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Therefore, according to this confession, with Jesus being honored, no one perceived any public benefit from the gods, since there was no longer any visitation of Asclepius nor of the other gods, from where then 5.1.12 comes the doctrine concerning gods and heroes? For why do not the things of the gods and of Asclepius rather prevail over the power of Jesus? If indeed He was a mortal man, as they might say, and perhaps they might say also a deceiver, while they are saviors and gods, why then have they all fled at once, with Asclepius himself, turning their backs to the mortal and surrendering all of humanity in subjection to one who is no longer, 5.1.13 as they themselves would say? But He, even after death, is daily honored for all time among all the nations, clearly showing the manifest and divine reality of the life after death to those able to perceive. 5.1.14 But also being one and, as one might suppose, alone, He drives away the multitude of gods throughout the whole inhabited world, and nullifying their honors He prevails, so that the gods no longer exist nor are active nor appear anywhere nor visit cities as was their custom, because they were not gods, but wicked demons, while the honors of Him alone and of the God of the universe who sent Him increase daily and advance to a greater virtue throughout all humanity; 5.1.15 whereas on the contrary the gods ought, if indeed they were truly guardians 5.1.15 of those on earth, to have utterly removed the deception, if there was any, and themselves to have provided lavishly to all the healings and benefits 5.1.16 from themselves. But as it is, this very thing has been attempted many times by these through the rulers of the times who warred most mightily against the teaching of our Savior, yet they found the outcome of their attempt fruitless, since the divine power of our Savior always prevailed over all, and suppressed all the rebellions of the wicked demons against his teaching, and drove them out, being truly vile demons, but falsely believed to be gods or even good demons. 5.2.1 2.

WHAT IS THE MANNER OF DEMONIC ACTIVITY

These then, being certain earthly and subterranean beings, haunting the heavy and gloomy air upon the earth, and condemned to have a dark and earthy habitation for reasons we shall later explain, haunting the tombs of the dead and monuments and every foul and unclean matter, delighting in blood and gore and the bodies of all sorts of animals and in the exhalation from incense and vapors rising from the earth, and their rulers being certain aerial or even subterranean powers, when they learned that the human race was wallowing somewhere below in the deification of dead men, laboring with all diligence in sacrifices and the savor of offerings most pleasing to them, they were present nearby as ambushers and collaborators in the deception, reveling in the evils of men, and easily deceiving foolish souls by certain movements of the wooden images, which were dedicated by the ancients in honor of departed men, and by apparitions through oracles, and by healings of bodies, which they themselves secretly afflicted by their own agency, and again they themselves 5.2.2 by a remission from themselves set them free from their sufferings. By these means they drove the superstitious all the more down precipices, so as to make them believe that they were at one time heavenly powers and certain true gods, and at another time the souls of deified 5.2.3 heroes. From this, therefore, the notion of polytheistic error was already thought by the many to be somewhat greater and more venerable, as the mind passed from visible things to the unseen things hidden within the wooden images 5.2.4 and more strongly confirming the error. Thus then, in this way, the earthly demons and those around the air

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δὴ οὖν κατὰ τήνδε τὴν ὁμολογίαν Ἰησοῦ τιμωμένου οὐδεμιᾶς τις θεῶν δημοσίας ὠφελείας ᾔσθετο, μηκέτ' οὔσης μήτε Ἀσκληπιοῦ ἐπιδημίας μήτε τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν, πόθεν δὴ 5.1.12 λοιπὸν τὸ ὡς περὶ θεῶν καὶ ἡρώων δόγμα; τί γὰρ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον τὰ τῶν θεῶν καὶ τὰ Ἀσκληπιοῦ κρατεῖ τῆς Ἰησοῦ δυνάμεως; εἰ δὴ ὁ μὲν θνητός, ὡς ἂν φαῖεν, ἄνθρωπος τάχα δ' ἂν εἴποιεν ὅτι καὶ πλάνος, οἱ δὲ σωτῆρες καὶ θεοί, τί δῆτα τοίνυν πάντες ἀθρόως αὐτῷ Ἀσκληπιῷ πεφεύγασι, τὰ νῶτα τῷ θνητῷ καὶ πᾶσαν ἑξῆς ὑποχείριον τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα τῷ μηκέτ' ὄντι, 5.1.13 ὡς ἂν εἴποιεν αὐτοί, παραδεδωκότες; ὁ δὲ καὶ μετὰ θάνατον παρὰ πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὁσημέραι διαιωνίζει τιμώμενος, ἄντικρυς τῆς μετὰ τὸν θάνατον ζωῆς τὸ ἐναργὲς καὶ ἔνθεον τοῖς οἵοις τε συνορᾶν ἐπιδεικνύμενος. 5.1.14 ἀλλὰ καὶ εἷς ὢν καί, ὡς ἄν τις ὑπολάβοι, μόνος τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην θεῶν ἐλαύνει καὶ τάς γε τιμὰς αὐτῶν ἀθετῶν κρατεῖ, ὡς τοὺς μὲν θεοὺς μηκέτ' εἶναι μηδὲ ἐνεργεῖν μηδέ ποι παραφαίνεσθαι μηδὲ συνήθως ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐπιδημεῖν, ὅτι μὴ θεοί, δαίμονες δ' ἦσαν πονηροί, μόνου δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ καταπέμψαντος αὐτὸν θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων αὔξειν ὁσημέραι τὰς τιμὰς καὶ εἰς μεῖζον ἀρετῆς καθ' ὅλης τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος ἐπιδιδόναι· 5.1.15 δέον ἔμπαλιν τοὺς μὲν θεούς, εἰ δή τινες ὄντως ἦσαν τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς κηδε5.1.15 μόνες, τοῦ μὲν ἄρδην μεταστήσασθαι τὴν πλάνην, εἰ ἄρα τις ἦν, αὐτοὺς δὲ τὰς 5.1.16 ἐξ αὐτῶν θεραπείας τε καὶ ὠφελείας ἀφθόνως τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐμπαρέχειν. νυνὶ δὲ τοῖσδε καὶ τοῦτ' ἐπικεχείρηται μὲν πολλάκις διὰ τῶν κατὰ χρόνους ἀρχόντων τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν κραταιότατα πολεμησάντων διδασκαλίαν, ἄπρακτον δ' ὅμως εὕροντο τῆς ἐγχειρήσεως τὸ τέλος, ὑπερνικώσης τοὺς πάντας ἀεὶ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐνθέου δυνάμεως καὶ πάσας τὰς κατὰ τῆς διδασκαλίας αὐτοῦ τῶν πονηρῶν δαιμόνων ἐπαναστάσεις καθαιρούσης αὐτούς τε ἐλαυνούσης, δαίμονας μὲν ἀληθῶς φαύλους ὄντας, ψευδῶς δὲ νενομισμένους εἶναι θεοὺς ἢ καὶ ἀγαθοὺς δαίμονας. 5.2.1 βʹ.

