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becoming truth in the death which he feigned for the deception of the great man; so that the man of God might not be proven false, but that the garment, given by him for a purpose, might become useful in this way to those who received it. If such a work of the great man's faith and power seems grim, let no one be surprised, looking to the great Peter. For he too showed his inherent power not only through the good works he did, showing the people the man lame from birth running and leaping, or healing the afflictions of the sick by the shadow of his own body, which the sun, striking his body from the side, cast upon them as the apostle passed by; but he also condemns Ananias to death when he behaved contemptuously toward the power dwelling in the apostle; so that, I think, by the fear of him, all contempt among the people might become more disciplined by the fearful example, being instructed not to fall into the same things. Fittingly, therefore, the imitator of Peter, after showing the magnitude of his power through many miracles in his benefactions, also caused the one who attempted to use deception against the Spirit to be true concerning himself. For it was necessary, I think, for the destroyer of falsehood to change the falsehood in the deceiver into truth, so that it might become clear to all through this, that everything said by the great man was true, and that whatever he accepted as true, was not false. The Jews therefore, having in the aforementioned way mocked the great man's power, as they thought, became an instruction to others, not to dare deception in matters where God becomes the accuser of what was dared. And after these things, when a certain gathering had once taken place in the open air in one of the places in the country, and all were disposed with admiration toward the teachings, a certain youth cried out to those gathered around that the teacher was not saying these things from himself, but that another standing beside him was relating the words. And when the boy was brought forward after the gathering was dispersed, the great man is said to have said to those present that the youth was not free from a demon; and at the same time, having taken off the linen cloth from his shoulder, and having brought it to the breath of his own mouth, he thus threw it upon the young man. And when this happened, the youth began to be troubled and to cry out, and to fall down and be thrown about, and to suffer all the afflictions from demons. Then when the saint laid his hand on him and calmed the disturbance, the demon flew away from him, and he, having come to himself again, no longer said that he saw the one speaking with 46.944 the saint. For this indeed is also one of his great miracles, that with no curious art he performed the miracles of healing; but the breath from his mouth, brought through the linen cloth to the one who was suffering, was sufficient both for the deliverance from demons and for the healing of the sicknesses of the body.

But to go through in order all the miracles performed by him would require a long treatise, and an account exceeding the present leisure; but having mentioned one or two more of the things said about him, I will conclude the account with these. For when the divine proclamation had already spread everywhere, and all, both in the city and the surrounding area, had been converted to the pious faith of the doctrine, and altars and temples and the idols in them had been overturned, and human life had already been cleansed of the defilements concerning idols, and the foul savor of the sacrifices had been extinguished, and the gore upon the altars and the pollutions from animal sacrifice had been washed away; and while all in every place were zealously erecting houses of prayer, temples in the name of Christ, anger and envy entered the one at that time presiding over the rule of the Romans, because his ancestral objects of worship, of the deception, were being neglected, while the mystery of the Christians was growing, and the Church was increasing in number everywhere in the world through those who were always being added

