HIEROCLES, a cruel persecutor of the Christians and a violent promoter of the persecution under Diocletian, flourished in 302. He wrote some books against the Christian religion; in which he pretends some inconsistencies in the Holy Scriptures, and compares the miracles of Apollonius Tyaneus to those of our Saviour. He was refuted by Lactantius and Eusebius. The remains of his works were collected into one volume octavo, by Bishop Pearson; and published in 1654, with a learned dissertation prefixed to the work.