Minucius Felix — Octavius 10
X. "I purposely pass over much: for even these are too many, which either all or most of all the obscurity of the crooked religion itself declares true. For why do they strive so greatly to hide and conceal whatever it is they worship, when honorable things always rejoice in public, and crimes are secret? Why have they no altars, no temples, no known images, never speak openly, never gather freely, unless that which they worship and suppress is either to be punished or to be ashamed of?
But whence, or who is that, or where is the unique, solitary, destitute god, whom no free nation, no kingdoms, not even Roman superstition have known? The Jews' alone and wretched gentility themselves also worshiped one God, but openly, but with temples, altars, victims, and ceremonies—whose force and power is so none that he is captive to Roman humans with his own nation.
But also what monsters, what portents the Christians invent! That God of theirs, whom they can neither show nor see, carefully inquires into the morals of all, the acts of all, finally words and hidden thoughts—running about, that is, and present everywhere: they want him troublesome, restless, even shamelessly curious, if indeed he stands by all deeds, wanders through all places, since he can neither serve individuals when stretched through the universe nor suffice for all when occupied with individuals."
Latin
X. "Multo praetereo consulto: nam et haec nimis multa sunt, quae aut omnia aut pleraque omnium vera declarat ipsius pravae religionis obscuritas. Cur etenim occultare et abscondere quicquid illud colunt magnopere nituntur, cum honesta semper publico gaudeant, scelera secreta sint? cur nullas aras habent, templa nulla, nulla nota simulacra, numquam palam loqui, numquam libere congregari, nisi illud, quod colunt et interprimunt, aut puniendum est aut pudendum? Unde autem vel quis ille aut ubi deus unicus, solitarius, destitutus, quem non gens libera, non regna, non saltem Romana superstitio noverunt? Iudaeorum sola et misera gentilitas unum et ipsi deum, sed palam, sed templis, aris, victimis caerimoniisque coluerunt, cuius adeo nulla vis nec potestas est, ut sit Romanis hominibus cum sua sibi natione captivus. At etiam Christiani quanta monstra, quae portenta confingunt! Deum illum suum, quem nec ostendere possunt nec videre, in omnium mores, actus omnium, verba denique et occultas cogitationes diligenter inquirere, discurrentem scilicet atque ubique praesentem: molestum illum volunt, inquietum, inpudenter etiam curiosum, siquidem adstat factis omnibus, locis omnibus intererrat, cum nec singulis inservire possit per universa districtus nec universis sufficere in singulis occupatus.