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Part VII.
Persecution at
Alexandria
47. ‘After’ he had accomplished all
that he desired against the Churches in Italy, and the other parts;
after he had banished some, and violently oppressed others, and filled
every place with fear, he at last turned his fury, as it had been some
pestilential disorder, against Alexandria. This was artfully contrived
by the enemies of Christ; for in order that they might have a show of
the signatures of many Bishops, and that Athanasius might not have a
single Bishop in his persecution to whom he could even complain, they
therefore anticipated his proceedings, and filled every place with
terror, which they kept up to second them in the prosecution of their
designs. But herein they perceived not through their folly that they
were not exhibiting the deliberate choice of the Bishops, but rather
the violence which themselves had employed; and that, although his
brethren should desert him, and his friends and acquaintance stand afar
off, and no one be found to sympathise with him and console him, yet
far above all these, a refuge with his God was sufficient for him. For
Elijah also was alone in his persecution, and God was all in all to the
holy man. And the Saviour has given us an example herein, who also was
left alone, and exposed to the designs of His enemies, to teach us,
that when we are persecuted and deserted by men, we must not faint,
but place our hope in Him, and not
betray the Truth. For although at first truth may seem to be afflicted,
yet even they who persecute shall afterwards acknowledge it.
48. Attacks upon the Alexandrian
Church.
Accordingly they urge on the Emperor, who first
writes a menacing letter, which he sends to the Duke and the soldiers.
The Notaries Diogenius and Hilarius1671
| 1671 Ap. Const. 22, 24, below, §81. | , and certain
Palatines with them, were the bearers of it; upon whose arrival those
terrible and cruel outrages were committed against the Church, which I
have briefly related a little above1672
, and which are
known to all men from the protests put forth by the people, which are
inserted at the end of this history, so that any one may read them.
Then after these proceedings on the part of Syrianus, after these
enormities had been perpetrated, and violence offered to the Virgins,
as approving of such conduct and the infliction of these evils upon us,
he writes again to the senate and people of Alexandria, instigating the
younger men, and requiring them to assemble together, and either to
persecute Athanasius, or consider themselves as his enemies. He however
had withdrawn before these instructions reached them, and from the time
when Syrianus broke into the Church; for he remembered that which was
written, ‘Hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the
indignation be overpast1673
.’ One
Heraclius, by rank a Count, was the bearer of this letter, and the
precursor of a certain George that was despatched by the Emperor as a
spy, for one that was sent from him cannot be a Bishop1674
| 1674 κατασκόπου,
οὐκ
ἐπίσκοπος, vid. §45, note 6. | ; God forbid. And so indeed his conduct and
the circumstances which preceded his entrance sufficiently prove.
49 and 50. Hypocrisy of the pretended respect
of Constantius for his brother’s memory.
Heraclius then published the letter, which
reflected great disgrace upon the writer. For whereas, when the great
Hosius wrote to Constantius, he had been unable to make out any
plausible pretext for his change of conduct, he now invented an excuse
much more discreditable to himself and his advisers. He said,
‘From regard to the affection I entertained towards my brother of
divine and pious memory, I endured for a time the coming of Athanasius
among you.’ This proves that he has both broken his promise, and
behaved ungratefully to his brother after his death. He then declares
him to be, as indeed he is, ‘deserving of divine and pious
remembrance;’ yet as regards a command of his, or to use his own
language, the ‘affection’ he bore him, even though he
complied merely ‘for the sake’ of the blessed Constans, he
ought to deal fairly by his brother, and make himself heir to his
sentiments as well as to the Empire. But, although, when seeking to
obtain his just rights, he deposed Vetranio, with the question,
‘To whom does the inheritance belong after a brother’s
death1675
| 1675 [a.d. 350, cf. Gibbon Hist. ch.
xviii. vol. ii. p. 378.] | ?’ yet for the sake of the accursed
heresy of the enemies of Christ, he disregards the claims of justice,
and behaves undutifully towards his brethren. Nay, for the sake of this
heresy, he would not consent to observe even his father’s wishes
without infringement; but, in what he may gratify these impious men, he
pretends to adopt his intention, while in order to distress the others,
he cares not to shew the reverence which is due unto a father. For in
consequence of the calumnies of Eusebius and his fellows, his father
sent the Bishop for a time into Gaul to avoid the cruelty of his
persecutors (this was shewn by the blessed Constantine, the brother of
the former, after their father’s death, as appears by his
letters1676
), but he would not be persuaded by
Eusebius and his fellows to send the person whom they desired for a
Bishop, but prevented the accomplishment of their wishes, and put a
stop to their attempts with severe threats.
