1 It is my purpose to write an account of the successions of the
holy apostles, as well as of the times which have elapsed from the days
of our Saviour to our own; and to relate the many important events which
are said to have occurred in the history of the Church; and to mention
those who have governed and presided over the Church in the most
prominent parishes, and those who in each generation have proclaimed
the divine word either orally or in writing.
2 It is my purpose also to give the names and number
and times of those who through love of innovation have run into the
greatest errors, and, proclaiming themselves discoverers of knowledge
falsely so-called[1] have like fierce wolves unmercifully devastated the
flock of Christ.
3 It is my intention, moreover, to recount the
misfortunes which immediately came upon the whole Jewish nation in
consequence of their plots against our Saviour, and to record the ways
and the times in which the divine word has been attacked by the
Gentiles, and to describe the character of those who at various periods
have contended for it in the face of blood and of tortures, as well as
the confessions which have been made in our own days, and finally the
gracious and kindly succor which our Saviour has afforded them all.
Since I propose to write of all these things I shall commence my work
with the beginning of the dispensation[2] of our Saviour and Lord Jesus
Christ.[3]
4 But at the outset I must crave for my work the
indulgence of the wise,[4] for I confess that it is beyond my power to
produce a perfect and complete history, and since I am the first to
enter upon the subject, I am attempting to traverse as it were a lonely
and untrodden path.[5] I pray that I may have God as my guide and the
power of the Lord as my aid, since I am unable to find even the bare
footsteps of those who have traveled the way before me, except in brief
fragments, in which some in one way, others in another, have transmitted
to us particular accounts of the times in which they lived. From afar
they raise their voices like torches, and they cry out, as from some
lofty and conspicuous watch-tower, admonishing us where to walk and how
to direct the course of our work steadily and safely.
5 Having gathered therefore from the
matters mentioned here and there by them whatever we consider important
for the present work, and having plucked like flowers from a meadow the
appropriate passages from ancient writers,[6] we shall endeavor to
embody the whole in an historical narrative, content if we preserve the
memory of
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the successions of the apostles of our Saviour; if not indeed of all,
yet of the most renowned of them in those churches which are the most
noted, and which even to the present time are held in honor.
6 This work seems to me of especial importance because I
know of no ecclesiastical writer who has devoted himself to this
subject; and I hope that it will appear most useful to those who are
fond of historical research.
7 I have already given an epitome of these things in the
Chronological Canons[7] which I have composed, but notwithstanding that,
I have undertaken in the present work to write as full an account of
them as I am able.
8 My work will begin, as I have said, with the
dispensation[8] of the Saviour Christ,--which is loftier and greater
than human conception,--
9 and with a discussion of his divinity[9]; 9 for it is
necessary, inasmuch as we derive even our name from Christ, for one who
proposes to write a history of the Church to begin with the very origin
of Christ's dispensation, a dispensation more divine than many think.
CHAPTER II.
Summary View of the Pre-existence and Divinity of Our Saviour and
Lord.Jesus Christ.
1 Since in Christ there is a twofold nature, and the one--in so
far as he is thought of as God--resembles the head of the body, while
the other may be compared with the feet,--in so far as he, for the sake
of our salvation, put on human nature with the same passions as our
own,--the following work will be complete only if we begin with the
chief and lordliest events of all his history. In this way will the
antiquity and divinity of Christianity be shown to those who suppose it
of recent and foreign origin,[1] and imagine that it appeared only
yesterday[2]
2 No language is sufficient to express the origin and the
worth, the being and the nature of Christ. Wherefore also the divine
Spirit says in the prophecies, "Who shall declare his generation?"[3]
For none knoweth the Father except the Son, neither can any one know the
Son adequately except the Father alone who hath begotten him.[4]
3 For alone who beside the Father could clearly understand
the Light which was before the world, the intellectual and essential
Wisdom which existed before the ages, the living Word which was in the
beginning with the Father and which was God, the first and only begotten
of God which was before every creature and creation visible and
invisible, the commander-in-chief of the rational and immortal host of
heaven, the messenger of the great counsel, the executor of the
Father's unspoken will, the creator, with the Father, of all things, the
second cause of the universe after the Father, the true and
only-begotten Son of God, the Lord and God and King of all created
things, the one who has received dominion and power, with divinity
itself, and with might and honor from the Father; as it is said in
regard to him in the mystical passages of Scripture which speak of his
divinity: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God."[5]
4 "All things were made by him; and without him was not
anything made."[6] This, too, the great Moses teaches, when, as the most
ancient of all the prophets, he describes under the influence of the
divine Spirit the creation and arrangement of the universe. He declares
that the maker of the world and the creator of all things yielded to
Christ himself, and to none other than his own clearly divine and
first-born Word, the making of inferior things, and communed with him
respecting the creation of man.
5 "For," says he," God said, Let us make man in our image and in
our likeness."[7] And another of the prophets confirms this, speaking of
God in his hymns as follows: "He spake and they were made; he commanded
and they were created."[8] He here introduces the Father and Maker as
Ruler of all, commanding with a kingly nod, and second to him the
divine Word, none other than the one who is proclaimed by us, as
carrying out
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6 the Father's commands. All that are said to have excelled in
righteousness and piety since the creation of man, the great servant
Moses and before him in the first place Abraham and his children, and as
many righteous men and prophets as afterward appeared, have
contemplated him with the pure eyes of the mind, and have recognized him
and offered to him the worship which is due him as Son of God.
7 But he, by no means neglectful of the reverence due to
the Father, was appointed to teach the knowledge of the Father to them
all. For instance, the Lord God, it is said, appeared as a common man to
Abraham while he was sitting at the oak of Mambre.[9] And he,
immediately failing down, although he saw a man with his eyes,
nevertheless worshiped him as God, and sacrificed to him as Lord, and
confessed that he was not ignorant of his identity when he uttered the
words, "Lord, the judge of all the earth, wilt thou not execute
righteous judgment?"[10]
8 For if it is unreasonable to suppose that the unbegotten
and immutable essence of the almighty God was changed into the form of
man or that it deceived the eyes of the beholders with the appearance of
some created thing, and if it is unreasonable to suppose, on the other
hand, that the Scripture should falsely invent such things, when the
God and Lord who judgeth all the earth and executeth judgment is seen
in the form of a man, who else can be called, if it be not lawful to
call him the first cause of all things, than his only pre-existent
Word?[11] Concerning whom it is said in the Psalms, "He sent his Word
and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions."[12]
9 Moses most clearly proclaims him second Lord after the
Father, when he says, "The Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone
and fire from the Lord."[13] The divine Scripture also calls him God,
when he appeared again to Jacob in the form of a man, and said to
Jacob, "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy
name, because thou hast prevailed with God."[14] Wherefore also Jacob
called the name of that place "Vision of God,"[15] saying, "For I have
seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."[16]
10 Nor is it admissible to suppose that the theophanies
recorded were appearances of subordinate angels and ministers of God,
for whenever any of these appeared to men, the Scripture does not
conceal the fact, but calls them by name not God nor Lord, but angels,
as it is easy to prove by numberless testimonies.
11 Joshua, also, the successor of Moses, calls him, as
leader of the heavenly angels and archangels and of
the supramundane powers, and as lieutenant of the Father,[17] entrusted
with the second rank of sovereignty and rule over all, "captain of the
host of the Lords" although he saw him not otherwise than again in the
form and appearance of a man. For it is written:
12 "And it came to pass when Joshua was at Jericho[18] that he
looked and saw a man standing over against him with his sword drawn in
his hand, and Joshua went unto him and said, Art thou for us or
for our adversaries? And he said unto him, As captain of the host of the
Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and said
unto him, Lord, what dost thou command thy servant? and the captain of
the Lord said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy feet, for the
place whereon thou standest is holy."[19]
13 You will perceive also from the 13 same words that this
was no other than he who talked with Moses[20] For the Scripture says in
the same words and with reference to the same one, "When the Lord saw
that he drew near to see, the Lord called to him out of the bush and
said, Moses, Moses. And he said, What is it? And he said, Draw not nigh
hither; loose thy shoe from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou
standest is holy ground. And he said unto him, I am the God of thy
fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob."[21]
14 And that there is a certain substance which lived and
subsisted[22] before the world, and which ministered unto the
Father and God of the universe for the formation of all created things,
and which, is called the Word of God and Wisdom, we may learn, to quote
other proofs in addition to those already cited, from the mouth of
Wisdom herself, who reveals most clearly through Solomon the following
mysteries concerning herself: "I, Wisdom, have dwelt
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with prudence and knowledge, and I have invoked understanding. Through
me kings reign, and princes ordain righteousness.
15 Through me the great are magnified, and through me
sovereigns rule the earth."[23] To which she adds: "The Lord created me
in the beginning of his ways, for his works; before the world he
established me, in the beginning, before he made the earth, before he
made the depths, before the mountains were settled, before all hills he
begat me. When he prepared the heavens I was present with him, and when
he established the fountains of the region under heaven[24] I was with
him, disposing.
16 I was the one in whom he delighted; daily I rejoiced
before him at all times when he was rejoicing at having completed the
world."[25] That the divine Word, therefore, pre-existed and appeared to
some, if not to all, has thus been briefly shown by us.
17 But why the Gospel was not preached in ancient times to
all men and to all nations, as it is now, will appear from the following
considerations.[26] The life of the ancients was not of such a kind as
to permit them to receive the all-wise and all-virtuous teaching 18 of
Christ.
18 For immediately in the beginning, after his original
life of blessedness, the first man despised the command of God, and fell
into this mortal and perishable state, and exchanged his former
divinely inspired luxury for this curse-laden earth. His descendants
having filled our earth, showed themselves much worse, with the
exception of one here and there, and entered upon a certain brutal and
insupportable mode of life.
19 They thought neither of city nor state, neither of arts
nor sciences. They were ignorant even of the name of laws and of
justice, of virtue and of philosophy. As nomads, they passed their lives
in deserts, like wild and fierce beasts, destroying, by an excess of
voluntary wickedness, the natural reason of man, and the seeds of
thought and of culture implanted in the human soul. They gave themselves
wholly over to all kinds of profanity, now seducing one another, now
slaying one another, now eating human flesh, and now daring to wage war
with the Gods and to undertake those battles of the giants celebrated
by all; now planning to fortify earth against heaven, and in the
madness of ungoverned pride to prepare an attack upon the very God of
all.[27]
20 On account of these things, when they conducted
themselves thus, the all-seeing God sent down upon them floods and
conflagrations as upon a wild forest spread over the whole earth. He cut
them down with continuous famines and plagues, with wars, and with
thunderbolts from heaven, as if to check some terrible and obstinate
disease of souls with more severe punishments.
21 Then, when the excess of wickedness had overwhelmed
nearly all the race, like a deep fit of drunkenness, beclouding and
darkening the minds of men, the first-born and first-created wisdom of
God, the pre-existent Word himself, induced by his exceeding love for
man, appeared to his servants, now in the form of angels, and again to
one and another of those ancients who enjoyed the favor of God, in his
own person as the saving power of God, not otherwise, however, than in
the shape of man, because it was impossible to appear in any other way.
22 And as by them the seeds of piety were sown among a
multitude of men and the whole nation, descended from the Hebrews,
devoted themselves persistently to the worship of God, he imparted to
them through the prophet Moses, as to multitudes still corrupted by
their ancient practices, images and symbols of a certain mystic Sabbath
and of circumcision, and elements of other spiritual principles, but he
did not grant them a complete knowledge of the mysteries themselves.
23 But when their law became celebrated, and, like a sweet
odor, was diffused among all men, as a result of their influence the
dispositions of the majority of the heathen were softened by the
lawgivers and philosophers who arose on every side, and their wild and
savage brutality was changed into mildness, so that they enjoyed deep
peace, friendship, and social intercourse.[28] Then, finally, at the
time of the origin of the Roman Empire, there appeared again to all men
and nations throughout the world, who had been, as it were, previously
assisted, and were now fitted to receive the knowledge of the Father,
that same teacher
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of virtue, the minister of the Father in all good things, the divine
and heavenly Word of God, in a human body not at all differing in
substance from our own. He did and suffered the things which had been
prophesied. For it had been foretold that one who was at the same time
man and God should come and dwell in the world, should perform wonderful
works, and should show himself a teacher to all nations of the piety of
the Father. The marvelous nature of his birth, and his new teaching,
and his wonderful works had also been foretold; so likewise the manner
of his death, his resurrection from the dead, and,finally, his divine
ascension into heaven.
24 For instance, Daniel the prophet, under the influence of
the divine Spirit, seeing his kingdom at the end of time,[29] was
inspired thus to describe the divine vision in language fitted to human
comprehension: "For I beheld," he says, "until thrones were placed, and
the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow and the
hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was a flame of fire and his
wheels burning fire. A river of fire flowed before him. Thousand
thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before him.
25 He appointed judgment, and the books were
opened."[30] And again, "I saw," says he, "and behold, one like the Son
of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he hastened unto the Ancient
of Days and was brought into his presence, and there was given him the
dominion and the glory and the kingdom; and all peoples, tribes, and
tongues serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall
not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed."[31]
26 It is clear that these words can refer to no one
else than to our Saviour, the God Word who was in the beginning with
God, and who was called the Son of man because of his final appearance
in the flesh. But since we have collected in separate books as the
selections from the prophets which relate to our Saviour Jesus Christ,
and have arranged in a more logical form those things which have been
revealed concerning him, what has been said will suffice for the present.
CHAPTER III.
The Name Jesus and also the Name Christ were known from the
Beginning, and were honored by the Inspired Prophets.
1 It is now the proper place to show that the very name
Jesus and also the name Christ were honored by the ancient prophets
beloved of God.[1]
2 Moses was the first 2 to make known the name
of Christ as a name especially august and glorious. When he delivered
types and symbols of heavenly things, and mysterious images, in
accordance with the oracle which said to him, "Look that thou make all
things according to the pattern which was shown thee in the mount,"[2]
he consecrated a man high priest of God, in so far as that was possible,
and him he called Christ.[3] And thus to this dignity of the high
priesthood, which in his opinion surpassed the most honorable position
among men, he attached for the sake of honor and glory the name of
Christ.
3 He knew so well that in Christ was something divine. And
the same one foreseeing, under the influence of the divine Spirit, the
name Jesus, dignified it also with a certain distinguished privilege.
For the name of Jesus, which had never been uttered among men before the
time of Moses, he applied first and only to the one who he knew would
receive after his death, again as a type and symbol, the supreme
command.
4 His successor, therefore, who had not hitherto
borne the name Jesus, but had been called by another name, Auses,[4]
which had been given him by his parents, he now called Jesus, bestowing
the name upon him as a gift of honor, far greater than any kingly
diadem. For Jesus himself, the son of Nave, bore a resemblance to our
Saviour in the fact that he alone, after Moses and after the completion
of the symbolical worship which had been transmitted by him, succeeded
to the government of the true
and pure religion.
5 Thus Moses bestowed the name of our Saviour, Jesus
Christ, as a mark of the highest honor, upon the two men who in his time
surpassed all the rest of the people in virtue and glory; namely, upon
the high priest and upon his own successor in the government.
6 And the prophets that came after also clearly foretold
Christ by
name, predicting at the same time the plots which the Jewish people
would form against him, and the calling of the nations through him.
Jeremiah, for instance, speaks as follows: "The
86
Spirit before our face, Christ the Lord, was taken in their
destructions; of whom we said, under his shadow we shall live among the
nations."[5] And David, in perplexity, says, "Why did the nations rage
and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth set
themselves in array, and the rulers were gathered together against the
Lord and against his Christ";[6] to which he adds, in the person of
Christ himself, "The Lord said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."[7]
7 And not only those who were honored with the high
priesthood, and who for the sake of the symbol were anointed with
especially prepared oil, were adorned with the name of Christ among the
Hebrews, but also the kings whom the prophets anointed under the
influence of the divine Spirit, and thus constituted, as it were,
typical Christs. For they also bore in their own persons types of the
royal and sovereign power of the true and only Christ, the divine Word
who ruleth over all.
8 And we have been told also that certain of the prophets
themselves became, by the act of anointing, Christs in type, so that all
these have reference to the true Christ, the divinely inspired and
heavenly Word, who is the only high priest of all, and the only King of
every creature, and the Father's only supreme prophet of prophets.
9 And a proof of this is that no one of those who were of
old symbolically anointed, whether priests, or kings, or prophets,
possessed so great a power of inspired virtue as was exhibited by our
Saviour and Lord Jesus, the true and only Christ.
10 None of them at least, however superior in dignity and
honor they may have been for many generations among their own people,
ever gave to their followers the name of Christians from their own
typical name of Christ. Neither was divine honor ever rendered to any
one of them by their subjects; nor after their death was the disposition
of their followers such that they were ready to die for the one whom
they honored. And never did so great a commotion arise among all the
nations of the earth in respect to any one of that age; for the mere
symbol could not act with such power among them as the truth itself
which was exhibited by our Saviour.
11 He, although he received no symbols and types of high
priesthood from any one, although he was not born of a race of priests,
although he was not elevated to a kingdom by military guards, although
he was not a prophet like those of old, although he obtained no honor
nor pre-eminence among the Jews, nevertheless was adorned by the Father
with all, if not with the symbols, yet with the truth itself.
12 And therefore, although he did not possess like honors
with those whom we have mentioned, he is called Christ more than all of
them. And as himself the true and only Christ of God, he has filled the
whole earth with the truly august and sacred name of Christians,
committing to his followers no longer types and images, but the
uncovered virtues themselves, and a heavenly life in the very doctrines
of truth.
13 And he was not anointed with oil prepared from material
substances, but, as befits divinity, with the divine Spirit himself, by
participation in the unbegotten deity of the Father. And this is taught
also again by Isaiah, who exclaims, as if in the person of Christ
himself, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore hath he anointed
me. He hath sent me to preach the Gospel to the poor, to proclaim
deliverance to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind."[8]
14 And not only Isaiah, but also David addresses him,
saying, "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is
the scepter of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hast hated
iniquity. Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows."[9] Here the Scripture calls him God in the
first verse, in the second it honors him with a royal scepter.
15 Then a little farther on, after the divine and
royal power, it represents him in the third place as having become
Christ, being anointed not with oil made of material substances, but
with the divine oil of gladness. It thus indicates his especial honor,
far superior to and different from that of those who, as types, were of
old anointed in a more material way.
16 And elsewhere the same writer speaks of him as
follows: "The
Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool";[10] and, "Out of the womb, before the morning
star, have I begotten thee. The Lord hath sworn and he will not repent.
Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedec."[11]
17 But this Melchizedec is introduced in the Holy
Scriptures as a priest of the most high God,[12] not consecrated by any
anointing oil, especially prepared, and not even belonging by descent to
the priesthood of the Jews. Wherefore after his order, but not after
the order of the others, who received symbols and types, was our Saviour
proclaimed, with
an appeal to an oath, Christ and priest.
18 History, therefore, does not relate that he 18 was
anointed corporeally by the Jews, nor
Please choose an option.87
that he belonged to the lineage of priests, but that he came into
existence from God himself before the morning star, that is before the
organization of the world, and that he obtained an immortal and
undecaying priesthood for eternal ages.
19 But it is a great and convincing proof of his
incorporeal and divine unction that he alone of all those who have ever
existed is even to the present day called Christ by all men throughout
the world, and is confessed and witnessed to under this name, and is
commemorated both by Greeks and Barbarians and even to this day is
honored as a King by his followers throughout the world, and is admired
as more than a prophet, and is glorified as the true and only high
priest of God.[13] And besides all this, as the pre-existent Word of
God, called into being before all ages, he has received august honor
from the Father, and is worshiped as God.
20 But most wonderful of all is the fact that we who have
consecrated ourselves to him, honor him not only with our voices and
with the sound of words, but also with complete elevation of soul, so
that we choose to give testimony unto him rather than to preserve our
own lives.
21 I have of necessity prefaced my history with these matters in
order that no one, judging from the date of his incarnation, may think
that our Saviour and Lord Jesus, the Christ, has but recently come into
being.
CHAFFER IV.
The Religion proclaimed by him to All Nations was neither New nor
Strange.
1 But that no one may suppose that his doctrine is new and
strange, as if it were framed by a man of recent origin, differing in no
respect from other men, let us now briefly consider this point also.
2 It is admitted that when in recent times the appearance
of our Saviour Jesus Christ had become known to all men there
immediately made its appearance a new nation; a nation confessedly not
small, and not dwelling in some corner of the earth, but the most
numerous and pious of all nations,[1] indestructible and unconquerable,
because it always receives assistance from God. This nation, thus
suddenly appearing at the time appointed by the inscrutable counsel of
God, is the one which has been honored by all with the name of Christ.
3 One of the prophets, when he saw beforehand with the eye
of the Divine Spirit that which was to be, was so astonished at it that
he cried out, "Who hath heard of such things, and who hath spoken thus?
Hath the earth brought forth in one day, and hath a nation been born at
once?"[2] And the same prophet gives a hint also of the name by which
the nation was to be called, when he says, "Those that serve me shall be
called by a new name, which shall be blessed upon the earth."[3]
4 But although it is clear that we are new and that this
new name of Christians has really but recently been known among all
nations, nevertheless our life and our conduct, with our doctrines of
religion, have not been lately invented by us, but from the first
creation of man, so to speak, have been established by the natural
understanding of divinely favored men of old. That this is so we shall
show in the following way.
5 That the Hebrew nation is not new, but is universally
honored on account of its antiquity, is known to all. The books and
writings of this people contain accounts of ancient men, rare indeed and
few in number, but nevertheless distinguished for piety and
righteousness and every other virtue. Of these, some excellent men lived
before the flood, others of the sons and descendants of Noah lived
after it, among them Abraham, whom the Hebrews celebrate as their own
founder and forefather.
6 If any one should assert that all those who have enjoyed
the testimony of righteousness, from Abraham himself back to the first
man, were Christians in fact if not in name, he would not go beyond the
truth.[4]
7 For that which the name indicates, that the Christian
man, through the knowledge and the teaching of Christ, is distinguished
for temperance and righteousness, for patience in life and manly virtue,
and for a profession of piety toward the one and only God over all--all
that was zealously practiced by them not less than by us.
8 They did not care about circumcision of the body, neither
do we. They did not care about observing Sabbaths, nor do we. They did
not avoid certain kinds of food, neither did they regard the other
distinctions which Moses first delivered to their posterity to be
observed as symbols; nor do Christians of the present day do such
things. But they also clearly knew the very Christ of God; for it has
already been shown that he appeared unto Abraham, that he imparted
revelations to Isaac, that he talked with Jacob, that he held converse
with Moses and with the prophets that came after.
9 Hence you will find those divinely favored men honored
with the name of Christ, according to the passage which says of them,
"Touch not my Christs, and do my prophets no harm."[5]
88
10 So that it is clearly necessary to consider that
religion, which has lately been preached to all nations through the
teaching of Christ, the first and most ancient of all religions, and the
one discovered by those divinely favored men in the age of Abraham.
11 If it is said that Abraham, a long time afterward, was
given the command of circumcision, we reply that nevertheless before
this it was declared that he had received the testimony of righteousness
through faith; as the divine word says, "Abraham believed in God, and
it was counted unto him for righteousness."[6]
12 And indeed unto Abraham, who was thus before his
circumcision a justified man, there was given by God, who revealed
himself unto him (but this was Christ himself, the word of God), a
prophecy in regard to those who in coming ages should be justified in
the same way as he. The prophecy was in the following words: "And
in thee shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.''[7] And
again, "He shall become a nation great and numerous; and in him shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed.''[8]
13 It is permissible to understand this as fulfilled in us.
For he, having renounced the superstition of his fathers, and the former
error of his life, and having confessed the one God over all, and
having worshiped him with deeds of virtue, and not with the service of
the law which was afterward given by Moses, was justified by faith in
Christ, the Word of God, who appeared unto him. To him, then, who was a
man of this character, it was said that all the tribes and all the
nations of the earth should be blessed in him.
14 But that very religion of Abraham has reappeared at the
present time, practiced in deeds, more efficacious than words, by
Christians alone throughout the world.
15 What then should prevent the confession that we who are
of Christ practice one and the same mode of life and have one and the
same religion as those divinely favored men of old? Whence it is evident
that the perfect religion committed to us by the teaching of Christ is
not new and strange, but, if the truth must be spoken, it is the first
and the true religion. This may suffice for this subject.
CHAPTER V.
The Time of his Appearance among Men.
1 AND now, after this necessary introduction to our
proposed history of the Church, we can enter, so to speak, upon our
journey, beginning with the appearance of our Saviour in the flesh. And
we invoke God, the Father of the Word, and him, of whom we have been
speaking, Jesus Christ himself our Saviour and Lord, the heavenly Word
of God, as our aid and fellow-laborer in the narration of the truth.
2 It was in the forty-second year of the reign of
Augustus[1] and the twenty-eighth after the subjugation of Egypt and the
death of Antony and Cleopatra, with whom the dynasty of the Ptolemies
in Egypt came to an end, that our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ was
born in Bethlehem of Judea, according to the prophecies which had been
uttered concerning him.[2] His birth took place during the first
census, while Cyrenius was governor of Syria.[3]
3 Flavius Josephus, the most celebrated of Hebrew
historians, also mentions this census,[4] which was taken during
Cyrenius'
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term of office. In the same connection he gives an account of the
uprising of the Galileans, which took place at that time, of which also
Luke, among our writers, has made mention in the Acts, in the following
words: "After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the
taxing, and drew away a multitude[5] after him: he also perished; and
all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed."[6]
4 The above-mentioned author, in the eighteenth book of his
Antiquities, in agreement with these words, adds the following, which we
quote exactly: "Cyrenius, a member of the senate, one who had held
other offices and had l passed through them all to the consulship, a man
also of great dignity in other respects, came to Syria with a small
retinue, being sent by C'sar to be a judge of the nation and to make an
assessment of their property."[7]
5 And after a little[8] he says: "But Judas,[9] a
Gaulonite, from a city called Gamala, taking with him Sadduchus,[10] a
Pharisee, urged the people to revolt, both of them saying that the
taxation meant nothing else than downright slavery, and exhorting the
nation to defend their liberty."
6 And in the second book of his History of the Jewish War,
he writes as follows concerning the same man: "At this time a certain
Galilean, whose name was Judas, persuaded his countrymen to revolt,
declaring that they were cowards if they submitted to pay tribute to the
Romans, and if they endured, besides God, masters who were mortal."[11]
These things are recorded by Josephus.
CHAPTER VI.
About the Time of Christ, in accordance with Prophecy, the Rulers who
had governed the Fewish Nation in Regular Succession from the Days of
Antiquity came to an End, and Herod, the First Foreigner, became King.
1 When Herod,[1] the first ruler of foreign blood, became
King, the prophecy of Moses received its fulfillment, according to which
there should "not be wanting a prince of Judah, nor a ruler from his
loins, until he come for whom it is reserved."[2] The latter, he also
shows, was to be the expectation of the nations.[3]
2 This prediction remained unfulfilled so long as it was
permitted them to live under rulers from their own nation, that is, from
the time of Moses to the reign of Augustus. Under the latter, Herod,
the first foreigner, was given the Kingdom of the Jews by the Romans.
As Josephus relates,[4] he was an Idumean[5] on his father's side and
an Arabian on his mother's. But Africanus,[6] who was also no common
writer, says that they who were more accurately informed about him
report that he was a son of Antipater, and that the latter was the son
of a certain Herod of Ascalon,[7] one of the so-called
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servants[8] of the temple of Apollo.
3 This Antipater, having been taken a prisoner while a boy
by Idumean robbers, lived with them, because his father, being a poor
man, was unable to pay a ransom for him. Growing up in their practices
he was afterward befriended by Hyrcanus,[9] the high priest of the Jews.
A son of his was that Herod who lived in the, times of our Saviour.[10]
4 When the Kingdom of the Jews had devolved upon such a man
the expectation of the nations was, according to prophecy, already at
the door. For with him their princes and governors, who had ruled in
regular succession from the time of Moses came to an end.
5 Before their captivity and their transportation to
Babylon they were ruled by Saul first and then by David, and before the
kings leaders governed them who were called Judges, and who came after
Moses and his successor Jesus.
6 After their return from Babylon they continued to have
without interruption an aristocratic form of government, with an
oligarchy. For the priests had the direction of affairs until Pompey,
the Roman general, took Jerusalem by force, and defiled the holy places
by entering the very innermost sanctuary of the temple.[11]
Aristobulus,[12] who, by the right of ancient succession, had been up to
that time both king and high priest, he sent with his children in
chains to Rome; and gave to Hyrcanus, brother of Aristobulus, the high
priesthood, while the whole nation of the Jews was made tributary to the
Romans from that time.[13]
7 But Hyrcanus, who was the last of the regular line of
high priests, was, very soon afterward taken prisoner by the
Parthians,[14] and Herod, the first foreigner, as I have already said,
was made King of the Jewish nation by the Roman senate and by Augustus.
8 Under him Christ appeared in bodily shape, and the
expected Salvation of the nations and their calling followed in
accordance with prophecy.[15] From this time the princes and rulers of
Judah, I mean of the Jewish nation, came to an end, and as a natural
consequence the order of the high priesthood, which from ancient times
had proceeded regularly in closest succession from generation to
generation, was immediately thrown into confusion,[16]
9 Of these things Josephus is also a witness,[17] who shows
that when Herod was made King by the Romans he no longer appointed the
high priests from the ancient line, but gave the honor to certain
obscure persons. A course similar to that of Herod in the appointment of
the priests was pursued by his son Archelaus,[18] and after him by the
Romans, who took the government into their own hands.[19]
10 The same writer shows[20] that Herod was the first that locked
up the sacred garment of the high priest. under his own seal and refused
to permit the high priests to keep it for themselves. The same course
was followed by Archelaus after him, and after Archelaus by the Romans.
11 These things have been recorded by us in order to show that
another prophecy has been fulfilled in the appearance of our Saviour
Jesus Christ. For the Scripture, in the book of Daniel,[21] having
expressly mentioned a certain number of weeks until the coming of
Christ, of which we have treated in other books,[22] most clearly
prophesies, that after the completion of those weeks the unction among
the Jews should totally perish. And this, it has been clearly shown, was
fulfilled at the time of the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. This
has been neces-
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sarily premised by us as a proof of the correctness of the time.
CHAPTER VII.
The
Alleged Discrepancy in the Gospels in regard
to the Genealogy of Christ.
1 Matthew and Luke in their gospels have given us the
genealogy of Christ differently, and many suppose that they are at
variance with one another. Since as a consequence every believer, in
ignorance of the truth, has been zealous to invent some explanation
which shall harmonize the two passages, permit us to subjoin the account
of the matter which has come down to us,[1] and which is given by
Africanus, who was mentioned by us just above, in his epistle to
Aristides,[2] where he discusses the harmony of the gospel genealogies.
After refuting the opinions of others as forced and deceptive, he give
the account which he had received from tradition[3] in these words:
2 "For whereas the names of the generations were reckoned in
Israel either according to nature or according to law;--according to
nature by the succession of legitimate offspring, and according to law
whenever another raised up a child to the name of a brother dying
childless;[4] for because a clear hope of resurrection was not yet
given they had a representation of the future promise by a kind of
mortal resurrection, in order that the name of the one deceased might be
perpetuated;--
3 whereas then some of those who are inserted in this
genealogical table succeeded by natural descent, the son to the father,
while others, though born of one father, were ascribed by name to
another, mention was made of both of those who were progenitors in fact
and of those who were so only in name.
4 Thus neither of the gospels is in error, for one reckons
by nature, the other by law. For the line of descent from Solomon and
that from Nathan[5] were so involved, the one with the other, by the
raising up of children to the childless and by second marriages, that
the same persons are justly considered to belong at one time to one, at
another time to another; that is, at one time to the reputed fathers, at
another to the actual fathers. So that both these accounts are strictly
true and come down to Joseph with considerable intricacy indeed, yet
quite accurately.
5 But in order that what I have said may be made clear I
shall explain the interchange of the generations. If we reckon the
generations from David through Solomon, the third from the end is found
to be Matthan, who begat Jacob the father of Joseph. But if, with Luke,
we reckon them from Nathan the son of David, in like manner the third
from the end is Melchi,[6] whose son Eli was the father of Joseph. For
Joseph was the son of Eli,the son of Melchi.
6 Joseph therefore being the object proposed to us, it must
be shown how it is that each is recorded to be his father, both Jacob,
who derived his descent from Solomon, and Eli, who derived his from
Nathan; first how it is that these two, Jacob and Eli, were brothers,
and then how it is that their fathers, Matthan and Melchi, although of
different families, are declared to be grandfathers of Joseph.
7 Matthan and Melchi having married in succession the same
woman, begat children who were uterine brothers, for the law did not
prohibit a widow, whether such by divorce or by the death of her
husband, from marryinganother.
8 By Estha[7] then (for this was the woman's name according
to tradition) Matthan, a descendant of Solomon, first begat Jacob.
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And when Matthan was dead, Melchi, who traced his descent back to
Nathan, being of the same tribe[8] but of another family,[9] married her
as before said, and begat a son Eli.
9 Thus we shall find the two, Jacob and Eli, although
belonging to different families, yet brethren by the same mother. Of
these the one, Jacob, when his brother Eli had died childless, took the
latter's wife and begat by her a son to Joseph, his own son by nature n
and in accordance with reason. Wherefore also it is written: 'Jacob
begat Joseph.'[12] But according to law[13] he was the son of Eli, for
Jacob, being the brother of the latter, raised up seed to him.
10 Hence the genealogy traced through him will not be
rendered void, which the evangelist Matthew in his enumeration gives
thus: 'Jacob begat Joseph.' But Luke, on the other hand, says: 'Who was
the son, as was supposed'[14] (for this he also adds), 'of Joseph, the
son of Eli, the son of Melchi'; for he could not more clearly express
the generation according to law. And the expression 'he begat' he has
omitted in his genealogical table up to the end, tracing the genealogy
back to Adam the son of God. This interpretation is neither incapable of
proof nor is it an idle conjecture.[15]
11 For the relatives of our Lord according to the flesh,
whether with the desire of boasting or simply wishing to state the fact,
in either case truly, have banded down the following account:[16] Some
Idumean robbers,[17] having attacked Ascalon, a city of Palestine,
carried away from a temple of Apollo which stood near the walls, in
addition to other booty, Antipater, son of a certain temple slave named
Herod. And since the priest[18] was not able to pay the ransom for his
son, Antipater was brought up in the customs of the Idumeans, and
afterward was befriended by Hyrcanus, the high priest of the Jews.
12 And having, been sent by Hyrcanus on an embassy to
Pompey, and having restored to
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him the kingdom which had been invaded by his brother Aristobulus, he
had the good fortune to be named procurator of Palestine.[19] But
Antipater having been slain by those who were envious of his great good
fortune[20] was succeeded by his son Herod, who was afterward, by a
decree of the senate, made King of the Jews[21] under Antony and
Augustus. His sons were Herod and the other tetrarchs.[22] These
accounts agree also with those of the Greeks.[23]
13 But as there had been kept in the archives[24] up to
that time the genealogies of the Hebrews as well as of those who traced
their lineage back to proselytes,[25] such as Achior [26] the Ammonite
and Ruth the Moabitess, and to those who were mingled with the
Israelites and came out of Egypt with them, Herod, inasmuch as the
lineage of the Israelites contributed nothing to his advantage, and
since he was goaded with the consciousness of his own ignoble
extraction, burned all the genealogical records,[27] thinking that he
might appear of noble origin if no one else were able, from the public
registers, to trace back his lineage to the patriarchs or proselytes and
to those mingled with them, who were called Georae.[28]
14 A few of the careful, however, having obtained private
records of their own, either by remembering the names or by getting them
in some other way from the registers, pride themselves on preserving
the memory of their noble extraction. Among these are those already
mentioned, called Desposyni,[29] on account of their connection with
the family of the Saviour. Coming from Nazara and Cochaba,[30]
villages of Judea,[31] into other parts of the world, they drew the
aforesaid genealogy from memory[32] and from the book of daily
records[33] as faithfully as possible.
15 Whether then the case stand thus or not no one could
find a clearer explanation, according to my own opinion and that of
every candid person. And let this suffice us,
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for, although we can urge no testimony in its support,[34] we have
nothing. better or truer to offer. In any case the Gospel states the
truth." And at the end of the same epistle he adds these words:
"Matthan, who was descended from Solomon, begat Jacob. And when Matthan
was dead, Melchi, who was descended from Nathan begat Eli by the same
woman. Eli and Jacob were thus uterine brothers. Eli having died
childless, Jacob raised up seed to him, begetting Joseph, his own son by
nature, but by law the son of Eli. Thus Joseph was the son of both."
17 Thus far Africanus. And the lineage of Joseph being thus
traced, Mary also is virtually shown to be of the same tribe with him,
since, according to the law of Moses, inter-marriages between different
tribes were not permitted.[35] For the command is to marry one of the
same family[36] and lineage,[37] so that the inheritance may not pass
from tribe to tribe. This may suffice here.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Cruelty of Herod toward the Infants, and
the Manner of his Death.
1 When Christ was born, according to the prophecies, in
Bethlehem of Judea, at the time indicated, Herod was not a little
disturbed by the enquiry of the magi who came from the east, asking
where he who was born King of the Jews was to be found,--for they had
seen his star, and this was their reason for taking so long a journey;
for they earnestly desired to worship the infant as God,[1]-- for he
imagined that his kingdom might be endangered; and he enquired therefore
of the doctors of the law, who belonged to the Jewish nation, where
they expected Christ to be born. When he learned that the prophecy of
Micah[2] announced that Bethlehem was to be his birthplace he
commanded, in a single edict, all the male infants in Bethlehem,
and all its borders, that were two years of age or less,
according to the time which he had accurately ascertained from the
magi, to be slain, supposing that Jesus, as was indeed likely, would
share the same fate as the others of his own age.
2 But the child anticipated the snare, being carried into
Egypt by his parents, who had learned from an angel that appeared unto
them what was about to happen, These things are recorded by the Holy
Scriptures in the Gospel.[3]
3 It is worth while, in addition to this, to observe the
reward which Herod received for his daring crime against Christ and
those of the same age. For immediately, without the least delay, the
divine vengeance overtook him while he was still alive, and gave him a
foretaste of what he was to receive after death.
4 It is not possible to relate here how he tarnished the
supposed felicity of his reign by successive calamities in his family,
by the murder of wife and children, and others of his nearest relatives
and dearest friends.[4] The account, which casts every other tragic
drama into the shade, is detailed at length in the histories of
Josephus.[5] 5 How, immediately after his crime against our
Saviour and the other infants, the punishment sent by God drove him on
to his death, we can best learn from the words of that historian who, in
the seventeenth book of his Antiquities of the Jews, writes as follows
concerning his end:[6]"
6 But the disease of Herod grew more severe, God inflicting
punishment for his crimes. For a slow fire burned in him which was not
so apparent to those who touched him, but augmented his internal
distress; for he had a terrible desire for food which it was not
possible to resist. He was affected also with ulceration of the
intestines, and with especially severe pains in the colon, while a
watery and transparent humor settled about his feet.
7 He suffered also from a similar trouble in his abdomen.
Nay more, his privy member was putrefied and produced worms. He found
also excessive difficulty in breathing, and it was particularly
disagreeable because of the offensive-
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ness of the odor and the rapidity of respiration.
8 He had convulsions also in every limb, which gave him
uncontrollable strength. It was said, indeed, by those who possessed the
power of divination and wisdom to explain such events, that God had
inflicted this punishment upon the King on account of his great impiety."
9 The writer mentioned above recounts these things in the
work referred to. And in the second book of his History he gives a
similar account of the same Herod, which runs as follows:[7] "The
disease then seized upon his whole body and distracted it by various
torments. For he had a slow fever, and the itching of the skin of his
whole body was insupportable. He suffered also from continuous pains in
his colon, and there were swellings on his feet like those of a person
suffering from dropsy, while his abdomen was inflamed and his privy
member so putrefied as to produce worms. Besides this he could breathe
only in an upright posture, and then only with difficulty, and he had
convulsions in all his limbs, so that the diviners said that his
diseases were a punishment.[8] 10 But he, although wrestling
with such sufferings, nevertheless clung to life and hoped for safety,
and devised methods of cure. For instance, crossing over Jordan he used
the warm baths at Callirhoë,[9] which flow into the Lake
Asphaltites,[10] but are themselves sweet enough to drink.
11 His physicians here thought that they could warm his
whole body again by means of heated oil. But when they had let him down
into a tub filled with oil, his eyes became weak and turned up like the
eyes of a dead person. But when his attendants raised an outcry, he
recovered at the noise; but finally, despairing of a cure, he commanded
about fifty drachms to be distributed among the soldiers, and great sums
to be given to his generals 12 and friends.
12 Then returning he came to Jericho, where, being seized
with melancholy, he planned to commit an impious deed, as if challenging
death itself. For, collecting from every town the most illustrious men
of all Judea, he commanded that they be shut up in the so-called
hippodrome. 13 And having summoned Salome,[11] his sister,
and her husband, Alexander,[12] he said: 'I know that the Jews
will rejoice at my death. But I may be lamented by others and have a
splendid funeral if you are willing to perform my commands. When I
shall expire surround these men, who are now under guard, as quickly as
possible with soldiers, and slay them, in order that all Judea and
every house may weep for me even against their will.'"[13] And after a
little Josephus says,
14 "And again he was so tortured by want of food and by a
convulsive cough that, overcome by his pains, he planned to
anticipate his fate. Taking an apple he asked also for a knife,
for he was accustomed to cut apples and eat them. Then looking round to
see that there was no one to hinder, he raised his right hand as if to
stab himself."[14]
15 In addition to these things the same writer records that
he slew another of his own sons[13] before his death, the third one
slain by his command, and that immediately afterward he breathed his
last, not without excessive pain.
16 Such was the end of Herod, who suffered a just
punishment for his slaughter of the children of Bethlehem,[16] which was
the result of his plots against our Saviour.
17 After this an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in
Egypt and commanded him to go to Judea with the child and its mother,
revealing to him that those who had sought the life of the child were
dead.[7] To this the evangelist adds, "But when he heard that Archelaus
did reign in the room of his father Herod he was afraid to go thither;
notwithstanding being warned of God in a dream he turned aside into the
parts of Galilee."[18]
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CHAPTER IX.
The Times of Pilate.
THE historian already mentioned agrees with the evangelist in regard to
the fact that Archelaus[1] succeeded to the government after Herod. He
records the manner in which he received the kingdom of the Jews by the
will of his father Herod and by the decree of C'sar Augustus, and how,
after he had reigned ten years, he lost his kingdom, and his brothers
Philip[2] and Herod the younger,[3] with Lysanias,[4] still ruled their
own tetrarchies. The same writer, in the eighteenth book of his
Antiquities,[5] says that about the twelfth year of the reign of
Tiberius,[6] who had succeeded to the empire after Augustus had ruled
fifty-seven years,[7] Pontius Pilate was entrusted with the government
of Judea, and that he remained there ten full years, almost until the
death of Tiberius.
2 Accordingly the forgery of those who have recently given
currency to acts against our Saviour[8] is clearly proved. For the very
date given in them[9] shows the falsehood of their fabricators.
3 For the things which they have dared to say concerning
the passion of the Saviour are put into the fourth consulship of
Tiberius, which occurred in the seventh year of his reign; at which time
it is plain that Pilate was not yet ruling in Judea, if the testimony
of Josephus is to be believed, who clearly shows in the above-mentioned
work[10] that Pilate was made procurator of Judea by Tiberius in the
twelfth year of his reign.
CHAPTER, X.
The High Priests of the Jews under whom Christtaught.
1 IT was in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius,[1]
according to the evangelist, and in the fourth year of the governorship
of Pontius Pilate,[2] while Herod and Lysanias and Philip were ruling
the rest of Judea,[3] that our Saviour and Lord, Jesus the Christ of
God, being about thirty years of age,[4] came to John for baptism and
began the promulgation of the Gospel.
2 The Divine Scripture says, moreover, that he passed the
entire time of his ministry under the high priests Annas and
Caiaphas,[5] showing that in the time which be-
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longed to the priesthood of those two men the whole period of his
teaching was completed. Since he began his work during the high
priesthood of Annas and taught until Caiaphas held the office, the
entire time does not comprise quite four years.
3 For the rites of the law having been already abolished
since that time, the customary usages in connection with the worship of
God, according to which the high priest acquired his office by
hereditary descent and held it for life, were also annulled and there
were appointed to the high priesthood by the Roman governors now one and
now another person who continued in office not more than one year.[6]
4 Josephus relates that there were four high priests in
succession from Annas to Caiaphas. Thus in the same book of the
Antiquities[7] he writes as follows: "Valerius Graters[8] having put an
end to the priesthood of Ananus[9] appoints Ishmael,[10] the son of
Fabi, high priest. And having removed him after a little he appoints
Eleazer,[11] the son of Ananus the high priest, to the same office. And
having removed him also at the end of a year he gives the high
priesthood to Simon,[12] the son of Camithus. But he likewise held the
honor no more than a year, when Josephus, called also Caiaphas,[13]
succeeded him." Accordingly the whole time of our Saviour's ministry is
shown to have been not quite four full years, four high priests, from
Annas to the accession of Caiaphas, having held office a year each. The
Gospel therefore has rightly indicated Caiaphas as the high priest under
whom the Saviour suffered. From which also we can see that the time of
our Saviour's ministry does not disagree with the foregoing
investigation.
5 Our Saviour and Lord, not long after the 5 beginning of
his ministry, called the twelve apostles,[14] and these alone of all his
disciples he named apostles, as an especial honor. And again he
appointed seventy others whom he sent out two by two before his face
into every place and city whither he himself was about to come.[15]
CHAPTER XI.
Testimonies in Regard to John the Baptist and
Christ.
1 NOT long after this John the Baptist was beheaded by the
younger Herod,[1] as is stated in the Gospels.[2] Josephus also records
the same fact,[3] making mention of Herodias[4] by name, and
stating that, although she was the wife of his brother, Herod made her
his own wife after divorcing his former lawful wife, who was the
daughter of Aretas,[5] king of Petra, and separating Herodias from her
husband while he was still alive.
2 It was on her account also that he slew John, and waged
war with Aretas, because of the disgrace inflicted on the daughter of
the latter. Josephus relates that in this war, when they came to battle,
Herod's entire army was destroyed,[6] and that he suffered this
calamity on account of his crime against John.
3 The same Josephus confesses in this account that John the
Baptist was an exceedingly righteous man, and thus agrees with the
things written of him in the Gospels. He records also that Herod lost
his kingdom on account of
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the same Herodias, and that he was driven into banishment with her, and
condemned to live at Vienne in Gaul.[7]
4 He relates these things in the eighteenth book of the
Antiquities, where he writes of John in the following words:[8] "It
seemed to some of the Jews that the army of Herod was destroyed by God,
who most justly avenged John called the Baptist.
5 For Herod slew him, a good man and one who exhorted the
Jews to come and receive baptism, practicing virtue and exercising
righteousness toward each other and toward God; for baptism would appear
acceptable unto Him when they employed it, not for the remission of
certain sins, but for the purification of the body, as the soul had
been already purified in righteousness.
6 And when others gathered about him (for they found much
pleasure in listening to his words), Herod feared that his great
influence might lead to some sedition, for they appeared ready to do
whatever he might advise. He therefore considered it much better, before
any new thing should be done under John's influence, to anticipate it
by slaying him, than to repent after revolution had come, and when he
found himself in the midst of difficulties.[9] On account of Herod's
suspicion John was sent in bonds to the above-mentioned citadel of
Mach'ra,[10] and there slain."
7 After relating these things concerning John, he makes
mention of our Saviour in the same work, in the following words:[11]
"And there lived at that time Jesus, a wise man, if indeed it be proper
to call him a man. For he was a doer of wonderful works, and a teacher
of such men as receive the truth in gladness. And he attached to himself
many of the Jews, and many also of the Greeks. He was the Christ.
8 When Pilate, on the accusation of our principal men,
condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him in the beginning did
not cease loving him. For he appeared unto them again alive on the
third day, the divine prophets having told these and countless other
wonderful things concerning him. Moreover, the race of Christians, named
after him, continues down to the present day."
9 Since an historian, who is one of the Hebrews themselves,
has recorded in his work these things concerning John the Baptist and
our Saviour, what excuse is there left for not convicting them of being
destitute of all shame, who have forged the acts against them?[12] But
let this suffice here.
CHAPTER XII.
The Disciples of our Saviour.
1 THE names of the apostles of our Saviour are known to
every one from the Gospels.[1] But there exists no catalogue of the
seventy disciples.[2] Barnabas, indeed, is said to have been one of
them, of whom the Acts of the apostles makes mention in various
places,[3]
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and especially Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians.[4]
2 They say that Sosthenes also, who wrote to the
Corinthians with Paul, was one of them.[5] This is the account of
Clement[6] in the fifth book of his Hypotyposes, in which he also
says that Cephas was one of the seventy disciples,[7] a man who bore the
same name as the apostle Peter, and the one concerning whom Paul says,
"When Cephas came to Antioch I withstood him to his face."[8]
3 Matthias,[9] also, who was numbered with the
apostles in the place of Judas, and the one who was honored by being
made a candidate with him,[10] are like-wise said to have been deemed
worthy of the same calling with the seventy. They say that Thaddeus[11]
also was one of them, concerning whom I shall presently relate an
account which has come down to us.[12] And upon examination you will
find that our Saviour had more than seventy disciples, according to the
testimony of Paul, who says that after his resurrection from the dead he
appeared first to Cephas, then to the twelve, and after them to above
five hundred brethren at once, of whom some had fallen asleep;[13] but
the majority were still living 4 at the time he wrote.
4 Afterwards he says he appeared unto James, who was
one of the so-called brethren of the Saviour.[14] But, since in addition
to these, there were many others who were called apostles, in imitation
of the Twelve, as was Paul himself, he adds: "Afterward he appeared to
all the apostles."[15] So much in regard to these persons. But the
story concerning Thaddeus is as follows.
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CHAPTER XIII.
Narrative concerning the Prince of the Edessences.
1 The divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ being
noised abroad among all men on account of his wonder-working power, he
attracted countless numbers from foreign countries lying far away from
Judea, who had the opening of being cured of their diseases and of all
kinds of sufferings.
2 For instance the King Abgarus,[1] who ruled with
great
glory the nations beyond the Euphrates, being afflicted with a terrible
disease which it was beyond the power of human skill to cure, when he
heard of the name of Jesus, and of his miracles, which were attested by
all with one accord sent a message to him by a courier and begged him to
heal his disease.
3 But he did not at that time comply with his
request; yet he deemed him worthy of a personal letter in which he said
that he would send one of his disciples to cure his disease, and at the
same time promised salvation to himself and all his house.
4 Not long afterward his promise was fulfilled.
For after his resurrection from the dead and his ascent into heaven,
Thomas,[2] one of the twelve apostles, under divine impulse sent
Thaddeus, who was also numbered among the seventy disciples of
Christ,[3] to Edessa,[4] as a preacher and evangelist of the teaching of
Christ.
5 And all that our Saviour had promised received
through him its fulfillment. You have written evidence of these things
taken from the archives of Edessa,[5] which was at that time a royal
city. For in the public registers there, which contain accounts of
ancient times and the acts of Abgarus, these things have been found
preserved down to the present time. But there is no better way than to
hear the epistles themselves which we have taken from the archives and
have literally translated from the Syriac language[6] in the following
manner. Copy of an epistle written by Abgarus the ruler to Jesus, tend
sent to him at Jerusalem by Ananias[7] the swift courier.
6 "Abgarus, ruler Of Edessa, to Jesus the 6 excellent
Saviour who has appeared in the country of Jerusalem, greeting. I have
heard the reports of thee and of thy cures as performed by thee without
medicines or herbs. For it is said that thou makest the blind to see and
the lame to walk, that thou cleansest lepers and castest out impure
spirits and demons, and that thou healest those afflicted with lingering
disease, and raisest the dead.
7 And having heard all these things concerning thee,
I have concluded that one of two things must be true: either thou art
God, and having come down from heaven thou doest these things, or else
thou, who doest these things, art the Son of God.[8]
8 I have therefore written to thee to ask thee that thou
wouldest take the trouble to come to me and heal the disease which I
have. For I have heard that the Jews are murmuring against thee and are
plotting to injure thee. But I have a very small yet noble city which is
great enough for us both."
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The answer of Jesus to the ruler Abgarus by the
courier Ananias.
9 "Blessed art thou who hast believed in me without having seen
me.[9] For it is written concerning me, that they who have seen me will
not believe in me, and that they who have not seen me will believe and
be saved.[10] But in regard to what thou hast written me, that I should
come to thee, it is necessary for me to fulfill all things here for
which I have been sent, and after I have fulfilled them thus to be taken
up again to him that sent me. But after I have been taken up I will
send to thee one of my disciples, that he may heal thy disease and give
life to thee and thine."
10 To these epistles there was added the following account in the
Syriac language. "After the ascension of Jesus, Judas,[11] who was also
called Thomas, sent to him Thaddeus, an apostle,[12] one of the Seventy.
When he was come he lodged with Tobias,[13] the son of Tobias. When the
report of him got abroad, it was told Abgarus that an apostle of Jesus
was come, as he had written him.
11 Thaddeus began then in the power of God to heal every
disease and infirmity, insomuch that all wondered. And when Abgarus
heard of the great and wonderful things which he did and of the cures
which he performed, he began to suspect that he was the one of whom
Jesus had written him, saying, 'After I have been taken up I will send
to thee one of my disciples who will heal thee.'
12 Therefore, summoning Tobias, with whom Thaddeus
lodged, he said, I have heard that a certain man of power has come and
is lodging in thy house. Bring him to me. And Tobias coming to Thaddeus
said to him, The ruler Abgarus summoned me and told me to bring thee to
him that thou mightest heal him. And Thaddeus said, I will go, for I
have been sent to him with power.
13 Tobias therefore arose early on the following day, and
taking Thaddeus came to Abgarus. And when he came, the nobles were
present and stood about Abgarus. And immediately upon his entrance a
great vision appeared to Abgarus in the countenance of the apostle
Thaddeus. When Abgarus saw it he prostrated himself before Thaddeus,
while all those who stood about were astonished; for they did not see
the vision, which appeared to Abgarus alone.
14 He then asked Thaddeus if he were in truth a
disciple of Jesus the Son of God, who had said to him, 'I will send thee
one of my disciples, who shall heal thee and give thee life.' And
Thaddeus said, Because thou hast mightily believed in him that sent me,
therefore have I 'been sent unto thee. And still further, if thou
believest in him, the petitions of thy heart shall be granted thee as
thou believest.
15 And Abgarus said to him, So much have I
believed in him that I wished to take an army and destroy those Jews who
crucified him, had I not been deterred from it by reason of the
dominion of the Romans. And Thaddeus said, Our Lord has fulfilled the
will of his Father, and having fulfilled it has been taken up to his
Father. And Abgarus said to him, I too have believed in him and in his
Father.
16 And Thaddeus said to him, Therefore I place my
hand upon thee in his name. And when he had done it, immediately Abgarus
was cured of the disease and of the suffering which he had.
17 And Abgarus marvelled, that as he had heard
concerning Jesus, so he had received in very deed through his disciple
Thaddeus, who healed him without medicines and herbs, and not only him,
but also Abdus[14] the son of Abdus, who was afflicted with the gout;
for he too came to him and fell at his feet, and having received a
benediction by the imposition of his hands, he was healed. The same
Thaddeus cured also many other inhabitants of the city, and did wonders
and marvelous works, and preached
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18 the word of God. And afterward Abgarus said, Thou, O Thaddeus, doest
these things with the power of God, and we marvel. But, in addition to
these things, I pray thee to inform me in regard to the coming of Jesus,
how he was born; and in regard to his power, by what power he performed
those deeds of which I have heard.
19 And Thaddeus said, Now indeed will I keep silence,
since I have
been sent to proclaim the word publicly. But to-morrow assemble for me
all thy citizens, and I will preach in their presence and sow among them
the word of God, concerning the coming of Jesus, how he was born; and
concerning his mission, for what purpose he was sent by the Father; and
concerning the power of his works, and the mysteries which he
proclaimed in the world, and by what power he did these things; and
concerning his new preaching, and his abasement and humiliation, and how
he humbled himself, and died and debased his divinity and was
crucified, and descended into Hades,[15] and burst the bars which from
eternity had not been broken,[16] and raised the dead; for he descended
alone, but rose with many, and thus ascended to his Father.[17]
20 Abgarus 20 therefore commanded the citizens to assemble
early in the morning to hear the preaching of Thaddeus, and afterward he
ordered gold and silver to be given him. But he refused to take it,
saying, If we have forsaken that which was our own, how shall we take
that which is another's? These things were done in the three hundred
and fortieth year."[18]
I have inserted them here in their proper place,
translated from the Syriac[19] literally, and I hope to good purpose.
BOOK II.
INTRODUCTION.
1 WE have discussed in the preceding book those subjects in
ecclesiastical history which it was necessary to treat by way of
introduction, and have accompanied them with brief proofs. Such were the
divinity of the saving Word, and the antiquity of the doctrines which
we teach, as well as of that evangelical life which is led by
Christians, together with the events which have taken place in
connection with Christ's recent appearance, and in connection with his
passion and with the choice of the apostles.
2 In the present book let us examine the events which
took place after his ascension, confirming some of them from the divine
Scriptures, and others from such writings as we shall refer to from time
to time.
CHAffER I.
The Course pursued by the Apostles after the
Ascension of Christ.
1 First, then, in the place of Judas, the betrayer,
Matthias,[1] who, as has been shown[2] was also one of the Seventy, was
chosen to the apostolate. And there were appointed to the diaconate,[2a]
for the service of the congregation, by prayer and the laying on of the
hands of the apostles, approved men,
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seven in number, of whom Stephen was one.[3] He first, after the Lord,
was stoned to death at the time of his ordination by the slayers of the
Lord, as if he had been promoted for this very purpose.[4] And thus he
was the first to receive the crown, corresponding to his name,[5] which
belongs to the martyrs of Christ, who are worthy of the meed of victory.
2 Then James, whom the ancients surnamed the Just[6]
on account of the excellence of his virtue, is recorded to have been
the first to be made bishop of the church of Jerusalem. This James was
called the brother of the Lord[7] because he was known as a son of
Joseph,[8] and Joseph was supposed to be the father of Christ, because
the Virgin, being betrothed to him, "was found with child by the Holy
Ghost before they came together,"[9] as the account of the holy Gospels
shows.
3 But Clement in the sixth book of his
Hypotyposes[10] writes thus: "For they say that Peter and James and John
after the ascension of our Saviour, as if also preferred by our Lord,
strove not after honor, but chose James the Just bishop of
Jerusalem."[11]
4 But the same writer, in the seventh book of the
same work, relates also the following things concerning him: "The Lord
after his resurrection imparted knowledge to James the Just and to John
and Peter, and they imparted it to the rest of the apostles, and the
rest of the apostles to the seventy, of whom Barnabas was one.[12] But
there were two Jameses:[13] one called the Just, who was thrown from the
pinnacle of the temple and was beaten to death with a club by a
fuller,[14] and another who was beheaded."[15] Paul also makes mention
of the same James the Just, where he writes, "Other of the apostles saw
I none, save James the Lord's brother."[16]
5 At that time also the promise of our Saviour to the
king of the Osrhoenians was fulfilled. For Thomas, under a divine
impulse, sent Thaddeus to Edessa as a preacher and evangelist of the
religion of Christ, as we have shown a little above from the document
found there?
7 When he came to that place he healed Abgarus by the
word of Christ; and after bringing all the people there into the right
attitude of mind by means of his works, and leading them to adore the
power of Christ, he made them disciples of the Saviour's teaching. And
from that time down to the present the whole city of the Edessenes has
been devoted to the name of Christ,[18] offering no common proof of the
beneficence of our Saviour
toward them also.
8 These things have been drawn from ancient accounts;
but let us now turn again to the divine Scripture. When the first and
greatest persecution was instigated by the Jews against the church of
Jerusalem in connection with the martyrdom of Stephen, and when all the
disciples, except the Twelve, were scattered throughout Judea and
Samaria,[19] some, as the divine Scripture says, went as far as
Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, but could not yet venture to impart
the word of faith to the nations, and therefore preached it to the Jews
alone.[20]
9 During this time Paul was still persecuting the
church, and entering the houses of believers was dragging men and women
away and committing them to prison.[21]
10 Philip also, one of those who with Stephen
had been entrusted with the diaconate, being among those who were
scattered abroad, went down to Samaria,[22] and being filled with the
divine power, he first preached the word to the inhabitants of that
country. And divine grace worked so mightily with him that even Simon
Magus with many others was attracted by his
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11 words.[23] Simon was at that time so celebrated, and had acquired,
by his jugglery, such influence over those who were deceived by him,
that he was thought to be the great power of God.[24] But at this time,
being amazed at the wonderful deeds wrought by Philip through the divine
power, he reigned and counterfeited faith in Christ, even going so far
as to receive baptism.[25]
12 And what is surprising, the same thing is done even to
this day by those who follow his most impure heresy.[26] For they, after
the manner of their forefather, slipping into the Church, like a
pestilential and leprous disease greatly afflict those into whom they
are able to infuse the deadly and terrible poison concealed in
themselves.[27] The most of these have been expelled as soon as they
have been caught in their wickedness, as Simon himself, when detected by
Peter, received the merited punishment.[28]
13 But as the preaching of the Saviour's Gospel
was daily advancing, a certain providence led from the land of the
Ethiopians an officer of the queen of that country,[29] for Ethiopia
even to the present day is ruled, according to ancestral custom, by a
woman. He, first among the Gentiles, received of the mysteries of the
divine word from Philip in consequence of a revelation, and having
become the first-fruits of believers throughout the world, he is said to
have been the first on returning to his country to proclaim the
knowledge of the God of the universe and the life-giving sojourn of our
Saviour among men;[30] so that through him in truth the prophecy
obtained its fulfillment, which declares that "Ethiopia stretcheth out
her hand unto God."[31]
14 In addition to these, Paul, that "chosen vessel,"[32]
"not of men neither through men, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ
himself and of God the Father who raised him from the dead,"[33] was
appointed an apostle, being made worthy of the call by a vision and by a
voice which was uttered in a revelation from heaven.[34]
CHAPTER II.
How Tiberius was affected when informed by
Pilate concerning Christ.
1 AND when the wonderful resurrection and ascension of our
Saviour were already noised abroad, in accordance with an ancient
custom which prevailed among the rulers of the provinces, of reporting
to the emperor the novel occurrences which took place in them, in order
that nothing might escape him, Pontius Pilate informed Tiberius[1] of
the reports which were noised abroad through all Palestine concerning
the resurrection of our Saviour Jesus from the dead.
2 He gave an account also of other wonders which he
had learned of him, and how, after his death, having risen from the
dead, he was now believed by many to be a God.[2] They say that Tiberius
referred the matter to the Senate,[3] but that they rejected it,
ostensibly because they had not first examined into the matter (for an
ancient law prevailed
106
that no one should be made a God by the Romans except by a vote and
decree of the Senate), but in reality because the saving teaching of the
divine Gospel did not need the confirmation and recommendation of men.
3 But although the Senate of the Romans rejected the
proposition made in regard to our Saviour, Tiberius still retained the
opinion which he had held at first, and contrived no hostile measures
against Christ.[4] 4 These things are recorded by
Tertullian,[5] a man well versed in the laws of the Romans,[6] and in
other respects of high repute, and one of those especially distinguished
in Rome.[7] In his apology for the Christians,[8] which was written by
him in the Latin language, and has been translated into Greek,[9] he
writes as follows:[10]
5 "But in order that we may give an account of these
laws from their origin, it was an ancient decree n that no one should be
consecrated a God by the emperor until the Senate had expressed its
approval. Marcus Aurelius did thus concerning a certain idol,
Alburnus.[12] And this is a point in favor of our doctrine,[13] that
among you divine dignity is conferred by human decree. If a God does not
please a man he is not made a God. Thus, according to this custom, it
is necessary for man to be gracious to God.
6 Tiberius, therefore, under whom the name of Christ
made its entry into the world, when this doctrine was reported to him
from Palestine, where it first began, communicated with the Senate,
making it clear to them that he was pleased with the doctrine.[14] But
the Senate, since it had not itself proved the matter, rejected it. But
Tiberius continued to hold his own opinion, and threatened death to the
accusers of the Christians."[15] Heavenly providence had wisely
instilled this into his mind in order that the doctrine of the Gospel,
unhindered at its beginning, might spread in all directions throughout
the world.
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CHAPTER III.
The Doctrine of Christ soon spread throughout
All the World.
1 THUS, under the influence of heavenly power, and with the
divine co-operation, the doctrine of the Saviour, like the rays of the
sun, quickly illumined the whole world;[1] and straightway, in
accordance with the divine Scriptures,[2] the voice of the inspired
evangelists and apostles went forth through all the earth, and their
words to the end of the world.
2 In every city and village, churches were quickly
established, filled with multitudes of people like a replenished
threshing-floor. And those whose minds, in consequence of errors which
had descended to them from their forefathers, were fettered by the
ancient disease of idolatrous superstition, were, by the power of Christ
operating through the teaching and the wonderful works of his
disciples, set free, as it were, from terrible masters, and found a
release from the most cruel bondage. They renounced with abhorrence
every species of demoniacal polytheism, and confessed that there was
only one God, the creator of all things, and him they honored with the
rites of true piety, through the inspired and rational worship which has
been planted by our Saviour among men.
3 But the divine grace being now poured out upon the
rest of the nations Cornelius, of C'sarea in Palestine, with his whole
house, through a divine revelation and the agency of Peter, first
received faith in Christ;[3] and after him a multitude of other Greeks
in Antioch,[4] to whom those who were scattered by the persecution of
Stephen had preached the Gospel. When the church of Antioch was now
increasing and abounding, and a multitude of prophets from Jerusalem
were on the ground,[5] among them Barnabas and Paul and in addition many
other brethren, the name of Christians first sprang up there,[6] as
from a fresh and life-giving fountain.[7]And Agabus, one of the
prophets who was with them, uttered a prophecy concerning the famine
which was about to take place,[8] and Paul and Barnabas were sent to
relieve the necessities of the brethren.[9]
CHAPTER IV.
After the Death of Tiberius, Caius appointed
Agrippa King of the Jews, having punished Herod with Perpetual Exile.
Tiberius died, after having reigned about twenty-two years,[1] and Caius
succeeded him in the empire.[2] He immediately gave the government of
the Jews to Agrippa,[3] making him king over the tetrarchies of Philip
and of Ly-sanias; in addition to which he bestowed upon him, not long
afterward, the tetrarchy of Herod,[4] having punished Herod (the one
under whom the Saviour suffered[5]) and his wife Herodias with
perpetual exile[6] on account of numerous crimes. Josephus is a witness
to these facts.[7] Under this emperor, Philo[8] became known;
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a man most celebrated not only among many of our own, but also among
many scholars without the Church. He was a Hebrew by birth, but was
inferior to none of those who held high dignities in Alexandria. How
exceedingly he labored in the Scriptures and in the studies of his
nation is plain to all from the work which he has done. How familiar he
was with philosophy and with the liberal studies of foreign nations, it
is not necessary to say, since he is reported to have surpassed all his
contemporaries in the study of Platonic and Pythagorean. philosophy, to
which he particularly devoted his attention.[9]
CHAPTER V.
Philo's Embassy to Caius in Behalf of the Jews.
1 PHILO has given us an account, in five books, of the
misfortunes of the Jews under Caius.[1] He recounts at the same time the
madness of Caius: how he called himself a god, and performed as emperor
innumerable acts of tyranny; and he describes further the miseries of
the Jews under him, and gives a report of the embassy upon which he
himself was sent to Rome in behalf of his fellow-countrymen in
Alexandria;[2] how when he appeared before Caius in behalf of the laws
of his fathers he received nothing but laughter and ridicule, and almost
incurred the risk of his life. Josephus also makes mention of these
things in the eighteenth book of his Antiquities, in the following
words: a "A sedition having arisen in Alexandria between the Jews that
dwell there and the Greeks,[4] three deputies were chosen from each
faction and went to Caius.
3 One of the Alexandrian deputies was Apion,[5] who uttered
many slanders against the Jews; among other things saying that they
neglected the honors due to C'sar. For while all other subjects of Rome
erected altars and temples to Caius, and in all other respects treated
him just as they did the gods, they alone considered it disgraceful to
honor him with statues and to swear by his name. And when Apion 4 had
uttered many severe charges by which he hoped that Caius would be
aroused, as indeed was likely, Philo, the chief of the Jewish embassy, a
man celebrated in every respect, a brother of Alexander the
Alabarch,[6] and not unskilled in philosophy, was prepared to enter
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upon a defense in reply to his accusations. But Caius prevented him and
ordered him to leave, and being very angry, it was plain that he
meditated some severe measure against them. And Philo departed covered
with insult and told the Jews that were with him to be of good courage;
for while Caius was raging against them he was in fact already
contending with God." Thus far Josephus. And Philo himself, in the work
On the Embassy[7] which he wrote, describes accurately and in detail the
things which were done by him at that time. But I shall omit the most
of them and record only those things which will make clearly evident to
the reader that the misfortunes of the Jews came upon them not long
after their daring deeds against Christ and on account of the same. And
in the first place he relates that at Rome in the reign of Tiberius,
Sejanus, who at that time enjoyed great influence with the emperor,
made every effort to destroy the Jewish nation utterly;[8] and that in
Judea, Pilate, under whom the crimes against the Saviour were
committed, attempted something contrary to the Jewish law in respect to
the temple, which was at that time still standing in Jerusalem, and
excited them to the greatest tumults.[9]
CHAPTER VI.
The Misfortunes which overwhelmed the Jews
after their Presumption against Christ.
1 After the death of Tiberius, Caius received the empire,
and, besides innumerable other acts of tyranny against many people, he
greatly afflicted especially the whole nation of the Jews[1] These
things we may learn briefly from the words of Philo, who writes as
follows:[2] "So great was the caprice of Caius in his2. conduct toward
all, and especially toward the nation of the Jews. The latter he so
bitterly hated that he appropriated to himself their places of worship
in the other cities,[3] and beginning with Alexandria he filled them
with images and statues of himself (for in permitting others to erect
them he really erected them himself). The temple in the holy city, which
had hitherto been left untouched, and had been regarded as an
inviolable asylum, he altered and transformed into a temple of his own,
that it might be called the temple of the visible Jupiter, the younger
Caius."[4] Innumerable other terrible and 3 almost indescribable
calamities which came upon the Jews in Alexandria during the reign of
the same emperor, are recorded by the same author in a second work, to
which he gave the title, On the Virtues.[5] With him agrees also
Josephus, who likewise indicates that the misfortunes of the whole
nation began with the time of Pilate, and with their daring crimes
against the Saviour.[6] Hear what be says in 4 the second book of his
Jewish War, where he writes as follows:[7] "Pilate being sent to Judea
as procurator by Tiberius, secretly carried veiled images of the
emperor, called ensigns,[8] to Jerusalem by night. The following day
this caused the greatest disturbance among the Jews. For those who were
near were confounded at the sight, beholding their laws, as it were,
trampled under foot. For they allow no image to be set up in their
city." Comparing 5 these things with the writings of the evangelists,
you will see that it was not long before there came upon them the
penalty for the exclamation which they had uttered under the same
Pilate, when they cried out that they had no other king than C'sar.[9]
The same 6 writer further records that after this another calamity
overtook them. He writes as follows:[10] "After this he. stirred up
another tumult by snaking use of the holy treasure, which is called
Corban,[11] in the construction of an aqueduct
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7 three hundred stadia in length.[12] The multitude were greatly
displeased at it, and when Pilate was in Jerusalem they surrounded his
tribunal and gave utterance to loud complaints. But he, anticipating the
tumult, had distributed through the crowd armed soldiers disguised in
citizen's clothing, forbidding them to use the sword, but commanding
them to strike with clubs those who should make an outcry. To them he
now gave the preconcerted signal from the tribunal. And the Jews being
beaten, many of them perished in consequence of the blows, while many
others were trampled under foot by their own countrymen in their flight,
and thus lost their lives. But the multitude, overawed by the fate of
those who
8 were slain, held their peace." In addition to these the
same author records[13] many other tumults which were stirred up in
Jerusalem itself, and shows that from that time seditions and wars and
mischievous plots followed each other in quick succession, and never
ceased in the city and in all Judea until finally the siege of Vespasian
overwhelmed them. Thus the divine vengeance overtook the Jews for the
crimes which they dared to commit against Christ.
CHAPTER VII. Pilate's Suicide.
IT is worthy of note that Pilate himself, who was
governor in the time of our Saviour, is reported to have fallen into
such misfortunes under Caius, whose times we are recording, that he was
forced to become his own murderer and executioner;[1] and thus divine
vengeance, as it seems, was not long in overtaking him. This is stated
by those Greek historians who have recorded the Olympiads, together with
the respective events which have taken place in each period.[2]
CHAPTER VIII.
The Famine which took Place in the Reign of
Claudius.
Caius had held the power not quite four 1 years,[1] when he was
succeeded by the emperor Claudius. Under him the world was visited with
a famine,[2] which writers that are entire strangers to our religion
have recorded in their histories.[3] And thus the prediction of Agabus
recorded in the Acts of the Apostles,[4] according to which the whole
world was to be visited by a famine, received its fulfillment. And 2
Luke, in the Acts, after mentioning the famine in the time of Claudius,
and stating that the brethren of Antioch, each according to his ability,
sent to the brethren of Judea by the hands of Paul and Barnabas,[5]
adds the following account.
CHAPTER IX.
The Martyrdom of James the Apostle. "[1] Now about
that time" (it is clear that 1 he means the time of Claudius)
"Herod the King[2] stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the
Church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword." And 2
concerning this James, Clement, in the seventh book of his
Hypotyposes,[3] relates a story
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which is worthy of mention; telling it as he received it from those who
had lived before him. He says that the one who led James to the
judgment-seat, when he saw him bearing his testimony, was moved, and
confessed that he was himself also a Christian.
3 They were both therefore, he says, led away together;
and on the way he begged James to forgive him. And he, after
considering a little, said, "Peace be with thee," and kissed him. And
thus they were both beheaded at the same time.
4 And then, as the divine Scripture says,[4] Herod, upon
the death of James, seeing that the deed pleased the Jews, attacked
Peter also and committed him to prison, and would have slain him if he
had not, by the divine appearance of an angel who came to him by night,
been wonderfully released from his bonds, and thus liberated for the
service of the Gospel. Such was the providence of God in respect to
Peter.
CHAPTER X.
Agrippa, who was also called Herod, having persecuted the Apostles,
immediately experienced the Divine Vengeance.
1 THE consequences of the king's undertaking against the
apostles were no, long deferred, but the avenging minister of divine
justice overtook him immediately after his plots against them, as the
Book of Acts records.[1] For when he had journeyed to C'sarea, on a
notable feast-day, clothed in a splendid and royal garment, he delivered
an address to the people from a lofty throne in front of the tribunal.
And when all the multitude applauded the speech, as if it were the
voice of a god and not of a man, the Scripture relates that an angel of
the Lord smote him, and being eaten of worms he gave up the ghost.[2]
2 We must admire the account of Josephus for its agreement
with the divine Scriptures in regard to this wonderful event; for he
clearly bears witness to the truth in the nineteenth book of his
Antiquities, where he relates the wonder in the following words:[3]
3 "He had completed the third year of his reign over all
Judea[4] when he came to C'sarea, which was formerly called
Strato's Tower.[5] There he held games in honor of C'sar, learning that
this was a festival observed in behalf of C'sar's safety.[6] At this
festival was collected a great multitude of the highest and most
honorable men in the province.
4 And on the second day of the games he proceeded to the
theater at break of day, wearing a garment entirely of silver and of
wonderful texture. And there the silver, illuminated by the reflection
of the sun's earliest rays, shone marvelously, gleaming so brightly as
to produce a sort of fear and terror in those who gazed upon him.
5 And immediately his flatterers, some from one place,
others from another, raised up their voices in a way that was not for
his good, calling him a god, and saying, 'Be thou merciful; if up to
this time we have feared thee as a man, henceforth we confess that thou
art superior to the nature of mortals.'
6 The king did not rebuke them, nor did he reject their
impious
flattery. But after a little, looking up, he saw an angel sitting above
his head.[7] And this he quickly perceived would be the cause of evil as
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it had once been the cause of good fortune,[8] and he was smitten with
a heart-piercing pain.
7 And straightway distress, beginning with the greatest
violence, seized his bowels. And looking upon his friends he said, 'I,
your god, am now commanded to depart this life; and fate thus I on the
spot disproves the lying words you have just uttered concerning me. He
who has been called immortal by you is now led away to die; but our
destiny must be accepted as God has determined it. For we have passed
our life by no means ingloriously, but in that splendor which is
pronounced happiness.'9
8 And when he had said this he labored with an increase of
pain. He was accordingly carried in haste to the palace, while the
report spread among all that the king would undoubtedly soon die. But
the multitude, with their wives and children, sitting on sackcloth after
the custom of their fathers, implored God in behalf of the king, and
every place was filled with lamentation and tears.[10] And the king as
he lay in a lofty chamber, and saw them below lying prostrate on the
ground, could not refrain from weeping himself.
9 And after suffering continually for five days with pain
in the bowels, he departed this life, in the fifty-fourth year of his
age, and in the seventh year of his reign.[11] Four years he ruled under
the Emperor Caius--three of them over the tetrarchy of Philip, to which
was added in the fourth year that of Herod[12] --and three years during
the reign of the Emperor Claudius."
10 I marvel greatly that Josephus, in these things as well as in
others, so fully agrees with the divine Scriptures. But if there should
seem to any one to be a disagreement in respect to the name of the king,
the time at least and the events show that the same person is meant,
whether the change of name has been caused by the error of a copyist,
or is due to the fact that he, like so many, bore two names.[13]
CHAPTER XI.
The Impostor Theudas and his Followers.
1 LUKE, in the Acts, introduces Gamaliel as saying, at the
consultation which was held concerning the apostles, that at the time
referred to,[1] "rose up Theudas boasting himself to be somebody; who
was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered."[2] Let us
therefore add the account of Josephus concerning this man. He records in
the work mentioned just above, the following circumstances:[3]
2 "While Fadus was procurator of Judea[4] a certain
impostor called Theudas[5] persuaded
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a very great multitude to take their possessions and follow him to the
river Jordan. For he said that he was a prophet, and that the river
should be divided at his command, and afford them an easy passage.
3 And with these words he deceived many. But Fadus did not
permit them to enjoy their folly, but sent a troop of horsemen against
them, who fell upon them unexpectedly and slew many of them and took
many others alive, while they took Theudas himself captive, and cut off
his head and carried it to Jerusalem." Besides this he also makes
mention of the famine, which took place in the reign of Claudius, in the
following words.
CHAPTER XII.
Helen, the Queen of the Osrhoenians.
1 [1]"AND at this time" it came to pass that
the great famine a took place in Judea, in which the queen Helen,[4]
having purchased grain from Egypt with large sums, distributed it to the
needy."
You will find this statement also in agreement with
the Acts of the Apostles, where it is said that the disciples at
Antioch, "each according to his ability, determined to send relief to
the brethren that dwelt in Judea; which also they did, and sent it to
the elders by 3 the hands of Barnabas and Paul."[5] But splendid
monuments[6] of this Helen, Of whom the historian has made mention, are
still shown in the suburbs of the city which is now called 'lia,[7] But
she is said to have been queen of the Adiabeni.[8]
CHAPTER XIII.
Simon Magus.[1]
But faith in our Saviour and Lord Jesus 1 Christ having now
been diffused among all men,[2] the enemy of man's salvation contrived a
plan for seizing the imperial city for himself. He conducted thither
the above-mentioned Simon,[3] aided him in his deceitful arts, led many
of the inhabitants of Rome astray, and thus brought them into his own
power. This is 2 stated by Justin,[4] one of our distinguished
writers who lived not long after the time of the apostles. Concerning
him I shall speak in the proper place.[5] Take and read the work of this
114
man, who in the first Apology[6] which he addressed to
Antonine in behalf of our religion writes 3 as follows:[7] "And
after the ascension of the Lord into heaven the demons put
forward certain men who said they were gods, and who were not only
allowed by you to go unpersecuted, but were even deemed worthy of
honors. One of them was Simon, a Samaritan of the village of Gitto,[8]
who in the reign of Claudius C'sar[9] performed in your imperial city
some mighty acts of magic by the art of demons operating in him, and was
considered a god, and as a god was honored by you with a statue, which
was erected in the river Tiber,[10] between the two bridges, and bore
this inscription in the Latin tongue, Simoni Deo Sancto, that is, To
Simon the Holy God.[11] And nearly all the Samaritans and a few even of
other nations confess and worship him as the first God. And there went
around with him at that time a certain Helena[12] who had formerly been
a prostitute in Tyre of Phoenicia; and her they call the first idea
that proceeded from him."[13] Justin relates these things, and Iren'us
also 5 agrees with him in the first book of his work, Against Heresies,
where he gives an account of the man[14] and of his profane and impure
teaching. It would be superfluous to quote his account here, for it is
possible for those who wish to know the origin and the lives and the
false doctrines of each of the heresiarchs that have followed him, as
well as the customs practiced by them all, to find them treated at
length in the above-mentioned work of Iren'us. We 6 have understood
that Simon was the author of all heresy.[15] From his time down to the
present those who have followed his heresy have reigned the sober
philosophy of the Christians, which is celebrated among all on account
of its purity of life. But they nevertheless have embraced again the
superstitions of idols, which they seemed to have renounced; and they
fall down before pictures and images of Simon himself and of the
above-mentioned Helena who was with him; and they venture to worship
them with incense and sacrifices and libations. But those matters which
they keep 7 more secret than these, in regard to which they say that one
upon first hearing them would be astonished, and, to use one of the
written phrases in vogue among them, would be confounded,[16] are in
truth full of amazing things, and of madness and folly, being of such a
sort that it is impossible not only to commit them to writing, but also
for modest men even to utter them with the lips on account of their
excessive baseness and lewdness.[17] For what 8 ever could be conceived
of, viler than the
vilest thing -- all that has been outdone by this most abominable sect,
which is composed of those who make a sport of those miserable females
that are literally overwhelmed with all kinds of vices.[18]
CHAPTER XIV.
The Preaching of the Apostle Peter in Rome.
1 The evil power,[1] who hates all that is good
and plots against the salvation of men, constituted Simon at that time
the father and author of such wickedness,[2] as if to make him a mighty
antagonist of the great, inspired apostles of our Saviour. For that
divine and celestial grace which co-operates with its ministers, by
their appearance and presence, quickly extinguished the kindled flame of
evil, and humbled and cast down through them "every high thing that
exalted itself against the knowledge of God."[3] Wherefore neither the
conspiracy of Simon nor that of any of the others who arose at that
period could accomplish anything in those apostolic times. For
everything was conquered and subdued by the splendors of the truth and
by the divine word itself which had but lately begun to shine from
heaven upon men, and which was then flourishing upon earth, and dwelling
in the apostles themselves. Immediately[4] the above-mentioned impostor
was smitten in the eyes of his mind by a divine and miraculous flash,
and after the evil deeds done by him had been first detected by the
apostle Peter in Judea,[5] he fled and made a great journey across the
sea from the East to the West, thinking that only thus could he live
according to his mind. And coming to the city of Rome,[6] by the mighty
co-operation of that power which was lying in wait there, he was in a
short time so successful in his undertaking that those who dwelt there
honored him as a god by the 6 erection of a statue.[7] But this
did not last long. For immediately, during the reign of
Claudius, the all-good and gracious Providence, which watches over all
things, led Peter, that strongest and greatest of the apostles, and the
one who on account of his virtue was the speaker for all the others, to
Rome s against this great corrupter of life. He like a noble commander
of God, clad in divine armor, carried the costly merchandise of the
light of the understanding from the East to those who dwelt in the
West, proclaiming the light itself, and the word which brings salvation
to souls, and preaching the kingdom of heaven.[9]
CHAPTER XV.
The Gospel according to Mark.
AND thus when the divine word had made its home
among them,[1] the power of
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Simon was quenched and immediately destroyed, together with the man
himself.[2] And so greatly did the splendor of piety illumine the minds
of Peter's hearers that they were not satisfied with hearing once only,
and were not content with the unwritten teaching of the divine Gospel,
but with all sorts of entreaties they besought Mark,[3] a follower of
Peter, and the one whose Gospel is extant, that he would leave them a
written monument of the doctrine which had been orally communicated to
them. Nor did they cease until they had prevailed with the man, and had
thus become the occasion of the written Gospel which bears the name of
Mark.[4] And they say that Peter when he had 2 learned, through a
revelation of the Spirit, of that which had been done, was pleased with
the zeal of the men, and that the work obtained the sanction of his
authority for the purpose of being used in the churches.[5] Clement in
the eighth book of his Hypotyposes gives this account, and with him
agrees the bishop of Hierapolis named Papias.[6] And Peter makes mention
of Mark in his first epistle which they say that he wrote in Rome
itself, as is indicated by him, when he calls the city, by a figure,
Babylon, as he does in the following words: "The church that is at
Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my
son."[7]
CHAPTER XVI.
Mark first proclaimed Christianity to the In-
habitants of Egypt.
And they say that this Mark was the first 1 that was sent
to Egypt, and that he proclaimed the Gospel which he had written, and
first established churches in Alexandria. 1 And the multitude of
believers, both men 2 and women, that were collected there at the very
outset, and lived lives of the most philosophical and excessive
asceticism, was so great, that Philo thought it worth while to describe
their pursuits, their meetings, their entertainments, and their whole
manner of life."[2]
CHAPTER XVII.
Philo's Account of the Ascetics of Egypt.
1 It is also said that Philo in the reign of Claudius became
acquainted at Rome with Peter, who was then preaching there.[1] Nor is
this indeed improbable, for the work of which we have spoken, and which
was composed by him some years later, clearly contains those rules of
the Church which are even to this day observed among us. And since he
describes as accurately as possible the life of our ascetics, it is
clear that he not only knew, but that he also approved, while he
venerated and extolled, the apostolic men of his time, who were as it
seems of the Hebrew race, and hence observed, after the manner of the
Jews, the 3 most of the customs of the ancients. In the work to which he
gave the title, On a Contemplative Life or on Suppliants,[2] after
affirming in the first place that he will add to those things which he
is about to relate nothing contrary to truth or of his own invention,[3]
he says that these men were called Therapeut' and the women that were
with them Therapeutrides.[4] He then adds the reasons for such a name,
explaining it from the fact that they applied remedies and healed the
souls of those who came to them, by relieving them like physicians, of
evil passions, or from the fact that they served and worshiped the
Deity in purity and sincerity. Whether Philo himself gave them this 4
name, employing an epithet well suited to their mode of life, or
whether the first of them really called themselves so in the beginning,
since the name of Christians was not yet everywhere known, we need not
discuss here. He bears witness, however, that first of all 5 they
renounce their property. When they begin the philosophical[5] mode of
life, he says, they give up their goods to their relatives, and then,
renouncing all the cares of life, they go forth beyond the walls and
dwell in lonely fields and gardens, knowing well that intercourse with
people of a different character is unprofitable and harmful. They did
this at that time, as seems probable, under the influence of a spirited
and ardent faith, practicing in emulation the prophets' mode of life.
For in the Acts of 6 the Apostles, a work universally acknowledged as
authentic,[6] it is recorded that all the
118
companions of the apostles sold their possessions and their property
and distributed to all according to the necessity of each one, so that
no one among them was in want. "For as many as were possessors of lands
or houses," as the account says, "sold them and brought the prices of
the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet, so that
distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."[7]
Philo bears witness to facts very much like those
here described and then adds the following account:[8] "Everywhere in
the world is this race[9] found. For it was fitting that both Greek[9a]
and Barbarian should share in what is perfectly good. But the race
particularly abounds in Egypt, in each of its so-called nomes,[10] and
especially about Alexandria. The best men from every quarter emigrate,
as if to a colony of the Therapeut''s fatherland,[11] to a certain
very suitable spot which lies above the lake Maria[12] upon a low hill
excellently situated on account of its security and the 9 mildness of
the atmosphere" And then a little further on, after
describing the kind of houses which they had, he speaks as follows
concerning their churches, which were scattered about here and
there:[13] "In each house there is a sacred apartment which is
called a sanctuary and monastery,[14] where, quite alone, they perform
the mysteries of the religious life. They bring nothing into it, neither
drink nor food, nor any of the other things which contribute to the
necessities of the body, but only the laws, and the inspired oracles of
the prophets, and hymns and such other things as augment and
makeperfect their knowledge and piety." 10 And after some other
matters he says:[15] "The whole interval, from morning
to evening, is for them a time of exercise. For they read the holy
Scriptures, and explain the philosophy of their fathers in an
allegorical manner, regarding the written words as symbols of hidden
truth which is communicated in obscure 11 figures. They have also
writings of ancient men, who were the founders of their sect, and who
left many monuments of the allegorical method. These they use as models,
and imitate their principles." These things 12 seem to have been stated
by a man who had heard them expounding their sacred writings. But it is
highly probable that the works of the ancients, which he says they had,
were the Gospels and the writings of the apostles, and probably some
expositions of the ancient prophets, such as are contained in the
Epistle to the Hebrews, and in many others of Paul's Epistles. Then
again he writes as 13 follows concerning the new psalms which they
composed: 16 "So that they not only spend their time in meditation, but
they also compose songs and hymns to God in every variety of metre and
melody, though they divide them, of course, into measures of more than
common solemnity." The same book contains an 14 account of many other
things, but it seemed necessary to select those facts which exhibit the
characteristics of the ecclesiastical mode of life. But if any one
thinks that what 15 has been said is not peculiar to the Gospel polity,
but that it can be applied to others besides those mentioned, let him
be convinced by the subsequent words of the same author, in which, if
he is unprejudiced, he will find undisputed testimony on this subject.
Philo's words are as follows:[17] "Having laid down 16 temperance as a
sort of foundation in the soul, they build upon it the other virtues.
None of them may take food or drink before sunset, since they regard
philosophizing as a work worthy of the light, but attention to the
wants of the body as proper only in the darkness, and therefore assign
the day to the former, but to the latter a small portion of the night.
But 17 some, in whom a great desire for knowledge dwells, forget to
take food for three days; and some are so delighted and feast so
luxuriously upon wisdom, which furnishes doctrines richly and without
stint, that they abstain even twice as long as this, and are
accustomed, after six days, scarcely to take necessary food." These
statements of Philo we regard as referring clearly and indisputably to
those of our communion. But if after these things any one still
obstinately persists in denying the reference, let him renounce his
incredulity and be convinced by yet more striking examples, which are to
be found nowhere else than in the evangelical religion of the
Christians.[18] For they say 19 that there were women also with those of
whom we are speaking, and that the most of them were aged virgins[19]
who had preserved
119
their chastity, not out of necessity, as some of the priestesses among
the Greeks,[20] but rather by their own choice, through zeal and a
desire for wisdom. And that in their earnest desire to live with it as
their companion they paid no attention to the pleasures of the body,
seeking not mortal but immortal progeny, which only the 20 pious soul is
able to bear of itself. Then after a little he adds still more
emphatically:[21] "They expound the Sacred Scriptures figuratively by
means of allegories. For the whole law seems to these men to resemble a
living organism, of which the spoken words constitute the body, while
the hidden sense stored up within the words constitutes the soul. This
hidden meaning has first been particularly studied by this sect, which
sees, revealed as in a mirror of names, the surpassing beauties of the
thoughts." Why is it necessary to add to these things their meetings and
the respective occupations of the men and of the women during those
meetings, and the practices which are even to the present day habitually
observed by us, especially such as we are accustomed to observe at the
feast of the Saviour's passion, with fasting and night watching and
study of the divine Word. These things the above-mentioned author has
related in his own work, indicating a mode of life which has been
preserved to the present time by us alone, recording especially
the vigils kept in connection with the great festival, and the
exercises performed during those vigils, and the hymns customarily
recited by us, and describing how, while one sings regularly in time,
the others listen in silence, and join in chanting only the close of
the hymns; and how, on the days referred to they sleep on the ground on
beds of straw, and to use his own words,[22] "taste no wine at
all, nor any flesh, but water is their only drink, and therelish
with their bread is salt and hyssop." 23 In addition to this
Philo describes the order of dignities which ists
among those who carry on the services of the church, mentioning the
diaconate, and the office of bishop, which takes the precedence over
all the others.[23] But whosoever desires a more accurate knowledge of
these matters may get it from the history already cited. But that
Philo, when he 24 wrote these things, had in view the first heralds of
the Gospel and the customs handed down from the beginning by the
apostles, is clear to every one.
