5. The city of Rome, and all Italy, and Spain, and Britain, and Gaul, together with all the rest of the countries round about them, received the apostles’ ordination to the priesthood from Simon Cephas, who went up from Antioch; and he was ruler and guide there, in the church which he had built there, and in the places round about it. 3114
6. Ephesus, and Thessalonica, and all Asia, and all the country of the Corinthians, and of all Achaia and the parts round about it, received the apostles’ ordination to the priesthood from John the evangelist, who had leaned upon the bosom of our Lord; who himself built a church there, and ministered in his office of Guide which he held there.
7. Nicæa, and Nicomedia, and all the country of Bithynia, and of Inner Galatia, 3115 and of the regions round about it, received the apostles’ ordination to the priesthood from Andrew, the brother of Simon Cephas, who was himself Guide and Ruler in the church which he had built there, and was priest and ministered there.
8. Byzantium, and all the country of Thrace, and of the parts about it as far as the great river, 3116 the boundary which separates from the barbarians, received the apostles’ ordination to the priesthood from Luke the apostle, who himself built a church there, and ministered there in his office of Ruler and Guide which he held there.
9. Edessa, and all the countries round about it which were on all sides of it, and Zoba, 3117 and Arabia, and all the north, and the regions round about it, and the south, and all the regions on the borders of Mesopotamia, received the apostles’ ordination to the priesthood from Addæus the apostle, one of the seventy-two apostles, 3118 who himself made disciples there, and built a church there, and was priest and ministered there in his office of Guide which he held there.
10. The whole of Persia, of the Assyrians, and of the Armenians, and of the Medians, and of the countries round about Babylon, the Huzites and the Gelæ, as far as the borders of the Indians, and as far as the land 3119 of Gog and Magog, and moreover all the countries on all sides, received the apostles’ ordination to the priesthood from Aggæus, a maker of silks, 3120 the disciple of Addæus the apostle.
The other remaining companions of the apostles, moreover went to the distant countries of the barbarians; and they made disciples from place to place and passed on; and there they ministered by their preaching; and there occurred their departure out of this world, their disciples after them going on with the work down to the present day, nor was any change or addition made by them in their preaching.
Luke, moreover, the evangelist had such diligence that he wrote the exploits of the Acts of the Apostles, and the ordinances and laws of the ministry of their priesthood, and whither each one of them went. By his diligence, I say, did Luke write these things, and more than these; and he placed them in the hand of Priscus 3121 and Aquilus, his disciples; and they accompanied him up to the day of his death, just as Timothy and Erastus of Lystra, and Menaus, 3122 the first disciples of the apostles, accompanied Paul until he was taken up to the city of Rome because he had withstood Tertullus the orator. 3123
And Nero Cæsar despatched with the sword Simon Cephas in the city of Rome. 3124
Footnotes
667:3054This work is taken, and printed verbatim, from the same ms. as the preceding, Cod. Add. 14,644, fol. 10. That ms., however, has been carefully compared with another in the Brit. Mus. in which it is found, Cod. Add. 14,531, fol. 109; and with a third, in which the piece is quoted as Canons of the Apostles, Cod. Add. 14,173, fol. 37. In using the second, a comparison has also been made of De Lagarde’s edition of it (Vienna, 1856). This treatise had also been published before in Ebediesu Metropolitæ Sobæ et Armeniæ collectio canonum Synodicorum by Cardinal Mai. It is also cited by Bar Hebræus in his Nomocanon, printed by Mai in the same volume. These three texts are referred to in the notes, as A. B. C. respectively. [It seems to me that this and the Bryennios fragment are alike relics of some original older than both. To that of vol. vii. (p. 377) and the Apostolic Constitutions, so called, this is a natural preface.]
667:3055A. omits “three hundred and.” They are supplied from B. The reading of C. is 342.
667:3056This month answers to Sivan, which began with the new moon of June.—Tr.
667:3057C. reads “fourteenth.”
667:3058The day of Pentecost seems to be put for that of the Ascension.
667:3059Syr. “Baith Zaithe.” Comp. Luke xxiv. 50 sqq.
667:3060Comp. Acts i. 12 sqq.
667:3061[It is evident that the apostles had no such ideas until after the vision of St. Peter, Acts x. 9-35.]
667:3062[It is evident that the apostles had no such ideas until after the vision of St. Peter, Acts x. 9-35.]
667:3063The reading of B. and C.: A. reads “answered them.”
667:3064B. reads “suddenly.” [The translator interpolates upon him.]
668:3065On praying toward the east, comp. Apost. Constitutions, ii. 57, vii. 44; and Tertullian, Apol., 16.
A. C., ii. 57, contains an interesting account of the conduct of public worship. It may be consulted in connection with Ordinances 2, 8, and 10, also.—Tr.
668:3066Matt. xxiv. 27.
668:3067B. and C. read “at the last.” Ebediesu has “from heaven.”
668:3068i.e., the Eucharist.—Tr.
668:3069C. reads “His holy angels.”
668:3070For Ords. 3 and 4, see Ap. Const., v. 13–15.
668:3071B. reads “His manifestation.”
668:3072The reading of C.
668:3073Lit. “ the evening,” but used in particular of the evening of the sixth day of the week, the eve of the seventh: the evening being regarded, as in Gen. i. 5, as the first part of the day. Similarly, παρασκευή , which the Peshito translates by our word, is used in the Gospels for the sixth day, with a prospective reference to the seventh.—Tr.
668:3074See Ap. Const., ii. 25.
668:3075Comp. Eccl. Canons, No. 43. The Gr. ὑποδιάκονοι is here used, though for “deacon” the usual Syriac word is employed, meaning “minister” or “servant.” From Riddle, Christian Antiqq., p. 301, with whom Neander agrees, it would seem that subdeacons were first appointed at the end of the third century or the beginning of the fourth.—Tr. [See vol. v. p. 417.]
668:3076***, equivalent, not to ἐπίσκοπος, but to σκοπός = watchman, as in Ezek. xxxiii. 7.
668:3077For this B. reads “world.”
668:3078B. has “camp.”
668:3079See Ap. Const., v. 13.
Christmas, of which no mention is made in these Ordinances, is called “the first of all,” the Epiphany being ranked next to it in the Constitutions.—Tr. [See vol. vii. p. 492.]
668:3080January: the Jewish Tebeth. “The former Canun” is December, i.e., Chisleu.—Tr.
668:3081The era of the Seleucidæ, 311 a.c., appears to be referred to. In this new names were given to certain months, and Canun was one of them. See p. 666, supra.
668:3082Eccl. Can., No. 69.—Tr. See Ap. Const., v. 13–15.
668:3083Properly “the sealer:” for, although the word is not found in the lexicons, its formation shows that it denotes an agent. The meaning seems to be, that the Gospel gives completeness and validity to the Scriptures.—Tr.
668:3084C. reads “forty.”
668:3085See Ap. Const., ii. 57; Teaching of Simon Cephas, ad fin.; Eccl. Can., Nos. 60, 85.—Tr.
668:3086B. and C., as well as Ebediesu, read “and.”
669:3087Lit. “it is not certain (or firm) to him.”—Tr.
669:3088The exact words of the Peshito of 1 Sam. ii. 3. The E.V. following the K’ri ולו, instead of the אלו of the text, renders “and by Him actions are weighed.”
The Peshito translator may have confounded the Heb. verb ןכתּ, which appears not to exist in Aramæan, with its own verb ןקתּ (***), through the similarity in sound of the gutturals כּ and ק׃
669:3089See Eccl. Canons, No. 44.—Tr.
669:3090Comp. Eccl. Canons, Nos. 65, 70, 71.—Tr.
669:3091See Eccl. Canons, No. 35.—Tr.
669:3092See the letter of the Church of Smyrna on the martyrdom of Polycarp, and Euseb., Hist. Eccl., iv. 15; [also p. 664, note 4, supra].
669:3093Ps. xxxiv. 1.
669:3094The particip. ***, though usually pass., may, like some other participles Peil, be taken actively, as appears from a passage quoted by Dr. R. Payne Smith, Thes. Syr., s.v. This would seem to be the only possible way of taking it here.—Tr.
669:3095Comp. Ap. Const., ii. 45 sqq.
669:3096[Note the Institutions of Samuel, vol. vii. p. 531, and observe the prominence here assigned to that prophet. Comp. Acts iii. 24.]
669:3097[But note the case of Ambrose and Theodosius; Sozomen, Eccl. Hist., book vii. cap. 25.]
670:3098Acts 16:4, Acts 15:0.
670:3099The belief was common among the Jacobites that Caiaphas, whose full name was Joseph Caïaphas, was the same person as the historian Josephus, and that he was converted to Christianity. See Assem., Bibl. Orient., vol. ii. p. 165.
670:3100[The visible Church and sacraments are necessary, on this principle, to the conversion of the world.]
670:3101[Perhaps a metaphrase of Job 5:12, 13.]
670:3102This would seem to have been written anterior to the time when the title of Bishop, as specially appropriated to those who succeeded to the apostolic office, had generally obtained in the East. [Previously named as in the Greek of 2 Cor. viii. 23.]
670:3103For writings ascribed to Andrew and Thomas, see Apocryphal Scriptures, this volume, infra. Comp. Eccl. Canons, No. 85.—Tr. There is no mention here of the Epistles of Paul. They may not at this early period have been collected and become generally known in the East. The Epistle of Jude is also omitted here, but it was never received into the Syriac canon: see De Wette, Einl., 6th ed. p. 342.
670:3104So the printed text. But “the apostles” seems to be meant.—Tr.
670:3105See note 10 on p. 668.—Tr. It is plain from this that the Epistles were not at that time considered part of what was called the New Testament, nor the prophets of the Old.
671:3106Lit. “nod,” or “bidding,” or “impulse.”—Tr. [See Tertull., vol. iii. p. 252.]
671:3107Lit. “were quiet and silent at.”—Tr.
671:3108Lit. “be an advocate.”—Tr.
671:3109[Heb. 10:33, 34.]
671:3110C. reads “Pentapolis.”
671:3111A. has “the Indians;” C. “the Ethiopians.”
671:3112C. adds, “and built a church at Antioch.”
671:3113See note 3, p. 673, infra.
671:3114[The omission of reference to St. Paul is a token of a corrupt and mediæval text here.]
671:3115The reading of C. The ms. A. gives what Cureton transcribes as Gothia, which is almost the same as the word rendered “Inner.” Possibly this explains the origin of the reading of A. “Galatia” was perhaps accidentally omitted.—Tr.
671:3116C. has “the Danube.”
671:3117Or “Soba,” the same as Nisïbis.
671:3118The number seventy-two may have arisen from the supposition, mentioned in the Recognitions and in the Apostolical Constitutions, that our Lord chose them in imitation of the seventy-two elders appointed by Moses.
671:3119Or “place.”—Tr.
672:3120See note 6 on p. 661.
672:3121B. reads “Priscilla,” C. “Pricillas.” Prisca and Priscilla are the forms in which the name occurs in the New Testament.
672:3122Probably the same as Manaen, mentioned in Acts xiii. 1, as associated with Paul at Antioch.
672:3123[The failure to praise the work of him who “laboured more abundantly than all” others, is noteworthy, and can only be accounted for by Middle-Age corruptions of the text.]
672:3124C. adds, “crucifying him on a cross.” C. also adds, “Here endeth the treatise of Addæus the apostle.”
Ancient Syriac Documents.
————————————
3125 The Teaching of Simon Cephas 3126 in the City of Rome. 3127
In the third 3128 year of Claudius Cæsar, Simon Cephas departed from Antioch to go to Rome. And as he passed on he preached in the divers countries the word of our Lord. And, when he had nearly arrived there, 3129 many had heard of it and went out to meet him, and the whole church received him with great joy. And some of the princes of the city, wearers of the imperial headbands, 3130 came to him, that they might see him and hear his word. And, when the whole city was gathered together about him, he stood up to speak to them, and to show them the preaching of his doctrine, of what sort it was. And he began to speak to them thus:—
Men, people of Rome, saints of all Italy, hear ye that which I say to you. This day I preach and proclaim Jesus the Son of God, who came down from heaven, and became man, and was with us as one of ourselves, and wrought marvellous mighty-works and signs and wonders before us, and before all the Jews that are in the land of Palestine. And you yourselves also heard of those things which He did: because they came to Him from other countries also, on account of the fame of His healing and the report of the marvellous help He gave; 3131 and whosoever drew near to Him was healed by His word. And, inasmuch as He was God, at the same time that He healed He also forgave sins: for His healing, which was open to view, bore witness of His hidden forgiveness, that it was real and trustworthy. For this Jesus did the prophets announce in their mysterious sayings, as they were looking forward to see Him and to hear His word: Him who was with His Father from eternity and from everlasting; God, who was hidden in the height, and appeared in the depth; the glorious Son, who was from His Progenitor, and is to be glorified, together with His Father, and His divine Spirit, and the terrible power of His dominion. And He was crucified of His own will by the hands of sinners, and was taken up to His Father, even as I and my companions saw. And He is about to come again, in His own glory and that of His holy angels, even as we heard Him say to us. For we cannot say anything which was not heard by us from Him, neither do we write in the book of His Gospel anything which He Himself did not say to us: because this word is spoken in order that the mouth of liars may be shut, in the day when men shall give an account of idle words at the place of judgment.
Moreover, because we were catchers of fish, 3132 and not skilled in books, therefore did He also say to us: “I will send you the Spirit, the Paraclete, that He may teach you that which ye know not;” for it is by His gift that we speak those things which ye hear. And, further, by it we bring aid to the sick, and healing to the diseased: that by the hearing of His word and by the aid of His power ye may believe in Christ, that He is God, the Son of God; and may be delivered from the service of bondage, and may worship Him and His Father, and glorify His divine Spirit. For when we glorify the Father, we glorify the Son also with Him; and when we worship the Son, we worship the Father also with Him; and when we confess the Spirit, we confess the Father also and the Son: because in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Spirit, were we commanded to baptize those who believe, that they may live for ever.
Flee therefore from the words of the wisdom of this world, in which there is no profit, and draw near to those which are true and faithful, and acceptable before God; whose reward also is laid up in store, and whose recompense standeth sure. Now, too, 3133 the light has arisen on the creation, and the world has obtained the eyes of the mind, that every man may see and understand that it is not fit that creatures should be worshipped instead of the Creator, nor together with the Creator: because everything which is a creature is made to be a worshipper of its Maker, and is not to be worshipped like its Creator. But this One who came to us is God, the Son of God, in His own nature, notwithstanding that He mingled 3134 His Godhead with our manhood, in order that He might renew our manhood by the aid of His Godhead. And on this account it is right that we should worship Him, because He is to be worshipped together with His Father, and that we should not worship creatures, who were created for the worship of the Creator. For He is Himself the God of truth and verity; He is Himself from before all worlds and creatures; He is Himself the veritable Son, and the glorious fruit 3135 which is from the exalted Father.
But ye see the wonderful works which accompany and follow these words. One would not credit it: the time lo! is short since He ascended to His Father, and see how His Gospel has winged its flight through the whole creation—that thereby it may be known and believed that He Himself is the Creator of creatures, and that by His bidding creatures subsist. And, whereas ye saw the sun become darkened at His death, ye yourselves also are witnesses. The earth, moreover, quaked when He was slain, and the veil was rent at His death. And concerning these things the governor Pilate also was witness: for he himself sent and made them known to Cæsar, 3136 and these things, and more than these, were read before him, and before the princes of your city. And on this account Cæsar was angry against Pilate because he had unjustly listened to the persuasion of the Jews; and for this reason he sent and took away from him the authority which he had given to him. And this same thing was published and known in all the dominion of the Romans. That, therefore, which Pilate saw and made known to Cæsar and to your honourable senate, the same do I preach and declare, as do also my fellow-apostles. And ye know that Pilate could not have written to the imperial government of that which did not take place and which he had not seen with his own eyes; but that which did take place and was actually done—this it was that he wrote and made known. Moreover, the watchers of the sepulchre also were witnesses of those things which took place there: they became as dead men; and, when those watchers were questioned before Pilate, they confessed before him how large a bribe the chief-priests of the Jews had given them, so that they might say that we His disciples had stolen the corpse of Christ. Lo! then, ye have heard many things; and moreover, if ye be not willing to be persuaded by those things which ye have heard, be at least persuaded by the mighty-works which ye see, which are done by His name.
Let not Simon the sorcerer delude you by semblances which are not realities, which he exhibits to you, as to men who have no understanding, who know not how to discern that which they see and hear. Send, therefore, and fetch him to where all your city is assembled together, and choose you some sign for us to do before you; and, whichever ye see do that same sign, it will be your part to believe in it.
And immediately they sent and fetched Simon the sorcerer; 3137 and the men who were adherents of his opinion said to him: As a man concerning whom we have confidence that there is power in thee to do anything whatsoever, 3138 do thou some sign before us all, and let this Simon the Galilæan, who preaches Christ, see it. And, whilst they were thus speaking to him, there happened to be passing along a dead person, a son of one of those who were chiefs and men of note and renown among them. And all of them, as they were assembled together, said to him: Whichever of you shall restore to life this dead person, he is true, and to be believed in and received, and we will all follow him in whatsoever he saith to us. And they said to Simon the sorcerer: Because thou wast here before Simon the Galilæan, and we knew thee before him, exhibit thou first the power which accompanieth thee. 3139
Then Simon reluctantly drew near to the dead person; and they set down the bier before him; and he looked to the right hand and to the left, and gazed up into heaven, saying many words: some of them he uttered aloud, and some of them secretly and not aloud. And he delayed a long while, and nothing took place, and nothing was done, and the dead person was lying upon his bier.
And forthwith Simon Cephas drew near boldly towards the dead man, and cried aloud before all the assembly which was standing there: In the name of Jesus Christ, whom the Jews crucified at Jerusalem, and whom we preach, rise up thence. And as soon as the word of Simon was spoken the dead man came to life and rose up from the bier.
And all the people saw and marvelled; and they said to Simon: Christ, whom thou preachest, is true. And many cried out, and said: Let Simon the sorcerer and the deceiver of us all be stoned. But Simon, by reason that every one was running to see the dead man that was come to life, escaped from them from one street to another and from house to house, and fell not into their hands on that day.
But the whole city took hold of Simon Cephas, and they received him gladly and affectionately; and he ceased not from doing signs and wonders in the name of Christ; and many believed in him. Cuprinus, 3140 moreover, the father of him that was restored to life, took Simon with him to his house, and entertained him in a suitable manner, while he and all his household believed in Christ, that He is the Son of the living God. And many of the Jews and of the pagans became disciples there. And, when there was great rejoicing at his teaching, he built churches there, in Rome and in the cities round about, and in all the villages of the people of Italy; and he served there in the rank of the Superintendence of Rulers twenty-five years. 3141
And after these years Nero Cæsar seized him and shut him up in prison. And he knew that he would crucify him; so he called Ansus, 3142 the deacon, and made him bishop in his stead in Rome. And these things did Simon himself speak; and moreover also the rest, the other things which he had in charge, he commanded Ansus to teach before the people, saying to him: Beside the New Testament and the Old let there not be read before the people 3143 anything else: 3144 which is not right.
And, when Cæsar had commanded that Simon should be crucified with his head downwards, as he himself had requested of Cæsar, and that Paul’s head should be taken off, there was great commotion among the people, and bitter distress in all the church, seeing that they were deprived of the sight of the apostles. And Isus the guide arose and took up their bodies by night, and buried them with great honour, and there came to be a gathering-place there for many.
And at that very time, as if by a righteous judgment, Nero abandoned his empire and fled, and there was a cessation for a little while from the persecution which Nero Cæsar had raised against them. And many years after the great coronation 3145 of the apostles, who had departed out of the world, while ordination to the priesthood was proceeding both in all Rome and in all Italy, it happened then that there was a great famine in the city of Rome. 3146
Here endeth the teaching of Simon Cephas.
Footnotes
673:3125This is found in the same ms. as the preceding, quoted as A. There is also another copy of it in Cod. Add. 14,609, referred to here as B. [It looks like an afterthought of a later age, when the teaching of Peter was elevated into a specialty.]
673:3126B. reads “the Apostle Peter.”
673:3127[This apocryphal history proceeds on the theory that St. Peter preceded St. Paul at Rome, which cannot be reconciled with Scripture and chronology. Gal. 2:9, Rom. 1:5.]
673:3128The reading of the ms. is “thirtieth.”
673:3129From this place to “the light” (last line of text on this page), A. is lost, and the text has been supplied from B.
673:3130The ms. gives, “clad in the white.”
673:3131Lit. “His marvellous helps.”—Tr. [See p. 652, supra.]
673:3132[Mark i. 16-17. Compare Jer. xvi. 16.]
673:3133The text A. is resumed after this word. The reading “and now that the light,” etc., seems faulty. The *** (that) might easily have been occasioned by the *** of the word which it precedes.—Tr.
674:3134The word so rendered is much effaced in B., but it seems to be ***, “humbled.”
This, however, might require further change of the text, such as Cureton suggests, so as to give the sense, “He humbled His Godhead on account of our manhood,” unless we translated “in our manhood”—neither of which renderings seems to give so good a sense as that in the text of A.—Tr.
Respecting the word “mingled” (***), which was supposed to countenance the Eutychian heresy, see Assemani, Bibl. Orient., vol. i. p. 81.
674:3135Or “offspring.”—Tr.
674:3136[On the Acts of Pilate see Lardner, Credib., vi. p. 605, and Jones, On the Canon, vol. ii. p. 342. If Leucius Charinus forged what goes by the name, it does not prove that genuine records of the kind never existed. The reverse is probable. See vol. i. p. 179.
674:3137[Vol. vii. p. 453. Compare vol. vi. p. 438, note 15; also vol. i. p. 171. On Justin’s simple narrative all the rest was embroidered by a later hand.]
674:3138From this place to “a gathering-place,” p. 675, line 20, col. 2, the text of A. is lost.
674:3139[St. Peter’s visit could not have been previous to St. Paul’s, and up to that time Simon had certainly not corrupted the Romans (Rom. i. 8). The subject may be elucidated by what follows, infra.]
675:3140Perhaps Cyprianus, which is found written in Syriac in the same manner as the word here.
675:3141This is the time often allotted to Peter’s episcopate at Rome, although it is certain that he did not constantly reside there during that period: we find him the year after at Jerusalem. [The chronological incredibility of this residence in Rome has been fully demonstrated; but it is so entirely inconsistent with the scriptural history, and with that of St. Paul in particular, that no other argument is necessary. On the other hand, it appears to me conclusively established, that St. Peter closed his life in Rome, under Nero. And I think this apostle’s visit fully explained by the fact that the Roman Christians were so largely “of the circumcision,” that St. Paul himself might naturally have invited him to share his own labours in Rome, on the well-known rule of his conduct (Rom. 15:20, 2 Cor. 10:13). See vol. vi. elucid. p. 47.]
675:3142B. has Lainus = Linus, the person undoubtedly meant. The error arose chiefly from the *** [L] being taken as the sign of the accusative case. Below, the name appears as Isus, and in the Acts of Barsamya we have Anus.
This sign of the accusative may be omitted.—Tr.
675:3143In canon x. (see next note) it is said “in the pulpit of the church;” and in the Teaching of Addæus it is said that “a large multitude of the people assembled for the reading of the Old Testament and the New.” The inhibition seems, therefore, to refer only to public reading. [See p. 661, supra.]
675:3144This agrees with the tenth canon in the Teaching of the Apostles. [See p. 668, supra.]
675:3145That is, their martyrdom. But B. reads “labour.”
675:3146This abrupt termination seems to indicate that there was something more which followed. The famine referred to seems to be the same as that mentioned in the interpolated passage at the end of the Acts of Sharbil.
Ancient Syriac Documents.
————————————
Acts of Sharbil, 3147 Who Was a Priest of Idols, and Was Converted to the Confession of Christianity in Christ. 3148
In the fifteenth year of the Sovereign Ruler 3149 Trajan Cæsar, 3150 and in the third year of King Abgar the Seventh, 3151 which is the year 416 of the kingdom of Alexander king of the Greeks, and in the priesthood of Sharbil and Barsamya, 3152 Trajan Cæsar commanded the governors of the countries under his dominion that sacrifices and libations should be increased in all the cities of their administration, and that those who did not sacrifice should be seized and delivered over to stripes, and to the tearing of combs, and to bitter inflictions of all kinds of tortures, and should afterwards receive the punishment of the sword.
Now, when the command arrived at the town of Edessa of the Parthians, there was a great festival, on the eighth of Nisan, on the third day of the week: the whole city was gathered together by the great altar 3153 which was in the middle of the town, opposite the Record office, 3154 all the gods having been brought together, and decorated, and sitting in honour, both Nebu and Bel together with their fellows. And all the priests were offering incense of spices and libations, 3155 and an odour of sweetness was diffusing itself around, and sheep and oxen were being slaughtered, and the sound of the harp and the drum was heard in the whole town. And Sharbil was chief and ruler of all the priests; and he was honoured above all his fellows, and was clad in splendid and magnificent vestments; and a headband embossed with figures of gold was set upon his head; and at the bidding of his word everything that he ordered was done. And Abgar the king, son of the gods, was standing at the head of the people. And they obeyed Sharbil, because he drew nearer to all the gods than any of his fellows, and as being the one who according to that which he had heard from the gods returned an answer to every man.
And, while these things were being done by the command of the king, Barsamya, the bishop of the Christians, went up to Sharbil, he and Tiridath the elder and Shalula the deacon; and he said to Sharbil, the high priest: The King Christ, to whom belong heaven and earth, will demand an account at thy hands of all these souls against whom thou art sinning, and whom thou art misleading, and turning away from the God of verity and of truth to idols that are made and deceitful, which are not able to do anything with their hands—moreover also thou hast no pity on thine own soul, which is destitute of the true life of God; and thou declarest to this people that the dumb idols talk with thee; and, as if thou wert listening to something from them, thou puttest thine ear near to one and another of them, and sayest to this people: The god Nebu bade me say to you, “On account of your sacrifices and oblations I cause peace in this your country;” and: Bel saith, “I cause great plenty in your land;” and those who hear this from thee do not discern that thou art greatly deceiving them—because “they have a mouth and speak not, and they have eyes and see not with them;” it is ye who bear up them, and not they who bear up 3156 you, as ye suppose; and it is ye who set tables before them, and not they who feed you. And now be persuaded by me touching that which I say to thee and advise thee. If thou be willing to hearken to me, abandon idols made, and worship God the Maker of all things, and His Son Jesus Christ. Do not, because He put on a body and became man and was stretched out on the cross of death, be ashamed of Him and refuse to worship Him: for, all these things which He endured—it was for the salvation of men and for their deliverance. For this One who put on a body is God, the Son of God, Son of the essence of His Father, and Son of the nature of Him who begat Him: for He is the adorable brightness of His Godhead, and is the glorious manifestation of His majesty, and together with His Father He existed from eternity and from everlasting, His arm, and His right hand, and His power, and His wisdom, and His strength, and the living Spirit which is from Him, the Expiator and Sanctifier of all His worshippers. These are the things which Palut taught us, with whom thy venerable self 3157 was acquainted; and thou knowest that Palut was the disciple of Addæus the apostle. Abgar the king also, who was older than this Abgar, who himself worshippeth idols as well as thou, he too believed in the King Christ, the Son of Him whom thou callest Lord of all the gods. 3158 For it is forbidden to Christians to worship anything that is made, and is a creature, and in its nature is not God: even as ye worship idols made by men, 3159 who themselves also are made and created. Be persuaded, therefore, by these things which I have said to thee, which things are the belief of the Church: for I know that all this population are looking to thee, and I am well assured that, if thou be persuaded, many also will persuaded with thee. 3160
Sharbil said to him: Very acceptable to me are these thy words which thou hast spoken before me; yea, exceedingly acceptable are they to me. But, as for me, I know that I am outcast from 3161 all these things, and there is no longer any remedy for me. And, now that hope is cut off from me, why weariest thou thyself about a man dead and buried, 3162 for whose death there is no hope of resuscitation? For I am slain by paganism, and am become a dead man, the property of the Evil One: in sacrifices and libations of imposture have I consumed all the days of my life.
And, when Barsamya the bishop heard these things, 3163 he fell down before his feet, and said to him: There is hope for those who turn, and healing for those that are wounded. I myself will be surety to thee for the abundant mercies of the Son Christ: that He will pardon thee all the sins which thou hast committed against Him, in that thou hast worshipped and honoured His creatures instead of Himself. For that Gracious One, who extended Himself on the cross of death, will not withhold His grace from the souls that comply with His precepts and take refuge in His kindness which has been displayed towards us. Like as He did towards the robber, so is He able to do to thee, and also to those who are like thee.
Sharbil said to him: Thou, like a skilful physician, who suffers pain from the pain of the afflicted, hast done well in that thou hast been concerned about me. But at present, because it is the festival to-day of this people, of every one of them, I cannot go down with thee to-day to the church. Depart thou, and go down with honour; and to-morrow at night I will come down to thee: I too have henceforth renounced for myself the gods made with hands, and I will confess the Lord Christ, the Maker of all men.
And the next day Sharbil arose and went down to Barsamya by night, he and Babai his sister; and he was received by the whole church. And he said to them: Offer for me prayer and supplication, that Christ may forgive me all the sins that I have committed against Him in all this long course of years. And, because they were in dread of the persecutors, they arose and gave him the seal of salvation, 3164 whilst he confessed the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 3165
And, when all the city had heard that he was gone down to the church, there began to be a consternation among the multitude; and they arose and went down to him, and saw him clad in the fashion of the Christians. 3166 And he said to them: May the Son Christ forgive me all the sins that I have committed against you, and all in which I made you think that the gods talked with me, whereas they did not talk; and, forasmuch as I have been to you a cause of abomination, may I now be to you a cause of good: instead of worshipping, as formerly, idols made with hands, may ye henceforth worship God the Maker. And, when they had heard these things, there remained with him a great congregation of men and of women; and Labu also, and Hafsai, and Barcalba, and Avida, chief persons of the city. They all said to Sharbil: Henceforth we also renounce that which thou hast renounced, and we confess the King Christ, whom thou hast confessed.
But Lysanias, 3167 the judge of the country, when he heard 3168 that Sharbil had done this, 3169 sent by night 3170 and carried him off from the church. And there went up with him many Christians. And he sat down, to hear him and to judge him, before the altar which is in the middle of the town, where he used to sacrifice to the gods. And he said to him: Wherefore hast thou renounced the gods, whom thou didst worship, and to whom thou didst sacrifice, and to whom thou wast made chief of the priests, and lo! dost today confess Christ, whom thou didst formerly deny? For see how those Christians, to whom thou art gone, renounce not that which they have held, 3171 like as thou hast renounced that in which thou wast born. If thou art assured of the gods, how is it that thou hast renounced them this day? But, if on the contrary thou art not assured, as thou declarest concerning them, how is it that thou didst once sacrifice to them and worship them?
Sharbil said: When I was blinded in my mind, I worshipped that which I knew not; but to-day, inasmuch as I have obtained the clear eyes of the mind, it is henceforth impossible that I should stumble at carved stones, or that I should any longer be the cause of stumbling to others. For it is a great disgrace to him whose eyes are open, if he goes and falls into the pit of destruction.
The judge said: Because thou hast been priest of the venerable gods, and hast been partaker of the mystery of those whom the mighty emperors 3172 worship, I will have patience with thee, in order that thou mayest be persuaded by me, and not turn away from the service of the gods; but, if on the contrary thou shalt not be persuaded by me, by those same gods whom thou hast renounced I swear that, even as on a man that is a murderer, so will I inflict tortures on thee, and will avenge on thee the wrong done to the gods, whom thou hast rebelled against and renounced, and also the insult which thou hast poured upon them; nor will I leave untried any kind of tortures which I will not inflict on thee; and, like as thine honour formerly was great, so will I make thine ignominy great this day.
Sharbil said: I too, on my part, am not content that thou shouldest look upon me as formerly, when I worshipped gods made with hands; but look thou upon me to-day and question me as a Christian man renouncing idols and confessing the King Christ.
The judge said: How is it that thou art not afraid of the emperors, nor moved to shame by those who are listening to thy trial, that thou sayest, “I am a Christian”? But promise that thou wilt sacrifice to the gods, according to thy former custom, so that thy honour may be great, as formerly—lest I make to tremble at thee all those who have believed like thyself.
Sharbil said: Of the King of kings I am afraid, but at any king of earth I tremble not, nor yet at thy threats towards me, which lo! thou utterest against the worshippers of Christ: whom I confessed yesterday, and lo! I am brought to trial for His sake to-day, like as He Himself was brought to trial for the sake of sinners like me.
The judge said: Although thou have no pity on thyself, still I will have pity on thee, and refrain from cutting off those hands of thine with which thou hast placed incense before the gods, and from stopping with thy blood those ears of thine which have heard their mysteries, and thy tongue which has interpreted and explained to us their secret things. Of those gods lo! I am afraid, and I have pity on thee. But, if thou continue thus, those gods be my witnesses that I will have no pity on thee!
Sharbil said: As a man who art afraid of the emperors and tremblest at idols, have thou no pity on me. For, as for me, I know not what thou sayest: therefore also is my mind not shaken or terrified by those things which thou sayest. For by thy judgments shall all they escape from the judgment to come who do not worship that which is not God in its own nature.
The judge said: Let him be scourged with thongs, 3173 because he has dared to answer me thus, and has resisted the command of the emperors, and has not appreciated the honour which the gods conferred on him: inasmuch as, lo! he has renounced them.
And he was scourged by ten men, who laid hold on him, according to the command of the judge.
Sharbil said: Thou art not aware of the scourging of justice in that world which is to come. For thou wilt cease, and thy judgments also will pass away; but justice will not pass away, nor will its retributions come to an end.
The judge 3174 said: Thou art so intoxicated with this same Christianity, that thou dost not even know 3175 before whom thou art judged, and by whom it is that thou art scourged—even by those who formerly held thee in honour, and paid adoration to thy priesthood in the gods. Why dost thou hate honour, and love this ignominy? For, although thou speakest contrary to the law, yet I myself cannot turn aside from the laws of the emperors.
Sharbil said: As thou takest heed not to depart from the laws of the emperors, and if moreover thou depart from them thou knowest what command they will give concerning thee, so do I also take heed not to decline from the law of Him who said, “Thou shalt not worship any image, nor any likeness;” and therefore will I not sacrifice to idols made with hands: for long enough was the time in which I sacrificed to them, when I was in ignorance.
The judge said: Bring not upon thee punishment 3176 in addition to the punishment which thou hast already brought upon thee. Enough is it for thee to have said, “I will not sacrifice:” do not dare to insult the gods, by calling them manufactured idols whom even the emperors honour.
Sharbil said: But, if on behalf of the emperors, who are far away and not near at hand and not conscious of those who treat their commands with contempt, thou biddest me sacrifice, how is it that on behalf of idols, who lo! are present and are seen, but see not, thou biddest me sacrifice? Why, hereby thou hast declared before all thy attendants 3177 that, because they have a mouth and speak not, lo! thou art become a pleader for them: dumb idols “to whom their makers shall be like,” and “every one that trusteth upon them” shall be like thee.
The judge said: It was not for this that thou wast called before me—that, instead of paying the honour which is due, thou shouldst despise the emperors. But draw near to the gods and sacrifice, and have pity on thyself, thou self-despiser!
Sharbil said: Why should it be requisite for thee to ask me many questions, after that which I have said to thee: “I will not sacrifice”? Thou hast called me a self-despiser? But would that from my childhood I had had this mind and had thus despised myself, 3178 which was perishing!
The judge said: Hang him up, and tear him with combs on his sides.—And while he was thus torn he cried aloud and said: It is for the sake of Christ, who has secretly caused His light to arise upon the darkness of my mind. And, when he had thus spoken, the judge commanded again that he should be torn with combs on his face.
Sharbil said: It is better that thou shouldest inflict tortures upon me for not sacrificing, than that I should be judged there for having sacrificed to the work of men’s hands.
The judge said: Let his body be bent backwards, and let straps be tied to his hands and his feet; and, when he has been bent backwards, let him be scourged on his belly.
And they scourged him in this manner, according to the command of the judge.
Then he commanded that he should go up to the prison, and that he should be cast into a dark dungeon. And the executioners, 3179 and the Christians who had come up with him from the church, carried him, because he was not able to walk upon his feet in consequence of his having been bent backwards. And he was in the gaol many days.
But on the second of Ilul, 3180 on the third day of the week, the judge arose and went down to his judgment-hall by night; and the whole body of his attendants was with him; and he commanded the keeper of the prison, and they brought him before him. And the judge said to him: This long while hast thou been in prison: what has been thy determination concerning those things on which thou wast questioned before me? Dost thou consent to minister to the gods according to thy former custom, agreeably to the command of the emperors?
Sharbil said: This has been my determination in the prison, that that with which I began before thee, I will finish even to the last; nor will I play false with my word. For I will not again confess idols, which I have renounced; nor will I renounce the King Christ, whom I have confessed.
The judge said: Hang him up by his right hand, because he has withdrawn it from the gods that he may not again offer incense with it, until his hand with which he ministered to the gods be dislocated, because he persists in this saying of his.
And, while he was suspended by his hand, they asked him and said to him: Dost thou consent to sacrifice to the gods? But he was not able to return them an answer, on account of the dislocation of his arm. And the judge commanded, and they loosed him and took him down. But he was not able to bring his arm up to his side, until the executioners pressed it and brought it up to his side.
The judge said: Put on incense, and go whithersoever thou wilt, and no one shall compel thee to be a priest again. But, if thou wilt not, I will show thee tortures bitterer than these.
Sharbil said: As for gods that made not the heavens and the earth, may they perish from under these heavens! But thou, menace me not with words of threatening; but, instead of words, show upon me the deeds of threatening, that I hear thee not again making mention of the detestable name of gods!
The judge said: Let him be branded with the brand of bitter fire between his eyes and upon his cheeks.
And the executioners did so, until the smell of the branding reeked forth in the midst of the judgment-hall: but he refused to sacrifice.
Sharbil said: Thou hast heard for thyself from me, when I said to thee “Thou art not aware of the smoke of the roasting of the fire which is prepared for those who, like thee, confess idols made by hands, and deny the living God, after thy fashion.”
The judge said: Who taught thee all these things, that thou shouldest speak before me thus—a man who was a friend of the gods and an enemy of Christ, whereas, lo! thou art become his advocate.
Sharbil said: Christ whom I have confessed, He it is that hath taught me to speak thus. But there needeth not that I should be His advocate, for His own mercies are eloquent advocates for guilty ones like me, and these will avail to plead 3181 on my behalf in the day when the sentences shall be eternal.
The judge said: Let him be hanged up, and let him be torn with combs upon his former wounds; also let salt and vinegar be rubbed into the wounds upon his sides. Then he said to him: Renounce not the gods whom thou didst formerly confess.
Sharbil said: Have pity on me and spare me again from saying that there be gods, and powers, and fates, and nativities. On the contrary, I confess one God, who made the heavens, and the earth, and the seas, and all that is therein; and the Son who is from Him, the King Christ.
The judge said: It is not about this that thou art questioned before me—viz.: what is the belief of the Christians which thou hast confessed; but this is what I said to thee, “Renounce not those gods to whom thou wast made priest.”
Sharbil said: Where is that wisdom of thine and of the emperors of whom thou makest thy boast, that ye worship the work of the hands of the artificers and confess them, whilst the artificers themselves, who made the idols, ye insult by the burdens and imposts which ye lay upon them? The artificer standeth up at thy presence, to do honour to thee; and thou standest up in the presence of the work of the artificer, and dost honour it and worship it.
The judge said: Thou art not the man to call others to account for 3182 these things; but from thyself a strict account is demanded, as to the cause for which thou hast renounced the gods, and refusest to offer them incense like thy fellow-priests.
Sharbil said: Death on account of this is true life: those who confess the King Christ, He also will confess before His glorious Father.
The judge said: Let lighted candles 3183 be brought, and let them be passed round about his face and about the sides of his wounds. And they did so a long while.
Sharbil said: It is well that thou burnest me with this fire, that so I may be delivered from “that fire which is not quenched, and the worm that dieth not,” which is threatened to those 3184 who worship things made instead of the Maker: for it is forbidden to the Christians to honour or worship anything except the nature of Him who is God Most High. For that which is made and is created is designed to be a worshipper of its Maker, and is not to be worshipped along with its Creator, as thou supposest.
The governor said: It is not this for which the emperors have ordered me to demand an account at thy hands, whether there be judgment and the rendering of an account after the death of men; nor yet about this do I care, whether that which is made is to be honoured or not to be honoured. What the emperors have commanded me is this: that, whosoever will not sacrifice to the gods and offer incense to them, I should employ against him stripes, and combs, and sharp swords.
Sharbil said: The kings of this world are conscious of this world only; but the King of all kings, He hath revealed and shown to us that there is another world, and a judgment in reserve, in which a recompense will be made, on the one hand to those who have served God, and on the other to those who have not served Him nor confessed Him. Therefore do I cry aloud, that I will not again sacrifice to idols, nor will I offer oblations to devils, nor will I do honour to demons!
The judge said: Let nails of iron be driven in between the eyes of the insolent fellow, and let him go to that world which he is looking forward to, like a fanatic. 3185
And the executioners did so, the sound of the driving in of the nails being heard as they were being driven in sharply.
Sharbil said: Thou hast driven in nails between my eyes, even as nails were driven into the hands of the glorious Architect of the creation, and by reason of this did all orders of the creation tremble and quake at that season. For these tortures which lo! thou art inflicting on me are nothing in view of that judgment which is to come. For those “whose ways are always firm,” because “they have not the judgment of God before their eyes,” 3186 and who on this account do not even confess that God exists—neither will He confess them.
The judge said: Thou sayest in words that there is a judgment; but I will show thee in deeds: so that, instead of that judgment which is to come, thou mayest tremble and be afraid of this one which is before thine eyes, in which lo! thou art involved, and not multiply thy speech before me.
Sharbil said: Whosoever is resolved to set God before his eyes in secret, God will also be at his right hand; and I too am not afraid of thy threats of tortures, with which thou dost menace me and seek to make me afraid.
The judge said: Let Christ, whom thou hast confessed, deliver thee from all the tortures which I have inflicted on thee, and am about further to inflict on thee; and let Him show His deliverance towards thee openly, and save thee out of my hands.
Sharbil said: This is the true deliverance of Christ imparted to me—this secret power which He has given me to endure all the tortures thou art inflicting on me, and whatsoever it is settled in thy mind still further to inflict upon me; and, although thou hast plainly seen it to be so, thou hast refused to credit my word.
The judge said: Take him away from before me, and let him be hanged upon a beam the contrary way, head downwards; and let him be beaten with whips while he is hanging.
And the executioners did so to him, at the door of the judgment-hall.
Then the governor commanded, and they brought him in before him. And he said to him: Sacrifice to the gods, and do the will of the emperors, thou priest that hatest honour and lovest ignominy instead!
Sharbil said: Why dost thou again repeat thy words, and command me to sacrifice, after the many times that thou hast heard from me that I will not sacrifice again? For it is not any compulsion on the part of the Christians that has kept me back from sacrifices, but the truth they hold: this it is that has delivered me from the error of paganism.
The judge said: Let him be put into a chest 3187 of iron like a murderer, and let him be scourged with thongs like a malefactor.
And the executioners did so, until there remained not a sound place on him.
Sharbil said: As for these tortures, which thou supposest to be bitter, out of the midst of their bitterness will spring up for me fountains of deliverance and mercy in the day of the eternal sentences.
The governor said: Let small round pieces of wood be placed between the fingers of his hands, 3188 and let these be squeezed upon them vehemently. 3189
And they did so to him, until the blood came out from under the nails of his fingers.
Sharbil said: If thine eye be not satisfied with the tortures of the body, add still further to its tortures whatsoever thou wilt.
The judge said: Let the fingers of his hands be loosed, and make him sit upon the ground; and bind his hands upon his knees, and thrust a piece of wood under his knees, and let it pass over the bands of his hands, and hang him up by his feet, thus bent, head downwards; and let him be scourged with thongs.
And they did so to him.
Sharbil said: They cannot conquer who fight against God, nor may they be overcome whose confidence is God; and therefore do I say, that “neither fire nor sword, nor death nor life, nor height nor depth, can separate my heart from the love of God, which is in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The judge said: Make hot a ball of lead and of brass, and place it under his armpits.
And they did so, until his ribs began to be seen.
Sharbil said: The tortures thou dost inflict upon me are too little for thy rage against me—unless thy rage were little and thy tortures were great.
The judge said: Thou wilt not hurry me on by these things which thou sayest; for I have room in my mind 3190 to bear long with thee, and to behold every evil and shocking and bitter thing which 3191 I shall exhibit in the torment of thy body, because thou wilt not consent to sacrifice to the gods whom thou didst formerly worship.
Sharbil said: Those things which I have said and repeated before thee, thou in thine unbelief knowest not how to hear: now, supposest thou that thou knowest those things which are in my mind?
The judge said: The answers which thou givest will not help thee, but will multiply upon thee inflictions manifold.
Sharbil said: If the several stories of thy several gods are by thee accepted as true, yet is it matter of shame to us to tell of what sort they are. For one had intercourse with boys, which is not right; and another fell in love with a maiden, who fled for refuge into a tree, as your shameful stories tell.
The judge said: This fellow, who was formerly a respecter of the gods, but has now turned to insult them and has not been afraid, and has also despised the command of the emperors and has not trembled—set him to stand upon a gridiron 3192 heated with fire.
And the executioners did so, until the under part of his feet was burnt off.
Sharbil said: If thy rage is excited at my mention of the abominable and obscene tales of thy gods, how much more does it become thee to be ashamed of their acts! For lo! if a person were to do what one of thy gods did, and they were to bring him before thee, thou wouldest pass sentence of death upon him.
The judge said: This day will I bring thee to account for thy blasphemy against the gods, and thine audacity in insulting also the emperors; nor will I leave thee alone until thou offer incense to them, according to thy former custom.
Sharbil said: Stand by thy threats, then, and speak not falsely; and show towards me in deeds the authority of the emperors which they have given thee; and do not thyself bring reproach on the emperors with thy falsehood, and be thyself also despised in the eyes of thine attendants!
The judge said: Thy blasphemy against the gods and thine audacity towards the emperors have brought upon thee these tortures which thou art undergoing; and, if thou add further to thine audacity, there shall be further added to thee inflictions bitterer than these.
Sharbil said: Thou hast authority, as judge: do whatsoever thou wilt, and show no pity.
The judge said: How can he that hath had no pity on his own body, so as to avoid suffering in it these tortures, be afraid or ashamed of not obeying the command of the emperors?
Sharbil said: Thou hast well said that I am not ashamed: because near at hand is He that justifieth me, and my soul is caught up in rapture towards him. For, whereas I once provoked Him to anger by the sacrifices of idols, I am this day pacifying Him by the inflictions I endure in my person: for my soul is a captive to God who became man.
The judge said: It is a captive, then, that I am questioning, and a madman without sense; and with a dead man who is burnt, lo! am I talking.
Sharbil said: If thou art assured that I am mad, question me no further: for it is a madman that is being questioned; nay, rather, I am a dead man who is burnt, as thou hast said.
The judge said: How shall I count thee a dead man, When lo! thou hast cried aloud, “I will not sacrifice?”
Sharbil said: I myself, too, know not how to return thee an answer, since thou hast called me a dead man and yet turnest to question me again as if alive.
The judge said: Well have I called thee a dead man, because thy feet are burnt and thou carest not, and thy face is scorched and thou holdest thy peace, and nails are driven in between thine eyes and thou takest no account of it, and thy ribs are seen between the furrows of the combs and thou insultest the emperors, and thy whole body is mangled and maimed with stripes and thou blasphemest against the gods; and, because thou hatest thy body, lo! thou sayest whatsoever pleaseth thee.
Sharbil said: If thou callest me audacious because I have endured these things, it is fit that thou, who hast inflicted them upon me, shouldest be called a murderer in thy acts and a blasphemer in thy words.
The judge said: Lo! thou hast insulted the emperors, and likewise the gods; and lo! thou insultest me also, in order that I may pronounce sentence of death upon thee quickly. But instead of this, which thou lookest for, I am prepared yet further to inflict upon thee bitter and severe tortures.
Sharbil said: Thou knowest what I have said to thee many times: instead of denunciations of threatening, proceed to show upon me the performance of the threat, that thou mayest be known to do the will of the emperors.
The judge said: Let him be torn with combs upon his legs and upon the sides of his thighs.
And the executioners did so, until his blood flowed and ran down upon the ground.
Sharbil said: Thou hast well done in treating me thus: because I have heard that one of the teachers of the Church hath said, 3193 “Scars are on my body, that I may come to the resurrection from the place of the dead.” Me too, who was a dead man out of sight, lo! thine inflictions bring to life again.
The judge said: Let him be torn with combs on his face, since he is not ashamed of the nails which are driven in between his eyes.
And they tore him with combs upon his cheeks, and between the nails which were driven into them.
Sharbil said: I will not obey the emperors, who command that to be worshipped and honoured which is not of the nature of God, and is not God in its nature, but is the work of him that made it.
The judge said: Like as the emperors worship, so also worship thou; and that honour which the judges render, do thou render also.
Sharbil said: Even though I insult that which is the work of men and has no perception and no feeling of anything, yet do not thou insult God, the Maker of all, nor worship along with Him that which is not of Him, and is foreign to His nature.
The judge said: Does this your doctrine so teach you, that you should insult the very luminaries which give light to all the regions of the earth?
Sharbil said: Although it is not enjoined upon us to insult them, yet it is enjoined upon us not to worship them nor honour them, seeing that they are things made: for this were an insufferable 3194 wrong, that a thing made should be worshipped along with its Maker; and it is an insult to the Maker that His creatures should be honoured along with Himself.
The judge said: Christ whom thou confessest was hanged on a tree; and on a tree will I hang thee, like thy Master.
And they hanged him on a tree 3195 a long while.
Sharbil said: As for Christ, whom lo! thou mockest—see how thy many gods were unable to stand before Him: for lo! they are despised and rejected, and are made a laughing-stock and a jest by those who used formerly to worship them.
The judge said: How is it that thou renouncest the gods, and confessest Christ, who was hanged on a tree?
Sharbil said: This cross of Christ is the great boast of the Christians, since it is by this that the deliverance of salvation has come to all His worshippers, and by this that they have had their eyes enlightened, so as not to worship creatures along with the Creator.
The governor said: Let thy boasting of the cross be kept within thy own mind, and let incense be offered by thy hands to the gods.
Sharbil said: Those who have been delivered by the cross cannot any longer worship and serve the idols of error made with hands: for creature cannot worship creature, because it is itself also designed to be a worshipper of Him who made it; and that it should be worshipped along with its Maker is an insult to its Maker, as I have said before.
The governor said: Leave alone thy books which have taught thee to speak thus, and perform the command of the emperors, that thou idle not by the emperors’ law.
But Sharbil said: Is this, then, the justice of the emperors, in whom thou takest such pride, that we should leave alone the law of God and keep their laws?
The governor said: The citation of the books in which thou believest, and from which thou hast quoted—it is this which has brought upon thee these afflictions: for, if thou hadst offered incense to the gods, great would have been thine honour, like as it was formerly, as priest of the gods.
Sharbil said: To thine unbelieving heart these things seem as if they were afflictions; but to the true heart “affliction imparts patience, and from it comes also experience, and from experience likewise the hope” 3196 of the confessor. 3197
The governor said: Hang him up and tear him with combs upon his former wounds.
And, from the fury with which the judge urged on the executioners, his very bowels were almost seen. And, lest he should die under the combs and escape from still further tortures, he gave orders and they took him down.
And, when the judge saw that he was become silent and was not able to return him any further answer, he refrained from him a little while, until he began to revive.
Sharbil said: Why hast thou had pity upon me for even this little time, and kept me back from the gain of a confessor’s death? 3198
The governor said: I have not had pity on thee at all in refraining for a little while: thy silence it was that made me pause a little; and, if I had power beyond the law of the emperors, I should like to lay other tortures upon thee, so as to be more fully avenged on thee for thine insult toward the gods: for in despising me thou hast despised the gods; and I, on my part, have borne with thee and tortured thee thus, as a man who so deserves.
And the judge gave orders, and suddenly the curtain 3199 fell before him for a short time; and he settled and drew up the sentence 3200 which he should pronounce against him publicly.
And suddenly the curtain was drawn back again; and the judge cried aloud and said: As regards this Sharbil, who was formerly priest of the gods, but has turned this day and renounced the gods, and has cried aloud “I am a Christian,” and has not trembled at the gods, but has insulted them; and, further, has not been afraid of the emperors and their command; and, though I have bidden him sacrifice to the gods according to his former custom, has not sacrificed, but has treated them with the greatest insult: I have looked into the matter, and decided, that towards a man who doeth these things, even though he were now to sacrifice, it is not fit that any mercy should be shown; and that it is not fit that he should any longer behold the sun of his lords, because he has scorned their laws. I give sentence that, according to the law of the emperors, a strap 3201 be thrust into the mouth of the insulter, as into the mouth of a murderer, and that he depart outside of the city of the emperors with haste, as one who has insulted the lords of the city and the gods who hold authority over it. I give sentence that he be sawn with a saw of wood, and that, when he is near to die, then his head be taken off with the sword of the headsmen.
And forthwith a strap was thrust into his mouth with all speed, and the executioners hurried him off, and made him run quickly upon his burnt feet, and took him away outside of the city, a crowd of people running after him. For they had been standing looking on at his trial all day, and wondering that he did not suffer under his afflictions: for his countenance, which was cheerful, testified to the joy of his heart. And, when the executioners arrived at the place where he was to receive the punishment of death, the people of the city were with them, that they might see whether they did according as the judge had commanded, and hear what Sharbil might say at that season, so that they might inform the judge of the country.
And they offered him some wine to drink, according to the custom of murderers to drink. But he said to them: I will not drink, because I wish to feel the saw with which ye saw me, and the sword which ye pass over my neck; but instead of this wine, which will not be of any use to me, give me a little time to pray, while ye stand. And he stood up, and looked toward the east, 3202 and lifted up his voice and said: Forgive me, Christ, all the sins I have committed against Thee, and all the times in which I have provoked Thee to anger by the polluted sacrifices of dead idols; and have pity on me and save me, 3203 and deliver me from the judgment to come; and be merciful to me, as Thou wast merciful to the robber; and receive me like the penitents who have been converted and have turned to Thee, as Thou also hast turned to them; and, whereas I have entered into Thy vineyard, at the eleventh hour, instead of judgment, deliver me from justice: let Thy death, which was for the sake of sinners, restore to life again my slain body in the day of Thy coming.
And, when the Sharirs of the city heard these things, they were very angry with the executioners for having given him leave to pray.
And, while the nails were remaining which had been driven in between his eyes, and his ribs were seen between the wounds of the combs, and while from the burning on his sides and the soles of his feet, which were scorched and burnt, and from the gashes of the combs on his face, and on his sides, and on his thighs, and on his legs, the blood was flowing and running down, they brought carpenters’ instruments, and thrust him into a wooden vice, and tightened it upon him until the bones of his joints creaked with the pressure; then they put upon him a saw of iron, and began sawing him asunder; and, when he was just about to die, because the saw had reached to his mouth, they smote him with the sword and took off his head, while he was still squeezed down in the vice.
And Babai his sister drew near and spread out her skirt and caught his blood; and she said to him: May my spirit be united with thy spirit in the presence of Christ, whom thou hast known and believed.
And the Sharirs of the city ran and came and informed the judge of the things which Sharbil had uttered in his prayer, and how his sister had caught his blood. And the judge commanded them to return and give orders to the executioners that, on the spot where she had caught the blood of her brother, she also should receive the punishment of death. And the executioners laid hold on her, and each one of them severally put her to torture; and, with her brother’s blood upon her, her soul took its flight from her, and they mingled her blood with his. And, when the executioners were entered into the city, the brethren and young men 3204 ran and stole away their two corpses; and they laid them in the burial-place of the father of Abshelama the bishop, on the fifth of Ilul, the eve of the Sabbath.
I wrote these Acts on paper—I, Marinus, and Anatolus, the notaries; and we placed them in the archives of the city, where the papers of the kings are placed. 3205
————————————
This Barsamya, 3206 the bishop, made a disciple of Sharbil the priest. And he lived in the days of Binus, 3207 bishop of Rome; in whose days the whole population of Rome assembled together, and cried out to the prætor 3208 of their city, and said to him: There are too many strangers in this our city, and these cause famine and dearness of everything: but we beseech thee to command them to depart out of the city. And, when he had commanded them to depart out of the city, these strangers assembled themselves together, and said to the prætor: We beseech thee, my lord, command also that the bones of our dead may depart with us. And he commanded them to take the bones of their dead, and to depart. And all the strangers assembled themselves together to take the bones of Simon Cephas and of Paul, the apostles; but the people of Rome said to them: We will not give you the bones of the apostles. And the strangers said to them: Learn ye and understand that Simon, who is called Cephas, is of Bethsaida of Galilee, and Paul the apostle is of Tarsus, a city of Cilicia. And, when the people of Rome knew that this matter was so, then they let them alone. And, when they had taken them up and were removing them from their places, immediately there was a great earthquake; and the buildings of the city were on the point of falling down, and the city was near being overthrown. And, when the people of Rome saw it, they turned and besought the strangers to remain in their city, and that the bones might be laid in their places again. And, when the bones of the apostles were returned to their places, there was quietness, and the earthquakes ceased, and the winds became still, and the air became bright, and the whole city became cheerful. And when the Jews and pagans saw it, they also ran and fell at the feet of Fabianus, the bishop of their city, the Jews crying out: We confess Christ, whom we crucified: He is the Son of the living-God, of whom the prophets spoke in their mysteries. And the pagans also cried out and said to him: We renounce idols and carved images, which are of no use, and we believe in Jesus the King, the Son of God, who has come and is to come again. And, what ever other doctrines there were in Rome and in all Italy, the followers of these also renounced their doctrines, like as the pagans had renounced theirs, and confessed the Gospel of the apostles, which was preached in the church.
