Eusebius of Caesarea As the rebellion of the Jews at this time grew much more serious,
Rufus, governor of Judea, after an auxiliary force had been sent him by the
emperor, using their madness as a pretext, proceeded against them without
mercy, and destroyed indiscriminately thousands of men and women and children,
and in accordance with the laws of war reduced their country to a state of
complete subjection. The leader of the Jews at this time was a man by the name
of Barcocheba
, who possessed the character of a
robber and a murderer, but nevertheless, relying upon his name, boasted to
them, as if they were slaves, that he possessed wonderful powers; and he
pretended that he was a star that had come down to them out of heaven to bring
them light in the midst of their misfortunes. The war raged most fiercely in
the eighteenth year of Adrian,
at the city of Bithara,
which was a
very secure fortress, situated not far from Jerusalem. When the siege had
lasted a long time, and the rebels had been driven to the last extremity by
hunger and thirst, and the instigator of the rebellion had suffered his just
punishment, the whole nation was prohibited from this time on by a decree, and
by the commands of Adrian, from ever going up to the country about Jerusalem.
For the emperor gave orders that they should not even see from a distance the
land of their fathers. Such is the account of Aristo of Pella.
And thus,
when the city had been emptied of the Jewish nation and had suffered the total
destruction of its ancient inhabitants, it was colonized by a different race,
and the Roman city which subsequently arose changed its name and was called
Aelia, in honor of the emperor Aelius Adrian. And as the church there was now
composed
of Gentiles, the first one to assume the government of it after the
bishops of the circumcision was Marcus.
As the churches throughout the world were now shining like the most
brilliant stars, and faith in our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ was
flourishing among the whole human race,
the demon who hates everything
that is good, and is always hostile to the truth, and most bitterly opposed to
the salvation of man, turned all his arts against the Church.
In the
beginning he armed himself against it with 2,external persecutions. But now,
being shut off from the use of such means,
he devised all sorts of plans,
and employed other methods in his conflict with the Church, using base and
deceitful men as instruments for the ruin of souls and as ministers of
destruction. Instigated by him, impostors and deceivers, assuming the name of
our religion, brought to the depth of ruin such of the believers as they could
win over and at the same time, by means of the deeds which they practiced,
turned away from the path which leads to the word of salvation those who
were ignorant of the faith. Accordingly there proceeded from that Menander,
whom we have already mentioned as the successor of Simon,
a certain
serpent-like power, double-tongued and two-headed, which produced the leaders
of two different heresies, Saturninus, an Antiochian by birth,
and
Basilides, an Alexandrian.
The former of these established schools of
godless heresy in Syria, the latter in Alexandria. Irenaeus states
that
the false teaching of Saturninus agreed in most respects with that of
Menander, but that Basilides, under the pretext of unspeakable mysteries,
invented monstrous fables, and carried the fictions of his impious heresy
quite beyond bounds. But as there were at that time a great many members of
the Church
who were fighting for the truth and defending apostolic and
ecclesiastical doctrine with uncommon eloquence, so there were some also that
furnished posterity through their writings with means of defense against the
heresies to which we have referred.
Of these there has come down to us
a most powerful refutation of Basilides by Agrippa Castor,
one of
the most renowned writers of that day, which shows the terrible imposture of
the man. While exposing his mysteries he says that Basilides wrote
twenty-four books upon the Gospel,
and that he invented prophets for
himself named Barcabbas and Barcoph,
and others that had no existence,
and that he gave them barbarous names in order to amaze those who marvel at
such things; that he taught also that the eating of meat offered to idols and
the unguarded renunciation of the faith in times of persecution were matters
of indifference;
and that he enjoined upon his followers, like
Pythagoras, a silence of five years.
Other similar things the
above-mentioned writer has recorded concerning Basilides, and has ably
exposed the error of his heresy. Irenaeus also writes
that Carpocrates
was a contemporary of these men, and that he was the father of another heresy,
called the heresy of the Gnostics,
who did not wish to transmit any
longer the magic arts of Simon, as that one
had done, in secret, but
openly.
For they boasted -- as of something great -- of love potions that
were carefully prepared by them, and of certain demons that sent them dreams
and lent them their protection, and of other similar agencies; and in
accordance with these things they taught that it was necessary for those who
wished to enter fully into their mysteries, or rather into their abominations,
to practice all the worst kinds of wickedness, on the ground that they could
escape the cosmic powers, as they called them, in no other way than by
discharging their
obligations to them all by infamous-conduct. Thus it came to pass that the
malignant demon, making use of these ministers, on the one hand enslaved those
that were so pitiably led astray by them to their own destruction, while on
the other hand he furnished to the unbelieving heathen abundant opportunities
for slandering the divine word, inasmuch as the reputation of these men
brought infamy upon the whole race of Christians. In this way, therefore,
it came to pass that there was spread abroad in regard to us among the
unbelievers of that age, the infamous and most absurd suspicion that we
practiced unlawful commerce with mothers and sisters, and enjoyed impious
feasts.
He did not, however, long succeed in these artifices, as the
truth established itself and in time shone with great brilliancy. For the
machinations of its enemies were refuted by its power and speedily vanished.
One new heresy arose after another, and the former ones always passed away,
and now at one time, now at another, now in one way, now in other ways, were
lost in ideas of various kinds and various forms. But the splendor of the
catholic and only true Church, which is always the same, grew in magnitude and
power, and reflected its piety and simplicity and freedom, and the modesty and
purity of its inspired life and philosophy to every nation both of Greeks
and of Barbarians. At the same time the slanderous accusations which had been
brought against the whole Church also vanished, and there remained our
teaching alone, which has prevailed over all, and which is acknowledged to be
superior to all in dignity and temperance, and in divine and philosophical
doctrines. So that none of them now ventures to affix a base calumny upon our
faith, or any such slander as our ancient enemies formerly delighted to utter.
Nevertheless, in those times the truth again called forth many champions
who fought in its defense against the godless heresies, refuting them not only
with oral, but also with written arguments.
Among these Hegesippus was well
known.
