or the pious belief in the gods, which belongs to the latter. Hence he compares the Christians to leeches, which draw all impure blood and leave the pure. In his view, Jesus, "the dead Jew," did nothing remarkable during his lifetime, compared with heathen hei'oes, but to heal lame and blind people and exorcise daeinoniacs, which is no very great matter.' He was able to persuade only a few of the ignorant peasantry, not even to gain his own kins- men.^ Neither Matthew, nor Mark, nor Luke, nor Paul called him God. John was the first to venture so far, and procured acceptance for his view by a cunning artifice.' The later Christians perverted his doctrine still more iinpiously, and have abandoned the Jewish sacrificial worship and ceremonial law, which was given for all time, and was declared irrevocable by Jesus himself.* A universal religion, with all the peculiarities of difi^erent national characters, appeared to him unreasonable and impossible. He endeavored to expose all manner of con- tradictions and absurdities in the Bible. The Mosaic history * Cyril has omitted the worst passages of Julian respecting Christ, but quotes the followiug (Contra JuJ. 1. vi. p. 191, ed. Spanh.), which is very characteristic : " Jesu3, who over-persuaded (ava-Teicxav) the lowest among* you, some few, has now been talked of {ovoixa^iTai) for three hundred years, though during his life he performed nothing worth mentioning (ovSlv olkovs a^iov), unless it be thought a mighty matter to heal the cripples and blind persons and to exorcise those possessed of demons in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany {el jx-f) tis oUrai tovs koWovs koI ruvs TV(p\ovs iSffOftd^ai, Koi Sai/jLOvcovTas iipopKi^tiv iv BrjdffoiSa Kal eV B-q^avia rais ndifxais ruu (leyiffTwv fpyu>v eli/ai)." Dr. Lardner has ingeniously inferred from this passage that Julian, by conceding to Christ the power of working miracles, and admitting the gen- eral truths of the gospel traditions, furnishes an argument for Christianity rather than against it. ^ Jno. vii. 5. ' "Neither Paul," he says (Cyr. 1. x. p. 327), "nor Matthew, nor Luke, nor Mark has dared to call Jesus God. But honest John (o XPV''^^^ 'loidvvris), under- standing that a great multitude of men in the cities of Greece and Italy were seized with this distemper ; and hearing likewise, as I suppose, that the tombs of Peter and Paul wore respected, and frequented, though as yet privately only, however, having heai-d of it, he then first presumed to advance that doctrine." * Matt. v. 17-19. § 9. Julian's attack upon Christianity. 77 of the creation was defective, aud not to be compared with the Platonic. Eve was given to Adam for a help, yet she led him astray. Human speech is put into the mouth of the serpent, and the curse is denounced on him, though he leads man on to the knowledge of good and evil, and thus proves himself of great service. Moses represents God as jealous, teaches mono- theism, yet polytheism also in