Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

THE GOSPEL OF PHILOSOPHIC HEATHENISM215it was a Greek city, and its worship known to him, hewould call together the priests, and philosophise aboutthe gods, and correct them if in anything they departed>m the lawful rites. If the worship was foreignd peculiar, he would inquire who had established it,and for what purpose. Then having learnt how it wasobserved, and suggested anything which might appearto him an improvement, he would go to his followers,and bid them ask him any questions which they wishedo put. For it was his saying that they who practisedwisdom as he did should at dawn converse with thegods, as day advanced converse about them, and spendthe following time in things that regarded men.When he had answered all the questions proposed byhis friends, and satisfied his intercourse with them, hewould address the general multitude, but not beforenoon. Then he would be anointed and rubbed, andtake a cold bath, for he denounced hot baths as theold age of men. His language was neither swollennor affectedly refined. He did not use elaborate divisionsof discourse; he was never * ironical or magnilo-quent: but he spoke as with absolute truth, in shortand serried sentences, in proper terms, and his wordshad x a sound as if they came from a sceptre of royalty.Once a subtle disputant asked him why he did not takea side in a question. ' So I did/ he replied, ' whenI was a youth: but now, I do not investigate,rather I teach the result of my investigation.' Andwhen the other rejoined, ' How will the wise manconverse ?'l 'As a legislator,' he replied ; ' for thelegislator will enjoin the multitude to do what he isconvinced ought to be done/ And thus at Antioch1 Compare " He spoke as one having authority, and not as theScribes and Pharisees."