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such sacrifices, he adds next, saying that the philosopher will have no need of divination nor of the entrails of animals and the like, as these are of de4.19.5 monic malpractice. If, then, according to these things, the intelligent and temperate man must beware of using such sacrifices, through which he will attract the demons to himself—and these were the sacrifices through the shedding of blood and through the slaughter of irrational animals—no one who of old sacrificed animals to demons, and much more those who sacrificed humans, could rightly be called temperate and intelligent. 4.19.6 And almost all nations everywhere, so to speak, were captured, before our Savior was revealed among men, propitiating the wicked demons with human sacrifices performed in every place. Therefore none of these was intelligent 4.19.7 and temperate. Therefore, common and human reasoning, following right reason, expressly proclaims to every intelligent and temperate person not to use sacrifices for the propitiation of wicked demons, but to be zealous to purify the soul in every way; for they do not attack a pure soul, because of its unlikeness to them. 4.19.8 But their god Apollo—for again he must be compared to men and it must be shown how far he falls short of right reasoning—commands to sacrifice to the wicked demon, for no other reason than clearly being a friend to it; for like is friend to evil. A witness to this is he who also previously, in the work he entitled “On the Philosophy from Oracles,” relates as follows word for word: 4.20.1 21.

HOW APOLLO COMMANDS TO SACRIFICE TO THE WICKED DEMON

“When the prophet, for instance, was eager and hastening to behold the divine, Apollo said such a thing was impossible before giving a ransom to the wicked demon. And he speaks thus: ‘Give a ransom to the august inhabitant of the paternal land, first libations, then a pyre and dark blood of all-black wine and at the same time the white streams of sheep.’ And he spoke more clearly about the same things: ‘Pour wine and milk and the splendid form of water and wood of Zeus-born acorns bearing fruit; and having laid down the entrails, pour a libation with rich streams.’ And with what prayer, when asked, he began but did not complete, speaking thus: ‘O demon, who has obtained as your diadem the souls of sinners, beneath the airy recesses and above the earthly ones.’” 4.20.2 These things the wonderful god, or rather, the very deceitful little demon, said. But the things of natural reasoning are the opposite, urging to purify the soul, and not to attract the wicked demons with sacrifices; for they do not attack a pure soul, because of its unlikeness to them. But if indeed the man who is cautious and does not sacrifice to demons was rightly judged to be intelligent and temperate, who and what sort of being the one who advises through the oracle to sacrifice to the wicked ones might reasonably be considered, 4.20.3 I leave for you to consider. From this, it will be manifest to one who looks back what sort of beings they were in their nature of character who rejoice in human sacrifices, or by whom the whole human race was formerly enslaved of old. But if someone should say that the manner of human sacrifice is not wicked, but was most rightly performed by the ancients, it is time to find fault with all those now, because no one is pious in the same way as their fathers. 4.21.1 22.

HOW NO ONE ELSE FROM ETERNITY BUT ONLY OUR SAVIOR AND LORD FREED THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE FROM DEMONIC

DECEPTION But if those in our time have prudently turned away from harsh and savage cruelty, then none of the ancients was wise, appeasing the wicked demons with murders of men. But indeed, as they say, it is clear even to a blind man that neither gods

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θυσιῶν τοὺς τοιούτους, ἑξῆς ἐπισυνάπτει λέγων τὸν φιλόσοφον μηδὲ μαντείων δεήσεσθαι μηδὲ σπλάγχνων ζῴων καὶ τῶν παραπλησίων, ὡς ἂν τῆς δαι4.19.5 μονικῆς ὄντων κακοτεχνίας. εἰ δὴ οὖν κατὰ ταῦτα εὐλαβητέον τῷ συνετῷ καὶ σώφρονι τοιαύταις χρῆσθαι θυσίαις, δι' ὧν ἐπισπάσεται πρὸς ἑαυτὸν τοὺς δαίμονας αὗται δ' ἦσαν αἱ δι' αἱμάτων ἐκχύσεως καὶ δι' ἀλόγων ζῴων σφαγῆς, οὐδεὶς ἂν ἐνδίκως ῥηθείη σώφρων καὶ συνετὸς τῶν πάλαι ζῳοθυτούντων τοῖς δαίμοσιν καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον τῶν ἀνθρωποθυτούντων. 4.19.6 ἥλω δὲ τὰ πανταχοῦ πάντα σχεδὸν εἰπεῖν ἔθνη, πρόσθεν ἢ τὸν ἡμέτερον Σωτῆρα εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἀναδειχθῆναι, τοὺς φαύλους ἱλεούμενα δαίμονας ταῖς κατὰ πάντα τόπον ἐπιτελουμέναις ἀνθρωποθυσίαις. οὐδεὶς ἄρα τούτων συνετὸς 4.19.7 ἦν καὶ σώφρων. ὁ μὲν οὖν κοινὸς καὶ ἀνθρώπινος λογισμὸς ἑπόμενος ὀρθῷ λόγῳ παντὶ τῷ συνετῷ καὶ σώφρονι διαρρήδην προκηρύττει μὴ χρῆσθαι θυσίαις ἐπὶ θεραπείᾳ τῶν πονηρῶν δαιμόνων, σπουδάζειν δὲ καθαίρειν τὴν ψυχὴν παντοίως· καθαρᾷ γὰρ ψυχῇ μὴ ἐπιτίθεσθαι, διὰ τὸ αὐ4.19.8 τοῖς ἀνόμοιον. ὁ δὲ θεὸς αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἀπόλλων πάλιν γὰρ ἀνθρώποις τοῦτον παραβλητέον καὶ δεικτέον ὅσον τοῦ ὀρθοῦ λείπεται λογισμοῦ προστάττει τῷ πονηρῷ δαίμονι θύειν, οὐκ ἄλλως ἢ δηλαδὴ φίλος ὢν αὐτῷ· κακῷ δὲ τὸ ὅμοιον φίλον. τούτου δὲ μάρτυς ὁ καὶ πρόσθεν ἐν οἷς ἐπέγραψεν «Περὶ τῆς ἐκ λογίων φιλοσοφίας» ὧδε ἱστορῶν πρὸς λέξιν· 4.20.1 καʹ.

