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wishing to escape notice.” These things are said in these very words by Hierocles, who wrote the discourse entitled Philalethes against us. Damis, then, who spent much time with Apollonius, coming from the land of the Assyrians and there first in his own country having met with him, has recorded the association with the man that he had from that time, but Maximus wrote down very few of the particular things done by him, while Philostratus the Athenian, saying that he himself had collected all the current accounts together, from those of Maximus and Damis himself and others, has composed a most complete history of the man’s life from his birth to his death. If, then, it is possible to set side by side the superficiality and frivolity of which we are accused, and the accurate and firm judgment of the Philalethes in each case, come let us inquire, not who was more divine. 372 nor which of the two performed more wonderful and more numerous paradoxes, nor that our savior and lord Jesus Christ alone was prophesied by divine inspiration to come among men by the wise men of the Hebrews who lived in ancient times, countless thousands of years ago, nor that he exhorted more people to the word of his divine teaching, nor that he acquired genuine and truly faithful disciples, prepared readily almost to die for his words, nor that he alone established a school of a temperate life even for the time that followed, nor that by his own divinity and excellence he saved the whole inhabited world and still even now brings myriads of multitudes from everywhere to his divine teaching, nor that he alone of all men ever, having been warred against for very many years now by almost all men, rulers and ruled alike, has been shown to be superior and much more powerful than the faithless who bitterly persecute him, by a divine and ineffable power easily punishing those who from time to time rise up against his divine teaching, and strengthening throughout the whole inhabited world, for an endless age, the divine word established and delivered by him, nor that still even now he demonstrates the virtue of his divine power, driving out certain wicked and evil demons that lie in wait for the souls and bodies of men, by his ineffable name alone, as we have learned by experience itself, for to seek these things concerning Apollonius is not even foolish to ask; but let us examine only the writing of Philostratus, by which we shall prove that it is not worthy to rank 373 not only among philosophers, but not even among fair-minded and moderate men, let alone to compare Apollonius to our savior Christ, so far as concerns the writing of the author praised by Philalethes, who had attained the highest degree of education, but did not honor the truth. For such, along with the others, was Philostratus the Athenian, from whom we might easily learn also of the rest of those who in his time had attained the highest degree of education, but who had not accurately examined the history concerning Apollonius. For when these points have been clarified by us, at once the firm and, as he himself thinks, accurate judgment in each case of the Philalethes, who has taken upon himself the highest and universal tribunals against the Christians, will become clear, as well as the so-called superficiality and frivolity of us, who are considered by them foolish and deceived. Another, then, coming to close quarters, would at once have slandered, blaspheming as an enemy and foe the one against whom he was making his argument, but I, my friend, thought the man of Tyana to be wise in human affairs, and I would willingly still hold to the same opinion, and would set forth to you, should you ask, my own opinion about him: to count the man among whatever philosophers one might wish, without being at all troubled by the myths about him. not to grudge it, but if anyone should leap over the boundaries and think things greater than philosophy, whether a certain Damis the Assyrian or Philostratus,

