Clement of Alexandria, Stromata

Ἐμπεδοκλῆς τε ὁ Ἀκραγαντῖνος Κωλυσανέμας ἐπεκλήθη. λέγεται οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀκράγαντος ὄρους, πνέοντός ποτε ἀνέμου βαρὺ καὶ νοσῶδες τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῖς γυναιξὶν αὐτῶν ἀγονίας αἰτίου γινομένου, παῦσαι τὸν ἄνεμον· διὸ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσι γράφει· παύσεις δ’ ἀκαμάτων ἀνέμων μένος οἵ τ’ ἐπὶ γαῖαν ὀρνύμενοι θνητοῖσι καταφθινύθουσιν ἀρούρας· καὶ πάλιν, εὖτ’ ἐθέλῃσθα, παλίντιτα πνεύματα θήσεις. παρακολουθεῖν τε αὑτῷ ἔλεγεν τοὺς μὲν μαντοσυνῶν κεχρημένους, τοὺς δ’ ἐπὶ νούσοισι δηρὸν δὴ χαλεπῇσι πεπαρμένους. ἄντικρυς γοῦν ἰάσεις τε καὶ σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα ἐπιτελεῖν τοὺς δικαίους ἐκ τῶν ἡμετέρων πεπιστεύκασι γραφῶν· εἰ γὰρ καὶ δυνάμεις τινὲς τούς τε ἀνέμους κινοῦσι καὶ τοὺς ὄμβρους διανέμουσιν, ἀλλ’ ἀκουσάτωσαν τοῦ ψαλμῳδοῦ· ὡς ἀγαπητὰ τὰ σκηνώματά σου, κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τῶν δυνάμεων καὶ τῶν ἀρχῶν καὶ τῶν ἐξουσιῶν σιῶν κύριος, περὶ οὗ ὁ Μωυσῆς λέγει, ἵνα αὐτῷ συνῶμεν· καὶ περιτεμεῖσθε τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν καὶ τὸν τράχηλον ὑμῶν οὐ σκληρυνεῖτε ἔτι· ὁ γὰρ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν οὗτος κύριος τῶν κυρίων καὶ θεὸς τῶν θεῶν ὁ θεὸς ὁ μέγας καὶ ἰσχυρὸς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τούτοις. ὅ τε Ἡσαΐας ἄρατε εἰς ὕψος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν λέγει καὶ ἴδετε· τίς κατέδειξεν ταῦτα πάντα;

And Empedocles of Acragas was called Wind-Stopper. It is said, then, that once, when a wind was blowing from the mountain of Acragas, heavy and unhealthy for the inhabitants, and also causing barrenness in their wives, he stopped the wind; and so he himself writes in his verses: 'You will stop the might of the tireless winds, which, rushing upon the earth, waste the fields of mortals; and again, when you wish, you will bring the winds back in return.' And he said that there followed him some who were in need of prophecies, and others long pierced by grievous diseases. Clearly, then, they have come to believe from our Scriptures that the righteous perform healings and signs and wonders; for even if certain powers move the winds and distribute the rains, still let them hear the Psalmist: 'How beloved are your dwellings, Lord of the powers.' He is the Lord of the powers and of the principalities and of the authorities, of whom Moses says, so that we may be with him: 'And you shall circumcise your hardness of heart, and you shall no longer stiffen your neck; for the Lord your God, he is Lord of lords and God of gods, the great and mighty God', and what follows. And Isaiah says: 'Lift up your eyes on high and see: who has shown forth all these things?'

Δύο μὲν οὖν καὶ τεσσαράκοντα αἱ πάνυ ἀναγκαῖαι τῷ Ἑρμῇ γεγόνασι βίβλοι· ὧν τὰς μὲν τριάκοντα ἓξ τὴν πᾶσαν Αἰγυπτίων περιεχούσας φιλοσοφίαν οἱ προειρημένοι ἐκμανθάνουσι, τὰς δὲ λοιπὰς ἓξ οἱ παστοφόροι ἰατρικὰς οὔσας περί τε τῆς τοῦ σώματος κατασκευῆς καὶ περὶ νόσων καὶ περὶ ὀργάνων καὶ φαρμάκων καὶ περὶ ὀφθαλμιῶν καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον περὶ τῶν γυναικείων.

There are, then, forty-two books of Hermes that are absolutely essential; of these, the thirty-six that contain the whole philosophy of the Egyptians are learned by heart by those already mentioned, and the remaining six by the pastophoroi [shrine-bearers], these being medical: on the structure of the body, on diseases, on instruments, on drugs, on eye diseases, and lastly on women's disorders.

Οἱ αὐτοὶ δ᾿ οὗτοι πᾶν ξύλον καὶ πάντα λίθον, τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον. λιπαρὸν προσκυνοῦντες, ἔρια πυρρὰ καὶ ἁλῶν χόνδρους καὶ δᾷδας σκίλλαν τε καὶ θεῖον δεδίασι, πρὸς τῶν γοήτων καταγοητευθέντες κατά τινας ἀκαθάρτους καθαρμούς. θεὸς δέ, ὁ τῷ ὄντι θεός, ἅγιον μόνον οἶδεν τὸ τοῦ δικαίου ἦθος, ὥσπερ ἐναγὲς τὸ ἄδικον καὶ μοχθηρόν. ὁρᾶν γοῦν ἔστι τὰ ὠὰ τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν περικαθαρθέντων, εἰ θαλφθείη, ζωογονούμενα. οὐκ ἂν δὲ τοῦτο ἐγίνετο, εἰ ἀνελάμβανεν τὰ τοῦ περικαθαρθέντος κακά.

And these same people, who bow down, as the saying goes, to every stick and every oiled stone, are afraid of red wool, grains of salt, torches, squill and sulphur, bewitched by sorcerers in certain impure purifications. But God, the one who is truly God, knows only the character of the just man as holy, just as [he knows] the unjust and wicked as accursed. One can see, at any rate, that the eggs [taken] from those who have been purified, if they are kept warm, hatch into living things. But this would not happen if they took up the evils of the one who was purified.