Quadratus and Aristides

After Trajan had held power for twenty years less six months, Aelius Hadrian succeeded to the rule. Quadratus composed a defense of our religion and presented it to him as an address, because some wicked men were trying to harass our people. The writing is still in circulation among a great many of the brothers, and in our own hands as well. From it one can see clear proofs of the man’s understanding and of his apostolic soundness in teaching. [a] He himself shows how early he lived, in these words of his own: “But the works of our Savior were always present, for they were real: those who were healed, those who were raised from the dead. They were seen not only when they were healed and raised, but they were always present, and not only while the Savior was here; even after he had departed they remained for a considerable time, so that some of them have lived into our own times.” Such, then, was Quadratus.

Aristides too, a man of faith devoted to our religion, left a defense of the faith addressed to Hadrian, like Quadratus. His writing as well is preserved to this day by a great many. [c]