trial

If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.

Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.

How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

Or, if they die quickly, they have no hope, neither comfort in the day of trial.

For children begotten of unlawful beds are witnesses of wickedness against their parents in their trial.

But a sore trial shall come upon the mighty.

She will lie upon him as a mighty stone of trial; and he will cast her from him ere it be long.

Who can declare the works of his justice? or who can endure them? for his covenant is afar off, and the trial of all things is in the end.

The furnace proveth the potter’s vessels; so the trial of man is in his reasoning.

Praise no man before thou hearest him speak; for this is the trial of men.

And now, when as all looked what should be the trial, and the enemies were already come near, and the army was set in array, and the beasts conveniently placed, and the horsemen set in wings,

But let it not even trouble your mind, that we see the unrighteous possessed of riches and the servants of God straitened. Let us, therefore, brothers and sisters, believe; in a trial of the living God we strive and are exercised in the present life, that we may obtain the crown in that which is to come. No one of the righteous received fruit speedily, but waits for it. For if God tendered the reward of the righteous in a trice, straightway were it commerce that we practised, and not godliness. For it were as if we were righteous by following after not godliness but gain; and for this reason the divine judgment baffled the spirit that is unrighteous and heavily weighed the fetter. To the only God, invisible, Father of truth, who sent forth to us the Saviour and Author of immortality, through whom He also manifested to us the truth and the heavenly life, to Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Now one named Quintus, a Phrygian, who was but lately come from Phrygia, when he saw the wild beasts, became afraid. This was the man who forced himself and some others to come forward voluntarily [for trial]. Him the proconsul, after many entreaties, persuaded to swear and to offer sacrifice. Wherefore, brethren, we do not commend those who give themselves up [to suffering], seeing the gospel does not teach so to do.

Watch concerning your life; let not your lamps be quenched or your loins be loosed, but be ye ready, for ye know not the hour at which our Lord cometh. But be ye gathered together frequently, seeking what is suitable for your souls; for the whole time of your faith shall profit you not, unless ye be found perfect in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and seducers shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; and because iniquity aboundeth they shall hate each other, and persecute each other, and deliver each other up; and then shall the Deceiver of the world appear as the Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands; and he shall do unlawful things, such as have never happened since the beginning of the world. Then shall the creation of man come to the fiery trial of proof, and many shall be offended and shall perish; but they who remain in their faith shall be saved by the rock of offence itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first the sign of the appearance in heaven, then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and thirdly, the resurrection of the dead—not of all, but as it has been said, The Lord shall come and all his saints with him; then shall the world behold the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven.

“And those who believed from the seventh mountain, on which the grass was green and flourishing, and the whole of the mountain fertile, and every kind of cattle and the fowls of heaven were feeding on the grass on this mountain, and the grass on which they pastured became more abundant, were the following: they were always simple, and harmless, and blessed, bringing no charges against one another, but always rejoicing greatly because of the servants of God, and being clothed with the holy spirit of these virgins, and always having pity on every man, and giving aid from their own labour to every man, without reproach and without hesitation. The Lord, therefore, seeing their simplicity and all their meekness, multiplied them amid the labours of their hands, and gave them grace in all their doings. And I, the angel of repentance, say to you who are such, Continue to be such as these, and your seed will never be blotted out; for the Lord has made trial of you, and inscribed you in the number of us, and the whole of your seed will dwell with the Son of God; for ye have received of His Spirit.”

This is the tenth trial wherewith Abraham was tried, and he was found faithful, patient in spirit.

And the midwife went forth of the cave and Salome met her. And she said to her: Salome, Salome, a new sight have I to tell thee. A virgin hath brought forth, which her nature alloweth not. And Salome said: As the Lord my God liveth, if I make not trial and prove her nature I will not believe that a virgin hath brought forth.

And Salome made trial and cried out and said: Woe unto mine iniquity and mine unbelief, because I have tempted the living God, and lo, my hand falleth away from me in fire. And she bowed her knees unto the Lord, saying: O God of my fathers, remember that I am the seed of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob: make me not a public example unto the children of Israel, but restore me unto the poor, for thou knowest, Lord, that in thy name did I perform my cures, and did receive my hire of thee.

BUT it was no small surprise to Paul when he saw her and the people with her; for he imagined some fresh trial was coining upon them;

And Pilate, when he heard these words of Annas and Caiaphas, laid them all up amongst the acts of the Lord and Saviour in the public books of his judgement hall, and wrote a letter unto Claudius the king of the city of Rome, saying: Pontius Pilate unto Claudius , greeting. There befell of late a matter which I myself brought to light ( or made trial of): for the Jews through envy have punished themselves and their posterity with fearful judgements of their own fault; for whereas their fathers had promises that their God would send them out of heaven his holy one who should of right be called their king, and did promise that he would send him upon earth by a virgin; he, then ( or this God of the Hebrews, then), came when I was governor of Judaea, and they beheld him enlightening the blind, cleansing lepers, healing the palsied, driving devils out of men, raising the dead, rebuking the winds, walking upon the waves of the sea dry-shod, and doing many other wonders, and all the people of the Jews calling him the Son of God: the chief priests therefore, moved with envy against him, took him and delivered him unto me and brought against him one false accusation after another, saying that he was a sorcerer and did things contrary to their law. But I, believing that these things were so, having scourged him, delivered him unto their will: and they crucified him, and when he was buried they set guards upon him. But while my soldiers watched him he rose again on the third day: yet so much was the malice of the Jews kindled that they gave money to the soldiers, saying: Say ye that his disciples stole away his body. But they, though they took the money, were not able to keep silence concerning that which had come to pass, for they also have testified that they saw him arisen and that they received money from the Jews. And these things have I reported ⟨unto thy mightiness⟩ for this cause, lest some other should lie unto thee and thou shouldest deem right to believe the false tales of the Jews. Greek.

But He who had said, “Ask, and ye shall receive,” gave to them when they asked, that death which each one had wished for. For when at any time they had been discoursing among themselves about their wish in respect of their martyrdom, Saturninus indeed had professed that he wished that he might be thrown to all the beasts; doubtless that he might wear a more glorious crown. Therefore in the beginning of the exhibition he and Revocatus made trial of the leopard, and moreover upon the scaffold they were harassed by the bear. Saturus, however, held nothing in greater abomination than a bear; but he imagined that he would be put an end to with one bite of a leopard. Therefore, when a wild boar was supplied, it was the huntsman rather who had supplied that boar who was gored by that same beast, and died the day after the shows. Saturus only was drawn out; and when he had been bound on the floor near to a bear, the bear would not come forth from his den. And so Saturus for the second time is recalled unhurt.

And the blessed Matthew, having awoke, and sealed himself over all the body, rose up at dawn, and proceeded into the church; and having bent his knees, prayed earnestly. Then the bishop having come, and the clergy, they stood in common in prayer, glorifying God. And after they had ended the prayer, the bishop Plato said: Peace to you, Matthew, apostle of Christ! And the blessed Matthew said to him: Peace to you! And when they had sat down, the apostle said to the bishop Plato, and to all the clergy: I wish you, children, to know, Jesus having declared it to me, that the king of this city is going to send soldiers against me, the devil having entered into him, and manifestly armed him against us. But let us give ourselves up to Jesus, and He will deliver us from every trial, and all who have believed in Him.

And the apostle went forth to go where the Lord had bidden him; and when he was near to the second mile (stone) and had turned a little out of the way, he saw the body of a comely youth lying, and said: Lord, is it for this that thou hast brought me forth, to come hither that I might see this (trial) temptation? thy will therefore be done as thou desirest. And he began to pray and to say: O Lord, the judge of quick and dead, of the quick that stand by and the dead that lie here, and master and father of all things; and father not only of the souls that are in bodies but of them that have gone forth of them, for of the souls also that are in pollutions thou art lord and judge; come thou at this hour wherein I call upon thee and show forth thy glory upon him that lieth here. And he turned himself unto them that followed him and said: This thing is not come to pass without cause, but the enemy hath effected it and brought it about that he may assault us thereby; and see ye that he hath not made use of another sort, nor wrought through any other creature save that which is his subject.

Now while the apostle Thomas was proclaiming throughout all India the word of God, a certain captain of the king Misdaeus came to him and said unto him: I have heard of thee that thou takest no reward of any man, but even that thou hast thou givest to them that need. For if thou didst receive rewards, I would have sent thee a great sum, and would not have come myself, for the king doeth nought without me: for I have much substance and am rich, even one of the rich men of India. And I have never done wrong to any; but the contrary hath befallen me. I have a wife, and of her I had a daughter and I am well affectioned toward her, as also nature requireth and have never made trial of another wife. Now it chanced that there was a wedding in our city, and they that made the marriage feast were well beloved of me: they came in therefore and bade me to it, bidding also my wife and her daughter. Forasmuch then as they were my good friends I could not refuse: I sent her therefore, though she desired not to go, and with them I sent also many servants: so they departed, both she and her daughter, decked with many ornaments.

Now Siphor stood before the king, and he inquired of him: Who is that sorcerer and whence, and what teacheth he whom thou hast lurking in thine house? And Siphor answered the king: Thou art not ignorant, O king, what trouble and grief I, with my friends had concerning my wife, whom thou knowest and many others remember, and concerning my daughter, whom I value more than all my possessions, what a time and trial I suffered; for I became a laughing-stock and a curse in all our country. And I heard the report of this man and went to him and entreated him, and took him and brought him hither. And as I came by the way I saw wonderful and amazing things: and here also many did hear the wild ass and concerning that devil whom he drove out, and healed my wife and daughter, and now are they whole; and he asked no reward but requireth faith and holiness, that men should become partakers with him in that which he doeth: and this he teacheth to worship and fear one God, the ruler of all things, and Jesus Christ his Son, that they may have eternal life. And that which he eateth is bread and salt, and his drink is water from evening unto evening, and he maketh many prayers; and whatsoever he asketh of his God, he giveth him. And he teacheth that this God is holy and mighty, and that Christ is living and maketh alive, wherefore also he chargeth them that are there present to come unto him in holiness and purity and love and faith.

But they who had beforetime made trial of him and had seen dead men raised up, cried out: Slay us not so, we beseech thee, John. We know that thou canst do it. And John said to them: If then ye desire not to die, let that which ye worship be confounded, and wherefore it is confounded, that ye also may depart from your ancient error. For now is it time that either ye be converted by my God, or I myself die by your goddess; for I will pray in your presence and entreat my God that mercy be shown unto you.

But Peter entered in, and beheld one of the aged women, a widow, that was blind, and her daughter giving her her hand and leading her into Marcellus' house; and Peter said unto her: Come hither, mother: from this day forward Jesus giveth thee his right hand, by whom we have light unapproachable which no darkness hideth; who saith unto thee by me: Open thine eyes and see, and walk by thyself. And forthwith the widow saw Peter laying his hand upon her. And Peter entered into the dining-hall and saw that the Gospel was being read, and he rolled up the book and said: Ye men that believe and hope in Christ, learn in what manner the holy Scripture of our Lord ought to be declared: whereof we by his grace wrote that which we could receive, though yet it appear unto you feeble, yet according to our power, even that which can be endured to be borne by (or instilled into) human flesh. We ought therefore first to know the will and the goodness of God, how that when error was everywhere spread abroad, and many thousands of men were being cast down into perdition, God was moved by his mercy to show himself in another form and in the likeness of man, concerning which neither the Jews nor we were able worthily to be enlightened. For every one of us according as he could contain the sight, saw, as he was able. Now will I expound unto you that which was newly read unto you. Our Lord, willing that I should behold his majesty in the holy mount—I, when I with the sons of Zebedee saw the brightness of his light, fell as one dead and shut mine eyes, and heard such a voice from him as I am not able to describe, and thought myself to be blinded by his brightness. And when I recovered (breathed again) a little I said within myself: Peradventure my Lord hath brought me hither that he might blind me. And I said: If this also be thy will, Lord, I resist not. And he gave me his hand and raised me up; and when I arose I saw him again in such a form as I was able to take in. As, therefore, the merciful God, dearly beloved brethren, carried our infirmities and bare our sins (as the prophet saith: He beareth our sins and suffereth for us; but we did esteem him to be in affliction and smitten with plagues), for he is in the Father and the Father in him—he also is himself the fulness of all majesty, who hath shown unto us all his good things: he did eat and drink for our sakes, himself being neither an-hungered nor athirst; he carried and bare reproaches for our sakes, he died and rose again because of us; who both defended me when I sinned and comforted me by his greatness, and will comfort you also that ye may love him: this God who is great and small, fair and foul, young and old, seen in time and unto eternity invisible; whom the hand of man hath not held, yet is he held by his servants; whom no flesh hath seen, yet now seeth; who is the word proclaimed by the prophets and now appearing; not subject to suffering, but having now made trial of suffering for our sake (or like unto us); never chastised, yet now chastised; who was before the world and hath been comprehended in time; the great beginning of all principality, yet delivered over unto princes; beautiful, but among us lowly; seen of all yet foreseeing all. This Jesus ye have, brethren, the door, the light, the way, the bread, the water, the life, the resurrection, the refreshment, the pearl, the treasure, the seed, the abundance (harvest), the mustard seed, the vine, the plough, the grace, the faith, the word: he is all things and there is none other greater than he. Unto him be praise, world without end. Amen.

And as they said these things, the prefect, looking earnestly upon Peter (said: What sayest thou Peter) Behold my lad is dead, who also is dear unto the emperor, and I spared him not, though I had with me other young men; but I desired rather to make trial (tempt) of thee and of the God whom thou (preachest), whether ye be true, and therefore I would have this lad die. And Peter said: God is not tempted nor proved, O Agrippa, but if he be loved and entreated he heareth them that are worthy. But since now my God and Lord Jesus Christ is tempted among you, who hath done so great signs and wonders by my hands to turn you from your sins—now also in the sight of all do thou, Lord, at my word, by thy power raise up him whom Simon hath slain by touching him. And Peter said unto the master of the lad: Go, take hold on his right hand, and thou shalt have him alive and walking with thee. And Agrippa the prefect ran and went to the lad and took his hand and raised him up. And all the multitude seeing it cried: One is the God, one is the God of Peter.

