Section 229
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19& ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. anything certain of these matters, unless we had seen them. Foi perhaps both Montanus and Theodotus, and the abovementioned woman, may have died in this way, or they may not." He men tions also in the same book, that the holy bishops of that time attempted to refute the spirit* in Maximilla, but were prevented by others who manifestly co-operated with the spirit. His state ment is as follows : " And let not, as is said in the same work of Asterius Urbanus, let not the spirit of Maximilla say, * I am cliased like a wolf from the flock, I am no wolf. I am utterance, spirit, and power.' But let him show the power in the spirit effectually, and prove it And let him by the spirit face those that were present at the time, to examine and argue with the babbling spirit, men who were eminent, and bishops of the church, Zoticus of Comana, Julian of Apamea, whose tongues the follow ers of Themison bridled and prevented them from refuting the false and seducing spirit." In the same work, after stating other matters in refutation of the false predictions of Maximilla, he likewise indicates the time that he wrote this, and mentions also, her declarations in which she foretold that there would be wars and political convulsions. The falsity of which is evinced by him as follows : " And has not," says he, " the falsehood of this been made obvious 1 For it is now more than thirteen years since the woman died, and neither has there been a partial nor a general war, but rather, by the mercy of God, continued peace to the Christians." This he writes in the second book. I shall also subjoin some extracts from the third book, in which he speaks as follows, against those who boasted that there were many of thei/ number that had suffered martyrdom : " But," says he, " since they are at a loss what to reply to the refutation of their errors, they attempt to take refuge to their martyrs, saying they have many martyrs, and that this is one sure evidence of the power of that spirit which they call prophetical. But this, as it appears, is nothing the more true on that account. For some of the other heresies also have a vast number of martyrs, but neither do we the more on that account agree with them, nor acknowledge that they have truth on their side. Indeed, they who are called Marcionites,