fulness, of bloody sacrifices—his remarks, which were characterised by a wisdom far above his years—the excellent advice he gave to those who came to consult Æsculapius—all contributed to strike the priests of that god with astonishment; and the general admiration in which he was held was only heightened when, at the age of twenty, he gave up his patrimony for the benefit of his family, and took a vow of perpetual chastity. After a lapse of five years, which, according to Pythagorean rule, he spent in absolute silence, he began to travel about in Asia Minor, Commencing his journey at Antioch. In every place the subjects of his teaching were the precepts of true wisdom, the respect due to the gods, the true mode of worshipping them, and the necessity of returning to those rites of more ancient times which had either fallen into disuse or been strangely altered. Disciples were already following him in every place. Meanwhile, however, he did not consider himself sufficiently advanced, and desiring, as he did, to attain to higher degrees of wisdom than had been reached by Pythagoras and
