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and besides Him there is no God? 55.266 To whom then, tell me, is this said? Most of all, these things were said against your own lack of understanding, O Jew. For why was nothing of the sort said to Abraham, nor to Isaac, nor to Jacob, nor to Moses, but to you alone, when you came out of Egypt and made a calf? For what reason, tell me? But if you yourself are at a loss, learn the reason from me. For since, after you came out, you made a calf, and were initiated to Baal-peor, and were terrified by a multitude of gods, introducing that lawless polytheism, He, to check your disease, and in contrast to the gods which are not, established the 'One,' not for the rejection of the Only-begotten. Since, for what reason was it said at the very beginning: 'Let us make man in our image and likeness'? And again, 'Come, let us go down and confound their tongues.' And again David, 'Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.' But if Moses says, 'The Lord your God is one Lord,' your weakness has become the cause of these things. And why are you amazed if this has happened with regard to doctrines, when even with regard to deeds God led the argument from more perfect things to lesser things, condescending to our weakness? Therefore He also permitted to cast out one wife and to bring in another, though He had not so legislated from the beginning. And concerning foods He made much distinction, although from the beginning He had said the opposite, 'As the green herb have I given you all things.' And concerning place He has set many laws, not allowing prayers to be offered everywhere, although He did not legislate this from the beginning either. But He appeared to Abraham both in the land of the Persians, and in Palestine, and everywhere; and to Moses after these things in the desert. βʹ. What then? Does Scripture, he says, fight with itself? Far from it; but it manages each thing according to the season for what is expedient, correcting the weakness of each generation. For this very reason it was said to you: 'The Lord your God is one Lord.' But that He also has a Son, the prophets deposited beforehand in the books, and they have neither spoken very clearly, so as not to harm your weakness, nor have they hidden it, so as to allow you afterwards to become sober and to gather the doctrines of the truth from your own books. In this way especially we shall be able to show that the prophets are indeed prophets, when we dispute with the Greeks, and we will prove the Old Testament to be exceedingly trustworthy. For if you do away with this, how will you shut the Greek's mouth? For what will you say? The exodus from Egypt, and the things prophesied to you? But he will not readily accept it. But if you recount the things said about Christ in the Old Testament, and show the truth of the events bearing witness to the fulfillment of the prophecy, he will not even be able to resist. But if you attack our writings, O Jew, how will you make a defense for the Old Testament? And if someone should say to you, 'Whence is it known that the writings of Moses are true?' what will you say? 'That we have believed them.' Therefore, much more also our writings; for 55.267 we too have believed; and you are one nation, but we are the whole world, and Moses did not persuade you in the same way that Christ persuaded us; and your things have ceased, but our things stand fast. But is it from the prophecies? But there are more among us. Therefore if you do away with our writings, you also obscure your own. But is it from the signs? But you have no sign of Moses to show; for it has happened and passed away; but we have many and various signs of Christ still happening even now, and the prophecies shining more brightly than the sun. But is it from the laws? But these are more philosophical. But what? You came out while the Egyptians were trying to prevent you? But it is not the same thing to overcome the whole world at war, and to prevail over the Egyptians alone. And I say these things, not introducing a conflict between the Old and the

