2-10:10
Μεγαλειότερα μὲν οὖν πάσης ἀνθρωπείου διδασκαλίας φαίνεται τὰ ἡμέτερα διὰ τοῦ τὸ λογικὸν τὸ ὅλον τὸν φανέντα δι ἡμᾶς Χριστὸν γεγονέναι καὶ σῶμα καὶ λόγον καὶ ψυχήν. Ὅσα γὰρ καλῶς ἀεὶ ἐφθέγξαντο καὶ εὗρον οἱ φιλοσοφήσαντες ἢ νομοθετήσαντες, κατὰ λόγου μέρος δι εὑρέσεως καὶ θεωρίας ἐστὶ πονηθέντα αὐτοῖς. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐ πάντα τὰ τοῦ λόγου ἐγνώρισαν, ὅς ἐστι Χριστός, καὶ ἐναντία ἑαυτοῖς πολλάκις εἶπον. Καὶ οἱ προγεγενημένοι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, κατὰ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον λόγῳ πειραθέντες τὰ πράγματα θεωρῆσαι καὶ ἐλέγξαι, ὡς ἀσεβεῖς καὶ περίεργοι εἰς δικαστήρια ἤχθησαν.Ὁ πάντων δὲ αὐτῶν εὐτονώτερος πρὸς τοῦτο γενόμενος Σωκράτης τὰ αὐτὰ ἡμῖν ἐνεκλήθη· καὶ γὰρ ἔφασαν αὐτὸν καινὰ δαιμόνια εἰσφέρειν, καὶ οὓς ἡ πόλις νομίζει θεοὺς μὴ ἡγεῖσθαι αὐτόν.Ὁ δὲ δαίμονας μὲν τοὺς φαύλους καὶ τοὺς πράξαντας ὰ ἔφασαν οἱ ποιηταί, ἐκβαλὼν τῆς πολιτείας καὶ Ὅμηρον καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ποιητάς, παραιτεῖσθαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐδίδαξε, πρὸς θεοῦ δὲ τοῦ ἀγνώστου αὐτοῖς διὰ λόγου ζητήσεως ἐπίγνωσιν προὐτρέπετο, εἰπών· Τὸν δὲ πατέρα καὶ δημιουργὸν πάντων οὔθ εὑρεῖν ῥᾴδιον, οὔθ εὑρόντα εἰς πάντας εἰπεῖν ἀσφαλές.Ἅ ὁ ἡμέτερος Χριστὸς διὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμεως ἔπραξε. Σωκράτει μὲν γὰρ οὐδεὶς ἐπείσθη ὑπὲρ τούτου τοῦ δόγματος ἀποθνήσκειν· Χριστῷ δέ, τῷ καὶ ὑπὸ Σωκράτους ἀπὸ μέρους γνωσθέντι (λόγος γὰρ ἦν καὶ ἔστιν ὁ ἐν παντὶ ὤν, καὶ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν προειπὼν τὰ μέλλοντα γίνεσθαι καὶ δι ἑαυτοῦ ὁμοιοπαθοῦς γενομένου καὶ διδάξαντος ταῦτα), οὐ φιλόσοφοι οὐδὲ φιλόλογοι μόνον ἐπείσθησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ χειροτέχναι καὶ παντελῶς ἰδιῶται, καὶ δόξης καὶ φόβου καὶ θανάτου καταφρονήσαντες· ἐπειδὴ δύναμίς ἐστι τοῦ ἀῤῥήτου πατρὸς καὶ οὐχὶ ἀνθρωπείου λόγου τὰ σκεύη
Our teachings, then, appear more magnificent than all human teaching, because the whole rational principle became Christ, who appeared for our sake—body and reason and soul. For whatever the philosophers and lawgivers at any time uttered well and discovered, was worked out by them according to their portion of the Word through inquiry and contemplation. But since they did not know all the things of the Word, who is Christ, they often even contradicted themselves. And those who lived before Christ, having attempted by human reason to contemplate and examine matters, were brought to the tribunals as impious and meddlesome. And Socrates, who became more vigorous in this than all of them, was charged with the very same things as we; for they said that he was introducing new divinities, and that he did not regard as gods those whom the city regards as gods. But he, casting out of the state both Homer and the other poets, taught men to reject the wicked demons and those who did the things the poets related, and exhorted men to the knowledge, through inquiry by reason, of the God who was unknown to them, saying, "It is neither easy to find the Father and Maker of all, nor, having found him, is it safe to declare him to all." But these things our Christ accomplished through his own power. For no one believed in Socrates so as to die for this doctrine; but in Christ—who was known in part even by Socrates (for he was, and is, the Word who is in everyone, and who through the prophets foretold the things that would come to pass, and through himself, having become of like passions, taught these things)—not only philosophers and scholars believed, but also craftsmen and altogether unlearned men, despising glory and fear and death; since he is the power of the ineffable Father, and not the instrument of human reason.
所以我們的教訓顯為比一切人間的教訓更為宏大，因為那全備的理性本體成了基督，就是為我們的緣故顯現的——有身體、有理性、有魂。因為凡那些講論哲理或立法的人在任何時候所說、所發現的美善之事，都是他們照所分得之道的份額，藉著探究與默想而得來的。但因他們不認識那道——就是基督——的一切，便常常自相矛盾。那些在基督以前的人，憑著人的理性試圖默想並查考諸事，便被當作不虔、好管閒事之人帶到公堂。其中在這方面比眾人都更有力的蘇格拉底，被控以與我們同樣的罪名;因為他們說他引進新的神靈，又說他不以城邦所視為神的為神。但他將荷馬與其餘的詩人逐出邦國，教導人棄絕那些邪惡的鬼魔、並那些行詩人所述之事者，又勉勵人藉著理性的探究去認識那他們所不認識的神，說：「那萬有之父與創造主既不易尋見，尋見了也不可向眾人宣告。」這些事我們的基督卻藉著祂自己的能力成就了。因為無人為蘇格拉底所信、以致為這道理而死;但對基督——就是連蘇格拉底也曾部分認識的那位（因為祂從前是、現今仍是那在萬人裡面的道，並藉眾先知預言將要成就的事，又藉著祂自己成為與人同有感受、而教導這些事）——不但哲學家與學者相信，連工匠與全然無學之人也都相信，藐視虛名、懼怕與死亡;因為祂乃是那不可言喻之父的能力，不是人間理性的器皿。