.—The Emperor consulting an Oracle, the Demon gives no Response, being awed by the Nearness of Babylas the Martyr.
ordered that the pagan
temples at Antioch should be opened, he was very eager to obtain an
oracle from Apollo of Daphne. But the demon that inhabited the
temple remained silent through fear of his neighbor, Babylas
the martyr; for the coffin which contained the body of that saint was
close by. When the emperor was informed of this circumstance, he
commanded that the coffin should be immediately removed: upon which the Christians of Antioch, including women and children, transported the coffin from Daphne to the city, with solemn rejoicings and chanting of psalms. The psalms
were such as cast reproach on the gods of the heathen, and those who
put confidence in them and their images.