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Eusebius Pamphilii of Caesarea
On the Theophania

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  • THE FIRST BOOK OF EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA ON THE DIVINE MANIFESTATION.
    • 63
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63. Man alone, of those that are on the earth, can, by means of words not to be uttered, of prayers acceptable to God, and by virtue of the fear of God, (evinced) both in word and life, drive far away the invisible nature of concealed demons53. But further, when he had even departed


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from the right way, he could effect all this by a power, such as would, by songs and incantations, subject the kind of these which flies in the air; and, again, would seize, by means of force, and the appetencies restrictive54 of nature, those unembodied powers which fly over any part of the earth, just as they would the flying sparrows. He would lead on, or bind, (these), whenever he chose: and, sitting upon the images of fabricated gods, would shew by these his doings, that his own power was far superior to that of the fabricated deity of such.




534 So Porphyry, Prep. Evang. Lib. iv. cap. xxii. [Greek] "Qui...nec oculis, nec alio quovis humano sensu attingi omnino possunt." Eusebius, perhaps, first alludes here to the practice of Exorcism, as had recourse to in the primitive Church: see Suiceri Thesaurus, sub voce, Ecorkismo&j  -- There was moreover, a very general belief that a sort of magic virtue consisted in the pronunciation of certain words. Origen (contra Cels. Lib. v. pp. 2612) tells us that any name, or word, having effect in incantations, if changed or translated into any other language, immediately lost its whole magical efficacy. His instances are, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: the names Israel, Adonai, Sabaoth, &c. Nor does he restrict these usages to the professors of the true religion. See also ib. p. 374, and Spencer's very curious note on pp. 17. C. 41: notes, p. 1619, where we have every thing we can require on this subject.



541 This is perhaps, an instance of hypallage, as occasionally met with in the Scriptures (see the note to §. 57 above.) So Rom. vii. 24. [Greek] Syr. [Syriac]. Here, the [Syriac], by the desires of the bonds (the lusts) of nature. Our author probably means, (by hypallage) the mortifications to which persons of this sort usually submitted, just as it is the case with the devotees of Hindustan at this day; all of whom generally hold, that they have power over demoniacal agents. A belief however, in these things as expressed here, must be classed among those, which more enlightened times have very properly rejected. Our author might, however, have intended this as a sort of argumentum ad hominem, it being religiously held by the heathen of his times, as may be seen Prep. Evang. Lib. iv. C. xxii. seq. Where (p. 173. D.) he tells us that in this ease he used not the testimony of Christians, but of the heathen Philosophers themselves, [Greek]. See ib. cap. xxiii. on the means used for expelling and opposing these Demons, from Porphyry. See also Sect. 12. Book ii. below.






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