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they startle their hearers, and leading them into a foolish belief 20concerning future things, they fabricate whatever they wish,20 so also, the phantom of the ventriloquist, being transformed, declared the very prophetic sayings of Samuel, but in appearance it thought it was prophesying, knowing nothing, but it put forward the things of another as its own and terrified the wretch, and through these things it easily plundered and stole his mind. 12.10 What else, then, did it add after these things? "And you," it says, "tomorrow and your son Jonathan will be with me, and the Lord will give the camp of Israel into the hands of foreigners." But these things the demon seemed to say as its own.

13.1 But it must be investigated whether it foretold true things, as it thought, 20and whether from

conjecture and coincidence20 it announced them, and in addition to these things, if it was able to have foreknown any of them. First, then, Saul does not appear to have been destroyed on the next day, 20as the speaking phantom asserted.20 13.2 For if, after hearing the words, out of excessive despondency "he ate no bread all that day and all that night," it says, as the divine scripture proclaims, and after this the woman, exhorting him again, urged him to partake of food, since a journey lay before him, it is very clear that on the second day, presumably, after that all-night and all-day fast, she persuaded him, who was thrown feebly to the ground, to rise and sit more composedly on the chair, and taking the milk-fed calf she had without delay, she slaughters it, and preparing the meal and baking the unleavened bread, she made the food ready. 13.3 And when she had diligently prepared breakfast and brought it to him and those with him, he, being urged, partook of the food there; but one must understand that he arrived at other hours of the night, if indeed he set out from there and departed by night. So in this the demon is completely convicted of lying; for it did not happen as it said ("tomorrow you will be with me"), since he spent the next day there without food, then on the second day, having partaken of the food, he went to the camp. 13.4 And not only is it caught having said this contrary to what happened, but it also said that Jonathan alone along with his father would come to it; but on the contrary, the narrative voice of the letter declares that Saul was slain along with three sons, and not with one only, as that one said. 13.5 Therefore, for lack of foreknowledge, the demon uttered nothing true (for it would not have announced things contrary to what happened), but having stolen, as I said, the things previously said by Samuel, it added a few things to them, weaving together similar things from what was likely. 13.6 So also it threatened death to the ruler, using his words. But it even promised to give over the camp of Israel, because the prophet had sternly said that the people would be rent asunder. 13.7 Seeing, therefore, the engines of war set against him and the leader of the people terrified, and in addition that he had been abandoned by God himself (through which things the ruler acknowledged, conjecturing that the prophet's proclamation was being fulfilled here), 20it pretended to cry out in accordance with the present movements.20 13.8 However many things it added of its own, it was clearly caught lying; for it was able neither to foretell the day of death, nor the slayings of the sons of Saul, whom the scripture mentioned by name. And from these things it would not be difficult to understand that the spirit announced nothing of its own nor true, but whatever words of Samuel it stole, usurping these, it thought to prophesy. 13.9 But it is certainly not possible to say that it prophesied this without falsehood; but if it did indeed proclaim the coming of war and the incurable streams of bloodshed, who is the cause of all wars? 13.10 Is it not the devil? Did he not ask for 13.10 Job? Did he not stir up war against him

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ἐκπλήττουσι τοὺς αὐτηκόους, εἰς εὐήθη δὲ πίστιν αὐτοὺς 20ὑπαγόμενοι περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἅπερ ἐθέλουσι20 πλάττουσιν, οὕτως ἄρα καὶ τὸ τῆς ἐγγαστριμύθου φάσμα μεταμορφούμενον αὐτὰ μὲν ἐξηγόρευε τὰ προφητικὰ τοῦ Σαμουὴλ ἀποφθέγματα, τῷ δὲ δοκεῖν ᾤετο προφητεύειν οὐδὲν ἐπιστάμενον, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἀλλότρια προὔταττεν ὡς ἴδια καὶ κατέπληττε τὸν ἀλάστορα, διὰ δὲ τούτων εὐχερῶς ὑπεσύλα καὶ τὸν νοῦν ἔκλεπτεν ἐκείνου. 12.10 τί οὖν ἄλλο μετὰ ταῦτα προσετίθει; «καὶ σὺ» φησὶν «αὔριον καὶ ὁ υἱός σου Ἰωνάθαν μετ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ τὴν παρεμβολὴν Ἰσραὴλ δώσει κύριος εἰς τὰς χεῖρας ἀλλοφύλων». ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐῴκει λέγειν ὁ δαίμων ὡς ἴδια.