CHAPTER XVIII.
The
Works of Philo[1] that have came down to us.
Copious in language, comprehensive in I thought, sublime and
elevated in his views of divine Scripture, Philo has produced manifold
and various expositions of the sacred books. On the one hand, he
expounds in order the events recorded in Genesis in the books to which
he gives the title Allegories of the Sacred Laws;[2] on the other hand,
he makes successive divisions-of the chapters in the Scriptures which
are the subject of investigation, and gives objections and solutions, in
the books which he quite suitably calls Questions and Answers an
Genesis and Exodus.[3] There are, besides these,[2] treatises expressly
worked out by him on certain subjects, such as the two books On
Agriculture,[4] and the same number On Drunken-
120
ness'[5] and some others distinguished by different titles
corresponding to the contents of each; for instance, Concerning the
things which the Sober Mind desires and execrates,[6] On the Confusion
of Tongues,[7] On Flight and Discovery,[8] On Assembly for the sake of
Instruction,[9] On the question, Who is heir to things divine?' or On
the division of things into equal and unequal,[10] and still further the
work On the three Virtues which 3 with others have been described by
Moses.[11] In addition to these is the work On those whose
Names have been changed and why they have been changed,[12] in
which he says that he had written also two hooks On Covenants?
And there is also a work of his On Emigration,[14] and one On the life
of a Wise Man made perfect in Righteousness, or On unwritten taws;[15]
and still further the work On Giants or On the Immutability of God,[16]
and a first, second, third, fourth and fifth book On the proposition,
that Dreams according to Moses are sent by God.[17] These are the hooks
on Genesis that have come down to us. But on Exodus we are acquainted
with the first, second, third, fourth and fifth books of Questions and
Answers,'[18] also with that On tire Tabernacle,[19] and that On the ten
Commandments,[20] and the four books
121
On the laws which refer especially to the principal divisions of the
ten Commandments,[21] and another On animals intended for sacrifice and
On the kinds of sacrifice,[22] and another On the re--wards fixed in the
law for the good, and on the punishments and curses fixed for the
wicked.[23] 6 In addition to all these there are
extant also some single-volumed works of his; as for
instance, the work On Providence,[24] and the book composed by him On
the Jews,[25] and The Statesman;[26] and still further, Alexander, or On
the possession of reason by the irrational animals?: Besides these
there is a work On the proposition that every wicked man is a slave, to
which is subjoined the work On the proposition that every goad man is
free.[28] After 7 these was composed by him the work On the
contemplative life, or On suppliants,[29] from which we have drawn the
facts concerning the life of the apostolic men; and still further, the
Interpretation of the Hebrew names in the law and in the prophets are
said to be the result of his industry.[30] And he is said to have 8 read
in the presence of the whole Roman Senate during the reign of
Claudius[31] the work which he had written, when he came to Rome under
Coins, concerning Coins' hatred of the gods, and to which, with ironical
reference to its character, he had given the title On the Virtues.[32]
And his discourses were so much admired as to be deemed worthy of a
place in the libraries. At this time, while Paul was completing 9
his journey "from Jerusalem and round about unto Illyricum,"[33]
Claudius drove the Jews out of Rome; and Aquila and Priscilla, leaving
Rome with the other Jews, came to Asia, and there abode with the
apostle Paul, who was confirming the churches of that region whose
122
foundations he had newly laid. The sacred book of the Acts informs us
also of these things.[34]
CHAPTER XIX.
The Calamity which befell the Jews in Jerusalem
an the Day of the _Passover.
1 While Claudius was still emperor, it
happened that so great a tumult and disturbance took place in Jerusalem
at the feast of the Passover, that thirty thousand of those Jews alone
who were forcibly crowded together at the gate of the temple
perished,[1] being trampled under foot by one another. Thus the festival
became a season of mourning for all the nation, and there was weeping
in every house. These things are related literally[2] by Josephus.
But Claudius appointed Agrippa,[3] son of Agrippa,
king of the Jews, having sent Felix[4] as procurator of the whole
country of Samaria and Galilee, and of the land called Perea.[5] And
after he had reigned thirteen years and eight months a he died, and left
Nero as his successor in the empire.
CHAPTER XX.
The Events which took _Place in Jerusalem dur-
ing the Reign of Nero.
Josephus again, in the twentieth book of his Antiquities,
relates the quarrel which arose among the priests during the reign of
Nero, while Felix was procurator of Judea. His words are as follows[1]:
"There arose a 2 quarrel between the high priests on the one hand and
the priests and leaders of the people of Jerusalem on the other.[2] And
each of them collected a body of the boldest and most restless men, and
put himself at their head, and whenever they met they hurled invectives
and stones at each other. And there was no one that would interpose; but
these things were done at will as if in a city destitute of a ruler.
And so great was the shamelessness and audacity of the high priests
that they dared to send their servants to the threshing-floors to seize
the tithes due to the priests; and thus those of the priests that were
poor were seen to be perishing of want. In this way did the violence of
the factions prevail over all justice." And the same 4 author again
relates that about the same time there sprang up in Jerusalem a certain
kind of robbers,[3]" who by day," as he says, "and in the middle
of the city slew those who met them." For, especially at the feasts, 5
they mingled with the multitude, and with short swords, which they
concealed under their garments, they stabbed the most
distinguished men. And when they fell, the murderers themselves were
among those who expressed their indignation. And thus on account of the
con-
123
fidence which was reposed in them by all, 6 they remained
undiscovered. The first that was slain by them was Jonathan the
high priest;[4] and after him many were killed every day, until the
fear became worse than the evil itself, each one, as in battle, hourly
expecting death.
CHAPTER XXI.
The Egyptian, who is mentioned also in the Acts
of the Apostles.
1 After other matters he proceeds as follows:[1] "But the
Jews were afflicted with a greater plague than these by the Egyptian
false prophet.[2] For there appeared in the land an impostor who aroused
faith in himself as a prophet, and collected about thirty thousand of
those whom he had deceived, and led them from the desert to the
so-called Mount of Olives whence he was prepared to enter Jerusalem by
force and to overpower the Roman garrison and seize the government of
the people, using those who made the attack with him as body
2. guards. But Felix anticipated his attack, and went out to meet
him with the Roman legionaries, and all the people joined in the
defense, so that when the battle was fought the Egyptian fled with a few
followers, but the most of them were destroyed or taken captive."
8 Josephus relates these events in the second book of his
History.[3] But it is worth while comparing the account of the Egyptian
given here with that contained in the Acts of the Apostles. In the time
of Felix it was said to Paul by the centurion in Jerusalem, when the
multitude of the Jews raised a disturbance against the apostle, "Art
not thou he Who before these days made an uproar, and led out into the
wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?"[4] These are the
events which took place in the time of Felix.[5]
CHAPTER XXII.
Paul having been sent bound from Judea to Rome, made his Defense, and
was acquitted of every Charge. Festus[1] was sent by Nero to
be Felix's 1 successor. Under him Paul, having made his defense,
was sent bound to Rome[2] Aristarchus was with him, whom he also
somewhere in his epistles quite naturally calls his fellow-prisoner.[3]
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And Luke, who wrote the Acts of the Apostles,[4] brought his history to
a close at this point, after stating that Paul spent two whole years at
Rome as a prisoner at large, and preached the word of God without
restraint.[5] Thus after he had made his defense it is said that the
apostle was sent again upon the ministry of preaching,[6] and that upon
coming to the same city a second time he suffered martyrdom.[7] In this
imprisonment he wrote his second epistle to Timothy,[8] in which he
mentions his first 3 defense and his impending death. But
hear his testimony on these matters: "At my first answer,"
he says, "no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that
it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with
me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known,
and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the
mouth of the lion."[9] He plainly indicates in these words that 4 on the
former occasion, in order that the preaching might be fulfilled by him,
he was rescued from the mouth of the lion, referring, in this
expression, to Nero, as is probable on account of the latter's cruelty.
He did not therefore afterward add the similar statement, "He will
rescue me from the mouth of the lion"; for he saw in the spirit that his
end would not be long delayed. Wherefore he 5 adds to the words, "And
he delivered me from the mouth of the lion," this sentence: "The Lord
shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his
heavenly kingdom,"[10] indicating his speedy martyrdom; which he also
foretells still more clearly in the same epistle, when he writes, "For
I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at
hand."[11] In his second 6 epistle to Timothy, moreover, he indicates
that Luke was with him when he wrote,[12] but at his first defense
not even he.[13] Whence it is probable that Luke wrote the Acts of the
Apostles at that time, continuing his history down to the period when
he was with Paul.[14] But 7 these things have been adduced by us to
show that Paul's martyrdom did not take place at the time of that Roman
sojourn which Luke
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8 records. It is probable indeed that as Nero was more disposed to
mildness in the beginning, Paul's defense of his doctrine was more
easily received; but that when he had advanced to the commission of
lawless deeds of daring, he made the apostles as well as others the
subjects of his attacks.[15]
CHAPTER XXIII
The Martyrdom of James, who was called the
Brother of the Lord.
1 But after Paul, in consequence of his
appeal to C'sar, had been sent to Rome by Festus, the Jews, being
frustrated in their hope of entrapping him by the snares which they had
laid for him, turned against James, the brother of the Lord,[1] to whom
the episcopal seat at Jerusalem bad been entrusted by the apostles.[2]
The following daring measures were undertaken by them against him.
Leading him into their midst they demanded of him that he should
renounce faith in Christ in the presence of all the people. But,
contrary to the opinion of all, with a clear voice, and with greater
boldness than they had anticipated, he spoke out before the whole
multitude and confessed that our Saviour and Lord Jesus is the Son
of God. But they were unable to bear longer the testimony of the
man who, on account of the excellence of ascetic virtue[3] and of
piety which he exhibited in his life, was esteemed by all as the
most just of men, and consequently they slew him. Opportunity
for this deed of violence was furnished by the prevailing
anarchy, which was caused by the fact that Festus had died just
at this time in Judea, and that the province was thus without a
governor and head.[4] The manner of James' death has been already
indicated by the above-quoted words of Clement, who records that
he was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple, and was beaten to death
with a club.[5] But Hegesippus,[6] who lived immediately after
the apostles, gives the most accurate account in the fifth
book of his Memoirs.[7] He writes 4 as follows: "James, the
brother of the Lord, succeeded to the government of the Church in
conjunction with the apostles.[8] He has been called the Just[9] by all
from the time of our Saviour to the present day; for there were many
that bore the name of James. He was holy 5 from his mother's womb; and
he drank no wine nor strong drink, nor did he eat flesh. No razor came
upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, and he did not use
the bath. He alone was permitted to enter 6 into the holy place ; for
he wore not woolen but linen garments. And he was in the habit of
entering alone into the temple, and was frequently found upon his knees
begging forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like
those of a camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his
worship of God, and asking forgiveness for the people.[10] Because 7 of
his exceeding great justice he was called the Just, and Oblias,[11]
which signifies in Greek, Bulwark of the people' and 'Justice,'[12] in
accordance with what the prophets declare concerning him.[13] Now some
of the seven 8 sects, which existed among the people and which
have been mentioned by me in the Memoirs,[14] asked him, 'What is
the gate of Jesus ?[15]
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and he replied that he was the Saviour. On account of these words some
believed that Jesus is the Christ. But the sects mentioned above did not
believe either in a resurrection or in one's coming to give to every
man according to his works.[16] But as many as believed did so on
account of James. 10 Therefore when many even of the rulers
believed, there was a commotion among the Jews and Scribes and
Pharisees, who said that there was danger that the whole people
would be looking for Jesus as the Christ. Coming therefore in a body to
James they said, 'We entreat thee, restrain the people; for they are
gone astray in regard to Jesus, as if he were the Christy We entreat
thee to persuade all that have come to the feast of the Passover
concerning Jesus; for we all have confidence in thee. For we bear thee
witness, as do all the people, that thou art just, and dost not respect
per 11 sons.[18] Do thou therefore persuade the multitude not to
be led astray concerning Jesus. For the whole people, and all of us
also, have confidence in thee. Stand therefore upon the pinnacle of the
temple,[19] that from that high position thou mayest be clearly seen,
and that thy words may be readily heard by all the people. For all the
tribes, with the Gentiles also, are come together on account of the
Passover.' The aforesaid Scribes and Pharisees therefore placed James
upon the pinnacle of the temple, and cried out to him and said:
Thou just one, in whom we ought all to have: confidence, forasmuch as
the people are led, astray after Jesus, the crucified one,
declare to us, what is the gate of Jesus.'[20] And he answered
with a loud voice,' Why do ye ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man ?
He himself sitteth in heaven at the right hand of the great Power, and
is about to come upon the clouds of heaven.'[21] And when many were 14
fully convinced and gloried in the testimony of James, and said,
'Hosanna to the Son of David,' these same Scribes and Pharisees said
again to one another,' We have done badly in supplying such testimony
to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, in order that they may
be afraid to believe him.' And 15 they cried out, saying, 'Oh! oh! the
just man is also in error.' And they fulfilled the Scripture written in
Isaiah,[22] ' Let us take away [23] the just man, because he is
troublesome to us: therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings.'
So they went up and threw down 16 the just man, and said to each other,
'Let us stone James the Just.' And they began to stone him, for he was
not killed by the fall; but he turned and knelt down and said, 'I
entreat thee, Lord God our Father,[24] forgive them, for they know not
what they do.'[25] And 17 while they were thus stoning him one of the
priests of the sons of Rechab, the son of the Rechabites,[26] who are
mentioned by Jeremiah the prophet,[27] cried out, saying, 'Cease, what
do ye? The just one prayeth for you[28]
127
18 And one of them, who was a fuller, took the club with which he
beat out clothes and struck the just man on the head. And thus he
suffered martyrdom.[29] And they buried him on the spot, by the temple,
and his monument still remains by the temple.[30] He became a true
witness, both to Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ. And
immediately Vespasian besieged them."[31] 19 These things are
related at length by Hegesippus, who is in agreement with Clement.[32]
James was so admirable a man and so celebrated among all for his
justice, that the more sensible even of the Jews were of the opinion
that this was the cause of the siege of Jerusalem, which happened to
them immediately after his martyrdom for no other reason than
20 their daring act against him. Josephus, at
least, has not hesitated to testify this in his writings, where he
says,[33] "These things happened to the Jews to avenge James the
Just, who was a brother of Jesus, that is called theChrist. For the Jews
slew him, although 21 he was a most just man." And the
same writer records his death also in the twentieth
book of his Antiquities in the following words:[34] "But the emperor,
when he learned of the death of Festus, sent Albinus[35] to be
procurator of Judea. But the younger Ananus,[36] who, as we have already
said,[37] had obtained the high priesthood, was of an exceedingly bold
and reckless disposition. He belonged, moreover, to the sect of the
Sadducees, who are the most cruel of all the Jews in the execution of
judgment, as we have already shown.[38] Ananus,22 therefore, being of
this character, and supposing that he had a favorable opportunity on
account of the fact that Festus was dead, and Albinus was still on the
way, called together the Sanhedrim, and brought before them the brother
of Jesus, the so-called Christ, James by name, together with some
others,[39] and accused them of violating the law, and condemned them
to be stoned.[40] But those in the city who 23 seemed most moderate and
skilled in the law were very angry at this, and sent secretly to the
king,[41] requesting him to order Ananus to cease such proceedings. For
he had not done right even this first time. And certain of them also
went to meet Albinus, who was journeying from Alexandria, and reminded
him that it was not lawful for Ananus to summon the Sanhedrim without
his knowledge.[42] And Albinus, being 24
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persuaded by their representations, wrote in anger to Ananus,
threatening him with punishment. And the king, Agrippa, in
consequence, deprived him, of the high priesthood,[43] which he had held
threemonths, and appointed Jesus, the son of 25 Damnaeus."[44] These
things are recorded in regard to James, who is said to be the author of
the first of the so-called catholic[45] epistles. But it is to be
observed that it is disputed;[46] at least, not many of the ancients
have mentioned it, as is the case likewise with the epistle that bears
the name of Jude,[47] which is also one of the seven so-called catholic
epistles. Nevertheless we know that these also,[48] with the rest, have
been read publicly in very many churches.[49]
CHAPTER XXIV.
Annianus the First Bishop of the Church of
Alexandria after Mark.
WHEN Nero was in the eighth year of his reign,[1]
Annianus[2] succeeded Mark the evangelist in the administration of the
parish of Alexandria.[3]
CHAffER XXV.
The Persecution under Nero in which Paul and Peter were honored at Rome
with Martyrdom in Behalf of Religion. WHEN the government of Nero
was now 1 firmly established, he began to plunge into unholy pursuits,
and armed himself even against the religion of the God of the universe.
To describe the greatness of his depravity2 does not lie within the plan
of the present work. As there are many indeed that have recorded his
history in most accurate narratives,[1] every one may at his pleasure
learn from them the coarseness of the man's extraordinary madness,
under the influence of which, after he had accomplished the destruction
of so many myriads without any reason, he ran into such
blood-guiltiness that he did not spare even his nearest relatives and
dearest friends, but destroyed his mother and his brothers and his
wife,[2] with very many others of his own family
129
as he would private and public enemies, with various kinds of deaths.
But with all these things this particular in the catalogue of his crimes
was still wanting, that he was the first of the emperors who showed
himself an enemy of the divine religion. 4 The Roman Tertullian is
likewise a witness of this. He writes as follows:[3] "Examine
your records. There you will find that Nero was the first that
persecuted this doctrine,[4] particularly then when after subduing all
the east, he exercised his cruelty against all at Rome.[5] We glory in
having such a man the leader in our punishment. For whoever knows him
can understand that nothing was condemned by Nero unless it was
something 5 of great excellence." Thus publicly announcing himself as
the first among God's chief enemies, he was led on to the slaughter of
the apostles. It is, therefore, recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome
itself,[6] and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero.[7] This
account of Peter and Paul is substantiated by the fact that their names
are preserved in the cemeteries of that place even to the present day.
It is confirmed likewise by Caius,[8] 6
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a member of the Church,[9] who arose[10] under Zephyrinus,[11] bishop
of Rome. He, in a published disputation with Proclus,[12] the leader of
the Phrygian heresy,[13] speaks as follows concerning the places where
the sacred corpses 7 of the aforesaid apostles are laid: "But[14] I can
show the trophies of the apostles. For if you will go to the Vatican[15]
or to the Ostian way,[16] you will find the trophies of those who laid
the foundations of this church."[17] 8 And that they both suffered
martyrdom at the same time is stated by Dionysius, bishop of
Corinth,[18] in his epistle to the Romans,[19] in the following
words: "You have thus by such an admonition bound together the planting
of Peter and of Paul at Rome and Corinth. For both of them planted and
likewise taught us in our Corinth.[20] And they taught together in like
manner in Italy, and suffered martyrdom at the same time."[21] I have
quoted these things in order that the truth of the history might be
still more confirmed.
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Jews, afflicted with Innumerable Evils, commenced the Last War
against the Romans. Josephus again, after relating many things 1
in connection with the calamity which came upon the whole Jewish nation,
records,[1] in addition to many other circumstances, that a great
many[2] of the most honorable among the Jews were scourged in Jerusalem
itself and then crucified by Florus.[3] It happened that he was
procurator of Judea when the war began to be kindled, in the twelfth
year of Nero.[4]
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2 Josephus says[5] that at that time a terrible commotion was
stirred up throughout all Syria in consequence of the revolt of the
Jews, and that everywhere the latter were destroyed without mercy, like
enemies, by the inhabitants of the cities, "so that one could see cities
filled with unburied corpses, and the dead bodies of the aged scattered
about with the bodies of infants, and women without even a covering for
their nakedness, and the whole province full of indescribable
calamities, while the dread of those things that were threatened was
greater than the sufferings themselves which they anywhere endured."[6]
Such is the account of Josephus; and such was the condition of the Jews
at that time.
BOOK III.
CHAPTER I.
The Parts of the World in which the Apostles
preached Christ.
1 Such was the condition of the Jews. Meanwhile the holy
apostles and disciples of our Saviour were dispersed throughout the
world.[1] Parthia,[2] according to tradition, was allotted to Thomas as
his field of labor, Scythia[3] to Andrew,[4] and Asia[5] to John,[6]
who, after he had lived some time there,[7] died at Ephesus. Peter
appears to have preached 6 in 2 Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia,
and Asia[9] to the Jews of the dispersion. And at last, having come to
Rome, he was crucified head-downwards;[10] for he had requested that he
might suffer in this way. What do we need to say concerning Paul, who
preached the Gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum,[11] and
afterwards suffered martyrdom in Rome under
133
Nero?[12] These facts are related by Origen in the third volume of his
Commentary on Genesis.[13]
CHAPTER II.
The First Ruler of the Church of Rome.
After the martyrdom of Paul and of Peter, Linus[1]
was the first to obtain the episcopate of the church at Rome. Paul
mentions him, when writing to Timothy from Rome, in the salutation at
the end of the epistle.[2]
CHAPTER III.
The Epistles of the Apostles.
One epistle of Peter, that called the first, is acknowledged as
genuine.[1] And this the ancient elders[2] used freely in their own
writings as an undisputed work.[3] But we have learned that his extant
second Epistle does not belong to the canon;[4] yet, as it has appeared
profitable to many, it has been used with the other Scriptures.[5] The
so-called Acts 2 of Peter,[6] however, and the Gospel[7] which bears his
name, and the Preaching[8] and the
134
Apocalypse,[9] as they are called, we know have not been universally
accepted,[10] because no ecclesiastical writer, ancient or modern, has
made use of testimonies drawn from them.[11] 3 But in the course
of my history I shall be careful to show, in addition to the official
succession, what ecclesiastical writers have from time to time made use
of any of the disputed works,[12] and what they have said in regard to
the canonical and accepted writings,[13] as well as in regard to those
which are not of this class. Such are the writings that bear the name of
Peter, only one of which I know to be genuine[14] and acknowledged by
the ancient elders.[15] 5 Paul's fourteen epistles are well known
and undisputed.[16] It is not indeed right to overlook the fact that
some have rejected the Epistle to the Hebrews,[17] saying that it is
dis-
Please choose an option.
135
puted[18] by the church of Rome, on the ground that it was not written
by Paul. But what has been said concerning this epistle by those who
lived before our time I shall quote in the proper place.[19] In regard
to the so-called Acts of Paul,[20] I have not found them among the
undisputed writings.[21]
6 But as the same apostle, in the salutations at the end of
the Epistle to the Romans,[22] has made mention among others of Hermas,
to whom the book called The Shepherd[23] is ascribed, it should be
observed that this too has been disputed by some, and on their account
cannot be placed among the acknowledged books; while by others it is
considered quite indispensable, especially to those who need instruction
in the elements of the faith. Hence, as we know, it has been publicly
read in churches, and I have found that some of the most ancient
writers used it. This will serve to show the divine writings that are
undisputed as well as those that are not universally acknowledged.
136
CHAPTER IV.
The First Successors of the Apostles.
1 THAT Paul preached to the Gentiles and laid the
foundations of the churches "from Jerusalem round about even unto
Illyricum," is evident both from his own words,[1] and from theaccount
which Luke has given in the Acts.[2]
2 And in how many provinces Peter preached Christ and
taught the doctrine of the new covenant to those of the circumcision is
clear from his own words in his epistle already mentioned as
undisputed,[3] in which he writes to the Hebrews of the dispersion in
Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.[4] But the number and
the names of those among them that became true and zealous followers of
the apostles, and were judged worthy to tend the churches rounded by
them, it is not easy to tell, except those mentioned in the writings of
Paul. For he had innumerable fellow-laborers, or "fellow-soldiers," as
he called them,[5] and most of them were honored by him with an
imperishable memorial, for he gave enduring testimony 5 concerning them
in his own epistles. Luke also in the Acts speaks of his friends, and
mentions them by name.[6]
6 Timothy, so it is recorded, was the first to
receive the episcopate of the parish in Ephesus,[7] Titus of the
churches in Crete.[8] But Luke,[9] who was of Antiochian parentage and a
physician by 7 profession,[10] and who was especially intimate with
Paul and well acquainted with the rest of the apostles,[11] has left us,
in two inspired books, proofs of that spiritual healing art which he
learned from them. One of these books is the Gospel,[12] which he
testifies that he wrote as those who were from the beginning eye
witnesses and ministers of the word delivered unto him, all of whom, as
he says, he followed accurately from the first.[13] The other book is
the Acts of the Apostles[14] which he
137
composed not from the accounts of others, but from what he had seen
himself. And they say that Paul meant to refer to Luke's Gospel
wherever, as if speaking of some gospel of his own, he used the words,
"according to my Gospel."[15] As to the rest of his followers, Paul
testifies that Crescens was sent to Gaul;[16] but Linus, whom he
mentions in the Second Epistle to Timothy[17] as his companion at Rome,
was Peter's successor in the episcopate of the church there, as has
already been shown.[18] Clement also, who was ap 10 pointed third bishop
of the church at Rome, was, as Paul testifies, his co-laborer and
fellow-soldier.[19] Besides these, that Areopa 11 gite, named
Dionysius, who was the first to believe after Paul's address to the
Athenians in the Areopagus (as recorded by Luke in the Acts)[20] is
mentioned by another Dionysius, an
138
ancient writer and pastor of the parish in Corinth,[21] as the first
bishop of the church at 12. Athens. But the events connected with
the apostolic succession we shall relate at the proper time. Meanwhile
let us continue the course of our history.
CHAPTER V.
The Last Siege of the Jews after Christ.
AFTER Nero had held the power thirteen years,[1] and
Galba and Otho had ruled a year and six months,[2] Vespasian, who had
become distinguished in the campaigns against the Jews, was proclaimed
sovereign in Judea and received the title of Emperor from the armies
there.[3] Setting out immediately, therefore, for Rome, he entrusted the
conduct of the war
2. against the Jews to his son Titus.[4] For the Jews
after the ascension of our Saviour, in addition to their crime against
him, had been devising as many plots as they could against his apostles.
First Stephen was stoned to death by them,[5] and after him James, the
son of Zebedee and the brother of John, was beheaded,[6] and finally
James, the first that had obtained the episcopal seat in Jerusalem
after the ascension of our Saviour, died in the manner already
described.[7] But the rest of the apostles, who had been incessantly
plotted against with a view to their destruction, and had been driven
out of the land of Judea, went unto all nations to preach the
Gospel,[8] relying upon the power of Christ, who had said to them, "Go
ye and make disciples of all the nations in my name."[9]
But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been
commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the
war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called
Pella.[10] And when those that believed in Christ had come thither from
Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of
Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length
overtook those who had committed such outrages against Christ and his
apostles, and totally destroyed that generation of impious men. But the
number of calamities which every 4 where fell upon the nation at that
time; the extreme misfortunes to which the inhabitants of Judea were
especially subjected, the thousands of men, as well as women and
children, that perished by the sword, by famine, and by other forms of
death innumerable,--all these things, as well as the many great sieges
which were carried on against the cities of Judea, and the excessive.
sufferings endured by those that fled to Jerusalem itself, as to a city
of perfect safety, and finally the general course of the whole war, as
well as its particular occurrences in detail, and how at last the
abomination of desolation, proclaimed by the prophets,[11] stood in the
very temple of God, so celebrated of old, the temple which was now
awaiting its total and final destruction by fire,-- all these things any
one that wishes may find accurately described in the history written by
Josephus.[12]
But it is necessary to state that this writer 5
records that the multitude of those who were assembled from all Judea at
the time of the Passover, to the number of three million souls,[13]
were shut up in Jerusalem "as in a prison," to use his own words. For it
was right 6 that in the very days in which they had inflicted suffering
upon the Saviour and the Benefactor of all, the Christ of God, that in
those days, shut up "as in a prison," they should meet with destruction
at the hands of divine justice.
But passing by the particular calamities 7 which
they suffered from the attempts made upon them by the sword and by other
means, I think it necessary to relate only the misfortunes which the
famine caused, that those who read
139
this work may have some means of knowing that God was not long in
executing vengeance upon them for their wickedness against the Christ of
God.
CHAPTER VI.
The Famine which oppressed them.
TAKING the fifth book of the History of
Josephus again in our hands, let us go through the tragedy of events
which then occurred.[1] "For the wealthy," he says, "it was equally
dangerous to remain. For under pretense that they were going to desert
men were put to death for their wealth. The madness of the seditions
increased with the famine and both the miseries were inflamed more and
more day by day. Nowhere was food to be seen; but, bursting into the
houses men searched them thoroughly, and whenever they found anything to
eat they tormented the owners on the ground that they had denied that
they had anything; but if they found nothing, they tortured them on the
ground that they 4 had more carefully concealed
it. The proof of their having or not having food was found in the
bodies of the poor wretches. Those of them who were still in good
condition they assumed were well supplied with food, while those who
were already wasted away they passed by, for it seemed absurd to slay
those who were 5 on the point of perishing for want.
Many, indeed, secretly sold their possessions for one measure of wheat,
if they belonged to the wealthier class, of barley if they were poorer.
Then shutting themselves up in the innermost parts of their houses, some
ate the grain uncooked on account of their terrible want, while others
baked it according as necessity and 6 fear dictated.
Nowhere were tables set, but, snatching the yet uncooked food from the
fire, they tore it in pieces. Wretched was the fare, and a lamentable
spectacle it was to see the more powerful secure an abundance while the
7 weaker mourned. Of all evils, indeed, famine is the worst, and
it destroys nothing so effectively as shame. For that which under other
circumstances is worthy of respect, in the midst of famine is despised.
Thus women snatched the food from the very mouths of their husbands and
children, from their fathers, and what was most pitiable of all, mothers
from their babes, And while their dearest ones were wasting away in
their arms, they Were not ashamed to take away froth them the last
8 drops that supported life. And even while they were
eating thus they did not remain undiscovered. But everywhere the rioters
appeared, to rob them even of these portions of food. For whenever they
saw a house shut up, they regarded it as a sign that those inside were
taking food. And immediately bursting open the doors they rushed in and
seized what they were eating, almost forcing it out of their very
throats. Old men who clung to their 9 food were beaten, and if
the women concealed it in their hands, their hair was torn for so
doing. There was pity neither for gray hairs nor for infants, but,
taking up the babes that clung to their morsels of food, they dashed
them to the ground. But to those that anticipated their entrance and
swallowed what they were about to seize, they were still more cruel,
just as if they had been wronged by them. And 10 they,
devised the most terrible modes of torture to discover food, stopping
up the privy passages of the poor wretches with bitter herbs, and
piercing their seats with sharp rods. And men suffered things horrible
even to hear of, for the sake of compelling them to confess to the
possession of one loaf of bread, or in order that they might be made to
disclose a single drachm of barley which they had concealed. But the
tormentors themselves did not suffer hunger. Their conduct might indeed
have seemed less barbarous if they had been driven to it by necessity;
but they did it for the sake of exercising their madness and of
providing sustenance for themselves for days to come. And when any one
crept out of the 12 city by night as far as the outposts of
the Romans to collect wild herbs and grass, they went to meet him; and
when he thought he had already escaped the enemy, they seized what he
had brought with him, and even though oftentimes the man would entreat
them, and, calling upon the most awful name of God, adjure them to give
him a portion of what he had obtained at the risk of his life, they
would give him nothing back. Indeed, it was fortunate if the one that
was plundered was not also slain."
To this account Josephus, after relating other things,
adds the following:[2] "The 13 possibility of going out of
the city being brought to an end,[3] all hope of safety for the Jews was
cut off. And the famine increased and devoured the people by houses and
families. And the rooms were filled with dead women and children, the
lanes of the city with the corpses of old men. Children and youths, 14
swollen with the famine, wandered about the market-places like shadows,
and fell down wherever the death agony overtook them. The sick were not
strong enough to bury even their own relatives, and those who had the
strength
140
hesitated because of the multitude of the dead and the uncertainty as
to their own fate. Many, indeed, died while they were burying others,
and many betook themselves to their graves
15 before death came upon them. There was neither
weeping nor lamentation under these misfortunes; but the famine stifled
the natural affections. Those that were dying a lingering death looked
with dry eyes upon those that had gone to their rest before them. Deep
silence and death-laden night encircled the city.
16 But the robbers were more terrible than these
miseries; for they broke open the houses, which were now mere
sepulchres, robbed the dead and stripped the covering from their bodies,
and went away with a laugh. They tried the points of their swords in
the dead bodies, and some that were lying on the ground still alive
they thrust through in order to test their weapons. But those that
prayed that they would use their right hand and their sword upon them,
they contemptuously left to be destroyed by the famine. Every one of
these died with eyes fixed upon the temple; and they left the seditious
17 alive. These at first gave orders that the
dead should be buried out of the public treasury, for they could not
endure the stench. But afterward, when they were not able to do this,
they threw the bodies from the walls 18 into the
trenches. And as Titus went around and saw the trenches filled with the
dead, and the thick blood oozing out of the putrid bodies, he groaned
aloud, and, raising his hands, called God to witness that this was
19 not his doing." After speaking of some other
things, Josephus proceeds as follows:[4] "I cannot hesitate to declare
what my feelings compel me to. I suppose, if the Romans had longer
delayed in coming against these guilty wretches, the city would have
been swallowed up by a chasm, or overwhelmed with a flood, or struck
with such thunderbolts as destroyed Sodom. For it had brought forth a
generation of men much more godless than were those that suffered such
punishment. By their madness indeed was the whole people brought to
destruction."
20 And in the sixth book he writes as follows:[5] "Of
those that perished by famine in the city the number was countless, and
the miseries they underwent unspeakable. For if so much as the shadow of
food appeared in any house, there was war, and the dearest friends
engaged in hand-to-hand conflict with one another, and snatched from
each other the most wretched supports of life. Nor would they believe 21
that even the dying were without food; but the robbers would search
them while they were expiring, lest any one should feign death while
concealing food in his bosom. With mouths gaping for want of food, they
stumbled and staggered along like mad dogs, and beat the doors as if
they were drunk, and in their impotence they would rush into the same
houses twice or thrice in one hour. Necessity compelled them to eat
anything 22 they could find, and they gathered and devoured things
that were not fit even for the filthiest of irrational beasts. Finally
they did not abstain even from their girdles and shoes, and they
stripped the hides off their shields and devoured them. Some used even
wisps of old hay for food, and others gathered stubble and sold the
smallest weight of it for four Attic drachm'.[6]
"But why should I speak of the shamelessness which
was displayed during the famine toward inanimate things? For I am going
to relate a fact such as is recorded neither by Greeks nor Barbarians;
horrible to relate, incredible to hear. And indeed I should gladly have
omitted this calamity, that I might not seem to posterity to be a teller
of fabulous tales, if I had not innumerable witnesses to it in my own
age. And besides, I should render my country poor service if I
suppressed the account of the sufferings which she endured.
"There was a certain woman named Mary that dwelt
beyond Jordan, whose father was Eleazer, of the village of Bathezor[7]
(which signifies the house of hyssop). She was distinguished for her
family and her wealth, and had fled with the rest of the multitude to
Jerusalem and was shut up there with them during the siege. The tyrants
had robbed her of the 25 rest of the property which she had
brought with her into the city from Perea. And the remnants of her
possessions and whatever food was to be seen the guards rushed in daily
and snatched away from her. This made the woman terribly angry, and by
her frequent reproaches and imprecations she aroused the anger of the
rapacious villains against herself. But no one either through anger or
pity would slay her; and she grew weary of finding food for others to
eat. The search, too, was already become everywhere difficult, and the
famine was piercing her bowels and marrow, and resentment was raging
more violently than famine. Taking, therefore, anger and necessity as
her counsellors, she proceeded to do a most unnatural thing. Seizing her
child, a boy which was sucking at her breast, she said, Oh, wretched
child, m war, in famine, in sedition, for what do I pre-
141
serve thee? Slaves among the Romans we shall be even if we are allowed
to live by them. But even slavery is anticipated by the famine, and the
rioters are more cruel than both. Come, be food for me, a fury for these
rioters, (8) and a bye-word to the world, for this is all that is
wanting to complete the calamities of the Jews. And when she had said
this she slew her son; 98 and having roasted him, she ate one half
herself, and covering up the remainder, she kept it. Very soon the
rioters appeared on the scene, and, smelling the nefarious odor, they
threatened to slay her 'immediately unless she should show them what she
had prepared. She replied that she had saved an excellent portion for
them, and with that she uncovered the 99 remains of the child. They
were immediately seized with horror and amazement and stood transfixed
at the sight. But she said This is my own son, and the deed is mine. Eat
for I too have eaten. Be not more merciful than a woman, nor more
compassionate than a mother. But if you are too pious and shrinkfrom my
sacrifice, I have already (9) eaten of 80 it; let the rest also remain
for me. At these words the men went out trembling, in this one case
being affrighted; yet with difficulty did they yield that food to the
mother. Forthwith the whole city was filled with the awful crime, and as
all pictured the terrible deed before their own eyes, they trembled as
if they 81 had done it themselves. Those that were
suffering from the famine now longed for death; and blessed were they
that had died before hearing and seeing miseries like these."
32 Such was the reward which the Jews received for their
wickedness and impiety, against the Christ of God.
CHAPTER VII.
The Predictions of Christ.
1It is fitting to add to these accounts the true prediction of our
Saviour in which he 2foretold these very events. His words are
as follows: (1) "Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that
give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the
winter, neither on the Sabbath day; For there shall be great
tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this
time, no, nor ever shall be." The historian, reckoning the whole number
(3) of the slain, says that eleven hundred thousand persons perished by
famine and sword, (2) and that the rest of the rioters and robbers,
being betrayed by each other after the taking of the city, were slain.
(3) But the tallest of the youths and those that were distinguished for
beauty were preserved for the triumph. Of the rest of the multitude,
those that were over seventeen years of age were sent as prisoners to
labor in the works of Egypt, (4) while still more were scattered
through the provinces to meet their death in the theaters by the sword
and by beasts. Those under seventeen years of age were carried away to
be sold as slaves, and of these alone the number reached ninety
thousand. (5) These things 4 took place in this manner in the second
year of the reign of Vespasian, (6) in accordance with the prophecies of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who by divine power saw them
beforehand as if they were already present, and wept and mourned
according to the statement of the holy evangelists, who give the very
words which be uttered, when, as if addressing Jerusalem herself, he
said: (7) "If thou hadst 5 known, even thou, in this day, the things
which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For
the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a rampart
about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and
shall lay thee and thy children even with the ground." And 6 then, as if
speaking concerning the people, he says, (8) "For there shall be great
distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall
by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." And again: (9) "When ye shall see
Jerusalem com-
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passed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh."
7 If any one compares the words of our Saviour with the other
accounts of the historian concerning the whole war, how can one fail to
wonder, and to admit that the foreknowledge and the prophecy of our
Saviour were 8 truly divine and marvellously strange. (10) Concerning
those calamities, then, that befell the whole Jewish nation after the
Saviour's passion and after the words which the multitude of the Jews
uttered, when they begged the release of the robber and murderer, but
besought that the Prince of Life should be taken from their midst, (11)
it is not necessary to add anything to the 9 account of the historian.
But it may be proper to mention also those events which exhibited the
graciousness of that all-good Providence which held back their
destruction full forty years after their crime against Christ,--during
which time many of the apostles and disciples, and James himself the
first bishop there, the one who is called the brother of the Lord,
were still alive, and dwelling in Jerusalem itself, remained the surest
bulwark of the place. Divine Providence thus still proved itself
long-suffering toward them in order to see whether by repentance for
what they had done they might obtain pardon and salvation; and in
addition to such long-suffering, Providence also furnished wonderful
signs of the things which were about to happen to them if they did not
repent. 10 Since these matters have been thought worthy of mention by
the historian already cited, we cannot do better than to recount them
for the benefit of the readers of this work.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Signs which preceded the War.
1 Taking, then, the work of this author, read what he
records in the sixth book of his History. His words are as follows: (1)
"Thus were the miserable people won over at this time by the impostors
and false prophets; (2) but they did not heed nor give credit to the
visions and signs that foretold the approaching desolation. On the
contrary, as if struck by lightning, and as if possessing neither eyes
nor understanding, they slighted the proclamations of God. At one time a
star, in form like a sword, stood over the city, and a comet, which
lasted for a whole year; and again before the revolt and before the
disturbances that led to the war, when the people were gathered for the
feast of unleavened bread, on the eighth of the month Xanthicus, (3) at
the ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone about the altar and
the temple that it seemed to be bright day; and this continued for half
an hour. This seemed to the unskillful a good sign, but was interpreted
by the sacred scribes as portending those events which very soon took
place. And at the same feast a cow, led 3 by the high priest to be
sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple. And the
eastern gate of the inner temple, 4 which was of bronze and very
massive, and which at evening was closed with difficulty by twenty men,
and rested upon iron-bound beams, and had bars sunk deep in the ground,
was seen at the sixth hour of the night to open of itself. And not many
days after the feast, 5 on the twenty-first of the month
Artemisium, (4) a certain marvelous vision was seen which passes belief.
The prodigy might seem fabulous were it not related by those who saw
it, and were not the calamities which followed deserving of such signs.
For before the setting of the sun chariots and armed troops were seen
throughout the whole region in mid-air, wheeling through the clouds and
encircling the cities. And at the feast which is called Pentecost, 6
when the priests entered the temple at night, as was their custom, to
perform the services, they said that at first they perceived a movement
and a noise, and afterward a voice as of a great multitude, saying,
'Let us go hence.' (5) But what follows is still more 7 terrible;
for a certain Jesus, the son of Ananias, a common countryman, four
years before the war, (6) when the city was particularly
143
prosperous and peaceful, came to the feast, at which it was customary
for all to make tents at the temple to the honor of God, (7) and
suddenly began to cry out: 'A voice from the east, a voice from the
west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the
temple, a voice against bridegrooms and brides, a voice against all the
people.' Day and night he went 8 through all the alleys crying thus. But
certain of the more distinguished citizens, vexed at the ominous cry,
seized the man and beat him with many stripes. But without uttering a
word in his own behalf, or saying anything in particular to those that
were present, he continued to cry out in the same words as before. And
the rulers, thinking, as was true, that the man was moved by a higher
power, brought him before the Roman governor. (8) And then, though he
was scourged to the bone, he neither made supplication nor shed tears,
but, changing his voice to the most lamentable tone possible, he
answered each stroke with the words, 'Woe, woe unto Jerusalem.'"
10 The same historian records another fact still more wonderful
than this. He says (9) that a certain oracle was found in their sacred
writings which declared that at that time a certain person should go
forth from their country to rule the world. He himself understood 11
that this was fulfilled in Vespasian. But Vespasian did not rule the
whole world, but only that part of it which was subject to the Romans.
With better right could it be applied to Christ; to whom it was said by
the Father, "Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance, and the ends of the earth for thy possession." (10) At
that very time, indeed, the voice of his holy apostles "went throughout
all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." (11)
CHAFFER IX.
Josethus and the Works which he has left. AFTER all this it is fitting
that we should know something in regard to the origin and family of
Josephus, who has contributed so much to the history in hand. He himself
gives us information on this point in the following words: (1)
"Josephus, the son of Mattathias, a priest of Jerusalem, who himself
fought against the Romans in the beginning and was compelled to be
present at what happened afterward." He was the most noted of all the
Jews of that day, not only among his own people, but also among the
Romans, so that he was honored by the erection of a statue in Rome, (2)
and his works were deemed worthy of a place in the library. (3) He wrote
the whole of the Antiquities of the Jews (4) in twenty books, and a
history of the war with the Romans which took place in his time, in
seven books? He himself testifies that the latter work was not only
written in Greek, but that it was also translated by himself
144
into his native tongue. (6) He is worthy of credit here because of his
truthfulness in other 4 matters. There are extant also two other
books of his which are worth reading. They treat of the antiquity of the
Jews, (7) and in them he replies to Apion the Grammarian, who had at
that time written a treatise against the Jews, and also to others who
had attempted to vilify the hereditary institutions of the Jewish
people. 5 In the first of these books he gives the number of the
canonical books of the so-called Old Testament. Apparently (8) drawing
his information from ancient tradition, he shows what books were
accepted without dispute among the Hebrews. His words are as follows.
CHAPTER X.
The Manner in which Josephus mentions the
Divine Books.
1 "We have not, therefore, a multitude of books disagreeing
and conflicting with one another; but we have only twenty-two, which
contain the record of all time and are justly held to be divine. Of
these, five are by 2 Moses, and contain the laws and the tradi-
145
tion respecting the origin of man, and continue the history (2) down to
his own death. This period embraces nearly three thousand years. (3)
From the death of Moses to the death of Artaxerxes, who succeeded Xerxes
as king of Persia, the prophets that followed Moses wrote the history
of their own times in thirteen books. (4) The other four books contain
hymns to God, and precepts for the regulation of the life of men. From
the time of Artaxerxes to our own day all the events have been
recorded, but the accounts are not worthy of the same confidence that
we repose in those which preceded them, because there has not been
during this time an exact 5 succession of prophets. (5) How much we are
attached to our own writings is shown plainly by our treatment of them.
For although so great a period has already passed by, no one has
ventured either to add to or to take from them, but it is inbred in all
Jews from their very birth to regard them as the teachings of God, and
to abide by them, and, if necessary, cheerfully to die for them."
These remarks of the historian I have thought might
advantageously be introduced in this connection. Another work of no
little merit 6 has been produced by the same writer, On the Supremacy of
Reason, (6) which some have called Maccabaicum, (7) because it contains
an account of the struggles of those Hebrews who contended manfully for
the true religion, as is related in the books called Maccabees. And at
the end of the twentieth book of (7) his Antiquities (8) Josephus
himself intimates that he had purposed to write a work in four books
concerning God and his existence, according to the traditional opinions
of the Jews, and also concerning the laws, why it is that they permit
some things while prohibiting others. (9) And the same writer also
mentions in his own works other books written by himself. (9) In (8)
addition to these things it is proper to quote also the words that are
found at the close of his Antiquities, (10) in confirmation of the
testimony which we have drawn from his accounts. In that place he
attacks Justus of Tiberias, (11) who, like himself, had attempted to
write a history of contemporary events, on the ground that he had not
written truthfully. Having brought many
146
other accusations against the man, he continues in these words: (12) "I
indeed was not afraid 9 in respect to my writings as you were, (13)
but, on the contrary, I presented my books to the emperors
themselves when the events were almost under men's eyes. For I was
conscious that I had preserved the truth in my account, and hence was
not disappointed in my expectation 10 of obtaining their attestation.
