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| Those in Thebais. PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP
Chapter IX.—Those in Thebais.2536
2536 Thebais, or the territory of Thebes, was one of the three great
divisions of Egypt, lying between lower Egypt on the north and
Æthiopia on the south. From §4, below, we learn that Eusebius
was himself an eye-witness of at least some of the martyrdoms to which
he refers in the present chapter. Reasons have been given on p. 10,
above, for supposing that he did not visit Egypt until the later years
of the persecution, indeed not until toward the very end of it; and it
is therefore to this period that the events described in this chapter
are to be ascribed. |
1. It
would be impossible to describe the outrages and tortures which the
martyrs in Thebais endured. They were scraped over the entire body with
shells instead of hooks until they died. Women were bound by one foot
and raised aloft in the air by machines, and with their bodies
altogether bare and uncovered, presented to all beholders this most
shameful, cruel, and inhuman spectacle.
2. Others being bound to the
branches and trunks of trees perished. For they drew the stoutest
branches together with machines, and bound the limbs of the martyrs to
them; and then, allowing the branches to assume their natural position,
they tore asunder instantly the limbs of those for whom they contrived
this.
3. All these things were done,
not for a few days or a short time, but for a long series of years.
Sometimes more than ten, at other times above twenty were put to death.
Again not less than thirty, then about sixty, and yet again a hundred
men with young children and women, were slain in one day, being
condemned to various and diverse torments.
4. We, also being on the spot
ourselves, have observed large crowds in one day; some suffering
decapitation, others torture by fire; so that the murderous sword was
blunted, and becoming weak, was broken, and the very executioners grew
weary and relieved each other.
5. And we beheld the most
wonderful ardor, and the truly divine energy and zeal of those who
believed in the Christ of God. For as soon as sentence was pronounced
against the first, one after another rushed to the judgment seat, and
confessed themselves Christians. And regarding with indifference the
terrible things and the multiform tortures, they declared themselves
boldly and undauntedly for the religion of the God of the universe. And
they received the final sentence of death with joy and laughter and
cheerfulness; so that they sang and offered up hymns and thanksgivings
to the God of the universe till their very last breath.
6. These indeed were wonderful;
but yet more wonderful were those who, being distinguished for wealth,
noble birth, and honor, and for learning and philosophy, held
everything secondary to the true religion and to faith in our Saviour
and Lord Jesus Christ.
7. Such an one was Philoromus,
who held a high office under the imperial government at Alexandria,2537
2537 ἀρχήν τινα οὐ
τὴν τυχοῦσαν
τῆς κατ᾽
᾽Αλεξ€νδρειαν
βασιλικῆς
διοικήσεως
ἐγκεχειρισμένος. Valesius says that Philoromus was the Rationalis, seu
procurator summarum Ægypti, i.e. the general finance minister
of Egypt (see above, Bk. VII. chap. 10, note 8). But the truth is, that
the use of the τινα implies that
Eusebius is not intending to state the particular office which he held,
but simply to indicate that he held some high office, and this is all
that we can claim for Philoromus. We know no more of him than is told
us here, though Acts of St. Phileas and St. Philoromus are
extant, which contain an account of his martyrdom, and are printed by
the Bollandists and by Ruinart (interesting extracts given by
Tillemont, H. E. V. p. 486 sq., and by Mason, p. 290 sq.).
Tillemont (ibid. p. 777) and others defend their genuineness,
but Lardner doubts it (Credibility, chap. 60). I have examined
only the extracts printed by Tillemont and Mason, and am not prepared
to express an opinion in the matter. | and who administered justice every day,
attended by a military guard corresponding to his rank and Roman
dignity. Such also was Phileas,2538
2538 Phileas, bishop of Thmuis (an important town in lower Egypt,
situated between the Tanite and Mendeaian branches of the Nile),
occupies an important place among the Diocletian martyrs. The extant
Acts of his martyrdom have been referred to in the previous
note. He is mentioned again by Eusebius in chaps. 10 and 13, and in the
former a considerable part of his epistle to the people of his diocese
is quoted. Jerome mentions him in his de vir. ill. chap. 78,
where he says: elegantissimum librum de martyrum laude composuit, et
disputatione actorum habita adversum judicem, qui eum sacrificare
cogebat, pro Christo capite truncatur. The book referred to by
Jerome seems to be identical with the epistle quoted by Eusebius in the
next chapter, for we have no record of another work on this subject
written by him. There is extant, however, the Latin version of an
epistle purporting to have been written by the imprisoned bishops
Hesychius, Pachymius, Theodorus, and Phileas, to Meletius, author of
the Meletian schism. There seems to be nothing in the epistle to
disprove its genuineness, and it is accepted by Routh and others. The
authorship of the epistle is commonly ascribed to Phileas, both because
he is known to us as a writer, and also because his name stands last in
the opening of the epistle. Eusebius says nothing of such an epistle
(though the names of all four of the bishops are mentioned in chap. 13,
below). Jerome’s silence in regard to it signifies nothing, for
he only follows Eusebius. This epistle, and also the fragment of the
one quoted in the next chapter by Eusebius, are given by Routh, Rel.
Sac. IV. p. 87 sq., and an English translation in the
Ante-Nicene Fathers, VI. p. 161 sq.
Phileas’ learning
is praised very highly by Eusebius and Jerome, and his scholarly
character is emphasized in his Acts. The date of his death
cannot be determined with exactness, but we may be confident that it
did not, at any rate, take place before 306, and very likely not before
307. The epistle quoted in the next chapter was written shortly before
his martyrdom, as we learn from §11 of that chapter. | bishop
of the church of Thmuis, a man eminent on account of his patriotism and
the services rendered by him to his country, and also on account of his
philosophical learning.
8. These persons, although a
multitude of relatives and other friends besought them, and many in
high position, and even the judge himself entreated them, that they
would have compassion on themselves and show mercy to their children
and wives, yet were not in the least induced by these things to choose
the love of life, and to despise the ordinances of our Saviour
concerning confession and denial. But with manly and philosophic minds,
or rather with pious and God-loving souls, they persevered against all
the threats and insults of the judge; and both of them were
beheaded. E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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