1

Against Hierocles

OF EUSEBIUS PAMPHILUS AGAINST THE THINGS WRITTEN BY PHILOSTRATUS CONCERNING APOLLONIUS OF TYANA, ON ACCOUNT OF THE COMPARISON OF HIM AND CHRIST UNDERTAKEN BY HIEROCLES. Therefore, my friend, is it not also fitting for you to marvel at those things of the author, which, comparing the Tyanean with our Savior and Teacher, he paradoxically praised? For as to the other matters in the *Philalethes*—for so it seemed good to him to entitle his work against us—it would be no serious matter at present to dwell on them, as they are not his own, but most shamelessly plundered from others, not only in their very thoughts, but also in their words and syllables, which might themselves also receive their proper refutation in due season, but have in fact already, even before my own writing against them, been overturned and refuted in advance in eight whole books written by Origen against Celsus' *True Discourse*, which was more boastfully entitled than the *Philalethes*, in which the aforesaid author, having brought him to account without omission, in all the points we have mentioned, and having comprehensively dealt with all that has been or ever shall be said by anyone on the same 370 subject, has anticipated and refuted them, to which we refer those who truly wish to know our matters accurately, let us for the present examine only the comparison concerning our Lord Jesus Christ in this man's *Philalethes*, thinking it of no importance to contend with the other matters he has plundered from elsewhere. And now we shall reasonably look only at the things concerning Apollonius, since also for this man alone, among all who have ever written against us, the comparison and parallel of this man with our Savior has now become his special point. He marvels, at any rate, and accepts, affirming that he worked his wonders by some divine and ineffable wisdom, and not by the tricks of sorcery, believing and asserting without proof that these things are truly so just as they are reported. Hear, then, what he says in his very own syllables: 'They go about everywhere, prattling and magnifying Jesus, as having made the blind to see and having done some such wonders.' Then, after saying some things in between, he adds: 'Let us consider, then, how much better and more prudently we receive such things and the opinion we hold concerning virtuous men.' And in addition to these, passing over Aristeas of Proconnesus and Pythagoras as being more ancient, he adds, saying: 'But in the time of our ancestors, during the reign of Nero, Apollonius of Tyana flourished, who from a very young age, and from the time he served as a priest to the philanthropic Asclepius in Aegae of Cilicia, performed many and wonderful deeds, of which I will omit the greater part and make mention of a few.' Then he recounts the wonders, beginning from the first, after which he adds these things 371 verbatim: 'For what reason, then, have I mentioned these things? So that it may be possible to compare our accurate and firm judgment in each case with the levity of the Christians, since we do not consider the one who did such things a god, but a man favored by the gods, whereas they, on account of a few prodigies, proclaim Jesus a god.' To these things he adds after other matters, saying: 'And it is worth considering that the deeds of Jesus have been boasted of by Peter and Paul and some others like them, men who are liars and uneducated and sorcerers, but the deeds of Apollonius by Maximus of Aegae and Damis the philosopher who was his companion, and Philostratus the Athenian, who were men who had reached the highest point of education, and who honored the truth out of love for a noble man and a friend of the gods, deeds not

1

Contra Hieroclem

ΕΥΣΕΒΙΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΠΑΜΦΙΛΟΥ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΑ ΥΠΟ ΦΙΛΟΣΤΡΑΤΟΥ ΕΙΣ ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝΙΟΝ ΤΟΝ ΤΥΑΝΕΑ ∆ΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΙΕΡΟΚΛΕΙ ΠΑΡΑΛΗΦΘΕΙΣΑΝ