We have already quoted his words a number of times,
relating
events which happened in the time of the apostles according to his account. He
records in five books the true tradition of apostolic doctrine in a most
simple style, and he indicates the time in which he flourished when he writes
as follows concerning those that first set up idols: "To whom they erected
cenotaphs and temples, as is done to the present day. Among whom is also
Antinous,
a slave of the Emperor Adrian, in whose honor are celebrated
also the Antinoian games, which were instituted in our day. For he
also founded a city named after Antinous,
and appointed prophets."
At the same time also Justin, a genuine lover of the true philosophy, was
still continuing to busy himself with Greek literature.
He indicates
"We do not think it out of place to mention here Antinous also,
who lived in our day, and whom all were driven by fear to worship as a god,
although they knew who he was and whence he came." The same writer, speaking
of the Jewish war which took place at that time, adds the following:
"For
in the late Jewish war Barcocheba, the leader of the Jewish rebellion,
commanded that Christians alone
should be visited with terrible
punishments unless they would deny and blaspheme Jesus Christ." And in the
same work he shows that his conversion from Greek philosophy to Christianity
was not without reason, but that it was the result of deliberation on his
part. His words are as follows:
"For I myself, while I was delighted with
the doctrines of Plato, and heard the Christians slandered, and saw that they
were afraid neither of death nor of anything else ordinarily looked upon as
terrible, concluded that it was impossible that they could be living in
wickedness and pleasure. For what pleasure-loving or intemperate man, or what
man that counts it good to feast on human flesh, could welcome death that he
might be deprived of his enjoyments, and would not rather strive to continue
permanently his present life, and to escape the notice of the rulers, instead
of giving himself up to be put to death?" The same writer, moreover, relates
that Adrian having received from Serennius Granianus,
a most
distinguished governor, a letter
in behalf of the Christians, in which he
stated that it was not just to slay the Christians without a regular
accusation and trial, merely for the sake of gratifying the outcries of the
populace, sent a rescript
to Minucius Fundanus,
proconsul of Asia,
comrounding him to condemn no one without an indictment and a well-grounded
accusation. And he gives a copy of the epistle, preserving the original
Latin in which it was written,
and prefacing it with the following words:
"Although from the epistle of the greatest and most illustrious Emperor
Adrian, your father, we have good ground to demand that you order judgment to
be given as we have desired, yet we have asked this not because it was ordered
by Adrian, but rather because we know that what we ask is just. And we have
subjoined the copy of Adrian's epistle that you may know that we are
speaking the truth in this matter also. And this is the copy." After these
words the author referred to gives the rescript in Latin, which we have
translated into Greek as accurately as we could.
It reads as follows:
"To Minucius Fundanus. I have received an epistle,
written to me by
Serennius Granianus, a most illustrious man, whom you have succeeded. It does
not seem right to me that the matter should be passed by without examination,
lest the men
be harassed and opportunity be given to the informers for 2.
practicing villainy. If, therefore, the inhabitants of the province can
clearly sustain this petition against the Christians so as to give answer in a
court of law, let them pursue this course alone, but let them not have resort
to men's petitions and outcries. For it is far more proper, if any one wishes
to make an accusation, that you should examine into it. If any one
therefore accuses them and shows that they are doing anything contrary to the
laws, do you pass judgment according to the heinousness of the crime.
But,
by Hercules! if any one bring an accusation through mere calumny, decide in
regard to his criminality,
and see to it that you inflict punishment."
Such are the contents of Adrian's rescript.
Adrian having died after a reign of twenty-one years,
was succeeded in
the government of the Romans by Antoninus, called the Pious. In the first year
of his reign Telesphorus
died in the eleventh year of his episcopate, and
Hyginus became bishop of Rome.
Irenaeus records that Telesphorus' death
was made glorious by martyrdom,
and in the same connection he states that
in the time of the above-mentioned Roman bishop Hyginus, Valentinus, the
founder of a sect of his own, and Cerdon, the author of Marcion's error, were
both well known at Rome.
He writes as follows:
But the most admirable Polycarp, when he first heard of these things,
continued: undisturbed, preserved a quiet and unshaken mind, and determined to
remain in the city. But being persuaded by his friends who en-treated and
exhorted him to retire secretly, he went out to a farm not far distant from
the city and abode there with a few companions, night and day doing nothing
but wrestle with the Lord in prayer, beseeching and imploring, and asking
peace for the churches throughout the whole world. For this was always his
custom. And three days before his arrest, while he was praying, he saw in a
vision at night the pillow under his head suddenly seized by fire and consumed
; and upon this awakening he immediately interpreted the vision to those that
were present, almost foretelling that which was about to happen, and declaring
plainly to those that were with him that it would be necessary for him for
Christ's sake to die by fire. Then, as those who were seeking him pushed
the search with vigor, they say that he was again constrained by the
solicitude and love of the brethren to go to another farm. Thither his
pursuers came after no long time, and seized two of the servants there, and
tortured one of them for the purpose of learning from him Polycarp's
hiding-place. And coming late in the evening, they found him lying in an
upper room, whence he might have gone to another house, but he would not,
saying, "The will of God be done." And when he learned that they were
present, as the account says, he went down and spoke to them with a very
cheerful and gentle countenance, so that those who did not already know the
man thought that they beheld a miracle when they observed his advanced age and
the gravity and firmness of his bearing, and they marveled that so much effort
should be made to capture a man like him. But he did not hesitate, but
immediately gave orders that a table should be spread for them. Then he
invited them to partake of a bounteous meal, and asked of them one hour that
he might pray undisturbed. And when they had given permission, he stood up and
prayed, being full of the grace of the Lord, so that those who were present
and heard him praying were amazed, and many of them now repented that such a
venerable and godly old man was about to be put to death. In addition to
these things the narrative concerning him contains the following account: "But
when at length he had brought his prayer to an end, after remembering all that
had ever come into contact with him, small and great, famous and obscure, and
the whole catholic Church throughout the world, the hour of departure being
come, they put him upon an ass and brought him to the city, it being a great
Sabbath.
