26:26
Παύσασθε λόγους ἀλλοτρίους θριαμβεύοντες καὶ ὥσπερ ὁ κολοιὸς οὐκ ἰδίοις ἐπικοσμούμενοι πτεροῖς. Ἑκάστη πόλις ἐὰν ἀφέληται τὴν ἰδίαν αὐτῆς ἀφ ὑμῶν λέξιν, ἐξαδυνατήσουσιν ὑμῖν τὰ σοφίσματα. Ζητοῦντες τίς ὁ θεός, τὰ ἐν ὑμῖν ἀγνοεῖτε· κεχηνότες δὲ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν κατὰ βαράθρων πίπτετε. Λαβυρίνθοις ἐοίκασιν ὑμῶν τῶν βιβλίων αἱ ἀναθέσεις, οἱ δὲ ἀναγινώσκοντες τῷ πίθῳ τῶν Δαναΐδων. Τί μοι μερίζετε τὸν χρόνον, λέγοντες τὸ μέν τι εἶναι παρῳχηκὸς αὐτοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἐνεστός, τὸ δὲ μέλλον; Πῶς γὰρ δύναται παρελθεῖν ὁ μέλλων, εἰ ἔστιν ὁ ἐνεστώς; Ὥσπερ δὲ οἱ ἐμπλέοντες τῆς νεὼς φερομένης οἴονται διὰ τὴν ἀμαθίαν ὅτι τὰ ὄρη τρέχουσιν, οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς οὐ γινώσκετε παρατρέχοντας μὲν ὑμᾶς, ἑστῶτα δὲ τὸν αἰῶνα, μέχρις ἂν αὐτὸν ὁ ποιήσας εἶναι θελήσῃ. Διὰ τί γὰρ ἐγκαλοῦμαι λέγων τὰ ἐμά, τὰ δέ μου πάντα καταλύειν σπεύδετε; Μὴ γὰρ οὐχ ὑμεῖς κατὰ τὸν ὅμοιον τρόπον ἡμῖν γεγένησθε, τῆς αὐτῆς τοῦ κόσμου διοικήσεως μετειληφότες; Τί φάσκετε σοφίαν εἶναι παρ ὑμῖν μόνοις, οὐκ ἔχοντες ἄλλον ἥλιον οὐδ ἀστέρων ἐπιφοιτήσεις καὶ γένεσιν διαφορωτέραν, θάνατόν τε παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους ἐξαίρετον; Ἀρχὴ τῆς φλυαρίας ὑμῖν γεγόνασιν οἱ γραμματικοί, καὶ οἱ μερίζοντες τὴν σοφίαν τῆς κατὰ ἀλήθειαν σοφίας ἀπετμήθητε, τὰ δὲ ὀνόματα τῶν μερῶν ἀνθρώποις προσενείματε· καὶ τὸν μὲν θεὸν ἀγνοεῖτε, πολεμοῦντες δὲ ἑαυτοῖς ἀλλήλους καθαιρεῖτε. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πάντες οὐδέν ἐστε· σφετερίζοντες μὲν τοὺς λόγους, διαλεγόμενοι δὲ καθάπερ τυφλὸς κωφῷ. Τί κατέχετε σκεύη τεκτονικά, τεκταίνειν μὴ γινώσκοντες; Τί λόγους ἐπαναιρεῖσθε, τῶν ἔργων μακρὰν ἀφεστῶτες, φυσώμενοι μὲν διὰ δόξης, ἐν δὲ ταῖς συμφοραῖς ταπεινούμενοι; Παρὰ λόγον καταχρᾶσθε τοῖς σχήμασι· δημοσίᾳ μὲν γὰρ πομπεύετε, τοὺς δὲ λόγους ἐπὶ τὰς γωνίας ἀποκρύπτετε. Τοιούτους ὑμᾶς ἐπιγνόντες καταλελοίπαμεν, καὶ τῶν ὑμετέρων οὐκέτι ψαύομεν, θεοῦ δὲ λόγῳ κατακολουθοῦμεν.Τί γάρ, ἄνθρωπε, τῶν γραμμάτων ἐξαρτύεις τὸν πόλεμον; Τί δὲ ὡς ἐν πυγμῇ συγκρούεις τὰς ἐκφωνήσεις ἀυτῶν διὰ τῶν Ἀθηναίων ψελλισμῶν, δέον σε λαλεῖν φυσικώτερον; Εἰ γὰρ ἀττικίζεις οὐκ ὢν Ἀθηναῖος, λέγε μοι τοῦ μὴ δωρίζειν τὴν αἰτίαν. Πῶς τὸ μὲν εἶναί σοι δοκεῖ βαρβαρικώτερον, τὸ δὲ πρὸς τὴν ὁμιλίαν ἱλαρώτερον
Cease parading the words of others in triumph, and, like the jackdaw, adorning yourselves with feathers not your own. If each city should take away from you its own peculiar idiom, your sophistries would lose their power. Seeking who God is, you are ignorant of the things within yourselves; and gaping up at the heaven, you fall down into pits. The arrangements of your books are like labyrinths, and those who read them are like the jar of the Danaids. Why