Then Satan said again, "I did not know how it is ye are in this cave, nor anything about this trial that has come upon you-until God said to me, 'Behold, Adam has transgressed, he whom I had taken out of thy side, and Eve also, whom I took out of his side; and I have driven them out of the garden; I have made them dwell in a land of sorrow and misery, because they transgressed against Me, and have hearkened to Satan. And lo, they are in suffering unto this day, the eightieth.'

"Then again, thou art as yet but a youth; end not thy youth in this world in sorrow; but spend the days of thy youth in mirth and pleasure. For thy days are few and thy trial is great. Be strong; end thy days in this world in rejoicing. I shall take pleasure in thee, and thou shall rejoice with me in this wise, and without fear.

But since the eunuch would not agree to buy me at their price he returned, having made trial of them, and he made known to his mistress that they asked a large price for their slave.

O my son! when thou hast got thee a comrade or a friend, try him, and afterwards make him a comrade and a friend; and do not praise him without a trial; and do not spoil thy speech with a man who lacks wisdom.

O my son! make trial of thy son, and of thy servant, before thou committest thy belongings to them, lest they make away with them; for he who hath a full hand is called wise, even if he be stupid and ignorant, and he who hath an empty hand is called poor, ignorant, even if he be the prince of sages.

Make trial therefore, O tyrant. And if thou takest our lives for the sake of righteousness, think not that thou hurtest us with thy tortures.

For there will be a greater trial than these two tribulations when the Mighty One will renew His creation.

Exalted, proven by trial, and who stopped

And among them also the queen of the South, being a witch, came in great concern and bowed low before me to the earth. And having heard my wisdom, she glorified the God of Israel, and she made formal trial of all my wisdom, of all love in which I instructed her, according to the wisdom imparted to me. And all the sons of Israel glorified God.

Then the youth did as was bidden him. And he ordered his camel, and laid on it a flask, and set off into Arabia. And the men of that region would not believe that he would be able to catch the evil spirit. And when it was dawn, the servant stood before the spirit's blast, and laid the flask on the ground, and the finger-ring on the mouth of the flask. And the demon blew through the middle of the finger-ring into the mouth of the flask, and going in blew out the flask. But the man promptly stood up to it and drew tight with his hand the mouth of the flask, in the name of the Lord God of Sabaôth. And the demon remained within the flask. And after that the youth remained in that land three days to make trial. And the spirit no longer blew against that city. And all the Arabs knew that he had safely shut in the spirit.

Saying this, I laid stress on him, and the flask became as if depleted of air. And I placed it under the stone, and (the spirit) girded himself up, and lifted it up top of the flask. And the flask went up the steps, carrying the stone, and laid it down at the end of the entrance of the Temple. And I Solomon, beholding the stone raised aloft and placed on a foundation, said: "Truly the Scripture is fulfilled, which says: 'The stone which the builders rejected on trial, that same is become the head of the corner.' For this it is not mine to grant, but God's, that the demon should be strong enough to lift up so great a stone and deposit it in the place I wished."

OF THE MARTYRS WHO ARE BROUGHT TO TRIAL AND AFFLICTED WITH SORE PUNISHMENT. [OF THE FEASTS OF THE PASSOVER.]! [v., 1.] If there be any Christian who hath been brought before the judgment-seat of the ungodly, whether for execution, or banishment, or imprisonment, or that he may be given to the wild beasts for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and for the true faith and the love of God, turn not your face from them, but send them sustenance of your substance and of the sweat of your brow; and give sustenance besides to the soldiers who guard them, that they may not afflict them with sore torment. And spurn not a Christian your brother whom they have dragged before the judgment-seat for the name of the Lord our God. He is a holy martyr, the brother of our Lord, and the son of the Most High, and the habitation of the Holy Spirit. He is a faithful (witness) who hath kept the commandment of the Gospel and inherited the crown of life, and is a martyr for the sake of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of His precious blood. Wherefore, ye faithful, with your labour and with your substance do service to the saints, and let such as have no money fast for their sakes, and let such as have give a portion of their substance to the saints. And if there be anyone who giveth all his substance as a ransom for them to save them, he is blessed and a friend of Christ. If there be anyone who giveth his substance to the poor, he is elect and holy; much more then he who freely giveth his substance for the martyrs’ sake. He is one that hath fulfilled the will of God, and hath imitated the saints who confessed our Lord before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. For it is said, “ Whosoever shall confess me in the presence of men, him will I also confess in the presence of my Father who is in heaven.” Christ, then, shall bear witness before the Father to those who do thus. And as for you, it is not right that ye should be negligent and ashamed to go to the prison and visit the prisoners. Help them rather, and comfort them, and if ye do this, ye shall be reckoned with the martyrs. For as for them their witness is written, because they have suffered and been afflicted: and ye also have been reckoned with them, because ye have done them service with a ready heart and a good ministry without sloth. And of these our Lord saith, “Come unto me, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you before the world (was): for IT was hungry, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and ye received me: I was naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye spake unto me. And then shall the righteous answer and say, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and gave thee meat or thirsty, and gave thee to drink and when saw we thee a stranger, and received thee or naked, and clothed thee or sick, (and) visited thee or in prison, and spake unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye did unto one of these little ones, ye did unto me. And then he shall say to those on his left hand, Depart, ye cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for Satan and for his angels: for I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me not to drink: I was a stranger, and ye received me not: I was naked, and ye clothed me not: I was sick, and ye visited me not: I was in prison, and ye spake not unto me. Then shall those on the left hand answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? And then shall the King answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye did not to one of these little ones, ve did not to me. And these shall go away into eternal condemnation, but the righteous into eternal life.” [v., 2.] If there be anyone who saith, I am a Christian; and doeth evil, committeth fornication, and is impure; and they pass on him the sentence of death, from such a man keep far away. Christians ought not to transgress the law or break (it) by evil doing, but rather (ought) to turn aside from the ungodly and unbelieving and have no fellowship with them. But as for those whom the ungodly have imprisoned, or banished, or bound, or delivered up to death for Christ’s name’s sake, take heed to save your brethren and your fellow-members from the hands of the ungodly. And if there be a Christian who hath toiled for their sakes, blessed is he, for he shall be reckoned with the martyrs, because he hath suffered for Christ’s sake. And on us too in like manner came suffering and affliction from Caiaphas, and those with Alexander, and Annas the high-priest, and afterwards we went out from them rejoicing that we were worthy to endure the sufferings of Christ. In like manner do ye also endure patiently and rejoice concerning suffering, that ye may be blessed in that day. [v., 3.] But as for those who are persecuted for the sake of the faith, and go forth from city to city for the sake of the commandment of the Gospel of our Lord, receive them and give them rest and shelter with you as martyrs, rejoicing that ye are companions with them. Understand then that they are blessed of the Lord. For our Lord saith, “Blessed are ye when they revile you, and mock you, and speak all (manner of) evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.” And again He saith, “If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” And again He saith, “If they persecute you in this city, flee ye to the next. And, “In this world ye shall be sad and troubled,” for, “they shall deliver you up to the synagogue and their judges shall scourge you, and they shall bring you before rulers and Kings for my sake for a testimony ’’; and, “He who patiently endureth to the end, shall be saved.’’! He who is persecuted for Christ’s name’s sake, and by patient endurance becometh a martyr is in truth a man of God. [v., 4.] But he who consorteth with the ungodly, and hath denied Christ lest the unbelievers should hate him and loveth himself more than his Lord, in whose hand his breath is, is hated and despised and tormented of God, because he hath preferred the love of man, and hath become a hater of God, and taken part with the accursed, and not with the Saints. Instead of the Kingdom prepared for the blessed he hath chosen for himself the eternal fire of Gehenna prepared for Satan and his angels. And concerning such a one our Lord answered, and said, “ Whosoever denieth me in the presence of men, him will I also deny in the presence of my Father who is in heaven.” And again, He hath commanded, saying, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth his son or his daughter more than me is not worthy of me: and he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth not after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life, let him lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. What doth it profit a man if he have gained the whole world and lost his life and what would he not give as a ransom for his life?” And again He saith, “ Fear not them that kill your bodies, but are not able to kill your souls; but fear him who is able to destroy soul and body in Gehenna.”! [v., 5-] For it is right that he who hath learned a craft should teach others, and if he teach not others he is not perfect as his master. Jesus Christ is our Saviour and our Master. How then shall we not love doctrine and admonition? For our Lord hated haughtiness, and pride, and luxury, and riches, and covetousness, and revenge; and moreover He lightly esteemed ” sister and mother for love of His Father and love of man. And again, He patiently endured suffering, and stripes, and reproach, and reviling, and mockery, and yet more He was wounded on the Cross to save all those who believe in Him. And if He patiently endured all this, and disdained not to be crucified on the Cross and patiently endured the sufferings of death, how then shall not we endure the sufferings of our Saviour? But if he suffered willingly for our sakes, yet we do not (suffer) for His sake, but rather hope for His mercy. But there is nothing which He desireth to receive from us, but only a belief in the right faith. v., 6.) Wherefore let us lightly esteem our parents, and our kinsfolk, and our friends, and our wives, and our children, and all the good things of this world. And if we love these, we shall not keep this commandment. However let us take heed that we enter not into temptation; and when we are called to (bear) witness, let us hold fast our faith in the precious name of our Saviour. Let us rejoice and patiently. endure, when we are persecuted, that we may inherit life eternal. Let us, then, not love honour and praise as the people of the Jews who rejected the miracles of Christ, and believed not on Him, because they feared the chief priests; but preferred praise from men, and not Nile from God. But we have believed in the right faith, that we may instruct the new (converts) who have received baptism, and may confirm the hearts of the catechumens. But if we keep the faith in our hearts, and speak not out boldly unto men through fear of condemnation and affliction, we shall forfeit life eternal; and (shall become) moreover a stumbling-block to others (and) a snare to many. And if we act thus we shall be requited with a twofold penalty. Let us take heed, then, lest we fall into affliction, and pray lest we enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Let us be wise, then, lest we fall away from this right faith through fear of the ungodly and unbelievers, for our years are but few. And if there be any one that abandons his hope in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, all his life long he shall be afflicted with suffering that hath no remedy, and with wrath that weakeneth the limbs and breaketh the bones, and hereafter he shall lose life eternal, and be punished in the fire of Gehenna, and in weeping and gnashing of teeth. But he who hath suffered for the Lord, and hath been a martyr, shall rejoice in God, because he hath chosen for himself the crown of the Kingdom, and his departure from this world hath been perfect in the right faith. And if a catechumen suffer and patiently endure affliction and die for Christ’s sake, his sufferings shall be to him instead of baptism, and he shall win-a good hope and life eternal. And others too who have fought a good fight, and died for Christ’s name's sake in the right faith, shall rejoice and be glad, for they have kept the admonition of their master. For He saith, “Be ye worthy as your master (is worthy).”! Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered for our sakes and patiently endured reviling and mockery, and bore the spitting of the unclean, reproach, and reviling and blows; and after this they scourged Him, and pierced Him on the Cross, and gave Him vinegar to drink (mingled) with gall, and when He had accomplished all that was written He said unto God, “ Father, behold into thy hand, I commend my soul.” And he who desireth to be a disciple, let him patiently endure sufferings and affliction, and bear stripes with a brave heart and (with) love. And if he be cast into the fire, there shall be nothing that shall touch him, even as the Three Children were saved from the furnace of fire. And everyone who hath suffered for His sake shall receive a reward, because he hath believed in one God, the Father, and Jesus Christ, the great High-priest, our teacher and the guide of our souls, and the Giver of our life; to Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. [v., 7.] He then is the Lord God Almighty, our Saviour Jesus Christ, who shall confirm us in His faith, and raise us up with those that have fallen asleep, and who) fulfilled His will perfectly without omission. And if we be drowned in the sea, or (if) beasts and birds devour our flesh, (yet) not one hair of our heads shall perish, for the world and all that is therein are holden in His hand. Wherefore He hath taught us, saying, “By your patience, ye shall possess your souls. For at the last day every creature shall rise again, righteous men and sinners. And concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the reward of the martyrs Gabriel said unto Daniel, ‘Many of those who have fallen asleep shall rise from the dust, some shall rise to life eternal, and some shall rise in shame and contempt; but the righteous shall shine as the sun and as the bright stars.” Behold the holy Gabriel foretold and said, And the saints shall shine as the bright stars. And again he bare witness concerning them that they knew the truth and understood His holy name. For he did not say this concerning the resurrection from the dead of the martyrs alone, but concerning the resurrection of all men, whether righteous or sinners, that they may be recompensed each one according to his deeds. For the Jews say, There is no resurrection of the dead. Behold our bones are dust and our flesh dried up.’’? And to those who think this our Lord answereth, saying, Behold I will open your graves, and bring you forth therefrom, and I will put my spirit upon you, and ye shall live. Now ye shall know that I am the Lord, (even I) who speak ” and perform.” And moreover Isaiah saith, ‘‘The dead shall arise, and those that are in the graves shall live, and those that (rest) in the earth shall rejoice, for the dew that is from thee is their‘life.” He hath told us much concerning the resurrection from the dead, and (their) abode in life eternal, which is full of grace and truth, which He hath prepared for those that love Him; and (concerning) the judgment of the ungodly, their fall, shame and misery; the fire that never shall be quenched, ant the worm that sleepeth not shall come upon them. But God desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live. Behold He hath told us that Enoch and Elijah did not taste of death, and hath revealed unto us that the dead shall rise in His time. Elijah raised the widow’s son, and Elisha raised (the son of) the Shunammite. Behold we understand that the death of the righteous is not a judgment of those saints who receive it with joy. In like manner Jesus Christ the Lord of the Apostles and the Life of the faithful shall raise the dead. And so let us also toil in this world, and after a brief while we shall enter into rest, and the race of Adam shall be renewed, and shall rise with him to life eternal. It is said, “All the dead shall hear his voice, and those that hear shall live. Wherefore we believe in the resurrection of the dead and the second coming of Christ. And moreover He who raised Lazarus from the grave on the fourth day raised from the dead both the daughter of Jairus and the widow’s son. And He Himself too rose from the dead on the third day by the will of His Father, and became.the Word of life. And He also it is who brought forth Jonah alive and unhurt from the whale’s belly on the third day, and saved the Three Children from the furnace of fire in the land of Babylon, and Daniel from the mouth of the lions. He, then, who hath authority and might will raise the dead at the last day. But if the ungodly who believe not the Holy Scriptures mock at us, behold the Sibyl their own prophetess maketh glad their hearts, and saith thus unto them, “When the flesh hath decayed, and is become dust, the fire shall consume it by the commandment of God, who waxeth not old and decayeth not; (and) God shall raise up again the bones which were burned in the fire and became ashes. Then shall God pronounce the sentence of judgment upon all the world. Such as have done evil shall descend to the depths of the earth, and those that have kept his commandment shall have eternal life, and God will give unto them the spirit of life; and those that are saved shall look one upon another.” And if they believe not in the resurrection, let them not refuse belief in () another creature. Behold that bird whose name is the phoenix will cause the ungodly to understand, who themselves say that it is alone of its kind. Of this bird they say that it lives for five hundred years, and then goes down to Egypt and brings with it cinnamon, and cassia, and aloe-wood.” And it alights on the image of the idol whose name is Ion, and looks towards the east, and worships the Sun, and then is consumed and turned to ashes. Then there comes forth from the ashes a small worm and it becomes a young phoenix, and, when it is grown, it returns to the land of Arabia.“ If then they know of the resurrection “ of this bird, how can they question with us of that which we say and believe? Cannot He who created man out of nothing raise the dead by His great power? Wherefore it is right that we should patiently endure the various sufferings and afflictions that come upon us. But if we believe not in the resurrection of the dead, our suffering and our affliction is in vain. We believe in what Moses saith, “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth.” There was not one thing that He needed, (and) knowing that all things are created by His Word, it was His pleasure that there should be heaven and earth, and light and darkness, and night, (and) day, and the stars, and birds, and whales, and beasts, and creeping things, and trees, and herbs. Thus He raised them up by His will, and needed no other helper. He it is who is able by His power to renew the world again and to raise the dead. Man, however, was not created first, but He created him from the four elements, and gave him a soul. And in like manner He will give back to this (soul) the body of flesh that is dissolved. For the resurrection is for those that have fallen asleep and not for those that have not been created. For He created (it) from what was fleshless, and put within it many marvels. And again He will raise up and save those that have fallen asleep, as He created flesh out of seed in the womb. As Jeremiah the prophet saith, “Before I created thee in the womb, I knew thee.” And again it is said, “I am the Lord who created the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, and I create the soul in man.” Even as the Scripture saith concerning this, God the Father said to his only-begotten Son Jesus Christ, “Let us make man in our image and in our likeness. And then God created them male and female.”! And furthermore the holy victor Job saith thus—he of whom the Scripture saith that ‘‘he will rise with those whom the Lord raises.” ‘Thou hast milked me like milk, and curdled me like cheese; thou hast clothed me with flesh and skin, and hast bound my bones with sinews; and thou hast shown me compassion and mercy, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. I know this that is with thee, that thou canst do all things and that there is nothing that is impossible with thee.” And again, David, the lover of God, saith, ‘Thy hands have made me and fashioned me; give me understanding, and I will learn thy commandment.” And elsewhere he saith, ‘‘Thou hast created me and laid thy hand upon me. Marvellous is thy work, and (that) my soul knoweth right well. And my bones were not hidden from thee, which thou didst make in secret, nor my substance, (which was) beneath the earth. And that which I have done, thine eyes have seen, and all is written in thy book. Isaiah also saith, “We are the clay and thou hast created us." If, then, men are God’s creation, made by Christ, they shall be raised with Christ, and those that have done His will shall receive honour and the crown of life. Thus the ungodly and unbelieving, who have not received baptism and believe not in the resurrection, shall be condemned to eternal punishment, but those that have done good shall shine like the stars of light. For David saith, ‘The Lord is faithful in all his words and righteous in all his works.” He who created for Himself a body of a virgin (and) who is the Creator of the whole world is the only one who hath risen from the dead, and moreover He will make all the dead to rise. He who maketh the grain of wheat to shoot from the earth, and multiplieth its fruit; “and (who) is able to make shoot forth again the tree that is hewn down, and to multiply its branches; and (who) made Aaron’s dry rod to blossom, is able also in like manner to raise us up with Him in the glory wherewith He ascended. He who made straight the feet of the lame, and cured the palsied, and healed the man whose hand was withered; He who spat on the ground and made clay and anointed the eyes of the man who was born blind; He who healed the wasted limbs, shall He not be able to raise us up also? He who satisfied the souls of five thousand men with five barley loaves and two fishes —and they took up of what was left twelve baskets full —and (who) made water wine; who sent Peter, and he took a penny from the fish’s mouth. He it is who will raise the dead. Behold we are His witnesses concerning everything which the prophets proclaimed concerning Him. We, His companions, ate and drank with Him, and saw His miracles and His life. And again, we saw His sufferings, and His agony, and His death, and His resurrection. And we heard His words, and were His friends, and abode with Him forty days. And after He rose from the dead He charged us to publish the preaching of the holy Gospel in all the world, and commanded us to baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, who is the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, And when He had given this charge, He, in the flesh that He took of us, ascended into heaven to the Father who had sent Him. If ye thus believe, blessed are ye, but if ye believe not, ye are far from Him because ye have not kept His commandment.

