CHAPTER XVIII

THE EMPEROR CONSULTING AN ORACLE, THE DEMON GIVES NO RESPONSE, BEING AWED BY THE PROXIMITY OF BABYLAS THE MARTYR

HAVING ordered that the Pagan temples at Antioch should be opened, he was very eager to obtain an oracle from Apollo Daphnœus. But the demon that inhabited the temple remained silent through fear of his neighbour Babylas the martyr; for the coffin which contained the body of that saint was close by. When the emperor was informed of this circumstance, he commanded that the coffin should be immediately removed: upon which the Christians of Antioch, including women and children, transported the coffin from Daphne to the city, with solemn rejoicings and chanting of psalms. The psalms were such as cast reproach on the gods of the heathen, and those who put confidence in them and their images.