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ἀλήθειαν ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ γενόμενος, ὃν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀπάτῃ τοῦ μεγάλου καθυπεκρίνετο· ὥστε μὴ ψευσθῆναι τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ' οὗ χάριν ἐδόθη παρ' αὐτοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιον, ἐν τούτῳ τοῖς λαβοῦσι γενέσθαι χρήσιμον. Εἰ δὲ σκυθρωπὸν εἶναι δοκεῖ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔργον τῆς τοῦ μεγάλου πίστεώς τε καὶ δυνά μεως, ξενιζέσθω μηδεὶς, πρὸς τὸν μέγαν Πέτρον ὁρῶν. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος, οὐ δι' ὧν εὐηργέτει μόνον τὴν προσ οῦσαν ἐπεδείκνυτο δύναμιν, τὸν ἐκ γεννητῆς χωλὸν τρέχοντα τῷ λαῷ δεικνύων καὶ διαλλόμενον, ἢ τῇ σκιᾷ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος ἰατρεύων τῶν ἀῤῥωστούντων τὰ πάθη, οἷς ἂν ἐπήγαγε κατὰ τὴν πάροδον τοῦ ἀποστόλου διὰ πλαγίου τῷ σώματι προσβάλλων ὁ ἥλιος· ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ Ἀνανίου πρὸς τὴν ἐνοικοῦσαν τῷ ἀποστόλῳ δύναμιν καταφρονητικῶς διατεθέντος καταδικάζει τὸν θάνατον· ὡς ἂν, οἶμαι, τῷ κατ' ἐκεῖ νον φόβῳ πᾶν τὸ καταφρονοῦν ἐν τῷ λαῷ σωφρονέ στερον γένηται τῷ φοβερῷ ὑποδείγματι, πρὸς τὸ μὴ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐγγενέσθαι παιδαγωγούμενον. Εἰκότως τοίνυν ὁ μιμητὴς τοῦ Πέτρου διὰ πολλῶν τῶν κατὰ τὰς εὐεργεσίας θαυμάτων δείξας τὸ τῆς δυνάμεως μέγεθος, καὶ τὸν κατὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος χρήσασθαι τῇ ἀπάτῃ ἐπιχειρήσαντα ἀληθεῦσαι περὶ αὐτοῦ παρ εσκεύασεν. Ἔδει γὰρ, οἶμαι, τὸν καθαιρέτην τοῦ ψεύ δους, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀπατεῶνι τὸ ψεῦδος μεταλλάττειν εἰς ἀλήθειαν, ὡς ἂν ἅπασι διὰ τοῦτο γένοιτο δῆλον, ὅτι καὶ πᾶν τὸ παρὰ τοῦ μεγάλου λεγόμενον ἀληθὲς ἦν, καὶ ὅπερ ἂν ὡς ἀληθὲς παρεδέξατο, ψεῦδος οὐκ ἦν. Οἱ μὲν οὖν Ἰουδαῖοι κατὰ τὸν ῥηθέντα τρόπον τῆς τοῦ μεγάλου δυνάμεως, ὡς ἐνόμισαν, καταπαίξαντες, παίδευμα τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐγένοντο, μὴ κατατολμᾷν τῆς ἀπάτης, ἐφ' ὧν ὁ Θεὸς γίνεται τῶν τολμηθέντων κατ ήγορος. Μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ συλλόγου τινὸς κατὰ τὸ ὕπαιθρον ἔν τινι τῶν κατὰ τὴν χώραν τόπων γεγενημένου ποτὲ, καὶ πάντων θαυμαστικῶς διακειμένων πρὸς τὰ δι δάγματα, μειράκιόν τι πρὸς τοὺς συνεστῶτας ἐβόα, μὴ παρ' αὐτοῦ ταῦτα τὸν διδάσκαλον λέγειν, ἀλλ' ἕτε ρον αὐτῷ παρεστῶτα διεξιέναι τοὺς λόγους. Προσ αχθέντος δὲ τοῦ παιδὸς μετὰ τὸ διαλυθῆναι τὸν σύλλο γον, εἰπεῖν λέγεται πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας τὸν μέγαν, μὴ καθαρεύειν ἐκ δαίμονος τὸ μειράκιον· καὶ ἅμα περιελόμενον ἑαυτοῦ τὸ ἐπὶ τὸν ὦμον ὀθόνιον, καὶ παραθέντα τῷ ἄσθματι τοῦ ἰδίου στόματος, οὕτως ἐπιῤῥίψαι τῷ νέῳ. Γενομένου δὲ τούτου, ταράσσεσθαι ἤρξατο καὶ ἀναβοᾷν τὸ μειράκιον, καὶ καταπίπτειν καὶ διαῤῥιπτεῖσθαι, καὶ πάντα πάσχειν τὰ ἐκ δαιμό νων πάθη. Εἶτα ἐπιβαλόντος τοῦ ἁγίου τὴν χεῖρα, καὶ τὴν ταραχὴν κατευνάσαντος, ἀποπτῆναι μὲν αὐ τοῦ τὸ δαιμόνιον, τὸν δὲ πάλιν ἐν καταστάσει γενό μενον, μηκέτι λέγειν ὁρᾷν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἁγίου τὸν συμφθεγ 46.944 γόμενον. Καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ τοῦτο τῶν μεγάλων ἐκείνου θαυμάτων ἐστὶ, τὸ μηδεμιᾷ τινι περιεργίᾳ τὰ κατὰ τὰς ἰάσεις ἐπιτελεῖν θαύματα· ἀλλ' ἀρκεῖν πρός τε τὴν τῶν δαιμόνων ἀπαλλαγὴν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἴασιν τῶν ἀῤῥωστημάτων τοῦ σώματος τὸ ἐκ τοῦ στόμα τος αὐτοῦ ἆσθμα διὰ τῆς ὀθόνης τῷ κάμνοντι προσ αγόμενον.

Ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν πᾶσιν ἐφεξῆς τοῖς παρ' ἐκείνου θαύμασιν ἐπεξιέναι, μακρᾶς εἴη συγγραφῆς, καὶ λόγου τὴν παροῦσαν σχολὴν ὑπερβαίνοντος· ἑνὸς δὲ ἢ δυοῖν ἔτι τῶν περὶ αὐτοῦ λεγομένων ἐπι μνησθεὶς, ἐν τούτοις περιγράψω τὸν λόγον. Παντα χοῦ γὰρ ἤδη διαπεφοιτηκότος τοῦ θείου κηρύγματος, καὶ πάντων κατά τε τὴν πόλιν, καὶ τὴν περίοικον, πρὸς τὴν εὐσεβῆ τοῦ δόγματος πίστιν μετατεθέντων, βωμῶν τε καὶ ἱερῶν καὶ εἰδώλων ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀνατε τραμμένων, καθαρθείσης δὲ ἤδη τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς τῶν περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα μιασμάτων, καὶ τῆς μια ρᾶς τῶν θυσιῶν κνίσσης ἀποσβεσθείσης, καὶ τοῦ ἐπι βωμίου λύθρου καὶ τῶν ἐκ τῆς ζωοθυσίας μολυσμά των ἀποκλυσθέντων· πάντων δὲ κατὰ τόπον πάντα εὐκτηρίους ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ κατὰ σπου δὴν ναοὺς ἀνεγειρόντων, θυμὸς καὶ φθόνος εἰσέρχε τῷ τηνικαῦτα τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐπιστα τοῦντι, ἐφ' οἷς ἠμελεῖτο μὲν αὐτοῦ τὰ πάτρια τῆς ἀπάτης σεβάσματα, ηὐξεῖτο δὲ τῶν Χριστιανῶν τὸ μυστήριον, καὶ εἰς πλῆθος ἐπεδίδου πανταχοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἡ Ἐκκλησία, διὰ τῶν ἀεὶ προστιθεμένων