2-12:12
Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐγώ, τοῖς Πλάτωνος· χαίρων διδάγμασι, διαβαλλομένους ἀκούων Χριστιανούς, ὁρῶν δὲ ἀφόβους πρὸς θάνατον καὶ πάντα τὰ ἄλλα νομιζόμενα φοβερά, ἐνενόουν ἀδύνατον εἶναι ἐν κακίᾳ καὶ φιληδονίᾳ ὑπάρχειν αὐτούς. Τίς γὰρ φιλήδονος ἢ ἀκρατὴς καὶ ἀνθρωπείων σαρκῶν βορὰν ἀγαθὸν ἡγούμενος δύναιτο ἂν θάνατον ἀσπάζεσθαι, ὅπως τῶν αὐτοῦ ἀγαθῶν στερηθῇ, ἀλλ οὐκ ἐκ παντὸς ζῆν μὲν ἀεὶ τὴν ἐνθάδε βιοτὴν καὶ λανθάνειν τοὺς ἄρχοντας ἐπειρᾶτο, οὐχ ὅτι γε ἑαυτὸν κατήγγελλε φονευθησόμενον; Ἤδη καὶ τοῦτο ἐνήργησαν οἱ φαῦλοι δαίμονες διά τινων πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων πραχθῆναι. Φονεύοντες γὰρ αὐτοί τινας ἐπὶ συκοφαντίᾳ τῇ εἰς ἡμᾶς καὶ εἰς βασάνους εἵλκυσαν οἰκέτας τῶν ἡμετέρων ἢ παῖδας ἢ γύναια, καὶ δι αἰκισμῶν φοβερῶν ἐξαναγκάζουσι κατειπεῖν ταῦτα τὰ μυθολογούμενα,ἃ αὐτοὶ φανερῶς πράττουσιν· ὧν ἐπειδὴ οὐδὲν πρόσεστιν ἡμῖν, οὐ φροντίζομεν, θεὸν τὸν ἀγέννητον καὶ ἄῤῥητον μάρτυρα ἔχοντες τῶν τε λογισμῶν καὶ τῶν πράξεων. Τίνος γὰρ χάριν οὐχὶ καὶ ταῦτα δημοσίᾳ ὡμολογοῦμεν ἀγαθὰ καὶ φιλοσοφίαν θείαν αὐτὰ ἀπεδείκνυμεν, φάσκοντες Κρόνου μὲν μυστήρια τελεῖν ἐν τῷ ἀνδροφονεῖν, καὶ ἐν τῷ αἵματος ἐμπίπλασθαι, ὡς λέγεται, τὰ ἴσα τῷ παρ ὑμῖν τιμωμένῳ εἰδώλῳ, ᾧ οὐ μόνον ἀλόγων ζώων αἵματα προσραίνεται ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνθρώπεια, διὰ τοῦ παρ ὑμῖν ἐπισημοτάτου καὶ εὐγενεστάτου ἀνδρὸς τὴν πρόσχυσιν τοῦ τῶν φονευθέντων αἵματος ποιούμενοι, Διὸς δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν μιμηταὶ γενόμενοι ἐν τῷ ἀνδροβατεῖν καὶ γυναιξὶν ἀδεῶς μίγνυσθαι, Ἐπικούρου μὲν καὶ τὰ τῶν ποιητῶν συγγράμματα ἀπολογίαν φέροντες; Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ταῦτα τὰ μαθήματα καὶ τοὺς ταῦτα πράξαντας καὶ μιμουμένους φεύγειν πείθομεν, ὡς καὶ νῦν διὰ τῶνδε τῶν λόγων ἠγωνίσμεθα, ποικίλως πολεμούμεθα· ἀλλ οὐ φροντίζομεν, ἐπεὶ θεὸν τῶν πάντων ἐπόπτην δίκαιον οἴδαμεν. Εἴθε καὶ νῦν τις ἂν τραγικῇ φωνῇ ἀνεβόησεν ἐπί τι βῆμα ὑψηλὸν ἀναβάς· Αἰδέσθητε, αἰδέσθητεἃ φανερᾶς πράττετε εἰς ἀναιτίους ἀναφέροντες, καὶ τὰ προσόντα καὶ ἑαυτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὑμετέροις θεοῖς περιβάλλοντες τούτοις ὧν οὐδὲν οὐδ ἐπὶ ποσὸν μετουσία ἐστί. Μετάθεσθε, σωφρονίσθητε
因為我自己從前喜愛柏拉圖的教訓，聽見基督徒受誹謗，卻看見他們面對死亡與其餘一切被視為可怕之事都毫無懼怕，便思想他們絕不可能活在惡行與貪愛宴樂之中。因為甚麼貪愛宴樂的、放縱情慾的、或以吃人肉為美之人，肯歡迎死亡以致被奪去自己的好處，而不是千方百計總要常活在今生、躲避官長的耳目，更不用說自首為當被處死之人呢？這事如今鬼魔也已藉著某些邪惡之人促成。因為他們殺害了一些人，又將我們家中的僕婢、或兒童、或軟弱的婦人拉去受刑，藉著可怕的酷刑強逼他們招認那些被當作神話傳述、卻是他們自己公然所行的事;這些事既與我們無分，我們便不掛慮，因有那非受生、不可言喻的神作我們意念與行為的見證。因為我們為何不也公然承認這些事為善、並證明這些事乃是神聖的哲學，說我們在殺人之事上行克羅諾斯的奧祕禮、在如所傳說那樣以血為滿足之事上，行那等同你們中間所尊崇之偶像的事呢？——在那偶像上不但灑無理性之獸的血，也灑人血，且那被殺之人血的傾倒，乃是由你們中間最顯赫、最高貴的人所行的——又說我們效法宙斯與其餘眾神，行男色、無懼地與婦女苟合，並以伊壁鳩魯和詩人的著作作我們的辯解呢？但因我們勸人躲避這些教訓、並躲避那些行這些事、效法這些事的人，正如我們如今藉這些言論所力爭的，我們便受到各樣的攻擊;但我們不掛慮，因我們認識神，就是那公義鑒察萬有的主。但願如今有人登上某高臺，以悲劇般的聲音呼喊：「你們當羞愧，當羞愧!你們將自己公然所行之事歸在無辜之人身上，又把那些屬於你們自己、屬於你們眾神的事，加在這些絲毫與這些事無分的人身上!你們當回轉，當變得貞潔!」
