Athenagoras, Plea for the Christians 24
Why should I recount every argument, cite poets, or debate rival opinions when so much can be said directly? If even poets and philosophers acknowledged one God, yet some regarded these beings as demons, others as matter, and still others as men who came into existence, we would rightly be blamed for using a divisive discourse about God, matter, and the very substance of these things. We proclaim God, His Son the Word, and the Holy Spirit, united in power — Father, Son, and Spirit — because the Son is the Mind, Word, and Wisdom of the Father, and the Spirit flows forth like light from fire. We also recognize other powers that rule over matter and through it. One of them is the anti-God, not because it contradicts God's nature — as strife opposes friendship in Empedocles, or night opposes day in appearance — for if anything truly opposed God, it would cease to exist, dissolved by God's power and the strength of His constitution. Rather, it opposes the good of God, which belongs to Him accidentally and coexists with Him like color to a body, without which the body cannot exist — not as a part, but as a necessary concomitant, united and blended, as yellowness belongs to fire and blueness to ether. The spirit that governs matter stands opposed to this good; it was created by God, just as the other angels were, and was entrusted with administration over matter and its forms. This is the angels' constitution: created by God with forethought for the things He adorned, so that God holds the complete and general providence over all, while the angels appointed over them exercise particular providence. The same arrangement holds for human beings, who possess free will, virtue, and wickedness — for you would not honor the good or punish the wicked unless both virtue and wickedness lay in their power; some are found diligent in what they believe, others unbelieving. Among the angels, some, created free by God, remained in the state and order He established, while others rebelled against both the substance and the rule — this one, the ruler of matter and the forms within it, and others over the first firmament (know that we speak not without witness, but what was uttered to the prophets to declare). Those angels fell into desire for virgins and proved weaker than flesh; this one became neglectful and wicked in the administration entrusted to him. From those who had relations with virgins were born the so-called giants. If poets have spoken partially about the giants, do not be surprised; worldly wisdom and theological wisdom differ and conflict as far as truth diverges from the persuasive — the one heavenly, the other earthly. And according to the ruler of matter, many falsehoods are spoken that resemble truths.
Greek
