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| Athanasius leaves Alexandria to go to Constantius, but is stopped by the news of the banishment of the Bishops.
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27. Athanasius leaves Alexandria to go to
Constantius, but is stopped by the news of the banishment of the
Bishops.
Observing these things, I did not give sentence
against myself, but hastened to come to your Piety, with this my
defence, knowing your goodness, and remembering your faithful promises,
and being confident that, as it is written in the divine Proverbs,
‘Just speeches are acceptable to a gracious king1360
.’ But when I had already entered upon
my journey, and had passed through the desert1361
| 1361 [Probably the Libyan desert, as Const. was now in
Italy.] | , a
report suddenly reached me1362
| 1362 In
this chapter he breaks off his Oratorical form, and ends his Apology
much more in the form of a letter, vid. however τῶν λόγων
καιρόν, infr.
§§34, 35 init. προσφωνήσω, §35. | , which at first I
thought to be incredible, but which afterwards proved to be true. It
was rumoured everywhere that Liberius, Bishop of Rome, the great Hosius
of Spain, Paulinus of Gaul, Dionysius and Eusebius of Italy, Lucifer of
Sardinia, and certain other Bishops and Presbyters and Deacons, had
been banished1363
| 1363 Council of Milan 355, see Apol. Fug. 5. | because they
refused to subscribe to my condemnation. These had been banished: and
Vincentius of Capua, Fortunatian of Aquileia, Heremius of Thessalonica,
and all the Bishops of the West, were treated with no ordinary force,
nay were suffering extreme violence and grievous injuries, until they
could be induced to promise that they would not communicate with me.
While I was astonished and perplexed at these tidings, behold another
report1364
| 1364 Vid.
Hist. Ar. §§31, 32, 54, 70, &c. [Prolegg. ch, ii.
§8 (1).] | overtook me, respecting them of Egypt
and Libya, that nearly ninety Bishops had been under persecution, and
that their Churches were given up to the professors of Arianism; that
sixteen had been banished, and of the rest, some had fled, and others were constrained to dissemble.
For the persecution was said to be so violent in those parts, that at
Alexandria, while the brethren were praying during Easter and on the
Lord’s days in a desert place near the cemetery, the General came
upon them with a force of soldiery, more than three thousand in number,
with arms, drawn swords, and spears; whereupon outrages, such as might
be expected to follow so unprovoked an attack, were committed against
women and children, who were doing nothing more than praying to God. It
would perhaps be unseasonable to give an account of them now, lest the
mere mention of such enormities should move us all to tears. But such
was their cruelty, that virgins were stripped, and even the bodies of
those who died from the blows they received were not immediately given
up for burial, but were cast out to the dogs, until their relatives,
with great risk to themselves, came secretly and stole them away, and
much effort was necessary, that no one might know it.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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