These things which we have said are no mere words: they are attested by actual experience.
Anyone who wishes may come and see the proof of virtue in the virgins of Christ and in young men who live chastely, and the assurance of immortality in the great company of His martyrs.
Anyone who wants to test what we have said may do so in the face of the deception of demons, the fraud of oracles, and the wonders of magic. Let him use the sign of the Cross that they mock, simply naming Christ, and he will see demons flee, oracles cease, and every form of magic and sorcery brought to nothing.
Who, then, is this Christ, and how great is He, who by His Name and presence has overshadowed and brought to nothing everything on every side, who alone prevails against them all, and who has filled the whole world with His teaching? Let the Greeks who laugh so freely and without shame answer.
If He is a man, how has one man surpassed the power of all those whom they call gods and shown by His own power that they are nothing? If they call Him a magician, how can a magician destroy all magic instead of strengthening it? If He had conquered only human magicians or prevailed over just one of them, they might reasonably suppose that He surpassed the others by superior skill.
But if His Cross has gained the victory over every form of magic and even over the very name of magic, it is clear that the Savior is not a magician. Even the demons invoked by other magicians flee from Him as their Master.
Who, then, is He? Let the Greeks answer, since mockery is their only serious concern. Perhaps they will say that He too is a demon and that this is why He has such power. But by saying this they make themselves thoroughly ridiculous, for the earlier proofs can again put them to shame. How could He be a demon when He drives demons out?
For if He merely drove out demons, one might reasonably think that He prevailed over the lesser demons by the prince of demons, as the Jews said when they wanted to insult Him. But if all demonic madness is expelled and put to flight when His Name is spoken, then it is clear that they are wrong here too, and that our Lord and Savior Christ is not, as they suppose, some demonic power.
Therefore, if the Savior is neither a mere man nor a magician nor some demon, but by His divinity has brought to nothing and overshadowed the notions of the poets, the deception of demons, and the wisdom of the Greeks, it should be clear and confessed by all that He is truly the Son of God, being the Word and Wisdom and Power of the Father. This is why His works are not merely human but beyond human, and are recognized as truly God's works, both from the deeds themselves and by comparison with human beings.