51. How Constantius shews his respect for his
father and brother.
If therefore, as he declares in his letters, he
desired to observe his sire’s practice, why did he first send out
Gregory, and now this George, the eater of stores1677
| 1677 George had been pork-contractor to the army, and had been detected
in peculation. vid. de Syn. 37, note 3. | ? Why does he endeavour so earnestly to
introduce into the Church these Arians, whom his father named
Porphyrians1678
| 1678 Constantine called the Arians by this title after the philosopher
Porphyry, the great enemy of Christianity. Socrates has preserved the
Edict. Hist. i. 9. | , and banish others while he patronises
them? Although his father admitted Arius to his presence, yet when
Arius perjured himself and burst asunder1679
| 1679 De
Morte Arii 3, &c. | he
lost the compassion of his father; who, on learning the truth,
condemned him as an heretic. Why moreover, while pretending to respect
the Canon of the Church, has he ordered the whole course of his conduct
in opposition to them? For where is there a Canon that a Bishop should
be appointed from Court? Where is there a Canon1680
| 1680 Encycl. 2; Apol. Ar. 36. |
that permits soldiers to invade Churches? What tradition is there
allowing counts and ignorant eunuchs to exercise authority in Ecclesiastical
matters, and to make known by their edicts the decisions of those who
bear the name of Bishops? He is guilty of all manner of falsehood for
the sake of this unholy heresy. At a former time he sent out Philagrius
as Prefect a second time1681
, in opposition to
the opinion of his father, and we see what has taken place now. Nor
‘for his brother’s sake’ does he speak the truth. For
after his death he wrote not once nor twice, but three times to the
Bishop, and repeatedly promised him that he would not change his
behaviour towards him, but exhorted him to be of good courage, and not
suffer any one to alarm him, but to continue to abide in his Church in
perfect security. He also sent his commands by Count Asterius, and
Palladius the Notary, to Felicissimus, who was then Duke, and to the
Prefect Nestorius, that if either Philip the Prefect, or any other
should venture to form any plot against Athanasius, they should prevent
it.
52. The Emperor has no right to rule the
Church.
Wherefore when Diogenes came, and Syrianus laid
in wait for us, both he and we1682
| 1682 The
amanuensis here appears to speak for himself: but the Benedictines,
with great probability, conjecture τότε καὶ for αὐτός τε
καί. | and the people
demanded to see the Emperor’s letters, supposing that, as it is
written, ‘Let not a falsehood be spoken before the king1683
;’ so when a king has made a promise,
he will not lie, nor change. If then ‘for his brother’s
sake he complied,’ why did he also write those letters upon his
death? And if he wrote them for ‘his memory’s sake,’
why did he afterwards behave so very unkindly towards him, and
persecute the man, and write what he did, alleging a judgment of
Bishops, while in truth he acted only to please himself? Nevertheless
his craft has not escaped detection, but we have the proof of it ready
at hand. For if a judgment had been passed by Bishops, what concern had
the Emperor with it? Or if it was only a threat of the Emperor, what
need in that case was there of the so-named Bishops? When was such a
thing heard of before from the beginning of the world? When did a
judgment of the Church receive its validity from the Emperor? or rather
when was his decree ever recognised by the Church? There have been many
Councils held heretofore; and many judgments passed by the Church; but
the Fathers never sought the consent of the Emperor thereto, nor did
the Emperor busy himself with the affairs of the Church1684
| 1684 [This
may well be taken as a statement of what ought to be; but in
view of the history of the fourth century it can only be called a
rhetorical exaggeration. See supr. §15, Apol. Ar.
36, ἐκέλευσαν, Prolegg. ch. ii. §6 (1) init., and D.C.A. p.
