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And when they were baptized and clad, he set bread on the table and blessed it, and said: Bread of life, the which who eat abide incorruptible: Bread that filleth the hungry souls with the blessing thereof: thou art he that vouchsafest to receive a gift, that thou mayest become unto us remission of sins, and that they who eat thee may become immortal: we invoke upon thee the name of the mother, of the unspeakable mystery of the hidden powers and authorities (we name the name of the unspeakable mystery, that is hidden from all &c.): we invoke upon thee the name of thy Jesus. And he said: Let the powers of blessing come, and be established in this bread, that all the souls which partake of it may be washed from their sins. And he brake and gave unto Siphor and his wife and daughter.

And when they were baptized and clad, he set bread on the table and blessed it, and said: Bread of life, the which who eat abide incorruptible: Bread that filleth the hungry souls with the blessing thereof: thou art he that vouchsafest to receive a gift, that thou mayest become unto us remission of sins, and that they who eat thee may become immortal: we invoke upon thee the name of the mother, of the unspeakable mystery of the hidden powers and authorities (we name the name of the unspeakable mystery, that is hidden from all &c.): we invoke upon thee the name of thy Jesus. And he said: Let the powers of blessing come, and be established in this bread, that all the souls which partake of it may be washed from their sins. And he brake and gave unto Siphor and his wife and daughter.

Having thus prayed over them, the apostle said unto Mygdonia: Unclothe thy sisters. And she took off their clothes and girded them with girdles and brought them: but Iuzanes had first gone before, and they came after him; and the apostle took oil in a cup of silver and spake thus over it: Fruit more beautiful than all other fruits, unto which none other whatsoever may be compared: altogether merciful: fervent with the force of the word: power of the tree which men putting upon them overcome their adversaries: crowner of the conquerors: help (symbol) and joy of the sick: that didst announce unto men their salvation that showest light to them that are in darkness; whose leaf is bitter, but in thy most sweet fruit thou art fair, that art rough to the sight but soft to the taste; seeming to be weak, but in the greatness of thy strength able to bear the power that beholdeth all things. Having thus said: Jesu: let his victorious might come and be established in this oil, like as it was established in the tree (wood) that was its kin, even his might at that time, whereof they that crucified thee could not endure the word: let the gift also come whereby breathing upon his (thine) enemies thou didst cause them to go backward and fall headlong and let it rest on this oil, whereupon we invoke thine holy name. And having thus said, he poured it first upon the head of Iuzanes and then upon the women's heads, saying: In thy name, O Jesu Christ, let it be unto these souls for remission of sins and for turning back of the adversary and for salvation of their souls. And he commanded Mygdonia to anoint them but he himself anointed Iuzanes. And having anointed them he led them down into the water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Concerning the Order of the Priesthood. Each one of you knows what we have ordained for you, and further ye know that there are some whom we name bishops, and others whom we name presbyters, and others are named deacons. With prayer we laid hand upon them, and we appointed to each an Order according to its different name. And among us there is no one who desires a filling of our hand, nor will he receive from us that which he wishes for of priesthood, as the priests of the oxen of Iyurebe'am, which were made as an abomination to God. Unless there had been a special Order for each according to law, one name would have sufficed for all the world; but having been taught by God a guidance for all functions, we have separated for the bishops the ordination of the priesthood, for the presbyters the priesthood, for the deacons the service.... that the work of the service might be completed withal. It is not seemly for the deacons to offer the Oblation, or to baptise, or to give the Eulogia to small or to great. And the presbyter shall not ordain anyone, because he was not worthy (of anything) beside his Order. For God is not a God of confusion, so that the inferiors may not grasp (at office) with audacity. What work then will be completed by the imperfect } And they make a new law to their own destruction, and do not know that it is a small thing which is in their power (lit. with them); and they kick with their feet in the net And if thus, they do not oppose us, but they oppose the Bishop of all the world, the Son of God, the Chief Priest Jesus Christ our Lord, A chief priest, priests, and levites were ordained by Moses, the lover of God, and we the twelve Apostles were ordained by our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ, and we ordained for us Klementos and Ya'ekob and others with them, that we might send ' each one of them, and further, we all of us ordained withal presbyters and deacons. And the first Presbyter, the only true Chief Priest, is our Lord Jesus Christ, who did not grasp for himself the honour, but the Father ordained him. And as he is the Chief Priest for us, so he offered spiritual sacrifice to God the Father before he was crucified, and he commanded us to do likewise. And there were others with us who believe in him, but he does not grant to all who believe in him to be priests, nor to obtain the Order of