,,arguments ,,of ,,celsus1 ,,porphyry1  
and ,,the ,,emperor ,,julian1 ,,against 
,,the ,,christians2  ,,also ,,extracts  
,,from ,,diodorus ,,siculus1 ,,josephus1
 ,,and ,,tacitus1 ,,relating ,,to ,,the 
,,jews1 ,,together ,,with ,,an          
,,appendix2  ,,containing3  ,,the       
,,oration ,,of ,,libanius ,,in ,,defence
 ,,of ,,the ,,temples  ,,of ,,the       
,,heathens1 ,,translated ,,by ,,dr4     
,,lardner2  ,,and ,,extracts ,,from     
,,bingham',s ,,antiquities  ,,of ,,the  
,,christian ,,church4   ,by ,thomas     
,taylor   ,,mdcccxxx4   ,for if indeed  
,julian had caused all those that were  
under his dominion to be richer than    
,midas1 and each of the cities greater  
than ,babylon once was1 and had also    
surrounded each of them with a golden   
wall1 but had corrected none of the     
existing errors respecting divinity1 he 
would have acted in a manner similar to 
a physician1 who receiving a body full  
of evils in each of its parts1 should   
cure all of them except the             

eyes4--,liban4 ,parental1 in ,julian1 p4
 #bhe4     ,,introduction4  ,i ,,have   
often wished1 says ,warburton in a      
letter to ,dr4 ,forster1 ,october #ae1  
#agdi1 for a hand capable of collecting 
all the fragments remaining of          
,porphyry1 ,celsus1 ,hierocles1 and     
,julian1 and giving them to us with a   
just1 critical and theological comment1 
as a defy to infidelity4 ,it is certain 
we want something more than what their  
ancient answerers have given us4 ,this  
would be a very noble work994  ,the     
author of the following ,collectanea has
 partially effected what ,dr4 ,warburton
 wished       99 ,see ,barker's         
,parriana1 vol4 ii4 p4 #dh4  iv  to see 
accomplished2 for as he is not a divine1
 he has not attempted in his ,notes to  
confute ,celsus1 but has confined       
himself solely to an illustration of his
 meaning1 by a citation of parallel     
passages in other ancient authors4  ,as 
the answer1 however1 of ,origen to the  
arguments of ,celsus is very futile and 

inefficient1 it would be admirable to   
see some one of the learned divines with
 which the church at present abounds1   
leap into the arena1 and by vanquishing 
,celsus1 prove that the ,christian      
religion is peculiarly adapted to the   
present times1 and to the interest of   
the priests by whom it is professed and 
disseminated4  ,the ,marquis ,d',argens 
published a translation in ,french1     
accompanied by the ,greek text1 of the  
arguments of the ,emperor ,julian       
against the ,christians2 and as an      
apology for the present work1 ,i subjoin
 the following translation of a part of 
his preliminary discourse1 in which he  
defends that publication4  ,it may be   
that certain half-witted gentleman  v   
may reproach me for having brought      
forward a work composed in former times 
against the ,christians1 in the vulgar  
tongue4 ,to such ,i might at once simply
 reply1 that the work was preserved by a
 ,father of the ,church2 but ,i will go 
further1 and tell them with ,father     

,petau1 who gave a ,greek edition of the
 works of ,julian1 that if those who    
condemn the authors that have published 
these works1 will temper the ardour of  
their zeal with reason and judgement1   
they will think differently1 and will   
distinguish between the good use that   
may be made of the book1 and the bad    
intentions of the writer4  ,father      
,petau also judiciously remarks1 that if
 the times were not gone by when daemons
 took the advantage of idolatry to      
seduce mankind1 it would be prudent not 
to afford any aid1 or give the benefit  
of any invective against ,jesus1 or the 
,christian religion to the organs of    
those daemons2 but since by the blessing
 of ,god and the help of the cross1     
which have brought about our salvation1 
the monstrous dogmas of ,paganism are   
buried in oblivion1  vi  we have nothing
 to fear from that pest2 there is no    
weighty reason for our rising up against
 the monuments of ,pagan aberration that
 now remain1 and totally destroying     

them4 ,on the contrary1 the same ,father
 ,petau says1 that it is better to treat
 them as the ancient ,christians treated
 the images and temples of the gods4 ,at
 first1 in the provinces in which they  
were in power1 they razed them to the   
very foundations1 that nothing might be 
visible to posterity that could         
perpetuate impiety1 or the sight of     
which could recall mankind to an        
abominable worship4 ,but when the same  
,christians had firmly established their
 religion1 it appeared more rational to 
them1 after destroying the altars and   
statues of the gods1 to preserve the    
temples1 and by purifying them1 to make 
them serviceable for the worship of the 
true ,god4 ,the same ,christians also1  
not only discontinued to break the      
statues and images of the gods1 but they
 took the choicest of them1 that were   
the work of the most celebrated artists1
 and set them up in public places to    
ornament their cities1 as well as to    
recall to the memory of those who beheld

 them1 how gross  vii  the blindness99  
of their ancestors had been1 and how    
powerful the grace that had delivered   
them from it4  ,the ,marquis d',argens  
further observes3 ,it were to be wished1
 that ,father ,petau1 having so         
judiciously considered the works of     
,julian1 had formed an equally correct  
idea of the person of that ,emperor4 ,i 
cannot discover through what caprice he 
takes it amiss1 that a certain learned  
,professor9999 has praised the civil    
virtues of ,julian1 and condemned the   
evidently false calumnies that almost   
all the ecclesiastical authors have     
lavished upon him2 and amongst the rest 
,gregory and ,cyril1 who to the good    
arguments they have adduced against the 
false reasoning of ,julian1 have added  
insults which ought never to have been  
used by any defender of truth4 ,they    
have cruelly       99 ,the ,heathens    
would here reply to ,father ,petau4     
,which is      the greater blindness of 
the two1-- ours1 in worshipping the     

images of deiform processions from the  
ineffable principle      of things1 and 
who are eternally united to him2 or that
 of      the ,papists1 in worshipping   
the images of worthless men       9999  
,monsieur de la ,bletric4  viii         
calumniated this ,emperor to favour     
their good cause1 and confounded the    
just1 wise1 clement1 and most courageous
 prince1 with the ,pagan philosopher and
 theologian2 when they ought simply to  
have refuted him with argument1 in no   
case with insult1 and still less with   
calumnies so evidently false1 that      
during fourteen centuries1 in which they
 have been so often repeated1 they have 
never been accredited1 nor enabled to   
assume even an air of truth4  ,a wise   
,christian philosopher1 ,la ,mothe1 ,le 
,vayer1 in reflecting on the great      
virtues with which ,julian was endowed1 
on the contempt he manifested for death1
 on the firmness with which he consoled 
those who wept around him1 and on his   
last conversation with ,maximus and     

,priscus on the immortality of the soul1
 says1 that after such testimonies of a 
virtue1 to which nothing appears to be  
wanting but the faith to give its       
professor a place amongst the blessed991
 we have cause to wonder that       99  
,according to this wise ,christian      
philosopher therefore1      not only all
 the confessedly wise and virtuous      
,heathens that lived posterior1 but     
those also who lived anterior to the    
promulgation of the ,christian religion1
 will have no place hereafter among the 
blessed4  ix  ,cyril should have tried  
to make us believe1 that ,julian was a  
mean and cowardly prince994 ,those who  
judge of men that lived in former ages  
by those who have lived in more recent  
times1 may feel little surprise at the  
proceedings of ,cyril4 ,it has rarely   
happened that long animosity and abuse  
have not been introduced into religious 
controversies4  ,after what has been    
above said of ,julian1 ,i deem it       
necessary to observe1 that ,father      

,petau is egregiously mistaken in       
supposing that ,cyril has preserved the 
whole of that ,emperor's arguments      
against the ,christians3 and the        
,marquis ,d',argens is also mistaken    
when he says1 that the passages of      
,julian's text which are       99 ,this 
is by no means wonderful in ,cyril1 when
 we consider      that he is1 with the  
strongest reason1 suspected of being    
the cause of the murder of ,hypatia1 who
 was one of the      brightest ornaments
 of the ,alexandrian school1 and who was
      not only a prodigy of learning1   
but also a paragon of      beauty4  x   
abridged or omitted1 aire very few4 ,for
 ,hieronymus in ,epist4 #hc4 ,ad ,magnum
 ,oratorem ,romanum1 testifies that this
 work consisted of seven books2 three of
 which only ,cyril attempted to confute1
 as is evident from his own words1      
--,greek-- ,julian wrote three books    
against the holy ,evangelists4 ,but as  
,fabricius observes1 7in ,biblioth4     
,graec4 tom4 vii4 p4 #hi47 in the other 

four books1 he appears to have attacked 
the remaining books of the ,scriptures1 
i4 e4 the books of the ,old ,testament4 
,with respect1 however1 to the three    
books which ,cyril has endeavoured to   
confute1 it appears to me1 that he has  
only selected such parts of these books 
as he thought he could most easily      
answer4 ,for that he has not given even 
the substance of these three books1 is  
evident from the words of ,julian       
himself1 as recorded by ,cyril4 ,for    
,julian1 after certain invectives both  
against ,christ and ,john1 says1 ,these 
things1 therefore1 we shall shortly     
discuss1 when we come particularly to   
consider  xi  the monstrous deeds and   
fraudulent machinations of the          
,evangelists994 ,there is no particular 
discussion however of these in any part 
of the extracts preserved by ,cyril4    
,that the work1 indeed1 of ,julian      
against the ,christians was of          
considerable extent1 is evident from the
 testimony of his contemporary1         

,libanius2 who1 in his admirable funeral
 oration on this most extraordinary man1
 has the following remarkable passage3  
,but when the winter had extended the   
nights1 ,julian1 besides many other     
beautiful works1 attacked the books     
which make a man of ,palestine to be a  
,god1 and the son of ,god2 and in a long
 contest1 and with strenuous arguments1 
evinced that what is said in these      
writings is ridiculous and nugatory4    
,and in the execution of this work he   
appears to have excelled in wisdom the  
,tyrian old man49999       99 --,greek--
       9999 viz4 ,porphyry1 who was of  
,tyre1 and who1 as is well      known1  
wrote a work against the ,christians1   
which was      publicly burnt by order  
of the ,emperor ,constantine4  xii  ,in 
asserting this however1 may the ,tyrian 
be propitious to me1 and benevolently   
receive what ,i have said1 he having    
been vanquished by his son994  ,with    
respect to ,celsus1 the author of the   
following ,fragments1 he lived in the   

time of the ,emperor ,adrian4 and was1  
if ,origen may be credited1 an          
,epicurean philosopher4 ,that he might  
indeed1 at some former period of his    
life1 have been an ,epicurean maybe     
admitted2 but it would be highly absurd 
to suppose that he was so when he wrote 
this invective against the ,christians2 
for the arguments which he mostly       
employs show that he was well skilled m 
the philosophy of ,plato3 and to        
suppose1 as ,origen does1 that he       
availed himself of arguments in       99
 --,greek--  xiii  which he did not     
believe1 and consequently conceived to  
be erroneous1 in order to confute       
doctrines which he was persuaded are    
false1 would be to make him1 instead of 
a philosopher1 a fool4 ,as to ,origen1  
though he abandoned philosophy for      
,christianity1 he was considered as     
heterodox by many of the ,christian     
sect4 ,hence1 with some of the          
,catholics1 his future salvation became 
a matter of doubt992 and this induced   

the celebrated ,johannes ,picus         
,mirandulanus1 in the last of his       
,theological conclusions according to   
his own opinion1 to say3 ,rationabilius 
est credere ,uriginem esse salvum1 quam 
credere ipsum esse damnatum1 i4 e4 ,it  
is more reasonable to believe that      
,origen is saved1 than that he is       
damned4  ,i shall conclude this         
,introduction with the following        
extract4       99 ',in ,prato           
,spiritual61 c4 #bf1 quod citatur1 a    
,,vil ,synodo1      et a ,johanne       
,diacono1 lib4 ii4 c4 #de4 vitas ,b4    
,gregorii      narratur fevelatio1 qua  
,origines viras est in ,gehenna ignis   
cum ,alio et ,netftorio499--,fobric4    
,b,miotk ,grate torn4 v4 p4      #baf   
xiv  ,directions of ,dr4 ,barlow1       
,bishop of ,lincoln1 to a young divine4 
,it will be of great use for a divine to
 be acquainted with the arts1 knavery1  
and fraud of the ,roman inquisitor1 in  
purging1 correcting1 or rather          
corrupting authors in all arts and      

faculties4 ,for this purpose we may     
consult the ,index ,expurgatorius4 ,by  
considering this ,index1 we come to know
 the best editions of many good books4  
#ast4 ,the best books2 that is1 those   
that are condemned4  #bnd4 ,the best    
editions2 viz4 those that are dated     
before the ,index1 and consequently not 
altered4  #crd4 ,the ,index is a good   
common place book1 to point out who has 
written well against the ,church1 p4    
#gj4  ,ockam is damned in the ,index1   
and therefore we may be sure he was     
guilty of telling some great truth1 p4  
#da499       99 ,the ,bishop's rule is  
as good for one church as for           
another1 and every church has its       
,index4     ,,the ,,arguments ,,of      
,,celsus ,,against ,,the ,,christians   
,illustration3 ,celsus  ,,the           
,christians are accustomed to have      
private assemblies1 which are forbidden 
by the law4 ,for of assemblies some are 
public1 and these are conformable to the
 law of the land2 but others are secret1

 and these are such as are hostile to   
the laws2 among which are the ,love     
,feasts of the ,christians 994        99
 ,why the ,romans punished the          
,christians3       ,it is commonly      
regarded as a very curious and          
remarkable      fact1 that1 although the
 ,romans were disposed to tolerate      
every other religious sect1 yet they    
frequently persecuted      the          
,christians with unrelenting cruelty4   
,this exception1 so      fatal to a     
peaceable and harmless sect1 must have  
originated      in circumstances which  
materially distin-444  #b  ,men who     
irrationally assent to anything1        
resemble those who are delighted with   
jugglers and enchanters1 c4 ,for as most
 of these are depraved characters1 who  
deceive the vulgar1 and persuade them to
 assent to whatever they please1 this   
also takes place with the ,christians4  
,some of these are not willing either to
 give or receive a reason for what they 
believe2 but are accustomed to say1 ',do

 not investigate1 but believe1 your     
faith will save you4       444guished   
them from the votaries of every other   
religion4 ,the      causes and the      
pretexts of persecution may have varied 
at      various periods2 but there seems
 to have been one general      cause    
which will readily be apprehended by    
those who are      intimately acquainted
 with the ,roman jurisprudence4 ,from   
the      most remote period of their    
history1 the ,romans had      conceived 
extreme horror against all nocturnal    
meetings of a      secret and mysterious
 nature4 ,a law prohibiting nightly     
vigils in a temple has even been        
ascribed1 perhaps with      little      
probability1 to the founder of their    
state4 ,the laws      of the twelve     
tables declared it a capital offence to 
attend      nocturnal assemblies in the 
city4 ,this1 then1 being the      spirit
 of the law1 it is obvious that the     
nocturnal meetings      of the primitive
 ,christians must have rendered them    

objects      of peculiar suspicion1 and 
exposed them to the animadversion       
of the magistrate4 ,it was during the   
night that they usually      held their 
most solemn and religious assemblies2   
for a      practice which may be        
supposed to have arisen from their      
fears1 seems to have been continued from
 the operation of      other causes4    
,misunderstanding the purport of certain
      passages of ,scripture1 they      
were444  #c  ',for the wisdom of the    
world is bad1 but folly is good991'     
,the world1 according to ,moses1 was    
created at a certain time1 and has from 
its commencement existed for a period   
far short of ten thousand years1--,the  
world1 however1 is without a beginning2 
in consequence of which there have been 
from all eternity many conflagrations1  
and many deluges1 among the latter of   
which the most recent is that of        
,deucalion99994       444led to imagine 
that the second advent1 of which they   
lived      in constant expectation1     

would take place during the night2      
and they were accustomed to celebrate   
nightly vigils at the      tombs of the 
saints and martyrs4 ,in this case1      
therefore1      they incurred no        
penalties peculiar to the votaries of a 
new      religion1 but only such as     
equally attached to those who1          
professing the public religion of the   
state1 were yet guilty      of this     
undoubted violation of its              
laws4--,observations on      the ,study 
of the ,civil ,law1 by ,dr4 ,irving1    
,edin4 #ahbj4 p4      #aa4  ,it is not  
true that the primitive ,christians held
 their assemblies in the night time to  
avoid the interruptions of the civil    
power3 but the converse of that         
proposition is true in the utmost       
latitude2 viz4 that they met with       
molestations from that quarter1 because 
their assemblies were                   
nocturnal4--,elements of ,civil ,law1 by
 ,dr4 ,taylor1 p4 #egi4       99 ,see   
,erasmus's ,praise of ,folly1 towards   

the end4       9999 ,see on this subject
 the ,tinusus of ,plato4  #d  ,goatherds
 and shepherds among the ,jews1         
following ,moses as their leader1 and   
being allured by rustic deceptions1     
conceived that there is only one ,god4  
,these goatherds and shepherds were of  
opinion that there is one ,god1 whether 
they delight to call him the ,most      
,high1 or ,adonai1 or ,celestial1 or    
,sabaoth1 or to celebrate by any other  
name the fabricator of this world992 for
 they knew nothing farther4 ,for it is  
of no consequence1 whether the ,god who 
is above all things1 is denominated1    
after the accustomed manner of the      
,greeks1 ,jupiter1 or is called by any  
other name1 such as that which is given 
to him by the ,indians or ,egyptians4   
,celsus1 assuming the person of a ,jew1 
represents him as speaking to ,jesus1   
and reprehending him for many things4   
,and in the first place he reproaches   
him with feigning that he was born of a 
virgin2 and says1 that to his disgrace  

he was born in a ,judaic village from a 
poor ,jewess1 who obtained the means    
99 ,in the original there is nothing    
more than -------- i4      e4 this      
world2 but it is necessary to read1     
conformably to      the above           
translation1 --------4 ,for the ,jews   
did not      celebrate the world1 but   
the ,maker of the world1 by these       
names4  #e  of subsistence by manual    
labour4 ,he adds1 ,that she was         
abandoned by her husband1 who was a     
carpenter1 because she had been found by
 him to have committed adultery4 ,hence1
 in consequence of being expelled by her
 husband1 becoming an ignominious       
vagabond1 she was secretly delivered of 
,jesus1 who1 through poverty being      
obliged to serve as a hireling in       
,egypt1 learnt there certain arts for   
which the ,egyptians are famous4        
,afterwards1 returning from thence1 he  
thought so highly of himself1 on account
 of the possession of these magical     
arts1 as to proclaim himself to be a    

,god4 ,celsus also adds1 ,that the      
mother of ,jesus became pregnant with   
him through a soldier1 whose name was   
,panthera994  ,was therefore the mother 
of ,jesus beautiful1 and was ,god       
connected with her on account of her    
beauty1 though he is not adapted to be  
in love with a corruptible body8 ,or is 
it not absurd to suppose that ,god would
 be enamoured of a woman who was neither
 fortunate nor of royal extraction1 nor 
even scarcely known to her neighbours2  
and who was also hated and ejected by   
the carpenter her       99 ,the same    
thing is said of ,jesus in a work called
 ,the      ,gospel according to the     
,jews1 or ,toldoth ,jesu4 ,see ,chap4   
,i4      and ,,ii4 of that work4  #f    
husband1 so as neither to be saved by   
her own credulity nor by divine power8  
,these things1 therefore1 do not at all 
pertain to the kingdom of ,god4         
,celsus1 again personifying a ,jew1 says
 to ,christ1 ,when you were washed by   
,john1 you say that the spectre of a    

bird flew to you from the air4 ,but what
 witness worthy of belief saw this      
spectre8 ,or who heard a voice from     
heaven1 adopting you for a son of ,god1 
except yourself1 and some one of your   
associates1 who was equally a partaker  
of your wickedness and punishment8      
,jesus having collected as his          
associates ten or eleven infamous men1  
consisting of the most wicked publicans 
and sailors1 fled into different places1
 obtaining food with difficulty1 and in 
a disgraceful manner4  ,again1 in the   
person of a ,jew1 ,celsus says to       
,christ1 ,what occasion was there1 while
 you were yet an infant1 that you should
 be brought to ,egypt1 in order that you
 might not be slain8 ,for it was not fit
 that a ,god should be afraid of death4 
,but an angel came from heaven1 ordering
 you and your associates to fly1 lest   
being taken you should be put to death4 
,for the great ,god it seems could not  
#g  preserve you1 his own son1 m your   
own country1 but sent two angels on your

 account4  ,the same ,jew in ,celsus    
also adds1 ,though we do not believe in 
the ancient fables1 which ascribe a     
divine origin to ,perseus1 ,amphion1    
,a,eacus1 and ,minos1 yet at the same   
time their deeds are demonstrated to be 
mighty and admirable1 and truly         
superhuman1 in order that what is       
narrated of their origin may not appear 
to be improbable4 ,but 7speak-ing to    
,jesus7 he says1 ,what beautiful or     
admirable thing have you said or done1  
though you was 7sp7 called upon in the  
temple to give some manifest sign that  
you were the son of ,god8  ,celsus1     
pretending not to disbelieve in the     
miracles ascribed to ,christ1 says to   
him1 ,let us grant that these things    
were performed by you2 but they are     
common with the works of enchanters1 who
 promise to effect more wonderful deeds 
than these1 and also with what those who
 have been taught by the ,egyptians to  
perform in the middle of the forum for a
 few oboli2 such as expelling daemons   

from men1 dissipating diseases by a     
puff1 evocating the souls of heroes1    
exhibiting sumptuous suppers1 and tables
 covered with food1 which have no       
reality4 ,these magicians also represent
 animals as moving1 which are not in    
reality animals1 but merely appear  #h  
to the imagination to be such4--,is it  
fit1 therefore that we should believe   
these men to be the sons of ,god1       
because they worked these wonders8 ,or  
ought we not rather to say1 that these  
are the arts of depraved and unhappy    
men6  ,again the ,jew says1 ,it is but  
recently1 and as it were yesterday1     
since we punished ,christ2 and you1 who 
are in no respect superior to keepers of
 oxen1 have abandoned the laws of your  
ancestors and country4 ,why likewise do 
you begin from our sacred institutions1 
but afterwards in the progress of your  
iniquity despise them8 ,for you have no 
other origin of your dogma1 than our    
law4 ,many4 other such persons also as  
,jesus was1 may be seen by those who    

wish to be deceived4 ,how too is it     
probable that we1 who have declared to  
all men that a person would be sent by  
,god as a punisher of the unjust1 should
 treat him ignominiously1 if such a     
person had appeared among us8 ,again3   
,how can we think him to be a ,god1 who1
 that ,i may omit other things1         
performed1 as we learn1 nothing that was
 promised8 ,and when1 being condemned by
 us1 he was thought worthy of           
punishment1 having concealed himself and
 fled1 was most disgracefully made a    
prisoner2 being betrayed by those whom  
he called his disciples8 ,if1 however1  
he was a ,god1 it was not proper that he
 should either fly1 or be led  #i  away 
captive4 ,and much less was it fit1     
that1 being considered as a saviour and 
the son of the greatest ,god1 and2 also 
the messenger of this ,god1 by his      
familiars and private associates1 he    
should be deserted and betrayed by them4
 ,but what excellent general1 who was   
the leader of many myriads of men1 was  

ever betrayed by his soldiers8 ,indeed1 
this has not happened even to the chief 
of a band of robbers1 though a man      
depraved1 and the captain of men still  
more depraved than himself1 when to his 
associates he appeared to be useful4    
,but ,christ1 who was betrayed by those 
of whom he was the leader1 though not as
 a good commander1 nor in such a way as 
robbers would behave to their captain1  
could not obtain the benevolence of his 
deluded followers4--,many other things  
also1 and such as are true1 respecting  
,jesus might be adduced1 though they are
 not committed to writing by his        
disciples2 but these ,i willingly omit4 
,his disciples also falsely pretended1  
that he foreknew and foretold every     
thing that happened to him4  ,the       
disciples of ,jesus1 not being able to  
adduce any thing respecting him that was
 obviously manifest1 falsely assert that
 he foreknew all things2 and have       
written other things of a similar kind  
respecting lum4 ,this1 however1 is just 

the same as if some one should assert   
that a certain person is a just  #aj    
man1 and notwithstanding this should    
show that he acted unjustly2 that he is 
a pious man1 and yet a murderer2 and1   
though immortal1 died2 at the same time 
adding to all these assertions1 that he 
had a foreknowledge of all things4      
,these things ,jesus said after he had  
previously declared that he was ,god1   
and it was entirely necessary that what 
he had predicted should take place4 ,he 
therefore1 though a ,god1 induced his   
disciples and prophets1 with whom he ate
 and drank1 to become impious4 ,it was1 
however1 requisite that he should have  
been beneficial to all men1 and         
particularly to his associates4 ,no one 
likewise would think of betraying the   
man1 of whose table he had been a       
partaker4 ,but here the associate of the
 table of ,god became treacherous to    
him2 ,god himself1 which is still more  
absurd1 making those who had been       
hospitably entertained by him to be his 

impious betrayers4  ,the ,jew in ,celsus
 also says1 that ,what is asserted by   
the ,jewish prophets may be much more   
probably adapted to ten thousand other  
persons than to ,jesus4 ,besides1 the   
prophets say1 that he who was to come   
would be a great and powerful king1 and 
would be the lord of the whole earth1   
and of all nations and armies3 but no   
one would  #aa  infer from such like    
symbols and rumours1 and from such      
ignoble arguments1 that ,christ is the  
son of ,god4  ,as the sun1 which        
illuminates all other things1 first     
shows himself to be the cause of light1 
thus also it is fit that this should    
have been done by the son of ,god994    
,but the ,christians argue              
sophistically1 when they say that the   
son of ,god is the word itself4 ,and the
 accusation is strengthened by this1    
that the word which was announced by the
 ,christians to be the son of ,god1 was 
not a pure and holy word1 but a man who 
was most disgracefully punished and put 

to death4  ,what illustrious deed did   
,jesus accomplish worthy of a ,god1 who 
beholds from on high with contempt the  
trifling pursuits of men1 and derides   
and considers as sport terrestrial      
events8  ,why too did not ,jesus1 if not
 before1 yet now at least1 i4 e4 when he
 was brought before ,pilate1 exhibit    
some divine indication respecting       
himself2 liberate himself from this     
ignominy1 and punish those       99     
,celsus means that ,christ should have  
given indubitable      evidence1 by his 
sayings1 his deeds1 and by all that     
happened to him1 that he was the son of 
,god4  #ab  who had insulted both him   
and his father8 ,what kind of ichoer    
also or blood dropped from his crucified
 body8 was it144444such as from the     
blest immortals flows899  ,the ,jew in  
,celsus further adds3 ,do you reproach  
us with this1 ,o most faithful men1 that
 we do not conceive ,christ to be ,god1 
and that we do not accord with you in   
believing that he suffered these things 

for the benefit of mankind1 in order    
that we also might despise punishment8  
,neither did he persuade any one while  
he lived1 not even his own disciples1   
that he should be punished1 and suffer  
as he did3 nor did he exhibit himself   
though a ,god as one liberated from all 
evils4  ,certainly you ,christians will 
not say1 that ,christ1 when he found    
that he could not induce the inhabitants
 on the surface of the earth to believe 
in his doctrines1 descended to the      
infernal regions1 in order that he might
 persuade those that dwelt there4 ,but  
if inventing absurd apologies by which  
you are ridiculously deceived1 what     
should hinder others also1 who have     
perished miserably1 from being ranked   
among angels of a more divine order8    
99 ,see ,iliad1 ,v1 ver4 ,s#dj4  #ac    
,the ,jew in ,celsus further observes1  
on comparing ,christ with robbers1 ,some
 might in a similar manner unblushingly 
say of a robber and a homicide1 who was 
punished for his crimes1 that he was not

 a robber but a ,god2 for he predicted  
to his associates that he should suffer 
what he did suffer4  ,the disciples of  
,jesus1 living with him1 hearing his    
voice1 and embracing his doctrines1 when
 they saw that he was punished and put  
to death1 neither died with nor for him1
 nor could be persuaded to despise      
punishment2 but denied that they were   
his disciples4 ,why1 therefore1 do not  
you ,christians voluntarily die with    
your master8  ,the ,jew in ,celsus also 
says1 that ,jesus made converts of ten  
sailors1 and most abandoned publicans2  
but did not even persuade all these to  
embrace his doctrines4  ,is it not also 
absurd in the extreme1 that so many     
should believe in the doctrines of      
,christ now he is dead1 though he was   
not able to persuade any one genuinely  
while he was living8  ,but the          
,christians will say1 ,we believe ,jesus
 to be the son of ,god1 because he cured
 the lame and the blind1 and1 as you    
assert1 raised the dead4  #ad  ,o light 

and truth1 which clearly proclaims in   
its own words1 as you write1 that other 
men1 and these depraved and enchanters1 
will come among you1 possessing similar 
miraculous powers6 ,christ also feigns  
that a certain being1 whom he           
denominates ,satan1 will be the source  
of these nefarious characters3 so that  
,christ himself does not deny that these
 arts possess nothing divine1 and       
acknowledges that they are the works of 
depraved men4 ,at the same time         
likewise1 being compelled by truth1 he  
discloses both the arts of others and   
his own4 ,is it not1 therefore1 a       
miserable thing1 to consider1 from the  
performance of the same deeds1 this man 
to be a ,god1 but others to be nothing  
more than enchanters8 ,for why1         
employing his testimony1 should we      
rather think those other workers of     
miracles to be more depraved than       
himself8 ,indeed ,christ confesses that 
these arts are not indications of a     
divine nature1 but of certain impostors1

 and perfectly wicked characters4       
,after this1 the ,jew in ,celsus says to
 his fellow-citizens who believed in    
,jesus1 as follows3 ,let us grant you   
that ,jesus predicted his resurrection3 
but how many others have employed       
such-like prodigies1 in order by a      
fabulous narration to effect what they  
wished2 persuading stupid auditors to   
believe in these miracles8 ,zamolxis    
among the  #ae  ,scythians1 who was a   
slave of ,pythagoras1 used this         
artifice2 ,pythagoras also himself1 in  
,italy2 and in ,egypt1 ,rhampsinitus4   
,for it is related of the latter that he
 played at dice with ,ceres in ,hades1  
and that he brought back with him as a  
gift from her a golden towel4 ,similar  
artifices were likewise employed by     
,orpheus among the ,odryssians2 by      
,protesilaus among the ,thessalians2 and
 by ,hercules and ,theseus in ,taenarus4
 ,this1 however1 is to be               
considered1--whether any one who in     
reality died1 ever rose again in the    

same body3 unless you think that the    
narrations of others are fables1but that
 your catastrophe of the drama will be  
found to be either elegant or probable1 
respecting what was said by him who     
expired on the cross1 and the           
earthquake1 and the darkness1 which then
 according to you ensued4 ,to which may 
be added1 that he who when living could 
not help himself1 arose1 as you say1    
after he was dead1 and exhibited the    
marks of his punishment1 and his hands  
which had been perforated on the cross4 
,but who was it that saw this8 ,a       
furious woman1 as you acknowledge1 or   
some other of the same magical sect2 or 
one who was under the delusion of       
dreams1 and who voluntarily subjected   
himself to fallacious phantasms1--a     
thing which happens to myriads of the   
human race4 ,or1 which is more probable1
 those who pretended to see this were   
such as wished to astonish others by    
#af  this prodigy1 and1 through a false 
narration of this kind1 to give         

assistance to the frauds of other       
impostors4  ,is it to be believed that  
,christ1 when he was alive1 openly      
announced to all men what he was2 but   
when it became requisite that he should 
procure a strong belief of his          
resurrection from the dead1 he should   
only show himself secretly to one woman 
and to his associates8  ,if also ,christ
 wished to be concealed1 why was a voice
 heard from heaven1 proclaiming him to  
be the son of ,god8 ,or1 if he did not  
wish to be concealed1 why did he suffer 
punishment1 and why did1 he             
ignominiously die8  ,the ,jew in ,celsus
 likewise adds1 ,these things therefore 
we have adduced to you from your own    
writings1 than which we have employed no
 other testimony1 for you yourselves are
 by them confuted4 ,besides1 what ,god  
that ever appeared to men1 did not      
procure belief that he was a ,god1      
particularly when he appeared to those  
who expected his advent8 ,or why was he 
not acknowledged by those1 by whom he   

had been for a long time expected8 ,we  
certainly hope for a resurrection in the
 body1 and that we shall have eternal   
life4 ,we  #ag  also believe that the   
paradigm and primary leader of this1    
will be he who is to be sent to us2 and 
who will show that it is not impossible 
for ,god to raise any one with his body 
that he pleases4  ,after this1 ,celsus  
in his own person says1 ,the ,christians
 and ,jews most stupidly contend with   
each other1 and this controversy of     
theirs about ,christ differs in nothing 
from the proverb about the contention   
for the shadow of an ass994 ,there is   
also nothing venerable in the           
investigation of the ,jews and          
,christians with each other2 both of    
them believing that there was a certain 
prophecy from a divine spirit1 that a   
saviour of the human race would appear  
on the earth1 but disagreeing in their  
opinion whether he who was predicted had
 appeared or not4  ,the ,jews           
originating from the ,egyptians deserted

 ,egypt through sedition1 at the same   
time despising the religion of the      
,egyptians4 ,hence the       99 ,this   
proverb is mentioned by ,apuleius at the
 end of the      ,ninth ,book of his    
,metamorphosis4 ,there is also another  
,greek      proverb mentioned by        
,menander1 ,plato1 and many others1     
--------1 concerning the shadow of an   
ass1 which is said of      those who are
 anxious to know things futile1         
frivolous1 and      entirely useless4   
,these two proverbs ,apuleius has merged
      into one4  #ah  same thing        
happened to the ,christians afterwards1 
who abandoned the religion of the ,jews1
 as to the ,jews who revolted from the  
,egyptians2 for the cause to both of    
their innovation was a seditious        
opposition to the common99 and          
established rites of their country4     
,the ,christians at first1 when they    
were few1 had but one opinion2 but when 
they became scattered through their     
multitude1 they were again and again    

divided into sects1 and each sect wished
 to have an establishment of its own4   
,for this was what they desired to      
effect from the beginning4  ,but after  
they were widely dispersed one sect     
opposed the other1 nor did any thing    
remain common  to them except the name  
of ,christians2 and even this they were 
at the same time ashamed to leave as a  
common appellation3 but as to other     
things1 they were the ordinances of men 
of a different persuasion4  ,what       
however is still more wonderful is this1
 that their doctrine may be easily      
confuted1 as consisting of no hypothesis
 worthy of belief4 ,but their       99  
,in the original  --------1 but it is   
necessary to read1      conformably to  
the above translation1  --------  #ai   
dissension among themselves1 the        
advantage they derive from it1 and their
 dread of those who are not of their    
belief1 give stability to their faith4  
,the ,christians ridicule the           
,egyptians1 though they indicated many  

and by no means contemptible things     
through enigmas1 when they taught that  
honours should be paid to eternal ideas1
 and not1 as it appears to the vulgar1  
to diurnal animals994 ,celsus adds1 that
 ,the ,christians stupidly introduce    
nothing more venerable than the goats   
and dogs of the ,egyptians in their     
narrations respecting ,jesus4  ,what is 
said by a few who are considered as     
,christians1 concerning the doctrine of 
,jesus and the precepts of              
,christianity1 is not designed for the  
wiser1 but for the more unlearned and   
ignorant part of mankind4 ,for the      
following are their precepts3 ',let no  
one who is erudite accede to us1 no one 
who is wise1 no one who is prudent 7for 
these things are thought by us to be    
evil72 but let any one who is unlearned1
 who is stupid1 who is an infant in     
understanding boldly come to us4' ,for  
the ,christians openly acknowledge that 
such as these are worthy       99  ,see 
on this subject the ,treatise of        

,plutarch respecting      ,isis and     
,osiris4  #bj  to be noticed by their   
,god2 manifesting by this1 that they    
alone wish and are able to persuade the 
ignoble1 the insensate1 slaves1 stupid  
women1 and little children and fools4   
,we may see in the forum infamous       
characters and jugglers99 collected     
together1 who dare not show their tricks
 to intelligent men2 but when they      
perceive a lad1 and a crowd of slaves   
and stupid men1 they endeavour to       
ingratiate themselves with such         
characters as these4  ,we also may see  
in their own houses1 wool-weavers1      
shoemakers1 fullers1 and the most       
illiterate and rustic men1 who dare not 
say any thing in the presence of more   
elderly and wiser fathers of families2  
but when they meet with children apart  
from their parents1 and certain stupid  
women with them1 then they discuss      
something of a wonderful nature2 such as
 that it is not proper to pay attention 
to parents and preceptors1 but that they

 should be persuaded by them4 ,for1 say 
they1 your parents and preceptors are   
delirious and stupid1 and neither know  
what is truly good1 nor are able to     
effect it1 being prepossessed with      
trifles of an unusual nature4 ,they     
99 ,celsus1 as we are informed by       
,origen1 compares the      ,christians  
with men of this description4  #ba  add1
 that they alone know how it is proper  
to live1 and that if children are       
persuaded by them1 they will be blessed1
 and also the family to which they      
belong4 ,at the same time likewise that 
they say this1 if they see any one of   
the wiser teachers of erudition         
approaching1 or the father of the child 
to whom they are speaking1 such of them 
as are more cautious defer their        
discussion to another time2 but those   
that are more audacious1 urge the       
children to shake off the reins of      
parental authority1 whispering to them1 
that when their fathers and preceptors  
are present1 they neither wish nor are  

able to unfold to children what is good1
 as they are deterred by the folly and  
rusticity of these men1 who are entirely
 corrupted1 are excessively depraved1   
and would punish them their true        
admonishers4 ,they further add1 that if 
they wish to be instructed by them1 it  
is requisite that they should leave     
their parents and preceptors1 and go    
with women and little children1 who are 
their playfellows1 to the conclave of   
women1 or to the shoemaker's or fuller's
 shop1 that they may obtain perfection  
by embracing their doctrines4  ,that ,i 
do not however accuse the ,christians   
more bitterly than truth compels1 may be
 conjectured from hence1 that the criers
 who call men to other mysteries        
proclaim as follows3 ',let him approach1
  #bb  whose hands are pure1 and whose  
words are wise4' ,and again1 others     
proclaim3 ',let him approach1 who is    
pure from all wickedness1 whose soul is 
not conscious of any evil1 and who leads
 a just and upright life4' ,and these   

things are proclaimed by those who      
promise a purification from error4 ,let 
us now hear who those are that are      
called to the ,christian mysteries4     
',whoever is a sinner1 whoever is       
unwise1 whoever is a fool1 and whoever1 
in short1 is miserable1 him the kingdom 
of ,god will receive4' ,do you not      
therefore call a sinner1 an unjust man1 
a thief1 a housebreaker1 a wizard1 one  
who is sacrilegious1 and a robber of    
sepulchres8 ,what other persons would   
the crier nominate1 who should call     
robbers together8  ,god1 according to   
the ,christians1 descended to men2 and1 
as consequent to this1 it was fancied   
that he had left his own proper abode4  
,god1 however1 being unknown among men  
as the ,christians say1 and in          
consequence of this appearing to be in a
 condition inferior to that of a divine 
being1 was not willing to be known1 and 
therefore made trial of those who       
believed and of those who did not       
believe in him2 just as men who have    

become recently rich1 call on ,god as a 
witness of their abundant and entirely  
mortal ambition4  #bc  ,the ,christians 
have asserted nothing paradoxical or new
 concerning a deluge or a conflagration1
 but have perverted the doctrine of the 
,greeks and barbarians1 that in long    
periods of time1 and recursions and     
concursions of the stars1 conflagrations
 and deluges take place2 and also that  
after the last deluge1 which was that of
 ,deucalion1 the period required1       
conformably to the mutation of wholes1 a
 conflagration994 ,this the ,christians1
 however1 have perverted by representing
 ,god as descending with fire as a spy4 
,again1 we will repeat and confirm by   
many arguments1 an assertion which has  
nothing in it novel1 but was formerly   
universally acknowledged4 ,god is good1 
is beautiful and blessed1 and his very  
nature consists in that which is most   
beautiful and the best4 ,if therefore he
 descended to men1 his nature must      
necessarily be changed4 ,but the change 

must be from good to evil1 and from the 
beautiful to the base1 from felicity to 
infelicity1 and from that which is most 
excellent to that which is most         
worthless4 ,who1 however1 would choose  
to be thus changed8 ,besides1 to be     
changed and transformed pertains to that
 which is naturally mortal2 but an      
invariable       99 ,see ,taylor's      
translation of ,proclus on the ,timaeus 
of      ,plato1 ,book ,i4  #bd  sameness
 of subsistence is the prerogative of an
 immortal nature4 ,hence ,god could     
never receive a mutation of this kind994
  ,either ,god is in reality changed1 as
 the ,christians say1 into a mortal     
body1--and we have before shown that    
this is impossible2 or he himself is not
 changed1 but he causes those who behold
 him to think that he is1 and thus      
falsifies himself1 and involves others  
in error4 ,deception1 however1 and      
falsehood are indeed otherwise evil1 and
 can only be properly employed by any   
one as a medicine1 either in curing     

friends that are diseased or have some  
vicious propensity1 or those that are   
insane1 or for the purpose of avoiding  
danger from enemies4 ,but no one who has
 vicious propensities1 or is insane1 is 
dear to ,divinity4 ,nor does ,god fear  
any one1 in order that by wandering he  
may escape danger99994       99 ,see a  
most admirable defence of the           
immutability of      ,divinity1 by      
,proclus1 in ,taylor's ,introduction to 
the ,second      and ,third ,books of   
,plato's ,republic1 in vol4 i4 of his   
translation of ,plato's ,works4 ,see    
also ,taylor's note at the      end of  
vol4 iii4 of his translation of         
,pausanias1 p4 #bce4       9999 ,the    
original of this sentence is1 --------  
the latter      part of which1 --------1
 is thus1 erroneously translated      by
 ,spencer1 ut imposture opus habeat ad  
evadendum      periculum4  #be  ,the    
,christians1 adding to the assertions of
 the ,jews1 say that the son of ,god    
came on account of the sins of the      