475, with reff. there given.] | . The Apostle Paul had friends among them of
Cæsar’s household, and in his Epistle to the Philippians he
sent salutations from them; but he never took them as his associates in
Ecclesiastical judgments. Now however we have witnessed a novel
spectacle, which is a discovery of the Arian heresy. Heretics have
assembled together with the Emperor Constantius, in order that he,
alleging the authority of the Bishops, may exercise his power against
whomsoever he pleases, and while he persecutes may avoid the name of
persecutor; and that they, supported by the Emperor’s government,
may conspire the ruin of whomsoever they will1685
| 1685 οἷς ἂν
ἐθέλωσι,
and just before ὧν ἂν
ἐθέλοι. [And
more strikingly just below, §53 fin. ἃ θέλουσι
πράττει, ἐπεὶ
καὶ αὐτὸς
ἅπερ ἤθελεν
ἤκουσε παρ᾽
αὐτῶν.] This is a
very familiar phrase with Athan. i.e. ὡς ἐθέλησεν,
ἅπερ
ἐθέλησαν,
ὅταν θέλωσιν,
οὒς
ἐθέλησαν, &c. &c. Some instances are given supr. Apol. Ar.
2, note 3, and de Syn. 13, note 6. |
and these are all such as are not as impious as themselves. One might
look upon their proceedings as a comedy which they are performing on
the stage, in which the pretended Bishops are actors, and Constantius
the performer of their behests, who makes promises to them, as Herod
did to the daughter of Herodias, and they dancing before him accomplish
through false accusations the banishment and death of the true
believers in the Lord.
53. Despotic interference of
Constantius.
Who indeed has not been injured by their
calumnies? Whom have not these enemies of Christ conspired to destroy?
Whom has Constantius failed to banish upon charges which they have
brought against them? When did he refuse to hear them willingly? And
what is most strange, when did he permit any one to speak against them,
and did not more readily receive their testimony, of whatever kind it
might be? Where is there a Church which now enjoys the privilege of
worshipping Christ freely? If a Church be a maintainer of true piety,
it is in danger; if it dissemble, it abides in fear. Every place is
full of hypocrisy and impiety, so far as he is concerned; and wherever
there is a pious person and a lover of Christ (and there are many such
everywhere, as were the prophets and the great Elijah) they hide
themselves, if so be that they can find a faithful friend like Obadiah,
and either they withdraw into caves and dens of the earth, or pass
their lives in wandering about in the deserts. These men in their
madness prefer such calumnies against them as Jezebel invented against Naboth, and the
Jews against the Saviour; while the Emperor, who is the patron of the
heresy, and wishes to pervert the truth, as Ahab wished to change the
vineyard into a garden of herbs, does whatever they desire him to do,
for the suggestions he receives from them are agreeable to his own
wishes.
54. Constantius gives up the Alexandrian
Churches to the heretics.
Accordingly he banished, as I said before the
genuine Bishops, because they would not profess impious doctrines, to
suit his own pleasure; and so he now sent Count Heraclius to proceed
against Athanasius, who has publicly made known his decrees, and
announced the command of the Emperor to be, that unless they complied
with the instructions contained in his letters, their bread1686
| 1686 Cf.
§§31, 63, note 6. | should be taken away, their idols
overthrown, and the persons of many of the city-magistrates and people
delivered over to certain slavery. After threatening them in this
manner, he was not ashamed to declare publicly with a loud voice,
‘The Emperor disclaims Athanasius, and has commanded that the
Churches be given up to the Arians.’ And when all wondered to
hear this, and made signs to one another, exclaiming, ‘What! has
Constantius become a heretic?’ instead of blushing as he ought,
the man all the more obliged the senators and heathen magistrates and
wardens1687
of the idol temples to subscribe to
these conditions, and to agree to receive as their Bishop whomsoever1688
| 1688 [Observe that George has not yet arrived. Heraclius arrived
‘as his precursor’ (supr. §48) along with
Cataphronius the new Prefect, on June 10, 356; see
§55.] | the Emperor should send them. Of course
Constantius was strictly upholding the Canon of the Church, when he
caused this to be done; when instead of requiring letters from the
Church, he demanded them of the market-place, and instead of the people
he asked them of the wardens of the temples. He was conscious that he
was not sending a Bishop to preside over Christians, but a certain
intruder for those who subscribed to his terms.
55. Irruption into the great Church.
The Gentiles accordingly, as purchasing by their
compliance the safety of their idols, and certain of the trades1689
| 1689 τῶν
ἐργασιῶν,—trades, or workmen. vid. supr. Apol. Ar. 15.
