Athenagoras, Plea for the Christians 11

If I expound our account in detail, do not be astonished. I speak precisely so that you will not be carried away by common, irrational opinion but may know the truth. Since the doctrines we follow are not human but divine and God-taught, we can persuade you that we are not atheists. What, then, are the teachings that nourish us? I tell you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become sons of your Father in heaven, who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:44-45). Let the word that was shouted aloud be brought forward here with boldness, as though defending our case before philosopher-kings. Who are the philosophers — those who analyze syllogisms, resolve ambiguities, clarify etymologies, discuss homonyms, synonyms, categories, axioms, subjects, and predicates, and promise to make their followers happy through such words? Are their souls so purified that, instead of hating enemies, they love them; instead of merely speaking evil against those who insult them, they bless them; and they pray for those who plot against their lives? On the contrary, they persist in doing evil, internalizing these unspoken principles, always desiring to commit some evil, having turned philosophy into a skill of words rather than a display of deeds. Among us, however, you would find laypeople, craftsmen, and old women who, though unable to articulate the benefit in words, demonstrate the benefit that comes from the Word through their actions, showing the benefit of deliberate choice. They do not recite words but display good deeds: when struck, they do not strike back; when robbed, they do not go to court; they give to those who ask and love their neighbors as themselves.