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Click on title of any passage numbered in red to access an English translation.
| 327. | Prophetic Inspiration |
| 3 | For generally the prophet proclaims nothing on his own. Rather, he merely lends his voice to him who prompts everything that he says. When he is inspired he becomes unconscious. Thought fades away and leaves the fortress of the soul. But the divine Spirit has entered there and and made its dwelling. And it makes all the vocal organs sound, so that the man expresses clearly what the Spirit gives him to say. |
| --- Philo, Special Laws 4.3 |
| 328. | Foreign Gods as Demons |
| 17 | (The Israelites)
ἔθυσαν
δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ, θεοῖς, οἷς οὐκ ᾔδεισαν· καινοὶ πρόσφατοι ἥκασιν, οὓς οὐκ ᾔδεισαν οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν. |
| --- Septuagint, Deuteronomy 32:17 |
| 329. | Demonic Sacrifices |
| 34 | οὐκ
ἐξωλέθρευσαν τὰ ἔθνη, ἃ εἶπεν κύριος αὐτοῖς; |
| 35 | καὶ
ἐμίγησαν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν καὶ ἔμαθον τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν· |
| 36 | καὶ
ἐδούλευσαν τοῖς γλυπτοῖς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐγενήθη αὐτοῖς εἰς σκάνδαλον· |
| 37 | καὶ
ἔθυσαν τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτῶν
καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας αὐτῶν τοῖς δαιμονίοις |
| 38 | καὶ
ἐξέχεαν αἷμα ἀθῷον, αἷμα υἱῶν αὐτῶν καὶ θυγατέρων, ὧν ἔθυσαν τοῖς γλυπτοῖς Χανααν, καὶ ἐφονοκτονήθη ἡ γῆ ἐν τοῖς αἵμασιν. |
| 39 | καὶ
ἐμιάνθη ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτῶν,
καὶ ἐπόρνευσαν ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν αὐτῶν. |
| --- Septuagint, Psalm 106:34-39 |
| 330. | Pagan Worship Demonic |
| 19 | τί οὖν φημι; ὅτι
εἰδωλόθυτόν τί ἐστιν, ἢ ὅτι εἴδωλόν τί ἐστιν; |
| 20 |
ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἃ θύουσιν, δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ
θύουσιν, |
| 21 | οὐ δύνασθε ποτήριον
κυρίου πίνειν καὶ ποτήριον δαιμονίων· οὐ δύνασθε τραπέζης κυρίου μετέχειν καὶ τραπέζης δαιμονίων. |
| --- Paul, 1 Corinthians 10:19-21 |
| 331. | Demonic Terror |
| 19 |
σὺ πιστεύεις ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν ὁ θεός; καλῶς ποιεῖς· |
| --- James 2:19 |
| 332. | A Syrian Exorcist |
| 16 | I would like to ask you then, what do you think of those who deliver demoniacs from their terrors and who command phantoms in public? I do not need to remind you of the master of this art, the famous Syrian of Palestine. Everyone knows this remarkable man already. When people fall down at the sight of the moon, rolling their eyes and foaming at the mouth, he calls on them to to stand up and sends them back home healthy and free from their infirmity. Each time he charges a large amount for this. When he is with sick persons, he asks them how the devil entered into them. The patient remains silent, but the devil replies in Greek or a barbarian language, and tells what he is, where he comes from, and how he entered into the man's body. This is the moment to command him to come out. If he resists, the Syrian threatens him and finally drives him out. |
