Author: DB

Vigila

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O tu qui servas armis ista moenia,
noli dormire, moneo, sed vigila!
dum Hector vigil extitit in Troia,
non eam cepit fraudulenta Graecia.
Prima quiete dormiente Troia
laxavit Sinon fallax claustra perfida.
per funem lapsa occultata agmina
invadunt urbem et incendunt Pergama.
vigili voce avis anser candida
fugavit Gallos ex arce Romulea;
pro qua virtute facta est argentea
et a Romanis adorata ut dea.
nos adoremus celsa Christi numina:
illi canora demus nostra iubila!
illius magna fisi sub custodia,
haec vigilantes iubilemus carmina!
divina mundi, rex Christe, custodia,
sub tua serva haec castra vigilia.
[tu murus tuis sis inexpugnabilis,
sis inimicis hostis tu terribilis!]
te vigilante nulla nocet fortia,
qui cuncta fugas procul arma bellica.
tu cinge nostra haec, Christe, munimina,
defendens ea tua forti lancea.
[sancta Maria, mater Christi splendida,
haec cum Iohanne theoticos impetra,
quorum hic sancta venerantur pignora
et quibus ista sunt sacrata limina.]
quo duce, victrix est in bello dextera
et sine ipso nihil valent iacula.
fortis iuventus, virtus audax bellica,
vestra per muros audiantur carmina,
et sit in armis alterna vigilia,
ne fraus hostilis haec invadat moenia.
resultet echo: ‘comes eia, vigila!’
per muros, ‘eia!’, dicat echo: ‘vigila!’
(Canto delle scolte modenesi)

O you who guard those walls with arms,
do not sleep, I warn you, keep watch!
While Hector kept watch in Troy
the Greeks did not take it by treachery.
While Troy lay sleeping in the peace of early morning
Synon the traitor unlocked the bolts that betrayed it.
The forces hidden within were lowered down by rope,
they stormed the city, and burned Pergamon.
A white bird—a goose—with watchful cry
put the Gauls to flight from the heights of Rome.
For this virtuous deed its image was made in silver
and was adored as a goddess by the Romans.
Let us worship the lofty power of Christ;
to Him let us offer our sweet-sounding hymns of joy.
Reliant on His great protection, let us sing
these songs of praise to Him as we keep watch!
Christ, king of the world, hold
these watchful camps in Your divine protection!
Be an impregnable wall for Your followers,
be a terrible enemy to Your foes,
through Your vigilance no force can harm us,
for You put all weapons of war to flight.
Surround these our defences, Christ,
protecting them with Your powerful lance.
Holy Mary, splendid mother of Christ,
with John intercede for these things, mother of God,
for Your holy relics are venerated here
and to them his church is dedicated.
Under His leadership our hands are victorious in war
and without Him our spears have no force.
Young men who are strong, daring and brave in battle,
let your songs be heard throughout the walls!
And may the watches change with arms at the ready
lest the treacherous enemy storm these defences.
May the echo resound: ‘Comrades, hail, keep watch!’
Throughout the walls: ‘Hail’, may it echo: ‘Keep watch!’
(tr. Peter Godman)

Atuchō

Alfred SEIFERT Hypatia
Alfred Seifert, Hypatia (1901)

Τῇ φιλοσόφῳ Ὑπατίᾳ

Αὐτήν τέ σε καὶ διὰ σοῦ τοὺς μακαριωτάτους ἑταίρους ἀσπάζομαι, δέσποινα μακαρία. πάλαι μὲν ἂν ἐγκαλέσας ἐφ’ οἷς οὐκ ἀξιοῦμαι γραμμάτων, νῦν δὲ οἶδα παρεωραμένος ὑφ’ ἁπάντων ὑμῶν ἐφ’ οἷς ἀδικῶ μὲν οὐδέν, ἀτυχῶ δὲ πολλὰ καὶ ὅσα ἄνθρωπος ἀτυχῆσαι δύναται. ἀλλ’ εἴπερ εἶχον ἐντυγχάνειν ὑμετέραις ἐπιστολαῖς καὶ μανθάνειν ἐν οἷς διατρίβετε (πάντως δὲ ἐν ἀμείνοσίν ἐστε καὶ καλλίονος πειρᾶσθε τοῦ δαίμονος), ἐξ ἡμισείας ἄν ἔπραττον πονήρως ἐν ὑμῖν εὐτυχῶν. νῦν δὲ ἕν τι καὶ τοῦτο τῶν χαλεπῶν ἐστιν ἅ με κατείληφεν· ἀπεστέρημαι μετὰ τῶν παιδίων καὶ τῶν φίλων καὶ τῆς παρὰ πάντων εὐνοίας καί, τὸ μέγιστον, τῆς θειοτάτης σου ψυχῆς, ἣν ἐγὼ μόνην ἐμαυτῷ ἐμμένειν ἤλπισα κρείττω καὶ δαιμονίας ἐπηρείας καὶ τῶν ἐξ εἱμαρμένης ῥευμάτων.
(Synesius, Ep. 10)