Τί δαὶ δεῖ πρὸς ὑμᾶς πάντα λόγον κεκινηκότας ἢ ποιητῶν μνημονεύειν ἢ καὶ ἑτέρας δόξας ἐξετάζειν, τοσοῦτον εἰπεῖν ἔχοντι· Εἰ μὴ καὶ ποιηταὶ καὶ φιλόσοφοι ἕνα μὲν εἶναι ἐπεγίνωσκον θεόν, περὶ δὲ τούτων οἱ μὲν ὡς περὶ δαιμόνων, οἱ δὲ ὡς περὶ ὕλης, οἱ δὲ ὡς περὶ ἀνθρώπων γενομένων ἐφρόνουν, ἡμεῖς γε ἂν εἰκότως ἐξενηλατούμεθα, διαιρετικῷ λόγῳ καὶ περὶ θεοῦ καὶ ὕλης καὶ περὶ τῆς τούτων αὐτῶν οὐσίας κεχρημένοι; Ὡς γὰρ θεόν φαμεν καὶ υἱὸν τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ καὶ πνεῦμα ἅγιον, ἑνούμενα μὲν κατὰ δύναμιν τὸν πατέρα τὸν υἱὸν τὸ πνεῦμα, ὅτι νοῦς λόγος σοφία ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ πατρός, καὶ ἀπόῤῥοια ὡς φῶς ἀπὸ πυρὸς τὸ πνεῦμα, οὕτως καὶ ἑτέρας εἶναι δυνάμεις κατειλήμμεθα περὶ τὴν ὕλην ἀρχούσας καὶ δι᾿ αὐτῆς, μίαν μὲν τὴν ἀντίθεον, οὐχ ὅτι ἀντιδοξοῦν τί ἐστι τῷ θεῷ, ὡς τῇ φιλίᾳ τὸ νεῖκος κατὰ τὸν Ἐμπεδοκλέα καὶ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ νὺξ κατὰ τὰ φαινόμενα (ἐπεὶ κἂν εἰ ἀνθειστήκει τι τῷ θεῷ ἐπαύσατο τοῦ εἶναι, λυθείσης αὐτοῦ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμει καὶ ἰσχύϊ τῆς συστάσεως), ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι τῷ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀγαθῷ, ὃ κατὰ συμβεβηκός ἐστιν αὐτῷ καὶ συνυπάρχον, ὡς χρόα σώματι, οὗ ἄνευ οὐκ ἔστιν (οὐχ ὡς μέρους ὄντος, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς κατ᾿ ἀνάγκην συνόντος παρακολουθήματος, ἡνωμένου καὶ συγκεχρωσμένου, ὡς τῷ πυρὶ ξανθῷ εἶναι καὶ τῷ αἰθέρι κυανῷ), ἐναντίον ἐστὶ τὸ περὶ τὴν ὕλην ἔχον πνεῦμα, γενόμενον μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, καθὸ οἱ λοιποὶ ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ γεγόνασιν ἄγγελοι, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ ὕλῃ καὶ τοῖς τῆς ὕλης εἴδεσι πιστευσάμενον διοίκησιν. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ τῶν ἀγγέλων σύστασις, τῷ θεῷ ἐπὶ προνοίᾳ γεγονέναι τοῖς ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ διακεκοσμημένοις, ἵνα τὴν μὲν παντελικὴν καὶ γενικὴν ὁ θεὸς ἔχῃ τῶν ὅλων πρόνοιαν, τὴν δὲ ἐπὶ μέρους οἱ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ταχθέντες ἄγγελοι. Ὡς δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, αὐθαίρετον καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ τὴν κακίαν ἐχόντων (ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἂν οὔτ᾿ ἐτιμᾶτε τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς οὔτ᾿ ἐκολάζετε τοὺς πονηρούς, εἰ μὴ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ἦν καὶ ἡ κακία καὶ ἡ ἀρετή· καὶ οἱ μὲν σπουδαῖοι περὶ ἃ πιστεύονται ὑφ᾿ ὑμῶν, οἱ δὲ ἄπιστοι εὑρίσκονται), καὶ τὸ κατὰ τοὺς ἀγγέλους ἐν ὁμοίῳ καθέστηκεν. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλοι, αὐθαίρετοι δὴ οἷοι γεγόνασιν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἔμειναν ἐφ᾿ οἷς αὐτοὺς ἐποίησεν καὶ διέταξεν ὁ θεός, οἱ δὲ ἐνύβρισαν καὶ τῇ τῆς οὐσίας ὑποστάσει καὶ τῇ ἀρχῇ, οὗτός τε ὁ τῆς ὕλης καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ εἰδῶν ἄρχων καὶ ἕτεροι τῶν περὶ τὸ πρῶτον τοῦτο στερέωμα, (ἴστε δὲ μηδὲν ἡμᾶς ἀμάρτυρον λέγειν, ἃ δὲ τοῖς προφήταις ἐκπεφώνηται μηνύειν) ἐκεῖνοι μὲν εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν πεσόντες παρθένων καὶ ἥττους σαρκὸς εὑρεθέντες, οὗτος δὲ ἀμελήσας καὶ πονηρὸς περὶ τὴν τῶν πεπιστευμένων γενόμενος διοίκησιν.Ἐκ μὲν οὖν τῶν περὶ τὰς παρθένους ἐχόντων οἱ καλούμενοι ἐγεννήθησαν γίγαντες. Εἰ δέ τις ἐκ μέρους εἴρηται περὶ τῶν γιγάντων καὶ ποιηταῖς λόγος, μὴ θαυμάσητε, τῆς κοσμικῆς σοφίας καὶ θεολογικῆς ὅσον ἀλήθεια πιθανοῦ διαφέρει διαλλαττουσῶν, καὶ τῆς μὲν οὔσης ἐπουρανίου, τῆς δὲ ἐπιγείου· καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ὕλης Ἴσμεν ψεύδεα πολλὰ λέγειν ἐτύμοισιν ὁμοῖα.