And I presented my history also to many others, some of whom were
present at the war, as, for instance, King Agrippa (14) and some of his
11 relatives. For the Emperor Titus desired so much that the knowledge
of the events should be communicated to men by my history alone, that he
indorsed the books with his own hand and commanded that they should be
published. And King Agrippa wrote sixty-two epistles testifying to the
truthfulness of my account." Of these epistles Josephus subjoins two.
(15) But this will suffice in regard to him. Let us now proceed with
our history.
CHAFFER XI.
Symeon rules the Church of Jerusalem after AFTER the martyrdom of James
(1) and the conquest of Jerusalem which immediately followed, (2) it is
said that those of the apostles and disciples of the Lord that were
still living came together from all directions with those that were
related to the Lord according to the flesh (3) (for the majority of them
also were still alive) to take counsel as to who was worthy to succeed
James. They all with one 2 consent pronounced Symeon, (4) the son of
Clopas, of whom the Gospel also makes mention; (5) to be worthy of the
episcopal throne of that parish. He was a cousin, as they say, of the
Saviour. For Hegesippus records that Clopas was a brother of Joseph. (6)
CHAFFER XII.
Vespasian commands the Descendants of David to be He also relates
that Vespasian after the conquest of Jerusalem gave orders that all that
belonged to the lineage of David should be sought out, in order that
none of the royal race might be left among the Jews; and in consequence
of this a most terrible persecution again hung over the Jews. (1)
147
CHAPTER XIII.
Anencletus, the Second Bishop of Rome.
After Vespasian had reigned ten years Titus, his
son, succeeded him. (1) In the second year of his reign, Linus, who had
been bishop of the church of Rome for twelve years, (2) delivered his
office to Anencletus. (3) But Titus was succeeded by his brother
Domitian after he had reigned two years and the same number of months.
(4)
CHAPTER XIV.
Abilius, the Second Bishop of Alexandria.
In the fourth year of Domitian, Annianus, (1) the
first bishop of the parish of Alexandria, died after holding office
twenty-two years, and was succeeded by Abilius, (2) the second bishop.
CHAPTER XV.
Clement, the Third Bishop of Rome.
In the twelfth year of the same reign Clement
succeeded Anencletus (1) after the latter had been bishop of the church
of Rome for twelve years. The apostle in his Epistle to the Philippians
informs us that this Clement was his fellow-worker. His words are as
follows: (2) "With Clement arid the rest of my fellow-laborers whose
names are in the book of life."
CHAPTER XVI.
The Epistle of Clement.
There is extant an epistle of this Clement (1) which
is acknowledged to be genuine and is of considerable length and of
remarkable merit. (2) He wrote it in the name of the church of
Rome to the church of Corinth, when a sedition had arisen in the latter
church. (3) We know that this epistle also has been publicly used in a
great many churches both in former times and in our own. (4) And of the
fact that a sedition did take place in the church of Corinth at the time
referred to Hegesippus is a trustworthy witness. (5)
CHAPTER XVII.
The Persecution under Domitian.
Domitian, having shown great cruelty toward many,
and having unjustly put to death no small number of well-born and
notable men at Rome, and having without cause exiled and confiscated the
property of a great many other illustrious men, finally became a
successor of Nero in his. hatred and enmity toward God. He was in fact
the second that stirred up a persecution against us, (1) although his
father Vespasian had undertaken nothing prejudicial to us. (2)
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CHAPTER XVIII.
The Apostle John and the Apocalypse.
1 It is said that in this persecution the apostle and
evangelist John, who was still alive, was condemned to dwell on the
island of Patmos in consequence of his testimony to the divine word. (1)
Irenaeus, in the fifth book of his work Against Heresies, where he
discusses the number of the name of Antichrist which is given in the
so-called Apocalypse of John, (2) speaks as follows concerning him: a
"If it were necessary for his name to be proclaimed openly at the
present time, it would have been declared by him who saw the revelation.
For it was seen not long ago, but almost in our own generation, at the
end of the reign of Domitian."
4 To such a degree, indeed, did the teaching of our faith
flourish at that time that even those writers who were far from our
religion did not hesitate to mention in their histories the persecution
and the martyrdoms which took place during it. (4) And they, indeed,
accurately indicated the time. For they recorded that in the fifteenth
year of Domitian (5) Flavia Domitilla, daughter of a sister of Flavius
Clement, who at that time was one of the consuls of Rome, (6) was exiled
with many others to the island of Pontia in consequence of testimony
borne to Christ.
CHAPTER XIX.
Domitian commands the Descendants of David
to be slain.
But when this same Domitian had commanded that the
descendants of David should be slain, an ancient tradition says (1) that
some of the heretics brought accusation against the descendants of Jude
(said to have been a brother of the Saviour according to the flesh), on
the ground that they were of the lineage of David and were related to
Christ himself. Hegesippus relates these facts in the following words.
CHAPTER XX.
The Relatives of our Saviour.
"Of the family of the Lord there were still 1 living the
grandchildren of Jude, who is said to have been the Lord's brother
according to the flesh. (1) Information was given that they belonged to
the family of David, and they 2 were brought to the Emperor Domitian by
the Evocatus. (2) For Domitian feared the com-
149
ing of Christ as Herod also had feared it. And he asked them if they
were descendants of David, and they confessed that they were. Then he
asked them how much property they had, or how much money they owned. And
both of them answered that they had only nine thousand denarii, (8)
half of which belonged to each of them; and this property did not
consist of silver, but of a piece of land which contained only
thirty-nine acres, and from which they raised their taxes (4) and
supported themselves by their own labor." (5) 5 Then they showed their
hands, exhibiting the hardness of their bodies and the callousness
produced upon their hands by continuous toil as evidence of their own
labor. And when they were asked concerning Christ and his kingdom,
of what sort it was and where and when it was to appear, they, answered
that it was not a temporal nor an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly and
angelic one, which would appear at the end of the world, when he should
come in glory to judge the quick and the dead, and to give unto every
one according to his works. Upon hearing this, Domitian did not pass
judgment against them, but, despising them as of no account, he let
them go, and by a decree put a stop to the persecution of the Church.
But when they were released they ruled the churches because they were
witnesses (6) and were also relatives of the Lord. (7) And peace being
established, they lived until the time of Trojan. These things are
related by Hegesippus.
9 Tertullian also has mentioned Domitian in the following words:
(8) "Domitian also, who possessed a share of Nero's cruelty, attempted
once to do the same thing that the latter did. But because he had, I
suppose, some intelligence, (9) he very soon ceased, and even 10
recalled those whom he had banished." But after Domitian had reigned
fifteen years, (16) and Nerva had succeeded to the empire, the Roman
Senate, according to the writers that record the history of those days,
(11) voted that Domitian's honors should be cancelled, and that those
who had been unjustly banished should return to their homes and have
their property restored to them. It was at this time 11 that the apostle
John returned from his banishment in the island and took up his abode
at Ephesus, according to an ancient Christian tradition. (12)
CHAPTER XXI.
Cerdon becomes the Third Ruler of the Church
of Alexandria.
After Nerva had reigned a little more 1 than a year (1) he
was succeeded by Trojan. It was during the first year of his reign that
Abilius, (2) who had ruled the church of Alexandria for thirteen years,
was succeeded by Cerdon. (3) He was the third that presided2 over that
church after Annianus, (4) who was the first. At that time Clement still
ruled the church of Rome, being also the third that held the episcopate
there after Paul and Peter. Linus was the first, and after him came 3
Anencletus, (5)
CHAPTER XXII.
Ignatius, the Second Bishop of Antioch.
AT this time Ignatius (1) was known as the second
bishop of Antioch, Evodius having been the first. (2) Symeon (3)
likewise was at that time the second ruler of the church of Jerusalem,
the brother of our Saviour having been the first.
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CHAPTER XXIII.
Narrative concerning John the Apostle.
1 At that time the apostle and evangelist John, the
one whom Jesus loved, was still living in Asia, and governing the
churches of that region, having returned after the death of Domitian
from his exile on the island. (1) 2 And that he was still alive at
that time (2) may be established by the testimony of two witnesses.
They should be trustworthy who have maintained the orthodoxy of the
Church; and such indeed were Irenaeus and Clement 3 of Alexandria. (3)
The former in the second book of his work Against Heresies, writes as
follows: (4) "And all the elders that associated with John the disciple
of the Lord in Asia bear witness that John delivered it to them. For he
remained among them until the time of Trajan." (5) And in the third book
of the same work he attests the same thing in the following words: (6)
"But the church in Ephesus also, which was founded by Paul, and where
John remained until the time of Trajan, is a faithful witness of the
apostolic tradition." 5 Clement likewise in his book entitled What Rich
Man can be saved? (7) indicates the time, (8) and subjoins a narrative
which is most attractive to those that enjoy hearing what is beautiful
and profitable. Take and read the account which rims as follows: (9)
"Listen to a tale, which is not a mere tale, 6 but a narrative (10)
concerning John the apostle, which has been handed down and treasured
up in memory. For when, after the tyrant's death, (11) he returned from
the isle of Patmos to Ephesus, he went away upon their invitation to
the neighboring territories of the Gentiles, to appoint bishops in some
places, in other places to set in order whole churches, elsewhere to
choose to the ministry some one (12) of those that were pointed out by
the Spirit. When he 7 had come to one of the cities not far away (the
name of which is given by some (13)), and had consoled the brethren in
other matters, he finally turned to the bishop that had been appointed,
and seeing a youth of powerful physique, of pleasing appearance, and of
ardent temperament, he said, 'This one I commit to thee in all
earnestness in the presence of the Church and with Christ as witness.'
And when the bishop had accepted the Charge and had promised all, he
repeated the same injunction with an appeal to the same witnesses, and
then departed for Ephesus. But the presbyter, (14) 8 taking home the
youth committed to him,
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reared, kept, cherished, and finally baptized (15) him. After this he
relaxed his stricter care and watchfulness, with the idea that in
putting upon him the seal of the Lord (16) he had given him a perfect
protection. But some youths 9 of his own age, idle and dissolute,
and accustomed to evil practices, corrupted him when he was thus
prematurely freed from restraint. At first they enticed him by costly
entertainments; then, when they went forth at night for robbery, they
took him with them, and finally they demanded that he should unite with
them in some greater crime. He gradually 10 became accustomed to such
practices, and on account of the positiveness of his character, (17)
leaving the right path, and taking the bit in his teeth like a
hard-mouthed and powerful horse, he rushed the more violently down into
the depths. And finally despairing of salvation in God, he no longer
meditated what was insignificant, but having committed some great crime,
since he was now lost once for all, he expected to suffer a like fate
with the rest. Taking them, therefore, and forming a band of robbers,
he became a bold bandit-chief, the most violent, most bloody, most
cruel of them all. Time passed, and some necessity having arisen, they
sent for John. But he, when he had set in order the other matters on
account of which he had come, said, 'Come, O bishop, restore us the
deposit which both I and Christ committed to thee, the church, over
which thou presidest, being witness. (7) But the bishop was 13 at first
confounded, thinking that he was falsely charged in regard to money
which he had not received, and he could neither believe the accusation
respecting what he had not, nor could he disbelieve John. But when he
said, 'I demand the young man and the soul of the brother,' the old man,
groaning deeply and at the same time bursting into tears, said, 'He is
dead.' 'How and what kind of death?' 'He is dead to God,' he said; 'for
he turned wicked and abandoned, and at last a robber. And now, instead
of the church, he haunts the mountain with a band like himself.' But
the 14 Apostle rent his clothes, and beating his head with great
lamentation, he said, 'A fine guard I left for a brother's soul !But
let a horse be brought me, and let some one show me the way.' He rode
away from the church just as he was, and coming to the place, he was 15
taken prisoner by the robbers' outpost. He, however, neither fled nor
made entreaty,
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but cried out, 'For this did I come; lead 16 me to
your captain.' The latter, meanwhile, was waiting, armed as he was. But
when he recognized John approaching, he 17 turned in shame to flee. But
John, forgetting his age, pursued him with all his might, crying out,
'Why, my son, dost thou flee from me, thine own father, unarmed, aged?
Pity me, my son; fear not; thou hast still hope of life. I will give
account to Christ for thee. If need be, I will willingly endure thy
death as the Lord suffered death for us. For thee will I give up my
life. Stand, believe; Christ hath sent 18 me.' And he, when he heard,
first stopped and looked down; then he threw away his arms, and then
trembled and wept bitterly. And when the old man approached, he embraced
him, making confession with lamentations as he! was able, baptizing
himself a second time with tears, and concealing only his right hand,
19 But John, pledging himself, and assuring him on oath that he would
find forgiveness with the Saviour, besought him, fell upon his knees,
kissed his right hand itself as if now purified by repentance, and led
him back to the church. And making intercession for him with copious
prayers, and struggling together with him in continual fastings, and
subduing his mind by various utterances, he did not depart, as they
say, until he had restored him to the church, furnishing a great
example of true repentance and a great proof of regeneration, a trophy
of a visible resurrection."
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Order of the Gospels.
1 This extract from Clement I have inserted here for the
sake of the history and for the benefit of my readers. Let us now point
out the undisputed writings of this apostle. 2 And in the first place
his Gospel, which is known to all the churches under heaven, must be
acknowledged as genuine. (1) That it has with good reason been put by
the ancients in the fourth place, after the other three Gospels, may be
made evident in the following way. Those great and truly divine men, I
mean 3 the apostles of Christ, were purified in their life, and were
adorned with every virtue of the soul, but were uncultivated in speech.
They were confident indeed in their trust in the divine and
wonder-working power which was granted unto them by the Saviour, but
they did not know how, nor did they attempt to proclaim the doctrines of
their teacher in studied and artistic language, but employing only the
demonstration of the divine Spirit, which worked with them, and the
wonder-working power of Christ, which was displayed through them, they
published the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven throughout the whole
world, paying little attention to the composition of written works. And
this 4 they did because they were assisted in their ministry by
one greater than man. Paul, for instance, who surpassed them all in
vigor of expression and in richness of thought, committed to writing no
more than the briefest epistles, (2) although he had innumerable
mysterious matters to communicate, for he had attained even unto the
sights of the third heaven, had been carried to the very paradise of
God, and had been deemed worthy to 'heat unspeakable utterances there.
(3) And the rest of the followers of our Saviour, 5 the twelve apostles,
the seventy disciples, and countless others besides, were not ignorant
of these things. Nevertheless, of all the disciples (4) of the Lord,
only Matthew and John have left us written memorials, and they,
tradition says, were led to write only under the pressure of necessity.
For Matthew, who had 6 at first preached to the Hebrews, when he was
about to go to other peoples, committed his Gospel to writing in his
native tongue, (5) and thus
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compensated those whom he was obliged 7 to leave for the loss of his
presence. And when Mark and Luke had already published their Gospels,
(6) they say that John, who had employed all his time in proclaiming the
Gospel orally, finally proceeded to write for the following reason. The
three Gospels already mentioned having come into the hands of all and
into his own too, they say that he accepted them and bore witness to
their truthfulness; but that there was lacking in them an account of
the deeds done by Christ at the beginning of his ministry. 8 (7) And
this indeed is true. For it is evident that the three evangelists
recorded only the deeds done by the Saviour for one year after the
imprisonment of John the Baptist, (8) and indicated this in the
beginning of their account. For Matthew, after the forty days' 9
fast and the temptation which followed it, indicates the
chronology of his work when he says: "Now when he heard that John was
delivered up he withdrew from Judea into Galilee.'' (9) Mark likewise
says: "Now after 10 that John was delivered up Jesus came into Galilee."
(10) And Luke, before commencing his account of the deeds of Jesus,
similarly marks the time, when he says that Herod, "adding to all the
evil deeds which he had done, shut up John in prison." (11) They say,
therefore, 11 that the apostle John, being asked to do it for this
reason, gave in his Gospel an account of the period which had been
omitted by the earlier evangelists, and of the deeds done by the Saviour
during that period; that is, of those which were done before the
imprisonment of the Baptist. And this is indicated by him, they say, in
the following words: "This beginning of miracles did Jesus "; (12) and
again when he refers to the Baptist, in the midst of the deeds of
Jesus, as still baptizing in [?]non near Salim; (13) where he states
the matter clearly in the words: "For John was not yet cast into
prison." (14) John 12 accordingly, in his Gospel, records the deeds of
Christ which were performed before the Baptist was cast into prison, but
the other three evangelists mention the events which happened after
that time. One who under- 13 stands this can no longer think that the
Gospels are at variance with one another, inasmuch as the Gospel
according to John contains the first acts of Christ, while the others
give an account of the latter part of his life. And the genealogy of our
Saviour according to the flesh John quite naturally omitted, because it
had been already given by Matthew and Luke, and began with the doctrine
of his divinity, which had, as it were, been reserved for him, as their
superior, by the divine Spirit. (15) These 14 things may suffice, which
we have said concerning the Gospel of John. The cause which led to the
composition of the Gospel of Mark has been already stated by us. (16)
But as for Luke, 15 in the beginning of his Gospel, he states
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He states that since many others had more rashly undertaken to compose
a narrative of the events of which he had acquired perfect knowledge, he
himself, feeling the necessity of freeing us from their uncertain
opinions, delivered in his own Gospel an accurate account of those
events in regard to which he had learned the full truth, being aided by
his intimacy and his stay with Paul and by his acquaintance with 16 the
rest of the apostles. (17) So much for our own account of these things.
But in a more fitting place we shall attempt to show by quotations from
the ancients, what others have said concerning them. 17 But of the
writings of John, not only his Gospel, but also the former of his
epistles, has been accepted without dispute both now and in ancient
times. (18) But the other two 18 are disputed. (19) In regard to the
Apocalypse, the opinions of most men are still divided. (20) But at the
proper time this question
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likewise shall be decided from the testimony of the ancients.
CHAPTER XXV.
The Divine Scriptures that are accept and those that are not. (1)
1 Since we are dealing with this subject it is proper to
sum up the writings of the New Testament which have been already
mentioned. First then must be put the holy quaternion of the Gospels;
(2) following them the Acts of the Apostles. (3) After this must2 be
reckoned the epistles of Paul; (4) next in
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order the extanfinal former epistle of John, (5) and likewise the
epistle of Peter, (6) must be maintained. (6) After them is to be
placed, if it really seem proper, the Apocalypse of John, (7) concerning
which we shall give the different opinions at the proper time. (8)
These then belong among the accepted writings. (9) Among the disputed
writings, (10) which are nevertheless recognized n by many, are extant
the so-called epistle of James (12) and that of Jude, (13) also the
second epistle of Peter, (14) and those that are called the second and
third of John, (15) whether they belong to the evangelist or to another
person of the same name. Among the rejected 4 writings (16) must be
reckoned also the Acts of Paul, (17) and the
so-called Shepherd, (18) and the Apocalypse of Peter, (19) and in
addition to these the extant epistle of Barnabas, (20) and the so-called
Teachings of the Apostles; (21) and besides, as I said, the Apocalypse
of John, if it seem proper, which some, as I said, reject, (22) but
which others class with the accepted books. (23) And 5 among these some
have placed also the Gospel according to the Hebrews, (24) with which
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those of the Hebrews that have accepted Christ are especially
delighted. And all these may be reckoned among the disputed books. (25)
But we have nevertheless felt compelled to give a catalogue of these
also, distinguishing those works which according to ecclesiastical
tradition are true and genuine and commonly accepted, (26) from those
others which, although not canonical but disputed, (27) are yet at the
same time known to most ecclesiastical writers--we have felt compelled
to give this catalogue in order that we might be able to know both these
works and those that are cited by the heretics under the name of the
apostles, including, for instance, such books as the Gospels of Peter,
(28) of Thomas, (29) of Matthias, (30) or of any others besides them,
and the Acts of Andrew (81) and John (82) and the other apostles, which
no one belonging to the succession of ecclesiastical writers has deemed
worthy of mention in his writings. And further, the character of the
style is at 7 variance with apostolic usage, and both the thoughts and
the purpose of the things that are related in them are so completely
out of accord with true orthodoxy that they clearly show themselves to
be the fictions of heretics. (33) Wherefore they are not to be placed
even among the rejected (34) writings, but are all of them to be cast
aside as absurd and impious. Let us now proceed with our history.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Menander the Sorcerer.
Menander, (1) who succeeded Simon Magus, (2) showed himself in
his conduct another in-
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strument of diabolical power, (3) not inferior to the former. He also
was a Samaritan and carried his sorceries to no less an extent than his
teacher had done, and at the same time reveled in still more marvelous
tales than he. For he said that he was himself the Saviour, who had been
sent down from invisible aeons for 2 the salvation of men; (4)
and he taught that no one could gain the mastery over the
world-creating angels themselves (5) unless he had first gone through
the magical discipline imparted by him and had received baptism from
him. Those who were deemed worthy of this would partake even in the
present life of perpetual immortality, and would never die, but would
remain here forever, and without growing old become immortal. (6) These
facts can be easily 3 learned from the works of Irenaeus. (7) And
Justin, in the passage in which he mentions Simon, gives an account of
this man also, in the following words: (8) "And we know that a certain
Menander, who was also a Samaritan, from the village of Capparattea, (9)
was a disciple of Simon, and that he also, being driven by the demons,
came to Antioch (10) and deceived many by his magical art. And he
persuaded his followers that they should not die. And there are 4 still
some of them that assert this." And it was indeed an artifice of the
devil to endeavor, by means of such sorcerers, who assumed the name of
Christians, to defame the great mystery of godliness by magic art, and
through them to make ridiculous the doctrines of the Church concerning
the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the dead. (11) But
they that have chosen these men as their saviours have fallen away from
the true hope.
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Heresy of the Ebionites. (1)
The evil demon, however, being unable to tear
certain others from their allegiance
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to the Christ of God, yet found them susceptible in a different
direction, and so brought them over to his own purposes. The ancients
quite properly called these men Ebionites, because they held poor and
mean opinions concerning Christ. (2) For they considered him a plain and
common man, who was justified only because of his superior virtue, and
who was the fruit of the intercourse of a man with Mary. In their
opinion the observance of the ceremonial law was altogether necessary,
on the ground that they could not be saved by faith in Christ 3 alone
and by a corresponding life. (3) There were others, however, besides
them, that were of the same name, (4) but avoided the strange and absurd
beliefs of the former, and did not deny that the Lord was born of a
virgin and of the Holy Spirit. But nevertheless, inasmuch as they also
refused to acknowledge that he pre-existed, being God, Word, and
Wisdom, they turned aside into the impiety of the former, especially
when they, like them, endeavored to observe strictly the bodily worship
of the law. (6) These men, 4 moreover, thought that it was necessary to
reject all the epistles of the apostle, whom they called an apostate
from the law; (7) and they used only the so-called Gospel according to
the Hebrews (8) and made small account of the rest. The Sabbath and the
rest of the discipline 5 of the Jews they observed just like them, but
at the same time, like us, they celebrated the Lord's days as a memorial
of the
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6 resurrection of the Saviour. (9) Wherefore, in consequence of
such a course they received the name of Ebionites, which signified the
poverty of their understanding. For this is the name by which a poor man
is called among the Hebrews. (10)
CHAPTER XXVIII. Cerinthus the Heresiarch.
1 We have understood that at this time Cerinthus, (1) the
author of another heresy, made his appearance. Caius, whose words we
quoted above, (2) in the Disputation which is ascribed to him, writes as
follows concerning this man: "But Cerinthus also, by means 2 of
revelations which he pretends were written by a great apostle, brings
before us marvelous things which he falsely claims were shown him by
angels; and he says that after the resurrection the kingdom of Christ
will be set up on earth, and that the flesh dwelling in Jerusalem will
again be subject to desires and pleasures. And being an enemy of the
Scriptures of God, he asserts, with the purpose of deceiving men, that
there is to be a period of a thousand years a for marriage festivals."
(4) And Dionysius, (5) who 3 was bishop of the parish of Alexandria in
our day, in the second book of his work On the Promises, where he says
some things concerning the Apocalypse of John which he draws from
tradition, mentions this same man in the following words: (6) "But
(they say that) 4 Cerinthus, who founded the sect which was called,
after him, the Cerinthian, desiring reputable authority for his
fiction, prefixed the name. For the doctrine which he taught was this:
that the kingdom of Christ will be an
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5 earthly one. And as he was himself devoted to the pleasures of the
body and altogether sensual in his nature, he dreamed that that kingdom
would consist in those things which he desired, namely, in the delights
of the belly and of sexual passion, that is to say, in eating and
drinking and marrying, and in festivals and sacrifices and the slaying
of victims, under the guise of which he thought he could indulge his
appetites with a better grace." These are the 6 words of Dionysius. But
Irenaeus, in the first book of his work Against Heresies, (7)
gives some more abominable false doctrines of the same man, and in the
third book relates a story which deserves to be recorded. He says, on
the authority of Polycarp, that the apostle John once entered a bath to
bathe; but, learning that Cerinthus was within, he sprang from the place
and rushed out of the door, for he could not bear to remain under the
same roof with him. And he advised those that were with him to do the
same, saying, "Let us flee, lest the bath fall for Cerinthus, the enemy
of the truth, is within." (8)
CHAPTER XXIX.
Nicolaus and the Sect named after him.
1 At this time the so-called sect of the Nicolaitans made
its appearance and lasted for a very short time. Mention is made of it
in the Apocalypse of John. (1) They boasted that the author of their
sect was Nicolaus, one of the deacons who, with Stephen, were appointed
by the apostles for the purpose of ministering to the poor. (2) Clement
of Alexandria, in the third book of his Stromata, relates the following
things concerning him. (3) "They say that he had 2 a beautiful wife, and
after the ascension of the Saviour, being accused by the apostles of
jealousy, he led her into their midst and gave permission to any one
that wished to marry her. For they say that this was in accord with that
saying of his, that one ought to abuse the flesh. And those that have
followed his heresy, imitating blindly and foolishly that which was
done and said, commit fornication without shame. But I understand that
Nicolaus had to do 3 with no other woman than her to whom he was
married, and that, so far as his children are concerned, his daughters
continued in a state of virginity until old age, and his son remained
uncorrupt. If this is so, when he brought his wife, whom he jealously
loved, into the midst of the apostles, he was evidently renouncing his
passion; and when he used the expression, 'to abuse the flesh,' he was
inculcating self-control in the face of those pleasures that are eagerly
pursued. For I suppose that, in accordance with the command of the
Saviour, he did not wish to serve two masters, pleasure and the Lord.
(4) But they 4 say that Matthias also taught in the same manner that we
ought to fight against and abuse the flesh, and not give way to it for
the sake of pleasure, but strengthen the soul by faith and knowledge."
(5) So much concerning those who then attempted to pervert the truth,
but in less time than it has taken to tell it became entirely extinct.
CHAPTER XXX.
The Apostles that were married. Clement, indeed, whose words we
have 1 just quoted, after the above-mentioned facts gives a
statement, on account of those who rejected marriage, of the apostles
that had wives. (1)
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"Or will they," says he, (2) "reject even the apostles? For Peter (3)
and Philip (4) begat children; and Philip also gave his daughters in
marriage. And Paul does not hesitate, in one of his epistles, to greet
his wife, (5) whom he did not take about with him, that he might not be
inconvenienced 2 in his ministry." And since we have mentioned this
subject it is not improper to subjoin another account which is given by
the same author and which is worth reading. In the seventh book of his
Stromata he writes as follows: (6) "They say, accordingly, that when the
blessed Peter saw his own wife led oat to die, he rejoiced because of
her summons and her return home, and called to her very encouragingly
and comfortingly, addressing her by name, and saying, 'Oh thou,
remember the Lord.' Such was the marriage of the blessed, and their
perfect disposition toward those dearest to them." This account being
in keeping with the subject in hand, I have related here in its proper
place.
CHAPTER XXXI.
The Death of John and Philip.
The time and the manner of the death of Paul and
Peter as well as their burial places, have been already shown by us. (1)
The time2, of John's death has also been given in a general way, (2)
but his burial place is indicated by an epistle of Polycrates (3) (who
was bishop of the parish of Ephesus), addressed to Victor, (4) bishop
of Rome. In this epistle he mentions him together with the apostle
Philip and his daughters in the following words: (5) "For in 3 Asia
also great lights have fallen asleep, which shall rise again on the
last day, at the coming of the Lord, when he shall come with glory from
heaven and shall seek out all the saints. Among these are Philip, one
of the twelve apostles, (6) who sleeps in Hierapolis, (7) and his two
aged virgin daughters, and another daughter who lived in the Holy
Spirit and now rests at Ephesus; (8) and
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moreover John, who was both a witness (9) and a teacher, who reclined
upon the bosom of the Lord, and being a priest wore the sacerdotal
plate. (10) He also sleeps at Ephesus." (11) So much concerning their
death. And in the Dialogue of Caius which we mentioned a little above,
(12) Proclus, (13) against whom he directed his disputation, in
agreement with what has been quoted, (14) speaks thus concerning the
death of Philip and his daughters: "After him (15) there were four
prophetesses, the daughters of Philip, at Hierapolis in Asia. Their tomb
is there and the tomb of their father." Such is his state-merit. But
Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, mentions the daughters of Philip who
were at that time at Caesarea in Judea with their father, and were
honored with the gift of prophecy. His words are as follows: "We came
unto Caesarea; and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who
was one of the seven, we abode with him. Now this man had four
daughters, virgins, which did prophesy." (16) We have thus set forth in
these pages6 what has come to our knowledge concerning the apostles
themselves and the apostolic age, and concerning the sacred writings
which they have left us, as well as concerning those which are disputed,
but nevertheless have been publicly used by many in a great number of
churches, (17) and moreover, concerning those that are altogether
rejected and are out of harmony with apostolic orthodoxy. Having done
this, let us now proceed with our history.
CHAPTER XXXII.
Symeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, suffers Martyrdom.
It is reported that after the age of Nero and 1 Domitian, under the
emperor whose times we are now recording, (1) a persecution was stirred
up against us in certain cities in consequence of a popular uprising.
(2) In this persecution we have understood that Symeon, the son of
Clopas, who, as we have shown, was the second bishop of the church of
Jerusalem, (3) suffered martyrdora. Hegesippus, whose words we have2
already quoted in various places, (4) is a witness to this fact also.
Speaking of certain heretics (5) he adds that Symeon was accused by them
at this time; and since it was clear that he was a Christian, he was
tortured in various ways for many days, and astonished even the judge
himself and his attendants in the highest degree, and finally he
suffered a death similar to that of our Lord. (6) But there is nothing
like hearing the historian 3 himself, who writes as follows: "Certain of
these heretics brought accusation against Symeon, the son of Clopas, on
the ground that he was a descendant of David (7) and a Christian;
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and thus he suffered martyrdom, at the age of one hundred and twenty
years, (8) while Trajan was emperor and Atticus governor." (9) 4 And the
same writer says that his accusers also, when search was made for the
descendants of David, were arrested as belonging to that family. (10)
And it might be reasonably assumed that Symeon was one of those that
saw and heard the Lord, (11) judging from the length of his life, and
from the fact that the Gospel makes mention of Mary, the wife of
Clopas, (12) who was the father of Symeon, as has been already shown.
(13) The same historian says that there were also others, descended from
one of the so-called brothers of the Saviour, whose name was Judas,
who, after they had borne testimony before Domitian, as has been
already recorded, (14) in behalf of faith in Christ, lived until the
same reign. He writes as follows: "They came, therefore, and took the
lead of every church (14a) as witness (15) and as relatives of the Lord.
And profound peace being established in every church, they remained
until the reign of the Emperor Trajan, (16) and until the
above-mentioned Symeon, son of Clopas, an uncle of the Lord, was
informed against by the heretics, and was himself in like manner accused
for the same cause (17) before the governor Atticus. (18) And after
being tortured for many days he suffered martyrdom, and all, including
even the proconsul, marveled that, at the age of one hundred and twenty
years, he could endure so much. And orders were given that he should be
crucified." In addition to these things the same 7 man, while
recounting the events of that period, records that the Church up to
that time had remained a pure and uncorrupted virgin, since, if there
were any that attempted to corrupt the sound norm of the preaching of
salvation, they lay until then concealed in obscure darkness. But when
the sacred college of 8 apostles had suffered death in various
forms, and the generation of those that had been deemed worthy to hear
the inspired wisdom with their own ears had passed away, then the
league of godless error took its rise as a result of the folly of
heretical teachers, (19) who, because none of the apostles was still
living, attempted henceforth, with a bold face, to proclaim, in
opposition to the preaching of the truth, the 'knowledge which is
falsely so-called.' (20)
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Trajan forbids the Christians to be sought after.
So great a persecution was at that time 1 opened against us in
many places that Plinius Secundus, one of the most noted of governors,
being disturbed by the great number of martyrs, communicated with the
emperor concerning the multitude of those that were put to death for
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their faith. (1) At the same time, he informed him in his communication
that he had not heard of their doing anything profane or contrary to the
laws,--except that they arose at dawn (2) and sang hymns to Christ as a
God; but that the), renounced adultery and murder and like criminal
offenses, and did all things in accordance with the laws. In reply to
this Trajan2. made the following decree: that the race of Christians
should not be sought after, but when found should be punished. On
account of this the persecution which had threatened to be a most
terrible one was to a certain degree checked, but there were still left
plenty of pretexts for those who wished to do us harm. Sometimes the
people, sometimes the rulers in various places, would lay plots against
us, so that, although no great persecutions took place, local
persecutions were nevertheless going on in particular provinces, (3)
and many of the faithful endured martyrdom in various forms. We have
taken our account from the 3 Latin Apology of Tertullian which we
mentioned above. (4) The translation runs as follows: (5) "And indeed we
have found that search for us has been forbidden. (6) For when Plinius
Secundus, the governor of a province, had condemned certain Christians
and deprived them of their dignity, (7) he was confounded by the
multitude, and was uncertain what further course to pursue. He
therefore communicated with Trajan the emperor, informing him that,
aside from their unwillingness to sacrifice, (8) he had found no impiety
in them. And he reported this also, 4 that the Christians arose (9)
early in the
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morning and sang hymns unto Christ as a God, and for the purpose of
preserving their discipline (10) forbade murder, adultery, avarice,
robbery, and the like. In reply to this Trajan wrote that the race of
Christians should not be sought after, but when found should be
punished." Such were the events which took place at that time.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Evarestus, the Fourth Bishop of the Church of Rome.
In the third year of the reign of the emperor
mentioned above, (1) Clement (2) committed the episcopal government of
the church of Rome to Evarestus, (3) and departed this life after he had
superintended the teaching of the divine word nine years in all.
CHAPTER XXXV.
Justus, the Third Bishop of` Jerusalem.
But when Symeon also had died in the manner
described, (1) a certain Jew by the name of Justus (2) succeeded to the
episcopal throne in Jerusalem. He was one of the many thousands of the
circumcision who at that time believed in Christ.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Ignatius and his Epistles.
1 At that time Polycarp, (1) a disciple
of the apostles, was a man of eminence in Asia, having been entrusted
with the episcopate of the church of Smyrna by those who had seen and
heard the Lord. 2 And at the same time
Papias, (2) bishop of the parish of Hierapolis, (3) became well known,
as did also Ignatius, who was chosen bishop of Antioch, second in
succession to Peter, and whose fame is still celebrated by a great many.
(4)
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Report says that he was sent from Syria to Rome, and became food for
wild beasts on account of his testimony to Christ. (5) And 4 as he made
the journey through Asia under the strictest military surveillance, he
fortified the parishes in the various cities where he stopped by oral
homilies and exhortations, and warned them above all to be especially on
their guard against the heresies that were then beginning to prevail,
and exhorted them to hold fast to the tradition of the apostles.
Moreover, he thought it necessary to attest that tradition in writing,
and to give it a fixed form for the sake of greater security. So when
he came to 5 Smyrna, where Polycarp was, he wrote an epistle to the
church of Ephesus, (6) in which he.
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mentions Onesimus, its pastor; (7) and another to the church of
Magnesia, situated upon the Maeander, in which he makes mention again of
a bishop Damas; and finally one to the church of Tralles, whose bishop,
he states, was at that 6 time Polybius. In addition to these he wrote
also to the church of Rome, entreating them not to secure his release
from martyrdom, and thus rob him of his earnest hope. In confirmation
of what has been said it is proper to quote briefly from this epistle.
He writes 7 as follows: (8) "From Syria even unto Rome I fight with
wild beasts, by land and by sea, by night and by day, being bound
amidst ten leopards? that is, a company of soldiers who only become
worse when they are well treated. In the midst of their wrongdoings,
however, I am more fully learning discipleship, but I 8 am not thereby
justified. (10) May I have joy of the beasts that are prepared for me;
and I pray that I may find them ready; I will even coax them to devour
me quickly that they may not treat me as they have some whom they have
refused to touch through fear. (11) And if they are unwilling, I will
compel them. Forgive me. 9 I know what is expedient for me. Now do I
begin to be a disciple. May naught of things visible and things
invisible envy me; (12) that I may attain unto Jesus Christ. Let fire
and cross and attacks of wild beasts, let wrenching of bones, cutting
of limbs, crushing of the whole body, tortures of the devil,--let all
these come upon me if only I may attain unto Jesus Christ." 10 These
things he wrote from the above-mentioned city to the churches referred
to. And when he had left Smyrna he wrote again from Troas (13) to the
Philadelphians and to the church of Smyrna; and particularly to
Polycarp, who presided over the latter church. And since he knew him
well as an apostolic man, he commended to him, like a true and good
shepherd, the flock at Antioch, and besought him to care diligently for
it. (14) And the same man, 11 writing to the Smyrnaeans, used the
following words concerning Christ, taken I know not whence: (15) "But I
know and believe that he was in the flesh after the resurrection. And
when he came to Peter and his companions he said to them, Take, handle
me, and see that I am not an incorporeal spirit. (16) And immediately
they touched him and believed." (17) Irenaeus 12 also knew of his
martyrdom and mentions his epistles in the following words: (18) "As
one of our people said, when he was condemned to the beasts on account
of his testimony unto God, I am God's wheat, and by the teeth of wild
beasts am I ground, that I may be found pure bread." Polycarp also
mentions these 13 letters in the epistle to the Philippians which is
ascribed to him. (19) His words are as follows: (20) "I exhort all of
you, therefore, to be obedient and to practice all patience such as ye
saw with your own eyes not only in the blessed Ignatius and Rufus and
Zosimus, (21) but also in others from among yourselves as well as in
Paul himself and the rest of the apostles; being persuaded that all
these ran not in vain, but in faith and righteousness, and that they
are gone to their rightful place beside the Lord, with whom also they
suffered. For they loved not the present world, but him that died for
our sakes and was raised by God for us." And afterwards 14 he adds:
(22) "You have written to me, both you and Ignatius, that if any one go
to Syria he may carry with him the letters from you. And this I will do
if I have a suitable opportunity, either I myself or one whom I send to
be an ambassador for you also. The epistles 15 of Ignatius which were
sent to us by him and the others which we had with us we sent to you as
you gave charge. They are appended to this epistle, and from them you
will be able
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to derive great advantage. For they comprise faith and patience, and
every kind of edification that pertaineth to our Lord." So much
concerning Ignatius. But he was succeeded by Heros (23) in the
episcopate of the church of Antioch.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
The Evangelists that were still Eminent at that
Time.
1 Among those that were celebrated at that time was
Quadratus, (1) who, report says, was renowned along with the daughters
of Philip for his prophetical gifts. And there were many others besides
these who were known in those days, and who occupied the first place
among the successors of the apostles. And they also, being illustrious
disciples of such great men, built up the foundations of the churches
which had been laid by the apostles in every place, and preached the
Gospel more and more widely and scattered the saving seeds of the
kingdom of heaven far and near throughout the whole world. (2) For
indeed most of the disciples of that time, animated by the divine word
with a more ardent love for philosophy, (3) had already fulfilled the
command of the Saviour, and had distributed their goods to the needy.
(4) Then starting out upon long journeys they performed the office of
evangelists, being filled with the desire to preach Christ to those who
had not yet heard the word of faith, and to deliver to 3 them the
divine Gospels. And when they had only laid the foundations
of the faith in foreign places, they appointed others as pastors, and
entrusted them with the nurture of those that had recently been brought
in, while they themselves went on again to other countries and nations,
with the grace and the co-operation of God. For a great many wonderful
works were done through them by the power of the divine Spirit, so that
at the first hearing whole multitudes of men eagerly embraced the
religion of the Creator of the universe. But since 4
it is impossible for us to enumerate the names of all that became
shepherds or evangelists in the churches throughout the world in the age
immediately succeeding the apostles, we have recorded, as was fitting,
the names of those only who have transmitted the apostolic doctrine to
us in writings still extant.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
The Epistle of Clement and the Writings falsely
ascribed to him.
Thus Ignatius has done in the epistles 1 which we have mentioned,
(1) and Clement in his epistle which is accepted by all, and which he
wrote in the name of the church of Rome to the church of Corinth. (2) In
this epistle he gives many thoughts drawn from the Epistle to the
Hebrews, and also quotes verbally some of its expressions, thus showing
most plainly that it is not a recent production. Wherefore it2. has
seemed reasonable to reckon it with the other writings of the apostle.
For as Paul had written to the Hebrews in his native tongue, some say
that the evangelist Luke, others that this Clement himself, translated
the epistle. The 3 latter seems more probable, because the epistle of
Clement and that to the Hebrews have a similar character in regard to
style, and still further because the thoughts contained in the two works
are not very different. (3)
But it must be observed also that there is 4 said to
be a second epistle of Clement. But we do not know that this is
recognized like the former, for we do not find that the ancients have
made any use of it. (4) And certain men 5
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lengthy writings under his name, containing dialogues of Peter and
Apion. (5) But no mention has been made of these by the ancients; for
they do not even preserve the pure stamp of apostolic orthodoxy. The
acknowledged writing of Clement is well known. We have spoken also of
the works of Ignatius and Polycarp. (6)
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Writings of Papias.
1 There are extant five books of Papias, which bear the
title Expositions of Oracles of the Lord. (1) Irenaeus makes mention of
these as the only works written by him, (2) in the following words: (3)
"These things are attested by Papias, an ancient man who was a hearer of
John and a companion of Polycarp, in his fourth book. For five books
have been written by him." These are the words of Irenaeus. But Papias
himself in the preface to his discourses by no means declares that he
was himself a hearer and eye-witness of the holy apostles, but he shows
by the words which he uses that he received the doctrines of the faith
from those who were their friends. (4) He says: "But I shall not
hesitate also to put down for you along with my interpreta-
177
his episcopate, [12] was succeeded by Telesphorus, [13] the seventh in
succession from the apostles. In the meantime, after the lapse of a year
and some months, Eumenes, [14] the sixth in order, succeeded to the
leadership of the Alexandrian church, his predecessor having held
office eleven years. [15]
CHAPTER VI.
The Last Siege of the Jews under Adrian.
1 As the rebellion of the Jews at this time
grew much more serious, [1] Rufus, governor of Judea, after an auxiliary
force had been sent him by the emperor, using their madness as a
pretext, proceeded against them without mercy, and destroyed
indiscriminately thousands of men and women and children, and in
accordance with the laws of war reduced their country to a state of
complete subjection. The leader of the Jews at this time was a man by
the name of Barcocheba [2] (which signifies a star), who possessed the
character of a robber and a murderer, but nevertheless, relying upon his
name, boasted to them, as if they were slaves, that he possessed
wonderful powers; and he pretended that he was a star that had come down
to them out of heaven to bring them light in the midst of their
misfortunes. The war raged most fiercely in the eighteenth 3 year of
Adrian, [3] at the city of Bithara, [4] which was a very secure
fortress, situated not far from Jerusalem. When the siege had lasted a
long time, and the rebels had been driven to the last extremity by
hunger and thirst, and the instigator of the rebellion had suffered his
just punishment, the whole nation was prohibited from this time on by a
decree, and by the commands of Adrian, from ever going up to the country
about Jerusalem. For the emperor gave orders that they should not even
see from a distance the land of their fathers. Such is the account of
Aristo of Pella. [5] And4 thus, when the city had been emptied of the
Jewish nation and had suffered the total destruction of its ancient
inhabitants, it was colonized by a different race, and the Roman city
which subsequently arose changed its name and was called Aelia, in
honor of the emperor AElius Adrian. And as the church there was now com-
178
posed of Gentiles, the first one to assume the government of it after
the bishops of the circumcision was Marcus. [6]
CHAPTER VII.
The Persons that became at that Time Leaders of Knowledge falsely
so-called. [1]
1 As the churches throughout the world were now shining
like the most brilliant stars, and faith in our Saviour and Lord Jesus
Christ was flourishing among the whole human race, [2] the demon who
hates everything that is good, and is always hostile to the truth, and
most bitterly opposed to the salvation of man, turned all his arts
against the Church. [3] In the beginning he armed himself against it
with 2,external persecutions. But now, being shut off from the use of
such means, [4] he devised all sorts of plans, and employed other
methods in his conflict with the Church, using base and deceitful men as
instruments for the ruin of souls and as ministers of destruction.