And he was met by
Herod,
the captain of police,
and by his father Nicetes, who took
him into their carriage, and sitting beside him endeavored to persuade him,
saying, ' For what harm is there in saying, Lord Caesar, and sacrificing and
saving your, life ?' He at first did not answer; but when they persisted,
he said, ' I am not going to do what you advise me.' And when they failed to
persuade him, they uttered dreadful words, and thrust him down with violence,
so that as he descended from the carriage he lacerated his shin. But without
turning round, he went on his way promptly and rapidly, as if nothing had
happened to him, and was taken to the stadium. But there was such a tumult
in the stadium that not many heard a voice from heaven, which came to Polycarp
as he was entering the place: ' Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man.'
And no one saw the speaker, but many of our people heard the voice. And
when he was led forward, there was a great tumult, as they heard that Polycarp
was taken. Finally, when he came up, the proconsul asked if he were Polycarp.
And when he confessed that he was, he endeavored to persuade him to deny,
saying, ' Have regard for thine age,' and other like things, which it is
their custom to say: ' Swear by the genius of Caesar;
repent and say,
Away with the Atheists.' But Polycarp, looking with dignified countenance upon
the whole crowd that was gathered in the stadium, waved his hand to them, and
groaned, and raising his eyes toward heaven, said, ' Away with the
Atheists.' But when the magistrate pressed him, and said, Swear, and I will
release thee; revile Christ,' Polycarp said,' Fourscore and six years
have I been serving him, and he hath done me no wrong; how then can I
blaspheme my king who saved me ? "But when he again persisted, and said,
'Swear by the genius of Caesar,' Polycarp replied, ' If thou vainly supposest
that I will swear by the genius of Caesar, as thou sayest, feigning to be
ignorant who I am, hear plainly: I am a Christian. But if thou desirest to
learn the doctrine of Christianity, assign a day and hear.' The proconsul
said, ' Persuade the people.' But Polycarp said, 'As for thee, I thought
thee worthy of an explanation; for we have been taught to render to princes
and authorities ordained by God the honor that is due,
so long as it does
not injure us;
but as for these, I do not esteem them the proper persons
to whom to make my defense.'
But the proconsul said, ' I have wild
beasts; I will throw thee to them unless thou repent.' But he said, ' Call
them; for repentance from better to worse is a change we cannot make. But it
is a noble thing to turn from wickedness to righteousness.' But he again
said to him, ' If thou despisest the wild beasts, I will cause thee to be
consumed by fire, unless thou repent.' But Polycarp said, ' Thou threatenest a
fire which burneth for an hour, and after a little is quenched; for thou
knowest not the fire of the future judgment and of the eternal punishment
which is reserved for the impious. But why dost thou delay? Do what thou
wilt.' Saying these and other words besides, he was filled with courage and
joy, and his face was suffused with grace, so that not only was he not
terrified and dismayed by the words that were spoken to him, but, on the
contrary, the proconsul was amazed, and sent his herald to proclaim three
times in the midst of the stadium: ' Polycarp hath confessed that he is a
Christian.' And when this was proclaimed by the herald, the whole
multitude, both of Gentiles and of Jews,
who dwelt in Smyrna, cried out
with ungovernable wrath and with a great shout, 'This is the teacher of Asia,
the father of the Christians, the over-thrower of our gods, who teacheth many
not to sacrifice nor to worship.' When they had said this, they cried out
and asked the Asiarch Philip
to let a lion loose upon Poly-carp. But he
said that it was not lawful for
him,since he had closed the games. Then they thought fit to cry out with one
accord that Polycarp should be burned alive. For it was necessary that the
vision should be fulfilled which had been shown him concerning his pillow,
when he saw it burning while he was praying, and turned and said prophetically
to the faithful that were with him, ' I must needs be burned alive.' These
things were done with great speed -- more quickly than they were said -- the
crowds immediately collecting from the workshops and baths timber and fagots,
the Jews being especially zealous in the work, as is their wont. But when
the pile was ready, taking off all his upper garments, and loosing his girdle,
he attempted also to remove his shoes, although he had never before done this,
because of the effort which each of the faithful always made to touch his skin
first; for he had been treated with all honor on account of his virtuous life
even before his gray hairs came. Forthwith then the materials prepared for
the pile were placed about him; and as they were also about to nail him to the
stake,
he said, ' Leave me thus; for he who hath given me strength to
endure the fire, will also grant me strength to remain in the fire unmoved
without being secured by you with nails.' So they did not nail him, but bound
him. And he, with his hands behind him, and bound like a noble ram taken
from a great flock, an acceptable burnt-offering unto God omnipotent, said,
' Father of thy beloved and blessed Son
Jesus Christ, through whom we
have received the knowledge of thee, the God of angels and of powers and of
the whole creation and of the entire race of the righteous who live in thy
presence, I bless thee that thou hast deemed me worthy of this day and hour
that I might receive a portion in the number of the martyrs, in the cup of
Christ, unto resurrection of eternal life,
both of soul and of body, in
the immortality of the Holy Spirit. 34Among these may I be received before
thee this day, in a rich and acceptable saccrifice, as thou, the faithful and
true God, bast beforehand prepared and revealed, and hast fulfilled.
Wherefore I praise thee also for everything; I bless thee, I glorify thee,
through the eternal high priest, Jesus Christ, thy beloved Son, through whom,
with him, in the Holy Spirit, be glory unto thee, both now and for the
ages to come, Amen.' When he had offered up his Amen and had finished his
prayer, the firemen lighted the fire and as a great flame blazed out, we, to
whom it was given to see, saw a wonder, and we were preserved that we might
relate what happened to the others. For the fire presented the appearance
of a vault, like the sail of a vessel filled by the wind, and made a wall
about the body of the martyr,
and it was in the midst not like flesh
burning, but like gold and silver refined in a furnace. For we perceived such
a fragrant odor, as of the fumes of frankincense or of some other precious
spices. So at length the lawless men, when they saw that the body could not
be consumed by the fire, commanded an executioner
to approach and pierce
him with the sword. And when he had done this there came forth a quantity
of blood
so that it extinguished the fire; and the whole crowd marveled
that there should be such a difference between the unbelievers and the elect,
of whom this man also was one, the most wonderful teacher in our times,
apostolic and prophetic, who was bishop of the catholic Church
in Smyrna.
