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do you laugh at those who advise you for your good? he said: I laugh at your foolish supposition, that you believe the soul of man to be immortal. And I said: We are not surprised, Simon, if you try to deceive us, but we are astonished by what reasoning you deceive even yourself. Tell me, Simon, if even none of the others is assured that the soul is immortal, yet at least you and we are, you, as having separated it from a human body and conversed with it and commanded it, and we, as being present and having heard the command and clearly witnessed what was ordered. And Simon said: I indeed know what you say, but you do not know about what things you are discoursing. And Nicetas said: Since you know, speak. But if you do not know, do not think that we can be deceived by your saying that you know, but we do not. For we are not so childish, that you might sow in us a crafty suspicion of thinking you know some of the secret things, and thus, taking us, who are tormented by desire, you might have us under your control. And Simon said: That I separated a soul from a human body, I know that you know, but that it is not the soul of the dead person that ministers (since it does not exist), but that some demon, pretending to be the soul itself, is at work, I know that you are ignorant. And Nicetas said: We have heard many unbelievable things in our life, but we did not expect to hear anything more foolish than this statement. For if a demon pretends to be the soul of the dead person, what need is there for the soul to be separated from the body? Did we not ourselves, being present, hear you adjuring the soul of the tabernacle? And how, when one is adjured, does another, not being adjured, obey as if in fear? And were you not once questioned by us why the familiar spirits sometimes cease, and you said: A soul, having fulfilled the time above earth that it was destined to spend in a body, goes to Hades; and you added, saying that the souls of those who died a natural death, since they have gone there to Hades and are guarded, are not easily permitted to come. When Nicetas had said these things, Aquila himself in turn said: I wished to learn this one thing from you, Simon, whether it is a soul or a demon that is adjured, fearing what does it not disregard the oaths? And Simon said: For having disobeyed, it knows it is about to suffer punishment. And Aquila said: Therefore, if a soul comes when adjured, there is also a judgment. If then souls are immortal and there is certainly a judgment, so that those who have been adjured for an evil deed would be condemned for disobeying, how are you not afraid to compel, when those who are compelled are punished for disobedience? For it is no wonder that you have not yet suffered for what you have done, since the judgment is not yet, so that you might pay the penalty for what you compelled, while the one who was compelled might receive pardon as having preferred the oath to the evil deed. But he, hearing these things, became angry, threatening us with death, if we did not keep silent about the things being done by him. When Aquila said these things, I, Clement, asked what wonders it was that he performs. And they told me that he makes statues walk and rolling upon fire he is not burned, and sometimes he even flies and from stones