,jews2 and that the ,jews1 punishing    
,jesus and causing him to drink gall1   
raised the bile of ,god against them4   
,celsus after this1 in his usual way    
deriding both ,jews and ,christians1    
compares all of them to a multitude of  
bats1 or to ants coming out of their    
holes1 or to frogs seated about a marsh1
 or to earthworms that assemble in a    
corner of some muddy place1 and contend 
with each other which of them are most  
noxious4 ,he likewise represents them as
 saying1 ,god has manifested and        
predicted all things to us2 and         
deserting the whole world and the       
celestial circulation1 and likewise     
paying no attention to the              
widely-extended earth1 he regards our   
concerns alone1 to us alone sends       
messengers1 and he will never cease to  
explore by what means we may always     
associate with him4 ,he likewise        
resembles us to earthworms acknowledging
 that ,god exists2 and he says that we  
earthworms1 i4 e4 the ,jews and         

,christians1 being produced by ,god     
after him1 are entirely similar to him4 
,all things too are subject to us1 earth
 and water1 the air and the stars1 and  
are ordained to be subservient to us994 
,afterwards       99 ,this reminds me of
 the following beautiful lines in444    
#bf  these earthworms add3 ,now because 
some of us have sinned1 ,god will come1 
or he will send his son1 in order that  
he may burn the unjust1 and that those  
who are not so may live eternally with  
him4 ,and ,celsus concludes with        
observing that such assertions would be 
more tolerable if they were made by     
earthworms or frogs1 than by ,jews or   
,christians contending with each other4 
,celsus1 after having adduced1 from the 
writings of the heathens1 instances of  
those who contended for the antiquity of
 their race1 such as the ,athenians1    
,egyptians1 ,arcadians1 and ,phrygians1 
and also of those who have asserted that
 some among them were aborigines1 says1 
that the ,jews being concealed in a     

corner of ,palestine1 men perfectly     
in-erudite1 and who never had previously
 heard the same things celebrated by    
,hesiod and innumerable                 
444,epistle ,i4 of ,pope's ,essay on    
,man1 in which ,pride is                
represented as saying3       ,for me    
kind nature wakes her genial power1     
,suckles each herb1 and spreads out     
every flower2      ,annual for me the   
grape1 the rose1 renew      ,the juice  
nectarious and the balmy dew4      ,for 
me the mine a thousand treasures brings3
      ,for me health gushes from a      
thousand springs2      ,seas roll to    
waft me1 suns to light me rise1      ,my
 footstool earth1 my canopy the skies4  
#bg  other divine men1 composed a most  
incredible and inelegant narration1 that
 a certain man was fashioned by the     
hands of ,god1 and inspired by him with 
the breath of life2 that a woman was    
taken from the side of the man2 that    
precepts were given to them by ,god2 and
 that a serpent was adverse to these    

precepts4 ,lastly1 they make the serpent
 to frustrate the commands of ,god3 in  
all this1 narrating a certain fable     
worthy only of being told by old women1 
and which most impiously makes ,god to  
be from the first imbecile1 and         
incapable of persuading one man         
fashioned by himself to act in a way    
conformable to his will4  ,the          
,christians are most impiously deceived 
and involved in error1 through the      
greatest ignorance of the meaning of    
divine enigmas4 ,for they make a certain
 being whom they call the ,devil1 and   
who in the ,hebrew tongue is denominated
 ,satan1 hostile to ,god4 ,it is        
therefore perfectly stupid and unholy to
 assert that the greatest ,god1 wishing 
to benefit mankind1 was incapable of    
accomplishing what he wished1 through   
having one that opposed him1 and acted  
contrary to his will4 ,the son of ,god1 
therefore1 was vanquished by the devil2 
and being punished by him1 teaches us   
also to despise the punishments         

inflicted by him2 ,christ at the same   
time predicting that ,satan would appear
 on  #bh  the earth1 and1 like himself1 
would exhibit great and admirable works1
 usurping to himself the glory of ,god4 
,the son of ,god also adds1 that it is  
not fit to pay attention to ,satan1     
because he is a seducer1 but that       
himself alone is worthy of belief4      
,this1 however1 is evidently the        
language of a man who is an impostor    
earnestly endeavouring to prevent1 and  
previously guarding himself against1 the
 attempts of those who think differently
 from and oppose him4 ,but1 according to
 the ,christians1 the son of ,god is    
punished by the devil1 who also punishes
 us in order that through this we may be
 exercised in endurance4 ,these         
assertions1 however1 are perfectly      
ridiculous4 ,for it is fit1 ,i think1   
that the devil should be punished1 and  
not that men should be threatened with  
punishment who are calumniated by him4  
,further still3 ,if ,god1 like ,jupiter 

in the comedy1 being roused from a long 
sleep1 wished to liberate the human race
 from evils1 why did he send only into a
 corner of the earth this spirit of whom
 you boast8 though he ought in a similar
 manner to have animated many other     
bodies1 and to have sent them to every  
part of the habitable globe4 ,the comic 
poet indeed1 in order to excite the     
laughter of the audience in the theatre1
 says that ,jupiter1 after he was roused
 from his sleep1 sent ,mercury to the   
,athenians and ,lacedaemonsians3--but do
 not  #bi  you think that it is a much  
more ridiculous fiction to assert that  
,god sent his son to the ,jews8         
,many--and these1 men whose names are   
not known1--both in temples and out of  
temples1 and some also assembling in    
cities or armies1 are easily excited    
from any casual cause1 as if they       
possessed a prophetic power4 ,each of   
these likewise is readily accustomed to 
say1 ',i am ,god1 or the son of ,god1 or
 a divine spirit4 ,but ,i came because  

the world will soon be destroyed1 and   
you1 ,o men6 on account of your         
iniquities will perish4 ,i wish1        
however1 to save you1 and you shall     
again see me1 returning with a celestial
 army4 ,blessed is he who now worships  
me2 but ,i will cast all those who do   
not1 into eternal fire1 together with   
the cities and regions to which they    
belong4 ,those men also that do not now 
know the punishments which are reserved 
for them1 shall afterwards repent and   
lament in vain3 but those who believe in
 me ,i will for ever save4' ,extending  
to the multitude these insane and       
perfectly obscure assertions1 the       
meaning of which no intelligent man is  
able to discover1--for they are         
unintelligible and a mere nothing1--they
 afford an occasion to the stupid and to
 jugglers of giving to them whatever    
interpretation they please4  ,again1    
they do not consider1 if the prophets of
  #cj  the ,god of the ,jews had        
predicted that this would be his son1   

why did this ,god legislatively ordain  
through ,moses1 that the ,jews should   
enrich themselves and acquire power2    
should fill the earth with their        
progeny2 and should slay and cut off the
 whole race of their enemies1 which     
,moses did1 as he says1 in the sight of 
the ,jews2 and besides this1 threatening
 that unless they were obedient to these
 his commands1 he should consider them  
as his enemies2--why1 after these things
 had been promulgated by ,god1 did his  
son1 a ,nazarean man1 exclude from any  
access to his father1 the rich and      
powerful1 the wise and renowned8 ,for he
 says that we ought to pay no more      
attention than ravens do1 to food and   
the necessaries of life991 and that we  
should be less concerned about our      
clothing than the lilies of the field4  
,again1 he asserts1 that to him who     
smites us on one cheek we should        
likewise turn the other99994 ,whether1  
therefore1 does ,moses or ,jesus lie8   
,or1 was the ,father who sent ,jesus    

forgetful of what he had formerly said  
to ,moses8 ,or1 condemning his own laws1
 did he alter his opinion1 and send a   
messenger to mankind with mandates of a 
contrary nature8       99 ,luke xii4    
#bd4       9999 ,luke vi4 #bi4  #ca     
,the ,christians again will say1 ,how   
can ,god be known unless he can be      
apprehended by sense8 ,to this we reply1
 that such a question is not the        
interrogation of man1 nor of soul1 but  
of the flesh4 ,at the same time1        
therefore1 let them hear1 if they are   
capable of hearing any thing1 as being a
 miserable worthless race1 and lovers of
 body6 ,if1 closing the perceptive      
organs of sense1 you look upward with   
the visive power of intellect1 and1     
averting the eye of the flesh1 you      
excite the eye of the soul1 you will    
thus alone behold ,god994 ,and if you   
seek for the leader of this path1 you   
must avoid impostors and enchanters1 and
 those who persuade you to pay attention
 to real idols2 in order that you may   

not be entirely ridiculous1 by          
blaspheming as idols other things which 
are manifestly ,gods99991 and venerating
 that which is in reality more worthless
 than any image1 and which is not even  
an image1 but a dead body9999992 and by 
investigating a ,father similar to it4  
99 ,this is most ,platonically said by  
,celsus4       9999 ,such as the sun and
 moon1 and the other heavenly bodies4   
999999 ,the ,emperor ,julian in the     
fragments of his ,arguments      against
 the ,christians1 'preserved by ,cyril1 
says1 speaking      to the ,christians3 
,you do not notice whether any thing is 
said by the ,jews about holiness2 but   
you emulate their rage      and their   
bitterness1 overturning temples and     
altars1 and      cutting the throats not
 only of those who remain firm in       
paternal institutes1 but also of444  #cb
  ,there are essence and generation1 the
 intelligible and the visible4 ,and     
truth indeed subsists with essence1 but 
error with generation994 ,science1      

therefore1 is conversant with truth1 but
 opinion with generation4 ,intelligence 
also pertains to1 or has the            
intelligible for its object2 but what is
 visible is the object of sight4 ,and   
intellect indeed knows the intelligible2
 but the eye knows that which is        
visible4 ,what the sun therefore is in  
the visible region1--being neither the  
eye1 nor sight1 but the cause to the eye
 of seeing1 and to the sight of its     
visive power1 to all sensibles of their 
being generated1 and to himself of being
 perceived2--this the supreme ,god or   
the good is in intelligibles3 since he  
is neither intellect1 nor intelligence1 
nor science1 but is the cause1 to       
intellect1 of intellectual perception2  
444those heretics who are equally       
erroneous with yourselves1      and who 
do not lament a dead body in the same   
manner as you      do4 ,for neither     
,jesus nor ,paul exhorted you to act in 
this      manner4 ,but the reason is1   
that they did not expect you      would 

arrive at the power which you have      
obtained4 ,for they      were satisfied 
if they could deceive maid-servants and 
slaves1 and through these married women1
 and such men as      ,cornelius and    
,sergius2 among whom1 if you can mention
 one      that was at that time an      
illustrious character1 7and these       
things were transacted under the reign  
of ,tiberius or      ,claudius17 believe
 that ,i am a liar in all things4       
99 ,generation signifies the whole of   
that which is visible4  #cc  to         
intelligence1 of its subsistence on     
account of him2 to science1 for its     
possession of knowledge for his sake1   
and to all intelligibles for their      
existence as such4 ,he is likewise the  
cause to truth itself and to essence    
itself1 of their existence1 being       
himself beyond all intelligibles1 by a  
certain ineffable power994 ,and these   
are the assertions of men who possess   
intellect4 ,but if you understand any   
thing of what is here said1 you are     

indebted to us for it4 ,if1 likewise1   
you think that a certain spirit         
descending from ,god announced to you   
things of a divine nature1 this will be 
the spirit which proclaimed what ,i have
 above said1 and with which ancient men 
being replete1 have unfolded so many    
things of a most beneficial nature4 ,if1
 therefore1 you are unable to understand
 these assertions1 be silent1 and       
conceal your ignorance1 and do not say  
that those are blind who see1 and that  
those are lame who run1       99 ,this  
sentence in the original is as follows3 
--------4      ,but it is requisite to  
read1 conformably to the above          
translation1 --------4 ,celsus has      
derived what he here      says from the 
,sixth ,book of ,plato's ,republic1 and 
what he      says previous to this from 
the ,timaeeus of ,plato4--,see          
,taylor's translation of these          
,dialogues4  #cd  you at the same time  
possessing souls that are in every      
respect lame and mutilated1 and living  

in body1 viz4 in that which is dead4    
,how much better would it be for you1   
since you are desirous of innovation1 to
 direct your attention to some one of   
the illustrious dead1 and concerning    
whom a divine fable may be properly     
admitted6 ,and if ,hercules and         
,esculapius do not please you1 and other
 renowned men of great antiquity1 you   
may have ,orpheus1 a man confessedly    
inspired by a sacred spirit1 and who    
suffered a violent death4 ,but he       
perhaps has been adopted as a leader    
formerly by others4 ,consider           
,anaxarchus1 therefore1 who being thrown
 into a mortar1 and bruised in the      
cruellest manner1 most courageously     
despised the punishment1 exclaiming1    
',bruise1 bruise the sack of            
,anaxarchus1 for you cannot bruise him4'
 ,this1 indeed1 was uttered by a certain
 truly divine spirit4 ,him1 however1    
some physiologists have already         
vindicated to themselves4 ,in the next  
place1 consider ,epictetus1 who when his

 master twisted his leg violently1 said1
 smiling gently and without being       
terrified1 ',you will break my leg2' and
 when his master had broken his leg1    
only observed1 ',did ,i not tell you    
that you would break it8 ,what thing of 
this kind did your ,god utter when  #ce 
he was punished998 ,the sibyl1 likewise1
 whose verses are used by some of you1  
is far more worthy to be regarded by you
 as the daughter of ,god4 ,but now you  
have fraudulently and rashly inserted in
 her verses many things of a blasphemous
 nature99992 and ,christ1 who in his    
life was most reprehensible1 and in his 
death most miserable1 you reverence as a
 ,god4 ,how much more appropriately     
might you have bestowed this honour on  
,jonas when he was under the gourd1 or  
on ,daniel who was saved in the den of  
lions1 or on others of whom more        
prodigious things than these are        
narrated6  ,this is one of the precepts 
of the ,christians3 ',do not revenge    
yourself on him who injures you2 and if 

any person strikes you on one cheek1    
turn the other to him also4' ,and this  
precept indeed is of very great         
antiquity1 but is recorded in a more    
rustic       99 ,christ when on the     
cross exclaimed1 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why 
hast thou forsaken me8 ,but ,socrates in
 his ,apology to his      ,judges1 as   
recorded by ,plato1 most magnanimously  
said1      ,anytus and ,melitus may     
indeed put me to death1 but they        
cannot injure me4       9999 ,the       
collection of the ,sibylline ,oracles   
which are now      extant1 are          
acknowledged by all intelligent men     
among the      learned to be for the    
most part forgeries4--,see the account  
of them by ,fabricius in vol4 i4 of his 
,bibliootheca ,graeca1  #cf  manner by  
,christ4 ,for ,socrates is made by      
,plata in the ,crito to speak as        
follows3 ',it is by no means therefore  
proper to do an injury4 ,by no means4   
,hence neither is it proper for him who 
is injured to revenge the injury1 as the

 multitude think it is2 since it is by  
no means fit to do an injury4 ,it does  
not appear that it is4 ,but what6 is it 
proper or not1 ,o ,crito1 to be malific8
 ,it certainly is not proper1 ,socrates4
 ,is it therefore just or unjust for a  
man to be malific to him by whom he has 
been hurt8 for in the opinion of the    
vulgar it is just4 ,it is by no means   
just4 ,for to be hurtful to men does not
 at all differ from injuring them4 ,you 
speak the truth4 ,neither1 therefore1 is
 it proper to revenge an injury1 nor to 
be hurtful to any man1 whatever evil we 
may suffer from him4' ,these things are 
asserted by ,plato1 who also adds3      
',consider1 therefore1 well1 whether you
 agree1 and are of the same opinion with
 me in this2 and we will begin with     
admitting1 that it is never right either
 to do an injury1 or revenge an injury  
on him who has acted badly towards us4  
,do you assent to this principle8 ,for  
formerly it appeared1 and now still     
appears1 to me to be true4' ,such1      

therefore1 was the opinion of ,plato1   
and which also was the doctrine of      
divine men prior to him4 ,concerning    
these1 however1 and other particulars   
which the ,christians have corrupted1   
enough has been said4 ,for he who  #cg  
desires to search further into them1 may
 easily be satisfied4  ,but why is it   
requisite to enumerate how many things  
have been foretold with a divinely      
inspired voice1 partly by prophetesses  
and prophets1 and partly by other men   
and women under the influence of        
inspiration8 ,what wonderful things they
 have heard from the adyta themselves6  
,how many things have been rendered     
manifest from victims and sacrifices to 
those who have used them6 ,how many from
 other prodigious symbols6 ,and to some 
persons1 divinely luminous appearances  
have been manifestly present4 ,of these 
things indeed the life of every one is  
full4 ,how many cities1 likewise1 have  
been raised from oracles1 and liberated 
from disease and pestilence6 ,and how   

many1 neglecting these1 or forgetting   
them1 have perished miserably6 ,how many
 colonies have been founded from these1 
and by observing their mandates have    
been rendered happy6 ,how many          
potentates and private persons have1    
from attending to or neglecting these1  
obtained a better or a worse condition6 
,how many1 lamenting their want of      
children1 have through these obtained   
the object of their wishes6 ,how many   
have escaped the anger of daemons6 ,how 
many mutilated bodies have been healed6 
,and again1 how many have immediately   
suffered for insolent behaviour in  #ch 
sacred concerns6 some indeed becoming   
insane on the very spot2 others         
proclaiming their impious deeds1 but    
others not proclaiming them before they 
perished2 some destroying themselves1   
and others becoming a prey to incurable 
diseases4 ,and sometimes a dreadful     
voice issuing from the adyta has        
destroyed them994  ,in the next place1  
is it not absurd that you should desire 

and hope for the resurrection of the    
body1 as if nothing was more excellent  
or more honourable to us than this2 and 
yet again1 that you should hurl this    
same body into punishments1 as a thing  
of a vile nature8 ,to men1 however1 who 
are persuaded that this is true1 and who
 are conglutinated to body1 it is not   
worth while to speak of things of this  
kind4 ,for these are men who in other   
respects are rustic and impure1 without 
reason1 and labouring under the disease 
of sedition4 ,indeed1 those who hope    
that the soul or intellect will exist   
eternally1 whether they are willing to  
call it pneumatic99991 or an            
intellectual spirit holy and blessed1 or
 a living soul1 or the supercelestial   
and       99 ,see the scientific theory 
of ,oracles unfolded in the ,notes      
to ,taylor's translation of ,pausanias1 
vol4 iii4 p4 #bei4       9999 ,this is  
said conformably to the opinion of the  
,stoics4  #ci  incorruptible progeny of 
a divine and incorporeal nature991 or   

whatever other appellation they may     
think fit to give it2 those who thus    
hope1 7but ,i say this in accordance    
with ,divinity17 in this respect think  
rightly1 that those who have lived well 
in this life will be blessed1 but that  
those who have been entirely unjust1    
will be involved in endless evils4 ,and 
neither the ,christians nor any other   
man were ever hostile to this dogma4    
,since men are bound to body1 whether   
they are so for the sake of the         
dispensation of the whole of things1 or 
in order that they may suffer the       
punishment of their offences1 or in     
consequence of the soul through certain 
passions becoming heavy and tending     
downwards1 till through certain orderly 
periods it becomes purified2--for       
according to ,empedocles1 it is         
necessary that            ',from the    
blest wandering thrice ten thousand     
times1           ,through various mortal
 forms the soul should pass4'--       99
 ,this is asserted in accordance with   

the doctrine of the      ,platonists4   
9999 ,this #cj1jjj times must not be    
considered mathematically2      since it
 symbolically indicates a certain       
appropriate      measure of perfection4 
,for in units ,s is a perfect number1   
as having a beginning1 middle1 and end4 
,and again1 #aj is      perfect1 because
 it comprehends all numbers in itself4  
,these numbers1 however1 were call-444  
#dj  ,this being the case1 it is        
requisite to believe that men are       
committed to the care of certain        
inspective guardians of this prison the 
body4  ,that to the least of things1    
however1 are allotted guardian powers1  
may be learnt from the ,egyptians1 who  
say that the human body is divided into 
thirty-six parts1 and that daemons99 or 
certain etherial gods who are           
distributed into the same number of     
parts1 are the guardians of these       
divisions of the body4 ,some also       
assert1 that there is a much greater    
number of these presiding powers2       

