to be ignored, when perhaps we are rather being recognized. So, bearing what happens, we are disciplined but not put to death, and we who rejoice are made like those who are sorrowful. 44 Paul says somewhere to those who endured in the beginning, exhorting them, in accordance with their former endurance, to bear the second dangers for the sake of the word: “But recall the former days in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproaches and tribulations, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you sympathized with my bonds, and accepted the seizure of your possessions with joy, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance.” Therefore let us also now endure a “great conflict of sufferings” by “reproaches and tribulations” and “being publicly exposed” and accepting “with joy” “the seizure of our possessions”; for we are persuaded that we have a “better possession,” not earthly nor even bodily, but a certain invisible and incorporeal one. For we do not look at “the things which are seen,” seeing that these are “temporary,” but those are “eternal.” 45 But since some, not considering the account concerning the demons, and how, in order to remain in this dense and terrestrial air, needing nourishment by means of vapors, they watch where there is always the savor of sacrifice and blood and incense, make light of sacrificing as an indifferent matter, we might also say to these things that, if those providing food to robbers and murderers and barbarian enemies of the great king are also punished as having wronged the common good, how much more would those who, by sacrificing, give nourishment to the servants of wickedness—nourishment which keeps them in this terrestrial place—be most justly accused, and especially if, having learned this, “He who sacrifices to other gods shall be utterly destroyed, except to the Lord alone,” they should sacrifice to the causes of the evils on earth. And I think indeed that for the sins committed by the demons working against men, they who have nourished them by sacrificing will be accused no less than the demons who worked the worse things; for it is as if both the demons and those who have detained them on earth have jointly done evil things to men, since the demons would not have been able to endure without the vapors and what are considered to be suitable foods for their bodies. 46 And again, on the other hand, some, supposing that names are by convention and have no nature in relation to the underlying realities of which they are names, think it makes no difference if one should say: I worship the first god, or Dia, or Zena, and if one should declare: I honor and accept the sun or Apollo, and the moon or Artemis, and the spirit in the earth or Demeter, and whatever else the wise men of the Greeks say. To whom it must be said that there is also a certain treatise concerning names, most profound and recondite, which one who understands will see that, if names were by convention, the so-called demons certain other powers invisible to us would not have obeyed those who, while thinking of them, pronounce the names as if they were conventional; but as it is now, certain sounds and syllables and names, pronounced with aspiration or smoothness, or lengthening or shortening, perhaps lead those who are called by some nature unperceived by us. But if this is so and names are not by convention, the first god must be called by no name other than those by which the servant and the prophets and he himself, our savior and lord, name him, such as Sabaoth, Adonai, Saddai, and again God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob; for he says, “This is my eternal name and my memorial to all generations.” And it is not wonderful, if the demons refer their own names to the first god, in order that they may be worshipped as the first god. which is not the custom for our servant, nor for the prophets, nor for Christ the fulfillment of the law, nor for his apostles. And these things we have set forth necessarily, so that no one may outwit us with sophistry or even to some extent defile our reasoning; to which one must pay careful attention, giving no opportunity for deception