| --- Lucian, Philopseudes 16 |
| 333. | Jewish Exorcist uses Solomon's Methods |
| 45 | παρέσχε δ᾽ αὐτῷ μαθεῖν ὁ θεὸς καὶ τὴν κατὰ τῶν δαιμόνων τέχνην εἰς ὠφέλειαν καὶ θεραπείαν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις: ἐπῳδάς τε συνταξάμενος αἷς παρηγορεῖται τὰ νοσήματα καὶ τρόπους ἐξορκώσεων κατέλιπεν, οἷς οἱ ἐνδούμενοι τὰ δαιμόνια ὡς μηκέτ᾽ ἐπανελθεῖν ἐκδιώξουσι. |
| 46 | καὶ αὕτη μέχρι νῦν [ca. 90 CE] παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἡ θεραπεία πλεῖστον ἰσχύει: ἱστόρησα γάρ τινα Ἐλεάζαρον τῶν ὁμοφύλων [the emperor] Οὐεσπασιανοῦ παρόντος καὶ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ χιλιάρχων καὶ ἄλλου στρατιωτικοῦ πλήθους ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμονίων λαμβανομένους ἀπολύοντα τούτων. ὁ δὲ τρόπος τῆς θεραπείας τοιοῦτος ἦν: |
| 47 | προσφέρων ταῖς ῥισὶ τοῦ δαιμονιζομένου τὸν δακτύλιον ἔχοντα ὑπὸ τῇ σφραγῖδι ῥίζαν ἐξ ὧν ὑπέδειξε Σολόμων ἔπειτα ἐξεῖλκεν ὀσφρομένῳ διὰ τῶν μυκτήρων τὸ δαιμόνιον, καὶ πεσόντος εὐθὺς τἀνθρώπου μηκέτ᾽ εἰς αὐτὸν ἐπανήξειν ὥρκου, Σολόμωνός τε μεμνημένος καὶ τὰς ἐπῳδὰς ἃς συνέθηκεν ἐκεῖνος ἐπιλέγων. |
| 48 | βουλόμενος δὲ πεῖσαι καὶ παραστῆσαι τοῖς παρατυγχάνουσιν ὁ Ἐλεάζαρος, ὅτι ταύτην ἔχει τὴν ἰσχύν, ἐτίθει μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν ἤτοι ποτήριον πλῆρες ὕδατος ἢ ποδόνιπτρον καὶ τῷ δαιμονίῳ προσέταττεν ἐξιὸν τἀνθρώπου ταῦτα ἀνατρέψαι καὶ παρασχεῖν ἐπιγνῶναι τοῖς ὁρῶσιν, ὅτι καταλέλοιπε τὸν ἄνθρωπον. |
| --- Josephus, Antiquities 8.45-48 |
| 334. | Solomon and Beelzebul |
| 1 | And again I summoned Beelzebul,
the prince of demons, to stand before me; and I sat him down
on a high seat of honor and asked him: -- "Why are you alone, prince of demons?" |
| 2 | He told me: -- "Because of (all) of heaven's angels descended, I alone am left. For in the first heaven, I was first angel, named Be'el-zebul ["Lord of heaven"]. And now I control all those who are bound in Tartarus..." |
| 3 | I, Solomon, asked him: -- "Beelzebul, what is your job?" |
| 4 | He replied to me: -- "I destroy kings. I ally myself with tyrants. And I send my own demons, so that men may believe in them and be lost. And I incite God's chosen servants, priests and pious men, to want wicked sins, evil heresies and lawless deeds. And they obey me and I carry them to destruction. And I inspire men with envy and murder, wars and sodomy, and other evils. And I will destroy the world..." |