different corporeal parts being under   
the inspection of different powers4 ,the
 names of these also in the vernacular  
tongue of the ,egyptians are ,chnoumen1 
,chnachoumen1 ,knat1 ,sicat1 ,biou1     
,erou1 ,erebiou1 ,ramanor1 ,reianoor4   
,what1 therefore1 should prevent him    
from making use of these and other      
powers1 who wishes rather to be well    
than to be ill1 to be fortunate rather  
than to be unfortunate1 and to be       
liberated from such       444ed by the  
ancients perfect1 in a different way    
from #f1 #bh1      c42 for these were   
thus denominated because they are equal 
to the sum of their parts4       99 i4  
e4 beneficent daemonss2 for the ancients
 divided      daemonss into the         
beneficent and malevolent4 ,they also   
considered the former as assisting the  
soul in its ascent to      its pristine 
state of felicity2 but the latter as of 
a      punishing and avenging           
characteristic4  #da  tormentors and    
castigators as these things are thought 

to be899  ,he1 however1 who invokes     
these powers ought to be careful1 lest  
being conglutinated as it were to the   
worship of them1 and to a love of the   
body1 he should turn from and become    
oblivious of more excellent natures4    
,for it is perhaps requisite not to     
disbelieve in wise men1 who say that the
 greater part of circumterrestrial      
daemons are conglutinated to generation1
 and are delighted with blood1 with the 
odour and vapour of flesh1 with melodies
 and with other things of the like      
kind99992 to which being bound1 they are
 unable to effect any thing superior to 
the sanction of the body1 and the       
prediction of future events to men and  
cities4 ,whatever also pertains to      
mortal actions they know1 and are able  
to bring to pass4  ,if some one should  
command a worshiper of ,god either to   
act impiously1 or to say any thing of a 
most disgraceful nature1 he is in no    
respect whatever to be obeyed2 but all  
trial and every kind of death are to be 

endured rather than to meditate1        
99 ,vid4 ,salmas4   ,in fine libri ,he  
,annis climactericis4       9999 ,see   
,book ,,ii4 of ,taylor's translation of 
,porphyry1--,on      ,abstinence from   
,animal ,food4  #db  and much more to   
assert1 any thing impious concerning    
,god4 ,but if any one should order us to
 celebrate the ,sun or ,minerva1 we     
ought most gladly to sing hymns to their
 praise4 ,for thus you will appear to   
venerate the supreme ,god in a greater  
degree 991 if you also celebrate these  
powers3 for piety when it passes through
 all things becomes more perfect4       
,,extracts ,,from1 ,,and ,,information  
,,relative ,,to1 ,,the ,,treatise ,,of  
,,porphyry ,,against ,,the ,,christians 
,illustration3 ,porphyry  ,this work of 
,porphyry consisted of ,fifteen ,books1 
and is unfortunately lost4 ,it is       
frequently mentioned by the ,fathers of 
the ,church1 from whose writings the    
following particulars are collected4    
,the ,first ,book appears to have       

contained a development of the          
contrariety of the ,scriptures1 and     
proofs that they did not proceed from   
,divinity1 but from men4 ,to this end   
,porphyry especially adduces what ,paul 
writes to the ,galatians1 chap4 ii4     
99 ,for as the ineffable principle of   
things possesses all      power and the 
highest power1 he first produced from   
himself      beings most transcendently 
allied to himself2 and therefore1       
by venerating these1 the highest ,god   
will be in a greater      degree        
venerated1 as being a greater veneration
 of his      power4  #dc  viz4 that when
 ,peter came to ,antioch1 he withstood  
him to his face1 because he was to be   
blamed4 ,hence ,porphyry infers1 that   
the ,apostles1 and indeed the chief of  
them1 did not publicly study the        
salvation of all men1 but that each of  
them was privately attentive to his own 
renown4 ,this the ,fathers testify in   
more than one place4 ,see the           
,commentary of ,jerome on the           

above-mentioned ,epistle4 ,jerome also1 
in his #hith ,epistle to ,augustin1     
informs us that ,porphyry says1 that    
,peter and ,paul opposed each other in a
 puerile contest1 and that ,paul was    
envious of the virtue of ,peter4  ,the  
,third ,book treated of the             
interpretation of the ,scriptures1 in   
which ,porphyry condemned the mode of   
explaining them adopted by the          
commentators1 and especially the        
allegories of ,origen4 ,this is evident 
from a long extract from this work of   
,porphyry given by ,eusebius in ,hist4  
,eccl4 lib4 i4 cap4 #ac4  ,the ,fourth  
,book treated of the ,mosaic history and
 the antiquities of the ,jews1 as we    
learn from ,eusebius1 ,proep4 ,evang4   
lib4 i4 cap4 #i1 and from ,theo-doret1  
,serm4 ii4 ,therap4  ,but the ,twelfth  
,book was the most celebrated of all1 in
 which ,porphyry strenuously opposes the
  #dd  prophecy of ,daniel4 ,of this    
work ,jerome thus speaks in the ,preface
 to his ,commentary on that prophet3    

,porphyry's twelfth book is against the 
prophet ,daniel1 as he was unwilling to 
admit that it was written by that       
prophet1 but contends that it was       
composed by a person in ,judaea named   
,epiphanes1 and who lived in the time of
 ,antiochus4 ,hence he says1 that       
,daniel does not so much narrate future 
as past events4 ,lastly1 he asserts1    
that whatever is related as far as to   
the reign of ,antiochus contains a true 
history2 but that all that is said      
posterior to this time1 as the writer   
was ignorant of futurity1 is false4     
,the ,thirteenth ,book also1 according  
to ,jerome991 was written against the   
same prophet2 in which book1 speaking of
 the abomination of desolation1 as it is
 called by ,daniel1 7when standing in   
the sacred place17 he says many         
reproachful things of the ,christians4  
,the same ,jerome likewise1 in ,epist4  
ci41 ad ,pam-machium1 testifies1 that   
,porphyry accuses the history of the    
,evangelists of falsehood1 and says9999 

that ,christ1 after he had told his     
brethren that he should       99 ,vid4  
lib4 iv4 ,comment1 in #bd ,cap4 ,matth4 
9999 ,lib4 ii4 adversus ,pelagianos4    
#de  not go up to the feast of          
tabernacles1 yet afterwards went up to  
it 7,john vii474 ,hence ,porphyry       
accuses him of inconstancy and          
mutability4 ,jerome's observation on    
this is curious1 viz4 ,nesciens omnia   
scandala ad carnem esse referenda4      
,jerome adds 7in ,lib4 ,quasst4         
,hebraic1 in ,genesin7 that ,porphyry   
calumniates the ,evangelists for making 
a miracle to the ignorant1 by asserting 
that ,christ walked on the sea1 calling 
the lake ,genezareth the sea4 ,he       
likewise says1 that ,porphyry called the
 miracles which were performed at the   
sepulchres of the martyrs1 the delusions
 of evil demons4  ,the following        
remarkable passage from one of the lost 
writings of ,porphyry relative to the   
,christians1 is preserved by ,augustin  
in his ,treatise ,de ,civit4 lib4 xix4  

cap4 #bc4  ,sunt spiritus terreni minimi
 loco terreno quodam malorum daemonum   
potestati subjecti4 ,ab his sapientes   
,hebraeorum1 quorum unus iste etiam     
,jesus fuit1 sicut audivisti divina     
,apollonis oracula quae superius dicta  
sunt4 ,ab his ergo ,hebaei dsemonibus   
pessimis et minoribus spiritibus        
vetabant religiosos1 et ipsis vacare    
prohibebant3 venerari autem magis       
coelestes ,deos1 amplius autem venerari 
,deum patrem4 ,hoc autem et ,dii        
praecipiunt1 et in  #dj  superioibus    
ostendimus1 quemadmodum animadvertere ad
 ,deum monent1 et ilium colere ubique   
imperant4 ,verum indocti et impiae      
naturae1 quibus vere ,fatum non         
concessit a ,dius dona obtinere1 neque  
habere ,jovis immortalis notitiam1 non  
audientes ,deos et divinos viros2 ,deos 
quidem omnes recusaverunt1 prohibitos   
autem daemones non solum nullis odiis   
insequi1 sed etiam revereri delegerunt4 
,deum autem simulantes se colere1 ea    
sola per quae ,deus adoratur1 non agunt4

 ,nam ,deus quidem utpote omnium pater  
nullius indiget3 sed nobis est bene1 cum
 eum per justitiam et castitatem1       
aliasque virtutes adoramus1 ipsam vitam 
precem ad ipsum fa-cientes1 per         
imitationem et inquisitionem de ipso4   
,inquisitio enim purgat1 imitatio       
deificat affectionem ad ipsum operando4 
i4 e4 ,there are terrene spirits of the 
lowest order1 who in a certain terrene  
place are subject to the power of evil  
demons4 ,from these were derived the    
wise men of the ,hebrews1 of whom ,jesus
 also was one2 as you have heard the    
divine oracles of ,apollo above         
mentioned assert4 ,from these worst of  
demons therefore1 and lesser spirits of 
the ,hebrew1 the oracles forbid the     
religious1 and prohibit from paying     
attention to them1 but exhort them      
rather to venerate the celestial gods1  
and still more the father of the gods4  
,and we have above  #dg  shown how the  
gods admonish us to look to ,divinity1  
and everywhere command us to worship    

him4 ,but the unlearned and impious     
natures1 to whom ,fate has not granted  
truly to obtain gifts from the gods1 and
 to have a knowledge of immortal        
,jupiter1--these not attending to the   
gods and divine men1 reject indeed all  
the gods1 and are so far from hating    
prohibited demons1 that they even choose
 to reverence them994 ,but pretending   
that they worship ,god1 they do not     
perform those things through which alone
 ,god is adored4 ,for ,god1 indeed1 as  
being the father of all things1 is not  
in want of any thing2 but it is well    
with us when we adore him through       
justice and continence1 and the other   
99,the ,platonic philosopher ,sallust1  
in his golden book ,on the      ,gods   
and the ,world1 says1 alluding to the   
,christians1 cap4      #ah1 ,impiety1   
which invades some places of the earth1 
and      which will often subsist in    
future1 ought not to give any           
disturbance to the worthy mind2 for     
things of this kind do      not affect1 

nor can religious honours be of any     
advantage to      the gods2 and the soul
 from its middle nature is not always   
able to pursue that which is right      
,besides1 it is not      improbable that
 impiety is a species of punishment2 for
      those who have known and at the   
same time despised the gods1      we may
 reasonably suppose will in another life
 be deprived      of the knowledge of   
their nature4 ,and those who have       
honoured their proper sovereigns as     
gods1 shall be cut off      from the    
divinities1 as the punishment of their  
impiety4  #dh  virtues1 making our life 
a prayer to him through the imitation   
and investigation of him4 ,for          
investigation purifies1 but imitation   
deifies the affection of the mind by    
energizing about divinity4  ,the        
following extract from ,porphyry        
concerning a pestilence which raged for 
many years at ,rome1 and could not be   
mitigated by any sacrifices1 is         
preserved by ,theodoret3 --------4 i4 e4

 ,the ,christians now wonder that the   
city has been for so many years attacked
 by disease1 the advent or manifest     
appearance of ,esculapius and the other 
gods no longer existing4 ,for ,jesus    
being now reverenced and worshiped1 no  
one any longer derives any public       
benefit from the gods4     ,a ,,fragment
 ,,of ,,the ,,thirty-,,fourth ,,book    
,,of ,,diodorus ,,siculus4  ,king       
,antiochus besieged ,jerusalem2 but the 
,jews resisted him for some time4 ,when1
 however1 all their provision was spent1
 they were forced to send ambassadors to
 him to treat on terms4 ,many of his    
friends persuaded him to storm the city1
 and  #di  to root out the whole nation 
of the ,jews2 because they only1 of all 
people1 hated to converse with any of   
another nation1 and treated all of them 
as enemies4 ,they likewise suggested to 
him1 that the ancestors of the ,jews    
were driven out of ,egypt as impious and
 hateful to the ,gods4 ,for their bodies
 being overspread and infected with the 

itch and leprosy1 they brought them     
together into one place by way of       
expiation1 and as profane and wicked    
wretches expelled them from their       
coasts4 ,those too that were thus       
expelled seated themselves about        
,jerusalem1 and being afterwards        
embodied into one nation1 called the    
nation of the ,jews1 their hatred of all
 other men descended with their blood to
 posterity4 ,hence they made strange    
laws1 entirely different from those of  
other nations4 ,in consequence of this1 
they will neither eat nor drink with any
 one of a different nation1 nor wish him
 any prosperity4 ,for1 say they1        
,antiochus1 surnamed ,epiphanes1 having 
subdued the ,jews1 entered into the     
temple of ,god1 into which by their law 
no one was permitted to enter but the   
priest4 ,here1 when he found the image  
of a man with a long beard carved in    
stone sitting on an ass1 he conceived it
 to be ,moses who built ,jerusalem1     
established the nation1 and made all    

their impious customs and practises     
legal3 for these abound in hatred and   
enmity to all other men4 ,antiochus1    
therefore1 abhorring this  #ej  their   
contrariety to all other nations1 used  
his utmost endeavour to abrogate their  
laws4 ,in order to effect this1 he      
sacrificed a large hog at the image of  
,moses and at the altar of ,god that    
stood in the outward court1 and         
sprinkled them with the blood of the    
sacrifice4 ,he commanded likewise that  
the sacred books1 whereby they were     
taught to hate all other nations1 should
 be sprinkled with the broth made of the
 hog's flesh4 ,and he extinguished the  
lamp called by them immortal1 which was 
continually burning in the temple4      
,lastly1 he compelled the high priest   
and the other ,jews to eat swine's      
flesh4 ,afterwards1 when ,antiochus and 
his friends had deliberately considered 
these things1 they urged him to root out
 the whole nation1 or at least to       
abrogate their laws and compel them to  

change their former mode of conducting  
themselves in common life4 ,but the king
 being generous and of a mild           
disposition1 received hostages and      
pardoned the ,jews4 ,he demolished1     
however1 the walls of ,jerusalem1 and   
took the tribute that was due4          
,,from ,,manetho ,,respecting ,,the     
,,israelites4  ,while such was the state
 of things in ,ethiopia1 the people of  
,jerusalem1 having come down with the   
defiled of the ,egyptians1 treated the  
inhabitants in such an unholy manner1   
that those who witnessed  #ea  their    
impieties1 believed that their joint    
sway was more execrable than that which 
the shepherds had formerly exercised4   
,for they not only set fire to the      
cities and villages1 but committed every
 kind of sacrilege1 and destroyed the   
images of the gods1 and roasted and fed 
upon those sacred animals that were     
worshipped2 and having compelled the    
priests and prophets to kill and        
sacrifice them1 they cast them naked out

 of the country4 ,it is said also that  
the priest who ordained their polity and
 laws was by birth of ,heliopolis1 and  
his name ,osarsiph1 from ,osons the god 
of ,heliopolis2 but that when he went   
over to these people1 his name was      
changed1 and he was called ,moyses4     
,manetho again says3 ,after this1       
,amenophis returned from ,ethiopia with 
a great force1 and ,rampses also his son
 with other forces2 and encountering the
 shepherds and defiled people1 they     
defeated and slew multitudes of them1   
add pursued them to the bounds of       
,syria4--,joseph contn ,app4 lib4 i4    
cap4 #bf1  #bg4  ,cherilus also1 a still
 more ancient writer than ,herodotus1   
and a poet1 makes mention of our nation1
 and informs us that it came to the     
assistance of king ,xerxes in his       
expedition against ,greece4 ,for in his 
enumeration of all those nations1 he    
last of  #eb  all inserts ours among the
 rest1 when he says3 ,at the last1 there
 passed over a people wonderful to      

behold2 for they spake the ,phoenician  
tongue1 and dwelt in the ,solymaean     
mountains1 near a broad lake4 ,their    
heads were sooty2 they had round rasures
 on them2 their heads and faces were    
like nasty horse heads1 also1 that had  
been hardened in the smoke4--,whiston's 
,josephus1 vol4 iv4 p4 #bii4            
,,extracts ,,from ,,the ,,fifth ,,book  
,,of ,,tacitus ,,respecting ,,the       
,,jews1 ,,as ,,translated ,,by ,,murphy4
  ,being now to relate the progress of a
 siege that terminated in the           
destruction of that once celebrated city
 ,jerusalem1 it may be proper to go back
 to its first foundation1 and to trace  
the origin of the people4 ,the ,jews we 
are told were natives of the ,isle of   
,crete4 ,at the time when ,saturn was   
driven from his throne by the violence  
of ,jupiter1 they abandoned their       
habitations1 and gained a settlement at 
the extremity of ,libya4 ,in support of 
this tradition1 the etymology of their  
name is adduced as a proof4 ,mount ,ida1

 well known to fame1 stands in the ,isle
 of ,crete3 the inhabitants are called  
,idaeans2 and the word by a barbarous   
corruption was changed afterwards to    
that of ,judaeans4 ,according to others 
they were a colony from ,egypt1 when    
that country1 during the reign of ,isis1
  #ec  overflowing with inhabitants     
poured forth its redundant numbers under
 the conduct of ,hierosolymus and ,juda4
 ,a third hypothesis makes them         
originally ,ethiopians1 compelled by the
 tyranny of ,cepheus1 the reigning      
monarch1 to abandon their country4 ,some
 authors contend that they were a tribe 
of ,assyrians1 who for some time        
occupied a portion of ,egypt1 and       
afterwards transplanting themselves into
 ,syria1 acquired in their own right a  
number of cities1 together with the     
territories of the ,hebrews4 ,there is  
still another tradition1 which ascribes 
to the ,jews a more illustrious origin1 
deriving them from the ancient          
,solymans1 so highly celebrated in the  

poetry of ,homer4 ,by that people the   
city was built1 and from its founder    
received the name of ,hierosolyma4  ,in 
this clash of opinions1 one point seems 
to be universally admitted4 ,a          
pestilential disease1 disfiguring the   
race of man1 and making the body an     
object of loathsome deformity1 spread   
all over ,egypt4 ,bocchoris1 at that    
time the reigning monarch1 consulted the
 oracle of ,jupiter ,ammon1 and received
 for answer that the kingdom must be    
purified by exterminating the infected  
multitude as a race of men detested by  
the gods4 ,after diligent search1 the   
wretched sufferers were collected       
together1 and in a wild and barren      
desert abandoned to their misery4  ,in  
that distress1 while the vulgar herd was
  #ed  sunk in deep despair1 ,moses1 one
 of their number1 reminded them1 that by
 the wisdom of his counsels they had    
been already rescued out of impending   
danger4 ,deserted as they were by men   
and gods1 he told them that if they did 

not repose their confidence in him1 as  
their chief by divine commission1 they  
had no resource left4 ,his offer was    
accepted4 ,their march began they knew  
not whither4 ,want of water was their   
chief distress4 ,worn out with fatigue  
they lay stretched out on the bare      
earth1 heart-broken1 ready to expire2   
when a troop of wild asses1 returning   
from pasture1 went up the steep ascent  
of a rock covered with a grove of trees4
 ,the verdure of the herbage round the  
place1 suggested the idea of springs    
near at hand4 ,moses traced the steps of
 the animals1 and discovered a plentiful
 vein of water4 ,by this relief the     
fainting multitude was raised from      
despair4 ,they pursued their journey for
 six days without intermission4 ,on the 
seventh they made a halt1 and having    
expelled the natives took possession of 
the country1 where they built their city
 and dedicated their temple4  ,in order 
to draw the bond of union closer1 and to
 establish his own authority1 ,moses    

gave a new form of worship1 and a system
 of religious ceremonies1 the reverse of
 every thing known to any other age or  
country4 ,whatever is held sacred by    
#ee  the ,romans1 with the ,jews is     
profane3 and what in other nations is   
unlawful and impure1 with them is fully 
established4 ,the figure of the animal  
that guided them to refreshing springs  
is consecrated in the sanctuary of their
 temple994 ,in contempt of ,jupiter     
,hammon they sacrifice a ram4 ,the ox   
worshiped in ,egypt for the god ,apis is
 slain as a victim by the ,jews4 ,from  
the flesh of swine they abstain         
altogether4 ,an animal subject to the   
same leprous disease that infected their
 whole nation1 is not deemed proper     
food4 ,the famine with which they were  
for a long time afflicted1 is frequently
 commemorated by a solemn fast4 ,their  
bread1 in memory of their having seized 
a quantity of grain to relieve their    
wants1 is made without leaven4 ,the     
seventh day is sacred to rest1 for on   

