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AT this time too the celebrated Julianus, whom I have already
mentioned, was forced to leave the desert and come to Antioch, for
when the foster children of lies, the facile framers of calumny, I
mean of course the Arians, were maintaining that this great man was of
their faction, those lights of the truth Flavianus, Diodorus, and
Aphraates sent Acacius, an athlete of virtue who afterwards very
wisely ruled the church at Beroea, to the famous Julianus with the
entreaty that he would take pity on so many thousands of men, and at
the same time convict the enemy of lies and confirm the proclamation of
the truth. The miracles worked by Julianus on his way to and from
Antioch and in that vast city itself are described in my Religious
History, which is easily accessible to all who wish to become
acquainted with them. But I am sure that no one who has enquired into
human nature will doubt that he attracted all the population of the city
to our assembly, for the extraordinary is generally sure to draw all
men after it. The fact of his having wrought great marvels is attested
even by the enemies of the truth.
Before this time in the reign of Constantius the great Antonius had
acted in the same way in Alexandria, for he abandoned the desert and
went up and down that city, telling all men that Athanasius was the
preacher of the true doctrine and that the Arian faction were enemies
of the truth. So those godly men knew how to adapt themselves to each
particular opportunity, when to remain inactive, and at rest, and
when to leave the deserts for towns.
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