13.1 Ζητητέον δὲ πότερον ἀληθῆ προὔλεγεν, ὡς ᾤετο, 20καὶ πότερον ἀπὸ

στόχου καὶ συγκυρίας20 ἀπήγγελλεν, καὶ πρὸς ἐπὶ τούτοις εἰ προεγνωκέναι τούτων ἠδύνατό τινα. πρῶτον μὲν οὖν οὐ φαίνεται τῇ ἑξῆς ἡμέρᾳ 20διαφθαρεὶς ὁ Σαούλ, ὡς ἔφασκε τὸ φάσμα20 φθεγγόμενον. 13.2 εἰ γὰρ ἀκούσας τῶν λόγων ἐκ τῆς ἄγαν ἀθυμίας «οὐκ ἔφαγεν ἄρτον ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ ὅλην τὴν νύκτα» φησὶν «ἐκείνην», ὡς ἡ θεία διαγορεύει γραφή, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο παραινοῦσα πάλιν ἡ γυνὴ προὔτρεπεν ἐδωδῆς ἅψασθαι, προκειμένης ὁδοῦ, πρόδηλον ὅτι τῇ δευτέρᾳ δήπουθεν ἡμέρᾳ μετὰ τὴν πάννυκτον καὶ πανήμερον ἐκείνην ἀσιτίαν ἔπεισε μὲν αὐτόν, εἰς τοὔδαφος ἐρριμμένον ἐκλύτως, ἀναστῆναι καὶ καθεσθῆναι κοσμιώτερον ἐπὶ τοῦ δίφρου, τὸ δὲ μοσχάριον ὅπερ εἶχε γαλαθηνὸν ἀμελλητὶ λαβοῦσα σφάττει, ὀψοποιοῦσα δὲ καὶ πέττουσα τοὺς ἀζύμους, ηὐτρέπιζεν ἐδωδάς. 13.3 ἐπειδὴ δὲ προσέφερεν αὐτῷ καὶ τοῖς ἀμφ' αὐτὸν ἀριστοποιήσασα σπουδαίως, ὁ μὲν αὐτόθι σιτίων ἐλάβετο προτραπείς· ἀνάγκη δὲ νοεῖν ὡς εἰς ἄλλας ἀφίκετο νυκτερίους ὥρας, εἴπερ ᾤχετο νυκτὸς ἐκεῖθεν ἐξορμήσας. ὥστε τοῦτο μὲν αὐτοτελῶς ἐλέγχεται ψευσάμενος ὁ δαίμων· οὐ γάρ, ὡς εἶπεν («αὔριον» ἔσῃ «σὺ μετ' ἐμοῦ»), γέγονεν οὕτως, ὁπηνίκα τὴν ἑξῆς αὐτόσε διέτριψεν ἡμέραν ἄσιτος, εἶτα τῇ δευτέρᾳ τῆς ἐδωδῆς ἁψάμενος ἐβάδισεν εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον. 13.4 οὐχὶ δὲ τοῦτο μόνον ἁλίσκεται παρὰ τὸ γεγονὸς εἰρηκώς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Ἰωάθαν ἔφη μονώτατον ὁμοῦ τῷ πατρὶ καταλῆξαι πρὸς αὐτόν· ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἐναντίων ἡ διηγηματικὴ τοῦ γράμματος ἀγορεύει φωνὴ τὸν Σαοὺλ ἅμα τρισὶν ἀπεσφάχθαι παισίν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ἑνὶ μόνῳ, ὡς ἔφησεν ἐκεῖνος. 13.5 οὐκοῦν ἀπορίᾳ προγνώσεως οὐδὲν ἀληθὲς ἐξεῖπεν ὁ δαίμων (οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐναντία τῶν γεγονότων ἀπήγγελλεν), ἀλλὰ τὰ τῷ Σαμουὴλ εἰρημένα πρότερον, ὡς ἔφην, ὑπεκκλέψας, ὀλίγα ἄττα προσετίθει τούτοις, ἐκ τῶν εἰκότων ὁμοιότροπα συμπλέξας. 13.6 οὕτως ἄρα καὶ θάνατον ἠπείλει τῷ δυνάστῃ, ταῖς ἐκείνου φωναῖς ἀποχρώμενος. ἀλλ' ἔτι γε καὶ τὴν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἐκδοῦναι παρεμβολὴν ὑπισχνεῖτο, τῷ τὸν προφήτην ἐμβριθῶς εἰρηκέναι διασχισθήσεσθαι τὸν λαόν. 13.7 ὁρῶν οὖν ἐπιτετειχισμένα πολέμου μηχανήματα καὶ τὸν τοῦ λαοῦ προεστῶτα περιδεῆ, προσέτι δὲ καὶ καταλειφθέντα πρὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ (δι' ὧν ὁ δυνάστης ὡμολόγει στοχαζόμενος ὅτι δεῦρο περαιοῦται τὸ τοῦ προφήτου κήρυγμα), 20πρὸς τὰς ἐνεστώσας ὑπεκρίνατο κινήσεις20 ἀναφωνεῖν. 13.8 ὅσα μέντοι προσέθηκεν ἴδια καθ' ἑαυτά, φανερῶς ἑάλω ψευσάμενος· οὔτε γὰρ τὴν τοῦ θανάτου δεδύνηται προειπεῖν ἡμέραν, οὔτε τὰς τῶν υἱέων τοῦ Σαοὺλ ἀναιρέσεις, ὧν ἐπὶ ὀνόματος ἐμνημόνευσεν ἡ γραφή. ἐκ δὲ τούτων οὐ χαλεπῶς ἂν εἴη νοεῖν ὡς οὐδὲν ἴδιον οὐδὲ ἀληθὲς ἀπήγγελλεν τὸ πνεῦμα, ὅσα δὲ τοῦ Σαμουὴλ ὑπεξέκλεπτε ῥήματα, ταῦτα σφετεριζόμενον ᾤετο προφητεύειν. 13.9 ἀλλὰ μάλιστα μὲν οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὅτι τοῦτο προὐφήτευεν ἀψευδῶς· εἰ δ' ἄρα καὶ πολέμου γένεσιν ἀνεκήρυττεν καὶ τὰ τῆς αἱματεκχυσίας ἀνήκεστα ῥεύματα, τίς ὁ τῶν ἁπάντων αἴτιός ἐστι πολέμων; 13.10 οὐχ ὁ διάβολος; οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐξῃτήσατο 13.10 τὸν Ἰώβ; οὐκ ἐπήγειρεν αὐτῷ πόλεμον