Kasios, thinking that at Daphne, if anywhere, I should enjoy the sight of your wealth and public spirit. And I imagined in [362] my own mind the sort of procession it would be, like a man seeing visions in a dream-beasts for sacrifice, libations, choruses in honour of the god, incense, and the youths of your city there surrounding the shrine, their souls adorned with all holiness and themselves attired in white and splendid raiment. But when I entered the shrine, I found there no incense, not so much as a cake, not a single beast for sacrifice. For the moment I was amazed and thought that I was still outside the shrine, [B] and that you were waiting the signal from me, doing me that honour because I am supreme pontiff. But when I began to enquire what sacrifice the city intended to offer to celebrate the annual festival in honour of the god, the priest answered, “I have brought with me from my own house a goose as an offering to the god, but the city this time has made no preparations."

Thereupon, being fond of making enemies, I made in the Senate a very unseemly speech which perhaps it may now be pertinent to quote to you. "It is a terrible thing, I said, "that so important a city should be more neglectful of the gods than any village on the [C] borders of the Pontus. Your city possesses ten thousand lots of land privately owned, and yet when the annual festival in honour of the god of her forefathers is to be celebrated for the first time since the gods dispelled the cloud of atheism, she does not produce in her own behalf a single bird, though she ought if possible to have sacrificed an ox for every tribe; or, if that were too difficult, the whole city in common ought at any rate to have offered to the god one bull on her own behalf. [D] Yet every one of you delights to spend money privately on dinners and feasts; and I know very well that many of you squandered very large sums of money on dinners during the May festival. Nevertheless, on your own behalf and on behalf of the city's welfare, not one of the citizens offers a private sacrifice, nor does the city offer a public sacrifice, but only this priest! Yet I think that it would have been more just for him to go home carrying portions from the multitude of beasts offered by you to the god. For the duty assigned by the gods to

priests is to do them honour by their nobility of character and by the practice of virtue, and also to perform to them the service that [363] is due; but it befits the city, I think, to offer both private and public sacrifice. But as it is, every one of you allows his wife to carry everything out of his house to the Galilæans, and when your wives feed the poor at your expense, they inspire a great admiration for godlessness in those who are in need of such bounty-and of such sort are, I think, the great majority of mankindwhile as for yourselves you think that you are doing nothing out of the way when in the first place you are careless of the honours due to the gods, [B] and not one of those in need goes near the temples-for there is nothing there, I think to feed them with-and yet when any one of you gives a birthday feast he provides a dinner and a breakfast without stint and welcomes his friends to a costly table; when, however, the annual festival arrived no one furnished olive oil for a lamp for the god, or a libation, or a beast for sacrifice, or incense. Now I [C] do not know how any good man could endure to see such things in your city, and for my part I am sure that it is displeasing to the gods also.”—W. C. Wright, The Works of the Emperor Julian, ii. 487-91.

No. 38.-Julian to the Alexandrians, against Athanasius

From Julian, Ep. li. Op. 432–5 (ii. 556-9; Teubner, 1876).

[432 D] If your city had any other founder, any one of those who, transgressing their own laws, had justly suffered punishment for leading a wicked life, and introducing a new doctrine, a new religion, even then it would have been unreasonable for you to wish for Athanasius. But now, as the founder of your city is Alexander, and your ruler and tutelar deity King Serapis [433], with the virgin his associate and the queen of all Egypt Isis . . . you do not act like a healthy city, but the distempered part dares to arrogate the name of the whole.

By the Gods, men of Alexandria, I am ashamed that any of you should avow himself a Galilæan. The ancestors of the Hebrews were formerly [B] slaves to the Egyptians.

But now, men of Alexandria, you, the conquerors of Egypt (for Egypt was conquered by your founder), sustain a voluntary servitude to the despisers of your national rites, in opposition to your ancient laws; not recollecting your former happiness, when all Egypt held communion with the gods, and enjoyed many blessings. But tell me what advantage [C] has accrued to your city from those who now introduce among you a new religion? Your founder was that pious man Alexander of Macedon, who did not, by Jove, resemble any of these, or any of the Hebrews who far excelled them. Even Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, was also superior to them. As to Alexander, if he had encountered, he would have endangered, even the Romans. [D] What then did the Ptolemies who succeeded your founder? Educating your city, like their own daughter, from her infancy, they did not bring her to maturity by the discourses of Jesus; nor did they construct the form of government, with which she is now blessed, by the doctrine of the odious Galilæans.

