1-54:54
Οἱ δὲ παραδιδόντες τὰ μυθοποιηθέντα ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν οὐδεμίαν ἀπόδειξιν φέρουσι τοῖς ἐκμανθάνουσι νέοις, καὶ ἐπὶ ἀπάτῃ καὶ ἀπαγωγῇ τοῖ ἀνθρωπείου γένους εἰρῆσθαι ἀποδείκνυμεν κατ ἐνέργειαν τῶν φαύλων δαιμόνων. Ἀκούσαντες γὰρ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν κηρυσσόμενον παραγενησόμενον τὸν Χριστόν, καὶ κολασθησομένους διὰ πυρὸς τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, προεβάλλοντο πολλοὺς λεχθῆναι γενομένους υἱοὺς τῷ Διῒ, νομίζοντες δυνήσεσθαι ἐνεργῆσαι τερατολογίαν ἡγήσασθαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τὰ περὶ τὸν Χριστὸν καὶ ὅμοια τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν λεχθεῖσι. Καὶ ταῦταδ ἐλέχθη καὶ ἐν Ἕλλησι καὶ ἐν ἔθνεσι πᾶσιν, ὅπου μᾶλλον ἐπήκουον τῶν προφητῶν πιστευθήσεσθαι τὸν Χριστὸν προκηρυσσόντων. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ ἀκούοντες τὰ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν λεγόμενα οὐκ ἐνόουν ἀκριβῶς, ἀλλ ὡς πλανώμενοι ἐμιμήσαντο τὼ περὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον Χριστόν, διασαφήσομεν. Μωϋσῆς οὖν ὁ προφῄτης, ὡς προέφημεν, πρεσβύτερος ἦν πόντων συγγραφέων, καὶ δι αὐτοῦ, ὡς προεμηνύσαμεν, προεφητεύθη οὕτως· Οὐκ ἐκλείψει ἄρχων ἐξ Ἰούδα καὶ ἡγούμενος ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ᾧ ἀπόκειται· καὶ αὐτὸς ἔσται προσδοκία ἐθνῶν, δεσμεύων πρὸς ἄμπελον τὸν πῶλον αἰτοῦ, πλύνων τὴν στολὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν αἵματι σταφυλῆς. Τούτων οὖν τᾶν προφητικῶν λόγων ἀκούσαντες οἱ δαίμονες Διόνυσον μὲν ἔφασαν γεγονέναι υἱὸν τοῦ Διός, εὑρετὴν δὲ γενέσθαι ἀμπέλου παρέδωκαν, καὶ ὄνον ἐν τοῖς μυστηρίοις αἰτοῦ ἀναγράφουσι, καὶ διασπαραχθέντα αὐτὸν ἀνεληλυθέναι εἰς οὐρανὸν ἐδίδαξαν. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ διὰ τῆς Μωϋσέως προφητείας οὐ ῥητῶς ἐσημαίνετο, εἴτε υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ παραγενησόμενός ἐστι, καὶ εἰ ὀχούμενος ἐπὶ πώλου ἐπὶ γῆς μενεῖ ἢ εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀνελεύσεται, καὶ τὸ τοῦ πώλου ὄνομα καὶ ὄνου πᾶλον καὶ ἵππου σημαίνειν ἐδύνατο, μὴ ἐπιστάμενοι εἴτε ὄνου πῶλον ἄγων ἔσται σύμβολον τῆς παρουσίας αἰτοῖ εἴτε ἵππου ὁ προκηρυσσόμενος, καὶ υἱὸς θεοῖ ἐστιν, ὡς προέφημεν, ἢ ἀνθρώπου, τὸν Βελλεροφόντην καὶ αὐτὸν ἐφ ἵππου Πηγασου, ἄνθρωπον ἐξ ἀνθρώπων γενόμενον, εἰς οὐρανὸν ἔφασαν ἀνεληλυθέναι. Ὅτι δὲ ἤκουσαν διὰ τοῦ ἄλλου προφήτου Ἡσαΐου λεχθέν, ὅτι διὰ παρθένου τεχθήσεται καὶ δι ἑαυτοῦ ἀνελεύσεται εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, τὸν Περσέα λεχθῆναι προεβάλλοντο. Καὶ ὅτε ἔγνωσαν εἰρημένον, ὡς προλέλεκται ἐν ταῖς προγεγραμμέναις προφητείαις, Ἰσχυρὸςἁς γίγας δραμεῖν ὁδόν, τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἰσχυρὸν καὶ ἐκπερινοστήσαντα τὴν πᾶσαν γῆν ἔφασαν. Ὅτε δὲ πάλιν ἐμαθον προφητευθέντα θεραπεύσειν αὐτὸν πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ νεκροὺς ἀνεγερεῖν, τὶν Ἀσκληπιὸν παρήνεγκαν