Montfaucon has a note upon the word in the Collect. Nov. t. 2.
p. xxvi. where he corrects his Latin in loc. of the former
passage very nearly in conformity to the rendering given of it above,
p. 108. ‘In Onomastico monuimus, hic ἐργασίας “officinarum operas” commodius exprimere.’ And
he quotes an inscription [C.I.G. i. 3924] τοῦτο τὸ
ἡρῶον
στεφανοι ἡ
ἐργασία τῶν
βαφέων. | , subscribed, though unwillingly, from fear
of the threats which he had held out to them; just as if the matter had
been the appointment of a general, or other magistrate. Indeed what as
heathen, were they likely to do, except whatever was pleasing to the
Emperor? But the people having assembled in the great Church (for it
was the fourth day of the week), Count Heraclius on the following day1690
| 1690 [i.e.
Thursday, June 13, 356, three days after the arrival of Heraclius and
Cataphronius. The church in question was apparently that of Theonas, or
the Cæsareum (p. 298). According to Hist. Aceph. the
churches were formally handed over to the Arians on June 15, i.e. on
the Saturday. The Hist. Aceph. here fits minutely the scattered
notices of Athan.: see Prolegg. ch. ii. §8 (1).] | takes with him Cataphronius the Prefect of
Egypt, and Faustinus the Receiver-General1691
| 1691 Catholicus, ib. 10, note 4. | ,
and Bithynus a heretic; and together they stir up the younger men of
the common multitude1692
| 1692 τῶν
ἀγοραίων, vid. Acts xvii. 5. ἀγορὰ has been used
just above. vid. Suicer. Thesaur. in voc. | who worshipped
idols, to attack the Church, and stone the people, saying that such was
the Emperor’s command. As the time of dismissal however had
arrived, the greater part had already left the Church, but there being
a few women still remaining, they did as the men had charged them,
whereupon a piteous spectacle ensued. The few women had just risen from
prayer and had sat down when the youths suddenly came upon them naked
with stones and clubs. Some of them the godless wretches stoned to
death; they scourged with stripes the holy persons of the Virgins, tore
off their veils and exposed their heads, and when they resisted the
insult, the cowards kicked them with their feet. This was dreadful,
exceedingly dreadful; but what ensued was worse, and more intolerable
than any outrage. Knowing the holy character of the virgins, and that
their ears were unaccustomed to pollution, and that they were better
able to bear stones and swords than expressions of obscenity, they
assailed them with such language. This the Arians suggested to the
young men, and laughed at all they said and did; while the holy Virgins
and other godly women fled from such words as they would from the bite
of asps, but the enemies of Christ assisted them in the work, nay even,
it may be, gave utterance to the same; for they were well-pleased with
the obscenities which the youths vented upon them.
56. The great Church pillaged.
After this, that they might fully execute the
orders they had received (for this was what they earnestly desired, and
what the Count and the Receiver-General instructed them to do), they
seized upon the seats, the throne, and the table which was of wood1693
| 1693 Vid.
Fleury’s Church History, xxii. 7. p. 129, note k. [Oxf.
tr. 1843.] By specifying the material, Athan. implies that altars were
sometimes not of wood. [cf. D.C.A. 61 sq.] | , and the curtains1694
| 1694 Curtains were at the entrance, and before the chancel. vid. Bingh.
Antiqu. viii. 6. §8. Hofman. Lex. in voc. velum.
also Chrysost. Hom. iii. in Eph. | of
the Church, and whatever else they were able, and carrying them out
burnt them before the doors in the great street, and cast frankincense
upon the flame. Alas! who will not weep to hear of these things, and,
it may be, close his ears, that he may not have to endure the recital,
esteeming it hurtful merely to listen to the account of such
enormities? Moreover they sang the praises of their idols, and said,
‘Constantius hath become a heathen, and the Arians have
acknowledged our customs;’ for indeed they scruple not even to
pretend heathenism, if only their heresy may be established. They even
were ready to sacrifice a heifer which drew the water for the gardens
in the Cæsareum1695
| 1695 The
royal quarter in Alexandria, vid. Apol. Const. 15. In other
Palatia an aqueduct was necessary, e.g. vid. Cod. Theod. xv. 2.
even at Daphne, though it abounded in springs, ibid. 1, 2. | ; and would have
sacrificed it, had it not been a female1696
| 1696 Vid.
Herodot. ii. 41. who says that cows and heifers were sacred to
Isis. vid. Jablonski Pantheon Æg. i. 1. §15. who says
that Isis was worshipped in the shape of a cow, and therefore the cows
received divine honours. Yet bulls were sacrificed to Apis, ibid. iv.
