Section 94
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62 ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. mentioned by the historian, splendid monuments are still to be seen in the suburbs of the city (Jerusalem) now called But she is said to have been queen of the Adiabeni. CHAPTER XIII. Simon Magus. THE faith of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, having now been diffused abroad among all men, the enemy of salvation de vising some scheme of seizing upon the imperial city for himself, brought thither Simon, whom we mentioned before. Coming to the aid of his insidious artifices, he attached many of the inha bitants of Rome to himself, in order to deceive them. This is at tested by Justin, who was one of our distinguished writers, not long after the times of the apostles, concerning whom I shall say what is necessary in the proper place. The reader may see for him self, in the first defence of our religion, addressed to Antonine, where he writes thus : " And after the ascension of our Lord into heaven, certain men were suborned by demons as their agents, who said that they were gods. These were not only suffered to pass without persecution, but were even deemed worthy of ho nours by you. Simon, a certain Samaritan of the village called Githon, was one of the number, who, in the reign of Claudius Ce sar, performed many magic rites by the operation of demons, was considered a god, in your imperial city of Rome, and was honoured by you with a statue as a god, in the river Tiber, (on an island,) between the two bridges, having the superscription in Latin, Simoni Deo Sancto, which is, To Simon the Holy God ; and nearly all the Samaritans, a few also of other nations, worship him, con fessing him as the Supreme God. A certain Helen also, is of this class, who had before been a public prostitute in Tyre of Phenicia, and at that time attached herself to Simon, and was called the first idea that proceeded from him." Such is the testimony of Justin, with which also Irenaeus coincides in his first book against Heresies, where he also subjoins an account of the impiety I