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do you possess property? Nine, they said, denarii for all, and a few plethra of land, from which we pay the taxes. And they showed their hands hardened from work. And he, what sort of thing is the kingdom of Christ, and when will it appear? That it is not worldly nor earthly, they said, but heavenly and coming in glory at the end of the ages to judge the living and the dead. Whereupon he, despising these things, ordered them to be set free, and the persecution of the church to cease. This Domitian ordered a certain Nerouas, an accused man, to be thrown alive into a fire. But when the astronomers said that he would be consumed by a dog, immediately a great rain came down and extinguished the pyre, and with his hands still bound, dogs were let loose and devoured him. And Largius an astronomer said to Domitian's face that he would die on this day. And he ordered him to be kept in bonds, so that when the day had passed 1.431 he might kill him on the morrow. But when he was slain by Stephen his freedman, he was released unharmed. This man cut the hair of Apollonius of Tyana and brought him in bonds to the court. Then they say Apollonius also spoke that much-talked-of verse "You will not kill me, since I am not fated to die," and he immediately vanished, and at that very hour he was found at Puteoli, a journey of three days. Who, finding his disciple Damas there, reported to him the things concerning himself, as Philostratus relates. And to Nerva, who was about to reign after Domitian, he foretold his death in his own letters. In his reign Timothy the apostle and Onesimus were martyred, and Clement is put to death for Christ, and John the evangelist is exiled as an accused man to the island of Patmos. And Apollonius, coming from Rome to Byzantium, and being besought by the locals, did these things, driving the multitude of snakes and scorpions out of the city, so that people were not harmed by them, and curbing the unruliness of the horses in the assemblies of the magistrates. Likewise also, having come to Antioch, being importuned he did so. For as the Antiochenes were being tyrannized by scorpions and gnats, having made a bronze scorpion and burying it in the earth and setting a small pillar above it, he ordered the people to carry reeds, and going around in the city to cry out shaking the reeds "no 1.432 gnats for the city." And thus both the scorpions and the gnats vanished from the city. And having been asked also about the earthquakes threatening it, groaning he wrote on a diptych these things: "Woe to you, wretched city, because you will be brought down by many earthquakes and fires. And the Orontes by the shores will weep for you." Concerning whom, moreover, the great Anastasius of Theopolis says: "And of Apollonius, up to now in some places the standing talismans are effective, some for the aversion of four-footed animals and winged creatures able to harm men, and others for the checking of the currents of a river flowing disorderly, and others stand as averters of other things existing for the ruin and harm of men. And not only in his life did the demons work these and such things through him, but indeed also after his death, remaining at his tomb they performed some signs in his name for the deception of wretched men, who are easily stolen away into such things by the devil. What could one say about the magical works of Manetho? Who became so pre-eminent in magical deceit that he always openly mocked Apollonius as not having precise philosophical experience according to them. For it was necessary for him, he says, just as I, to do whatever he wished by word alone, and not entrust the things done by him to talismans. And all these things happen by the permission of God and the energy of demons so that through such things our orthodox faith might be tested, if it is steadfast and firm, abiding in the Lord, and not

