22. () See notes pp. 53, 56, 59, 60, 64, 68.
23. () See Heinichen, Notitia Codicum, Editionum et Translationum Historiae Ecclesiasticae Eusebianae, § vi.
24. () See Note below, p. 79.
ON THE MARTYRS IN PALESTINE,
BY EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA.
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THOSE Holy Martyrs of God, who loved our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, and God supreme and sovereign of all, more than themselves and their own lives, who were dragged forward to the conflict for the sake of religion, and rendered glorious by the martyrdom of confession, who preferred a horrible death to a temporary life, and were crowned with all the victories of virtue, and offered to the Most High and supreme God the glory of their wonderful victory, because they had their conversation in heaven, and walked with him who gave victory to their testimony, also offered up glory, and honour, and majesty to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Moreover, the souls of the martyrs being worthy of the kingdom of heaven are in honour together with the company of the prophets and apostles. Let us therefore, likewise, who stand in need of the aid of their prayers, and have been also charged in the book of the Apostles, that we should be partakers in the remembrance of the Saints,-- let us also be partakers with them, and begin to describe those conflicts of theirs against sin, which are at all times published abroad by the mouth of those believers who were acquainted with them Nor, indeed, have their praises been noted by monu- ! ments of stone, nor by statues variegated with painting and colours and resemblances of earthly things without life, but by the word of truth spoken before God: the deed also which is seen by our eyes bearing witness. |2
[P. 2.] Let us therefore, relate the manifest signs and glorious proofs of the divine doctrine, and commit to writing a commemoration not to be forgotten, setting also their marvellous virtues as a constant vision before our eyes. For I am struck with wonder at their all-enduring courage, at their confession under .many forms, and at the wholesome alacrity of their souls, the elevation of their minds, the open profession of their faith, the clearness of their reason, the patience of their condition, and the truth of their religion: how they were not cast down in their minds, but their eyes looked upwards, and they neither trembled nor feared. The love of God also, and of His Christ, supplied them with an all-effective power, by which they overcame their enemies. For they loved God, the supreme sovereign of all, and they loved Him with all their might. He, too, requited their love to Him by the aid which He afforded them: and they also were loved by Him, and strengthened against their enemies, applying the words of that confessor who had already borne his testimony before them and exclaiming "Who shall separate us from Christ? shall tribulation, or affliction, or persecution, or hunger, or death, or the sword? as it is written, For thy sake we die daily: we are reckoned as lambs for the slaughter." And again, when this same martyr magnifies that patience which cannot be overcome by evil, he says--"that in all these things we conquer for Him who loved us." And he foretold that all evils are overcome by the love of God, and that all terrors and afflictions are trodden down, while he exclaimed and said : "Because I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in our Lord Jesus Christ."
At that time then, Paul, who exulted in the power of his Lord, was himself crowned with the victory of martyrdom in the midst of Rome, the Imperial City [p. 3.], because he had entered the contest there, as in a superior conflict. In that victory also which Christ granted to his triumphant martyrs, Simon, the chief and first of the disciples, likewise received the crown; and he |3 suffered in a manner similar to our Lord's sufferings. Others of the Apostles too, in other places, closed their lives in martyrdom. Nor was this grace given only to those of former times, but it has also been bestowed abundantly upon this our own generation.
As for those conflicts, which were gloriously achieved in various other countries, it is meet that they who were then living should describe what took place in their own country; but for myself I pray that I may be enabled to write an account of those with whom I had the honour of being cotemporary, and that they may rank me also among them--I mean those of whom the whole people of Palestine is proud, for in the midst of this our land also the Saviour of all mankind himself arose like a thirst-refreshing fountain. The conflicts, therefore, of these victorious combatants I will proceed to relate, for the common instruction and benefit of all.
THE CONFESSION OF PROCOPIUS,
IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PERSECUTION IN OUR DAYS.
