Persecution and demonic opposition

The evil demons cannot persuade people that the conflagration for the punishment of the ungodly will not take place, just as they were unable to make Christ go unnoticed when he came. They can accomplish only this: that those who live without reason, who have been raised in evil customs under the control of passions, and who cling proudly to their own opinions, kill and hate us. We not only do not hate such people; rather, as is evident, we pity them and want to persuade them to change their minds.

We do not fear death, since it is admitted that everyone must certainly die. Nor is there anything new in the present order of things; the same conditions continue. If even those who share in them for only a year become weary of them, people ought to pay attention to our teachings so that they may exist forever, free from suffering and need.

But if they disbelieve that there is anything after death and declare that those who die pass into unconsciousness, then by freeing us from the sufferings and necessities of this life they actually benefit us. They show themselves, however, to be evil, hostile to humanity, and lovers of reputation. For they do not kill us intending to release us, but murder us with the intention of depriving us of life and pleasure.