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Φαρμακεία δὲ καὶ πᾶν τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ εἶδος τῆς αὐτῆς ἐστιν ἐπιτεχνήσεως. Εἰ γάρ τις ὑπὸ τῆς ὕλης θεραπεύεται, πιστεύων αὐτῇ, θεραπευθήσεται μᾶλλον αὐτὸς δυνάμει θεοῦ προσανέχων. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ δηλητήρια συνθέσεις εἰσὶν ὑλικαί, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ τὰ ἰώμενα τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποστάσεως ἐστίν. Εἰ δὲ τὴν φαυλοτέραν ὕλην παραιτούμεθα, πολλάκις καὶ διὰ τῆς ἐφ ἕτερον τῶν κακῶν τινος ἐπιπλοκῆς ἰάσασθαί τινες ἐπιτηδεύουσι, καὶ τοῖς κακοῖς ἂν πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθὸν καταχρήσονται. Καθάπερ δὲ τῷ λῃστεύοντι συνδειπνήσας, κἂν μὴ λῃστὴς αὐτὸς ᾖ, ἀλλ ὅμως διὰ τὸ συνεστιαθῆναι τιμωρίας μεταλαμβάνει, τρόπῳ τῷ αὐτῷ ὁ μὴ κακός, τῷ δὲ φαύλῳ ἀναμιγείς, πρὸς τὸ νομιζόμενον καλὸν συγχρησάμενος, διὰ τὴν εἰς αὐτὸ κοινωνίαν ὑπὸ τοῦ κρίνοντος θεοῦ κολασθήσεται.Διὰ τί γὰρ ὁ πιστεύων ὕλης οἰκονομίᾳ πιστεύειν οὐ βούλεται τῷ θεῷ; Τίνος δὲ χάριν οὐ τῷ δυνατωτέρῳ προσέρχῃ δεσπότῃ, θεραπεύεις δὲ μᾶλλον αὐτὸν ὥσπερ ὁ μὲν κύων διὰ πόας, ὁ δὲ ἔλαφος δι ἐχίδνης, ὁ δὲ σῦς διὰ τῶν ἐν ποταμοῖς καρκίνων, ὁ δὲ λέων διὰ τῶν πιθήκων; Τί δέ μοι θεοποιεῖς τὰ ἐν κόσμῳ; Τί δὲ θεραπεύων τὸν πλησίον εὐεργέτης ἀποκαλῇ; Λόγου δυνάμει κατακολούθησον. Οὐ θεραπεύουσι δαίμονες, τέχνῃ δὲ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους αἰχμαλωτεύουσι· καὶ ὁ θαυμασιώτατος Ἰουστῖνος ὀρθῶς ἐξεφώνησεν ἐοικέναι τοὺς προειρημένους λῃσταῖς. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκείνοις ἔθος ἐστὶ ζωχρεῖν τινας, εἶτα τοὺς αὐτοὺς μισθοῦ τοῖς οἰκείοις ἀποκαθιστᾶν, οὕτω καὶ οἱ νομιζόμενοι θεοὶ τοῖς τινων ἐπιφοιτῶντες μέλεσιν, ἔπειτα δι ὀνείρων τὴν εἰς αὐτοὺς πραγματευόμενοι δόξαν, δημοσίᾳ τε τοὺς τοιούτους προϊέναι κελεύσαντες, πάντων ὁρώντων, ἐπειδὰν τῶν ἐγκοσμίων ἀπολαύσωσιν, ἀποπτάμενοι τῶν καμνόντων, ἣν ἐπραγματεύσαντο νόσον περιγράφοντες, τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον· ἀποκαθιστῶσιν
藥術，連同其中各樣的東西，也是出於同一伎倆。因為人若信靠物質而藉物質得醫治，那麼他若親自仰賴神的能力，豈不更要得醫治嗎？正如毒物是物質的合成，照樣，療藥也是同一本質之物。但我們若摒棄那較卑劣的物質，人卻往往設法在諸惡之間摻入別的惡來治病，如此便要濫用諸惡來圖謀那「好處」。正如與強盜同席之人，即便自己不是強盜，卻仍因與他共筵而有分於刑罰，照樣，那本不惡、卻與卑劣之物混雜、又為那被視為「好」的事去利用它之人，也必因參與其中而被那審判的神懲罰。原來那信靠物質之治理的人，為何不肯信靠神呢？你為何不就近那更有能力的主，反倒去仰賴物質——像狗靠草藥得醫、鹿靠毒蛇、野豬靠河蟹、獅子靠猿猴一般？你為何把世上之物給我奉為神明？你藉醫治鄰舍，為何便被稱為恩人？你當跟隨道的能力。鬼魔並不醫病，乃是用一種技倆擄掠人；那最可欽佩的游斯丁正確地宣稱，前述那些鬼魔好像強盜。因為正如強盜慣於擄走某些人，然後向其親屬索取贖金把人歸還，照樣，那些所謂的神也降在某些人的肢體上，繼而藉夢為自己謀取榮耀，吩咐這等人當眾出來，在眾目睽睽之下，待它們飽享了世上之物，便從受苦者身上飛離，撤去它們所炮製的疾病，使人復原如初。
And pharmacy, with every kind of thing involved in it, is of the same contrivance. For if anyone is healed by matter, trusting in it, he will be healed all the more if he himself attends upon the power of God. For just as poisons are material compounds, in the same way the remedies too are of the same substance. But if we renounce the baser matter, people often endeavor to heal even through the interweaving of something else among the evils, and so they will misuse evils for the good. And just as the man who dines with a robber, even if he is not himself a robber, nevertheless on account of having feasted together with him partakes of punishment, in the same way the man who is not wicked, but who has mingled with the worthless and made use of it for what is reckoned good, will be punished by the judging God on account of his association in it. For why does the man who trusts in the economy of matter not wish to trust in God? And for what reason do you not approach the more powerful Master, but instead attend upon matter—as the dog is healed by an herb, the deer by a viper, the boar by river-crabs, the lion by apes? Why do you deify for me the things in the world? Why, by healing your neighbor, are you called a benefactor? Follow the power of the Logos. The demons do not heal, but by an art take men captive; and the most admirable Justin rightly declared the aforesaid to be like robbers. For just as it is the custom of those to take certain people captive and then to restore the same for a ransom to their relatives, so also the so-called gods, alighting upon the limbs of certain persons, and then through dreams contriving glory for themselves, and commanding such people to come forth publicly, in the sight of all, when they have had their fill of worldly things, fly away from the sufferers, circumscribing the disease they had contrived, and restore men to their former state.