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Ὑμεῖς δὲ τούτων οὐκ ἔχοντες τὴν κατάληψιν παρ ἡμῶν τῶν εἰδότων ἐκπαιδεύεσθε, λέγοντες θανάτου καταφρονεῖν καὶ τὴν αὐτάρκειαν ἀσκεῖν. Οἱ γὰρ παρ ὑμῖν φιλόσοφοι τοσοῦτον ἀποδέουσι τῆς ἀσκήσεως, ὥστε παρὰ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων βασιλέως ἐτησίους χρυσοῦς ἑξακοσίους λαμβάνειν τινὰς εἰς οὐδὲν χρήσιμον, ὅπως μηδὲ τὸ γένειον δωρεὰν καθειμένον αὐτῶν ἔχωσι. Κρίσκης οὖν, ὁ ἐννεοττεύσας τῇ μεγάλῃ πόλει, παιδεραστίᾳ μὲν πάντας ὑπερήνεγκεν, φιλαργυρίᾳ δὲ πάνυ προσεχὴς ἦν. Θανάτου δὲ ὁ καταφρονῶν οὕτως αὐτὸν ἐδεδίει τὸν θάνατον, ὡς καὶ Ἰουστῖνον, καθάπερ καὶ ἐμέ, ὡς κακῷ τῷ θανάτῳ περιβαλεῖν πραγματεύσασθαι, διότι κηρύττων την ἀλήθειαν λίχνους καὶ ἀπατεῶνας τοὺς φιλοσόφους συνήλεγχεν. Τίνας δὲ ἂν καὶ διῶξαι τῶν φιλοσόφων εἰ μὴ μόνους ὑμᾶς εἴωθεν; Εἴ φατε μὴ δεῖν δεδιέναι τὸν θάνατον, κοινωνοῦντες ἡμῶν τοῖς δόγμασι, μὴ διὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην δοξομανίαν, ὡς Ἀνάξαρχος, ἀποθνήσκετε, χάριν δὲ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ γνώσεως τοῦ θανάτου καταφρονηταὶ γένεσθε. Κόσμου μὲν γὰρ ἡ κατασκευὴ καλή, τὸ δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ πολίτευμα φαῦλον· καὶ καθάπερ ἐν πανηγύρει θεατροκοπουμένους ἔνεστιν ἰδεῖν τοὺς οὐκ εἰδότας τὸν θεόν. Τί γὰρ ἐστι μαντική; Τί δὲ ὑπ αὐτῆς πεπλάνησθε; Τῶν ἐν κόσμῳ πλεονεξιῶν ἐστί σοι διάκονος. Πολεμεῖν θέλεις, καὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλω σύμβουλον τῶν φόνων λαμβάνεις. Κόρην ἁρπάσαι θέλεις, καὶ τὸ δαιμόνιόν σοι συναγωνίσασθαι προαιρῇ. Νοσεῖς διὰ σεαυτόν, καί, ὥσπερ Ἀγαμέμνων δέκα συμφράδμονας, εἶναι θέλεις μετὰ σεαυτοῦ θεούς. Πιοῦσά τις ὕδωρ μαίνεται, καὶ διὰ λιβάνων ἔκφρων γίνεται, καὶ σὺ τὴν τοιαύτην μαντεύεσθαι λέγεις. Προγνώστης ὑπῆρχεν ὁ Ἀπόλλων καὶ τῶν μαντευομένων διδάσκαλος· ἐπὶ τῆς Δάφνης ἑαυτὸν ἐψεύσατο. Δρῦς εἰπέ μοι μαντεύεται καὶ πάλιν ὄρνιθες προαγορεύουσι, σὺ δὲ τῶν ζώων καὶ φυτῶν ἐλάττων ὑπάρχεις; Καλὸν ἄρα σοι γενέσθαι ξύλῳ μαντικῷ καὶ τῶν ἀεροφοίτων τὴν κτῆσιν λαμβάνειν.Ὁ ποιῶν σε φιλάργυρον οὗτος καὶ περὶ τοῦ πλουτεῖν σοι μαντεύεται· στάσεις καὶ μάχας ὁ ἐγείρων καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐν πολέμῳ νίκης προαγορεύει. Τῶν παθῶν ἂν ὑπάρχῃς ἀνώτερος, τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ πάντων καταφρονήσεις. Τοιούτους ἡμᾶς ὄντας μὴ ἀποστυγήσητε, ἀλλὰ παραιτησάμενοι τοὺς δαίμονας θεῷ τῷ μόνῳ κατακολουθήσατε. Πάντα ὑπ αὐτοῦ καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ γέγονεν οὐδὲ ἕν.Εἰ δέ ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς φυομένοις καὶ δηλητήριον, τοῦτο διὰ τὸ ἐνάμαρτον ἡμῶν ἐπισυμβέβηκεν. Ἔχω δεικνύειν τὴν τούτων εἰκόνα· μόνον ὑμεῖς κατακούσατε, καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπιγνώσεται
但你們既缺乏對這些事的領會，便受教於我們這知曉的人，而你們卻口稱藐視死亡、操練自足。其實你們的哲學家離自律何其遠，竟有人每年從羅馬皇帝那裡領取六百枚金幣，卻無一點益處，不過是叫他們的鬍鬚不至於白白垂著罷了。那在大城裡築巢的克瑞斯肯斯，論孌童之事勝過眾人，論貪財也極其熱衷。這個自稱藐視死亡的人，卻如此懼怕死亡，竟設法把游斯丁——也照樣把我——置於死地，當作禍患加害，只因游斯丁傳揚真理，揭穿了哲學家們是貪饕與騙子。在眾哲學家中，除了你們，他還慣於逼迫誰呢？你們若說人不該懼怕死亡，那就與我們同持這道，不要像阿那克薩爾科斯那樣為著屬人的虛名而死，倒要為著對神的認識成為藐視死亡的人。原來世界的構造是美的，其中的生活方式卻是卑劣的；正如在節慶中，人可看見那些不認識神的人在戲院裡博取喝采。占卜是什麼？你們為何被它迷惑？它不過是你們在世上種種貪慾的差役。你想開戰，便拿阿波羅作謀殺的參謀。你想擄掠少女，便揀選那鬼魔與你並肩作戰。你因自己的緣故患病，又像阿伽門農想要十個謀士一般，想要諸神與你同在。有婦人喝了水便發狂，藉乳香變得癲狂，你卻說這樣的婦人在說預言。阿波羅本是預言者、占卜師之師；論到達芙妮，他卻自欺。請告訴我，橡樹竟說預言，飛鳥又作預告——難道你竟比禽獸草木還不如嗎？這樣，你倒不如成為一根占卜的木頭，去取得那空中飛鳥的本領罷！那叫你貪財的，正是這同一者向你預言發財之事；那挑起紛爭與爭戰的，也向你預告戰場上的勝利。你若勝過諸般情慾，便要藐視世上的一切。我們既是這樣的人，你們不要厭惡我們，倒要摒棄鬼魔，跟隨那獨一的神。萬有是藉著祂造的；凡被造的，沒有一樣不是藉著祂造的。生長之物中若有毒，這是因我們的罪而臨到我們的。我能指出這些事的真相；你們只管聽我，信的人便要認明。
But you, not having the apprehension of these things, are instructed by us who know them, while you say that you despise death and practice self-sufficiency. For your philosophers are so far from self-discipline that some of them receive from the Roman emperor six hundred gold pieces annually for nothing useful, so that they may not even have their beard hanging down for free. Crescens, then, who nested himself in the great city, surpassed all in pederasty, and was exceedingly devoted to avarice. And he who despised death so dreaded death itself that he contrived to involve Justin, just as also myself, in death as in an evil, because, in proclaiming the truth, he convicted the philosophers of being gluttonous and deceivers. And whom among the philosophers is he wont to persecute, save you alone? If you say that one ought not to dread death, then, sharing in our doctrines, do not die for the sake of human vainglory, like Anaxarchus, but for the sake of the knowledge of God become despisers of death. For the structure of the world is fair, but the way of life within it is base; and as at a festival one may see, applauded in the theater, those who do not know God. For what is divination? And why have you been deceived by it? It is a servant to you of the greedy ambitions in the world. You wish to make war, and you take Apollo as counselor of murders. You wish to seize a maiden, and you choose the demon to fight alongside you. You are sick through your own fault, and, like Agamemnon wishing for ten counselors, you wish to have gods with you. A woman, having drunk water, raves, and through incense becomes frenzied, and you say that such a woman prophesies. Apollo was a foreteller and a teacher of diviners; concerning Daphne he deceived himself. The oak, tell me, prophesies, and again the birds give forecasts—and are you inferior to animals and plants? It would be fine indeed for you to become a divining piece of wood and to take on the property of the air-roaming birds! He who makes you avaricious, this same one prophesies to you also about getting rich; he who stirs up factions and battles also forecasts about victory in war. If you are superior to the passions, you will despise all the things in the world. Do not loathe us who are such as this, but, having renounced the demons, follow after the one God. All things came into being through him, and without him not even one thing came into being. And if there is among growing things a poison too, this has befallen us on account of our sin. I can show the image of these things; only listen to me, and the one who believes will recognize it.