Power from God, not polished words
I have said this in defence of the plain diction of the Scriptures, for which Celsus and others accuse them, a plainness that seems to be eclipsed by the brilliance of artful composition. For our prophets, and Jesus and his apostles, had in view a way of speaking that not only contains the truth but is also able to draw the many, until, encouraged and led in, each according to his capacity rises to the things spoken in hidden ways in words that seem plain.
And if I must make bold to say it, the very beautiful and studied diction of Plato and of those who wrote in a similar way has benefited few, if it has benefited anyone at all; but the diction of those who taught and wrote more plainly, and at the same time with an eye to the substance and to the many, has benefited more. At any rate, one can see that Plato is in the hands only of those who are thought to be lovers of letters, while Epictetus is admired even by ordinary people who have an inclination toward being helped, since they sense the improvement that comes from his words.
And we say this not to find fault with Plato (for the great world of humankind has usefully produced him too), but also to show the meaning of those who said: “My word and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that our faith might not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4–5). The divine word says that what is spoken, even if it is true in itself and most persuasive, is not enough to reach a human soul unless some power is also given from God to the speaker and grace blooms upon what is said; and this grace too does not come without God to those who speak to good effect. So the prophet says in the sixty-seventh Psalm (Psalm 68 in English Bibles): “The Lord will give a word to those who bring good news with great power” (Psalm 68:11).
So, granting that in some cases the same doctrines are held by the Greeks and by those of our teaching, they still do not have the same power to win souls and to shape them according to those doctrines. That is why the disciples of Jesus, unlearned as far as Greek philosophy is concerned, travelled through many nations of the world, shaping each of their hearers according to his worth, as the Word willed; and these hearers, in proportion to the inclination of their free will toward accepting the good, became much better.
Greek
Ταῦτα δέ μοι λέλεκται ἀπολογουμένῳ περὶ τῆς κατηγορουμένης ὑπὸ Κέλσου καὶ ἑτέρων ἐν λέξεσιν εὐτελείας τῶν γραφῶν, ἀμαυροῦσθαι δοκούσης ὑπὸ τῆς ἐν συνθέσει λέξεως λαμπρότητος· ἐπεὶ οἱ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς προφῆται Ἰησοῦς τε καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι αὐτοῦ ἐνεῖδον τρόπῳ ἀπαγγελίας, οὐ τὰ ἀληθῆ μόνον περιεχούσης ἀλλὰ καὶ δυναμένης ἐπαγαγέσθαι τοὺς πολλοὺς, ἕως προτραπέντες καὶ εἰσαχθέντες ἕκαστος κατὰ δύναμιν ἀναβῶσιν ἐπὶ τὰ ἐν ταῖς δοκούσαις εἶναι εὐτελέσι λέξεσιν ἀποῤῥήτως εἰρημένα. καὶ εἰ χρή γε τολμήσαντα εἰπεῖν, ὀλίγους μὲν ὤνησεν, εἴ γε ὤνησεν, ἡ περικαλλὴς καὶ ἐπιτετηδευμένη Πλάτωνος καὶ τῶν παραπλησίως φρασάντων λέξις· πλείονας δὲ ἡ τῶν εὐτελέστερον ἅμα καὶ πραγματικῶς καὶ ἐστοχασμένως τῶν πολλῶν διδαξάντων καὶ γραψάντων. ἔστι γοῦν ἰδεῖν τὸν μὲν Πλάτωνα ἐν χερσὶ τῶν δοκούντων εἶναι φιλολόγων μόνον, τὸν δὲ Ἐπίκτητον καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν τυχόντων καὶ ῥοπὴν πρὸς τὸ ὠφελεῖσθαι ἐχόντων θαυμαζόμενον, αἰσθομένων τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων αὐτοῦ βελτιώσεως. καὶ ταῦτά γε οὐκ ἐγκαλοῦντες Πλάτωνί φαμεν (ὁ γὰρ πολὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων κόσμος χρησίμως καὶ τοῦτον ἤνεγκεν) ἀλλὰ καὶ δεικνύντες τὸ βούλημα τῶν εἰπόντων τό· „καὶ ὁ λόγος μου καὶ τὸ κήρυγμά μου οὐκ ἐν πειθοῖς σοφίας λόγοις ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ἀποδείξει πνεύματος καὶ δυνάμεως, ἵν᾿ ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν μὴ ᾖ ἐν σοφίᾳ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλ᾿ ἐν δυνάμει θεοῦ.“ φησὶ δ᾿ ὁ θεῖος λόγος οὐκ αὔταρκες εἶναι τὸ λεγόμενον, κἂν καθ᾿ αὐτὸ ἀληθὲς καὶ πιστικώτατον ᾖ, πρὸς τὸ καθικέσθαι ἀνθρωπίνης ψυχῆς, ἐὰν μὴ καὶ δύναμίς τις θεόθεν δοθῇ τῷ λέγοντι καὶ χάρις ἐπανθήσῃ τοῖς λεγομένοις, καὶ αὕτη οὐκ ἀθεεὶ ἐγγινομένη τοῖς ἀνυσίμως λέγουσι. φησὶ γοῦν ὁ προφήτης ἐν ἑξηκοστῷ καὶ ἑβδόμῳ ψαλμῷ ὅτι „κύριος δώσει ῥῆμα τοῖς εὐαγγελιζομένοις δυνάμει πολλῇ.“ ἵν᾿ οὖν ἐπί τινων δοθῇ τὰ αὐτὰ δόγματα εἶναι Ἕλλησι καὶ τοῖς ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου ἡμῶν, ἀλλ᾿ οὔτι γε καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ δύναται πρὸς τὸ ὑπαγαγέσθαι καὶ διαθεῖναι ψυχὰς κατὰ ταῦτα. διόπερ οἱ ἰδιῶται ὡς πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν Ἑλληνικὴν μαθηταὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐκπεριῆλθον πολλὰ ἔθνη τῆς οἰκουμένης, διατιθέντες, ὡς ὁ λόγος ἐβούλετο, κατ᾿ ἀξίαν ἕκαστον τῶν ἀκουόντων· (οἳ) καὶ ἀνάλογον τῇ ῥοπῇ τοῦ αὐτεξουσίου αὐτῶν πρὸς ἀποδοχὴν τοῦ καλοῦ πολλῷ βελτίους ἐγένοντο.