Here end the Acts of Sharbil the confessor.
————————————
Footnotes
676:3147There are twomss. from which this piece is taken. The first is Cod. Add. 14,644, fol. 72 vers. This, which is referred to as A., has been copied exactly, except that a few manifest errors have been corrected and some deficiencies supplied from the other. This latter, quoted as B., is Cod. Add. 14,645. It is some three or four centuries later than the first. They were first taken down by shorthand-writers, called notarii (notaries), or exceptores, by which name they are mentioned towards the end of this extract; the Greeks called them ταχυγράφοι. They were then arranged in proper order by persons called by the Greeks ὑπομνηματογράφοι, and by the Romans Ab Actis.—The use of ὑπομνήματα and other Greek words seems to show that these Acts were originally written in that language.
Notaries, i.e., actuarii, or at a later day exceptores.—Tr.
676:3148The Latin Acta, to which the Greek ὑπομνήματα here employed corresponds, was used to denote the authorized records of judicial proceedings.—Tr.
676:3149Αὐτοκράτωρ .—Tr.
676:3150That is, a.d. 112. But the Greek era commences 311 or 312 b.c., and therefore a.g. 416 would answer to a.d. 105. There appears to be some error in the date.
676:3151The king reigning in the fifteenth year of Trajan was Maanu Bar Ajazath, the seventh king of Edessa after Abgar the Black.
676:3152It would thus appear that Paganism and Christianity were tolerated together in Edessa at this time, equal honour being attributed to the head of each religious party. Cf. Teaching of Addæus, p. 661: “Neither did King Abgar compel any man by force to believe in Christ.”
676:3153A little before the passage quoted in the last note it is said that this altar was left standing when the altars to Bel and Nebu were thrown down.
676:3154Perhaps this is the same as the “Archives” mentioned p. 007, note 14.
676:3155B. adds, “before the god Zeus.”
676:3156B. adds here: “And in all these things thou hast forgotten God, the Maker of all men, and because of His long-suffering hast exalted thyself against His mercy, and hast not been willing to turn to Him, so that He might turn to thee and deliver thee from this error, in which thou standest.”
677:3157Lit. “thy old age.”—Tr.
677:3158The Peshito, for Ζεύς in Acts xiv. 12, has “Lord of the gods.”
677:3159B. has “the work of men’s hands.” [Jer. xvi. 20.]
677:3160B. makes a considerable addition here, which it is hardly necessary to quote, the words being in all probability only an interpolation. Cureton elsewhere remarks: “I have almost invariably found in these Syriac mss. that the older are the shorter, and that subsequent editors or transcribers felt themselves at liberty to add occasionally, or paraphrase the earlier application in regard to early Christian literature.—Tr. [But Cureton is speaking for his pet idea.]
677:3161Or “destitute of.”—Tr.
677:3162Lit. “a hidden dead man.”—Tr.
677:3163B. adds, “from Sharbil, his tears flowed and he wept.”
677:3164B. adds, “of baptism, baptizing him.”
The “seal” (σφραγίς) is probably explained by such passages as Eph. iv. 30, that which bore the seal being regarded as the property of him whose seal it was. Thus Gregory Naz. (Orat. 40) speaks of baptism. See Riddle’s Christian Antiqq., p. 484.—Tr.
677:3165[This identifies the “seal” with baptism.]
677:3166B. adds, “and he sat and listened to the Scriptures of the Church, and the testimonies which are spoken in them, touching the birth and the passion and the resurrection and the ascension of Christ; and, when he saw those that came down to him—”
678:3167In B., in a passage added further on, he is styled “Lysinas,” and in the Martyrdom of Barsamya, infra, “Lysinus” or “Lucinus.” In the Martyrologium Romanum he is called “Lysias præses.” Tillemont supposes him to be Lusius Quietus. But the time does not agree. The capture of Edessa under this man was in the nineteenth year of Trajan, four years later than the martyrdom.
678:3168B. adds, “from the Sharirs of the city.”
678:3169B. has added several lines here.
678:3170B. adds, “the Sharirs of the city.”
678:3171Lit. “in which they stand.”—Tr.
678:3172Lit. “kings:” and so throughout.—Tr.
678:3173The Syriac is *** (toris), and is a foreign word, probably the Latin loris, which the Syriac translator, not understanding it or not having an equivalent, may have written loris, and a subsequent transcriber have written toris. It is plain that the latter copyist to whom the text B. is due did not know what is meant: for he has omitted the word, and substituted “Sharbil.”
679:3174B. reads “governor” (ἡγεμών), and so generally in the corresponding places below.
679:3175B. reads “discern.”
679:3176Or “judgment.”—Tr.
679:3177The word used is the Latin “officium” (= officiales, or corpus offialium—Tr.), which denoted the officers that attended upon presidents and chief magistrates. The equivalent Gk. τάξίς is used below [in the Martyrdom of Habib, “attendants”].
679:3178Or “soul.”—Tr.
679:3179Those who officiated at a “quæstio,” or examination by torture.—Tr. The Latin “quæstionarii.”
679:3180i.e., Heb. לּוּלאֱ, from the new moon of September to that of October. [See p. 666, supra.]
680:3181Lit. “to be a plea.”—Tr.
680:3182Or “thou art not the avenger of.”—Tr.
680:3183Lit. “candles of fire.”—Tr.
680:3184The passage from this place to “in the eyes,” below, is lost in A., and supplied from B.
681:3185Or “dealer in fables,” if the word employed here, which is a foreign one, be the Latin “fabularius,” which is not certain.
681:3186Ps. x. 5.—Tr.
681:3187So Cureton. Dr. Payne Smith remarks: “Cureton’s ‘chest’ is a guess from ***. The only sense of *** with which I am acquainted is cadus, a cask.” The word occurs again in the Martyrdom of Habib. In both places it seems to refer to some contrivance for holding fast the person to be scourged. The root appears to be ***, custodivit, retinuit (Castel).—Tr.
681:3188The martyr Minias, about a.d. 240, had the same torture inflicted on him: “ligneis verubus præcutis sub ungues ejus infixis, omnes digitos ejus præcepit pertundi.” See Surius, Sanctt. Vit.
Not “the same,” perhaps.—Tr.
681:3189Or “bitterly.”—Tr.
681:3190Here a few lines have been torn out of A., and are supplied from B.
682:3191“Which” is not in the printed text.—Tr.
682:3192The word used looks like a corruption of the Latin craticula. Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. v. 1, uses the Gk. word for this (τήγανον) in describing the martyrdom of Attalus, who “was set in the τήγανον, and scorched all over, till the savour of his burnt flesh ascended from his body.”
683:3193[St. Paul’s Stigmata. Gal. 6:17, Phil. 3:11.]
683:3194Or “bitter.”—Tr.
683:3195Or “beam.”—Tr.
683:3196Rom. v. 4.—Tr.
683:3197Lit. “of confessorship.”—Tr.
683:3198Lit. “of confessorship.”—Tr.
683:3199The Latin “velum,” or rather its plur. “vela.”
684:3200The Gk. ἀπόφασις.
684:3201This expression χαλινὸν ἐμβαλεῖν is used similarly in the life of Euthymus in Eccl. Græc. Monumenta, vol. ii. p. 240.
684:3202See Teaching of the Apostles, Ord. 1, p. 668, note 1.—Tr.
684:3203Lit. “have pity on my salvation.”—Tr.
684:3204By a transposition of letters, B. reads “laics.”
685:3205B. has several lines here in addition.
685:3206The passage hence to the end is evidently a later addition by a person unacquainted with chronology: for it is stated at the beginning of these Acts that the transactions took place in the fifteenth year of Trajan, a.d. 112; but Fabianus (see next note) was not made bishop of Rome till the reign of Maximinus Thrax, about the year 236. [An index of the history of this postscript.]
685:3207B. reads “Fabianus:” in A. the first syllable, or rather letter, has been dropped.—The mention of Fabianus probably arose from the fact of his having instituted notaries for the express purpose of searching for and collecting the Acts of Martyrs.
685:3208The Greek ἔπαρχος.— Tr.
Further, the Martyrdom of Barsamya, 3209 the Bishop of the Blessed City Edessa.
In the year four hundred and sixteen of the kingdom of the Greeks, that is the fifteenth year of the reign of the sovereign ruler, our lord, Trajan Cæsar, in the consulship of Commodus and Cyrillus, 3210 in the month Ilul, on the fifth day of the month, the day after Lysinus, 3211 the judge of the country, had heard the case of Sharbil the priest; as the judge was sitting in his judgment-hall, the Sharirs of the city came before him and said to him: We give information before thine Excellency concerning Barsamya, the leader of the Christians, that he went up to Sharbil, the priest, as he was standing and ministering before the venerable gods, and sent and called him to him secretly, and spoke to him, quoting from the books in which he reads in the church where their congregation meets, and recited to him the belief of the Christians, and said to him, “It is not right for thee to worship many gods, but only one God, and His Son Jesus Christ”—until he made him a disciple, and induced him to renounce the gods whom he had formerly worshipped; and by means of Sharbil himself also many have become disciples, and are gone down to the church, and lo! this day they confess Christ; and even Avida, and Nebo, 3212 and Barcalba, and Hafsai, honourable and chief persons of the city, have yielded to Sharbil in this. We, accordingly, as Sharirs of the city, make this known before thine Excellency, in order that we may not receive punishment as offenders for not having declared before thine Excellency the things which were spoken in secret to Sharbil by Barsamya the guide of the church. Thine Excellency now knoweth what it is right to command in respect of this said matter.
And, immediately that the judge heard these things, he sent the Sharirs of the city, and some of his attendants with them, to go down to the church and bring up Barsamya from the church. And they led him and brought him up to the judgment-hall of the judge; and there went up many Christians with him, saying: We also will die with Barsamya, because we too are of one mind with him in respect to the doctrine of which he made Sharbil a disciple, and in all that he spoke to him, and in all the instruction that Sharbil received from him, so that he was persuaded by him, and died for the sake of that which he heard from him.
And the Sharirs of the city came, and said to the judge: Barsamya, as thine Excellency commanded, lo! is standing at the door of the judgment-hall of thy Lordship; 3213 and honourable chief-persons of the city, who became disciples along with Sharbil, lo! are standing by Barsamya, and crying out, “We will all die with Barsamya, who is our teacher and guide.”
And, when the judge heard those things which the Sharirs of the city had told him, he commanded them to go out and write down the names of the persons who were crying out, “We will die with Barsamya.” And, when they went out to write down the names of these persons, those who so cried out were too many for them, and they were not able to write down their names, because they were so many: for the cry kept coming to them from all sides, that they “would die for Christ’s sake along with Barsamya.”
And, when the tumult of the crowd became great, the Sharirs of the city turned back, and came in to the judge, and said to him: We are not able to write down the names of the persons who are crying aloud outside, because they are too many to be numbered. And the judge commanded that Barsamya should be taken up to the prison, so that the crowd might be dispersed which was collected together about him, lest through the tumult of the multitude there should be some mischief in the city. And, when he went up the gaol, those who had become disciples along with Sharbil continued with him.
And after many days were passed the judge rose up in the morning and went down to his judgment-hall, in order that he might hear the case of Barsamya. And the judge commanded, and they brought him from the prison; and he came in and stood before him. The officers said: Lo, he standeth before thine Excellency.
The judge said: Art thou Barsamya, who hast been made ruler and guide of the people of the Christians, and didst make a disciple of Sharbil, who was chief-priest of the gods, and used to worship them?
Barsamya said: It is I who have done this, and I do not deny it; and I am prepared to die for the truth of this.
The judge said: How is it that thou wast not afraid of the command of the emperors, so that, when the emperors commanded that every one should sacrifice, thou didst induce Sharbil, when he was standing and sacrificing to the gods and offering incense to them, to deny that which he had confessed, and confess Christ whom he had denied?
Barsamya said: I was assuredly 3214 made a shepherd of men, not for the sake of those only who are found, but also for the sake of those who have strayed from the fold of truth, and become food for the wolves of paganism; and, had I not sought to make Sharbil a disciple, at my hands would his blood have been required; and, if he had not listened to me, I should have been innocent of his blood.
The judge said: Now, therefore, since thou hast confessed that it was thou that madest Sharbil a disciple, at thy hands will I require his death; and on this account it is right that thou rather than he shouldest be condemned before me, because by thy hands he has died the horrible deaths of grievous tortures for having abandoned the command of the emperors and obeyed thy words.
Barsamya said: Not to my words did Sharbil become a disciple, but to the word of God which He spoke: “Thou shalt not worship images and the likenesses of men.” And it is not I alone that am content to die the death of Sharbil for his confession of Christ, but also all the Christians, members of the Church, are likewise eager for this, because they know that they will secure their salvation before God thereby.
The judge said: Answer me not in this manner, like Sharbil thy disciple, lest thine own torments be worse than his; but promise that thou wilt sacrifice before the gods on his behalf.
Barsamya said: Sharbil, who knew not God, I taught to know Him: and dost thou bid me, who have known God from my youth, to renounce God? God forbid that I should do this thing!
The judge said: Ye have made the whole creation disciples of the teaching of Christ; and lo! they renounce the many gods whom the many worshipped. Give up this way of thinking, 3215 lest I make those who are near tremble at thee as they behold thee to-day, and those also that are afar off as they hear of the torments to which thou art condemned.
Barsamya said: If God is the help of those who pray to Him, who is he that can resist them? Or what is the power that can prevail against them? Or thine own threats—what can they do to them: to men who, before thou give commandment concerning them that they shall die, have their death already set before their eyes, and are expecting it every day?
The judge said: Bring not the subject of Christ before my judgment-seat; but, instead of this, obey the command of the emperors, who command to sacrifice to the gods.
Barsamya said: Even though we should not lay the subject of Christ before thee, yet the sufferings of Christ are portrayed indelibly 3216 in the worshippers of Christ; and, even more than thou hearkenest to the commands of the emperors, do we Christians hearken to the commands of Christ the King of kings.
The judge said: Lo! thou hast obeyed Christ and worshipped him up to his day: henceforth obey the emperors, and worship the gods whom the emperors worship.
Barsamya said: How canst thou bid me renounce that in which I was born? when lo! thou didst exact punishment for this at the hand of Sharbil, and saidst to him: Why hast thou renounced the paganism in which thou wast born, and confessed Christianity to which thou wast a stranger? Lo! even before I came into thy presence thou didst thyself give testimony on the matter beforehand, and saidst to Sharbil: The Christians, to whom thou art gone over, do not renounce that in which they were born, but continue in it. Abide, therefore, by the word, which thou hast spoken.
The judge said: Let Barsamya be scourged, because he has rebelled against the command of the emperors, and has caused those also who were obedient to the emperors to rebel with him.
And, when he had been scourged by five men, he said to him: Reject not the command of the emperors, nor insult the emperors’ gods.
Barsamya said: Thy mind is greatly blinded, O judge, and so also is that of the emperors who gave thee authority; nor are the things that are manifest seen by you; nor do ye perceive that lo! the whole creation worships Christ; and thou sayest to me, Do not worship Him, as if I alone worshipped Him—Him whom the watchers 3217 above worship on high.
The judge said: But if ye have taught men to worship Christ, who is it that has persuaded those above to worship Christ?
Barsamya said: Those above have themselves preached, and have taught those below concerning the living worship of the King Christ, seeing that they worship Him, and His Father, together with His divine Spirit. 3218
The judge said: Give up these things which your writings teach you, and which ye teach also to others, and obey those things which the emperors have commanded, and spurn not their laws—lest ye be spurned by means of the sword from the light of this venerable sun.
Barsamya said: The light which passeth away and abideth not is not the true light, but is only the similitude of that true light, to whose beams darkness cometh not near, which is reserved and standeth fast for the true worshippers of Christ.
The judge said: Speak not before me of anything else instead of that about which I have asked thee, lest I dismiss thee from life to death, for denying this light which is seen and confessing that which is not seen.
Barsamya said: I cannot leave alone that about which thou askest me, and speak of that about which thou dost not ask me. It was thou that spakest to me about the light of the sun, and I said before thee that there is a light on high which surpasses in its brightness that of the sun which thou dost worship and honour. For an account will be required of thee for worshipping thy fellow-creature instead of God thy Creator.
The judge said: Do not insult the very sun, the light of creatures, nor set thou at nought the command of the emperors, nor contentiously resist the lords of the country, who have authority in it.
Barsamya said: Of what avail is the light of the sun to a blind man that cannot see it? For without the eyes of the body, it is not possible for its beams to be seen. So that by this thou mayest know that it is the work of God, forasmuch as it has no power of its own to show its light to the sightless.
The judge said: When I have tortured thee as thou deservest, then will I write word about thee to the Imperial government, reporting what insult thou hast offered to the gods, in that thou madest a disciple of Sharbil the priest, one who honoured the gods, and that ye despise the laws of the emperors, and that ye make no account of the judges of the countries, and live like barbarians, though under the authority of the Romans.
Barsamya said: Thou dost not terrify me by these things which thou sayest. It is true, I am not in the presence of the emperors to-day; yet lo! before the authority which the emperors have given thee I am now standing, and I am brought to trial, because I said, I will not renounce God, to whom the heavens and the earth belong, nor His Son Jesus Christ, the King of all the earth.
The judge said: If thou art indeed assured of this, that thou art standing and being tried before the authority of the emperors, obey their commands, and rebel not against their laws, lest like a rebel thou receive the punishment of death.
Barsamya said: But if those who rebel against the emperors, even when they justly rebel, are deserving of death, as thou sayest; for those who rebel against God, the King of kings, even the punishment of death by the sword is too little.
The judge said: It was not that thou shouldest expound in my judgment-hall that thou wast brought in before me, because the trial on which thou standest has but little concern with expounding, but much concern with the punishment of death, for those who insult the emperors and comply not with their laws.
Barsamya said: Because God is not before your eyes, and ye refuse to hear the word of God; and graven images that are of no use, “which have a mouth and speak not,” are accounted by you as though they spake, because your understanding is blinded by the darkness of paganism in which ye stand—
The judge interrupting said: Leave off those things thou art saying, for they will not help thee at all, and worship the gods, before the bitter tearings of combs and harsh tortures come upon thee.
Barsamya said: Do thou too leave off the many questions which lo! thou askest me, and give command for the stripes and the combs with which thou dost menace me: for thy words will not help thee so much as thy inflictions will help me.
The judge said: Let Barsamya be hanged up and torn with combs.
And at that very moment there came to him letters from Alusis 3219 the chief proconsul, father of emperors. 3220 And he commanded, and they took down Barsamya, and he was not torn with combs; and they took him outside of the hall of judgment.
And the judge commanded that the nobles, and the chief persons, and the princes, and the honourable persons of the city, should come before him, that they might hear what was the order that was issued by the emperors, by the hand of the proconsuls, the rulers of the countries under the authority of the Romans. And it was found that the emperors had written by the hand of the proconsuls to the judges of the countries: 3221 “Since our Majesty commanded that there should be a persecution against the people of the Christians, we have heard and learned, from the Sharirs whom we have in the countries under the dominion of our Majesty, that the people of the Christians are persons who eschew murder, and sorcery, and adultery, and theft, and bribery and fraud, and those things for which the laws of our Majesty also exact punishment from those who commit them. We, therefore, in our impartial justice, have commanded that on account of these things the persecution of the sword shall cease from them, and that there shall be rest and quietness in all our dominions, they continuing to minister according to their custom and no man hindering them. It is not, however, towards them that we show clemency, but towards their laws, agreeing as they do with the laws of our Majesty. And, if any man hinder them after this our command, that sword which is ordered by us to descend upon those who despise our command, the same do we command to descend upon those who despise this decree of our clemency.”
And, when this command of the emperor’s clemency was read, the whole city rejoiced that there was quietness and rest for every man. And the judge commanded, and they released Barsamya, that he might go down to his church. And the Christians went up in great numbers to the judgment-hall, together with a great multitude of the population of the city, and they received Barsamya with great and exceeding honour, repeating psalms before him, according to their custom; there went also the wives of the chief of the wise men. And they thronged about him, and saluted him, and called him “the persecuted confessor,” “the companion of Sharbil the martyr.” And he said to them: Persecuted I am, like yourselves; but from the tortures and combs of Sharbil and his companions I am clean escaped. 3222 And they said to him: We have heard from thee that a teacher of the Church has said, “The will, according to what it is, so is it accepted.” 3223 And, when he was entered into the church, he and all the people that were with him, he stood up and prayed, and blessed them and sent them away to their homes rejoicing and praising God for the deliverance which He had wrought for them and for the Church.
And the day after Lysinas 3224 the judge of the country had set his hand to these Acts, he was dismissed from his authority.
I Zenophilus and Patrophilus are the notaries who wrote these Acts, Diodorus and Euterpes, 3225 Sharirs of the city, bearing witness with us by setting-to their hand, as the ancient laws of the ancient kings command.
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This 3226 Barsamya, bishop of Edessa, who made a disciple of Sharbil, the priest of the same city, lived in the days of Fabianus, bishop of the city of Rome. And ordination to the priesthood was received by Barsamya from Abshelama, who was bishop in Edessa; and by Abshelama ordination was received from Palut the First; and by Palut ordination was received from Serapion, bishop of Antioch; and by Serapion ordination was received from Zephyrinus, bishop of Rome; and Zephyrinus of Rome received ordination from Victor of the same place, viz., Rome; and Victor received ordination from Eleutherius; and Eleutherius received it from Soter; and Soter received it from Anicetus; and Anicetus received it from Dapius; 3227 and Dapius received it from Telesphorus; and Telesphorus received it from Xystus; 3228 and Xystus received it from Alexander; and Alexander received it from Evartis; 3229 and Evartis received it from Cletus; and Cletus received it from Anus; 3230 and Anus received it from Simon Cephas; and Simon Cephas received it from our Lord, together with his fellow-apostles, on the first day of the week, the day of the ascension of our Lord to His glorious Father, which was the fourth day of Heziran, 3231 which was is the nineteenth 3232 year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, in the consulship of Rufus and Rubelinus, which year was the year 341; for in the year 309 occurred the advent 3233 of our Saviour in the world, according to the testimony which we ourselves have found in a correct register 3234 among the archives, which errs not at all in whatever it sets forth.
Here endeth the martyrdom of Barsamya, bishop of Edessa.
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Footnotes
685:3209This is taken from the ms. cited as B. in the Acts of Sharbil. There is an Armenian version or extract of this still in existence: see Dr. Alishan’s letter referred to on p. 665. [See elucidation, p. 689, infra.]
685:3210This is a mistake for Cerealis, and the consulate meant must be that of Commodus Verus and Tutilius Cerealis, which was in the ninth (not fifteenth) year of Trajan, which agreed with the 416th year of the Greeks, or a.d. 105.
685:3211See note on p. 678.
685:3212Called Labu at p. 678.
686:3213Lit. “authority.”—Tr.
686:3214See note 6 on p. 658.—Tr. [The Syriac for “assuredly.”]
686:3215Lit. “this mind.”—Tr.
687:3216Lit. “portrayed and fixed.”—Tr.
687:3217[Guardian angels.] Comp. Dan. iv. 13. This designation was given to angels after the captivity, in which the Jews had become familiar with the doctrine of tutelary deities.—Tr.
687:3218Lit. “the Spirit of His Godhead.”—Tr.
688:3219This seems to be Lusius Quietus, Trajan’s general in the East at this time.
688:3220Or “kings.”—Tr.
688:3221We have here probably the most authentic copy of the edict of Trajan commanding the stopping of the persecution of the Christians, as it was taken down at the time by the reporters who heard it read.
688:3222Lit. “am far removed.”—Tr.
688:32232 Cor. viii. 12. Both the Peshito and the Greek (if τίς be rejected) have “what it hath:” not “what it is.”—Tr.
688:3224See note on p. 678.—Tr.
688:3225Perhaps “Eutropius.”
688:3226What follows, down to the end, is a much later addition, evidently made by the same ignorant person as that at p. 685, above: see note 2 there.
689:3227That is “Pius.” The blunder arose from taking the prefix D (?) as a part of the name.
689:3228i.e., “Sixtus.”—Tr.
689:3229Or “Eortis.” The person referred to is “Evaristus.” Cureton reads “Erastus:” it does not appear why.—Tr.
689:3230i.e., “Linus:” see p. 675, note 3.—Tr.
689:3231See note 3 on p. 667.—Tr. [Also see p. 666, supra.]
689:3232Put by mistake for “sixteenth,” which agrees with the statement of Julius Africanus as to the date of our Lord’s death; also with the year of the consulate of Rubellius Geminus and Fufius Geminus (the persons intended below), and with the year of the Greeks 341, which was a.d. 29 or 30.
689:3233Prop. “rising,” as of the sun.—Tr.
689:3234The Greek ειλητάριον: see Du Fresne, Glossarium.
Elucidation.
(See p. 665, note 4. Also, p. 685, note 1, of Barsamya.)
I found at the Armenian Convent of St. Lazarus, near Venice, a version of the Letter of Abgar, translated into French “from the Armenian version of the fifth century,” and published in 1868, which is now before me. It ascribes the original to Laboubnia, and adds: “The name Léroubna, mentioned only by Moses of Chorène, was not repeated after him by any one else, save, perhaps, Mekhitar d’Aïrivank (one of our chroniclers of the thirteenth century), who puts him among our historians, between Tatien and Mar Ibas Gadina, but without affirming whether he knew him only by name or also by his writings.” The editor goes on to speak of his correspondence with Dr. Cureton (a.d. 1864) which is referred to in note 4, p. 665, supra. He notes the incomplete and mutilated character of the Syriac copies used by Cureton, and congratulates himself on the entire and integral condition of the Armenian, which he found in 1852 in the Imperial Library at Paris, as Codex No. 88, mss. Armen. Here the name of the author is given as Laboubnia, and agrees with the Syriac. The interpolations he regards as made after the fourth century.
Ancient Syriac Documents.
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Martyrdom of Habib the Deacon. 3235
In the month Ab, 3236 of the year six hundred and twenty of the kingdom of Alexander the Macedonian, in the consulate of Licinius and Constantine, 3237 which is the year in which he 3238 was born, in the magistracy 3239 of Julius and Barak, in the days of Cona, 3240 bishop of Edessa, Licinius made a persecution against the Church and all the people of the Christians, after that first persecution which Diocletian the emperor had made. And Licinius the emperor commanded that there should be sacrifices and libations, and that the altars in every place should be restored, that they might burn sweet spices and frankincense before Zeus.
And, when many were persecuted, they cried out of their own accord: We are Christians; and they were not afraid of the persecution, because these who were persecuted were more numerous than those who persecuted them.
Now Habib, who was of the village of Telzeha 3241 and had been made a deacon, went secretly into the churches which were in the villages, and ministered and read the Scriptures, and encouraged and strengthened many by his words, and admonished them to stand fast in the truth of their belief, and not to be afraid of the persecutors; and gave them directions.
And, when many were strengthened by his words, and received his addresses affectionately, being careful not to renounce the covenant they had made, and when the Sharirs of the city, the men who had been appointed with reference to this particular matter, heard of it, they went in and informed Lysanias, the governor who was in the town of Edessa, and said to him: Habib, who is a deacon in the village of Telzeha, goes about and ministers secretly in every place, and resists the command of the emperors, and is not afraid.
And, when the governor heard these things, he was filled with rage against Habib; and he made a report, and sent and informed Licinius the emperor of all those things which Habib was doing; he wished also to ascertain 3242 what command would be issued respecting him and the rest of those who would not sacrifice. For although a command had been issued that every one should sacrifice, yet it had not been commanded what should be done to those who did not sacrifice: because they had heard that Constantine, the commander 3243 in Gaul and Spain, was become a Christian and did not sacrifice. And Licinius the emperor thus command Lysanias the governor: Whoever it is that has been so daring as to transgress our command, our Majesty has commanded that he shall be burned 3244 with fire; and that all others who do not consent to sacrifice shall be put to death by the sword.
Now, when this command came to the town of Edessa, Habib, in reference to whom the report had been made, was gone across the river to the country of the people of Zeugma, 3245 to minister there also secretly. And, when the governor sent and inquired for him in his village, and in all the country round about, and he was not to be found, he commanded that all his family should be arrested, and also the inhabitants of his village; and they arrested them and put them in irons, his mother and the rest of his family, and also some of the people of his village; and they brought them to the city, and shut them up in prison.
And, when Habib heard what had taken place, he considered in his mind and pondered anxiously in his thoughts: It is expedient for me, said he, that I should go and appear before the judge of the country, rather than that I should remain in secret and others should be brought in to him and be crowned with martyrdom because of me, and that I should find myself in great shame. For in what respect will the name of Christianity help him who flees from the confession of Christianity? Lo! if he flee from this, the death of nature is before him whithersoever he goes, and escape from it he cannot, because this is decreed against all the children of Adam.
And Habib arose and went to Edessa secretly, having prepared his back for the stripes and his sides for the combs, and his person for the burning of fire. And he went immediately 3246 to Theotecna, 3247 a veteran 3248 who was chief of the band of attendants 3249 on the governor; and he said to him: I am Habib of Telzeha, whom ye are inquiring for. And Theotecna said to him: If so be that no one saw thee coming to me, hearken to me in what I say to thee, and depart and go away to the place where thou hast been, and remain there in this time of persecution; and of this, that thou camest to me and spakest with me and that I advised thee thus, let no one know or be aware. And about thy family and the inhabitants of thy village, be not at all anxious: for no one will at all hurt them; but they will be in prison a few days only, and then the governor will let them go: because against them the emperors have not commanded anything serious or alarming. But, if on the contrary thou wilt not be persuaded by me in regard to these things which I have said to thee, I am clear of thy blood: because, if so be that thou appear before the judge of the country, thou wilt not escape from death by fire, according to the command of the emperors which they have issued concerning thee.
Habib said to Theotecna: It is not about my family and the inhabitants of my village that I am concerned, but for my own salvation, lest it should be forfeited. About this too I am much distressed, that I did not happen to be in my village on the day that the governor inquired for me, and that on my account lo! many are put in irons, and I have been looked upon by him as a fugitive. Therefore, if so be that thou wilt not consent to my request and take me in before the governor, I will go alone and appear before him.
And, when Theotecna heard him speak thus to him, he laid hold of him firmly, and handed him over to his assistants, 3250 and they went together to conduct him to the judgment-hall of the governor. And Theotecna went in and informed the governor, and said to him: Habib of Telzeha, whom thine Excellency was inquiring for, is come. And the governor said: Who is it that has brought him? and where did they find him? and what did he do where he was? Theotecna said to him: He came hither himself, of his own accord, and without the compulsion of any one, since no one knew anything about him.
And when the governor heard this, he was greatly exasperated against him; and thus he spoke: This fellow, who has so acted, has shown great contempt towards me and has despised me, and has accounted me as no judge; and, because he has so acted, it is not meet that any mercy should be shown towards him; nor yet either that I should hasten to pass sentence of death against him, according to the command of the emperors concerning him; but it is meet for me to have patience with him, so that the bitter torments and punishments inflicted on him may be the more abundant, and that through him I may terrify many others from daring again to flee.
And, many persons being collected together and standing by him at the door of the judgment-hall, some of whom were members of the body of attendants, and some people of the city, there were some of them that said to him: Thou hast done badly in coming and showing thyself to those who were inquiring for thee, without the compulsion of the judge; and there were others, again, who said to him: Thou hast done well in coming and showing thyself of thine own accord, rather than that the compulsion of the judge should bring thee: for now is thy confession of Christ known to be of thine own will, and not from the compulsion of men.
And those things which the Sharirs of the city had heard from those who were speaking to him as they stood at the door of the judgment-hall—and this circumstance also in particular, that he had gone secretly to Theotecna and that he had not been willing to denounce him, had been heard by the Sharirs of the city—everything that they had heard they made known to the judge.
And the judge was enraged against those who had been saying to Habib: Wherefore didst thou come and show thyself to the judge, without the compulsion of the judge himself? And to Theotecna he said: It is not seemly for a man who has been made chief over his fellows to act deceitfully in this manner towards his superior, and to set at nought the command of the emperors, which they issued against Habib the rebel, that he should be burned with fire.
Theotecna said: I have not acted deceitfully against my fellows, neither was it my purpose to set at naught the command which the emperors have issued: for what am I before thine Excellency, that I should have dared to do this? But I strictly questioned him as to that for which thine Excellency also has demanded an account at my hands, that I might know and see whether it was of his own free will that he came hither or whether the compulsion of thine Excellency brought him by the hand of others; and, when I heard from him that he came of his own accord, I carefully brought him to the honourable door of the judgment-hall of thy Worship. 3251
And the governor hastily commanded, and they brought in Habib before him. The officers said: Lo! he standeth before thine Excellency,
And he began to question him thus, and said to him: What is thy name? And whence art thou? And what art thou?
He said to him: My name is Habib, and I am from the village of Telzeha, and I have been made a deacon.
The governor said: Wherefore hast thou transgressed the command of the emperors, and dost minister in thine office of deacon, which thou art forbidden by the emperors to do, and refusest to sacrifice to Zeus, whom the emperors worship?
Habib said: We are Christians; we do not worship the works of men, who are nothing, whose works also are nothing; but we worship God, who made the men.
The governor said: Persist not in that daring mind with which thou art come into my presence, and insult not Zeus, the great boast of the emperors.
Habib said: But this Zeus is an idol, the work of men. It is very well for thee to say that I insult him. But, if the carving of him out of wood and the fixing of him with nails proclaim aloud concerning him that he is made, how sayest thou to me that I insult him? since lo! his insult is from himself, and against himself.
The governor said: By this very thing, that thou refusest to worship him, thou insultest him.
Habib said: But, if because I do not worship him I insult him, how great an insult, then, did the carpenter inflict on him, who carved him with an axe of iron; and the smith, who smote him and fixed him with nails!
And, when the governor heard him speak thus he commanded him to be scourged without pity. And, when he had been scourged by five men, he said to him: Wilt thou now obey the emperors? For, if thou wilt not obey them, I will tear thee severely with combs, and I will torture thee with all kinds of tortures, and then at last I will give command concerning thee that thou be burned with fire.
Habib said: These threats with which lo! thou art seeking to terrify me, are much meaner and paltrier than those which I had already settled it in my mind to endure: therefore 3252 came I and made my appearance before thee.
The governor said: Put him into the iron cask 3253 for murderers, and let him be scourged as he deserves. And, when he had been scourged, they said to him: Sacrifice to the gods. But he cried aloud, and said: Accursed are your idols, and so are they who join with you in worshipping them like you.
And the governor commanded, and they took him up to the prison; but they refused him permission to speak with his family, or with the inhabitants of his village, according to the command of the judge. On that day was the festival of the emperors.
And on the second of Ilul the governor commanded, and they brought him from the prison. And he said to him: Wilt thou renounce the profession thou hast made 3254 and obey the command which the emperors issue? For, if thou wilt not obey, with the bitter tearings of combs will I make thee obey them.
Habib said: I have not obeyed them, and moreover it is settled in my mind that I will not obey them—no, not even if thou lay upon me punishments still worse than those which the emperors have commanded.
The governor said: By the gods I swear, that, if thou do not sacrifice, I will leave no harsh and bitter sufferings untried with which I will not torture thee: and we shall see whether Christ, whom thou worshippest, will deliver thee.
Habib said: All those who worship Christ are delivered through Christ, because they worship not creatures along with the Creator of creatures.
The governor said: Let him be stretched out and be scourged with whips, until there remain not a place in his body on which he has not been scourged.
Habib said: As for these inflictions, which thou supposest to be so bitter with their lacerations, 3255 out of them are plaited crowns of victory for those who endure them.
The governor said: How call ye afflictions ease, and account the torments of your bodies a crown of victory?
Habib said: It is not for thee to ask me concerning these things, because thine unbelief is not worthy to hear the reasons of them. That I will not sacrifice I have said already, and I say so still.
The governor said: Thou art subjected to these punishments because thou deservest them: I will put out thine eyes, which look upon this Zeus and are not afraid of him; and I will stop thine ears, which hear the laws of the emperors and tremble not.
Habib said: To the God whom thou deniest here belongs that other world; and there wilt thou be made to confess Him with scourgings, though thou hast again denied Him.
The governor said: Leave alone that world of which thou hast spoken, and consider anxiously now, that from this punishment to which lo! thou art being subjected there is no one that can deliver thee; unless indeed the gods deliver thee, on thy sacrificing to them.
Habib said: Those who die for the sake of the name of Christ, and worship not those objects that are made and created, will find their life in the presence of God; 3256 but those who love the life of time more than that—their torment will be for ever.
And the governor commanded, and they hanged him up and tore him with combs; and, while they were tearing him with the combs, they knocked him about. And he was hanging a long while, until the shoulder blades of his arms creaked.
The governor said to him: Wilt thou comply even now, and put on incense before Zeus there? 3257
Habib said: Previously to these sufferings I did not comply with thy demands: and now that lo! I have undergone them, how thinkest thou that I shall comply, and thereby lose that which I have gained by them?
The governor said: By punishments fiercer and bitterer than these I am prepared to make thee obey, according to the command of the emperors, until thou do their will.
Habib said: Thou art punishing me for not obeying the command of the emperors, when lo! thou thyself also, whom the emperors have raised to greatness and made a judge, hast transgressed their command, in that thou hast not done to me that which the emperors have commanded thee.
The governor said: Because I have had patience with thee, therefore hast thou spoken thus, like a man that brings an accusation.
Habib said: Hadst thou not scourged me, and bound me, and torn me with combs, and put my feet in fetters, 3258 there would have been room to think that thou hadst had patience with me. But, if these things take place in the meanwhile, where is the patience towards me of which thou hast spoken?
The governor said: These things which thou hast said will not help thee, because they all go against thee, and they will bring upon thee inflictions bitterer even than those which the emperors have commanded.
Habib said: Had I not been sensible that they would help me, I should not have spoken a single word about them before thee.
The governor said: I will silence thy speeches, and at the same time as regards thee pacify the gods, whom thou hast not worshipped; and I will satisfy the emperors in respect to thee, as regards thy rebellion against their commands.
Habib said: I am not afraid of the death with which thou seekest to terrify me; for, had I been afraid of it, I should not have gone about from house to house and ministered: on which account I did so minister. 3259
The governor said: How is it that thou worshippest and honourest a man, but refusest to worship and honour Zeus there?
Habib said: I worship not a man, because the Scripture 3260 teaches me, 3261 “Cursed is every one that putteth his trust in man;” but God, who took upon Him a body and became a man, Him do I worship, and glorify.
The governor said: Do thou that which the emperors have commanded; and, as for that which is in thy own mind, if thou art willing to give it up, well; but, if thou art not willing, then do not abandon it.
Habib said: To do both these things is impossible: because falsehood is contrary to truth, and it is impossible that that should be banished from my thoughts which is firmly fixed in my mind.
The governor said: By inflictions bitter and severe will I make thee dismiss from thy thoughts that of which thou hast said, It is firmly fixed in my mind.
Habib said: As for these inflictions by which thou thinkest that it will be rooted out of my thoughts, by means of these it is that it grows within my thoughts, like a tree which bears fruit.
The governor said: What help will stripes and combs give to that tree of thine? and more especially at the time when I shall command fire against it, to burn it up without pity.
Habib said: It is not on those things at which thou lookest that I look, because I contemplate the things which are out of sight; and therefore I do the will of God, the Maker of all things, and not that of an idol made with hands, which is not sensible of anything whatever.
The governor said: Because he thus denies the gods whom the emperors worship, let him be torn with combs in addition to his former tearings: for, amidst the many questions which I have had the patience to ask him, he has forgotten his former tearings.
And, while they were tearing him, he cried aloud and said: “The sufferings of this time are not equal to that glory which shall be revealed in” 3262 those who love Christ.
And, when the governor saw that even under these inflictions he refused to sacrifice, he said to him: Does your doctrine so teach you, that you should hate your own bodies?
Habib said: Nay, we do not hate our bodies: the Scripture distinctly teaches us, “Whosoever shall lose his life shall find it.” 3263 But another thing too it teaches us: that we should “not cast that which is holy to dogs, nor cast pearls before swine.” 3264
The governor said: I know that in speaking thus thy sole object is that my rage and the wrath of my mind may be excited, and that I may pronounce sentence of death against thee speedily. I am not going, then, to be hurried on to that which thou desirest; but I will have patience: not; indeed, for thy relief, but so that the tortures inflicted on thee may be increased, and that thou mayest see thy flesh falling off before thy face by means of the combs that are passing over thy sides.
Habib said: I myself also am looking for this, that thou shouldst multiply thy tortures upon me, even as thou hast said.
The governor said: Submit to the emperors, who have power to do whatsoever they choose.
Habib said: It is not of men to do whatsoever they choose, but of God, whose power is in the heavens, and over all the dwellers upon earth; “nor is there any that may rebuke His hands 3265 and say to Him, ‘What doest Thou?’”
The governor said: For this insolence of thine, death by the sword is too small. I, however, am prepared to command the infliction upon thee of a death more bitter than that of the sword.
Habib said: And I, too, am looking for a death which is more lingering than that of the sword, which thou mayest pronounce upon me at any time thou choosest.
And thereupon the governor proceeded to pass sentence of death upon him. And he called out aloud before his attendants, and said, whilst they were listening to him, as were also the nobles of the city: This Habib, who has denied the gods, as ye have also heard from him, and furthermore has reviled the emperors, deserves that his life should be blotted out from beneath this glorious Sun, and that he should not any longer behold this luminary, associate of gods; and, had it not been commanded by former emperors that the corpses of murderers should be buried, it would not be right that the corpse of this fellow either should be buried, because he has been so insolent. I command, that a strap be put into his mouth, as into the mouth of a murderer, and that he be burned by a slow lingering fire, so that the torment of his death may be increased.
And he went out from the presence of the governor, with the strap thrust into his mouth; and a multitude of the people of the city ran after him. And the Christians were rejoicing, forasmuch as he had not turned aside nor quitted his post; 3266 but the pagans were threatening him, for refusing to sacrifice. And they led him forth by the western archway, over against the cemetery, 3267 which was built by 3268 Abshelama, 3269 the son of Abgar. And his mother was clad in white, and she went out with him.
And, when he was arrived at the place where they were going to burn him, he stood up and prayed, as did all those who came out with him; and he said: “O King Christ, since Thine is this world, and Thine the world to come, behold and see, that, while I might have fled from these afflictions, I did not flee, in order that I might not fall into the hands of Thy justice: may this fire, in which I am to be burned, serve me for a recompense before Thee, so that I may be delivered from that fire which is not quenched; and receive Thou my spirit into Thy presence, through Thy Divine Spirit, O glorious Son of the adorable Father!” And, when he had prayed, he turned and blessed them; and they weeping gave him the salutation, both men and women; and they said to him: Pray for us in the presence of thy Lord, that He would cause peace among His people, and restoration to His churches which are overthrown.
And, while Habib was standing, they dug a place, and brought him and set him within it; and they fixed up by him a stake. And they came to bind him to the stake; but he said to them: I will not stir from this place in which ye are going to burn me. And they brought fagots, and set them in order, and placed them on all sides of him. And, when the fire blazed up and the flame of it rose fiercely, they called out to him: Open thy mouth. And the moment he opened his mouth his soul mounted up. And they cried aloud, both men and women, with the voice of weeping.
And they pulled and drew him out of the fire, throwing over him fine linen cloths and choice ointments and spices. And they snatched away some of the pieces of wood which had been put for his burning, and the brethren and some persons of the laity 3270 bore him away. And they prepared him for interment, and buried him by Guria and Shamuna the martyrs, in the same grave in which they were laid, on the hill which is called Baith Allah Cucla, 3271 repeating over him psalms and hymns, and conveying his burnt body affectionately and honourably to the grave. And even some of the Jews and pagans took part with the Christian brethren in winding up and burying his body. At the time, too, when he was burned, and also at the time when he was buried, there was one spectacle of grief over spreading those within and those without; tears, too, were running down from all eyes: while every one gave glory to God, because for His name’s sake he had given his body to the burning of fire.
The day on which he was burned was the eve of the Sabbath, 3272 the second of the month Ilul—the day on which the news came that Constantine the Great had set out from the interior of Spain, to proceed to Rome, the city of Italy, that he might carry on war with Licinius, that emperor who at this day rules over the eastern portion of the territories of the Romans; and lo! the countries on all sides are in commotion, because no man knows which of them will conquer and continue in his imperial power. And through this report the persecution slackened for a little while from the Church.
And the notaries wrote down everything which they had heard from the judge; and the Sharirs of the city wrote down all the other things which were spoken outside the door of the judgment-hall, and, according to the custom that existed, they reported to the judge all that they had seen and all that they had heard, and the decisions of the judge were written down in their Acts.
I, Theophilus, who have renounced the evil inheritance of my fathers, and confessed Christ, carefully wrote out a copy of these Acts of Habib, even as I had formerly written out those of Guria and Shamuna, 3273 his fellow-martyrs. And, whereas he had felicitated them upon their death by the sword, he himself also was made like them by the fire in which he was burnt, and received his crown. And, whereas I have written down the year, and the month, and the day, of the coronation of these martyrs, it is not for the sake of those who, like me, were spectators of the deed, but with the view that those who come after us may learn at what time these martyrs suffered, and what manner of men they were; as they may learn also from the Acts of the former martyrs, who suffered in the days of Domitianus and of all the other emperors who likewise also raised a persecution against the Church, and put a great many to death, by stripes and by tearing with combs, and by bitter inflictions, and by sharp swords, and by burning fire, and by the terrible sea, and by the merciless mines. And all these things, and things like them, they suffered for the hope of the recompense to come.
Moreover, the afflictions of these martyrs, and of those of whom I had heard, opened the eyes of me, Theophilus, and enlightened my mind, and I confessed Christ, that He is the Son of God, and is God. And may the dust of the feet of these martyrs, which I received as I was running after them at the time when they were departing to be crowned, procure me pardon for having denied Him, and may He confess me before His worshippers, seeing that I have confessed Him now!
And at the twenty-seventh question which the judge put to Habib, he gave sentence against him of death by the burning of fire.
Here endeth the martyrdom of Habib the deacon.
Footnotes
690:3235This is found in the same ms. as the preceding: Cod. Add. 14,645, fol. 238, vers.
690:3236August.—Tr.
690:3237They were consuls together in a.d. 312, 313, 315.
690:3238It does not appear who is meant.—Tr.
690:3239The Greek στρατηγία, with a Syriac termination. Στρατηγοί was used for the Latin Magistratus or Duumviri.
690:3240He laid the foundation of the church at Edessa a.d. 313: see Assem., Bibl. Orient., vol. i. p. 394.
690:3241Called “Thelsæa” by Metaphrastes, p. 700, infra.
690:3242Lit. “learn and see.”—Tr.
690:3243The word used is probably ἐντολικός = præfectus: see Dr. Payne Smith, Thes. Syr.—Tr.
690:3244Dr. Wright’s reading, by the change of a letter, for “shall perish.”—Tr.
690:3245This place was on the right bank of the Euphrates, and derived its name from a bridge of boats laid across the river there. It was about forty miles from Edessa.—Tr.
691:3246Cureton has ***, which he renders “alone.” Dr. Payne Smith considers this a mistake for ***.—Tr.
691:3247In Latin, “Theotecnus.”
691:3248Or “an old man.”—Tr.
691:3249The Gk. τάξις here used corresponds to the Latin officium. See note 4 on p. 679.
691:3250Or “domestics.”—Tr.
692:3251Lit. “rectitude.”—Tr.
692:3252Lit. “then.”—Tr.
692:3253See note 3 on p. 681.—Tr.
692:3254Lit. “Wilt thou renounce that in which thou standest?”—Tr.
692:3255Lit. “scourgings.”—Tr.
693:3256[Seems to be a reference to Rev. xx. 4.]
693:3257Pointing to the image.—Tr.
693:3258Or “the stocks.” The word is of the most indefinite kind, answering to ξύλον and lignum.—Tr.
693:3259For this sense, which appears to be the one intended, it is necessary to change *** into ***.—Tr.
693:3260[Jer. xvii. 5.]
693:3261Lit. “it is written for me.”—Tr.
694:3262Rom. viii. 18.—Tr.
694:3263Matt. x. 39.—Tr.
694:3264Matt. vii. 6.—Tr.
694:3265Chaldee, “restrain (literally, smite) His hand.” See Dan. iv. 35.—Tr.
694:3266Or “departed from his covenant.”—Tr.
694:3267The Gk. κοιμητήριον .—Tr.
694:3268Cureton’s “for” seems not so good, the reference not being to a single tomb.—Tr.
694:3269Probably that in which Sharbil and Babai were buried: see p. 684, above.
695:3270Lit. “secular persons,” or “men of the world.”—Tr.
695:3271In Simeon Metaphrastes, whose copy would seem to have had a slightly different reading, it is written Bethelabicla, and is said to lie on the north side of the city.
695:3272i.e., the sixth day of the week. See note 9 on p. 668.—Tr.
695:3273As Simeon Metaphrastes, infra, evidently made use of these Acts of Habib in his account of that martyr, it is probable that his narrative of the martyrdom of Guria and Shamuna also was founded on the copy of their Acts to which Theophilus here refers.
Ancient Syriac Documents.
————————————
Martyrdom 3274 of the Holy Confessors Shamuna, Guria, and Habib, from Simeon Metaphrastes. 3275
In the six hundredth year from the empire of Alexander the Macedonian, when Diocletian had been nine years sovereign of the Romans, and Maximian was consul for the sixth time, and Augar son of Zoaras was prætor, and Cognatus was bishop of the Edessenes, a great persecution was raised against the churches in all the countries which were under the sway of the Romans. The name of Christian was looked upon as execrable, and was assailed and harassed with abuse; while the priests and the monks, 3276 on account of their staunch and unconquerable stedfastness, were subjected to shocking punishments, and the pious were at their wits’ end with sadness and fear. For, desiring as they did to proclaim the truth because of their yearning affection for Christ, they yet shrunk back from doing so for fear of punishment. For those who took up arms against true religion were bent on making the Christians renounce Christianity and embrace the cause of Saturn and Rhea, whilst the faithful on their part laboured to prove that the objects of heathen worship had no real existence.
At this period it was that an accusation was preferred before the judge against Guria and Shamuna. The former was a native of Sarcigitua, and the latter of the village of Ganas; they were, however, both brought up at Edessa—which they call Mesopotamia, because it is situated between the Euphrates and the Tigris: a city previously to this but little known to fame, but which after the struggles of its martyrs obtained universal notoriety. These holy men would not by any means spend their lives in the city, but removing to a distance from it, as those who wished to be remote from its turmoils, they made it their aim to be manifest to God only. Guria’s purity and lovingness were to him a precious and honourable possession, and from his cultivation of the former the surname of the pure was given him: so that from his name you would not have known who he was, but only when you called him by his surname. Shamuna devoted his body and his youthful and active mind to the service of God, and rivalled Guria in excellence of character. Against these men an indictment was laid before the judge, to the effect that they not only pervaded all the country round about Edessa with their teaching and encouraged the people to hold fast their faith, but also led them to look with contempt on their persecutors, and, in order to induce them to set wholly at nought their impiety, taught them agreeably to that which is written: “Trust not in princes—in the sons of men, in whom is no safety.” 3277 By these representations the judge was wrought up to a high pitch of madness, and gave orders that all those who held the Christian religion in honour and followed the teaching of Shamuna and Guria, together with those who persuaded them to this, should be apprehended, and shut up in safe keeping. The order was carried into effect; and, seizing the opportunity, he had some of them flogged, and others tortured in various ways, and induced them to obey the emperor’s command, and then, as if he were behaving kindly and mercifully, he allowed others to go to their homes; but our two saints, as being the ringleaders and those who had communicated their piety to others, he ordered to be still further maltreated in prison. They, however, rejoiced in the fellowship of martyrdom. For they heard of many in other provinces who had to pass through the same conflict as themselves: among them Epiphanius and Petrus and the most holy Pamphilus, with many others, at Cæsarea in Palestine; Timotheus at Gaza; at Alexandria, Timotheus the Great; Agapetus at Thessalonica; Hesychius at Nicomedia; Philippus at Adrianopolis; at Melitina Petrus; Hermes and his companions in the confines of Martyropolis: all of whom were also encircled with the crown of martyrdom by Duke 3278 Heraclianus, along with other confessors too numerous for us to become acquainted with. But we must return to the matters of which we were before speaking.
Antonius, then, the governor of Edessa, having permitted others to return to their homes, had a lofty judgment-seat erected, and ordered the martyrs to be brought before him. The attendants having done as they were bidden, the governor said to the saints: Our most divine emperor commands you to renounce Christianity, of which you are followers, and to pay divine honour to Jupiter by offering incense on the altar. To this Shamuna replied: Far be it from us to abandon the true faith, whereby we hope to obtain immortality, and worship the work of men’s hands and an image! The governor said: The emperor’s orders must by all means be obeyed. Guria answered: Our pure and divine faith will we never disown, by following the will of men, who are subject to dissolution. For we have a Father in heaven whose will we follow, and He says: “He that shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven; but he that shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father and His angels.” 3279 The judge said: You refuse, then, to obey the will of the emperor? But can you for a moment think, that the purposes of ordinary men and such as have no more power than yourselves are to be really carried into execution, while the commands of those who possess supreme power fall to the ground? They, said the saints, who do the will of the King of kings spurn and reject the will of the flesh. Then, on the governor’s threatening them with death unless they obeyed, Shamuna said: We shall not die, O tyrant, if we follow the will of the Creator: nay rather, on the contrary, we shall live; but, if we follow the commands of your emperor, know thou that, even though thou shouldest not put us to death, we shall perish miserably all the same.
On hearing this, the governor gave orders to Anovitus the jailor to put them in very safe keeping. For the mind which is naturally inclined to evil cannot bear the truth, any more than diseased eyes the bright beams of the sun. And, when he had done as he was commanded, and the martyrs were in prison, where many other saints also had been previously shut by the soldiers, the Emperor Diocletian sent for Musonius the governor of Antioch and ordered him to go to Edessa and see the Christians who were confined there, whether they were of the common or of the sacred class, and question them about their religion, and deal with them as he should see fit. So he came to Edessa; and he had Shamuna and Guria first of all placed before the tribunal of judgment, and said to them: This, and no less, is the command of the lord of the world, that you make a libation of wine and place incense on the altar of Jupiter. If you refuse to do so, I will destroy you with manifold punishments: for I will tear your bodies to pieces with whips, till I get to your very entrails; and I will not cease pouring boiling lead into your armpits until it reaches even to your bowels; after that, I will hang you up, now by your hands, now by your feet, and I will loosen the fastenings of your joints; and I will invent new and unheard of punishments which you will be utterly unable to endure.
Shamuna answered: We dread “the worm,” the threat of which is denounced against those who deny the Lord, and “the fire which is not quenched,” more than those tortures which thou hast set before us. For God Himself, to whom we offer rational worship, will, first of all, strengthen us to bear these manifold tortures, and will deliver us out of thy hands; and, after that, will also give us to rest in a place of safety, where is the abode of all those who rejoice. Besides, it is against nothing whatever but the body that thou takest up arms: for what possible harm couldst thou do to the soul? since, as long as it resides in the body, it proves superior to torture; and, when it takes its departure, the body has no feeling whatever left. For, “the more our outward man is destroyed, the more is our inward man renewed day by day;” 3280 for by means of patience we go through with this contest which is set before us. The governor, however, again, with a kind of protestation, in order that, in case they did not obey, he might with the more justice punish them, said: Give up your error, I beg you, and yield to the command of the emperor: ye will not be able to endure the tortures. The holy Guria answered: We are neither the slaves of error, as thou sayest, nor will we ever obey the command of the emperor: God forbid that we should be so weak-minded and so senseless! For we are His disciples who laid down His life for us, so manifesting the riches of His goodness and His love towards us. We will, therefore, resist sin even to death, nor, come what may, will we be foiled by the stratagems of the adversary, by which the first man was ensnared and plucked death from the tree through his disobedience; 3281 and Cain was persuaded, and, after staining his hands with his brother’s blood, found the rewards of sin to be wailing and fear. But we, listening to the words of Christ, will “not be afraid of those that kill the body but are not able to kill the soul:” Him rather will we fear “who is able to destroy our soul and body.” 3282 The tyrant said: It is not to give you an opportunity of disproving my allegations by snatches of your own writings that I refrain from anger and show myself forbearing; but that you may perform the command of the emperor and return in peace to your homes.