Instigated by him, impostors and deceivers, assuming the name of our
religion, brought to the depth of ruin such of the believers as they
could win over and at the same time, by means of the deeds
which they practiced, turned away from the path which leads to the word
of salvation those 3 who were ignorant of the faith. Accordingly
there proceeded from that Menander, whom we have already mentioned
as the successor of Simon, [3] a certain serpent-like power,
double-tongued and two-headed, which produced the leaders of two
different heresies, Saturninus, an Antiochian by birth, [6] and
Basilides, an Alexandrian. [7] The former of these established schools
of godless heresy in Syria, the latter in Alexandria. Irenaeus states
[8] that the 4 false teaching of Saturninus agreed in most respects with
that of Menander, but that Basilides, under the pretext of unspeakable
mysteries, invented monstrous fables, and carried the fictions of his
impious heresy quite beyond bounds. But as there were at that time
a 5 great many members of the Church [9] who were fighting for
the truth and defending apostolic and ecclesiastical doctrine with
uncommon eloquence, so there were some also that furnished posterity
through their writings with means of defense against the heresies to
which we have referred. [10] Of these there 6 has come down to us
a most powerful refutation of Basilides by Agrippa Castor, [11] one of
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the most renowned writers of that day, which shows the terrible
imposture of the man. 7 While exposing his mysteries he says
that Basilides wrote twenty-four books upon the Gospel, [12]
and that he invented prophets for himself named Barcabbas and Barcoph,
[13] and others that had no existence, and that he gave them barbarous
names in order to amaze those who marvel at such things; that he taught
also that the eating of meat offered to idols and the unguarded
renunciation of the faith in times of persecution were matters of
indifference; [14] and that he enjoined upon his followers, like 8
Pythagoras, a silence of five years. [15] Other similar things the
above-mentioned writer has recorded concerning Basilides, and has 9
ably exposed the error of his heresy. Irenaeus also writes [16] that
Carpocrates was a contemporary of these men, and that he was the father
of another heresy, called the heresy of the Gnostics, [17] who did not
wish to transmit any longer the magic arts of Simon, as that one [18]
had done, in secret, but openly. [19] For they boasted -- as of
something great -- of love potions that were carefully prepared by them,
and of certain demons that sent them dreams and lent them their
protection, and of other similar agencies; and in accordance with these
things they taught that it was necessary for those who wished to enter
fully into their mysteries, or rather into their abominations, to
practice all the worst kinds of wickedness, on the ground that they
could escape the cosmic powers, as they called them, in no other way
than by discharging their
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obligations to them all by infamous-conduct. Thus it came to pass that
the malignant demon, making use of these ministers, on the one hand
enslaved those that were so pitiably led astray by them to their own
destruction, while on the other hand he furnished to the unbelieving
heathen abundant opportunities for slandering the divine word, inasmuch
as the reputation of these men brought infamy 11 upon the whole race of
Christians. In this way, therefore, it came to pass that there was
spread abroad in regard to us among the unbelievers of that age, the
infamous and most absurd suspicion that we practiced unlawful commerce
with mothers and sisters, and 12 enjoyed impious feasts. [20] He did
not, however, long succeed in these artifices, as the truth established
itself and in time shone 13 with great brilliancy. For the machinations
of its enemies were refuted by its power and speedily vanished. One new
heresy arose after another, and the former ones always passed away, and
now at one time, now at another, now in one way, now in other ways, were
lost in ideas of various kinds and various forms. But the splendor of
the catholic and only true Church, which is always the same, grew in
magnitude and power, and reflected its piety and simplicity and freedom,
and the modesty and purity of its inspired life and philosophy to every
nation 14 both of Greeks and of Barbarians. At the same time the
slanderous accusations which had been brought against the whole Church
21 also vanished, and there remained our teaching alone, which has
prevailed over all, and which is acknowledged to be superior to all in
dignity and temperance, and in divine and philosophical doctrines. So
that none of them now ventures to affix a base calumny upon our faith,
or any such slander as our ancient enemies formerly delighted to utter.
Nevertheless, 15 in those times the truth again called forth many
champions who fought in its defense against the godless heresies,
refuting them not only with oral, but also with written arguments. [22]
CHAPTER VIII. Ecclesiastical Writers. Among these Hegesippus was well 1
known. [1] We have already quoted his words a number of times, [2]
relating events which happened in the time of the apostles according to
his account. He records in five2 books the true tradition of apostolic
doctrine in a most simple style, and he indicates the time in which he
flourished when he writes as follows concerning those that first set up
idols: "To whom they erected cenotaphs and temples, as is done to the
present day. Among whom is also Antinous, [3] a slave of the Emperor
Adrian, in whose honor are celebrated also the Antinoian games, which
were instituted in our day. For he [i.e. Adrian] also founded a city
named after Antinous, [4] and appointed prophets." At the same time also
Justin, a genuine lover 3 of the true philosophy, was still continuing
to busy himself with Greek literature. [5] He indicates (his time in
the Apology which he addressed to Antonine, where he writes as follows:
[6] "We do not think it out of place to mention here Antinous also, who
lived in our day, and whom all were driven by fear to worship as a god,
although they knew who he was and whence he came." 4 The same writer,
speaking of the Jewish war which took place at that time, adds the
following: [7] "For in the late Jewish war Barcocheba, the leader of
the Jewish rebellion, commanded that Christians alone [8] should be
visited with terrible punishments unless they would deny and blaspheme
Jesus Christ." And in the same work he shows that his conversion from
Greek philosophy to Christianity [9] was not without reason, but that it
was the result of deliberation on his part. His words are as follows:
[10] "For I myself, while I was delighted with the doctrines of Plato,
and heard the Christians slandered, and saw that they were afraid
neither of death nor of anything else ordinarily looked upon as
terrible, concluded that it was impossible that they could be living in
wickedness and pleasure. For what pleasure-loving or intemperate man, or
what man that counts it good to feast on human flesh, could welcome
death that he might be deprived of his enjoyments, and would not rather
strive to continue permanently his present life, and to escape the
notice of the rulers, instead of giving himself up to be put to death?"
The same writer, moreover, relates that Adrian having received from
Serennius Granianus, [11] a most distinguished governor, a letter [12]
in behalf of the Christians, in which he stated that it was not just to
slay the Christians without a regular accusation and trial, merely for
the sake of gratifying the outcries of the populace, sent a rescript
[13] to Minucius Fundanus, [14] proconsul of Asia, comrounding him to
condemn no one without an indictment and a well-grounded accusation. And
he gives a copy of the epistle, preserving 7 the original Latin in
which it was written, [15] and prefacing it with the following words:
[18] "Although from the epistle of the greatest and most illustrious
Emperor Adrian, your father, we have good ground to demand that you
order judgment to be given as we have desired, yet we have asked this
not because it was ordered by Adrian, but rather because we know that
what we ask is just. And we have subjoined the copy of Adrian's epistle
that you may know that we are
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speaking the truth in this matter also. And 8 this is the copy."
After these words the author referred to gives the rescript in Latin,
which we have translated into Greek as accurately as we could. [17] It
reads as follows:
CHAPTER IX.
The Epistle of Adrian, decreeing that we should not be punished without
a Trial.
1 "To Minucius Fundanus. I have received an epistle, [1]
written to me by Serennius Granianus, a most illustrious man, whom you
have succeeded. It does not seem right to me that the matter should be
passed by without examination, lest the men [2] be harassed and
opportunity be given to the informers for 2. practicing villainy.
If, therefore, the inhabitants of the province can clearly sustain this
petition against the Christians so as to give answer in a court of law,
let them pursue this course alone, but let them not have resort to men's
petitions and outcries. For it is far more proper, if any one wishes to
make an accusation, that you should examine into it. 3 If any one
therefore accuses them and shows that they are doing anything contrary
to the laws, do you pass judgment according to the heinousness of the
crime. [3] But, by Hercules! if any one bring an accusation through
mere calumny, decide in regard to his criminality, [4] and see to it
that you inflict punishment." [5] Such are the contents of Adrian's
rescript.
CHAPTER X.
The Bishops of Rome and of Alexandria during
the Reign of Antoninus.
Adrian having died after a reign of twenty-one
years, [1] was succeeded in the government of the Romans by Antoninus,
called the Pious. In the first year of his reign Telesphorus [2] died in
the eleventh year of his episcopate, and Hyginus became bishop of Rome.
[3] Irenaeus records that Telesphorus' death was made glorious by
martyrdom, [4] and in the same connection he states that in the time of
the above-mentioned Roman bishop Hyginus, Valentinus, the founder of a
sect of his own, and Cerdon, the author of Marcion's error, were both
well known at Rome. [5] He writes as follows: [6]
CHAPTER XI.
The Heresiarchs of that Age. "For Valentinus came to Rome under 1
Hyginus, flourished under Plus, and remained until Anicetus. [1] Cerdon
[2] also, Mar-
189
by his martyrdom." After these words, before giving the account of
Polycarp, they record the events which befell the rest of the martyrs,
and describe the great firmness which they exhibited in the midst of
their pains. For they say that the bystanders were struck with amazement
when they saw them lacerated with scourges even to the innermost veins
and arteries, so that the hidden inward parts of the body, both their
bowels and their members, were exposed to view; and then laid upon
sea-shells and certain pointed spits, and subjected to every species of
punishment and of torture, and finally thrown as food to wild beasts.
And they record that the most noble Germanicus [8] especially
distinguished himself, overcoming by the grace of God the fear of
bodily death implanted by nature. When indeed the proconsul [9] wished
to persuade him, and urged his youth, and besought him, as he was very
young and vigorous, to take compassion on himself, he did not hesitate,
but eagerly lured the beast toward himself, all but compelling and
irritating him, in order that he might the sooner be freed from their
unrighteous and lawless life. After his glorious death the whole
multitude marveling at the bravery of the God-beloved martyr and at the
fortitude of the whole race of Christians, began to cry out suddenly,
"Away with the atheists; [10] let Polycarp be sought." And when a very
great tumult arose in consequence of the cries, a certain Phrygian,
Quintus [11] by name, who was newly come from Phrygia, seeing the
beasts and the additional tortures, was smitten with cowardice and gave
up the attainment of salvation. But the above-mentioned epistle shows
that he, too hastily and without proper discretion, had rushed forward
with others to the tribunal, but when seized had furnished a clear
proof to all, that it is not right for such persons rashly and
recklessly to expose themselves to danger. Thus did matters turn out in
connection with them.
But the most admirable Polycarp, when he first heard
of these things, continued: undisturbed, preserved a quiet and unshaken
mind, and determined to remain in the city. But being persuaded by his
friends who en-treated and exhorted him to retire secretly, he went out
to a farm not far distant from the city and abode there with a few
companions, night and day doing nothing but wrestle with the Lord in
prayer, beseeching and imploring, and asking peace for the churches
throughout the whole world. For this was always his custom. And three
days before his 10 arrest, while he was praying, he saw in a vision at
night the pillow under his head suddenly seized by fire and consumed ;
and upon this awakening he immediately interpreted the vision to those
that were present, almost foretelling that which was about to happen,
and declaring plainly to those that were with him that it would be
necessary for him for Christ's sake to die by fire. Then, as those who
were seeking him 11 pushed the search with vigor, they say that he was
again constrained by the solicitude and love of the brethren to go to
another farm. Thither his pursuers came after no long time, and seized
two of the servants there, and tortured one of them for the purpose of
learning from him Polycarp's hiding-place. And coming 12 late in the
evening, they found him lying in an upper room, whence he might have
gone to another house, but he would not, saying, "The will of God be
done." And when 13 he learned that they were present, as the account
says, he went down and spoke to them with a very cheerful and gentle
countenance, so that those who did not already know the man thought that
they beheld a miracle when they observed his advanced age and the
gravity and firmness of his bearing, and they marveled that so much
effort should be made to capture a man like him. But he did not
hesitate, but immediately 14 gave orders that a table should be spread
for them. Then he invited them to partake of a bounteous meal, and asked
of them one hour that he might pray undisturbed. And when they had
given permission, he stood up and prayed, being full of the grace of
the Lord, so that those who were present and heard him praying were
amazed, and many of them now repented that such a venerable and godly
old man was about to be put to death. In addition to 15 these things the
narrative concerning him contains the following account: "But when at
length he had brought his prayer to an end, after remembering all that
had ever come into contact with him, small and great, famous and
obscure, and the whole catholic Church throughout the world, the hour of
departure being come, they put him upon an ass and brought him to the
city, it being a great Sabbath. [12] And he was met by
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Herod, [13] the captain of police, [14] and by his father Nicetes, who
took him into their carriage, and sitting beside him endeavored to
persuade him, saying, ' For what harm is there in saying, Lord Caesar,
and sacrificing and saving your, 16 life ?' He at first did not answer;
but when they persisted, he said, ' I am not going to do what you advise
me.' And when they failed to persuade him, they uttered dreadful words,
and thrust him down with violence, so that as he descended from the
carriage he lacerated his shin. But without turning round, he went on
his way promptly and rapidly, as if nothing had happened to him, and
was taken to the 17 stadium. But there was such a tumult in the stadium
that not many heard a voice from heaven, which came to Polycarp as he
was entering the place: ' Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.' [15]
And no one saw the speaker, but many of our people heard the voice. 18
And when he was led forward, there was a great tumult, as they heard
that Polycarp was taken. Finally, when he came up, the proconsul
asked if he were Polycarp. And when he confessed that he was, he
endeavored to persuade him to deny, saying, ' Have regard for thine
age,' and other like things, which it is 19 their custom to say: ' Swear
by the genius of Caesar; [16] repent and say, Away with the Atheists.'
But Polycarp, looking with dignified countenance upon the whole crowd
that was gathered in the stadium, waved his hand to them, and groaned,
and raising his eyes toward 20 heaven, said, ' Away with the Atheists.'
But when the magistrate pressed him, and said, Swear, and I will
release thee; revile Christ,' Polycarp said,' Fourscore and six years
[17] have I been serving him, and he hath done me no wrong; how then
can I blaspheme my king who saved me ? "But when he
again persisted, and said, 'Swear by the genius of Caesar,' Polycarp
replied, ' If thou vainly supposest that I will swear by the genius of
Caesar, as thou sayest, feigning to be ignorant who I am, hear plainly:
I am a Christian. But if thou desirest to learn the doctrine of
Christianity, assign a day and hear.' The proconsul said, ' Persuade 22
the people.' But Polycarp said, 'As for thee, I thought thee worthy of
an explanation; for we have been taught to render to princes and
authorities ordained by God the honor that is due, [18] so long as it
does not injure us; [19] but as for these, I do not esteem them the
proper persons to whom to make my defense.' [20] But the proconsul
said, ' I have 23 wild beasts; I will throw thee to them unless thou
repent.' But he said, ' Call them; for repentance from better to worse
is a change we cannot make. But it is a noble thing to turn from
wickedness to righteousness.' But 24 he again said to him, ' If thou
despisest the wild beasts, I will cause thee to be consumed by fire,
unless thou repent.' But Polycarp said, ' Thou threatenest a fire which
burneth for an hour, and after a little is quenched; for thou knowest
not the fire of the future judgment and of the eternal punishment which
is reserved for the impious. But why dost thou delay? Do what thou
wilt.' Saying these and 25 other words besides, he was filled with
courage and joy, and his face was suffused with grace, so that not only
was he not terrified and dismayed by the words that were spoken to him,
but, on the contrary, the proconsul was amazed, and sent his herald to
proclaim three times in the midst of the stadium: ' Polycarp hath
confessed that he is a Christian.' And when 26 this was proclaimed by
the herald, the whole multitude, both of Gentiles and of Jews, [21] who
dwelt in Smyrna, cried out with ungovernable wrath and with a great
shout, 'This is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, the
over-thrower of our gods, who teacheth many not to sacrifice nor to
worship.' When they 27 had said this, they cried out and asked the
Asiarch Philip [22] to let a lion loose upon Poly-carp. But he said
that it was not lawful for
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him,since he had closed the games. Then they thought fit to cry out
with one accord that 28 Polycarp should be burned alive. For it was
necessary that the vision should be fulfilled which had been shown him
concerning his pillow, when he saw it burning while he was praying, and
turned and said prophetically to the faithful that were with him, ' I
must needs be burned alive.' These things were done with great speed,
--more quickly than they were said,--the crowds immediately collecting
from the workshops and baths timber and fagots, the Jews being
especially zealous 30 in the work, as is their wont. But when the pile
was ready, taking off all his upper garments, and loosing his girdle, he
attempted also to remove his shoes, although he had never before done
this, because of the effort which each of the faithful always made to
touch his skin first; for he had been treated with all honor on account
of his virtuous life even before his 31 gray hairs came. Forthwith then
the materials prepared for the pile were placed about him; and as they
were also about to nail him to the stake, [23] he said, ' Leave me
thus; for he who hath given me strength to endure the fire, will also
grant me strength to remain in the fire unmoved without being secured
by you with nails.' So they did not nail him, but bound 32 him. And he,
with his hands behind him, and bound like a noble ram taken from a
great flock, an acceptable burnt-offering unto 33 God omnipotent, said,
' Father of thy beloved and blessed Son [24] Jesus Christ, through whom
we have received the knowledge of thee, the God of angels and of powers
and of the whole creation and of the entire race of the righteous who
live in thy presence, I bless thee that thou hast deemed me worthy of
this day and hour that I might receive a portion in the number of the
martyrs, in the cup of Christ, unto resurrection of eternal life, [25]
both of soul and of body, in the immortality of the Holy Spirit.
34Among these may I be received before thee this day, in a rich and
acceptable saccrifice, as thou, the faithful and true God, bast
beforehand prepared and revealed, and hast fulfilled. Wherefore I
praise thee also for everything; I bless thee, I glorify thee,
through the eternal high priest, Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son, through
whom, with him, in the Holy Spirit, be glory unto thee, both
now 36 and for the ages to come, Amen.' When he had offered
up his Amen and had finished his prayer, the firemen lighted the fire
and as a great flame blazed out, we, to whom it was given to see, saw a
wonder, and we were preserved that we might relate what happened to the
others. For the fire presented 37 the appearance of a vault, like the
sail of a vessel filled by the wind, and made a wall about the body of
the martyr, [26] and it was in the midst not like flesh burning, but
like gold and silver refined in a furnace. For we perceived such a
fragrant odor, as of the fumes of frankincense or of some other
precious spices. So 38 at length the lawless men, when they saw that
the body could not be consumed by the fire, commanded an executioner
[27] to approach and pierce him with the sword. And 39 when he had done
this there came forth a quantity of blood [28] so that it extinguished
the fire; and the whole crowd marveled that there should be such a
difference between the unbelievers and the elect, of whom this man also
was one, the most wonderful teacher in our times, apostolic and
prophetic, who was bishop of the catholic Church [29] in Smyrna. For
every word which came from his mouth was accomplished and will be
accomplished. But the 40 jealous and envious Evil One, the adversary of
the race of the righteous, when he saw the greatness of his martyrdom,
and his blameless life from the beginning, and when he saw him crowned
with the crown of immortality and bearing off an incontestable prize,
took care that not even his body should be taken away by us, although
many desired to do it and to have communion with his holy flesh.
Accordingly 41 certain ones secretly suggested to Nicetes, the father
of Herod and brother of Alce, [30] that he should plead with the
magistrate
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not to give up his body, 'lest,' it was said, 'they should abandon the
crucified One and begin to worship this man.' [31] They said these
things at the suggestion and impulse of the Jews, who also watched as we
were about to take it from the fire, not knowing that we shall never be
able either to forsake Christ, who suffered for the salvation of the
whole world of those that 42 are saved, or to worship any other. For we
worship him who is the Son of God, but the martyrs, as disciples and
imitators of the Lord, we love as they deserve on account of their
matchless affection for their own king and teacher. May we also be made
partakers 43 and fellow-disciples with them. The centurion, therefore,
when he saw the contentiousness exhibited by the Jews, placed him in the
midst and burned him, as was their custom. And so we afterwards
gathered up his bones. which were more valuable than precious stones and
more to be esteemed than gold, and 44 laid them in a suitable place.
There the Lord will permit us to come together as we are able, in
gladness and joy to celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom, [32] for
the commemoration of those who have already fought and for the training
and preparation of those who 45 shall hereafter do the same. Such are
the events that befell the blessed Polycarp, who
suffered martyrdom in Smyrna with the eleven [33] from Philadelphia.
This one man is remembered more than the others by all, so that even by
the heathen he is talked about in every place." Of such an end was the
admirable and 46 apostolic Polycarp deemed worthy, as recorded by the
brethren of the church of Smyrna in their epistle which we have
mentioned. In the same volume [34] concerning him are subjoined also
other martyrdoms which took place in the same city, Smyrna, about the
same period of time with Polycarp's martyrdom. Among them also
Metrodorus, who appears to have been a proselyte of the Marcionitic
sect, suffered death by fire. A celebrated martyr of those times was 47
a certain man named Pionius. Those who desire to know his several
confessions, and the boldness of his speech, and his apologies in behalf
of the faith before the people and the rulers, and his instructive
addresses and moreover, his greetings to those who had yielded to
temptation in the persecution, and the words of encouragement which he
addressed to the brethren who came to visit him in prison, and the
tortures which he endured in addition, and besides these the sufferings
and the nailings, and his firmness on the pile, and his death after all
the extraordinary trials, [35]--those we refer to that epistle which
has been given in the Martyrdoms of the Ancients, [36] collected by us,
and which contains a very full account of him. And there are also
records extant of others 48 that suffered martyrdom in Pergamus, a city
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of Asia, -- of Carpus and Papylus, and a woman named Agathonice, who,
after many and illustrious testimonies, gloriously ended their lives.
[37]
CHAPTER XVI.
Justin the Philosopher preaches the Word of Christ in Rome and suffers
Martyrdom.
1 About this time [1] Justin, who was mentioned by us just
above, [2] after he had addressed a second work in behalf of our
doctrines to the rulers already named, [3] was crowned with divine
martyrdom, [4] in consequence of a plot laid against him by Crescens,
[5] a philosopher who emulated the life and manners of the Cynics, whose
name he bore. After Justin had frequently refuted him in public
discussions he won by his martyrdom the prize of victory, dying in
behalf of the truth which he preached. And he himself, a man most
learned in the 2 truth, in his Apology already referred to [6] clearly
predicts how this was about to happen to him, although it had not yet
occurred. His words are as follows: [7] " I, too, [8] there- 3 fore,
expect to be plotted against and put in the stocks [9] by some one of
those whom I have named, or perhaps by Crescens, that unphilosophical
and vainglorious man. For the man is not worthy to be called a
philosopher who publicly bears witness against those concerning whom he
knows nothing, declaring, for the sake of captivating and pleasing the
multitude, that the Christians are atheistical and impious. [10]
Doing this he errs greatly. For if he assails 4 us without having read
the teachings of Christ, he is thoroughly depraved, and is much worse
than the illiterate, who often guard against discussing and bearing
false witness about matters which they do not understand. And if he has
read them and does not understand the majesty that is in them, or,
understanding it, does these things in order that he may not be
suspected of being an adherent, he is far more base and totally
depraved, being enslaved to vulgar applause and irrational fear. For I 5
would have you know that when I proposed certain questions of the sort
and asked him in regard to them, I learned and proved that he indeed
knows nothing. And to show that I speak the truth I am ready, if these
disputations have not been reported to you, to discuss the questions
again in your presence. And this indeed would be an act worthy of an
emperor. But if my questions and his 6
194
answers have been made known to you, it is obvious to you that he knows
nothing about our affairs; or if he knows, but does not dare to speak
because of those who hear him, he shows himself to be, as I have already
said, [11] not a philosopher, but a vainglorious man, who indeed does
not even regard that most admirable saying of Socrates." [12] These are
the words of Justin.
And that he met his death as he had predicted that
he would, in consequence of the machinations of Crescens, is stated by
Tatian, [13] a than who early in life lectured upon the sciences of the
Greeks and won no little fame in them, and who has left a great many
195
monuments of himself in his writings. He records this fact in his work
against the Greeks, where he writes as follows: [14] " And that
most admirable Justin declared with truth thai the aforesaid persons
were like robbers." 8 Then, after making some remarks about the
philosophers, he continues as follows: [15] "Crescens, indeed, who made
his nest in the great city, surpassed all in his unnatural lust, and was
wholly devoted to the love of money. 9 And he who taught that death
should be despised, was himself so greatly in fear of
it that he endeavored to inflict death, as if it were a great evil, upon
Justin, because the latter, when preaching the truth, had proved that
the philosophers were gluttons and impostors."And such was the cause of
Justin's martyrdom.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Martyrs whom Justin intentions in his Own Work.
1 The same man, before his conflict, mentions in his first
Apology [1] others that suffered martyrdom before him, and most
fittingly records the following events. He
writes thus: [2] 2 "A certain woman lived with a dissolute
husband; she herself, too, having formerly been of the same character.
But when she came to the knowledge of the teachings of Christ, she
became temperate, and endeavored to persuade her husband likewise to be
temperate, repeating the teachings, and declaring the punishment in
eternal fire which shall come upon those who do not live temperately
3 and conformably to right reason. But he, continuing in the same
excesses, alienated his wife by his conduct. For she finally, thinking
it wrong to live as a wife with a man who, contrary to the law of nature
and right, sought every possible means of pleasure, desired 4 to be
divorced from him. And when she was earnestly entreated by her friends,
who counseled her still to remain with him, on the ground that her
husband might some time give hope of amendment, she did violence to 5
herself and remained. But when her husband had gone to Alexandria, and
was reported to be conducting himself still worse, she in order that
she might not, by continuing in wedlock, and by sharing his board and
bed, become a partaker in his lawlessness and impiety--gave him what we
a call a bill of divorce and left him. But her noble and 6 excellent
husband,--instead of rejoicing, as he ought to have done, that she had
given up those actions which she had formerly recklessly committed with
the servants and hirelings, when she delighted in drunkenness and in
every vice, and that she desired him likewise to give them up, -- when
she had gone from him contrary to his wish, brought an accusation
concerning her, declaring that she was a Christian. And 7 she
petitioned you, the emperor, that she might be permitted first to set
her affairs in order, and afterwards, after the settlement of her
affairs, to make her defense against the accusation. And this you
granted. But 8 he who had once been her husband, being no longer able
to prosecute her, directed his attacks against a certain Ptolemaeus,
[4] who had been her teacher in the doctrines of Christianity, and whom
Urbicius [5] had punished. Against him he proceeded in the following
manner:
"He persuaded a centurion who was his 9 friend to
cast Ptolemaeus into prison, and to take him and ask him this only:
whether he were a Christian? And when Ptolemaeus, who was a lover of
truth, and not of a deceitful and false disposition, confessed that he
was a Christian, the centurion bound him and punished him for a long
time in the prison. And finally, 10 when the man was brought before
Urbicius he was likewise asked this question only: whether he were a
Christian ? And again, conscious of the benefits which he enjoyed
through the teaching of Christ, he confessed his schooling in divine
virtue. For whoever 11 denies that he is a Christian, either denies
because he despises Christianity, or he avoids confession because he is
conscious that he is unworthy and an alien to it; neither of which is
the case with the true Christian. And when 12 Urbicius commanded that he
be led away to punishment, a certain Lucius, [6] who was also a
Christian, seeing judgment so unjustly passed,
196
said to Urbicius, ' Why have you punished this I man who is not an
adulterer, nor a fornicator, nor a murderer, nor a thief, nor a robber,
nor has been convicted of committing any crime at all, but has confessed
that he beam the name of Christian? You do not judge, O Urbicius, in a
manner befitting the Emperor Pins, or the philosophical son [7] of
Caesar, or the sacred senate.' And without making any other reply, he
said to Lucius, ' Thou also seem-est to me to be such an one.' And when
Lucius said, 'Certainly,' he again commanded that he too should be led
away to punishment. But he professed his thanks, for he was liberated,
he added, from such wicked rulers and was going to the good Father and
King, God. And still a third having come forward was condemned to be
punished."
14 To this, Justin fittingly and consistently adds the words
which we quoted above, [8] saying, "I, too, therefore expect to be
plotted against by some one of those whom I have named," &c."
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Works of Justin which have come down to us.
1 This writer has left us a great many monuments of a mind
educated and practiced in divine things, which are replete with
profitable matter of every kind. To them we shall refer the studious,
noting as we proceed those 2.that have come to our knowledge. [1] There
) is a certain discourse [2] of his in defense of our doctrine addressed
to Antoninus surnamed t the Pious, and to his sons, and to the
Roman senate. Another work contains his second Apology [3] in
behalf of our faith, which he offered to him who was the successor of
the emperor mentioned and who bore the same name, Antoninus Verus, the
one whose times we are now recording. Also another work 3 against
the Greeks, [4] in which he discourses at length upon most of the
questions at issue between us and the Greek philosophers, and discusses
the nature of demons. It is not necessary for me to add any of these
things here. And still another work of his against the 4 Greeks has come
down to us, to which he gave the title Refutation. And besides these
another, On the Sovereignty of God, [5] which he establishes not only
from our Scriptures, but also from the books of the Greeks. Still
further, a work entitled Psaltes, [6] and another disputation On the
Soul, in which, after pro-pounding various questions concerning the
problem under discussion, he gives the opinions of the Greek
philosophers, promising to refute it, and to present his own view in
another work. He composed also a dialogue against 6 the Jews, [7] which
he held in the city of Ephesus with Trypho, a most distinguished man
among the Hebrews of that day. In it he shows how the divine grace urged
him on to the doctrine of the faith, and with what earnestness he had
formerly pursued philosophical studies, and how ardent a search he had
made for the truth. [8] And he records of the 7 Jews in the same
work, that they were plotting against the teaching of Christ, asserting
the
197
same things against Trypho: "Not only did you not repent of the
wickedness which you had committed, but you selected at that time chosen
men, and you sent them out from Jerusalem through all the land, to
announce that the godless heresy of the Christians had made its
appearance, and to accuse them of those things which all that are
ignorant of us say against us, so that you become the causes not only of
your own injustice, but also of all other men's." [9] 8 He writes
also that even down to his time prophetic gifts shone in the Church.
[10] And he mentions the Apocalypse of John, saying distinctly that it
was the apostle's. [11] He also refers to certain prophetic
declarations, and accuses Trypho on the ground that the Jews had cut
them out of the Scripture. [12] A great many other works of his are
still in the hands of many of the brethren. [13] And the discourses of
the man were thought so worthy of study even by the ancients, that
Irenaeus quotes his words: for instance, in the fourth book of his work
Against Heresies, where he writes as follows: [14] "And Justin well says
in his work against Marcion, that he would not have believed the Lord
himself if he had preached another God besides the Creator"; and again
in the fifth book of the same work he says: [15] "And Justin well said
that before the coming of the Lord Satan never dared to blaspheme God,
[16] because he did not yet know his condemnation." 10 These things I
have deemed it necessary to say for the sake of
stimulating the studious to peruse his works with diligence. So much
concerning him.
CHAPTER XIX.
The Rulers of the Churches of Rome and Alexandria during the Reign of
Ferns.
In the eighth year of the above-mentioned reign [1] Soter [2] succeeded
Anicetus [3] as bishop of the church of Rome, after the latter had held
office eleven years in all. But when Celadion [4] had presided over the
church of Alexandria for fourteen years tie was succeeded by Agrippinus.
[5]
CHAPTER XX.
The Rulers of the Church of Antioch.
AT that time also in the church of Antioch,
Theophilus [1] was well known as the sixth from the apostles. For
Cornelius, [2] who succeeded Hero, [3] was the fourth, and after him
Eros, [4] the fifth in order, had held the office of bishop.
CHAPTER XXI.
The Ecclesiastical Writers that flourished in Those Days.
AT that time there flourished in the Church
Hegesippus, whom we know from what has gone before, [I] and Dionysius,
[2] bishop of Corinth, and another bishop, Pinytus of Crete, [3] and
besides
198
these, Philip, [4] and Apolinarius, [5] and Melito, [6] and Musanus,
[7] and Modestus, [8] and finally, Irenaeus. [9] From them has come down
to us in writing, the sound and orthodox faith received from apostolic
tradition..
CHAPTER XXII.
Hegesippus and the Events which he mentiones. Hegesippus in the five
books of Memoirs [1] 1 which have come down to us has left a most
complete record of his own views. In them he states that on a journey to
Rome he met a great many bishops, and that he received the same
doctrine from all. It is fitting to hear what he says after making some
remarks about the epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. His words are
as follows: "And the churchIll of Corinth continued in the true faith
until Primus [2] was bishop in Corinth. I conversed with them on my way
to Rome, and abode with the Corinthians many days, during which we were
mutually refreshed in the true doctrine. And when I had come to Rome I
remained a there until Anicetus, [3] whose deacon was
199
Eleutherus. And Anicetus was succeeded by Soter, and he by Eleutherus.
In every succession, and in every city that is held which is preached by
the law and the prophets and the Lord." 4 The same author
also describes the beginnings of the heresies which arose in his time,
in the following words: "And after James the Just had suffered
martyrdom, as the Lord had also on the same account, Symeon, the son of
the Lord's uncle, Clopas, [4] was appointed the next bishop. All
proposed him as second bishop because he was a cousin of the Lord.
"Therefore, [4a] they called the Church a virgin, for it was not yet
corrupted by vain discourses. 5 But Thebuthis, [5] because he was not
made bishop, began to corrupt it. He also was sprung from the seven
sects [6] among the people, like Simon, [7] from whom came the
Simonians, and Cleobius, [8] from whom came the Cleobians, and
Dositheus, [9] from whom came the Dositheans, and Gorthaeus, [10] from
whom came the Goratheni, and Masbotheus, [11] from whom came the
Masbothaeans. From them sprang the Menandrianists, [12] and Marcionists,
[13] and Carpocratians, and Valentinians, and Basilidians, and
Saturnilians. Each introduced privately and separately his own peculiar
opinion. From them came false Christs, false prophets, false apostles,
who divided the unity of the Church by corrupt doctrines uttered
against God and against his Christ." The same writer also records the 6
ancient heresies which arose among the Jews, in the following words:
"There were, moreover, various opinions in the circumcision, among the
children of Israel. The following were those that were opposed to the
tribe of Judah and the Christ: Essenes, Galileans, Hemerobap-
200
tists, Masbothaeans, Samaritans, Sadducees, Pharisees." [14]
7 And he wrote of many other matters, which we
have in part already mentioned, introducing the accounts in their
appropriate places. And from the Syriac Gospel according to the Hebrews
he quotes some passages in the Hebrew tongue, [15] showing that he was a
convert from the Hebrews, [16] and he mentions other matters as taken
from the unwritten tradition of the 8 Jews. And not only he, but also
Irenaeus and the whole company of the ancients, called the Proverbs of
Solomon All-virtuous Wisdom. [17] And when speaking of the books called
Apocrypha, he records that some of them were composed in his day by
certain heretics. But let us now pass on to another.
CHAPTER XXIII.
Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, and the Epistles which he wrote. [1]
And first we must speak of Dionysius, 1 who was appointed bishop
of the church in Corinth, and communicated freely of his inspired labors
not only to his own people, but also to those in foreign lands, and
rendered the greatest service to all in the catholic epistles which he
wrote to the churches. Among these is 2 the one addressed to the
Lacedaemonians, [2] containing instruction in the orthodox faith and an
admonition to peace and unity; the one also addressed to the Athenians,
exciting them to faith and to the life prescribed by the Gospel, which
he accuses them of esteeming lightly, as if they had almost apostatized
from the faith since the martyrdom of their ruler Publius, [3] which had
taken place during the persecutions of those days. He mentions
Quadratus [4] also, stating that he was appointed their bishop after the
martyrdom of Publius, and testifying that through his zeal they were
brought together again and their faith revived. He records, moreover,
that Dionysius the Areopagite, [5]
201
who was converted to the faith by the apostle l Paul, according to the
statement in the Acts of the Apostles, [6] first obtained the episcopate
4 of the church at Athens. And there is extant another epistle of his
addressed to the Nicomedians, [7] in which he attacks the heresy of
Marcion, and stands fast by the canon of 5 the truth. Writing also to
the church that is in Gortyna, [8] together with the other parishes in
Crete, he commends their bishop Philip, [9] because of the many acts of
fortitude which are testified to as performed by the church under him,
and he warns them to be on their guard against the aberrations of the
heretics.
6 And writing to the church that is in Amastris, [10] together
with those in Pontus, he refers to Bacchylides [11] and Elpistus, as
having urged him to write, and he adds explanations of passages of the
divine Scriptures, and mentions their bishop Palmas [12] by name. He
gives them much advice also in regard to marriage and chastity, and
commands them to receive those who come back again after any fall,
whether it be 7 delinquency or heresy. [13] Among these is inserted also
another epistle addressed to the Cnosians, [14] in which he exhorts
Pinytus, bishop of the parish, not to lay upon the brethren a grievous
and compulsory burden in regard to chastity, but to have regard to the
weakness of the multitude. Pinytus, replying to this epistle, ad-
8 mires and commends Dionysius, but exhorts him in turn to impart some
time more solid food, and to feed the people under him, when he wrote
again, with more advanced teaching, that they might not be fed
continually on these milky doctrines and imperceptibly grow old under a
training calculated for children. In this epistle also Pinytus'
orthodoxy in the faith and his care for the welfare of those placed
under him, his learning and his comprehension of divine things, are
revealed as in a most perfect image. There is extant also another
epistle written 9 by Dionysius to the Romans, and addressed to
Soter, [15] who was bishop at that time. We cannot do better than to
subjoin some passages from this epistle, in which he commends the
practice of the Romans which has been retained down to the persecution
in our own days. His words are as follows: "For from the beginning 10 it
has been your practice to do good to all the brethren in various ways,
and to send contributions to many churches in every city. Thus
relieving the want of the needy, and making provision for the brethren
in the mines by the gifts which you have sent from the beginning, you
Romans keep up the hereditary customs of the Romans, which your blessed
bishop Soter has not only maintained, but also added to, furnishing an
abundance of supplies to the saints,, and encouraging the brethren from
abroad with blessed words, as a loving father his children.'' In this
same epistle he makes
11
mention also of Clement's epistle to the Corinthians, [16] showing that
it had been the custom from the beginning to read it in the church. His
words are as follows: "To-day we have passed the Lord's holy day, in
which we have read your epistle. From it, whenever we read it, we shall
always be able to draw advice, as also from the former epistle, which
was written 'to us through Clement." The same writer 12 also speaks as
follows concerning his own epistles, alleging that they had been
mutilated: "As the brethren desired me to write epistles, I wrote. And
these epistles the apostles of the devil have filled with tares, cutting
out some things and adding others. [17] For them a woe is reserved.
[18] It is, therefore, not to be wondered
202
at if some have attempted to adulterate the Lord's writings also, [19]
since they have formed designs even against writings which are of less
accounts." [20]
There is extant, in addition to these, another
epistle of Dionysius, written to Chrysophora [21] a most faithful
sister. In it he writes what is suitable, and imparts to her also the
proper spiritual food. So much concerning Dionysius.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Theaphilus Bishop of Antioch.
Of Theophilus, [1] whom we have mentioned as bishop
of the church of Antioch, [2] three elementary works addressed to
Autolycus are extant; also another writing entitled Against the Heresy
of Hermogenes, [3] in which he makes use of testimonies from the
Apocalypse of John, and finally certain other catechetical books. [4]
And as the heretics, no less then than at2 other times, were like tares,
destroying the pure harvest of apostolic teaching, the pastors of the
churches everywhere hastened to restrain them as wild beasts from the
fold of Christ, at one time by admonitions and exhortations to the
brethren, at another time by contending more openly against them in
oral discussions and refutations, and again by correcting their opinions
with most accurate proofs in written works. And that Theophilus also,
with 3 the others, contended against them, is manifest from a certain
discourse of no common merit written by him against Marcion. [5] This
work too, with the others of which we have spoken, has been preserved
to the present day.
Maximinus, [6] the seventh from the apostles,
succeeded him as bishop of the church of Antioch.
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CHAPTER XXV. Philip and Modestus.
Philip who, as we learn from the words of Dionysius,
[1] was bishop of the parish of Gortyna, likewise wrote a most elaborate
work against Marcion, [2] as did also Irenaeus [3] and Modestus. The
last named has exposed the error of the man more clearly than the
rest to the view of all. There are a number of others also
whose works are still presented by a great many of the
brethren.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Melito and the Circumstances which he records.
1 In those days also Melito, [x] bishop of the
parish in Sardis, and Apolinarius, [2] bishop of Hierapolis, enjoyed
great distinction. Each of them on his own part addressed apologies in
behalf of the faith to the above-mentioned emperor [3] of the Romans who
was reigning at that time. The following works of these writers
have come to our knowledge. Of Melito, the two books On the Passover,
and
204
one On the Conduct of Life and the Prophets, [6] the discourse On the
Church, [7] and one On the Lord's Day, [8] still further one On the
Faith of Man, [9] and one On his Creation, [10] another also On the
Obedience of Faith, and one On the Senses; [11] besides these the work
On the Soul and Body, [12] and that On Baptism, [13] and the one On
Truth, [14] and On the Creation and Generation of Christ; [15] his
discourse also On Prophecy, [16] and that On Hospitality; [17] still
further, The Key, [18] and the books On the Devil and the Apocalypse of
John, [19] and the work On the Corporeality of God, [20] and finally the
book ad-
205
dressed to Antoninus. [21] In the books On the Passover he indicates
the time at which he wrote, beginning with these words: "While Servilius
Paulus was proconsul of Asia, at the time when Sagaris suffered
martyrdom, there arose in Laodicea a great strife concerning the
Passover, which fell according to rule in those 4 days; and these were
written." [22] And Clement of Alexandria refers to this work in his own
discourse On the Passover, [23] which, he says, he wrote on occasion of
Melito's work. But in his book addressed 5 to the emperor he
records that the following events happened to us under him: "For, what
never before happened, [24] the race of the pious is now suffering
persecution, being driven about in Asia by new decrees. For the
shameless informers and coveters of the property of others, taking
occasion from the decrees, openly carry on robbery night and day,
despoiling those who are guilty of no wrong." And a little further
on he says: "If these things are done by thy command, well and good.
For a just ruler will never take unjust measures; and we indeed gladly
accept the honor of such a death. But 6 this request alone we present
to thee, that thou wouldst thyself first examine the authors of such
strife, and justly judge whether they be worthy of death and
punishment, or of safety and quiet. But if, on the other hand, this
counsel and this new decree, which is not fit to be executed even
against barbarian enemies, be not from thee, much more do we beseech
thee not to leave us exposed to such lawless plundering
by the populace." Again he adds the following: [25] "For our 7
philosophy formerly flourished among the Barbarians; but having sprung
up among the nations under thy rule, during the great reign of thy
ancestor Augustus, it became to thine empire especially a blessing of
auspicious omen. For from that time the power of the Romans has grown in
greatness and splendor. To this power thou hast succeeded, as the
desired possessor, [26] and such shalt thou continue with thy son, if
thou guardest the philosophy which grew up with the empire and which
came into existence with Augustus; that philosophy which thy ancestors
also honored along with the other religions. And a most convincing proof
that our 8 doctrine flourished for the good of an empire happily begun,
is this--that there has no evil happened since Augustus' reign, but
that, on the contrary, all things have been splendid and glorious, in
accordance with the prayers of all. Nero and Domitian, alone, persuaded
9 by certain calumniators, have wished to slander our doctrine, and
from them it has come to pass that the falsehood [26a] has been
206
handed down, in consequence of an unreasonable practice which prevails
of bringing slanderous accusations against the Christians. [27] But thy
pious fathers corrected their ignorance, having frequently rebuked in
writing [28] many who dared to attempt new measures against them. Among
them thy grandfather Adrian appears to have written to many others, and
also to Fundanus, [29] the proconsul and governor of Asia. And thy
father, when thou also wast ruling with him, wrote to the cities,
forbidding them to take any new measures against us; among the rest to
the Larissaeans, to the Thessalonians, to the Athenians, and 11 to all
the Greeks. [30] And as for thee,--since thy opinions respecting the
Christians [31] are the same as theirs, and indeed much more benevolent
and philosophic,--we are the more persuaded that thou wilt do all that
we ask of thee." These words are found in the above-mentioned work.
But in the Extracts [32] made by him the same writer
gives at the beginning of the introduction a catalogue of the
acknowledged books of the Old Testament, which it is necessary to quote
at this point. He writes as follows: 18 "Melito to his brother Onesimus,
[33] greeting: Since thou hast often, in thy zeal for the word,
expressed a wish to have extracts made from the Law and the Prophets
concerning the Saviour and concerning our entire faith, and hast
also desired to have an accurate statement of the ancient book,
as regards their number and their order, I have endeavored to
perform the task, knowing thy zeal for the faith, and thy
desire to gain information in regard to the word, and
knowing that thou, in thy yearning after God, esteemest these
things above all else, struggling 14 to attain eternal salvation.
Accordingly when I went East and came to the place where these things
were preached and done, I learned accurately the books of the Old
Testament, and send them to thee as written below. Their names are as
follows: Of Moses, five books: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, [34]
Deuteronomy; Jesus Nave, Judges, Ruth; of Kings, four books; of
Chronicles, two; the Psalms of David, [35] the Proverbs of Solomon,
Wisdom also, [36] Ecclesiastes, Song off Songs, Job; of Prophets,
Isaiah, Jeremiah; of the twelve prophets, one book [37]; Daniel,
Ezekiel, Esdras. [38] From which also I have made the extracts, dividing
them into six books." Such are the words of Melito.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Apolinarius, Bishop of the Church of Hierapolis.
A number of works of Apolinarius [1] have been
preserved by many, and the following have
207
reached us: the Discourse addressed to the above-mentioned emperor, [2]
five books Against the Greeks, [3] On Truth, a first and second book,
[4] and those which he subsequently wrote against the heresy of the
Phrygians, [5] which not long afterwards came out with its innovations,
[6] but at that time was, as it were, in its incipiency, since Montanus,
with his false prophetesses, was then laying the foundations of his
error.
CHAFFER XXVIII. Musanus and his Writings.
And as for Musanus, [1] whom we have mentione among
the foregoing writers, a certain very elegant discourse is extant, which
was written by him against some brethren that had gone over to the
heresy of the so-called Encratites, 2 which had recently sprung up, and
which introduced a strange and pernicious error. It is said that Tatian
was the author of this false doctrine.
CHAFFER XXIX.
The Heresy of Tatian. [1]
He is the one whose words we quoted 1 a little above [2] in regard to
that admirable
208
man, Justin, and whom we stated to have been a disciple of the martyr.