| 8 | I said to him: -- "Tell me, by what angel are you checked?" He replied: -- "By the holy and precious Name of God Almighty, whom the Hebrews call by a string of numbers totaling 664; and with the Greeks it is "Emmanuel"; and when a Roman orders me by the great name of the power of Eleeth, I vanish immediately." |
| 9 |
I, Solomon, was amazed when I heard this. And I commanded him to saw up Theban marbles. And when he started sawing the marbles, the other demons shrieked out loud, howling for their king. |
| --- Pseudepigrapha, Testament of Solomon 6:1-4, 8-9 [ms. P] |
| 335. | Bargaining with Demons |
| It is taught: Do not go out alone at night --- (that is), neither at night on Wednesdays nor at night on Sabbaths. For in former times Agrath, the daughter of (the demon) Mahalath, used to go out with eighteen legions of destroying angels. And every one of them had power to destroy on his own. At first they were around at all times during the day. Once she ran into Rabbi cHanina ben Dosa. She said to him: -- "I would have harmed you, if it were not for this pronouncement about you in heaven: 'Heed cHanina and his teaching!'" He told her: -- "If I am reckoned with in heaven, I sentence you never to pass through the world again!" She said to him: -- "I beg you, leave me a little room!" So he left the Sabbath nights and Wednesday nights for her. |
|
| --- Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 114 |
| 336. | Watering Unclean Spirits |
| A pagan told Rabbi
Johanan ben Zakkai: -- "These rituals that you perform look like a type of magic. You bring a heifer, burn it, beat it and keep its ashes. If one of you is defiled by a dead body, you sprinkle two or three drops of it (in water) on him and tell him: -- "You are clean!" Rabbi Johanan asked him: -- "Has the demon of madness ever possessed you?" He replied: -- "No." Rabbi Johanan: -- "Have you ever seen a man possessed by this demon of madness?" He said: -- "Yes." Rabbi Johanan: -- "What do you do in that case?" He replied: -- "We bring roots and make them smoke under him. Then we sprinkle water on the demon and it leaves." Rabbi Johanan told him: -- "Your ears should listen to what your mouth says. This spirit is an unclean spirit just like the other. Purifying water is sprinkled on the unclean and the spirit leaves, as it is written: -- 'And I will make the prophets and the unclean spirit leave the land' (Zech 13:2). When the pagan had left, Rabbi Johanan's disciples said to their teacher: -- "Master, you put this man off with an improvisation. What explanation (of the ritual of the ashes of the red heifer) will you give us?" He told them: -- "You bet your life, it isn't the dead that defiles or the water that purifies! The Holy One, blessed be he!, says only: -- 'I have established a statute. I have issued a decree. You are not allowed to transgress my decree, as it is written: -- "This is a statute of the Law"'" (Num 19:2). |
