1-12:12
Ἀρωγοὶδ ὑμῖν καὶ σύμμαχοι πρὸς εἰρήνην ἐσμὲν πάντων μᾶλλον ἀνθρώπων, οἵ ταῦτα δοξάζομεν, ὡς λαθεῖν θεὸν κακόεργον ἢ πλεονέκτην ἢ ἐπίβουλον ἢ ἐνάρετον ἀδύνατον εἶναι, καὶ ἕκαστον ἐπ αἰωνίαν κόλασιν ἢ σωτηρίαν κατ ἀξίαν τῶν πράξεων πορεύεσθαι. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ πάντες ἄνθρωποι ταῦτα ἐγίνωσκον, οὐκ ἄν τις τὴν κακίαν πρὸς ὀλίγον ᾑρεῖτο, γινώσκων πορεύεσθαι ἐπ αἰωνίαν διὰ πυρὸς καταδίκην, ἀλλ ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου ἑαυτὸν συνεῖχε καὶ ἐκόσμει ἀρετῇ, ὅπως τῶν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τύχοι ἀγαθῶν καὶ τῶν κολαστηρίων ἀπηλλαγμένος εἴη. Οἱ γὰρ διὰ τοὺς ὑφ ὑμῶν κειμένους νόμους καὶ κολάσεις πειρῶνται λανθάνειν ἀδικοῦντες, ἀνθρώπουςδ ὄντας λανθάνειν ὑμᾶς δυνατὸν ἐπιστάμενοι ἀδικοῦσιν, εἰ ἔμαθον καὶ ἐπείσθησαν θεὸν ἀδύνατον εἶναι λαθεῖν τι, οὐ μόνον πραττόμενον ἀλλὰ καὶ βουλευόμενον, κἂν διὰ τὰ ἐπικείμενα ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου κόσμιοι ἦσαν, ὡς καὶ ὑμεῖς συμφήσετε. Ἀλλ ἐοίκατε δεδιέναι, μὴ πάντες δικαιοπραγήσωσι καὶ ὑμεῖς οὓς κολάζητε ἔτι οὐχ ἕξετε· δημίωνδ ἂν εἴη τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔργον, ἀλλ οὐκ ἀρχόντων ἀγαθῶν. Πεπείσμεθαδ ἐκ δαιμόνων φαύλων, οἵ καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἀλόγως βιούντων αἰτοῦσι θύματα καὶ θεραπείας, καὶ ταῦτα, ὡς προέφημεν, ἐνεργεῖσθαι· ἀλλ οὐχ ὑμᾶς, οἵ γε εὐσεβείας καὶ φιλοσοφίας ὀρέγεσθε, ἄλογόν τι πρᾶξαι ὑπειλήφαμεν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ὑμεῖς ὁμοίως τοῖς ἀνοήτοις τὰ ἔθη πρὸ τῆς ἀληθείας τιμᾶτε, πράττετε ὃ δύνασθε· τοσοῦτον δὲ δύνανται καὶ ἄρχοντες πρὸ τῆς ἀληθείας δόξαν τιμῶντες, ὅσον καὶ λῃσταὶ ἐν ἐρημίᾳ. Ὅτιδ οὐ καλλιερήσετε, ὁ λόγος ἀποδείκνυσιν, οὗ βασιλικώτατον καὶ δικαιότατον ἄρχοντα μετὰ τὸν γεννήσαντα θεὸν οὐδένα οἴδαμεν ὄντα. Ὃν γὰρ τρόπον διαδέχεσθαι πενίας ἢ πάθη ἢ ἀδοξίας πατρικὰς ὑφαιροῦνται πάντες, οὕτως καὶ ὅσα ἂν ὑπαγορεύσῃ ὁ λόγος μὴ δεῖν αἱρεῖσθαι ὁ νουνεχὴς οὐχ αἱρήσεται. Γενήσεσθαι ταῦτα πάντα προεῖπε, φημί, ὁ ἡμέτερος διδάσκαλος καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς πάντων καὶ δεσπότου θεοῦ υἱὸς καὶ ἀπόστολος ὢν Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, ἀφ οὔ καὶ τὸ Χριστιανοὶ ἐπονομάζεσθαι ἐσχήκαμεν. Ὅθεν καὶ βέβαιοι γινόμεθα πρὸς τὰ δεδιγαμένα ὑπ αὐτοῦ πάντα, ἐπειδὴ ἔργῳ φαίνεται γινόμενα, ὅσα φθάσας γενέσθαι προεῖπεν· ὅ περ θεοῦ ἔργον ἐστί, πρὶν ἢ γενέσθαι εἰπεῖν καὶ οὕτως δειχθῆναι γινόμενον ὡς προείρηται. Ἦν μὲν οὖν καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις παυσαμένους μηδὲν προστιθέναι, λογισαμένους ὅτι δίκαιά τε καὶ ἀληθῆ ἀξιοῦμεν· ἀλλ ἐπεὶ γνωρίζομεν οὐ ῥᾷον ἀγνοίᾳ κατεχομένην ψυχὴν συντόμως μεταβάλλειν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ πεῖσαι τοὺς φιλαλήθεις μικρὰ προσθεῖναι προεθυμήθημεν, εἰδότες ὅτι οὐκ ἀδύνατον ἀληθείας παρατεθείσης ἄγνοιαν φυγεῖν
