[[These notes have been scanned, but only proofed a little, and all the Syriac and most of the Greek omitted, as they seem unlikely to be of interest to anyone online. I was going to omit them, rather than spend hours proofing them, but what follows is a compromise]]
NOTES.
P. ii. l. 18.--"Who shall separate us ..... slaughter." Rom. viii. v. 35.
l. 23.-- " For him who loved us," v. 37...
l. 27.--v. 38. ...
l. 31.--Eusebius gives the account of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul at Rome in his Eccl. Hist. book ii. ch. 25.
P. iii. l. 6.--"As for those conflicts." Eusebius makes a similar statement, book viii. ch. 13, on which passage Valesius has the following note:-- () " He means doubtless his book concerning the Martyrs of Palestine. For no other book but that can be found, wherein Eusebius relates the conflicts of the Martyrs which he himself had seen. The opinion of Christophorson is from this passage further disproved, who supposed the book concerning the Martyrs of Palestine was a part of this eighth book." In speaking here of Christophorson, Valesius alludes to a note immediately preceding, which runs thus--" () To wit, in the book concerning the Martyrs of Palestine, which is placed after this eighth book. For in that Eusebius at large declares the martyrdom of Pamphilus, as may there be seen. Moreover, from this place it appears that that book concerning the Martyrs of Palestine was written by Eusebius after his Ecclesiastical History, and after his books concerning the life of Pamphilus the Martyr. Christophorson, who had inserted the whole Appendix before this chapter, was forced to omit these words of Eusebius here, lest Eusebius should seem to have forgot himself." See English Translation of Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History in "The History of the Church : fol., London, 1709, p. 148. I shall cite this in the following notes as Eng. Trans.
l. 18.--"Procopius." There is an antient Latin copy of these Acts, as they stand here, published by Valesius in his notes upon the first chapter of the Martyrs of Palestine as they exist in the Greek at the end of the eighth book of the Eccl. Hist, of Eusebius. Respecting these, he writes thus:--"The same relation is in the Acts of the Passion of Procopius the Martyr, which begins thus : 'The first of the Martyrs that appeared in Palestine was Procopius,' &c. From whence it is evident that those acts were translated out of the Greek copy of Eusebius into Latin. To make this more apparent, it will in no wise be unuseful to insert here the entire acts. For many things worth our knowledge are contained in these which neither Baronius nor Molanus happened to have a sight of."
Passio Sancti Procopii Martyris, qui passus est sub Fabiana judice 4 Nonas Augusti.
Primus martyrum qui sunt in Palasstina, apparuit Procopius, vir coelestis gratise, qui et ante martyrium sic suam vitam dis-posuit, ut etiam a parva aetate castitati semper et morum virtuti-bus studeret. Corpus quidem suum sic confecit, ut paene mortuum putaretur, animam vero ejus sic verbis confortabat divinis, ut etiam corpori virtutem ex hujus refectione ministraret. Cibus et potus ei panis et aqua fuit. Solis his utebatur, cum post biduum triduumque, diem interdum etiam post septimam ad cibum rediret. Sacrorum quoque meditatio sermonum ita mentem ejus obstrinxerat, ut nocte ac die in hoc infatigabilis permaneret. dementias autem et mansuetudinis tanquam ceteris inferior documentum sui prsebebat copiam. In verbis divinis ei tantum studium erat. Ilia vero quas extrinsecus sunt, mediocriter attigerat. Igitur genere quidem Aeliensis, conversatione autem vel habitatione Scythopolitarius erat. Ibi ecclesise tria ministeria prsebebat, unum in legendi officio, alterum in Syri interpretatione sermonis, et tertium adversus daemones manus impositione consummans. Cumque ab Scythopoli una cum sociis in Caesaream. transmissus fuisset, ab ipsis portis ad prsesidem ducitur, et priusquam carceris vel vinculorum experiretur angustias, in ipso ingressu suo a judice Flaviano ut diis sacrificaret impellitur. At ille magna voce non esse deos multos sed unum factorem omnium opificemque testatus est. Judex autem plaga sermonis ictus et conscientia saucius, consensit ejus sermoni. Atque ad alia se rursum argumenta constituit, ut vel regibus sacrificaret. Sanctus autem Dei martyr sermonem ejus despiciens, Homeri, inquit, versum dicens: non est bonum multos dominos esse. Unus dominus est, unus rex. Itaque hoc verbo ejus audito, quasi qui infausta in regibus deprompsisset, jussu judicis ducitur ad mortem, et capite amputate ingressum vitas ccelestis, vel compendium beatus invenit: Desii septima Julii mensis, qua? Nonas Julias "dicitur apud Latinos, primo anno quo adversus nos fuit persecutio. Hoc primum in Caesarea martyrium consummatum est, regnante Domino nostro Jesu Christo, cui honor et gloria in ssecula saeculorum. Amen.
