accurately, but how, being deceived, they have imitated the things concerning our Christ, we shall make clear. Moses, then, the prophet, as we have said before, was older than all writers; and through him, as we have previously indicated, it was prophesied thus: A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he comes for whom it is reserved; and he shall be the expectation of the nations, binding his colt to the vine, washing his robe in the blood of the grape. The demons, therefore, having heard these prophetic words, said that Dionysus was the son of Zeus, and they handed down that he was the discoverer of the vine, and they include wine in his mysteries, and they taught that he, having been torn to pieces, ascended into heaven. And since through the prophecy of Moses it was not plainly signified whether the one to come is the son of God, and whether, riding on a colt, he would remain on earth or ascend into heaven, and the name "colt" could signify the foal of an ass or of a horse, not knowing whether the one proclaimed would have the foal of an ass or of a horse as a symbol of his coming, and is son of God, as we have said, or of man, they said that Bellerophon himself, a man born of man, ascended into heaven on the horse Pegasus. But when they heard it said through the other prophet Isaiah, that he would be born of a virgin and by his own power would ascend into heaven, they put forward the story of Perseus. And when they learned it was said, as has been foretold in the prophecies written before, "Strong as a giant to run his course," they said that Heracles was strong and had traversed the whole earth. But when again they learned it was prophesied that he would heal every sickness and raise the dead, they brought forward Asclepius. But nowhere, not even in the case of any of the so-called sons of Zeus, did they imitate the being crucified; for it was not understood by them, all the things spoken concerning this having been spoken symbolically, as has been shown before. which very thing, as the prophet foretold, is the greatest symbol of his strength and rule, as is also shown from the things that fall under our observation; for consider all the things in the world, whether they are administered or can have communion without this form. For the sea is not crossed, unless this trophy, which is called a sail, remains safe in the ship; and the earth is not ploughed without it; diggers do not do their work nor craftsmen likewise, except by tools having this form.

ἀκριβῶς, ἀλλ' ὡς πλανώμενοι ἐμιμήσαντο τὰ περὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον Χριστόν, διασαφήσομεν. Μωυσῆς οὖν ὁ προ φήτης, ὡς προέφημεν, πρεσβύτερος ἦν πάντων συγγραφέων, καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ, ὡς προεμηνύσαμεν, προεφητεύθη οὕτως· Oὐκ ἐκλείψει ἄρχων ἐξ Ἰούδα καὶ ἡγούμενος ἐκ τῶν μηρῶν αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ᾧ ἀπόκειται· καὶ αὐτὸς ἔσται προσδοκία ἐθνῶν, δεσμεύων πρὸς ἄμπελον τὸν πῶλον αὐτοῦ, πλύνων τὴν στολὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν αἵματι σταφυλῆς. τούτων οὖν τῶν προφητικῶν λόγων ἀκούσαντες οἱ δαίμονες ∆ιόνυσον μὲν ἔφασαν γεγονέναι υἱὸν τοῦ ∆ιός, εὑρετὴν δὲ γενέσθαι ἀμπέλου παρέδωκαν, καὶ οἶνον ἐν τοῖς μυστηρίοις αὐτοῦ ἀναγράφουσι, καὶ διασπαραχ θέντα αὐτὸν ἀνεληλυθέναι εἰς οὐρανὸν ἐδίδαξαν. καὶ ἐπειδὴ διὰ τῆς Μωυσέως προφητείας οὐ ·ητῶς ἐσημαίνετο, εἴτε υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ παραγενησόμενός ἐστι, καὶ εἰ ὀχούμενος ἐπὶ πώλου ἐπὶ γῆς μενεῖ ἢ εἰς οὐρανὸν ἀνελεύσεται, καὶ τὸ τοῦ πώλου ὄνομα καὶ ὄνου πῶλον καὶ ἵππου σημαίνειν ἐδύνατο, μὴ ἐπιστά μενοι εἴτε ὄνου πῶλον ἄγων ἔσται σύμβολον τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ εἴτε ἵππου ὁ προκηρυσσόμενος, καὶ υἱὸς θεοῦ ἐστιν, ὡς προέφημεν, ἢ ἀνθρώπου, τὸν Βελλεροφόντην καὶ αὐτὸν ἐφ' ἵππου Πηγάσου, ἄνθρωπον ἐξ ἀνθρώπου γενόμενον, εἰς οὐ ρανὸν ἔφασαν ἀνεληλυθέναι. ὅτε δὲ ἤκουσαν διὰ τοῦ ἄλλου προφήτου Ἠσαίου λεχθέν, ὅτι διὰ παρθένου τεχθήσεται καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἀνελεύσεται εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, τὸν Περσέα λεχ θῆναι προεβάλλοντο. καὶ ὅτε ἔγνωσαν εἰρημένον, ὡς προλέ λεκται ἐν ταῖς προγεγραμμέναις προφητείαις, Ἰσχυρὸς ὡς γίγας δραμεῖν ὁδόν, τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἰσχυρὸν καὶ ἐκπερινοστήσαντα τὴν πᾶσαν γῆν ἔφασαν. ὅτε δὲ πάλιν ἔμαθον προφητευθέντα θεραπεύσειν αὐτὸν πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ νεκροὺς ἀνεγερεῖν τὸν Ἀσκληπιὸν παρήνεγκαν. Ἀλλ' οὐδαμοῦ οὐδ' ἐπί τινος τῶν λεγομένων υἱῶν τοῦ ∆ιὸς τὸ σταυρωθῆναι ἐμιμήσαντο· οὐ γὰρ ἐνοεῖτο αὐτοῖς, συμβολικῶς, ὡς προδεδήλωται, τῶν εἰς τοῦτο εἰρημένων πάν των λελεγμένων. ὅπερ, ὡς προεῖπεν ὁ προφήτης, τὸ μέγιστον σύμβολον τῆς ἰσχύος καὶ ἀρχῆς αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχει, ὡς καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὑπ' ὄψιν πιπτόντων δείκνυται· κατανοήσατε γὰρ πάντα τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, εἰ ἄνευ τοῦ σχήματος τούτου διοικεῖται ἢ κοινωνίαν ἔχειν δύναται. θάλασσα μὲν γὰρ οὐ τέμνεται, ἢν μὴ τοῦτο τὸ τρόπαιον, ὃ καλεῖται ἱστίον, ἐν τῇ νηῒ σῶον μείνῃ· γῆ δὲ οὐκ ἀροῦται ἄνευ αὐτοῦ· σκαπανεῖς δὲ τὴν ἐργασίαν οὐ ποι οῦνται οὐδὲ βαναυσουργοὶ ὁμοίως εἰ μὴ διὰ τῶν τὸ σχῆμα τοῦτο ἐχόντων ἐργαλείων.