And we, more than all other men, are your helpers and allies for peace, holding as we do these doctrines: that it is impossible for the evildoer or the covetous or the schemer—or the virtuous man—to escape the notice of God, and that each man goes either to eternal punishment or to salvation according to the worth of his deeds. For if all men knew these things, no one would choose wickedness even for a little while, knowing that he goes to the eternal condemnation by fire, but would by every means restrain himself and adorn himself with virtue, that he might obtain the good things from God and be free of the punishments. For those who, on account of the laws and penalties you have laid down, try to escape notice while doing wrong, do wrong because they understand that, since you are men, it is possible to escape your notice; but if they learned and were persuaded that it is impossible to escape God's notice in anything—not only what is done but even what is purposed—they would by every means be orderly, on account of what hangs over them, as you too will agree. But you seem to fear lest all should do right and you should no longer have any to punish; that would be the work of executioners, not of good rulers. And we are persuaded that these things are brought about by wicked demons, who even demand sacrifices and services from those who live irrationally, and that, as we said before, they energize these things; but we do not suppose that you, who reach out after piety and philosophy, would do anything irrational. Yet if you too, like the foolish, honor custom above truth, do what you can; but rulers who honor reputation above truth have only as much power as robbers in a desert. That you will not prosper, Reason declares—Reason, than whom we know no more kingly or just a ruler, after God who begot him. For just as all shun the inheritance of their fathers' poverty or sufferings or disgrace, so the sensible man will not choose whatever Reason directs ought not to be chosen. That all these things would come to pass, I say, our teacher foretold—Jesus Christ, who is the Son and Apostle of God the Father and Master of all, from whom we have received the name of being called Christians. Wherefore we become steadfast toward all that he has taught, since we see in fact coming to pass whatever he foretold beforehand—which is the work of God, to speak of a thing before it happens, and then to have it shown coming to pass as it was foretold. It would have been possible to stop even at this and add nothing, considering that we ask for things just and true; but since we know that a soul held fast by ignorance is not easily changed in a moment, we have been eager to add a little, in order to persuade those who love truth, knowing that it is not impossible to flee ignorance once the truth is set before one.
我們持守這些道理：作惡的、貪婪的、詭詐的——連有德行的人也一樣——都不可能逃過神的鑒察，並且各人都要照自己行為的價值，或往永刑、或往救恩去；因此，我們比所有別人更是你們促進和平的幫助者與同盟。倘若眾人都知道這些事，就沒有人肯片刻選擇邪惡，因他知道自己要往那永遠被火定罪之處去，反倒要竭力約束自己、以美德妝飾自己，好得著從神而來的美善、脫離那些刑罰。因為那些為著你們所定的律法與刑罰、行惡時設法躲避察覺的人，之所以行惡，乃因他們明白你們既是人，便可能逃過你們的察覺；但他們若得知並被說服：神對任何事——不僅所行的，連所謀算的——都無法瞞過，那麼為著那臨頭之事，他們就必竭力守規矩，正如你們也必同意的。然而你們似乎懼怕：恐怕眾人都行得正了，你們便再無人可懲治；這乃是劊子手的工作，不是良善治者的工作。我們又深信，這些事乃是惡鬼所促成的——牠們甚至向那些無理而活的人索取祭牲與服事，並如我們先前所說，鼓動這些事；但我們並不以為你們這些追求虔敬與哲學的人，會行甚麼無理的事。但你們若也像那愚昧人，尊習俗過於真理，那就隨你們所能行的去行罷；只是治者尊看法過於真理，其權勢不過如曠野中的強盜一般。理性宣告你們必不得亨通——除那生祂的神以外，我們不知還有比這理性更具王者風範、更公義的治者。因為正如眾人都設法擺脫承受父輩的貧窮、苦難或羞辱，照樣，明理的人也不會選擇那理性所指示不當選擇的事。我說，這一切事必要應驗，乃是我們的教師、就是萬有之父與主宰神的子和使徒耶穌基督所預言的；我們得稱為基督徒，也是由於祂的名。所以我們對祂所教導的一切都成為堅定，因我們確實看見祂預先所說的一一應驗——預先說出一件事、然後使之照所預言的顯出應驗，這正是神的作為。其實本可就此打住、不再添加，想到我們所求的乃是公正而真實的；但我們既知道被無知所挾制的魂不易頃刻改變，便切願多加幾句，為要說服那些愛真理的人，深知真理一旦擺在人面前，要逃離無知並非不可能。