To the Philosopher

I salute you, and I beg of you to salute your most happy comrades for me, august Mistress. I have long been reproaching you that I am not deemed worthy of a letter, but now I know that I am despised by all of you for no wrongdoing on my part, but because I am unfortunate in many things, in as many as a man can be. If I could only have had letters from you and learnt how you were all faring—I am sure you are happy and enjoying good fortune—I should have been relieved, in that case, of half of my own trouble, in rejoicing at your happiness. But now your silence has been added to the sum of my sorrows. I have lost my children, my friends, and the goodwill of everyone. The greatest loss of all, however, is the absence of your divine spirit. I had hoped that this would always remain to me, to conquer both the caprices of fortune and the evil turns of fate. (tr. Augustine FitzGerald)

Aposphagentōn

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Ἐν δὲ τούτῳ λέγεταί τινας ἐν Κεραμεικῷ πρεσβυτῶν ἀκούσαντας διαλεγομένων πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ κακιζόντων τὸν τύραννον, ὡς μὴ φυλάττοντα τοῦ τείχους τὴν περὶ τὸ Ἑπτάχαλκον ἔφοδον καὶ προσβολήν, ᾗ μόνῃ δυνατὸν εἶναι καὶ ῥᾴδιον ὑπερβῆναι τοὺς πολεμίους, ἀπαγγεῖλαι ταῦτα πρὸς τὸν Σύλλαν. ὁ δὲ οὐ κατεφρόνησεν, ἀλλὰ ἐπελθὼν νυκτὸς καὶ θεασάμενος τὸν τόπον ἁλώσιμον εἴχετο τοῦ ἔργου, λέγει δὲ αὐτός ὁ Σύλλας ἐν τοῖς ὑπομνήμασι τὸν πρῶτον ἐπιβάντα τοῦ τείχους Μάρκον Ἀτήϊον ἀντιστάντος αὐτῷ πολεμίου δόντα πληγὴν ἐκ καταφορᾶς τῷ κράνει περικλάσαι τὸ ξίφος, οὐ μὴν ὑφέσθαι τῆς χώρας, ἀλλὰ μεῖναι καὶ κατασχεῖν. κατελήφθη μὲν οὖν ἡ πόλις ἐκεῖθεν, ὡς Ἀθηναίων οἱ πρεσβύτατοι διεμνημόνευον. αὐτός δὲ Σύλλας τὸ μεταξὺ τῆς Πειραϊκῆς πύλης καὶ τῆς ἱερᾶς κατασκάψας καὶ συνομαλύνας, περὶ μέσας νύκτας εἰσήλαυνε, φρικώδης ὑπό τε σάλπιγξι καὶ κέρασι πολλοῖς, ἀλαλαγμῷ καὶ κραυγῇ τῆς δυνάμεως ἐφ’ ἁρπαγὴν καὶ φόνον ἀφειμένης ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ, καὶ φερομένης διὰ τῶν στενωπῶν ἐσπασμένοις τοῖς ξίφεσιν, ὥστε ἀριθμὸν μηδένα γενέσθαι τῶν ἀποσφαγέντων, ἀλλὰ τῷ τόπῳ τοῦ ῥυέντος αἵματος ἔτι νῦν μετρεῖσθαι τὸ πλῆθος. ἄνευ γὰρ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἄλλην πόλιν ἀναιρεθέντων ὁ περὶ τὴν ἀγορὰν φόνος ἐπέσχε πάντα τὸν ἐντὸς τοῦ Διπύλου Κεραμεικόν πολλοῖς δὲ λέγεται καὶ διὰ πυλῶν κατακλύσαι τὸ προάστειον. ἀλλὰ τῶν οὕτως ἀποθανόντων, τοσούτων γενομένων, οὐκ ἐλάσσονες ἦσαν οἱ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς διαφθείροντες οἴκτῳ καὶ πόθῳ τῆς πατρίδος ὡς ἀναιρεθησομένης. τοῦτο γὰρ ἀπογνῶναι καὶ φοβηθῆναι τὴν σωτηρίαν ἐποίησε τοὺς βελτίστους, οὐδὲν ἐν τῷ Σύλλᾳ φιλάνθρωπον οὐδὲ μέτριον ἐλπίσαντας. ἀλλὰ γὰρ τοῦτο μὲν Μειδίου καὶ Καλλιφῶντος τῶν φυγάδων δεομένων καὶ προκυλινδουμένων αὐτοῦ, τοῦτο δὲ τῶν συγκλητικῶν, ὅσοι συνεστράτευον, ἐξαιτουμένων τὴν πόλιν, αὐτός τε μεστὸς ὢν ἤδη τῆς τιμωρίας, ἐγκώμιόν τι τῶν παλαιῶν Ἀθηναίων ὑπειπὼν ἔφη χαρίζεσθαι πολλοῖς μὲν ὀλίγους, ζῶντας δὲ τεθνηκόσιν.
(Plutarch, Bios Sullou 14.1-5)