For every word which came from his mouth was accomplished and will be
accomplished. But the jealous and envious Evil One, the adversary of the
race of the righteous, when he saw the greatness of his martyrdom, and his
blameless life from the beginning, and when he saw him crowned with the crown
of immortality and bearing off an incontestable prize, took care that not even
his body should be taken away by us, although many desired to do it and to
have communion with his holy flesh. Accordingly certain ones secretly
suggested to Nicetes, the father of Herod and brother of Alce,
that he
should plead with the magistrate
not to give up his body, 'lest,' it was said, 'they should abandon the
crucified One and begin to worship this man.'
They said these things at
the suggestion and impulse of the Jews, who also watched as we were about to
take it from the fire, not knowing that we shall never be able either to
forsake Christ, who suffered for the salvation of the whole world of those
that are saved, or to worship any other. For we worship him who is the Son
of God, but the martyrs, as disciples and imitators of the Lord, we love as
they deserve on account of their matchless affection for their own king and
teacher. May we also be made partakers and fellow-disciples with them. The
centurion, therefore, when he saw the contentiousness exhibited by the Jews,
placed him in the midst and burned him, as was their custom. And so we
afterwards gathered up his bones. which were more valuable than precious
stones and more to be esteemed than gold, and laid them in a suitable
place. There the Lord will permit us to come together as we are able, in
gladness and joy to celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom,
for the
commemoration of those who have already fought and for the training and
preparation of those who shall hereafter do the same. Such are the
events that befell the blessed Polycarp, who suffered martyrdom in Smyrna with
the eleven
from Philadelphia. This one man is remembered more than the
others by all, so that even by the heathen he is talked about in every place."
Of such an end was the admirable and apostolic Polycarp deemed worthy, as
recorded by the brethren of the church of Smyrna in their epistle which we
have mentioned. In the same volume
concerning him are subjoined also
other martyrdoms which took place in the same city, Smyrna, about the same
period of time with Polycarp's martyrdom. Among them also Metrodorus, who
appears to have been a proselyte of the Marcionitic sect, suffered death by
fire. A celebrated martyr of those times was a certain man named Pionius.
Those who desire to know his several confessions, and the boldness of his
speech, and his apologies in behalf of the faith before the people and the
rulers, and his instructive addresses and moreover, his greetings to those who
had yielded to temptation in the persecution, and the words of encouragement
which he addressed to the brethren who came to visit him in prison, and the
tortures which he endured in addition, and besides these the sufferings and
the nailings, and his firmness on the pile, and his death after all the
extraordinary trials,
-- those we refer to that epistle which has been
given in the Martyrdoms of the Ancients,
collected by us, and which
contains a very full account of him. And there are also records extant of
others that suffered martyrdom in Pergamus, a city
of Asia -- of Carpus and Papylus, and a woman named Agathonice, who, after
many and illustrious testimonies, gloriously ended their lives.
About this time
Justin, who was mentioned by us just above,
after
he had addressed a second work in behalf of our doctrines to the rulers
already named,
was crowned with divine martyrdom,
in consequence of a
plot laid against him by Crescens,
a philosopher who emulated the life and
manners of the Cynics, whose name he bore. After Justin had frequently refuted
him in public discussions he won by his martyrdom the prize of victory, dying
in behalf of the truth which he preached. And he himself, a man most learned
in the truth, in his Apology already referred to
clearly predicts how
this was about to happen to him, although it had not yet occurred. His words
are as follows:
" I, too,
therefore, expect to be plotted against
and put in the stocks
by some one of those whom I have named, or perhaps
by Crescens, that unphilosophical and vainglorious man. For the man is not
worthy to be called a philosopher who publicly bears witness against those
concerning whom he knows nothing, declaring, for the sake of captivating and
pleasing the multitude, that the Christians are atheistical and impious.
Doing this he errs greatly. For if he assails us without having read the
teachings of Christ, he is thoroughly depraved, and is much worse than the
illiterate, who often guard against discussing and bearing false witness about
matters which they do not understand. And if he has read them and does not
understand the majesty that is in them, or, understanding it, does these
things in order that he may not be suspected of being an adherent, he is far
more base and totally depraved, being enslaved to vulgar applause and
irrational fear. For I would have you know that when I proposed certain
questions of the sort and asked him in regard to them, I learned and proved
that he indeed knows nothing. And to show that I speak the truth I am ready,
if these disputations have not been reported to you, to discuss the questions
again in your presence. And this indeed would be an act worthy of an emperor.
But if my questions and his
answers have been made known to you, it is obvious to you that he knows
nothing about our affairs; or if he knows, but does not dare to speak because
of those who hear him, he shows himself to be, as I have already said,
not a philosopher, but a vainglorious man, who indeed does not even regard
that most admirable saying of
Socrates."
These are the words of Justin.
And that he met his death as he had predicted that he would, in
consequence of the machinations of Crescens, is stated by Tatian,
a than
who early in life lectured upon the sciences of the Greeks and won no little
fame in them, and who has left a great many
monuments of himself in his writings. He records this fact in his work against
the Greeks, where he writes as follows:
" And that most admirable Justin
declared with truth thai the aforesaid persons were like robbers." Then,
after making some remarks about the philosophers, he continues as follows:
"Crescens, indeed, who made his nest in the great city, surpassed all in
his unnatural lust, and was wholly devoted to the love of money. And he who
taught that death should be despised, was himself so greatly in fear of it
that he endeavored to inflict death, as if it were a great evil, upon Justin,
because the latter, when preaching the truth, had proved that the philosophers
were gluttons and impostors."And such was the cause of Justin's martyrdom.
