Lactantius — Divine Institutes 4.22
Those things are confirmed, I think, which are thought false and incredible by those whom the true teaching of the heavenly letters has not imbued. But so that we may also refute those who are too wise--not without harm to themselves--and pull faith away from divine things, let us convict their error by their arguments too, so that at last they may see that it had to happen as we have shown it did. And although among good judges either testimonies without arguments or arguments without testimonies have enough firmness, we are not content with either alone, since both are at hand for us, lest we leave any room to a perversely clever person either for not understanding or for arguing the other way.
They deny that anything could fall away from an immortal nature; they deny it was worthy of God to will to become human and load himself with flesh's weakness, so as to subject himself to passions, pain, and death--as if he could not without the body's frailty show himself to humans and teach justice with greater authority as a confessed God. Why then, they say, did he not come as God to teach? Why make himself so humble and weak that humans could despise and punish him? Why suffer force from the weak and mortal? Why not drive back their hands by power or avoid them by divinity? Why not open his majesty at least under death itself, instead of being led to judgment as feeble, condemned as guilty, killed as mortal? I will refute these carefully. Those things were done by a great and wondrous reason: whoever has grasped it will not only cease to marvel that God was tortured by humans, but will easily see that he could not even have been believed God if the very things they accuse had not been done.
Latin
Confirmata sunt ut opinor quae falsa et incredibilia putantur ab iis quos uera caelestium litterarum doctrina non inbuit. sed tamen ut refellantur a nobis etiam illi qui nimium non sine malo suo sapiunt rebusque diuinis fidem detrahunt, argumentis quoque illorum coarguamus errorem, ut tandem aliquando peruideant ita fieri oportuisse, sicut nos ostendimus factum. et quamquam aput bonos iudices satis habeant firmitatis uel testimonia sine argumentis uel argumenta sine testimoniis, nos tamen non contenti alterutro sumus, cum subpetat nobis utrumque, ne cui peruerse ingenioso aut non intellegendi aut contra disserendi locum relinquamus.
negant fieri potuisse ut naturae inmortali quicquam decederet, negant denique deo dignum ut homo fieri uellet seque infirmitate carnis oneraret, ut passionibus, ut dolori, ut morti se ipse subiceret — quasi non facile illi esset ut citra corporis inbecillitatem se hominibus ostenderet eosque iustitiam doceret, siquidem id uolebat, maiore auctoritate ut professi dei —: tunc enim cunctos fuisse praeceptis caelestibus parituros, si ad ea uirtus ac potestas dei praecipientis accederet. \'cur igitur aiunt \'ad docendos homines non ut deus uenit? cur se tam humilem inbecillumque constituit, ut ab hominibus et contemni et poena adfici posset? cur uim ab inbecillis et mortalibus passus est? cur non manus hominum aut uirtute reppulit aut diuinitate uitauit? cur non maiestatem suam sub ipsa saltem morte patefecit, sed ut inualidus in iudicium ductus est, ut nocens damnatus, ut mortalis occisus? \' refutabo haec diligenter nec quemquam patiar errare. illa enim magna et mirabili ratione sunt facta: quam quicumque perceperit, non tantum mirari desinet deum ab hominibus esse cruciatum, uerum etiam facile peruidebit ne deum quidem potuisse credi, si ea ipsa quae arguit facta non essent.