For I myself, when I delighted in the teachings of Plato, and heard the Christians slandered, but saw them fearless in the face of death and of all the other things reckoned fearful, considered it impossible that they could be living in vice and love of pleasure. For what lover of pleasure, or intemperate man, or one who regards the eating of human flesh as good, could welcome death so as to be deprived of his good things, instead of trying by every means always to live the present life and to escape the notice of the rulers, let alone to denounce himself as one to be put to death? And the wicked demons have already brought it about that this too should be done by certain wicked men. For having murdered some, they dragged to torture our household servants, or children, or weak women, and by dreadful torments compel them to declare those tales told as myths, which they themselves openly practice; of which, since none of them belongs to us, we are unconcerned, having God the unbegotten and ineffable as witness both of our thoughts and of our deeds. For why did we not also publicly confess these things to be good and demonstrate them to be divine philosophy, saying that we celebrate the mysteries of Kronos in slaying men, and that in being filled with blood, as it is said, we do the very things equal to the idol honored among you—on which not only the blood of irrational animals is sprinkled, but also human blood, the pouring out of the blood of those slain being performed by the most distinguished and noble man among you—and that, becoming imitators of Zeus and the other gods in pederasty and in fearlessly consorting with women, we offer as our defense the writings of Epicurus and the poets? But since we persuade men to flee these teachings and those who did and imitated such things, as also now by these words we have striven, we are warred against in various ways; but we are unconcerned, since we know God, the righteous overseer of all things. Would that even now someone would cry out with a tragic voice, mounting some high tribunal: "Be ashamed, be ashamed, you who attribute to the guiltless the things you openly do, and who clothe these men, in whom none of these things has any part even in the smallest degree, with the things that belong to yourselves and to your gods! Change, become chaste!"