25. They said: "Do not be disturbed. No longer do the Persians exact tribute of earth and air. For he who established these things is at hand, and he brings tribute of actions to him who sent him—he who renews the ancient image, and puts image together with image, and brings the unlike to likeness. Heaven rejoices with earth, and earth itself boasts at receiving heaven's boast. Things which have not happened above, have happened below. He whom the order of the blessed has not seen, is viewed by the [order of] the miserable. Flame threatens those; dew is present for these. It [was] the good fortune of Karia to give birth to Pege in Bethlehem, and it [is] Pege's grace to become heaven-desired and to conceive grace of grace. Judaea has bloomed, and our affairs are withering immediately. To Gentiles and foreigners, salvation has come; to the wretched, relief is provided in abundance. Rightly do the women dance, and say, 'Lady Pege, Stream-bearer, you who have become mother of the heavenly light-giver, you cloud that brings the world dew after heat, remember your servants, dear mistress.'"
26. The king then, without delay, sent the magi under his dominion with gifts, with the star showing them the way. And when they returned, they narrated everything to the men of that time—those very things which were also written on leaves of gold, to the following effect:
27. For when we came to Jerusalem, the sign, together with our arrival, [p. 16] disturbed everyone. They say, "What is this? Wise men of the Persians are here, and along with them an appearance of a star?" And the foremost of the Jews asked us what was going to happen, and the reason for our coming. And we said: "He whom you call 'Messiah' has been born." And they were confounded, and dared not oppose us. But they, for their part, said to us, "Justice of Heaven! Tell us what you know." And we said to them: "You have the disease of unbelief; and neither without an oath nor with an oath do you believe, but you follow your own ill-advised intentions. For the Christ, the child of the Most High, has been born, putting an end to of your law and synagogues. And it is for this reason that, struck as it were by a most excellent oracle as with a dart, you do not hear with pleasure this name which has come up against you suddenly." And they then, taking counsel together, urged us to accept their gifts, and tell no one such a thing [as the news] from this land [of theirs], lest a revolt rise against us. But we said: "We have brought gifts in his honor, with the view of proclaiming those mighty things which have happened in our country on occasion of his birth—and you bid us take your gifts, and conceal the things which have been made known to us by celestial divinity, and neglect the commandments of our own king? Or do you not know what an experience of the Assyrians you once received?" And they became afraid, and after beseeching us repeatedly, they sent us away.
When the one who was ruling over Judaea sent for us [p. 17] and had some converse with us, and asked us questions, we said to him [things] at which he was thoroughly disturbed. We departed from him, without giving any greater heed to him than to any worthless person.
28. And we came to that place to which we had been sent, and saw the one who had given birth and the one who had been born, the star indicating to us the lordly babe. And we said to the mother: "What are you called, O renowned mother?" And she says: "Mary, masters." And we said to her: "Where do you come from?" And she said: "From this district—[the district] of the Bethlehemites." "Have you not taken a husband?" She says: "I have only been betrothed, with only pre-nuptial arrangements having been concluded; but my thoughts are divided. For I had no wish at all to come to this [state of affairs]. But while I was giving very little concern to it, at the dawn of a certain Sabbath—at the rising of the sun—an angel straightway appeared to me bringing me the good news of offspring, all of a sudden. And I was disturbed, and cried out, 'Let it not be so to me, Lord, for I do not have a husband.' And he persuaded me to believe, that it was by the will of God that I would have the son." And we said to her: "Mother of mothers, all the gods of the Persians have called you blessed: Your grounds for boasting are great, for you have transcended all women of renown, and you have become manifestly more queenly than all queens."
29. The child, moreover, was seated on the ground, being, as she said, nearly two years old, and having in part the likeness of the one who bore him. For she was small in stature even when holding her head up, and had a delicate body; and she was the color of wheat; and she had her hair bound up with a simple, very beautiful hair-style. And as we had along with [p. 18] us a servant quite skilled in painting, we brought back with us to our country a likeness of them both; and it was placed in the temple in which the oracle was given, with the following inscription: "In the heaven-sent temple, the power of Persia dedicated this to Zeus Helios, the great God, King Jesus."
And taking the child up, and bearing him in our arms, each of us in turn, we saluted him and worshipped him, and presented to him gold, addressing Him thus: "[We give] to you what is your own; we lavish you [with gifts], O powerful one in heaven. Things unordered would be ordered in no way other than by your presence. In no other way could things above be brought into conjunction with things below, but by your descent. Service is not carried out to such a degree, if only a servant is sent, as when the [master] himself is present; neither [can so much be achieved] when the king sends only his satraps to war, as when he is there himself. It was quite fitting for your methods, for you to deal in this manner with the rebels."
