Lives of the sophists

 to follow, having scattered it like some mist. At once, therefore, the divine Plutarch records his own life, scattered throughout his books, and that

 not one man has written a biography, at least so far as we know but for one collecting from the signs given during the reading, such were the things

 And after these things he deals with many other matters, how one must take care of them. And he says that he also pursued and cast out a certain demon

 ungrudging. Therefore, he did few things by himself, apart from his companions and pupils, revering the divine but for the most part he was with his

 Golden locks gleamed about his back and his breast, and he seemed altogether as one bathing and having been bathed. And when his companions were aston

 of beauty. Thus that man also, choosing to praise him for the sake of the truth, on the one hand reveals the magnitude of the punishments and misfortu

 they neglected the plot. Therefore, just as in the time of the old and great Socrates, no one of all the Athenians (even though they were a democracy)

 But she happened to be skilled also in delivering women in their confinement. <and> as she was setting a cup before the Egyptian and pouring the spice

 his own hand and the things written, he found the oracle written on his hand. 6.4.4 And it is this: Threads are set on the threads of two Fates for yo

 with easy proofs, he orders him to come out, and he came out, having overthrown a tyrant with his speech and he immediately invited him to his table

 is your life as well, a gift as high as heaven and reaching the stars, leave this Sosipatra with us, her truer nurses and fathers, and for five years

 is it, child? And she, pausing for a little, said, But now I understand what was said. For as they, weeping, handed these things to me, they said, '

 he was doing, and revealed the signs that appeared. And as he fell gaping to the ground, and confessed that Sosipatra was openly a goddess, Rise up,

 I have no need to write their names for the account hastens on not to the base but to the good. Except for what one of her children (Antoninus was hi

 human. For collecting the bones and heads of those convicted of many crimes, whom the civil court had punished, they both declared them gods, and they

 he had arrived, and his body was weary and foremost among his school, and holding first place, were Maximus, on whose behalf this is being written, a

 the torches will light up, which the goddess carries in her hands and the light, flaring up on the torches, anticipated the words. We then, for the

 sent him gifts <and> an escort for the care of the temples of Hellas, he immediately summoned 7.3.10 Maximus and Chrysanthius. And the summons was one

 nevertheless unmoved, not lifted up by the imperial power, but bringing down the imperial power and leveling it to a more philosophical state. 7.4.8 B

 he contributed great good will to affairs, exposing his body to the foremost dangers, and being openly at odds with the praetorian prefect, so that no

 for immediately those who had conspired and been numbered and with everyone everywhere being seized and slaughtered, like hens at a festival and symp

 Pergamon, and the more honored of the companions were present 8.1.6 but the teacher, implanting a certain harmony and care for what is human in his s

 in imitation of the public theaters 9.1.6, but smaller and as is fitting for a house. For so great was the strife in Athens of the men and youths of t

 (And Tusciunus, who was present at the trial, and within the group of the accused, related these things to the author) Prohaeresius came forward into

 the sun makes the night longer by becoming more southerly (for it had entered Libra and the nights were about to lengthen) and the ship-captain, bein

 he was handsome, and one marveled at the power of his beauty, that for so great a body 10.3.2 it sufficed throughout for the most excellent form and

 for the sake of wealth, but for Prohaeresius argument alone was enough, just as the Homeric Hermes escorting Priam to the tent of Achilles10.3.17 even

 no one knew the future but when he said I will ask for another, more difficult thing, then, having been ordered 10.5.2 to speak, he says, let not

 being of a most distinguished rank, to grasp, and to draw into sight the phantom conceived from ancient images, 10.6.4 he hurried to Greece. And havin

 transferring their astonishment to his appearance and what they saw, they were amazed at both the beauty and height of his body, as if looking up with

 very quickly leaped into political life. 10.8.1 But when Julian was emperor, being excluded <ἐν> from his position of teaching (for he was thought to

 they say. HIMERIUS: Bithynia bore this man, but the one writing these things did not know him and yet he was living in those times. But having crosse