that day their labours ended2 and such  
is their natural propensity to sloth1   
that in consequence of it every seventh 
year is devoted to repose and sluggish  
inactivity4 ,for this septennial custom 
some account in a       99 ,conformably 
to this1 see what ,diodorus ,siculus    
says 7in      the extract given from    
him1 p4 #di473 ,josephus denies that    
the figure of an ass was consecrated in 
the sanctuary of the      ,jewish       
temple4 ,but this does not invalidate   
the testimony of      ,diodorus ,siculus
 to the contrary4 ,for ,antiochus when  
he      subdued the ,jews might have    
found the image of this animal      in  
their temple2 but in the time of        
,josephus the ass might      not have   
been consecrated by them4  #ef          
different manner3 they tell us that it  
is an institution in honour of ,saturn2 
either because the ,idaeans1 expelled1  
as has been mentioned1 from the ,isle of
 ,crete1 transmitted to their posterity 
the principles of their religious creed2

 or because among the seven planets that
 govern the universe1 ,saturn moves in  
the highest orbit1 and acts with the    
greatest energy4 ,it may be added that  
the period in which the heavenly bodies 
perform their revolutions is regulated  
by the number seven4  ,these rites and  
ceremonies1 from whatever source        
derived1 owe their chief support to     
their antiquity4  ,they have other      
institutions1 in themselves corrupt1    
impure1 and even abominable2 but eagerly
 embraced1 as if their very depravity   
were a recommendation4 ,the scum and    
refuse of other nations1 renouncing the 
religion of their country1 flocked in   
crowds to ,jerusalem1 enriching the     
place with gifts and offerings4 ,hence  
the wealth and grandeur of the state4   
,connected amongst themselves by the    
most obstinate and inflexible faith1 the
 ,jews extend their charity to all of   
their own persuasion1 while towards the 
rest of mankind they nourish a sullen   
and inveterate hatred4 ,strangers are   

excluded from their tables4 ,unsociable 
to all others1 they eat and lodge with  
one another only2 and though addicted to
 sensuality1 they admit no intercourse  
with women  #eg  from other nations4    
,among themselves their passions are    
without restraint4 ,vice itself is      
lawful4 ,that they may know each other  
by distinctive marks1 they have         
established the practice of             
circumcision4 ,all who embrace their    
faith1 submit to the same operation4    
,the first elements of their religion   
teach their proselytes to despise the   
gods1 to abjure their country1 and      
forget their parents1 their brothers1   
and their children4 ,with the ,egyptians
 they agree in their belief of a future 
state2 they have the same notion of     
departed spirits1 the same solicitude1  
and the same doctrine4 ,with regard to  
the ,deity their creed is different4    
,the ,egyptians worship various animals1
 and also symbolical representations1   
which are the work of man3 the ,jews    

acknowledge one ,god only1 and him they 
adore in contemplation2 condemning as   
impious idolaters all who1 with         
perishable materials wrought into the   
human form1 attempt to give a           
representation of the ,deity4 ,their    
priests made use of fifes and cymbals2  
they were crowned with wreaths of ivy1  
and a vine wrought in gold was seen in  
their temple4 ,hence some have inferred 
that ,bacchus1 the conqueror of the     
,east1 was the object of their          
adoration4 ,but the ,jewish forms of    
worship have no conformity to the rites 
of ,bacchus4 ,the latter have their     
festive days which are always celebrated
 with mirth and carousing banquets4     
,those of the ,jews are a gloomy        
ceremony1  #eh  fall of absurd          
enthusiasm1 rueful1 mean1 and sordid4   
--------    ,chaeremon 991 professing to
 write the history of ,egypt1 says1 that
 under ,amenophis and his son ,ramessis 
two hundred and fifty thousand leprous  
and polluted men were cast out of       

,egypt4 ,their leaders were ,moses the  
scribe1 and ,josephus1 who was also a   
sacred scribe4 ,the ,egyptian name of   
,moses was ,tisithen1 of ,joseph        
,peteseph4 ,these coming to ,pelusium1  
and finding there #chj1jjj men left by  
,amenophis1 which he would not admit    
into ,egypt1 making a league with them1 
they undertook an expedition against    
,egypt4 ,upon this ,amenophis flies into
 ,ethiopia1 and his son ,messenes drives
 out the ,jews into ,syria1 in number   
about #bjj1jjj1 and receives his father 
,amenophis out of ,ethiopia4 ,i know    
,lysimachus9999 assigns another king and
 another time in which ,moses led the   
,israelites out of ,egypt1 and that was 
when ,bocchoris reigned in ,egypt2 the  
nation of the ,jews1 being infected with
 leprosies and scabs and other diseases1
 betook themselves to the temples to beg
 their living1 and many being tainted   
with the disease1 there happened a      
dearth in ,egypt4 ,whereupon ,bocchoris 
consulting       99 ,joseph1 lib4 i4    

contra ,apionem4       9999 ,idem4  #ei 
with the oracle of ,ammon1 received for 
answer that the leprous people were to  
be drowned in the sea1 in sheets of     
lead1 and the scabbed were to be carried
 into the wilderness2 who choosing      
,moses for their leader1 conquered that 
country which is now called             
,judaea4--,greaves ,pyramidograpkia1 p4 
#bf4     ,,extracts ,,from ,,the ,,works
 ,,of ,,the ,,emperor ,,julian          
,,relative ,,to ,,the ,,christians4     
,illustration3 ,julian   ,,extract      
,,from ,,epistle ,,li4 ,,to ,,the       
,,alexandrians4  ,as the founder of your
 city was ,alexander1 and your ruler and
 tutelar deity ,king ,serapis1 together 
with the virgin his associate1 and the  
queen of all ,egypt1 ,isis1 99 99 991   
you do not emulate a healthy city1 but  
the diseased part dares to arrogate to  
itself the name of the whole city4 ,by  
the gods1 ,men of ,alexandria1 ,i should
 be very much ashamed1 if1 in short1 any
 ,alexandrian should acknowledge himself

 to be a ,galilaean4  ,the ancestors of 
the ,hebrews were formerly slaves to the
 ,egyptians4 ,but now1 ,men of          
,alexandria1 you1 the conquerors of     
,egypt 7for ,egypt was conquered by your
 founder71 sustain a voluntary servitude
 to the despisers of your national      
dogmas1 in opposition to your ancient   
sacred institutions4 ,and you do not    
recollect your former  #fj  felicity1   
when all ,egypt had communion with the  
gods1 and we enjoyed an abundance of    
good4 ,but1 tell me1 what advantage has 
accrued to your city from those who now 
introduce among you a new religion8     
,your founder was that pious man        
,alexander of ,macedon1 who did not1 by 
,jupiter6 resemble any one of these1 or 
any of the ,hebrews1 who far excelled   
them4 ,even ,ptolemy1 the son of ,lagus1
 was also superior to them4 ,as to      
,alexander1 if he had encountered1 he   
would have endangered even the ,romans4 
,what then did the ,ptolemies1 who      
succeeded your founder8 ,educating your 

city1 like their own daughter1 from her 
infancy1 they did not bring her to      
maturity by the discourses of ,jesus1   
nor did they construct the form of      
government1 through which she is now    
happy1 by the doctrine of the odious    
,galilaeans4  ,thirdly3 ,after the      
,romans became its masters1 taking it   
from the bad government of the          
,ptolemies1 ,augustus visited your city1
 and thus addressed the citizens3 ',men 
of ,alexandria1 ,i acquit your city of  
all blame1 out of regard to the great   
god ,serapis1  and also for the sake of 
the people1 and the grandeur of the     
city4 ,a third cause of my kindness to  
you is my friend ,areus4' ,this ,areus1 
the companion of ,augustus ,caesar1 and 
a philosopher1 was your fellow-citizen4 
#fa  ,the particular favours conferred  
on your city by the ,olympic gods were1 
in short1 such as these4 ,many more1 not
 to be prolix1 ,i omit4 ,but those      
blessings which the apparent gods bestow
 in common every day1 not on one family1

 nor on a single city1 but on the whole 
world1 why do you not acknowledge8 ,are 
you alone insensible of the splendour   
that flows from the sun8 ,are you alone 
ignorant that summer and winter are     
produced by him1 and that all things are
 alone vivified and alone germinate from
 him8 ,do you not1 also1 perceive the   
great advantages that accrue to your    
city from the moon1 from him and by him 
the fabricator of all things8 ,yet you  
dare not worship either of these        
deities2 but this ,jesus1 whom neither  
you nor your fathers have seen1 you     
think must necessarily be ,god the word1
 while him1 whom from eternity every    
generation of mankind has seen1 and sees
 and venerates1 and by venerating lives 
happily1 ,i mean the mighty sun1 a      
living1 animated1 intellectual1 and     
beneficent image of the intelligible    
,father1 you despise4 ,if1 however1 you 
listen to my admonitions1 you will by   
degrees return to truth4 ,you will not  
wander from the right path1 if you will 

be guided by him1 who to the twentieth  
year of his age pursued that road1 but  
has now worshiped the gods for near     
twelve years4  #fb   ,,extracts ,,from  
,,the ,,fragment ,,of ,,an ,,oration    
,,or ,,epistle ,,on ,,the ,,duties ,,of 
,a ,,priest4  ,if any are detected      
behaving disorderly to their prince1    
they are immediately punished2 but those
 who refuse to approach the gods1 are   
possessed by a tribe of evil daemons1   
who driving many of the atheists i4 e4  
of the ,christians to distraction1 make 
them think death desirable1 that they   
may fly up into heaven1 after having    
forcibly dislodged their souls4 ,some of
 them prefer deserts to towns2 but man1 
being by nature a gentle and social     
animal1 they also are abandoned to evil 
daemons1 who urge them to this          
misanthropy2 and many of them99 have had
 recourse to chains and collars4 ,thus1 
on all sides1 they are impelled by an   
evil daemons1 to whom they have         
voluntarily surrendered themselves1 by  

forsaking the eternal and saviour gods4 
,statues and altars1 and the            
preservation of the unextinguished fire1
 and in short all such particulars1 have
 been established by our fathers1 as    
symbols of the presence of the gods2 not
 that we should believe that these      
symbols are gods1 but that through these
 we should worship the gods4 ,for since 
we are connected with body1 it is also  
99 i4 e4 ,the ,cappadocian monks and    
hermits4  #fc  necessary that our       
worship of the gods should be performed 
in a corporeal manner2 but they are     
incorporeal4 ,and they1 indeed1 have    
exhibited to us as the first of statues1
 that which ranks as the second genus of
 gods from the first1 and which         
circularly revolves round the whole of  
heaven994 ,since1 however1 a corporeal  
worship cannot even be paid to these1   
because they are naturally unindigent1 a
 third kind of statues was devised in   
the earth1 by the worship of which we   
render the gods propitious to us4 ,for  

as those who reverence the images of    
kings1 who are not in want of any such  
reverence1 at the same time attract to  
themselves their benevolence2 thus1     
also1 those who venerate the statues of 
the gods1 who are not in want of any    
thing1 persuade the gods by this        
veneration to assist and be favourable  
to them4 ,for alacrity in the           
performance of things in our power is a 
document of true sanctity2 and it is    
very evident that he who accomplishes   
the former1 will in a greater degree    
possess the latter4 ,but he who despises
 things in his power1 and afterwards    
pretends to desire impossibilities1     
evidently does not pursue the       99  
,meaning those divine bodies the        
celestial orbs1 which in                
consequence of participating a divine   
life from the      incorporeal powers   
from which they are suspended1 may be   
very properly called secondary gods4    
#fd  latter1 but overlooks the former4  
,for though divinity is not in want of  

any thing1 it does not follow that on   
this account nothing is to be offered to
 him4 ,for neither is he in want of     
celebration through the ministry of     
words4 ,what then8 ,is it1 therefore1   
reasonable that he should also be       
deprived of this8 ,by no means4         
,neither1 therefore1 is he to be        
deprived of the honour which is paid him
 through works2 which honour has been   
legally established1 not for three or   
for three thousand years1 but in all    
preceding ages1 among all nations of the
 earth4  ,but the ,galilaeans will say1 
,o6 you who have admitted into your soul
 every multitude of daemons1 whom1      
though according to you they are        
formless and unfigured1 you have        
fashioned in a corporeal resemblance1 it
 is not fit that honour should be paid  
to divinity through such works4 ,how1   
then1 do we not consider as wood and    
stones those statues which are fashioned
 by the hands of men8 ,o more stupid    
than even stones themselves6 ,do you    

fancy that all men are to be drawn by   
the nose as you are drawn by execrable  
daemonss1 so as to think that the       
artificial resemblances of the gods are 
the gods themselves8 ,looking1          
therefore1 to the resemblances of the   
gods1 we do not think them to be either 
stones or wood2 for neither do we  #fe  
think that the gods are these           
resemblances2 since neither do we say   
that royal images are wood1 or stone1 or
 brass1 nor that they are the kings     
therefore1 but the images of kings4     
,whoever1 therefore1 loves his king1    
beholds with pleasure the image of his  
king2 whoever loves his child is        
delighted with his image2 and whoever   
loves his father surveys his image with 
delight4 ,hence1 also1 he who is a lover
 of divinity gladly surveys the statues 
and images of the gods2 at the same time
 venerating and fearing with a holy     
dread the gods who invisibly behold     
him994 ,if1 therefore1 some       99    
,the ,catholics have employed similar   

arguments in defence      of the        
reverence which they pay to the images  
of the men      whom they call saints4  
,but the intelligent reader need not    
be told1 that it is one thing to        
venerate the images of      those divine
 powers which proceed from the great    
first ,cause      of all things1 and    
eternally subsist concentrated and      
rooted      in him1 and another to      
reverence the images of men1 who when   
living were the disgrace of human       
nature4 ,in addition to      what is    
said by ,julian on this subject1 the    
following      extract from the treatise
 of ,sallust1 on the ,gods1 and the     
,world1 is well worthy the attentive    
perusal of the reader3      ,a divine   
nature is not indigent of any thing2 but
 the      honours which we pay to the   
gods are performed for the sake      of 
our advantage4 ,and since the providence
 of the gods is      everywhere         
extended1 a certain habitude or fitness 
is all      that is requisite1 in order 

to receive their beneficent             
communications4 ,but all habitude is    
produced through      imitation and     
similitude4    ,hence temples imitate   
the      heavens1 but altars1444  #ff   
one should fancy that these ought never 
to be corrupted1 because they were once 
called the images of the gods1 such a   
one appears to me to be perfectly void  
of intellect4 ,for if this were         
admitted1 it is also requisite that they
 should not be made by men4 ,that1      
however1 which is produced by a wise and
 good man may be corrupted by a depraved
 and ignorant man4 ,but the gods which  
circularly revolve about the heavens1   
and which are living statues1 fashioned 
by the gods themselves as resemblances  
of their unapparent essence1--these     
remain for ever4 ,no one1 therefore1    
should disbelieve in the gods1 in       
consequence of seeing and hearing that  
some persons have behaved insolently    
towards statues and temples4 ,for have  
there not been many who have destroyed  

good men1 such as ,socrates and ,dion1  
and the great ,empedotimus8 ,and who1 ,i
 well know1 have1 more than statues or  
temples1 been taken care of by the gods4
 ,see1 however1 that the gods1 knowing  
the body of these to       444the earth2
 statues resemble life1 and on this     
account      they are similar to        
animals4 ,prayers imitate that which is 
intellectual2 but characters1 superior  
ineffable powers4      ,herbs and stones
 resemble matter2 and animals which are 
sacrificed1 the irrational life of our  
souls4 ,but1 from all      these1       
nothing happens to the gods beyond what 
they already      possess2 for what     
accession can be made to a divine       
nature8      ,but a conjunction with our
 souls and the gods is by these         
means produced4  #fg  be corruptible1   
have granted that it should yield and be
 subservient to nature1 but afterwards  
have punished those by whom it was      
destroyed2 which clearly happened to be 
the case with all the sacrilegious of   

our time4  ,let no one1 therefore1      
deceive us by words1 nor disturb us with
 respect to providential interference4  
,for as to the prophets of the ,jews1   
who reproach us with things of this     
kind1 what will they say of their own   
temple1 which has been thrice destroyed1
 but has not been since1 even to the    
present time1 rebuilt8 ,i do not1       
however1 say this as reproaching them2  
for ,i have thought of rebuilding it1   
after so long a period1 in honour of the
 divinity who is invoked in it4 ,but ,i 
have mentioned this1 being willing to   
show1 that it is not possible for any   
thing human to be incorruptible2 and    
that the prophets who wrote things of   
this kind were delirious1 and the       
associates of stupid old women4         
,nothing1 however1 hinders1 ,i think1   
but that ,god may be great1 and yet he  
may not have worthy interpreters of his 
will4 ,but this is because they have not
 delivered their soul to be purified by 
the liberal disciplines2 nor their eyes1

 which are profoundly closed1 to be     
opened2 nor the darkness which oppresses
 them to be purged away4 ,hence1 like   
men who survey a great light through    
thick darkness1  #fh  neither see purely
 nor genuinely1 and in consequence of   
this do not conceive it to be a pure    
light1 but a fire1 and likewise         
perceiving nothing of all that surrounds
 it1 they loudly exclaim1 ,be seized    
with horror1 be afraid1 fire1 flame1    
death1 a knife1 a two-edged sword2      
expressing by many names the one noxious
 power of fire4 ,of these men1 however1 
it is better peculiarly to observe how  
much inferior their teachers of the     
words of ,god are to our poets4   ,,an  
,,edict1 ,,forbidding ,,the ,,christians
 ,,to ,,teach ,,the ,,life-,,rature ,,of
 ,,the ,,heathens4  ,we are of opinion  
that proper erudition consists not in   
words1 nor in elegant and magnificent   
language1 but in the sane disposition of
 an intelligent soul1 and in true       
opinions of good and evil1 and of what  

is beautiful and base4 ,whoever1        
therefore1 thinks one thing1 and teaches
 another to his followers1 appears to be
 no less destitute of erudition than he 
is of virtue4 ,even in trifles1 if the  
mind and tongue be at variance1 there is
 some kind of improbity4 ,but in affairs
 of the greatest consequence1 if a man  
thinks one thing1 and teaches another   
contrary to what he thinks1 in what     
respect does this differ from the       
conduct of those mean-spirited1         
dishonest1 and abandoned traders1 who   
generally affirm what they know to be   
false1 in order to deceive and inveigle 
customers8  #fj  ,all1 therefore1 who   
profess to teach1 ought to possess      
worthy manners1 and should never        
entertain opinions opposite to those of 
the public2 but such especially1 ,i     
think1 ought to be those who instruct   
youth1 and explain to them the works of 
the ancients1 whether they are orators  
or grammarians2 but particularly if they
 are sophists4 ,for these last affect to

 be the teachers1 not only of words1 but
 of manners1 and assert that political  
philosophy is their peculiar province4  
,whether1 therefore1 this be true or    
not1 ,i shall not at present consider4  
,i commend those who make such specious 
promises1 and should commend them much  
more1 if they did not falsify and       
contradict themselves1 by thinking one  
thing1 and teaching their scholars      
another4 ,what then8 ,were not ,homer1  
,hesiod1 ,demosthenes1 ,herodotus1      
,thucydides1 ,isocrates1 and ,lysias1   
the leaders of all erudition8 ,and did  
not some of them consider themselves    
sacred to ,mercury1 but others to the   
,muses8 ,i think1 therefore1 it is      
absurd for those who explain their works
 to despise the gods whom they honoured4
  ,i do not mean 7for ,i think it would 
be absurd7 that they should change their
 opinions for the sake of instructing   
youth2 but ,i give them their option1   
either not to teach what they do not    
approve1 or1 if they choose to teach1   

first to persuade their  #gj  scholars  
that neither ,homer1 nor ,hesiod1 nor   
any of those whom they expound and      
charge with impiety1 madness1 and error 
concerning the gods1 are really such as 
they represent them to be4 ,for as they 
receive a stipend1 and are maintained by
 their works1 if they can act with such 
duplicity for a few drachms1 they       
confess themselves guilty of the most   
sordid avarice4  ,hitherto1 indeed1 many
 causes have prevented their resorting  
to the temples2 and the dangers that    
everywhere impended1 were a plea for    
concealing the most true opinions of the
 gods4 ,but now1 since the gods have    
granted us liberty1 it seems to me      
absurd for any to teach those things to 
men which they do not approve4 ,and if  
they think that those writers whom they 
expound1 and of whom they sit as        
interpreters1 are wise1 let them first  
zealously imitate their piety towards   
the gods4 ,but if they think they have  
erred in their conceptions of the most  

honourable natures the gods1 let them go
 into the churches of the ,galilaeans1  
and there expound ,matthew and ,luke1 by
 whom being persuaded you forbid        
sacrifices4 ,i wish that your ears and  
your tongues were 7as you express it7   
regenerated in those things of which ,i 
wish that myself1 and all who in thought
 and deed are my friends1 may always be 
partakers4  #ga  ,to masters and        
teachers let this be a common law4 ,but 
let no youths be prevented from         
resorting to whatever schools they      
please4 ,it would be as unreasonable to 
exclude children1 who know not yet what 
road to take1 from the right path1 as it
 would be to lead them by fear and with 
reluctance to the religious rites of    
their country4 ,and though it would be  
just to cure such reluctance1 like      
madness1 even by force1 yet let all be  
indulged with that disease4 ,for ,i     
think it is requisite to instruct1 and  
not to punish the ignorant4  #gb        
,,appendix   ,,libanius',s ,,oration    