And the child smiled and leaped at our fawning and our words. And when we had bidden the mother farewell, and when she had shown us honor, and we had glorified her as was necessary, we went to the place in which we lodged.
30. And when evening came, there appeared to us someone terrifying and awesome, saying: "Get away quickly, lest you fall prey to a plot." And we, in fear, said: "And who is it that is plotting against so august [p. 19] an embassy, O general of God?" And he replied: "Herod—but get up immediately and depart in safety and peace." And we speedily mounted our strong steeds and departed from there in all earnestness; and we reported all that we had seen in Jerusalem.
Behold, then, such great things have we told you regarding Christ; and we know that Christ has become our Savior.
"But you, by your ways, are opposed to him, slandering his pain and suffering all the time. For speaking unworthy things, and doing still more unworthy things, are a mark of hatred.
31. "As for me, I honor the Sun / Helios, which is beneficial to all, the one that sends out its rays of light; and in the same way, I marvel at Air, which stoutly encompasses our bodies round about, and embellishes the earth with its other natural qualities. [Likewise,] the irresistible Fire, to which all corporeal nature is subjected, the proof more approved than all matter. [Likewise,] Water, the life of mortals—when it is not present, nothing fleshly shall live. And while I honor all these, I honor the one who graciously gave them, the one who stands as First Cause of the universe. He was owed obeisance from the undefiled powers alone, whose thanksgivings are uninterrupted and undivided, whom no other occupation ever dominates, whose attendance on him is unvarying and who worship him in accordance with their very nature. For human beings are known to be worthless, since they are slaves to their own pleasures.
32. And when Aphroditianus had said these things, the entire gathering fell silent, having nothing to answer. But it only said, "Glory to you, O Christ, whose gifts of grace every mouth confesses."
Aphroditianus said: "There have been Christians [p. 20] indeed, but there have also been pagans, who practiced the utmost virtue. King Cyrus had very attractive female bodyguards where he slept: he was sharpening his desire, but also correcting it by such trials. He used to say that all glory was worthy of the heavenly power alone. He loved his fellow man so much that there was no poor man or even the least captive in Persian territory, because of his constant bestowing of benefits upon everyone. And Concencrates, who was truly a philosopher, possessed one single rough cloak—he lived near the peak of Masgabala, being terribly worn out by the snow and cold; and the wise Neoctetius said to him: 'You will perish, wise man, and die because of the heat and cold.' And he said: 'If I die to those here [on earth], I shall live by my future hope.' He asked: 'What [hope] is that?' And the other said, 'Truly, I am directing my attention to a certain other life, and offering myself myself to it. For the Providence of God will not disregard those who have labored during the day: in the evening it will deem them worthy of reward and rest. Every day I see the heavens and the things of earth that seem good diminishing and decaying. And this takes place because of our "exasperations," which show beforehand that everything here below perishes. But those who have acquired the virtues above do not die, as they are spoken about and answered with eternal remembrance by them.' This man only ate fruit, and drank a little water once a day, not wishing to know anything else [p. 21] of what belongs to the world, [but] practicing death every day. And this is sufficient. And Dichorianus, who published so many things about God, and who used to say that he was nourished by these things, and not by those which harm the body—after preserving impassibility of body and mind for 90 years, while he was dying said: 'Glory to you, righteous Justice, who changed my [mind] regarding what was honorable.' And there are many others of whom the book-lovers know—both Christians and true philosophers. But let us leave off for today, and tomorrow we [will] inquire into the rest. If it is desired by the will of heaven that we come this far, we [will] achieve resolution of further questions in turn."
33. When everyone had departed, some archimandrites accused Aphroditianus to the king of having inclined toward the Christians, pleading on their behalf in everything, and engaging in no discourse about the true religion of the pagans, but instead working contrary to the pagans, conducting his exercise about Christ alone. The king, on the other hand, grew angry at them, and said to them: "You who are called Christians and heads of monasteries, what is your object in unsettling the affairs of the pagans? Why, as monks, are you not at rest?" And immediately Aphroditianus entered and told the king everything. And the king said to him: "In the name of our divinely inspired Fortune, I am in no doubt at all regarding you. For I know your guilelessness and truthfulness; and if only my kingdom had another one like you! But you are doing well in making known the truth to both Christians and pagans. Hence, take these sycophants and cut off their heads!" And Aphroditianus, taking them into his own house, accorded them [p. 22] all possible care, not in any way mistreating them, and [thus] he kept the Christians safe from the plot against them.
