SIMON MAGUS AND VALENTINUS
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This Simon, being skilled in magic arts and having played upon many, sometimes by the Thrasymedean[1] process in the way we have set forth above, but sometimes working iniquity by means of devils, designed to deify himself, (although only) a human sorcerer filled with desperation whom the Apostles refuted in the Acts.[2] Than whom Apsethus p. 244. the Libyan was much wiser and more modest when he ambitiously attempted to be considered a god in Libya. Whose story as it is not very different from the vain desire of Simon, it seems fitting to narrate as one worthy to have been attempted by Simon himself.
8. Apsethus the Libyan yearned to become a god. But since, after making himself very busy, he utterly failed (to accomplish) his desire, he wished at all events to appear to have become one, and seemed as if he might really effect this in course of time. For the foolish Libyans sacrificed to him as to some divine power, thinking that they must give faith to a voice from heaven above. For he collected and shut up in one and the same cage a great many of the birds called parrots; there being many parrots in Libya who imitate quite clearly the human voice. For some time he fed the birds and taught them to say "Apsethus is a god": and when the birds had been trained for a long time, and repeated the saying which he p. 245.thought would make Apsethus be considered a god, he opened the cage and let the parrots out in all directions. The noise of the flying birds went forth into all Libya, and their words reached as far as the land of the Greeks.[3] And thus the Libyans being wonderstruck by the voices of the birds and not understanding the trick played by Apsethus, held him for a god. But a certain Greek having carefully studied the clever device of the so-called god, not only refuted him by the (mouth of the) same parrots but removed from the earth that human quack and rascal. The Greek shut up many of the parrots and taught them to say instead (of their former speech) : "Apsethus shut us up and forced us to say: 'Apsethus is a god.'" And the