Shortly afterwards, it is said, Sulla was told about a conversation some old men were overheard having in Cerameicus, in the course of which they cursed the tyrant for failing to protect the approaches to the wall near the Heptachalcum, which made it the only place where it was still both possible and easy for the enemy to scale the walls. Sulla took the report seriously enough to go there at night, and when he saw that the place was vulnerable, he got right down to business. In his Memoirs Sulla himself tells how Marcus Ateius, who was the first to mount the wall, did not give way, but stayed put and stood his ground when his sword broke as he brought it down on the helmet of an enemy soldier who had confronted him. In any case, as aged Athenians used to recall, the city’s fall began at that point. After demolishing and razing the wall between Piraeus and the Sacred Gates, Sulla himself marched into the city at midnight. He was a figure to inspire terror, accompanied as he was by the blasts of numerous trumpets and horns, and the cries and shouts of his men, who now had his permission to turn to plunder and slaughter and were pouring through the streets with drawn swords. There was no telling how many people were slaughtered; even now people estimate the numbers by means of how much ground was covered with blood. Leaving aside those who were killed elsewhere in the city, the blood of the dead in the main square spread throughout the part of Cerameicus that lies on the city side of the Double Gate, and a lot is said to have flooded into the suburb outside the gates as well. But although huge numbers of people died like this at the hands of Sulla’s soldiers, just as many killed themselves out of grief, unable to face the future without the city of their birth, which they were certain was going to be destroyed. The best men of Athens could see no point in staying alive and facing an uncertain future with their city lost, since they had no reason to hope for the slightest spark of human decency or moderation from Sulla. But partly because of the appeals of Midias and Calliphon, Athenian exiles who threw themselves on the ground at his feet, partly bemuse all the senators who had accompanied him on the expedition begged him to have mercy, and also bemuse he himself had drunk his fill of vengeance, after a few words in praise of the Athenians of old he told them that he would spare the few for the sake of the many, the living for the sake of the dead. (tr. Robin Waterfield)

