81. Now what does this man contrive, and what snare does he set for the former sort of Christians? Like those who mix poison with food, he mixes his impiety (idolatry) with the customary honours of the sovereign, and thus bringing into one the Roman laws and the worship of idols; he associates his own portraits with the figures of his demons, pretending that they were some other sort of customary representations. He exposes these figures to peoples and to cities, and above all to those in government of nations, so that he could not miss being in one way or another mischievous: for either by the honour paid to the sovereign that to idols was also insinuated, or else by the shunning of the latter the sovereign himself was insulted, the worship of the two being mixed up together. This treachery, and so cunningly devised snare of impiety, a few ⁶⁵ indeed escape (of the more cautious and intelligent sort), but these get punished for their sagacity on the pretext that they had offended against the respect due to the emperor; but, in reality, because they braved the danger for the sake of their true sovereign and their religion. But many of the more ignorant and simple sort were caught in the trap, who, perhaps, deserve pardon for their ignorance, thus drawn away by stratagem into impiety. So much for this, which alone were enough to brand with infamy the policy of an emperor; for we do not hold that the same conduct is becoming in princes as in private persons, seeing that the two things are not of the same importance. For a private individual may be excused for effecting his object by artifice----for often in those to whom force is not possible, this way of contrivance must be conceded; but in the case of a sovereign, as it is very disgraceful to be overcome by force, so is it, in my opinion, much more disgraceful and unbecoming to gain his ends and purpose, like a thief, by means of trickery.

ΠΑʹ. Ὁ δὲ τί μηχανᾶται; καὶ τίνα τῶν Χριστιανῶν τοῖς στεῤῥοτέροις ἵστησι δόλον; Ὥσπερ οἱ τοῖς βρώμασι καταμιγνύντες τὰ δηλητήρια, μίξαι ταῖς ἐξ ἔθους τῶν βασιλέων τιμαῖς τὴν ἀσέβειαν, καὶ εἰς ἓν ἀγαγεῖν νόμους Ῥωμαίων καὶ εἰδώλων προσκύνησιν: καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ταῖς εἰκόσι συμπαραγράφων τοὺς δαίμονας, ὡς δή τινας ἄλλας τῶν ἐξ ἔθους γραφὰς προὐτίθει δήμοις καὶ πόλεσι, καὶ μάλιστα τοῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἄρχουσι τὰς εἰκόνας, ὡς κακοῦ γέ του πάντως μὴ εἶναι διαμαρτεῖν: ἀλλ' ἢ τῇ τῶν βασιλέων τιμῇ τὴν τῶν εἰδώλων συμφέρεσθαι, ἢ τῇ τούτων φυγῇ τοὺς βασιλέας ὑβρίζεσθαι, μικτῆς οὔσης τῆς προσκυνήσεως. Τοῦτον τὸν δόλον καὶ ταύτην τὴν οὕτω σοφιστικῶς ἐπινοηθεῖσαν πάγην τῆς ἀσεβείας ὀλίγοι μὲν διέφυγον τῶν εὐλαβεστέρων καὶ συνετωτέρων, οἳ καὶ δίκην ἔδοσαν τῆς συνέσεως: πρόσχημα μὲν ὡς εἰς τιμὴν βασιλέως παρανομήσαντες, τὸ δὲ ἀληθὲς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τοῦ εὐσεβοῦς κινδυνεύσαντες. Πολλοὶ δὲ ἥλωσαν τῶν εὐηθεστέρων καὶ ἁπλουστέρων: οἷς καὶ συγγνώμη τυχὸν τῆς ἀγνοίας, τέχνῃ συναρπασθεῖσιν εἰς τὴν ἀσέβειαν. Τοῦτο μὲν δὴ τοιοῦτον, ὃ καὶ μόνον ἐξήρκει στηλιτεῦσαι βασιλέως προαίρεσιν: οὐ γὰρ τὰ αὐτὰ βασιλεῦσί τε καὶ ἰδιώταις πρέπειν ὑπολαμβάνομεν: ὅτι μηδὲ τῆς αὐτῆς ἀξίας ἀμφότερα. Ἰδιώτῃ μὲν γὰρ καὶ τεχνικῶς πράττειν τι συγχωρήσαιμεν: ᾧ γὰρ τὸ φανερῶς βιάζεσθαι μὴ δυνατὸν, τούτῳ συγγνωστὸν τὸ τῆς περινοίας: βασιλεῖ δὲ, τοῦ δυνάμει κρατεῖσθαι λίαν αἰσχροῦ τυγχάνοντος, ἔτ' αἴσχιον, οἶμαι, καὶ ἀπρεπέστερον τὸ τέχνῃ κλέπτειν τὰς ἐγχειρήσεις καὶ τὰ προκείμενα.