1
Because they know Elohim, Aristides says, they ask from Him what is fitting for Him to give and for them to receive.
2
He interprets their ordinary life as an acknowledgment of divine goodness.
3
The good they do is not performed principally for public reputation.
4
Almsgiving is hidden rather than announced, like a treasure protected from display.
5
They labor to become righteous because they expect to see the Anointed and receive the promised recompense in the age to come.
6
Aristides tells the ruler that the community's sayings, ordinances, worship, and hope can be examined directly from their writings.
7
He insists that he has not invented his description merely as an advocate; he believes what he has read and examined.
8
He calls the Christians a new people in the received Syriac wording and says something divine is mingled with their life.
9
He even states that the world stands, in some sense, through the petitions of the Christians.
10
By contrast, he depicts the other peoples as stumbling among the visible elements because their understanding refuses to move beyond what the eyes immediately see.