Page:Ante-Nicene Christian Library Vol 3.djvu/181

Rh were held by the irrational opinion of the vulgar: for right opinion with liberty is the prerogative of a few.

"Moses, then, having arranged these things, and having set over the people one Ausès to bring them to the land of their fathers, himself by the command of the living God went up to a certain mountain, and there died. Yet such was the manner of his death, that till this day no one has found his burial-place. When, therefore, the people reached their fathers' land, by the providence of God, at their first onset the inhabitants of wicked races are routed, and they enter upon their paternal inheritance, which was distributed among them by lot. For some time thereafter they were ruled not by kings, but judges, and remained in a somewhat peaceful condition. But when they sought for themselves tyrants rather than kings, then also with real ambition they erected a temple in the place which had been appointed to them for prayer: and thus, through a succession of wicked kings, the people fell away to greater and still greater impiety.

"But when the time began to draw near that what was wanting in the Mosaic institutions should be supplied, as we have said, and that the Prophet should appear, of whom he had foretold that He should warn them by the mercy of God to cease from sacrificing; lest haply they might suppose that on the cessation of sacrifice there was no remission of sins for them. He instituted baptism by water amongst them, in which, they might be absolved from all their sins on the invocation of His name, and for the future, following a perfect life, might abide in immortality, being purified not by the blood of beasts, but by the purification of the Wisdom of God. Subsequently also an evident proof of this great mystery is supplied [in the fact], that every one who, believing in this Prophet who had been foretold by Moses, is baptized In His name, shall be kept unhurt from the destruction of war which