2. §9. vid. also Schweighæuser in loc.
Herod. | ;
for they said that it was unlawful for such to be offered among
them.
57. Thus acted the impious1697
| 1697 Vid.
note on de Decr. §1. This is a remarkable instance of the
special and technical sense of the words, εὐσέβεια,
ἀσεβοῦντες, &c. being here contrasted with pagan blasphemy,
&c. | Arians in conjunction with the heathens,
thinking that these things tended to our dishonour. But Divine justice
reproved their iniquity, and wrought a great and remarkable sign,
thereby plainly shewing to all men, that as in their acts of impiety
they had dared to attack none other but the Lord, so in these
proceedings also they were again attempting to do dishonour unto Him.
This was more manifestly proved by the marvellous event which now came
to pass. One of these licentious youths ran into the Church, and
ventured to sit down upon the throne; and as he sat there the wretched
man uttered with a nasal sound some lascivious song. Then rising up he
attempted to pull away the throne, and to drag it towards him; he knew
not that he was drawing down vengeance upon himself. For as of old the
inhabitants of Azotus, when they ventured to touch1698
the Ark, which it was not lawful for them
even to look upon, were immediately destroyed by it, being first
grievously tormented by emerods; so this unhappy person who presumed to
drag the throne, drew it upon himself, and, as if Divine justice had
sent the wood to punish him, he struck it into his own bowels; and
instead of carrying out the throne, he brought out by his blow his own
entrails; so that the throne took away his life, instead of his taking
it away. For, as it is1699
written of Judas,
his bowels gushed out; and he fell down and was carried away, and the
day after he died. Another also entered the Church with boughs of
trees1700
| 1700 [μετὰ
θαλλῶν; φαλλῶν ‘pro vera lectione probabiliter haberi posse
arbitror.’ Montf. Coll. Nov. t. ii.] | and, as in the Gentile manner he waved them
in his hands and mocked, he was immediately struck with blindness, so
as straightway to lose his sight, and to know no longer where he was;
but as he was about to fall, he was taken by the hand and supported by
his companions out of the place, and when on the following day he was
with difficulty brought to his senses, he knew not either what he had
done or suffered in consequence of his audacity.
58. General Persecution at Alexandria.
The Gentiles, when they beheld these things, were
seized with fear, and ventured on no further outrage; but the Arians
were not even yet touched with shame, but, like the Jews when they saw
the miracles, were faithless and would not believe, nay, like Pharaoh,
they were hardened; they too having placed their hopes below, on the
Emperor and his eunuchs. They permitted the Gentiles, or rather the
more abandoned of the Gentiles, to act in the manner before described;
for they found that Faustinus, who is the Receiver-General by style,
but is a vulgar1701
| 1701 ἀγοραῖον, see §§55, note 11, above. | person in habits,
and profligate in heart, was ready to play his part with them in these
proceedings, and to stir up the heathen. Nay, they undertook to do the
like themselves, that as they had modelled their heresy upon all other
heresies together1702
| 1702 Cf.
Ep. Æg. 17, and §31, note 8. | , so they might
share their wickedness with the more depraved of mankind. What they did
through the instrumentality of others I described above; the enormities
they committed themselves surpass the bounds of all wickedness; and
they exceed the malice of any hangman. Where is there a house which
they did not ravage? where is there a family they did not plunder on
pretence of searching for their opponents? where is there a garden they
did not trample under foot? what tomb1703
| 1703 Vid.
Socr. Hist. iv. 13. |
did they not open, pretending they were seeking for Athanasius, though
their sole object was to plunder and spoil all that came in their way?
How many men’s houses were sealed up1704
!
The contents of how many persons’ lodgings did they give away to
the soldiers who assisted them! Who
had not experience of their wickedness? Who that met them but was
obliged to hide himself in the market-place? Did not many an one leave
his house from fear of them, and pass the night in the desert? Did not
many an one, while anxious to preserve his property from them, lose the
greater part of it? And who, however inexperienced of the sea, did not
choose rather to commit himself to it, and to risk all its dangers,
than to witness their threatenings? Many also changed their residences,
and removed from street to street, and from the city to the suburbs.
And many submitted to severe fines, and when they were unable to pay,
borrowed of others, merely that they might escape their
machinations.