ordination of priesthood like us. And after his Ascension we offered according to the ordinance of the holy bloodless Oblation. And we ordained bishops and presbyters and deacons in number seven, and amongst them Estifanos, the first martyr, who was not the least of us in his love of God: but he showed his service of God by faith and love of Jesus Christ our Lord, so much that he gave his life up for his sake; and the wicked Jews, the murderers of the Lord, stoned him with stones for his name and killed him. But he was a man of such fervent spirit that he saw our Lord Christ at the right hand of God, and he saw the open gates of the heavens. And it is nowhere found that he did what was not suitable for him as deacon, that he offered sacrifice or laid hand upon anyone, but he kept to his Order of deacon unto the end. For thus it was proper for the martyr of our Lord Christ to fulfil the duties of his Order. And if there are any who blame Filepos the deacon and Hananya the faithful brother because the one baptised the eunuch and the other baptised even me, Pawlos, they are deluded as to what we say; for we say that no one should take by force the ordination of priesthood, but he obtained it from God, as Malkasedek and Ya'ekob; or from the chief priest, as Aron from IS Muse; therefore that Filepos and Hananya themselves took not ordination from themselves, but from our Lord Christ. They believed in the Chief Priest of God, with whom there is none to be compared. PRAYER OF EARLY MORNING And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father of our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ, while thanking him because he has kept us throughout the night, and brought us from darkness into light, from corruption into that which is incorruptible, and from ignorance into the knowledge of the truth, that throughout the day also he may cause us to be in all peace and health, and protect his people with the power of his angels, who has authority over all work of blessing, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray. O Lord the almighty, do thou cause us to be in all peace and health throughout the day, for thou hast kept us throughout the night Thou, Lord, the almighty, send to us thine angel the good guide. And have mercy upon us according to the greatness of thy mercy, and according to the multitude of thy clemency blot out our wickedness. And none of us is an alien and a backslider, put us not away from thy favour, because of thy name which was named over us. Be forgiving to us and forsake us not. Grant us to obtain favour before thee and before Christ thy Son, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE SICK And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the sick brethren, that he may remove all sickness and all suffering from them. Having taken away the spirit of disease, may he who has authority for all healing give to them life, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the sick. God the almighty, the Father, etc. we pray thee and we beseech thee for the sick brethren. Grant to them life. Take away the spirit of sickness. Cause to pass away from them all disease and all suffering. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: Have mercy upon us. Physician of the soul and physician of the body, thou art the overseer of all flesh, and of those who are troubled with unclean spirits; deliver every tormented and IS oppressed soul, give health and give rest, drive away all disease from this house, and from those who call upon thy holy and blessed name. Having healed the disease of all of our souls, grant perfect soundness, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO MAKE A JOURNEY And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, JO etc, for those our brethren who make a journey, and also for those who are about to make a journey, whether by sea, or by rivers, or by the deeps, or by road, in whatever journey they may travel, that he may bring all into the safe harbour, the almighty Lord our God. IS The deacon shall say: Pray. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for our brethren who make a journey, and also for those who are about to make a journey abroad; direct (them) as fellow (traveller) though we are many. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. Bring them into the safe harbour. Restore them to their people with joy and with peace, rejoicing and causing to rejoice, through, etc PRAYER FOR RAINS And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc, for rains, that he may send his rain into the place where it is needed, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee, send thy rains into the place where they are needed. Make to rejoice the face of the earth, and water its furrows. Bring the sowing and the harvest, and bless the circle of the year with thy goodness. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. For the poor of thy people, and for all those who hope in thee, work with us according to thy clemency, and nourish our mind with the doctrine of the Godhead, and with understanding which is from thee, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE FRUIT OF THE EARTH And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father etc. for the fruit of the earth, that he may increase the fruit of the earth, and that he may be pleased to bring the sowing and the harvest. May he grant rich favour, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the fruit of the earth. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee, increase the fruit of the earth, and be pleased (and) bring the sowing and the harvest, which is from thy goodness. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. For the poor of thy people and for all who call upon thy holy and blessed name, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE WATERS OF THE RIVERS And again we' beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc, for the waters of the rivers, that he may cause (them) to rise up to their (proper) measure. Make to rejoice the face of the earth. May he bring the sowing and the harvest May he grant rich favour, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the waters of the rivers. God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee, cause to rise the waters of the rivers up to their (proper) measure. Make to rejoice the face of the earth, and water its furrows. Multiply food, and bless the circle of the year with thy goodness. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. For the poor of thy people, and for all who call upon thy holy and blessed name, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE KING as And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the lover of God, our king, Iyasu, that he should keep his kingdom without trouble, in peace and righteousness, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the king. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for the king of this land, the lover of God, our king, Iyasu, and grant to him what is useful for him. Cause to submit his enemy, the peoples who are against his wall& And speak in his heart for thy holy Church. Speedily let thy mercy find us, O Lord. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon him. Grant him without error to keep (his) understanding concerning the faith in the excellence of thy Godhead, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO OFFER AN OFFERING And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, is etc. for those who offer an offering in the holy, one, catholic (lit. which is over all) Church, a sacrifice, first fruits, tithes, a thanksgiving, a memorial, whether much or little, secret and open. And as for those who have nothing and wish to give, (though) they have nothing to to give, accept their desire, and having accepted the longing of every one of them, grant to them the heavenly Spirit And as for those who have somewhat and do not wish to give, soften their heart to do good, thou (lit. he) who hast authority for all work of blessing, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for those who offer an offering. God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for those who offer an offering to the holy, one, catholic Church, to the honour of thy name, an offering and a thanksgiving of first-fruits and of tithes, of much and of little, of secret and of open. And as for those who have nothing (yet) who wish to give, accept their desire as the offering of Abel: and as the Hebrew woman who offered the two mites, and as the sacrifice of the forefathers. And thus accept into the heavenly altar. Repay them with a reward of blessing, heavenly in return for earthly, and much in return for little, and open in return for secret, and life everlasting in Christ in return for food and drink, through, etc PRAYER FOR THE CATECHUMENS And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. as regards his servants the catechumens, that he may impart to them in due time the washing of regeneration for the forgiveness of sin, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for the catechumens, God the Lord almighty, the Father, etc. we pray thee and we beseech thee, have mercy upon thy servants the catechumens. Be kind, (and) remove from them all the remains of the idols. Impose upon their hearts thy law and thy commandment, and thy righteousness and thine ordinance. Speedily let thy mercy find us. The deacon shall say: Let us all say. The people shall say: O Lord, have mercy upon us. In proper time (impart to them) the washing of regeneration for the forgiveness of sin. Make them the shrine of the Holy Spirit, through our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ, through whom, etc. PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. Lord of the living, Life of the dead, and Hope of the desperate, Helper of the afflicted, Cleanser of sinners, who hast abolished death and burst the bonds of Satan (Sayetan). Thou hast granted life to the race of men, thee we pray and beseech, who wilt not die for ever and ever, with whom is the treasure of life, for those who have fallen asleep and rested in the faith; the forefathers, the bishops, (papasat), presbyters and deacons, and readers (anaguenestis), and monks, and virgins, and widows (of the order), infants, widows and orphans (lit. offspring of the dead); and for the soul of thy servant N(egale) and for the soul of all those who are there in that place, whom thou calledst from among thy people in righteousness and in uprightness. Give rest to their soul in the place of pasturage by the water of rest, in the bosom of Abreham, Yeshak, and Ya'ekob, in the garden of joy, among the guides of light, thine angels, having united (them) with thy holy ones. And raise up their body in the day which thou hast appointed, according to thy holy unlying promise of thy heavenly kingdom; for there is no death to thy servants, but rather a passing, and although one has sinned, and the law of man was hidden from them, be indulgent; for thou, God, art good and the lover of man; for there is none pure from uncleanness before thee, even though he lived one hour upon the earth. Do thou grant passings to their soul freely, without hindrance. Send the Spirit of the Comforter, and who gives consolation to their people. Comfort them, cause them to rejoice in Christ, through, etc. PRAYER FOR PEACE And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc, for the peace of the holy, one, catholic Church, that he may grant much peace upon all rulers (lit. shepherds) and peoples and upon all flocks, he who has authority for all peace, the Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for peace. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for the peace of the holy, one, catholic Church. King of peace, give to us peace, because thou gavest to IS us everything. Possess us, God, and reward us, for beside thee there is no other whom we know. And thy holy name we name and we invoke. Do thou impart thy heavenly peace upon us all. Preserve (our) life (lit. soul) and our condition of this world peacefully. Give peace to the king of this land, and through thy holy name give counsel to the rulers of the neighbouring peoples. Guard our coming in and our going out in peace, that living in a quiet and tranquil life we may be found in all piety, in the fear of God and virtue in Christ, through, etc. PRAYER FOR THE CONGREGATION And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the congregation, this as well as all our congregations, that he may grant that it may be according to his holy will, the almighty Lord our God. The deacon shall say: Pray for our congregation. God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for this our congregation as well as all our congregations. Grant that it may be according to thy holy will, where we do this service of our congregation and other congregations also. And make it a house of prayer and a house of blessing. Vouchsafe to bestow upon us, and upon those who (come) after us, the everlasting salvation. Rise up, O Lord, and let all thine enemies be scattered, and let all flee away from before thy face who hate thy holy and blessed name, and make thy people ten thousand of ten thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, through, etc PRAYER FOR THE PAPAS And again we beseech the almighty God, the Father, etc. for the blessed and holy Papas, Aba N(egale), that thou wilt in keeping keep him for us during many years and during times of peace, while he fulfils the priesthood which has been entrusted to him by thee. May the Lord our God grant rich favour. The deacon shall say: Pray for Papas N. Lord our God the almighty, we pray thee and we beseech thee for the blessed Papas N. In keeping keep him for us during many years, during times of peace, while he fulfils the priesthood which was entrusted to him by thee, together with all the bishops, presbyters, and deacons, and with all the fulness of the holy, one, catholic Church. And the prayer which they make for us and for all thy people hear (it), and accept them; and open to them the treasury of thy clemency; and further, pour down upon him abundantly thy grace of thy Holy Spirit, thy heavenly blessing, that he may bless thy people; and moreover, cause to submit every enemy, visible or invisible, and bruise (them) under his feet; and himself indeed keep for thy Church in glory, through thine only Son, through whom to thee with him and with the Holy Spirit (be) glory and might, now and ever and for ever and ever. Amen.

To the Greeks, then, I have to say that the Magi, being on familiar terms with evil spirits, and invoking them for such purposes as their knowledge and wishes extend to, bring about such results only as do not appear to exceed the superhuman power and strength of the evil spirits, and of the spells which invoke them, to accomplish; but should some greater manifestation of divinity be made, then the powers of the evil spirits are overthrown, being unable to resist the light of divinity. It is probable, therefore, that since at the birth of Jesus “a multitude of the heavenly host,” as Luke records, and as I believe, “praised God, saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men,” the evil spirits on that account became feeble, and lost their strength, the falsity of their sorcery being manifested, and their power being broken; this overthrow being brought about not only by the angels having visited the terrestrial regions on account of the birth of Jesus, but also by the power of Jesus Himself, and His innate divinity. The Magi, accordingly, wishing to produce the customary results, which formerly they used to perform by means of certain spells and sorceries, sought to know the reason of their failure, conjecturing the cause to be a great one; and beholding a divine sign in the heaven, they desired to learn its signification. I am therefore of opinion that, possessing as they did the prophecies of Balaam, which Moses also records, inasmuch as Balaam was celebrated for such predictions, and finding among them the prophecy about the star, and the words, “I shall show him to him, but not now; I deem him happy, although he will not be near,” they conjectured that the man whose appearance had been foretold along with that of the star, had actually come into the world; and having predetermined that he was superior in power to all demons, and to all common appearances and powers, they resolved to offer him homage. They came, accordingly, to Judea, persuaded that some king had been born; but not knowing over what kingdom he was to reign, and being ignorant also of the place of his birth, bringing gifts, which they offered to him as one whose nature partook, if I may so speak, both of God and of a mortal man,—gold, viz., as to a king; myrrh, as to one who was mortal; and incense, as to a God; and they brought these offerings after they had learned the place of His birth. But since He was a God, the Saviour of the human race, raised far above all those angels which minister to men, an angel rewarded the piety of the Magi for their worship of Him, by making known to them that they were not to go back to Herod, but to return to their own homes by another way.

