39.  And since some living memorial of his munificence ought to be left behind, what other is required than this temple, which he reared for God and for us, with very little contribution from the people in addition to the expenditure of his private fortune?  An exploit which should not be buried in silence, since in size it is superior to most others, in beauty absolutely to all.  It surrounds itself with eight regular equilaterals, and is raised aloft by the beauty of two stories of pillars and porticos, while the statues placed upon them are true to the life; its vault flashes down upon us from above, and it dazzles our eyes with abundant sources of light on every side, being indeed the dwelling-place of light.  It is surrounded by excrescent equiangular ambulatories of most splendid material, with a wide area in the midst, while its doors and vestibules shed around it the lustre of their gracefulness, and offer from a distance their welcome to those who are drawing nigh.  I have not yet mentioned the external ornament, the beauty and size of the squared and dove-tailed stonework, whether it be of marble in the bases and capitals, which divide the angles, or from our own quarries, which are in no wise inferior to those abroad; nor of the belts of many shapes and colours, projecting or inlaid from the foundation to the roof-tree, which robs the spectator by limiting his view.  How could anyone with due brevity describe a work which cost so much time and toil and skill:  or will it suffice to say that amid all the works, private and public, which adorn other cities, this has of itself been able to secure us celebrity among the majority of mankind?  When for such a temple a priest was needed, he also at his own expense provided one, whether worthy of the temple or no, it is not for me to say.  And when sacrifices were required, he supplied them also, in the misfortunes of his son, and his patience under trials, that God might receive at his hands a reasonable whole burnt offering and spiritual priesthood, to be honourably consumed, instead of the sacrifice of the Law.

ΛΘʹ. Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ μνημόσυνον τῆς ἐκείνου μεγαλοψυχίας ἔδει τῷ βίῳ καταλειφθῆναι, τί μᾶλλον ἔδει, ἢ τὸν νεὼν τοῦτον, ὃν Θεῷ τε ἤγειρε καὶ ἡμῖν, ὀλίγα μὲν τῷ λαῷ προσχρησάμενος, τὰ πλείω δὲ οἴκοθεν εἰσενεγκών; Ἔργον οὐ σιωπῆς ἄξιον, μεγέθει μὲν ὑπὲρ τοὺς πολλοὺς, κάλλει δὲ σχεδὸν ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας: ὀκτὼ μὲν ἰσοπλεύροις εὐθείαις εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀπαντῶντα, κιόνων δὲ καὶ στοῶν κάλλεσι διωρόφων εἰς ὕψος αἰρόμενον, καὶ τοῖς ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν πλάσμασιν οὐ λειπομένοις τῆς φύσεως: οὐρανῷ δὲ ἄνωθεν καταστράπτοντα, πηγαῖς δὲ φωτὸς πλουσίαις τὰς ὄψεις περιαυγάζοντα, ὥσπερ ἀληθῶς φωτὸς οἰκητήριον: δρόμοις τε ἀμφιθέτοις ὕλης τῆς λαμπροτάτης ἰσογωνίοις κυκλούμενον, καὶ πολὺν τὸν ἐν μέσῳ τόπον περιλαμβάνουσι: πυλῶν δὲ καὶ προπυλαίων προλάμποντα χάρισι, καὶ πόῤῥωθεν τοὺς προσιόντας δεξιούμενον. Καὶ οὔπω λέγω τὸν ἔξωθεν κόσμον, λίθου τετραπέδου, καὶ εἰς τρίχα συνηρμοσμένου κάλλος καὶ μέγεθος, ὅσος τε καὶ μαρμάρεος ἐν ἕδραις καὶ κεφαλίσιν, αἳ τὰς γωνίας διειλήφασι, καὶ ὅσος ἐπιχώριος μηδὲν τοῦ ξένου λειπόμενος: ζώνας τε πολυειδεῖς καὶ ποικίλας προβεβλημένας τε καὶ ἐνυφασμένας, ἀπὸ κρηπῖδος εἰς κορυφὴν, ἣ ζημιοῖ τὸν θεατὴν, τὴν ὄψιν ὁρίζουσα. Πῶς ἂν ὁ λόγος ἔργον τοσούτου χρόνου, καὶ πόνου, καὶ τοσαύτης χειρὸς οὕτως ἐν βραχεῖ παραστήσειεν; Ἢ τοσοῦτον εἰπεῖν ἀρκέσει, ὅτι πολλῶν τὰς ἄλλας πόλεις κοσμούντων ἔργων, ἰδίων τε καὶ δημοσίων, τοῦτο καὶ μόνον ἴσχυσε διαβοήτους ἡμᾶς καταστῆσαι τοῖς πλείοσιν. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν ναὸς οὕτως ἔχων. Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἱερέως ἔδει, καὶ τοῦτον οἴκοθεν ἐπιδίδωσιν: εἰ μὲν κατὰ τὸν ναὸν, οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν, πλὴν ἐπιδίδωσιν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ θυμάτων ἔδει, καὶ ταῦτα προστίθησι, τὰ πάθη τοῦ παιδὸς, καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς δεινοῖς καρτερίαν: ἵν' ἔχῃ παρ' αὐτοῦ Θεὸς ὁλοκάρπωμα λογικὸν, ἱερεῖον πνευματικὸν ἀντὶ νομικοῦ θύματος καλῶς δαπανώμενον.