I, O King, by the grace of God came into this world; and when I had considered the heaven and the earth and the seas, and had surveyed the sun and the rest of creation, I marvelled at the beauty of the world. And I perceived that the world and all that is therein are moved by the power of another; and I understood that he who moves them is God, who is hidden in them, and veiled by them. And it is manifest that that which causes motion is more powerful than that which is moved. But that I should make search concerning this same mover of all, as to what is his nature (for it seems to me, he is indeed unsearchable in his nature), and that I should argue as to the constancy of his government, so as to grasp it fully — this is a vain effort for me; for it is not possible that a man should fully comprehend it. I say, however, concerning this mover of the world, that he is God of all, who made all things for the sake of mankind. And it seems to me that this is reasonable, that one should fear God and should not oppress man.
[Aristides, Apology 1]
Aristides of Athens was one of the second-century Apologists; from Eusebius and Jerome we learn that he delivered his defense probably to Hadrian around 125, and he is usually thought to have died between 130 and 135. Beyond that, almost nothing is known about him. It was semi-lost for a long time -- that is, it was thought to be lost, although when it was rediscovered (first in an Armenian, then in a Syriac, version) in the 1870s and 1880s, it was also discovered that parts of it were preserved in the Life of Barlaam and Josaphat. These versions, plus a Greek fragment discovered in the twentieth century, make The Apology of Aristides the oldest extant apologetic work from the early Church.