Irenaeus declares this in the first book of his work Against Heresies,
where he writes as follows concerning both him and his heresy: [3]
"Those who are called Encratites, [4] and who sprung from Saturninus
[5] and Marcion, preached celibacy, setting aside the original
arrangement of God and tacitly censuring him who made male and female
for the propagation of the human race. They introduced also abstinence
from the things called by them animate, [6] thus showing ingratitude to
the God who made all things. And they deny the salvation of the first
man? But 8
this has been only recently discovered by them, a certain Tatian being
the first to introduce this blasphemy. He was a hearer of Jus-tin, and
expressed no such opinion while he was with him, but after the martyrdom
of the latter he left the Church, and becoming exalted with the thought
of being a teacher, and puffed up with the idea that he was superior to
others, he established a peculiar type of doctrine of his own,
inventing certain invisible aeons like the followers of Valentinus, [8]
while, like Marcion and Saturninus, he pronounced marriage to be
corruption and fornication. His argument against the salvation of Adam,
however, he devised for
209
himself." Irenaeus at that time wrote thus. But a little later a
certain man named Severus [9] put new strength into the aforesaid
heresy, and thus brought it about that those who took their origin from
it were called, 5 after him, Severians. They, indeed, use the Law
and Prophets and Gospels, but interpret in their own way the utterances
of the Sacred Scriptures. And they abuse Paul the apostle and reject his
epistles, and do not 6 accept even the Acts of the Apostles. But
their original founder, Tatian, formed a certain combination and
collection of the Gospels, I know not how, [10] to which he gave the
title Diatessaron, [11] and which is still in the l hands of some. But
they say that he ventured to paraphrase certain words of the apostle,
[12] in order to improve their style. He 7 has left a great many
writings. Of these the one most in use among many persons is his
celebrated Address to the Greeks, [13] which also appears to be the best
and most useful of all his works. In it he deals with the most ancient
times, and shows that Moses and the Hebrew prophets were older than all
the celebrated men among the Greeks. [14] So much in regard to
these men.
CHAPTER XXX.
Bardesanes the Syrian and his Extant Works.
In the same reign, as heresies were 1 abounding in the region between
the rivers, [1] a certain Bardesanes, [2] a most able man and a
210
most skillful disputant in the Syriac tongue, having composed dialogues
against Marcion's followers and against certain others who were authors
of various opinions, committed them to writing in his own language,
together with many other works. His pupils, [3] of whom he had very many
(for he was a powerful defender of the faith), translated these
productions from the Syriac into Greek. Among them there2. is also his
most able dialogue On Fate, [4] addressed to Antoninus, and other works
which they say he wrote on occasion of the persecution which arose at
that time. [5] He indeed was at first a follower of 3 Valentinus, [6]
but afterward, having rejected his teaching and having refuted most of
his fictions, he fancied that he had come over to the more correct
opinion. Nevertheless he did not entirely wash off the filth of the old
heresy. [7] About this time also Soter, [8] bishop of the church of
Rome, departed this life.
BOOK V.
INTRODUCTION.
1SOTER, [1] bishop of the church of Rome, died after an episcopate of
eight years, and was succeeded by Eleutherus, [2] the twelfth from the
apostles. In the seventeenth year of the Emperor Antoninus Verus, [3]
the persecution of our people was rekindled more fiercely in certain
districts on account of an insurrection of the masses in the cities; and
judging by the number in a single nation, myriads suffered
martyrdom throughout the world. A record of this was written for
posterity, and in truth it is 2 worthy of perpetual remembrance. A full
account, containing the most reliable information on the subject, is
given in our Collection of Martyrdoms, [4] which constitutes a narrative
instructive as well as historical. I will repeat here such portions of
this account as may be needful for the present purpose. Other writers
of history record the victories 3 of war and trophies won from enemies,
the skill of generals, and the manly bravery of soldiers, defiled with
blood and with innumerable slaughters for the sake of children and
country and other possessions. But our 4 narrative of the government of
God [5] will record in ineffaceable letters the most peaceful wars
waged in behalf of the peace of the soul, and will tell of men doing
brave deeds for truth rather than country, and for piety rather than
dearest friends. It will hand down to imperishable remembrance the
discipline and the much-tried fortitude of the athletes of religion,
the trophies won from demons, the victories over invisible enemies, and
the crowns placed upon all their heads.
CHAPTER I.
The Number of those who fought for Religion in Gaul under Verus and the
Nature of their Conflicts.
The country in which the arena was pre- 1 pared for
them was Gaul, of which Lyons and Vienne [1] are the principal and most
celebrated cities. The Rhone passes through both of them, flowing in a
broad stream through the entire re-
212
gion. The most celebrated churches in that country sent an account of
the witnesses [2] to the churches in Asia and Phrygia, relating in the
following manner what was done among them. I will give their own words.
[3] 3 "The servants of Christ residing at
Vienne and Lyons, in Gaul, to the brethren through out
Asia and Phrygia, who hold the same faith and hope of redemption, peace
and grace and glory from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord."
4 Then, having related some other matters they begin their
account in this manner: "The greatness of the tribulation in this
region, and the fury of the heathen against the saints, and the
sufferings of the blessed witnesses we cannot recount accurately, nor
indeed 5 could they possibly be recorded. For with all his might the
adversary fell upon us, giving us a foretaste of his unbridled activity
at his future coming. He endeavored in every manner to practice and
exercise his servants against the servants of God, not only shutting us
out from houses and baths and markets, but forbidding any of us to be
seen in any place whatever. But the grace of God led 6 the conflict
against him, and delivered the weak, and set them as firm pillars, able
through patience to endure all the wrath of the Evil One. And they
joined battle with him, undergoing all kinds of shame and injury; and
regarding their great sufferings as little, they hastened to Christ,
manifesting truly that 'the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to
us-ward.' [4] First of all, they endured nobly 7 the injuries heaped
upon them by the populace; clamors and blows and draggings and robberies
and stonings and imprisonments, [5] and all things which an infuriated
mob delight in inflicting on enemies and adversaries. Then, 8
being taken to the forum by the chiliarch [6] and the authorities of
the city, they were examined in the presence of the whole multitude,
and having confessed, they were imprisoned until the arrival of the
governor. When, 9 afterwards, they were brought before him, and
he treated us with the utmost cruelty, Vettius Epagathus, [7] one of
the brethren, and a man filled with love for God and his neighbor,
interfered. His life was so consistent that, although young, he had
attained a reputation equal to that of the eider Zacharias: for he '
walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless,' s
and was untir-
213
ing in every good work for his neighbor, zealous for God and fervent in
spirit. Such being his character, he could not endure the unreasonable
judgment against us, but was filled with indignation, and asked to be
permitted to testify in behalf of his brethren, that there is among 10
us nothing ungodly or impious. But those about the judgment seat cried
out against him, for he was a man of distinction; and the governor
refused to grant his just request, and merely asked if he also were a
Christian. And he, confessing this with a loud voice, was himself taken
into the order [9] of the witnesses, being called the Advocate of the
Christians, but having the Advocate [10] in himself, the Spirit [11]
more abundantly than Zacharias. [12] He showed this by the fullness of
his love, being well pleased even to lay down his life [13] in defense
of the brethren. For he was and is a true disciple of Christ, 'following
the Lamb whithersoever he goeth.' [14] 11 "Then the others were
divided, [15] and the proto-witnesses were manifestly ready, and
finished their confession with all eagerness. But some appeared
unprepared and untrained, weak as yet, and unable to endure so great a
conflict. About ten of these proved abortions, [16] causing us great
grief and sorrow beyond measure, and impairing the zeal of the others
who had not yet been seized, but who, though suffering all kinds of
affliction, continued constantly with the witnesses and did not forsake
[12] them. Then all of us feared greatly on account of uncertainty as
to their confession not because we dreaded the sufferings to be
endured, but because we looked to the end, and were afraid that some of
them might fall 18 away. But those who were worthy were seized day by
day, filling up their number, so that all the zealous persons, and
those through whom especially our affairs had been established, were
collected together out of the two 14 churches. And some of our heathen
setrants also were seized, as the governor had commanded that all of us
should be examined publicly. These, being ensnared by Satan, and
fearing for themselves the tortures which they beheld the saints
endure, [17] and being also urged on by the soldiers, accused us
falsely of Thyestean banquets and Edipodean intercourse, [18] and of
deeds which are not only unlawful for us to speak of or to think, but
which we cannot believe were ever done by men. When [15] these
accusations were reported, all the people raged like wild beasts
against us, so that even if any had before been moderate on account of
friendship, they were now exceedingly furious and gnashed their teeth
against us. And that which was spoken by our Lord was fulfilled: ' The
time will come when whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God
service.' [19] Then finally the holy witnesses endured 18 sufferings
beyond description, Satan striving earnestly that some of the slanders
might be uttered by them also? "But the whole wrath of the populace, and
17 governor, and soldiers was aroused exceedingly against Sanctus, the
deacon from Vienne, [21] and Maturus, a late convert, yet a noble
combatant, and against Attalus, a native of Pergamos [22] where he had
always been a pillar and foundation, and Blandina, through whom Christ
showed that things which appear mean and obscure and despicable to men
are with God of great glory, [23] through love toward him manifested in
power, and not boasting in appearance. For while we all trembled, and
her earthly 18 mistress, who was herself also one of the witnesses,
feared that on account of the weakness of her body, she would be unable
to make bold confession, Blandina was filled with such
214
power as to be delivered and raised above those who were torturing her
by turns from morning till evening in every manner, so that they
acknowledged that they were conquered, and could do nothing more to her.
And they were astonished at her endurance, as her entire body was
mangled and broken; and they testified that one of these forms of
torture was sufficient to destroy life, not to speak of so 19 many and
so great sufferings. But the blessed woman, like a noble athlete,
renewed her strength in her confession; and her comfort and recreation
and relief from the pain of her sufferings was in exclaiming, ' I am a
Christian, and there is nothing vile done by US.' 20 "But Sanctus
also endured marvelously and superhumanly [24] all the outrages which he
suffered. While the wicked men hoped, by the continuance and severity
of his tortures to wring something from him which he ought not to say,
he girded himself against them with such firmness that he would not
even tell his name, or the nation or city to which he belonged, or
whether he was bond or free, but answered in the Roman tongue to all
their questions, ' I am a Christian.' He confessed this instead of name
and city and race and everything besides, and the people 21 heard from
him no other word. There arose therefore on the part of the governor and
his tormentors a great desire to conquer him but having nothing more
that they could do to him, they finally fastened red-hot brazen plates
to the most tender parts of his body. 22. And these indeed were burned,
but he continued unbending and unyielding, firm in his confession, and
refreshed and strengthened by the heavenly fountain of the water of
life, flowing from the bowels of Christ. And his body was a witness of
his sufferings, being one complete wound and bruise, drawn: out of
shape, and altogether unlike a human form. Christ, suffering in him,
manifested his glory, delivering him from his adversary, and making him
an example for the others, showing that nothing is fearful where the
love of the Father is, and nothing painful where there 24 is the glory
of Christ. For when the wicked men tortured him a second time after
some days, supposing that with his body swollen and inflamed to such a
degree that he could not bear the touch of a hand, if they should again
apply the same instruments, they would overcome him, or at least by his
death under his sufferings others would be made afraid, not only did
not this occur, but, contrary to all human expectation, his body arose
and stood erect in the midst of the subsequent torments, and resumed
its original appearance and the use of its limbs_ so that, through the
grace of Christ, these second sufferings became to him, not torture,
but healing. "But the devil, thinking that he had al- 25 ready consumed
Biblias, who was one of those who had denied Christ, desiring to
increase her condemnation through the utterance of blasphemy, [23]@
brought her again to the torture, to compel her, as already feeble and
weak, to report impious things concerning us. But 26 she recovered
herself under the suffering, and as if awaking from a deep sleep, and
reminded by the present anguish of the eternal punishment in hell, she
contradicted the blasphemers. 'How,' she said, 'could those eat
children who do not think it lawful to taste the blood even of
irrational animals?' And thenceforward she confessed herself a
Christian, and was given a place in the order of the witnesses.
"But as the tyrannical tortures were 27 made by Christ of none
effect through the patience of the blessed, the devil invented
other contrivances, -- confinement in the dark and most loathsome
parts of the prison, stretching of the feet to the fifth hole in the
stocks, [26] and the other outrages which his servants are accustomed to
inflict upon the prisoners when furious and filled with the devil. A
great many were suffocated in prison, being chosen by the Lord for this
manner of death, that he might manifest in them his glory. For some, 128
though they had been tortured so cruelly that it seemed impossible that
they could live, even with the most careful nursing, yet, destitute of
human attention, remained in the prison, being strengthened by the
Lord, and invigorated both in body and soul; and they exhorted and
encouraged the rest. But such as were young, and arrested recently, so
that their bodies had not become accustomed to torture, were unable to
endure the severity of their confinement, and died in prison.
"The blessed Pothinus, who had been 29 entrusted with the
bishopric of Lyons, was dragged to the judgment seat. He was more than
ninety years of age, and very infirm, scarcely indeed able to breathe
because of physical weakness; but he was strengthened by spiritual zeal
through his earnest desire for martyrdom. Though his body was worn out
by old age and disease, his life was preserved that Christ might triumph
in it. When he was brought by the soldiers to 30 the tribunal,
accompanied by the civil magistrates and a multitude who shouted against
him m every manner as if he were Christ himself, he bore noble witness.
Being asked 31
215
by the governor, Who was the God of the Christians, he replied, ' If
thou art worthy, thou shalt know.' Then he was dragged away harshly, and
received blows of every kind. Those near him struck him with their
hands and feet, regardless of his age; and those at a distance hurled,
at him whatever they could seize; all of them thinking that they would
be guilty of great wickedness and impiety if any possible abuse were
omitted. For thus they thought to avenge their own deities. Scarcely
able to breathe, he was cast into prison and died after two days.
32. "Then a certain great dispensation of God occurred, and the
compassion of Jesus appeared beyond measure, [27] in a manner rarely
seen among the brotherhood, but not beyond the power of Christ. For
those who had recanted at their first arrest were imprisoned with the
others, and endured terrible sufferings, so that their denial was of no
profit to them even for the present. But those who confessed what they
were imprisoned as Christians, no other accusation being brought against
them. But the first were treated afterwards as murderers and defiled,
and were punished twice as severely as the others. For the joy of
martyrdom, and the hope of the promises, and love for Christ, and the
Spirit of the Father supported the latter; but their consciences so
greatly distressed the former that they were easily distinguishable from
all the rest by their very countenances when they were led forth. For
the first went out rejoicing, glory and grace being blended in their
faces, so that even their bonds seemed like beautiful ornaments, as
those of a bride adorned with variegated golden fringes; and they were
perfumed with the sweet savor of Christ, [28] so that some supposed
they had been anointed with earthly ointment. But the others were
downcast and humble and dejected and filled with every kind of
disgrace, and they were reproached by the heathen as ignoble and weak,
bearing the accusation of murderers, and having lost the one honorable
and glorious and life-giving Name. The rest, beholding this, were
strengthened, and when apprehended, they confessed without hesitation,
paying no attention to the persuasions of the devil." 36 After
certain other words they continue: "After these things, finally, their
martyrdoms(were divided into every form. [29] For plaiting a crown of
various colors and of all kinds of flowers, they presented it to
the Father. It was proper therefore that the noble athletes, having
endured a manifold strife, and conquered grandly, should receive the
crown, great and incorruptible. "Maturus, therefore, and Sanctus and 37
Blandina and Attalus were led to the amphi-theater to be exposed to the
wild beasts, and to give to the heathen public a spectacle of cruelty, a
day for fighting with wild beasts being specially appointed on account
of our people. Both Maturus and Sanctus passed again 38 through every
torment in the amphitheater, as if they had suffered nothing before, or
rather, as if, having already conquered their antagonist in many
contests,8° they were now striving for the crown itself. They
endured again the customary running of the gauntlet [31] and the
violence of the wild beasts, and everything which the furious people
called for or desired, and at last, the iron chair in which their bodies
being roasted, tormented them with the fumes. And not with this did the
39 persecutors cease, but were yet more mad against them, determined to
overcome their patience. But even thus they did not hear a word from
Sanctus except the confession which he had uttered from the beginning.
These, 40 then, after their life had continued for a long time through
the great conflict, were at last sacrificed, having been made
throughout that day a spectacle to the world, in place of the usual
variety of combats. "But Blandina was suspended on a stake,41 and
exposed to be devoured by the wild beasts who should attack her. And
because she appeared as if hanging on a cross, and because of her
earnest prayers, she inspired the combatants with great zeal. For they
looked on her in her conflict, and beheld with their outward eyes, in
the form of their sister, him who was crucified for them, that he might
persuade those who believe on him, that every one who suffers for the
glory of Christ has fellowship always with the living God. As 42 none
of the wild beasts at that time touched her, she was taken down from
the stake, and cast again into prison. She was preserved thus for
another contest, that, being victorious in more conflicts, she might
make the punishment of the crooked serpent irrevocable; [33] and,
though small and weak and despised, yet clothed with Christ the mighty
and conquering Athlete, she
216
might arouse the zeal of the brethren, and, having overcome the
adversary many times might receive, through her conflict, the crown
incorruptible.
43 "But Attalus was called for loudly by! the people,
because he was a person of distinction. He entered the contest readily
on account of a good conscience and his genuine practice in Christian
discipline, and as he had always been a witness for the truth among 44
us. He was led around the amphitheater, a tablet being carried before
him on which was written in the Roman language 'This is Attalus the
Christian,' and the people were filled with indignation against him. But
when the governor learned that he was a Roman, he commanded him to be
taken back with the rest of those who were in prison concerning whom he
had written to Caesar, and whose answer he was awaiting.
"But the intervening time was not wasted nor
fruitless to them; for by their patience the measureless compassion of
Christ was manifested. For through their continued life the dead were
made alive, and the witnesses showed favor to those who had failed to
witness. And the virgin mother had much joy in receiving alive those
whom she had brought forth as dead. [34] For through their influence
many who had denied were restored, and re-be-gotten, and rekindled with
life, and learned to confess. And being made alive and strengthened,
they went to the judgment seat to be again interrogated by the governor;
God, who desires not the death of the sinner, [35] but mercifully
invites to repentance, treating them with kindness. For Caesar
commanded that they should be put to death, [36] but that any who might
deny should be set free. Therefore, at the beginning of the public
festival [37] which took place there, and which was attended by crowds
of men from all nations, the governor brought the blessed ones to the
judgment seat, to make of them a show and spectacle for the multitude.
Wherefore also he examined them again, and beheaded those who appeared
to possess Roman citizenship, but he sent the others to the wild beasts.
48 "And Christ was glorified greatly in those who had formerly
denied him, for, contrary to the expectation of the heathen, they
confessed. For they, were examined by themselves, as about to be set
free; but confessing, they were added to the order of the witnesses. But
some continued without, who had never possessed a trace of faith, nor
any apprehension of the wedding garment, [38] nor an understanding of
the fear of God; but, as sons of perdition, they blasphemed the Way
through their apostasy. But all the others were added to the 49 Church.
While these were being examined, a certain Alexander, a Phrygian by
birth, and physician by profession, who had resided in Gaul for many
years, and was well known to all on account of his love to
God and boldness of speech (for he was not without a share of
apostolic grace), standing before the judgment seat, and by signs
encouraging them to confess, appeared to those standing by as if in
travail. But the people being enraged be- 50
cause those who formerly denied now confessed, cried out against
Alexander as if he were the cause of this. Then the governor summoned
him and inquired who he was. And when he answered that he was a
Christian, being very angry he condemned him to the wild beasts. And on
the next day he entered along with Attalus. For to please the people,
the governor had ordered Attalus again to the wild beasts. And they were
tortured in 51 the amphitheater with all the instruments contrived for
that purpose, and having endured a very great conflict, were at last
sacrificed. Alexander neither groaned nor murmured in any manner, but
communed in his heart with God. But when Attalus was placed in 52 the
iron seat, and the fumes arose from his burning body, he said to the
people in the Roman language: 'Lo! this which ye do is devouring men;
but we do not devour men; nor do any other wicked thing.' And being
asked, what name God has, he replied, ' God has not a name as man has.'
"After all these, on the last day of the 53
contests, Blandina was again brought in, with Ponticus, a boy about
fifteen years old. They had been brought every day to witness the
sufferings of the others, and had been pressed to swear by the idols.
But because they remained steadfast and despised them, the multitude
became furious, so that they had no compassion for the youth of the boy
nor respect for the sex of the woman. Therefore they exposed them 54 to
all the terrible sufferings and took them through the entire round of
torture, repeatedly urging them to swear, but being unable to effect
this; for Ponticus, encouraged by his sister so that even the heathen
could see that she was confirming and strengthening him, having nobly
endured every torture, gave up the ghost.
55 But the blessed Blandina, last of all, having, as a noble mother,
encouraged her children and sent them before her victorious to the King,
endured herself all their conflicts and hastened after them, glad and
rejoicing in her departure as if called to a marriage supper, rather
than east to wild beasts. And, after the scourging, after the wild
beasts, after the roasting seat, [39] she was finally enclosed in a
net, and thrown before a bull. And having been tossed about by the
animal, but feeling none of the things which were happening to her, on
account of her hope and firm hold upon what had been entrusted to her,
and her communion with Christ, she also was sacrificed. And the heathen
themselves confessed that never among them had a woman endured so many
and such terrible tortures. 57 "But not even thus was their
madness and cruelty toward the saints satisfied. For incited by the Wild
Beast, wild and barbarous tribes were not easily appeased, and their
violence found another peculiar opportunity in 58 the dead bodies
[40] For, through their lack of manly reason, the fact that they had
been conquered did not put them to shame, but rather the more enkindled
their wrath as that of a wild beast, and aroused alike the hatred of
governor and people to treat us unjustly; that the Scripture might be
fulfilled: ' He that is lawless, let him be lawless still, and he that
is righteous, 59 let him be righteous still.' [41] For they cast to the
dogs those who had died of suffocation in the prison, carefully
guarding them by night and day, lest any one should be buried by us.
And they exposed the remains left by the wild beasts and by fire,
mangled and charred, and placed the heads of the others by their
bodies, and guarded them in like manner from burial by a watch of
soldiers for many days. 60 And some raged and gnashed their teeth
against them, desiring to execute more severe vengeance upon them; but
others laughed and mocked at them, magnifying their own idols, and
imputed to them the punishment of the Christians. Even the more
reasonable, and those who had seemed to sympathize somewhat, reproached
them often, saying, ' Where is their God, and what has their religion,
which they have chosen rather than life, profited them ?' 61 So various
was their conduct toward us; but we were in deep affliction because we
could not bury the bodies. For neither did night avail us for this
purpose, nor did money persuade, nor entreaty move to compassion; but
they kept watch in every way, as if the prevention of the burial would
be of some great advantage to them." In addition, they say after other
things: "The bodies of the martyrs, having thus 62 in every manner
been exhibited and exposed for six days, were afterward burned and
reduced to ashes, and swept into the Rhone by the wicked men, so that
no trace of them might appear on the earth. And this 68 they did, as if
able to conquer God, and prevent their new birth; 'that,' as they said,
'they may have no hope of a resurrection, [43] through trust in which
they bring to us this foreign and new religion, and despise terrible
things, and are ready even to go to death with joy. Now let us see if
they will rise again, and if their God is able to help them, and to
deliver them out of our hands.'"
CHAPTER II.
The Martyrs, beloved of God, kindly ministered unto those who fell in
the Persecution.
Such things happened to the churches 1 of Christ under the
above-mentioned emperor, [1] from which we may reasonably
conjecture the occurrences in the other provinces. It is proper to add
other selections from the same letter, in which the moderation and
compassion of these witnesses is recorded in the following words: "They
were also so zealous in their imitation 2 of Christ, -- ' who, being in
the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God,'
[2] -- that, though they had attained such honor, and had borne witness,
not once or twice, but many times,- having been brought back to prison
from the wild beasts, covered 'with burns and scars and wounds, -- yet
they did not proclaim themselves witnesses, nor did they suffer us to
address them by this name. If any one of us, in letter or conversation,
spoke of them as witnesses, they rebuked him
218
sharply. For they conceded cheerfully the appellation of Witness to
Christ ' the faithful and true Witness,' [3] and ' firstborn of the
dead,' [4] and prince of the life of God; [5] and they reminded us of
the witnesses who had already departed, and said, ' They are already
witnesses whom Christ has deemed worthy to be taken up in their
confession, having sealed their testimony by their departure; but we are
lowly and humble confessors.' [6] And they besought the brethren with
tears that earnest prayers should be offered that they might be made
perfect. [7] They showed in their deeds the power of ' testimony,'
manifesting great boldness toward all the brethren, and they made plain
their nobility through patience and fearlessness and courage, but they
refused the title of Witnesses as distinguishing them from their
brethren, [8] being filled with the fear of God." 5 A little
further on they say: "They humbled themselves under the mighty hand, by
which they are now greatly exalted. [9] They defended all, [10] but
accused none. They absolved all, but bound none. [11] And they prayed
for those who had inflicted cruelties upon them, even as Stephen, the
perfect witness, ' Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.' [12] But if
he prayed for those who stoned him, how much more for the brethren !"
[6] And again after mentioning other matters, they say: "For, through
the genuineness of their love, their greatest contest with him was that
the Beast, being choked, might cast out alive those whom he supposed he
had swallowed. For they did not boast over the fallen, but helped them
in their need with those things in which they themselves abounded,
having the compassion of a mother, and shedding many tears 7 on
their account before the Father. They asked for life, and he gave it to
them, and they shared it with their neighbors. Victorious; over
everything, they departed to God. Having always loved peace, and having
commended peace to us [13] they went in peace to God, leaving no sorrow
to their mother, nor division or strife to the brethren, but joy and
peace and concord and love."
This record of the affection of those 8 blessed ones
toward the brethren that had fallen may be profitably added on account
of the inhuman and unmerciful disposition of those who, after these
events, acted unsparingly toward the members of Christ. [14]
CHAPTER III.
The Vision which appeared in a Dream to the
Witness Attalus.
The same letter of the abovementioned[1]. witnesses contains another
account worthy of remembrance. No one will object to our bringing it to
the knowledge of our readers. It runs as follows: "For a certain
Alcibiades, 2 [1] who was one of them, led a very austere life,
partaking of nothing whatever but bread and water. When he endeavored to
continue this same sort of life in prison, it was revealed to Attalus
after his first conflict in the amphitheater that Alcibiades was not
doing well in refusing the creatures of God and placing a
stumbling-block before others. And Alcibiades 3 obeyed; and partook of
all things without restraint, giving thanks to God. For they were not
deprived of the grace of God, but the Holy Ghost was their counselor."
Let this suffice for these matters.
The followers of Montanus, [2] Alcibiades [3] 4 and
Theodotus [4] in Phrygia were now first giving wide circulation to their
assumption in regard to prophecy, -- for the may other miracles
219
that, through the gift of God, were still wrought in the different
churches caused their prophesying to be readily credited by many, -- and
as dissension arose concerning them, the brethren in Gaul set forth
their own prudent and most orthodox judgment in the matter, and
published also several epistles from the witnesses that had been put to
death among them. These they sent, while they were still in prison, to
the brethren throughout Asia and Phrygia, and also to Eleutherus, [5]
who was then bishop of Rome, negotiating for the peace of the churches.
[6]
CHAPTER IV.
Irenaeus commended by the Witnesses in a Letter.
1 The same witnesses also recommended Irenaeus, [1] who was
already at that time a presbyter of the parish of Lyons, to the
above-mentioned bishop of Rome, saying many favorable things in regard
to him, as the following extract shows: 2. "We pray, father
Eleutherus, that you may rejoice in God in all things and
always. We have requested our brother and comrade Irenaeus to
carry this letter to you, and we ask you to hold him in esteem, as
zealous for the covenant of Christ. For if we thought that office could
confer righteousness upon any one, we should commend him among the first
as a presbyter of the church, which is his position."
3Why should we transcribe the catalogue of the witnesses given in the
letter already mentioned, of whom some were beheaded, others cast to the
wild beasts, and others fell asleep in prison, or give the number of
confessors [2] still surviving at that time? For whoever desires can
readily find the full account by consulting the letter itself, which, as
I have said, is recorded in our Collection of Martyrdoms. [3] Such were
the events which happened under Antoninus. [4]
CHAPTER V.
God sent Rain from Heaven for Marcus Aurelius Caesar in Answer to the
Prayers of our People.
It is reported [1] that Marcus Aurelius 1 Caesar, brother of Antoninus,
[2] being about to engage in battle with the Germans and Sarmatians, was
in great trouble on account of his army suffering from thirst. [3] But
the soldiers of the so-called Melitene legion, [4] through
220
the faith which has given strength from that time to the present, when
they were drawn up before the enemy, kneeled on the ground, as is our
custom in prayer, [5] and engaged in supplications 2 to God. This was
indeed a strange sight to the enemy, but it is reported [6] that a
stranger thing immediately followed. The lightning drove the enemy to
flight and destruction, but a shower refreshed the army of those who had
called on God, all of whom had been on the point of perishing with
thirst. 3 This story is related by non-Christian writers who
have been pleased to treat the times referred to, and it has also been
recorded by our own people. [7] By those historians who were strangers
to the faith, the marvel is mentioned, but it is not acknowledged as an
answer to our prayers. But by our own people, as friends of the truth,
the occurrence is related in a simple and artless manner.
4 Among these is Apolinarius, [8] who says that from that time the
legion through whose prayers the wonder took place received from the
emperor a title appropriate to the event, being called in the language
of the Romans 5 the Thundering Legion. Tertullian is a trustworthy
witness of these things. In the Apology for the Faith, which he
addressed to the Roman Senate, and which work we have already mentioned,
[9] he confirms the history with greater and stronger proofs. He
6 writes [10] that there are still extant letters [11] of the most
intelligent Emperor Marcus in which he testifies that his army, being
on the point of perishing with thirst in Germany, was saved by the
prayers of the Christians. And he says also that this emperor
threatened death [12] to those who brought accusation against us.
He adds further: [13] 7
"What kind of laws are those which
impious, unjust, and cruel persons use against us alone ? which
Vespasian, though he had conquered the Jews, did not regard; [14] which
Trajan partially annulled, forbidding Christians to be sought after;
[15] which neither Adrian, [16] though inquisitive in all matters, nor
he who was called Plus [17] sanctioned." But let any one treat these
things as he chooses; [18] we must pass on to what followed. Pothinus
having died with the other martyrs 8 in Gaul at ninety years of age,
[19] Irenaeus succeeded him in the episcopate of the church at Lyons.
[20] We have learned that, in his youth, he was a hearer of Polycarp.
[21] In the 9 third book of his work Against Heresies he has
inserted a list of the bishops of Rome, bringing it down as far as
Eleutherus (whose times we are now considering), under whom he composed
his work. He writes as follows: [22]
CHAPTER VI.
Catalogue of the Bishops of Rome.
1 "The blessed apostles [1] having founded and established
the church, entrusted the office of the episcopate to Linus. [2] Paul
speaks of this Linus in his Epistles to Timothy. [3] 2. Anencletus [4]
succeeded him, and after Anencletus, in the third place from the
apostles, Clement [5] received the episcopate. He had seen and conversed
with the blessed apostles, [6] and their preaching was still sounding
in his ears, and their tradition was still before his eyes. Nor was he
alone in this, for many who had been taught by the apostles yet
survived. 3 In the times of Clement, a serious dissension having
arisen among the brethren in Corinth, [7] the church of Rome sent a
most suitable letter to the Corinthians, [8] reconciling them in peace,
renewing their faith, and proclaiming [9] the doctrine lately received
from the apostles." [10] A little farther on he says: [11]
"Evarestus [12] succeeded Clement, and Alexander,
[13] Evarestus. Then Xystus, [14] the sixth from the apostles, was
appointed. After him Telesphorus, [15] who suffered martyrdom
gloriously; then Hyginus; [16] then Pius; [17] and after him
Anicetus; [18] Sorer [19] succeeded Anicetus ; and now, in the twelfth
place from the apostles,
Eleutherus [20] holds the office of bishop. 5
In the same order and succession [21] the tradition in the Church and
the preaching of the truth has descended from the apostles unto us."
CHAPTER VII.
Even down to those Times Miracles were performed by the Faithful.
These things Irenaeus, in agreement with 1 the accounts already given
by us, [1] records in the work which comprises five books, and to which
he gave the title Refutation and Overthrow of the Knowledge Falsely
So-called. [2] In the second book of the same treatise he shows that
manifestations of divine and miraculous power continued to his time in
some of the churches. He says: [3] 1 "But so far do they come short of
raising the dead, as the Lord raised them, and the apostles
through prayer. And oftentimes in the brotherhood, when, on account of
some neces sity, our entire Church has besought with fasting and much
supplication, the spirit of the dead has returned, [4] and the man has
been restored through the prayers of the saints." And again, after other
remarks, he says : [5] 3
222
"If they will say that even the Lord did these
things in mere appearance, we will refer them to the prophetic writings,
and show from them that all things were beforehand spoken of him in
this manner, and were strictly fulfilled; and that he alone is the Son
of God. Wherefore his true disciples, receiving grace from him, perform
such works in his Name for the benefit of other men, as each has
received the gift from 4 him. For some of them drive out demons
effectually and truly, so that those who have been cleansed from evil
spirits frequently believe and unite with the Church. Others have
a foreknowledge of future events, and visions, and prophetic
revelations. Still others heal the sick by the laying on of hands, and
restore them to health. And, as we have said, even dead persons have
been raised, and remained with 5 us many years. But why should we
say more ? It is not possible to recount the number of gifts which
the Church, throughout all the world, has received from God in the name
of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and exercises
every day for the benefit of the heathen, never deceiving any nor doing
it for money. For as she has received freely from God, freely also does
she minister." [6] 6And in another place the same author writes: [7]
"As also we hear that many brethren in the Church possess prophetic
gifts, and speak, through the Spirit, with all kinds of tongues, and
bring to light the secret things of men for their good, and declare the
mysteries of God." So much in regard to the fact that various gifts
remained among those who were worthy even until that
time.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Statements of Irenaeus in regard to the Divine
Scriptures.
1 Since, in the beginning of this work, [1] we
promised to give, when needful, the words of the ancient presbyters and
writers of i the Church, in which they have declared those
traditions which came down to them concerning the canonical books,
and since Irenaeus was one h of them, we will now give his words and,
first, what he says of the sacred Gospels: [2] "Matthew
published his Gospel among the Hebrews in their own language, [3] while
Peter and Paul were preaching and founding the church in Rome.
[4] After their departure 3 Mark, the disciple and interpreter of
Peter, also transmitted to us in writing those things which Peter had
preached; [5] and Luke, the attendant of Paul, recorded in a book the
Gospel which Paul had declared. [6] After- 4 wards John, the disciple
of the Lord, who also reclined on his bosom, published his
Gospel, while staying at Ephesus in Asia." [7] He states these
things in the third book 5 of his above-mentioned work. In the
fifth book he speaks as follows concerning the Apocalypse of John,
and the number of the name of Antichrist: [8]
"As these things are so, and this number is found in
all the approved and ancient copies, [9] and those who saw John face to
face confirm it, and reason teaches us that the number of the name of
the beast, according to the mode of calculation among the Greeks,
appears in its letters .... " [10]
And farther on he says concerning the 6 same: [11]
"We are not bold enough to speak confidently of the
name of Antichrist. For if it were necessary that his name should be
declared clearly at the present time, it would have been announced by
him who saw the revelation. For it was seen, not long ago, but almost in
our generation, toward the end of the reign of Domitian." [12] He
states these things concerning the 7 Apocalypse [13] in the work
referred to. He also mentions the first Epistle of John, [14] taking
223
many proofs from it, and likewise the first Epistle of Peter. [15] And
he not only knows, but also receives, The Shepherd, [16] writing as
follows : [17]
"Well did the Scripture [18] speak, saying, [19] '
First of all believe that God is one, who has created and completed all
things,'" &c. And he uses almost the precise
words of the Wisdom of Solomon, saying: [20] "The vision of God
produces immortality, but immortality renders us near to God." He
men-lions also the memoirs [21] of a certain apostolic presbyter, [22]
whose name he passes by in silence, and gives his expositions of the
sacred 9 Scriptures. And he refers to Justin the Martyr, [23] and to
Ignatius, [24] using testimonies also from their writings. Moreover, he
promises to refute Marcion from his own writings, in a special work.
[25] 10 Concerning the translation of the inspired [26] Scriptures
by the Seventy, hear the very words which he writes: [27]
"God in truth became man, and the Lord himself saved
us, giving the sign of the virgin but not as some say, who now venture
to translate the Scripture, 'Behold, a young woman shall conceive and
bring forth a son,' [28] as Theodotion of Ephesus and Aquila of Pontus,
[29] both of them Jewish proselytes, interpreted; following whom, the
Ebionites say [30] that he was begotten by Joseph." Shortly after he
adds: 11
"For before the Romans had established their empire, while the
Macedonians were still holding Asia, Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, [31]
being desirous of adorning the library which he had rounded in
Alexandria with the meritorious writings of all men, requested the
people of Jerusalem to have their Scriptures translated into the Greek
language. But, as they were 12 then subject to the Macedonians, they
sent to Ptolemy seventy elders, who were the most skilled among them in
the Scriptures and in both languages. Thus God accomplished his purpose.
[32] But wishing to try them individ- 13
224
ually, as he feared lest, by taking counsel together, they might
conceal the truth of the Scriptures by their interpretation, he
separated them from one another, and commanded all of them to write the
same translation. [33] He 14 did this for all the books. But when they
came together in the presence of Ptolemy, and compared their several
translations, God was glorified, and the Scriptures were
recognized as truly divine. For all of them had rendered the same
things in the same words and with the same names from beginning to
end, so that the heathen perceived that the Scriptures had been
translated by the inspiration [34] of God. 15 And this was nothing
wonderful for God to do, who, in the captivity of the people trader
Nebuchadnezzar, when the Scriptures had been destroyed, and the Jews had
returned to their own country after seventy years, afterwards, in
the time of Artaxerxes, king of the Persians, inspired Ezra the priest,
of the tribe of Levi, to relate all the words of the former
prophets, and to restore to the people the legislation of
Moses." [35]
Such are the words of Irenaeus.
CHAPTER IX.
The Bishops under Commodus.
After Antoninus [1] had been emperor for nine-
teen years, Commodus received the government. [2] In his first year
Julian [3] became bishop of the Alexandrian churches, after Agrippinus
[4] had held the office for twelve years.
CHAPTER X.
Pantaenus the Philosopher.
About that time, Pantaenus, [1] a man highly 1
distinguished for his learning, had charge of the school of the faithful
in Alexandria. [2] A school of sacred learning, which continues to our
day, was established there in ancient times, [3]
225
and as we have been informed, [4] was managed by men of great ability
and zeal for divine things. Among these it is reported [5] that
Pantaenus was at that time especially conspicuous, as he had been
educated in the philosophical 2 system of those called Stoics. They say
that he displayed such zeal for the divine Word, that he was appointed
as a herald of the Gospel of Christ to the nations in the East, and was
sent as far as India. [6] For indeed [7] there were still many
evangelists of the Word who sought earnestly to use their inspired zeal,
after the examples of the apostles, for the increase and building up of
the Divine Word. 3 Pantaenus was one of these, and is said to
have gone to India. It is reported that among persons there who knew of
Christ, he found the Gospel according to Matthew, which had anticipated
his own arrival. For Bartholomew, [8] one of the apostles, had preached
to them, and left with them the writing of Matthew in the Hebrew
language, [9] which they had preserved till that time. 4
After many good deeds, Pantaenus finally became the head of
the school at Alexandria, [10] and expounded the treasures of divine
doctrine both orally and in writing. [11]
CHAPTER XI.
Clement of Alexandria.
At this time Clement, [1] being trained with 1 him [2] in the
divine Scriptures at Alexandria, became well known. He had the same name
as the one who anciently was at the head of the Roman church, and who
was a disciple of the apostles. [3] In his Hypotyposes [4] he 2 speaks
of Pantaenus by name as his teacher. It seems to me that he alludes to
the same person also in the first book of his Stromata, when, referring
to the more conspicuous of the successors of the apostles whom he had
met, [[5] he says: [6]
"This work [7] is not a writing artfully 3
constructed for display; but my notes are stored up for old age, as a
remedy against forgetfulness; an image without art, and a rough sketch
of those powerful and animated words which it was my privilege to hear,
as well as of blessed and truly remarkable men. Of 4 these the one --
the Ionian 8 __ was in
226
Greece, the other in Magna Graecia ; [9] the one of them was from
Coele-Syria, [10] the other from Egypt. There were others in the East,
one of them an Assyrian, [11] the other a Hebrew in Palestine? But when
I met with the last, [13]--in ability truly he was first,-- having
hunted him out in his concealment in Egypt, I found rest. These men,
preserving the true tradition of the blessed doctrine, directly from the
holy apostles, Peter and James and John and Paul, the son receiving it
from the father (but few were like the fathers), have come by God's
will even to us to deposit those ancestral and apostolic seeds." [14]
CHAPTER XII.
The Bishops in Jerusalem.
1 At this time Narcissus [1] was the bishop of the church
at Jerusalem, and he is celebrated by many to this day. He was the
fifteenth in succession from the siege of the Jews under Adrian. We have
shown that from that time first the church in Jerusalem was composed of
Gentiles, after those of the circumcision, and that Marcus was the
first Gentile bishop that presided over them. [2] After him the 2
succession in the episcopate was: first Cassianus; after him Publius;
then Maximus; [3] following them Julian; then Gaius; [4] after him
Symmachus and another Gaius, and again another Julian; after these
Capito [5] and Valens and Dolichianus; and after all of them Narcissus,
the thirtieth in regular succession from the apostles.
227
CHAPTER XIII.
Rhodo and his Account of the Dissension of
Marcion.
1 At this time Rhodo, [1] a native of Asia, who
had been instructed, as he himself states, by Tatian, with whom we have
already become acquainted, [2] having written several books, published
among the rest one against the heresy of Marcion. [3] He says that this
heresy was divided in his time into various opinions; [4] and while
describing those who occasioned the division, he refutes accurately the
falsehoods devised 2 by each of them. But hear what he writes: [5]
"Therefore also they disagree among themselves,
maintaining an inconsistent opinion. [6] For Apelles, [7] one of the
herd, priding himself on his manner of life [8] and his age,
acknowledges one principle, [9] but says that the prophecies [10] are
from an opposing spirit, being led to this view by the responses of a
maiden by name Philumene, [11] who was possessed by a
228
[3] demon. But others, among whom are Potitus and Basilicus, [12] hold
to two principles, [13] as 4 does the mariner [14] Marcion himself.
These following the wolf [15] of Pontus, and, like
him, unable to fathom the division of things, became reckless, and
without giving any proof asserted two principles. Others, again,
drifting into a worse error, consider that there are not only two, but
three natures. [16] Of these, Syneros [17] is the leader and chief, as
those who defend 5 his teaching [18] say." The same author writes
that he engaged in conversation with Apelles. He speaks as follows:
"For the old man Apelles, when conversing with us,
[19] was refuted in many things which he spoke falsely; whence also he
said that it was not at all necessary to examine one's doctrine, [20]
but that each one should continue to hold what he believed. For he
asserted that those who trusted in the Crucified would be saved, if only
they were found doing good works. [21] But as we have said before, his
opinion concerning God was the most obscure of all. For he spoke of one
principle, as also our doctrine does."
Then, after stating fully his own opinion, 6 he adds:
"When I said to him, Tell me how you know this or
how can you assert that there is one principle, he replied that the
prophecies refuted themselves, because they have said nothing true; [22]
for they are inconsistent, and false, and self-contradictory. But how
there is one principle he said that he did not know, but that he was
thus persuaded. As I then adjured him to 7 speak the truth, he swore
that he did so
when he said that he did not know how there is one unbegotten God, but
that he believed it. Thereupon I laughed and reproved him because,
though calling himself a teacher, he knew not how to confirm what he
taught." [23]
In the same work, addressing Callistio, [24] the 8
same writer acknowledges that he had been instructed at Rome by Tatian.
[25] And he says that a book of Problems [26] had been prepared by
Tatian, in which he promised to explain the obscure
229
and hidden parts of the divine Scriptures. Rhodo himself promises
to give in a work of his: own solutions of Tatian's problems. [27] There
is also extant a Commentary of his on the Hexaemeron. [28]
9 But this Apelles wrote many things, an impious manner, of
the law of Moses, blaspheming the divine words in many of his
works, being, as it seemed, very zealous for their refutation and
overthrow? So much concerning these.
CHAPTER XIV.
The False Prophets of the Phrygians.
The enemy of God's Church, who is emphatically a hater of
good and a lover of evil, and leaves untried no manner of craft
against men, was again active in causing strange heresies to
spring up against the Church. [1] For some persons, like venomous
reptiles, crawled over Asia and Phrygia, boasting that Montanus was the
Paraclete, and that the women that followed him, Priscilla and
Maximilla, were prophetesses of Montanus. [2]
CHAPTER XV.
The Schism of Blastus at Rome. [1]
Others, of whom Florinus [2] was chief,
flourished at Rome. He fell from the presbyterate of the Church, and
Blastus was involved in a similar fall. They also drew away many oft the
Church to their opinion, each striving to introduce his own innovations
in respect to the truth
CHAPTER XVI.
The Circumstances related of Montanus and his
False Prophets. [1]
Against the so-called Phrygian [2] heresy, 1 the power which
always contends for the truth raised up a strong and invincible weapon,
Apolinarius of Hierapolis, whom we have mentioned before, [3] and with
him many other men of ability, by whom abundant material for our 2
history has been left. A certain one of these, in the beginning of his
work against them, [4] first intimates that he had contended with them
in oral controversies. He commences his work in this manner: [5] "Having
for a very long and sufficient time, O beloved Avircius Marcellus, [6]
been urged by you to write a treatise against the heresy of those who
are called after Miltiades, [7] I have hesitated till the present time,
not through lack of ability to refute the falsehood or bear testimony
for the truth, but from fear and apprehension that I might seem to some
to be making additions to the doctrines or precepts of the Gospel of
the New Testament, which it is impossible for one who has chosen to
live according to the Gospel, either to increase or to diminish. But
being recently in Ancyra [8] in Galatia, I found the church there [9]
greatly agitated by this novelty, not prophecy, as they call it, but
rather false prophecy, as will be shown. Therefore, to the best of our
ability, with the Lord's help, we disputed in the church many days
concerning these and other matters separately brought forward by them,
so that the church rejoiced and was strengthened in the truth, and
those of the opposite side were for the time confounded, and the
adversaries were grieved. The 5 presbyters in the place, our
fellow-presbyter Zoticus [10] of Otrous also being present, requested us
to leave a record of what had been said against the opposers of the
truth. We did not do this, but we promised to write it out as soon as
the Lord permitted us, and to send it to them speedily."