,,for ,,the ,,temples994  ,the occasion 
of the oration was this4 ,in the reign  
of ,theodosius several heathen temples1 
some of them very magnificent1 were     
pulled down and destroyed in the cities1
 and especially in country-places1 by   
the monks1 with the consent and         
connivance1 as ,libanius intimates1 of  
the bishops1 and without express order  
of the ,emperor to that purpose4 ,of    
this ,libanius complains1 and implores  
the ,emperor's protection1 that the     
temples may be preserved4  ,having      
already1 ,o ,emperor1 often offered     
advice which has been approved by you1  
even when others have advised contrary  
things1 ,i come to you now upon the same
 design1 and with the same hopes1 that  
now especially you will be persuaded by 
me4 ,but if not1 do not judge the       
speaker an       99 ,from ,dr4          
,lardner's ,heathen ,testimonies4  #gc  
enemy to your interests1 considering1   
beside other things1 the great honour99 
which you have conferred upon me1 and   

that it is not likely that he who is    
under so great obligations should not   
love his benefactor4 ,and1 for that very
 reason1 ,i think it my duty to advise1 
where ,i apprehend ,i have somewhat to  
offer which may be of advantage2 for ,i 
have no other way of showing my         
gratitude to the ,emperor but by        
orations1 and the counsel delivered in  
them4  ,i shall1 indeed1 appear to many 
to undertake a matter full of danger in 
pleading with you for the temples1 that 
they may suffer no injury1 as they now  
do4 ,but they who have such             
apprehensions seem to me to be very     
ignorant of your true character4 ,for ,i
 esteem it the part of an angry and     
severe disposition1 for any one to      
resent the proposal of counsel which he 
does not approve of3 but the part of a  
mild and gentle and equitable           
disposition1 such as yours is1 barely to
 reject counsel not approved of4 ,for   
when it is in the power of him to whom  
the address is made to embrace any      

counsel or not1 it is not reasonable to 
refuse a hearing which can do no harm2  
nor yet to resent and punish the        
proposal of counsel1 if it appear       
contrary to his own judgment2       99  
,the office of ,praefectus ,praetorio4  
#gd  when the only thing that induced   
the adviser to mention it1 was a        
persuasion of its usefulness4  ,i       
entreat you1 therefore1 ,o ,emperor1 to 
turn your countenance to me while ,i am 
speaking1 and not to cast your eyes upon
 those who in many things aim to molest 
both you and me2 forasmuch as oftentimes
 a look is of greater effect than all   
the force of truth4 ,i would further    
insist1 that they ought to permit me to 
deliver my discourse quietly and without
  interruption2 and then1 afterwards1   
they may do their best to confute us by 
what they have to say4 ,here is a small 
breach in the ,oration4 ,but he seems to
 have begun his argument with an account
 of the origin of temples1 that they    
were first of all erected in country    

places4 ,men then having at first       
secured themselves in dens and cottages1
 and having there experienced the       
protection of the gods1 they soon       
perceived how beneficial to mankind     
their favour must be3 they therefore1 as
 may be sup-1 posed1 erected to them    
statues and temples1 such as they could 
in those early times4 ,and when they    
began to build cities1 upon the increase
 of arts and sciences1 there were many  
temples on the sides of mountains and in
 plains3 and in every city as they built
 it next to the walls were temples and  
sacred edifices raised1 as the beginning
 of the rest of the body4 ,for from such
 governors they expected the  #ge       
greatest security3 and1 if you survey   
the whole ,roman empire1 you will find  
this to be the case every where4 ,for in
 the city next to the greatest 99 there 
are still some temples99991 though they 
are deprived of their honours2 a few    
indeed out of many1 but yet it is not   
quite destitute4 ,and with the aid of   

these gods the ,romans fought and       
conquered their enemies2 and having     
conquered them1 they improved their     
condition1 and made them happier than   
they were before their defeat2 lessening
 their fears and making them partners in
 the privileges of the commonwealth4    
,and when ,i was a child1 he999999 led  
the ,gallic army overthrew him that had 
affronted him2 they having first prayed 
to the gods for success before they     
engaged4 ,but having prevailed over him 
who at that time gave prosperity to the 
cities1 judging it for his advantage to 
have another deity1 for the building of 
the city which he then designed he made 
use of the sacred money1 but made no    
alteration in the legal worship4 ,the   
temples indeed were impoverished1 but   
the rites were still performed there4   
,but when the empire came to his        
son999999991 or rather the form of      
empire1 for the government was really in
 the hands of others1 who       99 ,he  
means ,constantinople4       9999 ,he   

alludes to the ancient temples of       
,byzantium4       999999 ,constantine4  
99999999 ,constantius4  #gh  from the   
beginning had been his masters1 and to  
whom he vouchsafed equal power with     
himself3 he therefore being governed by 
them1 even when he was ,emperor1 was led
 into many wrong actions1 and among     
others to forbid sacrifices4 ,these his 
cousin991 possessed of every virtue1    
restored3 what he did otherwise1 or     
intended to do1 ,i omit at present4     
,after his death in ,persia1 the liberty
 of sacrificing remained for some time3 
but at the instigation of some          
innovators1 sacrifices were forbidden by
 the two brothers99991 but not          
incense2--which state of things your law
 has ratified4 ,so that we have not more
 reason to be uneasy for what is denied 
us1 than to be thankful for what is     
allowed4 ,you1 therefore1 have not      
ordered the temples to be shut up1 nor  
forbidden any to frequent them3 nor have
 you driven from the temples or the     

altars1 fire or frankincense1 or other  
honours of incense4 ,but those          
black-garbed people9999991 who eat more 
than elephants1 and demand a large      
quantity of liquor from the people who  
send them drink for their chantings1 but
 who hide their luxury by their pale    
artificial countenances1--these men1 ,o 
,emperor1 even whilst your law is in    
force1 run to the temples1 bringing with
 them wood1 and stones1 and iron1 and   
99 ,julian4       9999,valentinian and  
,valens4       999999 ,the monks4  #gg  
when they have not these1 hands and     
feet4 ,then follows a ,mysian prey991   
the roofs are uncovered1 walls are      
pulled down1 images are carried off1 and
 altars are overturned3 the priests all 
the while must be silent upon pain of   
death4 ,when they have destroyed one    
temple they run to another1 and a third1
 and trophies are erected upon trophies3
 which are all contrary to your law4    
,this is the practice in cities1 but    
especially in the countries4 ,and there 

are many enemies every where4 ,after    
innumerable mischiefs have been         
perpetrated1 the scattered multitude    
unites and comes together1 and they     
require of each other an account of what
 they have done2 and he is ashamed who  
cannot tell of some great injury which  
he has been guilty of4 ,they1 therefore1
 spread themselves over the country like
 torrents1 wasting the countries        
together with the temples3 for wherever 
they demolish the temple of a country1  
at the same time the country itself is  
blinded1 declines1 and dies4 ,for1 ,o   
,emperor1 the temples are the soul of   
the country2 they have been the first   
original of the buildings in the        
country1 and they have subsisted for    
many ages to this time2 and in       99 
,this proverbial expression took its    
rise from the ,mysians1      who1 in the
 absence of their king ,telephus1 being 
plundered      by their neighbours1 made
 no resistance4 ,hence it came to be    
applied to any persons who were passive 

under injuries4  #gh  them are all the  
husbandman's hopes1 concerning men1 and 
women1 and children1 and oxen1 and the  
seeds and the plants of the ground4     
,wherever any country has lost its      
temples1 that country is lost1 and the  
hopes of the husbandmen1 and with them  
all their alacrity3 for they suppose    
they shall labour in vain1 when they are
 deprived of the gods who should bless  
their labours2 and the country not being
 cultivated as usual1 the tribute is    
diminished4 ,this being the state of    
things1 the husbandman is impoverished1 
and the revenue suffers4 ,for1 be the   
will ever so good1 impossibilities are  
not to be surmounted4 ,of such          
mischievous consequence are the         
arbitrary proceedings of those persons  
in the country1 who say1 'they fight    
with the temples4' ,but that war is the 
gain of those who oppress the           
inhabitants3 and robbing these miserable
 people of their goods1 and what they   
had laid up of the fruits of the earth  

for their sustenance1 they go off as    
with the spoils of those whom they have 
conquered4 ,nor are they satisfied with 
this1 for they also seize the lands of  
some1 saying it is sacred3 and many are 
deprived of their paternal inheritance  
upon a false pretence4 ,thus these men  
riot upon other people's misfortunes1   
who say they worship ,god with fasting4 
,and if they who are abused come to the 
pastor in the city1 7for so they call a 
man who is not one of the meekest17     
complaining of the injustice that has   
been done  #gi  them1 this pastor       
commends these1 but rejects the others1 
as if they ought to think themselves    
happy that they have suffered no more4  
,although1 ,o ,emperor1 these also are  
your subjects1 and so much more         
profitable than those who injure them1  
as laborious men are than the idle3 for 
they are like bees1 these like drones4  
,moreover1 if they hear of any land     
which has any thing that can be         
plundered1 they cry presently1 ',such an

 one sacrificeth1 and does abominable   
things1 and an army ought to be sent    
against him4' ,and presently the        
reformers are there3 for by this name   
they call their depredators1 if ,i have 
not used too soft a word4 ,some of these
 strive to conceal themselves and deny  
their proceedings2 and if you call them 
robbers1 you affront them4 ,others glory
 and boast1 and tell their exploits to  
those who are ignorant of them1 and say 
they are more deserving than the        
husbandmen4 ,nevertheless1 what is this 
but in time of peace to wage war with   
the husbandmen8 ,for it by no means     
lessens these evils that they suffer    
from their countrymen4 ,but it is really
 more grievous to suffer the things     
which ,i have mentioned in a time of    
quiet1 from those who ought to assist   
them in a time of trouble4 ,for you1 ,o 
,emperor1 in case of a war collect an   
army1 give out orders1 and do every     
thing suitable to the emergency4 ,and   
the new works which you now carry on are

 designed as a further  #hj  security   
against our enemies1 that all may be    
safe in their habitations1 both in the  
cities and in the country3 and then if  
any enemies should attempt inroads1 they
 may be sensible they must suffer loss  
rather than gain any advantage4 ,how is 
it1 then1 that some under your          
government disturb others equally under 
your government1 and permit them not to 
enjoy the common benefits of it8 ,how do
 they not defeat your own care and      
providence and labours1 ,o ,emperor8    
,how do they not fight against your law 
by what they do8  ,but they say1 ',we   
have only punished those who sacrifice1 
and thereby transgress the law1 which   
forbids sacrifices4' ,o ,emperor1 when  
they say this they lie4 ,for no one is  
so audacious1 and so ignorant of the    
proceedings of the courts1 as to think  
himself more powerful than the law4     
,when #a say the law1 ,i mean the law   
against sacrifice4 ,can it be thought1  
that they who are not able to bear the  

sight of a collector s cloak1 should    
despise the power of your government8   
,this is what they say for themselves4  
,and they have been often alleged to    
,flavian99 himself1 and never have been 
confuted1 no not yet4 ,for ,i appeal to 
the guardians of this law3 ,who has     
known any of those whom you have        
99 ,bishop of ,antioch  #ha  plundered  
to have sacrificed upon the altars1 so  
as the law does not permit8 ,what young 
or old person1 what man1 what woman8    
,who of those inhabiting the same       
country1 and not agreeing with the      
sacrificers in the worship of the gods8 
,who of their neighbours8 ,for envy and 
jealousy are common in neighbourhoods4  
,whence some would gladly come as an    
evidence if any such thing had been     
done3 and yet no one has appeared1      
neither from the one nor from the other3
 that is1 neither from the country1 nor 
from the neighbourhood4 ,nor will there 
ever appear1 for fear of perjury1 not to
 say the punishment of it4 ,where then  

is the truth of this charge1 when they  
accuse those men of sacrificing contrary
 to law8  ,but this shall not suffice   
for an excuse to the ,emperor4 ,some one
 therefore may say3 ',they have not     
sacrificed4' ,let it be granted4 ,but   
oxen have been killed at feasts and     
entertainments and merry meetings4      
,still there is no altar to receive the 
blood1 nor a part burned1 nor do        
salt-cakes precede1 nor any libation    
follow4 ,but if some persons meeting    
together in some pleasant field kill a  
calf1 or a sheep1 or both1 and roasting 
part and broiling the rest1 have eat it 
under a shade upon the ground1 ,i do not
 know that they have acted contrary to  
any laws4 ,for neither have you1 ,o     
,emperor1 forbid  #hb  these things by  
your law2 but mentioning one thing1     
which ought not to be done1 you have    
permitted every thing else4 ,so that    
though they should have feasted together
 with all sorts of incense1 they have   
not transgressed the law1 even though in

 that feast they should all have sung   
and invoked the gods4 ,unless you think 
fit to accuse even their private method 
of eating1 by which it has been         
customary for the inhabitants of several
 places in the country to assemble      
together in those places which are the  
more considerable1 on holidays1 and     
having sacrificed1 to feast together4   
,this they did whilst the law permitted 
them to do it4 ,since that1 the liberty 
has continued for all the rest except   
sacrificing4 ,when1 therefore1 a        
festival day invited them1 they accepted
 the invitation1 and with those things  
which might be done without offence or  
danger1 they have honoured both the day 
and the place4 ,but that they ventured  
to sacrifice1 no one has said1 nor      
heard1 nor proved1 nor been credited3   
nor have any of their enemies pretended 
to affirm it upon the ground of his own 
sight1 nor any credible account he has  
received of it4  ,they will further say3
 ',by this means some have been         

converted1 and brought to embrace the   
same religious sentiments with          
themselves4' ,be not deceived by what   
they say2 they only pretend it1 but are 
not convinced3 for they are averse to   
#hc  nothing more than this1 though they
 say the contrary4 ,for the truth is1   
they have not changed the objects of    
their worship1 but only appear to have  
done so4 ,they join themselves with them
 in appearance1 and outwardly perform   
the same things that they do3 but when  
they are in a praying posture1 they     
address to no one1 or else they invoke  
the gods2 not rightly indeed in such a  
place1 but yet they invoke them4        
,wherefore as in a tragedy he who acts  
the part of a king is not a king1 but   
the same person he was before he assumed
 the character1 so every one of these   
keeps himself the same he was1 though he
 seems to them to be changed4 ,and what 
advantage have they by this1 when the   
profession only is the same with theirs1
 but a real agreement with them is      

wanting8 for these are things to which  
men ought to be persuaded1 not          
compelled4 ,and when a man cannot       
accomplish that1 and yet will practise  
this1 nothing is effected1 and he may   
perceive the weakness of the attempt4   
,it is said that this is not permitted  
by their own laws1 which commend        
persuasion1 and condemn compulsion4 ,why
 then do you run mad against the        
temples8 ,when you cannot persuade1 you 
use force4 ,in this you evidently       
transgress your own laws4  ,but they    
say3 ',it is for the good of the world1 
and the men in it1 that there should be 
no temples4'  #hd  ,here1 ,o ,emperor1  
,i need freedom of speech2 for ,i fear  
lest ,i should offend4 ,let then any of 
them tell me1 who have left the tongs   
and the hammer and the anvil1 and       
pretend to talk of the heavens1 and of  
them that dwell there1 what rites the   
,romans followed1 who arose from small  
and mean beginnings1 and went on        
prevailing1 and grew great2 theirs1 or  

these1 whose are the temples and the    
altars1 from whom they knew by the      
soothsayers1 what they ought to do1 or  
not to do8 ,here ,libanius instanceth in
 the successes of ,agamemnon against    
,troy2 and of ,hercules before1 against 
the same place2 and some other things4  
,and many other wars might be mentioned1
 which have been successfully conducted1
 and after that peace obtained1 by the  
favour and under the direction of the   
gods4 ,but1 what is the most            
considerable of all1 they who seemed to 
despise this way of worship1 have       
honoured it against their will4 ,who are
 they8 ,they who have not ventured to   
forbid sacrifices at ,rome4 ,but if all 
this affair of sacrifices be a vain     
thing1 why has not this vain thing been 
prohibited8 ,and if it be hurtful       
likewise1 why not much more8 ,but if in 
the sacrifices there performed consists 
the stability of the empire1 it ought to
 be reckoned beneficial to sacrifice    
every where2 and to be allowed that the 

daemonss at ,rome confer greater        
benefits1 these in the country and other
 cities less4 ,this is  #he  what may be
 reasonably granted3 for in an army all 
are not equal2 yet in a battle the help 
of each one is of use3 the like may be  
said of rowers in a vessel4 ,so one     
daemons defends the sceptre of ,rome1   
another protects a city subject to it1  
another preserves the country and gives 
it felicity4 ,let there then be temples 
every where4 ,or let those men confess1 
that you are not well affected to ,rome 
in permitting her to do things by which 
she suffers damage4 ,but neither is it  
at ,rome only that the liberty of       
sacrificing remains1 but also in the    
city of ,serapis991 that great and      
populous city1 which has a multitude of 
temples1 by which it renders the plenty 
of ,egypt common to all men4 ,this      
plenty is the work of the ,nile4 ,it    
therefore celebrates the ,nile1 and     
persuades him to rise and overflow the  
fields4 ,if those rites were not        

performed1 when and by whom they ought1 
he would not do so4 ,which they         
themselves seem to be sensible of1 who  
willingly enough abolish such things1   
but do not abolish these2 but permit the
 river to enjoy his ancient rites1 for  
the sake of the benefit he affords4     
',what then1' some will say3 ',since    
there is not in every country a river to
 do what the ,nile does       99  i4 e4 
,alexandria4 ,the temple of ,serapis was
 destroyed in #cia4  #hf  for the earth1
 there is no reason for temples in those
 places4 ,let them therefore suffer what
 these good people think fit4' ,whom ,i 
would willingly ask this question3      
,whether1 changing their mind1 they will
 dare to say1 ,let there be an end of   
these things done by or for the ,nile3  
let not the earth partake of his waters3
 let nothing be sown nor reaped3 let him
 afford no corn1 nor any other product1 
nor let the mud overflow the whole land1
 as at present4 ,if they dare not own   
this1 by what they forbear to say they  

confute what they do say3 for they who  
do not affirm that the ,nile ought to be
 deprived of his honours1 confess that  
the honours paid to the temples are     
useful4  ,and since they mention him99  
who spoiled the temples of their        
revenues and gifts1 we shall omit       
observing that he did not proceed to the
 taking away the sacrifices4 ,but who   
ever suffered a greater punishment for  
taking away the sacred money out of the 
temples1 partly in what he brought upon 
himself2 partly in what he suffered     
after his death1 insomuch that his      
family destroyed one another1 till there
 were none left8 ,and it had been much  
better for him that some of his         
posterity should reign1 than to enlarge 
with buildings a city of       99       
,constantine  #hg  his own name3 for the
 sake of which city itself all men still
 curse his memory1 except those who live
 there in wicked luxury1 because by     
their poverty these have their          
abundance4  ,and since next to him they 

mention his son 991 and how he destroyed
 the temples1 when they who polled them 
down took no less pains in destroying   
them1 than the builders had done in     
raising them1---so laborious a work was 
it to separate the stones cemented by   
the strongest bands2--since1 ,i say1    
they mention these things1 ,i will      
mention somewhat yet more considerable4 
,that he indeed made presents of the    
temples to those who were about him1    
just as he might give a horse1 or a     
slave1 or a dog1 or a golden cup2 but   
they were unhappy presents to both the  
giver and the receivers of them3 for he 
spent all his life in fear of the       
,persians1 dreading all their motions as
 children do bugbears4 ,of whom1 some   
were childless1 and died miserably      
intestate2 and others had better never  
have had children3 with such infamy and 
mutual discord do they live together who
 descend from them1 whilst they dwell   
among sacred pillars taken from the     
temples4 ,to whom ,i think these things 