THAT MEN OUGHT TO KEEP AND OBSERVE THE FEAST-DAYS WITH SPIRITUAL JOY. [v., 13.] Keep, then, the feast-days, beloved brethren. The first feast is the day of Christ’s Birth, on the twenty-fifth (day) of the ninth month according to the reckoning of the Hebrews, but according to the reckoning of the Egyptians on the twenty-ninth (day) of the month Tahsas, which is the fourth month. And after this celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, on which the Lord manifested the glory of His Godhead in (His) baptism by John in the River Jordan. Keep (it) in the tenth month on the sixth (day) according to the reckoning of the Hebrews, and according to the reckoning of the Egyptians on the eleventh (day) of the month Tobi, which is Ter, (that is) in the fifth month. And after this observe in purity the forty days of the Holy Fast, which teacheth us quietness and patience, fasting and prayer, which bring us near unto Christ. And this Holy Fast shall be ended on the day of the Passover, on which came Salvation. But let the beginning of your (paschal) fast be on the second day (of the week) before the Passover, [v., 14.] for on the day after the (feast of) Hosanna, on the second day (of the week) the wicked Jews, transgressors against the faith and the law, were gathered together and took counsel against the Lord in the first month... which is Miyazya, and on the third day of the week they took still further counsel, and on the fourth day of the week they at length decided to deliver Him up to death on the Cross. And Judas knew this counsel of theirs, (and) as he was a thief, forthwith Satan made him to fall through love of money, for he kept the purse and stole the money of the poor. And though he did all this, the Lord did not thrust him away, for He knew the evil of his heart. And while we were eating with Him, our Lord desired to admonish him; and behold He gave us to understand that he should betray Him. Wherefore He said, Verily, verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray me. And we spake among ourselves, each one, saying, Lord, is it? And arose (being) one of the Twelve, for He loved me more than all the disciples, (and) I asked Him and said unto Him, Lord, who is he that shall betray thee? And our Lord told us not his name, but showed us by two signs (who it was); first, in that He said, He who dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me; and that He said in the second place, He to whom I shall give the bread, the same shall betray me. For (Judas) said unto Him, Is it I, Lord? But our Lord did not say unto him, Yea, thou; but He said unto him, Thou hast said. He did not wish to name him openly, but said unto him, It were good for that man by whose hands the Son of Man shall be delivered up, if he had not been born. And Judas, hearing this, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will betray Him unto you? And they bargained with him to give him thirty (pieces of) silver. It was the fifth day of the week on which our Lord ate the Passover with us. And Judas took the bread, and dipped his hand in the dish, and went out at night. And our Lord said unto us, The hour hath come. Behold ye shall be scattered every one, and shall leave me alone. And we said, every one of us, We will not leave thee; and I Peter said unto Him, Though they all leave Thee, yet will I not leave Thee, but will die with Thee. And He said unto me, Verily, I say unto thee, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny thrice that thou.knowest me. Behold He declared unto us this holy mystery, which is His holy Body and His precious Blood, while Judas was with us. And then our Lord went forth to the Mount of Olives, and we also went with Him, praying and singing praises, as we were wont. He withdrew a little from us, and prayed to the Father, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless let Thy will and not my will be done. Thus He did three times. And our eyes were heavy with sleep because of sorrow; and our Lord came to us, and said unto us, The time hath come, behold the Son of Man is betrayed into the hand of sinners. Behold Judas came, and many ungodly men with him, and he had given them as the sign whereby he should betray Him—a kiss, a sign with deceit which was full of wickedness. And when they perceived the sign which Judas had given unto them, they laid hold on Jesus, and, when they had bound (Him), led Him away to Caiaphas the High-priest, to a place where were no good men, nor holy priests, but rather an evil people and unholy priests, who were transgressors of the law. And they cease not to blaspheme against Him and revile Him, and beat Him, and spit in His face, and mock Him, and buffet Him. And they seek false witnesses against Him, who say, He speaketh blasphemy against Moses, and will destroy the Temple, and will cause the sacrifices to cease, and is an enemy of the Romans, and rebelleth against the kings, and maketh Himself a king. All this did these ‘‘many dogs and fat bulls,”' in whom was no mercy, do against Him. And at night they brought Him forth, and led Him before Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, and wrought much evil against Him, and delivered Him up to Pilate the Roman governor; and it was then the sixth day of the week. And they accused Him much in many words which it were unseemly to utter. And Pilate, the Roman governor, when he heard, believed them not, but said unto them, I have found in this man no fault for which He should die. And then they brought against Him two witnesses who uttered and spake lies against Christ. And Pilate knew that their witness agreed not. Then they changed their minds, and devised a plan by which to make Pilate afraid, and they said, This man maketh Himself a king, and forbiddeth us to do service to the king. They lied and gave a wicked judgment; they cried out and said, Crucify Him, crucify Him, that in Him might be fulfilled the word of the prophet which saith, “False witnesses have risen up against me, and what I know not, they have spoken against me. They have rewarded me evil for good.” And again it is said, ‘‘Many dogs have surrounded me, and the assembly of the wicked hath laid hold on me.”!— And when Pilate was not able to save Jesus for fear of the Jews, he took counsel to do the will of the people— for before Pilate had testified, and said, There is no fault which I have found in Him for which He should die. But the wicked Jews crucified Him on the Cross, and pierced Him—though the Romans have a law, and put no man to death, unless he be convicted in trial before the governor. But the soldiers of the guard took the Lord of Glory, and at the third hour they raised Him on the tree, and at the sixth hour they crucified Him, and gave Him vinegar and myrrh to drink, mingled with gall. They took His garments and divided them amongst themselves, and they crucified with Him two malefactors, one on His right hand, and one on His left, that it might be fulfilled which is written, saying, ‘And they cast gall into my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” And again it is said, ‘‘On my vesture they did cast lots.” And somewhere it is said, ‘He was reckoned with the transgressors.” And then there came a darkness for three hours, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour: and then the darkness departed, and the light appeared, even as it is written, saying, “It was not " day, nor night: and in the evening the light appeared.” And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, and said, ‘Elohe, elohe, lama sabqtani, which, being interpreted, meaneth, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And then He cried and said, Father, forgive them, for they do what they know not. And again He said, Father, into Thy hand I commend my soul; and then He bowed His head, and His spirit departed. And they took Him down from the Cross, and buried Him in a new tomb, and it was evening. And late on the Sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week He rose from the dead, fulfilling all that He had said unto us, before He suffered, that the Son of Man should be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. And after He rose from the dead, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene and to Mary (the mother) of James, and to the son of Cleopas in the way. And after this He appeared to us, His disciples, while we were hidden for fear of the Jews. For this is written in the Gospel. And again He commanded us to keep the holy fast of the Passover for six days because of the transgression thee, of the ungodly and the wickedness of the Jews, who were transgressors of the law. And again He commanded us to fast on the fourth and the sixth days of the week—on the fourth because (on it) the Jews completed their evil design against Him; and on the sixth, because of the sufferings of the Saviour. We ought not to fast on the Sabbath, except on the one day (the Sabbath) of the Passion; but the other Sabbaths let us honour because our Lord rested from all His work on the Sabbath day. For our Lord came, but they believed not on Him, and received not His teaching; and therefore they have missed their salvation. [v., 15.] But ye are blessed and a holy race, for ye are not as the people of old, but ye have been saved from ungodliness and idolatry.. And ye are a people of God, and to you have been opened the gates of life, though formerly ye were hateful and despised. But now being His elect and beloved (ye are) a holy people unto God, who are worthy to proclaim the wonderful works of our Saviour. For it is said, “ They have found me, who sought not after me; and was manifested to those who thought not of me.”’ And He said to the people that did not know His name, Behold I have sought you, and ye have not sought me; but ye have believed in me, and hearkened unto my Church, and have been saved from error (even from false) gods, and have followed the One God, the Father Almighty, and His Son Jesus Christ. And ye are reckoned with those who believed on me, ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands; and ye were not as Israel who believed not on me. And concerning them it is said, “All the day long I lift up my hands to a disobedient people, who neither hear, nor obey; but walk in an evil way, that is not good; for” (they are) a people who follow after sin, and provoke me to anger continually.” [v., 16.] Behold, then, ye have seen that they have transgressed against the Lord, and believed not on Him. Wherefore it is said, “These did provoke the Holy Spirit to anger,” (and) their heart was blinded, and punishment was increased upon them for the wickedness of their imagination. For they said, We believe in Christ, but they believed not that He was the Lord God, who was begotten of the Father before the Creation, the only-begotten Son, the Word of the Father. But they being lacking in faith knew Him not, and understood not the prophecies of the prophets that were written concerning Him, that Christ should be borne of a virgin, though they read and heard what He saith, Behold a virgin shall conceive, and shall bring forth a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel. for unto us a child was born: unto us a son was given, and the government was upon his shoulder, and his name is called Great in counsel, and the Angel of peace; for I will bring peace to the rulers, and life is his, and great is his beginning and of his peace there is no end.” And because of the wickedness of their doings which was without end (they believed not). Wherefore, it is said, ‘“‘Lord, who believed our word and to whom hath thine arm been revealed?’ And again it is said, “Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing ye shall see, and shall not know, for the heart of this people is darkened.” Wherefore wisdom was hidden from them, because, when they saw, they knew not; and when they heard, they understood not.. But ye are Gentiles, and to you hath been given the kingdom, though formerly ye knew not God, but now ye know Him by a right faith and the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Saviour, the Giver of life to all who hope in, Him. Behold ye have abandoned the worship of idols that have no life, and have despised unclean sacrifices, and turned away from the rulers of darkness. Wherefore ye have entered into the true light through our Lord Jesus Christ, and by Him ye have known the One true God, the Father, and have been made inheritors of His kingdom, for ye have been baptized into His death and His resurrection. Ye must needs, then, be as new-born babes that have no evil in their hearts. Put away sin from you, for He hath redeemed you with His precious blood, that ye should worship the living God. In those days the Lord spake concerning Israel in the case of those that believed not: ‘The kingdom of heaven shall be taken from them, and given to a nation that doeth righteousness.” But be ye zealous to bring forth the fruit of sound wisdom, for you He sent of old to His vineyard. And they hearkened not unto you, but hardened their hearts, and rose up against the keepers of the Lord’s vineyard, and laid hold on them. One they a killed, and one they stoned with stones, and one they slew with the sword, and one they sawed asunder, and one they killed in the temple. And the Heir also they killed and rejected Him, and stoned Him [with the stone which the builders rejected]. And concerning you it is said, “‘A people whom I knew not, hath served me, and at the hearing of the ear have they obeyed me.’?!