 to Libanius 16.1.10 and of those thought worthy of his company he departed unstung but his character was immediately recognized for what it was, and

 blaming the greatness of that man's nature, but himself testifying to his own 17.1.3 hyperattention and precision regarding petty words as if unaware

 he was a distinguished child, having partaken of all education which both contributes to and perfects virtue. 21.1.2 And advancing in age, he became a

 precision, and to confess openly that when they met with Ionicus, they learned in practice the things said by the ancients, and brought them out for u

 having something contentious and stubborn in his nature, resisting the signs that had appeared from the gods, he would ask for and demand 23.2.2 other

 of those present, a stir arose, and it seemed good to him to contribute something to what was being said, everything was full of silence, as if no peo

 All were present, and he who is writing these things was present but Justus, standing over it, and fixing the gaze of his eyes (for the victim lay in

 shook souls into fear, he alone remained unshaken, so that 23.6.2 one might have conjectured * that the man was not even on earth. At those times inde

I have no need to write their names; for the account hastens on not to the base but to the good. Except for what one of her children (Antoninus was his <name>, whom I also mentioned a little before, the one who had crossed over to Alexandria, then having admired and been exceedingly astonished at the Canopic mouth of the Nile, and having dedicated and adapted himself to the gods and ineffable rites there) very quickly advanced towards kinship with the divine, despising the body and being released from the pleasures related to it, and practicing a wisdom unknown to the many; concerning whom it is fitting to speak at greater length. For he displayed nothing theurgic or miraculous to outward perception, perhaps being suspicious of the imperial impulses which were tending in another direction; but everyone admired his endurance and his inflexible and unswerving nature. And those who were then at leisure in Alexandria used to go down to him by the sea, and Alexandria, on account of the temple of Serapis, was a kind of sacred world; at any rate, those who visited it from all quarters were a multitude rivaling the native population, and, after their worship of the divinity, they would run to Antoninus, some by land, as many as ran, while for others the river boats sufficed, bearing them with ease to their earnest purpose. And having been deemed worthy of his company, those who proposed a logical problem were filled abundantly and instantly with Platonic wisdom, but those who put forward something of a more divine nature, met with a statue; for he would speak to none of them, but fixing his eyes and gazing up to heaven, he lay speechless and unyielding, nor did anyone see him easily enter into conversation with people about such matters. That there was something more divine about him was signified not long after; for no sooner had that man departed from among men, than both the worship of the gods in Alexandria and the temple of the Serapeum were scattered; not only the worship, but also the buildings, and everything became as in poetic myths, with the Giants having conquered. And the temples around Canobus suffered this same fate, while Theodosius was emperor at that time, and Theophilus was presiding over the accursed rites, a kind of Eurymedon "who once ruled over the prideful Giants," and Evagrius holding the civil authority, and Romanus being entrusted with the soldiers in Egypt; who, having armed themselves together against <the temples> of stone and of hewn-stone, taking these things to heart, enduring neither the sound <nor the mis-hearing> of war, they both ravaged the Serapeum and made war on the votive offerings, winning an unopposed and unchallengeable victory. At any rate, they fought so nobly against the statues and votive offerings, that they not only conquered them, but also stole them, and their military discipline was to conceal what was stolen. Of the Serapeum they only did not carry off the foundation because of the weight of the stones, for they were not easily moved; but having confused and thrown everything into turmoil, these most warlike and noble men, extending hands bloodless, to be sure, but not unacquisitive, they both claimed to have conquered the gods, and reckoned their sacrilege and impiety to their own credit. Then they introduced into the sacred places the so-called monks, men in form, but their life was swinish, and openly they both suffered and did countless and unutterable evils. But nevertheless this was considered pious, to despise the divine; for at that time every man wearing black clothing, and wishing to behave disgracefully in public, had a tyrannical power; to such a point of virtue had humanity advanced. But about these things it has also been said in the general historical writings. And they established these monks also in Canobus, instead of the intelligible gods, to the worship of slaves, and not even good ones, binding the

ὀνόματα οὐδὲν δέομαι γράφειν· ὁ γὰρ λόγος οὐκ ἐπὶ τοὺς 6.10.6 φαύλους ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς φέρειν συνεπείγεται. πλὴν ὅσα εἷς αὐτῆς τῶν παίδων (Ἀντωνῖνος ἦν <ὄνομα> αὐτῷ, οὗ καὶ πρὸ βραχέος ἐπεμνήσθην, ὁ διαβαλὼν ἐς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν, εἶτα τὸ Κανωβικὸν θαυμάσας τε καὶ ὑπεραγασθεὶς τοῦ Νείλου στόμα, καὶ τοῖς ἐκείνῃ θεοῖς τε καὶ ἀρρήτοις ἱεροῖς ἀναθεὶς καὶ προσαρμόσας ἑαυτόν) ταχὺ μάλα πρὸς τὴν τοῦ θείου συγγένειαν ἐπέδωκεν, σώματός τε περιφρονήσας καὶ τῶν περὶ τοῦτο ἡδονῶν ἀπολυθείς, σοφίαν τε ἄγνωστον τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐπιτηδεύσας· περὶ οὗ προσῆκε 6.10.7 καὶ διὰ μακροτέρων εἰπεῖν. ἐπεδείκνυτο μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν θεουργὸν καὶ παράλογον ἐς τὴν φαινομένην αἴσθησιν, τὰς βασιλικὰς ἴσως ὁρμὰς ὑφορώμενος ἑτέρωσε φερούσας· τοῦ δὲ τὴν καρτερίαν καὶ τὸ ἄκαμπτον καὶ ἀμετάστατον ἐθαύ6.10.8 μαζον ἅπαντες. καὶ κατῄεσάν γε παρ' αὐτὸν ἐπὶ θάλασσαν οἱ κατὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν τότε σχολάζοντες, ἡ δὲ Ἀλεξάνδρεια διά γε τὸ τοῦ Σεράπιδος ἱερὸν ἱερά τις ἦν οἰκουμένη· 6.10.9 οἱ γοῦν πανταχόθεν φοιτῶντες ἐς αὐτὴν πλῆθός τε ἦσαν τῷ δήμῳ παρισούμενοι, καί, μετὰ τὰς θεραπείας τοῦ θείου, παρὰ τὸν Ἀντωνῖνον ἔτρεχον, οἱ μὲν διὰ γῆς, ὅσοι γε ἔτρεχον, τοῖς δὲ ἐξήρκει τὰ ποτάμια πλοῖα, μετὰ ῥᾳστώνης 6.10.10 ἐπὶ τὴν σπουδὴν ὑποφέροντες. συνουσίας δὲ ἀξιωθέντες, οἱ μὲν λογικὸν πρόβλημα προθέμενοι, ἀφθόνως καὶ αὐθωρὸν τῆς Πλατωνικῆς ἐνεφοροῦντο σοφίας, οἱ δὲ τῶν θειοτέρων τι προβάλλοντες, ἀνδριάντι συνετύγχανον· οὐκοῦν ἐφθέγγετο πρὸς αὐτῶν οὐδένα, ἀλλὰ τὰ ὄμματα στήσας καὶ διαθρήσας εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, ἄναυδος ἔκειτο καὶ ἄτεγκτος, οὐδέ τις εἶδεν αὐτὸν περὶ τῶν τοιούτων ῥᾳδίως εἰς ὁμιλίαν ἐλθόντα ἀνθρώπων. 