Kalon

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Καλὸν μὲν οὖν ἐστιν ὃ ἂν δι’ αὑτὸ αἱρετὸν ὂν ἐπαινετὸν ᾖ, ἢ ὃ ἂν ἀγαθὸν ὂν ἡδὺ ᾖ, ὅτι ἀγαθόν· εἰ δὲ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ καλόν, ἀνάγκη τὴν ἀρετὴν καλὸν εἶναι· ἀγαθὸν γὰρ ὂν ἐπαινετόν ἐστιν. ἀρετὴ δ’ ἐστὶ μὲν δύναμις ὡς δοκεῖ ποριστικὴ ἀγαθῶν καὶ φυλακτική, καὶ δύναμις εὐεργετικὴ πολλῶν καὶ μεγάλων, καὶ πάντων περὶ πάντα· μέρη δὲ ἀρετῆς δικαιοσύνη, ἀνδρεία, σωφροσύνη, μεγαλοπρέπεια, μεγαλοψυχία, ἐλευθεριότης, φρόνησις, σοφία. 6 ἀνάγκη δὲ μεγίστας εἶναι ἀρετὰς τὰς τοῖς ἄλλοις χρησιμωτάτας, εἴπερ ἐστὶν ἡ ἀρετὴ δύναμις εὐεργετική, <καὶ> διὰ τοῦτο τοὺς δικαίους καὶ ἀνδρείους μάλιστα τιμῶσιν· ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐν πολέμῳ, ἡ δὲ καὶ ἐν πολέμῳ καὶ ἐν εἰρήνῃ χρήσιμος ἄλλοις. εἶτα ἐλευθεριότης· προΐενται γὰρ καὶ οὐκ ἀνταγωνίζονται περὶ τῶν χρημάτων, ὧν μάλιστα ἐφίενται ἄλλοι. ἔστι δὲ δικαιοσύνη μὲν ἀρετὴ δι’ ἣν τὰ αὑτῶν ἕκαστοι ἔχουσι, καὶ ὡς ὁ νόμος· ἀδικία δὲ δι’ ἣν τὰ ἀλλότρια, οὐχ ὡς ὁ νόμος. ἀνδρεία δὲ δι’ ἣν πρακτικοί εἰσι τῶν καλῶν ἔργων ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις, καὶ ὡς ὁ νόμος κελεύει, καὶ ὑπηρετικοὶ τῷ νόμῳ· δειλία δὲ τοὐναντίον. σωφροσύνη δὲ ἀρετὴ δι’ ἣν πρὸς τὰς ἡδονὰς τὰς τοῦ σώματος οὕτως ἔχουσιν ὡς ὁ νόμος κελεύει· ἀκολασία δὲ τοὐναντίον. ἐλευθεριότης δὲ περὶ χρήματα εὐποιητική, ἀνελευθερία δὲ τοὐναντίον. μεγαλοψυχία δὲ ἀρετὴ μεγάλων ποιητικὴ εὐεργετημάτων μικροψυχία δὲ τοὐναντίον, μεγαλοπρέπεια δὲ ἀρετὴ ἐν δαπανήμασι μεγέθους ποιητική, μικροψυχία δὲ καὶ μικροπρέπεια τἀναντία. φρόνησις δ’ ἐστὶν ἀρετὴ διανοίας καθ’ ἣν εὖ βουλεύεσθαι δύνανται περὶ ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν τῶν εἰρημένων εἰς εὐδαιμονίαν.
(Aristotle, Rhet. 1.9.1366a-b)

Now kalon describes whatever, through being chosen itself, is praiseworthy or whatever, through being good [agathon], is pleasant because it is good. If this, then, is the kalon, then virtue is necessarily kalon; for it is praiseworthy because of being good [agathon]. Now virtue [aretē] is an ability [dynamis], as it seems, that is productive and preservative of goods, and an ability for doing good in many and great ways, actually in all ways in all things. The parts [or subdivisions] of virtue are justice, manly courage, self-control, magnificence, magnanimity, liberality, gentleness, prudence, and wisdom. Since virtue is defined as an ability for doing good, the greatest virtues are necessarily those most useful to others. For that reason people most honor the just and the courageous; for the latter is useful to others in war, and the former in peace as well. Next is liberality; for the liberal make contributions freely and do not quarrel about the money, which others care most about. Justice [dikaiosynē] is a virtue by which all, individually, have what is due to them and as the law requires; and injustice [is a vice] by which they have what belongs to others and not as the law requires. Manly courage [andreia] [is a virtue] by which people perform fine actions in times of danger and as the law orders and obedient to the law, and cowardice is the opposite. Self-control [sophrosynē] is the virtue through which people behave as the law orders in regard to the pleasures of the body, and lack of control [is] the opposite. Liberality [eleutheriotēs] is the disposition to do good with money, illiberality [is] the opposite. Magnanimity [megalopsykhia] is a virtue, productive of great benefits [for others], and magnificence [megaloprepeia] is a virtue in expenditures, productive of something great, while little-mindedness [mikropsykhia] and stinginess [mikroprepeia] are the opposites. Prudence [phronēsis] is a virtue of intelligence whereby people are able to plan well for happiness in regard to the good and bad things that have been mentioned earlier. (tr. George A. Kennedy)