These words did not at all shake the resolution of the martyrs; but, approaching nearer: What, said they, does it matter to us, if thou art angry, and nursest thine anger, and rainest tortures upon us like snow-flakes? For then wouldst thou be favouring us all the more, by rendering the proof of our fortitude more conspicuous, and winning for us a greater recompense. For this is the crowning point of our hope, that we shall leave behind our present dwelling, which is but for a time, and depart to one that will last forever. For we have “a tabernacle not made with hands” 3283 in heaven, which the Scripture is accustomed also to call “Abraham’s bosom,” because of the familiar intercourse with God with which he was blessed. The governor, seeing that their firmness underwent no change, forthwith left off speaking and proceeded with the threatened punishments, giving orders to the jailor Anuinus that they should be severally hung up by one hand, and that, when their hands were dislocated by having to bear the entire weight of the body, he should further suspend a heavy stone to their feet, that the sense of pain might be the sharper. This was done, and from the third hour to the eighth they bore this severe torture with fortitude, uttering not a word, nor a groan, nor giving any other indication of a weak or abject mind. You would have said that they were suffering in a body which was not theirs, or that others were suffering and they themselves were nothing more than spectators of what was going on.
In the meantime, whilst they were hanging by their hands, the governor was engaged in trying other cases. Having done with these, he ordered the jailor to inquire of the saints whether or not they would obey the emperor and be released from their torture; and on his putting the question to them, when it was found that they either could not or would not return an answer, he ordered that they should be confined in the inner part of the prison, in a dark dungeon, dark both in name and in reality, and that their feet should be made fast in the stocks. At dawn of day, their feet were loosened from the confinement of the stocks; but their prison was close shut up, so that not a single ray even of sunlight could make its way in; and the jailors were ordered not to give them a bit of bread or a single drop of water for three whole days. So that, in addition to all the rest, the martyrs were condemned to a dark prison and a long privation of food. When the third day arrived, about the beginning of the month of August, the prison was opened to admit light, but they were detained in it still up to the 10th of November. Then the judge had them brought up before his tribunal: Has not all this time, said he, sufficed to induce you to change your minds and come to some wholesome decision? They answered: We have already several times told thee our mind: do, therefore, what thou hast been commanded. The governor forthwith ordered that Shamuna should be made to kneel down on one side 3284 and that an iron chain should be fastened on his knee. This having been done, he hung him up head downwards by the foot with which he had made him kneel; the other he pulled downwards with a heavy piece of iron, which cannot be described in words: thus endeavouring to rend the champion in twain. By this means the socket of the hip-bone was wrenched out of its place and Shamuna became lame. Guria, however, because he was weak and somewhat pale, he left unpunished: not that he regarded him with friendly eyes—not that he had any compassion on his weakness; but rather by way of sparing for another opportunity one whom he was anxious to punish: lest perchance, as he said, through inadvertence on my part he should be worn out before he has undergone the torments in reserve for him.
By this time two hours of the day had passed since Shamuna had been hung up; and the fifth hour had now arrived, and he was still suspended on high—when the soldiers who stood around, taking pity upon him, urged him to obey the emperor’s command. But the compassion of sinners had no effect upon the saint. For, although he suffered bitterly from the torture, he vouchsafed them no answer whatever, leaving them to lament at their leisure, and to deem themselves rather, and not him, deserving of pity. But, lifting his eyes to heaven, he prayed to God from the depth of his heart, reminding Him of the wonders done in old time: Lord God, he said, without whom not even a poor little sparrow falls into the snare; who didst cheer the heart of David amid his afflictions; who gavest power to Daniel even against the lions; who madest the children of Abraham victorious over the tyrant and the flame: do Thou now also, O Lord, look on the war which is being waged against us, acquainted as Thou art with the weakness of our nature. For the enemy is trying to turn away the workmanship of Thy right hand from the glory which is with Thee. But regard Thou us with looks of compassion, and maintain within us, against all attempts to extinguish it, the lamp of Thy commandments; and by Thy light guide our paths, and vouchsafe us the enjoyment of that happiness which is in Thee: for Thou art blessed for ever, world without end. Thus did he utter the praise of the Umpire of the strife; and a scribe who was present took down in writing what was said.
At length the governor ordered the jailor to release him from his punishment. He did so, and carried him away all faint and exhausted with the pain he suffered, and they bore him back to his former prison and laid him down by the side of the holy Guria. On the 15th of November, however, in the night, about the time of cock-crowing, the judge got up. He was preceded by torches and attendants; and, on arriving at the Basilica, as it is called, where the court was held, he took his seat with great ceremony on the tribunal, and sent to fetch the champions Guria and Shamuna. The latter came in walking between two of the jailors and supported by the hands of both: for he was worn out with hunger and weighed down with age: nothing but his good hope sustained him. Guria, too, had also to be carried in: for he could not walk at all, because his foot had been severely galled by the chain on it. Addressing them both, the advocate of impiety said: In pursuance of the permission which was granted, you have, doubtless, consulted together about what it is expedient for you to do. Tell me, then, whether any fresh resolution has been come to by you, and whether you have in any respect changed your mind in regard to your former purpose; and obey the command of the most divine emperor. For thus will you be restored to the enjoyment of your property and possessions, yea of this most cheering light also. To this the martyrs reply: No one who is wise would make any great account of continuing for a little while in the enjoyment of things which are but transient. Sufficient for us is the time already past for the use and the sight of them; nor do we feel the want of any of them. That death, on the contrary, with which thou art threatening us will convey us to imperishable habitations and give us a participation in the happiness which is yonder.
The governor replied: What you have said has filled my ears with great sadness. However, I will explain to you what is determined on: if you place incense on the altar and sacrifice to the image of Jupiter, all will be well, and each of you will go away to his home; but, if you still persist in disobeying the command of the emperor, you will most certainly lose your heads: for this is what the great emperor wills and determines. To this the most noble-minded Shamuna replied: If thou shalt confer upon us so great a favour as to grant us deliverance from the miseries of this life and dismissal to the happiness of the life yonder, so far as in us lies thou shalt be rewarded by Him who lays out our possessions on what is for our good. The governor replied to this somewhat kindly, as it seemed, saying: I have patiently endured hitherto, putting up with those long speeches of yours, in order that by delay you may change your purpose and betake yourselves to what is for your good, and not have to undergo the punishment of death. Those who submit, said he, to death which is only for a time, for the sake of Christ, will manifestly be delivered from eternal death. For those who die to the world live in Christ. For Peter also, who shines so brightly among the band of apostles, was condemned to the cross and to death; and James, the son of thunder was slain by Herod Agrippa with the sword. Moreover, Stephen also was stoned, who was the first to run the course of martyrdom. What, too, wilt thou say of John the Baptist? Thou wilt surely acknowledge his distinguished fortitude and boldness of speech, when he preferred death rather than keep silence about conjugal infidelity, and the adulteress received his head as a reward for her dancing?
Again the governor said: It is not that you may reckon up your saints, as you call them, that I bear so patiently with you, but that, by changing your resolution and yielding to the emperor’s commands, you may be rescued from a very bitter death. For, if you behave with such excessive daring and arrogance, what can you expect but that severer punishments are in store for you, under the pressure of which you will be ready even against your will to do what I demand of you: by which time, however, it will be altogether too late to take refuge in compassion? For the cry which is wrung from you by force has no power to challenge pity; whilst, on the other hand, that which is made of your own accord is deserving of compassion. The confessors and martyrs of Christ said: There needs not many words. For lo! we are ready to undergo all the punishments thou mayest lay upon us. What, therefore, has been commanded thee, delay not to perform. For we are the worshippers of Christ the true God, and (again we say it) of Him of whose kingdom there shall be no end; who also is alone able to glorify those in return who glorify His name. In the meantime, whilst these things were being said by the saints, the governor pronounced sentence against them that they should suffer death by the sword. But they, filled with a joy, beyond the power of words to express, exclaimed: To Thee of right belongeth glory and praise, who art God of all, because it hath pleased Thee that we should carry on to its close the conflict we have entered upon, and that we should also receive at Thy hands the brightness that shall never fade away.
When, therefore, the governor saw their unyielding firmness, and how they had heard the final sentence with exultation of soul, he said to the saints: May God search into what is being done, and be witness that so far as I was concerned it was no wish of mine that you should lose your lives; but the inflexible command of the emperor to me compels me to this. He then ordered a halberdier to take charge of the martyrs, and, putting them in a carriage, to convey them to a distance from the city with some soldiers, and there to end them with the sword. So he, taking the saints out at night by the Roman gate, when the citizens were buried in profound slumber, conveyed them to Mount Bethelabicla on the north of the city. On their arrival at that place, having alighted from the carriage with joy of heart and great firmness of mind, they requested the halberdier and those who were under his orders to give them time to pray; and it was granted. For, just as if their tortures and their blood were not enough to plead for them, they still by reason of their humility deemed it necessary to pray. So they raised their eyes to heaven and prayed earnestly, concluding with the words: God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, receive in peace our spirits to Thyself. Then Shamuna, turning to the halberdier, said: Perform that which thou hast been commanded. So he kneeled down along with Guria, and they were beheaded, on the 15th of November. This is the account of what happened to the martyrs.
But forasmuch as the number sought for a third in order that in them the Trinity might be glorified, it found, oh admirable providence! Habib—at a subsequent time indeed: but he also, along with those who had preceded him, had determined to enter on the journey, and on the very day 3285 of their martyrdom reached his consummation. Habib, then, great among martyrs, was a native of the same place as they, namely of the village of Thelsæa; 3286 and he had the honour of being invested with the sacred office of the diaconate. But, when Licinius swayed the sceptre of the Roman empire and Lysanias had appointed governor of Edessa, a persecution was again raised against the Christians, and the general danger threatened Habib. For he would go about the city, teaching the divine Scriptures to all he met with, and courageously seeking to strengthen them in piety. When this came to the ears of Lysanias, he gave information of it to the Emperor Licinius. For he was anxious to be himself entrusted with the business of bringing the Christians to trial, and especially Habib: for he had never been entrusted with it before. The emperor, then, sent him a letter and commanded him to put Habib to death. So, when Lysanias had received the letter, search was made everywhere for Habib, who on account of his office in the Church lived in some part of the city, his mother and some of his relations residing with him. When he got intelligence of the matter, fearing lest he should incur punishment for quitting the ranks of martyrdom, he went of his own accord and presented himself to a man who was among the chief of the body-guard, named Theotecnus, and presently he said: I am Habib for whom ye are seeking. But he, looking kindly at him, said: No one, my good man, is as yet aware of thy coming to me: so go away, and look to thy safety; and be not concerned about thy mother, nor about thy relations: for they cannot possibly get into any trouble. Thus far Theotecnus.
But Habib, because the occasion was one that called for martyrdom, refused to yield to a weak and cowardly spirit and secure his safety in any underhand way. He replied, therefore: It is not for the sake of my dear mother, nor for the sake of my kinsfolk, that I denounce myself; but I have come for the sake of the confession of Christ. For Lo! whether thou consent or no, I will make my appearance before the governor, and I will proclaim my Master Christ before princes and kings. Theotecnus, accordingly, apprehensive that he might go of his own accord to the governor, and that in this way he might himself be in jeopardy for not having denounced him, took Habib and conducted him to the governor: Here, said he, is Habib, for whom search has been made. When Lysanias learned that Habib had come of his own accord to the contest, he concluded that this was a mark of contempt and overweening boldness, as if he set light by the solemn dignity of the judicial seat; and he had him at once put on his trial. He inquired of him his condition of life, his name, and his country. On his answering that he was a native of the village of Thelsæa, and intimating that he was a minister of Christ, the governor immediately charged the martyr with not obeying the emperor’s commands. He insisted that a plain proof of this was his refusal to offer incense to Jupiter. To this Habib kept replying that he was a Christian, and could not forsake the true God, or sacrifice to the lifeless works of men’s hands which had no sensation. The governor hereupon ordered, that his arms should be bound with ropes, and that he should be raised up high on a beam and torn with iron claws. 3287 The hanging up was far more difficult to bear than the tearing: for he was in danger of being pulled asunder, through the forcible strain with which his arms were stretched out.
In the meantime, as he was hanging up in the air, the governor had recourse to smooth words, and assumed the guise of patience. He, however, continued to threaten him with severer punishments unless he should change his resolution. But he said: No man shall induce me to forsake the faith, nor persuade me to worship demons, even though he should inflict tortures more and greater. On the governor’s asking him what advantage he expected to gain from tortures which destroyed his whole 3288 body, Habib, Christ’s martyr, replied: The objects of our regard do not last merely for the present, nor do we pursue the things that are seen; and, if thou too art minded to turn thy look towards our hope and promised recompense, possibly thou wilt even say with Paul: “The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which is to be revealed in us.” 3289 The governor pronounced his words to be the language of imbecility; and, when he saw that, notwithstanding all the efforts he made, by turns using smooth words and assuming the part of patience, and then again threatening him and menacing him with a shocking 3290 death, he could not in either way prevail with him, he said, as he pronounced sentence upon him: I will not inflict on thee a sudden and speedy death; I will bring on thy dissolution gradually by means of a slow fire, and in this way make thee lay aside thy fierce and intractable spirit. Thereupon, some wood was collected together at a place outside the city on the northward, and he was led to the pile, followed by his mother, and also by those who were otherwise by blood related to him. He then prayed, and pronounced a blessing on all, and gave them the kiss in the Lord; and after that the wood was kindled by them, and he was cast into the fire; and, when he had opened his mouth to receive the flame, he yielded up his spirit to Him who had given it. Then, when the fire had subsided, his relatives wrapped him in a costly piece of linen and anointed him with unguents; and, having suitably sung psalms and hymns, they laid him by the side of Shamuna and Guria, to the glory of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, who constitute a Divine Trinity, which cannot be divided: to whom is due honour and worship now and always, and for evermore, Amen. Such was the close of the life of the martyr Habib in the time of Licinius, and thus did he obtain the privilege of being laid with the saints, and thus did he bring to the pious rest from their persecutions. For shortly afterwards the power of Licinius waned, and the rule of Constantine prospered, and the sovereignty of the Romans became his; and he was the first of the emperors who openly professed piety, and allowed the Christians to live as Christians.
Footnotes
696:3274Cureton gives it in Latin.—Tr.
696:3275This piece is taken from the well-known work of Surius, De probatis Sanctorum vitis. It does not appear who made this Latin translation.
Metaphrastes is a celebrated Byzantine writer, who lived in the ninth and tenth centuries. He derives his name from having written paraphrases, or metaphrases, of the lives of the saints. Fabricius gives a list of 539 lives commonly attributed to him.—Dr. W. Plate, in Smith’s Dict. Biog. and Myth.—Tr.
696:3276[A token of mediæval origin.]
696:3277Ps. cxlvi. 3.—Tr.
697:3278Dux.
697:3279Matt. x. 33.—Tr.
697:32802 Cor. iv. 16.—Tr.
697:3281Or “through his disobedience in the matter of the tree,” if per ligni inobedientiam are the real words of the Latin translator, who is not, generally speaking, to be complimented for elegance or even correctness, but seems to have made a servile copy of the mere words of the Greek.—Tr.
698:3282Matt. x. 28.—Tr.
698:32832 Cor. v. 1.—Tr.
698:3284Lit. “with one foot.”—Tr.
700:3285i.e., the anniversary.—Tr.
700:3286In the Syriac account “Telzeha:” see p. 690, supra.—Tr.
700:3287Compare the “combs” of the Syriac, p. 684, supra.—Tr.
701:3288Reading “totum” for “solum.”—Tr.
701:3289Rom. viii. 18.—Tr.
701:3290Lit. “bitter.”—Tr.
Ancient Syriac Documents.
————————————
Moses of Chorene. 3291
History of Armenia.
I. 3292
Reign of Abgar; Armenia becomes completely tributary to the Romans; war with Herod’s troops; his brother’s son, Joseph, is killed.
Abgar, son of Archam, ascends the throne in the twentieth year of Archavir, king of the Persians. This Abgar was called Avak-air (great man), on account of his great gentleness and wisdom, and also on account of his size. Not being able to pronounce well, the Greeks and the Syrians called him Abgar. In the second year of his reign, all the districts of Armenia become tributary to the Romans. A command is given by the Emperor Augustus, as we are told in the Gospel of St. Luke, to number all the people in every part. Roman commissioners, sent for that purpose into Armenia, carried thither the statue of the Emperor Augustus, and set it up in all the temples. At this very time, our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world.
At the same period there was trouble between Abgar and Herod: for Herod wished that his statue should be erected near to that of Cæsar in the temples of Armenia. Abgar withstood this claim. Moreover, Herod was but seeking a pretext to attack Abgar: he sent an army of Thracians and Germans to make an incursion into the country of the Persians, with orders to pass through the territories of Abgar. But Abgar, far from submitting to this, resisted, saying that the emperor’s command was to march the troops into Persia through the desert. Herod, indignant, and unable to act by himself, overwhelmed with troubles, as a punishment for his wicked conduct towards Christ, as Josephus relates, sent his nephew to whom he had given his daughter, who had been married in the first instance to Phéror, his brother. Herod’s lieutenant, at the head of a considerable army, hastened to reach Mesopotamia, met Abgar at the camp in the province of Pouknan, fell in the combat, and his troops were put to flight. Soon afterwards, Herod died: Archelaus, his son, was appointed by Augustus ethnarch of Judæa.
Footnotes
702:3291This extract is taken from the edition, in two volumes, printed at Paris, of which the following is the title: MOÏSE, DE KHORÈNE, auteur du Ve Siècle: HISTOIRE D’ARMÉNIE, texte Arménien et traduction Francaise, avec notes explicatives et précis historiques sur l’Arménie, par P. E. Le Vaillant de Florival.
702:3292Book ii. chapter. xxvi.
II. 3293
Founding of the town of Edessa; brief account of the race of our illuminator.
A little while afterwards, Augustus dies, and Tiberius becomes emperor of the Romans in his stead. Germanicus, having become Cæsar, dragging in his train the princes of the kingdom of Archavir and of Abgar, celebrates a triumph in respect of the war waged with them, in which these princes had killed Herod’s nephew. Abgar, indignant, forms plans of revolt and prepares himself for combat. He builds a town on the ground occupied by the Armenian army of observation, where previously the Euphrates had been defended against the attempts of Cassius: this new town is called Edessa. Abgar removed to it his court, which was at Medzpine, all his gods, Naboc, Bel, Patnicagh, and Tarata, the books of the schools attached to the temples, and even the royal archives.
After this, Archavir being dead, Ardachès, his son, reigns over the Persians. Though it is not in the order of the history with respect to time, nor even the order according to which we have begun these annals, yet, as we are treating of descendants of the king Archavir, even of the blood of Ardachès his son, we will, to do honour to these princes, place them, by anticipating the time, near to Ardachès, in order that the reader may know that they are of the same race, of the race of the brave Archag; then we will indicate the time of the arrival of their fathers in Armenia, the Garenians and the Sourenians, from whom St. Gregory and the Gamsarians are descended, when, following the order of events, we come to the reign of the king under whom they appeared.
Abgar did not succeed in his plans of revolt; for, troubles having arisen amongst his relatives in the Persian kingdom, he set out at the head of an army to allay and bring to an end the dissension.
Footnotes
702:3293Chapter xxvii.
III. 3294
Abgar comes into the East, maintains Ardachès upon the throne of Persia; reconciles his brothers from whom our illuminator and his relations are descended.
Abgar, having gone to the East, finds on the throne of Persia Ardachès, son of Archavir, and the brothers of Ardachès contending against him: for this prince thought to reign over them in his posterity, and they would not consent to it. Ardachès therefore hems them in on all sides, hangs the sword of death over their heads; distractions and dissension were between their troops and their other relations and allies: for King Archavir had three sons and one daughter; the first of these sons was King Ardachès himself, the second Garene, the third Sourene; their sister, named Gochm, was wife of the general of all the Ariks, a general chosen by their father Archavir.
Abgar prevails on the sons of Archavir to make peace; he arranges between them the conditions and stipulations: Ardachès is to reign with his posterity as he proposed, and his brothers are to be called Bahlav, from the name of their town and their vast and fertile country, so that their satrapies shall be the first, higher in rank than all the satrapies of Persia, as being truly a race of kings. Treaties and oaths stipulated that in case of the extinction of male children of Ardachès, his brothers should come to the throne; after the reigning race of Ardachès, his brothers are divided into three races named thus: the race of Garene Bahlav, the race of Sourene Bahlav, and the race of their sister, the race of Asbahabied Bahlav, a race thus called from the name of the domain of her husband.
St. Gregory is said to have sprung from the race Sourene Bahlav, and the Gamsarians from the race Garene Bahlav. We will relate in the sequel the circumstances of the coming of these personages, only mentioning their names here in connection with Ardachès, in order that you may know that these great races are indeed the blood of Vagharchag, that is to say, the posterity of the great Archag, brother of Vagharchag.
Everything being thus arranged, Abgar takes with him the letter of the treaties, and returns to his dominions; not in perfect health, but a prey to severe suffering.
Footnotes
703:3294Chapter xxviii.
IV. 3295
Abgar returns from the east; he gives help to Aretas in a war against Herod the Tetrarch.
When Abgar had returned from the East, he learnt that the Romans suspected him of having gone there to raise troops. He therefore made the Roman commissioners acquainted with the reasons of his journey to Persia, as well as the treaty concluded between Ardachès and his brothers; but no credence was given to his statement: for he was accused by his enemies Pilate, Herod the tetrarch, Lysanias and Philip. Abgar having returned to his city Edessa leagued himself with Aretas, king of Petra, and gave him some auxiliary troops under the command of Khosran Ardzrouni, to make war upon Herod. Herod had in the first instance married the daughter of Aretas, then had repudiated her, and thereupon taken Herodias, even in her husband’s lifetime, a circumstance in connection with which he had had John the Baptist put to death. Consequently there was war between Herod and Aretas on account of the wrong done the daughter of Aretas. Being sharply attacked, Herod’s troops were defeated, thanks to the help of the brave Armenians; as if, by divine providence, vengeance was taken for the death of John the Baptist.
Footnotes
703:3295Chapter xxix.
V. 3296
Abgar sends princes to Marinus; these deputies see our Saviour Christ; beginning of the conversion of Abgar.
At this period Marinus, son of Storoge, was raised by the emperor to the government of Phœnicia, Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia. Abgar sent to him two of his principal officers, Mar-Ihap prince of Aghtznik, and Chamchacram chief of the house of the Abahouni, as well as Anan his confidant. The envoys proceed to the town of Petkoupine to make known to Marinus the reasons of Abgar’s journey to the East, showing him the treaty concluded between Ardachès and his brothers, and at the same time to call upon Marinus for his support. The deputies found the Roman governor at Eleutheropolis; he received them with friendship and distinction, and gave this answer to Abgar: “Fear nothing from the emperor on that account, provided you take good care to pay the tribute regularly.”
On their return, the Armenian deputies went to Jerusalem to see our Saviour the Christ, being attracted by the report of His miracles. Having themselves become eye-witnesses of these wonders, they related them to Abgar. This prince, seized with admiration, believed truly that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, and said: “These wonders are not those of a man, but of a God. No, there is no one amongst men who can raise the dead: God alone has this power.” Abgar felt in his whole body certain acute pains which he had got in Persia, more than seven years before; from men he had received no remedy for his sufferings; Abgar sent a letter of entreaty to Jesus: he prayed Him to come and cure him of his pains. Here is this letter:—
Footnotes
703:3296Chapter xxx.
VI. 3297
Abgar’s letter to the Saviour Jesus Christ.
“Abgar, son of Archam, prince of the land, to Jesus, Saviour and Benefactor of men, who has appeared in the country of Jerusalem, greeting:—
“I have heard of Thee, and of the cures wrought by Thy hands, without remedies, without herbs: for, as it is said, Thou makest the blind to see, the lame to walk, the lepers to be healed; Thou drivest out unclean spirits, Thou curest unhappy beings afflicted with prolonged and inveterate diseases; Thou dost even raise the dead. As I have heard of all these wonders wrought by Thee, I have concluded from them either that Thou art God, come down from heaven to do such great things, or that Thou art the Son of God, working as Thou dost these miracles. Therefore have I written to Thee, praying Thee to condescend to come to me and cure me of the complaints with which I am afflicted. I have heard also that the Jews murmur against Thee and wish to deliver Thee up to torments: I have a city small but pleasant, it would be sufficient for us both.”
The messengers, the bearers of this letter, met Jesus at Jerusalem, a fact confirmed by these words of the Gospel: “Some from amongst the heathen came to find Jesus, but those who heard them, not daring to tell Jesus what they had heard, told it to Philip and Andrew, who repeated it all to their Master.”
The Saviour did not then accept the invitation given to Him, but He thought fit to honour Abgar with an answer in these words:—
Footnotes
704:3297Chapter xxxi.
VII. 3298
Answer to Abgar’s letter, which the apostle Thomas wrote to this prince by command of the Saviour.
“Blessed is he who believes in me without having seen me! For it is written of me: ‘Those who see me will not believe in me, and those who do not see me will believe and live.’ As to what thou hast written asking me to come to thee, I must accomplish here all that for which I have been sent; and, when I shall have accomplished it all, I shall ascend to Him who sent me; and when I shall go away I will send one of my disciples, who will cure thy diseases, and give life to thee and to all those who are with thee.” Anan, Abgar’s courier, brought him this letter, as well as the portrait of the Saviour, a picture which is still to be found at this day in the city of Edessa.
Footnotes
704:3298Chapter xxxii.
VIII. 3299
Preaching of the apostle Thaddæus at Edessa; copy of five letters.
After the ascension of our Saviour, the Apostle Thomas, one of the twelve, sent one of the seventy-six disciples, Thaddæus, to the city of Edessa to heal Abgar and to preach the Gospel, according to the word of the Lord. Thaddæus came to the house of Tobias, a Jewish prince, who is said to have been of the race of the Pacradouni. Tobias, having left Archam, did not abjure Judaism with the rest of his relatives, but followed its laws up to the moment when he believed in Christ. Soon the name of Thaddæus spreads through the whole town. Abgar, on learning of his arrival, said: “This is indeed he concerning whom Jesus wrote to me;” and immediately Abgar sent for the apostle. When Thaddæus entered, a marvellous appearance presented itself to the eyes of Abgar in the countenance of the apostle; the king having risen from his throne, fell on his face to the earth, and prostrated himself before Thaddæus. This spectacle greatly surprised all the princes who were present, for they were ignorant of the fact of the vision. “Art thou really,” said Abgar to Thaddæus, “art thou the disciple of the ever-blessed Jesus? Art thou he whom He promised to send to me, and canst thou heal my maladies?” “Yes,” answered Thaddæus; “if thou believest in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the desires of thy heart shall be granted.” “I have believed in Jesus,” said Abgar, “I have believed in His Father; therefore I wished to go at the head of my troops to destroy the Jews who have crucified Jesus, had I not been prevented by reason of the power of the Romans.”
Thenceforth Thaddæus began to preach the Gospel to the king and his town; laying his hands upon Abgar, he cured him; he cured also a man with gout, Abdu, a prince of the town, much honoured in all the king’s house. He also healed all the sick and infirm people in the town, and all believed in Jesus Christ. Abgar was baptized, and all the town with him, and the temples of the false gods were closed, and all the statues of idols that were placed on the altars and columns were hidden by being covered with reeds. Abgar did not compel any one to embrace the faith yet from day to day the number of the believers was multiplied.
The Apostle Thaddæus baptizes a manufacturer of silk head-dresses, called Attæus, consecrates him, appoints him to minister at Edessa, and leaves him with the king instead of himself. Thaddæus, after having received letters patent from Abgar, who wished that all should listen to the Gospel of Christ, went to find Sanadroug, son of Abgar’s sister, whom this prince had appointed over the country and over the army. Abgar was pleased to write to the Emperor Tiberius a letter in these words:—
Abgar’s letter to Tiberius.
“Abgar, king of Armenia, to my Lord Tiberius, emperor of the Romans, greeting:—
“I know that nothing is unknown to your Majesty, but, as your friend, I would make you better acquainted with the facts by writing. The Jews who dwell in the cantons of Palestine have crucified Jesus: Jesus without sin, Jesus after so many acts of kindness, so many wonders and miracles wrought for their good, even to the raising of the dead. Be assured that these are not the effects of the power of a simple mortal, but of God. During the time that they were crucifying Him, the sun was darkened, the earth was moved, shaken; Jesus Himself, three days afterwards, rose from the dead and appeared to many. Now, everywhere, His name alone, invoked by His disciples, produces the greatest miracles: what has happened to myself is the most evident proof of it. Your august Majesty knows henceforth what ought to be done in future with respect to the Jewish nation, which has committed this crime; your Majesty knows whether a command should not be published through the whole universe to worship Christ as the true God. Safety and health.”
Answer from Tiberius to Abgar’s letter.
“Tiberius, emperor of the Romans, to Abgar, king of the Armenians, greeting:—
“Your kind letter has been read to me, and I wish that thanks should be given to you from me. Though we had already heard several persons relate these facts, Pilate has officially informed us of the miracles of Jesus. He has certified to us that after His resurrection from the dead He was acknowledged by many to be God. Therefore I myself also wished to do what you propose; but, as it is the custom of the Romans not to admit a god merely by the command of the sovereign, but only when the admission has been discussed and examined in full senate, I proposed the affair to the senate, and they rejected it with contempt, doubtless because it had not been considered by them first. But we have commanded all those whom Jesus suits, to receive him amongst the gods. We have threatened with death any one who shall speak evil of the Christians. As to the Jewish nation which has dared to crucify Jesus, who, as I hear, far from deserving the cross and death, was worthy of honour, worthy of the adoration of men—when I am free from the war with rebellious Spain, I will examine into the matter, and will treat the Jews as they deserve.”
Abgar writes another letter to Tiberius.
“Abgar, king of the Armenians, to my lord Tiberius, emperor of the Romans, greeting:—
“I have received the letter written from your august Majesty, and I have applauded the commands which have emanated from your wisdom. If you will not be angry with me, I will say that the conduct of the senate is extremely ridiculous and absurd: for, according to the senators, it is after the examination and by the suffrages of men that divinity may be ascribed. Thus, then, if God does not suit man, He cannot be God, since God is to be judged and justified by man. It will no doubt seem just to my lord and master to send another governor to Jerusalem in the place of Pilate, who ought to be ignominiously driven from the powerful post in which you placed him; for he has done the will of the Jews: he has crucified Christ unjustly, without your order. That you may enjoy health is my desire.”
Abgar, having written this letter, placed a copy of it, with copies of the other letters, in his archives. He wrote also to the young Nerseh, king of Assyria, at Babylon:—
Abgar’s letter to Nerseh.
“Abgar, king of the Armenians, to my son Nerseh, greeting:—
“I have received your letter and acknowledgments. I have released Beroze from his chains, and have pardoned his offences: if this pleases you, give him the government of Nineveh. But as to what you write to me about sending you the physician who works miracles and preaches another God superior to fire and water, that you may see and hear him, I say to you: he was not a physician according to the art of men; he was a disciple of the Son of God, Creator of fire and water: he has been appointed and sent to the countries of Armenia. But one of his principal companions, named Simon, is sent into the countries of Persia. Seek for him, and you will hear him, you as well as your father Ardachès. He will heal all your diseases and will show you the way of life.”
Abgar wrote also to Ardachès, king of the Persians, the following letter:—
Abgar’s letter to Ardachès.
“Abgar, king of the Armenians, to Ardachès my brother, king of the Persians, greeting:—
“I know that you have heard of Jesus Christ the Son of God, whom the Jews have crucified, Jesus who was raised from the dead, and has sent His disciples through all the world to instruct men. One of His chief disciples, named Simon, is in your Majesty’s territories. Seek for him, and you will find him, and he will cure you of all your maladies, and will show you the way of life, and you will believe in his words, you, and your brothers, and all those who willingly obey you. It is very pleasant to me to think that my relations in the flesh will be also my relations, my friends, in the spirit.”
Abgar had not yet received answers to these letters when he died, having reigned thirty-eight years.
Footnotes
704:3299Chapter xxxiii.
IX. 3300
Martyrdom of our apostles.
After the death of Abgar, the kingdom of Armenia was divided between two: Ananoun, Abgar’s son, reigned at Edessa, and his sister’s son, Sanadroug, in Armenia. What took place in their time has been previously told by others: the apostle’s arrival in Armenia, the conversion of Sanadroug and his apostasy for fear of the Armenian satraps, and the martyrdom of the apostle and his companions in the canton of Chavarchan, now called Ardaz, and the stone opening to receive the body of the apostle, and the removal of this body by his disciples, his burial in the plain, and the martyrdom of the king’s daughter, Santoukhd, near the road, and the apparition of the remains of the two saints, and their removal to the rocks—all circumstances related by others, as we have said, a long time before us: we have not thought it important to repeat them here. In the same way also what is related of the martyrdom at Edessa of Attæus, a disciple of the apostle, a martyrdom ordered by Abgar’s son, has been told by others before us.
The prince who reigned after the death of his father, did not inherit his father’s virtues: he opened the temples of the idols, and embraced the religion of the heathen. He sent word to Attæus: “Make me a head-dress of cloth interwoven with gold, like those you formerly used to make for my father.” He received this answer from Attæus: “My hands shall not make a head-dress for an unworthy prince, who does not worship Christ the living God.”
Immediately the king ordered one of his armed men to cut off Attæus’ feet. The soldier went, and, seeing the holy man seated in the chair of the teacher, cut off his legs with his sword, and immediately the saint gave up the ghost. We mention this cursorily, as a fact related by others a long while ago. There came then into Armenia the Apostle Bartholomew, who suffered martyrdom among us in the town of Arepan. As to Simon, who was sent unto Persia, I cannot relate with certainty what he did, nor where he suffered martyrdom. It is said that one Simon, an apostle, was martyred at Veriospore. Is this true, or why did the saint come to this place? I do not know; I have only mentioned this circumstance that you may know I spare no pains to tell you all that is necessary.
Footnotes
706:3300Chapter xxxiv.
X. 3301
Reign of Sanadroug; murder of Abgar’s children; the princess Helena.
Sanadroug, being on the throne, raises troops with the help of the brave Pacradouni and Ardzrouni, who had exalted him, and goes to wage war upon the children of Abgar, to make him self master of the whole kingdom. Whilst Sanadroug was occupied with these affairs, as if by an effect of divine providence vengeance was taken for the death of Attæus; for a marble column which the son of Abgar was having erected at Edessa, on the summit of his palace, while he was underneath to direct the work, escaped from the hands of the workmen, fell upon him and crushed his feet.
Immediately there came a message from the inhabitants of the town, asking Sanadroug for a treaty by which he should engage not to disturb them in the exercise of the Christian religion, in consideration of which, they would give up the town and the king’s treasures. Sanadroug promised, but in the end violated his oath. Sanadroug put all the children of the house of Abgar to the edge of the sword, with the exception of the daughters, whom he withdrew from the town to place them in the canton of Hachdiank. As to the first of Abgar’s wives, named Helena, he sent her to his town at Kharan, and left to her the sovereignty of the whole of Mesopotamia, in remembrance of the benefits he had received from Abgar by Helena’s means.
Helena, pious like her husband Abgar, did not wish to live in the midst of idolaters; she went away to Jerusalem in the time of Claudius, during the famine which Agabus had predicted; with all her treasures she bought in Egypt an immense quantity of corn, which she distributed amongst the poor, a fact to which Josephus testifies. Helena’s tomb, a truly remarkable one, is still to be seen before the gate of Jerusalem.
Footnotes
706:3301Chapter xxxv.
XI. 3302
Restoration of the town of Medzpine; name of Sanadroug; his death.
Of all Sanadroug’s doings and actions, we judge none worthy of remembrance except the building of the town of Medzpine; for, this town having been shaken by an earthquake, Sanadroug pulled it down, rebuilt it more magnificently, and surrounded it with double walls and ramparts. Sanadroug caused to be erected in the middle of the town his statue holding in his hand a single piece of money, which signifies: “All my treasures have been used in building the town, and no more than this single piece of money is left to me.”
But why was this prince called Sanadroug? We will tell you: Because Abgar’s sister, Otæa, while travelling in Armenia in the winter, was assailed by a whirlwind of snow in the Gortouk mountains; the tempest separated them all, so that none of them knew where his companion had been driven. The prince’s nurse, Sanod, sister of Piourad Pacradouni, wife of Khosran Ardzrouni, having taken the royal infant, for Sanadroug was still in the cradle, laid him upon her bosom, and remained with him under the snow three days and three nights. Legend has taken possession of this circumstance: it relates that an animal, a new species, wonderful, of great whiteness, sent by the gods, guarded the child. But so far as we have been informed, this is the fact: a white dog, which was amongst the men sent in search, found the child and his nurse; the prince was therefore called Sanadroug, a name taken from his nurse’s name (and from the Armenian name, dourk, a gift), as if to signify the gift of Sanod.
Sanadroug, having ascended the throne in the twelfth year of Ardachès, king of the Persians, and having lived thirty years, died as he was hunting, from an arrow which pierced his bowels, as if in punishment of the torments which he had made his holy daughter suffer. Gheroupna, son of the scribe Apchatar, collected all these facts, happening in the time of Abgar and Sanadroug, and placed them in the archives of Edessa.
Footnotes
707:3302Chapter xxxvi.
Ancient Syriac Documents.
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Homily on Habib the Martyr, Composed by Mar Jacob. 3303
Habib the martyr, clad in flame, hath called to me out of the fire,
That for him likewise I should fashion an image of beauty among the glorious.
Comrade of conquerors, lo! he beckoneth to me out of the burning,
That, as for the glory of his Lord, I should sing concerning him.
In the midst of live coals stands the heroic man, and lo! he calleth to me,
That I should fashion his image: but the blazing fire permits me not.
His love is fervid, glowing is his faith;
His fire also burneth, and who is adequate to recount his love?
Nay, by reason of that love which led the martyr into the fire,
No man is able to recount his beauties divine.
For who shall dare enter and see in the blazing fire
To whom he is like, and after what pattern he is to be fashioned among the glorious?
Shall I fashion his image by the side of the youths, the children of the furnace?
With Hananiah shall I reckon Habib? I know not.
Lo! these were not burned there: how, then, is he like?
He, I say, like them, when he was burned and the youths not?
Which, I ask, the more beautiful—Habib the martyr, or Azariah?
Difficult for me is the image: how I am to look upon it, I know not.
Lo! Michael was not burned by the flame;
But Habib was burned: which, then, the more beautiful to him that looketh upon him?
Who shall dare say that this is repulsive, or that;
Or not so comely this as that, to him that beholdeth him?
Three there are in the fire, and the flame cometh not near them;
But one was burned: and how shall I suffice to tell
That the Fourth form is that of Him who went down into the midst of the furnace,
That He might fashion an image for Habib there along with those of the three?
He giveth a place in the fire to him who was burned,
That he may be, instead of Him the Fourth, by the side of the conquerors.
And, if of the three the beauties be glorious, though they were not burned,
How shall not this one, who was burned, be mingled with the glorious?
If a man have the power either to be burned or not to be burned,
Of this man, who was burned, more exalted was the beauty than that of the three.
But, inasmuch as the Lord is the control of all things,
He is to be praised, both where He rescues and where He delivers up.
Moreover, too, the will of the three who were not burned,
And of him who was burned, is one and the same, in this case and in that; 3304
And, had its Lord commanded the fire to burn them,
Even those three on their part, burned they would have been;
And, if He had signified to it that it should not burn that one man also,
He would not have been burned; nor had it been of himself that he was rescued.
To go into the fire was of their own will, when they went in;
But that they were not burned—because the Lord of the fire willed and commanded it.
Therefore one equal beauty is that of him who was burned,
And that of him who was not burned, because the will also was equal.
Beloved martyr! exalted is thy beauty; exalted is thy rank:
Graceful too thy crown, and mingled thy story with that of the glorious.
Choice gold art thou, and the fire hath tried thee, and resplendent is thy beauty.
And lo! into the King’s crown art thou wrought, along with the victorious.
Good workman! who, in the doctrine of the Son of God,
Pursueth his course like a valiant 3305 man, because of the beauty of his faith.
Habib the martyr was a teacher of that which is true;
A preacher also, whose mouth was full of faith.
Watchful was he, and prompt for service; and he encouraged with his teaching
The household of the house of God, through his faith.
Of light was he full, and he wrestled with the darkness
Which overspread the country from the paganism which had darkened it.
With the Gospel of the Son was his mouth filled in the congregations;
And as it were a leader of the way did he become to the villages when he arrived in them.
Zealous he was, because he was concerned for the doctrine
Divine, that he might establish the adherents 3306 of the faith.
At the time when the winds of the pagans blew, a lamp was he,
And flamed forth whilst they blew upon him, and went not out.
All on fire was he, and filled with the love of his Lord, and was concerned
For this—that he might speak of Him without hindrance. 3307
The thorns of errour sprang up in the land from paganism;
And, as much as in him lay, he rooted them out by his diligence.
He taught, admonished, and confirmed in the faith,
The friends of Christ, 3308 who were harassed by persecutors.
Against sword and against fire did he wrestle,
With love hot as the flame, and was not afraid.
Like a two-edged brand, 3309 keen was
His faith, and against error did he contend.
Leaven did he prove to be in this land which had become exhausted 3310
Through fondness for the idols of vanity which error had brought in.
He was like salt by reason of his savoury doctrine
To this region, which had become insipid through unbelief.
A deacon was he, and filled the place of a high-priest
By the preaching and teaching of that which is true.
He was to the flock a good shepherd whilst he was its overseer;
And his life laid he down for the flock while he tended it.
He chased away the wolf, and drove off from it the beast of prey.
And he repaired the breaches, and gathered the lambs into their folds.
He went out secretly and encouraged the congregations:
He strengthened them, and exhorted them, and held them up.
And he forged armour of faith, and put it on them,
That they might not be ignominiously overthrown 3311 by the paganism which abounded.
The flocks of the fold of the Son of God were being laid waste
By persecutors: and he encouraged the lambs and the ewes.
And he was an advocate to the household of faith;
And he taught them not to be daunted by persecutors.
He taught them to run to meet death,
Without being afraid either of sword or of fire.
In the teaching of the Son of God he prospered,
So that his faith pursued its course without dread.
Then errour grew envious, became furious, and was maddened, because of him;
And she pursued after him, that she might shed upon the earth innocent blood.
The Defamer, who hates the race of men,
Laid snares for him, that he might rid the place of his presence. 3312
He who hateth the truth pursued after him to put him to death,
That he might make his voice to cease 3313 from the teaching of the house of God.
And errour raised an outcry demanding that Habib should die, because she hated him;
Vexation goaded her on, and she sought to take away his life.
His story was talked about 3314 before the pagan judge of the country,
And the dear fame of him reached the king: who in great rage,
And because the diadem was interwoven with paganism, decreed 3315 death
Against Habib, because he was full of faith.
And, when the command reached the judge, he armed himself
With rage and fury; and, with a mind thirsting for blood,
And like hunters who lay nets for the young stag,
After Habib did they go out to catch him.
But this man was a preacher of the faith,
Who in the highway of the crucifixion was prospering;
And, that he might benefit by his teaching the children of his people,
His work embraced the countries round about him.
So, when error went out after him, she found him not:
Not that he was fled, but that he had gone out to preach the Gospel.
Then, because of the fury of the pagans, which was great beyond all that was meet,
His kindred and his mother did they seize for his sake.
Blessed art thou, O woman! mother since thou art of the martyr.
For wherefore was it that they seized thee and bound thee, iniquitously?
What do they require of thee, O thou full of beauty? What, I ask, have they required of thee?
Lo! they require of thee that thou bring the martyr, that he may be a sacrifice.
Bring, oh bring thy sweet fruit to the place of the oblation—
The fruit whose smell is fragrant, that it may be incense to the Godhead.
Fair shoot, thy cluster bring from where it is,
That its wine may be for a libation whose taste is sweet.
The lamb heard that they were seeking him, that he might be a sacrifice;
And he set out and came to the sacrificers rejoicing.
He heard that others also were being afflicted for his sake,
And he came that he might bear the suffering which was his, in the stead of many.
The lot fell on him, to be himself alone a sacrifice;
And the fire that was to offer him up was looking out for him until he came.
Of the many who were bound for his sake
Not one single person was seized to die, but only he.
He it was that was worthy, and for him was martyrdom reserved;
And to snatch the martyr’s place no man was able.
And therefore of his own will did he present himself
To the judge, that he might be seized, and die for Jesus’ sake.
He heard that they sought him, and he came that he might be seized, even as they sought him:
And he went in of himself before the judge, and dauntless was his look.
He hid not himself, nor did he wish to flee from the judge:
For with light was he imbued, and from the darkness he would not flee.
No robber was he, no murderer, no thief,
No child of night: but all his course was run in open day.
Wherefore from his flock should the good shepherd flee,
And leave his fold to be devoured by robbers?
Wherefore should the physician flee, who goeth forth to heal diseases,
And to cure souls by the blood of the Son of God?
A fearless countenance 3316 did the brave man carry with him, and a great heart;
And to meet death he ran, rejoicing, for Jesus’ sake.
He went in, he stood before the judge, saying to him:
I am Habib, whom ye sought: lo! here I stand.
And the pagan trembled, and amazement seized him, and he marvelled at him—
At the man who was not afraid, either of sword or of fire.
While he thought that he was fleeing apace, he entered in and mocked him;
And the judge shook, for he saw him courageous in the very face of death.
A disciple he of that Son of God who said:
“Rise, come, let us go: for he that betrayeth me lo! is here.”
And to the crucifiers, again, He said: “Whom seek ye?”
They say: “Jesus.” And He said to them: “I am He.”
The Son of God of His own will came to the cross;
And on Him the martyr looked, and presented himself uncompelled before the judge.
And the pagan beheld him, and was smitten with fear, and was exasperated against him.
His rage was excited, and he began in his fury to put to him questions. 3317
And, as if he had been one who had shed on the ground the blood of the slain,
He proceeded to question the saintly man, but he was not ashamed:
Menacing him, and trying to terrify him, and to frighten him,
And recounting the sufferings which were being prepared by him on his account.
But Habib, when questioned, was not afraid,
Was not ashamed, and was not frightened by the menaces he heard.
Lifting up his voice, he confessed Jesus, the Son of God—
That he was His servant, and was His priest, and His minister. 3318
At the fury of the pagans, roaring at him like lions,
He trembled not, nor ceased 3319 from the confession of the Son of God.
He was scourged, and the scourgings were very dear to him,
Seeing that he bore a little of the stripes of the Son of God.
He was put into bonds, 3320 and he looked on his Lord, whom also they had bound;
And his heart rejoiced that in the path of His sufferings he had begun to walk.
He ascended the block, 3321 and they tore him with combs, but his soul was radiant with light,
Because he was deemed worthy that on him should come the agony of the sufferings of crucifixion.
In the pathway of death had he set his face to walk,
And what could he desire to find in it but sufferings?
The fire of sacrifice 3322 was betrothed to him, and for her did he look;
And she on her part sent him combs, and stripes, and pains, to taste.
All the while that she was coming, she sent him sufferings, that by means of them
He might be prepared, so that when she met him she might not dismay him.
Sufferings purged him, so that, when the blazing fire should put him to the proof,
There might not be any dross found in his choice gold.
And he endured the whole of the pains that came upon him,
That he might have experience of suffering, and in the burning stand like a brave man.
And he accepted rejoicing the sufferings which he had to bear:
For he knew that at their termination he should find death.
And he was not afraid, either of death or of sufferings:
For with that wine of the crucifixion his heart was drunk.
He despised his body, while it was being dragged along by the persecutors;
And his limbs, while they were being torn asunder in bitter agony. 3323
Scourges on his back, combs on his sides, stocks on his feet,
And fire in front of him: still was he brave and full of faith.
They taunted him: Lo! thou worshippest a man;
But he said: A man I worship not,
But God, who took a body and became man:
Him do I worship, because He is God with Him that begat Him.
The faith of Habib, the martyr, was full of light
And by it was enlightened Edessa, the faithful city.
The daughter of Abgar, whom Addæus betrothed to the crucifixion—
Through it is her light, through it her truth and her faith.
Her king is from it, her martyrs from it, her truth from it;
The teachers also of her faith are from it.
Abgar believed that Thou art God, the Son of God;
And he received a blessing because of the beauty of his faith.
Sharbil the martyr, son of the Edessæans, more-ever said:
My heart is led captive by God, who became man.
And Habib the martyr, who also was crowned at Edessa,
Confessed these things: that He took a body and became man;
That He is the Son of God, and also is God, and became man.
Edessa learned from teachers the things that are true:
Her king taught her, her martyrs taught her, the faith;
But to others, who were fraudulent teachers, she would not hearken.
Habib the martyr, in the ear of Edessa, thus cried aloud
Out of the midst of the fire: A man I worship not,
But God, who took a body and became man
Him do I worship. Thus confessed the martyr with uplifted voice.
From confessors torn with combs, burnt, raised up on the block, slain
And from a righteous king, did Edessa learn the faith,
And she knows our Lord—that He is even God, the Son of God;
She also learned and firmly believed that He took a body and became man.
Not from common scribes did she learn the faith:
Her king taught her, her martyrs taught her; and she firmly believed them:
And, if she be calumniated as having ever worshipped a man,
She points to her martyrs, who died for Him as being God.
A man I worship not, said Habib,
Because it is written: “Cursed is he that putteth his trust in a man.” 3324
Forasmuch as He is God, I worship Him, yea submit to be burned
For His sake, nor will I renounce His faith.
This truth has Edessa held fast from her youth,
And in her old age she will not barter it away as a daughter of the poor.
Her righteous king became to her a scribe, and from him she learned
Concerning our Lord—that He is the Son of God, yea God.
Addæus, who brought the bridegroom’s ring and put it on her hand,
Betrothed her thus to the Son of God, who is the Only-begotten.
Sharbil the priest, who made trial and proof of all gods,
Died, even as he said, “for God who became man.”
Shamuna and Guria, for the sake of the Only-begotten,
Stretched out their necks to receive the stroke, and for Him died, forasmuch as He is God.
And Habib the martyr, who was teacher of congregations,
Preached of Him, that He took a body and became man.
For a man the martyr would not have submitted to be burned in the fire;
But he was burned “for the sake of God who became man.”
And Edessa is witness that thus he confessed while he was being burned:
And from the confession of a martyr that has been burned who is he that can escape?
All minds does faith reduce to silence and despise—
She that is full of light and stoopeth not to shadows.
She despiseth him that maligns the Son by denying that He is God;
Him too that saith “He took not a body and became man.”
In faith which was full of truth he stood upon the fire;
And he became incense, and propitiated with his fragrance the Son of God.
In all his afflictions, and in all his tortures, and in all his sufferings,
Thus did he confess, and thus did he teach the blessed city.
And this truth did Edessa hold fast touching our Lord—
Even that He is God, and of Mary became a man.
And the bride hates him that denies His God-head,
And despises and contemns him that maligns His corporeal nature.
And she recognises Him as One in Godhead and in manhood—
The Only-begotten, whose body is inseparable from Him.
And thus did the daughter of the Parthians learn to believe,
And thus did she firmly hold, and thus does she teach him that listens to her.
The judge, therefore, full of zeal for paganism, commanded
That the martyr should be led forth and burned in the fire which was reserved for him.
And forthwith a strap was thrust into his mouth, as though he had been a murderer,
His confession being kept within his heart towards God.
And they hurried him away, and he went out from the judgment-hall, rejoicing
That the hour was come when the crown should be given to his faith.
And there went out with him crowds of people, that they might bear him company,
Looking upon him, not as a dead man accompanied to his burial,
But as a man who was going away that by means of fire he might become a bridegroom,
And that there might be bestowed the crown which was by righteousness reserved for him.
They looked upon him as upon a man entering into battle,
And around him were spears, and lances, and swords, but he vanquished them.
They beheld him going up like a champion from the contest,
And in his triumph chaplets were brought to him by those who beheld.
They looked upon him as he vanquished principalities and powers,
Which all made war with him, and he put them to shame.
The whole congregation of the followers of Christ exulted over him,
Because he raised up the friends 3325 of the faith by the sufferings which he bore.
There went forth with him the Church, a bride full of light;
And her face was beaming on the beloved martyr who was united to her.
Then did his mother, because it was the marriage-feast for her son,
Deck herself in garments nobler than her wont.
Since sordid raiment suited not the banquet-hall,
In magnificent attire all white she clad herself right tastefully.
Hither to the battle came down love to fight
In the mother’s soul—the love of nature, and the love of God.
She looked upon her son as he went forth to be put into the flame;
And, forasmuch as there was in her the love of the Lord, she suffered not.
The yearnings of her mother’s womb cried out on behalf of its fruit;
But faith silenced them, so that their tumult ceased.
Nature shrieked over the limb which was severed from her;
But the love of the Lord intoxicated the soul, that she should not perceive it.
Nature loved, but the love of the Lord did conquer in the strife
Within the soul of the mother, that she should not grieve for her beloved.
And instead of suffering, her heart was filled with all emotions of joy;
And, instead of mourning, she went forth in splendid apparel.
And she accompanied him as he went out to be burned, and was elate,
Because the love of the Lord vanquished that of nature.
And clad in white, as for a bridegroom, she made a marriage-feast—
She the mother of the martyr, and was blithe because of him.
“Shamuna the Second” may we call this blessed one:
Since, had seven been burned instead of one, she had been well content.
One she had, and she gave him to be food for the fire;
And, even as that one, if she had had seven, she had given them all.
He was cast into the fire, and the blaze kindled around him;
And his mother looked on, and grieved not at his burning.
Another eye, which gazeth upon the things unseen,
Was in her soul, and by reason of this she exulted when he was being burned.
On the gems of light which are in martyrs’ crowns she looked,
And on the glory which is laid up for them after their sufferings;
And on the promised blessings which they inherit yonder through their afflictions,
And on the Son of God who clothes their limbs with light;
And on the manifold beauties of that kingdom which shall not be dissolved,
And on the ample door which is opened for them to enter in to God.
On these did the martyr’s mother look when he was being burned,
And she rejoiced, she exalted, and in white did she go forth with him.
She looked upon him while the fire consumed his frame,
And, forasmuch as his crown was very noble, she grieved not.
The sweet root was thrown into the fire, upon the coals;
And it turned to incense, and cleansed the air from pollution.
With the fumes of sacrifice had the air been polluted,
And by the burning of this martyr was it cleansed.
The firmament was fetid with the exhalations from 3326 the altars;
And there rose up the sweet perfume of the martyr, and it grew sweet thereby.
And the sacrifices ceased, and there was peace in the assemblies;
And the sword was blunted, that it should no more lay waste the friends of Christ.
With Sharbil it began, with Habib it ended, in our land;
And from that time 3327 even until now not one has it slain, since he was burned.
Constantine, chief of conquerors, took the empire,
And the cross has trampled on the diadem of the emperor, and is set upon his head.
Broken is the lofty horn of idolatry,
And from the burning of the martyr even until now not one has it pierced.
His smoke arose, and it became incense to the Godhead;
And by it was the air purged which was tainted by paganism,
And by his burning was the whole land cleansed:
Blessed be he that gave him a crown, and glory, and a good name!
Here endeth the Homily on Habib the martyr, composed by Mar Jacob.
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Footnotes
708:3303The ms. from which this is taken is Cod. Add. 17,158, fol. 30 vers. Mar Jacob, bishop of Sarug, or Batnæ, was one of the most learned and celebrated among all the Syriac writers. He was born a.d. 452, made bishop of Sarug a.d. 519, and died a.d. 521. He was the author of several liturgical works, epistles, and sermons, and, amongst these, of numerous metrical homilies, of which two are given here. Assemani enumerates no less than 231. Ephraem Syrus also wrote a similar homily on Habib, Shamuna, and Guria.
The metre of the original in this and the following homily consists of twelve syllables, and six dissyllabic feet; but whether they were read as iambs ortroches, or as both, appears to depend on the nature of the Syriac accentuation, which is still an unsettled question. Hoffmann, in his slight notice of the subject (Gram. Syr., § 13), merely says: “Scimus, poësin Syriacam non quantitatis sed accentus tantum rationem habere, versusque suos syllabarum numero metiri. Quâ tamen poëseos Syriacæ conditione varietas morarum in pronuntiandis vocalibus observandarum non tollitur.”—Tr.
708:3304Lit. “here and there.”—Tr.
709:3305Cureton has “prosperous,” which Dr. Payne Smith condemns, remarking: “*** I find generally used for the Gk. ἄριστος, and once or twice for κράτιστος . It answers more frequently to strenuus = courageous, heroic.”—Tr.
709:3306Lit. “the party” or “side.”—Tr.
709:3307As in Gal. v. 7, answering to the Gk. ἐγκόπτω. The verb *** (Pa.) properly means to disquiet (as in John xiv. 1), then to hinder.—Tr.
709:3308The ordinary word for “Christians” in these documents is the borrowed Χριστιανοί : here a native word is used, formed from the one which we read as “Messiah.”—Tr.
709:3309A corruption of the word σαμψηρά is used here. It is said by Josephus, Antiq., xx. 2, 3, to have been the name given by the Assyrians to some kind of sword. Suidas mentions it as a barbarian word for σπάθη, a broadsword. Cureton’s “scimetar” would be preferable, as being somewhat more distinctive, if it appeared that a scimetar could have two edges.—Tr.
709:3310The temptation was strong to render ***, “became unleavened” (or, “tasteless”), a sense apparently required by the decided figure employed and by the language of the next couplet, where “insipid ” corresponds to “salt.” The word *** (= ἄζυμον), moreover, if not the Arabic *** (to which Schaaf, though it does not appear on what authority, assigns the meaning “sine fermento massam subegit”), seems to point in the same direction. Dr. Payne Smith, however, is not aware of any instance of the proposed meaning: he says, “My examples make *** = ἐκλείπω, to fail.”—Tr.
709:3311Or “brought to contempt.”—Tr.
710:3312Lit. “society.”—Tr.
710:3313Or “that his voice might cease.”—Tr.