231
6 Having said this with other things, in the beginning of
his work, he proceeds to state the cause of the above-mentioned heresy
as follows: "Their opposition and their recent heresy which has
separated them from the Church 7 arose on the following account. There
is said to be a certain village called Ardabau in that
part of Mysia, which borders upon Phrygia. [11] There first, they say,
when Gratus was proconsul of Asia, [12] a recent convert, Montanus by
name, through his unquenchable desire for@ leadership, [13] gave the
adversary opportunity against him. And he became beside himself, and
being suddenly in a sort of frenzy and ecstasy, he raved, and began to
babble and utter strange things, prophesying in a manner contrary to the
constant custom of the Church handed down by
tradition from the be-8 ginning. [14] Some of those who heard his
spurious utterances at that time were indignant, and they rebuked him as
one that was possessed, and that was under the control of a demon, and
was led by a deceitful spirit, and was distracting the multitude; and
they forbade him to talk, remembering the distinction [15] drawn by the
Lord and his warning to guard watchfully against the coming of false
prophets? But others imagining themselves possessed of the Holy Spirit
and of a prophetic gift,[17] were elated and not a little puffed up;
and forgetting the distinction of the Lord, they challenged the mad and
insidious and seducing spirit, and were cheated and deceived by him. In
consequence of this, he could no longer be held in check, so as to keep
silence. Thus by artifice, or 9 rather by such a system of wicked
craft, the devil, devising destruction for the disobedient, and being
unworthily honored by them, secretly excited and inflamed their
understandings which had already become estranged from the true faith.
And he stirred up besides two women, [18] and filled them with the
false spirit, so that they talked wildly and unreasonably and
strangely, like the person already mentioned. [19] And the spirit
pronounced them blessed as they rejoiced and gloried in him, and puffed
them up by the magnitude of his promises. But sometimes he rebuked them
openly in a wise and
232
faithful manner, that he might seem to be a reprover. But those of the
Phrygians that were deceived were few in number.
"And the arrogant spirit taught them to revile the
entire universal Church under heaven, because the spirit of false
prophecy received neither honor from it nor entrance into it. 10 For the
faithful in Asia met often in many places throughout Asia to consider
this matter, [20] and examined the novel utterances and pronounced them
profane, and rejected the heresy, and thus these persons were
expelled from the Church and debarred from communion." 11
Having related these things at the outset, and continued the
refutation of their delusion through his entire work, in the second
book he speaks as follows of their end: 12 "Since, therefore,
they called us slayers of the prophets [21] because we did not receive
their loquacious prophets, who, they say, are those that the Lord
promised to send to the people, [22] let them answer as in God's
presence: Who is there, O friends, of these who began to talk, from
Montanus and the women down, that was persecuted by the Jews, or slain
by lawless men ? None. Or has any of them been seized and crucified for
the Name ? Truly not. Or has one of these women ever been scourged in
the synagogues of the Jews, or stoned ? No; 13 never anywhere. [23] But
by another kind of death Montanus and Maximilla are said to have died.
For the report is that, incited by the spirit of frenzy, they both hung
themselves; [24] not at the same time, but at the time which common
report gives for the death of each. And thus they died, and ended their
lives like the traitor Judas. So also, as general 14 report says, that
remarkable person, the first steward, [25] as it were, of their
so-called prophecy, one Theodotus- who, as if at sometime taken up and
received into heaven, fell into trances, and entrusted himself to the
deceitful spirit- was pitched like a quoit, and died miserably? They
say that these things happened 15 in this manner. But as we did not see
them, O friend, we do not pretend to know. Perhaps in such a manner,
perhaps not, Montanus and Theodotus and the above-mentioned woman
died." He says again in the same book that the 16 holy bishops of
that time attempted to refute the spirit in Maximilla, but were
prevented by others who plainly co-operated with the spirit. He writes
as follows: 17 "And let
not the spirit, in the same work of Asterius Urbanus, [27] say through
Maximilla, ' I am driven away from the sheep like a wolf. [28] I am not
a wolf. I am word and spirit and power.' But let him show clearly and
prove the power in the spirit. And by the spirit let him compel those to
confess him who were then present for the purpose of proving and
reasoning with the talkative spirit,- those eminent men
233
and bishops, Zoticus, [29] from the village Comana and Julian, [30]
from Apamea, whose mouths the followers of Themiso [31] muzzled,
refusing to per-knit the false and seductive spirit to be refuted by
them." 18 Again in the same work, after saying other things in
refutation of the false prophecies of Maximilla, he indicates the time
when he wrote these accounts, and mentions her predictions in which she
prophesied wars and anarchy. Their falsehood he censures in the
following manner: 19 "And has not this been shown clearly to be
false ? For it is to-day more than thirteen years since the woman died,
and there has been neither a partial nor general war in the world; but
rather, through the mercy of God, continued peace even to the
Christians." [32] These things are taken from the second book. 20
I will add also short extracts from the third book, in which he speaks
thus against! their boasts that many of them had suffered,
martyrdom: "When therefore they are at a loss, being refuted in
all that they say, they try to take refuge in their martyrs, alleging
that they have many martyrs, and that this is sure evidence of the ,
power of the so-called prophetic spirit that is with them. But this, as
it appears, is entirely fallacious. [33] For some of the heresies have a
great many martyrs; but surely we shall not on that account agree with
them or confess that they hold the truth. And first, indeed, those
called Marcionites, from the heresy of Marcion, say that they have a
multitude of martyrs for Christ; yet they do not confess Christ himself
in truth."A little farther on he
continues:
22 "When those called to martyrdom from the Church for the truth of the
faith have met with any of the so-called martyrs of the Phrygian heresy,
they have separated from them, and died without any fellowship with
them, [34] because they did not wish to give their assent to the spirit
of Montanus and the women. And that this is true and took place in our
own time in Apamea on the Maeander, [35] among those who suffered
martyrdom with Gaius and Alexander of Eumenia, is well known."
CHAPTER XVII. Miltiades and his Works.
In this work he mentions a writer, Miltiades, [1]
stating that he also wrote a certain
234
book against the above-mentioned heresy. After quoting some of their
words, he adds:
"Having found these things in a certain work of
theirs in opposition to the work of the brother Alcibiades, [2] in which
he shows that a prophet ought not to speak in ecstasy, [3] I made an
abridgment."
A little further on in the same work he gives a list
of those who prophesied under the new covenant, among whom he enumerates
a certain Ammia [4] and Quadratus, [5] saying "But the false prophet
falls into an ecstasy, in which he is without shame or fear. Beginning
with purposed ignorance, he passes on, as has been stated, 16
involuntary madness of soul. They cannot show that one of the old or 3
one of the new prophets was thus carried away in spirit. Neither can
they boast of Agabus, [6] or Judas, [7] or Silas, [8] or the daughters
of Philip, [9] or Ammia in Philadelphia, or Quadratus, or any others not
belonging to them."
And again after a little he says: "For if 4 after
Quadratus and Ammia in Philadelphia, as they assert, the women with
Montanus received the prophetic gift, let them show who among them
received it from Montanus and the women. For the apostle thought it
necessary that the prophetic gift should continue in all the Church
until the final coming. But they cannot show it, though this is the
fourteenth year since the death of Maximilla." [10]
He writes thus. But the Miltiades to 5 whom he
refers has left other monuments of his own zeal for the Divine
Scriptures, [11] in the discourses which he composed against the Greeks
and against the Jews, [12] answering each of them separately in two
books. [13] And in addition he addresses an apology to the earthly
rulers, [14] in behalf of the philosophy which he embraced.
235
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Manner in which Apollonius refuted the Phrygians, and the Persons
[1] whom he men-lions.
1 As the so-called Phrygian heresy [2] was still
flourishing in Phrygia in his time, Apollonius [3] also, an
ecclesiastical writer, undertook its refutation, and wrote a special
work against it, correcting in detail the false prophecies current among
them and reproving the life of the founders of the heresy. But hear his
own words respecting Montanus:
"His actions and his teaching show who this new
teacher is. This is he who taught the dissolution of marriage; [4] who
made laws for fasting; [5] who named Pepuza and Tymion, [6] small towns
in Phrygia, Jerusalem, wishing to gather people to them from all
directions; who appointed collectors of money; [7] who contrived the
receiving of gifts under the name of offerings; who provided salaries
for those who preached his doctrine, that its teaching might prevail
through gluttony." [8]
He writes thus concerning Montanus; 3 and a little
farther on he writes as follows concerning his prophetesses: "We show
that these first prophetesses themselves, as soon as they were filled
with the Spirit, abandoned their husbands. How falsely therefore they
speak who call Prisca a virgin." [9]
Afterwards he says: "Does not all Scripture 4 seem to you to
forbid a prophet to receive gifts and money ? [10] When therefore I see
the prophetess receiving gold and silver and costly garments, how can I
avoid reproving her?"
And again a little farther on he speaks 5 thus
concerning one of their confessors:
"So also Themiso, [11] who was clothed with
plausible covetousness, could not endure the sign of confession, but
threw aside bonds for an abundance of possessions. Yet, though he should
have been humble on this account, he dared to boast as a martyr, and in
imitation of the apostle, he wrote a certain catholic [12] epistle,
236
to instruct those whose faith was better than his own, contending for
words of empty sound, and blaspheming against the Lord and the apostles
and the holy Church." 6 And again concerning others of those
honored among them as martyrs, he writes as follows:
"Not to speak of many, let the prophetess herself
tell us of Alexander, [13] who called himself a martyr, with whom she is
in the habit of banqueting, and who is worshiped [13a] by many. We need
not mention his robberies and other daring deeds for which he was
punished, but the 7 archives [14] contain them. Which of these forgives
the sins of the other? Does the prophet the robberies of the martyr, or
the: martyr the covetousness of the prophet? For although the Lord
said,' Provide neither gold, nor silver, neither two coats,' [15] these
men, in complete opposition, transgress in respect to the possession of
the forbidden things. For we will show that those whom they call
prophets and martyrs gather their gain not only from rich men, but also
from the poor, and orphans, 8 and widows. But if they are confident,
let them stand up and discuss these matters, that if
convicted they may hereafter cease transgressing. For the fruits of the
prophet must be tried; ' for the tree is known by its fruit.' [16] 9 But
that those who wish may know concerning Alexander, he was tried by
AEmilius Frontinus, [17] proconsul at Ephesus; not on account of the
Name, [18] but for the robberies which he had committed, being already
an apostate. [19] Afterwards, having falsely declared for the name of
the Lord, he was released, having deceived the faithful that were there.
[20] And his own parish, from which he came, did not receive him,
because he was a robber. [21] Those who wish to learn about him have
the public records [22] of Asia. And yet the prophet with whom he spent
many years knows nothing about him ! [23] Exposing him, through him we
ex- 10 pose also the pretense [24] of the prophet. We could show the
same thing of many others. But if they are confident, let them endure
the test." Again, in another part of his work he 11 speaks as
follows of the prophets of whom they boast: "If they deny that their
prophets have received gifts, let them acknowledge this: that if the@'
are convicted of receiving them, they are not' prophets. And we will
bring a multitude of proofs of this. But it is necessary that all the
fruits of a prophet should be examined. Tell me, does a prophet dye his
hair? [25] Does a prophet stain his eyelids ? [26] Does a prophet
delight in adornment? Does a prophet play with tables and dice ? Does a
prophet lend on usury? Let them confess whether these things are lawful
or not; but I will show that they have been done by them." [27] This
same Apollonius states in the same [12] work that, at the time of his
writing, it was the fortieth year since Montanus had begun his pretended
prophecy. [28] And he says 13 also that Zoticus, who was mentioned by
the former writer, [29] when Maximilla was pretending to prophesy in
Pepuza, resisted her and endeavored to refute the spirit that was
working in her; but was prevented by those who agreed with her. He
mentions also a certain Thraseas [30] among the martyrs of that time.
He speaks, moreover, of a tradition that the Saviour
commanded his apostles not to depart from Jerusalem for twelve years.
[31] He uses testimonies also from the Revelation of John, [32] and
237
he relates that a dead man had, through the Divine power, been raised
by John himself in Ephesus. [38] He also adds other things by which he
fully and abundantly exposes the error of the heresy of which we have
been speaking.These are the matters recorded by Apollonius.
CHAPTER XIX.
Serapion on the Heresy of the Phrygians.
Serapion, [1] who, as report says, succeeded Maximinus [2] at that time
as bishop of the church of Antioch, mentions the works of Apolinarius
[3] against the above-mentioned heresy. And he alludes to him in a
private letter to Caricus and Pontius, [4] in which he himself exposes
the same heresy, and adds the following words: [5]
"That you may see that the doings of this lying band
of the new prophecy, so called, are an abomination to all the
brotherhood throughout the world, I have sent you writings [6] of the
most blessed Claudius Apolinarius, bishop of Hierapolis in Asia." In the
same letter of Serapion the signatures 3 of several bishops are found,
[7] one of whom subscribes himself as follows: "I, Aurelius Cyrenius, a
witness, [8] pray for your health." And another in this manner: "AElius
Publius Julius, [9] bishop of Debeltum, a colony of Thrace. [1] As God
liveth in the heavens, the blessed Sotas in Anchialus desired to cast
the demon out of Priscilla, but the hypocrites did not permit him."
[10] And the autograph signatures of many 4 other bishops who agreed
with them are contained in the same letter. So much for these persons.
CHAPTER XX.
The Writings of Irenaeus against the Schismatics at Rome.
Irenaeus [1] wrote several letters against 1 those who were
disturbing the sound ordinance of the Church at Rome. One of them was to
Blastus On Schism; [2] another to Florinus
238
On Monarchy, [3] or That God is not the Author of Evil. For Florinus
seemed to be defending this opinion. And because he was being drawn away
by the error of Valentinus, Irenaeus wrote his work On the Ogdoad, [4]
in which he shows that he himself had been acquainted with the first
successors of the apostles. [5] At the2. close of the treatise we have
found a most beautiful note which we are constrained to insert in this
work. [6] It runs as follows:
"I adjure thee who mayest copy this book, by our
Lord Jesus Christ, and by his glorious advent when he comes to judge the
living and the dead, to compare what thou shalt write, and correct it
carefully by this manuscript, and also to write this adjuration, and
place it in the copy."
These things may be profitably read in 3
his work, and related by us, that we may have those ancient and truly
holy men as the best example of painstaking carefulness. In the
letter to Florinus, of which we 4 have spoken, [7] Irenaeus mentions
again his intimacy with Polycarp, saying:
"These doctrines, O Florinus, to speak mildly, are
not of sound judgment. These doctrines disagree with the Church, and
drive into the greatest impiety those who accept them. These doctrines,
not even the heretics outside of the Church, have ever dared to publish.
These doctrines, the presbyters who were before us, and who were
companions of the apostles, did not deliver to thee.
"For when I was a boy, I saw thee in 5 lower Asia
with Polycarp, moving in splendor in the royal court, [8] and
endeavoring to gain his approbation. I remember the 6 events of
that time more clearly than those of recent years. For what boys learn,
growing with their mind, becomes joined with it; so that I am able to
describe the very place in which the blessed Polycarp sat as he
discoursed, and his goings out and his comings in, and the man-
239
ner of his life, and his physical appearance, and his discourses to the
people, and the accounts which he gave of his intercourse with John and
with the others who had seen the Lord. And as he remembered their words,
and what he heard from them concerning the Lord, and concerning his
miracles and his teaching, having received them from eyewitnesses of
the 'Word of life,' [9] Polycarp related all things in harmony 7 with
the Scriptures. These things being told me by the mercy of God, I
listened to them attentively, noting them down, not on paper, but in my
heart. And continually, through God's grace, I recall them faithfully.
And I am able to bear witness before God that if that blessed and
apostolic presbyter had heard any such thing, he would have cried out,
and stopped his ears, and as was his custom, would have exclaimed, O
good God, unto what times hast thou spared me that I should endure these
things ? And he would have fled from the place where, sitting or
standing, he had heard 8 such words. [10] And this can be shown plainly
from the letters [11] which he sent, either to the neighboring churches
for their confirmation, or to some of the brethren, admonishing and
exhorting them." Thus far Irenaeus.
CHAPTER XXI.
How Appolonius suffered Martyrdom at Rome.
ABOUT the same time, in the reign of Com- modus, our condition
became more favorable, and through the grace of God the churches
throughout the entire world enjoyed peace, [1] and the word of
salvation was leading every soul, from every race of man to the devout
worship of the God of the universe. So that now at Rome many
who were highly distinguished for wealth and family turned with
all their household and relatives unto their salvation. t 2 But the
demon who hates what is good, being malignant in his nature, could
not endure this, but prepared himself again for conflict,
contriving many devices against us. And he brought to the judgment seat
Apollonius, [2] of the city of Rome, a man renowned among the faithful
for learning and philosophy, having stirred up one of his servants, who
was well fitted for such a purpose, to accuse him. [3] But this wretched
man made the charge 3 unseasonably, because by a royal decreeit
was unlawful that informers of such things should live. And his legs
were broken immediately, Perennius the judge having pronounced this
sentence upon him. [4] But the 4 martyr, highly beloved of God, being
ear
240
nestly entreated and requested by the judge to give an account of
himself before the Senate, made in the presence of all an eloquent
defense of the faith for which he was witnessing. And as if by decree of
the Senate he was put to death by decapitation; an ancient law
requiring that those who were brought to the judgment seat and refused
to recant should not be liberated, [5] Whoever desires to know his
arguments before the judge and his answers to the questions of
Perennius, and his entire defense before the Senate will find them in
the records of the ancient martyrdoms which we have collected. [6]
CHAPTER XXII.
The Bishops that were well known at this Time.
In the tenth year of the reign of Commodus, Victor
[1] succeeded Eleutherus, [2] the latter having held the
episcopate for thirteen years. In the same year, after Julian a had
completed his tenth year, Demetrius [4] received the charge of the
parishes at Alexandria. At this time the above-mentioned Serapion, [5]
the eighth from the apostles, was still well known as bishop of the
church at Antioch. Theophilus [6] presided at Caesarea in Palestine ;
and Narcissus, [7] whom we have mentioned before, still had charge of
the church at Jerusalem. Bacchylus [8] at the same time was bishop of
Corinth in Greece, and Polycrates [9] of
241
the parish of Ephesus. And besides these a multitude of others, as is
likely, were then prominent. But we have given the names of those alone,
the soundness of whose faith has come down to us in writing.
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Question then agitated concerning the Passover.
1 A QUESTION Of no small importance arose at
that time. For the parishes of all Asia, as from an older tradition,
held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were
commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the
Saviour's passover. [1] It was therefore necessary to end their fast on
that day, whatever day of the week it should happen to be. But it was
not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world to end it at
this time, as they observed the practice which, from apostolic
tradition, has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on
no other day than on that of the resurrection of our Saviour.
Synods and assemblies of bishops were 2 held on this
account, [2] and all, with one consent, through mutual correspondence
drew. up an ecclesiastical decree, that the mystery of the resurrection
of the Lord should be celebrated on no other but the Lord's day, and
that we should observe the close of the paschal fast on this day only.
There is still extant a writing of those who were then assembled in
Palestine, over whom Theophilus, [3] bishop of Caesarea, and Narcissus,
bishop of Jerusalem, presided. And there is also another writing extant
of those who were assembled at Rome to consider the same question, which
bears the name of Bishop Victor ; [4] also of the bishops in
242
Pontus over whom Palmas, [5] as the oldest, presided; and of the
parishes in Gaul of which Irenaeus was bishop, and of those in Osrhoene
[6] and the cities there; and a personal letter of Bacchylus, [7] bishop
of the church at Corinth, and of a great many others, who uttered the
same opinion and judgment, and cast the same vote. And that which has
been given above was their unanimous decision. [8]
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Disagreement in Asia. 1But the bishops of Asia, led by
Polycrates, decided to hold to the old custom handed down to them. [1]
He himself, in a letter which he addressed to Victor and the church of
Rome, set forth in the following words the tradition which had come down
to him: [2] "We observe the exact day; neither
adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights have fallen
asleep, which shall rise again on the day of the Lord's coming, when he
shall come with glory from heaven, and shall seek out all the saints.
Among these are Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who fell asleep in
Hierapolis; and his two aged virgin daughters, and another daughter,
who lived in the Holy Spirit and 3 now rests at Ephesus; and, moreover,
John, who was both a witness and a teacher, who reclined
upon the bosom of the Lord, and, being a
priest, wore the sacerdotal plate. He 4 fell asleep at Ephesus. And
Polycarp [3] in Smyrna, who was a bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, [4]
bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who fell asleep in Smyrna. Why need I 5
mention the bishop and martyr Sagaris [5] who fell asleep in Laodicea,
or the blessed Papirius, [6] or Melito, [7] the Eunuch who lived
altogether in the Holy Spirit, and who lies in Sardis, awaiting the
episcopate from heaven, when he shall rise from the dead ? All these
observed the 6 fourteenth day of the passover according to the
Gospel, deviating in no respect, but following the rule of faith. [8]
And I also, Polycrates, the least of you all, do according to the
tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have closely followed. For
seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my
relatives always observed the day when the people [9] put away the
leaven. I, therefore, brethren, 7 who have lived sixty-five years in the
Lord, and have met with the brethren throughout the world, and have
gone through every Holy Scripture, am not affrighted by terrifying
words. For those greater than I have said ' We ought to obey God rather
than man.' " [10] He then 8 writes of all the bishops who were present
with him and thought as he did. His words are as follows: "I could
mention the bishops who were present, whom I summoned at your desire;
[11] whose names, should I write them, would constitute a great
multitude. And they, beholding my littleness, gave their consent to the
letter, knowing that I did not bear my gray hairs in vain, but had
always governed my life by the Lord Jesus." Thereupon Victor, who
presided over the 9 church at Rome, immediately attempted to cut off
from the common unity the parishes of all Asia, with the churches that
agreed with them, as heterodox; and he wrote letters and declared all
the brethren there wholly excommuni-
243
10 cate. [12] But this did not please all the bishops. And they
besought him to consider
the things of peace, and of neighborly unity and
love. Words of theirs are extant,
sharply
11 rebuking Victor. Among them was Irenaeus,
who, sending letters in the name of the
brethren in Gaul over whom he presided, maintained that the mystery of
the resurrection of the Lord should be observed only on the Lord's day.
He fittingly admonishes Victor that he should not cut off whole churches
of God which observed the tradition of an ancient custom and after many
other words he proceeds as follows: [13]
12 "For the controversy is not only concerning the day, but also
concerning the very
manner of the fast. For some think that they should fast one day,
others two, yet others more;
some, moreover, count their day as consisting 13 of forty hours day and
night. [14] And this
variety in its observance has not originated
in our time; but long before in that of our ancestors. [15] It is
likely that they did not hold to
strict accuracy, and thus formed a custom for their posterity according
to their own simplicity and peculiar mode. Yet all of these lived none
the less in peace, and we also live in peace with one another; and the
disagreement in regard to the fast confirms the agreement in the faith."
He adds to this the following account, 14 which I
may properly insert:
"Among these were the presbyters before Soter, who
presided over the church which thou now rulest. We mean Anicetus, and
Plus, and Hyginus, and Telesphorus, and Xystus. They neither observed it
[16] themselves, nor did they permit those after them to do so. And yet
though not observing it, they were none the less at peace with those
who came to them from the parishes in which it was observed; although
this observance was more opposed to those who did
not observe it. [17] But none were ever cast 15
out on account of this form; but the presbyters before thee who did not
observe it, sent the eucharist to those of other parishes who observed
it. [18] And when the blessed Poly- 16 carp was at Rome [19] in the time
of Anicetus,
244
and they disagreed a little about certain other things, they
immediately made peace with one another, not caring to quarrel over this
matter. For neither could Anicetus persuade Polycarp not to observe
what he had always observed with John the disciple of our Lord, and the
other apostles with whom he had associated; neither could Polycarp
persuade Anicetus to observe it as he said that he ought to follow the
customs of the presbyters that had preceded him.
17 But though matters were in this shape, they
communed together, and Anicetus con-
ceded the administration of the eucharist in the church to Polycarp,
manifestly as a mark of respect. [20] And they parted from each other in
peace, both those who observed, and those who did not, maintaining the
peace of the whole church."
18 Thus Irenaeus, who truly was well named, [21]
became a peacemaker in this matter, exhorting and
negotiating in this way in behalf of the peace of the churches. And he
conferred by letter about this mooted question, not only with Victor,
but also with most of the other rulers of the churches. [22]
CHAPTER XXV.
How All came to an Agreement respecting the
Passover.
Those in Palestine whom we have recently mentioned,
Narcissus and Theophilus, [1] and with
them Cassius, [2] bishop of the church of Tyre, and Clarus of the
church of Ptolemais, and those who met with them, [3] having stated many
things respecting the tradition concerning the passover which had come
to them in succession from the apostles, at the close of their writing
add these words: [4]
"Endeavor to send copies of our letter to every
church, that we may not furnish occasion to those who easily deceive
their souls. We show you indeed that also in Alexandria they keep it on
the same day that we do. For letters are carried from us to them and
from them to us, so that in the same manner and at the same time we keep
the sacred day." [5]
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Elegant Works of Irenaeus which have come
down to us.
Besides the works and letters of Irenaeus which we
have mentioned, [1] a certain book of his On Knowledge, written against
the Greeks, [2] very concise and remarkably forcible, is extant; and
another, which he dedicated to a brother Martian, In Demonstration of
the Apostolic Preaching; [3] and a volume containing various
Dissertations, [4] in which he mentions the Epistle to the Hebrews and
the so-called Wisdom of Solomon, making
245
quotations from them. These are the works of Irenaeus which have come
to our knowledge.
Commodus having ended his reign after thirteen
years, Severus became emperor in less than six months after his death,
Pertinax having reigned during the intervening time. [5]
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Works of Others that flourished at that
Time.
NUMEROUS memorials of the faithful zeal of the
ancient ecclesiastical men of that time are still preserved by many. Of
these we would note particularly the writings of Heraclitus [1] On the
Apostle, and those of Maximus on the question so much discussed among
heretics, the Origin of Evil, and on the Creation of Matter. [2] Also
those of Candidus on the Hexaemeron, [3] and
of Apion [4] on the same subject; likewise of Sextus [5] on the
Resurrection, and another treatise of Arabianus, [6] and writings of a
multitude of others, in regard to whom, because we have no data, it is
impossible to state in our work when they lived, or to give any account
of their history. [7] And works of many others have come
246
down to us whose names we are unable to give, orthodox and
ecclesiastical, as their interpretations of the Divine Scriptures show,
but unknown to us, because their names are not stated in their writings.
[8]
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Those who first advanced the
Heresy of Artemon; their Manner of Life, and how they dared to corrupt
the Sacred Scriptures.
1 In a laborious work by one of these
writers against the heresy of Artemon, [1]
which Paul of Samosata [2] attempted to revive
again in our day, there is an account appropriate
to the history which we are now examining.
For he criticises, as a late innovation, the2
above-mentioned heresy which teaches that
the Saviour was a mere man, because they were attempting to magnify it
as ancient? Having given in his work many other arguments in refutation
of their blasphemous falsehood, he adds the following words:
"For they say that all the early teachersa
and the apostles received and taught what
they now declare, and that the truth of the Gospel was preserved until
the times of Victor, who was the thirteenth bishop of Rome from Peter,
[4] but that from his successor, Zephyrinus, [5]
the truth had been corrupted. And what 4
they say might be plausible, if first of all
247
the Divine Scriptures did not contradict them. And there are writings
of certain brethren older than the times of Victor, which they wrote in
behalf of the truth against the heathen, and against the heresies which
existed in their day. I refer to Justin [6] and Miltiades [7] and Tatian
[8] and Clement [9] and many others, in all of whose
5 works Christ is spoken of as God. [10] For
who does not know the works of Irenaeus [11]
and of Melito [12] and of others which teach that Christ is God and
man? [13] And how many psalms and hymns, [14] written by the faithful
brethren from the beginning, celebrate Christ the Word of God, speaking
of him as
6 Divine. How then since the opinion held
by the Church has been preached for so
many years, can its preaching have been delayed as they affirm, until
the times of Victor ? And
how is it that they are not ashamed to speak thus falsely of Victor,
knowing well that he cut off from communion Theodotus, the cobbler, [15]
the leader and father of this God-denying apostasy, and the first to
declare that Christ is mere man ? For if Victor agreed with their
opinions, as their slander affirms, how came he to cast out Theodotus,
the inventor of this heresy ?"
So much in regard to Victor. His bishopric 7 lasted
ten years, and Zephyrinus was
appointed his successor about the ninth year of
the reign of Severus. [16] The author of the above-
mentioned book, concerning the founder of this
heresy, narrates another event which occurred in
the time of Zephyrinus, using these words:
"I will remind many of the brethren of 8
a fact which took place in our time, which,
had it happened in Sodom, might, I think, have proved a warning to
them. There was a certain confessor, Natalius, [17] not long ago, but in
our own day. This man was deceived at 9
one time by Asclepiodotus [18] and another
Theodotus, [19] a money-changer. Both of them were disciples of
Theodotus, the cobbler, who, as I have said, was the first person
excommunicated by Victor, bishop at that time, on account of this
sentiment, or rather senselessness. [20]
Natalius was persuaded by them to allow 10
himself to be chosen bishop of this heresy with a salary, to be paid by
them, of one
hundred and fifty denarii a month. [21] When 11
he had thus connected himself with them,
he was warned oftentimes by the Lord through visions. For the
compassionate God and our Lord Jesus Christ was not willing that a
witness of his own sufferings, being cast out of the Church, should
perish. But as he paid little 12 regard to the visions, because he was
en-
248
snared by the first position among them and by that shameful
covetousness which destroys a great many, he was scourged by holy
angels, and punished severely through the entire night. [22] Thereupon
having risen in the morning, he put on sackcloth and covered himself
with ashes, and with great haste and tears he fell down before
Zephyrinus, the bishop, rolling at the feet not only of the clergy, but
also of the laity; and he moved with his tears the compassionate l
Church of the merciful Christ. And though he used much supplication, and
showed the welts of the stripes which he had received, yet scarcely was
he taken back into communion."
13 We will add from the same writer some
other extracts concerning them, which run
as follows: [23]
"They have treated the Divine Scriptures recklessly
and without fear. They have set aside the rule of ancient faith; and
Christ they have not known. They do not endeavor to learn what the
Divine Scriptures declare, but strive laboriously after any form of
syllogism which may be devised to sustain their impiety. And if any one
brings before them a passage of Divine Scripture, they see whether a
conjunctive
or disjunctive form of syllogism can be
14 made from it. And as being of the earth
and speaking of the earth, and as ignorant
of him who cometh from above, they forsake the holy writings of God to
devote themselves to geometry. [24] Euclid is laboriously measured [25]
by some of them; and Aristotle and Theophrastus are admired; and Galen,
perhaps, by 15 some is even worshiped. But that those
who use the arts of unbelievers for their heretical opinions and
adulterate the simple faith of the Divine Scriptures by the craft of the
godless, are far from the faith, what need is there to say? Therefore
they have laid their hands boldly upon the Divine Scriptures, alleging
that they have corrected them. That 16
I am not speaking falsely of them in this
matter, whoever wishes may learn. For if any one will collect their
respective copies, and compare them one with another, he will
find that they differ greatly. Those of As- 17
clepiades, [26] for example, do not agree with
those of Theodotus. And many of these can be obtained, because their
disciples have assiduously written the corrections, as they call them,
that is the corruptions, [27] of each of them.
i Again, those of Hermophilus 28 do not agree with
these, and those of Apollonides [29] are
not consistent with themselves. For you can compare those
prepared by them at an earlier date with those which they corrupted
later,
and you will find them widely different. But 18
how daring this offense is, it is not likely
that they themselves are ignorant. For either they do not believe that
the Divine Scriptures were spoken by the Holy Spirit, and thus are
unbelievers, or else they think themselves wiser than the Holy Spirit,
and in that case what else are they than demoniacs? For they cannot deny
the commission of the crime, since the copies have been written by
their own hands. For they did not receive such Scriptures from their
instructors, nor can they produce any copies from which they were
transcribed.
But some of them have not thought it 19
worth while to corrupt them, but simply
deny the law and the prophets, [30] and thus through their lawless and
impious teaching under pretense of grace, have sunk to the lowest depths
of perdition."
Let this suffice for these things.
BOOK VI.
CHAPTER I.
The Persecution under Severus.
WHEN Severus began to persecute the churches,[1] glorious testimonies
were given everywhere by the athletes of religion. This was especially
the case in Alexandria, to which city, as to a most prominent theater,
athletes of God were brought from Egypt and all Thebais according to
their merit, and won crowns from God through their great patience under
many tortures and every mode of death. Among these was Leonides, who was
called the father of Origen,[2] and who was beheaded while his son was
still young. How remarkable the predilection of this son was for the
Divine Word, in consequence of his father's instruction, it will not be
amiss to state briefly, as his fame has been very greatly celebrated by
many.
CHAPTER II.
The Training of Origen from Childhood.[1]
MANY things might be said in attempting 1 to describe the life of the
man while in school; but this subject alone would require a separate
treatise. Nevertheless, for the present, abridging most things, we shall
state a few facts concerning him as briefly as possible, gathering them
from certain letters, and from the statement of persons still living
who were acquainted with him. What they report of 2 Origen seems to me
worthy of mention, even, so to speak, from his swathing-bands.
It was the tenth year of the reign of Severus,
250
while Laetus[2] was governor of Alexandria and the rest of Egypt, and
Demetrius[3] had lately received the episcopate of the parishes 3 there,
as successor of Julian.[4] As the flame of persecution had been kindled
greatly,[5] and multitudes had gained the crown of martyrdom, such
desire for martyrdom seized the soul of Origen, although yet a boy,
that he went close to danger, springing forward and rushing 4 to the
conflict in his eagerness. And truly the termination of his life had
been very near had not the divine and heavenly Providence, for the
benefit of many, prevented his desire through the agency of his mother.
5 For, at first, entreating him, she begged him to have compassion on
her motherly feelings toward him; but finding, that when he had learned
that his father had been seized and imprisoned, he was set the more
resolutely, and completely carried away with his zeal for martyrdom, she
hid all his clothing, and 6 thus compelled him to remain at home. But,
as there was nothing else that he could do, and his zeal beyond his age
would not suffer him to be quiet, he sent to his father an encouraging
letter on martyrdom,[6] in which he exhorted him, saying, "Take heed
not to change your mind on our account." This may be recorded as the
first evidence of Origen's youthful wisdom and of his genuine 7 love
for piety. For even then he had stored up no small resources in the
words of the faith, having been trained in the Divine Scriptures from
childhood. And he had not studied them with indifference, for his
father, besides giving him the usual liberal education,[7] had made
them a matter of no secondary 8 importance. First of all, before
inducting him into the Greek sciences, he drilled him in sacred
studies, requiring him to learn and recite every day. Nor was this
irksome to the boy, but he was eager and diligent in these studies. And
he was not satisfied with learning what was simple and obvious in the
sacred words, but sought for something more, and even at that age
busied himself with deeper speculations. So that he puzzled his father
with inquiries for the true meaning of the inspired Scriptures.
And his father rebuked him seemingly to 10 his face, telling him not to
search beyond his age, or further than the manifest meaning. But by
himself he rejoiced greatly and thanked God, the author of all good,
that he had deemed him worthy to be the father of such a child. And they
say that often, standing by the 11 boy when asleep, he uncovered his
breast as if the Divine Spirit were enshrined within it, and kisses it
reverently; considering himself blessed in his goodly offspring. These
and other things like them are related to Origen when a boy. But when
12 his father ended his life in martyrdom, he was left with his mother
and six younger brothers when he was not quite seventeen years old.[8]
And the poverty of his father being 13 confiscated to the royal
treasury, he and his family were in want of the necessaries of life. But
he was deemed worthy of Divine care. And he found welcome and rest with
a woman of great wealth, and distinguished in her manner of life and in
other respects. She was treating with great honor a famous heretic then
in Alexandria;[9] who, however, was born in Antioch. He was with her as
an adopted son, and she treated him with the greatest kindness. But
although Origen was under the necessity 14 of associating with him, he
nevertheless gave from this time on strong evidences of his orthodoxy
in the faith. For when on account of the apparent skill in argument[10]
of Paul, -- for this was the man's name, -- a great multitude came to
him, not only of heretics but also of our people, Origen could never be
induced to join with him in prayer;[11] for he held, although a boy,
the rule of the Church,[12] and abominated, as he somewhere expresses
it, heretical teachings.[13] Having been instructed in the sciences of
the Greeks by his father, he
251
devoted him after his death more assiduously and exclusively to the
study of literature, so that he obtained considerable preparation in
philology[14] ad was able not long after the death of his father, by
devoting himself to that subject, to earn a compensation amply
sufficient for his needs at his age.[15]
CHAPTER III.
While still very Young, he taught diligently the Word of Christ.
1 BUT while he was lecturing in the school, as he tells us himself, and
there was no one at Alexandria to give instruction in the faith, as all
were driven away by the threat of persecution, some of the heathen came
to him to 2 hear the word of God. The first of them, he says, was
Plutarch,[1] who after living well, was honored with divine martyrdom.
The second was Heracles,[2] a brother of Plutarch; who after he too had
given with him abundant evidence of a philosophic ad ascetic life, was
esteemed worthy to succeed Demetrius in the bishopric of Alexandria. He
was in his eighteenth year when he 3 took charge of the catechetical
school.[3] He was prominent also at this time, during the persecution
under Aquila,[4] the governor of Alexandria, when his name became
celebrated among the leaders in the faith, through the kindness and
goodwill which he manifested toward all the holy martyrs, whether known
to him or strangers. For not only was he with them 4 while in bonds, and
until their final condemnation, but when the holy martyrs were led to
death, he was very bold and went with them into danger. So that as he
acted bravely, and with great boldness saluted the martyrs with a kiss,
oftentimes the heathen multitude round about them became infuriated,
and were on the point of rushing upon him. But through 5 the helping
hand of God, he escaped absolutely and marvelously. And this same
divine and heavenly power, again and again, it is impossible to say how
often, on account of his great zeal and boldness for the words of
Christ, guarded him when thus endangered.[5] So great was the enmity of
the unbelievers toward him, on account of the multitude that were
instructed by him in the sacred faith, that they placed bands of
soldiers around the house where he abode. Thus day by day the
persecution burned 6 against him, so that the whole city could no longer
contain him; but he removed from house to house and was driven in every
direction because of the multitude who attended upon the divine
instruction which he gave. For his life also exhibited right and
admirable conduct according to the practice of genuine philosophy. For
they say that his manner of life was 7 as his doctrine, and his doctrine
as his life.[6] Therefore, by the divine Power working with him he
aroused a great many to his own zeal. But when he saw yet more coming
to him 8 for instruction, and the catechetical school
252
had been entrusted to him alone by Demetrius, who presided over the
church, he considered the teaching of grammatical science inconsistent
with training in divine subjects,[7] and forthwith he gave up his
grammatical school as unprofitable 9 and a hindrance to sacred learning.
Then, with becoming consideration, that he might not need aid from
others, he disposed of whatever valuable books of ancient literature he
possessed, being satisfied with receiving from the purchaser four aboli
a day.[8] For many years he lived philosophically[9] in this manner,
putting away all the incentives of youthful desires. Through the entire
day he endured no small amount of discipline; and for the greater part
of the night he gave himself to the study of the Divine Scriptures. He
restrained himself as much as possible by a most philosophic life;
sometimes by the discipline of fasting, again by limited time for
sleep. And in his zeal he never lay upon a 10 bed, but upon the ground.
Most of all, he thought that the words of the Saviour in the Gospel
should be observed, in which he exhorts not to have two coats nor to
use shoes,[10] nor to occupy oneself with cares for the future.[11] 11
With a zeal beyond his age he continued in col and nakedness; and,
going to the very extreme of poverty, he greatly astonished those about
him. And indeed he grieved may of his friends who desired to share
their possessions with him, on account of the wearisome toil which they
saw him enduring in the teaching 12 of divine things. But he did not
relax his perseverance. He is said to have walked for a number of years
never wearing a shoe, and, for a great many years, to have abstained
from the use of wine, and of all other things beyond his necessary
food; so that he was in danger of breaking down and destroying his
constitution.[12]
By giving such evidences of a philosophic 13 life to those who saw
him,, he aroused may of his pupils to similar zeal; so that prominent
men even of the unbelieving heathen and men that followed learning and
philosophy were led to his instruction. Some of them having
received from hi into the depth of their souls faith in the Divine Word,
became prominent in the persecution then prevailing; and some of them
were seized and suffered martyrdom.
CHAPTER IV.
The fist of thee was Plutarch, who was 1 mentioned just above.[1] As he
was led to death the man of whom we are speaking being with him at the
end of hiss life, came near being slain by his fellow-citizens, as if he
were the cause of his death. But the providence of God preserved him at
this time also. After 2 Plutarch, the second martyr among the pupils of
Origen was Serenus,[2] who gave through fire a proof of the faith which
he had received. The third martyr from the same 3 school was
Heraclides,[3] and after him the fourth was Hero.[4] The former of these
was as yet a catechumen, and the latter had but recently been baptized.
Both of them were beheaded. After them, the fifth from the same school
proclaimed as an athlete of piety was another Serenus, who, it is
reported, was beheaded, after a long endurance of tortures. And of
women, Herais[5] died while yet a catechumen, receiving baptism by
fire, as Origen himself somewhere says.
253
CHAPTER V.
Potamiaena.[1]
1 BASILIDES[2] may be counted the seventh of these. He led to martyrdom
the celebrated Potamiaena, who is still famous among the people of the
country for the many things which she endured for the preservation of
her chastity and virginity. For she was blooming in the perfection of
her mind and her physical graces. Having suffered much for the faith of
Christ, finally after tortures dreadful and terrible to speak of, she
with her mother, 2 Marcella,[3] was put to death by fire. They say that
the judge, Aquila by name, having inflicted severe tortures upon her
entire body, at last threatened to hand her over to the gladiators for
bodily abuse. After a little consideration, being asked for her
decision, she made a reply which was regarded as impious. 3 Thereupon
she received sentence immediately, and Basilides, one of the officers of
the army, led her to death. But as the people attempted to annoy and
insult her with abusive words, he drove back her insulters, showing her
much pity and kindness. And perceiving the man's sympathy for her, she
exhorted him to be of good courage, for she would supplicate her Lord
for him after her departure, and he would soon received a reward for the
kindness he 4 had shown her. Having said this, she nobly sustained the
issue, burning pitch being poured little by little, over various parts
of her body, from the sole of her feet to the crown of her head. Such
was the conflict endured by this famous maiden. 5 Not long after this
Basilides, being asked by his fellow-soldiers to swear for a certain
reason, declared that it was not lawful for him to swear at all, for he
was a Christian, and he confessed this openly. At first they thought
that he was jesting, but when he continued to affirm it, he was led to
the judge, and, acknowledging his conviction before him, he was
imprisoned. But the brethren in God coming 6 to him and inquiring the
reason of this sudden and remarkable resolution, he is reported to have
said that Potamiaena, for three days after her martyrdom, stood beside
him by night and placed a crown on his head and said that she had
besought the Lord for him and had obtained what she asked, and that
soon she would take him with her. Thereupon the brethren gave him the
seal[4] of the Lord; and on the next day, after giving glorious
testimony for the Lord, he was beheaded. And many others 7 in
Alexandria are recorded to have accepted speedily the word of Christ in
those times. For Potamiaena appeared to them in their dreams and
exhorted them. But let this suffice in regard to this matter.
CHAPTER VI.
Clement of Alexandria.
CLEMENT[1] having succeeded Pantaenus,[2] had charge at that time of
the catechetical instruction in Alexandria, so that Origen also, while
still a boy,[3] was one of his pupils. In the first
254
book of the work called Stromata, which Clement wrote, he gives a
chronological table,[4] bringing events down to the death of Commodus.
So it is evident that that work was written during the reign of Severus,
whose times we are now recording.
CHAPTER VII.
The Writer, Judas.[1]
AT this time another writer, Judas, discoursing about the seventy weeks
in Daniel, brings down the chronology to the tenth year of the reign of
Severus. He thought that the coming of Antichrist, which was much talked
about, was then near.[2] So greatly did the agitation caused by the
persecution of our people at this time disturb the minds of many.
CHAPTER VIII.
Origen's Daring Deed.
1 AT this time while Origen was conducting catechetical instruction at
Alexandria, a deed was done by him which evidenced an immature and
youthful mind, but at the same time gave the highest proof of faith and
continence.[1] For he took the words, "There 2 are eunuchs who have made
themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake,"[2] in too literal
ad extreme a sense. And in order to fulfill the Saviour's word, and at
the same time to take away from the unbelievers all opportunity for
scandal,--for, although young, he met for the study of divine things
with women as well as men,--he carried out in action the word of the
Saviour. He thought that this would not be known by many of his
acquaintances. But it was impossible for him, though desiring to do so,
to keep such an actio secret. When Demetrius, who presided over that 3
parish, at last learned of this, he admired greatly the daring nature of
the act, and as he perceived his zeal and the genuineness of his faith,
he immediately exhorted him to courage, and urged him the more to
continue his work of catechetical instruction. Such was he at 4 that
time. But soon afterward, seeing that he was prospering, and becoming
great and distinguished among all men, the same Demetrius, overcome by
human weakness, wrote of his deed
255
as most foolish to the bishops throughout the world. But the bishops of
Cesarea and Jerusalem, who were especially notable and distinguished
among the bishops of Palestine, considering Origen worthy in the highest
degree of the
5 honor, ordained him a presbyter. [3] There-
upon his fame increased greatly, and his
name became renowned everywhere, and he obtained no small reputation
for virtue and wisdom. But Demetrius, having nothing else that he could
say against him, save this deed of his boyhood, accused him bitterly,
[4] and dared to include with him in these accusations those who had
raised him to the presbyterate. These things, however, took place a
little later. But at this time Origen continued fearlessly the
instruction in divine things at Alexandria by day and night to all who
came to him; devoting his entire leisure without cessation to divine
studies and to his pupils.