Let a widow be appointed, being chosen, if for a long time past she have abided without a husband; if though often pressed by men to be married because of the faith she have not been married. But if not, it is not yet right that she should be chosen; but let her be proved for a time, if she be pious, if having children she have brought them up in holiness, if she have not taught them worldly wisdom, if she have made them examples of the holy law and of the Church, if she have loved and honoured strangers, if she have been constant in prayers if she have lived meekly, if she have cheerfully aided those who are afflicted if it have been revealed to the saints about her, if she have not neglected the saints, if she have ministered with all her power, if she be fit to bear and endure the burden, being one who prayeth without ceasing, being perfect in all things, being fervent in spirit, having the eyes of her heart opened in everything, being alway kind, loving innocency, not possessing anything in this world, but alway taking and bearing about the cross, crucifying all evil, by night and by day abiding by the altar, working cheerfully and secretly. If she have one or two or three likeminded in my Name, I am among them. But let her be perfect in the Lord, as one who is visited by the Spirit. Let her do the things which are made known to her with fear and earnestness. Let her instruct those women who do not obey; let her teach those [women] who have not learnt; let her convert those who are foolish; let her instruct them to be grave; Jet her prove the deaconesses; let her make those who enter to know of what sort and who they are; also let her instruct them that they abide. To those who hear let her patiently counsel those things which are proper. To those who are disobedient after three instructions let her not speak. Let her love those who desire to be in virginity or in purity; those who oppose themselves let her correct modestly and quietly. With every one let her be peaceful. Let her privately shut the mouth of those who talk much and idly; but if they do not hear, let her take with her an aged woman, or let her take [it] up to the hearing of the bishop. But in the church let her be silent. In prayer let her be persistent. Let her visit those [women] who are sick; on each first day of the week let her take with her one deacon or two and help them? If she have any possession let her give it for the poor and the faithful. But if she have nothing, let her be helped by thé Church. Let her do no secular work, as it were for a trial. But let her have these works of the Spirit; let her continue in prayers and fasts; let her ask for nothing deep; let her receive those things which the Lord giveth; let her not be anxious for [her] children; let her deliver them to the Church, so that they living in the house of God may be fit for the service of the priesthood Her requests to God will be acceptable; they are the sacrifice and altar of God. For those who have ministered well shall be praised by the archangels. But as for them who are dissolute and raging and drunken, and babblers and curious and evil, that is, those who love pleasures much, the figures of their souls, which stand before the Father of light, perish and are carried to darkness to dwell. or their deeds which are visible, going up before the most High, drag them easily to the pit, so that after this world is changed and passeth away the figures of their souls may stand against them as witnesses, not allowing them to look up. For the figure and type of every soul standeth before God from the foundation of the world. Therefore let her be chosen who can go to meet the holy phials. Of them are the twelve presbyters who praise My Father who is in heaven. These who receive the prayers of every holy soul, offer [them] to the most High [as] a sweet savour.

Concerning the gift and the office. If anyone has obtained a gift and office he shall not glory over anyone. Our God and Saviour Jesus Christ (is) he who gave us this great mystery of the religion of God, calling the Jews and Gentiles that they might know the one God and Father in truth. As he said himself in the Gospel when giving thanks for the salvation of those who believe on him: I have manifested thy Name to the men: the work which thou gavest me I have finished. And concerning himself he said to the Father: Holy Father, the world indeed knoweth thee not, but I know thee, and these also know thee. Since then we have all been thus made perfect, he said concerning the Spirit of grace which should be given from him: This sign, then, to them who believe (is) that which shall be done in my Name. They shall cast out demons, and they shall speak with tongues, and they shall take serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not affect them, and upon the sick they shall lay their hand and they shall recover. And this grace, then, was first given to us, the Apostles, that in his name we might preach the Gospel to all creation; and next, to those who believed by us, as is seemly that they should be given to them; not for the sake of benefiting those who work, but for the sake of unbelievers, to make them believe: that those who by the Son did not believe in him, the power of the signs might put to shame. For signs are not for the faithful but for unbelieving, for Jews and Gentiles. Casting out demons is no gain for us, but is done by the working of our Lord Christ To those who believe this grace shall be given, as the Lord himself teaches and shows us when he said: Rejoice not because the demons submit to you, but rejoice because your names are written in the heavens. Since the power is his, and ours the faith and diligence, it is clear that we work by him. It is not necessary therefore that a believer should cast out demons, and raise the dead, and speak with tongues, but he who gave the grace (gave it) for that which is seemly, for salvation of unbelievers. Though most men are put to shame, not by the demonstration of the word, but by the working of the signs which is connected with salvation, yet all the wicked are not put to shame by a plague. And God himself testified to this, as he said in the Law: With other tongues I will speak to this people and with other lips, and they will not believe. For neither did the Egyptians believe God, when Moses the prophet worked so many signs and miracles, nor did the Jews, through their malice, believe him, though our Lord Christ for the Jews like Moses healed all infirmity and all sickness among them. Nor again did it put those to shame, nor did they believe in it, when the rod became transformed as a serpent, nor the hand when it was made white, nor the river when it became blood, neither by this again did they believe him: nor again were these satisfied when the blind saw and the lame ran and the dead rose. And moreover Iyanes and Iyanbares opposed that one, and this also Hana and Kayafa insulted. But this one was not sufficient for them, and they (lit. he) were not put to shame when he did signs and wonders, but only those of good character with whom God is well pleased, and he only exercises power for them as a wise ordainer, not according to the power of a man, but his own will. This therefore we say that they who received such a grace may not boast over those who received not the grace. I speak therefore about a grace accompanied by a sign, for there is no man who believed in Christ the Son of God, who does not receive a grace of the Holy Spirit. For indeed he who has been transformed from the religion of many evil gods and believed in God the Father and in Christ his Son; this (in itself) is a grace from God. If he believed in God and cast away the unbelief of the Jews, and confesses (that) according to the will of God who was before the world, the only Son in the last days was born of a virgin without intercourse of man, and lived with men without sin, fulfilling all the righteousness of the Law, and that by the will of God he was crucified and was buried and rose the third day, and after the resurrection from the dead (for forty days) having been with the Apostles, and having made an end of all his ordinance (to them), he ascended in their presence to him who sent him, God the Father. To know this in truth then, not vaguely but as certain, he received a grace from God. So also he who has been transformed from all heresy. Let not therefore any who do a sign and miracle despise any of the believers to whom a working was not imparted. His own are the graces of God which are given through Christ. Thou indeed hast received this, and any of thy neighbours that; either the word of wisdom, or knowledge, or discerning of spirits, or the word of prescient instruction, or endurance, or lawful continence. Because Moses the man of God, in Egypt, when he worked signs did not magnify himself above the people Esrael, and though he was named god he did not magnify himself nor boasted over his prophet Aaron. Neither did (the son) of Newe Iyasu when he was leading the people after him, and while he fought with (the people of) the Iyabusewon, and made the sun to stand towards Gabaon and the moon towards the valley of Ailon, because the day was not sufficient for the victory, he did not magnify himself above Fenehas and above Kaleb. Nor did Samuel, though he wrought many signs, contemn David the beloved of God, both being prophets, the one chief priest and the other king. And the seven thousand who were in Esrael, the holy ones who would not worship Ba'al in bowing the knee, Elyas only amongst them and his assistant Eleseos were workers of a miracle. Neither did Elyassa despise Abdeyu keeping the law and fearing God, and he did no signs. And Elesewon did not neglect his assistant when he was afraid of the enemy, but attended to him. And Daniel again, the wise, who was twice saved from the mouth of the lions; and the three children who went forth from the furnace of fire did not despise the others who were another people, because they knew that by their own power they did not overcome the trial, but by the strength of God they both did a sign, and they were saved from the trouble. Therefore let none of you magnify himself above his brother, if he is a prophet or worker of a miracle. If indeed it was granted that there should not be any who believed not, superfluous then (would be) all working of signs. For the fearing of God is a matter of faith, and the doing of a sign is of him whose power worked. As regards the first indeed we looked to ourselves, and in the second God works, concerning which we have already spoken.

Consider even the judicatures of this world, by whose power we see murderers, adulterers, wizards, robbers of sepulchres, and thieves brought to trial; and those that preside, when they have received their accusations from those that brought them, ask the malefactor whether those things be so. And though he does not deny the crimes, they do not presently send him out to punishment; but for several days they make inquiry about him with a full council, and with the veil interposed. And he that is to pass the final decree and suffrage of death against him, lifts up his hands to the sun, and solemnly affirms that he is innocent of the blood of the man. Though they be heathens, and know not the Deity, nor the vengeance which will fall upon men from God on account of those that are justly condemned, they avoid such unjust judgments.

If any Christian, on account of the name of Christ, and love and faith towards God, be condemned by the ungodly to the games, to the beasts, or to the mines, do not overlook him; but send to him from your labour and your very sweat for his sustenance, and for a reward to the soldiers, that he may be eased and be taken care of; that, as far as lies in your power, your blessed brother may not be afflicted: for he that is condemned for the name of the Lord God is an holy martyr, a brother of the Lord, the son of the Highest, a receptacle of the Holy Spirit, by whom every one of the faithful has received the illumination of the glory of the holy Gospel, by being vouchsafed the incorruptible crown, and the testimony of Christ's sufferings, and the fellowship of His blood, to be made conformable to the death of Christ for the adoption of children. For this cause do you, all you of the faithful, by your bishop, minister to the saints of your substance and of your labour. But if any one has not, let him fast a day, and set apart that, and order it for the saints. But if any one has superfluities, let him minister more to them according to the proportion of his ability. But if he can possibly sell all his livelihood, and redeem them out of prison, he will be blessed, and a friend of Christ. For if he that gives his goods to the poor be perfect, supposing his knowledge of divine things, much more is he so that does it on account of the martyrs. For such a one is worthy of God, and will fulfil His will by supplying those who have confessed Him before nations and kings, and the children of Israel; concerning whom our Lord declared, saying: Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father. And if these be such as to be attested to by Christ before His Father, you ought not to be ashamed to go to them in the prisons. For if you do this, it will be esteemed to you for a testimony, because the real trial was to them a testimony; and your readiness will be so to you, as being partakers of their combat: for the Lord speaks somewhere to such as these, saying: Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungry, and you gave me meat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer, and say, Lord, when saw we You an hungered, and fed You? Or thirsty, and gave You drink? When saw we You naked, and clothed You? Or sick, and visited You? When saw we You a stranger, and took You in? Or in prison, and came unto You? And He will answer and say unto them, Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. And these shall go away into life everlasting. Then shall He say unto them on His left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you took me not in; naked, and you clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and you visited me not. Then shall they also answer and say, Lord when saw we You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto You? Then shall He answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as you have not done it unto one of the least of these, neither have you done it unto me. And these shall go away unto everlasting punishment.