Vera

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Sunt quidam, qui me dicunt non esse poëtam,
et verum dicunt. cur? quia vera loquor.
(John Owen, De seipso)

Some say I am no Poet, ’tis no lye:
For I write nothing else than verity.
(tr. Thomas Harvey)

Infantula

POSTMORTEM LITTLE GIRL WH. DRESS BLK MOURNING BOWS.CROPPED

Urna loquor: cinis est infans, infantula mecum est,
vernula nata domi, nata gemella patri.
hanc mater mihi commendat post funera et inquit:
“ipsa tibi hanc peperi, nata futura tua est.”
hanc alui in tenebris; nutrix nox; ubera suxit
noctis, et infanti lac fuit ipse sopor.
nec fatur; verum somno testata perenni,
quam nasci satius vos docet esse mori.
hanc nullae torquent curae, non matris in ore est,
non lana in digitis comminuenda datur;
continuas ducit noctes; lux nulla, nec ulli
sunt vitae sensus, munera nulla premunt.
dumque haec ipsa loquor, secura infantula dormit;
illam perpetuo somnus ab imbre rigat.
nomen erat quod fecit herus Massila; Camoenae
ornarunt domini pro pietate locum.
hic dormit Massila; sopor lac, ubera praebet
nox ipsa, at cunas et tenebrae et loculi.
(Giovanni Pontano, De Tumulis 1.39)

I, urn of cremation, speak. The ash is a baby. A slave-girl lies in me, born in her home, her father’s twin child. After she died, her mother entrusted her to me, and told me “I bore her myself for you, your daughter to be.” Her in the dark I nourished. Night was her nurse. At the breasts of night she sucked. The breastmilk was sleep itself. She does not speak. Yet bearing witness in sleep everlasting she teaches us how birth is worse than death. Not one whirled care now wracks her, she’s not on the lips of her mother. No wool is put in her fingers to pull apart. She leads an eternal dead of night, without light, without living feeling. Life’s obsequies can’t oppress her now. And while I speak myself, this little baby keeps sleeping untroubled. Slumber bathes her in constant rain. Massila was the name her master gave her. The Muses adorned this place through duteous love of her lord. Here rests Massila. Sleep is the milk she sucks from the breasts of night. But dark and the coffin are her cradles. (tr. Alex Z. Foreman)

Intumuit

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Huc usque, me miseram!
rem bene celaveram
et amavi callide.
res mea tandem patuit,
nam venter intumuit,
partus instat gravide.
hinc mater me verberat,
hinc pater improperat,
ambo tractant aspere.
sola domi sedeo,
egredi non audeo
nec inpalam ludere.
cum foris egredior,
a cunctis inspicior,
quasi monstrum fuerim.
cum vident hunc uterum,
alter pulsat alterum,
silent, dum transierim.
semper pulsant cubito,
me designant digito,
ac si mirum fecerim.
nutibus me indicant,
dignam rogo iudicant,
quod semel peccaverim.
quid percurram singula?
ego sum in fabulo
et in ore omnium.
ex eo vim patior,
iam dolore morior,
semper sum in lacrimis.
hoc dolorem cumulat,
quod amicus exulat
propter illud paululum.
ob patris sevitiam
recessit in Franciam
a finibus ultimis.
sum in tristitia
de eius absentia
in doloris cumulum.