710:3314Lit. “mooted.”—Tr.
710:3315Lit. “reached the king in great rage (i.e., so as to cause great rage, *** being often = εἰς denoting result), and, because…, he decreed.”—Dr. Payne Smith.
711:3316Lit. “openness of countenance.”—Tr.
711:3317Prop. “agitate questions.”—Tr.
711:3318Or “deacon.”—Tr.
711:3319Or “so as to cease.”—Tr.
711:3320Lit. “he entered into bondage.”—Tr.
711:3321The equuleus is meant.—Tr.
711:3322Or “of the sacrifices.”—Tr.
711:3323Lit. “bitterly.”—Tr.
712:3324Jer. xvii. 5.—Tr.
713:3325Lit. “side,” or “party.”—Tr.
714:3326Lit. “the sacrifices of.”—Tr.
714:3327Lit. “from him.”—Tr.
A Homily on Guria and Shamuna, Composed by Mar Jacob.
Shamuna and Guria, martyrs who made themselves illustrious in their afflictions,
Have in love required of me to tell of their illustrious deeds.
To champions of the faith the doctrine calleth me,
That I should go and behold their contests and their crowns.
Children of the right hand, who have done battle against the left,
Have called me this day to recite the marvellous tale of their conflicts:—
Simple old men, who entered into the fight like heroes,
And nobly distinguished themselves in the strife of blood:
Those who were the salt of our land, and it was sweetened thereby,
And its savour was restored, which had become insipid through unbelief:
Candlesticks of gold, which were full of the oil of the crucifixion,
By which was lighted up all our region, which had turned to darkness:
Two lamps, of which, when all the winds were blowing
Of every kind of error, the lights were not put out;
Good labourers, who from the spring of day laboured
In the blessed vineyard of the house of God right duteously:
Bulwarks of our land, who became to us as it were a defence
Against all spoilers in all the wars that surrounded us:
Havens of peace, a place also of retreat for all that were distressed,
And a resting-place for the head of every one that was in need of succour:
Two precious pearls, which were
An ornament for the bride of my lord Abgar, the Aramæan’s son.
Teachers they were who practised their teaching in blood,
And whose faith was known by their sufferings.
On their bodies they wrote the story of the Son of God
With the marks of combs and scourges which thickly covered them.
They showed their love, not by words of the mouth alone,
But by tortures and by the rending of their limbs asunder.
For the love of the Son of God they gave up their bodies:
Since it beseemeth the lover that for his love he should give up himself.
Fire and sword proved their love, how true it was;
And more beautiful than silver tried in a furnace of earth were their necks.
They looked on God, and, because they saw His exalted beauties,
Therefore did they look with contempt upon their sufferings for His sake.
The Sun of righteousness had arisen in their hearts;
And they were enlightened by it, and with His light chased they away the darkness.
At the idols of vanity, which error had brought in, they laughed,
Instinct with the faith of the Son of God which is full of light.
The love of the Lord was as a fire in their hearts;
Nor could all the brambles of idolatry stand before it.
Fixed was their love on God unchangeably: 3328
And therefore did they look with scorn upon the sword, 3329 all athirst as it was for blood.
With guilelessness and yet with wisdom stood they in the judgment-hall,
As they had been commanded by the Teacher of that which is true.
Despising as they did kindred and family, guileless were they;
Forasmuch, also, as possessions and wealth were held in no account by them.
Nor guileless only: for in the judgment-hall with the wisdom of serpents too
They were heedful of the faith of the house of God.
When a serpent is seized and struck, he guards his head,
But gives up and leaves exposed all his body to his captors:
And, so long as his head is kept from harm, his life abideth in him;
But, if the head be struck, his life is left a prey to destruction.
The head of the soul is men’s faith;
And, if this be preserved unharmed, by it is also preserved their life: 3330
Even though the whole body be lacerated with blows,
Yet, so long as faith is preserved, the soul is alive;
But, if faith is struck down by unbelief,
Lost is the soul, and life has perished from the man.
Shamuna and Guria of the faith as men 3331
Were heedful, that it should not be struck down by persecutors:
For they knew that, if faith is preserved,
Both soul and body are preserved from destruction.
And, because of this, touching their faith were they solicitous,
That that should not be struck down in which their very life was hidden.
They gave up their bodies both to blows and to dislocation, 3332
Yea to every kind of torture, that their faith should not be stricken down;
And, even as the serpent also hides his head from blows,
So hid they their faith within their hearts;
And the body was smitten, and endured stripes, and bore sufferings:
But overthrown was not their faith which was within their hearts.
The mouth betrayeth the soul to death when it speaks,
And with the tongue, as with a sword, worketh slaughter.
And from it spring up both life and death to men:
Denying a man dies, confessing he lives, and the mouth hath power over it.
Denial is death, and in confession is the soul’s life;
And power hath the mouth over them both, like a judge.
The word of the mouth openeth the door for death to enter in;
This, too, calleth for life, and it beameth forth upon the man.
Even the robber by one word of faith
Won him the kingdom, and became heir of paradise, 3333 all fraught with blessings.
The wicked judges too, from the martyrs, the sons of the right hand,
Demanded that by word of mouth only they should blaspheme;
But, like true men holding fast the faith,
They uttered not a word by which unbelief might be served.
Shamuna, beauty of our faith, who is adequate to tell of thee?
All too narrow is my mouth for thy praise, too mean for thee to be spoken of by it.
Thy truth is thy beauty, thy crown thy suffering, thy wealth thy stripes,
And by reason of thy blows magnificent is the beauty of thy championship.
Proud of thee is our country, as of a treasury which is full of gold:
Since wealth art thou to us, and a coveted store which cannot be stolen from us.
Guria, martyr, staunch hero of our faith,
Who shall suffice thee, to recount thy beauties divine?
Lo! tortures on thy body are set like gems of beryl,
And the sword on thy neck like a chain of choice gold.
Thy blood upon thy form is a robe of glory full of beauty,
And the scourging of thy back a vesture with which the sun may not compare.
Radiant thou art and comely by virtue of these thy sufferings, so abounding;
And resplendent are thy beauties, because of the pains which are so severe upon thee.
Shamuna, our riches, richer art thou than the rich:
For lo! the rich stand at thy door, that thou mayest relieve them.
Small thy village, poor thy country: who, then, gave thee
That lords of villages and cities should court thy favour?
Lo! judges in their robes and vestments
Take dust from thy threshold, as though it were the medicine of life.
The cross is rich, and to its worshippers increaseth riches;
And its poverty despiseth all the riches of the world.
Shamuna and Guria, sons of the poor, lo! at your doors
Bow down the rich, that they may receive from you supplies for their wants.
The Son of God in poverty and want
Showed to the world that all its riches are as nothing,
His disciples, all fishermen, all poor, all weak,
All men of little note, became illustrious through His faith.
One fisherman, whose “village” too was a home of fishermen, 3334
He made chief over the twelve, yea head of the house. 3335
One a tentmaker, who aforetime was a persecutor,
He seized upon, and made him a chosen vessel for the faith.
Shamuna and Guria came from villages that were not wealthy,
And lo! in a great city became they lords;
And its chief men, its judges also, stand before their doors,
And they solicit their charity to satisfy their wants.
From their confession of the faith of the Son of God
These blessed men acquired riches beyond compute.
Poor did He Himself become, and the poor made He rich;
And lo! enriched is the whole creation through His poverty.
The chosen martyrs did battle against error,
And in the confession of the Son of God stood they firm like valiant men.
They went in and confessed Him before the judge with look undaunted, 3336
That He too might confess them, even as they confessed Him, before His Father.
There arose against them the war of pagans like a tempest;
But the cross was their helmsman, and steered them on.
They were required to sacrifice to lifeless images,
But they departed not from their confession of the Son of God.
The wind of idolatry blew in their faces,
But they themselves were as rocks piled up against the hurricane.
Like a swift whirlwind, error snatched at them;
But, forasmuch as they were sheltered by the crucifixion, it hurt them not.
The Evil One set on all his dogs to bark, that they might bite them;
But, forasmuch as they had the cross for a staff, they put them all to flight.
But who is sufficient to tell of their contests,
Or their sufferings, or the rending asunder of their limbs?
Or who can paint the picture of their coronation, 3337
How they went up from the contest covered with glory?
To judgment they went in, but of the judge they took no account;
Nor were they anxious what they should say when questioned.
The judge menaced them, and multiplied his words of threatening;
And recounted tortures and all kinds of inflictions, that he might terrify them.
He spake great words, 3338 that by fright and intimidation,
By menaces too, he might incline them to sacrifice.
Yet the combatants despised the menaces, and the intimidations,
And the sentence of judgment, and all bodily deaths;
And they prepared themselves for insult and stripes, and for blows,
And for provocation, and to be dragged along, and to be burnt;
For imprisonment also, and for bonds, and for all evil things,
And for all tortures, and for all sufferings, rejoicing all the while.
They were not alarmed nor affrighted, nor dismayed,
Nor did the sharpness of the tortures bend them to sacrifice.
Their body they despised, and as dung upon the ground accounted they it:
For they knew that, the more it was beaten, the more would its beauty increase;
And, the more the judge increased his menaces to alarm them,
The more did they show their contempt of him, having no fear of his threats.
He kept telling them what tortures he had prepared for them;
And they continued telling him about Gehenna which was reserved for him.
By those things which he told them he tried to frighten them to sacrifice;
And they spoke to him about the fearful judgment yonder.
Truth is wiser than wise words,
And very hateful, however much it may be adorned, is falsehood.
Shamuna and Guria went on speaking truth,
While the judge continued to utter falsehood.
And therefore were they not afraid of his threatening,
Because all his menaces against the truth were accounted by them as empty sound. 3339
The intercourse of the world they despised, they contemned and scorned, yea they abandoned;
And to return to it they had no wish, or to enter it again.
From the place of judgment they set their faces to depart
To that meeting-place for them all, the life of the new world.
They cared neither for possessions nor for houses,
Nor for the advantages of this world, so full of evil.
In the world of light was their heart bound captive with God,
And to “that” country did they set their face to depart;
And they looked to the sword, to come and be a bridge
To let them pass over to God, for whom they were longing.
This world they accounted as a little tent,
But that yonder as a city full of beauties;
And they were in haste by the sword to depart hence
To the land of light, which is full of blessing for those who are worthy of it.
The judge commanded to hang them up by their arms,
And without mercy did they stretch them out in bitter agony.
A demon’s fury breathed rage into the heart of the judge,
And embittered him against the stedfast ones, inciting him to crush them;
And between the height and the depth he stretched them out to afflict them:
And they were a marvel to both sides, when they saw how much they endured.
At the old men’s frame heaven and earth marvelled,
To see how much suffering it bore nor cried out for help under their affliction.
Hung up and dragged along are their feeble bodies by their arms,
Yet is there deep silence, nor is there one that cries out for help or that murmurs.
Amazed were all who beheld their contests,
To see how calmly the outstretched forms bore the inflictions laid upon them. 3340
Amazed too was Satan at their spotless frames,
To see what weight of affliction they sustained without a groan.
Yea, and gladdened too were the angels by that fortitude of theirs,
To see how patiently it bore that contest so terrible that was.
But, as combatants who were awaiting their crowns,
There entered no sense of weariness into their minds.
Nay, it was the judge that grew weary; yea, he was astonished:
But the noble men before him felt no weariness in their afflictions.
He asked them whether they would consent to sacrifice;
But the mouth was unable to speak from pain.
Thus did the persecutors increase their inflictions,
Until they gave no place for the word to be spoken.
Silent was the mouth from the inflictions laid on their limbs;
But the will, like that of a hero, was nerved with fortitude from itself.
Alas for the persecutors! how destitute were they of righteousness!
But the children of light—how were they clad in faith!
They demand speech, when there is no place for speaking,
Since the word of the mouth was forbidden them by pain.
Fast bound was the body, and silent the mouth, and it was unable
To utter the word when unrighteously questioned.
And what should the martyr do, who had no power to say,
When he was questioned, that he would not sacrifice?
All silent were the old men full of faith,
And from pain they were incapable of speaking.
Yet questioned they were: and in what way, if a man is silent
When he is questioned, shall he assent to that which is said?
But the old men, that they might not be thought to assent,
Expressed clearly by signs the word which it behoved them to speak.
Their heads they shook, and, instead of speech, by a dumb sign they showed
The resolve of the new man that was within.
Their heads hung down, signifying amidst their pains
That they were not going to sacrifice, and every one understood their meaning.
As long as there was in them place for speech, with speech did they confess;
But, when it was forbidden them by pain, they spake with a dumb sign.
Of faith they spoke both with the voice and without the voice:
So that, when speaking and also when silent, they were alike stedfast.
Who but must be amazed at the path of life, how narrow it is,
And how straight to him that desires to walk in it?
Who but must marvel to see that, when the will is watchful and ready,
It is very broad and full of light to him that goeth therein?
About the path are ditches; full also is it of pitfalls;
And, if one turn but a little aside from it, a ditch receives him.
That dumb sign only is there between the right and the left,
And on “Yea” and “Nay” stand 3341 sin and righteousness.
By a dumb sign only did the blessed men plainly signify that they would not sacrifice,
And in virtue of a single dumb sign did the path lead them to Eden;
And, if this same dumb sign had inclined and turned down but a little
Toward the depth, the path of the old men would have been to Gehenna.
Upwards they made a sign, to signify that upwards were they prepared to ascend;
And in consequence of that sign they ascended and mingled with the heavenly ones.
Between sign and sign were Paradise and Gehenna:
They made a sign that they would not sacrifice, and they inherited the place of the kingdom.
Even while they were silent they were advocates for the Son of God:
For not in multitude of words doth faith consist.
That fortitude of theirs was a full-voiced confession,
And as though with open mouth declared they their faith by signs;
And every one knew what they were saying, though silent,
And enriched and increased was the faith of the house of God;
And error was put to shame by reason of two old men, who, though they spake not,
Vanquished it; and they kept silence, and their faith stood fast.
And, though tempestuous accents were heard from the judge,
And the commands of the emperor were dreadful, yea violent,
And paganism had a bold face and an open mouth,
And its voice was raised, and silent were the old men with pain,
Yet null and void became the command and drowned was the voice of the judge,
And without speech the mute sign of the martyrs bore off the palm.
Talking and clamour, and the sound of stripes, on the left;
And deep silence and suffering standing on the right;
And, by one mute sign with which the old men pointed above their heads,
The head of faith was lifted up, and error was put to shame.
Worsted in the encounter were they who spoke, and the victory was to the silent:
For, voiceless they uttered by signs the discourse of faith.
They took them down, because they had vanquished while silent;
And they put them in bonds, threatening yet to vanquish them.
Bonds and a dungeon void of light were by the martyrs
Held of no account—yea rather as the light which has no end.
To be without bread, and without water, and without light,
Pleased them well, because of the love of the Son of God.
The judge commanded by their feet to hang them up
With their heads downwards, by a sentence all unrighteous:
Hanged up was Shamuna with his head downwards; and he prayed
In prayer pure and strained clear by pain.
Sweet fruit was hanging on the tree in that judgment-hall,
And its taste and smell made the very denizens of heaven to marvel.
Afflicted was his body, but sound was his faith;
Bound fast was his person, but unfettered was his prayer over his deed.
For, prayer nothing whatsoever turneth aside,
And nothing hindereth it—not even sword, not even fire.
His form was turned upside down, but his prayer was unrestrained,
And straight was its path on high to the abode of the angels.
The more the affliction of the chosen martyr was increased,
The more from his lips was all confession heard.
The martyrs longed for the whetted sword affectionately,
And sought it as a treasure full of riches.
A new work has the Son of God wrought in the world—
That dreadful death should be yearned for 3342 by many.
That men should run to meet the sword is a thing unheard of,
Except they were those whom Jesus has enlisted in His service by His crucifixion.
That death is bitter, every one knoweth lo! from earliest time:
To martyrs alone is it not bitter to be slain.
They laughed at the whetted sword when they saw it,
And greeted it with smiles: for it was that which was the occasion of their crowns.
As though it had been something hated, they left the body to be beaten:
Even though loving it, they held it not back from pains.
For the sword they waited, and the sword went forth and crowned them:
Because for it they looked; and it came to meet them, even as they desired.
The Son of God slew death by His crucifixion;
And, inasmuch as death is slain, it caused no suffering to the martyrs.
With a wounded serpent one playeth without fear;
A slain lion even a coward will drag along:
The great serpent our Lord crushed by His crucifixion;
The dread lion did the Son of God slay by His sufferings.
Death bound He fast, and laid him prostrate and trampled on him at the gate of Hades;
And now whosoever will draweth near and mocketh at him, because he is slain.
These old men, Shamuna and Guria, mocked at death,
As at that lion which by the Son of God was slain.
The great serpent, which slew Adam among the trees,
Who could seize, so long as he drank not of the blood of the cross?
The Son of God crushed the dragon by His crucifixion,
And lo! boys and old men mock at the wounded serpent.
Pierced is the lion with the spear which pierced the side of the Son of God;
And whosoever will trampleth on him, yea mocketh at him.
The Son of God—He is the cause of all good things,
And Him doth it behove every mouth to celebrate.
He did Himself espouse 3343 the bride with the blood which flowed from His wounds,
And of His wedding-friends He demanded as a nuptial gift 3344 the blood of their necks.
The Lord of the wedding-feast hung on the cross in nakedness,
And whosoever came to be a guest, He let fall His blood upon him.
Shamuna and Guria gave up their bodies for His sake
To sufferings and tomes and to all the various forms of woe. 3345
At Him they looked as He was mocked by wicked men,
And thus did they themselves endure mockery without a groan.
Edessa was enriched by your slaughter, O blessed ones:
For ye adorned her with your crowns and with your sufferings.
Her beauty are ye, her bulwark ye, her salt ye,
Her riches and her store, yea her boast and all her treasure.
Faithful stewards are ye: 3346
Since by your sufferings ye did array the bride in beauty.
The daughter of the Parthians, who was espoused to the cross, 3347
Of you maketh her boast: since by your teaching lo! she was enlightened.
Her advocates are ye; scribes who, though silent, vanquished
All error, whilst its voice was uplifted high in unbelief.
Those old men 3348 of the daughter of the Hebrews were sons of Belial, 3349
False witnesses, who killed Naboth, feigning themselves to be true.
Her did Edessa outdo by her two old men full of beauty,
Who were witnesses to the Son of God, and died like Naboth.
Two were there, and two here, old men;
And these were called witnesses, and witnesses those.
Let us now see which of them were witnesses chosen of God,
And which city is beloved by reason of her old men and of her honourable ones.
Lo! the sons of Belial who slew Naboth are witnesses;
And here Shamuna and Guria, again, are witnesses.
Let us now see which witnesses, and which old men,
And which city can stand with confidence 3350 before God.
Sons of Belial were those witnesses of that adulterous woman,
And lo! their shame is all portrayed in their names.
Edessa’s just and righteous old men, her witnesses,
Were like Naboth, who himself also was slain for righteousness’ sake.
They were not like the two lying sons of Belial,
Nor is Edessa like Zion, which also crucified the Lord.
Like herself her old men were false, yea dared
To shed on the ground innocent blood wickedly.
But by these witnesses here lo! the truth is spoken.—
Blessed be He who gave us the treasure-store of their crowns!
Here endeth the Homily on Guria and Shamuna.
Footnotes
715:3328Or “who changes not.”—Tr.
715:3329Σαμψηρά.— Tr.
715:3330Or “salvation:” a different word from that used in speaking of the serpent.—Tr.
715:3331Lit. “as a man.”—Tr.
715:3332Or “rending asunder.”—Tr.
715:3333Lit. “the garden.”—Tr.
716:3334i.e., “Bethsaida.”—Tr.
716:3335Or “steward.”—Tr.
716:3336Lit. “with openness of countenance.”—Tr.
716:3337Lit. “portray the image of their crowns.”—Tr.
716:3338Lit. “magnified his words.”—Tr.
717:3339Lit. “as breath.”—Tr.
717:3340Lit. “how much the outstretched forms bore in consequence of the inflictions.”—Tr.
718:3341Or “depend.”—Tr.
719:3342Or “beloved.”—Tr.
719:3343Lit. “purchase.”—Tr.
719:3344***, though not in the lexicons, is the same word that appears in Castel as ***.
720:3345Lit. “to the forms (σχήματα) of all afflictions.”—Tr.
720:3346This seems preferable to Cureton’s “Ye are the stewards of (her) faith.” The expression exactly corresponds in form to that in Luke xvi. 8 (Peshito): “the steward of injustice” ="the unjust steward.”
720:3347Lit. “crucifixion.”—Tr.
720:3348Or “elders.”—Tr.
720:3349By this name the men referred to (not, however, the elders, but the two false witnesses suborned by them) are called in 1 Kings 21:10, 13. The expression in the text is literally “sons of iniquity,” and that is used by the Peshito.—Tr.
720:3350Or “have an open countenance.”—Tr.
Introduction
to
Ancient Syriac Documents.
————————————
1. The preceding Memoirs of Edessa and Syriac Documents were inserted in vol. 20 of the Edinburgh series, quite out of place as it seems to me; and the more so, as other Syriac fragments were to follow.
2. In vol. 22, equally out of place, and mixed up with incongruous material, followed the very interesting work of Bardesanes, to which I now assign a natural collocation with the Edessene Memoirs.
3. In vol. 24, with the Liturgies and other mixed material, comes the third Syriac fagot, another valuable and very interesting contribution severed from its due connections.
The reader of this volume will rejoice to find Mr. Pratten’s scattered but most instructive translations here brought together, and arranged in less confused sequence and relations one with another. The several announcements prefixed to each have, in like manner, been here gathered and set in order.
It may be worth while, just here, to direct attention to the latest views of scholarship upon Syria, its language and its antiquities. A learned critic, who often supplies one of our weekly newspapers with articles on the Oriental languages worthy of the best reviews, has directed attention 3351 to a searching critique of Mommsen’s recent addition to his Roman History, of a chapter which “deals with Bible-lands in New-Testament times.” Professor Nöldke of Strasburg, a leading Semitic scholar, in the Zeitschrift of the German Oriental Society, thus takes him to task:—
“Syria enjoyed a higher prosperity under the Romans than Mommsen concedes, and this continued down into the Christian period. The Hellenization made rapid strides, but not in such a manner that the Greek language or Greek culture spread to a considerable degree; but rather, in such a way that European arts and manners of life were established, and that a number of elements of Occidental culture became powerful in the thinking and language of the educated. Mommsen, according to my conviction, considers the Hellenization of Syria to have advanced much farther than it actually had. That the language of the country had been entirely banished from the circles of the educated, and that it had assumed the position in reference to the Greek which the Celtic in full had assumed over against the Latin, is certainly an exaggerated view. The Aramaic was an old developed language (Cultursprache), which was already written before a single letter was seen in Latium. In the days of the Achæmenidian rulers this was the official language of Egypt, and even of Asia Minor, and was accordingly spread far beyond the original territory. Again we find this language in the days of the Roman emperors not only in Palmyra, but spread also in the whole country of the Nabatheans, and down to almost Medina; here again beyond its native limits, as the official written language. And that this was not merely a remnant of the former political supremacy is evident from the fact that the documents of Palmyra and those of the Nabatheans, in an equal manner, show a younger stage of development of language than that of the Achæmenidian period; this stage being virtually the same as is seen in the various Jewish literary works of that time.”
As Mommsen is continuing his irreligious elaborations of history, it may be well to bear in mind his superficial ideas on such subjects, especially when he is reaching the affairs of early Christianity.
1. Our translator (Mr. Pratten) makes the following announcements:—
“The translation of the Syriac pieces which follow 3352 is based on a careful examination of that made by Dr. Cureton, the merits of which are cordially acknowledged. It will, however, be seen that it differs from that in many and important particulars.
“Many thanks are due to the Dean of Canterbury for his kindness in giving much valuable help.”
2. He thus introduces the treatise of Bardesanes:—
“Bardesan, or Bardesanes, according to one account, was born at Edessa in 154 a.d., and it is supposed that he died sometime between 224 and 230. Eusebius says that he flourished in the time of Marcus Aurelius. He was for some time resident at the court of Abgar VI., King of Edessa, with whom he was on intimate terms. He at first belonged to the Gnostic sect of the Valentinians; but abandoning it, he seemed to come nearer the orthodox beliefs. In reality, it is said, he devised errours of his own. He wrote many works. Eusebius attributes the work now translated, The Book of Laws, or On Fate, to Bardesanes. Many modern critics have come to the conclusion that it was written by a scholar of Bardesanes, but that it gives us the genuine opinions and reasonings of Bardesanes. The question is of interest in connection with the Clementine Recognitions, which contain a large portion of the work. The Syriac was first published by Cureton in his Spicilegium.”
3. In introducing the Mara bar Serapion and the Ambrose, 3353 he thus refers to his friend Dr. Payne Smith:—
The text of the two following short pieces 3354 is found in the Spicilegium Syriacum of the late Dr. Cureton. This careful scholar speaks of the second of these compositions as containing “some very obscure passages.” The same remark holds good also of the first. Dr. Payne Smith describes them both as “full of difficulties.” So far as these arise from errors in the text, they might have been removed, had I been able to avail myself of the opportunity kindly offered me by Dr. Rieu, Keeper of the Oriental mss. at the British Museum, of inspecting the original ms. As it is, several have, it is hoped, been successfully met by conjecture.
To Dr. R. Payne Smith, Dean of Canterbury, who, as on two previous occasions, has most kindly and patiently afforded me his valuable assistance, I beg to offer my very grateful acknowledgments.
Footnotes
721:3351New-York Independent, June 24, 1886.
721:3352That is, in vol. xxii. of the Edinburgh edition.
722:3353Vol. xxiv., ed. Edinburgh. The latter was formerly ascribed to Justin Martyr.
722:3354The Ambrose and the Serapion.
Ancient Syriac Documents.
————————————
Bardesan. 3355
The Book of the Laws of Divers Countries. 3356
Some days since we were calling 3357 to pay a visit to our brother Shemashgram, and Bardesan came and found us there. And when he had made inquiries after his health, 3358 and ascertained that he was well, he asked us, “What were you talking about? for I heard your voice outside as I was coming in.” For it was his habit, whenever he found us talking about anything before he came, 3359 to ask us, “What were you saying?” that he might talk with us about it.
“Avida here,” said we to him, “was saying to us, ‘If God is one, as ye say, and if He is the creator of men, and if it is His will that you should do that which you are commanded, why did He not so create men that they should not be able to do wrong, but should constantly be doing that which is right? for in this way His will would have been accomplished.’”
“Tell me, my son Avida,” said Bardesan to him, “why it has come into thy mind that the God of all is not One; or that He is One, but doth not will that men should behave themselves justly and uprightly?”
“I, sir,” said Avida, “have asked these brethren, persons of my own age, in order that ‘they’ may return me an answer.”
“If,” said Bardesan to him, “thou wishest to learn, it were for thy advantage to learn from some one who is older than they; but if to teach, it is not requisite for ‘thee’ to ask ‘them,’ but rather that thou shouldst induce ‘them’ to ask ‘thee’ what they wish. For teachers are ‘asked’ questions, and do not themselves ask them; or, if they ever do ask a question, it is to direct the mind of the questioner, so that he may ask properly, and they may know what his desire is. For it is a good thing that a man should know how to ask questions.”
“For my part,” said Avida, “I wish to learn; but I began first of all to question my brethren here, because I was too bashful to ask thee.”
“Thou speakest becomingly,” 3360 said Bardesan. “But know, nevertheless, that he who asks questions properly, and wishes to be convinced, and approaches the way of truth without contentiousness, has no need to be bashful; because he is sure by means of the things I have mentioned to please him to whom his questions are addressed. If so be, therefore, my son, thou hast any opinion of thy own 3361 respecting this matter about which thou hast asked, tell it to us all; and, if we too approve of it, we shall express our agreement with thee; and, if we do not approve of it, we shall be under obligation to show thee why we do not approve of it. But if thou wast simply desirous of becoming acquainted with this subject, and hast no opinion of thy own about it, as a man who has but lately joined the disciples and is a recent inquirer, I will tell thee respecting it; so that thou mayest not go from us empty away. If, moreover, thou art pleased with those things which I shall say to thee, we have other things besides to tell thee 3362 concerning this matter; but, if thou art not pleased, we on our part shall have stated our views without any personal feeling.”
“I too,” said Avida, “shall be much gratified 3363 to hear and to be convinced: because it is not from another that I have heard of this subject, but I have spoken of it to my brethren here out of my own mind; and they have not cared to convince me; but they say, ‘Only believe, and thou wilt then be able to know everything.’ But for my part, I cannot believe unless I be convinced.”
“Not only,” said Bardesan, “is Avida unwilling to believe, but there are many others also who, because there is no faith in them, are not even capable of being convinced; but they are always pulling down and building up, and so are found destitute of all knowledge of the truth. But notwithstanding, since Avida is not willing to believe, lo! I will speak to you who do believe, concerning this matter about which he asks; and thus he too will hear something further about it.”
He began accordingly to address us as follows: “Many men are there who have not faith, and have not received knowledge from the True Wisdom. 3364 In consequence of this, they are not competent to speak and give instruction to others, nor are they readily inclined themselves to hear. For they have not the foundation of faith to build upon, nor have they any confidence on which to rest their hope. Moreover, because they are accustomed to doubt even concerning God, they likewise have not in them the fear of Him, which would of itself deliver them from all other fears: for he in whom there is no fear of God is the slave of all sorts of fears. For even with regard to those things of various kinds which they disbelieve, they are not certain that they disbelieve them rightly, but they are unsettled in their opinions, and have no fixed belief, 3365 and the taste of their thoughts is insipid in their own mouth; and they are always haunted with fear, and flushed with excitement, and reckless.
“But with regard to what Avida has said: ‘How is it that God did not so make us that we should not sin and incur condemnation?’—if man had been made so, he would not have belonged to himself, but would have been the instrument of him that moved him; and it is evident also, that he who moves an instrument as he pleases, moves it either for good or for evil. And how, in that case, would a man differ from a harp, on which another plays; or from a ship, which another guides: where the praise and the blame reside in the hand of the performer or the steersman, 3366 and the harp itself knows not what is played on it, nor the ship itself whether it be well steered and guided or ill, they being only instruments made for the use of him in whom is the requisite skill? But God in His benignity chose not so to make man; but by freedom He exalted him above many of His creatures, and even made him equal with the angels. For look at the sun, and the moon, and the signs of the zodiac, 3367 and all the other creatures which are greater than we in some points, and see how individual freedom has been denied them, and how they are all fixed in their course by decree, so that they may do that only which is decreed for them, and nothing else. For the sun never says, I will not rise at my appointed time; nor the moon, I will not change, nor wane, nor wax; nor does any one of the stars say, I will not rise nor set; nor the sea, I will not bear up the ships, nor stay within my boundaries; nor the mountains, We will not continue in the places in which we are set; nor do the winds say, We will not blow; nor the earth, I will not bear up and sustain whatsoever is upon me. But all these things are servants, and are subject to one decree: for they are the instruments of the wisdom of God, which erreth not.
“Not so, however, with man: for, if everything ministered, who would be he that is ministered to? And, if everything were ministered to, who would be he that ministered? In that case, too, there would not be one thing diverse from another: yet that which is one, and in which there is no diversity of parts, is a being 3368 which up to this time has not been fashioned. But those things which are destined 3369 for ministering have been fixed in the power of man: because in the image of Elohim 3370 was he made. Therefore have these things, in the benignity of God, been given to him, that they may minister to him for a season. It has also been given to him to be guided by his own will; so that whatever he is able to do, if he will he may do it, and if he do not will he may not do it, and that so he may justify himself or condemn. For, had he been made so as not to be able to do evil and thereby incur condemnation, in like manner also the good which he did would not have been his own, and he could not have been justified by it. For, if any one should not of his own will do that which is good or that which is evil, his justification and his condemnation would rest simply with that Fortune to which he is subjected. 3371
“It will therefore be manifest to you, that the goodness of God is great toward man, and that freedom has been given to him in greater measure than to any of those elemental bodies 3372 of which we have spoken, in order that by this freedom he may justify himself, and order his conduct in a godlike manner, and be copartner with angels, who are likewise possessed of personal freedom. For we are sure that, if the angels likewise had not been possessed of personal freedom, they would not have consorted with the daughters of men, and sinned, and fallen from their places. In like manner, too, those other angels, who did the will of their Lord, were, by reason of their self-control, raised to higher rank, and sanctified, and received noble gifts. For every being in existence is in need of the Lord of all; of His gifts also there is no end.
Know ye, however, notwithstanding what I have said, that even those things of which I have spoken as subsisting by decree are not absolutely destitute of all freedom; and on this account, at the last day, they will all be made subject to judgment.”
“But how,” said I to him, “should those things which are fixed and regulated by decree be judged?”
“Not inasmuch as they are fixed, O Philip,” said he, “will the elements be judged, but inasmuch as they are endowed with power. For beings 3373 are not deprived of their natural properties 3374 when they come to be fashioned, but only of the full exercise of their strength, 3375 suffering a decrease 3376 of power through their intermingling one with another, and being kept in subjection by the power of their Maker; and in so far as they are in subjection they will not be judged, but in respect of that only which is under their own control.”
“Those things,” said Avida to him, “which thou hast said, are very good; but, lo! the commands which have been given to men are severe, and they cannot perform them.”
“This,” said Bardesan, “is the saying of one who has not the will to do that which is right; nay, more, of him who has already yielded obedience and submission to his foe. For men have not been commanded to do anything but that which they are able to do. For the commandments set before us are only two, and they are such as are compatible with freedom and consistent with equity: one, that we refrain from everything which is wrong, and which we should not like to have done to ourselves; and the other, that we should do that which is right, and which we love and are pleased to have done to us likewise. Who, then, is the man that is too weak to avoid stealing, or to avoid lying, or to avoid acts of profligacy, or to avoid hatred and deception? For, lo! all these things are under the control of the mind of man; and are not dependent on 3377 the strength of the body, but on the will of the soul. For even if a man be poor, and sick, and old, and disabled in his limbs, he is able to avoid doing all these things. And, as he is able to avoid doing these things, so is he able to love, and to bless, and to speak the truth, and to pray for what is good for every one with whom he is acquainted; and if he be in health, and capable of working, 3378 he is able also to give of that which he has; moreover, to support with strength of body him that is sick and enfeebled—this also he can do.
“Who, then, it is that is not capable of doing that which men destitute of faith complain of, I know not. For my part, I think that it is precisely in respect to these commandments that man has more power than in anything else. For they are easy, and there are no circumstances that can hinder their performance. For we are not commanded to carry heavy loads of stones, or of timber, or of anything else, which those only who have great bodily strength can do; nor to build fortresses 3379 and found cities, which kings only can do; nor to steer a ship, which mariners only have the skill to steer; nor to measure and divide land, which land-measurers only know how to do; nor to practise any one of those arts which are possessed by some, while the rest are destitute of them. But there have been given to us, in accordance with the benignity of God, commandments having no harshness in them 3380 —such as any living man whatsoever 3381 may rejoice to do. 3382 For there is no man that does not rejoice when he does that which is right, nor any one that is not gladdened within himself if he abstains from things that are bad—except those who were not created for this good thing, and are called tares. 3383 For would not the judge be unjust who should censure a man with regard to any such thing as he has not the ability to do?”
“Sayest thou of these deeds, O Bardesan,” said Avida to him, “that they are easy to do?”
“To him that hath the will,” said Bardesan, “I have said, and do still say, that they are easy. For this obedience I contend for is the proper behaviour of a free mind, 3384 and of the soul which has not revolted against its governors. As for the action of the body, there are many things which hinder it: especially old age, and sickness, and poverty.”
“Possibly,” said Avida, “a man may be able to abstain from the things that are bad; but as for doing the things that are good, what man is capable of this?”
“It is easier,” said Bardesan, “to do good than to abstain from evil. For the good comes from the man himself, 3385 and therefore he rejoices whenever he does good; but the evil is the work of the Enemy, and therefore it is that, only when a man is excited by some evil passion, and is not in his sound natural condition, 3386 he does the things that are bad. For know, my son, that for a man to praise and bless his friend is an easy thing; but for a man to refrain from taunting and reviling one whom he hates is not easy: nevertheless, it is possible. When, too, a man does that which is right, his mind is gladdened, and his conscience at ease, and he is pleased for every one to see what he does. But, when a man behaves amiss and commits wrong, he is troubled and excited, and full of anger and rage, and distressed in his soul and in his body; and, when he is in this state of mind, he does not like to be seen by any one; and even those things in which he rejoices, and which are accompanied with praise and blessing from others, are spurned from his thoughts, while those things by which he is agitated and disturbed are rendered more distressing to him because accompanied by the curse of conscious guilt.
“Perhaps, however, some one will say that fools also are pleased when they do abominable things. Undoubtedly: but not because they do them as such, nor because they receive any conmendation for them, nor because they do them with a good hope; 3387 nor does the pleasure itself stay long with them. For the pleasure which is experienced in a healthy state of the soul, with a good hope, is one thing; and the pleasure of a diseased state of the soul, with a bad hope, is another. For lust is one thing, and love is another; and friendship is one thing, and good-fellowship another; and we ought without any difficulty to understand that the false counterfeit of affection which is called lust, even though there be in it the enjoyment of the moment, is nevertheless widely different from true affection, whose enjoyment is for ever, incorruptible and indestructible.”
“Avida here,” said I to him, “has also been speaking thus: ‘It is from his nature that man does wrong; for, were he not naturally formed to do wrong, he would not do it.’”
“If all men,” said Bardesan, “acted alike, 3388 and followed one bias, 3389 it would then be manifest that it was their nature that guided them, and that they had not that freedom of which I have been speaking to you. That you may understand, however, what is nature and what is freedom, I will proceed to inform you.
“The nature of man is, that he should be born, and grow up, and rise to his full stature, and produce children, and grow old, eating and drinking, and sleeping and waking, and that then he should die. These things, because they are of nature, belong to all men; and not to all men only, but also to all animals whatsoever, 3390 and some of them also to trees. For this is the work of physical nature, 3391 which makes and produces and regulates everything just as it has been commanded. Nature, I say, is found to be maintained among animals also in their actions. For the lion eats flesh, in accordance with his nature; and therefore all lions are eaters of flesh. The sheep eats grass; and therefore all sheep are eaters of grass. The bee makes honey, by which it is sustained; therefore all bees are makers of honey. The ant collects for herself a store in summer, from which to sustain herself in winter; and therefore do all ants act likewise. The scorpion strikes with its sting him who has not hurt it; and thus do all scorpions strike. Thus all animals preserve their nature: the eaters of flesh do not eat herbage; nor do the eaters of herbage eat flesh.
“Men, on the contrary, are not governed thus; but, whilst in the matters pertaining to their bodies they preserve their nature like animals, in the matters pertaining to their minds they do that which they choose, as those who are free, 3392 and endowed with power, and as made in the likeness of God. For there are some of them that eat flesh, and do not touch bread; and there are some of them that make a distinction between the several kinds of flesh-food; and there are some of them that do not eat the flesh of any animal whatever. 3393 There are some of them that become the husbands of their mothers, and of their sisters, and of their daughters; and there are some who do not consort with women at all. There are those who take it upon themselves to inflict vengeance, like lions and leopards; and there are those who strike him that has not done them any wrong, like scorpions; and there are those that are led like sheep, and do not harm their conductors. There are some that behave themselves with kindness, and some with justice, and some with wickedness.
“If any one should say that each one of them has a nature so to do, let him be assured 3394 that it is not so. For there are those who once were profligates and drunkards; and, when the admonition of good counsels reached them, they became pure and sober, 3395 and spurned their bodily appetites. And there are those who once behaved with purity and sobriety; and when they turned away from right admonition, and dared to set themselves against the commands of Deity and of their teachers, they fell from the way of truth, and became profligates and revellers. And there are those who after their fall repented again, and fear came and abode upon them, and they turned themselves afresh towards the truth which they had before held. 3396
“What, therefore, is the nature of man? For, lo! all men differ one from another in their conduct and in their aims, 3397 and such only as are of 3398 one mind and of one purpose resemble one another. But those men who, up to the present moment, have been enticed by their appetites and governed by their anger, are resolved to ascribe any wrong they do to their Maker, that they themselves may be found faultless, and that He who made them may, in the idle talk of men, 3399 bear the blame. They do not consider that nature is amenable to no law. For a man is not found fault with for being tall or short in his stature, or white or black, or because his eyes are large or small, or for any bodily defect whatsoever; but he is found fault with if he steal, or lie, or practise deceit, or poison another, or be abusive, or do any other such-like things.
“From hence, lo! it will be evident, that for those things which are not in our own hands, but which we have from nature, we are in no wise condemned, nor are we in any wise justified; but by those things which we do in the exercise of our personal freedom, if they be right we are justified and entitled to praise, and if they be wrong we are condemned and subjected to blame.”
Again we questioned him, and said to him: “There are others who say that men are governed by the decree of Fate, so as to act at one time wickedly, and at another time well.”
“I too am aware, O Philip and Baryama,” said he to us, “that there are such men: those who are called Chaldæans, and also others who are fond of this subtle knowledge, 3400 as I myself also once was. For it has been said by me in another place, 3401 that the soul of man longs 3402 to know that which the many are ignorant of, and those men make it their aim to do this; 3403 and that all the wrong which men commit, and all that they do aright, and all those things which happen to them, as regards riches and poverty, and sickness and health, and blemishes of the body, come to them through the governance of those stars which are called the Seven; 3404 and that they are, in fact, governed by them. But there are others who affirm the opposite of these things,—how that this art is a lying invention of the astrologers; 3405 or that Fate has no existence whatever, but is an empty name; that, on the contrary, all things, great and small, are placed in the hands of man; and that bodily blemishes and faults simply befall and happen to him by chance. But others, again, say that whatsoever a man does he does of his own will, in the exercise of the freedom which has been given to him, and that the faults and blemishes and other untoward things which befall him he receives as punishment from God.
“For myself, however according to my weak judgment, 3406 the matter appears to stand thus: that these three opinions 3407 are partly to be accepted as true, and partly to be rejected as false;—accepted as true, because men speak after the appearances which they see, and also because these men see how things come upon them as if accidentally; to be set aside as fallacious, because the wisdom of God is too profound 3408 for them—that wisdom which founded the world, and created man, and ordained Governors, and gave to all things the degree of pre-eminence which is suited to every one of them. What I mean is, that this power is possessed by God, and the Angels, and the Potentates, 3409 and the Governors, 3410 and the Elements, and men, and animals; but that this power has not been given to all these orders of beings of which I have spoken in respect to everything (for He that has power over everything is One); but over some things they have power, and over some things they have not power, as I have been saying: in order that in those things over which they have power the goodness of God may be seen, and in those over which they have no power they may know that they have a Superior.
“There is, then, such a thing as Fate, as the astrologers say. That everything, moreover, is not under the control of our will, is apparent from this—that the majority of men have had the will to be rich, and to exercise dominion over their fellows, and to be healthy in their bodies, and to have things in subjection to them as they please; but that wealth is not found except with a few, nor dominion except with one here and another there, nor health of body with all men; and that even those who are rich do not have complete possession of their riches, nor do those who are in power have things in subjection to them as they wish, but that sometimes things are disobedient to them as they do not wish; and that at one time the rich are rich as they desire, and at another time they become poor as they do not desire; and that those who are thoroughly poor have dwellings such as they do not wish, and pass their lives in the world as they do not like, and covet many things which only flee from them. Many have children, and do not rear them; others rear them, and do not retain possession of them; others retain possession of them, and they become a disgrace and a sorrow to their parents. Some are rich, as they wish, and are afflicted with ill-health, as they do not wish; others are blessed with good health, as they wish, and afflicted with poverty, as they do not wish. There are those who have in abundance the things they wish for, and but few of those things for which they do not wish; and there are others who have in abundance the things they do not wish for, and but few of those for which they do wish. 3411
“And so the matter is found to stand thus: that wealth, and honours, and health, and sickness, and children, and all the other various objects of desire, are placed under the control of Fate, and are not in our own power; but that, on the contrary, while we are pleased and delighted with such things as are in accordance with our wishes, towards such as we do not wish for we are drawn by force; and, from those things which happen to us when we are not pleased, it is evident that those things also with which we are pleased do not happen to us because we desire them; but that things happen as they do happen, and with some of them we are pleased, and with others not.
“And thus we men are found to be governed by Nature all alike, and by Fate variously, and by our freedom each as he chooses.
“But let us now proceed to show with respect to Fate that it has not power over everything. Clearly not: because that which is called Fate is itself nothing more than a certain order of procession, 3412 which has been given to the Potentates and Elements by God; and, in conformity with this said procession and order, intelligences 3413 undergo change when they descend 3414 to be with the soul, and souls undergo change when they descend 3415 to be with bodies; and this order, under the name of Fate and γένεσις, 3416 is the agent of the changes 3417 that take place in this assemblage of parts of which man consists, 3418 which is being sifted and purified for the benefit of whatsoever by the grace of God and by goodness has been benefited, and is being and will continue to be benefited until the close of all things.
“The body, then, is governed by Nature, the soul also sharing in its experiences and sensations; and the body is neither hindered nor helped by Fate in the several acts it performs. For a man does not become a father before the age of fifteen, nor does a woman become a mother before the age of thirteen. In like manner, too, there is a law for old age: for women then become incapable of bearing, and men cease to possess the natural power of begetting children; while other animals, which are likewise governed by their nature, do, even before those ages I have mentioned, not only produce offspring, but also become too old to do so, just as the bodies of men also, when they are grown old, cease to propagate: nor is Fate able to give them offspring at a time when the body has not the natural power to give them. Neither, again, is Fate able to preserve the body of man in life without meat and drink; nor yet, even when it has meat and drink, to grant it exemption from death: for these and many other things belong exclusively to Nature. 3419
“But, when the times and methods of Nature have had their full scope, then does Fate come and make its appearance among them, and produce effects of various kinds: at one time helping Nature and augmenting its power, and at another crippling and baffling it. Thus, from Nature comes the growth and perfecting of the body; but apart from Nature, that is by Fate, come diseases and blemishes in the body. From Nature comes the union of male and female, and the unalloyed happiness of them both; but from Fate comes hatred and the dissolution of the union, and, moreover, all that impurity and lasciviousness which by reason of the natural propensity to intercourse men practise in their lust. From Nature comes birth and children; and from Fate, that sometimes the children are deformed, and sometimes are cast away, and sometimes die before their time. From Nature comes a supply of nourishment sufficient for the bodies of all creatures; 3420 and from Fate comes the want of sustenance, and consequent suffering in those bodies; and so, again, from the same Fate comes gluttony and unnecessary luxury. Nature ordains that the aged shall be judges for the young, and the wise for the foolish, and that the strong shall be set over 3421 the weak, and the brave over the timid; but Fate brings it to pass that striplings are set over the aged, and the foolish over the wise, and that in time of war the weak command the strong, and the timid the brave.
“You must distinctly understand 3422 that, in all cases in which Nature is disturbed from its direct course, its disturbance comes by reason of Fate; and this happens because the Chiefs 3423 and Governors, with whom rests that agency of change 3424 which is called Nativity, are opposed to one another. Some of them, which are called Dexter, are those which help Nature, and add to its predominance, 3425 whenever the procession is favourable to them, and they stand in those regions of the zodiac which are in the ascendant, in their own portions. 3426 Those, on the contrary, which are called Sinister are evil, and whenever they in their turn are in possession of the ascendant they act in opposition to Nature; and not on men only do they inflict harm, but at times on animals also, and trees, and fruits, and the produce of the year, and fountains of water, and, in short, on everything that is comprised within Nature, which is under their government.
“And in consequence of this,—namely, the divisions and parties which exist among the Potentates,—some men have thought that the world is governed by these contending powers without any superintendence from above. But that is because they do not understand that this very thing—I mean the parties and divisions subsisting among them,—and the justification and condemnation consequent on their behaviour, belong to that constitution of things founded in freedom which has been given by God, to the end that these agents likewise, by reason of their self-determining power, 3427 may be either justified or condemned. Just as we see that Fate crushes Nature, so can we also see the freedom of man defeating and crushing Fate itself,—not, however, in everything,—just as also Fate itself does not in everything defeat Nature. For it is proper that the three things, Nature, and Fate, and Freedom, should be continued in existence until the procession of which I before spoke be completed, and the appointed measure and number of its evolutions be accomplished, even as it seemed good to Him who ordains of what kind shall be the mode of life and the end of all creatures, and the condition of all beings and natures.”
“I am convinced,” said Avida, “by the arguments thou hast brought forward, that it is not from his nature that a man does wrong, and also that all men are not governed alike. If thou canst further prove also that it is not from Fate and Destiny that those who do wrong so act, then will it be incumbent on us to believe that man possesses personal freedom, and by his nature has the power both to follow that which is right and to avoid that which is wrong, and will therefore also justly be judged at the last day.”
“Art thou,” said Bardesan, “by the fact that all men are not governed alike, convinced that it is not from their nature that they do wrong? Why, then, thou canst not possibly escape the conviction 3428 that neither also from Fate exclusively do they do wrong, if we are able to show thee that the sentence of the Fates and Potentates does not influence all men alike, but that we have freedom in our own selves, so that we can avoid serving physical nature and being influenced by the control of the Potentates.”
“Prove me this,” said Avida, “and I will be convinced by thee, and whatsoever thou shalt enjoin upon me I will do.”
“Hast thou,” said Bardesan, “read the books of the astrologers 3429 who are in Babylon, in which is described what effects the stars have in their various combinations at the Nativities of men; and the books of the Egyptians, in which are described all the various characters which men happen to have?”
“I have read books of astrology,” 3430 said Avida, “but I do not know which are those of the Babylonians and which those of the Egyptians.”
“The teaching of both countries,” said Bardesan, “is the same.”
“It is well known to be so,” said Avida.
“Listen, then,” said Bardesan, “and observe, that that which the stars decree by their Fate and their portions is not practised by all men alike who are in all parts of the earth. For men have made laws for themselves in various countries, in the exercise of that freedom which was given them by God: forasmuch as this gift is in its very nature opposed to that Fate emanating from the Potentates, who assume to themselves that which was not given them. I will begin my enumeration of these laws, so far as I can remember them, from the East, the beginning of the whole world:—
“Laws of the Seres.—The Seres have laws forbidding to kill, or to commit impurity, or to worship idols; and in the whole of Serica there are no idols, and no harlots, nor any one that kills a man, nor any that is killed: although they, like other men, are born at all hours and on all days. Thus the fierce Mars, whensoever he is ‘posited’ in the zenith, does not overpower the freedom of the Seres, and compel a man to shed the blood of his fellow with an iron weapon; nor does Venus, when posited with Mars, compel any man whatever among the Seres to consort with his neighbour’s wife, or with any other woman. Rich and poor, however, and sick people and healthy, and rulers and subjects, are there: because such matters are given into the power of the Governors.
“Laws of the Brahmans who are in India.—Again, among the Hindoos, the Brahmans, of whom there are many thousands and tens of thousands, have a law forbidding to kill at all, or to pay reverence to idols, or to commit impurity, or to eat flesh, or to drink wine; and among these people not one of these things ever takes place. Thousands of years, too, have elapsed, during which these men, lo! have been governed by this law which they made for themselves.
“Another Law which is in India.—There is also another law in India, and in the same zone, 3431 prevailing among those who are not of the caste 3432 of the Brahmans, and do not embrace their teaching, bidding them serve idols, and commit impurity, and kill, and do other bad things, which by the Brahmans are disapproved. In the same zone of India, too, there are men who are in the habit of eating the flesh of men, just as all other nations eat the flesh of animals. Thus the evil stars have not compelled the Brahmans to do evil and impure things; nor have the good stars prevailed on the rest of the Hindoos to abstain from doing evil things; nor have those stars which are well ‘located’ in the regions which properly belong to them, 3433 and in the signs of the zodiac favourable to a humane disposition, 3434 prevailed on those who eat the flesh of men to abstain from using this foul and abominable food.
“Laws of the Persians.—The Persians, again, have made themselves laws permitting them to take as wives their sisters, and their daughters, and their daughters’ daughters; and there are some who go yet further, and take even their mothers. Some of these said Persians are scattered abroad, away from their country, and are found in Media, and in the country of the Parthians, 3435 and in Egypt, and in Phrygia (they are called Magi); and in all the countries and zones in which they are found, they are governed by this law which was made for their fathers. Yet we cannot say that for all the Magi, and for the rest of the Persians, Venus was posited with the Moon and with Saturn in the house of Saturn in her portions, while the aspect of Mars was toward them. 3436 There are many places, too, in the kingdom of the Parthians, where men kill their wives, and their brothers, and their children, and incur no penalty; while among the Romans and the Greeks, he that kills one of these incurs capital punishment, the severest of penalties.
“Laws of the Geli.—Among the Geli the women sow and reap, and build, and perform all the tasks of labourers, and wear no raiment of colours, and put on no shoes, and use no pleasant ointments; nor does any one find fault with them when they consort with strangers, or cultivate intimacies with their household slaves. But the husbands of these Gelæ are dressed in garments of colours, and ornamented with gold and jewels, and anoint themselves with pleasant ointments. Nor is it on account of any effeminacy on their part that they act in this manner, but on account of the law which has been made for them: in fact, all the men are fond of hunting and addicted to war. But we cannot say that for all the women of the Geli Venus was posited in Capricorn or in Aquarius, in a position of ill luck; nor can we possibly say that for all the Geli Mars and Venus were posited in Aries, where it is written that brave and wanton 3437 men are born.
“Laws of the Bactrians.—Among the Bactrians, who are called Cashani, the women adorn themselves with the goodly raiment of men, and with much gold, and with costly jewels; and the slaves and handmaids minister to them more than to their husbands; and they ride on horses decked out with trapping of gold and with precious stones. 3438 These women, moreover, do not practise continency, but have intimacies with their slaves, and with strangers who go to that country; and their husbands do not find fault with them, nor have the women themselves any fear of punishment, because the Cashani look upon 3439 their wives only as mistresses. Yet we cannot say that for all the Bactrian women Venus and Mars and Jupiter are posited in the house of Mars in the middle of the heavens, 3440 the place where women are born that are rich and adulterous, and that make their husbands subservient to them in everything.
“Laws of the Racami, and of the Edessæans, and of the Arabians.—Among the Racami, and the Edessæans, and the Arabians, not only is she that commits adultery put to death, but she also upon whom rests the suspicion 3441 of adultery suffers capital punishment.
“Laws in Hatra.—There is a law in force 3442 in Hatra, that whosoever steals any little thing, even though it were worthless as water, shall be stoned. Among the Cashani, on the contrary, if any one commits such a theft as this, they merely spit in his face. Among the Romans, too, he that commits a small theft is scourged and sent about his business. On the other side of the Euphrates, and as you go eastward, he that is stigmatized as either a thief or a murderer does not much resent it; 3443 but, if a man be stigmatized as an arsenocœte, he will avenge himself even to the extent of killing his accuser.
“Laws.…—Among 3444 …boys…to us, and are not…Again, in all the region of the East, if any persons are thus stigmatized, and are known to be guilty, their own fathers and brothers put them to death; and very often 3445 they do not even make known the graves where they are buried.
“Such are the laws of the people of the East. But in the North, and in the country of the Gauls 3446 and their neighbours, such youths among them as are handsome the men take as wives, and they even have feasts on the occasion; and it is not considered by them as a disgrace, nor as a reproach, because of the law which prevails among them. But it is a thing impossible that all those in Gaul who are branded with this disgrace should at their Nativities have had Mercury posited with Venus in the house of Saturn, and within the limits of Mars, and in the signs of the zodiac to the west. For, concerning such men as are born under these conditions, it is written that they are branded with infamy, as being like women.
“Laws of the Britons.—Among the Britons many men take one and the same wife.
“Laws of the Parthians.—Among the Parthians, on the other hand, one man takes many wives, and all of them keep to him only, because of the law which has been made there in that country.
“Laws of the Amazons.—As regards the Amazons, they, all of them, the entire nation, have no husbands; but like animals, once a year, in the spring-time, they issue forth from their territories and cross the river; and, having crossed it, they hold a great festival on a mountain, and the men from those parts come and stay with them fourteen days, and associate with them, and they become pregnant by them, and pass over again to their own country; and, when they are delivered, such of the children as are males they cast away, and the females they bring up. Now it is evident that, according to the ordinance of Nature, since they all became pregnant in one month, they also in one month are all delivered, a little sooner or a little later; and, as we have heard, all of them are robust and warlike; but not one of the stars is able to help any of those males who are born so as to prevent their being cast away.