But after this, Celsus, having a suspicion that the great works performed by Jesus, of which we have named a few out of a great number, would be brought forward to view, affects to grant that those statements may be true which are made regarding His cures, or His resurrection, or the feeding of a multitude with a few loaves, from which many fragments remained over, or those other stories which Celsus thinks the disciples have recorded as of a marvellous nature; and he adds: “Well, let us believe that these were actually wrought by you.” But then he immediately compares them to the tricks of jugglers, who profess to do more wonderful things, and to the feats performed by those who have been taught by Egyptians, who in the middle of the market-place, in return for a few obols, will impart the knowledge of their most venerated arts, and will expel demons from men, and dispel diseases, and invoke the souls of heroes, and exhibit expensive banquets, and tables, and dishes, and dainties having no real existence, and who will put in motion, as if alive, what are not really living animals, but which have only the appearance of life. And he asks, “Since, then, these persons can perform such feats, shall we of necessity conclude that they are ‘sons of God,’ or must we admit that they are the proceedings of wicked men under the influence of an evil spirit?” You see that by these expressions he allows, as it were, the existence of magic. I do not know, however, if he is the same who wrote several books against it. But, as it helped his purpose, he compares the [miracles] related of Jesus to the results produced by magic. There would indeed be a resemblance between them, if Jesus, like the dealers in magical arts, had performed His works only for show; but now there is not a single juggler who, by means of his proceedings, invites his spectators to reform their manners, or trains those to the fear of God who are amazed at what they see, nor who tries to persuade them so to live as men who are to be justified by God. And jugglers do none of these things, because they have neither the power nor the will, nor any desire to busy themselves about the reformation of men, inasmuch as their own lives are full of the grossest and most notorious sins. But how should not He who, by the miracles which He did, induced those who beheld the excellent results to undertake the reformation of their characters, manifest Himself not only to His genuine disciples, but also to others as a pattern of most virtuous life, in order that His disciples might devote themselves to the work of instructing men in the will of God, and that the others, after being more fully instructed by His word and character than by His miracles, as to how they were to direct their lives, might in all their conduct have a constant reference to the good pleasure of the universal God? And if such were the life of Jesus, how could any one with reason compare Him with the sect of impostors, and not, on the contrary, believe, according to the promise, that He was God, who appeared in human form to do good to our race?