ΩΣ Ο ΑΠΟΛΛΩΝ ΤΩΙ ΠΟΝΗΡΩΙ ∆ΑΙΜΟΝΙ ΠΡΟΣΤΑΤΤΕΙ ΘΥΕΙΝ

«Σπεύδοντος γοῦν τοῦ προφήτου αὐτοπτῆσαι τὸ θεῖον καὶ ἐπειγομένου ὁ Ἀπόλλων ἀδύνατον ἔφη τὸ τοιοῦτο πρὶν λύτρα τῷ πονηρῷ δαίμονι δοῦναι. λέγει δὲ οὕτως· λύτρα δίδου γαίης πατρίης οἰκήτορι σεμνῷ, πρῶτα χοάς, μετέπειτα πυρὴν ἠδ' αἷμα κελαινὸν οἴνου παμμέλανός <τ'> ὀΐων θ' ἅμα λευκὰ ῥέεθρα. καὶ σαφέστερον εἶπεν περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν· οἶνον καὶ γάλα βάλλε καὶ ὕδατος ἀγλαὸν εἶδος καὶ ξύλα καρπὸν ἔχοντα διογνήτων ἀκυλαίων· σπλάγχνα δὲ κατθέμενος λιπαροῖς ἅμα νάμασι σπένδε. μετὰ ποίας δὲ εὐχῆς, ἐρωτηθεὶς ἤρξατο μέν, οὐ μὴν ἐπλήρωσεν, οὕτως εἰπών· δαῖμον ἀλιτρονόων ψυχῶν διάδημα λελογχώς, ἠερίων ὑπένερθε μυχῶν χθονίων τ' ἐφύπερθεν.» 4.20.2 Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ θαυμάσιος θεός, μᾶλλον δὲ τὸ πολυπλανὲς δαιμόνιον. τὰ δὲ τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν λογισμοῦ τἀναντία, καθαίρειν τὴν ψυχήν, ἀλλὰ μὴ θυσίαις ἐπισπᾶσθαι τοὺς πονηροὺς δαίμονας παρακελευόμενα· καθαρᾷ γὰρ ψυχῇ μὴ ἐπιτίθεσθαι διὰ τὸ αὐτοῖς ἀνόμοιον. εἰ δὲ δὴ συνετὸς εἶναι καὶ σώφρων ἀνὴρ ὀρθῶς ἐκρίθη ὁ εὐλαβὴς καὶ μὴ θύων δαίμοσιν, ὁ τοῖς πονηροῖς θύειν διὰ τοῦ χρησμοῦ παραινῶν τίς ἂν εὐλόγως καὶ ποταπὸς νομισθείη 4.20.3 σοὶ καταλείπω σκοπεῖν. ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ἀναδραμόντι προφανὲς ἔσται ποῖοί τινες ὑπῆρχον τὴν τοῦ τρόπου φύσιν οἱ ταῖς ἀνθρωποθυσίαις χαίροντες, ἢ οἱ τούτοις πᾶν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον γένος πάλαι πρότερον καταδεδουλωμένοι. εἰ δὲ λέγοι τις μὴ φαῦλον εἶναι τὸν τῆς ἀνθρωποθυσίας τρόπον, ὀρθότατα δ' ὑπὸ τῶν παλαιῶν τελεῖσθαι, ὥρα τοῖς νῦν καταμέμφεσθαι πᾶσιν, ὅτι μηδεὶς ὁμοίως τοῖς πατράσιν εὐσεβεῖ. 4.21.1 κβʹ.

ΩΣ ΟΥ∆ΕΙΣ ΑΛΛΟΣ ΤΩΝ ΕΞ ΑΙΩΝΟΣ Η ΜΟΝΟΣ Ο ΣΩΤΗΡ ΚΑΙ ΚΥΡΙΟΣ ΗΜΩΝ ΤΟ ΠΑΝ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΩΝ ΓΕΝΟΣ ΤΗΣ ∆ΑΙΜΟΝΙΚΗΣ ΗΛΕΥΘΕΡΩΣΕ

ΠΛΑΝΗΣ Εἰ δ' ἐμφρόνως οἱ καθ' ἡμᾶς τῆς ἀπηνοῦς καὶ ἀγρίας ὠμότητος τὴν ἀποστροφὴν ἐποιήσαντο, τῶν παλαιῶν οὐδεὶς ἦν ἄρα σοφός, τοὺς πονηροὺς δαίμονας ταῖς ἀνθρωποκτονίαις μειλισσόμενος. ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ τυφλῷ, φασί, δῆλον ὡς οὔτε θεοὶ