Thirdly, after the Romans became its masters, taking it from the bad government of the Ptolemies, Augustus visited your city [434] and thus addressed the citizens: "Men of Alexandria, I acquit your city of all blame, out of regard to the great god Serapis, and also for the sake of the people and the grandeur of the city. A third cause of my kindness to you is my friend Arius." This Arius, the companion of Augustus Cæsar, and a philosopher, was your fellow-citizen.

[B] The particular favours conferred upon your city by the Olympic gods were, in short, such as these. Many more, not to be prolix, I omit. Those blessings which the illustrious gods bestow in common every day, not on one family, nor on a single city, but on the whole world, why do you not acknowledge? Are you alone insensible of the splendour that flows from the sun? Are you alone ignorant that summer and winter are produced [C] by him, and that to him all things owe their life and origin? Do you not also perceive the great advantages that accrue to your city from the moon, from him and by him the disposer of all things? Yet you dare not worship either of these deities; and this Jesus, whom neither you nor your fathers have

seen, you think must necessarily be God the Word; while him whom, from eternity, every generation of mankind has seen and [D] worships, and by worshipping lives happily, the great Sun, I mean, a living, animated, rational, and beneficent image of the intelligible Father you despise. If you listen to my admonition . you will, by degrees, return to truth. You will not wander from the right path, you will be guided by them, who to the twentieth year of his age, pursued that road, but has now worshipped the gods for near twelve years.

if

[435] If you will follow my advice, my joy will be exuberant. But if you will still persevere in that superstitious institution of designing men, agree, however, among yourselves, and do not desire Athanasius. There are many of his disciples who are abundantly able to please your itching ears, desirous as [B] they are of such impious discourses. I wish that this wickedness were confined to Athanasius and his irreligious school. But you have among you many, not ignoble, of the same sect, and the business is easily done. For any one whom you may select from the people, in what relates to expounding the Scriptures will be by no means inferior to him whom you solicit. But, if you are pleased with the shrewdness of [C] Athanasius (for I hear the man is crafty), and therefore have petitioned, know that for this very reason he was banished. That such an intriguer should preside over the people is highly dangerous; one who is not a man, but a puny, contemptible mortal,1 one who prides himself on hazarding his life, cannot but create disturbances. That nothing of that kind might happen, I ordered him [D] formerly to leave the city, but I now banish him from all Egypt.

1

Let this be communicated to our Alexandrians.-J. Duncombe, Select Works of the Emp. Julian, i. 136–41.

1 ἀνθρωπίσκος εὐτέλης : better,

common little fellow " [Ed. ].

No. 39.--Julian on the Worship of Jesus and the Martyrs, 362-3

1

From Julian, Contra Christianos, ed. C. J. Neumann, 223-5. [327 A]1 But you are so unfortunate that neither do you abide in those things, which were delivered to you by the apostles; and these by those that succeeded them were rendered worse and more impious. Neither Paul, therefore, nor Matthew, nor Luke nor Mark dared to say that Jesus is God; but good John, perceiving that now [327 B] a great multitude in many of the Grecian and Italian cities were infected with this disease, and hearing, as it appears to me, that the sepulchres of Peter and Paul were privately indeed, but at the same time hearing that they were, worshipped, was the first that dared to assert this.

[335 B] This evil, however, received its beginning from John. But who can execrate as it deserves what you have invented in addition to this, by introducing many recent dead bodies [in addition to] that ancient dead body? [335 C] You have filled all places with sepulchres and monuments, though it is never said by you anywhere that you are to roll about sepulchres and worship them. But you have proceeded to that degree of depravity, as to think that not even the words of Jesus of Nazareth are to be attended to on this subject. "Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but within are full of dead men's bones and of all [335 D] uncleanness (Matt. xxiii. 27). If, therefore, Jesus says that sepulchres are full of uncleanness, how is it that you invoke God upon them?-W. Nevins, Julian against the Christians, 62–5.

No. 40.-Valentinian I. on Legacy-hunting by Clerics and Religious, 370

From Ecclesiastici of July 30, 370 (Cod. Theod., XVI. ii. 20).

Ecclesiastics and sons of Ecclesiastics, and those who like to be known as Continents, are not to enter the houses

1 These references are to Cyril of Alexandria, Contra Julianum x. (Op. ix. 326 sqq.; P.G. lxxvi. 1001 sqq.), where the extracts from Julian appear in the course of Cyril's reply to them.