“The Book of the Astrologers.—It is written in the book of the astrologers, that, when Mercury is posited with Venus in the house of Mercury, he produces painters, sculptors, and bankers; but that, when they are in the house of Venus, they produce perfumers, and dancers, and singers, and poets. And yet, in all the country of the Tayites and of the Saracens, and in Upper Libya and among the Mauritanians, and in the country of the Nomades, which is at the mouth of the Ocean, and in outer Germany, and in Upper Sarmatia, and in Spain, and in all the countries to the north of Pontus, and in all the country of the Alanians, and among the Albanians, and among the Zazi, and in Brusa, which is beyond the Douro, one sees neither sculptors, nor painters, nor perfumers, nor bankers, nor poets; but, on the contrary, this decree of Mercury and Venus is prevented from influencing the entire circumference of the world. In the whole of Media, all men when they die, and even while life is still remaining in them, are cast to the dogs, and the dogs eat the dead of the whole of Media. Yet we cannot say that all the Medians are born having the Moon posited with Mars in Cancer in the day-time beneath the earth: for it is written that those whom dogs eat are so born. The Hindoos, when they die, are all of them burnt with fire, and many of their wives are burnt along with them alive. But we cannot say that all those women of the Hindoos who are burnt had at their Nativity Mars and the Sun posited in Leo in the night-time beneath the earth, as those persons are born who are burnt with fire. All the Germans die by strangulation, 3447 except those who are killed in battle. But it is a thing impossible, that, at the Nativity of all the Germans the Moon and Hora should have been posited between Mars and Saturn. The truth is, that in all countries, every day, and at all hours, men are born under Nativities diverse from one another, and the laws of men prevail over the decree of the stars, and they are governed by their customs. Fate does not compel the Seres to commit murder against their wish, nor the Brahmans to eat flesh; nor does it hinder the Persians from taking as wives their daughters and their sisters, nor the Hindoos from being burnt, nor the Medes from being devoured by dogs, nor the Parthians from taking many wives, nor among the Britons many men from taking one and the same wife, nor the Edessæans from cultivating chastity, nor the Greeks from practising gymnastics,…, nor the Romans from perpetually seizing upon other countries, nor the men of the Gauls from marrying one another; nor does it compel the Amazons to rear the males; nor does his Nativity compel any man within the circumference of the whole world to cultivate the art of the Muses; but, as I have already said, in every country and in every nation all men avail themselves of the freedom of their nature in any way they choose, and, by reason of the body with which they are clothed, do service to Fate and to Nature, sometimes as they wish, and at other times as they do not wish. For in every country and in every nation there are rich and poor, and rulers and subjects, and people in health and those who are sick—each one according as Fate and his Nativity have affected him.”
“Of these things, Father Bardesan,” said I to him, “thou hast convinced us, and we know that they are true. But knowest thou that the astrologers say that the earth is divided into seven portions, which are called Zones; and that over the said portions those seven stars have authority, each of them over one; and that in each one of the said portions the will of its own Potentate prevails; and that this is called its law?”
“First of all, know thou, my son Philip,” said he to me, “that the astrologers have invented this statement as a device for the promotion of error. For, although the earth be divided into seven portions, yet in every one of the seven portions many laws are to be found differing from one another. For there are not seven kinds of laws only found in the world, according to the number of the seven stars; nor yet twelve, according to the number of the signs of the zodiac; nor yet thirty-six, according to the number of the Decani. 3448 But there are many kinds of laws to be seen as you go from kingdom to kingdom, from country to country, from district to district, and in every abode of man, differing one from another. For ye remember what I said to you—that in one zone, that of the Hindoos, there are many men that do not eat the flesh of animals, and there are others that even eat the flesh of men. And again, I told you, in speaking of the Persians and the Magi, that it is not in the zone of Persia only that they have taken for wives their daughters and their sisters, but that in every country to which they have gone they have followed the law of their fathers, and have preserved the mystic arts contained in that teaching which they delivered to them. And again, remember that I told you of many nations spread abroad over the entire circuit of the world, 3449 who have not been confined to any one zone, but have dwelt in every quarter from which the wind blows, 3450 and in all the zones, and who have not the arts which Mercury and Venus are said to have given when in conjunction with each other. Yet, if laws were regulated by zones, this could not be; but they clearly are not: because those men I have spoken of are at a wide remove from having anything in common with many other men in their habits of life.
“Then, again, how many wise men, think ye, have abolished from their countries laws which appeared to them not well made? How many laws, also, are there which have been set aside through necessity? And how many kings are there who, when they have got possession of countries which did not belong to them, have abolished their established laws, and made such other laws as they chose? And, whenever these things occurred, no one of the stars was able to preserve the law. Here is an instance at hand for you to see for yourselves: it is but as yesterday since the Romans took possession of Arabia, and they abolished all the laws previously existing there, and especially the circumcision which they practised. The truth is, 3451 that he who is his own master is sometimes compelled to obey the law imposed on him by another, who himself in turn becomes possessed of the power to do as he pleases.
“But let me mention to you a fact which more than anything else is likely 3452 to convince the foolish, and such as are wanting in faith. All the Jews, who received the law through Moses, circumcise their male children on the eighth day, without waiting for the coming of the proper stars, or standing in fear of the law of the country where they are living. Nor does the star which has authority over the zone govern them by force; but, whether they be in Edom, or in Arabia, or in Greece, or in Persia, or in the north, or in the south, they carry out this law which was made for them by their fathers. It is evident that what they do is not from Nativity: for it is impossible that for all the Jews, on the eighth day, on which they are circumcised, Mars should ‘be in the ascendant,’ so that steel should pass upon them, and their blood be shed. Moreover, all of them, wherever they are, abstain from paying reverence to idols. One day in seven, also, they and their children cease from all work, from all building, and from all travelling, and from all buying and selling; nor do they kill an animal on the Sabbath-day, nor kindle a fire, nor administer justice; and there is not found among them any one whom Fate compels, 3453 either to go to law on the Sabbath-day and gain his cause, or to go to law and lose it, or to pull down, or to build up, or to do any one of those things which are done by all those men who have not received this law. They have also other things in respect to which they do not on the Sabbath conduct themselves like the rest of mankind, though on this same day they both bring forth and are born, and fall sick and die: for these things do not pertain to the power of man.
“In Syria and in Edessa men used to part with their manhood in honour of Tharatha; but, when King Abgar 3454 became a believer he commanded that every one that did so should have his hand cut off, and from that day until now no one does so in the country of Edessa.
“And what shall we say of the new race of us Christians, whom Christ at His advent planted in every country and in every region? for, lo! wherever we are, we are all called after the one name of Christ—Christians. On one day, the first of the week, we assemble ourselves together, and on the days of the readings 3455 we abstain from taking sustenance. The brethren who are in Gaul do not take males for wives, nor those who are in Parthia two wives; nor do those who are in Judæa circumcise themselves; nor do our sisters who are among the Geli consort with strangers; nor do those brethren who are in Persia take their daughters for wives; nor do those who are in Media abandon their dead, or bury them alive, or give them as food to the dogs; nor do those who are in Edessa kill their wives or their sisters when they commit impurity, but they withdraw from them, and give them over to the judgment of God; nor do those who are in Hatra 3456 stone thieves to death; but, wherever they are, and in whatever place they are found, the laws of the several countries do not hinder them from obeying the law of their Sovereign, Christ; nor does the Fate of the celestial Governors compel them to make use of things which they regard as impure.
“On the other hand, sickness and health, and riches and poverty, things which are not within the scope of their freedom, befall them wherever they are. For although the freedom of man is not influenced by the compulsion of the Seven, or, if at any time it is influenced, it is able to withstand the influences exerted upon it, yet, on the other hand, this same man, externally regarded, 3457 cannot on the instant liberate himself from the command of his Governors: for he is a slave and in subjection. For, if we were able to do everything, we should ourselves be everything; and, if we had not the power to do anything, we should be the tools of others.
“But, when God wills them, all things are possible, and they may take place without hindrance: for there is nothing that can stay that Great and Holy Will. For even those who think that they successfully withstand it, do not withstand it by strength, but by wickedness and error. And this may go on for a little while, because He is kind and forbearing towards all beings that exist, 3458 so as to let them remain as they are, and be governed by their own will, whilst notwithstanding they are held in check by the works which have been done and by the arrangements which have been made for their help. For this well-ordered constitution of things 3459 and this government which have been instituted, and the intermingling of one with another, serve to repress the violence of these beings, 3460 so that they should not inflict harm on one another to the full, nor yet to the full suffer harm, as was the case with them before the creation of the world. A time is also coming when this propensity to inflict harm which still remains in them shall be brought to an end, through the teaching which shall be given them amidst intercourse of another kind. And at the establishment of that new world all evil commotions shall cease, and all rebellions terminate, and the foolish shall be convinced, and all deficiencies shall be filled up, and there shall be quietness and peace, through the gift of the Lord of all existing beings.”
Here endeth the Book of the Laws of Countries.
————————————
Bardesan, therefore, an aged man, and one celebrated for his knowledge of events, wrote, in a certain work which was composed by him, concerning the synchronisms 3461 with one another of the luminaries of heaven, speaking as follows:—
Two revolutions of Saturn, 3462 60 years;
5 revolutions of Jupiter, 60 years;
40 revolutions of Mars, 60 years;
60 revolutions of the Sun, 60 years;
72 revolutions of Venus, 60 years;
150 revolutions of Mercury, 60 years;
720 revolutions of the Moon, 60 years.
And this,” says he, “is one synchronism of them all; that is, the time of one such synchronism of them. So that from hence it appears that to complete 100 such synchronisms there will be required six thousands of years. Thus:—
200 revolutions of Saturn, six thousands of years;
500 revolutions of Jupiter, 6 thousands of years;
4 thousand revolutions of Mars, 6 thousands of years;
Six thousand revolutions of the Sun, 6 thousands of years;
7 thousand and 200 revolutions of Venus, 6 thousands of years;
12 thousand revolutions of Mercury, 6 thousands of years;
72 thousand revolutions of the Moon, 6 thousands of years.”
These things did Bardesan thus compute when desiring to show that this world would stand only six thousands of years.
Footnotes
723:3355Lit. “Son of Daisan,” from a river so called near Edessa.—Hahn. [Elucidation I. “The Laws of Countries” is the title. For “Various Countries” I have used “Divers.”]
723:3356Called by Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., iv. 30, The Discourse on Fate (῾Ο περὶ εἱμαρμένης διάλογος). This is more correct than the title above given: the “Laws” are adduced only as illustrations of the argument of the piece. The subject would, however, be more properly given as “The Freedom of the Will.”
723:3357Lit. “going in.” Cureton renders, “we went up.”
723:3358Lit. “felt him.”
723:3359Lit. “before him.” Merx: “ehe er kam.”
723:3360The word used is formed from the Greek εὐσχημόνως. [Here observe what is said (in Elucidation I.) by Nöldke on the Hellenization theory of Mommsen, with reference to this very work; p. 742, infra.]
723:3361Lit. “hast anything in thy mind.”
723:3362Lit. “there are for thee other things also.”
723:3363*** is here substituted for the *** of the text, which yields no sense.
724:3364Lit. “the wisdom of the truth.”
724:3365Lit. “are not able to stand.”
724:3366Or, “in the hand of the operator;” but it is better to employ two words.
724:3367Or, “and the sphere.”
724:3368The word ***, here used, occurs subsequently as a designation of the Gnostic Æons. Here, as Merx observes, it can hardly go beyond its original meaning of ens, entia, Wesen, that which is. It evidently refers, however, in this passage to a system of things, a world.
724:3369Lit. “required.” [It is a phenomenon to find this early specimen of “anthropology” emanating from the far East, and anticipating the Augustinian controversies on “fixed fate, free-will, foreknowledge absolute.” Yet the West did not originate the discussion. See vol. iv. p. 320. See the ethical or metaphysical side of free-will discussed in Eaton’s Bampton Lectures for 1872, p. 79, ed. Pott, Young, & Co., New York, 1873. On St. Augustine, see Wordsworth’s valuable remarks in his Bampton Lectures for 1881.]
724:3370Gen. i. 27. The Hebrew itself, סיהלא סלעבֶ is given in Syriac characters, without translation.
724:3371Cureton renders, “for which he is created.” Merx has, “das ihn gemacht hat.”
725:3372The Greek στοιχεῖα.
725:3373***, that which exists, especially that which has an independent existence, is used here of the Gnostic Æons. They were so called in respect of their pre-existence, their existence independent of time or creation. When they came to be “created,” or more properly “fashioned,” they were called “emanations.”
725:3374Lit. “of their nature.”
725:3375Lit. “the strength of their exactness,” i.e., their exact (or complete) strength. Cureton has, “their force of energy.”
725:3376“being lessened,” or “lowered.”
725:3377Lit. “do not take place by.”
725:3378Cureton renders, “have the use of his hands:” Merx gives “etwas erwirbt.”
725:3379Or “towns.”
725:3380Lit. “without ill-will.”
725:3381Lit. “every man in whom there is a soul.”
725:3382Lit. “can do rejoicing.”
725:3383The Greek ζιζάνια.
725:3384Lit. “a mind the son of the free.”
726:3385Lit. “is the man’s own.”
726:3386Lit. “is not sound in his nature.”
726:3387Cureton, “for good hope.” But *** is a common expression for “in hope,” as in Rom. viii. 20.
726:3388Lit. “did one deed.”
726:3389Lit. “used one mind.”
726:3390Lit. “in whom there is a soul.”
726:3391Φύσις.
726:3392Lit. “as children of the free.”
726:3393Lit. “in which there is a soul.”
727:3394Lit. “let him see.”
727:3395Lit. “patient,” i.e., tolerant of the craving which seeks gratification.
727:3396Lit. “in which they had stood.”
727:3397Or “volitions.”
727:3398Lit. “have stood in.”
727:3399So Merx, “in either Rede.” Cureton, “by a vain plea.”
727:3400Lit. “this knowledge of art (or skill).”
727:3401To what other work of his he refers is not known.
727:3402Cureton, “is capable.” Dr. Payne Smith (Thes. Syr., s.v.) says, referring to *** as used in this passage: “eget, cupit, significare videtur.”
727:3403So Dr. Payne Smith. Merx renders, “Even that which men desire to do.” Cureton has, “and the same men meditate to do.”
727:3404Lit. “the sevenths.”
727:3405Lit. “Chaldæans.”
727:3406Lit. “my weakness.”
727:3407Or “sects” (αἱρέσεις).
727:3408Lit. “rich.”
727:3409***, Shlitâne. [Of Angels, see vol. i. p. 269.]
727:3410***, Medabhrâne. Merx, p. 74, referring to the Peshito of Gen. i. 16, thinks that by the Potentates are meant the sun and moon, and by the Governors the five planets.
728:3411[The book of Job and the Book of Ecclesiastes, with the eloquent and pathetic remonstrance (chap. iii. 18–22) “concerning the estate of the sons of men,” are proofs that God foresaw the struggles of faith against the apparently unequal ways and rulings of Providence. For popular answers see Parnell’s Hermit, and Addison, Spectator, No. 237. But a valuable comment may be found in Wordsworth’s Bampton Lectures (for 1881) on the one Religion, p. 5, Oxford, Parker, 1881.]
728:3412Merx renders *** by “emanation,” quoting two passages from Eph. Syr. where the root *** is used of the issuing of water from a fountain. Dr. Payne Smith says: “The word seems to mean no more than cursus: cf. Eusb., Theoph., i. 31. 5, 55. 1, 83, 22, where it is used of the stars; and i. 74. 13, where it means the course of nature.”
728:3413Read *** for ***.
728:3414Lit. “in their descents.”
728:3415Lit. “in their descents.”
728:3416Or “nativity,” “natal hour” (*** = place of birth, “Geburtshaus:” Merx).
728:3417Lit. “this agent of change.” Cureton, “this alternation.” “Das diese Veränderung bewirkende Agens” is the rendering of Merx.
728:3418Dr. Payne Smith thinks the reference to be to the Gnostic νοῦς, ψυχή, and σῶμα, which seem to be spoken of just before. This difficult passage is rendered by Cureton: “And this alternation itself is called the Fortune, and the Nativity of this assemblage, which is being sifted and purified for the assistance of that which,” etc. Merx has, “…zur Unterstützung des Dinges, welches…unterstützt worden ist und unterstützt bleibt bis zur Vernichtung des Weltalls.”
728:3419Lit. “are Nature’s own.”
729:3420Lit. “a sufficiency in measure for all bodies.”
729:3421Lit. “be heads to.”
729:3422Lit. “know ye distinctly.”
729:3423Or “heads.”
729:3424Lit. “agent of change,” as above. Merx: “das Veränderungs-princip.”
729:3425Lit. “excellence.”
729:3426i.e., zones of the earth. See p. 732, note 2, infra.
729:3427Or, “power as to themselves.”
729:3428Lit. “the matter compels thee to be convinced.”
729:3429Lit. “Chaldæans.”
730:3430Lit. “Chaldaism.”
730:3431The Greek κλίμα, denoting one of the seven belts (see p. 732, below) into which the earth’s latitude was said to be divided. The Arabs also borrowed the word.
730:3432Or “family.”
730:3433That is, their own “houses,” as below. Each house had one of the heavenly bodies as its “lord,” who was stronger, or better “located” in his own house than in any other. Also, of two planets equally strong in other respects, that which was in the strongest house was the stronger. The strength of the houses was determined by the order in which they rose, the strongest being that about to rise, which was called the ascendant.
730:3434Lit. “the signs of humanity.”
730:3435The text adds ***.
730:3436Lit. “while Mars was witness to them.”
731:3437The difficult word *** is not found in the lexicons. Dr. Payne Smith remarks that it could only come from ***, which verb, however, throws away its ***, so that the form would be ***. He suggests, doubtfully, that the right reading is ***, from ***, which is used occasionally for appetite, and forms such an adjective in the sense of animosus, animâ præditus; and that if so, it may, like *** in Jude 1:19, 1 Cor. 15:44, 46, be = ψυχικοί, having an animal nature, sensual. Eusebius and Cæsarius have σπατάλους, a word of similar force.
731:3438Cureton’s rendering, “and some adorn themselves,” etc., is not so good, as being a repetition of what has already been said. It is also doubtful whether the words can be so construed. The Greek of Eusebius gives the sense as in the text: κοσμοῦσαι πολλῷ χρυσῷ καὶ λίθοις βαρυτίμοις τοὺς ἵππους. If ***, horses, be masc., or masc. only, as Bernstein gives it, the participle should be altered to the same gender. But Dr. Payne Smith remarks that Amira in his Grammar makes it fem. Possibly the word takes both genders; possibly, too, the women of Bactria rode on mares.
731:3439Lit. “possess.”
731:3440The zenith.
731:3441Lit. “name,” or “report.”
731:3442Lit. “made.”
731:3443Lit. “is not very angry.”
731:3444Eusebius has, Παρ᾽ ῞Ελλησι δὲ καὶ οἱ σοφοὶ ἐρωμένους ἔχοντες οὐ ψέγονται.
731:3445Lit. “how many times.”
731:3446The text of Eusebius and the Recognitions is followed, which agrees better with the context. The Syriac reads “Germans.”
732:3447So Eusebius: ἀγχονιμαίῳ μόρῳ. Otherwise “suffocation.”
732:3448So called from containing each ten of the parts or degrees into which the zodiacal circle is divided. Cf. Hahn, Bardesanes Gnosticus, p. 72.
732:3449Lit. “who surround the whole world.”
732:3450Lit. “have been in all the winds.”
733:3451Lit. “for.”
733:3452Lit. “able.”
733:3453Lit. “commands.”
733:3454According to Neander, General Church History, i. 109, this was the Abgar Bar Manu with whom Bardesan is said to have stood very high. His conversion is placed between 160 and 170 a.d.
733:3455For ***, Merx, by omitting one ***, gives ***, “readings.” But what is meant is not clear. Ephraem Syrus ascribes certain compositions of this name to Bardesanes. Cf. Hahn, Bard. Gnost., p. 28.
733:3456Or “Hutra.”
733:3457Lit. “this man who is seen.”
734:3458Lit. “all natures.”
734:3459Lit. “this order.”
734:3460Lit. “natures.”
734:3461The Greek σύνοδοι.
734:3462The five planets are called by their Greek names, Κρόνος, κ.τ.λ.
Ancient Syriac Documents.
————————————
A Letter of Mara, Son of Serapion. 3463
Mara, son of Serapion, to Serapion, my son: peace.
When thy master and guardian wrote me a letter, and informed me that thou wast very diligent in study, though so young in years, I blessed God that thou, a little boy, and without a guide to direct thee, hadst begun in good earnest; and to myself also this was a comfort—that I heard of thee, little boy as thou art, as displaying such greatness of mind and conscientiousness: 3464 a character which, in the case of many who have begun well, has shown no eagerness to continue.
On this account, lo, I have written for thee this record, touching that which I have by careful observation discovered in the world. For the kind of life men lead has been carefully observed by me. I tread the path of learning, 3465 and from the study of Greek philosophy 3466 have I found out all these things, although they suffered shipwreck when the birth of life took place. 3467
Be diligent, then, my son, in attention to those things which are becoming for the free, 3468 so as to devote thyself to learning, and to follow after wisdom; and endeavour thus to become confirmed in those habits with which thou hast begun. Call to mind also my precepts, as a quiet person who is fond of the pursuit of learning. And, even though such a life should seem to thee very irksome, yet when thou hast made experience of it for a little while, it will become very pleasant to thee: for to me also it so happened. When, moreover, a person has left his home, and is able still to preserve his previous character, and properly does that which it behoves him to do, he is that chosen man who is called “the blessing of God,” and one who does not find aught else to compare with his freedom. 3469 For, as for those persons who are called to the pursuit of learning, they are seeking to extricate themselves from the turmoils of time; and those who take hold upon wisdom, they are clinging to the hope of righteousness; and those who take their stand on truth, they are displaying the banner of their virtue; and those who cultivate philosophy, they are looking to escape from the vexations of the world. And do thou too, my son, thus wisely behave thyself in regard to these things, as a wise person who seeks to spend a pure life; and beware lest the gain which many hunger after enervate thee, and thy mind turn to covet riches, which have no stability. For, when they are acquired by fraud, they do not continue; nor, even when justly obtained, do they last; and all those things which are seen by thee in the world, as belonging to that which is only for a little time, are destined to depart like a dream: for they are but as the risings and settings of the seasons.
About the objects of that vainglory, too, of which the life of men is full, be not thou solicitous: seeing that from those things which give us joy there quickly comes to us harm. Most especially is this the case with the birth of beloved children. For in two respects it plainly brings us harm: in the case of the virtuous, our very affection for them torments us, and from their very excellence of character we suffer torture; and, in the case of the vicious, we are worried with their correction, and afflicted with their misconduct.
Thou hast heard, 3470 moreover, concerning our companions, that, when they were leaving Samosata, they were distressed about it, and, as if complaining of the time in which their lot was cast, said thus: “We are now far removed from our home, and we cannot return again to our city, or behold our people, or offer to our gods the greeting of praise.” Meet was it that that day should be called a day of lamentation, because one heavy grief possessed them all alike. For they wept as they remembered their fathers, and they thought of their mothers 3471 with sobs, and they were distressed for their brethren, and grieved for their betrothed whom they had left behind. And, although we had heard that their 3472 former companions were proceeding to Seleucia, we clandestinely set out, and proceeded on the way towards them, and united our own misery with theirs. Then was our grief exceedingly violent, and fitly did our weeping abound, by reason of our desperate plight, and our wailing gathered itself into a dense cloud, 3473 and our misery grew vaster than a mountain: for not one of us had the power to ward off the disasters that assailed him. For affection for the living was intense, as well as sorrow for the dead, and our miseries were driving us on without any way of escape. For we saw our brethren and our children captives, and we remembered our deceased companions, who were laid to rest in a foreign 3474 land. Each one of us, too, was anxious for himself, lest he should have disaster added to disaster, or lest another calamity should overtake that which went before it. What enjoyment could men have that were prisoners, and who experienced things like these?
But as for thee, my beloved, be not distressed because in thy loneliness thou hast 3475 been driven from place to place. For to these things men are born, since they are destined to meet with the accidents of time. But rather let thy thought be this, that to wise men every place is alike, and that in every city the good have many fathers and mothers. Else, if thou doubt it, take thee a proof from what thou hast seen thyself. How many people who know thee not love thee as one of their own children; and what a host of women receive thee as they would their own beloved ones! Verily, as a stranger thou hast been fortunate; verily, for thy small love many people have conceived an ardent affection for thee.
What, again, are we to say concerning the delusion 3476 which has taken up its abode in the world? Both by reason of toil 3477 painful is the journey through it, and by its agitations are we, like a reed by the force of the wind, bent now in this direction, now in that. For I have been amazed at many who cast away their children, and I have been astonished at others who bring up those that are not theirs. There are persons who acquire riches in the world, and I have also been astonished at others who inherit that which is not of their own acquisition. Thus mayest thou understand and see that we are walking under the guidance of delusion.
Begin and tell us, O wisest of men, 3478 on which of his possessions a man can place reliance, or concerning what things he can say that they are such as abide. Wilt thou say so of abundance of riches? they are snatched away. Of fortresses? they are spoiled. Of cities? they are laid waste. Of greatness? it is brought down. Of magnificence? it is overthrown. Of beauty? it withers. Or of laws? they pass away. Or of poverty? it is despised. Or of children? they die. Or of friends? they prove false. Or of the praises of men? jealousy goes before them.
Let a man, therefore, rejoice in his empire, like Darius; or in his good fortune, like Polycrates; or in his bravery, like Achilles; or in his wife, like Agamemnon; or in his offspring, like Priam; or in his skill, like Archimedes; or in his wisdom, like Socrates; or in his learning, like Pythagoras; or in his ingenuity, like Palamedes;—the life of men, my son, departs from the world, but their praises and their virtues abide for ever.
Do thou, then, my little son, choose thee that which fadeth not away. For those who occupy themselves with these things are called modest, and are beloved, and lovers of a good name.
When, moreover, anything untoward befalls thee, do not lay the blame on man, nor be angry against God, nor fulminate against the time thou livest in.
If thou shalt continue in this mind, thy gift is not small which thou hast received from God, which has no need of riches, and is never reduced to poverty. For without fear shalt thou pass thy life, 3479 and with rejoicing. For fear and apologies for one’s nature belong not to the wise, but to such as walk contrary to law. For no man has even been deprived of his wisdom, as of his property.
Follow diligently learning rather than riches. For the greater are one’s possessions, the greater is the evil attendant upon them. For I have myself observed that, where a man’s goods are many, so also are the tribulations which happen to him; and, where luxuries are accumulated, there also do sorrows congregate; and, where riches are abundant, there is stored up the bitterness of many a year.
If, therefore, thou shalt behave with understanding, and shalt diligently watch over thy conduct, God will not refrain from helping thee, nor men from loving thee.
Let that which thou art able to acquire suffice thee; and if, moreover, thou art able to do without property, thou shalt be called blessed, and no man whatsoever shall be jealous of thee.
And remember also this, that nothing will disturb thy life very greatly, except it be the love of gain; and that no man after his death is called an owner of property: because it is by the desire of this that weak men are led captive, and they know not that a man dwells among his possessions only in the manner of a chance-comer, and they are haunted with fear because these possessions are not secured to them: for they abandoned that which is their own, and seek that which is not theirs.
What are we to say, when the wise are dragged by force by the hands of tyrants, and their wisdom is deprived of its freedom 3480 by slander, and they are plundered for their superior intelligence, without the opportunity of making a defence? They are not wholly to be pitied. For what benefit did the Athenians obtain by putting Socrates to death, seeing that they received as retribution for it famine and pestilence? Or the people of Samos by the burning of Pythagoras, seeing that in one hour the whole 3481 of their country was covered with sand? Or the Jews by the murder of their Wise King, seeing that from that very time their kingdom was driven away from them? For with justice did God grant a recompense to the wisdom of all three of them. For the Athenians died by famine; and the people of Samos were covered by the sea without remedy; and the Jews, brought to desolation and expelled from their kingdom, are driven away into every land. Nay, Socrates did “not” die, because of Plato; nor yet Pythagoras, because of the statue of Hera; nor yet the Wise King, because of the new laws which he enacted.
Moreover I, my son, have attentively observed mankind, in what a dismal state of ruin they are. And I have been amazed that they are not utterly prostrated 3482 by the calamities which surround them, and that even their wars 3483 are not enough for them, nor the pains they endure, nor the diseases, nor the death, nor the poverty; but that, like savage beasts, they must needs rush upon one another in their enmity, trying which of them shall inflict the greater mischief on his fellow. For they have broken away from the bounds of truth, and transgress all honest laws, because they are bent on fulfilling their selfish desires; for, whensoever a man is eagerly set on obtaining that which he desires, how is it possible that he should fitly do that which it behoves him to do? and they acknowledge no restraint, 3484 and but seldom stretch out their hands towards truth and goodness, but in their manner of life behave like the deaf 3485 and the blind. Moreover, the wicked rejoice, and the righteous are disquieted. He that has, denies that he has; and he that has not, struggles to acquire. The poor seek help, and the rich hide their wealth, and every man laughs at his fellow. Those that are drunken are stupefied, and those that have recovered themselves are ashamed. 3486 Some weep, and some sing; and some laugh, and others are a prey to care. They rejoice in things evil, and a man that speaks the truth they despise.
Should a man, then, be surprised when the world is seeking to wither him with its scorn, seeing that they and he have not one and the same manner of life? “These” are the things for which they care. One of them is looking forward to the time when in battle he shah obtain the renown of victory; yet the valiant perceive not by how many foolish objects of desire a man is led captive in the world. But would that for a little while self-repentance visited them! For, while victorious by their bravery, they are overcome by the power of covetousness. For I have made trial of men, and with this result: that the one thing on which they are intent, is abundance of riches. Therefore also it is that they have no settled purpose; but, through the instability of their minds, a man is of a sudden cast down from his elation of spirit to be swallowed up with sadness. They look not at the vast wealth of eternity, nor consider that every visitation of trouble is conducting us all alike to the same final period. For they are devoted to the majesty of the belly, that huge blot on the character of the vicious.
Moreover, as regards this letter which it has come into my mind to write to thee, it is not enough to read it, but the best thing is that it be put in practice. 3487 For I know for myself, that when thou shalt have made experiment of this mode of life, it will be very pleasant to thee, and thou wilt be free from sore vexation; because it is only on account of children that we tolerate riches. 3488
Put, therefore, sadness away from thee, O most beloved of mankind,—a thing which never in anywise benefits a man; and drive care away from thee, which brings with it no advantage whatsoever. For we have no resource or skill that can avail us—nothing but a great mind able to cope with the disasters and to endure the tribulations which we are always receiving at the hands of the times. For at these things does it behove us to look, and not only at those which are fraught with rejoicing and good repute.
Devote thyself to wisdom, the fount of all things good, the treasure that faileth not. There shalt thou lay thy head, and be at ease. For this shall be to thee father and mother, and a good companion for thy life.
Enter into closest intimacy with fortitude and patience, those virtues which are able successfully to encounter the tribulations that befall feeble men. For so great is their strength, that they are adequate to sustain hunger, and can endure thirst, and mitigate every trouble. With toil, moreover, yea even with dissolution, they make right merry.
To these things give diligent attention, and thou shalt lead an untroubled life, and I also shall have comfort, 3489 and thou shalt be called “the delight of his parents.”
For in that time of yore, when our city was standing in her greatness, thou mayest be aware that against many persons among us abominable words were uttered; but for ourselves, 3490 we acknowledged long ago that we received love, no less than honour, to the fullest extent from the multitude of her people: it was the state of the times only that forbade our completing those things which we had resolved on doing. 3491 And here also in the prison-house we give thanks to God that we have received the love of many: for we are striving to our utmost to maintain a life of sobriety and cheerfulness; 3492 and, if anyone drive us by force, he will but be bearing public testimony against himself, that he is estranged from all things good, and he will receive disgrace and shame from the foul mark of shame that is upon him. For we have shown our truth—that truth which in our now ruined kingdom we possessed not. 3493 But, if the Romans shall permit us to go back to our own country, as called upon by justice and righteousness to do, they will be acting like humane men, and will earn the name of good and righteous, and at the same time will have a peaceful country in which to dwell: for they will exhibit their greatness when they shall leave us free men, and we shall be obedient to the sovereign power which the time has allotted to us. But let them not like tyrants, drive us as though we were slaves. Yet, if it has been already determined what shall be done, we shall receive nothing more dreadful than the peaceful death which is in store for us.
But thou, my little son, if thou resolve diligently to acquaint thyself with these things, first of all put a check on appetite, and set limits to that in which thou art indulging. Seek the power to refrain from being angry; and, instead of yielding to outbursts of passion, listen to the promptings of kindness.
For myself, what I am henceforth solicitous about is this—that, so far as I have recollections of the past, I may leave behind me a book containing them, and with a prudent mind finish the journey which I am appointed to take, and depart without suffering out of the sad afflictions of the world. For my prayer is, that I may receive my dismissal; and by what kind of death concerns me not. But, if any one should be troubled or anxious about this, I have no counsel to give him: for yonder, in the dwelling-place of all the world, will he find us before him.
One of his friends asked Mara, son of Serapion, when in bonds at his side: “Nay, by thy life, Mara, tell me what cause of laughter thou hast seen, that thou laughest.” “I am laughing,” said Mara, “at Time: 3494 inasmuch as, although he has not borrowed any evil from me, he is paying me back.”
Here endeth the letter of Mara, son of Serapion.
Footnotes
735:3463[Elucidation I. p. 742, infra. See p. 722, supra.]
735:3464Lit. “good conscience.”
735:3465Or, “my daily converse is with learning.” So Dr. Payne Smith is inclined to take these difficult words, supplying, as Cureton evidently does, the pronoun ***. The construction would be easier if we could take the participle *** as a passive, and render: “It (the kind of life men lead) has been explored by me by means of study.”
735:3466Lit. “Græcism.”
735:3467The meaning probably is, that the maxims referred to lost their importance for him when he entered upon the new life of a Christian (so Cureton), or their importance to mankind when Christianity itself was born into the world. But why he did not substitute more distinctive Christian teaching is not clear. Perhaps the fear of persecution influenced him.
735:3468That is, the matters constituting “a liberal education.”
735:3469Cureton’s less literal rendering probably gives the true sense: “with whose liberty nothing else can be compared.”
735:3470Cureton: “I have heard.” The unpointed text is here ambiguous.
736:3471Read ***, instead of ***, “peoples.”
736:3472Perhaps “our” is meant.
736:3473Cureton: “and the dark cloud collected our sighs.” But the words immediately following, as well as the fact that in each of the clauses the nominative is placed last, favours the rendering given.
736:3474Lit., “borrowed.”
736:3475Lit., “because thy loneliness has.”
736:3476Or “error.” He may refer either to the delusion of those who pursue supposed earthly good, or to the false appearances by which men are deceived in such pursuit.
736:3477For *** read ***.
736:3478Cureton: “A sage among men once began to say to us.” This would require ***, not ***.
736:3479***.
737:3480Lit., “made captive.”
737:3481For *** read ***.
737:3482No verb is found in the lexicons to which *** can be referred. It may perhaps be Eshtaphel of a verb ***, cognate with ***, “to be bent.”
737:3483For *** read ***.
737:3484Or “moderation.”
737:3485Cureton: “dumb.” The word *** has both senses.
737:3486Or “penitent.”
737:3487So Dr. Payne Smith, who is inclined to take *** in the sense, “it goes before, it is best, with respect to it.” Cureton translates, “it should also proceed to practice,” joining *** with the participle just mentioned; whereas Dr. Smith connects it with ***, thus: “but that it should be put in practice is best with respect to it.”
738:3488This appears to show that the life of learned seclusion which he has been recommending is one of celibacy—monasticism.
738:3489Or, “and thou shalt be to me a comfort,” as Cureton.
738:3490That is, “myself.”
738:3491Such appears to be the sense of this obscure passage. The literal rendering is, “We acknowledged of old that we received equal love and honour to the fullest extent from her multitude” (or, from her greatness); “but the time forbade our completing those things which were already accomplished in our mind.” What things he refers to (for his words seem to have a particular reference) is not clear. The word rendered “greatness,” or “multitude,” is in reality two words in pointedmss. Here it does not appear, except from the sense, which is intended.
738:3492Lit., “We are putting ourself to the proof to see how far we can stand in wisdom,” etc.
738:3493“This is a very hopeless passage.…Perhaps the codex has ***, ‘the kingdom of our ruin,’ i.e., the ruined country in which we used to dwell. For possibly it refers to what he has said before about the ruined greatness of his city, captured by the Romans. I suppose Mara was a Persian.”—Dr. Payne Smith.
738:3494Or, “the time.”
Ancient Syriac Documents.
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Ambrose. 3495
A memorial 3496 a which Ambrose, a chief man of Greece, wrote: who became a Christian, and all his fellow-senators raised an outcry against him; and he fled from them, and wrote and pointed out to them all their foolishness.
Beginning his discourse, 3497 he answered and said:—
Think not, men of Greece, that my separation from your customs has been made without a just and proper reason. For I acquainted myself with all your wisdom, consisting of poetry, of oratory, of philosophy; and when I found not there anything agreeable to what is right, or that is worthy of the divine nature, I resolved to make myself acquainted with the wisdom of the Christians also, and to learn and see who they are, and when they took their rise, and what is the nature of this new and strange wisdom of theirs, 3498 or on what good hopes those who are imbued with it rely, that they speak only that which is true.
Men of Greece, when I came to examine the Christian writings, I found not any folly 3499 in them, as I had found in the celebrated Homer, who has said concerning the wars of the two trials: 3500 “Because of Helen, many of the Greeks perished at Troy, away from their beloved home.” 3501 For, first of all, we are told 3502 concerning Agamemnon their king, that by reason of the foolishness of his brother Menelaus, and the violence of his madness, and the uncontrollable nature of his passion, he resolved to go and rescue Helen from the hands of a certain leprous 3503 shepherd; and afterwards, when the Greeks had become victorious in the war, and burnt cities, and taken women and children captive, and the land was filled with blood, and the rivers with corpses, Agamemnon himself also was found to be taken captive by his passion for Briseis. Patroclus, again, we are told, was slain, and Achilles, the son of the goddess Thetis, mourned over him; Hector was dragged along the ground, and Priam and Hecuba together were weeping over the loss of their children; Astyanax, the son of Hector, was thrown down from the walls of Ilion, and his mother Andromache the mighty Ajax bore away into captivity; and that which was taken as booty was after a little while, all squandered in sensual indulgence.
Of the wiles of Odysseus the son of Laertes, and of his murders, who shall tell the tale? For of a hundred and ten suitors did his house in one day become the grave, and it was filled with corpses and blood. He, too, it was that by his wickedness gained the praises of men, because through his pre-eminence in craft he escaped detection; he, too, it was who, you say, sailed upon the sea, and heard not the voice of the Sirens only because he stopped his ears with wax. 3504
The famous Achilles, again, the son of Peleus, who bounded across the river, and routed 3505 the Trojans, and slew Hector,—this said hero of yours became the slave of Philoxena, and was overcome by an Amazon as she lay dead and stretched upon her bier; and he put off his armour, and arrayed himself in nuptial garments, and finally fell a sacrifice to love.
Thus much concerning your great “men;” 3506 and thou, Homer, hadst deserved forgiveness, if thy silly story-telling had gone so far only as to prate about men, and not about the gods. As for what he says about the gods, I am ashamed even to speak of it: for the stories that have been invented about them are very wicked and shocking; passing strange, 3507 too, and not to be believed; and, if the truth must be told, 3508 fit only to be laughed at. For a person will be compelled to laugh when he meets with them, and will not believe them when he hears them. For think of gods who did not one of them observe the laws of rectitude, or of purity, or of modesty, but were adulterers, and spent their time in debauchery, and yet were not condemned to death, as they ought to have been!
Why, the sovereign of the gods, the very “father of gods and men,” not only, as ye say, was an adulterer (this was but a light thing), but even slew his own father, and was a pæderast. I will first of all speak of his adultery, though I blush to do so: for he appeared to Antiope as a satyr, and descended upon Danaë as a shower of gold, and became a bull for Europa, and a swan for Leda; whilst the love of Semele, the mother of Dionysus, exposed both his own ardency of passion and the jealousy of the chaste Hera. Ganymede the Phrygian, too, he carried off disguised as an eagle, that the fair and comely boy, forsooth, might serve as cup-bearer to him. This said sovereign of the gods, moreover killed his father Kronos, that he might seize upon his kingdom.
Oh! to how many charges is the sovereign of the gods amenable, 3509 and how many deaths does he deserve to die, as an adulterer, and as a sorcerer, 3510 and as a pæderast! Read to the sovereign of the gods, O men of Greece, the law concerning parricide, and the condemnation pronounced on adultery, and about the shame that attaches to the vile sin of pæderasty. How many adulterers has the sovereign of the gods indoctrinated in sin! Nay, how many pæderasts, and sorcerers, and murderers! So that, if a man be found indulging his passions, he must not be put to death: because he has done this that he may become like the sovereign of the gods; and, if he be found a murderer, he has an excuse in the sovereign of the gods; and, if a man be a sorcerer, he has learned it from the sovereign of the gods; and, if he be a pæderast, the sovereign of the gods is his apologist. Then, again, if one should speak of courage, Achilles was more valiant that this said sovereign of the gods: for he slew the man that slew his friend; but the sovereign of the gods wept over Sarpedon his son when he was dying, being distressed for him.
Pluto, again, who is a god, carried off Kora, 3511 and the mother of Kora was hurrying hither and thither searching for her daughter in all desert places; and, although Alexander Paris, when he had carried off Helen, paid the penalty of vengeance, as having made himself her lover by force, yet Pluto, who is a god, when he carried off Kora, remained without rebuke; and, although Menelaus, who is a man, knew how to search for Helen his wife, yet Demeter, who is a goddess, knew not where to search for Kora her daughter.
Let Hephæstus put away jealousy from him, and not indulge resentment. 3512 For he was hated, 3513 because he was old and lame; while Ares was loved, because he was a youth and beautiful in form. There was, however, a reproof administered in respect of the adultery. Hephæstus was not, indeed, at first aware of the love existing between Venus 3514 his wife and Ares; but, when he did become acquainted with it, Hephæstus said: “Come, see a ridiculous and senseless piece of behaviour—how to me, who am her own, Venus, the daughter of the sovereign of the gods, is offering insult—to me, I say, who am her own, and is paying honour to Ares, who is a stranger to her.” But to the sovereign of the gods it was not displeasing: for he loved such as were like these. Penelope, moreover, remained a widow twenty years, because she was expecting the return of her husband Odysseus, and busied herself with cunning tasks, 3515 and persevered in works of skill, while all those suitors kept pressing her to marry them; but Venus, who is a goddess, when Hephæstus her husband was close to her, deserted him, because she was overcome by love for Ares. Hearken, men of Greece: which of you would have dared to do this, or would even have endured to see it? And, if any one “should” dare to act so, what torture would be in store for him, or what scourgings!
Kronos, again, who is a god, who devoured all those children of his, was not even brought before a court of justice. They further tell us that the sovereign of the gods, his son, was the only one that escaped from him; and that the madness of Kronos his father was cheated of its purpose because Rhea his wife, the mother of the sovereign of the gods, offered him a stone in the place of the said sovereign of the gods, his son, to prevent him from devouring him. Hearken, men of Greece, and reflect upon this madness! Why, even the dumb animal that grazes in the field knows its proper food, and does not touch strange food; the wild beast, too, and the reptile, and the bird, know their food. As for men, I need not say anything about them: ye yourselves are acquainted with their food, and understand it well. But Kronos, who is a god, not knowing his proper food, ate up a stone!
Therefore, O men of Greece, if ye will have such gods as these, do not find fault with one another when ye do such-like things. Be not angry with thy son when he forms the design to kill thee: because he thus resembles the sovereign of the gods. And, if a man commit adultery with thy wife, why dost thou think of him as an enemy, and yet to the sovereign of the gods, who is like him, doest worship and service? Why, too, dost thou find fault with thy wife when she has committed adultery and leads a dissolute life, 3516 and yet payest honour to Venus, and placest her images in shrines? Persuade your Solon to repeal his laws; Lycurgus, also, to make no laws; let the Areopagus repeal 3517 theirs, and judge no more; and let the Athenians have councils no longer. Let the Athenians discharge Socrates from his office: for no one like Kronos has ever come before him. Let them not put to death Orestes, who killed his mother: for, lo! the sovereign of the gods did worse things than these to his father. Œdipus also too hastily inflicted mischief on himself, in depriving his eyes of sight, because he had killed his mother unwittingly: for he did not think about 3518 the sovereign of the gods, who killed his father and yet remained without punishment. Medea, again, who killed her children, the Corinthians banish from their country; and yet they do service and honour to Kronos, who devoured his children. Then, too, as regards Alexander Paris—he was right in carrying off Helen: for he did it that he might become like Pluto, who carried off Kora. Let your men be set free from law, and let your cities be the abode of wanton women, and a dwelling-place for sorcerers.
Wherefore, O men of Greece, seeing that your gods are grovelling like yourselves, and your heroes destitute of courage, 3519 as your dramas tell and your stories declare—then, again, what shall be said of the tribulations of Orestes; and the couch of Thyestes; and the foul taint in the family of Pelops; and concerning Danaus, who through jealousy killed his sons-in-law, and deprived them of offspring; the banquet of Thyestes, too, feeding upon the corpse set before him by way of vengeance for her whom he had wronged; about Procne also, to this hour screaming as she flies; her sister too, warbling, with her tongue cut out? 3520 What, moreover, is it fitting to say about the murder committed by Œdipus, who took his own mother to wife, and whose brothers killed one another, they being at the same time his sons?
Your festivals, too, I hate; for there is no moderation where they are; the sweet flutes also, dispellers of care, which play as an incitement to dancing; 3521 and the preparation of ointments, wherewith ye anoint yourselves; and the chaplets which ye put on. In the abundance of your wickedness, too, ye have forgotten shame, and your understandings have become blinded, and ye have been infuriated 3522 by the heat of passion, and have loved the adulterous bed. 3523
Had these things been said by another, perhaps our adversaries would have brought an accusation against him, on the plea that they were untrue. But your own poets say them, and your own hymns and dramas declare them.
Come, therefore, and be instructed in the word of God, and in the wisdom which is fraught with comfort. Rejoice, and become partakers of it. Acquaint yourselves with the King Immortal, and acknowledge His servants. For not in arms do they make their boast, nor do they commit murders: because our Commander has no delight in abundance of strength, nor yet in horsemen and their gallant array, nor yet in illustrious descent; but He delights in the pure soul, fenced round by a rampart of righteousness. The word of God, moreover, and the promises of our good King, and the works of God, are ever teaching us. Oh the blessedness of the soul that is redeemed by the power of the word! Oh the blessedness of the trumpet of peace without war! Oh the blessedness of the teaching which quenches the fire of appetite! which, though it makes not poets, nor fits men to be philosophers, nor has among its votaries the orators of the crowd; yet instructs men, and makes the dead not to die, and lifts men from the earth as gods up to the region which is above the firmament. Come, be instructed, and be like me: for I too was once as ye are.
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Footnotes
739:3495This piece has much in common with the Discourse to the Greeks (Λόγος πρὸς ῞Ελληνας), ascribed by many to Justin, which is contained in vol. i. pp. 271–272 of this series. Two things seem to be evident: (1) That neither of the two pieces is the original composition: for each contains something not found in the other; (2) That the original was in Greek: for the Syriac has in some instances evidently mistranslated the Greek.
739:3496The Greek ὑπομνήματα.
739:3497Lit., “and in the beginning of his words.”
739:3498Lit. “what is the newness and strangeness of it.”
739:3499The word also means “sin;” and this notion is the more prominent of the two in what follows.
739:3500It is difficult to assign any satisfactory meaning to the word ***, which appears, however, to be the reading of the ms., since Cureton endeavours to justify the rendering given. “Calamities,” a sense the word will also bear, seems no easier of explanation. If we could assume the meaning to be “nations” (nationes), a word similar in sound to that found in the text, explaining it of heathen peoples, Gentiles (comp. Tertullian, De Idol., 22, “per deos nationum”), this might seem to meet the difficulty. But there is no trace in this composition of a Latin influence: if a foreign word must be used, we should rather have expected the Greek ἔθνη.
739:3501Il., ii. 177 sq.
739:3502Lit., “they say.”
739:3503It has been proposed to substitute in the Greek copy λιπαροῦ, “dainty,” for λεπροῦ. But the Syriac confirms the ms. reading. The term is thought to be expressive of the contempt in which shepherds were held. See vol. i. p. 271, note 1.
739:3504In the Greek this is adduced as an evidence of his weakness: “because he was unable to stop his ears by his self-control (φρονήσει).”
739:3505***, the reading of the text, which can only mean “fled,” is manifestly incorrect. The Aphel of this verb, ***, “caused to flee,” is suggested by Dr. Payne Smith, who also proposes ***, “exstirpavit.”
740:3506Or, “your heroes.”
740:3507This is not intended as a translation of ***, which is literally “conquered.” Dr. Payne Smith thinks it just possible that there was in the Greek some derivative of ὑπερβάλλω ="to surpass belief,” which the Syrian translator misunderstood.
740:3508This is conjectured to be the meaning of what would be literally rendered, “et id quod coactum est.”
740:3509Lit., “of how many censures is…full.”
740:3510Since he could change his form to suit his purpose.
740:3511That is, “the Daughter” (namely, of Demeter), the name under which Proserpine was worshipped in Attica.
740:3512Because the behaviour of which he had to complain was sanctioned by the highest of the gods.
740:3513For ***, “was tried,” read ***. The Greek has μεμίσητο. Cureton: “forgotten.”
740:3514The word is “Balthi.”
740:3515Dr. Payne Smith reads *** instead of ***, word which, as Cureton says, is not in the lexicons.
741:3516The reading of the Greek copy, ἀκολάστως ζῶσαν, is here given. The Syrian adapter, misunderstanding ἀκολάστως, renders: “and is without punishment.”
741:3517Cureton, “break.”
741:3518Lit. “look at.”
741:3519So in the Greek copy. The Syriac, which has “valiant,” appears to have mistaken ἄνανδροι for ἀνδρεῖοι.
741:3520The tradition seems to be followed which makes Procne to have been changed into a swallow, and her sister (Philomela) into a nightingale.
741:3521Cureton: “play with a tremulous motion.” But the Syriac very well answers to the Greek ἐκκαλούμενοι πρὸς οῖστρώδεις κινήσεις, if we take *** to denote result: q.d., “so as to produce movement.”
741:3522Greek, ἐκβακχευόμενοι.
741:3523Lit. “bed of falsity.” [Compare notes on vol. i. pp. 271, 272.]
Elucidations.
I.
(Mara, son of Serapion, p. 735.)
I cannot withhold from the student the valuable hints concerning “the dialect of Edessa” by which Professor Nöldke 3524 corrects the loose ideas of Mommsen, more especially because the fresh work of Mommsen will soon be in our hands, and general credit will be attached to specious representations which are sure to have a bearing on his ulterior treatment of Christianity and the Roman Empire.
Of the Syriac language Professor Nöldke says:—
“It was the living language of Syria which here appears as the language of writing. In Syria it had long ago been compelled to yield to the Greek as the official language, but private writings were certainly yet to a great extent written in Aramaic. We cannot lay much stress upon the fact that the respectable citizen in the Orient would have the schoolmaster of the village compose a Greek inscription for his tomb, of which he undoubtedly understood but little himself. And what a Greek this often was! That no books written by Aramaic Gentiles have been preserved for us, does not decide against the existence of the Aramaic as the language of literature in that day; for how could such Gentile works have been preserved for us? To this must be added, that that particular dialect which afterward became the common literary language of Aramaic Christendom—namely, that of Edessa—certainly had in the Gentile period already been used for literary purposes. The official report of the great flood in the year 201, which is prefixed to the Edessa Chronicles, is written by a Gentile. To the same time must be ascribed the letter, written in good Edessan language by the finely educated Marâ bar Serapion, from the neighbouring Samosata, who, notwithstanding his good-will toward youthful Christianity, was no Christian, but represented rather the ethical stand-point of the Stoicism so popular at that time. The fixed settling of Syriac orthography must have taken place at a much earlier period than the hymns of Bardesanes and his school, which are for us very old specimens of that language, since these hymns represent a versification much younger than the stage of development which is presupposed in this orthography. In general, it must be granted that the dialect of Edessa had been thoroughly developed already in pre-Christian times; otherwise, it could not have been so fixed and firm in writing and forms of expression. And the Syriac Dialogue on Fate, which presupposes throughout the third century, treats of scientific questions, according to Greek models, with such precision that we again see that this was not the beginning, but rather the close, of a scientific Syriac literature, which flourished already when there were but few or possibly no Christians there. Of course I recognise, with Mommsen, that Edessa offered a better protection to the national language and literature than did the cities of Syria proper; but circumstances were not altogether of a different nature in this regard in Haleb, Hems, and Damascus than they were in Edessa and Jerusalem. If, as is known, the common mass spoke Aramaic in the metropolitan city of Antiochia, it cannot safely be accepted that in the inland districts the Greek was not the language of the ‘educated,’ but only of those who had specially learned it. The Macedonian and Greek colonists have certainly only in a very small part retained this language in those districts down to the Roman period. In most cases they have been in a minority from the beginning over against the natives. Further, as the descendants of old soldiers, they can scarcely be regarded as the called watchmen of Greek custom and language.”
Footnotes
742:3524For previous quotations refer to p. 721, supra.
II.
(No verb is found in the lexicons, etc., note 3, p. 737.)
The study of Syriac is just beginning to be regarded as only less important to the theologian than that of the Hebrew. The twain will be found a help, each to the other, if one pursues the study of the cognate languages together. In fact, the Book of Daniel demands such a preparation for its enjoyment and adequate comprehension. 3525 Let me commend to every reader the admirable example of Beveridge, who at eighteen years of age produced a grammar of the Syriac language, and also a Latin essay on the importance of cultivating this study, as that of the vernacular of our Lord Himself. This little treatise is worthy of careful reading; and right worthy of note is the motto which he prefixed to it,—“Estote imitatores mei, sicut et ego sum Christi” (1 Cor. xi. 1).
When one thinks of the difficulties even yet to be overcome in mastering the language,—the want of a complete lexicon, etc., 3526 —it is surprising to think of Beveridge’s pioneer labours in extreme youth. Gutbir’s Lexicon Syriacum had not yet appeared, nor his edition of the Peshito, which preceded it, though Brian Walton’s great name and labours were his noble stimulants. Nobody can read the touching account which Gutbir 3527 gives of his own enthusiastic and self-sacrificing work, without feeling ashamed of the slow progress of Oriental studies in the course of two centuries since the illustrious Pocock gave his grand example to English scholarship. All honour to our countryman Dr. Murdock, who late in life entered upon this charming pursuit, and called on others to follow him. 3528 May I not venture to hope that even these specimens of what may be reaped from the field of Aramaic literature may inspire my young countrymen to take the lead in elucidating the Holy Scriptures from this almost unopened storehouse of “treasures new and old”?
Footnotes
742:3525It must not be inferred that I speak as a Syriac scholar. I have laboured unsuccessfully, and late in life, to repair my sad neglect at an earlier period; and I can speak only as a penitent.
743:3526Dean Payne Smith has assumed the unfinished task of Bernstein.
743:3527See his Preface to the Testament, published at Hamburg a.d. 1664. He had the type cut at his personal expense, and set up the press and lodged the printers in his own house.
743:3528See his translation of the Peshito Syriac version, Stanford & Swords (Bishop Hobart’s publishers), New York, 1855.
Remains of the Second and Third Centuries.
[Translated by the Rev. B. P. Pratten.]
Introductory Notice
to
Remains of the Second and Third Centuries.
————————————
Under the title of Fragments of the Second and Third Centuries are grouped together, in the Edinburgh series, a mass of valuable illustrative material, which might have been distributed with great advantage through the former volumes, in strict order of chronology. Something is due, however, to the unity of authorship, and to the marked design of the editors of the original edition to let these Fragments stand together, as the work of their accomplished collaborator, the Rev. B. P. Pratten, with whose skill and erudition our readers are already familiar. 3529
I have contented myself, therefore, with giving approximate order and continuity, on chronological grounds, to the series of names subjoined. Bardesanes has been eliminated here, and placed more appropriately with the Syriac authors. The reader will find references which may aid him in seeking further information. Some of these names are of lasting value and interest in the Church. I prefer to call these “Fragments” their “Remains.”
To each of the following names I have prefixed some details of information, with such dates as the learned supply.
The following is the
Translator’s Introductory Notice
The fragments that follow are the productions of writers who lived during the second century or the beginning of the third. Little is known of the writers, and the statements made in regard to them are often very indefinite, and the result of mere conjecture.
1. Quadratus was one of the first of the Christian apologists. He is said to have presented his apology to Hadrian while the emperor was in Athens attending the celebration of the Eleusinian mysteries.
2. Aristo of Pella, a Jew, was the author of a work called The Disputation of Jason and Papiscus. Nothing further is known of him. He flourished in the first half of the second century.
3. Melito was bishop of Sardis, and flourished in the reign of Marcus Aurelius. He wrote many works, but all of them have perished except a few fragments. The genuineness of the Syriac fragments is open to question.
4. Hegesippus also flourished in the time of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is the first ecclesiastical historian; but his book was rather notes for an ecclesiastical history, than a history.
5. Dionysius was bishop of Corinth in the reign of Marcus Aurelius. He wrote letters to various churches.
6. Rhodon went from Asia to Rome, and became a pupil of Tatian. After the lapse of his master into heresy he remained true to the faith, and wrote against heretics.
7. Maximus flourished about the same time as Rhodon, under the emperors Commodus and Severus.
8. Claudius Apollinaris was bishop of Hierapolis, and presented a defense of the Christians to Marcus Aurelius. He wrote many important works, of which we have only a few fragments.
9. Polycrates was bishop of Ephesus. He took part in the controversy on the Passover question. He died about 200 a.d.
10. Theophilus was bishop of Cæsarea. He was a contemporary of Polycrates, and, like him, engaged in the Passover controversy.
11. Serapion was ordained bishop of Antioch a.d. 190, but almost no other fact of his life is known. He wrote several works.