THE first of all the martyrs who appeared in Palestine was named Procopius. In truth he was a godly man, for even before his confession he had given up his life to great endurance: and from the time that he was a little boy had been of pure habits, and of strict morals: and by the vigour of his mind he had so brought his body into subjection, that, even before his death, his soul seemed to dwell in a body completely mortified, and he had so strengthened his soul by the word of God that his body also was sustained by the power of God. His food was bread only, and his drink water; and he took nothing else besides these two. [P. 4.] Occasionally he took food every second day only, and sometimes every third day; oftentimes too he passed a whole week without food. But he never ceased day nor night from the study of the word of God: and at the same time he was careful as to his manners and modesty of conduct, so that he edified by his; meekness and piety all those of his own standing. And while |4 his chief application was devoted to divine subjects, he was acquainted also in no slight degree with natural science. His family was from Baishan; and he ministered in the orders of the Church in three things :--First, he had been a Reader; and in the second order he translated from Greek into Aramaic; and in the last, which is even more excellent than the preceding, he opposed the powers of the evil one, and the devils trembled before him. Now it happened that he was sent from Baishan to our city Caesarea, together with his brother confessors. And at the very moment that he passed the gates of the city they brought him before the Governor: and immediately upon his first entrance the judge, whose name was Flavianus, said to him: It is necessary that thou shouldest sacrifice to the gods: but he replied with a loud voice, There is no God but one only, the Maker and Creator of all things. And when the judge felt himself smitten by the blow of the martyr's words, he furnished himself with arms of another kind against the doctrine of truth, and, abandoning his former order, commanded him to sacrifice to the emperors, who were four in number; but the holy martyr of God laughed still more at this saying, and repeated the words of the greatest of poets of the Greeks, which he said that "the rule of many is not good: let there be one ruler and one sovereign." And on account of his answer, which was insulting to the emperors, he, though alive in his conduct, was delivered over to death, and forthwith the head of this blessed man was struck off, and an easy transit afforded him along the way to heaven. [P. 5.] And this took place on the seventh day of the month Heziran, in the first year of the persecution in our days. This confessor was the first who was consummated in our city Caesarea.
THE CONFESSION OF ALPHAEUS, AND ZACCHAEUS, AND ROMANUS,
IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PERSECUTION IN OUR DAYS.
IT happened, at the same time, that the festival, which is celebrated on the twentieth year of the emperor's reign, was at hand, and a |5 pardon was announced at that festival for the offences of those who were in prison. The governor, therefore, of the country came before the festival, and instituted an inquiry respecting the prisoners which were in confinement, and some of them were set at liberty through the clemency of the emperors; but the martyrs of God he insulted with tortures, as though they were worse malefactors than thieves and murderers.
Zacchaeus, therefore, who had been a deacon of the Church in the city of Gadara, was led like an innocent lamb from the flock--for such indeed he was by nature, and those of his acquaintance had given him the appellation of Zacchaeus as a mark of honour, calling him by the name of that first Zacchaeus--for one reason, because of the smallness of his stature, and for another, on account of the strict life which he led; and he was even more desirous of seeing our Lord than the first Zacchaeus. And when he was brought in before the judge, he rejoiced in his confession for the sake of Christ: and when he had spoken the words of God before the judge, he was delivered over to all the tortures of punishment, and after having been first scourged, he was made to endure dreadful lacerations, and then after this he was thrown into prison again, and there for a whole day and a whole night his feet were strained to four holes of the rack.
Alphaeus, also, a most amiable man, endured afflictions and sufferings similar to these. His family was of the most illustrious of the city Eleutheropolis, and in the church of Caesarea he had been honoured with the dignity of Reader and Exorcist. But before he became a confessor he had been a preacher and teacher of [p. 6.] the word of God; and had great confidence towards all men, and this of itself was a good reason for his being brought to his confession of the truth. And because he saw that there was fallen upon all men at that time laxity and great fear, and many were swept along as it were before the force of many waters, and carried away to the foul worship of idols, he deliberated how he might withstand the violence of the evil by his own valour, and by his own courageous words repress the terrible storm. Of his own accord, therefore, he threw himself into the midst of |6 the crowd of the oppressors, and with words of denunciation reproached those, who through their timidity had been dragged into error; and held them back from the worship of idols, by reminding them of the words which had been spoken by our Saviour, respecting confession. And when Alphaeus, full of courage and bravery, had done these things openly with boldness, the officers seized him, and took him at once before the judge. But this is not the time for us to relate what words he uttered with all freedom of speech, nor what answers he gave in words of godly religion, like a man filled with the Spirit of God. In consequence of these things he was sent to prison. And after some days he was brought again before the judge, and his body was torn all over by severe scourgings without mercy, but the fortitude of his mind still continued erect before the judge, and by his words he withstood all error. Then he was tortured on his sides with the cruel combs, and, at last, having wearied out the judge himself, and those who were ministering to the judge's will, he was again committed to prison, together with another fellow-combatant, and stretched out a whole day and night upon the wooden rack. After three days they were both of them brought together before the judge, and he commanded them to offer sacrifice to the emperors: but they confessed, and said, We acknowledge one God only, the supreme sovereign of all; and when they had uttered these words in the presence of all the people (p. 7.) they were numbered among the company of Holy Martyrs, and were crowned as glorious and illustrious combatants in the conflict of God, for whose sake also their heads were cut off. And better than all the course of their lives did they love their departure, to be with Him in whom they made their confession. But the day that they suffered martyrdom was the seventh of Teshri the latter, on which day the confession of those of whom we have been speaking was consummated.