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χρημάτων κυριεύετε; ἐννέα, φασί, δηναρίων οἱ πάντες, καὶ πλέθρων γῆς ὀλίγων, ἐξ ὧν τοὺς φόρους ἀναφέρομεν. καὶ τὰς χεῖρας σκληρὰς ἐκ τῆς ἐργασίας ἐπεδείκνυον. ὁ δέ, καὶ ὁποία τίς ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ βασιλεία, καὶ πότε φανησομένη; ὡς οὐ κοσμικὴ οὐδὲ ἐπίγειος, ἔφασαν, ἐπουράνιος δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων ἐν δόξῃ ἐρχομένη κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς. ἐφ' οἷς αὐτὸς τούτων καταφρονήσας ἐλευθέρους μὲν αὐτοὺς ἀφεῖναι ἐκέλευσε, τὸν δὲ τῆς ἐκκλησίας διωγμὸν καταπαῦσαι. οὗτος ὁ ∆ομετιανὸς Νερούαν τινὰ ὑπεύθυνον ἐκέλευσε ζῶντα βληθῆναι εἰς πῦρ. τῶν δὲ ἀστρο νόμων εἰπόντων ὑπὸ κυνὸς τοῦτον ἀναλωθήσεσθαι, εὐθὺς ὑετὸς κατενεχθεὶς πολὺς τὴν πυρκαϊὰν ἔσβεσε, καὶ δεδεμένον ἔτι τὼ χεῖρε κύνες ἀφεθέντες τοῦτον κατέφαγον. Λάργιος δὲ ἀστρονό μος εἶπεν εἰς ὄψιν τῷ ∆ομετιανῷ τεθνήξεσθαι ἡμέρᾳ τῇδε. ὁ δὲ ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν φυλαχθῆναι ἐν δεσμοῖς, ὡς ἂν τῆς ἡμέρας διελ 1.431 θούσης τῇ ἐπαύριον ἀναιρήσῃ. ἀλλὰ σφαγέντος αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ Στε φάνου ἀπελευθέρου αὐτοῦ ἀπελύθη ἀβλαβής. οὗτος Ἀπολλώνιον τὸν Τυανέα ἀπέκειρε καὶ δέσμιον εἰς δικαστήριον ἤγαγε. τότε φασὶ καὶ τὸ πολυθρύλητον ἔπος ἐκεῖνο τὸν Ἀπολλώνιον εἰπεῖν "οὐ μάν με κτανέεις, ἐπεὶ οὔ τοι μόρσιμός εἰμι," καὶ ἄφαντον γενέσθαι παραχρῆμα, κατ' αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν ὥραν εὑρεθῆναι εἰς Ποτιόλους ἡμερῶν τριῶν διάστημα. ὃς εὑρὼν ἐκεῖσε τὸν μαθη τὴν αὐτοῦ ∆άμαντα ἀνήγγειλεν αὐτῷ τὰ κατ' αὐτόν, καθὰ Φιλό στρατος ἱστορεῖ. καὶ τῷ μετὰ ∆ομετιανὸν μέλλοντι βασιλεῦσαι Νέρουᾳ τὴν τελευτὴν γράμμασιν οἰκείοις προεσήμανεν. ἐφ' οὗ Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀπόστολος καὶ Ὀνήσιμος ἐμαρτύρησαν, καὶ Κλήμης ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ ἀναιρεῖται, καὶ Ἰωάννης εὐαγγελιστὴς ἐν Πάτμῳ τῇ νήσῳ ὡς ὑπεύθυνος ἐξορίζεται. Ὁ δὲ Ἀπολλώνιος ἀπὸ Ῥώμης ἐλθὼν εἰς τὸ Βυζάντιον, καὶ παρακληθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἐντοπίων, ἐποίησε ταῦτα, φυγαδεύσας τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων ἐκ τῆς πόλεως, ὥστε μὴ ἀδικεῖ σθαι ὑπ' αὐτῶν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, καὶ τῶν ἵππων τὴν ἀταξίαν χαλινώσας ἐν ταῖς συνελεύσεσι τῶν ἀρχόντων. ὡσαύτως καὶ εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν παραγενόμενος δυσωπηθεὶς ἐποίησε. τυραννουμένων γὰρ τῶν Ἀντιοχέων ὑπὸ τῶν σκορπίων καὶ κωνώπων, ποιήσας χαλκὸν σκορπίον καὶ χώσας αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ καὶ μικρὸν ἐπιστήσας ἐπάνω κίονα, βαστάζειν προσέταξε καλάμους τῷ λαῷ, καὶ περι ερχομένους ἐν τῇ πόλει κράζειν τοὺς καλάμους ἐπισείοντας ἀκώ 1.432 νωπα τῇ πόλει. καὶ οὕτως ἐξηφανίσθησαν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως οἵ τε σκορπίοι καὶ οἱ κώνωπες. αἰτηθεὶς δὲ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐπικειμένων αὐτῇ σεισμῶν, στενάξας ἔγραψεν ἐν διπτύχῳ ταῦτα "οὐαί σοι τά λαινα πόλις, ὅτι σεισμοῖσι πολλοῖς καὶ πυρσοῖς κατενεχθήσῃ. κλαύσεται δέ σε καὶ ὁ παρ' αἰγιαλοῖς Ὀρόντης." περὶ οὗ μέντοι καὶ ὁ μέγας Ἀναστάσιος Θεουπόλεώς φησιν "Ἀπολλωνίου δὲ μέχρι νῦν ἔν τισι τόποις ἐνεργοῦσι τὰ ἀποτελέσματα ἱστάμενα, τὰ μὲν εἰς ἀποτροπὴν ζῴων τετραπόδων καὶ πετεινῶν βλάπτειν δυνα μένων ἀνθρώπους, τὰ δὲ εἰς ἐποχὴν ῥευμάτων ποταμοῦ ἀτάκτως φερομένου, καὶ ἄλλα εἰς ἕτερα ἐπὶ φθορᾷ καὶ βλάβῃ ἀνθρώπων ὑπάρχοντα ἀποτρόπαια ἵστανται. καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐν τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα εἰργάσαντο οἱ δαίμονες δι' αὐτοῦ, ἀλλά γε καὶ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν αὐτοῦ παραμένοντες τῷ μνήματι αὐτοῦ σημεῖά τινα ἐξ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ ἐπετέλεσαν πρὸς ἀπάτην τῶν ἐλεει νῶν ἀνθρώπων, τῶν ῥᾳδίως ὑποκλεπτομένων εἰς τὰ τοιαῦτα ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου. τί ἄν τις εἴποι περὶ τῶν κατὰ Μανέθωνα μαγικῶν ἔργων; ὃς τοιοῦτος ἄκρος γέγονε τῇ μαγικῇ ἀπάτῃ ὥστε ἀεὶ ἔσκωπτε προδήλως τὸν Ἀπολλώνιον ὡς μὴ ἀκριβῆ τὴν κατ' αὐτοὺς φιλοσοφικὴν ἐμπειρίαν ἐσχηκότα. ἔδει γὰρ αὐτόν, φησίν, ὥσπερ ἐγώ, λόγῳ μόνῳ ποιεῖν ἅπερ ἐβούλετο, καὶ μὴ ἀποτελέσμασιν ἐπιτρέπειν τὰ παρ' αὐτοῦ πραττόμενα. ταῦτα δὲ πάντα συγχω ρήσει τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐνεργείᾳ δαιμόνων γίνονται πρὸς τὸ διὰ τῶν τοι ούτων πραγμάτων δοκιμάζεσθαι τὴν ἡμετέραν ὀρθόδοξον πίστιν, εἰ ἑδραία ἐστὶ καὶ παγία προσμένουσα τῷ κυρίῳ, καὶ μὴ