And in a note following this Latin copy he writes ()--" Many things are omitted in the Greek text of Eusebius, which must be made perfect by these Acts in Latin. For when Eusebius had here said expressly, that Procopius upon his first arrival was brought before the judge, he adds nothing concerning the place from whence he came, where he was apprehended, or to what place he was brought: nothing of which ought to have been omitted. Besides, Eusebius does accurately relate the descent and country of other Martyrs mentioned in this book; and if any of these had attained to any Ecclesiastical honour, he does usually take notice of that also. But of this person, who was the chief and leader of all the Palestine Martyrs, we see no such relation made. This, it is probable, was not the fault of Eusebius, but of his exscribers; for in the Latin Acts, which, as we before evinced, were translated out of Eusebius, all these circumstances are manifestly declared." See Ecc. Hist. Eng. Trans., p. 154. This Latin version is also printed by Th. Ruinart, p. 353, Acta primorum Martyrum Sincera et Selecta, fol. Amstel. 1713. There is also another Syriac version of these Acts taken from Cod. Nit. Vat. 1. (See Assemani, Bibl. Orient, vol. 1. p. 56); and published with a Latin translation and notes, by S. E. Assemani, in Acta SS. Martt. Orient, et Occident., 2 vol. fol. Romae, 1748, part ii. p. 169. I have collated it with this version. It is not of importance to note the variants, which seem to be chiefly due to separate translations.
l. 20.--" The first year of the persecution in our days." The preface to the account of the Martyrs of Palestine, in the eighth book of Ecc. Hist., says this was the 19th year of Diocletian, or A. D. 303. See Ruinart Acta primorum Martt. p. 316.
P. iv. l. 2.--" His family was from Baishan." The Latin has-- '' Igitur genere quidem Aeliensis, conversatione autem vel habitatione Scythopolitanus erat," with which the other Syriac agrees in reading, [Syriac snipped]. But his family was from Jerusalem, and he dwelt in the city Baishan." Scythopolis was the Greek name of Baishan, and Aelia occupied the site of Jerusalem. See, respecting Baishan, S. E. Assemani, Ibid, not. p. 171.
l.4.-- " In the second order he translated from Greek into Aramaic." He was an interpreter; on which passage S. E. Assemani observes--"Ad munus interpretis recte adnotat Valesius, apud Syros olim Divinas Scripturas Graece fuisse lectitatas, quas deinde Interpres Syriacus redderet," Ibid. p. ii. p. 171. I should feel much disposed to question this assertion without greater proof. Doubtless before this time the Scriptures were translated into Syriac. The meaning of the passage may also imply that Procopius was engaged in translating other ecclesiastical works into Syriac from the Greek. This very copy of Eusebius was transcribed only 108 years after the Martyrdom of Procopius. Ibid. p. 166. S. E. Assemani gives his opinion in these words:--" Imo vero quum S. Procopius Sanctorum librorum a Graeco in Syriacum sermonem in ecclesia Scythopolitana Interpres dicatur, plane inde colligitur, Syriacum seu Chaldaicum idioma Palsestinis tune vernaculum fuisse, atque adeo ejusdem Procopii, quemadmodum et aliorum martyrum in Palaestina coronatorum, Acta Syriace seu Chaldaice ab Eusebio fuisse primum exarata, eademque ipsa esse, quse prge manibus habemus, omnino tenendum est. Neque enim verisimile est, Eusebium, quam in usum popularium suorum, et in ovium sibi concreditarum solatium scribebat, martyrum historian! iis literis consignasse, quas omnes non callerent." Ibid. p. 166.