are owing1 who knowing how to enrich    
themselves1 have taught       99        
,constantius4  #hh  their children this 
way to happiness6 ,and at this time     
their distempers carry some of them to  
,cilicia1 needing the help of           
,a,esculapius4 ,but instead of obtaining
 relief1 they meet with affronts only   
for the injury done to the place4 ,how  
can such return without cursing the     
author of these evils8 ,but let the     
conduct of this ,emperor be such as to  
deserve praises living and dead2 such as
 we know he99 was who succeeded him2 who
 had overturned the ,persian empire if  
treachery had not prevented it4         
,nevertheless he was great in his death1
 for he was killed by treachery1 as     
,achilles also was2 and is applauded for
 that1 as well as for what he did before
 his death4 ,this has he from the gods1 
to whom he restored their rites1 and    
honours1 and temples1 and altars1 and   
blood3 from whom having heard1 that he  
should humble the pride of ,persia1 and 

then die1' he purchased the glory of his
 life1 taking many cities1 subduing a   
large tract of land1 teaching his       
pursuers to fly2 and was about to       
receive1 as all know1 an embassy which  
would have brought the submission of the
 enemy4 ,wherefore he was pleased with  
his wound1 and looking upon it rejoiced1
 and without any tears rebuked those who
 wept1 for not thinking that a wound was
 better to him than any old age4 ,so    
that the embassies sent after his death 
were all       99 ,julian4  #hj  his    
right4 ,and the reason why the          
,achemenidae99 for the future made use  
of entreaties instead of arms1 was that 
the fear of him still possessed their   
minds4 ,such an one was he who restored 
to us the temples of the gods1 who did  
things too good to be forgotten1 himself
 above all oblivion4  ,but ,i thought   
that he9999 who reigned lately would    
pull down and burn the temples of those 
who were of the opposite sentiment1 as  
he knew how to despise the gods4 ,but he

 was better than expectation1 sparing   
the temples of the enemies1 and not     
disdaining to run some hazards for      
preserving those of his own dominions1  
which had long since been erected with  
much labour and at vast expense4 ,for if
 cities are to be preserved every where1
 and some cities outshine others by     
means of their temples1 and these are   
their chief ornaments1 next to the      
,emperor's palaces1--how is it that no  
care must be taken of these1 nor any    
endeavours used to preserve them in the 
body of the cities8  ,but it is said3   
',there will be other edifices1 though  
there should be no temples4' ,but ,i    
think tribute to be of importance to the
 treasury4 ,let       99 ,another name  
for the ,persians4       9999 ,valens4  
#ij  these stand then1 and be taxed4 ,do
 we think it a cruel thing to cut off a 
man's hand1 and a small matter to pluck 
out the eyes of cities8 ,and do we not  
lament the ruins made by earthquakes8   
and when there are no earthquakes1 nor  

other accidents1 shall we ourselves do  
what they are wont to effect8 ,are not  
the temples the possession of the       
,emperors as well as other things8 ,is  
it the part of wise men to sink their   
own goods8 ,does not every one suppose  
him to be distracted1 who throws his    
purse into the sea8 ,or if the master of
 the ship was to cut those ropes which  
are of use to the ship2 or if any one   
should order a mariner to throw away his
 oar1--would you think it an absurdity8 
and yet think it proper for a magistrate
 to deprive a city of such a part of it8
 ,what reason is there for destroying   
that1 the use of which may be changed8  
,would it not be shameful for an army to
 fight against its own walls8 and for a 
general to excite them against what they
 have raised with great labour2 the     
finishing of which was a festival for   
those who then reigned8 ,let no man     
think1 ,emperor1 that this is a charge  
brought against you4 ,for there lies in 
ruins1 in the ,persian borders1 a       

temple991 to which there is none like1  
as may be learned from those who saw it1
 so magnificent the stone work1 and in  
99 ,probably the temple at ,odessa4  #ia
  compass equal to the city4 ,therefore 
in time of war the citizens thought     
their enemies would gain nothing by     
taking the town1 since they could not   
take that likewise1 as the strength of  
its fortifications bid defiance to all  
their attacks4 ,at length1 however1 it  
was attacked1 and with a fury equal to  
the greatest enemies1 animated by the   
hopes of the richest plunder4 ,i have   
heard it disputed1by some1 in which     
state it was the greatest wonder2       
whether now that it is no more1 or when 
it had suffered nothing of this kind1   
like the temple of ,serapis4 ,but that  
temple1 so magnificent and so large1 not
 to mention the wonderful structure of  
the roof1 and the many brass statues1   
now hid in darkness out of the light of 
the sun1 is quite perished2 a           
lamentation to them who have seen it1 a 

pleasure to them who never saw it4 ,for 
the eyes and ears are not alike affected
 with these things4 ,or rather to those 
who have not seen it1 it is both sorrow 
and pleasure3 the one because of its    
fall1 the other because their eyes never
 saw it4 ,nevertheless1 if it be rightly
 considered1 this work is not yours1 but
 the work of a man 99 who has deceived  
you2 a profane wretch1 an enemy of the  
gods1 base1 covetous1 ungrateful to the 
earth that received him when born1      
advanced without merit1 and abusing his 
greatness1 when advanced2       99      
,probably ,cynegius1 the ,emperor's     
lieutenant4  #ic  a slave to his wife1  
gratifying her in any thing1 and        
esteeming her all things1 in perfect    
subjection to them99 who direct these   
things1 whose only virtue lies in       
wearing the habit of mourners2 but      
especially to those of them who also    
weave coarse garments4 ,this            
workhouse9999 deluded1 imposed upon him1
 and misled him2 and it is said that    

many gods have been deceived by gods2   
for they gave out1 'that the priests    
sacrificed1 and so near them that the   
smoke reached their noses3' and after   
the manner of some simple people1 they  
enlarge and heighten matters1 and vaunt 
themselves as if they thought nothing   
was above their power4 ,by such fiction1
 and contrivance1 and artful stories1   
proper to excite displeasure1 they      
persuaded the mildest father of his     
people among the ,emperors9999994 ,for  
these were really his virtues1 humanity1
 tenderness1 compassion1 mildness1      
equity1 who had rather save than        
destroy4 ,but there were those who gave 
lister counsel2 that if such a thing had
 been done1 the attempt should be       
punished1 and care taken to prevent the 
like for time to come4 ,yet he who      
thought he ought to have a ,cadmean     
victory1 carried on his conquest4 ,but  
after he had taken his own pleasures1 he
 should have provided for his       99  
,the monks4       9999,the monastery4   

999999 ,probably ,valens4  #ic  people1 
and not have desired to appear great to 
those who shun the labours of the       
country1 and converse in the mountains  
991 as they say1 with the ,maker of all 
things4 ,but let your actions appear    
excellent and praiseworthy to all men4  
,there are at this time many1 so far    
friends as to receive and empty your    
treasures1 and to whom your empire is   
dearer than their own souls2 but when   
the time comes that good counsel and    
real services are wanted1 they have no  
concern upon them but to take care of   
themselves2 and if any one comes to     
them1 and inquires what this means1 they
 excuse themselves as free from all     
fault4 ,they disown what they have done1
 or pretend 'that they have obeyed the  
,emperor's order2 and if there is any   
blame1 he must see to it4' ,such things 
they say1 when it is they who are found 
guilty1 who can give no account of their
 actions4 ,for what account can be given
 of such mischiefs8 ,these men before   

others deny this to be their own work4  
,but when they address you alone1       
without witnesses1 they say1 'they have 
been in this war serving your family4'  
,they would deliver your house from     
those who by land and sea endeavour to  
defend your person2 than which there is 
nothing greater you can receive from    
them4 ,for these men1 under the name of 
friends and protectors1       99 ,he    
refers to the monks near ,antioch1  #id 
telling stories of those by whom they   
say they have been injured1 improve your
 credulity into an occasion of doing    
more mischief4  ,but ,i return to them1 
to demonstrate their injustice by what  
they have said3 ,say then1 for what     
reason you destroyed that great temple8 
,not because the ,emperor approved the  
doing it4 ,they who pull down a temple  
have done no wrong if the ,emperor has  
ordered it to be done4 ,therefore they  
who pulled it down did not do wrong by  
doing what the ,emperor approved of4    
,but he who does that which is not      

approved by the ,emperor1 does ,wrong2  
does he not8 ,you1 then1 are the men who
 have nothing of this to say for what   
you have done4 ,tell me why this temple 
of ,fortune is safe8 and the temple of  
,jupiter1 and of ,minerva1 and of       
,bacchus8 ,is it because you would have 
them remain8 ,no1 but because no one has
 given you power over them2 which1      
nevertheless1 you have assumed against  
those which you have destroyed4 ,how1   
then1 are you not liable to punishment8 
or how can you pretend that what you    
have done is right1 when the sufferers  
have done no wrong8 ,of which charge    
there would have been some appearance1  
if you1 ,o ,emperor1 had published an   
edict to their purpose3 ',let no man    
within my empire believe in the gods1   
nor worship them1 nor ask any  #ie  good
 thing of them1 neither for himself1 nor
 for his children1 unless it be done in 
silence and privately3 but let all      
present themselves at the places where  
,i worship1 and join in the rites there 

performed4 ,and let them offer the same 
prayers which they do1 and bow the head 
at the hand of him who directs the      
multitude4 ,whoever transgresses this   
law1 shall be put to death4' ,it was    
easy for you to publish such a law as   
this2 but you have not done it2 nor have
 you in this matter laid a yoke upon the
 souls of men4 ,but though you think one
 way better than the other1 yet you do  
not judge that other to be an impiety1  
for which a man may be justly punished4 
,nor have you excluded those of that    
sentiment from honours1 but have        
conferred upon them the highest offices1
 and have given them access to your     
table1 to eat and drink with you4 ,this 
you have done formerly1 and at this     
time2 beside others1 you have associated
 to yourself 7thinking it advantageous  
to your government7 a man1 who swears by
 the gods1 both before others1 and      
before yourself3 and you are not        
offended at it2 nor do you think        
yourself injured by those oaths3 nor do 

you account him a wicked man who placeth
 his best hopes in the gods4 ,when1     
therefore1 you do not reject us1 as     
neither did he who subdued the ,persians
 by arms reject those of his subjects   
who differed from him in this matter1   
what pretence have these to reject us8  
#if  ,how can these men reject their    
fellow-subjects1 differing from them in 
this matter8 ,by what right do they make
 these incursions8 ,how do they seize   
other men's goods with the indignation  
of the countries8 ,how do they destroy  
some things1 and carry off others8      
adding to the injury of their actions   
the insolence of glorying in them4 ,we1 
,o ,emperor1 if you approve and permit  
these things1 will bear them2 not       
without grief indeed2 but yet we will   
show that we have learned to obey4 ,but 
if you give them no power1 and yet they 
come and invade our small remaining     
substance1 or our walls3 ,know1 that the
 owners of the countries will defend    
themselves4     ,,extracts ,,from       

,,bingham',s ,,antiquities ,,of ,,the   
,,christian ,,church991  ,,of ,,the     
,,names ,,of ,,reproach ,,which ,,the   
,,jews1 ,,infidels1 ,,and ,,heretics    
,,cast ,,upon ,,the ,,christians4       
,besides the names already spoken of1   
there were some other reproachful names 
cast upon them by their adversaries1    
which it will not be improper here to   
mention4 ,the first of these was        
,nazarens1 a       99 ,the edition from 
which these ,extracts are taken it in   
one      vol4 #hvo1 ,london1 #agjh1 and 
begins at p4 #ac4  #ig  name of reproach
 given them first by the ,jews1 by whom 
they are styled the sect of the         
,nazarens1 ,acts xxiv4 #e4 ,there was   
indeed a particular heresy1 who called  
themselves --------3 and ,epiphanius99  
thinks the ,jews had a more especial    
spite at them1 because they were a sort 
of ,jewish apostates1 who kept          
circumcision and the ,mosaical rites    
together with the ,christian religion3  
and therefore1 he says1 they were used  

to curse and anathematize them three    
times a day1 morning1 noon1 and evening1
 when they met in their synagogues to   
pray1 in this direful form of           
execration1' --------1 ',send thy curse1
 ,o ,god1 upon the ,nazarens4' ,but ,st4
 ,jerome9999 says this was levelled at  
,christians in general1 whom they thus  
anathematized under the name of         
,nazarens4 ,and this seems most         
probable1 because both as ,st4          
,jerome999999 and ,epiphanius           
himself99999999 observe1 the ,jews      
termed all ,christians by way of        
reproach1 ,nazarens4 ,and the ,gentiles 
took it from the ,jews1 as appears from 
that of       99 ,epiphan4 ,haer4 #bi4  
n4 #i4       9999 ,hieron4 ,com4 in     
,esa4 xlix4 t #e4 p4 #agh4 ,ter per     
tingulos      dies sub nomine           
,nazaienorum maledicunt in synagogis    
suis4       999999 ,id4 de loc4 ,hebr4  
t4 #c4 p4 #bhi4 ,nos apnd veterei quasi 
opprobrio ,nazaraei dicebamur1 quos nunc
 ,christianos vocant4       99999999    

,epiphan4 ibid4  #ih  ,datianus the     
praetor in ,prudentius991 where speaking
 to the ,christians he gives them the   
name of ,nazarens4 ,some9999 think the  
,christians at first were very free to  
own this name1 and esteemed it no       
reproach1 till such time as the heresy  
of the ,nazarens broke out1 and then in 
detestation of that heresy they forsook 
that name1 and called themselves        
,christians4 ,acts xi4 #bf4 ,but whether
 this be said according to the exact    
rules of chronology1 ,i leave those that
 are better skilled to determine4       
,another name of reproach was that of   
,galilaeans1 which was ,julian's        
ordinary style1 whenever he spake of    
,christ or ,christians4 ,thus in his    
,dialogue with old ,maris a blind       
,christian bishop1 mentioned by         
,sozomen9999991 he told him by way of   
scoff1 ,thy ,galilaean ,god will not    
cure thee4 ,and again1 in his           
epistle99999999 to ,arsacius high-priest
 of ,galatia1 ,the ,galilaeans maintain 

their own poor and ours also4 ,the like 
may be observed in ,socrates7v71        
,theodoret 7vi71       99 ,prudent4     
---------4    ,carm4 #e4 de ,s4         
,vincent4          ,vos ,nazareni       
assistite1          ,rudemque ritum     
spernite4           ,id4 ,hymno #i4 de  
,rom4 ,mart4       9999 ,junius1        
,parallel1 lib4 #a4 c4 #h4 ,godwyn1     
,jew4      ,rites1 lib4 #a4 c4 #h4      
999999 ,sozom4 lib4 #e4 c4 #d4          
99999999 ,a p4 ,sozom4 lib4 #e4 c4 #af4 
7v7 ,socrat4 lib4 #c4 c4 #ab4       7vi7
 ,theodor4 lib4 #c4 c #g4  #ca4  #ij    
,chrysostom991 and ,gregory             
,nazianzen99991 who adds1 that he not   
only called them ,galilaeans himself1   
but made a law that no one should call  
them by any other name2 thinking thereby
 to abolish the name of ,christians4    
,they also called them ,atheists1 and   
their religion the ,atheism or ,impiety1
 because they derided the worship of the
 heathen gods4 ,dio999999 says1 ,acilius
  ,glabrio was put to death for atheism1

 meaning the ,christian religion4 ,and  
the ,christian apologists1              
,athenagoras99999999 ,justin ,martyr7v71
 ,arnobius7vi71 and others1 reckon this 
among the crimes which the heathens     
usually lay to their charge4 ,eusebius  
says7vii7 the name was become so common1
 that when the persecuting magistrates  
would oblige a ,christian to renounce   
his religion1 they bade him abjure it in
 this form1 by saying among other       
things1 -------- ',confusion to the     
atheists1 ,away with the impious1'      
meaning the ,christians4  ,to this they 
added the name of ,greeks and           
,impostors4 ,which is noted by ,st4     
,jerome7viii7 who says       99 ,chrys4 
,horn4 #fc4 torn4 #e4       9999 ,naz4  
i4 ,invectiv4       999999 ,dio in      
,domitian4       99999999 ,athen4       
,legat4 pro ,christ4       7v7 ,just4   
,apol4 i4 p4 #dg4       7vi7 ,arnob4    
lib4 i4       7vii7 ,euseb4 lib4 iv4 c4 
#ae4       7viii7 ,hieron4 ,ep4 #aj4 ad 
,furiara4 ,ubicunque viderint  #ajj     

wheresoever they saw a ,christian1 they 
would presently cry out1 '--------1     
',behold a ,grecian impostor4' ,this was
 the character which the ,jews gave our 
,saviour1 --------' that deceiver991    
,matt1 xxvii4 #fc4 ,and ,justin         
,martyr9999 says1 they endeavoured to   
propagate it to posterity1 sending their
 apostles or emissaries from ,jerusalem 
to all the synagogues in the world1 to  
bid them beware of a certain impious1   
lawless sect1 lately risen up under one 
,jesus1 a ,galilaean impostor4 ,hence   
,lucian999999 took occasion in his      
blasphemous raillery to style him ,the  
crucified sophister4 ,and               
,celsus99999999 commonly gives him and  
his followers the name of --------      
'deceivers4' ,so ,asclepiades the judge 
in ,prudentius99999999 compliments them 
with the appellation of sophisters2 and 
,ulpian7v7 proscribes them in a law by  
the name of impostors4  ,the reason why 
they added the name of ,greeks       99 
,christianum1 statim illud de ,trivio1  

-------- vocant      ,impostorem4       
9999 ,justin4 ,dial4 c4 ,tryph4 p4 #cce4
       999999  ,lucian4 ,peregrin4      
99999999 ,cels4 ap4 ,orig4 lib4 i4 et   
lib4 #f4       7v7 ,prudent4 --------4  
,carm4 #i4 de ,romano ,marty4 ,quis hos 
,sophistas error invexit novus1 c4      
7vi7 ,digest1 lib4 #ej4 tit4 #ac4 c #a4 
,si incantavit1 si in-      precatus    
est1 si 7ut vulgari verbo ,impostoruxn  
utar7 si      exorcisavit  #aja  to that
 of impostors1 was 7as learned men99    
conjecture7 because many of the         
,christian philosophers took upon them  
the ,grecian or philosophic habit1 which
 was the -------- or pallium3 whence the
 ,greeks were called ,pallitati1 as the 
,romans were called ,togati1 or ,gens   
togata1 from their proper habit1 which  
was the toga4 ,now it being some offence
 to the ,romans to see the ,christians  
quit the ,roman gown1 to wear the       
,grecian cloak2 they thence took        
occasion1 to mock and deride them with  
the scurrilous names of ,greeks1 and    

,grecian impostors4 ,tertullian s book  
de ,pallio was written to show the      
spiteful malice of this foolish         
objection4  ,but the heathens went one  
step further in their malice2 and       
because our ,saviour and his followers  
did many miracles1 which they imputed to
 evil arts and the power of magic1 they 
therefore generally declaimed against   
them as magicians1 and under that       
character exposed them to the fury of   
the vulgar4 ,celsus9999 and others      
pretended that our ,saviour studied     
magic in ,egypt3 and ,st4 ,austin999999 
says1 it was generally believed among   
the heathens1 that he       99 ,kortholt
 de ,morib4 ,christian1 c4 #c4 p4 #bc4  
,baron an4      #ef4 n4 #aa4       9999 
,origen4 cont4 ,cels4 lib4 #b4          
,arrobius1 lib4 #a4 p4 #cf4       999999
 ,aug4 de ,consensu ,evang4 lib4 #a4 c4 
#i4  #ajb  wrote some books about magic 
too1 which he delivered to ,peter and   
,paul for the use of his disciples4     
,hence it was that ,suetonius99 speaking

 in the language of his party1 calls the
 ,christians ,genus hominum superstionis
 maleficae1 'the men of the magical     
superstition4' ,as ,asclepiades the     
judge in ,prudentius9999 styles ,st4    
,romanus the martyr1 ,arch-magician4    
,and ,st4 ,ambrose observes in the      
,passion of ,st4 ,agnes999999 how the   
people cried out against her1 ',away    
with the sorceress6 ,away with the      
enchanter6 ',nothing being more common  
than to term all ,christians1 especially
 such as wrought miracles1 by the odious
 name of sorcerers and magicians4'  ,the
 ,new ,superstition was another name of 
reproach for the ,christian religion4   
,suetonius gives it that title999999991 
and ,pliny and ,tacitus add to it7v7 the
 opprobrious terms of wicked and        
unreasonable       99 ,sueton4 ,neron4  
c4 #af4       9999 ,prudent4 ,hymn4 #i4 
de ,s4 ,romano4 ,quousque tandem      su
 m m us hic nobis ,magus illudit4       
999999 ,ambr4 ,serm4 #ij4 in ,s4 ,agnen4
 ,tolle ,magam6 ,tolle      ,maleticam6 