do you divide time for me, saying that one part of it is past, another present, another future? For how can the future come to pass, if the present exists? And just as those sailing, when the ship is being carried along, suppose through ignorance that the mountains are running, so also you do not perceive that you yourselves are running past, while the age stands still, until the one who made it should will it to exist. For why am I accused when I state my own teachings, while you are eager to overthrow all that is mine? Have you not come into being in the same manner as we, partaking of the same management of the world? Why do you assert that wisdom is among you alone, having no other sun, nor visitations of stars more distinguished, nor a more excellent genesis, nor a death surpassing that of other men? The grammarians have been to you the beginning of foolishness, and you who parcel out wisdom have been cut off from wisdom according to the truth, and you have assigned the names of its parts to men; and you are ignorant of God, but, making war on yourselves, you destroy one another. And on this account you all amount to nothing—appropriating words, but conversing like the blind with the deaf. Why do you hold carpenter's tools while not knowing how to do carpentry? Why do you take up arguments, while standing far off from deeds—puffed up through reputation, but humbled in misfortunes? Contrary to reason you misuse figures of speech; for in public you go in procession, but you hide your arguments in the corners. Having recognized you to be such, we have left you, and we no longer touch your things, but follow the Logos of God. For why, O man, do you fit out war among the letters? Why do you, as in a boxing-match, clash their pronunciations through Athenian lispings, when you ought to speak more naturally? For if you Atticize while not being an Athenian, tell me the reason for your not speaking Doric. How is it that one thing seems to you more barbarous, while another is more pleasing for conversation?
不要再誇耀別人的言詞，像那寒鴉用不屬自己的羽毛來妝扮。每一座城若把它特有的方言從你們手中取去，你們的詭辯便要失去效力。你們尋求神是誰，卻不認識自己裡面的事；你們仰望蒼天，卻跌進坑裡。你們那些書的編排猶如迷宮，讀它們的人則像達那俄斯之女那永填不滿的甕。你們為何把時間為我劃分，說它有一部分是過去的，一部分是現在的，一部分是將來的呢？倘若現在存在，將來又怎能成為過去呢？正如航行的人，當船被帶著前行時，因無知便以為是群山在奔跑，照樣，你們也覺察不到是你們自己在飛逝而過，而那世代卻是靜止的，直到那造它的願意它存在為止。我陳述自己的教訓，為何竟被控告，而你們卻急於要推翻一切屬我的呢？你們豈不是與我們以同樣的方式生成，分享世界同樣的治理嗎？你們為何聲稱唯獨你們當中有智慧呢？你們並沒有另一個太陽，沒有更尊貴的星辰造訪，沒有更高超的出生，也沒有勝過別人的死。那些文法學家成了你們愚妄的開端，你們這些把智慧分割之人，便與那合乎真理的智慧斷絕了，又把智慧各部分的名目派給了人；你們不認識神，卻彼此爭戰、互相毀滅。為這緣故，你們眾人都算不得什麼——你們竊取言詞，交談卻如同瞎子與聾子對話。你們手握木匠的工具，卻不懂木工，這是為何？你們高談闊論，行事卻離得遠遠的，因虛名而自高，遭患難便卑微，這是為何？你們悖理地濫用辭藻；在公眾面前招搖過市，卻把自己的論說藏在角落。我們認清你們是這等人，便離了你們，不再沾你們的事，乃跟隨神的道。人哪，你為何在字母之間佈下戰陣？你為何像拳賽一般，用雅典式的咬舌音把字母的讀法相互碰撞，明明該說得更自然些？你既非雅典人卻操雅典腔，那就告訴我你不說多利亞腔的緣由。為何一種口音在你看來較野蠻，另一種卻較宜於交談呢？