The same man, before his conflict, mentions in his first Apology
others that suffered martyrdom before him, and most fittingly records the
following events. He writes thus:
"A certain woman lived with a
dissolute husband; she herself, too, having formerly been of the same
character. But when she came to the knowledge of the teachings of Christ, she
became temperate, and endeavored to persuade her husband likewise to be
temperate, repeating the teachings, and declaring the punishment in eternal
fire which shall come upon those who do not live temperately and
conformably to right reason. But he, continuing in the same excesses,
alienated his wife by his conduct. For she finally, thinking it wrong to live
as a wife with a man who, contrary to the law of nature and right, sought
every possible means of pleasure, desired to be divorced from him. And when
she was earnestly entreated by her friends, who counseled her still to remain
with him, on the ground that her husband might some time give hope of
amendment, she did violence to herself and remained. But when her husband
had gone to Alexandria, and was reported to be conducting himself still worse,
she in order that she might not, by continuing in wedlock, and by sharing his
board and bed, become a partaker in his lawlessness and impiety -- gave him what
we a call a bill of divorce and left him. But her noble and excellent
husband -- instead of rejoicing, as he ought to have done, that she had given
up those actions which she had formerly recklessly committed with the servants
and hirelings, when she delighted in drunkenness and in every vice, and that
she desired him likewise to give them up -- when she had gone from him
contrary to his wish, brought an accusation concerning her, declaring that she
was a Christian. And she petitioned you, the emperor, that she might be
permitted first to set her affairs in order, and afterwards, after the
settlement of her affairs, to make her defense against the accusation. And
this you granted. But he who had once been her husband, being no longer able
to prosecute her, directed his attacks against a certain Ptolemaeus,
who
had been her teacher in the doctrines of Christianity, and whom Urbicius
had punished. Against him he proceeded in the following manner:
"He persuaded a centurion who was his friend to cast Ptolemaeus into
prison, and to take him and ask him this only: whether he were a Christian?
And when Ptolemaeus, who was a lover of truth, and not of a deceitful and
false disposition, confessed that he was a Christian, the centurion bound him
and punished him for a long time in the prison. And finally, when the man
was brought before Urbicius he was likewise asked this question only: whether
he were a Christian ? And again, conscious of the benefits which he enjoyed
through the teaching of Christ, he confessed his schooling in divine virtue.
For whoever denies that he is a Christian, either denies because he
despises Christianity, or he avoids confession because he is conscious that he
is unworthy and an alien to it; neither of which is the case with the true
Christian. And when Urbicius commanded that he be led away to punishment, a
certain Lucius,
who was also a Christian, seeing judgment so unjustly
passed,
said to Urbicius, ' Why have you punished this I man who is not an adulterer,
nor a fornicator, nor a murderer, nor a thief, nor a robber, nor has been
convicted of committing any crime at all, but has confessed that he beam the
name of Christian? You do not judge, O Urbicius, in a manner befitting the
Emperor Pins, or the philosophical son
of Caesar, or the sacred senate.'
And without making any other reply, he said to Lucius, ' Thou also seem-est to
me to be such an one.' And when Lucius said, 'Certainly,' he again commanded
that he too should be led away to punishment. But he professed his thanks, for
he was liberated, he added, from such wicked rulers and was going to the good
Father and King, God. And still a third having come forward was condemned to
be punished."
To this, Justin fittingly and consistently adds the words which we quoted
above,
saying, "I, too, therefore expect to be plotted against by some one
of those whom I have named," etc."
This writer has left us a great many monuments of a mind educated and
practiced in divine things, which are replete with profitable matter of every
kind. To them we shall refer the studious, noting as we proceed those 2.that
have come to our knowledge.
There ] -->
is a certain discourse
of his in
defense of our doctrine addressed to Antoninus surnamed t the Pious, and to
his sons, and to the Roman senate. Another work contains his second Apology
in behalf of our faith, which he offered to him who was the successor of
the emperor mentioned and who bore the same name, Antoninus Verus, the one
whose times we are now recording. Also another work against the Greeks,
in which he discourses at length upon most of the questions at issue between
us and the Greek philosophers, and discusses the nature of demons. It is not
necessary for me to add any of these things here. And still another work of
his against the Greeks has come down to us, to which he gave the title
Refutation. And besides these another, On the Sovereignty of God,
which he
establishes not only from our Scriptures, but also from the books of the
Greeks. Still further, a work entitled Psaltes,
and another disputation On
the Soul, in which, after propounding various questions concerning the
problem under discussion, he gives the opinions of the Greek philosophers,
promising to refute it, and to present his own view in another work. He
composed also a dialogue against the Jews,
which he held in the city of
Ephesus with Trypho, a most distinguished man among the Hebrews of that day.
In it he shows how the divine grace urged him on to the doctrine of the faith,
and with what earnestness he had formerly pursued philosophical studies, and
how ardent a search he had made for the truth.
And he records of the
Jews in the same work, that they were plotting against the teaching of Christ,
asserting the
same things against Trypho: "Not only did you not repent of the wickedness
which you had committed, but you selected at that time chosen men, and you
sent them out from Jerusalem through all the land, to announce that the
godless heresy of the Christians had made its appearance, and to accuse them
of those things which all that are ignorant of us say against us, so that you
become the causes not only of your own injustice, but also of all other
men's."
He writes also that even down to his time prophetic gifts shone
in the Church.
And he mentions the Apocalypse of John, saying distinctly
that it was the apostle's.
He also refers to certain prophetic
declarations, and accuses Trypho on the ground that the Jews had cut them out
of the Scripture.
A great many other works of his are still in the hands
of many of the brethren.
And the discourses of the man were thought so
worthy of study even by the ancients, that Irenaeus quotes his words: for
instance, in the fourth book of his work Against Heresies, where he writes as
follows:
"And Justin well says in his work against Marcion, that he would
not have believed the Lord himself if he had preached another God besides the
Creator"; and again in the fifth book of the same work he says:
"And
Justin well said that before the coming of the Lord Satan never dared to
blaspheme God,
because he did not yet know his condemnation." These
things I have deemed it necessary to say for the sake of stimulating the
studious to peruse his works with diligence. So much concerning him.