34. The following day, Oricatus the foremost of the enchanters came to him and said: "Master of everything under the sun, grant me glory, so that I may preside in this assembly, since I have three mighty acts to perform!" And the king said: "Are you trying to rise above the marvellous Aphroditianus?" Oricatus said: "If I do not demonstrate there a power which no one else has demonstrated, persuading them with great signs, then hand me over to be crucified!" But the king did not wish to cause pain to Aphroditianus, and he told him the entire matter. Aphroditianus said: "What he intends to do, he cannot do in the midst of those men, and he [will] fail. But let him act as the king decides." And again, along with others, he troubled [the king], giving assurances to the king that he possessed the ability absolutely to undo the Christians, with all probability. The king said to him: "Go today to my council-chamber, and either persuade or be persuaded; and if you pass through this affair and persuade them without any compulsion, you will be deemed worthy of monuments —but if, on the contrary, you fail, you will be deprived of possessions and life." And he was sent to the gathering with a letter containing the following words: "The great king, superior to all glory, lord of peoples and tribes and islands, to the priests of the Christians who have assembled together, rejoice! I myself rejoice as well. I have sent to you Oricatus, the leader of the [p. 23] enchanters belonging to my kingdom—who will in no way compel you, but will learn either to persuade or to be persuaded. But if he goes too far, he will come to know what the force of kingly power is able to do. And I am sending to you Aphroditianus, who is enthroned with me, for the sake of evaluating the aforementioned [Oricatus], and he will fill up any lack or deficiency. Abanatranête chrô katelloi ter terennatoi— that is to say: 'The heaven-born power has deigned to converse with mortals.'"
35. Oricatus himself, along with others in white robes, came wearing a necklace with three Gorgon-faces —the figure of three "dignities," he said. When the holy Casteleus, who saw ahead with a prophetic eye, caught sight of him, he said: "This man is here to destroy himself." And when everyone had sat down, the same Oricatus said to the gathering: "We have heard that before now you have honored actions more than words. What then does your wisdom wish either to say or to do?" But everyone was silent, viewing him with displeasure; and he said to them: "If you remain silent, then it is necessary for me to say this—as it were, in accordance with your Scripture: that you should give us a sign or a wonder, or I should give one to you." The bishops, together with the holy Casteleus, said: "It is proper that you, who have put forward and proposed this, should do it first." The same group, again, said: "We do not have the 'dignity' to go after amazing deeds; instead, you yourself, since you are the standard of measurement for such things, display your [p. 24] power, so that we may know whether it really comes from a divine source." And he said: "Straightaway." And taking some clay, he fashioned a falcon and immediately caused it to fly. But the holy Casteleus along with the bishops paying attention to it—it straightaway fell, becoming clay again, and shattered. Oricatus said: "Grant me five responses whereby I can persuade you that I am a child of gods and everything obeys me as a powerful being." The gathering said: "Very well."
36. Oricatus said: "There are some Ethiopian Indians here, who have come in pursuit of business: I shall make them white quickly with a word." The bishops, along with the holy man, said: "If you know of anything that is a help to you, do it." And having brought the Indians [forward], he said: "I am able to make you white and send you home with many gifts." And they were content with this. And taking a silver dish and putting spring water in it, he called on the forces with which he was familiar. And when he had made the incantation, he poured [the water] on the two men by way of finishing [the process]. Immediately their entire bodies were covered with blisters, and their shouts went up to the heavens as they were burned up by the blisters. And he threatened the forces on whom he had called, shrieking at them and growing angry. The gathering, together with the holy man, said to the Ethiopians: "Behold the gifts of Satan! But believe in God, and he himself will heal you through water and the Spirit." And they said: "We believe in the God whom you worship, who will revive us in body and in spirit." And immediately they exorcized them—for their affliction was frothing up—and brought them down into the pool, saying: "Now you shall know the power of God and Christ the Savior." And they baptized them. And when they came up out of the water, their bodies were found [p. 25] free of any fault. And they said to Oricatus: "You afflicted us by means of water, but God healed us by means of water. We are now going to tell our King about the amazing works of the Lord, and the benefits conferred by his soldiers."