12. Apollonius wrote a work against the Montanists, probably in the year a.d. 210. This is all that is known of him.
13. Pantænus, probably a Sicilian by birth, passed from Stoicism to Christianity, and went to Judæa to proclaim the truth. He returned to Alexandria, and became president of the catechetical school there, in which post he remained till his death, which took place about the year 212 a.d.
14. The Letter of the Churches in Vienne and Lyons was written shortly after the persecution in Gaul, which took place in a.d. 177. It is not known who is the author. Some have supposed that Irenæus wrote it, but there is no historical testimony to this effect.
Footnotes
747:3529See vol. ii. (p. 125), etc.
Remains of the Second and Third Centuries.
————————————
Quadratus, Bishop of Athens. 3530
[a.d. 126.] Quadratus 3531 is spoken of by Eusebius as a “man of understanding and of Apostolic faith.” And he celebrates Aristides as a man of similar character. These were the earliest apologists; both addressed their writings to Hadrian, and they were extant and valued in the churches in the time of Eusebius.
From the Apology for the Christian Religion. 3532
Our Saviour’s works, moreover, were always present: for they were real, consisting of those who had been healed of their diseases, those who had been raised from the dead; who were not only seen whilst they were being healed and raised up, but were afterwards constantly present. Nor did they remain only during the sojourn of the Saviour on earth, but also a considerable time after His departure; and, indeed, some of them have survived even down to our own times. 3533
————————————
Footnotes
749:3530But see Lightfoot, A. F., part ii. vol. i. p. 524.
749:3531On Quadratus and Aristides, consult Routh, R. S., p. 71; also Westcott, On the Canon, p. 92.
749:3532In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., iv. 3.
749:3533[Westcott supposes the Diognetus of Mathetes (vol. i. p. 23) may be the work of Quadratus; Canon, p. 96.]
Aristo of Pella.
[a.d. 140.] Aristo of Pella 3534 is supposed to have been a Jew, whose work was designed to help the failing Judaism of his country. Though his work is lost, alike the original and the Latin translation of one “Celsus,” it seems to have been a popular tract among Christians of Cyprian’s time, and the Latin preface is often suffixed to editions of that Father.
The work of Aristo is known as the Disputation of Papiscus and Jason, and Celsus tells us that Jason was a Hebrew Christian, while his opponent was a Jew of Alexandria. Now, Papiscus owns himself convinced by the arguments of Jason, and concludes by a request to be baptized. Celsus, who seems to have been a heathen or an Epicurean, derides the work with scornful commiseration; but Origen rebukes this, and affirms his respect for the work. All this considered, one must think Aristo was “almost persuaded to be a Christian,” and deserves a place among Christian writers.
From the Disputation of Jason and Papiscus.
“I remember,” says Jerome (Comm. ad Gal., cap. iii. comm. 13), “in the Dispute between Jason and Papiscus, which is composed in Greek, to have found it written: ‘The execration of God is he that is hanged.’”
From the Same Work.
Jerome likewise, in his Hebrew Questions on Genesis, says: “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth. The majority believe, as it is affirmed also in the Dispute between Jason and Papiscus, and as Tertullian in his book Against Praxeas contends, and as Hilarius too, in his exposition of one of the Psalms, declares, that in the Hebrew it is: ‘In the Son, God made the heaven and the earth.’ But that this is false, the nature of the case itself proves.”
Perhaps from the Same Work.
…And when the man himself 3535 who had instigated them 3536 to this folly had paid the just penalty (says Eusebius, Hist., iv. 6), “the whole nation from that time was strictly forbidden to set foot on the region about Jerusalem, by the formal decree and enactment of Adrian, who commanded that they should not even from a distance look on their native soil!” So writes Aristo of Pella.
From the Same Work.
I have found this expression Seven heavens (says Maximus, in Scholia on the work concerning the Mystical Theology, ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite, cap. i.) also in the Dispute between Papiscus and Jason, written by Aristo of Pella, which Clement of Alexandria, in the sixth book of the Outlines, 3537 says was composed by Saint Luke.
Concerning the Same Work.
Thus writes Origen: 3538 …in which book a Christian is represented disputing with a Jew from the Jewish Scriptures, and showing that the prophecies concerning the Christ apply to Jesus: although his opponent addresses himself to the argument with no common ability, 3539 and in a manner not unbefitting his Jewish character.
————————————
Footnotes
749:3534Routh, R. S., vol. i. p. 93. Westcott, Canon, p. 106. Grabe’s mention. Routh’s discussion, in annotations, is most learned and exhaustive.
750:3535Barchochebas.
750:3536The Jews.
750:3537῾Υποτυπώσῶς.
750:3538Contra Celsum, iv. 52.
750:3539Οὐκ ἀγεννῶς.
Melito, the Philosopher.
[a.d. 160–170–177.] Melito 3540 may have been the immediate successor of the “angel” (or “apostle”) of the church of Sardis, to whom our Great High Priest addressed one of the apocalyptic messages. He was an “Apostolic Father” in point of fact; he very probably knew the blessed Polycarp and his disciple Irenæus. He is justly revered for the diligence with which he sought out the evidence which, in his day, established the Canon of the Old Testament, then just complete.
In the following fragments we find him called Bishop of Sardis, Bishop of Attica, and Bishop of Ittica. He is also introduced to us as “the Philosopher,” and we shall find him styled “the Eunuch” by Polycrates. It is supposed that he had made himself a cœlebs “for the kingdom of heaven’s sake,” without mistaking our Lord’s intent, as did Origen. He was not a monk, but accepted a single estate to be the more free and single-eyed in the Master’s service. From the encyclopedic erudition of Lightfoot we glean some particulars, as follows:—
1. I have adopted his date, as Lightfoot gives it,—that is, the period of his writings,—under the Antonines. The improbability of seventy years in the episcopate is reason enough for rejecting the idea that he was himself the “angel of the church of Sardis,” to whom our Lord sent the terrible rebuke.
2. His silence concerning persecutions under Vespasian, Trojan, and Antoninus Pius cannot be pleaded to exempt them from this stain, against positive evidence to the contrary.
3. A coincidence with Ignatius to the Ephesians 3541 will be noted hereafter.
4. Melito, with Claudius Apollinaris and even Polycrates, may have been personally acquainted with Ignatius; 3542 of course, one with another. These lived not far from Smyrna; Asia Minor was, in the first century, the focus of Christian activity.
5. We know of his visit to the East from his own account, preserved by Eusebius. The Christians of proconsular Asia were accustomed to such journeys. Even Clement of Alexandria may have met him, as he seems to have met Tatian and Theodotus. 3543
6. Melito vouches for the rescript of Hadrian, 3544 but his supposed reference to the edict of Antoninus does not bear close scrutiny as warrant for its authenticity. 3545
7. The Apology of our author was addressed to Aurelius in his mid-career as a sovereign, about a.d. 170. Justin, Melito, Athenagoras, and Theophilus all tell the same sad story of imperial cruelty. Even when Justin wrote to Antoninus, Marcus was supreme in the councils of the elder emperor. 3546
8. He became a martyr, probably under Marcus Aurelius, circa a.d. 177; 3547 some eminent critics have even dated his Apology as late as this.
Footnotes
750:3540Routh, R. S., vol. i. p. 113. And see Westcott, Canon, p. 245.
750:3541Lightfoot, A. F., vol. ii. p. 48.
750:3542Ib., vol. i. p. 428.
750:3543Vol. ii. (Stromata) p. 301, this series.
750:3544Vol. i. p. 186, this series.
750:3545Lightfoot, A. F., vol. i. p. 468.
751:3546Lightfoot, A. F., vol. ii.
751:3547Ibid., pp. 446, 494.
I.
A Discourse Which Was in the Presence of Antoninus Cæsar, and He Exhorted 3548 The Said Cæsar to Acquaint Himself with God, and Showed to Him the Way of Truth.
He began to speak as follows:—
“It is not easy,” said Melito, “speedily to bring into the right way the man who has a long time previously been held fast by error. It may, however, be effected: for, when a man turns away ever so little from error, the mention of the truth is acceptable to him. For, just as when the cloud breaks ever so little there comes fair weather, even so, when a man turns toward God, the thick cloud of error which deprived him of true vision is quickly withdrawn from before him. For error, like disease 3549 and sleep, long holds fast those who come under its influence; 3550 but truth uses the word as a goad, and smites the slumberers, and awakens them; and when they are awake they look at the truth, and also understand it: they hear, and distinguish that which is from that which is not. For there are men who call iniquity righteousness: they think, for example, that it is righteousness for a man to err with the many. But I, for my part, affirm that it is not a good excuse for error that a man errs with the many. For, if one man only sin, 3551 his sin is great: how much greater will be the sin when many sin together!
“Now, the sin of which I speak is this: when a man abandons that which really exists, and serves that which does not really exist. There ‘is’ that which really exists, and it is called God. He, I say, really exists, and by His power doth everything subsist. This being is in no sense made, nor did He ever come into being; but He has existed from eternity, and will continue to exist for ever and ever. He changeth not, while everything else changes. No eye 3552 can see Him, nor thought apprehend Him, nor language describe Him; and those who love Him speak of Him thus: ‘Father, and God of Truth.’
“If, therefore, a man forsake the light, and say that there is another God, it is plain from what he himself says that it is some created thing which he calls God. For, if a man call fire God, it is not God, because it is fire; and, if a man call water God, it is not God, because it is water; and, if he so call this earth on which we tread, or these heavens which are seen by us, or the sun, or the moon, or some one of these stars which run their course without ceasing by Divine command, and do not speed along by their own will, neither are these gods; and, if a man call gold and silver gods, are not these objects things which we use as we please? and, if he so call those pieces of wood which we burn, or those stones which we break, how can these things be gods? For, lo! they are for the use of man. How can ‘they’ escape the commission of great sin, who in their speech change the great God into those things which, so long as they continue, continue by Divine command?
“But, notwithstanding this, I say that so long as a man does not hear, and so does not discern or understand that there is a Lord over these creatures, he is not perhaps to be blamed: because no one finds fault with a blind man though he walk ever so badly. For, in the same manner as the blind, so men also, when they were seeking after God, stumbled upon stones and blocks of wood; and such of them as were rich stumbled upon gold and silver, and were prevented by their stumblings from finding that which they were seeking after. But, now that a voice has been heard through all the earth, 3553 declaring that there is a God of truth, and there has been given to every man an eye wherewith to see, those persons are without excuse who are ashamed of incurring the censure of their former companions in error, and yet desire to walk in the right way. For those who are ashamed to be saved must of necessity perish. I therefore counsel them to open their eyes and see: for, lo! light is given abundantly 3554 to us all to see thereby; and if, when light has arisen upon us, any one close his eyes so as not to see, into the ditch he must go. 3555 But why is a man ashamed of the censure of those who have been in error along with himself? Rather does it behove him to persuade them to follow in his steps; and, if they should not be persuaded by him, then to disengage himself from their society. For there are some men who are unable to rise from their mother earth, and therefore also do they make them gods from the earth their mother; and they are condemned by the judgments of truth, forasmuch as they apply the name of Him who is unchangeable to those objects which are subject to change, and shrink not from calling those things gods which have been made by the hands of man, and dare to make an image of God whom they have not seen.
“But I have to remark further, that the Sibyl 3556 also has said concerning them that it is the images of deceased kings that they worship. And this is easy to understand: for, lo! even now they worship and honour the images of those of Cæsarean rank 3557 more than their former gods; for from those their former gods both pecuniary tribute and produce accrue to Cæsar, as to one who is greater than they. On this account, those who despise them, and so cause Cæsar’s revenue to fall short, are put to death. But to the treasury of other kings also it is appointed how much the worshippers in various places shall pay, and how many vesselfuls 3558 of water from the sea they shall supply. Such is the wickedness of the world—of those who worship and fear that which has no sensation. Many of them, too, who are crafty, either for the sake of gain, or for vainglory, or for dominion over the multitude, both themselves worship, and incite those who are destitute of understanding to worship, that which has no sensation.
“I will further write and show, as far as my ability goes, how and for what causes images were made to kings and tyrants, and how they came to be regarded 3559 as gods. The people of Argos made images to Hercules, because he belonged to their city, and was strong, and by his valour slew noxious beasts, and more especially because they were afraid of him. For he was subject to no control, and carried off the wives of many: for his lust was great, like that of Zuradi the Persian, his friend. Again, the people of Acte worshipped Dionysus, 3560 a king, because he had recently 3561 planted the vine in their country. The Egyptians worshipped Joseph the Hebrew, who was called Serapis, because he supplied them with corn during the years of famine. The Athenians worshipped Athene, the daughter of Zeus, king of the island of Crete, because she built the town of Athens, and made Ericthippus her son king there, whom she had by adultery with Hephæstus, a blacksmith, son of a wife of her father. She was, too, always courting the society of Hercules, because he was her brother on her father’s side. For Zeus the king became enamoured of Alcmene, the wife of Electryon, who was from Argos, and committed adultery with her, and she gave birth to Hercules. The people of Phœnicia worshipped Balthi, 3562 queen of Cyprus, because she fell in love with Tamuz, son of Cuthar king of the Phœnicians, and left her own kingdom and came and dwelt in Gebal, a fortress of the Phœnicians, and at the same time made all the Cyprians subject to King Cuthar. Also, before Tamuz she had fallen in love with Ares, and committed adultery with him; and Hephæstus, her husband, caught her, and his jealousy was roused against her, and he came and killed Tamuz in Mount Lebanon, as he was hunting 3563 wild boars; and from that time Balthi remained in Gebal, and she died in the city of Aphiki, 3564 where Tamuz was buried. The Elamites worshipped Nuh, daughter of the king of Elam: when the enemy had carried her captive, her father made for her an image and a temple in Shushan, a royal residence which is in Elam. The Syrians worshipped Athi, a Hadibite, who sent the daughter of Belat, a person skilled in medicine, and she healed Simi, the daughter of Hadad king of Syria; and some time afterwards, when Hadad himself had the leprosy upon him, Athi entreated Elisha the Hebrew, and he came and healed him of his leprosy. The people of Mesopotamia also worshipped Cuthbi, a Hebrew woman, because she delivered Bakru, the paternal king 3565 of Edessa, from his enemies. With respect to Nebo, who is worshipped in Mabug, why should I write to you? For, lo! all the priests who are in Mabug know that it is the image of Orpheus, a Thracian Magus. Hadran, again, is the image of Zaradusht, a Persian Magus. For both of these Magi practised magic at a well which was in a wood in Mabug, in which was an unclean spirit, and it assaulted and disputed the passage of every one who passed by in all that country in which the town of Mabug is situated; and these Magi, in accordance with what was a mystery in their Magian system, bade Simi, the daughter of Hadad, to draw water from the sea and pour it into the well, so that the spirit should not come up and commit assault. In like manner, the rest of mankind made images to their kings and worshipped them; of which matter I will not write further.
“But thou, a person of liberal mind, and familiar with the truth, if thou wilt properly consider these matters, commune with thine own self; 3566 and, though they should clothe thee in the garb of a woman, remember that thou art a man. Believe in Him who is in reality God, and to Him lay open thy mind, and to Him commit thy soul, and He is able to give thee immortal life for ever, for everything is possible to Him; 3567 and let all other things be esteemed by thee just as they are—images as images, and sculptures as sculptures; and let not that which is only made be put by thee in the place of Him who is not made, but let Him, the ever-living God, be constantly present to thy mind. 3568 For thy mind itself is His likeness: for it too is invisible and impalpable, 3569 and not to be represented by any form, yet by its will is the whole bodily frame moved. Know, therefore, that, if thou constantly serve Him who is immoveable, even He exists for ever, so thou also, when thou shalt have put off this body, which is visible and corruptible, shall stand before Him for ever, endowed with life and knowledge, and thy works shall be to thee wealth inexhaustible and possessions unfailing. And know that the chief of thy good works is this: that thou know God, and serve Him. Know, too, that He asketh not anything of thee: He needeth not anything.
“Who is this God? He who is Himself truth, and His word truth. And what is truth? That which is not fashioned, nor made, nor represented by art: that is, which has never been brought into existence, and is on that account called truth. 3570 If, therefore, a man worship that which is made with hands, it is not the truth that he worships, nor yet the word of truth.
“I have very much to say on this subject; but I feel ashamed for those who do not understand that they are superior to the work of their own hands, nor perceive how they give gold to the artists that they may make for them gods, and give them silver for their adornment and honour, and move their riches about from place to place, and then worship them. And what infamy can be greater than this, that a man should worship his riches, and forsake Him who bestowed those riches upon him? and that he should revile man, yet worship the image of man; and slay a beast, yet worship the likeness of a beast? This also is evident, that it is the workmanship of their fellowmen that they worship: for they do not worship the treasures 3571 while they are laid by in the bag, but when the artists have fashioned images out of them they worship them; neither do they worship the gold or the silver considered as property, 3572 but when the gravers have sculptured them then they worship them. Senseless man! what addition has been made to thy gold, that now thou worshippest it? If it is because it has been made to resemble a winged animal, why dost thou not worship the winged animal itself? And if because it has been made like a beast of prey, lo! the beast of prey itself is before thee. And if it is the workmanship itself that pleases thee, let the workmanship of God please thee, who made all things, and in His own likeness made the workmen, who strive to do like Him, but resemble Him not.
“But perhaps thou wilt say: How is it that God did not so make me that I should serve Him, and not images? In speaking thus, thou art seeking to become an idle instrument, and not a living man. For God made thee as perfect as it seemed good to Him. He has given thee a mind endowed with freedom; He has set before thee objects in great number, that thou on thy part mayest distinguish the nature of each thing and choose for thyself that which is good; He has set before thee the heavens, and placed in them the stars; He has set before thee the sun and the moon, and they too every day run their course therein; He has set before thee the multitude of waters, and restrained them by His word; He has set before thee the wide earth, which remains at rest, and continues before thee without variation: 3573 yet, lest thou shouldst suppose that of its own nature it so continues, He makes it also to quake when He pleaseth; He has set before thee the clouds, which by His command bring water from above and satisfy the earth—that from hence thou mayest understand that He who puts these things in motion is superior to them all, and mayest accept thankfully the goodness of Him who has given thee a mind whereby to distinguish these things from one another.
“Wherefore I counsel thee to know thyself, and to know God. For understand how that there is within thee that which is called the soul—by it the eye seeth, by it the ear heareth, by it the mouth speaketh; and how it makes use of the whole body; and how, whenever He pleaseth to remove the soul from the body, this falleth to decay and perisheth. From this, therefore, which exists within thyself and is invisible, understand how God also moveth the whole by His power, like the body; and that, whenever it pleases Him to withdraw His power, the whole world also, like the body, will fall to decay and perish.
“But why this world was made, and why it passes away, and why the body exists, and why it falls to decay, and why it continues, thou canst not know until thou hast raised thy head from this sleep in which thou art sunk, and hast opened thine eyes and seen that God is One, the Lord of all, and hast come to serve Him with all thy heart. Then will He grant thee to know His will: for every one that is severed from the knowledge of the living God is dead and buried even while in his body. Therefore is it that thou dost wallow on the ground before demons and shadows, and askest vain petitions from that which has not anything to give. But thou, stand thou up from among those who are lying on the earth and caressing stones, and giving their substance as food for the fire, and offering their raiment to idols, and, while themselves possessed of senses, are bent on serving that which has no sensation; and offer thou for thy imperishable soul petitions for that which decayeth not, to God who suffers no decay—and thy freedom will be at once apparent; and be thou careful of it, 3574 and give thanks to God who made thee, and gave thee the mind of the free, that thou mightest shape thy conduct even as thou wilt. He hath set before thee all these things, and showeth thee that, if thou follow after evil, thou shalt be condemned for thy evil deeds; but that, if after goodness, thou shalt receive from Him abundant good, 3575 together with immortal life for ever.
“There is, therefore, nothing to hinder thee from changing thy evil manner of life, because thou art a free man; or from seeking and finding out who is the Lord of all; or from serving Him with all thy heart: because with Him there is no reluctance to give the knowledge of Himself to those that seek it, according to the measure of their capacity to know Him.
“Let it be thy first care not to deceive thyself. For, if thou sayest of that which is not God: This is God, thou deceivest thyself, and sinnest before the God of truth. Thou fool! is that God which is bought and sold? Is that God which is in want? Is that God which must be watched over? How buyest thou him as a slave, and servest him as a master? How askest thou of him, as of one that is rich, to give to thee, and thyself givest to him as to one that is poor? How dost thou expect of him that he will make thee victorious in battle? for, lo! when thy enemies have conquered thee, they strip him likewise.
“Perhaps one who is a king may say: I cannot behave myself aright, because I am a king; it becomes me to do the will of the many. He who speaks thus really deserves to be laughed at: for why should not the king himself lead the way 3576 to all good things, and persuade the people under his rule to behave with purity, and to know God in truth, and in his own person set before them the patterns of all things excellent—since thus it becomes him to do? For it is a shameful thing that a king, however badly he may conduct himself, should yet judge and condemn those who do amiss.
“My opinion is this: that in ‘this’ way a kingdom may be governed in peace—when the sovereign is acquainted with the God of truth, and is withheld by fear of Him from doing wrong 3577 to those who are his subjects, and judges everything with equity, as one who knows that he himself also will be judged before God; while, at the same time, those who are under his rule 3578 are withheld by the fear of God from doing wrong to their sovereign, and are restrained by the same fear from doing wrong to one another. By this knowledge of God and fear of Him all evil may be removed from the realm. For, if the sovereign abstain from doing wrong to those who are under his rule, and they abstain from doing wrong to him and to each other, it is evident that the whole country will dwell in peace. Many blessings, too, will be enjoyed there, because amongst them all the name of God will be glorified. For what blessing is greater than this, that a sovereign should deliver the people that are under his rule from error, and by this good deed render himself pleasing to God? For from error arise all those evils from which kingdoms suffer; but the greatest of all errors is this: when a man is ignorant of God, and in God’s stead worships that which is not God.
“There are, however, persons who say: It is for the honour of God that we make the image: in order, that is, that we may worship the God who is concealed from our view. But they are unaware that God is in every country, and in every place, and is never absent, and that there is not anything done and He knoweth it not. Yet thou, despicable man! within whom He is, and without whom He is, and above whom He is, hast nevertheless gone and bought thee wood from the carpenter’s, and it is carved and made into an image insulting to God. 3579 To this thou offerest sacrifice, and knowest not that the all-seeing eye seeth thee, and that the word of truth reproves thee, and says to thee: How can the unseen God be sculptured? Nay, it is the likeness of thyself that thou makest and worshippest. Because the wood has been sculptured, hast thou not the insight to perceive that it is still wood, or that the stone is still stone? The gold also the workman 3580 taketh according to its weight in the balance. And when thou hast had it made 3581 into an image, why dost thou weigh it? Therefore thou art a lover of gold, and not a lover of God. And art thou not ashamed, perchance it be deficient, to demand of the maker of it why he has stolen some of it? Though thou hast eyes, dose thou not see? And though thou hast intelligence, 3582 dose thou not understand? Why dost thou wallow on the ground, and offer supplication to things which are without sense? Fear Him who shaketh the earth, and maketh the heavens to revolve, and smiteth the sea, and removeth the mountain from its place—Him who can make Himself like a fire, and consume all things; and, if thou be not able to clear thyself of guilt, yet add not to thy sins; and, if thou be not able to know God, yet doubt not 3583 that He exists.
“Again, there are persons who say: Whatsoever our fathers have bequeathed to us, that we reverence. Therefore, of course, it is, that those whose fathers have bequeathed them poverty strive to become rich! and those whose fathers did not instruct them, desire to be instructed, and to learn that which their fathers knew not! And why, forsooth, do the children of the blind see, and the children of the lame walk? Nay, it is not well for a man to follow his predecessors, if they be those whose course was evil; but rather that we should turn from that path of theirs, lest that which befell our predecessors should bring disaster upon us also. Wherefore, inquire whether thy father’s course was good: and, if so, do thou also follow in his steps; but, if thy father’s course was very evil, let thine be good, and so let it be with thy children after thee. 3584 Be grieved also for thy father because his course is evil, so long as thy grief may avail to help him. But, as for thy children, speak to them thus: There is a God, the Father of all, who never came into being, neither was ever made, and by whose will all things subsist. He also made the luminaries, that His works may see one another; and He conceals Himself in His power from all His works: for it is not permitted to any being subject to change to see Him who changes not. But such as are mindful of His words, and are admitted into that covenant which is unchangeable, ‘they’ see God—so far as it is possible for them to see Him. These also will have power to escape destruction, when the flood of fire comes upon all the world. For there was once a flood and a wind, 3585 and the great 3586 men were swept away by a violent blast from the north, but the just were left, for a demonstration of the truth. Again, at another time there was a flood of water, and all men and animals perished in the multitude of waters, but the just were preserved in an ark of wood by the command of God. So also will it be at the last time: there shall be a flood of fire, and the earth shall be burnt up, together with its mountains; and mankind shall be burnt up, along with the idols which they have made, and the carved images which they have worshipped; and the sea shall be burnt up, together with its islands; but the just shall be preserved from wrath, like as were their fellows of the ark from the waters of the deluge. And then shall those who have not known God, and those who have made them idols, bemoan themselves, when they shall see those idols of theirs being burnt up, together with themselves, and nothing shall be found to help them.
“When thou, Antoninus 3587 Cæsar, shall become acquainted with these things, and thy children also with thee, then wilt thou bequeath to them an inheritance for ever which fadeth not away, and thou wilt deliver thy soul, and the souls of thy children also, from that which shall come upon the whole earth in the judgment of truth and of righteousness. For, according as thou hast acknowledged Him here, so will He acknowledge thee there; and, if thou account Him here superfluous, He will not account thee one of those who have known Him and confessed Him.
“These may suffice thy Majesty; and, if they be too many, yet deign to accept them.” 3588
Here endeth Melito.
Footnotes
751:3548“Which was delivered in the presence…and in which etc.” This appears to be the sense intended, and is that given by M. Renan: “Sermo qui factus est.” Cureton renders, “Who was in the presence, etc.,” and supposes that Melito first saw and conversed with the emperor, and afterwards wrote this discourse. Melito speaks of it more than once as written. This view, however, does not dispose of that fact that Melito is here affirmed to have “exhorted (lit., said to) Cæsar, etc.” It was clearly meant to be understood that the discourse, or speech, was spoken: the references to writing merely show that it was written, either before or after the delivery.
751:3549Cureton: “passion.” The word *** takes both meanings.
751:3550Lit. “sojourn beneath it.”
751:3551Cureton: “act foolishly.”
751:3552Lit. “sight.”
751:3553Comp. Rom. x. 18.
751:3554Cureton: “light without envy.” But the expression resembles the Gk. ἀφθόνως, ungrudgingly ,without stint.
752:3555Lit. “to the ditch is his way.” Comp. Matt. xv. 14.
752:3556See vol. i. p. 280, this series, where the following lines are quoted by Justin Martyr from the Sibylline Oracles:—
“But we have strayed from the Immortal’s ways,
And worship with a dull and senseless mind
Idols, the workmanship of our own hands,
And images and figures of dead men.”
752:3557Cureton: “those belonging to the Cæsars.” But the Cæsars themselves are clearly meant.
752:3558Cureton: “sacks full.” The first word is used of a leathern pouch or wallet, as in Luke x. 4 (Peshito) for πήρα.
752:3559Lit., “they became.”
752:3560Cureton, without necessity, reads the word “Dionysius.”
752:3561Cureton renders “originally.” But comp. Judith iv. 3, where the same word answers to προσφάτως.
752:3562Venus.
752:3563Cureton’s conjecture of *** or *** for *** has been adopted.
752:3564Some have identified it with Aphek, Josh. xix. 30. The rites observed here were specially abominable.
752:3565Cureton: “the patrician.” Dr. Payne Smith, Thes. Syr. s.v., regards the word as equivalent to πατὴρ τῆς πόλεως, pater civitatis, “a title of honour found in the Byzantine writers,” and is inclined to think it a term belonging to the dialect of Edessa. A similar use of the same adjective is quoted from Buxtorf, Lex. Chald. Talm., p. 12: “ייבַּאַ cognomen R. Nachmanis, qui a celebritate familiæ sic cognominatus est, quasi Patritius.” This view appears to be supported by the similar use of an adjective for a substantive above: “persons of Cæsarean rank,” or “Cæsars.”
753:3566Lit., “be (or, get to be) with thyself.” Cureton: “enter into thyself.” The meaning appears to be, “think for thyself.”
753:3567Cureton: “Everything cometh through His hands.” It should rather be, “into His hands,” i.e., “He has power to do everything.” See note 7, p. 725.
753:3568Lit., “be running in thy mind.”
753:3569The text has ***, which M. Renan derives from the root *** and translates “commovetur.” This, although correct in grammar, does not suit the sense. The grammars recognise the form as a possible Eshtaphel of ***, “tangere,” but it is not found in actual use. Dr. Payne Smith thinks the right reading to be ***, which gives the required sense.
753:3570Or, “that which is fixed and invariable.” There seems to be a reference to the derivation of *** (truth) from ***, firmus (stabilis) fuit. Cureton has strangely mistranslated ***, by “that which, without having been brought into existence, does exist.” The first *** is nothing but the sign of emphatic denial which is frequently appended to ***, and *** is the infinitive of emphasis belonging to the second ***.
753:3571Cureton: “materials.” The printed text has *** “drugs.” The correct reading, there can hardly be a doubt, is ***.
753:3572Lit., “the property of the gold or silver,” if the word *** is rightly taken. Although no such derivative of *** is found in the lexicons, the form is possible from the Palel of that verb: e.g. *** from ***. See Hoffmann, Gram. Syr., sec. 87, 19.
754:3573Lit. “in one fashion.”
754:3574Or, “of what pertains to it.”
754:3575Lit. “many good things.”
754:3576Lit. “be the beginner.”
754:3577Cureton is probably right in so taking the words, although the construction is not quite the same as in the similar sentence a little below. If so, for *** we must read ***.
754:3578Lit. “hand.”
755:3579Lit. “into an insult of God.” So M. Renan, “in opprobrium Dei.” Cureton, admitting that this may be the sense, renders, “an abomination of God,” and refers to the circumstance that in Scripture an idol is frequently so spoken of. But *** is not used in such passages (it is either ***, or, less frequently, ***), nor does it appear ever to have the meaning which Cureton assigns to it.
755:3580Lit. “he.”
755:3581Lit. “hast made it.”
755:3582Lit. “heart.”
755:3583Lit. “be of opinion.”
755:3584This seems preferable to Cureton’s, “and let thy children also follow after thee.” Had this been the meaning, probably the verb *** would have been used, as in the preceding sentence, not ***.
755:3585So the Sibylline oracle, as quoted by Cureton in the Greek:—
“And, when he would the starry steep of heaven
Ascend, the Sire Immortal did his works
With mighty blasts assail: forthwith the winds
Hurled prostrate from its height the towering pile,
And bitter strife among the builders roused.”
755:3586Lit. “chosen.” The same expression, except that the similar *** is used for ***, occurs Sap. Sol. xiv. 6, as a translation of ὑπερηφάνων γιγάντων, gigantes superbi. See Thes. Syr., s.v. ***.
756:3587The ms. has “Antonius.”
756:3588Cureton, for the last clause, gives “as thou wilt,” remarking that the sense is obscure. The literal rendering is, “if thou wilt,” the consequent clause being unexpressed. “If you please, accept them,” seems what is meant.
II.
From the Discourse on Soul and Body. 3589
For this reason did the Father send His Son from heaven without a bodily form, that, when He should put on a body by means of the Virgin’s womb, and be born man, He might save man, and gather together those members of His which death had scattered when he divided man.
And further on:—The earth shook, and its foundations trembled; the sun fled away, and the elements turned back, and the day was changed into night: for they could not endure the sight of their Lord hanging on a tree. The whole creation was amazed, marvelling and saying, “What new mystery, then, is this? The Judge is judged, and holds his peace; the Invisible One is seen, and is not ashamed; the Incomprehensible is laid hold upon, and is not indignant; the Illimitable is circumscribed, and doth not resist; the Impossible suffereth, and doth not avenge; the Immortal dieth, and answereth not a word; the Celestial is laid in the grave, and endureth! What new mystery is this?” The whole creation, I say, was astonished; but, when our Lord arose from the place of the dead, and trampled death under foot, and bound the strong one, and set man free, then did the whole creation see clearly that for man’s sake the Judge was condemned, and the Invisible was seen, and the Illimitable was circumscribed, and the Impassible suffered, and the Immortal died, and the Celestial was laid in the gave. For our Lord, when He was born man, was condemned in order that He might show mercy, was bound in order that He might loose, was seized in order that He might release, suffered in order that He might feel compassion, 3590 died in order that He might give life, was laid in the grave that He might raise from the dead. 3591
Footnotes
756:3589By Melito, bishop of Sardis.
756:3590*** seems to be the true reading, not the *** of the printed ms.
756:3591[Such passages sustain the testimony of Jerome and others, that this venerable and learned Father was an eloquent preacher.]
III.
From the Discourse on the Cross. 3592
On these accounts He came to us; on these accounts, though He was incorporeal, He formed for Himself a body after our fashion, 3593 —appearing as a sheep, yet still remaining the Shepherd; being esteemed a servant, yet not renouncing the Sonship; being carried in the womb of Mary, yet arrayed in the nature of His Father; treading upon the earth, yet filling heaven; appearing as an infant, yet not discarding the eternity of His nature; being invested with a body, yet not circumscribing the unmixed simplicity of His Godhead; being esteemed poor, yet not divested of His riches; needing sustenance inasmuch as He was man, yet not ceasing to feed the entire world inasmuch as He is God; putting on the likeness of a servant, yet not impairing 3594 the likeness of His Father. He sustained every character 3595 belonging to Him in an immutable nature: He was standing before Pilate, and at the same time was sitting with His Father; He was nailed upon the tree, and yet was the Lord of all things.
Footnotes
756:3592By the same.
756:3593Or “wove—a body from our material.”
756:3594Lit. “changing.”
756:3595Lit. “He was everything.”
IV.
On Faith. 3596
We have collected together extracts from the Law and the Prophets relating to those things which have been declared concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, that we may prove to your love that this Being is perfect reason, the Word of God; He who was begotten before the light; He who is Creator together with the Father; He who is the Fashioner of man; He who is all in all; He who among the patriarchs is Patriarch; He who in the law is the Law; among the priests, Chief Priest; among kings, the Ruler; among prophets, the Prophet; among the angels, Archangel; in the voice of the preacher, the Word; among spirits, the Spirit; in the Father, the Son; in God, God; King for ever and ever. For this is He who was pilot to Noah; He who was guide to Abraham; He who was bound with Isaac; He who was in exile with Jacob; He who was sold with Joseph; He who was captain of the host with Moses; He who was the divider of the inheritance with Jesus the son of Nun; He who in David and the prophets announced His own sufferings; He who put on a bodily form in the Virgin; He who was born in Bethlehem; He who was wrapped in swaddling-clothes in the manger; He who was seen by the shepherds; He who was glorified by the angels; He who was worshipped by the Magi; He who was pointed out by John; He who gathered together the apostles; He who preached the kingdom; He who cured the lame; He who gave light to the blind; He who raised the dead; He who appeared in the temple; He who was not believed on by the people; He who was betrayed by Judas; He who was apprehended by the priests; He who was condemned by Pilate; He who was pierced in the flesh; He who was hanged on the tree; He who was buried in the earth; He who rose from the place of the dead; He who appeared to the apostles; He who was carried up to heaven; He who is seated at the right hand of the Father; He who is the repose of those that are departed; the recoverer of those that are lost; the light of those that are in darkness; the deliverer of those that are captive; the guide of those that go astray; the asylum of the afflicted; the bridegroom of the Church; the charioteer of the cherubim; the captain of the angels; God who is from God; the Son who is from the Father; Jesus Christ the King for evermore. Amen.
Footnotes
756:3596Of Melito the bishop.
V. 3597
This is He who took a bodily form in the Virgin, and was hanged upon the tree, and was buried within the earth, and suffered not dissolution; He who rose from the place of the dead, and raised up men from the earth—from the grave below to the height of heaven. This is the Lamb that was slain; this is the Lamb that opened not His mouth. 3598 This is He who was born of Mary, fair sheep of the fold. This is He that was taken from the flock, and was led to the slaughter, and was slain in the evening, and was buried at night; He who had no bone of Him broken on the tree; He who suffered not dissolution within the earth; He who rose from the place of the dead, and raised up the race of Adam from the grave below, This is He who was put to death. And where was He put to death? In the midst of Jerusalem. By whom? By Israel: because He cured their lame, and cleansed their lepers, and gave light to their blind, and raised their dead! This was the cause of His death. Thou, O Israel, wast giving commands, and He was being crucified; thou wast rejoicing, and He was being buried; thou wast reclining on a soft couch, and He was watching in the grave and the shroud. 3599 O Israel, transgressor of the law, why hast thou committed this new iniquity, subjecting the Lord to new sufferings—thine own Lord, Him who fashioned thee, Him who made thee, Him who honoured thee, who called thee Israel? But thou hast not been found to be Israel: for thou hast not seen God, nor understood the Lord. Thou hast not known, O Israel, that this was the first-born of God, who was begotten before the sun, who made the light to shine forth, who lighted up the day, who separated the darkness, who fixed the first foundations, who poised the earth, who collected the ocean, who stretched out the firmament, who adorned the world. Bitter were thy nails, and sharp; bitter thy tongue, which thou didst whet; bitter was Judas, to whom thou gavest hire; bitter thy false witnesses, whom thou stirredst up; bitter thy gall, which thou preparedst; bitter thy vinegar, which thou madest; bitter thy hands, filled with blood. Thou slewest thy Lord, and He was lifted up upon the tree; and an inscription was fixed above, to show who He was that was slain. And who was this? (that which we shall not say is too shocking to hear, and that which we shall say is very dreadful: nevertheless hearken, and tremble.) It was He because of whom the earth quaked. He that hung up the earth in space was Himself hanged up; He that fixed the heavens was fixed with nails; He that bore up the earth was borne up on a tree; the Lord of all was subjected to ignominy in a naked body—God put to death! the King of Israel slain with Israel’s right hand! Alas for the new wickedness of the new murder! The Lord was exposed with naked body: He was not deemed worthy even of covering; and, in order that He might not be seen, the luminaries turned away, and the day became darkened 3600 because they slew God, who hung naked on the tree. It was not the body of our Lord that the luminaries covered with darkness when they set, 3601 but the eyes of men. For, because the people quaked not, the earth quaked; because they were not affrighted, the earth was affrighted. Thou smotest thy Lord: thou also hast been smitten upon the earth. And thou indeed liest dead; but He is risen from the place of the dead, and ascended to the height of heaven, having suffered for the sake of those who suffer, and having been bound for the sake of Adam’s race which was imprisoned, and having been judged for the sake of him who was condemned, and having been buried for the sake of him who was buried.
And further on:—This is He who made the heaven and the earth, and in the beginning, together with the Father, fashioned man; who was announced by means of the law and the prophets; who put on a bodily form in the Virgin; who was hanged upon the tree; who was buried in the earth; who rose from the place of the dead, and ascended to the height of heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father.
Footnotes
757:3597By Melito, bishop of Attica. [Of this epigraph, which becomes Ittica below, I have never seen a sufficient explanation.]
757:3598Lit. “the Lamb without voice.”
757:3599The Greek γλωσσόκομον.
757:3600[For Phlegon’s testimony, see references, vol. vii. p. 257. But note Lightfoot, Ap. F., part ii. vol. i. p. 512; his remark on Origen, Celsus, vol. iv. p. 437, this series.]
757:3601This is the rendering of ***; but Cureton has “fled,” as though he read ***.
VI. 3602
He that bore up the earth was borne up on a tree. The Lord was subjected to ignominy with naked body—God put to death, the King of Israel slain!
Footnotes
758:3602By the holy Melito, bishop of the city of Ittica. [For Melito, in Lightfoot’s Apost. Fathers, consult part ii. vol. i. pp. 133, 328, 428, 443–446, 468–469, 494. See Lardner, Credib., vol. ii. 157, etc.; Westcott, Canon, p. 246. See Polycrates, infra; on which consult Schaff, History, etc., vol. ii. p. 736. Above all, see Routh, R. S., tom. i. pp. 113–153.]
Fragments. 3603
I.
From the Work on the Passover. 3604
When Servilius Paulus was proconsul of Asia, at the time that Sagaris 3605 suffered martyrdom, there arose a great controversy at Laodicea concerning the time of the celebration of the Passover, which on that occasion had happened to fall at the proper season; 3606 and this treatise was then written. 3607
Footnotes
758:3603The following Fragments of Melito are translated from the Greek, except No. IX., which is taken from the Latin.
758:3604In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., iv. 26. [Melito wrote two books on the Paschal and one On the Lord’s Day (ὁ περὶ κυριακῆς λόγος), according to Eusebius. But is this On the Lord’s Day other than one of the books on the Paschal? It may be doubted. Routh refers us to Barnabas. See vol. i. cap. 15, note 7, p. 147, this series. See also Dionysius of Corinth, infra.]
758:3605He was bishop of Laodicea, and suffered martyrdom during the persecution under M. Aurelius Antonius.—Migne.
758:3606The churches of Asia Minor kept Easter on the fourteenth day from the new moon, whatever day of the week that might be; and hence were called Quartodecimans. Other churches, chiefly those of the West, kept it on the Sunday following the day of the Jewish passover. In the case here referred to, the 14th of the month occurred on the Sunday in question.
758:3607Migne, not so naturally, punctuates otherwise, and renders, “which had happened then to fall at the proper season, and on that occasion this treatise was written.”
II.
From the Apology Addressed to Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. 3608
For the race of the pious is now persecuted in a way contrary to all precedent, being harassed by a new kind of edicts 3609 everywhere in Asia. For unblushing informers, and such as are greedy of other men’s goods, taking occasion from the orders issued, carry on their robbery without any disguise, plundering of their property night and day those who are guilty of no wrong.
If these proceedings take place at thy bidding, 3610 well and good. 3611 For a just sovereign will never take unjust measures; and we, on our part, gladly accept the honour of such a death. This request only we present to thee, that thou wouldst first of all examine for thyself into the behaviour of these reputed agents of so much strife, and then come to a just decision as to whether they merit death and punishment, or deserve to live in safety and quiet. But if, on the contrary, it shall turn out that this measure, and this new sort of command, which it would be unbecoming to employ even against barbarian foemen, do not proceed from thee, then all the more do we entreat thee not to leave us thus exposed to the spoliation of the populace.
For the philosophy current with us flourished in the first instance among barbarians; 3612 and, when it afterwards sprang up among the nations under thy rule, during the distinguished reign of thy ancestor Augustus, it proved to be a blessing of most happy omen to thy empire. For from that time the Roman power has risen to greatness and splendour. To this power thou hast succeeded as the much desired 3613 possessor; and such shalt thou continue, together with thy son, 3614 if thou protect that philosophy which has grown up with thy empire, and which took its rise with Augustus; to which also thy more recent ancestors paid honour, along with the other religions prevailing in the empire. A very strong proof, moreover, that it was for good that the system we profess came to prevail at the same time that the empire of such happy commencement was established, is this—that ever since the reign of Augustus nothing untoward has happened; but, on the contrary, everything has contributed to the splendour and renown of the empire, in accordance with the devout wishes 3615 of all. Nero and Domitian alone of all the emperors, imposed upon by certain calumniators, have cared to bring any impeachment against our doctrines. They, too, are the source from which it has happened that the lying slanders on those who profess them have, in consequence of the senseless habit which prevails of taking things on hearsay, flowed down to our own times. 3616 But the course which they in their ignorance pursued was set aside by thy pious progenitors, who frequently and in many instances rebuked by their rescripts 3617 those who dared to set on foot any hostilities against them. It appears, for example, that thy grandfather Adrian wrote, among others, to Fundanus, the proconsul then in charge of the government of Asia. Thy father, too, when thou thyself wast associated with him 3618 in the administration of the empire, wrote to the cities, forbidding them to take any measures adverse to us: among the rest to the people of Larissa, and of Thessalonica, and of Athens, and, in short, to all the Greeks. And as regards thyself, seeing that thy sentiments respecting the Christians 3619 are not only the same as theirs, but even much more generous and wise, we are the more persuaded that thou wilt do all that we ask of thee.
Footnotes
758:3608In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., l. c.
758:3609Migne thinks that by these are meant the orders given by magistrates of cities on their own authority, in distinction from those which issued from emperors or governors of provinces.
758:3610The reference must be to private letters: for in any of the leading cities of Asia a mandate of the emperor would have been made public before the proconsul proceeded to execute it.—Migne.
758:3611῎Εστω καλῶς γενόμενον seems to be here used in the sense of καλῶς alone. The correctness of Migne’s translation, recte atque ordine facta sunto, is open to doubt.
758:3612The Jews. Porphyry calls the doctrines of the Christians βάρβαρον τόλμημα. See Euseb., Hist. Eccl., vi. 19.—Migne.
758:3613Εὐκταῖος.
758:3614Commodus, who hence appears to have been not yet associated with his father in the empire.—Migne.
758:3615Εὐχάς.
759:3616’Αφ᾽ ὧν καὶ τὸ τῆς συκοφαντίας ἀλόγῳ συνηθείᾳ περὶ τοῦς τοιούτους ῥυῆναι συμβέβηκε ψεῦδος.
759:3617᾽Εγγράφως.
759:3618The reading of Valesius, σοῦ τὰ πάντα συνδιοικοῦντος αὐτῷ, is here adopted.
759:3619Περὶ τούτων.
III.
From the Same Apology. 3620
We are not those who pay homage to stones, that are without sensation; but of the only God, who is before all and over all, and, moreover, we are worshippers of His Christ, who is veritably God the Word 3621 existing before all time.
Footnotes
759:3620In the Chronicon Alexandrinum.
759:3621῎Οντως Θεοῦ Λόγου.
IV.
From the Book of Extracts. 3622
Melito to his brother Onesimus, greeting:—
As you have often, prompted by your regard for the word of God, expressed a wish to have some extracts made from the Law and the Prophets concerning the Saviour, and concerning our faith in general, and have desired, moreover, to obtain an accurate account of the Ancient Books, as regards their number and their arrangement, I have striven to the best of my ability to perform this task: well knowing your zeal for the faith, and your eagerness to become acquainted with the Word, and especially because I am assured that, through your yearning after God, you esteem these things beyond all things else, engaged as you are in a struggle for eternal salvation.
I accordingly proceeded to the East, and went to the very spot where the things in question were preached and took place; and, having made myself accurately acquainted with the books of the Old Testament, I have set them down below, and herewith send you the list. Their names are as follows:—
The five books of Moses—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; Joshua, 3623 Judges, Ruth, the four books of Kings, the two of Chronicles, the book of the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, also called the Book of Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Job, the books of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, of the twelve contained in a single book, Daniel, Ezekiel, Esdras. From these I have made my extracts, dividing them into six books.
Footnotes
759:3622In Eusebius, l. c.
759:3623᾽Ιησοῦς Ναυῆ.
V.
From the Catena on Genesis. 3624
In place of Isaac the just, a ram appeared for slaughter, in order that Isaac might be liberated from his bonds. The slaughter of this animal redeemed Isaac from death. In like manner, the Lord, being slain, saved us; being bound, He loosed us; being sacrificed, He redeemed us…
For the Lord was a lamb, like the ram which Abraham saw caught in the bush Sabec. 3625 But this bush represented the cross, and that place Jerusalem, and the lamb the Lord bound for slaughter.
For as a ram was He bound, says he concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, and as a lamb was He shorn, and as a sheep was He led to the slaughter, and as a lamb was He crucified; and He carried the cross 3626 on His shoulders when He was led up to the hill to be slain, as was Isaac by his father. But Christ suffered, and Isaac did not suffer: for he was but a type of Him who should suffer. Yet, even when serving only for a type of Christ, he smote men with astonishment and fear.
For a new mystery was presented to view,—a son led by his father to a mountain to be slain, whose feet he bound together, and laid him on the wood of the sacrifice, preparing with care 3627 whatever was necessary to his immolation. Isaac on his part is silent, bound like a ram, not opening his mouth, nor uttering a sound with his voice. For, not fearing the knife, nor quailing before the fire, nor troubled by the prospect of suffering, he sustained bravely the character of the type of the Lord. Accordingly there lies Isaac before us, with his feet bound like a ram, his father standing by, with the knife all bare in his hand, not shrinking from shedding the blood of his son.
Footnotes
759:3624From Melito of Sardis.
759:3625The Hebrew word ךְבסְ, thicket, is not found as a proper name.
759:3626Τὸ ξύλον.
759:3627Μετὰ σπουδῆς. Migne: Cum festinatione.
VI.
Two Scholia on Genesis XXII. 13. 3628
The Syriac and the Hebrew use the word “suspended,” 3629 as more clearly typifying the cross.
The word Sabek 3630 some have rendered remission, 3631 others upright, 3632 as if the meaning, agreeing with the popular belief, were—a goat walking erect up to a bush, and there standing erect caught by his horns, so as to be a plain type of the cross. For this reason it is not translated, because the single Hebrew word signifies in other languages 3633 many things. To those, however, who ask it is proper to give an answer, and to say that Sabek denotes lifted up. 3634
Footnotes
760:3628In the edition of the LXX. published by Card. Caraffe, 1581.
760:3629κρεμάμενος. The Hebrew is זחאנ, the Syriac ***, both meaning simply “caught.”
760:3630See note on the fragment just before.
760:3631ἀφεσις.
760:3632ὄρθιος.
760:3633Lit. “when translated.”
760:3634ἐπηρμένος.
VII.
On the Nature of Christ. 3635
For there is no need, to persons of intelligence, to attempt to prove, from the deeds of Christ subsequent to His baptism, that His soul and His body, His human nature 3636 like ours, were real, and no phantom of the imagination. For the deeds done by Christ after His baptism, and especially His miracles, gave indication and assurance to the world of the Deity hidden in His flesh. For, being at once both God and perfect man likewise, He gave us sure indications of His two natures: 3637 of His Deity, by His miracles during the three years that elapsed after His baptism; of His humanity, during the thirty similar periods which preceded His baptism, in which, by reason of His low estate 3638 as regards the flesh, He concealed the signs of His Deity, although He was the true God existing before all ages.
Footnotes
760:3635In Anastasius of Sinai, The Guide, ch. 13.
760:3636Or, according to Migne’s punctuation, “His soul, and the body of His human nature.” The words are, τὸ ἀληθὲς καὶ ἀφάνταστον τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ σώματος τῆς καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἀνθρωπινῆς φύσεως.
760:3637Οὐσίας. [Comp. note 13, infra.]
760:3638Τὸ ἀτέλες.
VIII.
From the Oration on Our Lord’s Passion. 3639
God has suffered from the right hand of Israel. 3640
Footnotes
760:3639Anastasius, Guide, ch. 12.
760:3640[῾Ο Θεος πεπονθεν ὑπὸ δεξίας ᾽Ισραηλίτιδος. Compare Tatian, vol. ii. p. 71, note 2; also Origen, vol. iv. p. 480, note 4, this series. And see Routh, R. S., i. p. 148. So “God put to death,” p. 757, supra.]
IX. 3641
Head of the Lord—His simple Divinity; because He is the Beginning and Creator of all things: in Daniel. 3642
The white hair of the Lord, because He is “the Ancient of Days:” as above.
The eyes of the Lord—the Divine inspection: because He sees all things. Like that in the apostle: For all things are naked and open in His eyes.” 3643
The eyelids of the Lord—hidden spiritual mysteries in the Divine precepts. In the Psalm: “His eyelids question, that is prove, the children of men.” 3644
The smelling of the Lord—His delight in the prayers or works of the saints. In Genesis: “And the Lord smelled an odour of sweetness.” 3645
The mouth of the Lord—His Son, or word addressed to men. In the prophet, “The mouth of the Lord hath spoken;” 3646 and elsewhere, “They provoked His mouth to anger.” 3647
The tongue of the Lord—His Holy Spirit. In the Psalm: “My tongue is a pen.” 3648
The face of the Lord—His manifestation. In Exodus, “My face shall go before thee;” 3649 and in the prophet, “The face of the Lord divided them.” 3650
The word of the Lord—His Son. In the Psalm: “My heart hath uttered a good word.” 3651
The arm of the Lord—His Son, by whom He hath wrought all His works. In the prophet Isaiah: “And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” 3652
The right hand of the Lord—that is, His Son; as also above in the Psalm: “The right hand of the Lord hath done valiantly.” 3653
The right hand of the Lord—electio omnis. As in Deuteronomy: “In His right hand is a fiery law.” 3654
The wings of the Lord—Divine protection. In the Psalm: “In the shadow of Thy wings will I hope.” 3655
The shoulder of the Lord—the Divine power, by which He condescends to carry the feeble. In Deuteronomy: “He took them up, and put them on His shoulders.” 3656
The hand of the Lord—Divine operation. In the prophet: “Have not my hands made all these things?” 3657
The finger of the Lord—the Holy Spirit, by whose operation the tables of the law in Exodus are said to have been written; 3658 and in the Gospel: “If I by the finger of God cast out demons” 3659
The fingers of the Lord—The lawgiver Moses, or the prophets. In the Psalm: “I will regard the heavens,” that is, the books of the Law and the Prophets, “the works of Thy fingers.” 3660
The wisdom of the Lord—His Son. In the apostle: “Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God;” 3661 and in Solomon: “The wisdom of the Lord reacheth from one end to the other mightily.” 3662
The womb of the Lord—the hidden recess of Deity out of which He brought forth His Son. In the Psalm: “Out of the womb, before Lucifer, have I borne Thee.” 3663
The feet of the Lord—His immoveableness and eternity. In the Psalm: “And thick darkness was under His feet.” 3664
The throne of the Lord—angels, or saints, or simply sovereign dominion. 3665 In the Psalm: “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever.” 3666
Seat—the same as above, angels or saints, because the Lord sits upon these. In the Psalm: “The Lord sat upon His holy seat.” 3667
The descent of the Lord—His visitation of men. As in Micah: “Behold, the Lord shall come forth from His place; He shall come down trampling under foot the ends of the earth.” 3668 Likewise in a bad sense. In Genesis: “The Lord came down to see the tower.” 3669
The ascent of the Lord—the raising up of man, who is taken from earth to heaven. In the Psalm: “Who ascendeth above the heaven of heavens to the east.” 3670
The standing of the Lord—the patience of the Deity, by which He bears with sinners that they may come to repentance. As in Habakkuk: “He stood and measured the earth; 3671 and in the Gospel: “Jesus stood, and bade him be called,” 3672 that is, the blind man.
The transition of the Lord—His assumption of our flesh, through which by His birth, His death, His resurrection, His ascent into heaven, He made transitions, so to say. In the Song of Songs: “Behold, He cometh, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.” 3673
The going 3674 of the Lord—His coming or visitation. In the Psalm.
The way of the Lord—the operation of the Deity. As in Job, in speaking of the devil: “He is the beginning of the ways of the Lord.” 3675
Again: The ways of the Lord—His precepts. In Hosea: “For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the just shall walk in them.” 3676
The footsteps of the Lord—the signs of His secret operations. As in the Psalm: “And Thy footsteps shall not be known.” 3677
The knowledge of the Lord—that which makes men to know Him. To Abraham He says: “Now I know that thou fearest the Lord;” 3678 that is, I have made thee to know.
The ignorance of God 3679 is His disapproval. In the Gospel: “I know you not.” 3680
The remembrance of God—His mercy, by which He rejects and has mercy on whom He will. So in Genesis: “The Lord remembered Noah;” 3681 and in another passage: “The Lord hath remembered His people.” 3682
The repentance of the Lord—His change of procedure. 3683 As in the book of Kings: “It repented me that I have made Saul king.” 3684
The anger and wrath of the Lord—the vengeance of the Deity upon sinners, when He bears with them with a view to punishment, does not at once judge them according to strict equity. As in the Psalm: “In His anger and in His wrath will He trouble them.” 3685
The sleeping of the Lord—when, in the thoughts of some, His faithfulness is not sufficiently wakeful. In the Psalm: “Awake, why sleepest Thou, O Lord?” 3686
The watches of the Lord—in the guardianship of His elect He is always at hand by the presence of His Deity. In the Psalm: “Lo! He will not slumber nor sleep.” 3687
The sitting of the Lord—His ruling. In the Psalm: “The Lord sitteth upon His holy seat.” 3688
The footstool of the Lord—man assumed by the Word; or His saints, as some think. In the Psalm: “Worship ye His footstool, for it is holy.”
The walking of the Lord—the delight of the Deity in the walks of His elect. In the prophet: “I will walk in them, and will be their Lord.” 3689
The trumpet of the Lord—His mighty voice. In the apostle: “At the command, and at the voice of the archangel, and at the trumpet of God, shall He descend from heaven.” 3690
————————————
Footnotes
760:3641From The Key.
760:3642Dan. 7:9, 13, 22.
760:3643Heb. iv. 13.
760:3644Ps. xi. 4.
760:3645Gen. viii. 21.
760:3646Isa. i. 20.
760:3647Lam. i. 18.
760:3648Ps. xlv. 1.
760:3649Ex. xxxiii. 14.
760:3650Lam. iv. 16.
760:3651Ps. xlv. 1.
760:3652Isa. liii. 1.
760:3653Ps. cxviii. 16.
760:3654Deut. xxxiii. 2.
760:3655Ps. lvii. 1.
760:3656Deut. xxxiii. 12.
761:3657Isa. lxvi. 2.
761:3658Ex. xxxiv. 1.
761:3659Luke xi. 20.
761:3660Ps. viii. 3.