7 Severus, having held the government for
eighteen years, was succeeded by his son,
Antoninus. [5] Among those who had endured courageously the persecution
of that time, and had been preserved by the Providence of God through
the conflicts of confession, was Alexander, of whom we have spoken
already [6] as bishop
of the church in Jerusalem. On account of his pre-eminence in the
confession of Christ he was thought worthy of that bishopric, while
Narcissus, [7] his predecessor, was still living.
CHAPTER IX.
The Miracles of Narcissus.
The citizens of that parish mention many 1
other miracles of Narcissus, on the tradition of the brethren who
succeeded him; among
which they relate the following wonder as
performed by him. They say that the oil2
once failed while the deacons were watching
through the night at the great paschal vigil.
Thereupon the whole multitude being dismayed,
Narcissus directed those who attended to the
lights, to draw water and bring it to him.
This being immediately done he prayed 3
over the water, and with firm faith in the
Lord, commanded them to pour it into the lamps. And when they had done
so, contrary to all expectation by a wonderful and divine power, the
nature of tim water was changed into that of oil. A small portion of it
has been preserved even to our day by many of the brethren there as a
memento of the wonder. [1]
They tell many other things worthy to be 4
noted of the life of this man, among which
is this. Certain base men being unable to endure the strength and
firmness of his life, and fearing punishment for the many evil deeds of
which they were conscious, sought by plotting to anticipate him, and
circulated a terrible
slander against him. And to persuade 5
those who heard of it, they confirmed their
accusations with oaths: one invoked upon himself destruction by fire;
another the wasting of his body by a foul disease; the third the loss of
256
his eyes. But though they swore in this manner, they could not affect
the mind of the believers; because the continence and virtuous
life of Narcissus were well known to all.
6 But he could not in any wise endure the
wickedness of these men; and as he had
followed a philosophic [2] life for a long time, he fled from the whole
body of the Church, and
hid himself in desert and secret places, and
7 remained there many years. [3] But the great
eye of judgment was not unmoved by these
things, but soon looked down upon these impious men, and brought on
them the curses with which they had bound themselves. The residence of
the first, from nothing but a little spark failing upon it, was entirely
consumed by night, and he perished with all his family. The second was
speedily covered with the disease which he had imprecated upon himself,
from the
8 sole of his feet to his head. But the third,
perceiving what had happened to the others,
and fearing the inevitable judgment of God, the ruler of all,
confessed publicly what they had plotted together. And in his repentance
he became so wasted by his great lamentations,
and continued weeping to such an extent, that both his eyes were
destroyed. Such were the punishments which these men received for their
falsehood.
CHAPTER X.
The Bishops of Jerusalem.
Narcissus having departed, and no one knowing where
he was, those presiding over the neighboring churches thought it best to
ordain another bishop. His name was Dius. [1] He presided but a short
time, and Germanio succeeded him. He was followed by Gordius, [2] in
whose time Narcissus appeared again, as if raised from the dead. [3]
And immediately the brethren besought him to take the episcopate, as all
admired him the more on account of his retirement and philosophy, and
especially because of the punishment with which God had avenged him.
CHAPTER XI. Alexander.
But as on account of his great age Narcissus 1 was no longer able
to perform his
official duties, [1] the Providence of God called to
the office with him, by a revelation given him
in a night vision, the above-mentioned Alexander, who was then bishop
of another parish. [2]
257
Thereupon, as by Divine direction, he journeyed from the land of
Cappadocia, where he first held the episcopate, to Jerusalem, in
consequence of a vow and for the sake of information in regard to its
places. [3] They received , him there with great cordiality, and would
not
permit him to return, because of another revelation seen by them at
night, which uttered the clearest message to the most zealous among
them. For it made known that if they would go outside the gates, they
would receive the bishop foreordained for them by God. And having done
this, with the unanimous consent of the bishops of the neighboring
churches, they constrained him to remain. Alexander, himself, in private
letters to the Antinoites,4 which are still preserved among us,
mentions the joint episcopate of NarciSsus and himself, writing in these
words at the end of the epistle:
4 "Narcissus salutes you, who held the episcopate here
before me, and is now associated
with me in prayers, being one hundred and sixteen years of age; and he
exhorts you, as I do, to be of one mind."
These things took place in this manner. But, on the
death of Serapion, [5] Asclepiades, [6] who had
been himself distinguished among the confessors r during the
persecution, succeeded to the episcopate of the church at Antioch.
Alexander alludes to his appointment, writing thus to the church at
Antioch:
"Alexander, a servant and prisoner of Jesus 5 Christ, to the
blessed church of Antioch,
greeting in the Lord. The Lord hath made my
bonds during the time of my imprisonment light
and easy, since I learned that, by the Divine Providence, Asclepiades,
who in regard to the true
faith is eminently qualified, has undertaken the
bishopric of your holy church at Antioch."
He indicates that he sent this epistle by 6
Clement, [8] writing toward its close as follows:
"My honored brethren, [9] have sent this letter to
you by Clement, the blessed presbyter, a man virtuous and approved, whom
ye yourselves also know and will recognize. Being here, in the
providence and oversight of the Master, he has strengthened and built up
the Church of the Lord."
CHAPTER XII.
Serapion and his Extant Works.
It is probable that others have preservedI
other memorials of Serapion's [x] literary industry, [2] but there have
reached us only those addressed to a certain Domninus, who, in the time
of persecution, fell away from faith in Christ to the Jewish
will-worship; [3] and those addressed
258
to Pontius and Caricus, [4] ecclesiastical men, and other letters to
different persons, and still another work composed by him on the
so-called Gospel of Peter. [5] He wrote this last to refute the
falsehoods which that Gospel contained, on account of some in the parish
of Rhossus [6] who had been led astray by it into heterodox notions. It
may be well to give some brief extracts from his work, showing his
opinion of the book. He writes as follows:
"For we, brethren, receive both
Peter and the other apostles as Christ; but we
reject intelligently the writings
falsely ascribed to them, knowing that such were not handed
4 down to us. When I visited you I supposed
that all of you held the true faith, and as I
had not read the Gospel which they put forward under the name of Peter,
I said, ' If this is the only thing which occasions dispute among you,
let it be read.' But now having learned, from what has been told me,
that their mind was involved in some heresy, I will hasten to come to
you again. Therefore, brethren,
5 expect me shortly. But you will learn,
brethren, from what has been written to you,
that we perceived the nature of the heresy of Marcianus, [7] and
that, not understanding',
what he was saying, he contradicted himself.
6 For having obtained this Gospel from others
who had studied it diligently, namely, from
the successors of those who first used k, whom we call Docet' [8]
(for most of their opinions are
connected with the teaching of that school [9]) we have been able to
read it through, and we
find many things in accordance
with the true doctrine of the Saviour, but some things added to that
doctrine, which we have pointed out for you farther on."
So much in regard to Serapion.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Writings of Clement.[1]
All the eight Stromata of Clement are preserved
among us, and have been given by
259
him the following title: "Titus Flavius Clement's
Stromata of Gnostic Notes on the
True Philosophy." 2 [2] The books entitled Hypotyposes [3]
are of the same number. In them he mentions Pant'nus [4] by name as his
teacher, and
gives his opinions and traditions. Besides
these there is his Hortatory Discourse
addressed to the Greeks; [5] three books of a work entitled the
Instructor; [6] another with the title What Rich Man is Saved? [7] the
work on
the Passover ; [8] discussions on Fasting and on Evil Speaking ; [9]
the Hortatory Discourse on Patience, or To Those Recently Baptized; 20
and the one bearing the title Ecclesiastical Canon, or Against the
Judaizers, [11] which he dedicated
260
to Alexander, the bishop mentioned above.
4 In the Stromata, he has not only treated
extensively [12] of the Divine Scripture, but he
also quotes from the Greek writers whenever anything that they have
said seems to him profitable.
He elucidates the opinions of many, both
5 Greeks and barbarians. He also refutes the
false doctrines of the heresiarchs, and besides
this, reviews a large portion of history, giving us specimens of very
various learning; with all the rest he mingles the views of
philosophers. It is likely that on this account he gave his work the
appropriate title of Stromata. [13]
6 He makes use also in these works of testimonies from the
disputed Scriptures, [14] the
so-called Wisdom of Solomon, [15] and of Jesus, the son of Sirach, and
the Epistle to the Hebrews, [16] and those of Barnabas, [17] and
Clement [18]
and Jude. [19] He mentions also Tatian's [20] 7
Discourse to the Greeks, and speaks of Cassianus [21] as the author of
a chronological work. He refers to the Jewish authors Philo, [22]
Aristobulus, [28] Josephus, [24] Demetrius, [25] and Eupolemus, [226] as
showing, all of them, in their works, that Moses and the Jewish race
existed before
the earliest origin of the Greeks. These 8
books abound also in much other learning.
In the first of them [27] the author speaks of him-
261
self as next after the successors of the apostles.
In them he promises also to write a com-
9 mentary on Genesis. (28) In his book on the
Passover (29) he acknowledges that he had
been urged by his friends to commit to writing, for posterity, the
traditions which he had heard from the ancient presbyters; and in the
same work he mentions Melito and Iren'us, and certain others, and gives
extracts from their writings.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Scriptures mentioned by him.
1 To sum up briefly, he has given in the
Hypotyposes (1) abridged accounts of all
canonical Scripture, not omitting the disputed books, (2) -- I refer to
Jude and the other Catholic epistles, and Barnabas (3) and the so-called
Apocalypse of Peter. (4) He says that the Epistle to the Hebrews (5) is
the work of
Paul, and that it was written to the Hebrews in the Hebrew language;
but that Luke translated it carefully and published it for the Greeks,
and hence the same style of expression is found in this epistle and in
the Acts. But he says that the words, Paul the Apostle, were probably
not prefixed, because, in sending it to the Hebrews, who were prejudiced
and suspicious of him, he wisely did not wish to repel them at the very
beginning by giving his name.
4 Farther on he says: "But now, as the
blessed presbyter said, since the Lord being the apostle
of the Almighty, was sent to the Hebrews, Paul, as sent to the Gentiles,
on account of his modesty did not subscribe himself an apostle of the
Hebrews, through respect for the Lord, and because being a herald and
apostle of the Gentiles he wrote to the Hebrews out of his
superabundance."
5 Again, in the same books, Clement gives
the tradition of the earliest presbyters, as
to the order of the Gospels, in the following
manner: The Gospels containing the genealogies, 6 he
says, were written first. The
Gospel according to Marks had this occasion. As Peter had preached the
Word publicly at Rome, and declared the Gospel by the Spirit, many who
were present requested that Mark, who had followed him for a long time
and remembered his sayings, should write them out. And having composed
the Gospel he gave
it to those who had requested it. When 7
Peter learned of this, he neither directly for-
bade nor encouraged it. But, last of all, John, perceiving that the
external (7) facts had been made plain in the Gospel, being urged by his
friends, and inspired by the Spirit, composed a spiritual Gospel. (8)
This is the account of Clement.
Again the above-mentioned Alexander, (9) 8
in a certain letter to Origen, refers to Clement, and at the same time
to Pant'nus, as being among his familiar acquaintances. He writes as
follows:
"For this, as thou knowest, was the will of God,
that the ancestral friendship existing between us should remain
unshaken; nay,
rather should be warmer and stronger. For 9
we know well those blessed fathers who
have trodden the way before us, with whom we shall soon be; (10)
Pant'nus, the truly blessed man and master, and the holy Clement, my
master and benefactor, and if there is any other like them, through whom
I became acquainted with thee, the best in everything, my master and
brother." (11)
So much for these matters. But Adamantius, 10 (12) -- for this
also was a name of Origen,
-- when Zephyrinus (13) was bishop of Rome, visited
262
Rome, "desiring," as he himself somewhere says, "to see the most
ancient church of Rome."
After a short stay there he returned to
11 Alexandria. And he performed the duties
of catechetical instruction there with great
zeal; Demetrius, who was bishop there at that time, urging and even
entreating him to work diligently for the benefit of the brethren. (14)
CHAPTER XV.
Heraclas. (1)
BUT when he saw that he had not time for the deeper
study of divine things, and for the investigation and interpretation of
the Sacred Scriptures, and also for the instruction of those who came to
him,-- for coming, one after another, from morning till evening to be
taught by him, they scarcely gave him time to breathe, --he divided the
multitude. And from those whom he knew well, he selected Heraclas, who
was a zealous student of divine things, and in other respects a very
learned man, not ignorant of philosophy, and made him his associate in
the work of instruction. He entrusted to him the elementary training of
beginners, but reserved for himself the teaching of those who were
farther advanced.
CHAPTER XVI.
Origen's Earnest Study of the Divine Scriptures.
1 So earnest and assiduous was Origen's
research into the divine words that he
learned the Hebrew language, (1) and procured as his own the original
Hebrew Scriptures which were in the hands of the Jews. He investigated
also the works of other translators of the Sacred Scriptures besides the
Seventy. (2) And in addition to the well-known translations of Aquila,
(3) Symmachus, (4) and Theodotion, (5) he discovered certain others
which had been concealed from remote times, -- in what out-of-the-way
corners I know not, -- and by his search he
brought them to light. (6) Since he did not 2
263
know the authors, he
simply stated that he had found this one in Nicopolis near Ac-tium (7)
and that one in some other place. In the Hexapla (8) of the Psalms,
after the four
prominent translations, he adds not only a fifth,
p
but also a sixth and seventh. (9) He states of one
of these that he found it in a jar in Jericho in the time of Antoninus,
the son of Severus.
Having collected all of these, he divided 4
them into sections, and placed them opposite
each other, with the Hebrew text itself. He thus left us the copies of
the so-called Hexapla. He arranged also separately an edition of Aquila
and Symmachus and Theodotion with the Septuagint, in the Tetrapla. (10)
264
CHAPTER XVII.
The Translator Symmachus. (1)
As to these translators it should be stated that
Symmachus was an Ebionite. But the heresy of the Ebionites, as it is
called, asserts that Christ was the son of Joseph and Mary, considering
him a mere man, and insists strongly on keeping the law in a Jewish
manner, as we have seen already in this history. (2) Commentaries of
Symmachus are still extant in which he appears to support this heresy by
attacking the Gospel of Matthew. (3) Origen states that he obtained
these and other commentaries of Symmachus on the Scriptures from a
certain Juliana, (4) who, he says, received the books by inheritance
from Symmachus himself.
CHAPTER XVIII. Ambrose.
ABOUT this time Ambrose, (1) who held the heresy of
Valentinus, (2) was convinced by
Origen's presentation of the truth, and, as if his
mind were illumined by light, he accepted
the orthodox doctrine of the Church. Many2
others also, drawn by the fame of Origen's
learning, which resounded everywhere, came to
him to make trial of his skill in sacred literature. And a great many
heretics, and not a few
of the most distinguished philosophers, studied
under him diligently, receiving instruction from
him not only in divine things, but also in
secular philosophy. For when he perceived 3
that any persons had superior intelligence
he instructed them also in philosophic branches
--in geometry, arithmetic, and other preparatory studies--and then
advanced to the systems (3) of the philosophers and explained their
writings. And he made observations and comments upon each of them, so
that he became
celebrated as a great philosopher even
among the Greeks themselves. And he 4
instructed many of the less learned in the
common school branches, (4) saying that these would be no small help to
them in the study and understanding of the Divine Scriptures. On this
account he considered it especially necessary for himself to be skilled
in secular and philosophic learning. (5)
CHAPTER XIX.
Circumstances related of Origen.
THE Greek philosophers of his age are witnesses to
his proficiency in these subjects.
We find frequent mention of him in their writings. Sometimes they
dedicated their own works to him; again, they submitted their labors to
him as a teacher for his judgment. Why need we say these things when
even Porphyry, (1) who lived in Sicily in our own times and
265
wrote books against us, attempting to traduce the Divine Scriptures by
them, mentions those who have interpreted them; and being unable in any
way to find a base accusation against the doctrines, for lack of
arguments turns to reviling and calumniating their interpreters,
attempting especially to slander Origen, whom he says he
3 knew in his youth. But truly, without knowing it, he commends
the man; telling the
I truth about him in some cases where he could not do otherwise;
but uttering falsehoods where he thinks he will not be detected.
Sometimes he accuses him as a Christian; again he describes his
proficiency in philosophic learning. But hear his own words:
"Some persons, desiring to find a solution 4 of the baseness of
the Jewish Scriptures
rather than abandon them, have had recourse to explanations
inconsistent and incongruous with
the words written, which explanations, instead of supplying a defense
of the foreigners, contain rather approval and praise of themselves. For
they boast that the plain words of Moses are enigmas, and regard them
as oracles full of hidden mysteries; and having bewildered the mental
judgment by folly, they make their explanations." Farther on he says:
"As an example of this absurdity take a 5 man whom I
met when I was young, and who was then greatly celebrated and still is,
on account of the writings which he has left. I refer to Origen, who is
highly honored by the
teachers of these doctrines. For this man, 6
having been a hearer of Ammonius, (2) who
had attained the greatest proficiency in philosophy of any in our day,
derived much benefit from his teacher in the knowledge of the sciences;
but as to the correct choice of life,
he pursued a course opposite to his. For 7 Ammonius, being a Christian,
and brought up by Christian parents, when he gave himself to study and
to philosophy straightway conformed to the life required by the laws.
But Origen, having been educated as a Greek in Greek literature, went
over to the barbarian recklessness. (3) And carrying over the learning
266
which he had obtained, he hawked it about, in his life conducting
himself as a Christian and contrary to the laws, but in his opinions of
material things and of the Deity being like a Greek, and mingling
Grecian teachings with foreign fables. (4)
8 For he was continually studying Plato, and
he busied himself with the writings of Numenius (5) and Cronius,
(6) Apollophanes, (7) Longinus, (8)
Moderatus, (9) and Nicomachus, (10) and those famous
among the Pythagoreans. And he used the books
of Ch'remon (11) the Stoic, and of Cornutus. (12)
Becoming acquainted through them with the figurative interpretation of
the Grecian mysteries, he applied it to the Jewish Scriptures." (13)
These things are said by Porphyry in the 9
third book of his work against the Christians. (14) He speaks truly of
the industry and learning of the man, but plainly utters a falsehood
(for what will not an opposer of Christians do?) when he says that he
went over from the Greeks, (15) and that Ammonius fell from a life
of piety into heathen customs. For the 10
doctrine of Christ was taught to Origen by
his parents, as we have shown above. And Ammonius held the divine
philosophy unshaken and
267
unadulterated to the end of his life. (16) His works yet extant show
this, as he is celebrated among many for the writings which he has left.
For example, the work entitled The Harmony of Moses and Jesus, and such
others as are in
11 the possession of the learned. These things
are sufficient to evince the slander of the
false accuser, and also the proficiency of Origen in Grecian learning.
He defends his diligence in this direction against some who blamed him
for it, in a certain epistle, (17) where he writes as
follows:
"When I devoted myself to the word, and the fame of
my proficiency went abroad, and when heretics and persons conversant
with Grecian learning, and particularly with philosophy, came to me, it
seemed necessary that I should examine the doctrines of the heretics,
and what the philosophers say concerning
13 the truth. And in this we have followed
Pantaenus, (18) who benefited many before our
time by his thorough preparation in such things, and also Heraclas,
(19) who is now a member of the presbytery of Alexandria. I found him
with the teacher of philosophic learning, with whom he had already
continued five years before I
began to hear lectures on those subjects. (20) 14
And though he had formerly worn the com-
mon dress, he laid it aside and assumed and still wears the
philosopher's garment; (21) and he continues the earnest investigation
of Greek works."
He says these things in defending himself
for his study of Grecian literature. About 15
this time, while he was still at Alexandria,
a soldier came and delivered a letter from the governor of Arabia (22)
to Demetrius, bishop of the parish, and to the prefect of Egypt who was
in office at that time, requesting that they would with all speed send
Origen to him for an interview. Being sent by them, he went to Arabia.
And having in a short time accomplished the object of his visit, he
returned to Alexandria. But sometime after a considerable 16
war broke out in the city, (23) and he departed
from Alexandria. And thinking that it would be unsafe for him to remain
in Egypt, he went to Palestine and abode in Caesarea. While there the
bishops of the church in that country (24) requested him to preach and
expound the Scriptures publicly, although he had not yet
been ordained as presbyter. (25) This is evi- 17
268
dent from what Alexander, (26) bishop of Jerusalem and Theoctistus (27)
of Caesarea, wrote to Demetrius (28) in regard to the matter, defending
themselves thus:
"He has stated in his letter that such a thing was
never heard of before, neither has hitherto taken place, that laymen
should preach in the presence of bishops. I know not how he comes to
18 say what is plainly untrue. For whenever
persons able to instruct the brethren are
found, they are exhorted by the holy bishops to preach to the people.
Thus in Laranda, Euelpis by Neon; and in Iconium, Paulinus by Celsus;
and in Synada, Theodorus by Atticus, our blessed brethren. (29) And
probably this has been done in other places unknown to us."
He was honored in this manner
while yet a young man, not only by his countrymen, but
19 also by foreign bishops. (30) But Demetrius
sent for him by letter, and urged him
through members and deacons of the church to return to Alexandria. So
he returned and resumed his accustomed duties.
CHAPTER XX.
The Extant Works of the Writers of that Age.
1 THERE flourished many learned men in
the Church at that time, whose letters to
each other have been preserved and are easily accessible. They have
been kept until our time in the library at AElia, (1) which was
established by Alexander, who at that time presided over that church. We
have been able to gather from that library material for our present
work.
Among these Beryllus (2) has left us, besides 2 letters and treatises,
various elegant works. He was bishop of Bostra in Arabia. Likewise also
Hippolytus, (3) who presided over another
church, has left writings. There has reached 3 us also a dialogue of
Caius, (4) a very learned man, which was held at Rome under Zephyrinus,
(5) with Proclus, who contended for the Phrygian heresy. In this he
curbs the rashness and boldness of his opponents in setting forth new
Scriptures. He mentions only thirteen epistles of the holy apostle, not
counting that to the Hebrews (6) with the others. And unto our day there
are some among the Romans who do not consider this a work of the
apostle.
CHAPTER XXI.
The Bishops that were well known at that Time.
AFTER Antoninus (1) had reigned seven years 1
and six months, Macrinus succeeded him.
He held the government but a year, and was succeeded by another
Antoninus. During his first year the Roman bishop, Zephyrinus, (2)
having held his office for eighteen years, died, and Callistus (3)
received the episcopate. He continued 2 for five years, and was
succeeded by
269
Urbanus. (4) After this, Alexander became Roman emperor, Antoninus
having reigned but four years. (5) At this time Philetus (6) also
succeeded Asclepiades (7) in the church of Antioch.
3 The mother of the emperor, Mammaea 8
by name, was a most pious woman, if there ever was one, and of
religious life. When the fame of Origen had extended everywhere and had
come even to her ears, she desired greatly to see the man, and above all
things to make trial of his celebrated understanding of
divine things. Staying for a time in Antioch, 4 she sent for him with a
military escort.
Having remained with her a while and shown her many things which were
for the glory of the Lord and of the excellence of the divine teaching,
he hastened back to his accustomed work.
CHAPTER XXII.
The Works of Hippolytus which have reached us.
AT that time Hippolytus, (1) besides many 1
other treatises, wrote a work on the pass-
270
over. (2) He gives in this a chronological table, and presents a
certain paschal canon of sixteen
years, bringing the time down to the first
2. year of the Emperor Alexander. Of his
other writings the following have reached
us: On the Hexaemeron, (3) On the Works after the Hexaemeron, (4)
Against Marcion, (5) On the Song of Songs, (6) On Portions of Ezekiel,
(7) On the Passover, (8) Against All the Heresies; (9) and you can find
many other works preserved by many.
271
CHAPTER XXIII.
Origen's Zeal and his Elevation to the Presbyterate.
1 AT that time Origen began his commentaries on the Divine
Scriptures, being urged
thereto by Ambrose, (1) who employed innumerable
incentives, not only exhorting him by word,
but also furnishing abundant means. For he dictated to more than seven
amanuenses, who relieved each other at appointed times. And he employed
no fewer copyists, besides girls who were skilled in elegant writing.
For all these Ambrose furnished the necessary expense in abundance,
manifesting himself an inexpressible earnestness in diligence and zeal
for the divine oracles, by which he especially pressed him on to the
preparation of his commentaries. While these things were in progress,
Urbanus, (2) who had been for eight years bishop
of the Roman church, was
succeeded by Pontianus, (3) and Zebinus (4) succeeded Philetus (5) in
4 Antioch. At this time Origen was sent to
Greece on account of a pressing necessity
in connection with ecclesiastical affairs, (6) and went through
Palestine, and was ordained as presbyter in Caesarea by the bishops of
that country. The matters that were agitated concerning him on this
account, and the decisions on these matters by those who presided over
the churches, besides the other works concerning the divine word which
he published while in his prime, demand a separate treatise. We have
written of them to some extent in the second book of the Defense which
we have composed in his behalf. (7)
CHAPTER XXIV.
The Commentaries which he prepared at
Alexandria.
IT may be well to add that in the sixth 1
book of his exposition of the Gospel of
John (1) he states that he prepared the first five while in Alexandria.
Of his work on the entire Gospel only twenty-two volumes have come down
to us. In the ninth of those on Genesis, (2) of which there are twelve
in all, he
272
states that not only the preceding eight had been composed at
Alexandria, but also those on the first twenty-five Psalms (3) and on
Lamentations. (4) Of these last five volumes have reached us. In them he
mentions also his books On the
3 Resurrection, (5) of which there are two. He
wrote also the books De Principiis (6) before
leaving Alexandria; and the discourses entitled Stromata, (7) ten in
number, he composed in the same city during the reign of Alexander, as
the notes by his own hand preceding the volumes indicate.
CHAPTER XXV.
His Review of the Canonical Scriptures.
WHEN expounding the first Psalm, (1) he
I
gives a catalogue of the sacred Scriptures
of the Old Testament (2) as follows:
"It should be stated that the canonical books,
as the Hebrews have handed them down, are
twenty-two; corresponding with the number of
their letters." Farther on he says:
"The twenty-two books of the Hebrews 2
are the following: That which is called by
us Genesis, but by the Hebrews, from the beginning of the book,
Bresith, (3) which means, 'In the beginning'; Exodus, Welesmoth, (3a)
that is, 'These are the names'; Leviticus, Wikra, 'And he called';
Numbers, Ammesphekodeim; Deuteronomy, Eleaddebareim, ' These are the
words'; Jesus, the son of Nave, Josoue ben Noun; Judges and Ruth, among
them in one book, Saphateim; the First and Second of Kings, among them
one, Samouel, that is, 'The called of God'; the Third and Fourth of
Kings in one, Wammelch David, that is, 'The kingdom of David'; of the
Chronicles, the First and Second in one, Dabreiamein, that is, 'Records
of days'; Esdras, (4) First and Second in one, Ezra, that is, 'An
assistant'; the book of Psalms, Spharthelleim; the Proverbs of Solomon,
Me-loth; Ecclesiastes, Koelth; the Song of Songs (not, as some suppose,
Songs of Songs), Sir Hassirim; Isaiah, Jessia; Jeremiah, with
Lamentations and the epistle in one, Jeremia; Daniel, Daniel; Ezekiel,
Jezekiel; Job, Job; Esther, Esther. And besides these there are the
Maccabees, which are entitled Sarbeth Sabanaiel. (5) He gives these in
the above-mentioned work.
273
3 In his first book on Matthew's Gospel, (6)
maintaining the Canon of the Church, he
testifies that he knows
only four Gospels, writing as follows:
4 "Among the four Gospels, (7) which are the
only indisputable ones in the Church of God
under heaven, I have learned by tradition that the first was written by
Matthew, who was once a publican, but afterwards an apostle of Jesus
Christ, and it was prepared for the converts from Judaism, and published
in the Hebrew
5 language. (8) The second is by Mark, who
composed it according to the instructions of
Peter, (9) who in his Catholic epistle acknowledges him as a son,
saying, 'The church that is at Babylon elected together with you,
saluteth you, and so doth Marcus, my son.' (10) And the third by Luke,
the Gospel commended
by Paul, (11) and composed
for Gentile converts. Last of all that by John." (12)
7 In the fifth book of his Expositions of
John's Gospel, he speaks thus concerning
the epistles of the apostles: (13)
"But he who was 'made sufficient to be a
minister of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit,'
(14) that is, Paul, who 'fully
preached the Gospel from Jerusalem and round
about even unto Illyricum,' (15) did not write
to all the churches which he had instructed
and to those to which he wrote he sent but
8 few lines. (16) And Peter, on whom the Church
of Christ is built, 'against which the gates
of hell shall not prevail,' (17) has left one acknowledged epistle;
perhaps also a second, but this
i is doubtful. (18) Why need we speak of him9
who reclined upon the bosom of Jesus, (19)
John, who has left us one Gospel, (20) though he confessed that he
might write so many that the world could not contain them? (21) And he
wrote also the Apocalypse, but was commanded to keep silence and not to
write the words of the seven thunders. (22) He has left also an epistle
of very few lines; perhaps also a second and third; but not all consider
them
genuine, and together they do not contain
hundred lines."
In addition he makes the following statements 11 in regard to the
Epistle to the He-
brews (23) in his Homilies upon it:
"That the verbal style of the epistle entitled 'To
the Hebrews,' is not rude like the language of the apostle, who
acknowledged himself 'rude in speech,' (24) that is, in expression; but
that its diction is purer Greek, any one who has the power to discern
differences of phraseology will acknowledge. Moreover, that the thoughts
of the epistle are admirable, and not inferior to the acknowledged
apostolic writings, any one who carefully examines the apostolic text
(25) will admit." Farther on he adds:
"If I gave my opinion, I should say that the
thoughts are those of the apostle, but the diction and phraseology are
those of some one who remembered the apostolic teachings, and wrote down
at his leisure what had been said by his teacher. Therefore if any
church holds that this epistle is by Paul, let it be commended for this.
For not without reason have the ancients
handed it down as Paul's. But who wrote 14
the epistle, in truth, God knows. The statement of some who have gone
before us is that Clement, bishop of the Romans, wrote the epistle, and
of others that Luke, the author of the Gospel and the Acts, wrote it."
But let this suffice on these matters.
274
CHAPTER XXVI.
Heraclas becomes Bishop of Alexandria.
IT was in the tenth year of the above-mentioned
reign that Origen removed from Alexandria to Caesarea, (1) leaving the
charge of the catechetical school in that city to Heraclas. Not long
afterward Demetrius, bishop of the church of Alexandria, died, having
held the office for forty-three full years, (2) and Heraclas succeeded
him. At this time Firmilianus, (3) bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, was
conspicuous.
CHAPTER XXVII.
How the Bishops regarded Origen.
HE was so earnestly affected toward Origen, that he
urged him to come to that country for the benefit of the churches, and
moreover he visited him in Judea, remaining with him for some time, for
the sake of improvement in divine things. And Alexander, (1) bishop of
Jerusalem, and Theoctistus, (2) bishop of Caesarea, at-tended on him
constantly, (3) as their only teacher, and allowed (4) him to expound
the Divine Scriptures, and to perform the other duties pertaining to
ecclesiastical discourse. (5)
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Persecution under Maximinus.
THE Roman emperor, Alexander, having finished his
reign in thirteen years, was succeeded by Maximinus Caesar. (1) On
account of his hatred toward the household of Alexander, (2) which
contained many believers, he began a persecution, commanding that only
the rulers of the churches should be put to death, as responsible for
the Gospel teaching. Thereupon Origen composed his work On Martyrdom,
(3) and dedicated it to Ambrose and Protoctetus, (4) a presbyter of the
parish of Caesarea, because in the persecution there had come upon them
both unusual hardships, in which it is reported that they were eminent
in confession during the reign of Maximinus, which lasted but three
years. Origen has noted this as the time of the persecution in the
twenty-second book of his Commentaries on John, and in several epistles.
(5)
CHAPTER XXIX.
Fabianus, who was wonderfully designated
Bishop of Rome by God.
GORDIANUS succeeded Maximinus as Roman emperor; (1)
and Pontianus, (2) who had
275
been bishop of the church at Rome for six years, was succeeded by
Anteros. (3) After he had held the office for a month, Fabianus (4)
succeeded him. They say (5) that Fabianus having come, after the
death of Anteros, with others from the country, was staying at Rome, and
that while there he was chosen to the office through a most wonderful
manifestation of divine and heavenly grace. For when all the brethren
had assembled to select by vote him who should succeed to the
episcopate of the church, several renowned and honorable men were in the
minds of many, but Fabianus, although present, was in the mind of none.
But they relate that suddenly a dove flying down lighted on his head,
resembling the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Saviour in the form of
a dove. Thereupon all the people, as if moved by one Divine Spirit,
with all eagerness and unanimity cried out that he was worthy, and
without delay they took him and placed him upon the episcopal seat. (6)
5 About that time Zebinus, (7) bishop of Antioch
died, and Babylas (8) succeeded him.
And in Alexandria Heraclas, (9) having received the episcopal office
after Demetrius, (10) was succeeded in the charge of the catechetical
school by Dionysius, (11) who had also been one of Origen's pupils.
CHAPTER XXX. The Pupils of Origen.
WHILE Origen was carrying on his customary duties in
Caesarea, many pupils came to him not only from the vicinity, but also
from other countries. Among these Theodorus, the same that was
distinguished among the bishops of our day under the name of Gregory,
(1) and his brother
276
Athenodorus, (2) we know to have been especially celebrated. Finding
them deeply interested in Greek and Roman learning, he infused into them
a love of philosophy, and led them to exchange their old zeal for the
study of divinity. Remaining with him five years, they made such
progress in divine things, that although they were still young, both of
them were honored with a bishopric in the churches of Pontus.
CHAPTER XXXI.
Africanus.
AT this time also Africanus, (1) the writer of the
books entitled Cesti, was well known.
There is extant an epistle of his to Origen, expressing doubts
(2) of the story of Susannah in Daniel, as being spurious and
fictitious. Origen answered this very fully. Other works of the same
Africanus which have reached us are his five books on Chronology, a work
accurately and laboriously prepared. He says in this that he went to
Alexandria on account of the great fame of Heraclas, (3) who excelled
especially in philosophic studies and other Greek learning, and whose
appointment to the bishopric of the church there we have
277
3 already mentioned. There is extant also
another epistle from the same Africanus to
Aristides on the supposed discrepancy between Matthew and Luke in the
Genealogies of Christ. In this he shows clearly the agreement of the
evangelists, from an account which had come down to him, which we have
already given in its proper place in the first book of this work. (4)
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Commentaries which Origen composed in
Caesarea in Palestine.
1 ABOUT this time Origen prepared his
Commentaries on Isaiah (1) and on Ezekiel. (2)
Of the former there have come down to us thirty books, as far as the
third part of Isaiah, to the vision of the beasts in the desert; (3) on
Ezekiel twenty-five books, which are all that he wrote on the whole
prophet. Being at that time in Athens, (4) he finished his work on
Ezekiel and commenced his Commentaries on the Song of Songs, (5) which
he carried forward to the fifth book. After his return to Caesarea,
he completed these also, ten books in number. But why should we give in
this history 3
an accurate catalogue of the man's works,
which would require a separate treatise? (6) we have furnished this
also in our narrative of the life of Pamphilus, (7) a holy martyr of our
own time. After showing how great the diligence of Pamphilus was in
divine things, we give in that a catalogue of the library which he
collected of the works of Origen and of other ecclesiastical writers,
Whoever desires may learn readily from this which of Origen's works have
reached us. But we must proceed now with our history.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
The Error of Beryllus.
BERYLLUS, (1) whom we mentioned recently 1
as bishop of Bostra in Arabia, turned aside
from the ecclesiastical standard (2) and attempted to introduce ideas
foreign to the faith. He dared to assert that our Saviour and Lord did
not pre-exist in a distinct form of being of his own (3) before his
abode among men, and that he does not possess a divinity of his own, (4)
but only that of the Father dwelling
in him. Many bishops carried on investigations 2 and discussions with
him on this matter, and Origen having been invited with the others, went
down at first for a conference with him to ascertain his real opinion.
But when he understood his views, and perceived that they were
erroneous, having persuaded him by argument, and convinced him by
demonstration, he brought him back to the true doctrine, and re-
278
stored him to his former sound opinion. There are still extant writings
of Beryllus and of the synod held on his account, which contain the
questions put to him by Origen, and the discussions which were carried
on in his parish, as well as all the things done at that time.
4 The elder brethren among us s have handed
down many other facts respecting Origen
which I think proper to omit, as not pertaining to this work. But
whatever it has seemed necessary to record about him can be found in the
Apology in his behalf written by us and Pamphilus, the holy martyr of
our day. We prepared this carefully and did the work jointly on account
of faultfinders. (6)
CHAPTER XXXIV. Philip Caesar.
GORDIANUS had been Roman emperor for six years when
Philip, with his son Philip, succeeded him. (1) It is reported that he,
being a Christian desired, on the day of the last paschal vigil, to
share with the multitude in the prayers of the Church, (2) but that he
was not permitted to enter, by him who then presided, (3) until he had
made confession and had numbered himself among those who were reckoned
as transgressors and who occupied the place of penance. (4) For if he
had not done this, he would never have been received by him, on account
of the many crimes which he had committed. It is said that he obeyed
readily, manifesting in his conduct a genuine and pious fear of God.
CHAPTER XXXV.
Dionysius succeeds Heraclas in the Episcopate.
IN the third year of this emperor, Heraclas 1 died,
having held his office for sixteen years, and Dionysius (2) received the
episcopate of the churches of Alexandria.
CHAPTER XXXVI. Other Works of Origen.
AT this time, as the faith extended and our doctrine
was proclaimed boldly before all, (1) Origen, being, as they say, over
sixty years old, (2) and having gained great facility by his long
practice, very properly permitted his public discourses to be taken down
by stenographers, a thing which he had never before allowed. He also at
this time composed a work of eight books in answer to that entitled
True Discourse, which had been written against us by Celsus (3)
279
the Epicurean, and the twenty-five books on the Gospel of Matthew, (4)
besides those on the
Twelve Prophets, of which we have found
3 only twenty-five. (5) There is extant also an
epistle (6) of his to the Emperor Philip, and
another to Severa his wife, with several others
to different persons. We have arranged in distinct books to the number
of one hundred, so
that they might be no longer scattered, as many
of these as we have been able to collect, (7) which have been preserved
here and there by different persons. He wrote also to Fabianus 4 , (8)
bishop of Rome, and to many other
rulers of the churches concerning his orthodoxy. You have examples of
these in the eighth book of the Apology (9) which we have written in his
behalf.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
The Dissension of the Arabians. (1)
ABOUT the same time others arose in Arabia, putting
forward a doctrine foreign to the truth. They said that during the
present time the human soul dies and perishes with the body, but that at
the time of the resurrection they will be renewed together. And at that
time also a synod of considerable size assembled, and Origen, being
again invited thither, spoke publicly on the question with such effect
that the opinions of those who had formerly fallen were changed.
280
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
The Heresy of the Elkesites.
ANOTHER error also arose at this time, called the
heresy of the Elkesites, (1) which was extinguished in the very
beginning. Origen speaks of it in this manner in a public homily on the
eighty-second Psalm: (2)
"A certain man (3) came just now, puffed up greatly
with his own ability, proclaiming that godless and impious opinion which
has appeared lately in the churches, styled 'of the Elkesites.' I will
show you what evil things that opinion teaches, that you may not be
carried away by it. It rejects certain parts of every scripture. Again
it uses portions of the Old Testament and the Gospel, but rejects the
apostle (4) altogether. It says that to deny Christ is an indifferent
matter, and that he who understands will, under necessity, deny with
his mouth, but not in his heart. They produce a certain book which they
say fell from heaven. They hold that whoever hears and believes (5)
this shall receive remission of sins, another remission than that which
Jesus Christ has given."
Such is the account of these persons.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Persecution under Decius, and the Sufferings of Origen.
AfTER a reign of seven years Philip was 1
succeeded by Decius. (1) On account of his
hatred of Philip, he commenced a persecution of the churches, in which
Fabianus (2) suffered martyrdom at Rome, and Cornelius succeeded him in
the episcopate. (3) In Pales- 2 tine, Alexander, (4) bishop of the
church of Jerusalem, was brought again on Christ's account
281
before the governor's judgment seat in Caesarea, and having acquitted
himself nobly in a second
confession was cast into prison, crowned
3 with the hoary locks of venerable age. And
after his honorable and illustrious confession
at the tribunal of the governor,
he fell asleep in prison, and Mazabanes (5) became his successor 4 in
the bishopric of Jerusalem. Baby-
las (6) in Antioch, having like Alexander passed
away in prison after hi confession, was succeeded by
Fabius 7 in the episcopate of that church.
15 But how many and how great things came
upon Origen in the persecution, and what
was their final result, -- as the demon of evil
marshaled all his forces, and fought against the
man with his utmost craft and power, assaulting
him beyond all others against whom he con-
tended at that time, --and what and how many
things he endured for the word of Christ, bonds
and bodily tortures and torments under the iron
collar and in the dungeon; and how for many
days with his feet stretched four spaces in the
stooks (8) he bore patiently the threats of fire and
whatever other things were inflicted by his
enemies; and how his sufferings terminated, as
his judge strove eagerly with all his might not
to end his life; and what words he left after
these things, full of comfort to those needing
aid, a great many of his epistles show with truth
and accuracy. (9)
CHAPTER XL.
The Events which happened to Dionysius. (1)
I SHALL quote from the epistle of Dionysius to
Germanus (2) an account of what befell the former. Speaking of himself,
he writes as follows:
282 "I speak before God, and he knows
that I do not lie. I did not flee on my own impulse nor without divine
direction. But even before this, at the very hour when the Decian
persecution was commanded, Sabinus (3) sent a frumentarius (4) to search
for me, and I remained at home four days awaiting his arrival. But he
went about examining all places, -- roads, rivers, and fields, --where
he thought I might be concealed or on the way. But he was smitten with
blindness, and did not find the house, (5) for he did not suppose, that
being pursued, I would remain at home. And after the fourth day God
commanded me to depart, and made a way for me in a wonderful manner;
and I and my attendants (6) and many of the brethren went away
together. And that this occurred through the providence of God was made
manifest by what followed, in which perhaps we were useful to some."
Farther on he relates in this manner what happened to him after his
flight:
"For about sunset, having been seized with those
that were with me, I was taken by the soldiers to Taposiris, (7) but in
the providence of God, Timothy (8) was not present and was not
captured. But coming later, he found the house deserted and guarded by
soldiers, and our-
selves reduced to slavery." (9) After a little 5 he says:
"And what was the manner of his admirable
management? for the truth shall be told. One of the country people met
Timothy fleeing and disturbed, and inquired the cause of his
haste. And he told him the truth. And 6 when the man heard it (he was
on his way to a marriage feast, for it was customary to spend the entire
night in such gatherings), he entered and announced it to those at the
table. And they, as if on a preconcerted signal, arose with one
impulse, and rushed out quickly and came and burst in upon us with a
shout. Immediately the soldiers who were guarding us fled, and they came
to us lying as we were upon the
bare couches. But I, God knows, thought 7 at first that they were
robbers who had come for spoil and plunder. So I remained upon the bed
on which I was, clothed only in a linen garment, and offered them the
rest of my clothing which was lying beside me. But they directed me to
rise and come away quickly.
Then I understood why they were come,8
and I cried out, beseeching and entreating
them to depart and leave us alone. And I requested them, if they
desired to benefit me in any way, to anticipate those who were carrying
me off, and cut off my head themselves. And when I had cried out in this
manner, as my companions and partners in everything know, they raised
me by force. But I threw myself on my back on the ground; and they
seized me by the hands and feet and dragged me away. And the witnesses
of all these occurrences 9 followed: Gaius, Faustus, Peter, and Paul.
(10)
But they who had seized me carried me out of the village hastily, and
placing me on an ass without a saddle, bore me away." (11)
Dionysius relates these things respecting himself.
283
CHAPTER XLI.
The Martyrs in Alexandria.
1 THE same writer, in an epistle to Fabius, (1)
bishop of Antioch, relates as follows the
sufferings of the martyrs in Alexandria under Decius:
"The persecution among us did not begin with the
royal decree, but preceded it an entire year. (2) The prophet and author
of evils (3) to this city, whoever he was, previously moved and aroused
against us the masses of the heathen, rekindling among them the
superstition of
2 their country. And being thus excited by
him and finding full opportunity for any
wickedness, they considered this the only pious service of their
demons, that they should slay
"They seized first an old man named Metras 3 , (4)
and commanded him to utter impious words. But as he would not obey, they
beat him with clubs, and tore his face and eyes with sharp sticks, and
dragged him out of the city and
stoned him. Then they carried to their 4
idol temple a faithful woman, named Quinta,
that they might force her to worship. And as she turned away in
detestation, they bound her feet and dragged her through the entire city
over the stone-paved streets, and dashed her against the millstones,
and at the same time scourged her; then, taking her to the same
place, they stoned her to death. Then all 5
with one impulse rushed to the homes of
the pious, and they dragged forth whomsoever any one knew as a
neighbor, and despoiled and plundered them. They took for themselves the
more valuable property; but the poorer articles and those made of wood
they scattered about and burned in the streets, so that the city
appeared as if taken by an enemy. But the 6
brethren withdrew and went away, and 'took
joyfully the spoiling of their goods,' (5) like those to whom Paul bore
witness. I know of no one unless possibly some one who fell into their
hands, who, up to this time, denied the
Lord. Then they seized also that most admirable 7 virgin, Apollonia, an
old woman,
and, smiting her on the jaws, broke out all her teeth. And they made a
fire outside the city and threatened to burn her alive if she would not
join with them in their impious cries. And she, supplicating a little,
was released, when she leaped eagerly into the fire and was consumed.
Then they seized Serapion in his 8
own house, and tortured him with harsh cruelties, and having broken all
his limbs, they threw him headlong from an upper story. And there was no
street, nor public road, nor lane open to us, by night or day; for
always and everywhere, all of them cried out that if any one would not
repeat their impious words, he should immediately be dragged away and
burned. And matters 9 continued thus for a considerable time.
But a sedition and civil war came upon the wretched people and turned
their cruelty toward us against one another. (6) So we breathed for a
little while as they ceased from their rage against us. But presently
the change from that milder reign was announced to us, (7) and great fear
284
10 of what was threatened seized us. For the
decree arriv