(Carmina Burana 126)

Until now, poor wretched me,
I’d concealed things well,
and loved cunningly.
Finally, my secret’s out,
for my belly’s swollen up,
showing I’m pregnant and soon due.
On one side my mother beats me,
on the other my father yells at me,
both of them are hard on me.
All alone I sit at home;
I daren’t go out
and amuse myself in public.
If I go outdoors,
everybody looks at me
as if I were a monster.
When they see my belly,
one pokes the other,
and they’re silent till I’ve gone past.
People always nudge each other,
point at me with a finger
as if I’d performed a marvel;
Criticize me with nodding heads,
think I should be burnt on the pyre,
just because I’ve sinned once.
Why should I tell each little thing?
I’m the subject of a story;
I’m in everybody’s mouth.
Because of him I suffer this abuse.
I’m so miserable I’m dying.
I’m always in tears.
And this adds to my troubles,
that my lover’s gone off
because of that trifle.
On account of his father’s rage,
he’s taken off to France
right out of the country.
I’m lonesome
because of his absence.
What a pile of trouble I’ve had!
(tr. Anne L. Klinck)

Steriles

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Cernis ut orba meis, hospes, monumenta locavi
et tristis senior natos miseranda requiro.
exemplis referenda mea est deserta senectus
ut steriles vere possint gaudere maritae.
(Papiria Tertia, CIL V.2435 = CLE 369)

Stranger, you see how, a woman bereft of my own [dear ones],
I had monuments erected
and sad, elderly, pitiable, I miss my children.
My isolated old age should be added to the exemplary proofs
that barren wives may count themselves truly happy!
(tr. Jane Stevenson)

Obmutuit

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Oraque magnanimum spirantia paene virorum
in rostris iacuere suis, sed enim abstulit omnis,
tamquam sola foret, rapti Ciceronis imago.
tunc redeunt animis ingentia consulis acta
iurataeque manus deprensaque foedera noxae
patriciumque nefas exstinctum; poena Cethegi
deiectusque redit votis Catilina nefandis.
quid favor aut coetus, pleni quid honoribus anni
profuerant, sacris exculta quid artibus aetas?
abstulit una dies aevi decus, ictaque luctu
conticuit Latiae tristis facundia linguae.
unica sollicitis quondam tutela salusque,
egregium semper patriae caput, ille senatus
vindex, ille fori, legum ritusque togaeque
publica vox saevis aeternum obmutuit armis.
informes vultus sparsamque cruore nefando
canitiem sacrasque manus operumque ministras
tantorum pedibus civis proiecta superbis
proculcavit ovans nec lubrica fata deosque
respexit. nullo luet hoc Antonius aevo.
hoc nec in Emathio mitis victoria Perse
nec te, dire Syphax, non fecit in hoste Philippo,
inque triumphato ludibria cuncta Iugurtha
afuerunt, nostraeque cadens ferus Hannibal irae
membra tamen Stygias tulit inviolata sub umbras.
(Cornelius Severus, fr. 13)

The heads of great-hearted men, still almost breathing, lay on the rostra which had been theirs, but the sight of ravaged Cicero, as if he were the only one, drew away the attention of all. Then the mighty deeds which he performed as consul come back to their minds: the bands of conspirators, the detection of criminal compacts and the blotting out of aristocratic wickedness; they remember too Cethegus’ punishment and Catiline cast down from his abominable ambitions. What good had the people’s support and his public meetings done to him, or the sacred arts with which he adorned his life? A single day snatched away the glory of the age, and, struck by grief, the eloquence of the Latin tongue sadly fell silent. He who was previously the supreme protector and saviour of the distressed, always the outstanding head of his country, he the champion of the Senate, the public mouthpiece of the laws, religion, and civil life, for ever grew dumb through cruel arms. A fellow citizen cast down and joyfully trampled with arrogant feet the disfigured face, the white hair foully spattered with blood, those sacred hands which had helped to produce such great works, taking no thought for the slippery fates or the gods. No amount of time will suffice for Antony to expiate this deed. Our gentle victory did not behave thus in the case of Macedonian Perseus or in yours, dread Syphax, nor in dealing with our enemy Philip; when we triumphed over Jugurtha no humiliation occurred, and when cruel Hannibal succumbed to our wrath, nonetheless he took down his limbs unmutilated to the Stygian shades. (tr. Adrian S. Hollis)