l. 12.--" Flavianus." The other Syriac has [Syriac], Paulinus, evidently a mistake of the scribe.
l. 21.--" Greatest of the poets of the Greeks." The Latin has " Homeri inquit versum, dicens;" and the other Syriac, [Syriac], "Homer, the celebrated of the poets of the Greeks."' Those words of Homer, Iliad ii. 24, were often cited by the early Christians, and do not therefore prove that Procopius was acquainted with his poems. See Heinichen's note.
l. 19.--"The Emperors, who were four in number." These were Diocletianus, Maximianus, Constantius, and Galerius. See Eusebius Ecc. Hist. b. viii. c. 13; and supplement to same book; and Valesius's notes, Eng. Trans. pp. 148. 153.
l. 27.--" On the seventh day of the month Heziran." See Valesius's note on this passage in the Greek; Eng. Trans. p. 157.
l. 31.--" The confession of Alphaeus, Zacchaeus, and Romanus." Their festival is celebrated on the 18th of November. See Baillet, Vies des Saints. There is also a Syriac version of these Acts published by S. E. Assemani in Acta SS. Martt. part ii. p. 177.
1. 35.--"Festival--on the twentieth year." That is, Diocletian's Vicennalia. See Valesius's note on this place, Eng. Trans. p. 158; and also on Life of Constantine, ibid. p. 529.
P. v. l. 9.--" Of Gadara." So in the other Syriac. This is not in the Greek, but Valesius has supplied the fact in the following note ():-- "He was of Gadara, concerning whom we have this passage in the Menology at 18th of November-- The commemoration of the holy Martyrs, Michaeus, Zacchaeus, deacon of Gadara, and Alphaeus, ibid. p. 158. See also Ruinart, n. 4. p. 317, Acta prim. Martt.
l. 22.--"Four holes of the rack." Valesius has the following note on Eusebius, Ecc. Hist. b. v. c. i.--" The fashion of this engine for punishment, and the manner how persons were punished in it, seems to have been this. It was a piece of timber wherein five pairs of holes were made at a certain distance one from the other. Into these holes, as it were into boots, they put the feet of the offenders, and fastened them therein with cords and fetters. The meaning of their feet being strained to the fifth hole is, they forced them to straddle so wide as to put their feet into the last pair of holes, which posture (those holes being at the greatest distance one from the other) was the sharpest degree of torture in this engine."-- Eng. Trans. p. 71. See also Gallonius De SS. Martt. cruciatibus, Parisiis, 1659.
l. 25.--"Exorcist." Valesius has this note on Exorcists ():-- " There was in former times a twofold use of the Exorcists in the Church; for their business was to cleanse both those possessed with devils, and also the catechumens, who were exorcised more than once; for after every examination in their catechism they were brought to the Exorcist ungirt and with their shoes off, that they might be purged by him. See Cyril Hierosol. in Procatechesi ad llluminandos, and Chrysostom in his first Homily ad Illuminandos." Eng. Trans. p. 158. See also Bingham, Antiquities of the Christian Church, book iii. ch. 4. Respecting Readers or Lectors, see ibid. ch. v.
P. vi. l. 16.--"Combs." See Gallonius de SS. Martt. Cruciat. ch. v.
l. 33.--" Romanus." There are other Acts of Romanus, in Syriac, giving a much longer and fuller account than this. British Museum Cod. Add. 12,174, fol. 300 b. In these the day of his martyrdom is given the 19th of Teshri the latter. See L. Surius, de Probatis Sanctorum vitis, at the 18th of November, and Baillet, Vies des Saints, at the same day. See a further account of him from Eusebius de Resurrectione; Prudentius peri sephanon, &c., collected and published by Ruinart. Acta prim. Martt. p. 357 seq.