ΑΥΤΟΥ ΤΕ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥ ΣΥΓΚΡΙΣΙΝ. Αρ' ουν, ὦ φιλότης, κἀκεῖνά σε τοῦ συγγραφέως αξιον ἀποθαυμάζειν, ἃ τῷ ἡμετέρῳ σωτῆρί τε καὶ διδασκάλῳ τὸν Τυανέα συγκρίνων παρεδοξολόγει; πρὸς μὲν γὰρ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν ἐν τῷ Φιλαλήθει, οὕτω γὰρ εὖ εχειν αὐτῷ τὸν καθ' ἡμῶν ἐπιγράφειν ἐδόκει λόγον, οὐδὲν αν εἴη σπουδαῖον ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ιστασθαι μὴ αὐτοῦ ιδια τυγχάνοντα, σφόδρα δὲ ἀναιδῶς ἐξ ἑτέρων οὐκ αὐτοῖς μονονουχὶ νοήμασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ῥήμασι καὶ συλλαβαῖς ἀποσεσυλημένα, ἃτύχοι μὲν αν καὶ αὐτὰ τῆς προσηκούσης κατὰ καιρὸν ἀπελέγξεως, δυνάμει δ' ηδη καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἰδίας κατ' αὐτῶν γραφῆς ἀνατέτραπται καὶ προαπελήλεγκται ἐν ολοις ὀκτὼ συγγράμμασι τοῖςὨριγένει γραφεῖσι πρὸς τὸν ἀλαζονικώτερον τοῦ Φιλαλήθους ἐπιγεγραμμένον ΚέλσουἈληθῆ λόγον, ᾧ τὰς εὐθύνας ἀπαραλείπτως, ἐν ὅσοις εἰρήκαμεν, ὁ δεδηλωμένος παραγαγὼν συλλήβδην ὅσα εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν 370 ὑπόθεσιν παντί τῳ ειρηταί τε καὶ εἰρήσεται, προλαβὼν διελύσατο, ἐφ' ἃ τοὺς ἐπ' ἀκριβὲς τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς διαγνῶναι εχοντας φιλαλήθως ἀναπέμψαντες φέρε μόνην ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τὴν κατὰ τὸν κύριον ἡμῶνἸησοῦν Χριστὸν τοῦ Φιλαλήθους τουτουὶ λόγου παράθεσιν ἐπισκεψώμεθα μηδέν τι σπουδαῖον ἡγούμενοι πρὸς τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν ἑτέρωθεν ὑποσεσυλημένων αὐτῷ διαμάχεσθαι. μόνα δὲ εἰκότως νυνὶ τὰ περὶ τὸνἈπολλώνιον ἐποψόμεθα, ἐπεὶ καὶ μόνῳ παρὰ τοὺς πώποτε καθ' ἡμῶν γεγραφότας ἐξαίρετος νῦν τούτῳ γέγονεν ἡ τοῦδε πρὸς τὸν ἡμέτερον σωτῆρα παράθεσίς τε καὶ σύγκρισις. Θαυμάζει γοῦν καὶ ἀποδέχεται θείᾳ τινὶ καὶ ἀρρήτῳ σοφίᾳ, οὐχὶ δὲ γοητείας σοφίσμασι τεθαυματουργηκέναι φάσκων αὐτὸν καὶ ταῦτα ἀληθῶς οὕτως εχειν ὡς ετυχε, πιστεύων καὶ ἀναποδείκτως ἀπισχυριζόμενος. ακουε δ' ουν, ἅφησιν αὐταῖς συλλαβαῖς· «ἄνω δὲ καὶ κάτω θρυλοῦσι σεμνύνοντες τὸνἸησοῦν ὡς τυφλοῖς ἀναβλέψαι παρασχόντα καί τινα τοιαῦτα δράσαντα θαυμάσια.» εἶτά τινα μεταξὺ εἰπὼν ἐπιλέγει· «ἐπισκεψώμεθα γε μήν, ὅσῳ βέλτιον καὶ συνετώτερον ἡμεῖς ἐκδεχόμεθα τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ ην περὶ τῶν ἐναρέτων ἀνδρῶν εχομεν γνώμην.» καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις τὸν ΠροκοννήσιονἈριστέαν καὶ Πυθαγόραν ὡς ἂν ἀρχαιοτέρους παρελθὼν ἐπιφέρει λέγων· ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῶν προγόνων ἡμῶν κατὰ τὴν Νέρωνος βασιλείανἈπολλώνιος ηκμασεν ὁ Τυανεύς, ος ἐκ παιδὸς κομιδῇ νέου καὶ ἀφ' οὗπερ ἐν Αἰγαῖς τῆς Κιλικίας ἱεράσατο τῷ φιλανθρώπῳἈσκληπιῷ, πολλὰ καὶ θαυμαστὰ διεπράξατο, ων τὰ πλείω παρεὶς ὀλίγων ποιήσομαι μνήμην.» εἶτα καταλέγει ἀπὸ πρώτου ἀρξάμενος τὰ παράδοξα, μεθ' ἃ καὶ ἐπιλέγει ταῦτα 371 κατὰ λέξιν· «τίνος ουν ενεκα τούτων ἐμνήσθην; ιν' ἐξῇ συγκρῖναι τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀκριβῆ καὶ βεβαίαν ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ κρίσιν καὶ τὴν τῶν Χριστιανῶν κουφότητα, εἴπερ ἡμεῖς μὲν τὸν τὰ τοιαῦτα πεποιηκότα οὐ θεόν, ἀλλὰ θεοῖς κεχαρισμένον ανδρα ἡγούμεθα, οἱ δὲ δι' ὀλίγας τερατείας τινὰς τὸνἸησοῦν θεὸν ἀναγορεύουσι.» τούτοις ἐπιφέρει μεθ' ετερα φάσκων· «κἀκεῖνο λογίσασθαι αξιον, οτι τὰ μὲν τοῦἸησοῦ Πέτρος καὶ Παῦλος καί τινες τούτοιν παραπλήσιοι κεκομπάκασιν ἄνθρωποι ψεῦσται καὶ ἀπαίδευτοι καὶ γόητες, τὰ δὲἈπολλωνίου Μάξιμος ὁ Αἰγιεὺς καὶ ∆άμις ὁ φιλόσοφος ὁ συνδιατρίψας αὐτῷ καὶ Φιλόστρατος ὁἈθηναῖος παιδεύσεως μὲν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἥκοντες, τὸ δ' ἀληθὲς τιμῶντες διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν ἀνδρὸς γενναίου καὶ θεοῖς φίλου πράξεις μὴ