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Indeed, in the old times, with countless kings and local rulers prevailing in each nation, both in cities and countries, and some being democracies, some being under tyrants, and others having many rulers, and with all sorts of wars, as was likely, arising from this, with nations clashing against nations and constantly rising up against their neighbors, both ravaging and being ravaged and campaigning against each other with sieges, so that for these reasons all people, both those inhabiting the cities and those farming in the fields, were taught the arts of war from childhood and to carry swords at all times both on the highways and in 1.4.4 villages and fields; but when the Christ of God was present, about whom it was long ago declared through the prophets: “In his days righteousness and abundance of peace shall spring up” and: “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into sickles; and nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more,” the deeds followed in accordance with the prophecies. For at once all multiple rule was abolished, Augustus having become sole ruler of the Romans at the same time as our Savior’s appearance. And from that time to the present you would not see, as before, cities warring with cities, nor nation fighting with nation, nor indeed 1.4.5 life worn out in the old confusion. And yet how can one not think it worthy of wonder, when one considers why it was that in the old days, when the demons tyrannized over all the nations and the worship of them by men was great, men, driven mad by the gods themselves, raged in wars against each other, so that at one time Greeks would war with Greeks, at another Egyptians with Egyptians, and Syrians with Syrians, and Romans with Romans, enslaving each other and wearing each other out with sieges, just as the histories of the ancients declare concerning these things; while at the same time with the most pious and peaceable teaching of our Savior the abolition of the polytheistic error was accomplished, and the strife of the nations immediately ceased from its ancient evils? And this I consider to be the greatest proof of the divine and secret power of our Savior. 1.4.6 But you may see a clear proof of the benefit that appears from His words, if you consider how never before in all time nor by any of the famous men of old, but by His words alone and by His teaching spread throughout the whole world, the customs of all nations are well-ordered, even those which were formerly bestial and barbarous, so that Persians who have become His disciples no longer marry their mothers, nor Scythians practice cannibalism, because of the word of Christ that has reached even to them, nor other races of barbarians have lawless intercourse with daughters and sisters, nor males rage against males and pursue unnatural pleasures, nor those who formerly did this expose their dead relatives to dogs and birds of prey, nor, as before, put a noose around the aged, nor feast on the flesh of their dearest dead according to the ancient custom, nor sacrifice humans as if to gods, to the demons according to the 1.4.7 ancients, nor slaughter their dearest ones on a pretext of piety. For these and countless things related to these were in old times ruining the life of men. “For indeed the Massagetae and Derbices are reported to consider those of their own people most wretched who die a natural death, for which reason they anticipate it by sacrificing and feasting upon their aged loved ones; the Tibareni used to throw their nearest elders down from cliffs while still alive; the Hyrcani and Caspians, the one exposed them alive to birds of prey and dogs, the other when they were dead; the Scythians buried alive with the dead and slaughtered upon their pyres those whom the dead especially loved; 1.4.8 and the Bactrians exposed their aged alive to the dogs.” But these things were so in former times, but now it is no longer the same, since the one saving law of the evangelical power the bestial and