In the eighth year of the above-mentioned reign
Soter
succeeded
Anicetus
as bishop of the church of Rome, after the latter had held office
eleven years in all. But when Celadion
had presided over the church of
Alexandria for fourteen years tie was succeeded by Agrippinus.
At that time also in the church of Antioch,
Theophilus
was well known
as the sixth from the apostles. For Cornelius,
who succeeded Hero,
was
the fourth, and after him Eros,
the fifth in order, had held the office of
bishop.
AT that time there flourished in the Church Hegesippus, whom we know from
what has gone before,
and Dionysius,
bishop of Corinth, and another
bishop, Pinytus of Crete,
and besides
these, Philip,
and Apolinarius,
and Melito,
and Musanus,
and
Modestus,
and finally, Irenaeus.
From them has come down to us in
writing, the sound and orthodox faith received from apostolic tradition..
Hegesippus in the five books of
Memoirs
which have come down to us has left a most complete record of
his own views. In them he states that on a journey to Rome he met a great many
bishops, and that he received the same doctrine from all. It is fitting to
hear what he says after making some remarks about the epistle of Clement to
the Corinthians. His words are as follows: "And the churchIll of Corinth
continued in the true faith until Primus
was bishop in Corinth. I
conversed with them on my way to Rome, and abode with the Corinthians many
days, during which we were mutually refreshed in the true doctrine. And when I
had come to Rome I remained a there until Anicetus,
whose deacon was
Eleutherus. And Anicetus was succeeded by Soter, and he by Eleutherus. In
every succession, and in every city that is held which is preached by the law
and the prophets and the Lord." The same author also describes the
beginnings of the heresies which arose in his time, in the following words:
"And after James the Just had suffered martyrdom, as the Lord had also on the
same account, Symeon, the son of the Lord's uncle, Clopas,
was appointed
the next bishop. All proposed him as second bishop because he was a cousin of
the Lord. "Therefore,
they called the Church a virgin, for it was not yet
corrupted by vain discourses. But Thebuthis,
because he was not made
bishop, began to corrupt it. He also was sprung from the seven sects
among
the people, like Simon,
from whom came the Simonians, and Cleobius,
from whom came the Cleobians, and Dositheus,
from whom came the
Dositheans, and Gorthaeus,
from whom came the Goratheni, and Masbotheus,
from whom came the Masbothaeans. From them sprang the Menandrianists,
and Marcionists,
and Carpocratians, and Valentinians, and
Basilidians, and Saturnilians. Each introduced privately and separately his
own peculiar opinion. From them came false Christs, false prophets, false
apostles, who divided the unity of the Church by corrupt doctrines uttered
against God and against his Christ." The same writer also records the
ancient heresies which arose among the Jews, in the following words: "There
were, moreover, various opinions in the circumcision, among the children of
Israel. The following were those that were opposed to the tribe of Judah and
the Christ: Essenes, Galileans, Hemerobaptists,
Masbothaeans, Samaritans, Sadducees, Pharisees."
And he
wrote of many other matters, which we have in part already mentioned,
introducing the accounts in their appropriate places. And from the Syriac
Gospel according to the Hebrews he quotes some passages in the Hebrew tongue,
showing that he was a convert from the Hebrews,
and he mentions
other matters as taken from the unwritten tradition of the Jews. And not
only he, but also Irenaeus and the whole company of the ancients, called the
Proverbs of Solomon All-virtuous Wisdom.
And when speaking of the books
called Apocrypha, he records that some of them were composed in his day by
certain heretics. But let us now pass on to another.
And first we must speak of Dionysius, who was appointed bishop of the
church in Corinth, and communicated freely of his inspired labors not only to
his own people, but also to those in foreign lands, and rendered the greatest
service to all in the catholic epistles which he wrote to the churches. Among
these is the one addressed to the Lacedaemonians,
containing instruction
in the orthodox faith and an admonition to peace and unity; the one also
addressed to the Athenians, exciting them to faith and to the life prescribed
by the Gospel, which he accuses them of esteeming lightly, as if they had
almost apostatized from the faith since the martyrdom of their ruler Publius,
which had taken place during the persecutions of those days. He mentions
Quadratus
also, stating that he was appointed their bishop after the
martyrdom of Publius, and testifying that through his zeal they were brought
together again and their faith revived. He records, moreover, that Dionysius
the Areopagite,
who was converted to the faith by the apostle l Paul, according to the
statement in the Acts of the Apostles,
first obtained the episcopate of
the church at Athens. And there is extant another epistle of his addressed to
the Nicomedians,
in which he attacks the heresy of Marcion, and stands
fast by the canon of the truth. Writing also to the church that is in
Gortyna,
together with the other parishes in Crete, he commends their
bishop Philip,
because of the many acts of fortitude which are testified
to as performed by the church under him, and he warns them to be on their
guard against the aberrations of the heretics.
And writing to the church that is in Amastris,
together with those in
Pontus, he refers to Bacchylides
and Elpistus, as having urged him to
write, and he adds explanations of passages of the divine Scriptures, and
mentions their bishop Palmas
by name. He gives them much advice also in
regard to marriage and chastity, and commands them to receive those who come
back again after any fall, whether it be delinquency or heresy.
Among
these is inserted also another epistle addressed to the Cnosians,
in
which he exhorts Pinytus, bishop of the parish, not to lay upon the brethren a
grievous and compulsory burden in regard to chastity, but to have regard to
the weakness of the multitude. Pinytus, replying to this epistle, admires
and commends Dionysius, but exhorts him in turn to impart some time more solid
food, and to feed the people under him, when he wrote again, with more
advanced teaching, that they might not be fed continually on these milky
doctrines and imperceptibly grow old under a training calculated for children.
