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him. Besides the aforesaid reasons, which Ideem, independent of others, fully sufficient tojustify the undertaking at this day, I thoughtthe want of such a translation a defect in English literature, and in some respects a reflection onthe liberal and enlightened character of thecountry. I thought it also necessary to laybefore the English reader an entire translationof the whole history of Apollonius, to enablehim the better to form his opinion of the cha-racter of the man, it being the only account ofhim which was referred to about a century afterits appearance, in preference to all others, byHierocles , who first endeavoured to draw acomparison between Christ and Apollonius, andwhich account was fully admitted by Eusebius in the reply he made to his foolish and impiousattack. Next I wished to shew the fallacy ofthe comparison, which could only fairly bedone by a perusal of the whole life, from whichI think it will appear, that Apollonius was oneof those cunning impostors, who, by his supe-rior skill, could perform certain wonderfulthings, for the, purpose of acquiring characterand consequence among the vulgar, and that itwas in the light of a magician he was consideredby his two contemporaries, Lucian and Apuleius ,of whom the one says, his false prophet waseducated in his school, (and from the pupil wemay judge of the master) and the other rankshim amongst the most celebrated magicians.