ΤΙΣ Ο ΤΡΟΠΟΣ ΤΗΣ ∆ΑΙΜΟΝΙΚΗΣ ΕΝΕΡΓΕΙΑΣ

Οἵδε γοῦν περίγειοί τινες ὄντες καὶ καταχθόνιοι τόν τε ἐπὶ γῆν βαρὺν καὶ ζοφερὸν ἀέρα περιπολοῦντες καὶ τὸ σκότιον καὶ γεῶδες οἰκητήριον ἔχειν κατακεκριμένοι δι' ἃς ὕστερον ἀποδώσομεν αἰτίας, τάφοις νεκρῶν καὶ μνήμασι καὶ πάσῃ τῇ μυσαρᾷ καὶ ἀκαθάρτῳ ὕλῃ ἐμφιλοχωροῦντες αἵμασί τε καὶ λύθροις καὶ παντοίων ζῴων σώμασιν τῇ τε ἐκ τῶν ἀναθυμιωμένων καὶ ἀπὸ γῆς ἐξατμιζομένων ἀναδόσει χαίροντες οἵ τε τούτων ἄρχοντες ἀέριοί τινες ὑπάρχοντες ἢ καὶ καταχθόνιοι δυνάμεις, ἐπεὶ κατέμαθον τὸ ἀνθρώπειον γένος κάτω που περὶ νεκρῶν ἀνδρῶν θεοποιίαν ἰλυσπώμενον θυσίαις τε καὶ κνίσαις ταῖς δὴ μάλιστα αὐτοῖς κεχαρισμέναις διὰ πάσης σπουδῆς ἐκπονούμενον, ἐγγύθεν ἔφεδροι καὶ συνεργοὶ τῆς πλάνης παρῆσαν, τοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων κακοῖς ἐπεντρυφῶντες καὶ τοὺς ἠλιθίους τὰς ψυχὰς εὐχερῶς ἀπατῶντες κινήσεσί τισι τῶν ξοάνων, ἃ δὴ ἐπὶ τιμῇ τῶν κατοιχομένων ἀνδρῶν πρὸς τῶν παλαιῶν ἀφιέρωτο, καὶ ταῖς διὰ χρησμῶν φαντασίαις θεραπείαις τε σωμάτων, ἃ διὰ τῆς οἰκείας αὐτῶν ἐνεργείας ἀφανῶς αὐτοὶ λυμαινόμενοι πάλιν οἱ αὐτοὶ 5.2.2 διὰ τῆς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀνέσεως ἐλευθέρους παθῶν ἠφίεσαν. δι' ὧν ἐπὶ μᾶλλον κατὰ κρημνῶν ἔφερον τοὺς δεισιδαίμονας, ὡς αὐτοὺς εἶναι νομίζειν τοτὲ μὲν οὐρανίους δυνάμεις καί τινας ἀληθῶς θεούς, τοτὲ δὲ τὰς τῶν τεθεοποιη5.2.3 μένων ἡρώων ψυχάς. ἐντεῦθεν γοῦν ἤδη μείζων τις εἶναι καὶ σεμνοτέρα τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐνομίζετο ἡ τῆς πολυθέου πλάνης ὑπόληψις, μεταβαινούσης τῆς διανοίας ἀπὸ τῶν ὁρωμένων ἐπὶ τὸ ἀφανὲς τῶν ἐγκρυπτομένων τοῖς ξοάνοις 5.2.4 καὶ τὴν πλάνην κραταιότερον ἐπικυρούσης. οὕτω δῆτα λοιπὸν οἱ περίγειοι δαίμονες οἵ τε ἀμφὶ τὸν ἀέρα