|
| --- Midrash, Bemidbar Rabba Hukkat 19.8 |
| 337. | Teaching Authority & Exorcism |
| 20 | Διαλεγομένου δὲ
αὐτοῦ (Apollonius) περὶ τοῦ σπένδειν, παρέτυχε μὲν τῷ
λόγῷ μειράκιον τῶν ἁβρῶν οὕτος ἀσελγὲς νομζόμενον, ὡς
γενέσθαι ποτὲ καὶ ἁμαξῶν ᾷσμα---πατρὶς δὲ αὐτῷ
Κέρκυρα ἦν καὶ ἐς Ἀλκίνουν ἀνέφερε, τὸν
ξένον τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως τὸν Φαίακα---καὶ διῄει μὲν
ὁ Ἀπολλώνιος περὶ τοῦ σπένδειν, ἐκέλευε δὲ μὴ πίνειν τοῦ ποτηρίου τούτου, φυλάττειν δὲ αὐτὸ τοῖς θεοῖς ἄχραντον τε καὶ ἄποτον. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ὦτα ἐκέλευσε τῷ ποτηρίῳ ποιήσθαι καὶ σπένδειν κατὰ τὸ οὖς, ἀφ᾽ οὗ μέρους ἥκιστα πίνουσιν ἄνθρωποι, τὸ μειράκιον κατεσκέδασε τοῦ λόγου πλατύν τε καὶ ἀσελγῆ γέλωτα. ὁ (Apollonius) δὲ ἀναβλέψας ἐς αὐτό, "οὐ σύ," ἔφη, "ταῦτα ὑβρίζεις, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ δαίμων, ὃς ἐλαύνει σε οὐκ εἰδότα." ἐλεήθει δὲ ἄρα δαιμονῶν τὸ μειράκιον, ἐγέλα τε γὰρ ἐφ᾽ οἷς οὐδεὶς ἕτερος καὶ μετέβαλλεν ἐς τὸ κλάειν αἰτίαν οὐκ ἔχον, διελέγετό τε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν καὶ ᾖδε. καὶ οἱ μὲν πολλοὶ τὴν νεότητα σκιρτῶσαν ᾦοντο ἐκφέρειν αὐτὸ ἐς ταῦτα, ὁ δ᾽ ὑπεκρίνετο ἄρα τῷ δαίμονι καὶ ἐδόκει παροινεῖν, ἃ ἐπαρῴνει τότε. ὁρῶντός τε ἐς αὐτὸ τοῦ Ἀπολλωνίου, δεδοικότως τε καὶ ὀργίλως φωνὰς ἠφίει τὸ εἴδωλον, ὁπόσαι καομένων τε καὶ στρεβλουμένων εἰσίν, ἀφέξεσθαι τε τοῦ μειρακίου ὤμνυ καὶ μηδενὶ ἀνθρώπων ἐμπεσεῖθαι. τοῦ δὲ οἷον δεσπότου πρὸς ἀνδράποδν ποικίλον παροῦργόν τε καὶ ἀναιδὲς καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ξὺν ὀργῇ λέγοτος, καὶ (Apollonius) κελεύοντος αὐτῷ ξὺν τεκμηρίῳ ἀπαλλάττεσθαι. -- "τὸν δεῖνα," (the demon) ἔφη, "καταβαλῶ ἀνδριάντα," δείξας τινὰ τῶν περὶ τὴν βασίλειον στοάν, ᾗ ταῦτα ἐπράττετο. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ ἀνδριὰς ὑπεκινήθη πρῶτον, εἶτα ἔπεσε, τὸν μὲν θόρυβον τὸν ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ ὡς ἐκρότησαν ὑπὸ θαύματος, τί ἄν τις γράφοι; τὸ δὲ μειράκιον, ὥσπερ ἀφυπνίσαν, τούς τε ὀφθαλμούς ἔτριψε καὶ πρὸς τὰς αὐγὰς τοῦ ἡλίου εἶδεν, αἰδῶ τε ἐπεσπάσατο πάντων ἐς αὐτὸ ἐστραμμένων, ἀσελγές τε οὐκέτι ἐφαίνετο, οὐδὲ ἄτακτον βλέπον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπανῆλθεν ἐς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν μεῖον οὐδὲν ἢ εἰ φαρμακοποσίᾳ ἐκέχρητο. μεταβαλόν τε τῶν χλανιδίων καὶ λῃδίων καὶ τῆς ἄλλης συβάριδος, ἐς ἔρωτα ἦλθεν αὐχμοῦ καὶ τρίβωνος καὶ ἐς τὰ τοῦ Ἀπολλωνίου ἤθη ἀπεδύσατο. |
| --- Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 4.20 |
| 338. | An Uncontrollable Teen |
| Μεταξὺ δὲ τῶν
λόγων τούτων,
ἐπίσταται τοῖς σοφοίς ὁ ἄγγελος Ἰνδοὺς ἄγων σωτηρίας
δεομένους.