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βουλόμενοι λαθεῖν.» ταῦτα ῥήμασιν αὐταῖςἹεροκλεῖ τῷ τὸν καθ' ἡμῶν ἐπιγεγραφότι Φιλαλήθη λόγον ειρηται. ∆άμις μὲν ουν ὁ τὰ πολλὰ ξυνδιατρίψας τῷἈπολλωνίῳ ἀπὸ τῆςἈσσυρίων γῆς ὁρμώμενος αὐτόθι τε πρῶτον ἐπὶ τῆς ἰδίας χώρας αὐτῷ συμμίξας τὴν ἐξ ἐκείνου μετὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῷ γενομένην συνουσίαν ἱστόρησεν, ὁ δὲ Μάξιμος κομιδῇ βραχέα τῶν κατὰ μέρος αὐτῷ πεπραγμένων ἀνεγράψατο, ὅ γεμὴνἈθηναῖος Φιλόστρατος τὰ φερόμενα πάντα ὁμοῦ ἀπό τε τῶν Μαξίμου καὶ αὐτοῦ ∆άμιδος καὶ ἄλλων συναγαγεῖν ἑαυτὸν φήσας πάντων μάλιστα ἐντελῆ τὴν ἀπὸ γενέσεως καὶ μέχρι τελευτῆς ἱστορίαν τοῦ κατὰ τὸν ανδρα βίου πεποίηται. Εἰ δὴ ουν ἐξὸν τὴν ἐπικατηγορουμένην ἡμῶν εὐχέρειάν τε καὶ κουφότητα καὶ τὴν τοῦ Φιλαλήθους ἀκριβῆ καὶ βεβαίαν ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ παραθεῖναι κρίσιν, φέρε διαπυθώμεθα, οὐχ ὅστις θειότερος γεγόνει. 372 οὐδ' ὁποῖος θαυμασιώτερά τε καὶ πλείω διεπράξατο παράδοξα, οὐδ' ὡς μόνος παρὰ τοῖς ἀνέκαθεν πρὸ μυρίων οσων ἐτῶν γενομένοιςἙβραίων σοφοῖς ὁ σωτὴρ ἡμῶν καὶ κύριοςἸησοῦς Χριστὸς ἥξειν εἰς ἀνθρώπους κατὰ θείαν ἐπίπνοιαν προπεφήτευτο, οὐδ' ὡς πλείους ἐπὶ τὸν τῆς θείας διδασκαλίας αὐτοῦ λόγον προὐτρέψατο, οὐδ' ὡς γνησίους καὶ οντως ἀληθεῖς ἐκτήσατο φοιτητὰς μονονουχὶ καὶ ὑπεραποθνήσκειν ἑτοίμως τῶν λόγων αὐτοῦ παρεσκευασμένους, οὐδ' ὡς μόνος σώφρονος βίου διδασκαλεῖον καὶ ἐς τὸν μετέπειτα χρόνον συνεστήσατο, οὐδ' ὡς τῇ ἰδίᾳ θεότητί τε καὶ ἀρετῇ πᾶσαν ἔσωσε τὴν οἰκουμένην καὶ εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν μυρία πλήθη πανταχόθεν ἐπὶ τὴν θείαν ἑαυτοῦ διδασκαλίαν ἐπαγόμενος, οὐδ' ὡς τῶν πώποτε μόνος πρὸς ἁπάντων σχεδὸν εἰπεῖν ἀνθρώπων ἀρχόντων τε καὶ ἀρχομένων πλείστοις ἔτεσιν ἤδη πολεμούμενος κρείττων καὶ πολὺ δυνατώτερος τῶν πικρῶς ἐλαυνόντων ἀπίστων ἀποδέδεικται θείᾳ καὶ ἀρρήτῳ δυνάμει τοὺς μὲν κατὰ καιρὸν ἐπανισταμένους αὐτοῦ τῇ θείᾳ διδασκαλίᾳ ῥᾳδίως μετιών, τὸν δὲ παγέντα πρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ παραδοθέντα θεῖον λόγον εἰς απειρον αἰῶνα καθ' ολης κρατύνων τῆς οἰκουμένης, οὐδ' ὡς εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν τῆς ἐνθέου δυνάμεως τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐπιδείκνυται μοχθηρούς τινας καὶ φαύλους δαίμονας ψυχαῖς ἀνθρώπων καὶ σώμασιν ἐφεδρεύοντας ἀπελαύνων διὰ μόνης τῆς ἀρρήτου προσηγορίας αὐτοῦ, ὡς αὐτῇ πείρᾳ κατειλήφαμεν, ταῦτα γὰρ περὶ τὸνἈπολλώνιον ζητεῖν μὴ καὶ τὸ ἐρωτᾶν ἀνόητον· μόνην δὲ ἐπισκεψώμεθα τὴν τοῦ Φιλοστράτου γραφήν, δι' ης εὐθυνοῦμεν, ὡς οὐχ οτι γε ἐν φιλοσόφοις, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἐν ἐπιεικέσι καὶ μετρίοις ἀνδράσιν αξιον ἐγκρί 373 νειν, οὐχ οπως τῷ σωτῆρι ἡμῶν Χριστῷ παρατιθέναι τὸνἈπολλώνιον οσον ἐπὶ τῇ γραφῇ τοῦ παρὰ τῷ Φιλαλήθει παιδεύσεως μὲν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἥκοντος, τὸ δ' ἀληθὲς μὴ τιμῶντος συγγραφέως. τοιοῦτος γὰρ ην αὐτῷ μετὰ τῶν αλλων καὶ ὁἈθηναῖος Φιλόστρατος, ἐξ οὗ ῥᾳδίως αν καταμάθοιμεν καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν τῶν κατ' αὐτὸν παιδεύσεως μὲν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἡκόντων, αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ ἐξητασμένως μὴ ἀπηκριβωμένων τῆς κατὰ τὸνἈπολλώνιον ἱστορίας. τούτων γὰρ ἡμῖν διευκρινηθέντων ὁμοῦ τοῦ τε Φιλαλήθους τὰ ἀνωτάτω τε καὶ καθ' ολων δικαστήρια διειληφότος ἡ κατὰ Χριστιανῶν βεβαία καί, ὡς αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ δοκεῖ, ἀκριβὴς ἐφ' ἑκάστῳ κρίσις φανερὰ καταστήσεται ἡμῶν τε αυ, οἳ μωροὶ καὶ βεβουκολημένοι νενομίσμεθα παρ' αὐτοῖς, ἡ πρὸς αὐτῶν ἐπικαλουμένη εὐχέρειά τε καὶ κουφότης.Ἄλλος μὲν οὖν ὁμόσε χωρῶν αὐτόθεν διέβαλλεν αν βλασφημῶν ὡς ἐχθρὸν αὐτῷ καὶ πολέμιον τὸν καθ' οὗ τὸν λόγον ἐποιεῖτο, ἐγὼ δέ, ἑταῖρε, σοφόν τινα τὰ ἀνθρώπινα τὸν Τυανέα γεγονέναι ἡγούμην καὶ ἔτι γε τῆς αὐτῆς ἔχεσθαι διανοίας ἑκὼν ειναι βουλοίμην καί σοι τὴν αὐτὸς ἐμαυτοῦ περὶ αὐτοῦ δόξαν ἐκθείην ἂν ἐρωτῶντι· φιλοσόφων μὲν ὅτῳ τις βούλοιτο συγκαταλέγειν τὸν ἄνδρα πέρα μηδὲν διενοχλῶν ταῖς περὶ αὐτοῦ μυθολογίαις. μὴ φθονεῖν, εἰ δ' ὑπερπηδᾶν τοὺς ορους καὶ φιλοσοφίας ὑπέρτερα φρονεῖν εἴτε τις ∆άμιςἈσσύριος, ειτε Φιλόστρατος,