37. But Oricatus waited, protesting and saying: "I still have three acts to perform—and by all means, if I suceed in one [of them], I win." And again, the bishops said: "For your own judgment, do what you wish." And he said: "I shall bring Philip the presbyter, concerning whom we are disputing, out of Hades into our midst—he will say that the History does not belong to him." The bishops said: "And again we say to you: At your own risk, do as you will." And taking a brazier filled with coals, he first placed calves upon it, and then also threw wine-bottles into the fire, such that many stepped back so as not to be harmed; but he, bearing staves of walnut, again called upon the familiar names of the demons—while the gathering loudly laughed at him. For they knew that he was going to be refute himself. And indeed, after an interval of time elapsed, and his artifice was being hindered, and he was trying to compel the force to show itself, there came into our midst the appearance of a certain monk, to whom the bishops, along with the holy Casteleus, said: "Where have you been a monk?" Put to shame, it was transformed into a weeping woman, and they, as one, all said: "Whom are you lamenting?" And she said: "The man who brought me here." And the holy man said to her: "Say in the presence of everyone who you are, so that the man who brought you here will not seem to be boasting as though he had contrived some noble action." And she said: "I am an angel; I have been put to shame before you and debased because of the contentiousness of this man alone, who is not able to perform any signs." The gathering, together with Casteleus, said: "Behold! In the third procedure, you fail; and you remain in your failure. So then, since you have been beaten, henceforth give way before the men of God, lest you be destroyed by them." And he said: "I have been defeated three times, but in what remains [p. 26] I believe I will win." Then they say to the demon: "Do you confess that you are a demon, or [do you claim to be] a human being?" And it said: "I am a demon, and I have come here to deceive—if I were permitted to do so." And they breathed upon it and caused it to disappear—and he , on the other hand, would not stop gnashing his teeth and blaspheming.
38. Oricatus said: "I shall fire up a furnace to a high pitch, and I shall walk into the midst of the fire and then come out." The gathering said: "Do this as your final sign." Then Oricatus in his turn said: "A woman has died before the gates. So then, the one in whose name she rises again, this one is a god." And they all rejoiced and were content. And he, for his part, making use of the sweet smell of incense, began to sprinkle the dead woman with the blood of goats." And again, he performed an ox-sacrifice and, snorting loudly, said threateningly to the familiar standing next to him: "I give you eight souls; grant me the one soul of the Nazoraean, since I am worn out because of you." And a voice came: "You have adversaries who are defeating you in all respects. Now then, yield to defeat. For the angels of Jesus are standing with swords in opposition to us, along with our followers." But he, along with the hundred oxen, slaughtered birds, not at all acting well—and groaning deeply indeed because he had been triumphed over, he said to the bishops: "At this point I will believe in you, so that you may accomplish that for which I have lost esteem."
And the bishops, casting themselves down [to their knees] together with the holy man made their request to God, with toil and humility, and standing over the body with one accord, they raised a single voice, saying: "Lord, let impiety not defeat piety, but rather, glorify your name, O God, in the midst of these unbelievers who pay heed to vain things." And when they had finished their prayer, the woman sat up and stood up straight on her feet.
39. And Oricatus said: "By Hera, this power is great! And yet, the perfection [p. 27] of the fifth sign will persuade [you]. Let the furnace be fired up, and let each person enter there, [trusting] in whichever god he worships, and then the truth of the god will be manifest. However, I am going to select whomever of you I wish to enter the fire."
And he chose Se.....tianus, bishop of Homobyrrhus. And that man, removing his tunic and clothing himself with the name of Christ, entered the furnace and took his place in the middle, while conversing with those who stood nearby. And the bishops said to Se.....tianus: "Come out, confessor, so that this man too may fulfill his promise." And he came out, having not even taken in any smoke at all." And so, Oricatus, trying not to lose face, went in, and was completely engulfed in flames, along with his clothing—and they took him and dragged him out, only half alive. And they prayed over him and healed him. Now then, those who were with him, having seen what had happened, said: "No power of the gods is equal to this power!"
40. And when the king found out about this, he proceeded against all his [i.e., Oricatus'] possessions, handing him over to Aphroditianus to be crucified. The latter, however, took him and led him to his house, and after taking care of him suitably for a few days, persuaded the king to receive him. And the king said to him: "I know of no man who has helped an enemy except you!" And he said: "We have learned to give help from the one who gives help to all. For when one does good to one's enemies, the force of enmity will no longer be useful; instead, dear peace will be there, dancing for the sake of everyone."
41. Now then, when the Jewish lawgivers knew that the Christians had won and had been honored in this way, they were bitterly jealous [p. 28] and they approached the king, saying: "Master, heavenly sun, the priests of the Christians are able, if they are willing, to resolve our doubts. So command them to make a decision on what concerns us, together with the divine Aphroditianus. For we are able, since we revere one single God just as they do, to gain insight into the question at issue—whether Christ has already been made manifest." And the king said: "Regarding Christ, hear this without evasion: To those who came before us he did indeed appear, and a heavenly star made publicly known both him and his birth. And people from here brought gifts to him; and we have the image of the mother and the child, housed in the temple of the Heaven-sent. Regarding your coming to be in harmony, by Mithras, I pray that both parties may be belong to one single religion. But I do not know whether your love of power will allow you to be reconciled. For indeed, from the beginning this [love of power] has cast you down, attacking everyone tyranically."