For those are most certainly to be avoided who blaspheme God. The greatest part of the ungodly, indeed, are ignorant of God; but these men, as fighters against God, are possessed with a wilful evil disposition, as with a disease. For from the wickedness of these heretics pollution is gone out upon all the earth, as says the prophet Jeremiah. For the wicked synagogue is now cast off by the Lord God, and His house is rejected by Him, as He somewhere speaks: I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine inheritance. And again, says Isaiah: I will neglect my vineyard, and it shall not be pruned nor dug, and thorns shall spring up upon it, as upon a desert; and I will command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. He has therefore left His people as a tent in a vineyard, and as a garner in a fig or olive yard, and as a besieged city. He has taken away from them the Holy Spirit, and the prophetic rain, and has replenished His Church with spiritual grace, as the river of Egypt in the time of first-fruits; and has advanced the same as a house upon an hill, or as an high mountain; as a mountain fruitful for milk and fatness, wherein it has pleased God to dwell. For the Lord will inhabit therein to the end. And He says in Jeremiah: Our sanctuary is an exalted throne of glory. And He says in Isaiah: And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord shall be glorious, and the house of the Lord shall be upon the top of the mountains, and shall be advanced above the hills. Since, therefore, He has forsaken His people, He has also left His temple desolate, and rent the veil of the temple, and took from them the Holy Spirit; for says He, Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. And He has bestowed upon you, the converted of the Gentiles, spiritual grace, as He says by Joel: And it shall come to pass after these things, says God, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons shall prophesy, and your daughters shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. For God has taken away all the power and efficacy of His word, and such like visitations, from that people, and has transferred it to you, the converted of the Gentiles. For on this account the devil himself is very angry at the holy Church of God: he is removed to you, and has raised against you adversities, seditions, and reproaches, schisms, and heresies. For he had before subdued that people to himself, by their slaying of Christ. But you who have left his vanities he tempts in different ways, as he did the blessed Job. For indeed he opposed that great high priest Joshua the son of Josedek; and he oftentimes sought to sift us, that our faith might fail. But our Lord and Master, having brought him to trial, said to him: The Lord rebuke you, O devil; and the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you. Is not this plucked out of the fire as a brand? And who said then to those that stood by the high priest, Take away his ragged garments from him; and added, Behold, I have taken your iniquities away from you; He will say now, as He said formerly of us when we were assembled together, I have prayed that your faith may not fail.

Let us still further beseech God through His Christ, and let us beseech Him on account of the gift which is offered to the Lord God, that the good God will accept it, through the mediation of His Christ, upon His heavenly altar, for a sweet-smelling savour. Let us pray for this church and people. Let us pray for every episcopate, every presbytery, all the deacons and ministers in Christ, for the whole congregation, that the Lord will keep and preserve them all. Let us pray for kings and those in authority, that they may be peaceable toward us, that so we may have and lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Let us be mindful of the holy martyrs, that we may be thought worthy to be partakers of their trial. Let us pray for those that are departed in the faith. Let us pray for the good temperature of the air, and the perfect maturity of the fruits. Let us pray for those that are newly enlightened, that they may be strengthened in the faith, and all may be mutually comforted by one another. Raise us up, O God, by Your grace. Let us stand up, and dedicate ourselves to God, through His Christ. And let the bishop say: O God, who art great, and whose name is great, who art great in counsel and mighty in works, the God and Father of Your holy child Jesus, our Saviour; look down upon us, and upon this Your flock, which You have chosen by Him to the glory of Your name; and sanctify our body and soul, and grant us the favour to be made pure from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and may obtain the good things laid up for us, and do not account any of us unworthy; but be our comforter, helper, and protector, through Your Christ, with whom glory, honour, praise, doxology, and thanksgiving be to You and to the Holy Ghost forever. Amen. And after that all have said Amen, let the deacon say: Let us attend. And let the bishop speak thus to the people: Holy things for holy persons. And let the people answer: There is One that is holy; there is one Lord, one Jesus Christ, blessed for ever, to the glory of God the Father. Amen. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will among men. Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed be He that comes in the name of the Lord, being the Lord God who appeared to us, Hosanna in the highest. And after that, let the bishop partake, then the presbyters, and deacons, and sub-deacons, and the readers, and the singers, and the ascetics; and then of the women, the deaconesses, and the virgins, and the widows; then the children; and then all the people in order, with reverence and godly fear, without tumult. And let the bishop give the oblation, saying, The body of Christ; and let him that receives say, Amen. And let the deacon take the cup; and when he gives it, say, The blood of Christ, the cup of life; and let him that drinks say, Amen. And let the thirty-third psalm be said, while the rest are partaking; and when all, both men and women, have partaken, let the deacons carry what remains into the vestry. And when the singer has done, let the deacon say:—

I, the same, make a constitution in regard to virgins: A virgin is not ordained, for we have no such command from the Lord; for this is a state of voluntary trial, not for the reproach of marriage, but on account of leisure for piety.

I the same make a constitution in regard to an exorcist. An exorcist is not ordained. For it is a trial of voluntary goodness, and of the grace of God through Christ by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For he who has received the gift of healing is declared by revelation from God, the grace which is in him being manifest to all. But if there be occasion for him, he must be ordained a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon.

I the same make a constitution in regard to first-fruits and tithes. Let all first-fruits be brought to the bishop, and to the presbyters, and to the deacons, for their maintenance; but let all the tithe be for the maintenance of the rest of the clergy, and of the virgins and widows, and of those under the trial of poverty. For the first-fruits belong to the priests, and to those deacons that minister to them.

It is not right to ordain him bishop presently who is just come in from the Gentiles, and baptized; or from a wicked mode of life: for it is unjust that he who has not yet afforded any trial of himself should be a teacher of others, unless it anywhere happens by divine grace.

However, he found it impossible to escape envy in such his prosperity; for the glory of these young men affected even Hyrcanus himself already privately, though he said nothing of it to any body; but what he principally was grieved at was the great actions of Herod, and that so many messengers came one before another, and informed him of the great reputation he got in all his undertakings. There were also many people in the royal palace itself who inflamed his envy at him; those, I mean, who were obstructed in their designs by the prudence either of the young men, or of Antipater. These men said, that by committing the public affairs to the management of Antipater and of his sons, he sat down with nothing but the bare name of a king, without any of its authority; and they asked him how long he would so far mistake himself, as to breed up kings against his own interest; for that they did not now conceal their government of affairs any longer, but were plainly lords of the nation, and had thrust him out of his authority; that this was the case when Herod slew so many men without his giving him any command to do it, either by word of mouth, or by his letter, and this in contradiction to the law of the Jews; who therefore, in case he be not a king, but a private man, still ought to come to his trial, and answer it to him, and to the laws of his country, which do not permit any one to be killed till he hath been condemned in judgment.

Now Hyrcanus was, by degrees, inflamed with these discourses, and at length could bear no longer, but he summoned Herod to take his trial. Accordingly, by his father's advice, and as soon as the affairs of Galilee would give him leave, he came up to [Jerusalem], when he had first placed garrisons in Galilee; however, he came with a sufficient body of soldiers, so many indeed that he might not appear to have with him an army able to overthrow Hyrcanus's government, nor yet so few as to expose him to the insults of those that envied him. However, Sextus Caesar was in fear for the young man, lest he should be taken by his enemies, and brought to punishment; so he sent some to denounce expressly to Hyrcanus that he should acquit Herod of the capital charge against him; who acquitted him accordingly, as being otherwise inclined also so to do, for he loved Herod.

After this the king came back from Rome, and seemed to have forgiven his sons upon these accusations; but still so that he was not without his suspicions of them. They were followed by Antipater, who was the fountain-head of those accusations; yet did not he openly discover his hatred to them, as revering him that had reconciled them. But as Herod sailed by Cilicia, he touched at Eleusa, where Archelaus treated them in the most obliging manner, and gave him thanks for the deliverance of his son-in-law, and was much pleased at their reconciliation; and this the more, because he had formerly written to his friends at Rome that they should be assisting to Alexander at his trial. So he conducted Herod as far as Zephyrium, and made him presents to the value of thirty talents.

Now as soon as this fellow perceived the rotten parts of the family, and what quarrels the brothers had one with another, and in what disposition the father was towards each of them, he chose to take his lodging at the first in the house of Antipater, but deluded Alexander with a pretense of friendship to him, and falsely claimed to be an old acquaintance of Archelaus; for which reason he was presently admitted into Alexander's familiarity as a faithful friend. He also soon recommended himself to his brother Aristobulus. And when he had thus made trial of these several persons, he imposed upon one of them by one method, and upon another by another. But he was principally hired by Antipater, and so betrayed Alexander, and this by reproaching Antipater, because, while he was the eldest son he overlooked the intrigues of those who stood in the way of his expectations; and by reproaching Alexander, because he who was born of a queen, and was married to a king's daughter, permitted one that was born of a mean woman to lay claim to the succession, and this when he had Archelaus to support him in the most complete manner. Nor was his advice thought to be other than faithful by the young man, because of his pretended friendship with Archelaus; on which account it was that Alexander lamented to him Antipater's behavior with regard to himself, and this without concealing any thing from him; and how it was no wonder if Herod, after he had killed their mother, should deprive them of her kingdom. Upon this Eurycles pretended to commiserate his condition, and to grieve with him. He also, by a bait that he laid for him, procured Aristobulus to say the same things. Thus did he inveigle both the brothers to make complaints of their father, and then went to Antipater, and carried these grand secrets to him. He also added a fiction of his own, as if his brothers had laid a plot against him, and were almost ready to come upon him with their drawn swords. For this intelligence he received a great sum of money, and on that account he commended Antipater before his father, and at length undertook the work of bringing Alexander and Aristobulus to their graves, and accused them before their father. So he came to Herod, and told him that he would save his life, as a requital for the favors he had received from him, and would preserve his light [of life] by way of retribution for his kind entertainment; for that a sword had been long whetted, and Alexander's right hand had been long stretched out against him; but that he had laid impediments in his way, prevented his speed, and that by pretending to assist him in his design: how Alexander said that Herod was not contented to reign in a kingdom that belonged to others, and to make dilapidations in their mother's government after he had killed her; but besides all this, that he introduced a spurious successor, and proposed to give the kingdom of their ancestors to that pestilent fellow Antipater:--that he would now appease the ghosts of Hyrcanus and Mariamne, by taking vengeance on him; for that it was not fit for him to take the succession to the government from such a father without bloodshed: that many things happen every day to provoke him so to do, insomuch that he can say nothing at all, but it affords occasion for calumny against him; for that if any mention be made of nobility of birth, even in other cases, he is abused unjustly, while his father would say that nobody, to be sure, is of noble birth but Alexander, and that his father was inglorious for want of such nobility. If they be at any time hunting, and he says nothing, he gives offense; and if he commends any body, they take it in way of jest. That they always find their father unmercifully severe, and have no natural affection for any of them but for Antipater; on which accounts, if this plot does not take, he is very willing to die; but that in case he kill his father, he hath sufficient opportunities for saving himself. In the first place, he hath Archelaus his father-in-law to whom he can easily fly; and in the next place, he hath Caesar, who had never known Herod's character to this day; for that he shall not appear then before him with that dread he used to do when his father was there to terrify him; and that he will not then produce the accusations that concerned himself alone, but would, in the first place, openly insist on the calamities of their nation, and how they are taxed to death, and in what ways of luxury and wicked practices that wealth is spent which was gotten by bloodshed; what sort of persons they are that get our riches, and to whom those cities belong upon whom he bestows his favors; that he would have inquiry made what became of his grandfather [Hyrcanus], and his mother [Mariamne], and would openly proclaim the gross wickedness that was in the kingdom; on which accounts he should not be deemed a parricide.

Upon Herod's saying this, he was interrupted by the confusion he was in; but ordered Nicolaus, one of his friends, to produce the evidence against Antipater. But in the mean time Antipater lifted up his head, [for he lay on the ground before his father's feet,] and cried out aloud, "Thou, O father, hast made my apology for me; for how can I be a parricide, whom thou thyself confessest to have always had for thy guardian? Thou callest my filial affection prodigious lies and hypocrisy! how then could it be that I, who was so subtle in other matters, should here be so mad as not to understand that it was not easy that he who committed so horrid a crime should be concealed from men, but impossible that he should be concealed from the Judge of heaven, who sees all things, and is present every where? or did not I know what end my brethren came to, on whom God inflicted so great a punishment for their evil designs against thee? And indeed what was there that could possibly provoke me against thee? Could the hope of being king do it? I was a king already. Could I suspect hatred from thee? No. Was not I beloved by thee? And what other fear could I have? Nay, by preserving thee safe, I was a terror to others. Did I want money? No; for who was able to expend so much as myself? Indeed, father, had I been the most execrable of all mankind, and had I had the soul of the most cruel wild beast, must I not have been overcome with the benefits thou hadst bestowed upon me? whom, as thou thyself sayest, thou broughtest [into the palace]; whom thou didst prefer before so many of thy sons; whom thou madest a king in thine own lifetime, and, by the vast magnitude of the other advantages thou bestowedst on me, thou madest me an object of envy. O miserable man! that thou shouldst undergo this bitter absence, and thereby afford a great opportunity for envy to arise against thee, and a long space for such as were laying designs against thee! Yet was I absent, father, on thy affairs, that Sylleus might not treat thee with contempt in thine old age. Rome is a witness to my filial affection, and so is Caesar, the ruler of the habitable earth, who oftentimes called me Philopater. Take here the letters he hath sent thee, they are more to be believed than the calumnies raised here; these letters are my only apology; these I use as the demonstration of that natural affection I have to thee. Remember that it was against my own choice that I sailed [to Rome], as knowing the latent hatred that was in the kingdom against me. It was thou, O father, however unwillingly, who hast been my ruin, by forcing me to allow time for calumnies against me, and envy at me. However, I am come hither, and am ready to hear the evidence there is against me. If I be a parricide, I have passed by land and by sea, without suffering any misfortune on either of them: but this method of trial is no advantage to me; for it seems, O father, that I am already condemned, both before God and before thee; and as I am already condemned, I beg that thou wilt not believe the others that have been tortured, but let fire be brought to torment me; let the racks march through my bowels; have no regard to any lamentations that this polluted body can make; for if I be a parricide, I ought not to die without torture." Thus did Antipater cry out with lamentation and weeping, and moved all the rest, and Varus in particular, to commiserate his case. Herod was the only person whose passion was too strong to permit him to weep, as knowing that the testimonies against him were true.

