1-46:46
Ἵνα δὲ μή τινες ἀλογισταίνοντες εἰς ἀποτροπὴν τῶν δεδιδαγμένων ὑφ ἡμῶν εἴπωσι πρὸ ἐτῶν ἑκατὸν πεκτήκοντα γεγεννῆσθαι τὸν Χριστὸν λέγειν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ Κυρηνίου, δεδιδαχέναι δὲἅ φαμεν διδάξαι αὐτὸν ὕστερον χρόνοις ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, καὶ ἐπικαλῶσιν ὡς ἀνευθύνων ὄντων τῶν προγεγενημένων πάντων ἀνθρώπων, φθάσαντες τὴν ἀπορίαν λυσόμεθα. Τὸν Χριστὸν πρωτότοκον τοῦ θεοῦ εἶναι ἐδιδάχθημεν καὶ προεμηνύσαμεν λόγον ὄντα, οἷ πᾶν γένος ἀνθρώπων μετέσχε. Καὶ οἱ μετὰ λόγου βιώσαντες Χριστιανοί εἰσι, κἂν ἄθεοι ἐνομίσθησαν, οἷον ἐν Ἕλλησι μὲν Σωκράτης καὶ Ἡράκλειτος καὶ οἱ ὅμοιοι αὐτοῖς, ἐν βαρβάροις δὲ Αβραὰμ καὶ Ἀνανίας καὶ Ἀζαρίας καὶ Μισαὴλ καὶ Ἡλίας καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοί, ὧν τὰς πράξεις ἢ τὰ ὀνόματα καταλέγειν μακρὸν εἶναι ἐπιστάμενοι τανῦν παραιτούμεθα. Ὥστε καὶ οἱ προγενόμενοι ἄνευ λόγου βιάσαντες ἄχρηστοι καὶ ἐχθροὶ τῷ Χριστῷ ἦσαν καὶ φονεῖς τῶν μετὰ λόγου βιούντων· οἱ δὲ μετὰ λόγου βιώσαντες καὶ βιοῦντες Χριστιανοὶ καὶ ἄφοβοι καὶ ἀτάραχοι ὑπάρχσυσι. Δι ἣν αἰτίαν διὰ δυνάμεως τοῦ λόγου κατὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς πάντων καὶ δεσπότου θεοῖ βουλὴν διὰ παρθένου ἄνθρωπος ἀπεκυήθη καὶ Ἰησοῦς ἐπωνομάσθη, καὶ σταυρωθεὶς καὶ ἀποθανὼν ἀνέστη καὶ ἀνελήλυθεν εἰς οὐρανὸν, ἐκ τῶν διὰ τοσούτων εἰρημένων ὁ νουνεχὴς καταλαβεῖν δυνήσεται. Ἡμεῖς δέ, οὐκ ἀναγκαίου ὄντος τανῦν τοῖ περὶ τῆς ἀποδείξεως τούτου λόγου, ἐπὶ τὰς ἐπειγούσας ἀποδείξεις πρὸς τὸ παρὸν χωρήσομεν
然而，恐怕有人推理不當，為要叫人離開我們所教導的，就說我們主張基督是在一百五十年前居里扭的時候降生的，而我們所說他所教導的事，乃是後來在本丟彼拉多的時候才教導的；又控告說：凡在他以前出生的人豈不都無可歸責了麼——讓我們搶先把這難題解開。我們蒙了教導、並早已宣告：基督是神的長子，是道，是各族人都有分的。凡照著道（理性）而活的人都是基督徒，縱然他們曾被算為無神論者——例如在希臘人中有蘇格拉底、赫拉克利特和像他們的人，在化外人中有亞伯拉罕、亞拿尼亞、亞撒利雅、米沙利、以利亞，以及許多別人，他們的事蹟或名字，因知道一一列舉要費許多話，如今就略過不提。所以那些從前不照著道而活的人，是無用的，是基督的仇敵，是殺害那照著道而活之人的兇手；而那些從前照著道而活、如今也如此活的人，乃是基督徒，並且是無懼無慮的。至於他為何藉道的能力，按萬有之父和主宰神的旨意，藉童女被生為人，取名耶穌，又被釘十字架、死了、復活、升天——聰明人從這許多話所說的便能領會。但因目前不必論證這一點，我們暫且要進到更迫切的證明上去。
But lest some, reasoning unsoundly, in order to turn men away from what we have taught, should say that we assert Christ to have been born a hundred and fifty years ago under Quirinius, and to have taught what we say he taught later, in the times of Pontius Pilate, and should bring the charge that all men born before him were not accountable — let us anticipate and resolve the difficulty. We have been taught and have declared beforehand that Christ is the firstborn of God, being the Word, in whom every race of mankind has shared. And those who lived with reason are Christians, even though they were accounted godless — such as, among the Greeks, Socrates and Heraclitus and those like them, and among the barbarians, Abraham and Ananias and Azarias and Misael and Elijah and many others, whose deeds and names we forbear to recount now, knowing it would be a long matter. So that those too who lived before, apart from reason, were useless and enemies to Christ, and murderers of those who lived with reason; but those who lived with reason, and now live, are Christians, and are fearless and untroubled. For what cause, by the power of the Word, according to the will of the Father of all and Master, God, he was brought forth as man through a virgin and named Jesus, and was crucified and died and rose again and ascended into heaven — the intelligent man will be able to grasp from what has been said through so many things. But since the argument concerning the proof of this is not necessary at present, we will proceed for now to the more pressing proofs.