For to invoke angels without having obtained a knowledge of their nature greater than is possessed by men, would be contrary to reason. But, conformably to our hypothesis, let this knowledge of them, which is something wonderful and mysterious, be obtained. Then this knowledge, making known to us their nature, and the offices to which they are severally appointed, will not permit us to pray with confidence to any other than to the Supreme God, who is sufficient for all things, and that through our Saviour the Son of God, who is the Word, and Wisdom, and Truth, and everything else which the writings of God’s prophets and the apostles of Jesus entitle Him. And it is enough to secure that the holy angels of God be propitious to us, and that they do all things on our behalf, that our disposition of mind towards God should imitate as far as it is within the power of human nature the example of these holy angels, who again follow the example of their God; and that the conceptions which we entertain of His Son, the Word, so far as attainable by us, should not be opposed to the clearer conceptions of Him which the holy angels possess, but should daily approach these in clearness and distinctness. But because Celsus has not read our Holy Scriptures, he gives himself an answer as if it came from us, saying that we “assert that the angels who come down from heaven to confer benefits on mankind are a different race from the gods,” and adds that “in all probability they would be called demons by us:” not observing that the name “demons” is not a term of indifferent meaning like that of “men,” among whom some are good and some bad, nor yet a term of excellence like that of “the gods,” which is applied not to wicked demons, or to statues, or to animals, but (by those who know divine things) to what is truly divine and blessed; whereas the term “demons” is always applied to those wicked powers, freed from the encumbrance of a grosser body, who lead men astray, and fill them with distractions, and drag them down from God and supercelestial thoughts to things here below.

I wish, however, to show how Celsus asserts without any good reason, that each one reveres his domestic and native institutions. For he declares that “those Ethiopians who inhabit Meroe know only of two gods, Jupiter and Bacchus, and worship these alone; and that the Arabians also know only of two, viz. Bacchus, who is also an Ethiopian deity, and Urania, whose worship is confined to them.” According to his account, neither do the Ethiopians worship Urania, nor the Arabians Jupiter. If, then, an Ethiopian were from any accident to fall into the hands of the Arabians, and were to be judged guilty of impiety because he did not worship Urania, and for this reason should incur the danger of death, would it be proper for the Ethiopian to die, or to act contrary to his country’s laws, and do obeisance to Urania? Now, if it would be proper for him to act contrary to the laws of his country, he will do what is not right, so far as the language of Celsus is any standard; while, if he should be led away to death, let him show the reasonableness of selecting such a fate. I know not whether, if the Ethiopian doctrine taught men to philosophize on the immortality of the soul, and the honour which is paid to religion, they would reverence those as deities who are deemed to be such by the laws of the country. A similar illustration may be employed in the case of the Arabians, if from any accident they happened to visit the Ethiopians about Meroe. For, having been taught to worship Urania and Bacchus alone, they will not worship Jupiter along with the Ethiopians; and if, adjudged guilty of impiety, they should be led away to death, let Celsus tell us what it would be reasonable on their part to do. And with regard to the fables which relate to Osiris and Isis, it is superfluous and out of place at present to enumerate them. For although an allegorical meaning may be given to the fables, they will nevertheless teach us to offer divine worship to cold water, and to the earth, which is subject to men, and all the animal creation. For in this way, I presume, they refer Osiris to water, and Isis to earth; while with regard to Serapis the accounts are numerous and conflicting, to the effect that very recently he appeared in public, agreeably to certain juggling tricks performed at the desire of Ptolemy, who wished to show to the people of Alexandria as it were a visible god. And we have read in the writings of Numenius the Pythagorean regarding his formation, that he partakes of the essence of all the animals and plants that are under the control of nature, that he may appear to have been fashioned into a god, not by the makers of images alone, with the aid of profane mysteries, and juggling tricks employed to invoke demons, but also by magicians and sorcerers, and those demons who are bewitched by their incantations.

