτῆρος Θεοῦ κομισάμενοι, τῷ δοτῆρι Θεῷ ἀχαριστοῦντες τοῖς αὐτοῦ λόγοις ἀπειθοῦσι· πάντα παρὰ Θεοῦ καὶ τῶν πρὸ αὐτῶν κομισάμενοι τοὺς πάντας ἀθετοῦσι καὶ ὡς ἴδια σοβαρῶς σφετερίζονται. 12.13 Μαχόμενοι γὰρ τοῖς θείοις λόγοις τοῖς λέγουσιν "ὁ στήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν ὡσεὶ καμάραν" ἀντιβοῶσιν οἱ βέλτιστοι λέγοντες· Οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτως, σφαιροειδὴς γάρ ἐστι, καὶ τοῦτο πρόδηλον ἐκ τῶν προλεγομένων παρ' ἡμῶν ἐκλείψεων· ἔτι δὲ ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν ἀκούοντες κηρυττομένην ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἀδυνατοῦν τοῦτο γενέσθαι· τὸν ὑπὸ μυρίων γὰρ σωμάτων ἐκ διαδοχῆς δαπανηθέντα, πῶς ἐνδέχεται ἀναστῆναι; Καὶ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, κατασοφίζονται τοῦ δοτῆρος τῆς γλώττης, ἀνατρέπειν ἐπιχειροῦντες τὰ δόγματα τῆς αὐτοῦ Ἐκκλησίας. 12.14 Καίτοι οὐκ ἀμάρτυρον ἑαυτὸν ἀφῆκεν αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι ἀγαθουργῶν καὶ προνοῶν, καὶ πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας τετρακόσια καὶ προσέτι ἐπὶ τοῦ Μακεδόνος Ἀλεξάνδρου, μετὰ τὸν πόλεμον τὸν Τρωϊκόν, ὅτε καὶ διέπρεψαν οἱ Ἕλληνες, ἐφανέρωσεν αὐτοῖς τινα γνωρίσματα τῆς αὐτοῦ ἀγαθότητος, οἷόν τι λέγω Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μακεδὼν παρερχόμενος τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα, πολεμῆσαι τὸν ∆αρεῖον ἀπερχόμενος, συναντήσαντι τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ τῶν Ἰουδαίων μεθ' οὗ σχήματος ἐφόρει, τοῦ ἀρχιερατικοῦ λέγω, κατελθὼν αὐτὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἵππου ἀσμένως ἠσπάσατο· τῶν δὲ ἰδίων μεμψαμένων αὐτῷ καὶ εἰπόντων· ∆ιατί οὕτω πεποίηκας; Αὐτὸς ἀπολογούμενος ἔφη· Ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ ἐξερχομένου μου τοιούτῳ σχήματι φορῶν ὤφθη μοί τις κατ' ὄναρ, ὃς ἔλεγεν· Ἔξελθε καὶ νικᾷς· ὅθεν λοιπὸν καὶ αὐτὸς θυσίας ἔθυσε τῷ Θεῷ καὶ πολλὰ δῶρα προσήνεγκεν εἰς τὸν ναὸν καὶ τῇ χώρᾳ τῶν Ἰουδαίων πολλὰ ἐχαρίσατο. 12.15 Μετέπειτα Πτολεμαῖος, ὁ ἐπίκλην Φιλάδελφος, περιεργασάμενος καὶ μαθὼν παρὰ Τρύφωνος τοῦ Φαληρέως περὶ τῶν ἰουδαϊκῶν βιβλίων, σπουδαίως ζητήσας παρὰ τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ Ἐλεαζάρῳ, ἀποστείλας δῶρα πολλὰ καὶ τῷ ναῷ καὶ τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ, ταύτας ἐδέξατο σὺν ἑβδομήκοντα πρεσβυτέροις, οἵτινες καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἑβραΐδος γλώττης μετέφρασαν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλήνων γλῶτταν καὶ ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ βιβλιοθήκῃ ἀνέθηκαν. Ἦν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο θείας προνοίας ἔργον, ἵνα πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας προητοιμασμένον ᾖ καὶ μὴ ὕστερον γινόμενον ἐπὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων ὕποπτον γένηται τοῖς πολλοῖς, ὡς πρὸς τὸ κεχαρισμένον ἑαυτοῖς ἑρμηνεύσαντες τὰ παρὰ τῶν προφητῶν πάλαι εἰρημένα περί τε τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τῆς κλήσεως τῶν ἐθνῶν. 12.16 Ὁ Φύσκων πάλιν Πτολεμαῖος νικήσας τοὺς Ἰουδαίους καὶ βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς ἐνταῦθα τῇ Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ ἀπολέσαι διὰ τῶν ἐλεφάντων, καὶ παραδόξως τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀντιστρέψαντος ἐπὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ στρατιὰν τὸν θυμὸν τῶν θηρίων, σέβειν τὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς Θεὸν ἐδιδάσκετο, τιμαῖς γεραίρων καὶ θυσίαις καὶ προσφοραῖς ἀναθημάτων τοῦ λοιποῦ αὐτὸν τὸν ὄντως ὄντα Θεὸν καὶ τὸν αὐτοῦ λαόν, τουτέστι τοὺς Ἰουδαίους. Καὶ ἕτεροι τῶν τῆς μακεδονικῆς ἀρχῆς γενόμενοι βασιλεῖς συμμάχους τοῖς ἰδίοις προσεκαλοῦντο· ἄλλοι δὲ καὶ πολεμεῖν αὐτοῖς προῃρημένοι καὶ ἐπὶ ἱκανὸν χρόνον δουλωσάμενοι, ὕστερον τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ῥοπὴν ἑώρων ἐνεργοῦσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ὡς πρὸς βοήθειαν αὐτῶν διεγειρομένην καὶ ἑαυτοὺς νικωμένους ὑπ' αὐτῶν, ὑπὸ ἐλαχιστῶν καὶ εὐαριθμήτων ἀνδρῶν. 12.17 Καὶ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, διὰ τῶν πολέμων καὶ τῶν παραδόξων καὶ τῶν ἐνυπνίων καὶ τῶν βιβλίων προεγυμνάζοντο διδασκόμενοι τὸν ὄντως ὄντα Θεόν, τοῦτον ὃν Ἰουδαῖοι σέβονται, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἑτοιμότεροι γένωνται πρὸς ὑποδοχὴν τοῦ χριστιανισμοῦ, ὥστε καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν καιρῶν