ἀγνοεῖσθαι, ὅτε τάχα μᾶλλον ἐπιγινωσκόμεθα. φέροντες γοῦν τὰ συμβαίνοντα παιδευόμεθα μὲν οὐ θανατούμεθα δὲ, καὶ ὁμοιούμεθα λυπουμένοις οἱ χαίροντες. 44 Φησί που ὁ Παῦλος πρὸς τοὺς ἐν ἀρχῇ ὑπομείναντας παρακαλῶν αὐτοὺς ἀκολούθως τῇ προτέρᾳ ὑπομονῇ φέρειν κινδύνους δευτέρους τοὺς διὰ τὸν λόγον· «ἀναμιμνήσκεσθε δὲ τὰς πρότερον ἡμέρας, ἐν αἷς φωτισθέντες πολλὴν ἄθλησιν ὑπεμείνατε παθημάτων, τοῦτο μὲν ὀνειδισμοῖς τε καὶ θλίψεσι θεατριζόμενοι, τοῦτο δὲ κοινω νοὶ τῶν οὕτως ἀναστρεφομένων γενηθέντες. καὶ γὰρ τοῖς δεσμοῖς μου συνεπαθήσατε, καὶ τὴν ἁρπαγὴν τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ὑμῶν μετὰ χαρᾶς προσεδέξασθε, γινώσκοντες ὅτι κρείττονα ἔχετε ὕπαρξιν καὶ μένουσαν. μὴ ἀποβάλητε οὖν τὴν παῤῥησίαν ὑμῶν, ἥτις ἔχει μεγά λην μισθαποδοσίαν. ὑπομονῆς γὰρ ἔχετε χρείαν.» «πολλὴν» τοιγαροῦν καὶ ἡμεῖς νῦν «ἄθλησιν» ὑπομείνωμεν «παθημάτων» «ὀνειδισμοῖς καὶ θλίψεσι» καὶ «θεατριζόμενοι» καὶ «μετὰ χαρᾶς» παραδεχόμενοι «τὴν ἁρπαγὴν τῶν ὑπαρχόντων» ἡμῶν· πειθόμεθα γὰρ «κρείττονα» ἔχειν «ὕπαρξιν» οὐ γηΐνην ἀλλ' οὐδὲ σωματικὴν ἀλλά τινα ἀόρατον καὶ ἀσώματον. σκοποῦμεν γὰρ οὐ «τὰ βλεπόμενα», ὁρῶντες ταῦτα μὲν «πρόσκαιρα» ἐκεῖνα δὲ «αἰώνια». 45 Ἐπεὶ δέ τινες μὴ θεωροῦντες τὸν περὶ τῶν δαιμόνων 45 λόγον, καὶ ὡς ὑπὲρ τοῦ παραμένειν ἐν τῷ παχεῖ τούτῳ καὶ περιγείῳ ἀέρι δεόμενοι τροφῆς τῆς διὰ τῶν ἀναθυμιάσεων ἐπιτηροῦσιν ὅπῃ κνίσσα ἀεὶ καὶ αἵματα καὶ λιβανωτοὶ, ἐξευτελίζουσιν ὡς ἀδιάφορον τὸ θύειν, εἴποιμεν ἂν καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα ὅτι, εἴπερ οἱ τροφὰς λῃσταῖς καὶ φονεῦσι καὶ βαρβάροις ἐχθροῖς τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως παρέχοντες ὡς τὸ κοινὸν ἀδικήσαντες καὶ κολάζονται, πόσῳ πλέον οἱ τοῖς τῆς κακίας ὑπηρέταις διὰ τοῦ θύειν διδόντες τροφὰς παρακατεχούσας αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ περιγείῳ τόπῳ δικαιότατα ἂν ἐγκαλοῖντο, καὶ μάλιστα εἰ μαθόντες τό· «ὁ θύων θεοῖς ἑτέροις ἐξολοθρευθήσεται, πλὴν κυρίῳ μόνῳ», θύοιεν τοῖς τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς κακῶν αἰτίοις. καὶ οἶμαί γε ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτανομένοις ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμόνων ἐνεργούντων κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώ πων οὐκ ἔλαττον ἐγκληθήσεσθαι τῶν ἐνεργησάντων δαιμόνων τὰ χείρονα, διὰ τοῦ θύειν θρέψαντες αὐτούς· οἱονεὶ γὰρ κοινῇ τὰ κακὰ πεποιήκασι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις οἵ τε δαίμονες καὶ οἱ κατασχόντες αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς, μὴ ἂν δυνηθέντας διαρκέσαι χωρὶς τῶν ἀναθυμιά σεων καὶ τῶν νομιζομένων εἶναι καταλλήλων τροφῶν τοῖς σώμασιν αὐτῶν. 46 Πάλιν τε αὖ ὑπολαμβάνοντές τινες θέσει εἶναι τὰ ὀνό ματα καὶ οὐδεμίαν αὐτὰ ἔχειν φύσιν πρὸς τὰ ὑποκείμενα, ὧν ἐστιν ὀνόματα, νομίζουσι μηδὲν διαφέρειν, εἰ λέγοι τις· σέβω τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν ἢ τὸν ∆ία ἢ Ζῆνα, καὶ εἰ φάσκοι τις· τιμῶ καὶ ἀποδέχομαι τὸν ἥλιον ἢ τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα καὶ τὴν σελήνην ἢ τὴν Ἄρτεμιν καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ γῇ πνεῦμα ἢ τὴν ∆ήμητραν καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα φασὶν οἱ Ἑλλήνων σοφοί. πρὸς οὓς λεκτέον ὅτι ἔστι τις καὶ περὶ ὀνομάτων πραγματεία βαθυτάτη καὶ ἀνακεχωρηκυῖα, ἥντινα ὁ συνιεὶς ὄψεται ὅτι, εἴπερ ἦν θέσει τὰ ὀνόματα, οὐχ ὑπήκουσαν ἂν οἱ καλούμενοι δαίμονες <ἢ> ἄλ λαι τινὲς ἡμῖν ἀόρατοι δυνάμεις τοῖς ἐκείνους μὲν νοοῦσιν ὀνομάζουσι δὲ ὡς τεθέντα τὰ ὀνόματα· νυνὶ δὲ φθόγγοι τινὲς καὶ συλλαβαὶ καὶ μετὰ προσπνεύσεως ἢ ψιλότητος ἢ ἐκτάσεως ἢ συστολῆς ὀνομασίαι ἀπαγγελλόμεναι ἄγουσι τάχα τινὶ φύσει ἀθεωρήτῳ ἡμῖν τοὺς καλου μένους. εἰ δὲ τοῦθ' οὕτως ἔχει καὶ μὴ ἔστι θέσει τὰ ὀνόματα, οὐδενὶ ὀνόματι κλητέον τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν ἢ οἷς ὁ θεράπων καὶ οἱ προφῆ ται καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ σωτὴρ καὶ κύριος ἡμῶν ὀνομάζουσιν αὐτὸν, οἷον Σαβαὼθ, Ἀδωναῒ, Σαδδαῒ, καὶ πάλιν θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ, θεὸς Ἰσαὰκ καιθεὸς Ἰακώβ· «τοῦτο» γάρ φησιν «ἐστὶν ὄνομα αἰώνιον καὶ μνημόσυνον γενεαῖς γενεῶν.» οὐ θαυμαστὸν δὲ, εἰ τὰ δαιμόνια τὰς ἰδίας ὀνομασίας ἀναφέρει ἐπὶ τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν, ἵν' ὡς ὁ πρῶτος προσκυνηθῇ θεός. ὅπερ τῷ καθ' ἡμᾶς θεράποντι καὶ τοῖς προφήταις καὶ τῷ πληρώματι νόμου Χριστῷ καὶ τοῖς ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι πάτριον. καὶ ταῦτα ἀναγκαίως, ἵνα μή τις ἡμᾶς κατασοφίσηται ἢ κἂν ἐπὶ ποσὸν μολύνῃ τὸν λογισμὸν ἡμῶν, παρεθέμεθα· οἷς ἐπιμελῶς προσεκτέον μηδένα τόπον διδοῦσι παρεγχειρήσεως