A doctrine of barbarian origin
Next he says that the doctrine is barbarian in its origin, meaning, evidently, Judaism, on which Christianity depends. And he is fair enough not to reproach our teaching for having its beginning among barbarians; indeed he praises the barbarians as able to discover doctrines. But he adds that the Greeks are better at judging what the barbarians discovered, at confirming it, and at putting it into practice for the sake of virtue.
From his own words, then, we have this to say in defense of what Christianity holds, which is true: anyone who comes to our teaching from the doctrines and training of the Greeks would not only judge these things to be true, but, having put them into practice, would also prove them, and would supply whatever seems to be lacking by the standard of Greek demonstration, and so establish the truth of Christianity.
We must say further that our teaching has a demonstration of its own, more divine than the Greek demonstration drawn from dialectic. This more divine demonstration the apostle calls a demonstration “of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4): “of the Spirit” because of the prophecies, which are able to bring the reader to faith, above all in what concerns Christ; and “of power” because of the wondrous works of power. That these took place must be shown from many other things, and also from this, that traces of them are still preserved among those who live according to the purpose of our teaching.
Greek
Ἑξῆς βάρβαρόν φησιν ἄνωθεν εἶναι τὸ δόγμα, δηλονότι τὸν ἰουδαϊσμὸν, οὗ χριστιανισμὸς ἤρτηται. καὶ εὐγνωμόνως γε οὐκ ὀνειδίζει ἐπὶ τῇ ἀπὸ βαρβάρων ἀρχῇ τῷ λόγῳ, ἐπαινῶν ὡς ἱκανοὺς εὑρεῖν δόγματα τοὺς βαρβάρους· προστίθησι δὲ τούτοις ὅτι κρῖναι καὶ βεβαιώσασθαι καὶ ἀσκῆσαι πρὸς ἀρετὴν τὰ ὑπὸ βαρβάρων εὑρεθέντα ἀμείνονές εἰσιν Ἕλληνες. τοῦτ᾿ οὖν ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ λεγομένων εἰς ἀπολογίαν περὶ τῶν ἐν χριστιανισμῷ κειμένων, ὄντων ἀληθῶν, ὅτι ἀπὸ Ἑλληνικῶν τις δογμάτων καὶ γυμνασίων ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ τὸν λόγον οὐ μόνον κρίνοι ἂν αὐτὰ ἀληθῆ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀσκήσας κατασκευάσαι ἂν καὶ τὸ δοκοῦν ἐλλιπὲς ὡς πρὸς Ἑλληνικὴν ἀπόδειξιν ἀναπληρώσαι, κατασκευάζων τὴν χριστιανισμοῦ ἀληθότητα. λεκτέον δ᾿ ἔτι πρὸς τοῦτο ὅτι ἔστι τις οἰκεία ἀπόδειξις τοῦ λόγου, θειοτέρα παρὰ τὴν ἀπὸ διαλεκτικῆς Ἑλληνικήν. ταύτην δὲ τὴν θειοτέραν ὁ ἀπόστολος ὀνομάζει ἀπόδειξιν „πνεύματος καὶ δυνάμεως.“ [ὡς] „πνεύματος“ μὲν διὰ τὰς προφητείας ἱκανὰς πιστοποιῆσαι τὸν ἐντυγχάνοντα μάλιστα εἰς τὰ περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, „δυνάμεως“ δὲ διὰ τὰς τεραστίους δυνάμεις, ἃς κατασκευαστέον γεγονέναι καὶ ἐκ πολλῶν μὲν ἄλλων καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἴχνη δὲ αὐτῶν ἔτι σῴζεσθαι παρὰ τοῖς κατὰ τὸ βούλημα τοῦ λόγου βιοῦσι.