One might well be astonished at the Greeks. They laugh at what is no laughing matter, yet they are blind to their own disgrace. They have set up their own disgrace in stone and wood, yet they do not see it.
Still, there is no lack of evidence for our argument. So let us also put them to shame on reasonable grounds, especially by what we ourselves can see. What is absurd in what we say, or worthy of mockery? Is it merely because we say that the Word appeared in a body? But if they become friends of the truth, they themselves will agree that this is not absurd.
If they deny that there is a Word of God at all, it is pointless for them to mock what they do not know.
But if they acknowledge that there is a Word of God and that He is Ruler of the universe, they also acknowledge that in Him the Father brought creation into being and that by His providence all things receive light and life and have their being. They acknowledge that He reigns over all, so that He is known through the works of His providence and through Him the Father is known. Consider, I ask you, whether they are not turning their mockery against themselves without realizing it.
The Greek philosophers say that the universe is a great body, and they are right. We perceive both it and its parts with our senses. If, then, the Word of God is in the universe, which is a body, and is present in the whole and in every part of it, what is surprising or absurd about saying that He is also present in a human being?
If it were absurd for Him to be in a body at all, then it would also be absurd for Him to be present throughout the universe and, by His providence, to give light and movement to all things. For the universe itself is a body.
If it is fitting for Him to be present in the universe and to be known throughout it, then it is also fitting for Him to appear in a human body. It is also fitting for that body to receive light from Him and be active. For humanity is also part of the whole. And if it is unfitting for this part to become His instrument for making His divinity known, then it would be most absurd for Him to be known through the whole universe.