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| About the Young Man Who Killed the Maiden.
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About the
Young Man Who Killed the Maiden.
And there was a certain young man who had done a
nefarious deed; and having come to the apostle, he took the bread of
the Eucharist into his mouth, and his two hands immediately withered,
so that he could no longer bring them to his mouth. And those who
were present and saw him told the apostle what had happened. And
he, having summoned him, said: Tell me, my child, and be ashamed
of nothing,2378
| 2378 Or, stand in
awe of no one. | what thou
hast done, and why thou hast come hither; for the Eucharist of the Lord
has convicted thee. For this gracious gift coming to many is
especially healing to those who approach it through faith and love; but
thee it has withered away, and what has happened has happened not
without some working cause. And the young man who had been
convicted by the Eucharist of the Lord came up, and fell at the
apostle’s feet, and prayed him, saying: An evil deed has
been done by me, yet I thought to do something good. I was
in love with a certain woman
living outside of the city in an inn, and she loved me. And I
having heard from thee, and believed that thou proclaimest the living
God, came and received the seal from thee along with the others; and
thou saidst, Whoever shall indulge in filthy intercourse, and
especially in adultery, shall not have life with the God whom I
proclaim.2379
Since,
then, I altogether loved her, I begged of her, and persuaded her to
live with me in chaste and pure intercourse, as thou thyself teachest;
but she would not. When therefore she would not, I took a sword
and killed her; for I could not see her living in adultery with
another.
The apostle, having heard this, said: O maddening
intercourse, into what shamelessness dost thou lead! O
unrestrained lust, how hast thou brought him into subjection to do
this! O work of the serpent, how dost thou rage in thine
own! And the apostle ordered water to be brought him in a
dish. And when the water had been brought, he said: Come
waters from the living waters, existing from the existing, and sent to
us; the fountain sent to us from repose, the power of salvation coming
from that power that subdues all things, and subjects them to its own
will; come and dwell in these waters, that the gracious gift of the
Holy Spirit may be fully perfected in them. And he said to the
young man: Go, wash thy hands in these waters. And when he
had washed, they were restored. And the apostle said to
him: Dost thou believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, that He can do
all things? And he said: Even though I am least of all, I
believe; but this I did, thinking to do a good thing: for I
implored her, as also I told thee; but she would not be persuaded by me
to keep herself chaste.
And the apostle said to him: Come, let us go
to the inn where thou didst this deed, and let us see what has
happened. And the young man went before the apostle on the road;
and when they came to the inn, they found her lying. And the
apostle, seeing her, was disheartened, for she was a beautiful maiden;
and he ordered her to be brought into the middle of the inn. And
having put her on a couch, they brought it, and set it in the midst of
the court-yard of the inn. And the apostle laid his hand on her,
and began to say: Jesus, who always appearest to us—for
this Thou always wishest, that we should seek Thee—and Thou
Thyself hast given us this power of asking and receiving;2380
and not only hast Thou given us this,
but hast also taught us how to pray;2381
who art
not seen by bodily eyes, but who art not altogether hidden from those
of our soul, and who art hidden in Thy form, but manifested to us by
Thy works; and by Thy many deeds we have recognised Thee as we go on,
and Thou hast given us Thy gifts without measure, saying, Ask, and it
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you.2382
We
pray, therefore, having suspicion of our sins;2383
| 2383 Or, having our
sins in view. | and we ask of Thee not riches, nor
gold, nor silver, nor possessions, nor any of those things that come
from the earth and go into the earth again; but this we beg of Thee,
and entreat that in Thy holy name Thou raise this woman lying here by
Thy power, to the glory and faith of those standing by.
