Die Apologie des Aristides

This work is a reconstruction of an early Christian Greek text (the Tale of Barlaam and Josaphat) alongside its Armenian and Syriac translations. Where the texts differ radically, all three are given (the Armenian and Syriac in German translation); where they do not, a reconstructed Greek text is given. In this work, Athenian philosopher Aristides explains to the Emperor why the Christian way of worship is the only philosophically adequate one, in contrast to the barbarian worship of the elements, Greek worship of many gods with all-too-human immoralities, and Jewish worship of the angels. He concludes with praise of Christian virtue and deplores the persecution of Christianity. Included is an appendix of later testimony on Aristides.