99999999  ,see ,kortholt de ,morib4     
,christ1 c4 #d4       7v7 ,sueton4      
,nero4 c4 #af4       7vi7 ,plin4 lib4   
#aj4 ep4 #ig4 ,nihil aliud inveni1 quam 
superstitionem pravam et immodicara4    
,tacit4 ,annal4 #ae4 c4      #dd4       
,exitiabilis superstitio4  #ajc         
superstition4 ,by which name also ,nero 
triumphed over it in his trophies which 
he set up at ,rome1 when he had harassed
 the ,christians with a most severe     
persecution4 ,he gloried that he had    
purged the country of robbers1 and those
 that obtruded and inculcated the new   
superstition99 upon mankind4 ,by this1  
there can be no doubt he meant the      
,christians1 whose religion is called   
the superstition in other inscriptions  
of the like nature4 ,see that of        
,diocletian cited in ,baronius1 ,ann4   
#cjd4 from ,occo4 ,superstitione        
,christianorum ubique deleta1 c4  ,not  
much unlike this was that other name    
which ,porphyry9999 and some others give
 it1 when they call it the barbarous1   

new1 and strange religion4 ,in the acts 
of the famous martyrs of ,lyons1 who    
suffered under ,antoninus ,pius1 the    
heathens scornfully insult it with this 
character4 ,for having burnt the martyrs
 to ashes1 and scattered their remains  
into the river ,rhone1 they said1 they  
did it 'to cut off their hopes of a     
resurrection1 upon the       99         
,inscript4 ,antiq4 ad ,calcem ,sueton4  
,oxon4 ,,neroni4 ,,claud4      ,,cais4  
,,aug4 ,,pont4 ,,max4 ,,ob4 ,,proving4  
,,latronib4 ,,et4 ,,his4 ,,qui4         
,,novam4 ,,generi4 ,,hum4               
,,superstition4 ,,inculcab4 ,,purgat4   
9999 ,ap4 ,euseb4 ,hist ,eccl1 lib99 #f1
 c #ai1  --------  #ajd  strength of    
which they sought to obtrude99 the new  
and strange religion upon mankind4 ,but 
now let us see whether they will rise   
again1 and whether their ,god can help  
and deliver them out of our hands4'     
,celsus gives them the name of          
,sibyllists99991 because the ,christians
 in their disputes with the heathens    

sometimes made use of the authority of  
,sibylla their own prophetess against   
them2 whose writing they urged with so  
much advantage to the ,christian cause1 
and prejudice to the heathen1 that      
,justin ,martyr999999 says1 the ,roman  
governors made it death for any one to  
read them1 or ,hystaspes1 or the        
writings of the prophets4  ,they also   
reproached them with the appellation of 
--------1 'self-murderers1' because they
 readily offered themselves up to       
martyrdom1 and cheerfully underwent any 
violent death1 which the heathens could 
inflict upon them4 ,with what eagerness 
they courted death1 we learn not only   
from the ,christian writers99999999     
themselves1 but from the testimonies    
99 ,act4 ,mart4 ,lugd4 ap4 ,euseb4 lib4 
#e4 c4 #a4 --------       9999 ,origen4 
c4 ,cels4 lib4 #e4 p4 #bgb4       999999
  ,just ,apol4 #b4 p4 #hb4              
99999999 ,see these collected in        
,pearson1 ,vind4 ,ignat4 ,par4 #b4 c4   
#i4 p4 #chd4  #aje  of the heathens99   

concerning them4 ,lucian9999 says they  
not only despised death1 but many of    
them voluntarily offered themselves to  
it1 out of a persuasion that they should
 be made immortal and live forever4     
,this he reckons folly1 and therefore   
gives them the name of --------1 ',the  
miserable wretches1 that threw away     
their lives1' ,in which sense           
,porphyry999999 also styles1 the        
,christian religion1 -------- the       
barbarous boldness4' ,as ,arrjus        
,antoninus99999999 terms the professors 
of it1 --------1 ,the stupid wretches1  
that had such a mind to die2 and the    
heathen in ,minucius7v71 homines        
deploratae ac desperate factionis1 'the 
men of the forlorn and desperate        
faction4' ,all which agrees with the    
name ,biothanati1 or ,biaeothanati1 as  
,baronius7vi7 understands it99 ,though  
it may signify not only self-murderers1 
but 7as a learned critic7xii7 notes7 men
 that expect to live after death4 ,in   
which sense the heathens probably might 

use it likewise to ridicule the         
,christian doctrine of the resurrection2
 on which1 they       99  ,arrius       
,antonin4 ap4 ,tertul4 ad ,scap4 c4 #d4 
,tiberias1 in      ,joh4 ,malela        
,chronic4       9999 ,lucian4 de ,mort  
,peregrin4       999999 ,porphyr4 ap4   
,euseb4 ,hist ,eccl4 #a4 #f4 c #ai4     
99999999 ,tertul4 ibid4       7v7       
,minuc4 ,octav4 p4 #be4       7vi7      
,baron1 an4 #ach4 n4 #e4       7vii7    
,suicer4 ,thesaur4 ,ecclesiast #a4a4 p4 
#fij4  #ajf  knew1 all their fearless   
and undaunted courage was founded4 ,for 
so the same heathen in ,minucius        
endeavours to expose at once both their 
resolution and their belief3 ,o strange 
folly1 and incredible madness6 says he2 
they despise all present torments1 and  
yet fear those that are future and      
uncertain3 they are afraid of dying     
after death1 but in the mean time do not
 fear to die4 ,so vainly do they flatter
 themselves1 and allay their fears1 with
 the hopes of some reviving comforts    

after death4 ,for one of these reasons  
then they gave them the name of         
,biothanati1  which word expressly      
occurs in some of the acts of the       
ancient martyrs4 ,baronius observes99   
out of ,bede's ,martyrology1 that when  
the seven sons of ,symphorosa were      
martyred under ,hadrian1 their bodies   
were all cast into one pit together1    
which the temple-priests named from     
them1 ,ad ,septem ,biothanatos1 ',the   
grave of the seven ,biothanati4'  ,for  
the same reasons they gave them the     
names of ,parabolarii and ,desperati1   
',the bold and desperate men4' ,the     
,parabolarii1 or ,parabolani among the  
,romans were those bold adventurous men1
 who hired out themselves to fight with 
wild beasts upon the stage or           
amphitheatre1 whence they had also the  
name of ,bestiarii1 and ,confectores4   
,now because the      99 ,baron1 an4    
#ach4 n4 #e4  #ajg  ,christians were put
 to fight for their lives in the same   
manner1 and they rather chose to do it  

than deny their religion1 they therefore
 got the name of ,paraboli and          
,parabolani3 which1 though it was       
intended as a name of reproach and      
mockery1 yet the ,christians were not   
unwilling to take to themselves1 being  
one of the truest characters that the   
heathens ever gave them4 ,and therefore 
they sometimes gave themselves this name
 by way of allusion to the ,roman       
,paraboli4 ,as in the ,passion of ,abdo 
and ,senne99 in the time of ,valerian1  
the martyrs who were exposed to be      
devoured by wild beasts in the          
amphitheatre1 are said to enter1 'ut    
audacissimi ,parabolani1' as most       
resolute champions1 that despised their 
own lives for their religion's sake4    
,but the other name of ,desperati they  
rejected as a calumny1 retorting it back
 upon their adversaries1 who more justly
 deserved it4 ,those1 says              
,lactantius9999991 who set a value upon 
their faith1 and will not deny their    
,god1 they first torment and butcher    

with all their might1 and then call them
 desperados1 because they will not spare
 their bodies3 as if any thing could be 
more desperate1 than to torture and tear
 in pieces those whom you cannot but    
know to be innocent4       99 ,acta     
,abdon4 et ,sennes ap4 ,suicer4         
9999 ,lact4 ,instil1 lib4 #e4 c4 #i4    
,desperates vocant1 quia      corpori   
suo minime parcunt1 c4  #ajh            
,tertullian mentions another name1 which
 was likewise occasioned by their       
sufferings4 ,the martyrs which were     
burnt alive1 were usually tied to a     
board or stake of about six foot long1  
which the ,romans called semaxis2 and   
then they were surrounded or covered    
with faggots of small wood1 which they  
called sarmenia4 ,from this their       
punishment1 the heathens1 who turned    
every thing into mockery1 gave all      
,christians the despiteful name of      
,sarmentitii and ,semaxii994  ,the      
heathen in ,minucius999999 takes        
occasion also to reproach them under the

 name of the sculking generation1 or the
 men that loved to prate in corners and 
the dark4 ,the ground of which          
scurrilous reflection was only this1    
that they were forced to hold their     
religious assemblies in the night to    
avoid the fury of the persecutions4     
,which ,celsus99999999 himself owns1    
though otherwise prone enough to load   
them with hard names and odious         
reflections4  ,the same heathen in      
,minucius gives them one       99       
,tertul4 ,apol4 t1 #ej4 ,licet nunc     
,sarmentitios et ,semaxios              
appelletis1 quia ad stipitem dimidii    
axis re-vincti1      sarmentorum ambitu 
exurimur4       9999 ,minuc4 ,octav4 p4 
#be4 ,latebrosa et lucifugax natio1 in  
publicum muta1 in angulis garrula4      
999999 ,origen4 c4 ,cel4 lib4 #a4 p4 #e4
  #aji  scurrilous name more1 which it  
is not very easy to guess the meaning   
of4 ,he calls them                      
,plautinians991--homines ,plautinae     
prosapiae4 ,rigaltius9999 takes it for a

 ridicule upon the poverty and          
simplicity of the ,christians1 whom the 
heathens commonly represented as a      
company of poor ignorant mechanics1     
bakers1 tailors1 and the like2 men of   
the same quality with ,plautus1 who1 as 
,st4 ,jerome999999 observes1 was so     
poor1 that at a time of famine he was   
forced to hire out himself to a baker to
 grind at his mill1 during which time he
 wrote three of his ,plays in the       
intervals of his labour4 ,such sort of  
men ,coecilius says the ,christians     
were2 and therefore he styles ,octavius 
in the dialogue1 homo ,plautinae        
prosapiae et pistorum praecipuus1 'a    
,plautinian1 a chief man among the      
illiterate bakers1' but no philosopher4 
,the same reflection is often made by   
,celsus4 ,you shall see1 says           
he999999991 weavers1 tailors1fullers1   
and the most illiterate and rustic      
fellows1 who dare not speak a word      
before wise men1 when they can get a    
company of children and silly women     

together1 set up to teach strange       
paradoxes amongst       99 ,minuc4 p4   
#cg4 ,quid ad haec audet ,octavius homo 
,plautinae      ,prosapiae1 ut ,pistorum
 praecipuus ita postremus               
,philosophorum8       9999 ,rigalt4 in  
loc4       999999 ,hieron4 ,chronic1 an4
 #a4   ,olymp4 #ade4       99999999     
,origen4 c ,cels4 lib4 #c4 p4 #add4     
#aaj  them4 ,this is one of their rules1
 says he again991--,let no man that is  
learned1 wise1 or prudent come among us2
 but if any be unlearned1 or a child1 or
 an ideot1 let him freely come4 ,so they
 openly declare1 that none but fools and
 sots1 and such as want sense1 slaves1  
women1 and children1 are fit disciples  
for the ,god they worship9999994  ,nor  
was it only the heathens that thus      
reviled them1 but commonly every        
perverse sect among the ,christians had 
some reproachful name to cast upon them4
 ,the ,novatian party called them       
,cornelieans999999 because they         
communicated with ,cornelius bishop of  

,rome1 rather than with ,novatianus his 
antagonist4 ,they also termed them      
,apostates1 ,capitolins1 ,synedrians1   
because99999999 they charitably decreed 
in their synods to receive apostates1   
and such as went to the ,capitol to     
sacrifice1 into their communion again   
upon their sincere repentance4 ,the     
,nestorians7v7 termed the orthodox      
,cyrillians2 and the ,arians7vi7 called 
them ,eustathians and       99 ,origen4 
c4 ,cels4 lib4 #c4 p4 #acg4 f ,see the  
preceding      translation of ,celsus1  
p4 #ai4 f ,eulog4 ap4 ,phot4 ,cod4 #bhj4
 ,sec4      ,facian4 ,ep4 #b4 ad        
,sympronian4  ,ep4 ,legat4 ,schismat ad 
suos      in ,epheso in ,act4 ,con4     
,ephes4 ,con4 t ,s4 p4 #gdf4 f ,sozora1 
lib1 #f4 c4 #ba4  #aaa  ,paulinions1    
from ,eustathius and ,paulin us bishops 
of ,antioch4 ,as also ,homousians1      
because they kept to the doctrine of the
 --------1 which declared the ,son of   
,god to be of the same substance with   
the ,father4 ,the author of the ,opus   

,imperfection on ,st4 ,matthew1 under   
the name of ,chrysostom991 styles them  
expressly1 ,haeresis ,homoousianorum1'  
the heresy of the ,homoousians4' ,and so
 ,serapion in his conflict with         
,arnobius9999 calls them                
,homousianates1which the printed copy   
reads corruptly ,homuncionates1 which   
was a name for the ,nestorians4  ,the   
,cataphrygians or ,montanists commonly  
called the orthodox --------1 'carnal'2 
because they rejected the prophecies and
 pretexted inspirations of ,montanus1   
and would not receive his rigid laws    
about fasting1 nor abstain from second  
marriages1 and observe four ,lents in a 
year1 c4 ,this was ,tertullian's        
ordinary compliment to the ,christians  
in all his books9999 written after he   
was fallen into the errors of ,montanus4
 ,he calls his own party the spiritual1 
and the orthodox the carnal3 and        
99 ,opus ,imperf4 ,horn4 #dh4       9999
  ,conflict4 ,arnob4 et ,serap4 ad cakem
 ,irenaei1 p4 #eai4       999999        

,tertul4 adv4 ,prax4 c4 #a4 ,nos quidem 
agnitio ,paracleti      disjunxit a     
,psychicis4 ,id4 de ,monogam4 c4 #a4    
,haeretici      nuptias auferunt1       
,psychici ingerunt4 ,see also c4 #aa4   
and #af4  #aab  some of his books99 are 
expressly entitled1 ,adversus           
,psychicos4 ,clemens ,alexandrinus9999  
observes1 the same reproach was also    
used by other heretics beside the       
,montanists4 ,and it appears from       
,irenaeus1 that this was an ancient     
calumny of the ,valentinians1 who styled
 themselves the spiritual and the       
perfect1 and the orthodox the secular   
and carnal9999991 who had need of       
abstinence and good works1 which were   
not necessary for them that were        
perfect4  ,the ,millenaries styled them 
,allegorists1 because they expounded the
 prophecy of the saints reigning a      
thousand years with ,christ1 7,rev4 xx4 
#d47 to a mystical and allegorical      
sense4 ,whence ,euseubius99999999       
observes of ,nepos the ,egyptian bishop1

 who wrote for the ,millenium1 that he  
entitled his book1 --------1 ',a        
confutation of the ,allegorists4'       
,aetius the ,arian gives them the       
abusive name of --------2 by which he   
seems to intimate1 that their religion  
was but temporary1 and would       99   
,de ,jejuniis adv4 ,psychicos4    ,de   
,pudicitia1 c4       9999 ,clem4 ,alex4 
,strom1 lib4 #d4 p4 #eaa4       999999  
,iren4 lib4 #a4 c #a4 p4 #bi4 ,nobis    
quidem1 quos ,psychicos      vocant1 et 
de saeculo esse dicunt1 necessarian7    
con-      tinentiam1 c4       99999999  
,euseb4 lib4 #g4 c4 #bd4  #aac 1        
shortly have an end2 whereas the        
character was much more applicable to   
the ,arians themselves1 whose faith was 
so lately sprung up in the world2 as the
 author of the dialogues de ,trinitate1 
under the name of ,athanasius1 who      
confutes ,aetius 991 justly retorts upon
 him4  ,the ,manichees1 as they gave    
themselves the most glorious names of   
,electi1 ,macarii1 ,catharistae1        

mentioned by ,st4 ,austin99992 so they  
reproached the ,catholics with the most 
contemptible name of ,simplices1        
'ideots1' which is the term that        
,manichaeus himself used in his         
dispute999999 with ,archelaus1 the      
,mesopotamian bishop1 styling the       
,christian teachers1 ,simpliciorum      
magistri1 'guides of the simple2'       
because they could not relish his       
execrable doctrine concerning two       
principles of good and evil4  ,the      
,apollinarians were no less injurious to
 the ,catholics1 in fixing on them the  
odious name of ,anthropolatrae1         
'man-worshippers'2 because they         
maintained that ,christ was a perfect   
man1 and had a reasonable soul and body1
 of the same nature with ours2 which    
,apollinarius denied4 ,gregory       99 
,athan4 ,dial4 #b4 de ,trinit4 t4 #b4 p4
 #aic4       9999 ,aug4 de ,haer4 c4    
#df4       999999 ,archel4 ,disp4 adv4  
,manichaeum adcalcem ,sozomen4 ,ed4     
,vales1 p4 #aig4  #aad  ,nazianzen99    

takes notice of this abuse1 and sharply 
replies to it2 telling the              
,apollinarians1 that they themselves    
much better deserved the name of        
,sarcolatrae1 'flesh-worshippers'3 for  
if ,christ had no human soul1 they must 
be concluded to worship his flesh only4 
,the ,origenians1 who denied the truth  
of the resurrection1 and asserted that  
men should have only aerial and         
spiritual bodies in the next world1 made
 jests upon the ,catholics1 because they
 maintained the contrary1 that our      
bodies should be the same individual    
bodies1 and of the same nature that they
 are now1 with flesh and bones1 and all 
the members in the same form and        
structure1 only altered in quality1 not 
in substance4 ,for this they gave them  
the opprobrious names of ,simplices and 
,philosarcae99991 'ideots' and 'lovers  
of the flesh'2 ,carnei1 ,animales1      
,jumenta1 'carnal1 sensual1 animals'2   
,lutei1 'earthy'1 ,pilosiotae9999991    
which ,erasmus's edition reads       99 

,naz4 ,ep4 #a4 ad ,cledon4       9999   
,hieron4 ,ep4 #fa4 ad ,pammach4 t4 #b4  
p4 #aga4 ,nos ,simplices      et        
,philosarcas dicere1 quod eadem ossa1 et
 sanguis1 et caro1      id est1 vultus  
et membra1 totiusque compago corporis   
resurgat in novissima die4       999999 
,id4 ,ep4 #fe1 ad ,pam4 et ,ocean1 de   
,error4 ,orig4 p4 #aib4      ,pelusiotas
 7leg4 ,pilosiotas7 nos appellant1 et   
,luteos1      ,animalesque1 et ,cameos1 
quod non recipiamus ea quae ,spiritus   
sunt4  #aae  corruptly ,pelusiotae1     
instead of ,pilonotae2 which seems to be
 a name formed from pili1 7hair72       
because the ,catholics asserted1 that   
the body would rise perfect in all its  
parts1 even with the hair itself to     
beautify and adorn it4  ,but of all     
others the ,luciferians gave the church 
the rudest language2 styling her the    
brothel-house1 and synagogue of         
,antichrist and ,satan2 because she     
allowed those bishops to retain their   
honour and places1 who were cajoled by  

the ,arians to subscribe the fraudulent 
confession of the ,council of ,ariminum4
 ,the ,luciferian in ,st4 ,jerome runs  
out in this manner against the church2  
and ,st4 ,jerome says1 he spake but the 
sense of the whole party1 for this was  
the ordinary style and language of all  
the rest4--,hieron4 ,dial4 adv4         
,lucifer1 t4 ii4 p4 #ace4  ,thus far    
,bingham3 to whose extracts may         
appropriately be added1 what the        
,emperor ,julian says reproachfully of  
the ,christians1 in the fragments which 
,cyril has preserved of his ,treatise   
against them4 ,you do not take notice   
7says he7 whether any mention is made by
 the ,jews of holiness2 but you emulate 
their rage and their bitterness1        
overturning temples and altars1 and     
cutting the throats1 not only of those  
who remain firm in paternal  #aaf       
institutes1 but also of those heretics  
who are equally erroneous with          
yourselves1 and who do not lament a dead
 body i4 e4 the body of ,christ in the  

same manner as you do994 ,for neither   
,jesus nor ,paul exhorted you to act in 
this manner4 ,but the reason is1 that   
neither did they expect that you would  
ever arrive at the power which you have 
obtained4 ,for they were satisfied if   
they could deceive maidservants and     
slaves1 and through these married women1
 and such men as ,cornelius and         
,sergius2 among whom if you can mention 
one that was at that time an illustrious
 character1 7and these things were      
transacted under the reign of ,tiberius 
or ,claudius7 believe that ,i am a liar 
in all things99994       99 ,julian here
 alludes to the contests between the    
,arians and      ,trinitarians4         
9999 ,vid4 ,cyril1 apud ,spanh4  ,,the  
,,end4