The casting out of devils was the most frequent and among the most striking and the oftenest appealed to of the miracles of Jesus; yet, in the conversation between himself and the Pharisees (Matt. xii. 24-27), he speaks of it as one that was constantly and habitually performed by their own _exorcists_; and, so far from insinuating any difference between the two cases, _expressly puts them on a level_. One of the best proofs, and most unquestionable, that Jesus was accused of being a _magician_, or that some of the early Christians believed him to have been such, may be found in the representations of him performing miracles. On a _sarcophagus_ to be found in the _Museo Gregoriano_, which is paneled with bas-reliefs, is to be seen a representation of Jesus raising Lazarus from the grave. He is represented as a young man, beardless, and equipped with a _wand_ in the received guise of a _necromancer_, whilst the corpse of Lazarus is swathed in bandages exactly as an Egyptian mummy.[273:1] On other Christian monuments representing the miracles of Jesus, he is pictured in the same manner. For instance, when he is represented as turning the water into wine, and multiplying the bread in the wilderness, he is a necromancer with a _wand_ in his hand.[273:2] _Horus_, the Egyptian Saviour, is represented on the ancient monuments of Egypt, _with a wand in his hand raising the dead to life_, "just as we see Christ doing the same thing," says J. P. Lundy, "in the same way, to Lazarus, in our Christian monuments."[273:3] Dr. Conyers Middleton, speaking of the primitive Christians, says: "In the performance of their miracles, they were always charged with fraud and imposture, by their adversaries. Lucian (who flourished during the second century), tells us that whenever any crafty juggler, expert in his trade, and who knew how to make a right use of things, went over to the Christians, he was sure to grow rich immediately, by making a prey of their simplicity. And Celsus represents all the Christian wonder-workers as mere vagabonds and common cheats, who rambled about to play their tricks at fairs and markets; not in the circles of the wiser and the better sort, for among such they never ventured to appear, but wherever they observed a set of raw young fellows, slaves or fools, there they took care to intrude themselves, and to display all their arts."[273:4] The same charge was constantly urged against them by Julian, Porphyry and others. Similar sentiments were entertained by Polybius, the Pagan philosopher, who considered all miracles as fables, invented to preserve in the unlearned a due sense of respect for the deity.[273:5] Edward Gibbon, speaking of the miracles of the Christians, writes in his familiar style as follows: