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| Of the Holy Martyrs Juventinus and Maximinus.
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Chapter
XI.—Of the Holy Martyrs Juventinus and
Maximinus.
Now Julian, with less restraint, or shall I say, less shame, began to arm
himself against true religion, wearing indeed a mask of moderation, but all the
while preparing gins and traps which caught all who were deceived by
them in the destruction of iniquity. He began by polluting with foul
sacrifices the wells in the city and in Daphne, that every man who used
the fountain might be partaker of abomination. Then he thoroughly
polluted the things exposed in the Forum, for bread and meat and fruit
and vegetables and every kind of food were aspersed. When those who
were called by the Saviour’s name saw what was done, they groaned
and bewailed and expressed their abomination; nevertheless they
partook, for they remembered the apostolic law, “Everything that
is sold in the shambles eat, asking no question for conscience
sake.”634
Two officers in the army, who were
shield bearers in the imperial suite, at a certain banquet lamented in
somewhat warm language the abomination of what was being done, and
employed the admirable language of the glorious youths at Babylon,
“Thou hast given us over to an impious Prince, an apostate beyond
all the nations on the earth.”635
| 635 Song of the Three Children v. 8" id="iv.viii.iii.xi-p4.1">Song of the Three
Children v. 8, quoted not quite exactly from the Septuagint, which
runs παρέδωκας
ἡμᾶς…βασιλεῖ
ἀδίκῳ και
πονηροτάτῳ
παρὰ πᾶσαν
τὴν γῆν. The
text is, παρέδωκας
ἡμας βασιλεῖ
παρανόμῳ
ἀποστάτῃ
παρὰ πάντα τὰ
ἔθνη τὰ ὄντα
ἐπὶ τῆς
γῆς | One of the
guests gave information of this, and the emperor arrested these right
worthy men and endeavoured to ascertain by questioning them what was
the language they had used. They accepted the imperial enquiry as an
opportunity for open speech, and with noble enthusiasm replied
“Sir we were brought up in true religion; we were obedient to
most excellent laws, the laws of Constantine and of his sons; now we
see the world full of pollution, meats and drinks alike defiled with
abominable sacrifices, and we lament. We bewail these things at home,
and now before thy face we express our grief, for this is the one thing
in thy reign which we take ill.” No sooner did he whom
sympathetic courtiers called most mild and most philosophic hear these
words than he took off his mask of moderation, and exposed the
countenance of impiety. He ordered cruel and painful scourgings to be
inflicted on them and deprived them of their lives; or shall we not
rather say freed them from that sorrowful time and gave them crowns of
victory? He pretended indeed that punishment was inflicted upon them
not for the true religion for sake of which they were really slain, but
because of their insolence, for he gave out that he had punished them
for insulting the emperor, and ordered this report to be published
abroad, thus grudging to these champions of the truth the name and
honour of martyrs. The name of one was Juventinus; of the other
Maximinus. The city of Antioch honoured them as defenders of true
religion, and deposited them in a magnificent tomb, and up to this day
they are honoured by a yearly festival.636
| 636 cf.
St. Chrysostom’s homily in their honour. The Basilian menology
mentions Juventinus under Oct. 9. |
Other men in public office and
of distinction used similar boldness of speech, and won like crowns of
martyrdom. E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
