Justin Martyr, Second Apology 13

I had learned that wicked demons had draped an evil cloak over the divine teachings of the Christians in order to drive other people away; when these lies about that cloak were spread, I laughed at both the falsehoods and the reputation they enjoyed among the masses.

I confess that I am found to be a Christian, and that I pray and struggle in every way, not because Plato’s teachings are alien to those of Christ, but because they are not entirely alike—just as the teachings of the Stoics, poets, and other writers are not entirely alike either.

Each person, catching sight of what is akin to them from a portion of the divine seed of the Word, spoke well as far as that went; but those who contradicted themselves on the most important matters do not appear to have possessed untainted knowledge and unassailable understanding.

Therefore, whatever has been well said belongs to us Christians; for we worship and love the Word who proceeds from the unbegotten and ineffable God, ranking Him second only to God, since He became human for our sake so that, by becoming a sharer in our sufferings, He might bring about a cure.

All the writers of old were able to perceive reality only dimly, through the innate seed of the Word implanted within them.

For a seed of something and an imitation granted according to capacity are one thing, while the thing itself—from which both participation and imitation derive by grace—is another.