1 Τραϊανοῦ
δὲ
ἐφ’
ὅλοις
ἔτεσιν
εἴκοσι
τὴν
ἀρχὴν
μησὶν
ἕξ
δέουσι
κρατήσαντος,
Αἴλιος
Ἁδριανὸς
διαδέχεται
τὴν
ἡγεμονίαν.
τούτῳ Κοδρᾶτος λόγον προσφωνήσας ἀναδίδωσιν, ἀπολογίαν συντάξας ὑπὲρ τῆς καθ’ ἡμᾶς θεοσεβείας, ὅτι δή τινες πονηροὶ ἄνδρες τοὺς ἡμετέρους ἐνοχλεῖν ἐπειρῶντο. εἰς ἔτι δὲ φέρεται παρὰ πλείστοις τῶν ἀδελφῶν, ἀτὰρ καὶ παρ’ ἡμῖν τὸ σύγγραμμα, ἐξ οὗ κατιδεῖν ἔστιν λαμπρὰ τεκμήρια τῆς τε τοῦ ἀνδρὸς διανοίας καὶ τῆς ἀποστολικῆς ὀρθοτομίας. |
When Trajan had reigned for nineteen and a half years, Aelius Hadrianus succeeded to the imperial authority.
To him, Quadratus addressed a treatise, composing an apology for our religion because some evil men were trying to trouble the Christians. It is still extant among many of the brothers, and we ourselves have a copy. From it can be seen the clear proof of his intellect and apostolic orthodoxy. |
2 ὁ
δ’
αὐτὸς
τὴν
καθ’
ἑαυτὸν
ἀρχαιότητα
παραφαίνει,
δι’
ὧν
ἱστορεῖ
ταῦτα
ἰδίαις
φωναῖς·
Τοῦ δὲ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τὰ ἔργα ἀεὶ παρῆν ἀληθῆ γὰρ ἦν, οἱ θεραπευθέντες, οἱ ἀναστάντες ἐκ νεκρῶν, οἳ οὐκ ὤφθησαν μόνον θεραπευόμενοι καὶ ἀνιστάμενοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀεὶ παρόντες, οὐδὲ ἐπιδημοῦντος μόνον τοῦ σωτῆρος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπαλλαγέντος ἦσαν ἐπὶ χρόνον ἱκανόν, ὥστε καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἡμετέρους χρόνους τινὲς αὐτῶν ἀφίκοντο. |
He reveals his early date by what he says in his own words as follows:
“But the works of our Saviour were always present, for they were true; those who were healed and those who rose from the dead were seen not only when they were healed and when they were raised, but also were constantly present, and not only while the Saviour was living, but even after he had gone they were alive for a long time, so that some of them survived to our own time.” |
3 Τοιοῦτος μὲν οὗν οὗτος. καὶ Ἀριστείδης δέ πιστὸς ἀνὴρ τῆς καθ’ ἡμᾶς ὁρμώμενος εὐσεβείας τῷ Κοδράτῳ παραπλησίως ὑπὲρ τῆς πίστεως ἀπολογίαν ἐπιφωνήσας Ἁδριανῷ καταλέλοιπε. σῴζεται δέ γε εἰς δεῦρο παρὰ πλείστοις καὶ ἡ τούτου γραφή. | That is what this is all about. And Aristides believed in the man of ours, who had come to respect for Quadratus, in the name of the faith, and in the faith of Adrian, he concluded. There is no such writing in the second place, but it is also written in the same way. |