καὶ παρῆγε γύναιον ἱκετεῦον ὑπὲρ παιδός, ὃν
ἔφασκε μὲν ἑκκαίδεκα ἔτη γεγονέναι; δαιμονᾶν δὲ
δύο ἔτη, τὸ δὲ ἦθος τοῦ δαίμονος εἴρωνα
εἶναι καὶ
ψεύστης. ἐρομένου δέ τινος τῶν σοφῶν, ὁπόθεν λέγοι ταῦτα. -- "τοῦ παιδὸς τούτου," ἔφη, "τὴν ὄψιν εὐπρεπεστέρου ὄντος, ὁ δαίμων ἐρᾷ, καὶ οὐ ξυγχωρεῖ αὐτῷ νοῦν ἔχειν, οὐδὲ ἐς διδασκάλου βαδίσαι ἐᾷ ἢ τοξότου, οὐδὲ οἴκοι εἶναι, ἀλλ᾽ ἐς τὰ ἔρημα τῶν χωρίων ἐκτρέπει, καὶ οὐδὲ τὴν φωνὴν ὁ παῖς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἔχει, ἀλλὰ βαρὺ φθέγγεται καὶ κοῖλον, ὅσπερ οἱ ἄνδρες, βλέπει δὲ ἑτέροις ὀφθαλμοῖς μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ. κἀγὼ μὲν ἐπὶ τούτοις κλάω τε καὶ ἐμαυτὴν δρύπτω καὶ νουθετῶ τὸν υἱόν, ὁπόσα εἰκός, ὁ δὲ οὐκ οἶδέ με. διανοουμένης δέ μου τὴν ἐνταῦθα ὁδόν, τουτὶ δὲ πέρυσι διενοήθην, ἐξηγόρευσεν ὁ δαίμων ἑαυτὸν ὑποκριτῇ χρώμενος τῷ παιδὶ, καὶ δῆτα ἔλεγεν εἶναι μὲν εἴδωλον ἀνδρός, ὃς πολέμῳ ποτὲ ἀπέθανεν, ἀποθανεῖν δὲ ἐρῶν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γυναικός, ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ δὲ γυνὴ περὶ τὴν εὐνὴν ὕβρισε τριταίου κειμένου γαμηθεῖσα ἑτέρῳ. μισῆσαι μὲν ἐκ τούτου τὸ γυναικῶν ἐρᾶν, μεταρρυῆναι δὲ ἐς τὸν παῖδα τοῦτον. ὑπισχνεῖτο δέ, εἰ μὴ διαβάλλοιμι αὐτὸν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, δώσειν τῷ παιδὶ πολλὰ ἐσθλὰ καὶ ἀγαθά. ἐγὼ μὲν δὴ ἔπαθόν τι πρὸς ταῦτα, ὁ δὲ διάγει με πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον καὶ τὸν ἐμὸν οῖκον ἔχει μόνος, οὐδὲν μέτριον οὐδὲ ἀληθὲς φρονῶν." ἤρετο οὖν ὁ σοφὸς (Apollonius) πάλιν, εἰ πλησίον εἴη ὁ παῖς. -- ἡ δὲ "οὐκ" ἔφη, "πολλὰ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀφικέσθαι αὐτὸν πρᾶξαι, ὁ δὲ ἀπειλεῖ κρημνοὺς καὶ βάραθρα καὶ ἀποκτενεῖν μοι τὸν υἱόν, εἰ δικαζοίμην αὐτῷ δεῦρο." -- "θάρσει," ἔφη ὁ σοφὸς (Apollonius), "οὐ γὰρ ἀποκτενεῖ αὐτὸν ἀναγνοῦς ταῦτα." καί τινα ἐπιστολὴν ἀνασπάσας τοῦ κόλπου ἔδωκε τῇ γυναικί. ἐπέσταλτο δὲ ἄρα ἡ ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς τὸ εἴδωλον ξὺν ἀπειλῇ καὶ ἐκπλήξει. |
|
| --- Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 3.38 |
| 339. | Demonic Wisdom? |
| Καὶ (Apollonius)