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καὶ πλὴν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι Θεός; 55.266 Πρὸς τίνα οὖν, εἰπέ μοι, ἐστὶ τὸ λεγόμενον; Μάλιστα μὲν ἐκεῖνα πρὸς τὴν σὴν ἀγνωμοσύνην εἴρηται, ὦ Ἰουδαῖε. ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ τῷ Ἀβραὰμ οὐδὲν ἐλέχθη τοιοῦτον, οὐδὲ τῷ Ἰσαὰκ, οὐδὲ τῷ Ἰακὼβ, οὐδὲ τῷ Μωϋσεῖ, ἀλλὰ σοὶ μόνῳ, ὅτε ἐξελθὼν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐμοσχοποίεις; τίνος ἕνεκεν, εἰπέ μοι; Εἰ δὲ αὐτὸς ἀπορεῖς, παρ' ἐμοῦ τὴν αἰτίαν μάνθανε. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐξελθὼν ἐμοσχοποίησας, καὶ τῷ Βεελφεγὼρ ἐτελέσθης, καὶ πρὸς δῆμον θεῶν ἧς ἐπτοημένος, τὴν ἄνομον ἐκείνην πολυθεΐαν εἰσάγων, ἀναστέλλων σου τὸ νόσημα, πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν τῶν οὐκ ὄντων θεῶν τὸ Εἷς ἔθηκεν, οὐ πρὸς ἀθέτησιν τοῦ Μονογενοῦς. Ἐπεὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν ἐν προοιμίοις εἴρηται εὐθέως· Ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν; Καὶ πάλιν, ∆εῦτε καὶ καταβάντες συγχέωμεν τὰς γλώσσας αὐτῶν. Καὶ πάλιν ὁ ∆αυῒδ, ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἔχρισέ σε ὁ Θεὸς, ὁ Θεός σου ἔλαιον ἀγαλλιάσεως παρὰ τοὺς μετόχους σου. Εἰ δὲ ὁ Μωϋσῆς λέγει, Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου Κύριος εἷς ἐστιν· ἡ ὑμετέρα ἀσθένεια γέγονεν αἰτία τούτων. Καὶ τί θαυμάζεις εἰ ἐπὶ τῶν δογμάτων τοῦτο γέγονεν, ὅπου γε καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀπὸ τῶν τελειοτέρων ἐπὶ τὰ ἐλάττονα τὸν λόγον ἦγεν ὁ Θεὸς, τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ συγκαταβαίνων; ∆ιὸ καὶ γυναῖκα τὴν μὲν ἐκβάλλειν, τὴν δὲ εἰσάγειν ἐπέτρεπεν, ἀπ' ἀρχῆς οὐχ οὕτω νομοθετήσας. Καὶ περὶ βρωμάτων πολλὴν ἐποιήσατο τὴν διάκρισιν, καίτοι γε ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὰ ἐναντία εἰπὼν, ὅτι Ὡς λάχανα χόρτου δέδωκα ὑμῖν πάντα. Καὶ περὶ τόπου πολλοὺς τέθεικε νόμους, οὐ συγχωρῶν πανταχοῦ τὰς εὐχὰς ἐπιτελεῖν, καίτοι γε οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐνομοθέτησεν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ Περσῶν γῇ τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ὤφθη, καὶ ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ, καὶ πανταχοῦ· καὶ τῷ Μωϋσεῖ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρήμου. βʹ. Τί οὖν; ἑαυτῇ, φησὶ, μάχεται ἡ Γραφή; Ἄπαγε· ἀλλὰ κατὰ καιρὸν πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον ἕκαστα οἰκονομεῖ, τὴν ἀσθένειαν ἑκάστης γενεᾶς διορθούμενος. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο πρὸς σὲ μὲν εἴρηται· Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου Κύριος εἷς ἐστιν. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ Υἱὸν ἔχει, προαπέθεντο οἱ προφῆται ταῖς βίβλοις, καὶ οὔτε σαφῶς σφόδρα εἰρήκασιν, ὥστε μὴ λυμήνασθαί σου τὴν ἀσθένειαν· οὔτε ἀπέκρυψαν, ὥστε μετὰ ταῦτά σοι δοῦναι ἀνανῆψαι, καὶ ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων βίβλων ἀναλέξασθαι τῆς ἀληθείας τὰ δόγματα. Οὕτω μάλιστα καὶ τοὺς προφήτας δυνησόμεθα δεῖξαι προφήτας ὄντας, ὅταν πρὸς Ἕλληνας διαλεγώμεθα, καὶ ἀξιόπιστον σφόδρα τὴν Παλαιὰν ἀποδείξομεν. Ἐπεὶ ἐὰν τοῦτο ἀνέλῃς, πῶς ἀποῤῥάψεις τοῦ Ἕλληνος τὸ στόμα; Τί γὰρ ἐρεῖς; τὴν ἔξοδον τὴν ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, καὶ τὰ εἰς σὲ προφητευθέντα; Ἀλλ' οὐ σφόδρα καταδέξεται. Ἂν δὲ τὰ περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰρημένα ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ διηγήσῃ, καὶ δείξῃς τῶν πραγμάτων τὴν ἀλήθειαν μαρτυροῦσαν τῇ τῆς προφητείας ἐκβάσει, οὐδὲ ἀντιστῆναι δυνήσεται. Εἰ δὲ ἐπιλάβοιο τῶν ἡμετέρων, ὦ Ἰουδαῖε, πῶς ὑπὲρ τῆς Παλαιᾶς ἀπολογήσῃ; Κἄν τις εἴπῃ σοι, πόθεν ἀληθῆ τὰ Μωϋσέως, τί ἐρεῖς; Ὅτι ἐπιστεύσαμεν αὐτοῖς. Οὐκοῦν πολλῷ μᾶλλον καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερα· καὶ γὰρ 55.267 καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπιστεύσαμεν· καὶ ὑμεῖς μὲν ἓν ἔθνος ἐστὲ, ἡμεῖς δὲ πᾶσα ἡ οἰκουμένη, καὶ ὑμᾶς οὐκ οὕτως ἔπεισε Μωϋσῆς, ὡς ἡμᾶς ὁ Χριστός· καὶ τὰ μὲν ὑμέτερα πέπαυται, τὰ δὲ ἡμέτερα ἕστηκεν. Ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν προῤῥήσεων; Ἀλλὰ πλείω τὰ παρ' ἡμῖν. Οὐκοῦν τὰ ἡμέτερα ἐὰν ἀνέλῃς, καὶ τὰ σὰ συσκιάζεις. Ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν σημείων; Ἀλλ' ὑμεῖς οὐδὲν ἔχετε δεῖξαι Μωϋσέως σημεῖον· γέγονε γὰρ καὶ παρῆλθεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πολλὰ καὶ διάφορα ἔτι καὶ νῦν γινόμενα, καὶ τὰς προῤῥήσεις ὑπὲρ τὸν ἥλιον λαμπούσας. Ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν νόμων; Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα φιλοσοφώτερα. Ἀλλὰ τί; τῶν Αἰγυπτίων κωλυόντων ἐξήλθετε; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστιν ἴσον τῆς οἰκουμένης πολεμούσης περιγενέσθαι, καὶ Αἰγυπτίων μόνων κρατῆσαι. Καὶ ταῦτα λέγω, οὐ μάχην εἰσάγων τῇ Παλαιᾷ πρὸς τὴν