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On the Theophania

Eusebius of Caesarea, tr. Lee, 1843

Man alone, of those that are on the earth, can, by means of words not to be uttered, of …

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 demons. But further, when he had even departed 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 restrictive 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.

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