ἀφικνεῖται ἐς τὴν ἀρχαίαν Νῖνον, ἐν ᾗ ἄγαλμα ἵδρρυται
τρόπον βάρβαρον, ἔστι δὲ ἄρα
(the moon goddess) Ἰὼ, ἡ Ἰνάχου, καὶ κέρατα τῶν κροτάφων
ἐκκρούει μικρὰ καὶ οἷον μέλλοντα. ἐνταῦθα διατρίβοντι καὶ πλείω
ξυνιέντι περὶ τοῦ ἀγάλματος ἢ οἱ ἱερεῖς καὶ προϕῆται,
προσεϕοίτησε Δάμις ὁ Νίνιος, ὃν καταρχὰς ἔφην ξυναποδημῆσαί οἱ
καὶ ξυνέμπορον γενεσθαι τῆς σοφίας πάσης καὶ πολλὰ τοῦ ἀνδρος
διασώσασθαι, ὃς ἀγασθεὶς αὐτὸν καὶ ζηλώσας τῆς ὁδοῦ. -- "ἴωμεν," ἔφη, "Ἀπολλώνιε, σὺ μὲν θεῷ ἑπόμενος, ἐγὼ δὲ (will follow) σοί, καὶ γάρ με καὶ πολλοῦ ἄξιον εὕροις ἄν. εἰ μὲν ἄλλο τι οὐκ οἶδα, τὸ δ᾽οὖν ἐς Βαβυλῶνα ἧκον, πόλεις τε, ὁπόσαι εἰσιν, οἶδα ἀνελθὼν οὐ πάλαι, καὶ κώμας, ἐν αἷς πολλὰ ἀγαθά, καὶ μὴν καὶ τὰς φωνὰς τῶν βαρβάρων ὁπόσαι εἰσίν,--- εἰσὶ δὲ ἄλλη μὲν Ἀρμενίων, ἄλλη δὲ Μήδων τε καὶ Περσῶν, ἄλλη δὲ Καδουσίων, μεταλαμβάνω δὲ πάσας." -- "ἐγὼ δὲ," (Apollonius) εἶπεν, "ὦ ἑταῖρε, πασῶν ξυνίημι, μαθὼν μηδεμίαν." θαυμάντος δὲ τοῦ Νινίου. -- "μὴ θαυμάσης," (Apollonius) εἶπεν, "εἰ πάσας οἶδα φωνὰς ἀνθρώπων. οἶδα γὰρ δὴ καὶ ὅσα σιωπῶσιν ἄνθρώποι." ὁ μὲν δὲ Ἀσσύριος προσηύξατο αὐτόν, ὡς ταῦτα ἤκουσε, καὶ ὥσπερ δαίμονα ἔβλεπε, συνῆν τε αὐτῷ (Apollonius) ἐπιδιδοὺς τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τι μάθοι μνημονεύων. |
|
| --- Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 1.19 |
| 340. | Demonic Wit |
| Ἐμπεσόντος δὲ
ἐν Ῥώμῃ νοσήματος, ὃ κατάρουν οἱ ἰατροὶ ὀνομάζουσιν ἀνίστανται δὲ ἄρα
ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ βῆχες
καὶ
ἡ φωνὴ τοῖς λαλοῦσι πονήρως ἔχει,
τὰ μὲν ἱερὰ πλέα ἦν ἱκετευόντων τοὺς
θεοὺς, ἐπεὶ διῳδήκει τὴν φάρυγγα
Νέρων
καὶ μελαίνῃ τῇ φωνῇ ἐχρῆτο. ὁ δὲ Ἀπολλώνιος ἐρρήγνυτο μὲν πρὸς τὴν τῶν πολλῶν ἄνοιαν, ἐπέπληττε δὲ οὐδενί, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Μενιππον παροξυνόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν τοιούτων ἐσωφρόνιζέ τε καὶ κατεῖχε, -- "συγγιγνώσκειν κελεύων τοῖς θεοῖς, εἰ μίμοις γελίων χαίρουσιν." ἀπαγγελθέντος δὲ τῷ Τιγελλῖνος [the chief of Nero's secret police] τοῦ λόγου τούτου, πέμπει τοὺς ἄξοντας αὐτὸν (Apollonius) ἐς τὸ δικαστήριον, ὡς ἀπολογήσαιτο μὴ ἀσεβεῖν ἐς Νέρωνα, παρεσκεύαστο δὲ καὶ κατήγορος ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν πολλοὺς ἀπολωλεκὼς ἤδη καὶ τοιούτων Ὀλυμπιάδων μεστός, καί τι καὶ γραμματεῖον εἶχεν ἐν ταῖν χεροῖν γεγραμμενον τὸ ἔγκλημα, καὶ τοῦτο ὥσπερ ξίφος ἀνασείων ἐπὶ τὸν ἄνδρα ἠκονῆσθαι τε αὐτὸ ἔλεγε καὶ ἀπολεῖν αὐτόν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀνελίττων Τιγελλῖνος τὸ γραμματεῖον γραμμῆς μὲν ἴχνος ἐν αὐτῷ οὐχ εὗρεν, ἀσήμῳ δέ τινι βιβλίῳ ἐνέτυχεν, ἐς ἔννοιαν ἀπηνέχθη δαίμονος. τουτὶ δὲ καὶ Δομιτιανὸς ὕστερον πρὸς αὐτὸν (Apollonius) λέγεται παθεῖν. ἀπολαβὼν οὖν τὸν Ἀπολλώνιον, (Tigellinus) ἤνεγκεν ἐς τὸ ἀπόρρητον δικαστήριον, ἐν ᾧ περὶ τῶν μεγίτων ἡ ἀρχὴ αὕτη ἀφαρῶς δικάζει, καὶ μεταστησάμενος πάντας ἐνέκειτο ἐρωτῶν, ὅστις εἴη. ὁ δὲ Ἀπολλώνιος πατρός τε ἐμέμνητο καὶ πατρίδος, καὶ ἐφ᾽ ὅ τι τῇ σοφίᾳ χρῷτο, ἔφασκέ τε αὐτῇ χρῆσθαι ἐπί τε τὸ θεοὺς γιγνώσκειν ἐπί τε τὸ ἀνθρώπων ξυνιέναι, τοῦ γὰρ ἑαυτὸν γνῶναι χαλεπώτερον εἶναι τὸ ἄλλον γνῶναι, -- "τοὺς δαίμονας," εἶπεν (Tigellinus), "ὦ Ἀπολλώνιε, καὶ τὰς τῶν εἰδώλων φαντασίας πῶς ἐλέγχεις;" -- "ὡς γε," ἔφη (Apollonius), "τοὺς μιαιφόνους τε καὶ ἀσεβεῖς ἀνθρώπους." ταυτὶ δὲ πρὸς τὸν Τιγελλῖνον ἀποσκώπτων ἔλεγεν, ἐπειδὴ πάσης ὠμότητος τε καὶ ἀσελγείας διδάσκαλος ἦν τῷ Νέρωνι... -- "Νέρωνα δέ," ἔφη (Tigellinus), "διὰ τί οὐ δέδοικα;" -- "ὅτι," εἶπεν (Apollonius), "ὁ θεὸς ὁ παρέχων ἐκείνῳ φοβερῷ δοκεῖν κα᾽μοὶ δεδωκεν ἀφόβῳ εἶναι." -- "φρονεῖς δὲ πῶς," εἶπε (Tigellinus), "περὶ Νέρωνος;" ὁ δὲ Ἀπολλώνιος, "βέλτιον," εἶπεν, "ἢ ὑμεῖς. ὑμεῖς γὰρ ἡγεῖσθε αὐτὸν ἄξιον τοῦ ᾄδειν, ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦ σιωπᾶν." ἐκπλαγεὶς οὖν ὁ Τιγελλῖνος "ἄπιθι," ἔφη, "καταστήσας ἐγγυητὰς τοῦ σώματος." ὁ δὲ Ἀπολλώνιος, "καὶ τίς," εἶπεν, "ἐγγυήσεται σῶμα, ὃ μηδεὶς δήσει;" ἔδοξε τῷ Τιγελλίνῳ, ταῦτα δαιμόνιά τε εἶναι καὶ πρόσω ἀνθρώπου, καὶ ὥσπερ θεομαχεῖν φυλαττόμενος, -- "χώρει,"ἔφη, "οἷ βούλει, σὺ γὰρ κείττων ἢ ὑπ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἄρχεσθαι." |
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| --- Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana 4.44 |
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