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συμφέροντα συμβουλευόντων καταγελᾷς; ἔφη· Γελῶ ὑμῶν τὴν μωρὰν ὑπόληψιν, ὅτι πιστεύετε ἀθάνατον εἶναι τὴν ἀνθρώπου ψυχήν. κἀγὼ ἔφην· Oὐ θαυμάζομεν, ὦ Σίμων, εἰ ἡμᾶς ἀπατᾶν ἐπιχειρεῖς, ἀλλ' ἐκπε- πλήγμεθα τίνι λόγῳ καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἀπατᾷς. λέγε μοι, ὦ Σίμων, εἰ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων οὐδεὶς πεπληροφόρηται ἀθάνατον εἶναι τὴν ψυχήν, ἀλλ' οὖν γε σὺ καὶ ἡμεῖς, σὺ μὲν ὡς ἀνθρωπείου σώματος χωρίσας αὐτὴν καὶ προσομιλήσας καὶ ἐπιτάξας, ἡμεῖς δὲ ὡς συμπαρόντες καὶ τὴν ἐπιταγὴν ἀκούσαντες καὶ τὸ κελευσθὲν ἐναργῶς ἱστορήσαντες. καὶ ὁ Σίμων ἔφη· Ἐγὼ μὲν οἶδα τί λέγετε, ὑμεῖς δὲ οὐκ οἴδατε περὶ τίνων διαλέγεσθε. καὶ ὁ Νικήτης ἔφη· Ἐπεὶ οἶδας, λέγε· εἰ δὲ μὴ οἶδας, μὴ δόκει ἡμᾶς τῷ λέγειν σὲ μὲν εἰδέναι, ἡμᾶς δὲ μή, ἀπατᾶσθαι δύνασθαι. οὐ γάρ ἐσμεν οὕτως νήπιοι, ἵνα πανοῦργον ἐνσπείρῃς ἐν ἡμῖν ὑποψίαν τοῦ νομί- ζειν σέ τι τῶν ἀπορρήτων εἰδέναι, καὶ οὕτως ἐπιθυμίᾳ κολαζομένους ἡμᾶς ὑποχειρίους λαβὼν ἔχῃς. καὶ ὁ Σίμων ἔφη· Ὅτι μὲν ἐχώρισα ψυχὴν ἀνθρωπείου σώματος, οἶδα ὑμᾶς εἰδότας, ὅτι δὲ οὐχ ἡ τοῦ τε- θνεῶτος ψυχὴ ὑπουργεῖ (ἐπεὶ μὴ ὑπάρχει), ἀλλὰ δαίμων τις ὑποκρινό- μενος αὐτὸς εἶναι ψυχὴ ἐνεργεῖ, οἶδα ὑμᾶς ἀγνοοῦντας. καὶ ὁ Νικήτης ἔφη· Πολλὰ ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἠκούσαμεν ἄπιστα, τούτου δὲ τοῦ λόγου ἀνοητό- τερον οὐ προσεδοκήσαμεν ἀκοῦσαι. εἰ γὰρ δαίμων ὑποκρίνεται εἶναι τοῦ τεθνεῶτος ἡ ψυχή, τίς τῆς ψυχῆς χρεία γίνεται ἵνα χωρισθῇ τοῦ σώματος; οὐκ αὐτοὶ δὲ παρόντες ἠκούσαμέν σου, τοῦ σκήνους τὴν ψυχὴν ὁρκίζοντος; πῶς δὲ καὶ ἄλλου ὁρκιζομένου ἕτερος μὴ ὁρκισθεὶς ὡς φοβηθεὶς ὑπακούει; οὐκ ἐξετασθεὶς δὲ καὶ σὺ ὑφ' ἡμῶν ποτε διὰ τί ἐνίοτε καὶ παύονται αἱ παρεδρίαι, ἔφης ὅτι· Ψυχὴ πληρώσασα τὸν ὑπὲρ γῆς χρόνον, ὃν ἤμελλεν ἐν σώματι διατελεῖν, εἰς ᾅδην πορεύεται· προσε- τίθεις δὲ λέγων ὅτι τῶν ἰδίῳ θανάτῳ τελευτησάντων αἱ ψυχαί, ἐπειδὴ αὐτόθι εἰς ᾅδην χωρήσασαι φρουροῦνται, οὐκ εὐκόπως ἐλθεῖν ἀφίενται. Ταῦτα τοῦ Νικήτου εἰπόντος Ἀκύλας αὐτὸς πάλιν ἔφη· Ἐβουλόμην παρὰ σοῦ τοῦτο μόνον μαθεῖν, Σίμων, εἴτε ψυχὴ εἴτε δαίμων ἐστὶν τὸ ὁρκιζό- μενον, τί φοβούμενον οὐ παραπέμπεται τοὺς ὅρκους; καὶ ὁ Σίμων ἔφη· Κόλασιν γὰρ παρακούσασα οἶδεν μέλλειν παθεῖν. καὶ ὁ Ἀκύλας ἔφη· Oὐκοῦν εἰ ὁρκιζομένη ψυχὴ ἔρχεται, καὶ κρίσις γίνεται. εἰ οὖν αἱ ψυχαὶ ἀθάνατοι γίνονται καὶ κρίσις πάντως γίνεται, ὥστ' ἂν καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ κακῇ πράξει ὁρκισθέντας καταδικασθῆναι παρακούσαντας, πῶς οὐ πεφόβησαι σὺ ἀναγκάζειν, τῶν ἀναγκαζομένων ἐπὶ παρακοῇ κολαζομένων; τὸ γὰρ ἤδη σε μὴ παθεῖν ἐφ' οἷς ἔδρασας οὐ θαῦμα, ἐπεὶ μήπω κρίσις ἐστίν, ἵνα σὺ μὲν δίκην δῷς περὶ ὧν ἠνάγκασας, τὸ δὲ ἀναγκασθὲν ὑπὸ συγγνώ- μην γένηται ὡς τῆς κακῆς πράξεως τὸν ὅρκον προτιμῆσαν. ὁ δὲ ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὠργίσθη, θάνατον ἡμῖν ἀπειλήσας, εἰ μὴ τὰ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ πραττό- μενα σιωπῶμεν. Ταῦτα τοῦ Ἀκύλα εἰπόντος, ἐγὼ Κλήμης ἐπυθόμην τίνα ἄρα ἐστὶν ἃ ποιεῖ θαυμάσια. οἱ δὲ ἔλεγόν μοι ὅτι ἀνδριάντας ποιεῖ περιπατεῖν καὶ ἐπὶ πῦρ κυλιόμενος οὐ καίεται, ἐνίοτε δὲ καὶ πέταται καὶ ἐκ λίθων