And on this selfsame day also Romanus suffered martyrdom in the city of Antioch. But this Romanus belonged to Palestine, and he was a Deacon, and an Exorcist likewise, in one of the villages of Caesarea. And he, too, was stretched out upon the rack, |7 and like as the martyr Alphaeus had done in Caesarea, so did the blessed Romanus by his words of denunciation restrain from sacrificing those who, from their timidity, were relapsed into the sin of the error of devils, recalling to the minds of them all the terrors of God. He had also the courage to go in together with the; multitude who were dragged by force into error and to present himself there in Antioch before the judge: and when he heard the judge commanding them to sacrifice, and they, in trepidation from their fears, were driven with trembling to offer sacrifice, this zealous man was no longer able to endure this sad spectacle, but was : moved with pity towards them as towards those who were feeling about in thick darkness, and on the point of falling over a precipice, and so he made the doctrine of the religion of God to rise up before them like the sun, crying aloud and saying: Whither are ye being carried, oh men? Are ye all stooping down to cast yourselves into the abyss? Lift up the eyes of your understanding on high, and above all the worlds ye shall recognise God and the Saviour of all the ends of the world; and do not abandon for error the commandment which has been committed to you: then shall the godless error of the worship of devils be apparent to you. Remember also the righteous judgment of God supreme, [p. 8.] And when he had spoken these things to them with a loud voice, and stood there without fear and without dread, at the command of him who was constituted judge there, the officers seized him, and he condemned him to be destroyed by fire, for the crafty judge perceived that many were confirmed by the words which the martyr spake, and that he turned many back from error. And because the servant of Jesus had done these things in the place where the emperors were, they at once brought out this blessed man into the midst of the city of Antioch. And he was arrived at the spot where he was to undergo his punishment, and the things which were required for the fire were got ready, and they were busying themselves to fulfil the command with haste, when the emperor Diocletian, having heard of what was done, gave orders that they should withdraw the martyr from the death by fire, because, said he, his insolence and folly were not suitable |8 for punishment by fire; and so, like a merciful emperor, he gave order for a new kind of punishment for the martyr, that his tongue should be cut out. Nevertheless, when that member by which he spoke was taken away, still was his true love not severed from his God; neither was his intellectual tongue restrained from preaching, and immediately he received from God, the sovereign of all, a recompense for his struggle in the conflict, and was filled with power much greater than he had before. Then did great wonder seize upon all men; for he, whose tongue had been cut out, forthwith, by the gift of God spake out valiantly, and heartily exulted in the faith, as though he were standing by the side of Him in whom he made his confession; and with a countenance bright and cheerful he saluted his acquaintance, and scattered the seed of the word of God into the ears of all men, exhorting them all to worship God alone, and lifting up his prayers and thanksgiving to God, who worketh marvels [p. 9.] : and when he had done these things he mightily gave testimony to the word of Christ before all men, and in deed shewed forth the power of Him in whom he made his confession. And when he had done so for a long time he was again stretched upon the rack; and by the command of the governor and the judge they threw upon him the strangling instrument, and he was strangled. And on the same day as those blessed martyrs who appertained to Zacchaeus he was consummated in his confession. And although this man actually passed through the conflict, and suffered martyrdom in Antioch, nevertheless, because his family was of Palestine, he is properly described among the company of martyrs in this our country.
THE CONFESSION OF TIMOTHEUS, IN THE CITY OF GAZA,
IN THE SECOND YEAR OF THE PERSECUTION IN OUR DAYS.