Anthrōpothusiai

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Αὐτίκα γοῦν μάλα ὅσον οὐδέπω παραστήσομεν ὡς ἄρα μετὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ καὶ θάνατοι τῶν δαιμόνων ἱστορήθησαν καὶ τὰ θαυμαστὰ καὶ πάλαι βοώμενα χρηστήρια διαλελοίπασιν. ἤδη δὲ καὶ πρότερον ἀποδέδεικται ὅτι δὴ παῦλαν κακῶν οὐδ’ ἄλλοτέ πω πρότερον ἢ μετὰ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν διδασκαλίαν εἰλήφασιν αἱ παρὰ πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὠμῶς καὶ ἀνηλεῶς ἐπιτελούμεναι τὸ πρὶν ἀνθρωποθυσίαι· οἷς ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος προσθεῖναι καλὸν ὅτι μὴ μόνον ἐξ ἐκείνου τὰ τῆς δαιμονικῆς ἀπέσβη δεισιδαιμονίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν πολυαρχίας. σχεδὸν γὰρ κατὰ πᾶσαν πόλιν καὶ κώμην βασιλεῖς καὶ τυράννους τοπάρχας τε καὶ δυνάστας τὸ παλαιὸν ἦν ὁρᾶν ἐθναρχίας τε καὶ πολυαρχίας, δι’ ἃς ἐπὶ τοὺς κατ’ ἀλλήλων πολέμους συνεχῶς ὁρμῶντες δῃώσεις χωρῶν καὶ πόλεων πολιορκίας ἀνδραποδισμούς τε καὶ αἰχμαλωσίας τῶν πλησιοχώρων ἀεὶ καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἐνήργουν, πρὸς τῶν οἰκείων δαιμόνων ἐπὶ τὸν κατ’ ἀλλήλων πόλεμον ἐξοιστρούμενοι. ὧν οὕτως ἐχόντων ἐν ὁποίᾳ τότε συγχύσει κακῶν συμφορῶν τε ἐπαλλήλων ὁ πᾶς ἐνίσχητο βίος καὶ αὐτῷ σοι καταλείπω σκοπεῖν. Τούτων δὴ οὖν ἀθρόως ἁπάντων ὁμοῦ σὺν τῇ πολυθέῳ πλάνῃ ἐκποδὼν μεταστάντων οὐκ ἄλλοτε ἢ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἐπιδημίαν, πῶς οὐ χρὴ τὸ μέγα μυστήριον τῆς ἀληθῶς σωτηρίου καὶ εὐαγγελικῆς ἀποδείξεως ὑπερθαυμάζειν, δι’ ἧς ἀθρόως κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένην προσευκτήρια καὶ ναοὶ τῷ παμβασιλεῖ καὶ δημιουργῷ τῶν ἁπάντων καὶ μόνῳ θεῷ ἔν τε πόλεσι καὶ κώμαις βαρβάρων τε ἐθνῶν ἐν ἐρημίαις ἀφιερωμένα συνέστη, βίβλοι τε καὶ ἀναγνώσματα μαθήματά τε παντοῖα καὶ διδασκαλίαι, περὶ τῆς εἰς ἄκρον ἀρετῆς καὶ τρόπου τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἀληθῆ θεοσέβειαν παραγγέλματα περιέχουσαι, ἀνδράσιν ὁμοῦ καὶ γυναιξὶ καὶ παισὶν εἰς ἐπήκοον παραδέδονται, νεκρὰ δὲ τὰ ἀπὸ δαιμόνων πάντα χρηστήριά τε καὶ μαντεύματα; οὐδέ τις εἰς τοσοῦτον ἀνθρώπων μέμηνεν νῦν, ἐξ οὗπερ εἰς πάντας φωτὸς δίκην ἐξέλαμψεν ἡ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἔνθεος καὶ εὐαγγελικὴ δύναμις, ὡς τολμᾶν τῷ τοῦ φιλτάτου φόνῳ καὶ ταῖς δι’ ἀνθρωποθυσιῶν σφαγαῖς τὰ φονικὰ καὶ φίλαιμα μισάνθρωπά τε καὶ ἀπάνθρωπα δαιμόνια ἐξιλεοῦσθαι, οἷα πράττειν τοῖς πάλαι σοφοῖς καὶ βασιλεῦσι δαιμονῶσιν ὡς ἀληθῶς φίλον ἦν. περὶ δὲ τοῦ μηκέτι δύνασθαί τι κατισχύειν τοὺς φαύλους δαίμονας μετὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εἰς ἀνθρώπους πάροδον καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ καθ´ ἡμᾶς τῶν δαιμόνων προήγορος ἐν τῇ καθ’ ἡμῶν συσκευῇ τοῦτόν που λέγων μαρτυρεῖ τὸν τρόπον·
“Νυνὶ δὲ θαυμάζουσιν εἰ τοσοῦτον ἐτῶν κατείληφεν ἡ νόσος τὴν πόλιν, Ἀσκληπιοῦ μὲν ἐπιδημίας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν μηκέτι οὔσης. Ἰησοῦ γὰρ τιμωμένου οὐδεμιᾶς δημοσίας τις θεῶν ὠφελείας ᾔσθετο.” [Porphyry, Adv. Chr. fr. ‎80 Harnack = fr. 17 Ramos Jurado]
ταῦτα ῥήμασιν αὐτοῖς ὁ Πορφύριος. Εἰ 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 λοιπὸν τὸ ὡς περὶ θεῶν καὶ ἡρώων δόγμα; τί γὰρ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον τὰ τῶν θεῶν καὶ τὰ Ἀσκληπιοῦ κρατεῖ τῆς Ἰησοῦ δυνάμεως;
(Eusebius, Praep. Ev. 5.1.3-12)