59. Violence of Sebastianus.
For they made themselves formidable to all men,
and treated all with great arrogance, using the name of the Emperor,
and threatening them with his displeasure. They had to assist them in
their wickedness the Duke Sebastianus, a Manichee, and a profligate
young man; the1705
Prefect, the Count,
and the Receiver-General as a dissembler. Many Virgins who condemned
their impiety, and professed the truth, they brought out from the
houses; others they insulted as they walked along the streets, and
caused their heads to be uncovered by their young men. They also gave
permission to the females of their party to insult whom they chose; and
although the holy and faithful women withdrew on one side, and gave
them the way, yet they gathered round them like Bacchanals and Furies1706
| 1706 Vid.
de Syn. 31, note 4, also Greg. Naz. Orat. 35. 3. Epiph.
Hær. 69. 3. Theod. Hist. i. 3. (P. 730. ed.
Schulze). | , and esteemed it a misfortune if they found
no means to injure them, and spent that day sorrowfully on which they
were unable to do them some mischief. In a word, so cruel and bitter
were they against all, that all men called them hangmen, murderers,
lawless, intruders, evil-doers, and by any other name rather than that
of Christians.
60. Martyrdom of Eutychius.
Moreover, imitating the savage practices of
Scythians, they seized upon Eutychius a Subdeacon, a man who had served
the Church honourably, and causing him to be scourged on the back with
a leather whip, till he was at the point of death, they demanded that
her should be sent away to the mines; and not simply to any mine, but
to that of Phæno1707
| 1707 The
mines of Phæno lie almost in a direct line between Petræ and
Zoar, which is at the southern extremity of the Dead Sea. They formed
the place of punishment of Confessors in the Maximinian Persecution,
Euseb. de Mart. Pal. 7, and in the Arian Persecution at
Alexandria after Athan. Theod. H. E. iv. 19, p. 996. Phæno
was once the seat of a Bishopric, which sent a Bishop to the Councils
at Ephesus, the Ecumenical, and the Latrocinium. vid. Reland.
Palestine, pp. 951, 952. Montfaucon in loc. Athan. Le
Quien. Or. Christ. t. 3. p. 745. | , where even a
condemned murderer is hardly able to live a few days. And what was most
unreasonable in their conduct, they would not permit him even a few
hours to have his wounds dressed, but caused him to be sent off
immediately, saying, ‘If this is done, all men will be afraid,
and henceforward will be on our side.’ After a short interval,
however, being unable to accomplish his journey to the mine on account
of the pain of his stripes, he died on the way. He perished rejoicing,
having obtained the glory of martyrdom. But the miscreants were not
even yet ashamed, but in the words of Scripture, ‘having bowels
without mercy1708
,’ they acted
accordingly, and now again perpetrated a satanic deed. When the people
prayed them to spare Eutychius and besought them for him, they caused
four honourable and free citizens to be seized, one of whom was Hermias
who washed the beggars’ feet1709
| 1709 ῾Ερμείαν
λούοντα τοὺς
ἀνεξόδους, Inauspicato verterat Hermantius, ‘qui angiportos non
pervios lavabat;’ Montfaucon, Coll. Nov. t. 2. p. xliii.
who translates as above, yet not satisfactorily, especially as there is
no article before λούοντα. Tillemont says, ‘qui avait “quelle charge”
dans la police de la ville,’ understanding by ἀνέξοδοι, ‘inclusi sive incarcerati homines;’ whereas they are
‘ii qui ἀνὰ τὰς
ἐξόδους in
exitibus viarum, stipem cogunt.’ Montf. ibid. For the custom of
washing the feet vid. Bingh. Antiqu. xii. 4.
§10. | ; and after
scourging them very severely, the Duke cast them into the prison. But
the Arians, who are more cruel even than Scythians, when they had seen
that they did not die from the stripes they had received, complained of
the Duke and threatened, saying, ‘We will write and tell the
eunuchs1710
, that he does not flog as we
wish.’ Hearing this he was afraid, and was obliged to beat the
men a second time; and they being beaten, and knowing for what cause
they suffered and by whom they had been accused, said only, ‘We
are beaten for the sake of the Truth, but we will not hold communion
with the heretics: beat us now as thou wilt; God will judge thee for
this.’ The impious men wished to expose them to danger in the
prison, that they might die there; but the people of God observing
their time, besought him for them, and after seven days or more they
were set at liberty.