And when he had thus prayed, he sealed the young
man, and said to him: Go, and take her by the hand, and say to
her, I through my hands killed thee with the sword;2384
and again I raise thee by my hands,
in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the young man went and
stood by her, saying: I have believed in Thee, O Christ
Jesus. And looking upon Judas Thomas the apostle, he said to
him: Pray for me, that my Lord, upon whom also I call, may come
to my help. And having laid his hand on her hand, he said:
Come, Lord Jesus Christ, giving this woman life, and me the earnest of
Thy faith. And immediately, as he drew her hand, she sprang up,
and sat, looking at the great multitude standing round. And she
also saw the apostle standing opposite to her; and having left the
couch, she sprang up, and fell at his feet, and took hold of his
garments, saying: I pray thee, my lord, where is that other who
is with thee, who has not left me to remain in that fearful and
grievous place, but has given me up to thee, saying, Do thou take her,
that she may be made perfect, and thereafter brought into her own
place?
And the apostle says to her: Tell us where
thou hast been. And she answered: Dost thou, who wast with
me, to whom also I was entrusted, wish to hear? And she began to
say: A certain man received me, hateful in appearance, all black,
and his clothing exceedingly filthy; and he led me away to a place
where there were many chasms, and a great stench and most hateful odour
were given forth thence; and he made me bend down into each chasm, and
I saw in the chasm blazing fire; and wheels of fire ran there, and
souls were hung upon those wheels, and were dashed against each
other. And there was there crying and great lamentation, and
there was none released. And that man said to me, These souls are
of thine own nation, and for a certain number of days2385
| 2385 Lit., days of
number. | they have been given over to
punishment and torture; and then others are brought in instead of them; and
likewise also these are again succeeded by others. These are they
who have exchanged the intercourse of man and wife. And again I
looked down, and saw infants heaped upon each other, and struggling and
lying upon each other; and he answered and said to me, These are their
children, and for this have they been placed here for a testimony
against them.
And he brought me to another chasm, and I bent
down and saw mud, and worms spouting forth, and souls wallowing there;
and a great gnashing of teeth was heard thence from them. And
that man said to me, These are the souls of women that left their own
husbands, and went and committed adultery with others, and who have
been brought to this torment. He showed me another chasm, into
which I bent down and saw souls hung up, some by the tongue, some by
the hair, some by the hands, some by the feet, head downwards, and
smoked with smoke and sulphur; about whom that man who was with me
answered me, These souls which are hung up by the tongue are
slanderers, and such as have uttered false and disgraceful words;
those that are hung up by the hair2386
| 2386 Obviously
omitted either in the mss. or in the
text. | are those that are shameless, and that
have gone about with uncovered heads in the world; these hung up by the
hands are those who have taken what belongs to others, and have stolen,
and who have never given anything to the poor, nor assisted the
afflicted; but they so acted, wishing to get everything, and giving no
heed at all to justice and the laws; and these hung up by the feet are
those who lightly and eagerly ran in wicked ways, and disorderly
wickedness, not looking after the sick, and not aiding those departing
this life, and on account of this each individual soul is requited for
what has been done by it.
Again leading me away, he showed me a cavern,
exceedingly dark, exhaling a great stench; and many souls were peeping
out thence, wishing to get some share of the air, but their keepers
would not let them peep out. And he who was with me said, This is
the prison of those souls which thou seest; for when they shall
complete their punishments for those things which each one has done,
afterwards again others succeed them—and there are some also
quite used up—and are given up to other punishments. Those,
then, who guarded the souls that were in the dark cave said to the man
that had charge of me, Give her to us, that we may take her in beside
the others, until the time comes for her to be given up to
punishment. And he answered them, I will not give her to you, for
I am afraid of him who gave her up to me; for I received no orders to
leave her here, and I shall take her up with me until I get some
injunction about her. And he took me and brought me to another
place, in which were men who were bitterly tortured. And he that
is like thee took me and gave me up to thee, having thus said to thee,
Take her, since she is one of the creatures that have been led
astray. And I was taken by thee, and am now before thee. I
beg, therefore, and supplicate thee that I may not go into those places
of punishment which I saw.