In the next place, speaking of those who employ the arts of magic and sorcery, and who invoke the barbarous names of demons, he remarks that such persons act like those who, in reference to the same things, perform marvels before those who are ignorant that the names of demons among the Greeks are different from what they are among the Scythians. He then quotes a passage from Herodotus, stating that “Apollo is called Gongosyrus by the Scythians; Poseidon, Thagimasada; Aphrodite, Argimpasan; Hestia, Tabiti.” Now, he who has the capacity can inquire whether in these matters Celsus and Herodotus are not both wrong; for the Scythians do not understand the same thing as the Greeks, in what relates to those beings which are deemed to be gods. For how is it credible that Apollo should be called Gongosyrus by the Scythians? I do not suppose that Gongosyrus, when transferred into the Greek language, yields the same etymology as Apollo; or that Apollo, in the dialect of the Scythians, has the signification of Gongosyrus. Nor has any such assertion hitherto been made regarding the other names, for the Greeks took occasion from different circumstances and etymologies to give to those who are by them deemed gods the names which they bear; and the Scythians, again, from another set of circumstances; and the same also was the case with the Persians, or Indians, or Ethiopians, or Libyans, or with those who delight to bestow names [from fancy], and who do not abide by the just and pure idea of the Creator of all things. Enough, however, has been said by us in the preceding pages, where we wished to demonstrate that Sabaoth and Zeus were not the same deity, and where also we made some remarks, derived from the Holy Scriptures, regarding the different dialects. We willingly, then, pass by these points, on which Celsus would make us repeat ourselves. In the next place, again, mixing up together matters which belong to magic and sorcery, and referring them perhaps to no one,—because of the non-existence of any who practise magic under pretence of a worship of this character,—and yet, perhaps, having in view some who do employ such practices in the presence of the simple (that they may have the appearance of acting by divine power), he adds: “What need to number up all those who have taught methods of purification, or expiatory hymns, or spells for averting evil, or [the making of] images, or resemblances of demons, or the various sorts of antidotes against poison [to be found] in clothes, or in numbers, or stones, or plants, or roots, or generally in all kinds of things?” In respect to these matters, reason does not require us to offer any defence, since we are not liable in the slightest degree to suspicions of such a nature.

And it is not we alone who speak of wicked demons, but almost all who acknowledge the existence of demons. Thus, then, it is not true that all observe the law of the Most High; for all who fall away from the divine law, whether through heedlessness, or through depravity and vice, or through ignorance of what is right, all such do not keep the law of God, but, to use a new phrase which we find in Scripture, “the law of sin.” I say, then, that in the opinion of most of those who believe in the existence of demons, some of them are wicked; and these, instead of keeping the law of God, offend against it. But, according to our belief, it is true of all demons, that they were not demons originally, but they became so in departing from the true way; so that the name “demons” is given to those beings who have fallen away from God. Accordingly, those who worship God must not serve demons. We may also learn the true nature of demons if we consider the practice of those who call upon them by charms to prevent certain things, or for many other purposes. For this is the method they adopt, in order by means of incantations and magical arts to invoke the demons, and induce them to further their wishes. Wherefore the worship of all demons would be inconsistent in us who worship the supreme God; and the service of demons is the service of so-called gods, for “all the gods of the heathen are demons.” The same thing also appears from the fact that the dedication of the most famous of the so-called sacred places, whether temples or statues, was accompanied by curious magical incantations, which were performed by those who zealously served the demons with magical arts. Hence we are determined to avoid the worship of demons even as we would avoid death; and we hold that the worship, which is supposed among the Greeks to be rendered to gods at the altars, and images, and temples, is in reality offered to demons.

For consider with yourself which disposition of mind will be more acceptable to the Most High, whose power is supreme and universal, and who directs all for the welfare of mankind in body, and in mind, and in outward things,—whether that of the man who gives himself up to God in all things, or that of the man who is curiously inquisitive about the names of demons, their powers and agency, the incantations, the herbs proper to them, and the stones with the inscriptions graven on them, corresponding symbolically or otherwise to their traditional shapes? It is plain even to the least intelligent, that the disposition of the man who is simple-minded, and not given to curious inquiries, but in all things devoted to the divine will, will be most pleasing to God, and to all those who are like God; but that of the man who, for the sake of bodily health, of bodily enjoyment, and outward prosperity, busies himself about the names of demons, and inquires by what incantations he shall appease them, will be condemned by God as bad and impious, and more agreeable to the nature of demons than of men, and will be given over to be torn and otherwise tormented by demons. For it is probable that they, as being wicked creatures, and, as Celsus confesses, addicted to blood, sacrificial odours, sweet sounds, and such like, will not keep their most solemn promises to those who supply them with these things. For if others invoke their aid against the persons who have already called upon them, and purchase their favour with a larger supply of blood, and odours, and such offerings as they require, they will take part against those who yesterday sacrificed and presented pleasant offerings to them.