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| Of the Duke Balacius, and how, warned by Antony, he met with a miserable end. PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP
86. And a certain general, Balacius by
name, persecuted us Christians bitterly on account of his regard for
the Arians—that name of ill-omen. And as his ruthlessness was so
great that he beat virgins, and stripped and scourged monks, Antony at
this time wrote a letter as follows, and sent it to him. ‘I see
wrath coming upon thee, wherefore cease to persecute the Christians,
lest haply wrath catch hold of thee, for even now it is on the point of
coming upon thee1139
1139 In
Hist. Ar. 14 the letter is sent not to Balacius but to Gregory,
who died on June 26, 345 (Gwatkin, p. 105). | .’ But
Balacius laughed and threw the letter on the ground, and spit on it,
and insulted the bearers, bidding them tell this to Antony:
‘Since thou takest thought for the monks, soon I will come after
thee also.’ And five days had not passed before wrath came upon
him. For Balacius and Nestorius, the Prefect of Egypt1140
1140 Nestorius was prefect ‘345–352’ (Index to Fest.
Letters, where the year ‘345’ is from August 344 to August
345). | , went forth to the first halting-place from
Alexandria, which is called Chæreu, and both were on horseback,
and the horses belonged to Balacius, and were the quietest of all his
stable. But they had not gone far towards the place when the horses
began to frisk with one another as they are wont to do; and suddenly
the quieter, on which Nestorius sat1141
1141 In
the Hist. Ar. it is simply stated that Balacius was bitten by
his own horse. The present passage looks like a more careful
restatement. | , with a bite
dismounted Balacius, and attacked him, and tore his thigh so badly with
its teeth that he was borne straight back to the city, and in three
days died. And all wondered because what Antony had foretold had been
so speedily fulfilled.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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