But those who hand down the myths fashioned by the poets offer no proof to the young men who learn them; and we show that these things were spoken for the deceit and leading astray of the human race, by the operation of the wicked demons. For having heard it proclaimed through the prophets that Christ would come, and that the impious among men would be punished by fire, they put forward many to be called sons of Zeus, supposing they would be able to bring it about that men should regard the things concerning Christ as a marvelous tale, like the things told by the poets. And these things were said both among the Greeks and among all the nations, wherever they heard rather that the prophets were proclaiming beforehand that Christ would be believed in. But that even when they heard the things said through the prophets they did not understand them accurately, but, like men in error, imitated the things concerning our Christ, we will make plain. Moses the prophet, as we said before, was older than all the writers, and through him, as we declared beforehand, it was prophesied thus: "There shall not fail a ruler from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he come for whom it is reserved; and he shall be the expectation of the nations, binding his colt to the vine, washing his robe in the blood of the grape." Hearing, then, these prophetic words, the demons said that Dionysus had been born a son of Zeus, and handed down that he was the discoverer of the vine, and they record an ass among his mysteries, and they taught that, having been torn in pieces, he ascended into heaven. And since by the prophecy of Moses it was not expressly indicated whether he who was to come is the Son of God, and whether, riding upon a colt, he would remain on earth or ascend into heaven, and since the word "colt" could signify the foal of an ass and of a horse, not knowing whether the one proclaimed beforehand would come leading the foal of an ass as a symbol of his coming, or that of a horse, and whether he is the Son of God, as we said, or of a man, they said that Bellerophon too, a man born of men, had ascended into heaven upon the horse Pegasus. And since they heard it said through the other prophet, Isaiah, that he would be born of a virgin and ascend by himself into heaven, they put forward the story of Perseus. And when they learned that it was said, as was foretold in the previously written prophecies, "strong as a giant to run his course," they alleged Heracles to be strong and to have wandered over the whole earth. And again, when they learned it was prophesied that he would heal every disease and raise the dead, they brought in Asclepius.
然而，那些傳遞詩人所捏造之神話的人，對於學習這些神話的少年人並不提出任何證據；我們也要表明：這些話之所以被說出，乃是出於惡鬼魔的運作，為要欺騙並引誘人類。因為它們聽見眾先知所宣告：基督要降臨，並且人中不敬虔的要被火刑罰，便推出許多人來，稱他們為宙斯之子，以為這樣能使人把關於基督的事看作奇談，與詩人所說的相似。這些話無論在希臘人中，或在一切聽見先知預先宣告基督要被人相信之處的列邦中，都被傳說出來。至於它們雖聽見藉眾先知所說的話，卻沒有準確明白，反倒像迷失之人那樣摹仿關於我們基督的事，我們要加以說明。先知摩西，如我們先前所說，比一切作家都更古老，藉著他，如我們早已宣告的，曾這樣預言：「圭必不離猶大，杖必不離他兩腳之間，直等細羅來到；他必為萬民所盼望，他把驢駒拴在葡萄樹上，在葡萄汁中洗他的衣袍。」眾鬼魔聽見這些預言之語，便說戴歐尼修斯是宙斯之子，又傳說他是葡萄的發明者，並在他的奧祕儀式中記載一頭驢，又教導說他被撕裂之後升到天上。再者，因摩西的預言並未明說那將要降臨的是否就是神的兒子，又是否他騎著驢駒要留在地上、還是要升到天上，且「駒」字既可指驢駒，也可指馬駒，它們不曉得那預先宣告的，究竟要牽驢駒來作他降臨的記號，還是馬駒，也不曉得他如我們所說是神的兒子、還是人的兒子，便說柏勒洛豐——一個由人所生的人——也騎著飛馬珀伽索斯升到天上。又因它們聽見藉另一位先知以賽亞所說的：他要由童女所生、並要自行升天，便推出珀耳修斯的故事。又當它們得知前面所寫的預言中說「如勇士歡然奔路」這話，便聲稱赫拉克勒斯是大力士，曾走遍全地。再者，當它們學到他被預言要醫治百病、叫死人復活，便引出亞斯克勒庇俄斯來。