1-21:21
Τᾷ δὲ καὶ τὸν λόγον, ὅ ἐστι πρῶτον γέννημα τοῖ θεοῦ, ἄνευ ἐπιμιξίας φάσκειν ἡμᾶς γεγεννῆσθαι, Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν διδάσκαλον ἡμῶν, καὶ τοῦτον σταυρωθέντα καὶ ἀποθανόντα καὶ ἀναστάντα ἀνεληλυθέναι εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, οὐ παρὰ τοὺς παρ ὑμῖν λεγομένους υἱοὺς τῷ Διῒ καινόν τι φέρομεν. Πόσους γὰρ υἱοὺς φάσκουσι τοῦ Διὸς οἱ παρ ὑμῖν τιμώμενοι συγγραφεῖς, ἐπίστασθε· Ἑρμῆν μέν, λόγον τὸν ἑρμηνευτικὸν καὶ πάντων διδάσκαλον, Ἀσκληπιὸν δέ, καὶ θεραπευτὴν γενόμενον, κεραυνωθέντα ἀνεληλυθέναι εἰς οὐρανόν, Διόνυσον δὲ διασπαραχθέντα, Ἡρακλέα δὲ φυγῇ πόνων ἑαυτὸν πυρὶ δόντα, τοὺς ἐκ Λήδας δὲ Διοσκούρους, καὶ τὸν ἐκ Δανάης Περσέα, καὶ τὸν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων δὲ ἐφ ἵππου Πηγάσου Βελλεροφόντην. Τί γὰρ λέγομεν τὴν Ἀριάδνην καὶ τοὺς ὁμοίως αὐτῇ κατηστερίσθαι λεγομένους; καὶ τί γὰρ τοὺς ἀποθνήσκοντας παρ ὑμῖν αὐτοκράτορας, οὓς ἀεὶ ἀπαθανατίζεσθαι ἀξιοῦντες καὶ ὀμνύντα τινὰ προάγετε ἑωρακέναι ἐκ τῆς πυρᾶς ἀνερχόμενον εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν τὸν κατακαέντα Καίσαρα; Καὶ ὁποῖαι ἑκάστου τῶν λεγομένων υἱῶν τοῦ Διὸς ἱστοροῦνται αἱ πράξεις, πρὸς εἰδότας λέγειν οὐκ ἀνάγκη, πλὴν ὅτι εἰς διαφορὰν καὶ προτροπὴν τῶν ἐκπαιδευομένων ταῦτα γέγραπται· μιμητὰς γὰρ θεῶν καλὸν εἶναι πάντες ἡγοῦνται. Ἀπείη δὲ σωφρονούσης ψυχῆς ἔννοια τοιαύτη περὶ θεῶν, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν ἡγεμόνα καὶ γεννήτορα πάντων κατ αὐτοὺς Δία πατροφόντην τε καὶ πατρὸς τοιούτου γεγονέναι, ἔρωτί τε κακῶν καὶ αἰσχρῶν ἡδονῶν ἥττω γενόμενον ἐπὶ Γανυμήδην καὶ τὰς πολλὰς μοιχευθείσας γυναῖκας ἐλθεῖν, καὶ τοὺς αὐτοῦ παῖδας τὰ ὅμοια πράξαντας παραδέξασθαι. Ἀλλ᾿, ὡς προέφημεν, οἱ φαῦλοι δαίμονες ταῦτα ἔπραξαν· ἀπαθανατίζεσθαι δὲ ἡμεῖς μόνους δεδιδάγμεθα τοὺς ὁσίως καὶ ἐναρέτως ἐγγὺς θεῷ βιοῦντας, κολάζεσθαι δὲ τοὺς ἀδίκως καὶ μὴ μεταβάλλοντας ἐν αἰωνίῳ πυρὶ πιστεύομεν
And in declaring that the Word, who is the first-begotten of God, was begotten without sexual union—Jesus Christ our teacher—and that he was crucified and died and rose again and ascended into heaven, we bring in nothing new beyond those whom you call sons of Zeus. For you know how many sons of Zeus the writers held in honor among you have spoken of: Hermes, the interpreting Word and teacher of all; Asclepius, who, though he was a healer, was struck by lightning and ascended into heaven; Dionysus, who was torn in pieces; Heracles, who to flee his labors gave himself to the fire; the Dioscuri, sons of Leda; Perseus, son of Danaë; and Bellerophon, who from among men rose on the horse Pegasus. And why should we mention Ariadne and those said to have been set among the stars like her? And why those of your own emperors who die, whom you regularly deem worthy of being made immortal, and produce someone who swears that he has seen the burned Caesar ascending into heaven from the funeral pyre? And what sort of deeds are recorded of each of the so-called sons of Zeus there is no need to tell those who know—except that these things were written for the instruction and incitement of the young; for all consider it good to be imitators of the gods. But far be such a notion concerning the gods from any sober soul—as that Zeus himself, the ruler and begetter of all according to them, was a parricide and the son of such a one, and that, overcome by lust for evil and shameful pleasures, he came to Ganymede and to the many women whom he seduced into adultery, and accepted his own children when they did the like. But, as we said before, the wicked demons did these things; whereas we have been taught that those alone are made immortal who live in holiness and virtue near to God, and we believe that those who live unjustly and do not change are punished in eternal fire.
我們宣稱那道——就是神的首生者——是無交合而被生的，這道就是我們的教師耶穌基督，又說祂被釘十字架、死了、復活、升了天，在這事上，我們所傳的並未超出你們所稱為宙斯之子的那些，並無新奇。因為你們知道，你們所尊崇的作家提過多少宙斯的兒子：赫耳墨斯，那解釋之道、萬有之師；阿斯克勒庇俄斯，他雖是醫者，卻被雷擊、升了天；狄俄尼索斯，被撕成碎片；赫拉克勒斯，為逃避勞苦而投火自焚；勒達所生的狄俄斯庫里兄弟；達那厄所生的珀耳修斯；並那從人中、騎著飛馬珀伽索斯升起的柏勒洛豐。我們又何必提阿里阿德涅，並那些據說像她一樣被列為星宿的人呢？又何必提你們那些死去的皇帝呢——你們慣常認為他們配得被封為不朽，還推出某人來起誓，說他親眼見那被焚的凱撒從火葬堆升上天去？至於所謂宙斯諸子各人的行徑記載如何，對知道的人原無須細說——只是這些事乃為教導、激勵青年而寫的；因為眾人都以效法諸神為美。但願凡清醒的魂，斷不存這樣的念頭看待諸神——以為連那照他們所說、作萬有之主與生育者的宙斯，竟是弒父的、又是這等父親之子，並被惡慾、被可恥的逸樂所勝，去就甘尼墨得斯、去就他所誘姦的眾多婦女，又接納他那些行同樣之事的兒女。但正如我們先前所說，這些事乃是惡鬼所行的；至於我們，所受的教導是：惟有那些聖潔、有德、親近神而活的人，才得以成為不朽，而我們相信，那些行不義、又不悔改的人，要在永火中受刑。