IT was the second year of the persecution, and the hostility against us was more violent than the first; and Urbanus, who at that same time had superseded the governor Flavianus in his |9 office, was governor over the people of Palestine. There came then again the second time edicts from the emperor, in addition to the former, threatening persecution to all persons. For, in the former, he had given orders respecting the rulers of the Church of God only, to compel them to sacrifice; but, in the second edicts there was a strict ordinance, which compelled all persons equally, that the entire population in every city, both men and women, should sacrifice to dead idols, and a law was imposed upon them to offer libations to devils; for such were the commands of the tyrants who, in their folly, desired to wage war against God, the king supreme. And when these commands of the emperor were put into effect, the blessed Timotheus, in the city of Gaza, was delivered up to Urbanus while he was there, and was unjustly bound in fetters, like a murderer [p. 10.], for indeed he was not bound in fetters on account of any thing deserving of blame, because he had been blameless in all his conduct, and during the whole of his life. When, therefore, he did not comply with the law as to the worship of idols, nor bow down to dead images without life, for he was a man perfect in every thing, and was in his soul acquainted with his God, and because of his piety and his conduct and his virtues, even before he was delivered up to the governor, he had already endured severe sufferings from the inhabitants of his own city, having lived there under insults and frequent blows and contumely, for the people of the city of Gaza were accursed in the heathenism; and when they were present in the judgment hall of the governor, this champion of righteousness came off victorious in all the excellence of his patience. And the judge cruelly employed against him severe tortures, and showered upon his body terrible scourgings without number, inflicting on his sides horrible lacerations, such as it is impossible to describe; but, under all these things this brave martyr of God sustained the conflict like a hero, and at last obtained the victory in the struggle, by enduring death by means of a slow fire : for it was a weak and slow fire by which he was burned, so that his soul could not easily make her escape from the body, and be at rest. |10 And there was he tried like pure gold in the furnace of a slow fire, manifesting the perfection and the sincerity of his religion towards his God, and obtaining the crown of victory which belongs to the glorious conquerors of righteousness. And because he loved God, he received, as the meet recompense of his will, that perfect life which he longed for in the presence of God the sovereign of all. And together with this brave confessor, at the same time of the trial of his confession, and in the same city, the martyr Agapius, and the admirable Theckla (she of our days) were condemned by the governor to suffer punishment and to be devoured by wild beasts, [p. 11.]
THE CONFESSION OF AGAPIUS, AND OF THE TWO ALEXANDERS, AND OF THE TWO DIONYSIUSES, AND OF TIMOTHEUS, AND OF ROMULUS, AND OF PAESIS,
IN THE SECOND YEAR OF THE PERSECUTION IN OUR DAYS, IN THE CITY OF CAESAREA.
IT was the festival at which all the people assembled themselves together in their cities. The same festival also was held in Caesarea. And in the circus there was an exhibition of horse races, and a representation was performed in the theatre, and it was customary for impious and barbarous spectacles to take place in the Stadium: and there was a rumour and a report generally current, that Agapius, whose name we have mentioned above, and Theckla with him, together with the rest of the Phrygians, were to be sent into the theatre in the form of martyrs, in order that they might be devoured by the wild beasts; for the governor Urbanus would present this gift to the spectators. When the fame of these things was heard abroad, it happened further that other young men, perfect in stature, and brave in person (they were in number six) arrived. And as the governor was proceeding to the theatre, and passing through the city, these six men stood up courageously before him: and having bound their hands behind them, they drew near before the judge Urbanus, and, in fact, |11 by binding themselves, shewed what was about to be done to them by others, and exhibited their excellent patience, and the readiness of their mind for martyrdom, for they confessed, crying aloud and saying, We are Christians; and beseeching the governor Urbanus that they also might be thrown to the wild beasts in the theatre in company with their brethren who appertained to Agapius. For all this confidence of Jesus our Saviour, in his own champions did He manifest to all men; extinguishing the menaces of the tyrants by his champion's valour, and manifestly and clearly shewing, that neither fire, nor steel, nor even fierce wild beasts, were able to subdue his victorious servants [p. 12.], for He had girded them with the armour of righteousness, and strengthening them with victorious and invincible armour, he made them despise death. And they struck at once the governor and the whole band with him with astonishment at this their courage: and the governor gave command that they should be delivered up to prison; and there they were detained many days. And while they were in prison, Agapius, a meek and good man, the brother of one of the prisoners, arrived from the city of Gaza, and went frequently to the prison to visit his brother, and having already striven in many contests of confession before, he went with confidence to the place of imprisonment: and so he was denounced to the governor as a man prepared for martyrdom, and consequently was delivered over to bonds, in order that he might endure the trial of a second conflict. And things similar to these did Dionysius also suffer. And this good recompense was given to him from the martyrs of God as the reward of his service to them. And when the governor was made aware of this recompense of the compassion of Dionysius towards the martyrs, he gave the sentence of death against him. And thus he became associated with those who preceded him. And all together they were eight in number; namely, Timotheus, whose origin was from Pontus; and Dionysius, who came from the city of Tripolis; and Romulus, a sub-deacon of the church of the city of Diospolis; and two were Aegyptians, Paesis and Alexander; and again another Alexander, |12 and those two respecting whom we have said that they were at last cast into prison.