In this epistle also Pinytus' orthodoxy in the faith and his care for the
welfare of those placed under him, his learning and his comprehension of
divine things, are revealed as in a most perfect image. There is extant also
another epistle written by Dionysius to the Romans, and addressed to Soter,
who was bishop at that time. We cannot do better than to subjoin some
passages from this epistle, in which he commends the practice of the Romans
which has been retained down to the persecution in our own days. His words are
as follows: "For from the beginning it has been your practice to do good to
all the brethren in various ways, and to send contributions to many churches
in every city. Thus relieving the want of the needy, and making provision for
the brethren in the mines by the gifts which you have sent from the beginning,
you Romans keep up the hereditary customs of the Romans, which your blessed
bishop Soter has not only maintained, but also added to, furnishing an
abundance of supplies to the saints,, and encouraging the brethren from abroad
with blessed words, as a loving father his children.'' In this same epistle he
makes
mention also of Clement's epistle to the Corinthians,
showing that it had
been the custom from the beginning to read it in the church. His words are as
follows: "To-day we have passed the Lord's holy day, in which we have read
your epistle. From it, whenever we read it, we shall always be able to draw
advice, as also from the former epistle, which was written 'to us through
Clement." The same writer also speaks as follows concerning his own
epistles, alleging that they had been mutilated: "As the brethren desired me
to write epistles, I wrote. And these epistles the apostles of the devil have
filled with tares, cutting out some things and adding others.
For them a
woe is reserved.
It is, therefore, not to be wondered
at if some have attempted to adulterate the Lord's writings also,
since
they have formed designs even against writings which are of less accounts."
There is extant, in addition to these, another epistle of Dionysius,
written to Chrysophora
a most faithful sister. In it he writes what is
suitable, and imparts to her also the proper spiritual food. So much
concerning Dionysius.
Of
Theophilus,
whom we have mentioned as bishop of the church of
Antioch,
three elementary works addressed to Autolycus are extant; also
another writing entitled Against the Heresy of Hermogenes,
in which he
makes use of testimonies from the Apocalypse of John, and finally certain
other catechetical books.
And as the heretics, no less then than at other
times, were like tares, destroying the pure harvest of apostolic teaching, the
pastors of the churches everywhere hastened to restrain them as wild beasts
from the fold of Christ, at one time by admonitions and exhortations to the
brethren, at another time by contending more openly against them in oral
discussions and refutations, and again by correcting their opinions with most
accurate proofs in written works. And that
Theophilus also, with the others,
contended against them, is manifest from a certain discourse of no common
merit written by him against Marcion.
This work too, with the others of
which we have spoken, has been preserved to the present day.
Maximinus,
the seventh from the apostles, succeeded him as bishop of
the church of Antioch.
CHAPTER 25 Philip who, as we learn from the words of Dionysius,
was bishop of the
parish of Gortyna, likewise wrote a most elaborate work against Marcion,
as did also Irenaeus
and Modestus. The last named has exposed the error of
the man more clearly than the rest to the view of all. There are a number
of others also whose works are still presented by a great many of the
brethren.
In those days also Melito,
bishop of the parish in Sardis, and
Apolinarius,
bishop of Hierapolis, enjoyed great distinction. Each of them
on his own part addressed apologies in behalf of the faith to the
above-mentioned emperor
of the Romans who was reigning at that time. The
following works of these writers have come to our knowledge. Of Melito, the
two books On the Passover, and
one On the Conduct of Life and the Prophets,
the discourse On the Church,
and one On the Lord's Day,
still further one On the Faith of Man,
and one On his Creation,
another also On the Obedience of Faith, and one
On the Senses;
besides these the work On the Soul and Body,
and that
On Baptism,
and the one On Truth,
and On the Creation and Generation
of Christ;
his discourse also On Prophecy,
and that On Hospitality;
still further, The Key,
and the books On the Devil and the
Apocalypse of John,
and the work On the Corporeality of God,
and
finally the book addressed to Antoninus.
In the books On the Passover
he indicates the time
at which he wrote, beginning with these words: "While Servilius Paulus was
proconsul of Asia, at the time when Sagaris suffered martyrdom, there arose in
Laodicea a great strife concerning the Passover, which fell according to rule
in those days; and these were written."
And Clement of Alexandria
refers to this work in his own discourse On the Passover,
which, he says,
he wrote on occasion of Melito's work. But in his book addressed to the
emperor he records that the following events happened to us under him: "For,
what never before happened,
the race of the pious is now suffering
persecution, being driven about in Asia by new decrees. For the shameless
informers and coveters of the property of others, taking occasion from the
decrees, openly carry on robbery night and day, despoiling those who are
guilty of no wrong." And a little further on he says: "If these things are
done by thy command, well and good. For a just ruler will never take unjust
measures; and we indeed gladly accept the honor of such a death. But this
request alone we present to thee, that thou wouldst thyself first examine the
authors of such strife, and justly judge whether they be worthy of death and
punishment, or of safety and quiet. But if, on the other hand, this counsel
and this new decree, which is not fit to be executed even against barbarian
enemies, be not from thee, much more do we beseech thee not to leave us
exposed to such lawless plundering
by the populace." Again he adds the following:
"For our philosophy
formerly flourished among the Barbarians; but having sprung up among the
nations under thy rule, during the great reign of thy ancestor Augustus, it
became to thine empire especially a blessing of auspicious omen. For from that
time the power of the Romans has grown in greatness and splendor. To this
power thou hast succeeded, as the desired possessor,
and such shalt thou
continue with thy son, if thou guardest the philosophy which grew up with the
empire and which came into existence with Augustus; that philosophy which thy
ancestors also honored along with the other religions. And a most convincing
proof that our doctrine flourished for the good of an empire happily begun,
is this -- that there has no evil happened since Augustus' reign, but that, on
the contrary, all things have been splendid and glorious, in accordance with
the prayers of all. Nero and Domitian, alone, persuaded by certain
calumniators, have wished to slander our doctrine, and from them it has come
to pass that the falsehood
has been
handed down, in consequence of an unreasonable practice which prevails of
bringing slanderous accusations against the Christians.
But thy pious
fathers corrected their ignorance, having frequently rebuked in writing
many who dared to attempt new measures against them. Among them thy
grandfather Adrian appears to have written to many others, and also to
Fundanus,
the proconsul and governor of Asia. And thy father, when thou
also wast ruling with him, wrote to the cities, forbidding them to take any
new measures against us; among the rest to the Larissaeans, to the
Thessalonians, to the Athenians, and to all the Greeks.