We shall show then almost immediately that very soon after His manifestation there came stories of the deaths of daemons, and that the wonderful oracles so celebrated of old have ceased. But already it has been proved above that, until after the teaching of the Gospel, the human sacrifices which were formerly so cruelly and ruthlessly perpetrated among all the heathen have never admitted any cessation of evils: and on the present occasion it is a good thing to add to this that not only the superstitious worship of daemons but also the multitude of ruling powers among the heathen became from that time extinct. For almost in every city and village you might in old times see kings, and tyrants, and local governors, and lords, and ethnarchies and multitudes of rulers, by reason of which they were continually rushing into wars against one another, and ever perpetually at work in raiding country districts, and besieging cities, and making slaves and captives of their neighbours, being wildly driven by their local daemons into mutual wars. Which being so, I leave it to you to consider for yourself in what kind of confusion of mutual evils and misfortunes the whole of life was entangled. Since then it was only after the time of our Saviour’s abode among men that these troubles together with the delusion of polytheism were removed all at once out of the way, must we not wonder exceedingly at the great mystery of the exhibition of true salvation in the Gospel? For thereby all at once in the whole world inhabited by man houses of prayer and temples were set up and consecrated, in cities and villages and in the deserts of barbarous nations, to the sovereign Ruler and Creator of all things and the only God; and books and lectures, and all kinds of learning, and instructions containing exhortations concerning the highest virtue and the mode of life accordant with true godliness, have been delivered in the hearing of men and women and children alike, while all the oracles and divinations of daemons are dead. Nor, since the divine power of our Saviour in the Gospel shone forth like light upon all men, is any man now so mad as to dare to propitiate the murderous and bloodthirsty and misanthropic and inhuman daemons by the murder of his best-beloved, and by the slaughter of men in sacrifices, such as the sages and kings of old, being verily possessed by daemons, loved to practise. But with regard to the fact that the evil daemons no longer have any power to prevail since our Saviour’s advent among men, the very same author who is the advocate of the daemons in our time, in his compilation against us, bears witness by speaking in the following manner:
‘And now they wonder that for so many years the plague has attacked the city, Asclepius and the other gods being no longer resident among us. For since Jesus began to be honoured, no one ever heard of any public assistance from the gods.’
This is Porphyry’s statement in his very words. If then, according to this confession, ‘since Jesus began to be honoured no one ever heard of any public assistance from the gods, because neither Asclepius nor the other gods were any longer resident,’ what ground is there henceforth for the opinion that they are gods and heroes? For why do not rather the gods and Asclepius prevail over the power of Jesus? If indeed, as they would say, He is a mortal man—perhaps they would even say that He is a deceiver—while they are gods and saviours, why then have they all fled in a body, Asclepius and all, having turned their backs to this mortal, and given over all humanity forthwith into the power of Him who, as they would say, is no longer living? (tr. Edwin Hamilton Gifford)