Upon this the multitude were pleased, and presently made a trial of what he intended, by asking great things of him; for some made a clamor that he would ease them in their taxes; others, that he would take off the duties upon commodities; and some, that he would loose those that were in prison; in all which cases he answered readily to their satisfaction, in order to get the good-will of the multitude; after which he offered [the proper] sacrifices, and feasted with his friends. And here it was that a great many of those that desired innovations came in crowds towards the evening, and began then to mourn on their own account, when the public mourning for the king was over. These lamented those that were put to death by Herod, because they had cut down the golden eagle that had been over the gate of the temple. Nor was this mourning of a private nature, but the lamentations were very great, the mourning solemn, and the weeping such as was loudly heard all over the city, as being for those men who had perished for the laws of their country, and for the temple. They cried out that a punishment ought to be inflicted for these men upon those that were honored by Herod; and that, in the first place, the man whom he had made high priest should be deprived; and that it was fit to choose a person of greater piety and purity than he was.

At these clamors Archelaus was provoked, but restrained himself from taking vengeance on the authors, on account of the haste he was in of going to Rome, as fearing lest, upon his making war on the multitude, such an action might detain him at home. Accordingly, he made trial to quiet the innovators by persuasion, rather than by force, and sent his general in a private way to them, and by him exhorted them to be quiet. But the seditious threw stones at him, and drove him away, as he came into the temple, and before he could say any thing to them. The like treatment they showed to others, who came to them after him, many of which were sent by Archelaus, in order to reduce them to sobriety, and these answered still on all occasions after a passionate manner; and it openly appeared that they would not be quiet, if their numbers were but considerable. And indeed, at the feast of unleavened bread, which was now at hand, and is by the Jews called the Passover, and used to be celebrated with a great number of sacrifices, an innumerable multitude of the people came out of the country to worship; some of these stood in the temple bewailing the Rabbins [that had been put to death], and procured their sustenance by begging, in order to support their sedition. At this Archelaus was affrighted, and privately sent a tribune, with his cohort of soldiers, upon them, before the disease should spread over the whole multitude, and gave orders that they should constrain those that began the tumult, by force, to be quiet. At these the whole multitude were irritated, and threw stones at many of the soldiers, and killed them; but the tribune fled away wounded, and had much ado to escape so. After which they betook themselves to their sacrifices, as if they had done no mischief; nor did it appear to Archelaus that the multitude could be restrained without bloodshed; so he sent his whole army upon them, the footmen in great multitudes, by the way of the city, and the horsemen by the way of the plain, who, falling upon them on the sudden, as they were offering their sacrifices, destroyed about three thousand of them; but the rest of the multitude were dispersed upon the adjoining mountains: these were followed by Archelaus's heralds, who commanded every one to retire to their own homes, whither they all went, and left the festival.

And now Archelaus took possession of his ethnarchy, and used not the Jews only, but the Samaritans also, barbarously; and this out of his resentment of their old quarrels with him. Whereupon they both of them sent ambassadors against him to Caesar; and in the ninth year of his government he was banished to Vienna, a city of Gaul, and his effects were put into Caesar's treasury. But the report goes, that before he was sent for by Caesar, he seemed to see nine ears of corn, full and large, but devoured by oxen. When, therefore, he had sent for the diviners, and some of the Chaldeans, and inquired of them what they thought it portended; and when one of them had one interpretation, and another had another, Simon, one of the sect of Essens, said that he thought the ears of corn denoted years, and the oxen denoted a mutation of things, because by their ploughing they made an alteration of the country. That therefore he should reign as many years as there were ears of corn; and after he had passed through various alterations of fortune, should die. Now five days after Archelaus had heard this interpretation he was called to his trial.

Now after the time of their preparatory trial is over, they are parted into four classes; and so far are the juniors inferior to the seniors, that if the seniors should be touched by the juniors, they must wash themselves, as if they had intermixed themselves with the company of a foreigner. They are long-lived also, insomuch that many of them live above a hundred years, by means of the simplicity of their diet; nay, as I think, by means of the regular course of life they observe also. They contemn the miseries of life, and are above pain, by the generosity of their mind. And as for death, if it will be for their glory, they esteem it better than living always; and indeed our war with the Romans gave abundant evidence what great souls they had in their trials, wherein, although they were tortured and distorted, burnt and torn to pieces, and went through all kinds of instruments of torment, that they might be forced either to blaspheme their legislator, or to eat what was forbidden them, yet could they not be made to do either of them, no, nor once to flatter their tormentors, or to shed a tear; but they smiled in their very pains, and laughed those to scorn who inflicted the torments upon them, and resigned up their souls with great alacrity, as expecting to receive them again.

And when he had considered that the Roman power became invincible, chiefly by their readiness in obeying orders, and the constant exercise of their arms, he despaired of teaching these his men the use of their arms, which was to be obtained by experience; but observing that their readiness in obeying orders was owing to the multitude of their officers, he made his partitions in his army more after the Roman manner, and appointed a great many subalterns. He also distributed the soldiers into various classes, whom he put under captains of tens, and captains of hundreds, and then under captains of thousands; and besides these, he had commanders of larger bodies of men. He also taught them to give the signals one to another, and to call and recall the soldiers by the trumpets, how to expand the wings of an army, and make them wheel about; and when one wing hath had success, to turn again and assist those that were hard set, and to join in the defense of what had most suffered. He also continually instructed them in what concerned the courage of the soul, and the hardiness of the body; and, above all, he exercised them for war, by declaring to them distinctly the good order of the Romans, and that they were to fight with men who, both by the strength of their bodies and courage of their souls, had conquered in a manner the whole habitable earth. He told them that he should make trial of the good order they would observe in war, even before it came to any battle, in case they would abstain from the crimes they used to indulge themselves in, such as theft, and robbery, and rapine, and from defrauding their own countrymen, and never to esteem the harm done to those that were so near of kin to them to be any advantage to themselves; for that wars are then managed the best when the warriors preserve a good conscience; but that such as are ill men in private life will not only have those for enemies which attack them, but God himself also for their antagonist.

But as the people of Jotapata still held out manfully, and bore up under their miseries beyond all that could be hoped for, on the forty-seventh day [of the siege] the banks cast up by the Romans were become higher than the wall; on which day a certain deserter went to Vespasian, and told him how few were left in the city, and how weak they were, and that they had been so worn out with perpetual watching, and as perpetual fighting, that they could not now oppose any force that came against them, and that they might be taken by stratagem, if any one would attack them; for that about the last watch of the night, when they thought they might have some rest from the hardships they were under, and when a morning sleep used to come upon them, as they were thoroughly weary, he said the watch used to fall asleep; accordingly his advice was, that they should make their attack at that hour. But Vespasian had a suspicion about this deserter, as knowing how faithful the Jews were to one another, and how much they despised any punishments that could be inflicted on them; this last because one of the people of Jotapata had undergone all sorts of torments, and though they made him pass through a fiery trial of his enemies in his examination, yet would he inform them nothing of the affairs within the city, and as he was crucified, smiled at them. However, the probability there was in the relation itself did partly confirm the truth of what the deserter told them, and they thought he might probably speak truth. However, Vespasian thought they should be no great sufferers if the report was a sham; so he commanded them to keep the man in custody, and prepared the army for taking the city.

Now the seniors of the people, and such as were of principal authority among them, fearing what would be the issue of this matter, fled to the camp of the Romans; they then took their king along with them, and fell down before Vespasian, to supplicate his favor, and besought him not to overlook them, nor to impute the madness of a few to the whole city, to spare a people that have been ever civil and obliging to the Romans; but to bring the authors of this revolt to due punishment, who had hitherto so watched them, that though they were zealous to give them the security of their right hands of a long time, yet could they not accomplish the same. With these supplications the general complied, although he were very angry at the whole city about the carrying off his horses, and this because he saw that Agrippa was under a great concern for them. So when Vespasian and Agrippa had accepted of their right hands by way of security, Jesus and his party thought it not safe for them to continue at Tiberias, so they ran away to Taricheae. The next day Vespasian sent Trajan before with some horsemen to the citadel, to make trial of the multitude, whether they were all disposed for peace; and as soon as he knew that the people were of the same mind with the petitioner, he took his army, and went to the city; upon which the citizens opened to him their gates, and met him with acclamations of joy, and called him their savior and benefactor. But as the army was a great while in getting in at the gates, they were so narrow, Vespasian commanded the south wall to be broken down, and so made a broad passage for their entrance. However, he charged them to abstain from rapine and injustice, in order to gratify the king; and on his account spared the rest of the wall, while the king undertook for them that they should continue [faithful to the Romans] for the time to come. And thus did he restore this city to a quiet state, after it had been grievously afflicted by the sedition.

But when Titus perceived that the enemy was very numerous, he sent to his father, and informed him that he should want more forces. But as he saw a great many of the horsemen eager to fight, and that before any succors could come to them, and that yet some of them were privately under a sort of consternation at the multitude of the Jews, he stood in a place whence he might be heard, and said to them, "My brave Romans! for it is right for me to put you in mind of what nation you are, in the beginning of my speech, that so you may not be ignorant who you are, and who they are against whom we are going to fight. For as to us, Romans, no part of the habitable earth hath been able to escape our hands hitherto; but as for the Jews, that I may speak of them too, though they have been already beaten, yet do they not give up the cause; and a sad thing it would be for us to grow wealthy under good success, when they bear up under their misfortunes. As to the alacrity which you show publicly, I see it, and rejoice at it; yet am I afraid lest the multitude of the enemy should bring a concealed fright upon some of you: let such a one consider again, who we are that are to fight, and who those are against whom we are to fight. Now these Jews, though they be very bold and great despisers of death, are but a disorderly body, and unskillful in war, and may rather be called a rout than an army; while I need say nothing of our skill and our good order; for this is the reason why we Romans alone are exercised for war in time of peace, that we may not think of number for number when we come to fight with our enemies: for what advantage should we reap by our continual sort of warfare, if we must still be equal in number to such as have not been used to war. Consider further, that you are to have a conflict with men in effect unarmed, while you are well armed; with footmen, while you are horsemen; with those that have no good general, while you have one; and as these advantages make you in effect manifold more than you are, so do their disadvantages mightily diminish their number. Now it is not the multitude of men, though they be soldiers, that manages wars with success, but it is their bravery that does it, though they be but a few; for a few are easily set in battle-array, and can easily assist one another, while over-numerous armies are more hurt by themselves than by their enemies. It is boldness and rashness, the effects of madness, that conduct the Jews. Those passions indeed make a great figure when they succeed, but are quite extinguished upon the least ill success; but we are led on by courage, and obedience, and fortitude, which shows itself indeed in our good fortune, but still does not for ever desert us in our ill fortune. Nay, indeed, your fighting is to be on greater motives than those of the Jews; for although they run the hazard of war for liberty, and for their country, yet what can be a greater motive to us than glory? and that it may never be said, that after we have got dominion of the habitable earth, the Jews are able to confront us. We must also reflect upon this, that there is no fear of our suffering any incurable disaster in the present case; for those that are ready to assist us are many, and at hand also; yet it is in our power to seize upon this victory ourselves; and I think we ought to prevent the coming of those my father is sending to us for our assistance, that our success may be peculiar to ourselves, and of greater reputation to us. And I cannot but think this an opportunity wherein my father, and I, and you shall be all put to the trial, whether he be worthy of his former glorious performances, whether I be his son in reality, and whether you be really my soldiers; for it is usual for my father to conquer; and for myself, I should not bear the thoughts of returning to him if I were once taken by the enemy. And how will you be able to avoid being ashamed, if you do not show equal courage with your commander, when he goes before you into danger? For you know very well that I shall go into the danger first, and make the first attack upon the enemy. Do not you therefore desert me, but persuade yourselves that God will be assisting to my onset. Know this also before we begin, that we shall now have better success than we should have, if we were to fight at a distance."