And as for
thee -- since thy opinions respecting the Christians
are the same as
theirs, and indeed much more benevolent and philosophic -- we are the more
persuaded that thou wilt do all that we ask of thee." These words are found in
the above-mentioned work.
But in the Extracts
made by him the same writer gives at the
beginning of the introduction a catalogue of the acknowledged books of the Old
Testament, which it is necessary to quote at this point. He writes as follows:
"Melito to his brother Onesimus,
greeting: Since thou hast often, in
thy zeal for the word, expressed a wish to have extracts made from the Law and
the Prophets concerning the Saviour and concerning our entire faith, and hast
also desired to have an accurate statement of the ancient book, as regards
their number and their order, I have endeavored to perform the task, knowing
thy zeal for the faith, and thy desire to gain information in regard to the
word, and knowing that thou, in thy yearning after God, esteemest these
things above all else, struggling to attain eternal salvation. Accordingly
when I went East and came to the place where these things were preached and
done, I learned accurately the books of the Old Testament, and send them to
thee as written below. Their names are as follows: Of Moses, five books:
Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus,
Deuteronomy; Jesus Nave, Judges,
Ruth; of Kings, four books; of Chronicles, two; the Psalms of David,
the
Proverbs of Solomon, Wisdom also,
Ecclesiastes, Song off Songs, Job; of
Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah; of the twelve prophets, one book
; Daniel,
Ezekiel, Esdras.
From which also I have made the extracts, dividing them
into six books." Such are the words of Melito.
A number of works of Apolinarius
have been preserved by many, and the
following have
reached us: the Discourse addressed to the above-mentioned emperor,
five
books Against the Greeks,
On Truth, a first and second book,
and those
which he subsequently wrote against the heresy of the Phrygians,
which not
long afterwards came out with its innovations,
but at that time was, as it
were, in its incipiency, since Montanus, with his false prophetesses, was then
laying the foundations of his error.
CHAPTER 28 And as for Musanus,
whom we have mentione among the foregoing writers,
a certain very elegant discourse is extant, which was written by him against
some brethren that had gone over to the heresy of the so-called Encratites,
which had recently sprung up, and which introduced a strange and pernicious
error. It is said that Tatian was the author of this false doctrine.
He is the one whose words we quoted a little above
in regard to that
admirable
man, Justin, and whom we stated to have been a disciple of the martyr.
Irenaeus declares this in the first book of his work Against Heresies, where
he writes as follows concerning both him and his heresy:
"Those who are
called Encratites,
and who sprung from Saturninus
and Marcion,
preached celibacy, setting aside the original arrangement of God and tacitly
censuring him who made male and female for the propagation of the human race.
They introduced also abstinence from the things called by them animate,
thus showing ingratitude to the God who made all things. And they deny the
salvation of the first man? But
this has been only recently discovered by them, a certain Tatian being the
first to introduce this blasphemy. He was a hearer of Jus-tin, and expressed
no such opinion while he was with him, but after the martyrdom of the latter
he left the Church, and becoming exalted with the thought of being a teacher,
and puffed up with the idea that he was superior to others, he established a
peculiar type of doctrine of his own, inventing certain invisible aeons like
the followers of Valentinus,
while, like Marcion and Saturninus, he
pronounced marriage to be corruption and fornication. His argument against the
salvation of Adam, however, he devised for
himself." Irenaeus at that time wrote thus. But a little later a certain man
named Severus
put new strength into the aforesaid heresy, and thus brought
it about that those who took their origin from it were called, after him,
Severians. They, indeed, use the Law and Prophets and Gospels, but interpret
in their own way the utterances of the Sacred Scriptures. And they abuse Paul
the apostle and reject his epistles, and do not accept even the Acts of the
Apostles. But their original founder, Tatian, formed a certain combination and
collection of the Gospels, I know not how,
to which he gave the title
Diatessaron,
and which is still in the l hands of some. But they say that
he ventured to paraphrase certain words of the apostle,
in order to
improve their style. He has left a great many writings. Of these the one
most in use among many persons is his celebrated Address to the Greeks,
which also appears to be the best and most useful of all his works. In it he
deals with the most ancient times, and shows that Moses and the Hebrew
prophets were older than all the celebrated men among the Greeks.
So much
in regard to these men.
In the same reign, as heresies were abounding in the region between the
rivers,
a certain Bardesanes,
a most able man and a
most skillful disputant in the Syriac tongue, having composed dialogues
against Marcion's followers and against certain others who were authors of
various opinions, committed them to writing in his own language, together with
many other works. His pupils,
of whom he had very many
, translated these productions from the Syriac
into Greek. Among them there2. is also his most able dialogue On Fate,
addressed to Antoninus, and other works which they say he wrote on occasion of
the persecution which arose at that time.
He indeed was at first a
follower of Valentinus,
but afterward, having rejected his teaching and
having refuted most of his fictions, he fancied that he had come over to the
more correct opinion. Nevertheless he did not entirely wash off the filth of
the old heresy.
About this time also Soter,
bishop of the church of
Rome, departed this life.
Church History
Book IV
The Last Siege of the Jews under Adrian
The Persons that became at that Time Leaders of Knowledge falsely so-called
Ecclesiastical Writers
The Epistle of Adrian, decreeing that we should not be punished without a Trial
The Bishops of Rome and of Alexandria during the Reign of Antoninus
The Heresiarchs of that Age
Justin the Philosopher preaches the Word of Christ in Rome and suffers Martyrdom
The Martyrs whom Justin intentions in his Own Work
The Works of Justin which have come down to us
The Rulers of the Churches of Rome and Alexandria during the Reign of Ferns
The Rulers of the Church of Antioch
The Ecclesiastical Writers that flourished in Those Days
Hegesippus and the Events which he mentions
Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, and the Epistles which he wrote
Theaphilus Bishop of Antioch
Philip and Modestus
Melito and the Circumstances which he records
Apolinarius, Bishop of the Church of Hierapolis
Musanus and his Writings
The Heresy of Tatian
Bardesanes the Syrian and his Extant Works