761:36611 Cor. i. 24.
761:3662Sap. viii. 1.
761:3663Ps. cx. 3.
761:3664Ps. xviii. 9.
761:3665Ipsa regnandi potestas.
761:3666Ps. 45:6, Ps. 5:0, Ps. 29:0.
761:3667Ps. xlvii. 8.
761:3668Mic. i. 3.
761:3669Gen. xi. 3.
761:3670Ps. lxviii. 33.
761:3671Hab. iii. 6.
761:3672Mark x. 49.
761:3673Song of Sol. 2.8.
761:3674Gressus.
761:3675Job xl. 19.
761:3676Hos. xiv. 10.
761:3677Ps. lxxvii. 19.
761:3678Gen. xxii. 12.
761:3679Nescire Dei.
761:3680Luke xiii. 25.
761:3681Gen. viii. 1.
761:3682Esther x. 12.
761:3683Rerum mutatio.
761:36841 Sam. xv. 11.
761:3685Ps. ii. 5.
761:3686Ps. xliv. 23.
761:3687Ps. cxxi. 4.
761:3688Ps. xlvii. 8.
762:3689Ezek. xxxvii. 27.
762:36901 Thess. iv. 15. [The above has been shown to have no claim to be the work of Melito. It is a compilation of the sixth century, in all probability.]
Hegesippus. 3691
[a.d. 170.] One of the sub-Apostolic age, a contemporary of Justin and of the martyrs of “the good Aurelius,” we must yet distinguish Hegesippus 3692 from the apologists. He is the earliest of the Church’s chroniclers—we can hardly call him a historian. His aims were noble and his character was pure; nor can we refuse him the credit due to a foresight of the Church’s ultimate want of historical material, which he endeavoured to supply.
What is commonly regarded as his defect is in reality one of his greatest merits as a witness: he was a Hebrew, and looks at the Church from the stand-point of “James the Lord’s brother.” When we observe his Catholic spirit, therefore, as well as his Catholic orthodoxy; his sympathy with the Gentile Church and Pauline faith of the Corinthians; his abhorrence of “the Circumcision” so far as it bred sects and heresies against Christ; and when we find him confirming the testimony of the Apostolic Fathers, and sustaining the traditions of Antioch by those of Jerusalem,—we have double reason to cherish his name, and to treasure up “the fragments that remain” of his works. That touching episode of the kindred of Christ, as they appeared before Domitian, has always impressed my imagination as worthy to be classed with the story of St. John and the robber, as one of the most suggestive incidents of early Christian history. We must lament the loss of other portions of the Memoirs which were known to exist in the seventeenth century. He was a traveller, and must have seen much of the Apostolic churches in the East and West; and the mere scraps we have of his narrative concerning Corinth and Rome excite a natural curiosity as to the rest, which may lead to gratifying discoveries.
Footnotes
762:3691Westcott, Canon, p. 228.
762:3692Routh, Rel. Sac., vol. i. pp. 205–219. Lightfoot is culpably lax in calling Rome “the Papal throne” (temp. Anicet.), and mistaking alike the testimony of Irenæus and of our author. Ap. F., part ii. vol. i. p. 435.
Fragments from His Five Books of Commentaries on the Acts of the Church.
I.
Concerning the Martyrdom of James, the Brother of the Lord, from Book V. 3693
James, the Lord’s brother, succeeds to the government of the Church, in conjunction with the apostles. He has been universally called the Just, from the days of the Lord down to the present time. For many bore the name of James; but this one was holy from his mother’s womb. He drank no wine or other intoxicating liquor, 3694 nor did he eat flesh; no razor came upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, nor make use of the bath. He alone was permitted to enter the holy place: 3695 for he did not wear any woollen garment, but fine linen only. He alone, I say, was wont to go into the temple: and he used to be found kneeling on his knees, begging forgiveness for the people—so that the skin of his knees became horny like that of a camel’s, by reason of his constantly bending the knee in adoration to God, and begging forgiveness for the people. Therefore, in consequence of his pre-eminent justice, he was called the Just, and Oblias, 3696 which signifies in Greek Defence of the People, and Justice, in accordance with what the prophets declare concerning him.
Now some persons belonging to the seven sects existing among the people, which have been before described by me in the Notes, asked him: “What is the door of Jesus?” And he replied that He was the Saviour. In consequence of this answer, some believed that Jesus is the Christ. But the sects before mentioned did not believe, either in a resurrection or in the coming of One to requite every man according to his works; but those who did believe, believed because of James. So, when many even of the ruling class believed, there was a commotion among the Jews, and scribes, and Pharisees, who said: “A little more, and we shall have all the people looking for Jesus as the Christ.
They came, therefore, in a body to James, and said: “We entreat thee, restrain the people: for they are gone astray in their opinions about Jesus, as if he were the Christ. We entreat thee to persuade all who have come hither for the day of the passover, concerning Jesus. For we all listen to thy persuasion; since we, as well as all the people, bear thee testimony that thou art just, and showest partiality to none. Do thou, therefore, persuade the people not to entertain erroneous opinions concerning Jesus: for all the people, and we also, listen to thy persuasion. Take thy stand, then, upon the summit 3697 of the temple, that from that elevated spot thou mayest be clearly seen, and thy words may be plainly audible to all the people. For, in order to attend the passover, all the tribes have congregated hither, and some of the Gentiles also.”
The aforesaid scribes and Pharisees accordingly set James on the summit of the temple, and cried aloud to him, and said: “O just one, whom we are all bound to obey, forasmuch as the people is in error, and follows Jesus the crucified, do thou tell us what is the door of Jesus, the crucified.” And he answered with a loud voice: “Why ask ye me concerning Jesus the Son of man? He Himself sitteth in heaven, at the right hand of the Great Power, and shall come on the clouds of heaven.”
And, when many were fully convinced by these words, and offered praise for the testimony of James, and said, “Hosanna to the son of David,” then again the said Pharisees and scribes said to one another, “We have not done well in procuring this testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, that they may be afraid, and not believe him.” And they cried aloud, and said: “Oh! oh! the just man himself is in error.” Thus they fulfilled the Scripture written in Isaiah: “Let us away with the just man, because he is troublesome to us: therefore shall they eat the fruit of their doings.” So they went up and threw down the just man, and said to one another: “Let us stone James the Just.” And they began to stone him: for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned, and kneeled down, and said: “I beseech Thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
And, while they were thus stoning him to death, one of the priests, the sons of Rechab, the son of Rechabim, to whom testimony is borne by Jeremiah the prophet, began to cry aloud, saying: “Cease, what do ye? The just man is praying for us.” But one among them, one of the fullers, took the staff with which he was accustomed to wring out the garments he dyed, and hurled it at the head of the just man.
And so he suffered martyrdom; and they buried him on the spot, and the pillar erected to his memory still remains, close by the temple. This man was a true witness to both Jews and Greeks that Jesus is the Christ.
And shortly after Vespasian besieged Judæa, taking them captive.
Footnotes
762:3693In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., ii. 23. [Comp. Isa. iii. 10, Sept.]
762:3694Σίκερα.
762:3695Τὰ ἅγια.
762:3696The reference appears to be to the Hebrew word לפֶּעׂ, a rising ground, which was applied as a proper name to a fortified ridge of Mount Zion. See 2 Chron. xxvii. 3. It has been proposed to read ἐκαλεῖτο Σαδδὶκ καὶ ᾽Ωζλιὰμ, ὅ ἐστιν δίκαιος καὶ περιοχὴ τοῦ λαοῦ. The text, in which not only a Hebrew word but also a Greek (Δίκαιος) is explained in Greek, can hardly give the correct reading. [The translator suggests ᾽Ωβλίας as the probable reading of the LXX., though it is corrupted as above.]
763:3697Πτερύγιον. [Matt. iv. 5.]
Concerning the Relatives of Our Saviour. 3698
There still survived of the kindred of the Lord the grandsons of Judas, who according to the flesh was called his brother. These were informed against, as belonging to the family of David, and Evocatus brought them before Domitian Cæsar: for that emperor dreaded the advent of Christ, as Herod had done.
So he asked them whether they were of the family of David; and they confessed they were. Next he asked them what property they had, or how much money they possessed. They both replied that they had only 9000 denaria between them, each of them owning half that sum; but even this they said they did not possess in cash, but as the estimated value of some land, consisting of thirty-nine plethra only, out of which they had to pay the dues, and that they supported themselves by their own labour. And then they began to hold out their hands, exhibiting, as proof of their manual labour, the roughness of their skin, and the corns raised on their hands by constant work.
Being then asked concerning Christ and His kingdom, what was its nature, and when and where it was to appear, they returned answer that it was not of this world, nor of the earth, but belonging to the sphere of heaven and angels, and would make its appearance at the end of time, when He shall come in glory, and judge living and dead, and render to every one according to the course of his life. 3699
Thereupon Domitian passed no condemnation upon them, but treated them with contempt, as too mean for notice, and let them go free. At the same time he issued a command, and put a stop to the persecution against the Church.
When they were released they became leaders 3700 of the churches, as was natural in the case of those who were at once martyrs and of the kindred of the Lord. And, after the establishment of peace to the Church, their lives were prolonged to the reign of Trajan.
Footnotes
763:3698Also in Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., iii. 20.
763:3699Τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα αὐτοῦ.
764:3700῾Ηγήσασθαι.
Concerning the Martyrdom of Symeon the son of Clopas, Bishop of Jerusalem. 3701
Some of these heretics, forsooth, laid an information against Symeon the son of Clopas, as being of the family of David, and a Christian. And on these charges he suffered martyrdom when he was 120 years old, in the reign of Trajan Cæsar, when Atticus was consular legate 3702 in Syria. And it so happened, says the same writer, that, while inquiry was then being made for those belonging to the royal tribe of the Jews, the accusers themselves were convicted of belonging to it. With show of reason could it be said that Symeon was one of those who actually saw and heard the Lord, on the ground of his great age, and also because the Scripture of the Gospels makes mention of Mary the daughter of Clopas, who, as our narrative has shown already, was his father.
The same historian mentions others also, of the family of one of the reputed brothers of the Saviour, named Judas, as having survived until this same reign, after the testimony they bore for the faith of Christ in the time of Domitian, as already recorded.
He writes as follows: They came, then, and took the presidency of every church, as witnesses for Christ, and as being of the kindred of the Lord. And, after profound peace had been established in every church, they remained down to the reign of Trajan Cæsar: that is, until the time when he who was sprung from an uncle of the Lord, the aforementioned Symeon son of Clopas, was informed against by the various heresies, and subjected to an accusation like the rest, and for the same cause, before the legate Atticus; and, while suffering outrage during many days, he bore testimony for Christ: so that all, including the legate himself, were astonished above measure that a man 120 years old should have been able to endure such torments. He was finally condemned to be crucified.
…Up to that period the Church had remained like a virgin pure and uncorrupted: for, if there were any persons who were disposed to tamper with the wholesome rule of the preaching of salvation, 3703 they still lurked in some dark place of concealment or other. But, when the sacred band of apostles had in various ways closed their lives, and that generation of men to whom it had been vouchsafed to listen to the Godlike Wisdom with their own ears had passed away, then did the confederacy of godless error take its rise through the treachery of false teachers, who, seeing that none of the apostles any longer survived, at length attempted with bare and uplifted head to oppose the preaching of the truth by preaching “knowledge falsely so called.”
Footnotes
764:3701Also in Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., iii. 32.
764:3702῾Υπατικοῦ. [St. John died a few years before.]
764:3703Τοῦ σωτηρίου κηρυγματος.
Concerning His Journey to Rome, and the Jewish Sects. 3704
And the church of the Corinthians continued in the orthodox faith 3705 up to the time when Primus was bishop in Corinth. I had some intercourse with these brethren on my voyage to Rome, when I spent several days with the Corinthians, during which we were mutually refreshed by the orthodox faith.
On my arrival at Rome, I drew up a list of the succession of bishops down to Anicetus, whose deacon was Eleutherus. To Anicetus succeeded Soter, and after him came Eleutherus. But in the case of every succession, 3706 and in every city, the state of affairs is in accordance with the teaching of the Law and of the Prophets and of the Lord.…
And after James the Just had suffered martyrdom, as had the Lord also and on the same account, again Symeon the son of Clopas, descended from the Lord’s uncle, is made bishop, his election being promoted by all as being a kinsman of the Lord.
Therefore was the Church called a virgin, for she was not as yet corrupted by worthless teaching. 3707 Thebulis it was who, displeased because he was not made bishop, first began to corrupt her by stealth. He too was connected with the seven sects which existed among the people, like Simon, from whom come the Simoniani; and Cleobius, from whom come the Cleobiani; and Doritheus, from whom come the Dorithiani; and Gorthæus, from whom come the Gortheani; Masbothæus, from whom come the Masbothæi. From these men also come the Menandrianists, and the Marcionists, and the Carpocratians, and the Valentinians, and the Basilidians, and the Saturnilians. Each of these leaders in his own private and distinct capacity brought in his own private opinion. From these have come false Christs, false prophets, false apostles—men who have split up the one Church into parts 3708 through their corrupting doctrines, uttered in disparagement of God and of His Christ.…
There were, moreover, various opinions in the matter of circumcision among the children of Israel, held by those who were opposed to the tribe of Judah and to Christ: such as the Essenes, the Galileans, the Hemerobaptists, the Masbothæi, the Samaritans, the Sadducees, the Pharisees.
————————————
Footnotes
764:3704Also in Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., iv. 22.
764:3705᾽Εν τῷ ὀρθῷ λόγῳ.
764:3706[Elucidation, p. 785.]
764:3707᾽Ακοαῖς ματαίαις.
764:3708᾽Εμέρισαν τὴν ενωσιν τῆς ἐκκλησίας. [Acts xx. 29-31.]
Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth.
[a.d. 170.] Eusebius is almost diffuse in what he tells us of this Dionysius, 3709 “who was appointed over the church at Corinth, and imparted freely, not only to his own people, but to others, and those abroad also, the blessings of his divine labours.” He wrote “Catholic Epistles;” he addressed an epistle to the Spartans and the Athenians; and, as Eusebius says, Dionysius the Areopagite, the convert of St. Paul, was the first bishop of Athens. 3710 He wrote to the Nicomedians, refuting Marcion, and closely adhering to “the rule of faith.” In an epistle to the Gortynians and others in Crete, he praises Philip for his courageous ministry, and warns them against the heretics. He seems to recognise Palmas as bishop of Amastris and Pontus, and adds expositions of Scripture, and rules regarding marriage, its purity and sanctity. He also inculcates tenderness to penitent lapsers and backsliders. With Pinytus, bishop of the Gnossians, he corresponds on similar subjects; but Pinytus, while he thanks him and commends his clemency, evidently regards him as too much inclined to furnish “food for babes,” and counsels him to add “strong meat for those of full age.” He also writes to Chrysophora, his most faithful sister, imparting spiritual instruction.
Fragments from a Letter to the Roman Church.
I.
For this has been your custom from the beginning, to do good to all the brethren in various ways, and to send resources to many churches which are in every city, thus refreshing the poverty of the needy, and granting subsidies to the brethren who are in the mines. 3711 Through the resources which ye have sent from the beginning, ye Romans, keep up the custom of the Romans handed down by the fathers, which your blessed Bishop Soter has not only preserved, but added to, sending a splendid gift to the saints, and exhorting with blessed words those brethren who go up to Rome, as an affectionate father his children.
II.
From the Same Epistle. 3712
We passed this holy Lord’s day, in which we read your letter, from the constant reading of which we shall be able to draw admonition, even as from the reading of the former one you sent us written through Clement.
III.
From the Same.
Therefore you also have by such admonition joined in close union the churches that were planted by Peter and Paul, that of the Romans and that of the Corinthians: for both of them went 3713 to our Corinth, and taught us in the same way as they taught you when they went to Italy; and having taught you, they suffered martyrdom at the same time. 3714
IV.
From the Same. 3715
For I wrote letters when the brethren requested me to write. And these letters the apostles of the devil have filled with tares, taking away some things and adding others, for whom a woe is in store. It is not wonderful, then, if some have attempted to adulterate the Lord’s writings, when they have formed designs against those which are not such. 3716
————————————
Footnotes
765:3709Book iv. cap. 24, from which these Fragments are collected. See Westcott, On the Canon, p. 206.
765:3710See Lightfoot, Ap. Fathers, part ii. vol. i. p. 555, where he corrects the reading και Πολύκαρπος.
765:3711[Routh (also on Pinytus and Soter), R. S., p. 177. This series, vol. vi. p. 102, note 3. Note also Lightfoot, A. F., part ii. vol. ii. p. 192, note 1; and Westcott, Canon, p. 206.]
765:3712[Comp. p. 758, note 8, supra. Also Ignatius, vol. i. p. 63, at note 2, this series.]
765:3713mss. “planted.”
765:3714The text is evidently corrupt.
765:3715[For the reply of Pinytus, and what is said by Eusebius of seven other epistles, see Routh, R. S., vol. i. pp. 181–184.]
765:3716i.e., of such importance or of such a character.
Rhodon. 3717
[a.d. 180.] This Rhodon 3718 was supposed by St. Jerome to have been the author of the work against the Cataphrygians, ascribed to Asterius Urbanus more probably. 3719 Eusebius 3720 gives us the fragment from his work against Marcion, addressed to Callistion, which is here translated. He tells us that he was a pupil of Tatian, and expresses an intention of furnishing original solutions of Scriptural problems stated by Tatian, 3721 and by that author explained in a manner apparently unsatisfactory. He also appears to have written against the blasphemous Apelles, 3722 whose Hexaëmeron was an attempt to refute Moses; but whether he also fulfilled his promise concerning an ᾽Επίλυσις of Tatian’s Problems (or Questions), seems doubtful. Routh has devoted to the fragment here translated six pages of notes, 3723 which he subjoins to the Greek text (of Eusebius) and a Latin version of the same.
Wherefore also they 3724 disagree among themselves, maintaining as they do an opinion which has no consistency with itself. For one of their herd, Apelles, who prides himself on the strictness of his life, 3725 and on his age, admits that there is only one first principle, 3726 yet says that the prophecies have come from an opposing spirit, in which opinion he is influenced by the responses of a soothsaying 3727 maid named Philumene. But others, among whom are Potitus and Basilicus, like Marcion 3728 himself, introduce two first principles. These men, following the Pontic wolf, and not being able to discover any more than he the division of things, have had to recourse to rash assertion, and declared the existence of two first principles simply and without proof. Others of them, again, drifting from bad to worse, assume not two only, but even three natures. Of these men the leader and champion is Syneros, as those who adopt his teaching say.…
For the old man Apelles entered into conversation with us, and was convicted of uttering many false opinions. For example, he asserted that men should on no account examine into their creed, 3729 but that every one ought to continue to the last in the belief he has once adopted. For he declared that those who had rested their hope on the Crucified One would be saved, provided only they were found living in the practice of good works. But the most perplexing of all the doctrines laid down by him was, as we have remarked before, what he said concerning God: for he affirmed that there was only one first principle, precisely as our own faith teaches.…
On asking him, “Where do you get proof of this? or how are you able to assert that there is only one first principle? tell us,”—he said that the prophecies refuted themselves, because they had uttered nothing at all that was true: for that they were discordant and false, and self-contradictory. As to the question, “How does it appear that there is only one first principle?” he said he could not tell, only he was impelled to that belief. On my thereupon conjuring him to speak the truth, he solemnly declared that he was expressing his real sentiments; and that he did not know “how” there could be one uncreated God, but that he believed the fact. Here I burst into laughter and rebuked him, because he professed to be a teacher, and yet was unable to confirm by arguments what he taught.
————————————
Footnotes
766:3717In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., v. 13.
766:3718Or Rhodo.
766:3719Vol. vii. pp. 333–338, this series, where I neglected to insert a reference to Routh, Rel. Sac., vol. ii. pp. 183–217.
766:3720H. E., book v. cap. 13.
766:3721Vol. ii. p. 62, this series.
766:3722See Origen, vol. iv. p. 567, this series.
766:3723Rel. Sac., vol. i. pp. 437–446.
766:3724The Marcionites.
766:3725Πολιτείᾳ. See Migne’s note.
766:3726᾽Αρχήν. [See vol. vii. p. 365, this series.]
766:3727Δαιμονώσης.
766:3728Some copies have “Marcion the sailor,” and so Tertullian (de Præscriptionibus) speaks of him. [Vol. iii. cap. 30, p. 257, this series.]
766:3729Τὸν λόγον.
Maximus, Bishop of Jerusalem.
[a.d. 185–196.] He was a noted character among Christians, according to Eusebius; living, according to Jerome, under Commodus and Severus. He wrote on the inveterate question concerning the Origin of Evil; and the fragment here translated, as given by Eusebius, is also textually cited by Origen against the Marcionites, 3730 if that Dialogue be his. The reader will not fail to recollect that liberal citations out of this work are also to be found in Methodius, On Free-Will. 3731 But all who desire fuller information on the subject will be gratified by the learned prolegomena and notes of Routh, to which I refer them. 3732 Whether Maximus was the bishop of Jerusalem (a.d. 185) mentioned by Eusebius as presiding in that See in the sixth year of Commodus, seems to be uncertain.
From the Book Concerning Matter, or in Defence of the Proposition that Matter is Created, and is Not the Cause of Evil. 3733
“That there cannot exist two uncreated substances at one and the same time, I presume that you hold equally with myself. You appear, however, very decidedly to have assumed, and to have introduced into the argument, this principle, that we must of unavoidable necessity maintain one of two things: either that God is separate from matter; or else, on the contrary, that He is indissolubly connected with it.
“If, then, any one should choose to assert that He exists in union with matter, that would be saying that there is only one uncreated substance. For either of the two must constitute a part of the other; and, since they form parts of each other, they cannot be two uncreated substances. Just as, in speaking of man, we do not describe him as subdivided into a number of distinct parts, each forming a separate created substance, but, as reason requires us to do, assert that he was made by God a single created substance consisting of many parts,—so, in like manner, if God is not separate from matter, we are driven to the conclusion that there is only one uncreated substance.
“If, on the other hand, it be affirmed that He is separate from matter, it necessarily follows that there is some other substance intermediate between the two, by which their separation is made apparent. For it is impossible that one thing should be shown to be severed by an interval from another, unless there be something else by which the interval between the two is produced. This principle, too, holds good not only with regard to this or any other single case, but in any number of cases you please. For the same argument which we have employed in dealing with the two uncreated substances must in like manner be valid if the substances in question be given as three. For in regard to these also I should have to inquire whether they are separate from one another, or whether, on the contrary, each of them is united to its fellow. For, if you should say that they are united, you would hear from me the same argument as before; but if, on the contrary, you should say that they are separate, you could not escape the unavoidable assumption of a separating medium.
“If, again, perchance any one should think that there is a third view which may be consistently maintained with regard to uncreated substances,—namely, that God is not separate from matter, nor yet, on the other hand, united to it as a part, but that God exists in matter as in a place, or possibly matter exists in God,—let such a person observe the consequence:—
“That, if we make matter God’s place, we must of necessity admit that He can be contained, 3734 and that He is circumscribed by matter. Nay, further, he must grant that He is, in the same way as matter, driven about hither and thither, unable to maintain His place and to stay where He is, since that in which He exists is perpetually being driven about in one direction or another. Beside this, he must also admit that God has had His place among the worst kind of elements. For if matter was once in disorder, and if he reduced it to order for the purpose of rendering it better, there was a time when God existed among the disordered elements of matter.
“I might also fairly put this question: whether God filled the whole of matter, or was in some part of it. If any one should choose to say that God was in some part of matter, he would be making Him indefinitely smaller than matter, inasmuch as a part of it contained the whole of Him; 3735 but, if he maintained that He pervaded the whole of matter, I need to be informed how He became the Fashioner of this matter. For we must necessarily assume, either that there was on the part of God a contraction, 3736 so to speak, of Himself, and a withdrawal from matter, whereupon He proceeded to fashion that from which He had retired; or else that He fashioned Himself in conjunction with matter, in consequence of having no place to retire to.
“But suppose it to be maintained, on the other hand, that matter is in God, it will behove us similarly to inquire, whether we are to understand by this that He is sundered from Himself, and that, just like the air, which contains various kinds of animals, so is He sundered and divided into parts for the reception of those creatures which from time to time exist in 3737 Him; or whether matter is in God as in a place,—for instance, as water is contained in earth. For should we say ‘as in air,’ we should perforce be speaking of God as divisible into parts; but if ‘as water in earth,’ and if matter was, as is admitted, in confusion and disorder, and moreover also contained what was evil, we should have to admit that God is the place of disorder and evil. But this it does not seem to me consistent with reverence to say, but hazardous rather. For you contend that matter is uncreated, 3738 that you may not have to admit that God is the author of evil; and yet, while aiming to escape this difficulty, you make Him the receptacle of evil.
“If you had stated that your suspicion that matter was uncreated arose from the nature of created things as we find them, 3739 I should have employed abundant argument in proof that it cannot be so. But, since you have spoken of the existence of evil as the cause of such suspicion, I am disposed to enter upon a separate examination of this point. For, when once it has been made clear how it is that evil exists, and when it is seen to be impossible to deny that God is the author of evil, in consequence of His having had recourse to matter for His materials, 3740 it seems to me that a suspicion of this kind disappears.
“You assert, then, that matter, destitute of all qualities good or bad, co-existed at the outset with God, and that out of it He fashioned the world as we now find it.”
“Such is my opinion.”
“Well, then, if matter was without any qualities, and the world has come into existence from God, and if the world possesses qualities, the author of those qualities must be God.”
“Exactly so.”
“Since, too, I heard you say yourself just now that out of nothing 3741 nothing can possibly come, give me an answer to the question I am about to ask you. You seem to me to think that the qualities of the world have not sprung from pre-existing 3742 qualities, and moreover that they are something different from the substances themselves.”
“I do.”
“If, therefore, God did not produce the qualities in question from qualities already existing, nor yet from substances, by reason that they are not substances, the conclusion is inevitable, that they were made by God out of nothing. So that you seemed to me to affirm more than you were warranted to do, when you said that it had been proved impossible to hold the opinion 3743 that anything was made by God out of nothing.
“But let us put the matter thus. We see persons among ourselves making certain things out of nothing, however true it may be that they make them by means of something. 3744 Let us take our illustration, say, from builders. These men do not make cities out of cities; nor, similarly, temples out of temples. Nay, if you suppose that, because the substances necessary for these constructions are already provided, therefore they make them out of that which already exists, your reasoning is fallacious. For it is not the substance that makes the city or the temples, but the art which is employed about the substance. Neither, again, does the art proceed from any art inhering in the substances, but it arises independently of any such art in them.
“But I fancy you will meet the argument by saying that the artist produces the art which is manifest in the substance he has fashioned out of the art which he himself already has. In reply to this, however, I think it may be fairly said, that neither in man does art spring from any already existing art. For we cannot possibly allow that art exists by itself, since it belongs to the class of things which are accidentals, and which receive their existence only when they appear in connection with substance. For man will exist though there should be no architecture, but the latter will have no existence unless there be first of all man. Thus we cannot avoid the conclusion, that it is the nature of art to spring up in man out of nothing. If, then, we have shown that this is the case with man, we surely must allow that God can make not only the qualities of substances out of nothing, but also the substances themselves. For, if it appears possible that anything whatever can be made out of nothing, it is proved that this may be the case with substances also.
“But, since you are specially desirous of inquiring about the origin of evil, I will proceed to the discussion of this topic. And I should like to ask you a few questions. Is it your opinion that things evil are substances, or that they are qualities of substances?”
“Qualities of substances, I am disposed to say.”
“But matter was destitute of qualities and of form: this I assumed at the outset of the discussion. Therefore, if things evil are qualities of substances, and matter was destitute of qualities, and you have called God the author of qualities, God will also be the former of that which is evil. Since, then, it is not possible, on this supposition any more than on the other, to speak of God as not the cause of evil, it seems to me superfluous to add matter to Him, as if that were the cause of evil. If you have any reply to make to this, begin your argument.”
“If, indeed, our discussion had arisen from a love of contention, I should not be willing to have the inquiry raised a second time about the origin of evil; but, since we are prompted rather by friendship and the good of our neighbour to engage in controversy, I readily consent to have the question raised afresh on this subject. You have no doubt long been aware of the character of my mind, and of the object at which I aim in dispute: that I have no wish to vanquish falsehood by plausible reasoning, but rather that truth should be established in connection with thorough investigation. You yourself, too, are of the same mind, I am well assured. Whatever method, therefore, you deem successful for the discovery of truth, do not shrink from using it. For, by following a better course of argument, you will not only confer a benefit on yourself, but most assuredly on me also, instructing me concerning matters of which I am ignorant.”
“You seem clearly to agree with 3745 me, that things evil are in some sort substances: 3746 for, apart from substances, I do not see them to have any existence. Since, then, my good friend, you say that things evil are substances, it is necessary to inquire into the nature of substance. Is it your opinion that substance is a kind of bodily structure?” 3747
“It is.”
“And does that bodily structure exist by itself, without the need of any one to come and give it existence?”
“Yes.”
“And does it seem to you that things evil are connected with certain courses of action?”
“That is my belief.”
“And do actions come into existence only when an actor is there?”
“Yes.”
“And, when there is no actor, neither will his action ever take place?”
“It will not.”
“If, therefore, substance is a kind of bodily structure, and this does not stand in need of some one in and through whom it may receive its existence, and if things evil are actions of some one, and actions require some one in and through whom they receive their existence,—things evil will ‘not’ be substances. And if things evil are not substances, and murder is an evil, and is the action of some one, it follows that murder is not a substance. But, if you insist that agents are substance, then I myself agree with you. A man, for instance, who is a murderer, is, in so far as he is a man, a substance; but the murder which he commits is not a substance, but a work of the substance. Moreover, we speak of a man sometimes as bad because he commits murder; and sometimes, again, because he performs acts of beneficence, as good: and these names adhere to the substance, in consequence of the things which are accidents of it, which, however, are not the substance itself. For neither is the substance murder, nor, again, is it adultery, nor is it any other similar evil. But, just as the grammarian derives his name from grammar, and the orator from oratory, and the physician from physic, though the substance is not physic, nor yet oratory, nor grammar, but receives its appellation from the things which are accidents of it, from which it popularly receives its name, though it is not any one of them,—so in like manner it appears to me that the substance receives name from things regarded as evil, though it is not itself any one of them.
“I must beg you also to consider that, if you represent some other being as the cause of evil to men, he also, in so far as he acts in them, and incites them to do evil, is himself evil, by reason of the things he does. For he too is said to be evil, for the simple reason that he is the doer of evil things; but the things which a being does are not the being himself, but his actions, from which he receives his appellation, and is called evil. For if we should say that the things he does are himself, and these consist in murder, and adultery, and theft, and such-like, these things will be himself. And if these things are himself, and if when they take place they get to have a substantial existence, 3748 but by not taking place they also cease to exist, and if these things are done by men,—men will be the doers of these things, and the causes of existing and of no longer existing. But, if you affirm that these things are his actions, he gets to be evil from the things he does, not from those things of which the substance of him consists.
“Moreover, we have said that he is called evil from those things which are accidents of the substance, which are not themselves the substance: as a physician from the art of physic. But, if he receives the beginning of his existence from the actions he performs, he too began to be evil, and these evil things likewise began to exist. And, if so, an evil being will not be without a beginning, nor will evil things be unoriginated, since we have said that they are originated by him.”
“The argument relating to the opinion I before expressed, you seem to me, my friend, to have handled satisfactorily: for, from the premises you assumed in the discussion, I think you have drawn a fair conclusion. For, beyond doubt, if matter was at first destitute of qualities, and if God is the fashioner of the qualities it now has, and if evil things are qualities, God is the author of those evil things. The argument, then, relating to that opinion we may consider as well discussed, and to me it now seems false to speak of matter as destitute of qualities. For it is not possible to say of any substance 3749 whatsoever that it is without qualities. For, in the very act of saying that it is destitute of qualities, you do in fact indicate its quality, representing of what kind matter is, which of course is ascribing to it a species of quality. Wherefore, if it is agreeable to you, rehearse the argument to me from the beginning: for, to me, matter seems to have had qualifies from all eternity. 3750 For in this way I can affirm that evil things also come from it in the way of emanation, so that the cause of evil things may not be ascribed to God, but that matter may be regarded as the cause of all such things.”
“I approve your desire, my friend, and praise the zeal you manifest in the discussion of opinions. For it assuredly becomes every one who is desirous of knowledge, not simply and out of hand to agree with what is said, but to make a careful examination of the arguments adduced. For, though a disputant, by laying down false premises, may make his opponent draw the conclusion he wishes, yet he will not convince a hearer of this; but only when he says that which 3751 it seems possible to say with fairness. So that one of two things will happen: either he will, as he listens, be decisively helped to reach that conclusion towards which he already feels himself impelled, or he will convict his adversary of not speaking the truth.
“Now, it seems to me that you have not sufficiently discussed the statement that matter has qualities from the first. For, if this is the case, what will God be the maker of? For, if we speak of substances, we affirm these to exist beforehand; or if again of qualities, we declare these also to exist already. Since, therefore both substance and qualities exist, it seems to me unreasonable to call God a creator.
“But, lest I should seem to be constructing an argument to suit my purpose, be so good as to answer the question: In what way do you assert God to be a creator? Is He such because He changed the substances, so that they should no longer be the same as they had once been but become different from what they were; or because, while He kept the substances the same as they were before that period, He changed their qualities?”
“I do not at all think that any alteration took place in substances: for it appears to me absurd to say this. But I affirm that a certain change was made in their qualities; and it is in respect of these that I speak of God as a creator. Just as we might happen to speak of a house as made out of stones, in which case we could not say that the stones no longer continue to be stones as regards their substance, now that they are made into a house (for I affirm that the house owes its existence to the quality of its construction, forasmuch as the previous quality of the stones has been changed),—so does it seem to me that God, while the substance remains the same, has made a certain change in its qualities; and it is in respect of such change that I speak of the origin of this world as having come from God.”
“Since, then, you maintain that a certain change—namely, of qualities—has been produced by God, answer me briefly what I am desirous to ask you.”
“Proceed, pray, with your question.”
“Do you agree in the opinion that evil things are qualities of substances?”
“I do.”
“Were these qualities in matter from the first, or did they begin to be?”
“I hold that these qualifies existed in combination with matter, without being originated.”
“But do you not affirm that God has made a certain change in the qualities?”
“That is what I affirm.”
“For the better, or for the worse?”
“For the better, I should say.”
“Well, then, if evil things are qualities of matter, and if the Lord of all changed its qualities for the better, whence, it behoves us to ask, come evil things? For either the qualities remained the same in their nature as they previously were, or, if they were not evil before, but you assert that, in consequence of a change wrought on them by God, the first qualities of this kind came into existence in connection with matter,—God will be the author of evil, inasmuch as He changed the qualities which were not evil, so as to make them evil.
“Possibly, however, it is not your view that God changed evil qualities for the better; but you mean that all those other qualities which happened to be neither good nor bad, 3752 were changed by God with a view to the adornment of the creation.”
“That has been my opinion from the outset.”
“How, then, can you say that He has left the qualities of bad things just as they were? Is it that, although He was able to destroy those qualities as well as the others, He was not willing; or did He refrain because He had not the power? For, if you say He had the power, but not the will, you must admit Him to be the cause of these qualities: since, when He could have put a stop to the existence of evil, He chose to let it remain as it was, and that, too, at the very time when He began to fashion matter. For, if He had not concerned Himself at all with matter, He would not have been the cause of those things which He allowed to remain. But, seeing that He fashioned a certain part of it, and left a certain part as we have described it, although He could have changed that also for the better, it seems to me that He deserves to have the blame cast on Him, for having permitted a part of matter to be evil, to the ruin of that other part which He fashioned.
“Nay, more, it seems to me that the most serious wrong has been committed as regards this part, in that He constituted this part of matter so as to be now affected by evil. For, if we were to examine carefully into things, we should find that the condition of matter is worse now than in its former state, before it was reduced to order. For, before it was separated into parts, it had no sense of evil; but now every one of its parts is afflicted with a sense of evil.
“Take an illustration from man. Before he was fashioned, and became a living being through the art of the Creator, he was by nature exempt from any contact whatever with evil; but, as soon as ever he was made by God a man, he became liable to the sense of even approaching evil: and thus that very thing which you say was brought about by God for the benefit of matter, 3753 is found to have turned out rather to its detriment.
“But, if you say that evil has not been put a stop to, because God was unable to do away with it, you will be making God powerless. But, if He is powerless, it will be either because He is weak by nature, or because He is overcome by fear, and reduced to subjection by a stronger. If, then, you go so far as to say that God is weak by nature, it seems to me that you imperil your salvation itself; but, if you say that He is weak through being overcome by fear of a greater, things evil will be greater than God, since they frustrate the carrying out of His purpose. But this, as it seems to me, it would be absurd to say of God. For why should not ‘they’ rather be considered gods, since according to your account they are able to overcome God: if, that is to say, we mean by God that which has a controlling power over all things?
“But I wish to ask you a few questions concerning matter itself. Pray tell me, therefore, whether matter was something simple or compound. I am induced to adopt this method of investigating the subject before us by considering the diversity that obtains in existing things. For, if perchance matter was something simple and uniform, how comes it that the world is compound, 3754 and consists of divers substances and combinations? For by ‘compound’ we denote a mixture of certain simple elements. But if, on the contrary, you prefer to call matter compound, you will, of course, be asserting that it is compounded of certain simple elements. And, if it was compounded of simple elements, these simple elements must have existed at some time or other separately by themselves, and when they were compounded together matter came into being: from which it of course follows that matter is created. For, if matter is compound, and compound things are constituted from simple, there was once a time when matter had no existence,—namely, before the simple elements came together. And, if there was once a time when matter was not, and there was never a time when the uncreated was not, matter cannot be uncreated. And hence there will be many uncreated substances. For, if God was uncreated, and the simple elements out of which matter was compounded were also uncreated, there will not be two uncreated things only,—not to discuss the question what it is which constitutes objects simple, whether matter or form.
“Is it, further, your opinion that nothing in existence is opposed to itself?”
“It is.”
“Is water, then, opposed to fire?”
“So it appears to me.”
“Similarly, is darkness opposed to light, and warm to cold, and moreover moist to dry?”
“It seems to me to be so.”
“Well, then, if nothing in existence is opposed to itself, and these things are opposed to each other, they cannot be one and the same matter; no, nor yet be made out of one and the same matter.
“I wish further to ask your opinion on a matter kindred to that of which we have been speaking. Do you believe that the parts of a thing are not mutually destructive?”
“I do.”
“And you believe that fire and water, and so on, are parts of matter?”
“Quite so.”
“Do you not also believe that water is subversive of fire, and light of darkness, and so of all similar things?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then, if the parts of a whole are not mutually destructive, and yet the parts of matter are mutually destructive, they cannot be parts of one matter. And, if they are not parts of one another, they cannot be composed of one and the same matter; nay, they cannot be matter at all, since nothing in existence is destructive of itself, as we learn from the doctrine of opposites: for nothing is opposed to itself—an opposite being by nature opposed to something else. White, for example, is not opposed to itself, but is said to be the opposite of black; and, similarly, light is shown not to be opposed to itself, but is considered an opposite in relation to darkness; and so of a very great number of things besides. If, then, matter were some one thing, it could not be opposed to itself. This, then, being the nature of opposites, it is proved that matter has no existence.”’
————————————
Footnotes
766:3730A fact which gave rise to a controversy, on which consult Routh, Rel. Sac., vol. ii. p. 78.
767:3731See vol. vi. p. 358, etc., this series, where I have spoken of Maximus as the original of the Dialogue ascribed to Methodius.
767:3732Routh, Rel. Sac., vol. ii. p. 85. See pp. 77–121, devoted to this author.
767:3733In Eusebius, Præp. Evang., vii. 22.
767:3734Χωρητὸν, the reading of onems., instead of χωρητικόν.
767:3735For εἰ δὲ μέρος αὐτῆς, ὅλον ἐχώρησεν αὐτόν, Migne reads, εἴ γε (or εἰ δὴ) μέρος αὐτῆς ὅλον, κ.τ.λ.
767:3736Συστολήν τινα.
768:3737Τῶν γινομένων (ἐν) αὐτῷ, Migne.
768:3738This word, ἀγέννητον, is added from Migne’s conjecture.
768:3739᾽Εκ τῶν ὑποστάντων γενητῶν.
768:3740᾽Εκ τοῦ ὕλην αὐτὸν ὑποτιθέναι.
768:3741᾽Εξ οὐκ ὄντων. [Note this phrase. Comp. vol. vi. p. 292, n. 3.]
768:3742῾Υποκειμένων.
768:3743For συλλελόγισται ὡς οὐκ ἀδύνατον εἶναι δοξάζειν, Migne reads, ὡς συλλελόγισται ἀδύνατον εἶναι δοξάζειν.
768:3744Lit. “in something.” Whether the materials or the art is meant is not very clear. Possibly there is a play of words in the use of the two prepositions, ἐκ and ἐν.
769:3745Migne, instead of παραστῆναι, conjectures παραστῆσαι, which, however, would not suit what appears to be the meaning.
769:3746Οὐσίας τινάς.
769:3747Σωματικήν τινα σύστασιν.
769:3748Τὴν σύστασιν ἔχει.
770:3749Migne reads οὐσίας for αἰτίας.
770:3750᾽Ανάρχως.
770:3751Reading, with Migne, εἰ ὅ τι for εἴ τι.
770:3752Or “indifferent:” ἀδιάφοροι.
771:3753Migne reads ἐπ᾽ εὐεργεσίᾳ for ἐστὶν εὐεργεσία.
771:3754The text has, σύνθετος δὲ ὁ κόσμος; which Migne changes to, πῶς δὴ σύνθετός ἐστιν ὁ κόσμος;
Claudius Apollinaris, 3755 Bishop of Hierapolis, and Apologist.
[a.d. 160–180.] This author, an early apologist, is chiefly interesting as a competent witness, who tells the story of the Thundering Legion 3756 in an artless manner, and gives it the simple character of an answer to prayer. This subject is treated by Lightfoot, in his recent work on the Apostolic Fathers, 3757 in an exhaustive manner; and the story, reduced to the simple narrative as Apollinaris gives it, receives from him a just and discriminating approval.
Apollinaris, as well as Rhodon, has been imagined the author of the work (ascribed to Asterius Urbanus) against Montanism, dedicated to Abiricius Marcellus. 3758 This is sufficiently refuted by Routh, 3759 whose Greek text, with notes, must be consulted by the studious. 3760
Apollinaris was bishop of Hierapolis on the Mæander, and, Lightfoot thinks, was probably with Melito and Polycrates, known to Polycarp, and influenced by his example and doctrine. 3761 He addressed his Apology, which is honourably mentioned by Jerome, to M. Antoninus, the emperor. He also wrote Adversus Gentes and De Veritate; also against the Jews. Serapion calls him 3762 “most blessed.”
From an Unknown Book. 3763
“This narration (says Eusebius, Hist., v. 5) is given” (it relates to that storm of rain which was sent to the army of the Emperor M. Antoninus, to allay the thirst of the soldiers, whilst the enemy was discomfited by thunderbolts hurled upon them) “even by those historians who are at a wide remove from the doctrines that prevail among us, and who have been simply concerned to describe what related to the emperors who are the subjects of their history; and it has been recorded also by our own writers. But historians without the pale of the Church, as being unfriendly to the faith, while they have recorded the prodigy, have refrained from acknowledging that it was sent in answer to our prayers. On the other hand, our writers, as lovers of truth, have reported the matter in a simple and artless way. To this number Apollinaris must be considered as belonging. ‘Thereupon,’ he says, ‘the legion which had by its prayer caused the prodigy received from the emperor a title suitable to the occurrence, and was called in the Roman language the Thunder-hurling Legion.’”
From the Book Concerning the Passover. 3764
There are, then, some who through ignorance raise disputes about these things (though their conduct is pardonable: for ignorance is no subject for blame—it rather needs further instruction), and say that on the fourteenth day the Lord ate the lamb with the disciples, and that on the great day of the feast of unleavened bread He Himself suffered; and they quote Matthew as speaking in accordance with their view. Wherefore their opinion is contrary to the law, and the Gospels seem to be at variance with them. 3765
From the Same Book.
The fourteenth day, the true Passover of the Lord; the great sacrifice, the Son of God instead of the lamb, who was bound, who bound the strong, and who was judged, though Judge of living and dead, and who was delivered into the hands of sinners to be crucified, who was lifted up on the horns of the unicorn, and who was pierced in His holy side, who poured forth from His side the two purifying elements, 3766 water and blood, word and spirit, and who was buried on the day of the passover, the stone being placed upon the tomb.
————————————
Footnotes
772:3755Westcott, Canon, p. 248.
772:3756See vol. i. p. 187, this series, and references in my note (II.) on same page. The incident occurred during the war against the Quadi, a.d. 174.
772:3757Part ii. vol. i. pp. 469–476.
772:3758See p. 766, note 3, supra; also vol. vii., this series, p. 338.
772:3759Rel. Sac., tom. ii. p. 196; and Ibid., tom. i. pp. 157–174.
772:3760Rel. Sac., tom. i. p. 173.
772:3761Ap. Fathers, part ii. vol. i. p. 428.
772:3762See p. 775, infra.
772:3763[See vol. i. p. 187, note 2.]
772:3764This extract and the following are taken from the preface to the Chronicon Paschale.
772:3765[Routh, R. S., vol. i. p. 160.]
773:3766Πάλιν καθάρσια, qu. παλινκαθάρσια ="re-purifiers.”
Polycrates, 3767 Bishop of Ephesus.
[a.d. 130–196.] This author 3768 comes in as an appendix to the stories of Polycarp and Irenæus and good Anicetus, and his writings also bear upon the contrast presented by the less creditable history of Victor. If, as I suppose, the appearance of our Lord to St. John on “the Lord’s day” was on the Paschal Sunday, it may at first seem surprising that this Apostle can be claimed by Polycrates in behalf of the Eastern custom to keep Easter, with the Jews, on the fourteenth day of the moon. But to the Jews the Apostles became “as Jews” in all things tolerable, so long as the Temple stood, and while the bishops of Jerusalem were labouring to identify the Paschal Lamb with their Passover. The long survival of St. John among Jewish Christians led them to prolong this usage, no doubt, as sanctioned by his example. He foreknew it would quietly pass away. The wise and truly Christian spirit of Irenæus prepared the way for the ultimate unanimity of the Church in a matter which lies at the base of “the Christian Sabbath,” and of our own observance of the first day of the week as a weekly Easter. Those who in our own times have revived the observance of the Jewish Sabbath, show us how much may be said on their side, 3769 and elucidate the tenacity of the Easterns in resisting the abolition of the Mosaic ordinance as to the Paschal, although they agreed to keep it “not with the old leaven.”
Our author belonged to a family in which he was the eighth Christian bishop; and he presided over the church of Ephesus, in which the traditions of St. John were yet fresh in men’s minds at the date of his birth. He had doubtless known Polycarp, and Irenæus also. He seems to have presided over a synod of Asiatic bishops (a.d. 196) which came together to consider this matter of the Paschal feast. It is surely noteworthy that nobody doubted that it was kept by a Christian and Apostolic ordinance. So St. Paul argues from its Christian observance, in his rebuke of the Corinthians. 3770 They were keeping it “unleavened” ceremonially, and he urges a spiritual unleavening as more important. The Christian hallowing of Pentecost connects with the Paschal argument. 3771 The Christian Sabbath hinges on these points.
From His Epistle to Victor and the Roman Church Concerning the Day of Keeping the Passover. 3772
As for us, then, we scrupulously observe the exact day, 3773 neither adding nor taking away. For in Asia great luminaries 3774 have gone to their rest, who shall rise again in the day of the coming of the Lord, when He cometh with glory from heaven and shall raise again all the saints. I speak of Philip, one of the twelve apostles, 3775 who is laid to rest at Hierapolis; and his two daughters, who arrived at old age unmarried; 3776 his other daughter also, who passed her life 3777 under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and reposes at Ephesus; John, moreover, who reclined on the Lord’s bosom, and who became a priest wearing the mitre, 3778 and a witness and a teacher—he rests at Ephesus. Then there is Polycarp, both bishop and martyr at Smyrna; and Thraseas from Eumenia, both bishop and martyr, who rests at Smyrna. Why should I speak of Sagaris, bishop and martyr, who rests at Laodicea? of the blessed Papirius, moreover? and of Melito the eunuch, 3779 who performed all his actions under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and lies at Sardis, awaiting the visitation 3780 from heaven, when he shall rise again from the dead? These all kept the passover on the fourteenth. day of the month, in accordance with the Gospel, without ever deviating from it, but keeping to the rule of faith.
Moreover I also, Polycrates, who am the least of you all, in accordance with the tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have succeeded—seven of my relatives were bishops, and I am the eighth, and my relatives always observed the day when the people put away 3781 the leaven—I myself, brethren, I say, who am sixty-five years old in the Lord, and have fallen in with the brethren in all parts of the world, and have read through all Holy Scripture, am not frightened at the things which are said to terrify us. For those who are greater than I have said, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” 3782 …
I might also have made mention of the bishops associated with me, whom it was your own desire to have called together by me, and I called them together: whose names, if I were to write them down, would amount to a great number. These bishops, on coming to see me, unworthy as I am, 3783 signified their united approval of the letter, knowing that I wore these grey hairs not in vain, but have always regulated my conduct in obedience to the Lord Jesus.
————————————
Footnotes
773:3767Westcott, Canon, p. 432, note 1; Lightfoot, Ap. Fathers, pp. 379, etc., 494.
773:3768See Lardner, Credib., vol. ii. cap. 23, p. 259.
773:3769They cannot be satisfactorily answered, it seems to me, save by the appeal to John 20:19, 26, Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2, Rev. 1:10, for “the Lord’s day,” and to the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:28, Col. 2:16) for the repeal of Sabbatical ordinances; and to the great laws (Matt. 16:19, John 14:26, Matt. 28:20) of plenary authority given by Christ Himself to His Apostles.
773:37701 Cor. 5:7, 8, and margin of Revised Version; also Acts 12:4, 12.
773:3771Acts 2:1, Acts 20:16, 1 Cor. 16:8.
773:3772In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., v. 24.
773:3773᾽Αῤῥαδιούργητον ἄγομεν τὴν ἡμέραν.
773:3774Στοιχεῖα.
773:3775[See vol. vii. p. 500, n. 6. Great confusions adhere to this name.]
773:3776Δύο θυγατέρες αὐτοῦ γεγηρακυῖαι παρθένοι.
773:3777Πολιτευσαμένη. [Phil. iii. 20, Greek.]
773:3778Πέταλον. [Probably the ornament of the high priest; Exod. 28:35, 36.]
774:3779[i.e., spiritually; embracing a chaste celibacy in deference to Christ. Matt. xix. 12.]
774:3780᾽Επισκοπην.
774:3781̓́῞Ηρνυε. Some read ἠρτυε.
774:3782Acts v. 29.
774:3783Τον μικρόν.
Theophilus, Bishop of Cæsarea in Palestine.
[a.d. 180.] When Eusebius says that the churches of “all Asia” concurred in the Ephesine use concerning the Paschal, he evidently means Asia Minor, as in the Scriptures and elsewhere. 3784 Throughout “the rest of the world,” he testifies, however, that such was not the use. The Palestinian bishops, after the Jewish downfall, seem to have been the first to comprehend the propriety of adopting the more Catholic usage; and our author presided over a council in Cæsarea, of which he was bishop, assisted by Narcissus, bishop of Jerusalem, with Cassius of Tyre and Clarus of Ptolemais, which confirmed it. It is to be noted, that Alexandria is cited by Theophilus as authority for this custom; and it is not quite correct to say that the Western usage prevailed at Nicæa, for it was the general use, save only in Asia Minor and churches which were colonies of the same. This fact has been overlooked, and is very important, in history.
From His Epistle on the Question of the Passover, Written in the Name of the Synod of Cæsarea. 3785
Endeavour also to send abroad copies of our epistle among all the churches, so that those who easily deceive their own souls may not be able to lay the blame on us. We would have you know, too, that in Alexandria 3786 also they observe the festival on the same day as ourselves. For the Paschal letters are sent from us to them, and from them to us: so that we observe the holy day in unison and together.
————————————
Footnotes
774:3784See (Polycrates) p. 773, supra, and Eusebius, H. E., book v. cap. xxiii., etc., pp. 222–226.
774:3785In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., v. 25.
774:3786[Note, the authority of Alexandria is quoted, not that of Rome.]
Serapion, 3787 Bishop of Antioch.
[a.d. circa 190–200–211.] He was the eighth bishop of Antioch, a diligent writer and exemplary pastor. Little as we have of his remains, Lardner shows how very useful is that little. (1) He testifies to the Apostles as delivering the words of Christ Himself; (2) to the jealousy of the early Christians in sifting inspired writings from those of no authority as Scriptures; (3) to their methods, as in the case of the pseudo-gospel of Peter; and (4) to the utterly apocryphal character of that book, which Grabe and others suppose to be the work of Leucius, a noted forger and falsifier. It had never been heard of in the great See of Antioch, and this famous bishop could only get sight of it by fishing it out of the dirty pool of the Docetæ.
I.
From the Epistle to Caricus and Ponticus. 3788
That ye may see also that the proceedings of this lying confederacy, 3789 to which is given the name of New Prophecy, is abominated among the whole brotherhood throughout the world, I have sent you letters of the most blessed Claudius Apollinarius, who was made bishop of Hierapolis in Asia.
II.
From the Book Concerning the Gospel of Peter. 3790
For we, brethren, receive both Peter and the rest of the apostles as Christ Himself. But those writings which are falsely inscribed with their name, 3791 we as experienced persons reject, knowing that no such writings have been handed down to us. 3792 When, indeed, I came to see you, I supposed that all were in accord with the orthodox faith; and, although I had not read through the Gospel inscribed with the name of Peter which was brought forward by them, I said: If this is the only thing which threatens 3793 to produce ill-feeling among you, let it be read. But, now that I have learnt from what has been told me that their mind was secretly cherishing some heresy, 3794 I will make all haste to come to you again. Expect me therefore, brethren, shortly. Moreover, brethren, we, having discovered to what kind of heresy Marcion adhered, and seen how he contradicted himself, not understanding of what he was speaking, as you will gather from what has been written to you 3795 —for, having borrowed this said Gospel from those who were familiar with it from constant perusal, namely from the successors of those who were his leaders in the heresy, whom we call Docetæ (for most of the opinions held by him are derived from their teaching), we were able to read it through; and while we found most of its contents to agree with the orthodox account of the Saviour, we found some things inconsistent with that, and these we have set down below for your inspection.
————————————
Footnotes
774:3787Westcott, Canon, p. 444. Lardner, Credib., ii. 264, 417.
775:3788In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., v. 19.
775:3789Ψευδοῦς τάξεως.
775:3790In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., v. 12.
775:3791The reading of Migne, ὀνόματι, is adopted instead of ὁνόματα.
775:3792Τὰ τοιαῦτα οὐ παρελάβομεν.
775:3793Δοκοῦν.
775:3794Αἱρέσει τινὶ ὁ νοῦς αὐτῶν ἐνεφώλευεν.
775:3795The construction is not again resumed.
Apollonius. 3796
[a.d. 211.] He was a most eloquent man, according to St. Jerome; and his writings against Montanism were so forcible as to call forth Tertullian himself, to confute him, if possible. He flourished under Commodus and Severus, and probably until the times of Caracalla. He bears testimony to the existence of a canon of Scripture, 3797 and to its inspired authority as the rule of faith and practice; and he witnesses, by citation, to the Gospel of St. Matthew. The Revelation of St. John also, according to Eusebius, was employed by him in his works; and he preserves a tradition that our Lord bade the Apostles continue in Jerusalem for the space of twelve years. We cannot affirm that he was invested with any office in the Church.
Concerning Montanism. 3798
I.
But who is this new teacher? His works and teaching inform us. This is he who taught the dissolution of marriage; who inculcated fasting; who called Peruga and Tymius, small towns of Phrygia, Jerusalem, because he wished to collect thither people from all parts; who set up exactors of money; who craftily contrives the taking of gifts under the name of voluntary offerings; who grants stipends to those who publish abroad his doctrine, that by means of gluttony the teaching of the doctrine may prevail.
II.
We declare to you, then, that these first prophetesses, as soon as they were filled with the spirit, left their husbands. Of what falsehood, then, were they guilty in calling Prisca a maiden! Do you not think that all Scripture forbids a prophet to receive gifts and money? When, therefore, I see that the prophetess has received gold and silver and expensive articles of dress, how can I avoid treating her with disapproval?
III.
Moreover, Themison also, who was clothed in a garb of plausible 3799 covetousness, who declined to bear the sign of confessorship, but by a large sum of money put away from him the chains of martyrdom, although after such conduct it was his duty to conduct himself with humility, yet had the hardihood to boast that he was a martyr, and, in imitation of the apostle, to compose a general epistle, in which he attempted to instruct 3800 in the elements of the faith those who had believed to better purpose than he, and defended the doctrines of the new-fangled teaching, 3801 and moreover uttered blasphemy against the Lord and the apostles and the holy Church.
IV.