Now this exit of the messengers was not known either to Ananus or to the guards, but the approach of the Idumeans was known to him; for as he knew of it before they came, he ordered the gates to be shut against them, and that the walls should be guarded. Yet did not he by any means think of fighting against them, but, before they came to blows, to try what persuasions would do. Accordingly, Jesus, the eldest of the high priests next to Artanus, stood upon the tower that was over against them, and said thus: "Many troubles indeed, and those of various kinds, have fallen upon this city, yet in none of them have I so much wondered at her fortune as now, when you are come to assist wicked men, and this after a manner very extraordinary; for I see that you are come to support the vilest of men against us, and this with so great alacrity, as you could hardly put on the like, in case our metropolis had called you to her assistance against barbarians. And if I had perceived that your army was composed of men like unto those who invited them, I had not deemed your attempt so absurd; for nothing does so much cement the minds of men together as the alliance there is between their manners. But now for these men who have invited you, if you were to examine them one by one, every one of them would be found to have deserved ten thousand deaths; for the very rascality and offscouring of the whole country, who have spent in debauchery their own substance, and, by way of trial beforehand, have madly plundered the neighboring villages and cities, in the upshot of all, have privately run together into this holy city. They are robbers, who by their prodigious wickedness have profaned this most sacred floor, and who are to be now seen drinking themselves drunk in the sanctuary, and expending the spoils of those whom they have slaughtered upon their unsatiable bellies. As for the multitude that is with you, one may see them so decently adorned in their armor, as it would become them to be had their metropolis called them to her assistance against foreigners. What can a man call this procedure of yours but the sport of fortune, when he sees a whole nation coming to protect a sink of wicked wretches? I have for a good while been in doubt what it could possibly be that should move you to do this so suddenly; because certainly you would not take on your armor on the behalf of robbers, and against a people of kin to you, without some very great cause for your so doing. But we have an item that the Romans are pretended, and that we are supposed to be going to betray this city to them; for some of your men have lately made a clamor about those matters, and have said they are come to set their metropolis free. Now we cannot but admire at these wretches in their devising such a lie as this against us; for they knew there was no other way to irritate against us men that were naturally desirous of liberty, and on that account the best disposed to fight against foreign enemies, but by framing a tale as if we were going to betray that most desirable thing, liberty. But you ought to consider what sort of people they are that raise this calumny, and against what sort of people that calumny is raised, and to gather the truth of things, not by fictitious speeches, but out of the actions of both parties; for what occasion is there for us to sell ourselves to the Romans, while it was in our power not to have revolted from them at the first, or when we had once revolted, to have returned under their dominion again, and this while the neighboring countries were not yet laid waste? whereas it is not an easy thing to be reconciled to the Romans, if we were desirous of it, now they have subdued Galilee, and are thereby become proud and insolent; and to endeavor to please them at the time when they are so near us, would bring such a reproach upon us as were worse than death. As for myself, indeed, I should have preferred peace with them before death; but now we have once made war upon them, and fought with them, I prefer death, with reputation, before living in captivity under them. But further, whether do they pretend that we, who are the rulers of the people, have sent thus privately to the Romans, or hath it been done by the common suffrages of the people? If it be ourselves only that have done it, let them name those friends of ours that have been sent, as our servants, to manage this treachery. Hath any one been caught as he went out on this errand, or seized upon as he came back? Are they in possession of our letters? How could we be concealed from such a vast number of our fellow citizens, among whom we are conversant every hour, while what is done privately in the country is, it seems, known by the zealots, who are but few in number, and under confinement also, and are not able to come out of the temple into the city. Is this the first time that they are become sensible how they ought to be punished for their insolent actions? For while these men were free from the fear they are now under, there was no suspicion raised that any of us were traitors. But if they lay this charge against the people, this must have been done at a public consultation, and not one of the people must have dissented from the rest of the assembly; in which case the public fame of this matter would have come to you sooner than any particular indication. But how could that be? Must there not then have been ambassadors sent to confirm the agreements? And let them tell us who this ambassador was that was ordained for that purpose. But this is no other than a pretense of such men as are loath to die, and are laboring to escape those punishments that hang over them; for if fate had determined that this city was to be betrayed into its enemies' hands, no other than these men that accuse us falsely could have the impudence to do it, there being no wickedness wanting to complete their impudent practices but this only, that they become traitors. And now you Idumeans are come hither already with your arms, it is your duty, in the first place, to be assisting to your metropolis, and to join with us in cutting off those tyrants that have infringed the rules of our regular tribunals, that have trampled upon our laws, and made their swords the arbitrators of right and wrong; for they have seized upon men of great eminence, and under no accusation, as they stood in the midst of the market-place, and tortured them with putting them into bonds, and, without bearing to hear what they had to say, or what supplications they made, they destroyed them. You may, if you please, come into the city, though not in the way of war, and take a view of the marks still remaining of what I now say, and may see the houses that have been depopulated by their rapacious hands, with those wives and families that are in black, mourning for their slaughtered relations; as also you may hear their groans and lamentations all the city over; for there is nobody but hath tasted of the incursions of these profane wretches, who have proceeded to that degree of madness, as not only to have transferred their impudent robberies out of the country, and the remote cities, into this city, the very face and head of the whole nation, but out of the city into the temple also; for that is now made their receptacle and refuge, and the fountain-head whence their preparations are made against us. And this place, which is adored by the habitable world, and honored by such as only know it by report, as far as the ends of the earth, is trampled upon by these wild beasts born among ourselves. They now triumph in the desperate condition they are already in, when they hear that one people is going to fight against another people, and one city against another city, and that your nation hath gotten an army together against its own bowels. Instead of which procedure, it were highly fit and reasonable, as I said before, for you to join with us in cutting off these wretches, and in particular to be revenged on them for putting this very cheat upon you; I mean, for having the impudence to invite you to assist them, of whom they ought to have stood in fear, as ready to punish them. But if you have some regard to these men's invitation of you, yet may you lay aside your arms, and come into the city under the notion of our kindred, and take upon you a middle name between that of auxiliaries and of enemies, and so become judges in this case. However, consider what these men will gain by being called into judgment before you, for such undeniable and such flagrant crimes, who would not vouchsafe to hear such as had no accusations laid against them to speak a word for themselves. However, let them gain this advantage by your coming. But still, if you will neither take our part in that indignation we have at these men, nor judge between us, the third thing I have to propose is this, that you let us both alone, and neither insult upon our calamities, nor abide with these plotters against their metropolis; for though you should have ever so great a suspicion that some of us have discoursed with the Romans, it is in your power to watch the passages into the city; and in case any thing that we have been accused of is brought to light, then to come and defend your metropolis, and to inflict punishment on those that are found guilty; for the enemy cannot prevent you who are so near to the city. But if, after all, none of these proposals seem acceptable and moderate, do not you wonder that the gates are shut against you, while you bear your arms about you."

Thus spake Jesus; yet did not the multitude of the Idumeans give any attention to what he said, but were in a rage, because they did not meet with a ready entrance into the city. The generals also had indignation at the offer of laying down their arms, and looked upon it as equal to a captivity, to throw them away at any man's injunction whomsoever. But Simon, the son of Cathlas, one of their commanders, with much ado quieted the tumult of his own men, and stood so that the high priests might hear him, and said as follows: "I can no longer wonder that the patrons of liberty are under custody in the temple, since there are those that shut the gates of our common city to their own nation, and at the same time are prepared to admit the Romans into it; nay, perhaps are disposed to crown the gates with garlands at their coming, while they speak to the Idumeans from their own towers, and enjoin them to throw down their arms which they have taken up for the preservation of its liberty. And while they will not intrust the guard of our metropolis to their kindred, profess to make them judges of the differences that are among them; nay, while they accuse some men of having slain others without a legal trial, they do themselves condemn a whole nation after an ignominious manner, and have now walled up that city from their own nation, which used to be open to even all foreigners that came to worship there. We have indeed come in great haste to you, and to a war against our own countrymen; and the reason why we have made such haste is this, that we may preserve that freedom which you are so unhappy as to betray. You have probably been guilty of the like crimes against those whom you keep in custody, and have, I suppose, collected together the like plausible pretenses against them also that you make use of against us; after which you have gotten the mastery of those within the temple, and keep them in custody, while they are only taking care of the public affairs. You have also shut the gates of the city in general against nations that are the most nearly related to you; and while you give such injurious commands to others, you complain that you have been tyrannized over by them, and fix the name of unjust governors upon such as are tyrannized over by yourselves. Who can bear this your abuse of words, while they have a regard to the contrariety of your actions, unless you mean this, that those Idumeans do now exclude you out of your metropolis, whom you exclude from the sacred offices of your own country? One may indeed justly complain of those that are besieged in the temple, that when they had courage enough to punish those tyrants whom you call eminent men, and free from any accusations, because of their being your companions in wickedness, they did not begin with you, and thereby cut off beforehand the most dangerous parts of this treason. But if these men have been more merciful than the public necessity required, we that are Idumeans will preserve this house of God, and will fight for our common country, and will oppose by war as well those that attack them from abroad, as those that betray them from within. Here will we abide before the walls in our armor, until either the Romans grow weary in waiting for you, or you become friends to liberty, and repent of what you have done against it."

And now these zealots and Idumeans were quite weary of barely killing men, so they had the impudence of setting up fictitious tribunals and judicatures for that purpose; and as they intended to have Zacharias the son of Baruch, one of the most eminent of the citizens, slain, so what provoked them against him was, that hatred of wickedness and love of liberty which were so eminent in him: he was also a rich man, so that by taking him off, they did not only hope to seize his effects, but also to get rid of a mall that had great power to destroy them. So they called together, by a public proclamation, seventy of the principal men of the populace, for a show, as if they were real judges, while they had no proper authority. Before these was Zacharias accused of a design to betray their polity to the Romans, and having traitorously sent to Vespasian for that purpose. Now there appeared no proof or sign of what he was accused; but they affirmed themselves that they were well persuaded that so it was, and desired that such their affirmation might be taken for sufficient evidence. Now when Zacharias clearly saw that there was no way remaining for his escape from them, as having been treacherously called before them, and then put in prison, but not with any intention of a legal trial, he took great liberty of speech in that despair of his life he was under. Accordingly he stood up, and laughed at their pretended accusation, and in a few words confuted the crimes laid to his charge; after which he turned his speech to his accusers, and went over distinctly all their transgressions of the law, and made heavy lamentation upon the confusion they had brought public affairs to: in the mean time, the zealots grew tumultuous, and had much ado to abstain from drawing their swords, although they designed to preserve the appearance and show of judicature to the end. They were also desirous, on other accounts, to try the judges, whether they would be mindful of what was just at their own peril. Now the seventy judges brought in their verdict that the person accused was not guilty, as choosing rather to die themselves with him, than to have his death laid at their doors; hereupon there arose a great clamor of the zealots upon his acquittal, and they all had indignation at the judges for not understanding that the authority that was given them was but in jest. So two of the boldest of them fell upon Zacharias in the middle of the temple, and slew him; and as he fell down dead, they bantered him, and said, "Thou hast also our verdict, and this will prove a more sure acquittal to thee than the other." They also threw him down from the temple immediately into the valley beneath it. Moreover, they struck the judges with the backs of their swords, by way of abuse, and thrust them out of the court of the temple, and spared their lives with no other design than that, when they were dispersed among the people in the city, they might become their messengers, to let them know they were no better than slaves.

Now when Bassus had taken a full view of this place, he resolved to besiege it, by filling up the valley that lay on the east side; so he fell hard to work, and took great pains to raise his banks as soon as possible, and by that means to render the siege easy. As for the Jews that were caught in this place, they separated themselves from the strangers that were with them, and they forced those strangers, as an otherwise useless multitude, to stay in the lower part of the city, and undergo the principal dangers, while they themselves seized on the upper citadel, and held it, and this both on account of its strength, and to provide for their own safety. They also supposed they might obtain their pardon, in case they should [at last] surrender the citadel. However, they were willing to make trial, in the first place, whether the hopes they had of avoiding a siege would come to any thing; with which intention they made sallies every day, and fought with those that met them; in which conflicts they were many of them slain, as they therein slew many of the Romans. But still it was the opportunities that presented themselves which chiefly gained both sides their victories; these were gained by the Jews, when they fell upon the Romans as they were off their guard; but by the Romans, when, upon the others' sallies against their banks, they foresaw their coming, and were upon their guard when they received them. But the conclusion of this siege did not depend upon these bickerings; but a certain surprising accident, relating to what was done in this siege, forced the Jews to surrender the citadel. There was a certain young man among the besieged, of great boldness, and very active of his hand, his name was Eleazar; he greatly signalized himself in those sallies, and encouraged the Jews to go out in great numbers, in order to hinder the raising of the banks, and did the Romans a vast deal of mischief when they came to fighting; he so managed matters, that those who sallied out made their attacks easily, and returned back without danger, and this by still bringing up the rear himself. Now it happened that, on a certain time, when the fight was over, and both sides were parted, and retired home, he, in way of contempt of the enemy, and thinking that none of them would begin the fight again at that time, staid without the gates, and talked with those that were upon the wall, and his mind was wholly intent upon what they said. Now a certain person belonging to the Roman camp, whose name was Rufus, by birth an Egyptian, ran upon him suddenly, when nobody expected such a thing, and carried him off, with his armor itself; while, in the mean time, those that saw it from the wall were under such an amazement, that Rufus prevented their assistance, and carried Eleazar to the Roman camp. So the general of the Romans ordered that he should be taken up naked, set before the city to be seen, and sorely whipped before their eyes. Upon this sad accident that befell the young man, the Jews were terribly confounded, and the city, with one voice, sorely lamented him, and the mourning proved greater than could well be supposed upon the calamity of a single person. When Bassus perceived that, he began to think of using a stratagem against the enemy, and was desirous to aggravate their grief, in order to prevail with them to surrender the city for the preservation of that man. Nor did he fail of his hope; for he commanded them to set up a cross, as if he were just going to hang Eleazar upon it immediately; the sight of this occasioned a sore grief among those that were in the citadel, and they groaned vehemently, and cried out that they could not bear to see him thus destroyed. Whereupon Eleazar besought them not to disregard him, now he was going to suffer a most miserable death, and exhorted them to save themselves, by yielding to the Roman power and good fortune, since all other people were now conquered by them. These men were greatly moved with what he said, there being also many within the city that interceded for him, because he was of an eminent and very numerous family; so they now yielded to their passion of commiseration, contrary to their usual custom. Accordingly, they sent out immediately certain messengers, and treated with the Romans, in order to a surrender of the citadel to them, and desired that they might be permitted to go away, and take Eleazar along with them. Then did the Romans and their general accept of these terms; while the multitude of strangers that were in the lower part of the city, hearing of the agreement that was made by the Jews for themselves alone, were resolved to fly away privately in the night time; but as soon as they had opened their gates, those that had come to terms with Bassus told him of it; whether it were that they envied the others' deliverance, or whether it were done out of fear, lest an occasion should be taken against them upon their escape, is uncertain. The most courageous, therefore, of those men that went out prevented the enemy, and got away, and fled for it; but for those men that were caught within they were slain to the number of one thousand seven hundred, as were the women and children made slaves. But as Bassus thought he must perform the covenant he had made with those that surrendered the citadel, he let them go, and restored Eleazar to them.

