Arnobius

“ We have brought them forward in order that—as it has been believed that the souls of men are divine, and therefore immortal, and that they come to their human bodies with all knowledge—we may make trial from this child, whom we have supposed to be brought up in this way, whether this is credible, or has been rashly believed and taken for granted, in consequence of deceitful anticipation. ”

“ Let us suppose, then, that he grows up, reared in a secluded, lonely spot, spending as many years as you choose, twenty or thirty,—nay, let him be brought into the assemblies of men when he has lived through forty years ”