Formerly every place was full of the deception of oracles, and the oracles at Delphi and Dodona, in Boeotia, Lycia, Libya, and Egypt, as well as those of the Cabiri and the Pythia, were objects of wonder in people’s imagination. But now, since Christ is proclaimed everywhere, their madness too has ceased, and no one remains among them to give oracles.
Formerly demons deluded people with apparitions, taking possession of springs, rivers, trees, or stones, and by such tricks terrified the foolish. But now, since the divine appearance of the Word, their apparitions have ceased. By merely using the sign of the Cross, a person drives away their deceptions.
Formerly people regarded as gods those named by the poets—Zeus, Kronos, Apollo, and the heroes—and went astray by worshiping them. But now that the Savior has appeared among human beings, those others have been exposed as mortal human beings, while Christ alone has been recognized among human beings as the true God, the divine Word of God.
And what should one say about the magic they so admire? Before the Word came among us, it was strong and active among Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Indians and astonished those who saw it. But with the coming of the Truth and the appearance of the Word, it too was exposed and completely brought to an end.
As for Greek wisdom and the grand claims of the philosophers, I think no argument from us is needed, since the wonder is plain for all to see. The wise men of Greece wrote so much, yet could not persuade even a few in neighboring regions about immortality and a virtuous life. Christ alone, through ordinary words and through men not skilled in speech, has persuaded churches filled with people throughout the world to scorn death, set their minds on immortal things, look beyond what is temporary to what is eternal, count earthly glory as nothing, and seek immortality alone.