61. Ill-treatment of the poor.
But the Arians, as being grieved at this, again
devised another yet more cruel and unholy deed; cruel in the eyes of
all men, but well suited to their antichristian heresy. The Lord
commanded that we should remember the poor; He said, ‘Sell that
ye have, and give alms’ and again ‘I was a hungred, and ye
gave Me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink; for inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of these
little ones, ye have done it unto Me1711
.’ But
these men, as being in truth opposed to Christ, have presumed to act
contrary to His will in this respect also. For when the Duke gave up
the Churches to the Arians, and the destitute persons and widows were
unable to continue any longer in them, the widows sat down in places
which the Clergy entrusted with the care of them appointed. And when
the Arians saw that the brethren readily ministered unto them and
supported them, they persecuted the widows also, beating them on the
feet, and accused those who gave to them before the Duke. This was done
by means of a certain soldier named Dynamius. And it was well-pleasing
to Sebastian1712
, for there is no mercy in the
Manichæans; nay, it is considered a hateful thing among them to
shew mercy to a poor man1713
| 1713 They
would give money, but thought it wrong to give food. Ath. was possibly
unaware of this distinction. See Bright, Introd. to Hist.
Tracts, p. lxxi. note 7.] | . Here then was a
novel subject of complaint; and a new kind of court now first invented
by the Arians. Persons were brought to trial for acts of kindness which
they had performed; he who shewed mercy was accused, and he who had
received a benefit was beaten; and they wished rather that a poor man
should suffer hunger, than that he who was willing to shew mercy should
give to him. Such sentiments these modern Jews, for such they are, have
learned from the Jews of old, who when they saw him who had been blind
from his birth recover his sight, and him who had been a long time sick
of the palsy made whole, accused1714
the Lord who
had bestowed these benefits upon them, and judged them to be
transgressors who had experienced His goodness1715
.
62. Ill-treatment of the poor.
Who was not struck with astonishment at these
proceedings? Who did not execrate both the heresy, and its defenders?
Who failed to perceive that the Arians are indeed more cruel than wild
beasts? For they had no prospect of gain1716
| 1716 Cf.
note on Orat. i. §8. |
from their iniquity, for the sake of which they might have acted in
this manner; but they rather increased the hatred of all men against
themselves. They thought by treachery and terror to force certain
persons into their heresy, so that they might be brought to communicate
with them; but the event turned out quite the contrary. The sufferers
endured as martyrdom whatever they inflicted upon them, and neither
betrayed nor denied the true faith in Christ. And those who were
without and witnessed their conduct, and at last even the heathen, when
they saw these things, execrated them as antichristian, as cruel
executioners; for human nature is prone to pity and sympathise with the
poor. But these men have lost even the common sentiments of humanity;
and that kindness which they would have desired to meet with at the
hands of others, had themselves been sufferers, they would not permit
others to receive, but employed against them the severity and authority
of the magistrates, and especially of the Duke.
63. Ill-treatment of the Presbyters and
Deacons.
What they have done to the Presbyters and
Deacons; how they drove them into banishment under sentence passed upon
them by the Duke and the magistrates, causing the soldiers to bring out
their kinsfolk from the houses1717
, and Gorgonius, the
commander of the police1718
| 1718 στρατηγοῦ, infr. §81, note. | to beat them with
stripes; and how (most cruel act of all) with much insolence they
plundered the loaves1719
| 1719 τοὺς
ἄρτους [i.e.
their stated allowance: see also Apol. Ar. 18], the word occurs
Encycl. 4, Apol. Fug. 6, supr. §§31, 54, in
this sense: but Nannius, Hermant, and Tillemont, with some plausibility
understand it as a Latin term naturalized, and translate ‘most
cruel of all, with much insolence they tore the “limbs” of
the dead,’ alleging that merely to take away ‘loaves’
was not so ‘cruel’ as to take away ‘lives,’
which the Arians had done [the parallels refute this, apart from
linguistic grounds]. | of these and of
those who were now dead; these things it is impossible for words to
describe, for their cruelty surpasses all the powers of language. What
terms could one employ which might seem equal to the subject? What
circumstances could one mention first, so that those next recorded
would not be found more dreadful, and the next more dreadful still? All
their attempts and iniquities1720
were full of murder
and impiety; and so unscrupulous and artful are they, that they
endeavour to deceive by promises of protection, and by bribing with
money1721
| 1721 p.
227, note 8, infr. §73. | , that so, since they cannot recommend
themselves by fair means, they may thereby make some display to impose
on the simple.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