After the dissertation, which we have briefly conducted to the best of our ability, regarding the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, it follows that we offer a few remarks upon the subject of rational natures, and on their species and orders, or on the offices as well of holy as of malignant powers, and also on those which occupy an intermediate position between these good and evil powers, and as yet are placed in a state of struggle and trial. For we find in holy Scripture numerous names of certain orders and offices, not only of holy beings, but also of those of an opposite description, which we shall bring before us, in the first place; and the meaning of which we shall endeavour, in the second place, to the best of our ability, to ascertain. There are certain holy angels of God whom Paul terms “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” In the writings also of St. Paul himself we find him designating them, from some unknown source, as thrones, and dominions, and principalities, and powers; and after this enumeration, as if knowing that there were still other rational offices and orders besides those which he had named, he says of the Saviour: “Who is above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” From which he shows that there were certain beings besides those which he had mentioned, which may be named indeed in this world, but were not now enumerated by him, and perhaps were not known by any other individual; and that there were others which may not be named in this world, but will be named in the world to come.

But if the proofs which we have adduced do not appear full enough, and the similitude of the apostle seem wanting in applicability, let us add the voice of prophetic authority, and see what the prophets declare regarding those who at first, indeed, leading a righteous life, have deserved to receive numerous proofs of the goodness of God, but afterwards, as being human beings, have fallen astray, with whom the prophet, making himself also one, says: “Why, O Lord, hast Thou made us to err from Thy way? and hardened our heart, that we should not fear Thy name? Return, for Thy servants’ sake, for the tribes of Thine inheritance, that we also for a little may obtain some inheritance from Thy holy hill.” Jeremiah also employs similar language: “O Lord, Thou hast deceived us, and we were deceived; Thou hast held [us], and Thou hast prevailed.” The expression, then, “Why, O Lord, hast Thou hardened our heart, that we should not fear Thy name?” used by those who prayed for mercy, is to be taken in a figurative, moral acceptation, as if one were to say, “Why hast Thou spared us so long, and didst not requite us when we sinned, but didst abandon us, that so our wickedness might increase, and our liberty of sinning be extended when punishment ceased?” In like manner, unless a horse continually feel the spur of his rider, and have his mouth abraded by a bit, he becomes hardened. And a boy also, unless constantly disciplined by chastisement, will grow up to be an insolent youth, and one ready to fall headlong into vice. God accordingly abandons and neglects those whom He has judged undeserving of chastisement: “For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.” From which we are to suppose that those are to be received into the rank and affection of sons, who have deserved to be scourged and chastened by the Lord, in order that they also, through endurance of trials and tribulations, may be able to say, “Who shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus? shall tribulation, or anguish, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” For by all these is each one’s resolution manifested and displayed, and the firmness of his perseverance made known, not so much to God, who knows all things before they happen, as to the rational and heavenly virtues, who have obtained a part in the work of procuring human salvation, as being a sort of assistants and ministers to God. Those, on the other hand, who do not yet offer themselves to God with such constancy and affection, and are not ready to come into His service, and to prepare their souls for trial, are said to be abandoned by God, i.e. not to be instructed, inasmuch as they are not prepared for instruction, their training or care being undoubtedly postponed to a later time. These certainly do not know what they will obtain from God, unless they first entertain the desire of being benefited; and this finally will be the case, if a man come first to a knowledge of himself, and feel what are his defects, and understand from whom he either ought or can seek the supply of his deficiencies. For he who does not know beforehand of his weakness or his sickness, cannot seek a physician; or at least, after recovering his health, that man will not be grateful to his physician who did not first recognise the dangerous nature of his ailment. And so, unless a man has first ascertained the defects of his life, and the evil nature of his sins, and made this known by confession from his own lips, he cannot be cleansed or acquitted, lest he should be ignorant that what he possesses has been bestowed on him by favour, but should consider as his own property what flows from the divine liberality, which idea undoubtedly generates arrogance of mind and pride, and finally becomes the cause of the individual’s ruin. And this, we must believe, was the case with the devil, who viewed as his own, and not as given him by God, the primacy which he held at the time when he was unstained; and thus was fulfilled in him the declaration, that “every one who exalteth himself shall be abased.” From which it appears to me that the divine mysteries were concealed from the wise and prudent, according to the statement of Scripture, that “no flesh should glory before God,” and revealed to children—to those, namely, who, after they have become infants and little children, i.e. have returned to the humility and simplicity of children, then make progress; and on arriving at perfection, remember that they have obtained their state of happiness, not by their own merits, but by the grace and compassion of God.

But since such narratives are slow to secure assent, and are considered to be forced, let us see from the prophetical declarations also, what those persons say, who, although they have experienced the great kindness of God, have not lived virtuously, but have afterwards sinned. “Why, O Lord, hast Thou made us to err from Thy ways? Why hast Thou hardened our heart, so as not to fear Thy name? Return for Thy servants’ sake, for the tribes of Thine inheritance, that we may inherit a small portion of Thy holy mountain.” And in Jeremiah: “Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I was deceived; Thou wert strong, and Thou didst prevail.” For the expression, “Why hast Thou hardened our heart, so as not to fear Thy name?” uttered by those who are begging to receive mercy, is in its nature as follows: “Why hast Thou spared us so long, not visiting us because of our sins, but deserting us, until our transgressions come to a height?” Now He leaves the greater part of men unpunished, both in order that the habits of each one may be examined, so far as it depends upon ourselves, and that the virtuous may be made manifest in consequence of the test applied; while the others, not escaping notice from God—for He knows all things before they exist—but from the rational creation and themselves, may afterwards obtain the means of cure, seeing they would not have known the benefit had they not condemned themselves. It is of advantage to each one, that he perceive his own peculiar nature and the grace of God. For he who does not perceive his own weakness and the divine favour, although he receive a benefit, yet, not having made trial of himself, nor having condemned himself, will imagine that the benefit conferred upon him by the grace of Heaven is his own doing. And this imagination, producing also vanity, will be the cause of a downfall: which, we conceive, was the case with the devil, who attributed to himself the priority which he possessed when in a state of sinlessness. “For every one that exalteth himself shall be abased,” and “every one that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” And observe, that for this reason divine things have been concealed from the wise and prudent, in order, as says the apostle, that “no flesh should glory in the presence of God;” and they have been revealed to babes, to those who after childhood have come to better things, and who remember that it is not so much from their own effort, as by the unspeakable goodness [of God], that they have reached the greatest possible extent of blessedness.

After this, not understanding how it has been said that “every one who exalteth himself shall be abased;” nor (although taught even by Plato) that “the good and virtuous man walketh humbly and orderly;” and ignorant, moreover, that we give the injunction, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time;” he says that “those persons who preside properly over a trial make those individuals who bewail before them their evil deeds to cease from their piteous wailings, lest their decisions should be determined rather by compassion than by a regard to truth; whereas God does not decide in accordance with truth, but in accordance with flattery.” Now, what words of flattery and piteous wailing are contained in the Holy Scriptures when the sinner says in his prayers to God, “I have acknowledged my sin, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgression to the Lord,” etc. etc.? For is he able to show that a procedure of this kind is not adapted to the conversion of sinners, who humble themselves in their prayers under the hand of God? And, becoming confused by his effort to accuse us, he contradicts himself; appearing at one time to know a man “without sin,” and “a righteous man, who can look up to God [adorned] with virtue from the beginning;” and at another time accepting our statement that there is no man altogether righteous, or without sin; for, as if he admitted its truth, he remarks, “This is indeed apparently true, that somehow the human race is naturally inclined to sin.” In the next place, as if all men were not invited by the word, he says, “All men, then, without distinction, ought to be invited, since all indeed are sinners.” And yet, in the preceding pages, we have pointed out the words of Jesus: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” All men, therefore, labouring and being heavy laden on account of the nature of sin, are invited to the rest spoken of in the word of God, “for God sent His word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”

But if you will have us to meet the most ridiculous among the charges of Celsus, listen to him when he says: “Now God, being unknown amongst men, and deeming himself on that account to have less than his due, would desire to make himself known, and to make trial both of those who believe upon him and of those who do not, like those of mankind who have recently come into the possession of riches, and who make a display of their wealth; and thus they testify to an excessive but very mortal ambition on the part of God.” We answer, then, that God, not being known by wicked men, would desire to make Himself known, not because He thinks that He meets with less than His due, but because the knowledge of Him will free the possessor from unhappiness. Nay, not even with the desire to try those who do or who do not believe upon Him, does He, by His unspeakable and divine power, Himself take up His abode in certain individuals, or send His Christ; but He does this in order to liberate from all their wretchedness those who do believe upon Him, and who accept His divinity, and that those who do not believe may no longer have this as a ground of excuse, viz. that their unbelief is the consequence of their not having heard the word of instruction. What argument, then, proves that it follows from our views that God, according to our representations, is “like those of mankind who have recently come into the possession of riches, and who make a display of their wealth?” For God makes no display towards us, from a desire that we should understand and consider His pre-eminence; but desiring that the blessedness which results from His being known by us should be implanted in our souls, He brings it to pass through Christ, and His ever-indwelling word, that we come to an intimate fellowship with Him. No mortal ambition, then, does the Christian doctrine testify as existing on the part of God.

Celsus afterwards states what is adduced by Jews and Christians alike in defence of abstinence from idol sacrifices, namely, that it is wrong for those who have dedicated themselves to the Most High God to eat with demons. What he brings forward against this view, we have already seen. In our opinion, a man can only be said to eat and drink with demons when he eats the flesh of what are called sacred victims, and when he drinks the wine poured out to the honour of the demons. But Celsus thinks that we cannot eat bread or drink wine in any way whatever, or taste fruits, or even take a draught of water, without eating and drinking with demons. He adds also, that the air which we breathe is received from demons, and that not an animal can breathe without receiving the air from the demons who are set over the air. If any one wishes to defend this statement of Celsus, let him show that it is not the divine angels of God, but demons, the whole race of whom are bad, that have been appointed to communicate all those blessings which have been mentioned. We indeed also maintain with regard not only to the fruits of the earth, but to every flowing stream and every breath of air, that the ground brings forth those things which are said to grow up naturally,—that the water springs in fountains, and refreshes the earth with running streams,—that the air is kept pure, and supports the life of those who breathe it only in consequence of the agency and control of certain beings whom we may call invisible husbandmen and guardians; but we deny that those invisible agents are demons. And if we might speak boldly, we would say that if demons have any share at all in these things, to them belong famine, blasting of the vine and fruit trees, pestilence among men and beasts: all these are the proper occupations of demons, who in the capacity of public executioners receive power at certain times to carry out the divine judgments, for the restoration of those who have plunged headlong into wickedness, or for the trial and discipline of the souls of the wise. For those who through all their afflictions preserve their piety pure and unimpaired, show their true character to all spectators, whether visible or invisible, who behold them; while those who are otherwise minded, yet conceal their wickedness, when they have their true character exposed by misfortunes, become manifest to themselves as well as to those whom we may also call spectators.

But when the souls of those who die for the Christian faith depart from the body with great glory, they destroy the power of the demons, and frustrate their designs against men. Wherefore I imagine, that as the demons have learnt from experience that they are defeated and overpowered by the martyrs for the truth, they are afraid to have recourse again to violence. And thus, until they forget the defeats they have sustained, it is probable that the world will be at peace with the Christians. But when they recover their power, and, with eyes blinded by sin, wish again to take their revenge on Christians, and persecute them, then again they will be defeated, and then again the souls of the godly, who lay down their lives for the cause of godliness, shall utterly destroy the army of the wicked one. And as the demons perceive that those who meet death victoriously for the sake of religion destroy their authority, while those who give way under their sufferings, and deny the faith, come under their power, I imagine that at times they feel a deep interest in Christians when on their trial, and keenly strive to gain them over to their side, feeling as they do that their confession is torture to them, and their denial is a relief and encouragement to them. And traces of the same feeling may be seen in the demeanour of the judges; for they are greatly distressed at seeing those who bear outrage and torture with patience, but are greatly elated when a Christian gives way under it. Yet it is from no feeling of humanity that this arises. They see well, that, while “the tongues” of those who are overpowered by the tortures “may take the oath, the mind has not sworn.” And this may serve as an answer to the remark of Celsus: “But they severely punish one who reviles them, so that he must either flee and hide himself, or be taken and perish.” If a Christian ever flees away, it is not from fear, but in obedience to the command of his Master, that so he may preserve himself, and employ his strength for the benefit of others.

Although, therefore, Celsus would, in his own words, “drive us with all haste out of life,” so that “such a race may become extinct from the earth;” yet we, along with those who worship the Creator, will live according to the laws of God, never consenting to obey the laws of sin. We will marry if we wish, and bring up the children given to us in marriage; and if need be, we will not only partake of the blessings of life, but bear its appointed sorrows as a trial to our souls. For in this way is divine Scripture accustomed to speak of human afflictions, by which, as gold is tried in the fire, so the spirit of man is tried, and is found to be worthy either of condemnation or of praise. For those things which Celsus calls evils we are therefore prepared, and are ready to say, “Try me, O Lord, and prove me; purge my reins and my heart.” For “no one will be crowned,” unless here upon earth, with this body of humiliation, “he strive lawfully.” Further, we do not pay honours supposed to be due to those whom Celsus speaks of as being set over the affairs of the world. For we worship the Lord our God, and Him only do we serve, and desire to be followers of Christ, who, when the devil said to Him, “All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me,” answered him by the words, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Wherefore we do not render the honour supposed to be due to those who, according to Celsus, are set over the affairs of this world; for “no man can serve two masters,” and we “cannot serve God and mammon,” whether this name be applied to one or more. Moreover, if any one “by transgressing the law dishonours the lawgiver,” it seems clear to us that if the two laws, the law of God and the law of mammon, are completely opposed to each other, it is better for us by transgressing the law of mammon to dishonour mammon, that we may honour God by keeping His law, than by transgressing the law of God to dishonour God, that by obeying the law of mammon we may honour mammon.