Second Apology 8

I too, therefore, expect to be plotted against and fixed to the stake by one of those I have named, or perhaps by Crescens, that lover of noise and boasting. For the man is not worthy to be called a philosopher, since he publicly testifies against us about things he does not understand, saying that the Christians are atheists and ungodly, and does this to win the favor and pleasure of the many who are led astray. For if he attacks us without having read the teachings of Christ, he is utterly wicked and much worse than the uneducated, who often take care not to discuss or bear false witness about things they do not understand. Or if he has read them and did not understand their greatness, or understood them and does this so as not to be suspected of being a Christian, he is much more base and utterly wicked, being overcome by vulgar and irrational opinion and fear. For I want you to know that I put certain questions of this kind to him and questioned him, and learned and proved that he truly knows nothing. And to show that I speak the truth, if the exchanges of our discussion have not been reported to you, I am ready to hold the questioning again in your presence; and this would be a work fitting for rulers. But if my questions and his answers have been made known to you, it is plain to you that he knows nothing of our teachings; or, if he knows, he does not dare to say so because of his hearers, and so, as I said before, he shows himself to be not a lover of wisdom but a lover of glory, since he does not even honor that saying of Socrates, which deserves to be loved: “But a man must not be honored before the truth.” But it is impossible for a Cynic, who has made indifference his goal, to know the good, except indifference.