But, not to dwell further on these matters, let the prophetess tell us concerning Alexander, who calls himself a martyr, with whom she joins in banqueting; who himself also is worshipped by many; 3802 whose robberies and other deeds of daring, for which he has been punished, it is not necessary for us to speak of, since the treasury 3803 has him in keeping. Which of them, then, condones the sins of the other? The prophet the robberies of the martyr, or the martyr the covetousness of the prophet? For whereas the Lord has said, “Provide not gold, nor silver, nor two coats a-piece,” 3804 these men have, on the flat contrary, transgressed the command by the acquisition of these forbidden things. For we shall show that those who are called among them prophets and martyrs obtain money not only from the rich, but also from the poor, from orphans and widows. And if they are confident that they are right in so doing, let them stand forward and discuss the point, in order that, if they be refuted, they may cease for the future so to transgress. For the fruits of the prophet must needs be brought to the test: for “from its fruit is the tree known.” 3805 But that those that desire it may become acquainted with what relates to Alexander, he was condemned by Æmilius Frontinus, proconsul at Ephesus, not on account of the name of Christ, but for the daring robberies he committed when he was already a transgressor. 3806 Afterwards, when he had spoken falsely of the name of the Lord, he was released, having deceived the faithful there; 3807 and even the brethren of his own district, 3808 from which he came, did not receive him, because he was a robber. Thus, those who wish to learn what he is, have the public treasury of Asia to go to. And yet the prophet, although he spent many years with him, knows forsooth nothing about him! By convicting “him,” we by his means clearly convict of misrepresentation 3809 the prophet likewise. We are able to prove the like in the case of many others besides. And if they are confident of their innocence, let them abide the test.
V.
If they deny that their prophets have taken gifts, let them confess thus much, that if they be convicted of having taken them, they are not prophets; and we will adduce ten thousand proofs that they have. It is proper, too, that all the fruits of a prophet should be examined. Tell me: does a prophet dye his hair? Does a prophet use stibium on his eyes? Is a prophet fond of dress? Does a prophet play at gaming-tables and dice? Does a prophet lend money on interest? 3810 Let them confess whether these things are allowable or not. For my part, I will prove that these practices have occurred among them.
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Footnotes
775:3796Routh, Rel. Sac., vol. i. pp. 465–485.
775:3797Westcott, Canon, p. 433.
775:3798In Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., v. 18.
776:3799ἀξιόπιστον.
776:3800κατηχεῖν.
776:3801συναγωνίζεσθαι τοῖς τῆς καινοφωνίας λόγοις.
776:3802Or, “whom many of them (the Montanists—reading αὐτῶν for αὐτῷ, worship.”
776:3803ὀπισθόδομός, a chamber at the back of the temple of Minerva, in which public money was kept.
776:3804Matt. x. 9.
776:3805Matt. xii. 33.
776:3806παραβάτης, here meaning an apostate.
776:3807This is explained by Rufinus to mean: “When certain brethren who had influence with the judge interceded for him, he pretended that he was suffering for the name of Christ, and by this means he was released.”
776:3808παροικια.
776:3809ὐπόστασιν, from ὐφίστημι, probably in the sense of substituting one thing for another.
776:3810τάβλαις καὶ κύβοις.
Pantænus, 3811 the Alexandrian Philosopher.
[a.d. 182–192–212.] The world owes more to Pantænus than to all the other Stoics put together. His mind discovered that true philosophy is found, not in the Porch, but in Nazareth, in Gethsemane, in Gabbatha, in Golgotha; and he set himself to make it known to the world. We are already acquainted with the great master of Clement, 3812 “the Sicilian bee,” that forsook the flowers of Enna, to enrich Alexandria with what is “sweeter than honey and the honey-comb;” and we remember that he became a zealous missionary to the Oriental Ethiopia, and found there the traces of St. Matthias’ labours, and those also of St. Bartholomew. From this mission he seems to have returned about a.d. 192. Possibly he was master of the Alexandrian school before he went to India, and came back to his chair when that mission was finished. There he sat till about a.d. 212, and under him this Christian academy became famous. It had existed as a catechetical school from the Apostles’ time, according to St. Jerome. I have elsewhere noted some reasons for supposing that its founder may have been Apollos. 3813 All the learning of Christendom may be traced to this source; and blessed be the name of one of whom all we know is ennobling to the Church, and whose unselfish career was a track of light “shining more and more unto the perfect day.”
I. 3814
“In the sun hath He set His tent.” 3815 Some affirm that the reference is to the Lord’s body, which He Himself places in the sun; 3816 Hermogenes, for instance. As to His body, some say it is His tent, others the Church of the faithful. But our Pantænus said: “The language employed by prophecy is for the most part indefinite, the present tense being used for the future, and again the present for the past.”
II. 3817
This mode of speaking Saint Dionysius the Areopagite declares to be used in Scripture to denote predeterminations and expressions of the divine will. 3818 In like manner also the followers of Pantænus, 3819 who became the preceptor of the great Clement the Stromatist, affirm that they are commonly used in Scripture for expressions of the divine will. Accordingly, when asked by some who prided themselves on the outside learning, 3820 in what way the Christians supposed God to become acquainted with the universe, 3821 their own opinion being that He obtains His knowledge of it in different ways,—of things falling within the province of the understanding by means of the understanding, and of those within the region of the senses by means of the senses,—they replied: “Neither does He gain acquaintance with sensible things by the senses, nor with things within the sphere of the understanding by the understanding: for it is not possible that He who is above all existing things should apprehend them by means of existing things. We assert, on the contrary, that He is acquainted with existing things as the products of His own volition.” 3822 They added, by way of showing the reasonableness of their view: “If He has made all things by an act of His will (and no argument will be adduced to gainsay this), and if it is ever a matter of piety and rectitude to say that God is acquainted with His own will, and if He has voluntarily made every several thing that has come into existence, then surely God must be acquainted with all existing things as the products of His own will, seeing that it was in the exercise of that will that He made them.”
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Footnotes
776:3811Vol. ii. p. 342; Westcott, Canon, pp. 90, 381; Routh, R. S., vol. i. pp. 375–379.
776:3812Vol. ii. pp. 165, etc., and p. 301, note 9; also p. 342, Elucid. II., this series.
777:3813Vol. vi. p. 236. St. Luke, in the company of Apollos, may have met a catechumen of his in that “excellent Theophilus” of his writings (St. Luke i. 4, Greek), whose history shows that catechetical teaching was already part of the Christian system.
777:3814In Extracts from the Prophets, written probably by Theodotus, and collected by Clement of Alexandria or some other writer.
777:3815Ps. xix. 4.
777:3816Φασὶ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Κυρίου ἐν τῷ ἡλίῳ αὐτὸν ἀποτίθεσθαι.
777:3817In the Scholia of Maximus on St. Gregory the Divine.
777:3818Θελήματα.
777:3819Οἱ περὶ Πάνταινον. [Vol. ii. pp. 165–167, this series.]
777:3820Τὴν ἔξω παίδευσιν.
777:3821Τὰ ὄντα.
777:3822῾Ως ἴδια θελήματα.
Pseud-Irenæus.
[a.d. 177.] This letter should have been made a preface to the works of Irenæus, or at least an appendix. It is worthy of his great name; “the finest thing of the kind in all antiquity,” says Lardner. Critics of no mean name have credited it to Irenæus; but, as this cannot be proved, I have accordingly marked it as a pseudonym. The same writer condenses the arguments of others, on which he decides to adhere to the later chronology of Eusebius, assigning its date to the seventeenth year of Marcus Aurelius. 3823 Naturally humane and comparatively gentle in other respects he was; but Stoicism, as well as heathenism, showed what it could exact of such a character in maintenance of the popular and imperial superstitions. Terrible is the summary of Lightfoot concerning the barbarities of this darling of the “philosophers:” “It is a plain fact, that Christian blood flowed more freely under M. Aurelius than at any time previously during the half century since the Bithynian martyrdoms under Trajan, or was yet to flow at any time during the decades which would elapse before the Severian persecution. These persecutions extend throughout his reign: they were fierce and deliberate; aggravated, at least in some cases, by cruel tortures. They had the emperor’s direct personal sanction. They break out in all parts of the empire,—in Rome, in Asia Minor, in Gaul, in Africa, possibly also in Byzantium.”
Bishop Lightfoot accounts for the fact, that, in spite of this sanguinary character of the period, little complaint is heard from the suffering Church, by a simple statement which is honourable to Aurelius as a Roman and an emperor. He was such a contrast to the Neros and Caligulas, that the wretched Romans loved him as a father; to reproach him was, therefore, poor policy for Christians. They would have been answered, practically: “If so good a sovereign finds it necessary to punish you, the fault is your own; you have only to be as we are, and he will treat you as well as he does us.”
Of this awful outbreak in Lyons and Vienne, says Lightfoot: 3824 “The persecution was wholesale, so that it was not safe for any Christian to appear out of doors. No difference of age or sex was made. The prisoners were put to the most cruel tortures. All the elements of power combined to crush the brethren.”
To forbear threatenings, to revile not again, to conquer through patient suffering, to persevere, “looking unto Jesus,” and to be silent, like Him, before their murderers, was therefore the world-wide conduct of the saints. This golden letter shows what they were called to endure, and how they glorified Christ by their deaths, from the utmost Orient to the extreme limits of the West.
The Letter of the Churches of Vienna and Lugdunum to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia. 3825
It began thus:—“The servants of Christ who sojourn in Vienna and Lugdunum of Gaul to the brethren throughout Asia and Phrygia, who have the same faith and hope of redemption as ourselves, peace, grace, and glory from God the Father, and from Christ Jesus our Lord.”
After some further preliminary remarks the letter proceeds:—“The greatness of the tribulation in this region, and the exceeding anger of the heathen nations against the saints, and the sufferings which the blessed Witnesses 3826 endured, neither are we competent to describe accurately, nor indeed is it possible to detail them in writing. For with all his strength did the adversary assail us, even then giving a foretaste of his activity among us which is to be without restraint; and he had recourse to every means, accustoming his own subjects and exercising them beforehand against the servants of God, so that not only were we excluded from houses, 3827 baths, and the forum, but a universal prohibition was laid against any one of us appearing in any place whatsoever. But the grace of God acted as our general against him. It rescued the weak; it arrayed against him men like firm pillars, who could through patience bear up against the whole force of the assaults of the wicked one. These came to close quarters with him, enduring every form of reproach and torture; and, making light of grievous trials, they hastened on to Christ, showing in reality that the ‘sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.’ 3828 And first they nobly endured the evils which were heaped on them by the populace,—namely, hootings and blows, draggings, plunderings, stonings, and confinements, 3829 and everything that an infuriated mob is wont to perpetrate against those whom they deem bitter enemies. And at length, being brought to the forum by the tribune of the soldiers, and the magistrates that had charge of the city, they were examined in presence of the whole multitude; and having confessed, they were shut up in prison until the arrival of the governor.
“After this, when they were brought before the governor, and when he displayed a spirit of savage hostility to us, Vettius Epagathus, one of the brethren, interposed. For he was a man who had contained the full measure of love towards God and his neighbours. His mode of life had been so strict, that though he was a young man, he deserved to be described in the words used in regard to the elderly Zacharias: ‘He had walked therefore in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.’ 3830 He was also eager to serve his neighbour in any way, he was very zealous for God, and he was fervent in spirit. Such being the character of the man, he could not bear that judgment should be thus unreasonably passed against us, but was moved with indignation, and requested that he himself should be heard in defence of his brethren, undertaking to prove that there is nothing ungodly or impious amongst us. On this, those who were round the judgment-seat cried out against him, for he was a man of distinction; and the governor, not for a moment listening to the just request thus made to him, merely asked him if he himself were a Christian. And on his confessing in the clearest voice that he was, he also was taken up into the number of the Witnesses, receiving the appellation of the Advocate of the Christians, 3831 and having himself the Advocate, the Spirit, 3832 more abundantly than Zacharias; which he showed in the fulness 3833 of his love, in that he had of his own good-will offered to lay down his own life in defence of the brethren. For he was and is a genuine disciple of Christ, ‘following the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.’ 3834
“After this the rest began to be distinguished, 3835 for the proto-martyrs were decided and ready, and accomplished the confession of their testimony with all alacrity. But there appeared also those who were unprepared and unpractised, and who were still feeble, and unable to bear the tension of a great contest. Of these about ten in number proved abortions; causing great grief and immeasurable sorrow amongst us, and damping the ardour of the rest who had not yet been apprehended. For these, although they suffered every kind of cruelty, remained nevertheless in the company of the Witnesses, and did not forsake them. But then the whole of us were greatly alarmed on account of our uncertainty as to confession, not because we feared the tortures inflicted, but because we looked to the end, and dreaded lest any one should fall away. Those who were worthy, however, were daily apprehended, filling up the number of the others: so that out of the two churches all the excellent, and those to whom the churches owed most of all their establishment and prosperity, were collected together in prison. Some heathen household slaves belonging to our people were also apprehended, since the governor had given orders publicly that all of us should be sought out. These, through the instigation of Satan, and through fear of the tortures which they saw the saints enduring, urged on also by the soldiers, falsely accused us of Thyestean banquets and Œdipodean connections, and other crimes which it is lawful for us neither to mention nor think of; and, indeed, we shrink from believing that any such crimes have ever taken place among men. When the rumour of these accusations was spread abroad, all raged against us like wild beasts; so that if any formerly were temperate in their conduct to us on account of relationship, they then became exceedingly indignant and exasperated against us. And thus was fulfilled that which was spoken by our Lord: ‘The time shall come when every one who slayeth you shall think that he offereth service to God.’ 3836
“Then at last the holy Witnesses suffered tortures beyond all description, Satan striving eagerly that some of the evil reports might be acknowledged by them. 3837 But in an exceeding degree did the whole wrath of mob, general, and soldiers fall on Sanctus, a deacon from Vienna, and on Maturus, a newly-enlightened but noble combatant, and on Attalus, a native of Pergamus, who had always been the Pillar 3838 and foundation of the church there, and on Blandina, through whom Christ showed that the things that to men appear mean and deformed and contemptible, are with God deemed worthy of great glory, on account of love to Him,—a love which is not a mere boastful appearance, but shows itself in the power which it exercises over the life. For while we were all afraid, and especially her mistress in the flesh, who was herself one of the combatants among the Witnesses, that she would not be able to make a bold confession on account of the weakness of her body, Blandina was filled with such power, that those who tortured her one after the other in every way from morning till evening were wearied and tired, confessing that they had been baffled, for they had no other torture they could apply to her; and they were astonished that she remained in life, when her whole body was torn and opened up, and they gave their testimony 3839 that one only of the modes of torture employed was sufficient to have deprived her of life, not to speak of so many excruciating inflictions. But the blessed woman, like a noble athlete, recovered her strength in the midst of the confession; and her declaration, ‘I am a Christian, and there is no evil done amongst us,’ brought her refreshment, and rest, and insensibility to all the sufferings inflicted on her.
“Sanctus also nobly endured all the excessive and superhuman 3840 tortures which man could possibly devise against him; for the wicked hoped, on account of the continuance and greatness of the tortures, to hear him confess some of the unlawful practices. But he opposed them with such firmness that he did not tell them even his own name, nor that of his nation or city, nor if he were slave or free; but in answer to all these questions, he said in Latin, ‘I am a Christian.’ This was the confession he made repeatedly, instead of giving his name, his city, his race, and indeed in reply to every question that was put to him; and other language the heathens heard not from him. Hence arose in the minds of the governor and the torturers a determined resolution to subdue him; so that, when every other means failed, they at last fixed red-hot plates of brass to the most delicate parts of his body. And these indeed were burned, but he himself remained inflexible and unyielding, firm in his confession, being bedewed and strengthened by the heavenly fountain of the water of life which issues from the belly of Christ. 3841 But his body bore witness to what had happened: for it was all wounds and weals, shrunk and torn up, and had lost externally the human shape. In him Christ suffering wrought great wonders, destroying the adversary, and showing for an example to the rest that there is nothing fearful where there is the Father’s love, and nothing painful where there is Christ’s glory. For the wicked after some days again tortured the Witness, thinking that, since his body was swollen and inflamed, if they were to apply the same tortures they would gain the victory over him, especially since the parts of his body could not bear to be touched by the hand, or that he would die in consequence of the tortures, and thus inspire the rest with fear. Yet not only did no such occurrence take place in regard to him, but even, contrary to every expectation of man, his body unbent itself and became erect in the midst of the subsequent tortures, and resumed its former appearance and the use of its limbs, so that the second torture turned out through the grace of Christ a cure, not an affliction.
“Among those who had denied was a woman of the name of Biblias. The devil, thinking that he had already swallowed her, and wishing to damn her still more by making her accuse falsely, brought her forth to punishment, and employed force to constrain her, already feeble and spiritless, to utter accusations of atheism against us. But she, in the midst of the tortures, came again to a sound state of mind, and awoke as it were out of a deep sleep; for the temporary suffering reminded her of the eternal punishment in Gehenna, and she contradicted the accusers of Christians, saying, ‘How can children be eaten by those who do not think it lawful to partake of the blood of even brute beasts?’ And after this she confessed herself a Christian, and was added to the number of Witnesses.
“But when the tyrannical tortures were rendered by Christ of no avail through the patience of the blessed, the devil devised other contrivances—confinement in the darkest and most noisome cells of the prison, the stretching of the feet on the stocks, 3842 even up to the fifth hole, and the other indignities which attendants stirred up by wrath and full of the devil are wont to inflict on the imprisoned. The consequence was, that very many were suffocated in prison, as many at least as the Lord, showing His glory, wished to depart in this way. For there were others who were tortured so bitterly, that it seemed impossible for them to survive even though they were to obtain every kind of attention; and yet they remained alive in prison, destitute indeed of care from man, but strengthened by the Lord, and invigorated both in body and soul, and they animated and consoled the rest. But the new converts who had been recently apprehended, and whose bodies had not previously been tortured, could not indure the confinement, but died in the prison.
“Now the blessed Pothinus, who had been entrusted with the service of the bishopric in Lugdunum, was also dragged before the judgment-seat. He was now upwards of ninety years of age, and exceedingly weak in body. Though he breathed with difficulty on account of the feebleness of the body, yet he was strengthened by the eagerness of his spirit, on account of his earnest desire to bear his testimony. His body, indeed, was already dissolved through old age and disease, yet the life was preserved in him, that Christ might triumph through him. When he was brought by the soldiers to the judgment-seat, under a convoy of the magistrates of the city, and amid exclamations of every kind from the whole population, as if he himself were the Christ, he gave the good testimony. Being asked by the governor who was the God of the Christians, he said, ‘If thou art worthy, thou shalt know.’ Thereupon he was unmercifully dragged about, and endured many blows; for those who were near maltreated him in every way with their hands and feet, showing no respect for his age, while those at a distance hurled against him each one whatever came to hand, all of them believing that they would sin greatly and act impiously if they in any respect fell short in their insulting treatment of him. For they thought that in this way they would avenge their gods. And Pothinus, breathing with difficulty, was cast into prison, and two days after he expired.
“Upon this a grand dispensation 3843 of God’s providence took place, and the immeasurable mercy of Jesus was made manifest,—such an occurrence as but rarely happens among the brotherhood, yet one that does not fall short of the art of Christ. For those who in the first apprehension had denied, were imprisoned along with the others, and shared their hardships. Their denial, in fact, turned out at this time to be of no advantage to them. For while those who confessed what they really were, were imprisoned simply as Christians, no other accusation being brought against them, those who denied were detained as murderers and profligates. They, moreover, were doubly punished. For the confessors were lightened by the joy of their testimony and their hope in the promises, and by their love to Christ, and by the Father’s Spirit. But the deniers were tormented greatly by their own consciences, so that when they were led forth their countenances could be distinguished among all the rest. For the confessors went forth joyous, with a mingling of glory and abundant grace in their looks, so that their chains lay like becoming ornaments around them, as around a bride adorned with golden fringes wrought with divers colours. 3844 And they breathed at the same time the fragrance of Christ, 3845 so that some even thought that they were anointed with this world’s perfume. But the deniers were downcast, humbled, sad-looking, and weighed down with every kind of disgrace. They were, moreover, reproached even by the heathens with being base and cowardly, and charged with the crime of murder; they had lost the altogether honourable, glorious, and life-giving appellation. 3846 When the rest saw this, they were strengthened, and those who were apprehended confessed unhesitatingly, not allowing the reasoning of the devil to have even a place in their thoughts.”
Eusebius omits something, saying that after a little the letter proceeded as follows:—
“After these things, then, their testimonies took every shape through the different ways in which they departed. 3847 For, plaiting a crown from different colours and flowers of every kind, they presented it to the Father. It was right therefore that the noble athletes, after having endured divers contests and gained grand victories, should receive the great crown of incorruption.
“Maturus, therefore, and Sanctus, and Blandina, and Attalus were publicly 3848 exposed to the wild beasts—that common spectacle of heathen barbarity; for a day was expressly assigned to fights with wild beasts on account of our people. And Maturus and Sanctus again endured every form of torture in the amphitheatre, as if they had had no suffering at all before. Or rather, like athletes who had overthrown their adversary several times, 3849 and were now contending for the crown itself, again they endured the lashes 3850 which were usual there; and they were dragged about by the wild beasts, and suffered every indignity which the maddened populace demanded in cries and exhortations proceeding from various parts of the amphitheatre. And last of all they were placed in the iron chair, on which their bodies were roasted, and they themselves were filled with the fumes of their own flesh. But the heathens did not stop even here, but became still more frantic in their desire to overcome the endurance of the Christians. But not even thus did they hear anything else from Sanctus than the utterance of the confession which he had been accustomed to make from the beginning. These, then, after life had lasted a long time throughout the great contest, were at last sacrificed, 3851 after they alone had formed a spectacle to the world, throughout that day, instead of all the diversity which usually takes place in gladiatorial shows.
“Blandina 3852 was hung up fastened to a stake, and exposed, as food to the wild beasts that were let loose against her; and through her presenting the spectacle of one suspended on something like a cross, and through her earnest prayers, she inspired the combatants with great eagerness: for in the combat they saw, by means of their sister, with their bodily eyes, Him who was crucified for them, that He might persuade those who trust in Him that every one that has suffered for the glory of Christ has eternal communion with the living God. When none of the wild beasts at that time touched her, she was taken down from the stake and conveyed back to prison. She was thus reserved for another contest, in order that, gaining the victory in many preparative conflicts, she might make the condemnation of the Crooked Serpent 3853 unquestionable, and that she might encourage the brethren. For though she was an insignificant, weak, and despised woman, yet she was clothed with the great and invincible athlete Christ. On many occasions she had overpowered the adversary, and in the course of the contest had woven for herself the crown of incorruption.
“Attalus also was vehemently demanded by the mob; for he was a man of mark. He entered the lists a ready combatant on account of his good conscience, since he had been truly practised in the Christian discipline, and had always been a Witness of the truth among us. He was led round the amphitheatre, a tablet going before him, on which was written in Latin, ‘This is Attalus the Christian;’ and the people swelled with indignation against him. But the governor, learning that he was a Roman, ordered him to be taken back to prison and kept with the rest who were there, with regard to whom he had written to the Cæsar, and was now awaiting his determination.
“The intervening time did not prove barren or unfruitful to the Witnesses, but through their patient endurance the immeasurable love of Christ was made manifest. For through the living the dead were made alive; and the Witnesses conferred favours on those who were not Witnesses, and the Virgin Mother had much joy in receiving back alive those whom she had given up as dead abortions. For through the Witnesses the greater number of those who had denied returned, as it were, into their mother’s womb, and were conceived again and re-quickened; and they learned to confess. And being now restored to life, and having their spirits braced, they went up to the judgment-seat to be again questioned by the governor, while that God who wishes not the death of the sinner, 3854 but mercifully calls to repentance, put sweetness into their souls. This new examination took place because the Cæsar had given orders that the Witnesses should be punished, but that if any denied they should be set free. And as now was commencing here the fair, which is attendee by vast numbers of men assembling from all nations, he brought the blessed up to the judgment-seat, exhibiting them as a theatrical show and spectacle to the mobs. Wherefore also he again questioned them, and whoever appeared to have had the rights of Roman citizenship he beheaded, and the rest he sent to the wild beasts.
“Now Christ was greatly glorified in those who formerly denied; for, contrary to every expectation of the heathen, they confessed. For these were examined separately, under the belief that they were to be set free; but confessing, they were added to the number of the Witnesses. But there were also some who remained without; namely, those who had no trace of faith, and no perception of the marriage garment, 3855 nor notion of the fear of God, but through their conduct caused evil reports of our way of life, that is, sons of perdition. But all the rest were added to the Church.
“Present at the examination of these was one Alexander, a native of Phrygia, a physician by profession. He had lived for many years in Gaul, and had become well known to all for his love to God and his boldness in proclaiming the truth, for he was not without a share of apostolic grace. He stood near the judgment-seat, and, urging by signs those who had denied to confess, he looked to those who stood round the judgment-seat like one in travail. But the mobs, enraged that those who had formerly denied should now confess, cried out against Alexander as if he were the cause of this change. Then the governor summoned him before him, and inquired of him who he was; and when Alexander said he was a Christian, the governor burst into a passion, and condemned him to the wild beasts. And on the next day he entered the amphitheatre along with Attalus; for the governor, wishing to gratify the mob, again exposed Attalus to the wild beasts. These two, after being tortured in the amphitheatre with all the instruments devised for that purpose, and having undergone an exceedingly severe contest, at last were themselves sacrificed. Alexander uttered no groan or murmur of any kind, but conversed in his heart with God; but Attalus, when he was placed on the iron chair, and all the parts of his body were burning, and when the fumes from his body were borne aloft, said to the multitude in Latin, ‘Lo! this which ye do is eating men. But as for us, we neither eat men nor practise any other wickedness.’ And being asked what name God has, he answered, ‘God has not a name as men have.’
“After all these, on the last day of the gladiatorial shows, Blandina was again brought in along with Ponticus, a boy of about fifteen years of age. These two had been taken daily to the amphitheatre to see the tortures which the rest endured, and force was used to compel them to swear by the idols of the heathen; but on account of their remaining stedfast, and setting all their devices at nought, the multitude were furious against them, so as neither to pity the tender years of the boy nor to respect the sex of the woman. Accordingly they exposed them to every terror, and inflicted on them every torture, repeatedly trying to compel them to swear. But they failed in effecting this; for Ponticus, encouraged by his sister, 3856 so plainly indeed that even the heathens saw that it was she that encouraged and confirmed him, after enduring nobly every kind of torture, gave up the ghost; while the blessed Blandina, last of all, after having like a noble mother encouraged her children, and sent them on before her victorious to the King, trod the same path of conflict which her children had trod, hastening on to them with joy and exultation at her departure, not as one thrown to the wild beasts, but as one invited to a marriage supper. And after she had been scourged and exposed to the wild beasts, and roasted in the iron chair, she was at last enclosed in a net and cast before a bull. And after having been well tossed by the bull, though without having any feeling of what was happening to her, through her hope and firm hold of what had been entrusted to her and her converse with Christ, she also was sacrificed, the heathens themselves acknowledging that never among them did woman endure so many and such fearful tortures.
“Yet not even thus was their madness and their savage hatred to the saints satiated. For wild and barbarous tribes, when excited by the Wild Beast, with difficulty ceased from their rage, and their insulting conduct found another and peculiar subject in the bodies of the Witnesses. For they felt no shame that they had been overcome, for they were not possessed of human reason; but their defeat only the more inflamed their rage, and governor and people, like a wild beast, showed a like unjust hatred of us, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still.’ 3857 For they threw to the dogs those who had been suffocated in prison, carefully watching them day and night, lest any one should receive burial from us. They then laid out the mangled remains left by the wild beasts, and the scorched remains left by the fire, and the heads of the rest along with their trunks, and in like manner for many days watched them lying unburied with a military guard. There were some who raged and gnashed their teeth at them, seeking to get from them further vengeance. Others derided and insulted them, at the same time magnifying their own idols, and ascribing to them the punishment inflicted on the Christians. There were persons also of a milder disposition, who to some extent seemed to sympathize; yet they also frequently upbraided, saying, ‘Where now is their God, and what good have they got from that religion which they chose in preference to their life?’ Such was the diversity which characterized the conduct of the heathens. But our state was one of deep sorrow that we could not bury the bodies. For night aided us not in this matter; money failed to persuade, and entreaty did not shame them into compliance; but they kept up the watch in every way, as if they were to gain some great advantage from the bodies of the Christians not obtaining burial.
Something is omitted. The letter then goes on:—
“The bodies of the Witnesses, after having been maltreated in every way, and exposed in the open air for six days, were burned, reduced to ashes, and swept by the wicked into the river Rhone, which flows past, in order that not even a vestige of them might be visible on earth. And these things they did, as if they had been able to overcome God, and deprive them of their second birth, 3858 in order, as they said, that ‘they may not have hope in a resurrection, trusting to which they introduce some strange and new mode of worship, and despise dangers, and go readily and with joy to death. Now let us see if they will rise again, and if their God can help them, and rescue them out of our hands.’”
Eusebius here breaks off his series of continuous extracts, but he makes a few more for special purposes. The first is the account which the churches gave of the character of the Witnesses:—
“Who also were to such an extent zealous followers and imitators of Christ, who, being in the shape of God, thought it not an object of desire to be treated like God; 3859 that though they were in such glory, and had borne their testimony not once, nor twice, but often, and had been again taken back to prison after exposure to the wild beasts, and bore about with them the marks of the burnings and bruises and wounds all over their bodies, yet did they neither proclaim themselves Witnesses, nor indeed did they permit us to address them by this name; but if any one of us on any occasion, either by letter or in conversation, called them Witnesses, they rebuked him sharply. For they willingly gave the title of Witness to Christ, ‘the faithful and true Witness,’ 3860 and first-born from the dead, and the leader to the divine life. And they reminded us of those Witnesses who had already departed, and said: ‘These indeed are now Witnesses, whom Christ has vouchsafed to take up to Himself in the very act of confession, thus putting His seal upon their testimony through their departure. But we are mean and humble confessors.’ And with tears they besought the brethren that earnest prayers might be made for their being perfected. They in reality did all that is implied in the term ‘testimony,’ acting with great boldness towards all the heathen; and their nobleness they made manifest through their patience, and fearlessness, and intrepidity. But the title of Witness, as implying some superiority to their brethren, 3861 they refused, being filled with the fear of God.”
After a little they say:—
“They humbled themselves 3862 under the powerful hand by which they are now highly exalted. Then they pleaded for all, 3863 but accused none; they absolved all, they bound none; and they prayed for those who inflicted the tortures, even as Stephen the perfect Witness, ‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.’ 3864 But if he prayed for those who stoned him, how much more for the brethren!”
After other things, again they say:—
“For they had this very great conflict with him, the devil, on account of their genuine love, in order that the Beast being choked, might vomit forth those whom he thought he had already swallowed. For they assumed no airs of superiority over the fallen, but with those things in which they themselves abounded they aided the needy, displaying towards them the compassion of a mother. And pouring out many tears for them to the Father, they begged life; 3865 and He gave it to them, and they shared it with their neighbours. And departing victorious over all to God, having always loved peace, and having recommended peace to us, in peace they went to God, leaving no sorrow to their Mother, nor division and dissension to their brethren, but joy and peace, and concord and love.”
“The same writing of the fore-mentioned martyrs,” says Eusebius, “contains a story worth remembrance.
“For there was one of them of the name of Alcibiades, who lived an exceedingly austere life, confining his diet to bread and water, and partaking of nothing else whatsoever. He tried to continue this mode of life in prison; but it was revealed to Attalus after the first conflict which he underwent in the amphitheatre that Alcibiades was not pursuing the right course in refusing to use the creatures of God, and in leaving an example which might be a stumbling-block to others. And Alcibiades was persuaded, and partook freely of all kinds of food, and thanked God. For they were not without the oversight of the grace of God, but the Holy Spirit was their counsellor.”
————————————
Footnotes
777:3823Vol. iv. p. 125, this series. Compare Lightfoot, Ap. Fathers, part ii. vol. i. pp. 499, etc., 510, etc.
778:3824Ap. Fathers, part ii. vol. i. p. 499.
778:3825This letter has come down to us in fragments quoted by Eusebius. We have used the translation of Lord Hailes as the basis of ours. [Compare Vol. i. p. 309, this series, and note the adhesion of the primitive Gallican Church to the East,—to the land of Polycarp and Pothinus. Concerning Pothinus, see Routh, Rel. Sac., i. p. 328, and the correction by Lightfoot, Ap. F., part ii. vol. i. p. 430, etc. The Gallican Church may yet arise from the dust, and restore the primitive primacy of Lyons. God grant it!]
778:3826We have translated μάρτυρες “witnesses” and μαρτυρία “testimony” throughout.
778:3827Houses of friends and relatives. Olshausen takes them to be public buildings.
778:3828Rom. viii. 18. [On quotations from Scripture, etc., see Westcott, Canon, p. 378, ed. 1855.]
778:3829By “confinements” in this passage evidently is meant that the populace prevented them from resorting to public places, and thus shut them up in their own houses.
779:3830Luke i. 6.
779:3831From the heathen judge.
779:3832Luke i. 67.
779:3833The writer refers to St. John’s Gospel (John 15.13): “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
779:3834Rev. xiv. 4.
779:3835This expression seems to refer to what took place in athletic combats. The athletes were tested before fighting, and those in every way qualified were permitted to fight, while the others were rejected. This testing, Valesius supposes, was called διάκρισις.
779:3836John xvi. 2.
779:3837The words here admit of two meanings: that something blasphemous might be uttered by them—such as speaking against Christ and swearing by Cæsar: or that some accusation against the Christians might be uttered by them—confirming, for instance, the reports of infanticide and incest prevalent against the Christians. The latter in this passage seems unquestionably to be the meaning.
779:38381 Tim. iii. 15.
780:3839Heinichen construes differently. He makes the “torturers astonished that Blandina gave her testimony that one kind of torture was sufficient to deprive her of life.” Perhaps the right construction is to make ὅτι mean “because” or “for:” “They were astonished as Blandina bearing her testimony, for one kind of torture was sufficient to have killed her.”
780:3840The words ὑπερβεβλημένως καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα ἄνθρωπον naturally go with ὑπομένων, and therefore intimate that Sanctus’ endurance was greater than human; but we doubt if this is intended by the writer.
780:3841John vii. 38: “He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his bosom shall flow rivers of living water.”
780:3842The holes were placed in a line, so that the further the hole in which one leg was put from the hole in which the other leg was put, the more nearly would the two legs form a straight line, and the greater would be the pain.
781:3843The dispensation is, that those who denied were not set free, but confined with the others; and that this harsh treatment and sad state of mind confirmed the resolution of those not yet apprehended to confess Christ. Various other explanations have been given, but this seems the most reasonable.
781:3844Ps. xlv. 13.
781:38452 Cor. ii. 15.
781:3846Of Christian.
781:3847We have adopted here an emendation of Routh’s. The literal version of the common text is: “The testimonies of their departure were divided into every form.”
781:3848The Greek is εἰς τὸ δημόσιον, was led “to the public building” to the wild beasts. The public building is taken to be the amphitheatre.
781:3849The words “several times” are represented in Greek by διὰ πλειόνων κλήρων, lit. “through several lots.” When there were several athletes to contend, the pairs were determined by lot. After the first contest the victors were again formed into pairs by lot, until finally there should be but one pair left. See the process at the Olympic games described in Lucian Hermotimus, c. xl. p. 782.
781:3850The bestiarii, before fighting with wild beasts, had to run the gauntlet.
781:3851Rufinus translates jugulati sunt. Probably, “killed with the sword.” The term may have been a technical one, being applied to the gladiators or bestiarii, whose death may have been looked on as a sacrifice to a god or a dead-hero.
782:3852Blandina was a slave: hence the mode of punishment. On this matter see Lipsius, De Cruce. [And my note, p. 784.]
782:3853Lord Hailes remarks that this alludes to Isa. xxvii. 1.
782:3854Ezek. xxxiii. 11.
782:3855Heinichen renders “the bride’s garment,” and explains in the following manner. The bride is the Church, the garment Christ, and the sons of perdition had no ideas what garment the Church of Christ should wear, had no idea that they should be clothed with Christ, and be filled with His Spirit. It is generally taken to be the marriage garment of Matt. xxii. 12.
783:3856She may have been his sister by birth, as some have supposed, but the term “sister” would have been applied had she been connected by no other tie than that of a common faith.
783:3857Rev. xxii. 11. Lardner thinks the passage is quoted from Dan. xii. 10. Credib., part ii. c. 16.
783:3858παλιγγενεσία. The term refers here to the new state of affairs at the end of the world.
784:3859Phil. ii. 6.
784:3860Rev. 1:5, Rev. 3:14.
784:3861The Greek is τὴν πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς τῶν μαρτύρων προσηγορίαν, generally translated, “offered to them by their brethren.”
784:38621 Pet. v. 6.
784:3863The Greek is, πᾶσι μὲν ἀπελογοῦντο. Rufinus translated, “Placabant omnes, neminem accusabant.” Valesius thought that the words ought to be translated, “They rendered an account of their faith to all;” or, “They defended themselves before all.” Heinichen has justified the translation in the text by an appeal to a passage in Eusebius, Hist. Eccl., iv. 15.
784:3864Acts vii. 60.
784:3865Ps. xx. 4.
Note by the American Editor.
A French writer has remarked, “Ce n’est pas Spartacus qui a supprimé l’esclavage; c’est bien plutôt Blandine.”
————————————
Elucidation.
(In every succession, p. 764.)
Here our author mentions that he noted the succession of Bishops at Rome, but he gives his list with no remark about Rome in particular. He adds that “in every succession and in every city (i.e., in every See) a primitive accordance with the law and the Gospel is maintained.” How can our excellent Lightfoot 3866 give it a colour wholly gratuitous in these words: “He interested himself in the succession of the Roman See, intent, like Irenæus in the next generation, on showing the permanence of the orthodox tradition, through the continuity of the Roman episcopate.” Irenæus, who, above all the Westerns, is identified with the Orient!
Where is the evidence of any such idea or “intent”? As for Irenæus, his testimony has been sufficiently illustrated before, with proof that his words have not the slightest reference to the continuity of the Roman more than any other See, save only as the influx of visitors from other Sees helped to give it orthodoxy by their concurrent testimony. 3867
————————————
Footnotes
785:3866Ap. Fathers, part ii. vol. i. p. 435; and the same laxity, p. 384, coincident with his theory as to a virtual post-Apostolic development of episcopacy.
785:3867Compare vol. i. pp. 415, 460, and vol. v. Elucid. VI.; also Elucid. XI. pp. 157–159, this series.
Note.
It may be worth while to state here, that I have uniformly (mistakes excepted) put my chronological statements, at the head of introductions, into brackets, so as to make the reader sure that the Edinburgh edition is not to be responsible for them. Some have inferred, therefore, that what follows is from the Edinburgh; but I think my modes of expression sufficient, generally, to guard against misconception. Notes (like this) are sometimes marked, “By the American Editor,” when I have feared a misleading ambiguity. Otherwise, I have been unguarded. All the introductions in these “Remains” are mine, save the prefatory paragraphs of the translator on pp. 747, 748. Annotations on my own material are not bracketed. The very large amount of work bestowed upon this edition can only be known by comparison with the Edinburgh. In several instances of delicate criticism I have obtained valuable aid from my beloved friend, F. P. Nash, Esq., of Hobart College, especially in questions of the low Latin or ambiguous Greek.
A.C.C.
Indexes
Index of Scripture References
Genesis
1:1 1:1 1:1 1:1 1:2 1:2 1:3 1:5 1:16 1:18 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:27 1:28 1:31 2:7 2:10 2:16 2:17 2:20 3 3:5 3:5 3:6 3:15 3:19 3:22 3:22 3:22 3:22 4:12 4:26 5:24 5:24 6:2 6:2 6:3 6:4 6:6 6:9 7:1 8:1 8:21 8:21 9:1 9:11 11:3 11:7 11:28 12:3 12:3 15 15:13-16 17:5 17:17 18:3 18:4 18:21 19:11 20:3 22:1 22:12 22:13 22:17 23:9 23:9 23:17 25:34 27:25 29:33 29:35 30:8 30:14 30:20 32:24 34:7 35:18 35:21 35:22 37:2 37:19 37:22 37:28 37:28 37:29 38:1 38:5 38:6 38:12 39:1 41:5 41:25 41:45 42:21-24 42:22 42:24 45:2 48:7 48:16 49:3 49:7 49:10 49:10 49:10 49:21 49:27 50:26
Exodus
3 4:3 4:4 7:1 7:9 7:10-14 7:19 7:20 8:19 12 13:2 14:31 15:1 15:4 19:9 22:28 22:28 22:28 22:28 23:20 23:21 24:18 25:4 25:10 28:27 28:28 28:35 28:36 28:36-38 29 29:5 29:6 30:23 30:23 33:11 33:14 33:19 33:20 33:21 33:23 34:1 34:28 34:29 35:3
Leviticus
2:13 8 11:5 11:7 11:44 12:4 12:8 24:16 24:16
Numbers
1:51 3:32 3:45 5:11 11:16 11:34 12:3 12:6 12:7 12:7 15:25 16:31-33
Deuteronomy
2:23 4:34 4:39 4:39 6:4 6:4 6:4 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:13 8:11 9:9 10:14 10:14 10:15 10:17 10:17 10:17 10:17 10:17 10:20 12:11 13:1 13:1-3 13:6 17 17:6 17:6 17:15 18:15 18:15-19 19:15 21:23 25:3 25:3 25:7 25:8 25:9 27:15 27:17 30:15 31 32:7 32:8 32:8 32:12 32:17 32:35 32:39 32:39 33:2 33:12 34:5 34:6 34:6 34:10
Joshua
3:16 7:19 7:20 15:34 15:44 16:8 17:8 19:30 19:43 23:7 23:7 23:7 24:30
Judges
2:9 9:46 13:16 13:20 13:25 14:1
1 Samuel
1:6 1:7 1:9-18 1:11 2:3 5:3 9:23 12:22 15:11 16:13 16:14 17:44
2 Samuel
19:21 20:1 23:30
1 Kings
2:11 8:56-58 11:1 11:11 17 18 19:8 21:10 21:13
2 Kings
2:8 2:11 2:12-18 4:27 23:13
1 Chronicles
2:43 4:22 11:36
2 Chronicles
7:12 24:20-22 27:3
Esther
10:12
Job
3 5:12 5:13 29:13-17 29:15 40:19
Psalms
1:1 1:20 2:5 2:9 2:19 2:20 2:26 2:26 2:27 3:4 3:5 3:14-16 5 6:3 7:15 7:15-17 8:3 9:17 9:18 10:1 10:3 10:4 10:5 11:4 12:2-4 16:5 16:15 16:16 18:1 18:9 18:11 18:16 18:23 18:23 18:25 18:25 18:26 18:26 18:26 18:26 18:26 18:26 18:27 18:31 18:41 18:43 18:50 18:50 19:1 19:1 19:4 19:8 19:12 19:107 19:137 19:167 20 20 20:4 21:4 24:3 24:4 24:7 24:7 24:7 24:7 24:8 24:8 24:10 25:3 27:10 29 30:1-6 30:7 31:5 32:1 32:11 33:1 33:1 33:22 34:1 34:13 35:10 37:4 37:29 39:1 39:12 44:21 44:21 44:23 45:1 45:1 45:6 45:11 45:13 46:3 46:4 47:5 47:8 47:8 48:7 48:13 48:14 48:14 48:14 49:14 50:1 51:5 51:7 51:12 51:13 51:17 51:19 57:1 57:6 65:9 68:18 68:33 71:19 72:8 72:11 72:17 73:1-3 76:11 77:19 78:2 82:1 84:10 86:8 86:8 86:8 86:13 89:20 89:44 89:45 92:7 93 94:11 94:11 98:1 98:2 98:6 104:4
Proverbs
3:3 3:4 4:18 6:25 6:26 6:27 6:28 6:29 8:30 8:31 12:15 13:3 13:24 14:12 14:29 15:19 18:6 18:19 19:25 19:28 21:1 21:23 22:28 24:17 25:11 26:4 26:9
Ecclesiastes
2:8 3:1 3:2 3:5 3:7 3:20 7:26 12:4 12:7
Song of Solomon
2:2 2:8 4:14 4:14 6:9
Isaiah
1:3 1:3 1:3 1:8 1:20 2:3 3:10 6:3 9:1 9:2 9:2 9:2 9:6 11:1 11:2 11:2 11:6 12:3 19:1 19:20 22:13 24:20 26:19 26:19 27:1 28:7 28:16 29:21 33:22 40:4 40:6 40:12 40:26 40:27 43:24 44:6 44:6 45:21 49:15 49:18 51:7 52:15 52:15 53:1 53:1 56:4 56:5 61:1-3 61:9 61:9 64:4 65:1 65:25 66:2 66:21
Jeremiah
1:16 2:9 2:27 6:16 6:20 8:4 9:23 9:24 10:11 10:11 10:11 16:16 16:20 17:5 17:5 17:10 17:14 18:11 31:19 33:15 33:20-22
Lamentations
1:18 3:38 3:41 4:16
Ezekiel
2:6 18:21 18:22 18:32 18:33 21:12 27:19 27:19 33:7 33:11 33:11 37:27 48:26 48:27
Daniel
1:15 2:12 2:31 3:25 4:10-23 4:13 4:35 7:9 7:13 7:22 9:27 10:3 10:21 12:1 12:10
Hosea
1:2 1:7 1:10 1:11 5:2 5:8 6:6 6:6 6:6 9:14 11:1 13:14 13:14 14:10
Joel
3:2 3:12
Amos
9:7
Micah
1:3 1:14 5:2 5:2 7:18-20
Habakkuk
1:5 3:2 3:6 3:13
Zechariah
2:8 8:1-19 14:9
Malachi
3:1 4:2 4:2
Matthew
1 1:16 1:18-24 1:19 1:19 1:20 1:20-24 2:1-12 2:1-12 2:1-12 2:2 2:11 2:13 2:13-15 2:14 2:14 2:14-16 2:15 2:16 2:16 2:16 2:19-23 2:26 3:3 3:11 3:12 3:12 3:12 3:13-17 3:17 4 4:2 4:5 4:10 4:10 4:10 4:16 4:19 4:24 5:3 5:3 5:5 5:6 5:7 5:7 5:8 5:8 5:8 5:8 5:8 5:8 5:8 5:8 5:9 5:9 5:10 5:14 5:14 5:14 5:15 5:16 5:17 5:18 5:18 5:18 5:22 5:28 5:28 5:29 5:34 5:35 5:37 5:37 5:39 5:39-41 5:40 5:44 5:44 5:45 5:45 5:45 5:45 6:6 6:6 6:8 6:9 6:13 6:22 6:24 6:25 6:27 6:32 6:32 6:33 6:33 6:33 6:33 6:33 6:33 6:34 7:2 7:6 7:6 7:6 7:6 7:6 7:7 7:7 7:7 7:9-11 7:12 7:12 7:13 7:14 7:21 8:1-4 8:9 8:11 8:11 8:11 8:12 8:24-26 8:26 8:29 8:31 9 9:13 9:13 9:17 9:20-22 9:20-26 9:37 9:37 9:37 9:38 9:38 10 10:2-4 10:4 10:5 10:7-10 10:8 10:9 10:10 10:10 10:11 10:12 10:12-15 10:16 10:16 10:16 10:23 10:24 10:25 10:26 10:28 10:28 10:29 10:30 10:30 10:33 10:34 10:34 10:34 10:35 10:36 10:39 10:42 11:8 11:8 11:9 11:10 11:11 11:11 11:23 11:25 11:25 11:25 11:25 11:25 11:25 11:27 11:27 11:27 11:28 11:29 11:30 11:30 12:7 12:7 12:19 12:25 12:26 12:33 12:33 12:34 12:36 12:41 12:41 12:42 12:42 12:44 12:45 12:50 13 13:3 13:11 13:17 13:23 13:35 13:39 13:39 13:41 13:43 13:43 13:46 13:52 14:17 14:25 15:13 15:14 15:14 16:13 16:16 16:18 16:19 16:19 16:22 16:24 16:27 17:5 17:20 17:20 17:20 17:21 18:7 18:7 18:7 18:10 18:16 18:18 18:18 19:8 19:12 19:12 19:16 19:16 19:17 19:17 19:17 19:23 19:24 19:28 19:28 19:29 20:16 20:28 21:8 21:9 21:9 21:9 21:22 21:22 22 22:2-14 22:3-14 22:11 22:12 22:23 22:29 22:29 22:30 22:30 22:32 22:39 22:39 22:42-45 23 23:2 23:2 23:3 23:3 23:3 23:9 23:9 23:23 23:24 23:25 23:26 23:35 23:37 24 24:2 24:2 24:15 24:24 24:27 24:30 24:30 24:34 24:35 24:45-50 24:45-51 25:2 25:27-30 25:33 25:35 25:36 25:36 25:40 25:41 25:41 26:21 27:13 27:14 27:15-18 27:15-26 27:19 27:19 27:21-23 27:25 27:25 27:25 27:29 27:34 27:34 27:40-42 27:45 27:45 27:46 27:48 27:51 27:51 27:51-53 27:52 27:52 27:53 27:56 27:60 27:62 27:62-66 27:63 27:63 28:1-8 28:5-7 28:11-15 28:13 28:19 28:19 28:20 28:20 28:20
Mark
1:4 1:13 1:16-17 3:17 4:3 4:8 4:20 4:34 5:15 6:3 6:9 6:9 6:11 6:37-44 7:34 9:29 9:49 10:5 10:6 10:18 10:44 10:46 10:49 11:25 12:24 12:24 12:27 12:29 12:31 12:33 13:31 15:21 15:34 15:40 16:15-18 16:15-19 16:16 16:16
Luke
1:1-4 1:4 1:6 1:14 1:26-38 1:26-38 1:28 1:28 1:28 1:32 1:33 1:33 1:34 1:35 1:36 1:36 1:39 1:40 1:43 1:44 1:48 1:48 1:67 1:79 2:1 2:1-6 2:8-12 2:14 2:19 2:21-24 2:22-35 2:23 2:25-35 2:25-38 2:26 2:34 2:35 2:36-38 2:41-52 2:42-47 2:46-52 2:49 3:1 3:21-23 3:22 4 4:1-13 4:8 4:8 6 6:20 6:29 6:30 6:36 6:38 6:44 6:46 6:46 7:8 7:37 7:38 8:5 8:18 9:62 10 10:4 10:5 10:5 10:6 10:16 10:18 10:18 10:19 10:21 10:21 10:21 10:21 10:21 10:22 10:22 10:22 10:24 11 11:2 11:9 11:20 11:22 11:31 11:31 11:32 11:32 11:34 11:51 11:52 11:52 11:52 12:6 12:7 12:17 12:19 12:20 12:24 12:25 12:34 12:35 12:42 12:49 12:49 12:51-53 12:53 13:25 13:29 13:29 13:34 15:6 16:8 17:1 17:1 17:6 17:11-19 18:6-8 18:18 18:18 18:19 19 19:5 19:38 19:43 19:44 19:44 20:36 20:38 21:11 22:33 23:6-11 23:34 23:34 23:34 23:34 23:34 23:39-43 23:42 23:43 23:43 23:44-49 23:46 23:46 23:48 24:10 24:21 24:29 24:34 24:37 24:46 24:49 24:50
John
1:1-3 1:4-9 1:14 1:18 1:29 2:20 2:20 3:5 3:5 3:5 3:6 3:18 3:31 4:6 4:27 5:5-9 5:5-9 5:23 6:27 7 7:38 8:11 8:12 8:34 8:44 8:56-58 9:2 9:3 9:5 9:6 9:7 9:39 10:3 10:9 10:12 10:13 10:16 10:16 10:18 10:22 11:1-16 11:43 12:5 12:34 13:23 13:35 13:35 14:1 14:23 14:26 14:30 15:13 16:2 18:17 18:31 18:33-38 18:36 19:2 19:3 19:6 19:7 19:11 19:11 19:12 19:13 19:26 19:26 19:26 19:27 19:27 19:27 19:28 19:30 19:31-34 19:34 19:38-42 20:17 20:19 20:19 20:22 20:23 20:26 20:29 20:31 21:11 21:20 21:22
Acts
1:1 1:12 1:23 2:1 3:2 3:7 3:17 3:22 3:22 3:23 3:24 4:6 4:12 4:32 4:32-37 5 5:1-11 5:15 5:20-25 5:29 5:35-39 5:38 5:38 5:39 7:37 7:60 7:60 7:60 8 8:9-11 8:13 8:18-24 8:39 9:11 9:36 10 10:4 10:9-35 10:9-35 10:11 12:4 12:12 13 13:1 13:1 13:22 14:12 15 15:20 15:20 15:28 15:39 16:4 17:21 17:30 18:9 20:7 20:16 20:29-31 21:18-26 22:5 23:2 23:9 23:11 26:7 27:16 28 28:1
Romans
1:5-15 1:8 1:20 1:25 1:32 1:32 2:11 2:12 2:12 2:28 3:3-10 3:23-26 5:4 6:3 6:4 6:12-19 7:2 7:9 7:18 7:24 8:6 8:7 8:9 8:15 8:18 8:18 8:18 8:20 8:29 8:29 8:34 9:18 10:18 11:1 11:15 11:26 11:34 12:2 12:10 12:17 12:19 12:19 13:2 13:10 13:13 13:14 14:15 15:4 15:19 15:20 16 16:15-17 16:17-19 16:18 16:20 16:21
1 Corinthians
1:18 1:18 1:18 1:24 1:31 2:9 2:9 2:13 2:14 2:14 3:19 5:5 5:7 5:8 5:9 5:11 5:11 5:11 6:7 6:9 6:18 6:19 6:19 7:5 7:5 7:29 7:32 7:34 8:12 8:13 9:27 10:4 10:12 10:20 10:20 10:21 10:21 10:21 10:31 10:32 10:33 11:1 11:1 11:10 12 12:8-10 12:29 13:1 13:1 14:7 14:40 15:6 15:8 15:10 15:19 15:32 15:32 15:33 15:41 15:44 15:44 15:46 15:49 15:52 15:55 15:58 16:2 16:8 16:13 16:14
2 Corinthians
1:22 2:15 4:16 4:17 4:18 5:1 5:10 5:11 6:3 6:14 6:15 8:12 8:23 9:13 10:13-16 10:17 11:3 11:13 11:14 11:29 12:2 12:4 12:13 13:15
Galatians
1:1 2:9 2:9 2:11 3:13 4:6 4:10 4:26 5:7 5:21 5:22 5:24 6:1 6:3 6:4 6:4 6:17
Ephesians
1:13 1:18 1:21 2 2:2 2:14 2:14 3:10 3:15 4:19 4:27 4:28 4:29-32 4:30 4:30 5:1-21 5:3 5:5 5:6 5:15 6:4 6:9 6:10-17
Philippians
2:6 2:10 2:11 2:15 2:15 2:16 3:5 3:9 3:11 3:14 3:20 4:1 4:3 4:6
Colossians
1:5 2:8 2:8 2:16 2:18 3:2 3:5 3:5 3:9 3:18-22 3:25 4:6 4:16
1 Thessalonians
2:16 4:6 4:15 4:17 4:17 4:17
2 Thessalonians
2:13 2:15-17 3:1-3 3:4
1 Timothy
2:4 2:8 2:24 3:1-4 3:3 3:15 5:6 5:13 6:5 6:8 6:10 6:10 6:11 6:17 6:20
2 Timothy
1:14 1:18 2:5 2:7 2:7 2:15 2:24 2:24 2:26 3:5 3:5 3:8 3:8 3:9 4:1 4:8 4:8
Titus
1:7 2:13
Hebrews
4:13 5:1 7:2 7:21 10:23 10:26 10:30 10:33 10:34 11:5 11:35 11:37 11:38 13:4 13:7
James
1:5 1:19 1:20 1:27 2:1 2:14 3:1 3:1 3:2 3:2 3:13 3:15 4:6 5:12 5:17 8 18
1 Peter
1:15 2:4 2:9 2:12 3 3:9 3:20 4:11 5:1-4 5:5 5:6 5:8 5:8
Jude
1:6 1:7 1:19
Revelation
1:5 1:10 2:7 2:9 2:23 3:14 4:4 4:4 5:6 7:4 7:8 7:17 11:3-12 11:3-12 11:3-12 11:3-12 11:5 12:7 14:4 14:4 14:13 19:10 19:15 19:16 20:4 20:5 20:6 21:2 21:3 21:4 22:2 22:11 22:18 22:19
Tobit
1:7 1:17 1:18 2:10 2:10 4:15 8:7 8:8
Judith
4:3
Wisdom of Solomon
1 1:4 2:1-5 3:7 5:14 11:16 11:20 12:1 12:2 15:1 15:2 19:17 31
Baruch
6:43
Susanna
1:4
Bel and the Dragon
1:33-39
1 Maccabees
4:52-59
2 Maccabees
7:9-36 10:1-8 12:44
Sirach
3:24 5:7-18 5:14 6:1-4 7:29-32 9:4 9:4 9:5 9:8 9:9 9:12 10:7 11:7 11:8 16:23 18:30 22:15 27:17-30 27:17-30 28 28 32:1-3 34:13 34:14 35:1-3 42:7 42:24 45:9 48:9
Index of Greek Words and Phrases
Index of Hebrew Words and Phrases
Index of German Words and Phrases
Index of French Words and Phrases
Index of Pages of the Print Edition
i iii v vi 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 41 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 69 70 71 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 213 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 647 648 649 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 745 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. VIII, part 6 of 6. . Hermetic Cloud, https://hermeticcloud.com/library/ante-nicene-fathers-vol-viii-part-6/. Public-domain text reproduced in full; markup only.