22. But the Son of God, who is called Jesus, even if only Heathen
Sons of Gods have died in Heathen Tradition.
rr^ke the chief and father of all, was both a parricide and Apol. the son of a parricide; and when overcome by the lust of^^^^^ base and shameful pleasures, he descended upon Ganyinede, and the many women whom he debauched, and that his sons committed the like actions.
But, as I said before, the evil demons have done these things.
We, however, have been taught, that they only will attain to immortality, who v ^r lead holy and virtuous lives like God ; and we believe, that ^^ all who live wickedly, and do not repent, will be punished in eternal fire.
22. But the Son of God, who is called Jesus, even if only Heathen and merely man, is worthy for His wisdom of being called J[ons"of the Son of God : for all your writers term God, the Father "^"^ o^ both of men and of gods ; and if we affirm that the Word, djdng, Who is of God, was begotten of God even in a peculiar ^^* manner, and beyond the ordinary generation ; as I have already said, let this be common* to you who affirm Hermes' Koiuov to be the messenger-word from God ; and should any object that Christ was crucified, I maintain that this was also common, according to you, to the forementioned sons of Jupiter, who underwent suffering.
In their case, indeed, the sufferings of death are not recorded to have been similar, but different.
So that He appears not to be behind them even in His peculiar manner of suffering
; nay I will prove, as I have undertaken to do in the previous part of my defence, that He was even their superior in this respect, or rather as I have already done ; for He Who is the superior shews it by His actions.
But if we affirm that He was born of a Virgin, you also may take this as held in common of Perseus ; and when we declare that He made the lame, paralytic, and blind "^ from their birth, whole, and that He raised the dead to life, even the like actions to those which are said to have been done by ^sculapius, may we be thought to assert of Him.
2S. And that this also may be made plain to you. Three that whatever things we assert, having learnt them from tc, be Christ, and the Prophets who preceded Him, are alone proved.
^ Blind.
The original reading is in the Dialogue, §. G9. and in §. 60. of nov7]povs, the evil; hut it is plain, as this Apology; in the former of which the Benedictine says, that we should passages it must evidently be taken, as fubstitnte nr)povs, which is also found he observes, to mean blind.
Heathen religions contradict each other.
Just, true, and more ancient than all writers ; and that not Mart. because we say the same as they, we claim to be believed, but because we state the truth ; and that Jesus Christ alone is properly the Son of God, as being His Word, and First-begotten, and Power, and that being made man by His will, He taught us these doctrines for the renewal and restoration of mankind"; and (lastly) that before He was born as a man among men, some,—I allude ° to those evil spirits of whom I have already made mention,—by the instrumentality of the poets spoke, in anticipation, of these things which they described in the fables that they constructed, as already accomplished, in the same manner as they did also those infamous and impious actions which are alleged against us, and of which they have neither witness nor proof; I shall produce the following arguments.
Chris24. But I must observe, in the first place, that while we alone say things of like sort as do the Greeks, we only are hated persef^j. ^q name of Christ ; and when doinff no ill, are put to CQtedfor .
, ^ . religion. death as criminals; whilst other men, in other places, worship trees and rivers, mice, cats, crocodiles, and almost all other irrational animals; nor are the same objects held in reverence by all, but diiferent nations worship different things, so that all are godless in the eyes of one another, because they worship not the same things ; which is all you have to accuse us of, namely, that we do not worship the same gods as yourselves ; nor offer to the dead libations, and fat, and coronals for their statues p, and sacrifices ; for the n Mankintl.
" St. .Justin here un- " Some, in anticipation by means of dertakes to prove three things.
First, those already spoken of as evil demons, that Christian doctrines alone are true, spoke, through the poets, of these (which follows well on what he had things as already accomplished ;" but said before, of their great resemblance the Benedictine asks, who are they to some of those which are held by that were moved by these devils to the poets and philosophers) ; secondly, feign these things through the poets? that the Son of God was incarnate; and he proposes to give a meaning to thirdly, that demons, by means of the the passage, by the simple alteration of fictions of the poets, before His IncarSm tovs Trf)oeip7)iJ.€vovs kolkovs hai[x6vas, nation, turned many aside from beto Xi'yco 5e tovs k.t.X. a correction Jieving in that mystery.
In support which we have followed in the text, of which he shews in §. 2i. that it is P -ypdcpais.
Among other proposed Christians alone who defend the truth: alterations of this word, Thirlby would in §. 30. that the Son of God was change it to rdtpois; but the Beneincarnate: and in §. 53. that the fables dictine proves that no emendation is of the poets were invented by the fraud required, as ypd(pais is used for statues, of devils, to the detriment of the human as well as pictures. He cites Himerius race."
Bened. note. ap. Photium, cod. 243. p. 1127.
Basil.
« The exact rendering is as follows de Bapt. c. ii.
§. 23. and Greg. Naz.