6.11.1 Ὅτι δὲ ἦν τι θειότερον τὸ κατ' αὐτόν, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἀπεσημάνθη· οὐ γὰρ ἔφθανεν ἐκεῖνος ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀπιών, καὶ ἥ τε θεραπεία τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν καὶ τὸ Σεραπεῖον ἱερὸν διεσκεδάννυτο· οὐχ ἡ θεραπεία μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ οἰκοδομήματα, καὶ πάντα ἐγίνετο καθάπερ ἐν 6.11.2 ποιητικοῖς μύθοις, τῶν Γιγάντων κεκρατηκότων. καὶ τὰ περὶ τὸν Κάνωβον ἱερὰ ταὐτὸ τοῦτο ἔπασχον, Θεοδοσίου μὲν τότε βασιλεύοντος, Θεοφίλου δὲ προστατοῦντος τῶν ἐναγῶν, ἀνθρώπου τινὸς Εὐρυμέδοντος ὅς ποθ' ὑπερθύμοισι Γιγάντεσσιν βασίλευεν, Εὐαγρίου δὲ τὴν πολιτικὴν ἀρχὴν ἄρχοντος, Ῥωμανοῦ δὲ 6.11.3 τοὺς κατ' Αἴγυπτον στρατιώτας πεπιστευμένου· οἵτινες, ἅμα φραξάμενοι κατὰ <τῶν ἱερῶν> λιθ<ίν>ων καὶ λιθοξο<άν>ων, ἐπὶ θυμὸν ταῦτα βαλλόμενοι, πολέμου δὲ μήτε ἀκοὴν <μήτε παρακοὴν> ὑφιστάμενοι, τῷ τε Σεραπείῳ κατελυμήναντο καὶ τοῖς ἀναθήμασιν ἐπολέμησαν, ἀνανταγώνιστον καὶ ἄμα6.11.4 χον νίκην νικήσαντες. τοῖς γοῦν ἀνδριᾶσι καὶ ἀναθήμασι ἐς τοσόνδε γενναίως ἐμαχέσαντο, ὥστε οὐ μόνον ἐνίκων αὐτά, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔκλεπτον, καὶ τάξις ἦν αὐτοῖς πολεμικὴ τὸ 6.11.5 ὑφελόμενον λαθεῖν. τοῦ δὲ Σεραπείου μόνον τὸ ἔδαφος οὐχ ὑφείλοντο διὰ βάρος τῶν λίθων, οὐ γὰρ ἦσαν εὐμετακίνητοι· συγχέαντες δὲ ἅπαντα καὶ ταράξαντες, οἱ πολεμικώτατοι καὶ γενναῖοι, καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἀναιμάκτους μέν, οὐκ ἀφιλοχρημάτους δὲ προτείναντες, τούς τε θεοὺς ἔφασαν νενικηκέναι, καὶ τὴν ἱεροσυλίαν καὶ τὴν ἀσέβειαν εἰς ἔπαινον σφῶν αὐτῶν κατελογίζοντο. 6.11.6 Εἶτα ἐπεισῆγον τοῖς ἱεροῖς τόποις τοὺς καλουμένους μοναχούς, ἀνθρώπους μὲν κατὰ τὸ εἶδος, ὁ δὲ βίος αὐτοῖς συώδης, καὶ ἐς τὸ ἐμφανὲς ἔπασχόν τε καὶ ἐποίουν μυρία κακὰ καὶ ἄφραστα. ἀλλ' ὅμως τοῦτο μὲν εὐσεβὲς ἐδόκει, τὸ 6.11.7 καταφρονεῖν τοῦ θείου· τυραννικὴν γὰρ εἶχεν ἐξουσίαν τότε πᾶς ἄνθρωπος μέλαιναν φορῶν ἐσθῆτα, καὶ δημοσίᾳ βουλόμενος ἀσχημονεῖν· εἰς τοσόνδε ἀρετῆς ἤλασε τὸ ἀνθρώπινον. ἀλλὰ περὶ τούτων μὲν καὶ ἐν τοῖς καθολικοῖς 6.11.8 τῆς ἱστορίας συγγράμμασιν εἴρηται. τοὺς δὲ μοναχοὺς τούτους καὶ εἰς τὸν Κάνωβον καθίδρυσαν, ἀντὶ τῶν νοητῶν θεῶν εἰς ἀνδραπόδων θεραπείας, καὶ οὐδὲ χρηστῶν, καταδήσαντες τὸ