Justin Martyr, On the Resurrection 1
The Word of truth is free and self-determining; it refuses to submit to any torture of examination, nor will it endure the scrutiny that hearers demand through demonstration. Its noble character and confidence in the One who sent it insist on being believed. The Word of truth is sent from God; therefore the freedom that belongs to it is not a burden. Because it is borne with authority, it rightly refuses to have demonstrations of its claims demanded, since no demonstrations exist apart from the truth itself, which is God. Every demonstration is stronger and more trustworthy than the thing it proves; the thing previously disbelieved gains belief only after the demonstration arrives, and then appears exactly as it was described. But nothing is stronger or more trustworthy than the truth, so anyone who demands a demonstration of it is like someone who wants visible things to be proved by words simply because they appear. For matters grasped through the Word, the criterion is the senses; but the senses have no criterion beyond themselves. Just as we track down things hunted through the Word by leading them to the senses and judge whether the statements are true or false, we no longer judge by believing the senses; instead we refer human and worldly words to the truth and judge them by it — whether they are worthless or not — but we do not judge the things of truth by anything else, because we believe in it. The truth is God, the Father of all, who is perfect mind. The Word, having become His Son, came to us wearing flesh, revealing Himself and the Father, and giving us in Himself the resurrection from the dead and the eternal life that follows. This is Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord; He Himself is therefore the faith and the demonstration of Himself and of all things. For this reason, those who follow Him and have known Him, possessing faith in Him as their demonstration, rest in Him. Since the adversary, however, does not cease warring against many, and employs many and various methods for ambush — against believers to lead them away from faith, and against those still unbelieving to keep them from believing — it seems necessary to me that we also, armed with the unshakeable words of faith, should fight against him on behalf of the weak.
Greek
Ὁ μὲν τῆς ἀληθείας λόγος ἐστὶν ἐλεύθερός τε καὶ αὐτεξούσιος, ὑπὸ μηδεμίαν βάσανον ἐλέγχου θέλων πίπτειν μηδὲ τὴν παρὰ τοῖς ἀκούουσι δι' ἀποδείξεως ἐξέτασιν ὑπομένειν. Τὸ γὰρ εὐγενὲς αὐτοῦ καὶ πεποιθὸς αὐτῷ τῷ πέμψαντι πιστεύεσθαι θέλει. Λόγος δὲ ἀληθείας ἀπὸ θεοῦ πέμπεται· διὸ καὶ τὸ ἐλεύθερον τὸ περὶ αὐτὸν οὐ φορτικόν. Κατ' ἐξουσίαν γὰρ φερόμενος εἰκότως οὐδὲ τὰς ἀποδείξεις τῶν λεγομένων ἀπαιτεῖσθαι θέλει, ὅτι μηδέ εἰσιν ἄλλαι παρὲξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ὁ θεός. Πᾶσα γὰρ ἀπόδειξις ἰσχυροτέρα καὶ πιστοτέρα τοῦ ἀποδεικνυμένου τυγχάνει, εἴ γε τὸ πρότερον ἀπιστούμενον, πρὶν ἢ τὴν ἀπόδειξιν ἐλθεῖν, ταύτης κομισθείσης ἔτυχε πίστεως, καὶ τοιοῦτον ἐφάνη ὁποῖον ἐλέγετο. Τῆς δὲ ἀληθείας ἰσχυρότερον οὐδὲν οὐδὲ πιστότερον, ὥστε ὁ περὶ ταύτης ἀπόδειξιν αἰτῶν ὅμοιός ἐστι τῷ τὰ φαινόμενα ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι λόγοις θέλοντι ἀποδείκνυσθαι διότι φαίνεται. Τῶν γὰρ διὰ τοῦ λόγου λαμβανομένων κριτήριόν ἐστιν ἡ αἴσθησις· αὐτῆς δὲ κριτήριον οὐκ ἔστι πλὴν αὐτῆς. Ὥσπερ οὖν τὰ διὰ τοῦ λόγου θηρώμενα, ἀπάγοντες ἐπὶ τὴν αἴσθησιν, ταύτῃ κρίνομεν, ὁποῖά ποτε ὄντα τυγχάνει, εἴτε ἀληθῆ εἴτε καὶ ψευδῆ, τὰ λεγόμενα, οὐκέτι δὲ κρίνομεν πιστεύοντες αὐτῇ, οὕτως τοὺς ἀνθρωπίνους καὶ κοσμικοὺς λόγους ἀναπέμπομεν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ταύτῃ κρίνομεν, εἴτε φαῦλοι εἴτε καὶ μὴ τυγχάνουσιν ὄντες, τοὺς δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐδενὶ κρίνομεν ἑτέρῳ, πιστεύοντες αὐτῇ. Ἔστι δὲ ἀλήθεια ὁ θεός, ὁ πατὴρ τῶν ὅλων, ὅς ἐστι νοῦς τέλειος. Oὗ γενόμενος υἱὸς ὁ λόγος ἦλθεν εἰς ἡμᾶς, σάρκα φορέσας, ἑαυτόν τε καὶ τὸν πατέρα μηνύων, διδοὺς ἡμῖν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνάστασιν καὶ τὴν μετὰ ταῦτα ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Ἔστι δὲ οὗτος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν καὶ δεσπότης· οὗτος τοίνυν αὐτός ἐστιν ἑαυτοῦ τε καὶ τῶν ὅλων πίστις τε καὶ ἀπόδειξις. ∆ιόπερ οἱ τούτῳ κατακολουθοῦντες καὶ γνόντες αὐτόν, τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν πίστιν ὡς ἀπόδειξιν ἔχοντες, ἀναπαύονται ἐπ' αὐτῷ. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ πολλοὺς ὁ ἀντικείμενος πολεμῶν οὐ παύεται, πολλαῖς δὲ καὶ ποικίλαις μεθόδοις πρὸς ἐπιβουλὴν χρῆται, πρὸς μὲν τοὺς πεπιστευκότας, ἵνα τούτους τῆς πίστεως ἀπαγάγῃ, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἀπίστους ἔτι, ἵνα μὴ πιστεύσωσιν, ἀναγκαῖον εἶναί μοι δοκεῖ καὶ ἡμᾶς, καθωπλισμένους τοῖς τῆς πίστεως λόγοις ἀτρώτοις οὖσιν, ἀντιπολεμεῖν αὐτῷ διὰ τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς.