Reviled, we bless
Then, so that he may seem to know of others besides those he named, he says, in his usual way, that “some have one teacher and demon and some another, wandering wretchedly and wallowing in deep darkness, more lawless and more foul than the devotees of Antinous in Egypt.” And it seems to me that here, touching on the facts, he has said something true: that some, wandering wretchedly and wallowing in the deep darkness of ignorance, have found themselves one demon as patron, and others another. As for Antinous, who is compared with our Jesus, we have spoken of him before and will not repeat ourselves.
“And these people,” he says, “hurl at one another every dreadful blasphemy, speakable and unspeakable; and they would not give way in the least toward concord, since they utterly loathe one another.” To this too we have already given our answer: in philosophy as well one can find sects at war with sects, and in medicine also.
We, however, who follow the word of Jesus and have trained ourselves to think and speak and act by his words, “when reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat” (1 Corinthians 4:12–13). Nor would we say things speakable and unspeakable against those whose opinions differ from what we hold. Rather, if we can, we would do everything to bring them over to what is better, by their holding fast to the Creator alone and doing everything as people who will be judged. But if those of other opinions are not persuaded, we keep the word that gave such commands about them: “After a first and second admonition, have nothing more to do with a heretic, knowing that such a one is perverted and sins, being self-condemned” (Titus 3:10–11).
Further, those who have understood “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9) and “Blessed are the meek” (Matthew 5:5) would not loathe those who debase the things of Christianity, nor would they call those who have gone astray “Circes” and “wily agitators.”
Greek
Εἶθ᾿ ἵνα δοκῇ καὶ ἄλλους εἰδέναι παρ᾿ οὓς ὠνόμασε, φησὶν ἑαυτῷ συνήθως ὅτι ἄλλοι ἄλλον διδάσκαλόν τε καὶ δαίμονα, κακῶς πλαζόμενοι καὶ καλινδούμενοι κατὰ σκότον πολὺν τῶν Ἀντίνου τοῦ κατ᾿ Αἴγυπτον θιασωτῶν ἀνομώτερόν τε καὶ μιαρώτερον. καὶ δοκεῖ μοι ἐπαφώμενος τῶν πραγμάτων ἀληθές τι εἰρηκέναι, ὅτι τινὲς ἄλλοι ἄλλον δαίμονα κακῶς πλαζόμενοι καὶ καλινδούμενοι εὕραντο προστάτην κατὰ πολὺν τὸν τῆς ἀγνοίας σκότον. περὶ δὲ τῶν κατὰ τὸν Ἀντίνουν, παραβαλλόμενον ἡμῶν τῷ Ἰησοῦ, ἐν τοῖς πρὸ τούτων εἰπόντες οὐ παλιλλογήσομεν. καὶ βλασφημοῦσι δὲ, φησὶν, εἰς ἀλλήλους οὗτοι πάνδεινα ῥητὰ καὶ ἄῤῥητα· καὶ οὐκ ἂν εἴξαιεν οὐδὲ καθ᾿ ὁτιοῦν εἰς ὁμόνοιαν, πάντῃ ἀλλήλους ἀποστυγοῦντες. καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα δ᾿ ἡμῖν εἴρηται ὅτι καὶ ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν αἱρέσεις αἱρέσεσι πολεμούσας καὶ ἐν ἰατρικῇ. οἱ μέντοι τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἀκολουθοῦντες καὶ μεμελετηκότες αὐτοῦ τοὺς λόγους φρονεῖν καὶ λέγειν καὶ ποιεῖν „λοιδορούμενοι εὐλογοῦμεν, διωκόμενοι ἀνεχόμεθα, δυσφημούμενοι παρακαλοῦμεν·“ καὶ οὐκ ἂν ῥητὰ καὶ ἄῤῥητα λέγοιμεν τοὺς ἄλλα δοξάζοντας παρ᾿ ἃ ὑπειλήφαμεν· ἀλλ᾿, εἰ μὲν δυνάμεθα, πάντα ἂν πράττοιμεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ αὐτοὺς μεταστῆσαι ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον διὰ τοῦ προσανέχειν μόνῳ τῷ δημιουργῷ καὶ πάντα πράττειν ὡς κριθησομένους. εἰ δὲ μὴ πείθοιντο οἱ ἑτερόδοξοι, τηροῦμεν τὸν προστάξαντα αὐτοῖς λόγον τοιαῦτα· „αἱρετικὸν ἄνθρωπον μετὰ μίαν καὶ δευτέραν νουθεσίαν παραιτοῦ, εἰδὼς ὅτι ἐξέστραπται ὁ τοιοῦτος καὶ ἁμαρτάνει ὢν αὐτοκατάκριτος.“ ἔτι δὲ (οἱ) τὸ „μακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοὶ“ νοήσαντες καὶ τὸ „μακάριοι οἱ πρᾳεῖς“ οὐκ ἂν ἀποστυγήσαιεν τοὺς παραχαράττοντας τὰ χριστιανισμοῦ οὐδὲ Κίρκας καὶ κύκηθρα αἱμύλα λέγοιεν τοὺς πεπλανημένους.