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Μυρίων γοῦν τὸ παλαιὸν καθ' ἕκαστον ἔθνος βασιλέων καὶ τοπαρχῶν ἐπικρατούντων καὶ κατὰ πόλεις καὶ χώρας, καὶ τῶν μὲν δημοκρατουμένων, τῶν δὲ τυραννουμένων, τῶν δὲ πολυαρχουμένων πολέμων τε κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἐκ τούτου παντοίων συνεστώτων, ἐθνῶν ἔθνεσι προσρηγνυμένων καὶ συνεχῶς τοῖς πλησιοχώροις ἐπανισταμένων δῃούντων τε καὶ δῃουμένων καὶ ταῖς κατ' ἀλλήλων πολιορκίαις ἐπιστρατευομένων, ὥστε διὰ ταῦτα πανδημεὶ πάντας τούς τε τὰς πόλεις οἰκοῦντας καὶ τοὺς ἐν ἀγροῖς γεωπονοῦντας ἐξέτι παίδων τὰ πολεμικὰ διδάσκεσθαι ξιφηφορεῖν τε διὰ παντὸς κατά τε τὰς λεωφόρους καὶ κατὰ 1.4.4 κώμας καὶ ἀγρούς· ἐπειδὴ παρῆν ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, περὶ οὗ πάλαι διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ἀνείρητο· «ἀνατελεῖ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνη καὶ πλῆθος εἰρήνης» καί· «συγκόψουσι τὰς μαχαίρας αὐτῶν εἰς ἄροτρα καὶ τὰς ζιβύνας αὐτῶν εἰς δρέπανα καὶ οὐ λήψεται ἔθνος ἐπ' ἔθνος μάχαιραν καὶ οὐ μὴ μάθωσιν ἔτι πολεμεῖν,» ἀκόλουθα ταῖς προρρήσεσιν ἐπηκολούθει τὰ ἔργα. πᾶσα μὲν αὐτίκα περιῃρεῖτο πολυαρχία Ῥωμαίων, Αὐγούστου κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ τῇ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπιφανείᾳ μοναρχήσαντος. ἐξ ἐκείνου δὲ καὶ εἰς δεῦρο οὐκ ἂν ἴδοις, ὡς τὸ πρίν, πόλεις πόλεσι πολεμούσας οὐδ' ἔθνος ἔθνει διαμαχόμενον οὐδέ γε τὸν 1.4.5 βίον ἐν τῇ παλαιᾷ συγχύσει κατατριβόμενον. καίτοι πῶς οὐκ ἄξιον θαυμάζειν ἐπιστήσαντα, τί δή ποτε τὸ μὲν παλαιόν, ὅτε τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων κατετυράννουν οἱ δαίμονες καὶ πολλή τις ἦν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ περὶ αὐτοὺς θεραπεία, πρὸς αὐτῶν τῶν θεῶν, αὐτῶν ἐξοιστρούμενοι ἐπὶ τοὺς κατ' ἀλλήλων ἐξεμαίνοντο πολέμους ὡς τοτὲ μὲν Ἕλληνας αὐτοῖς Ἕλλησι, τοτὲ δ' Αἰγυπτίους Αἰγυπτίοις, καὶ Σύρους Σύροις, Ῥωμαίους τε Ῥωμαίοις πολεμεῖν, ἀνδραποδίζεσθαί τε ἀλλήλους καὶ κατατρύχειν ταῖς πολιορκίαις ὥσπερ οὖν αἱ περὶ τούτων δηλοῦσι τῶν παλαιῶν ἱστορίαι, ἅμα δὲ τῇ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εὐσεβεστάτῃ καὶ εἰρηνικωτάτῃ διδασκαλίᾳ τῆς μὲν πολυθέου πλάνης καθαίρεσις ἀπετελεῖτο, τὰ δὲ τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν διαστάσεως παῦλαν αὐτίκα παλαιῶν κακῶν ἀπελάμβανεν; ὃ καὶ μάλιστα μέγιστον ἡγοῦμαι τεκμήριον τυγχάνειν τῆς ἐνθέου καὶ ἀπορρήτου δυνάμεως τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν. 1.4.6 Τῆς δ' ἐκ τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων προφαινομένης ὠφελείας δεῖγμα ἐναργὲς ἴδοις ἂν ἐπιστήσας, ὡς οὐδ' ἄλλοτέ πω ἐξ αἰῶνος οὐδ' ὑπό τινος τῶν πάλαι διαφανῶν, ἐκ μόνων δὲ τῶν αὐτοῦ φωνῶν καὶ τῆς ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην διαδοθείσης διδασκαλίας αὐτοῦ εὖ τὰ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν νόμιμα κεῖται, αὐτὰ ἐκεῖνα τὰ πρὶν θηριώδη καὶ βάρβαρα, ὡς μηκέτι Πέρσας μητρογαμεῖν τοὺς αὐτῷ μαθητευθέντας μηδ' ἀνθρωποβορεῖν Σκύθας διὰ τὸν καὶ μέχρις αὐτῶν ἐλθόντα τοῦ Χριστοῦ λόγον μηδ' ἄλλα γένη βαρβάρων ἐκθέσμως θυγατράσι καὶ ἀδελφαῖς μίγνυσθαι μηδ' ἄρρενας ἄρρεσιν ἐπιμαίνεσθαι καὶ τὰς παρὰ φύσιν ἡδονὰς μετιέναι μηδὲ κυσὶν καὶ οἰωνοῖς τοὺς οἰκείους νεκροὺς προτιθέναι τοὺς πάλαι τοῦτο πράττοντας μηδ' ἀγχόνῃ τοὺς γεγηρακότας, ὥσπερ οὖν πρότερον, περιβάλλειν μηδὲ σάρκας νεκρῶν τῶν φιλτάτων κατὰ τὸ παλαιὸν ἔθος θοινᾶσθαι μηδ' ἀνθρωποθυτεῖν ὡς θεοῖς τοῖς δαίμοσιν κατὰ τοὺς 1.4.7 παλαιοὺς μηδὲ τὰ φίλτατα κατασφάττειν ἐπ' εὐσεβείας ὑπολήψει. ταῦτα γὰρ ἦν καὶ συγγενῆ τούτοις μυρία τὰ πάλαι τὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίον λυμαινόμενα. «ἱστοροῦνται γοῦν Μασσαγέται καὶ ∆έρβικες ἀθλιωτάτους ἡγεῖσθαι τῶν οἰκείων τοὺς αὐτομάτως τελευτήσαντας, διὸ καὶ φθάσαντες κατέθυον καὶ εἱστιῶντο τῶν φιλτάτων τοὺς γεγηρακότας· Τιβαρηνοὶ δὲ ζῶντας κατεκρήμνιζον τοὺς ἐγγυτάτω γέροντας· Ὑρκανοὶ δὲ καὶ Κάσπιοι οἱ μὲν οἰωνοῖς καὶ κυσὶ παρέβαλλον ζῶντας, οἱ δὲ τεθνεῶτας· Σκύθαι δὲ συγκατώρυττον ζῶντας καὶ ἐπέσφαζον ταῖς πυραῖς οὓς ἠγάπων οἱ τεθνεῶτες μάλιστα· 1.4.8 καὶ Βάκτριοι μὲν τοῖς κυσὶ παρέβαλλον ζῶντας τοὺς γεγηρακότας». ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν πάλαι ἦν πρότερον, νυνὶ δὲ οὐκέθ' ὁμοίως ἐστίν, ἑνὸς τοῦ σωτηρίου νόμου τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς δυνάμεως τὴν θηριώδη καὶ