Such, then, was the father and fabricator of these evils, Simon, whom at that time — as it were a great adversary, and of great men, namely the inspired apostles of our Saviour — the evil power that hates the good and plots against the salvation of men set up.
Nevertheless the divine and supercelestial grace, working together with its own ministers, by their appearing and presence quickly quenched the flame of the evil one as it blazed up, abasing and casting down through them every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God.
Wherefore neither did any confederacy of Simon, nor of any other of those who sprang up at that time, hold its ground in those very apostolic days. For the radiance of the truth, and the divine Word himself, who had then but lately shone upon men from God, prevailed over and overpowered all things — himself flourishing upon the earth, and dwelling as a citizen among his own apostles.
Straightway the aforesaid sorcerer, as though smitten in the eyes of his understanding by a divine and marvellous flash of light — at the time when he had earlier been detected in Judaea by the apostle Peter for the evils he had wrought — set out on a great journey across the sea, and went fleeing from the east toward the west, thinking that in this way alone could life be livable for him according to his desire.
And having set foot in the city of the Romans, with the power that lay in wait there greatly aiding him, in a short time he so accomplished the things of his undertaking that he was even honoured by the people there as a god, by the setting up of a statue.
Yet these things did not advance for him for long. For hard upon them, in the same reign of Claudius, the all-good and most benevolent Providence of all things led by the hand to Rome — as against so great a destroyer of life — the strong and great one of the apostles, Peter, who for his virtue was the spokesman of all the rest; who, like some noble general of God, fenced about with the divine armour, brought the precious merchandise of the spiritual light from the east to those in the west, proclaiming as good news the light itself and the word that saves souls, the preaching of the kingdom of the heavens.