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28 such superhuman lore, and with whom he had lived on such familiar terms, and returned by way of the Erythraean Sea, the Euphrates, Babylon, and Asia Minor; then, not wishing to settle in Antioch, in consequence of the licentiousness of its morals, he directed his steps towards Ionia, and made a triumphant entry into Ephesus.

The period of initiations had now passed, and from that time Apollonius began his travels as a reformer and a prophet. Ephesus, a city notorious for its frivolity and effeminacy, was brought back by his teaching to the cultivation of philosophy and to the practice of virtue. The dissensions of Smyrna were allayed by his wisdom. After this he was recalled to Ephesus, where the plague was committing fearful ravages. In order to save the city from the visitation, he ordered an aged pauper to be stoned to death; and when the heap of stones by which he had been murdered and almost buried had been removed, a large black dog was found in the place where he ought to have been, from which circumstance it was concluded