And the apostle said to the multitudes standing
by: You have heard, brethren, what this woman has recounted; and
these are not the only punishments, but there are others worse than
these; and if you do not turn to this God whom I proclaim, and refrain
from your former works and deeds which you have done without knowledge,
in these punishments you shall have your end. Believe, therefore,
in our Lord Jesus Christ, and He will forgive you the sins done by you
heretofore, and will purify you from all the bodily desires that abide
in the earth, and will heal you from the faults that follow after you,
and go along with you, and are found before you. And let each of
you put off the old man, and put on the new, and leave your former
course of conduct and behaviour; and let those that steal steal no
more, but let them live, labouring and working;2387
and let the adulterers no more
commit adultery, lest they give themselves up to everlasting
punishment; for adultery is with God an evil altogether grievous above
other evils. Put away also from yourselves covetousness, and
lying, and drunkenness, and slandering, and requiting evil for
evil: for all these are alien and strange to the God proclaimed
by us; but rather live in faith, and meekness, and holiness, and hope,
in which God rejoices, that ye may become His servants, having received
from Him gracious gifts, which few or none receive.
All the people therefore believed, and presented
their souls obedient to the living God and Christ Jesus, enjoying His
blessed works, and His holy service. And they brought much money
for the service of the widows; for he had them collected in the cities,
and he sent to all of them by his own servants2388
what was necessary, both clothing
and food. But he did not cease proclaiming and saying to them,
and showing that this is Jesus the Christ, concerning whom the
Scriptures proclaimed that He should come, and be crucified, and be
raised from the dead after three days. And he showed them a
second time, beginning from the prophets, and explaining the things
concerning Christ, and that it was necessary for Him to come, and for
all things to be
fulfilled that had been said to us beforehand concerning Him.2389
And the report of him ran through all the cities
and countries; and all who had persons sick or tormented by unclean
spirits brought them, and they were healed. Some also they laid
on the road by which he was to pass, and he healed them all by the
power of the Lord.2390
Then said
all with one accord who had been healed by him, with one voice:
Glory to Thee, Jesus, who givest Thy healing to all alike by means of
Thy servant and apostle Thomas. And being in good health, and
rejoicing, we pray Thee that we may be of Thy flock, and be numbered
among Thy sheep; receive us, therefore, O Lord, and consider not our
transgressions and former offences which we did, being in
ignorance.
And the apostle said: Glory to the
only-begotten from the Father;2391
glory to the
first-born of many brethren;2392
Glory to Thee,
the defender and helper of those who come to Thy place of refuge; Thou
that sleepest not, and raisest those that are asleep; that livest and
bringest to life those that are lying in death; O God Jesus Christ, Son
of the living God, redeemer and helper, refuge and rest of all that
labour in Thy work, who affordest health to those who for Thy
name’s sake bear the burden of the day, and the icy coldness of
the night; we give thanks for the gracious gifts that have been given
us by Thee, and for the help from Thee bestowed upon us, and Thy
providential care that has come upon us from Thee. Perfect these
things upon us, therefore, unto the end, that we may have confidence in
Thee; look upon us, because for Thy sake we have left our homes, and
for Thy sake have become strangers gladly and willingly; look upon us,
O Lord, because for Thy sake we have abandoned our possessions, that we
may have Thee for a possession that shall not be taken away; look upon
us, O Lord, because we have left those related to us by ties of kindred
in order that we may be united in relationship to Thee; look upon us, O
Lord, who have left our fathers and mothers, and those that nourished
us, that we may behold Thy Father, and be satisfied with His divine
nourishment: look upon us, O Lord, because for Thy sake we have
left our bodily yoke-fellows,2393
and our
earthly fruit, in order that we may share in that intercourse which is
lasting and true, and bring forth true fruits, whose nature is from
above, the enjoyment of which no one can take away from us, with which
we abide, and they abide with us.
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